Chapter 1 - Aces On High
When Castiel got the private call from Bobby on Angel Radio, he was a little surprised. He knew that Bobby was in Heaven, of course, but his old friend kept a low profile there, and Cas had not really seen much of him.
But now, this message, asking Cas to meet him in Heaven outside God's office? And, that had been it. The communication had ended there.
This must be serious. Why on earth would God be summoning both himself and Bobby to His office for a meeting this late at night?
Castiel turned to Gail, who was sitting on the couch reading a book. He knew she wouldn't have received the message as it had been sent on his private frequency, but he had made a vow to himself to include her in all things, and he intended to keep it.
"I just got a call on Angel Radio from Bobby Singer," he told her.
Gail put down her book and looked at him inquiringly. "That's funny; I didn't hear anything," she said.
"This was on my private frequency," he elaborated.
She frowned. She knew that a few higher-ranking Angels had access to private channels, and Castiel certainly qualified for one.
"What did he say?" she asked him, curious.
So he told her about the request Bobby had made. Like Castiel, Gail was concerned. "It must be pretty serious, if you're both being summoned to God's office this late at night," she remarked, echoing his thoughts. "You'd better get going, then." She picked her book back up. "You'll have to fill me in, when you get back."
He walked over to her and sat beside her on the couch, taking her hand. "I want you to come with me," he told her.
She looked up from her book, surprised.
He smiled gently. "I'm sure God won't mind. I think he realizes we're sort of a package deal, now." His smile widened as he recalled the last visit the two of them had had with God. "Especially since we openly declared our love for each other, the last time we were there."
She laughed. Now that they had spent so much time together alone and had been through so much together as a team, he was more Cas than Castiel to her, and she was glad. He seemed happier and more relaxed, and it did her heart good to see him this way.
Gail put her book down. "OK, I'll tell you what. I'll go with you, but if God wants a private meeting with just you and Bobby, I'll wait outside in the reception area. I wonder if he keeps magazines there," she said mischievously.
They popped into God's reception area a moment later. Strange; it was empty. No Bobby.
Castiel waited a minute, looking around, but all was quiet. If he was supposed to meet Bobby here, where was he? Another minute. Still no Bobby. He looked at Gail, brow furrowed. She shrugged. She had never met Bobby, she had only heard about him through stories Cas and the Winchesters had shared. But he didn't seem the type to be late to a meeting, especially not to a meeting with God.
When he could no longer wait, Castiel tapped on God's closed office door.
"Come in," a voice called from inside the office. The voice was muffled, but it sounded like Bobby's voice. Odd.
Castiel pushed open the door, beckoning to Gail to follow. She came, but timidly. Regardless of what Cas had said, she didn't know if she should just barge in with him, if she hadn't been invited.
Once they were inside the office, Cas saw Bobby in God's chair, sitting behind God's desk. Was he playing around? God was nowhere in sight. What was going on, here?
Bobby stood and came around the desk, offering his hand to Cas. "Sorry, Cas," he said, smiling. They shook. Cas was used to the handshaking ritual by now, but he was incredibly confused. Where was God?
Now that Bobby had Godly powers, he could read Cas's thoughts loud and clear. OK, he'd had his little joke; time to clue the poor guy in. And that must be Gail, peeking over his shoulder like a child trying to look but not be seen.
Bobby said to Gail, "Come on out, dear. It's OK; I don't bite, I promise." His beard twitched as she moved to stand beside Castiel. Bobby extended his hand to Gail, and she took it. "I'm Bobby Singer. It's good to meet you, Gail. I've heard a lot about you."
"I've heard about you, too," she replied. "I'm so glad to finally meet you."
After they shook hands, Bobby figured he'd better come clean about the New Order, so he looked at Cas and said, "I think you and Gail had better sit down for this." Cas was still looking distressed, but he sat in one of the chairs opposite the desk, and Gail sat down next to him. Bobby went around the desk to sit back down, and he could see that Cas was about to lose it, so Bobby said without preliminary: "God has officially retired, and yours truly has agreed to do the job."
Both Cas and Gail's mouths dropped open at that. Poor Cas, Bobby thought again; it looks like he's going to faint. Bobby could appreciate what a shock this must be for him.
"Retired?" Cas repeated. His head was reeling. Truthfully, though, he had known this was coming; the last time he had spoken with his Father, God had mentioned retirement, and had offered Castiel the job. But to just leave this way, so abruptly, without a word...
Bobby felt for Castiel, he really did. God had expressed regret during their handover meeting that He could not personally say goodbye to His children, that it was just the way things had to be. However, He had asked Bobby to tell this to Castiel, and Castiel only.
Bobby did so now, as gently as he could.
Castiel's human side was hurt, and he was disappointed that his Father had left without so much as a goodbye, but his Angel side chastised him for feeling this way. God was God; who was Castiel to have
expected a personal farewell? He guessed it was enough that his Father had singled him out to give the message to. It would have to be.
So, Bobby was God now. Castiel did not have a problem with that; he had known Bobby in life through their mutual association with the Winchester brothers, and they had worked together before. He knew Bobby to be a good Hunter with a great knowledge of the lore, and more importantly, he was a good man. Presumably, God had turned to Bobby after Castiel himself had turned the job down. There would probably be a lot of eyebrows raised among the longer-serving Angels over Bobby's promotion to the High Office; Heaven was not really much different than Earth, when it came to office politics. But Bobby was the type of man who would not put up with any overt insubordination, and Castiel felt that he would command the respect of the Office once the Angels got to know him.
And if not, Castiel was prepared to back him up, however necessary. Another period of anarchy and war amongst the Angels had to be avoided at all costs. He didn't think it would come to that, but he would be vigilant just the same.
So Cas congratulated Bobby on the promotion, and pledged his full support. Bobby had expected no less, but he was pleased to hear it from Castiel, anyway. Bobby had always thought very highly of Cas. He also knew that Castiel was a favourite of God's, but more importantly to Bobby, he was like a third brother to the Winchesters. And that was the highest endorsement of all, as far as Bobby was concerned.
Bobby looked at Gail, who had been sitting quietly, listening to the men's exchange. She was a new Angel, but Bobby had done his research and he knew that she had earned a special place in God's heart, and in the Winchesters' as well. He'd read the Prophecies in preparation for their meeting, and had been amazed by how much Gail had been through in such a relatively short time.
"How are you doing, Gail?" he asked her. She looked startled at the question. "Fine," she said automatically. Bobby wasn't going to let her get away with that. If she was going to hang around with the Winchesters, she was going to have to be able to take some abuse. So he put his sternest face on and said, "You presume to lie to God?"
Now Gail was really freaked out. She didn't know Bobby, she had only heard about him, and she had no idea how to respond to that. She looked at Castiel for guidance. Incredibly, he laughed out loud, and when she looked back at Bobby, he was smiling.
"Sorry," Bobby said, "I just couldn't resist."
Gail patted her chest. "It's a good thing I'm already an Angel, 'cause I think you just gave me a heart attack," she quipped.
Bobby laughed, but then his face turned serious. "I know how much you've been through, recently," he said to her. "So, how ARE you doing, really?"
She thought for a minute. "Generally, OK," Gail replied. "I still think about Frank a lot." Her voice caught in her throat as she said it, and Castiel took her hand. They'd talked quite a bit about Frank recently, and he'd listened patiently as she reminisced about the brother she'd known in life. In a way, she'd had to go through the grieving process twice. The human Frank had been killed by the Demons who had been operating under Crowley's direction and buried by Sam and Dean outside the Winchesters' bunker. Gail had just started to work through this loss when she'd learned that her brother had been resurrected by Crowley and his mother and made into the worst kind of Demon, a Knight of Hell. And then, the final slap in the face: she herself had
been forced to kill Frank after he had apparently killed Castiel. True, the thing Gail had killed had not been her brother, only a Demon, wearing his face. But that fact did not negate the event, nor her sorrow.
Bobby cleared his throat. It was time to do his job. "God went over the situation with me before he left," he said.
She leaned forward. Maybe Bobby could give her the answer that Castiel couldn't. "Can you tell me - " her voice caught again, but she made herself continue " - if Frank is in Hell?" Gail didn't see how he couldn't be, not after all the horrible things he'd done while in Crowley's service, but she had to know.
Bobby frowned. "I'm sorry to have to tell you, but yes, he is," he answered her.
Gail's eyes stung and she bit her lip to suppress the tears. It wasn't fair, she thought bitterly. Frank had done so much good in his life. He didn't ask to be dug up by Crowley, and he certainly would never have agreed to work for the King of Hell if he had not been force-fed Demon blood. Gail had had some experience with that herself, when Crowley had done it to her, before Castiel and the Winchesters had brought her back. Now here she was, an Angel in the presence of God, and Frank was in Hell. It simply wasn't fair, she thought again, fuming silently.
"You're right; it isn't fair," Bobby said to Gail. His eyes were staring directly into hers, but his expression was not unkind.
Oh, crap. Now Bobby was reading her thoughts, too. Well, why not? God used to do that all the time, and she had never been able to get used to it, nor stop herself from thinking those kinds of thoughts in His presence. And now Bobby was God, wasn't he?
"I'm sorry - " she said to him. " - Do I call you God, or...?"
Castiel was startled by the question, but he'd been wondering about that, too. The human part of him was not quite sure he could do it. Cas had known Bobby in life, and they had gone through a number of battles together with the Winchesters, but the idea seemed blasphemous. Only God was God, and he'd been the only Father Castiel had ever known. This was going to take some getting used to.
Bobby smiled at Gail, then looked at Cas. He'd heard what Cas was thinking, too. He'd have to learn how to turn that off sometimes or it was going to drive him nuts, Bobby thought. He wondered if deities drank.
"Bobby is just fine," he assured them. Then, since more seemed to be needed, he said, "Look, I'm not God per se, I just have His job. A lot of things won't change, but a lot of things will. I'm gonna make sure His vision for Heaven stays intact, but truthfully, we need to update some methods here."
Castiel and Gail were silent; both were impressed by Bobby's demeanour, and by what he was saying.
Then Bobby turned back to Gail and said, "Unfortunately, even though God gave me his powers and a free hand, I'm not able to overturn any decisions He's already made. And that includes your brother, Gail." He frowned. "I'm really sorry. I know it's not fair, but my hands are tied."
Gail's heart sank. She had figured as much, but she was still bitterly disappointed. She felt responsible for Frank's fate, in a way; after all, she had been the one to kill him.
She and Castiel had had several spirited debates about this feeling of hers.
"You were in no way responsible for what happened to your brother," Castiel had said sternly, almost angrily. He hated to see Gail blame herself, when it had been Crowley, always Crowley, who had been solely to
blame. Crowley had dug up Frank's bones and then turned him into a Knight of Hell, making Gail's brother into the worst sort of Demon there was, save for Crowley himself.
While Gail had appreciated the logic of what Castiel was telling her, emotion was not logical, and her feelings of guilt continued to haunt her. She knew that the thing she had killed was not her brother, not really, but she relived the moment of stabbing Frank's vessel over and over again. Gail had temporarily lost her mind when the Demon wearing Frank's face had stabbed Castiel to death, and she had in turn stabbed that Demon multiple times in her grief and anger. She had miraculously been able to bring Castiel back after Sam and Dean had carried his body out of the den, but Gail still remembered how devastated she had felt when she'd thought Castiel was dead.
She hadn't had the chance to work through all these feelings at the time, but ever since she and Castiel had returned to the apartment they shared, he had been trying to help Gail cope with her grief. Castiel had understood that she needed time, but what he didn't understand was why she was being so hard on herself.
"Crowley is the one responsible," Castiel had told Gail. He spat out the name bitterly. Ever since Gail had come into Castiel's and the Winchesters' lives, Crowley had been the source and the cause of Gail's torment. He was supposed to be dead, but had somehow survived; was surviving to this day. As an Angel, Castiel was not supposed to feel hate, but the Cas in him felt quite differently. The Cas side of him vowed to kill Crowley on sight the next time the little bastard had the misfortune of being in the same vicinity, and then Cas would burn Crowley's bones, himself. See if he came back from that.
But until that happy day, Castiel would just have to be patient with Gail and provide her with the support she needed. Patience had traditionally been a strong suit of his, but he found himself lacking in that department when it came to anything on the subject of Crowley. Anger was a relatively new emotion for Cas but it seemed to be occurring more frequently these days, and he wondered how Dean was able to handle it. Cas resolved to talk to Dean about this, the next time they were alone.
Gail looked crestfallen, and Bobby felt badly about it, but there was nothing he could do. Castiel was looking glum, brooding. Well, he was off to a rollicking start; his first official meeting as God, and his two most special Angels were looking like he'd cancelled Christmas. Fortunately, Bobby had just the cure for that:
"So, what do you say we go down to the bunker and break the news to Sam and Dean that they'll have to pray to ME now, when they want something?"
As Bobby had hoped, smiles crept onto Cas and Gail's faces at that. Cas in particular couldn't wait for the Winchesters' reaction to the fact that their old friend was now God.
"Can you do that?" Gail asked curiously.
"I'm God now, I can pretty much do whatever I want," Bobby smirked.
Just then, however, Bobby's in-house line buzzed and he looked down at the call display: Kevin Tran. God had appointed Kevin to the office of One True Prophet when He'd cast Chuck into Hell. Bobby glanced at his watch; why would Kevin be calling from his own office so late at night?
He held his hand up. "I'd better take this," he said to Cas and Gail.
Bobby picked up the phone. "What's up, Kevin?"
"Can I come and see you?" Kevin replied. "It's important, or I wouldn't be calling this late."
Balls. Bobby sighed. Well, he supposed it came with the territory. "Sure, come on over, Kevin."
He hung up the phone and said to Cas, "Something's come up. I'll try to make it as brief as I can. You and Gail go to the bunker and wait for me there. I'll call you on Angel Radio when I'm ready to come down." He smiled, then. "Pump some coffee into the boys, if need be. I've been looking forward to this for a while."
Cas and Gail laughed, the earlier pall broken. They said they'd see him soon, and disappeared from Bobby's office.
Kevin tapped lightly on the office door and then entered.
"I'm sorry, Bobby," he said as he hurried in, "but I thought you needed to know about this, right away."
Bobby saw he was holding a file folder in his hand. "What is it, Kevin?" He gestured for Kevin to have a seat, but the young Angel remained standing. He looked agitated.
"I was rearranging some things in my desk, and I found this," he said, waving the file folder excitedly. "There was a false bottom in one of the drawers, and it was hidden there."
"What is it?" Bobby asked curiously.
"They're prophecies that Chuck wrote," Kevin replied. "It looks like he wrote them just before..." Kevin hesitated, not wanting to say the words. He hadn't liked Chuck, but to be cast down to Hell was the worst thing he could think of. Imagine having to spend eternity in Crowley's domain. Kevin had had all too many run-ins with Crowley, when the young Prophet had been alive.
"...Before he left," Kevin finished. Then he fell silent.
"Well?" Bobby said impatiently. "What do they say?"
"That's just it," Kevin replied. "Most of them have to do with events that have already happened."
It took all the self-control Bobby had at that moment not to roll his eyes. Kevin was young and new to his job; and though the two of them had known of each other through their individual associations with the Winchester brothers, Bobby had died before Dean and Sam had met Kevin.
Be that as it may, Bobby had the feeling that Kevin hadn't called him at this late hour to talk about events that had already happened, and of which Bobby was well aware. "What are you not telling me, Kevin?"
Kevin looked startled, and then he remembered who he was talking to. He may have said to call him Bobby, but he was God, now.
"There was an appendix added to the back of the manuscript," Kevin said. He held up the thin sheaf of papers that had been stapled to the back of the Winchester Prophecies. "The Vegas Revelations."
While Bobby and Kevin were talking in Bobby's office, two long-serving Angels named Jason and Xavier were talking in Xavier's.
Xavier was Upper Echelon, and he had been very upset to hear of Bobby's promotion to the High Office. Xavier had been serving God faithfully for centuries, never straying from the path, and when he'd heard
rumours of God's retirement, he'd once again allowed himself to feel hope that his years of service would finally be rewarded. Then, the rumour mill had issued reports that God had offered the job to Castiel. Castiel was Upper Echelon too, and he had seniority over Xavier, having served longer. But he had also rebelled against Heaven in the past, and he had strayed from the path more times than Xavier could count. Now Castiel was working on Earth and was reportedly more human than Angel, and he had a close association with a female Angel, the nature of which was highly suspicious. And, as if all that wasn't bad enough, Xavier still remembered The Fall, not to mention all the Brothers and Sisters who had died as a result. Many Angels here were either new, or seemed to have forgotten.
But Jason and Xavier had not forgotten. And while they were aware that Metatron had been the main architect of The Fall, both blamed Castiel just as much, if not more. He was supposed to be such a hero, yet he had been duped by Metatron then, and he had also allowed Metatron's escape from prison recently. At last report, Metatron was still at large, and roaming free on Earth. No Angel was safe as long as Metatron was free. He may have been stripped of most of his basic Angel powers when he'd been cast into Hell, but he was also one of God's Originals and as such, all he had to do was kill another Angel and steal his Brother or Sister's Grace, and he would be able to borrow the power he needed. And they all knew that Metatron had no qualms about killing.
If Castiel had gotten the job, Jason and Xavier had been planning to invoke the ancient rules and hold the tribunal. They could not follow him if they could not respect him, and the tribunal would have taken care of him, once and for all. But then, amazingly, he had turned the job down!
Xavier had been scornful, saying to Jason, "So, our Father offers the High Office to Castiel, the most screwed-up Angel in the history of Creation, and he has the nerve to turn God down!" The irony was lost on him at that moment, in his outrage. Here they were, railing about Castiel having refused the job, when he was the last Angel they thought should have it. Old resentments run deep. Jason had been just as outraged, adding,
"And I heard that Castiel actually brought his - 'girlfriend' - to God's office without an invitation, and that SHE advised him not to take the job!"
So intent were they on putting Castiel down that both Angels had missed the point; he had not taken the job, which was what they had wanted.
However, on this evening, Jason and Xavier had another beef. They had just heard that God had appointed Bobby Singer to the High Office, and they were once more outraged. In a way, this was even worse, by their logic. At least Castiel, as bad as he was, was Upper Echelon. Bobby was a newer arrival to Heaven; he had only been there a few years. And from what they'd heard, he was a very unorthodox Angel, too. Bobby had kept to himself in Heaven and therefore no one knew too much about him personally. But it was common knowledge that he'd been a close associate of the Winchester brothers and, by extension, of Castiel's. There was that name, again. Admittedly, Jason and Xavier did not know Bobby at all, but they definitely didn't approve of the company he kept.
Xavier was fuming. Apparently, he had not even been in the running for the promotion. And this "Bobby" sounded like bad news. What experience did he have, especially compared against Xavier's own? From what they'd heard, Bobby was also pro-human. While as Angels, they were not anti-human per se, both Jason and Xavier were hardliners; always had been. They did not approve of Angels who consorted too familiarly with humans; those Angels tended to lose sight of the path God wanted them on. Look at Castiel as a prime example.
"Have you talked with the rest of the Upper Echelon about the new appointment?" Jason asked Xavier.
Xavier frowned. "Not yet, but I intend to." He made up his mind right then and there that he would circulate a memo to the other members of the Upper Echelon, excluding Castiel of course, calling an emergency meeting to discuss the issue.
"The Vegas Revelations?" Bobby echoed what Kevin had said.
Kevin had finally calmed down a bit, at least enough to sit down in the chair across from Bobby. But now, he leaned forward in earnest. "Yeah," he said, then added, "Sir."
Bobby's beard twitched in amusement. Ah, youth. "Bobby is fine," he told Kevin.
Kevin relaxed a bit at that, but he still seemed agitated. "But, the Vegas prophecies are weird," he insisted.
Bobby's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? How so?"
"Well..." Kevin struggled to articulate what he was trying to say without being disrespectful. "You know how Chuck's prophecies were always so...detailed?" he asked Bobby, trying to be diplomatic.
Bobby thought that he knew what Kevin was getting at, but he used his newly acquired Godlike powers to peek into Kevin's mind, to be sure.
His beard twitched again. "What you're so diplomatically trying not to say is that Chuck was a douche."
Kevin started to smile. That had been exactly what he'd wanted to say, but he didn't know if he should say such a thing to God.
"Don't worry, Kevin," Bobby continued, "I encourage people to tell the honest truth as much as possible. Makes it easier. Lets you know where you stand."
Kevin was glad to hear this. He had respected God, of course, but Bobby was a boss he could definitely work for. "In that case, yeah," he grinned. "Chuck WAS a douche. He took a lot of pleasure out of forecasting bad things for people, and he liked to go into great detail when it came to people he didn't like." He sat back. There. It was off his chest.
"Like Dean, Sam and Cas?" Bobby asked, but of course, he already knew the answer.
Kevin nodded. "Yeah. And their friend, that new Angel Gail. I haven't met her yet, but boy, has she ever had a rough time." He shuddered inwardly as he thought about everything he'd read. He knew what it was like to be targeted by Crowley. The King of Hell had kidnapped Kevin's mother and made Kevin believe she was dead, and he had also chopped off one of Kevin's fingers in order to force his compliance when Kevin had refused to translate the Demon tablet for him. Yeah, he knew how bad it could get being on Crowley's radar.
"Well, I did meet her a little while ago, and she's OK," Bobby told him. "She's Cas's..." he paused, not knowing how to finish the sentence "...friend. Sam and Dean's, too. So tell me, Kevin, what's so weird about these Vegas prophecies?"
"A couple of things," Kevin replied. "The first thing is - they're a lot more vague than anything else I've seen Chuck write, and they're incomplete."
Bobby mulled this over. God had told him as part of his briefing that he had shut Chuck down shortly before sending him to Hell. After the fiasco with Metatron, God hadn't wanted Chuck to be in the loop any more about anything. So these Vegas notes must have been written just before that time, which explained why they were incomplete.
"What else is weird about them, Kevin?" he asked.
"Well...they talk about an event coming up on the weekend in Las Vegas called a 'Supernatural convention'," Kevin said. "I was curious what that was, so I Googled it before I came here - thanks for the computer, by the way - " Bobby nodded at this, pleased his innovation was already paying dividends. Kevin went on, " - and you're not gonna believe it."
He went on to tell Bobby that there were things called "Supernatural conventions" that took place every year at hotels in major North American cities. "And get this," Kevin continued, warming to his subject, "they're based on a TV show that's based on the series of books Chuck wrote!"
Bobby was floored. He knew about Chuck's books, of course, and had found it funny that the fans of the "Supernatural" series of books had no idea that Sam and Dean Winchester were real men, about whom these prophecies had been written. But now to find out that there was a TV series, as well? He didn't know if he should be amused, or appalled. He settled for a little of both.
"What do these, what do you call 'em, conventions, have to do with the prophecies, I wonder?" Bobby mused.
Kevin looked at the papers. "Like I said, it's vague," he replied, "but Chuck hints that Sam and Dean and Cas and Gail are supposed to go to Las Vegas this weekend and..." he shuffled the papers "...go to the Supernatural convention, at the Rio Hotel."
"Can I see that?" Bobby extended his hand, and Kevin gave him the papers. After scanning them for a moment, Bobby had to agree that the prophecies were frustratingly vague. He didn't see anything that alarmed him, but you had to consider the source.
He looked at Kevin. "You're the Prophet now, Kevin. What do YOU think?"
"I think they need to go," Kevin replied seriously. "That's the other thing I wanted to tell you. I've been writing about the four of them and Las Vegas for about a week now, and I only found Chuck's writings tonight."
Bobby's eyebrows shot up. "You've been writing about this for a week?"
"Yeah, but I can't SEE it!" Kevin exclaimed, frustrated. "Every time I open my computer and start to write about it, my vision gets all blurry and I get a funny feeling and then I have to stop! I'm really sorry, Bobby, this has never happened to me before. When I saw that Chuck had been writing about it too, I was hoping his prophecies would be more detailed, 'cause it's been driving me nuts!" Kevin looked down, breathing heavily after his outburst.
Bobby waited patiently for Kevin to collect himself. He could see how much this was distressing the young Prophet, and the vagueness of it all was bothering Bobby, too. Why would two Prophets be convinced that the quartet should attend this convention in Vegas, but not be able to say why, or what would happen to them when they got there? As far as he knew, this was unprecedented. But Bobby had to face it; he had only been on the job for a couple of days now, and God was gone. What should he do?
"OK, Kevin, leave it with me," Bobby said. It was late, and he'd had enough. He'd ask Sam and Dean, and Cas too, what they thought. And hopefully, that bunker would have a liquor cabinet.
Cas got the call from Bobby on Angel Radio that he would be arriving at the bunker in five minutes. Cas didn't want to spoil Bobby's fun of making the announcement to Dean and Sam, but he had to at least let them know that their friend was coming. He and Gail had tried to stall the brothers for as long as they could, but it was late, and their human friends wanted to go to bed.
"Dean, Sam..." Cas said.
"What, Cas?" Dean said wearily. He was always glad to see them, but Cas and Gail had been sitting here making small talk for quite a while now, and they were trying his patience. Just because the two of them didn't need to sleep, didn't mean they had to stop him and Sam from doing it.
"An old friend of yours is coming by," Cas said enigmatically.
"Aww, geez. What, now?" Dean groaned. Then, he thought about it. Why would Cas be telling them this now, out of the blue, after he had been sitting here, this whole time? Oh, no...
"Angel Radio?" he asked Cas.
Cas nodded.
Sam was puzzled. Who could possibly be calling Cas on Angel Radio this late that they would want to see?
Suddenly Bobby popped into the room. Sam and Dean's mouths dropped open in surprise. Since Bobby had died, he had only been able to appear to them in dreams. They weren't dreaming now, were they?
Dean reached out and pinched Sam on the arm, hard.
"Ow!" Sam yelled, yanking his arm away. "What was THAT for?"
"I wanted to see if we were dreaming," Dean smirked. He got up and went over to where Bobby was standing, his tiredness forgotten.
"Are you really here?" Dean asked Bobby.
Bobby's eyes crinkled. "I'm really here, Dean."
They embraced in their manly way, and then Sam came over and gave Bobby a hug, too.
"How is this even possible?" Sam asked Bobby. "Did God change the rules, all of a sudden?"
The brothers were so intent on their reunion with Bobby that they didn't notice Castiel and Gail exchange smiles.
"About that..." Bobby said. He was smiling, too. "I think you'd better have a seat for what I'm about to tell you," he said to the brothers. "But, first: Do you have any bourbon?"
"I doubt it," Dean said, frowning. Bobby had news from Heaven: knowing Angels and what went on up there, this probably wasn't gonna be good. And Bobby was an Angel himself, and he wanted a drink. How bad WAS it?
"I think we have some whiskey, though," Sam said, moving to the cupboards to look. He was thinking the same thing Dean was. And Cas and Gail were here, too. What kind of Angel crap are they going to lay on us? he wondered. Had Cas changed his mind about taking the job. after all?
Sam produced a bottle of whiskey and took out a glass for Bobby.
"Better make it three," Bobby said, his beard twitching. "You guys'll need a snort, in a minute."
Now the brothers really started to worry, and it didn't help when Gail and Cas exchanged glances and Cas said, "Make it five."
But he'd been smiling when he said it. Sam and Dean were really confused, now. What was going on?
Crowley was sitting in his office in Hell, the usual glass of scotch in his hand. He had paperwork to attend to, but his heart wasn't in it. His heart wasn't in much of anything these days. And, yes, it turned out that he
had a heart, after all. Though he was in Fergus's body now and not his old one, ever since his mother had been killed and he had retreated back here after the scene at the den, Crowley had felt a strange sense of ennui set in. He'd had no love for his mother; he hadn't even liked her, so that couldn't be it. He'd actually admired the way Gail had dispatched Rowena so neatly. It was still puzzling to him how she'd done it, though, with the walls having been coated in sigils. Her Angel boyfriend had been powerless, and had been killed by Crowley's Knight and Gail's brother, Frank. At least that had been the one bright spot that had come out of the whole mess. But then Gail had turned on Frank and killed him too, leaving Crowley without his best Knight and his protegee. That had been a real blow. Frank had served Crowley well. He'd turned out to be a ruthless and prolific killer, and Crowley missed their bull sessions.
It seemed that he had given up on Gail too soon, he thought regretfully. The way she had fallen upon Frank, stabbing him over and over again... Of course, she had been crazed with grief over the Angel's death, but still, Crowley had to give her her due. He allowed himself a smile, remembering the sight of the Winchester boys carrying their fallen friend out of the den. He supposed he could say the name, now that Castiel was finally dead. He'd been a thorn in Crowley's side for centuries, and Crowley would not mourn him.
The calculating part of Crowley's brain wondered how Gail was coping with the loss of Castiel. She had demonstrated prodigious powers in the den, along with a ferocity he didn't know she'd possessed. Now that he was one Knight short, Crowley wondered if he should revisit the original plan to recruit Gail. Had her grief turned her against Heaven? He knew better than anyone that she had a dark side, and a being with that much power could be useful to him. Yes, she was an Angel now, but Lucifer had once been an Angel, too. Crowley took another sip as he mulled this over.
Unfortunately, Sam and Dean Winchester still lived. After all these years of tangling with the brothers, Crowley was still ambiguous about them. On the one hand, they had screwed him over many times, but he supposed that was only fair, as he had done the same to them. On the other hand, and he hated like hell to admit it but it was true: he had a grudging respect for the brothers. They had been through ordeal after ordeal since he had known them, and they had always bounced back. And now it seemed that Dean and Sam had even outlived their Angel friend Castiel, who Crowley had always suspected would outlive everyone, himself included. He supposed that God was enjoying his retirement too much to even care about his alleged favourite son, as the silence from that quarter had been deafening and as far as Crowley knew, Castiel remained in the land of the dead.
Yes, Crowley knew that God had retired. He'd been a little surprised by the news, but truthfully, not that much. The last time they had spoken on the Hotline, God had sounded tired; distracted. The Hotline between Heaven and Hell was a closely guarded secret. It had existed since the beginning of time, as a way for the rulers of both domains to communicate in an emergency situation. The Hotline was seldom used, but Crowley had received the call just recently about God's retirement, and his replacement was Bobby Singer, of all people. That had amused Crowley, and he wondered how that particular promotion was being received by the Old Guard in Heaven. He himself went way back with Bobby, and they had spoken easily enough, considering their opposite ends of the spectrum. Secretly, Crowley thought that Bobby had been a shrewd choice on God's part. He would be a fair ruler, but he did not suffer fools and would not put up with any b.s. from anyone, Demon or Angel. Bobby did have an unfortunate affection for the Winchester brothers, though, and that fact would likely be a bone of contention between him and Crowley in the future, if and when Crowley decided to end Sam and Dean's lives.
Crowley had not yet made up his mind about what he wanted to accomplish in the near future. He realized that everyone needed goals, immortal beings perhaps even more so than mortal ones. Crowley had been results-oriented in his previous existence, but ever since his mother had reanimated him as her son Fergus and then gone and gotten herself killed, he'd been at loose ends. He had found himself retreating here more often than not, drinking alone, brooding about missed opportunities and feeling depressed. Without Rowena around to challenge and goad him, Crowley could do whatever he wanted. But, what did he want to do?
Unbeknownst to Crowley, his mother had forgotten the last few words of the ancient spell when she had reanimated him, and her lapse had created a boomerang effect, which was afflicting him now. The King of Hell was slowly taking on the human emotions and characteristics that had plagued him in life. The constant drinking and the depression were two of the symptoms, and so was the lack of ambition Crowley was experiencing. He was becoming more Fergus than Crowley now, and his hold on the throne was dangling precariously because of it.
Elsewhere in Hell, Frank was shoveling coal into the furnace, shovel after shovel, as Metatron and Chuck had been doing before their escape. Crowley had not bothered to check on Frank's work assignment, partly due to Crowley's lack of focus, but mostly due to the fact that though Frank was still a Demon, his Knight status had been revoked upon his death, and he was just a grunt now.
All of the rage had left Frank at the moment of his death at his sister's hands, and he was now a pathetic wretch, resigned to his eternal fate. Frank's memories remained intact, and that made his torment worse, which he supposed was the point. He didn't blame Gail for having killed him. He had done some truly awful things as a Knight of Hell, things that were now beyond his comprehension.
What the hell had happened to him? In life, Frank had been a Hunter, a damned good one, and he had prided himself on his ability to kill monsters and keep humans safe. Then Crowley had killed him; maybe not directly, but Crowley had been the architect of his demise. Then, the further insult: somehow, Crowley had raised Frank from the dead and converted him into an Alpha Demon, a Knight of Hell, and Frank had killed many humans under his command. Then, in that final and surreal confrontation in the den, Frank had murdered his sister's Angel companion, and then Gail herself had killed Frank.
So now he was in Hell, doomed for all eternity. In his former incarnations, Frank would have raged at the
unfairness of it all, but now, he felt as though he deserved his fate. Crowley or no Crowley, Frank had done those terrible things, and now he had to pay the price. He was only sorry that Gail had had to see him like that. Before Gail and her friends had arrived at the den, Crowley had called Frank into the throne room to inform him of their imminent arrival. He was to kill all three of the men, starting with the Angel Castiel. Crowley had informed Frank that his intention was to make Gail a Knight of Hell also, and then he and his sister would be reunited. As black as Frank's heart had become at that point, a part of him had wanted that, very much. Crowley had told Frank that the only way to make that happen would be for Frank to kill his sister's companions, who were trying to turn her against her brother, and Frank had believed him. But now he realized that Crowley had been lying; had used him in the worst possible way. Thank God he had not killed his sister. Funny for a Demon to be thanking God, he knew, but Frank did so, anyway. Frank hoped that Gail would be able to get over the trauma of losing her friend, and of having had to kill her own brother. And, as he continued to shovel, Frank threw in a couple of prayers for Gail, as well.
Once the bottle of whiskey was in the middle of the table and Sam shared out the glasses, they all sat down and looked expectantly at Bobby.
But now that he was here and looking at the Winchester boys, Bobby didn't know exactly how to put what he had to say.
"What is it, Bobby?" Dean said impatiently. "What's going on?"
Strangely enough, Dean's nervousness served to calm Bobby down. So he raised his glass and said, "Congratulate me on my promotion, boys."
"What? What are you talking about?" Sam said, puzzled.
Bobby threw the shot back, and poured another. "You're looking at the new God," he said to the brothers, then threw that shot down as well.
Total silence. Sam and Dean looked at each other. Yeah, right.
"Very funny," Dean scoffed. "You tried to pull that before in my dream, remember? I'm not falling for it."
Balls. Bobby had forgotten about his joke. How ironic that he'd kidded about being God before getting offered the job. Almost like he had known. Maybe if this God thing didn't work out, he could do Kevin's job.
He smiled at Dean. "Sorry to tell you this, but it's true."
Dean looked at Cas, and Cas shrugged, trying to keep a straight face. "Why are you looking at me, Dean?" Cas said, as innocently as he could.
"Is he telling the truth?" Dean demanded of Cas.
"How would I know, Dean?" Cas replied, trying to keep from grinning. "You know us Angels; we can never give you a straight answer."
Bobby laughed; he couldn't help it. Cas's sense of humour had clearly improved in Bobby's absence.
Sam was staring at Bobby. "You're telling the truth," he said.
"Yup, I am," Bobby confirmed.
"What happened to God?" Sam asked, curious. Unlike Dean, Sam was pretty calm about the whole thing, it seemed.
"He retired," Bobby replied.
"God retired," Dean echoed. Bobby nodded. "He just...retired." Bobby nodded again. Dean was deep in denial; it was pretty funny, actually.
"What did he do, buy a condo in Florida?" Dean continued, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Dunno," Bobby said, taking another sip of his drink. He was relishing the look on the boys' faces and Dean's reaction, but maybe it was time to get a bit serious. He had read the files, and after his conversation with Kevin, Bobby figured he'd better start doing his job. So he leaned forward then, and said to the brothers, "All I know is that God left me in charge, and I damn well intend to do a good job."
Silence. Dean looked at Sam, who was already nodding.
"We're behind you, Bobby," Sam said. "Anything you need."
Dean recognized Bobby's serious face. I guess it's really true, he thought. Well, what the hell. Their lives were crazy, anyway; why not?
"God left me a stack of files," Bobby told them. "There are some people out there, both human and otherwise, that mean all four of you harm."
They all exchanged glances at that. Gail sighed. What else was new? She had been dealing with people, and otherwise, that meant them all harm continually, ever since the Winchesters had scraped her off the pavement that night. She didn't know whether to laugh, or to cry. Gail knew that the type of lives they led weren't exactly conducive to peace and serenity, at least not for too long. But, still...
It was as if Bobby had read her mind, which he probably had. He was God now, after all, and it wouldn't even be the first time he had done so. today. Why was it always her? Gail reminded herself to ask Castiel later if there were any techniques she could use to shield her thoughts.
But in the meantime, Bobby was looking at her. His expression was sympathetic, though, and he was nodding. "It just so happens, I agree," he said to her.
Sam and Dean exchanged glances again. They knew that Gail hadn't spoken aloud, yet Bobby was answering her. Hopefully there wouldn't be too much of that crap going on, Dean thought.
Bobby said, "Hold that thought," to Gail, and he turned to Dean, then. "No, there won't be too much of that crap going on," Bobby said to Dean sarcastically.
Dean looked startled; then he realized that Bobby was God now, so he had the power to read Dean's thoughts. Crap. He'd better watch what he was thinking around Bobby, now. Not that it had ever really mattered; Bobby had always been able to read Dean like a book.
"You've gotta realize I'm just new to the job," Bobby said to Dean. "God left me with all these files and situations, and then He left me with Godlike powers, and then He just...left." He looked at them all, trying to articulate how he was feeling. "Look, guys, this is all new to me, too. I took the job because I thought I could do a good job, but you've gotta know that it's gonna take a while for me to get used to it. For us all to get
used to it." He gave Dean a brief smile. "One thing I'll have to work on is picking up all your thoughts.
Believe me, I don't want to hear what's rattling around in there any more than you want me to hear it."
Dean pretended to be offended by that, but he was relieved. God or no God, Bobby or no Bobby, it was never a good thing to have all your thoughts known.
Then Bobby turned to Gail. "Same goes with you, Gail." He smiled at her. "I know we just met, but these guys will tell you I'm a straight shooter. It's just...I've been picking up people's thoughts, if there are really strong feelings associated with them. God told me I can turn it on and off with a bit of practice, so just try to bear with me."
She smiled at him, appreciating his honesty. "I understand," she said. "It took me a while to get used to being an Angel. In fact, I'm still getting used to it." She gave Castiel a little smile at that. He still shook his head in amusement when Gail used the door to open the bunker, a habit she couldn't seem to break.
"But, about what you were thinking, Gail," Bobby said, bringing them back to the point, "I couldn't agree more." He looked at the men, including all four of them in what he was about to say: "If it's OK, Gail, I'll tell everyone what you were thinking." She nodded; she would have said it aloud, anyway. "Gail was thinking that you've all been through a lot lately, and you need a bit of a break. So, as my first official Godlike act," he continued, smiling, "I'm officially giving you all a week off."
They all looked at each other, then looked at Bobby. Could he really do that? And what exactly did he mean?
"That means no new cases, and I'll keep as much evil as I can away from you during that time. It means, you go on a vacation."
Sam and Gail started to smile. A vacation sounded like just the thing they all needed. Even Dean had to admit that he could use a break. Castiel was still bothered by Bobby's reference to evil forces that meant them all harm, but he recognized that the Winchesters had been under a lot of strain lately, and would benefit from a bit of time off. He'd seen Sam smile at the mention of a vacation, and though Dean usually got bored and restless with too much time off, Cas had also seen him look relieved at the mention of a holiday. And of course, he had seen Gail smile as Sam had, and Castiel knew that, out of all of them, she probably needed a break the most. Gail had been through the wringer emotionally, and he thought a week off would do her a world of good.
Bobby looked at their faces and saw nothing but joy and relief. It did his heart good to be able to do this for them, but he had an agenda, too. Kevin had advised him that the four of them needed to go to the Supernatural convention, but he had not been able to say why, or what would happen when they got there. Prior to his orientation meeting with God, Bobby had always thought that prophecies were b.s., and had wondered like everyone else why God allowed certain things to take place. But God had explained a few things to him in that regard, and now Bobby had come to believe that there was a reason for most things. Sometimes it was all about the long game, and God had told Bobby that if He had to explain His methodology to everyone involved, nothing would ever get done. That actually made sense to Bobby. God had clued him in on a few instances where things had worked out the way they were meant to, even though they hadn't seemed like it at the time. For example, God shared that He had imbued Gail with Healing powers from birth. He had been aware that they would be a burden to her at times, and would ultimately be a beacon to Crowley. From Gail's point of view, God's decision to give her this gift would seem like a capricious act of cruelty; once she had gotten on Crowley's radar, he had killed her entire family, and subjected Gail to countless torments since. However, the fact that she'd had those powers had enabled her to heal Castiel
twice, and the second time, she'd been able to bring him back from the dead. God had foreseen these events, with the assistance of Chuck's prophecies, and He knew that if Gail had been offered the choice between never having had the powers or saving Castiel's life even once, she would have chosen the latter. So there was a long game, an end result in mind for almost all of God's children, but it was not necessarily for them to know. After all, that was what faith was supposed to be all about.
Bobby had understood the logic behind what God had said, but after God had left, he'd experienced an internal conflict. When Bobby was a child [he knew it was hard to believe, but he had once been one], he had heard the expression: "God works in mysterious ways". That expression had been quoted to him every time he had asked. Why? Why does God let terrible things happen to good people? And that had been his answer: that God worked in mysterious ways, and it wasn't for man to know, or even to question.
But he was questioning it, now. When he'd agreed to take the job, the responsibility for the maintenance of God's files had fallen to him, which meant that the pieces were already in place on the gameboard. If God's plan was followed to the letter, the principals involved would experience loss and suffering, but there was a purpose. God had advised Bobby that he was free to do the job the way he saw fit, but if Bobby were to decide to change any of the circumstances for any of the individuals, God could no longer guarantee the end result. But was it right for Bobby to keep his friends in the dark, and to allow them to suffer more pain and loss? Hadn't there been enough of that in their lives?
But while Bobby continued to wrestle with this ethical dilemma, he supposed he'd better lead by example and show a little faith, himself. If he was going to buy into God's premise that everything, good or bad, happened for a reason, then Bobby had to send his friends where they were meant to go, and trust in the endgame.
So he leaned forward and looked at all four of them, saying, "And for your vacation, I want you all to go to Las Vegas. You'll leave tomorrow afternoon."
Dean perked up at the mention of Las Vegas. While he thought it oddly specific that Bobby said he wanted them to go to Vegas, and that they were to leave tomorrow afternoon, he didn't let that bother him. Vegas was his dream destination for some time off. He could already picture himself throwing back some shots, playing poker, maybe even smoking a cigar. And, the showgirls...he was sold.
Sam had also found the instructions oddly specific, and though he was looking forward to all of the things that Dean was, he asked Bobby, "Why Vegas? And why tomorrow afternoon?"
Bobby frowned, but he had already made his decision, for better or for worse. "Just go with me on this one, Sam."
Sam looked at him for a moment, but let it go. This was Bobby, after all. He obviously had a good reason for sending them there. And Bobby was God now; maybe he wasn't allowed to say. Although they were old friends and went back a long way, Sam supposed the fact that your friend was now God might tend to alter the paradigm a bit. He smiled. "OK, Bobby."
Then Bobby stood and said, "Well, it's late, and I'd better be getting back. And if I know you, Dean, and I do," he looked at Dean pointedly, his beard twitching with amusement, "you guys had better get a good night's sleep. I have the feeling you're not gonna get much sleep when you get there."
They all laughed. Dean and Sam stood and shook hands with Bobby. Gail and Castiel stood as well, but when Cas approached Bobby to shake his hand, he said to Bobby, "Can Gail and I talk to you for a minute?"
Sam and Dean looked at each other. Angel stuff; that was their cue to leave. They said goodnight to everyone and went to their rooms, visions of neon lights dancing in their heads.
Gail looked at Castiel, once the brothers left. What did he want to talk to Bobby about on their behalf?
He smiled at her and took her hand. "I'm not keeping you in the dark," Cas assured her, "I just thought this might be the perfect opportunity to ask for our gift."
Gail knew instantly what he was talking about. Back when she had first become an Angel, God had bestowed a gift upon her and Castiel, a gift they had not yet used. God had advised them that they could choose one day a year to be human, to be able to experience everything the way that humans did.
Initially, she was delighted by Castiel's idea. To be able to once again experience human pleasures on a vacation sounded like great fun. Gail had been human not all that long ago, and she found herself sometimes missing the sensations of eating a good meal, or getting some sleep. But then she thought about where they were going, and thought about Castiel being human there. Would he have any idea what he was getting into? An Angel, in Sin City? It was pretty funny, actually.
So Gail squeezed his hand once and said, "Are you sure?" For an instant his face fell, so she hastened to add, "It's just that...Las Vegas is a very, umm..." How could she put this? She tried again. "Las Vegas is famous for..."
But Cas was nodding. "Yes, I know." He smiled. "I have been on Earth for a few years now, you know."
Gail released his hand and held her hands up in mock surrender. "OK, OK, I'm sorry."
Then he leaned in closer to her and said, " Actually, I Googled it."
Gail laughed, wondering if Cas had any idea how cute he was sometimes. It was a girlish notion, but after all, she was a girl. Even if she hadn't been able to feel like one for quite a while.
Bobby cleared his throat loudly. "Someone wanna clue me in, here?" he said, a little grumpily.
"Sorry," Gail said to Bobby, but she was still grinning.
So was Cas, but he saw the look on Bobby's face and tried to stop. He knew Bobby a lot better than Gail did, and that look meant Bobby's patience was wearing thin. Cas had been around humans long enough to know that you did not want to annoy one before you asked him for a favour, so he said, "My apologies, Bobby."
Bobby looked slightly mollified, so Cas quickly continued, "I'm hoping that our Father may have told you before He left about the annual gift that He had bestowed upon us."
Bobby smiled inwardly. He knew exactly what Cas was referring to. God had made a notation on their file, and He had also made a point to tell Bobby about it, in case the subject came up. And here it was. Bobby could understand. Who the hell would want to be an Angel in Las Vegas? He tried to keep his face stern, but felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Cas HAD changed since Bobby had first met him, and as far as Bobby was concerned, he had changed for the better. Truthfully, though Castiel had always been a good ally and a loyal friend, Bobby always thought he could benefit from a little human influence. Frankly, Cas had had a bit of a stick up his butt, back then. But clearly, his years with Sam and Dean had done Cas a lot of good, and having a female companion obviously didn't hurt, either.
So, feeling magnanimous, Bobby said, "I know all about it, Cas. In fact, I'll do you one better. I'll give you a long weekend. Tomorrow's Thursday. At sunrise tomorrow, you'll both be humans, and you'll stay humans until sunrise on Monday morning. How's that?"
Their faces lit up like Christmas trees at what he'd said, and for the first time since he'd taken the job, Bobby actually felt a little like God. How great it was to be able to do something that made your friends so happy.
So he put one hand on each of their foreheads then, and a white light emanated from each hand, transferring his gift.
Then Cas shook Bobby's hand and thanked him, and Gail thanked him too, then shyly asked if she could give him a hug. He opened his arms and she hugged him, murmuring, "Thank you so much." Bobby gave her a brief squeeze; then, unexpectedly, he felt tears spring to his eyes. So he said goodnight and then vanished, leaving two very happy Angels behind.
When Bobby got back to his office, he emailed the plane tickets, the Rio Hotel reservation information, and the Gold Supernatural convention tickets to Sam. When he and Kevin had decided that the four of them needed to go there as per the prophecies, Bobby had asked Kevin to hack into whatever computer systems were necessary to make that happen on such short notice. No doubt the original God would have gone about things a little differently, but it was Bobby's job now, and he meant to drag Heaven's methods kicking and screaming into the current century. Not that Bobby knew how to do any of that crap, but that was why he had young Angels like Kevin on his staff. In the weeks to come, Bobby meant to modernize a lot of the procedures in Heaven, and if the Upper Echelon didn't like it, well, that was too damn bad. With the exception of Cas, they were a bunch of puffed-up prigs with inflated senses of importance, who thought they were more righteous than anyone else. He could only imagine how they'd taken the news of his appointment. The Angel Xavier was the worst of the bunch. Bobby wondered if he should talk to Xavier, maybe extend the olive branch; then he decided not. If Xavier had a problem with him, let Xavier make the first move. Otherwise, Bobby would leave him alone, as long as he left Bobby alone and let him do his job.
Bobby sat back in his chair, musing. He'd meant to talk to the four of them about Chuck and Metatron still being on the loose, and about Crowley, but he just hadn't had the heart after seeing their joy at the prospect of going on a real vacation. Oh well, they were only going to be gone for a long weekend. The convention was over on Sunday night, and he'd arranged for them to fly back on Monday morning. The initial plan was to give them about a week off, but he would see how they were doing when they got back. They might need a couple more days' rest to nurse their hangovers, he thought with amusement. Dean, and to a lesser extent Sam, let loose in a 24-hour town with an unlimited supply of booze available? Yeah, he'd have to try to give them the full week, if he could. And the Angels? Human for four days, in Vegas? Bobby admittedly didn't know Gail very well, but she hadn't been an Angel for that long, so Bobby thought she might be OK. It had been his experience that women were generally a lot more sensible than men when it came to self-indulgence. But, Cas? If Bobby weren't so amused, he might have shuddered. They'd better keep a bit of a leash on him, unless they wanted to bring him home in a box.
Of course, drinking and gambling might not be the only human pleasures Cas wanted to explore. Bobby was now fairly certain that when Gail and Cas got to Vegas, they might be interested in doing a little more than just hand-holding. He had booked them a room together with this assumption in mind. As far as Bobby
knew, though he tried not to think of these things too often, poor Cas had never experienced that kind of earthly pleasure before. Though it had regrettably been too long in Bobby's case, at least he had fond memories to draw on, from time to time.
As usual, whenever Bobby's thoughts drifted back to old relationships, it was Rowena he thought of. Yes, the man who was now God had once had a relationship with the mother of the King of Hell. Funny how life worked out. Of course, Bobby hadn't known who Rowena was at the time. To him, she'd just been a beautiful, vivacious redhead who could match him drink for drink and quip for quip, and he'd fallen for her, hard. When the Winchesters and Cas weren't around, sometimes she would come over to Bobby's house and they would spend a few glorious days together, but then his world or hers would always come calling and he wouldn't see her for a while. He'd known she was a witch, of course. You couldn't have his background and not know. But he'd been infatuated with her, and had made himself look the other way. Then one day, Rowena had told Bobby that she wouldn't be coming back. It had been great fun, but they were who they were, and that was never going to change. So they'd spent one last night together and in the morning, she was gone, and so was one of his Demon blades. Bobby had hoped she'd come back one day but she never did, and that was probably just as well. But it still hurt to think of her, now and then.
Bobby had never told any of his friends about this dalliance, rationalizing that it was none of their damn business what he did in the bedroom, and on his off time. But then he had read the Prophecies and God's files, and had been shocked to learn of Rowena's true identity. He wondered if Rowena had stolen his Demon blade intending to use it to kill her son. He hoped so; this thought was the only thing that might mitigate his feelings of guilt for having taken up with her in the first place. But the fact was that Crowley still lived but Rowena was dead, and at Gail's hand, no less. But Bobby couldn't blame Gail, especially not after he'd found out what Crowley, and, to a somewhat lesser but still important extent, Rowena herself, had done to Gail. Hell, he would have killed the bitch, too.
The morning that Bobby had awoken alone, Rowena having flown the coop, he'd discovered that she'd left him a present. It was a colourful, gaily-wrapped package that looked like a book of some kind. But he had never opened it. Maybe because her departure had been too fresh, and too abrupt. Irrationally, he'd felt that if he opened the present, it would be like a formal acknowledgement that she'd left his life for good. So Bobby had kept the unopened package all these years. In fact, it was in his bottom desk drawer right now. He didn't worry about the security of the thing; this was God's office, after all. He checked now to see if it was still there and of course, it was. Bobby made no move to open it, though. Now that he knew what he knew about her, Bobby had to admit that he was a tiny bit afraid to. But as long as it stayed wrapped, Bobby felt it was OK where it was, right under his nose. After all, what kind of harm could a book do?
Gail opened Sam's laptop and saw that sunrise was due to occur in five minutes. She'd felt weird being an Angel at times, but now it felt really strange to think she'd be a human again in a few short minutes, albeit on a temporary basis.
She looked across the table at Castiel. She could only imagine how he must be feeling. Mostly nervous, probably. Even though this gift was something they'd both wanted, now that it was almost here, he must be feeling at least a little apprehensive. Unlike her, he'd only been human a very brief time in the past, and in his case, it hadn't been a positive experience. Frankly, she was a bit surprised he seemed so willing to try the experience again. But he'd been alone in the world before, and was being hunted by his own kind. This time, he'd be with his friends, on a vacation. The two situations were very much different. But, still...
"Sunrise in four minutes," she announced to Castiel. He looked at her with a start, as if he hadn't been expecting the update, even though they'd agreed earlier that Gail would keep an eye on the time.
She felt for him, and wanted him to look on this as a positive thing. Otherwise, what was the point?
"If there's anything Angel-y that you want to do, you'd best do it now," she teased, smiling at him.
He smiled back, but he still looked like a child anticipating a bad report card, so Gail stood up and walked around the table, extending her hand. "Let's go watch the sun come up," she said to him.
Castiel hesitated just a moment and then took her hand. They disappeared and then reappeared outside the bunker, their last official Angel act before the coming four days. "There you go," Gail quipped, winking at Castiel and making him smile.
Then they stood hand in hand and watched the sunrise. Why didn't they do this more often? Gail wondered. It was glorious. Red, yellow, and orange colours, painted throughout the sky. Their Father's canvas, spread out before them.
They both gazed at the beautiful sky in silent admiration, and after a few minutes, Gail said, "Okie-dokie, here goes..." She tried to disappear back into the bunker, but nothing happened.
Castiel sensed what she was trying to do and he attempted the same thing, with the same result. He looked at her.
"I guess we're human, now," he said simply.
"I guess so," she replied. Then: "And suddenly, I'm really hungry for breakfast. And I'm going to drink a pot of coffee, all by myself. I'll have to make a second pot, for you guys."
Cas smiled. All of a sudden, his stomach rumbled. Wonder of wonders, he was hungry too, and coffee sounded like just the thing he needed to begin with.
"That sounds great," he told Gail. "But first..."
He put his arms around her and kissed her on the mouth. This was a human kiss between a man and a woman, not at all like the chaste kisses they'd sometimes shared in the past. Gail responded, wrapping her arms around him and opening her mouth to his.
They stayed there like that for a while, kissing and caressing each other; but when their hands began to explore each other's bodies, Gail put a reluctant stop to it.
"Let's go make breakfast," she said to Cas, just as his hand was about to go somewhere she very much wanted it to go. She stepped away from him slightly, though she really hated to do it.
Cas nodded. He realized this wasn't the time or the place. It was difficult for him to stop too, but they had four whole days, and he could wait a bit longer. So he took her by the hand and they descended the steps into the bunker, to wake Sam and Dean.
Dean was already awake, and feeling like a kid on Christmas morning. He was throwing on some clothes when Cas knocked on his door.
"It's me," Cas announced, so Dean said, "Come in."
"Good morning," Cas said, smiling.
"You're looking awfully happy this morning," Dean said, looking at him a bit suspiciously.
"I've got something to tell you," Cas said. He sat down on the bed for a moment, but he was so excited that he bounced right back up onto his feet again.
"Yeah? What's that?" Now Dean was really suspicious. Cas looked like he had ants in his pants. Not some more Angel crap, Dean hoped. He was about to leave for Sin City; the last thing he needed to be thinking about was Heaven, or Angels, or even Bobby, aka God. Holy crap, he hoped that Bobby hadn't told Cas to watch over him. while they were there. Best friend or not, Dean would have to ditch him. Dean definitely planned on doing some non-Angelic things there.
But Cas had good news. He told Dean about the gift. He and Gail were now human, and would remain so until Monday morning.
"So we can eat, and drink, and - " Cas started to say, but he could not quite bring himself to finish the thought, now that it was real.
" - And what?" Dean knew full well, but for all the times the Angels had screwed with him, Cas deserved a little payback.
"You know," Cas replied evasively. And was he actually blushing? Oh, this was too good.
But Dean's urge to tease Cas some more waned when Cas looked at him and said, "I'm a little scared, Dean."
Oh, crap. There went his fun. Dean couldn't rib him, if he was going to go and say something like that.
"Why?" he asked Cas, though he had a pretty good idea.
"Because I've never..." Cas started to say, but he didn't have to finish.
Frankly, even though Gail and even Cas had been ambiguous about the subject, Dean had suspected as much. He sighed. What the hell could he possibly say, here? But, all joking aside, Cas was his friend, and he guessed he had to say something.
"It doesn't matter," Dean reassured Cas. "We all had to start somewhere."
"How did you..." Cas began. Human or no, this was really hard for him. But if he couldn't open up to Dean, who could he open up to? "How did you know what to do?"
Dean suppressed a smile. He owed it to the guy to try to take this seriously, but honestly, it was kind of funny.
"You'll know, Cas," he said, clapping his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You'll just know. It'll be fine. Really. You'll see." Fine? Dean thought. After who knew how many centuries, it'll be fan-freaking-tastic. Then, his face broke into a grin; he just couldn't help it.
"Come on, let's go get some coffee," Dean said to Cas, who didn't look like he felt much better. But there was nothing more Dean could do for him, except to say, "Don't worry so much. By this time tomorrow, you'll be a new man."
Cas smiled then, almost reluctantly, and they went down the hall together, where Sam and Gail had the coffee on and were making breakfast. Gail looked up at them from setting the table, and from the way she and Cas were looking at each other, Dean knew that Cas was going to be just fine.
A few minutes earlier, Gail had entered the kitchen to talk to Sam, just as Cas was knocking on Dean's door. Funny how she and Cas had just automatically approached the brothers that way. Or, maybe not; Dean and Cas had always had their special bond, whereas Gail had gravitated to Sam from the beginning. While Dean and Gail had shared some moments recently and were now closer as a result, Sam had been her go-to guy, ever since she had met the brothers.
She told Sam about the gift as he put the coffee on. He remembered Cas having told him and Dean about it a while back, but Sam was surprised and pleased that Bobby had extended their time. Like Bobby, Sam had been wondering how Cas would cope with the excesses of Las Vegas as a human. They would have to keep an eye on him, make sure he didn't overindulge too much. It amused him to think of Cas with a massive hangover. OK; maybe he'd have to see that, after all. A bit of payback might be in order for all the times Cas had kept him and Dean awake when they'd been really tired.
As Sam and Gail bustled around in the kitchen preparing breakfast, he looked at her curiously. Gail was rushing around the kitchen excitedly, humming a tune, smiling to herself. After all they'd been through together, most of it quite dark and dramatic, he'd never seen her quite like this.
"You're really excited to be a human again, aren't you?" Sam said to her.
Gail turned to him. "Yeah, I am," she replied, still smiling. "Vegas buffets, having a few drinks...what's not to like?"
Gail was looking at him innocently, but Sam wasn't buying it. "How about Cas?" he asked, trying to draw her out.
"What about Cas?" she asked. But she'd turned back to stirring the eggs, avoiding his eyes. Was she blushing?
Sam grinned. Gotcha, he thought. And when Cas and Dean came into the kitchen and Sam saw the look that Gail and Cas exchanged, his suspicions were confirmed. If Dean was worried about these two cramping his style once they got there, Sam would be able to assure him to the contrary. He and his brother might not even see that much of the couple, this weekend. He smiled to himself and made a mental note to tell Cas about the Do Not Disturb card.
After they'd all had breakfast and coffee, the four of them went out to the library area. Sam had informed them that this morning, before he and Gail had started making breakfast, he had checked the computer and there was an email from Bobby. The plane tickets were attached, and the hotel had been paid for. Sam had grinned at that. There weren't too many people who could say that their vacation was subsidized by God.
And, there had been more good news. As Sam was printing up the attachments, he saw in the body of Bobby's email that he had had Kevin visit theirs and Cas and Gail's bank accounts and supplement them with some spending money for their trip. This just kept getting better and better.
There was one puzzling thing, though. Bobby had also attached tickets for something called a Supernatural Convention, an event that was apparently taking place in their hotel that weekend. Sam printed those out too, thinking of Chuck's books. Did this have something to do with that?
Bobby advised in his email that he wanted the four of them to go to the convention at some point on the weekend. The attached tickets were good for the duration of their stay, so they could decide at which point they wanted to go. But Bobby emphasized that they had to go. He couldn't tell them why, but it was very important.
So as they all stood in the library, and Sam distributed the tickets he'd printed to everyone, Dean frowned as he looked at his convention ticket. This smacked of Chuck to him too, and he didn't much like it. All he and Sam needed would be to run into a bunch of whacko fans of the books. And now, just to add to the fun, there was a TV show based on the books, and actors from that show would be appearing at the convention. Dean was admittedly a little curious about what the actors portraying them would be like, but honestly, he'd just as soon leave the whole thing alone. But Bobby said he wanted them to go, though he couldn't tell them why. Dean sighed. More enigmatic crap from Heaven. So, what else was new? Did Bobby mean he couldn't tell them, or was it that he WOULDN'T tell them? Dean hoped that being God wouldn't change Bobby's personality too much. He guessed there were a lot of things connected to the job that they weren't allowed to know about, and that was fine, to a certain extent. Bobby had always been a straightforward guy, and Dean was hoping he'd stay that way. But for now, Dean would agree to abide by Bobby's wishes. But not because Bobby was God. Because Bobby was Bobby.
After they had their tickets in hand, they had a few hours to kill before their flight, and Gail had an idea.
"Guys, can you do me a favour?" she asked Sam and Dean. They looked at her inquiringly, and she continued, "I'd like to get some new clothes for our trip."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Why does that not surprise me?" he said to her. "Give a woman a vacation, and she'll turn it into a shopping opportunity."
Gail knew he was teasing her, but she couldn't let him get away with that. So she walked over to Dean and nudged him. "Who says they're for me?" she said, smiling. She gestured towards Cas, who was folding the printouts Sam had given him for himself and Gail, and putting them into his inside coat pocket.
Right. OK. Dean had to admit she had a point, there. Cas had been wearing the same clothes almost every day since they had met years ago, the clothes his vessel had been wearing when Castiel took him over. But Cas was a human, at least right now, and he was going to Vegas. They should probably get the poor guy a pair of jeans, at least.
"Come on, Cas," Dean said, and Cas looked up. "Where?" he asked Dean.
"We're going to get you some Vegas clothes," Gail said, smiling. It seemed she couldn't stop smiling; she was really looking forward to this vacation with her guys. "Cue the '80s montage," she said, looking at Sam. He rewarded her with a laugh.
Dean got his keys, shaking his head at Gail's comment and Cas's puzzled look. He wasn't big on shopping, but he realized this little excursion would be a way to kill the time they had to wait until their flight. And he would probably never admit this to anyone, but it would be kind of fun to see Cas trying on some different clothes, for a change.
So off they went, to the nearest mall. Once there, Gail sent the men on their way, and she picked up a few new clothes as well. After all, it wasn't every day you could say that God had bought you a new outfit. She'd have to send Bobby a Thank You card when they got back, thanking him for the gift. She smiled again. Thanking him for a lot of things.
