New Chapter of Santorum
Santorum...
Despite having done jury service, in England, I cannot remember anything about courtrooms, so, this is all improvised from Law and Order.
"What happens...if it doesn't go well tomorrow?"
Castiel is looking out the window at the street below, watching the cars go by. He tries to imagine being in a cell, or in a dormitory style pen filled with cots and other inmates. Tries to imagine wearing a uniform, having to eat when he's told, sleep when he's told, not seeing Dean's face again, for years.
"I guess we're talking about this, huh?" Dean appears behind him, puts his hands on the either side of the window frame, so Castiel is held between them as Dean follows his gaze. "Well, if they decide we're guilty, then, prison. A couple of...really, really bad years, and then we'll be out."
"And the part where we're in prison for years? That just passes like nothing happened?"
"Yeah." Dean kisses him behind his ear. "It won't even feel like a day."
Castiel screws his eyes up tight. He is not going to get emotional about this. He is not going to cry. Just because tomorrow some stranger is going to say 'guilty' and more strangers, bailiffs, will take him away from Dean, away from his brother and Sam and the world outside. Tomorrow night he could be in jail, waiting to be taken on the long ride to prison.
"I'm really sorry I got you into this."
Castiel turns around. "You got me into nothing - I chose this, remember?"
"But it was my idea."
"Which would have failed without me." Castiel glares, coming nose to nose with Dean, "and, I'll tell you something else, when you walked into that cafe? I knew I was going to sleep with you."
"Did not," Dean murmurs.
"I did. Because of the way you looked at me."
"And how was that?"
"Exactly how you're looking at me now."
Bedsprings crash in the bedroom and Sam turns the TV up another couple of notches. Gabriel glares at the bedroom door and sighs.
"They're doing it again? Seriously, it's like they're shipping out in the morning."
"They kinda are," Sam says quietly.
"But they're not going to lose, I mean, it's a ridiculous case. It's a ridiculous law. They outlawed porn Sam - and it's not working, it's still everywhere. They can't send two guys to jail for doing what everyone else is doing."
"They can, and they will," Sam shook his head, "yeah, we're the country that banned porn. We're that ridiculous country that hates gay people and sex, and women. And...my brother's probably going to go to jail."
Gabriel slid closer and put his arm around him. "He won't, because you've done a great job."
"A great job at making excuses. I haven't proved they didn't do it. All I can do is hope the jury care enough not to send them to jail, and for all I know they're a bunch of homophobic NPB supporters." He shakes his head, "I don't know what this is going to do to them, to Dean...I mean, can you imagine us being sent to jail? To different jails, for years...I mean, if we were in love and that happened-"
"Hey!" Gabriel pokes him in the thigh, "I'm in love, and imagining it, and it's awful."
Sam feels his face getting hot. "I thought..."
"We were just messing around? When am I not messing around. Doesn't mean I'm not serious." He leans forwards and plants a slow kiss on Sam's mouth, pulling him close and trying to chase away the curl of unease that's settled in his gut. Castiel cannot go to jail, he barely lasted ten days at summer camp. "Now, we can watch a re-run of Project Runway, or, we can go to bed. What do you want to do?"
Sam gets up and tips his head towards their room, as they wander in and flick the light on, he says, "I love you too, you know."
"Obviously," Gabriel says, kicking the door shut, "how could you not?"
The next day, Sam and Dick make their final points, and Dean is left sweating next to Castiel in the holding room while the jury make their deliberations.
Court is reconvened ten minutes after deliberations began.
Sitting back at the defence table with Sam, Dean squeezes Castiel's hand under the table, and Castiel squeezes back, his heart in his throat. Despite the comfort they'd found the day before, neither one of them could say honestly that they are not afraid.
"Have the jury reached a verdict?" the judge asks.
"We have your honour." The foreman is a tall black woman with a pink cardigan on, and Dean's looking at her, knowing she's probably a normal woman, but right now she has the ability to ruin his life.
"What say you?"
"On the count of creating pornographic material for public consumption, we find the defendants, guilty."
Castiel makes a little, punctured sound, like he's just been shot, and Dean reaches over and grabs his shoulder and pulls him into a hug. He feels Cas's ribs give under the pressure, but he can't let up. He doesn't want to let go.
Sam is saying something about an appeal, Gabriel is shouting at the back of the courtroom, and Castiel turns his face to Dean's neck and breathes him in.
"Order!" bellows the judge, and slowly order is restored, but Dean never lets go of Castiel's hand.
"Mr Winchester, Mr Novak, you have been found guilty of producing illegal works of pornography, and, while it is a law that many have questioned, it is, nonetheless, a law that must be upheld. Therefore I sentence you both, to fifteen hours of community service, to be served consecutively." He bangs his gavel.
Dean just stares at him.
What...
"What the hell just happened?" Sam whispers, he glances over at Dick, who looks like he's trying to excrete a large tortoise.
Castiel is pale and his lips as bright red from being bitten, and Dean grips his hand, and just stares at him.
The judge climbs down from his seat and walks through the courtroom, ignoring Dick's panicked 'Excuse me your honour, but I think-' he drops a piece of paper on the table in front of Castiel and walks out.
Castiel picks up the paper, and looks at the words on it.
"Oh."
"Oh what?" Dean looks over his shoulder, "Oh...damn."
Sam looks over at them, then at the paper. "What is it?"
Gabriel leans over Dean's shoulder. "Keep up the good work, signed, your biggest fan, Axeman46."
He turns at looks down the empty aisle, to the door.
"At least the old bastard has good taste."
Despite having done jury service, in England, I cannot remember anything about courtrooms, so, this is all improvised from Law and Order.
"What happens...if it doesn't go well tomorrow?"
Castiel is looking out the window at the street below, watching the cars go by. He tries to imagine being in a cell, or in a dormitory style pen filled with cots and other inmates. Tries to imagine wearing a uniform, having to eat when he's told, sleep when he's told, not seeing Dean's face again, for years.
"I guess we're talking about this, huh?" Dean appears behind him, puts his hands on the either side of the window frame, so Castiel is held between them as Dean follows his gaze. "Well, if they decide we're guilty, then, prison. A couple of...really, really bad years, and then we'll be out."
"And the part where we're in prison for years? That just passes like nothing happened?"
"Yeah." Dean kisses him behind his ear. "It won't even feel like a day."
Castiel screws his eyes up tight. He is not going to get emotional about this. He is not going to cry. Just because tomorrow some stranger is going to say 'guilty' and more strangers, bailiffs, will take him away from Dean, away from his brother and Sam and the world outside. Tomorrow night he could be in jail, waiting to be taken on the long ride to prison.
"I'm really sorry I got you into this."
Castiel turns around. "You got me into nothing - I chose this, remember?"
"But it was my idea."
"Which would have failed without me." Castiel glares, coming nose to nose with Dean, "and, I'll tell you something else, when you walked into that cafe? I knew I was going to sleep with you."
"Did not," Dean murmurs.
"I did. Because of the way you looked at me."
"And how was that?"
"Exactly how you're looking at me now."
Bedsprings crash in the bedroom and Sam turns the TV up another couple of notches. Gabriel glares at the bedroom door and sighs.
"They're doing it again? Seriously, it's like they're shipping out in the morning."
"They kinda are," Sam says quietly.
"But they're not going to lose, I mean, it's a ridiculous case. It's a ridiculous law. They outlawed porn Sam - and it's not working, it's still everywhere. They can't send two guys to jail for doing what everyone else is doing."
"They can, and they will," Sam shook his head, "yeah, we're the country that banned porn. We're that ridiculous country that hates gay people and sex, and women. And...my brother's probably going to go to jail."
Gabriel slid closer and put his arm around him. "He won't, because you've done a great job."
"A great job at making excuses. I haven't proved they didn't do it. All I can do is hope the jury care enough not to send them to jail, and for all I know they're a bunch of homophobic NPB supporters." He shakes his head, "I don't know what this is going to do to them, to Dean...I mean, can you imagine us being sent to jail? To different jails, for years...I mean, if we were in love and that happened-"
"Hey!" Gabriel pokes him in the thigh, "I'm in love, and imagining it, and it's awful."
Sam feels his face getting hot. "I thought..."
"We were just messing around? When am I not messing around. Doesn't mean I'm not serious." He leans forwards and plants a slow kiss on Sam's mouth, pulling him close and trying to chase away the curl of unease that's settled in his gut. Castiel cannot go to jail, he barely lasted ten days at summer camp. "Now, we can watch a re-run of Project Runway, or, we can go to bed. What do you want to do?"
Sam gets up and tips his head towards their room, as they wander in and flick the light on, he says, "I love you too, you know."
"Obviously," Gabriel says, kicking the door shut, "how could you not?"
The next day, Sam and Dick make their final points, and Dean is left sweating next to Castiel in the holding room while the jury make their deliberations.
Court is reconvened ten minutes after deliberations began.
Sitting back at the defence table with Sam, Dean squeezes Castiel's hand under the table, and Castiel squeezes back, his heart in his throat. Despite the comfort they'd found the day before, neither one of them could say honestly that they are not afraid.
"Have the jury reached a verdict?" the judge asks.
"We have your honour." The foreman is a tall black woman with a pink cardigan on, and Dean's looking at her, knowing she's probably a normal woman, but right now she has the ability to ruin his life.
"What say you?"
"On the count of creating pornographic material for public consumption, we find the defendants, guilty."
Castiel makes a little, punctured sound, like he's just been shot, and Dean reaches over and grabs his shoulder and pulls him into a hug. He feels Cas's ribs give under the pressure, but he can't let up. He doesn't want to let go.
Sam is saying something about an appeal, Gabriel is shouting at the back of the courtroom, and Castiel turns his face to Dean's neck and breathes him in.
"Order!" bellows the judge, and slowly order is restored, but Dean never lets go of Castiel's hand.
"Mr Winchester, Mr Novak, you have been found guilty of producing illegal works of pornography, and, while it is a law that many have questioned, it is, nonetheless, a law that must be upheld. Therefore I sentence you both, to fifteen hours of community service, to be served consecutively." He bangs his gavel.
Dean just stares at him.
What...
"What the hell just happened?" Sam whispers, he glances over at Dick, who looks like he's trying to excrete a large tortoise.
Castiel is pale and his lips as bright red from being bitten, and Dean grips his hand, and just stares at him.
The judge climbs down from his seat and walks through the courtroom, ignoring Dick's panicked 'Excuse me your honour, but I think-' he drops a piece of paper on the table in front of Castiel and walks out.
Castiel picks up the paper, and looks at the words on it.
"Oh."
"Oh what?" Dean looks over his shoulder, "Oh...damn."
Sam looks over at them, then at the paper. "What is it?"
Gabriel leans over Dean's shoulder. "Keep up the good work, signed, your biggest fan, Axeman46."
He turns at looks down the empty aisle, to the door.
"At least the old bastard has good taste."