Chapter 11: Cloaked

Dean immediately rushed over to him. "Cas, woah, are you okay?"

"This isn't my blood; I'm fine," Cas said, waving Dean off, looking completely unfazed by the fact that his clothes and a good portion of his face were covered in blood. "The boy, however, is not."

A hand flew to Sophie's mouth, and she shook her head. "No," she said, her voice muffled. Sam took a step in her direction, wanting to comfort her, but something in the way she was holding herself made him think twice.

"I'm sorry," Cas said, sounding genuine. "There was nothing I could do. I barely got out of there, the house was still surrounded. I never even got to check on your stepfather."

"Patrick's…dead?" she whimpered, tears forming in her eyes.

Cas had a grim look on his face. "The place was surrounded," he repeated, and then he turned to address Dean. "There are more creatures coming after Sophie than you might think. I should cloak her now."

"Right now?" Dean replied, his gaze drifting over to Sophie, who had let a couple tears slide down her face. She was a picture of complete and utter devastation. "She's…it's not a good time, Cas, can't you tell?"

"It'll never be a good time," Cas said, a little angrily. "There are monsters searching for her now, Dean, for reasons you have yet to explain to me. You can tell me later. Either way, the sooner she's hidden, the better."

"C'mon, Dean, you know he's right," Sam added.

"I know, I know," Dean snapped. He looked up at Sophie, heartbroken at the ragged look of loss on her face. No one her age should have gone through what she had. But she was still standing. Sam was right; she was stronger than they gave her credit for. "You ready, kiddo?"

She sniffed, wiping the tears away from her face, trying to look strong. "You said it's going to hurt a lot, right?" she asked Castiel.

"Yes," he replied apologetically.

She hesitated, clearly trying to choke down her fear. "Okay."

"If it makes you feel any better, I can make it so that you forget the pain once it's over," he tried.

She shook her head. "If I'm doing it, I'm going to remember it."

Cas nodded. "Go lie down." As she did what he said, Cas leaned over and said to Dean, "She's going to need something to bite on. We don't want the authorities to be called on us if she screams too loudly."

The thought of having to hear her scream more made his stomach feel like it was full of acid. Still, he just nodded, and he went into the bathroom and grabbed a hand towel. When he came back into the room, Cas had pulled up a chair next to the bed where Sophie was lying down, her face stony, her eyes closed.

Dean handed him the towel, and Cas placed it in Sophie's hand. "If you need to scream, bite down on this," he instructed.

"Just do it," she said through gritted teeth.

Dean stood by Sam, looking at her. "This doesn't feel right," he mumbled low enough that she couldn't hear.

Sam nodded. "I know. But this could save her."

"If it doesn't destroy her," Dean mumbled back.

Cas, a look of pure concentration on his face, placed the palm of his hand on her abdomen, and slowly, his hand seemed to sink into her body. Her reaction was immediate. She cried out in pain, and then the back of her hand flew to her mouth in an effort to stifle her screams. Where Cas's hand had entered her abdomen there was a shimmery golden glow, and his eyes were closed in deep focus. Tears were leaking out of Sophie's eyes, and little whimpers of pain escaped from her mouth. Mechanically, as if pulled by an invisible force, Dean stepped forward and squatted down on the other side of the bed, feeling helpless, wanting more than anything to be able to take the pain on for himself instead.

"You're going to be okay, Soph, okay?" he said, hating how he sounded. "You're going to be okay."

He was surprised when she turned her face to him, her eyes opening slowly, and he was even more surprised when he saw that her eyes seemed rimmed with light. Most surprising, though, was the fact that when Cas sank wrist-deep into her soul, she cried out and, reflexively, she reached out and grabbed Dean's hand.

He took hold of it, staring at her. She'd already closed her eyes again, tears falling slowly down her cheeks. "You're okay. Nothing's going to hurt you again, okay?"

He knew when he said it that it was a promise he couldn't keep, but he also knew that he was going to try to keep it until he was dead.

Without warning, Cas withdrew his hand and Sophie stopped moving, utterly unconscious. Her hand, which had been gripping his tightly just moments before, was limp.

Cas shook out his hand, looking mildly proud of himself. "It's done. She's completely cloaked."

"Is she okay?" Dean asked, standing up.

"She's perfectly fine. Just exhausted." Cas turned to look at Dean, his expression mildly insulted. "You never told me you had a daughter, Dean."

Sam and Dean both snapped their heads to attention. "She's not," Dean immediately said, tripping over the words a bit. "Or, well, we don't really know." He looked at Cas questioningly. "I never said anything about that, though."

Cas shook his head. "Oh, no, she is definitely you're daughter. I felt her soul, and I've felt yours, when I dragged it out of Hell. I know. She is undoubtedly part of you."

Dean felt his heart hammer in his chest. "What ever happened to good old fashioned paternity tests?"

Sam had an odd look on his face, one of disbelief and a sort of excited astonishment. "Are you sure?"

"I'm an angel, Sam. When I say something, I'm generally quite sure of it. Besides, one doesn't really need a test of any sort to deem that she is your daughter, Dean. She looks a bit like you. The eyes and—"

"The nose. Yeah, I've heard," Dean said, unamused. So…she's my daughter."

Sam clapped him on the shoulder. "Looks like you are the father of a Sophie."

"If I'd been around I'd never have let her been named Sophie," he grumbled. He sat down on the other bed. "God, Sam. I'm a damn father."

"And I'm an uncle!" he exclaimed.

"Don't get too excited. We're finding somewhere safe to leave her and then getting the hell away from her ASAP," Dean said, suddenly very sure of his plan. "I'm not putting her in any more danger. Ever. What just happened a minute ago is the last bit of pain she will ever feel because of me."

"Don't you think that's a little naïve, Dean?" Sam remarked. "She's in this now. If you ask me, her best chance is to stick with us."

"Yeah, well nobody asked you," Dean snapped.

"She needs us," Sam continued. "How do you not see that?"

Dean looked up at Cas. "Did you ever check on her stepdad?"

He nodded. "I just did a moment ago" he admitted.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Of course you did. Your angel magic is freaky sometimes, Cas, it really is." He rubbed his face with his hands for a moment, and then looked back up. "And he was…?"

"He fared much better than her friend. He wasn't touched. The group of creatures at the friend's house have not apparently identified the stepfather as having any sort of attachment to your daughter."

"Don't...don't refer to her as my daughter," Dean said quickly.

"But she is," Cas pointed out.

"It's still too weird," Dean groaned. He rubbed his face and then tried to clear his head. "Okay. If the monsters steered clear of her stepdad's, that's where shes going. We'll find them a new place to live, just to be cautious, and since she's cloaked now, they won't be able to find them."

Sam gave Dean a look. "I don't think that's a good idea, Dean."

"It's not. But it's the best one we have." When Sam still didn't look convinced, Dean tried to reason with him. "He's her family, whether or not they get along all that well. She's better off safe with him and unhappy for a few years than in constant danger with us forevermore."

"I don't know. She seemed to really not like her stepdad. Maybe there's something there we don't know."

Dean was already shaking his head. "No teenager actually gets along with their parents, especially a teenager whose mom died and left her with her stepfather. She's a girl, Sam, she's dramatic. She might not have the time of her life, but at least she'll have her life."

Sam heaved a big sigh. "So what? We drive her to Apex, hand her off to her stepdad, and…we leave. Just like that?"

Dean looked over at Sophie, at the tears drying on her pale cheeks, and he nodded. "Now. We go now."

Thanks so much for all of the feedback! It's been great. For those of you asking questions...fear not! All will be answered in due time! ~ Lacey :)