AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, I've been meaning to clarify some things with the story as far as when it takes place within the show and the ages of Sam and Dean. Pretty much everything that happened in season 1 happened to them, with the exception of the car accident, because John is still alive. Sam went to college, met Jess, and she died on the ceiling. In this AU, Dean and Sam are in their 30s. Any of the big story arcs in the show (Sam getting addicted to drinking demon blood, the apocalypse, Lilith, the whole deal with the vessels, Dean going to hell, etc.) didn't happen. The Winchesters have basically been tracking and chasing YED and ganking ghosts and monsters this whole time. In chapter 23, when Charlie is sick and having fever dreams, she dreams things like seeing Sam in a white suit and Dean chained up and calling for Sam. These were not meant to be things that happened in the past that she was seeing, but rather different realities that could have been. I meant to have Missouri explain this to her, and she did talk about it a little bit with Charlie, but those particular details just got lost in the shuffle. Castiel has come into the picture because Mary's spirit had asked him to watch over Dean, and by extension Charlie, and now that she is on the demon's radar because of her abilities, Castiel decided that it was time to make himself known. Ultimately, this is an AU, and it's how I want it to be. If you have any questions about things that happened, or comments about things you want to see happen or you think should happen, let me know. I love hearing from you!
Phew! You still with me? A big thank you to Tamilyn313 for bringing this up and chatting with me and allowing me to pick her brain! XXXOOO
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"Charlotte Anne Winchester, what are you doing out here?" a gravelly voice asked. It was Castiel.
It was just starting to get light out, and I could see his face in the dim light.
"What are you doing out here?" I retorted, shivering.
He leaned over and placed me on the ground. "Your father summoned me to the cabin, he woke up and could not locate you. He and John Winchester spent some time searching the woods near the cabin for you, and then he called on me. I must take you back to him."
"No!" I put my hand up, "I don't wanna go back there!"
"Why not, Charlotte Anne?" he tilted his head slightly.
"Because he—he said he wants you to take away my abilities and then give me to a normal family! He—he wants to get rid of me!" Tears filled my eyes again.
"Your father loves you very much, I cannot think that he meant to say those things. Are you sure you are not mistaken?"
I stomped my foot. "No, I'm not mistaken! He'd been drinking a lot, he and Uncle Sam were drinking beer and some other kind of alcohol. My mommy said 'in veeno vurteetas' which she said means that when you're drunk, you tell the truth."
"Strictly speaking, that is untrue. Alcohol can lower one's inhibitions, but it is not a truth serum. Although it seems like a lot of humans do have issues with mistakes that occurred as a result of them drinking too much alcohol. I do not understand why they drink so much when there is so little benefit and such a wide margin for error in behavior when one has imbibed too much," he paused a moment like he was thinking, and then shook his head, "I must take you back to your family, they are worried about you."
I stepped away from him. "No, I don't want to go!"
"Where do you want to go then? You are quite chilled and need to get warm."
"Can you take me to... my friend's house? Her- her name is Missouri and she lives in Lawrence, Kansas."
He thought for a moment, and then nodded. He took my arm, and then-
-we were standing in Missouri's kitchen. She was wearing a big fluffy bathrobe and a scarf around her head, and she had pink fuzzy slippers on her feet. She turned from the counter, holding a mug in her hand. When she saw us her eyes got big and she startled, jerking her arm, and spilling hot tea all over her hand and wrist.
"Mother of Pearl!" she yelped, "Land sakes, what are you doin' here, child? How in the world did you get in here?"
"I, uh, the angel brought me," I said awkwardly, "Missouri, this is, um, Castiel, he's a, uh, a angel of the Lord and my guardian angel."
She set the mug on the counter and grabbed a dishtowel, wiping her hand off and grimacing slightly.
She stepped up to him. "It is an honor to meet you, sir," she said, "I don't know if I should shake your hand, or genuflect, or cross myself!"
He held his hand out, and she took it. "Your skin is burned from the hot tea, let me heal it," Castiel placed his other hand on top of hers for a moment.
"Oh! Thank you," Missouri said. She looked up at him. "I can feel it, your power...it's like energy humming. You are an angel. My goodness, I never thought I'd see the day that I'd meet a real angel!" she patted their hands, "This is such a blessing, I'm just—I have so many things to ask you, but I'm speechless!" she chuckled, and let his hands go, "Missouri Mosely, get ahold of yourself, woman," she muttered, and shook her shoulders.
She turned to me. "Charlie, as much as I love seein' you, I don't get the feeling that it's a good thing. What's goin' on with you, baby?"
I was expecting her to be angry with me for just showing up in her kitchen, but she wasn't. The kindness in her voice made the tightness in my chest that I'd been carrying around relax, and I burst into tears. She pulled me into her arms- her bathrobe was soft and fuzzy- and held me while I cried.
I started to talk, to tell her about waking up in the Panic Room and what I had seen, and the nightmares, and smashing the mirror, and how I felt scared to be alone now, and what I had heard Daddy say.
"Oh, honey, you gotta know he didn't mean that, he'd never ever want to give you up. Come on," she walked me to the living room and sat us down on the sofa. She handed me some tissues, and I blew my nose and started to talk and cry again. She enveloped me in her arms again as Castiel walked around the room, looking at everything.
I told her what Uncle Sam and Grandpa John had said to me, and about hearing them shouting, and Daddy crying. I finished by telling her about running away.
I looked up at her. "I'm sorry I came here, I just didn't know what else to do," I hiccuped.
Her mouth was set in a thin line. "Don't you worry, child," she said, "I'll talk to your daddy and set things right."
She let go of me, pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and scrolled on it, then pressed a button.
"Hello, Dean, yes, honey, I know she's missin'...she's here with me now," Missouri paused, "Well, the angel brought her. They just showed up in my kitchen not 10 minutes ago. She's fine, she feels a little cold, and she's been cryin'..." her voice changed to stern, "Dean Winchester, what the hell were you thinkin', talkin' like that in front of your daughter? Is your father there? Well, you tell him I said to smack you upside your damn fool head!"
She stood up, listening, and glanced down at me. "Yes, she's fine, Dean, she ain't hurt, she walked through the woods and climbed a tree and fell asleep in it. Well, you made a big mistake, boy, she's thinkin' you're fixin' to give her up, and her heart's just about broke!" She moved the phone away from her mouth and said to me, "I'll be back in a moment, I want to talk privately to your daddy."
She walked out of the room and I heard a door close.
Castiel looked at me. "She is an...interesting woman. A lot of power resides within her."
"She showed me how to control my abilities some," I said.
"Yes, I know. That is what brought you to the attention of the demons. When someone with abilities such as yours begins to use them and exercise them, and gain more power by learning control, it is like a beacon, broadcasting those abilities to those creatures who operate on the higher wavelengths that psychic abilities travel on. I decided to step in before things became more unsafe for you."
"What—what do you mean?" I asked, feeling scared.
"The demons have been watching your family because John Winchester has been tracking a specific one for many years. They employed the shapeshifter that you came in contact with recently, he was supposed to kidnap you and take you to a particular demon. Something happened so that he was forced to leave before completing his plan, and then he began his crime spree. That was to be the last thing he did after kidnapping you and then harming Dean's other child and his mother."
"What?" I was shocked, "The shapeshifter was...was supposed to hurt Lisa and Ben? Was he..." I felt almost too scared to say it, "Was he gonna kill them?" I whispered.
"I do not know for certain, but I believe that that was part of the plan," Castiel replied.
I started to cry, and hugged myself. Missouri came back into the room.
"They're leaving this morn- oh, honey, what is it?"
"Cas—Castiel said that the shapeshifter was working with demons and it was s'posed to take me and kill Lisa and Ben-" I heaved out, "What if he had taken me? What if he had killed them?"
Missouri walked over to me quickly and sat down, hugging me again. "Don't borrow trouble, child, none a' that happened, right? All a' you are safe and sound, and your Daddy and Uncle got that shifter."
She looked up at Castiel. "Sir, I know you mean well, but you really got to think on what you say to this child before you say it! She ain't privy to everything in the supernatural world like her father is!"
"My apologies," Castiel said.
"All right, child, like I was saying, they're leaving as soon as they pack up, it'll take them about 22 hours to get here if they don't stop for the night. I don't think your father wants to stop, and knowing how he drives I'm sure he'd like to drive straight through and he'd make it here in 19 hours or less. I'm pretty sure your Grand-daddy will convince him to stop for the night to rest. They're gonna call back later in the day, and I want you to think about talkin' to him, hear? And then tonight we may do a conference call on the computer like y'all did with me recently. They want to see with their own eyes that you're okay."
O-okay, Missouri," I wasn't sure how I felt about talking to Daddy. I still felt very hurt by what he said.
"Now, are you hungry? Let's get you fixed up with somethin' warm, you're still feelin' cold to me."
We went into the kitchen and she made me hot chocolate, toast, and instant oatmeal. Then she took her bathrobe off and handed it to me to wear.
"Would you like anything, Mr. Castiel?" she looked at him expectantly.
"No thank you, I do not need to eat or drink. And it's just Castiel, there's no 'Mr.' in front of it."
"All right then. Let me get my tea, and I'd like to talk to you in private, if I may. Charlie, there's some orange juice in the fridge if you want some, after you eat." Missouri picked up her mug, and she and Castiel walked back to the living room.
I took a sip of hot chocolate and a bite of toast, then picked up the spoon and began to eat the oatmeal. It made me think of Uncle Sam and how he had made oatmeal at Uncle Bobby's, and shared with me and hadn't gotten upset when I ate it almost all gone.
Thinking that made me miss him, and suddenly a wave of longing for all three of them swept over me. I started to cry, and tears ran down my face and dripped off my cheeks into the bowl of oatmeal.
I started to think about things. What was I doing here with Missouri? Why had I tried to run away, in the middle of the night? I could have gotten hurt by a wild animal. If Castiel hadn't been there right when he was, I could have hurt myself falling out of that tree. And I wasn't supposed to leave the cabin and go outside either. I was going to be in so much trouble. But then, if Daddy was going to give me away, I guess it didn't matter.
I wiped my eyes with a napkin and finished my oatmeal, then took the bowl to the sink and rinsed it out. While I was eating my toast, Missouri and Castiel came back into the kitchen.
"Were you crying, sweetie?" she asked me.
I nodded. "I just, um, miss them..." my voice cracked, "But everything is all mixed up inside," I whispered.
"I know, baby, and we're going to talk about that," she said, "Let me get dressed, and then you and I can practice blockin' again if you want. I want to see if you can still do it as well," she looked at Castiel, "Is it all right that we do that?"
"Yes, practicing blocking is different than when Charlotte Anne reads something," Castiel told us, "I will return later."
There was a sound of flapping wings, and he was gone.
"My goodness, that's amazing," she said with awe in her voice.
"Daddy keeps telling him to use the front door, but Castiel doesn't rememeber," I said, and she chuckled.
"I'll be back in a few minutes, you go on to the living room," she left the room, and I finished my toast and took my mug to the other room, sitting on the sofa.
Missouri came into the room with a lit smudge stick, and she smudged us, and then sat down after she set it in a dish by the window.
"Now, have you been practicin'?" she looked at me expectantly.
"Um, a little bit," I said.
We did some deep breathing, and then I imagined the flower in my head. At first, I wasn't able to block her, but after a couple of tries, I could do it. I felt tired after we practiced a few more times. I hadn't slept well in the tree either, and that was making me sleepy too.
She pulled an afghan off the back of the sofa. "Lay down here, Charlie, and rest a while. I'll wake you when it's time for lunch."
I took my shoes off and laid down, and she tucked me in. I fell asleep in no time at all.
We were sitting in the kitchen eating leftover red beans and rice and corn bread in the afternoon.
"This is yummy, I never had it until I met you, I really like it," I told her.
"I'm glad," she smiled at me. "Now, honey, we need to talk. Your Uncle Sam called me earlier and told me what happened yesterday, and what's been going on recently."
I stared down at my bowl, feeling my eyes get wet. "I was—I got real upset," I said in a low voice, "I didn't mean to be so mean," I looked up at her, "Daddy said he wants to give me away!"
"Child, were you listenin' to everything he said? At the beginning, he said, 'what if?'. He was just wondering about it...he wasn't makin' plans. He'd never give you up, and if he ever actually did I think he'd have a fight on his hands, because Sam and John wouldn't let him go through with it. All three a' those men love you somethin' fierce."
There was the sound of wings, and Castiel appeared in the kitchen. "She is telling the truth, Charlotte Anne," he said, "I can see into people's souls, and your father has a deep abiding love for you that will never change, only grow. He had hidden many positive emotions having to do with love, deep within, because of the trauma he experienced when he mother died. But you have brought many feelings to the forefront for him, and while he is sometimes intimidated by them, he does love you immensely and would never do anything to harm you. Except when he strikes your rear end, which I am given to understand is a way of disciplining misbehaving children?"
I blushed. "Uh-"
"Of course, that does no lasting harm or damage to the buttocks. Here," he held out a huge bowl that he had in his hands, "I brought this for you, to... 'cheer you up'—that is what it is called when one brings an offering of food to one who is sad?"
He set the huge bowl down on the table. It was like a giant ice cream sundae, with lots and lots of scoops of ice cream, whipped cream all over, chocolate sauce on one part, caramel on another part, and strawberry sauce on the rest. There were rainbow and chocolate sprinkles and little pieces of crumbled cookies and chocolate chips sprinkled throughout.
"My goodness, what in the world is that?" Missouri asked.
"It is called a 'Kitchen Sink Sundae', the menu said 'it is guaranteed to turn a frown upside down'. And since a frown that is upside down is a smile, I thought it would work in helping your sadness to go away," Castiel seemed proud of himself.
Missouri and I looked at each other land laughed. She got up and got three spoons out of a drawer, and handed them out.
"I do not eat or drink," he reminded her.
"Thanks for bringing it to me, Castiel," I got up and hugged him.
"You are squeezing me again," he said.
"Yeah, people hug when they thank people sometimes too," I told him, sitting down.
"Would you like to at least sit down?" Missouri asked him.
"No, I will observe. This house is not that well protected, so I must be on the alert."
Missouri bristled, "I beg to differ, I've got several wards in place and I've done many protection spells over the years."
"My presence here is keeping Charlotte Anne hidden for now. Your wards are failing, and they are not strong enough to keep out the more powerful demons and entities."
"Oh my lands, well, we've got to talk about that later," she looked nervous.
"Yes, we can do that. For now I will stay here to make sure that you are protected."
"Thank you," Missouri said gratefully.
Castiel walked out of the room.
She looked at me. "Charlie, I know all a' this is new to you, and you're still learning...you're all still learning. But you got to remember, your Daddy is the one in charge. He and your uncle and grand-daddy have been doin' what they do for a long time now, and if they tell you that you don't need to know something, then you don't need to know. Throwin' attitude and demanding to be included ain't gonna work."
I blushed again, and stared down at the table.
"I know you're a good girl, you got a big heart, but you need to remember that they're tryin' to keep you safe. You have special abilities, but that don't put you on the same level as a hunter. After all is said and done, you're still a little girl who needs to listen to her family and obey them." Her tone was mild, but I knew she was scolding me.
"I'm gonna be in so much trouble for running away," I whispered, "Daddy said I wasn't s'posed to go outside at all right now 'cause it was too dangerous."
"Why did you run, child?" she sat back and looked at me.
I lifted my head and looked back at her. "'Cause I was still so hurt and—and mad about what he said. I figured if he didn't want me, I didn't want him either, so I should just leave."
"Hurt him before he hurts you more."
I blinked, surprised that she had put into words what had been in my heart. "Yeah," I said hoarsely.
"You can't do that, honey, I know you were upset, and a big part of your adjusting to livin' with them has been you feeling insecure. It will go away, in time, but you need to not keep on lettin' it get in the way. You didn't listen to everything your Daddy said, and you wouldn't listen to any of them when they tried to talk to you after. Why? Because you're a stubborn Winchester, just like the boys, just like your Grand-daddy John," she shook her head, "You stubborn Winchesters are gonna be givin' me gray hairs."
"I—I couldn't help it, I was just so- my feelings were hurt, and I felt so mad...it was hard to let the feelings go. I keep having the feelings from the things that I saw too, I have trouble getting them out of my head."
She frowned slightly. "I'll have to see if maybe I can teach you how to release things," she said, "Let me do some reading about that and see if I think you could handle it."
Castiel walked back into the kitchen. "The Winchesters are stopping for a meal, and they will be calling very soon."
Missouri looked at me sternly. "You talk to your Daddy, and you tell him you're sorry, and you listen to every single word he says, hear?"
"Uh—yes, Missouri," I said, as her phone rang.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Charlie mispronounces the phrase 'In vino veritas', which is Latin for, "In wine, there is truth".