Pale eyes glowed in the dark, they were shouting louder than the little girl's sobs. The girl who was lying on the ground- small, terrified, protective of the even smaller girl lying behind her. She wouldn't give the man in front of her the satisfaction of knowing she was scared. Her blue eyes bored deep into his glazed ones as she braced herself for another contact of his hand to her head. The bruises didn't hurt anymore, the blood from her cuts on her lip had coagulated long ago, the tears had dried when she saw her sister being tormented by the man they were forced to call "Father". This man was a demon in himself, he fed off the pain he caused to these small girls.

"Move." The word was changed to a growl as his hand was poised, ready to strike.

"No." Courtney Lynn's voice was small but full of power. "Don't touch her, don't hurt her."

The next thing that Courtney knew was absolute pain. She had anticipated the sharp pain of the slap, but the feeling of the glass bottle exploding on contact with her skull was not expected. She flinched in pain, but didn't cry.

Another man appeared in Courtney's personal hell. He stood protectively in front of her, casting a glance at the crying girl behind Courtney.

"Leave this child alone." The man said, his voice was full of authority.

"Who are you to tell me how to raise my brats?!" Courtney's "Father" said.

"Do not harm these children again." The voice was full of intensity.

"You don't know nothin!"

Her Father raised a fist and swung at the other man, who caught his hand easily.

"You will not harm these children again."

The unknown man had dropped Courtney's father, leaving her in shock as he turned to her and knelt to her eye level. He touched her face gently and Courtney didn't want to flinch as he touched her bruises, her lip, the newly acquired gash in her head, and as he did, the pain dulled.

"Thank you, sir." Courtney picked up her baby sister. "You saved her."

"No, Courtney Lynn," The man said. "You did." He stood to leave.

"Sir?" Courtney's small voice broke the man's stride as he walked away.

He turned and looked at her expectantly.

"You know my name, can I know yours?" Courtney asked him, meekly, half expecting him to continue walking.

"My name is Castiel." He said, kneeling once again before her and placing a hand on her shoulder. He smiled slightly as Courtney struggled to pronounce his name correctly. "You may call me Cas."

"Cas." Courtney confirmed and smiled. She placed her baby sister in her crib threw her arms around Castiel's neck. He hugged her back and once again stood to leave.

"We will meet again, young Courtney Lynn." And he was gone.

Years would pass before Courtney would hear the name Castiel again. And years did pass before Courtney did believe in goodness again. Her mother divorced her father and her mother married two more times. Both times were the same as the first man. The only consolation Courtney got was from her best friend, Nathan.

They didn't meet in first grade or even kindergarten. They met online, on a website for Tim Burton's movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas. The URL is .eu. For a long time, Courtney asked Nathan to have his friends join the site and eventually one did. His name was David, and he had met this girl before. Before long, David and Courtney were best friends, inseparable through everything.

What Courtney didn't know was that David was actually Dean Winchester, hunter of the supernatural. David did confide in her that he did hunt the supernatural, and she wanted to help. And Dean Winchester came to find a part of him had been missing. The part that longed for love, the missing piece Courtney held.

How do I know all of this?

I know all of this because I am Courtney Lynn Winchester.