Hey everyone! This is my first time using more than just a sentence or two of show dialogue, so I thought I'd see how it works out. I'm getting into more of the show's storyline, so here we go!

Like always, thanks for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting! I really appreciate it.

Disclaimer: In no way do I have any rights to Supernatural or any of the characters you are familiar with. I only own Amriel and any OCs that pop up along the way.

Chapter Fourteen: Ephraim

Cas and Amriel had opened the store the next morning, and Dean came in around mid-afternoon. Amriel was busy restocking sodas in the refrigerators against the back wall, and she chose to stay here when she saw the Winchester walk through the front doors. Dean approached Cas at the counter, asking for beef jerky and a pack of menthols.

"I mean, I knew you had to lay low from the angel threat, but, uh... Wow. This is some cover," he said, taking in his friend's blue vest and nametag. "Steve?"

"My grace is gone. What did you expect? Do you have any idea how hard it was? When I fell to earth, I didn't just lose my powers. I- I had nothing," Cas told him before a flash of pride crossed his face. "Now, I'm a sales associate."

Dean raised an eyebrow, "A sales associate?"

A man dropping off a delivery approached the register and smiled at Castiel, "Hey, Steve. Can you sign here?"

"I'm responsible for inventory, sales, customer service. I keep this place - thank you - clean and presentable, and Amy does the same. And when our manager's busy, I even prepare the food." Cas was busy signing the papers on the clipboard as he spoke, and Dean was amazed.

"So, you went from fighting heavenly battles to nuking taquitos."

Cas nodded, a proud smile on his face, "Nachos too."

"Look, Steve, I need you to come with me. There's been another death," he said the last part of his sentence quietly, glancing around to make sure that no one else could hear him. "At a school."

"My shift will be over in a minute or two. Amy will stay here until we return, okay? I don't want to involve her in this unless I have to," Cas told him clearly, glancing towards the back to see her finishing the task she was working on.

"You should probably tell her that we're heading out soon," Dean said, paying for a coffee and heading out to fill up the Impala.

Castiel shook his head slightly, still amazed that Dean was actually here. He walked over to Amriel, feeling his mood lighten when she turned around to face him, a smile on her face at their close proximity. Usually they did their own duties at the gas station and didn't interact much because they didn't want to give off how familiar they really were with one another.

"Dean needs me to go to a crime scene now. Someone else has died," Cas told her in a hushed tone, watching the smile fall right off of her face. "It shouldn't take long, but when we're done there, we'll come back and get you- I asked Dean to take us to Nora's."

"Oh, okay," she nodded, wondering why she couldn't go with them. "I guess I'll just wait here then."

"Good. Like I said, we shouldn't be long. I'll text you if anything comes up or when we're on our way back."

Cas wanted nothing more than to pull her against him and kiss her, but there were a few customers in the store and he knew that he needed to act appropriately at work. They would have time later, he would make sure of it. Instead, he offered a reassuring smile before he said a quick goodbye and walked through the gas station and out the front door. He spotted Dean in the Impala, and as soon as Cas was in the car, they were off.

The duo arrived at the scene and it didn't take Castiel long to recognize the pink residue that the victims had been reduced to. He knew exactly what was going on, and he was worried. He explained to Dean that they were dealing with a Rit Zein, or a "Hands of Mercy" angel. They were healer-types who would painlessly smite angels on the battlefield when they were in too much pain to be saved. This one must have been confused by human emotions and was taking their small pains far too seriously.

"Amriel was right when she thought she saw an angel last night," Cas said as they drove back to the gas station. "We have to be careful. Any small pain might draw the angel out. Now we have to figure out where he is."

Dean pulled into the parking lot of the gas station and turned off the engine, resting his hands against the steering wheel and glancing to Cas before taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly.

"Look, about Blondie. How do you know that she's not gonna deliver you to one of the douchebags that are trying to find you?" He knew that she seemed nice enough, but he also knew that angels were a bunch of liars. Castiel almost looked offended at the question, but Dean had to know.

"Why would she spend five months here if she was just going to hand me over to someone? I don't think you comprehend how difficult it is to adjust to being human, or in Amriel's case, almost human. When she walked into the gas station for the first time, I knew I had to help her," Cas tried to explain to Dean, but he didn't think he was doing a very good job. "She was so broken, Dean, and she was taking large amounts of prescription pills so she wouldn't feel anything. Emotions are hard to deal with if you've spent your entire existence without them."

Castiel shot Dean a look that begged him to understand. To realize that he, along with the other fallen angels, had never dealt with this before and that it wasn't easy to suddenly walk on Earth after being in Heaven for thousands of years.

"I know you don't understand it, but Amriel does love me to the best of her ability. Actually, she's like a sponge when it comes to media and culture. Our relationship might not be conventional, but it's still love. Please, don't treat her like some monster."

Dean didn't like it, but he would listen for the sake of his friend. But if the girl did anything to make him distrust her or hurt Cas, he wouldn't hesitate when he ended her. In the meantime, Dean would let Cas continue to live in this somewhat normal life he had built for himself with his little angel girlfriend.

"Are you being safe? Remember what I told you after you had sex with that reaper?" The last thing Dean wanted to do was have another sex talk with Castiel. It had been awful and embarrassing enough the first time- he didn't need a repeat.

"I do remember, Dean. And yes, aside from the very first time we had intercourse, I have been using the prophylactics you provided for me. Though I don't know what difference it makes- she's still an angel."

"We don't need any mini-Cas' running around right now, okay?" Dean asked, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing. "Just- whatever, don't call it intercourse. Jesus… I'm not talking about this anymore. Let's go get her."

"I'll go," Castiel blurted out quickly. "I think you make her anxious."

He was out of the Impala before Dean could even say anything, closing the door and heading into the Gas-N-Sip to find Amriel behind the register helping a customer. Cas took the time to watch her interact with the woman, her eyes were lit up with a smile and her hair was falling into her face as she said something to the customer, who he now realized was Christine. He watched the way her soft, pink lips moved and wondered what she was saying.

Amriel scanned the diet Coke and turkey sandwich, her slender fingers were manicured- something Marissa had turned into a frequent ritual, and Cas realized that he liked the color of the turquoise polish. He didn't even notice that she had spotted him, he was so busy staring. Cas saw Christine turn around, a knowing smirk all over her face as she waved at him.

"Hi there Steve, Amy was just telling me that you have a friend visiting," Christine said as he walked towards them, awkwardly standing beside the woman and sending a glance to Amriel.

"Yes, he's working on a job. He's a Federal agent," Cas said, biting back a smile, and Christine asked if he was cute.

"He's handsome, I guess," Amriel said with a shrug, earning a dumbfounded look from Castiel.

"You better keep an eye on your friend, Steve," Christine winked, obviously joking as she swiped her card and entered her pin number.

Before Castiel could even say anything, Amriel laughed and replied, "He's not my type. I think you'd like him a lot, Christine."

The older woman shook her head, saying that she didn't have time for a new man. "You've got a good girl here," she said, turning to look at Castiel. "I'll see you two next time!"

Once Christine was gone, the pair quickly closed the store and Amriel followed Cas to the Impala and got in the back seat, still feeling confined in the small space of the vehicle. She didn't like being in the back by herself, but it was certainly better than when she was rode the bus she took to get here. It felt like so long ago, when really five months were nothing in Heaven. Loud music filled the car and Amriel tried to tune it out, not liking the way it sounded. Cas had told her that Dean enjoyed what modern humans called "classic rock" or something like that.

"Do you guys know why your boss wants you over there tonight?" Dean asked after a few minutes of silence, and he glanced into the rearview mirror to see Amriel shake her head. He wondered for a split second if her vessel had been a model or something before invasion of the body snatchers happened.

"At first I believed it was to be a date," Cas answered, "But Nora invited Amriel too.. Maybe she knows that we're together and wants to reprimand us?"

"Hey, maybe it's gonna be a three-way," the hunter laughed, and both passengers tilted their heads to the side in confusion. Heaving a sigh, Dean muttered out, "Never mind."

"Thank you both so much for coming. I really didn't know who else to ask to do this, since my usual sitter, so I thought you and Amy could," Nora said, a smile on her face. "You two are really great employees, and since I trust you with my store, I think I can trust you with Tanya."

"Tanya?" Amriel sent Cas a confused look as Nora nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm going on a date tonight. I figured this could be like a dry run for you two, seeing as you're so close," Nora winked, and Cas quickly tried to come up with an excuse, his mouth opening and closing a few times before the woman laughed. "Relax, it's fine. You're pretty professional about it at the store."

Nora told them that she really just needed them to be there in case Tanya woke up crying.

"My little angel never cries, I promise," The woman assured them, then she was gone, leaving two completely clueless angels to take care of her child.

As soon as Nora had closed the front door behind her, loud cries came from somewhere in the house, and Cas went to find the child and calm her down.

Amriel stared at the baby, who was now cradled in Castiel's arms, red faced and screaming.

"Please don't," Cas mumbled, rocking her slightly as he tried to figure out what he was supposed to do. He looked from the baby to Amriel and asked, "What do I do?"

Amriel was just as clueless as he was, and she shrugged. How did humans soothe a crying baby? She had never even seen a new human up close like this, and she certainly didn't know what to do when it came to handling one that was acting abnormally.

"Does she need to eat? Or perhaps she's tired? Why can't she just tell us what she wants?"

"Well she hasn't developed enough to speak yet. How 'bout a lullaby? Um… Okay, shh!" Castiel said before he began to sing something Amriel didn't recognize as he held the baby against his chest. "She feels unusually warm."

Amriel felt the baby's forehead, like she had with Cas when he was sick, and she realized that she was in fact hot. "What do we do? I could heal her, but I've never done it to a baby… What if I end up doing more harm than good?"

"You hold Tanya. I'm going to call Nora," Cas gently laid the baby in Amriel's arms, watching her carefully to make sure she had her before pulling his phone out of his pocket and finding his boss' number in his phone. When he reached her voicemail, he left a message. "Nora, she's hot. Really hot. Just please call me… Call- call me back. If I don't hear back, we're taking her to the hospital."

While Cas rifled through the bathroom and kitchen for some sort of medicine, Amriel stared down at the tiny being in her arms and wondered which angel had been tasked to watch over her. She knew the girl wasn't under her care- the name of every child of May was seared into her's mind, but she didn't know if it'd continue happening now that she was on Earth. It saddened her, actually, to think that these children were all missing their protectors due to Metatron's actions.

Tanya was still crying, and Amriel held the baby stiffly, not quite knowing what to do or how to act. Castiel returned to the living room and told her that once the baby calmed down, they should put her back in her crib. Tanya didn't settle down though; instead, she screamed as if her life depended on it and Amriel felt her forehead again.

"She's still exceptionally hot, Castiel. We may have to seek medical attention."

Nodding, Cas quickly pulled out his phone to see if their boss had responded. He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and looked at the fussing baby with a frown on his face, "Okay, Tanya, we're taking a little walk."

Castiel opened the door, ready to walk as far as it took to get to the hospital, when he saw someone standing outside.

"Hello, Castiel," the man said, walking into the house, and Amriel froze at the sight of the same angel she had seen the night before. "Squalid little dump. No wonder she cries," the angel said.

"It's a fever, it'll pass," Amriel said in a firm voice.

"What are you doing here, Ephraim?" Cas asked as Amriel put Tanya in her crib, willing the baby to be silent for the time being.

"I'm surprised you remember my name. I was just a nobody when we met, but you? You were a legend. You've been here before. This is my first time and it's… Intense." Ephraim turned his attention to Amriel, a smile briefly crossing his lips at the sight of her. "Ah, Amriel. How have you adjusted to life on Earth?"

"Much better than you have, apparently," she sneered, glancing from Castiel to the Rit Zein with cautious eyes.

"When Amriel found me, she was just as new to humanity as you were, Ephraim, and she's doing fine now. If you would just stop-"

"Stop? I won't stop. These humans feel so much pain, and I relieve them of their suffering," the angel said as if it was clearly obvious, and he turned to look at Cas. "And imagine who I would find. The almighty Castiel is now a human. You know, I admired you so much, brother. And you too, Amriel. Both of you rebelled- made your own choices. Only now, your choices will only end with your deaths. Castiel, you are so full of pain and sorrow. How do you deal with it? Sister, why are you in pain too? I know it's difficult now that you aren't in Heaven, but please be still and I will end it all for the both of you."

Tanya became fussy again and Ephraim stepped towards the crib, surprised when Cas moved in front of him. Amriel just watched, her fingers brushing against the handle of her blade that was tucked into the back of her shorts, ready if anything happened.

"Don't touch her," Castiel said in a firm voice, glaring at Ephraim, who merely laughed.

"You think I came for her? No, Castiel. I came for you."

Ephraim pressed two fingers to Tanya's forehead and silenced the baby, and Amriel breathed a sigh of relief. At least now she wouldn't have to worry about her fussing.

They moved back into the living room, Amriel staying near Castiel and a safe distance from Ephraim.

"Being human is full of pain and suffering," Cas tried to explain, and Ephraim cut him off.

"But I can feel the pain radiating off both of you!" Ephraim sighed, "There's so much pain and despair, so many voices begging out for relief."

"How'd you find us?" Castiel asked, grabbing a pair of scissors and running his finger over the sharp edge, watching Ephraim look around the house.

"Because you're warded? She isn't. But I really just followed the sound of your pain," Ephraim shrugged. "You have no idea how loud it is… I could hear it for miles."

"Amriel, please check on the baby," Cas said, a look in his eyes that she couldn't quite make out, but she did what he asked and disappeared into Tanya's room.

The former angel turned to look at Ephraim and asked, "Do you really think you're doing Heaven's work down here?"

"I know I am," Ephraim answered firmly.

"Well you're wrong. Earth can be a hard place, yes. But these humans- they can get better. They're all just doing the best they can."

"Is that what you're doing, Castiel? The best you can? I'm sorry, but if this is the best that the famed Castiel can do, you're a more urgent case than I thought. I used to admire you," he reiterated, "You failed more than you succeeded. But at least you played big. Amriel was merely following your example when she strayed from her path."

It was then he realized that Castiel was drawing a sigil on the door in blood, the pair of open scissors discarded on the table beside him. Ephraim lashed out and grabbed his hand before it could be completed, bending his wrist until it snapped, and Cas yelled in pain. Amriel ran back into the living room and watched Ephraim shove him away from the door, forcing him to his knees. The angel threw out his hand towards Amriel, forcing her back and against the wall, not even sparing her a glance when she fell to the floor and groaned in pain.

"Now what are you doing? Burying your head in the sand, right when your kind needs you the most," Ephraim twisted Castiel's wrist, making him gasp. "Shh, it'll be over soon. I'll take your pain away."

"I want to live," Cas said firmly, his eyes meeting Amriel's making a silent promise that they would get out of this.

"But as what, Castiel? As an angel, or a man?"

That was when Amriel finally found her voice, rolling over and hoisting herself off of the ground as she spoke.

"Enough!" she told him, "Let him go, Ephraim. He's a human! If you're gonna fight someone, you'll fight me."

Ephraim released Castiel from his grip, ignoring him as he cradled his wrist against his chest and looked over to the blonde, who wore a look of disgust on her face.

"You have no right ending the lives of innocent humans. Your job is to heal those in Heaven. Since you won't comply, it's my duty to end you."

The Rit Zein laughed. "You? Little Amriel, the guardian of May. Over eager and zealous. Overlooked by your fellow guardians, unless they needed something from you. I'll take away your pain too, sister. All in due time."

Shaking her head, Amriel pulled her blade out and gave him one final warning, "I won't tell you again. Leave, and don't come back."

When it became clear that Ephraim wasn't going to comply, Amriel lunged for the angel, catching him off guard and punching him in the face. He quickly retaliated and slammed her head against the wall, catching the back of her thigh with his blade, drawing blood and making her hiss.

"You need to be put out of your misery, Amriel."

"Brother, please," Amriel, now dazed, tried to reason with him one final time. "Part of being human, or in a vessel, is experiencing a multitude of emotions- pain, happiness, and love. I have felt all of these things and more!"

Ephraim shoved Amriel into the wall again and watched her fall to the floor, breathing heavily as she tried to get up. He turned his attention to Castiel and stood over the man, prepared to end him then and there. He grabbed Cas by the collar of his shirt and shoved him so he was sitting on his knees before him.

"I am doing you a favor, Castiel."

It was then that Dean came running through the front door and he saw Cas about to be blown up by this Rit Zein, and he heard Amriel call out his name. He turned to see her on her hands and knees, her blade in one hand, and she tossed it across the room, and she watched Dean as he shoved it into Ephraim's back, and finally a white light filled the room as the angel died.

The three sat on the couch after Dean had dealt with the body, promising he would bury it later, and they tried to get a handle on what had just happened. Amriel had her blade back- Dean had given it to her without hesitating like he had in the parking lot of the gas station. He trusted her now, seeing as she had so willingly given up her weapon without a second thought. Dean told the two that he was going to be out in the car, ready to give them a ride to the motel whenever their boss got back.

Nora arrived a few minutes later, telling the two that her date was a total bust.

"I got your message, Steve. I'll give her some medicine and hopefully the fever will go down," she smiled at her employee. "You're both really great people, I hope you know that. I'm sure you want to spend some quiet time together instead of watching my fussy baby, so go on, get out of here!"

"Have a good night, Nora. And don't worry about your date- there are plenty of better guys out there," Amriel told her boss with a smile, taking Castiel's hand and walking out of the house and to the mailbox before turning and facing him, unaware that Dean was watching them from behind the steering wheel of the Impala.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't stop Ephraim from almost killing you, Cas," she apologized quietly, "He was surprisingly strong for a Rit Zein."

Castiel sent her a small smile, telling her not to worry. "I saw him cut you- are you all right?" He looked down at her leg to see dried blood, but there was no open wound or anything to signify that she had been hurt at all.

"I'm fine," she promised before glancing his hand and eyeing the way he held it against him protectively, trying to hide the pain. She reached out and touched him gently, "You, however, aren't."

He knew what she was going to do and tried to pull his hand away, but she healed him before he could do it. Cas felt the familiar warmth of her grace reaching out and touching him, and a smile crossed his lips. Amriel swayed for a second before shaking her head and grinning up at him in return, her fingers tracing his smooth skin.

"There, much better. And, I didn't lose consciousness, so that's good too." Castiel saw her eyes light up as she laughed and he felt just as warm as he had when she had healed him. Suddenly he realized that's what love felt like- being touched by a grace. It was soothing and made you feel safe and good all at the same time. It was overwhelming, actually.

Amriel was looking up at him, clearly waiting for him to respond to what she thought was a joke, but instead he curled one of his hands around the back of her head and pulled her into him as he kissed her with everything he could. It took a second or two before her soft lips began to move against his, and he felt he small hands move up his abdomen to rest at his sides, her fingertips pressing into him gently. Cas pulled away only to breathe out a quick, "I love you" before kissing her once more, probing her mouth with his tongue and feeling excitement pool in his lower stomach.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Dean's voice cut through the crisp air, and Cas jumped, pulling Amriel flush against his chest and resting his head on top of hers. Casting a glare in the Impala's general direction, he heard Amriel laughing into the fabric of his jacket, her warm breath tickling his neck and he shivered. She pulled out of his arms and took his hand once more, telling him that she loved him too before they walked over to the car.

"You two were like teenagers back there, you know that right?" Dean told Castiel as they sat in the motel room, taking a swig of beer and glancing to Amriel. "Hey, do you mind if me and Blondie here talk alone for a minute, Cas?"

"Only if Elle is okay with it," he replied, turning his gaze to the blonde who had perched herself on the desk with a beer of her own. When she nodded, Cas stood and excused himself, but not before pressing a quick kiss to Amriel's forehead as he left the room and went to walk around the parking lot.

"He calls you Elle?" Dean asked, testing the nickname out and wondering if he liked it better than Blondie. "It's not too bad for his first attempt at a nickname. I've heard him come up with worse. Like assbutt."

"What do you want to talk about?" Amriel didn't know where this was going, but she knew that she could most likely hold him off if he attacked her while Cas was outside.

Dean saw the skeptical look on her face and wondered if she even knew what skepticism was. He sighed and took a long swig of beer, setting the bottle down on the worn coffee table- he had to say something or else she'd keep staring at him with those stormy eyes of hers.

"You really helped me out back there, giving me your blade and everything. I shouldn't have done what I did yesterday. I don't do this often, but I'm sorry," Dean spit out the words even though he really didn't want to. She was an angel, for fuck's sake. "Just, take care of Cas, okay? I can't stick around to keep him outta trouble, so it's up to you."

"I know it is," she told him with a nod. "My Father gave me a very similar task. Even if he hadn't, I would still do whatever it takes to keep him safe. I'm not like Zachariah or Uriel, you know. I don't have ulterior motives and I have nothing to gain from hurting Castiel. I wouldn't know what to do if something happened to him…"

Amriel found herself frowning at the thought, and realized that something could have happened tonight at Nora's house. She was thankful that Dean had arrived when he did, otherwise she wasn't sure they would've been able to handle Ephraim. The blonde noticed the way Dean had watched her like a predator up until now- he had a look of understanding on his face. Did that mean he no longer saw her as a threat?

"Yeah, well I know that now," Dean nodded, unable to keep his eyes off of her small figure and the way she gripped her beer at the neck of the bottle, like she had seen him doing earlier. She really was a sponge, just like Cas had said. "Here, give me your phone. I'll put my number in it and if you ever need me, if something happens to you or Cas, call me and leave a message if I don't pick up. I'll be there as soon as I can."

His offer surprised Amriel, who found herself nodding and standing from the desk she had been sitting on. She handed him her phone and watched everything he did as he added himself to her contacts. Dean felt weird having her staring down over his shoulder, and when he handed it back to her, she merely smiled and said, "So that's how you do it… Thanks, Dean."

There were a few seconds of silence before Dean asked how Cas was doing. He wanted to know how his friend was holding up, and he knew that he wasn't gonna get a straight answer from him, so he decided to go to the person spending all of her time with him.

"Castiel is… doing as best he can," Amriel said, searching for the right words to use, and saw how Dean was watching her and listening intently. Little did she know that he actually preferred hearing the angel's full name out of her mouth, rather than just Cas. "He still has nightmares sometimes, but I think he's faring as well as the situation allows."

"That's not surprising, after everything Naomi did to him and what's happened in the past few years. Hell, I'm amazed he's done as much as he has and landed a girlfriend in the process. I didn't even know he could have a stable relationship- he sure as hell doesn't have one with me and Sam."

Dean said that last sentence more to himself than to Amriel, but she still heard him and frowned, wondering about the depth of their friendship. Instead of asking about it, she steered the topic away from Castiel as he knocked twice and walked back into the motel room.

"How is Sam? I'm one of his guardians in a way, seeing as I watch after all humans born in May." Amriel stood from the coffee table she had been sitting on when she watched Dean enter his information in her phone, and moved over to Cas and took his hand. The blonde pulled him to the bed and they sat down, facing Dean and waiting for him to reply.

"Sam is.. good. He's dealing with stuff at the bunker, so he couldn't come, but I'm sure he'd love to meet you at some point, Amriel," he told her, addressing the girl by her given name for the first time. "But listen, Cas… Speaking of the bunker. I, uh… Sorry I told you to go. I know it's been hard on you to be on your own. Well, you're adapting, and you've got Elle here. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, Dean," Cas said with a small smile before he sighed. "But there's something Ephraim said. The angels— they need help. Can I really sit this out? Shouldn't I be searching for a way to get them home?"

"You two have a lot going for you here. Sam and I will figure out how to deal with these angels, so you guys just keep doing what you're doing. I'm gonna hit the road, though. People to save, things to kill, you know the drill."

Dean stood and hugged Cas before looking down at Amriel and pulled her into a tight hug too, now considering her a trusted member of their small group. He felt her hesitate for a second before wrapping her arms around him in return, and when he pulled away, Dean nodded to the two before finishing his beer and taking off.

Once Dean was gone, Cas switched on the TV as Amriel busied herself with getting ready for bed. He sat on the edge of the mattress and watched the news anchor in a gray suit speaking.

"It's been months since the massive meteor storm, yet Idaho Falls astronomers still have unanswered questions. NASA and Washington are both continuing to study the phenomenon."

Castiel grabbed the remote and turned the TV off, glancing to the right and catching Amriel's gaze in the bathroom mirror. He sent her a small smile and received a bright grin in return, and he knew he was right where he was supposed to be.