Part 2, Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Somewhere in Minnesota
"So, what do you think that was really all about?" Sam asked.
"Man, who the hell knows, with Gabriel?" Dean replied.
Sam shrugged. "...you know, we should have recorded that."
"You think?"
"It'd make it easier to read between the lines, maybe figure out what Gabriel didn't want us to know."
Dean thought for a minute. "Point. Too late now, I guess."
"Yeah." Sam paused. "You know, the weird part is, Judas said his coins were with someone he trusted, right?"
"If you say so."
"So obviously, he trusts Gabriel, since he had one," Sam went on.
"Or he missed one," Dean pointed out.
"You think? I mean, there's only thirty, right? And they're pretty damn important to him, since they're keeping him alive and everything. Plus, this would be the second one he'd lost track of, counting the one we used before, and I think he's smarter than that, or at least more cautious." He sighed. "But I guess that would still make a lot more sense, if he had lost two of them. I mean, I did some digging on nephilim--"
"On what now?"
"Angel-human hybrids," he clarified. "Anyway, I did some digging, and they're not exactly prized. The word 'abomination' came up like six or seven times in one paragraph. So there's really not much reason for Judas to trust him. Or for Gabriel to help him, even if he did just steal a coin for...I don't know, because it was shiny?"
"Well, Gabriel told us he ran away 'cause of family infighting, right? He said didn't want to see anyone he cared about get hurt. I mean, abomination or not, your bastard nephew's still family, and probably the only one he can reach out to at all. And from all we've seen of Judas, he did get screwed over but good. I don't think Gabriel was lying about why he wanted to help him," Dean said.
"I guess." Sam dumped Judas--still out cold, now wrapped in a spare blanket--in the backseat, watched him for a minute, then shook his head. "We should've followed up with him, after Carthage."
"We both thought he'd run off," Dean pointed out. "Not like he was eager to help in the first place. And he told us not to look."
"I'm pretty sure he just meant right then and there, not after we all got out."
Dean looked away. "Yeah, maybe."
"He came through for us, in the end. And look where that got him."
"I know." Dean sighed. "But we didn't really have a way to find him 'til now anyway--he hid the other coin, remember?"
"Yeah, true."
"Anyway. We'll drop him at Bobby's, he should be safe there 'til he wakes up."
"Yeah," Sam said. "At least as long as we have him, Michael and Lucifer don't."
"Which is probably why Gabriel left the coin with us," Dean said, pulling it out for another look.
"In case this happens again," Sam finished. "You want to hold on to it, or you want me to?"
"I got it," Dean said, slipping it back into his pocket. "And, on the upside, we know a few things that we didn't before, including that he's important to Gabriel for whatever reason."
Sam stared at him. "We're not keeping him as a hostage."
"Did I say that?" He hadn't meant that, not exactly. Well, okay, sort of--the possibility was there and this was Gabriel they were talking about. Anything that could help them figure out how that bastard ticked had to be a good thing.
"Look, I want to strong-arm Gabriel into helping us--or at least letting us borrow his blade or something--as much as you do, but...come on."
"We don't exactly have a lot of other assets right now," Dean pointed out. "At least as long as we have him we can keep Gabriel from actively trying to bone us again."
Sam made a face, but didn't argue with that.
"Which...huh," Dean said. "If he does actually give a crap about Judas, Gabriel has to know that. Just leaving him with us, he gives us that option."
"So, you think...what, Judas is a peace offering?"
He shrugged. "Maybe. Otherwise, we're kind of a weird choice to keep Judas safe."
"Unless he knows everyone would think that, which might make us the best choice."
Dean made a face. "Yeah, let's not think too hard about that part." Just posing the question made him uneasy, on top of being headache-inducing. So much for figuring out what the hell Gabriel wanted. He was sort of sorry he'd brought up that part of it at all. But thinking out loud, especially with Sam to bounce ideas off of, usually got better results. He shook his head. "Let's just head back to Bobby's, we'll deal with the rest later. You should probably call him, let him know we're coming."
"Yeah," Sam agreed, then made sure Judas was secure and got into the passenger seat.
While Dean got them on the road, Sam made the call. "Hey, Bobby, it's me. ...Yeah, we're okay. Um, look, we can go over details when we get there, but we've got Judas with us and we need to hide him at your place for a while, is that okay? ...Yeah. ...Sort of. ...Okay. ...Probably three or four hours? ...Yeah, we'll see you soon. Bye."
Once Sam hung up, Dean turned on some music and they settled in for the drive.
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Somewhere in Minnesota
"So, what do you think that was really all about?" Sam asked.
"Man, who the hell knows, with Gabriel?" Dean replied.
Sam shrugged. "...you know, we should have recorded that."
"You think?"
"It'd make it easier to read between the lines, maybe figure out what Gabriel didn't want us to know."
Dean thought for a minute. "Point. Too late now, I guess."
"Yeah." Sam paused. "You know, the weird part is, Judas said his coins were with someone he trusted, right?"
"If you say so."
"So obviously, he trusts Gabriel, since he had one," Sam went on.
"Or he missed one," Dean pointed out.
"You think? I mean, there's only thirty, right? And they're pretty damn important to him, since they're keeping him alive and everything. Plus, this would be the second one he'd lost track of, counting the one we used before, and I think he's smarter than that, or at least more cautious." He sighed. "But I guess that would still make a lot more sense, if he had lost two of them. I mean, I did some digging on nephilim--"
"On what now?"
"Angel-human hybrids," he clarified. "Anyway, I did some digging, and they're not exactly prized. The word 'abomination' came up like six or seven times in one paragraph. So there's really not much reason for Judas to trust him. Or for Gabriel to help him, even if he did just steal a coin for...I don't know, because it was shiny?"
"Well, Gabriel told us he ran away 'cause of family infighting, right? He said didn't want to see anyone he cared about get hurt. I mean, abomination or not, your bastard nephew's still family, and probably the only one he can reach out to at all. And from all we've seen of Judas, he did get screwed over but good. I don't think Gabriel was lying about why he wanted to help him," Dean said.
"I guess." Sam dumped Judas--still out cold, now wrapped in a spare blanket--in the backseat, watched him for a minute, then shook his head. "We should've followed up with him, after Carthage."
"We both thought he'd run off," Dean pointed out. "Not like he was eager to help in the first place. And he told us not to look."
"I'm pretty sure he just meant right then and there, not after we all got out."
Dean looked away. "Yeah, maybe."
"He came through for us, in the end. And look where that got him."
"I know." Dean sighed. "But we didn't really have a way to find him 'til now anyway--he hid the other coin, remember?"
"Yeah, true."
"Anyway. We'll drop him at Bobby's, he should be safe there 'til he wakes up."
"Yeah," Sam said. "At least as long as we have him, Michael and Lucifer don't."
"Which is probably why Gabriel left the coin with us," Dean said, pulling it out for another look.
"In case this happens again," Sam finished. "You want to hold on to it, or you want me to?"
"I got it," Dean said, slipping it back into his pocket. "And, on the upside, we know a few things that we didn't before, including that he's important to Gabriel for whatever reason."
Sam stared at him. "We're not keeping him as a hostage."
"Did I say that?" He hadn't meant that, not exactly. Well, okay, sort of--the possibility was there and this was Gabriel they were talking about. Anything that could help them figure out how that bastard ticked had to be a good thing.
"Look, I want to strong-arm Gabriel into helping us--or at least letting us borrow his blade or something--as much as you do, but...come on."
"We don't exactly have a lot of other assets right now," Dean pointed out. "At least as long as we have him we can keep Gabriel from actively trying to bone us again."
Sam made a face, but didn't argue with that.
"Which...huh," Dean said. "If he does actually give a crap about Judas, Gabriel has to know that. Just leaving him with us, he gives us that option."
"So, you think...what, Judas is a peace offering?"
He shrugged. "Maybe. Otherwise, we're kind of a weird choice to keep Judas safe."
"Unless he knows everyone would think that, which might make us the best choice."
Dean made a face. "Yeah, let's not think too hard about that part." Just posing the question made him uneasy, on top of being headache-inducing. So much for figuring out what the hell Gabriel wanted. He was sort of sorry he'd brought up that part of it at all. But thinking out loud, especially with Sam to bounce ideas off of, usually got better results. He shook his head. "Let's just head back to Bobby's, we'll deal with the rest later. You should probably call him, let him know we're coming."
"Yeah," Sam agreed, then made sure Judas was secure and got into the passenger seat.
While Dean got them on the road, Sam made the call. "Hey, Bobby, it's me. ...Yeah, we're okay. Um, look, we can go over details when we get there, but we've got Judas with us and we need to hide him at your place for a while, is that okay? ...Yeah. ...Sort of. ...Okay. ...Probably three or four hours? ...Yeah, we'll see you soon. Bye."
Once Sam hung up, Dean turned on some music and they settled in for the drive.
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