A big thanks to those who reviewed and alerted on the last chapter. So here it is Chapter 3 enjoy!
Fallen Angel – Chapter 3
"Stacey didn't kill you in your sleep then Dean." Sam said with a grin as Dean walked into the kitchen the next morning, his hair still damp from the shower.
"Nope, but it was touch and go for a while." Dean smirked, remembering the indignation on Stacey's face as he teased her about her ass.
Sam watched the amusement pass over his brother's face and frowned.
"What did you do Dean?"
"Oh don't get your panties in a bunch Samantha... She's still alive, and as you can see so am I."
"Come on Dean, you need to back off and give her a break. I don't know what's gotten into you, normally you see a pretty girl and you're trying to charm her out of her pants, but with Stacey you're deliberately baiting her. What's going on?"
"Do you forget that she broke in here and the spectacular way in which she nearly broke my face last night Sammy-"
"What... that's it?" Sam said a look a confusion passing over his face. "No way it's that...Dean I know you-"
"Christ give it a rest Sammy I'll lay off okay?"
Sam stared at his brother for a moment, weighing up whether to go on. He could understand that Dean was a bit put out at getting his ass handed to him by Stacey, but after her explanation last night and the way in which he'd calmed her down when she started to panic. Shaking his head, he decided to let it slide for now. If Dean kept up the bitch attitude then he'd deal with him later.
"So, Stacey's story checks out."
"What part, the part that she was in Pontiac at the same time as when I was pulled from the pit by Cas or the part where she was found in a field two years later?"
"Both." Sam said, turning his laptop towards Dean.
"Police reports from Pontiac Sheriff's Department say that a young woman of Stacey's description checked in to the Lucky Charms motel under the name of Olivia Stratham a day before I arrived in town. She paid for two nights in cash. When she didn't check out the Manager checked the room and found that it hadn't been slept in. The room was empty except for a small bag with a change of clothes. Police enquiries identified her as being about town on the day she arrived, residents remember her because she was a pretty young girl on a motorcycle. Her bike never turned up."
"Any security footage pick her up?"
"Yeah, security camera at the motel picked her up checking in. It was definitely her." Sam said as he reached over and pulled up the image on his laptop.
Dean frowned. "Okay we got her in Pontiac like she says, but then?"
"Then nothing until she turned up in a field just outside Winchester." Sam said, watching as Dean's face filled with disbelief.
"Winchester?"
"Yeah some co-incidence ... she was found by a farmer, her insides practically out. The news reports suggested that she'd been the victim of a Satanist ritual. They didn't expect her to live. She had no wallet and no id. When she woke up the whole town thought it was an act of God."
Rubbing a hand over his face Dean attempted to process what Sam was saying. "So when was this? Had to have been what six months ago, because she looks pretty damn good for someone who was nearly dead? Why didn't she call someone?"
"Dean, that was two weeks ago... apparently she just up and left in the middle of the night."
"Then she wasn't possessed. What demon do we know, stay's in a mortally wounded meat suit, heals it, and then jumps ship? Usually they jump ship leaving the meat suit to rot."
"I know it doesn't make sense... there's always the act of God theory."
"Well Cas ain't showing so we can't ask him to check it out." Dean absently rubbed at the scar on his shoulder. "So we talk to her again, see if we can't jog her memory, maybe find a spell?"
"Bobby's on that now. I don't think he slept a wink last night... You know he was devastated when they buried her, couldn't quite accept that she was gone."
"Yeah, we didn't help either, to wrapped up in our own shit to notice what was going on with him."
"Yeah, we never were good at noticing when other people were in trouble."
"No we weren't, but we were in the middle of the steaming pile of crap that was the Apocalypse, so I think you should cut yourself some slack Sammy."
"Maybe."
"Absolutely Sammy..., so should we wake sleeping beauty and ask her about her miraculous recovery or wait till she appears?" Dean said, a grin already forming on his face. "I say we wake her, can't have her sleeping while we do all the research."
"Dean you promised to back off."
"Oh Dean doesn't know the meaning of back off, right Dean?" Stacey said. She had come downstairs as Dean and Sam were talking and picked up on the very end of the conversation. She loved that Sam still stuck up for her, but she could handle Dean.
"Morning Stacey, sleep well?" Dean grinned.
"I slept perfectly well Dean thank you."
Sam looked from Dean to Stacey, not quite sure what was going on, as Bobby had said last night they were acting like twelve year old kids. It was obvious that something had happened last night. They were both pissed at each other, that much was obvious, but were going out of their way to try and make the other think they were fine.
"So your story checked out Stacey we got you in Pontiac two years ago and then in Winchester two weeks ago-" Sam said, ignoring the tension between them. "-but what we can't figure out is, if you were so badly hurt how can you be up and about -"
"and kicking the crap out of Dean." Stacey said with a laugh.
"What! Hey I seem to remember you being the one under me last night Stace." Dean said indignantly.
"It's Stacey... and if Uncle Bobby and Sam hadn't interrupted, it would have been you under me!...I mean-"
Dean laughed loudly, enjoying the blush that spread over Stacey's cheeks as she realised how that had sounded.
"Well wouldn't that have been fun."
"Come on Dean give it a rest." Sam said, swallowing the laughter bubbling up inside of him. Instead he turned to Stacey. "You were hurt badly, but two weeks later and you seem fine."
Stacey stood for a moment, the blush fading from her cheeks as she considered Sam's unasked question. Sighing she lifted her shirt and tank, exposing the angry red scar which ran across her whole abdomen.
"Not pretty huh?" she said as she took in the brothers shocked expressions. "I woke up in hospital and realised after a few days that I wasn't feeling any pain. When the Doctors removed the bandages, they were baffled by the fact that I was healing so quickly. That's when I knew that I had to get out of there and find some answers. So I left, and after a quick detour to pick up some things I came here."
"You don't remember anything Stacey, nothing to indicate where you'd been or what you'd done over the last two years. There's nothing else that you haven't told us that would maybe clue us in?" Sam asked quietly, swallowing hard as his mind called up images of his friend lying in a field, with her belly split open. His gaze flickered to Dean who had sobered up and was staring intently at the scar still visible on Stacey's stomach.
"I only see flashes, images of black eyes and pain, but nothing tangible except-" She paused. She lifted her tank higher, turning to the side as she did so "Then there's this."
The brother's expressions froze, as Stacey exposed her back and the hand print clearly etched into her skin.
Dean met Stacey's eyes, expression shaken. "It looks like you've been touched by an angel Stace."
"That's not funny Dean." Hurt blossoming as she quickly lowered her top and turned to walk from the room.
"Stacey wait!" Moving quickly Dean pulled on her arm to stop her retreat.
"Don't touch me Dean... I don't need your shit right now!" She said, eyes flashing angrily as she yanked her arm from his grasp.
"I'm not joking Stacey." Dean said quietly. "You didn't get that mark from a demon. There's only one thing that I know of that can leave a mark like that."
"Come on Dean you don't expect me to believe that an angel did that do you? I may have been gone for a while, but so far as I know no hunter has ever seen an angel."
"Well a lot has happened in two years. Angels are real and are dicks-"
"I don't believe you Dean."
"No, well do you believe this?" Dean pulled his arm from the sleeve of his shirt, exposing the Castiel's hand print.
"Stacey only an angel could have done that to you."
"But?"
"No buts, an angel."
"How?"
"An angel pulled me from Hell."
Sam looked on, feeling like he was intruding on something, but not sure what. Neither of them seemed aware of him anymore. Dean had never told anyone so brazenly that he'd been to Hell, and Stacey looked shell shocked as she reached out and tentatively touched the imprint.
"From Hell" she whispered brokenly "Does that mean-"
"It means that an angel touched you in its true form Stacey, nothing more." Dean said, unwilling to consider that she had been in Hell for two years, two hundred years, then pulled out by some dick angel and left bloodied in a field.
"Dean, we really need to talk to Cas." Sam said, breaking the tension which was building between them both.
Dean snapped round to look at Sam, his mind swirling as memories of Hell threatened to engulf him. "I'll go try and get his feathery ass down here."
Without another word, he walked out of the room leaving a shaken Stacey and stunned Sam standing in the kitchen.
Stacey took a shaky breath. "I need, I ..."
"Sit down Stacey; I'll get you some water."
Just then Zara walked into the kitchen, her face a picture of concern as she took Stacey's shaken state. "What happened Sam? Dean just strode past me looking like someone had punched him in the gut."
Shaking his head "I'll explain later. Can you take care of Stacey for me I need to make sure Dean's okay?"
"Sure."
Sam kissed Zara softly, before quickly leaving the kitchen in search of his brother.
xxOOxx
Sam searched the yard for Dean, eventually finding him at the furthest end of the yard sitting on the hood of an old car, staring unseeing into the distance.
"No luck getting a hold of Cas?"
"Stating the obvious there Sammy, he's not here is he?"
"No I just meant-"
Scrubbing a hand roughly over his face, Dean let out a long sigh. "To be honest, I'm not sure I want him to come help with this one?"
"What?" Sam asked confused. "Why not?"
"Because, if she's been in Hell I don't think we want to stick those memories back in her head. It was bad enough that she thinks she hurt people if she was possessed but..."
"Memories of Hell would be worse." Sam filled in the blanks "Dean we don't know for sure that she was in Hell. Like you said, we only know that she was touched by an angel in its true form."
"Tell me this Sammy, why would an angel just leave her in a field in Winchester with her guts hanging out."
"I don't know Dean-"
"No we don't and I'm not sure I want to know... . Our lives were just going right, a home, regular hunts and Zara's pregnancy, so of course the shit had to hit the fan and land slap bang in our laps... You know what I've had it! We don't deserve any more crap in our lives, haven't we done enough?" Dean slipped from the car and strode angrily to the middle of the yard.
"Cas, I know you can hear me up there. Get your feathery ass down here now or don't bother coming back again. You can forget being friends, I'm done with you feathery dicks messing me around!"
"Dean?" Castiel said, appearing in front of the brothers. He was concerned as he looked from Dean to Sam and back unsure as to the source or reason for Dean's anger.
"Oh so now you turn up. I've been calling you since last night."
"I thought that you were drunk calling me Dean and I had matters of import to deal with in Heaven." Castiel said stoically, his expression one of confusion as he stared at his friend.
"Well you have matters of import to deal with here!"
"Dean –"
"Don't Cas." Dean held up a hand. "Just tell me what the Hell you know about Stacey Singer."
Castiel stared at Dean for a moment before shaking his head. "I know nothing of a Stacey Singer."
"Well one of your buddies does, because she's in Bobby's kitchen now sporting a hand print almost identical to mine, but she has no idea how she got it or any memory of the last two years."
"I'm sorry Dean I do not know who-"
"Okay Cas you don't know. So tell me about the demons that you smote in Pontiac the day that after you pulled me topside." Dean said, his anger growing in the face of Castiel's apparent lack of knowledge.
"Dean, come on man Castiel doesn't know about Stacey, but maybe he'll be able to unlock her memories and find out what happened and why she's back now?"
"Of course I will assist however I can. I should be able to identify the angel from the mark." Castiel replied, concern for his friend growing and angry that he was so distressed.
Dean looked at Castiel for a moment, his anger draining. Closing his eyes briefly he took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Cas, I know that you'll do what you can. I just... let's get back to the house. We'll explain what's going on on the way."
Sam brought Castiel up to speed as they walked slowly back to the house; giving Dean space and time to compose himself before they got back. On hearing the story, Castiel confirmed that he had smote all of the demons that had been in the town and that there had been no other angels present when he was there, he would have sensed their presence. Whatever had happened had done so before he arrived. He had no knowledge of any of the events that took place.
"Cas, why don't you head in we'll be right behind you." Sam said. Holding Dean back he asked "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Sammy, yeah I fine... let's just get this over with." Dean said, an uncharacteristically uncertain look on his face.
"You're sure?"
Nodding, Dean walked into the house, Sam following closely behind. Walking into the kitchen they found Castiel talking quietly with Zara and Bobby, Stacey nowhere in sight.
"She's upstairs, she wouldn't tell me a thing Sam. What happened?" Worry etching her brow as she took in the state of Dean, whatever had happened had affected him badly.
"Stacey has an angel's hand print imprinted on her back." Sam said simply, knowing that Zara would connect the dots.
Understanding dawning, Zara nodded "I'll go get her."
"I'm here. I heard Sam and Dean come back." Stacey said from the doorway.
Dean leaned against the wooden counter and watched Stacey as she entered the kitchen, his eyes darting to Castiel who had gone very still when she appeared, blue eyes shining brightly as he stared intently at her.
"Cas what do you see?"
"Dean, this is not possible."
"What's going on Cas?"
"Your friend is a vessel –"
"Son of a bitch! So, a dick angel left her hurt and dying in a field in the middle of nowhere?" Dean said angrily "Christ almighty that really is the-"
"No Dean you misunderstand me." Castiel said his eyes never leaving the woman in front of him "She is an inhabited vessel. The essence of an angel remains within her."
TBC
CG1
