The day dragged after lunch. Try as he might to focus, he just couldn't. For some reason he kept checking his phone for messages. It was ridiculous. Sam wasn't going to bother Dean right after lunch. He would likely wait until he went home. He was reaching for the phone again, just for a peek. Stop already, this is bordering on obsession. He set the phone face down on the desk, and, for good measure, placed a paper over it. Out of sight, out of mind.

Anna strolled in around five and propped herself in the door frame, "Hey, wingman."

"Hey, wingwoman." He returned with a smile. "What brings you to this neck of the woods? Looking for more work?"

She laughs, "No, got plenty of that. I just wanted to make sure that you were going to Gabe's little meet and greet with me. I think that the single people need to take care of each other. You know, a united front."

"Sounds like a plan. Is Uriel going with us too?"

"No, he is picking up Sarah and meeting us there. That makes him, now, officially not single too. We seriously need to find ourselves some gorgeous arm candy."

"Is Sam going?" Cas wondered if maybe Sam might bring Jess or maybe his brother could stand in if Jess were unavailable. Just stop already.

"I think so, but he seemed distracted today, so I bet that he finds a way to get out of it." Anna comes further into the room and grabs the back of the chair, arching out her back a bit.

"Gabe won't accept an excuse." It was then that Cas heard the tell-tale chime of a new email coming from his laptop. He turned to it and looked at the latest subject line.

Fluffy, Baby Duckies

"Hmm, Gabe strikes again," he muttered toward the screen.

"What did he send now?" Anna asked. She knew all about Gabe's emails, but unlike Cas, she did not open them.

"Therein lies the question." Cas hovered over the email, debating about whether or not to leave it until he got home. He opened it. The message was as short as the last one.

Yes, Cas you are the Dancing Queen.

The video was as he imagined it would be. He sang with gusto. The Dancing Queen was a bit high for his vocal range, but he made it work. Apparently, the crowd was pleased. Gabe had panned around the bar during the number and there was a large group of men in the corner at a reserved table. They were particularly pleased. He could hear Gabe's snort of pleasure at what he viewed as just embarrassing. 'Anna, go pick a real song,' he heard Gabe call out. Then the video ended.

"See, I told you that you had a nice voice," Anna said. "Are you going home before dinner or are you going to leave from here?"

"I'll just leave from here."

"Nice, I'll come back to pick you up here then." She turned to go adding, "See you in an hour."

"Bye, Anna."

Dinner was not entirely unpleasant. Sam was there, alone. He couldn't pick up Jess and get back before 6:30. He walked over to Cas as soon as he arrived and said, "So I talked to Dean and told him to call you."

"Oh, okay." What Cas was really thinking was more like, Oh, my God on repeat. He began mentally preparing his half of the conversation with varying degrees of humor. Wait, no humor. That is not part of my skill-set.

Sam just smirked at him in that knowing way. He gave Cas a slight pat on the shoulder before moving over to the table that Gabe had reserved for dinner. Gabe and Kali were late. "Fashionably late, kiddies. Don't get your panties in a bunch." He swooped over to the head of the table and Kali followed him. She was way out of Gabe's league. Her long dark hair framed her angular face. It was the face of a goddess. She had penetrating deep brown eyes that took in the faces of Gabe's friends with a look that was calculating. Then she smiled; it warmed her and dismantled them.

Cas was the first to bridge the gap. He walked up to her with his hand outstretched, "You must be Kali. We have heard so many great things about you."

"This is Cas," Gabe offered. "Believe nothing that he says. I never talk about you." Gabe smiled at her and leaned in for a kiss.

"Oh, the singer." Kali smiled at him. "Gabe has told me a lot about you."

Cas cringed at what Gabe might have shared. His interpretations were not always the most pleasant. "Hopefully, his tales haven't been too painful." Cas smiled warmly.

"Clearly, you are one of his favorite people to torture, which also makes you a dear friend." She released his hand then with an affectionate squeeze, "I'm glad to finally meet you."

"This is Uriel and Sarah." Gabe directed her away from Cas, to the others. Cas took a seat at the far end of the table, and Anna made her way over to the seat next to him after being introduced.

The conversation at the table was engaging, but Cas was having a hard time focusing on the people in the room. He had his phone in his lap and he periodically would press the on button to look for messages. Then an icon popped up on the top, a new email.

He opened the app as the table went silent only to find that Gabe had sent him something with the subject line: So many baby animals if you don't stop playing with your phone!

He looked up and saw that they were all looking at him. "Uh, sorry." He gave Gabe a look of sincerity.

"Just be glad that I didn't send an attachment." Gabe smirked across the table.

"You are just mean, Gabe." Kali said with affection underlying her tone.

"All in good fun, all in good fun." Gabe leaned into her and placed another quick kiss on her cheek.

Cas' phone began buzzing in his lap. He couldn't answer it now, not without them noticing. Maybe in a bit. His hands hovered over it, wanting to just take the call and deal with the ribbing later. Focus. Don't do it. It stopped buzzing. He redirected his attention to the dinner party.

The evening was long by the time that dessert came. Gabe actually paid the entire bill though, an uncharacteristically generous move. As they left Cas decided to sneak a peek at his phone. The number was not from his contacts, so he couldn't identify it. There did not appear to be a voice message either. Argg, I hate the callback part. So, awkward. Texting, it is then, less awkward.

He sent out a quick message to start the conversation.

Don't have you in my contacts, but you called me. Who are you?

That seemed reasonable. Nothing to read into and yet, it opened the doorway to more communication. Now we wait. And apparently keep waiting. He stood in the foyer waiting for Anna to reemerge from the restroom. When she did, they walked together to the car.

"So, what did you think of her?" Anna threw out casually as they got into the car.

"She is way out of his league. I hope that he doesn't screw this up though. I liked her calmness." Cas considered how nice it would be to see Gabe find balance.

"Hmm, I don't think that she is calm. Unless you mean the calm before the storm." She gave him a sideways glance as she pulled out of the lot.

"Really? I didn't see that."

"You know that she only takes capital cases. They call her 'Killer Kali' behind her back. If you are on trial for murder, she is the one to get on your team. It will cost you, but she is apparently worth it. I'm just glad that I won't ever have to face her in a courtroom."

"I don't know. I just don't think that she was all that intimidating." Cas shrugged and glanced down at the phone in his lap.

Anna noticed and asked, "So what's the deal with the phone obsession? Normally, you are the picture of politeness at the dinner table. It's the rest of us that are permanently distracted."

"Oh, its nothing." Cas quickly slid the phone into his coat pocket to show just how 'nothing" the situation was.

"Spill, wingman." She threw her serious look his way. It was punctuated by a raised eyebrow and a spill of her red hair dipping over her cheek. She turned back to the road and waited for his reply.

"Sam's brother was going to call me." Cas tried to sound casual.

"Oh, Sam's hot brother from the bar, huh." Anna's lip quirked up at the corner.

"Oh, I don't know. Umm, was he?" Pathetic. Cas licked his lips and almost reached for the phone in his pocket. Really, how long does it take to reply to a text message?

"Uh, yes, Cas, super hot. Even you can't be that oblivious." She smirked.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Even you?

"We've all noticed that you don't seem to show much interest in anyone since Charles. Uriel says that you are our resident monk. Gabe says that you aren't."

"Gabe actually defended me? That seems unlikely."

"He also said that monks get more action." She laughed.

"I do alright." Cas defended his lack of a dating life. That didn't sound pathetic at all.

"Sure you do. Well, as much as I would like to continue discussing how much of a Casanova you are, I have gotten you home in record time." She pulled up to the curb of the complex. Cas opened the door to get out and felt her hand fall on his arm. "You are a catch, you know?"

"Yeah, sure wingwoman. I guess that makes two of us." He smiled at her and her chick flick moment. "Take your sappy self home. I'll see you tomorrow."

With that he got out, closed the car door, and went up to his home. Maybe there would be a message. He would wait until he got inside to check. Something to look forward to. Not a bad evening, all things considered.

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