Chapter 3 - A Stranger's Eyes
As Alexander had been a human, his soul had gone immediately to Hell, and Crowley was gleefully greeting him there, now. He already had Lanister; maybe one day, he'd have the set. He would have to see if he could locate the others, and set his brother upon them. That shouldn't be too difficult, not after he had seen Castiel in action back at the warehouse. Crowley had been both amazed and impressed at the decisiveness and ferocity with which Castiel had dispatched Alexander from the Earth. No waffling, no compassion, as there might have been even a week or so ago. He was going to be a useful little pit bull, if Gail could keep him on the leash.
They were back at the house, and Cas had just come out of the shower. He'd needed one, too; he'd been practically covered from head to toe in Alexander's blood.
Cas dropped his bloody clothes on the floor, in a pile with the others.
"I'm going to run out of clothes, soon," he said cheerfully.
"I could do a wash," Gail offered.
He turned around to look at her. "Good idea," he said.
She started to rise from the bed, but Cas held up his hand. "Not right now. You know what I want to do, now."
Gail said nothing. Yes, she knew. He'd been the same way when he'd gotten back from Heaven, after torturing Jason. He hadn't bothered to dress after showering, and she could see how excited he was. A tiny part of her regretted that she'd just been healed; maybe he'd go a bit easier on her if she still had all the marks on her body that she'd had this morning. But at least she wasn't in any pain now. And she had laundry to do, so she had an excuse to get up and leave the room at some point. Gail had clothes that needed to be washed, too. She thought she'd suggest going to the bunker tomorrow, before too much more time had passed. In a way, she was surprised that Sam and Frank and Dean hadn't shown up at their door, already. But she and Cas couldn't wait any longer to go there. Dean had called several more times, and they had never returned his calls.
As Cas came over to the bed, she blurted out, "We'd better call Dean back."
Cas frowned. "He can wait." He was standing in front of her now, looking down at her expectantly.
"They're going to show up here, any time now," she told him. "In fact, I'm surprised they haven't already."
He considered this. He supposed she was right. Better to go there than to have them show up here unannounced.
"OK, I'll call him," Cas said. "But, first..." He grabbed her by the hair and brought her head to him, and once she had taken the edge off a bit, he lifted her up so that she could wrap her legs around him. As Crowley had thought, the infection in Gail's blood was waning just as Cas's was growing, but despite everything that had happened, she still loved him, and he could still make her feel amazing. So, she lost herself in the moment and eventually, she was crying out his name, as always. Cas was gripping her tightly, but trying not to be too rough. She'd just been healed, and he didn't want her to be sporting too many marks when they had to go to the bunker, at least not in places that the men might see.
A few minutes later they were laying side by side, and Cas leaned over her and snatched his cell phone off the nightstand. "Might as well get this over with," he said.
Gail started to get up, thinking she'd start the laundry while he was talking to Dean, but he grabbed her arm. "Stay here," he said, frowning. He pulled her back down and put his arm around her, holding her there beside him.
"Dean!" Cas said into the phone. "I'm sorry we haven't gotten back to you for a while. We've been spending a lot of time in Heaven."
He was lying so smoothly, Gail thought. Well, they'd always said that Demons were notorious liars, and here was the proof, wasn't it?
Cas listened to Dean for a moment, and then he said, "We were just talking about that. How would you like a visit tomorrow morning? We'll bring the doughnuts, if you make the coffee." He listened for another moment, then laughed. "I'll tell her." Another pause, then Cas said, "Sure, she's right here. I'll put her on."
He handed Gail the phone. "Frank wants to talk to you." He rolled his eyes. "You know what to say."
"Gail?" Frank's voice. "Is everything OK?"
"Sure, Frank." She kept her voice light. "We've just been spending a lot of time in Heaven. But we told them we need tomorrow off, to come and see you guys." Cas nodded. Good girl.
"It's about time," Frank said. "I was about to come there."
"To Heaven?" she quipped.
"No, to the house," he retorted. She sounded like herself, anyway, Frank thought. Always the smartass.
"I don't know why you would do that," she said, maintaining her casual tone. "We've been up in Heaven most of the time. We wouldn't have been here, anyway."
Cas was kissing her body now, and he was working his way down.
"I just miss you," Frank was saying. "I'll probably be heading out on the road soon, and I'd like to see you before I go."
Cas was opening her legs now, and he started using his tongue. Gail felt a shiver.
"Well, we'll be there tomorrow," Gail said to Frank. Wow, she'd better get off the phone, and quickly, before she started making sounds that no brother should ever hear coming from his sister. "I'd better go, I have a laundry to do."
Cas looked up at her. "Keep talking to him," he said. Then he resumed what he'd been doing, and her breath caught.
"I can't," she said to Cas. A whimper escaped her, and she covered the phone quickly.
"What was that?" Frank said.
Cas's grip tightened on her until it became painful. "Stay on the phone until I tell you to hang up," he instructed. His fingers were hurting her, but God help her, his tongue was working its magic. This was bad. It was so bad. It was the worst thing he had ever done, and for some reason, she was letting him do it.
"Nothing," she said to Frank. She didn't trust herself to say anything more. She was starting to breathe heavily now, and soon it would become evident to Frank what was going on. Why didn't she just hang up, anyway? She looked down at Cas, appealing to him with her eyes. His eyes were dark purple now, almost black. "Not until I say so," he told her.
Oh, God, she was losing it. Frank was saying, "What's going on, Gail? Why do you sound so weird? Talk to me!"
But she couldn't talk. "Cas..." was all she could say. He lifted his head. "All right. Tell him you'll see him tomorrow. Then you can hang up." He was smiling.
"I've gotta go, Frank, I'll see you tomorrow," Gail breathed into the phone. Then she punched End Call and dropped the phone on the bed.
"Good girl," Cas murmured, and went back to what he'd been doing. Seconds later, she was crying out his name, over and over, telling him she loved him.
He moved on top of her, slipping into her, and he kissed her roughly on the mouth. "I love it when you call out my name," he told her. "And I love it when you do as I ask."
What he was doing was making her body feel good, but even as she wrapped her legs around him again, Gail's mind was disturbed. What exactly did he mean by that? What was their relationship turning into? Before, when he'd instructed her like that in bed, it had been just between the two of them, and she had liked it. But to make her behave that way with her brother on the phone was quite another matter. What was he going to make her do, next? And why was she doing it, anyway? Because she loved him? Or, because she was afraid of him?
Gail showered in the morning, putting on fresh clothes that she'd washed the night before. She'd had to put Cas's clothes in twice to get all the blood out, but they had come clean, and she had hung everything back in the closet. She bagged up the clothes he'd torn off them both that one night. She'd throw them away when she had a chance.
She'd looked at herself in the mirror before showering. Though not as bad as before, there were bruises starting to come in again, and a few scrapes and abrasions. Most were in places that would be covered up by her clothes. There was one bruise on her arm near her wrist, but she wasn't too worried about it; after all, people did bruise from time to time. She did have a couple of red marks on her neck, but she could probably pass that off as a rash, or say she'd scratched an itch too hard. They'd never see the welts on her back and stomach, or the abrasions on her thighs. Nothing to worry about on that score.
Cas was putting in the contact lenses when she walked into the bedroom. She'd made sure to dress in the bathroom, so there wouldn't be any cause for procrastination in the form of temptation. Not that that had ever stopped them, before.
She was relieved to see that Cas was dressed too. Although nothing could be ruled out, it looked like he was ready to go.
He turned around and looked at her appraisingly. Good. He hadn't really consciously tried to keep from marking her last night, but what marks there were, the clothes covered well.
"Ready to go?" he asked her.
"Ready," Gail answered.
He grabbed her hand.
"You forgot the doughnuts," Dean quipped.
Cas looked at him, puzzled.
"Yesterday. you said... Ahh, never mind," Dean said, grinning. He was just happy to see them.
"What's happening in Heaven?" Sam said, pouring himself a coffee and giving Dean a refill.
"Nothing much," Cas said casually.
"Where's Frank?" Gail asked them. A pair of arms encircled her from behind. "Ouch!" she exclaimed. The momentary squeeze from Frank's hug had taken her by surprise, and he had inadvertently pressed on one of her more injured areas.
"'Ouch'? What do you mean, 'ouch'?" Frank teased. "I thought you were tougher than that, now." He kissed her on the cheek. "Hi'ya, kiddo." Frank clapped Cas on the shoulder. "Hey, Cas, how's it going?"
"It's going well, Frank," Cas smiled. "It's going very well."
Frank crossed the kitchen and helped himself to a cup of coffee, then he looked at Gail, waving the decanter. "Gail?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Shut up, Dean," she retorted.
"Me? What did I do?" Dean protested.
"You put him up to that, didn't you?" Gail said, trying not to smile.
"Totally," Dean said, smirking.
Gail leaned down and kissed Dean on the forehead. "You're a pain in my ass. Don't ever change," she told him. Dean's smile turned genuine. He and Sam had missed their friends.
"Actually, we're glad you came by today," Sam told her and Cas. "We're heading out tomorrow, on a case."
"You and Dean?" Cas asked.
"Way to go, Captain Obvious," Dean said, rolling his eyes. "No, actually, Sammy's taking the Easter bunny, and I'm taking Santa Claus. We thought it might be a nice change of pace."
"You'd better have Santa back in a couple of weeks, though," Frank joked, taking a seat across from Dean. "I sent him my list."
Gail was startled. A couple of weeks? What was the date, today? It couldn't be Christmas coming up again already, could it? As Angels, they hadn't paid much attention to specific dates. Her heart sank. Well, they certainly weren't Angels any more, were they? So what did Christmas matter to them, now? Had it really been almost a year since she and Castiel had had that joyful reunion, after she had escaped from Crowley's den? She felt sick to her stomach. Just look what they'd become. And here they were, lying to their best friends and her brother, running around with Crowley behind their backs.
"So, what happened last night?" Frank asked her. "Washing machine overflow, or something?"
She looked at him blankly, and then she remembered. What could she say about that? Gail looked at Cas, who was smiling at her. He was reliving the memory. If these guys only knew how she behaved when he had her alone. He'd almost made her stay on the phone, just so he could see the look on her brother's face today. And Sam and Dean thought she was so innocent. Of course, they thought he was still an Angel, too. He was glad they were going on the road for a while.
"Tell him, Gail," Cas said. "Tell him why you had to get off the phone so suddenly."
Gail was panicked. She had nothing to say, no excuse to offer.
"She's shy," Cas said, his smile growing wider. He took her hand, but held it under the table, stroking her palm with one finger. "I guess I'll have to tell you, Frank."
The men looked at him, puzzled. What was he talking about?
Gail looked at Cas warily. He wasn't really going to tell them, was he? If he did, she'd have to pop out of here; there was no way she would ever be able to face these guys again. But it was her fault, too. She had obeyed him, hadn't she? What the hell was wrong with her?
"Cat got your tongue?" Cas smirked. Gail held her breath.
Then he let her off the hook. "Gail's been invited to sit on the new board in Heaven," Cas told them. "The first female board member, ever. I'm so proud of her."
God, he was good. While he hadn't actually lied, per se, she was astonished by his audacity. "She'd gotten the call on Angel Radio, while she was on the phone with you."
"Hey, congratulations, Gail," Sam said, raising his cup of coffee to her in salute. "A blow for womens' rights."
"That's great," Frank enthused. "My sister, Angel Executive. Too bad I can't tell anyone." He grinned. "You're not gonna go all politician on me now, are you?"
"If you mean am I going to answer all your questions evasively from now on, then yeah, probably," Gail quipped. Frank laughed, but her joke had hit a little too close to home, so Gail's smile faded quickly.
"What about you, Cas?" Dean asked him.
"What about me, what?" Cas asked innocently.
"Didn't they ask you to be on the board, too?" Dean persisted.
"Yes, of course they did," Cas replied. He shrugged. "But I don't know if I'll accept. We all know who the smart one is, in this relationship." He looked at Gail, smiling again.
"Damn right, and don't you forget it," she said, and the men laughed. But Gail wasn't finding too much to laugh about, right now. Who was really the smart one in their relationship? The one with the fake eyes, and the fake smile, and the glib lies? Or the one who was hiding his marks, and toeing his line?
"What about you, Frank?" Cas asked him. "What will you be doing?"
Frank sighed, looking at Gail. He'd really been hoping to spend a bit more time with her, and the only time they'd had any one-on-one time since he'd gotten back was that night they'd had the fight about Cas, and she'd told him she wished he had never come back. Sam and Dean had convinced Frank she didn't mean it, but it still hurt. He guessed he had to accept that she had moved on from him. She and Cas were in a serious relationship, and they were Angels, not humans. And now that he knew she had an important role in Heaven, Frank supposed he had to let her go, and get on with his own life. It wasn't as if they'd never see each other again. They were both very close to the Winchesters now, and this bunker would always be like a homing beacon. Frank was sure he would get to know Cas better in the coming months and years, and grow to love him as much as all the others seemed to.
"I'll be heading out, too," Frank told Cas. "These guys have farmed me out a case, and I've been sitting around long enough. In fact, I'm going to the dealership this morning to pick up my new car. Courtesy of you, Cas." He smiled, then looked at Gail. "Hey, want to come for a ride? I'll even buy you lunch. Oh. Right. Kind of a hollow offer now, isn't it?"
Gail laughed merrily, the first genuine laugh she'd had in days. "It's OK; it's the thought that counts," she told him. "You can buy yourself lunch. Maybe buy me a milkshake to play with. I can draw pictures on the table with my straw, or something. It's a date."
The siblings smiled at each other, then Cas said, "You didn't ask me."
Gail turned her head slowly to look at him. What exactly did he mean by THAT, now? Was he hurt that they hadn't asked him to come along? Surely, he didn't mean she was supposed to ask for his permission? Well, if that's what he meant, they were going to have a problem, purple eyes or not.
"Excuse us, guys," Gail said. She took Cas's hand, and winked them outside.
"What was that?" she asked him.
He seemed confused. "What was what?"
Gail let out a frustrated breath. Really? "What do you mean, 'we didn't ask you'? You heard Frank; he's about to leave, and I've barely seen him since he got back."
"Since I brought him back," Cas pointed out.
She sighed. "Yes, Cas, and I'll be eternally grateful to you for that. I just want one more ride with my brother, just the two of us, before I have to let him go. And I'm going to have it. I'm telling you, not asking you."
Cas's brow furrowed. He hadn't been meaning to suggest...had he? He didn't really know why he'd said what he said, back there. Of course Gail should go with her brother.
"OK, Gail, all right," he said mildly.
For a second there, he was like the old Castiel, and she threw her arms around him. She really did still love him, even after everything they'd been through lately. Everything he'd put her through, the little voice in her head amended. His arms encircled her as he hugged her in return, and tears prickled her eyes as he said, "I'm sorry, Gail. I don't know what's wrong with me."
She pulled out of the embrace and touched his face. He put his hand over hers and held it there, but his touch was gentle, for a change. This might be her chance to appeal to his true nature, the one underneath the thick layer of poison. If he could be like this with her, it must still be there, somewhere.
"We both know what's wrong with you, Cas," she said softly. "Metatron did something to you at the cabin, and we have to find out what, and how to fix it."
For a moment, Castiel said nothing, just looked at her. She took this as a hopeful sign. He'd protested immediately when she'd brought up the subject before, saying he liked the way he was now. But did he, really?
Gail stepped away from him and pulled up her top, so that he could see the marks on her stomach. "Is this who you are, Cas?" she appealed to him.
Cas was fighting with himself, trying to push away the anger the poison in his system was making him feel. What exactly was she trying to say to him? That he was abusing her? Aren't you? the sliver of Angel inside him whispered. Just look at her. His head was muddled, his thoughts confused. She said she liked it. Yes, but who was it that was asking her to say that? Who kept asking her for reassurances of her love and loyalty? His blood ran cold. He'd been a monster to her, and he was going to lose her if he kept treating her this way. Maybe she was planning to leave him this morning, run off with her brother. Maybe that was why they hadn't wanted him to come.
But Cas couldn't hold back the tide. The poison in his blood came rushing back, and he was angry now. Frank had better not try to take her away from him. Cas had brought him out of Hell, and he could send him back there, in a heartbeat. He couldn't bring himself to entertain the thought that Gail might want to leave him of her own accord. He knew what she liked, and he made her very happy. She was here with him now, wasn't she? He was glad the humans were leaving town. Without Frank and Sam and Dean around, making Gail feel confused and conflicted, she would be all his. Crowley could heal her at any time. She loved what Cas did to her, and they both knew it.
He grabbed Gail roughly and kissed her, using his tongue. His hands went under her top, then into her pants, and even though she couldn't help but respond, she knew she had lost.
He was stroking her. "You like it," he said in her ear. "Tell me you like it."
She did like it. God help her. God help them both. Soon, she was going to have to decide between this and her self-respect, but not right now. Not when his tongue was in her mouth, and his fingers were doing that.
Cas stopped what he had been doing and looked at her, and she could almost see the purple behind the blue contacts in his eyes. "Tell me," he said.
And because she needed him to continue, she said, "I like it, Cas. I love you."
He smiled. "All right, then." His fingers resumed their motion, and she started to whimper. "Cas," she breathed. "Hold on," he said, undoing his pants with his other hand. He put her hand on him, and then they were moving together. Gail closed her eyes, going with the feeling. How could something, and someone, who made her feel this good every time be bad? It just didn't make any sense, and it wasn't fair. After all the crap they'd suffered through over the past year, they deserved to be happy together, didn't they? But she was beginning to realize that feeling pleasure and feeling happy were two distinctly different things, sometimes.
A few minutes later, Cas and Gail popped back into the bunker and Cas reached around behind his back, pulling out a box of doughnuts. "Surprise," he said to Dean. "See, I didn't forget." He had winked them over to the local doughnut shop after he and Gail had pleasured each other. They'd needed an excuse for having been gone so long.
"Perfect!" Dean said, his eyes lighting up. "Sammy just put on another pot of coffee."
"We were wondering why you were gone so long," Sam said.
"Gail reminded me of my promise," Cas said easily, putting the box of doughnuts on the table. He looked at her. "And I reminded her of hers."
Gail's heart sank. She knew what he was really talking about. Could she go back on her promise to stay with him, no matter how dark he was becoming? Did she want to?
Frank grabbed a doughnut. "Thanks, Cas," he said, taking a big bite. "Ready to go?" he said to Gail, around a mouthful of doughnut. Despite how she felt, Gail had to smile. Clearly, her brother had been hanging around Dean too long.
"Yeah, let's go," she said to Frank. She kissed Cas on the cheek. "We'll see you later," Gail said to him. He slipped his arm around her, giving her a brief squeeze. "Have fun," he said. He leaned in close. "Remember your promise," he said softly, into her ear. "And come back soon. I don't want to have to go looking for you."
Gail looked at him. What was THAT supposed to mean, now? Was that some kind of a threat? She knew he'd turned dark again just because of the way that he'd behaved outside, and she had let herself get carried away with him yet again, because a part of her was dark now, too. But she must be misinterpreting what he was saying. He loved her, and he would never hurt her.
"See you later, Cas," Frank said, and Cas released his grip on Gail. She'd make sure her brother brought her back. She'd gotten the message.
A few hours later, brother and sister were sitting in a booth at a diner. Frank was scarfing down a burger and fries, and he'd ordered a chocolate milkshake for each of them.
"It feels weird to be eating this without you sneaking a couple of my fries, and then insisting you don't want any," Frank said, smiling.
Gail rolled her eyes, but she was smiling, too. It was true; she used to do that all the time. She was playing with the straw, stirring her milkshake. She'd ventured a couple of sips, but the taste was so strong that she'd had to stop.
"I miss eating, sometimes," she told him. "I miss sleeping, too."
"So if you guys don't eat and you don't sleep, what do you do all day and all night?" Frank asked her.
She'd been in the midst of trying one more sip, and she nearly choked. Wow. If he only knew. Oh, having sex just about non-stop and cozying up to our best friend, the King of Hell. You know; the usual.
"Are you OK?" he asked as she sputtered.
"Yeah, just went down the wrong pipe," Gail told him. She manufactured a cough, then grabbed a couple of napkins and wiped her mouth, pushing the milkshake away. "I guess there's a reason we don't do this," she said, smiling ruefully. "I'm clearly out of practice."
Frank looked at her fondly. They'd had a good morning. It was a crisp, sunny day, and he'd taken her for a drive in his new car. They'd been playing tunes on the radio, looking at the scenery, and talking. Just like the old days. She'd told him she was happy, and she seemed pretty much like the human sister he remembered. But a couple of times when he'd glanced over at her, she'd looked lost in thought.
"Are you OK, Gail?" Frank asked her again.
"Yeah, I told you, it just went down the wrong way," she said.
He grabbed her hand across the table. "That's not what I meant. Are you okay?" he repeated.
Gail sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine, Frank." She didn't elaborate, because she didn't know what to say. They'd had a good time together this morning, and he was leaving tomorrow. She didn't want to sit here and lie to his face.
Frank looked down at her hand and saw the bruise near her wrist. "What happened there?" he asked, nodding at the bruise.
She withdrew her hand. "Nothing," she said. "I don't know how I got it. I must have bumped it on something."
He was still looking at her, and Gail saw his eyes go to her neck. "And what's that, there?" he asked.
"What? Where?" Gail said, trying to act as if she didn't know. Damn, the lighting was bright in this place. She should have suggested they go someplace else.
"Your neck. It looks all red."
"Does it?" she said. "I don't know, I must have scratched it or something."
Frank continued to gaze at her, and Gail was starting to feel uncomfortable. Did he believe her?
Then he shrugged and picked up his milkshake, draining it. "Don't you guys just heal yourselves?" he asked, smiling.
"It doesn't work like that," she told him, relieved he was letting it go. "We can't heal ourselves, only others. And only C-" She stopped herself, horrified. She'd been just about to tell him that only Crowley could heal bruises and abrasions! Wow, that had been a close one. "Crowley" was the ultimate C-word in their family, even worse than the usual one.
"Only what?" Frank prompted her.
Gail thought fast. "Only Cas can heal me right now," she said quickly, "but he can only heal open wounds, not this kind of stuff. So don't come running to us for every little boo-boo." She made herself smile. Phew. That had been a close one.
Frank drove them back to the bunker after lunch, and he parked in the garage next to the Impala. There was no one in the kitchen. As they walked down the hall towards the library area, they heard voices coming from the training room, so they stopped there, and Gail pushed open the door.
Sam and Dean and Cas were there, and there was a wide array of weapons laid out on the table at the end of the room.
"What are you guys doing?" Frank asked. He walked up to the table, admiring the weapons.
Cas had looked up as soon as they entered the room, and he gave them what appeared to be a genuine smile. And it probably was. Truthfully, he was pretty relieved. A not inconsiderable part of him had thought that he'd never see her again.
Gail liked to see that smile from him. If that was the only kind of smile he wore, she could stay with him forever. She walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek. "What ARE you guys doing?" she asked, echoing Frank's question.
"Inventory," Dean said, laying a shotgun down on the table.
Frank saw an Angel blade on the table, and he picked it up, turning it over in his hands. "Here's one I don't have," he said. He looked at Gail and Cas, grinning. "In case either of you pisses me off."
"Oh, har, har," Gail said, making a face. In truth, she wondered if one of those would even work on her and Cas, any more. After all, they only killed Angels, didn't they?
"Why don't you try it out?" Cas asked casually.
Frank smiled. "I'll be the one making the jokes around here."
"No, I'm serious," Cas said, a sly smile creeping across his face. "Your sister's been complaining for quite a while now that she's rusty. Why don't you try her? Work out whatever sibling rivalries you may have."
Now Frank knew that he was joking. Dean and Sam had told Frank that Cas had a quirky sense of humour, sometimes. So, he played along. "Hey, it didn't feel like she was so rusty when she killed me," he joked back. Silence. Even Gail was shocked; she would not have even dreamed he'd go there. Frank looked around the room. "I can just about hear the crickets, chirping. Too soon?"
"Oh, my God, Frank," Gail said, rolling her eyes. But she couldn't help but laugh. "That was horrible. Now I'll HAVE to kick your ass." She poked him in the side with her finger a couple of times, playfully egging him on. He tried to poke her back, but she sidestepped him. She still had those welts in her midsection, and if he poked one of those, it was going to be very painful. In fact, she didn't even know if she should play around at all, but it might be kind of fun to train with Frank for a few minutes. Show him what she'd learned, and that she could take care of herself now.
"Well, if you put it that way..." Frank said, smiling. He grabbed a fake knife from the table. "But I'm not using a real blade. I might need you around to heal me, one day."
"Wuss," she teased him good-naturedly. She took a fake knife from the table, too. Either she or Cas could heal Frank if she actually stuck him, but his joke about her killing him in the den had stung, and they were just going to play around, after all.
Gail saw Cas frown out of the corner of her eye, but she ignored him. If he was trying to stir something up, he was barking up the wrong tree.
Frank assumed a fight stance in the middle of the room, and Gail circled him. "I'll give you the first shot," Frank said, grinning. It was amusing to him to see his sister with a knife, even if it was a fake one. The only knife he'd ever seen her hold was the one to cut her meat. "Come on, let's see what you've got," he teased her.
"Okie-dokie," she said, matching his tone. She approached him from the left, but suddenly she moved right, and touched his shoulder with the fake knife. "Gotcha," she said, smiling.
"Okay, smartass," he said. "I made it easy for you."
"Really?" she teased. "Okay then, let's see how you feel about this." She reached down and applied a pressure point hold to his wrist, making him drop his knife. "Sam taught me that," she said, grinning at Sam. The brothers looked like they were enjoying this, and Sam gave her a playful salute. She took a quick look at Cas. He was watching, but his expression was neutral.
Frank reached down to pick up the knife while she was looking at Sam and tried to grab her, but she sidestepped him and raised her knee as if to kick him in the crotch. "That one, I learned from Dean," she quipped. Frank laughed. "Why does that not surprise me?" he said, looking at Dean. Dean smirked and gave Frank the middle finger.
Cas let out a breath. "If you two aren't going to take this seriously, I don't know why you bother," he said. He grabbed a knife off the table. "Here, Gail. You need a real test." He moved to the centre of the floor. "Mind if I cut in?" he said to Frank sardonically.
Frank was a bit taken aback, but he put it down to Cas's weird sense of humour. He knew how protective Cas was of Gail; maybe he just wanted her to stay sharp, make sure she could really defend herself, if need be. Not that it looked to him like she was that rusty; Frank had been impressed by what she'd shown him. Of course, Cas was right, though; he hadn't really been taking it seriously.
"Give Gail a blade, Frank," Cas said, still smiling.
Frank looked at him, puzzled. Surely he wasn't talking about the Angel blade?
Cas was annoyed at Frank's expression. What had they just been talking about? But he tried to remain calm. "The Angel blade, Frank."
"Why would you want her to have that?" Sam asked. He was as puzzled as Frank was. Why would they need an Angel blade in a simulated fight? He remembered when they had been training Gail way back when, they had been reluctant to graduate to real weapons. She had a fake knife now; maybe Cas just wanted a more realistic simulation. Dean had eventually agreed to use a real knife against Gail, hadn't he?
"Realism," Cas said shortly.
Frank shrugged. He knew that they could heal each other, anyway. But Cas was clearly looking for the advantage, here; Frank knew that there was no way Gail would ever stick him with an Angel blade. He guessed this was just part of her self-defense training. She could be healed if Cas accidentally cut her with an ordinary knife. So he handed Gail the Angel blade, taking the fake knife from her hand.
"Good luck," he teased her, backing up to where Sam and Dean stood.
"Ten bucks on Gail," Sam said, grinning.
More like a hundred million, Dean thought, smiling. There was no way Cas was going to stick Gail; not after he'd accidentally stabbed her early in the training process, and been upset about it for about a week afterwards. Good thing this was just practice, though. If Gail got in one good shot with the Angel blade, it would be Adios, Cas. But he knew she'd sooner die herself than stick him with it. So, really, what was the point?
Gail was looking at Cas, wondering what the point was, too. Did he just want to give her a real challenge, keep her sharp? And why insist she wield an Angel blade? She would never hurt him with it; he had to know that. Was he trying to send her some kind of message? Was she supposed to kill him with it? She thought about the struggle he'd had with himself this morning, outside the bunker; was this his way of telling her he didn't want to go on? Well, he could just forget it. That was never going to happen. As uneasy as she'd been feeling lately about the future, she still loved him. She could never stab him with an Angel blade. What if it worked? Or, worse still, what if it didn't?
Cas was smiling at her, but she couldn't read his smile. Then, Gail felt a momentary chill of fear. He had an ordinary knife, so she knew he couldn't hurt her badly, but still...
He came at her suddenly, but she sidestepped him, pushing him away. He lunged at her again, but she fell to the floor and rolled behind him, getting to her feet quickly. He turned around, still smiling. "Not bad," he said. "But, you can't avoid me forever." He raised the knife, showing it to her. Why did that sound so ominous?
Cas came at her again, but she blocked him with her arms, stepping to the side. "Maybe I can," she said, trying to adopt what she was hoping was a playful tone.
Sam and Dean smirked at each other. This was going to be as pointless as Gail's sparring match with Frank had been. What was the point of training, when you had two people facing off who would rather slit their own wrists than hurt each other? Cas was probably just trying to keep Gail's reflexes sharp.
"Oh, I don't think so," Cas said, circling her. "I will never let you get away."
Now, Gail got it. A week ago, even a couple of days ago, she would have thought that was sweet. Now it was a threat, or at least it felt like one. But it was her own fault, wasn't it? She had given him her promise to stay with him, even as he turned darker and darker. And she had given him both of her arms for the needle, hadn't she?
He came at her again, and she stepped to the left, but he went that way too, and he stabbed her in the side. "Flank," he said, smiling.
Crap. That had always been her weak point, and apparently, it still was. "Damn it!" she cried out, and she grabbed her side. The blood was coming out of her now, seeping through her fingers. It hurt like a son of a bitch, she thought, channeling Dean. She had already been hurting in the area of her midsection due to her exertions with Cas last night and the playfighting today, and now, the pain was excruciating. She fell to her knees, still holding her side.
Cas stood over her for a moment, staring at the blood coming from her and dripping from his knife, as if transfixed. He told himself he really hadn't meant to do that. He just wanted her to finally learn to protect her flank. It had always been her weak spot.
"I think we need to toughen you up a bit," Cas said with amusement in his voice, still staring at the blood. "Maybe you need a shot of self-confidence."
She looked up at him disbelievingly. She was on the floor grimacing in pain, and not only had he not healed her yet, but he was making a thinly veiled reference to dosing her again, after he'd promised not to. At least, that's what it sounded like he was doing. WAS he?
"No, I don't," she said weakly.
"Oh, I think you might," he said lightly.
Frank had had enough. He walked up to Cas and faced him. "Heal her!" he exclaimed. "Can't you see she's in pain?"
Cas looked down at Gail. "Are you in pain?" he asked her.
"Yes!" she shouted.
He dropped to his knees in front of her. "Tell me you need me," he said to her.
"I need you to heal me, Cas," she hissed. The blood was soaking through her top now.
He leaned forward, murmuring in her ear, "Tell me you'll never leave me."
"I don't want to leave you, Cas," she said softly, making sure the men couldn't hear.
"That's not exactly what I asked you to say, is it?" he breathed into her ear. "Tell me."
The pain was all-consuming now. "All right, Cas." A tear formed in Gail's eye and dribbled down her cheek. "I'll never leave you."
He licked the tear from her cheek, smiling, and his hands went under her top to heal her wound. He wished he could linger there for a while, but he supposed he'd better not, not with the men watching.
Gail was healed now, at least from the stab wound, and she looked into Cas's eyes.
"I love you," he said softly. She sighed. Those weren't really even his eyes; they were store-bought. She wished she could see them as they used to be. This blue was fake, like so many other things were in their life, now. These were a stranger's eyes she was looking into.
She remembered a song by one of her favourite 80's groups. How did the lyrics go? Something about chasing rainbows, wiping tears from your eyes, looking through the eyes of a stranger. Trading your shelter for danger. Wow. She'd thought the lyrics strange at the time, but now, she got it. Whoever wrote them could be writing about her life, right now.
Gail got up and left the room, rushing into the library area. She paced around wildly. If this was her house, she'd grab everything she saw, and smash it against the wall. What was she going to do?
Sam came into the library area, standing behind her. "Are you all right, Gail?" he asked her. "What the hell's going on?"
She marched up to him. "Smack me in the face right now, Sam. Apparently, that's what I like. Maybe it's what I deserve." She bit out the words.
Sam's brow was furrowed. What was wrong with her? Why was she talking like this? She and Cas had seemed so happy when they came in this morning, and now, she was acting like a crazy woman. That scene in the training room had been weird, but it wasn't as if they'd never seen anything like it before. And Cas had healed her, though he'd been a bit slow in doing it. A little out of character for him; maybe he'd just been trying to prove a point. He hadn't heard the whispered exchange between them, but Sam assumed it was Cas telling her to be more careful, next time. And she was OK now, wasn't she? Except for her blood-drenched top and the fact that she was telling him to hit her, of course.
"What the hell is going on with you, Gail?" he asked her again.
"I don't know, Sam," she sighed. Impulsively, she threw her arms around him and he hugged her back. She held onto him for dear life, and even though his encircled arms were hurting her, she didn't want to break the embrace. This was the type of comfort she used to get from Cas, and now she was seeking it because of him.
Suddenly, they could hear shouting coming from the training room. Gail pulled out of Sam's embrace and ran down the hall, panicked.
They burst through the door to see Frank and Cas facing off with each other. Cas had his blade in his hand, and Frank had an Angel blade in his.
"Come on, then," Cas was taunting Frank. "I know you want to hurt me. You've hated me ever since I brought you here. For some reason, you have a problem with me, and what I do with your sister. Well, we're both consenting adults. It's time for you to realize that Gail's not as innocent as you seem to think she is."
"I don't give a damn about what you guys do WITH each other," Frank shot back, raising his voice. While that was not entirely true, he had been trying to overlook it. Cas was right about that part; they were consenting adults, and as long as they were both consenting, there wasn't much he could do about it. "It's what you're doing TO her that I have a problem with."
Wait, what? Dean thought. What was he missing, here? Cas and Gail seemed fine to him. Like Sam, Dean had thought it odd that Cas had taken a moment before healing her, and maybe Frank was reacting to that. But he hadn't seen his sister train, before. It had been a little hard for Dean at first too, but if they were going to treat Gail as an equal, they had to fight with her as if she was a man. Cas knew that.
Gail could see Cas's grip tighten on the blade, and she knew that his eyes would have flashed, had they been real.
"Well, Gail doesn't have a problem with what I do with her, or to her," Cas said in his quiet voice. "She likes it. I'm tired of you judging me."
He was about to lose it. Gail stepped in-between them. "Cas, let's go someplace and talk," Gail said to him.
"Move out of the way, Gail," he said quietly, with an edge to his voice.
She had a flashback to that time in Cas's cell, when he had been facing off with Jason, and she had gotten between them. There was no way she could let Frank fight Cas, especially not the way Cas was now.
Gail turned to Frank and put her hand on his forehead, sending him out of the bunker.
Cas was angry. What had she done? He'd really needed a good fight. All those weapons, and Frank smarting off to him like that, had gotten his blood hot. Gail could see that, of course, and she knew she had to do something fast, in case he turned on Sam and Dean.
"Can you guys go get Frank?" she asked the brothers. "I sent him to that diner on 3rd Street." The place she and Frank had gone for lunch. It was the first place she had thought to send him that was far enough away from here, yet not so far that he would be unretrievable fairly quickly. "And tell him I'll see him later, either today or before he leaves. Oh, and tell him I'm sorry."
She grabbed Cas's hand and winked them out of the bunker.
Sam and Dean looked at each other. "What the hell was THAT?" Sam asked his brother.
Dean was puzzled. He didn't really know. When Gail had left the room so abruptly and Sam had run after her, Frank had been staring Cas down. Dean had expected Cas to apologize, or to look upset at least, but Cas had been looking back at Frank with a defiant expression on his face. What was it with those two? Sure, nobody liked to think about a guy doing their sister, and especially that the sister was enjoying it, but they were all adults, here. It wasn't like Cas to say things like that, though. Couldn't he see that he was just stirring the pot? It was probably a good thing Gail had stepped in when she had.
"I dunno, Sammy," Dean said, shaking his head. Then he smiled. "I guess we'd better go get Frank. He's probably really pissed. I think I'll get a bacon burger to go, though. Bless you, Gail, wherever you are."
She'd brought Cas to the crossroads, and now, she silently called for Crowley. He'd told them that all they had to do now was think his name and he'd hear, and sure enough, he appeared.
"You called, sweetheart?" he asked her.
Cas had stowed his blade, but he was literally shaking with rage. He was like a drug addict who needed a fix.
"Can you please take him, and...let him do what he needs to do?" Gail said to Crowley.
"What is it he needs to do?" Crowley said archly, raising his eyebrow.
"Oh, don't get coy with me," she snapped. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about."
Crowley looked at her blood-drenched top with a mixture of amusement and alarm. "Yes, I suppose I do. So, we've escalated, have we?" he said to them both, keeping his tone light.
"No, it was nothing like that," Gail retorted. "It was an accident."
"Keep on telling yourself that, sweetheart," he said calmly.
Gail kissed Cas on the cheek. "Go with him," she said. "I'll see you at home later."
He looked at her. "Do you promise you'll be there?"
"Yes, I'll be there, Cas," she answered. Actually, it would be nice to sit in a quiet house for a bit. She had a lot of thinking to do.
After Gail had gone, Crowley looked at Castiel. He'd known what Gail had been getting at, of course; he was just hard-wired to give them a hard time. He supposed he could help out; torture and murder were his stock-in-trade, after all.
"How would you like to pay Alexander and Lanister a visit?" he said to Castiel.
Cas looked at him gratefully.
"Oh, and take those ridiculous contacts out," Crowley said, rolling his eyes. "We don't believe in disguises in Hell. Let your true self come out, Castiel." He smiled and put his hand on his brother's arm.
Gail did go to the house for a while, and she sat on the couch, thinking furiously. Something had to be done about Cas, before one of the men ended up dead. Frank and Sam and Dean were heading out on the road, which would buy her some time, but they wouldn't be gone forever. And she would be here, wouldn't she?
What the hell kind of thought was THAT, now? She didn't believe Cas would ever really hurt her, did she? OK, he was aggressive in the bedroom now, and that translated into marks and bruises on her body, which were painful. And yes, he had just stabbed her, but she was sure that hadn't been on purpose, not really. He had stabbed her in the chest in the training room when he'd been 100% Angel, and before they'd even started their intimate relationship. But really, really hurt her? No. No way.
Gail was still making excuses for him; still rationalizing. She had brought him to Crowley because she'd known he needed a violent outlet for his anger, and she'd denied him that, by not allowing him to fight and possibly kill Frank. Crowley would know what to do with him. Crowley was the King of Hell, but he seemed to operate under some sort of a strange gentlemans' code, so Gail didn't think anyone would be in danger, except for maybe some denizens of Hell, who were damned, anyway. Better them, than anyone she loved.
But the question remained: What was she going to do about Cas? She needed to find out what had been done TO him first, before she could figure out what to do ABOUT him. Then, she had an idea. This whole thing had started with Crowley, but then Metatron was apparently somehow involved, too. Metatron was unavailable to her now, but Cas had advised that Jason had mentioned Metatron's name in that context. If she hoped to save Cas, she needed to talk to Jason, and find out what he knew. And she'd better make it quick.
Lanister and Alexander were on the wheel, and Crowley had sent the Torture Master and his assistants out of the room.
Cas looked at the array of instruments of torture in the room, astonished. He was a little mortified, but mostly impressed. Dean had never spoken in much detail about what had gone in this room when he had been here, not even to Sam, or Cas. Now that he was seeing it for himself, Cas could understand why. Dean had a tough facade, but he was sensitive underneath, and it would have been emotional torture for him to relive the things that had been done to him in this room, and the things he had done to others.
But Cas had no such compunctions himself, and the entity that he had become was grateful to his brother for bringing him here. This would do very nicely. He could spend as long as he needed to here, and then go home and be with Gail, working off his excitement at what he had accomplished here. Maybe he'd even be able to be gentle with her, this time. He really did love her, and in his eagerness to show her, and to make her show him that she still loved him and wanted to be with him, he knew that he got carried away, sometimes.
He turned to Crowley, an ugly smile starting to form on his face. "Leave us," he said. And Crowley left. Even he didn't think he had the stomach to see what was going to happen next.
"Hi, Ethan," Gail said, approaching him at the front desk of the prison.
"Gail!" His face lit up, and he jumped to his feet and came around the desk. "Long time, no see. How are you?" He gave her a hug.
She returned his hug briefly. "Fine, Ethan. How are things with you?"
"Same old, same old," he said, smiling. "How's Cas? We never see you guys, any more."
"Well, I wanted to spend some time with my brother," Gail said.
"That's right, Cas brought him back, didn't he?" Ethan's smile grew wider.
Gail was surprised. Apparently, Heaven's rumour mill was alive and well. Either Chuck or Kevin had probably told him. They'd both been at the bunker while Frank was there.
"Yeah," Gail replied, "and he'll be leaving tomorrow, to go out on the road. "But I don't really have a lot of time to chat right now, Ethan. I need you to do me a favour. I need to talk to Jason."
He gaped at her. "You want to talk to Jason? Why would you want to do that?"
"I can't really say, Ethan," she told him. "I just need you to trust me. Please."
He looked at her for a moment. When Cas had visited Jason, Ethan had suspected there was something going on. Now Gail was here, alone, wanting to talk to the Angel that had tortured her. What WAS going on? Gail looked agitated. Antsy. And, her top was soaked in blood, a fact of which she seemed to be almost unaware.
"OK, Gail," he relented. "Come with me."
"Thanks, Ethan," she said.
They walked down the corridor. "What happened to you?" Ethan asked her. In truth, he hadn't even been that shocked by the fact that Gail had blood all over her. Heaven's rumour mill was indeed very active, and it seemed like her and Cas were always targets for some kind of mayhem.
"What do you mean?" Gail asked him.
"Umm...your top," Ethan said dryly.
Crap! She had forgotten all about it in her haste to talk to Jason before Cas got back. Oh well, too late to do anything about it now. "Oh," she said. "A little training incident. Nothing to worry about."
They got to Jason's cell, and when Jason saw who Ethan had with him, he was astonished. She was the last person he thought he would ever see here. And Castiel wasn't with her. Interesting.
Gail looked at Ethan. "I need to talk to him alone for a minute," she told him.
"No. No way, Gail. Cas would kill me," Ethan protested.
"Yes, he probably would," Jason said, rising from his bunk and walking to the front of the cell.
"He can't do anything to me from in there," Gail said to Ethan. "But, I need some privacy. Please, Ethan. It's really important."
He frowned. "OK, Gail, but I'll be just down the corridor. Call out, if you need me. For anything."
"I will, Ethan, thanks," she said.
When Ethan was out of earshot, Gail turned to Jason.
"So, he's started in on you too, has he?" Jason said, smirking.
Gail was shocked. It felt like Jason had just slapped her in the face. She knew what had happened when Cas had been here to talk to Jason, of course; all she'd had to do was look at his blood-soaked clothes, and his excited state. And he'd talked about Jason needing some convincing at the end of his blade. But she knew that Cas's torture of Jason would have had nothing to do with interrogation.
"No, it's not like that," she answered reflexively. "I'm here to talk to you about what you told Castiel."
Jason regarded her coolly. He thought it was very telling that she didn't ask him who he meant by "he", and she didn't even seem that outraged by what he was suggesting. So, she knew what Castiel was, now. But the fact that she was aware of what had been discussed between Castiel and himself told Jason that she was either in denial about how bad Castiel had gotten, or worse, that she didn't care.
"What about it?" he sneered. Heaven's golden couple. And people thought HE was evil.
"I need to know the method Metatron used," she told him. Gail had framed her sentence very carefully. She had no idea how Metatron was involved, or if Jason even knew anything about it. But she was trying to give Jason the impression that she already knew, or at least, that she knew something. She knew he wouldn't volunteer much information. Why would he help them?
"I don't know what he put in the damn potion," Jason retorted. "You can send your Demon lover to torture me all you want. It'll do you no good. Or, did HE send YOU? Those doe eyes of yours aren't going to work on me. I had no respect for either of you when you were Angels, let alone whatever the hell you are, now."
The potion! So, that was it. Metatron had put something in the love potion Aurielle had poured down Cas's throat, and it was this mysterious ingredient, or ingredients, that were working on him, now. He'd already had Crowley's Demon essence in him, so whatever little bonus Metatron had thrown in there must have exacerbated Castiel's condition.
"And he said that whatever he was going to do would be permanent," Jason continued. "So, good luck with that. Maybe I'll see you in Hell, once he's killed you."
Gail glared at Jason, but she felt a shiver inside. Surely it wouldn't come to that; Jason was just being Jason. He couldn't torture her with his blade at the moment, so he was trying to torture her with his words.
"Ethan!" she called, and he came rushing down the corridor.
"I'm done, here," Gail told him.
"You're done, period," Jason said, smirking.
Ethan took his blade out and rapped it on the bars of Jason's cell. "Shut up, Jason," he said. "If you can't talk to Gail with respect, then don't talk to her at all."
"SHE came to talk to ME," Jason retorted. "And I didn't know Angels advocated respecting Demons."
Ethan laughed shortly. "You're out of your mind. What are you ranting about?"
Jason nodded at Gail. "Ask her."
"That's enough," Gail snapped. "Take me out of here, Ethan, please. I don't know what I was thinking by coming here."
Her mind was working furiously as Ethan escorted her down the corridor. So, Metatron had added something to the potion, and only he knew what. But Metatron was in Hell, locked away in Lucifer's cage. Great. How could she gain access to him there? Could Crowley help her? But even if he could, or would, and she could shake Cas long enough to see Metatron, why would HE help her? Maybe she could threaten him with Cas, somehow. She was sure that Cas could now access Hell any time he wanted; could she somehow convince Metatron that it would be in his best interests to restore Castiel to Angel status? But Jason said that Metatron had advised that whatever the change had been, it would be permanent. Did that mean there was no hope? Or was he lying?
Her head spun with all the questions, and she had better get back. So Gail hugged Ethan and said that she and Cas would stop by to see him and their other friends soon. She hoped she wasn't the liar, now.
Gail winked back to the house, but Cas wasn't there. She found her cell phone and called Dean.
"Did you guys get Frank, OK?" she asked him, keeping her tone light.
"Yeah, he was fuming, but we got him," Dean answered. She could hear the smile in his voice. He still thought all this was funny. "Best bacon burger I've had in a long time. Thanks, Gail."
She rolled her eyes. Only Dean could take a dramatic scene like the one they'd had, and turn it into a food-scarfing opportunity. But then, to be fair, he had no idea what was really going on.
"Can I talk to him, please?" she asked Dean.
A moment later, Frank's voice: "What the hell was that, Gail?"
"I'm sorry," she said. "I just didn't want you and Cas to fight. I think we've had enough of that, for quite a while."
Silence. Then: "I guess you're right, Gail. I was just upset, seeing him stab you that way. But Dean and Sam told me it happened before. And, I know you're fine. I just have to get used to this Angel stuff a bit more, I guess."
Maybe not for much longer, she thought ruefully. "Listen, I've got some stuff I have to do," she told him, "but I'll definitely be there in the morning to see you off, OK?"
"OK, Gail," he said. Then: "Gail?"
"Yeah?" she asked.
"I just wanted to tell you I love you, and I'm really proud of you," Frank said.
Tears pooled in her eyes. Thank God he hadn't said that to her face. The fact that he was saying it at all now was bad enough.
"I love you too, Frank," she said. She was barely holding it together. "I'll see you tomorrow."
She hit End Call and cried until Cas came home.
He winked into the bedroom and shed his bloody clothes, dropping them on the floor as he always did. "I'll be right out," he told her, heading for the shower.
When he came back from his shower, he walked over to the bed and lay down beside her, taking her in his arms. "I do believe I'm tired," he said lightly. "Would you just let me hold you, for a while?"
Gail was astonished. "Sure, Cas," she said quietly.
He kissed her on the forehead, and they lay silently together for a while. Apparently, whatever it was that he had done had taken the aggression right out of him, at least momentarily. She knew it was wrong, but she blessed Crowley for it. It was kind of nice just to cuddle, for a change.
But eventually, his hands started to explore her body, and she took off her clothes to make it easier. And his gentleness had made her receptive. If it could only be this way all the time, she could stay forever. But the more excited he got, the more aggressive he became. She didn't mind a little aggression, but when his fingers dug into her skin, she knew she'd have bruises on top of her bruises in the morning.
Still, she wasn't 100% Angel either, not any more, and he was getting her excited too, almost despite herself. But every time she would get close to the brink, he would get too rough, and the feeling would subside.
Cas was getting frustrated. She was making him feel amazing, doing everything just the way he liked, but even though she had whimpered a couple of times, that had been it. He had been on top of her, behind her, and he had used both his fingers and his tongue on her.
He looked up at her. "What's the matter?"
She sighed. "I don't know, Cas. I'm just sore, I guess. Let me take care of you, and then I'll just rest for a bit, OK?"
He was disturbed, but he brought himself up to her mouth and soon she was making him moan. He loved her so much. He was saying her name, over and over, the way she usually said his.
Then they were laying together again, and he was murmuring, "What do you need, Gail?"
Wow. She'd never realized how open-ended that question was, before. Up until today, the answer had always been him. Now, it was more complicated. She still loved him and she still needed him, but she didn't need the bruises, and she didn't need the pain. The small amount of poison he had injected into her bloodstream was waning, and since he had mercifully not brought up the subject of replacing it, Gail was finally starting to think clearly. But she still thought she needed to do whatever needed to be done on her own. Whatever else happened, she would try to keep his secret for as long as she could. Castiel had been a good Angel for centuries, and he had once again been dealt a bad hand. If he was one of God's favourites, God sure had a funny way of showing it. What had happened to Castiel was not his fault; none of it was. Maybe that was why she had been able to stay with him for this long, when she should have left him a long time ago; the first time he'd put the first painful mark on her body. She did love him and she always would, but if she could not cure him, she would have to kill him, instead.
"I think I need to cuddle, and watch a little TV," she said in answer to his question.
Cas looked at her curiously, but he reached over and grabbed the TV remote. She lay on top of him, facing the TV, and they watched for a while in silence. His arms were wrapped around her, holding her lovingly, and her body didn't hurt at all, at least not for the moment.
Finally, when he couldn't stand it any more, Cas's fingers began to stroke her, and his tongue licked her neck, then her ear. But his hands never gripped her; just caressed. And when he murmured, "I love you," she was able to say it back, and mean it. Then she was saying his name, and he was smiling. But even as she was crying out his name, she was also crying. And because her back was to him, he never saw.
Ethan clocked out at the prison, and headed to the library. He was disturbed, and he needed to talk to a friend.
Chuck looked up and smiled. "Hey, Ethan. How goes it?"
"Is there anyone else here?" Ethan asked him.
"Nahh, too early," Chuck told him. "The avid readers don't usually start drifting in till later."
"Good," Ethan said, drawing up a stool to sit across from Chuck. "Can you lock the door? I have to talk to you about something."
Chuck looked at him. "Is this about Cas? And Gail?"
Ethan was equal parts startled and relieved. How did he - Oh, yeah. Prophet.
Chuck moved quickly, locking the door, and then he returned to the desk and sat across from Ethan. "Tell me what you know," he said.
"That's just it; I don't really know anything," Ethan said, frowning. "I just have a hinky feeling. There's something going on, Chuck. Something bad."
Chuck sighed. "I know."
"What have you seen, Chuck?"
"Bits and pieces," Chuck replied. "Kevin, too. But, none of it makes any sense. The colour purple. Gail, crying. And Metatron laughing."
Ethan felt a stab to the gut. "And Cas?"
Chuck frowned. "Cas, with his blade in his hand. Covered in blood."
