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lotrspnfangirlCastiel Krushnic’s House
4140 Ocean Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
Dean looked around at the large house before him, side glancing over at Sam before he exited the Impala. Castiel’s text had been short, but it got his point across. Do not go to the club was quickly followed by an address. Dean had texted him back, asking if he’d found Gabe, why the club was a bad idea, but it had been radio silence ever since.
“Who do you think this house belongs to?” Sam started up to the front steps.
Dean shrugged his shoulders and walked up the steps, knocking on the door with three quick raps before he stepped to the side. Although he was sure Castiel wouldn’t send him or Sam into any danger, standing point blank in front of a door was just asking for it.
After a few minutes of silence, Sam leaned in and tried knocking himself.
“I don’t think anyone’s home,” Sam muttered and Dean rolled his eyes, walking to the large bay window on the left side of the door and cupping his face against it. The house was dark, but the window was cracked, and Dean could smell the mingling scent of spruce and orange blossoms coming from inside.
“It’s Cas’ house. Come on.” He pushed away from the window and stepped off the porch, moving around the side of the house.
“Cas? You call him Cas?” Sam asked from behind him as he followed after his brother. Dean rolled his eyes but stayed silent. The house itself was huge, bigger than Dean’s own, and Dean’s house almost hit four thousand square feet. They hopped up onto the back deck and Dean tried the back door, unsurprisingly finding it locked.
“You got a kit?” He looked over his shoulder at Sam who was already pulling the leather case out of his pocket and untying the strap. Dean smiled, remembering how their father who passed down his own tools and taught them everything they needed to know. Sam pulled out a lock pick and got to work on the back door.
Dean watched as his brother unlocked the door in just seconds and just as Sam reached for the knob, a thought hit him.
“Um, Sammy, do you think Cas has a security system?”
A loud screeching from inside of the house was the only answer they needed, and the brother’s pushed their way inside and slammed the back door shut.
“How do we turn it off?” Dean yelled over the sound and Sam made his way to the box, looking at it for a few seconds before he started punching in a code.
When the silence returned, it left Dean’s ears ringing. He stared at his brother for a moment before he asked, “How the hell did you do that?”
Sam shrugged his shoulders. “Learned the master codes of different companies around the area. Luckily, Castiel uses the same company we have back in Boston.”
“You memorized a shit ton of number codes… for fun?” Dean snorted and pushed past him. “You’re a freak, Sammy.”
“I could set it back off and you can have the police shut it off for you instead!” Sam fired back, but followed Dean through the downstairs of the house.
The house was clean, and Dean somehow knew that, unlike himself, Castiel probably did his own housework instead of hiring someone. Castiel was private and he couldn’t imagine him allowing someone he didn’t know to tramp through his house.
Each room smelled of Castiel, and if Dean closed his eyes he could almost imagine the Omega standing beside him instead of Sam. When they reached a sitting area, Dean made a beeline for a large arm chair that he knew was where Castiel usually sat. He sank down into it and breathed in deeply, only opening his eyes when Sam made a noise.
“You’re fucking in deep, Dean,” Sam muttered, sitting on the couch opposite him.
Dean crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his brother.
“Whatever,” Sam said, undeterred by his brother’s defiance. “Deny it all you want.”
“It’s not going to happen Sammy. So move on.”
Sam was silent for a moment before he sighed and changed the subject. “I got word from Adam about Bellomo’s warehouse…”
Dean raised an eyebrow, encouraging Sam to continue.
“He said they were successful in keeping things from Gordon so far.” Sam smoothed his hands over his thighs. “I kind of put Shurley in a temporary position as Capo while we’re figuring out things with Gordon.”
“Is he strong enough to be a Capo?” Dean sat forward running a hand down his face. “Shurley is a bit…”
“I know,” Sam agreed, nodding his head. “But he’s got more backbone than you think. He’s just got an odd way of showing it…”
Dean shrugged, trusting his brother’s opinion.
“Anyway,” Sam continued, “I gave him a quick update about what was going on and told him that he was in charge of both Rufus’ soldiers and Gordon’s while the two of them were busy. I told him to be wary of who he gave information to -- everything is on a need to know basis.”
“Alright, that’s good.” Dean sat back adjusting his jacket. “I hope that Gordon doesn’t have a large following… We’re going to have to weed through his soldiers you know.” Dean sighed and Sam nodded, thinking.
“Well, that’s why I told Shurley to keep most of Rufus’ guys on the warehouse. He told me everything is all set, just waiting for your command.”
“Did you hear from Bobby?” Dean asked, leaning forward and placing his elbows against his knees. “Is Gordon actually out of commission right now?”
“Yeah, Bobby told him that he was needed back in Boston for his family. He… strongly suggested that Mrs. Walker play along and tell her husband that their son was sick and in the hospital.” He raked his hand through his hair as he matched his brother’s position. “Gordon didn’t ask too many questions after that and they left this afternoon.”
“All right, good.” Dean pushed out of the chair and paced before the fireplace, Sam’s eyes tracking his movement. “All right. Get Shurley on the phone. Cas is busy, and I can only hope that means he’s found Gabriel.”
Sam lifted his hips from the couch and pulled his phone free from his jeans, pressing a few buttons on the screen before pressing the phone against his ear. “Chuck? Everything ready to go?” Sam paused and Dean turned back to watch his brother. “Okay… Are we ready…?” Sam let the question trail and glanced up to meet his brother’s eyes.
“Blow it up,” Dean answered and Sam smiled, nodding as he gave the command to Shurley. The brother’s let silence fall over them again and then suddenly the entire house was shaking, glass from various cabinets, liquor bottles, china, were clinking. Dean was almost knocked off balance and reached for the mantle of the fireplace, his eyes widening as he stared at Sam.
“I hope you got the hell out of there,” Sam said to the phone and then nodded, as if Chuck could see him. “See you soon, man.”
Dean motioned for Sam to follow him as he left the sitting area and searched the rest of the bottom floor for a living room. He found a large flat screen television with a large, plush couch set before it and he reached for the remote as he threw himself down, mentally sending up a prayer that Cas wouldn’t have some complicated fucking TV.
When the television turned on, it was already set to WABC-TV.
“This is Laura Behnke and we are getting reports that just minutes ago there was an explosion in one of the larger warehouses at the Venice Marina in Brighton Beach. There are multiple calls coming in from homeowners and beach goers around the area that felt the aftershocks from the blast. Our own David Novarro was in the area covering another story and is on scene.” The camera cut to another location. “David, when you say exploded do you mean --”
“Yes, Laura, I mean exploded! As you well know, we are here at Kingsborough Community College this afternoon and you can see,” he turned his back to the camera and pointed behind him, “You can see right across here, this is Sheepshead Bay, the dark plumes of smoke from a warehouse – Laura, the blast took nearly everyone off their feet.”
The footage cut from the reporter and zoomed in on a large, black smoke cloud. Dean leaned closer to the TV, squinting, and could just make out bright white ash floating up into the air before it cut back to David Novarro.
“The campus has gone into lockdown and if you look closely, you can see first responders have now arrived at the scene. I’m not sure what was being stored in that warehouse Laura, but it sure wasn’t fireproof!”
“So scary, I’m glad you’re safe David! We will have updates on the warehouse explosion as we get them. Stay tuned, this is ABC7 with your Eyewitness News!”
Dean clicked the TV off and turned his head to look at his brother. “They’re going to think this was a terrorist attack,” Dean sighed, leaning back into the couch.
Sam shrugged his shoulders and followed suit. “Well, you and I trained Chuck personally. So hopefully they left no trace.” Sam paused and then added, “Plus, with the amount of illegal substances Bellomo had in that warehouse… Once they figure out who it belonged to, they’ll know. I don’t think Chuck remembered the amount of ammo they had in there, I doubt he meant for the warehouse to actually explode.”
Dean nodded and then pulled out his phone. “I’m going to let Castiel know it’s taken care of, tell him to turn on the news if he can.”
Sam nodded and pushed off of the couch. “I’ll see if I can find something to eat and see where Bobby’s at with Gordon.”
Dean nodded and waited for his brother to leave the room before he called Castiel. It didn’t matter that Sammy knew, he sure as hell didn’t want to flaunt… whatever the hell he and Castiel were. As he lifted the ringing phone to his ear he crossed his fingers that Castiel would actually answer.
When the phone clicked over to voicemail, Dean sighed and prepared himself to leave a message. “Hey, it’s me. It’s done. I’m hoping that you found your brother… Call me back, keep me in the loop. Also, su casa is mi casa and Sam’s going to eat all your food.” Dean paused and cleared his throat. “Be safe.”
Adirondack Health Emergency Center - Room 128
29 Church Street
Lake Placid, NY
Castiel sighed, leaning forward to let his head fall into his hands. It had been a ten minute drive to the emergency center, and in that time… Gabriel’s breathing had shallowed to six breaths a minute and Castiel feared that his brother would be dead upon arrival. Rufus had stopped the car on the walkway to the entrance of the hospital and without Castiel’s prompting, had run inside to alert the staff that they needed assistance.
They came out with a gurney, strapped a plastic board to Gabriel’s back, and immediately hooked him up to oxygen. Castiel was sure he had never seen his brother look so pale… so small. Gabriel was the one with the most energy, a natural light shining from him, and to see him this way?
It had been four hours and Castiel had moved to six different chairs in the emergency room waiting area, snapped at four different nurses, and still knew nothing about his brother’s condition other than, “it’s serious” and “we will let you know soon, Mr. Krushnic.”
“Castiel.” Rufus’ low voice had Castiel’s head snapping up and the older man motioned ahead of them to where a tall Omega was standing. Castiel recognized him as the Doctor who had asked him about medications Gabriel might be on and he jumped to his feet.
“Doctor! Gabriel… is he…?”
“Why don’t we speak outside of the waiting room, Mr. Krushnic.” The doctor gave him a smile, most likely trying to be understanding, supportive, but Castiel wanted to draw his gun and shoot him between the eyes. “Will your partner be joining us?”
Castiel threw a look over his shoulder at Rufus and then shook his head.
“No, this is family.”
“Follow me.”
Castiel followed the man down a hallway to a small conference room. It looked cheery, the walls painted bright and the chairs looked comfortable, but all Castiel could smell was stress and grief. It put him on edge.
“Doctor, my brother… please.”
“Your brother is going to live, Mr. Krushnic.” Castiel let out a sigh of relief and fell into one of the chairs. “But he is in for a very long recovery…”
“He is strong, he can do it,” Castiel assured him, shoving a hand back through his hair and tugging at the roots. Gabriel was alive. He was alive! He looked at the name badge dangling from the doctor’s jacket, “Dr. Waterberg, What… what are his injuries?”
“Well, Gabriel had multiple contusions and lacerations to his chest, head, back and shoulders. I applied fourteen stitches to the head wound and he is lucky it was superficial. From the CT scan, we saw that his left hand has been shattered and I have sent for an ortho consult. Currently, we have his hand set in a simple plaster cast so that he doesn’t move his wrist or fingers. His right shoulder had been dislocated and that has been set and immobilized for the time being. He has a few broken ribs, a broken clavicle, and a shattered zygomatic bone.”
“His… what?” Castiel looked at the doctor in confusion as he tried to process all of the Gabriel’s injuries. He knew that it would be bad, could see that his brother had the ever living hell beaten out of him, and yet…
“His collar bone and cheekbone,” the doctor answered, giving Castiel a small smile. “I’m sure you saw the swelling on his right eye.” Castiel nodded.“He is lucky,” Dr. Waterberg continued, “that no bone fragments traveled upwards. He should have no issues with his vision once the swelling goes down.”
“Okay,” Castiel breathed out softly, nodding his head. “But… there was blood. A lot of blood.”
“Yes… The injuries that I’ve described so far, while painful, are the least of your brother’s problems. Gabriel was,” the doctor’s brows rose slightly, “quite literally stabbed in the back. The instrument used, based on the injuries, was a sharp object, most likely a knife. The cut is relatively clean. However, it cut into his spinal cord. Luckily the injury was incomplete, meaning it did not sever the cord completely. The injury is at the T4-T5 level.”
Castiel shook his head slowly, the movement increasing in speed as he realized what the doctor was telling him. “No… no, Gabriel can’t… If he can’t walk he will--”
“Mr. Krushnic,” the doctor interrupted, reaching across the table to grab Castiel’s arm, effectively silencing him. “Gabriel has yet to wake up, his body is still in shock, but until then we should not make any assumptions. I am telling you that spinal injuries are not good, but it does not mean Gabriel will never walk again. If that is the case, we have plenty of groups and rehabilitation programs that can assist him in living a… normal life.”
Castiel looked up and met the doctor's eyes, knowing the man knew that whatever type of life the two brothers led, it was nothing compared to ‘normal’.
“Spinal injuries take time to heal, hard work, and he is going to need support from his family if he has any chance of walking out of this hospital.”
Castiel nodded slowly, swallowing hard before he asked, “Is that everything?”
“We have started him on a prophylactic antibiotic and anticoagulant. His respirations have increased, so we were able to start a morphine drip for the pain. Unfortunately,” Dr. Waterberg grimaced, “your brother will probably still wake up in pain. As of right now,” he looked steadily at Castiel, “we can only assume that he has musculoskeletal pain from his injuries, and we won’t know about any neuropathic pain until he can communicate that with us.”
“I don’t understand,” Castiel’s voice came out in almost a whisper. “What is the difference? Pain is pain.”
Dr. Waterberg nodded and explained, “While that is true, neuropathic pain is directly related to damaged nerve endings. Something between the nerve endings and the brain isn’t communicating accurately, and therefore, the pain can be different than our ‘normal’ run of the mill pain. It can be treated differently as well, but Gabriel will have to be awake to communicate his pain with us. Gabriel’s musculoskeletal pain is directly related to his injuries, relates to his muscles and bones healing from the ordeal his body went through.” He paused and gave Castiel what was supposed to be a comforting smile. “Don’t worry, Mr. Krushnic. We know how to treat both kinds of pain and will make sure your brother is as comfortable as he can be.”
Castiel stood and swallowed to wet a suddenly dry throat. “Can I see him?”
The doctor nodded as he stood up. “Of course. Just understand that we have him heavily sedated and he will most likely sleep the rest of the day but you are more than welcome to sit with him. Please,” he walked toward the door, “don’t hesitate to ask one of the nurses to page me with any questions.”
“How long will my brother be here?” Castiel finally found his voice as he followed the doctor out of the meeting room. “When can I take him home?”
“I will send some material down about his injury and some options for rehabilitation.” Dr. Waterberg reached out and gave the Pakhan a comforting clap on the shoulder. “Just… remember that this is extremely early on the long road ahead for him. Optimism, Mr. Krushnic, is what will get your brother through.”
Castiel was given quick instructions to Gabriel’s room and then walked back out to the waiting room. He nodded farewell to the doctor before making his way over to Rufus. “Thank you for your help today. I'm going to stay here with Gabriel. You can take my Expedition and go back to the city, back to your men.”
Rufus stood and shook his head. ‘No can do, Pakhan. Where you go, I go.”
Castiel raised a tired brow. “I can take care of myself and you have men to get back to.”
“And,” Rufus gave the younger man a wry smile, “with all due respect, Pakhan? I have my orders from my Don and they are to stay with you.” He looked appraisingly at the young Pakhan. “After what went down with your brother, it would be irresponsible of me to leave you with no protection. I do not believe it wise to call any of your own men here for protection.”
Castiel’s eyes narrowed but he had no chance to protest.
“Look,” Rufus moved toward Castiel, “I know you can take care of yourself. But, how can you sit with your brother, be there for him, and keep watch for you both?”
Castiel let out a long sigh, clicking his tongue. “Yes, Rufus. You are right.” He swallowed hard and looked away from the other man. “Thank you,” he added in a whisper.
Rufus nodded toward the main hall. “Let’s go see your brother,” he took out his phone, “I’m going to update Dean and get some reinforcements.”
Once they reached the room, Rufus gave Castiel a tight nod as he leaned against the wall to the left of the door, giving the Pakhan the privacy he needed to see his brother for the first time. As he entered, Castiel was met with the sounds of machines beeping, too loud in the quiet room. Castiel sank down in the seat next to his brother and sighed. “Whatever the damage is, you are the strongest person I know brat. If anyone can overcome this? It's you.”
He sat in silence for what felt like hours, watching the various monitors surrounding Gabriel’s bed. Then he felt his phone vibrate and he reached into his pocket, pulling it out. He had three missed calls and a voicemail, all of them from Dean. He listened to the voicemail and then pressed the call back button.
“Cas,” Dean sighed and Castiel could hear the relief in his voice.
“Hello, Dean. I assume, judging by your voicemail about Sam eating all my food, that you got my message. You and Sam didn't go to the club?”
“Yeah, Cas, I got your message. We came straight to your house when we arrived. Did you find Gabriel?”
Castiel took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he sat back in his seat. “Yeah we found him.”
“Cas… Was--” Dean paused, unsure how to continue.
“He is alive… But barely,” Castiel answered Dean’s unasked question. “Rufus drove us to the nearest hospital. He's got a long road to recovery ahead of him but if anyone can come through this stronger, it's him... Thank you for sending Rufus with me. I don't think I could have gotten Gabriel to the hospital in time if I had gone alone. You were right about him, Dean. He is a good man.”
“I'm glad Gabriel is alive, Cas. We will find out who did this,” Dean replied.
“I know who did it. Gabriel was conscious when we found him and he gave me the name of the man that orchestrated it. It was Lucifer,” Castiel growled, “my so called ‘brother’.”
“Lucifer? As in your actual brother Lucifer?” Castiel could hear the shock in Dean's voice.
“Yes, Lucifer is in with Bellomo. He wants to take me down and become Pakhan. He kidnapped Gabriel to get him on his side.” He let out a long sigh. “Lucifer isn’t stupid, Dean. He knows that I let my guard down around Gabriel and he intended to take advantage of that. Once he realized that Gabriel would never turn on me, he– he,” Castiel felt his emotions rising to the surface and swallowed them back. “Dean he tortured him! Gabriel gave him nothing!”
“Oh, man,” Dean let out a muttered curse, “I am so sorry…”
“Gabriel would die to protect me and he almost did! Dean, God! My brother tortured my brother! He stabbed him, left him for dead. I don’t even know what to do with that!” Castiel reined himself in and sucked in a deep breath, “No,” his voice got quiet, “I know exactly what to do with that.”
“Gabriel is alive,” Dean soothed. “Concentrate on that right now.”
“I am,” Castiel said softly. “We… We were lucky we found him when we did. He wouldn't have lasted much longer.”
Castiel heard Dean let out a heavy breath before he asked, “Where's Lucifer now?”
Castiel sighed, letting his eyes fall closed. “I have no clue Dean... but I will find him and he will pay.”
“I have no doubt. I’d do the same,” Dean paused and Castiel heard him talking softly to someone else. “I’m sending a couple more guys,” he said coming back on the line.
“Okay,” Castiel conceded and looked up as Rufus moved into the doorway.
“I’m grabbing a change of clothes,” Rufus said as he grabbed the door handle. “Just… please stay in the room, Pakhan? Five minutes.”
Castiel rolled his eyes but nodded and watched as the older Alpha shut the room door with a soft click. Silence fell between him and Dean before Castiel spoke again. “So the warehouse… it's done?”
Dean huffed a small laugh. “Yeah it's done, it rattled the ho--”
The door to Gabriel’s room clicked opened and Castiel cut Dean off with a quick, “Hold on,” as he looked up to see who was entering. He blinked, confused as he recognized two men from his Bratva. “What are you two doing here? How did you know I --”
Castiel Krushnic’s House
4140 Ocean Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
“Cas? Who’s there?” Dean yelled into the silent phone, confused when Castiel stopped mid-sentence. He pulled the phone back and glanced down at it, making sure he hadn’t been disconnected. The timer was still counting the minutes of the call and Dean pressed the phone back just in time to hear muffled voices before a soft, rapid popping sound.
“Cas! Castiel!? Are you still there? Who came in?” Dean felt his stomach flip. He was no stranger to that noise, he’d heard it enough, caused it enough, to be able to identify it immediately.
Someone was shooting a handgun with a silencer attached in Gabriel’s room. Dean felt all the blood drain from his face.
“Cas! God dammit answer me!” Dean looked down at his phone once again and this time the call had been disconnected. He redialed Cas’ number, swearing when it went straight to voicemail.
“Shit, shit,” Dean murmured as he scrolled through his contacts and pressed call.
“Rufus!” Dean exclaimed.
“Dammit I'm old boy,” Rufus groused, “not deaf!”
“Where are you?” Dean yelled, ignoring Rufus’ complaint. “Why aren’t you with Castiel?”
“No, I'm in the parking garage. I told the Pakhan I was getting my ‘go’ bags.”
“Rufus. Listen carefully to me.” Dean’s voice dropped and he gripped the phone tightly, trying to ignore the way his fingers were shaking. “The Pakhan is in trouble. I was just on the phone with him before the call abruptly ended. But before it did, I heard two popping noises. It was a handgun equipped with a silencer, I'm sure of it. I need you to go now, go help him,” Dean explained.
“I'm on it, Boss,” Rufus replied before he ended the phone call.
Dean exhaled slowly as he sank down into the couch behind him, glancing down at the dark screen of his phone as he did so. “Come on, Cas…” He sighed, pressing the home button to light up the screen, just in case he had missed a call. “Call me back! Just let me know you’re okay…”
Dean was met with silence and he was hit with the sudden urge to break something. He knew, could feel it in his gut… Castiel was in trouble. And there wasn’t a damn thing Dean could do about it.
“Fuck!” he roared, ripping the pillow from beside him away from the couch and flinging it across the room. It smacked against the curio cabinet and rattled the china inside. Two tea cups rattled their way right off of the shelf, shattering on the floor. Dean almost felt guilty, could almost feel how annoyed Castiel would be, and he craved it. He wished Castiel was there to yell at him, to force him to clean up the mess.
But Castiel wasn’t there. Dean wasn’t even sure Castiel was okay… He buried his head into his hands and flinched when the cushion beside him sank down. He hadn’t even known Sam was in the room with him… Sam was trying to pulse out waves of calm, of comfort, and Dean swallowed hard, letting himself sink into a moment of weakness where Sam could be the strong one for once.
Adirondack Health Emergency Center
29 Church Street
Lake Placid, NY
Rufus jogged through the parking garage and slowed to a brisk walk upon entering the hospital as to not draw any unwanted attention to himself. He strode up to the receptionist desk and flashed a smile at the nurse on his way by. She smiled back at him and he continued to the elevator, punching the ‘B’ button.
Stepping into the hallway, it was surprisingly quiet. Rufus looked to his left and then right, making sure no one was around before he pulled his gun out. Then he made his way to Gabriel’s door. He stood slightly to the side before he shoved it open and ducked into the room, gun pointed and ready to fire.
In the center of the room, Castiel was fighting with a man who was struggling to angle the gun in his hand towards Castiel’s head. Rufus surveyed the rest of the room quickly; Gabriel was lying, possibly comatose, in the bed and there was a body lying on the floor at the base of the bed, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle. Castiel had clearly been able to take the first man down by breaking his neck before he was jumped by the gunman.
Near Rufus’ feet was a gun with a silencer, most likely having skid away from the dead man’s body when he hit the floor, and he reached down to grab it after holstering his own, knowing his would be too loud. Looking back at the fight, he saw Castiel's back was to him, unfortunately blocking the other man's body so he couldn't take the shot.
“Pakhan!” Rufus barked. “Get out of the way!”
The man that Castiel was struggling with seemed to just notice they had company. He shoved Castiel out of the way and charged Rufus, slamming him against the wall and knocking the borrowed gun from his hand. He began to punch Rufus in the side with his free hand, raising the gun towards Rufus’ skull. Rufus’ hand shot up, wrapping around the man’s wrist and twisting to try and free the gun.
Castiel righted himself and strode over to them. Rufus glanced down and watched Castiel’s arm hook around the man’s throat, effectively pulling him off. In one fluid movement he snapped the man’s neck and released his hold, letting the corpse crumple to the floor. Rufus clutched at his sides and tried to catch his breath.
“Do you know,” Rufus rasped, “these men?”
Castiel bent down and patted the bodies down. “I did. Samandriel and Ion Nozdrin. They are members of my Elite Bratva, clearly in league with my brother Lucifer. It was bad enough knowing he had turned on me, but now this? Men I have trusted my whole life, men I would have given my life for, my own family, my flesh and blood.”
Castiel pulled a cell phone from Ion’s pocket and opened it. He read the last message out loud: “Kill them both, don't disappoint me.”
Rufus sighed, shaking his head. “Do you know who it’s from?”
Castiel was silent for a moment before he shook his head. “No… it’s a New York number, but not one I know. I am assuming it’s from my brother.”
“You need to go on the run, Pakhan… Lie low for awhile until you know who you can trust.”
Castiel nodded, glancing over at Gabriel. “I agree, but I don't know where to go. Home is out of the question, so is the property up north. Gabriel isn’t safe either...”
“I...” Rufus started then paused, thinking over what he was going to say next. “I know a place where no one will find you. It's a hunting cabin Bobby and I own, it's off the grid. You’ll be safe there. It's about a two hour drive.”
Castiel nodded absently, eyes still locked on his brother lying in the bed. “I can't leave Gabriel here, they will come back for him. Once Samandriel and Ion haven't checked in, I'm sure Lucifer will dispatch someone else.”
Rufus shook his head. “I wouldn't expect you to leave your brother. You need to go and speak to his doctor, tell him you want him transferred to Porter Medical Center in Vermont. It's the closest hospital to the cabin… Go, now. We need to get out of here as soon as possible.”
Castiel pointed to the bodies on the floor. “What are we going to do about them?”
Rufus furrowed his brows as he stared at the bodies, thinking over their options. He looked up Castiel. “Go work on getting your brother transferred and I’ll take care of the trash.”
Castiel nodded, giving Rufus a grateful smile, and left the room. Rufus sighed, looked down at the bodies and mumbled, “I'm going to need a gurney.”
***
Castiel sighed as he made his way back to Gabriel’s room. He had fought with the nurses for over an hour, trying to stress that he needed Gabriel to be transferred immediately to another hospital. They had made their notes, gotten permission from the doctor saying that Gabriel was medically stable for transportation, but the rest was a waiting game.
The hospitalist at Porter Medical Center would have to accept Gabriel, for one, though each of the nurses he spoke to assured Castiel that there was no reason why they wouldn’t accept him. They just had to make sure that there was a bed ready. The bottom line was that nothing was going to happen until the morning, no matter how frustrated Castiel became.
“He’s fine for tonight. Get some sleep Mr. Krushnic, we will get things started first thing in the morning.” The nurse had smiled, patted his arm, and Castiel had to remind himself that shooting her wasn’t going to get him very far.
The only thing he managed to get accomplished that evening was making Gabriel a ‘Privacy Patient’ and getting him a different room. No one, other than Castiel and Rufus were allowed to know Gabriel was even still a patient there. His name would be removed from their census, from outside of the door, no one could call and ask to speak to them. It was the best security Castiel could come up with for his limited resources.
Castiel dropped down into the chair in Gabriel’s new room and looked up as Rufus entered, shutting the door behind him and leaning against it. “Did you take care of the bodies?”
“In the morgue,” Rufus grunted as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Castiel furrowed his brows. “How the hell did you manage that?”
Rufus scoffed and shook his head. “I have my ways, Pakhan. I have been in this business since before you were born.”
Castiel laughed before he cleared his throat and got back to business. “They can't transfer Gabriel until tomorrow, but with this new room and by making Gabriel a privacy patient, I am hoping he will be safe until then.” Castiel patted at his pockets and sighed, frustrated. “Did you happen to see my phone while you were cleaning up the room? I dropped it when I was attacked.”
“Yeah,” Rufus replied. “It got busted. Most likely stepped on... I disposed of it.”
Castiel sighed and let his head drop down into his hands, trying to get himself comfortable. He could hear Rufus shifting by the door and without saying it out loud, Castiel knew he was going to take the first shift.
The night passed slowly, but thankfully with no other problems. It was only a couple hours later that Rufus’s phone let out a soft beep. Castiel saw him speak softly into it and when he looked up he unnecessarily whispered, “My guys are here.”
Castiel’s brows shot up softly. “What if…”
“They won’t be seen,” Rufus reassured him, “they’re not on the floor, they’re in the garages and on the street. We’re on our own in here, but it’s gonna be tough to get passed them.”
Castiel nodded and settled in for the night. He started talking to the day shift as soon as they got there at seven o’clock and they were loading Gabriel into the ambulance to be transferred before noon. It was a good sign when Gabriel had woken earlier in the morning before the doctor came in. Castiel quickly explained the situation to him. Before he could get into too much detail, the nurse had come in to do a full head to toe assessment and get the doctor for them.
Gabriel was sedated right before they left for the ride and Castiel made sure he and Rufus were behind the wheel, ready to follow the transport. As they edged onto the highway, Castiel remembered he had been on the phone with Dean when he’d been attacked.
“Can I borrow your phone to make a call to Don Winchester?”
Rufus nodded and pulled his phone from his pocket, glancing down at it quickly before he swore. “I’ll be damned...” The phone’s screen was spidered but more importantly it was nearly out of charge. “I should have gotten another one from one of my crew before I sent them off…” Castiel nodded, knowing Rufus had told his men to disperse. It had taken a bit of persuasion, but Castiel had, somehow, convinced Rufus to let their new location be between them, and them alone. “I don’t think there’s enough charge in here to make a call.”
Castiel sighed and lay back against the cool leather seats. He reached down to hit the lever, lowering the seat back so he could stretch out. It felt good, it was hot in this damn car, and he said as much to Rufus.
“Shut your eyes and get some sleep, Pakhan,” Rufus shot back, turning the air up a notch and giving Castiel a strange look. “Freezing my balls off will keep me awake at least.”
Castiel snorted and let his eyes fall closed, focusing on the cool air and cool seat seeping into his skin. He bit back his comment of telling Rufus he was only cold because he was old. Wasn’t worth the fight.
Rufus’ & Bobby’s Hunting Cabin
1572 Quaker Village Road
Weybridge, Vermont
It took the majority of the day to get Gabriel settled into the new hospital and for Rufus to show him around the town of Middlebury where the hospital was and around the town of Weybridge so he could get groceries and supplies for as long as he was at the cabin. It was past ten when they finally got to the cabin and all Castiel wanted to do was go to bed. He felt feverish, his skin was crawling, and his body ached. He was sure he was coming down with something, probably picked it up at the hospital, and that was absolutely the last thing he needed right now.
Rufus went out to get them something quick for dinner, deciding it was best if he stayed the night since it was already so late, before going back to New York in the morning. Rufus paced the kitchen while he stressed out about calling Dean and updating him.
“He’s going to kill me, Pakhan,” Rufus sighed as he slipped into one of the dining room chairs as Castiel set the table with some paper plates he’d found.
“I will extend my protection over you, Rufus,” Castiel smiled at him. “Plus, we both know I would’ve shot you if you called him.”
Rufus glared at him and for the rest of the meal, they were silent, Rufus casting wary glances at Castiel. Finally, he broke and asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah I'm fine,” Castiel replied not believing the words coming out of his own mouth, so he wasn’t sure how Rufus was supposed to. Eating had done nothing to help him feel better. If anything, he felt worse.
“You sure? Cause I gotta say, you are not looking so well.”
Castiel sighed. “I'm just tired, it’s been a long couple of days. I'm sure I will be fine after a good night’s sleep.”
Castiel finished off his food and bid Rufus good night before heading to the room Rufus had set up for him. As he sat down on the edge of the bed he was suddenly hit with the realization that not only did he not have a bag of clothes--which was honestly not that big of a deal since there were stores close by-- but he didn't have his suppressants or scent blockers either. Unfortunately, that meant he would have to make a doctor's appointment with someone in town using his fake ID and hope no one managed to recognize him. And he would need to do that as soon as possible.
He sighed, stripping out of all of his clothes before crawling underneath the covers. He still felt hot, shaky, and it wasn’t long before he kicked off everything except for the thin cotton sheet. Finally, sleep came to him and Castiel was grateful for the escape it provided.
As the morning sun streamed in through the window and onto Castiel’s skin, he felt hot. Too goddamn hot and he groaned as he rolled out of the bed, feeling a hundred times worse than he had the day before. Now not only was he feverish and achy, he was sweating and shaking. The flu. He had to be coming down with the flu... only that could make him feel this shitty.
He trudged into the living room trying not to let his appearance give away how he felt. But clearly he wasn't fooling Rufus. The older Alpha’s brows rose when he saw Castiel. “You look horrible, Pakhan… Are you sure you will be fine alone?”
Castiel sat down on the couch with a plop, biting back the groan as his knees popped. “You have been gone two days with barely checking in. You have men to lead and I'm sure Don Winchester is worried about your well-being.” He paused, both of them knowing the Don would be pissed at the radio silence. “I will be fine, go.”
“I will take your Expedition back and park it at your house. Keys to my truck are hanging by the garage door. Feel free to use it as much as you need.”
“The large silver key is the house key,” Castiel offered, leaning his head back into the couch. “And the code is 391059 to turn off the system.”
Rufus nodded, grunting his response to let Castiel know he’d heard him as grabbed his wallet and the keys to the vehicle before he started for the door.
“Thank you,” Castiel stated sincerely.
Rufus nodded and walked out the door.
Previous || Master Post || Next || Glossary
4140 Ocean Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
Dean looked around at the large house before him, side glancing over at Sam before he exited the Impala. Castiel’s text had been short, but it got his point across. Do not go to the club was quickly followed by an address. Dean had texted him back, asking if he’d found Gabe, why the club was a bad idea, but it had been radio silence ever since.
“Who do you think this house belongs to?” Sam started up to the front steps.
Dean shrugged his shoulders and walked up the steps, knocking on the door with three quick raps before he stepped to the side. Although he was sure Castiel wouldn’t send him or Sam into any danger, standing point blank in front of a door was just asking for it.
After a few minutes of silence, Sam leaned in and tried knocking himself.
“I don’t think anyone’s home,” Sam muttered and Dean rolled his eyes, walking to the large bay window on the left side of the door and cupping his face against it. The house was dark, but the window was cracked, and Dean could smell the mingling scent of spruce and orange blossoms coming from inside.
“It’s Cas’ house. Come on.” He pushed away from the window and stepped off the porch, moving around the side of the house.
“Cas? You call him Cas?” Sam asked from behind him as he followed after his brother. Dean rolled his eyes but stayed silent. The house itself was huge, bigger than Dean’s own, and Dean’s house almost hit four thousand square feet. They hopped up onto the back deck and Dean tried the back door, unsurprisingly finding it locked.
“You got a kit?” He looked over his shoulder at Sam who was already pulling the leather case out of his pocket and untying the strap. Dean smiled, remembering how their father who passed down his own tools and taught them everything they needed to know. Sam pulled out a lock pick and got to work on the back door.
Dean watched as his brother unlocked the door in just seconds and just as Sam reached for the knob, a thought hit him.
“Um, Sammy, do you think Cas has a security system?”
A loud screeching from inside of the house was the only answer they needed, and the brother’s pushed their way inside and slammed the back door shut.
“How do we turn it off?” Dean yelled over the sound and Sam made his way to the box, looking at it for a few seconds before he started punching in a code.
When the silence returned, it left Dean’s ears ringing. He stared at his brother for a moment before he asked, “How the hell did you do that?”
Sam shrugged his shoulders. “Learned the master codes of different companies around the area. Luckily, Castiel uses the same company we have back in Boston.”
“You memorized a shit ton of number codes… for fun?” Dean snorted and pushed past him. “You’re a freak, Sammy.”
“I could set it back off and you can have the police shut it off for you instead!” Sam fired back, but followed Dean through the downstairs of the house.
The house was clean, and Dean somehow knew that, unlike himself, Castiel probably did his own housework instead of hiring someone. Castiel was private and he couldn’t imagine him allowing someone he didn’t know to tramp through his house.
Each room smelled of Castiel, and if Dean closed his eyes he could almost imagine the Omega standing beside him instead of Sam. When they reached a sitting area, Dean made a beeline for a large arm chair that he knew was where Castiel usually sat. He sank down into it and breathed in deeply, only opening his eyes when Sam made a noise.
“You’re fucking in deep, Dean,” Sam muttered, sitting on the couch opposite him.
Dean crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his brother.
“Whatever,” Sam said, undeterred by his brother’s defiance. “Deny it all you want.”
“It’s not going to happen Sammy. So move on.”
Sam was silent for a moment before he sighed and changed the subject. “I got word from Adam about Bellomo’s warehouse…”
Dean raised an eyebrow, encouraging Sam to continue.
“He said they were successful in keeping things from Gordon so far.” Sam smoothed his hands over his thighs. “I kind of put Shurley in a temporary position as Capo while we’re figuring out things with Gordon.”
“Is he strong enough to be a Capo?” Dean sat forward running a hand down his face. “Shurley is a bit…”
“I know,” Sam agreed, nodding his head. “But he’s got more backbone than you think. He’s just got an odd way of showing it…”
Dean shrugged, trusting his brother’s opinion.
“Anyway,” Sam continued, “I gave him a quick update about what was going on and told him that he was in charge of both Rufus’ soldiers and Gordon’s while the two of them were busy. I told him to be wary of who he gave information to -- everything is on a need to know basis.”
“Alright, that’s good.” Dean sat back adjusting his jacket. “I hope that Gordon doesn’t have a large following… We’re going to have to weed through his soldiers you know.” Dean sighed and Sam nodded, thinking.
“Well, that’s why I told Shurley to keep most of Rufus’ guys on the warehouse. He told me everything is all set, just waiting for your command.”
“Did you hear from Bobby?” Dean asked, leaning forward and placing his elbows against his knees. “Is Gordon actually out of commission right now?”
“Yeah, Bobby told him that he was needed back in Boston for his family. He… strongly suggested that Mrs. Walker play along and tell her husband that their son was sick and in the hospital.” He raked his hand through his hair as he matched his brother’s position. “Gordon didn’t ask too many questions after that and they left this afternoon.”
“All right, good.” Dean pushed out of the chair and paced before the fireplace, Sam’s eyes tracking his movement. “All right. Get Shurley on the phone. Cas is busy, and I can only hope that means he’s found Gabriel.”
Sam lifted his hips from the couch and pulled his phone free from his jeans, pressing a few buttons on the screen before pressing the phone against his ear. “Chuck? Everything ready to go?” Sam paused and Dean turned back to watch his brother. “Okay… Are we ready…?” Sam let the question trail and glanced up to meet his brother’s eyes.
“Blow it up,” Dean answered and Sam smiled, nodding as he gave the command to Shurley. The brother’s let silence fall over them again and then suddenly the entire house was shaking, glass from various cabinets, liquor bottles, china, were clinking. Dean was almost knocked off balance and reached for the mantle of the fireplace, his eyes widening as he stared at Sam.
“I hope you got the hell out of there,” Sam said to the phone and then nodded, as if Chuck could see him. “See you soon, man.”
Dean motioned for Sam to follow him as he left the sitting area and searched the rest of the bottom floor for a living room. He found a large flat screen television with a large, plush couch set before it and he reached for the remote as he threw himself down, mentally sending up a prayer that Cas wouldn’t have some complicated fucking TV.
When the television turned on, it was already set to WABC-TV.
“This is Laura Behnke and we are getting reports that just minutes ago there was an explosion in one of the larger warehouses at the Venice Marina in Brighton Beach. There are multiple calls coming in from homeowners and beach goers around the area that felt the aftershocks from the blast. Our own David Novarro was in the area covering another story and is on scene.” The camera cut to another location. “David, when you say exploded do you mean --”
“Yes, Laura, I mean exploded! As you well know, we are here at Kingsborough Community College this afternoon and you can see,” he turned his back to the camera and pointed behind him, “You can see right across here, this is Sheepshead Bay, the dark plumes of smoke from a warehouse – Laura, the blast took nearly everyone off their feet.”
The footage cut from the reporter and zoomed in on a large, black smoke cloud. Dean leaned closer to the TV, squinting, and could just make out bright white ash floating up into the air before it cut back to David Novarro.
“The campus has gone into lockdown and if you look closely, you can see first responders have now arrived at the scene. I’m not sure what was being stored in that warehouse Laura, but it sure wasn’t fireproof!”
“So scary, I’m glad you’re safe David! We will have updates on the warehouse explosion as we get them. Stay tuned, this is ABC7 with your Eyewitness News!”
Dean clicked the TV off and turned his head to look at his brother. “They’re going to think this was a terrorist attack,” Dean sighed, leaning back into the couch.
Sam shrugged his shoulders and followed suit. “Well, you and I trained Chuck personally. So hopefully they left no trace.” Sam paused and then added, “Plus, with the amount of illegal substances Bellomo had in that warehouse… Once they figure out who it belonged to, they’ll know. I don’t think Chuck remembered the amount of ammo they had in there, I doubt he meant for the warehouse to actually explode.”
Dean nodded and then pulled out his phone. “I’m going to let Castiel know it’s taken care of, tell him to turn on the news if he can.”
Sam nodded and pushed off of the couch. “I’ll see if I can find something to eat and see where Bobby’s at with Gordon.”
Dean nodded and waited for his brother to leave the room before he called Castiel. It didn’t matter that Sammy knew, he sure as hell didn’t want to flaunt… whatever the hell he and Castiel were. As he lifted the ringing phone to his ear he crossed his fingers that Castiel would actually answer.
When the phone clicked over to voicemail, Dean sighed and prepared himself to leave a message. “Hey, it’s me. It’s done. I’m hoping that you found your brother… Call me back, keep me in the loop. Also, su casa is mi casa and Sam’s going to eat all your food.” Dean paused and cleared his throat. “Be safe.”
Adirondack Health Emergency Center - Room 128
29 Church Street
Lake Placid, NY
Castiel sighed, leaning forward to let his head fall into his hands. It had been a ten minute drive to the emergency center, and in that time… Gabriel’s breathing had shallowed to six breaths a minute and Castiel feared that his brother would be dead upon arrival. Rufus had stopped the car on the walkway to the entrance of the hospital and without Castiel’s prompting, had run inside to alert the staff that they needed assistance.
They came out with a gurney, strapped a plastic board to Gabriel’s back, and immediately hooked him up to oxygen. Castiel was sure he had never seen his brother look so pale… so small. Gabriel was the one with the most energy, a natural light shining from him, and to see him this way?
It had been four hours and Castiel had moved to six different chairs in the emergency room waiting area, snapped at four different nurses, and still knew nothing about his brother’s condition other than, “it’s serious” and “we will let you know soon, Mr. Krushnic.”
“Castiel.” Rufus’ low voice had Castiel’s head snapping up and the older man motioned ahead of them to where a tall Omega was standing. Castiel recognized him as the Doctor who had asked him about medications Gabriel might be on and he jumped to his feet.
“Doctor! Gabriel… is he…?”
“Why don’t we speak outside of the waiting room, Mr. Krushnic.” The doctor gave him a smile, most likely trying to be understanding, supportive, but Castiel wanted to draw his gun and shoot him between the eyes. “Will your partner be joining us?”
Castiel threw a look over his shoulder at Rufus and then shook his head.
“No, this is family.”
“Follow me.”
Castiel followed the man down a hallway to a small conference room. It looked cheery, the walls painted bright and the chairs looked comfortable, but all Castiel could smell was stress and grief. It put him on edge.
“Doctor, my brother… please.”
“Your brother is going to live, Mr. Krushnic.” Castiel let out a sigh of relief and fell into one of the chairs. “But he is in for a very long recovery…”
“He is strong, he can do it,” Castiel assured him, shoving a hand back through his hair and tugging at the roots. Gabriel was alive. He was alive! He looked at the name badge dangling from the doctor’s jacket, “Dr. Waterberg, What… what are his injuries?”
“Well, Gabriel had multiple contusions and lacerations to his chest, head, back and shoulders. I applied fourteen stitches to the head wound and he is lucky it was superficial. From the CT scan, we saw that his left hand has been shattered and I have sent for an ortho consult. Currently, we have his hand set in a simple plaster cast so that he doesn’t move his wrist or fingers. His right shoulder had been dislocated and that has been set and immobilized for the time being. He has a few broken ribs, a broken clavicle, and a shattered zygomatic bone.”
“His… what?” Castiel looked at the doctor in confusion as he tried to process all of the Gabriel’s injuries. He knew that it would be bad, could see that his brother had the ever living hell beaten out of him, and yet…
“His collar bone and cheekbone,” the doctor answered, giving Castiel a small smile. “I’m sure you saw the swelling on his right eye.” Castiel nodded.“He is lucky,” Dr. Waterberg continued, “that no bone fragments traveled upwards. He should have no issues with his vision once the swelling goes down.”
“Okay,” Castiel breathed out softly, nodding his head. “But… there was blood. A lot of blood.”
“Yes… The injuries that I’ve described so far, while painful, are the least of your brother’s problems. Gabriel was,” the doctor’s brows rose slightly, “quite literally stabbed in the back. The instrument used, based on the injuries, was a sharp object, most likely a knife. The cut is relatively clean. However, it cut into his spinal cord. Luckily the injury was incomplete, meaning it did not sever the cord completely. The injury is at the T4-T5 level.”
Castiel shook his head slowly, the movement increasing in speed as he realized what the doctor was telling him. “No… no, Gabriel can’t… If he can’t walk he will--”
“Mr. Krushnic,” the doctor interrupted, reaching across the table to grab Castiel’s arm, effectively silencing him. “Gabriel has yet to wake up, his body is still in shock, but until then we should not make any assumptions. I am telling you that spinal injuries are not good, but it does not mean Gabriel will never walk again. If that is the case, we have plenty of groups and rehabilitation programs that can assist him in living a… normal life.”
Castiel looked up and met the doctor's eyes, knowing the man knew that whatever type of life the two brothers led, it was nothing compared to ‘normal’.
“Spinal injuries take time to heal, hard work, and he is going to need support from his family if he has any chance of walking out of this hospital.”
Castiel nodded slowly, swallowing hard before he asked, “Is that everything?”
“We have started him on a prophylactic antibiotic and anticoagulant. His respirations have increased, so we were able to start a morphine drip for the pain. Unfortunately,” Dr. Waterberg grimaced, “your brother will probably still wake up in pain. As of right now,” he looked steadily at Castiel, “we can only assume that he has musculoskeletal pain from his injuries, and we won’t know about any neuropathic pain until he can communicate that with us.”
“I don’t understand,” Castiel’s voice came out in almost a whisper. “What is the difference? Pain is pain.”
Dr. Waterberg nodded and explained, “While that is true, neuropathic pain is directly related to damaged nerve endings. Something between the nerve endings and the brain isn’t communicating accurately, and therefore, the pain can be different than our ‘normal’ run of the mill pain. It can be treated differently as well, but Gabriel will have to be awake to communicate his pain with us. Gabriel’s musculoskeletal pain is directly related to his injuries, relates to his muscles and bones healing from the ordeal his body went through.” He paused and gave Castiel what was supposed to be a comforting smile. “Don’t worry, Mr. Krushnic. We know how to treat both kinds of pain and will make sure your brother is as comfortable as he can be.”
Castiel stood and swallowed to wet a suddenly dry throat. “Can I see him?”
The doctor nodded as he stood up. “Of course. Just understand that we have him heavily sedated and he will most likely sleep the rest of the day but you are more than welcome to sit with him. Please,” he walked toward the door, “don’t hesitate to ask one of the nurses to page me with any questions.”
“How long will my brother be here?” Castiel finally found his voice as he followed the doctor out of the meeting room. “When can I take him home?”
“I will send some material down about his injury and some options for rehabilitation.” Dr. Waterberg reached out and gave the Pakhan a comforting clap on the shoulder. “Just… remember that this is extremely early on the long road ahead for him. Optimism, Mr. Krushnic, is what will get your brother through.”
Castiel was given quick instructions to Gabriel’s room and then walked back out to the waiting room. He nodded farewell to the doctor before making his way over to Rufus. “Thank you for your help today. I'm going to stay here with Gabriel. You can take my Expedition and go back to the city, back to your men.”
Rufus stood and shook his head. ‘No can do, Pakhan. Where you go, I go.”
Castiel raised a tired brow. “I can take care of myself and you have men to get back to.”
“And,” Rufus gave the younger man a wry smile, “with all due respect, Pakhan? I have my orders from my Don and they are to stay with you.” He looked appraisingly at the young Pakhan. “After what went down with your brother, it would be irresponsible of me to leave you with no protection. I do not believe it wise to call any of your own men here for protection.”
Castiel’s eyes narrowed but he had no chance to protest.
“Look,” Rufus moved toward Castiel, “I know you can take care of yourself. But, how can you sit with your brother, be there for him, and keep watch for you both?”
Castiel let out a long sigh, clicking his tongue. “Yes, Rufus. You are right.” He swallowed hard and looked away from the other man. “Thank you,” he added in a whisper.
Rufus nodded toward the main hall. “Let’s go see your brother,” he took out his phone, “I’m going to update Dean and get some reinforcements.”
Once they reached the room, Rufus gave Castiel a tight nod as he leaned against the wall to the left of the door, giving the Pakhan the privacy he needed to see his brother for the first time. As he entered, Castiel was met with the sounds of machines beeping, too loud in the quiet room. Castiel sank down in the seat next to his brother and sighed. “Whatever the damage is, you are the strongest person I know brat. If anyone can overcome this? It's you.”
He sat in silence for what felt like hours, watching the various monitors surrounding Gabriel’s bed. Then he felt his phone vibrate and he reached into his pocket, pulling it out. He had three missed calls and a voicemail, all of them from Dean. He listened to the voicemail and then pressed the call back button.
“Cas,” Dean sighed and Castiel could hear the relief in his voice.
“Hello, Dean. I assume, judging by your voicemail about Sam eating all my food, that you got my message. You and Sam didn't go to the club?”
“Yeah, Cas, I got your message. We came straight to your house when we arrived. Did you find Gabriel?”
Castiel took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he sat back in his seat. “Yeah we found him.”
“Cas… Was--” Dean paused, unsure how to continue.
“He is alive… But barely,” Castiel answered Dean’s unasked question. “Rufus drove us to the nearest hospital. He's got a long road to recovery ahead of him but if anyone can come through this stronger, it's him... Thank you for sending Rufus with me. I don't think I could have gotten Gabriel to the hospital in time if I had gone alone. You were right about him, Dean. He is a good man.”
“I'm glad Gabriel is alive, Cas. We will find out who did this,” Dean replied.
“I know who did it. Gabriel was conscious when we found him and he gave me the name of the man that orchestrated it. It was Lucifer,” Castiel growled, “my so called ‘brother’.”
“Lucifer? As in your actual brother Lucifer?” Castiel could hear the shock in Dean's voice.
“Yes, Lucifer is in with Bellomo. He wants to take me down and become Pakhan. He kidnapped Gabriel to get him on his side.” He let out a long sigh. “Lucifer isn’t stupid, Dean. He knows that I let my guard down around Gabriel and he intended to take advantage of that. Once he realized that Gabriel would never turn on me, he– he,” Castiel felt his emotions rising to the surface and swallowed them back. “Dean he tortured him! Gabriel gave him nothing!”
“Oh, man,” Dean let out a muttered curse, “I am so sorry…”
“Gabriel would die to protect me and he almost did! Dean, God! My brother tortured my brother! He stabbed him, left him for dead. I don’t even know what to do with that!” Castiel reined himself in and sucked in a deep breath, “No,” his voice got quiet, “I know exactly what to do with that.”
“Gabriel is alive,” Dean soothed. “Concentrate on that right now.”
“I am,” Castiel said softly. “We… We were lucky we found him when we did. He wouldn't have lasted much longer.”
Castiel heard Dean let out a heavy breath before he asked, “Where's Lucifer now?”
Castiel sighed, letting his eyes fall closed. “I have no clue Dean... but I will find him and he will pay.”
“I have no doubt. I’d do the same,” Dean paused and Castiel heard him talking softly to someone else. “I’m sending a couple more guys,” he said coming back on the line.
“Okay,” Castiel conceded and looked up as Rufus moved into the doorway.
“I’m grabbing a change of clothes,” Rufus said as he grabbed the door handle. “Just… please stay in the room, Pakhan? Five minutes.”
Castiel rolled his eyes but nodded and watched as the older Alpha shut the room door with a soft click. Silence fell between him and Dean before Castiel spoke again. “So the warehouse… it's done?”
Dean huffed a small laugh. “Yeah it's done, it rattled the ho--”
The door to Gabriel’s room clicked opened and Castiel cut Dean off with a quick, “Hold on,” as he looked up to see who was entering. He blinked, confused as he recognized two men from his Bratva. “What are you two doing here? How did you know I --”
Castiel Krushnic’s House
4140 Ocean Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
“Cas? Who’s there?” Dean yelled into the silent phone, confused when Castiel stopped mid-sentence. He pulled the phone back and glanced down at it, making sure he hadn’t been disconnected. The timer was still counting the minutes of the call and Dean pressed the phone back just in time to hear muffled voices before a soft, rapid popping sound.
“Cas! Castiel!? Are you still there? Who came in?” Dean felt his stomach flip. He was no stranger to that noise, he’d heard it enough, caused it enough, to be able to identify it immediately.
Someone was shooting a handgun with a silencer attached in Gabriel’s room. Dean felt all the blood drain from his face.
“Cas! God dammit answer me!” Dean looked down at his phone once again and this time the call had been disconnected. He redialed Cas’ number, swearing when it went straight to voicemail.
“Shit, shit,” Dean murmured as he scrolled through his contacts and pressed call.
“Rufus!” Dean exclaimed.
“Dammit I'm old boy,” Rufus groused, “not deaf!”
“Where are you?” Dean yelled, ignoring Rufus’ complaint. “Why aren’t you with Castiel?”
“No, I'm in the parking garage. I told the Pakhan I was getting my ‘go’ bags.”
“Rufus. Listen carefully to me.” Dean’s voice dropped and he gripped the phone tightly, trying to ignore the way his fingers were shaking. “The Pakhan is in trouble. I was just on the phone with him before the call abruptly ended. But before it did, I heard two popping noises. It was a handgun equipped with a silencer, I'm sure of it. I need you to go now, go help him,” Dean explained.
“I'm on it, Boss,” Rufus replied before he ended the phone call.
Dean exhaled slowly as he sank down into the couch behind him, glancing down at the dark screen of his phone as he did so. “Come on, Cas…” He sighed, pressing the home button to light up the screen, just in case he had missed a call. “Call me back! Just let me know you’re okay…”
Dean was met with silence and he was hit with the sudden urge to break something. He knew, could feel it in his gut… Castiel was in trouble. And there wasn’t a damn thing Dean could do about it.
“Fuck!” he roared, ripping the pillow from beside him away from the couch and flinging it across the room. It smacked against the curio cabinet and rattled the china inside. Two tea cups rattled their way right off of the shelf, shattering on the floor. Dean almost felt guilty, could almost feel how annoyed Castiel would be, and he craved it. He wished Castiel was there to yell at him, to force him to clean up the mess.
But Castiel wasn’t there. Dean wasn’t even sure Castiel was okay… He buried his head into his hands and flinched when the cushion beside him sank down. He hadn’t even known Sam was in the room with him… Sam was trying to pulse out waves of calm, of comfort, and Dean swallowed hard, letting himself sink into a moment of weakness where Sam could be the strong one for once.
Adirondack Health Emergency Center
29 Church Street
Lake Placid, NY
Rufus jogged through the parking garage and slowed to a brisk walk upon entering the hospital as to not draw any unwanted attention to himself. He strode up to the receptionist desk and flashed a smile at the nurse on his way by. She smiled back at him and he continued to the elevator, punching the ‘B’ button.
Stepping into the hallway, it was surprisingly quiet. Rufus looked to his left and then right, making sure no one was around before he pulled his gun out. Then he made his way to Gabriel’s door. He stood slightly to the side before he shoved it open and ducked into the room, gun pointed and ready to fire.
In the center of the room, Castiel was fighting with a man who was struggling to angle the gun in his hand towards Castiel’s head. Rufus surveyed the rest of the room quickly; Gabriel was lying, possibly comatose, in the bed and there was a body lying on the floor at the base of the bed, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle. Castiel had clearly been able to take the first man down by breaking his neck before he was jumped by the gunman.
Near Rufus’ feet was a gun with a silencer, most likely having skid away from the dead man’s body when he hit the floor, and he reached down to grab it after holstering his own, knowing his would be too loud. Looking back at the fight, he saw Castiel's back was to him, unfortunately blocking the other man's body so he couldn't take the shot.
“Pakhan!” Rufus barked. “Get out of the way!”
The man that Castiel was struggling with seemed to just notice they had company. He shoved Castiel out of the way and charged Rufus, slamming him against the wall and knocking the borrowed gun from his hand. He began to punch Rufus in the side with his free hand, raising the gun towards Rufus’ skull. Rufus’ hand shot up, wrapping around the man’s wrist and twisting to try and free the gun.
Castiel righted himself and strode over to them. Rufus glanced down and watched Castiel’s arm hook around the man’s throat, effectively pulling him off. In one fluid movement he snapped the man’s neck and released his hold, letting the corpse crumple to the floor. Rufus clutched at his sides and tried to catch his breath.
“Do you know,” Rufus rasped, “these men?”
Castiel bent down and patted the bodies down. “I did. Samandriel and Ion Nozdrin. They are members of my Elite Bratva, clearly in league with my brother Lucifer. It was bad enough knowing he had turned on me, but now this? Men I have trusted my whole life, men I would have given my life for, my own family, my flesh and blood.”
Castiel pulled a cell phone from Ion’s pocket and opened it. He read the last message out loud: “Kill them both, don't disappoint me.”
Rufus sighed, shaking his head. “Do you know who it’s from?”
Castiel was silent for a moment before he shook his head. “No… it’s a New York number, but not one I know. I am assuming it’s from my brother.”
“You need to go on the run, Pakhan… Lie low for awhile until you know who you can trust.”
Castiel nodded, glancing over at Gabriel. “I agree, but I don't know where to go. Home is out of the question, so is the property up north. Gabriel isn’t safe either...”
“I...” Rufus started then paused, thinking over what he was going to say next. “I know a place where no one will find you. It's a hunting cabin Bobby and I own, it's off the grid. You’ll be safe there. It's about a two hour drive.”
Castiel nodded absently, eyes still locked on his brother lying in the bed. “I can't leave Gabriel here, they will come back for him. Once Samandriel and Ion haven't checked in, I'm sure Lucifer will dispatch someone else.”
Rufus shook his head. “I wouldn't expect you to leave your brother. You need to go and speak to his doctor, tell him you want him transferred to Porter Medical Center in Vermont. It's the closest hospital to the cabin… Go, now. We need to get out of here as soon as possible.”
Castiel pointed to the bodies on the floor. “What are we going to do about them?”
Rufus furrowed his brows as he stared at the bodies, thinking over their options. He looked up Castiel. “Go work on getting your brother transferred and I’ll take care of the trash.”
Castiel nodded, giving Rufus a grateful smile, and left the room. Rufus sighed, looked down at the bodies and mumbled, “I'm going to need a gurney.”
Castiel sighed as he made his way back to Gabriel’s room. He had fought with the nurses for over an hour, trying to stress that he needed Gabriel to be transferred immediately to another hospital. They had made their notes, gotten permission from the doctor saying that Gabriel was medically stable for transportation, but the rest was a waiting game.
The hospitalist at Porter Medical Center would have to accept Gabriel, for one, though each of the nurses he spoke to assured Castiel that there was no reason why they wouldn’t accept him. They just had to make sure that there was a bed ready. The bottom line was that nothing was going to happen until the morning, no matter how frustrated Castiel became.
“He’s fine for tonight. Get some sleep Mr. Krushnic, we will get things started first thing in the morning.” The nurse had smiled, patted his arm, and Castiel had to remind himself that shooting her wasn’t going to get him very far.
The only thing he managed to get accomplished that evening was making Gabriel a ‘Privacy Patient’ and getting him a different room. No one, other than Castiel and Rufus were allowed to know Gabriel was even still a patient there. His name would be removed from their census, from outside of the door, no one could call and ask to speak to them. It was the best security Castiel could come up with for his limited resources.
Castiel dropped down into the chair in Gabriel’s new room and looked up as Rufus entered, shutting the door behind him and leaning against it. “Did you take care of the bodies?”
“In the morgue,” Rufus grunted as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Castiel furrowed his brows. “How the hell did you manage that?”
Rufus scoffed and shook his head. “I have my ways, Pakhan. I have been in this business since before you were born.”
Castiel laughed before he cleared his throat and got back to business. “They can't transfer Gabriel until tomorrow, but with this new room and by making Gabriel a privacy patient, I am hoping he will be safe until then.” Castiel patted at his pockets and sighed, frustrated. “Did you happen to see my phone while you were cleaning up the room? I dropped it when I was attacked.”
“Yeah,” Rufus replied. “It got busted. Most likely stepped on... I disposed of it.”
Castiel sighed and let his head drop down into his hands, trying to get himself comfortable. He could hear Rufus shifting by the door and without saying it out loud, Castiel knew he was going to take the first shift.
The night passed slowly, but thankfully with no other problems. It was only a couple hours later that Rufus’s phone let out a soft beep. Castiel saw him speak softly into it and when he looked up he unnecessarily whispered, “My guys are here.”
Castiel’s brows shot up softly. “What if…”
“They won’t be seen,” Rufus reassured him, “they’re not on the floor, they’re in the garages and on the street. We’re on our own in here, but it’s gonna be tough to get passed them.”
Castiel nodded and settled in for the night. He started talking to the day shift as soon as they got there at seven o’clock and they were loading Gabriel into the ambulance to be transferred before noon. It was a good sign when Gabriel had woken earlier in the morning before the doctor came in. Castiel quickly explained the situation to him. Before he could get into too much detail, the nurse had come in to do a full head to toe assessment and get the doctor for them.
Gabriel was sedated right before they left for the ride and Castiel made sure he and Rufus were behind the wheel, ready to follow the transport. As they edged onto the highway, Castiel remembered he had been on the phone with Dean when he’d been attacked.
“Can I borrow your phone to make a call to Don Winchester?”
Rufus nodded and pulled his phone from his pocket, glancing down at it quickly before he swore. “I’ll be damned...” The phone’s screen was spidered but more importantly it was nearly out of charge. “I should have gotten another one from one of my crew before I sent them off…” Castiel nodded, knowing Rufus had told his men to disperse. It had taken a bit of persuasion, but Castiel had, somehow, convinced Rufus to let their new location be between them, and them alone. “I don’t think there’s enough charge in here to make a call.”
Castiel sighed and lay back against the cool leather seats. He reached down to hit the lever, lowering the seat back so he could stretch out. It felt good, it was hot in this damn car, and he said as much to Rufus.
“Shut your eyes and get some sleep, Pakhan,” Rufus shot back, turning the air up a notch and giving Castiel a strange look. “Freezing my balls off will keep me awake at least.”
Castiel snorted and let his eyes fall closed, focusing on the cool air and cool seat seeping into his skin. He bit back his comment of telling Rufus he was only cold because he was old. Wasn’t worth the fight.
Rufus’ & Bobby’s Hunting Cabin
1572 Quaker Village Road
Weybridge, Vermont
It took the majority of the day to get Gabriel settled into the new hospital and for Rufus to show him around the town of Middlebury where the hospital was and around the town of Weybridge so he could get groceries and supplies for as long as he was at the cabin. It was past ten when they finally got to the cabin and all Castiel wanted to do was go to bed. He felt feverish, his skin was crawling, and his body ached. He was sure he was coming down with something, probably picked it up at the hospital, and that was absolutely the last thing he needed right now.
Rufus went out to get them something quick for dinner, deciding it was best if he stayed the night since it was already so late, before going back to New York in the morning. Rufus paced the kitchen while he stressed out about calling Dean and updating him.
“He’s going to kill me, Pakhan,” Rufus sighed as he slipped into one of the dining room chairs as Castiel set the table with some paper plates he’d found.
“I will extend my protection over you, Rufus,” Castiel smiled at him. “Plus, we both know I would’ve shot you if you called him.”
Rufus glared at him and for the rest of the meal, they were silent, Rufus casting wary glances at Castiel. Finally, he broke and asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah I'm fine,” Castiel replied not believing the words coming out of his own mouth, so he wasn’t sure how Rufus was supposed to. Eating had done nothing to help him feel better. If anything, he felt worse.
“You sure? Cause I gotta say, you are not looking so well.”
Castiel sighed. “I'm just tired, it’s been a long couple of days. I'm sure I will be fine after a good night’s sleep.”
Castiel finished off his food and bid Rufus good night before heading to the room Rufus had set up for him. As he sat down on the edge of the bed he was suddenly hit with the realization that not only did he not have a bag of clothes--which was honestly not that big of a deal since there were stores close by-- but he didn't have his suppressants or scent blockers either. Unfortunately, that meant he would have to make a doctor's appointment with someone in town using his fake ID and hope no one managed to recognize him. And he would need to do that as soon as possible.
He sighed, stripping out of all of his clothes before crawling underneath the covers. He still felt hot, shaky, and it wasn’t long before he kicked off everything except for the thin cotton sheet. Finally, sleep came to him and Castiel was grateful for the escape it provided.
As the morning sun streamed in through the window and onto Castiel’s skin, he felt hot. Too goddamn hot and he groaned as he rolled out of the bed, feeling a hundred times worse than he had the day before. Now not only was he feverish and achy, he was sweating and shaking. The flu. He had to be coming down with the flu... only that could make him feel this shitty.
He trudged into the living room trying not to let his appearance give away how he felt. But clearly he wasn't fooling Rufus. The older Alpha’s brows rose when he saw Castiel. “You look horrible, Pakhan… Are you sure you will be fine alone?”
Castiel sat down on the couch with a plop, biting back the groan as his knees popped. “You have been gone two days with barely checking in. You have men to lead and I'm sure Don Winchester is worried about your well-being.” He paused, both of them knowing the Don would be pissed at the radio silence. “I will be fine, go.”
“I will take your Expedition back and park it at your house. Keys to my truck are hanging by the garage door. Feel free to use it as much as you need.”
“The large silver key is the house key,” Castiel offered, leaning his head back into the couch. “And the code is 391059 to turn off the system.”
Rufus nodded, grunting his response to let Castiel know he’d heard him as grabbed his wallet and the keys to the vehicle before he started for the door.
“Thank you,” Castiel stated sincerely.
Rufus nodded and walked out the door.
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