It was Saturday. Sarah and Castiel had agreed on spending their required together time then because neither had anything better to do. Mum and Steffie had promised to take care of Tim which worried Sarah a bit, but they didn’t have any other choice. Castiel lived alone because his parents travelled a lot for work, so they couldn’t get a babysitter from his side.

Sarah looked at herself on the hallway mirror as she made sure her hair looked good. She had tried to dress just like she usually did but ended up spending more time in front of the mirror than she had planned. She had curled very mild waves on her hair and picked jeans that highlighted her legs and matched with her boots. She didn’t know why she put in the effort since it wasn’t a date. Castiel wouldn’t care what she clothes she had on, and Ares even less.

She sighed and wrapped a thick cream coloured scarf around her neck. Winter really tried to come early. The past few days had been surprisingly cold, and it had snowed lightly during the night. Most of the snow had already melted from the streets, but a light layer of it remained on grass and shady spots. It made everything a bit more magical. The snow would all be gone before evening, but it still boosted Sarah’s mood.

Sarah brushed a few stray strands of hair behind her ear and made sure she had her phone before heading outside. She had told her mum she’d go for a walk without Tim. She didn’t want to mention Castiel because mum would surely start fussing and Sarah was already nervous enough. She didn’t want to listen to date advice for a meeting that wasn’t a date. She had already made it weird by putting effort in what she looked like.

Castiel already waited outside with Ares when Sarah arrived. The dog wagged his tail when he noticed her. They had been on a walk together on Thursday when it had been Castiel’s turn to take care of Tim. Sarah was still wary of Ares, but she didn’t feel nervous if he sniffed her anymore. She had even petted him few times.

“Shall we go then?” Castiel asked.

“Sure.” No need to say hello. Let’s just jump straight to the business.

They headed towards their usual park. Ares bounced around on his leash, excited about the crispiness of air, and eagerly sniffing light posts and bushes. This was just part of their normal walk routine, Sarah reminded to herself but glanced at Castiel more often than usually. The sun revealed a reddish shade on his brown hair. He had an earring on his left ear and chilliness of the air brought some colour on his cheeks. Castiel pulled up the collar of his leather jacket. He hadn’t bothered to take a scarf. The usual silence was there but it felt less awkward this time.

“Hmm. How are you?” Castiel asked. Sarah blinked a few times in surprise. She hadn’t expected small talk.

“I’m good. Nothing special really.” What an original answer.

“Those three haven’t pestered you?”

“They haven’t,” Sarah said. Mercedes did remember to glare at her every time she walked past but at least she didn’t spread her rumours and lies. Or if she did, Sarah hadn’t heard about it.

“Good.”

Sarah was about to ask how Castiel was doing when he stopped patting his pockets.

“Dammit,” he cursed.

“What is it?”

“I forgot my phone. I’m gonna go get it real quick,” he said and gave Ares’s leash to Sarah.

“Wh… No, I can’t take him,” Sarah resisted immediately. No way she could walk Ares. Was Castiel blind? She was afraid of the dog.

“Just go to the park and wait for me. I’ll be right back. You’ll be fine,” Castiel reassured and without listening to any complaints he headed back home. Ares realised his human left and tried to go after Castiel. Sarah had to use all her strength to stop him.

“No, no Ares. He’ll be right back. Let’s go to the park.”

“Park” was a magic word. It made Ares forget about Castiel and he rushed to the other direction. Sarah squeezed the leash and prayed there wouldn’t be any trouble on their way to the park. No dogs or little kids, please. Preferably no adults either, just empty streets. She was sure that if Ares decided he’d like to go somewhere, he’d go, and she couldn’t do about it but hang on.

Somehow, they managed to get to the park without any issues. Ares was becoming excited again, waiting for his chance to run free. The park was empty to Sarah’s great relief, but there was no way she’d let Ares run around like Castiel did. She’d hang on to the leash with her dear life and hope that Castiel would come back before the dog decided to run away.

As they walked towards a nice, comfortable and safe bench, Ares noticed a giant puddle in the middle of the gravel path, and he eagerly wanted to jump in it, but Sarah carefully guided him past it. Castiel probably wouldn’t like it if his dog was soaked. She sat down and squeezed the leash in her hands. How long until Castiel would be back?

“Ares, sit,” she said quietly but the dog acted like he hadn’t heard anything. He had realised Castiel’s absence again and stared intensely at the park gate. Sarah sighed. What on Earth had Castiel thought, giving the dog to her? This was such a bad idea.

After a good ten minutes of keeping an eye on the gate, Ares became bored of standing. Sarah smiled a bit and gently brushed the dog’s short hair with her fingertips. Ares turned to look at her, and Sarah pulled her hand away. But Ares leaned against her leg and encouraged by it, Sarah reached to touch his back. The dog’s tail thumped loudly against ground when Sarah scratched him, and a big smile climbed on her face.

“You’re a good boy,” she said and scratched him behind the ear which made his leg thump against ground too. Ares wasn’t so bad after all.

Then, carried by the sound of hasty footsteps, Castiel appeared at the park gate. Ares bounced up and charged towards his dear human. Sarah was forced on her feet. She tried to slow down the dog, but Ares was too strong, and he effortlessly dragged her along.

“Ares, wait,” she wheezed while stumbling behind the dog, but it had no effect. Castiel laughed at the sight while walking closer. Sarah realised that they approached the giant puddle at great speed and started to panic. She didn’t want to run through it and decided to let go of the leash. Unfortunately, she made the decision a few seconds too late. Ares had already jumped in the puddle and splashed through it. The ground around the puddle was slightly more slimy and slippery from all the water. Ares pulled Sarah with such force that she slipped on the mud and fell on her back. Air escaped from her lungs and her head banged against the ground. She was dragged in the water before the leash finally slipped from her hand. Cold and muddy water soaked in her clothes. She lied in the puddle, unable to move. She gasped for breath. A sharp pain throbbed in her head. The world was spinning and getting hazier. And then she was swallowed by darkness.

Sarah was floating in the dark. She felt a vague, throbbing sensation in her body. Coldness surrounded her and her ears were humming. Then she felt shaking, once, twice. Her eyelids fluttered slightly, and she was pulled back to reality. A sharp pain struck her immediately.

“Aaah,” she wailed. Near her a person sighed in relief.

“So, you are still alive,” a voice said. Sarah managed to open her eyes a little and saw Castiel crouching next to her, looking worried. Sarah realised she was lying on solid, dry ground. Castiel had dragged her out of the puddle.

“Wh…what happened?” Sarah asked and rubbed her face smearing mud on her cheek. She started to notice the wetness and cold. It was an extremely uncomfortable feeling.

“You fell,” Castiel said. “Ares got a bit too excited and dragged you around. You slipped and took a dive on that puddle. Are you hurt?” Ares bustled around them, excited about this whole scene. He wanted to see what was going on and give Sarah a kiss if there was a good opportunity.

Sarah tried to sit up, but another wave of pain struck her head.

“Yes,” she whimpered. “My head and back…” She touched the back of her head. She could already feel a bump rising.

“Should I call an ambulance?” Castiel asked. He should’ve done it right away, but his only concern had been to wake up Sarah.

“No… I’ll be fine, probably,” Sarah said and tried stand up. Her vision blurred, but she didn’t give up and pushed herself into standing position. Her ears hummed, and her head was spinning. The whole park swayed around her and she felt a wave of nausea wash over her. Before she even realised, she was leaning heavily forward, on her way back to the ground. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her and stopped her fall. Sarah closed her eyes to stop the world from spinning.

“I’m gonna help you to my place,” Castiel said. “And then we can see how you feel and if we should call the ambulance.”

“Okay,” Sarah sighed. She would’ve liked to go home but didn’t have strength to argue about it. And mum would fuss if she went home like this, so maybe it was better to make a quick stop at Castiel’s first. 

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INKSGIVING November 22nd (12:00AM PST) - November 24th (11:59PM PST)

My reward tiers

1,000 ink: Pinterest board for Alone in the Night (60+ pins)

2,000 ink: Pinterest board fo Baby, I Love You (50+ pins)

5,000 ink. Extra story

9,000 ink: Extra story + character sheets

20,000 ink: NSWF/Mature-ish extra story (unrelated to my current works)