DIRTY DEEDS: DONE DIRT CHEAP

No job too small or too bizarre

Call D.W.785-292-9497

Castiel stared at the ad, three lines that a week ago would have meant nothing to him, but that now seemed to have some sort of deeper connotation. No job too small or too bizarre.

Bizarre.

That word once had only one meaning for him, but now he knew it held a wealth of context and subtext that could mean this D.W. was anything from a human wizard to a fairy or maybe even a vampire. The worst part was that he needed the help of someone who specialized in bizarre and paranormal.

Resigned, he called the number and spoke to a very perky woman briefly about what his predicament was, was assured that "He" (names, he had learned, were rarely used) would be able to help, and that "He" would be able to see Castiel (who was also very careful to not give out his name) on Thursday. It was two days away, but Castiel knew he could not object. He was at the mercy of this D.W., and they probably knew it.

Castiel hung up his phone and buried his head in his hands for just a moment, making his already messy hair whorl and curl even more out of control. He didn't mind, though. Charlie had always told him it was a good look, sure to make boxers drop from miles away.

Charlie…

Just thinking about her made his chest tighten even more. It had been thirty six hours since he had last seen the goofy smile that she hated because of her overbite, but that just about everyone else loved because it was beautiful and bright and sincere, always making it to her eyes no matter what. It was probably what had drawn HER to Charlie in the first place. Gilda. If that really was her name. It was the only name he had, the only thing he had to go by.

He lifted his head from his hands and started looking around his apartment, noticing all the small things various friends had left there over the years. A little cocktail umbrella that Balthazar had worn in a ponytail on top of his head for a night until he had gotten so drunk he passed out. A pen that actually had Michael's name engraved on it (who did that sort of stuff?). A trench coat that Rafael had spilled red wine on and tried to throw away, but that Castiel had rescued. A barrette that still had dark red hair clinging to it sitting on his sofa, receipts for Thai tea and macaroons, a Lego Severus Snape that used to dangle on Charlie's keychain but snapped off. There was crap all over his house that his friends had left there. Castiel let out a breath. Maybe Gilda had left similar things at Charlie's apartment?

He stood so quickly that his kitchen chair toppled and grabbed the key to Charlie's apartment off of the little hook near his door. He didn't even bother with closing and locking the door to his own apartment, he just needed to get into hers. He opened the door and stepped into Charlie's incredibly neat pad. The tenth floor of their building was all studio apartments with just one or two inhabitants each, one of the reasons they all knew each other so well. Charlie's sitting area was full of a comfortable, squishy couch, a laptop (proof that she was really gone the way she said she was; Charlie would never leave her laptop behind), a huge TV, and a collection of DVD's and BluRays that were all science fiction and fantasy. There were books tucked away here and there into bookcases, between cushions, mixed in with software. Some with markers, some without. All were dog eared and soft and well loved.

Castiel picked up her copy of "The Hobbit" with wonder and sadness, unable to understand how Charlie could have left this one behind. It wasn't like her. And no one would listen to him.

"Castiel? What are you doing in here?"

He looked up to see Rafael in his doorway, beautiful dark skin set off perfectly by a stark white shirt and charcoal grey suit.

"I'm, um…" he looked around lamely. "I'm just going to water Charlie's plants."

Rafael narrowed her eyes slightly in suspicion but said nothing. With nothing left to do, Castiel moved slowly to the kitchenette where there was a fern on the windowsill that indeed looked a little worse for wear. At least it sounded plausible.

"Looks like you're a little late there," Rafael said kindly. "I purchased some fresh ravioli from the Italian deli down the street. Would you care to join me for dinner?"

Castiel gulped guiltily for the lie he was about to tell. "I…have plans tonight," he murmured. "But it sounds delicious." He managed a bright smile. "Tell me how it turns out, hm?"

Rafael nodded. "Of course. Have a nice evening."

Castiel waved to her as he left and let out an exasperated breath and turned off the sink, setting the fern back in its place. Above Charlie's table was a mixed media work of ballerinas in various poses with the Killers quote "Are We Humans Or Are We Dancers?" printed in bright green script. Castiel had printed it for her after she had decoupaged pictures and sketches to the long, tall board. It had been a fun day, a pleasant memory. It made Castiel feel sad and alone. He had to find Charlie. He had to find where Gilda had taken her. Hopefully this D.W. would have answers.

He went back to his main purpose, which was to try and find something of Gilda's. He had heard that wizards could enact a spell when they had a personal article from someone in order to find them. He had something of Charlie's already, even some of her hair, but if he could find something of Gilda's, then he felt confident he could find his friend once more.

He shuddered remembering Gilda the last time he had seen her. She had touched his cheek and said, "I command you to See," and then left with Charlie. That was three days ago, and Castiel was going insane. He "Saw" all right. Ears, tails, shining red eyes that once used to be blue or brown, fanged teeth that had once been normal.

His mother had once told him a tale about a woman graced with "Fairy Sight." At the time, Castiel would have given anything to be able to see fairies. Now he'd give anything to never see them again.

And it wasn't just the people, either. Places were suddenly different. Buildings he'd seen but never really looked at were springing up all over the city and he suddenly started wondering if he was going to find Platform 9 ¾ tomorrow when he went to catch his train to work.

Castiel went from the kitchen through the living area to the sleeping partition. The apartments were all one large room, but sectioned off by flooring. The kitchen was a block of tile, the living room a warm hardwood, and the bedroom was carpeted. The bathroom was the only real "room" with a door and its own space. He poked his head in and found nothing. In Charlie's left brush there were only red hairs and none of Gilda's soft brown curls. The rest of the apartment was similarly devoid of anything possibly belonging to the being. The fairy. Castiel was working hard to wrap his mind around that. Fairy. Gilda wasn't human. The thought made him stagger.

Three days he'd been dealing with "Fairy Sight," and three day's he'd been ignoring what it meant. Now it floored him. Absolutely floored him. Quite literally, too, because he found himself sitting on Charlie's hardwood floor, back to the back of her sofa, breathing through a panic attack.

The people with the pointed teeth and red eyes and halos and all sorts of oddities weren't human. They were supernatural.

Laughter bubbled up in his throat, choking him, making him shake and choke and feel a million things he'd never wanted to feel.

They were real. It was all real.

}O{

Castiel somehow managed to get himself to bed that night, though he never really remembered what exactly happened. The next morning, he awoke feeling hungover though he hadn't drank any alcohol in weeks, and his body ached as though he had a horrible flu. There was a tightness in his throat and his spine was all compressed as though he had slept wrong, which he probably had. He stretched and then dressed and got ready for his day.

He managed to get through his day somehow, but his mind kept replaying the last several days, all of the information he'd learned, how it all led him here, making appointments with unknown beings and seeing all sorts of things he shouldn't be seeing.

His assistant, for one thing, was not human. Neither was Rafael. He hadn't been sure last night, but when he got to work that morning and saw Samandriel, he realized that the little one he called Alfie and Rafael were the same thing. They glowed somehow, a halo of light around their heads, and their eyes were like fire, and something protruded from their backs. He couldn't see exactly what, it was shadowed, but it was there.

When Castiel left work that night, he went wandering around the streets instead of going home. He didn't want to see Rafael again, or any of his other friends, not knowing what they might be.

There was a building standing alone in an abandoned lot, or that was what it might have looked like when Castiel was still normal. Now he Saw that it was a bar of some sort. Curious, he went inside and found a nearly empty diner with a large horseshoe-shaped bar in the center and a beautiful brunette wiping down glasses until they shined. She might have looked normal if it weren't for the cat ears protruding from the top of her head and the cat-like green eyes she sported. What might look like freckles to a normal person were clearly whiskers.

"Hi, honey," she smiled, showing straight front teeth with long, pointed eye teeth. "You're a little early." She looked him up and down. "Rough day? I can see it on you. We don't get many of your kind in here…" she stopped talking and gulped. "Well? What'll it be? I've got lots on tap, or I've got Top Shelf if you'd rather have something with a little kick."

Castiel sat at the bar in front of her. "Uh…Blue Moon?"

She smiled. "Sure thing, sweetheart. I'm Ellen, by the way."

"Um…C-Cas. I'm Cas." It wasn't exactly his name, but it was a nickname.

Ellen winked. "It's okay. You know we can't do anything to you. But I'll call you Cas. Wanna talk about it?"

Castiel canted his head to the side and regarded her. What did she mean she couldn't do anything to him if she knew his True Name? "I, uh…not really. I just…I was hoping for some answers, I guess."

Ellen went back to her glasses, as if sensing that her working would help him relax around her. "We all want answers, hon. I'm afraid I don't have any. But I do have the best burger and fries you'll ever try, if you'd like to give it a whirl. And I've got blueberry, boysenberry, and apple pie for dessert. You can have one of each, of course, lord knows there are those who'll do that, but if you only choose one, I'd take the boysenberry. My daughter picked the berries herself this morning."

Castiel nodded, grateful. "I'd like that, thank you. Can you put cheddar on the burger?"

Ellen winked. "Sure thing, hon. Ice cream on the pie?"

Castiel smiled. "Of course."

Ellen smiled back and used her computer to send his order to the kitchen. A few minutes later, a young woman with blonde hair and blonde cat ears came out of the double kitchen doors with a plated burger and fries. Her brown eyes were wide as she took Castiel in, looking him over the same way Ellen had.

"Wow," she breathed.

"That's enough, Jo," Ellen said, jerking her head back in the direction of the kitchen. "Sam'll be here soon, and let Ash know it should be a busy night. I just got a text from Pam."

Jo nodded and went to do what Ellen told her.

"Is she your daughter?"

Ellen nodded. "My one and only." Ellen went back to her glasses that were now so spotless they cast rainbows. "So, why haven't I seen you here before? You new in town?"

"No," Castiel admitted. "I've lived here since college."

Ellen raised an eyebrow and was about to say something when the door opened and a giant stepped in. "Hey, Ellen, Bobby and Rufus said they'll be in later," it said as it hopped the counter in one swift movement and landed on the other side.

"Thanks, Sam. Sam, this is Cas. He's never been in before."

Castiel got a good look at the giant. He looked human enough, nothing hitting Castiel's senses. Just a very large human being with shaggy brown hair and eyes that seemed to swarm with warm color. They were currently half blue and half brown, but the brown seemed to be shifting to a violet color.

"Hiya, Cas," Sam said kindly. "Can I top you off or get you something else?"

"Ah, a glass of water would be nice."

Sam nodded and took a glass, flipped it in his hand, threw ice into it, and sprayed water inside, all very theatric and interesting. "Lemon?" At Castiel's nod, Sam threw lemon over his shoulder and into the glass, setting it before Castiel with a wink. "That's special for you. Don't get many of your kind in here."

Castiel nodded, having already heard that from Ellen. He supposed most humans just didn't see the bar/diner for what it was.

He finished his burger as the bar slowly filled up. Couples, groups, singles, all of varying degrees of weird. One of them, a giant of a man, even larger than Sam and twice as broad with thick red hair that fell in braids and loose over his shoulders, came to sit next to Castiel.

"Mead, my good man!" the giant insisted, a slight accent to his voice.

"Of course," Sam said, pouring thick yellow liquid into a wooden bowl.

The red haired man turned to Castiel, regarding him intently. "Hu," he hummed. "Don't see many of yer kind here."

Castiel felt like rolling his eyes. Okay, so he was a human in a monster bar, but that should be okay, shouldn't it? He had spent four days finding monsters all over his life.

"Be nice, Thor," Sam warned, setting a plate of meat in front of the hulking—Castiel started with the realization—god. Thor. God of thunder.

"I mean no disrespect, Cousin," Thor said kindly to Sam, then clapped Castiel on the back, making him wince. "Bring another for my friend to show my goodwill."

Sam winked at Castiel as he set a mug of beer down, taking Castiel's empty mug away. The bartender's eyes were now blue and green. He couldn't help but wonder what it might mean.

"You ready for your pie yet, Cas?" Sam asked.

Castiel had forgotten about dessert, too intent on everything around him. "Uh…sure, thank you, Sam."

"Ah, here is my cousin Loki," Thor boomed, throwing a giant meaty arm around a diminutive golden-red-haired man.

"Hey, Thor, how's it hanging." Loki looked at Castiel and his eyes grew wide. "Who's your friend, Cuz?"

Thor waved a careless hand at Castiel. "This is an Angel, Cousin."

Castiel rolled his eyes. "Cas," he said simply, not sure if he should put out his hand or not.

"Cas," Loki repeated, his amber eyes narrowed on Castiel.

"Um…a pleasure to meet you, Loki," Castiel murmured as Jo brought his pie. He nodded to her appreciatively.

"Share your sweets with my cousin and he will show you true hospitality," Thor boomed.

Castiel considered this, then held out the fork to the small god. He let out his breath in relief when Loki took the fork and dug in a large bite of pie and ice cream.

"I'll see you around, Cas," Loki said, walking away. As he moved, Castiel realized that the trickster god also had those dark shadows over his back, and wondered what they might mean.

Sam brought Castiel his bill and inclined his head to a group of males in a corner table with pointed dog ears and tails. "Look, you're safe here, Cas, but those guys might try to eat you alive. Might be best if you paid up and got out soon, kay?"

Both Thor and Castiel looked over at the group, who were alternately eyeing Castiel every now and then while they talked quietly to each other.

"Worry not, little friend. I shall see you out to safety," Thor proclaimed as quietly as he seemed capable of. Only those at the actual bar could hear him, and some of them smiled indulgently at the large god of thunder. Others gave Castiel a little wink.

"Thank you, Thor." In gratitude, he offered the last of his pie to the half-giant. He had a lot more research to do at home that night, and his trip to this bar had helped him with that. For that he was grateful. And tomorrow, he'd meet with this D.W. to try and get his friend Charlie back. And maybe he could get rid of Sight so he wouldn't have to see this stuff anymore.

}O{

Thor walked Castiel to his car at the office parking lot and they bid each other goodbye. Castiel, as usual, had a sinking feeling that someone else was in the car with him and had to force himself to look in the rearview mirror to assure himself that he was alone.

Tawny eyes stared back at him, fierce and angry.

Castiel screeched like a little girl.

I've got several chapters planned out so far. Let me know what you think!