February 12th, 2010

Greenville, Flordia

It was a few days later. They had stopped in a motel down in Florida, and were enjoying a few fleeting days of warm weather. Well, Alex was. Sam and Dean were still vigorously trying to a handle on the impending apocalypse.

Alex lay splayed out on the bed. "I'm bored," she insisted for the seventh time that hour.

"Go outside." Sam barely even glanced at her, too focused on his work.

"Maybe we should take a break, Sammy." Dean stood up, back arching slightly as he stretched. "We've been going at this for, what? Six hours now?"

Sam looked like he was going to argue, but decided against it. "Yeah, sure. Whatever." He stood up, shutting his laptop. "So, uh, what do you want to do?"

"Let's go get ice cream." Alex jumped to her feet, eyes wide with excitement.

Sam shook his head. "We should go swimming. There's a pool out back."

Alex nodded, perfectly okay with that idea. "Okay." She dug around in her bag. "I want to go swimming." She pulled out a black shirt and white basketball shorts. "I like swimming." She quickly ducked into the bathroom, barely bothering to close the door. She changed, kicked her other clothes into the corner, then reemerged.

Sam was already changed, now wearing only a pair of boxers. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Alex looked over at Dean. "You coming?"

"In a few minutes. I'll bring towels out."

"Thanks." Alex grabbed Sam's hand and dragged him towards the door. Sam followed. They got halfway to the pool before Alex tapped Sam's back. "The ground's hot," she whined playfully. "Piggyback?"

Sam hesitated, then held out his hands. Alex eagerly climbed onto his back, arms wrapping around his sturdy neck. "You ready?"

"Yeah - woah!" Alex let out a small noise as Sam started walking, then broke into a run. She pushed herself even closer to the hunter, tightening her grip around his neck and waist. She buried her head in his neck. "Sam!"

Sam turned into the pool yard. However, he didn't slow down, but kept racing towards the pool. Alex screamed as he launched them into the water. Then she shut her mouth and closed her eyes as she went under. Sam let her go, and she pushed herself towards the surface, spluttering. She opened her eyes to see Sam floating on his back, watching her lazily.

"You're an idiot." Alex splashed him playfully.

Sam righted himself; he could stand completely flatfooted. "I was going to do a flip," he grinned. "Remember when I told you I was going to throw you in a lake?"

Alex swam past the Winchester until she could stand as well. "That was like a month ago," she insisted, brushing her wet hair out of her face.

"Yeah, well, I keep good on my promises."

...

Alex woke with a start. Beside her, the bed shifted as Dean sat up abruptly. Alex flicked on the light, sitting up as well. "Dean?" It was that night - well, the next morning, Alex realized as she glanced at the clock. "Dean?"

Dean stared at the far wall for several seconds before looking down at Alex. "What?"

"Nightmare?" Alex crossed her legs, reaching up to touch the man's shoulder. His bare skin was warm beneath her hand.

Dean threw back the covers. "Sam?"

"Right here." Sam looked over at his brother from where he was seated at the table. "You okay?"

"You're still working?" Dean walked over to him, glancing at the laptop. "Get some sleep, dude."

"No , I, uh," Sam rubbed his eye, "I thought I found something. It's nothing though." He sighed, shutting his laptop. "What's up?"

"I had a dream." Dean sat down, reaching of his half-filled glass of whiskey.

"If this is about porn . . ." Sam started.

"No, no. Nothing like that. I, uh, Anna found me. In my dream. She said that she had something to tell us. She gave me an address." He stood up, walking towards the bathroom. "Said it was urgent."

"S-Should we call Cas?" Alex watched him go. When Dean raised an eyebrow, she defended, "I mean, do we trust Anna? We haven't seen her in like, what? A year? We don't know whose side she's really on. It's just a safe thing to do," she finished.

Dean hesitated. "Yeah. You do that."

"I don't know where we're going."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Okay. I'll do it." With that, he disappeared into the bathroom. "We're leaving as soon as I hit the head."

Alex rolled over, not wanting to get up. "Can't it wait till morning?"

"No!" Dean yelled from the bathroom.

Alex let out a wordless groan after him, but pulled herself out from under the covers.

...

Five minutes passed before they had everything packed. Alex yawned, reaching for the doorknob, when Castiel appeared. "Stop."

Alex turned, confused. "Cas?" The angel stood behind her, several bowls and jars in his hand. "Whatcha got there?"

Dean and Sam looked up from where they were grabbing their bags off of the bed. "Uh, hey." Dean studied the angel, confused. "Didn't I tell you to meet us at the place?"

"Anna's not there anymore." Castiel walked over to the kitchen table. He set several things down on the table, and Alex tipped her head.

"Okay. Then where is she?" Dean's lips twisted into a frown. "Did she get dragged back to Heaven?"

"No. I don't know where she is." With a sweep of his hand, Castiel had cleared the table of the last remaining beer bottles. They clattered to the floor. "Not yet."

"We should find her." Dean irritatedly picked the bottles up and placed them on the counter. "She said she knows something. She said she could help."

Castiel shook his head. "She can't help. It was a trap." He looked up. "She wants to kill Sam. Not just kill him; she's going to destroy him so completely that Lucifer will never be able to bring him back."

Sam sat down on the far bed, while Dean paced over to Cas, and then back, trying to take it all in. "Really? Anna?" he finally said. "I don't believe it."

"It's true." From his pocket, Castiel produced a piece of chalk and proceeded to draw on the table. Alex walked over to him and watched, interested at the strange, circular sigil.

"So she's gone all Glenn Close, huh?" Dean frowned. "That's awesome."

Castiel straightened up, head tipped in confusion. "Who's Glenn Close?"

"It's not relevant." Alex promised.

"No one." Dean walked over to Sam. "Just this psycho bitch who likes to boil rabbits."

"So the plan to kill me." Sam cut his brother off. "Would it actually stop Satan?"

"No, Sam, come on." Dean glanced over at his brother, eyes dark.

Sam held Dean's gaze for a moment, then looked over at Castiel. "Cas, what do you think? Does Anna have a point?"

Alex watched as Dean looked at Castiel. Cas looked up, first at Dean, then at Sam. "No," he finally said. "She's, uh, Glenn Close."

Sam lowered his gaze, and Dean walked over to Cas. "I don't get it. We're looking for the chick that wants to gank Sam. Why poke the bear?"

"Anna will keep trying. She won't give up until Sam is dead." Castiel finished the sigil and chucked the chalk aside. "So we kill her first." He poured some sort of oil into a bowl, and placed it in the in the center. "Zod ah ma ra la ee est la gi ro sa." At the Enochian words, red flames jumped out of the bowl, licking at the air. Castiel took a step back, eyes falling close, one arm going out to stabilize himself. His breathing grew heavy, as if he was physically exerting himself instead of just standing there. Alex looked over at Sam and Dean, face dark with worry. They wore similar expressions. Castiel looked up. "I found her."

"Where is she?"

The angel shook his head. "Not where. When." He stood up. "It's 1978."

"What?" Sam stood up and walked over to stand by his brother, confused. "Why 1978? I wasn't even born yet."

"You won't be if she kills your parents?"

"What?" Sam's voice still sounded confused.

Castiel walked over to the two Winchesters, and Alex followed. "Anna can't get to you because of me," the angel told him. "So she's going after them."

"Take us back right now," Dean demanded, eyes cold.

"And deliver you right to Anna?" the angel countered. "I should go alone."

"They're our parents. Cas, we're going."

"It's not that easy." Castiel turned away, retreating several steps.

"Why not?" Sam challenged.

"Time travel was difficult even with the powers of heaven at my disposal."

"And now you're cut off," Alex added.

"So, what, you're like a Delorean without enough plutonium?"

"Dean," Alex sighed.

"I don't understand that reference." Castiel turned to face them once again. "But I'm telling you, taking this trip, with passengers no less," the angel shook his head, "it'll weaken me."

Dean walked up to Castiel, voice quiet. "They're our mom and dad. If we can save them, and not just from Anna . . . I mean if we can set things right, we have to try."

"I'll stay behind," Alex volunteered. "I mean, the less people you take, the stronger you are, Cas."

Castiel hesitated, then nodded. "Fine. We need to be prepared."

...

Ten minutes later, Alex handed Castiel the second of two large ceramic jars, both containing holy oil. "I don't get it." She watched as he packed them away into a dark duffle bag before slipping his angel blade in beside them. "Why would Anna do this? What's she got against Sam?"

"Nothing. When I . . . told Heaven of her whereabouts, she . . ." The angel paused. "Either she is working for Heaven, or she's rebelled again. It doesn't change what we must do." The angel tugged the two flaps together, and Alex reached over and zipped the bag up without explaining. Castiel turned to the two Winchesters. "Ready?"

Sam looked slightly nervous. "Not really," he admitted. He took the bag off of the table and swung it up over his shoulder.

"Bend your knees," Dean suggested lightly.

"And don't get killed," Alex added. "Seriously. Stay safe."

Sam nodded, while Dean just let out a huff. Castiel reached out, placing two fingers on their foreheads. Then they were gone.

Alex sighed, looking around the empty motel room. "Great."

...

The night passed, and still no sign of them. The next morning, Alex had a light breakfast, went for a jog - by jogging she meant that she ran for five minutes then ended up walking around the park. She returned to her motel, sipping a large water she had grabbed at the gas station across the street. The room was still empty, and Alex sighed. "I'm bored," she told no one. She looked up towards the sky. "Castiel? Don't come. I'm just wondering if you're okay." She tipped her head to the other side, chewing on the inside of her cheek, trying to think of what other angels she knew that wasn't a total dick. "Gabriel?" she finally asked. "Hey. Want to talk? Grab something to eat? There's a candy store down the street," she added, knowing the archangel's sweet tooth well. "My treat."

Nothing.

The human sighed. "Listen. I'm alone. No tricks. I'm bored, and I know you probably have questions. Uh, oh, uh, right. Cas carved up my ribs. Uh, motel across from the Gas 'n Sip, Greenville, Florida."

Still nothing.

Alex grunted. "You know what? Fine. Be that way. Screw you, you winged dick." She ended up muttering those last words, tossing her water bottle onto the table. She paused, looking down at the chalk sigil. "That better come off."

...

Two days. Two whole days she waited for them to come back. Finally, two full nights later, Sam and Dean burst through the motel door.

Alex looked up. For several seconds she just stared at them, chewing on her burger. "It's about time," she finally said. "What the hell happened to you?"

Dean shook his head. "Well, uh, Anna's dead."

"So I see." Alex studied the taller hunter, who sat down beside her. "Sam's still alive. Anything else?"

"We'll talk later." Dean walked over to the fridge. "First, I need a drink." He pulled out a bottle of whiskey. Sam got up and unwrapped two cups from their plastic wrap, setting them down on the table.

Sam looked up briefly, then started. "Castiel." The hunter spun around just in time to catch the falling angel. "Hey. Hey, hey. Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa."

Alex jumped, eyes wide.

"Cas!" Dean hurried over to help support the angel.

"We got you." Sam shifted his weight, trying to keep the angel up.

"You son of a bitch. You made it."

"I . . . I did?" Castiel looked between Sam and Dean. "I'm very surprised." He looked over at Alex, andthen his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

The angel went limp, and Dean grunted at the extra weight. "Whoa whoa whoa who whoa." He looked over at Sam. "Bed?"

Yeah, yeah." Sam and Dean carefully hauled the angel over to the near bed, laying him down on it.

Alex hurried over to the unconscious angel. She placed a hand on his forehead. "Whoa." She looked up at Dean, eyes wide. "Oh my God. He's burning up." She looked back down at the angel.

Dean let out a breath."Well, I could use that drink now."

"Yeah."

Alex hurried into the bathroom as the Dean poured his brother a drink. She wet a washcloth then returned to Castiel.

"Well . . ." Dean was saying, "this is it."

"This is what?" Sam picked up his glass and took a sip.

"Team Free Will." Dean's gaze drifted over to Castiel. "One ex-blood junkie, one dropout with six bucks to his name, some lost girl, and Mr. Comatose over there. It's awesome."

Alex laid the washcloth across the angel's forehead, trying to cool him down.

"It's not funny," she heard Sam say.

"I'm not laughing."

Sam sighed. "The all say we'll say yes."

"I know. It's getting annoying."

"What if they're right?"

There was a pause as Dean took a drink. "They're not," he promised.

Alex looked up. "They're not," she agreed. She turned back to Castiel.

"I mean, why, why would we, either of us?" Sam hesitated. "But . . . I've been weak before."

"Sam."

"Michael got Dad to say yes."

"Michael?" Alex looked up sharply. "He was there?"

"He, uh, yeah. I'll explain later."

"Damn right you will." Alex narrowed her eyes in worry. "I don't trust him, Dean."

"Yeah. Ditto. And that was different." Dean turned back to Sam. "Anna was about to kill Mom."

"And if you could save Mom . . . what would you say?"

Dean fell silent. He took another long drink before turning to refill his glass.

Alex sighed. "Are either of you going to tell me what happened?"

Dean approached, and sat down on the bed opposite Alex. "We found our parents." His eyes flickered over to Castiel. "They were already married. Mom, Mom was -"

"Can we get to the relevant parts?" Alex cut the Winchester off, running a light finger across Castiel's cheek. She shook her head. "Sorry. I just mean-"

"No, no. It's fine." Dean shrugged. "We were holed up in some abandoned house after Anna tried to kill Dad. She brought Uriel with her-"

"Uriel?" Alex's frown darkened. "That son of a bitch."

"Yeah, well, whatever. Anyways. Every plan we had backfired. Anna - she, uh," Dean dropped his gaze to his glass, "she killed Sam."

"That's when Michael showed up," Alex guessed. "Possessing John."

"Yeah. Apparently even though I'm the, uh, true vessel or whatever, he could still possess John cause," Dean shook his head. "Something about our bloodline."

"Back to Cain and Abel." Alex nodded. "I knew that. Michael can possess anyone that carries your blood."

"Yeah."

"And he helped you? Just like that?"

"Yeah." Dean sighed, standing up. "He's confident I'm gonna say yes." The hunter let out a forced laugh. "Like he knows."

Alex sighed. "Yeah," she murmured. She pulled the washcloth off of the angel's forehead, brushing his damp hair out of the way.

"Is Cas okay?" Sam looked up from the table.

"He's really warm," the girl fretted.

"He's not gonna die from a fever," Dean snorted.

"Angels shouldn't get fevers. They don't change internal temperatures; that's why he's never cold even when it's ten below." She shook her head. "But now he's rebelled and losing grace." Alex looked up. "I don't want to take any chances."

Dean and Sam exchanged looks. Dean nodded understandingly. Sam, however, tipped his head. "Cas told you why he's never cold?"

Alex shrugged. "He's interesting to talk to."

...

Movement woke her. Alex groggily opened her eyes. "What?" She sat up, confused. The lights were off, but there was enough moonlight to tell that the Winchesters weren't there. "Cas?"

The angel looked down at the girl, blue eyes glowing in the moonlight. "Go back to bed."

Alex rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "What?" she repeated. "S-Sorry. I must have fallen asleep." She got up. "I, uh, Sam and Dean must be out at a bar or something. How are you feeling?"

"Sluggish. Tired." The angel blinked. "I'll be fine."

"You sure? You had us worried." Alex smoothed down her messy hair. "You had a really bad fever and were totally unconscious."

"Yes. I . . . overheated."

"Overheated?" Alex snorted. "Dean was right. You really are a Delorean."

"I still don't understand." Castiel paused, then added, "There's not an english translation for the word I wished to use. I, I could explain it to you, but it's complicated."

"Oh, uh, okay. Maybe some other time."

"Yes, that would work better." Castiel reached up, touching his still-damp hair. "Is there a reason my head is wet?"

"I was trying to control the fever." Alex crawled across the bed and turned on the light. "Are you sure you don't want to stay? If you want to stay and rest some more, I'll take the other bed."

Castiel shook his head. "No. I should go. I'll be in touch." And with that, he was gone.

Alex frowned. "Yeah. Be in touch." She sighed. "Be careful, Cas."