Chapter 2 – Any Graven Image

Xavier wasn't the only excited Angel in Heaven, as the day of Castiel's tribunal dawned.

Aurielle had been so restless that she was in the office before anyone else that morning. She let herself into Xavier's office with the key he had given her, and started to collate the papers he had laid out on his desk in preparation for today's hearing. There were six sets; one for each Upper Echelon board member and one for Xavier himself, of course. There were a lot of charges against Castiel, so there were a lot of pages to the document. It looked like the proceeding would last at least a week, with everything Xavier planned to present.

When Aurielle had overheard Patricia and Laurel talking about the scheduled tribunal a few days ago, she had first and foremost been excited about the prospect of Castiel being here in Heaven, and of him being the focus of all of this attention. She had no idea what Xavier was planning to do to him; it sounded from the womens' conversation that the tribunal was simply a formality, a proceeding that needed to be held before Castiel could be promoted to the High Office. Bobby had apparently abdicated, from what she could gather. Aurielle was a little puzzled by that, but it didn't matter to her. Bobby had been the one to bring her back to Heaven and she supposed she should be grateful to him for that. But the main thing now was that Castiel was one step removed from becoming the new God, and that would mean she could see him all the time. He would have to give up his assignment on Earth, and his association with those lowly humans. Xavier and Aurielle might have been diametrically opposed in their feelings towards Castiel, but this was one thing they agreed on: humans were beneath Angels, and they were a bad influence. Look at what had apparently gone on in Las Vegas. The Winchesters had brought Castiel there, leading him to temptation. And based on what Becky told her she'd seen, Aurielle believed that the Angel Gail had aided and abetted the brothers, even going so far as casting a spell on him, in an effort to make him succumb to the pleasures of the flesh with her. Had he? No one knew. But Aurielle was going to find out. She had to get into the tribunal, somehow.

Then, the lucky break: Xavier had asked Patricia to assign him an assistant for the duration of the tribunal. Every syllable needed to be recorded for posterity, and though Xavier and the board members would be free to take notes, Xavier needed an Angel who could put all the testimony together in one cohesive package.

So Patricia had come into the cubicle where Aurielle was diligently working as always, and her supervisor had asked Aurielle if she would accept this special assignment. Aurielle was the best worker she had, and she had demonstrated a keen aptitude for computers, but could still work with quill pens and scrolls if required. Patricia wasn't sure which skill would be needed for the job; Xavier seemed very suspicious of computers, but Patricia still believed the Old Guard might be accepting of them, in time. But Aurielle was skilled in both the modern and the ancient methods, and Patricia had wanted to reward her charge by offering her this assignment. Maybe Aurielle would be recognized by the board if she did her usual diligent job, and maybe a promotion for her would be something to consider, when it was over.

Patricia had taken Aurielle to meet Xavier then, and Xavier had accepted Aurielle's help with all of the paperwork. Recognizing the type of Angel Xavier was, Aurielle had been properly deferential to him, and after the day's work was over, Xavier had trusted her enough to give her a spare key to his office when she'd told him that she liked to come in early.

So here she was in Xavier's office, preparing that day's schedule. Finally, it was here. Aurielle had been dismayed when she'd taken a moment to read the content of the papers she was putting together, though. It looked as if Xavier intended this to be much more than just a qualification hearing for the Office. Every

aspect of Castiel's existence was scheduled to be put under a microscope and examined. He'd always been a mysterious, enigmatic Angel, and even though Aurielle was in love with him, she had to admit she didn't really know that much about him. She was looking forward to hearing more; much more. Especially about what, if anything, had happened in Las Vegas. Xavier hadn't expressed them as charges, exactly, but he had included a list of questions he intended to ask the Angel Gail about that weekend. And Aurielle very much wanted to see how that little tramp was going to justify herself. If she tried to lie her way out of it, Aurielle could suggest to Xavier that he call Becky as a witness. It would probably just about kill Aurielle to hear the sordid details, but she would just have to bear it. At least then, when she killed Gail, she would have a good reason. Or, maybe she wouldn't need to. From what Aurielle could discern, and based on what the testimony would likely reveal, her rival might be thrown into prison for morals violations once Xavier was done. Aurielle smiled at that. Good. If Gail had corrupted Castiel, she deserved it.

But what of Castiel himself? From the way Xavier spoke about him, it was obvious he disliked Castiel intensely, didn't think he deserved to be sitting in the High Office. Aurielle couldn't imagine why not. She was sure that Xavier was just jealous. Once the testimony started, he and the board would have no choice but to accept that Castiel was the most qualified Angel for the job. And once he was God, and was rid of the humans and Gail, Aurielle would find a way to help Castiel, and be near him. She would be sweet and attentive, and would literally do anything he asked of her. Aurielle was convinced that she could worm her way into his life, and then his heart, if she was only given a chance. She had to believe that; her love for him was the only thing that kept her going. And Lord help anyone who tried to stand in her way.

Becky hadn't seen much of Aurielle for the past few days, and she missed her friend's company. Things were pretty boring here since she'd left. Becky missed their daily girl talk and gossip sessions.

Aurielle had been careful not to divulge the extent of her obsession with Castiel to Becky. She knew the girl was way too chatty to be trusted with that sort of information. She'd probably run off and tell her new boyfriend Kevin all about it, and then it would just be a matter of time before it got around. But in order to placate Becky, who was actually a bit more sharp in this area than Aurielle would have given her credit for, Aurielle had finally confessed to Becky that she actually did have a slight crush on Castiel. How could you not? He was so handsome, and so heroic. And look at the way he doted on Gail. What woman wouldn't want that for herself? And Becky had understood. Really, Aurielle was no different than the Cas Girls Becky had met on Earth, at the convention. Becky thought it was kind of sweet, and she could definitely relate.

Becky and Kevin were dating now. Angels didn't actually date, per se, but they were seeing a lot of each other, and Becky let Kevin hold her hand from time to time. Becky didn't see the harm in that; it wasn't like she was cheating on Sam, or anything. Angels didn't do any more than that, anyway. And Becky was glad of that. She still remembered Chuck trying to instigate a physical relationship with her when they were both humans, and Becky was glad that Kevin couldn't put that kind of pressure on her. Not that she would have done anything, though, even if Kevin were able to suggest such a thing. Becky was still saving herself for Sam.

But Becky actually did like Kevin. She had just been dating Chuck to get to Sam, but she did like Kevin as a person. Or an Angel, or whatever. He was cute and funny, and he was really nice to her. But if she was honest with herself, the main attraction of seeing Kevin was that he was friends with Sam, or had been. She encouraged Kevin to tell her stories about his time on Earth, especially his time with the Winchesters. Becky thought it had been really heroic of Sam to protect Kevin the way he had, and tragic that Kevin had been murdered while Sam had been away. Kevin still had not told her that it had been Sam himself, or at least his

body, that had killed Kevin. He wasn't sure exactly why; something had just told him not to confide the circumstances of his death to her. And Prophets tended to listen to their intuitions. But Kevin liked Becky, too. He thought she was cute, and she thought he was interesting. His only regret was that they could not do more than just hold hands. Kevin had been robbed of that aspect of his young life by his premature death, and he would have liked to have experienced it at least once before coming to Heaven. Oh well, there was nothing he could do about it now.

Becky was hoping she'd be able to get away to see Castiel's tribunal for a bit. Apparently, it was going to be open to the public, as per Xavier's orders. Room for spectators was limited though, and Becky was sure there would be lots of female Angels lined up early to get in. Aurielle wasn't the only Cas Girl in Heaven. Becky smiled. Maybe she'd just see Gail, when she got here. Becky knew Gail would come with Castiel; she'd never seen a closer couple. Gail would be able to get her in, she was sure.

Or Kevin, if he was going to be there. Becky would have to pop into his office this morning and ask him. She couldn't imagine him not wanting to go. Besides knowing the Winchesters, Kevin had also known Castiel on Earth. Maybe Kevin would even be asked to testify. He could talk about all the good things Castiel had done there. Becky thought it was neat that Castiel was going to get to be God. Like everyone else, Becky wondered what had happened to Bobby, though. She had really liked him. He had been so kind to her, and he had given her another chance, kept her out of Hell. She felt bad that he'd just left. He'd been a good God. But Castiel would be a good one too, Becky was sure. Would that make Gail God's girlfriend? Becky wondered. She giggled. Imagine being Mrs. God.

Actually, that gave her an idea. Once Castiel was God, maybe Becky could cash in on her friendship with Gail and ask for a favour. Maybe Becky could get an assignment on Earth. There would probably be at least one opening coming up. If Castiel was up here being God, Gail would want to be with him, and that left the Winchesters two Angels short. Could Becky possibly fill one of those spots? She'd better be extra-nice to Gail, when she saw her. Becky was sure all Gail would have to do was ask, and Castiel would send Becky down to help Sam and Dean in a minute. Yes, she'd still be an Angel, but Becky didn't care. She'd be with her beloved Sam, and she'd take him any way she could get him.

Both Aurielle and Becky were unaware of the implications of the upcoming tribunal. Or more accurately, Becky was. Aurielle was crazy now, but she was not stupid. Unlike Becky, Aurielle had seen the documents now, and she knew Xavier's attitude towards her beloved. But Aurielle was seriously delusional, and she had fooled herself into thinking that Gail would suffer consequences, but Castiel would not.

For her part, Becky was just too clueless to get it. Becky saw the world as she wanted to see it, and if there were any unpleasant facts she didn't want to face, she usually just swept them under the rug.

As Xavier and the board members filed into the hearing room, both Aurielle and Becky were there. Becky waved to Aurielle as she and Kevin took their seats in the gallery. As Becky had thought, Kevin was very interested in this proceeding. Kevin also thought Bobby's disappearance was very strange, and it bothered him. He'd liked having Bobby as a boss, and had gotten the feeling they'd work very well together. But suddenly, here everyone was at the hearing that would determine if Castiel was to be the new God. Kevin had known Castiel in life and though he'd been a bit strict when it came to the Tablets, Kevin thought he'd be OK, too. Like Bobby, Castiel was a friend to the Winchesters; maybe their best friend. That gave Kevin hope that Castiel would be a good boss, too.

Aurielle was sitting next to Xavier at one of the two tables at the front of the room. She had her quill and scroll papers all ready to go, and she kept sneaking glances back at the entryway doors, expecting to see

Castiel walk through them any minute. Though, she guessed he could just pop in. The other table at the front of the room that was opposite her was where he was supposed to take his seat, which meant that she'd be that close to him. She was sure that he'd have Gail by his side; there was another chair at the empty table. If Xavier allowed them to sit together, Aurielle supposed she'd be forced to look at Gail, too. But that wouldn't last long. Let her enjoy her last moments with Castiel. Soon Gail would be in prison, and Castiel would be God. And if for some reason Gail managed to stay out if prison, Aurielle had a more permanent punishment in mind for her.

Xavier sat impatiently, fidgeting. If he'd worn a watch, he would have been checking it. Castiel was now late, Xavier was sure of it. The sheer audacity. Xavier turned around in his seat and glared at the doors. He'd made sure to have the invisible sigils painted on the walls of the hearing room, so he knew that was the only way that Castiel could enter. Xavier wanted to make sure that once Castiel was here, he could not just leave. And once the testimony started and Xavier got Gail on the stand, he'd wanted to make sure that Castiel had no powers to use. Xavier knew his examination of Gail would enrage Castiel, and he was taking no chances.

But, where was he? The hearing was supposed to have started by now, and the crowd in the gallery had started to buzz. Several more minutes elapsed, and then all of the Angels in the room were looking at each other, confused. Where was Castiel? Was he not coming? It was unimaginable. How could you not show up for the hearing which determined whether you would get to be God? What could possibly be more important?

At the moment, Gail was more important. Well, truthfully, she was more important to him now than anything else, anyway.

They were in Idaho now, still heading north towards Canada. Morning had come and gone, and as they continued driving, they both knew that they were now officially fugitives.

Gail was nervous and fidgety. What had they done? Now there was no going back, and bounty hunters would be looking for them, and for the Winchesters. If they weren't, already. Yes, they had their warding tattoos, but was that really going to be enough? What kind of methods did these guys have to track people down, anyway? Gail knew that Bobby had introduced computers to Heaven before he'd been impeached, and computers were everywhere, now. She'd seen enough movies to know that it was almost impossible to go off the grid these days. Even if you did have Angel powers. They were still limited by Earth's standards of the norm. They couldn't go popping in and out of everywhere without calling attention to themselves. And the thought had suddenly dawned on her: they couldn't leave a paper trail, either.

She grabbed her purse and dug into it. She still had the remainder of Cas's poker winnings in there. Luckily, she'd had the presence of mind to grab the money as they'd been leaving their apartment back home. They'd spent some on their tattoos, and to rent this car, and on motels, and then there had been gas money too, of course. How much was left? Though they did not need to eat, and did not need to buy a lot of things that humans needed to maintain themselves, it was inevitable that the money would eventually be gone if they had to stay away indefinitely. And they could not chance accessing their bank account.

Castiel saw Gail fidgeting and digging into her purse. "What's the matter?" he asked her.

She told him what she'd been thinking, and Cas now thought about it, too. He knew that she was right about what she called the "paper trail", and he praised Gail for having thought about it. He knew how things

worked in Heaven better than she did, but Gail had the benefit of having lived on the road on Earth, and she had what she called her "street smarts". He'd also been thinking about the bounty hunters of course, but Castiel thought that he and Gail might be OK if they applied their combined skills to the situation.

"How much do we have left?" he asked her.

"Enough for now," she replied, putting the money back into her purse. "But when we get to Canada, we might have to get jobs."

Jobs? Castiel thought, bemused. He'd never even thought about anything like that before. What kind of job on Earth would an Angel qualify for?

He asked her that, and Gail's mouth twitched. He was heartened to see that; it was the first time he'd seen even a ghost of a smile on her face since they'd left the bunker.

"Do they still have Dial-a-Prayer?" Castiel asked her, and Gail did break into a smile then. They went back and forth about the types of jobs Cas could get, and the kinds he'd definitely want to avoid, and he was happy to be bantering back and forth with her so easily. She had been so distant since they'd said goodbye to Sam and Dean. Even when he'd held her last night, as they always did now, he'd felt her detachment, and the lack of connection. He understood that she missed Sam and Dean and was worried about them, and he felt the same way. But he and Gail were now each others' sole source of emotional support, and Cas felt as though they needed each other more than anything else.

Gail knew that, of course. As she and Cas were joking back and forth, she could see the happiness and relief on his face and she felt badly about the way she'd been acting towards him. Or more accurately, not acting towards him. She'd checked out emotionally ever since she and Castiel had left Sam and Dean at the bunker, and though she couldn't help the way she felt, Gail knew that it wasn't fair to Castiel. When he'd held her last night and talked softly to her, she had said nothing in return; just laid there, brooding. She had been selfish.

So she reached over and touched his face, now. "I really love you, you know," Gail said to him. "I'm sorry I haven't said that in a while."

He glanced at her, surprised, and then he drove the car to the shoulder of the highway and shut off the engine. Then Cas took off his seat belt and reached for her. Gail took her seat belt off too, and moved into his embrace.

"I know that, Gail," he said gently, "and I love you, too. I know you've been sad, and I understand. I'm sad about them, too."

They held each other for a while, giving and receiving comfort, and Gail had to admit this was way better than brooding and pouting.

She looked at him and said, "I won't check out on you any more, I promise. Thanks for being so patient with me."

As if he could be any other way. Especially when she was looking at him like that. Like he had the moon and the stars in his hands. He wished he did. He would give them to her, along with a happy and safe future. But, he had none of those things to offer her. Yet she was here with him, anyway. For a fugitive on the run from a death sentence, facing an unknown future in a strange country, he was the luckiest guy in the world.

Bobby was sitting in one corner of the cage, feeling irritable.

Lucifer had been at him pretty much the whole time he'd been here, but so far, Bobby was standing firm. He'd always been a stubborn cuss, and he was determined not to let his cellmate get to him while he tried to figure out a way out of here.

After several days of trying every which way, Bobby had given up on using his powers to try to escape from the cage. Godlike powers obviously didn't cut it here, as Lucifer had said. But, Bobby'd still had to try. Demons were notorious liars, and even though he'd once been an Angel, Lucifer was the worst Demon there was now. Bobby would sooner have had that slow dance with Crowley that Crowley had joked about than to be stuck here with Lucifer. And if it was true, and Bobby now suspected that it was, that only God Himself could open this cage, then Bobby was screwed.

But it wasn't in Bobby's nature to give up. He tried to reason it out. Sooner or later, they would realize in Heaven that he had gone missing. Sam and Dean knew where he was, and they would tell Cas. Which was all well and good, but then what? They only knew that he had gone into Hell with Crowley and Metatron on the hostage exchange, but not about where he was now. Crowley and Metatron had sure gotten the jump on him, though; he should have been more vigilant.

But the boys couldn't do anything for him. Even if they gathered all the weaponry they had to storm an assault, humans could not just march into Hell. Not alive, anyway. At first, Bobby had been afraid that they would try some dumb-ass stunt like a crossroads deal for him, but if they were going to do that, they'd have done it by now. Not that it would have done any good, of course.

Could Cas help him? That was a little more likely. Cas had talked about storming into Hell to take care of Metatron and Crowley a while back, and Bobby had shot him down, told him to get a grip. Irony was a bitch, wasn't it? Of course, Cas hadn't been talking about a rescue operation then; just revenge. He'd mentioned breaking Gail's brother Frank out, though. Could he be planning to do the same for Bobby?

A small spark of hope at this idea flared up in Bobby, but then he looked over at Lucifer and it was promptly extinguished. Even if Cas stormed in here with an army of Angels behind him, it would make no difference. If Bobby bought into the premise that only God Himself could open this cage, the operation was doomed to fail. And he was afraid he did buy it. Bobby was supposed to be God now and he couldn't get out, so what chance did Cas have? Bobby actually hoped he wouldn't try it. He didn't want the deaths of countless Angels on his conscience, and that was what it would take to even get to him here.

He wondered who was running Heaven now. Not that it really mattered to him at the moment, he supposed. Bobby smiled grimly. Xavier and the board had gotten their wish, after all; maybe not in the way that they had expected, but they had gotten it. Bobby had left the building. Would Cas take the job, after all? Bobby could just imagine how Xavier would like that. He had no idea how these things worked up there. Bobby had gotten the job directly from God after Cas had turned it down. Now that God was retired and the reigning God was out of commission, who would take over, and how was that decided?

But, bottom line: that wasn't his concern now. He just had to work through this situation in his mind, like puzzling out a case. There had to be something he could do, something he could figure out. He reviewed all the lore he could think of, but there was nothing there to help him. He couldn't even think of anything from the Bible that would apply to this situation. Everyone knew that Lucifer had been one of God's Original Angels. But he had been dissatisfied with merely being an Angel, and had wanted the power and the glory of being God for himself. So God had cast him down to Hell for the ultimate time-out, and had constructed this cage to make sure he would stay there. But, that was it. That was all Bobby knew.

Lucifer had been haranguing Bobby ever since he'd gotten here, but now he was mercifully keeping silent for a change. Bobby wasn't fooled, though. He stole a glance at his cellmate and saw that Lucifer was staring at him and smiling. Bobby could just see the wheels turning.

The wheels were turning in Lucifer's head, all right. He'd actually developed a grudging sort of respect for Bobby. Though his residency here had been brief so far, Bobby was proving to be a tough nut to crack. Many other men would have lost their minds by now, succumbing to Lucifer's constant diatribes. He had kept up a running commentary pretty much since the moment Bobby got here, and received very little reaction in return. Lucifer frowned. Young Sam Winchester had been relatively easy to break. Sam had a fine, intelligent mind, but his sensitivity had made him vulnerable. By the time Lucifer had gotten through with him, Sam had returned to Earth a schizophrenic, with paranoid tendencies. Lucifer had gotten into his head, and was tormenting him from within. That had been the most entertainment Lucifer had had in ages. But then, Castiel had to come along and spoil it by building that damned wall, denying Lucifer access. Then, the brief spurt when Castiel had inexplicably broken down the wall again, and Sam had gone to the asylum. Lucifer was with him again then, and he was happily soaking up all the crazy in Sam and the others who were held there, and things were fun again for a short time. But then along came Castiel again, taking the madness from Sam's mind and absorbing it into his own, and Lucifer had had to leave. He could only dance with the one he'd brought, and once Sam was sane again, Lucifer was stuck back in this cage with nothing to do but rot.

But Bobby's arrival meant another chance for him to play, and Lucifer meant to take full advantage of it. So, Bobby hadn't cracked yet; so what? It was only a matter of time, and time was all they had now.

Xavier was enraged. Once he and everyone else in the hearing room realized that Castiel wasn't going to show, Xavier had had to stand up and make the announcement that the proceeding was "adjourned".

The spectators filed out of the room, talking amongst themselves. What was going on? What was going to happen now? Xavier had said the hearing was adjourned; that just meant delayed, didn't it? Maybe there was a good reason Castiel couldn't show up today. Maybe he'd communicated that to Xavier.

Kevin walked Becky back to her cubicle, then went back to his own office. He was perhaps the only Angel who hadn't been particularly surprised by Cas's no-show. Even though Heaven technically had no boss at the moment, Kevin had been hard at work, and the prophecies were once again flowing from his fingertips. Early this morning he had sat down and thought about the tribunal, and his fingers had itched, but he was not yet at his computer. So he'd grabbed a quill and a piece of paper, and had scrawled down one word on it: "Canada". What? He'd looked at it, puzzled. What did that mean? Then another inexplicable urge had come over him and he'd snatched up the paper and torn it into tiny pieces, burying it in the garbage.

He thought about that when he returned to his office after the aborted hearing, and Kevin turned on his computer out of reflex as he was thinking. What was significant about Canada, and why were his instincts telling him it had something to do with what had happened this morning? Or, more accurately, what hadn't happened? When Kevin had taken his seat in the gallery, he had noticed that the hearing room was arranged just like all the courtrooms he had ever seen on TV, complete with a witness stand. It had almost looked like the setting for a trial.

Kevin had looked at Xavier and had seen the expression on Xavier's face change from one of anticipation, to impatience, then annoyance, and finally, anger. Kevin hadn't been able to look away. There was something off about the guy. The more Kevin looked at Xavier, the weirder Kevin started to feel. Then he looked at the other table, the vacant one. There were two seats there, one presumably for Castiel. And the other? On Earth, it would be for a lawyer, or a co-defendant. But this was Heaven, and this was supposed to be a tribunal, only. A hearing to determine Castiel's fitness for the position of God. Then why did it look so much like a trial, and why did Xavier look so agitated? Rumour around Heaven was that Xavier aspired to the job, himself. Yet here he was, about to run the show. Sounded pretty fishy to Kevin. Wasn't that conflict of interest, or something?

By the time it had become evident that Castiel wasn't going to show up, Kevin was beginning to think he understood. And now that he was back in his office with his computer on, he was getting the itch again. But as his mind keyed in on Cas, trying to see him, Kevin suddenly reached out and shut off his computer. Then he grabbed a quill and a sheaf of paper and began to write furiously. The vision became clearer. He could see Cas driving a car, Gail in the passenger seat, and a green road sign: "Welcome to Oregon". As Kevin wrote, he realized that he was seeing into the near future. They had obviously been on the road for a while. He knew they lived near Sam and Dean, and the bunker was in Kansas. The couple were headed north, and would soon be in Oregon. Were they headed for Canada? Now he knew why Cas hadn't shown up, this morning. He'd obviously known that there was a lot more to this "tribunal" than Xavier was letting on to most of Heaven, and Cas had decided to take a pass on the whole thing. Kevin couldn't blame him. But was there a penalty for just skipping out like that? There had to be.

Then Kevin shut his eyes and concentrated, really concentrated, on Sam and Dean Winchester. He hadn't been able to write Word One about them, even before the Las Vegas incident. But he hadn't been able to write about Cas and Gail then, either. Even though things had turned out OK in the end, if he had seen Gail's death, he would have done anything he could to try to prevent it.

But he'd just seen Cas and Gail, clearly, so he now tried to do the same with the Winchesters. Kevin had never written this way before: the prophecies had always just popped into his head. Whenever he'd tried to concentrate like this before, as he had when trying to foresee the Vegas events, Kevin's mind had always shut down, leaving him mentally blind and frustrated.

Today was different, though. Sam and Dean came into focus. They were walking to the Impala. It was night. Just before they got to it, a man stepped out of the shadows and put an Angel blade to Dean's throat. "Where are the Angels?" he said to the brothers. "Where are they?" the man growled again, and then he cut Dean's face with the blade, and Dean yelled.

Suddenly, Kevin's phone rang, breaking his trance. He looked down at the paper and saw that he had written down everything he'd seen, almost like automatic writing. Something he'd read about, but had always dismissed.

Dammit! What a time for the phone to ring!

He snatched up the receiver. "Hello?" he said, with a touch of impatience.

"Kevin Tran? The Prophet?" A man's voice.

"Yes," he said cautiously.

"We haven't met. My name's Jason. I'm the head of the Law Enforcement department. Xavier is here with me, and we'd like to talk to you."

Kevin froze. Law Enforcement department? What was that? He'd never heard of it, but it didn't sound good. And Xavier was with him? What could they want with Kevin?

"OK," Kevin said into the phone. Xavier was the highest-ranking Angel in Heaven right now, junior only to the guy who was currently on the run with his girlfriend, seemingly about to change his citizenship. What else could Kevin say?

"Can you come to my office now?" Jason said. It was voiced as a request, but Kevin knew it was really a demand. "I'm just around the corner from the Upper Echelon offices."

Of course. Of course he was. This was really starting to stink of conspiracy. Kevin may be young, but he had watched a lot of movies in his short life. But, again, what choice did he have?

"I'll be right there," Kevin said, and hung up the phone.

He looked down at what he'd written. Holy crap. No one could see this, not until he figured out what was going on, and who the good guys and the bad guys really were. Though he was already pretty sure he knew.

Kevin opened the bottom drawer of his desk, shoved the papers into the false bottom where he'd found Chuck's Vegas prophecies, and locked the desk. Then, when he left his office, he locked that too, just for good measure.

Aurielle had been devastated when she'd realized Castiel wasn't going to come. What now? She could tell how angry Xavier was, though, so she put her own feelings on the back burner for the moment, and trailed along behind him as he walked back to his office.

He threw the papers down on his desk and just stood there, as if at a loss as to what he should do next. Aurielle stood uncertainly at his office door. She wasn't sure what to do, either. Should she leave him alone? Should she say something?

Xavier wheeled on her. "Prepare tomorrow's documents," he ordered Aurielle. Tomorrow? she thought. But they hadn't even had today, yet.

Xavier saw her hesitation and snapped, "Do it. Then, when you're finished, carry on with the rest. You'll find it all in my desk, waiting to be copied and collated. There will be a tribunal, and it will be very soon." He smiled then, and it was a nasty smile. Aurielle shivered involuntarily. She should have recognized that smile. It was the same kind of smile that appeared on her own face when Aurielle thought about killing Gail.

"I'll be back in a while," Xavier told her, and strode out of the office.

Aurielle stood there watching him leave, feeling a sense of foreboding. She'd kept herself in denial about Xavier's true motivations and intentions towards Castiel and about this tribunal, but she had to face it now: if Xavier had his way, it would be he who was God, not Castiel. And if Castiel was not God, would she ever get a chance to see him? Aurielle still could not let her mind accept the very real possibility that Castiel could end up going to jail, or worse. If that happened, she might as well die, too. No. That was not going to happen. She had been through too much to lose him now. Everything would be OK. It would work out all right, if he would just come back to Heaven.

She walked into Xavier's office and picked up the papers he'd thrown there, rearranging them into order, then opened his desk drawer to get the other documents. Were these all there were? Thinking she might have missed some, Aurielle opened the bottom drawer of Xavier's desk. There were no documents there, just a book, and a very old book, by the looks of it. Curious, she picked it up and began to leaf through it.

Aurielle looked up at the open office door to make sure she was still alone. Maybe she should not be doing this. This was Xavier's desk, not hers, and this book was his business. But her curiosity had overwhelmed her now. The brief glance she'd had was enough to make her want to have another look. It was a spell book, of some sort. Then, it dawned on her. Perhaps this was part of the proceeding. Maybe this was the evidence Xavier had intended to produce to prove that Gail had put a spell on Castiel in Las Vegas. Aurielle flipped through it, and then she was convinced. Here was a spell for a love potion, and the notations said that it was a very powerful spell, guaranteed to work on any being.

Excited, her earlier foreboding gone, Aurielle put the book together with the documents and brought them out to her desk in the outer office. When Becky came by a few minutes later, asking if Aurielle could take a break, Aurielle was so elated that she smiled at Becky and said, "Why not? I've been working so hard, I deserve it." Then she laughed, threw the pile of papers into her own desk drawer, and then they left for the break room.

Kevin found Jason's office and knocked on the closed door.

"Come in," a voice said.

So Kevin opened the door and stood there in shock. The man that was sitting behind the desk was the very same one he had just seen in his vision, putting an Angel blade to Dean's throat! What the hell?

"Come in, Kevin," Xavier said. He was sitting in a chair across from Jason's desk. "Don't be shy, son." Xavier was trying on his benevolent, Godlike demeanour for size. These new Angels were all so young. Xavier had misinterpreted Kevin's shock as intimidation, and he was glad to see that some of this new generation of Angels still had the proper respect for rank and length of service.

Jason rose from his chair and walked around his desk, offering his hand to Kevin to shake. He had also misinterpreted Kevin's hesitation to enter, and thought the hand-shaking ritual might put the young Prophet at ease. It was a human trait, one that would normally be beneath him, but Kevin had been a human not too long ago and Jason thought he might appreciate the gesture. Both he and Xavier thought that Kevin might be of good use to them; not only was he the One True Prophet now, but he had known Castiel and the Winchesters on Earth, and had been their friend until his fairly recent admission into Heaven.

Kevin did not want to shake hands with this man. Yeah, he was a fellow Angel, and a high-ranking one, by the looks of it. But he was also the guy Kevin had seen put a blade to Dean's throat, and Kevin hated him on sight. And here was Xavier, who had given Kevin such an uneasy vibe in the hearing room. This was not going to be good.

But Kevin shook hands with Jason, who re-introduced himself, then invited Kevin to have a seat. Kevin sat in the chair next to Xavier, and Jason retook his seat behind the desk.

Kevin was extremely nervous. Jason was looking at him calmly enough, but it was disconcerting to see him in this context, when Kevin had just seen him in the very different context of threatening to cut one of Kevin's

best friends. And, in the vision, he'd been demanding to know where "the Angels" were. Kevin may be young, but he wasn't stupid; he knew exactly who Jason had been talking about.

"We need your help, Kevin," Xavier said to him. "Heaven needs your help."

Crap. Here it came.

"As the Prophet, we thought you might be able to shed some light on the current situation," Jason said, a bit stiffly.

Kevin wasn't sure how to respond. Should be feign innocence, and ask what Jason was referring to? Or should he already know? He settled for somewhere in the middle: "Are you talking about the tribunal?" he asked.

Xavier felt a flicker of annoyance. What in the hell did he think they were talking about? As if there was anything else of any importance going on.

"Yes, we're talking about the tribunal," he said testily. "Castiel is now officially a fugitive from Heaven."

"And we need to know if there is anything you have seen that could assist us in his apprehension," Jason added.

Fugitive? Apprehension? OK, now Kevin knew that this was serious stuff. What was he supposed to do now?

"Look, Kevin," Jason said, his expression softening a bit. "We know that you knew Castiel on Earth. You might have even thought of him as your friend. But he's not who you think he is. He's a danger to Heaven and to all Angels, and he must be found."

Cas? A danger to Angels? Just what the hell were these guys trying to pull? No wonder the hearing room had been set up like a trial. They were trying to say that Cas was a criminal! Though technically, he might be, now. If he had been required to show up at today's hearing, Kevin guessed they could put out a warrant for him, or whatever they called it here in Heaven.

But he couldn't possibly tell them what he'd seen. There was something fishy about these guys, and the so-called "tribunal" had to be a lot more sinister than they were letting on to most of Heaven. There was no way Kevin could sell Cas out like that.

So he shook his head, trying to look as innocent as possible. "No, I haven't seen anything about him at all," Kevin told them both.

Damn! Xavier thought. He bought the innocent act.

But Jason sat back in his chair, regarding Kevin. He wasn't necessarily buying the innocent act. They knew that he and Castiel had been friendly with each other on Earth, and they were both Sam and Dean Winchester's buddies. Kevin may be an Angel now, but he still had the stink of humans on him, and Jason was suspicious of where Kevin's loyalties really lay. "Nothing at all, Kevin?" he said coolly.

Oh, boy. This guy was acting like he knew something, Kevin thought. But how could he? He was probably just trying to intimidate Kevin, make him blurt something out.

"No, nothing at all," Kevin said again. Then, since something more seemed to be needed, he added, "I haven't been able to see anything about any of my Earthly acquaintances since I got the promotion."

Well, that had actually been the truth, up until this morning. And Kevin had chosen his words very carefully. He'd been a boy genius as a human, and he was no fool now.

Xavier was now totally convinced that Kevin was telling the truth, and he was impressed that the young Angel had used the expression "Earthly acquaintances". To him, that spoke to Kevin's character. He hadn't called them "friends", and had made reference to them as "Earthly" beings. Xavier interpreted this to mean that Kevin knew his loyalties lay with Heaven.

"All right, Kevin," Xavier said to him. "You may go. But please be sure to let me know if you get anything, anything at all."

"Yes, Sir, I will," Kevin said to Xavier. He had already stood from his chair when Xavier said that he could go, and Kevin nodded at Jason on his way out of the office, but he said nothing further. He just wanted to get the hell out of there, before they changed their minds.

Jason had allowed Kevin to leave his office without another word, deferring to Xavier's dismissal of the young Prophet. But once Kevin had gone, Jason turned to Xavier and asked him, "What makes you so sure he's telling the truth?"

Xavier wasn't sure, exactly. He'd just been impressed, both by Kevin's quiet respect for himself and Jason, and by Kevin's willingness to distance himself from Castiel and his human cohorts. He said this to Jason now.

Jason scoffed. "In my experience, both humans and Angels tend to lie if they think their friends will suffer consequences."

Xavier considered this for a moment. Jason did have a lot of expertise in those matters. "Do you think he was lying?" he asked Jason.

Jason frowned. "I don't know. Maybe; maybe not. But I don't think we can rely on him. I'd like your approval to proceed with the computer check." He smirked when Xavier frowned at that. Jason and Xavier went way back, and Jason knew how much his old friend hated human technology. "I know how much you hate that stuff, but I happen to think computers are the only worthwhile thing the former God Bobby ever did here," Jason continued, smiling. "You'd be amazed what they can tell you about people and their whereabouts."

But Xavier was already nodding. He wanted to get the investigation going, and if those damnable computers would be helpful, he was willing to overlook his bias.

"Are you sure you don't want me to just bypass the investigation, and go straight to the interrogation?" Jason asked pointedly. He was eager to skip right to the next phase. It had been years since Jason had gone out in the field, and he missed the powerful feeling of a good, hands-on interrogation. Several years ago, before God had come back to Heaven and cancelled the program, Jason had been in his element. During the Angel Wars, Jason was given a free hand to interrogate as he saw fit, and his methods always produced results. Ironically, the Angel he was now hunting had been one of the ones to use Jason's services, back then. Funny how things went, sometimes. Jason had actually admired Castiel, back then. He'd fought valiantly in the Angel Wars, and as Castiel rose up the ranks, he had sometimes employed questionable methods in his efforts to win the war. Methods like sending Jason out into the field, to interrogate other Angels for intel. Jason would report back to Castiel, always with a veritable wealth of information. Castiel had never asked how Jason obtained this information, and Jason had never volunteered to tell him, but they both knew.

But in the years following, Castiel had changed. Once he had received his assignment on Earth and began to associate with Sam and Dean Winchester, Castiel had succumbed to their influence, and now was more human than Angel. He had even taken up with a female Angel, who up until recently had been a human herself. Castiel had turned his back on Heaven in favour of his human companions, and now he was flouting Heaven's laws by skipping out on his tribunal. Did he think that he could just do as he pleased? That because of their past association, Jason would now look the other way? Like Hell, Jason thought. Castiel disgusted him now, and Jason couldn't wait to bring him back to Heaven in shackles, with his little girlfriend traipsing along behind him. Xavier had advised Jason that the Angel Gail would face charges at the hearing, as well. So as far as Jason was concerned, both Angels were fugitives, and would be treated as such.

Xavier had been hoping that young Kevin would have some information for them, but since they had come up empty in that regard, he'd authorized Jason to proceed with the computer search for the Angels. He knew that Jason was eager to go straight to the Winchesters and force them to talk, and Xavier supposed that was what was going to end up happening. But Xavier had no desire to bring the humans into this, if he could help it. This was Heaven's business.

He still couldn't believe that Castiel had had the sheer gall not to show up for the tribunal. Did he think he was special, exempt from Heaven's rules? Yes, Xavier was sure that was exactly what Castiel thought. But he had been summoned, and he would come. One way or another. Xavier would have Jason do his computer search, but if it yielded no result, Xavier would have no choice but to let Jason off his leash. God help Castiel's humans then. Hunters or no, they would have no idea who they were dealing with.

Kevin sat in his desk chair, staring off into space. He was still shaking with fear from his meeting with Jason and Xavier. He knew this wasn't going to be the end of it. What should he do now? He had dynamite in his desk drawer, and in his head. Even now, he could see Cas and Gail in their car, and Sam and Dean in the Impala. Ever since those first visions, the floodgates had opened, and he knew exactly where his friends were, and what they were doing. Should he write it all down? He reached for the quill, but then stopped. What if they searched his office? What if Jason called him again? He had the feeling that Jason hadn't quite bought the innocent act, but Xavier was the boss and Xavier had let Kevin go, at least for the time being.

Then, Kevin thought of something. He had no way of warning Sam and Dean, but Cas was still an Angel, wasn't he? Kevin mentally kicked himself, and then he made the call.

Castiel and Gail had just crossed the border into Oregon. Gail was looking at him, and she was growing increasingly concerned. Cas was looking tired and strained. She'd suggested a while back that he take a rest from driving for a while, but he had insisted on continuing.

Cas's head felt like it was going to split open. Ever since his tribunal had been adjourned, he had been receiving transmissions on Angel Radio. Not messages, exactly, just Angel after Angel focusing on him, and speaking his name. All of Heaven was speculating about him, and the static in his head had become overwhelming. He was trying to concentrate on the road, but the sensory input was becoming deafening. And he'd thought Las Vegas was bad. This was all inside his own head, and a couple of times he'd had to take one hand off the wheel and put it to his forehead, almost as if doing so could calm the sounds. This must be

what humans felt when they suffered from migraines, he thought. He didn't know how much longer he could bear it.

Then, suddenly, a message from Kevin, coming in loud and clear through all the chatter. Kevin told him briefly about the visions he'd had concerning Cas and Gail, and Sam and Dean. Kevin also advised Cas about the meeting in Jason's office. He warned Cas to be careful, and asked him to warn the Winchesters.

"What's wrong, Cas?" Gail asked him. She'd seen him put his hand to his forehead and now noticed the alarmed look on his face.

Cas quickly sent a message back to Kevin, thanking him for the heads-up and asking the young Prophet for any further updates. Then he turned to Gail and told her about the message.

Gail was torn. On the one hand, she was happy to hear that they still had one ally left who gave enough of a damn about them to want to help. She'd been feeling increasingly frustrated and angry with Bobby. She'd thought he was their friend, but where was he, when Cas and Dean and Sam needed him? She knew that Castiel had been sending out private messages to Bobby ever since they'd headed back out on the road, imploring him to answer, but there had been no response. Nothing. Like Dean, Gail thought that Bobby was the sort of man who would not have gone away quietly, even after he had been impeached. He was still an Angel; surely he must know what Xavier was trying to do to Cas. Yes, Bobby was no longer God, but still...you'd think he could at least return his friend's calls.

Maybe he'd been thrown into prison on some trumped-up charge, like they were trying to do to Castiel, and to herself. Could he receive transmissions there? She'd broached the subject to Castiel when she'd thought of it, and he'd looked startled. That might very well be the case. If that was what had happened, it would certainly explain the radio silence. Heaven's prison cells were encased in sigils, Cas explained to Gail, to render the inmates powerless for security reasons. And sigils also jammed the frequencies of Angel Radio.

But now, this message from Kevin. Gail was alarmed that Kevin could see exactly where she and Cas were, and seemed to know where they were heading. Thank God he was a friend. But what he'd seen concerning Sam and Dean scared her.

"We need to get to a phone," Gail said to Castiel, but he was already pulling off the highway.

They found a phone booth by a gas station, and Castiel called Sam's cell phone. He'd memorized the number, of course.

"Hello?" Sam answered.

Castiel tilted the phone between himself and Gail, as he'd done before. He knew it would mean a lot to her to hear the brothers' voices.

"Hi, Sam!" Gail said. She was indeed happy to hear his voice, even though they'd only been apart a short time.

"Hello, Sam," Castiel said.

"Hi, guys!" Sam replied, pleased to hear from them. "What's up?"

So Cas told Sam about Kevin's visions, and Sam was alarmed, too.

"Kevin knows where the two of you are, and where you're going?" Sam said. Cas hadn't told Sam any specifics about this, of course, just that Kevin knew. Sam had checked the display on his phone when he'd first heard his friends' voices, but it had just said: "Unknown Number". Sam wasn't sure whether he was happy or disappointed by this. "And he wrote it down?" Sam continued. "He's gotta burn that paper!"

"Never mind about that, we're calling about what he saw about you and Dean," Gail said impatiently.

Sam asked, "Did he give any specifics about where or when that was supposed to happen?"

"No," Castiel replied shortly.

Gail let out a breath of frustration. So Kevin could see every detail about her and Cas, but nothing about Sam and Dean except that they were walking to the Impala and it was night? Well, that certainly narrowed it down, she thought sarcastically.

Suddenly, Dean's voice: "Sam put us on Speaker. So this guy Jason has a blade to my throat and wants to know where you guys are? Not gonna happen."

Castiel was shaking his head. "Look, Dean, I know you don't put much stock in prophecies. But they're called that for a reason. They foretell the future. You and Sam need to be very careful. Please."

Dean was touched by his concern, but said, "Sammy and I can take care of ourselves. But thanks for the heads-up. How are you guys doing?"

"We're fine, Dean," Gail answered.

"Enjoying life on the road?" Dean said teasingly, knowing Gail would appreciate it.

"Yeah, I kind of am," she told him. Well, it was mostly true. "I'm even thinking we should stop by a roadside diner, so I can order a cup of coffee and stare at it for a while."

Dean smiled. Gail sounded all right. Well, she sounded like herself, anyway.

"But you and Sam need to be very careful," Gail continued. "Please. Promise me, Dean." She pictured Kevin's vision in her head, and her heart sank. Gail had no doubt that Jason would show up to threaten the brothers, just as Kevin had foretold.

"We will, but we can handle it," Dean said.

"Maybe only park the car in the daytime," Cas quipped. Sam and Dean were amused, but Castiel had been looking at Gail when he said it. She looked so worried. Truth be told, so was he. Dean could talk as brave as he wanted to, but Castiel knew Jason, and he knew what Jason was capable of.

"Oh, and I have a new phone," Dean said to them. "Where can I send the bill for the old one?"

Cas and Gail laughed then. "Nice try, Dean," Cas said. "I'll have to owe you."

"Just buy us a couple of beers when you see us next," Dean said.

"Hopefully, that'll be soon," Sam chimed in. "I'm thinking, I'm thinking."

Cas smiled, but sadly this time. As smart as Sam was, Cas could see no way that was happening any time soon.

Dean gave them his cell number, and Cas memorized it. Then he remembered to tell them about Gail's theory about Bobby being in Heaven's prison.

"That must be what's happened, then," Sam said. It sounded logical to him. Atta girl, Gail.

Dean was almost relieved. At least if Bobby was being held prisoner, that would explain why there had been nothing but silence from him. Dean had been pretty pissed off at Bobby; maybe he needed to cool his jets.

Bobby was in prison, all right, but it was Hell's prison, and Lucifer was the Warden.

His cellmate had been chipping away at Bobby's psyche, and the cracks were now beginning to show.

"So, how did a loser like you become God, anyway?" Lucifer taunted Bobby.

Really? Was that all he had? "I dunno, how did a loser like you end up here for eternity?" Bobby fired back.

But Lucifer was not daunted. "Want a drink, Bobby?" he said, smiling. A bottle of bourbon appeared in his hand. That had been Bobby's drink of choice when he'd been a human, and he had loved the stuff. Admittedly, a little too much, at times.

"You were quite the boozehound, weren't you?" Lucifer asked happily, almost as if he had read Bobby's thoughts. Bobby was alarmed at this, but he tried not to show it. As God, Bobby could read minds; did that mean the Devil could, too?

"Have a drink, Bobby," Lucifer said again, extending the bottle. "On me."

Bobby's hand itched to take the bottle from him, but he did not move. This was a trick, an illusion. And even if it wasn't, what did it matter? He may not have Godlike powers here, but Bobby was still an Angel. He did not have the need to drink now. He did not want to drink.

Lucifer shrugged. "Suit yourself." He uncapped the bottle, and drank it straight down. "Ahhh!" he exclaimed after finishing. He had backed Bobby up to the corner of the cage by now, and Bobby could smell the bourbon on Lucifer's breath. Another illusion?

Suddenly, Bobby wanted that drink, and he wanted it very badly. Angel or no, he would have liked to take the edge off.

Lucifer was grinning in his face. He said softly, "Gotcha," and turned his back on Bobby, retreating to the other side of the cell.

Dammit, he had, too, just for a moment. Bobby had been worried before; now he began to feel scared, as well. If a little parlour trick like that had unhinged him this easily, what did that say about Bobby? And what would come next?

Lucifer had returned to sitting in the lotus position on the opposite side of the cage. He was still smiling happily. He had seen the first crack, and he had lots of ammunition left.

Cas and Gail had concluded their conversation with Sam and Dean, and now, he took her hand and led her to the diner beside the gas station.

"Let's go stare at a cup of coffee," he smiled.

She smiled back, appreciating his attempt at lighthearted humour. Gail knew that there was nothing else they could do for Sam and Dean at this point, but she was still extremely worried about Kevin's vision, and she knew Castiel was too.

After seating themselves in a booth at the back of the diner and being served coffee, they looked at each other for a moment. Then, as Cas reached for her hand across the table, he winced and his hand went instead to his forehead again.

"Another message?" Gail said after a moment, as gently as she could.

"No," he replied wearily. "Just...chatter. Static. Constantly."

"Maybe you should turn it off for a while, then," Gail said to him.

He looked at her. "I can't do that, Gail. What if we receive another message from Kevin? Or from someone else?"

She considered this. She knew he was right, of course, but she hated the way the constant noise was making him look. Gail could only imagine how painful it must feel. She'd felt things in her head too, but hers was more like a low hum, and it was very intermittent. To be constantly bombarded as Castiel was being right now must be almost unbearable.

Gail was about to insist that he shut it off, if only for a few minutes, when Castiel suddenly sat up straight and his eyes widened. Another message had come through, cutting across the chatter:

"This is your only warning, Castiel. Surrender yourself now, or your friends will suffer the consequences. You know what I am capable of."

Then the transmission ended abruptly. Cas reached blindly for Gail's hand and knocked his cup of coffee over. The hot liquid scalded her arm, and she cried out involuntarily.

Castiel stared at the red mark on Gail's arm as she took some paper napkins out of the holder on the table. She applied them to the red blotch for a moment, then started mopping up the spilled coffee on the table.

"Ow," she said mildly. It had hurt, but she'd had a lot worse pain in her life. "Well, you weren't drinking it anyway," she quipped.

Gail looked up at Castiel expecting to see a smile, and instead, she saw a look of horror on his face.

"What have I done?" he said softly.

She knew he wasn't talking about the burn on her arm, though he reached out automatically and healed it for her.

"What are you talking about?" Gail asked him. "What was the message?" She knew there had been one, just by the way he had reacted.

He told her what Jason had said, giving her the message word for word, almost in a monotone. Most people hearing him speak like that would have thought Castiel unfeeling and robotic, but Gail knew him better by now. She knew he was covering his anguish.

Castiel looked down at the table when he'd finished speaking, then he said quietly, "I need to go back."

Panic rose in Gail's throat. "No!" she said. "Are you crazy?" She realized her voice had risen, and struggled to calm down, so they wouldn't attract attention. There were very few people in the diner and so far, they were being ignored.

"I'm putting you all in danger." He raised his eyes to look at her.

Gail thought of Sam and Dean and the vision, and felt a stab of apprehension. Castiel was right. But he was wrong, too.

"So you're just going to march into Heaven and let them put you to death? I don't think so!" she said, and here the tears came. She was going to call attention to them, now. This wasn't the place for this conversation.

"Let's go," Gail said. "We need to talk in private." She stood and walked out of the diner, wanting to get out of there before she lost it.

Castiel threw a few dollars down on the table and followed Gail out of the diner. They walked back to where the car was parked and got in.

"Please don't," Gail said, throwing herself into his arms. "Please. Promise me."

He held her, but didn't speak.

She pulled out of the embrace and touched his face. "Please." Gail's tears were flowing freely now.

A lump was forming in his throat, but he couldn't let the sight of her deter him. He didn't want to face the tribunal, but he didn't want Sam and Dean to suffer interrogation by Jason, either. But if he and Gail went back, she would face charges, too. He couldn't have her subjected to that.

"Then you go on, alone," Castiel said to her.

She laughed, but it was a humourless laugh. "You can't possibly think I'd even consider that," Gail said. "If you go back, I'm going with you."

His heart sank. He'd known she would say that. "If you go back with me, you'll face charges too," Cas said to her. "I can't have that on my conscience, along with everything else."

"Well then, I guess you can't go back," Gail said, almost cheerfully.

Castiel sighed. She had him there, and she knew it.

Gail didn't care. Whatever it took to keep him away from that tribunal. Yes, she felt sick to her stomach thinking of Jason looking for Sam and Dean, but the Winchesters were experienced Hunters, and they knew how to fight. If Castiel walked back into Heaven, he was walking right into a death sentence. She knew which way she had to go on this. The whole situation sucked, but she'd known that ever since Castiel had shown her the summons.

"Let's go find a motel and get you some rest," Gail said, taking his hands in hers. "We'll talk some more, if you want. But you're going to turn off that damn radio for a couple of hours. At least promise me that."

He nodded slowly. "OK, Gail. All right." Truthfully, he needed a bit of silence in his head. He needed to be able to hear himself think.

They checked into a motel, using what Gail had jokingly referred to as the "two-finger check-in". Since neither of them had any identification, they could not have rented their car nor checked into any half-decent motel without proper identification; that was not the way the world worked these days. So, at the earliest opportunity, Castiel would touch the forehead of the desk clerk with two fingers, modifying his or her memory, and the two Angels would get their room key. They always paid the room fee, so they weren't being dishonest, just working within the confines of the human world. She'd wondered how that was going to work when they got settled in their new life in Canada. You couldn't just go around doing that to everyone, all the time. But she'd joked that she might have to take Castiel with her on job interviews. Gail had never successfully done that, herself; but then again, she was a junior Angel and hadn't actually had the chance to practice any more than the most rudimentary skills. Maybe that was something she should ask for, once they got to their new home.

But she did not feel like joking now. As they sat in their motel room, Gail kept a close eye on Castiel. She was still half-afraid he was going to just wink out of the room and surrender himself, anyway. There would be nothing she could do to prevent it, if he did. But she'd told him that she would follow him to Heaven if he did, and he knew she meant it.

Castiel saw Gail eyeing him, and he knew what she was thinking. But he had capitulated for her before, and he was about to do so again. "You don't have to worry. I'm not going anywhere," he said to her, smiling wryly.

"Maybe I just like to look at you. You're awfully cute, you know," she quipped.

Now she was using humour to try to make him feel better, Castiel realized. Funny how they both did that, now. Xavier had once said that Gail was a bad influence on him. But, like everything else, Xavier had been wrong about that. She was the greatest blessing he had ever received.

He walked over to where she sat and caressed her cheek with one hand, favouring her with a smile. "I love you," he said, "and I will never leave you. You have my promise."

"Thank you," she said, and she kissed his hand.

Castiel sat down on the bed and took off his shoes, then sat up against the headboard with the pillows propped up behind him, the way he usually sat when he watched TV. But he did not turn on the TV set.

"I'm turning off the radio for a little while," he said to Gail. "You were right. I need the quiet." He closed his eyes.

She smiled. "Good. We'll have quiet time."

After a moment, he looked at her. "Are you coming?" He made a gesture towards him.

She smiled again. "In a minute. Save my place."

He closed his eyes again, and Gail continued to look at him. He did look a lot more relaxed now, almost like he could be sleeping. She wanted to leave him be for a few minutes, and she had a message of her own to send on Angel Radio.

"Please, God," Gail prayed. "We need Your help. Castiel needs Your help, and so do Sam and Dean. I know You're retired, but I don't know what else to do, here. Please help Your Son. I'm begging You."

She repeated the prayer several times, then stopped. That would have to be enough for now. She didn't even know if God was still tuned in. How retired WAS He? But He'd always been able to hear her thoughts loud and clear before, and Gail was hoping that would still be the case.

Then she stood and climbed onto the bed with Cas. He opened his arms right away and she nestled into them. His eyes were still closed as he savoured the r adio silence, and Gail closed her eyes, too. She wished they could fall asleep; they could both use the escape from reality, for a while.

But all they could do was lay there quietly, so that was what they did. There was no more talk about going back to Heaven. They were committed now, and they would keep on going.

Sam and Dean were in a motel room too, in Wyoming. There had been a few things going on around the country that had seemed like potential cases, and when Dean had told Sam to pick one, Sam had picked the Northernmost one. He'd remembered Cas's slip about going north, and while Sam was doing research on the potential case, he was also surfing the Net for any reports on possible Angel activity. Sam didn't know exactly why, but it just felt important to him not to let Cas and Gail get too far away. He still thought he could figure something out, if he just put his mind to it. Sam was a smart guy. There had to be a way out of this.

Dean sat drinking a beer while Sam clicked away at the computer. He'd heard Cas's comment about going north too, and Dean wondered if that was why Sam had picked Wyoming. Not that Dean cared, particularly; there did seem to be a case here for them, too. Some weird, unexplainable deaths, under strange circumstances. The usual. After Sam came up with the details, they would go ahead and do what they did.

But, they would watch their backs. Dean had minimized the concern he felt about Kevin's vision when Cas and Gail had called, but Dean was well aware of the risk. He had seen Angels in action before, and it wouldn't be a good idea to dismiss the danger Jason posed to him and Sam. But what could they do about it? If he was going to come, let him come. Dean hadn't kicked any Angel ass in a long time. If he thought he hated Angels and Heaven before, Dean had gone beyond that now. For what they were doing to Cas, Dean would gladly go up there and kick the ass of each and every one of those sons of bitches.