Chapter 11

Angela didn't like to keep secrets. When it pertained to a hunt, she revealed them and when Sam asked, she considered and eventually said something. The ones she refused to share were because she operated under the premise that the less those that mattered to her knew, the safer they were. Her first instinct was always to protect; even during her darkest days she protected first and did whatever else second.

After her initial conversation with the boys and then the subsequent research with Dean, she had a fairly good idea of what they were dealing with. Thinking about it actually sent her into a spiral of panic since she herself was ill equipped to deal with it. Her conversation with Hassina proved that when she revealed that she was afraid and while she didn't go into specifics, it spoke a lot on so many levels. Mostly though it was in part because of what happened to her and how that could affect what she wanted so badly now. Then again there was always some excuse.

While it sounded rude at first, she expressed refusal to go and pick up Hassina's daughter from school. She felt bad she had used the familiar clipped tones she had used when Hassina was a girl but she didn't mind. Rather she gave her a thoughtful look that had Angela not like at all. It was then she understood why Sam disliked her bland expression when she exhibited it. In the end Hassina nodded and said that it was fine and to make herself at home.

It wasn't that Angela wanted to be essentially a bitch but there were a few things that she had to do. Some she didn't want others to know about since at the time… Sighing she looked around, trying to find the thing that she was looking for. She hoped that Hassina hadn't gotten rid of it and clumped almost angrily around the living room while Cerebus lounged on the floor looking bored and a closer look would have revealed that he was amused.

I hope she kept it, Angela thought to herself as she looked around. She paused when she saw it sitting on a shelf. She approached slowly as if to get a better look at a strange and new specimen. When she was close enough, she picked it up off the shelf and looked at it. She could remember the day she gave it to Hassina.

What is it?

Something to keep the nightmares away. I've gotten tired of you waking me with your moaning and groaning.

Angela made a humming sound as she remembered that. She had been the rudest creature alive and yet the girl stuck to her like a barnacle. She didn't blame her though. After what she had been forced to go through and on top of that what she got herself into getting them free…

"A little dangerous there don't you think Cat?"

Angela turned around to see Gabriel looking around like he was impressed and… Was he eating Hassina's baklava? She raised her brow at the archangel and replied, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Gabriel chewed on the baklava he had found in the kitchen. He loved sweets and this was interesting. It wasn't candy or chocolate but it had an interesting quality to it. He shot Angela a look and replied, "You know that doesn't work with me. Seriously, you aiming to play a dangerous game?"

Angela held the doll she had picked up. It was carved of wood and not the kind of think to sleep with at night but it worked and she had been diligent in getting the wood sanded to smooth silkiness and all the while they were hiking through mountains and hiding from Taliban and other ultraconservatives and don't forget the demons. Her fingers rubbed the wood as she said, "I don't play dangerous games."

"Then can you tell me why you are holding that thing? I mean I can practically feel the mojo off it and I can sense your hand in it."

"What is this? An intervention? Not really your style Gabe. Not you at all."

Gabriel knew that she was right on that account. He was always the ass with her and not necessarily one for doing protocol but ever since Thoth decided on this thing, he had to be circumspect. "Maybe recent events changed my opinion. I almost lost you again Cat and to top it off the kid's agitation was making it worse."

"Hardly my fault."

"Not saying that so quit putting words into my mouth." Gabriel stood much like a parent would though it was not quite fair considering he looked a bit shorter than she was. She did compliment Sam's height after all. His posture and expression said enough though. "I am concerned."

"You and everybody else."

"Can you blame us if we care about you? That I love you?"

Angela blinked at that. She knew that Gabriel cared about her like one does a sibling but he hardly would use the L-word and if he did, it wouldn't be lightly. She saw that he was being serious and she owed him that courtesy. She held the doll in her hands and sighed, "You really shouldn't Gabe. And I know what you said the last time we talked but…"

"Well if you don't believe me at least listen to the company you keep. Listen to Sam." Gabriel didn't miss the look she shot him and he wasn't going to let her go that easily. "I know he wouldn't lie to you about that and that sweet thing you rescued? She worships the ground you walk on."

"And you could point out others to but…"

"No buts about it, Cat." Gabriel paused in his sort of rant and looked around. He really didn't want this to end in a fight and wanted to get things done before she ended up doing what she feared the most. "That's the truth. You just have to follow your own advice sometimes."

Angela nodded as she looked down at the doll in her hands. "And that is why you are the ass," she murmured. She looked up and gave a soft smile. "So… are you going to tell me not to do it again?" She held up the doll to emphasize her point.

Gabriel looked at his charge. He knew her better than that. "Sometimes it isn't worth the effort since you would go ahead and do it anyway."

"You know I take things into consideration," Angela said quietly. She held the doll in her hands and her fingers rubbed the wood. "Besides the first time I used it, I didn't expect it to work even though you were the one that gave it to me."

Gabriel tried to deny it at first but he knew he couldn't lie especially when she gave him that look. "Alright I did though I seriously doubt you knew it was me then."

Angela gave a slight smirk and slight shrug of her shoulders. She admitted, "Not one of your best disguises but… I appreciate you reminding me what Setna taught me. He showed me various spells and this one because I was still having nightmares of hell. You taught him."

"You got me there," the angel admitted. He gave a slight smirk mostly because he was proud of his Cat. "I taught him and just to let you know teaching old Enochian spells and adapting them to the language of the royal family is not an easy feat. Plus the spell is as old as Isis and the original gods that existed… and you know that history." Gabriel cleared his throat as he paused. "But I am being serious here Cat. This is a dangerous spell."

"And I was willing to keep Hassina safe. After I took her out of there… She was still scared and yet she clung to me. And I was the rudest thing around." She couldn't help but chuckle at that. She sobered quickly though.

Gabriel was quick to pick up on it and asked, "Something else, Cat?"

Angela didn't answer right away. Instead she looked away and down. She was remembering back to when she rescued Hassina. She shifted her heard downward like she was looking at something particularly interesting until she felt Gabriel's touch and looked up, "What?"

Gabriel recognized spacing out when he saw it. There was more to his Cat's need to re-strengthen an old spell that was tough and dangerous to enact in the first place. This spacing out was different. So he tapped her to get her attention and when he had it, he answered, "Cat… Why are you reaffirming a spell that is strong enough to last a generation if necessary?"

"I just want to be thorough against a demon that is not the usual garden variety."

"You certain about that?"

"It was the kind that was doing the deed when I rescued her… possibly the same one. Writing on the wall." Angela turned her back on Gabriel as she looked at the doll. "Gabe, what I saw… I was a part of… it was horrific. And if I can fend off anything to buy time to kill it… then I will."

"But you don't even know what it is. Hell even I don't know."

"It worked the past twelve or so years. I just want to make sure so I don't have to worry too much and get to killing it. As you can see, I'm not exactly a hundred percent here." She gestured at her leg in the boot.

"I could fix that for you."

Angela knew that Gabriel could do that. He would have done it in a heartbeat if he had been able to pull off one of his disguises or in a rare fit, appeal to the Winchesters that he was there to help. Yet she also knew that it would be difficult to explain a sudden healing since Castiel was not his usual self and the boys knew more or less the healing tendencies of dhampirs. She shook her head slightly, "You know I can't let you do that."

"Right. Because that would be hard to explain to the company you keep." Gabriel sighed as he looked around. He knew that he wasn't going to get anywhere with her at least in terms of convincing her not to go all the way with the spell. "Cat…"

"I'm going to do it Gabe," Angela interrupted. She turned to look at the angel with a slight smile. "You know that it's in my nature."

"Always protecting. It's why you are special to me and to a lot of people." Gabriel gently picked the doll out of her hand and looked at it. He used his grace to run over the object and sense out the level of power in it. He was surprised that there was still a high level of power still in the thing. He could sense his Cat's work on it and it had him baffled.

"And sometimes I wonder why people think of such but that is an old argument," she replied with a slightly knowing smile. She reached for the doll only to have it held out of her reach. She frowned at that and asked, "Gabe, what the hell?"

Gabriel wasn't meaning to tease but he was curious about what she had done that long ago to make it last as long as it did. He looked at her and asked, "What exactly did you do, Cat?"

Angela narrowed her eyes slightly. She tried to reach for the doll again, not pleased that she was hampered by her healing injury. "I did the spell. Now give it back."

"What exactly did you do?" Gabriel repeated his question a little more forceful than e would have liked but he was being serious. He knew that there were certain factors that could affect the potency of a spell and he wanted to know. Call it atonement for his past mistakes regarding his Cat. He was doing his due diligence.

"I did the spell as Setna taught it to me. Nothing more and nothing less." Angela stopped trying to reach for it and stood there with her hands on her hips. "Now are you going to give it back to me? I know the meaning of booster shots especially with spells."

"Why the booster shot?" Gabriel searched his Cat's face for any signs of lying. He kenw she had her secrets and he had his. He just wanted to be sure about things. After all accusing without proper context… it was why they split up.

"Because this thing is back and apart from the dreaming it kept whatever it was away." Angela shifted on her feet. It was very uncomfortable since she was wearing the boot and it put a weight shift that she had to account for. "Why the hell are you so interested?"

"Because this," Gabriel held up the doll for her to see before continuing, "Doesn't need a booster. The spell is still active in here."

Angela frowned at that. "That's impossible."

"Grace, Cat," Gabriel replied, "And it never lies when it comes to spell potency. It's why I asked what exactly you did."

"And I told you. I did it exactly as I was taught. Even I know that slight variations affect things. Setna warned me about not getting it right so I was really careful." Angela wondered where this was going. She was certain that she needed to just reboot the spell. "The spell would have worn out after a couple of years."

"Well in this case… no." Gabriel held out the doll. "I don't know what you did Cat but… you don't need to do anything…" Gabriel frowned a little at that as something clicked. "Unless you have something else in mind?"

Angela stared at Gabriel with a bland expression. She knew that he was waiting for an answer. She was saved from answering when she heard the door to the kitchen open. She turned to look and then back to find that Gabriel was gone or more likely still there but preferring to be hidden. In this case the conversation wasn't finished. He was going to want some answers and they weren't ones she was willing or ready to give just yet.

It was dark outside, typical of nighttime. It was quiet with the exception of the usual nighttime noises. For the most part, nothing could be heard except for the soft breaths of people sleeping including one very large specimen of a Rottweiler currently snoozing somewhere in the room. It was relatively peaceful considering everything that was going on with regards to the case. It was quiet enough for the motel. That is until Angela woke up.

It wasn't danger or eminent threat. It wasn't even a nightmare. Something just told Angela to wake up and she did. She was dragged from the peaceful bliss of sleep as her eyes shot wide open and stared straight ahead. Her eyes moved around to take in her surroundings while she stayed in the relative warmth her position afforded her. She listened to the sounds of gentle breathing and a nearby heartbeat as she slowly blinked, not wanting to move but the thing that woke her up made it so that she had to.

Sitting up slowly, so as not to disturb her sleeping partner, she looked around, and tried to ascertain if something was off. It was the same crappy motel room that Dean had booked and he was fast asleep and cuddling with Cerebus. It was enough to make her want to laugh at the sight since she knew that Dean was not the kind to reveal anything that resembled 'girly'. And she knew he wasn't big on dogs but he made an exception for Cerebus and Sasha and if he was inclined, maybe towards Lilah. It only proved that he cared.

Looking around, her gaze fell on Sam who was fast asleep himself. He was flat on his back and he looked content. She felt it then when she felt his fingers curl near the base of her spine. She could see where she had used his chest as a pillow and gave a slight smile. She really did feel safe and warm and it wasn't just the utilitarian function of the words. It went beyond that.

Reluctantly pulling away from the curling fingers, Angela scooted to the edge of the bed to plant her feet on the ground and stand up. She twitched her lip when she almost fell because she already had a strong stance. Taking a breath she clumped around trying to be as quiet as she could while looking around. She was surprised that her level of noise didn't wake anyone else even when she pulled Absolution to carry with her just in case.

For some ridiculous reason she decided to check the bathroom. It was no reason at all but it was like that feeling that forced her to wake. It was the kind that you didn't ignore. At least that was from her long line of experience. She held Absolution in her right as she put her left on the doorknob. With a breath she opened it and walked through and prepared to have Dean have a laugh at her expense.

The room was obviously one that belonged to a young girl. Angela looked around with a somber expression, her eyes quickly scanning everywhere. She was next to a twin bed that was made of good dark stained oak. She could actually smell the wood amongst the incense and that blend of jasmine that wafted through the room. That feeling was still there as she glanced to gaze protectively over the occupant of the bed.

She is my star, Firishta. My Nargis.

"I knew you would come."

Angela turned to face the intruder. Her back was towards the girl who managed to wake and look frightened. She took a defensive stance and looked at the intruder, her hand wrapped around the pommel of her blade. She pursed her lips and replied, "What do you expect when you act on old habits?" She only turned to give a reassuring smile to the girl in the bed.

"That it would draw you in like a dog." The intruder looked smug as he paced in front of her. "So I do have to ask how you managed to figure it out and how you managed to keep that from your company."

Angela shuffled slightly on her feet more to get a better position. The idea came to her after meeting Nargis, Hassina's little star. She knew it was the same thing that haunted Hassina and had tried to do his… the thought made her blood boil. She had to act so instead of waiting for any input from Bobby, she put a plan into action and that was going off of what she remembered. She wasn't going to let the demon get his way.

She looked at the demon and replied, "There are a lot of things that they don't know and what they don't know won't hurt them."

"Dangerous game you play," the demon said, "But then again it is your tendency. I'm sure you remember the last time we spent together."

Angela made a snort at that as she replied, "You are a menace that needs to be gotten rid of."

"And you couldn't do that the first time now could you?"

Angela merely blinked at that. She knew her limitations back then and she still had them now. This demon was not the garden variety demon. She retorted, "I did enough. Weakened your hold in the physical plane."

"But you left me to do what I do best. Believe me it was so much fun until you screwed it up with that… spell."

"I have ways and means," Angela replied, "Not all of them require a punch or two." She gave a slight shrug with her shoulders. She straightened up and adopted a no nonsense attitude and continued, "So now that you are here, you mind telling me how you got past the spell?"

The demon chuckled, "Well I admit that it was difficult. Twelve years and it is still running strong." He gave a whistle of appreciation since he did appreciate a good curse and this one was good. He continued to pace in front of her. "Makes me wonder how you are capable of that. You're not a witch are you?"

"You know I'm not."

"Right. You're a dhampir. You're kind try to imitate the full bloods."

Angela made a snort that held a lot more meaning behind it. She crossed her arms over her chest even though she was holding Absolution in one hand. It made it appear that she was not at all serious when in fact she was. "I act on my own accord."

"That's right because you were bred to be an assassin. How do Sam and Dean feel about that?" The demon looked at her with an inquisitive look that was essentially mocking.

"It is a part of our history. It doesn't make us who we are."

The demon had to laugh at that, "Oh ho! You honestly believe that? Your kind are like animals. You were bred."

Angela shrugged her shoulders at that, "Old news. Are you done? Cause I would seriously like to end this."

"That anxious to get into a fight. I don't mind since I can get past your wards now. It still produces a sting."

A lot more than that, Angela thought to herself as she observed the demon. She didn't believe Gabriel's assessment in the beginning but the more she focused, she saw what he was getting at and he had no reason to lie to her anyway. The demon was powerful but he was a demon after all and there were general weaknesses. Yet there were some things that held to the advantage. It was the reason why for this. "Being a coward?"

The demon chuckled at that, "Hardly that." He paced in front of her and shook his head in an amused fashion. "I'm here to collect what I want and low and behold I find you in my way. But then again it was all part of my plan." At the look she was giving, he continued, "As you can see, we have a history."

"Pff. I'd hardly call it history. It was a job to get rid of a demon." Angela shifted on her feet as she lowered her arms. "I was chasing you. You were killing innocents."

"Even you know the innocent must die especially in war."

"Not with you. Sadistic bastard."

"True and that is why I like you… And why it was easy to lure you in and you opened the door wide open."

Angela stared at the demon as she realized what was happening. She turned to look and saw the girl had disappeared. She turned to glare at the demon as he said, "You left it open."

It was automatic as Angela closed her eyes and when she opened them, she was in Nargis' room and she was trembling. There was noise going throughout the house like an earthquake was rattling the place. The salt ring was there but being blown away and the cause was a man that looked like he was going to smite everything. His eyes were focused on the girl.

It was automatic for Angela to jump to the girl's side just as the last of the salt was being blown away. She didn't even think about how the devil's trap had been burned away. She wrapped her arms around the girl and glared at the approaching man as his eyes flickered an interesting shade before reverting to black. She would not let him have his way. One way or another she would end this.

A/N: Looks like there are things that Gabe found out and Angie is either hiding a secret or she figured out something? What happened at the end? Keep watching for more Broken Wounds Heal...