Merriam-Webster, Inc, .com:
Heaven: 1 The expanse of space that seems to be over the earth like a dome : Firmament – usually used in plural 2 a often capitalized : the dwelling place of the Diety and the blessed dead b : a spiritual state of ever lasting communion with God 3 Capitalized : God 1 4 : a place or condition of utmost happiness 5 Christian Science : a state of thought in which sin is absent and the harmony of divine Mind is manifested.
Heaven by Warrant – this is too perfect for Dean's POV right now.
(After 5.16, Dark Side of the Moon)
Sam decided to really lay into both Castiel and Dean when they got back from another long "food run"; which was nothing but an excuse to have sex. Because they just LEFT him there with Nemamiah, expecting him to automatically babysit. Not that he didn't like Nemamiah, but he had a goddamn lover too, and maybe SAM wanted to have "I'm alive and not dead" sex too. Because Sam did not appreciate visiting Heaven after two hunters broke in and shot him and Dean. But no, he didn't get a choice in baby sitting, not after hunts or being brought back to life, apparently.
"Uncle Sam," Nemamiah asked meekly and he looked away from his computer screen where he'd been keeping track of all the odd things happening during the apocalypse. For anything that looked disease or death related; but that was pretty much everything. Nemamiah stood there by the table next to him.
"Yeah, Miah?" Sam said with a long exhale. It wasn't that Nemamiah was an annoyance or anything. She was really sweet and usually well behaved. She hadn't flown out on him like she had on Castiel in any case.
"Why are you angry?" She asked and Sam rubbed his temples, he hadn't meant to let his annoyance show. Not until Dean got back anyway.
"I'm not angry," he said, taking a deep breath to calm himself.
"But you're making your wrinkly face." Nemamiah exaggerated her brow and a pouty frown. Sam smiled, because on Nemamiah it looked cute.
"Your dads just left here pretty quick." Sam rubbed his hand down his face. "And they do that a lot after a job or something like today happened." Luckily Nemamiah and Castiel hadn't been caught in the crossfire; they'd gone out to get breakfast and some father and daughter time. Sam didn't even want to imagine how Nemamiah had been when they found them. She already lost an 'aunt' a few weeks ago. She had been rather nervous all day. She was currently standing there, ringing her fingers with one hand, looking worried.
"Father said you were in Heaven," she said quietly, wings folded neatly behind her. Those tank tops they bought her were really handy for letting her wings free in the motel rooms. "Did you see Aunt Karen there?" Sam grimaced, because Bobby's wife hadn't exactly been on their list of people to visit while they were up there.
"No, it really doesn't work like that. It turns out Heaven is where you relive your happiest memories." Sam thought back, remembering Dean had popped in on him at an awkward time. Sam had been reliving a good memory of his and Gabriel's time in Illinois, where they were just laying together, completely content. Sam hadn't been dwelling over killing Lilith; a time before he'd tasted demon blood. At least Dean hadn't walked in on one of his memories of having sex with Gabriel, so maybe that was a relief. But it made him want to visit Gabriel even more. Gabriel had been despairingly absent the last few weeks. he kept saying he had to keep a lower profile but it left Sam desolate. He wondered if Gabriel was slowly backing out of their relationship. Sam looked at the ring on his finger often and reminded himself of Gabriel's commitment. He just hoped Gabriel was safe.
"You were dead." Nemamiah looked at Sam sadly. "Both you and dad were dead."
"Yeah, I know." Sam sighed. "It doesn't get any easier each time it happens." Because the next time might be the last time. "It's the... unfortunate benefit of being an archangel's vessel and not saying yes to the archangel." Nemamiah eyed him, calculating it in her little head. She then closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his waist, giving him a tight hug.
"I'm glad you came back," she said and Sam smiled a bit, patting her short dark hair.
"Thanks." Sam thought back to Dean, Castiel, and -most of all- Gabriel. "Me too." Sam glanced back to his computer, silence filling the motel room. Nemamiah took the other chair at the table and sat in it. Well, more like she perched on it. She crouched on the seat and wrapped her arms around her knees. She was just looking at him, as if he was supposed to say something else. Sam scratched his jaw awkwardly. Kids weren't really his forte. It was Dean's.
"What's it like?" she asked then.
"What's... what like?" Sam didn't exactly feel comfortable talking to his niece about what being dead was like.
"Heaven," She said simply and Sam mentally sighed in relief. "Father was an angel. He said he used to live there."
"Well..." Sam wet his lips, trying to piece together what he remembered, but he didn't exactly want to go through everything that happened. An idea then clicked. "You know what?" He closed out the window on his laptop about the apocalypse and brought up his favorite search engine. "Let's look it up." Nemamiah blinked.
"But you were there," She said.
"Yeah, but I can't be your only source for what Heaven is like. I mean, there's not just Heaven-Heaven, there's other... after-lives." Sam typed in Heaven, which brought up a few religious sites, some music. and a few definitions. "You know, most people won't understand that there's actually a Heaven. It's not normal for people to be brought back to life. So, with the internet, you can see what other people know or have found out." Nemamiah stood up on her chair and leaned over to look at the screen, head quirked to the side and wings up high. He smiled because she looked like a little curious bird. "But remember, you can't believe everything you find on the internet, okay?"
"Why not?" She asked, a hand supporting her up by leaning on Sam's shoulder.
"Well, some of it is made up, or misinformed. And lots of it is just pop culture and other things. Just... if you find something that doesn't feel right, learn about it and see what you can conclude for yourself." Sam nodded to himself. Researching was what Sam was good at. He could teach Nemamiah to be fundamentally educated if nothing else.
Nemamiah's eyes lit up. "Like a detective? Like Sherlock Holmes?" Sam smiled.
"Sure, just like Sherlock Holmes." Sam agreed. He clicked on one of the links. "Okay, see here, Heaven can be the sky over the earth. Or the dwelling place of the blessed dead."
"Like you?" She leaned closer to the monitor.
"I guess so." Sam really didn't know how many time he'd been there, dead, but it was enough to throw Ash for a loop. Sam looked back to the page. "Heaven can also be a state of mind apparently."
"Huh..." She blinked as Sam clicked the backspace key. "What's that?" She poked the screen and Sam felt a lot like a jungle gym rather than a person as she was only on the other chair now by her tip toes.
"That's a video. A music video." Sam pulled Nemamiah's chair closer and turned the screen more towards her. "Here." He clicked the video and she listened intently to the sound of Warrant's 'Heaven'. It was some fluffy mullet rock and Sam smiled because no doubt Dean would like this sort of music. Nemamiah's head lifted, listening to the whole song before she looked to Sam again.
"I like it." Nemamiah smiled at Sam. "It reminds me of Dad and Father."
Sam chuckled. "Well, Dean likes this music, I guess you're genetically inclined to as well." He patted her back. "Do you want to look up some stuff?" She nodded. Sam set the adult web site filter to on. He wasn't sure if it would last, but he couldn't say he didn't try. He turned it back to Nemamiah and he was relieved of being her leaning post. Sam looked at his phone as Nemamiah explored the keyboard and the touch pad mouse. Still no reply text from Gabriel. Sam sighed and hoped he was okay.
And well... it didn't take Nemamiah long to figure out she could type 'Sherlock Holmes' and Sam couldn't quite remember if Castiel had returned the book to her or not. But he saw that he was going to have a hard time keeping Nemamiah from finishing her book now.
