Chapter Text
They’re at a little outpost only a day’s ride from Oklahoma City. Gabe and Claire are out, and that leaves Dean to bide his time while Novak does whatever the hell Angel crap he does in his down time. It apparently includes reading a ton of letters from a girl who works in the city.
“Fuck.”
Dean looks up from the book he’s reading at Novak’s sudden outburst. In the time that he’s known Novak, he hasn’t cursed once. He would look to Gabriel or Claire to see what a proper reaction to this is, but they’re out “scouting the town.” Gabriel’s words.
“Ya good over there, Angel?” The man looks awfully uncomfortable. Dean realizes that this is the first time he’s seen him actually speechless. Since he’s known him, he’s either been quick to respond with witty comebacks or just ignores Dean. This isn’t ignorance, though. Dean watches Novak’s eyes flit apprehensively between the paper in his hands and Dean.
“I…” he can’t seem to find the words. “I think we should wait until Gabe and Claire return.”
Half an hour later, Dean has reread the same paragraph in his dime novel at least twenty times. He can’t seem to focus with the way Novak is fidgeting in his little chair by the door, clutching the parchment but avoiding looking at it like it’s offended him. Considering the man’s reaction, it probably did.
The tense silence is broken when the door swings open, revealing a grinning Gabriel and a scowling, wet Claire. Dean can’t help but snort. “What the hell happened to blondie?”
“Gabe thought it would be funny to trip me on our way back.” Claire stomps back into the washroom, shoes squelching with each step.
Gabriel shrugs, “I didn’t see the water trough.” He smiles at Dean, who laughs, before he notices the look on Novak’s face.
“What’s wrong, Cassie?”
“Cassie? Your name is Cassie ?” Dean blurts out. Of all the things he thought Novak’s name would be, the last thing would be Cassie. Fuck, Dean dated a Cassie. All of a sudden, the scary Angel doesn’t seem so scary anymore.
“It’s Castiel,” he glares at Dean before shoving the letter in Gabe’s face. “Charlie’s letter.”
Dean watches Gabe’s eyes flit over the page. He frowns, and then looks up at Dean almost pityingly. Dean bristles. There was something in that letter that Novak - no, Castiel - had seen and it applied to Dean and he had felt the need to keep him in the dark about it.
“Have you told him?”
“We’re gonna take the job anyway.”
“Castiel. Have you told him?”
“No. I waited until you and Claire returned.”
“But it’s about his fucking bro-” Gabe snaps his mouth shut before looking over at Dean. His stomach drops. Something’s happened to Sam. Something’s happened to Sammy, and Dean wasn’t there to help him .
“What the fuck happened to Sam?” he demands. When the brothers in front of him don’t answer, he stands up and storms towards the door, getting in their faces. “What happened to my brother?”
He snatches the letter from Castiel’s limp hand and reads.
Novaks.
Glad to hear y’all are almost here. We need it here. The leviathans are expanding and people are taking notice. I hate to ask this of you, but y’all are gonna need to do a little more than petty thievery to take this man down, if you know what I mean.
Also, Walker arrived in town yesterday. What an inhumane man. He sneaked himself into the big man’s office yesterday. Said you almost had him going straight down to Waco but he followed a man by the name of Samuel Winchester. Damn, you’ve got the Winchester brothers on your case? Anyway, said that the older one, Dean if I recall, got away from his little fire. I know that was your doing. From what I know of your family history and the Winchester family history, it was easy to figure out the fire was meant to mess with your heads.
Dean doesn’t know what to make of that. For one, this woman knows about his and Sam’s history. However, she’s obviously on the Novaks’ side and she’s keeping an eye on Sam, which is all that Dean can ask for now.
If what happened is what I think happened, please let Dean know I’ll keep an eye on Walker’s advancement on the marshal. Dean, if you’re reading this, you’ll be the first to know if something happens to your brother. I promise it.
Novaks, please hurry.
Queen
“She always keeps a promise, that one.” Gabriel says as Castiel gently removes the paper from Dean’s hand and folds it up, putting it in his knapsack.
“We gotta go get him. We gotta go get Sammy.”
“Don’t worry, Dean-o. From the moment Cassie read that letter, he was already thinking rescue.”
“What about your job? Who’re the leviathans? What does this woman mean by petty thievery?”
Castiel ignores his questions completely, “If Walker is hunting Samuel, we’ll need to get there as soon as possible. Claire,” the girl emerges, clean and mostly dry, at the perfect time, “run with Gabe to get the horses. We need to be in the city by tonight. Charlie has eyes on Walker and Dean’s brother. Walker probably knows the brothers are after us, but I bet he’s put together that Dean’s here with us. He saw Dean go down in that house fire. He’ll use Samuel to bribe Dean, and in turn, us. Roman knows that too. Dean and I will get packed up and meet you there.”
The brothers don't say one word about their job. Instead, their focus is on Sam first. Something clicks in Dean’s mind, and he realizes that he really does trust these (practically) strangers with his life. He doesn’t like the way Castiel had said Walker was hunting Sam - the damned fucker - but the determination in his voice had done something to Dean. This truly was a man who cared so much about people.
“Hey, uh, Castiel,” he says when Gabriel and Claire have left. The man looks at him, and not for the first time Dean notices how gorgeous he is. He isn’t glaring at him, for once. Instead there’s a soft, understanding smile on his face. Dean rubs the back of his neck. “I appreciate this, but you don’t gotta save Sammy. That’s my job. Yours should be taking down this Roman man.”
Castiel’s eyes darken for a moment at the mention of Roman, but then he just sighs. “I’ve told you this before, Dean. I’m not a bad man. I care for people, your brother included. This is our job, first and foremost.”
“Well, thanks, then. And, uh, if y’all need help in the future, I… I’d be happy to lend a hand.”
“Thank you, Dean. Let’s go get your brother, and maybe I’ll let you join our murderous group of outlaws.” Castiel’s face is completely straight, and if not for the slight upturn of the corner of his mouth at the end, Dean wouldn’t have known he was joking.
“Ya, know, you’re funny man.”
“I’m told I’ve got an occasional sense of humor.”
The men pack in companionable silence, lighter than they’d been before. Together they gather their belongings in less than ten minutes. Dean’s got his and Gabriel’s bags over his shoulder and turns to the door when Castiel says his name.
“Yeah?” He turns his head around.
“If we’re gonna be working together, you should call me Cas.”
