The Light Gamblers

He's scared of me… and Mother.

Angela sat, looking up at the night sky. She watched the stars as they twinkled. It was a chilly night, but she didn't feel the cold. It was one of the benefits of her kind. Her normal body temperature was the equivalent of a low grade fever. It certainly was funny at times when she demonstrated it by walking out when there was snow on the ground. It turned Sam into a cuddler. Being outside though had nothing to do with any of that.

She could hardly believe it. Her Jack was back and alive. Like Castiel, she was baffled and determined to figure out what was going on when they got the call from the sheriff. She went with him, leaving Jess in Kate and Kesset's care. It was one of the few times she put down the mantle of stay at home mom and went back into hunter mode. Like before, she couldn't give it up completely.

She certainly didn't expect to find that Jack was hunting Grigori. The one's she hunted and killed left an impression on her. She even thought that he was a shifter; a cruel joke in light of everything she held dear, especially that boy. It was Jack though and she was overjoyed into speechlessness. She didn't even think twice of Jack consuming the hearts of Grigori. She understood the reason why, and it only cemented the reality of where this road was heading.

He's afraid of me… and Mother.

Angela sighed looking at the stars. She thought about what Jack said. It actually ended up making sense. She had never been fearful of angels in general. She went so far as to threaten and mouth them off and she did kick a few angel asses a good one. The feared reputation was well earned. It did explain why she was able to stand in front of Chuck and say the things she did when she and Dean rescued Sam and Eileen.

It was also another one of those things that thrust the whole weight of the world on her shoulders again. The elephant in the room was the fact that she had several cases lining the library shelves, each containing the blade of a Grigori. She still wasn't sure about what Jack said about them, but it wasn't the first time Absolution received a power boost. It still had the crest of the Dragovich dragon slayers to the point where it was now a part of the blade. Its power was theirs and made it stronger especially when it traveled to Purgatory and learned the secrets of its ability to transform.

Now the blade was being offered power again. The blade of a Grigori was powerful. Absolution could already kill most everything… everything that tormented the earth. One was powerful but here was several. That drove home the reality of the road they were traveling. It was saying that despite the power she already held, it wasn't enough. The problem was that she didn't know what would happen if she went through with it.

Jack said that it was part of Death's plan. Angela knew Billie well enough to know that the woman was a being that liked natural order and hated it with a passion when it was fucked with beyond all reason. She wasn't too bad since she knew that there were always exceptions to the rule. Her idea that she gave to Dean didn't go as planned; Jack took care of it and at a great price. The thing was Death had answers because of her library. The books of all possible endings for every being on earth and it is all based on the choices people made. It was like that phrase she was fond of saying, the whole thing about the end game is set but the journey there was full of possibilities.

It was a conversation she wanted to have with Billie but was also reluctant to. It would only drive the point home of what was at stake. Actually, she looked at it every day. She saw it when she played and took care of Jess. She saw it when she saw her family enjoying life with no worries in those rare moments she sought and cherished when she got them. The decisions she made… well worth it. She sighed as she took out a coin and started playing with it; flipping it and catching it.

"You put a lot of faith in mortals."

Angela caught the coin and held it in her fist. She turned and gave a slight grin. "And it's never been misplaced. They are flawed, but they try." She held the coin between her two fingers. "It appears that I was right this time, Fortuna."

Fortuna looked at Angela with a slight grin. It looked like a cross between annoyance and amusement until it turned to a full smile that held a slight hint of coyness. "A gamble."

"Oh you know me, I don't gamble. I wager," Angela teased as played with the coin in her fingers. "And I wagered that they would impress you and that you would see what I see."

Fortuna made a slight face at that. "Still the same. Always arguing semantics."

Angela shrugged, "It's what I do." She played with the coin a little more. She flipped it and spun it between her fingers. "That and plan ahead."

"And I'm surprised that it wasn't you that pointed them in the direction of me," Fortuna replied. She looked at Angela with a raised brow. "You could have easily said that you knew of me and send them to me. But you didn't. I wonder why." She looked thoughtful as she said it.

Angela clenched the coin in her hand. She looked at the goddess. She didn't say anything but looked at the woman. Fortuna stared back and thought about it and put it together. She smiled knowingly, "You sly creature. Only you would throw in a lesson."

"A bit of humbling," Angela corrected. "A reminder of not to take things for granted. That and sometimes what they need to find is best given from someone other than me." As she said that, she thought about back to when Sam and Castiel had been on a job and she literally cut Sam off. She looked at the goddess, her thoughts hidden on her face.

"So you gave that funny little werewolf my information and he told them to come my way? And I supposed you set it up that he needed help."

"Actually, that was pure luck." Angela couldn't help but smirk at that. "Even I'm not that great at coincidences." She chuckled since it seemed to be a running joke that she always seemed to know what was going on or going to happen.

"It just seems… convenient," Fortuna replied.

"Always does," Angela replied with a shrug. She sighed and looked up at the night sky. "It was a gamble, but I know them and I know what they are about. I'm glad you saw it too." She looked at Fortuna with a pensive smile. "Pretty good advice too."

"Well I know what he's all about," Fortuna huffed, trying to hide the pride in her. She crossed her arms over her chest. She turned to look at Angela. "But you are different. Just when I think I've gotten a read on you, you do something completely different. It's rather… refreshing."

Angela chuckled at that. She clenched the coin in her hand as she rested her chin on her closed hand. She looked at the goddess. "I've learned a few things from various places. I pick what works for the current situation."

Fortuna chuckled and shook her head. She looked at Angela. "Always making light of the situation. Always was your best and sometimes annoying trait." She gave a knowing smile as she gave a pointed look at Angela. "But effective."

"I'm glad you approve." Angela chuckled a bit before she sobered. She sighed and said, "Thank you for granting them the heroes luck."

"You doubt that they can't do it without it."

"Not that. I know they can." Angela adjusted her position as she explained, "They are in panic mode. Panic mode and I get a comedic show. They are capable of doing the impossible, but they don't need luck. They just can't see it."

"And you can?"

Angela looked up at Fortuna, "It was never luck that enabled me to do what I've done. True my genetics played a part, but it was the knowledge that I learned and applied. And a little bit of faith. Belief that it would work, even when logically it shouldn't and it did. That's how I've always worked."

"And why you never saw yourself a hero." Fortuna gave a knowing smile and a nod. "You really are unique, Israfel."

Angela huffed at that and it turned into a snort. She was no stranger now to the angelic name she had before her sentence of being reincarnated on earth. It was useless to tell people not to call her a name she no longer remembered, or in this case as far as she was concerned, never knew. She did say, "That is someone else, Fortuna."

"I know you never knew that person." Fortuna rolled her eyes slightly. She sighed, "Well, I just wanted to drop in and tell you that you gambled and this time you won. You do know that adage…"

"Whenever you gamble, eventually you lose," Angela replied with a wry look. She looked at the goddess, "But I don't gamble. Calculated risk and plenty of faith. Just like what I think we have now. And we won't play Chuck's game." She gave a slight smile before turning to look back up at the night sky. She was aware when the goddess left but didn't need to acknowledge it.

Maybe she had been in this game a long time. Long enough to certainly argue semantics, but that was her personality. Even Sam knew better than to try and argue over that. That adage wasn't wrong. Eventually you lose everything. The trick was knowing when to back out. In this game though, they couldn't back out. Sam and Dean always took Fortuna's advice and did things their way. They did it before when they refused to play their roles and they managed to stop the Apocalypse. They could do it again. They were going to play their game. Not Chuck's.

A/N: Angela is sorting her thoughts after learning that Jack is alive and has a conversation with Fortuna. Time to play their game and not Chuck's. Tag to The Gamblers.