Book 36 - Last Goodbyes

by GailDunn2

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN ADULT CONTENT. A Heavenly mission goes terribly wrong, triggering a major change in the status quo. The Winchesters and the Angels have to deal with the insanity that is Gail's family in their attempts to track her father and the others down, before it is too late.

1. For Absent Friends

Chapter 1 - For Absent Friends

The box was empty. Cas couldn't believe it. The box was empty!

For a moment, he just stood there, stunned. But...he'd seen the black smoke leave Nicole's body with his own eyes, and he had trapped it in this box with his own two hands. The words that Crowley had spoken had been the genuine exorcism invocation for driving a Demon out of a vessel. Cas knew they were. He had learned those words as a fledgling Angel, the same way that human children learned their ABCs in Kindergarten.

He thought back to the exorcism, going over every detail in his mind. Before it had begun, Crowley had spoken to Ammit in a language that Castiel had not understood. But Cas had spoken sharply to Crowley about that, and the King of Hell had apologized, saying that he had accidentally lapsed into another dialect for a moment. He'd claimed his recall for the Demonic exorcism phraseology was foggy. But the words had certainly rolled off his forked tongue once he had gotten started, hadn't they? Cas hadn't really thought anything of that particular fact, though, because he knew himself that sometimes things you'd learned by rote could come back to you years later, once you got going.

Cas looked down at the empty box he still held in his hands, thinking furiously. As the exorcism had been proceeding, at some point Cas had looked down at the dials on the box, releasing the white glow from his hands to unlock it, and then he had captured the black smoke in the box, and it had locked up tight.

Wait. Just wait. The smoke had been black. Black. Ordinary Demons' essences were black when they smoked out of their vessels, but: Ammit was a Demon Goddess. Crowley's essence was red. Admittedly, Cas had never seen the essence of a Demon God before, but now he was wondering if it worked the same way for Demons as it did for Angels. High-ranking Angels all had colourful essences. Cas's was white now because he was God, but his normal essence was coloured bright blue. Gail's was a luminous, sparkling gold, and Gabriel's was a rich, royal purple. Would Ammit's essence really be just a plain black, then?

Cas had been looking down at the box while the exorcism had been going on, working the locks to open it. He had only taken his eyes off of Crowley for a moment, but for Crowley, a moment was obviously all he'd needed.

Cas swore viciously, hurling the box at the wall, where it smashed to bits. Then he stood there breathing heavily for another moment or two. He could feel the blood rush through his head. He had never been this angry about anything in his entire existence. That duplicitous little troll. Well, this was it. Cas was done. He hoped that Crowley had enjoyed his deception, for it would be his last.

Gail was waiting right outside the room where the soul incinerator was located, but like the annex to the weapons room, she didn't have the security clearance to enter. Cas had told her about his intentions as soon as they'd left the bunker, and she had been all for it. A bird in the hand was worth two in the Caribbean, to paraphrase. Who cared what the so-called agreement had been? She was absolutely thrilled that Cas was going to renege on the deal, and dispose of Ammit right away.

But when he came out of the room, shaking with rage, her heart sank into her stomach. "The box was empty," Cas told her, his jaw clenching. "Crowley double-crossed me. He has gotten away with way too much for far too long. I'm putting a stop to it, right now. I'm going to Hell immediately, and I'm going to kill him. That's it, Gail. It's enough."

She was alarmed. "But, Cas - "

"No. No 'buts'," he said, holding up his hand. "My word is the Word. This has been a long time coming, Gail. He is finished."

She was getting really agitated now, because she could see that he was deadly serious. And it certainly wasn't as if she had a problem with Crowley being dead. No; far from it. Her concern lay with Cas now. She knew he was God, but: "All right, Cas. OK," she said, trying to calm him down. "But, let's just talk about this for a minute. Are you talking about a Holy War? Are we really going down that road again?"

Cas hesitated. "No. No. Why? If I kill Crowley, there will just be another piece of filth to take his place."

While Gail stood there, debating whether she should bring up the "Devil you know" argument, or even if she wanted to, Cas frowned, looking thoughtful. "But, you could have a point," he remarked softly. "I don't wish to start a Holy War. That is not my intention."

Gail started to feel relief now. Thank goodness. That was what she had been afraid of. Now, she could work on calming him down.

"I just sent a message to every member of the Academy faculty to meet us in my original Academy classroom," Cas told her. Then he grabbed her hand and winked them over there, and an instant later, the instructors started popping in. Gail was somewhat surprised to see Linda and Gabriel among their number.

"We had to open up a couple more Academies while you two were on Earth, and Gabriel and I have been subbing in until you got back to appoint more instructors, Cas," Linda told him.

"What do you need, Bro?" Gabriel asked affably.

"I'm going down to Hell to kill Crowley, and I called you all here to find out if anyone will volunteer to come with me, as a show of force," Cas said bluntly. "I will kill the King of Hell, and we will warn the rest of the vermin that if any retaliatory action is taken, we will return, and vanquish every single one of them. They will be free to appoint another King if they wish, but if there is any sort of uprising, I will set the Kingdom to burn. However, I will not order any of you to come, if you don't want to. Just know that I may have to call for conscription, if whomever succeeds Crowley makes a strike."

The room was completely silent for a moment, as the shocked Angels tried to process what Cas was saying. Some of them were looking at Gail, and her lips were pressed together tightly in frustration. Cas was scaring her, but she didn't necessarily want to argue with him in front of his faculty, either.

She made eye contact with Gabriel, trying to send him a non-verbal message. To her relief, it appeared to work. The Archangel stepped forward, scrutinizing Cas's face closely. Then he said: "When do we leave?"

Gail's jaw dropped. "What? What are you talking about?" she said angrily, approaching Gabriel. "Are you crazy?"

He backed up a couple of steps, holding his hands up as if preparing to defend himself. "Whoa, there. Take it easy, Kitten."

"I will NOT take it easy!" she exclaimed. "Has everyone here lost their damn minds, all of a sudden? Are we really talking about storming into Hell and assassinating the King? Who here doesn't think there won't be a Holy War if we do that?"

"It doesn't matter," Gabriel said calmly. "Crowley's gotta go. I'm backing Cas."

"Oh, since when did you become Rambo?" she said sarcastically.

"Look, Gail, I don't care whose brother he is; Crowley has been skating on thin ice for...forever," Gabriel shot back. Then he realized that might have sounded a little harsh, so he added with a half-smile, "And considering where he hangs out, I'm surprised he even owns a pair of skates."

As Gail glared at Gabriel, Linda piped up, "I agree. "Everyone here knows the rotten things he did to Kevin, and to me. I'll come. Gladly. In fact, I'll hold him down for you, Cas."

The other Angels all started to weigh in, one by one, and they all backed Cas. Gail felt like she was the only one in the room who was thinking logically at the moment. In desperation, she grabbed Cas's arm and winked him into his office.

"Cas, please," she begged. "You know this has got nothing to do with Crowley being my brother, or yours, or anything like that. But to storm into Hell like this over an empty box is insanity."

"You and I both know it's not over an empty box," Cas said sharply. "The empty box is just the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back."

She clutched at him. "Please don't do this, Cas. It's a bad idea."

Cas pulled his arm out of her grasp. "You may wait here," he told her. "I would not subject you to being there again. When I see you next, I will have his blood on my blade."

"Cas..." she wailed, but she had run out of things to say, and he wasn't budging, anyway.

"How many days were you in Hell?" Cas asked her now. "Better still, how many hours of torment did he subject you to, while you were there? He will receive a wound for every one of those hours, and after I have watched him suffer accordingly, I will smite him, and end him once and for all. Then, I will come back here and show you that I am a man of my word."

Gail let out a frustrated breath. It was obvious that she wasn't going to be able to deter him this time, no matter what she said or did. So she laughed humourlessly. "Yeah. Right. As if I'm staying here," she said to him. "As you're well aware, I'm quite familiar with the place. If some of the young guys like Riley and Efram insist on going, give them to me, and I'll lead them. Then give some of the others to Gabriel. We can form squadrons, and guard against attacks. Lots of Demons there hate Crowley, so if we tell them we're there to assassinate him, they might not engage with us. They might even help us. But I'm sure he's going to have his defenders too, Cas. He might even have an Army that exists just to guard him. So if an Army descends, those young Angels can have all the training in the world, but what actual, practical fighting experience do they have? So, a couple of them fought a few Demons at Frank's place; so what? Aside from Ethan, we've got a bunch of neophytes." She sighed heavily. "Look, Cas, if you insist on this madness, I'll come along and do my part, to try to make sure all of our friends come back safe. I won't fight you anymore. I'll save all of my fighting for Hell."

He looked at her with an expression which was both grim and loving, at the same time. For an instant, Gail hoped that she had finally gotten through to him. But she meant what she'd said. If they were actually going to go through with this, they needed to present a united front. And this was Cas, after all. As long as Gail had known him, it had been Gail and Cas, Cas and Gail, united, standing up to and against their enemies. This was the King of Hell they were talking about. Of course they should kill him. Gail knew whose side she was on. She knew whose side she would always be on.

But: "Then let's go, my love," was all Cas said. He took her hand, gave it one brief squeeze, and winked them both back to the Academy.

While Cas and Gail were gone, Gabriel instructed the Angels to stay put while he left too, to run a quick errand. "Are you going to see Liz?" Linda asked him.

"What? No! Why should I?" Gabriel shot back, and then he stopped short. "Why? Should I?" he asked her in a more subdued tone.

Linda shrugged. "I don't know, Gabriel. I just thought you might want to tell the woman that you're in love with that you're going on a potentially deadly raid into the bowels of Hell."

Gabriel looked at her. "OK, first of all: Archangel," he said sassily, gesturing to himself. "And, secondly, should I read anything into the fact that I don't see you rushing to tell Paul the same thing?"

She remained silent, and he let out a slow breath. "OK, OK," Gabriel said. "But actually, you can come with. It'll go quicker if I have help."

An instant later, they were outside Heaven's weapons room. "Normally, you wouldn't have the clearance to get in here, but I might know a trick or two that'll bypass the security system," Gabe said to Linda. "Don't tell Cas." He fiddled with the door for a moment, and it swung open. "Et voila."

The two of them entered the room, and Linda looked around in amazement. "Wow," she commented. "I had no idea that all these things were here."

"Most Angels don't," Gabriel remarked. "A short while back, when I thought Cas was going to declare the Holy War, I popped in here to do a quick inventory. We've got loads of Demon knives. I figured we should all have one, in case Crowley's men get a little stabby."

Linda caught Gabriel by the arm. "Is that what you think this is?" she asked him bluntly. "Do you think we're starting a Holy War?"

Now it was Gabriel's turn to be silent, mainly because he didn't know what to say. WAS that what was happening here? Or were they merely going to Hell to take care of something that should have been done centuries ago?

He deflected the question by asking her one of his own: "Does Kevin really think he's gay, Linda?"

She did a double-take. "What does that have to do with - " Then, Linda realized what Gabriel was doing. He was evading the question she had asked him, because he was too afraid of what the answer might be. She sighed. "I think he's struggling with his identity, Gabriel," Linda answered honestly. "I don't even think HE knows, right now."

Gabriel nodded. He could actually relate to that. He too was struggling a bit right now, with the duality of his own personality. Gabe wanted to be a good guy; he truly did. But every once in a while, he strained at the leash. That was why he had worked so hard on Cas for all of those years, because Gabriel could smell the potential for rebellion in his Brother. It took one to know one, as the saying went. But now, Cas was Heaven's ultimate authority figure, and Gabe was in a monogamous relationship, with a virtual Saint. What had happened to them? Maybe that was why Gabriel was so anxious to go along on what was basically a fool's errand. Maybe he just felt the urge to go kick over a few garbage cans, and yowl at the moon for a while.

The two of them loaded up on Demon knives, and then Gabriel looked at the door that led to the annex. "Hold on," he said to Linda, edging over to it. "I won't be able to get you in there, but I just want to have a quick look. See if there's anything we might want to bring."

But as soon as Gabriel went up to the door and touched it, a loud alarm sounded, and Cas appeared instantly.

"What are you doing?" Cas asked his Brother, waving his hand to shut off the alarm bells.

"What's it look like?" Gabriel said, annoyed. "We're going to tangle with the King of Hell, one of the oldest and evil-est beings there is. I just thought we could use a little extra firepower."

"Well, we don't need it. I am the Lord God," Cas said sternly. He looked at Linda. "How did SHE get in here?"

"What's with the alarm, all of a sudden?" Gabriel countered.

"I thought it would be prudent, after that little surprise of Raguel's," Cas said. "We don't need him waltzing in there and taking another Holy weapon to use against us."

"Oh." Gabriel realized that that actually made a lot of sense. And it was just as well, really. Those nukes were nothing to mess around with. He nodded his approval. "Good job, your Godship. That's some smart thinking, there."

"I'm so glad you approve," Cas said dryly. "And now, I'm going to ignore the fact that you never answered my question about how you got Linda in here, and urge you instead to get a move on. Everyone is waiting."

"Linda, can you go back to the Academy and tell them we'll be right there?" Gabriel asked her. "I need to talk to my Brother here, for a second."

Linda popped out, and Gabriel regarded Cas for a moment. "What are we doing, Cas?" the Archangel asked him.

Cas frowned. "What do you mean? Are you having second thoughts? No one is compelling you to go, Gabriel. I meant what I said: everyone is free to make their own choice. I'll go alone, if I have to."

"No, you won't," Gabriel said pointedly. "Gail is coming with you, isn't she? Let me guess: you told her to wait here, and she told you to forget that noise. Am I right?"

Cas looked uncomfortable now. "What of it?"

"Is this about doing the right thing, Cas?" Gabriel asked, scrutinizing his Brother's face. "Or, is it just straight-up revenge?"

"I told you, you don't have to come," Cas said evasively.

"That's what I thought," Gabe said, nodding, as if Cas had answered his question. "Well, let's go, then."

Cas was surprised. "You're still coming?"

Gabriel gave him a half-shrug. "'Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord'," he remarked, projecting a calm he didn't feel. "I promised my allegiance to you, didn't I? What kind of a man would I be if I crapped out on you now?" A smart one, the little voice in the back of his head said, but Gabe told it to take a hike. He and Castiel were saddling up to take a ride that had been thousands of years in the making, and the Trickster in Gabriel thought it was about damn time.

He clapped Cas on the shoulder. "Come on, Cisco. Let's go wrestle some Demons."

Gail had been talking quietly with a few of the instructors while waiting for the men to come back. She and Linda had been passing out the Demon knives and Gail had been doing a bit of an informal poll, to see how everyone was feeling about what they had just volunteered for. It was fantastic that they all wanted to throw their support behind Cas, but she wanted to make sure that they were fully aware of what they were signing on for.

Ethan was very matter-of-fact about the whole thing. While she and Cas and Gabriel and Linda had been away, he had stepped up as a de facto leader. Because Ethan had the law enforcement credentials, and the experience fighting Lucifer's death squads, he had already divided the Angels up into three squadrons, proposing that he, Gabriel, and Gail head one each. They would flank Cas, protecting him until he was able to penetrate the inner sanctum of Hell, where Crowley's office was located. But they would not actively fight; not unless Cas said so. They were merely there to provide back-up. As Cas had said, a show of force.

But as Gail handed the Demon knives to Ethan to distribute to his squadron, they were looking grimly at each other. Besides Riley, and Cas himself, they were the only members of this whole group who knew first-hand what the year of the death squads had been like. It may not be their intention to start anything, but these knives they were giving everyone were designed to kill Demons. That was their whole function. If they were just going to fight, and to wound, their Angel blades would have sufficed.

Apparently, that was the impression that Pamela was under, because Linda saw the instructor tuck her Angel blade into her pants. "Here," Linda said, handing the young woman a Demon knife. "Just in case. Do you know how to use it?"

Pamela gave her a withering look. "It's a knife, isn't it?"

Linda took a deep breath. She didn't like this one. Linda hadn't forgotten the day that they had all been training here, when Gail had been in that compound. Cas had obviously read Pamela's thoughts and dropped her on her ass that day, but the woman hadn't let that deter her. She had said a few rotten things about Gail after that, and Cas had had to have her taken out of the room before he really lost his cool. Then, Linda heard that Pamela had been stalking Cas during Gail's forced six-month marriage to Dean, like a lioness at a watering hole. After her first foray to Cas's office, Gabriel, Liz, Linda and a few other Angels in their circle had begun to conspire to keep an eye on Pamela, and make sure she stayed away from him. But Linda didn't like the gleam she saw in Pamela's eyes right now. When Linda had been a little girl, her family had owned an old cat that used to sit on the porch of the house and watch the birds, flying around their yard. That cat was too old to go chasing around after them, yet it watched the birds avidly, with the very same gleam in its eyes that Linda was seeing in Pamela's now.

Ethan had everything well in hand, so Gail moved on to Riley and Efram. She was happy that Ethan had assigned both of the young Angels to her squadron.

"Here, let me take those from you," Riley said, springing forward to relieve Gail of her handful of Demon knives. She smiled at him. There was no sense trying to tell him that they weren't very heavy, or that she had planned to distribute them to her squadron herself. Riley's hero worship of Cas was so ingrained that it extended to gentlemanly, solicitous behaviour towards all women, especially towards Gail.

As Riley handed out the knives, Gail touched Efram lightly on the arm. "How are you doing?" she asked him. The young Angel looked a little paler than usual, although what Gail was seeing was obviously a figment of her imagination, because Angels' complexions didn't change in that manner.

"All right," Efram said tersely.

"Are you sure?" Gail persisted. "You know, there's no shame in being afraid, Efram. I've had all too much experience with this kind of stuff, and I'm terrified."

He looked at her. "I'm not scared, Gail. Not at all. I'm excited. Finally, I get a chance to serve Heaven. To serve Cas. My Gramps fought in the war, and when he was in the hospital years later, dying of cancer, I used to go read to him, and spend time with him. He always told me that war was a terrible thing, something to be avoided at all costs. But, he also said that he never felt more honourable than when he was standing up for what was right. I'm looking forward to feeling honourable, Gail."

She had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, but now, Gail was also rethinking her previous objections to their mission. Efram's grandfather had a good point about doing what was right. How could killing the King of Hell not be the right thing to do?

Cas and Gabriel returned, and Ethan told Cas about his organization of the Angels. Cas nodded approvingly. "Is everyone ready?" he asked the Angels. But as they all murmured their assent, Cas's cell phone rang.

Cas popped himself out to the hallway to take the call. "Is everything all right, Dean?"

"Yeah, Cas," his friend replied. "I was calling to ask you the same thing. You were just gonna cremate the bitch, and then you and Gail were supposed to come back and we'd all go to Quinn's. What's taking so long?"

Cas's lips pursed tightly together. That was right, too. In his zeal to take care of Crowley, he had forgotten about that. "I'm sorry, Dean, but Gail and I have been detained. How is Nicole?"

"She's fine, Cas," Dean said with a trace of a smile. "She doesn't remember a damn thing. You guys should market that memory modification thing. You'd make a fortune. Can you imagine how much guys would pay to have you do it to their wives, when the guys screw up? Oops, better not tell Gail I said that. It's probably sexist, or something." Dean was babbling now. He was just so happy that Nicole was herself again, and that she didn't remember anything about having been possessed.

Cas let out a breath. They were wasting time on idle chit-chat now. "We'll be busy for a while, Dean," he said, eager to conclude the call. "Why don't the three of you go ahead to Quinn's, and see if you can talk to Oliver? We'll be in touch once we're finished with what we have to do."

"What do you have to do, Cas?" Dean asked him, curious. Cas sounded kind of funny now. "How long does it take to barbecue a Demon bitch, anyway?"

"Go to Quinn's," Cas said shortly. "We'll talk later." Then he hung up.

Cas stood there for a moment with the phone in his hand, looking at it. Why had he not told Dean about any of this? Would Dean not have supported Cas's decision, one hundred percent? They had talked about killing Crowley for years and years. But, his conversation with Gabriel had gotten in Cas's head now. He was convinced that they were doing the right thing, but: were they doing it for the right reasons? Was THAT why Cas hadn't told Dean about the mission? Because he didn't want his friend asking him the same questions that Gabriel had?

No. No. Cas had right on his side. He had to have the strength of his convictions; otherwise, what kind of leader was he? He popped back into the Academy.

Quinn opened the door, surprised to see Nicole standing there with the Winchesters. But no Cas, and no Gail. What the hell?

Sam saw the confused look on her face. Under ordinary circumstances, he would probably have teased her about the fact that, as a psychic, she should know why Cas and Gail weren't with them. But these weren't ordinary circumstances. In fact, they were about as far from ordinary as you could get. Nicole was here with them, about to receive her first formal introduction into the supernatural realm. Sam still wasn't sure that bringing her here was such a good idea, but Dean hadn't wanted to leave his girlfriend alone in the bunker, not so soon after her ordeal. Not that Nicole could remember anything about it, of course. The last she remembered, they had all been hanging around in the kitchen, about to discuss what to do for breakfast. Dean had told her that Cas and Gail had been called up to Heaven on some kind of Angel emergency, and Cas had said for them to go ahead without him and Gail. They could stop by the diner first, for a quick bite.

Nicole was pleased to have been included on their excursion. She knew Quinn, of course, although the two of them weren't really in touch with each other anymore. Part of the reason was Nicole's hectic work schedule, but things had undoubtedly soured between them when Quinn had told the Winchesters that she'd had a vision of Nicole, sitting on top of Dean and ripping his heart out of his chest, with clawlike hands. Nicole had tried to have a sense of humour about it, but it bothered her. She'd thought that Quinn was her friend. Then, why would she say something like that? From what Nicole had read about psychics, if she even believed in that sort of thing, she knew that they weren't right all of the time. She saw the headlines on those stupid tabloids every time she stood in a lineup at the supermarket, especially near the end of the year. Psychics, predicting earthquakes, alien invasions, and Jesus Christ's return. They were pretty safe with earthquakes, or other natural disasters; those happened all the time. But last Nicole looked, no UFOs had landed, and the only time she'd seen Jesus Christ had been in a local production of Jesus Christ Superstar she'd gone to at the Vancouver Playhouse. Still, Quinn's vision had been disturbingly specific, and specifically disturbing.

Quinn was looking at Nicole now, and both women were uncomfortably sizing each other up. Actually, Nicole didn't know if she really needed to make nice with Quinn, or not. Dean had advised Nicole that his brother and the psychic were definitely broken up. Nicole had been present for their fight at Cas and Gail's party, but she knew that sometimes, couples made up after fights like that. However, it seemed as though Quinn had washed her hands of all of them, and that was probably just as well, given what Sam had confessed to that night.

But Quinn greeted the three of them cordially enough, inviting them to come in. Maybe it was because Gail wasn't with them, Nicole thought, suppressing a grin. Now she was wondering about that "urgent business" in Heaven. Gail was hardly the shrinking violet type, but Nicole wondered if she and Cas hadn't decided to just give this meeting a pass, anyway.

Quinn knew that wasn't the case. She had a tickle of an inkling as to what might actually be occupying Cas and Gail right now, but there were so many thoughts and feelings doing battle inside her head right now that there wasn't much room for the Angels. Not yet.

As Quinn led her guests to the living room of the house, she was overwhelmed by a sense of sadness. She really did miss Sam. He was a sweet guy, and she knew he really did feel badly about the way things had gone that night. Quinn had been understandably angry, but maybe she had been a little too hard on him, as well. It wasn't as if she hadn't known how he felt about Gail. Quinn had known that all along, from the first day that she and Sam had met. Yet, she'd still gone out with him. Had she been hoping that Sam's feelings would change as time went by? Of course she had. But what had made the fact that they hadn't suddenly unacceptable to her? Was it any wonder that Sam was feeling penitent, but also confused?

Nicole's presence was really starting to bother Quinn, because the psychic still couldn't get that vision of Nicole ripping Dean's heart from his chest out of her mind. But, Nicole's hands weren't claws, and Dean's chest was unscarred. Why, then, was Quinn feeling so creeped out by Nicole?

She was also getting a weird vibe from Dean, and it was arguably the weirdest one of them all. Quinn saw Dean and Gail, standing in front of some kind of officiant, and Dean slipping a gold wedding band on Gail's finger. What the hell was THAT, now? Maybe she was losing her mind. But, these visions were some of the strongest ones she'd ever had.

And now, as they all prepared to take their seats, Quinn reeled, and Sam leaped forward to catch her before she fell to the floor. "Dead Angels," she gasped. "Demons. Blood. Too late. It's too late."

Then everything went black, and Quinn passed out in Sam's arms.

Initially, Gail had thought that they were going to get in and out with no trouble.

Before they'd left Heaven, Cas had instructed the Angels to be as stealthy as possible once they got there. Crowley was the target. Crowley, and Crowley alone. There was no need for any other casualties. If there was any trouble, the soldiers were to call their squadron leaders, who would deal with it accordingly. But the objective was to get in, back Cas up while he made his way to Crowley's office to perform the assassination, and then to get back to Heaven, ideally, with everyone intact.

But as they all knew, the best laid plans were just that. Things seldom worked out as smoothly as that in real life. Still, Gail was starting to feel more and more confident with every quiet footstep she and her squad made down the hallway towards Crowley's office. The corridors had been almost eerily deserted, like most city streets early on New Year's Day. Could the Demons somehow sense Cas's presence, or that of the Angels, even though Cas, Gabriel and Gail had combined to shield all of them before they'd left Heaven? And, if so, were they staying away out of fear, or in hopes that Cas had come there to do what he had come there to do?

They had negotiated the labyrinth separately, but as they reached the last fork which led to the Kingdom's inner sanctum, the three squads came together in a large common area. Gail raised her blade to point to the correct corridor, but Cas gave her a curt nod, already heading in that direction.

The Angels stood there in silence, wondering what they should do now. The squadron leaders exchanged looks. Should they follow Cas, or should they wait for him here?

Ethan was starting to feel hinky. This had "setup" written all over it. He gestured wordlessly to Gabriel and Gail, and after a moment's deliberation, they both nodded. Ethan led the way down the hall that Cas had taken.

But the instant his foot hit a certain stone halfway down, the assault was on. Demons began to pop in out of nowhere, and they were all armed with Angel blades. They went for the Angels immediately, with no preliminary. Luckily, the Angels had all been on high alert, and their training and instincts kicked in now.

One of the Demons lunged for Gail, and she sidestepped him neatly, giving him a hard shove into the wall. She sunk the Demon knife she was holding deep into his chest, then pulled it out immediately and stabbed him in the abdomen before he fell. She twisted the knife and then pulled it upwards, eviscerating him.

Another Demon tried to attack Gail from her flank side, and she smiled grimly. "I guess you haven't heard, but that's no longer a weakness of mine," she said tartly. She grabbed his arm, pulling him towards her. Assailants never expected that. He lost his balance, falling right onto her upraised knife. "Thanks for the assist," she said dryly, letting him drop to the corridor floor to join the other one.

Fights had broken out all up and down the hallway now. Gail ran over to help Riley, who was fighting off three Demons at once.

Meanwhile, Gabriel had two of the biggest and ugliest Demons he'd ever seen cornered. He extended his arms to knock them into a new area code, and...nothing happened. They smiled slowly at each other, and then at him.

"His Majesty's hallway is protected by ancient sigils," another Demon told Gabriel, sauntering up to the trio. "I'm surprised you wouldn't know that, Gabriel."

The Archangel sneered at him. "Hakeem. Long time, no smell. How've things been here for you? Unbearable, I hope."

"Still with the same smart mouth," the Demon said. He looked at the two large Demons, who were part of Crowley's personal security detail. Hakeem gestured to Gabriel. "This one is to be taken alive," he instructed them. Then he pointed to Gail, who was halfway down the corridor fighting alongside Linda and Efram now. "So is that one. God's wife." He grinned. "That doesn't mean you can't rough them up a little, though. Everyone else dies." He looked at Gabriel again. "I'll see you again soon, and then we'll talk about that little disagreement we had, way back when. I'll prepare the Executive Suite for you and the Angel Gail. Where is Castiel?"

"Up your rear end," Gabriel shot back. "I don't need my powers to deal with these big apes, anyway."

"Really? Now this, I have to see," Hakeem said with amusement. He crossed his arms, leaning against the corridor wall.

Aw, crap. The Demons were looming over Gabriel now. One musclebound guy grabbed his arm and twisted viciously, making him drop the Demon knife. Then he held Gabriel's arms behind him, none too gently, as the other one punched Gabriel in the stomach, and then in the face.

"Nice job," Hakeem said sarcastically. "Once you're finished 'dealing with' Crowley's guards, we'll see you in the Executive Wing. I can't wait." Then he vanished.

The Demon drew back his arm to punch Gabriel once more, but then the guy stiffened, and Gabe saw the glow come out of his eyes and mouth. The behemoth dropped to the ground, and Gabe could have sworn he felt the ground shake. Linda was standing there holding a bloody Demon knife, grinning. She reached into her pocket and took out the plastic squirt gun she'd slipped in there before they had left Heaven. The Demon who was holding Gabriel's arms began to laugh. "What's that?" he asked Linda. "A toy? Is that supposed to scare me?"

"No, it's supposed to burn the crap out of you, you black-eyed bastard," she retorted, squirting the Holy water in his face. He screamed, letting go of Gabriel to clutch at his eyes.

Gabe wheeled around and stabbed the giant in the chest with the back-up Demon knife he'd stuck in his belt when they were divvying up the weapons in Heaven, and the Demon went down like a ton of bricks. "Thanks, Linda," Gabriel said, breaking into a grin. "I'm gonna have to come up with a nickname for you, like I have for Gail. How do you feel about Super Soaker?"

Linda rolled her eyes. "Let's work on that. Speaking of Gail, we'd better go see if she needs help. Last I saw, she and Pamela and Riley were around the corner, fighting their way through to Crowley's office. Hurry up! Let's go!"

"Yes, Ma'am," Gabriel said, sketching her a salute. He bent down and picked up the other Demon knife he'd been carrying, the one that big gorilla had made him drop, and tucked it in his pocket, for insurance. Linda was already running down the corridor. Gabriel grinned, hustling after her. This was a whole new side of Linda that he was seeing, and he liked it. Boy, Heaven sure had a lot of strong women now. Not like when he was there before, when most of them had been submissive to men. Screw that. Who the hell wanted that? There was nothing more attractive to Gabriel than a woman who wouldn't put up with his crap.

And, speaking of which...he and Linda rounded the corner and spotted Gail, finishing off another Demon. She looked up at Gabriel.

"I've got some good news, and some bad news," Gail called out to the Archangel. "The bad news is: our powers are useless here."

"I know. That's how I got this," Gabe said, pointing to his bleeding mouth.

"But, the good news is that they've been instructed not to kill you, or me. So get over here, and help me protect our friends. I've been trying to stand in front of everybody, all at once."

Linda had already joined in the fight, and the Demons' numbers seemed to be dwindling now. Gabriel grinned. They just might get through this okay, powers or no powers. He rushed over to fight beside Gail, who was standing in front of a couple of young instructors, who were holding their own. Actually, it looked like everyone was using their training to its full potential. Cas would be very proud, Gabriel thought, wondering if their fearless leader had reached Crowley's office yet.

Cas had, and he was the only Angel whose powers were not negated by the ancient sigils, because Godly powers trumped everything. So he had burst into Crowley's office and conjured up ropes, chains, handcuffs and leg shackles, binding the King to his office chair.

Crowley had seemed strangely calm, almost as if he had been expecting Castiel. And perhaps he had. He knew his brother very well, and he had to have known that there would be consequences to aiding and abetting Ammit's escape.

Not that the King was admitting to that, of course. When Castiel made the accusation, Crowley had played innocent. "I don't know what could have happened, Castiel," he claimed. "I'm just as in the dark as you are. I really thought she was in that box."

"Oh, you did, did you?" Cas snarled. "Then, where did she go, if not in you?"

Crowley shrugged. "How should I know? Maybe the bunker has a ventilation problem. You'd better talk to the boys about that." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Why the panic, Castiel? Why do you want to get rid of her so badly?"

"That's my business, not yours," Cas said, tight-lipped. "But, it doesn't matter. Not to you, at least. I came here to kill you, and I intend to do it."

"Don't tease, Castiel," Crowley said dryly. "You've been promising to do that for years, yet you've never followed through. We all know what's going to happen here. You'll rattle your sabre, I'll respond with some witty repartee, maybe throw in a few innuendoes about your wife - excuse me, fiancee - and then, we'll call it a day. But, I have to warn you: you don't want to tarry too long. Right now the King's Guard are extending the warmest of welcomes to your Angel brigade. I must admit, your staff are acquitting themselves very well at the moment, even the youngest ones. They get younger and younger every year, don't they, Cas? Or maybe we just get a little older, every year. In any event, I wouldn't leave them out there too long, if I were you. The first wave is nearly all gone, but I have reinforcements lined up. Your people are vastly outnumbered here. This is my home turf, as the expression goes. If you really wanted to kill me, you should have cut me off from my people. Yes, there are a fair amount who hate me here, but I have more than my share of supporters, too. I have offered a hefty reward for each Angel kill, and Demons are a greedy bunch. Oh, but don't worry; I've left instructions for Gail and Gabriel to be taken alive. Following the unfortunate passing of Rudy, I promoted Hakeem to the rank of Lieutenant. You remember him, don't you, Castiel? As a reward for Hakeem's unwavering loyalty, I've promised him some quality time alone with each of them, once we dispose of all the Angel corpses. Your Archangel Brother has burned a lot of bridges, just as you have, and Archangel or not, it may be that his day of reckoning has finally come. And as for Gail, you recall Hakeem's particular...proclivities, don't you? If you don't want her subjected to them, we'll have to discuss some terms."

Cas saw red. He grabbed Crowley by the shirt front with both hands, shaking him roughly. "This is not a negotiation, and we are not making a deal, here!" He took his Angel blade out of his pocket, holding the tip to Crowley's cheek. "How many days did you hold Gail prisoner here, subjecting her to torment? How many hours?"

Despite the way he was being menaced at the moment, Crowley nodded slowly. "I thought as much," he said. "This isn't about Ammit at all, is it? It never was."

Cas dragged his blade down one side of Crowley's face and then the other, breaking the skin. Crowley grunted in pain. "How many hours, Crowley?" Cas repeated in his quiet voice.

"So, you're willing to see a couple of dozen of your Angels die, just to get me back for that?" Crowley said with gritted teeth. "That's not the hallmark of very good leadership, Castiel. What if Gail stubs a toe, in future? Are you going to order every stick of furniture in existence burned? You can't protect her from everything. And incidentally, she thinned out my staff considerably when she was here before, and she's doing it again now. Maybe I made a mistake when I gave instructions that she be taken alive. Of course, if your little stalker Pamela has anything to say about it, that may not be a consideration for much longer. What is it about you, Cas? First, Aurielle, and now Pamela? Personally, I don't see it."

"What are you talking about?!" Cas shouted.

"Pamela's fighting alongside your...Gail, and she's got an Angel blade tucked away in her pocket," Crowley said calmly. "My guards all have Angel blades, and there's a lot of confusion going on right now. You do the math."

Cas's heart skipped a beat. Crowley couldn't possibly be suggesting that...no, Pamela wouldn't dare try to harm Gail. Would she? But now, Cas was picturing the thoughts he had read coming from Pamela's mind on the day they had faced off, when Gail had been in that compound. And, again, when Pamela had come to see Cas in his office, on the pretext of Academy business, when he and Gail had been divorced. Pamela fantasized about herself and Castiel in sexual situations all the time, and even though Cas hated that she did, he was in no position to control her thoughts. As long as she did nothing to act on them, Cas supposed he had no choice but to look the other way. But now, Crowley seemed to be insinuating that Pamela had evil intent when it came to Gail. Did she?

Nicole was rubbing Quinn's wrists briskly now. She'd seen that either in the movies or on TV; she couldn't remember which. It was supposed to stimulate the unconscious person into regaining consciousness. Or so they claimed. Sam was standing by with a glass of water, because he hadn't known what else to do, really. He and Dean didn't have a lot of experience with people fainting. Passing out from too much blood loss or too many beers, maybe, but...

Quinn started to come around, and suddenly, Dean started to interrogate her. "Who are the dead Angels?" he barked. "What about Demons?"

"Geez, dude, give her a second," Sam admonished his brother, but he was concerned about that, too. Dead Angels? Too late? No, that didn't sound at all ominous, did it?

Quinn opened her eyes, accepting the glass of water from Sam. She drank a bit of it, and then she said, "I saw Angels and Demons, fighting to the death. Cas and Gail are there, and Gabriel, and some others. Linda, too."

"Where?" Sam asked anxiously.

"I don't know," Quinn said, dazed. "Some kind of hallway; that's all I remember seeing. There was a lot of blood, and a lot of dead Demons."

"Well then, that's good, right?" Dean said rhetorically. "Wherever they are, it sounds like they're kicking ass. Too bad we don't know where they are. We could go help." He looked at Quinn. "You don't know where they are, do you?"

"I think it's Hell, Dean," Quinn responded quietly. "I think they're in Hell."

The brothers looked at each other, open-mouthed. "Hell?!" Sam exclaimed. "Why would they be in Hell?"

Dean was starting to get an idea. "I think that guy we saw recently might have something to do with it." He stole a furtive glance at Nicole. He didn't dare say anything more in front of her.

Sam looked blank for a moment, but then he caught Dean's meaning and nodded. That didn't make what Quinn was saying any less disturbing, though. So, Cas and Crowley'd apparently had some kind of a dust-up when Crowley had been at the bunker earlier this morning, exorcising Ammit from Nicole's body. Ho hum. Just a normal, dysfunctional discussion between the Biblical brothers, complete with death threats and snarky comments. But now all of a sudden, Cas was in Hell with Gail and a squadron of Angels, slicing and dicing Demons? What were they missing, here?

If there was ever a time to act, now would be it. Pamela's hand crept toward her pants pocket, where she was keeping her Angel blade. Still, she hesitated. Was she seriously contemplating doing this? What the hell was she thinking? She was an Angel, for goodness' sakes. How could she be considering harming Gail? What kind of a monster was she, anyway?

Pamela's hand went into her pocket, and she palmed the blade in her other hand, the one not holding the Demon knife. Somewhat ironically, Gail and Gabriel were standing in front of her and their little group, protecting her. Gail was protecting Pamela. How strange was that? But Pamela was thinking about Cas now, showing up at the Academy earlier, announcing that he was going to kill the King of Hell. The strength of his convictions and the fire in his eyes had made her knees weak. Pamela had been hoping to spend a bit more time with Castiel during the six-month period of his divorce, but every time she had tried, one of his friends had been inconveniently at hand, either pressing her into service at the Academy, or steering Castiel away from her. And, before she knew it, the time had elapsed, and then Gail was back, wearing Castiel's engagement ring on her finger. But engaged wasn't married, was it? And once Castiel was married again, he would be lost to Pamela for good.

She touched the spring on the Angel blade, looking at the back of Gail's neck.

Crowley's hands were splayed out on the arms of his chair, and now Cas sunk his knife into one hand, and then the other. Crowley pursed his lips tightly against the pain, but he didn't want to give Castiel the satisfaction of crying out.

His brother was full-on, foaming-at-the-mouth homicidal now, Crowley realized. Their Father at His most vengeful had nothing on Castiel when he was at the height of his anger. Crowley was beginning to get a little concerned. He'd thought that Castiel would have backed down by now, or that Crowley's security detail would have captured Gail and Gabriel. Once that happened, Cas would have no choice but to let Crowley go free, if he ever wanted to see Gail alive and undamaged again. But those damnable Angels were dispatching his men at a prodigious rate, and Crowley had been unable to distract Castiel by pointing out the danger that young Pamela posed to Gail; although about that, at least, the King had been telling the absolute truth.

Cas withdrew his blade from Crowley's hand, looking at it calmly. Then, he twirled it around, changing his grip, and plunged it into the King's thigh, with all the force he could muster.

This time, Crowley did cry out in pain. He couldn't help it. This couldn't be happening to him, not in his own Kingdom. He sent out the call, and a moment later, both the second and the third wave of Demons descended on the Angels. This needed to end, now. Castiel was not letting up. Out came the blade, dripping with the King's blood, and once again, Castiel studied it, as if he was trying to affix the sight in his mind. Probably to push those visuals he'd been having of Gail strapped to the rack in Crowley's dungeon out of his head. In retrospect, that might not have been the King's smartest move. But how in the bloody hell could he have known that Castiel would actually manage to climb out of his grave, shake the dirt off, and resume his life, as if nothing had happened? Who DID that?

Then the Angel blade was driven into Crowley's other thigh, and when Castiel gritted his teeth and twisted it, Crowley greyed out for a moment. A tear dribbled out of the corner of his eye, and Castiel smiled grimly upon seeing that single tear sliding down the King's blood-soaked cheek. "I wonder how many of those Gail shed when she was here, undergoing unspeakable torment?" Cas asked conversationally. He twisted the blade again. "I wonder how excruciating her pain was, when you burned her at the stake in Camelot?" Another twist. "What do you have to say about that?"

"What do you want me to say, Castiel?!" Crowley shouted. "That I'm a terrible person? OK, I'll say it: I'm a horrible, vile individual. I always have been. But, you knew that already. You've always known that."

"Yes, I have," Cas said, working his jaw angrily. "And I put up with you for centuries, when I should have ended your miserable existence long before we ever got to this point. But I will rectify that mistake, very soon."

Crowley could see in his mind's eye that his reinforcements had arrived, and the battle was raging on. But the Angels seemed to be finding their stride, and he didn't know how much time he had left. Castiel had him bound by Godly means, so he couldn't just pop out of his office. And if he were to open his mouth and attempt to smoke out, there would be nowhere for him to go.

He looked up at Castiel. Or, was there?

"Gail's in danger," Quinn said suddenly. "They all are." She had a faraway look now, as her vision allowed her to peer into Hell. "There are too many Demons."

Pamela raised the Angel blade just as Crowley's reinforcements arrived, intending to plunge it into Gail's back. But at that very moment, Gabriel saw the movement out of the corner of his eye, and he turned his head to look at Pamela.

"That's an Angel blade you're holding," he told her, assuming that she'd just made a mistake. "Did you lose your Demon knife? Here; I have an extra one." He reached into his pocket and handed her his second Demon knife, plucking the Angel blade from her hand and stashing it in his pocket. Then his attention returned to the fight, without another glance at her.

Pamela was open-mouthed. If she hadn't just been contemplating Gail's murder, what Gabriel had just done would almost have been funny.

But there was nothing she could do about it now. Dozens of Demons had just appeared, and the tide slowly started to turn. Efram was the first to fall. He was on the end of the battalion line, having rushed a trio of Demons who were attacking Ethan. The Angels began to beat them back, but then another handful of Demons joined the fray, and one of them stabbed Efram in the chest. The young Angel staggered back and slid down the wall, a look of surprise on his face.

Riley bellowed in anger, and he and Linda raced over there to help Ethan. "Crap!" Gail yelled out loud. How could she and Gabriel protect them if they wouldn't stay put? But she could also see what was going on down there, and as more Demons flooded into the corridor, she could see that they were seriously outnumbered now. The better strategy would be to stay together.

Another couple of the young instructors fell, and Pamela felt a sharp pain at her side. There was an Angel blade sticking out of her body, and a grinning Demon on the other end of it. She leapt at him, screaming in pain and anger, and another Demon grabbed her from behind and pulled her head back by the hair, cutting her throat. She died right then and there, never having seen her beloved Castiel for the last time.

This was bad. This was so bad. Gail and Gabriel exchanged worried glances. The tide had definitely turned now, and the momentum was on the Demons' side.

"I'm getting Cas!" Gail shouted to the Archangel. "Keep fighting! I'll be right back!"

Gabe nodded, not wanting to waste his breath on speech. She'd damn well better get Cas, or there wouldn't be any faculty left. He felt a slash on his arm, and he went back to fighting.

Then came the most painful blow of all: as Gail started off down the corridor, a Demon grabbed her by the arm, almost pulling it out of its socket. She yelled in pain and surprise, and Riley rushed over, stabbing the guy in the chest. But as she opened her mouth to thank Riley and tell him she was going to get Cas, two Demons attacked him simultaneously, and Riley slumped to the floor, bleeding copiously.

Gail screamed incoherently, rushing the assailants. She stabbed one in a frenzy of rage, but then she felt Gabriel grab her. "Go! Get Cas!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "NOW!"

She ran down the corridor to Crowley's office, bursting through the door. Luckily, Cas had only closed the door behind him, not sealed it.

Crowley was opening his mouth, preparing to expel his essence into Cas, but the shock of her sudden appearance made him gulp it back down again. Gail was covered in blood, panting from her exertions in battle. That was becoming a normal state of being for his sister, here in Hell. Maybe Crowley should have put a bell on her neck, instead of a Demon curse. Then at least his unfortunate minions could hear her coming, giving them a sporting chance.

"Cas, you have to come, right away!" Gail yelled. "We need your help!" She turned around immediately and took off back down the corridor, trusting that Cas would follow. Cas glanced briefly at Crowley, but he had no choice but to hurry out of the office after Gail.

Crowley breathed a sigh of relief. He sent out the call to Hakeem, to come to the office at once. His Lieutenant popped in a moment later.

Hakeem bent to free Crowley from his bonds, but the King told him not to bother. "Castiel put those on me, himself," Crowley told him. "You won't be able to budge them. But that's all right; I have a solution."

"What's that, Your Majesty?" Hakeem asked him curiously.

"Open your mouth," Crowley commanded.

By the time Cas and Gail got back to the battle, there were only half a dozen Angels left alive. Gabriel, Ethan and Linda had miraculously survived, along with three other instructors, whose names escaped Gail at the moment. Cas would know. Cas knew everyone's names. She knelt down beside a few of the fallen, checking to make sure that they weren't merely wounded.

Cas was horrified. He threw his arms out immediately, vapourizing every Demon that was still standing. Then he fell to his knees beside Gail, checking the Angels' corpses to see if he could do any healing, any at all. Pamela's eyes were open, and she was staring at him accusingly. You got me killed, she was saying. I know you didn't welcome my advances, but were they so repugnant to you that I had to die for them? He touched her head, checking to see if there were any vestiges of her essence left. There weren't, but he got a quick vision of her raising an Angel blade. But then, it was gone. He closed her eyes.

Gail had come upon young Efram now, and she hitched in a breath. He had told her he wanted to do the honourable thing, and fight for Heaven. Well, what the hell was so honourable about this? A dead Demon lay across Efram's legs. She pulled It off of him and cast Its vessel aside, taking Efram's lifeless hands in hers. "I'm sorry, Efram," Gail said, her eyes blurring with tears. "I'm so sorry." Her chest hurt now. Angel or not, it didn't make any difference. Gail knew that once an individual died here in Hell, they stayed dead. There would be no Garden for him; not for any of them. No second chances.

She crawled over to where Riley lay now, holding her breath. But Gabriel was already kneeling beside the young Angel, and the Archangel shook his head slowly.

"Noooo!" Gail wailed. She grabbed Riley's body, shaking it. "No! I refuse to accept this! It isn't funny, Riley! Get up! You're scaring me!"

"Gail..."Gabriel said, reaching out for her, but she pushed him away.

"No, Gabriel. Don't touch me," she said viciously. She struggled to her feet, looking at the surviving Angels, who were standing there, blood-soaked and breathless, looking down in shock at their fallen friends.

"Take our dead and go back up to the Academy. Wait for us there," she instructed Ethan and Linda.

"Gail..." It was Linda this time, but Gail screamed, "DO IT! NOW!"

As the Angels began to gather the vessels together for transport, Gail turned to Cas. They made eye contact for a moment, and then he turned on his heel and went down the corridor, back towards Crowley's office. Gail and Gabriel followed, their Demon knives in hand.

But by the time they got there, Crowley's empty vessel was still bound to the chair, but Crowley was gone.

VIGNETTE - LEAN ON MY SHOULDER

Cas had insisted on having a full military funeral for each and every Angel who had been killed in Hell, and he had personally given the eulogies for each one.

Most of them had been young and single, so at least he hadn't had to face the grief-stricken, accusing faces of the family members of the decedents. But Cas didn't need to look at the faces of any family members to feel guilt. All he had to do was look in the mirror.

He even gave Pamela's eulogy, although he had to choose his words carefully for that one. It was hard to say positive things about someone who had been intending to end Gail's life. But Cas still felt like he owed it to Pamela to try. He owed it to all of them.

After they'd gotten back to Heaven, Cas had debriefed his squadron leaders, as Linda and the younger instructors went to the gymnasium to sort out their dead comrades. Gabriel and Ethan had done most of the talking. Gail had sat in the third chair with her head down, avoiding Cas's gaze.

When they got to the part about Pamela having had the Angel blade in her hand as she'd stood behind Gail, Cas had looked sharply at Gabriel, who'd given his Brother a half-shrug. But Cas didn't pursue that line of questioning any further. He could add two and two, but it was a moot point now, wasn't it? Why make Gail feel any worse than she did right now?

Dean had called several times between the raid into Hell and the first funeral service, but Cas had ignored their friend's calls. He was too weary, too heartbroken right now to deal with the inevitable questioning that would ensue. Finally, as Cas was preparing the eulogy for Efram and Dean called yet again, Cas snatched his cell phone off his desk and hurled it against the wall, smashing it into tiny pieces. Then Gail popped herself over to Bobby's cabin, where he had been shining his shoes in preparation for the service. She asked him to go down to the bunker and fill the brothers in on what was happening. Gail didn't want them to have to worry any longer, and that way, if they knew what was going on with Cas, they might tread lightly when they spoke to him next.

Cas was an absolute wreck, but he was using his responsibilities as God right now to hide that fact. Gail could tell that he was hanging on by a thread, and she needed to be there for him, even though she wasn't quite sure if she forgave him. But they could deal with all of that after the last two memorials, which would be the toughest ones of all. She had told Cas what Efram had said to her about his grandfather and the war, and Cas had added that to his remarks. When it came to that part of the eulogy, his voice had cracked, but Cas was able to get through it, although just barely. But when he'd looked down at Riley's body, Cas froze. They had arranged for a double service for Efram and Riley, because the two young Angels had been such good friends.

As Cas looked down at young Riley now, he lost his words altogether. His face contorted into a study in grief. All of those lives lost, and why? Why? Because Cas had lost his temper? Because he'd been seeking personal vengeance?

The tears started to fall silently down Cas's face, and still, he could not speak. Riley had been like a son to him. They'd all been like his children, in a way. Even Pamela. Cas had taught them all to fight when the Academy had first opened, and he had watched as their skills and their confidence had grown. Then they had graduated and taken on students of their own. When he had asked them to follow him into Hell, none of them had had one moment's hesitation. Not a one. Because they'd believed in him, and they'd looked up to him. None more than Riley. Cas had been well aware of how the young Angel felt about him. Their friends and family had teased Riley about it from time to time, but he had not let that bother him. Riley had been Cas's campaign manager and his most stalwart supporter during the election process, and he had been Cas's first choice and most eager assistant at the inaugural Academy. And it was Riley who had stepped up and taken Gail wherever she had needed to go in her quest to get Cas back when he'd been dead, and she'd been a human.

Cas looked at Gail now, anguished. How could they say goodbye to Riley? How could he stand it? How could she? She was looking at Cas sadly, with compassion that he didn't deserve.

Gail rose from her seat in the front row and came up to the lectern where Cas was standing. She put her hand on his arm, and Cas looked down at her. He wished she would reach up and smack him across the face, as hard as she could.

But Gail didn't, of course. How could she? Truthfully, she had come very close, when they'd first gotten back from Hell. She'd told him it was a bad idea. She'd begged him not to do it. She had tried everything she could think of to change his mind. But she hadn't tried hard enough, had she? Because, to be honest, a part of her had also thought it was a damn good idea. And while she was being so honest with herself, Gail should just admit that she had wanted revenge for what had happened to her in Hell, just as much as Cas had wanted to deliver it to her. So, what made her any better than him?

Gail faced the crowd. "We loved all of the Angels who died, but Riley was a particular favourite of ours. If Cas and I had had an awkward, dorky, nerdy son, he probably would have been Riley," she said. A couple of the audience members laughed softly. "He meant the world to us. He, and Efram, and all of them. I never had children when I was a human. I died young, so I never really got the chance to find out if I would have wanted any. But now, I feel like I have millions upon millions of children. All of you. Even though I joke around that if anyone tried to tell me I was old enough to be their mom, I would have to have Cas smite them." There was a bit more laughter. Then Gail sighed. "Cas and I thought we were doing the right thing by going to Hell to kill Crowley. He has been a clear and present danger to Heaven and every Angel in it since the Beginning of it All. We asked our friends if they wanted to come, but we didn't force anyone to go. They all volunteered. Still, that doesn't absolve us of our guilt. We made a poor decision, and we owe all of you an apology."

Cas drew in a sharp breath. Gail was talking to all of Heaven as if it had been a joint decision, between the two of them. As if she had not told him that it was a terrible idea. As if he had not told her that he was God, and she was not, and he didn't care to hear her opinion. How was it possible that he was still even standing, with this two-ton weight of guilt on his shoulders? And how was it possible that she was still standing with him, standing by him, loving him?

"I need to say something," Gabriel said loudly, standing up from his seat. Cas and Gail looked at him apprehensively.

"I followed our Lord God to Hell, and I would do it again," Gabriel went on. "The mission went bad, but that doesn't mean that it was a bad mission. It breaks my heart that I couldn't save any of the fallen, but I'm sure that if you were to have the chance to ask any one of them, they would say the same as me. I support Castiel. He made the right call." Notably, though, Gabriel didn't include Gail's name when he was referring to the decision that had been made. Maybe she was willing to fall on her metaphorical sword, but that didn't mean that Gabriel had to be complicit in her self-sacrifice. But he was struggling with his own guilt now. He had backed Cas to the hilt when the subject had originally come up. Why? That was a good question. When they had extracted him from Area 51, Gabe had been a pacifist, like Liz. But now, he had just come back from an extended hand-to-hand combat session where he had killed countless Demons in a straight-up street fight. How had his outlook changed so radically in such a short period of time?

Gabriel sat back down, and Liz took his hand. She had been shocked and appalled when they had gotten back from their mission and Gabriel had walked into her office, all wide-eyed and bloody. Gail had been so out of it that she hadn't even volunteered to clean him up, although Cas had touched Gabriel and healed his slash wounds. Gabriel had given Liz an abbreviated, less gory account of what had taken place, but she could tell from his appearance that it had been much worse than he had described.

Gail took Cas by the hand and led him down to the biers where Efram's and Riley's bodies were. She bent to kiss each young Angel softly on his forehead, and Cas touched each of them, giving a silent blessing. Then, he gently closed the lids of the caskets. Most humans would probably find it odd to put Angels' vessels in caskets, but the option was available for state funerals. Since this was the last of the memorials, the vessels of the dead would be borne to be cremated, and the urns would be placed in alcoves in a special, designated area in Heaven.

Bobby, Chuck, Ethan, Kevin and Gabriel came forward now. Along with Cas, they moved the biers together using their Angel powers, and then they formed a procession down the aisle, acting as pallbearers.

Then Gail reached out her hands, one to Liz and the other to Linda, and the women fell in behind the men, walking slowly out of the room.

A couple of days passed, and Cas remained despondent. He had holed up in their suite in Heaven, putting a seal on the door to prevent anyone from knocking. He hadn't bothered to replace his cell phone, and he had his Angel Radio switched completely off.

Gail had quietly moved back into the suite to be with him. At a time like this, they needed to be together. Who cared if they were married or not?

Both of them were grieving, but Gail felt as if she had to be the stronger one now. Cas was a miserable wreck. He spent most of his time just sitting and staring into space, saying nothing. When Gail tried to engage him in conversation, his responses were perfunctory, and without expression. She would pop out every now and then to give their concerned friends updates on him, but she never left him alone for very long, because the depths of his depression made her a little bit nervous.

Bobby had offered to talk to Cas, but Gail had demurred. She loved Bobby, but his idea of consolation usually involved a figurative kick in the pants, and she felt that was the wrong approach to take in this instance. Cas was doing such a thorough job of beating himself up over the incident that the tough approach would just be superfluous, and cruel. Bobby had read between the lines, and he didn't argue. But he'd felt like he had to do something, so he had gone to see Chuck, inquiring about the directory that Chuck had put together. Were people's former professions listed in it? Sure, if Chuck knew what they had been. Bobby had then asked Chuck to compile a list of the Angels who had been in the psychiatric profession. He thought it was high time they set up some sort of a program to get them all through some of the rougher times. Bobby thought a lot of the Angels could use some grief counselling, to deal with this latest incident. As Cas's de facto second-in-command, he wanted to be proactive about it. Bobby was sure that Cas would approve, once he emerged from his cocoon.

Gail had also popped down to the bunker briefly, but even though the Winchesters implored her to bring Cas there so they could talk to him, Gail was reluctant to do that, too. Dean was predictably angry, saying that he and Sam and Frank would take up arms and roast Crowley's English muffin ass, or words to that effect. But Cas wasn't going to respond to any aggressive, sabre-rattling talk right now, nor did Gail think that he would benefit from an intellectual analysis of what had gone wrong on the mission, which seemed to be Sam's approach. She asked them both to be patient, while she tried to sort things out.

She gave Cas as much attention and loving care as she could, but it was difficult for him to accept her comfort. Gail would talk soothingly to him, telling him that they had to find a way to get past what had happened, together. He would bend down at the waist, putting his head in his hands, and she would wrap her arms around him, murmuring words of love and support. But in a way, her approach was making him feel even worse. He wasn't worthy of her love. Why couldn't she just leave him alone? That was what he deserved, to be left all alone. That was ALL he deserved.

By the third day, Gail was growing desperate. She had to get through to Cas, somehow. She popped down to Frank's house, asking to talk to her brother alone.

"How bad is it?" he asked, without preliminary.

"It's bad, Frank," she answered sadly. "So bad that I actually took his blade away from him. Of course, he's God, so I guess he could just smite himself, if he really wanted to."

"If things weren't so grim right now, I could make about a million jokes about that," Frank said. "But, I won't." He sighed. "How are YOU doing, kiddo?"

"Horrible. Terrible. Depressed as hell. Worried about Cas," she replied.

Frank opened his mouth, but then he closed it again. He usually just ran his mouth, but he wanted to be a little more thoughtful in what he said this time. Guilt and depression were tricky things.

Finally, he said, "When our parents died - I mean, my parents - once the dust cleared and I got us the hell away from there, I felt guilty for at least a year afterwards."

Gail was puzzled. "Guilty? Why would YOU feel guilty?" she asked him.

"Because I stayed down in the basement in that cubbyhole with you, when I should have been upstairs, fighting, defending them," he responded.

Gail considered that. She could see why he would feel that way. Of course, as it had turned out, Vincent would probably have just murdered Frank, too, and then who knew what would have become of her? But they hadn't known that he was the killer back then.

"The one thing that saved me from a really prolonged depression was that I had to take care of you," Frank went on. "I didn't have the luxury of wallowing in self-pity."

Gail put her hand on top of her brother's, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Cas has the opposite problem," she said through the lump in her throat. "He has millions of Angels to take care of, but he doesn't seem interested any more. He's always had issues when it comes to making decisions, and this one went so wrong that I think he's decided not to decide anything, any more."

Frank froze. "Wait a minute," he said. "I have an idea. Can you get him to come down here to Earth? I want to talk to him."

Gail thought about that for a minute. Normally, she would be a little bit leery of Frank trying his hand at psychological counselling. But she was running out of options here, and she remembered how he had helped her, when she'd been feeling low after the case in New Orleans. "Come with me," she said.

The three of them sat down at Cas and Gail's house on Earth, so that they could talk in private. Frank was startled by Cas's appearance. Angels didn't age, of course, but Cas looked like he had, anyway. His eyes were red from crying, and he had a hollow look. Had he been a human, Frank would have assumed that he hadn't eaten or slept in days.

"You wanted to talk to me, Frank?" Cas said dully. That was the only reason that he had agreed to come; because Gail had said that Frank needed to talk to him. Cas loved Frank. Frank was his brother-in-law. Well, all right, maybe not technically; not at the moment. But in Cas's heart, he was and had always been, and that was what really counted. If Frank needed Cas, he would do his best to be there for him. Besides, Frank wasn't an Angel, so Cas felt like he could look Gail's brother in the eye.

"How're you doing, Cas?" Frank asked him, by way of a response.

Cas gave him a half-shrug, but he said nothing. What could he say, really?

Frank nodded, though, as if Cas had spoken. "I have just one thing to say to you, brother to brother," he told Cas.

Cas waited for the rebuke he was inevitably going to receive. Frank was going to call him a coward, hiding behind closed doors and wallowing in self-pity while Heaven needed him. While Gail needed him. Cas hadn't been unmindful of her efforts on his behalf, he had just been unable to muster up the energy to tell her how much he appreciated her love and support, and how lost he would have been without it.

Frank put his hands on Cas's shoulders, making sure that he was paying close attention. "Actually, I have just one word for you, Cas," Frank went on. "And that word is: Quit."