Chapter 45.
Sam was helping in the garage, obeying Dean's instructions and smiling, when Dean wasn't looking, at the way in which he treated the setting up of whimsical decorations and festive lighting as if it were a trap for some supernatural creature. He gave commands and expected them to be followed immediately by Sam and Jack and they both fell into line, through habit and, at least in Sam's case, nostalgia.
Maggie was fixing large bows of ribbon everywhere and Dean gave no commands to her. It seemed that she was undisputed queen of everything he considered too feminine for him to deal with. She was enjoying her reign and hummed quietly to herself as she worked.
"Where are you two taking Cas?" said Dean.
"Wilson Reservoir." said Sam, "Jack's never been in a boat."
"That's not a bad idea." said Dean, "Cas could use some peace and quiet."
"How about you? What do you need?"
Dean turned away and moved a lighting cable higher. For a moment, Sam thought he was going to ignore him, but then he turned back and said, "You know what I need. I need to be here, with Sarah."
Sam nodded. "Dean, I know you don't ... "
"Sam, don't. I don't care what you think you know. Cas needs to know he can trust me. So keep your own doubts to yourself."
"I don't doubt that we can all trust you." said Sam, "But ... "
Dean raised a hand in front of Sam's face. "No buts. Get your but out of here."
"So we just pretend you're fine with everything?"
"It's Cas, Sam, we owe him. I owe him. Look, you think I want creepy psychic stuff going on?"
"Well, you just admitted to pretending." said Sam.
Dean looked at him. "You don't look great, Sam. Maybe you need to deal with your own issues before you invent more for me."
"And what issues would those be?" said Sam.
Dean's smirk told him he had just been played. Dean was a master of distraction.
"Okay. I'll leave you to Sarah. You can't play that kind of game with her."
"Have you said anything to her about ... " Dean glanced at Maggie, who was concentrating on her work some distance away, "About anything?"
"Do you think I need to? She reads you like a book, Dean."
"She may think she does ... "
"Yeah, she does." said Sam, "Please, just let her. You can't talk to me or Cas or Jack or Mom, so just talk to Sarah."
"I talk to all of you. Hell, I overshare."
"Then what was all that about last night?"
"All what?" said Dean.
"You're unbelievable. You promised to tell us."
Dean nodded. He took Sam over to the Impala. "Your job today is to take care of Cas and make sure he's okay. I'm fine."
"Last night ... "
"Last night I was about to be zapped to sleep by someone who might then see every moment of every dream. Even you wouldn't like that and it freaked me out. But I couldn't tell him that, could I?
"You've had since last night and that's all you can come up with? Just for once, you could treat me like I'm not seven years old."
"Just for once, you could give me a day without your endless interrogations." said Dean.
Jules came into the garage. Dean stepped away from Sam, clearly not wanting to be so obviously trying to intimidate him. Jules seemed to notice something, but she smiled at both and said, "Sam, do you have a second."
"A second?" said Dean, "He barely has a first!"
"What is it?" said Sam, walking away from Dean with her.
"I'd like to see your documentation on Rhydian."
"Why?" said Sam, a little too fast and a little too flustered. "Did Dean ask you to look into Rhydian? Because there isn't a lot there. We just found out that the talismans existed, really. It's not like we found his whole life story."
"It wasn't Dean who asked me. It was Cas." she said, "Just give me whatever you've got. I'm good at chasing fragments."
"I know you are." he said, inwardly starting to panic. "Why is Cas interested?"
"He said Rhydian might have had something we could use against Michael." said Jules.
"What's the problem?" said Dean, "The more we know about him, the more likely we are to find something useful. If anyone can find something, it's Jules.
That was true, but she was a lot more likely to find that there was nothing to find, because Rhydian had never existed.
"Today I am super busy." said Sam, "I can't give it to you right now."
"I understand." she said, "I can wait." She smiled at Dean and then said quietly to Sam, "There's something else. Something private."
He went with her into the corridor. "What is it?" he said.
"You know a lot about angels and one angel in particular."
"If you're about to ask me what to get him for his birthday, I have given all the suggestions I can think of." said Sam.
"No, I have his present. I was just wondering, is it inappropriate to think of angels in terms of ... What I mean is, do angels and humans ever ... I mean, they must, because nephilim. Not that I can imagine him ever letting a nephilim come into being."
"Oh, I see." said Sam, "Well, obviously, in their true form they're ... "
"Junkless?" said Jules.
"Yes, but in human vessels, they can and do have relations with humans. In Gabriel's case, with a disturbing number of humans."
"And do you think it's right or wrong?"
"Jules, I once had a thing with a demon. I am in no position to judge. I can only say that Cas is human in everything that counts and I would love to see him happy. But I should also warn you that angels are hard work."
"What do you mean?" she said.
"About 90% of the stuff humans understand automatically goes right over his head. In any relationship with Cas, romantic or not, you have to constantly ask yourself, 'Did he understand that?' Better yet, ask him. He won't be offended and it's a lot better than just hoping he knows what's going on."
"Yes, I do often ask him. He's very sweet about it. He asked me to dance with him at the party. I'm not sure if it's just two friends together or if he wants something more. I don't want to offend him or be inappropriate, but sometimes it feels like there is a real, reciprocal attraction there. Don't say anything to Dean. He'll just laugh at me."
"I don't think he will. He's been encouraging Cas to find someone. You may need to be a little proactive. You may need to make the first move. You may need to make every move. Like I said, hard work. It could be worth it, though. My friendship with Cas has been."
"That's the other thing. We are good friends and I don't want to mess that up."
"The good thing about someone as socially awkward as Cas is that he has a lot of understanding for other people's awkwardness." said Sam. He saw Sarah approaching and said, "Sarah, this is Jules. Jules speaks about ten languages and knows a lot about magic."
"Castiel says she's a genius." said Sarah, "It's good to finally meet you, dear. I was wondering if you could help me with the sound system. Apparently you're skilled with electronic equipment too."
"Happy to help." said Jules, "I want this party to be perfect. Cas deserves it. Paul wants to say a few words."
"I think a lot of people will." said Sarah, "Now, Sam, is your brother still in there?"
"Yes." said Sam.
"Good. I've spoken to your mother, who is a delight and now I need a long chat with your brother, who is a stubborn old mule, but I love a challenge. Jules, dear, I'll show you where I want the sound system and then you can deal with that while I talk to Dean."
"Perfect." said Jules.
"And I'll find our angel and take him and the nephilim out rowing." said Sam.
"Castiel is in his room." said Sarah, "He's calling Claire, but I'm sure he will be ready to go after that."