Chapter 23
As Ben sat in his pickup, he remembered the first time he met Castiel and Meg.
Ben Had just graduated college. He had majored in teaching and was out putting Applications at every school in the area.
He had had no luck so far at landing a Teaching position.
As he was walking home from his day of job hunting a man just fell in front of him out of nowhere. One minute the space in front of Ben is empty the next minute there is a man at his feet. And what was strange, were the Wings. He assumed the man had ben dressed in a Comi-Con outfit. As shocked as he was,he had the smarts to bent down and check the man for life.
Ben couldn't feel a pulse or breathing. he started to panic and rolled the man over to start CPR. He had also pulled his phone out to call 911 and as the operator answered a hand reached up and grabbed his phone and with one squeeze the semi-consciousman crushed it.
"Hey!" Ben yelled
Weakly the man whispered.
"No police, No hospitals...Please"
"Are you alright?"
Ben asked, picking up his crushed phone and pocketing it. He would pick up another one tomorrow (hopefully he could save the memory card).
At this point he just wanted to leave the man. But Ben wouldn't do that.
"please help me" the man whispered.
And against his better judgement Ben reached down and helped the man up of the ground.
He slung one of the man'sarms around his shoulders and grabbed hiswaist.
"Where to mister?" Ben asked
"Cas, Castiel" the man said "please help me" came the whispered plea again.
There weren't many people on the street at this time of day and his apartment was just around the corner so, Ben started in that direction.
The man was trying to walk and take some of his weight off ofBen but, as they got to his apartmentdoor the man passed out completely.
Ben had to hoist the man over his shoulder to get him inside. he took the man, Castiel, Ben said to himself, to his bed and laid him down. It was then been notice the blood on his abdomen. It looked like a stab wound.
Ben went to his bathroom and got his first-aid kit. A small leather case with the word 'Winchester' tooled into it. Ben assumed his mom got it fromsomeone when she was alive. Knowing it was hers he couldn't bring himself to get rid of it.
He went back to Castieland decided the first thing to do was remove the wings and trench coat.
So,he pulled out his pocketknifeto cut the straps at should have been holdingthe wings on. But he didn't find them.
Figuring they were under the trench coat; he gently eased the man to a sitting (still out cold) position to take it off. Once the trench coat was off, which he had to cut off as there were no slits in the coat for the wings (the costume was good). understanding dawned on him, he would have to cut off the suit coat and shirt and apparently the undershirt. Grabbing the scissors from the kit he started cutting. once all clothing from the waist up was off,he looked down and stillsaw no wing straps.
He stood up slowly understanding dawning on him that the wings were real.
"impossible" Ben whispered
He was unsure what to do by this point,but he did know he couldn't let the man? Angel? Whatever bleed out.
He checked for wound on his back and found nothing that needed stitching so, he cleaned and bandaged those.
Rolling Castielover Ben cleaned the wound in front and stitch it up and applied anti-bacterialointment. that was as much as Ben could do without taking him to a hospital. Which now Ben understood why.
Ben stayed by the bed all night watching over him.
Sometime in the night the man started mumbling in his sleep.
"Meg help, me find me"
Ben looked at theman'sleft hand, yep there it was a wedding band.
So,Meg was the wife.
Was she like him?
Ben didn't need any morewhatever they were in his apartment he didn't want this one.
He felt like one of those old women who brought home stray cats.
The next morning, he checked and cleaned the wound. he realized he needed more medical stuff. he left a note on the nightstandletting Castielknow he would be back.
He went to the drug store and got what he needed, receivingan odd look from the clerkBen simply said.
'Hypochondriac'
The clerk smiled like people did this everyday (not).
He passed a Goodwill store on the way home and ducked in to get a replacement shirt and suit coat. As he was checking out,he saw it. A brand-newtrench coal someone had donated and as luck would have it, it was only ten dollars. He told the cashier to ring it up and he was on his wayback to his apartment.
Ben entered the apartment and went straight to the bedroom to check on Castiel. he was still out cold,so Ben took the opportunity to change the dressing on the wound and once done he dropped the clothing in the washer (for sanitary purposes). he fixed himself something to eat and went to set by Castielto keep vigil. No onewas dying in his apartment.
'Oh,dear God, what would he do if that happened'
As he sat there, he noticed dry blood on the onyx appendages and got a warn wet washcloth and started to clean what he could. thy were soft and beautiful and he wondered if castielused them like that angel in the movie Legion did, as weapons.
"yes, I can" was whispered by Castiel.
Ben jumped back.
"Thank God you are alive" Ben said
"My father had nothing to do with whetherI lived. It was you who saved me from bleeding out Ben" Castiel said with a little more strength.
"Your Father, God is your fath...wait you know my name, who I am?" Ben said.
Castiellaughed or tried to.
"Yes,he is. And yes,I do know who you are."
Castielpaused as Ben looked at him in disbelief.
Ben backed up to the wall and slid down it.
"What are you?" he whispered
Feeling stronger Castielstood up
"Iam an Angel" He left off the rest ofthat phrase, the one he said so, so, so many years ago to Dean Winchester. It never felt right saying it to anyone else after that.
Ben watched as Castielwings raised and stretched out for just a moment and then disappeared.
Castielextended his hand down and touched Ben's foreheadwith two fingers, he said "Remember" and suddenly everything came rushing into his mind. Dean, his mom, the demons that took them, everything!
"I have questions?" Ben said
"Ask" Castielsaid. "I will answer them."
"First" Ben started, "Whydid you come to me for help?"
"You would help. You are like Dean, he always helped me" Castiel explained.
"That brings me to my second question. Was Dean my Father, I always wanted him to be,but mom said he wasn't." Ben looked at Castieland then added "The truth please. Consider it payment for patching you up."
Castielthought for a moment and with a heavy sigh said.
"Yes" and as an afterthoughtCastieladded "He was"
"Was?" Ben questioned.
"I'm sorry, he died some years back. Strangelyenough from natural causes" Was all Castielsaid.
Castielreached down and helped Ben to his feet. Ben just realized that Castielwas shirtless and led him to the laundry area.
"I had to cut your clothes off, the wings, I thought they were fake and was, well let just say they're shredded now. I replaced them, here." Ben handed Castielthe clothes he bought for him and left him to dress but, not before he saw Castieltear off the dressing to his wound and it was gone.
"There was a deep stab wound there." Ben questioned
"Yes, my Mojo as Dean would say Healed me up the rest of the way. It replenished while I was out of it." the Angel said
"Although not completely. I will stillneed to stay here for a bit while it continues to replenish. If you don't mind." He finished.
Ben was pacing now. He rememberedthat Dean did not want him to have this life. He probably had Castielwipe his memory for that very reason.
"He did" Castielsaid
"And YOU need to stay out of my head. it is crowed enough in there without you being in it." Ben said with determination.
Castielstarted to laugh. A full-onmouth open body shaking laugh.
"WHAT IS SO FUNNY?" Ben yelled
Once Castielcaught his breath he answered.
"Dean hated when I did that also." he started laughing again.
They talked long into the night. Castielfinally said he needed some more rest and that he would be fully restoredin two or three days.
"I should tell you." Castielsaid "there will be a very angry, short woman at your door tomorrow please, let her in." He finished
"Meg?" Ben asked looking at Castiel'sleft hand
"Yes" Castielsaid with a smile.
The next morningBen jumped three feet off his couch when there was a loud pounding on his door.
He picked himself off the floor and walked to the door and opened it.
Immediatelythere was a something long, shinyand pointy at his throat.
"Where is he?" she hissed. she was so close to his face she didn't need to beloud.
"Bedroom" Ben grumbled.
She backed him up as shewalked forward to the bedroom. once there she glanced at the man on the bed.
She lowered Her weapon
"Leave." was all she said
He closed the door on his way out. He wasn't trying to listen but, a few words did catch his ear.
"off on your own" and "Kill you myself."
Something else was "Dean coached you well" and then some giggling from her.
They came out about an hour later both smiling.
All Ben could think was 'Great, they defiled my bed, now I need to wash the sheets.'
Meg walked up to him and just smile up at him like she knew what he was thinking.
"Meg, this is Ben, Dean's son"
Meg just stood there when she finally spoke it was with amusement
"Really? A Mini Dean." She said with a smirk.
"Does he know the job?" she asked lookingback at Castiel.
"Wait, wait a minute. What job? I'm a teacher or at least I will be when I find an open position." Ben said
"Did you put up sigils before you gave him back his memories? There is a Winchester in the world again and if you didn't do that then they, Demons, Angel, Monsters every supernatural being out there knows." She finished her rant.
"So,I ask you again do you Hunt?" she asked
He knew Dean hunted and what he Hunted but, he also knew Dean did not want him to hunt, never trained him.
"No." Ben said.
"Your training starts tomorrow" Was all she said
"Meg no" Castielsaid in a voice that brokered no argument but, it was exactly what she did.
"Then wipe his mind again...If he will let you" she smirked. "And hopefully he will be safe." She finished.
All Castielcould do was shake his head, he had been beaten by Meg. He smiled and then asked Ben.
"Do you want me to wipe your mind and hope they don't find you or would you like to train to be a Hunter?"
'Well, there goes that college education' he thought.
"Train" he said out loud.
"We start tomorrow" Meg ordered
And the rest is, as they say is history.