Trading Heartbeats

Chapter 18:

Dean stood with his arms crossed over his chest staring into the beer cooler of the convenience store near Olivia's apartment that was conveniently on his way back to the motel. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully making a mental note to shave when he got back. Clearing his throat, he bent down and grabbed a six-pack of his and Sam's normal beer. He made his ways up and down the aisles grabbing random snacks. His brow furrowed as he studied a package of beef jerky before tossing it in the small hand basket he had.

He continued to roam around the store putting off getting back to the motel room. He wasn't sure he if had the energy to deal with Sam and his questions today. He had sent Dean a few text messages that morning while he was making breakfast. He had chosen to ignore them not wanting to talk or think about his feelings for Olivia that seemed to only be getting stronger. It was difficult trying to understand and making sense of them himself, let alone trying to explain them to Sam. He was just about to make his way to the front of the store when a voice caught his attention.

"Hi'ya Dean-O." He turned around to see Olivia's friend, Max. The douchebag from the other night at the bar. The guy had the same arrogant smirk on his face that he had that night. "Whatcha doing in this part of town? It's the coffee, right?" He smiled a fake smile that didn't quite meet his eyes

His eyes narrowed as he looked the guy up and down from his douchey hair to his douchey red gym shoes. He shrugged. "Just leaving Livs' place, actually."

Max chuckled softly. "Oh yeah? I should have figured as much." He smirked, "Gotta say though, I don't normally run into her weekend fucks on Tuesday's." Dean cocked an eyebrow.

"You wanna run that by me again?" He challenged.

"Oh, don't get me wrong Liv's great, but everyone knows how easy she is." He shrugged, "It's a small town, people talk." He smirked again. "Although, she doesn't really keep it on the down low."

Dean could feel his muscles tense as his fist tightened around the handbasket, his knuckles turning white. He needed to get out of there before he seriously hurt this guy. His eyes narrowed as he stuffed his other fist in the pocket of his jacket to stop himself from punching the guy. There was no way the things he was saying about Olivia were true. Even if they were, it didn't matter to him.

"Sounds like someone's a little jealous they never got an invite to the party, huh?" He chucked. "Sucks when an awesome chick has standards, dunnit?" He smirked before continuing towards the counter walking past Max clapping him hard on the shoulder. He checked out quickly and made his way to the Impala hoping the rest of the drive to the motel was quick.

Despite his run-in with Captain Douchebag, he was determined to stay in the good mood he had woken up to. Olivia had felt so warm and soft curled up next to him and if he hadn't been so hungry he could have stayed there all morning with her. Shaking the thoughts from his mind he made his way into the cramped motel room. The room was quiet as he shut the door behind him.

"Morning, Sammy." He said cheerfully. Sam yawned and nodded in response.

Sam was seated at the table going between his laptop and a thick book that was sitting on his lap. Dean took his jacket off tossing it on his bed as he made his way into the kitchenette. He placed the six-pack in the small refrigerator and set the remaining snacks on the counter. He tossed another bag on the table in front of Sam.

"I grabbed you and Cas some breakfast burritos." Sam nodded in acknowledgment not taking his eyes off his computer screen. Glancing around he tapped his fingers on the cracked countertop he was now leaning against.

"...Where is Cas?" He pushed studying Sam's face.

"Checking in on Jack." He said sharply still refusing to look up at him. Dean nodded.

"Something wrong?" His eyebrows furrowed.

Sam closed the book on his lap with a snap and set it down firmly on the table with a sigh. "I don't know, Dean. You tell me."

"Jesus, Sam. What crawled up your ass?" He shot back.

Sam snapped his laptop shut sitting back in the chair crossing his arms over his chest. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that I've pretty much been working this entire case by myself. Or maybe it's the fact that you ditched Cas last night to take care of some random drunk girl you've slept with a couple of times."

"Watch it." He warned looking down at his boots. He glanced up as Sam sighed.

"Look, it's obvious your distracted or whatever. Why don't you just head back to the bunker and I'll call Garth or Jody for back up." He offered a softness returning to his tone. Dean shook his head in protest.

"No, you're not." He sighed rubbing his face. "Look, I"m sorry for being a dick. Won't happen again." He nodded crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't think it's that simple, Dean." Sam sighed. As he opened his mouth to continue they were interrupted by the sudden soft woosh of Castiel appearing between them, his back to Dean.

"Sam, I think I figured out why Dean - " He was cut off by the sound of Sam coughing, clearing his throat. He rubbed his mouth and nodded in the direction that Dean was standing. Cas turned around slowly to meet Deans gaze as he inhaled deeply.

"Why Dean what, Cas?" He asked cocking an eyebrow looking between his brother and best friend. Cas sighed and looked to Sam who shrugged motioning him to continue.

"Why you're so drawn to Olivia," Cas said slowly. Dean's eyes widened as both eyebrows shot up. He pushed off the counter taking a few steps toward Cas. He looked back to Sam feeling his anger beginning to surface.

"Oh, so you weren't checking on Jack." He turned his attention back to Sam. "You had him looking into her?" He glared at him raising his voice slightly.

"Yeah, I did." Sam glared back, challenging him. He rolled his eyes turning back to Cas. He couldn't blame Sam, he would have most likely done the same thing.

"Alright, share with the class, Cas" He growled stomping over and sitting on the edge of the bed. Cas nodded.

"She's a vessel." He said simply. The men looked at one another with confusion.

"Meaning?" Dean pushed.

"She's the vessel for the angel Jophiel." He continued. "From what I gathered, vessels are typically drawn to one another so they can mate, creating and continuing a bloodline of sorts."

"But aren't most humans capable of being a vessel," Sam asked correcting his posture leaning into the small table in front of him. Cas nodded.

"The difference here being Jophiel is an archangel and...Michaels mate." Dean blinked quickly as he inhaled sharply.

"I'm having a hard time following here, Cas." He swallowed hard.

"The true vessels of Archangels tend to share a bond that greatly surpasses that of typical angel vessels. We know that you, Dean, are the one true vessel of Michael. Well, Olivia is the one true vessel of the archangel Jophiel." He nodded.

"You said she was Michael's...mate," Sam sighed, "What did you mean by that?"

"After God had Michael cast Lucifer into the cage, Michael became angry. Very angry. And as a reward for following orders God created Jophiel for Michael to calm his anger and give him solace." Cas sighed softly.

"So what does that mean exactly, for Dean?" Sam asked.

"Simply, that he'll be drawn to Olivia like a...supercharged magnet." He looked at Dean with concern in his blue eyes. "I'm assuming the feeling became stronger after you had relations with her."

Dean nodded silently staring at the ground past his hands that were clasped in a fist that sat between his knees. After a few stoic moments of silence, Dean coughed as he pushed himself off the bed. Grabbing his jacket, he slipped it on over his shoulders. He snatched his keys off the nightstand as he made his way to the door. Ignoring the calls of Sam and Cas, he slammed the door behind him, stepping out into the crisp morning air. He walked swiftly to the Impala before driving off, not quite sure where he was headed.