(2/18/2018) Agh!! The name Anael got used in the show! I found a replacement, but agh!! Anya is now Naamah which works too, fallen angel of prostitutes and all of that. Working on backtracking all mentions. Anyways, shorter chapter again. I apologize! The longer ones will come soon. Hopefully.

Guest Reviewer: Thanks for the note but I didn't realize I was Dean bashing 0_o

Thank you Timelord2162, jkmp28, RHatch89, missmeow1968, thedarkpokemaster, IoSolUno, and Sage of Wind Dragons for the review! And all you followers and favoriters, please leave a little something to help the motivation keep going!


In the morning Buffy, her mother, and Jimmy Novak were sitting at the Summers' kitchen table uncomfortably sipping coffee when the Winchesters finally showed. "Finally," breathed their sister. She stood from the table and yanked open their front door to greet her brothers on the porch.

"Hey, Buff'," Dean greeted warmly as he gave his sister a hug.

Sam did the same as soon as she was released. "So what's going on?"

Buffy began to explain when her mother suddenly cried, "No, wait!" A mug clattered to the floor before hasty footsteps approached.

"Take me home," Jimmy demanded as he pushed himself into their conference. "I have a wife and a daughter. It's been months and I want to see them!"

Sam appeared annoyed but Dean was unable to hide his shock. The clear tone, the frantic gestures, even the fact that the man was only wearing the suit and tie that was normally under his signature trenchcoat were all so inconsistent with Castiel that the eldest of the siblings had a hard time accepting the change. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"There's a good chance you have a bull's-eye on your back."

"What?" Jimmy scoffed. "From who?"

"Demons."

"Like Anna?" Buffy surmised. "Angel vessel that they can get pokey and stabby with?"

Dean nodded. "We think so."

"Yeah, but Cass is, like, nowhere in there. Right?"

"Yes," Jimmy uttered firmly. He threw his hands up and let them drop. "Look, I'm done, okay? With demons, angels, all of it. I just want to go home. I've been shot and stabbed and healed, and my body has been dragged all over the Earth. By some miracle, I'm out, and I am done. I've given enough, okay?"

"Look," Sam snapped, "all we're saying is that until we figure this out, the safest place is with us."

Buffy peered suspiciously at her uncharacteristically irritable brother. Before she could ask what was wrong, Jimmy shoved past her and began walking down the driveway. "Where the heck are you going?" she called.

The man kept moving as he shouted back, "To catch a bus to Illinois so I can see my wife and daughter, okay?"

"No, you're not," Sam corrected as he hustled in front of Jimmy and put a hand on his chest. "You're just going to put those people in danger."

"Am I a prisoner?"

Sam hesitated but Buffy filled in the gap. "More like an extended guest that we can't let go home and we might have to lock up. But really, not a prisoner." She blinked when both of her brothers cast her withering looks. "What?"

"I'm telling you," Jimmy snarled, his frustration mounting, "I don't know anything!"

Dean frowned. "Don't think the demons are gonna care one way or the other."

"Can I ask something?" Joyce wondered from the porch. When the others all looked at her she tentatively continued. "If he's just Mr. Novak, what happened to Castiel?"

"Don't know," Buffy replied, "but I think I know someone that might."


As it was a Thursday, Buffy was expected in class, a non-negotiable obligation as far as her mother was concerned. Her brothers offered to drive her to school and, at the same time, confer with Giles regarding Castiel's abrupt departure. During lunch, Buffy said, she could bring them her source: a girl she claimed was, like Anna had been, an angel lacking Grace. The chaos of the midday meal would serve to cover their movements and hopefully screen them from any celestials peeping about.

Much to Sam and Dean's combined chagrin Wesley was still in residence. Their aggravation turned to grudging acceptance once Giles explained why the young man was still there: on the young man's assurances that he could reform Faith the Watcher's Council had rescinded the incarceration order. Wesley's pledge, however, was merely for the Council's sake; in reality he was taking guidance from Giles on how to better perform his duties on the field while Buffy and her friends kept a watchful eye on the volatile Slayer.

Once Giles and his counterpart had been filled in on current events they settled to wait in the library. Jimmy found himself under the curious scrutiny of a fascinated Wesley. "Extraordinary!" exclaimed the Watcher as he leaned into the man's personal space. "I wonder, are there any permanent, debilitating effects to being an angel's vessel?"

"Other than being examined like a bug under a microscope, no." Jimmy pushed Wesley to one side. "How long is this going to take? When can I go home?"

"Have patience," Giles said gently. "I realize that you've been through much—"

Jimmy huffed out a wry laugh. "You don't know the half of it."

"Yes, well, be that as it may, we should find out what has happened to Castiel and whether or not you truly are in danger. If there are demons after you they won't hesitate to go after your family as leverage."

"I don't know anything!" Jimmy repeated desperately.

"They don't know that."

"And believe me," Dean added, "they're gonna make damn sure that you're telling the truth. That means vivisection if they're feeling generous."

"Fine," Jimmy groused angrily as he stormed into Giles' office and slammed the door.

Dean lifted his eyebrows at the rest of them. "That went well."

"Can't blame him," Sam added. "I mean, it can't be as bad as being possessed by a demon, but it still means he's spent all this time away from his loved ones."

"Well there's nothing we can do now," Giles said wearily, "I suppose we should just settle in to wait."

"Do you know who Buffy is bringing in?"

"Yes." The librarian's lips thinned as he recalled the incident that had brought the young woman to their attention. "She goes by Anya Jenkins. Her angelic name is Naamah."


Naamah began scowling fiercely at Jimmy from the moment she walked into the library. The poor man had no idea what to do about the relatively petite young woman who clearly wanted to kill him. In lieu of confrontation, however, Jimmy did his best to ignore her.

Buffy snapped her fingers in front of the ex-angel's eyes. "Hello? Question? Mine? Answer?"

"Castiel?" Naamah scoffed from her seat at the center table. "He probably got dragged back upstairs."

"To Heaven?" Dean asked, perplexed. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"No," she replied, her tone redolent with condescension, "That's a very bad thing. Painfully, awfully bad. He must have seriously pissed someone off."

Willow, who had joined them out of curiosity (along with Xander, and, strangely, Cordelia), wondered, "Wh-What do you mean?"

Naamah's pretense of superiority fell away. A dark, haunted look filled her eyes. "There is a reason why some of us hid on Earth. An angel who is disobedient is treasonous, blasphemous, but numbers do not grow. Only in extreme cases are we sentenced to death."

"So then where's Castiel?" asked Sam.

"In… reformation." The former angel swallowed. "When… If Castiel returns he will no longer be the same as when he left. He will be committed to their cause, no matter the consequences."

Buffy's hand pressed to her lips as she recalled last time Castiel had made an unscheduled visit to her bedroom. "Oh, God. This is my fault."

Giles' eyebrows lifted at the Slayer. "How is that possible?"

"I told him it was okay, that there were good reasons to go his own way. Now they've got him doing the Clockwork Orange thingy and it's my fault."

Sam put his hand on his sister's shoulder. "Buffy, you can't—"

The Slayer shrugged off her brother's attempt to assuage her guilt and demanded, "How do we get him out?"

"You don't," Naamah replied firmly.

"Why the hell not?" Dean snapped.

"Because he's in Heaven, you hairless ape."

"So tell us how to get up there," Buffy ordered.

Naamah gave her a withering look. "There is no pathway for a human into Heaven. Unless one of you is volunteering to die…?"

A few seconds of silence ensued as the group glanced at one another uncomfortably. "Hey," Cordelia abruptly said brightly, "if Sam and Dean and Buffy have all already died once, wouldn't it make sense that they could just, you know, go die again?"

Xander rolled his eyes. "And once again, Cordelia, your logic knows no bounds."

"I'm just saying! Something always brings them back. So what's to say it won't happen again?"

The three siblings looked at one another. "Not it," Dean finally uttered. "Sam?"

"Uh…"

"This is stupid," Buffy snapped. She looked at Naamah. "Will they kill him?"

"I doubt it," the former angel replied. "He's too valuable. But when he is out you better watch your backs." She frowned. "I'm surprised that you're all concerned about Castiel when you should be worrying about Lucifer's ascension."

"We haven't forgotten about it," Sam told her harshly. "We've just got no clues on what to do next."

"Have you not spoken with Mayor Wilkins?"

"Wait, what?"

Everyone stared at Naamah, nonplussed. She swept her eyes over her audience. At their curious and bewildered expressions she regained some of her former superciliousness. "You have no idea what he is, do you?"

"Do you?" Buffy countered.

"Well, duh. He's—"

The library doors banged open as Faith marched her way inside. "Yo, B… and, you know, the rest of you."

"Hey!" Cordelia cried indignantly.

The dark-haired Slayer continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "Word out on the street is that there's a whole shitload of demons heading into town. Wanna come beat up on some sources and find out why?"

Buffy began to agree to the excursion when the bell rang. As the rest of her friends (including Naamah) began gathering their books and backpacks she sighed, disappointed. "Guess not."

"I'll go," Dean volunteered.

Faith gave him an eager smirk which morphed into a scowl when Sam interjected, "No, I'll go. You stay here and watch Jimmy."

"Who died and made you boss?" his brother grumbled.

As his true intention was to have a few moments sans family in order to either try and contact Ruby or find a source to refill his emptied flask, Sam scrambled to develop a believable fiction. "Look, Faith's already going to be there as the muscle, and you suck at playing 'good cop'."

"Fine, whatever."

To both Sam and Dean's surprise (and slight disgust), Cordelia paused to whisper something to Wesley on her way out that turned the young man's ears red. She slid one finger sensuously under his chin before following the other high schoolers out of the library. "Dude," Dean said once they were gone. "Seriously?"

Wesley spent the next few minutes sputtering denials as Faith and Sam conferred over where exactly they were heading. Their plan was to begin at Willy's and make their way through various creature haunts before seeing if the graveyard denizens had any insights. It was a wide net to throw, but if the demons had a nefarious reason for entering the Hellmouth they all agreed that it would be better to discover it sooner rather than later. The pair said their brief goodbyes before leaving via the library's back door.

Jimmy, who had been quiet ever since Naamah had been brought in, gave a lugubrious sigh. "I'm not going home, am I?"

"Not right now," Dean told him.

"Ever?"

The hunter exchanged apprehensive glances with both the Watcher and the ex-Watcher. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Giles said gently.

Jimmy stared sightlessly at the wall, despondent. "I should never have left. No matter how important he claimed it was, I shouldn't have said 'yes'. My family probably thinks I'm dead. They should consider me dead and move on."

"Perhaps a phone call?" Wesley suggested.

The offer made Jimmy sit up straight and look pleadingly at the other three men. Dean was inclined to deny him, but Giles nodded. "I suppose if we could get a temporary phone it would be all right. As long as you are careful not to give any indication of where you're at."

Dean rubbed a hand down his face, exasperated with the entire situation. "Fine. I've got one or two burners in the car. We'll toss it afterwards."

Jimmy's eyes filled with tears. He bowed his head to hide them. "Thank you."


Sam and Faith had fun mangling Willy's face and hit a few of the seedier areas of town to beat their way through a pack of werewolves and a shapeshifter before taking a food break. Night had fallen and their next destination was Shady Hill cemetery. It was one of the larger graveyards in town, primarily due to its proximity to Sunnydale Memorial Hospital. "Vamps a'plenty," Faith explained.

The pair was walking past the movie theater when Sam realized that Faith was giving him a look that was almost… venerating. "What?"

"You've got an awesome temper, Sam," she said admiringly. "Man, the way you tore into that shapeshifter? Gotta day: wicked jealous that I don't have that kinda buildup."

Sam swallowed apprehensively. The withdrawal was getting worse by the hour and Ruby had yet to give him any indication that she'd received his messages. "We just needed the information."

"Whatever you say, Sammy," the Slayer replied jauntily. "Though it's kinda hard for anything to talk when you rip their face off."

The hunter's rage slipped. He grabbed the front of her shirt in two fists and slammed her against the wall of the alley they were walking down. "I don't have time for your shit, Faith! Who knows how long it'll be until some demon decides to waltz in and rip Jimmy apart?"

The supernaturally enhanced young woman could have easily torn away from him. Instead she writhed sensuously and crooned, "Why, Sammy. I had no idea you liked it rough."

Disgusted with both her flirtation and himself, Sam dropped Faith. "Forget it. I'm heading back to help my brother and sister." He turned and stormed away, hands locked into fists.

Faith watched him go, a predatory gleam in her eye. She'd been around addicts nearly her entire life; she knew the signs of someone desperately in need of a fix. What was Sam's poison, she wondered? She doubted it was anything mundane like meth or cigs. Maybe the boss would know.


Several blocks away, Sam turned around to check whether or not Faith had decided to follow. Once he determined it was clear, he pulled out his phone and hit redial. "Ruby," he snarled, "I'm calling again. I'm all out. I need more. Just… at least tell me where the hell you've been, for God's sake!"

Sam ended the call, jammed the phone back into his pocket, and pushed his fingers into his hair. This was bad. He'd never felt so much want before. It was beginning to crowd every other thought from his mind, including those that remembered he had yet to tell siblings how Ruby had unlocked his powers. If the demons were coming and he somehow lost control…

He passed by City Hall and could have sworn he smelled what he was after. The miasma exuding from an open window was just so achingly wonderful. It could be what Sam sought… or it could be a complete delusion. Either way, entering the Mayor's headquarters without a plan or backup was tantamount to suicide.

Shaking his head, Sam swallowed his desires and headed towards Buffy's home. Ruby wouldget back to him. Eventually.


"Now that is interesting!" exclaimed the Mayor. "What do you think?"

"Dunno, boss," Faith replied as she leaned against the door. "Whatever it is, he wants it bad."

"Hmm." Wilkins paced a bit back and forth in front of his desk. "And then there's this… angel vessel wandering around all willy-nilly. Cookie?" He opened up a nearby ceramic jar. Eagerly, his Slayer snatched a chocolate chip took a big bite. "Now don't you forget to both brush and floss tonight."

"Sure thing," Faith replied absentmindedly.

"I think it might be time to call in a few favors, maybe get all our ducks in a row." The Mayor sat behind his desk and picked up a ballpoint pen. "Did you happen to get the vessel's name?"

"Only the first. Jimmy something."

"Jim… my," Wilkins repeated as he wrote the name down on post-it. "You've got a few assignments, my dear," he proclaimed as he stuck the note onto his computer screen. "First is to get the vessel's first and last name."

Faith shrugged and gave him a cocksure grin. "Easy enough."

"Now don't be getting airs, young lady. It's not very becoming." He paused a bit and pensively tapped a finger on his desk. After a few seconds his eyes brightened with inspiration. "The second is to make sure Sam Winchester gets what he wants, preferably with big brother and little sister there to see him partake."

"Yeah, okay," Faith agreed, puzzled, "but what is it?"

"I have a sneaking suspicion, but I'm going to place a call or two to make sure." The Mayor picked up the landline phone on his desk. "In the meantime, you go and make sure you get the first thing done. Failure is not an option!" he added with mock severity.

"Got it, boss," his Slayer said with a jaunty little smile. She opened the door she'd been leaning upon and sauntered down the hall.

Wilkins chuckled to himself as he dialed. This whole fatherly thing really was entertaining! Imagine what it could have been like back when… well, no use dithering about the past.

A woman picked up. "Hello?"

"Ruby, my dear! Got a sec?"


Acknowledgment : Some lines of dialogue are taken directly from the episode "The Rapture"(SPN 4.20).