"Yeah. Yeah, we're at Cas' place. What? Wait, no, you don't need to-" Dean pulled the phone away from his ear as the woman yelled a stream of curses down the line. "Okay! Okay, shit, calm down! No, I know nobody has ever calmed down by- Okay fine, we'll be here. Yes. Bye."
Dean breathed out a long sigh as he ended the call and dropped the phone on the table, staring at it as though it would bite him. He glanced up to see Sam, Bobby and Jo Harvelle all staring at him in amusement.
"She wouldn't take no for an answer."
"We gathered that. Could hear it from here." Sam answered with a slight chuckle. "So was that the last one?"
"Yep. Nobody's seen or heard from him." Dean sighed and sat on the couch, dropping his head in his hands.
"Don't you be givin' up, boy. We'll find your man." Bobby came and sat beside him. "'Sides, sounds like we're gettin' some help lookin' for him."
"Yeah. Yeah, a few people are coming over." Dean answered, sighing through his fingers. "His manager, and a friend of his. And Mr. Jackson, the apartment manager, he's gonna review the cameras."
"I'll go order some pizza." Jo spoke up, popping her gum loudly. "It's easier than cooking and we need to eat to stay focused so."
"Sure. Thanks." Bobby smiled at her. "Dean, I know you don't wanna hear this, but I think we already know who took him."
"Don't- Bobby, please don't say..." Dean trailed off.
He knew exactly who Bobby was thinking of, and logically, it made sense. But the irrational part of his brain was in denial. If it really was Uriel that took Cas, he was in massive trouble. It also meant that the idea of not finding his lover alive was becoming very real.
"I know you don't wanna hear it boy, but we need to be realistic here. It's the best chance we got of saving him."
"Dean." Sam sat down on his other side, and put a supportive hand on his shoulder. It didn't help. "I know it's hard but.. we're here, we'll help you, and we'll find him. But we've got to know the facts."
Dean looked at his brother, taking in just how much Sam had matured over time. He remembered all the times he had been the one giving Sammy advice, helping him through difficult situations. Now the tables were turned, and he found himself agreeing.
"Okay. Okay, I- I don't know where to start." He glanced over to Bobby.
"Alright, well, how about tell me how Castiel and Uriel are connected." Bobby asked, pulling out a notepad and pen.
"Yeah okay. Well, the first I heard of him was after Cas had a really bad day at work. He was pretty angry, and we-uh-" Dean tried to ignore the flush that crept up his cheeks. "I calmed him down, I guess... Then there was an incident, I found him having a panic attack... Later he told me Uriel had threatened him that day, and the really bad day he had was because the guy was being a dick to him and ended up getting fired."
"This happen before he showed up here?" Bobby asked as he scribbled notes, trying not to let the worry show through.
"Yeah.. Yeah that was later. When the cops got here he said it wasn't over."
Bobby shook his head, noting the information down, while Sam looked on in shock. Dean glanced at his brother, reading it all in his eyes - the surprise, the guilt, everything.
"Nothing you could have done, Sammy." He said gently.
"I could have been here for you." His brother answered guiltily.
"Hey! You two idjits can sort that out later. And stop mopin' at each other. What happened, did. You can't change the past - just fix the future." Bobby stared them both down, daring either to say anything. "Right. Now that's done, moving on. You said his manager is on her way?"
"Yep. Her name's Charlie. She should be here soon." Dean answered. "Cas talked about her a bit. He says she's a good person."
"Charlie Bradbury?" Bobby asked quickly, and Dean nodded in response. "Mm. She's good people. We'll get some more information out of her. Hey, Harvelle! That pizza on it's way yet?" Bobby called out, glancing over the back of the couch with a grin.
"It was on its way five minutes ago, old man. You were too busy chit chatting." Jo grinned back from the kitchen, finishing by poking her tongue out at him.
"Hard to get good help." Bobby patted Dean's knee comfortingly, then stood. "I'm gonna check on that Jackson guy. See if he's got the footage cleaned up yet."
Bobby stood and, with a nod to Officer Harvelle, the two made their way out of the apartment. That left Sam and Dean alone, shifting awkwardly on the couch, neither really knowing what to say. Dean stared at his hands, feeling his mood drop impossibly low. Eventually, Sam sighed, breaking the silence.
"Dean... How are you holding up? And I mean really-" At this, Sam narrowed his eyes, giving him a severe look. "None of that 'I'm fine' crap. Not anymore."
"What do you want me to say, Sammy?" Dean hated the way his voice broke in the middle, and the way tears stung at his eyes. "I'm not fine? Well I'm not, man. I'm so freakin' far from fine it ain't funny."
"Okay. So talk to me, then. Whatever's on your mind, just tell me."
"I can't lose him." Dean was quiet, choking back a sob. "If he's- If- I just can't. He's like... nobody else I've ever known."
He took a breath and continued staring down at his hands, feeling the tears spill over. Now that he'd started to talk, he couldn't seem to stop.
"He's just... He's sweet, and kind. But he's also fierce and strong. He doesn't take my shit, but he doesn't try to scare me, either. And he can be so damn fragile, but he doesn't hide it from me. He lets me help him, pull him back. And he- he helps me, too. And it's all too fast, and it's terrifying, but when we're together, it's like I've been searching for him my whole life. I need him, and he needs me."
Dean blinked through his tears, breathing hard as he finally stopped. He'd shocked Sam, but he'd shocked himself, too. Hearing all his thoughts come out, put like that, it was just... a lot.
"You love him." Sam stated calmly.
"What? No, no it's not-" Dean stopped, noticing the look Sam was giving him.
"Dean, you love him. There's nothing wrong with that."
"But.. doesn't it upset you?" Dean asked quietly, remembering all the times his father told him that it was his fault Sam left.
"Why would it?" Sam frowned, then realisation dawned on his face, followed by an angry frown. "Dean, your orientation never bothered me. I knew years ago, and I don't care. I'd be a bit hypocritical if I did."
"You mean..." Dean looked up at Sam in surprise, then gave a huff of laughter when he nodded with a slight smile. "Well, shit, wouldn't Dad be proud of us."
"Doesn't matter if he isn't. I'm proud of us. I'm proud of you, Dean."
"Sam..." Dean's face contorted into a surprised look, not sure what to say to that.
Luckily, he was saved by a knock at the door.
Castiel had lost sense of any time that had passed, along with a possible location. He'd come to already tied to a wooden chair in what appeared to be a small shack, with no idea of how long he'd been out for. That being so, it was impossible to calculate how far from home he'd been taken.
The room was bare, aside from the chair he sat in, and a desk just out of reach. There was a container on the desk covered with a towel, and he was terrified of what could be in it, though he had a horrifying idea. There was a thick layer of dust over everything, which immediately dashed any hopes of being accidentally stumbled upon. This place hadn't been touched in years, it was obvious.
He licked his parched lips as he looked around the room, searching for anything that could help him in this situation. There was one small window, and he couldn't see any sign of civilisation through it. His heart dropped lower with every detail he took in.
A door creaked open somewhere behind him, and he flinched slightly, unable to turn far enough to see.
"Ah, you're awake again." Uriel drawled as he stepped into his line of sight. "Good. Wouldn't want you to miss this."
"Why are you doing this Uriel? What did I ever do to you?" His voice came out broken. God he was thirsty.
"Oh, you didn't do anything at first, Castiel. But you, your kind-" Here he sneered menacingly. "Shouldn't be allowed to exist. I would have overlooked it, just this once - but then you went and cost me a job. That wasn't very nice, now was it?"
"I- Uriel, I didn't mean for that to happen." Calm, he had to stay calm. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, but he kept a silent count to keep it steady. "I apologise. Please, if you just let me go, I won't tell anyone."
"Oh, no no no Castiel. Even if I forgave you - which I won't - my earlier statement stands. Your kind is a plague on this earth, one which I am slowly rectifying."
"You are-" Castiel paused, his mind flicking to the news reports, killings that spanned over a year in his area. "You, you're the - the pride killer."
"Mm, pride killer. I admit, the name they came up with for me - I like it. Though they should be calling me a saviour."
"Oh god." Castiel breathed, his fear increasing tenfold as his suspicion was confirmed.
"Not at all." Uriel seemed finally done talking as he stopped beside the desk, fingering the edge of the towel. "Just doing his work."
"What about 'thou shalt not kill'?" Castiel eyed the towel, wishing that he could stop whatever was in there being revealed.
"I like to think of those more as... guidelines." Uriel shot him a feral grin as he pulled the towel off to the side theatrically.
He couldn't help the whimper of fear that escaped at the sight of several sharp knives. As he watched the man select a rather large, ugly looking weapon, he couldn't help the tears that fell, or the way he wished he was home, safe in Dean's arms.
"Is that legal?" Dean asked doubtfully as he stared at the small redhead and young man hunched over a laptop on the dining table.
"Do you want my help or not?" Charlie's fingers paused over the keys of the laptop as she glared at him.
"Of course I do! I was just askin." Dean muttered with a petulant frown.
"Good. Now if you want to help, you can get us some of that pepperoni pizza and a drink."
Dean stared at the woman he'd barely met for a few moments. Was she actually serious? As her fingers paused again he decided that yes, she was, and scurried to do as asked. Within minutes he plonked down the entire pepperoni pizza, along with two beers. At her raised eyebrow, he shrugged apologetically. The boy, Kevin, stayed silent, looking absolutely terrified.
"Sorry, it's that or coffee and, well..." He shrugged again.
"That will do. Thankyou, handmaiden." Charlie quirked a grin at him, and he chuckled softly.
"Always, my queen." He gave her a mock bow, and in that instant, a friendship formed.
She shooed him away as she took a mouthful of beer, encouraging Kevin to do the same. Dean shrugged and went to sit on the couch with Sam. They talked quietly, little stories about what they had been doing lately, mostly to distract themselves from the situation. Bobby and Jo came back with large bags, which they quickly learned contained an arsenal of weapons.
"Be careful with these," Bobby grunted, holding a gun each out to Sam and Dean. "They ain't for backyard shootin. You keep 'em clean, you keep 'em loaded, and you don't hesitate."
"Wait, Bobby, do you mean you want us to keep these?" Dean asked incredulously as he stared at the heavy, but beautiful weapon in his hand. At Bobby's nod, he shook his head. "No, no we couldn't - these are expensive, Bobby. I can't pay you back."
"It ain't a loan, boy. It's a gift. Don't argue - your daddy shoulda bought you one a long time ago."
Dean glanced over at Sam, who looked up from his own weapon after a few moments. He could see the look of gratitude that he felt himself. Bobby had stepped in for their Dad, as he'd been doing so long before they'd been seperated. Without thinking, Dean threw one arm around Bobby, noticing Sam doing the exact same on his other side.
"Thanks, Bobby."
"Yeah, thanks, Bobby." Sam echoed. "This means a lot."
"Yeah okay, get off me." Bobby grunted, and Dean stepped back with a little laugh.
He watched for a moment as the man went about handing out weapons to everyone else, then turned his attention back to his own. It really was beautiful, and it seemed to fit his hand perfectly. It was a good thing he'd spent a lot of time at the shooting range, he thought as he loaded it up.
"Gotcha!" Charlie yelled from the other side of the room.
He tucked the gun into his belt while hurrying over to her side. Everyone else crowded around her, trying to get a good view of the computer screen. Kevin was animated for a change, glancing at the screen and jotting down notes as Charlie talked.
"So I hacked the traffic cameras - the van that the manager saw leaving the car park, I've got it here just a few minutes away. This camera's pretty good, so we've got an image of the driver." Charlie pointed at a spot on the screen, and before she continued, Dean's blood ran cold. "It's our guy."
"Uriel." Dean growled, clenching his jaw. "Can you see where he went?"
"Yep." Charlie paused, then looked up at Dean with a slight, worried frown. "I'll find him, Dean. We'll get him back."
"I really wish people would stop saying that." Dean huffed. He noticed her injured look, however, and softened his tone slightly. "I just- I don't want to rely on the best outcome. But this is great, thank you Charlie. We couldn't do this without you."
"...you're welcome." Charlie replied quietly. "Okay, Kevin, I'm gonna need you to get your computer out too. We want this done as quickly as possible."
"I'll get onto his credit card." Bobby interrupted, but Charlie was already shaking her head.
"Don't need it. That's what the second computer is for. Now that we have proof it's slightly less illegal for Kevin to hack his card statements. I've taught him enough to do that, and he's pretty good. If there's something there, he'll find it."
"I don't think it works quite that way legally-" Dean started.
"Hand-maiden!" Charlie snapped, shooting him a sharp look. "Let's not go into the details shall we?"
Dean looked at Bobby and Jo with his eyebrows raised slightly - while he trusted Bobby, he was relying on the man's word that Jo would keep it quiet. They could all end up in jail over this sort of activity.
"I saw nothing. I'm just here for the free pizza." Jo spoke in response to Dean's look.
"Right." Dean shook his head as he watched Jo wander back to the pizza. In another time, maybe he would have tried his luck with her, but now... no way. It was an odd thought for someone who never settled down.
Castiel groaned as he came back to consciousness, for the third time. As he cracked his eyes open, his first action was to glance at the window - it was dark outside now, and he felt the first relief he had in hours. Dark meant night, and night meant sleep, hopefully. He glanced around, mercifully finding himself alone. It appeared Uriel would give him a chance to rest before starting the torture again.
He groaned again as he shifted in the seat - his wrists were raw from pulling against his bonds, and he could feel wetness of what he could only assume was blood. His shirt was sticking to him, blood crusted around the point where Uriel had driven a long, thin knife straight through his shoulder and into the wood of the chair, to hold him there.
His whole face hurt, where Uriel had taken particular pleasure in 'messing up that pretty look'. That was the final time he had passed out. Uriel had started beating him, and not stopped until he was unconscious.
"Dean..." He whispered to himself, the word full of desperation and hope as tears tracked down his face again.
"Alright, you two. Time for bed." Bobby grunted quietly, walking over to where Dean and Charlie were hunched over a map.
"Not yet, Bobby, we've nearly-" Dean started, not even looking up.
"Boy, I swear if you don't get your ass to bed, I will carry you there myself." Bobby growled.
Blinking in surprise, Dean looked up at the man. He hadn't realised how late it had gotten, but the clock on the wall showed it was past ten. Jo had long gone home, telling Bobby to call her if anything turned up. Sam was passed out on the couch, snoring softly with his feet hanging off the edge. Kevin had laid out a sleeping bag on the floor and was face-down, sleeping silently.
He glanced to Charlie for support, but she sighed, looking down.
"Sorry Dean, I don't think we're going to get much more done tonight. We're close, but, I'm just so tired."
Dean nodded silently, feeling his hope deflate as he stared back down at the map. They had footage from a gas n sip a few hours away, gained from a credit card transaction Kevin had picked up. They had traffic cam sightings of the van heading south after that - but they hadn't found a final location, and it was feeding his fear that he would never see Cas alive again.
"We'll head out tomorrow. If we have to search every building we will." Bobby told him, dropping a hand on his shoulder. "But we need to sleep."
"Yeah. Yeah, okay." Dean nodded with a sigh.
"Okay. Charlie, I've got a bedroll for you over here." Bobby said, leading the tired woman toward the lounge room.
Dean glanced at the room, at all the people either sleeping or getting ready to sleep. It was comforting knowing they were there, helping to find Cas. Yet it didn't ease his fear. He made his way to Castiel's bedroom and, as he snuggled down under the covers, he wondered if the man was cold, or how hurt he was. Or even alive. That last thought brought tears to his eyes. As he pulled Castiel's pillow into his arms and breathed in his lover's scent, he found himself crying in great, heaving sobs into the pillow. His last thought was a determined promise that he would find him tomorrow, rescue him and take care of him, and maybe, if he was lucky, he could admit he loved him.