Chapter 5. The Trouble with Normal

Sam tossed and turned while he slept, he felt eyes burning at his skin. He gave a groan and turned again in the silence of the dim early morning under the cool rays of faint sunlight.

As he finally felt comfortable again and the sensation had worn off he suddenly felt a cold hand brush against his back. "Moose…" It whispered. "Wake up." Sam knew that voice all too well and at that moment he was wide awake, he took the knife from under his pillow and would have had Crowley by the throat if only Crowley hadn't vanished and reappeared on the other side of him.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked waking the now equally alert Dean.

"Merely popping in for a visit." Crowley said with an innocent expression on his face. "Can't I just do that?"

"You can, but you never do." Dean replied.

"Touché." Crowley said as he now leaned on the counter by the motel's sink. "Shabby place—"

"Cut the cute, why are you really here?" Sam asked.

"The big guy wants you to—how do you two say—'gank' a certain somebody." Crowley told them.

"Us or you?"

"Me, but he didn't say I couldn't ask his least favorite humans to do my work for me, so—"

"How does it feel to be Cas's little bitch?" Dean interrupted smugly.

Crowley narrowed his eyes at Dean before he began to talk. "Better than it'll feel once Bobby get's his bearded face killed."

"Is that a threat?" Sam asked.

"No, it's a warning … in any case if we could do this like men, because to be honest I can't take either of you seriously while you're in your ."

Sam and Dean looked at each other making Crowley impatiently roll his eyes. "Stop the eye-fucking already, what's it going to be, are you going to help me or not?"

"Depends." Sam said.

"How about you lot meet me at Bobby's in the late afternoon." Crowley replied.

"That's almost thirteen hours from here." Sam told him.

"Then—I SUGGEST YOU START BLOODY DRIVING!" With that Crowley vanished leaving a very bewildered Sam and Dean.

"What's got his panties in a twist?" Dean said reaching for his pants on the floor.

BOBBY'S P.O.V.

Marla had been coming in and out of my house every night for the past week since her 'death', I would have interrogated her about it however Marla had a way with words and always got away again before I realized what she'd done.

I basically just stopped asking I should just be happy with what's what, right? Maybe she'll tell me when the time is right or when she feels the time is right.

All the same there's something not right about her, maybe it's because I feel like I'm betraying Sam and Dean, which I am, it isn't all her fault I agreed to, it's just these 'secret meetings' she's been going to that have been worrying me.

She's left me in the dark for a while and she keeps telling me "It's for the best, trust me." And I just sit back and think 'trust me? Trust you…? I trusted you when I first met you and you never even told me the truth of what you really are up until now!' I have the urge to just yell it out at her nevertheless I could be risking my neck. I still don't completely know what she's capable of.

So I bite my tongue and just let things go. That is until Sheriff Mills, Jodie, came knocking at my door a few hours ago.

"Bobby!" She said distraught as she knocked on my door.

"Jodie," I said. "What's wrong?"

"There's been a murder, something I might need your expertise on." She told me.

"A murder?" I asked.

"Yeah." She replied as I let her in and sat her down in my kitchen.

"You want some coffee?" I asked her as I collected my thoughts and kept my poise thinking the worst of the situation.

"Just water, thanks." She replied.

I sat down after giving Jodie her water and thought. 'I wonder if this is why Marla's been out late, is she going after it or—"

"Fire." She said interrupting my thoughts. "Someone did a donut around the victim, we saw the tire marks after we put out a fire that just came out from nowhere."

I couldn't think of anything to reply at first but then asked; "Who was killed?"

"Um… you remember Jack Trout?" She asked.

"Of course, the son of a—yeah, he almost put me out of business a few months ago." I replied and then it dawned on me, 'Did Marla kill him for me because he was a threat to my life?' as I thought this I couldn't help feel twice as guilty as I already did seeing as Jodie was sitting here scared out of her wits looking on me for the answer.

"That isn't all, his eyes were burnt like charcoal and turned into dust just like his tongue."

"Son of a bitch!" I found my mouth saying before I could even comprehend what I was doing.

"What?" She asked. "Do you know what it is?"

I was about to make up some lame excuse when the sound of Marla's bag dropping came, Jodie had her back facing me and I faced Marla.

"I know what you're thinking." Marla said her boots making shrill thumping as she walked over to us. Maybe it was because what I was thinking was dreadful that her foot steps sounded so much louder than they probably were.

"I don't think we've met." Jodie said getting up from her seat, Marla waved her handshake away.

"Save it." Marla said frame of mindedly. "Forget about Tuna, he isn't really that important."

"It was Trout." Jodie corrected a bit angered by the carelessness in Marla's tone.

"Trout, Tuna, Blowfish same thing, the man died way before I killed him." Marla raised her voice making Jodie stand up a little straighter as if pushing her to do something more. "A few months ago he was trying to put you out of business to get you to go and argue with him, he was a shape-shifter and Crowley sent him down to get you."

"Get me?" I asked now feel worse than before for not trusting Marla and blaming her.

"I'm not sure why yet." Marla replied.

"Who exactly are you?" Jodie asked.

"Marla Sing—Slade." She told Jodie. "Marla C. Slade."

"I'm Sheriff Jodie Mills." Jodie said from where she stood.

"Oh, you're Jodie." Marla said with a hint of jealousy in her voice. "Bobby's told me about you." Marla forced a smile on her face. "I better turn in now; it seems I've interrupted your little—"

"Our little what?" Jodie asked.

"Nothing." I said.

"Whatever, Robert." Marla said narrowing her eyes, I'm not sure where I'd seen that before, she never did that, as far as I know, but it was this familiar smug with a hint of mockery sort of stare. "Don't do anything I would do, okay kids." She smiled and dragged her bag off the floor as she ran upstairs.

"Is she one of your hunting buddies?" Jodie asked me. "She seems too young."

"Trust me, if you think she looks young you might as well think I'm a goddamn toddler." I said back.

"I better go." Jodie said. "She didn't seem to want me sticking around anyway." I led Jodie out the door when she turned and told me to be careful

"Sorry about that." Bobby said. "She just gets a bit overprotective. She knows I—well goodnight and drive safe."

"You… what?" Jodie's lips twisted into one of her sweet and rare smiles.

"I care about you."

"She hates the fact that you care about me?" Jodie laughed. "I'm not even going to ask, goodnight." She finally said and left.

"Did you tell them?" Castiel asked Crowley.

"Yes." Crowley replied cautiously as he walked into the bright and completely glass room. Their reflections continued on and on into the mirrors that surrounded them from head to toe.

"Good." Castiel said. "She must be killed before—"

"Before she finds out how much more powerful she is than you?" Crowley asked.

Castiel looked up slowly, without even lifting a finger or flinching Crowley began to choke on his own blood.

"My apologies." Crowley said once Cas let him go.

"Power drives good people into madness." Castiel said looking away again.

Crowley wanted badly to retort a sarcastic reply but he held his tongue.

"Go, now." Cas told him. "I don't want to see you here again until you've done what I've asked."

"Right." Crowley said and vanished.

Castiel looked as his reflection from the mirror, stuck on earth because he hated the sight of heaven. It was worse than hell at the moment as some people said. Angels weren't killed off, Cas hated them so much that he locked them all up in heaven just like Lucifer in hell and let them fall into madness.

"If Crowley fails I must be prepared for the reunion." Cas told himself.

"Dude!" Sam said annoyed with Dean. "Don't put your shit in my bag."

"There wasn't enough room, plus your bag's more organized, I couldn't have my comics damaged before I got a chance to read them."

"Whatever." Sam said and threw the comics into the back seat.

"DUDE!" Dean bellowed.

"They're just comics." Sam said.

"Bitch." Dean said under his breath.

"Jerk." Sam said back.

I know this doesn't answer much or any of your questions LastBishop but I promise suspicions and theories shall be cleared up, soon. :)