Song Remains the Same

Chapter 100: Murphy's Law

"It's decidedly bizarre when the Worst Thing happens and you find yourself still conscious, still breathing."
- Elisa Albert

Cas was sitting on the couch opposite of the tiny old television in Rufus's hunting cabin. Poor cable reception was picking up a black-and-white episode of Gilligan's Island which the angel watched in rapt fascination.

Sam sat at the kitchen table listlessly, half-watching Cas and half-watching the TV screen in between other thoughts that competed for his attention. He was preoccupied and anxious (what else was new?). He was beginning to think of going to the basement to check on Dean, Alex, and Kevin and see if they were making any progress with the tablet. Or he could go check on Meg, who'd wandered off to who knows where. Probably should look into that. Just as he idly contemplated that idea, his ears caught what sounded like a muffled bellow behind the noisy chatter of the characters on the television. Going tense, Sam squinted and frowned, listening hard for any sign that something was up. For a second, he heard nothing and was just about to decide he had been hearing things... and then for sure he heard a female voice screaming something incoherent. Even as Sam's instincts went red-alert at the realization that something must be wrong, even as he stood up like a bolt of lightning, footsteps pounded up the stairs and then Alex burst into the room. She was red-faced, absolutely furious and breathless, looking like she could punch something or break down crying—he wasn't sure which.

Sam stood back slightly because he was taken aback at her crazed appearance. "What's wrong?" he asked intently.

Alex didn't look at Sam. She didn't look at anyone. "I fucking hate him, hate him!" she shouted. Cas looked over at her in vaguely concerned interest from his perch on the couch, Sam blinked twice, his eyebrows knitting together further. What the hell had he missed in the last thirty minutes or so? Apparently something big. "I can't do this anymore, I won't live with someone who thinks he can boss me around and judge my every last move and abuse my emotions all day long!" Alex screeched as she literally shook from unrestrained anger. "I had enough of that shit with Dad!"

She was about to get inconsolable. Sam held out his hands toward her, a little out of his element because she was so unhinged and he wasn't really sure why yet. "Hey, whoa whoa whoa, just—just calm down," he counseled.

"I can't calm down!" she shouted even louder, voice cracking and screeching. "He is the most selfish, arrogant, rude, horrible person I have ever met!"

Although he realized something big had to have happened to make her scream this stuff, Sam was currently just focused on getting her to deescalate. "Hey—whoa—" he insisted carefully, firmly taking her by the upper arms and trying to be calm so she would calm down too. He expected her to wrench away from him and maybe sock him in the stomach and scream at him to leave her alone. So when she gave a sobbing noise and launched herself at Sam and hugged her arms around him like a vice, when she buried her face in his chest and began to cry, Sam was mystified and even more aghast than before. His arms cautiously circled around his sister as she wailed pathetically against him like a brokenhearted woman. "What... what happened?" he asked, getting more and more worried. Alex shook her head 'no' against Sam's chest, refusing to say. Sam's brotherly concern got more and more pronounced—Dean must have said something really messed up, and Sam was already getting pissed at his brother. "What'd he say to you?"

"It's me," Cas said somberly, and he stood up. Behind him, Gilligan's Island still played, a canned laugh-track droning on over the characters' melodramatic dialogue. "They were arguing about me." The angel paused, looking at Sam and Alex sadly. Then, his face went from pensive to abruptly very thoughtful and bright, like he'd had a wonderful idea pop into his mind. "I think I should plant a garden in the front of the house facing northeast, it would receive good sunlight and be ideal for a rosebush among other things, what do you two think?"