A/N: I do not own anything beyond Aeron. I want to say thank you to those of you who have reviewed. Your kind words are appreciated!
There are hellfire brimstone preachers,
There are tongues interpretations,
There are reasons that go deeper,
Than the treason in our souls.
There ain't no mercy for the wicked,
Sing the voices from the choir,
Tonight your soul might be required,
In the presence of the Lord.
Carter's Chord – Summer, Early 60s
Aeron stood in the corner of Bobby's library, her eyes following Dean's every move, yet appearing to be completely enthralled with the book she had grabbed off one of the many piles surrounding her. They hadn't spoken much for the remainder of the trip to South Dakota; each lost within their own thoughts and content to just be in one another's presence. She watched as Dean walked to the window, his eyes staring outside, though unseeing. She knew it would do no good for her to voice her opinion, but she had to admit she agreed with Bobby. Dean needed to call Sam and try to work things out. She had been trying to wrap her mind around everything that had happened within the last 24 hours. To think that Dean would honestly just wipe his hands of Sam, it was unheard of. Dean had sold his soul for Sam and now…now he was just going to walk away without a fight? It was shocking. She understood his side; however, you can only fight so long, you can only sacrifice so much before you finally have nothing left to give. Dean was nearing that point.
She me this eyes for a brief second as he turned around to face her and Bobby. Setting the book down, she moved to sit in an old wooden chair. She needed to stay out of this discussion as much as possible. She knew that she had been sent to Dean by Castiel merely as a silent supporter. There was already so much adversity in his life; he needed someone who was 100 percent on his side, even if he was misguided at that moment in time. She listened to the men talk, biting her tongue as Dean stated that Sam had never wanted anything to do with the family he had come from. Aeron knew that was incorrect. She had spent plenty of time with Sam as a child to know that he loved his family; he just had been a little less conforming than Dean had. Sam hadn't remembered anything about how life had been prior to Mary's death, whereas Dean had plenty of memories. Aeron figured that Dean had wanted nothing more than to ease some of the pain and pressure John had faced after her death, that he would have done anything for his father. A great burden had been placed on his shoulders starting with that terrible moment and it had never been lifted.
His father hadn't been around enough to be an actual father to his sons, so Dean had taken on that role as well. She didn't blame John, she had loved him as well, but she knew that he had allowed his grief to take over his life completely and he had pushed the father role to the back burner and allowed vengeance to take the lead. Sam just hadn't been able to understand that and to him, the grass looked to be greener on the other side. That's why he had left. Not because he didn't want his family, he just wanted more. But to tell that to Dean would be like banging your head against a brick wall.
Her eyes jumped to Bobby as she saw him sweep everything off his desk angrily before he started in on Dean. She stood up and took a step towards the two men, ready to separate them if need be. She could almost feel the anger rolling off Dean and her heart clenched in her chest for him. Bobby was right though, family was family. She signed as Dean walked back towards the window, and frowned when she heard Bobby refer to John as a coward.
"Bobby," she said, imploring him to leave John out of this. Dean was fiercely loyal to the man, and in his current state of mind, she wasn't sure what his reaction would be to that. Yet, as Bobby continued, she found herself agreeing with him again. John had pushed his children away in an effort to save himself from a future of grief should something happen to them. It was a soldier's mentality, lock away your true feelings, seclude yourself so that if your bobby next to you dies, it doesn't hurt as much. She only hoped that Dean understood that Bobby was just saying what he was because he loved him.
Dean turned back to the window, nodding his head in silent acquiescence. Her heart soared that Bobby had been able to get through to him, at least a little bit. She walked to Bobby and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, placing his hand over hears and giving it a quick squeeze and a small smile. He opened his mouth and turned back towards Dean to say something more, when she felt him tense up under her hand. She followed his gaze, her breath catching in her throat, her eyes scanning the empty room.
"Where did he go Bobby?" she whispered.
Dean walked slowly around the ornate room, glancing at the paintings on the wall. He had been shocked to turn around and find himself somewhere other than Bobby's house, and even more shocked to see Castiel there to "greet" him. He didn't completely understand why he had been secluded in this room, and he hoped that Aeron was all right. He turned back towards the table in the center of the room and frowned, picking up a bottle of beer that had appeared in a bucket of ice on the table. He stared at it in deep thought, his head snapping to the right as Zachariah's voice filled the room.
His head was spinning, and he couldn't quite focus on what Zachariah was saying and when he mentioned that burger joint in Delaware, he could just picture Sam and Aeron giggling at one another covered in ketchup and mustard. He heard Zach offer up Ginger and Marianne, and while fantasies ran rampant in his head, he didn't want their make believe. His thoughts strayed to Aeron, naked in bed, sheets pooled around her waist, sweat glistening off her skin. He shook his head, trying to clear the vision. He was a fighter, a warrior, through and through. He needed to be out there doing what he does best, not sitting here in this penthouse, "green room," or whatever they wanted to refer to it as. He listened as Zach told him that all but one seal had been broken. He watched the man, his hatred growing as Zach continued to talk. Dean couldn't understand why they were keeping him in the dark. He knew they knew more than they were letting on.
He wanted to fight, to bring down the bitch that had made his life both literally and figuratively hell. He wanted to wach her bleed, watch her die a slow and painful death as he had with the hell hounds. Unfortunately, the angels, although giving him who and when, couldn't give him the where. Instead, they wanted him to be nothing more than an obedient dog. He locked eyes with Cas for a brief second before the angle bowed his head and looked at the ground. Whatever had happened to him when he had been "called" back to heaven must have been bad if he was acting like nothing more than a lackey.
Aeron paced back and forth in front of the fireplace, running her hands through her hair, unsure of what she needed to do, where she needed to look, how she could help. It had been hours since Dean had disappeared. She glanced at the clock; it was 11:20 pm and she was no closer to figuring out where he had gone. Bobby was sure that Dean had been pulled away by the angels. It had happened before, him just disappearing into thin air. Bobby was now focused on trying to find where Sam was so they could try and sort things out.
Se walked towards the front door and yelled back into the house, hoping that Bobby would hear that she was going outside. She hated feeling useless. She hated that she was just standing around without a single direction. She walked through the cars, trying to come up with some plan of action. It was just difficult to come up with anything when you didn't know what you were fighting or even what you were looking for. She leaned against the side of the car, sliding down until she was sitting with her back against the rusted-out frame. She was never this impotent when it came to hunting or life in general; just when it came to Dean. Where Sam was his weakness, Dean was hers. She placed her forehead on her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs, confusion and despair washing over her. Taking a deep breath, she looked up towards the sky and asked for help from the only person who may respond.
"Cas?" she said softly into the darkness. "Cas…if you can hear me, I need your help. Please…" she whispered, a tear running down her cheek. "You told me that I needed to be there for Dean, that I needed to support him throughout this, through his trials and his tribulations."
She stood up, wiping her tears. Her desperation turning into anger.
"How the hell am I supposed to help him if I don't know where the fuck he is! Or was I merely just a tool to make sure that he didn't give up in that one instance?" she listened for any sound in the graveyard of cars surrounding her. Hearing nothing, she screamed out in frustration and slammed her hand on the hood of a nearby car. "You worthless son of a bitch," she muttered. "What good is asking for help when no one ever listens?"
"We listen," a voice said from behind her. "We just don't always find it pertinent to respond."
"Well, that makes it okay then, doesn't it?" she said sarcastically, turning to face Castiel. He looked conflicted, she noticed immediately. She pushed her concern for him to the side and focused on her main mission. "Where is Dean?"
"Safe."
"Don't give me your infuriating one word answers Castiel," she replied, taking a step towards him. "Where is Dean specifically?"
"He's…" Cas sighed, an abnormal reaction from an angel. "He's in a safe room we have set up. He's just cut off from normal lines of communication for the time being." He looked directly into her eyes. "He's in good health, I promise."
Aeron breathed an internal sigh of relief, focusing on how to get more information out of the angel. "What is it Cas? Why have you separated him from the rest of the population?"
"I am not at liberty to discuss that with you, Aeron. You aren't…"
"What?" she said, cutting him off. "I'm not what, Cas? Authorized to hear that information? You authorized me, Cas, when you pulled me into this whole mess! I was content in not knowing everything, of not knowing exactly what the end game you have set up is. You brought me into this!" she yelled at him, poking him in the chest to accentuate what she was saying. "You were the one who told me to be there for Dean!" she took a step closer to him, glaring up into his eyes. "So you know what Cas? You are going to tell me what the fuck I am supposed to be supporting him in!"
Castiel sighed and looked up towards the sky for a brief moment. He knew that he was about to take the final step towards what he considered damnation. There would be no going back. Yet, there was only a very small part of him that was truly conflicted. He glanced back down into Aeron's pleading dark brown eyes and stepped over the proverbial edge. He told her everything. He told her about the angel's plan to bring about the apocalypse. That they were using the Winchester brothers to do their bidding and that Sam would play a vital role in bringing about the rise of Lucifer. Dean was being held in a safe house, so to say, so that he would be able to pick up the sword and fight Lucifer, bringing about Heaven's return to Earth. Aeron leaned against a car heavily, trying to keep up with what Cas was telling her, and trying to make sense of what it all meant.
"So, you're telling me that God wants Lucifer to be set free? And that, while there may be countless human casualties, once Dean completes his mission, it will be paradise on Earth?" Aeron asked looking back up at Castiel, shaking her head as he nodded. "Do you have any idea how completely messed up that is?" she walked over to him and took his hand in her own. Castiel looked at her strangely, unsure as to how to respond. No one had really ever touched him before, except for Anna.
"Cas, you have to know that this is wrong, don't you? Sure, things down here on Earth aren't all sunshine and lollipops, but you are talking about the death of thousands, if not millions, of human beings. God's creations! You can't let this happen, Cas. How do you even know that what you're doing is God's will?" she squeezed his hand, begging him to listen to her reasoning. "How can you sacrifice one brother and expect the other to bend to your will?"
Castiel closed his eyes, doubt clouding his feelings. He wasn't supposed to feel…he wasn't supposed to doubt. He was to obey. Yet everything she was saying was causing him to rethink his orders. Uriel had betrayed him; how could he be sure it didn't go higher? How could he be sure that Zachariah was telling him the truth?
"Aeron…I…" he trailed off.
"Do you know where Sam will be tonight?" Aeron asked, her hopes crushed when Castiel shook his head.
"I know who will though," he responded. "I have to get to Dean," he said and he started to pull away.
"Wait!" Aeron said, tugging on his hand. "Where are you going to take him?"
"To Chuck Shurley, the prophet. He will know where Lilith will be tonight."
"What should I do?" Aeron asked and Castiel looked conflicted for a moment.
"Be prepared to fight. I don't know if we can stop this. I don't know if I will make it through."
Aeron nodded her head slowly and squeezed Castiel's hand once more before letting him go.
"Be careful Cas, and thank you," she said as Castiel disappeared. She turned back to Bobby's house. They would need to prepare for what was to come. Regardless of Castiel and Dean's success, there would still be a fight tomorrow. It was just a matter of how big of a fight it was going to be. She also needed to figure out where Chuck lived. She couldn't, and wouldn't sit and be idle. She needed to get to Dean.
