Chapter 1

Blood.

That's all he smells. Blood. He's stopped feeling at this point, and all he sees is dark, and he's tuned out the sound of his skin being ripped apart, so he just smells the blood.

It's the overpowering smell that makes Castiel's eyes fly open. He's laying on the dingy mattress of some motel in Illinois. Right. He blinks a few times, eyes beginning to focus. The clock on the nightstand tells him it's 6 AM, bumping his total hours of sleep this week up to a five. The three months since he got pulled out of Hell haven't been optimal. Cas sits up, planting his feet on the floor and stretching out his torso.

"Dude, this place is a piece of shit," says a familiar female voice behind him.

Castiel whips around. "Oh, it's you."

"Don't sound so excited."

Cas picks his pants up off the floor and tugs them on, dragging himself into the bathroom to brush his teeth. The angel follows him. She's humming "Devil in Disguise," as she does it.

"Do you think you're funny?" Cas says, spitting into the sink.

"Well, they don't make you leader of a garrison based on looks," she answers, checking her appearance in the mirror. Castiel doesn't laugh. She looks at him.

"I don't understand why you're so pissed at me. I didn't do anything to you, other than raise your heavy ass from the inner circles of Hell."

"I'm not pissed at you specifically."

She laughs. "Humans. You're always so angry when someone dies. There's absolutely nothing you could've done to save your brother, Castiel. Jimmy dying was what my father had planned. You can't change God's will."

"Funny thing is, I don't care," he answers, walking into the bedroom again and beginning to rummage through his bag for a shirt.

"Well, his death wasn't your fault."

She sits on the bed, scooting back to lean on the wall. The TV comes on without her touching the remote.

"But there was something I could've done."

"Did I not JUST get through telling you the opposite? Quit being so bitter."

He turned to her. "I know you don't have feelings in the slightest, but we petty humans get sad when we lose someone we love. So if you could just stop being a bitch about it, that would benefit both of us. Or, better yet, just stop coming."

He turns back to his clothes and then she's next to him. "I have family too, Castiel. I know what it's like to lose someone, even if I don't have the conventional 'feelings.' Bitch or not, I'm an angel. Show me some respect, or I'll make you."

And then she was gone.

Castiel is listening to a local news report as he speeds along an empty road heading for South Dakota when she appears again.

"You gonna be nice now?"

She scares Cas so much he swerves into the other lane.

"Fuck," he breathes, calming himself down.

"Hey, watch your language, you're among the holy," the angel tells him, putting her feet on the dashboard of Cas' Mustang.

"Get your feet off the dash."

"Why?"

"Because you're leaving."

"I came here to answer the questions I know you have. But if you aren't interested..."

"You're finally going give me answers?"

"What I can."

Cas sighs, trying to think of what to ask first. "What's your real name?"

"That's between me and the people upstairs. You can keep calling me Deanna. Next."

"Alright, Deanna. Why'd you do it?"

"That's rather vague."

"Why'd you pull me out?"

"Good things happen, Castiel. That should be enough for you."

"Good things have a hefty price tag."

"Not this time."

Cas paused. "Was Jimmy my price tag?"

"How should I know?"

"You're an angel."

"Yeah, I'm an angel, not God. Can't you just accept the fact that you're here and alive? Let's move on."

"Are you possessing someone? Because as far as I know, angels don't wear leather jackets and boots."

"This? This is a vessel."

"So God makes his angels possess poor, innocent people? What a dick."

"She prayed for this. He's not a dick."

"What's her name?"

"Deanna. Duh."

"Deanna?"

"Winchester. She was 30, and, much like you, recently lost the man she loved. She was giving herself to the cause. She prayed for me to use her."

"So she's still in there?"

"Yeah, she's still here. But she's basically unconscious. She's in the car, but I'm driving."

"Why do you follow me around?"

"It's my job. You're in my charge. I was sent to watch over you. Castiel Novak, The Righteous Man."

"And what do you do when you aren't following me?"

"Angel stuff."

"Good answer."

She chuckled. "I command a garrison in Heaven. Me and my brother."

"Aren't you all brothers and sisters?"

"Yeah, but I'm with the kid more often than not. His name's Samuel."

Cas didn't want to talk about siblings. "Do you guys have genders?"

"Genders, yes. Sexes, no. We don't have much of anything in our true forms. I'm just a multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent if you stripped me down to the basics. But the form humans see us in is that of our vessel, which we choose. So I guess we have genders."

"What do you-"

Deanna interrupted him by suddenly sitting up, ramrod straight. "Damn," she whispered, and then she disappeared again.

"Bye then," Cas said to the empty car, turning up the radio.