Five Years Later

Chapter Ten: The Baby

Cas could not believe he had ever brought himself to hate Dean. It seemed impossible, but then again, so was them forgiving one another. Now they passed each other in the halls and if there was no one around watching, they would give one another a smile. They were trying to love one another again one step at a time—today, they were going to meet after Negan's briefing and talk about the second year they had been apart and what had transpired. Besides that, there was nothing standing between them now except Negan, and they knew they would have to keep their relationship a secret from him, lest he find some sort of clever way to punish them.

"Did you complete your task, Winchester?"

Negan was around the corner. Cas stood against the wall, his arms splayed out against it as though he might blend in if someone passed, and waited for Dean to return. He could hear the conversation the two of them were having just down the hall to the left and he tried to block out their words to keep the affair private, but they were too intrusive to his thoughts.

"Yes, sir." Dean replied steadily, his voice showing no signs of hesitance. "I have done as you asked."

"Where does Novak stand on the matter now?" Negan inquired curiously. There was a muted scraping sound that followed, likely brought on by him dragging his bat across the tiles.

"He hates me as much as I hate him, sir." Dean assured Negan, unfazed by the bat for the first time in many years. "Your wish is my command."

"Good job, Winchester." Negan sounded pleased, and there was a moment of hesitation in which Cas feared they would begin walking back together and he would have to find some place to hide. "See you in the morning?"

"Goodnight, Negan." Dean affirmed this and his footsteps sounded down the hall as he came. Cas tried to relax himself, guilt welling in his chest. He didn't deserve this man, not after all of the hate that he had poured into the image of him.

Dean rounded the corner and wrapped Cas in a warm hug as soon as he came across him. While they were still entwined, Dean whispered to Cas that it was all okay, and that Negan didn't suspect a thing. Cas smiled into Dean's shoulder, relieved. When they pulled away from each other, they began to conspire their plan of escape.

Once the two of them had successfully gained Negan's trust, which wouldn't take long given their situations and current standings with him, they would run away. There was an area of the fence that was less guarded then the others around two in the morning every Wednesday – Cas knew this from his time as a guard, when he had patrolled both the prison and the border.

From there, they could likely find their way back to the bunker and see if anyone had been detained at the Saviors and go back to get them, if it was a problem. Cas suggested that it probably wasn't – he argued that Katharine, Charlie, and the others likely ran for their lives when the Impala was being shot at and escaped down the road, leaving Dean in the car. He was the one that Negan was most interested in acquiring, and so the others were probably left to survive and made it back to the bunker weeks ago.

"What about Sam?" Cas asked suddenly as they were making their way to the dining hall, standing several feet apart to imply that they were not in the least fond of one another. "Jess said that Gabriel was planning to bring him back."

"Has he?" Dean frowned, slowing down as one of the guards passed right between them. He lowered his voice and continued to speak, hoping that no one would hear. "I haven't seen Jess in days."

"I know, I know." Cas sighed, dodging out of the way as one of Negan's wives slipped past him, her eyes cast down and her gait staggered – she was likely drunk. Negan had so many wives at this point, Cas had lost track. He wanted to say it was five, but he hadn't know that Jess was included. "We have to try and find her to see if—"

Just as Cas was saying this, Jess passed by them. She had on a thin fitting white dress that was covered in glittery sequins. She looked like she was going to be sick, and was balancing herself against the wall.

"Hey, Jess." Cas didn't move out of her way, expecting her to stop, but she simply bumped into him, glancing up in surprise when she did so. "We need to talk to you – are you free?"

"Right now?" Jess scanned the hall behind them for a moment, as if looking for someone, and turned back to Cas. "Sure. Follow me."

The three of them ducked into a storage room off to the right, one that was full of an assortment of different cleaning supplies. It had likely existed before the apocalypse, and was of no use to anyone now. Jess flicked a switch in the darkness, and a small lightbulb lit up above them, illuminating the small closet.

"This is where I go to be alone." Jess took a deep breath, her skin pale. "Ever since they moved all of the wives in to the same room, it's been chaos."

"We're here to talk about... leaving." Cas moved over to Dean and the two of them instinctively interlaced their fingers. "Dean and I want to escape but we wanted to know... if maybe you would like to come with us."

"Would I ever." Jess sighed, holding a nearby shelf to steady herself. She placed a hand on her stomach, tapping her fingers against her white dress thoughtfully. "But I can't, not with the baby and Gabriel – he is still saying that he'll bring Sam back if I just wait for it, and if I leave and Sam is alone here... It was accident – I am Negan's wife, after all, and I didn't expect this to be part of the equation but there's nothing I can do about it now." Jess gripped the shelf tighter, as though she might pass out if she were to let go. "I never meant for any of this to happen, but Gabriel promised..."

"When is he bringing Sam back?" Dean asked, staggering over to Jess' side and helping to support her, though he could hardly stand by himself. Cas went to Dean and it was the three of them in the supply closet, none of them able to go on without the help of the others.

"He—" Jess began, but there was the sound of feathers whistling through the air as Gabriel teleported into the closet, a wry grin upon his face. He straightened the tie of his business suit and ran a hand smoothly through his slicked back brown hair, winking at Jess to say hello.

"Now listen, kiddos—" Gabriel started, but then he saw Cas and grew more grave than before, but still lighthearted given the situation. "Hello, brother—and as I was saying, I know I promised that you guys could have Sam back and all, but I wasn't telling the truth. I figured it was best to come out and tell you now before it inhibits your plans for escape."

"What the hell?" Cas narrowed his eyes at Gabriel, fury bubbling up to the surface yet again. It was so easy for him to become angry now, an emotion he had hardly begun to taste before he arrived at the base. "Are you trying to tell us that you used Jess and lied to her for these last six months—for what?"

"For you, brother—and Dean, of course." Gabriel was still smiling, and it was beginning to irritate Cas to no end. "I was never intending to bring Sam back, you see—it was all part of my plan to get you two back together and prove that love never—"

"What have you done, brother?" Cas put a hand against his heart, feeling it thud against his palm. He felt as though he was going to be sick, which made for all three of them—Jess with her surprise pregnancy, and Dean with his illness—trying not to retch all over Gabriel, which was a tempting offer regardless.

"I have done the best I could do." Gabriel smirked, leaning casually against the door to the supply closet. "You should be thankful for me, brother. I have done all of this for you and—"

"Get out." Cas closed his eyes and put forth his hand, though he knew every ounce of grace within him was already gone and he was nothing but a mere mortal in the face of an archangel. "Don't speak to any of us ever again—you have done enough harm."

Gabriel was gone as quickly as he had came, the sound of feathers thrashing together echoing in his wake. He left behind the three of them just as they had been, arms around one another and the person on each end gripping a shelf for support. Dean struggled to stand in the middle, his knees wobbling as though they might give way. They were still standing there five minutes later when the lightbulb overhead flickered to a dull buzzing of color and faded away to envelop all three of them in the dark of the supply closet.