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The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.

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A Wandering Boy

Chapter 23

Back Home in Sioux Falls

From Chapter 22

"Brother," Zachariah said. "I think you should look into this matter yourself. You have a dependable second in command, I assume."

"Yes," Castiel responded. "Rachael is more than capable of commanding the garrison."

Zachariah nodded in agreement. "Good. Then I suggest that you are to go to Earth, to the place you were seen and talk to this Pastor Gentry of Sioux Falls, South Dakota who reported your appearance in his prayers. He is a good man. Please find his error and return to me. I will report your findings to the upper choir. Good hunting."

This was how the Angel Castiel was authorized to visit Earth; to appear before a human and even speak to the man. He was to search out the Pastor Gentry's error and attempt to reveal the meaning of such an odd report. He extended his wings and disappeared.

Chapter 23

Sam and Cas settled comfortably onto the Impala's soft bench seat and Sam turned the car for home. Flying east into the rising sun a sense of peace filled the car. Sam rested his arm on the window sill and welcomed the warmth on his arm. How long had he driven these roads alone? He glanced over at Cas and caught a smile from his partner. How strange, he thought.

Since John's death Sam had become even more withdrawn than ever. Other than Bobby's apprentice Hunters the most human contact he had other than the older Hunter were most likely waitresses. Here and there he had picked up girls in bars; half drink himself and definitely the girls were also. He had used their bodies for a purely physical release. If he remembered their names after they climbed out of his bed they were the rare ones. His emotional life had turned to ice. Even though he hated his abusive father with every fiber of his being, at least the man had been someone to talk to on these long drives from hunt to hunt.

Now he had Cas, a real live Angel as his Hunting partner. Cas was potentially even more than a Partner; he was fast becoming a lover. He also had, in a way, his lost brother back. This new Dean was writing over the pile of ashes that had been Sam's little brother for so long. He had a family and they loved him. Now he had something to fight for. He was now no longer as empty as the spirits he fought.

"So, Cas," Sam said as he entered I-90 smoothly. "We have a long road to travel. Tell me about Heaven. Help me understand."

Cas extended his arm along the back of the seat and ran his fingers through Sam's hair. He then began to speak. "When light first broke throughout the universe the Creator sat on his throne and his Archangels and angels sang his praise and all was right and good. The angels broke into spheres and choirs and the most beautiful and powerful of all angels were the Archangels; Michael, the warrior and defender of the Throne, Gabriel, the Messenger of god and Annunciator to the Worlds, Raphael, the healer of woes and, most beautiful of all, Lucifer, the Morning Star."

Sam laughed. "You answer a question like a Navaho shaman. Ask a Shaman about the weather and he will start with the creation of the world."

Cas smiled back. "I agree. To truly understand the world you always need to begin at the beginning and find out how you arrived at today."

"Fine," Sam responded and rubbed his cheek against Cas's fingers. "Go on. I assume after the creation of the universe we will eventually get to the part where you decided to destroy it and come to this one."

"All the universes start the same way, Sam." Cas said seriously. "They only differ in the details. Dean and I managed to take advantage of one of those details to escape and find you."

Cas lay his head back on the seat and continued to play with Sam's hair. "The Creator decided to try to produce creatures that could, themselves, create. In that moment men were borne, with the power to dream and create from nothing great plans: the ability to think into the future and see the outcome of their plans. So was born ambition and the desire for power, power to make dreams take form and exist."

"This turned out to be a bad idea?" Sam asked.

"No, no. It was a good idea." Cas responded. "What went wrong was the fault of the Angels. The Angels observed the making of men and the freedom of choice given to them. They felt for the first time, jealousy and the craving for power of their own. Thus the spheres of angels were cracked and broken and they no longer knew their place. Their songs failed and the music wavered."

As Cas and Sam drove on through the morning Cas related the fall of the Morning Star, the creation of Hell, a place where God was not, and the rebellion of those Angels questing for the paradise that they had themselves destroyed.

They drove on, discussing Heaven's plans, man's place in the universe and other questions of faith and science until Sam ran out of questions.

They stopped for lunch just before crossing the Missouri. The diner Sam picked seemed familiar and welcoming. When they stepped inside Sam realized he had been there before. There weren't that many choices in Chamberlain and the hostess was one of those woman who Sam vaguely remembered taking to bed. She definitely remembered Sam and the look she gave the Hunter and Cas should have knocked Sam dead. Cas, of course, didn't have a clue and went on being friendly, charming and so obviously a very good friend of Sam's.

Their waitress was initially interested in the blue eyed Angel and was flirting with all she had. Flirting with Cas, Sam noticed, was like fliting with Mt. Rushmore. Mr. Stoneface on the other side of the table was not picking up on a single innuendo. Sam noticed the hostess giving their waitress a hip check and whispering in her ear. After that the flirting stopped and they finished their lunch in peace.

It was just about 3 Pm when they finally were approaching the Singer Salvage entrance. As they got close enough Sam noticed two men standing under what he thought of as Cas's tree beside the road. One man was a local Pastor. Sam thought he was called Pastor Gentry. The other man had his back to them. The second man was wearing a beige trench coat just like the one that Cas had.

At the sight of the men Cas suddenly dived for the floor of the car, obviously hiding. Sam looked over in surprise.

"Don't' look at me, Sam." Cas hissed. "Pretend you're alone and don't stare at the man in the trench coat." Cas reached over and wrapped his fingers around Sam's ankle. "I am momentarily releasing the sigils on your ribs. I'll tell you why when we're inside Bobby's house.

"Ok," Sam replied. "It's your party."

As he drove past the men Sam casually glanced over. He was so startled he almost missed the driveway. The man in the trench coat was another Cas.

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Dean and his posse were on the porch when Sam drove up in the Impala. Dean leaned over the rrailing, wondering where Cas was. Bobby had heard the car coming up the driveway and he stepped out to greet the returning Hunters too. They were both surprised when Cas's head popped up into sight over the edge of the dashboard. Dean didn't understand and Bobby thought he did. They had completely different reactions.

Megan had claimed the porch swing as her throne while Kerman and Jerry were sitting on the top step. Bobby had given all the kids popsicles a few minutes before and so they were all gathered on the porch for the Hunters' arrival.

Cas shot out of the car and up the steps, hardly pausing to say hello to the group. He took off down the hallway like the house was on fire and he had the hose. Sam climbed the steps more slowly and stopped at the top to greet Bobby and Dean. He smiled at Jerry and Kerman and grinned at Megan.

"Did you decide to throw a party while we were gone, Bobby?" Sam asked.

"No, I decided that the yard wasn't bringing in enough cash. I opened a day care center." Bobby grumped back. "What's up with Cas?'

"I'm sorry to bust up the party but you and Dean need to come with me to find Cas. Something's happened." Sam said. "I think he's most likely down in the panic room." With that the tall Hunter headed in to the house to track down his partner.

Bobby looked at Dean. "Well come on, boy. Let's go find out what's got your Dads' tails in a twist."

Bobby looked at the rest of the kids. "You guys just stay here for a minute. I think Dean might be right back out but if not, just wait for us. We'll be back."

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Sam entered the panic room to find Cas exactly where he expected. "What's going on Cas?"

"Are Bobby and Dean coming down?" the Angel dodged the question. "We all need to be aware of a new problem."

Just then Bobby appeared in the doorway with Dean behind him. "Here we are, as ordered. Remember that Dean has all his friends outside so make it quick before they get into trouble."

"Tell them what you saw, Sam.' Cas waved his hand at Bobby and Dean.

"I saw another Cas down under the tree at the bottom of the driveway. That Pastor Gentry was with him. I almost hit one of the gate pillars I was so surprised." Sam said quickly.

"Another Cas?" Bobby questioned. "What's up Cas? What's going on?"

"if you will remember when I first appeared I was seriously concerned about being revealed to your Heaven. I think that in spite of our care somehow this Earth's Heaven has been alerted. The man in the trench coat out on the road is the Castiel of this universe. We were very lucky to get by him so easily. We need to find out why he is here." Cas looked at Sam. "Sam. you appeared to recognize the man that the Angel was with. Do you know his name?"

"I think it was the Pastor from the church down the road. Pastor Gentry is his name, I think" Sam looked at Bobby. "Am I right? Do you know him?"

Bobby removed his ball cap and ran his fingers through his hair. "You're right. His name is Gentry. He is a good man if a little too convinced in the righteous of his cause. He's a bit of a proselytizer."

"I see," Cas murmured. "A good man convinced of his cause. He's just the type of man whose prayers are likely to be answered by Heaven. Someone needs to go see the Pastor and find out why he's associating with Angels. I would think that should be you, Bobby."

"Yeah, I agree," Bobby said thoughtfully. "I don't see the Pastor opening up to Sam and he already knows me. He regards me as some kind of tainted Christian and he's sure that he doesn't approve of a lot of the books in my library. However, we have had a few good conversations. I'm pretty sure I can get him to tell me how he's started hanging out with an Angel. In the meantime though, what do we do about this?"

"Until we know more we should simply go about our normal lives." Cas answered. "I will stay in this room until we are sure the Angel is gone. There is no way that he will not notice me no matter how much I lower my power. He will feel my grace and short of death, I can't go any lower."

"I am going to deaden the effect of the Enochian sigils on all of you. If this Angel is suddenly running into people hidden from him by Heaven's own language it will simply create more problems. Remember, this Angel is me. I know how he will think and can predict much of how he will respond to events. The first step towards a solution is a visit to the Pastor."

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Pastor Gentry sat in his office composing his Sunday sermon. He was going to use the congregant friendly form of a homily to deliver his message. He spoke clearly of his vision of an angel on the road to Sioux Falls the prior week. The angel had looked like a man but Pastor Gentry was one of the people, one of the special people, who could hear the voice and see the wings of Angels.

He was a good man and a faithful man, who cared for his flock and believed whole heartedly in the blessings of Heaven. He had seen the Angel standing under an oak tree at the side of the road and praised God for providing him with this reward for his faith.

Today the Angel had visited him and told him that was he had previously seen was a vision of the true Angel's arrival. They had gone out together to the oak tree by the Salvage Yard's driveway and his vision was proved accurate.

Now he wanted to pass the Good Tidings along to his flock. There is a Heaven, there are Angels, there is always reason to Hope.