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Chapter Twenty-Four

Gabriel watched Candi's blue-gray eyes widen with her smile as she looked around the room. "Woah," she breathed.

He had asked her to imagine the one place she'd like to sleep – it could be anything. A large room with a large bed and canvas curtains; a five-star hotel room; a room in Buckingham palace, for Pete's sake.

But she had imagined this. A cabin that was only special because of a special memory. Gabriel didn't think he could love, not like this. But at this moment, he couldn't imagine not loving Candi.

He made a show of looking around. "Two beds, huh?"

"It's how I remember it," Candi said, smoothing her hand over the bedspread. She smiled at the fireplace. "It's even lit! And just as warm as I remember it." She turned to him. "You really are an angel, then."

Gabriel jumped onto the other bed, laying down and putting his hands under his head. "Guilty."

"Gabriel… Not sure why I didn't connect the dots earlier. Isn't that… wait. The Gabriel from the Bible? The archangel?"

Gabriel didn't answer. He couldn't tear his eyes off her. Her cheeks glowed in the light of the fireplace. Her dark hair caught the light, creating copper highlights.

Candi huffed out a laugh. "How old are you?"

"We've had this discussion before."

"At least like… a thousand? God. For all I know, you were around for the Creation." She paused, her face growing pensive. She looked at Gabriel from under her eyelashes. "What about… God?"

Gabriel's bloating heart deflated a bit. "What about him?"

"You must know him…. Like, at a personal level, right? What's he like?"

Maybe he'd tell Candi one day. But not now. Not at this moment.

"Sure," he said. "I'll tell you more about him one day." He sat up on the bed. "For now, I want to make sure you're safe. Happy."

"I feel very safe," she said with an extra big smile. "Thank you." She glanced at the fireplace. "Wanna make s'mores?"

Before long, Gabriel had produced graham crackers, bars of chocolate, and large marshmallows complete with metal pokers, and they both sat in front of the fireplace, roasting the marshmallows.

"How is this even possible?" Candi asked.

"What?"

She pulled her marshmallow out of the fire, checking to see if it was melted through. She pointed at it. "This. You can't just… make matter out of nothing. It's scientifically impossible."

"I don't. There are definitely molecules and atoms involved," Gabriel said. His marshmallow suddenly burst into flames. He retracted it from the fire and blew it out.

"Gosh." Candi stuck her marshmallow back in. "I must seem like a bug to you."

Gabriel laughed. "I used to view people as dull, simple creatures. But then I realized just how special human beings are. Powerful, too. You think this," he gestured around the cabin, "is power. It's not. Not really. You have a soul. That's probably the most powerful thing in existence."

Candi had drawn her marshmallow out again. Her eyes were locked on him. "And what about you? You don't have a soul?"

"I have my grace. That's my source of power."

Candi fished out a graham cracker and snapped it in half. She put together her s'more and bit into it. The marshmallow oozed onto her fingers.

"You said I was predestined to be Dean's soulmate," she said.

"That's what Cupid said."

"Do you believe it? Am I his soulmate?"

Gabriel was putting together his s'more, but her question made him stop and look up. "I used to believe in destiny. Fate. Whatever. Heaven always worked very meticulously. This guy was supposed to marry that girl, this woman was supposed to die on this day, and so on." Gabriel smirked. "But then I met the Winchesters."

He bit into his s'more, feeling the gooey warm sugar invade his mouth.

"Sam and Dean? What about them made you change your mind?"

"They went a different route. One that no one – not Heaven, not Hell, not even earth – ever expected. They fought fate. And they won."

Candi stuffed the rest of her s'more in her mouth. Gabriel pointed at her mouth. "You've got a bit there…"

"So do you," she said around the chocolate in her mouth. She swallowed.

Gabriel scooted closer, so his legs were brushing hers. He took one of her hands, and without looking away from her face, wrapped his mouth around one of her fingers. Candi shivered almost imperceptibly as he sucked the sticky marshmallow off her finger. He drew it out with a pop.

"Tasty," he said. Candi held perfectly still, watching him. He licked off her thumb. Then he pulled her closer, so she was nearly on his lap.

The heat from the fire caressed them, flickered against Candi's face, her eyes. He felt drunk from the flames. His eyes found the bit of marshmallow on her lip.

He leaned in, hardly able to breath. He brushed his lips against hers; gently at first. Then he caught her bottom lip between his teeth and sucked the sugar off.

He wanted to kiss her for the rest of the night, but he made himself draw back. He examined her lips. "There," he said softly. "Gone."

Candi moved so fast it caught him by surprise. She was on his lap, her legs wrapped around him. Her hands were in his hair, pulling him to her mouth. Her lips crushed his.

And Gabriel lost himself in the sugary sweet taste of her lips, the sound of her breathing, and the heat of the fire.

"He's bailed on us." Sam shook his head, staring out to sea. He and Castiel were on the pier, waiting for Gabriel's return. He'd been gone two hours. It didn't look like he was coming back.

"Either he left or rescued Candi himself," Castiel said. "Either way, Heaven desperately needs his help right now. I knew Gabriel could be selfish, but…"

"Speaking of Candi," Sam said, turning to face Castiel, "I've discovered what's after her, and why."

After Sam gave Castiel the details of his underwater adventures, Castiel nodded. "Leave it to Dean to have a soulmate who's entrenched in a case. How do you kill the creatures?"

"Not sure yet. I'll have to look it up." Sam glanced up at the moon that was high above them. "Cas, why don't we call it a night? Candi is either with Dean or Gabriel. Neither option is ideal for her safety, but I doubt she's in a lot of danger. And Heaven can wait one more day."

Castiel looked like he was going to argue, but he pressed his lips together, looking out to sea. "Fine," he said finally. "But first thing tomorrow, we're summoning Gabriel."

Sam patted Castiel on the back. "Night, Cas."

Sam left Castiel on the pier and made his way to the Impala. The moment he got into the driver's seat, he knew something was off.

He twisted around to look in the backseat. A muffled cry sounded. Sam lurched backwards. Someone else was in the car.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

The dark shape in the backseat mumbled something again. Sam realized the person was tied and gagged. He quickly pulled the gag out of the person's mouth. He was an adult male, maybe 24. The man spoke the second the gag was out of his mouth. "About time," he said. "I've been stuck in here for hours!"

"Who are you?" Sam asked again. "Why are you in my car?"

"Isaac," Isaac said. "And I don't know… This is going to sound crazy, and I swear I'm not high, but I just… showed up here. I don't know how. But my friend, she's in trouble –"

"Hold on, slow down," Sam said. "Who's your friend?"

"Her name is Candi. Some psycho kidnapped us both, and she might still be there."

Sam quickly drew out his pocketknife. The man began to wail.

"No, man, please, come on I just escaped getting sliced up by a psycho –"

"Hold still. I'm cutting you free."

Isaac shut up until Sam was finished cutting the rope binding him together. "Thanks, man," he said. "My friend…"

"I'll help you," Sam said quickly. "But you have to tell me where you were."

"My house. He had us tied up in the garage. I don't know, man, we should call the police."

"Trust me," Sam said, starting up the Impala, "The police won't be able to help."

Sam's phone began to ring. He glanced at the caller ID.

Dean.

Sam answered the phone. "Dean?"

"Hi-ya Sam. Did you know that dick Gabriel was still around?"

Things clicked together. So Gabriel did go to Candi by himself. That would explain why Isaac was suddenly in his car. "Is Candi still there?" Sam asked.

"Naw. See, I lost all my hostages. So I got me a new one."

Sam's grip on the steering wheel tightened.

"Wanna say a few words to Sammy, Cas? Oh, that's right. Cas can't come to the phone right now. He's out cold."

"Dean, what are you doing?"

"I want a hostage back," Dean said. "Gabriel took Candi. I want her back. I wasn't finished with her."

"Dean, you're better than this."

"Am I, Sam? Am I really?"

Sam tried to come up with a response, but couldn't get anything out fast enough. Dean plowed on.

"Bring me Candi by midnight tomorrow or Cas stays with me until his borrowed grace fizzes out. Don't let him down, Sam."

The phone went dead.

Despite the two beds, Candi insisted Gabriel share hers. She laid her head on his chest and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. They were silent for so long that Gabriel thought maybe Candi had fallen asleep.

Then, she spoke. "Do angels breathe?"

"Yes," Gabriel said. "But not in the same way humans need to."

"I can hear your heartbeat," she said. "It's slow."

He held her tighter against him, but didn't say anything. He was too focused on her small body against his, her breath against his neck as she tilted her head to look up at him.

"I don't understand why you're afraid of water," she said softly. "It's not like you'll drown."

"Not quite," Gabriel said. "But the water… I don't know, it dims my grace. And angels can't fly with wet wings. I think every angel is inherently wary of large bodies of water. They're defenseless if caught in it."

"More human than you'd ever be," she said.

"Pretty much."

"I have to live like that every day. You just have to trust that you'll be okay without your angelic powers." She nudged his ribs, making him jump reflexively. "Besides, I'd be there to save you if anything were to happen."

Gabriel chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Still doesn't make me waterproof."

Candi yawned. Her voice was low, sleepy. "Hey, if you're my guardian angel… maybe I could be your guardian human. Person. Whatever."

The idea of Candi wanting to protect him made Gabriel smile. "I would be honored," he said quietly.

Candi didn't answer. Her breathing was slow and steady.

Gabriel held her for a few minutes, then began to sing softly. "Candi, don't you go," he sang softly. "I want you around. Singing woah please don't go. Do you wanna be a friend of mine? Do you wanna be a friend of mine."

The next several hours Gabriel laid there, wondering what he was going to do next. He wanted Candi with him every step of the way in his immortal life. Maybe in a few years he would suggest methods of immortality to her. He knew witches could stay young. Took some powerful dark magic, though. Somehow he couldn't see Candi agreeing to it.

He felt a painful twist in his gut when he thought of life without Candi. It didn't seem possible. He was more content and happy with her in his arms than he had ever been in his thousands of years of life.

It kept him up all night. He tried to convince himself that he was being ridiculous, dramatic. No human could ever possibly mean so much to him.

But Candi did.

Eventually, Gabriel felt dawn approaching. He held Candi close and closed his eyes.

He felt a vicious tug, and he was ripped from the bed. He held fast to Candi, and in a fraction of a second they were both on cold cement, twisted together.

Candi was gasping, her eyes wide. "What the hell?"

"Damn," Gabriel breathed as fire leapt around him and Candi. He looked up. Sam stood there, hands in his pockets. "Gee, Sam, this couldn't wait til the sun had fully risen?" Gabriel asked irritably.

"Save it, Gabriel," Sam said. "You ditched us last night. Heaven needed your help, and you took off." He gestured to Candi. "With Candi, no less."

"What the hell is going on, Sam?" Candi had stood up, the quilted blanket with the moose wrapped tight around her shoulders. She glanced around at the ring of holy fire. "What's this?"

"Holy fire," Sam answered. "Don't worry, you can step over it."

Candi looked at Sam suspiciously, then turned to Gabriel. Understanding flickered in her eyes. "But Gabe can't," she said slowly.

Gabriel stood up, surveying the flames. "I don't see why this is necessary, Sammy," he said. "I'll fix Heaven and Castiel. No need to force me."

Sam shifted uncomfortably. Apprehension rose in Gabriel. "Unless there was another reason you called me. Sam?"

Sam took a deep breath. "Dean has Cas."

"Yeah? So?"

"And he won't let Cas go until he has Candi."

Sam's words hit Gabriel with full force. He heard Candi take in a sharp breath. "No," he said in a low voice. "You're not taking her." To prove a point, he grabbed her arm and held her close to his side.

"Gabriel. You know what Cupid said."

"That tiny-winged dick must have been wrong," Gabriel spat. "Dean couldn't possibly love anyone."

"No offense, Gabriel," Sam said, "But I thought the same about you."

Gabriel tightened his grip on Candi. He couldn't think of a comeback. His emotions were everywhere – he was angry, irritated, and scared.

"Think of Cain, Gabriel," Sam urged.

"That vicious monster exactly proves my point," Gabriel said.

"And mine. I don't want Dean to turn into that. I know Candi can help him."

"What are you hoping for, Sam?" Gabriel asked. "A fairy tale ending to Beauty and the Beast? Don't you know that's a classic tale of Stockholm syndrome?"

"Again, you're one to talk," Sam said warily. "I don't think you realize, Gabriel – we don't see you as the good guy."

Normally Sam's words wouldn't effect Gabriel in the slightest; he might have even taken them as a compliment. But currently, his words were beyond frustrating.

Candi suddenly spoke up. "Dean was a good person before becoming a demon. Right?"

Sam focused on her. "One of the best men I've ever known," Sam said quietly. "He'd give his own life to help others."

Gabriel glanced at Candi. Her irritation had evaporated. He could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. "And now?" she asked.

Sam sighed. "His mind is poisoned. I don't think he's killed anyone innocent yet. But…"

"But he's pretty bad."

Sam nodded.

"And… and this angel—"

"Cherub," Gabriel said.

"Whatever. He says I'm the only one who can help Dean?"

Sam stepped closer to the holy fire. "Yes."

Gabriel watched Candi closely. "Candi… what are you thinking?"

She looked up at him. She stood on her toes and planted a soft kiss on his lips. "Thank you for last night," she whispered. "And… everything else."

To Gabriel's horror, she backed up until she had stepped over the flames.

"Candi. What are you doing?"

"If I can prevent Dean from hurting others…" she shrugged. "Maybe it's worth a shot to at least talk to him."

Gabriel gaped at her. "But… but you don't love him."

"Ew, no," she said. "But maybe I can help. I have to at least try."

Gabriel felt like she had thrust a knife into his chest and twisted it. "You don't know how dangerous he is," he choked out.

Candi drew the blanket tighter around her body. "He risked his life for others. I'll risk mine for the same reason."

"He isn't even your problem!" Gabriel shouted. "Who cares what Dean does?"

Candi glanced meaningfully at Sam before looking back at Gabriel. "You two kind of brought me into this," she said almost apologetically. "Maybe it wasn't my problem before. But it is now."

Sam had stepped protectively behind Candi. The sight of the two of them standing together made Gabriel sick.

"Candi," he said, "please."

Candi looked at Sam. "Let Gabriel go."

Sam's face twisted. "Uh. Best not yet. Don't worry – the flames will die down eventually. Let's go."

He put a hand on her shoulder and began to steer her out of the old warehouse. She looked back at Gabriel. "I'll come back as soon as I can, Gabe," she said. "I promise."

"Candi, you don't understand what you're doing. You're making a mistake." Gabriel paced around inside the circle, feeling like a caged animal. Desperate. "Don't do this."

A flicker of doubt crossed Candi's features. She shrugged Sam's hand off her shoulder and approached the circle of fire. She was so close – three feet away. He could touch her if the angel trap would let him. He desperately needed to touch her again. He needed to make her understand that she had to stay with him.

"I'll come back," she said. Then she whispered, "I'm sorry. I know he scares you."

"He should scare you, too, Candi," Gabriel insisted. "Please. I'm begging you. Don't go."

"I want to help him, Gabriel. I'll look after myself." She stepped away from the circle of fire, her eyes never leaving his. Finally, she turned her back on him.

"Candi."

She didn't look back. She followed Sam towards the door.

"Candi!" Gabriel realized he sounded pathetic, but he willed with all his might for her to change her mind.

His pleading fell on deaf ears. Candi looked back once, then stepped outside the door. Sam gave Gabriel a final, apologetic look.

"Go to hell, Sam!" Gabriel yelled.

The door shut, and Candi was gone.