097. Abomination
Meg arrived at the bar right on time. It was exactly the same time that she had arrived there a week ago. She had done everything right.
So why did it feel so wrong?
She wanted nothing more than to run away from this bar and go back to the inn. That wasn't an option though. Meg knew what she had to do.
Exiting the Porsche, Meg made her way to the demon bar. She opened the front door and was greeted by only the bartender and Crowley sitting at the bar. Crowley smirked at her arrival and waved for her to join him. Meg closed the door behind her and made her way to the bar, sitting down next to him.
"Drink?" Crowley offered, gesturing toward the bartender.
"I'll pass," Meg said.
Crowley gave a dismissive nod to the bartender and he left through the backroom. Meg sat awkwardly next to him, shifting in her seat, waiting for him to say something. He didn't say anything though. Crowley continued to enjoy his drink, humming to himself. She was fighting the urge to punch him in the face. He wanted her here and now he wasn't even saying anything.
"So?" Meg said after some time. "Are you going to give me any information on this Dick guy?"
"Right down to business, huh?" he mused, finishing his drink in one gulp. "As I said before, Dick Roman is the leader of the Leviathans. I've talked to him briefly and he's been less than… welcoming. I need someone to find out what he's up to."
"How do you expect me to do that?" Meg asked. "You said that Leviathans are more powerful than angels."
"No I didn't," Crowley said, his eyes darting toward her.
"What?" Meg inquired, her heart giving an involuntary lurch.
"I only told you that Leviathans came out of purgatory," Crowley said, looking at her like she was actually something of interest.
"Well, I did some research," Meg lied.
He seemed to consider this option for a moment. Crowley watched her carefully for several long moments before shaking his head.
"If you just did some research, then why is your heart beating so fast?" Crowley asked.
This was obviously a rhetorical question. Crowley stood up and snapped his fingers. All of the doors leading into the bar opened and demons came spilling into the room.
"Who have you been talking to, Meg?" Crowley asked.
"No one," she said quickly. "I just researched a bit. I haven't talked to anyone."
"Why don't I believe you?" he asked.
She was really beginning to hate rhetorical questions. This really looked like the end though. There was no way she was going to make it out of there alive. Crowley probably thought that she was talking to a bunch of hunters. An angel was the last thing on his mind, but if he found out about the inn it was all over. She should have let Castiel kiss her. At least she would have that to think of.
But she wouldn't have to think about that though.
The front door to the bar opened and there he stood. Castiel had come to her rescue and she honestly had never felt so relieved. The demons, on the other hand, were obviously not relieved. Meg looked at Crowley to see him looking completely baffled by his appearance.
"I suggest all of you except Crowley leave," Castiel said.
None of them needed to be told twice. The demons flooded out of the bar with surprising speed. Crowley remained rooted to the spot while Meg felt the corners of her lips twitch upward.
"You're supposed to be dead," Crowley said.
"Obviously I'm not," Castiel said, walking toward the bar and placing a hand on the back of Meg's stool.
Crowley looked from Castiel to Meg and back again. His eyebrows darted up and he looked at the two of them disbelievingly.
"You two are working together?" he asked incredulously.
"No," Castiel said. "We're not working, just staying together."
This seemed to be even harder for Crowley to believe. He seemed amused by the idea, but decided to keep this to himself.
"So, unless you want me to kill you, Crowley, you should leave Meg and me alone," Castiel said.
"Right," Crowley nodded, still looking more amused than threatened. "I don't understand how the Winchesters are all right with this."
Castiel stiffened at these words. Meg turned her head around to look at him. His face hadn't changed, but it was obvious that was one thing he didn't want to talk about.
"They don't know," he said.
"I figured," Crowley shrugged. "They do know that you're alive, don't they?"
"That has nothing to do with you."
"Oh, so they don't know?" Crowley mused.
The conversation had obviously turned in Crowley's favor. Meg could sense that Castiel was becoming more uncomfortable as the talking continued. She stood up and went to Castiel's side, putting a hand on his arm.
"Let's go," she said.
Both Castiel and Crowley looked at the hand she had placed on his arm. Castiel looked at her and she moved her head toward the door.
"Remember to keep quiet about this, Crowley," Castiel reminded.
"How could I forget?" he said teasingly.
Castiel and Meg left the bar and walked in silence toward the Porsche. She didn't argue when he got into the driver's side. They continued in silence all the way back to the White Lily inn. Meg felt like a teenager driving home with her dad in the car after he picked her up from a party. For once she felt like she really was below him.
He parked the car, but made no movement to get out. Meg sat there as well, hoping that he would talk eventually.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.
"I didn't want Crowley to find out about you," she said. "I figured it would be best if I just left you and you thought of me as the 'abomination' that I am."
"I don't think that little of you," Castiel assured. "Compared to those other demons, you're not an abomination."
"And why's that?" she asked.
"Because I can't see your real face anymore," Castiel explained. "It happened around Thanksgiving time. I looked at you and I saw the face of a human, not a demon."
"Why did it change?"
"I don't think of you as an abomination, Meg," he said. "I know you're a demon, but you're not like the rest. You're a lot more human."
She couldn't believe that he had just said that. The fact that he can only see her meatsuit's face now meant something. She wasn't exactly sure what it meant, but she knew that it was a big deal.