Hey!

First, thanks for all the love with the reviews. You all totally make my day. It's so awesome to write something and know that people actually enjoyed it.

I was thinking about who to include on the show, and I have to say, Sarah Blake remains one of my favorite characters, mostly because she's the only lady who's survived being with Sam!

I promise that Cas will visit your dreams tonight if you review! (Once I secure permission from the owners of Supernatural for him to do that because I definitely don't own that awesomeness)

Chapter 3

The Winchesters arrived early in the morning, but Castiel missed it because he had to be driven to the airport so he could pretend to exit the private jet along with everybody else. He told Gabriel it was stupid but apparently the production manager had insisted on it for "authenticity's sake". As if there could possibly be anything authentic about a dating show.

So Castiel was awkwardly shuffled onto the docked plane as the camera crew (where he should have been) set up to film the contestants as they entered the airport. He was shoved into an empty seat and turned to find a girl with wavy brown hair sitting next to him and worriedly biting her nails.

She attempted a small smile. "Hi, I'm Sarah Blake."

"Castiel," he grunted.

The girl must have been really nervous because she just kept talking. "Are you actually a contestant? Do they allow male contestants? " she asked and then clapped a hand over her mouth. "I mean, sorry, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to. I was just curious but then I realized how that must have sounded. Jeez I'm an idiot."

Castiel decided he liked her. "No, it's okay. I'm a replacement actually; the guy who was supposed to be here couldn't make it. I wasn't told what happened." He sighed. "I'm supposed to be filming this scene, not participating in it."

"Oooh! So you can operate a camera? That sounds really interesting! How'd you end up sitting by me instead then?"

"It's a long story involving family guilt, bribery and extraordinary bad luck. Maybe I can tell it later?"

"Sure," she nodded agreeably. "Are you nervous? I'm trying not to be but," she held up her nails with a guilty expression, "I don't think I've quite convinced myself yet."

Castiel chuckled, suddenly feeling more at ease. "No, not really. I'll be eliminated in just a couple of hours and the embarrassment will end. You won't be so lucky though."

Sarah's shoulders slumped and she looked abashed. Castiel realized his mistake. "No! I mean you won't be eliminated, like me. I'm looking forward to it actually. You're nice and pretty and I'm sure this guy will feel lucky to have you. You'll get a rose, easy."

"You're really nice."

Castiel shrugged. "I should pay you to say that around my brother. Why are you here anyway?"

Sarah flushed and looked away. "Well, I sort of auditioned on a dare and I guess I never backed out because, well, you'll probably laugh, but I guess I believe in true love. It seemed like kind of a sign they even cast me!" she ended defensively.

Castiel wasn't sure he believed in true love unless that moment, when a film was finally ready and edited to perfection, counted. He made an effort not to laugh at Sarah's enthusiasm though and nodded seriously.

"Well I guess I can admire the fact that you're willing to take a chance."

"Thanks."

Castiel took a second to look around at the other contestants. A sea of beach blonde hair, perfectly manicured nails and sequined tops greeted him. He never normally noticed women but he actually had trouble telling these ones apart. Good luck Mr. Winchester, he thought amusedly.

A voice announced over the speaker that the airport was ready to greet the women of Single Ladies. Castiel wasn't prepared though for the sheer amount of luggage eleven women could cram on a plane and the time it would take to unload it. He was sure the plane was supposed to have a separate compartment for all that stuff.

Sarah struggled to pull her own carry-on out of the overhead bin. Castiel sighed exasperatedly and reached up to help her.

"I got it."

"Oh no, you don't have to do that. I'm sure I can…get it," she panted as she tugged uselessly on the suitcase strap.

"No, really, it's fine, Sarah." He playfully swatted her hands away.

"Would I technically be cheating on Dean if I said I loved you right now?"

"Did you just say Dean?" Castiel put the suitcase on the floor and grabbed the extendable handle. It was beyond ironic that Gabriel ended his…whatever it had been…with one Dean, just to drag him to another in Colorado.

"Well, hello there, handsome. Mind helping me too?" a woman with fake lime green nails said and thrust a satchel his direction. Before Castiel could even offer, suitcases, bags and purses of every kind were shoved into his arms. He looked like a walking suitcase himself by the time he staggered off the plane.

"And this must be the show's new luggage man!" a familiar voice boomed. "No, sorry folks, I think it's actually our last contestant!" A pair of hands removed some of the bags and Castiel found himself staring into his brother's wicked grin.

"Why yes, ladies and gentlemen, I do believe it's Castiel, the twelfth contestant on our show! I think someone's suffering from a case of the nerves under all that baggage. Let's leave him to it, shall we?"

"No, I just thought I could help…" Castiel began, but the camera had already turned away and narrowed in on Gabriel, who had placed himself in the middle of all the girls and was posing in suggestive ways as the contestants giggled around him.

Cameras flashed, names were exchanged and people were loaded into limos during the time it took for Castiel to hand over the last of the luggage to the drivers. He barely managed to slip into the final car before the party left for the Winchester ranch.

Maybe extreme confusion and physical labor were actually Gabriel's twisted way of helping him stay out of the spotlight, he thought as he watched the snowy landscape pass by.

Castiel rolled his eyes as he stepped onto an actual red carpet. Someone had ridiculously unfurled a red runner over the snow-crusted path to the mansion. Although, as his traitorous artist's eye reminded him, the effect of a red carpet on a completely white terrain was quite visually striking.

A solitary figure was framed in the shadow of the great double doors that served as the main entrance and a cry of excitement rose from the contestants around him. Castiel laughed as they wobbled dangerously on expensive stilettos in their haste to meet the oldest Winchester. They would be in for a major disappointment when they realized it was only Gabriel's silhouette that darkened the doorframe.

He trailed behind. If he could make it through the whole thing without having to meet the actual bachelor, it would be for the best. A small hand grasped his shoulder and he looked over, surprised, at Sarah Blake.

"I thought you said you weren't nervous."

"I'm not. I'm debating the merits of escaping into the freezing woods. Hypothermia doesn't sound so bad." He smiled at the practical snow boots she had worn. "With footwear like that, you could always come with me, you know."

She slapped his arm. "I'm beginning to think you're a big baby, Cas, under all that sarcasm! Buck up, buddy," she winked and tugged him down the aisle.

They made it into the house after the rest of the pack. Once inside, Sarah was immediately abducted to console one of the girls who'd actually broken her heel on the trek in. Castiel shoved his hands in his pockets and looked for the cameras he knew had been inserted throughout the main hall. If moved a little to the left, he could stay in the camera's blind spot indefinitely.

Unfortunately, while Gabriel had been shockingly merciful at the airport, he showed no such inclination now. Somehow his voice rose above the throng.

"Ladies and gent! In case you're wondering, Castiel, that means you. If you'll follow me, you'll get to meet the master of the house in just a moment!"

He was ushered into a large room where a single broad staircase descended from the floor above. An intricately carved wooden railing lined the curved steps and a chandelier hung at the base of the stairs. Gabriel arranged everybody in an orderly manner and signaled for the cameras to start rolling again.

"Welcome to the Winchester mansion," he began in a sleazy talk show voice, "where you might just meet the love of your life tonight…or be sent home in disgrace this very evening." A murmur rose from the contestants; apparently the show had not informed them that the evening would end with an elimination.

Castiel stood silently through Gabriel's whole spiel about how great Dean Winchester was, how tragic that someone as good looking as him hadn't found a match yet, how this was his last chance for love etc. He wondered absently how it was possible for Gabriel to act like this was the most interesting thing he'd ever talked about. He fingered the hem of the blue shirt his brother had forced him into, citing that it matched his eyes (Castiel had taken an embarrassingly long moment to remember that they were actually blue, he so rarely bothered with mirrors).

The sound of a door opening caught his attention however and he looked up to see none other than Dean Winchester gazing down upon the contestants. Dean Winchester. The same Dean from that night in the club, the man he couldn't stop thinking about. Dean. His eyes were the exact same shade of green Castiel remembered them being. Funny how he could remember something like that.

He stopped breathing altogether when Dean's eyes immediately zeroed in on his own.