A/N : If there's even one good thing coming out of me when I'm suffering from my oh so lovely pollen allergy it's that I'm too sick to go anywhere, but not sick enough not to be able to write. Which means I have tons of ideas and actually time to write them down.
Where Do We Draw the Line
Part 2 : Chapter 5
Dean was having a bad week, he hadn't seen Castiel in days, Lisa had been giving him the silent treatment since Monday morning and Sam had been trying to get him to talk to Lisa. Dean had tried to explain to him how he had tried to talk to her ever since last weekend, but she wouldn't listen. Unfortunately for Dean Sam wasn't very keen on listening Dean either. And on top of everything else Castiel was apparently too busy to exchange more than a few words over the phone every once in a while. By Saturday morning all Dean wanted was for someone to listen to him. It didn't take him long to remember he had promised to see Jo as soon as he had some free time on his hands, and he was on the phone almost in an instant, hoping that Jo hadn't planned anything for the evening.
Dean was glad to learn that Jo was more than happy to leave Ash to entertain his friend Garth, and that Dean should bring pizza when he would come. Dean felt better knowing that in a few hours he would be spending time with someone who actually wanted to see him. He hurried to tell Lisa about his plans, and promised he'd be back before 7pm, since he wasn't completely heartless and knew Lisa was planning on trying a new recipe for dinner. Lisa nodded her acknowledgement at Dean's words without looking up from the computer. Dean couldn't help but roll his eyes affectionately when he saw that she was once again lost in the land of Facebook, he doubted there was nothing that would ever stop him from finding some of Lisa's habits and quirks endearing.
Dean took his time getting ready to leave, and when he finally got to the Impala he made sure to follow all the speed limits. Driving the Impala calmed Dean's nerves considerably, and by the time he was out of the city the volume of the radio had been turned up and Dean was humming along the music. He had already placed an order at Jo's favorite pizzeria, and had said he'd be picking the order up in a little over an hour, which meant he had no need to hurry, and Jo would be pleasantly surprised when Dean would turn up on her doorstep with two pizza boxes, because Dean knew she wasn't really expecting him to get her any pizza. For a moment Dean actually forgot that he'd had a really crappy week.
So, after picking up the pizzas Dean headed to Jo's apartment. Dean had been right when he had suspected that she would be happily surprised to see Dean carrying the deliciously smelling boxes. She was quick to take the boxes from Dean and take them to the kitchen, before she ambushed Dean in the living room and gave him a bone crushing hug.
"God I've missed you," Jo said, completely ignoring Dean who tried to get her to ease her hold on him.
"Yeah, I've missed you too, but I'd appreciate if you wouldn't crush my ribs and kill me," Dean managed to say, and finally Jo backed off. She took a second to study Dean before speaking again, and as Dean had expected she wanted to know what had been going on in his life lately. Dean wasn't sure what to tell Jo, but she deserved to know certain things.
"Me and Lisa, well, we're not doing very well. We're pretty to just going our separate ways. It's just not working and I think we both stopped trying to do something about it a while back," Dean admitted, leaving the reasons out, at least for now, he didn't want to tell Jo about Castiel just yet. Jo didn't seem all that surprised by Dean's words, but she didn't seem happy either. Dean suspected that she had either talked to Sam or had figured everything out on her own.
"Sam said something along those lines when I talked to him a couple of days ago. I didn't really buy it, but I can't say it's a big surprise," Jo admitted and Dean made a mental note to have a chat with his brother about talking about his life to others, even if it was to Jo. Dean gave Jo a bitter smile before asking if they could maybe eat the pizza before it got cold, knowing full well that Jo knew he was trying to change the subject.
"Fine, but this chat isn't over. As your best friend I'm allowed to know things about your life," Jo said and followed Dean to the kitchen. Dean gave her a nod and went to grab a beer from the fridge, and getting one for Jo as well when she ordered it. They settled around the table, eating slices of each others pizzas and telling funny stories. Jo told Dean about Ash's adventures with Garth, and she went into a bit too much detail on the one time they had met a guy called Richie and nearly set Garth's home on fire. Dean laughed for the first time in what felt like years.
It didn't take long for day to turn into early evening, and Dean had to admit that he needed to go back home. He didn't hurry with getting up and leaving, and it took him over half an hour to finally pull his coat on and hug Jo goodbye.
"I'll come to see you soon," Dean promised, fully intent on keeping his word. He had missed Jo and not seeing her was actually quite strange, they had used to be in each others company a long time ago.
"You'd better, or I'll get on a bus and come to get you," Jo countered, making Dean laugh once more. Jo had been at his house a few times, but somehow it had become their habit to come over to Jo's place, and Dean wasn't one to question it.
On the way back home Dean started getting agitated once again, and the usually soothing sound of the Impala's engine did nothing to calm his mind. Dean didn't want to go home. He wasn't sure what he wanted at the moment, but he knew where he didn't want to be and that was a start. A part of him wanted to go to see Castiel, but Dean ignored it, hellbent on still being angry at Castiel for not being able to have even one normal conversation over the phone for the whole week. Not to mention that he was supposed to be working. And going to Sam's place was out of the question as well, with Sam being Sam, he'd feel obligated to get Dean talking about what was going on, and that wouldn't help this time, not to mention Dean didn't want to talk about it with anyone.
Thinking about it all made Dean seethe, and without really paying any attention to what he was doing he steered his car away from his usual route to home. He needed some time to be alone.
Sam had had an amazing evening with Jess, and there was nothing that could ruin his good mood tonight, not with Jessica looking so breathtaking in her new white dress, giggling at the joke Sam had told her while he went to get the wine Dean and Lisa had brought them as a housewarming present. Sam couldn't stop grinning, this was the one day that would be perfect, and he would be reminiscing about it when he was old.
"Sam, your phone is ringing. Don't worry, I'll get it for you," Jessica's voice pulled Sam away from his thoughts, and he grabbed the wine, corkscrew and the two classy wine glasses he had spend a good moment searching for.
"Who is it?" He asked upon entering their small living room, and the smile he'd had on his face fell instantly, Jessica seemed extremely worried. Sam couldn't believe this was happening, it had been such a perfect day so far. He placed the wine and the glasses on the small table they had brought not six days ago, and quietly asked if he should take the phone. Jessica nodded and told who ever was on the other end of the line that Sam was now there, and handed the phone to her boyfriend. Lisa's voice greeted Sam over the line, and as soon as she started explaining Sam what was wrong he understood why Jessica had seemed so worried.
"Dean isn't here, and normally I wouldn't bother worrying but we've been arguing and fighting for God knows how long and he promised he's be here before seven, because he knows it always takes me a longtime to get anything done when I try a new recipe for dinner. He's always saying that if I try to cook something I haven't done before then maybe I should start earlier because otherwise he might starve to death. And now it's past ten and he's not here. I tried calling him but his phone was turned off. I just need to know he's okay," Lisa's voice broke, and Sam could understand her worry, Dean wouldn't break a promise unless he absolutely had to.
"Okay, Lisa? We'll find Dean. Jessica and I are coming over there, because I don't think it's a good idea for you to be alone right now. I'll get Dean back home before you know it," Sam promised and was glad to see that Jessica had already put the wine back where it belonged and had grabbed their coats and keys. She was truly an amazing woman. Sam ended the call with a promise to be at Lisa's home within minutes while he and Jess walked to their car.
"I'm really sorry about our evening," Sam said as he started the car and, without actually speeding, drove as fast as he could to his brothers house.
"It's okay, you'll just have to make it up to me later," Jessica answered with a mischievous smile. Sam managed to smile to her in return, and the rest of the trip was done in anxious silence. Jessica might be new to the Winchester family, but she genuinely liked Dean and was worried about him, as well as about Lisa.
Lisa was waiting for them by the door by the time Sam and Jess arrived at their destination. Jessica was quick to usher her back inside and make her sit down, while Sam started calling their friends and family to see if anyone had heard from Dean. He grew more and more worried as everybody told him that they hadn't talked to Dean, and when Jo said Dean had left hours ago Sam considered calling to all the hospitals in the area as well. He was about to do just that when a thought hit him like a train, there was still one person who might know where Dean was.
"Can I borrow your phone Lisa? You probably have some numbers I don't have," Sam said and Lisa handed her phone over quickly without a word.
"I'm gonna go outside to grab some fresh air. I'll be right back," Sam said to the women seated on the couch, and hurried outside. He remembered Dean's recount of a shopping trip not long ago, and while he had been sympathetic to Dean at the time now he couldn't have been more grateful about it. It took a while before his call was answered, and Sam's patience was starting to wear thin.
"Hey," a questioning voice answered, and Sam send a silent thank you to heavens.
"Hi, I'm Sam Winchester, Dean's brother. Lisa gave me your number," Sam explained hastily.
"Oh, right, the genius. Pamela Barnes, nice to make your acquaintance." Sam decided to ignore being called a genius, right now it was time to concentrate on finding Dean.
"Yeah, um. I have a request to make. I need to talk to Castiel, and I know you know him. I was hoping you could help me," Sam said, deciding to jump straight to business and exchange pleasantries on some other time. The line went silent for a long time, and Sam was just about to explain why he made such a request when Pamela spoke up again.
"There's very little that would make me do anything to even consider giving his number to you or anything like that, but I gotta ask out of curiosity, why?" Her voice was stern, and Sam could tell she would protect her friend, no matter what it took.
"I know what's going on between Dean and Castiel, and personally I have nothing against him, I haven't even met him, so there's no need to worry about me yelling at him or beating him up, but Dean's missing, and Castiel might be the only person who knows where he is," Sam explained a lot more calmly than he thought was possible at the moment.
"Why didn't you just say so in the first place? God you guys can be so thick sometimes. You got a pen?" Pamela replied almost instantly, and Sam was a bit taken aback by it. He told Pamela that he had another phone in his hands, and took up the number he was given.
"Cas is supposed to be out right now, so if he doesn't answer right away wait a minute, he'll call you back as soon as he finds his phone from his bag. Trust me, he's one of the most easily reachable people I know. If you got his number," Pamela instructed, and Sam thanked her for her help before ending the call. He copied the number flashing on Lisa's phones screen to his own and saved it before deleting it from Lisa's. Dean would kill him if he found out Sam had accidentally given Lisa the means to contact Castiel.
Sam took a deep breath and calmed himself down. Panicking wouldn't help Dean in any way, and he didn't think panicking would help him when talking to Castiel, if he could reach him. When Sam was ready he hit the call button and waited with baited breath for the call to be picked up.
Castiel made his way to the bus stop as he tried to find his phone from one of his bags many pockets before it stopped ringing. He cursed under his breath when the ringing stopped seconds before he could find his phone and he was surprised to find out that the call had come from a number he didn't recognize. What made the whole thing unusual was the fact that the number was persistently flashing on the screen of Castiel's personal phone. Castiel came to a halt when he reached the bus stop, andCastiel checked the time, and after finding out he still had over ten minutes before the bus would arrive, he decided to take a chance and call the mystery number. A kind but slightly worried voice answered the call, and under any other circumstances Castiel might have thought it was attractive, but right now he had only one thing in mind.
"How did you get this number? Because I don't remember giving it to you and I'll have a big lawsuit at my hands if you found it from a phonebook. And if Pam put you up to this you tell her I'll torch her eyes out unless she stops acting like a baby," Castiel begun without thinking. The voice on the other end of the line was dead quiet for a long moment.
"Um, okay. Hi, I'm Sam Winchester, Dean's brother. I actually did get your number from Pamela, but I haven't been put up to do anything," the mystery voice told with a careful tone. Castiel was dumbstruck for a few seconds before his brain caught up with who he was talking to and a bright smile spread to his face.
"So you're the guy who makes Einstein look like an idiot," he declared triumphantly, proud in his slightly sleep deprived state that he had remembered what Dean had told him about his younger brother.
"I don't know about that," Sam replied, sounding a bit embarrassed by such compliment, Castiel liked the guy already.
"That's what Dean always says when he talks about you," Castiel said, not quite understanding what the big deal was.
"Actually, it's Dean I wanted to talk to you about," Sam changed the subject, turning serious. Castiel prepared himself for a moral speech about sleeping with married men, so what Sam told him was rather shocking.
"I was wondering if you've seen him. He went to see a friend who lives out of town this morning, and he was supposed to come back hours ago. Jo said he left on time but no one we know has seen him or heard from him. I thought you might know where he is," Sam explained, his voice worried.
"No, I'm sorry. I've been out of town myself, I'm actually waiting for a bus right now. Dean knows I'm not home so I don't think he'd go there since I was supposed to come back tomorrow morning," Castiel admitted, growing worried every second.
"Shit. Okay, maybe you could maybe call me or something if you hear from him?" Sam requested, worry evident in his voice, and Castiel could relate to that.
"No problem. And if you need help finding Dean just let me know. He might have gone someplace, maybe get a drink or something. I haven't actually seen him this week but we've talked on the phone a few times and he's sounded a bit stressed," Castiel answered. He was already going through all the possible places Dean might be in his mind.
"I hadn't even thought about that, maybe I should go check the town or something. And some help might actually be a good idea, if you don't mind. I don't really know this city all that well yet and Dean could be anywhere," Sam said, and somehow Castiel could tell he was already coming up with a plan to find his brother.
"My bus is at the central stop at 23:45, if you want to come and pick me up. We'll find Dean," Castiel suggested and Sam was quick to agree. They ended the call, and Castiel was happy to see the bus coming. He got on the bus in a hurry and found himself a seat while mentally getting ready to meet Dean's younger brother for the first time. Dean had told Castiel that Sam had nothing against him, and Castiel hoped it was true, he wasn't sure he could handle being in the presence of someone who didn't like him when Dean was missing and he was worried beyond believe.
The bus ride seemed to last forever, and Castiel actually considered getting up and asking the driver to hurry up a few times. When the bus finally reached its destination Castiel was the first person out of the doors, receiving few disgruntled words from the other passengers who all seemed a lot more tired than he was. Castiel scanned the mostly empty parking lot until he spotted a very tall young man standing by a car, checking his phone every few seconds. Castiel smiled and hurried to the man, who had raised his eyes from his phone to him.
"Hello," Castiel greeted Sam and offered his hand to him.
"Hi, nice to finally meet you," Sam replied and shook Castiel's hand before motioning him to take a seat in the car. Castiel complied, knowing that the time for getting to know Dean's brother would come later.
"Would it be too much trouble if we would drive by my place? I'd like to change my clothes and there's always the chance that Dean might have forgotten I'm not supposed to be home and gone there," Castiel said when Sam drove the car away from the parking lot. Sam glanced at him and raised his eyebrow, and Castiel gave him a sheepish smile. He was glad he didn't really look like an escort, but he knew Dean would recognize his work attire and Castiel didn't want to cause anymore trouble. Sam agreed to take Castiel to his home, and after receiving the address and a few driving instructions he nodded and set the course.
Once they arrived on their destination Castiel guided Sam hurriedly inside, greeted the doorman and asked if anyone had tried to contact him. The doorman shook his head apologetically and gave Sam a quick once over. Castiel pulled Sam to the elevator, and the ride up was done in heavy silence. Castiel didn't really pay attention to the act that he was taking a complete stranger to his home, something he didn't usually do even with people he knew, Dean, Pamela and Chuck being the exceptions to the rule. Once they were inside his apartment Castiel couldn't help but smile at Sam's awed expression.
"How can you afford this?" Sam asked after Castiel turned on the lights and told Sam to make himself at home while he would change into something more appropriate.
"I got it from my employer, he's an art dealer and owns a few places around the world. He never used this one and I needed a place to stay," Castiel told Sam without thinking about it too much, he had come up with answers to most work and money related questions a long time ago. Sam nodded and Castiel gave him a moment to look around and learn what he could about the man who was having an affair with his brother. Castiel did a quick job changing his clothes, and after that he hurried to the kitchen to start the coffeemaker.
"I've been up for over 20 hours," Castiel explained when Sam came to see what he was doing. Castiel grabbed his thermos and stood by the coffeemaker, willing it to work faster.
"I don't think that staring at the machine will make it work any faster," Sam observed with amusement in his voice, and Castiel jumped a bit before turning around to look at him with a smile.
"That's exactly what Dean said to me. I tried to explain to him that it was morning and I was fully aware that I can't actually stare electronic devices to work any faster, but it didn't mean that I couldn't try. Besides I was really tired and it was Dean's fault," Castiel said before thinking about what came out of his mouth. He quickly turned back to the coffeemaker and mentally banged his head against the counter. It probably wasn't the best of the ideas to start talking about all the times Dean had stayed the night at his apartment to Sam.
"I've never seen Dean as happy as he is when he talks about you. He gets all dreamy eyed, and it's actually kinda disturbing. I don't know what you did to make him that happy, but thank you," Sam said softly after a long and uncomfortable silence. Castiel turned back around and looked at Sam bemusedly. He had never been thanked for ruining someones marriage before. Unsure of what to say Castiel simply nodded and poured the now ready coffee to the thermos.
"Lets go find Dean," he said determinately and led Sam back to his car. They had a long night ahead of them.
A/N : Facts about this chapter
1) I had this weird idea of Ash and Garth teaming up.. Don't know if it'd be any good but at the moment the idea seemed pretty funny.
2) Richie is a hunter in the episode Sin City (03x04)
3) I kept thinking if I should write Sam's POV here, but in the end I don't think that this would've worked without it.