The Blind Side, 6/?
Title: The Blind Side
Author: auntmo9
Rating:PG-13, for language
Genre and/or Pairing: Gen/Het, Hints at Gabriel/OC
Spoilers: Spoilers through 6.16 And Then There Were None
Characters: Dean, Sam, Gabriel, Castiel, Bobby, OCs
Word Count: 3213 this chapter
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters.
Summary: When Gabriel returns from another dimension with a new prophet, he not only has to help with the mess that he finds that the Winchesters and Castiel are in, but with the consequences of his own actions. Sequel to Gabriel, Interrupted.
A/N: Again, while it will contain spoilers for all episodes aired through 6.16, it is definitely going AU from there. Thanks tojaharper88 for her help and brainstorming with me on this chapter. Without her help, this chapter would remain unfinished This is unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine.
Not as apology, but simply as a fair warning, updates will be more sporadic due to the many things I have going on at the moment.
Chapters 01 02 03 04 05
The lingering winter was still colder than most others would be able to handle in either the light military style jacket or the trench coat that the two of them were sporting. But then again, most humans hadn’t been this far up on Six Grandfathers since the original carving work had been done on Bull Moose’s brow over seventy years ago. Even if he hadn’t masked them, there were so few tourists to the national park at this time of day and this time of year that they might just think they were maintenance workers.
He hated to leave Tillie alone back at Singer’s place with all of the current chaos, but he didn’t think the muttonheads would let any harm come to her while he was away. Besides, while he and Cas were well over three hundred miles from Sioux Falls, he was still close enough to get back to Tillie in a blink of an eye if she should need him.
Gabriel regarded his brother for a moment before speaking. He had trouble swallowing what Tillie had told him, but it been a prophecy, which meant it would come to pass. And he intended to get to the bottom of it before that happened.
"Castiel, I want you to be honest with me here,” he began. “Just what in Dad's name are you doing?"
"I...I heard that Raphael was at Bobby’s home last night,” Castiel answered, slightly taken aback that Gabriel was confronting him, when he had come to get the answers to his own questions. “I heard that the two of you spoke. I wanted to know why you would speak to him, given the fact that we are at war with him."
Gabriel rubbed the back of his head and sighed, trying to hide his frustration. "I told him that I'd talk to him because I want to know just what the hell is going on. I mean, I come back and all of Heaven is at each other's throats again. What am I supposed to think?"
“I told you what was going on last night,” Castiel growled, not even trying to conceal his own anger as he paced across the top of the large sculpture of the former president’s head. “He wants to restart the Apocalypse. We fought hard to stop that. I thought you died to try to keep Lucifer from destroying humans. Why would you even think of letting Raphael let it begin all over again?”
"I don't want it to start all over again,” Gabriel shot back. A low, aggravated noise escaped from the back of his throat as he crossed his arms. “I also don't want to have another one of my big brothers decide to take a stab at me, literally." Gabriel didn’t say it aloud, but he also had Tillie to worry about now, too. But if he let on how much he was concerned about her, then he was sure it would be used against him at some point.
As he was thinking of Tillie, he could sense she was worried about whether or not she could use the credit card he left behind to get some other things she needed. When he had told Sam to use it to pay for everything she needed, he meant that, and he tried to convey that to her through the bond. He hoped she sensed that, because he had more pressing matters to deal with right now. He circled around his brother and walked right up to his face. "Oh, and by the way, bro; who's the new partner that you don't want anyone to know about?"
Castiel tilted his head and frowned slightly as he looked at Gabriel. “I am unsure of who you are referring to. Balthazar has been helping me for sometime. He is not a new partner, and the Winchesters are fully aware that he is working to help me...what other partner could you be referring to?”
"I already heard Balthazar was working with you. In fact, I heard you corrupted him. At first I had a hard time believing that. It seemed darn near impossible that John-Boy would ever do anything to lure Jason away from the purity that is Walton’s Mountain,” Gabriel snorted. “But then I got some additional information that made me question my initial assumptions about what exactly you are capable of.”
Castiel looked at Gabriel with a mixture of guilt, confusion and hurt. “Once I…I paved the way for angels to have free will, Balthazar…made his own choices.”
“Hmph…I think there was a little bit more to it than that. But that is not what I want to discuss,” Gabriel said, glaring at his younger brother. “I want to know about the little demon or monster that you're buddy-buddy with, the one that is willing to get rid of our newest prophet so no one knows you are working together, despite the fact that you seem to be prepared to make grandiose promises to restore her vision if she cooperates with whatever plans you are cooking up. And don't you dare lie to me, Cas. I know what's going on. Tillie had a vision about the whole thing."
Castiel refused to look Gabriel in the eye, instead, choosing to look down across the nearly empty park. "I don't understand. How could she have had a prophecy? I am not working with any demon or monster...And I know of no way to heal her. "
Gabriel bit back the bile rising up in his throat, as well as the anger that accompanied it. Cas had apparently learned to lie, though not too well, while he had been away. Gabriel wasn’t going to push the issue, at least not now. He would seek his answers out elsewhere. “So, then that is how you want to play this, Cas?” he said, pushing his finger in his younger brother’s chest. “Fine, then do me a favor. Leave. Tillie. Be. If I ever catch you near her, especially alone, you will have to deal with me.”
tbs*tbs*tbs*tbs*tbs
As Bobby hung up the phone he announced, “Well Sherriff Mills is off today. She has been working so much during the last couple of days due to the snowstorm, she was already planning to take the day off. She is more than happy to go shopping with you, Tillie. In fact, she is not too far from here now, so if you are ready to go, she should be here within about thirty minutes.”
“Thank you, Bobby,” Tillie beamed. “I appreciate it. I am pretty much ready, except I will need to borrow a coat from someone, since all I have are the clothes on my back.”
“You would probably be swimming inside of any coat Sam or could loan you,” Dean said as he regarded the smaller woman who only stood about five foot five.
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Bobby spoke up as he started to wash the breakfast dishes left in the sink by his house guests. “I have a bunch of Sam and Dean’s stuff from when they were younger stored up in the attic. There is probably a coat or two that would fit you up there.”
“Really?” Sam asked, surprised as he walked over to the sink and began to help Bobby by drying the dishes. “You kept our stuff?”
“Dude, does this place look like he throws anything out?” Dean mocked.
“Yes, I throw some things out,” Bobby replied. “You might be next if you don’t watch your mouth. Now, git on up to the attic and look for a decent coat that looks like it might fit Tillie.”
“Why me?” Dean asked, nearly whining.
“Because you’re not helping clean this house up right now,” Bobby shot back. “Besides, your brother can’t stand upright in the attic anyways. Now git on up there and find the woman a coat.”
Tillie let out a little laugh while listening to this exchange between the three hunters as she heard Dean leave the room and begrudgingly trudge up the stairs. She paused before feeling her way around the table where she found the credit card that Sam had left there. She ran her hand across it, feeling the cool plastic in her hands and the raised symbols along the bottom that indicated the account number and name while wondering if it be alright with Gabriel if she used it to purchase clothing as well.
Sam watched Tillie as she explored the credit card with her fingers and a look of concern flashed across her face. He guessed at what she was worried about. “He did say to use it to pay for everything that you need. I am pretty sure clothing falls into that category.”
“Thanks, Sam,” Tillie sighed. Still, she would feel better about it if Gabriel himself gave her permission, seeing as how she had given him so much grief about asking her before he did things. As Tillie was thinking about Gabriel, she realized she could sense him if she just focused her thoughts on him. And right now, she could tell his conversation with Castiel wasn’t going as well has he had hoped for. But apparently he had sensed her as well and quickly let her know to go ahead and use the card to get what she needed before seemingly dismissing her. She felt like her presence was a distraction to him at the moment, so she would certainly try not to bother him any more than necessary.
As Dean came back down from the attic, Tillie heard a car pull up outside the house and within a minute, heard footsteps ascending the stairs to the porch before there was a light knock on the door. She heard Bobby’s heavier gait walk to the door and swing it open. “Sheriff,” Bobby greeted the person at the door.
“Singer,” she answered as she stepped into the house. “So fellas, you seemed to handle our winter weather fairly well. Not that I’m surprised. You have handled tougher things than a storm. Now, who is this new house guest I hear you have?”
Tillie picked up her cane and made her way across the room to the front door, sweeping the cane back and forth in front of her path as she went. Stopping when her cane hit the edge of Bobby’s boot she smiled in the general direction of the front door. “Hi. I’m Tillie Chambers,” she said as she held out her hand.
“Jodie Mills,” the sheriff replied, shaking Tillie’s hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sheriff,” Tillie said. “I appreciate you being willing to take me shopping. I’ve been stuck in this house since we got here. I’m not sure what Bobby told you about my situation, but I had to leave everything I own behind.”
“Please call me Jodie,” the other woman said with a smile. “Only trouble makers like these guys have to call me Sheriff. So why don’t we leave the men behind and hit the stores?” The sheriff took Tillie by the arm and guided her out of the house and to the car and the two women were soon on their way.
“So, how do you know Singer?” Jodie began, as she drove towards the heart of Sioux Falls.
“What…what did he tell you about me…and my situation?” Tillie asked nervously, unsure of what exactly the other woman was aware of. Tillie knew that the sheriff had to know something about the supernatural world, just from watching the show. But she had no idea what Bobby had told her about her own situation.
“Well, the old coot didn’t share much beyond what you have already said,” Jodie offered. “Pretty much that you showed up a few days ago with nothing but the clothes on your back and a pain-in-the-ass in tow…and that you had recently lost your vision in an unusual way…I took that to mean some of the stuff that he gets himself involved with, am I right?”
“Yeah, pretty much,” Tillie admitted. “I don’t know that there is a better way to explain it all.”
“That’s okay,” Jodie said, holding up a hand. “I don’t need to know more about how it happened. But how did you get to Singer’s place, if you can’t see?”
Tillie bit her lip, thinking about how to proceed. “Have you ever met Cas…Castiel?”
"You mean the younger but taller Columbo?” Jodie asked with a slight smile. "Yeah, I have seen him around. Why do ask?"
“Well, it is just that Cas’ brother is the one that brought me here,” Tillie said. "He was the pain-in-the-ass Bobby was referring to." After thinking for a moment, she added, “Do you know what Cas is?"
Jodie glanced at Tillie sideways as she pulled into the parking lot of one the shops in Sioux Falls. "He's one of Bobby's acquaintances, isn't he?"
Tillie sighed and began to twist a few stray brown curls of her hair nervously as she tried a different approach. "Have you ever noticed that he is a little odd? Maybe socially awkward?"
Jodie walked over to the other side of the car, opened the door, and helped guide Tillie through the parking lot. "Only a little. Is there any specific reason why he's that way?"
“You know what Bobby does...I mean his work with...um...non-humans, and you never considered that maybe Cas, well maybe Cas... wasn't human?" Tillie wondered aloud.
"If... if he isn't human, then what is he?" Jodie asked, the shock evident in her voice as she lead them into the clothing store.
"He's an angel.” Tillie whispered, so no one could over hear her. She waited with bated breath. Not hearing any sounds of protest, nor much movement from any other people around them, she continued in a whisper. "After the whole thing you went through with the dead rising here in Sioux Falls, I thought Bobby might've explained to you why that happened...you know the Apocalypse with Lucifer and all."
Jodie frowned at that, as she collected a variety of colors and styles of clothing for Tillie to try. "Well, he explained some of it. But, that boy, an angel? How can that be? He is nothing like what I thought an angel would be like."
"You probably haven't seen much of what he is capable of. Believe me, most angels aren't anything like what we learned about in Sunday School,” Tillie sighed as they made their way to the dressing room. “Most of them are assholes on a good day. At one point in time, I thought Cas might be one of the few decent ones. I am not so sure anymore."
Jodie paused for a moment in shock. “I’m still not used to the idea of…well, all the bad stuff that is out there. And now angels aren’t that we think they are either?”
"I know," Tillie agreed arriving at the back of the store. "I've spent more time with some of them than I thought I ever would, and I am still not used to it. You know, even the only slightly decent angel I do know is so completely different from what I learned about growing up, and even later, thought possible, that I vacillate from wanting to strangle him and wanting to hug him."
"Wait a minute," Jodie interjected as she tilted her head toward the other woman. "You said earlier that it was Cas' brother that brought you to Singer's place... the pain-in-the-ass. That isn't the angel you're talking about, is it?" When Tillie nodded her head in silence, the sheriff continued. "Well, then who is he?"
"Gabriel," Tillie muttered under her breath as she separated items she wanted to purchase from those she didn't.
"Gabriel...as in the archangel?" Jodie asked suddenly even more intrigued by the turn their conversation was taking.
"Yes...but...well, he is not really anything like what you'd expect in an archangel," Tillie replied.
"You just told me that most angels are nothing like what any of us expect," Jodie said as she shrugged slightly. "Why should Gabriel be any different? Besides, how bad could he be? Is he some huge, unapproachable figure with an ego to match?"
Tillie laughed at Jodie's idea of Gabriel. "That is half right. His ego is huge...his figure, or should I say vessel, not so much. But I was thinking more about his character. He is one of the only angels I know of that actually ran away from heaven and hid out under an assumed identity, at least that is, until recently."
Jodie stared at Tillie for a moment before she joined in her laughter. "Oh my... that is... different. What new identity does an angel even assume... wow... I'm not even sure that I want to know."
"No, you probably don't," Tillie said, shaking her head. "Let's just say that he has much more experience being among humans than Cas does, and he is a little less socially awkward because of it. In fact, where Cas is socially awkward, Gabriel isn't the just the life of the party, he tries to make everything eventful."
"He sounds like a very... colorful individual," Jodie said as they walked up to the cash register. "So let me ask you this, why do you go back and forth between wanting to kill him and wanting to hug him? I can't say I've know many angels, but the only man I ever felt that way about was my husband."
"I...but...it's not like that," Tillie stammered, as her face turned bright red. "I...I'm just sort of stuck with him because of my situation is all."
"Sure it is," Jodie said knowingly. "Your just one of the ones that won't admit to yourself, aren't you? Oh, I left my purse in the dressing room. Wait here, and I'll be right back."
As Tillie stood quietly waiting for Jodie to return, her face still flushed, she wondered if there was any truth to what Jodie had said. Before her mind wandered too far, she was jarred out of her thoughts when she felt someone bump into her, causing her to jump back. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," she heard the voice of a young woman say.
"Oh, that's okay. I'm probably just standing in everyone's way while I'm waiting for my friend," Tillie replied, as she shifted on her feet nervously.
"Here, you dropped this," the young woman said, as she handed her a blouse that had fallen on the floor and patted Tillie's hand.
"Thanks," Tillie said, tilting her head in the direction the young woman's voice was coming from. "Do...do I know you? You...your voice sounds familiar."
"I don't think we've been introduced," the young woman said. "But you are a curiosity, that is for certain."
Tillie scrunched her nose and wondered what the woman meant, but before she asked, she felt her move away from her as Jodie was back at her side.
"I have my things," Jodie announced. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, um...sure," Tillie answered. "Say, do you know who that woman was who was just here talking to me?"
"Tillie, I didn't see any woman talking to you," Jodie Mills responded, suddenly concerned for her new friend.
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