Chapter 1 - The Devil You Know
Bobby sent out the call to Castiel and Gail on Angel Radio that afternoon.
They'd gone straight to the master bedroom following their meeting with Crowley, and they were still there now. This was what Gail had wanted to do most of all. The bell could not be unrung, it seemed. Last night had been in the back of her mind all morning, and they didn't have to answer to anyone, did they?
Cas was kissing her stomach where the warding tattoo was, and his eyes were violet now. "Let's just stay here all day," he said, smiling.
"Sounds good to me," Gail said. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of what he was doing. They were eternal beings; there would be plenty of time to face their family members and friends later. They still had to talk about how they were going to handle the results of their decision. She frowned momentarily, thinking about the deception they would have to perpetrate. She'd once encouraged Cas to be more inclusive when it came to others, and now, not only were they going to conceal his status from everyone, they were going to out-and-out lie about it.
Cas saw her frown, and he stopped what he had been doing. "What's wrong, Gail?" he asked her.
She sighed, and opened her eyes. "Nothing," she replied. "Sorry."
"What do you need, Gail?" Cas asked softly.
She smiled. "More of this," she told him.
Cas smiled again now. Good. He'd been worried she was having second thoughts. He should be having them too, but all he could think of right now was how good he felt, and how he wanted her to feel the same way. He knew what she needed. She needed him.
Then the call came through and Cas let out a breath, annoyed. We're in the middle of something, he sent back. We'll be there in a little while.
This was God calling them to Heaven, and they were Angels. But Cas WAS in the middle of something, and Bobby would just have to wait.
"Half an hour?" he said to her.
Gail nodded. That would have to do. "Half an hour," she agreed.
Cas resumed what he'd been doing, and she closed her eyes again, smiling.
They were getting dressed, and Cas rubbed his chin. "Do you think I need a shave?" he asked Gail.
"No, leave it. I like a little stubble," she answered. Then she smiled. "I'll let you know when it gets to be too much."
He smiled back and buttoned his shirt, watching her dress. If it had been anybody but God who was calling them, he would have told them to make it another time.
Gail saw him looking, and said, "What?"
"Nothing," Cas said, still smiling.
"You missed one," she said, pointing to the buttons on his shirt.
He looked down at himself. "Where?"
"Allow me," Gail said. She walked around the bed to where he stood and did it for him.
He grabbed her and pulled her to him. "I knew. It was just an excuse to get you to come over here," he told her.
Gail rolled her eyes. "Since when do you need an excuse?" she said, smiling.
He started to kiss her, and his hands moved under her top, caressing her bare skin. She hadn't had the chance to do that shopping yet, and now Gail was thinking that maybe she wouldn't bother.
She pulled away reluctantly. "We'd better not start that again. We're likely late as it is."
She was right, Cas thought, but you couldn't blame a guy for trying. Strange; it seemed as if this was all he'd wanted to do since their harrowing ordeal in the cabin. He was surprised that humans ever got anything done. But he'd had years of making up to do, and Vegas had just been an appetizer. Now that he had a very willing partner, Cas intended to make up for all that lost time.
Castiel did wonder if it was the Demon in him that was making him behave this way. He and Gail were in love, it was true; so he felt that there was nothing wrong with what they did in private. Still, he had never been this aggressive with Gail before, and certainly not in this manner. But Gail didn't seem to mind, and it was no one else's business. Even Bobby had said so. And really, who were they hurting?
Bobby! Castiel thought of something. He frowned.
"What's the matter?" Gail asked, seeing his expression.
"Bobby is God," he said absently, still thinking.
Gail smiled. "There's a news flash."
Cas looked down at her. "He can read your thoughts."
She had been brushing some lint from his shirt, and her hand froze. Crap. She hadn't thought of that. This was going to be their first test, and it was a big one. It was one thing to be evasive with your friends, especially the human ones, but it was quite another to deceive God. But they did have to deceive Bobby, if they could. He couldn't know that his friend, the one who was basically his right-hand Angel, was now part Demon, courtesy of Crowley. Hadn't Cas recently read him the riot act about having had a relationship with Rowena in the past? Gail wondered if what they were hiding made them hypocrites. Probably. But she and Cas had deluded themselves into thinking that this situation was different, and she rationalized that Castiel was a good and righteous Angel, whereas Rowena had always been evil. Yes, Cas's personality had been slightly altered now, but she liked the change. He was more confident, more sure of himself now. And she certainly couldn't argue with the results of his transformation, and hers too, when it came to their intimacies in this room. Gail guessed she had a lot to make up for in that department, too.
But what were they going to do about Bobby? As God, he'd always been able to read her thoughts, and she'd never been able to stop herself from thinking things she shouldn't around him, nor around the original God either. What were they going to do about that?
She asked Cas this now.
"I'll have to modify your memory a little," he told her. Gail's brow furrowed, so he explained, "The two-finger system."
She smiled. That had been her term for the method he had used to persuade clerks to rent them motel rooms on their road trip to Vancouver. They'd never had any sort of valid ID, and so Cas had had to use his Angel powers on the humans to enable them to get the rental car, motel rooms, and even the apartment that they'd stayed in while they were in Vancouver.
But Gail had never been on the receiving end of one of those, at least not that she could recall, and the idea made her apprehensive.
"So what exactly will that do to me?" she asked him.
"Nothing much," he assured her gently. "You'll just forget about my...current situation. Long enough to make sure he doesn't pick up on it."
"And that's it?" Gail persisted. "It won't do anything else to me? Make me cluck like a chicken, or something?"
Cas smiled. "No. I promise." He lifted his hand to touch her forehead, but she caught his hand.
"Cas, what are we doing?"
He looked at her for a moment. He knew exactly what she was talking about. For a moment, he seemed confused. What WERE they doing? Were they really about to walk into God's office and lie right to his face? Castiel had seen Bobby looking at him back at the cabin with concern in his eyes. Bobby was going to ask him if everything was OK, and Cas was going to tell him that he was fine, status quo, business as usual. But WAS he fine? Truthfully, he felt fine; great, in fact. But could he really be contemplating purposely walking into Heaven with a slice of Demon inside of him, put there by the King of Hell, and look Bobby in the eyes and lie to him about it? Look at the way he had come down on Bobby for dating Rowena. What was wrong with him?
But the poison in Castiel's blood was working on him, corrupting his thought process. He WAS fine, he told himself. He liked himself better this way, and he could be a better champion for Heaven with the additional powers that he had now acquired. Not to mention a better friend to the Winchesters; with the enhanced abilities he had now, including the power of revival, he would be unstoppable. And if he had to indulge in a little deception along the way, Cas didn't see a problem with that. He was long used to being evasive with Sam and Dean. It was for the greater good, after all. And as for the training sessions with Crowley that he and Gail had discussed, though it was unusual, he had collaborated with his Brother from time to time in the past and he had always come out on top. Castiel wasn't concerned about Crowley trying to mess with him; he wouldn't dare, not with everything Cas could feel that was coursing through his veins right now. And Crowley definitely wouldn't dare to mess with Gail. He'd better not even try, or Cas would kill him.
So he explained all of this to Gail, hoping she would see things the same way he did. Castiel's argument was logical and persuasive, and Gail found herself nodding along. He had made some good points, and she was reassured by what he'd said about Crowley. They were using him for what he could provide in the way of information and training, but it wasn't as if they were friends, or even allies. They could use him for what he was offering freely, and when they were done, they would be done with him. In their naivete, it had never occurred to them that Crowley might be using them in return. And that he had the upper hand.
When Crowley had seen into the cabin, he had also seen into Metatron's mind. When Metatron had been helping Aurielle to mix the potion, he had surreptitiously added a few ingredients of his own. When Castiel had ingested some of the potion, he had drunk a peculiar concoction that included components of a love spell and the Seven Sins, just to name a couple of things, and an agent that would bond the qualities to him for the rest of his existence if the spell could not be reversed. As the spell had come from Rowena's recipe, only Rowena would have had the knowledge of how to remove it, and Rowena was dead.
Metatron had figured if he himself didn't make it out of the cabin alive, which was a very real possibility considering the Demon mojo he'd known that Crowley had infused into Castiel, that Castiel at least would be irrevocably changed. Metatron had enjoyed screwing with his Angel enemy in the past, and this would be the ultimate middle finger. From now on, Castiel would only get worse, and there would be nothing he could do about it. Not even Crowley could reverse it. And though Crowley had seen Metatron add the extra ingredients, the King had no idea what they had been.
Not that Crowley was going to share this little bit of information with the tragic couple, of course. They may think they were agents of Heaven, and at the moment they still were, but the more time that passed, the more dark Castiel was going to turn. Crowley could hardly wait to see what lay ahead. And whether Gail came along for the ride or reached her breaking point would remain to be seen.
Gail allowed Cas to touch her forehead, and when he removed his hand, she didn't feel any different.
"So that's it?" she asked him.
"Yes," he told her. "That's it. See, I told you it would be all right." He had temporarily removed the memory of their meeting with Crowley, and of his own less-than-100% Angel status, but he had left her recollections of everything they had done in this room, both last night and this morning. Those memories were sweet and precious to them both, and if Bobby tried to look into her mind, he would only see those, and he would quickly look away.
As for Castiel himself, he wasn't too worried about Bobby trying the same thing on him. He'd learned mind control techniques in the past, and with his enhanced powers, he felt he could effectively block anything Bobby tried to get from him.
"Let's go see what Bobby wants," Cas said. He took her hand and they went to Heaven.
What Bobby wanted most was to apologize to the two of them. He'd given them a bit of time to rest after their ordeal in the cabin, but he hadn't wanted to put it off too much longer. Even though the spell book had turned out to be the least of their problems, as it turned out, he felt like he owed them that much. And Bobby had wanted to make sure that Cas was OK. He'd been uneasy about him since witnessing Cas's behaviour at the cabin, and that curious encounter with Crowley. Bobby may be a down-to-Earth kind of God, but he was no fool, and he was worried for his friend.
Cas and Gail entered his office, hand in hand as usual, and they took their seats across from his desk.
"How are you?" Bobby said to them.
"Fine," Cas said mildly.
"Great," Gail said. Cas smiled, looking at her. "I amend my earlier statement," he said. "I'm great, too."
Oh. Well, in that case...Bobby opened his mouth, about to begin his apology, but Cas was frowning at him. "What did you call us here for, Bobby?"
A legitimate question, but Cas's tone took Bobby by surprise. He sounded pretty impatient to Bobby, and Bobby wasn't sure exactly why. Still, he supposed he would get to it, then.
"First off, I wanted to apologize to you both," he told them.
"What for, Bobby?" Gail asked, puzzled.
"For my part in what happened with Aurielle," Bobby said, frowning. "And the damned spell book, and...oh, hell, you were right, Cas. I don't know what the hell I was thinking."
Cas shrugged. "Don't worry about it, Bobby. Aurielle's dead now, and the spell book's in the bunker, and no harm done. I did get into a little trouble at home, though. But we straightened it out." He squeezed Gail's hand and they both smiled. Boy, did we ever, she thought.
Bobby looked at Gail. He had heard that, and as Cas had figured, Bobby didn't want to hear any more of that kind of stuff, so he shut Gail's frequency off for the moment. These two, he thought. Give me strength. Angels weren't supposed to be doing things like she had been thinking. Not that he cared particularly, but it was weird. Should he be concerned about this unusual behaviour? And Cas was looking completely unconcerned with Bobby's reference to the spell book. His Angel friend had been so pissed off at him about Rowena, and now, no reaction at all. Was he just that forgiving? Had Gail had a talk with him, maybe? But something just didn't sit right with Bobby. The Cas he was familiar with still wouldn't have just shrugged it off. Yet it seemed like Cas had nothing further to say on the subject. Bobby supposed he should be glad about that, but it was still weird.
"How are you, Cas?" Bobby asked, looking into his friend's eyes.
Cas's eyes flashed briefly, and for an instant, they looked almost purple. Then he blinked rapidly, and they were back to the usual blue. "You already asked me that," he said.
Bobby was uneasy now. Cas said he was fine, but he didn't seem fine. Gail said she was fine, but she was quiet, not smiling and teasing like she usually was.
"Have you been to the bunker?" he asked them. "How's your brother, Gail?"
She shrugged. "He's fine, I guess. Sam and Dean were taking him to get some weapons."
Again, that was it. No elaboration, and Gail didn't even smile when Bobby mentioned her brother.
"Was there anything else, Bobby?" Cas asked him. He was shifting in his chair, looking anxious to leave.
"What's the rush, Cas?" Bobby leaned back in his chair, staring at his friend.
Cas squeezed Gail's hand again, and she looked at him. She noticed his eyes were changing colour, and she was startled. As he had modified her memory, she had no idea why that would be. Bobby noticed it too, and even though Castiel was fighting to stay calm, he knew they'd both seen.
"What's with your eyes, Cas?" Bobby asked cautiously. "And what's going on between you and Crowley?"
"What do you mean?" Cas said.
"Back there in the cabin," Bobby said. "It looked like he had to remove quite a chunk of Demon out of you."
Cas made himself smile. "Yes. Apparently, when he brought me back to life, he put a bit too much of himself in me. Then he removed it."
"I heard him say he didn't take it all," Bobby said.
Castiel frowned. "Of course he did."
"Are you sure, Cas?" Bobby asked, fixing him with a penetrating stare.
"What are you talking about, Bobby?" Gail asked suddenly. He was thoroughly confusing her now. "Sure he did. We saw it ourselves."
Bobby was still staring at Cas, who was breathing deeply, in and out, trying to control his temper. He didn't know exactly why this discussion was making him angry; Bobby was a perceptive man, and Cas had known that he was going to ask. He would certainly be asking, if he were in Bobby's position. It was a reasonable question. So why was Cas feeling so unreasonable?
"Yes, I'm sure," he said impatiently. "Is that why you asked me here today, Bobby? To ask me if I'm a Demon?"
Gail laughed. This had to be a joke. Had Sam and Dean put Bobby up to this? Castiel had also removed her memory of that scene in the bunker this morning, partly due to its unpleasantness, but mostly due to the fact that, if Bobby heard her thinking about that, it would raise a whole lot more questions.
But Bobby wasn't laughing. "So what if I am? What would you tell me if I were?" He was deliberately trying to provoke Cas now, see what he would say. What he would do. And if his eyes would change into that strange colour again.
Cas stood abruptly, pulling Gail with him. "I'd tell you you're being ridiculous, and that we have better things to do than to sit here and listen to this," he said, and he winked them out of Bobby's office and back to the house.
Bobby sat there for a minute or two, stunned. What the hell was he supposed to make of that?
He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out the cell phone he kept there. Sam and Dean's cell numbers were programmed into it, and he punched the button for Dean's.
When Dean answered, Bobby said, "It's me. There's something wrong with Cas."
The humans were back at the bunker now, and they were sitting around the table in the library area doing a weapons inventory. The four of them had visited a Hunter friend of the Winchesters who sold modified weapons to fellow Hunters, and all of them had picked up a few things from him. Larry had known the Winchesters for a number of years, so he let them have what they needed on credit, knowing they were good for it. And they were extremely good for it now, courtesy of Cas, and so was Frank. He promised he'd pay them back as soon as he had a chance to get to the bank. They had waved him off. No problem. It was amazing how casual you could be about money when you had plenty of it.
Once they'd gotten back to the bunker, Frank had started to feel bad about the fight he'd had with Cas and Gail this morning. How had things gotten so bad between them in such a short period of time? He'd missed his sister so much, and he'd been so happy to be reunited with her, and now she was so pissed off at him that practically all they'd done since he'd gotten back was fight. Frank had thought that Cas was a good guy when he'd come to rescue him out of Hell. Apparently, he'd been appointed God for the day. How much more good could you get? And he'd come to get Frank, when no other God had. Maybe he'd done it solely to suck up to Gail, but the fact was, he'd done it. Frank now had his life back, and he also had a lot of money at his disposal, and it was all due to Cas. When they'd all first sat around in the kitchen, going over the events of the past year, Cas had rubbed him the wrong way, but maybe that was just the way the guy talked. Sam and Dean had told Frank that Castiel was a bit left-of-centre sometimes, and the way he talked still aggravated them at times, too. Maybe Frank had been too sensitive. They'd certainly talked about a lot of sensitive subjects during that conversation, including the unfortunate fact that Frank had killed Castiel in Crowley's den. How would Frank feel if it had been the other way around? He knew that Angels were supposed to forgive, but the Winchesters had told him that Cas had a lot of human qualities; maybe Frank just had to give him a bit more time. Had he even really tried to get to know the guy before he'd jumped down his throat? Bobby, Dean and Sam had all told Frank that Castiel was a good Angel and a good man, and he'd been good to Gail. In fact, the brothers had told him that Cas was a fierce protector of Gail's, and Dean joked that she pretty much ruled the roost, as far as he and Sam could tell. Frank had seen for himself how much of a fighter Cas was when they had all banded together to fight the Demons that had been attacking them behind the bunker, and Frank had also seen Cas running over, frantically looking for Gail.
But then Metatron had kidnapped Cas and Gail, and the next time Frank had seen his sister and Cas in the cabin, things seemed to have changed dramatically. Once he'd thought about it for a while, Frank had to admit that he'd probably come down on Cas a bit hard about the carnage he'd seen in the cabin. Frank himself had left behind scenes just as gruesome in his career, and when it came right down to it, Gail was alive, wasn't she? But the easy conversation between Castiel and Crowley and the apparent removal of Demon at the King of Hell's hands had been a shock. And Crowley had plainly stated that he was leaving some Demon inside Cas, whatever the hell that had meant. Then there was Cas's aggressively demonstrative behaviour with Gail afterwards. And then this morning, with the blade. What had that been? OK, he hadn't actually pulled it on Frank, per se, or even made an overt threat, but it was still disturbing.
Frank had just about had himself convinced that Crowley had messed with Cas in some way; and after the incident this morning, Gail had advised that the two of them were going to seek out Crowley, presumably to undo the damage he had done to Gail's boyfriend. Dean seemed to be convinced that it was a done deal, and then everything would be back to normal. So Gail's brother had now talked himself into feeling guilty about the way he'd been behaving towards Cas, when Cas was probably an unwitting victim in all this. As Frank himself had been, and Gail too, apparently. When his sister and Cas showed up, Frank was going to apologize to Cas, and ask him for another chance.
But then Bobby called Dean from Heaven. Frank shook his head, bemused. Who knew you could even do that? What would those roaming fees be like? He reminded himself to share that with Gail when he saw her next. Frank would be apologizing to her too, and tell her he'd be happy to sit down to dinner with the two of them. Even if he'd be the only one eating.
Dean listened for a moment, his expression darkening. "Mind if I put you on speaker, Bobby? I think everyone should hear this."
Bobby recapped the strange conversation he'd just had with Cas and Gail to his human friends, and Sam and Dean looked at each other, startled. Hadn't those two said they were meeting with Crowley this morning to get him to fix Cas? Now, not only did this sound like that hadn't been done, it sounded to them like Crowley had made Cas worse. As the two that knew Castiel the best, the brothers knew that he would never act like that. The question was, what were they going to do about it?
"I'm calling Cas," Dean told Bobby. Bobby told them he'd be down in a few minutes to find out how the conversation had gone, and to figure out their next move.
Dean punched Cas's number into his phone, leaving it on speaker.
"What do you want, Dean?" Cas barked.
Another glance exchanged. Since when did Cas answer the phone like that when he knew it was Dean calling?
"I just talked to Bobby," Dean said. "What the hell's going on with you?"
"Nothing," Cas replied shortly. Then, strangely, he said, "I didn't say you should stop." Then they heard Gail laughing in the background.
Dean's brow furrowed. What? Then Cas made a certain noise, and Dean thought he had it figured out. He glanced quickly at Frank, who was frowning, and snatched the phone from the table, turning off the speaker function. Dean was alarmed now. What the hell was going on with those two?
Gail smiled up at Cas. It seemed as if Dean was always interrupting them at the most inopportune moments. And this had certainly been one.
"I didn't say you should stop," Cas said, smiling down at her, and she laughed. Hey, if Dean was going to keep interrupting them, he was going to have to take his chances. So she resumed what she'd been doing, and when Cas began to react, Gail was amused.
"We need to talk," Dean was saying to Cas. He was shocked to think that what he thought might be going on over there was actually going on while Cas still had him on the phone. Yeah, this was Crowley's doing, all right. It had Demon stink all over it.
"OK. But not right now." Cas's breath was starting to become ragged. "I'll call you back." He punched End Call and surrendered himself to what Gail was doing.
Dean looked at his phone, then set it down gingerly on the table as if it were crawling with germs. He felt like he needed a good shower now.
"What was that all about?" Frank said suspiciously.
Dean looked at him. The poor guy. He had come here from Hell, and he had walked right into a crapstorm. There was no way that Dean was going to tell him what he suspected had been going on, so he settled for saying, "Cas said he'd call me back."
"Did he say when?" Sam asked.
Dean frowned. "No."
Gail was making Cas crazy, or maybe it was the other way around. They knew they would have to deal with their friends, and sooner rather than later. Cas knew he hadn't handled the meeting with Bobby very well, and now Dean was upset with him, too. But every time he and Gail got into this room, it seemed like they left their minds outside the door.
She had been making him feel incredible, and he wanted to reciprocate. Dean could wait a few more minutes. Gail was kissing him on the mouth now, her body on top of his, and he rolled her over on her back. It was his turn to make her feel as fantastic as she had made him feel. He moved his tongue down her body, and soon she was crying out his name, over and over. Cas loved it when she did that.
A few minutes later, they were laying in each others' arms, spent for the moment. "I guess we should talk about what we're going to say to them," Cas said softly. His eyes were turning back to blue now, and he felt very calm at the moment, but Cas knew that wouldn't last. Dean was going to shout at him, he was sure, and Frank already hated him. Deceiving his friends was proving to be a lot harder than he'd thought it was going to be.
Gail sighed. "I don't know," she said. "All I know is there's got to be a way for us all to win here. I'm tired of fighting with Frank, and I'm sure you are, too."
Cas frowned. Yes, he was. But Frank was going to have to show him some cooperation. There was no way that he and Gail were going to go back to the way things were before, not when they could be here like this anytime they wanted to now. He had to convince Sam and Dean and Bobby that he was OK. That he was still the Castiel that they had grown to love and to rely on. And maybe Gail could talk to Frank. He was done trying.
When Cas and Gail got to the bunker, the men were all sitting around the library table waiting. Jody had said her goodbyes and had started the trip home, so it was just the men now.
Cas pulled Gail's usual chair out for her and took his usual seat, holding her hand. Dean was scrutinizing Cas. He didn't see anything different about his friend so far. Cas was looking at him calmly.
"How are you, Dean?" Cas asked, smiling. He looked at Frank. "Did they get you fixed up, Frank?"
Frank was wrestling with himself. Cas looked normal right now, pleasant even, and Gail was holding his hand and smiling. What the hell was going on? Who was this guy, Jekyll, or Hyde?
Frank looked at Bobby, and Bobby gave a slight nod. The men had decided to try to rile Cas up, try to make him as angry as possible so they could see just how bad the situation was.
"I could ask you the same thing," Frank said coldly.
Cas was genuinely puzzled. "What do you mean, Frank?"
"Wasn't Crowley supposed to fix YOU?" Frank asked him.
"But there's nothing wrong with me, Frank," Cas said mildly. He was determined to control his temper, and he really believed this was the truth, anyway.
"No?" Dean broke in angrily. "Then maybe you'd like to tell us what was going on when I called you."
"Do you really want Frank to hear about that?" Cas said, smirking. "Suffice it to say his sister was making me very happy."
They were supposed to be making Cas mad, but now Frank was the one who was angry. He got the inference, and he rose and walked around the table, hauling Cas to his feet.
"Look, I don't know what you're doing to Gail, but you'd better watch yourself," Frank said to him.
"It just so happens that she likes what I'm doing to her," Cas said quietly. His eyes were starting to turn now. "If you don't believe me, ask her. But be prepared for the answer."
Sam had been silent up to this point, but he'd seen Cas's eyes change, and he looked at Gail now. "What did Crowley do to him?" he asked her.
"We might as well tell them," Gail said to Cas, who was still facing off with Frank. "And both of you sit down, you're behaving like jackasses." She stood up and got between them when they didn't move, looking at her brother. "Go sit down," Gail ordered him.
Frank was fuming, but after one more glare at Cas, he did as she said.
Gail turned to make sure Frank was seated again, and then she looked at Cas. "We might as well tell them; they know anyway," she told him.
Castiel's eyes went back to blue, and he was glad she'd stepped in. He'd have gone for his blade if Frank had said one more word. What was happening to him? He'd thought he could handle it, but he'd just embarrassed Gail in front of her brother, and had thought about killing Frank when Frank had quite rightly confronted Cas about it.
He sat down and put his head in his hands.
"You tell them, Gail," Cas said in a subdued voice. "I'd better not speak any more. I'm so sorry I said what I said about you. I don't know what got into me."
Gail felt sorry for him now, and as she looked around the table at the expressions on the men's' faces, she felt ashamed. "I'll tell you what got into him," she told them. "Crowley. We screwed up, you guys. We screwed up big time."
They listened to her explanation with rising horror. It was worse than they'd imagined. Not only had Crowley left the Demon in Cas, as they'd suspected, but then Cas and Gail had actually convinced themselves that this was a good idea, and then the couple had lied to them about it.
"What the hell kind of Angels are you two?" Frank said, astonished.
Castiel raised his head. Frank's question had made him angry again, and his eyes were full-on purple now. "Angels," he scoffed. "Maybe I don't want to be an Angel anymore."
"You don't mean that, Cas," Bobby said. "That's just the Demon talking."
"Is it?" Cas raised his voice. "Heaven. Angels. Who needs it? I went up there and they put me to death. They separated me and Gail, condemned us for doing what we like to do. What we're entitled to do. Xavier schemed and lied to get rid of us. And don't even get me started on Jason, Aurielle and Metatron! So, yes, when I discovered there was some Demon in me in that cabin, I reveled in it. I was able to take care of our enemies and save our lives. You don't like the way I am now? Maybe I don't care. Gail does."
"That can't be true," Sam said disbelievingly.
Gail avoided his eyes, saying nothing.
"Tell them, Gail," Castiel said, turning towards her. "Tell them the truth. How what I have inside me now makes you feel. I'd rather be a devil who tells the truth than an Angel who lies."
Gail laughed shortly. Was he really going to ask her to do this? But she had bought into their rationalization of her own free will. At least Cas had the Demon poison inside of him as an excuse. Now she would have to pay the price for their transgression by humiliating herself in front of her brother and their friends.
She hung her head. "I like it," she said quietly.
Dean snorted in derision. "You like it," he echoed.
Cas took Gail's hand, and she thought of the time they had been at the tribunal and he had comforted her after what she'd said about him on the stand. No one in this room except for her and Cas knew what that had felt like, or understood what they had gone through together. His eyes may be purple now, but she thought that Castiel had made some very good points about Angels and about Heaven. They obviously had some residual feelings of anger and resentment towards both that they hadn't talked about or dealt with. Was that why they had been so eager to embrace the Demon in him?
"I'm ashamed to be your brother," Frank said with disgust. "And coming from me, that's saying something."
Dean and Sam smirked. They were good enough friends with Frank now to know that he wouldn't mind. But Castiel was not smiling.
"You want to mind the way you talk to her," he said to Frank in his quiet voice.
"She's my sister. I'll talk to her any way I want to," Frank said sharply. "At least you have an excuse. What's hers?"
Gail was nodding in agreement, but Cas said, "I am. I'm her excuse. This is all my fault."
Now Frank was actually liking Cas more than he was liking his own sister. "These guys told me you were all about protecting my sister. And they were right. I think I owe you an apology, Cas. You can't help what Crowley did to you. It's Gail who's the problem here." He stood up suddenly from his chair, looking down at his sister. "You're disgusting," he said to Gail.
Cas raised his hand and Frank went flying into the bookshelves. Gail grabbed his arm. "Cas, stop it!" she shouted. "He's right!"
Castiel shook her hand off, getting to his feet. "No, he's wrong, Gail. They're all wrong." He took his blade out of his jacket and advanced on Frank, then knelt down and put it to Frank's throat. "Apologize," he demanded.
"You'll have to kill me first," Frank retorted.
"Really? All right, then. If you insist," Cas said, then plunged the blade into Frank's chest, killing him instantly.
Cas took his hand away from Gail's forehead.
"What did you see?" he asked her softly.
Gail looked at him, wide-eyed. "What was that? What did you just do to me?"
They were standing in their bedroom, having just gotten dressed in preparation for their meeting with Bobby. They hadn't met with him yet, nor had they received that call from Dean. And they certainly hadn't gone to the bunker. Frank was still alive, and none of their friends were the least bit angry or suspicious.
Castiel grabbed her by the upper arms. "What did you see, Gail? I need to know."
So she told him, haltingly at first, but then it all came flooding out, and when she got to that last climactic scene, Gail was crying. "You killed Frank," she sobbed. "It all escalated so fast. I couldn't stop you."
Cas frowned. "You know I would never do that, Gail."
But did she? She'd just seen it, plain as day. "What the hell did you do to me, Cas? What was that?" she raised her voice. What was real? What wasn't? She didn't know any more.
"A vision," he said casually. "Your fondest wish, and your worst nightmare. Either may come to pass, or both." Incredibly, he smiled, and his eyes started to turn violet. "I know which one I'd pick."
Gail was confused. What had been the point of that?
"An experiment," Cas said lightly. As if she'd spoken aloud. "I wanted to see if you were on my side. If you would stay with me, or leave me and side with your brother."
She looked into his eyes, which were now bright purple. "Why would you ever think I would leave you, Cas?" she said, touching his face.
"I just have to make sure," he told her. "Can you promise you won't leave me, no matter what?"
Gail's mind flashed to the vision of Cas plunging his knife into Frank's chest. But hadn't she seen Frank do the same thing to Castiel in the past? And that hadn't been a vision; that had actually happened. And she had killed Frank because of it.
"Of course I promise," she said to him, smiling. "I love you. Why on earth would I ever leave you?"
"I'm sorry, but I lied to you just now," Cas said with a half-smile. "OK, well, I didn't exactly lie, I just haven't told you everything."
God, his eyes were beautiful. Gail was confused, but she was willing to wait for him to explain if she could just keep looking into those eyes.
"When I touched your forehead and sent you into the vision, I wasn't sure what you would say when you came out," Cas said slowly, "so I decided I needed a little insurance."
He took her hand and pulled up her sleeve. Gail looked down and saw that there was a pinprick mark in the crook of her arm. What?
"I needed to seal our bond. To make sure we were truly one," Cas was saying. "So I took out a couple of vials of my blood and injected you with it. Now we are the same, and we are bonded for eternity."
Gail looked up at him in amazement. She should have been horrified at what he was telling her he had done. The Demon in Cas had taken hold, and while she had been in the trance that he had induced, he had gently injected her with his diseased blood. There was still enough Angel in him to recognize that he was getting worse, and soon she would leave him. He couldn't allow that to happen. He needed her, and he knew she needed him. So they were truly in this together now. He couldn't let her and her conscience stand in his way, but he could never have hurt her, either. That was Castiel's rationale for what he had done to her, but he had hurt her, and badly. Now she was part Demon too, and Metatron's deadly cocktail was coursing through her veins now, also. A cocktail for which there was no known cure.
So instead of packing her bags, Gail put her arms around him. "I love you," she told him, and Cas smiled. He'd done the right thing. After they had their meetings with Bobby and their human friends, perpetrating their deception, he would set up the first training session with Crowley. They had a lot to accomplish, and now they could do it together.
Cas kissed her, and she opened her mouth to him immediately. He sent a message to Bobby on Angel Radio that there had been an unexpected delay, and they'd see him in another hour or so.
Gail broke the kiss. "Good idea," she said.
That was the first time she had ever been tuned in to his frequency, and Castiel's blood raced. Evidence of their new bond. Now it was time to consummate their new relationship.
She was already unbuttoning his shirt, and he pulled her top off over her head. They kissed again, and she murmured, "Touch me, Cas, please."
And he did. He knew what she needed.
"Oh, that's good," she breathed.
He smiled. "I can do better than that." He pushed her onto the bed and took off her pants. "I can do much better than that."
Soon she was saying his name, over and over again, and Cas was saying hers. "Do you love me?" he asked her. "Yes," she breathed. "And you'll never leave me?" he pressed. "Never," she replied. "Never." How could she? Look at the way he made her feel. They didn't need to be Angels, anyway; they had their own Heaven right here, and it was better than the other one. And she'd do anything to keep it. She'd do anything he asked.
Then Castiel removed his hand from Gail's forehead again. He had pushed rewind, and they were back to square one again.
He hadn't injected her with anything; he'd just given her the opportunity to see how things might go if she made that choice. There was still enough Angel left in him at that point to want her to be able to choose freely.
"What the hell, Cas?" she asked him, thoroughly confused now. "What's going on? Stop doing that and just tell me!"
Cas sighed. "There's something very wrong with me, Gail. I can feel it. I've tried to fight it, but I'm losing. I'm turning dark, and I don't want to drag you down with me. Not if you don't want to go." He gave her a strange smile. "And I really do want you to be free to choose. So I'll leave it up to you. If you want to pack your bags and leave me, I'll take you to the bunker myself, right now."
She was alarmed. He couldn't be serious. She didn't want to go anywhere. "It can't be that bad, Cas," she protested. "So you have a bit of Demon inside you. You're still you. You're still the man I fell in love with."
But he was shaking his head. "No, I'm not. At least, I won't be for much longer. You saw."
Yes, she'd seen. But she didn't believe; she didn't want to.
"And I like it. God help me, I like it," he told her.
"We can go to Crowley, get him to take it out," Gail told him.
Castiel was still shaking his head. "You're not getting it, Gail. I'm not going to do that. I don't want to do that."
"Maybe the decision shouldn't be up to you, then," Gail said. "Maybe Sam and Dean need to take you to him."
Cas's expression darkened. "I wouldn't advise that," he said quietly.
She was frustrated. "So you're telling me that I either have to leave you, or - "
He interrupted her. "Or accept me as I am now. Commit to our relationship. As you've seen, there are perks." He smiled. "Any time we want. Any way we want." He kissed her, and his hand began to stroke her as he'd done in the vision. "I love you, and I would never hurt you," he murmured in her ear. "I only want you to be happy. We could be very happy. What do you need, Gail?"
Him, of course; she needed him. She always had. Leaving him was unimaginable to her. And was it really so bad? The devil's voice was very pleasing, and he was very charming. Humans had been succumbing to temptation since Creation based on what they thought they needed at the time. Gail had loved Cas since the beginning, and he had loved her back. Now he was asking her to stay with him, and his argument was becoming very persuasive.
"I love you," Cas said again. "Will you stay with me? Please." His eyes were purple again, and he was smiling gently.
Gail tried to picture her life without him in it, and she couldn't do it. She'd lost her mind when he had been executed, and she reminded herself that she was an Angel now, with the potential to exist forever. Forever was a long time to be without the love of your life. She knew he would never hurt her, and she was in denial about him hurting anyone else they loved, no matter how dark he claimed to be. All he was offering her was his love, and all she had to give in return was her commitment to him, something he had always had anyway.
"I choose you, Cas," Gail said softly. "I want to stay here with you."
He froze his motion. "Are you sure? I need you to be sure."
Cas had asked her the same thing in Las Vegas just before they had taken the last big step in their relationship, and Gail now used this memory to convince herself that he was still willing to put her needs in front of his own. That meant that he wasn't nearly as bad as he seemed to think he was. And if he lost his temper, she could get him to stand down. He always had, for her.
"Would you do anything for me?" Gail asked Cas, looking him in the eyes. Trying to elicit his promise that he would never hurt anyone if she asked him not to.
"Anything you want," he said, smiling. But he misled himself about the implications of her question. It was pretty open-ended after all, he told himself. He kissed her again, and his hand resumed its motion. She was finding it hard to think about anything else but what he was doing right now, but of course, that was why he was doing it. She was choosing him, and Cas wouldn't allow her to go back on her promise.
A few minutes later, Cas sat her down on the edge of the bed and injected a vial of his own blood into her arm, being gentle with the syringe. Once he was done, she looked at him expectantly, but he shook his head. "Only one. Just enough to ensure that we're on the same page. I don't want you to turn dark, Gail. I just want you to be with me when I do. Now we can be together for eternity, and on our terms. You can decide what those terms are. I'll leave it in your hands. If I go too far, you will stop me." She nodded.
It didn't occur to Gail until later that she had never asked exactly what he meant by that. She thought she knew. But she had no idea. None at all.
That was twice that Cas had told him to wait, and Bobby was starting to wonder what the hell was going on. Not that his Angel friends necessarily had to hop to it when he called, but it was highly unusual. The first time he'd called, Cas had sounded annoyed, saying they were in the middle of something. Bobby had no idea what, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know, especially after he'd seen the way those two had behaved in the cabin. But Cas had also said they'd be there in a little while, and Bobby had been sitting and waiting, but still, no Angels.
Then another message from Cas, saying that there had been an unexpected delay, and they would be about another hour or so. No explanation either time. Not that Bobby had a God complex or anything, but didn't he at least deserve a reason?
Bobby reached into his desk drawer and pulled out his cell phone, calling Dean.
"Do you have any idea what's going on with Cas?" he asked when Dean picked up.
Normally, Dean would have made a smart remark about saying hello first, but he knew what Bobby was talking about; though he didn't know how Bobby had found out. Had Cas confessed it to him, maybe?
"I know," Dean sighed. "He went way over the line. But I gave him hell, and then Gail talked him into doing the right thing. But how did you find out about it?"
Now Bobby was really confused. What was Dean talking about? "You've seen him?" he asked Dean.
Now it was Dean's turn to be confused. "Of course I've seen him. We're talking about the same thing here, aren't we? Him taking out his blade when Frank pissed him off?"
"What?" Bobby exclaimed, shocked. "No! I was talking about him putting me off twice this morning when I asked him and Gail to come here. What the hell are YOU talking about?"
Crap. Now Dean had done it. Bobby apparently didn't know what had happened this morning after all, but now Dean was going to have to tell him. So he gave Bobby a brief rundown, taking great pains to reassure him that their Angel friends had gone to see Crowley to get him to fix Cas.
Bobby took a deep breath and let it out. That must be what happened, then. The first time he had called Cas, he and Gail must have been in the bunker, and that was why Cas had sounded annoyed. Bobby didn't know exactly what was going on between Cas and Frank, but the fact that Crowley had left a bit of Demon inside Cas must have had something to do with it. That would certainly be a sensitive subject for Gail's brother, considering where he had been and what he had been doing for the past while. But without that slice of Demon inside him, it was unthinkable that Cas would pull a blade on a member of the family. Bobby felt sick to even think about that. Gail must have flipped out. She had obviously told Cas to march his Angel butt over to the crossroads and have Crowley take it all.
That must have been where Gail and Cas were when Bobby had called the second time. No wonder they couldn't come right away. Crowley could be a real pill sometimes, and they had probably had to use some persuasion to get him to finally do the right thing. Bobby couldn't help but smile when he pictured the scene. King of Hell or not, Crowley had better have capitulated if he knew what was good for him. Cas's temper was formidable, and Gail had a lot of spirit. Bobby was sure she wouldn't be above smacking Crowley in the face if he refused. He'd pay to see that, he really would.
So Bobby and Dean concluded their conversation, each promising to call the other once they heard from the couple. And a little while later, Laurel buzzed him to tell him that Castiel and Gail had arrived.
Their meeting started out very much like Gail had seen in her first vision.
"How are you both?" Bobby said to them.
Castiel pulled Gail's chair out for her, then reclaimed her hand as he sat down next to her.
"Fine." Cas said mildly.
"Great," Gail said. Cas smiled, looking at her. "I amend my earlier statement," he said. "I'm great, too." He squeezed Gail's hand. Good job.
Bobby had been about to go into his apology, but after his conversation with Dean, he needed to flip the script.
"I was just talking to Dean," he said, looking at Cas. "He told me there was a little bit of an - incident at the bunker this morning."
Cas took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. His first test. He hadn't meant for Bobby to find out about that, but he supposed it had been inevitable, as close as they all were. "Yes, I behaved terribly, Bobby," Cas said, arranging his features into a look of contrition. "That was when we knew we had to go and see Crowley, and get him to remove the rest of his foul essence from me." There. The pre-emptive strike. It was obvious that Bobby was going to go there next, so Cas had beaten him to it. Getting Bobby and the rest of them to believe him was paramount, and Cas needed to appear forthcoming and sincere.
"And did he?" Bobby asked, sitting back in his chair.
"Yes, but it took some convincing," Cas said, smiling. "Didn't it, Gail?" he prompted her. She had promised to stick by him; now he was asking her to prove her commitment to him by participating in the deception. One look at those innocent, wide eyes of hers and Bobby would be convinced it was the truth.
Gail looked at Cas. Right. This was HER first test. But she had given Cas her promise, hadn't she? What had she expected? "Yeah," she said to Bobby. "Crowley was really pleased with himself, and he didn't want to take it out. But Cas convinced him in the end. That's what took us so long to get here." She smiled at Bobby, and he smiled back at her, relieved.
"Good," he said to both of them. "Good."
Cas looked lovingly at Gail. She had been a very capable partner of his in many senses of the word over the past year, and she was proving her worth once again. Bobby hadn't doubted her for a moment. If he had tried the same thing, Cas was sure that Bobby would have questioned him further, and Cas would have gotten angry.
Gail had also proven her worth before they had even gotten here. Using the acumen she had demonstrated while they'd been on the run from Heaven, what she had called "street smarts", Gail had suggested they make a quick stop on Earth first. They had gone to a drugstore and purchased coloured contact lenses for Cas, which he had blinked into his eyes. Now the only colour anyone would see when they looked into his eyes was his usual blue, no matter how angry he felt. Brilliant on her part. He would have to thank her properly when they got home. But he would take out the lenses first. When they were being intimate, he wanted her to see his true self.
Then Bobby made his apologies to both of them for the spell book, and with Gail's comforting presence beside him, Castiel was able to get through the conversation without getting angry. But he was careful not to be too casual in his forgiveness, either. Gail had told him that it was this attitude which had first aroused Bobby's suspicions. She had seen so in her vision. So Cas projected just the right amount of uptight Angel in his replies, but gave Bobby his forgiveness in the end. And though Cas was impatient to leave, he made himself sit patiently until Bobby said, "Well, I guess that's all I wanted to talk to you about for now. I imagine you're anxious to get back to the bunker and tell everyone the good news."
"Yeah, we are, and I've hardly spent any time with Frank," Gail said, smiling. "We've got a lot of lost time to make up for."
So she and Cas rose and said their goodbyes, and reappeared outside the bunker door a moment later.
"I wanted to make a quick stop at home first, but I didn't think we should risk it," Cas told her. "Bobby might call Dean, and it would look suspicious if we didn't come here next."
Gail nodded. He was right, of course. Still, she was disappointed that they couldn't have gone home for just a few minutes. She had Cas's blood circulating in her system now, after all. She was proud of the way he had held it together in Bobby's office, and the way Cas had looked at her back there had made her feel like going straight to their bedroom and getting him to remove those contact lenses. She'd always loved his blue eyes, but nowadays she felt there was a lot to be said about the colour purple, too.
"Then why are we out here?" she asked him.
"Don't you want a private moment first?" he said, smiling. "I know I do." He pulled her to him and kissed her, slipping his hands under her top. He was glad she hadn't gone shopping. If he saw any underwear in the bureau, he was going to burn it.
She began to reciprocate, caressing him through his pants. "I don't think you want to do that right now," Cas said in her ear. But he wasn't exactly moving away.
But that was the trouble; she did want to do that, and plenty more. She had been a willing and eager participant even before Cas had given her the injection, and now that they had the same blood, self-control was slowly going out the window.
"Do you want me to stop?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
Cas smirked. "Of course not." So she continued, and after a moment, Cas undid his pants, allowing her easy access. Then he undid hers, and slipped them off. "I guess a few minutes' delay would be okay," he said, lifting her body up to meet him.
They had stood on this same spot watching the sun rise on two separate occasions. On one, they had emerged as humans, and on the other, he had come out as God while she'd been an Angel. How appropriate that the sun was now setting. Cas was sinking, and Gail was enabling him. The fact that they were doing this here, just steps away from her brother and their friends, was proof of that.
"Imagine if they knew," Cas was saying, and he licked her earlobe.
Gail laughed. "Frank would have a cow. But don't make me think about that right now. I'll be dealing with him in a minute."
"That's right. You're dealing with me right now," he breathed. Was she ever. She had her legs wrapped around him now, holding on for dear life. Which was good, because he was never going to let her go.
"Remember your promise," Cas said softly. Then she was saying his name, telling him she loved him, and he smiled. She remembered. Dealing with the humans would be easy, because they'd be dealing with them together.
Sam and Dean, Frank and Jody were all sitting down to an early dinner when Castiel and Gail walked into the bunker, hand in hand, smiling at their friends.
"Sorry we're so late," Cas said.
Dean waved off his apology. "It's OK, we talked to Bobby," he said. "So Crowley needed a bit of convincing, huh?" Sam said, grinning. "Please tell me that convincing involved a blade."
Cas smiled, but he made sure it was a gentle smile. "Let's just say he came around to our way of thinking," he told them. He walked straight up to Frank and extended his hand. "I'm so very sorry, Frank. Can you please find it in your heart to forgive me? That wasn't me, I assure you."
Frank stood and looked at Cas's face, then at Gail standing behind him. Her eyes were bright and shining, and she looked so hopeful. Bobby had told them that he was convinced that Cas was back to normal, and that was good enough for Frank. Bobby was God, and he had known Cas a long time. Of course, Bobby was no fool, either; he had also looked into Cas's thoughts when they'd had their visit, and he'd seen nothing there to alarm him. It seemed that Castiel had finally learned to discipline his mind after all those years. Gail's support in his deception had given him the confidence he'd needed to pull it off, and the motivation to keep the secret was even stronger now because they were both sharing it. And as Cas had foreseen, the instant Bobby had tentatively looked into Gail's mind, he'd seen that she was thinking about her and Cas's recent intimacies, and Bobby had shut it down, fast. He sure as hell didn't want to think about them doing that. But he supposed they were entitled; they were adults, and they were over 21. And if Angels were supposed to be unable to do what the two of them were apparently doing? Who knew? Maybe that was some more of that "Originals" stuff that God had never bothered to tell Bobby about. He'd reminded himself that he wanted to find out more about that too, but that conversation could wait until Cas had made it up to their friends, and especially to Frank.
So here Cas was, holding out the olive branch to Frank, and so Frank shook his hand. "Yeah, I forgive you, Cas," he said. "I know that wasn't you. Let's just start over again, OK?"
"I'd like that," Cas told him. Would he? A part of him really would, still. Things would be so much easier for everyone if he and Frank could get along. He really didn't want to lose it with Frank anymore; next time, he couldn't guarantee his blade would remain on the table. And he was now sure Gail would take his side against her brother, but there was no upside to putting her in that awkward position. What Cas needed was an outlet for his anger and aggression, and while he had found a very sweet and satisfying way to release some of that aggression with Gail now, he still needed a way to get out his anger.
Cas stayed calm as he and Gail sat down at the table, watching their friends eat.
"Smells good," Gail said wistfully.
"Have some, then," Dean said, helping himself to seconds. "It is good. Jody made it; she's a way better cook than Sammy."
Sam pretended to glare at him. "Hey, if you don't like my cooking, feel free to take over."
"Not on your life," Dean said cheerfully. "We're so rich now, it's take-out every night."
That reminded Frank of something else he'd wanted to address. He lifted his beer bottle and looked at Cas. "I don't think I ever thanked you properly for that, Cas. So, thanks a lot." He toasted Cas, smiling.
Cas smiled back. "That's all right, Frank. Your sister's already thanked me for it, several times."
Gail squeezed his hand in warning. That was exactly the sort of thing he should avoid saying around Frank. Hadn't they had a problem when Frank had gotten uptight about the thought of Cas and his sister doing, well, what they had been doing nearly non-stop lately?
Silence. Frank's hand had frozen with his fork halfway to his mouth, and Cas hastened to add, "I didn't mean to suggest...I'm sorry, Frank. I only meant that she was happy that I - we - were able to help you like that. That's all. I assure you." There. Lucky Gail had given him the signal. He had meant it exactly the way it had come out; in fact, he'd been thinking of other ways she could thank him tonight, after they were done here. But he had to be more careful. He and Gail had them all fooled now, and they were just starting to mend fences.
After a moment, everyone went back to what they had been doing, and Gail was helping Sam clear the dishes when Cas got the call from Ethan on Angel Radio. Jason wanted to talk to Castiel, and what Jason had to say, Ethan thought Cas had better hear. Could he come right away? And maybe he'd better come alone.
Cas smiled to himself. Interesting. While he couldn't imagine what Jason would have to say to him that he would give a damn about, he had been needing an outlet for his anger, and this could fit the bill perfectly.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he said to Gail, taking her arm and gently steering her towards the hallway. "Please excuse us, everyone."
When they were far enough away from the kitchen, Castiel told her about the call from Ethan.
Gail frowned. "I don't like this, Cas. What could he have to say that we would possibly want to hear?"
"I don't know, Gail," he replied. "But I'm going alone. I don't want you anywhere around him."
She eyed him calmly. "He's in prison, Cas. He can't do anything to me there. Why do you really want to go alone?"
He opened his jacket to show her his Angel blade. "I need to blow off a little steam, Gail," he said quietly. If she wanted the truth, he'd tell her the truth. He'd told her what he was becoming, hadn't he?
She looked up at him. Honestly, she wasn't particularly surprised. And she couldn't think of a much more deserving individual than Jason.
So Gail kissed him and sent him on his way. Then she went back into the kitchen and joined their friends, giving her brother a kiss on the forehead before she walked over to Sam and grabbed a dishtowel. Better Jason than anyone in this room, she thought. It was her job to keep them safe now. She'd signed the contract when she'd rolled up her sleeve for Cas.