Fic: The Path We Choose- 2/?

[tenoko1]

Title: The Path We Choose

Author: Tenoko1

Rating: T/PG-13

Word Count: 7,165

Spoilers: Takes place after season Five with mentionings of the events through 7.02

Warnings: What could possibly seen as bashing of Seasons Six (all will be revealed in time) and as Destiel is the main ship of this story, Wincest gets frowned at like a foreign creature no one knows what to do with or how it came to be.

Summary: Dean and Sam tried before to prove Chuck’s prophecies wrong and failed, but Dean wouldn’t be a Winchester is he was just willing to accept God’s word as final answer.

Chapter One here

PODFIC FOUND HERE

Chapter Two

That voice sounded exactly the same. Dean was revisited by it time after time in dreams and nightmares. Perhaps it was a bit softer this time, the underlying tone clearly stating ‘I shouldn’t be here’, but at the same time it brought such aching reassurance.

Turning, Dean faltered long enough to see that it was in fact Castiel. The angel looked resigned and sheepish, making Dean believe he really wasn’t suppose to have come, but did so anyway. Because the hunter needed him.

In two strides, Dean purposefully crossed the room- brief uncertainty flickered over the other man’s face- and threw his arms around Castiel’s neck, hugging him tightly.

"You have no idea how good it is to see you, man," admitted Dean, hearing the choked back sob in his own voice.

Tentative arms hugged him back. "As it is to see you." At not being pushed away, he grew more assured and squeezed Dean a little tighter. "I did not anticipate a call from you."

The looming crisis coming back to him, Dean half shoved his friend away in panic, hands locked firmly on the other man’s shoulders.

"Cas! The books! I read them! God, man, why didn’t you come to me? What about the war? And Raphael? How bad has it gotten in Heaven? Dude, you say the word and I am there for you, no matter what, you don’t have to join forces with Crowley!" Blue eyes blinked rapidly, brows furrowed in confusion as the words tumbled out of Dean’s mouth like a dam had been broken. "God, and Sam! Castiel, you gotta help me with Sam! He’s walking and talking with no soul. We’ve gotta find Death and get him to retrieve Sam’s soul-"

"Dean stop," ordered the angel, catching Dean off guard. Those blue eyes searched the hunter’s face before locking gazes once more. "Slow down and start again. What war?"

Flabbergasted, Dean stepped away, running his hands over his hair. "Wha-What war? The civil war in Heaven, man! With you one side and Raphael on the other! The big cock fight that ends in either Armageddon attempt number two or Free Will For Dummies: Angel Edition. The War! The war you didn’t come to me for help with! The war where you make like a true Winchester and screw up big time!"

The other man was incessantly shaking his head in denial, still wearing the same confused expression as though Dean made reference to some iconic movie Castiel had never seen.

Dean mimicked him. "Why are you shaking your head? ‘No’ what?"

The ebony haired man eyed Dean as though he weren’t sure what to make of him, gaze narrowed as if to ascertain if he’d missed some crucial element of a joke.

"Dean…" Those blue eyes played over his face again. Dean braced himself for the bad news. "There is no war in Heaven."

A pregnant pause.

"Say again?"

The angel shook his head. "There is no civil war in Heaven. Raphael is not attempting to gain control of the Hosts of Heaven." All the air rushed from Dean’s body and he staggered backward, trying in vain to suck in another good breath, but unable. Cas helped lower him to the stairs, firm hands gripping his arms. "Quite the opposite has taken place. God came back."

"He did what?" Why did his voice sound so high? Like he was panicking?

"My father returned. Temporarily, but nonetheless. Many who acted out and sought to end humanity were… reprimanded for their behavior. We were all reminded of how we were raised, the values instilled in us, the characteristics our father values in all his children."

"So God came home, found the car in the living room, and Barbies on the grill, cleaned house, and knocked some heads together? And then what?"

The angel tilted his head in confusion, making Dean want to hug him again. "And then he left again to continue on his holy mission." He was kneeling in front of Dean, looking more concerned than Dean liked. This had gotten all turned around. Dean had called because he was worried and wanted to help, now he just looked like a madman. "I do not understand where this is coming from. What made you think there was a war in Heaven?"

A disbelieving laugh escaped him, Dean burying his face in his hands. He bit back the hysterical laughter that bubbled inside of him half-derived in relief that for once the Prophet of the Lord was proven wrong without so much as a punch thrown. Why couldn’t it have been this easy when they’d been trying to get away from Lilith?

A chuckle escaped him and he shook his head. "Man, I have been freaking out for a week since I first found out. I tell you, they don’t make prophets like they use to anymore. Ya’ll better see to your boy because I think he reached his sell-by date and his warranty expired."

"Dean, you are scaring me," stated Castiel softly, jerking those green eyes up to meet with blue. "Please explain so I can understand. Something’s the matter with Chuck?"

Smiling softly, Dean scooted over, patting the spot beside him so the angel could sit down as well. "I’m sorry man. You must think I’ve lost it; I swear I haven’t."

"I would never think that of you, Dean. I saw your face when you called me: you were afraid. Dean Winchester is never afraid without a very good reason."

That earned him an affectionate pat on the knee as Dean began to explain. "Last week, we went to the store and I see Chuck’s books – the Winchester Gospels, as you call them- on sale. Chuck told us he’d gotten a contract to start publishing again, but me and Sam thought we dissuaded him from it. We don’t want the world to know the gritty details of our lives, y’know?" The angel nodded, listening intently with that ever-serious expression on his face. "Well, they’re published, more books than there were before, books that continue on well after Sam saved the world and I attempted playing house with Lisa and Ben- which between you and me, I got no business doing, promise to Sammy or no, all I’m doing is lying to people who’ve done nothing but sacrifice for me."

"You were getting to a point," reminded the angel.

"Don’t rush me, I’m still coming down off adrenaline and panic. So I start reading to books. You raised me from Perdition. Sam breaks the Final Seal. You molotoved Michael-"

"And died for it."

"Words can not express my gratitude, either, but I’ll get to that," Dean assured him, waving a hand. "Then I get to the books that foretell what hasn’t happened yet. God’s still missing, big civil war in Heaven, you keep me out of the loop and join forces with Crowley, of all people, and ultimately betray us and declare yourself the new God, in which case, you go Dark Side, realizing the error of your ways too late, you try to fix it, and end up dead."

Castiel opened his mouth to interject and Dean held up a finger. "Not done. It gets better. You also have your first make-out session with a demon named Meg. Have you actually met Meg? I may be confusing the past and the books. Frankly, I like the brunette version better than the blonde, but that’s me. And if you’ve never been kissed, I’m not letting a demon be your first experience-"

"Please don’t take me to another den of iniquity."

The sincerity of the request made Dean laugh, feeling less shaking as the minutes slipped by. "I won’t, buddy. I learned my lesson. We’ll find you someone the old fashioned way. Back to my point. So according to Chuck, you and I are no longer friends, in fact, we sort of become enemies and even before we’re on opposing sides there’s this whole, like, chasm between us. Things just aren’t right, which is another thing you’ll have to remind me to get back to later. Then we get to Sam who first, has no soul, then has a soul, but risks going completely insane if the wall protecting him from his memories in hell gets knocked down, then you knock down that wall, oh yes- You." At a loss, Dean shook his head. "There’s more that comes after that, but I stopped reading when you died, I couldn’t handle anymore and things weren’t getting better."

A rare hint of a smile was on Castiel’s lips, understanding reflecting in his eyes. "So you called me hoping to derail destiny once more."

A dark cloud settling over his mood, Dean glared at the rug in the foyer, as if it were at fault for all the turmoil he’d endured this last week, the lack of sleep, the ridiculous stress levels, the constant fear that gripped his heart in a vice.

"Cas, I already lost my brother. In fact, I’ve lost him more than once. Bobby is like a father to me, in a way more than my own father was." He turned to look at the man beside him. "You are the only person I know who has stuck by me that isn’t family. You are the only friend I have that owes me no loyalty due to blood or a hunter’s code of ethics. In fact, you’ve seen every tarnish on my soul and you’re there for me anyway." The knot from earlier made it’s way back into his throat again, the pin prick behind his eyes forcing him to glare at the rug once more. "You’re the first friend I ever had and the best one anyone could ask for. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you, too."

"Dean…"

Sensing how close they were getting to any more of a soul-bearing moment, Dean quickly rose and spun around the face the angel who continued to watch him, befuddled.

"So, like I said: your boy Chuck is way off the mark with his prophecies lately, what’s up with that?" A thought flickered through his mind and it was like cold water thrown on his heart. "Oh shit, Cas. If Chuck’s wrong about the war in Heaven, what about Sam? I thought with your help we could convince Death to retrieve his soul, or maybe if the two of you teamed up, or what with heaven not being at war, you could patch his soul up good as new and he’d be okay. If Chuck’s wrong about one… Cas, is my baby brother still in the cage? With the two angels that blame him for their incarceration?"

His every thought begged Castiel to tell him he was wrong, that Sam was fine, better than fine. Tell me God had mercy and his soul is in Heaven where it belongs. Tell me his soul was destroyed in the battle. Tell me anything other than he’s trapped in Hell with the two people that hate him most.

Forearms resting on his knees, Castiel had his fingers woven together, contemplating the wood of the steps beneath his feet.

"I honestly can’t tell you anything, Dean," he admitted finally, raising his head. Without it being said, Dean knew it hurt Cas to have to tell him that, that the angel dearly wished he could say anything other than that. He rose to his feet. "But you are right to be concerned and I am glad that you called for me. I will look into the discrepancies in the prophecies and report back to you with my findings."

Dean was nodding when the words fully sunk in and he looked up sharply. "Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa. No! I know that tone. That’s code for ‘wait in the car’." He closed the space between them, for once glaring up at the angel that stood a few steps higher than he. "This is mine and Sammy’s life, too, I’m not just gonna sit in the backseat and let you work the job! If Chuck’s gone AWOL, he damn well owes me an explanation as much as you. As much as I don’t like him writing what really happens in our lives, I don’t want him making our lives Hell just because it makes for a good story either, not mention half of what he put us through makes us look like morons! He’s got us fighting Tinker Bell in those books, man!"

There was a slight narrowing of Castiel’s eyes, perhaps gauging what he should do or figure out what certain phrases meant. Then he moved past Dean.

"There’s no reason that the Prophet’s words would suddenly be false-"

"Well they aren’t exactly false yet since it hasn’t happened yet," argued Dean. "I’m trying to derail the future, remember? I’m off to a good start, I suppose, you and I aren’t scheduled for a reunion for another nine months, and even then it’s like I’m a bother- you blow Sammy off entirely."

Castiel turned around so sharply Dean almost ran into him, then backtracked at the severe expression on his friend’s face.

"You," began the angel, annunciating clearly in that gravely voice, "will never be a bother to me. Ever. Nor would your brother." He shook his head. "When my family cast me out, it was yours that took me in. Anytime any of you need or even just want me around, all you have to do is call for me."

Gratitude and anguish warred in response, Dean reaching out to clap the other man on the shoulder. "Well, it’s really just me now, but thank you. It’s good to know after everything I’ve been fearing this past week."

The other man dropped his gaze. "I’m sorry. I… misspoke, it was not my intent to remind you of your losses."

The brunette shook his head. "Nah. You wouldn’t be an honorary Winchester if you never put your foot in your mouth." He tried not to notice the way Castiel looked up in surprise, those impossibly blue eyes wide. "So, what do we do about Chuck?"

A blink and his expression shifted to seriousness again, making Dean wonder if such a human reaction had been just a trick of the light or imagination. "It would make the most sense to simply go ask him ourselves. If you are still intent on going with me, that is."

Dean waved him off, ignoring that last part. "Yeah, okay, so say we go and see him, great. That doesn’t explain why his prophecies are suddenly so wrong."

"We would need to speak to Chuck; any number of things could be interfering with the visions. He may be in need of healing."

"Thought he had an Archangel watching over him."

"He does, but the angel can only interfere if the Prophet’s life is in danger. Until that time, she’s attending to her many other duties."

Frowning, Dean did a double take, not sure he’d heard correctly. "Wha- she? What ‘she’? I thought Raphael –the bastard- was the little angel on his shoulder."

Blue eyes glanced away uncomfortably. "Raphael was… reassigned."

"He got demoted." He couldn’t help the amusement in his voice, he really did try to conceal it, but dammit, he had a right to be amused. Damn angel was destined to be a pain in Dean’s ass. Sue him if he found the angel’s humiliation a reason for a smile.

Begrudgingly, Castiel nodded. "Yes."

"How far?" Blue eyes shot him a warning look. He only grinned wider. "Oh come on. I reserve full rights to see my enemies and all dick angels get what’s coming to them. How far did he get demoted? Is he the janitor now? Please tell me he’s the janitor. Polishing those pearly gates or the yellow brick road or whatever?"

It was one of the traits that endeared Castiel to him so much was his loyalty. Even after everything his family had put him through, Castiel was clearly not comfortable gossiping about his brother’s recent humiliation.

"He was reverted back to a guardian and assigned a human charge to look after."

That wasn’t the just desserts Dean had been hoping for. "That sounds an awful lot like what he was doing before, Cas."

"Because you don’t understand our ranks. He has no powers and is tied to the human he’s to protect, forever walking in their shadow. If they take a step, so must he, no freer than his charge’s shadow. He walks the earth he hates, protecting creatures he hates even more. In a way, it’s like your country’s leader being forced to mop the floors of a brothel for a living. He is disgraced and there is no one that doesn’t know about it."

A wide grin plastered on his face, Dean wagged a finger at Castiel. "See? Now that’s something I can get behind."

Cas cocked his head to the side, regarding him with mild exasperation. "If you bothered to read the Bible, Dean, you would remember that God’s anger knows no equal, just as his mercy does."

"So he humiliates them rather than smiting."

"Our father does love us, despite what you may think, Dean."

"I think he runs a high risk of a repeat offender by keeping Raphael alive."

Those blue eyes searched the hunter’s face, brows knitting together. "And yet, the angel that betrayed God the most, the son that was God’s favorite, still breathes as well. Lucifer is alive when our Father had every reason to destroy him. Better yet, our Father knew beforehand that if Lucifer were created he would eventually rebel and have to be cast out of Heaven, yet created him anyway."

He actually forgot fairly often that Lucifer was an angel and not of demonic origin. The angels may have been dicks, but Lucifer had been something else entirely. The fact that he’d been reasonable and polite while being a complete monster only made Dean hate him more. Monsters should be always be obvious.

"Makes him sound like a glutton for punishment you ask me. A masochist."

"Knowing the pain of losing Sam… if you could avoid it by changing things so that he’d never been born, would you do it? Trade all those years and good times to avoid that moment where it all came to a horrific end?" They stared at each other for a long moment, memories flashing through Dean’s mind, images of the good and bad through the years, of that final moment where Sam was himself… The hunter broke eye contact, shaking his head. "Neither could my father. He loves Lucifer still, but his behavior is unacceptable and unwelcome in our father’s home. You can’t tell me a human father has never had a rebellious child."

Sighing, Dean scratched at his jaw with the back of his thumb. "Okay, so Chuck has a new body guard. Don’t they have to report back on the Prophet’s current condition or something? Send out a memo than ya’lls boy is missing the mark?"

Castiel shook his head. "No because they aren’t involved on a regular basis. They are only alerted if there is a threat to the prophet’s life, a serious threat the regular Guardian Corp is not equipped to handle, in which case the Archangel dispatches the problem without hesitation and goes back to what they were doing."

"Ya’ll gotta start keeping better files on your employees, man."

"I’ll be sure to file a complaint under your name." That earned a chuckle from Dean. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Wha- leave? Now?" Castiel arched a brow as Dean looked around frantically, even checking his watch. Lisa and Ben still wouldn’t be home for several hours, but if this turned out to be more than a quick drop in with Chuck, Lisa would worry, not to mention the fact that his truck was still parked out front. "Let me just… let me leave Lisa a note. Hold on."

He darted down the hall and into the kitchen, hearing the angel’s footsteps trailing after him. "A note?"

"Yeah. A note. Letting the people that worry about you know where you are is a courtesy thing. Avoid unnecessary worrying and lectures about making people worry." He scribbled out a message letting her know he was going check on a friend and that he had his cell phone on him before turning back around to face the angel.

"I… see." Contemplative shifted to inquiring again, gaze flicking once to the note on the bar than back to Dean as he held up two fingers. "Are you ready now?"

~-~-~-~-~-~

"I don’t understand," admitted Castiel finally, turning full circle in Chuck’s small living room.

The hunter shared the sentiment. Neither understood because what they were seeing didn’t make sense. All signs indicated no one had been in Chuck’s house for months. All the food in the refrigerator was expired and ruined. There was a mug of something that had long since turned solid next the computer. Dirty dishes were in the sink and covered in mold, and the rest of the house was suffering from it’s usual clutter and disarray, all of it covered in a thick layer of dust.

"He’s not here, man. No body to be found, books still being published, and a stack of junk mail you could wallpaper the whole house in." He turned to face the angel, shaking his head. "Wherever our boy is, it ain’t here. From the looks of it, it looks like he dropped everything and just left. Ran."

Castiel was shaking his had in confusion, taking a step closer to Dean. "Ran from what though? He knows his life is protected from outside forces so what could he have to fear?"

Dean held up his hands. "You are asking the wrong guy, Cas. I didn’t keep close tabs on him, he kept tabs on me, remember? I thought your people were looking after him, so I wasn’t worried." Sighing heavily, he dropped his hands to his hips, looking around again. "Thing that gets me: he had my number. If something were the matter, he would have called. When he had a vision that scared him so bad he was terrified to go back to sleep, he use to call me. When he stopped, I thought it was because the future was no longer plaguing him. Apocalypse averted, nothing else to report, y’know?"

His angelic counterpart shook his head. "His assignment was to record the lives of the Winchester brothers. Had the world ended, so would his task, but it did not, therefore he should have continued receiving visions of the future."

"Except his visions are way off base, so now we add ‘missing’ to our list of problems with Chuck."

Cerulean eyes sought jade. "You knew him better than I: where do we go now? Does he have friends or family we can question?"

"If he did, somebody else would have already noticed he was missing, don’t you think?"

"Your point is valid. Well then, what?"

Dean gave a jerky shrug. "We pay a visit to his publishing company. Get a hold of his editor. They’re the only ones in contact with him at the moment, right? They at least have to have a return address, somewhere where they send him his checks."

　

Castiel teleported them just outside the office, and even from the outside, they could hear the woman angrily making a scene.

Castiel shot Dean a worried glance. "Perhaps now is not the best time. There is great hostility in there."

Hand on the door, Dean rolled his eyes. "Just use your Vulcan Nerve Pinch on her and be done with it. C’mon."

Castiel caught the door before it closed, following after. "Use my what?" He rammed into the hunter’s back as the taller man came to a sudden halt. "Dean, why are you stopping? What is it?"

"I don’t care what the law says about confidential information," the blonde at the front desk raged. "He doesn’t have a next of kin! I am the closest thing he has so you better damn well tell me where he is or so help me God I will unleash the wrath of the entire internet on you and this company."

"Becky?!"

Her head snapped sharply at the sound of his voice, for a split second all that fury directed at the two men standing by the door. They both took an involuntary step backward, Dean swallowing thickly. Recognition dawned and her entire demeanor shifted, lighting up so rapidly as a loud gasp of surprise escaped her.

"Dean!" she exclaimed, marching toward him.

He and Castiel both back pedaled until there was no where else to go, the hunter’s hands raised in surrender as Castiel frantically inquired in a loud whisper if they were in a fight and what manner of creature the furious blonde was.

The moment she reached Dean, her expression gave way to tears and she threw herself at his chest, sobbing and mumbling incoherently.

"What did you do?"

"What do you mean what did I do? I didn’t do anything!"

"Why is she crying?"

"You think I know how her mind works?" demanded Dean in a panic.

"Is this a fight? Are we in a fight?"

"I think this is her saying ‘hello’."

The angel frowned at the woman gripping Dean’s shirt and sobbing. "I don’t like it."

"Nobody likes- look, would you just help get her off of me?"

Despite obvious reserves about coming in contact with the female, but clearly not happy with the current turn of events, Castiel moved around to gently take Becky by the shoulders in an attempt to pry her away from the hunter. He quickly let go and backed away when she turned her head to snarl at him, all but bearing her teeth at the angel.

"Oh!" she said in surprise, releasing Dean and turning on Castiel who gave Dean a panicked look. "You’re Castiel!"

The angel’s attention snapped back to her face. "How do you know that? Who are you?"

Hand snapping out, Dean grabbed Becky by the arm before she could assault the unassuming angel. "She’s Chuck’s biggest fan, Cas."

She was shaking her head, face enraptured. "He didn’t do your voice justice, because it’s just.. oh my. Can I touch him?"

"No." She turned to glare at him in anger, only when her eyes met his her expression melted, bottom lip quivering and eyes filling with tears. "No! No more crying. I want coherent sentences from you, you already christened my shirt and I’m gonna have to get a new one." He turned her fully to face him. "Start talking."

It took half a box of Kleenex and a cup of tea begrudgingly offered by the still miffed receptionist before Becky was able to start making sense. Apparently, she was there for the same reason they were: looking for Chuck. In fact, she’d become a familiar and dreaded face to the receptionist because she was in there so often demanding to know where the author was.

"So, all you’ve got is bumpkins?" demanded Dean. "After all this time?"

She shot him a cross look, and Dean wondered not for the first time why she favored Sam so much more since she was such a devout fan.

"Yes, Dean, I got nothing. Apparently being his ex-girlfriend," She raised her voice and shot a pointed look at the receptionist who glared and pointedly ignored her. "Does not entitled me to basic information like ‘is he safe’, ‘when did you last hear from him’, ‘who in God’s name is writing these books now’?" She was on her feet, all but shouting at the receptionist again.

The middle aged woman behind the desk looked ready to take this old argument out to the parking lot and quite frankly, Dean’s money was on the psychotic fangirl that was out of touch with reality.

"Ma’am, am I going to have to call security again?"

Confused, Dean was tugging on the blonde’s hand, trying to refocus her attention. "Hold on, what do you mean ‘who is writing the books’, who else would be writing them?"

Such a look of fury came over her face, Dean swallowed and released her, trying to look as apologetic for his wording as possible. Girl had proven herself crazy on more than one occasion; he wasn’t going to stir up the hornet’s nest.

"Have you read the new books? You know: the ones after Sam saved the world- no thanks to you, I might add?" Castiel clearly bristled at that, opening his mouth, but Dean held up a hand, shaking his head. "They’re terrible! The stupid stuff the two of you pull? The obvious plot holes? The bad writing? It’s defamation of character is what it is. There’s no way Chuck wrote these, even at your worst, he still tried to protect your images in the eyes of the fans, and he certainly never would have made you look silly! It’s all bad filler written by someone who doesn’t care! Not to mention: look how fast they’re being produced! They’re practically mass produced like mystery meat!" She was on her feet shouting again. "It’s an outrage!"

"Ma’am, one more outburst and you can forget security; I’m calling the cops."

A unmarked side door opened and a woman with cropped hair came out looking peevish. "Mary, do we have a situation out here?"

Dean blinked in surprise. "Sera?" She turned at the sound of her name and he rose. "Sera Seige?"

She frowned for a moment then blinked in recognition. "Oh! You! I remember you." She glanced at Castiel, then Becky with a frown, before giving Dean a puzzled expression. "I certainly didn’t expect to see you again. Where’s, uh, your brother, right?"

A rather loud sob escaped Becky and Castiel grabbed her, hiding her face in his lapel in attempt to somehow silence her while making it look like an attempt at comforting.

"She… uh, had a recent loss in the family," he fumbled, earning another wail and something that sounded a lot like Sam’s name. "She’s… bereaved."

"I’ll say." The publisher shifted her gaze to Dean. "How may I help you?"

"I’m sorry I didn’t make an appointment, I actually came by to see you real quick while I was passing through town. Saw Supernatural’s back in print and going strong, wanted to congratulate you- one fan to another! It’s a victory for us, eh?"

She beamed happily at him. "Yes it is! Please, come inside," she insisted, ushering him into her office. Dean pointedly refused to look back at the two people in the lobby, ignoring the indignant sounds coming from the fangirl or the lost look he knew was probably on Castiel’s face.

In her office, Sera motioned for him to sit down and offered him a cup of coffee. Despite it being well into the afternoon, he gratefully accepted it, hoping the warmth would settle the whirlwind in his head at the moment.

"Actually, Sera, I did want to ask you a couple of things." He shifted in his seat, trying his best to mimick one of Sammy’s concerned expressions that always seemed to get him what he wanted. "See, when I was reading the books… I couldn’t help but notice a… change in them, in the, uh, tone and feel, y’know? So I called Chuck up to see if something was going on that was reflecting in his work, see if he needed a night out with the boys, I hadn’t seen him in a month or two, thought it would be good." Puzzled, he shook his head. "Thing is though, I can’t get a hold of him. I even went by the house to check and it looks like he’s on extended vacation, which kind of pisses me off he didn’t even shoot me a text here me and his other friends are worrying about him. It’s just the courteous thing to do, you know, leave a note so people don’t worry? But I mean, the books are still being published, so-"

He fell silent when she began looking uncomfortable, a flush making it’s way to her cheeks, and eyes glistening over. As she busied herself with files on her desk, he offered her the box of tissue, which she gratefully accepted, dabbing under her eyes.

"What’s wrong? What happened?"

She shook her head. "We don’t know! He just- just vanished! We’ve tried to track him down, but his credit cards show no activitiy, no one has been to his house, he doesn’t have any family, so there’s no one to contact. We found his cell phone at his house, it’s his life blood in many ways, all his important numbers are in it for the books and scheduling and everything, you know?"

He knew the phone. He’d personally put in his, Sam’s, and Bobby’s numbers into it in case the prophet ever needed anything. Hell, he’d even plugged in Castiel’s cell phone number. A sob escaped her. "It was wiped clean! Not a single number on it. We couldn’t retrieve anything off of it, you know, normally you can still get to memory that’s been erased on electronic devices, but…" She shook her head. "We’re still under contract, the books had to continue being written in order for them to be published at all, so we had to hire ghostwriters to keep putting out stories. I know they aren’t up to par with Chuck’s writing, but it was only to buy us time-"

"Okay, okay, I get it, calm down, it’s alright." He rose, taking away her coffee, setting about to make her tea instead. "You did good given the circumstances. You did alright, and we’ll keep looking for Chuck and let you know if you find anything. How many of the books were ghost written?"

"Most everything after Swan Song."

Nodding, he poured a little sugar into the steaming Styrofoam cup in his hand, a touch of cream, and handed it to her, taking his previous seat again, this time all seriousness.

"Okay, well, then we have to talk business now." She blinked in surprise. "This new books are killing us with fans, I mean, we are losing the fanbase because Sam and Dean are losing face in their eyes."

She sniffed, nodding. "I know, but what can we do?"

"Hire a decent writer. Someone who is actually a fan of the series, and give them access to all of Chuck’s notes, paperwork, his computer, whatever. Make sure they write stories that do the series a credit and would make Chuck proud when he comes back. Firstly, you gotta throw the books after Swan Song into Out Of Print status and get them off the shelves."

"But the writers!"

"Are contract labor who were probably paid a flat fee per book and aren’t receiving credit for them anyway. This is non-issue here, we risk becoming a laughing stock, Sera. The boys are going to end up a joke! Can you really imagine a Soulless Sam or a world were Castiel would ever betray Dean? He’s naïve, sure, but he’s got more sense than that and a helluva lot more loyalty."

"You’re right."

"Of course I am!"

She gave him a pointed look. "That all sounds well and good, but where am I suppose to find a decent writer who fits your criteria and is willing to go unsung as the author of the books? They’ll never receive credit, it’ll be in their contract."

He pointed to her with a grin, standing. "I’ve got you covered, and just hear me out before you shoot me down." Opening the door to the office, he waved both Castiel and Becky forward. Becky was still sitting in Castiel’s lap, causing the angel to look all manner of uncomfortable, the same panicked expression on his face from when Dean took him to a brothel. As the blonde passed him, he grabbed her by the arm, hissing "Keep your mouth shut and follow my lead."

She nodded, the picture of demure professionalism as she took his previous seat. Sera looked none too happy to suddenly have the blonde abomination in her office. Castiel only gave Dean a questioning glance before taking up residence in the corner and allowing Dean the only other chair available.

"Okay," began Dean with the most charming smile he could muster. "Now, I know the two of you got off on the wrong foot here, but what Becky was saying was true. She is, in fact, a very close friend of Chuck’s, in fact, they were dating before he disappeared, so she has every right to be hysterical." Becky gave a single nod, while Sera eyed him like she was no longer sure she could trust him. "Not to mention we," he motioned to all the people in the room, "are probably the biggest fans there are of Supernatural. Right, Cas?" he questioned, glancing back at the angel.

Castiel blinked in surprise, suddenly being brought into the conversation. He gave Dean a puzzled look, then turned to Sera who watched him expectantly.

"Yes, uh…" Another uncertain glance at Dean. "I am a most devote… fan. Dean Winchester is my hero."

Becky choked back a laugh, trying to make it come across as a series of suppressed sneezes. She had to good sense to look sheepish. "Allergies." She sniffed for good measure.

"Cas?" echoed Sera, attention glued to the man standing awkwardly in the small office. "As in, Castiel?"

Fuck. Laughing, Dean opened his mouth to explain, and floundered, his mouth working like a fish.

Rolling her eyes, Becky ran a hand through her hair. "Yes, like Castiel from the books. Didn’t you recognize him the moment you saw him? I mean," She motioned to both men, "Chuck based his characters off of these men, and Swan Song was to pay homage to Sam who finally lost his battle with a cancer in his body."

Her expression wilted, eyes seeking Dean’s. "Oh, I’m sorry to hear that." She frowned. "When you came in here before, I thought you were merely fans of the series?"

Despite himself, a bitter laugh escaped him. "Would have believed us if we told you the truth? We’d lost touch with Chuck in recent years; you were our best chance at reconnecting." He waved a hand. "Look, point being, the books are making the characters lose face and that needs to be fixed while we still have a fanbase. Becky here is the girl for the job. Very talented writer, will do her research into legends and myths, save our boys from their own damnation, and will be in constant access of your office, having no problem submitting her stories for approval and whatever minor corrections you see fit before they go to publishing." He kicked her foot and she nodded vehemently. "If she gives you any lip, all you have to do is give me a call."

It was more than several hours later, with many assurances and reassurances, not to mention proof they weren’t lying, like Becky procuring a key from her purse that went to Chuck’s house, and –thanks to Castiel- the other men pulling out their own copies of the key, before Sera agreed to the Deal. When it looked like it might go south, Dean glanced at Cas, willing him to work his mojo on the publicist, full on Obi-Wan her. It was much like watching a channel change.

After Becky had signed the contract and they hung around long enough to hear Sera make the calls about the books being yanked off shelves before leaving, Dean refusing to release Becky’s arm until they were out in the parking lot. The moment they were out in the night air she started squealing hysterically, incessantly gushing about all the plans she had for the series and how this was going to be such an opportunity to repair the damage done.

Dean spun her around to face him. "Stop talking, Becky, or I’ll sic my angel on you." She fell silent, but the wide grin on her face at his words was no source of comfort. "Okay, ground rules. If you so much as hint at-at Wincest, I swear to God, I will kill you. First I will torture you, and you know my skills, and then I will kill you. And when I’m done, Castiel here-"

"Will bring you back to life so he can do it all over again."

Dean nodded, giving her a gravely serious face. "I already lost my brother, so don’t you dare insult his memory."

For once, Becky had a wholly sympathetic expression on her face, and Dean had to fight back the horror that having read the books, she knew exactly how much he grieved the loss of his little brother.

"Dean, I would never do anything to hurt Sam or disrespect his memory." The moment passed and she waved a hand flippantly. "Besides, that ship went down like the Titanic for me way back when you were raised from Hell. I would never pair him with you anymore."

Castiel was giving Dean a horrified expression. "People thought you and Sam were in a romantic relationship? Did the book not portray you as brothers?"

"Apparently loving someone, family or no, means you want to have sex with them."

He looked back at the blonde, reassessing her. "What manner of creature are you?"

She winked at him. "A fangirl. Fear me."

Snapping his fingers to regain her attention, Dean folded his arms across his chest. "Okay, good, no wincest. I don’t fancy being thrown back into Hell. Since you have a key- and I don’t want to know how you got it-"

"I did date the man, you know."

"You need to get over to Chuck’s, start going through his files, his paperwork, everything. See what you can find and start working from there. I’m sure you have my number that you stole from Chuck’s phone before someone took a magic eraser to it. Call me if you find anything and when you get everything settled and organized, we may need you to give us any info we don't already have. You can set up base in his house for all I care. The publishing company has been using money from the royalty checks to keep his bills paid, the rest going into a savings account for him."

"What about the two of you?" she questioned.

Dean and Castiel turned and met each other’s gazes for a long moment, the angel giving an infinitesimal shake of his head as though reading Dean’s thoughts. He probably was.

The hunter turned back to the blonde. "We’ve got ourselves a Prophet to find."

Chapter Three

Comments

[ficanicbasket.livejournal.com]

Oooo, I'm very interested to see where this goes. And your snark <3 YES.

[tenoko1.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you are enjoying. :) snark love, huh? Lol

[inferno-syren.livejournal.com]

Oh I am so liking this. So wanna see more.

"A fangirl. Fear me." I don't know why but that had me laughing like a mad woman.

[tenoko1.livejournal.com]

Lol glad you enjoyed. Yeah, the prologue was a lot of angst, but the tone lightens as the story continues, even while issues come to light. :) hope you'll return for further chapters.

[skiing-pelican.livejournal.com]

*squeeeee* Becky!!!
Man, I can't put into words how much I love this. The talk between Cas andDean at the start... Becky being Becky... Sera... (all name similarities to real persons are purely coincidental, right?) and the way you ripped apart season 6!
"that ship went down like the titanic" YES. Becky turned Dean/Cas! Oh Dean... You are going to be faced with Destiel, not Wincest *evil laughter*

[tenoko1.livejournal.com]

The publisher in the series is a combination of two people's name, one being Sera Gamble. hehehe I'm so glad you are enjoying this, I've had so much fun writing it.

[robynize.livejournal.com]

I love this!! "I'm a fangirl,fear me" Yes that's right!!! I love the snarkiness, love how things seem to be getting repaired. Like Dean "do you really think Castiel would ever betray Dean?!" Exactly!!! He's loyal to a fault, what kind of horseshit is the show giving us!!! This is really great, I can't wait to keep reading!!! I always loved Becky, even though lots of fangirls don't, I think she's awfully fun, and I cant hate on her for worshipping Sam, cuz I know I sure do!! Great job! ♥Robyn

[tenoko1.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you so much! I'm glad you are enjoying and continue to do so.

[classiczeppelin.livejournal.com]

They’re terrible! The stupid stuff the two of you pull? The obvious plot holes? The bad writing? It’s defamation of character is what it is.

Oh my god, the obvious season six bashing!

I <3 YOU.

[tenoko1.livejournal.com]

lol Thank you. Hopefully I brought you some amusement. ^_^

[indigocat.livejournal.com]

If Cas is smart, he will fear Becky.