Multifandom Oneshots

Saved (Castiel drabble)

(A/N I'm aware that this is sucky and I apologize in advance for the atrocity you are about to read. First Cas fic, give me a little leeway.)

The old church was nearly empty when El walked in, casually looking up at the stained-glass angels in their white gowns and golden halos that watched over the sanctuary. Sliding into a seat beside the only other person in there, she let out a small huff of laughter.

"You know," she said casually, leaning forward to rest her arms on the pew in front of them, "angels don't look a thing like that."The man beside her smiled softly, and slung his arm around her shoulders.

"Really? They don't wear white robes or carry harps?"

"Nope. Just look exactly like regular people. 'Sides, fighting demons and things would be a hell of a lot harder in a robe."

"How do you know so much?" he teased, laughing.She laughed again, and lent back into the man's trenchcoated shoulder.

"Oh," she sighed contentedly, "I've got a good source."

~Three years ago.~

It was dark, and late. This is not safe, she kept repeating in her head, you should have just called a cab or something. El walked quickly through the park.

Something crunched behind her.She froze, listening intently. There was nothing but the sound of her labored breathing. Shaking herself for being so ridiculous, she kept walking, turning into a darker part of the park, down a wooded path that would lead to her house more quickly than any other way.

Another noise.This time she didn't freeze, she sped up. Don't let this be happening, don't let this be happening.Suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder and she turned, gasping.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the man smiled, "I didn't mean to frighten you. It's just, a pretty girl shouldn't walk alone at night, you know."

"Was that a threat?" she said far more calmly than she felt. He just kept smiling.

"Does it need to be?"

"I wouldn't recommend it."

"Yeah? And why's that, El?"She stared, panic fluttering in her stomach.

"How do you know my name?"The man laughed calmly, and blinked.His eyes went black.El jumped, eyes wide with shock.

"What the hell?!" The thing laughed and gripped her shoulder more tightly, so tight that it hurt, and she cried out.

"Would you recommend a threat now, El? Could you really fight me? Fight a demon, Ella, dear?"

Breathing hard, panicking terribly, she was surprised by how normal, if shaky, she sounded. "Hell...I can certainly try."

Fast as lightning, her elbow was in it's gut, and it doubled over, grip loosening. She wrenched away and took off down the path. Thank God for track, she thought. After what seemed like forever, she slowed to a quick walk, and glanced behind her. It was gone. She sighed in relief, and looked back around.

The demon grabbed her arm again, squeezing painfully, and it hurt so much that she was forced to the ground, screaming. It bent close and whispered in her ear."Oh, sweetie. I'm gonna love killing you."

A fist slammed into her ear, and she went down. Everything was blurring, and her ear was ringing. Another blow hit her in the side, and she doubled up, crying out again. It kicked her stomach, forcing the air out in one go, and she felt like she was suffocating. Barely aware anymore, desperate, she managed to gasp out one word.

"Castiel!"

Suddenly the blows stopped coming, but the sounds of a beating kept going. She blinked rapidly, trying to bring the world into focus again.The demon was grappling with another man, rolling around and fighting tooth and nail. Finally, the other man seemed to get the advantage, and pinned the demon.

A low, gruff voice registered in her ears."You will leave her alone."

The demon laughed."Bite me, Wings."

The man pulled something from his sleeve, and jammed it into the demon's chest. El gaped as it seemed to shake as if it were being electrocuted, then went limp. Dead.

The man stood, and turned toward her. As he walked closer, she began to be able to see him more clearly, the blur of her vision fading until she could see practically normally. He was dressed simply but formally, in a black suit, white shirt, and blue tie, like a businessman or a banker. Over that, he wore a light tan trenchcoat, the lapels now splattered with blood, which by the looks of him was both his own and the thing's. He wasn't terribly tall, or muscled, but he most certainly didn't look weak. There was something about him that said he was powerful, not to be messed with. Then he stooped to kneel beside her, and she saw his face clearly for the first time.

If you'd asked her for one word to describe his face, she might in that moment have said ethereal. Dark hair, maybe black, maybe darkest brown, set off his light skin almost too well. A thin line of blood trailed down from his hairline, and stopped somewhere around the bottom of his nose. Another trailed from a cut above his right eye. His softer jawline was studded with light stubble, as if he hadn't shaved in a day or two, and a bruise was forming on its left side.

Classic action flick nerdy-tough guy, she thought, laughing to herself.

He wasn't quite frowning, and his brows were set slightly furrowed, so that he just looked as if he was studying her, curious and concerned, and perhaps, incongruously, a bit unsure.

But the most striking thing about him was his eyes. They were a bright, electric blue that she could see even in the dim lighting, and they held her attention as if she were being hypnotized. They looked full of some heavy emotion. What that was-guilt, pain, loss, sadness, regret, or some combination?- she couldn't tell. All she knew was that for some reason, she wanted to trust him implicitly, even considering the murder he had just committed. He frightened her, but as he had just saved her life, she thought perhaps he deserved a chance to be trusted. She sincerely hoped she wouldn't regret that.

It took her longer than it should have to realize he was talking to her.

"Can you hear me? Are you injured?"

"What?" she said dazedly, "Oh. Oh, yeah, no, I'm fine. I'm just-" she grunted in pain, having been trying to sit up. Apparently that didn't agree with her side. "Ah. Actually, I think I might have a couple of broken ribs..."

"Here." He reached out to touch her side, and she flinched away, crying out again. Almost imperceptibly, he flinched with sympathy.

"Please, let me help."

"What're you gonna do?"He caught her eyes again, and she fought down a gasp at the intensity of his gaze.

"I am going to heal you."

All she could do was nod, and, his eyes never leaving hers, he reached out again, and touched two fingers to her injured side. There was a bright white light, and a quick, but intense, sting that made her yell, and then it was over. Her side wasn't hurting anymore. Amazed, she took a painless breath.

Realizing she was still staring at the man, she blinked and looked down at her side, moving her shirt and staring in confused awe.There wasn't so much as a bruise left.

"How...? Who are you?"

"I am the one you called. I am Castiel."

She frowned. "That's impossible. I didn't really call for Castiel. I just said the name, I was desperate, a-and confused, and it was stupid. Castiel is just a story, someone I've read about in books, a character. He's not real. How could he be? He's a..."

But when she looked up, searching for those eyes again, she was met with nothing but a faint fluttering noise, a dark path, and the dim circle of streetlamp light she was in the center of.

He was gone.