Chapter 20
Then:
Once we've got Castiel settled in a room and Dean goes to find Sam, I sit down on Castiel's other side as Gabriel leans over him, pressing a hand to his forehead.
"What's wrong with him?" I demand.
"He didn't use as much of my power as he should've. Stupid kid." He knocks lightly on Castiel's forehead reprimandingly, but the unconscious angel doesn't react. "He just needs a little time to get his energy back, and I'm gonna have to heal him for a while so that'll happen sometime this century."
"You mean within the next twenty-two years?" I deadpan, seeing as we're in 1978.
Gabriel gives me an identically-unimpressed look. "You're hysterical."
"Learned from the best," I reply sweetly and he allows a grudging smile as he returns his attention to Castiel. Unsure what else I can do, I take Castiel's limp hand in mine and squeeze it.
I'm starting to feel less and less optimistic by the second.
Now:
It's been an hour and while night begins to settle in outside, Castiel doesn't seem to be improving. Gabriel's been working on healing him, but I can see that the strain on his Grace is taking a toll on him. He looks pale and his eyes are squinted in concentration - or are they squinted because of a headache? - even as he presses his hands against Castiel's chest.
"You look tired," I note quietly, stating the obvious, and Gabriel lifts his hands off Castiel with a heavy sigh.
"There's a lot of work that needs to be done. He's nowhere near okay, and I can't overload him with too much healing energy at one time. He's not meant to be exposed to an archangel's Grace for too long."
"So take a break and give yourself and him some rest," I suggest. He looks ready to argue, but then nods, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stave off his exhaustion. I shift over to sit next to him and wrap my arms around him. The embrace seems to be exactly what he needs, because he sinks into it gratefully.
"When'd you get so smart?" he mumbles against my shoulder wryly.
"I certainly didn't learn it from you," I tease lightly.
"Cheeky brat," he says affectionately with a tired smile.
"I love you, too." He squeezes me weakly one more time before letting go and shifting his chair so that he could lean against the wall beside the bed. By the time he closes his eyes, he's already nodded off, and I can't help but grin at the fact that an archangel who technically doesn't need to sleep is fully knocked out now.
I set to tending to Castiel as much as I can, since Gabriel's clearly not up to the task, and get a clean towel from the bathroom. I run it under cold water before returning to Castiel's side and mopping up the dried blood from his face along with the sheen of sweat on his forehead. His skin is too warm to the touch, and I'm worried that he's running a fever.
"Ariel?" Castiel rasps as he stirs, his eyes fluttering open slightly. They're glazed and my suspicions are confirmed: he's definitely feverish.
"Relax." I press down on his shoulder. "We're working on healing you, but you need to rest until you're back up to speed."
"The Winchesters-" he protests.
"-will be just fine on their own, and if they're not, they'll call," I interrupt sternly before smoothing back his hair from his forehead almost instinctively. "But you're no good to any of us like this."
His lips twitch upwards slightly. "You sound like how you used to before."
I try not to think about how that twists something painfully in my chest. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"You should." He reaches up weakly and I let him take my wrist, his fingers loosely wrapping around it. "You were a good sister. Still are."
Oh, hell, he's going to bring on the waterworks if he keeps this up. "Thanks," I mumble hoarsely, embarrassed, and lean down to kiss his fever-flushed cheek. "Now sleep." He nods and closes his eyes, his breathing evening out slowly as he sinks back into unconsciousness.
Just to be sure, I press my hand against Gabriel's forehead, too, to check for a fever. He feels normal, but he cracks an eye open, disgruntled by his nap's interruption.
"The hell, woman?" he grumbles and I shake my head.
"Just checking. You might want to move to the other bed before you get a crick in your neck." He mutters a few swearwords at me as he stumbles to his feet and over to the empty bed on the other side of the room. He's asleep before his head hits the pillows, and I return to making more cold compresses to place against Castiel's feverish skin.
At least this is something I can do for the both of them.
The ringing of the motel room's phone startles me out of the doze I'd fallen into after about an hour of tending to Castiel, and I reach it as Gabriel stirs, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Hello?"
"Air, it's us. How's Cas?" Sam asks.
"He's about the same." I glance at Castiel, who's still unconscious. "We're working on it. What about Anna, did you find her?"
"Oh, we found her all right. She went after John, but we couldn't kill her, so we had to run." I'm guessing he's using his parents' first names because John and Mary are within earshot. "We're hiding out at Mary's parents' place right now."
"Do you need help?"
"Well, we're warding the place so angels can't come in. You probably could, but I don't think that's a good idea."
"I'm with the moose on that one," Gabriel adds, clearly listening in on our conversation. Damn his angelic hearing.
"Good to know we're on the same page for once," Sam deadpans, hearing Gabriel's response.
"Ugh, you two are like my overprotective parents or something," I mutter and shove the phone at Gabriel. "Here, decide my life for me, then." He makes a face at me as he puts the phone to his ear.
"All right there, Jolly Green?" He grins at Sam's obviously pithy response before answering, "Nah, Castiel's got some more healing left to go, but he'll be fine. Tell his boyfriend to quit worrying." I snort as I file away the evidence that Gabriel ships Destiel just as much as I do. "Yeah, will do. Later, Sammich." Gabriel hangs up.
"How many nicknames for Sam can you come up with in one minute?" I roll my eyes.
"Plenty enough, given the right incentive." He shrugs as he rolls his sleeves up and nudges me aside, placing his hands back on Castiel's chest. "Now shut up and let me get back to work."
"Don't drain yourself," I warn him as I take the towel - now lukewarm - off Castiel's forehead and take it to the bathroom to soak it in cold water once more. The younger angel shivers when I put the wet towel back on his overheated forehead. "Don't the angels from this time know we're here?" I ask.
Gabriel shrugs as he traces the shape of a rune into Castiel's chest with the tip of his finger. "Probably."
"Then why haven't they rained holy wrath or something down on us?"
He snorts. "First of all, if they wanted us dead, we'd definitely be dead already. Second, the Apocalypse technically hasn't started yet. Angels aren't strictly allowed to take vessels and come down to Earth yet."
"Oh. So all we've technically got to worry about is the psychotic redhead. Good to know." That doesn't ease my worry one bit.
"It's not as if Michael's going to pop down here, if that's what you're concerned about."
"Don't jinx it," I scold, "The last thing we need is Big Brother poking his nose down here."
Gabriel looks up, mildly startled. "Y'know, that's the first time you referred to any of us as your brothers."
"Yeah, well." I shrug one shoulder half-heartedly. "You are my family, whether I remember it or not."
"True." He drops his gaze again, focusing on the edge of the pillow beneath Castiel's head. "And that's good?"
"That's good," I confirm, catching the hesitation in his voice, and the wide smile I receive dissipates any doubt left in me.
"You two are more awkward than even I am," Castiel rasps, cracking his eyes open to glower at us.
"Oh, well, good to know we're setting a new standard for you," Gabriel retorts with a grin, patting Castiel's shoulder, "How're you feeling, Cassie?"
"Tired." Castiel blinks slowly, assessing his own situation. "Weak."
"That's to be expected. You pushed yourself too far." Absently, Gabriel pushes back the hair from Castiel's forehead before catching himself and quickly withdrawing his hand again. "Um, yeah, you should go back to sleep."
Castiel closes his eyes obediently, conveniently unaware of what had just happened, but I can't help but grin. "You big softie."
"Can it, brat." Gabriel pokes my side, earning a giggle. Suddenly, he stiffens, all humor draining from his expression as he gets up, heading over to the window to peer at the dark night sky.
"Gabriel?" I sit up a little straighter, frowning. "What is it?"
He grins wryly, but he continues to stare out the window. "What was it you said about jinxing things?"
"Oh, hell," I groan.
"Yep. And Castiel's not warded enough for Michael to not sense-" Wide golden eyes flick to me. "Shit. He can find you."
"Well, what does that have to do with-?" I don't get the chance to finish, because within the next second, I feel an unfortunately familiar tug around my abdomen.
I sprawl onto a polished wooden floor. I'm no longer in the motel room, and Gabriel and Castiel are nowhere near me.
"Ariel!" Dean's hands are on my shoulders as he drags me to my feet. I stumble, clinging to the edge of his jacket, and I see a beautiful blonde woman unconscious on the ground. She must be Mary Winchester, Sam and Dean's mom. And further along against the wall is...
"Sam!" I tear out of Dean's hold and drop beside Sam's limp body. His eyes are closed, a dark red stain - blood? - spreading from the center of his shirt. His skin is icy as I grasp his hand. "No! No, Sam!" Tears sting my eyes. He can't be dead, he can't.
"Air, he's gone," Dean croaks weakly even as he glares at the man in front of him. I hadn't even noticed the stranger before. He has black hair and pale blue eyes, and stands nearly as tall as Dean. I would have guessed him to be John Winchester, but there's something about the way he carries himself that stirs a vague memory in the back of my mind.
"Michael," I breathe, barely aware of speaking, and the man turns to me, smiling lightly.
"Hello, little sister." I tighten my grip on Sam's hand. "Oh, don't worry, I already promised Dean that I would put Sam back together...after we'd spoken, of course." He turns back to Dean, whose glare grows exponentially more furious. "Remember what I said, Dean, when the time comes to make your choice. I'll see you soon." He snaps his fingers and Dean is suddenly gone.
"Where'd you send him?" I demand and Michael turns back to me.
"To his own time, of course. Where else?" I can't come up with an answer and he nods to Sam. "Let him go, Ariel. He needs to be sent back, too." Reluctantly, I lean down to press a kiss to Sam's cold forehead before letting go of his hand. Michael snaps again and Sam's gone, as if he'd never even been there.
"What do you want?" I ask as I get to my feet, standing as tall as I can - and only coming up to Michael's chest. Curse my shortness.
"Just to talk." I cross my arms, a silent invitation for him to keep going. "I believed you to be dead."
"You believed wrong."
His lips purse at my brief answer. "How did you survive?"
"Mind your business."
"You are my business."
"I stopped being your business the day you kicked me out of the family!" I snap.
Michael's eyes widen almost imperceptibly and he looks wounded as he answers, "Ariel, please understand-"
"Understand what? That just because I wanted to talk to our brother, you decided to cast me down, too?" I take a step back, a foreign ache in my chest, and I realize what it is at last. Somewhere in the back of my mind, my old self's emotions are bleeding through.
"I was afraid," Michael says quietly and that throws me for a loop. "I was afraid that you would grow to hate the humans as he did, though you loved them at the time. So I took action before you could get the opportunity to commit that crime."
"Would Dad have approved?" I ask impulsively. It's weird to refer to God as 'Dad,' but hey, if the shoe fits...
Michael's jaw clenches. "I wouldn't know. He left long before you were cast down. But you disobeyed a direct order from me, and that is punishable enough."
"But you ordered my death," I protest.
"Because that disobedience could have led to something far worse."
"But how do you know?" I prompt, "I could've just said 'hey, how're you doing?' to Lucifer and come straight on back home."
"I wasn't to know that."
"Because you didn't trust me," I realize, the epiphany a heavy weight in my chest, "Because you haven't trusted anyone since Lucifer fell."
Michael does not look happy, clearly angry at the direction the conversation's taken. "The only reason you're still alive is because I want to know how you survived."
"You're an awesome brother," I deadpan, but Michael's hand shoots out, slamming my head against the wall. I see stars for a second as his hand closes around my throat.
"Watch your tongue, sister. Now no more stalling. How did you survive? Who protected you?"
"G-Gabriel," I choke out and Michael drops me.
"Gabriel," he repeats, sounding surprised, "He disappeared centuries ago. I suppose it figures that you went to him for help, though. You were always so close to him when you two were young." I rub my throat, knowing it's going to bruise - damn it, just when the bruises Dean had left were disappearing, too - and just stare up at Michael. "Well, then. It's time I had a talk with our wayward brother and you went back to your proper time."
"Don't hurt him," I blurt out, "He was just protecting me."
Michael looks almost annoyed by the request, but then he nods. "You have my word." Wait, what? Before I can ask him why the sudden change of mood, he snaps his fingers.
I collapse onto a stiff motel mattress.
"Ariel!" Sam scoops me up and hugs me tightly. He's alive. He's warm and real and alive. I bury my face into his chest out of sheer relief. Sam's fingers card through my hair reassuringly and I snuggle closer, tightening my grasp on his stupid plaid shirt. Seriously, does he own, like, ten copies of the same shirt?
"So what did that dickbag want with you?" Dean demands and I let go of Sam long enough to shrug.
"Nothing. Just wanted to know how I was still alive. He thought I'd been killed a long time ago." Dean eyes me suspiciously. "That's the truth," I assure him, "No more secrets."
"Promise?"
"What do you want me to do, pinky swear?" I stick my little finger out and am surprised when Dean hooks his own pinky around it with a wry grin.
"It is the most serious of oaths," Sam comments and Dean flips him off without missing a beat.
"Damn, I've missed you two," I admit and Dean wraps an arm around my shoulders, embracing me gently. I clutch him back, pressing my face against his shoulder. "I'm sorry," I mumble, "I should've told you sooner about everything, I'm so sorry."
"Just shut up, kid," Dean mutters against my hair and I obediently fall silent, settling for letting him squeeze the living daylights out of me.
"Cas," Sam says suddenly and Dean lets me go so that I can see the trenchcoat-clad angel wobbling unsteadily in front of us.
"Whoa, whoa, hey!" Dean darts forward to catch Castiel. "You son of a bitch, you made it!"
"I did?" Castiel cracks his eyes open to blink at all of us bemusedly. "I'm very surprised." With that, he passes out, and Dean drags him over to the unoccupied motel bed, laying him down on it.
"He's not the only one." I look up from examining Castiel's pale face to see Gabriel leaning heavily against the wall. His posture looks casual, but his face is drawn and exhausted.
"Are you okay?" I ask even as he drops onto the couch, rubbing his forehead.
"You try jumping thirty-odd years after pouring a crap ton of healing energy into someone." He gives me a weary smile all the same. "I'm okay, sweetheart. Just had an unexpected - not to mention unwanted - talk with big bro."
"He didn't hurt you, did he?" I sit down next to him.
He blinks at me. "Why would he have hurt me?"
"For protecting me."
He rolls his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. I'm fine." I press my face into his shoulder, anyway, and he wraps an arm around me in return, pressing a kiss against the top of my head. "Look, I'd hate to run and ditch you, but I've got something to drop off back home, so-"
"No, go, it's okay." I pull back and he nods before snapping his fingers. He's gone in the next second.
"Damn," Dean says, slightly stunned, and I turn back to face him and Sam. They both look a little surprised. "He really does have a heart."
"He's not just a trickster," I say, offended.
"Yeah, guess we're just gonna have to get used to that." Dean pours out two cups of some alcohol, handing one to Sam and knocking his own back. "So this is it."
"What is?" Sam takes a sip of his own drink.
"Team Free Will. One ex-blood junkie, one dropout with six bucks to his name, one fallen archangel with no memories or go-juice, and Mr. Comatose over there." Dean jerks his head towards the unconscious Castiel on the bed.
"Well, we've got Gabriel, too," I point out.
"Oh, yeah, my mistake, add 'trickster archangel' to the list." Dean rolls his eyes. "Go team."
"It's not funny," Sam scolds.
"I'm not laughing." Dean pours himself another drink.
"They all say we'll say 'yes,'" Sam says after a few moments of silence.
"I know. It's getting annoying."
"What if they're right?" I'm getting the feeling I shouldn't be a part of this conversation, so I simply move over to Castiel's side, grasping the angel's hand.
"They're not." Dean takes a swig of his drink.
"I mean, why would we, either of us?" Sam hesitates. "But I've been weak before. And Michael got Dad to say yes." So that was John Winchester.
"That was different," Dean dismisses, "Anna was about to kill Mom."
"And if you could save Mom?" Sam looks up at Dean bleakly. "What would you say?"
Dean remains silent and I cough, looking down at the bland motel bedspread.
"Don't think we've forgotten about you, Ariel," Dean scolds lightly, as if the previous conversation had never happened. I look back up at him and Sam, startled. "You're telling us everything. Like, from the start."
"Everything?" I echo.
"Yep." Sam sits down on the edge of the other bed. "If you're on our side, we need you to tell us everything you know."
I nod. After all, I'd promised them no more secrets. "Okay." And with that, I start telling them everything I've been told so far.
And there's the official induction of Ariel and Gabriel into Team Free Will - technically - which concludes The Song Remains The Same. And also Ariel's first meeting with Michael.
It seemed so much more dramatic in my head, but when I typed it out, my Michael-muse just went "fuck this" and disappeared. Oh, well.
I did get my Cadbury Creme Eggs, so here. -shares- Enjoy and leave reviews!