The light bulb flickered and there was a soft knock at the door. Sam frowned and stood up, walking to the door and opening it. In the doorway stood a slender male who was just a little taller than Sam. He looked to be in his late fifties, but he had a handsome, serious face. Pale hair fell in waves down to his jaw. He was clothed in all black: a black turtle necked sweater, black trousers with black dress shoes and a black trench coat. His hands were clasped behind his back. He smiled faintly. "Hello, you are the Winchesters and... Ella Blackwood." He said quietly, glancing over Sam's shoulder into the room. "My name is Jude."

Ella looked past Sam and arched a brow. "Who are you- Oh god. Please tell me you're not another..."

"Angel, yes," Jude said, glancing to Ella. He started to step in, but Sam stretched out his hand and pressed it against the frame of the door, blocking the tall angel with his arm.

"Stay away from us, we've had enough of you angels."

It was then that Castiel appeared beside of Jude, frowning. "Sam, he is trustworthy, he-"

"You've said that before, Cas," Sam said with narrowed eyes. Castiel stiffened.

"He is here to keep an eye on Joel, that is all."

"What are you talking about?" Ella asked, standing up.

"Joel has been exhibiting some dangerous... ah... behaviors." Jude said, picking out his words carefully. "I am just here to make sure that he does not do anything that would go against his duty as your guardian angel."

"I do not need a freaking babysitter!" Joel snapped, suddenly appearing in the room and striding toward Jude. "I am fine!"

Jude sighed. "Son, you are walking a dangerous path. I just want to talk to you..." Joel paced a little in the room angrily before vanishing along with the elder angel. Castiel started to step inside, but Sam kept his arm across the door.

"Tell us what is going on."

"I'm not sure if it is appropriat-"

"Tell us now."

Castiel took in a deep breath then murmured calmly. "Joel is in love with Ella."

Ella's eyes widened. "Say what now?" She stared at Castiel. "You're joking, right?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not."

Sam clenched his jaw. "Then you can tell him to stay away from Ella. From all of us." He snapped. This was just too much. He could not handle all of this now.

"Sam," Ella said quietly. "I hate this angel business as much as you do, believe me, I do... but... Joel has helped us out a lot... more times than we can count."

"I don't care!" Sam said, glancing over is shoulder at her. "I'm sick of him tagging along. I should have realized this before... the way he looks at you... " His voice trailed off.

Ella rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on Sam, seriously? Jealousy, really? I thought we were above that."

"Well, I'm sorry. It just bothers me that some supernatural Jo-bro is drooling after my fiancé. Don't you remember what happened when your sister had a fling with something inhuman? I'd rather not go through something like that again." Sam didn't know where this was coming from. He just felt so sad and tired and angry, about everything that had happened. Why couldn't things ever work out for them? People got engaged and married all the time, why did it have to be such an ordeal with him? He just wanted one piece of his life that was normal, but after all that had happened, it seemed like everyone and everything was trying to prevent him from having it.

"You think that I'd actually-? Really nice, Sam Winchester, I'm so glad we have such a trusting relationship," She said, putting her shoes back on and jerking up her jacket from the bed as she moved past Sam toward the door.

Sam closed his eyes and reached for her. "Ella... wait, I..." He started after her toward the door, but she slammed it in his face. He ran his hands through his hair and turned around, glancing to his brother then looking away. What was he doing? He shouldn't be arguing with her, he should be comforting her. She had just had to watch her sister die.

Ella pulled on her jacket walking across the parking lot, and stepped onto the sidewallolk. She walked for about half an hour, her arms crossed over her chest as she finally stopped in the middle of the cracked sidewalk, letting out a quiet sigh of defeat. She looked down at the diamond ring that adorned her ring finger, biting her lower lip. She loved Sam, she wanted to marry him, but at the same time, she realized why most hunters tended to avoid relationships. They either end in death or heartbreak, but for them, it was mostly the death option, which had already happened to her more than she preferred.

She started to turn around and walk back to the motel, and when she did, her attention was caught by a flickering street light a couple yards down the sidewalk.

"You shouldn't be out here by yourself," The familiar voice came from behind her. Just a few feet away from her, standing on the sidewalk was Joel. He had his hands pressed into the pockets of his trousers. "It's dangerous." He kept his eyes down as he stepped toward her. "I suppose Castiel let the cat out of the bag, huh? You must think I'm... so stupid..."

"No, of course I don't," Ella said, shaking her head. "But I didn't think... I mean, I didn't know.. that angels could fall in love. I thought you guys were like, anti-emotion, or whatever."

"It's different for guardian angels," Joel said softly, looking up at her again with his deep brown eyes. "We are made to be more human so that we can understand the humans that we guard. We understand and feel emotions differently than angels like Castiel. We feel sad..., happy... love..." He smiled a little then rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know why... I just feel a deep connection with you. You are the only person who could ever see and hear me... the real me. The humans I've guarded before. I was never allowed to tell them who I was... Most of the time, I had to stay hidden... do you know what that's like? Never being able to speak to anyone? Always having to live in the shadows... it's lonely is what it is."

Ella shrugged a little. "I can kinda relate. Hunting... it's a pretty lonely job. We can't tell people who we are, what we do, because if we do, we'd get thrown in the crazy place... again," She finished with a chuckle. "After we met Sam and Dean, we thought maybe that would change... maybe we all wouldn't be so lonely. And in a way we're not... but... it's hard to explain," She said, shaking her head.

Joel furrowed his brows a little. "I thought you and your sister were deliriously happy with the Winchesters." He said quietly. "Try to explain... what is bothering you? Maybe there is a way I can help..."

"Of course we're happy," Ella said a bit quickly. She sighed. "I didn't say we weren't, I just meant... a normal life is out of the option for all of us now. The lives we live now... this is what we're going to do until we die... for good. There's no changing that. There's no normal, happy, picket fence, apple pie life destined for each of us. I'm not sure if Sam understands that."

"I think he understands it better than you'd think. At least in his mind, he understands it. I think his heart is just unwilling to accept the fact that he'll never get an actual house with a wife, kids, a dog...,"Joel let his voice trail off. "He's never been the unquestioning soldier like his brother. He's fought his way of live tooth and nail from the beginning." Joel looked up at her. "I think because you are a hunter, because you know the stuff that he is going through and can go through it with him... because he won't have to hide what he does from you, because you can understand him better than anyone... I think that's why he loves you so much, and I think that's why he thinks this could work. No he couldn't have a normal life like he so desperately wants, but he could have some semblance of normalcy with you. The question is... do you want that?"

Ella stared at Joel for a moment, and then looked away. "I do. And I love him. But it isn't that simple."

Joel stared at her a moment, chewing on his lower lip a moment before he burst out. "Ella, what is it about Sam that makes him worthy of you? You're so extraordinary and beautiful and strong... don't you understand how much I love you?" He said desperately. The lights around them began flickering erratically as Joel shed his human guise and stood before her in his true form. His pale skin was luminous and four wings spread out from his back and shoulder blades. He had long, silky black hair and bright pale eyes. His bare feet hovered over the ground as he moved to her and placed his hands against her cheeks. "You're the only one I can be myself around, Ella." he said in a lovely, melodious voice. "I love you so much, Ella... everyone has been trying to tell me its wrong, but I don't understand how love could be a bad thing... I could protect you... so much better than those humans... I could make you happy... Ella, I could take you back to Heaven..."

Ella's eyes widened a bit as he turned into his angel form, but remained where she was standing, staring at him. "Joel... you know I can't do that."

"Why not?" He asked, his brows furrowing as he stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. "You could come home with me... back to Heaven where you belong. You'd never have to leave again... you could stay with me for eternity... you'd never be hurt or have worries ever again... it'd be like it was before.." He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. The light bulbs of the streetlamps exploded and sparks showered onto the road and sidewalk.

Caught off guard, Ella stood still for a few moments. They finally pulled apart, and Ella noticed that Joel had turned back into his normal human vessel. "That was..."

Joel rubbed the back of his neck. "Not what I was expecting," he said quietly, finishing her sentence. He let his hand fall to his side, and he slowly shook his head. "You.. you should go back to Sam." He said with a nod, not looking at her. "He's worried about you... and even though he didn't mean the things he said... he is right. I shouldn't let my feeling interfere with my job... maybe Jude and Castiel are right... I should distance myself for a while."

Ella nodded a bit slowly. "Okay..." She looked down at the ground and then heard the faint fluttering of wings. When she looked up, he was gone.