Wednesday, January 24, 1979. A baby boy is born to a couple at just after nine in the morning. The labor wasn't overly difficult, though that could be credited to the epidurals. The hardest and longest part had been the contractions.
The baby boy weighed in at eight pounds and five ounces. He was perfectly healthy, with ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes, and two ears and the perfect amount of everything else he needed. He was named Dean, John and Mary's firstborn son.
Just about three weeks later, Dean was baptized in the local United Methodist Church. He was dressed in the old, white family baptismal gown that had been worn by Winchester babies since the early twentieth century.
"Pay close attention, Castiel. It is your duty to guard and protect this child." Michael said, watching over the ceremony next to the smaller angel.
"Understood." Castiel replied, looking down at the little human baby. "Is there any protocol that I must follow?"
"Nothing standard. Guardians tend to take different approaches at different times." Michael replied. "If you must make yourself known to him, take a vessel. Unless they're chosen as prophets, humans can't perceive us in our natural state. Hearing our voices or seeing us would scramble their brains and they would never recover."
Castiel nodded in understanding, continuing to watch the tiny baby he'd been assigned to. Guarding a baby couldn't be that hard. He just had to keep the child safe and alive. John and Mary did a rather good job of that, themselves.
Things got harder as Dean grew more and more conscious of himself and the world around him. When the baby began to crawl, Castiel began to come down to him as a gentle, invisible force that would push him away when he was getting too close to falling down the stairs or curiously sticking his fingers in the electrical outlets or putting things in his mouth that he wasn't supposed to.
When Dean was about three years old, John and Mary started talking about giving Dean a sibling. Castiel found a new job in keeping the toddler sleeping soundly while the pair was busy at night. He would come as a gentle force again, petting Dean's hair and rubbing his back to soothe the little boy back to sleep.
On Sunday, May 1, 1983, Mary Winchester started having contractions and was driven to the hospital. Dean had been left at home with his babysitter, and Castiel stayed by his side to make sure he stayed safe. The babysitter was a sixteen year old girl who went by Vicky. She liked to talk to her friends on the phone while Dean played or watched TV. That time, Castiel came to Dean as a figment of his imagination.
"Vicky, look! This is, um…" Dean said, showing the teenager the crayon drawing he'd created, trying to think of a name for his friend in the picture. He looked to his side where he could swear he saw a floating orb of white light. "Cassie!" He decided once his imaginary friend had told him his name.
"Cassie? Is Cassie friendly?" Vicky asked Dean curiously, admiring the simple drawing that depicted what she assumed was a person and a blue circle hovering by the person's side. It was hard to tell, though, because the 'person' was depicted through a circle with a smiley face inside it and four lines emerging from where arms and legs might be.
"Mmm hmm! Cassie doesn't talk lots, though, but we're friends." Dean said with a happy smile. "Cassie loves me. Cassie loves everyone."
"Well, Cassie sounds like a very nice girl. Hey, are you hungry?" Vicky replied to him with a small smile.
"Cassie's not a girl!"
"I'm sorry. Cassie seems like a very nice boy."
"Cassie's not a boy, either!"
"Well, what is he, then?"
"I dunno. Cassie's just Cassie. Cassie's a pretty light."
Vicky blinked at the assertion but smiled a bit, silently hoping Dean stayed that imaginative. "Alright, I'll make sure to remember that. I wouldn't want to offend Cassie. Now, are you hungry?"
"Yeah!" Dean said with a happy nod, following Vicky off to the kitchen where food was prepared and in the fridge, only needing to be heated up.
"Is Cassie hungry, too?"
"I dunno. Lemme ask." Dean replied, turning to the orb only he could see by his side. "Are you hungry, Cassie? Okay, I'll tell her. Cassie says 'thank you,' but Cassie isn't hungry. Cassie doesn't need to eat like us people do."
"Alright, well, how do hot dogs and macaroni sound to you?" Vicky asked with a smile to Dean.
"Yummy!"
"Great. Go get washed up, it'll only take a minute or two."
Dean nodded and ran off to the bathroom, sliding out the step stool he always used to get at the sink. He stepped up on it and washed his hands excitedly, almost falling off the stool when he moved too quickly and carelessly to step down, though he was quickly grasped by his new friend, the orb, and settled on his feet once again. He grinned at the orb before running off to the kitchen again to eat the dinner that had been prepared for him.
"Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest. Let this food by you be blessed. Amen." Dean prayed after Cassie reminded him to.
After dinner, Vicky gave Dean his bath, dressed him in his pajamas, read him a bedtime story.
"Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen." Dean prayed after the story and before he settled into his bed.
"Goodnight, Dean." Vicky said, turning on the teddy bear shaped night light on his wall.
"You gotta say that angels are watching over me. Mama always says that." Dean said to her.
"Alright. Angels are watching over you, Dean."
Dean smiled at that and shut his eyes to fall asleep, happily imagining that the friendly orb was stroking his hair, rubbing his back, and singing him a slow, gentle hymn as a lullaby.
Castiel continued to appear to Dean as a figment of his imagination the next day, then the next, until the boy had outgrown having imaginary friends and would rather spend his time with tangible friends.
Dean continued to grow and grow. It wasn't until Dean started middle school when Castiel figured he might need find a better approach since Dean was becoming more and more of a risk-taker and much more reckless. It was time for Castiel to find a vessel.
Finding a proper vessel was a science in and of itself. First, he had to listen to prayers to find someone willing and asking to be a servant to the Lord in any way. Thankfully, he found that in a teenager named Jimmy.
The next step was making contact. He had to find a way to speak to Jimmy without harming him. This would be difficult, though, since ordinary humans wouldn't be able to perceive his true voice directly.
So, Castiel decided to try the TV first.
Jimmy was watching TV leisurely when the show cut out to static. The room was filled with a loud screeching sound for a few seconds before the television set and all the lights burst in bright fits of sparks. The power in the rest of the foster home had gone out as well. The first attempt at contact with Jimmy had ended unsuccessfully.
Castiel decided to take a more archaic approach next, and visited Jimmy in one of his dreams.
"Jimmy." He said.
"What? Who said that?" Jimmy asked in his sleep.
"It was I. Do not be afraid. My name is Castiel, I am an angel of the Lord. I bring tidings of peace and joy."
"Oh, um, alright. What are they, Castiel?"
"Your prayers have been heard and will be answered. You asked to become a servant to the Lord in a Holy Mission for him. I am on a Holy Mission as a Guardian and am in need of a vessel. You have a pure soul and unconditional faith. I have chosen you as my candidate."
"You chose me as your vessel."
"That is correct."
"What would happen if I said yes?"
"My Grace would fill your body and I would take control of your body and actions. Your body would serve as mine while I need it. Those who agree to serve as a vessel to an angel are blessed by the Lord and receive unconditional entrance to Paradise at the end of their lives."
"Alright. Then, what happens if I say 'no?' Am I punished at all?"
"No punishment will befall you if you were to refuse me. I will simply find someone else."
"Okay. So, I can give up autonomy to you and get a full ride into Heaven. Or, I can refuse and go on with my life?"
"That is correct."
"Do all angels speak so… stiffly?"
"I do not know what that has to do with anything, Jimmy."
"Alright, alright, never mind. I'll let you use me as a vessel, Castiel."
"Thank you." Castiel said before letting himself into the teenager's body.
After his Grace had settled into the new body around him, he opened his eyes and sat up to look around the room he was in. He got up out of the bed and dressed his new body in a pair of jeans and a warm sweater. Once he'd put on socks and shoes, he left the room to start finding his way out of the foster home. He wound his way through the hallways and down the stairs, focusing only on leaving rather than the other little kids in the home.
"Jimmy! Jimmy, where are you going?" A little girl called after him, her hand grasping the back of his sweater.
Castiel turned around and looked down at the little girl, his blue eyes meeting her dark brown ones. The little girl had confusion etched onto her face.
"I'm afraid Jimmy isn't here anymore." Castiel replied, gently removing her hand from his sweater, then turning and walking away as the girl watched him in confusion until he vanished without a trace, as if into thin air.
Castiel reappeared in Lawrence, Kansas, just outside and across the street from the Winchester house.
"Sam, Dean! Come inside, it's time for dinner!" he heard Mary call.
"We'll be right in, Mom!" Sam called back from the side yard where he was hastily trying to help wipe away the blood that was dripping from Dean's nose.
Castiel watched everything from afar before moving to cross the street and go over to the brothers. It had to be expected that Dean would get hurt in a fight in the short amount of time he was away from him. Without a word, he nudged Sam aside and set his hands over Dean's face.
"Hey, what the hell do you think you're-?" Dean started to ask before his face started to feel warm beneath the older boy's hands.
Sam wanted to say something, but all words left his mouth at the sight of the white glow that was being emitted from the stranger's hands.
Dean lasted a bit longer before he wrenched himself away from the hands and gave the stranger a hard push, knocking him down onto the ground. "Who are you? What the hell did you just do to me?"
"Dean…" Sam said softly to try and calm his brother down.
"My name is Castiel. I healed you." Castiel replied from his spot on the ground.
"Well, you're a freak. Don't ever touch me again. Don't touch Sammy, either." Dean spat back before stomping off into the house.
Sam gave an apologetic look to the stranger on the ground. "I'm sorry about him. He had a bad day. You'd better head home, though, I'm sure your parents are looking for you."
Castiel blinked at the advice and just stared at the pair as they walked inside. He wasn't used to making direct contact with humans, but he didn't mind that Dean had pushed him and been violent towards him. It wouldn't stop him from loving his human and the rest of the little human family in that house.