"What can I say? I haven't always had the fine touch for logistics that I do now." Rose retorted with a scowl. She turned to Gerald. "You can go now."

Without a word (but not without a harsh glare at Rowena), he left the cell. Rose turned to follow him not long after.

When Crowley turned to leave, he sighed, looked at his mother, then roughly asked: "Coming?"

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

In which Rose and Claire have a little heart to heart

(Written to: Jasmine Runs Away by Alan Menken from Aladdin)

Listenonrepeat: /watch/?v=yfbEGlnvMTA#Jasmine_Runs_Away

"You sure about this?" Rose asked softly, just barely above a whisper.

"No," Crowley admitted. "I'll figure it out as I go."

Rose gave a hushed sigh then a nod. "Alright."

"Did you need to go visit the Jolly Green Giant and company?" Crowley asked, swirling his drink again.

Rose snickered at the nicknames. "I probably should. If Cas says it's an emergency...yeah I should go."

She then dug out her phone and scrolled to the text her twin had sent her. She showed it to Crowley, who nodded and set down his drink. The demon took her calloused hand, and the all too familiar jerking sensation rippled through her.

When it stopped, she found herself at the corner of a street, opposite a Weiner Hut. There, her brothers and Castiel stood, appearing to be waiting for someone.

"Now, the last time I left you with those bumbling idiots, you died and came home a demon." Crowley started.

"I know. I won't do it again. I promise." Rose replied with a heavy voice.

"Then try not to get into too much trouble." Crowley was practically staring her down.

"No promises." Rose offered a small smile and a kiss - which her husband held onto. He grabbed her by the small of her back and pulled her to him. Rose only pulled back for air, but smiled as well and said: "Same goes for you, hotshot. Keep an eye on your mother. Something about her just doesn't sit right with me."

"Of course, love." He smirked, then was gone. Rose huffed a laugh, shook her head, then hurried across the street.

"Hey!" She called out, tugging her thick, navy sweater tightly around her.

"Rosie! Didn't expect to see you here so soon!" Dean replied.

"Yeah, well, time goes faster in Hell. And as it turns out, my problem isn't something that can be tackled all in one go." Rose huffed. Noticing their expressions, Rose continued. "I'll tell you later. So what's this emergency?"

"A teenage girl." Dean retorted.

"Claire Novak. My vessel's daughter."

"Oh." Rose faltered. "Is she...in some sort of trouble?"

"I broke her out of a group home and she ran. I'm responsible for her. I need to make sure she's alright." Castiel explained.

"Okay. So...where do we start?" Rose asked, settling into their little gathering.

"We're waiting for her buddy Dustin. He works here." Sam explained. Rose nodded.

"Speak of the devil." Dean mumbled with a mouth full of food. Sure enough, there was a younger boy in uniform walking up to them.

As he approached, Sam called out: "Dustin Tate?"

"Nah, man." The boy gave a slight shake of his head. Sam placed a strong hand on the kid's chest, preventing him from walking any further.

"Yes you are." With a protective rage in his eyes, Castiel grabbed Dustin's jacket and slammed him against the nearby brick wall.

"And you're going to tell me where Claire Novak is." He growled in his usual gravelly voice. Not getting a quick answer out of the boy, Cas gripped Dustin's neck and lifted him from the ground. "Now."

"I'd do as he says." Rose crossed her arms.

One answer and a speedy drive over to the closest gas station, Sam and Dean found themselves leaning against the hood of the Impala while Rose sat on it crosslegged. Cas hadn't been inside for long when he came storming back out with Claire in front of him.

"Claire, wait!"

"Screw you."

"Whoa, hey Miley Cyrus. Settle." Dean called out, pushing himself from the car. The boys stood at the ready and Rose gingerly slid off the hood, careful not to mark it.

"Eat me, Hasselhoff." Claire shot back. Dean reeled back, making Rose snicker under her breath.

"Claire, hold on a second." Sam said before she could walk away. "Look, my name's-"

"Sam. And you're Dean." Claire's eyes flitted over the third Winchester for a brief second before returning back to the brothers. "We've met, remember?"

"Claire. Were you going to rob that convenience store?" Castiel asked, looking extremely upset and oddly paternal. Rose hadn't pictured him as a parental type. Then again, she hadn't thought that about herself either, yet she was practically Gavin's mother as well as partner-in-pranks.

"So?" Claire retorted.

"'So?' So...it's - it's wrong!"

"You want to talk to me about wrong? You killed my dad. Is that 'wrong' enough for you?"

Cas fumbled for a reply, but settled on: "No. I didn't."

"Really?" Claire snipped. "Because without you, he'd still be here. And my mom would still be around."

"Claire, I'm-" As he took a step forward, Claire pulled her gun on him. Rose immediately went on high alert, her instincts beginning to kick in. She couldn't charge her - this was a conversation, not a threat. Not yet, at least.

"Don't!" The blonde called out.

Castiel watched with what the Winchesters could only describe as worn pity. "That won't hurt me."

"Fine." Then with a shrug, the gun was on the Winchesters, flitting between the three of them.

On reflex, Dean called: "Whoa, hey, come on."

"Hold on a second." Sam tried. As Rose raised her hands in typical at-the-end-of-a-gun fashion, she took a deep breath and racked her brain for a spell.

"What? Like you don't have it coming? You stood there while this monster-" She motioned to the angel. "Took my dad."

The blonde turned her head to look at the 'monster,' whose eyes were pleading with her. Just as Rose was getting ready to use her spell to relocate the weapon, Claire lowered her gun.

"I used to pray to you, Castiel. Every night. I would beg to you to bring him home safe."

Castiel's face fell. He knew. He had heard every single one of those prayers - and he did nothing about it. "I know."

"You know?" Claire bit her cheek. "My father was a good man. In what messed up world does he have to die and you get to live?"

"I'm sorry." Cas tried. He really was. Why couldn't she see it?

"No." Claire retorted. "You feel guilty. There's a difference."

"So what?" Sam asked. The girl and the angel turned to look at him. "Now you go back to Randy? The guy you steal for?"

"How do you know about that?" Claire responded.

"Dustin." Dean answered simply.

"Claire," Cas spoke up. "That man is using you."

"He was there for me." She shot back. "When things got bad - and they got real damn bad - he was there when no one else was. He's my family. And you're just…" Claire fumbled for a moment, then settled on: "You can go to Hell."

With that, she stormed off. When no one went after her, Rose looked between the frozen men, then jogged to catch up to her.

"Claire!" She called out.

"Listen, I don't know who you are, but you can't stop me."

"I'm not going to. I just want to talk. Promise." Rose slowed to match the blonde's pace with hands raised in a sign of peace.

Claire bit her cheek in quick deliberation. "Fine. But make it quick."

"My name is Rose. I'm Sam and Dean's sister." She started.

"Where were you then? When Castiel stole my father?" Claire retorted.

"I was...out of town. On vacation." Rose put her hands in her jean pockets as she kept Claire's pace. She shot a glance back at her brothers, silently telling them that she's got it covered. "Look...I know it probably doesn't count for much, but I get the whole...deal with Randy."

Claire raised a brow.

"He was there for you. He had your back when you were at your lowest, right?" The girl nodded in answer. "That's what family does. Hell, it's how I got half my family. Cas being one of them. He hasn't always made the best decisions, but his heart is always in the right place."

"So he only had the best intentions when he took my father away from me and killed him?"

"No." Rose sighed. "That's the thing about angels, though. They all need a vessel at some point. It's the only way they can interact with other humans without blinding them. Literally. But the catch is that in order for an angel to take a human as a vessel, that person has to give consent. They have to say the word 'yes,' and allow the angel to possess them."

When Claire didn't respond, Rose continued. "Your father said yes. He was okay with it. He knew what would happen. Cas explained all of it to him. And from what I've heard, it was either your father or you, and your dad refused to let Cas take you."

Rose heard a small sniff.

"So you're saying I'm the reason my dad is dead? He let Castiel kill him in order to protect me?"

"You're not the reason he's dead. But yeah, he died to protect you. He wanted you to live your life. It's what dads do. They do stupid things to protect their kids."

Claire ran her arm under her nose. "You speaking from experience?"

Rose nodded. "I am. And I was pissed at him for years. Still kinda am. I took a lot of that anger out on my brothers too - even the closest thing I had to a father after he died. But in the end, he was trying to protect me, and I was too...stuck on feeling betrayed and butthurt that I forgot to live."

"So what? Are you telling me to quit with Randy and clean myself up? Get a real life?"

"This is a real life. And you're living it." Rose answered. "I'm only saying...it doesn't do to dwell on the past and forget to live."

Claire paused for a moment. "Are you quoting Harry Potter at me?"

Rose shrugged a laugh. "Paraphrasing really, but yeah, I guess I am. But Dumbledore has a point, and it's what I'm trying to say. Being reckless and taking your anger out on Cas isn't gonna change anything."

Claire slowed to a halt. She took a deep breath. "I guess you have a point."

Rose offered a smile in return.

"I, um...thanks. See ya around. Maybe." Then she took off to a house in the distance. Rose watched her go, then dug out her phone.

When Sam answered, the background noise was almost too loud for her to hear her brother speak.

"Are you at a bar?" Rose asked, her brows knitting in concentration.

"Yeah. How's Claire?"

"She's back with Randy. You guys should get over here. I have a bad feeling...just...hurry, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. We'll be there in a bit. Text me the address."

Sighing, Rose hung up. Something wasn't right about this Randy guy. Claire didn't seem like the type to rob a store without a good reason. Something was going on.

Little bit of a shorter chapter today. I'm beginning to run low on already written content, and am struggling to connect the dots of the established plotline. In English: I know what Rose's role in Season 10 will be, I'm simply having a hard time getting there from here. So if anyone has anything they really want to see, now would be a good time to tell me. Once I hit Executioner's Song, it'll be loads easier to crank out more chapters.

Anywho, I am still looking for songs for my other story! And also creative names if anyone has any!

As always, any suggestions/requests/feedback/criticisms are welcome and appreciated. I do not own Supernatural. I only own Marian Rose Winchester and anything that isn't canon and/or widely accepted by the fandom.