CJ sat perched atop the table, toying with one of the weapons, a machete, from the looks of it, while Bobby painted the last of the sigils on the wall. Dean had run out to get one last thing from the car, as well as some emergency salt she'd admit to putting in Bobby's back seat during their rest stop on the way to get Sam.
"That's one Hell of an art project you got going there," Dean's voice nearly echoed through the barn, and Bobby looked up from his work to shoot him a roll of his eyes. "Traps and talismans from every faith on the globe." He set down the can as he moved toward the table, stopping beside Dean as they looked over their assortment. "How we doing?"
"Stakes, iron, silver, salt, knife," he plucked the machete out of CJ's toying hands, placing it back in it's spot and pointedly ignoring how she stuck out her tongue at him. "I mean, we're set to kill anything I've ever heard of."
"This is still a bad idea," Bobby shook his head slowly, watching silently as CJ reached her fingers out silently to grab the machete again, though Dean, without even a glance, lightly slapped her hand away. She glared at the side of his head, though he didn't look the least bothered. If he didn't know any better, he'd say they were getting along.
"Yeah, Bobby" Dean nodded in agreement, "I heard ya' the first ten times." The men shared a look, while CJ tried her hand for the smaller knife, hissing a little when Dean accurately flicked her hand away again. "Dammit, Dean-! I'm bored- !"
"And injured," was his immediate response. She glared at him sharply, but he was only mildly affected by the off-putting aura, "Knock it off. Stay out of the way, and if I tell you to run, you run . Capisce?"
"Tippens is a teddy bear. Trust me. When he warms up to you, you'll be singing a different hymn."
"Tippens?" Bobby repeated dubiously, "Is that what it's called?"
"No, its the nickname I'm gonna call him by," she flashed him a wide, happy grin, and he suddenly remembered that she was brought here when she was still a teenager. "Tippens sounds cuter than Cas . And Cassie sounds like Lassie , but I'm callin' Sam, Lucky , so there can't be too many similarly sounding names if I'm calling out a heat-of-the-moment warning.."
"..Your logic is hard to follow, but I'll take your word for it," Bobby muttered, shaking his head as he let out a heavy breath. Dean just seemed to clutch heavily at the bridge of his nose, eyes pinched shut as he muttered what sounded like an exorcism under his breath.
Probably to stow away a headache.
Gathering himself again, he shook out his muscles and nodded his chin toward the place they'd set the spell ingredients. "What do you say we ring the dinner bell?"
"I am so glad I brought my camera for this."
Dean looked over just as CJ pulled the hand-held video camera from the duffel bag she'd forced him to bring, flicking open the screen and holding it eye-level with a wane smile. "First impressions. I'm using this for your wedding, just so you know."
"Seriously?" he ground out, glancing over to see Bobby in the midst of latin, before turning a darker glare to her, "Are you kidding?"
"He'll either be the best man or the bride," she shrugged, flashing him a grin, "Or the priest. You never know."
And thus, the tense waiting game began in silence.
The sound of shuffling seemed louder than usual as the barn sat in silence.
Dean looked to his left, opened his mouth, probably to say something snarky, then closed it again, settling back into his seat.
There was a moment where the shuffling stopped, and their heartbeats echoed in their chests, and the cards were placed down between them.
"Balls-!"
The worn blue cards hit the wooden floor with a clatter, and Bobby ran his hands over his face, pushing his last investment forward, a handful of caramels and a bag of M&Ms. CJ grinned, reaching forward and tugging the pile closer to count her loot. A sucker was hanging precariously out of her mouth, and she was grinning like the cat that had gotten the canary and the cream. "Pleasure doing business with you, Mister Singer."
"That was a bum hand, you brat," the older male muttered, but the good natured shove he gave to her shoulder was playful and calm. "Deal again."
"Whatcha' gonna bet next, your fancy hat?" She pulled out a new supply of M&M bags, the snack-sized ones used in place of chips, original, and, peanut butter, with full sized hershey bars used for the big tickets. They wrote their bets on little scraps of paper she would stick to the bars with little bits of tape.
Dean could only stare in dubious bafflement as they gambled with candy and old blue poker cards. He'd been beconed over some point earlier to begin the game, and twice more during, but he'd rather remain vigilant, even if Bobby seemed to be perfectly capable in trusting her call on this.
He'd rather be safe, not sorry.
"Nah, probably one of the cars in the lot, I'll let you fix it up nice, can't just be using that bike if there's an emergency.."
"Practical betting.." she nodded slowly, her face etched with poise, "I can dig that."
"Are you sure you did the ritual right?" Dean's burst of impatience cut whatever Bobby was about to reply clean off, the impatience in his voice making his eyes roll heavenward before returning to him again. Dean glanced at his expression briefly before backing off, his knee bouncing up and down as he lowered his head. "..Sorry. Touchy-touchy, huh?"
As if on cue, a burst of wind rocked the barn, sending Bobby to his feet while CJ barely jumped, remaining in her seated position as she thumbed out her winnings. The boys were tense as the iron roof plates rattled and lifted with the force, clanging and crashing as the air howled around them.
"So dramatic.." she mumbled, chancing a glance up when she caught the edge of Dean's shoe come into her line of sight, "Don't you kick me, I know you want to, but damn, boy, relax."
"I'll relax when it's dead," he hissed back quietly, barely heard over the loud echoing crashes..
"Correction;" she stood then, lifting her earnings with a makeshift basket by using her shirt, pointing her free hand up at him like a school teacher, "You cry when it dies.. Multiple times.. Dying is practically a rite of passage for the Winchester family, isn't it?"
One by one, the lights burst, sending sparks and glass in every direction. CJ ducked her head a bit, almost squealing when she felt Dean's large, rough arm swinging around her and drawing he away from the doorway as it unhinged, then opened with a mighty slam.
Polished black shoes entered the barn, and pale blue eyes looked from right to left, surveying the room with curiosity. CJ hauled herself beside Dean, out of his embrace, to take a good, long look at the thing standing in the doorway. Had she had any decent food in her stomach, she may have thrown it up.
Blue, dark, royal blue wings sprouted from his back, flicking idly in a soft manner, as if testing the air like a snake. Her muscles locked, and her eyes flew wide. Seeing the fear on her face, Dean must have assumed the worst, because she was suddenly completely behind him, and her view was blocked by his broad, muscled back.
The darked haired male, dressed in a clean suit, and a skewed tie, walked directly through the traps and sigils, his eyes now centered directly on the righteous man he'd been ordered to pull from the damned. His trenchcoat, just a tad dirty, but not quelling his overall charm and appeal, fluttered lightly in the breeze of both the energy pressing around them and in wake of his wings.
As he neared the halfway point of the building, the two human males had begun firing. Salt rounds that pierced his skin, and tore his clothes, but did not make him flinch. He seemed unaffected, relaxed even, as he stepped closer and closer to the man he had reassembled, the elder Winchester reaching behind him quickly to move the girl in stride as he hid her from the creature's view.
Castiel's head ticked to the side as he narrowed his eyes, almost a glare. He couldn't sense her. At all. He'd only gotten a glimpse of her, before the righteous man had moved to shield her completely from his sight.
"Who are you?" the blonde's demand was quiet, but stern, one arm holding the woman behind him, almost completely out of the unknown male's sight, and the other brandishing a knife lined with symbols and carvings. " Your future boyfriend.." the whisper was almost too low for him to catch over the howling wind.
"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition," the creature stated solemnly. A tad bit too emotionless to be comforting. Dean almost scoffed aloud, having heard similar words from the woman directly behind him. " Oh my lollipops, he actually said it- and I got it on camera-!"
Speaking of..
"Yeah," Dean nodded once, gritting his teeth a bit when he felt the woman behind him whimper softly, a sound almost suspiciously close to a laugh. "Thanks for that."
He lunged forward with a single step, and his knife found its mark with a squelch.
" That sounded absolutely disgusting. Eww.."
He was tempted to tell her to shut up, but the more glaringly obvious, pressing matter that stood in front of him was not fazed in the slightest of the demon knife sitting square in his heart.
" Awkward.."
"CJ, shut up-!"
His annoyance cut over his common sense, and he shot a look over his shoulder to see the woman, pale-faced and jittering, but giving a sleek, fox-like smile toward the two of them as she held out the camera, red light shining, and her hands trembling. "Aww.. but you need my commentary for the gag reel.."
She was scared.
Why did that put him on edge. Wasn't she all gung ho about this thing-?! Did she suddenly change her mind-?
All of this happened in a matter of seconds, and the creature lifted its hand to dislodge the knife, tossing it away with a careless turn of it's wrist.
" Still sounds so gross.."
"CJ just shut up for a minute-!"
"Dean I am COPING with the situation right now-!"
Bobby took the creature's momentary distraction to swing at it with the tire iron, both hunters tensing in surprise when, without looking, it held up it's arm, catching the weapon in its palm and spinning on its heel to face him. Holding up two fingers, the creature pressed them to the elder male's head, slowly allowing him to crumple to the floor in a heap.
The creature turned back to the two still-standing humans once more, his expression relaxed, with just the faintest hint of urgency in his eyes. "We need to talk, Dean."
Dean's eyes shot from Bobby, who lied sprawled on the ground, back to the creature, his back muscles coiling as he shifted from one foot to the other, not allowing CJ to be in any way in the creature's line of sight.
"Alone," the creature emphasized, seeing his shifting eyes, and the camera peeking over his shoulder, the small hand attached to it giving a soft tremble, but keeping it relatively steady.
"She's fine just where she is," Dean muttered, his eyes hard, "Talk."
CJ sat beside Dean, right next to Bobby, her jacket off and folded tightly so she could put it under his head. She'd given the fearful Winchester a soft nod when he'd rushed over, pressing his fingers to his neck just for reassurance, and forcing him not to smother the unconscious man.
"Your friend is alive," the creature assured him quietly, looking over the aged book in his hands with a sort of reverence only the barest touch of humanity could give to something completely ethereal. Dean shot his eyes up to him in stony silence, the exhaustion beneath them clear as day.
"Who are you?"
"Castiel," he offered simply his attention still divided.
"Yeah, I figured that," Dean bit out sharply, wetting his lips before he continued, " What are you?"
"Here it comes.." CJ muttered under her breath, plucking the camera she had put on the floor up to aim it directly at the two. Dean kept his eyes solely on the pale skinned man, unwilling to look away.
Finally, Castiel seemed compelled to be courteous, and lifted his head from the text, turning his eyes directly to Dean with a calm, serious tone. "I am an angel of the Lord."
Dean flicked his eyes along him quickly, doubt clear on his face. The creature smiled a bit, unused to the facial muscles and the tongue in his mouth.
"Get the Hell out of here," Dean demanded slowly. He gradually got to his feet, keeping himself directly between the man in the suit and his two companions. His tone was hard, and his eyes were unforgiving. "There's no such thing."
Castiel moved from the table, then, meeting Dean's eyes as he stood up straighter, lifting his chin with programmed pride for his father, and an ingrained loyalty only dogs seemed to have anymore. "This is your problem, Dean." His voice was cool, and relaxed, a far cry from the obvious tension in the Winchester's. "You have no faith."
A thundering clap echoed throughout the room, and CJ flinched at the bright light that soared from behind them, illuminating the already magnificent blue wings in an even finer glory. She knew, however, that Dean could have only seen the shadows that, that brief, precious second of light had given him to outline the magnificent arcs.
"He does have faith," CJ's voice was stronger than it was before, and she used the back of Dean's coat to haul herself to her feet. She could now fully see the man in front of them, Dean making no move to stop her when she gave his shoulder a sharp squeeze, and stepped up to be directly beside him, "He has faith in his family. And I have faith in him. It is I whom holds no faith toward your father."
It was silent, and the angel seemed to be trying to bore his eyes deep into her being, if that wasn't what he was already doing. His brow was tense with concentration, and the smallest hint of frustration had tugged at his lips.
"Some angel you are," Dean spoke after a few moments of silence, "You nearly made that poor woman go blind." Castiel ducked his head, clearly chastised, but unwilling to lower it for too long. He stepped forward with an air of nonchalance. "I warned her not to spy on my true form. It can be.. Overwhelming.. To humans.. And so can my real voice.." His tone was even, and explanatory, and as he spoke, he flicked his eyes between the two humans evenly, although his gaze lingered on the woman that stood beside his charge. "But you knew that."
When she offered no words, Dean continued, not skipping a beat as he met Castiel's eyes. "You mean the gas station and the motel? That was you talking- ?"
Castiel gave a silent, innocent nod. "Buddy.." And Dean, despite his judgement, couldn't help the sarcasm that left his lips. "Next time lower the volume.."
Castiel nodded again, clearly taking his words to heart and mentally taking notes. CJ could see the cogs working behind his eyes. She had questions. A lot of questions. But she couldn't ask them. Not quite yet.
"It was my mistake."
"He sounds even cuter than he looks, Dean, can we keep him?"
The blonde shot her a look, but she was back in her perpetually terrified go-to, grinning like a loon and beaming toward him. He, at least, had figured that much about her. She was serious when she was calm. When she got antsy, so should he.
"Certain people, special people, can perceive my true visage, I had thought you might be one of them.."
A low keening sound left the woman at his side, and Dean shot his eyes to her when she abruptly flinched back, ducking behind him and clutching the camera to her chest. "Okay- That's it- I give- I cannot deal- I cannot do this- Oh christ- oh fuck- Please put those things away .. Or at least don't wave them around-!" Dean's mouth opened to question her, one hand falling back to clutch at her elbow, but a soft hum from the creature had his gaze returning sharply to the man in front of them. His blue eyes were now wider, if only a tad, tilting his head as he peered around the Winchester to see the woman. "You can see, some of me, can't you? And you spoke to me, when the woman was close to being irreparably injured-"
"And you will be fixing that-!" her voice was sharp, and shrill, as she swung her hand out from behind Dean to point accusingly at the angel, "If you can cure blindness, you are fixing whatever damage you've done to her eyes. They didn't completely get destroyed, but they are damaged."
It was quiet, again, and CJ sucked in another loud, shuddering breath, before tucking herself back behind Dean. She knew for a fact that Castiel would not hurt Dean, so she was in no way hindered by the urge to protect him.
"And what visage are you in, now, huh?" the bitterness had returned to Dean's voice as he brought up the prior issue, "What, holy tax accountant?" A small laugh echoed behind him, and he almost twitched back to swat at the camera he knew was peeking over his shoulder again.
"This?" Castiel pulled at the lapels of his now bloodied trench coat, inspecting his clothes briefly before looking up at Dean with the same level of neutrality he'd retained throughout the entire exchange, "This is a vessel."
"You're possessing some poor bastard?" Dean scoffed, he couldn't believe the audacity some creatures seemed to have toward human life.
Castiel, however, had an argument, or more, statement, to sway that complaint, "He's a devout man.. And he actually prayed for this." He seemed so sure of himself, and justified in his actions. Dean was having none of it. "Look pal, I'm not buying what you're selling. So who are you, really?"
"I told you," Castiel stated simply, the softest furrow in his brow as he tried to understand this man. Was he not the righteous man? Shouldn't the righteous man have more faith than anyone? Shouldn't they believe and pray the deepest? He was certain, and faithful to his superiors, so perhaps there was something about this man that he was unable to currently see..
Dean, dissatisfied with the answer, clicked his tongue, and adjusted his stance, feeling the firm grip on the back of his coat loosen gradually with each, even breath he took. "Right. And why would an angel .. ..rescue me from Hell-?"
"Good things do happen, Dean," Castiel's voice was soothing, and CJ had to step out from behind Dean when she heard Castiel getting closer, positioning her body quickly so she was directly beside him again, then moving her foot forward, a frown on her face that mimicked Dean's when his hoarse voice cut through. "Not in my experience."
CJ held her shoulders high, and glared sharply at the angel when he had met her eyes. "Not on this planet. There is always something going on behind the curtains. That's just how it is when you all preach about the bigger picture. You're the only ones who are ever around for it, anyway, so why should you care about the blips on the credits screen?"
His eyes flickered with confusion, but she had said what she needed, feeling a sort of grounding sensation flow from her back in warm waves when she felt the flat of Dean's palm press against her spine.
"What's the matter with you two?" Castiel was genuinely curious, and confused, and it hurt more than CJ cared to admit. His eyes found Dean's, and he read his eyes and soul like a billboard. "You don't think you deserved to be saved?"
Dean swallowed, the adam's apple in his throat bobbing with the strain of keeping himself together. The weight against his palm pressed back, and he reflexively curled his fingers into the soft, fleece-like material, his eyes flickering closed as he felt something, something he wasn't certain about, curl around his body like a protective shield. He felt as if it were a physical mask, so when he opened his eyes, and saw nothing there, he dismissed it as nerves. "Why'd you do it?"
Castiel, unused to the dryness of the vessel's mouth, licked his lips softly before he answered, his words slow, and calculating, as he kept his eyes locked with the tightly-wound hunter.
"Because God , commanded it."
They met eyes, and CJ could feel her hair sticking on end, the need to protect Dean from future ailments clashing with the need to run in the opposite direction and pretend she'd never met the magnetic duo of disaster at all.
"Because we have work for you."
And it was with those words that CJ knew.
She was never going to be able to turn around.