Chapter Fifteen

Meeting the Queen Mother

Bobby's House: June 22, 2010

Sam looked up from his book at the sound of tires coming up the dirt road. Dean had gone to pick up Azrial and Bobby from the airport, leaving him and Castiel to keep an eye on Rowena who'd taken to bickering with Crowley whenever given the chance.

"Finally," he sighed and shut his book.

"So, I'll finally get to meet the Angel of Death?" Rowena asked.

"No," Crowley growled just as Sam said, "Yes."

Sam sighed and glared at the demon. "Will you knock it off? Azrial is a big girl and can handle herself."

"I don't care," Crowley grumbled. "I don't want her anywhere near this bitch."

"Then you can tell her that," Sam snapped. "Good luck."

Crowley pursed his lips, not moving from his chair. This seemed to amuse Rowena, and Sam fled toward the door before the mother-son duo could start in on each other again. Damn Castiel for 'checking the wards' and leaving him alone with them!

He made it to the porch just as Bobby, Dean, and Azrial exited the car. A sense of relief filled his chest upon seeing Bobby and Azrial. It had been months, and it felt good to have everyone back together. Bobby seemed a bit on edge and was keeping Azrial close to him. She wasn't objecting, but the behavior seemed a bit odd. He'd seen Crowley act like that with her and to an extent towards Bobby, but this was something completely new. Dean had said something was up with the three, but Sam hadn't fully believed him.

"Did you warn them?" Sam asked as the three stepped onto the porch. He pulled Bobby into a hug which the hunter warmly returned. He hesitated a moment, but Azrial rolled her eyes and gave him a quick hug before falling back next to Bobby. He smiled slightly at the archangel before turning back to his brother. "Well?"

"Briefly. Basically just that his highness has mommy issues."

"Which honestly doesn't surprise me," Azrial muttered, causing Bobby to swallow a laugh.

"She wants to meet you," Sam said. "Crowley would rather you fly back to Italy."

"Well, let's not keep the royal mother waiting!" Azrial declared. Sam snorted, shaking his head.

"Can I record this?" he asked, getting a half-hearted glare from Azrial that made him chuckle. Time for some fireworks.

Line Break

Rowena looked up as Samual came into the room followed by his brother and two others. One was a man in his early fifties, a trucker cap firmly on his head and dressed the same way as the two hunters in the room. He had a powerful aura around him, but she couldn't place why. His sharp blue eyes landed on her, and she gave a flirty smile. He rolled his eyes, moving his gaze past her without a second thought. Interesting human indeed.

The woman at his side, no, the archangel at his side, was a sight to behold. Rowena could care less about her outer beauty, though the archangel was appealing enough if not a bit more muscular than Rowena preferred her women. No, it was the sheer power she exuded that had Rowena practically purring in delight. Samuel had told her the archangel was tightly reining in her power, so everything Rowena felt was simply bleed off. It was magnificent! Her power was cold, so cold Rowena was sure it could freeze her soul, but she couldn't help but want to be closer to it. This archangel could protect her, perhaps even free her power. If that meant playing nice with her horrible son then so be it.

"Honey, I'm home!" the archangel sang, causing Fergus to sigh. Her son couldn't hide the soft look in his eyes though, and Rowena made note of it.

"Why couldn't you two stay in Rome?" he demanded halfheartedly.

"And deprive you of our company?" she asked. "Never! Now, it seems introductions are in order."

The archangel moved her gaze to Rowena, and she swore Azrial was staring through her. Her dark blue eyes had a shining ring of silver around them, and there was a heavy knowledge in her eyes. How much had this archangel seen? Experienced? Rowena had always coveted power, and standing in front of her was an absolute fountain of it.

"Rowena MacLeod," she offered sweetly. The archangel tilted her head, her eyes running down her form.

"MacLeod?" she asked curiously. "The witch who cooked up a spell for immortality?"

Rowena froze, knowing she couldn't deny it. Azrial had her pinned with an assessing look. This wasn't a question, Azrial was testing if she'd dare lie. Rowena swallowed, glancing at Samual without meaning, too. He gave her an encouraging nod, a look of understanding in his eyes. The young hunter wasn't judging her for reacting to the archangel with a mix of awe and fear.

"Yes," she said slowly. "That is I."

"Impressive," Azrial said glibly. "There are few creatures with such power. Even fewer who can do so successfully. Death finds you quite vexing, Madam MacLeod."

"Don't feed her ego, angel," Fergus huffed. "She's hardly worth the breath."

"Perhaps not," Azrial admitted. "But she is still fascinating, my king."

Azrial hadn't looked away from her as she spoke to Fergus, and fear crawled up Rowena's throat. Had the archangel sensed her distaste? Azrial lifted an eyebrow, and Rowena felt a heavy cold brush against her mind.

Do not make a problem of yourself, witch. He belongs to me.

Rowena gasped as the words were hissed in her mind, stumbling back and causing Samual to dart forward. She was shivering, and Samual ran a comforting hand over her arms as he helped her to a chair.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly. "I didn't expect you to react so badly to her."

"She…" Rowena swallowed at the look in Azrial's eyes, and she quickly broke away from the archangel's gaze. "She's just more powerful than I expected."

Samuel frowned, clearly catching the lie in her shaky voice. He leaned closer and whispered in her ear. "She's just protective. As long as you don't harm any of us, I think she'll warm up to you."

Rowena doubted that, but she was no fool. If the archangel would leave her alone as long as she played nice with the others then she would damn well play nice. She hadn't survived over 300 years by ignoring her instincts.

Line Break

Bobby was pretty sure he'd missed something as Rowena looked away from Azrial, but he could honestly care less. He was jet-lagged, exhausted, and desperately wanted to fall into bed. Azrial finally looked away from the redheaded witch, yawning and stretching.

"I don't know about you, Bobby, but I could use a nap."

"You're an angel, you hardly need to sleep."

"Oh hush," she waved off. "Like you aren't headed to bed too."

"I'm a cranky old human. We need sleep."

Crowley snorted, standing up and walking toward them. "I think some rest is in order. I could certainly use some time away."

"Of course, you could," Azrial teased. "Can't imagine how hard it must be to deal with your mother."

"I'm not living this down anytime soon, am I?"

"Oh, definitely not."

Crowley sighed but still offered his hand to Azrial. The archangel happily took it, and Bobby had to push down the urge to pull her back to his side. He'd gotten used to having her close by, and having her suddenly pulled away left a strange feeling in his chest.

"Would you like to come with us, pet?" Crowley asked. There was a knowing look in the demon's eyes but no judgment. Bobby had to bite his tongue to stop from saying yes but finally settled on shaking his head.

"Don't know about you, your highness, but I'm heading to bed. Cranky old man, remember?"

"Sweet dreams, hunter," Azrial said with a small wave.

"Sweet dreams indeed, pet," Crowley hummed before vanishing along with the archangel. Bobby ran a hand over his face, glancing around the room to see four sets of eyes staring at him.

"What?" he gruffly asked.

"Nothing at all," Dean snorted. "Welcome home, old man."

"Need anything before I pass out?" he asked, looking from Dean to Sam, and finally Castiel. All three shook their heads, and he hummed. "Good then. I'll see you boys in the morning."

He paused as he passed the witch, glancing down at her. "A word of advice," he said softly. "Don't cross her."

Having said his piece, he made his way up the stairs and into his room. He wasn't even ashamed to say he fell into his bed fully clothed.

Line Break

June 23, 2010

Bobby woke to the smell of breakfast wafting upstairs. He slowly blinked his eyes open, stretching lazily. The sun was just starting to peek through his window, but he felt well-rested. He pulled off his day-old shirt, tossing it to the floor before pulling on a pair of sweats. He stepped into his slippers and made his way downstairs. He expected to find Dean in the kitchen but instead found the goddamn King of the Crossroads flipping pancakes with his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows.

"Morning pet," Crowley said. "Coffee?"

"Am I still asleep?" he muttered before a cup of coffee was pressed into his hand. He looked down to see Azrial smiling softly up at him, an oversized shirt drowning her small form. Wait, was that his shirt?

"Morning hunter," she purred, leaning up on her toes to press a kiss to his jaw.

Bobby started down at her, baffled. "Uh, morning?" he thickly asked. His eyes moved to Crowley who was looking at them amused.

"Nothing for me?" the demon leered, making Azrial laugh. She pranced over to him, pulling Crowley down for a kiss. His hands moved to her back, hiking the shirt up to reveal the bottom of her shapely ass. Crowley's mouth dropped to her neck, his now red eyes locking with his.

"Well, are you coming?"

"I-" his mouth felt dry, and he tried to move forward. Azrial's throaty moan echoed around the room, and her head fell to the side as Crowley continued to trail down her exposed neck.

"Bobby, why aren't you touching me?" she mewled softly.

Fuck.

"Bobby?" she whispered, turning to look at him with wide silver eyes. "Bobby!"

He jolted and suddenly he was back in his bed, panting heavily with a light sheen of sweat. His shirt was sticking to his chest and he ran a hand down his face.

"What the actual fuck?" he whispered hoarsely. He glanced down, groaning at the clear tenting that stared back at him. "Seriously, what the fuck?" he demanded of the empty room. He stared up at the ceiling and took a steadying breath. It was just his mind playing tricks, it didn't mean anything.

God he wished he could believe that.

He pulled himself out of bed, pulling his sweat-soaked shirt off and tossing it to the floor in frustration. There was a knock on his door, and he yanked the blanket over his lap.

"What?" he gruffly asked.

"May I come in?" the soft voice shot straight through him, and he swallowed thickly.

"Yeah," he finally said and the door opened. Azrial walked in, decked out in jeans and a loose t-shirt that his mind flashed back to his dream.

"Mornin'n," she smiled and offered a hot cup of coffee to him. "Sorry I couldn't let you sleep more. I'd like your professional opinion on the spell Rowena wants to use."

He took the coffee, doing his best to ignore the parallels with his dream. At least Crowley wasn't here, that would just be kicking a man while he was down.

"Course. Let me grab a shower and I'll be down."

"Sounds good. Pancakes?"

He jolted, and Azrial set a steadying hand around his to keep the coffee from spilling. "Bobby, are you okay?"

The concern dripping over his name helped slow his rapidly beating heart. He needed a shower. A cold, cold, shower.

"Yeah," he rasped. "Just slept wrong. I'll be down shortly."

She frowned at him but slowly nodded. "All right. So pancakes or no?"

"I think I'll just stick with coffee," he muttered, staring down at the cup.

"All right, if you change your mind just let me know."

There was a soft click as his door shut, and Bobby closed his eyes taking a deep breath.

"Fucking hell, those two will be the death of me."

The next update is Saturday, February 19, 2022