Title: The Best Laid Plans

Chapter: 4

~~~~~~~~~~

The sixth day was hitting Castiel hard and it seemed to Dean that the whole thing was faster than before, as if making the decision to make a female vessel permanent did something. She’d been pacing the room for hours. He’d woken to Cas pacing back and forth and, as she paced, she watched him. It wasn’t the sort of stare she’d had before, but rather one that indicated she was seconds from throwing him down and having her way with him -- whether Sam was in the room or not.

Dean hadn’t had time to think about Risa and maybe that was for the best.

He looked at Sam, who was busy at the table on his laptop, trying to find anything he could to help Castiel through this period. Leaning over, he half-whispered, “Tell me you’ve got something.”

Sam shook his head. “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing anywhere. Any drug we give her will be out of her system in minutes at most and the breathing thing obviously isn’t working.”

“Yeah, that didn’t turn out so well.” All the deep breathing had done was aggravate her. Going to Castiel, he touched her arm. “Maybe you should go take a cold shower.”

“Only if you join me.”

“Defeats the purpose.”

“I don’t care.” She pressed against him. “I need it. I need something, because it feels like my skin is crawling.” She grasped his shirt. “And it’s too much, Dean.” Her eyes went wide, lower lip trembling. “You have to contain me or I’ll go to Jimmy and plead until he gives in and he will give in. Contain me. It’s the only way.”

He put his hands on her waist, slid them around to her back. “We’ll figure something out.”

She licked her lips, a slow movement of her tongue. “I’ve figured it out.” She slid one hand up his chest to his neck and raised up on tiptoe, bringing her mouth close to his. “Enochian symbols on the walls.”

Sam stood and stepped over to them. “Wait, the symbols demons use to keep you guys out of places?”

Castiel laid her head on Dean’s chest. “The symbols will contain me if you put them on the walls of a room with me in the room. I won’t be able to leave.”

“It does make sense, Dean.”

“Weird sense. Are you sure Cas?”

She gave a long, irritated groan. “Just do it.”

“Here?”

Drawing back, she looked at him, her stare annoyed. “No, not here.” Castiel transferred one hand to Sam and with a lurching sensation in his stomach, they were in Bobby’s kitchen. “Here. Safe.”

“Can’t you guys drive anywhere anymore,” came Bobby’s voice from the other room.

“Sorry, Bobby,” Dean said, drawing Castiel closer. She was shivering as though she was cold, but her skin was very warm. She laid her head on his chest, leaning against him. “It’s sort of an emergency.”

“Take care of it, Sam. You know the symbols.” She snaked her arms up about his neck. “Hurry.”

“Emergency? Is that Risa you’ve got with you? Where’d Castiel go?”

He could hear the suspicion in Bobby’s voice. “Long story.”

“Give me the Reader’s Digest Condensed version.”

Sam gave Cas’s shoulder a squeeze and walked to Bobby, his voice low. “She’s Castiel now. He switched vessels.”

“Dean’s girlfriend is an angelic vessel?”

“Yeah. And now she’s Cas.”

“As just a filled vessel or a filled vessel and girlfriend both?”

“The latter.”

Dean saw Bobby roll his eyes and briefly wondered what bug had crawled up his ass today. “You’re telling me Dean got Cas into bed?” Bobby’s voice raised. “I knew you could charm the pants off a woman, Dean, but Castiel, too?”

“I’m irresistible, Bobby. Sam, the symbols?”

“Right. Bobby, do you have a room that you wouldn’t mind having Enochian symbols spray painted all over the walls?”

“Do I want to know the story behind all of this?”

“You want to cooperate,” Castiel snapped, drawing away to glare at him. “I’m at the very end of my emotional rope and in this state I’m very capable of doing damage to anyone in my way, including you.”

“Emotional rope --”

Dean held on to her, knowing that any second she could snap and take them to Jimmy. He could feel the strength coiling along her limbs as she tensed. “Bobby, please. A room?”

“Yeah, sure, take one of the bedrooms upstairs if you have to.”

“Spray paint?”

“You know where it’s at.”

In minutes, Dean was lifting Cas, carrying her through the house and up the stairs. She clung to him, eyes squeezed shut and breaths quick and shallow, fighting her urge to flee Risa’s body. “Come on, Cas, take deep breaths or you’ll pass out.”

“I can’t pass out.”

“Not if you take deep breaths you can’t.”

“I’m an angel, Dean. We don’t pass out.”

“Oh yeah? You wanting to test that theory?” He stepped to the open bedroom door and through it. Sam was busy, drawing symbols on the walls ceiling and floor. Cas’s grip on him tightened and he coughed. “You’re choking me.”

“Sorry. A reaction to the symbols.”

Setting her on the bed, he knelt in front of her.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dean was in love.

Bobby could see it plain as day. Dean’s love for Castiel was in his eyes, on his face, in his manner. In minutes, Bobby knew the full difference between how Dean looked at Cas and how he’d looked at Risa.

He was in the room with her, kneeling before her while she sat on the bed, talking softly to her, his hands gentle on her face. It was a tender, chick-flick moment, and yet Dean was still Dean and Castiel still…well…Castiel. Their conversation bore that out.

“Raphael won’t find you here?”

“A couple of my supporters are leading him and his supporters in other directions.”

“A wild goose chase.”

She blinked. “There are no geese involved, Dean, wild or domesticated. Nor would Raphael be inclined to chase geese if they were involved. The idea of him running after birds is…disturbing. Amusing, but disturbing.”

“No, I meant….” He licked his lips, took her hands in his, and shook his head. “Never mind. He can’t find you, right?”

“He could, but it would take some doing on his part.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m certain.”

Bobby stepped out of Dean and Cas’s sight. “Sam, is it --” He started to ask if Dean loving Castiel was a good idea and Sam must have been thinking about it, for he answered even as Bobby began to ask.

“Nope. Not at all, but it’s a better idea than the other option.”

“Which is?”

Sam carefully closed the door, blocking out the clear sounds of Cas and Dean’s voices and gesturing at the stairs. “Let’s go have a couple beers and I’ll fill you in.”

Once the beers were in hand and they were sitting, Sam explained the situation, from Castiel’s initial plan to teach Dean a lesson a year earlier all the way to the current state of Risa’s health and that promise to Jimmy.

“Cas has gone female, but with an initial price to pay for it. That the way it is?”

“Pretty much. The adjustment period is usually spent in heaven, helpless under the emotions and physical sensations and in the care of other angels that angel trusts completely. Female vessels are different than male vessels. Who knew, right? The angel Cas spoke with says it shouldn’t be long, but I get the feeling Cas doesn’t really know.”

“What’s long to an angel? Centuries?”

“No, I don’t think it’ll be that long, just long enough to feel like forever. Only the most determined and strong enough get all the way through it, so if Cas can make it to the end of that period, she’ll be in the company of some of the strongest angels. Or so her source claims.”

“So why didn’t she stay upstairs for it?”

“Raphael’s goons are still looking for her. She said she’d rather be here with us and know we’ve got her back while she’s down than have another nasty surprise in heaven in a vulnerable moment.”

“Another surprise? What’s Castiel been up to? Making lifelong pals?”

Sam laughed. “Yeah…. I guess there was a moment where a few of her supposed allies turned out to be on Raphael’s payroll. The war doesn’t appear to be leaning to one side or the other. Seems Cas has more support than Raphael thought and has gained support as the fight has gone on.”

“She going to be able to fight a war and be with Dean at the same time?”

Sam leaned his head back and sighed. “She thinks so and she’s raring to try too. I think if she could walk away from the war and not walk away from heaven, she’d do it, but the two are connected, so….”

“Dean never does anything the easy way, does he?”

“Neither does Cas.”

They clinked bottles and drank deeply.

~~~~~~~~~~

They sat side by side, Dean trying his best to keep Castiel calm by talking -- and failing in that regard. She was barely paying attention to anything he said, increasingly agitated, shifting her weight, tapping her hands on her legs, jiggling her feet until suddenly Dean found himself with her on his lap. She straddled him, skirt pushed high. Her mouth covered his in a kiss that was blistering in intensity, tongue moving in an insistent dance with his.

He grasped her thighs, caressed them, curving his fingers about the outer lean line of them and dragged his hands up beneath the skirt fabric to cup her rear.

Castiel wrenched her mouth away. “No!” She shoved him onto his back, grabbed his arms and pinned them above his head. “Don’t touch,” she ordered in a breathless tone, “just don’t. I need you to not touch me yet.”

“I’ll try.”

She released his wrists and sat up, removing her blouse and bra, tossing both behind her with an unconcerned air. Her chest was already flushed, nipples tight points.

“You’re going to torture me, aren’t you?” He raised up enough to tug off his t-shirt and laid back down.

Placing her hands on either side of his head, she leaned down, hair a curtain about their faces. “Is this torture, Dean?”

“You know it.”

She leaned closer, teasing him with almost kisses, lips never quite meeting his, then slid up and arched her back, breasts close to his face. He used his mouth on her since hands were forbidden, licking, nibbling, sucking, transferring his attention back and forth. First the right breast, then the left…. Her head fell back with a moan. “Dean….”

He curled his fingers in the covers, fighting the urge to touch her and nearly losing that control when she writhed against him.

“I want you.”

“You have me,” he murmured, laying his head back and looking up at her. An idea filled his mind, something he thought she might like. “I’ve got an idea.”

“I have several.”

“This one means I need to go downstairs for a minute.”

“No.” She placed her hands on his chest as though to keep him there. “No going anywhere.”

“Come on. I’ll be a minute or two and you can use the time to finish getting undressed.”

He watched her consider the idea. Slowly, she moved from him. “Hurry.”

Unfortunately, his idea was pointless, as Bobby had neither item he wanted. However, Castiel didn’t seem to care. She was still on the bed when he returned to the room, only now she was completely naked, sitting in a seductive pose that made him sweat. He thought she probably didn’t even realize how seductive that pose was. Quickly, Dean pulled off his clothes and joined her.

She still wouldn’t let him touch her, not once. Her lips nibbled a trail down his body, her tongue flicking along his skin, and she brought him nearly to the brink of release only to pull back without letting him slide over that edge. True torture.

“Tease,” he moaned.

“Turnabout,” she replied, straddling him once more, “is completely fair.”

He was pinned again, Dean wincing as Castiel gripped his wrists too tightly, causing an actual burst of pain. “Ease up, Cas,” he gasped. “A little too hard.” The way she held him would break his wrists if he moved. She was strong, very strong, and it was apparent that when he’d had her pinned a few days before, it had been only because she’d let him. She could have broken free easily enough.

She let up the pressure. “I’m sorry, Dean.” Cas kissed up one arm to his wrist, lips and tongue soothing the ache there before she transferred her attention to his other wrist.

“Just keep in mind I’m human, okay?”

Keeping his wrists covered by one hand, she brought her other hand to his face, fingers tracing his mouth. “Did I hurt you just now?” The touch was gentle, lightly tickling, her gaze concerned.

“Maybe a little.”

“How can I alleviate that hurt?” One brow twitched.

He let his gaze travel down her. “You know how.”

With a pleased smirk he would have missed if he’d blinked, she slid lower, the wet heat of her enveloping him.

Dean closed his eyes, gasping, breathing out a ragged, “I’ve got to touch you, Cas. Let me touch you.”

“Not yet. I can’t let you.”

“Please.” But even as he pleaded, Dean understood her resistance to that. She needed to have control over something when she felt she had no control over anything. Him touching her was something she could control. She could keep him from touching her until she was ready for it.

They moved together, what little control he had slipping free and just as he was reaching the point of no return, she let go of him.

“Now, Dean, touch me now!”

He put his hands on her, sliding them across her perspiration slick skin, feeling her shudder beneath his touch, hearing her unrestrained cries of pleasure, and finding his own release. With a final trembling gasp, Castiel let her body lower onto him fully, her cheek pressed to his, breaths hot against his ear. Dean wrapped his arms about her and held her tight to him.

He didn’t care what this process brought, as long as it kept her with him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Bobby was debating telling Sam to take a hike when it was obvious it was far too late to get rid of him. There was a knock on the door.

“You want me to get that,” Sam asked, heading to it and opening it. “Sheriff Mills?”

“Oh, Sam. Hi. Bobby didn’t say you’d be here. Didn’t see your car.”

“It’s elsewhere at the moment.”

Bobby came to the door. “I didn’t tell you ‘cause I didn’t know.” He took her jacket and hung it up. “Come on in.”

“We just pulled in about an hour or so ago.” Sam closed the door behind her.

Jodie paused, giving Sam a long measuring look. “Anything I should ignore?”

From the second floor bedroom where Dean had Castiel locked up came a loud thump.

Bobby shook his head. “Nothing that needs any worry. It’s just Dean and --”

“His girlfriend,” Sam interjected.

“I see.”

Thankfully, Bobby saw a glimmer of amusement begin to grown in her eyes, a gleam that deepened when there was a feminine groan from above.

Sam cleared his throat. “How about I turn on some music?”

Bobby rolled his eyes. “Make it loud,” he replied and led the way into the kitchen. After the trouble he’d gone through to have a nice, friendly meal with Jodie, didn’t it just figure that something would come up? He winced slightly at the phrase because it sounded like, in Dean’s case, something had come up.

He got out plates and began to dish up the lasagna it had taken him two days to put together. Those cook-as-it-bakes noodles saved time he definitely didn’t have. “Is Dean eating?”

Sam’s expression indicated a lewd remark he could easily make, yet wisely didn’t. Bobby was in no mood for smartass remarks and might just slap him upside the head if he made one. “I don’t think he’s too concerned about dinner right now.” Taking the first plate, he took it back to the table.

“No, it certainly doesn’t sound as though food is a high priority,” Jodie said, sitting in one chair. She leaned over and sniffed at the steam rising from the plate Sam had set before her. “This smells great, Bobby.”

“Thanks. How about Cas? Is she hungry?”

Sam snickered this time, yet again was wise enough to not say what he was obviously thinking. “Um…she’s not big on food. You know that.”

“Well, with all the other changes going on with her, maybe that changed too.” He shoved a plate at Sam and picked up the last one, moving to the table and sitting across from Jodie.

“Nope. Cas is still Cas.”

He eyed the ceiling in the direction of the bedroom. “Not quite.”

Jodie cleared her throat as she placed her napkin in her lap. “You want to tell me what’s going on here?”

Before he could answer, Dean came into the room and went to the fridge, opening the door to it wide. He was shirtless and barefoot. “Hey Bobby….” Apparently not finding what he wanted, he turned. “Do you…. Sheriff.” He smiled. “I take it this isn’t an official visit.”

“No, not this time.”

“You look nice out of uniform and with your hair all down.”

“Thank you.”

“So, Bobby.” Dean approached the table. “You got any chocolate syrup?”

“Do I look like a girl needing chocolate in the house?” Yes, he did have chocolate syrup, but it was the expensive fancy kind and he wasn’t about to share it for the purpose he assumed Dean was wanting it. Nope. It went on the peppermint ice cream he liked to get in the winter and nothing else.

“Right. How about whipped cream? The non-dairy stuff?”

He had a tub of it stashed in the freezer in the back behind everything else and it was also something he wasn’t amenable to sharing. “Dean.”

He sighed. “Too bad. Could have been fun. Nice to see you again, Sheriff.” With a disappointed expression, he left the room.

Bobby put his head in his hands and heaved a long, put-upon sigh. “How long is this going to go on, Sam?”

“I don’t know. Could be awhile.”

“Great.” At least the phone wasn’t --

The thought was cut off by the phone, ringing as if on cue.

Jodie chuckled. “Well, it’s never boring over here, that’s for sure.” She got up. “I’ll go powder my nose while you get that.”

The rest of the main meal was uneventful, mainly pleasant conversation and Sam avoiding Jodie’s questions on Dean’s girlfriend. They were nearly finished with the cake Bobby had picked up as an afterthought at the grocery bakery, when Dean and Castiel got very loud. The headboard thumped against the wall, Bobby making a mental note to either drag the bed out to the middle of the floor or remove the headboard later. Much later.

As quiet finally descended, Jodie leaned over to Sam. “While I’m glad your brother has a girlfriend, that was a little more than I wanted to know about the state of their relationship.” She slid her plate away. “How about I make dinner next time, Bobby?”

“Sounds good to me. I could eat someone else’s cooking for once.”

“Your guests staying long?”

“Indefinitely.”

She smiled. “Come to the house tomorrow about seven. Just you. It won’t be fancy, but it’ll be filling, and there’ll be quiet.”

When she was gone, Sam asked, “You and Sheriff Mills?”

“We’re friends.”

“Uh-huh. How long did it take for you to ask her over for dinner?”

“None of your damn business.”

Sam smiled. “I like her.”

“Don’t matter if you do or don’t. You can do the dishes.” He jerked a thumb at himself. “I’m going to bed.”

“Hope you have earplugs,” Sam said, filling the sink and adding dish soap.

Damned if Sam wasn’t right.