Don't Worry About Me.
Cas had always told the boys that he was their guardian angel, but Sam hadn't exactly believed him. Well he did but he was sure that hadn't always been true. He thought about it often. But he never said anything. Truth was, he was right. Cas hadn't always been their guardian. Cas had just taken over the duty. Their true guardian angel was named Adriel. Adriel had watched over the boys when they were kids. He liked them and had elected to stay with them through their adulthood. Even though Cas technically was their guardian, he couldn't always be there with them, so he trusted his little brother Adriel to watch them while he was away. Adriel didn't have a vessel, but he could remain invisible to humans. So the boys never really knew he was there. He preferred to keep it that way. If they didn't know, all the things they hunted couldn't know. Just a little extra protection. The angels saw him as a tall, dark-haired sixteen year old who followed the boys around. He wasn't very popular with the angels. Cas liked him but found his dark nature unsettling. The only other person Adriel could really get comfortable with was Balthazar. This was odd because Balthazar was usually self-centered, but he enjoyed having a little brother. They were incredibly close. At this moment, Adriel was sitting on Sam's bed while listening to the boys talk about their latest hunt. Dean was on the other bed and Sam was pacing. "Maybe we got a skinwalker?" Dean speculated, tapping away at the laptop keyboard. Adriel rolled his eyes.
"The heart was missing from the vics idiot." He thought. He reached out his huge, iron gray, right wing and cuffed the back of Dean's head.
"What the?" Dean reached to the back of his head.
"What?" Sam asked.
"Somethin' just whacked me in the head." He rubbed the area. Sam's eyes narrowed.
"Huh." He said and resumed pacing. Dean shook his head and continued to type. Then he suddenly smacked a palm to his forehead.
"The hearts were missing from all the vics!" He exclaimed. He turned the laptop screen to Sam, showing the news page. Adriel smiled.
"Give the boy a prize." He said before he could stop himself. Sam and Dean looked up at the same time. Dean set the computer aside and slowly stood up, reaching for his gun. Adriel panicked and knocked the remote off the nightstand so the tv came on. They both froze then relaxed, thinking it had been the tv the whole time. Adriel could see the doubt in their eyes, but they had more pressing matters. He relaxed himself and fell back on the bed he'd been sitting on. He'd have to be more careful if he didn't want to be discovered. Just then, he heard the sound of flapping wings that usually signaled another angel's arrival. Cas appeared in the living room. Adriel sat up in the presence of his brother. Dean turned and greeted him. Cas returned it and nodded slightly at Adriel. Adriel nodded back, but apparently Cas' movement had caught the attention of Sam.
"What was that?" He asked suddenly. Cas turned to him with his usual straight face.
"What was what?" He inquired.
"That. That little nod to the empty bed like you can see something we can't." Dean jumped in. Cas had always been a bad liar and shifting eyes was his tell as the boys had learned. He did this now and Adriel dropped his head in exasperation.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I can always see things you can't." Cas insisted. Adriel was the only angel he knew who was able to stay invisible but still be able to talk where humans could hear and touch objects. It was another odd thing about him. Adriel stood and walked over to stand next to Cas. He had walked in front of the sunny window and this caused a shift in the light. Dean tracked the movement and was able to follow where he thought whatever had caused it ended up. He walked up to Cas and looked at the air above his right shoulder, where Adriel was. He raised his hand and deliberately pushed it forward until it hit Adriel's chest. Adriel flinched but didn't move. Dean threw an accusatory glance at Cas and said
,"Then what's this?" Adriel disappeared for a split second and returned in his vessel in the exact same spot. The vessel looked exactly how angels saw him, only now the boys could see him too. He took a deep breath.
"Why don't you sit down Dean?" So they did and Adriel told them everything. They took it surprisingly well. "Anyway. That's it. And we've got a demon with a werewolf pet to hunt." He stood. "I've always known it was a demon but I wanted to see if you would figure it out too. I made a deal with Castiel to try not to be discovered but well..." He glanced at Cas. "I did try. Come on let's go." He opened the door and led the way out. Five minutes later, they were on the road. The boys were not surprised that they'd had an angel following them that they didn't know about. They'd always had an inkling that something was protecting them. And they reasoned that, since Adriel had always accompanied them on hunts plus the fact that he had his angel powers, he would be handy on a hunt. So they agreed to let him tag along. Cas and Adriel sat in the back seat and Adriel directed the boys to a quaint little house on a suburban street. "In there. A woman about mid thirties. Very successful lawyer and that's our demon. The werewolf's in the basement. She can let it out at any time so watch your backs." Adriel cocked his head to the side as if he was listening. "She's home and unaware we're here. If we're going to go we gotta go now." The boys looked at him, then at each other.
"Sounds good." Sam said and they got out.
"Oh and she's in the back of the house so we can go in through the front." Sam nodded again.
"Nice job man. This should be easy." He clapped a hand on his shoulder and put Ruby's knife in his inner jacket pocket. Then they all walked up to the front door. Adriel silently unlocked it with his powers and they all filed in. Suddenly, a woman walked around the corner with a lit match and calmly dropped it on the floor. A ring of holy fire sprang up around all of them. Then she flicked her hand nonchalantly and threw the boys against the wall, where the knife fell from Sam's pocket but she didn't see it.
"You really think I would start unleashing a werewolf and be unprepared?" She sidled up to Sam and held her own knife to his throat. Cas took a step forward but Dean shook his head slightly, knowing that if an angel crossed the flames he would die. Cas looked at him desperately but stayed put. Adriel knew no help was coming. The boys barely knew him and he thought no one would miss him. So he took one last deep breath and sprinted across the line of flame. Immediately was hit with a wave of dizziness so he grabbed the knife just as the demon began to cut Sam's throat. Her back was to him so he thrust the knife up between her shoulder blades. She screamed, fell and collapsed onto Adriel, who had already fallen.
"No!" Cas shouted as the boys slid down the wall. They hurriedly got up just as Balthazar appeared. He had sensed his little brother's pain and was drawn to it to see if he was alright. The boys rolled the dead demon off of him and he coughed and gasped. Balthazar ran to him and kneeled by his side.
"What happened? What's wrong with him? Adriel stay with me." Adriel's eyes refocused on Balthazar's face. He coughed again and blood trickled down the side of his mouth.
"Hey Balthazar." He choked out. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. No help was coming and she was gonna hurt the boys. I had to do my job." Balthazar looked up and saw Cas still trapped in the ring and he knew what happened. All the color drained from his face and he looked down at his even paler beloved little brother. He reached down and pushed his brother's shaggy hair out of his face. Adriel saw blackness eating at the corners of his vision and Balthazar's face appeared right above him.
"It'll be ok. You'll be ok." He said thickly and his eyes were misty with tears. Adriel felt his consciousness slipping away and he saw a bright light. He knew Heaven was waiting for him but he felt sad leaving the boys and his brother. He used his last bit of strength to grasp his big brother's hand. Then he moved forward into the brightness. His eyes rolled back into his head and his whole body relaxed. Balthazar's body shook with sobs and he fell back against the table behind him. Adriel saw all of this from above. He felt his time growing short so he left in a slight breeze to comfort Balthazar, as a sort of,"Don't worry about me. See you soon." Sort of thing. Then he rose up towards the sky and up to rest. He knew where he was headed. But it was still hard to leave the ones he loved behind. The lives of the Winchesters, whom he'd so faithfully guarded, flashed before his eyes. Every moment of their lives that he'd seen from guarding them.
"Don't worry about me." He said out loud. And he liked to think that Balthazar could hear him so he repeated,"Don't worry about me."
The
End.