Castiel shifted uncomfortably in the saddle. He was grateful that the horse seemed to know to just follow Balthazar's because he was certain that he would have the horse running into trees if he were forced to navigate.
They stopped at a river to let the animals drink and Castiel watched Balthazar cautiously. "So who's Bela?" He asked, words stiff.
Balthazar sighed and faced the Angel. "She's an arrangement my father made. I have no feelings for her." When Castiel said nothing, Balthazar assured, "My heart belongs to you, Castiel. Completely. You believe that, don't you?"
Castiel wasn't sure what he believed any more. If truth be told, he wanted Dean there, beside him. The man had become, despite their arguments, a steady and comforting presence to the Angel. But he smiled at Balthazar, not sure if he trusted his voice.
"Let's get moving," he said a moment later, staring out at the open field critically, and mounted his horse. Castiel followed suit, although not quite as gracefully.
Dean watched from his horse as Castiel and Balthazar continued on through the field. "You're following them," Bobby's voice came from behind. Dean shook his head and the older man grunted, "Don't you shake your head at me, boy."
"Come on, then," Dean kicked the horse into a trot and called over his shoulder, "Try to keep up, yeah?" He almost laughed when he heard the mumbled 'idjit.'
Castiel and Balthazar made it to the city before sundown. They followed a path, Balthazar murmuring "this way," every now and then. Eventually they stopped in front of a large building. Castiel looked up and the building seemed to loom over them. "What is this place?"
"It's the hospital. Keep close," Balthazar answered and they walked inside. The main room was large and empty, save for a single desk in the middle. Balthazar stopped in front of the desk, waiting for the receptionist to notice them.
"He's on the third floor," she said after a moment and Balthazar nodded, tugging Castiel along.
Soft screams echoed along the walls and Castiel tensed, "What was that?"
"The inmates," he responded. "Try not to let it get to you. They can drive you mad. Now, Gardener may seem odd to you, but believe me, we're among friends."
With that, they walked through a pair of doors into another empty room. A man stood with his back to them, arms crossed at his back. He was dark-skinned and wore light brown pants with a red shirt. He had a graying beard and gentle eyes, and his voice was just as gentle when he spoke, "You have the amulet?"
Balthazar responded, pulling the amulet from his pocket but the man stopped him. "Should the time come, I must be able to swear under oath that I've never laid eyes on it."
"Ask the Angel to come closer," the man continued and Castiel stepped forward, reluctantly. When they stood just a few feet from him, the man said, "Not as tall as I imagined. Are you scared?" Castiel nodded slightly and the man pursed his lips together. "When did you last see your father?"
"It's been ten years."
"Such a long time ago."
"Where is he?" Castiel ventured.
"Your father is a very difficult man to reach. We've been tracking him for a long time, but never got close enough to pop the question. Never once. And do you know what it is that we want to ask him? Care to hazard a little guess?"
"No," Castiel was confused. What did his father have to do with the resistance?
"You, little Angel."
"What do you mean?"
"When you first met Balthazar, did you think that it was a happy accident?"
Castiel spared a glance to Balthazar, "Wasn't it?" He asked uncertainly.
The Gardener led them from the room and down a hallway. "You Angels and your emotions, they have such a strong sway on our frail senses. The effects are devastating." They took a sharp left and stopped for a moment.
"This patient here," he indicated the woman in the room to their left. She was suspended in air, but appeared to be falling at the same time. "She couldn't get the precious high of… flying high out of her system, so we're bringing her back down to earth in a controlled environment."
They moved to another room, where a giant of a man was cramped inside the room. "He drank too much Self-Importance, so we're shrinking his considerable ego, little by little, back to his original size."
The trio continued moving down the hallway and Gardener continued on, "We're all vulnerable. Mix the wrong feelings together, the right kind of bad with the wrong kind of good, and you'll wind up with a total breakdown."
They stepped outside, into a garden, where the sunlight streamed brightly through the haze of the city. "The Angels are contaminating our world. They must go back, dead or alive, before it's too late."
"What does my father have to do with that?" Castiel interjected.
Gardener turned to stare at Castiel, brown eyes old as though they have seen everything. "He's the only one who can release them. Our undercover operatives smuggled him here earlier today. It's the most dangerous operation we've ever mounted. They're brave men, but I must warn you, he's not the same person you knew as a child."
Castiel shook his head, "What do you mean?"
"He's, how can I put it? Stuck. We're hoping you can help clear away his cobwebs." Gardener turned away, leaving Castiel with Balthazar.
"I don't understand," Castiel began.
"I came to your world to find you, Castiel, because we need your help," Balthazar told with a neutral face. Castiel turned to face him with disbelief in his eyes.
"So everything that we had was about my dad?" He accused, angrily. Dean had been right about him all along. How could Castiel have been so ignorant?
"You have to understand, your father holds the key to our future," Balthazar said quickly.
Castiel rubbed his face. "I don't believe this. You've been lying to me this entire time?"
Gardener then spoke, "Would you have believed him if he told the truth?"
The Angel snapped, "I don't know, maybe!"
"You're right, I should have been more honest, but I can't turn back the clock," Balthazar confessed. "Please, Castiel. Will you help us? Our world depends on it."
He paused before saying anything. He may have been upset with Balthazar for leading him on, but that was no reason to take his anger out on the entire world. After all, the man was just trying to stop his crazy father.
Castiel let the two lead him inside another building and out of the sunlight. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, gasping when he saw his father standing in the middle of the room. He looked the same as the day he disappeared all those years ago. Scruffy beard, blue eyes, messy brown hair. "Dad?"
"Who's this?" Chuck demanded.
His words were like a stab to the heart, "It's me, Dad," Castiel stepped closer to his father, blue eyes locked, one pair confused and searching, the other annoyed and angry.
"Another one of your tricks, Balthazar?" Chuck continued angrily.
"Don't you recognize your own son?" Gardener said slowly from Castiel's left.
Chuck scoffed, "Son?" He laughed at the thought. He had been working for Lucifer for as long as he could remember. And he certainly had no son, especially one that was fully grown. The idea was crazy! He had no time for kids.
Taking a deep breath, Castiel began softly, "You left when I was a kid."
"The Demons kidnapped you many years ago," Gardener informed. "The doctors adjusted you to work in the laboratory."
"We missed you, so much," Castiel continued, taking a step closer to his dad. "Gabriel tries not to show it, but," his voice was trembling as he spoke.
"Gabriel?" Chuck blinked as the name. For some reason, it sounded familiar.
"My brother, your oldest son," Castiel said in shock. How was it possible that his father didn't remember? It had been awhile since he had seen Castiel, and sure, he was an adult now, but still.
Chuck laughed weakly, eyes darting from Castiel to Balthazar, then to Gardener. "You really think this charade is going to turn me against Lucifer?"
"Don't you remember anything?" Castiel questioned, eyes wide.
"I remember my work at the institute, bioreductive enzymes, chemicially-induced synethesia," Chuck continued on but Castiel cut him off.
"What about your family?" Castiel tried.
Chuck froze as he tried to remember. "I live alone in an apartment," he said slowly. Then, with anger, "What is the point of all this?"
"Coffee and toast, with apple butter," Castiel said and Chuck frowned. "It's what you like for breakfast. And on Sundays, sometimes we would go to that brunch place in Pontiac, and we would throw bread to the ducks after," Castiel smiled at the memory, watching his father's face for a sign, any sign of recognition.
"Your father," Chuck said softly, looking down, "will be very upset when he hears about this, Balthazar."
Castiel fought the panic, "You don't even know who I am." When he received no response, Castiel couldn't help it. A few tears slid down his cheeks in defeat.
"Don't cry, Cassy," Chuck sighed after a moment, then looked up in confusion. He had no idea where the name came from and Castiel met his gaze with hope.
"That's what you used to call me," Castiel said, blinking away the tears. "And when Fenrir died, you held me and Gabe in your arms for a whole hour, remember? Rocking us?" When Chuck remained quiet, Castiel pulled the watch from his pocket and held it so Chuck could see. "Remember this?"
"What is it?" Chuck asked curiously.
"It's your watch. You always wore it."
"I've never worn a watch," Chuck insisted. "We don't need them here."
"It's broken, but it never really kept good time anyway. But you didn't seem to mind," Castiel continued, smiling at his father. He slid the watch over Chuck's hand, latching it around his wrist. "There."
"There they are! Don't move!" A Demon shouted as several stormed the room. Chuck, moving out of instinct, pulled Castiel behind him.
"I'm a little disappointed," a familiar, cold voice said that sent chills down Castiel's spine. Alistair. "I expected a bit more of a struggle." He looked around, frowning. "Where's Dean?"
"I don't know," Castiel said honestly.
"You alright?" Lilith asked Chuck as she stepped forward.
"They kidnapped me. Tried to turn me against Lucifer," Chuck breathed, eyes hard, "with some story about being this guy's father."
Castiel's heart sank and he stepped away from Chuck numbly. Lilith sauntered to Balthazar, a smirk on the Demon's face. "You'll break your father's heart."
"As if you care," Balthazar responded testily.
"Not really, just thought I should mention it," Lilith shrugged and stepped over to Gardener. "Well, well, well. The mysterious Gardener. Apprehended at least. You realize this brings an end to the resistance. Finally, and forever."
Gardener merely smiled before a suddenly vines entangled his form completely. They turned to dust and when the air cleared, he was gone. Lilith growled in frustration before leading Balthazar and Castiel from the hospital. Alistair brought up the rear.
Dean and Bobby watched from around the corner. "Balls," Bobby grunted and Dean took a deep breath.
"Okay," the younger man said. "I know there's a lot of Demons out there, but if we let them get to the casino, there's gonna be a whole lot more. We have to take them now."
"Are you serious?" Bobby questioned with disbelief.
Dean turned to stare at the older man, "Yeah. We've got surprise on our side, and we've got horses. Now, if I go in swinging, that might give you just enough time to get in there, grab Cas, and gallop away."
"Well then, you'll be needing this," Bobby pulled the machete from the holster at his hip, handing it to Dean. He nodded and they both mounted their horses.
"Ready?" Dean questioned, but didn't bother waiting for a response. He kicked the horse and galloped towards the Demons, taking a few down with the blade.
"Dean!" He heard Castiel yell in surprise, but continued his attack. The Demons, stunned, went down fairly easily, but there were half a dozen more to replace them. They pulled him from the horse, tackling him to the ground. "Get off him!" Castiel shouted, fighting against the Demons that held him.
"What a nice surprise," Alistair approached, gazing down at Dean with a twisted look in his eyes. "Chain him up, let's head out!"
ooooo
AN: Another chapter! That's two in one week :D There's only a couple more chapters to go, hopefully I'll get them out within the next week or so. I'm on a roll! Thanks for all the reviews/favs/alerts!