AN: And. . .the end!!! And. . .don't hate me for the romance. I can't help it! It's still canon. . .urm. . .sort of.
Thank you, the few, the faithful, the reviewers! And those of you who keep coming back but never review. . .shame on you! How am I to know whether this is appreciated? Not that I. . .ah-hem. . .ever review myself –heh, heh, heh. . .
Anyway. . .enjoy!
Things had somehow gone wrong. Really, really, wrong. And the shitty thing was – it wasn't even a complicated case.
It was one demon. Just one. Hell, he'd handled more than that on his own. And it wasn't like it was Alistair. . .it wasn't even high-ranking. Just one damn demon.
But without the Colt, with only the knife. . .without a Devil's Trap, or holy water. . .why the hell hadn't they been prepared? That was the one thing Dean couldn't get over. They never went anywhere unprepared. Why this time? Why this day?
Because everything was f'ed up. Because they thought he was just a regular guy. Because he was so worried about Cas being stuck in a wheelchair, and Sam was trying to babysit Bobby, and it just seemed to simple. . .
He punched the body sitting in front of him. Bobby's body, Castiel's body, who even knew anymore. It wasn't going to help. There was no pulse. Cas had somehow. . .sacrficed himself. . .relinguished a vessel, that there was no way to get back inside of.
One tear fell down his cheek. That was it. Enough for now, there was still a case, still living people to take care of. He turned around. Sam was on the phone, probably talking to the ambulance. Bobby was leaning over Eliza, his arms red to the elbows.
"How is she?" Dean asked, scrubbing at his face. Bobby shook his head.
"Alive," he said. "Barely. I doubt she'll –"
He cut off as the girls' head jerked back, her eyes flew open, for one moment pulsing with pure white light. Dean caught his breath. What the –
She settled back then. All three men were staring at the body, even Sam, who seemed to have forgotten the phone he clutched in his hands. A voice squawked at him indignantly, small and tinny from the inside of the phone.
Eliza sat up, slowly, very controlled. She touched her stomach, smiled, and turned again.
"Hello, Dean," she said, her eyes finding his first.
"Hey," he said uncertainly. "Uh. . .maybe you shouldn't be sitting up right now. Sam's called an ambulance, you should probably get checked out."
The girl shook her head, and slowly stood up. She stretched, standing on tiptoes, actually watched her arms as the lifted over her head. Her forehead crinkled. Weird, Dean thought. He hadn't been aware that Eliza was actually capable of real thoughts. She turned back to him, her head cocked like a befuddled puppy.
"This feels. . .strange," she said. Dean was pretty sure that his jaw was actually touching the ground. Because that ramrod straight posture. . .the cock of the head. . .the freakin' wrinkles in her forehead.
"What's going on?" Sam asked. Apparently he'd decided to ignore the 911 call, as he snapped the cell phone closed.
The girl walked straight over to Dean, too close, as always, stared him intensely in the eyes. "It is me, Dean. Do you not recognize me?"
"Cas, you bastard," Dean choked, reached out, and clutched the angel close.
"Good," Bobby said gruffly. "Guess that means that nobody's gonna keep pestering me about giving up this body."
"The amulet!" Sam gasped.
"Still not trading," Bobby said obstinately. "I'd rather be back in the wheelchair than become a girl."
"No!" Sam said. "The amulet. . .where is it?"
"Rose. . ." Dean pushed himself back from Cas' face, peered into the dark eyes. "Where's Rose?"
"I do not know," Cas said. "I was out here with you."
Dean glanced at Sam. They apparently had the same thought together, for they darted toward the bar. It was empty. No sign that anyone had been there.
"Strange," Bobby muttered. "I could have sworn both girls were here when we walked in."
Sam shook his head. "We were so stupid. . .she said that Tony gave her the amulet, and we just assumed. . ." he turned to look at Dean. "We have to find that girl," he said urgently. Dean didn't disagree.
Three hours later, however, they still came up with nothing. Zip, zero, zilch. No sign of Rose, or the amulet. Disheartened, they returned to the motel.
"No fair calling the first bed," Dean yelled as they entered. "Come on, Bobby, it's not like you're even old anymore!"
"Still older than you chuckleheads," Bobby retorted. "Besides. You need a shower. All three of you."
Dean couldn't argue with that. He could have argued that Bobby needed a shower, too, but there was obviously no point in that argument, as the man was already stretched out across the bed. It was weird, looking down and seeing what looked like Cas, sleeping. Dean shook his head.
"You want the first shower?" Sam asked.
"Go ahead, you can have it," Dean said. He was resigned to sleeping on the couch, anyway. He sat on it while Sam headed into the shower. It wasn't until he heard water running that he dared to turn and look at the angel.
If it was weird seeing Bobby in a different body, it was even weirder looking at this girl that he'd seen in all her glory, and making himself believe that the body now housed his very own, personal, holy tax accountant.
"So. . .uh. . .what's it like?" he asked, curious.
"What is what like?" Cas asked. He. . .she. . .sat down beside Dean. Too close. Nothing had changed. Except that Dean was enjoying the closeness a little more than usual. Which was . . .not so good.
"You know," Dean said, trying to scooch away without seeming rude. Castiel didn't seem to notice. "Being a chick."
"Oh," Castiel cocked his head. "It is strange. Eliza is not as strong as Jimmy was. I can feel that she is weaker. But she is also more flexible. Look."
Castiel leaned down, his torso even with his legs, touched his toes. The action pulled his shirt forward, exposing the small of his back, the small butterfly tattoo flying across the milky white skin. Dean licked his lips.
"Yeah, Cas, very impressive."
"Thank you," Castiel straightened back up, turned to look at Dean. "Eliza is also more. . .restless. . .than Jimmy. Her body wants things that his did not."
"Oh yeah?" Dean tried to be nonchalant. "Like what?"
Castiel paused for a moment.
"Dean, you so do not want to hear that."
The water clicked off, and Dean jumped to his feet, anything to get away form the angel. He was standing, waiting at the door when Sam walked out, clad only in a towel. "Dude, calm down there," Sam said, edging aside so that Dean could get in.
"Yeah, sorry, sure. . ." Dean said, darting in and turning the water on. Cold. Cold shower. Shit. After what they'd been through, he wanted a nice warm shower, to wash out the aches in his body. But. . .urm. . .no. Cold.
He stayed in longer than he probably should have. He wondered if Castiel had to shower. He'd never seen the angel shower before. Then again, he'd never spent this much time with the angel around, either. He usually flitted off. When he walked back outside, however, he saw Cas still seated, perfectly still, on the bed.
"Um. . .you gonna spend the night here?" he asked.
Cas stood, met his eyes squarely. "You know how I spend my nights," he said. "It seems foolish to leave now, only to return in moments. And this vessel needs a shower."
When the water was running again, Dean turned to his brother, now firmly ensconced under the motel coverlet.
"It's weird, right?" Dean asked, sticking out his thumb and pointing it toward the shower. "Cas. Is he still he, or should we call him she?"
Sam shook his head. "You know what's weird. . .that he's still here."
"I know!" Dean leaned forward. "Apparently he's always here at night."
Sam had no answer to that. "What are we going to do about this amulet?"
"I don't know," Dean said. "Though. . .maybe we're wrong about it."
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe. . .maybe it wasn't meant to be a bad thing," Dean said. "I mean, when you look at it, we're kind of better off now."
Sam stared at him. "Oh my God."
"What?" Dean bristled, sat back. "I make a good point. Cas obviously has more of his mojo back, and Sam, Bobby can walk again. Just look how happy he is. And you and me. . .unscathed." Well, except the neck, but whatever. He'd had worse. Sam, meanwhile, was looking at him with a very strange expression on his face.
"Okay," he said.
"Okay what?" Dean asked. "I know that voice. Okay, what, Sam?"
A small smile wound its way across his brother's face. "Just. . .I mean. . .you know Cas has always had an angel crush on you. Now. . .well. . .you can tap that."
"Gross!" Dean threw his pillow at his brother. The water in the shower turned off.
* * * * *
They thought he was asleep, and Sam wasn't about to tell them that sleep was elusive that night. Though it was weird, listening to them. Regardless of what he'd said earlier, he was not comfortable, at all, with the idea of a prospective relationship between his brother and the angel. Not because he'd met Cas as a man. . .though, maybe that was part of it. Not really, though. Dean, after all, was as straight as a man could be. It was just. . .
Well, jealousy, maybe. No, jealousy definitely, Sam realized. He'd had a relationship—well, a not-relationship – with Ruby, and Dean had never accepted that. Ruby wasn't human. Didn't want Sam for Sam.
And, to be honest, he didn't want to lose his brother. Not when it had been so hard to get him back in the first place.
Besides, it wasn't like there was anything he could do now. They'd know he was eavesdropping.
"You just going to stand there all night?"
"I always do."
"Well. . .don't."
A long pause, long enough that Sam thought that maybe Cas had left. That would be good. It would put things back to normal. Or as normal as they could be, with Bobby inhabiting a trenchcoat-wearing, blue-eyed man, and Cas as a woman.
Who, Sam had to admit, had looked pretty hot after the shower. Cas had taken out whatever rag had been inhabiting the girl's head – the hair was still too black to be real, but at least it looked healthy, now, shoulder length, not down to her ass. And without the overdone make-up she actually looked kind of cute. Freckles. Boobs were still too big.
"I mean. . .why don't you sleep for once. I can keep watch."
"I don't need sleep."
"I know. But. . .don't you ever rest? Here, try it. Lie down."
The sound of rustling. Sam was terrified. He peeked one eyelid open, couldn't help but sigh in relief when he saw that his brother was now standing, that Cas was alone on the couch.
"I don't like this."
"Why not?"
"It doesn't feel safe."
"I'm right here. Go ahead. Close your eyes. If anyone's earned it today, you have."
Another pause. Sam was getting drowsy now. Clearly he'd been panicking. His brother might be a sleazebag, but even he wouldn't take advantage of a lovesick angel. Ponies, prancing in the woods. . .
"Still. Don't feel safe."
Rustling again. Luckily, Sam thought, the prancing ponies were taking over, and sleep was dragging him away. Didn't look at the rustling. DIdn't have to.
"How about now?"
Note: Open ending. Make of it what you will. Ha. Somebody told me to write a sequel. I don't know what a sequel would be. Just more cases? Only with new-and-improved SuperHotBlueEyedBobby and SkantasticCas? Poor Sam. . .I'm not sure he would approve of that idea.