VIOLET'S POV

"He poses a serious threat to my daughter, Dean. I can't allow him to live." When Dean refused to stand aside, Michael waved his arm sending Dean flying over the bed, up against the wall and crashing in a heap on the floor. He sat up, rubbing the back of his head and cursing under his breath. I watched in horror as Michael leaned over Sam's unconscious body.

"NO! STOP!" I jumped to my feet and ran at the angel, pushing him away from Sam. I got up in Michael's face, wagging my finger at him. "You promised to help Sam!", I yelled at him, driving him backwards. You...!"

"I promised to help you get his soul back!", He growled back, cutting me off. "And that's what I did!" He stalked after me, forcing me back this time. My back hit the wall as he continued to snarl in my face. "I have no more responsibility to this HUMAN!" He spat the last word at me like it was a bad word. "I AM TIRED OF COMING TO THE RESCUE OF THESE SPINLESS, HAIRLESS APES WHEN THEY GET THEMSELVES IN TROUBLE!" He was seething with an untold millennia's worth of anger and frustration, which at that moment, was all directed at me. He grabbed the collar of my shirt in both hands and shook me like a rag doll. "I WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM ANYMORE!"

"Like you didn't take responsibility for me?", I croaked, on the verge of tears. He froze, releasing my shirt slowly. His eyes grew wide when he realized what he was doing. "I'm not stupid, you know? You left my mother to take care of me all alone! Then she married a man who was a drunk and beat us!" I was sobbing by now and he stared down at the floor, refusing to look me in the eye. "How do you think it feels to believe something your whole life, only to find out it was all a LIE?!" I shoved him away from me and he looked up at me with hurt in his eyes. "To know that your own father wanted nothing to do with me?!" Michael stood there staring at me. That wide-eyed expression never leaving his face.

"..." Michael's mouth moved like he was trying to say something, but nothing would come out. I sobbed bitterly, wrapping my arms around myself, turning toward the wall.

"If you... had just stayed... my mother... would still be alive!", I hitched between sobs. I felt a warm hand fall on my shoulder and I broke into a loud wail. His hand jerked like he was going to pull it back but it stayed glued to my shoulder. I could feel him step close and wrap his strong arms around me. He didn't say anything, he just let me cry.

"I am so sorry that I left you, Violet", Michael whispered when my wail died down to sniffles. "I made terrible mistakes in my past, but please know, there has NEVER been anything more important to me than you and your mother." I looked up at him wiping my nose on the back of my hand. He put his hand on my cheek and stroked my face with his thumb. "You have your mother's eyes", he breathed. I looked up at him, confused. He looked back down at me with a sad smile.

"But, my mother has brown eyes. Mine are blue." He stepped away from me, turning his back. "Wha... what aren't you telling me?" He kept his back to me with his shoulders slumped.

"This isn't how I wanted to tell you." He took a few more steps away and then turned to face me again. But he kept his eyes averted from mine.

"Tell me what?" He just stood there rubbing the back of his neck. I stalked up to him, grabbed him by the chin, and made him look at me. "TELL ME WHAT!"

"That your... that your real mother's name was Vanessa Griffin. She died g-giving birth to you." He panted at me. My hand dropped from his chin as I backed away from him.

"Wha...what?", I whimpered. I stared off into space, trying to comprehend what he just said. "My mother's sister?"

"Violet, I..."

"My mother... I mean Brenda said she died in a car crash before I was born!", I yelled. "Why am I not surprised that she would lie to me? Everyone else has! Everything I've ever known has been a lie!" I ran at Michael and started wailing on his chest with my fists as hard as I could. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO COME HERE?!", I sobbed. "WHY COULDN'T YOU STAY IN HEAVEN WHERE YOU BELONG?!" He grabbed my wrists and I jerked and flailed trying to get away from him. He just held me against his chest.

"If I hadn't come to earth, you would never have been born", He said with a trembling voice.

"Sometimes I think that would have been better", I muttered, looking away. When I looked up at him again, Michael's face was contorted in agony like he was in pain. He grabbed my shoulders and held me at arm's length to look me in the eyes.

"Don't EVER say that!", Michael hissed at me. "EVER!" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. When he opened his eyes again, I could feel the sadness coming off of him in waves. "You're a miracle, Violet. A miracle that your mother gave her life to protect!"

"Why didn't you stay?", I asked in a small voice. "Didn't you... want me?" I looked away, fearing what his answer would be.

"I was a coward, Violet." He looked down at the floor and swallowed hard before he looked back up at me again. "I... I loved your mother so much and I knew she wouldn't survive the birth." I could tell he was trying so hard not to break down by the emotion in his voice. "I couldn't watch her die!" He finally broke down into great racking sobs that dropped him to his knees. Seeing him in such a state over a human, someone he loved, made my family issues seem so insignificant. I knelt beside him and pulled him into my arms. He clung to me in desperation like he thought I might disappear if he let go. In an instant all my anger and resentment melted away.

"Michael... father... it's ok." I felt his pain so deeply that it felt like my own. I wept silent tears while I rubbed circles on his back soothingly. I felt so awful for him.

"I knew that relationships between angels and humans were forbidden, but I didn't care! So you and your mother paid the price for my disobedience!", Michael blubbered into my shoulder. "I deserve to suffer for the things I've done and the people I've hurt", Michael whispered. "That's why I refused to free myself from the cage sooner." I couldn't imagine the guilt he was carrying around with him for all these years.

He lost the woman that he loved, BECAUSE he loved her.