Chapter 7

Angela didn't mean to shriek but the suddenness of it startled her. She didn't hear the commotion coming from the next room along with cursing. She was focused on what she was seeing. She didn't even notice when Akira opened the door calmly and Sam and Dean barged in closing the door behind them. The picture she was seeing had her attention.

Gabriel had stepped back and made a quick exit. He didn't want to catch Castiel's attention since that would just make things awkward. Plus it would draw the attention of the Winchesters and he didn't want to deal with that anytime soon. He managed to stay within the area, preferring to watch through the window kind of thing. His Cat had it under control and she wasn't scared but more curious. It had him wonder how she would feel about viewing herself through memories.

Angela in the meantime sat cross legged on the bed and turned and watched the image shift with her. She pointed it at the blank wall in front of her, making it seem like a projection screen. The best she could equate it with was a movie. She was enraptured by what she saw that she didn't even notice the company that was gathering in the room.

Angela was walking to meet up with a man that was in a hood. He was facing away from her and looking out at the landscape. She came up with a firm stance and glided to stand behind the waiting man. There was a look of firm determination on her face.

"I assume that you didn't call me here to make peace over the past."

Angela stayed at her spot, "As far as I'm concerned, you and I have no quarrel. It is with the others that I do and in particular your master." She paused and took a breath to make sure that she was certain of what she was going to say. "And I know that I have no right to ask."

"It is true," the hooded man said, "You have no right to ask." He looked at Angela with a firm look. His features were hidden by the hood. "Because I do this freely and for you as a friend."

Angela gave a smile that was sort of a smirk as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You say the strangest things, Jibril. But I like you still my friend."

"You only like me because of a friend who goes by the same name except in your damnable English." Jibril pretended to put out but from the slight revelation of his mouth, his lips twitched into a slight smile.

Angela grinned at that, "And you are pretty perceptive. I feel sorry for your brothers."

"It is little consequence. I haven't forgotten our creed and you know it as well." Jibril crossed his arms over his chest. It was clear to see that he was wearing robes suitable to a time period long ago but they were modified slightly to blend in with the modern era. At his waist hung a small knife and a few other things that were obviously a little more modern. "What is it that you request of me?"

"It is something I request of both of us." Angela looked at her friend with an equally firm look to show that she was serious. She pulled out a disk, a key, and held it up for Jibril to see. "This is one of five keys. You know there is only one reason for so many."

"Indeed. Those brothers loyal to the true creed have picked up on rumors of something terrible in the land of snow and ice to the east. I take it that you know where it is."

"Of course," Angela replied almost with an insulted look. She put the key back in her pouch. "The thing is that I intend to put it in a place that would be hard to get to and I need one other person to keep it."

"I don't quite understand but judging from your posture it means speaking to someone what you say is above my pay grade."

"Well at least you understand quips." Angela looked to the side and back to Jibril. "But yes. We need to see the one god that most would never think of."

"Or more likely is smitten with you."

Angela narrowed her gaze at the hooded man. "Watch it Jibril. I can still kick your ass. And you were the one that taught me how."

Jibril held up his hands in a placating gesture. A slight hum came from him and his lips were twitched in a smile. When he was certain that she was placated, he lowered his hands and re-crossed them over his chest. "I must admit that when your father asked me to train you in our ways, I was skeptical. Mostly because when I met you, it wasn't clear about how you saw things. You've proven such. That and your family history."

"And it's nothing but history." Angela patted Jibril on his forearm gently and in a friendly manner. "Thank you old friend."

"It is nothing, Shifa'." Jibril made a gesture that only Angela could see and she repeated it in a similar manner. "Lead the way."

"Well now that you've secured his cooperation, perhaps we can now get to it?"

Angela turned to look at the newcomer with a narrowed expression. Jibril had none but it was difficult to tell. She said, "At least I have the decency to ask Morpheus."

The god of dreams looked at Angela with a tolerant smile. It easily changed the expression on Angela's face and Jibril hadn't changed his. He looked at the pair and asked, "So you both agree to this?" At their nod of assent, Morpheus nodded. "Alright then."

The memory ended and Angela stared at the wall for a moment and looked down to look at the key. She frowned at it and shook it a little, trying to make it do what it did before. She wanted to know more but it seemed like it wasn't going to do it. "Open. Show again," she muttered.

"Angie?"

Angela looked at Dean and replied while holding up the key, "Not working." She handed it to him. "Fix it Deanie."

Dean took the key with a raised brow. He glanced at Sam and held it in his hands. "You want me to fix it?"

Angela nodded, "Uh-huh. See it again."

Dean had no idea how the hell he was going to do that. What he did know was that it seemed that they had to talk to this god Morpheus since their girl did it long ago and with a guy in a hoodie. And it wasn't Sean. The immediate question was how the hell Angela got her hands on the key when Akira was the one that brought the damn thing.

Sam knew that they really couldn't get the key to show the memory again. The best he could do was to distract her. "Uh Angie, how did you get the key?"

Angela looked at Sam and remembered what Gabriel told her to do. She really didn't want to do it but she did agree. "I peeks and sees Kira. Saw the thingie n I wants to look. I took it." She made a face that gave the impression that she wasn't sure if she did anything wrong. "Ceebee helps n I took it n I touched it and watched."

Sam wasn't sure of whether or not to believe that. It certainly was possible since Angela was good at sneaking up on both him and Dean. Perhaps she was curious about what was going on and certain things did catch her attention. He looked down at her and noticed that she wasn't sure if she was in trouble or not. There was no reason for that. "It's okay Angie. We were just worried. We heard you scream."

"I nots scream," Angela replied a little indignant. "I nots scream." She crossed her arms over her chest as her bear sat in her lap. Her lip turned into a pout and she was directing it at Sam.

It was enough to make Dean snicker as he tried not to laugh. He caught the look that Sam shot him but he was still grinning like a loon. Sam heaved a sigh and tried to placate the little girl sitting on the bed and looking very much like the adult version scolding him for ruining a good piece of pie. "Okay. You didn't scream."

Angela nodded but didn't change her posture. "Picture came out. Like surprise. Make noise." She looked away at the wall and heaved a breath.

"Doghouse, Sammy."

"Dean." Sam looked at his brother with a warning look. He turned his gaze back to Angela and debated on whether or not to reach out to touch her. If she jerked her body away… It was ridiculous to think of it as a rejection but it would feel that way. "Angie, we were worried. We didn't know if you… had a bad sleep."

Angela was more upset that she had to lie to Sam. She didn't like it at all. She got why she had to but it didn't make it any better. When she glanced at Sam, she saw the hurt look that crossed his face. She was over and grabbing him in a hug in an instant much to his surprise. "I nots have bad sleep. I listening to Rascal Fats." She added in a whisper, "Sorry hurted feelings."

Surprised and relieved, Sam returned the hug. "It's okay Angie. Nothing wrong."

"Youse sure?"

The reply sounded pathetic in his ears. Sam was quick to reassure her, "Yes. It's okay Angie." He released her to allow her to sit back on the bed. "Now can you tell us why you took the key from Kira?"

"I saw it n wants to help."

Dean shrugged his shoulders at that. "She wants to help." It was hardly the time to be cute but there really was no other way to put it. He took charge and caught her attention, "Angie, what me and Sam do… it's not something for you to be doing."

"But Kess needs help. He's hurt." Angela turned a pleading look in Dean's direction. "We save peeples Deanie. N that mean Kess too."

Dean wanted to groan at the look he was getting. It was ten times worse than the ones that Sam used to throw at him. Even as an adult… no she wheedled him in that tone of hers. The look was something else. He looked at Sam. "Angie…"

"Deanie." Angels managed to bounce run across the bed to stand in front of Dean. She still had the pleading look on her face. "It's Kess. Kess needs help. Youse help Cas n Cas sick but not sick."

As much as Sam didn't want to agree, he knew she was right on that account. On a side note she did have an interesting way of describing Castiel's situation. The whole thing put him and Dean in a hard spot since they were the ones that were reluctant to get her involved in the first place. Since the job with Jesse, this was the first time she wanted to get involved.

Dean looked at Sam and then down at Angela. He knew that he never could win with her. Granted that was the whole semantic thing she did but lately that had extended into the touchy feely thing. And that had been killer especially when she was sick.

Angela knew that she was pushing it. What Sam and Dean did was dangerous. She hadn't forgotten what the demon did when she met Jesse. She had been scared but she was also angry. She didn't like that they were almost hurt and that Jesse was hurt and it was logical. Here Kess was hurt and she wanted to help find him. She needed to help fix him. "I can fix. Kess needs fix."

Dean held the key in his hands and played with it. He had no idea what to do and he was certain that Bobby would be insistent on her not doing anything that was remotely related. He looked at Sam and silently asked his thoughts. His nails clicked on the carvings of the stone as he got Sam's silent reply and it wasn't helping that Angela was still begging with her expression. Bobby was going to kill him and if Ellen found out…

Sighing Dean said, "Alright, alright. You can help Angie but there are gonna be rules." He pointed at her to indicate he was being serious. He had learned from the last time when they asked Kesset to watch her. When he had her full attention he continued, "Rule number one, you listen to whatever me or Sam tells you and you do it. Okay?"

Angela nodded with a half serious and half smile on her face. "Uh-huh. Like when playing with Impa."

"Right."

Angela looked at the disks on the ground, studying them intently. Sam was sitting across from her on the floor, watching her. She had asked him to play with her and with the keys. It was an odd request but ever since she got her hands on the last one, she was curious about it. She kept playing with it in her hands after she took it from Dean. After a time she asked for the other ones. How she knew, it was anyone's guess.

Sam had suspicions that the more she interacted with the world she pretty much knew as an adult, the more things came to her. That included her powers as well. She still didn't understand them or the reasons why she could do things or how she knew things. She readily accepted his explanation about her and she used it to explain to Jesse what was going on. It was all how grown up version Angela would have done but it was different.

Angela frowned at the pieces much like a child prodigy would when faced with a challenging puzzle. Her left index finger kept tapping the one Gabriel had given her. She tapped it rhythmically while Samadean the bear sat in her lap. After a moment, she pushed the disk to the center of the area between her and Sam. Releasing it, she said, "Now youse put one."

Sam had no idea what to do but he was willing to entertain her while Dean worked out the logistics of actually summoning Morpheus though he suspected a little dream walking was going to be in play. Christian, Akira and Bobby were arguing as well over that and Castiel had gone saying that he would check for any sign of Loretta and her band of assholes on their tails. He looked at Angela and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Youse put one," Angela replied. She wasn't sure either but it seemed right and she wanted to play with Sam. "Youse put one n then me. Put together." She looked up at him like she was hoping what she said made sense.

It was always a guessing game when she had trouble picking out what she was trying to say about things. For the most part Sam and Dean were pretty good at it. She was like that in her normal size and she loved teasing Dean by being purposely enigmatic at times. This though Sam figured required a little more thought and the way she said put together… That felt like a clue.

Picking up one of the keys, Sam studied it. He was well aware that there was some Sumerian on it or some other language. He really couldn't read it and when asked, Cesare admitted that his were more tailored to his native tongue dating back to the 16th century. His brother Niccolo had learned the ancient languages and was more likely trying to impress Angela. Sam wasn't certainly going to discount that and he still wanted to stick to the guy and he was dead.

Sam looked at the scrolling and then picked up another and looked at it. He saw the same thing but there was something different about each one. He frowned much like Angela did and put them down to inspect them and the one that she had pushed to the center. What kind of puzzle did you create?

Sam had to admire Angela's intelligence. He always did. She just hid it under her sometimes gruff manner and a liking to do physical things like sparring or even practicing shooting the guns. Fighting brought out pleasure especially when she could stick it to the bastards that tormented her. When she showed how much she knew… it was funny and he got a kick out of it. She liked puzzles too and had fun reading Pickwick and telling them what was in the news. But it was her caring side that struck a nerve and in the good way and just watching her these past few months…

Peering at the remaining keys, Sam stared at them and looked at the center key. Looking at one, the fourth one, he looked at the center one, at particular a set of lines and squiggles. Having a thought, he pushed the key along the ground towards the one she pushed forward. He pushed it enough to make the edges touch and they seemed to click together though Sam was certain that it was just the two things clicking.

Angela was satisfied at what he picked. "Points for Sammy." She then started her stare off on the remaining keys.

It went back and forth while Dean was arguing to some extent that it was their best option to talk to the god of dreams and see if he could help. He did have to throw in that Angela said she wanted to help and was insistent on it. It was weak even in his ears.

"You do know that she is a master at manipulation, right?"

Dean sheepishly looked at Bobby, "So was Sam at that age. And he agrees." It was throwing Sam under the bus but they did both agree on her helping. "And we established some ground rules."

"Like that went well when you had Kess babysit her."

Akira was wisely staying out of it and she held her husband at bay too. He was still ruffled at the insinuation from Dean that he didn't care about Angela. She knew that her friend and husband had one of those relationships that sounded more insulting than anything but they depended upon each other. At least that was how she saw it when Christian described a few things to her. She did manage to whisper, "At least you aren't on the receiving end of Sam's glare."

That effectively stopped Christian. He was still grousing but he shot a look at his wife and raised his brow at her. She nodded and twitched her lip. At the moment she was amused by Dean getting chewed out by Bobby and the man had been to hell and back… literally.

Dean looked at Bobby, "Oh and I'm sure that whatever it was that zapped her out to that chick Kate's house was just better."

"Don't you raise your voice at me boy." Bobby glared up at Dean as he wheeled himself forward. "That was not under our control and don't think you're the only one that was worried sick about her disappearing. Here you are actively seeking trouble."

"Hey, the god knows Angie. He won't hurt her."

"Based on what? What you saw in a two minute glimpse in her life?" Bobby could see the merit in it but he was being more vocal about weighing the decision. "I don't know about you but that's hardly reassuring."

Dean knew where Bobby was getting at and he felt the same. The only way they were going to resolve this was to go forward with a plan. Granted he didn't like it that it was going to involve Angela in her state but… she was willing and seemed to be driven more by a need to help Kesset. He didn't doubt that she knew he was hurt; Castiel filled him in on that whole guardian-charge thing and he was grateful the angel did something to make it less severe for her. Bobby's attitude about the god though was something to consider, "And what is it about this god that you don't like?"

"He is worse than you think. You think Nick is bad with his humor? Ten times worse."

Dean thought he saw Sam tense up slightly at the mention of the warlock but he was preoccupied with Angela and they were playing with the keys. He wasn't sure what they were doing but as long as it kept Angela busy he was fine with it. "Look maybe with other folks but from what I got from that memory, he seems to like Angie. He won't hurt her."

"And how do you know that? If he does, what are you gonna do about it?"

That was the hard part. He knew that he was the impulsive one and rushed in when he felt his brother or sister threatened. He would fight tooth and nail and he had done it a bit stupidly too. Bobby had a point. What did he and Sam have against a god?

Akira decided to intervene and said, "Like any god Morpheus is temperamental but I do know that he does have a soft spot for Angie."

"Then maybe you can explain why he didn't help her when the damned demon kidnapped her."

Akira looked at the grizzled hunter who looked upset and Dean who had the tiniest bit of guilt showing on his face. She had read the report Austin had filed and she was able to take a guess on a few things. She replied, "Even gods can be made to serve the whims of others if you know how to do it. I'm guessing that's what happened previously?"

"Ask the old guy," Dean pointed out. "Don't remember much." It was a bit of a lie there but he wasn't willing to go into the whole thing. It was his way of saying to leave him alone and he didn't want to talk about it.

Akira nodded more out of understanding that it was a difficult time there. She wouldn't ask questions. She instead turned back to the original question. "So, since it is a sort of majority against Chris using direct contact to retrieve a memory and no offense to capabilities, the best bet is to summon Morpheus. The upside is that Angie is willing."

"She's a four year old. She's not gonna understand the implications," Bobby protested.

"Oh I think she understood pretty well," Dean dropped He had been tapping his fingers together more out of nervous energy. "She knows Kess is in trouble and that's all she cares about. That and making sure Sam's feelings aren't hurt."

"Does she really, Dean? You know that it's like talking to a child when she's her normal size."

"And you just don't want Ellen to find out."

Bobby grumbled at that. That was one of the reasons. That woman had a way of sniffing out if there was trouble. It was like she knew Angela was sick not too long ago and pestered him for a report on what the boys were doing. He made a face at Dean and would have wheeled off to 'pout' but he wasn't going to give Dean that luxury. "Fine but how are ya gonna talk to him. Ya know he doesn't leave his realm."

"Youse did it Sammy," Angela's little voice exclaimed happily. "Now youse can see."

Everyone turned to see Angela beaming while Sam pushed the last key into place. Sam was frowning at it and it cleared into an expression that Dean knew well. "Oh… that works," Sam said as he looked down at what was completed.

A/N: Looks like Sam and Dean are no match for Angie's puppy eyes and looks like they might have something with regards to the keys. Keep watching for more Memory Resolved...