It was the sound a bird made. A small flutter, but Bobby knew that sound wasn't a bird. Birds didn't land inside. He didn't look up from his book; he stopped reading, for sure, but he didn't look up. He needed those extra moments – for composure, for a plan. Hell, there was no plan.
"Hello."
Bobby sighed inwardly, his moment of thinking over. What was he supposed to say? 'Hello' or 'Haven't seen you since you killed a woman I cared about?' or the ol' standby 'Fuck off'? He wanted to say them all, and then kill the thing in front of him. That's how he thought of him- a 'thing'. For most, naming an otherworldly creature a 'thing' would conjure imagines of bad B-movie monsters. For Bobby, 'thing' was the only name he had for the creature in front of him.
"You can still call me Castiel. It's more appropriate than what you're thinking."
Bobby felt his anger rising. A retort stuck in the back of his throat. He had seen how powerful this thing/Castiel was. He was a big believer in the whole 'live to fight another day' scenario.
"There will be no fighting."
This time Bobby had only a sigh, it seemed his even his thoughts weren't off-limits anymore. Goddammit. He peeled his fingers away delicately from the parchment he had been reading. Too often he had made the mistake of handling his texts roughly, only to destroy pages inadvertently. Once his shaking hands were safely away from the parchment, he closed the book. He didn't hurry, and Castiel didn't ask him to. There was no shuffling or outward sighs, this would play out with little emotion. Finally, Bobby looked up. He hadn't seen Castiel since the warehouse battle in the spring, but he remembered those eyes. If you didn't know that Castiel was an angel, or god, or what-the-hell-ever, you would have said those were the eyes of a man who had lost touch with reality. But Bobby knew. All too well, he knew those were the eyes of a man with too much power. A billion souls from purgatory will do that to you.
"What can I do for you?" Bobby asked, careful to keep his voice neutral.
Castiel looked off to the side, and flexed his hands. If this was the old Cas, Bobby would have said it was a sign that Cas was trying to explain something to the humans around him. He didn't know what it meant for this new Castiel. "I need your help."
Bobby couldn't help it, a laugh escaped. "You need my help? You're God Cas. You don't need us anymore."
"That's right, I am God. But I'm not a God like my father was God, my power has limits. And even if it didn't, there is only one of me. Therefore, I need your help."
Bobby stood up from his chair behind the desk. If he was going to say no and incur the wrath of this thing, he wanted to take it like a man. "And you think I'm going to say yes?" He walked around the desk to get closer to the creature he was about to defy. "Did you miss the part where we stopped being on the same side?"
Cas sighed. "My memory is not gone. I remember."
"Then why would you think I'm going to help you?" Bobby was fighting a battle to keep his voice from rising- fighting, and losing.
Cas' brow furrowed. "I am certain that once you hear the request, you will agree."
Bobby spun around to the desk and grabbed the tumbler there. It had held the whiskey he had been nursing all day. He was trying to cut back. This visit made sure those good intentions had gone to hell. He knocked back the last bit in the glass and reached for the bottle. He felt the silver knife he kept in his work boots. He wished to heaven it would kill this son-of-a-bitch in his home, but it wouldn't. In fact, he and the boys hadn't found anything that WOULD kill a God. Apparently, the actual need to kill gods is rarer than one would think. He gave a half laugh to himself.
"Nothing will kill me. It is the point of being God." Castiel delivered the statement with his usual deep monotone. It was rare he had any kind of inflection in his voice; he spoke about life and death in the same tone as he spoke about the weather. It was maddening.
Bobby looked at the wall in front of him, but spoke to the man at his back. "Stay out of my damn head."
"Very well. I just find it makes communication easier. Conversation with humans is very slow. Thoughts tend to move at a faster speed. But if it bothers you, I will certainly stop reading your thoughts."
Bobby sipped at the refilled tumbler. He turned and walked around Castiel towards the kitchen. He needed some space between them. He didn't trust himself not to do something stupid. "Well, let's hear it," Bobby said. "This 'request' you're certain I'll agree to." He turned around to face Cas, now at distance that didn't have Bobby itching to reach out a squeeze his neck. "And, let's be clear, I have no intention of lifting a finger to help you, but it's obvious you have something to say. So say it. I'll say 'no', you can leave, and I can go back to what I was doing." He gestured in the general area of his desk where he did all his research.
"You won't be saying no." Cas insisted.
"Well, then it's not really a request, is it?" Bobby taunted.
Castiel flexed a shoulder, but otherwise didn't move. "It is a request. But the request is not for me, not in the sense you think. The request is actually for Dean."
Panic grabbed Bobby's stomach, his mouth suddenly dry. "What have you done, Castiel? Where is Dean?"
Castiel raised a hand as if to ward off Bobby's panic. "Dean is fine. Last I saw, they were on a hunt in New Mexico for La Llorona. You'll be pleased to know I haven't had any more reports of children's deaths."
"I don't need updates from you," Bobby responded testily.
"Look," Castiel took a step toward him, "I understand that you do not understand my actions, and that you do not accept them. I am not here to convince that I did the right thing, and arguments only waste time. This task requires haste."
Bobby looked at him, raised his eyebrows, "Well? What is it?"
Castiel may seem small to someone who didn't know him, but he had a way of making sure your attention was on him. He delivered his next line while looking out the window to his left but the words went right to Bobby's core.
"The Winchester bloodline is continuing."