The Guardian - 1

This is a new fic I am putting out there. I actually started writing this one quite a while ago... but anyway, here it goes. This is an AU if Sam and Dean never got into hunting and Adam was John and Mary's son.

"The Guardian Angel's Lament" – A Catholic Prayer

Thou hast sorrowed the spirit that loved thee,

And watched o'er thy footsteps for years:

Thou hast made me at last sigh o'er thee,

In secret, in silence, and tears.

For my Father in Heaven I loved thee,

For His sake have I guarded thy ways.

Return, O return, I implore thee, Him to love, to serve, and to praise.

O'er thy pathway through life still I hover.

Thee to comfort, to solace, to cheer;

With the love of a fond, saving brother,

Through this desert of trial and fear.

Oh! When shall I clasp thee, how fondly

And bear thee, all dangers no past,

To the arms of God Who dies for thee

To our home in the heavens at last!

History Is Altered

"Mommy, there's something in my closet," the soft voice whispered into his mother's ear. Mary Winchester kissed her son on the head before getting up from the bed. She ran a hand through her long, blond locks before going over to the boy's closet on the other side of the room. Opening the door, she looked inside, smiling a little as she heard a soft, fearful gasp from behind her. Mary looked back to see Dean holding the covers over his head, shaking a little bit.

"Look, Dean," she said, pulling the clothes aside to expose the back wall. "No monsters in here, see?" Slowly, he lowered the blankets and looked fearfully into the closet. When he saw nothing was inside, he visibly relaxed although his tight hold on his teddy bear didn't loosen. Mary closed the door and went back over to the bed. "Don't worry Dean," she said, mussing his hair. "There are no monsters in this house. I've made sure of it. And don't forget, the angels are watching over you. They'll always be there, even if you can't see them, and they'll protect you."

Dean laid back down, hugging his teddy bear close. Mary gave him another kiss before leaving the room. She walked down the hall to the nursery where her other son, Sam, slept. When she opened the door, she saw a masculine shape standing next to the bed. Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, she leaned on the doorframe. "John?" she asked in a hushed voice. "Was he crying? I didn't hear…"

The figure half turned toward her and raised a finger to his lips. "Shh."

Mary raised her hands defensively. "Okay," she mumbled. "Kiss him goodnight for me." With that, she turned to head toward the bedroom she shared with John. Before she entered, however, she noticed the illuminated downstairs. Mary edged down the stairs cautiously. John rarely went up to spend time with the kids at night unless he was on his way to bed. And if John was on his way to bed, he never left the lights on. Maybe he forgot, she reasoned, but when she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw a familiar form dozing in the recliner. Her heart sank and her blood ran cold.

"SAMMY!" she shouted, whipping around and sprinting up the stairs. Mary burst into Sam's room to see the stranger next to Sam's crib. His arm was extended over the boy, blood dripping from a wound in his hand. To Mary's sickening horror, she saw that his blood was landing right in her newborn son's mouth. The stranger looked straight at her, and that's when she saw his yellow eyes. Her breath hitched and she took a fearful step back. "You," she breathed.

She knew this demon—she'd dealt with him in the past, and she knew he was not someone to be messed with. "Leave my son alone!" she demanded, although dared not make another move toward him.

The yellow-eyed demon flashed a smile before reaching out toward her. Mary let out a scream as she was thrown against the wall. She felt a piercing, agonizing pain in her lower abdomen. Her body shook with fear as she felt herself being drug up the side of the wall, her feet dangling limply below her. She heard footsteps in the hall as someone came to her rescue. The person that appeared in the doorway was not the one she had been expecting—little Dean stood there, clutching tightly onto his teddy bear. When he saw Mary, his eyes widened. "MOMMY!"

Suddenly, everything went white. The pain in Mary's stomach dissolved, and she was filled with an overwhelming sense of ease. The whiteness was not blinding, nor was it painful on her eyes. It was a soothing type of white—a soft color that brought her inner peace. Then, she saw a vision before her—a man. He wore a suit with a blue tie and a tan trench coat. He walked toward her slowly, eyes bluer than the sea looking up at her beneath a mop of untidy black hair.

"Mary Winchester." He spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. The voice was not unpleasant but did have a serious tone to it. He gave her a small, almost guilty smile. "How are you feeling, Mary?"

She stared at him a moment before looking down at her belly where the pain had been. Her hands experimentally poked and prodded until she determined that she was alright. "I'm okay… Who are you? Where am I?"

The man straightened up a little bit. "I have been assigned to watch over you and your family, more specifically Dean," he explained. "Dean is… very important to us. He was not meant to walk into that room, and when he did, I had no choice but to intervene to keep him safe."

"You…?" Mary began, her head spinning. "Who are you? Who is 'us'? What is going on?"

He sighed. "Mary, if I tell you, you must promise me that you can never tell John, Dean, or Sam. Do you understand?"

She bit her lip before nodding. She had to know who he was and why he was watching her son.

"My name is Castiel. I'm an Angel of the Lord."

Mary faltered for a moment, her mouth falling open. "You're… what?"

"An angel," he repeated. "My siblings and I are watching over Dean—the destiny he has ahead of him is… important to us. His decisions, his future—all of it is of great interest to us."

"Why?"

He frowned a little, almost remorsefully. "That I cannot disclose. We are not meant to intervene like this, but your body was severely wounded by the demon. I had to take you somewhere safe so you and your son could properly heal."

"Dean? Sam?" she asked, her eyes widening. "They're here? Where are they?"

Castiel shook his head. "No, neither of them," he said, now looking at her quizzically. "You don't know?"

Now it was Mary's turn to be confused. "Know what?"

Castiel glanced at her lower abdomen before meeting her eyes again. "You're with child, Mary."

She froze. Subconsciously, her hand rested on her belly and she began to shake a little. She began to wonder what would have happened to her if Castiel had not saved her… if he hadn't come in at all. Not only she would have died, but her child too. She hadn't realized how indebted she was to this… angel until right then.

"You saved us," she whispered, making eye contact with him. "Thank you… Thank you so much."

Castiel nodded. "You are welcome. However, I'm afraid that I cannot intervene again unless Dean is truly in danger of dying. Everything that happens from now on, know that I am watching but powerless to help you or your family. I am not even supposed to be speaking with you now—it is forbidden for us to have contact with mortals. There will come a time when I will walk the earth again beside you and your family, but until then I must remain in the shadows."

Mary was still reeling from all the new information being given to her. She'd never encountered an angel before—in fact she had never even heard of hunters encountering them. But she believed. Looking at Castiel, she couldn't not believe that he was real. "Okay, Castiel."

He smiled and put his hand on her shoulder. "Take care, Mary," he murmured before the vision dissolved in white light once more.

When she woke, she was back in Sam's nursery with Dean and John hovering over her worriedly. "Mary?!" John was shouting. The fear in his vice slayed her and she forced herself to sit up. The pain in her stomach was gone but her brain still felt ungodly fuzzy. "Oh, Mary! Thank God!" John breathed, hugging her to him closely. "Are you alright? We were so worried!"

She nodded weakly, hugging him back. "Yes… Yes, I'm okay. I just… I got kind of light-headed." She pressed a kiss to her husband's cheek before pulling away. Her eyes briefly landed on Dean but only saw relief in them. Maybe Castiel altered his memories so he didn't see the demon, she thought. This soothed her, but then her guts turned to ice when she remembered the blood. She forced herself to get up and weakly make her way over to Sam's crib. Her baby was lying there peacefully, wide awake. His eyes met hers and he gave her a toothless smile. He reached up for her, cooing softly. Mary forced herself to smile and pick him up. There was no trace of the blood, but she knew what she saw. Castiel hadn't been in time to stop that from happening. Oh God, she prayed. Protect my sons. Keep them safe from whatever those hellish monsters are planning. And if God is too busy… Castiel, please watch over us.

A/N: I hope you enjoy this as much as I do writing it. This fic is going to be one of my more serious ones so be prepared for angst and death and pain.