**Supernatural does not belong to me, nor do any of its characters** I apologize for the roller coaster I'm taking you on, I know the first several chapters were like the uphill part and now that I've turned the highest peak it's moving FAST, but it will slow back down and everything will eventually be explained :) Hope you're enjoying! I LOVE writing Crowley lol
A soft knock on her door told Morgan who was on the other side before Sam walked in, shutting it quickly behind his entrance. He looked saddened, obviously understanding the emotional storm out she'd just had, but unsure what to say and simply sat on her bed, pulling the sobbing girl into his chest. Her brother's large hand rubbing her back alleviated a little of her internal pain, remembering she had two wonderful men who loved her unconditionally, but Bryan's words about killing witches echoed in her mind and she sobbed again. Sam held her tighter and Morgan felt him kiss the top of her head as she poured more tears onto his flannel pathetically.
"Sweetie," Sam tried, "Sweetie, please, he doesn't know," he shushed her cries, but she continued sobbing, "Morgan, listen, please," her cries were too hard for him to continue and simply rubbed up and down her back as she released fears and anxiety in a wet splotch on his shirt.
Bryan had sounded resolute on his opinion of all supernatural beings requiring the same fate, and she wept as her emotions clashed between the boy she'd developed feelings for and her prayers to have magic again.
"S-sam," Morgan hiccupped, "I, I don't know," she tried, wiping tears from her cheeks as she gently pushed away from him, "C-crowley said-"
"Morgan," Sam sighed, "Crowley's a demon-"
"I know," she insisted, biting back another sob, "but I was a witch, and I misssss it," she sobbed uncontrollably again into his chest as he wrapped his strong arms around her.
"Sweetie," he tried, but had nothing else to offer except physical comfort.
For a few minutes, Morgan simply cried in her brother's arms, uncaring if anyone heard her, too distraught in her own thoughts, finally running out of energy and sniffling softly into the soft material of Sam's shirt. A hard knock on her door made both of their heads turn as Dean slid into the room.
"Everyone's calm," he assured Morgan more than Sam, "but of you both need t'come listen t'Crowley, wow, I can't believe I just said that," Dean scoffed.
"You straighten that kid out?" Sam asked harshly and Morgan bit back another sob feeling a strange pang of guilt.
"We came to an understanding," Dean assured them both and Sam patted her back encouragingly.
"C'mon," he jerked his head towards their older brother by the door, "you got this."
She took a deep breath, wiping tears from her eyes, "Yeah, okay."
"Morgan," Dean's tone was serious, "He's been a stubborn lil asshole, you say the word 'n I'll lock him in the dungeon."
"I love you for offering," she giggled at him.
"Code word's pancakes if y'change y'r'mind," Dean chuckled and Morgan beamed at him.
Sam stood from her bed, tugging her hand a little, encouraging her to stand and she followed Dean into the hallway with Sam close behind.
Bryan was leaning against the farthest wall in the kitchen from Crowley, still sitting at the table with a grin on his face, though a glass of scotch had appeared in front of him, Claire stood between them with a slightly defensive posture towards the young man. He glanced at Morgan as she and her brothers reentered the kitchen, but looked away quickly, her stomach twisted again, but she forced herself to hold it together. For Chuck's sake, she was a Winchester.
"Darling," Crowley began, addressing Morgan with his most velvety voice, "let me begin by saying," he glanced at Bryan glowering at him from the wall near the doorway, "you can do much better."
"Crowley!" both brothers growled together, Dean and Claire stepping in front of Bryan before he had a chance to move.
"I'm just saying," the demon put his hands up defensively, "she's a beautiful girl, alright, alright," he trailed off as Sam approached him ominously, "not the point, you're right. So, the Princes of Hell are out for revenge, and, to answer your question darling, beyond, yes, I will admit, you tug at the grayest of the black in my non-existent heart, but they're recruiting my demons, my army, you can imagine this makes me look like less of a leader, a commander, a-"
"King?" Bryan scoffed meanly from the wall and Crowley glowered at him so hard Morgan stepped directly in front of the demon, mostly sure he wouldn't hurt her.
"Crowley," Morgan leveled him with puffy, but confident eyes, "what's going on? And where is Cas?"
Dean cleared his throat behind her and the demon glanced at him before looking back at the young girl and answering, "If you haven't been listening, you're being hunted by the most powerful and resourceful demons Hell has ever had, Lucifer's first in command, the only reason I'm telling any of you is because it's been a few weeks now and they're starting to disrupt how I do business. Your angel friend was captured by them, yesterday, I figured I'd mention it since I was stopping by, I'm not sure of his status, I do know they were holding him at a warehouse outside of Chicago."
"Why Chicago?" Morgan interjected quickly, it seemed a strange coincidence.
"Chicago has always been a haven of misdeeds," Crowley smirked wickedly, "Its run by some of the most powerful monster families in the world," a quick glance at her brothers in the brief silence after his proclamation confirmed this fact before the demon continued, "Not to mention, has been a secret meeting place for the important remaining members of the Grand Coven that was run out of Europe by the Men of Letters, in fact, one of them would like very much to meet you. On neutral ground, of course."
Morgan stared at him, a buzz filling her ears as even Crowley's smug face went out of focus, completely absorbed in her own thoughts, realizing why she'd always lived within an hour or so of the city, occasionally spending a few weeks at a time wandering the busy streets while her Mother disappeared for days.
"What does Cas have to do with this? Where in Chicago is he?" Dean demanded.
"Your lovebird didn't confide his motives to me, Squirrel, all I know is what I've heard around the water cooler and seen with my own eyes. I simply know that's where they took him," Crowley said innocently, "I have no idea if he's still there."
"Is Cas bein' in Chicago, water cooler talk 'r somethin' you've seen with y'r'own eyes?" Dean challenged.
"I saw him in Hell briefly after they caught him," Crowley admitted, "Did a bit of a number on him, the Chicago bit I've heard from sources, reliable sources."
Dean's expression didn't change as he turned to Sam and they began whispering to each other, their sister took the exclusion as an opportunity.
Morgan approached slowly on the demon, leaning over the table so only he could hear her, "You settin' me up?"
"Darling, never," he scoffed quietly and she leveled him with a challenging glare, "I swear, whatever I can do to help, I need these animals out of my kingdom."
"Can you really help me get my powers back?" she whispered, her tone changed quickly from harsh to pleading.
"Not yours no," his volume matched hers as he dipped his head a bit and Morgan felt a presence behind her, "but good enough, especially with your brilliance," he winked and said the last few words loud enough for the room to hear, she blushed a bit at his compliment while confused at the overall answer.
"How soon can we head t'Chicago?" Morgan turned her head to Dean, lingering behind her.
"You ain't goin' anywhere," he scoffed, narrowing his eyes at the immediate scowl she gave him.
"I'm going," she said flatly, "Y'r'not goin' t'Chicago, to a place that clearly has some meaning in my life, in my past, and not taking me."
"That's exactly why we're not takin' you!" he barked.
"We'll talk about it later," Sam interjected loudly, "as a family."
"There's nothin' t'talk about," Dean insisted bitterly.
"To be clear," Crowley interrupted, "it would be a pointless trip without her, yes, yes, I understand, family meeting conversation and all, but, that witch I told you about doesn't want to meet you, or Sasquatch, she wants to meet Ceralia's daughter. They may be your only hope, I can't promise they'll fight, actually I can almost assure you they won't, but to find what you need, they're the only ones who can help."
Sam and Dean looked at each other for a few moments before simultaneously changing their focus to Morgan and sighing in sync.
"So," Crowley piped up, "I can count on flannel family to swoop in and help save the day?"
"We're the target Crowley," Dean growled, "Don't have much of a choice do we?"
The demon smirked, downing the last of his scotch, closed his fist and the glass disappeared, "Glad you see the urgency at least, darling, I'm only a phone call away, boys, keep your new protégé in line, he might get himself hurt," and with a final glare at Bryan, Crowley snapped his fingers and vanished from the kitchen.
The room was silent following his departure, Morgan's heart raced as she thought of looking at Bryan, but finally gained the courage and turned just in time to see him leaving the kitchen. Sam followed him and Dean was quick on their heels as Claire and Morgan glanced at each other before bolting down the hallway to follow the men. Bryan had nearly reached the bedroom he was using, though each step was clearly painful even from several feet behind him, the young man clutched his side gingerly as he threw open the door. Sam and Dean slipped in right behind him and one of them slammed the door.
The girls skidded to a stop, simultaneously pressing their ears to the closed door, not that they'd needed to with the volume of the conversation on the other side.
"I'm outta here," Bryan barked, "y'all ain't stoppin' me."
"Bryan you can't even lift those bags," Sam insisted after an agonizing groan.
"Kid," Dean growled, "y'r'not goin' anywhere, put'cher shit down 'n listen f'r'thirty fuckin' seconds 'cause I ain't got time t'repeat myself!"
"Listen t'what?" the young man accosted, "There was a demon sittin' here like he's got a key to the front door! Monsters are monsters!"
"Yeah?!" Dean argued loudly, "So that girl out there, the one who was wracked with guilt from accidentally being part of why those vampires got their hands on you-"
"She shouldn't-" Bryan tried.
"Shut up," Dean snapped, "we took care of it, she's knows it wasn't her fault now, but my sister is one of the kindest people I've ever met even after the childhood she suffered through. But all monsters need to die, right?"
"She's not-" Bryan's voice sounded weaker with every attempt Dean cut off.
"Morgan was born a witch," Dean said simply, "was destined to be the most powerful one in the world until a couple months ago and she lost her magic, you have no idea how painful that was for her, for us watching her deal with that, but she's still the same amazing, kindhearted girl she was with powers. So should she die? Should we've killed our sister because she was born with powers? Shouldn't Missouri have died?"
"Don't talk about Missouri," Bryan growled, "No, neither, they're both, it's different!"
"Exactly," Dean continued, "it ain't just black 'n white. There are times we've gotta work in the gray area for the greater good overall, this isn't y'r'average monster hunt, kid, we save the world."
Silence followed the proclamation and Morgan appreciated Claire's hand squeezing her fingers, just a reminder she was there.
"So, Morgan's a witch?" Bryan asked slowly, breaking the silence after several moments.
"Was," Sam clarified.
"Will she be again?" the young man questioned.
Sam said 'maybe' as Dean said 'no' and Morgan smiled a little at Sam's answer, leaving the possibility of talking to him about regaining her magic on the conversational table.
"What's important right now, is you need to heal and I need t'go save my best friend, so I can kill him myself," Dean mumbled the last bit, "Get comfy, kid, when you can stand f'r'longer than five minutes without passin' out y'r'free t'go, 'n truthfully, with the attitude you've got, you'll be the most average of the mediocre hunters to die before thirty. My sister was a mess over what happened to you, because regardless of whether she was born with powers or not, she's a good person, way too good f'r'you."
Claire pulled Morgan back quickly as the door flung open and Dean narrowed his eyes at the pair while exiting the bedroom, jerking his head for them to follow him down the hallway. She caught Sam's eyes, trying to hang back and peer into the room, Bryan was leaning against his dresser, but Morgan quickened her steps to follow Dean's brooding shoulders down the hallway. He continued passed the kitchen to the open room and through into the opposite hall towards the garage, turning down the path leading to the dungeon. Morgan knew it was simply her remembering the feeling that made her spine shivered as they crossed the threshold, no longer able to detect the powerful spell warding surrounding the room.
Her brother said nothing as pushed open a door across from the multi-purpose storage room, leaving it open in silent gesture for the two girls to continue following him. It was another storage room, brighter and clearly didn't have a hidden room behind the brick walls. Filing cabinets and dusty bookshelves lined the room, covered with random artifacts, everything meticulously cataloged and tagged. Dean grabbed a large ledger from a small table near the door while Claire and Morgan shared an unsure glance.
"Morgan," he barely glanced at her as he flipped through the first few pages, "Do you remember the names of those books Cas took?"
"The demon ones?" she knew it was a stupid question as it fell out of her mouth and shook her head as Dean sighed, quickly answering, "Uh, the first one was, uh, Satanici qui Compendium and the second was Satanico sint duo Compendium. Why?"
"I'm tryin' t'figure out what he was lookin' for," Dean flipped faster through the pages, "He thought he could take them on alone, he always does this shit," her brother seemed to be mumbling more to himself than either of the girls, "and now I gotta go find him, pull him out 'n kick his goddamn ass."
"Dean," Morgan's throbbing bottom reminded her this was not the time, but couldn't chance losing an opportunity to make her request, "Chicago isn't ironic," she swallowed hard as he slowly raised narrow eyes at her, but mustered her courage to continue, "Please, let me come, please, I just."
"It's not ironic," he said calmly as her words trailed away, "And as much as I hate the idea I think you need to come with," she felt her eyes widen in shock as Dean continued, "Crowley made a few points, and with the witch, I mean if we're goin' there anyway we might as well kill as many birds as we can," Morgan furrowed her brow in a silent question and he obliged quickly with an answer, "It might not just be the yellow-eyed freaks after us."
"You mean after me?" she nodded slowly.
"Us," he said firmly, "Trust me, Sam 'n I've had a price on our heads a lot longer than you."
"So why take her with us?" Claire demanded.
"She stays with me," Dean's tone was not to be contended with, "You're stayin' here 'n takin' care'a the kid."
"That's bull-"
"HEY!" Dean's bark made both of them jump, "I'm not arguing with you! Your orders are to stay here and help him get better! Is that understood?"
"Y-yes, sir," Claire managed to get the words out before obviously biting back a sob and bolting from the room.
Morgan didn't say anything and Dean returned his attention to the ledger, slowing to a page and running his finger down it until he stopped and snapped the large volume shut, making her jump a little again. He sighed heavily, his forehead creased with stress, Morgan's stomach twisted thinking she hadn't seen him look like that since they were on the run from Lucifer.
"Pack a bag, quickly," he told her, "and, uh, grab one'a your Mother's old books, the, uh Gungnir book, and don't forget-"
"Why?" Morgan demanded quietly, her blood running cold as he used a name she hadn't heard or spoken in longer than she could remember, "How do you know that name?"
"Just do it," he jerked his head at the door.
"No," she said firmly, squaring her shoulders as he did, "y'r'gonna tell me."
Her backside pulsed with pain again as he scowled intimidatingly down at her, but she refused to relent her ground.
With a heavy sigh, Dean conceded, "There's a chance, according t'Crowley, but it sounds like a good chance, whatever witches are left up there, Ceralia's old coven buddies, we might be able t'get their help, protection, with the right collateral."
"Dean, no," she whispered in horror, "I can't, her books, my books, not that one, the bok Gungnir is the oldest book in my family, she said Odin himself gave our greatest ancestor the pages, sliced the paper from the handle of his spear Gungnir, it's the most important, I can't," she'd started breathing heavily as the words poured from her and tears slipped down her cheeks.
Dean refused to let her push him away, holding his strong arms around her tightly and shushing her moment of panic.
"I'm sorry, Morgan, please," he stroked her hair back with a large hand, "Sweetie, I'm sorry, please listen to me though, please, it's not worth your life. Crowley said one of them will talk to us, we have to try."
"Who?" Morgan whispered.
"Sophie Petit," Dean said the words questioningly and Morgan thought hard on the faintly recognizable name, "She's been in the Grand Coven a long time, sounds like she's pretty old, look I don't trust it 'n we're gonna be on full alert, but if half of what he's said today is true," he sighed sadly, "we're gonna need all the help we can get."
Nodding slowly at him, Morgan couldn't help another sob at the idea of handing the bok Gungnir to anyone, it was a book she knew was irreplaceable, a treasure in the magical world, her last tie to a part of her she'd always hated and now missed dearly.
Looks like Morgan's going home and the boys are going to save Cas, stay tuned for more!