Haven't You Ever Been In Love Before?

FOUR

Gabi paced in the empty Bunker, a large book cradled in her arms. Sam and Dean had left to take care of a hunt Sam had found, and she'd volunteered to stay behind and do some more research on how to track Amara. Dean had been resistant to the idea, especially since she- like Sam- had barely left the Bunker since getting back from their trip to Hell, but he'd eventually caved. Hearing a sound elsewhere in the Bunker, she went to investigate.

Sam and Dean hadn't called, and she wasn't expecting them back so soon, so she was unsure of who could have possibly gotten into the Bunker undetected. When she finally located the source of the noise, she stopped dead in her tracks, breath catching in her throat. Cas stood among several boxes, going through papers and shoving things aside. He had shed his trench coat, rolling up his shirt sleeves, and she was having trouble getting her brain to function at the sight of his toned, muscular forearms.

"Uh... C-Cas?" she stammered out. The angel turned his head, blue eyes locking onto hers and softening. Smile lines crinkled around the edges as his lips turned up while staring at her. "Hello, Gabi," he greeted her. "H-hi. Uh... What, um, what are you doing?"

"Well, I'm... looking for a spell, something to draw out Amara, but there's... There's nothing." Gabi nodded in understanding, willing her heart to stop trying to beat out of her chest. They hadn't heard from Cas in weeks, not since the incident with Lucifer in Hell. She was still wary, not entirely sure whether it was actually still Cas or if he had ended up saying yes to the devil after all and it was really Lucifer standing before her.

"I had her in my sights. She was hurt," Cas continued. "I should have ended it."

"Wait a second... you what?" Gabi asked, the words distracting enough to deter her from how hot he looked. "How?"

"Well, I don't know," he shrugged. "But there has to be something. And how many more chances are we gonna get?"

"We'll find something, Cas. It just takes time."

"That's something I'm afraid we don't have much of, however. Where are Sam and Dean?"

"Off on a hunt. I volunteered to stay behind and do research on Amara. Want some help in here?"

"That would be appreciated, yes."

Swallowing again, Gabi turned away from Cas, focusing on one of the many boxes nearby. Even though the angel in the room with her still sounded like Cas, she couldn't shake the feeling that her nightmares had become a reality. Where she normally felt a warmth and calm around him, ever since the cage she'd felt cold and on edge being near him. "Cas?" she spoke up timidly.

"Yes?"

"Where did you go? After we locked Lucifer back in the Cage?" He was silent for a long time, and she looked over at him curiously. He appeared to have become engrossed in reading one of the pieces of paper, too distracted to provide her with an answer. "Cas," she repeated, gaining his attention once more. "Yes. What?" he snapped out of it, looking over at her. "Where did you go?"

"When?"

"After we locked Lucifer back in the Cage. It's been over a week and you're just now showing back up here."

"A few different places. I was trying to find information about the Darkness elsewhere before I came back here." Gabi pursed her lips, glancing away from him. It was honestly a valid answer, if a bit vague. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that it was actually Lucifer with her.

"Is something wrong?" Cas asked, voice sounding closer than a moment before. When she looked back, he had moved to stand next to her, invading her personal space ever so slightly. "No," she shook her head, taking a small step back. "No, nothing's wrong."