A/N: Hey everyone! So I know the last chapter had a lot of talking and didn't have too much action, but hopefully this chapter will make up for that! Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows! I couldn't do this without you!

Chapter Nineteen

No one was going to know about this. Ever.

Sam hid under the pier for a good twenty minutes examining his newly acquired merman tail. It was a shimmery blue-green and longer than he thought necessary. He felt like he belonged in a five-year-old's TV show.

The part that disturbed him most, however, were the gills. They flapped along his jaw, trying to suck in water just has his nose and mouth had tried to suck in air while he was in the water. He couldn't get past the abnormal way of keeping himself alive.

After the initial shock that he was a real-life, flesh-and-blood merman, he realized something even bigger.

Gabriel was alive.

And he was an archangel.

He thought about what Castiel said about needing an archangel to activate the fountain in Heaven. Gabriel, the Trickster, was Heaven's salvation. And he probably didn't even know it.

He had to tell Castiel. He was just at a loss as to how.

Eventually, he realized that Gabriel had a point. There was something in the water that wanted Candi dead. Whatever it was, he would find it best if he was able to navigate the water just as well as it could. Of course he would never trust Gabriel, but at the moment there wasn't anything better to do.

Sam was surprised how powerful his tail actually was. He could dart through the water with a few powerful strokes. He could see better than he expected. He could also sense what was around him without having to see it. He knew there were fish on his left because he could almost feel them pulsing through the water.

It was… pretty neat, actually.

But after several hours of searching, he didn't come across anything strange. He swam with some sea turtles and even a few whales, which made him geek out a bit. But no strange creatures. He wasn't even sure what he was looking for. Vengeful merfolk? Ursula?

By dark, he was discouraged. And he felt the desperation of needing to tell Castiel about Gabriel. He swam close enough to shore where he could see people lounging on the beach, even at this late hour.

They all had phones, means of communicating. If only he could get ahold of a mobile device…

He knew blowing his cover would be stupid. He would be a living fairytale.

But… would that be such a bad thing if he only revealed himself to a child?

Sam scoffed at the ridiculousness of the situation. Lure a child his way and convince her to get him a cell phone?

…Searching the depths of the sea for an unknown creature might be easier.

She was on the beach. The waves pounded against the shore like a drum, vibrating in her ears. And under that vibration, a hum. It pulled her in. She took a step into the water, and it rushed over her bare feet like ice.

"Candice!"

She whipped around, looking for the source of the voice. "Who's there?" she called out.

"Candice, help me!" she peered further out to sea, and like a poorly executed zoom-in frame from a movie, she saw someone struggling in the water, impossibly far away.

Her dad.

She screamed, the sound ripping out of her throat. Something grabbed her ankle, something slimy and wet. She looked down, but the waves washed over whatever it was, and she couldn't see it. With a powerful force, it pulled her off her feet and dragged her into the water. It filled her mouth, nose, eyes. The humming became a scream, a single pitch and never ending.

She was going to die.

And then, as if the sun had heightened its intensity, the water evaporated from around her. She was floating. No, wait. She was flying. And someone was holding her hand. Before she could look to see who it was, comforting arms wrapped around her, and she was held against a solid body. White wings enveloped her, and everything was going to be okay.

Candi opened her eyes. She knew she had had a nightmare, but the fear from that was dull, overshadowed by a glowing warmth. She reached for her phone and glanced at the time. 7:45. She didn't have to work until noon.

She was going for a swim.

After taking five minutes to throw on her bathing suit and a long t-shirt over it, she grabbed a towel and walked out the door.

She walked to the dock she always swam by, where their boat was still floating in the water. She glanced at the lighthouse, a quarter of a mile away. Gabe could still be sound asleep in there.

But for some reason, she almost hoped he would see her in the water and come out to say hi. She blamed it on the warm, comforting feeling she still carried with her from the dream.

The water glimmered in the light of the still-rising sun. Excitement blossomed inside her chest, spreading to her fingers and toes. She had not done this often enough.

She walked onto the dock and slipped off her flip flops.

Screw what Sam said. She could swim in the water if she wanted. And no imaginary monster was going to scare her away.

With that resolve, she jumped. The water filled her ears, swirled around her body in a cold rush. She slowly exhaled, letting herself float back up to the surface. She floated on her back, dove down until she could touch the cold, slimy rocks at the bottom.

The next time she surfaced, she heard music. "Love Runs Out" by One Republic was blaring over some speakers. Candi swam to the deck and hoisted herself onto its wooden surface.

A man was in shorts and a tank, relaxing in a beach chair with sunglasses and a hat. He was flipping through a magazine and had in ice cold strawberry lemonade – umbrella included – by his side.

Gabe.

He really was stalking her.

Or maybe he just wanted a relaxing morning to himself and just happened to be out when she was, not even realizing she was swimming in the water. Of course he wouldn't see her flip flops and t-shirt on the deck and assume it was her. She lowered herself back down in the water.

Crap.

Was she still mad at him? No. He had just been prodding into a sensitive subject. He had humiliated her at the bar. He'd stolen her bike and almost dropped a pack of Pepsi on her head. She smiled. Perhaps it was her turn to surprise him.

She swam under the dock, reaching the muddy, rocky slope and climbing up it, trying not to get too dirty. She wrung out her hair and stepped onto the dock. Gabe flipped another page. His music was loud enough that she doubted he'd hear her walking towards him.

She silently walked until she was right beside him, then picked up his lemonade. She took a sip, tasting the tangy sweetness, then dumped it on his head, umbrella and all.

He barely even flinched. She stared down at him, a rush of disappointment filling her.

Gabe slowly closed his magazine, then removed his sunglasses and wiped them off with his now-ruined white tank. "I suppose I deserve that," he said.

Candi was at a loss for words. "You knew it was me?"

Now he looked at her. It was a sideways, mischievous look. "Yep." He let the "p" pop.

The satisfaction Candi was expecting to feel after dumping his head with ice cold lemonade was not there. "Dang," she said. "I thought I was being sneaky."

"I'm sure you can be," he said. He stood, swiping the lemonade off his chair. Then he straightened and looked at her. His golden hair curled out from under his cap. It had Camden, Maine, scrawled across it. "Hey, Candi…" He scratched behind his head. "I'm sorry."

He seemed sincere. And dang, he looked good with the sun rising bright behind him. Candi shrugged. "It's fine," she said.

Gabe raised his eyebrows. "Are you just saying that, or…?"

She laughed. Then she took his hands. "Want to swim?"

"Uh…" he laughed nervously. "I already told you, I—"

"No better time to learn," she said with a smile. "You live right above the ocean. You might as learn how to swim in it."

He shook his head. He really did look nervous, despite his efforts to hide it. "I really can't…"

"Hey." She gave his hands a squeeze. "If you get in that water, I'll let you take me out to dinner."

Had she really just said that? She basically just asked this guy out. She must be in a really good mood. It was a good feeling. She felt bold. Ready to take on the world.

Gabe smiled at her, but fear still flickered in his golden eyes. "Well… I can't pass that up." Something by Elvis started playing on Gabe's iPod. Candi nodded her head at it. "What else you got on there?"

"Anything you want," Gabe said.

"Mika?"

Gabe picked up the green iPod and clicked through the songs. As soon as the first few notes played, Candi knew what song it was. "Underwater." Yes. The perfect song to learn how to swim to. She smiled. "Okay. First step: you have to get in the water."

Gabe visibly swallowed. "Okay. No problem-o."

Candi went to the edge of the dock and dove in. When she surfaced, she saw Gabe crouched at the edge, staring hard at the glistening water below him. She swam until she was looking up at him. "I won't let you drown," she joked. His eyes searched hers. She reached a hand up to him. "Trust me?"

His flickering eyes steadied. She felt like she'd drown in them. "With my life," he answered.

Gabriel grasped her hand. He followed her grey-blue eyes down, down, down….

There was a splash, and his entire body was enveloped in cold, unforgiving seawater. He heard Michael's voice, melding into his own: "Angels can't fly with wet wings…."

Panic grasped at his throat, a panic that frightened him more than anything else. Why was he doing this? What was the point? He should just leave Camden. Never return. Nothing was worth risking his neck like this.

He kicked and floundered, but felt Candi's arms around his waist. Of course. She would only hold him in an intimate position only when he was scared out of his wits. It wasn't that he would drown; he was an angel for Pete's sake. He could stay underwater indefinitely, if he wanted to.

It was that he was vulnerable. His powers here were weak, almost non-existent. His wings felt the full weight of the water. They were dragging him down…

He struggled for the surface, which he broke, tossing his head to get the water out of his eyes. Candi still had him. He desperately grasped at one of the wooden poles that held the dock up, wrapping both arms around it.

"See, the water isn't bad," Candi's voice sounded in his ear. He could feel her heat. "Gabe, look at me."

He wiped water from his face and did as he was told. Her hair was so dark it had a blue tint to it. Her freckles stood out on her face, and her eyes looked bluer than normal. She was smiling at him. Her mouth looked especially kissable right then.

"Yeah, sure, I got in, can I get out now?" He knew he sounded irritable. Every passing second he was in the water made him more vulnerable, more afraid. Without his powers, without his wings, he was nothing.

Candi cocked her head to the side. "I really like this song."

Gabriel, who hadn't been paying any attention to the music that was playing, listened. "Endlessly" by Green River Ordinance. A freaking love song. Of course she liked it. Candi hummed along with it, leaning back and pushing back further into the water.

"So, are you going to keep clinging to that pole or are you going to actually learn how to swim?" she asked with a smile.

"I've always been more of the pole dancer."

She laughed, then made a few backstrokes. She was smiling at the sky, which was getting brighter and bluer with the aging morning.

Watching her, coupled with the song, made Gabriel's gut twist. Is this what people meant when they said they got butterflies? Candi swam back to him. "I'll at least teach you to keep your head above water," she said. "Dad taught me it was like parting a curtain with your hands." She demonstrated, pushing the water outward, away from her body.

"What do you do with your feet?" Gabriel asked.

"Just keep them moving. You'll stay up. Now you try."

Gabriel shook his head.

"I promise, you won't –"

"I'm not afraid of drowning," he interrupted. If he really wanted to be cruel, he could bring up how she couldn't even save her own father. That's something old Gabriel might say. But, even though she had unknowingly put him in this precarious situation, he didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want her to walk away from him again.

Candi drew closer to him. He could see the water cling onto her eyelashes. "What are you afraid of, then?"

"It's… difficult to explain."

She waited, half her face in the water, looking up innocently at him. He sighed.

"It's kind of a… family thing. We just don't like water much."

She put her head back above water so she could speak. "It's up to you to break that trend, then. Come on, try it."

Gabriel hesitated.

"I'll buy the dessert tonight," she said with a wink.

"You can't afford it," he blurted out. Then wanted to slap himself. Idiot.

Instead of being offended, Candi shrugged. "It'll be worth it."

Wow. Gabriel stared at her. Was she… did she… ? She couldn't actually want his company, could she? "Screw that," he said, letting one hand go of the pole. "If I can tread water for ten seconds, I'll cover dessert."

"Deal. I'll count."

Great. The sooner he got this done, the sooner he could get out. He took a deep breath, and let go of the pole.

Only to sink down right away. Gabriel kicked and tried to reach for something to hold on to. Fear clutched at his throat. If something happened right now, he was dead. No tricks. Just dead.

And what about Candi? If something came after her right now… The thought of Candi made him remember her instructions. He stopped flailing around like an imbecile and focused on pushing water away from him. He kicked, and his head broke through water.

"One!" Candi yelled.

He had stay up. Not only for his sake, but for Candi's as well.

"Two," she continued. "Three, four…"

Something flickered behind her. Something had peeked above water before sinking back in.

"Five…"

Candi shouldn't even be in the water. What was he thinking? He had to get her out of here. A dark shadow made ripples in the water. It was heading straight towards them. Gabriel felt cold all over.

"Six…"

"Candi—" his warning cry was cut off by a mouthful of water. No. He struggled back up.

"I'm going to start over on that one," she said with a laugh. "One…"

It was right behind her. She was going to go under any second. He struggled to get to her. She saw the look on his face and stopped, looking confused. "Gabe…?"

Cold fingers grabbed his ankles, and he was pulled under the water. Even as the water filled his ears, he could hear her scream.