AN: Dean has a plan.

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Fishsticks
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Benny rolled his eyes as another sighed drifted up from where Dean lay, sprawled out with his tail trailing in the water. It was too early in morning to be dealing with a love sick mermaid. He made his way to Dean and tugged the portable TV from the mermaid's hands. 'All right,' he said as he sat down, 'What's wrong?'

Dean stared at his hands for a minute before looking up at Benny. 'He didn't show up last night,' he said. 'He said he would and he…never showed up.'

Benny pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew exactly who Dean was talking about. All yesterday, after he had dropped Castiel off, Dean had gone on and on about the marine biologist. He had already had his ear talked off by Castiel just prior—the poor guy had a lot on his mind, and Benny had been willing to just let him talk. Unfortunately, Dean then needed to know everything that Castiel had said.

'Look, he probably forgot,' Benny said with a sigh. He was trying to be patient with Dean. He really was, but Dean's persistence on certain matters could get annoying. 'Getting fired is…stressful for humans, and exes…even more so.'

Dean rolled onto his back and stared at a cloud passing overhead. 'So…you think I still have a chance?'

'You want some advice?' Benny asked, and Dean nodded. 'Drop it.'

Dean turned his gaze to Benny, giving him a half-hearted glare. 'I don't want to. He's…gorgeous, and that voice is amazing, and… I like him,' he said, finishing with a small shrug.

'Dean…not everyone is trustworthy,' Benny said. 'Do you have any idea how easy it woulda been for me to let Desmond kill you? Hell, you're probably worth more alive! Do you want to end up being dissected or as someone's pet?! You could be the next major attraction at Sea World. How's that sound?'

Dean sat up and crossed his arms. He tried to control his fins. Benny wasn't challenging him. He was just looking out for him. 'I don't think he'd do that,' he said quietly.

'You don't know that,' Benny pointed out. 'You don't know him.'

Dean's fins flared out as he had an idea. 'I'll get to know him.'

'What? How are you gonna manage that without him finding out about…you?' Benny asked, gesturing to Dean's tail. 'You can't date someone from under a dock.'

'You asked me before what I wanted for helping,' Dean said as he turned to face Benny with a happy grin. 'I want clothes.'

'Clothes… Dean, you don't…'

'I'll dry out,' he said, flicking his tail. 'I'll date him like a human!'

Benny stared at Dean. His eyes traveled over Dean's body and down the long tail. 'What?'

'I'll lose the tail,' Dean said. 'I'll have legs like a human. So…I want clothes. Clothes that are good for attracting a mate.'

Benny pulled his hat off and scratched his head. 'Okay,' he said reluctantly. 'I'll bring you some clothes tomorrow. I guess you'll be needin' a place to stay?'

'Only if my brother says I can't stay with him.'

.-.-.-.-.

Gabriel stood in front of a small waterfall. In front of him was the rest of the small film crew, sans Castiel. Whereas he was wearing jeans and a dark, button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, everyone else wore shorts and t-shirts. On Balthazar's shoulder rested a large camera. He sighed to himself as he adjusted the focus and watched Gabriel check his reflection in a handheld mirror. To his right stood Charlie, holding up a boom mic. Samandriel and Anna were kneeling near Balthazar's other side; Anna was propping up a white piece of board and yawning while Samandriel reviewed his journal, a clapper resting against his ankle.

Gabriel bared his teeth and stuck out his tongue before deeming himself acceptable. 'Okay, I think I'm ready.'

'Been rolling for the past two minutes,' Balthazar said.

'If there's a gag reel, that's going on it,' Anna added.

'You're just jealous,' Gabriel said smugly.

'The only thing I'm jealous of is your paycheck,' Anna replied, earning grunts of agreement from the other three.

'Obviously, you're on the wrong side of the camera!'

'I'm good with this side,' Balthazar replied. 'If I do something stupid, there won't be any publicity about it.'

'It was one time!' Gabriel groaned.

'No…you've only been caught one time,' Samandriel said with a big grin.

'Shut up, Alfie.'

'All of you shut up,' Anna said. 'I wanna get this done sometime today.'

Gabriel tossed the mirror to the ground and took a few deep breaths. He held the last one before exhaling slowly. He smirked at the camera gestured to the area around him. 'Next week, on Mysterious Mysteries, we head to the magical isle of Bora Bora! What secrets are hidden beneath the lush forest and pristine waters? Tune in and find out!'

He gave a wink as he raised his hand then snapped his fingers. After a moment's pause, he shifted his weight.

'Wait, do another one,' Charlie said, pressing her hand against her headphones. 'I keep picking up a loud bird… Just do it a couple times, and I'll fix it in post.'

Gabriel sighed and nodded. 'Isn't that why you always have me wait before talking? So you can just…pluck it out?'

Charlie stared at him. 'Yes. That's exactly how it works. I don't have to adjust any levels or anything. Your mic just picks up you. No way it picks up clothes moving or annoying birds going "ka-kaw". Do you wanna do this?'

Gabriel waved his hands in front of himself. 'No, I'm good. I'll do it again.' He never wanted to see any editing program of any sort ever again.

Samandriel held up the clapper in front of the camera. 'Teaser take two.'

After four more takes, one where a gust of wind blew Gabriel's hair into his face, Charlie deemed them ready to move on to the next scene.

'Bora Bora… Tropical paradise. Tourist destination. Exotic love affairs!' Gabriel waggled his brows suggestively. 'What other wonders does this magical land hold? Could it possibly be the new home for a…sea dragon?'

'Cut!' Samandriel shouted.

Gabriel threw his arms up. 'Now what?!'

'You said "dragon." We're calling it "serpent," remember?' Samandriel said, shaking his journal at Gabriel.

'But that doesn't sound as cool,' Gabriel whined.

'We wanna be consistent,' Samandriel replied. 'Besides, aren't you trying to suck up to Castiel?'

Gabriel grimaced and nodded.

'Still rolling,' Balthazar said.

Samandriel raised the clapper. 'Opening take two…'

Gabriel shook his arms out before facing the camera again. 'Right… Okay… Bora Bora…'

.-.-.-.-.

Castiel waited for Crowley to answer the phone. The bungalow he was in was a lot nicer than he was expecting. He needed to get ahold of Crowley and find out exactly what was going to be expected of him in return as soon as possible.

'Hello, Castiel,' a woman's voice answered. 'Do you like the room?'

'Jody…hello. Um, yes. It's…very nice,' Castiel replied. 'I'm trying to reach Crowley.'

'Hm… He's a little tied up,' Jody said. Movement and the sound of bedsprings could be heard over the phone. 'Has my Roddy been a good boy? Has he earned a phone call?'

Castiel sighed and stared at the ceiling. 'I can call back later,' he offered.

'We were just finishing up,' Jody said over the sounds of rustling fabric and clasps.

'Castiel. So nice to hear from you,' Crowley said, his accented voice not quite clear. 'Darling, did you forget something? Mmm, thank you. Now, Castiel. To what do I owe the pleasure?'

'The uh…room's too nice,' Castiel replied, getting straight to the point.

'There's no such thing.'

'What do you want? What am I going to owe you?' Castiel asked as he paced the bungalow. He stopped as he exited onto the terrace and looked out at the darkening sky. He had to admit, the view was amazing.

'Like I said before,' Crowley replied, 'you're going to be getting quite popular soon enough. I want that popularity tied to my next project.'

'And that's all?' Castiel said, letting the suspicion seep through his voice. 'Forgive me if I don't believe you.'

'Look, I got an amazing deal on the room. It's off season, so it's no problem. Don't think about it too hard.'

'Uh-huh… Who did you blackmail?'

'I don't know what you're talking about,' Crowley replied.

Castiel could just imagine the smirk and sidelong glance that went with the tone. 'Fine. At least Muffin likes it,' he said as he watched the cat pace the edge of the plunge pool nearby.

'Yes. The cat,' Crowley said distastefully. 'No, you do not love that cat! That demon scratched—hey!'

'Cassie, tell Muffin I love him, and I'll see him soon!' Jody said cheerfully.

'See him… W-what?'

'Yes, wonderful. You ruined the surprise,' Crowley said, his voice becoming louder as he regained control of the phone.

'You're coming here? You're staying…here? With me? Why?!'

'Well…Jody does have some paid vacation saved up,' Crowley said. In the background, Jody let out a joyful cheer. 'We were going to go skiing, but…you just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Off season Bora Bora. Decent weather. Cheaper.'

'Wetter,' Castiel said. 'You can't… I'm in this mess because of you!'

'I didn't get you fired.'

'No, but…' Castiel sighed and dropped the phone to his side. How could he phrase 'you made my ex break up with me' without sounding like a petulant teenager? He raised the phone back to his ear. 'Just…don't talk to the film crew. Okay? If they ask questions about us, don't answer.'

'Why would I ever tell anyone about anything we ever did? I stand to lose just as much as you do,' Crowley said angrily.

There was a loud, ratcheting click over the phone. 'Crowley?'

'I'm sorry, Cassie, but Roddy's under arrest,' Jody replied. 'Again.'

'Gonna make me confess?' said Crowley's partially muffled voice.

Castiel groaned in frustration. 'Can you at least tell me when you'll be here?'

'I think we were looking at about a week or so? I have a few loose ends to tie up, and Rod's got a lecture at the college in a few days,' Jody replied. 'Oh, and Cas?'

'Yes?'

'I know you don't wanna hear this, but I'm glad you're out of there.'

Castiel sighed as the line went dead. Everyone seemed to be happy for him. He wished he could feel the same way. Even if working under Naomi had been an absolute nightmare, at least he felt like he was useful. Even Inias had sounded jealous over Castiel's situation.

He reentered the bungalow, Muffin right on his heels. As he got ready for bed, he wondered if he would dream about 'Dean' again. For a drunken hallucination, Castiel certainly was hung up on him. He decided to enjoy his privacy while it lasted.