Chapter 16
Then:
"It's the only chance we've got right now," Dean agrees, "I mean...it's a plan, right?"
"It's a plan." I force a smile as I get into the backseat. The Winchesters climb into the front and Dean starts up the car. Impulsively, I say, "Hey, guys?"
"Yeah?" Sam looks back at me, raising an eyebrow as Dean glances up at me through the rearview mirror.
I'm a fallen archangel. I should have told you sooner. I'm sorry. Please help me. The words are right there, but they die on the tip of my tongue when I look back up at the Winchesters. They've got enough on their plates to worry about. "Nothing. Never mind." Dean shrugs, dismissing my weirdness as he flips on the radio. Thankfully, it's Led Zeppelin and Dean's off-key belting of Ramble On distracts Sam from questioning me further.
I sink back against the seat, both relieved and disappointed in myself at the same time.
Now:
The plus of tracking a demon is that we get to see Castiel a lot more often. Sam and Dean call him almost immediately after we leave the Pineview hotel, informing him to listen for any news on Crowley and his current location. Over the next few weeks, Castiel calls and pops in on us with updates and no leads. I find myself scared that he'll give something away to the Winchesters about my true identity, but he remains silent about the entire situation, only nodding to me whenever he appears in the room and I happen to be there.
Finally, after about a month of waiting, Castiel catches a lead. We're in the Impala at the time, so Dean veers off the road and parks on the lakeside before he continues the conversation with Castiel.
"Going down?" he echoes something Castiel says before adding, "Right. Okay, Huggy Bear, just don't lose him."
I mouth "Huggy Bear?" at Sam, who grins back at me and shakes his head. Dean's not-so-secret flirting with Castiel is bordering on adorable.
Dean waits for a few moments before replying, "That's okay, you did great. We'll take it from here." He closes the phone and turns to us. "Cas got his address. We're gonna need a little help getting in, though, the place is layered in Enochian warding."
"Which means angelic help's out of the question," I point out.
"Well, we've got human friends, too," Dean reminds me, pulling out his phone and dialing a number. I frown at Sam, who shrugs back at me; he has no idea who Dean is calling, either. "Hey, Ellen, it's Dean." Sam looks relieved and I raise an eyebrow, mouthing "Harvelle?" at him. He nods back to me. "Yeah, it's good to hear from you, too. Listen, we're tracking this demon, but we need help getting in to see him. You think you or Jo could-?" He breaks off. "Yeah, no, we're not far from there. Thing is, we've got this kid with us and we can't really bring her along, and-"
"Wait a second," I protest, "I'm coming, too."
Dean waves me off as he listens to Ellen's reply. "She talks too much, if that's what you mean." I gape at him, insulted, and punch Sam when the taller Winchester looks to be on the verge of laughter. "Awesome. We can get there in a couple of hours." He ends the call. "Jo's coming with us. We can drop Ariel off with Ellen at Bobby's and pick up Jo there before heading over to Crowley's."
"Why can't I come?" I demand.
"Have you seen the way you hunt?" Dean retorts, "I'm surprised you haven't gotten yourself killed yet."
I scowl at him and cross my arms. "I'm not talking to you anymore."
"Oh, there's a loss," Dean mutters as he opens the driver's side door again.
I look to Sam for support, but he just shrugs. "In his own way, he's got a point, Air. You're safer with Bobby and Ellen than us right now."
"I'm not talking to you, either," I tell him, turning my nose up as I get into the car and determinedly focus on the window.
"Come on, Ariel, we're sorry," Sam attempts to placate me.
"Shh, Sam, it's blessed silence," Dean scolds his brother, and that just makes me even more annoyed, so I brandish my middle finger at them.
My irritation only abates when we pull up to Singer Salvage Yard and meet the Harvelles. I break my vow of silence to greet Ellen and Jo, both of whom shake my hand firmly. Jo is tall and slim and pretty, with golden hair that's about as long as mine and mischievous dark eyes, and Ellen has brown hair and kind brown eyes. It's been a while since I've seen Bobby, the last time being my first case with Patrick the witch, and I hug the older hunter almost immediately when we enter the house.
Ellen laughs. "You're taking that hug like a champ, Bobby." Bobby grumbles incoherently as he awkwardly pats my back and I know I'm definitely going to like Ellen.
Jo, Sam, and Dean prepare to leave almost immediately and I grudgingly set aside my anger at the Winchesters long enough to say goodbye to them.
"Bye, Air," Sam says.
"Goodbye, Samuel." Okay, so maybe I'm still a little mad. Sam looks hurt, so I punch him in the shoulder. "Watch your back, Sasquatch." That finally earns a genuine grin from him as he ruffles my hair and heads for the Impala. I turn to Dean. "Damn it, you don't even have a full name for me to use angrily."
Dean smirks. "Sucks to be you." He wraps an arm around my shoulders and squeezes me in a brief embrace. "See you soon, kid."
"Be careful." I hug him back before he heads for the Impala.
"It was nice meeting you," Jo says warmly to me, shaking my hand one last time before she gets into the backseat of the Impala. They drive off, and only then do I scowl again.
"Can't believe they left me behind."
"Join the club," Ellen tells me wearily, "Apparently, Mom coming along's not cool enough for Jo." She claps my shoulder. "C'mon, let's get lunch ready before Bobby forgets to feed himself." I can't help but laugh at Bobby's protests that he "would never, how dare you accuse me of that, woman" as we head back into the house.
It's about seven in the evening when they call us with good news: they had gotten the Colt from Crowley.
"Actually, it's more like he just gave it to us," Sam tells me with a chuckle, "He wants Lucifer dead about as much as we do."
"That's not suspicious at all," I note.
"It's better than having to fight him for the Colt. We're on our way back now, we should be there around nine."
"Okay, we'll be expecting you." I hang up and relay the news to Ellen and Bobby.
At around a quarter to nine that night, there's a knock on the door and Ellen goes to let the triumphant hunters in. Soon, Bobby and Sam are seated around a table, taking apart the Colt and studying the bullets inside while Dean calls Castiel to "get his feathery ass over here so we can figure out what to do."
"Crowley says Lucifer's in Carthage, which means we have to get over there as soon as possible," Sam's saying when I join him and Bobby at the table, "Like, tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" My eyebrows shoot up. "So we're going to be up against Satan tomorrow?" Damn it, I haven't even had time to write out my will yet.
"The sooner, the better," Bobby agrees.
"Do we even have a plan?" I ask.
"Sure, take the gun and shoot him in the head," Dean replies, coming back from the kitchen with Castiel in tow.
"Good plan. Oh, hey, Cas." I wave at the angel, who nods back in greeting politely.
"Hello, Ariel."
"So it's our last night on Earth, huh?" Ellen says as she plunks a bottle of whiskey down on the table, along with a couple of shot glasses.
Somehow, it turns into a drinking competition between Ellen and Castiel. Dean and Sam research in the study while we're all in the kitchen, watching the game. Ellen tosses back five shots easily.
"Beat that, big boy." She grins at Castiel, who blinks and downs all five of his shots without batting an eye.
He smiles slightly at our stunned looks. "I think I'm starting to feel something." He then looks confused as we all burst out laughing and Jo turns back to the fridge to rummage for a beer. I've been denied any alcohol due to the fact that I'm underage - "Oh, come on, Ellen, I'll be responsible, it's my last night on Earth!" "Don't make me go 'mama bear' on your scrawny ass, girl!" - so I simply settle for watching Castiel throw back five more shots. He looks briefly dizzy, but snaps out of it just as quickly.
Dean enters the kitchen then, beelining for Jo, and I can't help but grin when she outright rejects any advances he makes. Dean sulks his way back to the study while Jo winks at me.
"And that's how you get shit done."
"You're awesome." I high-five her.
"Everybody get in here!" Bobby calls from the living room. "It's time for the lineup. Usual suspects in the corner."
"Bobby, no one wants their picture taken," Ellen groans as she heads for the living room and we follow her.
"Hear, hear," Sam agrees.
"Shut up. You're drinking my beer."
"I'll take the picture," I volunteer, but Bobby shakes his head at me.
"Don't be stupid, girl, you're in the picture."
I freeze, my hand halfway towards the camera. "What?"
"You're suffering with us on this one," Sam tells me with a grin as he stands next to Dean. Castiel awkwardly stands on Sam's other side while Ellen and Jo settle beside Castiel.
"Seems more like a group thing, I'll just-" I begin awkwardly.
"Oh, get over here, midget," Dean snaps, but his expression's goodnatured as he adds, "You're one of us, too, y'know."
"Oh." I flush and finish helping Bobby set up the tripod and timer before moving to stand in front of Sam and Castiel. I feel Sam's hand rest on one shoulder while Castiel's hand squeezes my other shoulder. Bobby wheels backwards until he's in front of Castiel and Ellen.
"Anyway, I'm gonna need something to remember your sorry asses by," he grumbles.
"Always good to have an optimist around," Ellen teases and we all grin, preparing for the picture.
The camera flashes and then Castiel chooses to speak quietly, "Bobby's right. Tomorrow we hunt the Devil. This is our last night on Earth." Our smiles fade, but not because the picture's been taken.
I escape from the continuing drinking competition - it's now Jo versus Dean, and so far, Jo's winning - and sit outside on the porch, drawing my jacket around myself tightly to ward off the late night chill.
Tomorrow, we're going to Carthage, Missouri, and we're going to face down Satan himself. Holy crap, why had this become my life? Oh, yeah, because a snarky undersized archangel thought it would be a good idea to yank me out of my real life and shove me here.
"Hello, Ariel." I look up to see Castiel hovering awkwardly behind me. "May I join you?" I nod and shift over slightly to allow him space to sit down next to me. Despite all the alcohol he'd had, he looks completely sober and unrumpled.
"You sure you're not drunk?" I tease him.
"I was starting to feel something after that tenth shot-" I gape at him. "-but that feeling passed about an hour ago." He shrugs.
"Angels," I grumble and he smiles faintly.
"You are technically included in that category."
Any retort I have dies in my throat. "Yeah, I keep forgetting." I drop my gaze to my knees, fiddling with a loose thread on my sleeve.
"That is understandable. You're still coming to terms with it," Castiel notes quietly, placing his elbows on his knees and leaning on them heavily.
"Well, it's not like I can just turn the switch between human and angel on. I've spent about eighteen years thinking I'm one thing when I turn out to be something else entirely." Castiel nods. "And why's it so easy for you to accept, anyway? You barely know me." He raises an eyebrow. "Well, this me, anyway," I amend with a sheepish grin.
"I recognized you as something other than what you claimed to be the day I met you," he admits.
"Oh." My wonderful vocabulary strikes again. Impulsively, I ask, "What was I like before?"
Castiel pauses and I wonder if I've hit a sensitive topic. "I'm sorry," he says at last, "I just...it's been a long time." I wait patiently, but it's not long before he continues, "All fledglings - young angels - are assigned to a certain archangel when they are brought into being. I was assigned to you."
"You were?"
He nods. "You were a good caretaker, warm and kind, and you had such beautiful silver wings. I was always envious of them when I was younger." He glances over my shoulder, as if trying to imagine those wings on me now, before shaking his head, turning his eyes upwards. I follow his gaze up and a few stars twinkle lazily back at us from the black expanse of sky. "Things were simpler back then. But after Lucifer fell and Gabriel left...I knew it would not be long before I lost you, too. And I did."
The mournful tone to Castiel's voice has me shuffling closer until my knee bumps his. He turns back to me, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"I don't remember what I did for Michael to cast me down," I begin quietly, "But whatever it was, I wish I hadn't done it. So that I didn't have to leave you."
Castiel's eyes widen slightly in surprise before he smiles and tentatively places a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you, sister." He then grimaces. "My apologies, I forgot-"
"Actually, Cas," I interrupt him, "I don't really mind."
The answering smile I receive is almost blinding in the darkness.
I know, I know, it's a short chapter. But it just seemed fitting to end it here and continue Abandon All Hope in the next chapter. And since this one's so short, I figured I'd upload it the same day as the previous chapter. Hopefully, I'll have the next one up sometime during Tuesday -hums Heat of the Moment shamelessly-.
"Yesterday was Tuesday, but today is Tuesday, too!"
That being said, please review!