AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thanks for hanging with me this far. I hope it's because you enjoy the story. Please - continue to read, continue to enjoy, and (please please please) review/follow/favorite! Thank you to those of you who have done so - special shout-out to Super-nerdiful. Very glad you're interested. For the rest of you, I'd like to know what you're thinking, too.

As per usual, obligatory "I own none of Supernatural" statement is here. And I'm afraid in this chapter you can see my Matthew Swift influence show full force. Hope that's a good thing. Please, enjoy.

CHAPTER FOUR

Sam sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger to try to ease the tension headache he felt building. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was well past midnight, and he was absolutely no closer to finding a cure for Cas than he had been a month ago. His eyes were running together with all the reading he had done, the words now nothing more than a blur on the page.

Standing, he decided to grab a quick nightcap before heading to bed. Cas was absolutely the most important part of this whole mess, being that he was the only one who could even begin to give them information on the Darkness and what it was. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down, turning on the television he had purchased and installed in his room. He didn't have cable, but he could pick up local channels okay, despite the depth of the bunker.

"In other news," a young local newsman was reporting, "Officials are still baffled by the large cloud of darkness over much of Kansas and Nebraska. Flights have been rerouted, and though search and rescue parties have entered, very few people have returned. It has been made known that those who have returned are found to be in a catatonic state, unable to communicate with authorities as to what is within it. The National Guard has placed roadblocks at all roads leading into or out of the cloud, and residents of the areas within a 50 mile radius are currently strongly encouraged to evacuate, while residents within ten miles of the cloud are being mandatorily evac-ed, as the cloud does seem to be slowly expanding.

"The president addressed the public today with words of comfort for those whose family members reside within the cloud. He also encouraged everyone to remain calm, and has assured the population that this is an isolated incident. Some are contributing the cloud to the Apocalypse, while others claim it's the result of frakking -"

Sam turned the television off. He had seen enough. He thought back on the scene tonight. Two vampires - no, he reminded himself in Ivy's voice - two people had been released from a curse. He thought she was quite wrong about them being able to find comfort, and peace, but he couldn't remember the look in Dean's eyes as she had touched him, whispering something in his ear before leaving.

When Sam lay down, his head was awash in the things he had seen on their trip through the Darkness. He got up, forgoing another beer in exchange for something stronger, and waited to be too drunk to think about it.

Dean lay awake in his room, staring at the ceiling. He held in his hands the card the young woman, Ivy, had given him earlier that day, and wished he could figure out what the hell was wrong with him. She had offered him everything he desired - forgiveness, peace. Hell, he'd even seen her magic, if that was what it was called, with his own eyes. And yet, deep inside, he desired nothing more than to hurt her. To make her weep for daring to tell him that anything he had done could ever actually be forgiven. His body shook with rage - or, was it rage? Could it have been fear instead? Maybe even… hope? No. He would not allow himself to hope again.

Never.

"Dammit, Cas," Dean whispered, "I know you're not you right now, but dammit, I need you. I need you whole, and healthy, and not trying to kill people because I'm trying really hard not to kill people anymore, and it's… it's really just -" He broke off. He couldn't tell anyone what was going on in his head because he didn't know what was going on in his head. He just knew that it all hurt far too much.

He fingered the business card in his hands. He could make it all go away. He could just make a call. But something told him that it just wouldn't work. It couldn't be this easy. He didn't deserve to have it this easy. But, just because he didn't deserve it didn't mean that Cas didn't. He sat up. There was nothing wrong with giving her a call and asking if she had any experience with angels, right? Sammy was still up studying, which meant he hadn't found anything. And, while Dean ostensibly agreed that they needed to find Cas for Darkness-related reasons, Dean really just needed his best friend back.

The phone rang and Dean felt a stab of worry that she wouldn't answer, or that it would have been a prank, but after three rings, he heard her voice. And even then, it quieted something inside of him at the memory of her touch. "Yes?"

Dean tried to play it cool, hoping she wouldn't notice his voice shaking. "Hey Ivy. It's Dean."

Her voice echoed as if she were in a large, empty place. "Guy from the woods?"

Dean arched his eyebrows. He'd forgotten that he and Sam had never introduced themselves to her. "Uh, yeah. Hah. That's me. Dean is my name."

"The tall one? Or the taller one?"

Dean grinned. "The tall one." Was that water he heard sloshing in the background?

"Well, hello," she said. "What can I do for you?"

"Hey, listen. I just wondered. Do you have any experience with angels?"

She was silent for a moment and Dean was now certain that he heard water. "I've met a couple in my time." She didn't sound happy.

"It's just, I know you were touting this miracle cure earlier -"

"It's not a miracle. Nor is it a cure," she interrupted. "It's a restoration of balance."

"Um… yeah. That. We've got a friend who is under some kind of spell. Do you fix those?"

She was silent for a long time, and only the sloshing of water let Dean know she hadn't disconnected. "What kind of friend? And what kind of spell?"

"He's…" Dean trailed off. "He's an angel. And we don't really know what kind of spell. It was cast on him by a witch."

"A witch. Cast a spell. On an angel."

"Well," Dean replied, feeling sillier by the moment. "Yeah, basically. And we don't know anything about the spell and so we don't know anything about the remedy." Silence. Even the sloshing of water stopped. "Ivy?"

"I'm not sure, Dean. Angels are kind of out of my typical scope."

"Oh, sure." Dean said, the disappointment in his voice apparent. "That's cool. I was just thinking…"

"I'm not saying I won't try," she said gently, "I'm just saying that I'm not certain if we can help or not. If he was anything that was once human, I could do it. But… well, angels are a separate species altogether. It's kind of like asking a general practitioner to treat a dog. Could they? Maybe. But is it likely? Not terribly. Although it is beneficial that he was cursed by a witch. I know a great deal about witchcraft. And spells."

"This spell may have come out of a book called the Book of the Damned," Dean warned.

"Ah yes. We're quite familiar with it. Or, we were, when it was originally penned."

"You are?" Dean stood, surprised.

"Of course," Ivy continued, although she didn't actually sound like Ivy anymore now that he thought about it. "That book contains the means to our calling. We were instrumental in its creation."

"Ivy, you wrote the Book of the Damned?"

"Don't be foolish, child," the voice was definitely not Ivy. It was that other voice. The one that had introduced itself to the brothers earlier tonight as the Daughter. "We did not write the Book. We allowed the book to be written. For it has been prophesied - and so it shall be, that when the darkness comes, then, too, shall come the light."

Dean was, in that very moment, quite afraid. "And… um… what is the light?" His voice conveying his fear.

"The light is We and We be the Light. We dance electric, Dean Winchester. Dare you to dance with us?"

Dean didn't know what to say, and so he said nothing.

The phone was silent for a long, long, time. Dean sat, his pulse in his ears, watching the call time on the phone tick up second by second. A full three minutes went by before Ivy spoke up, this time sounding like herself once again. "You may bring your angel friend to the William and Mary College Aquatic Center," she said, sounding exhausted. "I'll be here for the next four days. After that, I can't promise I'll be able to help him. Or you."

The call ended.

Dean cautiously sat his phone down on his nightstand, lay back in bed, and decided that he hadn't really needed to sleep tonight anyway.

The next morning, Dean and Sam arrived on the William and Mary campus. They nervously carried a pair of duffle bags through the historic buildings, hoping they wouldn't draw much attention to themselves. It was fortunate for them that the students were more concerned with coffee and getting from class to class. Had they been noticed, or worse, reported, security would have found plenty of reasons to suspect them of some sort of attack upon the campus, and things would have ended poorly.

When they reached the Aquatics Center, a sign was posted alerting the brothers to the fact that the center was closed due to renovations. Sam knelt down to pick the lock, but was surprised when the door swung open silently. Ivy stood in the doorway, soaking wet and wrapped in a towel.

Seeing her in the light, Dean was surprised by just how small she was. The night before, in the flickering of the firelight and the shadows of the trees, she had seemed far bigger than she did this morning. She was barely a wisp of a woman, standing just over 5'6, and her hair was the silver Dean thought was reserved for the elderly. Although, last night, she had let them know that she was far, far older than they would have assumed.

She said nothing, but led them into the center, which was quite dim, lit only by high windows. They crossed the check-in desk and the locker rooms. Ivy opened the double doors at the end of the hall and entered the pool area. It was impressive, and not only because it was a full-sized pool. The water swirled in every color imaginable, and some that both Sam and Dean were certain didn't really exist. A dim light emanated from the pool water, leaving the surrounding area feeling like an underwater grotto in some animated movie.

Without even a nod of acknowledgement, Ivy dropped the towel and dove into the pool. Dean got the barest glimpse of bare skin as she dove, not seeing a single tattoo. He furrowed his brow in confusion before she surfaced, resting in the water as if she were lounging in a chair. "Where is your angel?" she asked finally.

"Uh…" Sam lifted the duffle bag he had sat beside his feet when they entered the pool room. "We've got to summon him."

"And trap him," Dean added.

"And you call him a friend?" Ivy asked, wry humor in her voice.

"It's… complicated," Dean replied.

"It always is," she sighed, laying on her back and floating on the water. "Well, get on with it. I'm not just here for your benefit. I have a life," she continued. "I have a very full schedule involving floating here in this water until my telephone rings. Or until we decide to move on."

Sam and Dean began their preparations, setting up first a ring of Holy Oil, then the ritual. All the time, each kept glancing back at Ivy, who floated in the water with her eyes closed as if she were sleeping. The light from the water slowly grew and diminished as if pulsating.

The spell was cast, the ritual completed, and with the sound of fluttering wings, Castiel appeared. His clothes were in tatters, his face covered in dried blood. He glanced around, and fearful that he was about to run, Dean flicked his lighter and dropped it into the oil, trapping his friend inside. "How dare you!" Castiel roared, rushing to the very edge of the flame and screaming in anger. His entire face was contorted in pain.

Sam and Dean jerked back, not having expected such an angry response. "Cas," Dean said softly, "It's us. We brought you here to help you."

"I require no assistance!" Cas snarled.

"My goodness," came Ivy's voice from directly behind the brothers. "You truly are like an injured animal." She was still nude, her silver hair falling to her hips as she walked past the two men, through the flames, and toward the angel, who was staring at her with a mixture of fear and anger and backing away quickly.

She knelt in the middle of the ring of Holy Fire, and put one hand out in front of her as if she were coaxing a stray dog to come to her. "Come to me," she whispered. "I promise I won't hurt you."

Castiel, who had moments before been raging and straining to attack the Winchesters, was now cowering at the outer edge of the ring, crouching in on himself. "What are you?" he growled.

"A friend," she said softly. She turned back to the brothers. "This will take me a while. Go get yourselves something to eat. And bring me back something high in fat and full of carbs."

Not knowing what else to do, Sam and Dean slowly walked away. When Sam glanced back as they exited the doors, Castiel was maybe an inch or two closer to her than he had been before. She remained crouched in the center of the ring, looking very primal in the glow of the fire and water. He closed the door behind him, shared a look with Dean, and the two men left the aquatic center in silence.