Chapter 14: The Plot Twist

Addy eyes the abandoned industrial building with trepidation as she gets out of the SUV. "What is with you angels and abandoned buildings?"

"No interruptions," Michael answers.

"No witnesses, either," Addy counters.

The archangel gives her a brief half-smile before moving away from the group to circle around the building. The Impala pulls up next to the SUV and the four occupants get out to join Addy and Gadreel at the door of the building. Dean motions to the disappearing figure of Michael.

"Where's he going?"

Addy shrugs. "I don't know. He disappears like that often, every place we've ever been. I assume it's a safety thing."

Dean frowns. "Sounds shifty to me."

"Why do I get the impression you think all angels are shifty?"

Dean gives a hard look at Gadreel. "Because they are."

"Maybe if you didn't treat them with distrust-"

"Maybe you need to not trust them so much-"

"Hey!" Sam interrupts. "For all intents and purposes, we're on the same side right now. We have to be united going into this meeting."

"Sam's correct," Gadreel says. "We don't know how powerful Metatron has become since I last encountered him. He may have a found a way to tap into the angel tablet by now. If he decides to make a stand against us, we will need to launch a unified defense."

"So, first things first," Sam says, "we put the two most vulnerable together and keep them as far away from Metatron as possible."

Addy can tell it doesn't sit well with Jael to be referred to as "vulnerable." From what Gadreel has told her, Jael was as old as he was and had been one of the more powerful angels. Blowing out her grace and being 100% human is more of an insult than anything. The only thing that is motivating her to make a go of being human is that Dean and Sam had the best of intentions in bringing her back.

But Addy thinks it has more to do with the lingering touches and communicative looks between the former angel and Sam. In fact, Addy wonders if they see the same thing when they observe her and Gadreel. Lost little humans with their kind hearted protectors. Addy loops her arm through Jael's in hopes of reassuring the other woman that she's not alone.

"We're not as vulnerable as they think, are we, Jael?"

The blond woman gives her a confused look. "I am."

"You still have your angel blade, right?"

"Yes."

"Well then, not exactly defenseless."

Jael still looks slightly confused but she doesn't move to disengage herself from Addy. Gadreel takes his stance next to Addy, with Sam on the other side of Jael. Dean and Cas take point but when they start for the door, they find the space is already occupied by Metatron.

"Everyone in position, then?" He puts his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his feet. "I'll wait."

"No need," Michael answers, appearing around the corner of the building. "Say your piece."

Addy has to admit she takes a perverse pride in the slack-jawed look Metatron sports at seeing Michael standing there. It takes him a moment to recover before moving inside the building. Michael leads them in and Addy files in behind Jael and Sam. Sunlight shines through the various broken windows and illuminates the other wise dark building. Metatron stands in the middle of fallen beams and various amounts of litter as they form a tight semi-circle around him. His eyes fall directly on her and his mouth twists.

"You're shorter than I thought you would be."

"Ditto," Addy retorts which causes Gadreel to take a half step in front of her.

Metatron chuckles and raises his hand. "Let her speak her mind. I made her to be that way."

It's a comment that gives everyone pause so Metatron continues.

"I was concerned over my second in command's loyalty. You can't offer someone that kind of position without putting them through their paces. So I gave him a to do list."

"A hit list," Sam spits.

Metatron rolls his eyes to the ceiling and shrugs. "Semantics."

"Not to the lives that were taken," Dean adds.

Addy reaches out and grabs Gadreel's hand. She practically feels the weight of guilt slam down on him. He's been forgiven, not completely but enough. She tries to remind him of that with a quick squeeze that presses their palms together.

"Regardless," Metatron continues, "he carried through beautifully. He killed the prophet, his torturer and his best friend. That only left one more test, one more threat that needed to be eliminated. The damsel in distress. And it was on that one where he stumbled."

Jael shifts on her feet. "You didn't create the angel anchor. I did."

Metatron gives Jael a baleful look. "Poor, graceless Jael. No, you didn't. There was no need for an anchor. The charging station in Heaven is fully functional and the angels who wish to return are allowed passage. Those who wish to fade away and allow their vessels to continue their lives are free to do so as well."

Addy feels Jael reach out to her, her hand landing on Addy's shoulder. "I am so sorry."

"Oh don't apologize to her," Metatron laughs. "Addison Weaver is completely my own creation. Her backstory, tragic. Her looks, eh, passable, I suppose. Then the idea came to make her a Winchester, make sure she found her way to you guys. So I gave her Sam's heart and Dean's mouth. But then," he sighs sadly, "then she became a little too convincing. So convincing-"

"Lucifer thought she really was a Winchester," a new voice says from the shadows.

Addy knows the voice before he even steps into their full view. "Gabriel?"

He waves at her with a half grin. "Hi, Addy."

"You died," Dean says. "We saw you die."

"Please," Gabriel tilts his head to the side. "You can't take the trick out of the Trickster. And I have to say that even though falling from Heaven hurt like a bitch, stumbling across this little magnificent creation," he motions to Addy, "took some of the sting out of it. And seeing how completely convincing she was, well, only added to the entertainment."

"Didn't you ever ask yourselves," Metatron continues, "why you couldn't track her? Heal her? Transport her? It had nothing to do with her being an anchor but everything to do with her complete and utter non-existence."

Addy felt her knees buckle until they hit the hard concrete. "I'm not real."

"Not now," Gabriel says. "But you're going to be."

Gabriel snaps his fingers and an odd warmth drops over Addy, like being wrapped in a blanket fresh out of the dryer. The world comes a bit more into focus and her emotions have a sharper edge to them. She feels faint, sick and buzzed all at once.

"Now you have a real soul," Metatron tells her, "not just a shadow of one."

Addy climbs to her feet on unsteady legs and leans heavily into Gadreel who puts his arm around her shoulders to steady her. "Why?"

Metatron sighs. "The original spell to close Heaven would only eject the current, active angels. So, I had to tweak the spell a bit. I added a secondary spell that would release the imprisoned angels as well. I didn't realize it would open Lucifer's cage."

"Not until I ran into big brother over there," Gabriel motions to Michael.

Well, that explains where Michael always went whenever they stopped for a night. Perimeter check her ass.

"It sounds like you have a plan concerning Lucifer," Cas says.

"Oh we do," Gabriel says. "Lucifer needs to be locked up and pronto. And now, we have something he wants: a Winchester vessel who he figures won't fight back."

"We can't talk about the rest," Metatron interjects and points to Addy. "Not with her here. I suggest you let Gadreel take her on a little road trip while we discuss the plan with you."

"Wait a minute," Addy finally finds her tongue. "You bring me in here, tell me I'm not real, dropkick a soul into me so I can be Lucifer's vessel and then you kick me out of the planning session? The hell kind of meeting is this?!"

Metatron finally shows a flash of anger. "The kind of meeting that ends with my disloyal second in command, who has a penchant for falling for stupid ideals, doesn't get smote where he stands. I suggest you two take this opportunity and go."

Addy finds herself half carried out of the building by Gadreel and she doesn't even have the energy to fight him.

Addison is more distraught than Gadreel has ever seen her. They check into a hotel somewhere outside of Oklahoma City and all she does for an hour is pace the length of the room. Gadreel is used to sitting quietly and just watching Addy work through whatever the issue happens to be. But he can sense the energy is different this time.

There is a heartbreaking desperation and terror that is shredding her spirit. He has seen her fearful before, unsure of what her future holds but she has always been able to grab ahold of the emotions and wrestle them into submission. Tonight, that is not the case. Tonight, he's watching her break into a thousand pieces and there is nothing he can do. No, that's not true. He can do something, he's just not sure what it is.

"Addy?"

She stops her pacing mid-step, as if he had shouted her name. "What?"

He had hoped words would have presented themselves to him but they don't.

"Do you," she pauses slightly. "Do you notice anything different about me?"

He knows what she's referring to and he seeks it out: her soul, her "realness" that Gabriel had granted her with a mere snap of his fingers. But he senses no change in her at all. She is still as bright as the night he met her in the graveyard.

"I notice no difference."

She lays a hand over her heart. "Maybe nothing has changed then. Maybe I'm still not real."

"You are real."

"How do you know?" Her voice warbles, high pitched and filled with tears.

He doesn't know how to express this kind of knowledge to her. It simply is. It's a feeling in the very core of his grace, a connection that has no ability to be described in the human language. He'll have to show her.

"You want to know how I know?" He raises his hand and places his palm against her forehead. "Close your eyes."

She immediately does as he asks and once more he is astounded at how much trust she has placed with him. He lets that emotion carry through the connection he makes with her, lets the awe he feels for her color the memories he shares. He lets her see first hand how he sees her: bright, beautiful and everything he loves about humanity.

He shows her the flare of protectiveness he embraced in the graveyard when she flashed her gun. He allows her to feel the relief and gratitude of having someone release him from his bonds twice and place a fragile seed of trust in his hands. He brings back the warmth and laughter from their day spent in Yellowstone. The gift of acceptance, forgiveness and companionship she had freely given.

Then he takes a deep breath and recalls the night in the hotel when she tended to his wounds. It had been the turning point for him. His desire to protect her as a means to expunge his marred reputation had shifted to his desire to protect her because he didn't want to imagine a world without her. He lets her feel what her tactile kindness did to him, the emotions it awakened. Emotions he has no way of properly understanding or expressing.

He ends the connection with his memories of the previous night. He lets her witness her own falling asleep at the description of Eden. How he watched her sleep for hours, enjoying the weight of her against him, in his arms. The comfort he drew from the steady beat of her heart and even breathing of a peaceful sleep. He hopes it's enough to prove to her just how life changing she has been for him and that is the reality of her.

He's surprised to see a tear escape from her still closed eyes and he wipes it away with his thumb. He settles his hands on either side of her face, not quite ready to let her go just yet. "Addy?"

She opens her eyes to reveal more tears and she gives him a shaky smile. "You do love me. I could...feel that when you showed me those memories. But loving me doesn't make me real."

Gadreel smiles at the confirmation of the emotions he had been feeling towards her. It's not just Joseph's emotions bleeding into his own. He, Gadreel the angel, loves her. "But you just said it yourself. I do love you. And you love me. How can that be if one of us does not exist?"

"Metatron said that you fell for an ideal and nothing more. People fall for thoughts and ideas and standards all the time." She wraps her fingers around his hands and pulls them away from her face. "Still doesn't mean I'm re-"

He cuts her off before she can finish the sentence by leaning down and kissing her. He's afraid that this action will be enough to rouse Joseph but his vessel's spirit stays completely submerged in his dream just as he had promised. So Gadreel pulls on the body's muscle memory to know how to properly kiss her. He finds this expression of affection to be more instinctual than learned.

Addy overcomes her surprise and leans into him, her lips moving against his. Her hands slide around his back, fingertips pressing into his shoulder blades lightly. That sudden burst of pleasure erupts from the pressure points, momentarily blinding him with a hot rush of energy. He comes back to his senses with a handful of sleek blonde hair griped tightly in his fist and scraping his teeth along the long line of her neck.

He's afraid the display has frightened her due to her rapid heartbeat and quick breathing. An apology is on his lips when she pushes against him. He starts to step back when he realizes that she's not pushing him away but rather trying to take his jacket off. He shrugs out of it and is immediately and momentarily blinded by her pulling his shirt over his head. She kisses him with as much passion as he has shown her and he fumbles with the hem of her own shirt. He pulls away from her only to take her shirt off and finds himself stunned into complete inaction.

She is beautiful, inside and out. Merciful, compassionate, brave woman wrapped in alluring curves and soft skin. And she is willing to allow him and his fumbling hands to touch her in this most intimate way. It is a gift that he would never be worthy of receiving even if he had redeemed himself a thousand times over.

"Gad?"

He smiles and ghosts his fingers up her bare arms. "Yes?"

"Show me," she reaches to undo his belt. "Show me I'm real."

He leans in to kiss her again and whispers against her lips, "I will."