Three Men an Angel and a Teenager – Part 5

Fate was a bitch and she was laughing her ass off at him, he couldn't think of any other explanation. Dean freaking Winchester was sick and tired of the shit life was continually throwing at him. Running a tired hand over his face he glanced over to the bed and watched as Mary devoured the burger and fries that he had brought back for her. Dammit, he had a sister who was God knows where, a teenage niece who needed to be sent home, a soulless brother who couldn't care less and an Angel who looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Letting out a shuddering sigh Dean brought his attention to his friend, Cas had been different since he had returned to help them retrieve the Moses staff. There were things that he had done that he just couldn't imagine his friend doing in any circumstances, torturing the boy to find Balthazar, watching porn and kissing that God damn demon Meg. If Cas was okay then he'd...dammit he wasn't okay.

"Okay Cas out with it, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"I ..." Cas began, before falling into silence.

"Cas? Something has been off since you came back. You gotta talk to me man, I don't know what I'm doing here, but I know I've got to have you playing your A game and right now, right now you're as jumpy as hell."

Castiel signed wearily as he met Dean's eyes "There are things, unfortunate things that I have had to do, am doing in order to secure my position in Heaven. I need to prevent Raphael from reigniting the Apocalypse and undoing all that we did, all that you and Sam sacrificed. It weighs heavily on me. I fear that every action I have taken has jeopardised a future that I may now never have. "

His eyes flickered towards Mary for a moment and softened, he had never in all his millennia imagined that he would have a family, but Mary appeared to be proof that in some other life he had pleased his father and been rewarded, blessed in the most amazing way. Thinking of his actions over the past months, his heart filled with shame. How could he tell his friend of the things that he had done and was continuing to do?"

Dean watched the rush of emotions play across Cas's face, whatever the hell was wrong with him was bad. He had to get him to talk.

"Cas whatever you've done I promise you we can fix it, but you gotta tell me. I can't help if you don't."

"I wish that I had done things differently, but..."

"Come on Cas, you gotta give me something I'm dying here." Dean said softly, his voice filled with concern.

Shaking his head sadly, Castiel stood "I must fix this myself; there is nothing you can do."

"Cas wait..."

"Take care of Mary I will find out what I can about Haley and Sam and return when I can."

"Dammit Cas." Dean cursed softly as Cas disappeared in a flutter of wings.

"Uncle Dean?"

Dean turned and faced his niece, his expression softening as he took in her worried expression. He was sure that she had heard most if not all of his conversation with Cas. Angel hearing probably went beyond their whispered tones.

"Is there something wrong with my dad?" Mary asked her blue eyes luminous as they filled with unshed tears.

Dean stood silently watching the young angel as she struggled to hold onto her composure, he didn't know what to do. Hell, give him an unrelated hot chick and he'd know just how to comfort her, but Mary was family. He may not have seen her grow up, but he felt an undeniable connection to her, one that he couldn't explain. Closing his eyes briefly he stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, a feeling of warmth spreading through him as she relaxed and allowed the tears to fall.

"I'll fix this Mary, I promise." He whispered quietly into her hair.

"You always do Uncle Dean, you always do."

xxOOxx

Castiel stalked angrily down a long corridor, his footsteps echoing in the silence. His mind raced, confused with the turn of events. He had been so sure that what he was doing was right, that there was no other way to stop Raphael, but now he wasn't so sure. He had doubts; doubts that his actions were leading him down a path that Lucifer had predicted in Carthage. Was he becoming the new Lucifer? He shook his head in an attempt to dislodge the thoughts threatening to drown him. No he was doing what his Father wanted, bringing order to Heaven and preventing another Apocalypse. He was doing his Father's work, wasn't he?

At the end of the corridor he burst through the doors; "Crowley?"

"Castiel, so nice of you to finally show up."

"I was delayed."

"No doubt trying to figure out the little half breed" Crowley sneered "She very nearly fried my ass. Where the Hell did she come from?"

Castiel's eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared at Crowley "She is none of your concern."

"Oh I see, none of my concern." Crowley sing songed "Well let me tell you something Castiel, if the little half breed comes near me again I'll turn her to dust. That's if Raphael doesn't get to her first. You know it took me a while to figure it out, but she looks awfully like a certain angel in my acquaintance... namely you."

"tut tut Castiel, been sowing some seeds with a lowly human. I'm fairly sure that's still forbidden."

"You will stay away from her or I will end our arrangement and turn you to dust," Castiel sneered. Stepping into Crowley's space, his expression dark and dangerous "If you have Sam's soul now would be the time to give it to me."

"I've already told you I don't have it. If you didn't bring it out then it's still in the cage and won't be pretty. You know that! Lucifer and Michael will have used it for a chew toy; it's been what well over a hundred years down there and those two are still screaming blue murder, Sam's soul is toast."

"Dean will never accept the loss of his brother's soul. I will find a way to get it back and I will fix it."

"You know I still don't get why you get your tidy whities in a twist over those two denim clad wonders, they've been nothing but ungrateful snivelling pains in the ass for years. You ought to just do away with them and be done with it... I'd be happy to do it for you ...partner."

"You will stay away from them!" Castiel growled his fist clenched as he struggled to keep his anger in check. "I will not tell you again."

"I'll stay away from them if you keep them on a leash." Crowley shouted "Keep them out of my way and we'll all be happy."

Castiel sent a look filled with anger and a promise of retribution at Crowley then disappeared without a word.

xxOOxx

"You're telling me that this kid is an Angel, Cas's daughter from the future and that her mom is your SISTER!" Bobby said incredulously as he looked from Dean out his window to the young woman currently sitting on the Impala.

"Dean are you crazy? I know we've seen and done a lot of messed up shit, but this ..."

"I know it seems nuts Bobby."

"Nuts, no you passed nuts about four stops ago, this it just bat shit crazy." Bobby picked up the ever present bottle of scotch from his desk and took a long pull straight from the bottle. He swore those boys were gonna be the death of him. "You don't have a sister Dean, so how'd you figure that to be true."

Dean sat on the edge of Bobby's old desk and took the bottle of scotch from Bobby. "Well apparently we do... Sammy has a twin." He said as he pulled the picture Mary had given him from his pocket and handed it to Bobby. He knew what Bobby would see when he looked at it. Sam and a young woman who bore a remarkable resemblance to him green eyes and brown hair and a grin which lit up her whole face. Yeah in some world, be it this one or another he had a sister.

Taking the picture, just as Dean thought, Bobby was struck by the young woman in the pictures resemblance to the older Winchester. There was no mistaking those green eyes and that grin, he'd recognise them anywhere. He was also struck by the happiness in Sam, he'd never seen that boy with a smile that looked like all his Christmas's had come at once it was heart wrenching. Sighing he handed the picture back to Dean.

"So how is Sam taking all of this?"

"Well no soul, don't care about sums it up." Dean replied unhappily "Mary can't stand to be around him... she said he doesn't feel right. That everything that made him Sam is gone, replaced by a void of nothing."

"and Cas, what's he saying about all this?"

"Bobby, Cas isn't saying anything. After the initial freak out he just disappeared. Right now I'm more worried about Cas than Sam. Sam I can keep an eye on but Cas, he's just about admitted that he's up to his ears in a steaming pile of crap, but he won't talk about it and he won't let me help." Sighing Dean closed his eyes and took another drink from the bottle. "Christ what am I supposed to do, I can't do squat to help Cas if he's in trouble."

"You've faced off worse and came through it son, we'll figure it out."

"We always had Cas at our backs Bobby. You know that we couldn't have gotten through the Apocalypse without him... now we're on our own."

"Maybe not" Bobby said as he glanced out of the window at the young angel "How powerful is Mary?"

"Come on Bobby she's just a kid."

"How powerful Dean?" Bobby pressed, knowing Dean's penchant for protecting the people in his care.

"She tore through Crowley and the other demons with nothing more than a smile and a flick of her wrist. She's powerful, Cas said she fooled Raphael into thinking she was some powerful Archangel."

"So lots of mojo then."

"Doesn't matter Bobby I'm not pulling her into this."

"It looks like someone already has."

Dean's eyes narrowed as he turned from Bobby and looked to where Mary was now standing in the yard sword in hand and body tense as she listened intently. Dean had seen Cas do that enough times to know that she was listening in to the chatter in heaven. Sensing his gaze she turned her crystal blue eyes to his. His stomach clenched at the pain and sadness radiating from her young face.

"What makes you say that?" Dean asked quietly, his eyes never leaving Mary.

"She's here ain't she."

TBC

A/N Thanks for reading. Please review