6

Dean was stunned by Cas' comment. "What do you mean, this our 'most important and dangerous case'? Why?"

"Elizabeth is not a normal girl," Cas told him.

"Thanks for the news flash, O'Reilly," Dean quipped. "We already figured that out."

Cas continued, as though Dean hadn't spoken, "Her mother, Rachel, was a member of my garrison." He closed his eyes sorrowfully for just a second. "She was one of my closest sisters."

"What about her husband, Jeremy?" asked Sam.

"He was human," Cas answered.

Dean tried to make sense of what Cas was saying. "So Elizabeth was Jeremy's daughter?"

"And Rachel's," Cas said.

Sam asked, "Angels can have children?"

"Of course," Cas said. "We were created with reproductive abilities similar to those of humans."

Dean looked sick. "Spare me the details." He sat down on the bed. "So if Liz is an angel-"

"She's not," Cas informed him.

Dean was really confused now. "But you just said-"

"She is the daughter of angel," Cas reiterated. "But she is also the daughter of a human. She herself is not an angel, because the human part of her hides her angel powers. She is mortal and she cannot spread her wings, but she does have wings, and heightened senses, and angelic healing powers."

"She also doesn't have a voice," Sam said. "Or emotions."

Cas lowered his gaze, not wanting to have to explain the truth to them. "Rachel was not the first angel to have a child. It is, however, considered to be an act of rebellion to conceive a child that is a…." He paused, searching for an appropriate term.

"Half-breed?" ventured Dean.

Cas frowned. "Harshly put. But yes, she is, in essence, a mortal angel. The same things that can kill any other human can kill her. And she can both speak and feel, but only as an angel does."

Sam was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Cas glanced upwards for a minute and replied, "I'll show you. She just left the hospital and is on the way to her new apartment. I'll take you to her."

"Wait a minute," Sam said quickly. "If we appear suddenly, that'll be quite a choke, with her condition. Won't we just scare the hell out of her?"

Cas looked a little puzzled. "She's part angel. There is no hell in her. The two could not coexist." He smiled a little.

Sam rolled his eyes. Dean frowned at Cas. "Was that supposed to be a joke?"

"Yes," Cas replied, pleased. "How was it?"

Dean answered, "Needs work- a lot of it."

Cas looked crestfallen.

Dean said, "We'll take my car."

Sam and Dean were in the front seat, Cas in the back. "So what makes her so important?" Dean wondered.

Cas replied, "Mortal angels are very powerful people, although they don't know it yet, much like Sam and the other children Azazel created."

Sam glanced at Cas warningly in the rear view mirror.

Cas either didn't notice or didn't understand Sam's look. He continued, "Her powers can be passed on to her children, like a genetic trait. If she is with a human, her child will be a mortal angel, like her. But if she is with an angel, there is a very strong chance that her child could be a full-blooded angel."

"So…" Sam looked thoughtful. "Oh, I get it- the demons, right? They don't want to take a chance on her having any children and starting a new angel army."

Cas nodded. "Yes, and Elizabeth is the easiest target heaven has ever produced. She has all the powers of an angel, except flight, yet she can be killed by anything."

Dean was pensive. "So what good'll it do to try to hide her? I mean, where can she go that the demons won't get her?"

"Heaven," Cas answered readily.

Dean nodded rather humbly. "Okay, yeah, I guess so."

"But she's not a real angel," Sam pointed out. "How can you get a living person into heaven?"

"There's a ritual," Cas told him, "that has to be performed on the night of the full moon."

"That's tomorrow night," Dean said.

Cas nodded.

Dean pursed his lips. "So, all we have to do is kidnap Elizabeth and hold her prisoner until tomorrow night, when you work your angel mojo to ship her up to heaven, and all without scaring her?"

"Yes, basically."

Dean sighed and said sarcastically, "Should be simple."

"And then what happens to her?" Sam asked worriedly.

"She will live in heaven under the care of the angels for the rest of eternity."

"Can she ever come back?" asked Sam.

"Only if she voluntarily joins the service of the angels," Cas said. "Then, after she has been a warrior for heaven for a certain amount of time, she can be transformed into a full-blooded angel, and will be able to come to Earth like all other angels."

Sam asked, "How long would that take?"

"One hundred years."

"Oh…." Sam said softly. His lips twitched ever so slightly, and he looked out the side window.