AN: Here's another one for you! Not sure this is the best chapter I've ever written, but it will do.
Chapter 8
J.J. plops unceremoniously into a chair.
"You ok, J.J.?" Morgan asks, looking up from where he's writing yet another sticky note with a location of one of the Winchester's supposed 'Hunts'.
"The media got wind that Sam and Dean are alive and that they're in custody. I don't know how much longer I can hold them off." She explains.
Morgan gives her a sympathetic look.
"So, what are you doing?" She asks Morgan, leaning forward on the table.
"I'm comparing the Winchesters' 'Hunts'," he makes air quotes, "with the 'Supernatural' books, and on top of that I'm trying to figure out if these guys have a pattern. So far I've found over a hundred locations across the country that correspond to the books. Sometimes they stay in the same state for a couple of weeks, other times they're only there for a day or two and then drive non-stop for several days to get to the next location."
"Why are you using sticky notes? Why not just use the map?"
"Actually I am, but I'm trying to get them in order and sometimes they return back to a place multiple times." Morgan explains pointing out a place in Nebraska and another, later, in South Dakota.
"Jeez, these guys have been busy." J.J. notes, taking in the dots on the United States map and the large number of sticky notes on the board next to it.
"According to Rossi, and a good number of witness reports from each location, a majority of the time the Winchesters showed up after people started dying and left after they stopped."
"You sound like you might actually believe they were the ones to stop the killings."
"Or they were following the one who did, but that seems unlikely."
"Hey, where's Hotch?" J.J. asks, looking around for any sign of their boss.
"I think he's still talking to Castiel."
*Earlier.*
"Thank you for coming back in, Castiel." Hotch says, offering his hand for Cas to shake.
After a slight pause Cas shakes the offered hand.
"I'm not sure what else I can help you with, but I will answer your questions the best I can."
"Have a seat." Hotch says indicating a chair in the conference room.
Cas perches on the edge of the seat uneasily, mind on several different things.
"I have some questions about some of the things you talked to Agent Rossi about."
Castiel nods his understanding and Hotchner continues.
"I know that you've already stated that you are not James Novak, but I would like to understand what sort of relationship you had with him." Hotch says carefully, trying to gage his reaction.
"Jimmy was my vessel." Castiel says without hesitation.
"Your vessel? What do you mean by that?"
"Angels must take vessels to interact with humans without harming them. We ask permission to reside inside someone and if they say yes then we possess them."
"Possess them?"
"Yes. We put the soul to sleep and take control of their body."
"And that's what you did to Mr. Novak."
Castiel nods and then continues. "Though more recently my brothers and sisters have had to take vessels to heal after the Fall…" He answers distractedly.
There has been a lot of chatter on 'angel radio' recently and trying to keep track of everything has become complicated.
"Fall?" Hotchner asks, bringing Castiel's attention back to him.
"Yes, the Fall was reported as a world-wide meteor shower. An angel by the name of Metatron…" Castiel stops abruptly and looks at his hands in his lap a little ashamed. "He tricked me."
"Tricked you?" Hotch prompts gently, not really knowing where this is going.
He doesn't look up as he answers. "I wanted to bring all the angels back to Heaven to have a 'family meeting' of sorts, to sort out our problems and end the fighting. Metatron used my desire for redemption to trick me into performing a spell that forced every angel out of Heaven. The last ingredient was my…my Grace. He took my Grace." Cas explains, his voice betraying just how traumatizing the experience had been.
"He took your grace?" Hotch asks gently, feeling this is a delicate topic and wanting to understand. He feels really out of his depth here.
Castiel looks up. His piercing-blue eyes meeting Hotch's dark ones.
"Too many of my brothers and sisters have died. It is time they went home."
Aaron Hotchner blinks in shock at the abruptness and conviction of Castiel's words. He sits frozen in his seat as Castiel silently stands and strides out of the room, a determined look on his face. Hotchner's questions forgotten.
*Now*
J.J.'s head jerks up again from the stack of paperwork she was working on. It's not quite lunchtime yet and she has already found herself asleep on the table three times now. She rubs at her face then looks up at Morgan who is still adding sticky notes to the board labeled 'Hunts'. She sighs.
"I'm gonna grab some coffee before I fall asleep again. Do you want some?"
Derek thoughtfully places the latest sticky note on the board before answering.
"That would be appreciated." he sighs "Why don't you look for Hotch too. I haven't seen him since this morning."
He peels off one of the stickies on the bottom left and moves it close to the top right corner.
"You asked me earlier if I thought these guys were stopping the deaths." Morgan begins, "Well, I'm starting to think they are."
He looks at J.J. over his shoulder. She's deep in thought and takes a moment to read some of the 'Hunts' before she pulls herself away to get their coffee. While she's away at the coffee machine Hotch comes out of the conference room, a perplexed look on his face.
"Hotch! Where you been man? I was about to start a search party." Morgan jokes, glad for an excuses to stop staring at the wall of sitckies.
"Huh?" Hotch responds, looking at Morgan and then around the room, like he wasn't quite sure how he got there.
"You ok Hotch?" Derek asks, concerned, coming over to his friend.
"Yeah…I just have a lot on my mind…" Derek nods, knowing exactly how he feels. Some of the Hunts he's posted on the board are a little hard to wrap your head around; and he was only dealing with general outlines such as 'May 1-2, 2008-New Harmony, Indiana: Lilith possessing a child; Dean's deal expires and his soul is dragged to Hell by hellhounds.'
"How'd it go with Castiel?" he asks.
"Not how I expected it to." Aaron says honestly.
He takes a seat at the table.
"Oh? Really? What happened?"
"To put it simply…I think he might actually be an angel…" Hotch says wearily, rubbing his face with both hands.
Morgan's eyebrows arch at his boss' words.
"I might be able to be convinced that the Winchesters aren't serial killers, but it's going to take a lot to convince me that Castiel is an angel."
"I can't explain it. There's just something about what he said, and the way he said it; that just convinced me." Hotch tries to explain the strange feeling he had earlier, but not able to express it without his friends thinking he has completely lost his mind.
J.J. comes back then with her and Morgan's coffee. She hands Morgan his as she sits down next to Hotch at the table.
"What did Castiel say, exactly?" Morgan asks.
Hotch looks between the two agents in front of him.
"He told me that he was tricked and his Grace was stolen." Hotch states plainly, not sure how else to say it.
J.J.'s jaw drops.
"His Grace?"
"Yes, that's what he said."
"That's terrible!"
"What are you talking about?" Morgan interjects, feeling like he missed something.
"An angel's Grace is what makes them an angel. It's their power and essence. Having it stolen would be like someone tearing off your feet and stealing your knowledge of how to walk, but still being able to remember what it felt like to run and jump."
Morgan cringes. "That sounds rather painful."
"It would be, but the psychological pain that comes with it would be even worse." J.J. explains.
They contemplate the implications of such a thing in silence for a moment before Morgan breaks it with a question.
"I wonder how Reid and Rossi are doing with the Winchesters."
Sam watches from the bottom bunk as his brother paces in their tiny cell. It's hard to miss the irritation and unease radiating off of Dean, almost as if he's weary that his irritation will lead to an uncontrollable anger and that it's irritating him more. Dean runs his hands through his hair again, not even pausing in his pacing.
"Dean." Sam says calmly, trying to get his brother's attention.
"What?!" Dean snaps, halting his pacing in front of Sam.
Dean's face falls when he sees his little brother flinch at his tone.
"I'm sorry Sammy. What did you want to say?" He asks, rubbing his face.
"I was just going to say that they're gonna come get us in like, ten minutes, and you haven't even touched your pie." Sam says, pointing out the fresh-baked apple pie sitting on a tray on the bed next to him.
Dean hadn't eaten much of his lunch either, but Sam was going to choose his battles carefully at this point. Dean takes a deep breath before joining his brother on the bottom bunk and taking a big bite of his pie. He eats about half a slice before he puts his fork down. He stares at the pie sitting on his lap.
"Sam…" Dean starts, "I'm scared."
Sam's jaw drops. Things must be worse than he thought if Dean's actually admitting he's scared.
"I really screwed up this time. I know that, but…I crossed the line this time. And there's no coming back from this one."
"Dean…"
"Don't, Sam. Just don't. We both know it's the truth."
Dean continues to stare at the pie on his lap, unwilling to see his brother's reaction. Sam stares at Dean dumbfounded. He was starting to get the feeling that this was about more than the Mark and the five criminals Dean had killed. There are definitely signs of the residual effects from everything they've been through lately. Sam wishes he could help his big brother like Dean always helps him, but he doesn't even know where to start. That's when he notices the silent tears running down Dean's face. His heart clenches in helplessness. He feels lost and confused. How can he fix this? How could he even begin to make things alright again? He rests his hand on his brother's back in an attempt to comfort him.
David Rossi watches and listens just out of sight from the Winchesters. He hasn't been there long, but he's seen enough to know that Dean is not doing well. His hardened façade is even starting to crack in front of Sam and Sam is so lost he doesn't know what to do. And of all things he's even starting to feel bad for them.
AN2: If you are enjoying this story, please leave me a review! If you have gotten this far and don't like it, but for some reason kept reading…well tell me that in a review too!