Chapter Fifteen: Interlude

Dean, Sam and Jael all return to the bunker after the meeting with Metatron and Gabriel. All three are worn out, weary of the end of the world always being just around the corner. The planning, the warding, the hyper-awareness of watching for ambushes and attacks. And working with people that would otherwise be their enemies, it is wearing on them.

Or at least it is on Sam.

Dean dumps his bag on the table and grabs a beer from the fridge. "You two want one?"

"Yeah, sure," Sam answers but when he turns to Jael he finds she's already left the kitchen. "Better make that just one for me."

Dean sighed and looked in the direction of their rooms. "She's gotta be taking this hard. Cas gets to go back home to help with the new spell, the new cage and she's grounded." Dean takes a long pull on his beer. "All because of us."

"I never should have asked her for her help."

"She would have probably done it anyway."

Sam sat down at the table. "How's that?"

"What are you, blind? You don't notice how she looks at you?"

"Dude, really?" Sam rubs his forehead. "We do not have time for this kind of thing right now. We've got some angels we can trust, some we can't, some we don't even know who's side their on, telling us they're working on a brand spanking new cage for Lucifer." Sam laughs. "And the lynch pin in this plan is to have him take Addy as a vessel, convince him he's found the door to Heaven and step into the cage that's on the other side of the door. But then the army of angels need to be able to get in there to get Addy out before she gets trapped in there with him before the locks engage. And that's if she can eject him."

"We've done crazy before."

"Not this crazy."

"Look," Dean sets his beer down. "Metatron made Addy, right? So if anyone knows what she's capable of, it's him. I hate the guy as much as humanly possibly but if he thinks Addy can do this, I say that's the horse we back. Besides, Cas is up there now helping with the cage. We know he's not going to do anything backhanded."

"If this works, it's going to be a miracle."

Dean shrugs. "We've seen it happen before."

Sam has to reluctantly agree. "You're awfully positive about this situation."

"For once, we're damage control. Michael has his vessel, Addy is going to be Lucifer's. Our asses are off the line this time. We just have to be ready to clean up the aftermath if this goes south."

"Adam and Addy are both going to need help if they survive this."

Dean nods solemnly. "I'll talk to Cas about what kind of prep work we need to do for them. But, for now, you have some help that needs to be delivered."

Sam catches the extra beer bottle. "I don't even know if she likes beer."

Dean smiles, picks up the weapons bag and starts towards the storeroom. "Don't know unless you ask her."

Sam resists the urge to roll his eyes as he makes his way towards the rooms. They had put Jael up next to Sam in case she needed anything. He stops in front of her door and listens for any movement in the room. He can't hear anything so he knocked, hoping she isn't asleep already.

"I'm fine. Thank you."

Except he can hear the tears in her voice. "Jael, let me come in, please."

The door opens and Jael peers out with red rimmed eyes. "I'm not exactly good company right now."

Sam hands her the beer and she takes it hesitantly. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

She nods, her hands twisting nervously around the bottle. "I'm not. I'm not okay. I've never had to sit anything out before. I've always been on the front lines. I'm not used to being..."

"Human?"

"Useless."

Sam steps into her room and sets both beer bottles down on the desk. "You are not useless."

She gives him a disbelieving look.

"Just because you're human doesn't make you useless. Do you think I'm useless?"

"No, of course not."

"Neither are you."

Tears start to gather in her eyes. "I am so lost, Sam. For the first time in my life, I'm scared."

"I know, I get that." Sam reaches out to her hesitantly, not sure how she will respond to him. He's pleasantly surprised when she willingly steps closer to him and allows him to hold her. "We have time before the plan goes into motion. We'll teach you everything you need to know. You won't be lost. You won't need to be afraid."

She actually returns the hug. "Thank you, Sam."

"It's going to be okay."

"You sound so sure. How can you be so sure?"

Sam steps back but keeps an arm around her shoulders. "Would you believe this isn't our first apocalypse?"

"What?"

He picks up the beer bottles and hands her one. "How about I tell you about that over a beer?"

She gives him a shaky smile. "Okay."

One Week Later...

Addy rolls over in the soft bed and finds herself tangled in sheets, blankets and the long limbs of her angel. Early morning light shines into the nautical themed bedroom in the bed and breakfast they had found the previous night in the small California town of Olema. They had finally made it to Olema. The devil is breathing down their neck and the angels are planning something big but it feels like a distant, bad dream to Addy on a perfect morning such as this.

She fights through the blankets and quilt until she reaches the soft material of Gadreel's t-shirt and buries her face in it. "Told you I would show you Olema."

"Yes," he answers solemnly. "However I had the expectation of seeing the entirety of the town and not just this room."

"It's only our first day here. Patience."

He huffs slightly, his chest dipping and rising beneath her head.

"You don't have to stay in bed with me while I sleep you know."

"I know." He brushes her hair away from her face and lets his fingertips drift down over her ear and neck. "I wouldn't want to be any other place than by your side."

It isn't the first time he had said something like that to her. It is a double edged comment for Addy though. He loves her, completely and thoroughly. The feeling is the same on her side but she still has this small doubt of her authenticity. Gadreel has been through so much and it pains her to think that if she is nothing more than a pawn in some angelic scheme, that he'll end up getting hurt again. He's happy and her only wish is for it to continue.

He shifts his position so he's leaning over her. "You're thinking too deeply again."

Addy stretches and smiles. "Perhaps I need a distraction."

He smiles, a genuine smile that actually reaches his eyes, before sliding his hands under her shirt. "I believe I can offer a distraction."

And what a sweet distraction it is. Gone are the sharp elbows in the ribs and knees knocking together at inopportune moments. They have learned each others bodies in the last week so that now, on mornings where the world is still not quite awake, their love making is slow and unhurried. By the time they manage to finally leave the bed and dress, they've missed the window for breakfast. But when Addy opens their door, there's a basket of muffins sitting on the floor in front of their room with a tag tucked into the basket.

"What does it say?" Gadreel asks.

Addy smiles and shows him the piece of paper. "'To the newlyweds.'" He gives her a confused look so she explains. "That's what they called newly married couples. The owners probably think we're on our honeymoon."

"Honeymoon?"

She closes the bedroom door and they start to leave the house. "After a couple gets married they usually go away on a vacation together called a honeymoon."

"I'm failing to understand how our arrival and stay here could be seen as a honeymoon."

Addy gets into the car and tries to hide a smile. "The couple usually has copious amounts of sex on their honeymoon. So they either assumed that we missed breakfast because we were otherwise engaged or..."

"Or?"

"They heard us."

The tips of his ears go red and the line of questioning stops. Addy drives them down the side road by the bed and breakfast to where a trail head starts in the Point Reyes National Seashore. Surprisingly enough, there is no view of the ocean, just pine trees and rolling hills. If he's disappointed by the lack of ocean, he doesn't say anything but regards the area with a small smile.

It is a beautiful day for a hike and Addy is looking forward to spending the time with Gadreel. She likes seeing the effect wide open spaces have on him and wishes this could be their life: quaint little towns, cozy bed and breakfasts and hikes through meadows and forests. But that's not to be the case. There's a war gearing up and she will need to be a major player. For now though, for today, they can play at being the newlyweds that the bed and breakfast staff believe them to be. They start on the trail and reach for each other's hand at the same time, their fingers interlacing effortlessly.

"We're going to have to come up with a way to make some money since we don't know how long this road trip is going to last," Addy says.

"I've thought of that. Joseph did work as a bartender so I can pull on that information."

"That means we'll have to be stationary though. We were told to keep moving." Addy smiles. "Lucky for us, for some odd reason, Metatron put in my backstory the ability to play the cello. I just need to find one, even a used one, and I can play on the street. Possibly get a few gigs out of it."

"And what will I do?"

"Do you know how big a cello is?" Addy laughs. "You get to lug the thing around."

They spend the next two days in Olema before moving down into San Francisco. Addy finds a cello in a pawn shop that is her size and doesn't need much work. It's odd when she sits down in the hotel room and knowing she has never actually touched the instrument, yet being able to play various pieces of music.

She plays for one day on the streets of San Francisco and obtains three offers to play in local cafes and bars. The city is large enough that they move around from section to section and end up staying for two weeks. They make plans to move down the coast, hitting Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey, Santa Cruz and the Big Sur area but the night before they leave, Addy wakes up and finds Gadreel is not in the bed with her.

She gets up and checks the small room and finds no trace of him. Then she notices her cello case is empty as well. She pulls on a pair of jeans and grabs a sweater, pulling it over her t-shirt before stepping out the room. She sees other people standing right outside their doors, all listening to the music coming from the pool area. Addy leans on the railing and wasn't even surprised to see Gadreel with her cello playing Coldplay's "The Scientist" perfectly.

He had told her that some angels were very musically inclined, as if it were just another language to them such as Enochian. She assumes he's one such angel given how naturally he's taken to instrument and the music. She does wonder how many nights he has snuck out to play her cello behind her back.

Looks like they would be purchasing a second cello before they left in the morning.