The two of them were sitting on the floor. Dean had the green blanket wrapped around himself and Cas had one of the blankets from his bedroom. Dean had retrieved the two blankets for them when it became clear that Cas was considering putting his clothes back on. Truthfully, neither was ready to return to the land of the standing or sitting. They were more content to lounge around on the floor. "A guy could get use to this." Dean stood up and made up two plates of food from the items on the stove. "Now, dinner, not exactly what I had intended it to be, but, I think that it will work for you."
"You won't find me complaining." Cas grinned up at him as he handed him the plate of food. He reached over Cas and snagged the bottle of wine and passed that down too. "Wine glasses are over there." Cas waved to Dean's right.
He grabbed those and returned to the floor with his plate. They ate in blissful quiet. "You happy with your food?"
"Uhhuh." Cas muttered around a mouthful of pasta. Cas glanced up at the clock and asked, "Do I need to worry about your brother wandering in with Lil anytime soon?"
"Nah, I told him to text before he came back. I told him to try to aim for 10ish. He seemed to think that 10ish was a little late for a kid, but Lil backed me up."
"She would. I think that I have a future attorney on my hands." They both laughed at the thought of their little munchkin defending her right to stay up late.
"I won't have a chance with the two of you." Dean smiled over at Cas.
"And don't you forget it."
"Speaking of…" Dean paused a second then continued, "I need to say I'm sorry, like out loud. So, I'm sorry." Dean ended awkwardly.
Cas laughed at him a little. "I got the memo. I also got the grand gesture that was dinner and well, not dinner. You're forgiven." Cas leaned forward and kissed him lightly. "Of course, I might just let you behave like an ass every now and then if this is how you make up for it."
"I am not what you would call a sensible man, so I will likely need to resort to such grand gestures often. Hopefully, they don't get too old, or predictable." Now it was Dean's turn to swipe a kiss.
Cas sipped his wine and set aside his plate. "After dinner there is some stuff that I need to share with you. Today has been eventful, and I need you to help me."
Dean looked suddenly serious. "Sure, Cas. You okay?"
"Lucky came to my office." Dean stiffened, and sprang up from the floor as if he were going to do something right then, and it was going to be physical. Cas didn't mean to minimize the seriousness of their conversation with laughter, but Dean did not take the blanket with him when he stood.
"This isn't funny Cas. Why didn't you tell me this right away?" He was a storm stalking about in the room with no direction. "I'm going to kill him." He started grabbing his clothes and was trying to put them on. "What did he want?"
Cas finally stood up too and started to get dressed. I guess the spell is broken, back to reality. "He gave me money."
"What?" Dean exclaimed.
"I'm just as shocked as you. I think that it was an attempt to corrupt me. Clearly, I'm not accepting it. I decided that it was best to say little and end the conversation with him as quickly as possible." Cas grabbed Dean's arms and forced him to look at him. "I need you to calm down."
Dean seemed to realize that he was acting crazy and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I just can't believe that he had the balls to show up at your office. Can't you sue him for harassment or something?"
"Come to the table." They both walked over to the table half dressed and took seats next to each other. "I don't think that he sent A to attack us."
"That's crazy, Cas. Of course he sent him. Who else would send him?" Dean was touching him. It was like he needed to maintain contact in order to assure himself that Cas was here, that he was okay.
"I know it sounds crazy. You didn't hear him though. There was something sincere in his tone when he talked about M. He really liked her. He was angry with A. He also said some creepy stuff that made me uncomfortable, while at the same time, it kind of convinced me."
"What did he say?" Dean leaned toward him. He was breathing in Cas' air.
"He said that if he were going to have my throat slit that he would be man enough to tell me to my face first, or something to that effect." Dean's breath hitched up. Cas grabbed his shoulders to keep him from springing up again. "It's okay, Dean. I'm fine."
"God, Cas. I am freaking out a little."
"I ended the conversation by telling him that I would no longer be representing him. As he parted he gave me an envelope with a check. This was in addition to the one for Lil." Cas felt like Dean was calm enough now, so he got up and retrieved the rest of their clothes and said, "Here, get dressed and I'll show you the contents of the box that I got from M's. Maybe together we can put some of this information together in a way that makes sense." Dean complied, and they made quick work of cleaning up the kitchen and getting dressed.
They had gone through the papers in the box. Dean looked stressed. He kept running his hands up over his face into his hair. He would occasionally get up and stalk around the room reading from one stack of papers or another. They had not come to a more reasonable assumption than that Lucky had sent A to Skybar that night. Cas just couldn't accept it though. After too much reading, Cas pulled out the pictures and spread them across the table. Then there are these. Dean looked at them and then flipped them over looking for any tell-tale notes that were not there. Cas' eyes fell on one of the pictures then. The face, how could I have forgotten that face? "She was on a jury. Ezra Brady's jury to be exact. She was the forewoman."
"Odd, why are there pictures of her in M's box?" Dean picked up the picture and looked at it closely. "Did M work for Ezra too?"
"I doubt it, but Lucky was at the courthouse the day that the verdict was read. He was sitting in the back of the room and she looked at him with fear as she was reading the verdict. It always felt weird, that verdict, that moment." Cas spread the other pictures out and looked at them. "I wish I understood the connection." Dean looked at the other pictures next. "What's the deal with all of the pictures of kids?" Before Cas could even consider an answer, Dean's phone buzzed.
Without looking at the phone, Dean said, "I bet that it's Sammy trying to convince me that Lil has stayed out late enough now." His expression changed though as he looked down at the phone and saw who was calling. Dean flicked on the phone and answered it. Cas could hear a low rumble of a voice speaking into Dean 's ear, then, "Shit, oh shit." Dean pulled the phone away from his lip by a fraction. "A is missing." He said to Cas. He began talking into the phone again. Cas felt his nerves firing off. "How could this happen, Jorge? He was under guard 24/7." Dean's rant was punctuated by pauses and muttered sounds of acknowledgement. Cas was ready to run to Lil. He grabbed his phone and called Sam before Dean even got off of the phone. She should not be brought here. A knew this place.
Somehow Cas had felt safe enough when he thought that A was not active. Somehow he had managed to convince himself that those that had directed A were sensible and that A was not. He had managed to make himself believe that so long as A was gone, that he could be relatively secure with Lil and Dean in his home. With A's escape, though, Cas was reminded that no place was really safe. The desire to flee was overtaking him again.
"Sam, have you left your place yet?" Cas said the moment that he heard Sam answer.
Sam seemed to pick up on the urgency in Cas' voice. "No. I was about to. What's wrong?"
"A is missing. Dean's on the phone with Jorge. I just needed to be sure that you didn't bring Lil here. It wouldn't be safe. A has been here before. He also has contacts that he will likely now be in communication with. I am going to call you with more information as soon as we figure this out." Cas was trying to listen to Dean at the same time and it wasn't working.
"Try to hurry." Sam sounded worried.
"We will. Make sure that Lil doesn't worry." Cas thought about all of the things that she was being forced to confront on a near daily basis and he felt overwhelmed on her behalf.
"Don't worry about Lil. We will be careful with her." They hung up and Cas directed his attention to Dean who had just hung up the phone.
"So, what is happening?" Cas asked.
"Jorge is coming here. He thinks that there is maybe a chance that A will try to come here. He said that A had regained consciousness at some point this morning, but that he hadn't spoken. They thought that he was incapable of speaking, but it is now believed that he was just pretending. The doctors said that A was still very weak. Jorge said that someone helped him escape. The security footage showed a man that looked like he could be A's twin, minus the injuries."
"What?" Cas exclaimed. "We need to get out of here."
"My thoughts exactly. Get some of your stuff packed while we wait for Jorge. What did Sam say?" Dean was following him into the bedroom.
"He has Lil at his house. They hadn't left yet. Thank God. I told him that we would call him once we figured out what we were doing." Dean had pulled the duffle bag out and began stuffing it with the clothes that he had been storing in one of the dresser drawers. Cas remembered how Dean thought that it was a big deal to get a drawer. He had thought that it was reasonable to live out of that bag of his for the foreseeable future. Cas had had to convince him that this was a more reasonable approach to cohabitating. Cas felt suddenly frozen to the spot. He felt like his tightly wound existence was unraveling yet again. He was shaking and suddenly, he felt Dean wrap his arms around him.
"It's going to be okay. I got you." Dean lowered Cas to the bed and said, "Just sit here. Let me pack for you."
"I can do this." Cas started to get up again, but he felt his knees giving out. Come on. Get a grip. He wanted to will his body into submission, but he just couldn't stop the fear. "I shouldn't be freaking out like this. He was pretty badly injured. It's not like he will be strong enough to do much, but I just can't help but remember what he had said in my office about having a friend that he could call upon to hurt M and Lil. He mentioned Lil directly. I told myself that if he was unconscious that no one could be sent after Lil. Which is stupid, I know, but I wanted to believe it. Now though, I feel like anything can happen."
Dean came over to Cas and cupped his face in his hands. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you or Lil. I'm going to get you to Bobby's and I am going to protect you both." He released Cas and then grabbed Cas' bag to begin packing his things. The bag was nearly full. Dean went into the bathroom and gathered their toiletries. "I'll need to get Lil's stuff." Dean threw the two bags onto the bed. "I'll be right back." Dean reached out and brushed a hand across Cas' cheek before he left the room. Cas stood. He didn't like the distance. He had regained control of his legs and propelled himself out of his room toward the guest room. Dean was rummaging around. He was hobbling a little less than he had in past days.
Cas stepped into the room. "I have a bag for her in the closet." Cas stepped over to the closet and plucked up the bag from off of the floor. He handed it to Dean. "I have to take something over to Gabe's."
"No, you stay here." Dean took on an added air of authority. "You don't get to be out of my sight." He grabbed Cas and stared into his eyes to make his point.
"It's important."
"It will have to wait until we are leaving."
"Okay." They both jumped at the sound of the knock at the door.
"It's Jorge. A wouldn't knock." Dean said this as though it was meant to offer up comfort. He stalked out of the room and to the front door. He had his gun though, anyway, just as a precaution. He glanced into the peephole and then opened the door.
"So, I have two men stationed downstairs in the lobby. Are you packing?" Jorge was looking at the princess themed duffle bag that Dean was holding.
"Yeah, I am sending Cas and Lil to my uncle Bobby's place. I think they'll be safer there." Dean leveled a glare at Jorge as if he was daring him to challenge the plan.
"Whatever, Dean. I just think that this is an opportunity." Jorge did not seem to be intimidated by Dean's stare.
"For what? You think that I will let you use them as bait?" Dean took a step forward.
"Of course not. I was just saying. We could put this bastard away. We would be able to protect them here just fine." Jorge's tone was lower, an attempt at being convincing.
"Not on your life." Then Dean turned to Cas and said, "Go get your bag and whatever else you needed. We're going." Dean could see Cas frozen in place again. He grabbed Cas' arm and gave him a little push to his room. Once Cas was in motion, Dean went to the table and gathered up the items from the box. He put them into the box and then carried it into the bedroom. "Put this in my duffle bag." He handed it to Cas and returned to the other room. Cas could still hear him talking with Jorge while he took care of the box.
"So, I can see that this really put a damper on your romantic evening."
"Well, nothing like an escaped madman to put a damper on most things." Dean responded in a way that made Cas happy despite their current situation. It was an acknowledgement and it was confident.
"I'm going to stay up here, and hopefully he is enough of an idiot to show up. When will you two be leaving?"
"Now, I think that we'll take my car. I don't think that it will be familiar." Dean's voice was drawing closer, and Cas hefted his bag to his shoulder. Dean walked over to the bed and grabbed the other bag in one hand and Lil's bag in the other. They walked back out to the living room together. Dean threw a nod at Jorge. "Take care, Jorge. Really."
"You too Dean. Contact me when you get to Bobby's." Jorge raised a hand and gave Dean a little slap on the back as they headed to the door. Cas had a large orange envelope in his hands. He had prepared it a little at a time over the past week. He felt that it was now time to set this part of his plan in motion.
Cas stepped up to Gabe's door and knocked. Gabe answered a moment later. "What's going on Cas?"
"I need to give you this. I can't explain it all right now, but I think that once you look it over, that it will all make sense." Cas handed him the envelope and added, "Dean and I are heading out. A has disappeared from the hospital and he seems to be getting help."
"Oh, shit, Cas." Gabe reached out a hand to his doorframe and held it.
Cas reached out and gave him a brief hug. "I'll try to call you in a couple of days, once the dust settles a little. Maybe the police will catch him quickly." He tried to sound hopeful, but he was failing.
"I can't believe that he even got out in the first place. Do the police think that he is going to be coming after you?"
"One can only assume. I am not sticking around to find out."
"I'll tell Anna and Uriel. They would want to know. Just try to keep us in the loop. Otherwise we'll worry too much." Gabe reached out and gave Cas another quick hug and then turned to Dean, "Take care of him."
"I will." Then the lights flickered and went out. The only illumination was coming from the distant glow of the exit signs that were over the doorways to the stairwells. There was one stairwell in front of them and one behind them. The eerie green glow did not provide light to the very dark hallway, instead it seemed to create shadows. Cas felt Dean's hand on his arm. "Inside, now." They both jumped a little at the sound of the shrieking that pierced the darkness. The fire alarms were going off. They were the type that not only blasted out electronic screeches, they also flashed intensely bright white light every couple of seconds.
There were doors opening all up and down the hallway. People were coming out in various stages of dress. "Is there a fire? Should we stay in Gabe's place anyway?" Cas asked.
"I don't know yet. Give me a second." The group in the hall had grown as more people began pouring into the space. They were heading to the stairwell by the elevator as a small herd. "Stay with the crowd." The three of them began moving as a group. They were pressed together as they made their way through the stairwell door.
"Dean." Cas turned and saw that Jorge had joined them. "I am going to try to get ahead of the crowd to see what is happening. I couldn't get Tom or Carl on the walkie. Something is wrong. Be on your guard."
With that Jorge pressed ahead of the group and slinked his way past the others that were ahead of them. The stairwell was rather dark. It was punctuated with light from the fire alarms that kept flashing to the beat of Cas' steps. Just as his eyes adjusted to the dark there was another flash of light that blinded him. The noise was doing nothing to help with his rattled nerves. Why aren't the emergency lights coming on?
Cas' place was on the top floor of the 25 story high rise. They had a long way to descend before they would reach the outside world. With each floor, more people poured into the stairwell. They had gotten down to the 19th floor. The crowd was shuffling forward slowly, politely, until suddenly the stairwell took on the scent of smoke. That was when Cas had noticed that the crowd had begun moving against the tide back up the stairwell toward them.
Review, Fav., Follow, Rec. Thanks for your patience. I had to do a major rewrite, because the original chapter was utterly atrocious. Sometimes I wish that I could share with you all the myriad directions that this story almost went into without ruining the current tale. Ah, well.
Thanks Mummabro, taytay127, and YoungHopeful for liking the apology chapter. I didn't want to be cheesy, and I always worry about that when writing their more intimate dialogues. Thanks also Valerie-Lynn for your kind words. I wasn't ready for Dean to say I love you yet, but he had to say something. Lastly, Master's daughter and everyone else that is worried about the story ending...maybe I wasn't clear enough in the last notes about my future plans. There's a reason that the next fic has to have a title that sounds like this one. Just saying;)