Chapter Forty-Two
Rally
Bobby's House: July 27, 2010 - Evening
Sam jumped when Bobby slammed his phone on the desk, cursing up a blue streak. He'd just had Marcus mark Missouri off their list. The psychic had answered the phone with a warm hello before politely telling Sam she wasn't interested in visiting France. She'd also told him to kick Lucifer's ass in the same breath though, which was strangely reassuring.
"Ya knew what she was gonna say, Bobby," Rufus said from next to the man.
"She's an idjit!" Bobby snapped.
"I ain't disagreeing. Just sayin' you knew callin' was a waste of breath."
Rufus's calm voice seemed to reach Bobby long before his words. He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"If it means that much, pet, I'll go kidnap her."
Bobby chuckled at Crowley's offer, but shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Hopefully Jo sees sense, if not, I may let you kidnap her."
"Ellen said no?" Dean asked in surprise. "I figured she'd be the first to accept a safe house offer."
"Said she had no desire to be indebted to a bunch of creatures," Bobby tersely explained.
Sam sighed. "Figures."
"Who else we gotta call?" Dean asked.
"Garth and Rowen are the last ones," Bobby said after looking at his phone book. "Lot of folks just don't wanna leave."
"Lots of 'em don't have family," Rufus pointed out. "Not much reason to leave."
Bobby was about to respond when the phone rang. He picked it up, throwing it on speaker.
"Singer here," Bobby said.
"WHAT THE FUCK, BOBBY!"
Sam jumped, dropping his phone in surprise. Rowen's voice echoed through the room, his Boston accent prominent.
"Hello to you too," Bobby said. "Ya gonna have to specify."
"The Vatican pulled support from the orphanage!"
Sam paled, worry coiling in his chest. Rowen had at least 20 full time kids, and a handful whose parents regularly dropped them off. What the hell were they gonna do?
"Why the fuck did they do that?" Bobby asked in surprise.
"Like you don't know," Rowen spat. "The Valerius family took over the funding. I'm fucking beholden to them now, and who knows what the fuck they'll want!"
"Oh, that was quicker than I expected!" Azrial cheerfully exclaimed as she entered the room. She was followed moments later by Claire, Castiel, and Jo.
"What was quicker than expected?" Bobby demanded.
"The funding transfer," Azrial said. "I thought it would take longer, but it seems Orion was able to speed it up."
Bobby looked confused, not that Sam blamed him. Everyone in the house was watching the interaction with varying levels of interest at this point.
"This was your doing?" Rowen demanded, his voice cracking.
"Well, yeah," Azrial said into the phone. "I didn't like how they threatened to pull your funding when you tried to introduce me."
Rowen was silent, and Bobby raised an eyebrow at Azrial.
"So there's nothing to worry about?" Bobby clarified.
"No!" Azrial paused. "Well, there is one tiny little thing."
Sam heard Rowen growl down the phone, and wondered exactly what Azrial had done.
"Moving to another country is hardly a tiny little thing," Rowen hissed.
"It's for your and the children's safety," Azrial said. "Everyone here is going as well."
"And where the fuck am I going to get money for, at minimum, twenty-two international plane tickets?"
"It will be in the orphanage bank account soon, don't worry."
Sam was getting whiplash from this conversation. Azrial's disgustingly calm tone followed up by Rowen's furious baritone was like watching a tennis match. Worst part was, he wasn't sure who was winning.
"You're a nightmare!" Rowen snapped. "Why didn't you warn me?"
"I was going to tell you after the auction," Azrial said. "Sadly, things came up."
The silence this time was absolute. Bobby looked away at the reminder of what happened, and Azrial's calm façade cracked. There was a flash of pain across her face, but it was gone a moment later.
"...I'll contact the parents who dropped off their kids and see what they want to do." Rowen's voice sounded strained. "What about passports?"
"Just don't ask questions when they show up," Azrial suggested.
"Fine. Sue and I have ours, so don't worry about that. When should we fly out, and to where?"
"As soon as possible, into Nice," Azrial said. "Send Bobby the itinerary and we'll take care of the rest."
"Fine. I'm still pissed though."
"But you'll be alive," Azrial said softly. "You and those kids. That's what matters."
Rowen hung up without saying goodbye. Azrial sighed, running a hand through her hair and taking a deep breath. She turned back to the room with an easy smile, gesturing toward Claire and Jo.
"They're safe and sound, and we should probably fill them in about our plan."
"We're fucking off to France so we don't all die," Dean summarized. "Gonna prepare for war behind some heavy duty wards that will keep everyone safe if the worst happens."
Azrial nodded. "Blunt, but accurate. How is the list of people coming?" she asked.
"A mix of no answers and others who feel more comfortable staying here," Sam said. "Rowen was our next call, but you took care of that. The last call we have to make is Garth."
"Wait, what did my mom say?" Jo demanded.
Bobby scoffed. "Said she didn't want to be around non-humans and she was stay'in in the states."
"Then I'm not going either," Jo said. "I'm not leaving my mom behind."
Sam winced, especially because Bobby looked ready to lecture Jo. Not that he blamed the man. The girls had just been attacked, and there was no telling if it would happen again.
"Give me the phone," Azrial said flatly. "And Ellen's number."
"She don't wanna hear from you," Bobby said. "Trust me."
Azrial raised an eyebrow. "Have some faith, Bobby. I doubt the fact I'm sleeping with you will stop her from looking out for Jo."
Dean choked back laughter at Azrial's bluntness and Sam felt his lips twitch. He hadn't followed much of the argument since he only heard Bobby's side, but Azrial and Crowley had come up. He hated to think Ellen was staying away purely because of that.
"Fine." Bobby huffed and dialed the number. "Good luck."
Azrial took the phone, and walked out the front door. Bobby shook his head, and glanced at Crowley.
"She's a damn handful," Bobby said.
"You act like I can change that," Crowley countered. "Try asking Marcus. Maybe he has some strange Roman secret to handling her."
Marcus rolled his eyes, but didn't bother to contribute to the conversation. Sam could see the slight smile on his lips though, and he had an air of smugness at Crowley's observation.
"Well, I'll be going," Claire said. She turned to Jo with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but...I have no family left. Azrial, Castiel...even the others are all I have. I'm grateful for our friendship, but-"
"It's okay," Jo reassured her. "I totally understand. It's the same reason I can't leave if my mom is here."
"Happy to have ya, kid," Dean said with an easy smile. "It's a bit chaotic here at the moment as a heads up."
"Speaking of," Sam began. "I don't think Claire has actually met the others, neither has Jo."
"Right!" Dean grinned. "Speed round: this is Rowena, Crowley's mom." Dean pointed to the red-head who raised an eyebrow at his chipper tone. "The old man is Rufus, one of Bobby's friends."
"Fuck off, Winchester." Rufus huffed, but lazily waved at the girls. "Nice ta meet ya both."
"This is Gabriel," Sam said with a wave at the man. "He's an archangel like Azrial. The man next to him is Balthazar, also an angel."
"Pleasure," Balthazar said in greeting.
Gabriel remained silent, looking at Claire strangely. As if he was trying to solve a puzzle. Sam decided to push on, not wanting things to get awkward.
"And this is Marcus," Sam finished. "I uh, don't actually know much about him. We just met today."
Marcus chuckled, but stood up and offered his hand. Jo shook it, and when she let go so did Claire. Marcus didn't let go right away though, eyeing her thoughtfully.
"I think we will get to know each other further," Marcus said. "Azrial was once my wife, and I can see she adores you."
Claire looked surprised but smiled. "It's nice to meet you."
"Marcus is also old as hell," Dean said.
Sam groaned. "Dean!"
"What?" Dean demanded. "He is!"
Claire looked confused, and ran her eyes over Marcus's face once he let go of her hand.
"He can't be older than my dad was," Claire said. "I mean, he actually looks a year or two younger."
"Eh, you'll learn appearances can be deceiving," Bobby said. "If we're being technical, Marcus is 62."
Jo cursed softly, her eyes wide. Claire looked just as confused, not that Sam blamed her. Unlike Jo, she was new to the lifestyle which probably made this even harder to grasp.
"And if we're being literal he's something like 2,300 years old," Dean happily added.
Sam rolled his eyes, but didn't bother to correct his brother. He wasn't wrong, per se, but it was still a lot to take in.
"And yet ya called me old?" Rufus scoffed. "Ass."
Marcus chuckled, clearly not bothered. "Do not worry about it," he suggested. "Simply treat me as you would anyone else here."
Azrial cleared her throat, stopping further conversation. "Jo, your mother wants to speak with you."
Jo rushed over, taking the phone with a grateful nod before heading out to the porch. Bobby raised an eyebrow at Azrial, clearly surprised at her calm demeanor.
"What did you do?" Bobby asked.
"Me?" Azrial asked, smirking slightly. "Nothing at all."
"Uh-huh," Bobby drawled. "Don't believe that for a second."
"Just trust the process, my hunter."
Azrial's suggestion made Bobby snort, but he let the subject drop. Sam was curious what Azrial had said to Ellen too, especially since he didn't hear any yelling when she handed the phone over to Jo.
"Well, we may as well call Garth," Dean said. "I don't have his updated number though."
Bobby flipped through his phone book, quickly dialing the number and putting it on speaker. It rang for a few moments, and Sam started to worry they wouldn't reach the man. Garth was a gentle soul, and Sam really hoped he took the chance to ride out the end days in relative safety.
"Hey Bobby, what's up?" Garth asked, breaking Sam from his thoughts.
"Got some more news about the world ending," Bobby said. "We're setting up a safe haven in France that can house a ton of people, so we're asking around to see who wants to go."
Garth was silent, though Sam could make out movement on the other end of the line.
"Whose said yes?" Garth asked.
"Of those who answered? Rowen, Sue, and all their kids. Rufus whose already here. Sam, Dean, Cas, and myself as well."
"So all the main contacts people normally reach out to." Bobby was silent at Garth's observation, clearly waiting for the man to continue. "I appreciate the offer, I really do," Garth assured Bobby.
"But?" Bobby asked.
"But someone needs to stay," Garth said firmly. "You and the guys are too damn important to saving the world, but I'm nobody! The least I can do is step up and handle things if anyone needs help."
The silence that followed Garth's passionate declaration was heavy. Marcus cleared his throat when it was clear that Bobby was too shocked to say anything.
"That is noble of you," Marcus praised. "I am sure many will be better off for your selflessness."
"Uh, heh." Garth chuckled awkwardly. "Thanks. Just doin' what's right and what I can. Nothing really special about it."
"Can we at least get him warded up?" Dean asked the room. "I mean, like, how Sam and I can't be seen by angels. Anti-possession and anything else we can think of."
"Dean, that's really not necessary!" Garth objected. "I'll be fine."
"Naw, he's right," Rufus cut in. "Rowen, Bobby, Ellen, and I didn't live this damn long by takin' chances."
"But-!" Garth tried to say before Bobby cut him off.
"No buts, boy," Bobby ordered. "If you're gonna do this then we gotta get ya kitted out and set up."
"I'm fine though," Garth said.
"Just accept our damn help," Rufus snapped.
"Fine." Garth sighed. "Should I head that way then? I'm actually only a few hours away."
"Sounds good. Just as a heads up though..." Bobby trailed off, seeming to consider what to say.
"There's several non-humans here," Sam interjected. "That okay?"
"I mean, Cas isn't human and seems pretty chill," Garth said. "If they're hanging with y'all, I doubt they'd harm me."
Azrial laughed. "I like this one!"
"Of course ya do." Bobby snorted. "See you soon then, Garth."
"See ya then. Text me if ya need anything. I may aim to arrive tomorrow morning since it sounds like ya have a full house."
"And he's polite?" Crowley mused. "Are we sure he's a hunter?"
"Fuck off, Crowley." Sam said at the same time as Dean, making Garth laugh.
"See ya soon guys."
The call ended and Bobby set the phone down on his desk. He looked worried and Azrial leaned into his side, running a comforting hand over his arm.
"We'll make sure he's prepared," she reassured the man. "What he's doing really is selfless, and it won't be overlooked."
"Don't mean I have to like it," Bobby muttered. "He's the same age as the boys."
Sam shot a look at Dean, and his brother nodded. Dean cleared his throat, smiling easily.
"Come on, Bobby. Garth has more common sense than Sam and I combined. He'll be fine."
Crowley snorted, his lips twitching in amusement. "That isn't an accomplishment, squirrel."
"Bite me," Dean said.
"Hard pass. I have better options available."
Dean's utterly offended look made Sam and Azrial laugh, which broke the tension in the room. Jo stormed in a moment later, tossing the phone at the desk.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked once he stopped laughing.
"I'm going with you," Jo said tersely.
"What changed?" Dean gently asked.
"My mother guilted me into it," Jo snapped. "I don't wanna talk about it."
An awkward silence fell over the room. Castiel cleared his throat when it was clear no one knew what to say.
"We should begin applying protections to everyone else here as well," Castiel suggested.
"That's a damn good idea," Bobby said. "Will you be able to do them for Rowena and Marcus?"
"Won't know till we try," Gabriel admitted. "Humans are easy, but when someone has their own power it gets a bit harder to apply the warding."
"And it ain't exactly pleasant to begin with," Dean admitted. "Hurts like a bitch."
"Lovely," Jo said with a sarcastic smile. "This day really can't get any better."
"Don't jinx it," Azrial warned. "Last time I thought things were going well I burned down a warehouse."
"That's just cause you're shit with ranged weapons," Gabriel said dismissively.
Azrial narrowed her eyes at Gabriel, and before anyone could react she threw a blade directly at him. It embedded itself in the table between his fingers and made him yelp.
"What was that?" she challenged.
"Nothing at all!" Gabriel said, moving to hide behind Balthazar who rolled his eyes.
"That's what I thought." Azrial huffed and the blade shot back into her hand before vanishing. "Ass."
"Well, let's knock out who we can tonight," Dean suggested. "Then figure out who's sleeping where."
"Sounds good," Bobby said. "Rufus, you're up first."
"Fucking wonderful," the man grumbled.
Sam snorted, and made himself comfortable at the table. It was going to be a long night.
Line Break
Rowena quietly made her way onto the porch, doing her best not to wake the young women in the living room. The sun would be rising shortly, and she wanted to watch it with a cup of tea. She knew Sam would go for his morning run less than an hour after that, and she was looking forward to chatting with him.
"Ah, didn't expect anyone else to be up."
Rowen froze, shooting a glance to her right. Azrial was sitting on the porch railing, and smiled easily before looking back at the horizon. She decided to take her normal seat when it was clear the archangel wasn't going to say anything else. Once settled, she found herself observing Azrial rather than watching the horizon. She was wearing a tank top and pair of shorts that didn't hide any of her scars. They were beautiful, in a morbid way. A tapestry that illustrated all the life Azrial had lived. She'd wanted to tap into the angel's mind from day one and her scars seemed to tell a story all their own. She recognized a few markings. A knotted scar from an arrowhead, a thin line from a dagger, a ragged cut from a sword. Then there was the scar peaking out right above her shirt. She'd heard the story, but part of her wanted to hear it from Azrial.
"You're a beautiful woman, Rowena. Sadly, if I ever entertained sleeping with you Crowley would probably kill us both."
Rowena snorted her tea, taking a deep breath to clear her nose. Azrial's light voice took away any insult, though it was amusing nonetheless. She should have expected the archangel to notice her thoughtful gaze.
"Aye, he likely would." Rowena sipped her tea before meeting Azrial's eyes. "Doesn't that bother you?"
Azrial tilted her head, shifting so she was facing Rowena.
"Should it?" she asked.
"I would not enjoy being owned," Rowena flatly intoned.
Azrial laughed, clearly not offended by the insinuation. "No, no, I doubt you would."
A comfortable silence fell over them and Rowena took another sip of tea. It soon became clear that Azrial wouldn't elaborate unless prompted.
"You saved his life, why?"
Azrial snorted, looking away. "I love him, is that not enough?"
"What's to love?" Rowena asked. "He's controlling, temperamental -"
The words died in Rowena's throat when Azrial leveled a knowing look at her.
"Why don't you tell me, Rowena. What is there to love about your son?"
Rowena pursed her lips and swallowed back the immediate denial. She doubted Azrial would believe her anyway.
"I asked first," Rowen said. "It's only polite to answer."
Azrial's lips twitched and she once more relaxed against the pillar. "So it would be," she admitted. "What is it you really want to know?"
Rowena looked down at her tea, mulling over the question. She wanted to know what this powerful archangel saw in a demon. Even if she ignored that Fergus was her son, what was there? Azrial had to know she would face nothing but grief for choosing him, yet here she was. In love with not only a demon, but a human as well. A human that looked at an archangel and demon with love and understanding. It boggles the mind.
"What made you fall in love with him?" she finally asked.
"He treated me like I was no better than anyone else," Azrial said. "Hell, for a while there he looked down on me."
Rowena frowned, brows furrowing. Azrial chuckled, seeming to sense her unasked question.
"The last time I was treated the same as everyone else...was when my brothers and I played in the Garden."
"But Marcus-?" Rowena began, and Azrial shook her head.
"I loved Marcus, and I always will," Azrial admitted. "But never forget when he lived, Rowena. There was always a quiet respect for me, despite being his wife." Azrial paused, a sad look flashing through her eyes. "If he knew I wanted something, he never argued. Even when there were times he probably should have. Crowley was the first person outside my family to ever treat me the same as anyone else."
"And Robert?" Rowena asked skeptically.
"Second verse, same as the first," Azrial happily sang. "On our second meeting Bobby said, and I quote: ya know you can't fuck your problems away, right?"
Rowena chuckled. "Really?"
"Really. I'd come back here in the same clothes I left in the day before, and apparently my t-shirt was inside out."
A comfortable silence once more fell over them and Rowena took the chance to look out at the horizon. The sun was starting to slowly peak out, and she could feel the first rays of morning warm her skin.
"Why are you out here?" Rowena asked. "I figured you'd be asleep."
"Too much on my mind," Azrial said. "Too many plans. Too much...wishing I could wrap my world in cotton wool."
"Does it ever get easier?" Rowena asked softly.
"No," Azrial tonelessly replied. "It only gets harder. You learn to appreciate the small moments, the fleeting relationships. I've buried children and lovers. Loved in countless and sometimes indescribable ways."
"Tch." Rowena sipped her tea, refusing to look at Azrial. "Perhaps it's different for angels."
"No. I don't think it is, but you already knew that."
Silence fell over them once more, but Rowena let it drag on this time. She wasn't sure what else to say and Azrial had gone back to looking at the horizon. There was movement near the door, signaling that Sam was up and moving. He walked out the door a few seconds later, shooting a surprised glance at Azrial before glancing toward Rowena.
"Mornin' Rowena, Azrial."
Azrial stretched, hopping off the banister. "Morning Sam, enjoy your run. Nice chatting, Rowena."
She entered the house and shut the door softly behind her. Rowena shrugged at Sam's questioning look and sipped her tea. It had been a rather odd morning, but hardly unpleasant if she were honest.