As Sam had fearfully predicted, Dean was keeping himself hermetically isolated, avoiding almost all interactions with anyone, especially Sam. While he would spend time with Deanna, that was mainly because she would seek him out and use her 'please uncle Dean' look with terrifying efficacy, effortlessly managing to get him to read her a book or take her and Sunny for a walk or sit and watch cartoons with her and Eric. But Dean always managed to slip away before Sam could corner him for any type of meaningful conversation.

In fact, had it not been for Cas requesting to speak with them, Sam suspected he'd never have gotten any time with Dean.

The brothers and the angel were gathered in one of the back rooms at the Roadhouse, Cas having appeared next to Dean a little while earlier, wanting to share findings from his meeting with the Fates. Initially Sam hadn't known what that meant, but after Dean's brusque explanation he'd been too lost for words to say much about it. Supernatural beings weren't new to him by any means of course, but the world of the supernatural seemed to have suddenly become much larger and more exotic than he had ever realised, and it was proving an adjustment even for him to wrap his mind around all the new quick-fire revelations. As they settled in the room, Sam found himself thinking back to the days of his childhood, lamenting how much simpler it had been when only werewolves and vampires, ghosts and ghouls, were the extent of his hunting concerns. But even those, he reminded himself, he hadn't been pitted against in years. Again the fears of how out of his depth he truly was circled on the periphery of his mind as he waited for the conversation to begin.

"So? What d'you find out?" Dean questioned, leaning back against a table, seemingly unfazed by whatever was to come, treating it like an irritation, rather than something mind-bogglingly amazing. "Has time been changed?"

"Yes."

"Terrific," Dean groaned, as if the simple fact of confirmation was indicative of bad news. "Does it affect us?"

"I'm not certain."

Dean hesitated. "What do you mean you're not certain? Didn't the Fate… ladies… whatever, didn't they tell you what's happened?"

Cas gave Dean a somewhat exasperated look. "The Fates do not exactly speak plainly Dean. It's an effort to gain answers from them."

"Yeah, must be a real pain in the ass," Dean muttered. "Not like I'd know what that's like."

Cas looked at him quizzically, but before he could question him about it, Sam intervened.

"What did they tell you?"

"They confirmed that time had been altered, on multiple occasions already. And they seemed to indicate that I have questioned them about it on every occasion, but I don't recall."

"Multiple occasions? Why? By who? Or… what?"

"They didn't tell me. I asked. Apparently, I ask every time."

"Wait," Dean held up a hand. "Didn't you tell me that these Fate-chicks, they correct the timeline if it's screwed with? Correct the course of nature or whatever?"

"Yes."

"And? Have they?"

"No."

When it became apparent that that was the extent of Cas' answer Dean shook his head impatiently.

"Say more Cas," he demanded, frustration tinging the edges of his voice as he made a rolling, 'keep going' gesture with his hand. "Why haven't they fixed stuff? What did they tell you? Details, man, come on."

The angel sighed, taking a moment to gather his thoughts.

"As I mentioned, they said time has been altered, more than once, and that it has been re-written multiple times, but not by them. And that whoever, or whatever is responsible, it is in its nature to do this. But even if I discovered what has done this, it would not change anything. They warned me against interfering despite not mentioning what has been changed, or when. But…" Cas wavered at this point, meeting Dean's eyes, as if unsure how to proceed.

"But what?" Dean prodded, visibly perturbed by the angel's hesitation.

"But… They mentioned your mother."

Both Sam and Dean instantly straightened at that.

"Mary," the angel clarified unnecessarily. "They mentioned Mary."

"Yeah, I know my mom's name Cas." Dean retorted tersely. "What about her?"

"They mentioned the night she died."

"OK. What about the night she died? Did something change? Is that what changed?"

"They were not clear."

"Why would they mention it though?" Sam pressed, echoing his brothers concern, albeit more calmly. "Specifically. Why bring it up?"

"All they said was that they wouldn't discuss how she died."

"We know how she died!" Dean snapped.

"Do we?" Sam queried gently, shaking his head and shrugging as he addressed his brother. "I only know what you told me. And you never saw it happen."

"Yeah? Well Dad did. He saw the whole damn thing, saw Azazel murder her."

"I don't know what your father saw," Cas said. "Only he would know that. Though according to the Fates, it wouldn't help to know details of that night. Nor even whether your father should have been there, alive or not."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't know Dean."

"Didn't you ask?"

"Of course I asked." Cas responded, his own irritation finally spiking through briefly before he sighed, regaining composure. "Of course, I asked. But they are not exactly forthcoming when they don't wish to be. They mentioned your mother's death only so far as to say they would not tell me about that night, nor whether your father should have been dead or alive. Perhaps they only mentioned it as an example of how little they will speak, even of events that we already know and understand. Regardless however, they said whether we knew or not, it wouldn't change what's to come."

"And what is that?" Dean queried. "Or didn't they mention that either."

"The end. They said the end is coming."

"'The end is coming'?" Dean snarked, clearly annoyed. "Wow. Helpful and original. Let me guess; they were wearing matching sandwich boards when they said it."

Cas gave him a confused look but decided not to pursue it as the three settled into an uneasy silence, trying to digest what had just been discussed before Dean spoke again, ending the conversational lull.

"Could the demons have done this? Could Lilith? I mean she wants Sam. Could she have done this, whatever it is, to get to him? Or to Kyle?"

But Sam was already shaking his head before Dean had even finished his questions. "I don't think so. She told me in the dream that they couldn't change time. That if they could have gone back to change things, they would have. But they couldn't."

"I would agree," Castiel confirmed. "Altering time, it is not something that is easily done. And although perhaps Lilith could possibly do such a thing, it would not have been left unchecked by the Fates."

"But this," Dean responded. "Whatever it is that's happened, this they won't interfere with?"

"Apparently not." Castiel confirmed.

"Why?" Dean pressed. "If they'd fix it if Lilith or whoever did it, how come they haven't fixed things now?"

"As I mentioned, all they said was that whatever had changed time, it was in its nature to do so. And since it was in its nature, it didn't go against nature when it did it."

"Does that make sense to anyone?!" Dean threw out, then continued without waiting for a response. "Though if we don't know what exactly changed, does it even matter who did the changing?"

"Who could do the changing?" Sam queried, his curiosity as always, unable to be restrained. "What kind of a creature could change time to such an extent that it would be considered a natural occurrence?"

Castiel cocked his head to side for a moment, considering his answer. In truth, he'd been wondering as much from the moment he had left the Fates'.

"Deities, such as pagan gods exist," he considered, speaking his thoughts out loud. "But their scope is often limited. it would take more than such a demi-God to wield power such as this."

"More than a demi-God?" Sam raised his eyebrows. He was still only barely adjusting to the reality of angels existing. "Like what? A full-on God?"

"No." Cas replied distractedly. He appeared to be considering something, until finally reaching an insight. He looked up, almost startled as some realisation formed behind his eyes. "A Nephilim," he said. "A Nephilim could do this."

"A Nephilim?" Sam echoed. "You mean…? An angel-human offspring?"

Dean raised his eyebrows at that, smirking at the angel. "Why Cas, you sly ol' horn dog, you."

The angel looked distracted, choosing to ignore the older Winchester in favour of addressing the younger.

"Not necessarily human though in most cases, yes, that is what a Nephilim is. But that is not possible. The creation of a Nephilim causes ripples through Heaven. All such creatures are hunted and destroyed. There have been none created for millennia."

"Destroyed?!" Sam repeated, horrified. "You kill babies?!"

"They are not babies, they are abominations." Cas replied calmly. "A Nephilim of human origin would be one of the most powerful creatures in existence. But that power is unstable. It could easily destroy not just the world, but everything. All of creation if left unchecked."

The brothers were quiet for a moment, each with their respective feelings about the revelation sinking in. Sam in particular was finding it difficult to justify the thought of angels killing children, but he supposed if you believed biblical rhetoric, angels were responsible for unleashing God's wrath upon entire civilisations so there was, at the very least, a definitive precedent for destruction. That didn't mean he had to like it though, or that it rested any easier within him.

"What if it was created before millennia?" Dean pointed out suddenly, receiving puzzled looks from both Cas and Sam, causing him to elaborate. "Maybe there was a time when Heaven had its hands full, and you guys just didn't notice."

"You mean during the first war?" Cas asked and Dean nodded. The angel thought about it for a moment before responding. "That could have occurred," he conceded reluctantly. "Heaven was in turmoil. We were fighting to regain control from Lucifer and his army, to throw down his blasphemous horde. Perhaps, amidst that chaos, not all of us were accounted for."

"Meaning someone could have slipped away for a little R&R on the slide." Dean surmised.

Cas looked away for a moment, before shaking his head.

"Even if it were true," he continued. "There would be no accounting for the absence now. There would be no way of knowing."

"Wait a minute." Sam interjected. "You said in most cases human. What else is an angel compatible with?"

"There are creatures and beings that exist other than humanity, as you well know. If this is indeed the work of a Nephilim, let's hope at least that its parentage is not partly human."

"Why not? What's wrong with being human?" Dean demanded, seeming genuinely and somewhat absurdly, offended. "You know racism is ugly no matter what."

"A human soul is extremely powerful. In the union of an angel and a human, it is the combination of angelic grace with a human soul which results in the most powerful being in creation." Castiel explained. "And if it were an archangel coupled with a human, the result would be a being more powerful than any other creature, possibly even more powerful than…" He stopped before he could finish the sentence, as if he couldn't quite bring himself to admit anything as blasphemous as saying there could be something more powerful than God. "Well it has never been tested and never been known." He said instead. "And since Heaven cannot feel the existence of such a creature, we should assume that if it is indeed a Nephilim, it is not of human descent."

"So that's good right?" Sam asked hopefully.

"Not entirely. Such a creature would still be formidable. And while it would possess the power of some angelic grace, it would not be enough to allow us to track it as we could an angel. That lack of potency would also render it immune to most wardings."

"Does it even matter?" Dean asked abruptly. "Look all we've got is a bunch of if's and maybe's," he surmised. "None of which amount to anything. It might be a Nephilim, it might not be. What does it matter? Whatever it is, do we know what it changed?"

"No," Cas admitted.

"So, we don't know if it affects us. And if it wasn't Lilith who did it, then it probably wouldn't help us get Kyle back even if we knew, right?" Dean continued. "And that's all that matters right now. So, unless you can tell me exactly how this is related to our problem, or even if it's related, we're wasting time."

"Dean something has been altering the fabric of time." Castiel stated. "Creating a ripple that has changed history."

"Yeah but so what? You found no trace of it being anywhere near Sam's house. Of having messed with something there. You would have sensed that when we were there, right?"

"Yes." Cas reluctantly confirmed.

"But you didn't. Which means it didn't do anything there."

"It didn't do anything then. But something has been changed Dean," the angel petitioned. "At some point, something has been altered."

"OK fine, maybe it has. This thing messed with reality at some point for some reason we don't know. Maybe it was to kick start the Apocalypse, maybe it was just trying to stop Firefly from being cancelled. Or maybe it's something completely unrelated. Like I said, we don't know. And you said yourself, maybe the only reason the Fates mentioned our mom was to show how little it affects us, how little has changed. Point is, we can't link it to what's happening. And if we can't link it, it can't help us."

"Dean–"

"Kyle is still missing Cas. We haven't got resources to go off on a side-quest. And frankly, if Heaven does, then they should be using them to help get my nephew back. Coz getting him back is what matters. And if this angel half-breed whatever isn't connected to that, then I'm sorry Cas but I don't care. I don't. Especially seeing as Heaven doesn't seem to be giving a crap about helping us."

"Maybe it had something to do with my having demon blood in me," Sam spoke, thinking out loud.

"But you don't have demon blood in you," Dean corrected turning his attention to his brother.

"That's my point," Sam replied. "Whatever changed, maybe it stopped my kids from having demon blood in them because it stopped me from having demon blood in me. I mean, according to Dad, Azazel was there in my nursery that night, the night mom died, so I should have had demon blood in me, right? Maybe this thing, whatever it is, changed that? Maybe that's why the Fates mentioned it?"

"Or maybe it got mom killed." Dean countered gruffly.

"I don't think so," Sam countered. "There was no point to mom dying."

"You got that right at least."

"What I mean is, Azazel was there that night for a reason. Either something changed to make him be there, or something changed to stop me, from being infected. To stop my bloodline from being infected. Why else would the Fates mention that night? Unless it's like Cas said, they only mentioned it to highlight how little they'd tell anyone about anything."

"God!" Dean groaned. "Why do supernatural beings always have to be such douches!"

"And the fact is," Sam continued. "I should have demon blood in me. Lilith said as much. Crowley said as much. But I don't. And we know it has nothing to do with the deal Dad made, right? Coz I never had any demon blood in me. Like you said, I didn't change like the others. All that happened to me was cancer. I was dying, until Dad made the deal and then I wasn't."

Dean wiped a hand over his mouth, taking a few steps to stalk the room as he processed it all.

"OK, fine," he agreed at last. "If that's what this thing did, if it stopped you and the kids from having demon blood, then awesome. My point is even more valid. I say we leave it alone. Hell! If it's true, I'll buy the damn thing beer."

"I'm not disagreeing with you Dean," Sam pointed out, not sure why it felt as though they were butting heads again as they stared at each other.

"Perhaps Heaven will be able to shed more light on this," Castiel stated at last, and Dean stared at him, an odd expression fleeting over the hunter's face. "I'll still need to report my findings to Heaven," the angel clarified, unsure as to why the hunter suddenly looked so taken aback.

"You told us first?" Dean asked after a beat.

"Yes," Cas responded, still confused. "It concerned your family. I thought you'd want to know."

Dean shifted on his feet, a flush of something close to embarrassment crossing his features.

"Thanks Cas," he said at last, almost squirming despite the sincerity of his gratitude. "I appreciate that. Really."

Cas quirked his head to side slightly, as though analysing him, then simply nodded.

"I'll return when I can. Or when I have anything to report."

Before either of the brothers could respond, the angel vanished.

"I'll never get used to that," Dean muttered.

"I get why you trust him," Sam said just as Dean was making a move to leave. "Cas, I mean. Seems like a solid, straight up guy."

"Yeah," Dean responded, stalling. "Yeah, he is."

"Are they all like that? Angels I mean?"

"Most of em are dicks," Dean scoffed.

"Who else have you met? Have you met Michael?"

"Only in my dreams."

"Fine," Sam shook his head, feeling fed up. "You don't wanna talk about anything, fine. I get it. But you don't have to be such a jerk about everything."

Dean stared at him a moment, before smirking inexplicably. "Okay. But I was actually being honest."

Sam stared at him blankly. He didn't know why that should surprise him as much as it did. He himself had been contacted by Lilith in the same way. But for some reason it had never occurred to him that the same could be happening between Dean and the angels.

"What… What's he like?"

"Like I said. He's a dick. Like the rest of em. Cas is the exception I guess."

"What's Michael said to you?"

"Nothing. Just showed me what the world's gonna be like if Lucifer wins. Sends his buddies to point out potential Seals. It's Uriel mostly. Bigger dick than Michael."

Sam wanted to ask more questions, but he knew they were on thin ice.

"It blows your mind if you think about it," he commented instead, and Dean shrugged dismissively.

"We got used to demons being real. Figures angels would be too."

"Not that. I mean yeah, that too. But I meant history having changed. Like, if you think about what might have been if Mom hadn't died, if that's what changed then man! Think about it! Our lives would've been so different."

"Unless you had demon blood in you in which case it would've turned into a nightmare pretty damn quick."

"Yeah but just think about–"

"Why? What's the point?"

"I just meant–"

"Mom's dead, Dad's dead. The life we had is the life we had. I don't see any guarantee that it could've turned out any better one way or another."

"Really? Not having to dig up corpses, not having to chop up monsters or sew up gaping wounds or grow up moving from one motel to the next, you can't see how not having to do any of that would've made things better?"

"And again with the awful childhood trauma. You might wanna change up the station once in while Sam coz this tune got old a long time ago."

"We might've had a normal life, is all I'm saying."

"There's no such thing."

"Really?"

"Really. Coz crap still happens. Or maybe that's what normal life is, just a load of crap. I mean, happens to regular people every damn day. Hell, all the other special freaks with demon blood, they weren't hunters. They didn't grow up in the life. They were just normal, regular people till Azazel poisoned them. This stuff happens to regular people all the time. And if we'd been a normal family, doesn't mean we'd have been safe. Just means we'd have been unprepared. If not Azazel then something else, coz there's always something else. There's plenty out there to choose from. So I don't see the point in thinking 'bout choulda-woulda-shoulda''s. Far as I can tell, it all turns bad eventually."

"So, basically, your theory is life sucks no matter what so why bother hope for anything better?"

"You were living a normal life Sam and look at where it got you. Look at what happened to Jess. Look at where Kyle is. And we'll get him back, don't get me wrong, but you tell me how this is better than when we were kids. Tell me this whole joyride we call life isn't just taking us deeper into the crap heap. And as far as I can tell, things are just gonna get worse. So, yeah, I think life sucks no matter what. And no. I don't think about what life would've been like if Mom hadn't died. There's no point, coz it all ends up in the crapper one way or the other."

As Dean stalked off, Sam didn't bother try to stop him. Some of what Dean had said had echoed Sam's own thoughts, particularly about being unprepared. But if he hadn't known before just how despondent and hopeless Dean felt, he certainly did now. More worryingly, he now suddenly realised how wrong he'd been. Dean wasn't hermetically isolated; he wasn't beyond influence and manipulation. Far from it. He was just that way with Sam and the others. Michael and the angels were talking to Dean in his dreams, an arena where Dean was a captive audience, and it seemed they'd managed to put in more time with Dean than Sam had done so far. Sam knew Dean had been manipulated in Hell. What he hadn't realised was how much the angel's had probably been manipulating Dean since he'd returned, twisting and pushing their agenda into his mind. Sam knew agreeing to be Michael's vessel would be fraught with danger. He now began to realise the probable recruitment campaign that must have been waging inside of Dean's head. The reality and magnitude of that thought terrified Sam, because not only had he been oblivious to Michael's coercive influence, he didn't know how much work he'd have to do to catch up and undo it all.

He didn't know if he even could


Thank you for reading. tbc

Thank you especially Shazza19 & LL-BRUCAS, I appreciated your comments SO much, really reassured and bolstered me :-) you guys rock!

Will update soon. Stay safe and be well everyone :-)