Chapter 9: Her-story
Bithiel glanced around briefly and retrieved a hand towel from the table. The men watched anxiously as the angel quietly wiped her Blade clean. Laying it down gently, she tried to clean the bloody hand as best as possible.
"Ya know, I must say, I'm rather impressed. I didn't expected Mystery Inc to solve the riddle so quickly." She caustically mused, approaching the desk. "Hey there, Fred" A devilish smile got thrown at Dean. "Lose your glasses, Velma?" To which Bobby simply flipped her off.
"Aw. And look! They even brought their pup named Scooby-doo, too!" Sam swatted uselessly when the angel ruffled his hair.
"Hilarious! Watched too many cartoons as a kid, huh?" He grinned deviously, "Oh, wait! You were never a kid… Cause your just another dick with wings!"
The tentative merriment vanished from Bithiel's eyes.
"I was a kid, asshole!" She threw nod at the book on the desk. "Weren't paying attention to Bobby's Bible school lesson, huh? I was born - like the rest of you - went to school - hell, I was the head of the 4-H in 8th grade. I had friends. Even went to vo-tech for auto repair." The angel's voice raised slightly with each new word. "Meet a great guy I married - who died of a frigging heart attack at 37 years old! 37! We had two beautiful boys. My oldest? Frigging computer whiz! He wanted to be an EMT and save people! My baby? Running Back for his little league football team 3 years running! He wanted to be in the Army and maybe someday …get this…be President! To change the world for the better! They were 13 and 8 when that drunken bastard rammed his Ford into my Dodge.6 months to the day after Ja…! 13 and 8!" Pulling a wallet from a back pocket, she ripped out a tattered photo and flung it at Sam. A tall good-looking guy stood behind a grinning Bithiel who had two handsome boys sitting on her lap. A lovely family portrait of happier days. The youngest hunter could only close his eyes with a shake of his head as he passed the picture to his brother who handed it to Bobby, both guys having the same reaction as the first.
"What happened after…?" Bobby tried to ask handing the photo to the despairing woman. She snatched it back, jamming it into the wallet again.
Silently, the angel stalked to the kitchen table and reverently hefted her Angel Blade. Turning it over and running a finger along the edges, she quietly answered, "Three months of depression, anti-psychotics, and alcohol. Sometimes all at once! And a lot - A LOT - of praying. For strength. For guidance. God, for frigging sanity! But surprise, surprise! Never any answer. One night, I got tired and pissed with the silence. Grabbed my husband's 12 gauge and pocketfuls of pumpkin ball shells and headed to the local Catholic church." Bithiel turned, looking each one in the face before playing with the long knife again. "Got ballsy. Figured I'd try an ultimatum. Answer me …or I'd blow the place a part. If I still didn't get one, I'd go from church to church an tear them all apart till someone up there got off their ass. Had too much religion to blow my own skull off."
The eldest hunter snickered, having felt exactly like that countless times. "And how'd that work for ya?"
"Well, after five minutes of screaming and three rounds at the alter…" She looked up from hooded eyes, "That's when Castiel swooped in. Just… Poof! Right in front of my eyes, right in front of the freaking huge crucifix behind the alter. Announced," doing her best impression, "I am Castiel, angel of the Lord. And I have heard your cries." The four of them broke out with uneasy laughter in memories.
Dean couldn't resist asking, "And your response was…?"
"Probably not far from your first one, I bet! It was along the lines of 'Yeah, right! Get the hell outta here! What would an angel want from me?'"
Sobering up slightly, the angel continued, "He offered a 'help me/help you' thing. Go with him and help him with some kinda ritual that would save the world and he'd reveal my true destiny, give me purpose in my life again. A higher one then I could have ever thought."
"The Purgatory ritual. He enlisted a bound Earth Angel suffering human anguish to help open the damned door." Bobby shot up from his chair in protest.
"So?" She dismissed his outrage. "He got what he wanted. The souls. I got what he promised. Unbound, I finally know who I really am and have my purpose. Pretty much… I'm the right hand of our new God! And don't forget the awesome bonus!"
Sam raised from the edge of the desk wondering, "And what's the 'bonus'?"
Bithiel gave him a genuine smile of joy.
"I'm with my big brother again!"