"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me Castiel" Laila smiled as she sat opposite him at a table in a little cafe Cas had chosen, "Alone" Laila added.
Cas just smiled at her awkwardly.
"You are alone aren't you Castiel?" Laila looked around her warily.
"Yes" He assured her, "Sam and Dean are on a hunt, they're probably half way out of town by now" he added.
Laila nodded, "It's nice to see you not intoxicated" Laila told him. It was definitely brave of him to meet up with her sober considering their last meeting. He was overly aware of how badly she wanted to go through with her mission to get him back to heaven.
Cas looked down at the menu in front of him looking at the different food options, silently observing…he made a mental note that the salads were on the complete opposite side to the burgers, he smiled slightly to himself thinking of how Sam and Dean would be looking at completely different sides of the menu if they were here now.
Laila placed her hand on top of the menu in Cas' hand and guided it towards the table to get his attention "Castiel, I'm hoping what you want to talk about today is that you're coming home with me? Back to heaven? Where you belong" Laila smiled, her smile was beautiful and he couldn't help but notice.
Cas swallowed hard, "Well, actually, I…" He began, he looked up at her raising his eyebrows, "about that, I, um-" He was cut off by a waitress who stood with a very forced but all the same gleaming smile on her face at the edge of their table.
"Coffee?" She asked.
An awkward silence fell over the three as both angels stared at the young waitress, unknowing of how to respond, lucky Cas' time down on earth with the Winchesters helped out here.
"Um, please" Cas smiled at her and she filled up a cup.
Laila shot a confused glance at Cas through the girls arm as she poured, "Its good" Cas mouthed to her.
"Any for you?" The waitress smiled at Laila.
"…Yes" She replied, stone cold. They watched as the waitress poured.
"Thank you" Cas shot her a smile and opened his mouth to continue with what he had begun saying before the waitress had interrupted but she interrupted once again.
"I saw you checking out the menu earlier, anything take your fancy?" The waitress smiled at Cas.
Cas looked back up at her, "Um, no just the coffee is fine, thank you" He told her.
"Okay" She smiled, "you know, we're known for doing the best coffee in fifty miles, home brewed" she told him making conversation.
Cas looked towards his cup and back to the waitress, he had the sudden urge to try it to please her, he took a big sip, but being an angel and not drinking much made him forget how scorching hot coffee could be. He quickly put his cup down before he dropped it and swallowed the boiling liquid down with a wince, "Hot" he stated as he looked up at the waitress.
"Funnily enough it's not the only hot thing at this table" The waitress spoke with a wink, Cas quickly looked up at her awkwardly, "Let me know if you change your mind about anything taking your fancy, I finish at six" She told him and turned off to continue work.
"The complexion in your cheeks has turned red Castiel" Laila told the embarrassed angel across from her, "what did she do to you?" She asked confused.
"That was…that called a flirtation" Cas informed her as she looked back across at her.
"I don't follow?" Laila replied tilting her head in confusion.
"It's unimportant" he told her shaking it off, "Laila" He began, "I don't want to go back to heaven" he spat out, Laila's calm caring expression changed quickly to harsh and angry.
"Castiel-" He cut her off.
"I believe I'm needed down here, to watch over humans, to help them" He told her.
"By humans you mean Sam and Dean Winchester" She replied.
"No" He replied, "I can help more than just those two Laila, I could stay in hospitals and heal where I can, or perhaps I could-" Laila cut him off.
"Castiel you are lying to yourself and me if you say you would spend time away from the Winchesters if you were to be kept down here with all your grace" She stated bluntly, "they're a distraction".
Cas paused a moment to think, "Is there any possible way of me staying down here Laila?" He asked with a sigh of defeat, it came out more as a plead to her.
Laila examined his face.
"I know you say I'm needed in heaven but surely I'm needed here more? I've helped save the world before" he told her, "Our father told us to love humans more than we love him and I do Laila, I think humanity is beautiful and I'd like to stay and live amongst them, they fascinate me" he smiled as he spoke.
"If you love humanity so much, how about I take your grace and you can become one again?" Laila suggested.
"I wouldn't want that" Cas replied honestly, he shuddered at the thought. Yes, he had told Dean that he wouldn't mind becoming human again but if he were to be honest; he hated it the last time, it was the lowest he'd ever managed to feel and couldn't bare to feel that powerless again. "Yes, I love humanity but I would like to help them Laila, not become one, why when I have the power to help would I choose to lose that power to be like those I wish to help?" He asked putting forward a very valid point. "Look, I understand in the eyes of heaven I am not something they are proud of and I know my mission was to pull Dean from hell but I now believe my mission is to stay down here and help, I know you see me working with Sam and Dean as something awful but I must say working with them and seeing them saving people shows me there is so much good to do on this planet and I can continue to do that" Cas had never felt so passionately about something before and he didn't realise how passionate he felt until right now.
"Castiel hunters are no friend an angel should have, you shouldn't be going out on hunts with them, that is not what you're made for" Laila told him.
Cas looked at her in disbelief that after all he'd just said to her she was still blinded by the idea of the Winchesters hanging around. Sam and Dean saw 'the shifter plan' as their plan A, little did they know Cas saw it as plan B - his plan A being to plead with Laila and hoped he'd get through and avoid having to go through killing his two best and only friends — he took in a deep breath and looked her in the eye. Pleading was no longer an option. "I understand" he told her, "But if I said I was not going to see the Winchesters if you left me down here with my grace?" He asked.
"We just couldn't trust you to do that Castiel, yes you are needed down here and I'm sure you could do wonderful things for humanity but the Winchesters do not allow you to do that, all Dean Winchester has to do is click his fingers and you'll cater to his every need" Laila replied sternly.
Cas looked over at the humans who occupied the cafe just living their lives, some were there to eat and drink, others were there for work but every single one of them had a story and he admired that so much. He loved everything about Earth, every sound, every smell, every smile on every human's face that they always managed to find again no matter how much darkness they were faced with in their lives; humans were the strongest species he'd come across because they never give up; and neither would he. "What if the Winchesters weren't around?" He asked looking back to Laila.
"I don't understand" Laila tilted her head in confusion once again.
Cas took in a deep breath and paused before he spoke, "I mean, what if the winchest-" he cut himself off, he hated calling them that, "-Sam and Dean, what if they were dead?" he asked.
"Dead?" She asked surprised.
"Yes" Cas nodded sheepishly looking up at her.
"And who would be the one to make that happen then?" She asked.
"…Me" Cas mumbled looking down at the burger section of the menu on the table.
"You could do that?" Laila questioned, she knew how much these men meant to her fellow angel friend.
His deep blue eyes met hers once more, "Sam and Dean are far from innocent, they've killed many times before both humans and angels" Cas stated, something Sam had told him to say and although it was the truth he knew they meant well, they were the best people he had ever met and he knew every death on their hands had a good reason. He argued this to Sam when he brought it up but Sam silenced him telling him just to say it, to not be on their side for once.
"What are you saying Castiel?" Laila had to check what he was getting at.
Cas took in a deep breath and thought back to what Dean had told him to say, but he could barely bring himself to say this one, he was never the best at lying and this statement couldn't be further from the truth, he closed his eyes "I'm saying…I think maybe the world would be a better place without Sam and Dean Winchester in it" he managed to get it out, he opened his eyes and looked at Laila. "As you say, they're a distraction, they're dangerous, I mean they're the ones that opened the gates of hell, they allowed Lucifer to rise, they brought on the apocalypse, I dread to think what else they could be capable of, Honestly? They're bad news…" That part was Crowley's doing.
"You're finally seeing the Winchester brothers how the rest of us see them Castiel. Good work" Laila was clearly impressed
Cas nodded and looked back up at her sheepishly, "So, if I kill Sam and Dean can I stay on Earth?" He asked, looks like his rehearsed lines went well.
"I don't see why that would be an issue, we were all concerned that you've been brainwashed by these men, that you did everything for them and would kill for them, even die for them, but now I see that you can see them the way we do" Laila explained, "I'm sure heaven would be happy for you to stay if the Winchesters were not around" she concluded.
"Okay" Cas replied, "then let's do this" his voice quivered.
"How are we doing this?" Laila asked.
"Right now they're on a hunt, we just need to get them to us-well, me" Cas explained.
"More vampires?" She asking knowingly.
"Demons this time" Cas told her which wasn't a lie they were currently with the King of hell, "if this is going to work I need to get them here for a good reason…" he acted to think.
"You're going to kill them here? In a cafe?" Laila asked concerned.
"No, good thinking…we need a motel" Cas threw some money down on the table for the coffee, placed his hand on Laila's shoulder and within a millisecond they were outside of a run down motel.
"I'll check us in" Cas smiled as he pulled out a wallet and head for reception.
Unknown to both Laila and Cas Sam and Dean had already checked into the motel Cas had decided to use for this plan. It was Dean's idea, just incase things got messy they could jump in to help. They told Cas they really were going on a hunt out of town because he was so uneasy about having them and the shifters anywhere near each other he would never agree to them even staying in the same city never mind the same motel - one room away from where everything was going to go down. Sam took some persuading to go along with this part of the plan his reason being he figured they would be useless, they knew there would be a fight between Cas and the shifters that was part of the plan…so how exactly would they know if anything went wrong by listening out through a wall? In the end he figured it would at least bring some ease to his older brother who was clearly worried for their friend although he tried his best not to show it. They were now in a parking lot at the back of the motel sat in Baby with the two shifters in the back seat.
"You got the plan down right?" Sam asked shifter them.
"Yeah" Shifter Dean replied rolling his eyes, they'd been through this plan a million times they just couldn't wait to finally be out of dept with The King of Hell.
"Good" Sam replied, he'd never get used to seeing two Dean's, "Now we should get a call off Cas any minute now and then its just a waiting game, you know to wait-" Shifter Sam cut Sam off.
"An hour to an hour and a half before showing up to make the story that you were out of town more believable, that when we get there to make sure Cas gets straight to the point and don't fight him because you won't want us to hurt your precious little pet angel." Shifter Sam spoke looking out of the window, "Oh, and to play dead once we're shot" he added as he made eye contact with Sam in the rearview mirror, Sam quickly looked away.
"Listen, smart arse" Dean started as he turned to face them, "if you try anything funny I promise you I will hunt you down and give you a slow, painful death and I will not stop for the rest of my life until all of you shifter bastards are dead and I will let every single one of them know you're the reason for it just before I slice through their hearts with this lovely shiny silver knife" Dean smiled as he pulled out his knife for them to see, running his fingers across the blade.
"If we try anything funny we have The King of Hell to answer to, no offence Winchesters but you two don't seem that threatening anymore" Shifter Sam replied.
"Anyway, hand over the keys twinny, this is my car now" Shifter Dean spat out smugly sitting forward in his seat.
Dean span around and held the silver knife to the throat of his shifter, "Listen you son of a bitch, if there is even a scratch on my Baby I WILL KNOW and believe me I will make you wish you had Crowley on your backs even if this plan to help Cas goes smoother than it ever could." Dean threatened and shifter Dean swallowed hard.
"Hey man, we might even top up the tank for you" He laughed awkwardly shooting a side glance at shifter Sam.