Ye of Little Faith

by sibyl411

Dean’s been through a lot. His father’s death has been weighing heavily upon him. When he wakes up to find a stranger in his room will he hear her out? Post Crossroad Blues.

Ye of Little Faith.

By sibyl411

A/N: Supernatural is steeped in the dark side but the only episode that had to deal with God was "Faith." That's interesting considering most of their good guy 'rescuing rituals' come from the Judeo Christian background. I'm not pushing this on any one. I'm just exploring an angle I wanted to try. Read if you want.

Summary: Dean's been through a lot. His father's death has been weighing heavily upon him. When he wakes up to find a stranger in his room will he hear her out? Post Crossroad Blues.

…….

Dean wasn't sure what jolted him awake out of a sound sleep. But he found his hand reaching for the pistol with the rock salt bullets under his pillow as he jolted up in bed. The bedside table light was still on and Dean's eyes searched the room carefully. Nothing.

No evil spirit looking to possess him, no soul eater trying to suck his soul out through his mouth. Dean blew out a shaky breathe and closed his eyes, running a hand over his face. He must be getting paranoid. He had dosed off just for a minute after he got back to the hotel…had left Sam to finish the search on the Yuma, Arizona's eight foot skeleton…that was supposedly on the loose in the desert. He sighed and opened his eyes and that's when he saw it….or her.

…….

"Who the fuck are you?" I said in a voice that came out deadly. I was glad my hand still held the pistol, loaded of course.

What appeared to be a young woman, sat perched on a chair across the room. She was regarding me with a smile of curiosity.

"Not someone who needs a gun pointed at them…rock salt or otherwise loaded." Her voice was smooth and held a quality that almost sounded like a bell chiming, like it was charmed. My suspicion grew if that were possible.

I didn't make any sudden movements, just kept the gun steady in my hand that rested on my knee. "How did you know it was rock salt? How did you get in here? And how do you know about me?"

"That's a lot of questions Dean. I guess it's obvious I'm not the tooth fairy."

I felt a smirk start to work onto my face but clamped down on the urge. Every demon I met seemed to appear as a woman and I had one sitting right here pretty as you please. "No you ain't the tooth fairy…the lack of wings gave it away."

"Dang. And I thought I had you fooled." She exclaimed dramatically and then slid down into the chair, appearing to relax.

I kept staring at her, her eyes hadn't changed yet but she had a strange short of glow emanating from her, you couldn't see it if you looked directly at her but if you glanced at her sideways it seemed to shine almost through her. My brain was working overtime running through everything I knew about the supernatural, trying to peg what I had sitting in front of me. "You're pretty sure of yourself, considering I'm holding the gun."

She smiled. It seemed a genuine one too. I hadn't been smiled like that…since my mother had smiled at me, most smiles were laced with lust or malicious intent. This one was warm and seemed to reach right into me. "You're holding the gun, but I'm holding all the cards." Was her smart reply.

"Really? How?" I questioned.

"Because…." She paused and studied me.

"Because?" I prompted.

Her eyes roamed over me and I had the strangest sensation she was looking right through me into my thoughts. "Because," she continued, "I've got all the answers you need. And you're not a man to walk away from something once your curiosity is piqued."

I looked at her, I really should just pump her full of rock salt to see what would happened, but damn if she wasn't right. I was interested in what she had to say now. "Alright then. Spill. What do you have to tell me…."

"I'm here to tell you to stop worrying."

"Gee….thanks." I snorted. "Now that you told me that I feel all better."

The woman smiled placatingly, "Dean. I'm here to tell you to stop worrying about John."

I froze mid-laugh. "Why do you think I'm worrying about him?"

"I know your worrying about him. The demon was right. You do wake up every morning wondering how you are going to manage to go on….and I'm telling you, you can stop carrying around all this guilt."

"Listen lady," I hear myself say, "I'm hoping this is a dream and all the sudden you're going to lose the clothes and get naked…or you are going to tell me what you are right now before I decide to exorcize your ass back to hell." I cocked the gun at her, getting to my feet.

The woman threw her head back and laughed and the noise swam through the room. "That'd be funny to see you try Dean Winchester."

I glared at her. "You don't think I can?" outrage and challenge in my voice.

"Oh I know you can, it just won't work on me." Came her reply, mirth still in her words.

"Really?" I said. "I think it's worth a try…."

The woman sighed now and her eyes looked so sad and pained, in made my heart twinge in my chest. I sneered at my own reaction, what was this woman…I had experienced spirits that could infect you with their madness or control you…but this was something all together different. "Dean." Her voice cut through my thoughts.

"I know it's been hard. I know you don't like to talk about your father. I'm not asking you to talk. I'm just asking you to listen."

I lowered the gun and found myself sitting back down on the bed. "Fine. So talk."

"You know for all your smarts on this other world stuff you sure don't know a lot."

I scoffed at her. "I agreed to listen not to be insulted-"

"Relax." She interrupted. "I'm just saying you're so sure evil's out there and is going to take over the world if you aren't out there fighting it. And you think evil is behind every nook and cranny, every busted tire…every bad thing that's ever happened to you."

I gave her a look. She was supernatural I was sure of it and here she was preaching to me about evil not being out there….

"Don't give me that look. I know what you're thinking remember?" she continued ignoring my annoyed stare. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe that demon didn't take your father?"

"What?" I exclaimed full of disbelief.

"You were so sure your father made a deal with a devil for you….why I ask you do you think us good guys would let him go through with it?"

"What good guys." I challenged? "I'd really like to know who these good guys are…cause last time I checked the only ones looking out for everyone was me and my brother."

"You really do think you're all alone? Well you must be luckiest guys in the world to cheat death every week without any help from any one. And you say your holy prayers to expel demons and I guess there just empty words huh? Yet those empty words have the power to send a demon to hell. Interesting don't you think?"

I shrugged. "If you're trying to tell me it's God whose on my side I think you need to take a real hard look at my life. Last time I checked my mother died when a demon killed her, my brother lost his love to a demon, my Dad died in exchange for me by a demon, and the last person who I asked for help with through prayer was a woman by the name of Layla who died of brain cancer awhile back. Now you tell me where God was in all of that?"

The woman's eyes welled with tears though no fell. "He was there." Her conviction almost making me laugh.

"Sure and I'm a saint!"

"You could be if you tried." She said with all sincerity.

"Lady you're delusional. But then I'm sitting her talking to you so at the moment I'm questioning my own sanity."

"Dean did you ever think you're father had been through enough and God called him home? That we scooped him up right before he made a huge mistake."

"Right. Sure." Sarcasm, then I turned serious, "My dad was healthy and he just keeled over dead out of the blue. Cause that's normal. And me…at death's door with a freaking grim reaper on my ass, I make a miraculous recovery all in the span of minutes. That's all just coincidence."

The woman looked at me. "I didn't say it was coincidence." She answered, her impatience making her voice prim, like she was addressing a precocious child. "Your father had just been a serious car accident. Was worried about his first born son in a coma…had a demon after him….and was older and under more stress than you can understand. Sure he tried to make that pact…but you can't sell or trade something that's not yours. A demon can kill someone but that doesn't mean they keep your spirit. And for your information, we picked up his spirit and took him where he belongs, with us."

"Are you a demon" I ask bluntly, "Cause let me tell you something. I've had enough with demons fucking with my head. I'm getting real tired of it. I know my father's in hell…"

"Geeze your thick!" she said incredulously, "Why do you think I came all the way down here for, my health? I'm here to straighten a few things out."

"What are you?" I shouted, finding it hard to control my temper. At my words, the woman got to her feet, her own temper seeming to fray and with it the semblance of her human form. The figure seemed to shimmer with light. I would have been more freaked out if I wasn't so fucking mad.

"If you can't figure it out we give you more credit then your due. Now you need to get it through your thick head that you are NOT responsible for your father's death, right now!" her voice echoed in the room with power behind it that raised Goosebumps on my skin. "And thoughts of suicide and bargaining with demons for your fathers life are gonna stop right now too."

"Well gee when you put that way I believe you."

"And for your information Layla is fine where she is. So you're father. They wouldn't choose to come back if they had a choice."

"I love how everyone gets to talk and tell me how and where my father is but I don't get to ask him for myself."

"It's called faith Dean…you should try it some time."

I got to my feet now too, my frame towering over her but it didn't seem to matter as her presence filled the room. "I ain't actually the praying type."

"I know." She retorted coolly. "But it would do you a world of good if you tried."

"What so you're here to tell me to be a priest? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"Snap out of it!" I felt a slap against my check before I knew what hit me. I turned back to her and her eyes shone with light. Not the kind that would indicate a demon, the kind that seems to radiate out of someone full of life.

"I didn't think you were solid. Most ghosts aren't"

The woman snorted unladylike. "Guess those ghosts have thrown you one too many times and you landed on your head, huh?"

I rolled my eyes, she had a point…ghosts weren't solid but they ironically enough could pack quite the punch….or slap for that matter. I was tired all of the sudden and I sank back down onto the bed. "I'm really tired."

She sat down next t to me and her weight moved the bed slightly, the springs squeaked. "I know. But you are stronger than you think. You have to be."

"Why are you here?"

"I told you I'm delivering you a message to stop worrying about your father. No ones happy you're beating yourself up over it and you give every evil thing out there ammo to hurt you. You gotta stop believing everything they say. They know how to twist things to hurt someone the most."

"I know that."

"Do you?" she swept a hair off her face and studied me. "Then why do you let them hurt you by believing them? You gotta have some faith that he's okay. You are gonna have to trust me…and yourself."

"Why should I trust you over them, I'm not even sure your real, you could be a figment of my imagination."

She raised her hand in warning, "I could smack you again?"

"I thought a pinch was the way to prove it." I couldn't help be amused.

"Or I could do that…"

"It's alright the smack before was proof enough. I just think it's hard to believe there's good out there when so many bad things have happened." I heaved a weary sigh.

"You sound like every person on this planet. But you know you can't just have faith when the miracles happen you gotta have it when they don't."

"So I've been told…." I looked at the woman, her eyes a misty grey. "My dad's really not in hell?"

"No he's not."

"What if this is just a dream. I really really good dream?"

"It's not, here's proof." And the woman leaned forward I braced myself for what appeared to be an incoming kiss and closed my eyes….but I never felt lips brush against mine. Instead they landed on my forehead, ever so gently.

I kept them closed but asked, "Who are you?"

I could sense her shift and then felt the breathe of her answer as it tickled my ear, "Shekinah." I opened my eyes to look into hers' when the door banged open and Sam strode in. The room was empty. I blinked several times…nothing. No trace, no nothing. It was like she was never there. Like she just disappeared.

"Dude are you alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost or something? You got that slightly annoyed tense look on your face."

I stared at Sam. "Or an angel."

"Huh?" He said confused.

"Nothing man, just nothing."

Sam approached me and I looked down as he plucked a white feather off my shirt that I hadn't noticed. It was like the down of a bird; I took it from him and studied it. It was soft between my fingers.

"Nothing huh? Sam asked quizzically.

"Dude, Sam…I think I was touched by an angel."

Sam smirked, "You really need to work on your jokes man. Lame, really lame."

I scowled and then laughed at him. Maybe he was right, except I wasn't exactly sure I was joking.

Later, much later I looked up that name 'Shekinah' and read aloud to Sam "Shekinah an angel who heals the body, mind, and soul. A protector, an angel who grants liberation and freedom."

Sam stretched on his bed, piles of books and papers spread out before him. "Does that mean something to you?" he asked, looking up from his own research.

"Yeah I guess it does." But I didn't bother to explain anything any further to him and he began organizing his notes to get ready for bed. I put the reference book on the bed side table next to the feather and sank down onto my own bed. Maybe, just maybe Dad was in heaven.

…..…..

A/N: Did he see an angel or was he delirious? It's up to you. I would love a review.