Before leaving the rural Nebraska roadside in a rush of wind and a rustle of feathers, an angel in a black leather jacket took one last look at the black car speeding down the road. It had now been two long, painful weeks since Jael had met the Winchesters. Considering how they'd met she wouldn't have expected anything different.
Jael had been sent to help her brother, Castiel in combat. It was told that he still had an important role to play in the fate of the human's planet. Jael was glad. She liked that he had shown compassion for the human race and set himself apart from her other brothers and sisters. She, unlike some of her fellow angels, did not think he should be so severely punished for it. She always did have a thing for rebels.
When she received word of her mission from a messenger in Heaven Jael went to aid Castiel. She found him in small wooded area next to a small run-down house. It appeared that he and two men were surrounded by at least a dozen Crocotta. Jael had never seen so many of the human-mimicking creatures in one place. She didn't like it. Things were definitely changing on Earth. The two men were armed with various weapons and Castiel stood calm and still as a statue. You wouldn't think he was even breathing, let alone prepared for a battle. That had always been a fear-provoking tactic in battle that her and Cas shared.
Jael saw the fight commence when the shorter man began slashing and stabbing at the fierce creatures. Immediately she touched down and jumped into battle mode. It was what she was best at; it was her namesake. The two men had barely noticed when another body stepped into the clash of the chaotic fight scene they had going on, but Castiel immediately felt the presence of another angel come into the mix. He was not sure if it was to help or hurt at that point. It was then Jael had stuck her sword through the neck of one of the abominations, held her hand on another's forehead as it lunged towards her with all it's weight, forcing her to kneel with her other hand still on the handle of her sword, and used all of her heavenly power to kill the snarling Crocotta. Then, after the light died away, the trio looked toward her small, but sturdy frame. The confusion was evident, but she had sensed some admiration as well. The taller of the two mortals spared her one last glance before turning to the few remaining monsters. When he did this the other man seemed to remember where he was and went to help finish it off. Castiel, however, continued to gaze at Jael before seeming to come to a silent decision about something.
After the small battle ended Jael gazed down at her vessel. She hadn't had much time to be picky about who she chose so she found a female around the age of twenty-five in an alley behind a bar in a somewhat dire part of town, whom had been pleading with some invisible force to be saved. Of course she had said yes when Jael gave her the offer to become an angel's vessel; to serve a better purpose. The sleek leather jacket was good for protecting her vessel. It provided flexibility in battle and a light, but tough hide as well. The silky white button up shirt under the jacket was nice and light. The tight denim jeans she was still skeptical about, but it seemed humans wore them often and they had not hindered her so far. The black boots she wore had a small two inch or so heel on them, but not the kind that she saw human women wear to make themselves appear more desirable. They could handle rough terrain and helped her appear taller. She was having a hard time getting accustomed to the short height of her human vessel considering her true form would tower over houses. The boots worked well for her too. Excepting for some chains and studs attached around the ankle. She would have to remove those.
Castiel called her named causing her to pause her inspection and look into his questioning eyes. The other men were staring at her too, not knowing what to think. Angels weren't exactly lining up to help them. Keeping her eyes on her brother she explained the message she had received. His faced showed no emotion, but she saw a small amount of relief in the way his shoulders rested. Cas had then introduced her to the two men in his usual manner while ignoring the questions the boys threw at him. She knew he was on an important mission involving two brothers who were chosen to be Michael and Lucifer's vessels. She knew that it had to be this pair, Sam and Dean. Their situation was so fitting when compared to the rival angel brothers.
Jael assumed her mission was completed since the fight had been won and Castiel and the brothers were no longer in danger and she had planned to return to heaven, but Castiel then informed her that they were hunting a nest of the Crocotta. She was quite troubled by this as she had never heard of such an occurrence and she said as much. The shorter man, Dean, responded by assuring her that "We would be the ones to get into this mess." while shooting an exasperated look at his younger brother. Jael turned her head back to Castiel after a minute of studying the shorter man. Her brother gave her a nod and so it was decided that it would be best for her to accompany them for the rest of the hunt.
Now there was the current mission to think of. Destroying the nest. Castiel and Jael did not ride in the Impala to the motel with them, but the brothers figured it was an angel thing since Cas would hardly ever stay in a vehicle more the five minutes at a time. During the ride Sam and Dean considered different plans and the recent enlightenment of having another angel helping them was discussed.
"Dude, she's kind of a babe." The green-eyed man in the driver's seat said, tilting his head over towards his brother with a smirk.
"Maybe so Dean, but are we supposed to trust her just like that?" the younger man asked.
"Well, Cas knows her." Dean replied with a shrug.
Sam gave Dean a pointed look.
"Yeah, and he knows Uriel and Gabriel too."
Dean nodded staring ahead to the road stretched out in front of him. They needed answers. He knew better than to trust an angel for no reason. Even if she was in a surprisingly attractive vessel.
When he arrived at the Brown Brick Motel Dean pulled into a parking space and saw the two angels standing outside the door to his and Sam's room.
Stepping out of his beloved car he turned to Castiel and said "What? Usually you just let yourself in."
"Jael wanted to see the outside of the building. Though I know not why."
Dean looked over at the small angel whose face was moving slowly from the motel to the trees to the sky. An intense curiosity shone in her eyes though her face was passive.
"I have only been on Earth a small number of times and never in this century." She spoke suddenly with a voice that vaguely reminded him of Cas's. Dean decided that he's been around angels too long.
"It is… odd." She contemplated "I am excited to see more."
Sam gave her a small smile, nearly laughing as he looked down at her. He supposed she was different than the other angels he had met, but still very clearly angel.
"We should move inside." Castiel said breaking his sister's exploring gaze. He looked down at her seeming a little uncomfortable.
She gave a small nod and followed him through the door that Sam had opened. Dean followed behind Jael observing her as she moved past the threshold into the unsightly motel room. His eyes moved from her long dark brown hair that fell in soft locks around her shoulders to the middle of her back where a large symbol of some kind was patched on her jacket down to her ass. She was an attractive figure, but here in the light of day out of the woods Dean couldn't help but think this girl was a little rough around the edges. Sam turned around and saw his brother checking out the new addition of the group and gave a cough. Dean looked up at Sam who was giving him a pointed stare and shut the door. Just because he checked her out didn't mean he trusted her, he thought. Sammy just needed to loosen up a little.
"We have some questions, Cas." Dean started "Like 'Who the hell?', 'What the hell?', and 'Why the hell?'."
The suited angel tilted his head and squinted his eyes at him.
Dean sighed. This was gonna be a long night.
"How 'bout we start with who exactly your angel buddy here is. Because if you called her down here to help, man you've been holding out." He said with a light chuckle.
"I believe I can answer all your questions Dean." She said, stopping her examination of the wall paintings to turn and face him. She had the same green eyes as him only hers were harder, colder he noticed. Dean wondered if this was because she was an angel or if those were purely her vessel.
"As Castiel has informed you my name is Jael. I was sent here to make sure no harm falls to my brother."
Dean could have sworn he heard Cas make a disgruntled noise at the last part of her statement, but the angel looked solemn and passive as he ever did. Protecting her brother, huh? That at least was something Dean could understand.
"Yeah, we got that, but I mean, why now? We've been in trouble loads worse than that." Sam questioned her.
"I received an order. One that I was more than happy to carry out."
Ok, Cas definitely made some sort of noise at that one. The two angels were staring at each other.
"Do you question or doubt me, Castiel?" Jael asked calmly.
"I've simply never known you to be one who takes orders well."
She gave a hint of smile before Dean broke the moment and started up.
"Well, I hate to interrupt this weird ass family reunion you guys are having, but there is a giant nest of sons of bitches who want to see us dead out there."
"Right." Castiel stated, returning to his passive self "I will track down the nest."
There was an airy flutter of wings and he was gone. Jael had every intention of following after him, but Dean's shout stopped her.
"Woah! Not you, angel girl. You're here to protect us then you should stay near. We still have some questions for you."
"Not you. Castiel." She stated. She stared at him for a minute like he was the one talking nonsense. And god, the angels were going the kill him one day. "But I will answer your questions as best I can."
"Ok then. That wasn't so hard, was it sweetheart?"
She continued to stare at him. Dean glanced over at Sam who had gotten his laptop out and was typing away somewhat frantically on it. Dean supposed he would have to start this little Q & A. He turned back to Jael and found her staring bemusedly at her reflection.
All of a sudden their eyes met in the mirror. To keep himself from being caught he asked the first question that came to his mind.
"What's up with that jacket? Was this lady a gang banger or something?" He sat on one of the twin beds and gestured at her vessel's form.
She turned to face him.
"Is that what you wish to know about Dean?"
"Well, yeah. Maybe I'd like to take her out for a drink after you dump the body." He retorted with his usual smirk falling back into place.
"You know that we must have permission from the owner of the body we wish to posses, right Dean?" she asked.
He nodded.
"Well this girl is troubled. A lost soul, if you will. She wanted an escape and that's what I promised her. She is most likely hoping that this task will kill her."
Dean didn't know what to say to that so he just looked at her for a moment. Sam then decided to change topic.
"Jael is a biblical name isn't it?"
Dean rolled his eyes. Of course his brother would be on an information hunt.
"Yes, Sam." She looked over to where Sam was sitting with a grin on her face. She still managed to look strong and determined. "I am often told that that I am quite like my namesake. She was a warrior. Or, perhaps assassin is a more appropriate modern word to use in your language. Book of Judges; Jael was used by the Lord to defeat a powerful Canaanite general. She took him unsuspecting into her tent and drove a stake through his temple."
Well, that certainly caught Dean's attention. Sam look a bit puzzled at this, but Dean felt downright uneasy.
"Are you trying to tell us you're going to kill us in our sleep?" Dean asked her.
She was getting frustrated with the sarcastic male, but did a good job of keeping any trace of it from her face.
"No, Dean. It is simply a story. You humans do still tell tales of no importance to develop a bond, do you not?"
He kept staring at her as if she grown a few extra heads.
"If you do not trust me I can return to Heaven. I just wish to make sure my orders are carried out successfully." Though truthfully, Jael did not want to go so soon. She had missed Earth and it's ways immensely.
The oldest Winchester appeared to be thinking of how to answer. Dean didn't want to trust an angel so quickly, but honestly there was no reason not to. She did kick some serious Crocotta ass, he thought.
"Hey, Dean." Sam called over, disrupting Dean's thoughts and gathering his laptop "I'm hoping there's a way to take out a lot of these things at one time because if there's a fight like today with even more of those things, well…" he trailed off.
Yeah. Dean didn't want to think about it either. He just nodded.
"Bring back food!" he shouted as Sam shut the door behind him. They heard him laugh on the other side.
Dean leaned back on the bed and stretched, eyeing the angel in front of him.
"So…what did Cas mean when he said you don't take orders well?" he asked her.
Jael sighed. "I suppose that it is not in my nature to follow mindlessly without reason."
"Isn't that kind the point of you guys though? God's soldiers that follow orders without a thought."
She stared straight into his eyes with the fiercest glare he had ever seen an angel give anyone. It probably would have frightened him if she hadn't been in such a small girl's body.
"I am no one's soldier. I am a warrior and I do the work of the Lord. I fight for what I believe. I fight for God."
"That sounds a lot like those feelings and free-will you guys aren't supposed to have." He threw back at her, smirk still firmly in place.
"Yes, I imagine that's why it's my first trip to Earth in so long a time."
Now she sounded downright grumpy. Dean pointed to an uncomfortable looking wooden chair that Sam had vacated minutes ago. If he got her comfortable maybe he could get some useful information out of her.
"So that's why you've got a stick up your ass. Want to tell me about it?"
"No. That's the opposite of what I want to do."
"Oh, come on. I bet you know all about 'Dean and Sam's Bogus Journey'. It's only fair sugar."
"That's true, but it doesn't mean anything." She said, but at least she was smiling again "I'm working, and I do not understand your way of speaking sometimes. Sugar is a sweet tasting food additive isn't it?"
When Dean just sat chuckling on the bed Jael sighed again saying, "I guess it couldn't hurt."
Dean's face seemed to sober up a fraction. It seemed that this angel was willing to trust enough to share something that was obviously serious to her even if Dean was only mildly curious.
"Angels were not made to feel the range of extreme emotions that humans do." She told him.
"So, what'd you fall in love or something?"
"I would not call it love." She said quickly. She was beginning to look uncomfortable with this topic of conversation. So, Dean simply waited and hoped she would continue her story. This angel was increasingly intriguing him. He told himself it was only because this was the first Angel biker babe he'd ever seen.
Jael sat still, with a small frown on her face. Her only movement was the fidgeting of her hands. It made her look extremely human, Dean thought.
"I… may have gotten too close to some of my charges. I let emotions cloud me. Eventually, it was decided that it would be best if my missions were confined to Heaven."
"God punished you for doing the dirty?"
Jael rolled her eyes at the man sitting across from her. Dean wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"This has nothing to do with iniquities, Dean. Tough I did partake in a few more human pleasures the last few times in came to Earth." She said looking at Dean. He did not miss the sly tone that crept into her voice or the smirk now forming on her face. It was angelic, but still rough like she knew a thing or two.
'So that's what that smirk looks like.' Dean thought to himself. He thought he was the only one who could give a look like that. Now, he was getting a dose of his own medicine.
"Anyway," she continued on as if she had no clue just what she was doing to the man "the main reason for my being cast off of Earth has more to do with my fatality record. On my last mission here I did anything I had to do to protect my charge, killing hundreds in the process."
"That's it?" Dean asked her incredulously "Uriel and Cas were ready to smite a town of more than a thousand innocent people, and you get put on time out for doing your job?"
"It is not that simple. My brother's were following orders. I was out of control. No one would have even known what had happened when they were done. My damage was more… public. And it was not God who sent me back it was an archangel. But I could not let anything harm him. I couldn't."
She said this mostly to herself, but Dean was starting to understand. He could see the more "human" side of her. He could see the passion in her eyes. He was certainly glad that she was on his side.
She suddenly looked up at him and started again in a stronger voice.
"Not even Castiel, the most human of us now, can understand why I did it, why I cherish humans so much. I do not think that God created us to be heartless. Why would he give us life if he did not wish for us to use it?"
Dean did not show it, but what she was saying struck a nerve so deep he had forgotten it was there. Before he could dwell on it any longer he felt a breeze and saw Castiel standing beside Jael's chair.
Dean visibly jumped, glaring at the intruding angel. Jael had also started and was now looking about the room guiltily as if they were a couple of school kids caught kissing under the bleachers.
"I have found the nest." Castiel reported to them sounding a little bored.
