A/N: Thanks to all who followed and favorited this story! And thank you to my wonderful reviewers, for your encouragement! I'm so glad I'm able to post a chapter this weekend! I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think! :)
Chapter Twelve
"That is the last time I listen to your reasoning, Crowley."
The Moose was angry. As well he should be.
Crowley drew himself up, keeping his air of dignity about him. "At least he's not dead."
"But he could be."
"Well, he's not, so are we going to continue this mindless bickering or think of a Plan B for finding your rogue brother?"
Crowley hadn't actually thought Metatron was lying. But he knew Metatron was key. And if he was the only thing keeping Castiel alive, that was a problem. So, he convinced Sam that Metatron was lying. If he was, fantastic. Castiel didn't need him anymore. If he wasn't, which was evidently the case, and Castiel had kicked the bucket, well… Metatron would now be of no further use to Castiel. And they could still use him as bait.
But now that Castiel had survived his ordeal, things became infinitely more complicated for Crowley. He knew Dean was hunting him. He knew Dean would kill him. And the clock was ticking.
Sam had filled him in on their plan with the human, but Crowley thought it was rubbish. What had happened with Cain was a one-time-only sort of thing. There was no room in Dean's heart for love. He would gut the girl before getting to know her, much less love her.
He had explained these things to Sam, who he knew could see the logic in his reasoning. But it was the only plan they had to calm the Deanmon before finding a cure for him. Crowley supposed it was worth the shot. If he caught a fancy with the girl, great. If he killed her, well. They hadn't had much to lose in the first place.
Sam had stood, and was now pacing around the bunker. Crowley despised the place—Demon traps were everywhere, and his last visit here had been less than savory.
He finally sighed, annoyed at Sam's pointless frustrations.
"The dick angel doesn't even have to die," Crowley said. "He's only being used as bait."
"Yeah, and how often have things worked out for the bait in any situation?" Sam shot back.
There was a moment of silence before Crowley muttered, "Might be doing Castiel a favor."
Sam ceased his pacing. "What?"
Crowley raised his eyebrows. "Being chained to that angel for the rest of his life? I think he'd tire of it. Or die later on, anyway. I highly doubt Metatron is too keen on being Castiel's bunk buddy for all of eternity either."
Sam sighed, sitting back down and drawing his hands down his face.
"Do we have any other option?"
Crowley could think of another one. He wasn't going to be as daft as to bring it up, however. Sam was right—when has anything ever worked out for the bait? "Dean desperately wants to kill Metatron," he said.
"Yeah, he also wants to kill you."
Drat. Sam had caught on. "Don't even let the thought cross your mind," Crowley warned.
But it had, Crowley saw. Sam sat in his chair, thinking. He suddenly straightened, and the alert look on his face told Crowley he'd come up with something.
"Idiot… why didn't you think of this?" Sam said, jabbing a finger at Crowley.
Crowley felt his feathers had been ruffled. "Probably because it's the most stupid idea in the history of stupid ideas."
"Use me," he said, stretching his arms. "Use me as bait."
Crowley narrowed his eyes. Sam continued.
"You don't want Dean to kill you."
"That would be ideal."
"So capture me. Torture me. Spread the word that you have me tied up somewhere. He'll come to you. Make a deal with him. Tell him you'll let me go if he'll leave you alone. I can talk to him."
Crowley stood. "I was right. That idea is beyond stupid, even for you, Sam."
"How so?" Sam stood, following Crowley into the kitchen, who helped himself to a glass of whiskey.
"Because Dean bloody won't make a deal with me, he'll kill me!" Crowley growled, swirling his drink.
"No, he won't," Sam insisted.
"You don't understand the power he has! He could take out a demon in the blink of an eye."
Sam seemed to be reconsidering his plan, but then his eyes lit up. "We'll revise this, then. Crowley—is there a way to connect my life to yours?"
Crowley frowned, and took a swig of his drink. "What do you mean?"
"As protection. Can you tie our lives together so that if you die, I die too?"
Crowley considered Sam for several moments. "You're serious?"
Sam nodded. "I am. As long as," he added, "we can break it after we get Dean to Candi."
Crowley considered this. He couldn't think of a better protection, assuming Dean believed it. Yes, this could work.
He stuck out his hand, and Sam clasped it in his. Crowley grinned. "Deal."
Candi had waited too long for this. She dipped her feet into the water, feeling the cold chill up her legs, giving her goose bumps. She closed her eyes, feeling the breeze cool her face, and listened to the crashing of the surf.
It was a cloudy day, and looked like it might rain later. But that was alright.
Candi finally had an evening off. And she wanted to spend it doing her favorite thing in the whole wide world.
She pulled off her shirt, revealing her red swimsuit underneath. She set it next to her shoes, and took a deep breath. Time to lose herself in the water.
The initial shock of the cold quickly subsided as the water engulfed her. Silence except for the swirl of seawater sounded in her ears. She opened her eyes. Yes, there wasn't much to see. But the feeling was what she loved most.
She'd never dreamed much of flying. But swimming… it was almost the same thing.
Her father used to call her a mermaid. "Runs in the family," he would chuckle. "We were born with a love for the sea."
She would imagine it, her feet turning into fins, enabling her to cut through the water and become one with the sea. She would never have to come up for air. She could just keep swimming and never stop.
She had given up the mermaid fantasy long ago, but even now, nothing filled her with greater peace and joy than swimming at the dock closest to her old home.
Unfortunately, the lighthouse was also just a half mile away, and Candi had no desire to run into Gabe again.
But for now, she set those thoughts aside, and simply swam around in the ocean. Under its depths she thought she could hear her father's voice, his laugh.
She broke the surface, and laid on her back, closing her eyes and drifting in the water.
She startled when something pulled on her leg, nearly taking her under. She began treading water, on high alert. Something grabbed both of her legs, and tugged. She grabbed a lungful of air before she felt water fill her ears. She was only under for a few seconds when something grabbed her arms and helped her up to the surface.
Candi shook the hair out of her face and blinked, trying to get a focus on who was grinning idiotically at her.
Her heart rate spiked when she saw who it was.
"Isaac!" she yelled.
His large smile made his sparking blue eyes almost crinkle closed. His sandy blonde hair looked light brown now that it was wet. He laughed. "Knew I'd find you out here, Can-Can."
She couldn't even describe how much she hated that nick name.
"You freaked me out!" she said, splashing him in the face with water. He whipped his head to the side, his ridiculously good-looking hair flopping with it.
"Hey!" He splashed her back, but lightly.
She backed away from him a little bit. He was way too close. "You're back for the summer," she stated.
"Yep. Would've been here sooner, but Mom had some important work to get done first, and I had a tennis tournament."
"You play tennis now?"
He shrugged. "It's a sport."
Isaac was a definite sport fanatic. He would try anything as mellow as golf or as intense as rugby. And it showed. As he tread in front of her, she noticed how well-defined his muscles were in his chest and arms. But Isaac had always been like that.
He nodded his head at the dock. "Dinner's on me. Pizza sound good?"
Candi thought about saying no. It was just like Isaac to disrupt her peaceful swim-time. But it'd been a year since she'd last seen him, and even if they weren't going out anymore, she knew he still wanted to be friends.
She wasn't so sure.
"Okay," she said, and the two swam back to the dock. Isaac pulled himself up first, and extended a hand to help Candi up. He pulled her onto the dock easily. He probably could have carried her with one hand if he wanted to. She noticed his discarded shirt, shoes, wallet, and phone next to her things.
"Did you just see me and jump in?" she asked.
"Of course," he said. "I thought I'd surprise you." That grin again. He picked his stuff back up and jerked his head towards town. "Let's walk."
Gabriel already hated the boy.
He didn't understand why he didn't have an instant disdain for him from the minute he saw his picture in Candi's computer. But that was beside the point.
Isaac, he called himself. He once knew an angel named Isaac. He was despicable too. It must be an Isaac thing.
He had been watching Candi carefully while she had her swim. Stalkerish, yes, but he had an excuse. He had succeeded in drawing her away from the water on the Fourth a week ago, but he didn't know how to convince her not to get in now. She hated him.
So, he watched.
And it was scary.
Any minute, he expected her to go under and never come back up. And then that jerk showed up and almost drowned her. Now she was going to get pizza with him. Pizza.
Gabriel couldn't wipe the frown from his face as he watched the two order a meat lover's pizza. Isaac said something that made Candi laugh.
Yep. Isaac was a douche.
The two took their pizza outside, and sat on a dock, watching the sail boats drift in and out of the harbor. Gabriel walked up behind them and leaned against a post, listening.
"So how's Jersey?" Candi asked, selecting a slice of pizza.
Isaac shrugged. "I like it. But I'm always excited to come back. Maine will always be home to me, you know."
Candi nodded. "At least your parents have the money to pay for two homes."
"Yeah, it's not bad." The pig had already finished a slice of pizza. He picked up another. He knocked his shoulder against Candi's. "How bout you? How you been?"
She shrugged. "I'm getting along fine."
Isaac thoughtfully chewed on his pizza before turning himself so he was facing her. "Candi."
She turned her head to look at him. "Yeah?"
"I know you. 'Getting along fine' is Candi-speak for 'everything is crappy.'"
"It's not," she said.
Isaac raised his eyebrows and waited. She sighed.
"I mean… I miss Dad."
He nodded. And then had the gall to touch her hand. The rational part of Gabriel said it was a comforting gesture. The irrational part said he was going to pull her into a bed tonight at this rate.
Candi continued. "And… money's always a problem." She set down her half-finished pizza and wiped the grease off her fingers with a napkin. She refused to look at him. "Aunt Maggie… I think she's relapsed. And that's sucking us dry."
Isaac was silent for a few moments as he watched her. "I'm sorry," he said finally.
Gabriel just couldn't believe Candi was opening up to this creep.
"It's fine," she said, picking her pizza back up. "We'll get through it."
He nodded. "Still want to go to college?"
She sighed. "To study marine biology. But at this rate…" She shook her head. "I think I might have to let that one go."
"No." Isaac scooted closer to her, and put his finger under her chin, making her look at him. "No, you keep aiming for that, Candi. If you keep working at it, you'll make it." He smiled. "You'll see."
Gabriel thought he was going to puke. Easy for you to say, rich boy. Isaac grabbed another slice.
They ate in silence for a few minutes, and then Candi spoke up. "I really want to get out of here," she said quietly.
Isaac looked surprised. "You love it here."
"I do." Candi took her flip flops off and dipped her feet into the water. "But I'm stuck. I can't progress at all. I'm stuck in this freaky kind of limbo."
Isaac tilted his head, trying to understand. Candi tried again.
"I want to start a life of my own. I want to live in a house, or even an apartment, that I pay for. And I want to make good money. I want a pet. I want…" She shook her head, at a loss of words for a moment. "I want out."
This struck a chord in Gabriel. He remembered having a similar discussion with Michael, many, many years ago.
Gabriel had felt trapped. He loved his dad. He loved his brothers. He loved his home. But nothing he said or did was his own. He always followed Daddy's orders, or Michael's. He was the good little angel, once upon a time.
But he knew something was missing.
He would watch the humans, and envy them. They were allowed to choose. They were allowed to make their own decisions, and experience the consequences, whether they were good or bad. He watched as humanity progressed, learning from their mistakes, improving themselves.
Lucifer hated them for this reason. He argued with their father about it constantly. "You let them do whatever they want!" he had cried out in frustration. "And boss me around. You love them more than you love me."
And after Lucifer manipulated this freedom that humanity had to trick Eve in the Garden… that was the last straw. Their father had banished him. He was fallen.
Gabriel was caught in the middle. He didn't know what to think, what to do. He thought Lucifer had a point. But when he brought it up to Michael, he threatened to cast him out.
Eventually, Gabriel cast himself out. He left. He was done with his brothers. He was done with Heaven. He would be his own person.
It was hard, but he'd been able to do it. Candi, however… she was tied down.
Gabriel felt an intense stab of sympathy for her. And he normally didn't feel sympathetic to anyone.
Isaac had now eaten half the pizza—six slices. The sun was beginning to set, giving Candi's dark hair a ring of golden light. She stood. "I need to go. Thanks for the pizza."
Isaac stood up with her. "Let's hang out again." This punk smiled too much, Gabriel thought. It was sickening.
Candi smiled back. "Yeah, we should."
He held his phone up. "Text me when you're free."
She promised she would. Before she left, she gave him a hug.
Gabriel wasn't completely sure what the hot burn in his stomach was, but he didn't like it. Isaac was next on his hit list, that much was certain.
Candi finally left, and Isaac looked much too happy.
Gabriel waited until Candi was far enough away, then pushed Isaac and his greasy pizza off the dock. Isaac fell in with a yell. Gabriel stood at the edge of the dock, peering into the water with satisfaction. Isaac surfaced, spluttering.
Mmm, he needed to make this man's life even more miserable. Gabriel snapped his fingers, and Isaac was pulled down by an invisible force. Just desserts.
But, Gabriel thought sadly, he probably shouldn't kill him. So, after a few more dunkings, he let Isaac crawl out of the water, panting and staring frantically into the water, trying to figure out what it was that had been messing with him. Gabriel smirked, and snapped his fingers once more.
He walked smugly away, leaving Isaac to find the leeches in his pants later.