Book 11 - Secrets and Lies

by GailDunn2

WARNING - ADULT THEMES AND SITUATIONS. Castiel is about to learn that the road to redemption is a long one. At what point is deception merciful, and at what point do the lies become cruel and self-serving? Will his reconciliation with Gail and the Winchesters even matter once the worst evil known to man is loosed upon the Earth?

4. The Power To Carry It Out

Chapter 4 - The Power To Carry It Out

Dean had missed the road, so he had insisted on driving the Impala all the way to Vancouver. "Baby needs to stretch her legs," he'd insisted. Sam and Gail had rolled their eyes and smiled at each other. "And, driver picks the tunes," Dean had added, looking at the two of them pointedly.

Sam winked at Gail. "We'll see," he said. "He's gotta sleep sometime."

Gail smiled. She was so glad that things seemed back to normal between them now.

"I'll be leaving now, too," Frank told them.

Gail looked at her brother, feeling a little sad. Well, things were almost all OK. She had invited her brother, but he had said no. "Is it Cas?" she had asked him. But Frank had claimed that it wasn't; he just wanted to get back out on the road, work some cases. Still, Gail wondered. But she wasn't going to push him. He seemed a little more conciliatory towards Cas now, but maybe her brother needed a little more time, too.

She hugged Frank now. "Keep in touch," she told him. "Call me anytime you want. Or, you could just pray to me," she teased him.

"Pray to YOU?" he scoffed. "FOR you, maybe."

Even a week ago, Gail would have felt angry at that comment, reading all kinds of things into it. But the fact that he'd said it in his usual tone of voice signaled a return to normalcy for brother and sister, too. Gail laughed happily. "Hey, I can use all the help I can get," she quipped.

Once Frank had said his goodbyes and took off, Dean turned to Gail. "You packed yet?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I'm ready to go," Gail told him. "Let's hit it."

Cas was excited. They were finally going to arrive today. He'd left word with the studio security guard to let them in as soon as they arrived. Richard had said that it was all right for Gail and the brothers to come onto the set, and Cas was looking forward to showing them around.

"Sit still, Cas," Brenda said. "I'm trying to get your tie straight."

"Sorry," he said, trying to remain still.

She smiled. It was cute how antsy he was. So, the revered Gail was finally going to make an appearance. Brenda and the rest of the girls had been dying of curiosity. She looked up at Nicole, who was taking Cas's trenchcoat off the hanger.

"Here you go, Cas," Nicole said, bringing it to him. He jumped off the chair and Nicole helped him put it on. Cas looked at himself in the mirror, grinning. Castiel, his TV persona. It was funny to think that he used to dress this way every day, all the time. He was glad that Gail had encouraged him to dress in Earthly clothing. Now he couldn't imagine wearing the same clothes each and every day. Still, he was glad that Gail's first sight of him would be of him dressed in this manner. Hopefully, she would recall the Angel he'd been when they had first met. He was different now, of course, but he wanted her to be reminded that he was primarily an Angel again, and a good man.

"Good to go, Cas," Nicole said. "We can't wait to meet Gail and your friends."

"I can't wait for them to get here," he told her, smiling. "You'll like them." He couldn't wait to see Sam and Dean's faces when they saw him pretending to fight an actor who was only playing a Demon. Hopefully, they wouldn't succumb to the urge to grab their knives.

Brenda and Nicole trooped behind Cas as he exited the wardrobe trailer. There was no way that they were going to let him out of their sight today. They didn't want to miss the arrival of his friends.

The security guard saw the Impala drive up to the gate, and he did a double-take. These were Cas's friends? But the guys looked like - And they drove a '67 Impala, too? They had to be kidding with this. Were these guys that obsessed with the show?

"Sam and Dean Winchester?" he quipped.

"Yeah," Dean said. "Cas said you would be expecting us."

The guard grinned. OK, this was too funny. Wait until he told his friends. He wished he weren't on duty right now; he would love to take a picture of this.

"Go right in," he said, pushing the button to lift the bar.

"What was he smiling at?" Dean asked Sam and Gail, as he drove onto the lot.

"Think about it," Gail said. "You guys look like Sam and Dean Winchester, and you're driving an Impala."

"We look like Sam and Dean because we ARE Sam and Dean," Dean retorted.

"Dean we've been through this before, lots of times," Sam said, grinning. "Chuck's books, remember?"

Dean rolled his eyes, glancing at Gail in the back seat. "You remember to thank him for that, the next time you see him," he said sarcastically.

But Gail was ignoring him. She was too busy looking around the lot. Where was he? The long drive here from the bunker had heightened her anticipation.

Then she saw Cas. He was standing outside one of the studio buildings, waiting for them. Dean saw him too, and he pulled the car to a halt.

"Look at that guy," Dean quipped. "What a loser."

"Yeah, that trenchcoat look is soooo nine years ago," Sam chimed in.

Gail smiled. Situation normal. This should be a fun vacation.

Cas rushed over to the car as they all got out. "I'm so glad that you're here," he said to them. "We're just about to shoot a fight scene. You two will enjoy watching this," he said to the brothers.

Gail moved forward to kiss him on the cheek, but he grabbed her gently by the upper arms and held her at arm's length.

"What's the matter?" she asked him, concerned. Was he self-conscious because they were at his workplace?

"I'm sorry, Gail," he said sheepishly. "I can't smear my makeup."

Sam and Dean looked at each other incredulously, and Gail laughed. "Of all the things you guys have ever heard Cas say, how does that rank for weirdness?" she asked them.

A production assistant poked his head out of the building. "They need you on set, Cas," he said.

"Come on," Cas said to the trio. Then he grabbed Gail's hand and smiled. "No makeup there," he told her.

He led them into the studio building, explaining what everything was as they went. Then they got to the inner studio set, which was made up to look like the interior of a house.

"Hey, Cas," a man said casually, walking over to where they stood. "You ready to do this?"

"Always," Cas said, smiling.

Sam and Dean were gaping at the guy. Black eyes! He saw the way they were looking at him.

"I'm playing the Demon," the man said to them, smiling. "All-black contacts. Pretty cool, huh?"

Gail was smirking at the brothers' expressions. Truthfully, she'd been taken aback for half a second, too. Wow. This fake stuff was going to take a little getting used to. If those black eyes of his had been real, he would have been dead the second they'd all walked in the door.

"I have to go," Cas said, squeezing her hand. He walked onto the set alongside the faux Demon, and the two men stood patiently as the crew set up the shot.

Then they were filming the scene, and the Winchesters watched, amused, as Cas "attacked" the other man with a fake Demon blade. They staged a very realistic-looking fight, and Dean pumped his fist when Cas finally pinned the "Demon" onto the floor. Gail had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

Then Cas returned to where they stood. "So, what did you think?" he asked them, smiling. "Not bad," Sam said, "but why didn't you kill him?" He grinned.

Cas returned his smile. "Because they're going to bring the actor who plays - " he lowered his voice " - me - to film some closeups."

"Then I'd better stick around," Gail said teasingly. "Him, I've got to meet. See who's more handsome in person."

"That's it, Cas, we got it in one," the assistant director called out.

"Thanks," Cas called back. Then he drew Gail to him and kissed her on the mouth. "I don't have to worry about my makeup anymore," he told her, smiling.

"What do you mean?" Dean said incredulously. He looked at Sam. "What's he mean?"

"He means, I'm done for the day," Cas said happily. "Now I can show you all around."

"You're done for the day?" Dean repeated. "Three minutes, and you're done for the day?"

"Welcome to show business," Cas quipped, taking Gail's hand in his.

"And how much do they pay you for those three minutes?" Sam asked Cas, astounded.

Cas shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I give almost all of it to charity, anyway."

Gail gave his hand a squeeze and he looked at her, smiling. They both knew where the money was going. Between his job and his poker-playing, Cas had been fattening up another envelope for Richard.

"Charity," Dean moaned, prompting Gail to give him a look. He and Sam were still millionaires, due to Cas's generous gift, and Sam's subsequent shrewd investments. "You know, it wouldn't hurt you to kick in a little to a worthy cause, either," she admonished him.

"Me? I give to a very worthy cause," Dean told her.

"Strippers and bartenders don't count," she shot back, and they laughed together.

"Gail is right," Cas said, smiling at the two of them. Dean rolled his eyes. Yeah, this was like the good old days now. Cas siding with Gail about everything, Surprise, surprise. "It wouldn't hurt for you to be a bit more charitable, Dean. Don't you want to be an Angel one day? Remember, we have new laws in Heaven now," Cas added, raising an eyebrow to his friend.

Zoey, Brenda and Nicole walked up to the quartet. "Come meet my friends," Cas said to the women. "Dean and Sam, and Gail, of course," he said, bringing her hand up to his mouth and kissing it. "These are the wardrobe and makeup assistants," Cas told his group.

Gail felt the womens' eyes on her, sizing her up. And she was busy doing the same. Which one of these women had the biggest crush on Cas? she wondered. She'd had the feeling there was something going on, ever since they had entered the lot. She looked at each of them in turn. Zoey was looking at Gail with an expression of frank curiosity, but her smile was friendly enough. Nicole had briefly glanced at her, but was now looking at Dean, and her eyes had widened. Gail had known for a while now that all three of these men resembled their actor counterparts enough to warrant more than a second glance. She smiled. They were sure to get a lot of looks like that today.

It must be Brenda, then. Bingo; when Gail looked at Brenda, she saw that Brenda was staring at Cas. Not that Gail could blame her. When she'd first seen Castiel dressed in the same outfit he used to wear every day when they'd first met, the sight had taken her back to the very beginning of their relationship, when she had first fallen in love with him. The second anniversary of their having met was almost here, and she had seen him so many different ways since then. Angel, hero, human, lover, defendant, Demon tormentor and abuser, and now back to Angel again. They had both changed a lot in the last couple of years, yet they were still here together, and still holding hands.

"I need to talk to you," she said to him softly.

Cas looked at her. "And I wanted to talk to you, too," he said, smiling gently.

"Can we do it now?" she asked him. "I have something really important to tell you."

Since she'd put it that way, he could hardly say no. "Excuse us for a moment," he said to the rest of the group. "Ladies, can you keep Sam and Dean entertained while we're gone?"

"I think we can manage that," Nicole said, smiling at Dean. He was looking back at her. She was kinda cute, he thought. "Do you guys want to see the car we use on the show?" Nicole said to Dean. "You look like a man who appreciates a nice ride."

Dean did a double-take. Did she really just say that to him? He thought he could really like this woman.

Sam grinned, rolling his eyes. He didn't know if that had been a double entendre or not, but in any event, Nicole certainly knew how to get his brother's attention.

"We'll come find you," Cas said, and he led Gail out of the building. They stood outside in the bright sunshine for a moment. People were moving all around the lot, and several of them greeted Cas as they walked by.

"Can we go somewhere private for a minute?" Gail asked him. There were too many people around here for what she needed to say to him.

"Sure," Cas said. He led her by the hand into the wardrobe trailer and closed the door behind them. The trailer was narrow on this end, and they stood close to each other between the racks of clothes.

"What is it, Gail?" Cas asked her.

She touched his face. "I forgive you, Cas."

His heart leaped. He'd been hoping to hear her say that to him for so long. And now that she'd actually said it, he had no idea what to say to her in return.

But he did know what to do. He embraced her gently. "Thank you," he murmured into her ear. He held her for a while, and when he finally pulled out of the embrace to look at her face, his face was wet with tears.

"Oh, don't do that, Cas," Gail said, but she was crying herself, now. "Think about your poor makeup," she tried to quip.

"Makeup? What makeup?" he said, and he kissed her, smiling through his tears now.

The door to the trailer opened suddenly. "Hey, Cas, quit making out in the workplace," Sam said, grinning.

Gail turned to look at him, ready to make a smartass comment, but then she looked at him again. This guy was tall like Sam, and he resembled Sam, but -

Cas laughed, and he introduced her to the actor.

"Oh, so you're Gail," he said, taking her hand. "Cas talks about you all the time. It's nice to finally meet you."

She gaped up at him. Now that she'd seen one of these guys up close, Gail understood the looks that the real Sam and Dean had been receiving, as far back as the convention in Las Vegas. While hardly identical twins, this man had Sam nailed, even down to the trademark grin.

"Maybe Castiel should get a girlfriend on the show," the actor teased. Then he pretended to think about it. "Naaahh, nobody'd ever believe that."

Cas and Gail smiled at each other. "No, nobody would," Cas said. "He's not nearly handsome enough."

"Oh, I don't know," Gail said. "He's pretty charming when you get to know him."

"Are you coming to the party tonight?" the actor asked Cas.

"I don't know," Cas replied. "My friends just got here."

"So bring them," the actor said casually. "Put their names on the list. Tell Richard I said it's OK. It should be a lot of fun. Dinner, dancing, the whole nine. It's not every day you get to celebrate your 300th show."

Cas brightened. He'd kind of wanted to go to the party, and he'd been planning to ask Gail, but he hadn't wanted to be rude by running out on Sam and Dean on their first night here. "Thanks, I'll do that."

They'd done their studio tour, and now Dean was ready to go and get a cold beer somewhere. He and Sam had worked fast. When Cas asked them to go to the party, their female tour hosts had expressed enthusiasm for the idea. They'd been having a good time looking at the different versions of the Impala that were used on the show, and when Cas had come back, he had showed them the prop weapons they used. The brothers turned the fake weapons around in their hands, shaking their heads. Unbelievable. They looked so real.

"You can sit at our table at the party," Nicole said, briefly touching Dean's arm. "I've got lots of behind-the-scenes stories I could tell you."

"I've got lots of stories I could tell you, too," Dean said, smirking.

Sam lifted an eyebrow to his brother. Fun was fun, but Dean had better be careful. If you pulled even one thread on that sweater, it could unravel in a hurry.

Sam and Dean wanted a drink, and Gail wanted to see Barry. So they all went to the casino then, and when Barry saw Gail, he rushed over to her and hugged her.

"Hi, stranger!" Barry said to her.

"Hi'ya, handsome," she said, kissing him on the cheek. "What's the haps?"

He shook his head, smiling. She was the least Angel-like Angel he had ever met. But then again, considering he had only ever met two, Barry supposed he didn't have much of a basis for comparison.

But then he frowned. As happy as he was to see her, Barry had also been going through some heartbreak of his own. "I'll tell you later," he said. Then Cas was introducing him to Sam and Dean, and as Barry shook their hands, he was amazed. Were these guys Angels, too? No, wait; these were the guys that Cas had told him about before, and they were definitely human. For a minute there, Barry was relieved. He would almost have had to kill himself if all of the guys in Heaven were as good-looking as these three men. Gail certainly had good taste in companionship, he thought with faint amusement.

Gail hooked her arm through Barry's. "You guys go play for a while," she told them. "I've got to catch up with my boyfriend," she said teasingly, looking up at Barry.

Cas laughed, and Sam and Dean exchanged glances. What was up with this? Gail was being affectionate with another guy, calling him her boyfriend, even, and Cas was laughing about it?

Gail saw their expressions, and she couldn't help but be amused by their confusion. This was a little corner of her and Cas's lives that the brothers really knew nothing about. She'd liked herself and Cas when they had been here. They had been free and easy then, and they had been happy for a short time. And having Sam and Dean here was reminding her of their time in Las Vegas, too. This had been a day for memories, all right. But all of these memories were making her happy, not sad, for the first time in ages. She supposed that was what the power of forgiveness was. Once you were able to let go of all of the bad feelings and resentments, you were able to open up enough to let the happiness back in.

"I'll see you in a bit," she said, smiling at Cas. "I'm going to take my work husband to coffee." Cas put his arm around her waist and gave her a squeeze. "Have fun," he said.

Gail and Barry walked away, and Sam and Dean were staring at Cas. Who was this guy, and what had he done with Cas?

"What?" he asked them. "Barry?" He shrugged. "I'm not that other guy any more. And besides, he's gay."

Dean did a double-take. "Him?" he asked Cas. "But he doesn't seem - "

Castiel regarded him evenly. "Yes, Dean? What did you expect?"

Dean tried again. "But he doesn't look - "

Sam grinned. "Dig that hole deeper, Dean," he said, highly amused.

Cas shook his head slowly. "You should open your mind, Dean."

Dean thought about that for a moment. He guessed that Cas was right. Barry had apparently been a good friend to Cas and Gail when they had lived here, and they obviously thought the world of him. Dean had been guilty of some closed-minded thinking when it came to that subject before. Maybe he needed to check himself.

"Sorry, Cas," he said. "Forget I said anything."

"I guess Angels really can work miracles," Sam said, still grinning.

"Are you two going to play?" Cas asked the brothers.

They looked at each other. Why not?

"I play at the high-stakes table," Cas continued. "You don't have to play there if you don't want to."

Dean thought about that. He had always wanted to try it, but he and Sam had never had that kind of money before. Now, they did.

"No, let's do it," Dean said, and Sam shrugged. He guessed it might be kind of fun to play big for an hour or so, as long as they didn't lose too much.

Gail and Barry sat at a corner table in the coffee shop, and she had her hand on top of his.

"It was the worst fight we've ever had, Gail," he said miserably. "He just won't believe. Tommy's so cynical now, about everything. When he came back from his trip, I told him that Cas was back, and that you were doing a special project for Heaven, and he laughed in my face. Called me delusional. So we fought about it, and he didn't bother to unpack."

Gail was startled. "What do you mean?" she said.

"I mean, he moved out, and he won't even talk to me now," Barry said sadly.

Gail's heart sank. "Barry, no," she said softly.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "I've e-mailed him, I've left him messages...I don't know what else to do. I think he wants to believe, Gail, but I think he's just seen so much bad stuff in his job that he finds it hard to have faith."

Gail frowned. Tommy was an investigative reporter; she supposed he would have seen a lot of the bad side of life as a result. But he had to realize there was a lot of good, too. Now that the new laws had been passed in Heaven, Gail thought that she would talk to Bobby about a new project. Maybe they could use someone like Tommy as their inspiration. How could they try to balance out some of the bad? She would have to ask Cas.

Which led her to another thought: she should tell Cas about Barry and Tommy. She didn't want Cas accidentally saying something that would make Barry feel even worse.

"Let's go see how the guys are doing," she said.

As they approached the high limit table, Gail was surprised to see Sam and Dean playing there. Cas had his usual racks of chips by him, but it looked like the brothers' chips were already dwindling.

"What's going on here?" Gail asked, amused. "Is Cas taking all your money?"

"I don't know how he does it," Dean groaned. "I had four of a kind, and he managed to beat me, anyway."

"Somebody upstairs must really like him," one of the other men at the table grumbled. He had lost thousands to Cas this past summer.

Sam and Dean looked at each other, then they looked at Cas. "I used to think the guy upstairs liked us, too," Sam quipped.

"Why don't we see if he likes me?" Gail said. What the hell; it was her holiday, too. "Can I sit in for one hand, Barry?"

"Sure," he said, and Gail sat down beside Cas. She grabbed one of his racks of chips for herself and said, "Ready."

"No fair," Dean said to her. "How come you can just walk in here and grab his money?"

"I'm special, that's how come," she retorted. "You just shut up and worry about your own little pile there. I'll be coming for it now." Gail smiled, just to show that she was only teasing. Well, mainly.

"Don't worry, Dean, she's got to be the worst bluffer in the world," Sam said, sitting back in his chair and looking at Gail.

"Yeah? We'll see about that," Gail shot back, as the cards were being dealt.

Cas was enjoying this. He smiled warmly at Gail. He could hardly wait to take her to the party tonight and show her off to all his friends. And he really needed to talk to her alone again at some point. She said that she had forgiven him, but they'd hardly had a chance to even talk about that. Did that mean that she was ready to come back to him?

Gail saw Cas looking at her. "I'm coming for your chips too, mister," she teased him.

"You can have them all," he said. "Anything you need." If you'll just come back to me, he thought.

"Well, now you're just taking the competition right out of it," Sam grinned.

So they played one hand, and Dean won it. Gail groaned. He was going to be insufferable now. She had to stay in for another hand.

The next hand was action-packed. There was a mound of chips on the table, but eventually, everyone but the four of them had dropped out. Now it was their own little private game, and even though it didn't really matter which of them won, Gail wanted it to be her, just on general principles.

Cas looked at Dean. "Your move, Dean," he said, sitting back in his chair.

Dean frowned. Why had he ever thought he could play poker with Cas? The guy was totally unreadable when he got like this. He sighed. "All in." He pushed the remainder of his chips into the pile.

Gail was smiling. There was an awful lot of money in the pot, but either she or one of her guys was going to end up with it, so she wasn't scared. "What the hell, you only live once," she quipped, and pushed her chips in, too.

Then Gail looked at Sam, whose face was impassive. He had always been better than Dean at hiding his true feelings. "Sam?" Gail said. "Am I going to take all your money, too?" He smirked, then pushed his chips in. "You can try," Sam said.

Sam looked at Cas. "What do you say? Want to make it unanimous?"

Cas considered. Why not? His chips had dwindled a bit, too. He didn't have his usual focus today; he'd been thinking about the party tonight, and looking forward to his date with Gail. They could have a fresh start now. He would be patient, gentle, and kind. She could do whatever she wanted to do, and he would encourage her independence now. He'd thought about what she had said after the funeral, and she was right; neither of them could be everything to the other, or should be. He had suffocated her.

"Yes," Cas said, and he tipped his chips into the middle of the table.

Then the last card was dealt, and Cas shook his head. "No help there," he said. He could drop his poker face now; there was no more betting to be done, and after all, he was playing with his family.

"What have you got?" Dean asked him.

Cas smiled. "Nothing."

"Nothing? What do you mean, nothing?" Dean asked him incredulously.

Cas turned over his cards. "Nothing," he repeated, still smiling. "I was fishing. You'd be surprised how often that works."

"He was fishing," Dean said sarcastically. "My life's savings are in that pile, and he's fishing."

Gail was grinning now. "Don't be so melodramatic, Dean," she said. "What have YOU got?"

"Three Kings," Dean said with a tight smile. "Ace kicker." He nodded down at the table. Dean had been holding two Kings, and there was a King and an Ace on the flop. He had been hoping for more, but what the hell.

"Is that all?" Sam said scornfully.

"Well, what have YOU got?" Dean asked Sam.

"Never mind me, what's Gail got?" Sam said, and the brothers looked at her. "Yeah, Gail, what have you got?" Dean asked her.

Even though this was a friendly game, Gail's heart was beating fast now. She really wanted to win this hand, although she couldn't really say why. Maybe it was because she was the only female. Or maybe just to wipe that smug smile off of Dean's face.

"You go first, Sam," Gail said coolly.

Cas looked sideways at her. He knew that there was no way she was bluffing, but he was very curious now to see what both she and Sam had, and who would prevail. "Let Gail go last, Sam," Cas entreated his friend.

Sam rolled his eyes. OK. He would let Gail have her big reveal. Now that Sam had seen what the other two men had, he was 99 percent sure that Gail had taken it.

"Two pair," Sam said, turning his cards over. Damn. Now he really hoped that Gail had Dean. His brother was going to be impossible to live with if he took all of them for this much money. Dean was already smirking in anticipation.

Cas looked at Sam curiously. Sam had stayed in a long time with such a weak hand. But then, just look at Cas himself. Cas hadn't been playing to win, though; he'd just been having fun with his friends. He was so glad that they were here with him.

Gail was floored. She'd thought that Sam had it, just from the way he'd been acting. She really had. He was almost as inscrutable as Cas was when he wanted to be. She started to smile. "Sorry, Dean," she said. "Three Aces."

Dean was shocked. He'd known that Gail had to have something, or she wouldn't have stayed in so long. But when she turned over the two Aces she'd been sitting on, he had to give her full credit. She hadn't given anything away. Must be the Angel thing, or maybe she had just been hanging around Cas for too long.

"Damn it!" he fumed.

"You know what, Dean?" Gail said cheerfully, rising from her chair. "Come to think of it, I'm not sorry at all. In fact, I feel an 'in your face' dance coming on." She started to do a little dance, and Cas smiled as he stood up and said, "Well, I think we can all agree that the best person won this hand."

Sam and Dean stood, too. Dean sighed. "Okay, Gail. You got me. Here, I'll even help you cash out."

They all started to rack up her chips, and it took the four of them to bring all of them to the cashier.

"This kind of reminds me of Vegas," Sam said, grinning, "except that nobody got punched out this time."

"Day's not over yet," Dean grumbled, but he smiled too, remembering that day.

Gail stood excitedly at the cash cage, waiting for the chips to be counted. "I may buy a new car," she said to the men. "What do you think, Dean?"

"You don't drive," he pointed out.

Then the money was being counted out in her hand. Sixteen thousand dollars! Gail held the wad of bills numbly in her hand. "Anybody got a cell phone?" she said. "I wouldn't mind getting a picture of me holding this much money, just for a moment."

"I have my phone," Cas said, trying not to smile at Gail's victory too widely, for Dean's sake.

"Ahh, never mind," Gail said, shrugging. She'd had her fun, but she didn't want to overdo it. "Here," she said. She divided the money and gave about two-thirds of it to Cas, then she split up the remainder and handed one part to Sam, and the other part to Dean.

"Why are you giving it to us?" Sam asked her.

"Hey, I don't eat and I don't drink," she said to him. "What am I going to do with it? Use some of that to impress those girls you met today," she added, smiling.

"Why does HE get more?" Dean asked her, nodding to Cas.

Gail gave him a look. "Really, Dean?"

"Because I'm special," Cas quipped, echoing what Gail had said earlier.

Gail laughed. Yes, he certainly was. "I think the word you're searching for is 'thanks'," she said, elbowing Dean. "Admit it, I beat you, straight up. I didn't have to give you anything, you know. I could have given it all to Cas."

"Yes, you did," he retorted. "Isn't giving to others in your job description?"

"I don't know, I'll have to ask our mutual friend Bobby about that," she teased. "'Smite be he'll have a problem with your attitude."

Dean gave up. He didn't really care, of course. He'd only been giving her a hard time. But he did have an idea as to how they could spend some of the money that Gail had given them.

"I think we'll be going now, Barry," Cas told their friend. "We have a big event tonight. We'll have to get together with you and Tommy another time."

"Just a minute," Gail said. "Hold on a second, you guys." She grabbed Cas's arm and pulled him over to the side. She told him about Barry and Tommy's apparent breakup, and his face fell.

"I'll have to apologize to him," Cas told her. "I had no idea."

"What really bothers me is the reason Tommy moved out, though," she said to him.

"Yes, that bothers me, too," Cas responded. "I wonder if we shouldn't try to do something about that."

"Like what?" she asked.

Cas thought about it for a moment. "I think I have an idea," he said. He whispered something in her ear, and Gail nodded. "Hey, it's worth a shot," she said, smiling.

They walked back over to join the men. "Hey, handsome," Gail said to Barry, putting her hand on his arm. "How would you like to be my date for a party tonight?"

Sam and Dean exchanged glances. Cas and Gail weren't fighting again, were they? They didn't look like they were. But why would she be asking Barry to take her to the party, then?

Barry looked at Cas. "Why aren't you taking her?" he asked suspiciously.

"I have my reasons," Cas replied evasively.

"Never mind him," Gail said to Barry, smiling. "Are you taking me, or not?"

Barry shrugged. "Why not?" he said. "I could use a distraction."

"Did you hear that?" Gail said to Cas teasingly. "I'm a distraction."

"You certainly are," he smiled.

Gail gave Barry the name of the hotel where she and the Winchesters were staying, and he told her that he would go home and change, then meet her over there. "Cas tips so generously that I was able to buy a new car a couple of weeks ago," he said, grinning. "I'll pick you up in style."

Sam shook his head. Like Dean, he was still trying to get used to this particular variation of Cas. An Angel playing high-stakes poker was weird enough, let alone one who was working on a TV show. But Cas generally seemed happier and a lot more relaxed here, and ever since Sam had decided to put his own resentment towards Demon Cas aside, Sam found that he liked Cas better now. Gail had made her choice nearly two years ago, and Sam had no right to expect that she would feel otherwise. It was time for Sam to move on.

Cas kissed Gail on her cheek. "I'll see you at the party." He pointed to Barry. "And you, keep your hands to yourself." They laughed, and so did Gail.

"I'm not making any promises," Barry teased.

Sam and Dean exchanged another glance. Wow. Just the fact that the two of them could joke like this now spoke volumes. And tonight should be fun. The girls they had met today had been pretty cute. Their holiday was off to a promising start.

Gail and Barry had just left the hotel bar to go to the party, and Dean was waiting for the bill to come. He and Sam and Barry had had a couple of drinks and gotten better acquainted, and Dean had to admit that he really liked Barry. Cas was right; Dean had been closed-minded.

"You can pay for Barry'd drinks with your ill-gotten gains," Gail had teased Dean. "But he's cut off now; he has to drive me to the party. Actually, shouldn't you be cut off, too? Aren't you driving?" she had asked Dean.

"We made alternate arrangements," Sam told her. "We'll see you in a bit."

Gail shrugged. "Okie-dokie," she said to them. They were probably taking a cab, or something. It was just as well, because they were obviously going to be drinking.

Cas called Dean on his cell phone just as Dean and Sam were getting up to leave.

"Are you ready to go?" Cas asked Dean.

"Yeah, we were just about to grab a cab," Dean told him. "I feel like getting my drink on tonight."

"No need to do that," Cas said. "Come out front. I'm here to pick you up."

Sam and Dean grinned. Even better. An Angel as a designated driver.

They walked out of the front door of the hotel just in time to see Cas step out of a black stretch limousine.

"No way," Dean said, prompting Cas to smile.

"Way," Cas deadpanned. "I wanted us to arrive at the party in style."

Yeah. Dean was sure Cas was doing this for him and Sam. If Gail didn't end up getting a ride in this limo before the night was over, Dean would swear off drinking.

And Cas had another surprise for them, one that he was very interested in observing Dean's reaction to. When Sam and Dean got in the back seat of the limousine, they were sitting across from not only Cas, but a man they had never seen before.

"Dean, Sam, this is Tommy," Cas introduced them. The men shook hands, and the brothers looked inquiringly at Cas.

"Tommy's my date to the party," Cas explained cheerfully.

Sam and Dean looked at each other, then they looked at Cas, then they looked at Tommy again.

Tommy was grinning. "I wish," he said. "But I am his 'plus one'. Thanks a lot for inviting me, Cas. Maybe I can talk to a few people who work on the show, get some stories there. Things are kind of slow at the paper right now."

"Tommy's an investigative reporter," Cas told the Winchesters.

"Really?" Sam said incredulously. "You must have lots of fascinating stories."

Tommy frowned. "Not at the moment. "Yeah, I've covered some pretty interesting stuff in the past, but not lately. Mainly human interest stuff. I don't suppose you guys know of anything interesting locally I can write about?"

As the brothers smirked at each other, Cas said, "They're visiting me from out of town. I just got special permission to bring them to the party."

"Any beer in there?" Dean asked, pointing to the bar area in the back. He had never ridden in a real limo before, but he'd seen enough of them in the movies.

Cas reached into the bar and handed Dean, Sam, and Tommy each a beer. Tommy looked at Cas questioningly. "You know Angels don't drink, Tommy," Cas said softly. Tommy looked startled. "It's OK, Sam and Dean know," Cas told Tommy. "But they're the only ones."

Tommy continued to look at Cas. He and Barry had had a giant fight about Barry's continued faith in Cas and Gail as Angels, and Tommy had moved out over it. But Cas had showed up at the newspaper office earlier this afternoon and after the conversation they'd had and the power that Cas had demonstrated to him, Tommy had had to eat his words. He'd apologized to Cas, and Tommy supposed he'd better screw up the courage to call Barry and apologize to him, too. But Cas had said that Tommy could make it up to him by accompanying him to the party tonight, so Tommy had agreed. It might be fun, and he liked Cas. And who knew what kind of contacts he could meet? Contacts were very important in his business.

"So you guys know about Angels?" Tommy asked Dean and Sam. It had not escaped Tommy's notice that Cas's friends were also extremely good-looking. He wondered if Sam and Dean were a couple. Cas hadn't really said anything about their status.

"Yeah, far too much, sometimes," Dean grumbled good-naturedly.

Sam smiled, not only at Dean's response to the question, but because he thought he'd figured out what was going on here. Gail had asked Barry to the party, and Cas was bringing this guy Tommy, who was joking about wishing Cas was his date. It didn't take a genius.

Sure enough, when Cas and Tommy approached the table where Gail and Barry were already seated, Barry's jaw dropped. "Tommy?"

"I think the two of you might have a lot to talk about," Cas said. He pulled out the chair next to Barry and said, "Have a seat, Tommy. I'm going to steal Gail and introduce her to some of my co-workers." Then he turned to Sam and Dean. "Maybe you two want to go over to the bar and get a drink." He smiled. "I'm pretty sure the ladies will find you."

Dean did a double-take. Who was Cas, Chuck, all of a sudden? Dean had been thinking about Nicole off and on ever since he'd met her earlier today. "'Later," he said to Cas and Gail. "Come on, Sammy."

Gail stood from her chair, looking at Barry and Tommy. "Nice to see you, Tommy," she said. He waved absently at her. He and Barry were staring into each other's eyes. She smiled at Cas. "Well, so much for my hot date," she quipped.

"Will I do as a substitute?" Cas asked her, extending his hand to hers.

Gail manufactured a heavy sigh. "I guess so," she said teasingly.

They started to make the rounds, and Cas eventually introduced Gail to almost all of the cast members. As they stood talking to Syd, Richard approached them.

"Gail! How are you?" Richard asked her. "Do you remember me?"

She did. He had been very kind to her and Cas when they had initially spoken to him about possibly getting her a job on the set when they had first been here, on the run from the tribunal. And Richard had re-hired Cas recently, even though Cas had run out on the show when they'd had to return to Heaven to stand the tribunal.

"Yes, of course I remember you," Gail told Richard. "Thank you for hiring Cas back. I know he's really enjoying working for you."

"Well, we've loved having him back," Richard said heartily. "I was very glad to be able to help the both of you out, considering all that you've been through. And I've got to say, I'm glad to see you well, Gail, and to see the both of you here together."

Cas squeezed Gail's hand. "So am I, Richard," he said. "So am I."

"I have some schmoozing to do," Richard told them. "Maybe I'll see you later." Then he walked off, and Syd stared after him. "That guy is hands down the best boss I've ever had," Syd said, shaking his head slowly. "He's, like, a saint or something."

Gail and Cas smiled at each other. "He could be, one day," Cas said softly.

But the room was noisy, and Syd wasn't really paying attention. "I'm getting a drink," he said. "'Later, Cas." Then he walked off.

Gail was bemused. She'd met all kinds of people tonight, of different ages, races, and sexual orientations. What a diverse group. If you looked up "inclusion" in the dictionary, this show would be a shining example of the definition of the word. What a great place for an Angel who had helped to write modern laws for Heaven to work.

Gail looked over at the table where Barry and Tommy sat, deep in discussion, by the looks of it. She nudged Cas, nodding her head towards the couple. "That was a great idea you had," she told him.

"I had the feeling that if we got them together in the same place, they would be able to work it out," he said to her. "That's the way it's supposed to work with people in love, isn't it?"

"I guess you're right," Gail agreed, nodding. And suddenly, she just wanted to be alone with Cas, to talk to him, the way Barry and Tommy were talking now. She put her hand on Cas's arm. "Would you mind if we go somewhere quieter, so we can have a conversation?" she asked him.

Cas was pleased by her suggestion. He had been wanting to talk to her alone ever since this morning, when they had been interrupted in the wardrobe trailer. "Let's just let Sam and Dean know we're leaving, then," he said.

They found the brothers sitting at a table with Nicole and Zoey. Sam and Zoey were talking with their heads close together, and Dean was talking to Nicole, his arm draped around the chair she was sitting in.

Gail smiled. Sam and Dean certainly worked quickly. But she was glad to see it. This was the first time since she'd met them that they'd been able to enjoy some female company without her and her problems occupying their time 24/7, and it did her heart good.

"Dean, Sam," Cas said loudly, over the noise in the room. They looked up. "Gail and I are leaving the party now. I'll see you tomorrow."

Dean was disappointed. There went their limo ride home. He had been hoping to impress Nicole. He guessed that he and Sammy would have to take a cab back to the hotel, unless one of the girls was sober enough to drive. He sure as hell wasn't, and he highly doubted that Sam was, either.

"You can have the limousine," Cas continued. "Gail and I won't need it, of course." He smiled at Dean. Dean almost kicked himself. Of course they wouldn't need it; they could just pop themselves back to Cas's apartment. If Cas really felt the need to impress Gail after all this time, he could probably take her for a ride on Hailey's Comet, or something. And then, if and when Gail decided to return to her hotel room, she could just pop herself back. Dean kind of hoped she wouldn't, though. Maybe enough time had passed, and maybe she would decide to spend the night with Cas. Dean hoped that this was the beginning of the end for Cas and Gail, or maybe the end of the beginning. Hopefully, both of them would be smiling when he saw them tomorrow.

Sam grinned. "Thanks, Cas."

"'Night, guys," Gail said, but the brothers had already turned back to their dates. She shrugged, smiling. Good for them.

She and Cas sat down on his couch after he took his suit jacket and tie off. He hung them on one of the dining room chairs.

"I hope you don't mind that we left the party so early," Gail said to him. "If I was a human, I'd have been drinking and dancing, too. But I really just wanted to talk to you."

"Of course I don't mind," Cas said mildly. "I would much prefer talking to you than engaging in any other activity, anyway." Then he smiled. "Well, I would enjoy it the same as engaging in any in any activity with you, to be honest."

Gail smiled back. "It was brilliant of you to bring Tommy to the party and get him and Barry talking. Did you finally manage to convince Tommy that we're for real?"

"Yes, I did," Cas confirmed. "Strictly speaking, we're not really supposed to do what I had to do to convince him, but I think my transgression was for a good cause."

"What did you do?" she asked him curiously.

"I asked him the one place on Earth he'd like to go, and he said Paris, France. So I brought him there, and then I brought him back here," Castiel said, his lips twitching.

"Yeah, that would do it," Gail said, amused.

"It did," Cas agreed. "And then I asked him to be my 'plus one' at the party, hoping that he would use the opportunity to talk to Barry and to reconcile, if that's what they both want."

"I'm sure Barry does," Gail responded. "He seemed pretty miserable."

"Do you?" Cas said suddenly.

"Do I what?" Gail asked innocently. But she knew what he was talking about, of course. Did she?

"I'm so thankful for your forgiveness," Cas said, "and I don't want to push. But I miss you so much."

Gail sighed. Who did she think she was kidding? "I miss you too, Cas."

He scooped up her hands in his. "Do you think..." He stopped himself, considering what to say next. He wanted to put this the right way.

Gail waited patiently, but Cas seemed stuck now, so she prompted him. "Do I think...?" she said to him. Then she squeezed his hands for encouragement.

Cas smiled. "Do you think that you might want to test out the new laws?" he asked her softly.

She started to smile. "Since when have we ever worried about those?" she teased. "But I thought that we came here to talk."

Cas's smile faded a bit. She was right; he was pushing. But he had just missed her so much. Of course he wanted to talk to her, but right now he really wanted to touch her, and he really wanted her to touch him.

Gail thought about it. Again, who was she kidding? She'd been thinking about little else ever since she had decided to forgive him. "Ahh, talking is overrated, anyway," she said, and she moved closer to him.

Cas put his arms around her waist and kissed her. Then their tongues came together, and he started to touch her through her clothing.

"Would you like to go to the bedroom?" Cas asked her.

"Sure. I could use a cuddle," Gail said mischievously.

"Please don't tease right now, Gail," he said in a serious voice. "I want to be sure that I'm not pushing you." His eyes searched hers. "I need you to be sure."

She hesitated for a moment. He was right; she should take this seriously. It was a pretty big deal now. It would be their first time as Angels, and it would signify to him that she was ready to get back together. Cas was not a one-night-stand type of guy.

Gail nodded. "I'm sure, Cas."

He smiled, and they rose from the couch together. He took her hand and they walked into the bedroom, where Cas turned on the bedside lamp. Gail saw her photo leaned up against it.

He turned her around to look at him. "I look at it every day, and every night," he told her. "Many days, especially early on, it was the only thing that kept me going." He smiled again. "Thank you for letting me keep it."

Gail came to him and put her arms around his neck. "I love you, Cas."

His heart swelled. "I love you, Gail. I never stopped loving you, and I never will." He kissed her again, and his hand moved to the zipper on the back of her dress. He slid it down slowly, and she stepped out of it.

Cas laid her gently down on the bed, and he took his shirt off. She wore underwear now, he noted, as did he. But that only made this more exciting. It had been so long since they'd been together like this, and he wanted to try to take his time and appreciate the fact that they actually were together like this. He felt such joy that she had forgiven him, and that she was ready to resume their relationship, but he also needed to go slow, and to make sure that she was comfortable.

He started to kiss her neck and her shoulders, then eased her bra straps down off her shoulders. Gail was stroking his hair, smiling. He had her bra off now, and he was kissing and licking her torso. How good it was to him to see her skin without one painful mark on it. He felt the familiar stab of guilt when he thought about that, but he shouldn't be thinking about it right now, although he meant never to forget. They could talk about that later, if she wanted to. They would talk about anything she wanted to talk about.

He kissed her stomach, and then he eased her underpants down from her hips. Now he was trembling. They were about to make love, as full Angels. He had never believed this day would actually come.

Cas moved his body up and kissed her on the mouth, gently caressing her skin. "You're so beautiful," he told her.

"So are you," she said, touching his face with both hands. She reached down to undo the zipper of his pants, but he put his hand on hers.

"No," he said. "Not yet."

Then he moved his body down again and gently opened her legs. The second his tongue touched her, Gail's body jumped. He took her hands in his and squeezed them for a moment. He knew from prior experience that she was all right when she did that, but he'd wanted to calm her anyway, and calm himself at the same time. He was very excited now.

Cas used his tongue on her, while still holding her hands. She was squeezing his hands tightly now, but he didn't mind. He wanted to maintain their connection. She was raising her hips up to meet his tongue, and she began to cry out. Then he let go of her hands and gently pulled her body down, speeding up the motion of his tongue.

"Cas!" she exclaimed. He was amazing. He was making her feel fantastic. "I love you so much!" She was shaking her head from side to side now. It was so good. Then she was still, but he stayed right where he was, kissing and licking her. He nuzzled her thighs. He'd made sure to shave very close before getting dressed for the party, as he always did now. He had been hoping this opportunity would arise, and he wanted to be sure he did not scratch her with any stubble. She would never again suffer another mark from him, regardless of the kind.

Then he began to lick her again, and again she cried out. He smiled. It felt so good to him to be able to make her this happy once again. And this was the right way to do it; gently, but with passion.

He rose from her and took off his pants and underwear, and he eased into her slowly. She felt incredible to him. She was looking at him and smiling, and she was caressing his body. "It's OK, Cas," she said. Gail knew that he was being tentative, and she knew why. "Really," she added.

He brought her face up to him so that he could kiss her. When she gave him her tongue, he couldn't help but speed up his motion. "Are you all right?" he asked her.

"I'm wonderful," she assured him. "Please go faster, Cas. It's OK."

Now he did go faster. He couldn't help it; it felt so good. He had been wondering if it would feel this good when they were full Angels again, and now he had his answer. This was the best yet, because it was all about the love they had between them.

"I love you," he told her, smiling.

"I love you too, Cas," she responded.

Then he kissed her again, and he felt the warm rush as he pushed into her once more. She was kissing and licking his ear, and he moaned softly.

Cas touched her face. "That was wonderful," he told her.

"I agree," Gail said, smiling. "And I might add, perfectly legal."

Cas rolled his eyes comically and quipped, "Who cares?"

Gail laughed. That was true enough; she wouldn't have cared, either. But they had done it now, and it had been amazing. She had been wondering how it might be, not only due to their status as Angels, but also because she'd known that Cas would be tentative, and for obvious reasons. She would have to let him know that it was all right to be a little bit more aggressive.

Cas rolled off of her and lay on his back, pulling her to him. He was trying to catch his breath, but he wanted to maintain the connection with her. He cuddled her, and she kissed him softly on the cheek.

"I guess I'll have to tell Richard I'm resigning again," Cas said. He kissed her on the forehead. "Unless you'd rather live here, of course."

"No, don't do that," Gail said. "I think you should finish out the season. You quit on him before, remember? Unless Bobby has a problem with it, I think you should stay here."

"So you'll move in here, then?" he asked her.

"Who said I'm moving anywhere?" she said lightly. "Aren't you making assumptions, Cas?"

Cas was alarmed. "Are you saying you don't want to be with me, Gail?"

Gail sighed. "No, I'm not saying that, Cas. But it would be nice to be asked."

Of course. He should have asked her, first. "I'm sorry, Gail. You're right," he said, frowning at his mistake. "I promised that I will never take you for granted again. I realize how lucky I am that you have forgiven me."

He looked distressed now, and Gail was sorry about that. But she'd had a point to make, and he'd said what she had wanted to hear. So she let him off the hook.

"Now that the new laws have been enacted, I don't see any reason why I have to stay at the bunker anymore," Gail told him. "I'll move here till you finish out the season, and then we can get a place back home."

Cas's face lit up. "Do you mean it?" he asked her.

"Yes, I mean it, Cas." She kissed him on the cheek again. "I'll tell the guys in the morning that I'm moving out."

He kissed her on the mouth. "I'm so glad, Gail. And I'm very thankful. We'll be very happy together again, I promise," Cas said to her. "I'll see to it."

Gail smiled. "And how are you going to do that?"

"By loving you with everything that I have," he replied in a serious tone. "And by trying to love myself, too. If you will promise me that you will do the same."

Gail nodded. That had been a big problem for the both of them before. But it seemed to her that they had both grown as individuals during their separation. And if they were better individually, it only stood to reason that they would be better together. She told him this now.

"I think so, too," he said. "But what do you intend to do while I'm working? Or, do you want to see if we can get you a job on the show? I have the feeling that Richard would be only too happy to help us, if he can."

She considered this for a moment. Until she figured out what her next project might be in Heaven, that might be kind of a fun distraction. "OK, let's talk to him about that, then," Gail said.

Cas wrapped his arms around her. He couldn't believe it. After all those months of missing her so desperately, now they were going to be living together again, and possibly working together, as well. He had had to learn some hard lessons, but they had been necessary ones, and now their Father had finally rewarded him.

Gail was caressing him now, and he could feel his excitement start to build again. "Will you stay here with me tonight?" he asked her. A silly question perhaps, considering the circumstances they found themselves in now, but he'd promised her he would never take anything for granted again.

She smiled, recognizing the reason for his question. "Yes, I will, Cas," she replied formally. "I'll check out of the hotel in the morning," she added.

"I'll help you bring your things over here, and we can pop over to the bunker when I'm not working, and get the rest of your belongings," he said.

"Sounds good to me," Gail said. Her hand slipped down his body, and his breath caught as she touched him. "Now, what do you say we have a little housewarming party?" Gail teased.

"Please, come here," he gestured, and she positioned herself by his mouth and took him in hers. They moved together, pleasuring each other until they both cried out, which made the experience even more intense. Then they sped up what they each were doing, until they were both spent.

After a moment, Gail climbed off his body and lay beside him. He kissed her, again and again. Now that she was coming back, he would never stop doing that. He loved what they had just done, but he loved kissing her, too, and kissing was something they could do in public, any time they wished.

"Want to watch some TV and cuddle?" Gail asked him in-between kisses. "We haven't done that in a long time."

"I'd like that," Cas said, still kissing her. "And we will, in just a minute." He smiled, and continued to kiss her.

Gail gave up. She didn't mind what they were doing now, either. As far as she was concerned, they could do it all night. They had an awful lot of lost time to make up for.

Sam and Zoey were in bed too, and she was running her hand over his chest. "That was really good, Sam," she said.

He smiled. Yeah, it had been. It had been way too long for him, and Zoey had been the aggressor, so he hadn't felt like he was taking advantage of her. She had invited him back to her place for a coffee, and then she had started to kiss him, and hey, he was only human. She had been an enthusiastic partner in bed, and she was the one who had taken the lead. At one point when he'd been on top of her, Sam had closed his eyes and imagined that she was Gail. But only for a moment, and then he had made himself stop. That particular ship had sailed off into the sunset, and it had been Cas on that ship, not him.

"Will I see you again before you leave town?" Zoey asked him. She did like Sam, and she would really enjoy another session like the one they'd just had, but Zoey was a realist. Sam would be going back home to the States at the end of this week, and Zoey was young, and she had her own life to live. Still, Sam was muscular and good-looking, and he had been very good in bed, once she'd gotten him going.

"I don't see why not," Sam told her. "I'll give you a call once we know what our plans are."

"OK," she said. She kissed him once more, and then rolled over. "See you, Sam. Just close the door behind you; it locks itself."

Sam was bemused. He'd been dismissed, apparently. But he didn't really mind. Even though they had just had sex, he and Zoey didn't know each other all that well, really. Maybe she was happier sleeping alone.

He pulled on his clothes and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. Zoey didn't react; she was already asleep. Sam grinned. Not exactly a clingy girl. Maybe Dean should have been the one to hook up with this one.

He let himself out of Zoey's apartment and started to walk back to the hotel. He and Dean had played Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide which one of them got the limo, and of course, Dean had won. But the hotel wasn't far from Zoey's place, and Sam didn't really mind getting some fresh air and exercise.

He wondered how Dean was doing with Nicole. Hopefully, as well as Sam had done with Zoey. It had been quite a while for Dean, too. Maybe he'd be less grumpy tomorrow if his night went well tonight.

Nicole was driving Dean nuts. They'd been riding around in the limo for a while now, having a few drinks and getting better acquainted. Nicole was funny and intelligent, and she had lots of interesting stories about working behind the scenes on a successful TV show. Dean smiled inwardly at the absurdity of it all. He could have told her lots of stories too, but he didn't dare. So he had taken a page out of Cas's book and been evasive and noncommittal in his answers to her questions about what he did for a living.

Finally, Dean made his move. He put their drinks down on the bar and kissed Nicole, and she responded, winding her arms around his neck. Dean opened her mouth with his tongue, and Nicole gave him hers. His hands tightened around her waist as he continued to kiss her. But when Dean tried to slip his hands under her top, Nicole pulled away. "Whoa," she said. "Not so fast."

Dean looked at the blacked-out glass partition which separated them from the driver. "He can't see us," he told her, misunderstanding Nicole's resistance.

"It's not that," Nicole said to him. "I just don't know if I'm prepared to go any further with a guy I just met. And one that I know so little about." It hadn't escaped her notice that Dean had evaded most of the questions she had asked him about himself. She didn't even know what he did for a living.

"What do you want to know?" Dean asked her. He understood what she was saying, and he actually respected her for it. But how could he honestly answer the questions she had been asking?

"What do you do for a living?" Nicole asked him.

Dean gave her a half-shrug. "Family business," he said vaguely. "Sam, too."

That, right there, Nicole thought. He was doing it again. "Doing what, exactly?" Nicole persisted.

And that, in a nutshell, was why Dean didn't date much. How on earth was he supposed to answer that? "It's made us millionaires," he said hopefully.

Nicole was annoyed. "Look, Dean, I don't give a damn about how much money you have. I just want to know who you are."

Dean sighed. "I'm an ordinary guy, with a not-so-ordinary life. I just try to do everything I can to keep people safe. And that's all I can tell you about it."

Nicole frowned. Who did this guy think he was, James Bond, or something? "I knew that Cas was mysterious, but I didn't know his friends were, too. Between Cas, you and your brother, and Gail, the things we know about all four of you combined I can count on one hand. It's like you're all from a different planet." She put her hand on his arm. "Wait; are you?" she joked. "Are you guys aliens?"

Dean smirked. Aliens. Yeah, those were about the only things he hadn't encountered. At least, not yet, anyway. But he was in the back of a limo with a girl who worked on a fictional TV show that was based on the books an Angel had written about his and Sam's very real lives. At this point, he wasn't going to rule anything out. "No, we're all American citizens. So, yeah, I guess we are aliens here in Canada," he quipped. "Hey, speaking of which, what's up with your money? All those rainbow colours, and loonies? Moonies? Whatever they're called?"

Nicole sighed. This guy was hot, and he was funny, but it was weird how none of them ever talked about themselves and then managed to turn the conversation back around. Cas did that same kind of thing all the time. Nicole had worked in close proximity with Cas for quite a while now, and she still knew nothing about him except that he was from the States and had a long-distance relationship with a woman who he was crazy about. And that was it. So now, his friends had come all this way to visit him, and not only did the three men have the same names as the characters on the show, they all bore more than a passing resemblance to the actors who happened to play those characters. Was she in a parallel universe here?

In a way, she was. The moment that Gail had said she had forgiven Castiel, the reset had been put into motion. And when the Angels had made love and Gail said that she would return to Cas, God breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the couple's reunion had accomplished what God Himself had not been able to, all this time.

Everything was back to normal, it seemed, and everyone was now happy, and doing what they were supposed to be doing. Well, except for the idea of two of God's best Angels working on a TV show. But He didn't mind that too much. Castiel should finish out the season; honouring commitments was very important.

But even now there was another threat looming on the horizon, and the Angels would have to be pressed into service to help meet the challenge. God hoped that their renewed bond would be able to hold strong against this most terrifying of enemies. God had peered into Bobby's office in Heaven out of curiosity, and He had seen Bobby holding the Hotline telephone. And the reigning God did not look happy.

Before he had picked up the Hotline to place the call that had made Bobby so unhappy, Crowley had been sitting in his own office, debating whether or not to make the call. He had assumed that everything would have returned to status quo by now. The Angels would be cured, Moose and Squirrel would return to eradicating monsters, and Heaven and Hell could return to business as usual, as separate and distinct sovereign entities.

The only thing that had bothered him recently was the clause in Heaven's rewritten laws regarding suicides. He stood to lose a number of souls if Heaven's panel was too compassionate, or too lenient. And yes, Crowley knew all about the details. Gail had told him. But there had been nothing that Crowley could do about it. Those were Heaven's laws, not his, and he had no say in what went on there. And he hadn't even bothered to try to persuade Gail to remove that clause, or soften it to his favour. She had changed during her separation from his Brother, and while she still had the doe eyes, even they were different, somehow. When she looked at him now, he no longer saw hatred or fear in her eyes. Gail seemed to regard him almost as an equal now, or a peer, at least. And she didn't appear to be the slightest bit intimidated by him. He guessed that her dark time with Castiel had ultimately done her a favour. When she had pushed his Brother back for the final time, she had pushed him so hard that he was now in another country, Crowley thought with amusement. Word had it that even though they were both completely cured, they were still not together. Crowley was, somewhat illogically, pleased by this fact. He'd known, realistically, that he himself would never have had a chance to be with Gail, not in that way. Even when she had been at her most Demonlike and influenced by their blood bond, she would never have succumbed to him. And even when he had taken the drastic step of kidnapping her and modifying her memory to think only ill of Castiel, she had still resisted him. So Crowley had now resigned himself to the fact that they could perhaps have a cordial friendship at best, but that would be all.

But he did still want to maintain that relationship, if possible. Crowley had not yet heard from Rowena, and he hadn't been able to locate her, as hard as he had tried. She must have whipped up some enchantments that were shielding her from his view. But it was a little puzzling. Yes, he and his mother couldn't stand each other, but he was surprised that she wasn't here trying to cause him trouble, at the very least. It had been all quiet on that score, but he knew that it wouldn't last indefinitely, and Gail had promised Crowley that she would help him take care of that little issue.

However, Crowley had even bigger problems at the moment. Much, much bigger ones. A day or so ago, Crowley's assistant Charles had knocked on his office door to tell him that a coup of Hell was being planned.

Crowley had frowned. "A coup?" he had repeated. "And which unfortunate idiot would be behind that idea?"

"It's a small group, led by the former Angels," Charles had replied, the disgust showing on his face. "But they're recruiting, Sir, and they mean to overthrow you."

"The former Angels?" Crowley had repeated. Then it had dawned on him. "You don't mean - " Of course. Who else would it be?

"Lanister, Alexander, and Xavier," Charles confirmed. "And I believe the female, Aurielle, is with them, too. Lanister appears to be the ringleader. He has been stirring up unrest by criticizing you and your policies to anyone who will listen."

"Really? You don't say," Crowley said, regarding Charles coolly. Damned Angels. They were a pain in his wallet pocket. Obviously, the erstwhile Upper Echelon weren't so happy toiling away in Hell with the rest of the unwashed masses. Well, it was time that they received a lesson on how things worked in Hell, and who was really in charge, and Crowley would be glad to provide that.

So Crowley had gone to see the men. He supposed he had made a mistake in letting them be assigned in the usual way. The computer program had obviously recognized their similarities and had assigned them all to work in the snake pits together. It was their job to feed and care for the snakes, and to make sure that none of them escaped from the pit. When a tortured individual was thrown into the pit because he or she had been late coming back from break once too often, they were put into the pit for whatever length of time they had been late by, subject to a multiplication factor. This factor was a random number, designed to maximize the level of anticipatory fear in the victim. Crowley knew there were fewer things scarier than that of the unknown. And he demanded that his workers be diligent. Once you allowed them to start slacking off, you were inviting anarchy. And the old-school punishment for Sloth was to be thrown into snake pits, after all. The King of Hell had adopted many modern methods during his reign, but there was something to be said for the old ways, too.

"Gentlemen," Crowley said casually. "What's this I hear about a certain little after-hours social club you've been running?"

Lanister dropped the rat he'd been holding by the tail into the viper's cage and turned to Crowley. "What social club?" he asked the King.

Crowley fixed him with a withering glare. "You know bloody well what I'm talking about, Lanister. And I understand that you're actually the brains behind the operation, if I can use that expression. I would have thought that it would have been you, Xavier," he added, turning to the former leader of the Angel board.

Xavier leaned on the shovel he'd been using to put more snakes in the pit. He wasn't intimidated by Crowley, as the two of them had had a fair amount of dealings with each other when Xavier had been scheming to become God. But Xavier was disappointed that Crowley had found out about their little group so quickly. They had been meaning for him to find out, of course, but not quite this soon. They still hadn't acquired the Demon Tablet, although they knew that they were close to doing so.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Crowley," Xavier said to him. "As you have made it abundantly clear, we're just workers here. I am no longer a leader, and there is nothing here to lead."

Crowley stared at them. So it was going to be like that, was it? Too bad he no longer had Castiel at his disposal; he could have just threatened them with their former compatriot. Crowley considered having them tortured, but he had the feeling that these guys could withstand any interrogation as attempted by his regular staff. None of them could hold a candle to his Brother in Demon form, though, as far as both cruelty and creativity went. And Crowley didn't take this perceived threat very seriously. It was just a lot of sabre-rattling, as far as he was concerned. So they were unhappy; well, this was Hell, wasn't it? If they thought that their merry little band could do anything to him, Crowley would like to see them try.

But when he had gotten back to his office, he had started to think about it a bit more. What made those guys think they could possibly unseat him? Was there something to it, after all? Crowley knew Xavier fairly well, but Charles had told him that Lanister was the instigator in this situation, and Crowley knew next to nothing about the man. How credible was the threat?

So Crowley had picked up the Hotline.

Bobby sighed. He just knew things had been too peaceful lately. "What is it, Crowley?" he asked.

"Do you know anything about your former board member Lanister?" Crowley asked him.

"What about him?"

"I've been told that he's inciting unrest here," Crowley responded. "I just wanted to know if I should be concerned about it."

Bobby rolled his eyes. "So what are you calling me for? What happens in Hell is your problem, not mine."

"That may be true, but seeing as it was your right-hand Angel that put him here, I thought I would inquire," Crowley said dryly.

"Well, I can't help you," Bobby said tersely. "I don't know anything about the guy."

"Where's Castiel?" Crowley asked. "I imagine he knows Lanister quite well."

Bobby frowned. "He's busy." He was not about to tell Crowley where Cas was and what he was doing. It was none of Crowley's business, anyway.

Now it was Crowley's turn to sigh. Obviously, Bobby was going to be of no help to him in this situation. But Crowley had just called Bobby first as a courtesy, attempting to go through the proper channels. Crowley could actually reach Castiel without Bobby's help. They were both Originals, after all.

So he'd said goodbye to Bobby and hung up the phone, and then he sent out the call to Castiel.

Cas and Gail were cuddling, but they weren't watching TV. They had started to talk, and once they'd started, they hadn't been able to stop. Gail still had a few things that she needed to get off her chest, and she had finally told him about all of the nights she had sat on her bed at the bunker just staring at the pictures on the wall, with her boxes of tissues beside her on the bed. Cas had already suspected as much. In the first timeline, before he had sent her and Sam back to reverse the accident, he had been to her room and seen the evidence there. But he said nothing, recognizing that she had a need to vent her feelings. It heartened him to learn that she had missed him that much, but he still felt terrible that their separation had even had to have occurred in the first place.

"I'm so sorry, Gail," Cas told her. "I was a fool to think that I could just walk around with Demon essence inside of me and that it wouldn't change me. I of all people should have known better."

"We were both stupid," she sighed. "I went along with it."

"Yes, but my behaviour was inexcusable," Cas countered, frowning.

Gail had nothing to say about that, because it was pretty much the truth. But she had forgiven him anyway, partly because there had been times that her behaviour had not been much better. She had been an enabler to him most of the time. At first, she had been in denial about just how bad he could possibly get, but they hadn't known about Metatron's special little cocktail then, either. By the time she had found out about that, she'd had Cas's diseased blood in her, and later on, Crowley's, as well. By then, she had surrendered both herself and her better judgement to the disease, and surrendered her body and her will to Cas. But once she had drunk the cure, Gail had taken a really close look at herself and realized that she had been part of the problem. And that was why Gail had ultimately been able to forgive him; because she had now forgiven herself. They were both better individuals now, and she had always loved who Cas really was.

"I'm so thankful that you have forgiven me, but it's really difficult for me to try to forgive myself for what I did to you," Cas said. "I betrayed your trust. I promise, you will never have any reason to mistrust me again." Then he sighed. If what he was saying were to have any meaning at all, he needed to come clean with her about everything.

So he told her about having sent her and Sam back in time.

Gail was astonished. "So we've done all of this before?" she asked him.

"Well, not everything, exactly," Cas said with a tight smile. "But yes, this is our second summer this year. I believe that we were actually on the verge of reconciling when I had to send you and Sam back, to negate his injury. And it worked. You saved him, Gail, by allowing that truck to hit you, instead."

Wow. This was unbelievable. She was thankful that Sam was all right, of course, but a part of her was angry, too. Gail sat up and looked around the room. She spotted Cas's shirt on the floor, and she climbed out of bed and put it on. She tried to button it up, but it was slow going. She had never been good at that.

Oh, the hell with it, then. She looked around for her own clothes and began to scoop them up from the floor, piece by piece.

Cas was alarmed now. "What are you doing?" he asked her.

Gail looked at him. What WAS she doing? She sat down on the edge of the bed with her clothes bundled in her arms. "I'm trying to decide if I want to stay here or not," she said. She was debating with herself now. He was telling her that, once again, he had done something to her without her consent. Or at least, she didn't remember having consented to it. But that was the trouble. Apparently, she'd had a whole other summer that she knew nothing about. But it had been for a good cause, hadn't it?

Cas winced. He had known that she would be surprised, but he had been hoping that the fact that Sam was all right now would mitigate her anger. He reached out and touched her arm. "Would you give me your hand, Gail? Please?"

"I don't know if I want to, Cas," she said soberly. "You need to stop doing things to me without my knowledge."

"But you did know about it," he argued. "You just don't remember that you knew about it. You can ask Dean, if you don't believe me. He was there." She was still holding on to her clothes, and he could see the knuckles of her hands turning white as she clutched them. She was going to do it. She was going to leave him again.

"Why are you so angry?" he asked her softly. "What's really going on here?"

Gail flung her clothes on the floor and wheeled on him. "You held me down and injected me, Cas. Then you modified my memory so I would think that I actually agreed to it. And now I find out that I had a whole summer that I don't even remember? How am I supposed to feel?" She was on the verge of tears now, and now she was also angry that he was making her cry yet again.

Cas's heart sank. Of course she was still angry about that. Of all of the things he had done to her, forcibly injecting her that first time and then making her think that she had consented to it was probably the most reprehensible. Tears sprung to his own eyes now.

"Why didn't you send me back to before THAT ever happened?" Gail asked him bitterly. "Or, better still, why didn't you just send us back to the time before the tribunal?"

"I thought about that," Cas told her. "And I was sorely tempted to do it. But it was too risky."

"What do you mean? How?" she demanded.

"Every time you send someone back like that, you risk changing the timeline, or altering that individual irrevocably," he explained. "We've lived this same summer twice, and it's been pretty much the same, with just a few subtle differences. And you and Sam seem thankfully unchanged. But we got lucky. The further back you go, the more dangerous it becomes. I didn't want Sam to be a different type of person when he came back, and I certainly didn't want YOU to be," he continued persuasively.

Castiel had God's attention now, though. Though He had given his Son the power to send people back in time when absolutely necessary, He hadn't realized the truth as Castiel was explaining it now. That had been the problem all along. God Himself had gone back, not once but twice, to the beginning of all of it. He'd led Crowley back to the Garden to choose to refrain from killing his Brother, and then He had brought him back there again, to reinstate the original murder. How had He not realized this before? Castiel was right; the further back you went, the more dangerous things got.

And now, things were teetering on the brink again. If Gail could not trust His Son, she could not be with him. And if she would not be with him, everything was going to go upside down again.

God waved His hand.

Sam was back in his and Dean's hotel room now, and he had just started to unbutton his shirt when he fell on the bed, unconscious.

Dean was in the back of the limousine having one last beer on the ride back to the hotel. He had dropped Nicole off a few minutes ago, walking her to the door of her apartment building. She had given up on trying to pry any information out of him, and instead, they had made small talk. They had talked about movies, and cars, and current events. Lighthearted conversation, for the most part. Nicole had let him kiss her at the door, and she had given him her number when he'd asked for it.

So Dean was smiling as he thought about the evening. He'd had a good time today, starting with their visit to the set and ending with that kiss. He'd thought about asking for more, but Nicole obviously wasn't prepared to be just a random pickup, and Dean was somewhat inexplicably glad about that. Maybe that was because he really liked her.

He put down his beer, and promptly passed out.

Gail was standing now. "Well, I'm not different, and neither is Sam!" she said, her voice raising. "But I wish I WERE different!"

Cas scrambled off the bed and went to her, holding her gently. "You don't mean that, Gail," he said to her.

"Yes, I do," she said in a more subdued tone. Her voice was muffled against his chest. She was letting him hold her, but her arms were hanging limply at her sides. "Then maybe I wouldn't be such a sucker. How do I keep falling for this crap?"

Cas was cradling her now. His stomach was clenched with guilt. Had he really thought that it was going to be that easy? That she would just move back into his apartment, and his bed, and that everything that had happened would just be forgotten? It wasn't his having sent her back in time that was really bothering her; it was everything that Demon Cas had done to her.

"I would give anything to take it all back," Cas said softly. "Anything."

Gail closed her eyes, squeezing out the tears that were pooled in them. Then she went completely limp in Cas's arms as she blacked out.

Gail woke up in Bobby's office. She looked around, confused. What the hell was this, now? She had just been in Cas's apartment and he had been trying to comfort her, and then...that had been it.

Amazingly, Sam and Dean were sitting beside her, as was Cas. And both Bobby and God were sitting behind the desk, across from the four of them.

Now she got it. She was obviously dreaming. But, wait: that couldn't be true. She was an Angel again, and Angels didn't sleep. So how could she be having a dream, then?

Gail looked to her left then, and her eyes grew even wider as she saw Frank and Jody sitting on her other side. Had they been there a moment ago? What was going on?

"Is everybody here now?" Bobby asked God.

God nodded. "Everyone that needs to be here, yes," He told Bobby. "I think we'll leave Chuck alone."

"And Crowley?" Bobby asked, his brow furrowing.

God frowned. "Him, too." He Himself wondered if this was the right decision, but He had His reasons for wanting the King of Hell to be left out of this matter. Right now, the priority was to repair the damage that He had done to these children. He would need them to be a cohesive unit for the battle ahead.

"Did you really mean it?" God asked Castiel.

Cas looked startled, but he knew his Father very well by now, and his heart leaped in his chest. "Yes, I did, my Father," he responded.

God sighed. "I owe all of you an apology. You have been damaged by my actions. Each one of you has."

Gail looked at her brother, and her human friends. If she was confused, they must be completely freaked out. They were sitting in Heaven, in God's office, and the original God was sitting here, apologizing to them. But they all looked calm; serene, even.

"What's going on, Cas?" Gail asked warily.

"Father has answered my prayers," he told her. "He's going to take it all away. It will have never happened."

But God was shaking His head. "I didn't say that, Castiel."

Now it was Cas who was wary. "But that is what I prayed for."

"What am I, a magic genie?" God quipped. "I have apologized, and I am willing to intervene, but not to that extent."

"But what I did will hang over all of our heads forever." Cas looked at his friends, agitated.

"And exactly how long is forever?" God asked him.

Castiel looked at Gail, remembering the moment that he had held her down and injected her. "Sometimes, just one second," he said, his voice breaking. "That was the moment I lost your trust."

She knew exactly what he was talking about. "No, that was the moment that you showed you didn't deserve it," she retorted, and he hung his head. She was right.

"Don't waste time looking back on what you've lost," God told them. "Move on, for life is not meant to be travelled backwards."

Gail looked at Him evenly. That was really easy for Him to say. She knew that He would be able to hear her thoughts, but for the first time ever, she didn't care. He was supposed to be retired, wasn't He? Then what was He even doing here, anyway? She wished He would just leave them alone. She was tired of being played with.

"I once read a poem that expresses perfectly how I feel right now," Gail said to God, and then she turned around in her chair to face Cas. "'In all our wrongs, I want to write him, in a time where I can find him. Before the tears that tore us, when all our history was before us'."

A tear rolled down Cas's cheek. He understood what she was trying to say, and she had put it eloquently. She did still love him, but everything that had happened to them, and between them, had proved to be too much for her.

God considered this. That had to be the saddest thing He had ever heard. He had simply intended to have a chat with them all, to try to convince them to let go of the hidden resentments He knew that they all still had. He'd thought that Bobby's idea of "group therapy" over drinks at the bunker had been a solid one, but it hadn't gone far enough. They were all getting along on the surface again, but deep down, the feelings they all still had about Demon Cas were festering, and would never completely heal. But, as tempting as it was, God was not prepared to do yet another reset. Look what had happened before, when He had tried that. So, what was to be done here?

God turned to Bobby. "You will need them all, and you will need them all to be able to trust one another."

Bobby frowned. He wanted everyone to trust everyone, but he didn't like the sound of that. "What are you talking about?" he asked God.

God smiled. "I'm not going to tell you that," he told Bobby. "No one was meant to see the future."

Bobby was fuming. Of course God wasn't going to tell him anything. Why should today be different from any other day?

God heard Bobby's thought, but He ignored it. A little knowledge could be a dangerous thing, but sometimes too much knowledge was far, far worse.

God rose from his chair and walked over to where Frank and Jody sat. Without preliminary, He put his hands on their heads and the white glow emanated from His hands. Then He walked over to where Dean and Sam sat, on the other side of Cas and Gail.

God lifted His hands, but Castiel grabbed His arm. "What are you doing to them?" he asked worriedly.

God smiled down at him. "You're getting your wish, Castiel. They will not remember anything about that unfortunate and despicable period in your existence, nor about this little get-together. They think they are dreaming right now."

He turned back to Sam and Dean and then put His hand on Sam's head, modifying his memory. But Dean blocked God's hand before God could touch him.

"Nope," Dean said. "Not gonna happen."

"Really, Dean?" God said, imitating Gail, and Cas smiled in spite of himself.

But Dean was staring at God, and his eyes were clear and bright. "I want to remember," he said. Then he turned to face Cas. "And I think you should, too."

"I do want to remember," Cas said to him. "I need to remember."

"Then we'll both remember," Dean said, nodding his head at his friend. "And I'll be prepared to kick your ass if you ever show any signs of being a dick again."

"It's a deal," Cas said, smiling.

God smiled, too; He just couldn't help it. Dean Winchester was truly one of His most special creations.

Then God moved to stand in front of Gail. "And you, my Daughter?" He said to her. "What do you say? I know you like to be asked, first," He quipped.

She gave Him a small smile; she knew a good quip when she heard one. Gail was torn now. Should she elect to remember it all? Keep all of the pain and resentment inside of her? But then, what would she do with it? She said that she had forgiven Cas, but had she, really? And what would their relationship be like going forward if she held on to all of those memories? She was tired of pretending that she wasn't bitter all the time.

Gail looked up at God. "Do it," she said. "Please."

Cas took her hand and squeezed it. "This is the last time you will experience anything like this, I promise," he told her. "But our Father is actually performing an act of mercy on all of you, and He is being merciful to me, too. I choose to remember as my rightful penance, but I'm glad that you're choosing to forget. So, before you do..." He slipped off his chair and got down on his knees in front of her, taking both of her hands in his. "I just wanted to tell you again how very sorry I am." He bowed his head.

After a moment, God put his hand on Castiel's shoulder. "Rise, my Son," He said. "Let's get this show on the road, as they say."

Cas retook his seat, and then God put His hand on Gail's head, removing all of her memories of that dark period in their lives. As far as she, Jody, Frank and Sam would know, they would have just returned from the cabin, where Cas and Gail had just escaped from Metatron, Jason and Aurielle.

"How are we gonna explain all the changes that have happened since that day?" Dean asked Cas. Cas shrugged. He actually had no idea. They both looked up at God.

God sighed. This was what messing around with timelines and memories and Free Will got you. He made the rounds again, further modifying everyone's memories that He had previously modified to be automatically accepting of the changes which had taken place since.

"There," He said. "That ought to do it." He looked down at His children. "You will need to rely heavily on one another in the near future. Never forget, you are a family. And never forget about your love for each other."

He turned to Bobby. "I leave it to you," God told him. Then God waved His hands, sending everyone back to where they had just been, and then He Himself disappeared.