An Even Newer Testament (7/?)
Title: An Even Newer Testament (part 7)
Author: angel_kink
Pairing: Dean/Cas
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~2000
Spoiler: Vague Season 6
Warning: Profanity
Summary: Sam and Dean arrive in town and set to work tracking down the suspected ghoul based on tips from a mysterious anonymous source. Castiel joins them.
A/N: This is part of the Faith Universe.
A/N2: I had writers block. Then suddenly I didn’t and I just wrote thousands and thousands of words in one sitting. Strange how that works. :]
The crappy motel room was much more Dean’s style. The wallpaper was peeling, mold clung to the ceiling in clumps, and he could hear the orgasmic cries of their neighbors through the paper thin walls. Yes, this was much better than the floral hellhole known as the Garden Bed and Breakfast.
They planned on staking out the cemetery and waiting for the ghoul to make its next move, but they arrived too late to make an effective plan for that night. They decided to push their attack back until tomorrow night and spend the next day preparing. Bobby had emailed them a picture of the local mailman, who the anonymous tipster suspected of being the ghoul. The Winchesters had questions about this mysterious tipster, but Bobby was determined to keep the person’s identity a secret.
Dean only hoped this creature wasn’t interested in him because the salt lines would do very little to keep a ghoul out. The only way to take it down was decapitation so Dean decided to keep a machete ‘under’ his pillow just in case. It was too big to actually fit under the pillow, but at least it was within reach if he needed it. He didn’t feel entirely safe, but it was better than a knife or gun, which would have very little effect on the ghoul.
Dean never really fell asleep that night, but he was relaxed enough to be caught off guard by the creaking floorboard directly next to his bed. It couldn’t be Sam because he could hear his brother faintly snoring on the other side of the room. Besides, his brother knew better than to sneak around the room in the dark like that. His armed tensed as he prepared to swing the machete, but somewhere deep inside of him he realized it was Castiel. Instead of striking at him he reached for the bedside lamp. “Cas?”
When the room filled with light Dean saw the angel kneeling next to his bed. “Y-yes.”
“Shit, I almost chopped your head off, dude.” By now Sam was groaning and rolling over to see what the hell was going on.
“But you didn’t,” Cas said firmly.
Dean rolled his eyes. “What are you doing popping in so late anyway?”
“I merely wished to pay a visit. I have no urgent news, if that’s what you are asking.”
Dean scooted over in bed then looked over at Sam who was staring at them. “This alright with you Sammy?”
“Whatever,” he said as he groggily rubbed his eyes. “Just fly away to that cabin if you guys feel like groping each other, ok? Because I really don’t need to hear that.”
Castiel removed his coat, jacket, and shoes before crawling into bed next to him. Dean turned out the light and settled comfortably into bed with his back towards Cas. He figured he didn’t need to keep his hand on the machete when he had Heaven’s most powerful weapon spooning him. For the first time that night Dean fell into a peaceful and deep sleep.
-
Dean woke up to the sound of the shower turning on and he knew Sam must have been starting his day already. He glanced at the clock and realized it was almost noon. He hadn’t slept in that late in years and it felt damn good to get a full night of sleep. He felt Castiel’s grip around him tighten slightly and he turned in his arms to look at him. “Morning,” he muttered.
“Good morning, Dean.” Castiel planted a kiss on Dean’s forehead and held him close to his chest.
They enjoyed the lazy morning for a few minutes until they heard the shower shut off and Dean knew their day was going to have to start soon too. He ran his hands up Castiel’s back and took in a deep breath. If every morning started like this he might not be on edge so often. Maybe. “You plan on sticking around for the hunt?”
“I can.”
He put enough space between them to look into Cas’ eyes. “It’d sure make things easier, you know?”
Castiel smiled and kissed Dean on the lips. Just then Sam emerged from the bathroom. “Guys! I said if you two were going to grope each other you should go somewhere else.”
They broke their kiss and Dean rolled over to stare at his brother. “You prude. I was just waking up, that’s all.”
“Right, ok,” Sam said as he rolled his eyes. He grabbed his clothes to get dressed in the privacy of the bathroom while Dean pried himself free from Cas’ possessive embrace. After a moment the angel followed the brothers’ lead and began to gather his clothes to get ready for the day.
-
After a quick meal at a local diner they headed off to the cemetery that had been the hunting ground of the suspected ghoul. It was still early afternoon by the time they arrived and they had plenty of time to set up a plan. They approached one of the open graves and Castiel knelt down next to it to get a closer look. Dean paused. “What, you sense something?”
“It was definitely a ghoul. There are traces of its decay all over the ground.”
“Well ok, at least we know that part of the tip was legit.”
Castiel stood up and scanned the landscape. “It will detect my presence the moment it arrives. I will not be able to stay here with you as night falls if I’m to truly be helpful to you.”
“I pray you show up, right?”
“Yes.”
“Ok then,” he said as he started looking at the potential battlefield around him. “Sam, we can camp out up in the tree and when we see him Cas pops in and boom, case closed.”
Sam looked at the tree and shrugged. “Sounds good. Easy.” He looked at his brother. “Too easy.”
“Now don’t say that,” Dean groaned. “That just jinxed the whole thing.”
Castiel kept quiet and watched the exchange between the two hunters. He kind of enjoyed their banter, but he’d never tell Dean that. Dean would probably get annoyed or self-conscious, so he just sat back and watched the scene play out.
“Sorry, you’re right. Think positive,” Sam said with mock enthusiasm. “Nothing could possibly go wrong.”
“Bitch.”
“Jerk.”
“Whatever. It’s the best plan we got.” He turned to Cas. “Alright, let’s do this.”
“I’ll be listening,” the angel said before he gently kissed him. Castiel disappeared a moment later, leaving the brothers alone in the cemetery.
-
Sam and Dean had taken their position in the tree just as the sun started to set. Five hours later the cemetery was still vacant and completely silent and they started to think maybe this was the ghoul’s night off. But they were fully committed to waiting it out until morning anyway. Sam scanned the perimeter while Dean played idly with the machete that he hoped he didn’t have to use.
“Hey,” Sam whispered as he handed his binoculars to Dean and pointed off towards the entrance of the graveyard.
Dean looked through them towards the area his brother indicated and for a moment wasn’t sure what he was trying to draw attention to. Then he saw a shadow move and he held up his hand. “Hold off on the prayer for a second. I don’t want to blow it.”
He continued watching the shadow and when it rounded the corner he recognized it from the pudgy gray haired man from the picture of the suspected ghoul. “OK, that’s it.” He shut his eyes and said “Castiel.”
The angel appeared on the ground a second later and stared at the man who’d just entered the cemetery.
The man shouted in surprise and stumbled backwards, but there was a startling lack of smiting by the angel.
Dean shut his eyes again and prayed. “Cas, what’s going on?”
Castiel materialized in the tree next to him and if Dean wasn’t so use to him popping in and out all over the place he may have fallen to the ground. “He’s human,” the angel said.
They looked back down at the very frightened man who was shining his light frantically across the headstones. “What the hell?” Sam and Dean quickly climbed out of the tree.
“What are you?!” the man shouted as they approached. When Castiel appeared beside them he screamed again and shined his light on him. “What the hell is he?”
Dean held up his hands. “Whoa, hold on here. We’ve got some questions of our own.” Dean gestured to himself and Sam. “We’re human.” He pointed to Cas. “He’s not. Now it’s our turn. What were you doing in a cemetery in the middle of the night?”
“I could ask you the same question,” he said in an unexpectedly defensive tone.
“Yeah, and you can ask us that after you answer our question. Let’s be fair here. We’ve already answered
some of your questions.”
“No you didn’t. You didn’t tell me what he is,” he said as he shined his light on Cas again. “’Not human’ is not an answer.”
Dean sighed and Cas looked the man in the eyes. “I am an angel of the Lord.”
The man was stunned and looked like he wanted to ask a ton more questions, but Dean cut him off. “Ok, your turn. What were you doing here?”
“I… My daughter. Her grave was dug up last week. I wanted to be sure the same thing didn’t happen to my wife.”
Sam stepped forward. “Who was your daughter?”
“Isabelle Jones.”
They’d recognize the name as one of the victims who was buried just a couple of years ago. She was only 18 at the time of her death, but Sam couldn’t quite remember what her cause of death was. He was disappointed that they missed a link between the suspect and a victim like this, but they’d only had the case for about a day. He pressed on knowing that feeling guilty for their oversight wasn’t helping them at all. “Have you been coming here every night?”
“Yeah, but two more bodies got dug up anyway. It always happens when I’m on the other side of the cemetery. It digs so quickly I keep missing it.” He paused. “Ok, I’ve answered two questions. I get another right?” Dean rolled his eyes and Sam nodded. Mr. Jones looked back at Castiel. “If angels are real, that means Heaven is real, right?”
Castiel nodded. “Yes.”
“Is Isabelle up there? And my wife, Julia? And is it even ‘up there’?”
Castiel nodded again. “Pointing skyward in reference to Heaven is relatively accurate. And yes, they are both ‘up there.’”
The man looked like he wanted to cry, but he held back. Instead he said, “thank God.”
The Winchesters were surprised he hadn’t questioned them about their business in the graveyard, but he seemed too distracted by Castiel to acknowledge the humans any more. Dean tried to bring the attention back to them with a fake cough. When Mr. Jones looked at Dean he began to speak. “Well, we’re here to stop this thing too, so you can go back home and…”
“No, I’m in this now.”
Dean put his hands in the air, knowing that when a person got dragged into the world of hunting it was hard to talk them out of it. He’d had this exact conversation at least a dozen times in his life and he really wasn’t looking forward to having it again. “Fine, you can stick around, but we’ve been doing this for a long time so you’ve got to listen to us, ok?”
“Yeah, ok.”
The four of them weren’t entirely comfortable with the team up, but they were willing to trust each other enough to get the job done. Working with strangers was always risky, but with an angel in the mix Sam and Dean felt decently safe.