Chapter 4 – Family

Crowley was lounging about in his house again. He had his other body chained up in the basement. He wasn't too concerned about taking care of him, as he could always just use the angel's powers to heal him when he needed him back. Besides, he was a New York literary agent. He was fairly certain he'd seen worse.

He sighed, setting his scotch back on the table. One thing he hated about possessing different bodies was adjusting to the changes in perception. This body had slightly better vision, slightly worse hearing, slightly better coordination, and almost entirely different tastes. Craig didn't taste as good, and he kept craving cheeseburgers. But there were still certain advantages to possessing an angel, especially one so gorgeous.

Last night's adventure had left him a little tired, and though he didn't need to sleep, he enjoyed it. He also knew his angel would be ever more pissed off if the demon kept him tied down and then did nothing with him like that, so he spent a good fourteen hours in blissful unconsciousness. After that, he got up, poured himself a drink, and now here he was, waiting on his henchmen, as per usual.

Since there was still some time to kill, he decided to poke at his favorite pet. He walked over to a mirror again and let the angel out.

Castiel glared at him. "You monster," he said, tone dripping with loathing.

"Oh, come now, Cassie, that's not really how you feel, is it?" Crowley taunted. "I saw how you reacted to that poor girl last night. I felt what you felt, love." He leaned in closer to the mirror for effect. "I know you liked it," he hissed.

Castiel was visibly seething. "Mark my words, you abomination, when I get out of here–"

"And just how do you propose to do that?" Crowley interrupted. "As long as these marks stay intact," he said as he patted his right hip, "you're mine. And I will do whatever I please with you." He gave a nasty grin with that last sentence.

Castiel held the demon's gaze, but didn't say anything.

"Oh, come now," said Crowley with a sneer. "Aren't you the least bit curious about what I plan to do?"

"Are you really planning to tell me?"

"No, but that's not really the point, here, is it?"

"What is the point, then, Crowley?"

The demon looked pleasantly surprised. "Calling me by my name, now, are we love? Well, I suppose it's only fitting, seeing as how close we've gotten."

There was a knock at the door. Crowley stepped away from the mirror and reined the angel back in. I think you know what the point is, angelcakes. The point is to see just how much you can take before you snap.

Crowley answered the door. The demon standing there looked slightly scared for a split second before composing himself a bit. "What is it?" Crowley asked.

"Sorry, sir," the demon replied. "I, um. I forgot you were wearing an angel for a moment."

"That's not what I meant."

"Oh! Um. You meant, um, why am I here." The demon was fumbling through some papers in his hands. "I, um. We, that is. What I meant was, um..."

"Spit it out!" spat Crowley. Honestly, it was so hard to find good help these days.

"Right! Sorry. Um. We found them, sir. The family. Um. That family you were looking for."

"You found them?"

"Yes sir," he said, handing Crowley one of the papers. "The address is right there, see?" He pointed to the address printed on the page. "Amelia Novak and her daughter, Claire."

Crowley's eyes lit up as he slammed the door in the lesser demon's face.


This was too much. That poor random girl was bad enough, but now this? Jimmy's family? No. Not them. He'd promised they'd be safe. Jimmy had given his life for that promise. He'd given everything for it. Castiel couldn't let him down like this. But he couldn't see a way of stopping it.

They were out in front of the house now. Not the same one they had lived in with Jimmy, because they'd moved to escape the demons, but he could see them inside.

The house looked remarkably similar, with a walkway leading up the front yard to a covered porch, just like the old one. They stood in that walkway, wearing the same clothes Jimmy had worn when Castiel had first taken him. They walked up the path, they rang the doorbell, and they looked into Amelia's eyes as they widened in fear and shock.

"Jimmy?" she asked, wary. Castiel could feel his face turn into a relieved and apologetic smile. "I-is it really you?"

"It's really me, honey," he answered, his voice lighter and less gravelly than when Castiel spoke through it. With that, she threw herself into his arms and sobbed.

"Shh, it's OK, it's OK," he said. "Let's get inside, alright?" She nodded, and they went inside. Castiel was screaming again, but no one was listening.

They sat down on the couch. Amelia was still crying. "W-what happened, Jimmy?" she asked. "Where's Castiel? I thought..."

"It's OK, love. He's gone back to Heaven. He didn't need me anymore." He reached out and put his hand on her face, and Castiel raged and fought it but got nowhere.

"So, what, he was done with you, so he just dumped you here?" She was angry, and rightfully so. Her every word stung Castiel. He knew how much he had cost this innocent family.

"No, honey, don't you see?" His tone was soothing. "He put me back here so I could be with you again. He gave me the best gift he could. He gave me my life back." He pulled her into a tight hug.

He heard footsteps, too light to be adult, and a little girl came into the room. "Daddy?" she asked, not sure whether or not she believed what she was seeing. She was still young, but she'd been put through enough to know not to always take things at face value.

"Yes, honey," he answered, letting his voice crack slightly for good measure. "Daddy's home." She ran over to the couple on the couch and he pulled her into the embrace. Castiel felt the warmth of the two bodies pressed against him and instantly understood why humans took such comfort from embracing one another.

"We never thought we'd see you again, Jimmy," Amelia sobbed into his shoulder.

With that, Crowley smiled the most evil grin he could manage with a borrowed face. "Oh, sweetie, I'll be the last thing you'll ever see." She looked up at him just in time to see his eyes flash red before he touched his fingers to both her and her daughter's foreheads and putting them both to sleep.