Hello my dears. I would like to thank AFanGirlof5sos and Millenium Ring for the lovely reviews. I would also like to thank those of you who have followed and favoured since my last update.
So this chapter is the last set in season 2, episode 6 'No Exit'. I had not planned on it being so long, but it just happened and I couldn't think of anywhere to split it. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.
Sam and Dean moved cautiously, with their shot guns at the ready, into the area of the sewers that Cas had texted the coordinates to. Though looking round they saw nothing remotely ghostly. As such they turned their attention to the area itself to see what looked like metal doors in the wall. Dean and Sam shared a look, as if they were silently trying to work out where Jo was when the sound of her voice came from one of the metal doors on the wall.
Jo had been lying in her box, hoping the Winchesters would get there soon when she saw two shadows move on the wall by the entrance. She hoped it was Sam and Dean, but she was a hunter's daughter and as such prepared for the worst by grabbing her knife and trying to keep herself as quiet as possible. But when the shadows resolved themselves into the two men she had been waiting for she couldn't stop herself letting out a sigh of relief that they had finally come.
"Dean, Sam? Oh thank god." She said with as much heartfelt emotion as she could.
"Jo? You in there?" Dean asked turning to the wall where their friends voice seemed to be coming from.
"Yes I can't get out, it's locked." Jo replied, a smile spreading across her face as she finally knew she wasn't going to die down in this sewer.
"Hang on. I've got this." Dean responded moving to the lock and trying to smash it off.
"Teresa is over the other side." Jo said in between the bangs, the other girl was being far to quiet for her liking right now, she hoped she was alright.
At that Dean turned to his brother and nodded to the other wall which Sam started searching, when he found the right door he smiled at the woman inside whispering quiet words of assurance as he set about trying to break the lock on that door as well.
"Sam's on it Jo, don't worry." Dean replied to Jo going back to trying to get her out, not that she needed to be told. Jo could now hear both the Winchesters working away on the different doors in the wall. She just wanted out, and the longer it took them to break the locks the more she found herself thinking that they would never succeed. But no, the Winchesters were here, they would save her and Teresa both.
Castiel had stood away from the wall when Sam and Dean had arrived and now he was silently standing there watching them struggle to open the boxes, It was a lot harder than it looked. He couldn't take it anymore, as such he used his grace to help them release the girls from their prison.
Dean felt the lock give and wrenched the door open to drag Jo out, holding her up and out from him so he could look her over and make sure that she had no serious injuries, Sam was doing the same to the other girl, though, less overtly than Dean. Teresa had no idea who they were after all. Satiating himself that she was fine except for shock Dean nodded and turned to Sam who nodded in return, Teresa was fine as well.
"Right, well we better get you two out of here. Don't want ghosty Holmes coming back." Dean said with authority. Though he and Sam did have a plan for getting rid of the guy, but he didn't want to brooch it with Jo just yet. He didn't really want to use her as bait for this monster, even if she was the one who suggested it to start with.
"He wouldn't be coming back." Jo replied tersely with a shudder as she remembered the glowing red eyes of the demon who had saved her life.
"Really? How'd you manage that?" Sam asked impressed that even locked up it seemed Jo was able to get rid of the guy, he didn't think even he could do something like that, Dean maybe, but not him.
"I...well it... there..." Jo tried to say, but looking up into Dean's green eyes which were filled with such caring and protection she found she couldn't say the words. She couldn't tell this man who had seen so much, been through so much, that she was saved by a demon. She didn't want to see the disgust or mistrust that she imagined would appear on his face if she said the words. But how else was she to explain the situation? What else was she to say?
Castiel had watched the Winchesters rescue the girls with a fond smile on his face, but when Sam asked Jo about how she had got rid of the ghost that smile turned to a frown. He did not want her telling Dean about Crowley. Because for all he like to play the fool he knew Dean was anything but stupid, and he was one of the few people who could easily put the pieces together if he was so inclined. So he was rather glad when he read Jo's mind and saw her inability to tell Dean. That was good, that he could work with. As such he took a step forwards so he was standing in front of Dean and Jo and made himself visible, making sure he ruffled his wings so it would sound as if he had just arrived rather than being there the whole time spying on them all.
"He is gone, that is all that matters." He said as he appeared making Teresa shake and turn into Sam who narrowed his eyes at him before deciding to get the girl out of this place. Let Dean deal with his angel.
"Cas." Dean whispered as he saw who appeared in front of him. At the sight of the angel he let go of Jo's arms, without conscious thought to do so.
"Hello Dean. Jo, how are you?" Castiel asked reaching for the girl, aiming to offer to heal her if it was needed, but as he did so he found her shielding away from him and not being able to meet his eyes as if she was scared of him. That hurt Castiel, he could not think of why Jo would be scared of him, unless she blamed him for not helping sooner. Maybe he should have done, but Crowley did a fine job.
"I'm fine, thanks." Jo replied not looking at the angel. How could she when she had been saved by a demon? Dean had been saved by an angel, and yet she got a devil saving her, what did that say about the sort of person she was?
"Hey Jo, why don't you go follow Sam and the other girl, help her out a bit." Dean suggested not looking at the woman he was talking to, he couldn't tear his eyes from Cas. He had so many questions, so many emotions swirling round inside him right now, but what he did know was that he didn't need an audience for this. Especially an audience he thought Cas might well be more interested in than him. Not that Dean was interested in Cas, no way, but they needed to talk with either of them being distracted by a pert blonde.
"Okay." Jo replied with a nod, looking between the hunter and angel and seeing they really had eyes only for each other. If she hadn't just been through all she had she might have even being able to come up with some sassy remark about the situation, but right now all she wanted was to be gone from this place and never return.
"What ya doing here Cas?" Dean asked once they were alone.
"Jo prayed for my help, I came to give it." Castiel answered simply. He did not understand why Dean seemed so hostile to his presence all of a sudden. Why was there such tension in the man's shoulders?
"I bet you did." Dean muttered under his breath as he tried to get control of himself. The main problem was, he really didn't understand what the problem was. I mean sure the last he spoke to Cas he realised that the guy was just here to win the war they were fighting, and yet now here he was because Jo asked him for help. That had to mean something, right?
"What does that mean?" Castiel asked tilting his head at Dean as he tried to work out what was going on with his friend. He had never seen him behave this way before and he had no idea what to make of it.
"Well just, you and Jo seem close, that's all." Dean replied with a shrug as if it really didn't matter, and it didn't, why would it? It wasn't like he wanted jo… or Cas? No not Cas.
"Ah the green eyed monster of jealously." Crowley crooned at Castiel from his position against the wall where he had stayed to watch the show, not that Castiel showed any sign of hearing him, but the demons words did give him food for thought.
"I would go to anyone who prayed to me when they were in trouble Dean, especially those I consider a friend, but Jo and I are nothing more." Castiel stated clearly hoping that Dean had not got hold of the wrong idea when he had told him he needed to go with his father and yet was here now helping jo. He did not need Dean trying to set him up or anything thank you very much.
"Never said you were, but it does seem like you'll answer her call but not mine." Dean replied trying really hard not to say the words, though they still came out of his mouth. Just what the hell was his problem right now? Cas was a dude, and he didn't do dudes. Though, was he a dude, I mean really? Were angels dudes? Damn it Sam, I'm gonna kill you for putting these ideas in my mind.
"You did not pray Dean, if you had I would have answered." Castiel replied blissfully unaware of the thoughts going through Dean's mind, he just wanted to make his friend… less stressed.
"No, but I did call your cell." Dean responded then gritted his teeth against the words. Oh man, he was starting to sound like some nagging housewife or something. This was gonna have to stop and soon, hmm, maybe he just needed to get laid, yeah that would no doubt work. But he could deal with that later.
At his words Castiel pulled the phone Dean had given him out of his trouser pocket to see if he had any missed calls or messages but there was nothing on the screen.
"I must have been in an area with bad cellular reception." He mumbled before returning his phone to his pocket and looking into Dean's eyes, seeing that whatever it was that was worrying Dean was still there, behind them. He wanted it to go away, he did not like seeing that look in Dean's eyes. With that in mind he placed his hand on Dean's shoulder as he spoke with sincerity.
"You must know Dean, if you ever ask me for help, I will always come."
Dean stood there staring into the deep blue eyes of the angel opposite and feeling the warmth from his hand on his shoulder, and he knew that Cas spoke nothing more than the truth. Seemed if he wanted to get Cas' attention he was gonna have to man up and start praying to the guy.
"Okay. So you take out the ghost of H. H. Holmes then?" Dean asked in a more light-hearted tone, dismissing whatever that was about before without thought, though he didn't shake of the hand on his shoulder, he liked it there.
"No, that was my friend." Castiel replied giving Dean's shoulder a squeeze before moving his hand with a smile. He was glad that Dean seemed to back to the man Castiel knew him to be.
"You know Cas, that friend of yours is starting to have a higher rescue rate than you here." Dean said in a jokey tone as he smiled at the angel opposite him.
"I do not have a problem with that, though he might." Castiel replied with a small smile of his own as he cut a quick look to Crowley who just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms with a scowl on his face at Dean's words. He wasn't here to play guardian angel to the bloody humans after all.
"Okay. Say thanks to him anyway, for saving Jo." Dean responded with a more serious tone. He was glad that they hadn't had to use his and Sam's plan of using Jo as bait. He didn't want her in that sort of situation.
"I will." Castiel replied with a nod. At that a comfortable silence settled over the two of them, neither of them really caring that they were having this conversation in the sewers rather than a bar.
"So you gotta run off back to whatever it was you were doing before, or can you hang for a bit?" Dean asked the angel with a slight hopefulness in his voice. He would really like to sit down and have a beer with his friend, just hang out without any life or death shit hanging over their heads. And maybe they could both get laid, get the stupid idea of them out of Sammy's head.
"I need to sort out a few things, then I will come and find you." Castiel replied with a smile. He had missed hanging out with the Winchesters, and he would like nothing more than to do it again.
"Okay Cas. See you in a bit then." Dean responded turning with a wave to walk out of the sewers and go and see what Sam was up to with Jo and the other girl, Teresa.
Once Dean had left the space Crowley turned himself visible and moved so he was standing next to Castiel, staring at the entrance Dean had just walked through like the angel next to him.
"You calling me your friend Castiel?" He asked somewhat surprised by that fact. He had never thought the angel would describe him in such a way. They weren't friends after all, not really, they were on opposite sides in everything, well except this little adventure.
"It was the best description I could come up with. It seems to work, we do have a sort of friendship I believe." Castiel replied turning to look at the demon next to him with a small smile on his lips as if he knew of Crowley's surprise.
"For two who are each other's enemies, sure." Crowley replied with a shrug turning to look at Castiel with a matching smile.
"For enemies we do tend to spend a lot of time together." Castiel responded with a shrug of his own.
"Ah stop it, you'll make me blush. So how's the demon tracking coming along?" Crowley asked finally turning the conversation where he had wanted it to go all along. It was time to get his plan into action, and he flatly refused to even think about the small, and it was very small, part of him that felt something like guilt over having deceived Castiel with the false trail he had sent him and john on. It was all part of the plan to get back what was rightfully his, without all the fighting he had gone through the last time. He would once again become the king of hell, of that there was no question.
"It's not. I'm missing something I know, but I just can't see it. The trail makes no sense, I need more information but I can't find any." Castiel replied frustrated. It didn't even cross his mind that the thing he was missing was due to the demon next to him making it all up, he had fallen into the age old trap of trusting Crowley too much it seemed, not that he knew that, not yet.
"You know, my offer to return to hell for you still stands." Crowley suggested casually as if it was of no concern to him what Castiel wished him to do.
"I think I might have to take you up on it. I just can't see the whole picture, maybe you could see what I am missing?" Castiel suggested, hoping the Crowley would take this mystery out of his hands so he could go and see Dean and Sam, and go back to spending time with them. He had missed his friends while he was alone with John, their father was a very focused man after all.
"Okay, I'll tell you what I'll do feathers. I'll go check in with daddy bear Winchester and go over his notes and research and if I can't work out what the problem is, I head on down to hell and see what I can uncover, how does that sound?" Crowley offered as if he truly was Castiel's friend and was willing to do this for him.
"Very well. Just… be careful Crowley." Castiel replied. He did not like the idea of Crowley going to hell. There were too many enemies within that place for him to feel easy about such a mission.
"Oh please tell me you're not going soft on me now feathers." Crowley responded with a roll of his eyes for the angel. Because while hell may be Castiel's least favourite place, it was where Crowley had spent much of his time in his previous life, he was a demon.
"Not at all, but if you die I have a feeling nothing will change, no matter what I do." Castiel replied simply. He did not want Crowley jeopardising their reason for being here, not now.
"You have nothing to fear Castiel. I will not die. I'm Crowley." With that the demon disappeared, off to join John Winchester and see what he had for appearances sake.
And Castiel standing there knew he should go with him, but instead he found himself being pulled to where he could sense Dean and Sam. But he just wanted to make sure that they were all aright, that was all. He would return to John later, and while Crowley was gone it was his responsibility to watch over them all.
