Unexpected Destinies Chapter 163
Title: Unexpected Destinies
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 3,312
Summary: Confusion, pain, darkness and warmth.
PRESENT
Confusion, pain, darkness and warmth.
Power.
Himself and others. Mixing, sliding, spinning, reaching, pain.
Hurting, stretching, growing, burning, healing, pain.
Panic, warmth, comfort, hurting.
Darkness.
Feeling, stretching, yearning. Nothing.
Panic, comfort, frantic, holding, desperate, gentle.
Bond.
Bond good, good bond.
Pain bad.
Darkness, pain, re-growing, frantic. Hell?
Warmth, warmth, comfort and warmth.
Clinging.
Clinging, soothing, bonding. Safe.
Beloved, wanted.
Safe but pain, need pain?
Hate pain.
Shushing warmth, stopping escape. Enveloping, holding, not letting escape but feel good, really good.
Want more.
Pull closer, bury into, wrap around. Warmth, comfort.
Love.
Trust.
Still trembling but slowing, stopping. Warmth soothing, helping, holding. Bury into deeper, sighing.
Pain still there but dimming, regrowth good, not Hell regrowth; necessary. Needed.
Bearable if wanted. Warmth want. Warmth good. Warmth soothing. Warmth loving.
Warmth two?
Two warmths. Good warmth and better warmth. Friend warmth and... and bond warmth? No, two bonds. Friend warmth and Cas warmth.
Cas warmth pulsing and thrumming. Cas warmth happy.
He like happy Cas warmth. Want Cas warmth. More Cas warmth.
Get more Cas warmth. Purr.
/
Sam watched transfixed as Death did whatever it was that the horseman was doing to Dean's soul. Normally he'd be on his feet and across the room in an instant, defending his brother, but an overwhelming mixture of shock and relief kept him frozen in place. He'd not even had time to fully process Dean's death before Castiel had spoken, but it had been enough to completely devastate him.
The only other thing that kept Sam from attacking was the fact that he could see his brother's soul slowly getting brighter. It had started off slightly resembling the soul he'd seen in that one demon lackey of Famine's briefcase and was now already far brighter than it. If it kept on increasing in intensity then he'd have to close his eyes or look away soon.
Those were the absolute last two things that Sam wanted to do right now. He'd just lost his big brother and irrational as it was, he felt like Dean would vanish if he didn't keep his eyes on him. The fact that he could see what was essentially his brother's lifeless corpse out of the corner of his eye didn't help matters either.
Dean had died.
Again.
Sam felt tears run down his face as a lump formed in his throat. The way that knowledge hit him all of a sudden was devastating and all he wanted to do was to clutch his big brother to him. The problem was that he couldn't because Dean wasn't corporeal yet. Instead his brother was one big glowy ball of light that looked kinda like one of those photos that he'd seen of the Andromeda galaxy. Well, either that or a giant fairy, and boy was he never going to let Dean forget that!
Only, Sam frowned, was his brother's soul supposed to get that bright? It was becoming really hard to look at Dean now and he suddenly couldn't help but think that Death might be hurting his brother instead of helping him. Could it be that the horseman was trying to make his brother's soul go supernova? It had to be something like that because it was starting to look more like dying angelic Grace now than a human soul. The thing was, much as he wouldn't know if Death were harming his brother, the angels would and Castiel wasn't doing anything but staring at the horseman and Dean's soul in wonder while still clutching his brother's meatsuit. Surely if what Death was doing was wrong then the angel wouldn't simply be sitting there like that. Especially not given what Dean had just told him.
Dean and Castiel angel married.
Sam still couldn't wrap his mind around that particular fact. It just... didn't compute. His brother married was hard enough to imagine let alone to a guy or an angel. Thinking back on their interactions before he couldn't see any signs of it either. His brother had treated Castiel much as Dean had always treated anyone who worked with them, demanding a lot more than reasonable but giving them unwavering loyalty in return.
So had he just been blind or had there really been no signs until things had changed? Sam had seen other friendships evolve into more which he hadn't expected to and he hadn't ever been able to find any indicators of what would happen afterwards then either. So it wasn't outside the realm of possibilities.
With a mixed cry of pain and dismay, Sam was forced to close his eyes as his brother's soul exploded into such a brilliant intensity that it was like looking directly into the sun.
At noon.
In the summer.
/
Castiel could have wept as Dean's true awareness skittered to life along the slowly reforming bond. It wasn't fully there yet so he still felt like he had when Raphael had started destroying him a few years ago in the prophet's house, partially obliterated himself. It would have felt better if he'd lost all of his wings instead of his bond mate and he'd have considered himself both lucky and blessed for it too.
The moment that Castiel felt his human's awareness, he surged forwards and grasped hold of that part of Dean's soul tightly. It said all that was needed about how integral the bond had become to his hunter when his bond mate didn't so much as resist him for an instant, instead simply melting into his Grace, the rapidly rising panic and terror eased with his presence.
The bond began to reform rapidly now that Dean was actively focused on it and Castiel relaxed slightly, allowing Michael to twine around him to reach that essential part of his bond mate as well. None of the almost instinctive jealousy from before was there anymore, so long as he had his bond mate he didn't care how closely bonded Michael and Dean were.
Castiel was so focused on nurturing his hunter's growing awareness that at first he didn't notice the slightly different resonance to Dean's soul, like a single tone or chord that was different in an orchestra, but once he did he couldn't not see it anymore. Frowning he checked that his brother had a hold of his bond mate before he reached out to it.
"Don't."
The order came out of nowhere, icy cold and sharp, with a weight of command behind it that Castiel hadn't experienced in millennia. Automatically his Grace submitted, wings going low and wide before he even realized who it was that had issued the command. Death.
"But-" Castiel began, unsure.
"Do you think that my work would duplicate that of your father exactly?" Death demanded. "There will always be some minute differences, but it wouldn't be to his essence, just the resonance of his soul."
Part of Castiel wanted to protest, to have Dean exactly as his bond mate had been but he tried to suppress it. Not only was he far too thankful to have Dean at all but this was also the most powerful of all the horsemen, the one being he'd seen his human truly afraid of in a way that his bond mate hadn't been even of his Father. Then there was also the fact that there really was nothing that he could do about the situation. Not only could he not think of anything that might sway Death's hand, but if he resisted then there was also the possibility, slight as he suspected that it was, that the horseman would cease what Death was doing and there was absolutely no way that he'd risk that.
Castiel resolved to investigate the matter far more later on, once he had his bond mate back.
Meanwhile Castiel turned his attention back to Dean as his human began tugging on their newly reformed bond with a proprietariness that he'd never felt before. It pleased him in a way as he'd always wanted his hunter to feel like Dean deserved him and their bond, but it hadn't happened yet no matter how much his bond mate's self-esteem had improved recently. It could be that this present flare of emotion was due more to the fact that Dean hadn't been fully restored yet than anything else, but he wasn't going to let it go unrewarded for all that.
With a wave of love and warmth, Castiel bathed his bond mate in all of the affection that was Dean's due and felt it mingle with Michael's own attentions for his human. Together it seemed to help calm his hunter some, but clearly Dean was still unsettled and he couldn't blame his bond mate. After what had happened he was amazed that his human was even remotely coherent right now. It was probably due to a mixture of both his and Michael's presences and the fact that Dean had already experienced far more than the average human soul. Still, he could feel an edge of what could only be described as hysteria tingeing his hunter's thoughts and feelings.
The hysteria suddenly flared brighter as Dean gained enough awareness to fully realize just who else was also touching his soul.
"Cas! Mike!" his bond mate cried out, frantic.
"Hush, Beloved," Castiel replied, trying to be as soothing as possible.
"You're safe, Little One," Michael added.
"But-" Dean began, scrambling for words.
"Death's helping you," Castiel explained quickly, not at all liking the clumsy and ineffectual way his bond mate was attempting to react.
It was an extremely painful and sharp indicator of how incomplete his human still was. Of how frighteningly fragile Dean was.
"Helping?"
"Yes, Little One, he's doing something we cannot so you must let him continue unimpeded," Michael elaborated.
"I don't like it."
The plaintive tone struck at Castiel's Grace all over again and he tried to pull his bond mate even closer to himself. "Hush, I know, Beloved, I know, but you must bear it. Hold onto us and it'll all be over soon, I promise."
/
Raphael hated being sidelined, completely unable to help his brothers, especially when his newest bond brother's very existence hung in the balance. He would have done what Michael had earlier and lent his strength to one of them if he thought that it would help but as neither Michael nor Castiel was actively using all that much of their own power it would be a useless gesture and only distract their attention from Dean, which was the very last thing that he wanted to do.
So much of his attention had been caught up with Death and his bond brother's slowly reforming soul that it took Raphael a while to realize that while he was unable to aid Dean's soul, his friend's body was another matter altogether. The First Darkness that had been slowly seeping through his bond brother's body had all vanished and he wasn't sure when that had happened as he'd not been paying any attention to the physical. Once he realized it, though, he immediately set to healing the mortal wounds left behind, any of which would have been fatal on their own. His first efforts were directed at the stab wound that had been the original injury and means through which the First had entered Dean's body and soul.
The damage to his bond brother's chest was significant and Raphael frowned as he began to work on it. The same wound caused by another knife would not nearly have been so severe, but the fact that the blade had been coated with pure First Darkness had caused physical damage all of its own, eating away at the flesh not unlike an acid might have. After that there was all of the secondary damage that the First had done to Dean's internal organs as it had slowly but steadily spread throughout his bond brother's body.
Meticulously Raphael followed each and every path the First Darkness had taken, carefully repairing all of the damage that he found. When he was finished, he scanned Dean from head to toe, seeking anything that he had might have missed on his first sweep. There was nothing aside from some mild irritation on his friend's lower left leg, something so minor that he wasn't even sure that his bond brother would have been aware of it, but he healed it nonetheless. That done, he placed his left hand on Dean's chest, just above the human's heart, and pushed his Grace into it, willing it to restart. A second later it did and he followed that with a similar Grace infused command to his bond brother's lungs and brain.
When Raphael pulled back to inspect his work he was pleased to see that to any human, Dean would now merely appear to be sleeping. To an angel it would be instantly apparent that there was no soul in the body, but his bond brother could now return to his body whenever Dean's soul had been sufficiently recreated and that let him feel like he'd been able to do something for his friend.
"Raphael, Brother, are you there?"
The call came to him even as it was heard by the rest of the Host. Raphael tilted his head to one side as he tried to identify the voice. He had less opportunity to interact with the lessor angels than did either Michael or Castiel, but the voice still sounded familiar to him. A moment later he had it and he reached out, opening a personal connection between the two of them.
"Yes, Xarael?"
"What is happening down there, Raphael? Do you require assistance? I have two garrisons standing by."
The words made Raphael smile, he could easily understand why Castiel had chosen her as his main aid when his brother had taken on the task of reorganizing Heaven. "No, that will not be necessary, Xarael."
"I can't reach Castiel."
"That is because Castiel is focused on another matter at the moment. Death is recreating Dean."
"Oh, thank Father! We thought his soul had been obliterated already."
"So did we. I think Dean came very close to being completely extinguished, but there must have been just enough of his soul left for Death to work with when he arrived."
Even as he spoke, Raphael could hear the Song of Heaven changing from the sorrow filled lamenting of before to something far brighter and praising of their Father. It heartened him even though he knew that their Father most likely didn't have anything to do with this turn of events. At least not directly. It still saddened him to think about it, but the fact remained that Father seemed to have gone and left them on their own for some unknown reason.
"Is there anything else that you require?" Xarael inquired.
"Not at the moment, but if you could see to it that Castiel's chores are temporarily reassigned that would be best. He will not want to leave his bond mate's side any time soon. Let me know if there is anything which you cannot find someone else to cover for."
"Yes, Raphael. And... please tell Dean that I am pleased he has not been obliterated."
"I will."
Raphael wondered what it said about how much he had changed that he now knew how much Xarael's particular phrasing would amuse his bond brother. It was not what a human would say in her place.
/
Gwen cursed as she was forced to close her eyes once more and wondered if she shouldn't just keep them shut. The thing was, she really wanted to see what was going on as she'd never witnessed anything like it before and she was nearly a hundred percent sure that the glowing ball of light was her cousin's very soul. It was simply amazing. Sure, she had absolutely nothing to compare it to, but she sincerely doubted that having seen another human soul would make her feel any less amazed by Dean's. Her cousin just didn't seem to be able to do anything normally, no matter that Dean didn't seem to even try and do anything unusual.
Because of all of that, Gwen desperately wanted to be able to look at the man all of her instincts were screaming at her wasn't human and what he was doing with Dean's soul. The thing was, between the light show Michael and Raphael had put on earlier that had left her ears bleeding and her eyes aching, and the blinding light from seconds ago, she wasn't sure if that was such a good idea anymore. Hell, if it hadn't been for Bobby's warning earlier she wasn't sure that she'd have closed her eyes fast enough the first time not to lose them. As soon as the older hunter had told her to close them she'd remembered what happened to most people who looked directly at angelic Grace, but it had completely slipped her mind before that.
Part of Gwen wanted to be angry with Michael for not having warned them of what he was about to do, but the rest of her could understand why it hadn't occurred to him to do so. The archangel had far greater concerns at that particular moment after all. Speaking of which, she could still hardly believe what had all just happened. When reading the books that Samuel had bought, she'd been unable to prevent herself from feeling a little jealous. She'd tried to stop herself from doing so, knowing that it had all been a lot less glamorous in real life, but that hadn't helped. Being caught up in it now only confirmed what she'd rationally known be true. Her cousin had only been with them for a few days and already she'd gone through the entire emotional spectrum and been endangered herself.
It didn't make a difference to Gwen's determination to help in any way that she could, but it did make her think twice about the risks involved. She'd have to brush up on all of her fighting skills and see if either of her cousins could recommend some new tactics for her to learn or improve herself in. Speaking of risks, she turned her face away from Dean and... whatever was with her cousin and tried opening one of her eyes. The light wasn't nearly so bad now, casting all kinds of strange shadows and reflections on the wall, but she could deal with it.
With no more immediate threat (hell, if three archangels couldn't handle the situation then what good could she possible do?), Gwen turned her attention to the one person that she could help; Samuel. She didn't know what had happened here, but given the condition he was in and the fact that not one of the archangels had taken the second that would be needed in order to heal him, she knew that it couldn't be good. Unlikely as it may be, she wasn't going to take any chances and so she doused Samuel with some of the Holy water that she always carried on her. There was absolutely no reaction so she crept closer and started looking him over. There was an ugly knot on the back of Samuel's head and a hand shaped bruise forming at his throat.
The latter made Gwen frown, but it was immediately obvious who was responsible for strangling Samuel as the dainty shape of the bruise indicated that it had been made by a female hand and she definitely hadn't done it which left just one other person and there was absolutely no doubt in her mind how Michael would react if Samuel had threatened or hurt Dean.
The only question now was why had Samuel done it? What had possibly possessed him to attack, let alone try to kill, his own beloved grandson if he hadn't actually been possessed?
A.N.: Just to let you know, I'm traveling the next few days and will then be somewhere I've not been before until the 26th. I've been told there will be internet access everywhere but if I vanish without a trace again, it means there really isn't.
Chapter 164
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 3,312
Summary: Confusion, pain, darkness and warmth.
PRESENT
Confusion, pain, darkness and warmth.
Power.
Himself and others. Mixing, sliding, spinning, reaching, pain.
Hurting, stretching, growing, burning, healing, pain.
Panic, warmth, comfort, hurting.
Darkness.
Feeling, stretching, yearning. Nothing.
Panic, comfort, frantic, holding, desperate, gentle.
Bond.
Bond good, good bond.
Pain bad.
Darkness, pain, re-growing, frantic. Hell?
Warmth, warmth, comfort and warmth.
Clinging.
Clinging, soothing, bonding. Safe.
Beloved, wanted.
Safe but pain, need pain?
Hate pain.
Shushing warmth, stopping escape. Enveloping, holding, not letting escape but feel good, really good.
Want more.
Pull closer, bury into, wrap around. Warmth, comfort.
Love.
Trust.
Still trembling but slowing, stopping. Warmth soothing, helping, holding. Bury into deeper, sighing.
Pain still there but dimming, regrowth good, not Hell regrowth; necessary. Needed.
Bearable if wanted. Warmth want. Warmth good. Warmth soothing. Warmth loving.
Warmth two?
Two warmths. Good warmth and better warmth. Friend warmth and... and bond warmth? No, two bonds. Friend warmth and Cas warmth.
Cas warmth pulsing and thrumming. Cas warmth happy.
He like happy Cas warmth. Want Cas warmth. More Cas warmth.
Get more Cas warmth. Purr.
/
Sam watched transfixed as Death did whatever it was that the horseman was doing to Dean's soul. Normally he'd be on his feet and across the room in an instant, defending his brother, but an overwhelming mixture of shock and relief kept him frozen in place. He'd not even had time to fully process Dean's death before Castiel had spoken, but it had been enough to completely devastate him.
The only other thing that kept Sam from attacking was the fact that he could see his brother's soul slowly getting brighter. It had started off slightly resembling the soul he'd seen in that one demon lackey of Famine's briefcase and was now already far brighter than it. If it kept on increasing in intensity then he'd have to close his eyes or look away soon.
Those were the absolute last two things that Sam wanted to do right now. He'd just lost his big brother and irrational as it was, he felt like Dean would vanish if he didn't keep his eyes on him. The fact that he could see what was essentially his brother's lifeless corpse out of the corner of his eye didn't help matters either.
Dean had died.
Again.
Sam felt tears run down his face as a lump formed in his throat. The way that knowledge hit him all of a sudden was devastating and all he wanted to do was to clutch his big brother to him. The problem was that he couldn't because Dean wasn't corporeal yet. Instead his brother was one big glowy ball of light that looked kinda like one of those photos that he'd seen of the Andromeda galaxy. Well, either that or a giant fairy, and boy was he never going to let Dean forget that!
Only, Sam frowned, was his brother's soul supposed to get that bright? It was becoming really hard to look at Dean now and he suddenly couldn't help but think that Death might be hurting his brother instead of helping him. Could it be that the horseman was trying to make his brother's soul go supernova? It had to be something like that because it was starting to look more like dying angelic Grace now than a human soul. The thing was, much as he wouldn't know if Death were harming his brother, the angels would and Castiel wasn't doing anything but staring at the horseman and Dean's soul in wonder while still clutching his brother's meatsuit. Surely if what Death was doing was wrong then the angel wouldn't simply be sitting there like that. Especially not given what Dean had just told him.
Dean and Castiel angel married.
Sam still couldn't wrap his mind around that particular fact. It just... didn't compute. His brother married was hard enough to imagine let alone to a guy or an angel. Thinking back on their interactions before he couldn't see any signs of it either. His brother had treated Castiel much as Dean had always treated anyone who worked with them, demanding a lot more than reasonable but giving them unwavering loyalty in return.
So had he just been blind or had there really been no signs until things had changed? Sam had seen other friendships evolve into more which he hadn't expected to and he hadn't ever been able to find any indicators of what would happen afterwards then either. So it wasn't outside the realm of possibilities.
With a mixed cry of pain and dismay, Sam was forced to close his eyes as his brother's soul exploded into such a brilliant intensity that it was like looking directly into the sun.
At noon.
In the summer.
/
Castiel could have wept as Dean's true awareness skittered to life along the slowly reforming bond. It wasn't fully there yet so he still felt like he had when Raphael had started destroying him a few years ago in the prophet's house, partially obliterated himself. It would have felt better if he'd lost all of his wings instead of his bond mate and he'd have considered himself both lucky and blessed for it too.
The moment that Castiel felt his human's awareness, he surged forwards and grasped hold of that part of Dean's soul tightly. It said all that was needed about how integral the bond had become to his hunter when his bond mate didn't so much as resist him for an instant, instead simply melting into his Grace, the rapidly rising panic and terror eased with his presence.
The bond began to reform rapidly now that Dean was actively focused on it and Castiel relaxed slightly, allowing Michael to twine around him to reach that essential part of his bond mate as well. None of the almost instinctive jealousy from before was there anymore, so long as he had his bond mate he didn't care how closely bonded Michael and Dean were.
Castiel was so focused on nurturing his hunter's growing awareness that at first he didn't notice the slightly different resonance to Dean's soul, like a single tone or chord that was different in an orchestra, but once he did he couldn't not see it anymore. Frowning he checked that his brother had a hold of his bond mate before he reached out to it.
"Don't."
The order came out of nowhere, icy cold and sharp, with a weight of command behind it that Castiel hadn't experienced in millennia. Automatically his Grace submitted, wings going low and wide before he even realized who it was that had issued the command. Death.
"But-" Castiel began, unsure.
"Do you think that my work would duplicate that of your father exactly?" Death demanded. "There will always be some minute differences, but it wouldn't be to his essence, just the resonance of his soul."
Part of Castiel wanted to protest, to have Dean exactly as his bond mate had been but he tried to suppress it. Not only was he far too thankful to have Dean at all but this was also the most powerful of all the horsemen, the one being he'd seen his human truly afraid of in a way that his bond mate hadn't been even of his Father. Then there was also the fact that there really was nothing that he could do about the situation. Not only could he not think of anything that might sway Death's hand, but if he resisted then there was also the possibility, slight as he suspected that it was, that the horseman would cease what Death was doing and there was absolutely no way that he'd risk that.
Castiel resolved to investigate the matter far more later on, once he had his bond mate back.
Meanwhile Castiel turned his attention back to Dean as his human began tugging on their newly reformed bond with a proprietariness that he'd never felt before. It pleased him in a way as he'd always wanted his hunter to feel like Dean deserved him and their bond, but it hadn't happened yet no matter how much his bond mate's self-esteem had improved recently. It could be that this present flare of emotion was due more to the fact that Dean hadn't been fully restored yet than anything else, but he wasn't going to let it go unrewarded for all that.
With a wave of love and warmth, Castiel bathed his bond mate in all of the affection that was Dean's due and felt it mingle with Michael's own attentions for his human. Together it seemed to help calm his hunter some, but clearly Dean was still unsettled and he couldn't blame his bond mate. After what had happened he was amazed that his human was even remotely coherent right now. It was probably due to a mixture of both his and Michael's presences and the fact that Dean had already experienced far more than the average human soul. Still, he could feel an edge of what could only be described as hysteria tingeing his hunter's thoughts and feelings.
The hysteria suddenly flared brighter as Dean gained enough awareness to fully realize just who else was also touching his soul.
"Cas! Mike!" his bond mate cried out, frantic.
"Hush, Beloved," Castiel replied, trying to be as soothing as possible.
"You're safe, Little One," Michael added.
"But-" Dean began, scrambling for words.
"Death's helping you," Castiel explained quickly, not at all liking the clumsy and ineffectual way his bond mate was attempting to react.
It was an extremely painful and sharp indicator of how incomplete his human still was. Of how frighteningly fragile Dean was.
"Helping?"
"Yes, Little One, he's doing something we cannot so you must let him continue unimpeded," Michael elaborated.
"I don't like it."
The plaintive tone struck at Castiel's Grace all over again and he tried to pull his bond mate even closer to himself. "Hush, I know, Beloved, I know, but you must bear it. Hold onto us and it'll all be over soon, I promise."
/
Raphael hated being sidelined, completely unable to help his brothers, especially when his newest bond brother's very existence hung in the balance. He would have done what Michael had earlier and lent his strength to one of them if he thought that it would help but as neither Michael nor Castiel was actively using all that much of their own power it would be a useless gesture and only distract their attention from Dean, which was the very last thing that he wanted to do.
So much of his attention had been caught up with Death and his bond brother's slowly reforming soul that it took Raphael a while to realize that while he was unable to aid Dean's soul, his friend's body was another matter altogether. The First Darkness that had been slowly seeping through his bond brother's body had all vanished and he wasn't sure when that had happened as he'd not been paying any attention to the physical. Once he realized it, though, he immediately set to healing the mortal wounds left behind, any of which would have been fatal on their own. His first efforts were directed at the stab wound that had been the original injury and means through which the First had entered Dean's body and soul.
The damage to his bond brother's chest was significant and Raphael frowned as he began to work on it. The same wound caused by another knife would not nearly have been so severe, but the fact that the blade had been coated with pure First Darkness had caused physical damage all of its own, eating away at the flesh not unlike an acid might have. After that there was all of the secondary damage that the First had done to Dean's internal organs as it had slowly but steadily spread throughout his bond brother's body.
Meticulously Raphael followed each and every path the First Darkness had taken, carefully repairing all of the damage that he found. When he was finished, he scanned Dean from head to toe, seeking anything that he had might have missed on his first sweep. There was nothing aside from some mild irritation on his friend's lower left leg, something so minor that he wasn't even sure that his bond brother would have been aware of it, but he healed it nonetheless. That done, he placed his left hand on Dean's chest, just above the human's heart, and pushed his Grace into it, willing it to restart. A second later it did and he followed that with a similar Grace infused command to his bond brother's lungs and brain.
When Raphael pulled back to inspect his work he was pleased to see that to any human, Dean would now merely appear to be sleeping. To an angel it would be instantly apparent that there was no soul in the body, but his bond brother could now return to his body whenever Dean's soul had been sufficiently recreated and that let him feel like he'd been able to do something for his friend.
"Raphael, Brother, are you there?"
The call came to him even as it was heard by the rest of the Host. Raphael tilted his head to one side as he tried to identify the voice. He had less opportunity to interact with the lessor angels than did either Michael or Castiel, but the voice still sounded familiar to him. A moment later he had it and he reached out, opening a personal connection between the two of them.
"Yes, Xarael?"
"What is happening down there, Raphael? Do you require assistance? I have two garrisons standing by."
The words made Raphael smile, he could easily understand why Castiel had chosen her as his main aid when his brother had taken on the task of reorganizing Heaven. "No, that will not be necessary, Xarael."
"I can't reach Castiel."
"That is because Castiel is focused on another matter at the moment. Death is recreating Dean."
"Oh, thank Father! We thought his soul had been obliterated already."
"So did we. I think Dean came very close to being completely extinguished, but there must have been just enough of his soul left for Death to work with when he arrived."
Even as he spoke, Raphael could hear the Song of Heaven changing from the sorrow filled lamenting of before to something far brighter and praising of their Father. It heartened him even though he knew that their Father most likely didn't have anything to do with this turn of events. At least not directly. It still saddened him to think about it, but the fact remained that Father seemed to have gone and left them on their own for some unknown reason.
"Is there anything else that you require?" Xarael inquired.
"Not at the moment, but if you could see to it that Castiel's chores are temporarily reassigned that would be best. He will not want to leave his bond mate's side any time soon. Let me know if there is anything which you cannot find someone else to cover for."
"Yes, Raphael. And... please tell Dean that I am pleased he has not been obliterated."
"I will."
Raphael wondered what it said about how much he had changed that he now knew how much Xarael's particular phrasing would amuse his bond brother. It was not what a human would say in her place.
/
Gwen cursed as she was forced to close her eyes once more and wondered if she shouldn't just keep them shut. The thing was, she really wanted to see what was going on as she'd never witnessed anything like it before and she was nearly a hundred percent sure that the glowing ball of light was her cousin's very soul. It was simply amazing. Sure, she had absolutely nothing to compare it to, but she sincerely doubted that having seen another human soul would make her feel any less amazed by Dean's. Her cousin just didn't seem to be able to do anything normally, no matter that Dean didn't seem to even try and do anything unusual.
Because of all of that, Gwen desperately wanted to be able to look at the man all of her instincts were screaming at her wasn't human and what he was doing with Dean's soul. The thing was, between the light show Michael and Raphael had put on earlier that had left her ears bleeding and her eyes aching, and the blinding light from seconds ago, she wasn't sure if that was such a good idea anymore. Hell, if it hadn't been for Bobby's warning earlier she wasn't sure that she'd have closed her eyes fast enough the first time not to lose them. As soon as the older hunter had told her to close them she'd remembered what happened to most people who looked directly at angelic Grace, but it had completely slipped her mind before that.
Part of Gwen wanted to be angry with Michael for not having warned them of what he was about to do, but the rest of her could understand why it hadn't occurred to him to do so. The archangel had far greater concerns at that particular moment after all. Speaking of which, she could still hardly believe what had all just happened. When reading the books that Samuel had bought, she'd been unable to prevent herself from feeling a little jealous. She'd tried to stop herself from doing so, knowing that it had all been a lot less glamorous in real life, but that hadn't helped. Being caught up in it now only confirmed what she'd rationally known be true. Her cousin had only been with them for a few days and already she'd gone through the entire emotional spectrum and been endangered herself.
It didn't make a difference to Gwen's determination to help in any way that she could, but it did make her think twice about the risks involved. She'd have to brush up on all of her fighting skills and see if either of her cousins could recommend some new tactics for her to learn or improve herself in. Speaking of risks, she turned her face away from Dean and... whatever was with her cousin and tried opening one of her eyes. The light wasn't nearly so bad now, casting all kinds of strange shadows and reflections on the wall, but she could deal with it.
With no more immediate threat (hell, if three archangels couldn't handle the situation then what good could she possible do?), Gwen turned her attention to the one person that she could help; Samuel. She didn't know what had happened here, but given the condition he was in and the fact that not one of the archangels had taken the second that would be needed in order to heal him, she knew that it couldn't be good. Unlikely as it may be, she wasn't going to take any chances and so she doused Samuel with some of the Holy water that she always carried on her. There was absolutely no reaction so she crept closer and started looking him over. There was an ugly knot on the back of Samuel's head and a hand shaped bruise forming at his throat.
The latter made Gwen frown, but it was immediately obvious who was responsible for strangling Samuel as the dainty shape of the bruise indicated that it had been made by a female hand and she definitely hadn't done it which left just one other person and there was absolutely no doubt in her mind how Michael would react if Samuel had threatened or hurt Dean.
The only question now was why had Samuel done it? What had possibly possessed him to attack, let alone try to kill, his own beloved grandson if he hadn't actually been possessed?
A.N.: Just to let you know, I'm traveling the next few days and will then be somewhere I've not been before until the 26th. I've been told there will be internet access everywhere but if I vanish without a trace again, it means there really isn't.
Chapter 164