AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I don't I have many warnings for this chapter, actually.

There's a little fluff, a little demon horde, a smidge of romance and…that's about it.

Pups is a life saver and helped me with names.

Enjoy!

=P

****

Mae had no doubts in her mind where Castiel was going to pin her down when he held onto her and turned them around so her back was to the bed and his was to the door. The frenzied kiss, however, as much as she enjoyed the fervent attempt to draw her in and taste her, she was using up energy she wasn't sure she had in that moment. In fact as her head hit the pillows when they tumbled down on the bed, she could feel the exhaustion asking to be lifted as the softness supported her neck.

"Cas?" Mae whispered as he discarded his coat and tie, working on his buttons.

"I love you too." He told her, swooping down to place open-mouthed kisses to her neck.

Mae whimpered a little, which made Castiel smile, all the while not aware that she was trying to explain her current state to him—not egg him on. He was on a lustful autopilot, however, and soon the red fitted three-quarter length sleeved button-up top she was wearing was open and Castiel's mouth was on the move. She smiled a little as she remembered that he had interpreted her saying his name in question form as a, 'hey, say it back', and stroked his hair as he looked up at her, stopping his mouth since she was no longer responding like she normally did.

"Mae?" Castiel asked her softly, placing one more kiss right above her belly button. "What is it?"

Mae opened her eyes and bit her lip, making eye contact with him. "I really can't."

Castiel stiffened a little. "I did not mean—"

"—I'm just exhausted is all. Really and truly I will make this up to you later, but for now I need to sleep. The crying and the yelling and the searching for ice cream has seriously worn me out. I want to—believe me when I tell you that I want to—I just have barely any energy right now." Mae explained, blushing a little bit.

Castiel nodded and kissed her back up to her lips, resting his hand on her breast and using his thumb to stroke the skin of it above the cup. Mae smiled a little and nuzzled his nose with hers, pulling out of the kiss and sinking into the pillows a little more. She enjoyed staring deeply into his blue eyes, and for some reason seeing him smile fondly at her was a little weird, but incredibly attractive. He stopped stroking her skin and slipped his fingers into her hair instead until she stirred, making him sigh almost at once.

"I need to put the ice cream in the freezer." Mae said suddenly. "No point in eating it now since the caffeine isn't going to kick in and you're here so I can't mope about you being a giant douche bag."

Castiel nodded and rolled off of her, lying on his back and watching her get up off of the bed and grab the ice cream. He really wanted her to button her shirt back up before heading out into the throng of the Winchesters, but before he could tell her that she was already speaking to him. Instead of interrupting her, he let her say what it was that she wanted to say, knowing he owed her for everything, whether it was entirely his fault or not…and he still blamed himself for her death.

"Do me a favor and discard the open button-up, the belt and the khakis and sleep with me like a normal human tonight, all right? The angels can jingle you when they need you, I just…I want you here with me right now—even if I can't perform." Mae told him with a small laugh. "Can you do that for me, Cas?"

"Anything you wish." Castiel replied.

Mae smiled and pulled her shirt closed with one hand and that made Castiel smile a little more before he sat up to remove his shirt and Mae headed out of the bedroom door. Dean had already gone to his room and Sam was sleeping, so the trip to the kitchen from her room was simple. After depositing the pint of ice cream into the freezer, Mae hurried back up to her room and closed the door behind her as Castiel got into her bed clad only in boxers. She set to shoving off her jeans and tossing them in the hamper, then she got a black tank top from the dresser and shed her button-up shirt to pull the tank top on over her head, running her fingers through the loose curls.

"You're beautiful." Castiel told her from the bed with a goofy look on his face. "I honestly do and do not understand why emotions are so frowned upon for angels."

Mae blushed a little as she turned off the light and got under the covers to snuggle with her angel. "Yeah? Enlighten me."

Castiel wrapped his arms around her before he continued. "When we get too close to our charges we are…punished. It is not for us to indulge in pleasures of the flesh or to find ourselves familiar with greed or envy or jealousy—emotions are a sure fire way to lead to the seven deadly sins. However…love? God does not frown upon love—in fact he encourages it and the warmth and trust that goes hand in hand with it."

"I'm sorry then." Mae told him, lazily running her finger along his naked torso.

Castiel tilted his head a little to look at her. "What do you possibly have to apologize for?"

"Seducing you." Mae replied with a small shrug, kissing his chest as she nestled herself further into him. "I mean…I made you go and act on lust."

Castiel whispered to her playfully that he forgave her as she yawned, and kissed the top of her head, holding her tightly as she began to drift off, thinking about him. Through the lustful thoughts, the meaningful talks, and the arguments and the love making, Mae and Castiel had fallen in love and they both had a fleeting feeling that it wouldn't last too much longer between them. As soon as Bael was taken care of, even when a new demon threat rose, Castiel would be at the mercy of the angels and Mae had to remember and accept that. She also had to accept that Castiel was never going to have his own body…technically she was with Castiel and his vessel…with Castiel and Jimmy.

"Is it selfish of me to want you to fall so you can be with me?" Mae asked Castiel tiredly and then she tensed up. "Of course it is, I'm sorry—forget I mentioned it. I hadn't meant to even say it out loud."

Castiel kissed her head lovingly and nodded into her, wishing he knew what to say, but he really didn't. Before Mae had died Castiel had been feeling like he wanted to fall just to be with her, but they both knew that wasn't his destiny. It was in that moment that the two of them realized that it would be easier to be away from each other, but neither of them wanted to acknowledge the thought out loud…neither of them wanted to ruin this moment. When it came to saying 'goodbye' they were both going to be broken, but for now that didn't matter…for now they had each other.

****

Maion couldn't believe that he was still trapped with the demon horde. Bael he knew wasn't going to show his face again, but he didn't know if Zachariah would show himself or not. At this point, Maion was weighing his options and he was pretty sure exactly what he was going to do—treat this like a business opportunity and get himself out alive. There was absolutely no telling what would happen to Maion should he choose unwisely, and since he couldn't help anyone on either side dead, he had to pick even if he didn't want to exactly be on the side he might have to choose.

"We're moving out." One of the demons told Bael, looking him directly in the eye as she crouched down to his level as he sat on the floor. "Seems that some of your brethren are going to try and save you and all of the humans in here…only not so much."

Maion watched as the brunette smiled at him and he swallowed. "You really think you can kill us all before they strike?"

She shrugged, a wild grin claiming her face. "I think I'd like to keep you at least. Thanks to the symbols your brothers and sisters that do come will be cut off from communication with the outside, so they won't be able to signal out that it's all one big trap."

Maion swallowed as two screams were heard from the other room. "They'll come in, see the blood and leave."

"I think we both know angels better than that—they'd never just leave you here if they didn't see you dead." She responded, wetting her lips. "I think it's actually quite endearing this 'never leave a man behind' crap. Too bad so many angels will fall tonight…and before you ask, I think you know the answer to the question swimming around in your handsome head."

Maion swallowed and nodded—it wasn't common knowledge, but it was in fact known to a few selected angels that only another angel could kill an angel. Since Zachariah had fallen and no longer had his grace, then that meant that there was an angel on the inside that had been swayed by either Uriel or Zachariah that they hadn't yet caught. It was becoming increasingly hard to trust anyone, and Maion almost wished she could have killed him then and there, but she was eyeing him like he was her personal play thing. She leaned in a little farther, their eyes meeting, before that wild grin took over again and Maion had to look away from her—every scream that resounded was just music to her ears.

"Part of you doesn't care…deep down part of you could care less about the human race." She told him with a shrug, standing up and continuing to look at Maion as he stared at the pumps on the feet of the brunette woman the demon was inhabiting currently. "It's not weak to join us, you know? In fact it's rather strong…brave."

Maion scoffed at that. "Oh really? How is betraying the father, strong, exactly?"

She laughed and it made Maion swallow. "You don't think it's incredibly brave to stand up to God? You don't think it's incredibly brave to stand up on your own two feet?"

"We do stand on our own…we simply see his vision as he does." Maion tried to explain, but he knew that even he didn't believe the words that had just come out of his mouth.

Nodding and then crouching down again, she lifted his chin up with her fingers and their eyes met. "Just think about it…you have until we get back to Bael to decide…he really doesn't want to spare you like I do."

****

"No!" Mae cried out in her sleep. "No! Leave him alone!"

Castiel was startled when Mae started to thrash about, and suddenly, she was completely calm and back to dreaming. For a moment Castiel wanted to wake her and figure out what it was that was so upsetting, but he knew she needed sleep—especially since he could sense the restlessness of the angels. He didn't want to, but he got up to get dressed, Mae groaning a little in her sleep, making Castiel second think leaving, but when Camael called him, he had to go. Mae would understand and he knew it, even if she started off upset when him when she first awoke—stopping Bael simply came first.

"You called for me, Camael?" Castiel asked.

Camael nodded slowly and took in a deep breath. "It seems that Bael has anticipated our moves completely…he is not working alone."

"Do you suspect Zachariah?" Castiel inquired, trying to think of other possible angels or fallen that could be helping. "Uriel and Zachariah had deep influence…it could be someone else."

"Either way, I believe it would be best if we trained Dean before sending him to confront Bael. When we attempted to rescue Maion, we lost Charmeine and Liwet, and the demons were waiting for us—we were too late to save the humans. It seems the secondary wave of demons that Bael has left behind consist of Vetis, Kobal, Sonneillon and Asmodeus. Dina narrowly got away, and I'm not sure I want to send the Winchesters into battle quite yet—not with Sam's history." Camael explained, furrowing the feminine brow and sitting down on a nearby bench as he and Castiel watched the children playing in the park Camael had called Castiel to.

"That means Maion could be in trouble." Castiel told Camael, sitting down next to him. "I believe that with Mae by their side, Sam will be acceptable to take on the demons…it's the amount of them that worries me. May I lead their assault when I feel that Dean is better prepared?"

Camael was skeptical, but he nodded, Castiel disappearing to return to Mae's bedside, but she was no longer there. He left her bedroom to hear her talking to Sam and Dean in the kitchen, Dean yawning loudly and Sam telling her to slow down. Mae sighed impatiently and then took a deep breath, looking up at the doorway as Castiel appeared and then she pointed to him. Castiel was taken aback, but he nodded when he realized she needed help on the matter and it dawned on him why she was so valuable to the demons—she knew.

"Mae…what did you dream about exactly?" Castiel asked her.

Mae shook her head furiously. "No, Cas, it wasn't a dream—Maion needs our help. He is stuck with four very powerful demons and a traitor of an angel. Who that traitor is, I don't know, but the demons we're facing? Talk about your amazingly powerful demons! Bael is looking to recruit, and he has picked the right team—that's for damn sure!"

Dean nodded slowly. "I guess that makes sense…he came to you for a reason, Mae. Do you have any idea what that reason was?"

"He wants me distracted—he sent me home flustered to give it up to Cas." Mae told Dean with a tender shrug. "That was his and Zachariah's plan all along."

"I knew there was something off about him!" Dean declared when he heard Zachariah's name mentioned, Sam smiling a little and nodding.

"Bael came to you and you didn't tell me?" Castiel asked finally after he had let it all sink in.

Mae bit her lip as Sam and Dean went silent, exchanging glances and anticipating some sort of argument between the two. Castiel was hurt that she hadn't told him about this sooner, and he wished he wasn't showing it but for some reason he really couldn't help it. Here, around Mae and the Winchesters, Castiel found it hard to hide his emotions since they knew him so well, and knew so much about what happened in the safe house in Mae's bedroom. They were the only ones who truly understood him, and he had to accept that even if he didn't want to because it made him so much more human.

"To be honest, I hadn't expected you to be there, and then we fought, and then we kissed and then we were gonna…you know…and then I was tired and then I was asleep. There really wasn't time to tell you until I woke up from Maion contacting me and then you weren't there." Mae explained to him, walking over to Castiel and taking his hands in hers. "He didn't hurt me or anything, Cas…in fact he called me 'precious' and then gave me the last of the coffee ice cream."

Castiel raised an eyebrow at her and dropped her hands. "You smiled."

"What?" Mae asked him, her eyes snapping back to his, her suddenly incredibly alert that she had started to daydream for just a second while he was standing there in front of her.

"You're attracted to him." Castiel told her, taking a step back. "To Bael: Head of the Infernal Armies."

"He has his own armies?" Mae asked him and closed her eyes and sighed when Castiel popped out of the safe house. "Cas, come back! It was a simple question! I am not attracted to Bael! Are you seriously going to show your jealousy right now?!" She asked him incredulously, nodding and sighing again. "Fine! Sam, Dean and I are headed to the demons right now then…without you!"

Castiel was embarrassed about his impulsive move but he returned, not enjoying being threatened, and needing to explain to Dean that he needed training first, the female demon from before clicking her pumps along the hard floor of the empty warehouse, miles from their last spot. Maion watched the curvy, attractive female body pace back and forth and then looked up as one of the four demons that had him captured walked in and took a deep breath. He looked rather pleased with himself—like he was holding in his actual excitement but had to tell someone…why not the vivacious demon in front of him?

"This plan is perfect, Vetis…where is Bael? I want to know when I'm allowed to leave and lure her here." The demon asked impatiently.

"Calm down, As. You'll get your chance soon enough, I promise you." Vetis replied.

Maion snorted. "Vetis? I thought you were male…and yet you're in a female vessel?"

"Well that shows what you know—Demon of Corruption is actually a woman…it's Asmodeus here that's male. You've heard of him, right? Demon of lust?" Vetis offered up. "Here, I'll let you in on a little secret since you're all pretty and patient." Vetis smiled and leaned over, smirking when Maion swallowed ever so slightly as she breathed on him. "Mae? Easiest way to get through to her is to give her what she wants. After that, we have easy access to Sam, Dean and then you guessed it—Castiel."

Maion nodded slowly and then he looked quizzical and Vetis thought it was adorable. "But…Mae wants Castiel."

Vetis laughed and stroked Maion's cheek. "Why would she want Castiel when As is currently in Michael?"

Note: I laid a lot of demon names on you, and three angel names, and I give all credit to naming to Pups. Also…if you don't remember who Michael is, then you need to go back and read chapter eight…even though the end of that chapter didn't make any of you very happy, lol.