AN: Sorry if you got two updates on this chapter. I saw a spelling error after I posted and had to fix it. :)
He reached the top of the stairs and saw that the door to M's room was closed. He noticed that Dean and Lil were in Lil's room. He caught Dean's eye from the hall. He immediately came out to him. "What?"
"Someone has been in the house." He nodded toward the other room. "The door was open when we left. Someone has moved the books." He whispered out.
"Take Lil out." Dean reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun and edged toward the door. Cas moved to Lil's room and grabbed her arm to pull her away from the room. She had noticed the change in the atmosphere. He got Lil to the bottom of the stairs and cast a look back as they went out the front door.
"What's happening, Cas?" Lil pulled on his arm. Cas didn't know how far away to take her. He decided to get into the moving van, in case they needed to leave. He kept staring out at the door, worry building.
"I thought that someone was in the house. Dean is checking to make sure that everything is okay." Cas answered quickly and hoped that she wouldn't ask any questions. She sat at his side quietly clenching and unclenching her fingers into the seat. He pulled her to him. He regretted telling her the truth. "I'm sure it's fine, Lil. I am just a worrier. Dean is always saying that about me."
"Should we go in and check?" She looked up at him.
"Dean will come out and tell us. Just wait." He rubbed her arm with his fingers. The front door opened just as he was starting to fall into full-on panic. Dean emerged. Cas and Lil tumbled from the van to meet him before he even got close to them.
"There's no one in there." Dean seemed to want to say more. He directed them back into the house. "I think that we should make quick work of this. I called some of my people to help."
Cas nodded. They went into the house and Dean took Lil into the living room. "Would it be okay if I went into her room, just to see if anything has been moved?"
"Go for it. Lil and I will be down here." Dean had his phone to his ear and waved Cas up the stairs.
Cas took the stairs two at a time and found himself staring down the hallway to M's room. He was nervous for some reason. It was like someone was watching him from the walls. He walked into her room and scanned the space. He could tell that the space had been disturbed. There was a lot that was just a little off. It was the same feeling that he got when he came back to his condo the night that A caught them in the alley. M's bed had been remade without precision. He had made the bed himself before, tight corners and smoothed out. The desk had been disturbed. Her papers were in an entirely different location. One of the papers was even on the floor, as if it had blown there on a breeze. Cas walked to it and stooped to pick it up. It was then that he noticed the space behind the desk. The edges of the back of the desk were not quite even. He gripped it and felt it push in as if it were on a spring. When he released it, the whole back end popped out.
He sat back and stared at it. What the Hell is this? He leaned toward it and saw that it was a hidden compartment, and it wasn't empty. He reached inside and pulled out a large wooden box. It was square shaped and made with polished oak with gold inlays. It had so much varnish on it, in fact, that it must be more varnish than wood. He ran his fingers over it to the clasp. He pressed it open.
Inside he found papers and photos. The topmost collection of papers contained his dossier. Beneath it he found Sam's. There was also one for Gabe. What he didn't expect was the one labeled Dean Winchester. He pulled that one out. M had been researching him. The piece was put together by her. This would require more reading. He slipped it back into the stack and continued shuffling through the rest of the items. There were pictures of people that he did not recognize, and some that seemed like he knew them without quite being able to place them. He saw the hand written notes as well, laying out connections. It reminded him of the journal that Dean's father had kept. He pressed all of it back into the box and sealed it up. He decided to pack up this room himself, in case there were more secrets to unearth.
He made his way back down to the living room and Dean and Lil. They were not packing. They were merely waiting on the couch. "Anything to report." Dean cast a pointed look at the box in Cas' hands.
"Not yet," Cas said. "I think that I would like to get some boxes to pack up her room myself. When will your friends arrive?"
"Any minute." Dean seemed to be adopting an air of seriousness. His clipped sentences and darting gaze told Cas that he was nervous too.
"Lil can come up with me while you wait for your friends." Cas grabbed a couple of boxes and handed one to Lil too. They headed upstairs together. When they were in the room Cas directed Lil to start loading up her box with whatever she could from the room. He knew that this was not the most organized way to pack, but he couldn't spend anymore time in this place. He tackled the dresser first and then moved to the closet. He pulled out clothes and laid them all on the bed. This went on for awhile before he heard the sounds of Dean's friends showing up downstairs. He assumed that they were all officers. He had decided to keep working on the room rather than going downstairs to meet them.
Dean showed up in the doorway with a man at his shoulder. "Hey, Cas. This is my boss Jorge Ruiz. He brought some extra help. We are making short work of the downstairs."
Cas stopped what he was doing and walked over to shake hands. Jorge's grip was firm. His steady brown-eyed gaze inspired confidence and a hint of intimidation. "Dean filled me in a little. Have you unearthed anything interesting, anything that would cause someone to break in?"
"Not sure yet. I have gone through some of her papers, and they are not terribly exciting. I don't see why someone would break in for them." Cas chose not to mention the box. It could contain information that needed to be kept a secret for now. There was a dossier on Dean. That would not be the best way for Dean's boss to find out about his past. Dean had seen the box, but somehow he knew to keep from mentioning it. For that, Cas was grateful.
"Hmm, well, if you turn something up, let me know. I am going to poke around a bit. Is that okay?" Jorge looked like he wasn't really asking. Cas just nodded.
"Dean would you mind helping Lil finish packing her room? I want to finish up here, but I don't think that a stranger should be working on her room."
Dean reached out a hand to Lil and said, "You heard the man, Lil, come help me box up your stuff." They left, but Jorge lingered. He stalked over to the desk and took a seat while Cas continued boxing up the clothes.
Jorge began fishing around in the drawers, pulling out papers and laying them out on the desk. He seemed to be comfortable with the invasiveness. Cas just kept packing and watching him for tell-tale signs that he had found something of interest. He knew that there was nothing there, having gone through it all himself, but a second set of eyes will sometimes catch what was missed by the first. Jorge turned to him and caught him watching. "So, I brought your motorcycle with me today. Can we load it up in your moving van?" The tangent from Cas' thoughts startled him.
"Umm, yeah. Dean had said something about you taking care of it." Cas turned away and continued packing then he added, "Thanks for returning it."
"Well, it wasn't easy, mind you. It isn't everyday that one gets to ride a beaut like that." He leaned back in the chair and stretched out his legs a little. "The body work on it is impeccable."
"I have Dean to thank for that. He does great work." Cas glanced up as he spoke. He caught a look on Jorge's face then. Confusion? Cas wondered if he had shared something that was a secret. But what?
"So, you know Dean outside of this recent incident?" Jorge was using a tone that was a little hard to read.
"Yes, his brother and I work together." Cas decided not to share too much now for fear that he was treading on details that Dean was trying to keep secret.
"Oh, that makes sense then." Jorge turned back to the papers seeming relieved. Cas wondered about that. He detected something in Jorge's tone that made Cas feel like over-sharing just to set Jorge's relief into a tailspin. He was irritated, but he pushed it down a little.
Cas went back to packing, and decided to stir the waters. "So, you've met Sam?"
"Just briefly. Seems like a nice guy. I heard that Dean practically raised him." Jorge didn't turn from the papers while he answered.
"Yeah, Sam is pretty nice. Dean raised him right." Cas went over to M's dresser to pull out more clothes. "I owe Sam, I think."
"Oh, really, why so?"
"Well, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have met Dean." Cas glanced back at Jorge, but his back was to him. "It's hard to meet good guys without divine intervention."
Jorge seemed to stiffen a little then he said, "Yeah, Dean is one of the good guys. Guess that's why we trust him so much."
Cas decided that he had said enough on the subject of Dean and decided to redirect. "So, did you find anything interesting in the desk yet?"
"No, but I reckon that you knew that already, since you had looked through all of this." Jorge looked back at him.
"I had hoped that I had missed something," Cas offered.
"Looks like I am the only one that missed something." He looked steadily at Cas then. "I always wondered why he never seemed to have any steady girls around."
"Hmm," Cas felt like he had made a mistake, but he was not going to let it control the conversation. He redirected, "So, have you gotten any word on A's condition?"
"Nothing beyond the fact that he is still unconscious and in the hospital." He stood then and poked around in M's closet, moving aside hangers of clothes a little here and there. "We've got a man stationed on his door 24/7. He isn't going anywhere, that is if he even lives through this."
Dean slipped into the room a little and said, "Hey, Cas, I hate to be a bother, but Lil would like you to help her. I think that I am not much comfort."
"Sure. Do you mind boxing up some of M's clothes and stuff?" There are boxes over there." Cas waved over to the other side of the bed.
"No problem." Dean glanced around the room and added, "Where's Jorge?"
"Oh, just hanging out in the closet, Dean." Jorge poked his head out and caught Dean's eye. "You wouldn't know anything about that now, would you?"
Dean's face fell a little. Cas scooped up one of the moving boxes that held the oak box. Cas tried to look apologetic as he passed Dean, but he did not feel like he could pull it off so he just made his way out the door. He could hear the muffled words of Jorge, but not exactly what he was saying once he reached Lil's bedroom.
He looked down at her surrounded by boxes and piles of her stuff. She looked so small, so in need of some comfort. "Hey, munchkin." He plopped himself down next to her, setting the box aside as he did so.
"Hey, Cas." She was running her fingers along the edges of a ribbon that was tied to one of her dolls. It looked old and in need of some TLC.
Cas brushed back Lil's hair from her face. "You okay?"
"Uh huh." She didn't look at Cas though.
"Would you like me to pack your stuff? You don't have to help if you don't want to."
"I don't want to pack."
"Is it alright with you if I pack though?"She shrugged in answer and Cas began loading up the boxes with quiet efficiency. They were finished with the room in just over an hour. Apparently, that was about the amount of time that Dean needed to pack up M's room too. For both rooms, the big furniture would have to wait. As Cas and Lil were preparing to take boxes downstairs he noticed Dean emerging from the room. The hour apart had done nothing to soften Dean's expression. Lil began making her way down the stairs well ahead of them with her lightweight box of clothes. Cas turned to Dean and said, "I'm sorry, Dean. I wasn't thinking."
"Fuck you, Cas." Dean spoke just low enough so that Lil couldn't hear him, but Cas felt the full brunt of the underlying tone of Dean's words.
Cas wasn't going to apologize again so soon on the heels of that little outburst. He did feel bad though, about the situation that he dropped Dean into. He looked back at him and Dean refused to make eye-contact. "Was it really that bad?"
"You couldn't possibly understand." He finally looked at Cas. They both stopped midway down the stairs, and Dean continued. "I've been hearing it for an hour now. Every time that I think that the subject is changed to something even touching on the very serious situation that we are in he would fall back into my connection with you. So many innuendos and shit. It will get so much worse too, once he tells the others. This is such bullshit, Cas. Why would you do this?"
"I don't like pretending to be something that I am not. I don't like you pretending to be something that you are not." Cas could feel Dean's irritation brewing up again.
"It isn't your place to decide how and when I share my private life with others. I think that you forget sometimes just who I am and what I have gone through to get to this place. Show a little god damn compassion." Jorge showed up behind them then with a box in his hands.
"Hey, you mind taking your little lover's spat to the bottom of the stairs? I can't be expected to hold this brick up all day here." Jorge laughed a little at his own words.
Dean rushed past Cas with his box and made his way toward the door. Cas followed. "You finished up in M's room?" Cas tossed back at Jorge.
"Yep. I think that I might look over her garage a little. See if there is anything there worth looking at." His tone was all business again, and Cas thought that maybe Dean just brought out the joking in people.
"It looks like that might be the last spot that needs attention. You all packed this place up quick." Cas surveyed the living room and kitchen once he reached the bottom of the stairs. It was empty in a way that depressed Cas a little. He remembered the warm evening that he had spent here with M and Lil just a few short nights ago. He couldn't push down his emotions. He began to cry. Jorge passed him and pretended not to see, heading off for the garage. Cas couldn't stop the tears nor could he clear them from his face as his hands were full. He stepped out of the front door and set down the box. He sat on the front step and pressed his face into his hands. He could feel himself losing control. The shaking began in his back and spread out through his whole frame. Then he felt a tiny body pressed up next to him. She didn't say anything, but she wrapped her arms around him.
They sat like that feeling pathetic and miserable together. Cas had needed to cry, but hadn't felt like he could just let go of his emotions, Lil needed him, and he needed to be strong. The situation demanded it. Her hands held on, and he could feel her crying too. She was comforting him. Now he felt the guilt of that too. He started wiping at his eyes furiously, sucking back deep, sharp gasps to regulate his emotions. A shadow fell on them. Cas and Lil both turned up their faces to it. Dean. "Maybe, I should take you both home. We can finish up all of this later, or I can." Dean reached down to Lil. "Come on monkey." She got up slowly and he wound his arm around her in a brief hug before walking her to the van.
Dean looked back at Cas. He realized that Dean was beckoning him to follow, but he was having trouble getting himself moving. He looked away instead. Dean came back over a few moments later and stood in front of him. "Come on, Cas. Let's go." He reached down a hand to him.
Cas reached up and felt himself pulled to his feet. Dean released him and picked up the box that Cas had carried down. He made his way to the van with it. Cas followed. Dean opened the passenger's side door and directed Cas in. Cas complied without a word. Dean popped back into the house to tell the others the plan. He was back moments later and seated at the wheel. He seemingly had decided that his leg was healed up enough for the drive. Plus, Cas did not look like he was fit for the responsibility. Cas pressed his head against the window and gazed out the side of the van at the passing world. He felt the emotional tide ebb in again and closed his eyes against it.
Review, Fav., Follow. Also, feel free to rec. it to outside fic sites if you want.
Thanks so much smalls907 for the funny opener to your review. I am amused that you took in the last 11 chapters only to have to deal with my pesky cliffhanger. I do that way too much:) Sorry;) taytay127 I have only love for Toyotas, but Dean is a car snob, so I thought that he should be disdainful of it. I have tried to work in some little dialogue moments from the show in here and there. I am glad that they are working for you. legsinger, glad you liked the Dean and Lil talk. I am always surprised that my little moments work for you all:) I keep worrying about being cliched and such. Lastly, thanks Mummabro for the thoughts. All the best to you all. 'Till tomorrow, if I can get the chapter done fast enough.