Beth glanced between Dean and Castiel in disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, Castiel had tricked Anna into meeting him and gotten her captured and dragged upstairs to Heaven's prison. Because apparently, Heaven has a prison. For angels. Beth didn't even know why she was so surprised at that information. Apparently, the red haired angel had gotten in touch with Dean through his dreams.
"Well, I guess that makes sense then. Now I know why I haven't heard from her in a while," Beth murmured as she leaned back against the table and folded her arms over her chest.
"Beth, you need to understand that this was before I joined your side, before I started to think for myself," Castiel explained urgently. "I regret what I did to Anna but there is no possible way she could escape from Heaven's jail. The only way she got out was because she was let out."
"By who? The archangels?" Sam asked, slipping easily into the conversation.
"It's a possibility, though I don't know why they would release her," Castiel replied. "I don't know what they could gain from it."
"I bet she's gone rogue," Jesse piped up from the couch where he was playing on an old games console. "Like Castiel did, but she's probably not actually following their orders. She's probably following her own rules now."
The adults in the room all shared contemplative looks at Jesse's words. Beth scrubbed a hand across her face tiredly.
"What are we gonna do then?" Beth asked. "If Jesse's right that means Anna's now our enemy and we have to do something."
"I will go and meet her. Alone," Castiel replied, and almost immediately, all three Winchester siblings were all shouting their disagreement, telling Cas that he was crazy if he thought they were gonna let him go to meet a potentially dangerous angel on his own and that if would be safer if he took one of them with him. "Enough. I am doing this on my own." He glanced between them all. "You are too important to risk losing against Anna should it turn into a fight. I can handle Anna myself."
"…Cas, can I talk to you outside?" Beth questioned quietly. Castiel nodded in acceptance, looking only at her as he followed her from the motel room and shut the door behind them. Beth waited till they passed the window before she took his hand and led him down the row of motel rooms and around a corner so they weren't at risk of her brothers catching them.
Beth released his hand and leaned against the wall, tipping her head back and closing her eyes briefly. When she reopened them, Castiel was hovering over her, looking down at her in concern. "I don't want you to go," she said, swallowing down a lump in her throat. Her hands moved to clutch the lapels of his trench coat. "What if she hurts you? Or she… she kills you and I don't get a chance to say goodbye?"
"Nothing's going to happen," Castiel told her reassuringly. The angel felt a strange tightness in his vessel's chest as Beth's eyes filled with unwanted tears. "I won't leave any of you. I won't leave you behind."
"Promise me," Beth demanded, staring into his blue eyes. "Promise me that you'll be careful. That you'll run if she tries to hurt you."
"I promise," the angel murmured. The two of them were content to just gaze at each other for a moment, feeling like a weight had lifted from both of their chests. Beth slipped her arms around his neck, her fingers tracing the short hairs at the back of his head as he moved closer and they kissed. Castiel's hands went to her hips, curling around the bones and pulling her to him.
It only lasted a few seconds but it was enough to take Beth's breath away and send her heart racing and she found herself pulling away from the angel in an attempt to get her heartbeat to return to normal and her breathing to calm down.
"W-We should probably get back to the others," Beth panted, her cheeks flushing red. "They might come looking for us."
"Yes, we should go back," Castiel agreed, though neither of them made any effort to move. Beth sighed and then stepped out of Cas' hold, glancing quickly around the corner to make sure her brothers or Jesse weren't going to come looking before she turned back to the angel.
"Are you sure I can't convince you to let me go with you?" Beth asked, already knowing that he was going to refuse again.
"No. I can't risk you," Castiel whispered, suddenly overwhelmed at the feeling of fear that filled him at the thought of Beth getting hurt. "Not you."
"I'll be okay," Beth promised as she took his hand. "You don't need to worry about me."
"I'll always worry about you," Castiel thought but he didn't say it. He just weaved his fingers through hers and followed her back towards the motel room.
The next time Beth saw Castiel, a few hours had passed. She was sitting on the floor by the TV with Jesse beside her, their eyes locked firmly on the screen as the commercial ended and Happy Days came back on.
The fluttering of wings didn't even break the two hybrids' focus. Dean and Sam chuckled and rolled their eyes when Beth and Jesse merely grunted back at Castiel when the angel greeted them.
"What are they doing?" Castiel asked curiously.
"Watching Happy Days," Sam explained, glancing fondly at his half-sister when she turned and shushed them before looking back at the TV. The angel and the two humans lowered their voices as they began discussing what had occurred between Castiel and Anna earlier that day.
"Really? Anna?" Dean asked after Castiel had finished speaking. The angel started drawing on the table nearby with some white chalk, Dean walked over to him with a frown on his face. "I can't believe it."
"Well, it's true," Castiel replied, glancing briefly at Dean.
"So, she's gone all Glenn Close, huh? Awesome."
"Who's Glenn Close?" Castiel asked, looking up from his drawing.
Dean turned away for a second to make sure Beth and Jesse were still preoccupied with the TV before he looked to Castiel. "No one. Just a psycho bitch who likes to boil rabbits," he explained as he moved back towards Sam.
"The plan to kill me, would it really stop Lucifer?" Sam asked, sitting on the bed near the window.
"Don't even ask something like that," Beth scolded from beside Sam. Her lips twitched into an amused smirk as her brothers jumped in surprise at her sudden appearance.
"Don't do that Beth!" Dean snapped, sending a glare at her, though it lacked any heat.
"Cas, does Anna have a point?" Sam asked over the bickering of his siblings.
"…No," Castiel replied after sharing a brief look with Beth and Dean. "She's, uh, she's Glenn Close."
Sam seemed to know Castiel was being dishonest but he nodded anyway, looking down at his hands as Beth wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"I don't get it, why are we even looking for the chick that wants to gank Sam? I mean, why poke the bear?"
"Anna will keep trying," Castiel informed them. "She won't give up until Sam is dead. So, we kill her first."
They watched with baited breath as Castiel started chanting in Enochian, eyes fixed solely on the table in front of him. When the angel suddenly staggered and almost fell over, Beth went to him immediately and grabbed his arm, preventing him from falling.
"Cas, are you okay?" Beth whispered, meeting his eyes in concern.
"I found her," Castiel said, brows furrowing in confusion.
"Where?" Dean asked eagerly.
"Not where… when," Castiel corrected. "It's 1978."
"What?" Sam asked, alarmed as he shot to his feet. "Why 1978? I wasn't even born yet."
"That's the point," Beth realized, gaining three pairs of eyes on her. "If she kills your mom and our dad, none of us will be born."
"Beth's right," Castiel said with a nod. "Anna can't get to you because of me, so she's going after them."
"Take us back, now," Dean ordered. Beth glared up at him, jabbing him roughly in the ribs for his rudeness.
"And deliver you to Anna?" Castiel retorted sharply. "I should go alone."
"They're our parents. We're going," Dean argued back.
"It's not that easy."
"Why not?" Sam asked, always the calmer of the two Winchester brothers.
"Time travel is difficult," Castiel explained quietly. "Even with the powers of Heaven at my disposal."
"Which you don't have any more," Beth murmured, tightening her grip on his arm.
"So, you're like a delorean without enough plutonium?" Dean surmised with a frown.
"I don't understand that reference," Cas said flatly, briefly setting his hand over Beth's and squeezing her fingers before releasing them. "But I'm telling you, taking this trip, with passengers no less, it'll weaken me."
"They're our mom and dad," Dean said back, desperation covering his face. "If we can save them, and not just from Anna, I mean if we can set things right, we have to try."
Beth's eyebrows dipped down in frustration, her brother wasn't even listening to Castiel. And besides, if they did set things right, Mary Winchester would live. John would never meet Kate Milligan and Beth and Adam would never be born. They would literally just disappear, cease to exist. Did Dean really wish that? That he could get his parents back even if it meant sacrificing his two, younger half siblings? In a way, Beth could sort of understand it, she would do the same if it meant getting her mom and twin back, or at least, she would've done the same, had she not met Sam and Dean. Now? She wasn't sure she'd be able to do it knowing she was going to lose the two big brothers she'd grown to love and respect. But it was the looks of hope and desperation that flickered through her brothers' eyes that had her making a quick decision.
"Use me," Beth said loudly, gaining the attention of her brothers and Castiel.
"What are you––?" Dean cut off as Beth held up a hand to silence him.
"My grace," Beth continued, looking to Castiel. "You can use it to power up yours. It should last long enough to get us there and back again."
"Would it work?" Sam asked the angel curiously.
"Absolutely not," Castiel said firmly. He kept his gaze locked on Beth's, ignoring the others in the room. "It has never been done before. It's far too dangerous. There are possible risks involved with this sort of thing."
"Risks? What risks?" Dean asked, interrupting the staring match between the angel and Nephilim. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Castiel turned to Dean and Sam, crossing his arms over his chest. "Even if her grace could strengthen mine, there's a chance that I could take too much of her grace and it could kill her."
"You've done it before," Beth pointed out, trying not to show just how much his words had affected her. "When you healed my wounds from when Lucifer threw me into a tree."
"That was a very small task," Castiel explained. "And I wasn't drawing power from you, I simply manipulated your grace to make you heal yourself."
"It doesn't matter," Beth replied, shaking her head. She glanced at her brothers quickly. "I'm going to do this. I have to do it."
Sam and Dean shared a look of disbelief, both of them wondering how Beth could even be willing to do such a thing knowing it could kill her. Beth didn't even give them a chance to argue, she knew what she had to do.
"I'm doing it," she told them in no uncertain terms. She looked around at all three of them before focusing on Castiel. "And none of you can stop me."
"Castiel, if this does kill me, I don't want you to feel guilty or blame yourself," Beth said firmly, causing the angel to look up in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe what she was saying. The two of them were walking slowly away from the motel room because Castiel had a few things he had to collect before they could attempt the trip back in time. "I knew what I was getting myself into when I suggested it. I know the risks but I'm doing this for Sam and Dean, if there's a chance they can save their parents and put their family back together again, I have to try." She took a step to the left so she was closer to him, their arms brushing together. She exhaled softly as she looked up at the sky, watching a flock of birds fly by. "I know they don't understand why I'm doing this and I know they'll try and lay the blame on you if anything happens to me but this was my decision, you didn't make me do anything and I want you to remind them that whose idea it was in the first place. If something does happen to me, I want you to remind them that I'm 19 years old, I am a big girl capable of making her own choices."
"Dean won't accept that," Castiel pointed out. Beth's lips twitched into an amused smile in response.
"Dean's as stubborn as hell," Beth snorted, rolling her eyes. "He'll be mad at first but eventually he'll see. Eventually, he'll know there was nothing he––or any of you––could have done to change my mind. I've made my decision and that's all there is to it. Besides, there's nothing worthier of dying for than family. Especially when your family is three of the best supernatural hunters out there, another hybrid and an angel like you."
"You think of me as family?" Castiel asked, sounding surprisingly touched, even as his brows furrowed.
"Well, yeah. Didn't you know that?" Beth replied as her smile turned into a frown. "I thought you knew that I wouldn't trade you for any other angel. You're our family now too. If that wasn't clear enough, we'll just have to do more to show you we need you around."
"Thank you," Castiel said quietly, looking down at her. Beth graced him with a wide smile, the dimples in her cheeks growing more pronounced with the action.
"Anytime," she replied, her eyes lighting up as he returned her smile. "Now, I suppose I should let you go and get whatever you need so we can get this show on the road."
"I just need a few things… would you like to accompany me?" Castiel questioned. Beth looked surprised for a brief moment before it changed to enthusiasm and she nodded eagerly.
"Definitely," Beth agreed happily. "It'll be fun, like a road trip with wings instead of a car."
A couple hours after that, Beth was standing next to her brothers with her arm slung over Jesse's shoulders as Castiel finished packing stuff into a duffel bag.
"Are you ready?" Castiel asked, turning to them with the bag in hand. He handed it off to Dean who took it without a fuss.
"Not really," Sam said as he glanced down at Beth. "Are you sure you want to do this, Beth?"
"Yes, I'm sure." Beth rolled her eyes and stepped forward to stand beside Castiel. The angel held out a hand and Beth took it, weaving her fingers through his tightly.
"This might hurt," Castiel murmured to the Nephilim who was looking at him with complete trust in her eyes.
"It's okay. I'm ready," Beth reassured him. She turned back to face her brothers and Jesse. Castiel extended his grace, wrapping a tendril around Beth's and drawing power gently from the Nephilim. Beth let out a soft gasp, her free hand clutching her chest as she felt the broken, barely-there-grace that belonged to Castiel as it weaved through hers, sending sparks of pain throughout Beth's entire being.
"Beth?" Dean asked in alarm, watching as Beth and Castiel's eyes began to glow at the same time.
"I'm okay," Beth said shakily as she held a hand up to stop him from coming closer. "It just feels a little weird."
The Nephilim couldn't believe how broken and dim Castiel's grace seemed now, compared to what it used to be. She tightened her grip on his hand as she reached out with her free one, curling her fingers around Jesse's shoulder. Dean and Sam got the hint and grabbed onto Beth and Cas' arms as the angel finished the spell and with a flash of bright light, the group disappeared from the motel room.
(Lawrence, Kansas
1978)
When they landed in the past, Beth was overcome with a bout of dizziness that floored her. She lay on the sidewalk for a few seconds before she managed to struggle into a sitting position. Jesse was kneeling in front of her and Castiel was slumped back against a car to her right.
"Cas, you okay?" Beth asked, running a shaky hand through her hair.
"Cas?" Dean demanded as he and Sam appeared from behind the car. "Are you alright?"
...Fine. Much better than expected," Castiel admitted, clamping a hand over Dean's wrist as the hunter went to help him up. A second passed, Castiel's face turned white and he coughed up a mouthful of blood as he tipped sideways.
"Is he okay?" Beth asked, worry flashing across her face.
"He's breathing but he's out cold," Sam replied, sharing in Beth's concern. "We need to move him."
"Good thing there's a motel right behind us," Dean commented as he helped his brother wrestle Cas into a standing position. Beth and Jesse grabbed their bags and followed Sam and Dean into the motel.
About 30 minutes later, Beth and Dean had gotten Castiel situated on a bed in their motel room. The nephilim stared down at the angel in concern, reaching out to gently brush her fingers over his cold cheek.
"Dean, I... I think I'm gonna stay here with Cas," Beth said quietly as she turned to look at him over her shoulder. Dean met her gaze with confused eyes. "I wanna be here when he wakes up... to make sure he's okay."
"We need you, Beth," Dean replied, sounding like he was fully prepared to start an argument if need be. "If it comes down to a fight, we need someone who'll stand a chance against Anna. Seeing as Castiel is out for the count, you're out next best choice. I know your strength can rival Anna's."
"Cas needs me too, we can't leave him here defenceless when there are angels running around. Any of them could've followed us back here," Beth said calmly. "I'm just gonna be here till he wakes up, then I'll find you. You just need to get Jesse to call me and I'll find you."
"...Fine. Just put some anti-angel wards up for extra protection, okay?"
"Yes Dean," Beth agreed. She crossed the room to him and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. "Be careful, Dean. Keep an eye on Sam and Jesse, okay?"
Dean nodded in response, briefly squeezing her before letting go and stepping out of the hug. Beth watched impatiently as Dean made sure he had everything before bidding her a goodbye and closing the door behind him. Beth immediately walked across the room and locked the door. She grabbed a tube of salt from her duffel bag and made salt lines along the carpet in front of the door and on the window ledges. She'd just grabbed a switch blade knife from her jacket pocket and sliced her palm open to begin drawing the angel-proof sigils when a low groan filled the room and she glanced over her shoulder to find Castiel pushing himself to sit up, watching her through hazy eyes.
"Don't get up," Beth said as she dipper her fingers in the blood from her cut palm and started drawing on the wall. "You weakened yourself immensely on the trip here." She painted a few more sigils on the other 3 walls before moving to sit beside him.
"Where are the others?" Castiel asked weakly. Beth soaked a corner of her jacket in water and cleaned the blood from her palm.
"They went ahead to get their mom and our dad," she explained, finally meeting his gaze. "You had me worried for a minute," she said quietly, moving to sit beside him. "I thought my grace was supposed to help you."
"It did. But I'm still not at full strength," Castiel replied. "The trip back was bound to take a lot out of me."
Beth nodded in understanding, hesitantly reaching out across the comforter to link her little finger with Castiel's. "I have to go soon, to help Jesse, Sam and Dean but I can stay for a bit... to keep you company."
"That would be nice." The angel smiled. Beth returned it and shuffled across the bed to sit beside him. She grabbed the remote from the night stand and turned the TV on, flicking through the channels until she settled on a random cooking show.
"Is that okay?" She asked absentmindedly as she tugged her jacket off and dumped it at the end of the bed. "The cooking show, I mean."
"It's fine," Castiel said softly. "I've never really watched television before."
"That's another thing we'll have to change then," Beth chuckled. "My mom used to love watching cooking shows, she used to copy the recipes and Adam and I loved her cooking, especially the puddings. The sweeter the better. She used to scold us for eating so much sugary stuff, but secretly, it amused her to no end because she enjoyed sweet things too."
"Your mother sounds like a very good woman."
"She was. She still is. She's the best person I've ever known." Beth murmured, fighting the urge to yawn as a wave of exhaustion suddenly crashed down on her.
"You should get some sleep," Castiel said, glancing down at her. "The trip's taken a lot of your energy as well."
"That sounds like a good idea," Beth agreed sleepily, her head already starting to droop to the side. "Don't let me sleep too long."
"I won't. Go to sleep––I'll watch over you." Was the last thing Beth heard before she fell asleep, her head landing in the crook of Castiel's neck.
AU – Hey guys, I'm sorry I haven't posted a new chapter since like February, things have been pretty hectic lately and I just haven't had the time to do a new chapter… till now anyway. I'm splitting the episode 'The Song Remains the Same' into 2 chapters because it would be too long otherwise and it would make you guys wait even longer for a chapter.
I hope you all like this chapter and let me know what you think.
Btw, I'm going to be going through Unbreakable and editing some things. There won't be a major change to the story, just bits and pieces here and there.
FireandAsh.