Author's Note: I'm pretty happy with this chapter~. Though I spent like fifteen minutes looking through flooring to decide what to put in Gabe's apartment and then decided I wasn't going to mention it and leave it up for you to imagine. XD

Ch. 4

"So where do I stay?"

"Pick a room, any room. There are like…six."

Sam was about halfway down the hall when Gabriel yelled, "Cept the second room on the left. Sometimes it's a black hole."

Sam stopped and turned around, staring at him.

"What? I accidentally broke it and never got around to fixing it. Some people's houses have leaky pipes, mine has a black hole. Also, room at the end is mine, so unless you want company tonight, don't pick that one."

"You wish."

"Hey." Gabriel made a show of pointing at his eyes and pointing at Sam in the classic 'I have my eyes on you' gesture.

Sam snorted and continued making his way down the hall, turning the corner he eyeballed the doors. He tried the first one on the right—because there was no way he was sleeping in a room next to a black hole, thank you very much—and scrunched up his nose with what he found there. The room had a large canopy bed, a chandelier, and columns lining the sides of the wall. It was much too extravagant—and gaudy—for Sam's tastes, so he closed the door, hoping that the other rooms weren't the same.

The next room was much more down to earth, but the bed was suspended from the ceiling and, being a large guy, Sam much preferred things that were grounded. He braced himself for what he would find behind the third door, and to his surprise, it was actually quite pleasant. There was a full size bed, headboard up against the wall, a white comforter turned down beneath the handful of pillows stacks there. The other pieces of furniture consisted of a dresser with a mirror attached up against the adjacent wall and a small end table next to the bed, a little lamp settled on top. Sam walked over to the dresser, footsteps muffled by the plush ivory colored carpet, and set his dufflebag with his belongings on top.

Toeing off his boots, he changed into a loose pair of cotton pants before padding over to the bed and lying down. He made a pleased noise and stretched out his limbs. He was pretty sure this was the most comfortable mattress he had ever laid on and was now regretting staying in the hotel rooms during his trip with Gabriel up to this point. All those nights missed where he could have been lying upon this masterpiece of cushion engineering. On the other hand, at the beginning of this trip, Sam hadn't been so sure that he wasn't going to wake up in the dead of the night to find himself on a raft in the middle of the ocean or something equally ridiculous.

Putting his thoughts to rest, he reached over and turned off the lamp at his bedside. The corner of his mouth quirked up slightly and he rolled his eyes. Next to the dresser was a small pink nightlight that looked like it could have belonged to a little girl. Sam was too tired from the eventful day and much too comfortable to bother with it, so he left it and fell asleep, laying on his side with the small light casting a soft pink glow into the darkness.

Dean stood in the kitchen and watched Cas cook breakfast, an arm slung loosely around his waist while he flipped a pancake.

"They're almost done if you want to go get Charlie and Kevin."

He hummed in acknowledgement and kissed Cas' cheek before heading into the library turned makeshift living room. Cas smiled softly at the small gesture.

"Hey, geek boy and nerd girl, pancakes are almost finished." Dean called as he leaned around the door, knocking his knuckles on the frame.

"Nerd girl? What are my super powers?"

"Reading comics at the speed of light, and nerd rage!"

"Nerd rage? I think that's more you." She said as she walked by him.

She had introduced Dean to a popular mmorpg a few days prior, thinking it would be fun to play together. It started off well but after about an hour Dean had started talking smack to the npcs, resulting in Cas leaning in to tell Charlie that perhaps this had been a mistake. Charlie was inclined to agree when Dean declared that he was 'a mighty orc warrior and would not be thwarted by the human scum'.

"Good morning Cas!" Charlie greeted as she waltzed into the kitchen.

"Morning Charlie. Syrup is on the counter."

Charlie stacked two pancakes on her plate, a slice of butter between them. Kevin threw some blueberries on his own pancakes and joined everyone at the table.

"So, how goes the-" Kevin used his fingers to imitate fangs, "problem."

"Well, for us it isn't a problem, but I can't say the same for the people that keep getting caught in the crossfire. The alpha has been busy creating more vampires and they're not exactly on a vegetarian diet."

"So he just keeps sending out his vampy minions while chilling out in his hidey hole?" Charlie asked, a bite of pancakes poised in the air.

"Pretty much. It's just…weird. I mean I get that he doesn't want to reveal his location because a vampire against an angel isn't much of a prized fight. But then why do we keep running into his dudes everywhere?"

"Maybe he isn't. Like you said, they've been creating a lot more vampires, so maybe they're not all under his wing."

"Yeah, you could be right." Dean shoved a large bite of syrup covered pancake in his mouth. "I can't help but feel like the alpha has something more planned though. Either way, I think it's time we pay a visit to the Grinch and Mr Scrooge."

"Who is Mr. Scrooge and what is a Grinch?" Cas asked with a furrowed brow.

Charlie snickered into her orange juice while Dean gave a slow blink with a flat expression.

Morning at Crowley's manor found Balthazar trying to forcibly shove a book back onto the shelf while Crowley stared at him, one eyebrow arched. "That's not going to fit there."

"Not with that attitude it isn't."

He grinned over his coffee, taking a sip before setting it down and walking over to the shelves. Tapping Balthazar on the shoulder, he motioned for him to move over. Removing one of the bookends, he pushed the books over, making a wider space.

"You always were good at spreading things."

"My we're sassy today."

"I'm sassy every day."

Crowley raised his eyebrows and tilted his head, humming thoughtfully. He couldn't argue with that. He went to his desk and sat down in the cushy black chair. Not long after, Balthazar strolled over and sat on the armrest, using it as a tipping point to fall backwards, laying out in Crowley's lap. The opposite armrest hit just shy of the angel's shoulderblades. He folded his fingers together over his chest, head tilted back, stretched out lazily like a large cat.

"Tactile creature."

"You're one to talk."

"I'm not the one sprawled out on your lap, now am I?"

"Would you like to be? Cause I'm sure I could accommodate you." He cracked an eye open slyly and looked up at him.

"As tempting as that is, there's a spell I'm working on."

"Hm, I think you're missing out on a great opportu-" Balthazar raised his head and looked toward the closed door of Crowley's office for a second before letting out a groan and dropping his head back down.

Crowley didn't have time to ask what was wrong before the large wooden doors opened, Dean and Cas entering the room.

"We got a problem."

"I would say. You're in my house."

"I noticed. Who'd you have to knock off to move in here, anyways?"

"I beg your pardon, I own this house. All the assets I gathered as a crossroads demon didn't just go away when the pit got sealed, squirrel." Crowley pressed the tip of his tongue to his teeth.

Life just really wasn't fair, Dean thought to himself. However, there were more pressing matters than Crowley's bank account.

"As I was saying, we need to know if you have any dirt on the Alpha." Dean said before making to sit down on the sofa.

"I wouldn't sit there." Balthazar said, a teasing tone to his voice.

His face scrunched up in disgust and he stopped mid motion, standing up straight and looking at the piece of furniture like it had just offended him. That remark made him look around the room and he spotted a necktie stuck on the light fixture overhead. The sooner he and Cas got out of there, the better.

"Coming to me for help? I'm touched, really. But no, I haven't the foggiest what he's up to. He was only sending vampires into my cabbage patch before he knew I had a scarecrow." He jerked his head towards Balthazar.

"You're sure you don't have any ideas on what he might be up to?" Dean crossed his arms over his chest.

The warlock sighed and cocked his jaw to the side, rolling his eyes before trudging on. How had he been reduced to helping the Winchesters? "Alright, my best guess? He's hiding for a reason, and it's not just to avoid being smited into next thursday. If he didn't think he stood a snowballs chance in hell against us, he wouldn't have made us aware of his presence at all. Which means-" Crowley gave Dean and Cas a meaningful look.

"He's planning something." Cas supplied.

"Precisely."

"So we need to find him before he can do whatever he's planning."

"Already working on it." Crowley didn't have a cat to pet slyly, so he settled to rubbing a hand down Balthazar's stomach. Not quite the same, but it worked in a pinch.

"I hate you." Dean stared resignedly at him.

"I know, love you too buttercup." Crowley said sarcastically.

"I feel so jealous." Balthazar said, matching Crowley's sarcasm.

This was it. This was Dean's hell. He had only imagined making it out.

Author's Note: The nightlight makes me happy~ :

Also, the room behind the first door at Gabe's apartment- post/75567268562/i-was-looking-up-extravagant-rooms-for-writing

Though I imagined it having a higher ceiling and being more spacious. Regardless, it's…intense. Haha