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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.

Chapter Thirty Two: Rogues

Four hours later, Amriel walked into the bunker and down the stairs, looking around for Sam.

She was about to call out his name when he appeared from the kitchen, and in a matter of seconds he was across the room and pulled her into a hug. Sam buried his face in her hair, holding onto her so tight it was almost painful.

"He's gone," Sam mumbled against the top of her head, "I think he's possessed or something. We have to get him back."

"We will," Amriel said, her words muffled by his chest. She pushed him back a little bit, just so she could look up at him as she spoke. "I promise I will do everything in my power to get him back, Sam."

She stared up at him, watching a look she couldn't quite identify cross his face. The next thing she knew, he had leaned down and his lips were pressed against hers. Amriel froze as one of his large hands cupped her face and the other went to her waist, and she was unsure of what to do. She had only ever kissed Cas, and she was pretty sure this wasn't right. When she felt his tongue swipe against her bottom lip, Amriel gasped and pushed him away harder than she had intended to, sending him a few feet backwards.

"Don't do that again," she told him firmly, watching his brows furrow as an apologetic look crossed his face.

"I'm so sorry.. I don't know what came over me," he said quickly, apologizing three more times, telling her that he hadn't meant to do it. "You've just been here for me no matter what, and I- yeah, I don't know."

"It's okay.. Well, it's not okay, but I accept your apology. You're going through a lot and don't know how to handle it," Amriel said as she ran a hand through her hair. "Just.. sit down and tell me what's been going on."

For two hours, Sam told her everything that had happened since the last time he had seen her. It had been heart wrenching to hear Sam's retelling of how Metatron murdered his brother, and Amriel frowned, trying to figure out what could've happened after Dean had died to cause him to disappear.

The door to the bunker opened and she heard the familiar footfalls of Castiel coming down the stairs and into the war room.

Amriel rose from her chair and crossed the room, throwing herself into his arms and hugging him tightly. She buried her face in his neck, breathing him in and smiling when she felt him squeeze her back. It was like coming home, she thought to herself, realizing that she had truly missed him more than she had imagined possible.

Sam cleared his throat awkwardly, and Amriel pulled away from Cas, turning to send him a glare.

"Hello, Sam," Cas greeted the Winchester, and Amriel felt his hand trail down her arm until their fingers touched. She shot him a small smile as their fingers laced together, silently letting him know she was glad he was there.

"Cas," Sam nodded in response. "I'm glad you're here. Look, I haven't slept in two days. Amriel, will you fill him in on what I told you? I'm gonna try and catch an hour or two so I can get to work looking for Dean."

"Of course. We'll get started in the meantime. Get some sleep," she told him, watching him run a hand through his hair and blink a few times, before heading out of the war room towards his bedroom.

Amriel watched him leave, shaking her head and sighing. She turned to face Cas, smiling at his handsome face as she took in his features. He seemed tired, though, and she wondered what he had been through up in Heaven.

She pulled him to the kitchen, where Amriel found beer in the fridge and took out two, opening them both and handing one to Cas.

"Before we talk about what happened to Dean, and what happened while you were in Heaven, I need to tell you something," Amriel said, leaning against the counter. "Earlier, when I got here… I was telling Sam that we'd find Dean and he—" She paused, taking a quick breath as she held onto her beer. "He kissed me. I didn't kiss him back, I just stood there, then I pushed him away."

"Sam kissed you?" Cas asked, staring down at Amriel with a look on his face that quickly went from confusion to betrayal. "Why would he do that?"

"I have no idea, Castiel. I promise, I don't know why he did it." Amriel furrowed her brows as she spoke. "It wasn't something I enjoyed. It was weird."

She watched him tense, his face pinching uncomfortably and Amriel wondered what he was thinking.

"A-are you mad?" she finally asked, unsure of what to say.

"Not at you, Elle. I'm upset with Sam… He had no right to kiss you," he paused, shooting her a possessive look, "You're mine."

"Is this what characters in movies are talking about when they say men are jealous creatures?" Amriel asked him, crossing her arms over her chest as she spoke.

"I'm not sure. I've only felt this way when I saw those strange men talking to you at the bar—"

"And you know that you have nothing to worry about," she cut him off, "I only have eyes for you, Cas."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean other people don't have eyes for you," he explained, setting his hands on her hips and pulling her closer. "I'll talk to Sam later. But first, we have some catching up to do."

He leaned down and pressed a long kiss to her lips, letting her know just how much he had missed her, and Amriel grasped the lapels of his trench coat, tugging so she could kiss him back with just as much fervor.

In one swift movement, Cas picked the blonde up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, allowing him to carry her to their room as she kissed and bit at his neck, tangling her fingers in her hair and reveling in its silky softness.

Castiel left the room he was sharing with Amriel while she was in the shower and made his way to the kitchen where he found Sam making a pot of coffee.

He stood in the doorway, his hand stuffed into his coat pockets as he watched the Winchester open a cabinet and pull out a mug, setting it on the counter and heaving a sigh.

Cas had been up all night thinking about how Amriel had told him that Sam kissed her. It bothered him to no end that his friend had gone behind his back like that.

Still watching Sam, Cas contemplated his next move. He needed to do something.

"Good morning, Sam," he finally said, taking his hands out of his pockets and crossing his arms over his chest.

Sam turned around and shot him a smile, "Oh, hey Cas. How'd you sleep? Do you even sleep now that you're an angel again?"

"Not much," Castiel answered, his jaw clenching as he spoke. How was Sam so nonchalant right now? "How were things with Amriel last night? I assume she filled you in on what we've been dealing with in regards to Metatron?"

"Oh, yeah, it was fine," Sam shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee before setting it back down and leaning against the counter. "She told me all about how you tricked him into giving himself up. You did a pretty good job."

"Was that all you two discussed?" Cas couldn't ask him outright. He didn't even want to say the words, so he was going to lead Sam into confessing himself.

"Well, I told her about Dean and what I think has happened to him," the Winchester said with a shrug, "We were going through ideas to get him back when you got here."

Castiel watched Sam push himself away from the counter and walk towards him, obviously trying to leave the kitchen, but Cas straightened his posture and stared him down.

"Um, could you move, Cas? I need to get started trying to find Dean," Sam said as he looked at the angel in confusion.

"I know, Sam. I know that you kissed Amriel," he finally said, and he saw Sam tense up immediately. "Did you think she wouldn't tell me?"

"I- I wasn't sure. Look, Cas, it didn't mean anything," Sam began to stumble over his words as he explained himself. "I told her last night.. It was just a heat of the moment thing. I wasn't in control of what I was feeling and I don't know. It just happened. I apologized—"

In a split second, Castiel had grabbed Sam's arm and twisted it behind him, throwing him face-first into the wall beside the door frame and pinning him there with his shoulder.

"I understand that you're her charge," Cas said in a low voice. He had heard the shower stop running so he had to be quick. "But if you ever do something like that again, I won't think twice before I break your arm."

He let go and moved over to the coffee pot, pouring a cup for Amriel and adding in cream and sugar to her liking as he heard her footsteps down the hall.

Amriel entered the kitchen just as Sam was walking out, and she noticed a strained look on his face as he rolled his shoulder and avoided eye contact as he passed her.

"Morning, Sam," she smiled, but all she got was a quick nod and a quiet g'morning in return.

"What's his deal?" Amriel asked Cas when he handed her the mug and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I have no idea. Perhaps he woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Cas murmured against her hair before taking her hand and leading her out of the kitchen and to the library.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Amriel said once she was seated on top of the table. "We have to find Dean."

She watched Cas run a hand through his hair while he paced, heaving a sigh as he looked deep in thought. Amriel could tell that he was tense, but she wasn't sure why. Suddenly she found herself missing his carefree smile from when he was a human.

"Maybe we should hit the road," Cas finally suggested. "We can't do much from the bunker, and we could follow any leads Sam might find that are worthwhile."

Amriel shrugged, "I guess. It'll be nice to take a road trip and spend time with you."

A small smile crossed Castiel's lips and the blonde felt herself smile a bit as well, glad that he liked the idea too.

"We should leave soon, though," he told her. "The longer we're here, the more distance Dean gains."

Nodding in agreement, Amriel rose from the table and said that she would go tell Sam.

Cas stopped his movements, turning to look at her with a stern gaze.

"I will tell Sam. Why don't you go pack your things? I won't take long," he told her, leaving the room before she could reply.

Amriel frowned, wondering where this strange behavior between Cas and Sam had come from. Shaking her head, she also left the library to go and gather her belongings.

The gold Lincoln Continental sped down the highway, Amriel at the wheel with the windows down, stray hair from her ponytail blowing in the wind as she sang along to a Top 40 hit that had been on the radio four times in the past two hours.

She glanced to her right, frowning slightly at the sight of Castiel, whose hair was slick with sweat and plastered to his forehead despite the high wind. His health had been declining since they left the bunker a month ago, and Amriel knew his stolen grace was deteriorating. Cas wouldn't acknowledge it, though. Every time she asked if he was okay, he would nod quickly and change the subject.

Amriel reached down into the bag of sour gummy worms that sat in between her legs, grabbing a few and popping them into her mouth as she turned her focus back to the road.

They had been crossing the country chasing leads to try and find Dean, but so far, they were always one step behind the elusive Winchester. While Amriel was trying to make the best of it, she could tell that Cas was frustrated.

"Hey Cas," Amriel says as she wipes her sugar covered fingers on her bare leg, "How are you feeling? You look a little clammy."

"Not great," he answered, his voice hoarse. "How far are we from the motel?"

"I'd say a half hour, forty five minutes tops. You gonna be okay for that long?" she glances over again and takes his hand, squeezing gently. "I can stop if you need me to."

He shook his head minutely, just enough that she noticed, "I'll be okay. I'm just going to close my eyes and rest for the rest of the way."

Amriel turned her attention back to the road, noticing that he still kept a hold of her hand as he leaned his head against the window. He was growing weaker by the day, and she was doing all she could to try and hunt down his grace with what little resources she had. So far, she hadn't found much, but she was going to keep searching.

They got to the motel twenty minutes later, thanks to Amriel ignoring the posted speed limits. She led Cas into their room and started the shower, carefully undoing his tie and removing his clothes before helping him in. She disrobed as well and followed soon after, washing his hair and massaging his shoulders, smiling softly at the little sighs he made every so often.

"I love you, Cas," she mumbled quietly as she pressed a kiss to his shoulder blade. "Why don't we take a few days to rest? We've been chasing Dean non-stop since we left the bunker."

Castiel turned quickly, almost knocking her off balance, but he quickly steadied her. His eyes were wide and a frown was on his face.

"We can't stop, Elle. We have to find him…"

"Yes, but your health is also important. You can't keep going on like this… Your grace will burn out faster if you do," she told him. "I won't lose you."

Amriel stared up at him with a look that dared him to argue with her, but she was surprised when he heaved a sigh and nodded.

"You're right. I'm going to lay down," he finally said, and Amriel felt relief wash over her.

"Good. There's a robe on the back of the door for you."

After Cas exited the shower, Amriel washed her hair and finished up, getting out and wrapping herself up in a robe as well.

When she entered the room, she found Cas on the phone with Sam, coughing the entire time. Amriel frowned, wondering what she could do to help.

"I miss him," Cas said into the receiver, and she assumed he was talking about Dean. Who else would they be discussing?

She couldn't hear what Sam said in response, but the two continued to talk for a few more moments before Cas hung up the phone and tossed it back onto the bedside table.

"Did he have any news?" she asked, sitting beside him on the edge of the bed, running her fingertips along his chest in a soothing pattern.

"I think he had a lead, but didn't want to bother me after hearing how awful I sound," Cas sighed before he coughed again.

"You do sound horrible," Amriel agreed, "Is there anything I can get for you? Tea?"

Cas shook his head, and she bit her lip as she thought for a few seconds about what could help him feel better.

"How about we lay in bed all day, watch movies, and cuddle?" she proposed, moving her fingers from his chest to rake through his dark hair, tugging a little bit to get through the tangles.

"That sounds good to me," he smiled, reaching up and pulling her against him, making her laugh as he tickled her sides.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door, and Amriel jumped up, whirling around to face the door, trying to figure out who was there. She heard Cas getting up, and she turned, telling him to stay put.

"Just a second," she called as she grabbed her angel blade before moving to answer the door.

Amriel frowned when she saw Hannah staring back at her.

"Amriel…"

She saw the brunette glance at her loosely tied bathrobe before looking over her shoulder and seeing Cas sitting on the bed in his own robe.

"Hannah," she greeted in response, pulling her robe a little tighter as she spoke. "Would you like to come in?"

Amriel had Hannah wait in the bathroom while she and Cas dressed, then they all sat as Hannah filled them in on the state of Heaven and what had been going on since Metatron had been contained.

"So there's no leader?" Castiel asked. "You're governing yourselves?"

"Mostly," Hannah nodded. "There's a lot of meeting on rebuilding and reorganization.. Lots of reconciliation."

"Where's Metatron?" Amriel asked, wanting to make sure he was secure.

"Still in jail. His door has been made permanent. I would've thought we'd see you two sooner," Hannah said, and Amriel saw that her gaze was solely on Cas.

"We would've come sooner, but-" Cas started, but Hannah cut him off, saying that she was glad they didn't, and that she needed their help.

"Most of the angels who fell during the Fall have returned to Heaven, but a few have not. Some out-and-out refuse. Rogues," Hannah told them. "Two of them have killed one of our own for only attempting to bring them back home."

"Who were they?" Amriel asked.

"Daniel and Adina," Hannah said quickly. "They must be found. They must be brought home, and they must be punished for the sake of all. Will you two help me?"

Amriel began to shake her head, ready to tell her no, but Cas had already said yes. She turned to look at him, narrowing her gaze.

"Hannah, could you excuse us for a moment?" Amriel asked, motioning for the angel to wait outside.

"Of course," the brunette nodded and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

As soon as she was gone, Amriel stood up and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Why are we helping her? She abandoned us! Why should we be hunting these angels down? If they don't want to return to Heaven, they shouldn't have to."

"I'm just trying to do what's right, Elle. If Daniel and Adina killed another angel, they should face a punishment—"

"So, should you be punished for stealing Theo's grace? Should you be punished for the angels you killed in the Civil War? Should I be punished?" Amriel said as she paced, unable to look at Cas as she spoke.

"Amriel… You know neither of us deserve to be punished. That's not what I meant," Castiel shook his head as he heaved a sigh, staring up at her. "You don't have to come if you don't want to. I'm more than able to help Hannah alone."

The thought of Cas alone with Hannah made her blood run cold, and Amriel stopped her pacing. She didn't like the way the brunette looked at him, not one bit.

"Fine. I'll come and help," she gave in. "But, I'm not happy about it."

Castiel drove with Amriel in the passenger seat and Hannah in the back, and after an hour or two they had to pull over to the side of the highway because Hannah felt sick.

"I didn't know angels could get car sick," Amriel mused, a small smirk on her face as she leaned against the car, her hands balled into fists and shoved in her olive green jacket's pockets.

"I just need a moment," Hannah mumbled, taking deep breaths.

"It's my fault," Cas admitted from beside Amriel. "I'll take the curves faster."

"And you, Castiel? You're feeling well?" the brunette asked, causing Amriel to turn and look at him.

"Oh yes, like a million dollars," he answered, and Amriel rolled her eyes.

"That's not true," Hannah told him.

"It's my truth," Cas replied, trying to get her to stop talking about it.

"When you left Heaven, your borrowed grace was failing. By the looks of you, you've only gotten worse.."

"I'm fine," he assured her, and Amriel wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Hannah or himself.

"You're dying, Castiel. You need more grace," Hannah then turned her attention from Cas to Amriel. "Can't you convince him he's going to die if he doesn't get more grace?"

"It's not my decision. Do you think I like seeing him like this? I would give him my own grace if that's what it took to keep him alive, but I know he'd never take it," Amriel told her, trying to keep her emotions in check but she felt herself tearing up, even though she was avoiding looking at Cas. "I love him, Hannah. I can't expect you to understand that."

The three angels were silent, and Hannah looked between the couple before nodding her head once.

"I'm feeling better now," she said quietly, and the three got back into the car.

It wasn't long before they arrived at a camping site and found Daniel fishing in a river. Amriel merely watched as Cas approached the angel and asked what he was fishing for.

They spoke briefly about trout and the fact that the ones that really want to live put up a fight, much like the angels that didn't want to return to Heaven, and Hannah chimed in, saying that their conversation was nonsense. Amriel thought it was only fitting, though, since she herself didn't really want to leave Earth.

"Because they don't teach you about free will in Heaven? Perhaps they should," Daniel mused, "Then you would understand why it's worth fighting for."

Hannah drew her blade, and Amriel felt herself tense up, her hand going towards her own tucked away in the back of her shorts.

"He's taunting us," the brunette said, and Cas shook his head.

"And then what? We kill him?" he asked. "There's time to convince him to do the right thing. Besides, Hannah, we still don't know where the other one is— the woman."

"You'll have to stay for sunset. Night time around here is a revelation," Daniel told them, and Amriel looked to Cas, nodding to let him know that she was agreeing with him.

As the sun began to set, Amriel stood beside Cas, her hand in his, as they watched the light dying in the distance. It was beautiful, she had to admit. Most things on Earth that involved nature were beautiful.

"I don't want to keep doing this, Castiel," she finally said after long minutes of silence between the pair. "I don't want to be at Hannah's beck and call. She doesn't control us."

"We aren't, though. We're just doing the right thing," he told her, still gazing out into the distance even though she was looking up at him.

"Are you sure about that? Some of these angels might not want to return to Heaven. Would you send me back if Hannah asked you to?"

Cas turned to look at her now, his eyebrows furrowed as he shook his head, "That's totally different, Amriel. I would never make you do something you didn't want to do."

"But why do it to Daniel and Adina then?"

"I don't have an answer, Elle," he said with a frown. "I love you and wouldn't do anything to put you at risk or in harm's way. But, angels have to be punished for their actions. Daniel and Adina killed another angel."

"Okay, then after this we should continue looking for Dean," Amriel told him in a tone that didn't leave any room for argument. She squeezed his hand and leaned up, pressing a kiss to his jaw, and leading him back to where Daniel and Hannah were.

They sat around a campfire until Adina arrived, and Daniel introduced the three to the angel that had just joined them.

"Stow the blade, please," Daniel told Adina, who shook her head.

"When she stows hers," she said as she looked at Hannah.

"Hannah, what are you doing?" Cas asked.

"We'll never get to argue our freedom from a prison cell," Adina said to the brunette, her blade still drawn.

"You should've thought of that before slaughtering one of your own," Hannah answered in a matter-of-fact tone, making Amriel want to roll her eyes.

"No, no. We were talking," Daniel interrupted, "We were getting somewhere!"

"Okay, everybody just—" Castiel tried to interject, but Hannah cut him off.

"You want to be free? Go ahead, be free," Hannah answered, rushing towards Adina and pushing Amriel out of the way in the process. Daniel moved to protect Adina, and Amriel quickly scrambled to find her dropped blade as Cas tried to stop the fight. Daniel cut Hannah and was ready to end her, but Castiel beat him to it, and Amriel watched the bright light flicker out of Daniel as his vessel's body dropped to the forest floor. She didn't even notice that Adina had fled. All she could see was Castiel standing there with a blood-covered angel blade in his right hand, panting hard as he tried to regain his composure.

"We have to get her," Hannah said, getting up and dusting herself off.

"She's gone," Cas shot back, "It's over."

When they return to the car, Hannah tells them that they have to report the incident to Heaven.

"And say what? Things got out of control? Another angel has died," Cas asked from the driver's seat, looking back at her in the rearview mirror.

"He was going to kill me, Castiel," Hannah reminded him.

"They just wanted to be left alone," Amriel mumbled from the passenger seat, not looking at either of them.

"Without rules, there is chaos," Hannah told them. "Out of chaos rise angels like Naomi, Bartholomew… Metatron."

"Well perhaps I've been down here with them for too long. There's seemingly nothing but chaos. But not all bad comes from it," Cas said softly, glancing over to Amriel as he spoke, "Art, hope, love, dreams…"

"But th-those are human things," Hannah muttered from the back seat, glancing between the two angels that were now making eye contact that she had no idea how to read.

"Yes, yes they are," Cas answered.

Once they were far enough away from the campsite to stop and get themselves cleaned up, Amriel found Cas washing his hands in a sink on the dock. She watched him try to heal the chest wound Daniel had caused, and she saw his grace flicker out quickly.

Frowning, Amriel tried to push down her inner panic at the sight. He was fading faster than she had expected.

"Cas, let me do it," she said, getting closer as she spoke. She held her hand over his chest, focusing her energy and grace on him and smiling once he was fully healed. "There you go. Don't hesitate to ask me next time… Hopefully there isn't a next time, though."

Hannah approached them now, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she looked at the angels that seemed so in sync with one another. Almost like they were two halves of one being.

"You don't have to— you can go. You don't owe us anything," Cas told the brunette, knowing that Amriel was thinking something similar.

"I know," she said, "But I want to stay and help."

A confused look crossed her face when Cas laughed, and she asked if she had said something wrong.

"No, it's just very human," he answered. "It's a compliment."

"Oh…" Hannah muttered, and Castiel's phone began to ring.

"Sam," Cas greeted, and Amriel turned her focus from the angel in front of her to the one beside her, trying to listen in on her charge.

"You need to get to Beulah, North Dakota… Now."

"I do?"

Amriel raised an eyebrow, continuing to listen.

"Yes. Crowley and Dean were there. We got to pick up their trail."

"Good. Great."

"Yeah, um… Not so much," Sam said, "Cas… Dean's a demon."

Amriel felt her heart drop. Dean Winchester was a demon? How was that possible?

"Dean's a demon?" Cas echoed her thoughts, "How?"

"The Mark. I-I guess it must've messed him up… I don't know," Sam stammered, and Amriel pictured him running a hand through his hair, tugging at the roots in frustration.

"That is a vast understatement," Castiel told the Winchester.

"Right. Now, Cas, listen. I know you're not feeling so hot, but this is kind of an 'all hands on deck' situation here, so…"

"So, Amriel and I will meet you there."