Chapter 4 - Wondering Where The Lions Are
As the month of September elapsed, the elections process became even more of a grind. The Angels in Heaven began to fragment into factions, depending on which candidate they supported. Older vs. younger, men vs. women, conservative versus progressive. And each candidate had extremely vocal, fervent supporters.
Gail and Liz were slightly amused by the whole thing. They had regular "strategy" meetings in Gail's office, but if it was just the two of them in attendance, they would usually just chat. Eventually, the two women had filled each other in on their lives since being separated when Gail and Frank had had to leave home. Liz had hardly changed. She was still the same open, optimistic person she'd been back then. Gail found it very easy to confide in her, and vice versa. Gail had admitted to Liz a while back that she didn't actually expect to win the election. She hoped that didn't bother Liz. But, true to form, Liz had just shrugged and smiled. No, it didn't bother her. She was just happy to be hanging out with, and helping, her friend. Liz didn't want Patricia to win, either, and she agreed that anything they could do to lure votes away from her was what they should be doing. If any of the other 3 candidates won, they would all win.
For her part, Gail really wanted Cas to win the election, now. She'd told herself that she'd be OK with Bobby winning, or even herself, but the longer the campaign went on, and the harder she'd seen Cas work, the more she really wanted him to win. In fact, she'd considered dropping out more than a few times, to work full-time on his campaign. But it was those stupid poll numbers that always kept her from doing so. If Riley came into her campaign office with one more poll predicting dire results if she were to drop out, she was going to tell him to roll up the paper it was printed on, and stick it right up his...
"I don't know where Riley gets all those statistics from," Liz was saying now. "If there's a sector in Heaven he hasn't polled, I'm sure I don't know what it could be. Maybe one-legged hermaphrodites whose first names begin with an 'R', or something."
Gail looked at her, and the women burst out laughing. Once Gail composed herself, she quipped, "And, let me guess: Rhonda slash Ryan thinks that Heaven might be ready for a female God too, right?"
She was joking, of course, but that was the entire reason she was still staying in the race. The stupid poll numbers that Riley persisted in producing kept suggesting that many large factions in Heaven could very well be ready for a female God. So Gail couldn't drop out, because that would leave Patricia as the only female option.
Patricia had been making them all a little uneasy for quite a while now, but she projected a confident, professional image in public. She occasionally made inflammatory statements while on the campaign trail, thinly veiled insults about the other candidates, or ominous references to the ancient ways that made them all nervous. But none of them had any clue about how unhinged she really was, or how far she was willing to go.
Alan was sitting in Patricia's office, giving her his preliminary report.
"After a lot of digging, I found the former Governor," Alan was telling her. "He no longer lives in Egypt, of course. He received so many death threats from his own people after the Plagues that he had to go into hiding. But I found him, and he was more than willing to tell me all about how Castiel brought death and destruction down on all those innocent citizens. Some hero."
Patricia sat back in her chair, thinking. This was definitely a start, but it wasn't enough. "Yes, but we can't take the word of one disgruntled human, alone," she told her investigator. "From everything you're telling me, this man also let those things happen to those people. As much as it pains me to admit it, had he capitulated sooner, all of those deaths could have been avoided."
Alan let out a frustrated breath. "All of that may be true, but I haven't told you the best part, yet. This guy told me that, near the end of the whole thing, Castiel brought an Englishman to his office, a shorter guy with a neatly trimmed beard who was wearing a designer suit. Now, who do you suppose THAT could have been?"
Patricia started to smile. Now they were getting somewhere.
But now, Alan was frowning. "I know, that's what I thought, too. But then I had time to think about it a bit more, and I don't think that's our smoking gun, either. Let's face it: the hardline conservatives, the same ones who are going for you, will think even more highly of Castiel for having had the courage to implement the Old Ways in order to get what he needed to vanquish Lucifer. This could backfire on us, making him into even more of a heroic figure. And even the fact that the King of Hell was there helping Castiel instead of aligning himself with Lucifer will probably work against us, too. They're gonna say that speaks to Castiel's diplomatic skills. And if you're alleging that Castiel will start a Holy War with Crowley if he wins the election, it's going to be a hard sell if the Angels find out that the two of them were taking tea with the Governor, all nice and civilized, working together to defeat Evil."
Patricia pursed her lips angrily. He was right. This could very well backfire on her, if it was spun correctly.
"But I haven't given up yet," Alan told her. "I'm moving on to Paris next. As near as I can figure out from the timeline, it took them a little longer to obtain the Tablet there, and they were mixed up with some pretty unsavoury individuals while they were there. Maybe there's some dirt to be had there."
Patricia sighed. "All right. I'll wait for your report."
Cas was sitting on the couch in their suite looking over the speech he was due to make in a few minutes when Gail walked in. He dropped the pages on the coffee table and rushed over to the door, taking her in his arms.
"What a wonderful surprise!" he exclaimed, kissing her on her lips.
Gail smiled. "Same here. Let's not get too excited, though. I'm only here to change clothes, and then I have to head right back out."
Cas sighed. "I know. Me, too. But you have a couple of minutes, don't you?"
"Screw it, I'll be late if I have to be," she said, kissing his face. "It's been way too long since we've seen each other. Liz was joking that she was going to hang one of your campaign posters up in my office, so I could at least see you once in a while."
Cas took both of her hands in his. "Come and sit down for a moment, so we can talk."
As Cas was leading Gail over to the couch in their suite, Patricia was taking a tour of Heaven's jail.
"What brings you here today, Ma'am?" the officer at the front desk asked her.
"I'm just making the rounds to all of the various departments," she said casually. "I'm doing an informal poll, asking everyone about improvements they'd like to see in Heaven, should I win the election. May I look around for a bit?"
"Certainly, Ma'am," the young officer said respectfully. "Allow me to show you the facility."
As they walked around, the young Angel was excitedly telling Patricia his ideas for improvements to be made to the penal system, but she was hardly listening. She wasn't there for any poll, of course. She was looking for something very specific, and then, once she'd found what she had come for, there was an unexpected bonus.
"This is our surveillance room," the officer told her. "We have cameras in quite a few places around Heaven, not just the jail cells. Most Angels don't know that. When Jason was in charge, he liked to keep an eye on pretty much everything."
Hmmm. Patricia looked curiously at the control panel. There were a few monitors that were turned off, and they were not labelled. "What are those?" she asked the officer.
"Those are the ones that are hooked up to the Executive Residences," he responded. "We keep them off due to privacy concerns, but they can be activated, if need be."
"The Executive Residences?" Patricia echoed.
"Yes, Ma'am. The Honour Suites," he explained.
"May I see, just for a moment?" she asked innocently.
The officer turned on the monitors, and Patricia began to smile. Sure enough, there were Cas and Gail, sitting on the couch in Matthew's Honour Suite. "Can you send a link to those cameras to my computer?" she asked the young officer. "And while you're doing that, put your ideas for improvements in writing, and send them to me at the same time. If I'm elected, I promise that you will receive a commendation, and a promotion."
He smiled. "Yes, Ma'am."
Later in the day, Gail and Scott were in the boardroom. He was helping her set up for the next morning's meeting. As well as being her co-campaign manager, Scott had become Gail's personal assistant. It had happened so gradually that she was barely aware of it, but she had availed herself of his services because it was hard enough to keep track of where she was supposed to be and what she was supposed to be doing from one moment to the next. Liz was Gail's dear, dear friend, but she was a little scatterbrained at times. Scott kept the trains running on time, and he kept them focused when they got too carried away, giggling and chatting.
Scott was following Gail around the boardroom table. She was putting printed agendas in front of every spot, and he was just improvising conversation, talking about the campaign. Gail was too preoccupied to notice, but even though Scott's talk was professional, his eyes were roving over her body. His sister Pamela had failed miserably in her plan to seduce Castiel, Scott thought with great amusement. Of course, the fact that Scott had encouraged Gail to go to the Academy to see her husband those couple of times when he knew his sister was trying to get Castiel alone couldn't have helped.
Scott hadn't intended to try to seduce Gail, not at first. Unlike his sister, who had ants in her pants for Castiel, Scott was more or less indifferent to his erstwhile boss. But Gail was kind of cute, she had curves in all the right places, and Scott did so enjoy a challenge. Gail dropped one of the agenda packages on the floor and bent to pick it up, and Scott grinned. He was standing right behind her now. If he took even one step forward, his crotch would be touching her rear end.
Gail had no idea what was going on behind her, of course. And even if she'd seen Scott standing so close, she probably wouldn't have realized what was happening. Cas had been her first, and he was her only. She had never been the target of a seduction before; at least, not that she had been aware of. She would never have imagined that any guy would ever try anything like that with her. She was hardly a fashion model, and besides, look who her husband was. Considering Cas's reputation, a guy would have to be crazy to try anything like that with her.
But Cas came walking into the boardroom at that moment, and he stopped short, clearing his throat.
Scott stepped back immediately, and Gail picked the agenda up off the floor, turning around. "Hi, sweetie," she said. "We were just getting ready for tomorrow morning's meeting."
Cas's eyebrow was raised. That might be what his wife had been doing, but that wasn't what he'd seen this young male doing.
Scott saw Cas's expression, and he rushed forward towards Gail's husband, seeking to mitigate the damage. "Castiel! Finally, we meet! How do you do, Sir?" he said enthusiastically, extending his hand for a shake. "I'm so glad to meet you, at last. Gail talks about you all the time."
Cas took his hand. "And, you are...?" he prompted.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Scott," the young Angel stammered. "I'm just so overwhelmed to be meeting an Angel of your stature, Sir." He pumped Cas's hand.
Gail's husband was assessing him now. So, this was Scott. He looked and spoke like young Riley had, when Riley had first met Cas. But there was something about Scott that just didn't ring true. If he respected Cas that much, then why had he been standing so close to Gail a moment ago, leering down at her? For that was what he'd seen. Cas was sure of it.
"If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my office now," Scott said, releasing Cas's hand. "It was an honour and a pleasure meeting you, Castiel. I hope we'll be seeing a lot more of you." Then he turned to Gail. "I'll see you later, Boss," Scott said to her with a quick smile. Then he hurriedly left the boardroom.
Gail put the agendas she was still holding in her arms down on the boardroom table and approached her husband, smiling. "Wow. Twice in one day. Lucky me." She went to put her arms around him, but he was frowning now. What he'd just witnessed had really bothered him. On the rare occasions he'd had the chance to talk to his wife recently, she had been raving about Scott, extolling his virtues as an assistant. Cas knew that Scott had spent a lot of time helping Gail. But now, he was concerned that Scott wasn't at all what he appeared to be.
"I just remembered, there's somewhere I'm supposed to be," Cas told his wife. He kissed her on the forehead. "I'm sorry, my love. I have to go."
He rushed out of the boardroom as Gail stared after him, puzzled. Now, what the hell had that been all about? Then she sighed. Cas's schedule was at least as crowded as hers was, if not more so. That was why they never saw each other anymore. If she didn't have Scott leading her around all the time, she would probably have forgotten about a dozen meetings by now. Boy, would she be glad when this was finally over. She went back to the table to finish distributing the papers.
Cas knew where Scott's office was, of course. So the instant he'd left the boardroom, he popped over to the young Angel's office to wait for him. Because Scott had walked there, Cas was already inside when he got there.
When Scott let himself into the room and closed the door behind him, he was startled to see Cas standing there.
"I know what you're doing," Cas said coolly. "Or, rather, what you're trying to do."
"And what's that?" Scott asked him.
"Don't give me that," Cas snapped. "I saw you back there, even if my wife didn't."
Scott stared at him. So, this was the real Castiel, now. Patricia had been right. The guy was an arrogant jerk. He shrugged. "Even if I was doing anything, which of course I don't admit to, what do you care?"
Cas was incredulous. "What do you mean, what do I care? Gail is my wife!"
"In name only these days, from what I hear," Scott said insolently. So what if Cas got a little riled up? Scott had Gail wrapped around his little finger now. She didn't make a move without consulting with him, first.
"And just what is THAT supposed to mean?" Cas asked, his jaw clenching.
Scott shrugged. "If you can't, or won't, take care of your wife, maybe I should."
Cas's eyes flashed angrily. Scott had to be kidding with this. Cas reached into his jacket, took out his blade, and approached Scott slowly. "How dare you speak about Gail like that?" he said in his most quiet voice. But this situation was troubling Cas on several levels, now. Not only was Scott risking his own personal well-being by making Cas this angry, but the young Angel was speaking as if he knew something about their personal life that he would have no business knowing. In a way, Scott was correct; unfortunately, it had been a while since Cas and Gail had been able to be intimate with each other, mainly because they had been burning the candle at both ends. They were seldom in the same room together for more than five minutes. And even when they were, they were either exhausted from overwork, or due to appear somewhere in minutes. They had just been talking about that dilemma this afternoon, when they'd spent that precious few minutes with each other in their suite.
But there was no possible way that Scott could have known about that. None. Gail's assistant was probably just fishing. Speculating. He knew how crowded their schedules were. But Scott had found a sensitive spot. Cas HAD been feeling like he was neglecting Gail. Perhaps he should ease back on the campaigning a bit, and ask her to do the same. But, how dare Scott talk about Gail with so little respect, as if she would be fair game for the young Angel's attentions?
Cas stood staring at Scott, twirling his Angel blade casually in his hand. "Because my wife advises that you have been so helpful to her, I will give you one more chance. But, only one. If I ever catch you looking at Gail or talking about her like that again, I will come to talk to you once more. And the next time, our talk will not be nearly as pleasant."
"Either put that thing away or use it, Castiel," Scott said calmly. "Your choice. But, killing a fellow Angel in the midst of your campaign for the High Office? Probably not a wise career move."
Cas put the blade away slowly, but he continued to stare steadily at Scott. "If you think for one moment that I put anything, ANYTHING, above my wife, you will soon learn differently," he growled. Then he popped out of Scott's office.
He reappeared in the boardroom a moment later, startling Gail a little. She was setting up the Power Point program on the computer now. "I thought you had a thing," she said to him.
"I have a wife," he said by way of a response, "and she's the most important thing in the world to me."
Gail smiled. "Aren't you sweet. Well, if you'd like to have a seat, I need to get this set up, and then I'll be right with you."
Cas sat down on one of the chairs, and she said, "Actually, I'm glad you're here. If you're ever at a meeting that I'm unable to attend, you should know how to work this, too. Here, let me show you." She switched the monitor on, shining the screen on a whiteboard behind the head of the table. "So, you click on here, and when the drop-down menu appears, you just select the presentation you want. Then you touch the screen like this - " she demonstrated " - and then touch this button to start the slides."
Gail was thrilled with herself. She'd always been a little technologically challenged. Laurel had offered to do it for her during the meetings, but she had wanted to learn how to do it herself, and now, she had.
Cas was sitting there, patiently trying to follow along. But it seemed a little bit complicated to him, and quite honestly, he didn't really care.
"Cas? Did you get that?" Gail asked him. He said nothing, because he wasn't really sure what to say. He didn't, but he didn't want to say so, because he didn't want her to have to start all over again.
"Cas! Gail turned around to look at him. He was just sitting there, smiling at her. "Do you have any questions?" she asked her husband.
"Yes, I do," Cas replied. He rose from his chair, approaching her. "Would I need to touch you that many times, in that many places, to get a successful result?"
Gail started to smile. "Yes," she said pertly. "Yes, you would." Actually, it had been so long for them that all he would probably have to do would be to look at her for one more minute with that raised eyebrow of his. But, she was no fool. If he was offering, she was accepting.
Cas backed her up against the table and kissed her on the mouth, using his tongue. His body was pressed up against hers, and she could feel through his pants how excited he was, already. An instant later, he had winked them over to their suite.
"I've been neglecting you lately, and for that, I sincerely apologize," Cas murmured. He waved his hands, and a bouquet of roses appeared, laying on the coffee table. "What colour says 'I'm deeply sorry'?" Cas said charmingly. He kissed her again. "I can get a bottle of wine, if you'd like. Wine is romantic, is it not? It's what all of the couples drink in the movies."
Gail smiled. "I appreciate the thought, but at this particular moment, all I need to feel romantic is you." She winked them into the bedroom mid-kiss, and they started taking each other's clothes off right away. He swept her up in his arms and lay her down on the bed, entering her immediately. He pushed into her aggressively.
"Please say it, Gail," Cas breathed.
"I love you, my husband," she told him, holding him tightly.
"You are my wife and my one true love, and I place you above all else," he said in her ear, and a moment later, they were both crying out.
About an hour later, when they were resting, Cas was cuddling Gail, and she was smiling. "I'm sorry I've been so neglectful lately," he told her softly. "I've been so busy making up lesson plans, marking exams, and spending time with students who need extra work. So I'm mentally tired from teaching, physically tired from training, and weary of Riley chasing me around, giving me new poll results every five minutes. Pestering me to make more speeches, and campaign appearances."
Gail nestled herself in his arms. "I know exactly what you mean," she told her husband. "I've been working almost as hard as you have. We've been having a bunch of board meetings, and I've formed a subcommittee to serve as the Suicide Adjudication board, when we're ready for the influx of those poor people. And then, I'm dealing with Liz and Scott. They're pushing me to appear in more and more places, too. I miss you so much, but I keep telling myself it's only for a couple more months. We'll just have to grin and bear it, sweetie."
Cas nodded. She was right, as always. But it was so difficult. For a couple who were as close as the two of them were, being apart for any measurable amount of time felt like a physical ache in his stomach, and in his chest.
"I love you, my darling," he sighed. She rolled over to face him, and a few moments later, they were making love again.
It had to happen eventually, and so eventually, it did. Cas and Gail's campaign teams double-booked them to speak to a youth group called Guys And Girls For God.
The two of them showed up to the auditorium, pleasantly surprised to see each other. But their campaign managers were not.
"What are you guys doing here?" Riley asked Liz.
"What's it look like?" she replied. "Gail's speaking. What are YOU doing here?"
"CAS is speaking," Riley said. He had his candidate's agenda in his hands, and he was looking at it now. He found the entry, showing it to her. "See?"
"Well, I don't have Gail's schedule here with me, but they called this morning to confirm. I'm sure of it," Liz said, flustered.
"So what?" Gail said, shrugging. "We'll both speak." She smiled at Cas. "You'll be doing us a favour, actually. It'll be the first time I've laid eyes on him in days."
Liz and Riley exchanged glances. "There's a reason for that," Riley said hesitantly.
"Oh? And what would that be?" Cas asked him curiously.
A moment's silence, and then Riley said, "Because it's a month and a half till the election, and the two of you are supposed to be rivals."
Gail got it. She looked at Cas, rolling her eyes. "So, they're keeping us apart because we're too friendly with each other," she told her husband.
Cas's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Is that true?" he asked Riley.
"Well...it isn't untrue," Riley answered evasively.
"Oh my God," Liz said irritably. Gail did a double-take. It was so seldom that anything bothered Liz that the tone sounded strange coming from her friend. "What the hell kind of an answer is that, Riley?" Liz asked Cas's campaign manager.
The young Angel faced her. "Oh, come on, Liz. Don't tell me you haven't been doing the same thing," he accused her. "And I know Laurel's been doing it, too."
Cas and Gail looked at each other, startled. Was that true? Come to think of it, they hadn't seen Bobby in weeks.
"You can admit it, Liz," Riley persisted. "It won't make you any less of an Angel if you do. The truth is, we're getting close to crunch time, and the time for friendly co-existence is over. If you and your candidate don't really want to win, that's fine. But I do. I mean, Cas and I do."
"Oh, yeah?" Liz shot back. "Well, not only are we going to win, we're going to wipe the floor with you?"
Cas and Gail stood there bemused, watching Liz and Riley argue. Then they moved together and joined hands. Their campaign managers weren't even looking at them, so intent were they on their argument.
The couple winked themselves around the corner. "We're getting close to crunch time," Gail said to her husband, smiling.
"The time for friendly co-existence is over," he replied, answering her smile. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.
"I don't know if YOU want to win the election, but Riley sure does," Gail quipped. She kissed him, then touched his face.
"I'll have a talk with him," Cas said softly. He nuzzled her hand with his cheek.
"No, don't bother," Gail said into his ear. "It's almost October, and besides, this is sexy as hell."
Cas kissed her once more; a long, slow kiss, using his tongue. "I agree," he said, breaking the kiss after a minute. Then he smiled again. "I'll tell Riley that we'll be conducting completely separate campaigns from now on. And then, we'll sneak around behind his back."
They laughed together, and then they popped back over to where Riley and Liz were still arguing. Moments later, a young Angel popped his head out of the door that led into the auditorium.
"Castiel, we're ready for you now," he stated, and then he looked at Gail. "What are you doing here, Gail? You're not booked until tomorrow."
Riley glared at Liz. "Oops," she said, giggling.
Liz was a tad bit scatterbrained, Gail knew. But she was friendly, and she was sweet, and she was the most sincere and loyal friend that Gail had ever had. When the two of them got back to Gail's office, Liz plunked herself down on the couch, as usual.
"I'm sorry," she told Gail. "I guess I got the days mixed up. Maybe I should have checked with Scott, first."
Gail shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I meant what I said about it being nice to see Cas, if only for a minute or two. I'm only sorry that you and Riley had that argument. He's really a sweet kid, Liz. He's just getting a little carried away because he wants to help Cas so much. After this is all over, we'll get together socially, and you'll see."
"OK," Liz said amiably. "Oh, hey, I meant to ask you: did you ever read those journal pages that Sam gave you?"
"Come to think of it, no," Gail remarked. "I just put them in the bureau drawer of our suite. With all this election stuff going on, I figured I'd wait until after."
Liz was frowning now. "Well, seeing as you seem to suddenly have some free time on your hands right now, could you do me a favour and look at them?"
Gail's forehead wrinkled. "Why?"
"Because when we were little kids in that schoolyard, I think I might've seen your real father," Liz said sheepishly.
Gail was shocked. "What? Why didn't you tell me that before?"
"Don't get mad," Liz said quickly. "I don't know for sure that it was him. But I think now that it might have been."
Gail sighed. She sat down on the couch across from Liz. "I'm not mad, just curious," she told her friend. "Can you tell me about it?"
Liz had seen the man before, once or twice, looking through the fence into the schoolyard, but she hadn't really thought too much about it. She was an innocent child, and when she and Gail had been kids, "stranger danger" hadn't been as much of a thing as it was now. Besides, the man wasn't doing anything. He never came any closer, and he never talked to any of the kids. Come to think of it, the only children he seemed to watch were her and Gail. And she and Gail were shunned by the other kids, and virtually invisible to their teachers. So, Liz had said nothing.
He had been there the day that Liz had opened up that cut on her head falling off the monkey bars, and he had witnessed Gail's healing of her friend. But Liz had been so freaked out about her bloody clothes and the miracle that Gail had performed that she had pushed the man to the back of her consciousness. But recently, probably because she and Gail had been reminiscing about their childhoods so much, it had come back to her.
"It was creepy," she said to Gail now. "He just stood there, staring at us."
"What did he look like?" Gail asked her friend.
Liz thought about it. "Tall. Dark-haired. Dark eyes."
Gail was puzzled. "Ummm...what's creepy about that?"
"I don't know," Liz said uncertainly, but she was shivering from the memory. "He was grinning, but not like he was happy, or anything. I don't know how to describe it, Gail." She thought furiously. "Wait a minute. Yes, I do. Remember that Stephen King story we read in your room that one night, when I slept over? The one about the grinning monkey with the cymbals?"
"Oh, yeah," Gail said, making a face. "Boy, that was creepy. Don't tell me he looked like that!"
Liz's lips twitched. "Well, except for the furry monkey face and the percussion instrument, yeah." Then she giggled.
Gail was used to her friend's outbursts by now, so she thought nothing of that. But she was picturing the man now, staring at the little kids that she and Liz were, grinning that grin, and the image creeped her out now, too.
"And then, he disappeared," Liz said suddenly.
"What?" Gail said. She'd been distracted by the mental images in her brain.
"He disappeared," Liz repeated. "Vanished. Poof. Like we do, now."
Gail's eyes widened. Was Liz saying her father was an Angel? But, how could that be? Unless...she remembered back to during the tribunal, when they had brought up the subject of Nephilim's, humans that were born of a coupling of a human and an Angel. Ibrahim had called those individuals "abominations", and he'd commended Cas for killing one. She felt nauseous.
"Wait here," Gail said to her friend. She popped over to the suite, retrieved the journal pages, and brought them back. She read them aloud to Liz with mounting horror and confusion. Was this Vincent guy her father? If so, Oliver must be her uncle, and that guy Andy, too.
"Great," she told Liz. "This just keeps getting better and better. One of my uncles is a dead psychic, one's a schizophrenic in a looney bin, and my dad's a full-blown psychotic. What a family. Looks like my family tree has Dutch elm disease."
"You'd better talk to Cas about this," Liz said in a quiet voice. She couldn't believe it. According to Oliver's journal, this guy Vincent had killed a dog and tasted its blood when he had been just a kid, and then he had pinned the crime on his poor crazy brother.
Gail nodded slowly. Yes, she'd better. But not right now. "I'm going to wait until after the election," she told her friend. "Things are just too crazy right now. No pun intended."
"I wonder what happened after that?" Liz speculated.
"Yeah, me too," Gail replied. "Sam said he'd let us know if and when they find some more pages. But I don't want to stir anything up this close to the election. Cas has got enough to worry about right now. You know how he is."
Liz smiled. Yes, she did. It was sweet how protective Cas was of her friend. A short while back, Cas had stopped by Liz's office to talk to her, asking all kinds of questions about Scott. What was he like? Did Liz trust him? Liz had answered his questions, of course, but she had been bemused. She'd teased him, asking him if he was jealous, and he'd smiled. But it had been kind of a funny smile. Then he'd left.
Gail stashed the journal pages in one of her desk drawers.
A week or so later, Cas and Gail were in a bar with Dean in a small town in Indiana. He and Sam had just wrapped up a spirit possession case there, and Sam had gone off to see one of those movies with subtitles he liked so much. Dean had tried to Skype Nicole, but she hadn't answered. What time was it in Italy, anyway? Hell if he knew. So he had called Cas's cell, asking if his friends wanted to come down for a quick visit.
They shouldn't, Cas thought. But they had been working so hard, and he had hardly seen his wife in days. And neither he nor Gail had seen any of their human friends and family since the baby shower in August.
So here they were, and Gail slid into a booth across the room from the bar. She was just as thrilled as Cas was to be there. She asked the men for a glass of wine, and then she asked Cas for his cell phone. He gave it to her, and she turned on the display immediately, touching the screen.
Dean looked at Cas, eyebrows raised. "What's with Mrs. Buzzkill and your phone?" he asked his Angel friend.
Cas smiled. "Gail is playing a new game. It's called Candy Smash, I believe. You move coloured candies around..."
"I know all about it, Cas," Dean said, holding up his hand. He smirked. Angels playing Candy Crush. Too funny. "Get us a drink, Cas," he instructed his friend, and he slid into the booth beside Gail.
Cas went obediently to the bar as Gail said, "Crap!" She was looking intently at the cell phone screen. Dean joggled her arm. "Hey. Scootch over," he told her. Gail moved over to give him some more room.
"What's the matter?" Dean asked her.
"This game is fun, but it's also soooo aggravating," she told him. "I'm about to get blown up. Look!" She put the phone down on the table in front of him, pointing at the screen.
Dean looked for a moment, and then he smiled. "Not if you do this," he said, touching the screen. Suddenly, all kinds of different-coloured candies came cascading down the screen, wiping out the threat.
Gail looked at him, astonished. "How did you do that? And, more importantly, how did you KNOW how to do that?"
"I'm smart, that's how," Dean bragged. "Here, lemme show you."
They kibitzed for a minute or two, and then Cas came back to the table, holding a glass of wine in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. He cleared his throat, and Dean looked up. "What?" he asked his Angel friend.
Cas gestured with his head, and Dean took the drinks from him and set them down on the table. "Sit across from us, like a normal person," Dean said to Cas, rolling his eyes. "I'm showing your wife how to crush candies."
Cas sighed. He sat down across from them in the booth. He'd been hoping to sit beside Gail, so he could hold her hand, or kiss her on the cheek. He sighed again, more loudly this time.
Dean shook his head. "Get over yourself," he said to Cas. "You guys are weird that way, anyway." Then he looked back down at the phone. "No, don't move that one. Move that one, over there," he told Gail, pointing. "Trust me." A minute later, she passed the level she'd been struggling to pass. "Thanks!" she exclaimed. She put the phone down on the table and kissed Dean on the cheek. "Now I know who to talk to, the next time I need help." She raised her glass of wine. "Cheers."
Dean clinked his beer bottle to her glass, and then he looked at Cas. "What's the matter, Sergeant Buzzkill? Why the long face?"
"He's just been working very hard, Dean. So am I, but Cas has a lot more pressure on him than I do," Gail told their friend. "He's leading in the polls now."
Dean was puzzled. "Isn't that a good thing?"
"You would think so, but every time I turn around, Riley is reminding me that I'd better not mess it up by saying or doing something that I shouldn't," Cas told him. "We're not even supposed to be here right now. Riley wouldn't like it."
Dean smirked. "Riley? Young Riley? Our Riley?"
Gail smiled, taking a sip of her wine. "You should see him now, Dean. You wouldn't believe it. He's like a little pit bull. He nearly made a grown Angel cry the other day, from what I heard."
"Get outta here," Dean said. "Cas, is that true?"
Cas nodded absently, but he was staring off into the distance. "It's true, Dean," he confirmed. "He upbraided an Angel in class for not paying attention. Said he was wasting my precious time."
Dean's smirk grew wider, but Gail was looking more closely at Cas now, and she saw that he was working his jaw, like he did when he was angry. "What's the matter, sweetie?" she asked him.
"I had an unpleasant exchange at the bar with a man who is sitting at a table over there," Cas told them, somewhat stiffly. "He has been staring at us ever since."
Now, Dean was really amused. That poor bastard had better not stir it up with Cas; he would have no idea of what he was getting himself into. "What did he do?" he asked his Angel friend.
"He bumped into me, and then accused me of making him spill his drink," Cas replied calmly.
Dean shrugged. "So what? Guy's an asshat. Just ignore him."
"That wasn't the problem, Dean," Cas continued. "He called me an obscene name, and - "
"THAT'S your problem?" Dean scoffed. He nudged Gail. "Being around all you Angels is making him soft."
Gail grinned, raising her wine glass. "Don't look at me. I'm hardly the picture of Angelic virtue."
Dean nodded. "OK, well, that's true," he agreed. She punched him on the arm. "Oww!" he exclaimed, and then he looked at Cas. "Hey, Cas, control your wife, willya?"
That was usually good for a smile or even a quip from his friend, but Cas continued to frown. "No, you don't understand, Dean," Cas said. "After he called me an obscene name, he looked over here, and called Gail an even worse one."
Dean's eyebrows shot up. "Well then, in that case, why aren't you over there, punching that guy's lights out?"
Cas's brow furrowed. "Because Patricia has been spreading the word all throughout Heaven that I am a violent brute, who will not hesitate to draw my blade at the slightest provocation. Because she is alleging that, if elected, I will immediately start a Holy War with Crowley. Therefore, I am trying to exercise more self-control in that regard. Riley has advised me that perception is the key. If I am perceived to be violent, then people will believe that I am violent."
Dean couldn't believe it. He looked at Gail. "Are you buyin' this?" he asked her.
She gave him a half-shrug. "It's really important for Cas to win the election, Dean," Gail said non-committally. "We can't let Patricia win."
Dean opened his mouth, about to make some kind of a smartass comment, but then he closed it again. Maybe he should keep his yap shut. What did he know about elections in Heaven? But, Gail was right: there was no way they could let Patricia win. He'd probably never see these guys again, from what they had told him.
SMASH! The man that Cas had had the altercation with had grabbed his beer bottle and broken it on the edge of his table. He approached their booth now, menacing Cas with the sharp end.
"You need to quit staring at me," the guy said angrily to Cas.
Cas couldn't help but smile. If he were to be honest with himself, a large part of him had been hoping the man would come over here. He was really, really trying to exercise self-restraint, but the name this man had called Gail was echoing in his brain, and his blade hand was extremely itchy.
He looked down at the bottle, and then up at the man's face. "You do not want to do what you're doing right now," Cas said to him. "I suggest you return to your table and leave us alone."
Dean had a half-smile on his face now. This was more like the Cas he knew. Self-restraint was one thing, but he couldn't let this ass-clown get away with murder, either.
But Gail was struggling with herself now. It was true, what Cas had been saying. Every word. And not only had Patricia been making all kinds of inflammatory statements about Cas, but her supporters had been going around Heaven defacing his posters, writing "HOLY WAR" and "KILLER" on them in red ink. So keeping a lid on his temper was probably a really good idea right about now. But, on the other hand, this wasn't Heaven. It was Earth, and if this drunken fool insisted on threatening Cas, didn't he deserve what would be coming to him?
The man swore at Cas, and a couple of his buddies came over to persuade him to go back to their table. Gail was trying not to intercede, but a laugh escaped her. She just couldn't help it. The look on Cas's face was just too funny. As the man's friends took him away from their booth, Cas started to tremble with barely-controlled anger.
"Cas, man, settle down," Dean said, highly amused. He looked at Gail. "You know who he looks like? He looks like Tom Hanks in that stupid women's baseball movie you made us watch. You know, when he was trying not to yell at that outfielder who messed up?"
She burst out laughing. That was exactly what Cas looked like right now. "You liked that movie," she said to Dean, nudging him. "Admit it."
He finished his beer. "Yeah, OK. I'll admit it. That was probably the best movie a woman has ever forced me to watch."
She shrugged. "Hey, you could have left the room at any time. I didn't exactly handcuff you to the chair, or anything."
Dean smirked. "Well, anyway, that's how Cas looks now. All twitchy. Maybe we'd better just leave, before he blows a gasket." He started to slide out of the booth, and Gail followed him.
The man was yelling at them from his table now, swearing at Cas, calling him a "chickenshit". Gail put a hand on her husband's arm. "Just out of curiosity, which one of the magic words did he call me?" she asked him with some amusement.
Cas's jaw clenched. "He called you - " He stopped. "No. I can't say that to you."
Dean grinned. "Wow. It must be one of the really good ones. Here. Tell me." He moved close to Cas, and after a moment's hesitation, Cas whispered it in Dean's ear.
Dean's eyes widened, and he let out a whistle. "Yahtzee," he breathed. "Oh, Cas, man, you've gotta clean that guy's clock. You can't let him get away with that."
Gail poked Dean. "Don't encourage him. You heard what he said. He's trying to watch his temper, and I'm proud of him. As his friend, you should be supporting him, not egging him on."
Dean's mouth twisted into a smirk. "Oh, yeah? How about if I tell you that that asswipe over there called you a - " He leaned down and said the word softly into her ear, as Cas pursed his lips in anger.
Gail's eyes grew as big as saucers. "He did not," she said, astonished.
"Oh, but he did," Dean said, almost cheerfully. "Why do you think your husband looks like he's gonna short out, any second?"
Gail looked up at Cas. She waited a beat, and then said, "Go get him, sweetie."
Before she'd even finished the sentence, Cas strode over to the man's table, hauled him to his feet, and punched him full in the face.
"Ohhh, that's gotta hurt," Dean said gleefully.
The man fell to the floor unconscious, and Cas looked at the drunk's companions. "Does anyone else at this table want to say anything about my beautiful wife?"
They all shook their heads, and Cas nodded slowly. "That's what I thought," he said calmly. Then he came back to join his wife and his best friend. "Please tell Riley that my blade remained in my pocket the whole time," Cas said to them. Dean and Gail were laughing as Cas smiled proudly. They exited the bar.
It was the day before the scheduled political debate, and Patricia was organizing her notes. She was extremely frustrated. All she had as far as ammunition went were the remarks she was going to make, most of which were already a part of the public record, hearsay, and innuendo. All of her careful planning had come to naught. Neither Pamela nor Scott had succeeded in their efforts to compromise Castiel or Gail, and the surveillance of the Angels' suite had been a big bust, as well. Patricia watched the monitor every day on her computer, hoping to see or hear anything from the couple that would help her cause by hurting theirs, but she'd seen very little. The Angels were rarely even there, and even when they were, it was only for a few moments. She had overheard a brief conversation between them when they had been bemoaning the fact that they were rarely ever intimate with each other these days, and she had passed that little tidbit on to Pamela and Scott. But tomorrow was the last day of October, already, and the election was due to take place on November the 11th. The days of restraint had long since passed. Castiel was leading in the polls, and both Gail's and Bobby's numbers were very similar to Patricia's own. If both of the two young Angels, or even one of them, had been able to seduce one of the married candidates, that could have turned the whole thing around. But even though Castiel and Gail had apparently been forced into abstinence for the time being, neither of them had even come close to succumbing to temptation.
Patricia had also overheard Castiel and Gail talking about popping down to Earth to visit Dean Winchester, but that was the first time in a long time they had been to Earth, so she didn't think anything could be made of that, either.
Where was her smoking gun? She hadn't seen Alan since his report on Egypt, and the couple of times she had called him on Angel Radio, he had told her that he was working on something, and to be patient.
But the debate was tomorrow, and they had run out of time. She placed one more call to Alan now, and he told her that he was on the verge of getting something big. Give him another hour or so, and then he would come to her office.
Patricia was fuming, but she had little choice but to wait. And as she sat there in her office, refining her notes, Alan looked up from the table in the bar as his new acquaintance approached.
"Sorry I'm late, mon ami," the man said. "Can I buy you a drink?"