In the months before my assignment and after the Archangel's command, the first thing I did was locate my vessel, Jimmy Novak. It had been years since I had last visited him, and I was unsure of what to expect. I knew he was still alive- I felt it- but what if he had lost faith? What if he had turned away? Humans were notorious for their pettiness, as well as devotion.
It was evening when I found him, and he had moved into a different house, but it was in the same small town. I was a bit surprised to find other people, new people, with him. As I watched, they appeared to know each other, setting the table for their evening meal. There was a young girl and another woman. It took me a while to register who those people were:
His family. Jimmy had a family now, a daughter and a wife; and here I was, a stranger, about to ask him to leave it all behind.
They sit down, and the girl reaches for some bread across the table before her father goes,
"Claire." Claire takes her hand back obediently and places it in her father's, giving me a moment to observe her as Jimmy says grace over their meal.
It ran in her blood too, the power to be an angelic vessel.
"Bless this food, oh Lord, and ourselves to thy loving service that we may always continue in thy faith and fear to the honor and glory of thy name. Amen. "
"Amen."
So, he was still faithful. More than that; he had brought his entire family into the devoted service of the Lord. Guilt threatened to creep onto me, gnawing at me from the inside, but I pushed it down. I knew my duty and I had to do.
They ate, then moved about in their activities before saying grace once again and retiring for the night. From what I saw, Jimmy dearly loved his family. He went upstairs to say goodnight to Claire, a tradition I've often seen among humans, whether or not the night was actually good. Then, he went and kissed his wife before going downstairs and turning to a religious channel. Soon, though, he fell asleep, leaving me to prepare myself for what I was about to say. This would be the first time that I, his guardian, would make my presence known to him. What if he had forgotten me? What if he didn't believe what I was about to tell him? I doubted if he would even be able to understand me. Perhaps he was strong enough to hear my voice, if I called to him. It was worth a try.
The screen of the television flickered and cast a blue glow over his sleeping form as I landed softly in the room, partially manifested, yet still invisible to the human eye. The television began to hum lightly, static bending in response to my presence.
"I could see my head sticking out from underneath the front bumper. My eyes were closed, my head was turned to the right side, and on each side of me is an angel, and, uh – "
The voices murmured on in the screen, fading to unintelligible white noise as I began to speak to Jimmy, softly at first, in Enochian.
"Awaken, Jimmy Novak."
The screen goes completely white, static wavering across it in a dull drone. Jimmy stirs, his consciousness submerging from its slumber as he stands up and walks past me to the television.
"What the heck?"
That was a reply I expected. He did not seem to be suffering from any ill effects yet, so I spoke a little louder, yet cautiously,
"Jimmy Novak. Can you hear me? My name-"
The static increases in pitch, just a nuisance to me, but Jimmy does not seem to be taking it very well. He stumbles, trying to turn off the television, to little effect.
"My name is Castiel. Listen to me, Jimmy, past the noise."
The whine of static is now nearly ear-splitting, and he has fallen to his knees, but I press on. If he cannot understand me, then he might not be strong enough to contain me. I must continue.
"This is only a test. Do not be afraid, for you are my vessel."
He is now convulsing on the ground, about to lose consciousness. Perhaps I have gone too far. His wife would have heard the disturbance by now and would be coming down. Perhaps he was not strong enough-
"Castiel?"
I stop where I was, about to leave. I turn and see Jimmy, now sitting upright with his face upturned towards the ceiling as if I was hovering over him. I was right beside him, but I guess this would have to do. I would have breathed a sigh of relief then, if I could.
"Is that your name? Who are you?" Jimmy asks, wincing as he slowly rose to his feet.
"Hello Jimmy. I am Castiel, and I am an angel of the Lord."
He doesn't seem surprised.
"Why are you here?"
"Because Heaven requires your service. You have been called upon by the Lord for a higher purpose."
Jimmy swallows, deep in thought. His eyes flicker to the screen of the television, now dark. He lifts his head again, about to speak, when from upstairs comes the voice of his wife,
"Jimmy? Are you okay? What was that noise?"
"I-I'm alright, Ames. I just fell from the couch, that's all. I'll be up in a second." There are some shuffling noises as the wife obliges, and there is silence once again. I briefly wonder if Jimmy thinks I have gone, but I know he can now sense my presence. Before he can talk, I say,
"We will speak again." That is all, and I go, leaving Jimmy alone to think. If there was one thing that I had learned from observing humans, it was that they often needed a lot of time to think.
I came back a few days later. It was morning, and Jimmy was beside the door as Claire and his wife, Amelia, walk out.
"See you two after work," Jimmy says, planting a kiss on her cheek, then doing the same to his daughter, who smiles up at him,
"Bye, Daddy."
"Have fun at school, kiddo."
He waves at them as they leave the house, then turns to his coat rack and retrieves his own overcoat, readying to leave.
"Jimmy."
He stops in his tracks, coat half over his shoulder. He turns slowly, head tilted up.
"Castiel? Is that you?"
"Yes."
Jimmy takes a deep breath, and it becomes evident to me that he has been preparing what to say for the past few days. I expected a long string of questions, demands, maybe even profanity, pouring out like a tidal wave over a dam, but all that came out was a simple,
"Why me?"
"Because it is in your blood."
"But I-I'm just a man. I mean, I sell ad time for A.M radio…It's in my blood? What does that mean?"
Jimmy has now removed his coat and hung it back on the rack. He goes to the dining room, pulling out a chair before sitting down in another one.
"Oh and uhm, would you like to take a seat?"
Though there was really no need to sit, as angels are wavelengths and thus have no need of rest, I still sat down before continuing,
"You have been chosen by God because you are strong, Jimmy. Not many humans can hear or understand an angel's voice without suffering harm."
Jimmy winced at the memory, hand going to his ear without him realizing it.
"So, uh, that was your voice, that first night? Couldn't you have toned it down a bit?"
"I had to know for sure if you were chosen."
"Chosen…for what?"
"To be taken into the service of the Lord. That is what you have been praying for, yes?"
Jimmy nodded, still trying to process the conversation.
"So…you've been with me, my entire life?"
"Yes. Since you were an infant."
Jimmy lets out a small noise, a smile crossing his face. I was confused, but now I understand it to be mild disbelief.
"Were you the one who saved me from that car? And…that day at the lake?"
I reply yes to all of them.
"And those bullies, too."
Jimmy's expression is one of wonder.
We spoke many more times after that, whenever Jimmy had the time to. We spoke about history, about my life as an angel, about God and Heaven. Days, then weeks passed, and something of a bond grew between us. Of course, I was too proud then to admit it.
Another time, Jimmy was preparing food in the kitchen, a pot of water steaming beside him. He was nearly ready to be told his true purpose, but I had to know one more thing. He had to prove his faith to me and to Heaven.
"Jimmy Novak." The radio to the side begins to hum, voices distorted as my own voice replaces it. Now expecting it, he goes to it and listens intently.
"There is one final test. You must prove your faith in God. Place your hand in the boiling water, and I will protect you from any harm."
The radio returns to a normal pitch. Jimmy straightens, eyes turning to the stove.
"If that is what the Lord commands," he says softly. He lets out a breath, preparing himself; then he rolls up his sleeve and goes directly to the pot, dropping his hand in without hesitation.
He did it.
I was already there, my ethereal hands around his physical ones, protecting them from the scalding water. It reminded me of that one time, long ago, when one of my brothers had been sent to protect Shadrach, Meshach, and Abnego from the blazing furnace of King Nebuchadnezzar. Now here I was, doing the same.
Then, there was the sound of things crashing to the ground.
"What the hell are you doing!?"
We both look, and see Amelia standing in the doorway. Her expression is nothing short of petrified, mouth agape in shock. Food has been spilled all over the floor from the bag she had been holding. The sudden dropping of objects is often used as a method to convey surprise, though I never understood the purpose of it. Jimmy must have not told her yet of my existence.
"It's okay. I'm okay." His free hand is up in a mollifying gesture. The other hand was still in the water, and he stares at it in amazement. The wife, however, thinks otherwise.
"Jimmy," Amelia hisses.
"Look."
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing's wrong. He asked me to do it." It was becoming more and more apparent that Amelia was going to try to wrestle him away. Or faint. Or both.
"Who asked you to do it?" Perhaps she thought she would be able to take down the one who asked him, even if they were a wavelength of pure energy. If anything got out of hand, I could just-
"Castiel, to prove my faith. Look," Jimmy takes his hand from the burning water, showing the unblemished arm to his wife, "I'm fine. It's a miracle." He smiles, but Amelia still stares with disbelief.
"Who's Castiel?"
She thought he was mad. She thought something had gone wrong in his head. But it was far from that; he could hear me and speak with me. He was even stronger than I had expected.
But Amelia was stubborn, refusing to understand. I had a kind of jealousy over Jimmy now, and I knew that this feeling was a sin. Lucifer was jealous.
Many nights later, I came and watched as they quarreled between each other. Claire was upstairs, wide awake, listening to her parents…well, parent, after tonight. The same guilt from weeks before caught me by surprise. I struggled with it, unaware that Jimmy had now gone outside and was standing at the doorstep.
"So, I wanna to help you. I'm about to lose my family here if you don't tell me how… Please, Castiel, just talk to me. What do you want from me?"
The time was now. I dissipated the remains of my guilt, looking down on him.
"Jimmy Novak, you have been chosen to be a vessel of the Lord, to contain the essence of an angel until you have completed your duty. Do you know what that means?"
"Yes, I understand. Promise my family will be okay and I'll do it."
"I promise."
"Then…yes."
At that single word, the word that I had been waiting for, I fully manifested myself. In a flash of celestial power, I enter into the body of Jimmy Novak.
My name is Jimmy Novak. I was born to Alexander and Josephine Novak on July 10, 1973. I-
I am an angel of the Lord. A divine being created by God. I serve Heaven.
My consciousness is momentarily overwhelmed by the surge of foreign awareness. I had a new body; one that was all too physical, too mortal. But not anymore. I am stronger. I am eternal. This is my body now. I feel Jimmy's soul fade into the darkness, slipping from consciousness as he falls into a deep and profound sleep, until he is nothing more than a throb of energy in the back of my mind.
I lift my hand. It is a strange sensation.
There is a sound behind me, dulled by these human ears.
"Daddy?"
I turn. It is Claire, one hand on the door, as if beckoning me back in. I have a sudden, instinctive urge to walk to my daughter- no, no, Jimmy's daughter- and pull her into an embrace. To kiss her forehead. To tell her how sorry I was and how much I would miss her. To tell her to take care of Mom. Jimmy didn't even get the chance to say goodbye-
But I tilt my head, confusion passing through my eyes. No, she was just another human to me now. I had a greater purpose to fulfill. I turn away and leave without another glance.
"I am not your father."
This...this has actually been my favorite chapter to type yet. All the feels. I hope you felt the same way! :')