Mia lay in her bed, half asleep, unable to fully shut down her body. Her father has been gone for days on their hunt and they hadn't called, which worried her. Sam had tried to keep her out of the life as much as he could, hunting was too dangerous for a sixteen year old. She sighed, trying hard not to fall asleep and let the nightmares fully take over. She hadn't told anyone, not even Castiel, even though she knew he would help her, but she hadn't told anyone about her nightmares because she didn't want to seem helpless, she wanted to be strong and brave, to prove that she was a true Winchester. She turned to her side, facing the wall, her eyes growing heavy. "Don't sleep. Don't fall asleep." She whispered, rubbing at her wrists.
Sam and Dean were tired. They were just coming home from a trip. Dean and Cas still hadn't set up shop yet so Sam had allowed them to stay with him until they got somewhere together, because frankly Castiel didn't like Dean sleeping in his car and Sam didn't wanna piss the Angel off. Sam pushes the key into the door as quietly as possible and signals the guys to keep it down. He checks all the traps. Salt lines still in tact, no demons in any of the traps. All looks good. He doesn't check on Mia. She's a 16 year old and she's in bed. He'll wait until morning. Mia of course hears the door close downstairs, but doesn't get up. She knows how late it is, and that she should be asleep. She sighs, turning her head back, hearing their footsteps along the stair case.
Dean cracks open a beer and falls onto Sam's sofa, kicking his feet up but Castiel is still. He listens for a moment and waits for Sam to return. "She's still awake." He says softly to the younger Winchester. She hears mumbling from downstairs, but doesn't hear their words clearly. She leans her head on her arms against her pillow, trying hard to stay away so her nightmares wouldn't take over. Sam tilts his head, but still doesn't go. He knows the tell tale signs of those kind of nightmares. Little does she know, Sam's been there. He sighs wringing his hands, unsure of what to do. Castiel approaches him, still not understanding what ''personal space'' is.
"Sam, You know I can help her. Why won't you let me? Do you WANT to see her suffering?" He asks tilting his head as he does. Sam's eyes flare.
"No." He quickly replies. "But i'm not gonna charge in there and demand she be fixed." He says biting his cheek. "She hasn't even told me yet. I might have been wrong."
Mia couldn't take lying in one spot anymore, she hadn't seen her father in a good week or slept in that amount of time and it wasn't going to happen tonight. She slowly sat on her bed, walking out of her room as if she just had waken up, rubbing her eyes. She yawned as she stepped to the top of the stair case. "Dad?"
Sam whips his head around and lights up. Dean's never seen him as happy as when she's around. The Younger of the Winchester brothers opens his arms for her, but waits for her to come to him. He really isn't the pushy type.
"Baby!" He smiles "Sorry, Did we wake you?" He turns shooting Castiel a /YouBetterNotSayAnything/ look. She slowly made her way down the stairs and walked into his welcoming arms. "No, I woke up about fifteen minutes ago for water, I was just going back to sleep." She softly smiled, her head leaning against his chest. She hated lying to him, but she really didn't want him to worry about her, no matter how much she hasn't slept or eaten in the past few weeks out of nightmares and worry. Sam holds her close and strokes her hair, pressing his lips to her head. "I missed you." He whispers before letting her go. Dean pats the seat next to him.
"Staying up for a bit, Princess?" He asks demanding his hug, unlike his brother. Castiel is just kinda oddly staring at her, with a smile of course.
"I missed you, too." She smiles as she turns her head towards her uncle, taking a seat beside him, wrapping her little arms around his waist. "Yeah, I can try." She tried to smile, her eyes fluttering open and closed to stay awake, feeling like she was going to collapse at any moment. She leaned back on the couch, happy to be near her family again. She hated their unexpected trips. Dean slung his arm around her and pulled her close. For now at least him and Cas have no way to have kids of their own so the only one he has is Sam's kid. Sam slips out to grab some food from the fridge and on returning he watches Cas who's intently looking at the pair on the sofa. The Angel starts talking and Sam was too late to stop him.
"Mia." He begins taking the seat next to her, so she's sandwiched between Dean and himself. "Perhaps you should tell us of your nightmares. It may help you." He says with his big blue eyes on her. He's trying to help. He really is. That of course won't stop Dean from smacking him upside the head. Mia's eye brows furrowed, trying to hide the fear in her eyes.
"I...I-I don't know what you're talking about?" She knew it was impossible to lie to an angel, but she knew she had to try, for her Father's sake. Castiel takes her hand. Now the cat's out of the bag Sam rolls his eyes but clears the coffee table and sits opposite her. Her whole family surrounding her now. "Hey, Baby." He starts, not really sure how to do this. Since her mom passed he'd tried to be a good Dad but honestly, he had no idea what he was doing. "Look." Sam tries again. "This happened to me once. The nightmares. Where you can't sleep, more, it won't let you sleep. You're tired. You're probably starving. And cold." He explains. Dean rests his head on her's. Dean's not that good at showing that he cares but he tries. Castiel just squeezes her hand. "And i worry about you ALL the time. I just want you to be okay." He breathes.
Mia looks down, quite embarrassed that she couldn't hide her fatigue. "I-I'm fine...they're just dreams." She cautiously rubs her arm with her free hand, staring at the ground. "I'm okay, really." She weakly smiles.
"Please do not lie Mia." Castiel states, his sad eyes looking straight though her.
"CAS." Sam clenches his teeth and glares at him. "I got this, /Thank You./" Her Dad turns back to her his eyes full of worry. "You don't have to do this alone, Mia."
"I'm not alone." She weakly smiles. "I have you guys, now, for the time being...i-it's better when you're here." Her gaze doesn't leave the floor, her hands lying flat on her lap. Sam half smiles and Dean mirrors it. Guilt fills Sam. He didn't want to bring her on the hunts, how could he? He was just trying to protect her. So he had to leave her here, hoping nothing would happen. The older Winchester brother lifts her chin for her to look at him.
"Come on Princess." He tries to laugh. "It's okay." Dean kisses her temple and rubs her arm. "You can tell us. We've heard, seen and smelt worse." She finally looks up at them, sighing lightly. "It...it's stupid..." She look down again at her hands shaking just slightly. "It's usually the same...sometimes I'm in a dark room and th-there's fire lining the corners and it inches closer to me every time I blink. I'm...I'm in a chair, tied up, and the more I struggle, the tighter it gets." She softly rubs her the insides of her wrist. "There's someone in the room, but I can't see him, but he always calls out my name, telling me my mind isn't safe anymore." She sniffs, "It gets colder, the fire coming closer." Tears sit in her eyes. "I try to call for help, but nothing will come out. I can't speak. And the fire keeps coming closer, while he laughs, watching the "weak Winchester" The fire burns the chair and touches my skin, burning my hands." Tears run down her face as her face grows feverish. "It won't let me wake up until I can see my bones beginning to burn, when I can finally hear my voice screaming." She looks down. "I usually wake up then..." She shakes her head, trying to stop crying.
Sam's face just drops. He lets his head fall forward. He's failing as a father. Dean's still holding her and Cas still hasn't moved. Sam sucks in a breath and reaches out, stroking a tear away with the pad of his thumb and holding her cheek. "It's okay baby. I'm gonna make it go away." He smiles even though his eyes are tearing up. Being a Father and a Hunter is a million times worse than he thought it was going to be. Everything scares him. It's a new reason to be scared. He'll do anything to keep her safe and that alone is dangerous. She tries to lightly smile, but her head falls to her chest, wiping away her remaining tears. Black spots invaded her vision, which wasn't unusual for her lately. Her vision became blurry, but she rubbed her eyes as if nothing was happening. She leans back, her head falling onto Dean's shoulder, she tried to hide all the fear and pain in her face with a soft smile.
"Come on." Sam says standing and picking her up from the sofa. He can still do that even though she's 16. "Say goodnight to the guys, I'll come up with you. Otherwise you're gonna end up falling asleep on the sofa and I don't think Dean want's to sleep in your bed, so up we go." He explains heading to the stairs.
"Good night..." She says softly, her head leaning back in her father's arms. She felt warm and safe, better than she had felt for awhile. Her vision became worse, but she tried to ignore it by closing her eyes, her muscles relaxing in his arms. Sam smiled at her, placing her back into her bed and pulling the sheets around her. He sits on the corner of her bed stroking her hair.
"I'll stay. I promise." He whispers watching her with big sad eyes. It hurts him to see her upset. Knowing he can't do anything about it and having to rely on his brother's boyfriend to help her. "I'm sorry." She shook her head slowly.
"You don't need to apologize, it's not your fault. There's nothing to worry about, okay? I'm a Winchester, remember?" She smiled weakly.
"That is /exactly/ what scares me." He returns the smile. He knows better than anyone that the name's a curse. "but it's gonna be okay, baby." He soothes her, running his huge hand through her hair. She still seemed so small. "It's all gonna go away." She softly nodded, believing him for a moment. It was nearly impossible to see now and her body felt weak and almost numb. She ignored the signals flaring in her brain, closing her eyes, her eye brows furrowed, grimacing softly.
"I-I know, Dad."
"Shhhh." He soothes her, still gently stroking her head and tucking her in until she's back to sleep. After he'll get Castiel to see what he can do. She takes deep breaths, trying to hold herself together, relieved that her father hadn't noticed, it would only worry him more. Her breaths shortened, but she laid back in bed, trying to compose all her energy to keep herself from completely collapsing into a deeper sleep, she slowly closed her eyes, small quiet sounds of struggle composing in her lips.
Sam doesn't want to get up, he promised he wouldn't leave, but he needs to get Casti- And then he's there. In front of him. The Angel watches her in her half sleep, concerned for her.
"Please Castiel." Sam quietly begs. "Just this one last thing." He says with his voice breaking. Castiel watches Sam. "I said I would no longer help you, Sam." He says coolly as he steps forward. Sam's eyes well up and spill the tears that he didn't want his daughter to see. "But I did not say I would stop helping Mia." He places his two fingers to her head and then disappears back to Dean who's currently falling asleep on the sofa. Mia's eyes move back, her body in shock for a moment, like every time the angel calmed her mind. Her breath was slower, coming back to normal, her clenched fist opening slowly, her muscles relaxing on the bed, a singer tear running down her cheek. She could feel her body shut down.
Sam moves from her bed to the floor, resting his chin on her mattress, his face next to her. "It's okay baby." He whispers, his tears still coming down his face fast. "I'm gonna keep you safe. Me and Dean." He sniffles. "And your mom's gonna be looking over us too. And Bobby." He whispers clutching at her sheets. Mia slowly fell asleep at the calming sound of his voice, knowing that for a moment she was safe, that she was with her family, even though she hasn't eaten in awhile, which must've attracted the black dots and fatigue, which she knows they will find out eventually, she slowly turned her head towards her father, falling asleep in a dreamless sleep. Sam smiles through his tears.
Dean pushes the door open behind him, leaning against the door frame. "She okay?" He asks and Sam nods.
"Think so." The older Winchester flashes a small smile.
"Come on Sam. Go to bed. You've been up for three days straight. She'll need you wide awake in the morning." He explains rubbing his own eyes. He'd been falling asleep on the sofa but felt the need to check on his little brother. "Go on." Sam rubs his face with his hands. He really was tired. Dean sends him off with a clap on the shoulder and the promise that Castiel was going to stand watch all night, not like the Angel needed sleep. Sam dragged himself into his room. He hated that room. Double bed. The reminded or Mia's mom. The reminder of everyone he's ever loved dying... He closed his eyes for a second longer than needed and then just collapsed straight out on his side.
A few hours passed, maybe three or four and Mia's eyes fluttered opened staring at her dark room. She sighed, but relieved that her sleep was dreamless. She slipped her feet over the bed, slowly standing on her feet, trying hard not to collapse. Her father was hopefully asleep in his and her mother's room. She slowly and quietly slipped down stairs, opening the door and slipping out, inhaling the fresh air. She slowly walked to the edge of the porch, watching the world around her fall asleep. Castiel was in the kitchen, watching her intently but not wanting to disturb her unless anything suspicious arose or unless she was in danger. His eyes flicked to Dean on the sofa. An arm slung behind his head and snoring. He shared a lot of features with Mia. He decided that he would wait another few minutes before telling her he was there.
The young Winchester walked into the cool dew grass, sitting cross legged. She sighed, grazing her hand in the grass, closing her eyes, a memory of her mother with her as a child, pointing to the stars, telling her the different constellations that came with them. She remembered her laugh and glowing smile that she shared with her. She missed her mother terribly. She leaned back into the grass as it tickled her skin, her hands supporting her head, trying to remember the names of the constellations that her mother taught her.
Castiel appears on the grass next to her. "I don't mean to startle you." He explains quietly. "But if I loose you Dean will not hesitate to kill me." he explains not understanding Dean's sense of humor. Castiel runs a hand through the grass also sitting cross legged. "I will be quiet. Please continue what ever you was previously doing."
Mia gasps, not expecting Castiel appear. "I-It's okay, Cas. I was just." She looked down, her hand pressed against the grass. "I was thinking about Mom..." She looked back at the sky, looking down frustrated. "I-I can't remember..."
"It has been a long time." He sighs. "I remember her well." He smiles. "She was very lovely." He picks a daisy from the ground and hands it to Mia. "You should not be so sad. You have much to look forward too." She looks up at him, taking the daisy, twisting it in her fingers. "Like what?"
"I am not allowed to say." He says pressing his lips together. He'd been warned many times of the seriousness. "But good things." He nods. "But you should be truthful to your Father. He worries about you. And Dean worries about Sam. And I worry about Dean." He tries to explain to her. "You should know we are always here for you."
"I know." She looks down and sighs. "You know what's going on, don't you? You know what I'm seeing, I know you do that." Castiel nods slowly. "I know some things. But not everything. Perhaps you should tell me." He offers sliding his coat around her shoulders and tilting his head. "I do not understand everything, Mia. But you are my family. And I will try." She softly smiles, her fingers digging in the grass. "I...I haven't slept for..I don't know how long, nor have I...eaten. It's like, the nightmares, they keep me from doing everything." She looked up at him in her fear dawned eyes. Cas pulls her hand to stop it digging into the ground. He holds it, to comfort her like he did when she was just a child.
"You're speaking of the nightmares." He nods. "They do that." He agrees with himself picking more daisys and laying them by her. "And the person, in the dream. Who is it." He asks, watching her eyes. She looks down, trying to think of the taunting voice. "I-I...I don't know." Castiel has his assumptions, but he shouldn't say. It could scare her.
"Are you sure? It is extremely important, Mia." Castiel pries, making sure he is doing his job as Godparent properly. She looks down again, furrowing her eyebrows in thought, unknowing circling and rubbing the burns that she hid on her arms from the fire. She shook her head.
"I..I don't know, Cas."
"I believe you." He says almost instantly, nodding. Castiel assumes that it may be Lucifer. He had once been attached to Sam's soul and therefore could have lay dormant and recently latched onto hers. He hoped that this was not the case. "And it's Canis Major. That constellation you was unable to recall the name of." He adds pointing to it. She looked up, her eyes shining bright against the stars, a small smile appearing on her face, recognizing the name. She looks back down, her face darkening.
"I-I'm scared. The dreams. They start to feel real, the burns..." Her eyes gaze down at her sweatshirt sleeve. She blinked a few times again, the black spots invading her vision again, becoming harder and harder to see. Castiel's face darkens also as he gently pulls her sleeve up, revealing the burns. He touches them and the go but it does not stop him from being concerned. Very Very concerned.
"Is there anything I can do to help you sleep?" He asks tilting his head and handing her another daisy. She holds the daisy in her hand, slightly shaking her head. "Not really, no matter what you do, they keep coming back."
"Here." He disappears for a second before returning. He is now sitting behind her, Mia between his legs like how he used to hug her when she was much smaller, her back to his chest. In his hand was a chocolate bar. He had hoped the chocolate would help but he knew the nightmares thrived on her being alone so he thought maybe if she fell asleep against him, so she could still feel him there, it might be easier. She took it, holding the chocolate in her hands, Smiling. She laid back on his chest as she watched the neighborhood lamps' flickering lights.
Castiel had kept his eyes on the lights. Flickering was never a good sign but for Mia's sake, he stayed still. "Anything you need, I'll be right here." He says so she know's. He hopes she'll be able to sleep as there are only a few hours left until morning. "Please try." He whispers. She softly nods, her gaze still on the lights. She's never noticed the flickering before during the time at night.
"The flickering, that's not normal right? Is it just me?" She softly asks in a whisper.
"Stay very still." He demands trying to check the perimeter in his mind. Dean. He needs to wake Dean. "Do you have your phone on you?" He whispers slowly, very quietly and close to her ear. "I need you to stay calm and still, Eloise, do you hear me?" She softly nods...trying to stay still, but her body shakes tremendously. She slowly takes out her phone and hands it to Cas, trying to keep herself from shaking. The Angel dials Dean's number slowly and holds it to his ear.
"Dean?- Yes. -Outside with Mia- Something is wrong. Get the rocksalt. I'll try and get her inside. We'll move in two minutes." The phone goes dead. "Okay Mia. Count to one hundred and twenty with me and then we're going to slowly stand up and walk inside. Count with me. One. Two. Three. Mia?" Her breath shortens in fear.
"F-four, f-five, six, s-seven." She slowly stands, holding onto Castiel's hand. "Eight, n-ine, ten." Cas holds her hand and his other is securely on her waist just in case.
"Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen.." He continues looking around. There flashing more now, it's getting closer. One bulb up the street bursts but Castiel is still. "Thirty, Thirty one..." He hopes Dean is hurrying. He'd said he would get everything ready. Salt, Holy water, devil's traps, Angel traps the works. But if they ran into the house too fast they could be doomed. Castiel had to time this perfectly. "It's okay." He tries to calm the girl. She nods, her hands shaking vigorously in his, tears sitting in her eyes. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew it was something really bad if Cas was this worried.
"Ninety-six, n-ninety s-seven." Her voice cracks as she spits out the numbers. Castiel wasn't sure how much Sam told her about the hunting trips they went on. Or how her mother had died. He wasn't sure if she'd ever seen...anything, in their world.
"One hundred." He breathed backing up slowly to the door. A closer bulb pops and the temperature drops. "Twenty more seconds." He breathes in her ear. We're fine. Ono hundred and one..." Shivers run down her spine as a muffled whimper lets out. "O-One hundred and nine, one hundred and ten." Another light bulb goes out as she silently screams. "Cas..."
"Ten more seconds." He tightens his grip around her waist. "I've got you. You're fine. One hundred and eleven, one hundred and twelve..." he shuts his eyes scanning again but coming up with nothing. He hopes Dean's ready because they can't risk an extra second. Now Castiel's back is flush with the front door, he loosens the grip on Eloise's waist to grab the handle and slowly start turning it. "one hundred and fifteen..."
"One hundred and sixteen, one hundred and seventeen, one hundred and eighteen, one hundred and nineteen." She whispered, her ears and face burning as the tears ran down her face, silently sobbing.
Castiel quickly opens the door and throws Mia inside. He doesn't mean to hurt her but he needs to get her safe and he needs to start guarding the door. He pulls Dean's pocket knife from his trouser pocket and slices his arm, making symbols on the door in his blood. Sam comes falling down the stairs and Dean is throwing a shotgun at him.
"Lights, temperature, EMF." Dean spits not wanting to do this at their family home. Mia's body is shocked, lying on the ground. Everything is happening so fast.
"Wh-what's going on?" She stammers. Sam is torn between going to scoop her up and aiming his gun at the door. He stands over her, Gun still pointed.
"Cas! what's going on?!" He calls, his breathing heavy. Castiel turns holding his now bleeding arm.
"I think it is Lucifer." He explains looking to Mia. "I think he has been visiting her dreams..." he adds as Dean starts pouring a salt ring around her. Lucifer, the name rings in her ear, her head pounding his his laugh echoes in her mind.
"Stop!" She screams, cupping her ears. Sam looks down. She's covering her ears. No. This can't be- No.
"Cas please God don't tell me he's in her head..." He looks at the angel pleading. He knew that pain. It's unbearable. Not his daughter. Sam nearly drops his gun as his knee's buckle and he holds her. Her breath shortens, shaking in fear, silently sobbing.
"Stop, please!" She cries out, holding her head against her father's chest. Suddenly the room is quiet and everything stops. There's a fluttering sound that the three people in the room would normally associate with Castiel but he's standing right there. And then, There's a man in the middle of them all, outside the salt ring. He's tall, thin, burn likes marks on his skin. He tilts his head down at the girl on the floor and at Sam.
"Hello Sammy. S'Been a while. What? Eighteen years?" He laughs looking around. "CASTIEL! Brother!" He smiles, "You're still alive how wonderful." He fakes a smile. "Sorry to cut this short!" Lucifer claps his hands. "But i'm just here for the girl and then i'll be on my way." Her eyes widen, as his voice rattles in her ears, the voice that have been haunting her dreams for months, now standing in front of her.
Dean's backing up, to his bag looking for an Angel blade. He can't remember if it's in this bag or not. Sam covers her and tightens his jaw.
"No, Lucifer. You had your fun. Leave us alone." He growls Castiel stands to the side his head down, powerless. Lucifer smiles and holds his hand out to the girl.
"Come with me, Mia. And i'll make sure my friends won't kill your dear sweet Daddy." He smiles with a glint in his eyes. Mia is unable to breathe, imagining what "things" he might be talking about, what they might do to her father, her uncle. Even Castiel. Tears run down her face thinking of her father dead. She couldn't let it happen, ever, no matter what he punishment. She slowly extended out her hand.
"W-what do y-you want w-with me?" She tried to catch her breath, but the fear in her body and mind wouldn't let her. This is how it felt like to feel helpless. Sam went to reach out but Lucifer stopped him, choking him.
"Oh I think you know." Lucifer smiles tapping his head. The dreams she was having. Those were his plans. "We can't have another generation of Winchesters flying around." He says taking her hand. "And your really lucky your not a boy." he nods as if he was talking to a puppy. "Mhm, Because if you was a little boy, we'd have taken you at six months old and burned your mama on the ceiling " He laughs again as Dean takes a run at him, but once again, stopped and thrown across the room.
"No!" She screamed, standing. "D-don't touch them." Her hands shaking vigorously, unable to stop crying. "I-I'll come w-with you, ple-please leave my family alone." She cried out. Lucifer pulls her closer and has a sturdy hand around her neck. He drags his nose across the curve of her neck and shoulder and sniffs.
"mhmm, Smells beautiful." He chuckles watching Sam choke before letting him go. "Come a step closer, Winchester, and she dies on the spot. Understand?" She looks at her father, her face red and feverish, tears streaming from her emerald eyes, looking at her Uncle and Cas.
"I-I'm s-sorry." She whispered. Sam can only watch with his eyes now streaming with tears. This was truly going to be it. He'd lost everyone. His mom, Bobby, Jo, Ellen, Mia's mom, and now his baby too? With a harsh sound of metal Castiel's hands become shackled and his mouth duct taped.
"Sorry honey, you're coming home too. Can't have you helping these guys out now can we?" Lucifer pouts holding Castiel's make shift 'lead' in his free hand. "I guess i'll see you in Hell Sam. Right where we wanted you." He smiles
"No, you can't take Castiel! You said you wouldn't hurt them!" Mia cries out. "Please...I'll give you whatever you want, just leave them alone..." Lucifer starts laughing again.
"Did you hear that Sam?! She'll give me what ever I want! Doesn't that sound fun?!" He say over enthusiastically. Sam is just lying in the scattered salt ring on his stomach, unable to do anything. This is going to break them, for good. Cas being taken from Dean and Mia being taken from Sam.
"Yes, I'll give you whatever you want...please...let them go..." She sobs as she looks at Castiel with such pain and fear in her eyes. Castiel shakes his head. Dean stands on shaky legs and walks forward.
"I'm not gonna do anything, just, let to say Goodbye..." The Older Winchester says but Lucifer pulls Mia out of the way, Dean steps lightly passing them and walking to Castiel. He presses their forehead's together and presses a kiss to his temple. Then he holds his hands up in surrender and walks towards Lucifer and his niece. Lucifer backs up. "Please, I just want to say Goodbye." He repeats and Satan allows it. He kisses her on the cheek, a tear rolling from his eyes.
Mia embraces him, holding her shaking body against his. "I'm sorry, Uncle Dean." She cries out. "I-I lov-love you." Her tone is airy and rushed.
Dean isn't stupid. When he kissed Cas he'd slipped him a bobby pin to break the lock. When the angel had thrown Mia across the room when they'd come inside he'd been drawing symbols he quickly ran and slammed his hand on it making Lucifer vanish and Castiel drops to his knee's with blood gushing from his nose and ears. Sam dives for Mia scooping her up and running her to the Impala.
"It's okay baby we're going. We're going, You're safe, we're okay." He says crying terribly. She cries, terrified and confused. What happened? She looked back, looking for her uncle and Cas as her father ran.
"Wa-wait, U-uncle D-Dean and Cas." She breathed through sobs. She was safe, for now. She thought she was never going to see her family ever again.
"DEAN" Sam shouts. He comes out holding Cas upright. He's still bleeding. Dean shoves him in the back seat with the girl and jumps in the front revving his car up and speeding off. He had no idea where there driving, just damn well away from here.
"Baby? Baby you okay? Talk to me?" She isn't able to speak for a moment, her breath erratic and harsh. Lucifer's voice continued to play in her mind, but it was dim, bearable.
"I...I..I-I th-ink s-." She isn't able to finish sentence, her voice hoarse and broken, she softly nods.
"AND CAS? Can you see him? Is he awake?" Dean's voice goes dry as he asks. Castiel has used all his powers before and drained himself but Lucifer had drained him this time, he needed to be sure. She looked over to him, worry in her eyes. Cas slowly looked at her with his sad eyes, softly nodding, grimacing in pain. Lucifer's voice boomed in her mind, but she ignored it, nodding her head.
"C-Cas..." She looked back him, wrapping her fingers around his hand, her voice screeching. Castiel is weak. Powerless and in pain. He tries to smile when Eloise takes his hand. She's still wearing his coat from when they were on the grass outside. Cas tries to talk but it comes out in gargles of blood to which covers the leather of the Impala. Dean doesn't even make a sound. That's how Mia should know this is serious. She shook her head, tears running down her face. "Y-you're gonna b-be o-okay, Cas. I-Promise." She sniffed, breathing hysterically. His voice got louder,
/"Try and save your friend now."/ She covered her ears as the message rattled in her mind, small noises coming out of her mouth, she tried to ignore it, all her attention should be on Cas, but he voice screamed in her mind.
Sam and Dean are screaming at each other. Not in anger. Because there scared.
"YES I KNOW SAM." Dean slams the steering wheel. "But our only hope is bleeding out on the back seat and I don't know where else to go DAMNIT!" He slams the wheel again as Castiel shift and grunts in agony. Sam spins around and takes a knife from his pocket, grabbing his daughters hand and cutting it slightly covering the slit with his thumb. "Listen to me Mia." He pants, scared. "This is real. This is real pain." He says with gleaming eyes. "Remember." She nods, trying to understand, but she grits her teeth in angst, shaking her head as it gets louder,
"Stop. Please, stop! I-I-I can't..." Her hands cover her ears again. She tries hard to push it away. She needs to help Cas, he is what is important, not her. She looks at her father in fear. "H-help him, not me."
"Press on it. When he's talking. Remember this is real." He nods as he check's Castiel's vitals and wraps up the slice from the earlier cut and he clears the blood from his face. Not too badly hurt, just powerless. Sam had a plan. It wasn't a good plan, but it was better than loosing his Daughter to the Devil. Cas needed rest to get his power back. "Go to sleep." Sam demands. "Remember when i said no more favors? Well i need one more." he whipsers and Dean skids onto the back roads.
Mia hunches over, her face in knees, screaming into her legs, pressing hard against her ears and temples. "Not real." She tried to convince herself. "Not real." But her voice faltered, changing.
/"Oh, I'm real, sweetheart."/ He laughs. Castiel falls asleep, needing to get his powers back. He already know's what Sam is thinking and it's enough to drain him twice. "It's okay Baby," Sam calms her stroking her hair. "A couple of hours and this will all be over." She nods, tears staining her cheeks. Hours...hours would seem like years with him in her head. She sat back, slowly lowering her hands, acting as if she was fine for her father, but in reality she wanted to know what Lucifer was saying to her. She closes her eyes, concentrating on the booming voice, that burned and ringed in her ear dreams. Her body shaking in excruciating pain.
Hours later Castiel awakens and Sam looks at him with those big doe eyes. He doesn't need is as much a parent to Mia as Sam and Dean are. Cas stands, getting out of the car and he pulls Sam's daughter out and holds her tight. Sam kisses her.
"Hey baby." He says crying again, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Hey, i don't think i'm gonna be able to see you for a while." his voice breaks. "But- Uh, Uncle Cas is gonna take good care of you okay?" Her heart shatters, her eyes flooding.
"W-what...n-no...D-daddy...y-you can't." Her voice cracks, breaking down on the spot. Her arms shake uncontrollably.
"No listen baby." He says wrapping his arms around her. "It's not safe. He is coming and i am not prepared to loose you. You understand? Cas is going to take you to Heaven and hide you because he can't get up there as far as we know. Okay? You're gonna be fine, Cas's got you. We trust him, Don't we?" Sam nods looking up at Cas. Their only chance to get her out of here
"Heaven...b-but Daddy...I'm fine!" She begs, trying to get him to stay with her. Sam looks around to Dean. He's breaking. He's loosing his daughter, so his brother steps in.
"Hey Princess." He smiles with wet eyes. "Uncle Cas is gonna take good care of you." He nods. "And i know he will because we're getting married when i get my ass back upstairs to you two." He smiles at Cas. Another time he looses him. He's so sick of loosing his family. "But it's all gonna be fine. We just need a little more time okay? And we'll be up. Promise." He kisses her head and then Cas's cheek.
/"You'll only lose them, that's what Winchester's do best. They lose the ones they love, forever."/ His voice runs down her spine as she jumps suddenly, breaking down again. She nods, understanding.
"You'll be safe...right?" She looks up at her Uncle and father, tears continuing to form in her eyes, trying to ignore the haunting sound that makes her shiver. "Stop!" She yells.
"Safe? Of course." Sam lies kissing her head again.
"We are wasting time. I must take her now." Castiel breathes looking around. "She will be fine. I will keep her safe." He nods pulling Mia into his arms again. "And Dean. You did not ask you marry me properly. Maybe when you get to Heaven you will remember this and try again." He says as Sam cracks a smile. "GO!" He shouts unable to take anymore
"I love you." She cries, digging her face into Cas' side, trying to muffle the voice. "I-I'll s-see you soon." She promises.
Castiel pulls her in closer. It's important that he holds her tight through the transition, as he's never had to do this with Mia. He'd tried not to. He gives a solemn nod to Dean, who he will miss greatly and then to Sam before neither of them could see each other.
It was bright in Heaven, The one place Lucifer couldn't go. Castiel had hoped it would shut off how ever he was getting into Mia's head.
They landed in the same impala, just without Sam and Dean and in a new surrounding. Cas held the girl carefully as he began letter go, tired and drained again.
"Are you alright?" He asks swiping at his newest nose bleed. Her eyes fluttered, dizzy an nausea overwhelmed her. She tried to softly nod, at any thought of her family brought her into tears. Tears formed in her eyes, rolling down her face as she gently shook her head, hiding her face in her knees as it was help close to her chest. Castiel sucked in a breath. He could show his wings here and he no longer had the energy to conceal them. With a muffled groan they stretch and Castiel pulls Eloise into his lap wrapping his arms and wings around her. He was worried the sight of the Impala may have confused her an so he'd try to block the sight of it. "Until Sam comes back, I am your Parent. You must listen to me carefully."
Eloise lays back on his chest. Her nose nuzzling into his shirt, sighing. "I-I know..." She wanted to stop crying, she wanted the voices to stop, she didn't want to feel helpless. "I know, Cas." Castiel puts a hand over her head. If Lucifer is still able to reach her from here he can stop it for a little while, but not forever. Enough time for her to adjust.
"We need to stay in here." Castiel explains, now sitting cross legged on the familiar leather of the impala. "This should stop it for a little while." He explains taking his hand from her head. "We need a plan." She looked down at the leather seating. Playful memories playing in her mind. She's been through a lot in this car, or at least the real one. She blanked out for a moment, Metallica playing in her mind as the windows are down, with her uncle and father in the front seat. Tears rolled down her face. They whispered. Her eyes fluttered snapping back into reality, looking up at Cas nodding her head.
Cas hadn't fully realized as he was more concerned about Mia, But He hadn't been to Heaven in many years. His heaven had Changed. His Heaven was Dean's car. He looked around lowering his wings slowly, They're favorite album was waiting on the front seat. "Elvis - Blue Hawaii". There was the photographs that were sprawled on the dash. That one of Dean,Sam,Ellen, Jo, Bobby and himself. The one of the first Christmas him and Dean spent together. The one with Dean holding baby Mia, Sam behind him. Castiel had taken that photograph... He tried to shake it. He honestly had no idea when Dean and Sam was going to be able to get here. He looked outside the window but it was dark. They was in some kind of garage. That was good, no light meant not being caught.
Castiel takes Mia's face in his hands. "You must listen to me carefully. You must not touch anything that is lit up. Any sort of light, do NOT go near it. Do not get out of this car. Do NOT leave ." He said with the most serious face he could muster.
"We are not safe here..."