The Winchester Three (S4): Lazarus Rising

Ch 15 Section 5

The next day...

In the cubicle farm, a printer whirred and spit out a paper. A fax machine whirred and sucked in papers. An automatic pencil sharpener whirred in the background as well. Sam was in his cubicle filling out a form on a clipboard when his phone rang. He stared at it for a second before taking off his headset, picking up the poker from the previous night he brought with him, got up, and beat the phone to death. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes as he straightened up.

"I quit."

With Angel...

Dejectedly, Angel was typing at her computer with a frown. She was going through her regular daily motions but her mind was completely centered on the event of the previous night. Sams words kept circling her brain even if her brain was telling her he'd lost his mind.

She looked up when a knock sounded at her door before giving Mr. Adler a small smile, "Got a minute?"

"Of course, sir. Come in."

"Great." He smiled before coming in, shutting the door and taking a seat across from her, "How are you feeling, Angela?"

"Oh, well, great, sir."

"How are things with the husband? Peachy keen?" She nodded, "Good. You look a little tired. Been working hard, I gather." She shrugged nonchalantly, "Ah, don't be modest. I hear everything. And I'm more than pleased with what I'm hearing about you and Dean. You two make quite the dream team. Which is why it's important to me that you two are happy." He pulled out a pen, grabbed a piece of notepaper, and wrote down a five-digit number, "How's that for a bonus?"

"Mr. Adler..." Angels eyes widened after she took the paper and read it, "That's very generous."

"Purely selfish. I gave Dean the same numbers. Just wanna make sure you two aren't going anywhere. The team of you, well you two are definitely Sandover material. Real go-getters. Carving your own way." The more he spoke the deeper and deeper the pit in Angel's stomach beame, "I see big things in your future. Maybe even becoming the senior CFO for the entire Eastern Great Lakes Division and Dean the senior VP. Don't get me wrong, you guys'll have to work for it. Seven days a week, lunch at your desk, all that. But in eight to ten short years, that could be you."

Those promises only seemed to spur her into more turmoil. One one side it seemed like he was setting her up to give her what she's always wanted. Or thought she's always wanted anyway. But on another, something huge was missing. Alot of unanswered questions and alot of unknown occurrences in the world she wanted to pursue after last night.

"Oh, well, thank you for this opportunity sir, but..." She handed the paper back over, "I'm actually giving my notice."

"This is a joke." Adlers eyes got wide with shock, "You're kidding me, right?"

"No, no i'm serious. Things are just... different now, sir. After some recent events that unfolded I think i need to pursue other things."

"Other things? You're not talking about another company?"

"No, no, nothing corporate related. It's- it's really hard to explain. I just dont think this is what i'm supposed to be doing." When Adler grinned widely, Angela frowned, "What?"

"Angel, Angel, Angel" Adler stood up and pressed two fingers to Angel's forehead causing everything to dim around her as her memories flooded back, "Finally!"

"What the hell?" Angel jerked her head away from him before looking around at the office she was in and herself in pure confusion, "What the hells going on?" She looked down at her hands and was even horrified to see perfectly manicured hands as well as a wedding ring, "What the fu-"

Adler chuckled, "Welcome back."

"Oh, crap." Angel immediately stood up on edge, "You're an angel aren't you?"

He nodded once, "I'm Zachariah."

"Amazing." She rolled her eyes, "Literally the last thing I want to deal with is another biblical angel."

"I'm hardly another one, Angela. I'm Castiel's superior. Believe me, I had no interest in popping down here into one of these smelly things." He indicated his body, "But after the unfortunate situation with Uriel, I felt it necessary to pay a visit. Get my ducks in a row."

"Well..." She glared at him sharply, "My brothers and I aren't your ducks."

"Starting with your attitude."

"That's rich." She scoffed, "So, what? This whole thing is your version of some kind of lesson? Creative."

He smirked, "You should see my decoupage."

"I'll pass." She crossed her arms, "Was this all one big hallucination or what?"

"Not at all. Real place, real haunting. Just plunked you in the middle without the benefit of your memories."

"Why? The angel's version of some botched Real World spin off? What the hell was the point?"

"To prove to you that the path you're on is truly in your blood. You're a hunter. Not because your dad made you, not because God called you back from hell, but because it is what you are. And you love it. You'll find your way to it in the dark every single time and you're miserable without it. Angela, let's be real here. You're good at this. You'll be successful. You and your brother will stop it."

"What exactly are we stopping, huh? The apocalypse? Lucifer? Why cant you guys just ever be upfront and specific? Why is it always like getting tooth pulled to get any damn information?"

"You and your brother will do everything you're destined to do. All of it. But I know, I know. You're not strong enough. You're scared. You got daddy issues. You can't do it." He smirked, "Right?" Her eyes read bloody murder at his words, "All I'm saying is it's how you look at it. Most folks live and die without moving anything more than the dirt it takes to bury them. You get to change things." Stressed, she turned away from him to run her hands tensely through her hair, "Save people, maybe even the world. All the while you drive around with your brothers, maybe fornicate with guys and girls here and there. This isn't a curse. It's a gift. So for God's sake, Angela, quit fighting it. There are plenty of fates worse than yours. So are you with me? You wanna go steam yourself another latte? Or are you ready to stand up, whip your brothers into shape, and be who you really are?"