Chapter 3 - Hell On Earth

Eric and Rob were already back from Florida when Cas and Gail got there. Eric's mom had given him a really weird vibe during their visit, and they'd ended up having an argument. So he had texted Rob that he was taking the bus downtown from the house, and the brothers had met there. Then they'd called Nuke and spent the night partying with him, crashing on air mattresses on his floor in the middle of the night.

The brothers had woken up in mid-morning the next day, light-headed and still a little drunk. They'd tried to rouse Nuke, but he was still down for the count. So Eric had left his young friend a note thanking him for the good time, and he and Rob drove to the neighbourhood diner. They'd loaded up on big plates of breakfast and lots of coffee, and then begun the journey back home.

It was getting to be nighttime again by the time the Angels got there. The family had finished supper a short time before, and to Cas and Gail's surprise, Liz and Gabriel were there in the kitchen, doing the dishes.

"Hey, welcome back," Gabe said with a grin. "How was Vegas? And might I add, I for one find it hilarious that Castiel enjoys going to Las Vegas." He looked at Cas. "You're sure not the same Angel I remember from back in the day, Brother."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," Cas said, his lips twitching. "Where is everyone? And, why are you here?"

"There. Now, THAT'S the Castiel I'm more familiar with," Gabriel said, affably enough. He went to put a plate on the dish rack, and it nearly fell to the floor, because he was only half-paying attention to the task at hand. "Hey, your rack is crooked," he quipped to Liz, waving his hand to arrest the plate's fall. It flew back into Gabe's hand.

"Hey, don't talk about my rack in mixed company!" Liz joked, pretending to be outraged.

Gail looked at her friend. "We're going to have a little chat," she teased Liz. "I think you and Gabriel have been together too long."

Frank came into the room. "I thought I heard more Angels in here. Any more, and we could probably form a choir. Or a baseball team."

Gail moved over to her brother, and he put his arm around her shoulders. "How're you doing, kiddo?" he said, giving her a quick squeeze.

"Where's Jody?" she countered. "How's SHE doing?"

Frank released her, sitting down at the kitchen table. He nodded to Cas. "She's okay," he told them. "Just really tired. She and Rob went canvassing for the cancer charity earlier, but it took a lot out of her, so she went to bed right after supper."

Gail and Cas exchanged quick glances, but they said nothing.

Frank rubbed his face with one hand. He looked very tired, too. "I went out canvassing, too, for votes."

Gail's heart sank. With everything that had been going on, she had completely forgotten about that. "Is that already? When's the election?"

"Next month," he told her. "And, don't feel bad. I know you and Cas have had a lot going on. And let's face it, it's not like you guys can vote, or anything."

"I offered to pop around and stuff the ballot boxes for you, Frankenberry," Gabriel said, tossing the dish towel on the counter.

"Don't listen to a word he says," Gail said to her brother, rolling her eyes. "That's how he got us into trouble in OUR election."

Gabriel had the good sense to look a little abashed at that, but Frank smirked. "I'll have to get those Winchester guys out to the polls, though," he said. "I guess if you guys are back, that means they are, too."

"That reminds me," Cas said to Gabriel. "I think we may have a few clues on how to locate your blade. Sam is going to do some research on the subject."

Gabriel was silent for a moment. Then he nodded. "Okay, Bro. Let me know what you find out."

"Do you need anything else before we go, Frank?" Liz asked Gail's brother.

"No. Thanks, you guys. We'll see you soon," Frank said wearily.

The Angels joined hands and popped out.

Gail looked at Frank. "What was THAT all about? You've got Gabriel the Archangel doing your dishes? What have you GOT on him?"

Her brother laughed. "I think it's what LIZ has got on him. She was here babysitting Angela when we were all out earlier, and he popped down here. She handed him the dish towel, and that was that."

Cas smiled faintly, "He knows which side his bread is buttered on, correct, Frank?"

"Yeah, that's right, Cas," Gail's brother said. "So, what's the next big adventure?"

"Well, I don't know if it's going to be that big, but we will probably be looking for Gabriel's blade, soon," Cas responded. He was thoughtful for a moment. "Actually, there WAS one other thing I had in mind. I hadn't even mentioned this to Gail yet, but...are Rob and Eric here, at the moment?"

"Yeah, they're with Angela," Frank replied. "They said they'd do Story Time with her tonight. Jody and I were both too tired." He smiled wryly. "Gabriel offered, but I wasn't sure how PG any of his stories were gonna be."

"Do you mind if we go see Angela for a minute?" Cas asked him. "Then, after they are finished Story Time, I would like to talk to Rob and Eric and Gail, all together."

"Of course you can go see her," Frank replied. "YOU, I trust. Actually, that would be nice. She asks about you guys, sometimes."

"She does?" Gail said, surprised.

"Yeah," Frank said. "When she says her prayers every night." Then he smirked. "Hey, don't look at me. It wasn't my idea. She came up with that herself."

Cas and Gail exchanged glances again. "Go ahead," Frank said, rising from his chair. "But try not to wind her up too much. I need a little peace and quiet."

Frank started to make a pot of coffee as the Angels walked to Angela's room. They peeked in. Rob and Eric were in the middle of Story Time, so Cas and Gail observed quietly for a moment.

"So then, Rob pulled out an axe, and he cut off that bad monster's head," Eric was saying to Angela. She was sitting up in her bed, clutching a pillow, and her eyes were as wide as saucers.

Gail cleared her throat, entering the bedroom. Was Eric nuts? What was he doing, telling her a story like that? Frank was gonna kill him.

But, to her surprise, Angela cheered and clapped. "Yayyy!" she exclaimed. Then she noticed the Angels in the doorway. "Auntie Gail! Uncle Cas! Rob killed the monster that was in my closet!"

Ohhhh. Gail was relieved, now. She'd thought they'd been telling her about a real case there, for a minute. But it had only been about a child's imagination. Phew.

"Your father wants you to go to sleep now," Cas said to the little girl, and she flopped down on the bed. "Okay!" Angela said brightly. "Tuck me in."

Rob moved forward, but Angela said, "No. I want Cas."

Gail smiled. So what else was new? Cas moved forward and sat down on the bed, pulling the covers up to Angela's chin. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the forehead. "Thank you for your prayers," he told her. "We appreciate each and every one."

"If I pray to everybody in our Angel family and to Grandpa God every night, we'll all be safe," Angela said. "I saw a man say that on TV."

Cas frowned. He had no idea what to say to the little girl now. She must have seen one of those so-called religious charlatans that he disliked so much; one of the TV pitchmen who promised salvation for a price. He'd better tell Frank about that, so Angela's father could be more vigilant about the kinds of things his daughter was exposed to.

But for now, he simply wished Angela good night. Then he stood, and Angela said, "Now, I want Auntie Gail."

Gail smiled again. She took Cas's place next to the little girl, and Angela reached her arms up for a hug. Gail hugged her niece, and Angela gave her a big, smacking kiss on the cheek.

"Where were you? I missed you," Angela said to Gail. "We were having Story Time last night, and Mommy was supposed to be narrating. But she kept calling me Andrea, and she kept forgetting the story! Daddy said she was just tired. They're tired all the time. I thought you and Uncle Cas could tell me a story. Daddy said you have lots of adventures."

Oh, geez. Why didn't somebody just reach into Gail's chest, pluck out her heart, and do the Riverdance all over it? It would hurt less. She would not cry. She would NOT cry.

"Narrating?" Gail quipped gently. "That's a pretty big word, for somebody your age."

"I have a good vocabillary," Angela insisted, wide-eyed. "Daddy said I'm just like you."

OK; that was it. Gail was done. She couldn't. She just couldn't. "Well then, that means you're smart enough to know you'd better go to sleep now." She kissed her niece, then left the bedroom hurriedly, as Cas rushed after her.

"It's supposed to be vo-cab-YOU-lary," Rob corrected his sister. His heart was heavy too, but he was more used to this sort of thing by now. "But your Auntie Gail's right. You'd better go to sleep before Dad comes in here, and then we'll all be in trouble."

"OK." Angela fluffed up her pillow, closed her eyes, and incredibly enough, she was asleep a moment later.

"Geez, I wish I could do that," Eric said enviously. He and Rob moved to the door.

"You DO do that," Rob pointed out, smirking. He flipped off the light to Angela's room, and closed the door softly.

Meanwhile, Cas and Gail were back in the kitchen with Frank, and Gail was still fighting the tears. Now, she had a pretty good idea of why Frank looked so tired all the time.

"How do you do it?" she asked her brother.

"What do you mean? Do what?" he asked her, puzzled.

"Cope with it," she said. "Handle it all, without falling apart."

Frank smiled sadly. "Who says I'm not falling apart?" He sighed. "Look, kiddo. As you know, I learned how to deal with adversity from a very young age. That's probably why I get along with Sam and Dean so well. We can relate to each other. How do I cope with it? Make bad jokes, and drink a lot." Then he sighed again. "No. I owe you a better answer than that. I cope, because I have to. My first job is to get out of bed in the morning. Then, if I manage to do that, the rest is all just...life. I take care of my wife and kids the best I can, because that's what I'm supposed to do. I try to be a good role model, because in today's society, it's all too easy for them to be influenced a thousand different ways by a million negative things. Any time I feel like quitting, I just look at Jody's face. Would she quit on me, if the situation was reversed? No. Of course not. I see her struggling sometimes, trying to remember something, or trying to pretend like everything's okay, and it kills me. I want to just open my cranium and give her my brain and just say 'Take it! I've often been accused of not using it, anyway.'"

Frank laughed shortly, knuckling the tears from his eyes. "See, this is what we're not gonna do. You know, in A League Of Their Own, when Tom Hanks says there's no crying in baseball? Well, that's the rule in this house. No crying."

"The monster's been taken care of," Eric said, dusting off his hands. He and Rob came into the kitchen and pulled up a couple of chairs to sit with the others.

Frank was still looking at Cas and Gail, and he rolled his eyes now. "I see the looks on your faces. Don't worry; she's just going through a typical phase. Apparently, most little kids think there are monsters in their closet or under their bed, at some point."

"I remember that," Gail said, nodding. "I went through a brief phase where I thought that there was a monster in my closet. I'd bury myself under the blankets when I was really scared." Then she laughed, shaking her head at the memory. "Why on earth do we feel safer when we're under the blankets? It's not like the monster's going to come out and go,'I'm gonna get you - Oh, damn! She's under a blanket! Now I can't do anything!'"

Rob and Eric laughed. "That's a good one, Aunt Gail," Rob remarked. Frank smiled, giving her a brief nod of approval. Now, THIS was what he wanted his house to sound like. Lots and lots of laughter.

There was silence for a moment, as Rob got up to get a cup of coffee for himself. He reached for Frank's mug, but his dad shook his head.

"I would like to talk to you about something," Cas said suddenly. "Rob, Eric, and Gail."

"What's up, Cas?" Rob said. He poured a coffee for himself and one for Eric, and brought them back to the table.

"I need to know if the three of you would be willing to look at the files that are at the bunker, and identify all of the people you can who were at Vincent's compound," Cas said calmly.

Eric frowned. "Why?"

Cas knew that question was going to come up; it was just a matter of which one of them asked it first. The trouble was, he didn't have a ready answer. He didn't want to lie to his family, but he was unprepared to tell them the truth, either.

Fortunately, Frank took his brother-in-law off the hook. "Never mind why," he said irritably. "If Cas asks you to do something, you do it." Then he rubbed his face with his hand again. "Boy, am I tired. I think I'm gonna call it a night. Your mom should be sleeping pretty good by now." He leaned down and kissed Gail on the forehead, clapping Cas on the back at the same time. "If these guys give you any hassle, just sic Gail on them," Frank said to Cas, smirking. Then he left the kitchen.

Gail was giving Cas the side-eye now. She was also wondering why he wanted the information. Maybe just to see how many there were still out there. But, so what? What difference would that make? But she was more used to the way her husband operated than Rob and Eric were. Cas had this habit of meting out information, bit by bit. Maybe he thought it was easier than laying everything on you all at once; kind of like being reluctant to rip off a band-aid. But, Gail wasn't convinced. It hurt when you ripped off the band-aid, but at least it was over, once you did.

Rob shrugged. "It's still early. We can go with you now, if you want."

"Let me call Sam," Cas said. He took his cell phone out of his pocket and called their friend, and Sam gave him the green light to bring the others over.

Rob picked up the coffee mugs and put them in the sink, and then the Angels popped the young brothers over to the bunker.

Cas accompanied Sam to the storeroom to bring out the boxes of files. "Have you had the chance to talk to Quinn yet, or to Becky?" Cas asked Sam. He hadn't wanted to say anything in front of Rob and Eric.

Sam made a face. "I've been calling Quinn ever since we got back, but all I get is Voice Mail. She's clearly avoiding me. I told Dean I'm gonna go over to her place in the morning, and I'm going to stay right there on her porch until she lets me in. I've got to apologize to her, Cas. I owe her that." He sighed. "Then, I'll have to talk to Becky."

Cas nodded. He still didn't approve of what Sam had done, but Cas supposed it was really none of his business. But at least Sam was doing the right thing by facing both women.

When they'd brought the files out to the library room table, Gail, Rob and Eric started going through them.

"I wish there was more information in these things," Gail said, frowning in concentration. "I recognize some of these names, but some of the other ones...I don't know." She looked at Eric and Rob. "Put aside any files of people who sound familiar, you guys, and we'll look at them together, afterwards."

As they were doing that, Sam beckoned to Cas. "I found something online that might be about Gabriel's blade." He clicked on the item as Cas looked eagerly over his shoulder at the computer screen.

It was an article about a billionaire who was going to host a riverboat cruise on the Mississippi River. There would be food and drinks, a charity auction, and a poker tournament. The first prize for winning the tournament was going to be a rare collectors' item: an odd-looking, ancient knife with mysterious markings on it that had been found when authorities had dredged the river.

Cas brightened. That had to be it! He asked Rob to come over for a moment. The young man did, and he scanned the article. "My vision showed a hand, picking it up from the riverbank," Rob told the men. "But other than that, it sounds like that's it," he confirmed.

"Do you want to enter the poker tournament?" Sam asked Cas. "I can send in an application. They're only accepting millionaires, but if you can prove your net worth, you can enter." Sam grinned. "I assume you and Gail qualify?"

"Enter us both," Cas instructed him, and Gail looked up quizzically. But then, she shrugged. Whatever. She supposed the more entries they had, the better. She wasn't very good at poker, but it would be kind of neat to go on a riverboat cruise.

"I'll sign me and Dean up too, if you want," Sam said to Cas. "Thanks to you, we qualify, too."

"Certainly, Sam. That would be fine," Cas replied. Then he said, "I'll be right back." He popped out of the bunker.

"Where IS Dean, anyway?" Eric asked Sam. It was kind of funny how nobody had reacted to Cas's sudden disappearance. He guessed that kind of thing was commonplace for everybody by now. Even Eric was getting used to it. Ever since they'd found out that Jody was sick, Bobby had been popping in and out regularly. And if he couldn't come himself, he'd send Liz, or some other Angel. Frank had actually had to take God aside, and ask him to cool it a bit. He appreciated the help, but he would call if he needed a hand.

"Dean went to the Hunter bar to play some pool," Sam said in response to Eric's question.

"Why didn't you go with him?" Rob asked.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Hey, just because you guys are joined at the hip, that doesn't mean that me and Dean are. When you've been together as long as we have, believe me, you need some time apart, every now and then." Truth be told, Dean HAD invited Sam to go with him; the younger Winchester just hadn't been in the mood. He's used the research for Cas as an excuse.

Cas suddenly popped back into the room. "Sign Gabriel up for the poker tournament too, please. He'll be coming with us," he said to Sam.

"Oh, good. That'll be fun," Gail commented, but Sam sighed. He wasn't so sure. Then again, to be fair, Gabriel had been a lot better with them recently than he used to be. And it was his blade they were trying to retrieve, after all.

"And before you ask, I stopped by Kevin's office and had him set up bank accounts for us all," Cas added. "We'll have no trouble passing the requirements for entry."

Sam nodded, impressed. "OK, great." He started typing.

Cas came over to where Gail and her young brothers were still looking through the files. She had a stack beside her on the table, and the brothers each had smaller stacks beside themselves.

"How is it going?" Cas asked them.

Gail frowned. "The files aren't very detailed, Cas. I can identify some of the people, but without pictures of them, or information as to their special abilities, it's difficult."

"And the other problem is, even if we have a name from the file, I know that a few of them changed their names from birth, too," Eric added.

Rob had his hand on the stack of files he hadn't yet gone through, and his expression was thoughtful. "Guys, I hate to tell you this, but..."

"What?" Gail prompted gently.

"Benoit took some, when he left. About half a dozen. Maybe more," Rob said. "At least one of them is in here." He started flipping the files open. "But I don't know who they are!"

Gail's heart sank into her stomach. Great. Just great. Like they didn't have enough to worry about. She looked closely at Cas's face. Was that why he had been wanting them to check? Did he know something?

But before she had the chance to ask him, Sam's cell phone rang. He was entering the information for the poker tournament, so he absent-mindedly hit the Speaker feature.

"Sam, it's Dean," his brother said over the phone.

Sam was amused. "Uhh...I know your voice. Let me guess: you need a ride home."

"Sam..." Dean started to say, and then he stopped. "I've got bad news. I don't know how to tell you..." He stopped talking, again.

Cas and Gail exchanged glances. What the hell was this, now?

It was one of those types of coincidences that an author wouldn't dare write about in a novel, because no one would ever believe it.

Patricia got off the bus to stretch her legs, get a cup of tea, and urinate. There were bathrooms on the coaches, but she was still very uncomfortable about the notion of having to relieve herself anywhere, let alone on a moving vehicle. Now that her Grace was gone, that was one of the many unpleasant aspects of life on Earth that she'd had to adjust to. Hunger, thirst, and exposure to the elements were others. She was beginning to understand the difficulties that some humans encountered; those humans who did not have jobs, or money.

She had been lost in thought, wondering what she was going to do about those things herself, once the money she had ran out. And because she was preoccupied, she hadn't noticed the man who had been seated two rows behind her on the bus.

He had boarded in the last town, and as he moved down the aisle to sit near the back of the bus, he had glanced dispassionately at Patricia. But as he chose a seat and sat down, it occurred to him that he was sure he knew that woman. Who was she? Where had he seen her before?

By the time they'd gotten to the next rest stop, he knew. But, what was Patricia doing here? This must be the sign he'd been looking for. He'd been roving all throughout the United States, studying human life. Taking a closer look at Father's creations. Could he have been wrong, this whole time? Was humanity worth saving?

When they'd re-boarded the bus, he stopped in the aisle beside her seat. "Hello, dear lady," Raguel said to Patricia.

Dean had lied to his brother when he'd told Sam he was going to the Hunter bar. He'd figured that Sammy was going to turn down his invitation, anyway. Sam had had that look on his face. Not that Dean could really blame him. His younger brother had some music to face the next day, and it wasn't gonna be pretty. Two angry women were going to want to lower the boom on Sam tomorrow. If it was Dean, he would probably be drinking twice as much, the night before. But Sam was different. He wouldn't want to be hung over when Quinn and Becky were screaming at him.

But, even though Dean had given his little brother a hard time, he felt for Sam. What a mess. Dean had meant it when he'd said that they had all made mistakes like that from time to time. It was a rotten, crappy situation, but Dean thought that Sam deserved a pass. Nobody was more tender-hearted and respectful of women than his brother. Well, nobody human, anyway. Cas was, but Cas had elevated monogamy to a ridiculous level, so he was a bad example. Sam and Quinn weren't married, engaged, or even living together. They hadn't made any kind of commitment to each other. So even though what Sammy had done had been a real dick move, Dean thought he deserved to be forgiven.

Sam had looked so crestfallen when they'd talked about it on the drive home from Vegas. Then, when they'd gotten back to the bunker, Sam had called Quinn, and texted her, too. No response.

So Dean had decided to break one of his cardinal rules, and intervene on his brother's behalf. But he didn't tell Sam that he was going to Quinn's place, because Sam would have tried to talk him out of it.

But when Dean had parked the Impala on the street in front of Quinn's house, he noticed that there were no lights on, not even the porch light. Maybe she wasn't home. He doubted she would be in bed this early, but even if she was, the porch light should be on. Dean knew that women who lived alone were advised to keep lights on around their house all night long, just in case.

Oh, well. He was here now, so he might as well try. He walked up the front path and onto her porch, and he knocked on the door.

It creaked open. Oh, crap. She must have thought she'd closed it. He pushed the door open slowly, calling out Quinn's name. He didn't want to scare her. No answer. He called out again. Same thing.

He was feeling really weird now. Had she gone out, neglecting to lock her door? Or was she upstairs, sleeping? Was Quinn a sound sleeper? How the hell should Dean know?

"Oh, the hell with it," Dean said loudly. He called out Quinn's name once more, then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. The hallway was dark. He turned on his phone and touched the flashlight app, shining it around. There was something in the doorway that led off to the living room. What was it?

Dean moved closer, squinting. A suitcase? He stepped over it, shining the flashlight on the floor.

"Oh, crap. Holy crap," Dean breathed. He shone the light wildly around the living room wall, looking for the light switch. He flipped it with his index finger, hoping that what he'd seen had somehow been his imagination.

The room lit up, and Dean's fear was confirmed. Quinn was lying there on the floor, stabbed to death. He fumbled his phone, then punched Sam's number on the speed dial.

Yolanda was laying out everything she was going to take to the Vancouver Supernatural convention on the dining room table. It was still a couple of weeks from now, but she was too excited to wait to pack until the last minute. Tickets for her seat, the meet and greet, and photo ops, confirmation for the hotel, items to be autographed. She had everything organized. She couldn't stand it. She'd been looking forward to this all year. This was the year she was going to go for it. By the time the weekend was over, he was going to be hers. She loved him so much. He had no idea.

Tickets, confirmation, cute outfits...she was all set. Thank God all she had to do was jump in her car; otherwise, she would never have been able to bring the last item that she placed on the table now.

Her father's handgun.

- END OF BOOK 38. -