I'm back! But I still own nothing.
.~o()o~.
Castiel woke and was instantly alert. He was in complete darkness and he could not move. He felt no ropes or chains holding him, but he was still completely helpless. He reached for the comforting light of his grace, then realized with horror that he could not feel it, or even find the place it always rested.
He struggled to free himself again, but it was worse than useless against invisible bonds.
"Come out and face me!" he shouted, his voice echoing harshly. "Don't hide in the shadows like a snake."
There was no answer from the darkness. He remembered how from the moment he first saw a human being, he wanted to know what it was like to be one, the joy, the sorrow, the love, the fear, the anger. He wondered what it was like to be finite, mortal, frail.
This moment, hanging in the darkness, was the closest he had ever come to understanding, and suddenly he wondered why he had longed for it so much. Without his angelic stoicism to dampen his feelings, he found the need to find Samantha and Nathan almost more than he could bear. The emptiness of failure was tearing his heart in two and making it hard to breathe. Suddenly, he realized he was crying.
"Brother, it pains me to do this to you," a voice finally broke the silence.
Castiel gasped. He did not recognize the vessel, but he knew the voice of the angel behind it.
"Gabriel? . . .But. . .you're dead."
"Nope. That is just what I wanted you to think. Nice to see you again, Castiel."
"I would say the same if you hadn't tied me up in the dark, suppressed my grace and stolen the woman and child I am called to protect," Cas snarled.
"It's nothing personal. I always liked you. When we were far younger, before heaven changed, you were one of the ones who had that spark of life, the curiosity to learn new things and the fervour to change things. I felt all along that you were the one most like me. I would much rather have stolen the charges of one of the dicks. . .like Uriel," Gabriel turned on the lights, blinding Castiel. As soon as Cas could focus on his face, he smirked. "But that particular brat is far too ordinary."
"This isn't you, Gabriel," Cas pleaded. "The one thing I always remembered about you was your enormous respect for human life."
"Yeah, well then I got down here and saw human life and realized that some of them simply don't deserve to live and maybe. . .just maybe I should give some of those ones exactly what they deserved to give the beautiful and the precious the chance to thrive," Gabriel said bitterly.
"And Samantha and Nathan, both of them beautiful and precious creations of God, how can they deserve the pain and suffering you have put them through?" Castiel glared.
"Sometimes we have to do things we don't like. . .hurt the people we care about, in order to save many." Gabriel turned and looked at him with eyes full of sorrow. "It's partly your fault anyway. You could have stopped it, you know. All you had to do was not get involved. If you had let Leah die, Sam would have been thrown into a spiral of depression and self destruction that would have put him exactly where heaven wants him for the coming. . .drama. He wouldn't have been redeemed and healed and I wouldn't have had to grab Nathan to take his place."
"Take his place? For what? What's coming?"
"Sorry brother, another situation demands my immediate attention. Hang tight!" Gabriel giggled and disappeared, leaving Castiel in the dark once more.
.~o()o~.
"DEEANNNN!" Shelby screamed and kept screaming. She could see him clear as day, right in front of her, almost close enough to touch but there was a wall between them, a wall that she threw herself at repeatedly. The moment the baying of hounds filled the air, she had been thrust behind this wall, only able to watch Dean and a copy of herself face the hounds.
She gagged as she watched herself torn apart, still clawing at the wall. "Dean, I'm here! I'm alive," she wept.
Dean was frantic, like a wild animal, scrambling to reach the other her. She could hardly bear to see the devastation on his face. He was completely and utterly wrecked and when he gathered her body into his arms and cried out his grief for all to hear, she stood and began to try to break down the wall anew. She was babbling incoherently, face covered in tears.
"Stop," a voice said gently. "You'll hurt the baby." Strong arms wrapped around her from behind, carefully holding her still. A strong hand spanned her stomach and she felt a warm glow in her middle. "There, no harm done."
Shelby turned to see the man who had taken them. With a frightened scream, she struggled to get out of his arms. "Let me go."
The man shushed her as if he was calming a frightened animal. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you," he crooned.
"Dean," she moaned, reaching out toward him, but too exhausted to fight anymore.
"I wish I didn't have to do this to you. I really do." the man's voice sounded so different, soft and caring.
"Why didn't you just kill me?" she wept. "Why would you make me see this? See how I have destroyed him?"
"I'm hurt that you think so little of me," the man sighed. "What have I done to deserve your animosity?"
Shelby scoffed before gesturing in Dean's general direction.
"Oh that. I suppose you would take that personally," for a moment, his face returned to the mocking note it had before, then it softened again. "It was necessary. For your sake, I wish it wasn't, but Dean must fulfill his destiny and he can't do that with you by his side. He can't do that if there is someone he needs to protect."
"He still has Sam," Shelby said defiantly.
"Sam will be the next to die," the man said coldly. "I know they say he was redeemed and all, but he is still an abomination. Now that his role has been written out of the future, I don't need to allow him to continue on."
"And Leah? She loves him. Are you going to leave her in sorrow too?" Shelby asked defiantly.
"Oh, she'll die too," the man said nonchalantly. "You don't know what Castiel made her. She is as much of a crime against humanity as Sam is. Samantha will die as soon as she has resigned her right to the child. Nathan will be lost to humanity when he takes over Sam's destiny after Sam jumped off the boat. Castiel will most likely die of a broken heart without his grace to keep him from the effects of his grief. It is regrettable. I liked him. But they are all necessary deaths."
"And Dean?" Shelby whispered.
"Oh, Dean will survive, but there will be no place for him in the world that will take this one's place, but he will be taken care of, even though he may not be coherent enough to recognize it," the man laughed quietly. "And then the world will be perfect and everything will be renewed."
Shelby reached out toward the wall once more, reaching toward Dean's tear streaked face, less than a foot from her fingertips. He was shaking, inconsolable, hardly able to breathe through his sobs. "He is a good man. They are all good people. How could you do this? What sick and twisted reason could you have to hurt people this way?"
"It's for the greater good," he explained.
"And why am I so different? Why do I get to live when all my friends have to die?"
"Do you know who I am?" The man asked softly.
"A complete and utter douche bag?" Shelby laughed bitterly.
"Obviously, you have been hanging out with Dean for far too long. I am the archangel Gabriel."
"You're an angel? Not much of one. Aren't you supposed to be on our side?" Shelby shook her head and tried to pull away once more.
"I left heaven around 2000 year ago. God gave me one last job, the most important one I had ever had. It kind of reminds me of our situation here. I had to find a young girl and I had to tell her of the coming birth of her child, a special child from an ancient bloodline, a special child with a great destiny. Do you know the child I am speaking of?"
Shelby nodded silently.
"I was there to celebrate his birth and to spread the joyous news to everyone around. And then God gave me the job of continuing to watch over this child, to see him grow into the only perfect man this world has ever seen. I got to see him do so much good for the world. I saw him change lives, but it didn't last. Evil men took him and killed him and I had to stand and watch, forbidden by heaven to interfere. It was a hard lesson to learn, but sometimes for the good of the many. . .well, I'm sure you know how the saying goes. I left after that. I couldn't take it anymore. I hated letting innocent people die." Gabriel had a far off look in his eye.
"You're doing it now," Shelby protested.
"Well, I've learned a thing or two from when I impulsively fled from heaven. I don't regret leaving. The ones in charge now are idiots, wouldn't know God's plan if it came up and bit them on the face. God knew what the end was to be and he shared that with me. I am going to see it through," he said firmly.
"Well, obviously you aren't squeamish about blood. So why me? Why let me live? If you hate the Winchester's so much, why would you let one of their offspring survive?" Tears streamed down Shelby's face as Dean's sobs crescendoed once more.
"You remind me of her. . .Mary. I mean, beyond the obvious differences. She was a virgin and you and Dean have been going at it like rabbits since you met and she was dark skinned with black hair and brown eyes and you are fair. But you have the same fierce protectiveness and loyalty for your family and friends and the same great capacity for love. She was spunky too and so full of life. She always held a special place in my heart."
"You're sick," Shelby fought harder to get away from him. "So what now, I become your little mistress to replace your long dead love?"
"You cut me to the heart," Gabriel released her and clutched dramatically at his chest. "There is another important similarity. I can see along some other paths into the future. Not all of them, mind you, but if I had stayed in heaven, one of the children I would have been assigned guardian to would have been this one." He reached toward her and placed his hand on her stomach once again. "I'm not completely heartless. Along one path, I stay in heaven, their mindless stooge. Along another, I am my own person, fallen and normal. Along another, I am a demi-god, powerful beyond all your wildest dreams, but along all paths that I have seen, I live your son and I would give anything for him."
Shelby shivered at the sheer passion in his voice. "Then why don't you let him be with his father, have a real family; uncles, aunts, cousins?"
"I've given you as much as I can. I will keep giving you everything. . .everything but that. Your child will be protected. You will be the newest citizens in the bright new world. You will be happy and safe. I will be for you whatever you need me to be. I will be the father of your child, his protector and his confidante. I will be to you what you need as well. I will be the shoulder to cry on, your strength and solace. . .and I can also be your lover."
"I want Dean," Shelby said, turning from him and pressing herself as close to the wall as she could, her eyes drinking in the sight of the man she loved. His sobs were quieting as he cried himself into exhaustion.
Gabriel snapped his fingers and the wall became solid, Dean hidden from her view. Gabriel came up behind her, brushing her hair back from her neck a planting a soft kiss beneath her ear, causing her to shiver. His breath played across her skin as he replied in a whisper. "No."
.~o()o~.
This is a longer chapter than usual to make up for the long break. Hope you enjoy!