Months had passed since Dean hit the road, with no real clue where to start. He wasn't even in Kansas anymore, having exhausted almost every possible locale he could think of. Sitting restlessly in a side booth of a karaoke bar, he downed the bitter drink in his hands. Grimacing at the taste, he raised an arm to wipe the excess on his sleeve. His eyes were heavy with exhaustion and sleep had eluded him for days. Every possible karaoke bar, every night club, and any place that might have a jukebox, Dean looked, but couldn't find. None of the patrons or workers remembered seeing him, and if he had been there, Dean was certain that someone would remember him.
His phone rang. The loud sound made him jump, and he quickly moved to answer. "Have you found him?" his modified greeting since starting to search.
"No man, I haven't found a damn thing," came Gabriel's reply over the other line. "I found less than a trace."
Dean sighed heavily, remorse heavy in his chest, "Then why did you call?"
"Did you not hear me? Less than a trace. He didn't just leave you, he vanished. Poof: gone." Gabriel seemed to think he had a helpful point, but Dean wasn't following the news. Dean clung to the wrong words, that Cass had left him, the horrible realization that he was now without his lovely singing angel. The worst of it was Dean didn't know why.
One day everything was fine –it was better than fine: it was perfect. Sam, Dean, and Cass living together under one roof in little old Lawrence. The next: Dean's world was shattered. He woke up one morning and Castiel wasn't in bed beside him. It wouldn't have been a big deal, it wasn't unusual for Dean to sleep passed noon, where Cass just couldn't sleep that long. But it was five a.m. Maybe Cass was sick, or getting a snack. Dean searched the house over, and found no one. He called to Cass, loudly and repeatedly. Sam had woken up, but there was still no sign of Cass, there wasn't even an indication that he had left the bed, as his covers hadn't even been tossed aside. He was simply gone.
"Don't you get it? He. Didn't. Leave. Maybe something took him, but with this immediate cold trail, it's more likely that aliens did it."
"He's an angel. Teleporting comes with the package Gabriel." Dean growled. "If you don't have anything helpful, then don't bother calling."
"You would've been able to tell if he teleported out of bed, and he wouldn't have teleported naked. I was just trying to help you. Don't push yourself so hard." Gabriel knew he wasn't making any progress, but Dean didn't seem to realize how many people he was worrying by doing this. He never checked in, and he'd been on the road for over a month, travelling from town to town with zero success and even less leads. As expected, Dean didn't listen, and soon the line went dead.
Gabriel sighed and dropped his phone back into his pocket. He walked over to the living room where his two house mates were sitting on the couch –snogging. "Ah, guys!" Gabriel protested, but didn't look away. "Anna, Balthazar –I just got off the phone with Dean."
Balthazar broke away from Anna's embrace, "And has he found Castiel?" Balthazar may well have been the second person willing to drop everything and take off in a fruitless search, right after Dean. Common sense and better resources prevailed, but that didn't make Castiel's absence any easier. Balthazar was the only other angel on earth, as far as he knew. He was the only other individual capable of the things Castiel was, and even he couldn't find the boy. Despite the promise he'd made, all of his abilities and best intentions, Castiel was gone, and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Naughta. Zip. He's found nothing, except maybe another beer. That guy's long fired by now, eh? Sam's gotta be pissed about the rent."
"And just how exactly do you think Sam's mad about something as petty as rent?" Balthazar reeled and the incredulously stupid comment. "His brother is in a clinical state of depression and one of his close friends –and roommate- has disappeared off this face of this earth! And let me tell you, he's not on this planet, otherwise I would damn well have found him!" Balthazar was exasperated, and all the hours of hard work Anna had put in to calm him down were tossed out the window.
"Hey! I'm just trying to help!" Gabriel threw his hands up in the air –why was it everyone was mad at him when he relayed information? Twice in one day! "Alright, alright. I'm gone." Dropping his arms, he headed for the door, mumbling to himself, "A bunch of bull shit, that's what this is." He called back to Balthazar, "You know if Cass were still here we wouldn't be fighting like this!"
Tossing his jacket on before slamming the door behind him, Gabriel left the two to their business. "What a fucking piss off," he muttered aloud. "It's like none of us really wanted to put together, just to follow Cass. I miss that son of a bitch."