Here, I Am. A Rabbit Hearted Girl.

[aintnorain]

Characters: Fred and Cas
Content: Cas is sent back in time and winds up stumbling upon Fred.

Comments

[insouciantmaybe]

There was very little Cas could remember. Going in he knew hew was surely facing his own death, but the final minutes of the battle seemed like nothing else but a dreamy haze.

Bullets pounded and reverberated off of the walls, he'd been thrown back by a Croat and stabbed in his side. He managed to kick it off before it could contaminate him and as it leered forward to make its second attempt he was deafened and blinded by an impact that was not beast or human alike.

When he came to he was gasping up against the dingy alleyway clutching his side. His eyes scanned the area, he was confused, weakened by lack of sustenance and sleep. The will to collapse into sleep was strong and he had to fight it to scoop himself to his knees.

[aintnorain]

She heard the noise of something. Her flats clicked off the pavement of the alley as she ran towards the noise. It didn't take long for her to reach the place where she suspected the portal had opened up. From far off she saw a man hunched over. He looked like he was in rough shape.

Stuffing the stake back in her bag, Fred made her way over to him. "It's okay. It's okay. You're safe now. I've got you." Her voice was soft and while she wasn't the most threatening looking of people, she could hold her own. She bent to wrap an arm around him, trying to pull him to his feet.

This wasn't good. She knew she was getting some of his blood on her, but at this point, it didn't matter. Fred knew there was salve back at the hotel and she could attempt to fix him up there. "We're not far from where I live. Up you go." She told him, her voice still calm.

[insouciantmaybe]

Cas was oddly quiet for a crucially wounded man. He knew the state things had been in when he left, he just wasn't sure why he of all people was being granted benediction. After everything went to hell he'd done his fair share of sinning too.

The former angel didn't deny her support, he kept himself up right while leaning on her for leverage as he pressed the inside of his canvas jacket against the wound.

[aintnorain]

Fred tried not to hurt him any further, but she was shorter than him. And she wasn't sure exactly how injured he was. Her brows furrowed as she tried to reposition his weight. "Can I ask what happened? We're still a bit from the hotel-- I live in a hotel a friend of mine owns -- but it'll help me know what I can do for you, injury-wise. Plus if someone is after you, I'll need to go back to the portal and close it. See if I can, at least." Fred said, rambling slightly.

[insouciantmaybe]

"I took a blow in battle, piece of ... rusted metal, I'm not sure right now. It happened all too fast."

The sarcastic dick in Castiel wasn't as prevalent as it usually was. He was suffering the on spread of shell shock and still confused as to where he was, or worried that he'd been infected anyway.

[aintnorain]

She nodded, taking in what he said. "I'll get you straightened out. Just down this street." Fred gestured towards the only nice looking building down the road.

At least he spoke English. It'd be hell to try and wake Wesley up to translate for her if it was some demonic language. Her only expertise with portals was hell dimensions after all. And him talking meant he was also conscious of at least her. Maybe not his surroundings. "You're in Los Angeles, just to let you know. I'm Fred. I'm going to take care of you." Figure she should at least introduce herself.

[insouciantmaybe]

Cas stumbled some, feeling his resolve drop a little.

"Los Angeles isn't standing and Fred's not a girl's name."

He could only focus on her, the state he was in, but his mind was back in 2014. He knew the outcome of where he'd been. He knew Dean probably wasn't alive and that his men died with him. It hurt more than he was willing to admit that he could have, might still be, one of them.

[aintnorain]

She grunted as she tried to pick him up, keep him from stumbling. Fred was now wishing she had eaten something, not exactly up to her own strength. Still, she wasn't going to drop him.

"We're coming up on some stairs." She told him before nodding towards the building. "And this is LA. It's still standing, thanks to Angel. Lord knows how many times it's nearly fallen. And my full name is Winifred Burkle, but everyone calls me Fred. And I am a girl, thank you."

She could only imagine what he was going through. Her own dimensional travels had left her emotionally and mentally compromised, and that is without an Apocalypse and the end of the world. She was quiet as she led him into the foyer, bringing him to a couch. "Stay here. I need to grab some stuff in the other room, okay? To fix you up." She said already heading into the room behind the counter. She grabbed what she could as fast as she could, mainly thinking about him.

[insouciantmaybe]

When Cas hit the soft surface it didn't take him long to completely surrender to it. His eyes dropped while he continued the pressure on his wound, merely trying not to look as disenchanted by the supposed second chance as he was.

As it stood he was spiraling into delirium.

[aintnorain]

Two minutes later and she was back with an ice pack, bandages, and salve. Kneeling beside him, she knew he needed to stay awake. "So where are you from?" Keep him talking, Fred.

She stripped off his jacket and winced at the blood on the inside of the coat. "I've got bandages here." She told him softly. She needed to push up the fabric of his shirt, but didn't want to start taking his clothes off. Some people had boundaries. "Is it just your side?"

[insouciantmaybe]

"Not here," he replied short and curt. Cas had no problem with her removing his clothes. Half of his time at Chitaqua was spent nude anyway.

"...You need to isolate me for three hours, after you... fix it."

[aintnorain]

She removed his shirt and looked at it. "You're bleeding pretty bad, but I don't think you punctured anything. This is going to hurt." She said flatly as she took out the jar of salve. Fred started spreading it on the wound and then took out the bandage. It wouldn't take long to do, and she knew he needed pressure. First, she took a pad of them, to soak up the blood and taped it up with medical tape. Next it was wrapping the wound, making sure it was tight.

"You're in a giant hotel that only I and my sort of boss live in. I can do that."

[insouciantmaybe]

"Do you have pain solvents?"

Cas only winced in slight when she fixed him up. You didn't live to be older than the earth and cry over stab wounds.

[aintnorain]

"Not here." She tells him and pins the bandage to itself. "But if the pain is that bad, I can get you some."

Vampires didn't need it and the others never got scraped up that bad to have a stash of it. Angel knew enough people in seedy back alleys that Fred could make a call or two and have whatever he needed delivered to the Hyperion. "Have you eaten recently? I can take you up to a room now, if you can move."

[insouciantmaybe]

"I don't feel much like eating, not until my three hours probationary period is..... clear."

Cas pulled his shirt down and swallowed hard as he fought against his nerves to sit up straight.

"...The pills are all I'll need."

[aintnorain]

She nods to him and goes over to the phone. She's not on it long, already knowing a few of the right connections. If she can find tusk of a demon ground finely, she can get pain pills.

"They'll be here soon." She offered a smile and leaned against the counter. She tilted her head and looked over at him. "Angel, he's the guy who owns this place, probably won't be up for awhile, but if you need me to get clothes or clean yours, I can do that as well. Shouldn't have blood around here."

Not that Angel won't be able to immediately know about it, but clients and the like. Fred never knew who or what was coming in and out of those doors - or crashing through them.