Chapter Summary: Everyone assembles at the roadhouse to help find Eileen and Jo. Castiel admits something to Dean.

Heaven is Boring

PenPatronus

Chapter #3

Unraveling

Sam, Dean and Cass sat at the bar at Harvelle's Roadhouse. Each had a list of people on a napkin, and each made phone call after phone call. Slowly, people started to fill the yard outside the bar. Ed and Harry joined Ash and Ellen. Rufus and Pamela were chatting with Bobby. Becky was chatting Jody's ear off, and she kept exchanging significant glances with Donna. Frank Devereaux and Garth had brought a picnic table with them and were serving hotdogs and beer. Charlie and Kevin were chatting, probably about things no one else would understand. Kelly Kline, Lily Sunder, Missouri and Donatello took a seat at the picnic table, talking about who-knows-what – perhaps the oddest combination of people there. John and Mary waved when Sam peeked outside the window to see if everyone was there yet. Adam was with them – it took a while, but Mary had welcomed him like a son. Walt and Roy stood in the back, leaning against a pair of trees. And there were more faces – faces Sam didn't recognize. His friends had brought their friends. He estimated there were two hundred people out there.

Dean joined Sam at the window. "Got a small army." Sam nodded. "Hey." Dean clasped his brother's shoulder. "We'll find her. We'll find them." Another nod from Sam. "Know what you're going to say?"

"Yeah. Got these, too." Sam took a large packet of pictures out of one pocket of his tan jacket, and an equally big one out of the other. The first one was picture after picture of Eileen, the second Jo. "Figure we'll start by handing these out."

Dean glanced back at Castiel, who sat with his back to the brothers at the bar. "Go on. We'll catch up."

"I'm standing on the car."

Both of Dean's eyebrows sprang up. "Excuse me?"

"On the roof. It's in the middle of the crowd. Best place to reach them from."

"You leave one boot print on her," Dean threatened, "one scuff mark…"

"Dean, we're in Heaven. You and I have driven all over the place and there hasn't been so much as a single fleck of mud on the Impala."

Dean shrugged. "True. All right. On you go." Sam went out through the front door, and Dean turned his attention to Cass. He walked over to the bar, sat on the nearest stool, and put his hand on the angel's shoulder. "What's up, buddy? You're quiet."

Cass rumpled up his napkin and tossed it into a waste bin. Without speaking, he rolled up his shirt and showed Dean the wound from the angel blade. His injury was no longer bleeding, but it did appear to be sprouting. Little tendrils of red emerged from the wider wound. Dean put his fingers against Cass' skin and felt abnormal heat. "What the hell is that?"

"I'm…" Cass searched long for the word. "Unraveling."

"Unraveling? What, like, a knitted sweater?"

"If you prefer that simile, then yes."

Dean rolled his eyes.

"I think the blade was poisoned. That angel must be part of the Faction."

Dean turned in his seat to fully face Cass. "I'm really afraid to ask, but what's the Faction?"

Cass turned in his seat. "Not all of the angels are happy that Jack appointed me his second in command. They don't want me to rule Heaven."

"Cass, you're… Awesome. Why wouldn't they want you?"

It was Cass' turn to roll his eyes. "Because I killed so many of them, Dean."

Dean's stomach loop-de-looped, then sunk. "Oh. Right."

Cass sighed. "Jack made a big speech before he left – told them all who I am now, how I've made mistakes but ultimately helped Heaven. How I was the one who suggested he resurrect all the angels but…" Cass shook his head. "From their perspectives, I killed them, then they woke up in the Empty, came to Heaven, and the next thing they know they're supposed to obey everything I say."

"Well…" Dean was grasping at straws "…um…"

Cass looked into his eyes. "How would you feel if after Metatron killed you, the next thing you know is he's leading you and all of your friends?"

"I, uh… Yeah. I guess I can, um, see their point of view."

"I can, too," Cass whispered. "And that's why there's a Faction that wants me dead." To Dean's surprise, Cass folded his arms on the bar and put his head down on them, most of his face hidden except for his eyes peeking out to look at Dean. "Heaven would be better off without me… I'm going to stand down. Promote someone else. Someone everybody trusts."

Dean shook his head. "No, Cass, no. How many angels want to start the apocalypse again? You can't let them take power."

"They're going to take power, anyway. If I don't stand down, they'll kill me…" Cass wrapped an arm around the wound in his midsection. "If they haven't already…"

Alarmed, Dean reached out and pressed his hand against Cass'. "Sweater wound is killing you?" Dean's face turned red. "Well… If it happens, Jack will bring you back again."

"Yeah, he will," Cass agreed. "But we don't know when he'll get back. And if I go back to the Empty, I'll be tortured… Maybe for a millennia."

"Veto that," Dean said. He clamped his hand down on the angel's shoulder. "Cass, we'll take care of you. You'll beat this. You're strong."

"Don't tell Sam," said Cass. "He has enough to worry about right now."

Dean frowned, but agreed. "Ok."

"There's another reason why I want to step down from my duties."

"What's that?"

Cass sat up straight and scratched his chin. "Being an archangel… It's taking away my humanity. I feel… Different. I can feel myself changing, becoming less human. Can't remember what peanut butter tastes like anymore. Plus, I'd rather… I'd rather be here than leading the angels."

"Here?" Dean pointed around the bar. "Literally here?"

Cass scratched his neck, and then the back of his head. "I mean with you and Sam. And Mary. And Bobby…" Cass looked everywhere except directly at Dean. "You're my family. I'd rather drive around with you and Sam than do anything else… If you'll have me."

"Cass. Hey. Look at me." Cass hesitated, then obeyed. "I'd like that, too. You're always welcome to join us, no matter what. Do you get that?" Cass nodded. "Do you?"

"Yes."

"Good. All right." Dean stood up and opened his arms. "Bring it in, buddy." Cass hugged him back.

The door opened to reveal Sam, Adam, and John. "Dean—Mom's gone!"

"WHAT?"

"I sent everyone out to do the grid search and…" Sam gestured at John.

Liquid hovered in John Winchester's eyes. "She just disappeared. Right in front of me. I blinked and she was gone."

Mary blinked, and suddenly she was sitting tied up in a chair between Eileen and Jo. Their wide eyes looked as surprised as she felt. "What the hell?"

A man towered over her. "Hello, Mary." Before Mary could respond, Chuck stuck duct tape over her mouth. "How are Sam and Dean doing? Boy, oh, boy, I hope they're having a great time in Heaven. Not panicking at all. Not worried about you at all. Gee, I hope they're at peace."

Two men flanked the former God. "Do we have enough hostages now?" Raphael asked.

"Three whores ought to do it," said Uriel.

"They'll do just fine," said Chuck. "We're ready."

To Be Continued