An adventure just prior to Good God, y'all.

Sam was watching Raeth with the little furrow between his brows that meant he was worried about something. In this case he was worried that she really didn't understand how to use the cell phone he had just gotten for her. Raeth in turn was wearing a expression that was both puzzled (by the curious instrument) and concerned (that she was somehow failing Sam).

He was currently scrolling through a series of commands with the effortless ease of someone who knew his way around electronics.

"I'm going to ask you to say your name. Don't ask why, just say it. Okay?"

He looked so anxious that Raeth swallowed any questions she might have and obediently spoke her name into the rectangular device, watching Sam's face to see if she had done it right.

"Great," he said, smiling, "Now try to call me."

Raeth carefully followed the instructions he'd given her: Contact, Sam, and then the little odd shaped image he said was a phone (even though it didn't look anything like the device in her hand.)

Sam made her call him twice and then call Dean but when he wanted her to call Dean again she balked.

"I am centuries old, Sam. I think I've grasped the concept of how to use this!"

"Okay!" He said, quickly, lifting his hands in surrender. "I'll put in the number of the phone we gave Cas and then we'll be done."

"I can still hear my brother and I can still contact him if I want," she pointed out.

"Without any risk of any other angel hearing you?" Sam asked.

She clenched her teeth. Her eyes narrowed and he saw the sparks of dragon-fire along with the amber and brown. "Probably."

"Well, I'm sorry," Sam said, "those odds aren't good enough for me. You want to talk to Cas about Dean, or me, or where we are, you call him on this."

"Very well," Raeth answered, bowing her head slightly. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"

Sam tensed because he had a feeling he'd somehow angered her. She wasn't his slave after all, only his Guardian.

"I'm sorry," he said again and this time it sounded contrite. "I'm just trying to give us a safe way to communicate."

Raeth was painfully aware of Sam at the moment. He was dressed in dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt, lithe and broad, the muscles and veins in his arms testifying to his strength. His skin seemed to glow with an inner flame, as if he was the angel.

Trying to change the subject, Sam asked, "How are you feeling?"

In answer she allowed the shadow of her wings to appear on the motel room walls. They looked nearly whole again, uplifted and wide.

"Good," Sam said.

"So it's safe to leave you for a little bit?" Raeth asked.

"I think so. Dean and I aren't going to leave Bobby, not for a while, and he hasn't been cleared to leave the hospital. Where are you going?"

"I need to see one of my brothers - Briathos."

"Do you trust him?"

"Yes. He fled heaven as I was being imprisoned. He hunts demons."

"Why do you need to see him?"

"I think he may know where the tetramorph is."

"You mean, it's on earth?"

"I believe it is. We've hunted for it before. Briathos in particular was reasonably obsessed with it."

Sam held her eyes with his own direct gaze for a moment. His eyes were once again remarkable – anxiety and curiosity simmered over unknown depths of intelligence and experience. Light and shadow caressed his face, defining a stunning purity of masculine bone structure. She had decided a long time ago that Sam was not a handsome man – but that was only because he was beautiful, possessed of the concentrated, passionate beauty of a panther or a tiger.

Raeth was committed to protecting him. He could see that she was reluctant to leave him. But he had won her over to his cause – the cause of stopping as much of the horror of the Apocalypse as possible. The rise of the tetramorph, the beast made of four separate animals – the ox, the lion, the eagle, and the man – was one of the first signs. Raeth had assured him that it did exist, but that no one had seen it in millennia.

"All right. Take the phone. Keep it with you. Call if you need me," Sam said.

There was sincerity in his voice, a profound and intense concern for her safety flowed beneath the softly spoken syllables.

"I will and you do the same."

She stood up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. Before he could react to that, she vanished.

(0)

Several long hours later,Sam was sleeping in the uncomfortable chair in Bobby's hospital room. He'd always had an uncanny ability to curl up in whatever was available and steal sleep where he could. There never seemed to be anything that was designed to actually hold his long, tall frame. So it had been an important skill to learn.

His phone rang with the tone he had set for Raeth, waking him instantly. He sat up, stretched automatically and answered it, softly.

"Raeth?"

"Sam?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Can we meet at the motel?"

"Sure. Why?"

There was a slight hesitation then she said, "I've found the tetramorph."

He sat up straighter. "Can you destroy it?"

"Yes, eventually, but I can't get to it," she answered.

"Why not?"

"Can we have this talk in person?" She sounded annoyed.

"Uh, yeah sure. I'm at the hospital. Why don't you go to that oak tree in the park across the street? I'll meet you there."

"Yes," she answered and then the call abruptly ended.

Sam sighed and got up. He looked at Bobby to make sure he hadn't been disturbed. Then he walked softly out of the room.

(0)