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raze_flynDisclaimer, Notes and other information on prologue.
The Last Loose End
Chapter One:
She glanced over at the bedside clock and frowned it was five a.m. already. She was surprised she’d managed to get to sleep after putting the strange boy in the guest room. Once back downstairs she and Dean had cleaned up the shattered glass which she had been relieved to note didn’t extend beyond the living room. She hadn’t been able to say much to Dean because there was an actual angel passed out on her couch. Dean had kept staring over at the angel with a look of worry.
She’d wanted to ask how he knew the angel so many times but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. She liked to think it was because she’d finally told him to leave and she didn’t want to get sucked into any more weirdness. Of course when she was being honest with herself she’d admit it was simply because Dean’s looks at the angel challenged her ideas about him and that worried her.
She’d taken Dean in because she’d been convinced he had no where else to go now that his brother was probably dead. Now though she wasn’t so sure the angel was at the very least a friend of Dean’s and she hadn’t thought Dean had any friends. He’d never called or received calls from anyone and she’d just assumed he was all alone in the world.
She decided that laying there thinking in circles wasn’t going to help matter so she got up and made her way quietly toward the living room. She nearly yelped in surprise when she saw the angel on his feet apparently in the process of moving a sleeping Dean from the chair he’d been in over to the couch. The angel paused and glanced over at and she said as quickly and quietly as she could, “You can put him in my bed it’ll be more comfortable than the couch.”
He nodded gratefully and followed her back to her room. She watched marveling at how peaceful Dean looked as the angel settled him on the bed and began to remove his boots. She decided not to stay to watch though part of her wondered if the angel would stop with just his shoes. She wondered if the discomfort at what she had seen was simply because Dean seemed so unnaturally peaceful or because she’d have never felt comfortable undressing Dean even if he would sleep that deeply around her.
She headed to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee knowing she’d need several cups to make up for her lack of restful sleep. She was glad to see the glass in her kitchen wasn’t destroyed like her living room had been. “I apologize for the destruction of your property Lisa Braedon.” She jumped as she turned to find the angel standing there in her kitchen. “I unfortunately allowed an echo of my true voice to arrive before me.”
“That’s okay no one was hurt,” she said trying to sound sincere. She hadn’t noticed before how utterly alien the man was. She’d been so preoccupied with how peaceful Dean looked. “I’ve never seen Dean sleep that deeply before.”
“It is a side effect of exposure to my grace,” the angel said after a moment. She guessed he meant that light show that had happened when he touched Dean the night before. “It will not harm him.” The angel had apparently anticipated her next question. “It will simply allow him a respite from his nightmares and allow his body to get the rest it has craved for too long now.”
Once more silence fell on them and she found herself becoming unnerved by the silent intense stare the angel turned on her. “You have really good timing,” she said desperate to break the silence. “I asked Dean to leave last night if you’d tried to come tomorrow you wouldn’t find him here.” She thought she saw shock for a few fleeting seconds but wasn’t sure as the angel’s face was hard to read. “I don’t even know why Dean even came here; he doesn’t even know me really.”
“Sam made him promise to come,” The angel said after a brief pause. “He knew Dean fantasized about a normal life here with you and Ben.” She wished he hadn’t told her that. “I believe he wants a normal life for Dean away from danger.”
“Sam’s alive?” She found herself asking in shock as she’d been convinced that he had to be dead for Dean to be here. This time she definitely knew she surprised him but before she could ask he walked to her back door and out into her yard.
She was wavering between following him outside and finding something else to distract herself when she heard her alarm going off. She’d forgotten to turn it off and quickly hurried back to her room. She managed to hit the alarm off button without waking Dean which only reinforced how weird and unnatural his deep sleep seemed. The fact the angel had managed to strip him down to just a t-shirt and his underwear was also disturbing. She only had the angel’s word that Dean wasn’t going to be harmed by this.
She was about to try to wake Dean up no longer wanting to be alone with the angel when she thought she heard the door to the guest room opening. She headed out to find the strange boy cautiously peeking into the living room. “The angel is out in the back yard,” she said. “You’re afraid of him, aren’t you?”
“He tried to kill me once,” he said quietly. She didn’t get a chance to respond to that revelation as suddenly there was a bright light shining from outside and she joined the boy in shrinking back in fear. The light faded as quickly as it appeared and seconds later the angel was walking back in through her back door.
“I have petitioned heaven for the power to return you home before returning here,” the angel said looking at the boy. “When you are ready, I will transport you to your foster parents’ home.” She glanced down at the boy’s face and he still looked terrified.
“Will my powers ever come back?” He asked softly after a moment. She could tell as soon as she looked back at the angel that the answer was no. The boy must have read it too because before the angel could speak he was nearly yelling, “How can I keep demons away then . . . what happens when they come after me again?”
“No demons will come for you,” the angel said patiently. “When I destroyed your connection to hell’s power and remade you as a normal human child you became useless to them.” She looked over at the boy who seemed to be on the verge of tears.
“I want to go home now,” the boy said after a brief pause. She watched as the angel walked forward and placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder and then they were gone. She was left staring at the spot.
She didn’t know how but she managed to force herself to move again and took another look around the house for damage. She cursed quietly to herself when she found her living room windows had cracked badly. She had hoped the TV was going to be the only costly thing to replace.
She was in the middle of pricing replacement windows when Dean finally staggered into the room apparently not even bothering to dress. “You look like you slept well,” she said watching as he looked around disappointment settling into his face. “The angel took the boy back to his parents.”
She thought she heard him muttering about the angel still sucking at goodbyes. “Listen Lisa,” Dean said after a moment. “I don’t want to leave can’t we work something out?” She just stared at him. “I’ll quit drinking and I’m sure I can find a garage that will pay me in cash under the table so I can help out with money.”
“No Dean,” she said trying to keep her voice even. “It won’t work out between us and I can’t take the chance on more things from your past showing up.” He flinched in response to that. “I mean this time it was an angel but what will it be next time?” She saw him look away. “I’m sorry in another life maybe things could be different but not in this one.”
“Yeah your right,” Dean said after a tense moment. “I’ll go pack so I can leave as soon as I’ve said goodbye to Ben.” She knew it wouldn’t take him long to pack as he was still mostly living out of his bags anyway.
It was a little early for lunch but she hadn’t really had an appetite this morning so she got up and began fixing sandwiches. She nearly dropped the knife when she saw the angel standing in her back yard talking on a cell phone. “Dean, the angel is back.” She called and wasn’t surprised when he ran back into the room.
She pointed out to the back yard and Dean hurried to open the door. She followed Dean out curious why the angel had returned. “I cannot as my ability to transport myself is currently gone,” the angel said into the receiver. “I will arrive within the next few days by other means please do not let Sam leave your home until I arrive.” The angel hung up.
Dean was staring at the angel in shock. She recalled earlier him mentioning Sam and her surprise at the implication that he was alive. Looking at Dean’s face made it clear that if Sam was alive he didn’t know about it and she wasn’t sure why that made her feel better but it did. “Your brother is alive Dean,” the angel said after a moment.
“Do you know where he is?” Dean asked quickly. When the angel nodded Dean turned back toward the house. “Then let’s go I just have to grab my bags.” She stared at Dean’s repeating back and lost it.
“Where the hell do you think your going?” She yelled as she followed him into the house. He didn’t even pause as he just kept picking up his bags. She ran ahead of him and grabbed his keys from the table where he’d left them sitting.
“Give me my keys Lisa,” Dean said seeing her holding them. “My brother’s alive I have to go now.” She simply pocketed the keys and walked back toward the kitchen. There was no way Dean would dare leave without his impala and there was no way he was getting those keys from her. “Lisa give me my keys now damn it.”
“Dean, your bother is in no danger and not going anywhere.” The angel said making his presence known. She would be grateful but a quick glance at Dean showed he wasn’t going to agree.
When Dean insisted that she had over his keys for a third time she had finally had enough. “You aren’t going anywhere you fucking selfish prick until you’ve said goodbye to Ben.” She felt a sense of triumph at him stepping back but she wasn’t done. “You’ve spent the past two weeks playing at being his dad so your going to fucking act like it.”
“I can come back after I see my brother and say goodbye then,” Dean said after a moment and she found it hard to resist the urge to throw things at him. “Sammy is important I need to know that he’s all right.”
“I don’t care.” She watched his eyes widen. “I don’t care how important your brother is to you the only thing I care about right now is my son and he doesn’t deserve to have you take off then show up later only to take off again for good.” She watched him flounder for a come back so she didn’t let up. “You want these keys before then; well then your going to have to fight me for them.”
She thought for one terrible second that he was going to hit her when she saw the dark look come into his eyes. She could tell he was actually thinking how easy it would be to over whelm her and take them back. The look left his face when he saw her take a step backwards in fear. “Screw it,” he said after a moment. “Cas, just use your mojo to take me to Sam it’ll be worth not shitting for a week.”
“I’m sorry Dean but I’m incapable of doing that.” The angel sounded apologetic. “I required heaven’s assistance to transport Jesse home then return here.” He looked like he was staring past Dean to a far away place as he said, “Heaven will not assist me again.”
As Dean began to rant and curse about angels all being dicks she made up her mind. “I’ll go call the Johnson’s and ask them to bring Ben home immediately instead of this afternoon.” She needed to get away from Dean right now. “And then I’ll wait on the porch for him help yourself to the sandwiches.”
XXXX
Dean sat there feeling guilty about the fear he’d seen in Lisa’s eyes and the fact he was trapped here since Cas couldn’t just zap them to Sam. He still didn’t really believe Sam was out of hell and wouldn’t believe it until his brother was in front of him again. “How long has Sam been back?” He hoped he didn’t sound accusing but he wanted to know Cas hadn’t come straight here and told him.
“He was returned outside of this house one week ago,” Cas said after a moment. “I did not expect him to depart without telling you that he was alive.” He found himself staring at Cas unable to come up with a response. Sam had been there right outside the house and he’d taken off. “I had hoped he had told you and simply asked you to stay here while he investigated why he was back.”
“Damn it he really is just like Dad,” he found himself saying angrily. “Why the hell didn’t you show up as soon as he showed up to explain why he was back?” He tried not to be too angry with Cas since if it wasn’t for him he’d never have even known.
“I was told he had been returned to you,” Cas said as he went and grabbed one of the sandwiches Lisa had made earlier. “I planned to see you both once I had completed the task heaven requested of me before we went our separate ways.” He took an almost experimental bite of the sandwich before continuing, “I only learned you were unaware of Sam’s return when Lisa asked about the circumstances of his death.” He took another bite and said, “that was why I petitioned heaven for the power to return Jesse home.”
He really didn’t like how quiet things got after that as Cas just set there methodically eating a sandwich. “Could Jesse have freed Lucifer?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to that question but it kept him from dwelling on Sam being alive and not telling him.
“No,” Cas said after a moment. “Even while Lucifer walked the earth and Jesse’s power rivaled that of an arch angel he could not have forced open that cell.” He watched Cas close his eyes as if gathering his thoughts. “The most Jesse could have done after being strengthened by demon blood is crack open the cell enough for them to speak with Lucifer.” He paused briefly to start on a second sandwich. “The demon faction loyal to the devil requires his knowledge to find another way to free him.” He smiled after a moment. “With Jesse’s power neutralized and the damage I did to hell doing so; it will be many years before they can attempt to speak to him again.”
“What kind of damage are we talking about here?” He was determined not to think about Sam so he wanted to keep Cas on this subject. Plus he had to admit the idea of hearing about hell taking one in the teeth for a change had its own charm.
“More than half of hell’s forces will have been obliterated by my actions.” He found himself whistling in appreciation at the implications. “Unfortunately at the rate humans throw themselves headlong into the abyss the legions of hell will recover quickly.”
That was uncomfortably close to home as he’d been resisting the temptation to find a crossroads and get his brother back ever since Lawrence. “So who is in charge up there now if you’ve given your notice?” He asked not wanting to think about what might have happened after Lisa kicked him out if he hadn’t learned Sam was alive. It was easier to focus on work related things. He needed to know if he there were going to be pissed off angels after him and Sam.
“It would be easiest to explain if I started at the beginning.” Cas said closing his eyes. “I arrived in heaven to find Raphael and the host waiting for me clearly prepared for battle.” He opened his eyes then and he looked pissed. “He was claiming I was a nephelim and thus an abomination that must be destroyed.” His expression changed slightly as he continued, “if we had fought each other I am not sure who would have won.” He had never really thought about how powerful Cas must have been after his latest resurrection. “Before a fight that could potential destroy heaven began Joshua interrupted us with news that Michael would return soon with new orders from our father.”
“What you mean that douchebag Michael isn’t roasting in hell with Lucifer?” He heard the door open and Lisa walked back in. “Is Ben here yet?” She shook her head no and went back out. He guessed she must have heard him yelling.
“Michael is the most powerful archangel of all Lucifer’s cage was only meant to contain the second most powerful,” Cas said after a moment. “It would not be a good thing to leave Michael there.” He looked straight at Dean. “If he ever managed to convince Michael to side with him the cage would not hold.”
He supposed he could understand that but it still pissed him off that Michael was let out so quickly. When he didn’t say anything else though Cas decided to continue. “I spent the time waiting for Michael’s return speaking with Joshua who made it clear to me exactly how great a gift I had been given.” He had no idea what Cas was saying. “This body is no longer a vessel it is me I have been given complete free will.”
“I don’t understand you showed plenty of free will last year?” He really had. He’d even managed to convince Cas to go to a brothel that one time so the idea that he didn’t have free will was ridicules.
“It’s hard to explain Dean,” Cas said after a moment. “I could never forget that my body really belonged to Jimmy and as such it would never really be mine.” He looked straight at Dean. “No angel you ever met could ever really forget that even Gabriel had to live with the knowledge that everything he did in that vessel did not just affect him.”
“It was the changes to my nature that allowed me to survive what I did for Jessie,” Cas said after a moment. “My grace has been reduced to a level that would shatter under the weight of a mortal soul if this was still a vessel and not a body that belonged wholly to me alone.” He smiled slightly. “It allowed me to diminish my grace to near non existence which was necessary to do what I did.”
“So your human now?” He asked wondering what changed Cas’s mind about becoming human. He had never seemed to be big on the idea even when it was looking like it was a sure thing. “I didn’t think you wanted to be one of us lowly humans?”
“I don’t and I’m not,” Cas said still smiling. “I simply have to live as a human until my angelic self recovers and my grace replenishes itself.” So Cas was going to take off again once he recovered his angelic mojo. He felt a slight pang but he hadn’t expected him to stick around again anyway.
“Dean Ben is here,” Lisa said opening the door and glancing back at the street where he could hear Ben’s voice saying goodbye to his friend. “I’ll help the angel load up your stuff while you say goodbye.”
“We’ll finish talking about things when we are on the road,” he told Cas as he got up to greet Ben. He wasn’t surprised when Cas merely nodded and asked Lisa if he could use her bathroom. He had to admit seeing her face when an angel asked to use the bathroom was kind of funny but any enjoyment was lost when he saw Ben. It was going to be really hard to say goodbye to the kid.
To be continued...
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The Last Loose End
Chapter One:
She glanced over at the bedside clock and frowned it was five a.m. already. She was surprised she’d managed to get to sleep after putting the strange boy in the guest room. Once back downstairs she and Dean had cleaned up the shattered glass which she had been relieved to note didn’t extend beyond the living room. She hadn’t been able to say much to Dean because there was an actual angel passed out on her couch. Dean had kept staring over at the angel with a look of worry.
She’d wanted to ask how he knew the angel so many times but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. She liked to think it was because she’d finally told him to leave and she didn’t want to get sucked into any more weirdness. Of course when she was being honest with herself she’d admit it was simply because Dean’s looks at the angel challenged her ideas about him and that worried her.
She’d taken Dean in because she’d been convinced he had no where else to go now that his brother was probably dead. Now though she wasn’t so sure the angel was at the very least a friend of Dean’s and she hadn’t thought Dean had any friends. He’d never called or received calls from anyone and she’d just assumed he was all alone in the world.
She decided that laying there thinking in circles wasn’t going to help matter so she got up and made her way quietly toward the living room. She nearly yelped in surprise when she saw the angel on his feet apparently in the process of moving a sleeping Dean from the chair he’d been in over to the couch. The angel paused and glanced over at and she said as quickly and quietly as she could, “You can put him in my bed it’ll be more comfortable than the couch.”
He nodded gratefully and followed her back to her room. She watched marveling at how peaceful Dean looked as the angel settled him on the bed and began to remove his boots. She decided not to stay to watch though part of her wondered if the angel would stop with just his shoes. She wondered if the discomfort at what she had seen was simply because Dean seemed so unnaturally peaceful or because she’d have never felt comfortable undressing Dean even if he would sleep that deeply around her.
She headed to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee knowing she’d need several cups to make up for her lack of restful sleep. She was glad to see the glass in her kitchen wasn’t destroyed like her living room had been. “I apologize for the destruction of your property Lisa Braedon.” She jumped as she turned to find the angel standing there in her kitchen. “I unfortunately allowed an echo of my true voice to arrive before me.”
“That’s okay no one was hurt,” she said trying to sound sincere. She hadn’t noticed before how utterly alien the man was. She’d been so preoccupied with how peaceful Dean looked. “I’ve never seen Dean sleep that deeply before.”
“It is a side effect of exposure to my grace,” the angel said after a moment. She guessed he meant that light show that had happened when he touched Dean the night before. “It will not harm him.” The angel had apparently anticipated her next question. “It will simply allow him a respite from his nightmares and allow his body to get the rest it has craved for too long now.”
Once more silence fell on them and she found herself becoming unnerved by the silent intense stare the angel turned on her. “You have really good timing,” she said desperate to break the silence. “I asked Dean to leave last night if you’d tried to come tomorrow you wouldn’t find him here.” She thought she saw shock for a few fleeting seconds but wasn’t sure as the angel’s face was hard to read. “I don’t even know why Dean even came here; he doesn’t even know me really.”
“Sam made him promise to come,” The angel said after a brief pause. “He knew Dean fantasized about a normal life here with you and Ben.” She wished he hadn’t told her that. “I believe he wants a normal life for Dean away from danger.”
“Sam’s alive?” She found herself asking in shock as she’d been convinced that he had to be dead for Dean to be here. This time she definitely knew she surprised him but before she could ask he walked to her back door and out into her yard.
She was wavering between following him outside and finding something else to distract herself when she heard her alarm going off. She’d forgotten to turn it off and quickly hurried back to her room. She managed to hit the alarm off button without waking Dean which only reinforced how weird and unnatural his deep sleep seemed. The fact the angel had managed to strip him down to just a t-shirt and his underwear was also disturbing. She only had the angel’s word that Dean wasn’t going to be harmed by this.
She was about to try to wake Dean up no longer wanting to be alone with the angel when she thought she heard the door to the guest room opening. She headed out to find the strange boy cautiously peeking into the living room. “The angel is out in the back yard,” she said. “You’re afraid of him, aren’t you?”
“He tried to kill me once,” he said quietly. She didn’t get a chance to respond to that revelation as suddenly there was a bright light shining from outside and she joined the boy in shrinking back in fear. The light faded as quickly as it appeared and seconds later the angel was walking back in through her back door.
“I have petitioned heaven for the power to return you home before returning here,” the angel said looking at the boy. “When you are ready, I will transport you to your foster parents’ home.” She glanced down at the boy’s face and he still looked terrified.
“Will my powers ever come back?” He asked softly after a moment. She could tell as soon as she looked back at the angel that the answer was no. The boy must have read it too because before the angel could speak he was nearly yelling, “How can I keep demons away then . . . what happens when they come after me again?”
“No demons will come for you,” the angel said patiently. “When I destroyed your connection to hell’s power and remade you as a normal human child you became useless to them.” She looked over at the boy who seemed to be on the verge of tears.
“I want to go home now,” the boy said after a brief pause. She watched as the angel walked forward and placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder and then they were gone. She was left staring at the spot.
She didn’t know how but she managed to force herself to move again and took another look around the house for damage. She cursed quietly to herself when she found her living room windows had cracked badly. She had hoped the TV was going to be the only costly thing to replace.
She was in the middle of pricing replacement windows when Dean finally staggered into the room apparently not even bothering to dress. “You look like you slept well,” she said watching as he looked around disappointment settling into his face. “The angel took the boy back to his parents.”
She thought she heard him muttering about the angel still sucking at goodbyes. “Listen Lisa,” Dean said after a moment. “I don’t want to leave can’t we work something out?” She just stared at him. “I’ll quit drinking and I’m sure I can find a garage that will pay me in cash under the table so I can help out with money.”
“No Dean,” she said trying to keep her voice even. “It won’t work out between us and I can’t take the chance on more things from your past showing up.” He flinched in response to that. “I mean this time it was an angel but what will it be next time?” She saw him look away. “I’m sorry in another life maybe things could be different but not in this one.”
“Yeah your right,” Dean said after a tense moment. “I’ll go pack so I can leave as soon as I’ve said goodbye to Ben.” She knew it wouldn’t take him long to pack as he was still mostly living out of his bags anyway.
It was a little early for lunch but she hadn’t really had an appetite this morning so she got up and began fixing sandwiches. She nearly dropped the knife when she saw the angel standing in her back yard talking on a cell phone. “Dean, the angel is back.” She called and wasn’t surprised when he ran back into the room.
She pointed out to the back yard and Dean hurried to open the door. She followed Dean out curious why the angel had returned. “I cannot as my ability to transport myself is currently gone,” the angel said into the receiver. “I will arrive within the next few days by other means please do not let Sam leave your home until I arrive.” The angel hung up.
Dean was staring at the angel in shock. She recalled earlier him mentioning Sam and her surprise at the implication that he was alive. Looking at Dean’s face made it clear that if Sam was alive he didn’t know about it and she wasn’t sure why that made her feel better but it did. “Your brother is alive Dean,” the angel said after a moment.
“Do you know where he is?” Dean asked quickly. When the angel nodded Dean turned back toward the house. “Then let’s go I just have to grab my bags.” She stared at Dean’s repeating back and lost it.
“Where the hell do you think your going?” She yelled as she followed him into the house. He didn’t even pause as he just kept picking up his bags. She ran ahead of him and grabbed his keys from the table where he’d left them sitting.
“Give me my keys Lisa,” Dean said seeing her holding them. “My brother’s alive I have to go now.” She simply pocketed the keys and walked back toward the kitchen. There was no way Dean would dare leave without his impala and there was no way he was getting those keys from her. “Lisa give me my keys now damn it.”
“Dean, your bother is in no danger and not going anywhere.” The angel said making his presence known. She would be grateful but a quick glance at Dean showed he wasn’t going to agree.
When Dean insisted that she had over his keys for a third time she had finally had enough. “You aren’t going anywhere you fucking selfish prick until you’ve said goodbye to Ben.” She felt a sense of triumph at him stepping back but she wasn’t done. “You’ve spent the past two weeks playing at being his dad so your going to fucking act like it.”
“I can come back after I see my brother and say goodbye then,” Dean said after a moment and she found it hard to resist the urge to throw things at him. “Sammy is important I need to know that he’s all right.”
“I don’t care.” She watched his eyes widen. “I don’t care how important your brother is to you the only thing I care about right now is my son and he doesn’t deserve to have you take off then show up later only to take off again for good.” She watched him flounder for a come back so she didn’t let up. “You want these keys before then; well then your going to have to fight me for them.”
She thought for one terrible second that he was going to hit her when she saw the dark look come into his eyes. She could tell he was actually thinking how easy it would be to over whelm her and take them back. The look left his face when he saw her take a step backwards in fear. “Screw it,” he said after a moment. “Cas, just use your mojo to take me to Sam it’ll be worth not shitting for a week.”
“I’m sorry Dean but I’m incapable of doing that.” The angel sounded apologetic. “I required heaven’s assistance to transport Jesse home then return here.” He looked like he was staring past Dean to a far away place as he said, “Heaven will not assist me again.”
As Dean began to rant and curse about angels all being dicks she made up her mind. “I’ll go call the Johnson’s and ask them to bring Ben home immediately instead of this afternoon.” She needed to get away from Dean right now. “And then I’ll wait on the porch for him help yourself to the sandwiches.”
XXXX
Dean sat there feeling guilty about the fear he’d seen in Lisa’s eyes and the fact he was trapped here since Cas couldn’t just zap them to Sam. He still didn’t really believe Sam was out of hell and wouldn’t believe it until his brother was in front of him again. “How long has Sam been back?” He hoped he didn’t sound accusing but he wanted to know Cas hadn’t come straight here and told him.
“He was returned outside of this house one week ago,” Cas said after a moment. “I did not expect him to depart without telling you that he was alive.” He found himself staring at Cas unable to come up with a response. Sam had been there right outside the house and he’d taken off. “I had hoped he had told you and simply asked you to stay here while he investigated why he was back.”
“Damn it he really is just like Dad,” he found himself saying angrily. “Why the hell didn’t you show up as soon as he showed up to explain why he was back?” He tried not to be too angry with Cas since if it wasn’t for him he’d never have even known.
“I was told he had been returned to you,” Cas said as he went and grabbed one of the sandwiches Lisa had made earlier. “I planned to see you both once I had completed the task heaven requested of me before we went our separate ways.” He took an almost experimental bite of the sandwich before continuing, “I only learned you were unaware of Sam’s return when Lisa asked about the circumstances of his death.” He took another bite and said, “that was why I petitioned heaven for the power to return Jesse home.”
He really didn’t like how quiet things got after that as Cas just set there methodically eating a sandwich. “Could Jesse have freed Lucifer?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to that question but it kept him from dwelling on Sam being alive and not telling him.
“No,” Cas said after a moment. “Even while Lucifer walked the earth and Jesse’s power rivaled that of an arch angel he could not have forced open that cell.” He watched Cas close his eyes as if gathering his thoughts. “The most Jesse could have done after being strengthened by demon blood is crack open the cell enough for them to speak with Lucifer.” He paused briefly to start on a second sandwich. “The demon faction loyal to the devil requires his knowledge to find another way to free him.” He smiled after a moment. “With Jesse’s power neutralized and the damage I did to hell doing so; it will be many years before they can attempt to speak to him again.”
“What kind of damage are we talking about here?” He was determined not to think about Sam so he wanted to keep Cas on this subject. Plus he had to admit the idea of hearing about hell taking one in the teeth for a change had its own charm.
“More than half of hell’s forces will have been obliterated by my actions.” He found himself whistling in appreciation at the implications. “Unfortunately at the rate humans throw themselves headlong into the abyss the legions of hell will recover quickly.”
That was uncomfortably close to home as he’d been resisting the temptation to find a crossroads and get his brother back ever since Lawrence. “So who is in charge up there now if you’ve given your notice?” He asked not wanting to think about what might have happened after Lisa kicked him out if he hadn’t learned Sam was alive. It was easier to focus on work related things. He needed to know if he there were going to be pissed off angels after him and Sam.
“It would be easiest to explain if I started at the beginning.” Cas said closing his eyes. “I arrived in heaven to find Raphael and the host waiting for me clearly prepared for battle.” He opened his eyes then and he looked pissed. “He was claiming I was a nephelim and thus an abomination that must be destroyed.” His expression changed slightly as he continued, “if we had fought each other I am not sure who would have won.” He had never really thought about how powerful Cas must have been after his latest resurrection. “Before a fight that could potential destroy heaven began Joshua interrupted us with news that Michael would return soon with new orders from our father.”
“What you mean that douchebag Michael isn’t roasting in hell with Lucifer?” He heard the door open and Lisa walked back in. “Is Ben here yet?” She shook her head no and went back out. He guessed she must have heard him yelling.
“Michael is the most powerful archangel of all Lucifer’s cage was only meant to contain the second most powerful,” Cas said after a moment. “It would not be a good thing to leave Michael there.” He looked straight at Dean. “If he ever managed to convince Michael to side with him the cage would not hold.”
He supposed he could understand that but it still pissed him off that Michael was let out so quickly. When he didn’t say anything else though Cas decided to continue. “I spent the time waiting for Michael’s return speaking with Joshua who made it clear to me exactly how great a gift I had been given.” He had no idea what Cas was saying. “This body is no longer a vessel it is me I have been given complete free will.”
“I don’t understand you showed plenty of free will last year?” He really had. He’d even managed to convince Cas to go to a brothel that one time so the idea that he didn’t have free will was ridicules.
“It’s hard to explain Dean,” Cas said after a moment. “I could never forget that my body really belonged to Jimmy and as such it would never really be mine.” He looked straight at Dean. “No angel you ever met could ever really forget that even Gabriel had to live with the knowledge that everything he did in that vessel did not just affect him.”
“It was the changes to my nature that allowed me to survive what I did for Jessie,” Cas said after a moment. “My grace has been reduced to a level that would shatter under the weight of a mortal soul if this was still a vessel and not a body that belonged wholly to me alone.” He smiled slightly. “It allowed me to diminish my grace to near non existence which was necessary to do what I did.”
“So your human now?” He asked wondering what changed Cas’s mind about becoming human. He had never seemed to be big on the idea even when it was looking like it was a sure thing. “I didn’t think you wanted to be one of us lowly humans?”
“I don’t and I’m not,” Cas said still smiling. “I simply have to live as a human until my angelic self recovers and my grace replenishes itself.” So Cas was going to take off again once he recovered his angelic mojo. He felt a slight pang but he hadn’t expected him to stick around again anyway.
“Dean Ben is here,” Lisa said opening the door and glancing back at the street where he could hear Ben’s voice saying goodbye to his friend. “I’ll help the angel load up your stuff while you say goodbye.”
“We’ll finish talking about things when we are on the road,” he told Cas as he got up to greet Ben. He wasn’t surprised when Cas merely nodded and asked Lisa if he could use her bathroom. He had to admit seeing her face when an angel asked to use the bathroom was kind of funny but any enjoyment was lost when he saw Ben. It was going to be really hard to say goodbye to the kid.
To be continued...
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