Don't worry, the fluff doesn't last too long. Also, I do have a mature rated version of this chapter sitting on my desktop that I don't know what to do with. Let me know if you think I should post it as a separate fic.

Update: I've posted the mature version of this chapter (rated for sexual content) for those of you interested. Find it by searching "Soccer Doesn't Impress Me" on my page. :)

You are the one, the one that lies close to me,
Whispers 'Hello, I miss you quite terribly,'
I fell in love, in love with you suddenly,
Now there's nowhere else I would be but here in your arms...
~HelloGoodbye

I'm sure I don't need to say that it took me by surprise. However, this was the second time I'd ever been spontaneously tackled by a woman and had her lips pressed against mine. I'm not bragging, I promise. It was just becoming an unusual pattern.

Ellie's lips felt differently than Meg's had. They were a bit thinner, and not as smooth, but they were warmer, and gentler. The kiss had taken me off guard, and I'd stopped in the middle of my sentence as she'd reached out suddenly and wrapped her hands around the back of my neck, before firmly pressing her mouth to mine.

I froze the moment it happened, opening my eyes wide in shock, only to find Ellie's squeezed tightly shut. I waited a moment, expecting her to pull away as Meg had, but when she stayed close and only slightly moved her lips against mine, I didn't know what action to take.

My mind whirled for a of couple short seconds as I wondered how to react. I thought back to how I'd handled the situation last, but treating her as I had the demon girl seemed extremely inappropriate when I briefly considered it. Dean and I had had a conversation later about the video I'd found on his laptop, and that it wasn't the best way to go about getting girls "on the off chance that I ever had the opportunity." During the conversation I hadn't actually inquired as to what was appropriate.

In those very short moments of panic, I couldn't think of a proper way to react to Ellie's advance and put my hands to her shoulders pushing her away from me. Probably more roughly than I intended. She pulled away gasping before looking up at me with hurt in her eyes. I could have dammed myself right then and there, but before I could think to apologize, she'd dropped her gaze and put her hands to her hair.

"I'm so sorry," she blurted out, her eyes darting around the floor. "I'm sorry, I didn't think. I shouldn't have done that! Oh, bollocks, bollocks, bollocks!" She squeezed her eyes shut and stomped her foot down once.

Blinking rapidly, I tried to find my words. "Ellie, I apologize, I… I just…"

"I'm sorry, Castiel," she interrupted "please don't go." She took her hands from her hair and put them to my wrists, pulling my hands up in front of her. "Please don't, I just didn't think. I mean I thought you wanted… Oh, bollocks!"

"I did!" I spoke it loudly and ended up snapping my mouth shut as she darted her eyes up to mine questioningly. "I did," I managed out again. "I just didn't know how to react. I'm sorry."

"No, no," she said, lowering her eyes again and shaking her head, her voice still high and fast-paced. "I shouldn't have just jumped on you, it was a stupid thing to do. I should have known better. I just have had these feelings building up in me for so long and I haven't known what to do about them, I mean, Christ, you're an angel. I worry about you constantly, I only feel normal when you're around, which is ridiculous but true, and then you go and say something about feeling attached and worried about me, and of course my stupid, female mind is jumping to conclu-"

She talked fast, but all I heard was the emotion in her words, and the next moment I couldn't stop myself. I dipped my head, pressing my lips against hers as she had done to me, taking note to be gentle. I left my hands at my sides, not wanting to do something wrong with them, and closed my eyes in hope that I wasn't about to be shoved away as I'd done to her.

Instead, Ellie's rambling ceased and her body almost immediately relaxed. I felt her warm hands against my face before her fingers tangled into my vessel's hair. The feeling of it was almost weakening. I heard a low moan and realized that it was coming from myself as I squeezed my eyes shut tighter.

Ellie pulled away a few moments later and I copied her, not wanting to seem foolish by persisting. She kept her eyes closed and leaned her forehead against my own, breathing deeply.

My heart was pounding, and in those moments of being so close to her, all I wished was to adhere to her. She put a hand up to tug gently at my tie, loosening it around my neck and looked up into my face. "Cas," she whispered, trailing off to look down at our feet. "Are you-"

I reached out a bit, touching her other hand that was hanging limply at her side. "No."

Ellie stirred lifted her eyes back up to mine. Her face was serious, but her eyes were shining. She stepped close to me, reached up a hand, and pulled me down to kiss her again...

Elizabeth stirred, groaning softly, and a strand of hair fell lazily into her face. She snorted through her nose and shook her head, attempting to move it away, only for it to fall right back over her eyes. She let out a growl of annoyance, moving to pull her hands out from under the blanket over her, but I reached down and gently tucked the strand behind her ear.

Ellie's eyes fluttered open, her brow furrowed in question. Her brown eyes searched the living room for a moment, before moving up to my face. "Cas," she groaned out with a smile. I offered her a small smile and she pulled her arms around my middle tighter, taking a moment to tug at my jacket. "When did you put your clothes back on? I didn't feel you move."

"I didn't," I replied, my voice huskier than normal. Shifting, I cleared my throat.

She wiggled again and seemed confused. The strand of hair fell back into her face. "Celestial entity super powers?"

"Is that what you call it?"

She giggled a bit, and pulled the blanket over her nose. "It sounded better than saying Jimmy's suit is your avatar's default setting."

I tilted my head. "Pardon?"

"A girl at work got me into Warcraft." She paused before shaking her head. "Nothing. At least you left your trench coat off."

I closed my eyes as she nuzzled her face into my jacket, and ran my fingers through her hair. Moment's passed, and I reminded myself that I needed to leave. I'd been gone from Heaven for hours and it was nagging in the back of my mind. An itch I couldn't scratch. Yet, a few more minutes with her couldn't hurt. It was the first time I'd felt fully sane in days.

Ellie stirred again and I looked back down to see her face distorted into confusion. "What is it?"

She poked her tongue out the slightest bit to wet her lips. "I saw something. I keep trying to decide if I dreamed it, but I don't think I did."

"Dreamed what?"

Her brow furrowed again in thought. "I think... I think I saw your wings. At the end. You know, when I…" She trailed off and her distant eyes studied my tie.

"I understand," I said stoically.

"Do you think I imagined it?" Her voice came muffled from under the blanket as she pulled it back over her face.

I shook my head. "No. Though I have no knowledge to assume that it has ever happened before. This is the first time anything like this has happened."

She reached out a hand to fiddle absentmindedly with my tie and I lifted my own to caress her wrist. "What? An angel being with a human?"

"An angel falling in love with an angel," I corrected gently. She lifted her eyes to mine, wide and bright as she scrutinized my face. "Particularly one with her Grace missing," I finished, and Ellie's face fell. She went back to studying my tie.

"Though there is a story," I said quietly, turning to look out the window. Sometime in the last few minutes it had started raining and drops were pelting softly at the glass. "You may have heard it before, as it was told by humans. It was said that there were once two angels who met in Heaven and fell deeply in love. Their passion for one another was stronger even than that of their love for God, and for that, God punished them. He separated them across the universe so that they might forget one another with time, but instead, they became so desperate for each other that they began moving the stars and planets to make a bridge so they would someday meet in the middle. The story was suppose to be the creation of your-"

"Milky Way," she finished. "I have heard that before." She tugged at my jacket again. "It's not true?"

I pulled my gaze back to her and looked at her morosely. "No," I said quietly. "The last angel that moved the stars out of passion hated humans. He tore Heaven apart until he was banished from it, and took all those who stood by him along with him."

"Lucifer."

I nodded and looked back out the window.

Ellie pulled her arms out from under the blanket, and lifted herself up, her hands on either side of me. She pulled herself closer to me and looked me in the eyes. "Maybe I did see your wings. It was only for an instant, but they've said before that it is while in the throws of ecstasy that you are closest to Heaven." She met my eyes. "They almost seemed to flicker around you, outlined with light. You were wrong about the color though."

I leaned forward brushing my forehead against hers. "Then, please. Correct me."

She grinned and blew a lock of wavy hair out of her face. "Well, they aren't mousy like you said. They're more sandy. Mousy implies the color not being vibrant, like…" She pulled a strand of hair in front her, and held it up to my face. "Like this."

"I like that color."

She dropped the strand and smiled. "Me too. Though I must say, I like blue a lot better."

I narrowed my eyes in thought. "I don't think my Father has made that a possibility yet."

Ellie grinned her second long grin and leaned forward a bit, planting a kiss over one of my eyes. "Not for hair, anyway," she said quietly. Shrinking down into the space between myself and the couch cushions she rested her head on my chest again, closing her eyes.

"Ellie," I said gently, "I must leave."

"I know," she replied, her voice morose. "Just not yet. Please."

I thought a moment and let out a sigh. I was sure Rachel and the others could handle things while I was away. I lead them, but they'd fought along side me long enough to know what actions to take. Nodding in acceptance, I rested my head back against the arm of the sofa. I would leave soon, but not yet. Maybe I would even sleep a bit and hope to refresh my mind.

In that short amount of time, nothing could happen...

The rain was something that Aristel never tired of and I watched her curiously as she walked ahead of me, stepping through puddles, and catching the drops on her wings to watch them run off in streams.

"You really think it's gloomy," she asked glancing back at me once.

"Maybe gloomy isn't the right word," I replied, pushing my glasses up my nose. "I just prefer sunny days."

"With the right amount of wind."

"Why do you say that," I asked with a tilt of my head.

She stopped and turned to my way, waiting for me to catch up. "The Heaven you prefer. It was just a guess."

"You're right," I replied with a light sigh. "Though that makes me realize that I've never seen your preferred Heaven."

Aristel's face was calm, as she gave a small shrug. "I have more than a few. Though my absolute favorite belongs to a boy that died of tuberculosis when he was nine years old." She smiled then. "He spends eternity playing with a little girl that lived across the street from him. He was quite smitten with her."

A smile tugged at my lips. "I should have known it'd be something like that."

"Indeed, you should have. Two thousand years and you still haven't opened up to me."

I gazed at her from over my glasses. "How do you mean?"

She stopped and looked around at the black umbrellas passing us by. "Well," she started with a sigh, "When you've been close to the humans as long as I have, you begin to feel a great deal. I can't even remember how many vessels I've had before Margaret here. I'm a lot more sensitive to emotion than most angels because I've had so many, and I've been around humans so long. You, Castiel, you have many different roles in Heaven. What is your full title again? Castiel, Commander of Heaven's Fifth Army, Guardian of Thursday, Ruler of Jupiter, and…?"

"Protector of the Weary Traveler," I finished.

Aristel nodded. "Exactly. You have other responsibilities aside from watching over man. You haven't been here nearly as much as I have, or had a human vessel for that long. They have a way of bringing out all of this… emotion if you let them." She gazed off for a moment. "Beautiful, terrifying, incredible emotion."

I tilted my head. "So, that is why you feel so strongly for them," I speculated, "because the vessels allow you to be more in tune to human feelings. Do the others feel like this?"

She nodded. "Most of us. Archangels such as yourself each have a different way of experiencing your emotion for humans because of your different rolls. Raphael," she said with a slight scowl, "is the warrior. His love for humans is minimal. He might as well be a Seraphim. Michael, is more loving of humans than any of us. His love for God outshines it which is why he is so strict. That's somewhat you're situation as well, it seems."

I adjusted the rim of my fedora. "What do you mean by my situation?"

Aristel gave me a sad grin. A small twitch of her mouth that lasted no longer than a second. "The 'Ruler of Jupiter,' Cas? There's a reason you were given that role by our father. There's a constant storm in you that keeps you so devoted. I can see it leak out every now and then. Little drops of it."

I narrowed my eyes in thought, but she continued, giving me no room to object. "Anyway, simple angels such as myself feel differently. We are all the same, all with a special love for them."

"Then why is yours so profound," I asked flatly, looking at her from over my glasses.

Aris grinned another second long grin before her face went solemn. She gazed out into the street, looking admirably at London Bridge. "Maybe it's the way I was created. Then again, maybe I've been talking to someone."

I opened my mouth to speak then, but the wave of dread came over us.

Aristel turned with me as I looked over my shoulder, only to see a young woman coming nervously out of a red telephone booth. She glanced around anxiously, waves of fear coming off of her, before she began walking quickly in the opposite direction. Not moments later, a shifty looking man walked right between us, unaware of our presence, filling the air with malevolence.

"Oh, no," Aristel whispered, her voice filled with anxiety.

Focussing, I quickly entered the man's mind. "He's been following her for a few blocks. He was watching her in the pub she just left."

I'd barely finished the last sentence before Aris vanish from my side and appeared far ahead on the street corner, watching the woman as she neared her. I appeared beside her, glancing at her once and noting that she was chewing on her bottom lip.

"Aris," I whispered, "don't-"

I couldn't finnish before the man suddenly swept up from behind the girl, covering her mouth, and grabbing the back of her hair. The girl screamed through his fingers, but he yanked hard on her ponytail, cutting her off. She was struggling, but to no avail as the man began back up quickly, pulling her toward an alleyway just behind them.

"Castiel," Aristel gasped out, her voice on edge.

"I know," I said, vanishing from her side to appear in the alley.

He already had the girl shoved against the wall, behind a trash bin, and was whispering violent words through his teeth. The girl trembled and squeezed her eyes shut as cries escaped her throat. I reached my grace out to her, and she stopped crying, attempting to fight the man off again, only to be slammed back into the wall.

Reaching for his belt, he sneered into her face, as tears of pain slid down the woman's cheeks and she cried through his fingers.

An intensely bright, white light filled the alleyway, and I caught a glimpse of Aristel at it's opening, her palm outstretched. Before I could react, the light exploded outward, and the man went sailing backward into the alley, his head connecting with the back wall with a sickening crack.

The woman looked about in terror for a moment before racing out into the street, shouting to anyone who could hear her for help.

I spun to Aristel who was standing with her hand still outstretched, shock painted across her face. "Cas," she whispered, looking down at herself, "What did I…?"

"Aris," I managed out, my voice seeming distant, "why?"

Her eyes snapped back up to mine. "You saw what he was going to do. He wasn't going to stop at just that, and you know it. He was going to do so, so much worse, like he's done to others! I was reaching out to him, doing everything I could, and he wouldn't stop!"

Somewhere from under my feet, a low humming began. Dim, and growing.

"There's nothing we could have done," I said earnestly. "We can't interfere like that, it goes against every rule of free will."

She was shaking her head in panic, and I stared at her in pure shock as actual tears welled up in her eyes. "I couldn't let him do it. I couldn't just let it happen again, I've tried before with others and each time it was torture."

The ground was beginning to rumble, almost quake beneath my feet, and from somewhere above us came another deep humming that resonated through my chest.

"Aristel, it happens all of the time, but there's nothing we can do about it," I spoke loudly over the growing noise. " There is a place for those who choose the path of evil. We aren't the ones who are allowed to judge, we are only here to help without interference!"

The shaking beneath our feet grew more intense, and the humming almost drowned out her cries as she yelled through the alleyway. "So many good people suffer, Castiel! If that's all we are allowed to do then what's the point in even existing with this purpose?! Damn the rules, and damn God! Damn him straight to hell!"

The rumbling stopped, and the humming ceased with it. Silence fell over the alleyway in a blanket, and not even the noise from the street was heard. Aristel was staring behind me, her face blank, and her body had gone slack with resignation. I turned slowly, following her gaze, but I didn't have to look hard to see what she was staring at.

"Castiel, Aristel," Raphael said evenly, his voice holding no emotion. "Who has done this?"

I looked back to Aris. She glanced nervously between myself and our brother, her eyes shifting, before she finally lowered her eyes to the ground.

"I see," Raphael said, his voice cold. His black wings ruffled with indifference. "Castiel, you should report to Heaven and request audience with Arizael, so you might report the incident. He stepped past me, brushing my shoulder. "Aristel, you are to come with me to report to Archangel Michael. He will decide what to do with you for your insubordination." He held out his hand.

"Brother," I started "She didn't mean-"

"That's enough, Castiel," he interrupted evenly. His voice was calm and he didn't bother turning to look me in the eye. I suddenly felt small and closed my mouth, nodding once in understanding.

"Aristel. Come." My brother gazed at her without emotion, still holding out his hand, palm facing skyward.

Aristel looked to me, her eyes asking for help, and I dropped my gaze. I felt her shame radiate from her, disappointment in her self filling her to the brim.

A moment later there was another bright flash that lasted only a second. When I looked back up, Raphael and Aristel were gone, and I was standing alone in the dark alleyway.

Somewhere in the distance, echoing through the damp city, sirens could be heard.

I jolted awake from sleep, squinting slightly from the light on Ellie's desk. I sat up, looking about, noting the cat sitting on the windowsill, busily licking it's paws. Glancing out the window, I saw that it had stopped raining, and the sun still wasn't up. Ellie wasn't beside me on the sofa.

Throwing the blanket aside, I stood from the cushions and glanced about. "Ellie?"

My voice went unanswered, and I walked into the bedroom, flipping on the light. I found it empty, but moved to the bathroom door on the opposite wall, knocking gently. Again I received no answer, and a mild sense of worry came over me. There was no way she could have anywhere to be this late at night. Coming out from her bedroom, I entered the kitchen and froze in my tracks.

Enochian symbols covered the walls. They were written in blood, of all sizes, and structured in the right to left style legible to all angels. The message was clear, and it was very fresh.

She is of the blasphemous fallen. In the name of God, her chastisement shall be eternal.

Fear gripped me by the throat, coming to me in a terrifying rush. "No. No, no, no." In a panic I vanished from the apartment, appearing out in the street under one of the lamps. "Ellie, please no."

I hurriedly looked about, spinning in a circle as the panic rose high into my throat. Whoever had written the symbols on the wall had been there mere minutes before I'd woken from sleep. Even in that short amount of time any angel could be on the other side of the universe by now. I should have been awake to protect her.

Anger began to rise at that thought. Anger at myself. Anger at the war above me, the angels who I fought against, and the Archangel that lead them. Why couldn't something just stay right? I strode out into the middle of the street, opening my wings against the London wind. "Alright," I shouted, hearing my voice echo through the empty streets. "You've got my attention! Where are you, you bastard?!"

"Miss your girlfriend, Castiel?"

I spun at the sneer from behind me, my eyes falling on one of my brothers, ash-grey wings folding neatly behind him. He grinned malevolently at me from behind leering, hazel eyes, blade held at his side.

I glared back at him, taking a deep breath to calm myself. I summoned my own blade, feeling it slide from my sleeve and into my hand. "Puriel, where is she?"

"You're little darling is a convict, Cas," he sneered. "She's a dirty, filthy, little retch, and she'll burn for all the sins she's committed against us."

"Shut up," I barked. "Tell me where she is. Raphael sent you to take her, just to get to me, I know it. Well, you have my attention, now where is she?"

Puriel snickered, twisting his sword in his hand. "You're such a pathetic little cherub, you know that? Blindsided by filthy, human feelings, so easily instigated by the stinking vessel you reside it. Look at yourself. Rebelled against all of Heaven for a couple of foolish boys that you let sweet talk you, and now fornicating with a sinful, little whore like her. She always was crazy, but it'd be just like you to defend her."

My wings thrust me forward as I flew towards him, slamming his body into the building behind him with a loud crash. Brick and dust cascaded down around us, as we exploded through the wall. Puriel landed heavily on his back, skidding across the floor of what seemed to be a post office. I raced to land on top of him, raising my blade in the air, which was countered as my opponent raised his own over his head with both hands. Steel clashed together, ringing through the room as I landed over him, pressing my sword against his until his own was nearly touching his face.

"Where is she," I snarled through my teeth as Puriel struggled against me, one hand on either side of his sword as he pushed upward.

"It's your own fault that you don't know," he replied with a laugh. "You marked her so we couldn't find her, but you were too stupid to stay away. We tracked you right to her, and now you've got no idea where she could be."

My palms began to glow with white light, even through gripping my sword. "I'll ask one more time, brother. Where?"

Puriel gasped as I pressed harder and his hands fell back against the floor, his own blade suddenly pressed against his throat. A small, glimmer of light leaked from his neck as it created the smallest cut on his skin. "Alright," he shouted. "I'm no match for an Archangel, even one as insignificant as you." He let out another gasp as the sliver of light grew slightly wider. "I'm just a messenger anyway!"

"Then speak, dog!"

He glared up at me in fury, gritting his teeth together. "You want to find your precious Aristel? The warehouse where the beautiful room was held. You know, the one where you murdered five of our brothers for your Winchester boys."

I pulled my blade from his and swiftly swiped it across his wrists, leaving glowing slashes over them. Puriel let out a scream and his sword fell from his grasp. Not wasting a second, I stood, gripping him by his collar, picking him up and slamming him into the far wall. He let out a whimper and squeezed his eyes shut.

"You'd better not be lying to me," I growled into his face, "or I will do far worse than kill you."

"You're not going to be alive to have the chance," he gasped.

Throwing him back into the wall, I reached down and snatched up his blade, calling both it and my own back as I opened my wings.

I knew I was flying right into a trap, but somehow, it didn't matter to me in the slightest. Without Ellie in the world, there wouldn't be one worth fighting for.

To be continued. I would adore reviews for this chapter. I had lots of fun writing it. Thanks again for reading!