I'm Here For You 7/9
Title: I'm Here For You
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Gabriel, Castiel
Spoilers: From 5x18 to 5x21
Summary: Tag to 5x18 "Point of No Return" - Gabriel devotes the week to visiting Castiel in the hospital.
"Fly on these second-hand wings
Willing to find out what impossible means
I'll climb through the heavens on feathers and dreams
'Cause the melting point of wax means nothing to me"
Thrice - Melting Point of Wax
Gabriel was watching the fake-Castiel at the other end of the room.
The 'real world' was always visible from the pocket dimension, almost like there had never been a division between the two. Of course, he had made the division soundproof ('cuz he had no intention of hearing what the doctors were yammering on about and what the new mondo-druggie across the hall had to say about SpongeBob every half hour), but something would constantly tug at him to take a sneak peak at the 'real world' and he always resisted that pull.
Until now.
The fake-Castiel still had the breathing tube inserted into his esophagus; he was still wired to the heart monitor, which still showed that his heart was barely beating. His complexion was still bloodless and he had yet to exhibit the remotest signs of consciousness. If he were ever really alive, things would be looking ten shades of bleak for him, and if he were ever alive, the guy only had a few days, tops, left to live.
Gabriel was trying to convince himself that this was a sight that was good to stare at for six straight hours without blinking. However, getting his mind to wrap around the situation in that way was seriously not working out that well, sort of like sprinkling a buttload of pixie dust on a person's head and getting the worst case of asthma instead of rocketing into the ceiling.
The fake-Castiel was supposed to make him feel better; if he had to compare the fake one to the real one, he should be up to his ears in gratefulness that the real one was not as bad off as the fake one.
That did not mean that the real one was having a peachy recovery behind him.
Honestly, Gabriel had no freaking clue what he should do next. He had been taking his stress out on chocolate bars for the past two hours and if he had not been poofing the wrappers away, space would be non-existent in the pocket dimension. Still, as un-progressive as sitting on his bum all day was, it was the only thing preventing him from ripping buildings apart like paper - really, really ugly paper.
Who was the douche who got the idea of inventing those banishing sigils to begin with anyway?
Oh right, he was; that was why he had felt the shockwave in Van Nuys so clearly. But how was he supposed to know that this was what would happen if angels had the random thought to doodle the sigils on themselves?
Gabriel felt the slightest shift go through the bed, and in the next second he heard his little brother beginning to stir.
He hovered over Castiel, watching him laboriously climb his way to wakefulness. Castiel produced a tiny moan of effort as his head twitched to the side, and it might not really mean anything, but Gabriel was glad that Castiel at least turned toward him. His dog perked up from where it was lying at the foot of the bed and was instantly beside Castiel's left arm, although it was careful not to knock over the IV drip.
If Gabriel had ever relied on breathing, he would be holding his breath right now. Castiel's brow furrowed and Gabriel wondered if that had to do with the sheer exertion of leaving La La Land or the light coming straight for his eyeballs. With a snap of his fingers, the lights over their head became dimmer and he inched further into the bed.
At last, his little brother's eyes cracked open.
Castiel was still kind of out-of-it; he probably could not make heads or tails of what he was seeing at the moment, granted that he was really seeing. The blue orbs were glassy, its usually intense stare dulled by sleep and fever. But bit by bit, recognition seeped in, and after a few seconds - what do you know? - the metaphorical hamster was up and about and making its metaphorical wheel spin.
"Guh… G-Ga'riel," he slurred hoarsely, and, yeah, he just squinted right there.
There should be a freaking choir singing right now, like in those cheesy, cliché scenes where a miracle finally happened after being served every form of crap the world was capable of giving.
Maybe another time.
"The one and only." Gabriel replied, offering a smile.
There was a couple of seconds of silence in what Gabriel guessed had to be his little brother's still-way-too-slow reaction time. His head must still be sort of fuzzy inside, like how static would show on TV when the reception was not quite that right; the 'satellite' looked as if it was starting to lean toward the proper angle though.
"Where - ?" Whatever Castiel had to ask, which was barely above a whisper, was cut off when a (thankfully bloodless) coughing fit hit him.
It was still awful to hear though; Castiel's throat was so dry from not having a drink for a week and the sound was just grating. Gabriel helped him sit a bit more upright as he traded the half-eaten Crunch in his other hand for a steaming mug of hot chocolate. He returned his attention to Castiel in time to see him making an attempt to clutch at his abdomen and Gabriel quickly pulled his hands away, even though the sigils would be pretty much useless on him now.
The fit ended soon enough, and Gabriel cautiously placed his little brother back against the pillows. "House rules: everything that's fourteen meters above your bellybutton is, for the meantime, a hands-free zone, got it?"
Castiel was panting raggedly; his eyes were shut but he was by no means unconscious. Gabriel let the hot chocolate drift under Castiel's nose in an attempt to rouse him, and the tactic eventually worked. Castiel's eyelids fluttered upward, albeit they did not go as much as they did a while ago, and his little brother's expression was blearier now more than ever.
"Here, bro; drink up. It's a lot tastier than meds." said Gabriel.
As expected, it took a while before Castiel could respond. "'M not… drinking 'nything." he whispered.
"You sure 'bout that? This stuff's fresh from Chamonix, and it has marshmallows!" tempted Gabriel.
This time, he was sure that Castiel was glaring at him. "Get away from me." he muttered.
"Whoa, ouch, good morning to you too, sunshine. It's just hot chocolate." said Gabriel.
Castiel shifted under the comforter that was now looking way too heavy on him. "'M tired of your tricks… Finish me off now or leave me alone." he shot back, and damn, the kid could reach a menacing tone even if he was half-dead.
"Hey, don't start forming a friendship circle without me," Gabriel replied sardonically. "The two of us are staying put right here whether you like it or not."
He let the mug of hot chocolate float in the air and reached for Castiel's forehead. Castiel tried to squirm away but it was pointless. "You, little brother, still have a fever, and until that and the sigils are all better, you are not leaving this room." Gabriel firmly pointed out.
That seemed to get Castiel for a moment. "I don't need your help, or anyone else's. I can take care of myself." he said.
Gabriel snorted. "Yeah, right, 'cuz you obviously didn't need my help for the past week." he said.
If Castiel was not so fatigued, he would have tilted his head and widened his eyes. "I was… It's been a week?" he asked.
"Yep,"
His little brother looked taken aback and he bowed his head in consideration.
"Hey, don't think too hard. Your body can't handle a lot right now." said Gabriel. He tried to not give too much away since Castiel had just woken up. Regardless, he was worried about what Castiel was and was not aware of right now.
"So I'm essentially mortal now," Castiel murmured, more to himself.
Well, Gabriel guessed he could tick that off the list.
"Essentially, yeah." he could not help but agree.
For a second, he thought that Castiel would cry out in grief or something, but then his expression smoothed out again. "If this is another of your illusions - "
"It's not!" Gabriel interposed. "For the love of all things decent, would it kill you to trust me for a minute?"
"These previous months taught me not to trust any of my family anymore." said Castiel somberly.
On the one hand, Castiel did not know of the embarrassingly mushy moments over the past few days; on the other, he, Gabriel, had poured out a great big heap of almost everything and Castiel could not even remember one instance? Gabriel was about ready to smite something.
"Fine, don't trust me then. But would you at least look around before you pile me up alongside the bad guys?" Gabriel exclaimed. "Who do you think's been hiding your ass from the Wing Force while you recouped? Who do you think kept the docs around here from injecting a mountain of drugs into you and prodding at you like a kid's science experiment?"
Castiel absorbed his words and seemed reluctant to reply. "Why would you even bother doing this, assuming you are speaking the truth?" he said.
Gabriel sighed. "Maybe I wanna start acting like a brother again."
His little brother eyed him warily, unsure if he should believe him or not. Castiel opened his mouth to say something, except that another coughing fit assaulted him.
Gabriel pulled Castiel forward and patted him on his back. The fit concluded much faster than the last one; Gabriel offered the hot chocolate to him again.
"Just drink the damn thing." he told him.
Whether it was under the influence of Gabriel's order or Castiel was really getting uncomfortable, he took the mug into shaky hands and did what he was told. It began as a tentative sip first, then a pause, then Castiel downed the entire the mug in a few gulps. When Castiel gradually pulled the mug away from him, Gabriel did not miss him licking his lips.
"Good, huh?" he teased.
Castiel lowered the mug to his lap, looking at the comforter, embarrassed.
Gabriel smirked, and like what any older brother ought to do in these situations, he emphasized his brother's misery by ruffling his hair. Castiel jerked back, but it lacked the tautness of evading an attack.
It did not take long for the hot chocolate to start making Castiel drowsy, and it was obvious that he had reached that point when his head was tipping down and his eyelids were descending.
"Get some sleep, bro; you look like you need it." said Gabriel.
"Not tired," Castiel muttered, eyes almost closed.
"Sure you're not, Cas."
Gabriel did not even get to the count of two before his little brother was out like a light.
After five minutes, Gabriel conjured another chocolate bar.
TBC
Chapter 8
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Gabriel, Castiel
Spoilers: From 5x18 to 5x21
Summary: Tag to 5x18 "Point of No Return" - Gabriel devotes the week to visiting Castiel in the hospital.
"Fly on these second-hand wings
Willing to find out what impossible means
I'll climb through the heavens on feathers and dreams
'Cause the melting point of wax means nothing to me"
Thrice - Melting Point of Wax
Gabriel was watching the fake-Castiel at the other end of the room.
The 'real world' was always visible from the pocket dimension, almost like there had never been a division between the two. Of course, he had made the division soundproof ('cuz he had no intention of hearing what the doctors were yammering on about and what the new mondo-druggie across the hall had to say about SpongeBob every half hour), but something would constantly tug at him to take a sneak peak at the 'real world' and he always resisted that pull.
Until now.
The fake-Castiel still had the breathing tube inserted into his esophagus; he was still wired to the heart monitor, which still showed that his heart was barely beating. His complexion was still bloodless and he had yet to exhibit the remotest signs of consciousness. If he were ever really alive, things would be looking ten shades of bleak for him, and if he were ever alive, the guy only had a few days, tops, left to live.
Gabriel was trying to convince himself that this was a sight that was good to stare at for six straight hours without blinking. However, getting his mind to wrap around the situation in that way was seriously not working out that well, sort of like sprinkling a buttload of pixie dust on a person's head and getting the worst case of asthma instead of rocketing into the ceiling.
The fake-Castiel was supposed to make him feel better; if he had to compare the fake one to the real one, he should be up to his ears in gratefulness that the real one was not as bad off as the fake one.
That did not mean that the real one was having a peachy recovery behind him.
Honestly, Gabriel had no freaking clue what he should do next. He had been taking his stress out on chocolate bars for the past two hours and if he had not been poofing the wrappers away, space would be non-existent in the pocket dimension. Still, as un-progressive as sitting on his bum all day was, it was the only thing preventing him from ripping buildings apart like paper - really, really ugly paper.
Who was the douche who got the idea of inventing those banishing sigils to begin with anyway?
Oh right, he was; that was why he had felt the shockwave in Van Nuys so clearly. But how was he supposed to know that this was what would happen if angels had the random thought to doodle the sigils on themselves?
Gabriel felt the slightest shift go through the bed, and in the next second he heard his little brother beginning to stir.
He hovered over Castiel, watching him laboriously climb his way to wakefulness. Castiel produced a tiny moan of effort as his head twitched to the side, and it might not really mean anything, but Gabriel was glad that Castiel at least turned toward him. His dog perked up from where it was lying at the foot of the bed and was instantly beside Castiel's left arm, although it was careful not to knock over the IV drip.
If Gabriel had ever relied on breathing, he would be holding his breath right now. Castiel's brow furrowed and Gabriel wondered if that had to do with the sheer exertion of leaving La La Land or the light coming straight for his eyeballs. With a snap of his fingers, the lights over their head became dimmer and he inched further into the bed.
At last, his little brother's eyes cracked open.
Castiel was still kind of out-of-it; he probably could not make heads or tails of what he was seeing at the moment, granted that he was really seeing. The blue orbs were glassy, its usually intense stare dulled by sleep and fever. But bit by bit, recognition seeped in, and after a few seconds - what do you know? - the metaphorical hamster was up and about and making its metaphorical wheel spin.
"Guh… G-Ga'riel," he slurred hoarsely, and, yeah, he just squinted right there.
There should be a freaking choir singing right now, like in those cheesy, cliché scenes where a miracle finally happened after being served every form of crap the world was capable of giving.
Maybe another time.
"The one and only." Gabriel replied, offering a smile.
There was a couple of seconds of silence in what Gabriel guessed had to be his little brother's still-way-too-slow reaction time. His head must still be sort of fuzzy inside, like how static would show on TV when the reception was not quite that right; the 'satellite' looked as if it was starting to lean toward the proper angle though.
"Where - ?" Whatever Castiel had to ask, which was barely above a whisper, was cut off when a (thankfully bloodless) coughing fit hit him.
It was still awful to hear though; Castiel's throat was so dry from not having a drink for a week and the sound was just grating. Gabriel helped him sit a bit more upright as he traded the half-eaten Crunch in his other hand for a steaming mug of hot chocolate. He returned his attention to Castiel in time to see him making an attempt to clutch at his abdomen and Gabriel quickly pulled his hands away, even though the sigils would be pretty much useless on him now.
The fit ended soon enough, and Gabriel cautiously placed his little brother back against the pillows. "House rules: everything that's fourteen meters above your bellybutton is, for the meantime, a hands-free zone, got it?"
Castiel was panting raggedly; his eyes were shut but he was by no means unconscious. Gabriel let the hot chocolate drift under Castiel's nose in an attempt to rouse him, and the tactic eventually worked. Castiel's eyelids fluttered upward, albeit they did not go as much as they did a while ago, and his little brother's expression was blearier now more than ever.
"Here, bro; drink up. It's a lot tastier than meds." said Gabriel.
As expected, it took a while before Castiel could respond. "'M not… drinking 'nything." he whispered.
"You sure 'bout that? This stuff's fresh from Chamonix, and it has marshmallows!" tempted Gabriel.
This time, he was sure that Castiel was glaring at him. "Get away from me." he muttered.
"Whoa, ouch, good morning to you too, sunshine. It's just hot chocolate." said Gabriel.
Castiel shifted under the comforter that was now looking way too heavy on him. "'M tired of your tricks… Finish me off now or leave me alone." he shot back, and damn, the kid could reach a menacing tone even if he was half-dead.
"Hey, don't start forming a friendship circle without me," Gabriel replied sardonically. "The two of us are staying put right here whether you like it or not."
He let the mug of hot chocolate float in the air and reached for Castiel's forehead. Castiel tried to squirm away but it was pointless. "You, little brother, still have a fever, and until that and the sigils are all better, you are not leaving this room." Gabriel firmly pointed out.
That seemed to get Castiel for a moment. "I don't need your help, or anyone else's. I can take care of myself." he said.
Gabriel snorted. "Yeah, right, 'cuz you obviously didn't need my help for the past week." he said.
If Castiel was not so fatigued, he would have tilted his head and widened his eyes. "I was… It's been a week?" he asked.
"Yep,"
His little brother looked taken aback and he bowed his head in consideration.
"Hey, don't think too hard. Your body can't handle a lot right now." said Gabriel. He tried to not give too much away since Castiel had just woken up. Regardless, he was worried about what Castiel was and was not aware of right now.
"So I'm essentially mortal now," Castiel murmured, more to himself.
Well, Gabriel guessed he could tick that off the list.
"Essentially, yeah." he could not help but agree.
For a second, he thought that Castiel would cry out in grief or something, but then his expression smoothed out again. "If this is another of your illusions - "
"It's not!" Gabriel interposed. "For the love of all things decent, would it kill you to trust me for a minute?"
"These previous months taught me not to trust any of my family anymore." said Castiel somberly.
On the one hand, Castiel did not know of the embarrassingly mushy moments over the past few days; on the other, he, Gabriel, had poured out a great big heap of almost everything and Castiel could not even remember one instance? Gabriel was about ready to smite something.
"Fine, don't trust me then. But would you at least look around before you pile me up alongside the bad guys?" Gabriel exclaimed. "Who do you think's been hiding your ass from the Wing Force while you recouped? Who do you think kept the docs around here from injecting a mountain of drugs into you and prodding at you like a kid's science experiment?"
Castiel absorbed his words and seemed reluctant to reply. "Why would you even bother doing this, assuming you are speaking the truth?" he said.
Gabriel sighed. "Maybe I wanna start acting like a brother again."
His little brother eyed him warily, unsure if he should believe him or not. Castiel opened his mouth to say something, except that another coughing fit assaulted him.
Gabriel pulled Castiel forward and patted him on his back. The fit concluded much faster than the last one; Gabriel offered the hot chocolate to him again.
"Just drink the damn thing." he told him.
Whether it was under the influence of Gabriel's order or Castiel was really getting uncomfortable, he took the mug into shaky hands and did what he was told. It began as a tentative sip first, then a pause, then Castiel downed the entire the mug in a few gulps. When Castiel gradually pulled the mug away from him, Gabriel did not miss him licking his lips.
"Good, huh?" he teased.
Castiel lowered the mug to his lap, looking at the comforter, embarrassed.
Gabriel smirked, and like what any older brother ought to do in these situations, he emphasized his brother's misery by ruffling his hair. Castiel jerked back, but it lacked the tautness of evading an attack.
It did not take long for the hot chocolate to start making Castiel drowsy, and it was obvious that he had reached that point when his head was tipping down and his eyelids were descending.
"Get some sleep, bro; you look like you need it." said Gabriel.
"Not tired," Castiel muttered, eyes almost closed.
"Sure you're not, Cas."
Gabriel did not even get to the count of two before his little brother was out like a light.
After five minutes, Gabriel conjured another chocolate bar.
TBC
Chapter 8