Where Do We Go From Here? Chapter 12

The three other people in the room waited tensely as Sam dialed the phone number that the email from Carver Edlund provided. Sam brought the phone to his ear and waited. The call was answered on the third ring.

"Sorry, sorry," the voice at the other end sounded out of breath. "I, ah… dropped the phone. Hey, guys. It's been a while, huh? Ha, ha."

"Chuck?" Sam asked, incredulously. Up until the wayward prophet had answered he had been certain that this was some sort of trick. But, that hesitant bumbling voice couldn't be anyone else.

"Put him on speaker," Charlie insisted.

"Uh, yeah," Sam held up his hand. "Chuck, can I put you on speaker so the others can hear? Ok?"

"Well, ok," Chuck Shurley, aka Carver Edlund, agreed. "I mean, the kids are out of the room anyway, right? So sure…"

"What? What kids?" Sam asked confused. "Hang on."

He put the phone on speaker and placed it on the table between him and the others. Charlie leaned in and spoke first. Sam really understood the meaning of fan girl as the redhead gushed out a greeting.

"Hi, there, Mr. Edlund," she all but squealed. "I am very fond of your work."

"Yeah," Chuck laughed softly. "Of that I am aware. You really like some of my early work best, huh?"

"Oh," Charlie looked uncertain. "I liked the whole series, Mr. Edlund. I was really in awe when I appeared in the books."

"Please, call me Chuck," the writer insisted. "Carver Edlund in just a pen name."

Dean was about to lose patience with the mini-con happening in front of him. "Ok, Chuck. Cut the crap. How are you even alive? Never mind, forget that. What did we do wrong? I know you are watching. Did Crowley get the translation wrong?"

"Uh, no," the writer giggled nervously. "It was heard loud and clear. But, here's the thing. There are only two beings listening in on the angel radio these days. Ask your current prophet. Everyone else is cut off. So watch what you send out in a prayer. Ok? Especially you, Dean!"

Three sets of eyes turned toward the elder Winchester. Dean grimaced and shrugged his shoulders. "What? What I pray is between me and God."

"And, apparently, Chuck," Kevin snickered. He paused to consider. "He's right though. It's all silent. I hadn't noticed because I had stopped listening long before Metatron. And, after the fall there didn't seem like any point."

"You know what, Dean?" Chuck laughed. "I change my mind. Keep at it. I bet it makes that little shit squirm every time you and Castiel get together. I can learn to tune it out. Just knowing that Metatron can hear the filthy things you think up about his big brother will make it all worthwhile."

Charlie burst out laughing while Kevin looked a little nauseous. Dean tried to look innocent but no one was buying it so he settled for glaring at the other three instead. He couldn't believe that Chuck could hear the things he was praying to God. That was just for God, right? Unless…

"Hey, Chuck," Sam decided that they had gotten too far off course. "We got a call from sheriff Mills today."

"Angel militia up in South Dakota?" Chuck asked. "I'm on my way there now. Castiel, Rachael and Crowley need to be there, too. Take care of them. You've got my number so give me a call when you get there, ok?"

Sam started to agree but, the line went dead. "He hung up!"

"So," smirked Charlie. "Just to recap, we definitely are going to Sioux Falls, God has heard us and Dean prays to God while fucking Castiel, an angel of the lord."

Sam chuckled and glanced at his brother who was looking dumbfounded. "Dean, did Chuck…?" He broke off at the warning glare from Dean. "Well, at least we know we are going in the right direction." He finished lamely. Dean nodded curtly and turned to go, hesitating at the door.

"Hey, err, Sammy?" asked Dean. "Come give me a hand? Make sure we have what we need and, uh, stuff?"

Dean glanced at the geek squad, but they had returned to breaking down their gear and weren't paying attention to the two brothers anymore. Satisfied that they could sneak off unobtrusively, Dean jerked his head toward the hall. The younger Winchester quietly stood and followed his brother out and down the hallway only to get dragged into a dusty unused study across the hall from their "TV room". Dean quietly but firmly shut the door before turning to look at Sam. For a moment they just stood there glaring at each other. Neither one wanted to be the first to say it. The all at once…

"What the fuck?" whispered Sam.

"Chuck is God?" Dean also kept his voice low.

"You got that, too?" asked Sam. "I thought I was imaging things."

"Why?" Dean frowned. "What did he say before you put him on speaker?"

"He asked if the 'kids were out of the room'," said Sam.

"Huh," Dean grunted.

"Are you going to ask Chuck for Cas' hand?" Sam smirked. "I really want to be there for that."

"Fuck you, bitch,"

"Jerk."

A wide grin broke out over Dean's face as he gazed up at his gigantor little brother. Sam tried to keep up the bitch face but Dean's enthusiasm was catching and a similar smile spread across his features. Then, something else passed over Dean's face. The emotion was so huge and raw that the acknowledgment of it clogged Sam's throat and made his eyes burn a little. He stumbled forward and caught Dean in a bone crushing hug.

"I love you, Sammy," Dean said softly. "I'm sorry that I've sort of been so wrapped up in Cas lately that I have dropped a lot of this on your shoulders. It made sense though, ya know? You are the smart one."

"It's ok, Dean," Sam whispered back. The two men stepped back from the embrace and stood shuffling their feet. "I kind of like having some responsibility for a change. It seems like I have been less and less useful over the past year. I'm glad that's behind me."

Dean made a dismissive gesture as if all the stress and worry he'd gone through during that time was nothing. And, really it wasn't anything. Now that Sam was better and they were back on an even keel it was even worth it. He still had Sam and that was all that mattered out of all that mess.

"So, do we tell the others about Chuck?" Dean asked. He wasn't really looking forward to confronting Castiel with this news.

"Charlie and Kevin didn't catch on," Sam said. "Maybe we interpreted that all wrong. You think we should wait until we see him?"

"I think a little warning would be good," Dean said. "Just think if it was Dad and we suddenly found out he'd been posing as the delivery guy from Vito's Pizza or something."

"Point taken," Sam agreed. "Let's wait until we are on the road. I'll go fill Charlie in so she can talk to Nan."

Dean nodded. "Ok, then. We should probably get ready to leave then. I'm sure Cas is grabbing me some clothes so I'll just check the trunk to see what we might be missing."

oOo

A quick perusal of the Impala showed that they had everything they needed. The advantage to having actively hunted over the last couple of months was preparedness. It also meant that everyone on the team could be ready on very short notice. As he slammed the trunk shut, Kevin was already loading gear into the yellow Gremlin.

Back inside, Dean brushed past Sam and Charlie who were in an intense whispered conversation and climbed the stairs to find Cas. Charlie caught his eye as he passed and he could see the amusement sparkling there. Dean shook his head and kept walking.

Dean paused in the open doorway to their room to watch Castiel gather up their weapons and clothes. They pretty much always kept a duffel half-packed, but it needed to be checked for missing items. Early in their relationship, Castiel had made it his domestic duty to pack for them. Dean cooked, but keeping their room tidy and managing their gear made Castiel happy. Dean didn't argue.

Zipping the bags shut, Castiel looked up and noticed his lover standing there. "I'm ok."

"Sure you are," Dean said. He came in and slid his arms around Castiel's waist and rested his chin on his shoulder pressing his face into Cas' messy hair. "We had a call from Chuck."

"What?" Castiel turned his head to peer over his shoulder at Dean. "Chuck Shurley? How?"

"I'll tell you about it in the car," Dean said. "He says we need to hurry."

Everyone assembled outside the bunker and sorted themselves into vehicles while Sam locked the bunker up tight. Kevin would ride with the girls while Sam and Crowley claimed seats in the Impala. Sometimes Castiel gave up his space next to Dean to let Sam ride shotgun next to Dean in his customary spot. When just the three of them went anywhere Cas would simply snuggle up close to Dean between them on the wide bench. Today, by unspoken agreement Sam took the back with Crowley while Dean pulled Cas close to him and draped his arm across his shoulders. Both the demon and ex-angel were feeling a little fragile and required care in handling.

Once they were outside the city limits of Lebanon and headed toward the state line, Cas turned to Dean and asked him what Chuck had called them about. Sam spoke up from the back and gave them a brief overview, leaving out the part about Dean's prayers. Crowley looked perturbed and muttered something about at least someone hearing his plea. The brothers eyes met in the rear view mirror and they did what amounted to a silent "rock, paper, scissors" that only a pair of siblings could do. Dean lost.

"The thing is," Dean began. "Sammy and I are almost certain that Chuck was hinting that he was God."

"So he's crazy, too?" Crowley scoffed.

Dean peaked at Castiel beside him. The same look of shock had settled on his face. Once you thought of it you couldn't see it any other way. Obviously the former angel could see the logic in that theory.

"If it's true…," Castiel murmured. "I don't understand. Why did he just stand back leading up to the Apocalypse and let all those things happen? He was there."

"Hey," Dean squeezed Cas' shoulder. "Free will, remember?"

"Yeah," Sam spoke up. "We are supposed to make it all work on our own. He just put the pieces in place."

"And hung around to watch," Crowley frowned. "He had a grand old time watching us struggle through all that. It's better than gladiator games. We're just the army men in his little sandbox."

Castiel turned and looked at the demon in the back seat. "I don't think that he is that callous. When he was gone after we stopped the apocalypse, I thought that you had gotten to him. When Kevin Tran came on the scene I assumed that you had killed him either by accident or on purpose. Though what good a dead prophet would be to you I didn't know."

"He asked us to watch out for you as well as Cas and Nan," Sam put a hand on the demon's shoulder. "You are important to him."

"He must have known that I would take over hell once Lilith was out of the way," Crowley said softly looking at his hands. "Even if I had been on Team Free Will's side before old Lucy was locked in the cage, I ended up the King of Hell. Wonder what he has in store for me now?"

Castiel had turned back around to stare stonily out the windshield. Dean reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. Castiel returned the squeeze glancing at him before returning his gaze to the road ahead. Once again the two brothers made eye contact in the mirror. This had gone better than expected, but both suspected that the real fallout from this revelation wouldn't be felt until they met up with Chuck Himself in Sioux Falls.

"I tell you one thing," Crowley smiled mirthlessly. "This certainly takes away the trepidation I felt knowing I would be face to face with Jody Mills again. What's the worse she can do? Slap me?"