Elizabeth heard a knock on the door of the apartment that Dr. Fisher had rented for her. She had just finished a simple dinner of a bologna sandwich and potato chips, and she was still picking her teeth when she hurried to the door. She opened it and looked outside.
It was Sam and Dean, accompanied by another man with short, dark hair, standing a couple of inches shorter than Dean and looking equally attractive, wearing a tan trench coat. Sam flashed a quick smile at Elizabeth, prompting her to hide her toothpick in the pocket of her blue jeans. She signed quickly to him.
"No, we don't need to ask any more questions," Sam answered her.
"We know who killed your parents," Dean said bluntly.
Elizabeth's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"And we think they're gonna try to kill you, too," Dean finished.
Elizabeth covered her face with her hand, breathing heavily, almost hyperventilating. Sam grabbed her shoulders. "Elizabeth?" He turned to Dean and whispered fiercely, "Way to break it to her gently!"
Dean gave him an innocent look.
"Elizabeth?" Sam said again.
Elizabeth caught her breath and nodded quickly. She opened the door wider and motioned for them to come in.
Dean touched the shoulder of the man in the trench coat. "Elizabeth, this is our partner, Cas."
Elizabeth offered her hand to the man. He took her hand firmly and said, "Castiel. I am an angel of the Lord."
Dean shut his eyes tight, as if from pain. "Cas, do we really have to start with that?"
Cas replied, "I feel it best to begin with complete honesty. We don't have time to puppy-foot around."
Puppy-foot? Dean responded with an appropriately annoyed expression.
Cas placed his hand on Elizabeth's forehead. Fire and electricity surged through her, burning her. She started screaming.
"What the hell are you doing?" shouted Dean.
Sam added, "You're killing her!"
Elizabeth's voice became piercing. Cas turned to Sam and Dean and ordered, "Go outside, close your eyes, and cover your ears. Now!"
They did as they were told.
Elizabeth's voice reached ultrasound, and she was stunned by a blinding light and a voice only a few Hertz lower than hers. She stopped shrieking and listened.
She could understand him! He was calling her name. "It's true," she said softly, in her true, shrill, unearthly voice. "You're an angel. My mother used to sing to me in a voice like yours, and she was an angel, too. I always knew it."
"Rachel was my sister," Cas said.
Elizabeth smiled. "Am I an angel, too?"
"Not yet," Cas said. "But I'll take you to heaven, and after a time, you can choose to become an angel."
His promise sounded impossible, but Elizabeth had dreamed of this many times, of being an angel like she knew her mother was, and Castiel seemed trustworthy.
She smiled at him and nodded her consent.