Chapter 5 - Creation Dream

There was silence for a moment. Then, Gail fumbled for the nearest chair and sat down heavily, putting her head in her hands. She felt lightheaded. She'd felt so scared, there.

"Ummmm...are you guys still there?" Frank asked hesitantly.

Cas was starting to smile. As soon as Gail had sat down like that, he had hurried forward to check on her. But when he'd put his hand on her, she had waved her own hand to signal that she was all right. But now, Frank's news was starting to sink in, and Cas was the first one to react.

"That's wonderful, Frank!" Cas enthused. "Is Jody there with you?"

"Yeah, I'm here, Cas," Jody's voice came over the phone. "Sorry, I just had my mouth full there, for a minute."

"Now we know why she's been eating like a lumberjack," Frank said, and they could hear the grin in his voice. Then: "Ow! She just hit me!"

Gail was starting to smile now too, and suddenly, she jumped to her feet. "I can't believe it," she said, stunned. "I can't believe it! I'm going to be an Aunt!"

"Yeah, cause, you know, it's all about you," Frank said dryly. "That's why we're having the baby, just so you can be an Aunt." He looked at Jody warmly. "We're having a baby. I still can't believe it, Jodes."

"Me neither," she replied, dazed. She just sat there for a moment. Then she shrugged and resumed eating.

"Congratulations, Jody, Frank," Sam said now. "Finally, some good news."

"Yeah," Frank agreed, and now they could hear the tone of conflict in his voice. "I'm still sad as hell about Dean, you guys, but I couldn't wait to tell you. Jody and I were thinking that you guys could use some good news right around now, too. But I don't want you to think we're minimizing your grief, or anything like that. It's kind of weird to be walking around happy and smiling, so soon after..."

"Don't you worry about that," Sam said quickly. "This is one of the best things that'll ever happen to the both of you. Enjoy it. Please."

"What are you going to do now?" Gail asked them. "Are you still going on vacation?"

"Nope," Frank replied cheerfully. "Change of plans. First, we're gonna call Rob and Barry and Tommy and let them know, while Jody finishes her seven-course meal - Ow!" His sister smirked. Jody must have smacked him again. Frank continued, "Then, we're still going on to Sioux Falls."

"I want to see my doctor anyway, just to make sure everything's OK," Jody chimed in. "I'll see if she can recommend a good obstetrician in Lebanon. Then we're just gonna come home, until I have the baby. In case you guys haven't noticed, I'm not in my twenties any more. I don't feel like traipsing all over the place right now."

Cas nodded. He didn't know all that much about the subject, but that made sense to him. The more the news sank in, the more jubilant he was starting to feel. "Well, if there's anything we can do to help you, please let us know," he said.

"Oh, you'll all be helping," Frank confirmed with a grin. "I'm not too proud to accept all the help I can get. So what do you say, kiddo? Ready to change some diapers?"

"You obviously don't know me very well," Gail replied, looking askance at the phone as if Frank could see her. "That's not going to be happening."

"I'll do it," Cas said, smiling gently. "I'll be happy to."

Gail smiled at her husband, shaking her head slowly. Only Cas could be happy at the prospect of changing diapers. He remembered what was in those, right?

"Well, we're gonna get going," Frank said. "We'll call you when we're back home."

The trio said goodbye to the happy couple, congratulating them once more, and then Frank hung up the phone.

"A brand new life," Cas said softly. "That's the sign."

"What are you talking about?" Gail asked him curiously.

"When I was outside praying to our Father for guidance, I asked him for a sign," Cas replied. "He almost never gives those. But I think in this instance, He did."

Now Gail was nodding. "I think you're right, sweetie. Lucifer is gone, and now we're going to have a little niece or nephew, who's never going to have to be scared to go outside, as a result. And one of the first people that kid is going to meet is their Uncle Dean. Right?" she added, looking at Cas.

He nodded. "Right."

Then Gail looked at Sam. "Right?"

Sam smiled grimly. "Right."

Gail clapped her hands briskly. "OK, then. Let's get brainstorming."

Jody sat back, rubbing her stomach. "Boy, am I full."

"Well, of course you are. You didn't just eat for two, you ate for twenty-two," Frank wisecracked.

Jody raised an eyebrow. "You want another smack? And there'll be the weight of a seven-course meal behind it, this time."

But Frank smiled, because he knew she was just being the way she normally was with him. Things were about to change radically for them, so it was comforting to see Jody behaving normally. It was funny, too. When they'd first gotten into town, they'd both been in the throes of their grief over Dean. Then Jody had gone into the drugstore and then she had come out, acting all weird.

Jody'd had the feeling she knew what was going on for a while, but she had been thinking she would wait for Dr. Vukovic to confirm her suspicions, once they got to Sioux Falls. At least, that had been the original plan. But she'd gotten so fed up with all of the sadness. Didn't they all deserve to have something to feel happy about, for a change? So she had asked Frank to pull off the highway, she had bought the pregnancy test at the drugstore, and then she had hurried over to the restaurant, so that she could go to the bathroom and use it.

Several minutes later, Jody's suspicions had been confirmed. She'd come out of the washroom and walked over to the table, stammering out the news. Frank had gaped at her, and then he had vaulted out of his chair and grabbed her, showering her with kisses. Jody had let him, for a minute or three, and then she had told him to quit mauling her and order her some food.

And now here they were, sitting and smiling at each other. "I'm kind of looking forward to sitting around doing nothing, for a while," Jody said to her husband. "The question is, what are YOU going to do?"

Frank looked thoughtful. "I have a couple of ideas about that," he said to her. "First off, I'm gonna baby-proof the house. And then, I'm thinking I should look for a respectable, honest job."

Jody looked at him skeptically. "As what?"

Frank shrugged. "I don't know, Jodes. There's got to be something a guy like me can do."

Jody smirked. In spite of her claims of being stuffed to the gills, she was perusing the dessert menu now. "I don't think Evening At The Improv pays people who try out for stand-up," she remarked.

Frank opened his mouth, then closed it again. He had to hand it to her. That had been pretty funny, actually.

"We talked about this before, remember?" Jody said to her husband. "When we talked about whether or not we wanted to have a baby, we talked about leaving the life. But I thought we'd reached the conclusion that a so-called normal life would make us miserable. The only reason I'll be staying home is because the very idea of me Hunting with a great big pregnant stomach is so laughable it's beyond comprehension. But there's no reason we both have to be miserable." She put her hand on her husband's arm. "I think you should hang around with Sam. Maybe, after he's had the chance to mourn a bit longer, the two of you can take on some cases." Frank opened his mouth to protest, but Jody held up her hand. "Just local ones, if you want," she continued. "If you like, I'll get you a pager. But, you do realize you've got a sister and a brother-in-law, not to mention a bunch of Angel friends, who could zap you back here at a moment's notice, right?"

Frank nodded. "Yeah, I do. And I see your point about Sam. But you're the most important person in the world to me, Jody. You, and that baby you're carrying. I just want to be sure that you're all right."

"I'll be fine. We won't dwell on the fact, but I have done it before, you know," she reminded him.

But she looked a little sad when she said it, so Frank smirked. "Yeah, but you weren't, like, a hundred years old then, as Rob would say," he wisecracked.

"I guess we'd better give him a call and let him know," Jody said soberly, ignoring Frank's attempt at humour. "But this changes nothing. As long as you're still OK with it, I still think he should spend some time away. If and when he decides to come back, I'd like it to be his decision, Frank. I don't want him to feel like we're blackmailing him into coming back to us, or anything. Pregnancy at my age is going to be enough of a challenge without having to deal with a surly adolescent. Well, with another one, I should say," she amended with a smile. "Bobby'll probably come around to babysit. And Cas and Gail will be the godparents, of course. Wow. Talk about typecasting."

Frank was grinning now. "You know, I think pregnancy is making you funnier," he said appreciatively.

"Just wait a couple of months, till the hormones are surging," she said with a raised eyebrow. "We'll see how much you're laughing then. You're going to be begging Sam to find cases all the way across the country from me." She rose from her chair. "Order me the double fudge sundae. I'll be back in a minute." She leaned down to kiss him on the cheek, then hurried off to the bathroom.

Frank smiled. He loved his wife so much. And now, there was going to be a brand new little person to love, too. As Dean would have said: Good deal. But that thought hurt too much, so he made himself stop thinking about Dean. Frank pulled out his cell phone and called Tommy.

"I'm glad you called," Tommy said immediately. "We were going to call you."

Frank frowned. "Why? Is everything OK?"

"I don't know," Tommy replied. "We were all a little tired, so we checked into a hotel with adjoining rooms. Thought we'd give Rob a little thrill by letting him have his own room. We told him he could order a couple of things from room service and even order a movie for himself, as long as it wasn't, you know, one of THOSE kind. We told him we'd know if he did, and he joked: What, were we psychic, too? We told him no, it would be on the bill in the morning. Anyway, we all had a laugh about it, and it felt so great to laugh like that after how miserable we've all been."

"That's all great, Tommy, but could you get to the point?" Frank said, as Jody returned to the table. Frank put the phone on Speaker, but he left the volume low, so only he and Jody could hear. There wasn't anybody sitting around them, anyway.

"So, a little while later, Rob starts pounding on our door," Tommy continued. "We let him in, and he was shaking like a leaf. I guess he fell asleep after eating his dinner. He was watching some of those superhero movies, and we thought that had gotten into his head. But he said he'd been dreaming about a lady who called herself a white witch. People who were having trouble conceiving went to her, and she said she had spells to help them. But what she was really doing was selling them babies. And here's where it really gets interesting: all of those babies had special abilities, or powers, if you will. Psychic abilities and healing powers, among other things. Sound familiar?"

It did, but: "I thought you said it was all just a dream," Frank said.

"Yeah, but it was all very specific and very detailed, right down to the woman's name, and the location of her office. Her name was Cathy Scanlon, and her office was in Denver, Colorado."

Frank's jaw dropped open. He looked at Jody. "That's the name that was on the paper in that envelope Gail got from our old house," he said, dazed. "And the address was a Denver address."

"So much for it being a dream, then," Jody remarked.

"And there's one more thing, and this is the part that concerned us the most," Tommy continued. "Rob said there was a man that this Cathy got the babies from, some kind of behind-the-scenes guy that her customers never saw. Rob couldn't see the guy's face and he didn't know what his name was, but he said as soon as the man handed Cathy a baby in the dream, he looked up and said, 'Mind your own business, Rob, or you'll regret it.' Then Rob woke up, and he was so scared by even the idea of this guy that he was shaking from head to toe by the time he knocked on our door."

Frank and Jody frowned. What the hell was this, now? Should they be worried about it, and if so, how much?

Jody sighed. She didn't want to overreact about this. They were used to looking for danger around every corner, but Lucifer was gone now, and her police training told her that they would need a lot more than some woman's name, a dream, and some vague description of some random guy before sounding the alarm. Still, it sounded like they had just been presented with something to do, once they got back from Sioux Falls.

"Is Rob all right? Can we talk to him?" Jody asked, but Tommy advised that Barry had gone to Rob's room to keep him company for a while, and the boy had just gone back to sleep.

Frank looked at Jody, and she shrugged. Their news could wait. "Let him sleep," she told Tommy. "We'll talk to you in the morning." Then they hung up, and Jody ordered her dessert.

"I was sure that this said the bone of a person who was on the Earth at the time of Creation, when I first looked at it," Gail said, pointing to the ingredients list in the spell book. "Mind you, that was a while back, but, still..."

"Me too," Sam said, frowning. "But that's clearly not what it says at all."

Gail couldn't understand it. She was one hundred percent sure that's what it had said, originally. "Wow," she mused aloud. "This book's so magic it even changes its own ingredients according to who the spell is for," she quipped. But then she looked at the men. "Hey, wait a minute. That might not be as crazy as it sounds."

"What do you mean?" Cas asked her, puzzled.

"Rowena used this same spell to revive Crowley, right?" she said.

Cas was the one to frown now. "Please don't remind me about that. I'm uneasy enough about this whole thing as it is."

"My point was, that he was a person who was around at the time of Creation," Gail said slowly, reasoning aloud. "Therefore, that would have been a viable ingredient, in his case. But now, this is telling us that we need blood from both Cain and Abel to complete the spell. And for this particular situation, it makes sense. Rowena needed Crowley's own bone to make him whole again. In our case, we need the blood from the two brothers involved in the First Murder to counteract the effects of this one. Makes sense to me."

They all thought about that for a moment. In a strange way, it did make sense. But, a book that changed its spells' ingredients according to the needs of the person casting the spell? Then again, was that really so outrageous in their world? They were talking about bringing a dead man back to life, weren't they? It didn't get much more out there than that.

Cas started to roll up his sleeve. "Well, we can solve half of that equasion right now," he said. "And then, we'll go see Crowley, and get his." He smiled grimly. "One way or the other."

Gail put her hand on his arm, kissing him on the cheek. "Slow your roll, sweetie. I only wish it was that easy."

"Why? What do you mean?" Cas asked her.

Sam slid the book down the table, and Gail pointed to the ingredients in question. "The blood has to be obtained from the original Cain and Abel," she said, glancing at the page.

"Well, so what? That's who we really are," Castiel persisted.

Gail responded, "Yes, but it says here that the blood has to be collected at the time of Creation." She raised her eyes to look at him. "We have to figure out a way to go back to the beginning of everything." She looked at Sam. "Any of those books in there have any bright ideas on how to do that?"

But Sam surprised her by saying, "You've already done it." She looked at him, startled. "That's how you first found out who Cas and Crowley were back then, remember?" Sam said to her. "Cas brought you back to Creation, and you saw Crowley murder him, when he was Cain and Cas was Abel."

Gail started to smile. "That's right!" She turned to Cas eagerly. "We'll just do that, then."

But Cas was shaking his head ruefully. "I don't have that kind of power. Our Father helped me with that little endeavour. And this time we wouldn't just be observers; we would have to be fully, physically present, to collect the blood samples. This will take some thought." He smiled gently, reaching out to touch Gail's face. "I do like the idea of being able to take you to meet my parents, though. They will love you, as I do."

Gail couldn't help being who she was, so she quipped, "Oh, yeah. Because there's nothing nerve-wracking about having the first woman who ever existed as your mother-in-law."

"At least you don't have to worry about her comparing you to other women," Sam piped up. Then he instantly looked contrite. Dean was dead. He shouldn't be joking.

Gail recognized the look on Sam's face, and she rose from her chair. She walked over to Sam and put her arms around his neck, kissing him on the forehead. "I don't think Dean would be upset with you making a joke now and then," she told him. "He'll just be upset if he missed some really good ones. But that's OK. We'll have him back before you know it, and we'll even let him have the next few ones, unopposed. Deal?"

Sam smiled at her. "Deal."

"Now, how are we going to get enough juice to take us back to Creation?" Gail asked Cas.

"I do have an idea, but Sam's not going to like it," Cas said.

Sam made a face. "I figured you were gonna say that." He sighed. "OK, give him a call. It's for Dean. I'll just have to keep reminding myself: it's for Dean. Hey, if Crowley can send you guys back to Creation, I'll even give him a drink of the good stuff."

Cas shook his head. "It's not Crowley I'm thinking of." He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. An instant later, Gabriel appeared in front of them.

"Hey, Brother," he said to Castiel. "You rang?"

"Thank you for coming, Gabriel," Cas said.

Gabriel shrugged. "It was the least I could do."

Gail was frowning. "I completely agree."

Gabriel looked at her. "Well, hello, Kitten."

"Yeah, whatever," she said to him.

"Hey, why so chilly, Millie?" he asked her affably.

"Really?" she retorted. "Perhaps you heard about a little dust-up we had recently in Madagascar. A place from which you were noticeably absent, I might add. Thanks for all the wonderful help you gave us, Gabriel," she added sarcastically.

"Seems to me you did just fine," he said huffily. "Lucifer's gone, and so is Metatron. He was sort of like a free bonus feature. A game-in-game, if you will. So, what's the problem?"

"What's the problem?!" Sam said angrily. "My brother is dead, that's the problem!"

"Yeah, well, our Father always did love a good blood sacrifice," Gabriel said uncomfortably.

"Where were you?" Gail asked him, raising her voice. "We could have used you!"

"I've been helping out, with other things," Gabriel said defensively. "Lucifer wasn't the only game in town, you know. And even if I had been there, I wouldn't have been able to do anything for Dean. If our Father put a hit out on him, there was no way that any of us could stop it. But let's look at the big picture, here. You rid the human race of the Devil himself, and all it cost was one human sacrifice. Statistically, you're way ahead."

"Dean wasn't a statistic, he was our friend! Our brother!" Gail yelled. "Is that a smirk I see on your face? I will slap that right off of you!"

"Is that so?" Gabriel said, bemused. He lifted his arm, and Cas growled, "Try it, and it'll be the last thing you ever do."

Gabriel looked at Cas, eyebrows raised. "Really, Cas? Last I looked, I outrank you. In every possible way."

Cas faced him. "Go ahead and think that. But let me tell you something you may not know. There's a very real possibility that I may soon be the next God, which means that I will outrank YOU, in the only way that really matters. And you and I are eternal beings. So, do you really want to test me?"

Gabriel thought about that for a minute. Crap. There was a very good chance that Castiel was right about that, and his Brother was excellent at holding grudges. Gabriel hadn't actually intended to do anything to Gail, anyway. He just wished she would speak to him with a little more respect. Then again, he guessed that from her point of view, he hadn't really earned the kind of respect he was looking for.

Gabriel took a step back from Cas and smiled ingratiatingly. "What do you need, Brother?"

Castiel described to Gabriel what they had in mind. The Archangel looked at all of them with a raised eyebrow. "Dark magic? Really, Kitten? You may give me holy hell about not having been around to help you deal with Lucifer, and I can't say much, because you're absolutely right. I should have been. But now you're telling me that you're going to use an ancient spell book written by the mother of the King of Hell to bring back a guy who God wanted dead? Isn't that kind of like a pot/kettle/black situation?" he said sardonically.

"No, because I don't think it was God who wanted Dean dead," Gail shot back. "Lucifer admitted to us that HE was the one who wrote those Tablets. I think God wants us to bring Dean back. He's supplied us with everything we need to make that happen. Including you."

Gabriel opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. "Is she always this stubborn?" he asked Cas.

"Yes I am, when it comes to something I really believe in," Gail replied. Then she sighed. "But, what I think I hear you saying is that I'm being a bit heavy-handed about it. Cas would never say so because he's too much of a gentleman, but I know that I tend to do that, sometimes. So, I'll ask you: Will you please help us?"

Gabriel smiled. That was all he'd been looking for: a little sweet-talk, with a pinch of respect. And it just so happened that he thought it wouldn't be such a bad idea for them to have as many of the so-called God Squad on hand as they possibly could, for the dangers that lay ahead. If this worked, Gabriel could remind Senor Winchester at the appropriate moment that Dean owed Gabe for the latter's pivotal role in making his resurrection happen.

"Sure, I'll help you," Gabriel said pleasantly. "Just not right now."

Gail opened her mouth again, but Cas held his hand up. She wasn't wrong in anything she had said to their Brother, but she couldn't keep antagonizing Gabriel, either. Cas could threaten the Archangel all he wanted, but if it came down to a straight showdown, as things stood right now, Castiel would lose. "Why not right now?" Cas asked Gabriel.

Gabriel hooked a chair leg with his foot, pulling it away from the table. "Because I need a couple of days to regroup," he said, lines forming on his forehead. Had they been there before?

Cas took Gail's hand and led her over to her usual chair on the opposite side of the table. He pulled her chair out for her and sat her down, then he sat down, himself.

Gabriel smirked at that action, but when he spoke, he said, "Contrary to what my little Kitten here thinks, I HAVE been helping out. I'll bet you didn't know that you were being watched when you were in Egypt recently, did you?"

"That was you I felt, wasn't it?" Castiel asked him. "Metatron and I both commented on it. I assumed you were keeping yourself hidden because you had no desire to interact with Metatron."

"Well, there's that, too," Gabriel said, still smirking. Then his smile faded. "But no, that wasn't me. It was Raguel."

"What?!" Cas exclaimed. He'd been so startled by what Gabriel had said that he'd squeezed Gail's hand painfully for just a second. He dropped it immediately, looking at her apologetically.

"That's right," Gabriel said smugly. "He was watching all of you. So I threw up a protection shield around your group, and kept it going until you got back here to the States. Wait, that didn't come out right. That makes it sound like I actually vomited...Is it 'threw a protection shield up', maybe?" Gabriel looked at Sam. "Help me out here, smart guy."

But Sam was silent. Somber. If Dean was here, he'd probably be calling Gabriel a smartass, and comparing him to vomit. But Sam didn't have the heart to trade quips. His heart was in a drawer in the morgue at the police station.

For a wonder, Gabriel left Sam alone. Subtlety wasn't Gabe's strong suit, but he must have picked up on how Sam was feeling. Gabriel had always felt that the Winchester brothers' relationship was too co-dependent. But, just look at the dysfunction that was Gabriel's family. He and Castiel had the best relationship out of all of the higher-ranking Angels, yet Cas had just threated to throw down with his Brother. So maybe Gabe wasn't the best judge of healthy sibling relationships. He looked at Cas. "Yeah, and it wasn't too easy on me when you and the wifey took off to a separate location, for a while there. It takes a lot of juice to keep the shield strong, especially when it's bifurcated like that."

Gail was looking at Gabriel expressionlessly, but if what he was saying was true, she supposed she did owe him an apology. She opened her mouth to say so, but what came out instead was: "'Bifurcated'? Wow. That's a word you don't hear every day."

Gabriel looked at her, and then he started to grin. "I really do like you, Gail. Let's not fight, Kitten."

"I don't want to fight, either," she told him. "I've had quite enough of fighting, for a while."

"I swore off fighting, after the Angel Wars," Gabriel said wearily. "So many deaths. So much blood. And, for what? Now Heaven has no God. They need a leader up there, Cas. I know you and I have butted heads from time to time, but I really think it should be you."

Cas gave him a thin smile. That may be the nicest thing that Gabriel had ever said to him.

"Anyway, it's not just the shielding that's the problem," Gabriel continued. "Ever since you guys came and got me from Area 51, I've been feeling kind of...depleted, somehow. Like even when I'm rested, I'm not feeling up to full strength. I'm starting to wonder if we got all of my essence back from those dicks in uniform. Maybe they did a little probing on me, when I was out of it. Which is extremely ironic, if you think about it."

Cas thought about that. It wouldn't surprise him one bit to learn that that was indeed the case. But they were done with those men, weren't they? Getting Dean back was the focus now, and then, the election in Heaven. "All right, Gabriel," Cas said, sighing. He looked at Sam. "Is it all right if he stays here while he's recuperating?"

Now Sam was the one to sigh. He'd almost rather have had Crowley. But if Gabriel was willing to help them get Dean back, Sam could definitely put up with him for a couple of days.

"Sure, you can stay here, if you want," Sam said to Gabriel. After all, how high maintenance could the guy be? He was an Angel.

"Great," Gabriel said happily. He jumped to his feet. "Show me to my room. I think I'll take a nap. Call me when breakfast is ready, will you, Gigantor?"

Sam looked incredulously at Cas, who shrugged. Gabriel had always been a little left of centre. But if the Archangel wanted to rest, they should let him rest. The quicker he was back to full strength, the better. So Cas gave Sam an apologetic look, and Sam rose to escort Gabriel to one of the spare bedrooms.

"We're going to go home until morning," Cas told the men, looking at Gail. "We'll give you both an opportunity to rest."

"See you in the morning," Gail said. "Please rest up, both of you."

Then the Angels popped over to their house.

A couple of days passed uneventfully, and then, on the third morning, Gabriel announced that he felt strong enough to send Cas and Gail back in time.

"Just let me knock back a big breakfast first, for that extra oomph," Gabriel said with a half-smirk.

Gail rolled her eyes, but she said, "Come on, Sam, let's see what we can make."

The two of them started to cook breakfast, while Cas and Gabriel sat at the kitchen table.

"So, you haven't picked up a blade since the Angel Wars?" Cas asked Gabriel, just to make conversation.

"Nope. I keep telling you, I'm not a fighter, Cas," Gabriel said. "If this was the Sixties, I'd be a conscientious objector. I just think there's no need for us to fight. I'm not a violent individual. Which is kind of funny, considering that I'm the Patron Angel of postal workers."

Gail had been breaking eggs into a bowl in preparation for scrambling them, and she stopped and turned around to look at Gabriel. "You've got to be kidding," she said.

"I frequently kid, but in this case, I can assure you that I'm not," he said affably. "Can you imagine?"

Sam was reaching above the stove to get the steamer for the breakfast ham. Dean always wanted it fried, but Sam felt this was the healthier way to cook it. If they were able to get his brother back, though, Sam would deep-fry anything Dean wanted, and make extra helpings. But for right now, Gabriel was proving to be a bit of a handful. He was equal parts annoying and entertaining. Sam shook his head. "I don't think any postal workers have gone on any rampages for quite a while now," he remarked. "You've really gotta update your references, Dude."

"Well, excuuuuuuse me," Gabriel said, and Sam looked at him quickly, to see if he was being funny or not. As was the case with most Angels, it was impossible to tell.

"So after you eat breakfast, you can send Gail and myself back, then?" Cas asked Gabriel.

Gabriel nodded. "Can I have some more coffee, Kitten?" he asked Gail, holding out his mug.

Gail rolled her eyes again. Last she looked, his legs had been intact. But she didn't want to antagonize Gabriel when he was this close to helping them, so she came forward with the carafe of coffee and gave him a refill, without saying anything. Cas looked at her gratefully.

As Gail was returning the carafe to the coffeemaker, there was a noise outside the door that led to the garage. Cas stood immediately, drawing his blade. Gail took hers out of her pants pocket, and they moved closer to the door.

Frank came into the kitchen, looking at them both. "Geez, I was hoping for a bit of a warmer welcome," he quipped.

Gail let out a relieved breath. She and Cas put away their weapons, and Gail ran to her brother, throwing her arms around him.

"Hello, Frank," Cas said, smiling. "How is Jody? Are the two of you back home now?"

"Yes, and she's fine," Frank replied, giving his sister a squeeze. "Her doctor gave her some vitamins and told her to get some extra rest, so she's home right now, doing that." He looked at Sam. "I just came to see how you were doing, buddy."

"I'm OK, Frank," Sam told Gail's brother. "Once again, congratulations. Want some breakfast?"

Frank was puzzled. This was too weird. Here Sam was, calmly making breakfast as if he hadn't just killed and burned his only brother a few short days ago. Cas and Gail were here with him, at least, which was good. And: "Gabriel, right?" Frank said, moving forward to the table. "How are you? What are you doing here?"

Cas and Sam and Gail were shooting furtive glances at each other, but Gabriel gave Frank a half-shrug. "Can't a Brother just pay a visit to another Brother?" Gabriel said casually.

But now, Gail's mind was working. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" she said to Cas. "Have a seat," she told her brother.

She took Cas's hand and popped him out to the library area. He looked at her questioningly. "I think we need to tell Frank," Gail said to her husband.

"Why?" Cas asked her.

"Because I thought about it, and if we're successful, seeing Dean alive and well again is going to be a shock for everyone," she replied. "It'll be a wonderful, happy shock, but it'll be a shock. I'm not so sure it's a good idea for Jody to get a shock like that in her condition."

Cas looked startled. He hadn't thought of that. In fact, he hadn't really thought that far ahead in terms of what they were going to tell everyone, if this did work. He'd only been thinking one step at a time. But Gail was right: they certainly didn't want to be responsible for upsetting Jody, at this point.

So they returned to the kitchen, where Sam was setting an extra place for Frank.

"What's up, you guys?" Frank asked the Angels. He was sitting back in his chair, looking at them all suspiciously. "I know there's something fishy going on here."

Gail sighed. "What if we told you that we might have a way to bring Dean back?" she asked her brother.

Frank raised his eyebrows. "I'd say you were full of - " But then, it dawned on him. So THAT'S why everyone was so calm. The Angels had come up with some Angelic plan, and that was why Gabriel was here. He started to smile. "I'd say that's great!" he enthused.

"There are no guarantees that it will work, but we're going to try our best," Cas told Frank. "But Gail thought, and quite rightly so, that if it does work, Jody should be prepared for the shock."

Frank looked at his sister warmly. "Thanks, kiddo. That was really considerate of you."

She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. "Well, I can't have my niece or nephew stressed out before they're even born," she told him. "There'll be years for them to be traumatized, once they realize that you're their father."

Gabriel was smirking. "So it's not just me she talks to like that?"

"Nope," Frank said good-naturedly. "When it comes to family, she doesn't discriminate. She'll sass anybody." He took a sip of his coffee. "So, how's this whole thing supposed to work?"

Gabriel looked at Cas. "Well, as I was about to say before this guy showed up, you have to get my horn from the annex to the weapons room in Heaven, and then - "

"What?" Cas interrupted him. "Your horn? You didn't tell me that!"

Gabriel shrugged. "Well, I'm telling you now. What's the problem?"

"I'm not God yet, that's the problem," Cas retorted. "I don't know if I can get into the annex. Why don't you come up with me? As you so astutely pointed out, you're of a higher rank than I am. If I can't get in, surely you can."

"Noooo, I'm not going up there," Gabriel said, shaking his head.

"Why not?" Cas asked him, impatiently.

"I haven't been there for years," Gabriel said uncomfortably. "All that bright, sterile white. All those rules. Not my kind of place."

Cas started to smile. "You may be surprised," he said, glancing at Gail. "For one thing, it's not all white, any more. It's a full spectrum of colours, now."

Gail was smiling at her husband. Gabriel looked from one Angel to the other and then back again. "Why, you little devils," Gabriel said softly, and now he was grinning, too. "Would the change have happened on the night of a certain wedding, by any chance?"

"May-be," Gail said, trying to look innocent. She and Cas had gravitated together now, and Cas took her hand in his, kissing it tenderly.

"What would that have to do with - " Frank started to say, and then he looked at Cas and Gail, and the way they were looking at each other. They were kissing now. "Aww. geez," Frank moaned. "I don't know if I want any breakfast, now."

Gail shrugged. "Hey, don't ask the question if you don't want the answer," she said. She was touching Cas's face, and he was nuzzling her hand with his cheek.

Gabriel was staring at them. He'd never seen Castiel like this before. Talk about taming the beast. Holy moly. "You see, Frank, when two Angels love each other very much..."Gabriel wisecracked.

Frank laughed. He got up from his chair, clapping Gabriel on the shoulder on his way over to the counter. "You're all right, Gabe," he said to the Archangel.

Sam was spooning the scrambled eggs out into a serving bowl. "Don't," he said to Frank. "You'll only encourage him."

Frank nudged Sam. "Hey, if he's going to help us get our guy back, he's all right with me," he told Dean's brother.

"And, speaking to your other point, a lot of Heaven's laws have been changed now, to reflect modern times and attitudes," Cas said to Gabriel. "You can thank Gail for a lot of those changes. She was the head of the board that enacted them."

Gabriel's eyebrows shot up. "Really?!" he exclaimed.

Gail rolled her eyes. "Oh, no. Please don't tell me you're a sexist."

"Nooo, I love women," Gabriel replied quickly. "In fact, I've loved as many of them as I could," he added with a comic leer. He took some eggs from the bowl that Sam had set down. "I'm just surprised, that's all. I guess the place HAS come a long way since I was there last."

"Yes, but I fear it may regress, unless we do something about it," Cas remarked. He told Gabriel about Patricia. "That's why both Gail and I are putting our names in as candidates for the High Office. Actually, that reminds me," he added, taking the papers out of his blazer pocket. "We may as well fill these out while you're eating. Then we can drop them off when we go up there."

They sat down and started to fill out the application forms. Frank craned his neck to look. "My sister, filling out a job application to be God," he said, shaking his head slowly. "Now, I've seen everything. Hey Cas, what's your Social Security Number? One?"

But then, Frank looked around for the other person who should be chiming in right about now with some choice jokes of his own, and his face fell. "I'm sorry, man," he said to Sam, putting his fork down. Suddenly, he had lost his appetite.

"We're going to get him back, Frank," Sam said quietly. "I have faith."

Once the men had finished eating, Gabriel got up from his chair. He patted his stomach, stretched his body, and then looked at the Angels. "OK, let's go, then."

"Really? You're going with us?" Gail said, her face brightening.

Gabriel put his arm around her shoulders. "You've piqued my curiosity," he told her. "Colours? New laws? Now that, I've gotta see. Besides, you're right, Castiel. You might not have the chops to get us into that room. That's where all the heavy-duty holy objects are." He gave Gail a squeeze. "You're in for a real treat, Kitten. Sexist or not, you'll probably be the first woman ever to enter that room."

Gail had to admit that the idea excited her. The first woman ever. Wow. She couldn't wait to see what treasures might be in there.

"We'll be back shortly," Cas told Frank and Sam, and then the Angels were gone.

"Wow. I love what you've done with the place," Gabriel quipped. He was looking around at all the vibrant colours in Heaven, nodding his approval.

Gail's lips twitched as they walked up to Laurel's desk. Cas gave Laurel the paperwork to file, and she smiled broadly. "I think it's wonderful that you're both going to be candidates," she told them. Then she lowered her voice. "But don't tell Patricia I said that. She would think I was being disloyal."

Before Cas had the chance to wonder what she meant by that, Gabriel was walking around the reception desk. "What a lovely woman you are," he said. He seized her hand. "Please, tell me you're single."

Laurel was bemused. "And you are..."

"Don't you recognize an Archangel when you see one?" Gabriel asked her. "An Archangel?!" Laurel exclaimed.

"He's not an Archangel," Patricia snapped from behind the group. "There aren't any Archangels any more. He's probably just saying that to get into your pants."

Gabriel turned around slowly to look at her. "Don't tell me, let me guess. You're Patricia."

She was staring at him. "A gentleman would introduce himself."

Gabriel's eyebrows rose. Oh, this was a frosty one, all right. No wonder Castiel and Gail wanted to run against her. He walked over to her. "Maybe a gentleman would," he said evenly. "But I'm no gentleman, lady. I'm the Archangel, Gabriel."

Patricia's mouth fell open. She looked at Castiel. "What are you trying to pull here?" she asked him harshly. "Do you think that, by bringing another male here to pose as an Archangel, you can intimidate me into backing down?"

Gail was looking at Patricia with wide eyes. Yikes. Cas hadn't been exaggerating. Gail hadn't seen Patricia for quite a while, but Cas had told his wife what Patricia was like now. And now, Gail was seeing confirmation of that with her own eyes.

"Boy, do you have a screw loose, lady," Gabriel said bluntly.

Gail's hand flew to her mouth. She didn't want to laugh out loud, but Gabriel was making it difficult. So she manufactured a cough, instead.

"I'm doing nothing of the sort," Castiel said stiffly, in the meantime. "I'm bringing an Archangel of the Lord to Heaven, to get the Heavenly artifact which rightly belongs to him. And the last time I looked, the election had not yet been held. Therefore, Gabriel is our superior, and as such, we all must defer to him."

Gabriel smirked. "What he said," the Archangel said to Patricia. "And, for the record, I was totally trying to get into her pants." He gestured to Cas and Gail to follow him. He knew a great exit line when he'd said it.

The three Angels walked down the corridor. When they were at a safe distance, Gail let out the laugh that she'd been holding in, and Gabriel smiled at her.

"Wow, you weren't kidding," the Archangel said to Cas. "What is her problem?"

Cas shrugged. "We're not really sure. At one time, we thought she was our friend. But while we're trying to update and modernize Heaven, she seems to want to throw us back into the Middle Ages, again."

"I'm not surprised. One look at her and you can tell there are a lot of things she wouldn't approve of. What she needs is a good - " Gabriel broke off, looking at Gail uneasily. He cleared his throat. " - snuggle," he finished lamely.

Gail started to laugh again. He was pretty funny, sometimes. If only he weren't so mercurial. But, you couldn't win them all. He was still all right, as Archangels went.

They came to the door of the weapons room. Cas had needed the key to the room when he and Kevin had come up here to obtain more weapons to fight the death squads, and even then, Kevin had had to stand outside in the corridor. But Gabriel would have absolutely no problem getting in.

Gabriel opened the other door easily, and the other Angels filed in behind him. The Archangel snapped his fingers, and the room was instantly illuminated. Gail looked around in astonishment. She had never been here before. There were all manner of weapons here, including some she had never seen before. Wow. Dean would fall in love with this room. But that thought made her feel sad, so she pushed it away.

The men had both been here before, so they were more blase about the sight. Gabriel had already moved down the aisle and to the left, where the annex was located. Cas trailed eagerly behind him, and Gail hurried to catch up to them.

Gabriel put his hand on the door to the annex, and it swung open immediately. He grinned at the others. "Archangel," he said simply. He walked in, snapping his fingers again to light up the room.

Cas followed, but when Gail tried to go in behind them, she was held up at the doorway by an invisible force. "Oh, come on," she groaned. But there was no use. Cas came over and reached out for her hand, but the doorway wouldn't let them connect.

"I'm sorry, my love," he said to her.

"This had better be due to length of service," she fumed. "Seniority, I can understand, but if it's because I don't have a penis, I'm gonna be pissed."

Gabriel snickered. "Have I told you lately that I like you, Kitten?" He looked at Castiel. "You definitely married up."

Cas smiled. "I'm well aware of that fact," he said.

Gail sighed. "OK, I may as well go back to the bunker, then," she told the men. "I'll see you there when you're done."

She popped back to the bunker and explained the situation to Sam and Frank. "Actually, since we have a few minutes, there's something I need to talk to you about, too," Frank said to her. He described Rob's dream of a couple of days ago. He and Jody had spoken to Rob since, and there had been no repeat. But, still: "Jody and I think we should check into it. Maybe, while you and Cas are doing your thing, if you could give me the piece of paper with that lady's address, I could go check it out."

Gail nodded. "Sure, Frank. I'll go get it right now." She popped out immediately as Frank and Sam looked at each other, bemused. That was so much like Cas that they supposed the old adage of married couples starting to act like each other the longer they were married was true.

Gail popped into her and Cas's bedroom, thinking how great it was not to have to worry about Lucifer lurking outside, looking to kidnap her. They just had to get Dean back. There were so many things that would be better for them all, going forward. But their world would be unbearable without Dean in it.

She reached into the bureau drawer and pulled out the envelope, then winked herself back to the bunker, showing it to Frank.

"Do you want somebody riding shotgun when you go?" Sam said to Gail's brother, who looked at him in surprise. "Hey, it would give me something to do," Sam said with a half-shrug. "I can't just sit around here, feeling sorry for myself. At least if I can do something constructive, something to help somebody else, maybe karma will pay it forward. You know what I mean?"

"Sure, Sam," Frank said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. God, this had better work. At first, Frank had been pretty mad about being left out of the loop and allowed to grieve for Dean, without any hope. But now, he could kind of understand where they'd been coming from. Hope was a bit of a double-edged sword, sometimes. If this didn't work, it would be even harder on Sam, because it was obvious to Frank that Sam fully expected to get Dean back. If it didn't happen, he was going to have that much farther to fall. And, considering the source of the spell, Frank could also understand why the Angels would want to keep the project under wraps.

"Actually, I'll call my guy and get you a fake FBI badge," Sam said to Frank. "Do you still have a suit that fits? We'll go in as Agents. That's usually enough to get people to open up."

"Sure, that sounds - " Frank started to say, and then he said, "Hey! What do you mean, 'a suit that still fits'? What are you trying to say, Winchester?"

Sam smiled. "Nothing. It's just that every time I turn around, you're either eating, or cracking open a beer."

Frank pretended to frown. "It's my wife that's gonna be getting fat soon, not me. Although you'd better not ever say that to her."

Sam continued to smile. "Are you kidding? I'm way smarter than that." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "I'll get you fixed up."

As Sam moved away to call his contact, Frank looked down at Gail. "I sure hope you know what you're doing, with this spell thing," he said to her.

She frowned. "So do I. But we've got to try, Frank." She gave him the envelope. "We'll compare notes when we both get back from where we're going."

A couple of minutes later, Cas and Gabriel popped back in. Gail walked up to them, pointing to the case that Gabriel was holding in his arms. "That's it, I presume?" she asked the Archangel.

"Yeah. And I'm really upset right now," he told her irritably.

"Why? What's the matter?" Gail asked him, concerned.

"It's been all this time, and I still can't come up with a good context joke about me being extremely horny," Gabriel complained.

Gail smirked. "Can I see it?"

"Now THERE'S a setup if ever I've heard one," Gabriel said happily. He opened the case, and they all looked curiously at the object inside.

Sam was surprised. He didn't know what he had expected, really, but it was kind of...unimpressive-looking, if he were to be honest. Just a plain, tubular instrument, more tarnished silver than gold.

"What?" Gabriel asked, seeing his expression. "Not fancy enough for you? Let me tell you something, Boy. If I were to blow this thing right now, the entire Midwest would crumble. There's a reason only Heaven's most elite can get into that annex, you know." There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment as Sam, Frank and Gail contemplated that. Castiel already knew, of course. He had seen first-hand what most of these Biblical weapons could do when they were used at their optimum strength.

"But don't worry, I'm not gonna actually blow it," Gabriel assured them. "I'm just going to hold it."

"I have so many jokes running through my head right now, but I'm too scared to say any of them," Frank said somewhat nervously.

Gabriel smirked, looking from Gail to her brother and back again. "You two may not be related by blood, but I can see the resemblance, anyway."

Gail's forehead wrinkled. Had they actually ever told him that she and Frank weren't related by blood? She guessed they must have, at one point; otherwise, how would he know?

Anyway, that made things easier, because now she could speak openly. She quickly told Cas about Rob's dream, and the plan to have Frank and Sam go to the address on the piece of paper they had gotten from the house in Denver. Cas nodded. He thought it was a good idea, and he also thought it would be good for Sam to have something to do while Cas and Gail were away.

"Let's go, then," Castiel said, taking Gail by the hand.

"What? Now?" she said.

Cas was puzzled. "Well, yes. We need to go as soon as possible. Once we get the blood, you'll still have to make up the potion, and then we'll have to...rescue Dean from the morgue. Sam said we only have a week, and it's almost up."

He was right, of course. She was just being silly. "What's the matter, my love?" Cas asked her.

She looked down at herself. "Do you think I'm dressed okay?"

Cas looked at her, uncomprehending, and then he laughed. She was so cute. "Our vessels will be here, in the bunker," he explained to her. "When we appear to my family in corporeal form, we will be dressed in the garb of the era." He took her hands in his. "But it doesn't matter what you are wearing. They will love you. I guarantee it."

Gail smiled at him. "Thank you, sweetie. I'm just being silly. It's just that the idea of Adam and Eve being your in-laws is really intimidating."

"Haven't you hung around with God, and Death?" Frank asked her. "You've got this, kiddo."

Gail looked warmly at her brother, appreciating the support. "I take back what I said about your baby. That's going to be the luckiest kid in the universe. I ought to know." They shared a quick hug, and then Cas led the group to his and Gail's bedroom in the bunker. He lay down on the bed, and Gail lay down beside him. The Angels held hands as Gabriel opened the case again, revealing the horn. "Things are gonna get really bright for a minute," the Archangel warned everyone. "Angels, close your eyes. You humans will need to turn away, until I let you know that it's OK. But actually, there won't be anything to look at, anyway. Once I send these two back, their vessels will just be lying here empty, as if they were merely asleep." Then he grinned. "But you'd better not try anything that you don't want me to see, Cas. I'll be sitting right here till the time limit is up, so I can bring you back on time."

"How long do we have?" Cas asked him.

"I can only give you six hours," Gabriel told him. "Since we're going back to, well, practically the beginning of everything, the power will burn out very quickly. So, no dawdling. If you do have extra time, though, give Crowley a kick in the ass, from me." He looked at Gail. "And watch what you eat while you're there, Kitten. I know fruit is usually good for you, but in this instance, I'd definitely recommend the cheesecake." He winked at her, and she smiled.

"OK, everyone. Avert your eyes," Gabriel said. "I'm gonna pull this puppy out, now."

"There's your joke," Frank said, and Gabriel did a double-take. Cas gave Gail's hand a reassuring squeeze. Then Gabriel took his horn out of the case, and a moment later, there was a blinding white flash that held for a minute or so. Then it disappeared abruptly.

Gabriel locked up the case. "OK, you boys can turn back around, now." Frank and Sam did. Gabriel had been right; Cas and Gail were still just laying there on the bed, side by side, holding hands. But their essences were now gone. The humans looked at each other. Imagine being back there, where it had all began. Wow.

Gabriel snapped his fingers, and an hourglass appeared on the nightstand by the bed. He snapped his fingers again, and the sand started to trickle. But instead of trickling down, it was moving up, from the bottom to the top.

Sam looked at Gabriel, and the Archangel smirked. "You know me, Sammy. Always the nonconformist." He thought for a moment. "Do you think you could loan me some reading material? Where's Dean's porn collection?" Sam frowned, but Gabriel shrugged. "What? We all know he's got one." After a moment's silence, he sighed. "Fine. Maybe some TV, then." Another snap of the fingers, and a TV appeared. suspended in mid-air.

"That's pretty neat," Frank marveled. "You're like the Great Gazoo, or something."

"Shut up, Dum-Dum," Gabriel said affably.

"Well, I guess we'll get going, now," Sam said. "I put a rush on getting Frank's ID made up, but I'm not sure if we'll be back in six hours."

"No rush," Gabriel said offhandedly. "I'll be here until tomorrow."

"I thought you said it would be six hours," Frank said, puzzled.

"Time is very fluid," Gabriel said mysteriously. Then he broke into a grin. "Besides, I wanted to hurry Castiel along a little. Once he gets back in the loving bosom of his family and his uncomplicated, shepherd's lifestyle, it'll be hard to get him back out. Not only that, but if Cain pisses him off, he might change the entire course of history."

Sam and Frank looked at each other, then back at the Archangel. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope," Gabriel said, almost cheerfully. "Gail had better help keep that temper of his in check, or we might all be walking around active volcanoes tomorrow, with dinosaurs as our Overlords." He smirked. "Well, you guys would be, anyway. I'd still be an Archangel, and I'd still be awesome."

Great. Just great. The humans sighed. But there was no sense worrying about something they couldn't control. What they could control was on the piece of paper in Frank's pocket. That, and breaking the news to Jody as gently as possible that Dean might be coming back from the dead soon.

"Come on, let's go," Sam said to Gail's brother, and they left the bunker.

A short while later, Sam was sitting with Jody in her and Frank's house. The men had gone to get Frank's fake ID, and then they had called Jody to let her know that they were coming. Then, they had told her what Cas and Gail were up to, and she had been delighted. So now, she and Sam were waiting for Frank to put his suit on. Then, they were going to call Chuck and have him pop them over to Denver. He had a cell phone now, as a back-up Angel contact for everyone. Jody had called Chuck, stating that Cas and Gail were unavailable for transportation, as they were grieving in private.

They'd decided that they were going to keep what was going on with Cas and Gail confidential, but Frank and Jody were unaware that Chuck already knew. However, he didn't know what Frank and Jody might know, though Chuck was aware that Sam knew, of course. And for all Chuck knew, Cas might still be in the dark about the whole thing. The situation had all the ingredients of a classic sitcom series of misunderstandings. Or it would have, if the subject matter weren't so serious.

Fortunately, there were a lot of other things to talk about. When Chuck arrived, Jody told him her news, and he was elated. "A brand new life," Chuck said. "That's terrific." Then he looked at Sam. "I'm so sorry, Sam," Chuck said sincerely. "I know that you and I and Dean didn't always see eye to eye, but I think that he and I are - were - getting to be better friends." Phew. That had been close.

Frank came downstairs, dressed in his wedding suit. "Still fits, smartass," he said to Sam. Then he tugged at the waistband. "I think the dry cleaners shrunk the pants, though."

Sam smirked. "Damn dry cleaners."

"Are you ready, guys?" Chuck asked the men. They nodded, and he grabbed their arms and winked them away.

It had been a slow day for Cathy. She'd seen one prospective couple this morning and had begun the screening process on them. Then she'd had a client just after lunchtime who'd wanted a couple of lucky charms and a spell to help her get the job she was applying for.

Now, Cathy was considering closing early. She had just gotten up from her desk to lock the door when two men in business suits entered. Her wind went up right away. They looked like they could be cops.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," she said, smiling pleasantly. "Can I help you?"

"Agent Potter," Sam said, flashing her his badge. "This is Agent Weasley." Frank followed suit with his own badge. "We're from the FBI. We'd like to ask you a couple of questions."

"Certainly," Cathy said, gesturing to the chairs in front of her desk. "Please, have a seat." Her stomach was churning. What did they know?

"We need to ask you about a couple of individuals," Frank said, as he and Sam sat down. "If we tell you their names, can you look them up in your records?"

"Are these people supposed to be clients of mine?" Cathy asked them. "Because if they are, I can't help you. It's a confidentiality issue."

"No, these people would have been adopted," Sam said. "We have your name as a contact with regard to one of them." He told her Gail's name, and Cathy's heart stopped. No. Oh, no. Once again, she wondered how much these men knew. She tried to brazen it out.

"Adopted? Surely you're mistaken," she said as calmly as she could. "I'm a Wiccan. I dispense herbs and holistic medicines. That's all. Nothing else."

Frank mentioned his mother's name. "Can you check your records for her, then? It would have been a number of years ago, so you may not remember. But there's got to be a reason we were given your name and address."

Cathy put her hands in her lap because they were beginning to shake. It seemed as if these detectives were just on a fishing expedition; still, she supposed she'd better at least make a show of checking. If she didn't, it would look suspicious, wouldn't it?

"I have my old records in the back," she told them. "Wait here."

Cathy went into the storage room and took her cell phone out of her pocket.

"The FBI are sniffing around," she said into the phone. "What should I tell them?"

"Nothing," he snapped. "Tell them nothing." Gail's father was angry. He had no idea why the FBI would suddenly be investigating - wait. "What do these detectives look like, and what names did they give you?" he asked Cathy suspiciously. She told him, and he smiled grimly. It hadn't taken them long to replace the dead one, had it? Well, good for them.

"I repeat, tell them nothing," he said to Cathy. "They have no proof of anything, and they can do nothing to us. Let me know if anyone else comes around, asking about her or the boy." Then he hung up abruptly.

Cathy put the cell phone away and took a moment to compose herself. Thank God he hadn't been angry at her. Still, she had to get rid of those men, before she ruined everything.

She came back out to the office. "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but I don't have any of those names in my files. And now, I'm afraid I must ask you to leave. I'm closing for the day."

"Why do we have your name and address as a contact, then?" Frank persisted.

Cathy glared at him balefully. "I'm sure I do not know."

Sam nudged Frank, and they rose from their chairs. "Thank you for your time," Sam said to the woman.

But Frank was frustrated. That was it? No way. "We can subpoena your records, you know," he said to Cathy, trying to intimidate her.

"Go right ahead, but you'll need more than a magic wand to get them," Cathy said sarcastically. "Next time, if you're going to use aliases, try not to make them so obviously fake."

Sam and Frank left the office and walked down the steps to the street. "Agents Potter and Weasley," Frank grumbled. "Way to go, Sam."

Sam gave him a half-shrug. "Sorry, man. That usually works. In any event, I wasn't really expecting too much. There's something fishy about that woman, though. She knows a lot more than she was willing to tell us."

"I think so, too," Frank said. "She seemed a little too eager to get rid of us."

Chuck had been sitting on a park bench across the street from the building, enjoying a bit of fresh air. "What now, guys?" he asked.

Frank made a face. "As soon as we figure it out, we'll let you know." They walked around to the alleyway, and Chuck winked them home.

VIGNETTE - MOTHER AND CHILD REUNION

Cas and Gail walked hand in hand through the meadow towards the little house that Adam and Eve called home. Gail was nervous again. "Do I look all right?" she asked her husband.

"You look beautiful," Cas said. He stopped walking and turned to her, putting his arms around her waist. He gave her a light kiss on the lips. "Please don't worry."

"What should I call you?" Gail asked him now. "Are you Abel? Or, are you Castiel?"

He'd been wondering about that, too. This was new territory, even for Castiel. "I'm not really sure," he told her. "I don't think I'm 'Abel' to tell you that." His lips twitched.

Gail rewarded him with a laugh. "When did Frank get here?" she quipped.

Cas took her by the hand again and they approached the house. Cas lifted his hand to knock on the door, but suddenly it opened, and a medium-sized woman with grey hair stood there.

"Hello," Cas said. "I wonder if we might be 'Abel' to come in and talk to you for a moment."

Gail burst out laughing, and the woman looked at her curiously. Oh, great. Thanks, Cas. Your mother's first impression of me is that I'm a laughing fool.

But Eve smiled warmly. "We used to make jokes like that all the time," she said to Gail. Then she held out her arms to Cas. "My son. My beautiful, tender-hearted son."

His face lit up, and he embraced his mother. "I didn't know if you'd recognize me," Cas told her softly.

Eve gave him a squeeze. "Are you kidding? I'd know my baby anywhere," she said. Then she pulled out of the embrace and looked at Gail. "And I'm hoping you're going to tell me that this is your wife," Eve added.

"Yes, Mother," Cas said, smiling. "This is Gail."

"I'm so happy to meet you," Eve said, putting her hand on Gail's arm. "I'm so glad my son took a wife. I hope the two of you will be as happy as Adam and I are. Please, come in, come in."

She ushered them into the house. "I'll bring some refreshments," Eve told the couple.

"No, Mom, let me do it," Cas said quickly. "I'd like for you and Gail to get acquainted."

Eve smiled as Gail sat down. "Abel was always very eager to help me around the house," she told Cas's wife. "He's a very considerate boy."

Gail was tongue-tied. This was so surreal. She had no idea what to say. Absolutely none.

Cas brought some bread and cheese and a carafe of wine over to the table. "I think my wife must be a little shy," he said to his mother. "She is not usually this quiet."

Eve smiled gently. "I can understand that," she said, lifting the carafe. She poured a cup of wine and handed it to Gail. Gail thanked her mother-in-law, and Eve's smile widened. "It can be very intimidating, meeting your husband's mother for the first time," Eve remarked. "Luckily, I never had to deal with that problem."

Gail laughed, and then so did Eve. Cas smiled happily. He sat down beside Gail, taking her hand.

"I'm very happy to see the two of you being so loving," Eve said warmly. "Your father and I are still like that, after lo, these many, many years." She poured Cas a glass of wine, and then she poured one for herself. "Let us have a toast," Eve proposed. "To a long and happy marriage. Though you'll have to go quite a ways until you catch up to your father and me."

"How many years has it been, now?" Cas asked his mother.

"Just over two hundred," Eve answered calmly.

Gail nearly spat her wine out. "Two hundred?!" she exclaimed, swallowing her wine with a gulp.

"I know, child. And don't I look good for my age?" Eve said, smiling again.

Gail looked at Cas, open-mouthed. He put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze. "My parents lived a very long and happy life together," he told his wife. "And they were extremely affectionate with one another, for each and every one of their years of married life. Where do you think I get it from?" Then he looked around the room. "Where IS Father, by the way?"

Eve smiled yet again. She couldn't seem to stop smiling. She was so happy to see her son. She knew, of course, that he and his wife had come here from the distant future. But the Father had told her that there would be a time when she would see her youngest son here wearing a different face, and he would be coming here with a woman, seeking a sample of his own blood and that of his brother's. Most would have been upset to hear such outlandish things, but Eve had received The Word with equanimity. As the first women to have ever walked the Earth, she knew many things. She'd known from the instant she gave birth to her sons, at an impossibly advanced age, that the eldest was going to murder the youngest. God the Father had decreed that it must be so. He was the Creator, the Father of Everything, and His Will was The Will. So she had birthed her sons and loved them both, as best she could. But ultimately, she had to let the both of them go. As a mother, it was heartbreaking, but she'd had no choice. But then afterwards, God had rewarded her and Adam with centuries more of life together as a close, loving couple, and He had seen fit to create a younger generation of men and women to populate the Earth. But neither Eve nor Adam ever met any of those people. Their sacrifice had already been taken. So they lived together as happily as they could for eons after the First Murder, just the two of them, and they'd died peacefully in each others' arms, when it was time.

Eve looked at Cas. "Your father is out at the back of the property, trying to mend the fence so your sheep don't get away, again."

If Cas hadn't been an Angel, he would have flushed at that. He remembered. Apparently, his flock had had a wandering spirit, not unlike himself. A couple of the bolder ones had taken to gnawing at the back fence, trying to open up a gap large enough for them to walk through. Abel had found it funny, but Adam had been annoyed. Every time he turned around, it seemed he was having to make repairs to that same fence.

"I would like to go and see him for a moment," Cas said. He kissed Gail's hand, then released it. "Do you mind, my love?" he asked her.

"Of course not," Gail replied. They'd come all this way. Of course he should see his father.

"Go, my son. I'll take good care of Gail," Eve said softly. "Perhaps we'll have another cup of wine," she added mischievously, "and have some...'girl talk', is the expression, if I'm not mistaken."

Gail laughed again. Cas had been right; his mother was wonderful.

Cas stood from his chair. "I'll see you in a few minutes, then," he said to the women. And then, he was gone.

Eve replenished Gail's cup, and then her own. "My son loves you very much, I can tell," Eve said, nodding her head with approval. "I'm very glad he made a good marriage. He was always so meek. I had thought that he was fated to be alone."

"He's not meek anymore," Gail said with a small smile. "He's gentle and loving, but he's definitely not meek. And for the record, I love him very much, too. I'll always be good to him and I'll never hurt him, I can promise you that."

"I believe you, Gail," Eve said. "I can tell how much you love my son, just by the expression on your face when you look at him. He has the same expression, when he looks at you."

They sipped their wine in silence for a minute, and then Gail said, "Maybe it's the wine talking, but could I ask you a question? It's a bit of a personal question, so feel free to say no." Eve nodded her encouragement, so Gail continued, "I always wondered: why did you eat that fruit? I mean, it was forbidden, wasn't it? And didn't you have lots of other fruit to pick from? I mean, I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but ask: Why?"

Eve started to frown, and Gail instantly regretted opening up her big mouth. She put her wine down on the table. Great. And they'd been getting along so well, too. Why couldn't she learn to just shut her pie-hole once in a while? Then that made her think of Dean, and now she felt even worse.

Eve was looking at Gail expressionlessly, and then she put her cup of wine down as well. "As a woman, I understand why you're asking that question," she said to her daughter-in-law. "I am aware that untold future generations labour under the impression that I am to blame for the oppression of women, because I partook of the forbidden fruit, and then bade Adam to do it, too. But that is not what actually happened." She paused, then continued: "You're probably aware that the tree with the forbidden fruit was located in Eden. But what you wouldn't know is that Adam and I were still in Eden when I had our first son, Cain. He was a fussy baby, who always required a lot of attention. And as he grew, so did his curiosity. When he was a young boy, and I was pregnant with Abel, it was harder for me to keep up with him. So I told Cain that it was all right for him to go exploring, as long as he told either his father or myself where he was going. We also had God the Father watching over all of us. There was no such thing as 'Stranger Danger', then," Eve continued, with a thin smile. Then her smile faded. "Or, so I thought. Anyway, you can probably figure out what happened next. It was Cain who the serpent tempted. My eldest son was the one who tasted of the fruit, not me. As soon as he'd taken a bite, he knew he had done wrong. He ran home to me, terrified and weeping. What could I do, Gail? I was his mother, and he was my son. So when God the Father asked who had eaten of the fruit, I told him it was me."

Gail fumbled for her cup of wine, draining the contents. This was unbelievable! Damn Crowley! He had murdered her husband, he had made her life miserable in too many ways to count, and now, he was apparently responsible for the ills of generations upon generations of women. Poor Eve. She had gone down in history as a wicked woman who had thumbed her nose at God, and then taken her husband down with her.

"I'm aware that my punishment trickled down to all future women, in a manner of speaking," Eve said wryly. "And I'm afraid you're all still paying for it. That is why we are regarded as the weaker sex, and why we are considered inferior to men. But as you and I both know, that is definitely not the case. That's why I didn't mind sharing my story with you. Don't ever let anyone tell you you're not good enough, Gail. You are every bit as capable as any man."

"Thank you," Gail said, looking warmly at her mother-in-law. Then her forehead wrinkled. "But, didn't God know the truth?"

"Oh yes, He knew," Eve said, matter-of-factly. "He informed us that whomever had taken the first bite would be banished from Eden forever, while the others would stay. So then, I compounded the lie. I picked three pieces of fruit, and Adam, Cain and I each took a bite, in His presence. I needed to keep my family together, Gail. So, we were all three banished. Even Abel doesn't know the true story. He was born outside the Garden, and when he grew old enough, Adam and I told him the widely accepted version of the story. He never judged me and he never held it against me, even though life out here was a lot harder for him than it would have been in there. But I believe that is why my youngest son has always felt like an outsider."

"You're right; I always have," Cas said. He had just come in from the back door of the house. He had taken an extra minute to wipe his feet before entering the house, as his mother had always taught him, and he had inadvertently overheard her admission. He walked forward now, slowly. "Mother? You took the blame?" he said, dazed.

Eve sighed. "I never intended for you to find out. But, perhaps it's just as well. You're better than most, I'm sure, but I think it's time that men stopped treating women as somehow lesser beings." Then her expression softened. "My son. My sweet, wonderful, complicated son. Come here, please." She patted the seat beside her. "I'm very sorry, Abel. I suppose I should have told you the truth. But there just never seemed to be a good time for it. When you and your brother got older, I could see that the two of you were developing a fractious relationship, so I kept my counsel, not wanting to make it worse. But I regret that you have always been the one who seems to have gotten the short shrift, Castiel, all throughout history. Perhaps that is why God has seen fit to bless you with a loving wife and a family who care very much about you."

"I never felt like I was good enough," Cas confessed to his mother. "All of my existence, I never felt like I fit in, anywhere. I never felt like I deserved to be happy. That's why I spent so much time alone." Now there were tears rolling down his cheeks. "That is why I am here, Mom," he told her. "My family is broken apart, and I'm here to put it back together."

Eve reached out her arms and embraced her son, laying his head on her chest. She stroked his hair and began to sing to him. They stayed that way for a moment, and then Cas straightened up. Eve wiped the tears from his face. "My brave, strong boy," she said. "I'll help you get Dean back, don't you worry," Eve soothed him. "Come with me."

Cas stood, and Eve took his hand. Then she took Gail's hand and joined it with Cas's. "This is the core of your family, right here," she told the couple. "As long as your bond remains strong, there is no adversity the two of you cannot overcome." She looked at Gail. "I'm so glad to have met you, my darling daughter. Take care of each other." She put her arm around Gail and kissed her on the cheek, then did the same with Cas. "When you go out the front door, proceed northeast about half a mile and you will come upon Abel, tending his flock." Eve smiled. "How I wish that video cameras existed now. I would love to see the expression on his face when he sees you, Castiel. But the Father wishes that I should remain here, so here, I will remain. Abel will take you to Cain, after you collect Abel's sample. He will be extremely cooperative, but I fear Cain will need a little more persuasion," she added wryly. "Goodbye, my children."

She closed the door softly behind them.

"OK, so now what do we do?" Jody asked the men. She and Frank and Sam were sitting in their kitchen, having coffee. Chuck had gone back up to Heaven. They had thanked him for his help, and Jody had given him the green light to tell everyone else in their circle their good news. Frank had gone upstairs, changing out of his suit. Sam still had his on, but he had removed his jacket and tie, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt. He wondered how Cas and Gail were doing. God bless Frank and Jody. They had given him a puzzle to work out in the form of a case to work on, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

"I think we're approaching this the wrong way," Sam mused aloud. "If she's mixed up with black market adoptions, she's not gonna tell us anything. We need somebody to go in, asking for a baby." He and Frank looked at each other, and then at Jody.

"Hey, don't look at me, I've already got one in the oven," Jody said affably. She drank some coffee and took a couple of cookies from the plate she'd put in the middle of the table.

"Yeah, but you're not showing, yet," Sam pointed out.

Jody paused. Actually, that was true. "You could be on to something, there," she said. "I could go there and tell her that I'm desperate for a baby. I'll say it's too risky to have one at my age. I'll dress up fancy and flash some jewelry around, and I'll imply that money is no object. That'll open up some channels of communication, I'm sure." She smiled. "I'm pretty excited about this. It's been ages since I've gone undercover."

"OK, it's settled," Sam said.

"Hey, whoa," Frank said, putting his hand up. "Are you sure you want to do this, Jodes? You're supposed to be resting."

She gave him a withering look. "I think I can handle a few stairs and a conversation, Frank," she told him. "Maybe, when I get as big as this house, I'll laze around in bed. But until then, I'm glad to have something to do."

"Hey, how did Rob take the news when you told him?" Sam asked her.

"He was actually pretty chill about the whole thing," Jody said, smiling. "Said he thought it was cool, and he was looking forward to having a little brother or sister."

"But he didn't say anything about coming back?" Sam persisted.

"No, but we don't necessarily want him to, Sam," Jody said frankly. "The whole idea of him going in the first place was for him to get a taste of a different kind of life. I have to ferment for nearly nine months, anyway. Let him get a year of school under his belt, and we'll see where we're at next spring."

Sam nodded. Seemed like a pretty sensible approach to him.

"Will you stay for supper, Sam?" Jody asked him now. "I've got a couple of steaks defrosting. I can throw on three potatoes and some fresh veggies."

"I don't know, Jodes," Sam said uneasily. "Maybe I should get back and see if Cas and Gail are back yet."

Frank and Jody exchanged a look. "Didn't Gabriel say he was gonna be there all night?" Frank asked him. "Come on, at least let us shove some food into your face before we kick you out the door."

Sam gave them a faint smile. He knew what these two were trying to do, and he loved them for it. "OK, I'll take you up on that, then," he said. "Thanks, you guys."

Frank stood up and went to the fridge. "Beer?"

Cas and Gail approached Abel hesitantly. Surreal didn't even begin to cover it. He was sitting under a tree, watching as his flock grazed out in the field. He looked up as he saw them. Funnily enough, he didn't seem all that surprised to see them.

"Hello," Abel said, rising to his feet.

Gail gaped at him. He looked totally different from Cas on the surface, yet she could tell that this was her husband. Of course, she had caught a glimpse of him as Abel before. When Cas had first brought her here, revealing his true identity to her, Abel's was the face she'd initially seen. Then Cas had waved his hand, substituting his and Crowley's faces for Abel's and Cain's, so that she would comprehend what she was seeing.

"Hello," Cas said to Abel. If Gail thought she was freaked out, she should walk a mile in his sandals. Had he ever really looked like that? The vessel he was wearing now had been him for so long now that it was strange to see himself in his original human form.

"We come to beg a favour," Castiel said to Abel. "We have lost a family member, and you can help us to get him back."

"I'll be glad to help you," Abel said, smiling gently. "I'm a shepherd. I'm an expert at tracking down strays."

Gail smiled. Creation's First Family was proving to be a lot more amusing than she thought they would be. Maybe not as funny as her or Frank but considering the lack of pop culture references they had to work with, they weren't bad at all.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Cas said in the same mild tone as Abel was using. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you for a couple of drops of your blood."

Abel said nothing for a moment, and then he smiled. "All right," he agreed. Then he looked at Gail. "If you'll hold my hand."

She looked back at him, her lips twitching. Was he flirting with her? She looked at Cas. "This is both the weirdest, and the cutest, thing you and I have ever been through together," she told him. She moved over to Abel's side, and he took her hand. "I have always loved you, and I always will," Abel said to Gail, smiling gently down at her.

Cas pricked Abel's finger and collected the blood in one of the glass vials his father Adam had given him. Strangely, Adam hadn't seemed surprised to see his son, either. He had embraced Cas and kissed him on both cheeks, then given him the vials without any additional comment. Now Castiel was certain that Gail had been right. This whole thing seemed preordained by God. How glad Cas was that he had listened to her. He really did need to get that laminated card, he thought with wry amusement. Cas made a mental note to himself to tell her that, once they got Dean back, and everything was all right again.

"Thank you," Cas said to Abel. "Now, can you kindly tell us where Cain might be?"

"I'll take you to him," Abel offered. "But I warn you, he might be a little less cooperative than I have been."

"That's what Mother said," Cas remarked with a smile. Then he looked at Gail, and his smile faded. "Maybe you should stay here," he said to her.

Gail opened her mouth to protest, and then she closed it again, shrugging. What did she care? She had no particular desire to see Cain, especially now that she knew the truth about what had happened in the Garden. If it had been anybody else, she might have given them the benefit of the doubt or reasoned that it had happened so long ago that she could give them a bit of a break. Eve had said that he'd been a young boy, and they all knew that Lucifer had been very persuasive. But this was Crowley, and Gail could just bet he hadn't needed much persuading to do something bad. Maybe she was just biased. Six of one, half dozen of the other.

"Okay, sweetie," Gail said, and Cas did a double-take, likely in surprise at her lack of protest. She smiled at that. "I'll just sit here under this tree until you get back, then."

Cas gave her a quick kiss and a squeeze, and then he and Abel walked away. Gail sat down on the soft grass under the tree, enjoying the cool shade it provided. The sheep were still peacefully grazing in the meadow, and every once in a while, one or two of them would make a gentle bleating sound. Gail thought about Cas as Abel, tending his flock all those years ago. No wonder he'd liked the serenity of the Secret Garden so much, amongst all that sensory input in Las Vegas. And there was definitely something to be said for the peace and quiet of this place, and this kind of life. They had been through so much violence and bloodshed. Couldn't they just stay here for a little while longer, together? She closed her eyes. Wouldn't that be nice?

"It sure would," the snake said.

Gail opened her eyes, startled. She looked up, and a striped serpent was winding its way down the tree trunk. Oh, come on, she thought. They had to be kidding with this! Had she fallen asleep?

"Angels don't sleep, honey," the snake said. "I absolutely think you and Cas should stay here. The two of you would be really happy here. No more blood. No more death. Earth is a really violent place, isn't it? And I wasn't your only enemy there. Deep down, you know there's a lot more heartache to come, don't you? Wouldn't you rather just hang out here, with Cas and his parents? You'd finally be receiving that unconditional love you've been searching for, your whole life. His family would do anything for you, Gail. Look what Eve did for Cain. That little brat gobbled the fruit down, then asked for seconds. All I did was merely point it out and remind him that he shouldn't be eating it. That was all the incentive that little hellion needed. And, let's face it, your own parents hate your guts. Both sets of them. There's every reason in the world for you to want to stay here. No one'd blame you." Lucifer was putting his considerable skills of persuasion to use now. If he could somehow get her to talk Cas into staying here, he'd get a do-over.

"Leave her alone." A man's voice, coming from behind the tree. Gail sprang to her feet. She whirled around to see a bearded man in robes, walking around the tree. He was looking up at the snake warily.

"You stay out of this," the serpent sneered. "I'm talking to Gail, here."

The man withdrew a knife from the folds of his robes. "I helped her kill you a short few days ago. I'd be happy to do so again," he said to the snake.

"And Castiel is the one they call Major Buzzkill," Lucifer quipped. But he slithered back up the tree, and then he disappeared.

"Thank you," Gail said to Cain. He looked at her coolly. "I didn't do it for you, sweetheart," Cain replied. "I did it for me. He got us kicked out of Eden, and he's been nothing but a thorn in my side ever since."

"Get away from her!" Castiel exclaimed. He and Abel had doubled back to the clearing after discovering that Cain wasn't where he was supposed to be.

Cas rushed forward, standing in front of Gail. Cain smirked. "Relax, Brother. We were only talking. The real threat just went slithering up that tree."

"I'm fine, Cas," Gail assured her husband.

"Well, when I see him with a knife in his hand, I tend to get a little nervous," Cas said, frowning. He took Gail's hand.

"It looks like you've done all right for yourself," Cain said to Cas. "I don't know why you're getting your knickers in a knot."

"Really? You don't?" Cas said, and for a welcome change, Cain made no retort. "You have been the cause of so many problems for me, right from the very Beginning," Castiel continued, glaring at Cain. "I am doing my level best not to just reach out and strangle you with my bare hands right now."

"Go ahead," Cain said coolly. "If you want to change the course of history. Would there even have been any Winchesters, then? And surely, Abel would have been far too meek to ever speak to Sarah, let alone propose to her. Or, would Gail have been born at all, if our Father decided not to bother sending her to be your mate? Perhaps it's me He would have showered the blessings on, then, and you would be the one who is the pariah. Care to try out the theory?"

Cas was still angry, but of course, Crowley was right. Everything he was describing could very well come to pass, and then, where would Cas be? His temper had cost him plenty in the past. There was no way he was going to risk everything he held dear now.

Cas took a deep breath, then let it out. Gail looked at him proudly. She realized how hard it had been for him to put a lid on his temper. If she thought she was angry at Crowley, she could only imagine how it felt to be Cas. Crowley had been messing up his life since time began. Literally.

Abel had looked a little puzzled at this whole exchange, but he spoke up now, telling Cain that Cas and Gail had come looking for assistance. Cain looked at the couple, and then he looked scornfully at Abel. "And I suppose you opened up a vein for them, Brother?"

"I gave them some blood, yes," Abel replied calmly. "They were in need."

Cain smirked again. "It's a good thing you're not a woman, or you'd be the loosest harlot in town." He looked at Cas. "You'll find I'm not that easy. What will you do for me, if I give you my precious life's fluid?"

Cas's eyes narrowed. "Are you actually trying to strike up a bargain with me? Me?! Here, of all places?" he exclaimed, his voice rising.

Cain was silent for a moment, and then he gave Cas a slight tip of the head. "All right," he said. "I suppose that's fair enough." Cas moved forward, but Cain held his hand up. "No," he said. "I want Gail to do it. She'll be a lot more gentle than you, and she'll take just the amount you need, and no more."

Gail smiled inwardly. Crowley obviously hadn't seen her in action when the death squads had been roving around Europe. Bobby, Sam and Dean would be only too glad to tell him how "gentle" she had been then. Her heart sank to her stomach. Dean. There he was again. Every time she turned around, there he was.

She stretched out her hand for the splinter of wood that Cas had used to prick Abel's finger, and for the other vial. Cain offered her his hand, and she collected his blood, then gave the vial to Cas. "Thank you," Gail said to Cain, and he gave her a dip of the head in acknowledgement.

Then Cas looked from Abel to Cain, and back again. There was so much he wanted to say to them, but he was afraid that anything he might say at this point could have ramifications in the future. So, rather than take the chance, he thanked them both, took Gail's hand, and led her away from there.

The next morning in Lebanon, Kansas dawned sunny and warm.

Jody was looking in the mirror, smoothing out her dress. She couldn't remember the last time she'd worn an actual dress, aside from her wedding dress. Luckily, this one still fit. Although the way she was eating, it probably wouldn't, soon.

She came downstairs and rooted around in the closet for some heels. "You look really nice, Jodes," Sam said, coming out into the hallway from the kitchen. "I don't remember the last time I saw you so dressed up."

"Thanks, Sam," she said, slipping into her shoes. She took a couple of tentative steps, and then she grimaced. "And now, I remember why. Heels are a young woman's game. Although between you and me, I think my feet are a little swollen. Unlike certain people, I'm willing to admit it if I get a little bigger."

"I have no idea who you could be talking about," Frank said huffily. He and Chuck had come out to the hallway to see if she was ready to go.

Jody picked up her purse. She gave Frank a kiss on the cheek. "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" he asked his wife.
"We talked about that," Jody said, pursing her lips. "Don't make me remind you that I was a Sheriff."

"Yeah, but you weren't pregnant, then," he countered.

"Haven't you ever seen Fargo?" Chuck wisecracked.

Frank looked at the Angel. "OK, number one, I'll do the joking around here. And number two, that's my baby she's carrying."

"It doesn't make sense, from an investigational standpoint," Jody said to her husband. "I'm supposed to be a wealthy woman, looking to buy a baby. What if she happens to look out the window, and sees you? The fake FBI agent? Then she'll know it's a setup. As it is, I'm hoping she won't smell 'cop' as soon as I walk in the door. But don't worry, I have a Plan B, just in case things get hinky." She opened her purse and showed Frank the gun she had in it.

Frank smiled slowly. "You're gonna be the best mom, ever."

Chuck rolled his eyes. And people called Cas and Gail weird. "OK, well, if you're ready to go, Jody, then I'll take you over there. You guys are gonna be at the bunker, I take it?" he said to the men. They had finally come clean with Chuck this morning about what Cas and Gail were really doing, feeling they had no choice. He didn't let on that he had already known.

"Yeah," Sam said. "Frank's going to drive me over there. We went there last night after supper when you went upstairs for your nap, but Gabriel shooed us away. He said to come back in the morning. So, Frank and Jody were good enough to put me up for the night."

"Was Bobby there?" Chuck asked them.

Sam frowned. "Nope. I haven't seen him since the memorial service."

"Should we be worried?" Jody said, her forehead wrinkling.

Sam thought for a moment. "I don't know. I know he took Dean's death really hard. I guess we just have to let him mourn." But Sam was uncomfortable now. Should they maybe have let Bobby in on the scheme from the very beginning? But that would have defeated the whole purpose of keeping it quiet, in case it didn't work. Bobby wasn't a young man any more though, and now, he had gone off the grid. These thoughts kept bouncing back and forth in Sam's head. Maybe he would ask Frank what he thought, on their drive to the bunker.

Bobby opened his eyes slowly, and he winced. One of them had left a crack in the drapes last night, and the sun was staring directly in his face.

"Ro, can you shut the damn curtain?" he growled. Nothing. He rolled over slowly, but she wasn't there. He cursed and got out of bed, stalking over to the window. He yanked the drape shut, then put a hand to his head. His skull was pounding.

Rowena came out from the bathroom, dressed in a silk robe. "What are you doing out of bed?" she asked him.

Bobby made a gesture to the window, but it seemed like too much of an effort to explain. So he climbed back into bed and lay there, groaning.

"You just lie there and rest, for a bit," Rowena said soothingly. "I'll call downstairs in a few minutes and order the Bloody Marys. Would you like some Eggs Benedict, dearie? You've got to eat something. That's why you're feeling so rough all the time."

"I'm feeling so rough because I'm at the bottom of a bottle," Bobby retorted. "And because I'm about two hundred damn years old, and because my boy is dead. I'm feeling like crap because I feel like crap, Ro."

"I know," she said softly. She got into bed beside him and kissed him on the forehead. "You're grieving, Bobby. It's totally understandable."

"I should go to the bunker and see how Sam is doing," Bobby said sadly. "It wasn't fair to him to just take off like I did."

"From what I can tell, he's got plenty of support," Rowena sniffed disdainfully. "He's got God's Holy Angels to tuck him in and give him warm milk to drink." She took Bobby's hand and put it on her breast. "Don't you like the way I've been tucking you in, instead? I know which one I'd prefer."

Bobby gave her a perfunctory squeeze, but then he took his hand back. He wasn't feeling nearly healthy enough yet to think of anything like that. "They'll be worrying about me," he insisted. "I just took off, and I wouldn't tell anybody where I was going."

"Good," Rowena said tartly. "Our relationship is none of their business, anyway. If you ask me, it's Castiel's fault that your Dean is dead."

Bobby sat up, even though the sudden action made his head feel like it was going to split wide open. "What?!" he exclaimed. "Why would you say that?"

"Think about it," she said calmly. "Castiel is the one who ran that whole operation. He got the Tablets, and he was the one who set that whole thing up. You didn't see him sacrificing himself to get rid of Lucifer, did you? Better still, why not my son? No, it had to be a Winchester. And, why? Because Castiel said so?"

"Yeah. He said that Metatron and Crowley both said that it was the only way to build the cage. And Cas checked it, too, just to make sure. That's what it said. They all agreed," Bobby insisted.

"So, let's see. Metatron is dead, and my son is the King of Hell, and a notorious liar. That brings us back to Castiel, doesn't it?" Rowena said slyly.

"That's bull," Bobby said harshly. "Dean was Cas's best friend."

Rowena laughed shortly. "And yet, he allowed Dean to die, and poor Sam to kill him," she pointed out. "That doesn't sound like a very good friend to me." She eased herself out of bed. "I'll call for those Bloody Marys now, and I'll get them to send up some breakfast, too. Oh, and I have a lovely bottle of Irish Creme in my bag that we can use in our coffee. Soon you'll be right as rain. And then, we'll see what else develops."

Bobby laid back, closing his eyes. He needed to feel better before he even could consider doing anything, one way or the other. Rowena smiled as she called room service. She would have to give him an extra dose today. Apparently, Bobby's conscience was doing battle with her potion. But, no matter. Bobby had no cell phone, and nobody knew that he was here at the hotel with her. That was, if they even cared. Soon, Bobby would be hers, again.

Cathy was looking at Jody speculatively. This woman looked the type, all right. She was nicely dressed, and she was of a certain age.

"I could give you a couple of spells that might work and sell you a few charms to place around the house," she told Jody. "They aren't guaranteed, of course, but they have been known to work."

"How long would all of that take, though?" Jody asked, frowning. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly a young woman any more. And I don't mind telling you: I'm desperate, here. My husband and I have been trying for years, and nothing's worked. I can assure you, money's no object. I'm not supposed to say which one, but my husband's family owns one of the Top 10 companies listed in Fortune 500 magazine. He wants an heir, and I want a baby. If there's anything you could suggest to expedite the process, we'd be happy to make it worth your while."

Cathy sat back in her chair, considering. This was starting to sound familiar. She remembered back to a time when a blonde woman named Christina had entered this office, desperate for a baby. That was when the whole mess had started.

VIGNETTE - NOBODY'S CHILD

Christina patted her hair and smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress before entering the office. This had to work. It just had to. She had no idea what else to do at this point.

Frank was due to enter Kindergarten very soon, and then Christina would be home all day, all alone. What on earth would she do with her time, then? Frank would be going to school and making new friends, and she would be forgotten. Christina had tried and tried to catch pregnant again shortly after Frank's birth, but it hadn't happened. How lovely it would be to have a little girl. Frank was a bright and adventurous boy, but when the time came, he would be trained to follow in his father's footsteps. If Christina could have a sweet little girl, she could dress her up and teach her how to be a real lady. Jim was supportive of Christina's desire to have another baby, but he had his day job, and many nights, he Hunted. He was gone from the house quite a bit, leaving her there all alone.

Hopefully, there would be some help here, with this woman. Christina had been at the supermarket a few days ago, and she'd seen the ad on the bulletin board. Cathy Scanlon, Wiccan. Specializing in herbs and holistic medicines to promote fertility. Christina had taken one of the tabs with Cathy's phone number on it and put it in her purse. She'd kept it there for a couple of days while she'd pondered whether or not to call it. Wiccan. Christina knew that was some kind of a witch, but she believed it was the benign kind. So she'd asked Jim about it, saying she'd heard the term on a TV show, and he had laughed. He'd told her a Wiccan was a "white witch"; a harmless individual, usually a woman, who utilized herbs and crystals and good intentions to help people achieve their goals. Jim was of the opinion that it was all a bunch of nonsense, but if it made people happy, he didn't have a problem with it.

So she had screwed up the nerve and called for an appointment, and now, here she was. Christina sat down across the desk from Cathy and explained her situation, and Cathy smiled.

"I get that a lot," she told Christina. "That's why I put my ad up in the supermarket. I've helped out lots of ladies in your same situation."

"What do you do, exactly?" Christina asked her.

"I'll give you a couple of herbs to take. And I have a recipe for a smoothie you can try."

Christina's forehead wrinkled. "That's it? I was hoping for more."

Cathy looked at her cautiously. "Well, there's also a spell I can give you to say. But not everyone believes in those things."

"I don't care what I have to do," Christina said earnestly. "Anything. I'll do whatever you say."

So Cathy had given her the herbs and the spell, and she'd sent Christina on her way. But then, her ex-brother-in-law had called her a short time later.

"I've got another one I need to unload," he'd told her abruptly. "Have you got any viable clients lined up?"

"It's funny you should say that," Cathy had remarked. She told him about Christina, and he'd nodded approvingly. "Sounds perfect," he'd said. "This one's a girl."

"I don't think she's got a lot of money, though," Cathy had said.

"I don't care," he'd replied. "I want to get rid of this one as soon as possible."

Cathy couldn't help but wonder for the umpteenth time what had been left out of this man. What could he possibly have against a tiny infant? Had the baby spit up on him, or something? Pooped at an inconvenient time, maybe? She'd felt a giggle bubbling up in her throat, but she'd better not laugh. No, he wouldn't like that at all.

"Give this woman a call and tell her to come to your office at 7 a.m. tomorrow," he'd directed her. "I'll give her the baby then. Tell her to bring a cheque made out to cash for...say, five thousand dollars. If she squeaks, you can knock it down to two or three, or even a thousand. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Then he'd hung up. When Vincent was finished talking, there was nothing more to be said. Cathy shook her head slowly. He must really want to get rid of this one. He was practically giving the baby away. So she had picked up the phone and called Christina, and given her Vincent's instructions.

"Seven a.m.?" Christina had repeated, startled.

"Yes," Cathy replied. "Is there a problem? I can call another client, if you can't make it."

"No!" Christina had cried out, panicked. "No, I'll be there."

And she had made it work. Jim usually left the house about 7:30 in the morning, while she would stay home with Frank, who was due to start Kindergarten in a couple of weeks. Christina could leave Frank with the neighbours for a while, but she would need to leave much earlier in order to be at Cathy's on time. So when Jim came home that evening, she'd told him that there were doorcrasher sales downtown on school supplies, and she had to leave the house early in the morning to get the best deals. Jim had smiled at his wife. Anything for Master Frank, he'd agreed with some humour.

Jim had dressed early the next morning and kissed Christina goodbye as she left the house. Then he had fed Frank his breakfast, taken him to the neighbours', and then left early for work. Jim was a travelling salesman who had a local territory, but he did go into the office from time to time, to get new leads and hand in his reports. It was from this job that his income was derived, the one that paid the mortgage and fed and clothed the family. But his true vocation, and his passion, was Hunting. That was why Jim had gotten a job where he could be on the road on a regular basis. His wife understood that, and she gave him the freedom to be who he was. She asked for so little in return, so he was happy to help her out. And Jim had wanted to start their son off on the right foot when he went to school.

So Christina was able to make her early appointment, and she had brought a cheque for two thousand dollars, which was all the extra money she had managed to save in the years since Frank was born. Luckily, she already had school supplies for Frank, and what she didn't have, she was sure she could borrow. But this sounded like her opportunity, and she didn't intend to miss it.

"Have a seat," Cathy had told her, and she had gone to the back to let Vincent know that the client was here.

He was standing in the storeroom, holding the infant as if she were a nuclear bomb. The laugh bubbled up in Cathy again. Apparently, Vincent wasn't a "kid person". But Cathy thought the baby was adorable. She was a wee little thing, with wide, bright eyes and a shock of dark hair on her head. When Cathy looked at the baby, the baby looked back at her, as if she understood everything that Cathy was saying. Then the baby would look at Vincent when he spoke, as if she were following the entire conversation. Cathy thought it was so cute. This was obviously a very intelligent child, already. Christina was getting an absolute bargain, as far as Cathy was concerned.

She reached out to take the baby, but to her surprise, Vincent said, "Make yourself scarce for a bit. Go down to the corner and get a coffee, or something. I want to talk to this woman before I hand it to her."

Wow. He was cold, all right. The baby was squirming a little in Vincent's arms now, as if sensing his distaste for her. Cathy chucked the infant under the chin with her finger, and then she stroked her soft cheek. The baby laughed, making Cathy smile. "What's her name?" Cathy couldn't help but ask.

"Her mother named her Gail," Vincent said impatiently.

Cathy wanted to ask so many other questions. Who was the baby's mother, and why was she giving Gail up? And how was Vincent involved? Where did all those babies he'd brought in here for Cathy to sell come from?

Vincent was a tall, imposing man with dark hair and dark eyes, and he was using the latter to glare at her now. "I can see all those questions rattling around in there. You can have one more, and then I expect you to leave," he said.

"Who is the baby's father, and where did she come from?" Cathy blurted out.

"Technically, that's two questions," Vincent said with a raised eyebrow. Cathy examined his face. Was he joking? She honestly couldn't tell. "I am her father," Vincent stated. "And if her mother wasn't what she is, she could possibly have kept the baby."

"'What she is'? What do you mean?" Cathy asked curiously.

"I said: one question. And if you don't leave in the next fifteen seconds, you're going to wish you had," Vincent said ominously, his expression growing dark.

Cathy turned on her heel and left the room immediately. She'd seen Vincent angry before, and she didn't ever want to see that again. She didn't even stop to pick up her purse from the desk drawer. She hurried past a very confused Christina and left the office.

Vincent came out to the front. "You must be Christina," he said to Frank's mother. She looked up at him from her seated position. He was a good-looking man with dark features and a pleasant enough expression, but there was just something about him that was immediately intimidating.

But the instant Christina laid her eyes on the baby, she forgot all about the man. Gail was squirming in Vincent's arms again, and her chubby little arms were reaching out towards Christina, almost as if she were asking to be held by her. Gail's birth mother had blonde hair, too; was it possible that she was reacting to that fact? Or did she sense the evil aura that was emanating from her father?

"Cathy tells me that you want a baby girl," Vincent said, approaching Christina. She stood from her chair so he wouldn't tower over her quite so much. But even when she stood, he seemed so much taller than her.

"I can let you have this one, but I just wanted to tell you that this is a very special baby," Vincent continued calmly.

"Well, of course she is," Christina cooed, smiling. "You can tell that just by looking at her. She's beautiful."

Vincent smirked inwardly. Yeah, right. Whatever. Babies were just blobs to him, the unfortunate byproduct of an activity he enjoyed doing very much. It was kind of like eating a delicious seven-course meal but having to suffer through the inevitable trip to the bathroom afterwards. Why nearly every woman alive wanted one was beyond Vincent. Fortunately, he'd formed this alliance with his ex-sister-in-law, and it had solved that problem. He could get rid of anything he might sire and make a little money in the bargain. And if the brood mare he screwed happened to raise an objection, it would be her last. Fortunately, Gail's mother had been far too cowed to say anything. Abigail had been an interesting experiment for Vincent. It was the first time he'd ever lain with a woman who had powers of her own, and the resultant baby had practically come out of the womb doing impossible things. The kid was much too smart for a newborn, and Vincent had no idea what it might be capable of when it got a bit older. He might have just been inclined to leave this one with the mother, then, had it not been for the fact that the mother was batshit crazy.

He shoved the baby into Christina's arms. She was a little surprised by his haste, but she cuddled the infant, talking softly to her. Baby Gail looked up at Christina with those wide eyes, and then she smiled, and Christina was in love.

But she looked up at Vincent warily. There was something about this man that made Christina uneasy. "Where did she come from?" she asked him. "What's her name?"

"Her name is Gail," Vincent replied. He smirked inwardly. Abigail had asked him if she could name the baby, and he had allowed it. But then, she couldn't make her mind up as to what to call it. So he told her that she had fifteen seconds to give him an answer, and she'd blurted out "Gail", because it was a short form of her own name. Some people had no imagination, he thought scornfully. "I'm an adoption broker," Vincent lied. "I'm here to make sure these unwanted children get good homes." Right. Like he cared.

"Oh, I can assure you, we'll give her an excellent home," Christina said eagerly.

Vincent reached out, pretending as if he wanted to touch the baby's head. But he grazed Christina's arm on purpose, just to read her. He didn't shock easily, but his eyes widened a little. She was the wife of a Hunter? He almost grabbed the child back from her, but then he thought about it. Did it really matter? Still, he didn't need anyone nosing around here asking questions, so he said, "Look into my eyes."

Christina looked, and Vincent said, "You will tell your husband that you found the baby on the doorstep of your house. If he asks you any further questions, you will become hysterical, and accuse him of not wanting you to be happy. Is that understood?" Vincent grinned. He had yet to meet the man who could withstand that kind of question coming from his wife. That ought to put the kibosh on any investigation that Jim might have in mind. And if he persisted, there was always young Frank. By that brief touch alone, Vincent knew all about Christina's family, and what buttons he could push to get them to bend to his will, if need be.

"Yes, it's understood," Christina said, dazed.

Then Vincent broke eye contact, and Christina stepped back from him. "I have the cheque in my purse," she told him.

"Keep it," Vincent said, smiling. "I enjoy nothing more than placing babies with deserving families." And this family was deserving, all right; deserving of all the trouble that Baby Gail was going to bring. But Vincent didn't want any red flags to be raised, so Christina could keep her money, and then Jim wouldn't notice the big hole in their savings account. "OK, you can leave, now," he said to her.

Christina looked at him quizzically. "But..."

"Yes? What?" Vincent said impatiently.

"I don't have anything to put her in," Christina said to him. "Don't you have a stroller, or something?"

Vincent looked at her. He hadn't thought of anything like that. Neither had Gail's mother, obviously. When he'd gone over there to take the child, Abigail had had the baby lying in a bureau drawer, amongst a bunch of thick sweaters. No crib, nothing. It looked comfortable enough, but it wouldn't have surprised him one bit if he found out that Abigail had closed the drawer absently and forgotten about the baby altogether. The kid should be thanking him.

"You're going to be her mother now," he snapped at Christina. "That kind of thing is up to you to figure out."

"But how am I supposed to get her home?" Christina persisted. "It's not safe to ride the bus with her like this."

Vincent rolled his eyes. Save him from these women. It was bad enough that they popped these things out in the most disgusting way imaginable, but after that, the maintenance never stopped. "Fine. Wait here."

He went into the back and looked around. There must be something here he could - He snapped his fingers. Cathy had a basket in the washroom that she used for towels, and those fancy-smelling soaps that women liked so much. He rushed in there and dumped out the soaps, but left a towel lining the bottom.

Vincent brought the basket back out and slammed it on the desk. "Put it in there, then get out. Don't make me regret this."

So Christina laid Gail gently in the basket and pulled a couple of corners of the towel over the infant to swaddle her, as best she could. She wished she had something to strap the baby in. But this man was looking almost murderous now, so Christina grabbed her purse, put it awkwardly over her shoulder, and grabbed the basket with both hands. She made it as far as the door, and then she realized she had no way of opening it.

Vincent smirked, letting her ponder that for a moment. Then he waggled a couple of fingers, and the door opened. Christina scurried out.

Vincent went over to Cathy's desk and sat down behind it. He waved his hand, and everything flew off the surface of the desk. Then he put his feet up on the desk and leaned back. There. One less hassle. Let the Hunter and his wife deal with her now. Abigail had been forbidden to try to contact whatever family Gail ended up with. He'd had to give her that warning because, among other things, Abigail was a genuine psychic. Like him, she could touch someone and find out all their secrets. Not him, though, of course. Vincent was a very special, powerful individual. When he had bedded Abigail, he could feel her trying to probe him, but he had shut that down, pronto. Nobody was going to find out Vincent's secrets, not if he didn't want to divulge them. Anyway, even if Abigail were to find out where their daughter was, she wouldn't dare try to see her. She knew what he could do to her if she defied him. And Abigail was a simp, a passive ball of nothing. If Vincent had ever possessed any desire at all to take a wife, it certainly wouldn't have been her. She came across as sweet and soft-spoken, but Abigail was one crazy woman, that was for sure.

Vincent would keep an eye on the situation, though. There may come a day when that family would need reminding who the boss really was in this arrangement. Baby Gail had already shown signs of maturing way past her chronological age, and it wouldn't be long before she would start to exhibit some special abilities. He would have to make sure her adoptive family didn't turn the spotlight on him when that happened.

Christina raced over to the neighbours' place and picked Frank up. When she let them back into the house, she looked down at her son and said, "There's someone I'd like you to meet." She brought Frank into the living room and showed him the baby.

"This is your sister, Gail," she told little Frank. He moved forward and looked down into the basket, his jaw dropping in amazement. Frank was young himself, of Kindergarten age, and he had no idea where babies came from. His dad had told him his mother had gone out shopping this morning. This must be what she had gone shopping for.

The baby was staring calmly at Frank, and he was a little freaked out by it. He stretched his hand out slowly to touch the infant. Gail's tiny hand grabbed his finger, and Frank smiled. Then Gail smiled. Frank tickled her chin with his other hand, and she laughed.

"Hi, Gail," he said. "I'm Frank. I'm your big brother."

She made a gurgling sound as if she were trying to talk, and Frank smiled again.

Christina was over the moon. Now, her family was complete. Jim could train Frank how to Hunt and carry on the family legacy, and Christina would have her girl. They could cook and sew and bake together. It was going to be so great.

Later, when Jim got home, Christina told him the story of how she had come home from shopping to find Gail on the doorstep, in this basket. There had been no note, and she hadn't seen anyone.

Jim frowned. This was too weird. It was like something you'd see in the movies. Plus, it was just a little too convenient. She'd been wanting a baby girl, and here was a baby girl. Jim sent Frank upstairs to play, and then he eyed his wife suspiciously.

"Are you telling me the truth?" Jim asked her.

Christina's heart started beating faster. "Yes, of course. Of course I am, Jim."

"You haven't been messing around with anything you shouldn't?" Jim persisted. "Witchcraft?" His expression darkened. "Demons?"

"No, Jim, it was nothing like that, I promise you!" she told him, putting her hand on his arm. "I know better than that."

But Jim still didn't like it. "I just think it's awfully convenient, Chris," he said. "I'm going to do an investigation. We've got some other neighbours that are home during the day. I'll canvass the street and see if anybody saw anything."

"No, don't, Jim! Please!" Christina clutched at her husband. She started to cry. She didn't even have to manufacture the tears, as Vincent had instructed. She was just so afraid that Jim would find out the truth and take the baby away. "I never ask you for anything, Jim, but I'm asking you for this. There's a sweet little baby girl in that basket who doesn't have a home, and I want her to have one here. Take a look at her and tell me that she isn't the cutest little thing you've ever seen. And she's such a happy baby. She hasn't cried once since she's been here."

Jim looked at the baby. He had to admit that she was as cute as anything. She looked up at him with her wide, dark eyes, and then she yawned widely, stretching her chubby little arms. Then she closed her eyes, and promptly fell asleep. Jim's heart melted. He guessed it didn't really matter where the baby had come from. As long as Christina swore to him that she hadn't been dabbling in anything supernatural, Jim supposed he could let it go. He could see how much it meant to his wife.

"All right, she can stay," Jim said. Christina threw her arms around his neck, and he gave her a squeeze, and a kiss on the cheek. Jim smiled. "I'll take the day off work tomorrow, and take you shopping for a proper crib, and some other supplies," he told his wife. Christina had never been happier in her life.

Cathy didn't know what had transpired between Vincent and Christina, of course. She'd come back from her walk to find Vincent sitting at her desk, looking at some of her files.

"There really is one born every minute, isn't there?" he'd said to her.

Cathy had bristled. She believed in holistic medicine, and the healing power of crystals. She provided a service for people, and she had helped many of them.

"I presume your business here is concluded?" she had asked him, tight-lipped.

Vincent threw the file he'd been reading down on the desk, smirking. He swung his legs off the desk and stood, coming around it to where she was. "You don't like me very much, do you?" he asked her.

She looked at him. What she wouldn't give to be able to tell him exactly what she thought about him. But she didn't dare. Vincent was a dangerous man at the best of times, but he was especially dangerous when he was smiling. She stood stock-still, not saying a word, and after a moment, he'd laughed, and then left her office.

Now, Cathy sat behind that same desk, looking at Jody. Considering her. "I'll tell you what," the Wiccan woman said to her. "Let's see if you're fertile, first. I have a test I can perform, and we'll see. Depending on what it shows, we can decide on a course of action. Okay?"

Jody's forehead wrinkled. "What kind of test?"

"Relax, it won't hurt," Cathy said briskly. "You won't even have to disrobe." She opened up her desk drawer and took out a triangular crystal on a chain. Then she stood and walked around the desk. "I'll wave this over you, and it'll tell me what I need to know."

Jody suppressed a grin. She had to be kidding with this. But she'd play along, for now. She was still trying to get a measure of Ms. Scanlon. The woman seemed a little skittish to Jody, like she had something to hide.

Cathy suspended the crystal over Jody's head, and a moment later, it started to wobble back and forth. Then it swung wildly from the right to the left, and back again.

"What are you trying to pull?" Cathy said in a harsh voice.

Jody looked up at her. "What do you mean?"

Cathy palmed the crystal and stepped back from Jody, folding her arms. "Did the police send you?"

Jody's heart sank, but she tried to brazen it out. "Why would you say that?"

"Because you're already pregnant," Cathy snapped.

"Well, that was quick," Jody quipped. "How much do I owe you?"

But Cathy wasn't amused. "Please get out of my office."

Jody rose and left the office immediately. There was no sense in sticking around, really. Damn crystals. Who knew that they actually worked? Or maybe Cathy was just very perceptive. But in any event, Jody's cover was blown now, and they were no further ahead. Crap.

She walked across the street. "Let's go home," she said to Chuck.