The "L" Word

Charlie

Chapter Seven

          Dean was surprised when Sam and Charlie were knocking on the motel room door by noon the next day.  “What, did you two fly here?”  He asked as he opened the door and let them in.  “She drives like a madman.”  Sam said and feigned pain when Charlie elbowed him.  “I couldn’t wait to get here and see you Dean!  I missed you!”  She grabbed him and hugged him tight.  He hugged her back just as tight and planted a kiss on her forehead.  “So, how was Oz?”  He asked when they stepped back.  “Fun, but I missed you guys, and Dorothy, well, that ship has sailed.”  She rolled her eyes.  Dean laughed.  Sam was searching the room but Dean was alone.  “Where’s Cas?”  He asked.  “He’s at the diner getting lunch.”  Dean closed the door and went back to the table where he had been researching Eris, trying to find a spell or ritual to lock the bitch back up, but so far he’d found nothing.  Sam noticed his bed was still made up neatly but Dean’s was messy.  On both sides of the bed.  He averted his eyes and pretended he hadn’t noticed.  He slipped into the chair next to Dean and leaned forward to see what he was looking at on the computer screen.  “So apparently Eris is this great big bad ass that likes to start wars.  She was responsible for some of the greatest wars in ancient times, but then daddy dearest decided she needed a time out, so he tossed her ass inside this.”  Dean clicked on another page he had open with the article on the stolen urn.  “But these Furies, for whatever reason they want Eris set free so she can start trouble again.”  Sam was impressed.  Dean had done the research all on his own and had gotten pretty damn far with it too.  “Here, let me at it.”  Charlie shooed Dean away and slid into his empty chair when he stood up.  The door opened and Cas came walking in with a cup holder and a white paper bag.  “Hello Sam.”  He said.  “Hey Cas.”  Sam said back.  Dean walked over and took the bag and cups from him.  Charlie twisted around in her seat to get a look at Cas.  “Hi, I’m Charlie.”  Cas smiled politely and nodded.  “Very nice to meet you Charlie.”  Sam noticed that the holy tax accountant outfit was gone and Cas was dressed in his brother’s favorite faded band tee and an old pair of Dean’s jeans.  It was definitely a better look for the angel, but seeing him dressed in his brother’s clothes made Sam wonder even more about their relationship.  Charlie looked from Dean to Cas, who suddenly looked uncomfortable and then back to Dean.  “Dean, stop looking like you’re going to be punished for scratching your name in your desk.  No one cares.  Besides, you’re adorable Cas.”  She smiled up at Dean who was blushing so hard the tips of his ears were red.  He set the cup holder down on the table as well as the bag of food and rubbed at the back of his neck, a nervous tick that Sam had picked up on ages ago.  Cas looked surprised at being called adorable.  Dean dared a side glance at his brother.  Sam smiled.  “Dude, it’s whatever.  Are you happy?”  He asked.  Dean frowned for a moment before his expression relaxed and he smiled.  He simply nodded.  Sam nodded back.  “Then let’s get working on this.”  He turned his attention to the laptop that Charlie was now typing away on.  Cas and Dean exchanged a look and Dean nodded.  Sam knew and he was ok with it.  Cas’ entire demeanor relaxed.  Emotions aside, they now needed to find that urn and destroy The Furies.

          Even with Charlie’s expertise she could not find information on sealing up a God in an urn so she settled on trying to find a pattern in the disappearances.  Sam fetched Charlie’s tablet from the car and used it to further research on the urn, trying to figure out who had designed the first one while Cas and Dean poured through the files for the hundredth time trying to find any clues.  “Try finding them on social media.  See if they had any friends in common.”  Charlie suggested when out of sheer frustration Dean finally closed the folder and shoved it away.  “Yeah, except I don’t have a computer.”  He told her.  “Go out to my bag, I have a laptop in there.”  Charlie said.  Dean took the keys from Sam and went out to get the laptop.  Back inside at the table he turned it on and pulled up every social media website he could think of.  “Wait a minute.”  He said when he realized what he was seeing.  “Sammy, look.”  He turned the computer around so Sam could see what he was looking at.  Sam studied the pictures on the screen and his eyes narrowed when he realized that the same girls appeared in more than a few photos with each of the victims.  “Ali, Tessa and Maggie knew all of the victims?  You can track them back to all six victims?”  Sam asked.  Dean had a smug look on his face that he only got when he knew he had figured something important out all on his own.  “Damn skippy I did.  They went to college with the four older victims and were in, now get this- a ‘chastity’ club with the two younger ones.”  “So those are The Furies?  They’re… not what I expected.”  Sam said.  Dean turned the laptop back around and studied the goddesses on his screen.  “Yeah, they’re hot.”  Dean said with a smirk.  “Oh, let me see!”  Charlie held her hands out and Dean handed over the laptop.  “Wow, they are hot!”  She handed him back the laptop.  But can they be killed?”  Dean was already typing in his standard one finger way, looking for more information on them.  “Maybe not, but if Eris can be bottled up, I bet they can too.”  Cas was sitting on the edge of the bed worrying the edge of the shirt he was wearing and looking bored.  They didn’t have another chair for him to sit on and as it was Dean was sitting on the mini fridge he had pulled out from the wall.  “You ok there Cas?”  Sam asked.  “I am fine, thank you for asking.”  Cas replied and smiled.  “What do you know about The Furies?  How bad are they?”  Sam asked.  Cas’ nose wrinkled and his mouth pulled to the side as he thought.  “I have not encountered them personally but I have heard stories from other angels about their bad temperament.  They are less than pleasant.”  Cas replied.  “Define less than pleasant.”  Dean said.  Cas looked at him for a moment before turning back to Sam.  “They thrive on murder, chaos, pain.  They make the demons of hell look like librarians.”  Cas said and Sam couldn’t help but chuckle, despite the dire description.  He had never heard the angel use an analogy like that.  “Was that not a proper description?”  Cas asked, confused.  “No man, it was perfect.”  Sam assured him.  “So no wonder they want to raise Eris, she’s a super bitch just like them.”  Dean said.  “That would be an accurate assumption.”  Cas told him.  Dean smiled at him before he caught himself and went back into his normal scowl.  Both Sam and Charlie saw it though.  Charlie closed the laptop she was working on and stretched.  “I’m hungry.  Dean, walk with me?”  She asked.  Dean looked up from the laptop he was still working with.  “Uh, yeah, ok.”  He left the laptop open and went over to his bed to find his shoes and socks.  Cas handed him the shoe he found and Charlie noted the contact between the two of them.  God if they weren’t the most stinking adorable thing she had ever seen before.  Ready to go, Dean got up.  “I’ll be back in a few Cas, I’m just going to walk her over to the diner.  You know, in case Crowley shows up.”  He said.  Cas nodded and smiled.