Bring Me To Life
How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb
Without a soul the spirit sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home.
- Evanescence 'Bring Me To Life'
Chapter 1
"So we'll need to do a little recon first, then tonight we just bust in and..." Dean trailed off and glanced at the angel. "Cas? You still with us?"
Castiel cocked his head, listening to something the humans were unable to hear, and then rolled his eyes. "There are more of you?" He muttered, and vanished from sight.
"I hate it when he does that," Dean grumbled, moving to gather the random parchment detritus as it floated around Bobby's desk in response to Castiel's abrupt departure.
"You know he only does that to annoy you, right?" Sam grinned at him, holding his hand out for the papers and earning a sour look from his brother.
"Yeah, laugh it up, chuckles."
Moments later, the angel returned carrying the limp body of a young woman. "Help me," he gasped, staggering towards the couch as the boys rushed to clear a space.
Tenderly, Castiel laid the girl down, reaching for a cushion as he cradled her head. Her limp arms he crossed over her chest, clasping them gently to hold them in place. Her feet were bare and she was dressed in a robe-like garment which may once have been ivory and very beautiful, but was as dirty and torn as the soles of her feet.
"Hell of a way to pick up a chick," Dean commented. "She's cute. Who is she?"
"You don't know?" Castiel asked. He looked up at Sam, then back at Dean. They both shook their heads. "She's your sister."
"Our what? How is she our sister?" Dean wanted to know.
"Apparently, your parents were intent on populating the earth with little Winchesters," said Castiel. His lips twitched as though he had made a joke.
"So, she's like Adam?" Sam asked. "Another one of Dad's…"
"No, not like Adam," Cas said, brushing the girl's hair away from her face. "She is the product of both Mary and John Winchester and your full sister."
"How is that even possible? We'd know about her," said Sam.
"Yeah, I've never seen this girl in my life," Dean put in.
"Well of course you haven't," said Cas as though this were obvious.
"Of course we haven't," nodded Dean. "Care to expand on that?"
"She was stolen from your mother's body as a six week old embryo…"
"Ew, seriously?" Dean cut in.
"When?" Asked Sam. "I was only six months old when Mom died."
"And she was six weeks pregnant at the time," Cas told him. "She may not have been aware of the pregnancy."
"So who performed this insane abortion?" Asked Dean. He touched his forehead as though he were getting a headache.
"Raphael…"
"Not that bitch again…"
"…decided that the daughter of Mary and John Winchester could be useful to him," Castiel went on as though Dean had not interrupted. "She was raised in heaven. By angels."
"And you found all this out in the two seconds you were gone?" Dean asked.
"Yes," said Castiel simply.
"Of course you did," said Dean.
"If she was raised in heaven, how come you didn't know about her until now?" Sam asked.
"Raphael is a little higher up on the food chain than I am – in a manner of speaking," said Cas. "He is capable of hiding all manner of things from a lower order angel."
"Or a rogue angel cut off from home office?" Sam suggested.
"Exactly," said Cas. "I only became aware of her when Raphael set her loose."
"Okay," said Dean, still rubbing his temples. "So… she's our sister, she was stolen and raised by angels, but she's human…?"
Cas nodded.
"What are we supposed to do with her?" Sam asked.
"For starters, she'll need to be hidden," said Castiel, pressing his palm against the girl's side. Her body jerked as a bright flash of light seared Enochian sigils into her ribs. "Raphael will be looking for her once he realises she's not fulfilling her mission on Earth."
"Which is what?"
"I don't know," he replied. "But she's not suddenly down here for no good reason."
"And she's probably not supposed to be hanging out with us either," said Sam. "So what is she, another alternate vessel for Michael?"
"Possibly," Cas nodded. "Or for Raphael himself."
Dean grimaced. "It's like some sort of… celestial paedophile ring."
"Dude…" Sam grimaced, holding up one hand.
"Well it is! She's our baby sister and some angel wants to… wants to… ew!"
"I see you're taking this development with your usual alacrity and good grace, Dean." said Castiel. He offered another half smile.
"Yeah, well, alacrity is my middle name," muttered Dean, heading for the stairs. "I'll go get some blankets for her."
Castiel frowned. "I thought his middle name was John?"
"It's a figure of speech, Cas." Said Sam.
"I'm back," called Bobby. "Did I miss anything… ohhhh. Goody. Another stray." He shot a sour glance at Cas. "Regular little retriever angel, aincha?"
Chapter 2
The men watched – half amused, half revolted – as the girl broke apart a fresh loaf of bread and dunked the pieces into her fourth helping of stew. She grinned at them and wiped her chin.
"This is delicious," she told Bobby. "Thank you."
"My wife's recipe, I don't do it justice," Bobby replied, dismissing the compliment with a wave of his hand.
"Didn't they feed you up there?" Dean asked.
"No… well, yes they fed me, but they had to be reminded," she said, taking another bite. "Angels aren't terribly interested in food." She eyed Castiel. "You need to feed that vessel more often," she remarked.
"I know," he said. "I forget sometimes."
"Don't," she advised. "Vessels are important."
"You seem to know a lot about that, girl," Bobby observed.
"Maya."
"Pardon me?"
"My name is Maya, not girl." She raised an emphatic eyebrow at him. "And what do you expect? I was raised by angels in vessels."
"Yeah, about that," said Dean. "How… exactly… did they do that?"
"How do you think? They taught me to read, to write, to fight. Probably wasn't all that different from your upbringing."
"Human children aren't generally raised to fight," Castiel pointed out.
"You guys are hunters though, right?"
"We didn't exactly have a normal childhood," Sam agreed.
"Well, there you go." Said Maya, rolling her eyes before shoving more bread into her mouth.
Later…
As Maya slept – her previously flat belly rounded and tight with food and her mind drugged with exhaustion and gluttonous excess – the others gathered in Bobby's study to confer:
"So you're just gonna leave her here with me, is that the plan?" Asked Bobby. "That's all well and good, I can keep an eye on her and everything but I'm not exactly able to run after her if she decides to take off."
"She's not going to take off, Bobby, where would she go?"
"Oh I don't know, Dean, off to follow whatever orders Raphael planted in her head before he set her loose?" Bobby snapped. "Use your brains, boy!"
"I can stay with her," murmured Castiel.
"Say what?" Said Sam.
"I'll guard her," he clarified.
"Don't you have more important angel-type things to do?" Asked Dean.
"More important that preventing a Winchester from becoming an archangel's puppet?" He shot back. "No, I don't. You have business to attend to and somebody needs to guard her. I'll do it."
"Works for me," said Sam.
"And me," put in Bobby. "I'm gonna get a little shut-eye."
"Okay, well, don't teach her any angel banishing spells just yet."
"No Dean, I learned that the hard way," said Cas. "From you."
# # # # #
"So," said Sam. "Who do you think she is, really?"
"She's our sister, Sammy, haven't you been listening?"
"You don't really believe that?"
"Don't you?"
"Obviously not."
"Look, if Cas says she's our sister, then she's our sister," Dean said.
"It wouldn't be the first time Cas has been less than completely honest with us."
"Look at her, man! She could be Mom."
"I don't really remember Mom…"
"You've seen pictures," snapped Dean. "And you met her as a young woman! Maya looks just like her…"
"But with darker hair," Sam finished for him. "You're right. She does." He tapped his fingers on the dashboard. "She could be a demon?"
"That table water she was drinking? Wasn't table water," said Dean, slowing down at a crossroads. "And she woke up in a devil's trap superimposed over an angel trap… walked right out of it."
"Okay…"
"I managed to 'accidentally' nick her with a silver blade – she bled. Nothing more."
"Good thinking..."
"She ate her bodyweight in Bobby's stew – which was, by the way, heavily salted – and she is now sleeping it off," Dean concluded. "She's human, and I'll bet dollars to donuts she is who Cas says she is."
"But how can you be so sure?"
"I just know, okay?"
"How?"
"Because… aw shoot, don't make me say it!"
"Because what?"
"Because I feel the same need to protect her that I always felt about you!"
Sam sniggered. "Brotherly love? Are you serious?"
"Yeah. So?"
"Aw man, God help you if you ever have a daughter!"
"Dude, don't even joke about that." He warned, flooring the Impala as they reached the main road.
Chapter 3
As the night sky faded to morning, Maya woke, disoriented. She padded quietly down the stairs wearing a soft old flannelette shirt of Sam's as an oversized nightgown and looked in on a sleeping Bobby. Recognising the kind old man who'd fed her the previous evening her surroundings fell into place, and she followed the sounds and the flickering of the television to the lounge room
Castiel – his head cocked to one side, a bemused expression on his face, and the television remote in one hand – was watching a video recording; rewinding and replaying the same scene over and over.
"What are you watching?" Asked Maya.
"Pornography," said Cas, his eyes glued to the screen.
"Huh." She watched from the doorway for a moment, then drifted over to perch on the arm of the couch, clearly fascinated. "Why does he keep calling her a 'nasty bitch'?" She asked, finally. "I thought 'nasty bitch' was an insult."
"I don't know," Cas said slowly. "I don't really understand it." They watched in silence for a moment, wincing in harmony as the actor slapped his onscreen lover. "Dean said it isn't real. It's just…" he shrugged "…for fun."
"Doesn't look much like fun to me," Maya said, wincing again.
"I agree." He paused. "The kissing part isn't bad though."
"No?" Maya asked, tearing her eyes reluctantly from the screen. "How so?"
"It's softer," he told her. "It's... real."
Maya shook her head. "I've never kissed anyone."
"I have." The angel seemed strangely pleased with himself.
"Really?" Maya asked, turning her attention squarely on Cas, the porno on the screen forgotten. "One of my brothers?"
"No, they are not interested in this vessel."
Maya frowned, looking him up and down. "I don't see why not, your vessel is very attractive."
"Not to them," Cas told her. "They only like kissing women."
"Huh," said Maya. "Weird."
"Humans are weird," Cas agreed. "No offence intended."
"None taken, I'm barely human."
"Do you want to try it?"
"Try what?"
"Kissing. I mean, if you find my vessel acceptable..."
"Oh," Maya said, finally taking his meaning. She raised an eyebrow, considering the suggestion. "Sure. Why not." She scooted across the couch cushions to sit next to him, leaned over, and then pulled back. "I don't really know what I'm supposed to do..."
"Like this, tilt your head..." he pressed a finger to her chin, "open your mouth a little... no, too wide... that's better... close your eyes..."
"Why?"
"I don't know, you're just supposed to."
"What am I supposed to do with my hands, then?"
"Um," Castiel looked stumped for a moment. "You... you're supposed to..." he gestured futilely for a moment.
"You don't know what I'm supposed to do with them, do you?"
Castiel looked embarrassed. "Not really," he admitted. "I am fairly certain you're not supposed to slap me and call me a nasty bitch, though."
"Probably not." Maya considered this for a moment. "Okay, tilt my head, close my eyes, open my mou..." and then his lips were upon hers, his fingers in her hair as her hands flailed uselessly in the air for a moment until...
"That's what you're supposed to do with them," he murmured against her mouth.
"Oh, shut up…"
"Okay Cas, switch off the rumpy pumpy and let's get going, we need to get out of dodge and over to... woah!" Dean pulled up short, witnessing Cas and Maya making out on the couch. "Hey! Get off my sister!"
Pulling away from the angel slightly, Maya shot her brother an annoyed look. "I realise you have a prior claim here but I was also under the impression you found Castiel's vessel unappealing. Make up your mind, Dean, you can't have it both ways."
"Wait… what?"
"No, I think Dean's outrage is centred on his perception that it is inappropriate for me to engage in physical congress with you, given that I'm supposed to be guarding you." Castiel told her. He turned to Dean. "Right, Dean?"
"No… yeah, well, there's that but…" he spluttered. "Look, just keep your hands off my sister, okay?"
"Okay," said Cas, holding up his hands. He glanced down at Maya, who was still neatly entwined around him.
"Am I supposed to take my hands off you now?" She whispered.
"I'm not sure," Cas whispered back.
"Yes!" Dean exclaimed in exasperation. "Both of you! Just… hands to yourselves!"
Maya raised her hands, mimicking Castiel, and they both gazed at Dean with bemused expressions on their faces.
"Dean?" Called Sam. "Is Maya awake yet… what's going on?" He looked to Dean, to the couple on the couch, and back at Dean again. "Are we playing cops and robbers?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We're keeping our hands to ourselves," Castiel told him. Maya nodded in agreement.
"Riiiiiight." To Dean: "shall we?"
"Yeah," he watched Sam leave and turned again to the angel. "You. Porn off. You..." he pointed to Maya, "get dressed. And get into the car, both of you!" He stalked out after his brother.
Cas lowered his hands slowly, breathing a sigh of relief, and reached for the television remote, switching off the screen.
"Is he always like that?" Maya asked, tugging at the shirt to cover her bare legs.
"No, that was highly unusual behaviour," Cas told her. "Generally Dean is a great advocate of physical contact. Especially kissing. Especially kissing women." He shrugged.
Maya shook her head and ran upstairs to find some clothes. "Humans are weird," she muttered.
In the back seat of the car, Maya gazed out of the window at the damp fields flitting by, then focused on individual raindrops as they streamed down the glass. The simple beauty normal humans took for granted astounded her, and she forgot her surroundings for a moment before becoming aware of a warm hand on hers.
Turning slowly, she glanced at Dean's reflection in the rear-view mirror before eyeing Castiel. The angel watched her from the corner of his eye; mouth twitched in a half smile as his hand crept across the back seat of the car to enfold hers.
Disobedience is in my nature now, the smile said. If I am unwilling to obey my heavenly superiors, why would your brother believe I should obey him?
He squeezed her hand, then vanished, leaving Maya alone in the car with the boys.
"I hate it when he does that," Dean grumbled.
"I wish I could do that," Maya murmured in reply.
Chapter 4
When Maya opened the door of her motel room, she was unsurprised to see Castiel.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey."
"My brothers just left to go to a bar; you could probably still catch them…"
"I'd rather stay with you."
Maya nodded, pushing the door open to admit the angel. "Okay, then."
Once inside, Castiel seemed at a loss.
"Would you... like a drink?" Maya asked.
"I don't know," said Cas. "Would you?"
Maya shook her head, a frown flickering across her features. She fidgeted for a moment, chewing her lip, and tugging at her hair. She regarded the angel solemnly, then took his hand and led him to the bed, pulling him down to sit next to her.
They sat, side by side, holding hands and occasionally glancing at one other, looking away as they caught the other's eye.
"I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing," Maya finally admitted.
"Neither do I," said Cas.
"You don't?"
He shook his head.
"Your vessel..."
"Jimmy Novak..."
"Right. Wasn't Jimmy married? With a child?"
"Yes."
"So it's not like you've never... you know... done this before."
"The soul that belonged to this body – Jimmy Novak – went to my Father a long time ago. I have no access to his memories. This vessel may be experienced in the pleasures of the flesh, but I am not."
"Oh." She said. Then: "Castiel?" The angel smiled slightly and she couldn't help but smile back. "What?"
"You call me Castiel," he said, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners as the smile grew wider. "Everyone else calls me Cas now, but you always call me by my proper name."
"Why wouldn't I?"
He squeezed her hand, cupping her cheek with the other. "Do you accept me, Maya? Do I have your permission to...?"
"Yes. Yes, you have my permission. Castiel..."
Chapter 5
Dean knocked softly on the motel room door. "Maya?" He called. "Maya, it's time to get up." He listened carefully, frowning. The soft screeee-thump of the bed was too loud to have been made by his small-boned sister turning over. Cursing under his breath at the lack of weapons on his person, he eased open the door.
The body in Maya's bed was too large to be her. The light was on in the bathroom.
"What the…?"
The bathroom door opened to reveal Dean's mostly naked sister swaddled in a towel, her hair still damp from the shower. Castiel sat up in the bed wearing a dazed expression and little else.
"Cas, you son of a bitch!" Dean lunged at the vulnerable form on the bed, one fist raised.
"Dean, no!" Maya cried, raising her hand, and a pulse of energy knocked her brother to the floor.
"What the hell, Cas?" Sam exclaimed, rushing through the door and moving to help Dean.
"Castiel?" Maya squeaked, staring at her hand, and then at her lover in fear and confusion.
"You did that?" Groaned Dean, staggering to his feet.
"How did I do that?"
Castiel swung his legs over the side of the bed and got up slowly.
"Cas… sheets, dude…" Dean averted his eyes and gestured to the angel to cover his nakedness.
Castiel looked down at himself and wrapped one of the bed sheets around his hips before continuing to advance on Maya.
"You belong to me now," he told her gently.
"What?"
"You accepted me, I took you, and I marked you as my own," he went on.
"No, seriously. What?"
Gently, Castiel touched Maya's side. "Your ribs, like Dean's and Sam's, are etched with Enochian sigils – angelic marks – which hide you from all angels. Including me." He pressed his left palm to the bare skin above her left breast. "The tissues of your heart," he told her, "are now branded with my personal sigils..." he showed her his palm, similarly branded. "You accepted me. I took you. I marked you as my own. And now you are my guardian."
"No…"
"Yes."
She backed away from him, gathering her clothes from the chair next to the window as she went.
"Maya…"
"No, Castiel. Just... no." She disappeared into the bathroom, reappearing a few minutes later, dressed and frightened. Glancing at her brothers and avoiding Castiel's gaze, she went out into the cold morning light.
"She probably doesn't want to talk to you right now, why don't you let me?" said Sam, placing a hand on Castiel's arm as he moved to follow Maya.
"Of course," said Cas, sitting back on the bed.
"Help him," Sam said to Dean before following Maya.
Dean glared at Castiel.
"What did I do wrong?" The angel asked, and Dean threw his hands in the air.
"Where do you want me to start?"
"Start with why she's so upset with me."
"You are unbelievable, you know that?" Dean said. "Put some pants on, man, I can't talk to you in your birthday suit."
"I don't have birthdays..."
"Just get dressed!"
Dean waited while Castiel methodically stepped into a pair of boxer shorts, pulled his pants on over the underwear, buttoned his shirt, re-tied his tie, donned his jacket and laced his shoes.
"Now tell me what I did wrong?"
"You boned my sister."
Castiel bristled indignantly. "I did not... 'bone your sister' as you so inelegantly put it."
"So what does 'I took you and now you belong to me' mean?"
"It means I... we... connected. Physically. In a... consenting adult... kind of way."
"Right, because that's so much more 'elegant' than the way I put it." Dean rolled his eyes.
"Dean, this was not a random encounter for me, or for Maya." Castiel looked at his hands, tracing the marks burned into his left palm with one finger. "It is... like human marriage, only permanent. Humans have a concept of soul mates?"
"Yeah, I guess..."
"I have existed for five millennia before finding the one human soul I could form a bond with – not as a vessel, but as a mate. She accepted me as her mate, and I took her and made her mine."
"So... you dig my sister."
"I love your sister, and she loves me."
"Wait a minute; I didn't think angels could love."
"Do you not believe I love you and Sam, also?"
"Oh man, don't even go there..."
"Just because we are not as adept as humans in displaying our emotions, doesn't mean we are incapable of feeling them, no matter what anyone else tells you." He waited while Dean considered this. "I realise this means you'll have to adjust your paradigms."
"Yeah, well, love or otherwise, she's pretty pissed at you right now."
"I know," Cas sighed, sitting back down on the bed. "But why?"
"Chicks don't really go for that whole 'I own you' thing; you know what I'm saying?"
"Not really."
Dean opened his mouth to explain, then closed it again, shaking his head. "You know what? I don't really get it either. I mean, they want romantic but they don't want cheesy, they want to be looked after but they don't want to be seen to need looking after, they want us to want them but they don't want us to smother them..."
"Sorry Dean, you lost me at romantic..."
"Actually, romance is probably a good starting point," said Dean. "You said this bonding thing is like a marriage, right?"
"Right."
"So rather than this 'wham, bam, thank you ma'am, now you belong to me, see I carved it in your heart' business, why don't you... I don't know, buy her a big fat diamond ring, take her out to dinner, get down on your knee and propose properly..."
"You lost me at 'wham bam thank you ma'am'."
"You know what? Forget it. Sort out your own love life."
Castiel glanced around the room, his eyes falling on Sam's laptop. "Do you think Sam would mind if I borrowed that?" He asked.
"Knock yourself out. I'm going out to find them."
"They're at the diner downstairs," said Castiel, not looking up from the laptop. He touched the machine's mousepad to wake it up, and then navigated to a search engine.
Dean paused at the door. "How can you know that? Rib tags are supposed to hide them from you."
Cas held up his marked palm, then pressed it to his heart. "Sigils of Bonding are more powerful than those of misdirection," he told him. "Other angels cannot detect you or your siblings, but I see where Maya is."
"Like CCTV?"
"More like a global positioning system."
"Right," said Dean. "Angel GPS."
"Angel mating GPS," Cas corrected.
Dean scowled. "Seriously, dude, my sister…?" He shook his head and left Castiel at the table with the computer.
"Ro-man-tic..." Cas murmured, pecking out the letters on the keyboard with his index fingers.
Meanwhile...
"Maya! Wait up!" Called Sam, jogging to catch up with the girl. "You okay?"
"Do I look okay?" She snapped, pulling her jacket closer around her and shoving her hands into the pockets.
"Yeah, I know what it's like... gnarly new powers," he said. "You'll get used to it and learn to use them properly..."
"I'm not upset about that," Maya cut in. "I just..."
"What?"
"I just thought Castiel was different." She finished softly.
"Different from...?"
"Other angels."
Sam laughed. "He is different from other angels."
"He's not." Maya retorted. "Raphael wants to use me as his vessel and now Castiel wants to use me as his shield. They all do it. They all use us for their own purposes."
"Cas used to be like that..."
"Did you know most angels don't touch one another? They don't. They don't see the value of a kiss, or a caress, or even a hug. I grew up never having been touched."
"I'm sorry. That's... awful." Said Sam. He pushed open the door of the motel's diner and ushered Maya out of the cold and into the miasma of fried food and burned coffee.
"The first memory I have of being touched was Castiel stroking my face to wake me at Bobby's house, after he brought me to you." She smiled, pressing her palm against her cheek. "I thought he was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. So kind."
"He really is different from other angels," said Sam gently. "He rebelled against heaven to help us, and sometimes it's like he's almost human." He smiled. "I don't believe he doesn't experience emotions. Angels claim they don't, but I don't believe that of Cas. And I don't believe he's just using you, either."
Maya sighed and looked up as Dean slid into the booth next to her.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Is he okay?" She countered.
"Cas? He's fine; I left him googling 'romance' on Sam's laptop…"
"Oh man, you let him use my laptop? Last time he shorted out the battery, I had to go buy a new one!"
"It was either that, or explaining the delicate art of wooing the fair maiden to him myself…"
"You're right, you're not qualified to do that," Sam agreed. "He's better off using the internet."
"My point." Dean signalled the waitress to refill their coffees.
"Sam says Castiel is different from other angels," Maya said after a time.
"Well, he's no barrel of laughs but he's getting there," said Dean, sipping his coffee. He grimaced and began pouring sugar straight from the dispenser into his cup.
"Would you like a little coffee with your sugar?" Sam drawled.
"I'm nowhere near sweet enough," Dean grinned. He looked at Maya, who had suddenly gone very still. "What?"
"He's gone."
"Gone where?"
She lifted her head as though listening. "New York", she said finally.
"How can you possibly know that?"
She tapped her chest in a gesture Dean found disturbingly familiar.
"What?" Sam wanted to know.
"Goddamned angel mating GPS," Dean growled.
Chapter 6
Castiel stood on the sidewalk of Wall Street, staring up at the sign as grumpy New Yorkers bustled past him. This is the place, he thought. Pushing through the door, he blinked in the halogen lights and stared around him. The place was much larger than he'd expected, and the range of merchandise on display was intimidating.
"Can I help you, sir?" Asked a clerk.
"Uh, yes," said Cas. He cleared his throat. "I... uh... need to purchase..." he stared around the store and swallowed hard. Who would have thought this would be so difficult? The internet and Dean had made it sound so easy.
"A gift?" The clerk suggested.
"Yes. A gift." Agreed Cas. "For my..." he floundered again. 'Mate' wasn't the right word, not in this millennium. 'Bonded human' smacked of slavery. And 'consort' sounded too much like 'concubine'. "Wife?" He eventually managed.
"Very good sir." The clerk ushered the angel to a silk-upholstered chair. "Special occasion, is it?"
"No," said Cas. "We had a... difference of opinion and my friend... her brother... suggested I buy her a... 'big fat diamond ring'." He enunciated the last four words carefully to get them just right.
The clerk goggled at him for a moment, then roared with laughter. Castiel jumped at the noise and stared, wide eyed and trembling. "Well!" Chuckled the clerk when he'd recovered from his mirth. "Your brother-in-law is a wise man!" He wiped his streaming eyes with a handkerchief. "If I may make a suggestion, though?"
"Of course," said Castiel, breathing an inward sigh of relief. He had been beginning to wonder if Dean had sent him on some sort of wild goose chase.
"Big fat diamond rings, as you put it, are all well and good – and we certainly have them here," the clerk told him. "But sometimes a woman, especially a woman with whom you've had a disagreement, appreciates something more... subtle."
"I'm not sure I follow," said Cas.
"A big fat diamond ring screams 'I'm trying to bribe you into not tearing me a new one again'," said the clerk. "It also demonstrates a lack of imagination on your part."
"I see..." said Cas.
"Whereas something a little more subtle, say an eternity ring, shows you have put some thought into the gift."
"Eternity ring..." Cas murmured. That sounds appropriate.
"If I may be so bold..." the clerk paused, and Castiel waved him on. "You have remarkable eyes."
"I do?"
"You do." The clerk handed him a mirror and Castiel gazed upon the face of his vessel for the first time in months. "Even if you have never noticed them, you could bet your bottom dollar your wife has."
"I can?"
"Absolutely." The clerk leaned over and unlocked a cabinet, retrieving a pad of sparkling rings. "Might I suggest... this." He plucked a ring from its setting on the black velvet and handed it to Castiel to inspect.
The angel turned the ring this way and that, marvelling at the flashes of fire the stones threw. Five perfect deep-blue stones cut into the shape of cats-eyes were set into a silvery band.
"Those are marquise-cut blue diamonds – very rare – set into a solid white-gold band. And..." the clerk held up the mirror... "they match the colour of your eyes, exactly."
"Remarkable," Cas murmured. "I'll take it."
# # # # #
"Blue diamonds, really?" Said Dean. He raised his eyebrows and handed the ring box to Sam. "I don't think there's any such thing."
"No, the salesman was very clear, these are blue diamonds. Very rare." Said Castiel. He took the ring box back from Sam. "They match my eyes."
Dean snorted. "Oh boy, did they see you coming!"
Castiel frowned, glancing at Sam.
"Sorry, man, but I think he's right," Sam told him.
"Do you think Maya will like it, though?"
"I'm sure she will," Sam said, kindly.
"Yeah, after all, it matches your eyes," chortled Dean, heading for the fridge to find a beer.
Castiel grimaced and stuffed the ring box back into his pocket. "Alright then. Is this suitable attire?" He removed the fawn leather trench-coat to reveal the tuxedo he had on underneath.
Dean inhaled a lungful of beer and began to choke, coughing until he was red in the face.
"Is that a no?" Cas asked.
Dean spluttered. He wiped his mouth and set the beer on the counter, coughing some more. "Where are you going, the prom?" He asked.
"No. The theatre," said Cas.
"Did he say... did you say the theatre?" Asked Sam.
"Yes?"
"To see what?"
"Um..." the angel produced a couple of tickets and studied them carefully. "'Romeo and Juliet'."
The brothers looked at one another and shrugged. "Not bad, Cas," said Dean, clearly impressed.
"And we're staying at the..." he dug a piece of paper out of another pocket, "'Burj Al Arab' afterwards."
"In Dubai?" Sam spluttered.
"You don't think you might be going a tad overboard with this?" Dean asked.
"This was your idea, Dean," Cas reminded him.
"Yeah, no, sorry, what I meant was spring for the deluxe motel room with the Jacuzzi and take her somewhere other than the diner for a change," said Dean.
"Oh."
"I can't believe I'm even mentioning this," Sam put in. "But Maya's been getting around in my old shirts and a bunch of Bobby's wife's old clothes since she landed..."
"Oh, I have that covered too!" Said Cas, flashing one of his rare smiles. He unzipped a long dress-bag on a hanger, revealing a sapphire-blue evening gown.
"Woah," said Dean. "Dude. You are seriously making every other man on the planet look bad."
Castiel shrugged. "That is not my concern."
# # # # #
Maya lay in the circle of Castiel's arms, turning her left hand this way and that.
"I don't get it," she said.
"Get what?"
"Don't the brands on my heart render this piece of jewellery redundant?"
"They do," Castiel agreed.
"Then why?" She turned over and propped her chin on his bare chest.
"Don't you like it?"
"I love it, it's beautiful, it just seems an extravagant excess."
"From what I understand," he told her, running the tips of his fingers up her spine, "it is an outward display of the internal bond."
"Hmm," she said, holding her hand up next to his face. "The colour of the stones match your eyes exactly."
The angel laughed. "That," he said, kissing her on the mouth. "Is the point."
Chapter 7
The boys and Castiel began training Maya. Her hand-to-hand combat skills were already second to none, and with the addition of the telekinetic powers she's inherited as the angel's guardian, she was able to best either one of her brothers in a one on one fight.
However, Maya's heavenly tutors had neglected to school her in one aspect of supernatural combat...
"Okay, angel banishing symbols..." Castiel began.
"Woah, Cas, maybe not a good idea to give your girlfriend the keys to the eject button," Dean cut in. "One argument too many and she could shoot your ass right back to heaven."
Maya shot him a scathing look. "I can't banish Castiel, Dean."
"No?"
"No."
"We're bonded now, Dean, she can't banish me." Cas told him
"Wow," said Dean, grinning at Maya. "Sucks to be you."
Maya rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Castiel. "This needs to be rendered exactly, or it will not work." She scanned the paper for a moment and handed it back to him. "You should keep that," he told her.
"No need," she said. Noting his expression, she raised an eyebrow. "What, you think I can't draw it from memory?"
Castiel shrugged and gestured to the wall. Be my guest, his expression said.
"Oh, this I gotta see," Dean chortled.
"Local or celestial?" Maya asked Cas.
"Local."
She turned her left hand over and carved a long shallow gash across her palm, watching the blood well, then began daubing it onto the wall. Five minutes later, she stepped back and looked at Cas.
"Good job," he said finally, his lips twisted in a pout of grudging admiration.
Maya slammed her palm against the symbol, making the others jump. She grinned at Dean and nodded at Castiel.
Cas returned the gesture. "You may want to use the celestial one for Raphael, but the local one will work just as well for lower order angels."
"Like you?" Dean smirked.
Castiel ignored him and passed one hand over Maya's torn flesh, healing her instantly.
"Hmph," grumped Dean, inspecting Maya's handiwork. He cast a sidelong glance at Castiel and Maya, then pressed his palm over Maya's handprint. Cas disappeared in a flash of light.
"Dean!" Maya screeched, flicking her hands at him. He sailed across the room and slammed into the opposite wall. "That wasn't funny!"
Dean chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't know, it was kinda funny."
"It really wasn't, Dean," Sam murmured, helping him to his feet.
Maya turned in a slow circle as though scenting the air. "Oh, great job doofus, you sent him to Australia!"
"Is he okay?" asked Sam.
"He's fine, he's on his way back but that's not the point." She replied, hissing the last three words at Dean.
Castiel appeared behind Dean, slapping him upside the head as he walked past. "Moron," he growled.
"Ow!"
"For you." The angel handed Maya a milky blue-green stone.
"It's beautiful," she breathed, holding it up to the light.
"You're beautiful," he replied.
"Oh, gag me," Dean said, slamming his hand against the sigil again.
"Arghhh!" Maya shrieked as Castiel disappeared again. She threw Dean against another wall and stalked over to him, shaking her finger. "You banish my angel again, Dean, and I swear to God I will gank you!"
"I'll help," Castiel said, reappearing. He handed a tulip to Maya.
"How is Holland this time of year?" She asked him.
"It's lovely, I'll take you..."
"Can you take her now?" Moaned Dean. "Oh come on, Cas, lighten up! It's just a joke!"
"So is this!" Said Maya, snapping her fingers at Dean. His eyes rolled back in his head as he slid down the wall, unconscious.
"Maya, this is getting beyond a joke," said Sam, leaning over Dean.
"I'll have to remember that one," Maya said, inspecting her fingers.
"How long will he be out?"
"About... two hours I'd say," Cas told him.
Later...
Dean moaned and began to stir. "What happened?" He rasped.
"You took a little nap," Maya said tartly.
"What did you do to me?"
"This..." she snapped her fingers at him again.
"Two more hours?" Sighed Sam.
"Probably only a half hour this time," Cas said, turning to Maya. "You need time to recharge."
Later still...
"Welcome back, sleeping beauty," said Maya, standing over Dean. "Are you done yet or do you want to go for round three?"
"I'm done."
"Good," said Castiel, slipping his arm around Maya's waist. "Would you excuse us?" She smiled up at him as he pressed two fingers to her forehead.
Dean dragged himself to his feet as they disappeared. "Hey Sam, we still got Dad's journal somewhere?"
"I think so. Why?"
"I want to look up sister-banishing symbols."
Chapter 8
The archangel smiled. "Very good, child," he said.
"Thank you, father." The girl swelled with pride under her mentor's praise, then her smile faded as she pressed her palm to her chest. The pain was rising again. She coughed, and a fine mist of blood sprayed across the parchment she'd been working on. "I don't understand..." she whispered, touching her bloodied lip.
"You have been consorting with outlaws."
"Outlaws? No, father."
"Outlaws, child," the archangel's voice was low and dangerous. He touched her collarbone, and the skin peeled away from her chest revealing her ribcage, and her beating heart. "Misdirection," he murmured. "And... what is this?" He pressed one finger against her heart and she convulsed in agony, crying out. "Castiel..."
"Castiel!" Maya cried, jerking herself awake. Her hands flew to her chest, inspecting the unmarked skin and she shuddered in relief and terror.
In an instant the angel was by her side, stilling her hands and pushing her damp hair away from her face. "I'm here, you're safe," he told her, pressing his lips against her forehead. He stared into her frightened eyes. "What is it?"
"Raphael!" She told him, swallowing and staring around the room. "Raphael is coming."
# # # # #
"He's coming here? Now?" Dean demanded.
"Here, now." Said Cas. "We need to get as far away from here as possible. Now." He helped Maya into her jacket. "I'll take Maya and..."
"No," said Sam. "We need to separate: throw Raphael off. But you two can't stay together."
Maya slid her hand into Castiel's and shook her head, her eyes wide and pleading. "No," she whispered.
"Why?" Demanded Cas.
"Well, we wouldn't want you two love-birds more concerned with doing the hokey pokey than ganking our archangel friend," Dean smirked.
Castiel cocked his head and fixed Dean with a stern look. "Dean, there is a time and a place for... doing the hokey pokey, but now is not it."
"I know that, genius, I just wasn't sure you knew it."
"Look, Raphael isn't going to lay a hand on me or Dean," Sam put in quickly; glancing at Cas's balled fist and Dean's furious expression. "But he'd happily tear Cas a new one to get to Maya, and vice versa." He turned to Castiel. "Maya will be safe with either of us, and you're safe with the other."
The angel glared at Sam for a moment, then nodded in acquiescence. "You're right..."
"Castiel, no..."
"Maya," he said, turning her around to face him. He searched her face for a moment, as though memorising it, then kissed her fiercely. When they broke apart, he pressed his left palm over her heart. Maya sucked in a breath, seeming to grow taller for a moment. "Alright?" Castiel asked her.
She nodded, stepping away from him.
"Okay, let's get this show on the road," said Dean, clapping his hands.
"Right, you take Maya, I'll take Cas..." began Sam.
"No." Said Dean. "You take Maya." He tossed his car-keys at his brother.
"Okay, whatever..."
Dean shot a triumphant look at his sister as the angel placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sucks to be you," he said, then disappeared with Castiel.
# # # # #
The drove in silence, Maya watching the scenery flit past as she chewed moodily on her thumbnail. Sam glanced at her occasionally, weighing her mood.
"I'm sorry Dean's being such a dick about all this," he said finally.
"But why?" Maya asked.
"He's threatened by you."
Maya shot him a startled look. "Threatened by me?" She exclaimed. "Well, granted I could snap his spine like a toothpick but he must understand I would never harm him?"
"No, not that sort of threatened."
"What then?"
"Well... because until you came along, Dean was number one on Cas's All Time Top 10 Favourite Humans list," he told her. "Now you're here, he's been bumped back down to second best..." he frowned. "Where I used to be," he finished.
"But that's absurd," said Maya. "Castiel thinks of Dean as a brother. You too."
# # # # #
"Oh, don't give me that bromance crap, Cas," said Dean.
"But it's the truth," said Castiel. "I would have thought that you, of all people, would understand the importance of brotherhood..."
# # # # #
"Brotherhood is of paramount importance to angels," said Maya. "The fact that Castiel turned his back on his heavenly brethren for your sake should speak volumes to Dean..."
# # # # #
"Well, apparently not," said Dean. "The first piece of tail comes along and you drop me like a hot potato."
"I have in no way dropped you," said Castiel. "I am here with you now..."
"Only because you need me," Dean cut in. "Only because Raphael won't tear your skull off and eat your eyeballs for making it with his protégé as long as I'm around."
"Be that as it may, it is not the only reason..."
"Look, whatever man. What's the game plan? Holy oil? Butterfly net?"
"Raphael is not going to fall for that twice in a row," said Castiel.
"Yeah, he was pretty pissed about that," said Dean. He chuckled, shaking his head. "Last time we were in this position I told you I wasn't going to let you die a virgin."
"I remember."
"Guess I don't have to worry about that anymore."
"No," Cas agreed. They shuffled their feet in silence for a moment. "You and your brother are still important to me..."
"Cas..."
"But Dean. Do not make me choose between my best friend and my mate. I would not ask the same of you..." he trailed off, frowning at the sky. Clouds were gathering, rain began to fall, and here and there were soundless flashes of lightening. "Something's coming."
"Raphael?"
"Dean Winchester, I am surprised," said a deep and melodious voice. Dean and Castiel spun around. "I mistook you for the brawn of the operation."
In an instant, the Arkansas fields disappeared, replaced by a sumptuous waiting room fitted with gilt, mahogany furniture and fine paintings – all too familiar to Dean.
"It's like déjà vu all over again," he muttered.
"Raphael..."
"Castiel." The archangel wearing the handsome dark-skinned man clucked his tongue and shook his head. "I would say it's good to see you again but I prefer not to lie." Castiel watched him warily. "Now, be a good boy and call your whore for me."
"I don't know what you're talking about," said Cas.
"Castiel, please. There are no secrets here." Raphael grasped Castiel's left hand and turned it over. "Call your little whore," he said again. "Or I'll do it for you."
"No."
Raphael shrugged. "As you wish," he said, pressing his finger against the mark burned into Castiel's palm. Castiel howled in pain.
# # # # #
Maya doubled over, clutching her chest.
"Maya!" Sam cried, wrestling the Impala off the road. "What?"
"Raphael!" She gasped, clutching her brother. "He has Castiel!"
"Dean?"
"Him too."
"He's okay then, Raphael won't harm either of them if Dean is there."
"Arghh!" Maya shrieked, convulsing in pain. "He's calling me! He's torturing Castiel to call me!"
"We can't do anything," Sam told her. "I'm sorry, but we can't."
"We can," she said, reaching up. "I'm sorry, I'm not very good at this yet, it will not be comfortable..." she pressed her fingers against Sam's forehead.
# # # # #
Castiel collapsed. "There now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Raphael turned to greet the newcomers. "Hello, my dear. Lovely of you to join us."
"Castiel..."
"Uh uh! Stay right there," said Raphael, holding up one hand. "You have a bond; you can sense from there I haven't damaged him... permanently."
Her lips trembling, she looked from Castiel to Raphael, then back again. She swallowed hard. "Don't... don't hurt him anymore. I'm here; you got what you came for. Just... leave him be. The humans too."
Raphael chuckled, his voice rich and warm and resonant with mirth. "Oh, such loyalty you've developed in such a short time," he said. His eyes grew cold. "I raised you, child. I rescued you from your dying mother's womb and gave you life..."
"It wasn't yours to give," Castiel rasped. Dean helped him to his feet. "Only our Father has power over life and death."
"You... little... maggot!" Raphael hissed, turning on Castiel. "You desecrate my child, who would have died without ever having the chance to live without my intervention, and you dare to chastise me?"
"I am not your child," Maya told him, advancing on the archangel. "And you are not my father. I belong to Castiel now, and you will not take me as your vessel!"
Raphael raised an astonished eyebrow at the temerity of his former protégé, then began to laugh. "Is that what they told you?" He asked her. "That you were to be my vessel?"
Maya exchanged glances with the others as they edged their way around the room to form a united front against the archangel. Dean was the first to speak up.
"So, if you didn't want to use my sister as your meat-suit, what did you want her for?" He asked.
Raphael shot a derisive look at Dean and turned his attention to Maya again. "Oh my dear," he said, favouring her with a condescending smile. "I had such great plans for you. You were to become the new leader of heaven!"
"That's different," murmured Sam.
"So what's even creepier than the teenage mutant ninja angel grooming our sister to be his next meat-suit?" Asked Dean.
"Grooming her to be the next deity," Castiel answered.
"Female deity," Sam mused. "Works for me."
"Yeah, it would," snorted Dean. "I swear, if were any more in touch with your feminine side, Sam, I'd have to buy you a dress!"
"I'm not doing it," Maya told Raphael.
"My dear, of course you're not," Raphael agreed. "When you allowed yourself to be... mauled... by this poor excuse for an angel..." he gestured to Castiel, "you became next door to useless to me." He tutted at her. "I am very disappointed in you, young lady."
"Sorry Dad," Dean quipped. A sharp look from Castiel silenced him, wiping the smile from his face.
Raphael sighed. "Which brings us to an impasse. You and you..." he indicated Sam and Dean, "I am not allowed to touch. You..." he pointed to Castiel, "I can't touch because of the shield you've made out of your little whore, here..." he smiled at Maya.
"You call her a whore again and I'll..." Castiel began, then looked around, confused.
The waiting room was gone. Raphael was gone. The four of them were standing at the side of a road next to Dean's Impala as the sun began to set. There was a chill in the air.
"What, that's it?" Dean asked.
"I can't believe he just let us go like that," said Sam.
"Neither can I," said Castiel. He drew Maya into a fierce embrace and she buried her face in his chest.
"There is one thing I just don't get," said Sam.
"Just one?" Asked Dean.
"If Maya was supposed to be the next God... Goddess... whatever! Why bother sending her to earth? Why not keep her safe up in heaven..."
"And under Raphael's thumb," Dean finished for him. "Good point."
"For the same reason the Christ was sent to earth," said Maya, lifting her tear-stained face from Castiel's chest. She wiped her eyes.
Her brothers paled.
Castiel pulled Maya against him again. Kissing the top of her head, he looked at Sam and Dean. "This isn't over," he told them.
TO BE CONTINUED?
All this time I can't believe I couldn't see
Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me
I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems
Got to open my eyes to everything
Without a thought without a voice without a soul
Don't let me die here
There must be something more
Bring me to life
- Evanescence, 'Bring Me To Life'