Chapter 4 - A Blessing And A Curse
They reappeared in the bedroom of their house.
"Do you mind terribly if I have my shower first?" Cas asked her. "That way, I can take our African clothes back to our hosts' house before they wake. And I'm sure you'll want to take your time, when your turn comes. Think of how wonderful it's going to feel."
Gail WAS thinking about that, and she sighed in anticipation. She'd had a shower at that house in Africa, but there was just something about using the facilities in your own house, and being able to put on your own clothes, that couldn't be beat.
Cas headed into the washroom for his shower, and Gail took off her African clothes and put on a nightshirt. She would have to put on a fresh one when she came out of the shower, but she'd wanted to clean her African outfit for Cas to take back with him. Those people had served them quite enough.
Interestingly, Paul had elected to stay behind. He'd advised that he wanted to help the townspeople clean up after the Christmas celebration, and he'd expressed a desire to attend at least one more church service before he had to go back. He'd wanted to "get himself right", as he'd put it. Gail had given Paul a hug, saying she hoped to see him again soon, on the right side of the fence. He'd laughed, chucking her under the chin and calling her his "Boo". Then he'd shaken Castiel's hand.
Cas came into the bedroom wearing black pants and an open white shirt. He was carrying his African robes.
"Here, give them to me," Gail said. "I've already cleaned my dress. That way, you can return them both, freshly cleaned."
He smiled gently, handing her the robes. She waved her hands over them, folded the outfit, and handed it and the dress to him.
"Thank you, my love," Cas said, shrugging on his blazer. "Take your time in the shower. I'll be out in the living room when you're done." Then he popped out.
Gail took a long, leisurely shower, putting on a fresh nightshirt afterwards. Then she went out to the living room. Cas was sitting on the couch, waiting for her.
She sat down beside him, looking at his face. He had shaved his beard off, and she had a dizzying moment of deja vu to a year ago. He was about to tell her that she deserved a break for working so hard, and that there was still plenty of time to get everything done. The past year had just been one big nightmare. It had never happened.
But Angels didn't sleep, and the fantasy didn't hold. Cas said, "When I finally had to face what I had become in Africa, I made two stops before I came to get all of you for the Christmas feast. Well, technically, it was three. I went to a store, and then I came back here. Those were my first two stops. The present you saw under the tree is the one I got for you at the store, and I'd like you to open it now, please."
He rose from the couch and went over to the tree. He bent down to pick up the gift, and he brought it to her now.
She took it from him and set it on her lap. It was pliable, and oddly-shaped. What could it be?
"Open it, please," Cas insisted gently.
Gail tore the paper, and her mouth dropped open. It was a stuffed penguin, identical to the one she'd had as a child. She looked at Cas, astonished.
"When I dropped Frank off, after we left you on your birthday, I asked him to provide a description of Ralph," Cas told her. "Did I get him right?"
"Oh, Cas," Gail said in a trembling voice. "He looks exactly like Ralph." She stared at the stuffed animal, then at her husband.
"I just thought that, since I can't provide you with a do-over on the past year, I could at least give you your Ralph back," Cas said earnestly.
Gail burst into tears. Cas looked at her, dismayed. "Have I made you happy, or sad?" he asked her, disconcerted.
"Yes," was all she could manage. Now Cas started to cry too, and they reached for each other, hugging Ralph between them as they wept. There was a lot of crying to be done. All those deaths. The heavy toll that the past year had taken on all of them. A little girl's lost innocence. They could take their pick. But there was some happiness in their tears, too. First and foremost, they still had each other. Their marriage had been tested, but it had weathered the storm. And thankfully, all of their loved ones were still alive.
They cried together for a long time, about all of those things and more, without a word being exchanged between them. They were incapable of speech, and there was no need for it. They were two halves of one whole, and Ralph was the bonding agent, helping to glue them back together.
Eventually, Gail's tears were reduced to sniffles. "We're squishing poor Ralph," she quipped, looking down at the stuffed animal.
"I'm sorry, Ralph," Cas said in a thick voice. He tried to match her tone. "Well, at least we know that penguins like water."
Gail laughed softly, coming out of the embrace. "Let me get us some tissues," Cas said. He rose from the couch and hurried over to the other side of the room, where a box of Kleenex was sitting on an end table. He turned back around to see Gail hugging Ralph to her with both arms. He stood and looked at her for a moment, transfixed. She was so cute. He could see the little girl she used to be in her face, and it was a welcome sight for him. He would much rather see Gail like this than to see her as the female version of who and what Castiel himself had once been.
He brought the tissues back to where she sat and took a few out of the box, handing them to her. Then he took some for himself.
Once they had sniffled a bit more and wiped their faces, Gail put Ralph in the crook of her arm and took Cas's hand. "Let's go find a home for Ralph," she said. They walked to the bedroom together, and she looked around. "Right there," Gail said. She let go of Cas's hand and walked around the bed to the nightstand on her side of the bed. She leaned Ralph against the lamp there. "That'll be your home," she said to the stuffed animal.
Then Gail turned around and looked at Cas. "Although, I wonder if I should cover Ralph's eyes, now," she said softly. She started to smile. "I think he's about to witness some very improper behaviour."
Cas smiled, too. She was teasing now. "Not at all," he said, as she walked back around to where he was standing. "Penguins mate for life, as we do," Cas added. "I'm sure he'll understand."
He took his wife by the hand and gently laid her down on the bed. Cas unbuttoned his shirt and dropped it on the floor, then he lay on top of her.
"I'm going to kiss every inch of you, starting with your forehead on down," he told her. "And then, I'm going to go back up to the top, and do it all over again." He kissed her on the forehead, and Gail smiled. Then he slipped his hand under her nightshirt and touched her between her legs, and she gasped. "On second thought, let's just do this, first," he said charmingly. "We'll be able to take our time more easily, after the first or second time."
"Or third, or fourth," she breathed. She opened her legs wider. He stroked her once with his finger, and she was crying out immediately. "Cas, please," she moaned. "Please!" She touched him through his pants, and he jumped. "Please make love to me, right now," Gail begged him. "I don't want to wait, Cas. I can't. I need you."
He realized now that he was also too excited to wait. He needed to be inside of her, now. So he fumbled for his zipper with trembling hands and then pulled his pants off. He slid into her immediately, but as soon as he did, the feeling was so exquisite that he was almost afraid. "Don't move, Gail. Please, my darling, don't - " he started to say. But she was still reacting to his touch of a moment ago, and an instant later, they were both crying out with pleasure.
Cas made good on his promise to kiss her entire body about an hour later. They'd made love several more times after that first brief encounter, and by then, they'd both finally calmed down enough for Cas to be able to take his time with her.
He was currently kissing her stomach, and she was holding his head, stroking his hair. "I love you so much, Cas," she told him. "I missed this. I missed YOU. Even if we couldn't have made love, there were so many nights I wanted you to be there, to hold me when I was scared. That was why I became so hard. I had to protect myself, or else I would have gone crazy."
Cas paused. He looked up at her face. "I'm so sorry, my darling," he said. "I let you down. I should have been there for you." A tear squeezed out of the corner of his eye. She could feel it drip onto her stomach.
"No, Cas, please," Gail said to him. "Let's not start crying again. I'd much rather be smiling."
Cas's heart sank. He could make her extremely happy, he knew, but soon they would have to discuss the plan for tomorrow, and then she would be very unhappy again. But after his visit to Quinn's, Cas knew that it would be the only way.
Still, he could give her a bit more pleasure before he had to hurt her again. He looked down at her stomach again and saw that the tear he'd shed had pooled in her belly button, so he lapped at it with his tongue, making her giggle. Then he moved his head between her legs and used his tongue to make her cry out again. Then, when she was still, he made love to her once more.
They were laying together under the blanket catching their breath when Cas took her hand and placed it on his chest, where his heart was. "I love you so much, Gail," he began. "I need to make this right. And there's only one way to do that. We have to take the fight to Lucifer. Gabriel was right, and so was the Rom woman we met in Romania. We can't dance to the Devil's tune any more, my love."
"I agree, Cas," she said softly. "But how are we going to take the fight to Lucifer when we don't even know where he is?"
"We aren't going to go where he is," Cas replied evasively. Then he took a deep breath. No. No evasion was acceptable now. He had to tell her. "We need to finish what we started, Gail. We need to get the last item which is required to combine with the Tablets and put him away for good. We've wasted an entire year chasing our tails. It ends, now."
"But we don't know what the item is, Cas," she pointed out.
"That's very true," Cas said in a gentle tone. "That's why I went to Quinn's. That was the third place I went before I picked all of you up for the Christmas feast. I spoke to Linda, and she advised me that Luke knows what the item is. He likely knows where it is, as well. But he will have nothing to do with her, any more."
"OK, so if that's the case..." Gail started to say. Then, it dawned on her. "No, Cas. No. I don't want you to do what you're thinking of doing."
He put his hand on top of hers. "I have to, Gail. Like the animals we sacrificed at Christmas - "
She sat up. "Cas, I swear, if you finish that sentence, I'm going to pack a bag, and then, I'm going to leave you."
He looked at her, wrinkling his brow. "You wouldn't really do that, would you?"
She returned his gaze. "That depends. Would it make you change your mind?"
He was silent, and she heaved a sigh. "Never mind. I could never leave you, Cas. You know that," she said, resigned. "All right, finish what you were going to say, and then we'll have our argument." She lay back down, putting her head on his chest, and Cas smiled, despite how he was feeling. How did she do that? She'd made him smile over such a serious subject, and now he was almost looking forward to the argument. He would make his point, she would disagree, he would insist, she would reluctantly acquiesce, and then, they could sweetly make up. He wrapped his arms around his wife, cuddling her.
"Like the animals we sacrificed for the Christmas feast, I must sacrifice myself in order to do the right thing," Cas told her softly. "If Luke will no longer talk to Linda, I must go to the Netherworld and get the answers from him myself."
Gail tried to lay there calmly, but she was agitated now. "Why does it have to be you, Cas?" she protested. "Why can't it be me? Or any one of us? Why can't we draw straws to see who goes?"
"Because I'm the logical choice," he answered evenly. "Because I'm the only one of us who's already been there. And, since none of us knows for sure who is slated to go there, as the highest-ranking Angel left, it would be more likely for it to be me, than any of you. In addition, as you yourself have pointed out, my reputation precedes me. If I can't get him to tell me by persuasive means, I am the one he will fear the most."
She hated it. She absolutely hated it. And the worst part was, she couldn't fault any of his logic. He had thought it through, right down the line.
"I sinned in Pride, and all of you paid for my sins," Castiel continued. "I will interrogate Luke, and I will not come back until I have the information."
Gail sighed. "This stinks," she said. "It really does. And I can't even argue with you, because you're right. But I just want to go on record as saying how much I hate it."
"Duly noted." Cas swept the hair off her forehead and kissed her there. "As do I, my darling. We just got back together, and now I'll be leaving you again. But I promise you, it won't be for long."
"How are we going to kill you, but also make sure you come back?" she asked him curiously, shaking her head with disbelief that she was even speaking those words. "Am I going to take your essence inside me, like you did with mine that one time?"
Cas opened his mouth to speak, and then he stopped. He remembered what a wonderful feeling that had been, when he'd briefly had Gail's essence inside of him, after Lucifer's spell had compelled her to commit suicide. What an intimate experience that had been. She had no idea what kind of feeling that was. The thought of Gail having his essence inside of her excited him so much that he was at a loss for words for the moment. But then, he gave his head a shake. No. Too many things might go wrong. They'd better stick with the plan he already had in mind.
"I have it all worked out," Cas said lightly, "but right now, I wonder if you could do me a favour."
"What's that, Cas?" she asked him.
He took her hand, kissed it, and then put it on himself, underneath the covers. "Will you please tell me you love me?" he asked her sweetly.
She began to stroke him. "I love you so much, my husband," she told him. He rewarded her with a smile. Then she positioned herself by his mouth and took him in hers, and they moved together, pleasing each other.
When they were done, they talked quietly until sunrise. Mostly, Cas listened as Gail recounted her year on the road with Bobby and the Winchesters.
"We're going to need a giant, booze-filled make-up party after all of this is over," she mused aloud. "I was pretty hard on all of them."
Cas frowned. "I'm so sorry you were put in that position, Gail. But I have to say, Sam and Dean have never demonstrated their friendship more clearly to me. I'm grateful to them for helping to take care of you. But I wonder if you can tell me one thing: when Gabriel visited me, he made a reference to Bobby, doing something he shouldn't. Do you have any idea what that's about?"
Gail's forehead wrinkled. "No, I really don't, Cas. Unless he's talking about Bobby drinking too much, but that's not exactly a secret." She sighed. "That's something else that we might have to deal with in the future. But, one crisis at a time. But now, I have a question for you: Where is Gabriel, and why isn't he here, helping us?"
Cas was thoughtful. "I really don't know, Gail. I've been wondering that myself, ever since we rescued him from that military base. He's always been a capricious individual, but he told me that he had something more important going on."
She was incredulous. "More important?! What could be more important than defeating Lucifer?"
Cas kissed her on the nose, smiling faintly. "As a very wise person said recently, one crisis at a time."
"I love you, sweetie," Gail told him.
"I love you too, my darling," he replied. Then he sighed. "The sun is up now. We'll have to get ready to go to the bunker in a moment." He stroked her cheek with his finger, then kissed her on the mouth.
Gail poked her tongue out and Cas licked it eagerly. "We're going to have to stop," she said, even though she was the one who had started it, in a way. She was caressing his chest and shoulders now.
"Yes, we are," Cas said softly. He put his hand in-between her legs, and she opened them automatically. He caressed her thighs, and then his fingers touched her lightly.
"I'll have to get up in a minute and go to the shower," Gail added. She reached down and touched him with her fingertips, the same as he was doing to her, and he moaned. He moved forward, but she kept her hand just out of reach.
Cas gave up. Who was he kidding? A year apart was an eternity. But, as usual, they were just about out of time. He moved on top of her and thrust himself into her, and she smiled. She loved it when he was gentle, but she loved it even more when he was slightly aggressive.
Gail pulled his head down to hers and licked his lips. He moaned again, pushing harder into her. He kissed her with his tongue and grabbed her by the hips, pulling her body closer to his.
"I love you," Cas breathed. "Beyond words, beyond measure. I will spend the rest of my existence proving that to you."
He was proving it to her right now, Gail thought warmly, with some humour. She knew what he meant, of course, but right now it was all about the physical pleasure. He pulled back a bit and put his hand in-between her legs again. He stroked her with his finger as he pushed in and out of her. He was looking down at her, enjoying the expression of happiness on her face. Then he sped up his motion, and she was crying out loudly, saying his name, telling him how good it was. Then, he was telling her the same thing. He held her body tightly against his for a moment, his eyes shut tight, savouring the wonderful feeling. Then he withdrew from her. She reached for him, but he shook his head, smiling. He lifted her hips and bent to her, lapping at her with his tongue. She was writhing under him now, riding another wave of intense pleasure. He was amazing. He was everything.
Then she was spent, laying there weakly as he came back up to lay with her, taking her in his arms. They cuddled wordlessly for a few minutes, and then Cas said, ""I'm pretty sure Sam and Dean wanted to sleep in for a bit this morning, anyway."
Gail laughed softly. She kissed him on the lips, but it was just a quick peck this time. They really did need to get out of bed. "I love you, Cas," she told him. "Please promise me you'll come back to me as soon as possible. I can't stand to be apart from you anymore."
Cas kissed her on the forehead. "I feel the same way, my darling. Now please, take your shower. If you wait one more minute, I'll never be able to let you leave this bed."
She raised one eyebrow comically. "I'm trying to see a downside to that," she said mischievously. But she slid out from under the covers and padded off to the bathroom, because like it or not, they had their obligations. She wondered if there would ever be a day, even just one day, when they would be able to be completely selfish and self-indulgent. Then she laughed at herself. Yeah. As if. And while she was at it, she would ask for a rainbow unicorn, with wings.
Still, after the year they had all just had, she could rejoice in the fact that they were all still alive, and so was their love, even though some of their relationships had clearly taken a beating.
"I love you, sweetie," she said to Cas again as she headed off to the shower.
Cas smiled. "Why, I love you too, my darling. Merry Christmas."
"It is now," she replied, blowing him a kiss. It was funny, really; here they were, about to get dressed and go to the bunker, where they were going to kill her husband. Yet, she was the happiest she'd been in a very long time. How weird was that? Well, if nothing else, she had obviously grown a thicker skin in the past year. And that was probably a good thing, considering the hardships they always seemed to have to face, on a daily basis. But Gail never wanted to become as hard as she'd had to become out there. No. Never again.
She looked at Cas one more time. He was sitting up in bed now, with the pillows propped up behind him. He was still looking at her, and he was still smiling. The blankets were pooled around his waist, his torso was glistening with sweat, and his hair was sticking up in all directions. He was the cutest person she had ever seen. It was taking all of her will power not to just run back over to the bed and ask him if they could just stay here all day together.
Gail sighed, then headed off to the shower.
Once he could hear the water running, Cas leaned over and grabbed Ralph from his perch on the nightstand. He put the stuffed penguin on his lap. "Please look after her while I'm gone, Ralph," Cas said softly. "She's my whole life."
Ralph made no reply, of course. Castiel had never had a toy like Ralph growing up, but he could suddenly picture being a small child with a vivid imagination, talking to his constant companion. Bringing Ralph with him wherever he went. Now, Cas was that little boy, talking to his penguin best friend about all of the adventures they were going to have. They were going to travel the world and perform heroic feats. They were going to have lots of friends who they could love, and who would love them back. And then, as if all of that wasn't blessing enough, they were going to meet the most wonderful, most loving woman in the whole universe, and they were going to give her all the love they had in their hearts.
Cas kissed Ralph gently on his furry little beak, and then he looked around furtively. But Gail was still in the shower, and there was no one else here, of course. Out of everyone Cas loved, she was the one who most likely would have understood. But he was a man, not a child, and as cute as Ralph was, he was just a stuffed toy. Cas shook his head at his own foolishness. He gave Ralph a pat on his little penguin head and returned the stuffed toy to the nightstand.
"I was wondering, out of all of us, why you were the only one who didn't go crazy out there," Dean was saying to Cas. "And now you've answered my question: you did."
They were all standing around in the library area of the bunker. Cas had just explained his plan to the men, and they were all shaking their heads incredulously. "There's got to be another way, Cas," Sam said. "We'll find another way."
But Cas was shaking his head emphatically. "No, we won't, Sam. We can't. We can't afford to wait one more minute. I can't have any more deaths on my conscience."
Frank frowned at Gail. "Are you OK with this?"
"Of course not," she said. "But unless we can think of another way for Cas to talk to Luke in person, we have no choice but to do this. I agree with Cas; Lucifer has had it his way for far too long now. We've got to end this now, guys."
They all thought about it for another minute, each man looking at the other. But no one could come up with a better alternative.
"Crap," Chuck said morosely. "Sorry, Cas. I can't think of anything else."
Cas put his hand on Chuck's shoulder. "Believe me, Chuck, I'd much rather we could think of another way, too," he said to their Angel friend. "But we're wasting time, now. Gail and I will accompany the four of you to the storage room. You'll paint a sigil on the door to keep me inside." He took a piece of paper out of his pants pocket, handing the drawing to Dean. "Then, one of you will stab me in the chest, and the other men will hold my vessel steady. As my essence flows out, Gail will trap it in the vial I have given to her. Presumably, once I am dead, Death will arrive, to escort me to the Netherworld. I will tell him of our plan. I'm banking on him supporting it. I don't believe he wants Lucifer running around unchecked, any more than we do."
"What if you're wrong?" Dean said worriedly. "You know how that guy can be sometimes."
Frank began to sweat. Were they really supposed to rely on the good graces of the Grim Reaper, here? And how weird was it that all of these guys were personally acquainted with Death, anyway? Just thinking about that made his skin crawl.
"Whatever we may think about him personally, Death has a sense of order, and dignity," Castiel said to his friends. "I'm sure he takes exception to Lucifer's tampering with the natural order, to the extreme extent that he has. In any event, I will converse with Death, and if I make it through to the Netherworld, I will communicate with you through Quinn. Then, I will go to work on Luke. He'll tell me what he knows, one way or the other."
It occurred to Sam to wonder what Cas could possibly threaten a dead guy in the Netherworld with, but he said nothing. Cas seemed pretty confident that he knew what he was doing. Maybe it was something between these old-timey Bible guys. Sam snuck a look at Gail. She was pale, and her expression was grim. Perversely, Sam was almost glad to see her that way. He had been extremely concerned about her when they'd been on the road. She'd had her toes over the edge of the pit to Hell by the end there, and only a gentle breeze would have been needed to tip her over. She seemed like herself again now, and Sam was very relieved. He and Dean had pretty much made up over a cup of coffee this morning, but they had a long history of bickering and making up. Sam felt like he understood Gail a lot better than Dean or Bobby did, so he harboured no resentment towards her for anything that had happened out there in the field in the past year. Dean might feel differently, but Sam's brother was playing his cards close to the vest on that score. Sam also thought that they might need a huge, booze-filled make-up party once this was all over.
"Please, let's just do this, before I lose my nerve," Gail said in a shaky voice. Cas took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, and the group moved down the hall to the storage room.
Dean painted the sigil on the door as Cas had instructed, as Cas stood talking quietly to Gail. She was beginning to tremble with fear now. Were they crazy? Why had she ever agreed to this? What if something went wrong? What if she dropped the vial? What if Death took Cas to the Netherworld, but just decided to leave him there? What if? What if?
Cas could see all of that and more in her eyes, and he touched her face. "Nothing will go wrong," he told her softly. "I trust you all implicitly. I will come back to you, my love, I promise you."
But then, they all just stood there. None of the men wanted to be the one to do it. "OK, which one of us is the most pissed off at Cas?" Frank joked nervously. He looked at Dean. "You guys have known him the longest. Surely he must have done something in all that time that makes you just wanna - "
Dean interrupted his friend. "Maybe we should have Gail do it." He looked at her. "Does he leave the seat up? Throw his smelly socks on the floor? Let's see, what else do women hate?"
Gail's lips were so tightly pressed together now they almost disappeared. "I know you guys think you're being funny, but you're really not. Please, we need to get this over with."
Cas handed his Angel blade to Sam. "I would like you to do it, Sam. Please," he said.
Sam looked at Cas curiously, but then he accepted the blade. "OK, Cas," he said quietly. Frank and Dean were who they were, but even though this was going to hurt Sam a lot, he knew that every second they delayed was hurting Gail a hundred times more. Obviously, Cas knew that, out of all of them, Sam was the most likely one to have thought of that.
Cas looked at his friends. "Ready?" he asked them. They all nodded silently. No more jokes, now. Gail held the vial open and at the ready. "I love you, Gail," Cas told her, "and I'll be seeing you all again, very soon." He looked at Sam. "Do it, Sam. Please."
Sam took a deep breath, then stabbed Cas in the chest with Cas's Angel blade. Cas opened his mouth, and the blue essence began to flow out. Gail moved forward with the open vial and gathered it up, as the men held his vessel upright and steady. Gail kept her eyes wide and her hands from shaking, making sure she got it all. There would be plenty of time later to freak out about the sight of one of her best friends, killing her husband. Right now, Cas was depending on her.
Once the vial was filled, Gail capped it tightly, and then she threaded it onto a chain, and put the chain around her neck. Then she gave the vial a soft kiss and dropped the chain down her top so it was resting next to her heart.
Dean was looking at her. "What?" Gail asked him.
"That's just the kind of chick-flick, romance novel crap I would expect to see out of you," Dean said bluntly. Then he smiled. "Welcome back."
Gail tried to return his smile, but it was difficult right now. Sam pulled the blade out of Cas's chest, and it was wet with her husband's blood. Sam threw her an apologetic glance. Gail felt like she was going to throw up as Dean, Frank and Chuck kept Cas's body from falling to the floor.
"We'll take him to your old room here," Sam said softly. He stashed the bloody knife in his pocket and picked up one of Cas's legs. Now, all four men were holding Cas as if they were pallbearers. Gail felt panicked, grief-stricken. What the hell had they done? She touched her chest, where the vial was. That was just his vessel they were holding, she told herself. The real Cas was here, nestled against her heart. Still, as the men carried Cas's body out of the storage room, his head fell back, and a lock of his hair fell across his forehead. She kept staring at that lock of hair. Then, she broke. She wept all the way down the hall.
Once they had laid Cas down on the bed, Gail sat next to him and held his hand, still crying. She swept the lock of hair back with her other hand. The men all looked at each other uncomfortably.
Chuck couldn't take it anymore. This was reminding him way too much of the time that Cas had been executed, after the tribunal. Gail had lost her mind, then. She'd sat by Cas's body holding his hand then, too, talking to him as if he was still alive.
Chuck put his hands lightly on Gail's shoulders. "He'll be fine, Gail," her Angel friend said.
She felt a momentary flare of anger. Just how in the hell would Chuck know? It was easy for him to say, wasn't it? But she bit her lip. No. That wasn't who she wanted to be.
"Let's go, kiddo," Frank said now. "We have to get over to Quinn's, so you and Mr. Kissyface can be reunited."
Gail tried to smile. She really was lucky to have so much support. Even from Sam, who had taken the knife from Cas when he'd asked and had the courage to do what needed to be done. It must have really hurt him to do that to Cas. It must have hurt all of them. Gail knew she wasn't the only one who loved Cas. Just because she felt like she loved him the most didn't mean she was going to start a contest over it.
Frank had gotten through to her, though. He was right; they had to get over to Quinn's. If Cas had been able to successfully cross over to the Netherworld, he was going to try to pierce the veil right away, to let them know he had arrived there.
She sprang to her feet. "Let's go."
"I have to make a quick pit stop, first," Sam told them. "I'll meet you guys in the library in a minute."
Frank, Dean and Chuck escorted Gail down the hall, as Sam ducked quickly into his room. He grabbed a change of clothes, then washed up at the bathroom sink, rinsing Cas's blood off himself, and off of the blade. If it had been anybody else's blood, he could have just asked Gail to clean him. But Sam couldn't have asked her to do that, any more than he could have sat down with her at the seance table with her husband's blood on his hands, and on his clothes. How insensitive would that have been? And also, he didn't want to show up at Quinn's looking all bloody, either.
Gail noticed that Sam was cleaned up when he rejoined their group, and she gave him a brief smile of acknowledgement. He offered Cas's blade to her, but she shook her head. "You keep it for now, Sam, just in case," she said. She patted her pants pocket. "I have mine."
"So, what's the plan?" Bobby asked the group.
"When we get to Quinn's, hopefully we're going to be able to talk to Cas right away," Gail told him. "Ideally, he'll have Linda take him to Luke's place, and then he can go to work on him."
"We'll probably have him back by lunchtime," Dean said heartily. "We all know how persuasive he can be."
"We'll be back as soon as we can, Bobby," Sam said. "Hold down the fort."
Gail grabbed Frank and Dean's hands, and Chuck took Sam's. Then they winked out.
"Well, well. If it isn't Yissa, himself," Death said dryly. "To what do I owe the dubious pleasure?"
"I think you know the answer to that question," Castiel said stiffly.
"Yes, I do, and may I say, it's about time," Death replied. "This farce needs to end, Castiel."
"I agree. That's why I'm here," Cas said. "I need to go to the Netherworld and get the information we seek from Luke, so we can end this, once and for all."
Death stared at Castiel impassively. If the Angel only knew what lay ahead, he might not be so eager. But at least Castiel was finally doing the right thing. Order had to be restored. Lucifer was like a petulant child, throwing his toys all over the playroom. He had become a real thorn in Death's side, and he needed to be dealt with before the big sharks started to circle. As horrible as the past year may have been for most of Castiel's family and friends, Death knew that they hadn't really seen anything, yet.
"Do you know whether your brother will stand with you, when the time comes?" Death asked Castiel.
Cas frowned. He honestly had no idea. "I have not spoken to Crowley in over a year," he told Death in a clipped tone. "We've had many other things to deal with."
"I'm aware," Death said, just as shortly. Then, after a moment, he said, "I will help you. I'll escort you to Linda Tran's cottage. She will guide you from there. But, make no mistake, Castiel. I do not exist to be at your beck and call, nor am I in any way obligated to assist any one of you. I'm only helping you now because Lucifer must be removed from the game board. Is that understood?"
"Yes," Cas said tersely. He regarded Death evenly, trying not to show his immense relief. He hadn't let on to Gail, but this had been a dicier proposition than he'd originally let on. Death valued his autonomy, and he was a querulous individual sometimes. If he thought that Castiel just expected him to help them, he would more than likely turn around and refuse. But if Death was given the room to be magnanimous, he would usually elect to be. But the choice would have to appear to be Death's.
"How did you get here?" Death asked him curiously. Castiel nearly did a double-take. Death actually did sound curious, too. That was a human emotion, as far as Castiel was aware. He couldn't recall Death ever having exhibited any human qualities before, except for the odd quirk he had about food. Cas almost smiled. Maybe they were all rubbing off on him, a little. But Death had a dour expression on his face now, so perhaps Cas had better just stick with the program. So he briefly described the scene back at the bunker.
Death raised an eyebrow but said nothing. If Castiel's friends thought the Angel was inscrutable, Death had raised that quality to an art form.
"Let's go, then," Death said, and Castiel took his arm.
They were all sitting around the table in the seance room, waiting for Quinn to draw the drapes, when Gail got a message over Angel Radio. It was Ethan, calling to tell her that Kevin was losing it. The young Prophet had come to Ethan's apartment in Heaven a short while ago, and he'd been shaking all over. After Ethan had let him in, Kevin had started to cry, telling his friend that he had let everyone down. He'd proceeded to tell Ethan that he was responsible for Matt and the others having been killed.
"He's saying he can't be trusted to be a team member anymore," Ethan told her worriedly. "He's even talking about quitting his job. He's worrying me, Gail. It sounds like he's got a textbook case of PTSD."
Gail felt for Kevin, she really did. But she also felt a little annoyed. Kevin and his problems would have to wait. She told Ethan what they had just done, where they were, and what they were doing. But then, it occurred to her what she should do. It was pretty much staring her right in the face.
"Quinn, can you hold on just a second?" Gail asked the medium. "I'll be right back." Then she smiled. "Do you mind if I just pop out from here? It's not like you don't know who we are, and what we're all about."
"I work with spirits," Quinn replied, answering her smile. "I think I can handle it."
"Where are you going, Gail?" Dean asked her sharply.
She looked at him for a moment. That had been a weird tone. "Problem, Dean?" she said coolly.
"You're wearing my best friend around your neck," he said to her. "I don't think you should be going anywhere alone right now, do you?"
Gail smiled with relief. He was worried about Cas's safety, that was all. She walked around the table and bent down to kiss him on the cheek. "After all of this is over, you and I are going to get drunk together, and then we're going to hug it out for about an hour," Gail told him. "But right now, I'm going straight to Heaven, and then I'm coming straight back. No detours, I promise. Okay?"
"Take Chuck with you, then," Frank said. Gail opened her mouth to protest, and then she realized that she was being silly. "OK, you guys," she sighed. "If it'll make you feel better." She extended her hand to Chuck. "Care to take a lady to Heaven?"
"Man, it's been ages since I've had an invitation like that," Chuck quipped. "Too bad you're married."
The other men laughed. That had been a pretty good one. After all this time, Chuck was finally growing on Sam and Dean.
The Angels winked out, and Quinn did a double-take, despite her assurances that it wouldn't faze her. Sam smiled at her reaction. "Yeah, I know," he said to her. "We're more used to it than you, but it's still a little disconcerting."
"Just wait till they come back," Dean added. "That still freaks me out, every time."
"It's good to see you again," Quinn said to the men. "And it's good to hear that everyone is all right. Well, you know what I mean. Everyone from your group, anyway," she added hastily. "I can only imagine what it was like out there for all of you. I kept watching the news every night, praying that it would end."
"Well, it's gonna," Frank said testily. "That's what we're here for."
Quinn was looking at Gail's brother. She could tell just by looking at his face that this past year had been hard on him. She hadn't even needed to shake his hand; all she'd had to do was look at his hair, and his face. But when she had shaken his hand, she'd picked up on something. Frank's son was psychic. She wondered how he and Jody were coping with that. Quinn knew from personal experience how hard that could be on a family, and her gift, for lack of a better term, was only of intermediate power. She sensed that Robbie's, or Rob, as he liked to be called now, was much stronger than that. But the good news was that she could no longer see any medical issues with Jody in the foreseeable future, and while she might not have gotten that anyway from merely shaking Jody's husband's hand, it didn't come across as a concern for the couple any more, at least. Quinn was relieved. If there was anything that this group wouldn't need right now, it would be more bad news.
Suddenly, Gail reappeared with Chuck, and Kevin was with them. Despite her alleged aplomb, Quinn jumped in her chair.
"Told you," Dean smirked.
Quinn grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."
"I hope you don't mind, Quinn," Gail said to the psychic. "I thought that Kevin could use a visit with his mom." She looked at the young Prophet. "Please sit down between Chuck and Frank," she instructed him. "After we see Cas, and make sure...well, just make sure, you and your mother can have a private visit. But we have to get our business done, first. OK?"
"Yeah, Gail. Thanks," Kevin replied, taking his seat. "Hi, Quinn."
"Hi, Kevin," Quinn responded. She had no idea what was going on here, but she thought it could be a good idea for Kevin and Linda to have a chat. It looked to her as if Kevin had been crying.
As soon as everything was dark and they all held hands, Linda appeared. "Oh, thank God," she said. "Thank God. Is everyone OK? Kevin, are you all right?"
"Yeah, I guess so, Mom," he replied quietly.
"Where's Cas?" Gail blurted out.
"Cas?" Linda echoed.
Gail's heart stopped. "Yes, Cas! Isn't he there with you?"
"No," Linda said, puzzled. "Why would he be?"
Gail's eyes grew wide. Oh, no. No. "Because he's - we - " She lost her words. She looked at Sam, panicked. "Sam, get that blade ready, because if we've killed Cas for no reason, you're going to have to kill me, too," she said, her voice trembling.
"Wait a second," Linda said. "I'll be right back." She vanished.
"Oh, my God," Gail said in an anguished voice. "Oh, my God!" She clutched at Frank. "What are we going to do? Where could he be? How can we find him?"
Dean was mad. Ever since the death squads, anger always seemed to be his go-to response. "Well, it was a stupid idea, to begin with," he said bluntly.
"You are about two steps away from an ass-kicking," Gail hissed, turning on him and pointing her finger. "Either say something constructive or shut the hell up."
"You're not my team leader any more, Gail," Dean shot back. "Thanks for that year that I'll never get back, by the way."
"Are you actually implying that this past year was somehow my fault?" she said, raising her voice. "Because if you are, we're gonna go, right now!"
"Stop trying to be your husband, Gail," Dean said pointedly. "That's not you."
"I'm not - " Gail threw her hands up in frustration. How could she even respond to a comment like that?
"Well, I am, and I'm telling both of you to stop it," Cas said sternly. He and Linda had reappeared in the middle of the room.
Both Gail and Dean looked at him with such joy and relief that Cas softened his tone. "I'm gone one hour, and already, you two are arguing," Cas continued with a faint smile. "I'd better get this done quickly, then."
Gail jumped up from the table and ran over to hug her husband, but her arms went right through him when she tried. Linda touched Gail's arm.
"Umm, that's not going to work," Linda told Gail. "And you should pray it won't, either. New arrivals don't have what you Winchesters would call a corporeal form. Basically, the longer you're here, the more solid you become."
"I won't be here long enough for that to happen," Cas said to Gail. "But, I wish I could hold you right now. I'm sorry, my love. I didn't mean to scare you. Death escorted me here, but he wanted to have a conversation, first. So it took me a little bit longer to get here, that's all."
Gail was so relieved she felt light-headed. She walked back to her chair and sank slowly into it, not taking her eyes off Cas. She'd been so scared.
"I only had a moment to fill Linda in on our plan," Cas told everyone.
"And I think it's a good one," Linda said, giving Dean a momentary glare. "If anybody will be able to get the information out of Luke, it'll be Cas. We have to try anything we can to get this done."
No kidding, Frank thought. He'd been a little bit startled to witness how Dean and Gail had talked to each other a few minutes ago. Frank knew that everything had been far from fine out there on the road for his sister. Bobby'd told them some things last night that had been hard to hear. They were all going to have some work ahead of them as far as their relationships went. Rob was barely speaking to him and Jody right now. Hopefully, Frank's wife would be able to make some inroads with the boy while Frank was gone. Now that Robbie - no, Rob - had grown up so quickly, it was hard for Frank to know exactly how to deal with him. Kids were easy; all you had to do was pick them up and spin them around, or make a funny face, and they were yours. Relating to them when they got older, and wanted to have real conversations, was a lot harder. And Frank knew he'd really let Rob down. But what were the choices, here? He was trying to make the world a safe place for Rob to live in. Surely, the kid had to understand that. And it wasn't as if Rob had been abandoned or neglected. It wasn't as if he'd had to go on the run with his young sister, alone and scared, scrounging for every meal and a roof over their heads, always looking over his shoulder. No. Rob had had a nice warm bed to sleep in, endless entertainment, gourmet meals, and everyone's love and concern, while his parents had been knee-deep in blood, watching their friends die. And now, Rob was acting as if he hated them. Well, after things sorted themselves out here, Frank and his son were gonna sit down and have a nice long conversation. He was going to suggest that maybe Gail and Dean should do that, too. That was, if his sister wasn't too nuts by then. They'd better get Cas back quick, or she was going to lose her shit.
"I'm going to take Cas to Luke's house right now," Linda told them. "Hopefully, he'll be back very soon."
"Hold up, Linda," Gail said. "Do you think you could come back after you've done that? Then you and Kevin can have a visit, if you've got time."
Linda laughed shortly. "Are you kidding? I've got nothing BUT time. Thank you for bringing him, Gail. I'll get Cas over there, and then I'll be back in a few minutes."
"I'll see you very soon," Cas told the group. "Linda tells me that she can appear here on her own now, so when I'm ready to come back, I'll ask her to let you know. Then I'll meet Death at the Portal, and I presume that he'll send you a sign that I'm ready to be reanimated."
"Yeah? What's he gonna send?" Frank joked nervously. "A raven with a black feather in its beak? A rotten fruit basket?"
Cas smiled grimly. "Please take care of your sister for me until I can get back, Frank," he said. Then he took Linda's hand, and then they were gone.
They all sat back in their chairs, releasing each other's hands. Then Sam started to laugh. "'A rotten fruit basket'?" he said to Frank. "That was actually pretty funny."
Frank shrugged. "Hey, what can I say? I'm a pretty funny guy."
"Yeah, but looks don't count," Dean said, smirking.
Gail was quiet. It had been so weird to see Cas like that. He came across as confident, but now, Gail started to wonder, just the same as Sam had been doing earlier. She doubted very much that Luke was going to just cooperate. And, as scary as Castiel could be to their enemies, what could he possibly threaten Luke WITH? Torture? Or would that even work in the Netherworld?
Linda reappeared. "So, I've got Cas fixed up," she told her friends. "He seems really determined to get this thing done. I almost feel sorry for Luke."
"OK, we'll leave you and Kevin to have your visit, then," Gail said, rising from her chair.
"I'll come with," Quinn said casually. "Linda doesn't need our connection anymore." She looked at Kevin. "Just come out to the living room when you're done. Meanwhile, I'll see if I can put together some snacks."
They all left the room, and then Kevin and his mother were alone.
"What's the matter, Kevin?" Linda said immediately. "Why have you been crying?"
Kevin looked at her. "Oh, do you mean besides the fact that thousands of humans just died over the past year? Humans we couldn't save?"
"Don't get smart with me, Kevin," Linda said sharply. "You're not too old for me to give you a smack, if you really need it."
Kevin was silent for a moment, and then he told his mother what had happened on that day, and about the fact that he felt responsible.
"We could have been there to help them, if I'd only woken Frank up," Kevin said miserably. "They trusted me, Mom, and I let them down." He started to cry silent tears again.
Linda regarded him soberly for a minute. Her heart hurt for her son. The past year had obviously been very hard on all of her friends. Linda had noticed Frank's salt-and-pepper hair and gaunt face, and Dean and Gail's angry exchange. "That must have been very hard for you," she said quietly.
Kevin waited, but that was all his mother had to say. She did come closer, though, and she laid her hand on his shoulder. It was comforting to feel his mother's touch, after all this time. "Is that all you have to say, Mom?" he asked her.
Linda gave his shoulder a squeeze, and then she moved back so that she could look at his face again. "That's all I CAN say, really," she replied. "I wasn't there. But, you were, and you made a judgement call. Maybe it WAS the wrong call. But, you're a man now, Kevin. I'm not going to coddle you, and I'm not going to sugar-coat it, like I used to do when you were a boy. It might have been a mistake, but you know what? We all make them. I should have tried harder to keep my temper with Luke; then maybe Cas wouldn't have had to come here. And look at all the mistakes Cas has made over the years. Besides, we don't know for sure that it even WAS a mistake, do we? We don't know when those men were killed, or how many people they fought with, or when."
"But we could have been there with them, Mom," Kevin said sadly.
Linda let out a breath. "All right, Kevin. OK. Let me ask you this, then: how many lives did you and your team save? How many healings did you perform? You were the only Angel on your team, so it must have been quite a few. And all of your team members are still alive, aren't they?"
"Yeah, but - "
"But? But, nothing. Think about it, Kevin. I know those men were your friends, but they knew the risks going in, didn't they? So do you. So did I. And now, you're in Heaven, and I'm stuck here. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. But we always have to do what's right, regardless. I know you know that, son. That's the way I raised you. I'm very proud of you, Kevin. Hold your head high."
"Thanks, Mom," he said, nodding. What she'd said had made a lot of sense. He'd known that, of course, but Kevin had spent so much time moping over the ones they couldn't save that he'd almost forgotten about the ones that they had. And there'd been a lot more of the latter. "I appreciate your talking to me like an adult," he blurted out.
"Well, you are one," Linda responded. "You've matured a lot since I've been gone. Maybe my being sent here had another silver lining, besides getting all that Tablet information."
Kevin smiled sadly. "I wish you were back in Heaven, Mom. I miss you."
"I miss you too, Kevin. I love you with all my heart," Linda said. "Are you going to be all right?"
Kevin sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, I am, Mom. We all are. We have to be. I think I'll talk to Frank when we leave here. Get some closure."
Linda was impressed. Once again, she was struck by how mature her son was now. He was going to be just fine. She moved forward again and planted a soft kiss on his forehead. "OK, now, get going," she said to her son. "I can't be hanging around here all day, you know. I've got to be available for Cas. If we don't get him back there soon, Gail will probably have one of you killing HER next." Then she winked out, leaving Kevin to sit there alone in the dark.
Linda sat at the kitchen table in her cottage having a good, solid cry of her own. Then she put on the kettle and sat, waiting for Cas.
"I really didn't want to bother you with this, but since we've got some time, maybe I'd better tell you that Oliver is still here," Quinn said to the group. She was looking specifically at Gail. "I guess you've been way too busy to have a look at his journal."
"You've got that right," Gail agreed. She looked at Sam. "I completely forgot about that, to be honest. Do you think your FBI guy still has it?"
Sam looked thoughtful. "Probably. But, looking on the bright side, he'll have had more than enough time to work on it by now. That's if he wasn't sidelined by all that other stuff, of course. But, I doubt he would have been; he's not a crime scene guy."
"You might want to follow up with him, then," Quinn told them. "Oliver's been pretty persistent. He's been showing up at all kinds of inconvenient times. My clients are getting unnerved, to be honest."
"Well, I'm sorry that some housewives won't get their cards read at their convenience, but we've been literally wading in blood and guts for a year," Gail said harshly.
Quinn looked at her, startled. "I'm sorry," she stammered. She put her hand on Gail's arm. "I didn't mean - " Then she bit off the sentence. My God. Quinn saw a tall, handsome man standing over two dead bodies. Blood was splashed all over the walls, and it was on the man's hands. He was dipping his fingers in the blood, painting his cheeks and forehead with it. Then he threw his head back and laughed, and the laugh Quinn heard in her head was so chilling that her hand flew off Gail's arm immediately.
"What did you see, Quinn?" Gail asked her in an even tone.
"What? What do you mean?" the psychic said evasively.
"Come on, Quinn. It takes one to know one. I used to be able to lay my hands on someone and have their whole life in my head in just a few seconds," Gail replied. "So, I repeat: what did you see?"
"Your father, standing over two dead bodies, in a room covered in blood," Quinn told her, "and he was laughing."
Gail felt like she'd just been slapped in the face. She looked at Frank, open-mouthed. "Oh, my God, Frank," she breathed.
"Your father?" Frank exclaimed. "Your father was there?"
"Oh, God," Gail said, putting her head in her hands. "God, no. Please don't tell me that my father killed them. Please don't tell me that, Quinn."
"I can't tell you that," the medium replied. "I can't tell you anything else. That's all I know. That's all I saw. I swear."
Gail raised her head and looked Quinn in the eyes. She appeared to be telling the truth, but she also looked and sounded scared. Then again, Gail supposed that most normal people would be frightened by a sight like that. So would Gail have been, a few years ago. Nowadays, that was an all-too-common occurrence. Over the past year, that would have been what Gail would have considered a slow day. She heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry I spoke to you like that, Quinn," Gail said. "I've just been under a lot of stress lately. Lucifer's killing the crap out of people, I'm wearing my dead husband around my neck, and apparently, my real father is Hitler and Charles Manson's love child. So, do me a favour: tell Oliver he's got to take a number." She stood up. "I'm going to step outside for a minute. I need a breath of fresh air."
They all looked at each other for a moment after she left. Then, Frank quipped, "Rock, paper, scissors?"
Dean stood. "Don't bother. I never win at that game. Ever." He sighed. "It better be me. We've got some making up to do, anyway."
Dean walked outside. Gail was standing on the lawn, looking up at the sky.
"Homesick?" Dean wisecracked. He walked over to where she stood. "Man, it sucks to be you right now, doesn't it?" he said to her.
Gail rolled her eyes. "Go ahead and tell me how selfish I'm being."
"I'm not gonna do that, because I don't think you are being selfish," Dean replied. "After the year we've just had, the last thing you needed was a dead husband, and finding out that your father might have killed your brother's parents. Are you sure you don't like country music? 'Cause I''m pretty sure there's a helluva song in there, somewhere."
Gail's lips started to twitch. "You know what, Dean? You're usually pretty good at these pep talks, but this one kind of stinks. I don't feel any better."
"There are some things even I can't fix," Dean said lightly.
She turned to him and threw her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry, Dean. I don't want to fight with you anymore. I swear I don't."
Dean embraced her. "Neither do I, Gail," he told her. He pulled out of the hug and looked down at her face. "You know why we fight so much, don't you? It's because we're so much alike," he said.
"You and I are alike?" Gail asked him, surprised. "How do you figure that?"
"If you promise not to tell anybody what I said, I'll tell you," Dean replied.
Gail was intrigued. "OK, I promise. Tell me."
Dean gave her one more squeeze, and then he said, "We both feel things too much, we both love people too intensely, and we both think that everything that goes wrong is our fault."
Gail was astonished. With one neat sentence, he'd hit the nail right on the head. "You know who else you just described, right?"
"Cas," they said together, and then they shared a brief laugh.
"Why do you think we're his favourites?" Dean said. He leaned down, touching his forehead to hers. "Plus, we're awesome. That's the other thing we have in common."
Gail touched his face. "What can I say? When you're right, you're right," she said, smiling.
"Good deal. Now give me one more hug, and then let's get back inside." Dean gestured to her chest. "I don't want Major Buzzkill there to come back and kick my ass for making out with his wife."
"I think he would just be glad that we're not fighting anymore," she said to him. "I don't think he was too pleased with us back there. We might have to go into a time-out when he gets back." Then Gail smiled mischievously. "I'll look forward to the stern talking-to he'll give me when he and I go home."
Dean groaned. "Now, see? You and I were having a moment, and now you've gone and ruined it. I don't need to hear junk like that, Gail." But now, he was grinning.
"What?" she said innocently. "I'm just talking about having a conversation. I don't know what dirty, disgusting, extremely satisfying stuff you could be referring to."
Dean opened his mouth, then closed it again. He really couldn't improve on that, and she deserved to have the last word this time. So he slung his arm around her shoulders, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and took her back to the house.
"Hello, Luke," Cas said calmly, when the Gospel writer answered his door.
"Hello," Luke responded, wrinkling his forehead. "Who are you?"
"A concerned individual," Cas said in reply. "Can we converse for a few moments?"
Luke's eyes narrowed. Why would an Angel want - His blood ran cold. "Castiel?" he said fearfully. He started to close the door, but Cas stopped it with his hand.
"I don't think so," Cas said quietly. "Our talk is long overdue, and we're going to have it now." He strode forward, pushing the door open. Luke stepped back, open-mouthed. How was Castiel here? Had his Master killed the Angel?
"You and I are going to have a civilized conversation," Cas said to Luke. "You are going to tell me what I need to know, and then I will leave you here, in peace." He walked further into the house, looking around. It was a nice enough home. Cas had seen all kinds of structures on his and Linda's walk here. Linda herself had a lovely little cottage by the lake. It would be a nice, serene place to live out her existence, Linda had told Cas, if she wanted to be here. But without any of her friends or family, it was a lonely, pointless existence. That was why she had been so excited to be helping with the Tablets. But now, she didn't even have that, any more. Maybe some people would look on her life here as a blessing, but Linda regarded it as more of a curse. Cas could understand that. There was a time when he wouldn't have minded leading such a solitary life, probably because he'd spent centuries all by himself, for the most part. But now, Cas had a family, and to even contemplate being here without them was unbearable. He felt badly for Linda. Just another thing that Lucifer had to be brought to account for.
"What makes you think I'm willing to talk to you?" Luke said insolently. "Just the fact that you're here speaks volumes. If Lucifer has killed you, then your people have lost. They will fragment without you there to lead them, and then they will fall, one by one."
Cas smiled coldly. "I've got news for you, Luke. Lucifer didn't kill me. My friends did. Now, let's have that chat."
"Why don't you pop us back to the bunker for a bit?" Frank said to his sister. "Since we're just hanging around waiting anyway, I'd like to spend a bit of time with Rob. Reconnect a little. God only knows where we'll be going next, for this last thing. I'd really like it if he's at least speaking to me before we have to hit the road again."
Gail was looking at him with sympathy. "I keep forgetting that I'm not the only one who's been put through the wringer," she said to him in a subdued tone. "I feel like I should be apologizing to you." She glanced at Quinn, thinking about what the psychic had said about her father. "Maybe for a lot of things," Gail finished uncomfortably.
"Let's all go," Dean said. "We've probably all got some stuff we could be doing while we wait." He looked at Gail. "And it'll make the wait not seem as long. Quinn, can you call Sam as soon as you hear anything?"
Quinn was nodding. "Here, I'll give you Cas's cell number as a back-up," Gail said. She pulled his phone out of her pocket. They'd agreed she would carry it for the time being, just in case. Besides, she highly doubted the Netherworld had a good service provider.
"Wow, now that's trust," Chuck quipped.
Gail rolled her eyes. "I doubt Cas has anything on here he would want to hide from me," she said, entering Cas's password. It was her name, of course. She smiled warmly at that.
"Yeah, who's he gonna be calling?" Frank said, grinning. "Dial-A-Prayer?"
"He IS Dial-A-Prayer," Kevin piped up, and he and Chuck high-fived smartly.
Gail was still smiling. She gave Quinn Cas's number, and entered Quinn's number in his Contacts list. Frank was looking over her shoulder. "Don't tell me he's finally got a Contacts list," her brother said.
Gail's smile grew wider. They were always teasing Cas about his issues with technology. After years of Winchester nagging, Cas had finally set up a Voice Mail and now, she was helping him to enter information into his phone. "It's a process," she told Frank. She touched her chest, where the vial of her husband's essence was nestled. Sorry, sweetie. I miss you so much. Please hurry back, she prayed silently. Please. We need you. I need you.
They all popped back to the bunker, and Sam looked at Gail. "I think I'd better give my guy a call about that journal," he told her softly. Gail nodded. She guessed so, too. Lucifer still came first, of course, but she supposed she'd better find out what was so important in that damn journal, if for no other reason than just to shut Oliver up.
"I'll be back in a few," Dean said. He headed down the corridor.
"Me too," Frank said. He was right behind Dean.
Gail sighed, but she understood. They'd all been gone from here, and away from their lives, for an entire year. Of course they had things that they wanted to do, to try to return to a sense of normalcy. If such a thing was even possible.
But she had nothing to do. Her whole life was in the vial around her neck. She went down the hall to their old room and drew up a chair beside Cas's vessel on the bed. She sat there and looked at him for a while, imagining he was sleeping. Then, after a few minutes, she crawled onto the bed and lay down beside him. They might think it was weird, and it probably was, but it comforted her. She began talking softly to him.
"What do you mean, you don't know where it is?" Sam asked his contact.
"Just what I said," Theo replied. "I had a lot on my plate here, so I didn't get to it right away. I put it on my desk, but then I got sick and I had to stay home for a few days. When I came back to work, it was gone. I asked around, but no one remembered seeing it. We had a new guy doing the mail, and he said he thinks he might have picked it up and taken it to the evidence locker by mistake."
"So it's in the evidence locker," Sam said.
"I didn't say that," Theo answered. "I said it MIGHT be. I didn't hear back from you, so I moved on to other things. That was over a year ago, Sam, and we've had a lot going on here, as I'm sure you're aware. I'm not even gonna ask you where you've been this past year. I'm sure I don't want to know."
Sam smiled grimly. "No, you don't, Theo." They had an unspoken agreement between them not to discuss Sam and Dean's activities, many of which were against the law, strictly speaking. "Anyway, can we retrieve the journal, and do you think you might have some time to work on it for us?"
Theo sighed. "Well, at least the mass murders seem to have stopped. Now, we're back to just the normal amount of crime. I'll tell you what. I'll see if the mail guy can start looking around in the evidence locker for it. But it's a big room, Sam. It may take some time to find it."
"OK, thanks, Theo. Let me know," Sam said. He hung up. Crap. Oh, well. They had other things to worry about right now, anyway. He headed to the kitchen to put on some coffee.
"Thank God you're all right," Nicole said, sighing with relief. "I was so worried. I knew you guys would be out there, fighting. I saw Gail's brother on CNN with that other guy. It was all anybody could talk about for a while."
"Where have you been?" Dean asked her. "What have you been doing?"
"I've been in Vancouver for most of the year," she told him. "We were supposed to go back to Egypt after the Christmas break when I saw you guys last, but then they shut down production. I guess a movie didn't seem all that important, not compared to the murders of thousands of people worldwide. So Richard called us all and told us to stay at home until further notice. But then, about a week ago, he called us all back and told us that Cas had called him and told him it was safe for us to go back to Egypt. So we're back here now, finally. So, is everybody OK? Are you back home for good now? What happened to Lucifer?"
Dean filled her in on what was going on, without giving her too many details. She didn't need to hear about the blood and dead bodies, and she certainly didn't need to hear that they had just murdered Cas as part of the effort to remove Lucifer from the earth. Cas. Dean couldn't believe his Angel friend had actually called Richard to give him the green light to go back to Egypt. He must really want that movie made. Dean would have to remember to tease Cas about that when Cas came back. And Dean had no doubt that his friend would come back, too. Cas had a rich history of overcoming the odds.
"Did you see any of those...squads up there in Canada?" Dean asked Nicole.
She smiled grimly. "Well, I can't speak for the whole country, but we didn't see anything like that here in Vancouver. We always joke that nobody really cares about Canada; I guess Lucifer doesn't, either. Thank God, might I add."
"I miss you," Dean told her. "I promise you, as soon as we take care of that assclown, you and I will get together."
"'Assclown'. I like that," Nicole smirked. "And yeah, we will. You still owe me that Christmas present."
Dean grinned. It felt good to be able to smile like this again, and it was good to see her face, and see her smiling, too. He couldn't wait for the opportunity to see that smile of hers in person again, and hopefully, they'd both be naked at the time.
"I'd better go, Dean," Nicole said. "The bus is due here in about five minutes."
"And he doesn't like to be kept waiting," Dean said. "I remember." Boy, did he. That was when he had blurted out that he loved her that one time. He'd been planning to talk with her about that during the holidays after they'd left Cas and Gail's house, but of course, that had never happened.
Nicole was still smiling. She remembered that day, too. Not that she was going to bring it up now, of course. The time to talk about that particular subject would be when they were together in person, between hugs and kisses. She had missed him, too. But they were more than an ocean apart now, and the bus driver really didn't like to be kept waiting.
"I'll talk to you soon," she said. "Keep me posted, when you can. Say hi to Cas and Gail and Sam for me." Then Nicole closed her laptop.
Things weren't going nearly as well in Rob's room. When Frank opened the door and walked in, Rob shouted, "Hey! Don't you knock?" He was sitting at his computer, clicking furiously to save and then minimize the story he was working on.
"Why?" Frank said, moving forward. "What are you trying to hide from me?"
Rob frowned, sitting back in his chair. "Nothing," he said shortly.
"Really? Well then, you won't mind if I take a look. Right?" Frank said casually, reaching for the mouse. Rob said nothing. "Right?" Frank repeated, with a bit of an edge to his voice.
Rob shrugged. "I don't care. Look, if you want."
"So, no porn? I don't know if I will look, then. What fun is that?" Frank joked.
Rob thawed a little. "You're gross, Dad."
"I seem to recall telling you before that that was my job," Frank said airily. "My hair may be a little greyer now, and I may have a few more wrinkles, and my back might be sore when I wake up in the morning, but...Wait: what were we talking about? I can't remember."
He snuck a look at the boy. Rob was smiling faintly now, but he was still avoiding eye contact. Tough room.
Frank drew up a chair and sat down. "OK, Rob. How about if we just cut the crap and have a real conversation? Ask me anything you want, and I promise you I'll answer honestly. Anything. Go."
Rob's head began to spin. There were so many things he wanted to ask. So many things. "Who is Gail's real father, and what does he have to do with me?" Rob blurted out.
Frank nearly fell off his chair. "Why would you ask me that, Rob?" he countered.
"Because," Rob answered him. "Because I want to know why I am the way I am."
Frank sighed. "A very logical, reasonable thing to say. Unfortunately, I can't tell you that, because I don't know. Now I'll make you another promise: as soon as we take care of Lucifer, we'll do our best to get you the answers you're looking for. OK?"
Rob frowned. It wasn't, really, but he guessed it would have to be, for now.
"Tell you what," Frank continued. "Since I wasn't able to answer that one, you get another one."
Rob looked him in the eyes. "Why did it take you nearly a year to call me?"
Ding ding. Bonus round. Frank nodded slowly. He'd known that was going to come up. He sighed. He'd promised to answer honestly, hadn't he?
"At first, I didn't think we'd be out there that long," Frank told the boy. "Every other time, we were able to take care of whatever b.s. that Lucifer was dishing out pretty quickly. We beat his stupid hijacking plan in one night." Frank swallowed past the lump that was trying to form in his throat when he thought of the hijackings. That night was the night he had talked to Matt for the first time. Matty's death had hit Frank hard. It was going to take him a while to get past that one.
"Anyway, we weren't even supposed to have cell phones," Frank continued. "Cas didn't want to take any chances. Tommy had his, but we'd been instructed to communicate through Angel Radio only."
"Well, so what?" Rob blurted out angrily. "Since when do you take orders from Cas?"
Frank appraised his son coolly. "OK, Rob. I know you're growing up, and you have a right to ask questions. But you're gonna have to watch that attitude. We were soldiers, and Cas was the General in that situation. We're humans, and he's the highest-ranking Angel they've got. Look, if I had it to do over again, I'd do it differently. But the bottom line is, it was a war out there. There's a reason I look like this, you know. You were here, safe and warm and well taken care of. We were out there, in the mud and the blood. My best friend got killed out there because I was somewhere else, sleeping. There were school buses on the roads with dead kids in them. Every time I looked at them, I saw your face. We were out there trying to make the world liveable for you, Rob. Don't you get that?"
"Yeah, I get it," Rob retorted. "So, tell me something, Dad: Is the world liveable for me now? Can I walk out the door and stand in the backyard? Can I go down to the mall and hang out with kids my own age, now? Maybe talk to somebody who's not, like, a hundred years old? Can I do that now, Dad?"
Frank stood quickly from his chair. "You get it?!" he shouted. "You don't get a damn thing! Ever since we took you in, you've had people falling all over themselves to take care of you, and make sure you were happy! Well, if you want to be so grown up, then grow up, Rob! You're not the only one around here whose parents are dead!" He turned his back on the boy and left the room. He started to stalk down the hallway, breathing heavily. Where the hell was he going? Who knew? Who cared?
He walked past Cas and Gail's room. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye, making him stop. Incredibly, Gail was lying on the bed, next to her husband's shell of a body, and she was talking to it. Holy crap. Was Frank the only sane one here, or was he the one who'd lost his mind?
He entered the room. "You realize that what you're doing now is creepy as hell, right?" Frank said to his sister.
Gail sat up. "No, it's not. And even if it is, so what?"
"I have so many Weekend At Bernie's jokes running through my head right now, it's literally too much for my brain to handle," Frank said, smirking.
"That's not funny, Frank," Gail rebuked him. "This waiting is killing me. You all took off, and I didn't know what to do with myself."
"I've got something you can do," Frank told her. "You know that envelope you got at our old house? You've still got that at home, right?"
Gail got off the bed. "Yeah, it's in the bureau in our bedroom," she replied. "I put it there for safekeeping. I was going to open it after this whole thing with Lucifer was over. Who knew it was going to take this long? Why?"
"I think we should see what's in there," Frank said. "Between what Quinn said earlier, and what Rob just asked me, maybe we'd better just have a look, at least." He went on to describe the conversation he'd just had with Rob.
Gail's heart sank. She remembered what that was like. When she was growing up, she'd been unable to get any answers, either. It had been extremely frustrating. But she'd been younger than Rob was now, and by the time she and Frank had gone on the run, she'd just had to accept that her powers were a part of who she was. Rob's powers, and his true parentage, were one big mystery that Gail could definitely relate to. But she also felt for Frank. Her brother had been out there fighting, busting his ass, facing the same horrors as she had, and all the kid could do was complain. She wouldn't have been too happy about that if she were Frank, either.
"OK, Frank," she said. "I'll pop us over to the house. Let me just find Sam and tell him where we're going."
A few minutes later, she popped Frank over to her and Cas's house. Sam had told her that he would call Cas's cell phone if he heard from Quinn, or he would have one of the Angels call her on her Radio. He'd also told her about his conversation with Theo. Now, Gail was disappointed. She hadn't really cared before, but now she was thinking that Oliver's journal might be a little more important to this whole thing than she'd originally thought.
She'd popped herself and her brother into the living room, thinking he might want to sit on the couch and wait. But as soon as Gail saw the Christmas tree in the corner, her eyes started to blur with tears. They really had to take that thing down. Every time she looked at it, she was reminded of the difference between last year and this year. So she grabbed Frank's hand and said, "Come on. Keep me company."
They walked down the hall and into the bedroom, and Frank started to laugh. He crossed over to the far side of the bed. "He did it! That son of a gun!" He picked Ralph up and looked at the stuffed toy, then he looked at his sister. "You finally got your Ralph back, after all these years."
Gail smiled warmly. "Now do you see why I love him so much?"
"Ahhh, he's all right," Frank said, replacing Ralph on the nightstand. But he was really pleased. He could only imagine Gail's face when she had gotten the stuffed animal from Cas. The guy really did love his sister. And it was a good thing, too, because Cas had been walking a thin line. Frank knew what Gail was like when she was angry, and she'd been about two steps away from kicking her sainted husband's ass when she'd seen the cushy setup he'd had in Africa. If Frank didn't know better, he'd swear that Cas had had them kill him just so he could get away and let her cool off for a couple of days.
"Here it is," Gail said, retrieving the manila envelope from the bureau drawer. She frowned at it. "Are we really going to open it now?"
Frank shrugged. "Why not?"
"I don't know. It just feels weird, without Cas here," Gail told her brother. But, who was she kidding? Everything felt weird without Cas here.
"So what? They're not HIS parents. If we want to know about his family, all we have to do is pick up the Bible," Frank retorted. "Since when does he make your decisions for you? I'll tell you what: after you open it, you can shove it down your top and let him have a look. How's that?"
Gail stared at him with her mouth open. "You did NOT just say that." Then she burst out laughing. Frank. Only her wonderfully irreverent brother could get away with saying something like that. She came forward, giving him a hug. "Thanks for the laugh, you big poopyhead," she said to him. Then she came out of the embrace and looked at the envelope she was holding. "Well, here goes nothing."
She ripped open the envelope at the flap and reached inside. There was a single sheet of paper inside, with a woman's name and address on it.
"That's it?" Gail said, screwing up her face. "This is the big bombshell?" She showed it to Frank. "Look at this shocker. A lady's name and address. Call the National Enquirer."
"OK, well, it's something, anyway. A place to start. Right?" Frank said.
But Gail was frowning now. "When are we going to talk about the elephant?" she asked her brother.
Frank laughed shortly. "Which one? It's appropriate we just spent Christmas in Africa, 'cause there's a whole herd of elephants in our lives right now."
She nodded. He was definitely right about that. "How about the mounting evidence that my father might have killed your parents?"
Frank's face fell. "Never mind that; what about the mounting evidence that Crowley might have actually been telling the truth? Because that's even scarier."
Gail laughed. Smartass. But that comment had gotten her to thinking. "It's interesting you should mention him," she mused aloud. "He knows something about all of this that he's not telling. Cas and I confronted him about it a while back." She looked at the piece of paper she held in her hand, and then back at her brother.
"No," Frank said. "No way."
"Why not?" Gail replied. "You said it yourself: I need something to do. Plus, we haven't seen him in over a year. Maybe his attitude about Lucifer has changed."
"Cas would kill me if I let you go see him by yourself," Frank remarked.
She cocked an eyebrow. "If you LET me? I'm sorry, but the last time I looked in the mirror, I was a grown woman."
"Yeah, and you'll be a stupid-ass one, if you go see the King of Hell without backup," he shot back. "Last I heard, he and Lucifer were in bed together, and I might not even be speaking metaphorically."
Her lips twitched. "OK, number one, that was a good one. And number two, which is an appropriate expression in this case if ever I heard one, I've dealt with Crowley by myself before, Frank. He doesn't scare me."
Frank let out a frustrated breath. She was picking one hell of a time to be stubborn about something. "OK, how about this, then? How about the fact that you're thinking about going to see the King of the Demons, one of our worst enemies, while you're wearing a glass vial that contains the Angel Castiel's life essence around your neck? Do you think THAT might be kind of a stupid move?"
Gail's hand flew to her chest. Crap. He was right. What had she been thinking? "You're right, Frank. I'm an idiot."
He made a face. "That figures. You're finally admitting it, and there aren't any witnesses. Just my luck." He looked back at the stuffed penguin. "Ralph, you heard that, right?"
"Lucky he's not a canary, because he might sing," Gail quipped.
"Or a stool pigeon," Frank added.
"Or a stuffed pig, because then, he might squeal on me," Gail fired back.
Frank was grinning now. "OK, now you're just being ridiculous," he told her. "How can a penguin be a pig? I think you just wanted to get the last word in, as usual. Poor Cas. Does he ever get the last word?"
Her smile faded. "He never wants it," Gail said softly. "But let me tell you something, Frank. If he comes back to me in one piece, I'll let him have all the last words he wants."
Frank pulled her in for a hug. "He will, don't worry," he assured her.
"OK, well, we might as well go back to the bunker now," Gail said after a moment. She went back to the bureau and put the envelope and the piece of paper it had contained back in the drawer. "We'll worry about that later." She closed the drawer, then extended her hand to her brother. He took it, and she winked them back.
Cas was trying to hold on to his temper. Luke was trembling in fear now, but he was still being obstinate.
"Why would I help you to defeat Lucifer, when he is in position to take over the Earth?" Luke said archly.
"Is that what you think? That he's taking over the Earth?" Cas said scornfully. "Then, let me ask you something: Why hasn't he done it by now? How long has he been free? Yet we're all still alive, and all he has done is screw around."
The Gospel writer was shocked. It was Castiel who was looking like the Devil at the moment. He was pacing the floor in Luke's living room, wearing all black clothing, and his eyes were blazing. And the language he was using was more suited to back alleys and barrooms than Heaven. That must be the human influence, Luke thought disdainfully.
"The Master does things in his own time, at his own pace," Luke said calmly.
Castiel laughed harshly. "Is that what he told you? Of course it is. It's a ready-made excuse for failure, isn't it? Well, I hate to tell you this, Luke, but you're backing the wrong horse."
Luke's forehead wrinkled. Horse? What would a horse have to do with it? Was Abel reverting to his shepherding background? No, not Abel; Castiel. That was who he was now. As one of the original writers of the Bible, Luke knew the Angel's true identity, of course. But he'd also discovered that he was far from the peaceful shepherd he'd been then.
Cas saw the confused expression on the Gospel writer's face, and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. He knew that look. He used to wear it a lot himself. But he couldn't afford to show amusement right now. He knew that Luke was feeling intimidated by him, and he had to keep the pressure on.
"It's an expression," Cas continued, "meaning that you're on the wrong side. Lucifer is taking over nothing. If he were able to do it, he would have done it by now. His minions are all dead or deserting him, as are his lieutenants. Well, the ones that are still alive, that is. You know that Mark is dead, I presume?"
"Yes, I know," Luke said soberly. "I felt the connection sever. How did he die?"
Cas took a calculated risk. He stared at Luke. "How do you think?"
Luke began to quiver again, and Cas pressed his advantage. "It would seem that being a Gospel writer is a dangerous occupation," he said coolly. "John was murdered, and so was Mark. And I discovered Matthew's dead body in Heaven, myself. He was pinned to the floor with the knife."
"I thought that Matthew committed suicide," Luke said in a shaky voice.
So did we, Cas thought. But he didn't say so, of course, because it didn't suit his purposes. He just continued to stare at Luke.
"My Master will take care of me if I remain loyal to him," Luke insisted stubbornly.
"Really?" Cas said with a cold smile. "I noticed, when he went to Heaven, he went by himself, leaving Mark behind on Earth to be his houseboy. And, on another occasion, he left Paul behind as bait to be tortured by me, to save his own hide. But, you go on thinking that he'll take care of you, Luke. Good luck with that."
Luke's blood ran cold. He hated to admit it, but he had no doubts that Castiel was telling him the truth. That was just the sort of thing that Lucifer would do. He had refused to release Luke from the Netherworld when he'd first gotten free, hadn't he? What made Luke think that his Master's position would be any different now?
"I may have been riding the wrong horse, as you say," Luke said thoughtfully. Cas bit the inside of his cheek again. Luke sighed heavily. Hadn't he known, deep down, that Lucifer would leave him here to rot? But Luke realized something else, now. He actually liked his existence here. It was safe, and it was serene. From what he could tell, life on Earth and even in Heaven was tumultuous and violent. Why would he want any part of it?
"All right, Castiel. I will tell you what you want to know. If you will agree to leave me in peace, I will tell you what the item is that you seek." A pause. "It is Lucifer's Angel blade."
Cas's mind raced. Of course. That made perfect sense. He knew that Lucifer didn't have his blade; their Father must have taken it and stashed it somewhere for safekeeping. "And where it it?" he asked Luke eagerly.
"In New York City," replied Luke. "In the heart of Jacob's Ladder, in the 52nd position."
Cas's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"
"I do not know, Castiel. That is the information I have, and that is all that I have," Luke said nervously. He didn't like that way that Castiel's expression had darkened.
Cas was fed up. Why must everything be in riddles? Just once, he would like to receive a plain, unambiguous answer to a question. Was that too much to ask? Then he smiled inwardly. He might owe Sam and Dean an apology when he got back. They'd been basically asking Cas the same thing since the beginning of their relationship with him.
"Are you certain that you are telling me everything?" Castiel asked, staring Luke down. "I don't want to come back here, but if you have given me incomplete or faulty information, I will. And the next time, I'll be armed."
"I'm telling you everything I know, Castiel, I swear," Luke said quickly.
Cas continued to stare at the Gospel writer for a minute. Then he let out a breath. That would have to do, then. At least he had an item, and a location. The rest he would have to give to Sam and Tommy and hope that they could figure it out. "I'll let myself out," he said tersely. Then he left Luke's house and started to walk back to Linda's cottage. Amazingly enough, even though she lived by the seaside and Luke lived in a suburban area, it only took him a few minutes. But then again, this was the Netherworld. Time and space were very fluid here.
"Cas! That was quick," Linda said, rising from her chair. She was sitting out back with a blank canvas and a charcoal pencil. She'd just drawn the outline of a man, in preparation to paint a portrait. She'd just suddenly had the urge to pick up her brush. Right now, she had no idea what the man was going to look like, only that she needed to paint him. "Did he tell you?"
Cas nodded. "Yes, he told me everything he knows. Which of course means that we have to figure it out for ourselves. As usual." He gave her a weary smile. "I'm going to go back to the rendezvous point and wait. Can you do me a favour? Can you go to Quinn's and let her know that I'm ready to return? Then, please tell her to ask Sam and Dean to perform the summoning spell for me. They'll know what that means."
"OK, Cas," Linda said. "And, Cas?"
"Yes, Linda," he asked.
She gave him a spontaneous hug. He may not have a corporeal body on Earth, but he had one here, and Linda had missed the contact. She knew she came across as a so-called dragon lady sometimes, but Linda had a lot of love in her heart too, and no one to give it to here in the Netherworld. "It was good to see you," she told Cas. "Please give my love to everyone."
Cas returned her embrace. "I will, Linda. Thank you for all your help."
And then he was gone.
So Linda had gone to see Quinn, Quinn had called Sam and given him the message, and Sam had passed it on to the group.
"The summoning spell? What's that?" Frank had asked.
The brothers looked at each other. "It's a spell to summon an entity," Sam said, logically enough.
Frank rolled his eyes. "Ummmm...yeah. I kind of got that. To summon who? Or, what?"
"Death," Dean said bluntly.
Frank heaved a sigh. "I could have been born into a nice, normal family. I could even have lived with being a Kardashian, if I'd really had to. But, no...I had to end up here, with you guys."
"Says the guy who was rescued by his brother-in-law, who was God at the time, from the depths of Hell," Sam quipped with a grin.
Frank did a Dean-like double-take, and then he smiled. Sam had him, there. It wasn't as if Frank's life had been normal before, either. He supposed he couldn't really blame the Winchesters for the amount of weird that was going on now. It was just par for the course, when you thought about it.
"I'll go to the storage room and get the stuff," Dean said. "Do you remember the incantation, Sammy? It's been a while."
Sam thought for a moment. "I'm pretty sure I do, but I'll check the file anyway," he said.
"Wow, 'dead file' takes on a whole new meaning," Frank wisecracked.
"I'm still working on Dean using the word 'incantation'," Jody added with a smile.
Sam came back with a piece of paper in his hand. "What's that?" Gail asked him.
"It's the summoning incantation," he told her. "Dean's gone to get the ingredients. We put them all in a bowl, light it on fire, and then Death will appear. I assume Cas cleared it with him, because the last time we summoned him this way, he wasn't too thrilled."
"That's an understatement," Dean said. He came back into the library area carrying a box, which he upended onto the table. "He told us the next time we summoned him like that, he would need a sacrifice. Are your affairs in order, Frank?"
Gail's brother eyed him suspiciously. "I'll tell the jokes around here, Winchester," he said, scowling.
Dean smirked. "Well, Death isn't big on humour, so if you're gonna hang around and meet him, you'd better put the kibosh on the jokes."
"Meet him?" Frank said, startled. "What do you mean, meet him?"
Dean was selecting ingredients from the pile he'd made on the table. "What do you think a summoning spell is for, Einstein? We're gonna call Death to come here, and then he's gonna put Cas back in his body."
Oh, geez, Frank thought. He'd had no idea that this was the way things worked. Now he had a dilemma: He was kind of curious to meet the guy, but he didn't want Death anywhere near Jody or Rob.
Jody had absolutely no desire to meet Death, and she was thinking the same thing about Rob. Barry and Tommy were looking at each other, and Bobby was frowning. Even the Angels who remained in the bunker, Riley, Kevin and Chuck, looked extremely uneasy.
"I'll tell you what," Gail said. "Why don't I take you guys over to our place until he's gone? He probably wouldn't appreciate a crowd, anyway."
Dean was tossing the ingredients in a bowl now. "That's a good idea," he said.
So Gail popped everyone over to her house except for Frank, who had insisted that he wanted to stay. Jody had rolled her eyes at her husband, but she had said nothing, just collected Rob for Gail to transport them.
Barry had shaken his head when he'd seen the Christmas tree in Gail and Cas's living room. Gail saw what he was looking at, and she shrugged. "What can I say? We never got the chance to take it down."
"Leave it to us," Barry said briskly. "Since we'll just be hanging around here anyway, we'll take it down for you."
"Would you?" Gail said, pleased. "We would appreciate that." She set the candlesticks down on the coffee table. The standard protections were still in place, of course, but she'd wanted to make sure. Besides, she was unsure as to whether the sacred objects would present an impediment to Death. She'd debated with Sam and Dean about it, but they couldn't say definitively, one way or the other. While he was not an evil individual, per se, Death was an ancient entity who defied categorization, and Gail hadn't wanted to delay getting Cas back on a technicality.
She kissed Barry on the cheek and told him she'd be back as soon as their business was completed, and then she winked herself back to the bunker.
Dean tossed the match into the bowl, and Sam began the incantation. He'd committed it to memory, or at least he thought he had. But when he got to the last line, he faltered. Crap. He reached into his shirt pocket, but before he could retrieve the piece of paper it was written down on, Gail said, "Rogamus autem vos mortem."
Sam looked at her, startled. She'd just completed the incantation by saying, "Death, we beseech you," in flawless Latin! "How did you know that?" he asked her.
But Gail was mystified. "I have no idea," she said dazedly.
"Yes, I would be very interested in the answer to that question, as well," Death said dryly. He appeared before them, and he was looking at Gail speculatively. "I was not aware that you were experienced in necromancy."
"Neither was I," Gail responded. She had no idea what that even was, but she didn't want to admit it.
But now, Death was looking at Frank. "What is your brother doing here?"
"You know me?" Frank blurted out.
"Of course I do, Frank," Death replied calmly. "One of my Reapers came for you a few years ago, but Crowley had already taken you. At the time, your soul was insignificant, so I didn't bother to speak to Crowley about it."
"I don't know whether to be flattered, or insulted," Frank said, bemused.
Death looked at him with a dour expression, saying nothing, and the smile faded on Frank's lips. Wow. They hadn't been kidding. This dude had absolutely no sense of humour.
"Take me to Castiel's vessel," Death ordered them.
The group walked him down the hall to the room where Cas's body was, and when they got there, Death looked at Gail. "You are carrying his essence, I presume?"
Gail nodded. She removed the chain from around her neck and handed it to him, cradling the vial in her hand. He took it from her. Then he bent to Castiel's body and introduced the essence back into it.
A moment later, Cas's eyelashes fluttered. He opened his eyes, then smiled when he saw his wife and friends.
"I will be going now," Death told them. "We have a common goal, which is to remove the scourge that is Lucifer from the Earth. Castiel had promised me that you will all do whatever it takes to accomplish that goal. Keep that in mind, when the time comes for you to fulfill your roles." Then he disappeared.
Frank let out a breath. "Remind me to invite him to our next party," he said in a shaky voice. "He's probably a riot with a drink or two in him."
Sam grinned and Dean laughed shortly, but Gail ignored her brother. She sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at Cas. "Are you all right, sweetie?" she asked him softly.
"It's strange for you to be asking me that," he said. "Usually, it's the other way around." He tried to sit up, but he felt lightheaded. "Give me a moment," he said.
"Of course," Gail said. She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"We just met your pal, Death," Frank said to Cas. "Wow. And we call YOU Major Buzzkill. He wouldn't just kill your buzz, he would shoot it, nuke it, run over it with a bus, and then stomp on it."
"Can you please just shut up for a minute, Frank?" Gail said irritably. "Give Cas a second to regroup, will you?"
But her husband was sitting up now, and he was smiling at what Frank had said. "Well, his name IS Death, Frank," Cas remarked. "I don't think you'll find him doing stand-up in your local comedy club."
Frank broke into a grin. "You know what, Cas? That was excellent," he enthused. "I'd give you a high-five if I wasn't afraid Gail would rip my arm off at the shoulder."
Cas smiled gently, touching Gail's cheek. "She's just trying to take care of me," he said, looking warmly at his wife. "What I've just experienced can be a little disconcerting."
"Did you get the information, Cas?" Sam asked.
"Yes, and no," his Angel friend replied. "I got as much information as there was to get. I'm going to need you and Tommy to do some research."
Sam nodded. What else was new? "Yeah, OK. We can do that, Cas."
"I think I'm all right to get up now," Cas told Gail. She stood up from the bed and moved aside. He swung his legs onto the floor and stood. Then he looked at the men. "Thank you for your help. The missing item is Lucifer's blade, and it's somewhere in New York City. Exactly where, remains to be seen. Let's go out to the library. While Sam and Tommy check their computers, the rest of us can brainstorm."
"Are you sure you're up to it, sweetie?" Gail asked him.
Cas put his arm around her. "I'm fine, Gail. Truly, I am. I'm just so happy to be back with all of you. We're so close to ending this. I can feel it."
Gail was over the moon. Cas was back with them now, and they were going to put their heads together and figure this out. They always had before. And then, Lucifer would be toast. Then, the rest of their lives could finally begin.
Minutes later, they were all gathered around the table. Sam had been typing away on his laptop, and it hadn't taken him long to find a good starting point.
"Jacob's Ladder is the colloquial name for the connection between Heaven and Earth," he told them all. "According to legend, the Angels of God ascend and descend on it. It represents the ups and downs of life, and the constantly changing affairs of man. It says here that the rungs of the ladder could also represent a constant improvement in oneself."
But Cas was shaking his head. "I've heard all of that before, but the ladder that expression refers to is purely metaphorical. There is no such thing as an actual, physical ladder. The notion came about when a very imaginative philosopher was looking at the crepuscular rays one day, and imagined a ladder of morality, if you will, that humans could use to ascend to the Kingdom of Heaven."
"What kind of rays were those?" Frank piped up. "Craptacular?"
Cas smiled. "No, Frank. Crepuscular. Those are the beams of light that radiate from the gaps in clouds. They are sometimes called God's Rays, or Fingers of God. But, I have also heard them referred to as Jacob's Ladder. Presumably because whomever coined the term pictured ascending, or descending, along them."
"'And she's buying a stairway to Heaven'," Dean quoted. "I guess Zeppelin had it right all along."
Sam rolled his eyes, smirking. "Wow. We've really gotta update your musical references, dude. No wonder the kids think you're old."
Dean frowned. "Who thinks that?"
Kevin, Riley, and Rob raised their hands. After a moment, Becky and Ethan did, too.
Dean's look grew dark. "Who asked you?" he barked.
"Ummm...you did," Ethan pointed out.
"Give him a break, Ethan. He might not remember," Riley said. "When people get older, their memories aren't so good."
Dean looked incredulously at Riley, and then he looked at Gail. "I blame you for him," he told her, gesturing to Riley. "He used to be respectful until you got a hold of him."
Gail laughed. "Well, I hate to tell you this, but I agree with them," she said. "You've got to let go of that dinosaur rock. Next time you're busy elsewhere, Sam and I are going to sneak into Baby and replace all your tapes with hip-hop and pop music. Actually, we should just rip out the tape deck and put a CD system in there. Or do you still use 8-track?"
The young Angels exchanged puzzled glances. "8 Track?" Riley said. "What's that?"
Bobby sat back in his chair, his beard twitching furiously. "I'm enjoying this," he said to Dean. "Now you know how it feels."
"I'll deal with you guys," Dean said, scowling. "I don't know when, and I don't know how, but..."
"Well, while you're figuring that out, I've got something that might actually be relevant to the subject at hand," Tommy said. "Cas also mentioned the number 52. That rang a bell, so I went back over my notes. When I was doing my research on Egypt way back when for the first Tablet, I came upon an article that featured the number 52." He was scrolling down, looking for the folder. "Yeah. Here it is. The article talks about 52 sacred writings that were discovered in Egypt in 1945, in a cave that was dug in a mountain at a location called Nag Hammadi. I kept a copy of the article and my notes because I found it interesting, and I wondered at the time whether it might pertain to the Tablet. But when you came back with it, the point was rendered moot. But now that we're talking about the number 52, I wonder if this bears investigation."
"Sacred writings?" Cas asked, curious. "What kind of sacred writings?" He got up from his chair and walked over to where Tommy sat, peering over his shoulder at the computer screen.
"Sorry; it doesn't say," Tommy replied.
Cas was thoughtful. Tommy was right. The article was very brief and lacking in detail.
"Do you think that's significant, Cas?" Tommy asked him.
Cas frowned. "I honestly don't know," he admitted. "That's not much to go on."
"'Nag Hammadi'," Frank remarked. "That's a weird name. It almost sounds like an anagram."
"You're right," Sam agreed. "But what would that be an anagram for?" He wrote down the letters of the words on a sheet of paper. He studied them for a moment, then said, "Hey, Jodes. You're good at anagrams. Come here. Take a look."
She went over to where Sam sat, peering over his shoulder at the letters. After a moment, she shrugged. "I'm stumped. All I can come up with is 'Damn hag I am'."
"Over to you, Frank," Dean quipped.
"If you think I'm going near that one, you're crazy," Frank said, grinning.
"Smart man," Jody said, looking at her husband.
"Boy, that's a phrase you don't hear every day," Gail chipped in, her lips twitching.
"What, in connection with your brother, do you mean?" Jody asked her.
"No, I'm gonna go with: in connection with men, in general," Gail said pertly.
Sure enough, all of the men in the room objected, and Gail sat back in her chair, looking at them all fondly. Now, this was more like it. She had missed out on a lot of things over the past year, but this was what she might have missed the most, the easy banter and camaraderie that existed between all of the members of her blended family. Even when they were insulting each other. Maybe even especially when they were.
Cas was looking at her affectionately. He couldn't help but compare how things were right now with the sadness and despair of the past year, and the isolation and sterility he had seen in the Netherworld. He was prepared to do whatever it took to hold onto his family. Anything it took.
"According to what I see here, there were twelve codices buried in a sealed jar, and discovered by a local farmer in 1945," Tommy said to everyone. Cas was still looking over his shoulder, and he was scanning the additional information that their friend was pulling up now.
"Twelve what?" Dean asked Tommy. "Codpieces?" He looked at Frank. "See? I can be funny, too."
Frank rolled his eyes. "'Codpieces'? Amateur. That was way too easy."
"But it WAS funny," Gail said, smiling. "I'll allow it. Let the medieval genital jokes commence."
"Before they do, and might I add that I may have a couple of those myself, let me just finish," Tommy said with a smile. "The so-called sacred writings are known as the Gnostic Gospels. The leather-bound papyrus codices were housed in the Nag Hammadi library for a while, but...they're currently in the Coptic Museum in Cairo, Egypt, along with some newly discovered artifacts from the Valley of Kings."
"The Valley of Kings?" Sam said with interest. "What a coincidence. I wonder if the stuff we found when we got the Tablet is there."
"OK, Sammy, before you have a nerdgasm, I wanna get back to those codpiece jokes," Dean smirked.
"It's 'codice', Dean," Cas said distractedly. "That means, manuscript pages, which are held together by stitchings."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Major Buzzkill." Frank and Sam exchanged glances with Dean and with each other, snapping off salutes. "Major Buzzkill," they said simultaneously.
Gail was shaking her head. Oh, great. Not only were they mocking her husband, but now, they were being synchronized about it.
"Is that going to be a thing?" Chuck asked the men. "'Cause I'd like to get in on it."
"Et tu, Chuck?" Gail asked him.
Chuck shrugged. "I'm sorry, Gail, but that's funny."
She gave up. "So, the bottom line is, we're going to Egypt. Right?"
Cas looked up from the computer. "I think we'll have to," he told her. "Right now, this looks like our best lead."
Her brow furrowed. "But what would this have to do with Lucifer's blade being somewhere in New York City?" Gail asked him.
Cas frowned. He honestly had no idea. "I don't know, my love. But, it seems to be all we have, at the moment."
She nodded. She guessed he was probably right. But it felt a little off to her, like they were reaching. Sam noticed the expression on her face. "What's the matter, Gail?" he asked her.
"I don't know, Sam," she said thoughtfully. "I just have a feeling we're looking for zebras, here."
Sam smiled and nodded. He knew exactly what she meant. But, Cas was puzzled. "What do wild African beasts have to do with anything?" he asked them.
"It's an expression, Cas," Tommy explained. As a former investigative reporter, he knew what Gail had been getting at, as well. "It means that sometimes, in an investigation, the tendency might be to look for something more complicated as an explanation, rather than just sticking to the basics. To paraphrase, it's advised that when hearing hoofbeats, think horses, rather than zebras."
Cas thought about that. "Do you think we're looking for zebras?" he asked his wife. She shrugged. "I don't know, Cas," she replied uncomfortably. "I could be wrong. What the hell do I know? You would know a lot more about this kind of thing than I would."
Cas thought some more. Then he pressed his lips together. "Well, unless we can come up with something else, I still think we need to go there," he said.
"Great!" Dean enthused. "Nicole's there right now!"
"Dean, we're not going on a pleasure trip, we're going on a fact-finding mission," Cas said sternly.
Dean opened his mouth to argue, but it was Gail who spoke. "While I agree with you on principle, can't we just take a few minutes to pop over there?" she asked her husband. She rose from her chair and moved around the table to where Cas stood, giving Dean a wink on the way by. When Gail reached Cas, she put her arms around him. "If these codice thingies are supposed to be ancient sacred writings, maybe we can see if Metatron knows anything about them. Besides, we probably should just check in with him, anyway. We've been incommunicado for over a year now," Gail argued persuasively.
Cas gave her a squeeze. He knew what she was doing. Still, her point was well taken. "All right. We can stop by the movie set for a short time," he told them. Then he looked down at Tommy. "Do you have any more information?" Cas asked their friend.
"I'll tell you what," Gail said. "While you guys are doing that, I'll pop over to our place and change. If you think I'm going to Egypt wearing a thick sweater like the one I've got on, you don't know me very well."
Cas smiled. "All right, my love. I'll see you in a minute."
Gail walked over to where Dean sat, leaning down to talk into his ear. "Who's got your back?" she said softly.
Dean grinned. "Thanks, Mrs. Buzzkill."
Gail popped out of the library area, over to her and Cas's house. She went into the bedroom and changed into a short-sleeved top, leaving her sweater on the bed. She glanced over at the nightstand on the other side of the bed. Impulsively, she walked over there and picked Ralph up, giving him a hug. "Aren't we lucky?" she asked the stuffed penguin. "We have the greatest family in the world, and the most loving husband in the universe. I'm popping over to Egypt now, and then I'll probably be going to New York City. Can you imagine, Ralph? Me, going to all of those exotic places. Having adventures. Just like we always talked about." Then she smiled. "Well, to be fair, I did most of the talking. You were just a great listener. You still are." She hugged Ralph once more, then propped him up against the pillows on the bed. "There. You can guard the house for us while we're gone."
But then, Gail shook her head, smiling at herself. If the guys could see her now, she'd never be able to live it down. A grown woman, talking to a stuffed animal. But, screw 'em, she thought affectionately. There was no one here, and she and Ralph had a lot of catching up to do.
She was just about to pop herself back to the bunker when she heard a noise. It sounded like it was coming from elsewhere in the house. She took her blade out of her pocket, releasing the spring. It was probably nothing. The house had every known protection there was. She walked down the hall into the living room. Nothing. Obviously, she was being paranoid. But then, she heard the noise again. Now she realized that it was coming from the door which led to the back porch. She went there and opened the inside door. The screen door was open, and it was a windy day. This was the noise she'd heard; the door's hinges were squeaky. She would have to talk to Cas about that. She stepped out onto the porch to retrieve the door and close it. The wind was buffeting the screen door, taking it just out of her reach.
"Damn T-Rex arms," Gail sighed. She stepped out onto the porch to grab the door.
And that was when Lucifer took her.
- END OF BOOK 24. -
