Chronicles of Absolution: Two Brothers and a... Lil Angel

Chapter 1

Then

… He felt those instincts rise the moment he opened the door to find a baby faced Angela holding onto two small boys fast asleep over her shoulders…

… Time to stop hiding and remember everything Angela…

… It was pure rage that filled her when she used her telekinetic ability to send the soldier flying. It felt like a kick to him as he fell over and his gun landed away from him. She was on the soldier in a second and punching him in the face. She was grunting in anger, "You don't hurt my family. You sonofabitch!"

… "Those who have seen War never stop seeing it," Angela mused. Funny how right that written word was. In the silence of the night we will always hear the screams… She turned to look at the boys and said, "It's forgetting that's hard."

… To Bobby, she didn't look that much different except the difference in height and she had some residual baby fat, like when a kid went through puberty. She was still pretty and it was easy for Bobby to see that she might have had trouble growing up because of that and he could understand where Dean would get the idea that she was beating guys off with a stick since she was six…

… "Dammit Bobby I went through puberty once and it was a nightmare."… She had figured out that their ability to control their emotions was shot even though they were adults in their minds and from the familiar feeling of being self-conscious coming from her…

… This is a witch we are talking about Angie and one that laid a curse on you and the boys."

… Sam was effectively pinned between Angela and the back of the couch but he was doing that hiding thing he did when he buried himself under the covers when he was sick. At normal size, Sam looked like a bear. His six year old size made him look like a puppy curled up by his master…

… "You reacted because someone close to you was hurt. It's the same reaction one gives when their family is threatened."

… The loner entered the den and touched the alpha's alpha. It is the alpha's right to defend her own…

… Gabriel looked at his Cat with a concerned and gentle look. Even though he was in his personal witness protection program, in light of what happened with Castiel, he felt it was right to take back up what he had abandoned so long ago. He was going to be the guardian angel he was supposed to be for his Cat. She was the most important person in his life next to his other relationships…

… "You're my Cat," Gabriel offered in a matter of fact tone. He knew it wasn't going to fly with her like it did when she was a little girl. She was older and wiser in the ways of the world. He sighed and added, "That and… after what happened to Cassy… I need to be better about you. You're important to me Cat. I chose you, not assigned because I was drawn to you and I saw something in you and you were just a little girl. Seeing you, I made a promise that I would watch over you."

… "I understand. I understand if you want to be a little affectionate."

… Choices have to be made. Some lead to perdition and some lead to end of old and alone. The question comes down to whether or not one believes that they can hold on till the end and finally not be afraid to open that door…

… "I never felt so much as I do for you Sam. It scares me and it scares me a lot."

… Angela looked at nothing in particular before looking up at the angel and said, "I want you to consider me as a possible vessel." Her look was bold and daring as she looked at Lucifer in the eye even though she felt she was strapped to that chair.

"You're serious?"

"I am and you know what I am asking is not unreasonable."

Lucifer stood there looking at her. He was confused by the whole thing. He tried to see what her game was. What he couldn't see was her reasons for it. That was the most frustrating part about the whole thing. And she wasn't going to give it to him…

… Humans in general were fascinating and baffling creatures. Kesset had no quarrel with them and personally thought that they had every right to exist with the things that they had either forgotten or were born not knowing…

… "When it comes to the hunt, no," Jamal admitted as he relaxed his arms and shifted on his feet. "But when it comes to checking in on an old friend, then that is a different matter… especially when it seems that there are forces awakened that haven't had an active role in centuries."

… "I know you must know that there are others apart from the demons after Sam. There is also a group that is after you too and I think it is to get to Sam."

… "Make sure he's relatively unharmed. The only way to get the target."

Dean wasn't sure of what they were saying since it was in a language he didn't understand and they looked like a bunch of… priests in robes? They were hooded and all wearing white robes and had impressive gear on them but it didn't really garner a favorable opinion of them…

… "Friends can be few and far between and are a gift."

… "And they are doing to lure you," Kesset explained, "Or any other hunter. It is how they hunt. You have to leave."

… The one part that had him bothered was who it was that did the killing…

… They were back together but now only time would tell. There was the looming Apocalypse ahead but… the road to get there was open…

Now

The night was dark but the moon was full and unusually bright. It lit the area all around and you could actually read a book by its light. It was rare to have a moon like that and it was beautiful. Angela couldn't help but look up at it and admire its beauty. She asked, "Have you ever seen a moon like that before?"

Sam looked up as he stood beside her in the forest they were walking through. He looked at it but then looked at her. She looked… innocent just staring at the moon. It was a rare thing to see and he liked it. He knew she was expecting some answer and offered, "Uh… never really noticed… except when it's a lunar cycle… thing." He looked at her apologetic.

Angela diverted her gaze from the moon and took in Sam's expression. "Yeah I wouldn't notice either."

"Angie," Sam beseeched her. "I just don't notice unless… like now."

Angela shrugged her shoulders. "I know," she replied gently. It had been back into the grinder when they started back hunting together.

The first was the case of that tree god that used people's idols to pretty much kill its victims. It initially was thought to be a vengeful spirit but it ended up being more of a godly nature. It was a shame but not all gods were like Isis and the family. Some were just assholes all over. Hell she called Ares a bastard and he was on occasion.

It turned out to be very physical for all of them. It certainly was an insult to injury to have their asses kicked by Paris Hilton and she personally thought she was a blonde spoiled bitch. It also revealed that there was still a long way to go with the reconciliation. Nearly a month apart hadn't done much but she had to admit that it was a start. It was a work in progress but she knew how frustrating it was to Sam because Dean was trying to keep him on a short leash.

It was wear and tear on her but she wasn't willing to admit it. Mostly it was because she was trying to slowly work it up to let Sam know how she really felt about him and Dean was still harboring the notion that Sam had screwed with her and deserved ire for that. On top of that there was something bothering the both of them and it concerned her. She wasn't a blind idiot. She hadn't missed the looks they shared and glancing at her. She hadn't missed how they tried to hide it from her. She was a big girl and it wasn't like she wasn't a stranger to hearing that someone was after her or was trying to kill her or whatever.

Sam knew that this wasn't totally resolved. She was just letting it pass and probably wouldn't bring it back up. He had been a bit confused lately as to her behavior. She was still nice to him but she was… wishy washy about it. At least it seemed that way. She was happy they were together but she was also agitated by it. It wasn't her fault and it wasn't exactly smooth sailing.

He was certain that one thing that was agitating to her was what he didn't tell her; the dream he had that inspired him to call Dean. He knew that by not mentioning it, it was bound to create some problems or rather he was going down the same path. The thing was… he didn't want to worry her and he got the feeling that she was going to brush it off and make it seem like her life wasn't important. He really didn't like it when she did that since it was sort of like him brushing her off and saying he was fine. It was… complicated. He sighed and said, "It is a nice moon."

"Don't try too hard Sammy," she replied softly.

"I'm not," he replied. "It is nice." He shrugged his shoulders and added, "Maybe we could do it again when we… don't have a job to worry about?"

Angela looked at Sam. She just couldn't help it at that time, like she needed to take a break. Still the prospect of something not remotely related to hunting was welcome. "I'd like that," she replied with a slight nod. She then sighed, "I guess we better get going."

Sam watched as she turned to continue down the trail they were taking. He didn't like that her shoulders seemed to slump with every step. He just couldn't tell her; he couldn't tell her that he saw himself killing her but it wasn't exactly him at least he thought so. He figured it was Lucifer riding his meat and killing her. He couldn't tell since it looked like him and…

"You are embarrassing me."

Sam was snapped out of his thoughts and found that she was a substantial distance ahead. His lip twitched in a smile when she turned to give him a grin. At least she was in a teasing mood. She was always saying that he and Dean embarrassed her when they couldn't keep up. He didn't know why since she was always able to outrun them. She was faster and sneakier than they were. It did have him wonder how much of a terror she was as a kid.

Keeping that thought to himself he increased his pace and said, "You cheated. I was distracted."

"Isn't that a big no-no, counselor?"

Sam didn't get a chance to reply. He heard the rustle of leaves and paused. He knew that she heard it since her whole body tensed and she looked around her eyes scanning the darkness. He pulled out his gun and held it ready and she just held her hands out ready to meet the challenge. They both froze when they heard the low rumble of a growl and it was coming right behind them.

Angela turned and moved one arm to protect Sam. It was a good thing since their quarry was right behind them and it was growling and pissed. She inched forward a bit and then stood up straight slowly but her knees were still bent to move when necessary. "Sam… you locked and loaded?"

Slowly Sam pulled out the dart gun that they had procured. He held it at an at ready position. He answered in a low voice, "Ready."

"We only have three tranqs. Dean has the other three. Try not to miss."

Sam made a slight eye roll and retorted, "Well try not to get bitten again."

Their target growled and started foaming at the mouth. It looked almost rabid but it wasn't… at least not in the traditional sense. Sam felt his throat convulse as he held ready. He really didn't like that Angela wasn't pulling a gun but she was the one with the serum though honestly she was the better shot. This one huge and he wondered how the hell they ended up on this case.

Angela looked at their target as it slobbered and looked at them with the unmistakable pinpoint eyes. It seemed to be caught in a moment of indecision. That was what she was looking for. "You don't want to do this. Nikolai, stand down," she said in a calm voice.

The Lycan snarled and growled at her but didn't move. It slobbered and lolled its head as if dealing with a major pain in his head. The growls were laced with whines of pain but it didn't want people coming near him.

"That's it," Angela said softly as she took a step forward. She slowly reached for her belt where she had the serum. "Easy boy. Listen to my voice."

Nikolai whined pitifully but kept up the low growl since she was invading his space. He was still on all fours but his body started to lower. His head bobbed from side to side. He heard the voice and he felt compelled to obey.

Angela inched forward slowly. "Easy boy. Lay down. You know that feeling. That is your instinct telling you to listen to me. Lie down. Lie down."

Nikolai growled when she got closer but didn't lunge. Sam felt his body tense as she got closer. If the thing wanted to, it could rear up and bite her arm off. She was that close and the thing was still ready to lunge. Still it seemed to be listening to her and it was starting to lie down. He didn't lower his gun though since there was always the chance he would need to shoot.

Angela was within touching distance of the huge Lycan. It was almost on the ground. It was still whining in pain from what he was suffering from. That was why they were there. She paused when he growled again. She made sure that she had his eye. This wouldn't work unless she had eye contact. She looked at him in the eye and said, "Lie down."

It was thousands of years of instinct that won out. Nikolai obeyed the command and put his head down. He whined pitifully and in pain. Angela felt her lip twitch and slowly put her hand out to stroke the fur. When he didn't react, she reached out with the other and systematically began smoothing out the fur. "Easy boy. Good boy."

Sam still had his gun drawn. It was then that he spotted his brother in the shadows and he looked over in alarm. He didn't need to worry since Dean had stopped where he was and held his tranq gun ready to fire. He gave a sigh of relief as he focused on what Angela was doing with the Lycan.

She was still petting the Lycan and smoothing the fur. She kept murmuring soothing words as she pulled out a hypodermic filled with a solution. She looked at the Lycan and said, "This is going to sting a little. Stay down."

It was the moment of truth when she bunched the skin like she would a dog and stuck the needle in. She kept her eye on the Lycan who continued to stay down and slowly injected the serum into the Lycan. When she was finished, she pulled it out and rubbed where she had stuck him. She continued to keep her eye on the Lycan and continued to rub the area.

It seemed almost an eternity until Nikolai moved to shake the drool from his mouth. When he looked at her, she could see that the pinpoints were gone. She smiled and said, "All clear."

"And here I was looking for a good rumble."

Angela looked at Isaj as he emerged from his hiding place. He was followed by Dean who was rolling his eyes and looking annoyed though it hid his relief that she was okay. She replied, "And I told you I wanted to avoid driving him over the edge. He hadn't attacked anyone in his mad state when we caught this."

"It was a big risk Angie," Dean pointed out as he put his tranq gun away along with Sam. The Lycan was no longer a threat. "You know what happens when they bite you."

"I know," Angela replied while she was looking at the Lycan. She asked him if he was okay and he gave a woof to indicate that he was fine. He still remained lying down until she gave the signal that he could stand. "I had to try."

"You are an alpha," Isaj pointed out. He had caught wind of the case and called Angela asking for help. "It only makes sense that he obeys you. I even wanted to obey." He looked at Nikolai and spoke Russian to him.

In place of the huge werewolf there was a man who had been prudently covered by Isaj. He replied in Russian and gave his thanks to Angela and Sam and Dean. He then followed Isaj's lead and they disappeared into the forest leaving the three hunters standing there in the once again silent forest looking around. It was Dean who broke the silence by saying, "I guess this job is done."

"Yep," Angela replied as she looked at the empty syringe. "One less mad werewolf."

"Are we gonna have to come back?"

"No. Isaj buys meat and Nikolai is actually from his part of Russia." Angela started walking back to where the Impala was parked and where Sasha was being kept. They left her behind to avoid having her getting bitten. They had no idea if she would become infected or not. "It's the least I could do considering what I did to the kid."

"Angie," Sam began.

"It's okay. It's nice to know that he doesn't blame me. According to him, I saved him by figuring out the truth." She looked at the boys and sighed, "Well time to go huh?"

No one said much as they made it back to the Impala and drove back to the motel they had picked for the duration of the case. The adrenaline was wearing off and they could use a break. Dean was ready to crash with the remnants of a pie that Angela managed to procure with no great difficulty and Sasha was aiming to share it with him. Sam on the other hand was not ready to settle in.

It was more spontaneous and it felt right when he approached Angela and asked, "Take a walk?"

She agreed and they started walking in no direction in particular but well within the boundaries of the motel. It was quiet for the most part and they just strolled enjoying each other's company. Sam took the opportunity to study her and just… look at her. Things did seem good at the moment.

"Your thoughts are loud Sam."

Sam looked at her and asked, "How do you do that? How do you know I am even thinking of anything?"

"The silence is different," Angela offered with a shrug of her shoulders. "It's weird but there is a difference. Is there something wrong?"

"No," Sam replied a little too quickly.

Angela paused. She had long sensed that there was something that was bothering both Sam and Dean and for some reason they were in a weird agreement to not say a word about it to her. Come to think of it, they were on the same page but in different sections. She looked at Sam and asked, "Did he pay you a visit again?"

"No."

"Nothing serious I hope."

"No just stuff."

Angela sighed. She wasn't going to push. She really hoped that they were past this but then again… "Okay. I'm going to turn in."

Sam recognized that tactic and said, "Angie, don't. Everything is fine. You don't need to worry about every little thing."

"I kind of have to, Sam. It's not just the little things but the bigger picture thing." Angela turned to look at Sam. She really didn't want to fight but she was tired. Everything felt like a tightrope walk. She sighed, "I know something is bothering you; it doesn't take a genius to figure it out especially through observation. Hell even Dean is worried about something. If you don't want to say anything that is fine. Just don't lie about it and say everything is fine."

"Then what about you then?"

"You want to play that?" Angela studied Sam and his expression. He was serious. "Fine. Nothing is fine because I feel like I am sitting on a powder keg that is threatening to explode because there are still issues between you and Dean… between the three of us." She paused and took a breath. "Look I don't want to fight. I should go."

"Angie, wait." Sam had to jog to catch up with her. He grasped her by the arm. "I'm sorry that you feel this way but… it's just something that has to be worked out. Dean and me…we're not like you. We just need time."

"Easier said than done." Angela sighed and rubbed a hand to her forehead. "Sometimes I wish the complicated stuff was gone." She paused knowing that maybe what she said next would hurt Sam's feelings. "Sometimes I do miss not being this. Before I turned thirteen… it was different. I didn't have all this. I guess it was a sort of freedom even if I was restricted by the social standards. Sometimes I just wish that I wasn't the one people look to for answers."

Sam was silent as he listened to her confession. It didn't hurt his feelings at all. It made him feel guilty. Here he was with his problems and she was worried about them. She was being who she was but… No one really considered how she felt about everything and if she was asked, she brushed it off or couldn't or wouldn't answer. Maybe it was that with five hundred years under her belt, people expected her to have the answers. He could see where he was guilty of that.

Angela was a bit unnerved by Sam's silence. She had no idea what was going on in his head and the idea of even trying to use her abilities to find out was appalling to her. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired and I want to go to bed."

"It's okay," Sam said finally. He stayed with her and saw her to her door. He watched as she paused about using the room key. He said, "It's okay. I do have something on my mind but I just don't want to bother you with it. I want to figure it out on my own."

Angela glanced at Sam. He was being serious. Maybe she didn't need to know but at least he was trying. "Well you know if you need help you can ask."

"I know. Good night Angie and I really am sorry." Sam then gave her a kiss on the cheek. It felt good at the time and it felt right.

"Maybe clearer heads in the morning? Coffee?"

"I'd like that," Sam replied. He waited until she was in her room and the door was closed before heading back to his and Dean's room. Sleeping on it would help and maybe things would be clearer in the morning. He went back to his room not noticing that someone was watching and they cast an eye on her door and they approached it whispering.

A/N: Well the trio is back together but that doesn't mean that all is right with the world. At least they are trying right? Stay tuned for next time on Two Brothers and .. Lil Angel...