AN: Some offensive language in this chapter, just so you know.
There were only so many avenues left to pursue. One was the sit and wait one, while the other was the make a deal one. Ezra seemed to be the only one that wanted to wait. He sat across from them at the table in the bustling restaurant. The early afternoon crowd wore more black than a funeral procession and talked at a volume that echoed off the high walls. This was a place they frequented often with their clients. Usually, this was the place to go to strategize, or schmooze, or finalize the last moments of the attorney/client connection. Today they hoped to get Ezra to negotiate a deal.
Somehow he had managed to convince himself that they were winning. They weren't. Gabe was more frustrated than anyone. He ran his finger around the rim of the tumbler in front of him. The last dregs of whiskey diluted by the melting ice. "Look Ezra, we gave it all we could. Now, you just gotta pay the piper. You don't want to get stuck with the verdict." They had been having this discussion for some time now. The frustration in Gabe's tone was starting to peek through his normally jovial manner.
Ezra's eyes squinted at him as he spoke, "You just don't seem to be hearing me when I say, that we got this." He looked over at Cas and Uriel next as if looking for support. "I saw the eyes of the jury members. They like me. You all just need to grow a pair and wait for the big reveal." Ezra leaned back in his chair throwing out a long sigh.
It was Cas' turn to try, "What you actually saw was mild irritation. They don't like you Ezra. They don't. And you are about to find out just how much they don't like you." Cas tried to give him all of the gravity of the situation; he hated losing. He could see that the man was growing irritated himself at being fought on his point. "You need to take the deal. They have been quite generous. The court won't be. You will be ruined."
Ezra quietly leaned forward in his chair so that his face was just close enough to give him a little menace. His mop of grey hair falling into his face a little before he spoke. "Now, I have put up with a lot, but I won't put up with this. I put up with you pansy asses telling me to stop talking to the press. I put up with you telling me that I don't have a chance in Hell of winning. But I will be damned if I am going to let you look down that smug nose of yours judging me, Cas. I am not interested in getting fucked in the ass today unlike some people at this table."
Cas stood then, and in one fluid motion leaned closer to Ezra. "You are a fool. You are lucky that I have just enough decency and self-control to let it slide. Take the deal, don't take the deal. I'm done with you." Cas backed away from the table then and stalked away, but not before he heard Ezra's quietly muttered insult.
"Damn faggot." It wasn't meant for Cas to hear. It was Ezra just losing control, which was also a habit of his, one that had made the entire situation he was in so much worse.
Cas paused, but only briefly. He heard the sound of chairs scraping behind him and Uriel's voice.
"I think that we will be going too." He gravelled out.
Cas didn't wait, he couldn't. The situation demanded a swift departure back to his office. He was halfway down the sidewalk when he felt the presence at his side, "Well, that went great." Cas muttered at Uriel.
"Asshole. He deserves the verdict that he gets." Cas looked up at Uriel's face. It was a portrait of irritation. The tight line of his mouth pinched together in his dark face, his eyes opened just slightly against the piercing afternoon sun. They walked on in silence for a block before Uriel spoke again, "Gabe stayed behind. Damage control."
"Better him than me."
"Yeah. I don't think that he wanted the duty.
They made it back to the office and parted ways at Cas' door. "Thanks Uriel."
He smiled at him. "Anytime."
The email from Gabe came through at 3:00. The subject line read: Singing Hamster Babies.
Cas smiled when he read it. He didn't care if it was another video from the bar or one of Gabe's other messages, he opened it. It was becoming apparent to him that this was what would pass for Gabe's brand of affection. He was willing to accept it. He read the message, He's just an old barrow boy… and then opened the attachment. He recognized the line from a Queen song. It was one of his favorite break-up songs. He listened to it on repeat back when Charles left.
The scene was from the bar. Cas was on the stage. He looked like confidence personified. He held the mic in two hands and leaned into it as he ground out the words in rough tones. The tune wasn't as high as Mercury's vocals in the original rendition, but Cas gave it a new, unique gravity. He totally nailed the low lying portion of the vocals. Gabe panned out to the crowd and it was then that he noticed Dean at the table.
He was watching, expression serious. Cas couldn't tell if he liked the song, or the singer. The camera panned more. Damn it Gabe, go back. The crowd was into it. The song ended with applause. Gabe had panned up to Cas and zoomed in a little. His face looked a little sad. The announcer came back to the stage and told the crowd that Cas was moving on to the final round. More cheering. Gabe zoomed back out and panned to the table again and Cas caught a glimpse of Dean looking at him again, a slight smile curling up at the edge of his lips, before the scene cut out.
Frustrated, Cas made his way to Gabe's office intending to beg. Let me see the next video. Let me see all of the videos. He was tired of the waiting, the not knowing. Today had already been frustrating enough.
He met Gabe at the door though, "Whoa, cowboy. What's the rush." Gabe said while holding up his hands to keep Cas from running him over.
"Oh, sorry. You heading out?"
"To get you and Uriel. The verdict is in. We need to head over to the courthouse. We're meeting Ezra there."
They arrived at the courthouse and spotted Ezra down the hall just outside of the entrance to the courtroom. He was talking with a dark haired man in an impeccable black suit. God, don't let it be another reporter. Although, who really cares at this point. The man did not look like a reporter though. He had a certain gravity to his stance that seemed to command even Ezra.
When they drew close to Ezra, the other man backed away. "'Bout time you boys got here." Ezra seemed to have forgotten the tense lunch from just a couple of hours before.
Gabe spoke first, "Well, you ready to face the piper?"
"Don't sound so defeated. I got a lot in my corner, even if you boys don't see it." He turned to Cas next, "I want to apologize for lunch. I should not have, well, you know." Ezra waved a hand in dismissal.
"Let's just get this over with." Cas replied. The four of them moved into the courtroom followed by the man in black. They walked down the central aisle and took their seats at the front. The man in black sat in a seat at the back of the courtroom. He looked familiar, but Cas didn't have time to think about that. Gabe was whispering something to Ezra. The room was settling in. They waited silently for a few minutes before the jury began filing into their seats.
The rest was so surreal that Cas was having a hard time processing it. When the verdict was about to be read, Cas imagined their next word. Guilty. The forewoman stood up and said, "We the jury, find the defendant not guilty."
The room made audible noises of shock. This was an easy case. They should not have won. Cas stared at the face of the forewoman and saw her nearly imperceptible glance at the back of the courtroom. His eyes panned to the back of the room to where she had looked. He saw the departing figure of the man in black.
"Told you, we had this. Good thing I didn't listen to you." Ezra stood. "I'll be throwing a little celebratory dinner on Saturday. I expect you all to attend." He shook Gabe's hand then Uriel's. Lastly, he turned to Cas, "No hard feelings?"
"I accept your apology. Although, I have to admit that this verdict is rather surprising."
"Yeah, I suppose it would be to you. You ought to have a little faith, or, at least, friends in high places." He smiled then and walked away.
Cas walked into Gabe's office to find the room empty. He must have stepped out, his phone was on the table and the computer was still on. He sat at the table to wait. He wanted to tell him what he saw, what he thought he saw.
Gabe's phone was in front of him. The phone with the videos. He only thought about it for a second before he snatched it up. For a moment he considered setting it back down. He turned the phone on. He knew the code to unlock it after so many times of seeing Gabe swype the code in. He clicked through to the gallery. There were quite a few videos. He selected one.
It was focused on hands. Odd. It seemed like the camera had been set on the table while it was recording. Maybe it was a mistake. He must have forgotten to hit stop. The voice he heard was Gabe's, "Gonna hit the head. Don't do anything exciting 'till I get back." He meant to record this. He just didn't want to miss anything. Cas had to laugh a little at his friend's odd quirks. A little creepy, Gabe.
"So, what have you sang so far?" Cas had only heard this voice a handful of times, but he knew it well. The voice belonged to Dean. There was a roughness to it an edge that made Cas warm a little when he heard it.
"Dancing Queen may have happened," Cas' voice.
"Oh, God." Glad I showed up late. Dean's voice actually sounded like it was cringing.
"Hey, I followed up with a little Rollling Stones-Satisfaction." Cas thought that he sounded confident in the video. Why can't I sound like that now? He recalled his stuttering efforts at conversation with Dean the other night on the phone and shuddered with embarrassment.
"Well, I am sorry that I missed that. Can't go wrong with Jagger." Dean's tone was genuine. Another person joined the table. It appeared to be Anna, from the little bit that was visible. People had been dancing in the background, but now she was blocking out that view. "Sammy has said a lot of great things about you guys. I am glad to finally meet you all."
"We've heard a lot of great things about you too." Anna's voice responded. She added, "I'm going to go get some more drinks from the bar. Anyone need a refill?"
"Oh, a girl after my own heart." Dean replied. "I'll take a beer. Whatever's on tap. I'm not picky." There was movement and one of his hands left the scene and came back with some bills. "What are you getting, Cas?"
"I'll have the same." Cas could see himself reaching back to get his wallet.
"No, let me get this round. Least I could do for Sam's friends." Dean's hand reached over to his and pressed it just a little.
"You don't have to do that. Sam is great. We should be covering you," Cas responded.
"Why do you say that?"
"He said that you practically raised him. Seems like you should get a little payback for doing such a good job." Cas noticed that their hands were still connected.
Another hand showed up then. It grabbed the phone and the video ended with Gabe's voice, "Miss anything?"
Cas looked up from the phone and saw that Gabe was leaning in the doorway, watching him with the phone. "See anything you like in there?"
"Oh, um. Sorry." He practically tossed the phone across the table as he fumbled with it. "I just got a little curious. I shouldn't have used your phone though."
"Don't sweat it. You deserve a little pick me up after the day we've had. Did you watch one of the musical ones or one of the talkies?" Gabe asked as he settled into the seat across the table from Cas.
"A talkie. You are a little creepy, Gabe." Cas settled back into the seat.
"Just be glad I was. It was a good night. Since you have no solid memories of it, it is my duty to get you up to speed." He picked up the phone then and selected a video, and passed the phone back to Cas, "Here's a freebie, but no more today. You gotta savor this."
Cas clutched the phone in front of him and watched as he stood on the stage. He started singing Blaze of Glory by Bon Jovi. Apparently my brain knew that there had been Bon Jovi. He was a little nervous about what he would see. In the dream he had been singing Wanted Dead or Alive to Dean. In the video, though, he seemed to be spreading his attention around. Gabe had panned around the crowd, and he noticed that Anna had stepped up next to Dean. She appeared to be saying something in his ear.
Oh, no. He watched as she slipped her hand down his arm and into his hand. She pulled him out onto the dance floor. The song was just slow enough that she could treat it like it deserved a slow dance. She moved like she was made of water. Dean responded. They slid over each other while Cas kept singing. Her hands ran up into his hair at the back of his neck as she leaned in. Gabe panned back up to Cas. The video stayed on Cas until the end. Cas had his eyes closed as he hit the end note and held it. The crowd hooted and cheered. Gabe panned around again. Dean and Anna had separated, and he saw Dean put two fingers in his mouth and blow out a loud whistle. The video ended there.
"So, you like that one? I think that was your best song." Gabe asked as he reached for the phone.
Cas handed it back. "I'm not sure what I think."
"What do you mean?"
"Did Anna and Dean spend a lot of time together that night?" He tried to sound casual, but Gabe could always read him.
"Ha, you are so obvious." Gabe put the phone in his jacket and started gathering his work into his briefcase.
"Well?"
"I think that was the only dance. At least it was the only one I saw." Gabe smiled over at him. "So, you think you should be getting all interested in your co-worker's rather hetero bro?"
"Who said I was interested?"
"Just so you know, I don't approve. I don't like how he gives off mixed signals."
"Really, I never said that I was interested."
"Nevermind. I wish I had time to harass you more, but Kali and I have plans."
"I never said that I was interested." Cas tried to continue.
"Uh, huh. keep saying that to yourself and maybe someday it'll be true. Today, though, not so much. Now, really, skeedaddle. I need to go, and I don't trust your snooping ass in my office." He smiled at him again as he motioned toward the door.
Cas left with one thought in his mind, I am so interested it is actually pathetic.