AN: Thanks all for the continued support. I am trying to avoid a break in the daily posting, but I might have to skip tomorrow. I have caught up with myself, and I need to get ahead if the editing and continuity are going to stay good. I am already getting a little sloppy here and there, so...I am so glad that you all thought that they were cute. I always worry that I am getting too sappy. Here is another "cute" moment and some Sam stuff for you. Enjoy.
Dean was carrying his suitcase down to the shop while Cas walked along at his side. Bobby was holed away in some distant part of the property, working on one of the cars. They had already exchanged goodbyes. Dean had explained that he would need to bungee the suitcase to the back of the bike's seat. He had only chastised Cas a little about the over-packing. "Next time use a duffle bag. It is easier to haul on your ride."
Cas gave him a little salute and said, "Yes, sir." Dean had to chuckle at that. When they reached the shop Cas asked, "So, what are your plans this week?"
Dean set down the bag and stretched out his arms over his head in a way that was relaxed and attractive to Cas. "I have some work of the non-Bobby variety this week. Pretty much every day."
"Hmm, does that mean that you'll be in the city?" Cas cocked his head to the side raising one eyebrow with the move.
"Not particularly, but I'll be close enough to justify a visit or two. Of, course, only if you are up for company." Dean popped on the radio that was up on the shelf and Reo Speedwagon was playing Keep on Loving You. "Of course, every time you are around me, my life gets filled with sappy love songs." Dean was about to change the station when Cas interrupted his progress by walking in front of him. He reached out and took his hands, moving Dean into a little dance.
"Hey, don't knock the Speedwagon. This is good stuff." He placed Dean's hands on his shoulders and moved his hands around Dean's waist. "Your music isn't good for dancing. Mine is."
"This is your music, huh?"
"Totally. I like non-sappy songs too, though. So, don't think that you have me all figured out yet, Dean Winchester." He smiled up at him as Dean pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Wouldn't want you to think that I had suddenly become all predictable and boring."
"Never." Dean laughed a little softly into Cas' hair. "Are you happy Cas?" He leaned back a little and looked into Cas' eyes.
"Yes, Dean. You?"
"Yes." The song ended and Dean stepped over to the suitcase and the bike. He began strapping the item down with a few lengths of bungee cords that Bobby had in the shop. The fastening of the case looked complex and stable. He would not have to worry about it flying off while he rode. "Okay, Cas. You are all set."
Cas threw his leg over the seat and started up the engine. He felt the desire to stay a little longer, but he knew that visiting with Sam would take some time. Dean was holding his helmet for him. "Well, I guess I'm ready for that." Cas gestured toward the helmet.
Dean leaned toward him and said, "This first." He pressed a kiss to Cas' lips holding his face with his free hand. It was slow and deep. Cas reconsidered his departure. I could just leave for work from here tomorrow morning. Dean broke the kiss first. He put the helmet on Cas' head and fastened the chin strap. "You look pretty damn cute, you know." Dean stepped back as he made his assessment.
Cas blushed and looked away. "Shut-up." Cas began backing out of the shop then. "If you get bored, come see me. I'll keep the guest room available for you." Cas tried to look serious.
"Really, I'll be relegated to the guest room, huh?" Dean laughed at him.
"Maybe. But only if you wait too long to show up. I have a really uncomfortable couch that I'll give you if you wait 'till Thursday."
"What if I wait 'till Tuesday?" Dean asked in mock seriousness.
"Oh, Tuesday gets you deluxe accommodations and maybe a movie. I heard that Army of Darkness was the third film in a trilogy. So, maybe we should watch part one or two."
"You are seriously the best boyfriend in the known world. I'll see you Tuesday with The Evil Dead." On that note, Cas rolled out of the yard and toward the main road, throwing back a slight wave as he went.
He hadn't warned Sam that he was coming. Cas worried that Sam would think of a reason to put this off. There were definitely things that he needed to learn, and Sam was the one to get the information from. The afternoon sun was beating down on him and the wind was buffeting his face. He could feel beads of sweat trickling down his back. He turned down Sam's driveway and saw, as he approached the house, Sam's long frame stretched out on the front porch. His legs were angled up onto the railing. He was tipped back in a chair with a bottle of water in his hand.
Cas cut the engine and popped off his helmet. "Hey, Cas. Fancy seeing you here." Sam lowered his legs, got up, and walked out to greet him. Cas felt like Sam wasn't too surprised to see him.
"What, did Bobby tell you I was stopping by, or was it Dean?"
"Bobby may have mentioned it, but I talked to Dean too. Dean told me some interesting things." Sam said with a smirk. "So, got yourself a fancy, motorcycle fixing boyfriend huh?" Sam handed Cas a second water that he had carried down with him from the porch.
Cas beamed over at him. "So, he told you?"
"Yep. It wasn't what I would call a conversation, mind you, but it was definitely informative." Sam directed Cas back up to the porch. "You're a freakin' miracle worker, Cas. Don't know how you do it. Color me impressed."
Cas laughed a little and said with bravado, "I take all the credit. I am just too good." Cas plopped himself down on the porch swing and started a slow rock back and forth. He felt a little giddy and had to force himself to keep the swinging at a reasonable pace.
"So, you want to talk about Niveus, I take it?" Sam suddenly became more serious. He looked steadily at Cas.
"Yes, I have a lot of questions, but I don't know where to begin."
"Well, Bobby got me up to speed on what you have been told. He mentioned that I need to help you see things that will clarify the big picture."
"Well, let's start there. Do you know who killed your mother and who released the Alpha, Venom stuff?" Cas certainly wasn't easing into the shallow waters. Sam shifted about a little as if worrying over his answer.
"It isn't perfectly clear who killed my mom. The list of suspects is short though. I'd rather not say until Dean gets all the evidence together. No sense in tainting your view of someone until then."
"You think that it is someone that I know?" Cas looked shocked by the information.
"Yes, I do."
"Then I should know. I don't want to be worrying about some killer every time I meet up with a client."
"You don't need to worry. I have checked your schedule, and you don't have any meetings planned with any of the suspects this week."
"Great, Sam. Good to know." The sarcasm was heavy in his tone. "What can you tell me then?"
"How about a history lesson?" Sam offered.
"Fun." Cas was still ladling out the sarcasm. It was frustrating to him that answers were slow in coming.
"Well, you don't have to be rude. Anyway, Niveus has been around for about thirty years give or take. They started out pretty small as most companies do. They focused primarily on viruses. They had a research facility in Zaire." He paused a moment and looked at Cas. "Stop me if you already know all this."
"This is mostly new to me. Continue." Cas leaned forward, taking it all in.
"Well, they had recruited a young genius straight out of college named Luc Mirov. He came to the U.S. for school, but he started off in Russia. He had been fascinated by the first outbreak of Ebola. That happened in the mid 1970s. He was looking into the transmission of the virus and possible vaccines to utilize on it. While doing this research in Zaire, he managed to create a different drug."
"Let me guess, Alpha." Cas interrupted.
"Ding, ding, ding. You got it." Sam nodded as he continued. "So, the drug was not very exciting to the Niveus board though. They needed something that they could market. So, Mirov continued working with the same strain until he had come up with a variant on that drug that worked as an anticoagulant. He theorized that it could be used with victims of strokes. Niveus found its drug then. Now, Mirov assumed that he was going to get a sizable cut of the profits on this. I mean, after all, the drug would not have existed if it weren't for him."
"Seems reasonable."
"Yeah, except that the board didn't see it the same way. They were already paying him a very large salary, and the facility wasn't exactly cheap to operate. They felt that they didn't need to pay out any more. They did, however, give him a little bonus."
"How much?" Cas wondered aloud.
"Six figures." Sam rolled an eyebrow up with his response. "Luc viewed it as an insult. The drug was going to make them so much money. It inevitably put Niveus on the map."
"So what happened next?"
"This is where it gets unclear, so bare with me. Some stories say that he got angry and flew back to the States to confront the board. I never saw any evidence of that though. Other stories show him coming back to the States and then disappearing, never cashing the bonus check that he was given. There is some evidence of that. The check was never cashed. Don't know for sure if he came here though."
"Strange. Where is he now?" Cas remembered seeing the notation about Mirov's death in John's journal, but he couldn't mention that.
"Hold up. You are getting ahead of me. The story that I found the most interesting was the one that involved his research disappearing. He had all of these test animals. He had bats and primates to the rafters in his facility, and when he left, they were all gone. He had released them."
"Were they infected?" Cas' brows knit together as he asked.
"Likely. A secondary strain of the virus showed up in the mid-90s. I believe that he set that off when he released those animals."
"God, that is horrible. All of those people." Cas shuddered with concern. "So, you said that he may have come to the U.S.?"
"Yeah, I think that he made a stop over here, but that he didn't stay long. He made some new friends in South America. There are reports of his death in '99, but no body, just paperwork. And that can be faked."
"You think that he is still alive?"
"Don't know. It isn't something that I have been able to uncover. Dean has been looking into this for longer than I have, and even he is in the dark." Cas took a sip of his water and leaned back in his chair.
"So, do you think that he is responsible for Little Tommy's death?" Cas wondered if Sam would answer. It seemed like most of his questions lead to answers that were a little disconnected.
"I think that he worked with a cartel in South America to distribute the drug here. I think that he was making the drug with them for distribution on the streets here. I think that he certainly has some responsibility for Little Tommy's death and maybe my mom's too; however, I don't see where it would benefit him to go after mom. I mean, so what if she discovers that the drugs link back to him or his new friends. What does he care? I just can't seem to see a clear motive for the guilty party. Dean will figure it out though."
Cas sat there for a time in silence looking out on the sun-drenched front yard. In the distance there were clouds rolling in. Sam did not interrupt his thoughts and instead stared out in the same direction. After a time, Cas spoke, "Are you being careful, Sam? I mean, are you staying professional?" Cas didn't know how to ask what he wanted to ask and hoped that this was subtle enough to not be considered rude. He wanted to ask if Sam was being careful about how much he shared with Dean. The information that he was gaining through his work with Cas on the Niveus case needed to be kept confidential. If he were to share it with Dean, he could be disbarred.
"Are you asking me if I share information with Dean, or if I am being careful about what I share with Dean?" Sam made eye-contact with Cas and did not break the stare. It was as if he were daring Cas to challenge him, to tell him that he was wrong.
"I think that I have my answer then." Cas paused a moment, considering an avenue for his next words.
"I have been careful though, Cas. No one would ever be able to tell."
"How much have you told him?" Cas was worried. He knew that nothing this big would stay secret for long. It isn't like Sam was hiding his relationship with his brother. When it came out that Dean was a cop, as it would, the link would easily be made to his source. Cas shuddered at the thought that it would be likely that a connection would be made to him too. That he would be viewed with guilt, despite his innocence.
Sam stood up and leaned on the porch railing. He did not answer Cas' question directly. "She was my mother, Cas. When we lost her, we lost so much more. This matters a million times more than my career or anything else. I've told Dean everything that I could. I haven't held anything back." He stopped abruptly and turned to Cas, "So, the question that I have for you is, are you going to do anything about this?"
And there it was, the million dollar question. Would he do anything about it? Would he find it more appropriate to just pretend that everything was fine. Nothing to see here. "What should I do, Sam?"
"I can't tell you, Cas. You have to make up your own mind. I can only ask that you clue me in before you do anything. I can only ask. I know that you don't owe me anything." Sam looked like he expected Cas to turn him in right then and there.
Cas did not know what to do. The situation was all sorts of wrong. He would not be able to get out of this unscathed. He was dating Dean. He was Sam's friend. Sam has been filling Dean's head full of confidential information. At this point he could see a future in which he was disbarred. He could see himself losing everything that he had worked so hard for. Yet in that moment, all he could do was look at Sam's dejected form and wonder. Cas wondered how he could betray him. He wondered how he could turn his back on his friend. Plus, there was one more niggling fact that he needed. "So, Sam. When you decided to get Dean to come out to the bar, you intended for him to meet me, right?"
"Yes, you know that I did. Why are you asking?" Sam seemed to be confused by the change in the conversational track.
"Bare with me. I want to know why you wanted him to meet me so much? Was there more to it? Was there a greater reason?" There Cas had asked what had been eating away at him. It wasn't perfectly phrased, but there it was. He had this thought that maybe the whole relationship with Dean had been a manipulation of some sorts or another. He thought that maybe these brothers had wanted him to be compromised by the relationship and thus less likely to betray them. It seemed unlikely to Cas. What he felt with Dean was too intense, too real. Dean had bared his soul and Cas had not seen an ounce of guile in that moment. However, there was Sam to consider. Perhaps he had a separate agenda from Dean. He had to know. Sam finally broke through Cas' thoughts.
"I wasn't thinking, Cas. Sometimes it is easier to just forget the stuff with mom and just live in the moments with my friends. You are my friend, and I could see how much Dean wanted to know you. I could tell him a story about Gabe and Uriel. I could tell him a story about Anna. None of those stories seemed to catch him the way that the stories that I told about you caught him. If I didn't mention you in the story, he would ask where you were. Sometimes he would just up and ask about you. I questioned him about it. I was totally subtle too, but he blew me off. Said that he just wanted to know more about the guy that saved his baby brother's life."
"How long did this storytelling go on for?"
"Almost the whole time that I have known you. Once, I showed him a picture of all of us that was taken at the holiday party. I am pretty sure that he kept it. I know that I didn't get it back after I showed it to him."
"I don't know what to do, Sam." Cas locked eyes with him. "I don't want to hurt you and Dean. I just don't know how to do the right thing or even what the right thing is. I think that I should remove myself from the case. It would be the ethical thing to do. It is what you should do."
"It would look weird if we both left the case. Someone would question it."
Cas considered this before he responded. Perhaps it was only necessary for Sam to be removed from the case. Perhaps he could keep working this thing without compromising his integrity. "Well, you will have to be replaced. I can't see a way for you to stay on this. I think that I can talk to Zach about bringing Gabe back a week early. I'll come up with something to explain it. I'll tell him that I think you have too much on your plate or something."
"What about you?"
"You and Dean have painted me into a bit of a corner. I don't think that I can get out of this. It would be incredibly obvious that something was wrong if I left now. I have to ride this out a bit longer. I also cannot share any information with either of you about Niveus after this conversation. I should be angry with you, with both of you. Perhaps that feeling will hit me later. I don't think that you realize what it will mean, if I lose all of this. If I am disbarred over this, I honestly don't know what I will do." Cas stepped over to the stairs his hands clutched into fists at his sides. He stared off at the sky that was filling with clouds to match his mood.
"I am sorry, Cas. I really am. I wish that I could fix this." Sam looked like he was sincere.
"I think that I need to get on the road. It looks like a storm is rolling in." Cas lifted his hand to his forehead to gaze out into the distance.
"Yeah, looks like earthquake weather, you know when it is hot but rainy." Sam shuffled over to Cas' side. "You want to just come in and wait it out?"
"No." Cas made his way to the bike with Sam at his side. He plucked up his helmet and fastened it on his head. "I would rather race it home."
Review, Fav., Follow. Thanks for all the thoughts. They really keep me going with this story. 'Till next time.