Chapter Three

Unexpected

April 9, 2010

Sam slammed his head against the table with an annoyed growl.

"Careful there, bitch. We need your brain in one piece."

Sam tilted his head to glare mildly at Dean, but he knew his brother was right. He shouldn't be getting annoyed after only a few days. Gabriel was the king of staying hidden, and it was foolish to think they'd find him in four days. Still, he'd been hoping the lead he had would be something useful.

"Any news?" Sam asked.

"Crowley's off somewhere getting weapons or collecting intelligence, he wasn't specific," Dean said as he sat down. "Cas is out doing a food run, and Bobby and Azrial should be arriving in Boston today and heading to Italy tomorrow with Rowen."

Sam hummed and sat up and shut his laptop. "That's good. At least they are making progress."

"Azrial said not to stress it," Dean reminded him. "Gabriel is a crafty bastard. It could take months to find him."

"But we might not have months," Sam whispered. "What then?"

"Then we go it without him."

"Speaking of, any luck on your personal mission?" Sam couldn't keep the annoyance out of his voice. Only his brother would go looking for a way to be as powerful as a damn angel.

"Nothing yet," Dean said. "But I have some ideas. Just need to do some research."

"I'm not helping you with that," Sam muttered.

Dean waved his annoyance off. "Yeah, yeah. You've made that clear."

Sam frowned but didn't bother arguing with Dean. As annoyed as he was, he was even more worried. If his brother figured something out and found a way to be on equal footing with the angels, Sam knew he'd be right by his side. As stupid as this idea was to him, he loved Dean and wasn't about to let his brother run headfirst into trouble. He only hoped that Dean wouldn't find a solution, but Sam knew his luck. Not only would his brother find a way, but Azrial would keep her damn word.

"Sammy, it will all work out. Don't stress it, especially when you're looking for Gabriel."

Sam grunted but wouldn't meet his brother's eyes. Dean sighed and rested a gentle hand on his head for a moment. It was something they'd stopped doing years ago, but Castiel had started dragging a softer side out of his brother. The moment was ruined by Dean messing up his hair and Sam smacked his hand away with a scowl.

"Jerk," he muttered while smiling softly.

"Whatever you say, bitch. Start wrapping up for the night, we gotta head out early tomorrow for a case."

Sam watched his brother turn back to his own book with a thoughtful expression. For all the bad that had come out of the past year, he couldn't help but notice that Dean was more relaxed. Maybe things weren't as hopeless as he thought.

Line Break

Rowen was playing with several of the younger girls when the doorbell added to the symphony of sound.

"I've got it, Sue!" He called out, hoping to stop his wife from coming downstairs. Sarah pouted as he got up, but he smiled at the girl. "I think you'll have a new playmate in a few minutes."

"Promise?" The five-year-old demanded. Rowen snorted and offered his hand to her. He doubted it was anyone at the door but Azrial and Bobby, and knew neither would be bothered by the child.

"Unless we have an unexpected guest, I promise."

The other girls seemed curious but stayed seated content to keep playing together. Rowen made it to the door, and the moment he opened it and Azrial became visible Sarah shot away from his side.

"You came back!" Sarah screamed as she impacted Azrial's legs. The archangel grinned, immediately dropping her suitcase next to a surprised Bobby.

"Of course! You're going to braid my hair again, right?"

"Yes!" the child cheered. Azrial laughed and scooped her up, and Rowen shook his head as he waved her inside.

"The others are in the sitting room. Please don't destroy the place."

"I would never," Azrial huffed. Sarah already had a strand of the archangel's hair and was talking a mile a minute about what she'd been up to the past few months. Azrial turned her focus fully on the child and walked into the house, ignoring him and Bobby as she went. Rowen laughed at Bobby's shocked face as his friend was abandoned by his soon-to-be traveling companion.

"You'll catch flies like that."

Bobby's mouth snapped shut and Rowen chuckled despite now being glared at. "The hell was that about?"

"Language," Rowen said halfheartedly. "Azrial spent Christmas Eve here, and the younger girls really like her."

"Huh."

Rowen shook his head at the thoughtful look on Bobby's face. "Come on. We won't be able to retrieve her until the girls tire themselves out or lunch is ready."

"If you say so," Bobby said as he grabbed Azrial's bag. "I didn't realize she was so good with kids."

"I think she prefers them," Rowen muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I didn't either," he said. "You ready for our flight tomorrow night?"

"No, but it's been ages since I've gone overseas. Damn shame I don't know a lick of Italian."

"You know Latian, and while it's not the same, there will be similar phrases. I'll run you through the basics if you want and give you a book."

"Sounds good. Now where ya putting me up for the night?"

"I should make you sleep on the couch considering you never clear out your guest bedroom for me." Rowen's whine made Bobby laugh as he led him through the large house. Rowen didn't realize Bobby had stopped following him until he turned around to see his friend staring into the sitting room. He stopped and observed the girls all chatting to the relaxed archangel who'd sat down on the floor with them. Sarah was determinedly braiding Azrial's long hair while Clara was seated in her lap. Azrial's fingers easily combed through the girl's thick curly hair as she pulled it into a style Rowen wasn't familiar with. He'd been startled by how open she was with children at first, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense to him. Azrial seemed to fall firmly into the 'defend the innocents' category, and kids were as innocent as they came. He glanced at Bobby and frowned at the look on his friend's face.

Bobby was staring at Azrial with open curiosity, but there was no denying the warmth in his eyes. Rowen didn't know what shifted between the two since he last saw them, but he'd only seen that look on Bobby's face a few times.

"Bet Crowley would have a heart attack if he could see her like this," Rowen joked, trying to quietly remind his friend about the demon's existence. It didn't have the expected response and instead of immediately looking away from Azrial, Bobby gave a warm laugh.

"Probably right 'bout that. Now, where's that room?"

"Uh, this way," Rowen said. He was starting to wonder what exactly he'd missed while the two were in New York City.

Line Break

Crowley sighed as he pushed another weapon aside. How had he ended up with so many mundane antiques? They were worth a fortune but didn't help their current situation in the slightest. His phone buzzing in his pocket stopped him from opening another warded chest. He pulled it out and raised an eyebrow at the text message.

Just crossed into Kansas for a hunt. Could you let Azrial and Castiel know? -C

Crowley snorted and mulled over whether to respond. He knew Azrial was waiting to get a phone until she was in Europe seeing as she'd be there for at least a month, and he'd have to be the go-between for her and Claire. The girl intrigued him to an extent. There was something about her soul that shone a bit too brightly, but he didn't have the time to worry about it. On the other hand, the girl had been nothing but respectful to him and had even been a key in awakening Azrial's memories.

I will. She will be heading to Italy tomorrow, but I can pass on messages from time to time.

Crowley hesitated before sending the message but finally decided to do so and saved the girl's number. If she meant that much to Azrial it was worth keeping an eye on the human. He opened the chest and stared at the massive tower shield, trying to sense if there was anything unique about it. He hated, absolutely despised, that a majority of the weapon records had been in Azrial's possession since she'd acquired a good 70% of them for him in preparation for the apocalypse. That meant they all burned to a crisp when her Bellevue home had gone up in flames. Those peons deserved being burned alive for that alone. His phone buzzed again, and Crowley glanced down at it.

Thank you, it means a lot. Stay safe.

Crowley frowned at the sincerity and shook his head to refocus on his task. As he ran a hand over the shield he sighed. For his sake, he hoped Azrial stopped collecting strays.

Line Break

Bobby leaned against the doorway and stared at the puddle of kids on the living room floor. Azrial was half asleep, Sarah passed out on her stomach and clinging to the archangel like a stuffed animal. Clara was against her side and Conner was leaning against the couch barely awake. Rowen walked up beside him and sighed.

"It's Christmas eve all over again. What is she, a space heater?" Rowen walked in and picked Clara up who let out a small whine of protest before melting into his arms. Azrial opened an eye and seemed to realize the time and carefully sat up, shifting Sarah in her arms.

"Ugh, my neck is killing me. Need a hand?"

"If you could put Sarah to bed I would appreciate it," Rowen admitted leaning down next to Conner. "Hey kiddo, it's time for bed."

Azrial, in an act of flexibility Bobby couldn't help but envy, moved Sarah to lean against her side so she could get up. It took a bit of doing, but the archangel got to her feet without waking the child.

Azrial yawned, shooting him a small smile as she walked out of the room. She was humming something under her breath and Bobby watched her go in confusion.

"I'll be right back down," Rowen said. "Just need to put Clara to bed."

"Yeah, I'll meet you and Azrial in the kitchen."

Rowen nodded and headed in the same direction. Bobby sighed, running a hand over his face in thought.

"Are you her husband?"

Bobby stiffened and shot Conner a surprised look. "What?"

The kid shrugged. "Never mind. Sorry if that was rude, I was just curious."

"I'm not her husband. Not even her boyfriend," Bobby chuckled. "That honor goes to a surly-" Bobby paused and bit back the curse. "Goes to a friend of mine."

"Oh. Well, have a goodnight, Mr. Singer."

"Bobby is fine, kid. Better get to bed before your - uh, before Rowen gets back down here."

The kid gave a small smile. "Yeah, Dad can be a bit strict when it comes to bedtimes."

Bobby watched the kid leave and shook his head. He'd tease the shit out of Crowley over this when they were all finally back in the same state. He made his way toward the kitchen, slightly relieved to have some adult time. It had been a long time since he'd helped out with kids and it had never been a houseful. Rowen and Susan had more patience than he ever did in that regard. He barely managed Sam and Dean when they were with him.

"You look deep in thought."

Bobby nearly jumped at the sound of Azrial's voice. He shot the angel a dirty look but she just smiled.

"Make more noise when you walk."

"You'd have the sound of feathers if I were allowed to fly."

Bobby frowned, but at the teasing smile, the tension at her comment vanished. His lips quirked as he realized she'd forgiven him for grounding her, but was going to hold it over him as long as it lasted.

"Let it go, Princess."

"I'll pass, hunter. Come on, let's go spend some time with adults."

The next update is Saturday, July 10, 2021