Hi! Got a lot going on in this chapter so let's get right to it! Thanks so much for reading, following, favoriting, and commenting! I really appreciate everyone. :)

Disclaimer: In no way do I have any rights to Supernatural or any of the characters you are familiar with. I only own Amriel and any OCs that pop up along the way.

Twenty Eight: Stability

Amriel paced the office she shared with Cas nervously, waiting for the Winchesters to arrive. A month had passed since they arrived back at their headquarters with twenty new angels on their side, and things had been quiet on the Metatron front until someone overheard an angel named Ezra speaking freely about the scribe in a bar.

She smoothed out the skirt of her dress, feeling stifled by the stiff material that had been sold to her as business attire. Cas had told her that she should probably look more professional when they were at the headquarters, that way she would be taken more seriously. So she was trying it out and so far she wasn't a fan.

Castiel appeared in the doorway, a small smile finding its way onto his face when he saw her standing there in her green dress and black high heels, looking up at the map up on the wall, her back facing him. He cleared his throat, watching her jump and turn around quickly.

"Hey Cas, are they here?" she asked, walking towards him and taking his hand, squeezing gently. "And how did things go with Ezra. Did you find anything out?"

"Not yet, to both of your questions. Are you all right? You seem nervous." Castiel stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, effectively ensuring that they were alone.

"I'm fine. Just anxious for Sam and Dean to get here. This is the closest we've gotten to any information about Metatron aside from him kidnapping you… I don't want it to slip through our fingers," she shrugged, pulling him over to the conference table and sitting on top of it. "These new clothes are uncomfortable. How do you wear that suit all the time?"

"I guess I'm just used to it. You look stunning, though. This shade of green is very becoming, if I do say so myself."

Cas was standing in front of her now, staring down at her as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Amriel smiled, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close, breathing in deeply.

"You're my favorite being in all of creation, Castiel. Don't ever forget that," she mumbled into his chest, frowning slightly when he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back a little bit.

"And you're mine. Now, I'm going to ask Dean to do something that I'm not sure you'll be comfortable with. Will you be able to spend time with Sam while I supervise the interrogation?"

She knew that interrogation meant torture, but Cas was just phrasing it differently to make her feel better. She hated the idea of torturing a fellow angel after what Urim had done to her, but she knew that it was for the greater good.

Amriel was going to reply, but someone knocked on the door to the office and Cas turned around quickly. Before he could go to answer it, she grabbed his coat and stopped him.

"I'll keep Sam occupied while you and Dean do what you need to do."

Cas nodded, pressing a quick kiss to her lips before going and opening the door to find Benjamin standing there, a nervous look on his face as he glanced between the two angels.

"Sir, and Ma'am. The Winchesters are here."

Castiel hugged the brothers one at a time as soon as he saw them, followed by Amriel, who squeezed Sam tightly, feeling at ease with one of her charges nearby.

"Um… dismissed," Cas told Benjamin, who nodded and took his leave. He turned back to Sam and Dean, "He can be a little stuffy."

"So… He referred to you two as the Commanders when we got here," Dean gestured between Cas and Amriel, who looked at one another.

The blonde rolled her eyes and Cas explained, "Yeah.. Not our idea. They had no leader, and insisted on following me, but I wouldn't do it without Amriel as my equal."

"Yeah. No, we get it. You guys are rock stars," Dean said and the angels couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

"Bartholomew is dead," Castiel told him. "Malachi was murdered by Gadreel, and with Metatron as powerful as he is now, we needed to do something."

Sam asked if the war between angels was really going to happen, looking to Amriel, who gestured for Cas to answer.

"Not if we can find a diplomatic option for getting rid of Metatron," he said, and Dean rolled his eyes, mumbling "Good luck with that."

"This angel-on-angel violence has to end. Someone has to say 'enough,'" Cas told the pair, a look of determination on his face that Amriel was really familiar with.

"Is that someone you?" Sam asked, glancing between the two angels again, and Amriel decided to bring them to the task at hand.

"That's why you're here," she cut in. "We have an angel from Metatron's inner circle, and we need to know what they're planning. According to Cas, he's revealed nothing so far."

"So, you're done with the rough stuff, and you want us to be your goons?" Dean asked, and Amriel narrowed her eyes.

"You've had success at these situations before," Castiel said in a matter-of-fact tone. "If you don't want to do it, I understand."

Amriel had seen this tactic on TV before, getting someone to do what you want by insinuating that they wouldn't want to do it. It worked on the shows she watched, and it worked now too.

"Who says I don't want to do it?" Dean shot back, and Cas looked to Amriel, nodding.

"Come with me then. Sam, would you like to stay here with Amriel? She can show you around—"

"No, I'd like to join you if you don't mind," Sam interjected, and Amriel raised her eyebrows at her charge.

Nodding, Castiel led them to the makeshift interrogation room, walking in with purpose, his trench coat billowing behind him as he moved around the tied up angel, motioning to him so the Winchesters could see for themselves.

"You're wasting your time," Ezra said. "I have nothing to say."

"We disagree," Dean smirked, reaching into his jacket and pulling out an angel blade.

Amriel's eyes widened and she took that as their cue to leave. She motioned to Cas, nodding towards the door. He picked up on it and as he made his way over, Amriel turned to Sam. She touched his arm, smiling when he looked down at her, a curious look on his face as she stood on her tip toes to speak to him.

"Cas and I are going to leave you guys to it. Please, don't let him kill Ezra," Amriel whispered, "We can't lose him. He's our only lead."

Sam placed a hand on her shoulder, his fingers squeezing gently in a reassuring manner.

"I promise, Amriel, I won't let anything happen. We'll get him to talk," he said quietly, aware that Cas was watching them with narrowed eyes. Sam let go of the blonde and took a step back, coughing awkwardly and looking to Cas and nodding.

"Let us know if you need anything. We'll be in the office you were brought to when you got here," Cas told Sam before taking Amriel's hand and escorting her out of the room.

When the pair got to their office, Castiel closed the door behind them before turning to look at the blonde with a look on his face that she saw as concern.

"I heard what you asked of Sam," he finally said. "I'm worried about Dean as well… The mark of Cain is changing him, and it's not for the better."

"Whatever is going on with Dean, I don't want it to affect Sam. I'll do what I need to in order to keep him safe, even if that means splitting them up." Amriel said, pulling at her dress again, trying not to make it obvious that she hated the garment she was wearing.

Cas looked at her curiously, watching her fidget and tug on the emerald dress. She looked uncomfortable, standing there in her tall heels with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I just want to change into something less itchy," she mumbled, looking up as he moved across the room so he was standing in front of her.

He leaned in close, his lips a mere millimeter away from her ear, his hot breath hitting her neck as he spoke in a low tone, "I'll be glad to take it off you when we get home tonight."

Amriel felt chills run through her entire body and her eyes fluttered shut, groaning quietly when Cas ran his hands down her sides, coming to rest on her butt. He squeezed, making her gasp in surprise.

"If you keep this up, my dress is gonna come off right here," Amriel told him, pressing a kiss to his jaw and running her fingers through his hair, smiling as she watched a look cross over his face that she knew all too well. He wanted her, just as much as she wanted him, but she knew now wasn't the time.

So, she pulled out of his grasp, kissing him one more time before straightening his tie and fixing his hair.

"Come on, let's go see if we can listen in on their interrogation."

The pair stood outside of the room the Winchesters were currently in, leaning against the wall, Amriel's shoulder pressed against Cas's arm as they listened intently to what was going on behind that door.

"Buddy, the gates are sealed. No one can get in," Sam said.

"Who said anything about gates?" Ezra answered. "You don't need gates when you have a private portal."

"Right. If there was a doorway on Earth, the angels would've sensed it," Sam explained like it was obvious, and Amriel narrowed her eyes— she definitely would've known if there was a doorway.

She had missed what Dean said, it was probably something sarcastic and goading, but she heard Ezra's reply, "You can if it moves around from place to place, if it's wherever the boss wants it to be."

Amriel glanced up at Cas, and she saw the look on his face, knowing that every angel would be able to feel it if there was a doorway on Earth.

They continued to listen as Sam and Dean went back and forth with Ezra, belittling the angel they were holding hostage, calling him a Metatron fanboy until they got him talking about a squad he had applied for a position with.

The Winchesters left the room, Dean mumbling, "Dim bulb.. No wonder he got bumped."

"Yeah. 'Ground forces'? 'Elite secret squad'? What's Metatron gearing up for?" Sam asked, looking at Cas and Amriel as they walked down the hallway.

"I don't know — why don't we shove somebody through the back door of Heaven and find out? Oh, wait. No, it's portable and can't be found," Dean rolled his eyes.

The four walked down the hall towards the office Amriel and Cas shared, and as they were about to enter, Mihr called out to them, saying that Ezra was dead.

Amriel ran a hand through her hair and gazed at the bar, watching Cas order another round of drinks as she thought about how someone could've gotten in to kill Ezra minutes after the Winchesters' interrogation.

She thought about their conversation with the brothers, and their talk with Sam after that, where Castiel pressed him about the time Gadreel was possessing him. Sam thought the angel had unfinished business, and that wouldn't surprise Amriel, seeing as he had been locked away for eons.

Sam and Dean had gone back to their motel, but Cas and Amriel had decided to go and get a few drinks at the bar down the street from where they were staying. It had been a while since they had gone anywhere that didn't have to do with Heaven or Metatron, so here they were, on their third round of beers.

The blonde was so lost in thought she didn't realize a man was now standing across from her, looking down at her even though she was at a tall table. He waved a hand, catching her attention and flashing a charming smile as he introduced himself.

"I couldn't help but notice you all alone, sittin' pretty. I'm Will," he said, and Amriel watched him carefully, taking in his sandy blond hair and pale green eyes. He looked like he was around her vessel's age, and he was wearing a t-shirt with the local college's logo on it.

"Well, Will, I'm actually waiting for my boyfriend.. He's just getting us drinks," Amriel told him politely, nodding towards Cas.

Will laughed and Amriel narrowed her eyes in confusion as he said, "Oh damn… I thought he was like your coworker or a professor or something. Why are you with someone like him when you could have drinks with someone your age, like me, for instance."

She wanted to tell him that she was far closer to Castiel's age than she was his, but she bit the inside of her cheek, feeling annoyance bubbling up inside her.

"It's none of your business why I'm with him," she snapped. "Maybe I like the fact that he's mature, unlike the brat standing in front of me."

"Who are you calling a brat, little lady?" Will tightened his grip on his can of beer causing it to crush inwards, and Amriel felt the urge to recoil but she remained in place. There was nothing this human could do to her that would actually cause any harm.

"I think you'd better leave her alone."

Castiel's voice came from behind Will, who turned around, and Amriel saw that he was holding two glasses of beer and had an annoyed look on his face.

"Sure, man. whatever you say," the man rolled his eyes and turned back to Amriel, "If you ever wanna hook up, I go to school ten minutes from here."

Before she could even respond he had walked back over to his friends, and Amriel turned her attention to Cas, who was staring at the back of Will's head with laser focus.

"Castiel?" she asked, and he immediately looked at her, a forced smile appearing on his face as he set down their beers and took his seat.

"Was that man bothering you? I could hear some of your conversation, but not much. It's too loud in here," he muttered, taking her hand and squeezing gently.

"He was just being a nuisance, like the guys at the bar we went to with Marissa." Amriel took a sip of her beer and shrugged. "I don't like that people look at us and see an age difference. We're thousands of years old…"

Cas sighed, clearly tired from today's events, and Amriel found herself a little sad. She wasn't used to seeing him this exhausted all the time. It takes a lot to wear an angel down, but this hunt for Metatron was doing a number on him- on all of them, really.

"It's a social stigma, Elle," he finally said, taking his hand back and loosening his tie. "There's nothing to do but ignore it."

He watched Amriel's eyes narrow for a moment before she smirked and leaned in close to him, her lips a nearly touching his ear as she whispered, "Wanna give that guy something to talk about?"

Castiel didn't have a chance to answer. The blonde had finished her beer and squeezed his thigh as she got up. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and grabbed his tie, pulling him in for a kiss that clearly meant she was putting on a show for the fun of it. Amriel ended the kiss, her grip on his tie firm as she pulled him up and off of the chair, and as she led him out of the bar, she watched Will and his friend gaze at one another in shock and jealousy, if she was reading them correctly.

In the parking lot, Amriel pushed Cas up against the car and loosened his tie a bit more, moving the collar of his shirt so her lips could trail up and down his neck, settling on one spot that made him groan. She kept a hold on his tie to keep him still, lightly scraping his skin with her teeth as her other hand made its way down towards his belt buckle, and she felt him tense up.

"Get in the car," he said burying his hand in her hair and pulling her back so he could stare down into her eyes. "Now."

Amriel wasn't sure what to do— he had never commanded her to do anything, so she looked up at him in confusion and he rolled his eyes.

"What?" she asked, and Cas tilted his head up towards the sky, letting out an annoyed sound as he looked back down at her and enunciated, "Get. in. the car. We're going back to the motel so I can tear that dress off of you and touch every inch of you that I can get my hands on."

A shiver ran down her spine and she felt her heart begin to race, not even realizing how he was practically demanding they have sex. All she could focus on was how entrancing his low voice and how his hand was still in her hair as he pushed himself away from the car- his grip wasn't tight, but it wasn't gentle either, and she felt heat spreading through her.

Cas opened the driver's side door and he finally let go of her, motioning for Amriel to get in and move over, climbing inside when she did and taking off out of the parking lot for the motel.

His hand didn't leave her thigh the entire time he drove, and Amriel noticed him tracing patterns along her exposed skin. She took his hand and held it to her lips, pressing a kiss to his each of his fingertips and glancing to see if he was paying attention to the road.

Amriel moved their hands down to the hemline of her dress, biting her lip as she guided his fingers under the fabric, her eyes watching him carefully the entire time. His eyebrows raised slightly, but his gaze remained on the road ahead of them. The blonde took this as a challenge, and moved his hand further up her dress, positioning herself in her seat so he could feel that she wasn't wearing any underwear.

When his jaw clenched and his eyes flashed over to her, Amriel knew she had won. They pulled into the parking lot of the motel, barely registering that the Impala was parked a few hundred feet away as they got out of the car, nor did either of them hear the Dean's low whistle as they rushed into their room and slammed the door behind them.

The next morning while they were getting up and ready for the day, Amriel couldn't stop thinking about what had happened last night. Cas had been rough— he had disrobed her quickly and pushed her onto the bed, but after that he focused solely on pleasing her and nothing else. She remembered how he wouldn't allow her to reciprocate after he had gone down on her, saying that all he cared about was making her happy.

Amriel saw in the mirror that her neck was covered in dark red marks, courtesy of Castiel just a half an hour ago, and she glanced behind her to see him shrugging on his trench coat, pretty much ready to leave.

"I'm going to head out, Elle," he said, coming into the bathroom and wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her back against him and resting his chin on her shoulder. "I have a meeting to get to."

"Oh? Who are you meeting with?" Amriel turned around and smirked up at him, "Is there any way I could convince you to stay?"

"As much as I'd like to, I have to get going. I'm having Hannah send a car to pick you up in an hour," he said with a small frown before he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I promise I'll make it up to you later."

"If it's anything like what you did to me last night and this morning, I'm totally fine with that promise," Amriel smiled, "I don't know where you're going, but please be safe."

Castiel said that he would, and with one more kiss, he left the motel and Amriel was alone.

The blonde heaved a sigh as she did her makeup and got dressed, noticing that her inner thighs were also covered in bruises. Amriel flushed, wondering if Cas would really follow through on his promise.

It wasn't long before Mihr picked her up in a black SUV, taking her to headquarters where she checked in with Hannah and was briefed on the findings for the morning so far. The lack of news on Metatron's whereabouts was unsettling. Amriel just wanted to find the scribe and deal with him so she and Cas could get on with their lives.

She was tired, that was for sure. They hadn't made any progress and she hadn't heard from Cas, so Amriel was sitting at the desk in their office, her head in one of her hands as she browsed the Internet for any sort of sign of weird occurrences that might point to Metatron. Her phone began to ring and she looked down at it, seeing that it was Marissa calling.

"Hey Marissa, now's not really a good time-"

Amriel was cut off by her friend, who sounded far angrier than she had ever heard before, "I'm texting you something right now that you need to fucking explain to me or I'm gonna freak out."

"What are you talking about?" Amriel asked before her phone buzzed and she looked to see the text. It contained a photo of a missing poster, and Amriel felt her heart stop when she saw the eyes of her vessel staring back up at her.

"You're a missing person? Amy, why didn't you tell me!"

The blonde had no idea what to say, so she fumbled over her words, "Marissa… I, l can explain."

"Is this why you wanted to stay at the women's shelter? Are you hiding from someone here?"

"Yes!" Amriel blurted all too quickly, relieved her friend had provided an excuse for her. "I was trying to get away from an ex and I just kinda took off without telling anyone."

"Look, I know all about wanting to run away- hell, it's what I did when I came here, but you need to call your family and let them know you're not being held against your will."

Suddenly Amriel was overcome with sadness- she had essentially kidnapped Amy Grant, though it wasn't exactly against her will.

"Okay… I'll do that. Look, I need to go, but I promise I'll call my parents soon…"

After saying their goodbyes, Amriel looked at the photo Marissa had sent her and bit her lip, memorizing it and typing it in before pressing send.

A voice answered and Amriel tried to remember all of Amy's memories to figure out who it was, when she realized it was the girl's mother, Heather Grant.

"Mom?" Amriel asked, trying her best to sound like the daughter that had gone missing.

"Amy? Is that really you?"

Amriel said yes, and she could hear the woman begin to cry on the other end of the line. She felt awful for what she was doing- giving this woman false hope that her daughter was alive.

"Where are you sweetheart? Are you okay? Dad and I can come get you—"

"I'm okay, mom. I just…" Amriel took a deep breath. "I needed to take some time to myself. Life has been really weird lately, and I needed to get away. I'm okay, I promise. But I don't know when I'm going to be coming home."

"What do you mean, you're not coming home? Amy, we've been looking for you for months!" Heather's voice began to raise and Amriel felt tears begin to well up in her eyes, knowing she was doing nothing but hurting this poor woman.

She thought back to all of those TV movies she had been watching over the past few months, trying to figure out what she could say that would cause the least amount of pain.

"I met someone. He's really great, but he's not interested in living the city life. So we're traveling the country. I just need to do this, okay?" Amriel paused, hoping that this would work. "I love you, mom. But please, stop looking for me. I'm fine."

Amriel hung up before Heather could reply, tossing her phone onto the desk and covering her face with her hands, unable to keep herself from crying any longer.

"I'm despicable," she thought to herself. "What kind of angel does something like that to an innocent human…"

She didn't know how long she was like that, sobbing at the desk until she heard the door open and footsteps approaching her quickly.

"Amriel? What's going on? Hannah said you've been in here for hours-" Cas cut himself off when he saw her, slumped down in her chair and her face wet with tears. "Are you all right?"

The blonde looked up, wiping at her cheeks and trying to make herself look presentable. She said that she was fine, avoiding his gaze as she began to tidy up the desk.

"Elle, tell me what happened," he said gently, taking her hand and pulling her out of the chair.

"Marissa called. She sent me a photo of a missing poster for my vessel," Amriel explained in a quiet voice, "She told me to call my parents and let them know I'm okay. So, I called the number on the poster and it was Amy's mother. I- I pretended to be Amy told her to stop looking for me. I feel awful, Cas."

Castiel stared down at the angel standing before him, watching her grey eyes, glassy with tears, and he felt for her. He knew what it was like to interact with Jimmy Novak's family, so he knew what she was feeling. Cas wanted nothing more than to take her back to the motel and hold her as she cried, but he had too much to tell her.

"It will be okay, I promise. I'm sure you did the right thing, putting her mind at ease somewhat," he told her, grasping her hand and lacing their fingers together. "There's something I need to tell you"

It turned out that Castiel's meeting had been with Gadreel. They were supposed to meet alone, but they were ambushed by several of Metatron's followers. Cas had been trying to talk Gadreel into come to their side and serve as a spy against Metatron, since clearly he had a mole inside their camp.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" Amriel asked, "He has been locked up for eons… What if he's deceiving us?"

"I think he just wants to do the right thing," Cas said with a shrug. "We all do."

"Well you're right about that," she nodded in agreement. "Is there anything here that you need to do or can we go?"

"I've already debriefed those who needed it, so we can leave." Cas said, watching a small smile pull at the corners of her lips, and he led her out of the office and through the command center, well aware of Hannah's gaze on them the entire time as he remembered what he had told her when he arrived.

"Amriel is not stable, sir. She's been in the office crying for an hour… I think the pressure has gotten to her. She should be relieved of her duties-"

Cas turned his head sharply, glaring down at Hannah and she immediately stopped speaking.

"Amriel is my partner. She will serve as commander just as I do, regardless of what you seem to think of her mental state. I will talk to her and find out what's going on."

"Castiel— are you sure about this? What if she's the one relaying information to Metatron?"

Pivoting his entire body to face her now, Cas approached Hannah, backing her against the wall as he gave her the most menacing look he could.

"If you ever make an accusation like that again, I will strip you of your rank and you will be left to fend for yourself in this fight. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, sir," Hannah nodded.