Searching Purgatory [COMPLETED]

Chapter Nineteen

Zoe plopped down on Lauren's bed. She had been grateful to sleep in her own bed and not the hard ground the night before and was now rested and ready for whatever the day brought them. Hopefully the day would bring more rest and relaxation. But with the Winchesters, she knew it was a long shot.

Lauren groaned and rolled over to look at Zoe. "I like you, but why are you waking me up at..." She paused to glance at the clock on her night stand. She groaned again. "It's two in the afternoon. I never sleep in this late."

"To be fair," Zoe chimed in, "you were just rescued from your demon daddy and given back a month's worth of memories that had been stolen. Now, that's never happened to me before, but apparently three out of three angels say it'll take quite a toll on the human body."

Lauren smirked. "Yeah well, dying can't be that awesome either. How are you so Happy-Go-Lucky this morning?"

Zoe grinned, showing her teeth. "I'm not dead anymore and I got to sleep in my own bed. What's better than sleeping in your own bed?"

Lauren nodded her approval.

"I'm a shifter, by the way," Zoe blurted.

Lauren raised an eyebrow. "A what?"

Zoe frowned. "I forget you don't know all of the monster things like the Winchesters do. I'm a shape shifter. Now that Dean knows, I might as well tell everybody else before he goes blabbing to the world about it."

"So...you can change your shape?"

"It's kind of in the name, don't you think?"

Lauren grinned. "That's so cool. Why does Dean know?" Her eyes narrowed. "What did he do to get you to finally tell him?"

Zoe shook her head. "It wasn't like that. Crowley...he knew somehow and he used my abilities against me, forcing me to shift into him. Dean came in and, because he thought I was Crowley, he stabbed me."

Lauren gasped. "You mean...he did...it was..."

Zoe shook her head quickly. "It's not his fault at all. Crowley tricked him and I don't blame him so you'd better not blame him either."

Lauren hesitated but nodded solemnly. "Okay. No blaming Dean for stabbing and killing you."

Zoe punched Lauren in the arm and Lauren was about to hit her back when the door flew open and Sage strolled in, smiling lazily. She made her way to the foot of the bed and plopped down before waving a hand, shutting the door from where she sat.

"Well hello," Lauren blinked. She was still getting used to the fact that this girl was an angel and could do things like move inanimate objects just by waving a hand.

"How was the vacation?" Zoe asked.

"Vacation?" Lauren asked, pushing herself up into a sitting position.

"Gabriel took her somewhere last night," Zoe explained. "So where'd you go?"

"Italy," Sage said, almost dreamily.

"Ooh," Zoe cooed, poking Sage's side and making her jump. "How was it?"

Sage swatted her hand away. "It was nice. We had really good coffee, danced a little, took a tour down the rivers of Venice." She sighed. "It's too bad, really..." This last part was said mostly to herself and so quietly that Zoe was sure her and Lauren weren't supposed to hear.

She said something anyway. "What do you mean 'it's too bad'?"

Sage blinked at her, realizing suddenly that she'd spoken out loud when she didn't mean to. "Uh...well, see, there's something's I haven't really told you guys..."

Lauren wasn't really surprised. Here was this girl sitting in front of her who used to be Lauren's roommate before she found out that her dad wasn't her dad and she was really half demon. Finding out that Sage had her own secrets wasn't that big of a shocker.

Zoe was thrilled. She realized this could be one of those 'I think I really love him' confessions and that would turn out to be a bust, but if it turned out to be something really interesting, that would be awesome. People didn't really know this about Zoe, but she really enjoyed learning about people's dirty laundry. She tried to remain calm and not ask too many questions, putting on a poker face and nodding.

Sage scratched the back of her head nervously. "So, I've kind of been in hiding?" She said it like a question, like she wasn't sure if it was true or not.

"Hiding from what?" Lauren asked, throwing the blankets off her lap and making her way to her dresser.

"Heaven." This was said more matter-of-factly.

Lauren turned around. "What does that mean?" She pulled a pair of shorts and a t-shirt out of her drawers before turning around to look at Sage.

Sage sighed, falling back onto the bed. "It all happened so long ago. I'm basically wanted...I used to..." She frowned. "Something happened a really long time ago. God went missing and I left with him because...well, I used to know something about where he went."

"Used to?" Zoe demanded. "What does that mean?"

Sage's frown deepened and she pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "I don't know anymore. Whatever I used to know...well, I don't know it anymore."

Lauren blinked. "God disappeared, you new something about it, and now you're banished from heaven."

Sage nodded. "But it's more like a self-banishment."

"What does this have to do with Gabriel?" Zoe asked.

"He's an angel," Sage practically groaned. "Angels are associated with Heaven. So I have to keep my distance."

Zoe raised an eyebrow, a smile quirking the corner of her lips up. "I think Gabriel's the angel least likely to be associated with Heaven, don't you?"

Sage sighed. "You never know with angels. Besides, I've kept my distance thus far and I'm not gonna ruin it because of some guy."

"Gabriel is not some guy," Lauren countered. "And, as much as I enjoy discussing your self-banishment, I need a very long, very deserved shower so..." She waved her hands for them to get out of her room.

Zoe pouted but got out of the bed, grabbing Sage's hand and pulling her to her feet. "Fine. But we'll have to discuss this whole 'missing God' thing when you get out."