A New Earth: Chapter 6: In Which There is Joy and Angst
Title: A New Earth: Chapter 6: In Which There is Joy and Angst
Fandom: Supernatural
Characters: Castiel, Gabriel, Balthazar, Dean, Sam, Bobby, Jo, Anna, Hester, Charlie
Rating: PG so far
Genres: Humor, drama
Era: AU
Warnings: Language, sugar-water, way too angst
Word Count: 2,346
Summary: Angels and hunters don't know each other. Apocalypse happens. Righteous humans given to angels on earth. Read a better summary here. In this chapter, Castiel brings the boys a present, which makes everyone happy, but then they go visit Jo, which makes everyone sad.
Notes: Look at me, posting twice in one month!
"Where are you off too, Cassy?" Gabriel asked me as I straightened my trench coat, preparing to vanish. I would have jumped in surprise if I had been, but I had heard him coming.
"I am not going to tell you." It would be dishonest to say I would, but I would have to refuse his request.
"'Not going to tell?' Hmm… now that does make me curious." Gabriel grinned mischievously as he leaned against the doorframe of my bedroom. "You've been disappearing late every night for a week. You've told no one and obviously don't want the humans to know you're leaving - secrets, secrets! Where are you going?"
I frowned. I most certainly did not want to tell him what I was doing at night, but I had to tell him something. It was not like I was ashamed, but his tone of voice was implying that I was up to no good. "It is a secret."
"I realize it's a secret. That's why I'm asking you about it." Gabriel raised his eyebrow condescendingly.
I refused to give in, "It is a present - a surprise present. I do not want anyone knowing about it."
Gabriel's seemingly-nonchalant-but-actually-tense posture shifted into true relaxation. "Getting a gift for your boyfriend; that's adorable, Castiel! Almost sickeningly sweet (and I would know). "
"Dean is not- it is not just for him. It is a gift for all of them."
Gabriel only smirked and waved his hand dismissively. "Go on then. Be back by breakfast. And bring me back a toy!"
I glared but disappeared to a location halfway across the country.
It was a few hours after Gabriel had accosted me, and I had finally brought my surprise back to our house. I had been searching for weeks before I had found it and then had to find all the extra parts to go with it. It had been time consuming, but I hoped that they would be pleased and it would all be worth it.
"Dean, Sam, Bobby, will you come with me, please?" I asked the three men as they finished washing up the dishes after their lunch.
"We in trouble, boss?"
"No, Dean, you are not in trouble. Unless - did you do something wrong?"
"Nooooo… don't think so."
"Then you are not in trouble. Please come with me; it's a surprise."
"Oh, Cassy's surprise!" Gabriel jumped up, setting down the now-empty bottle of real maple syrup. "I've got to see this."
I led the way out to the garage, as they chattered behind me. "You don't know what it is?" asked Sam.
"Nope," replied Gabriel. "Either it's amazing, or, knowing Castiel, something he thinks is amazing. Which could be anything. Like a cow. Or a sculpture of creepy children. Once he spend an entire month following monarch butterflies." He poked Dean, "Your angel - is totally weird."
"He's not my angel," Dean grumped as I unlocked the shed.
"Well, you're his human. Don't you think I would have stolen you by now otherwise?"
"W-what!?" Dean sputtered.
I sighed, but gaining their attention, opened the garage doors with just a bit of flourish.
Dean gasped.
Sam gasped.
Bobby harrumphed.
Gabriel laughed. "Where'd you find this old piece of junk!?"
I glared, "The Impala is not a 'piece of junk.' It was written about a great deal in the Prophet Chuck's book; it has great historical and sentimental value. At least I think it does." I hesitated a moment before looking at Dean and the others.
I need not have worried. There was a light in Dean's eyes. There was still a shocked look on his face, but I could see a real joy glowing underneath that.
"Cas," Dean stuttered, finally looking at me. "Where did you-how did you know-I just can't believe it! This is great; really, really great."
Sam laughed. "This is amazing, Castiel. Thank you so much."
Bobby snorted, "You coulda fixed it up, angel-boy. That old girl has seen better days."
"I thought-" I started, but Bobby interrupted.
"I'm only messin' - 'course they'd want to fix it up themselves. That car's been their home in many a storm. You did good."
I smiled; I was so thankful that they were pleased. "It took me awhile to find it," I explained. "The prophecies were unclear about where your last battle had taken place, so I searched several states around my best guess. I did think about fixing it up, but I searched for parts instead. Thanks to Dean's teaching, I checked the car out and wrote down all the parts that I could see that were broken and found replacements. They are on the shelf over there."
Dean grinned and grabbed me in a side hug. "You're the best! Cas, let's get working on my baby right now!"
Even though he did not have the same love for the car as Dean did, Sam spent more time working in the garage with his brother. At first I felt like an intruder, but at Dean's insistence, I resumed my job as their assistant. I loved hearing stories of their favorite memories involving the Impala.
"We almost lost her a few times," Dean said as he lovingly buffed her hood, "but she's always managed to pull through.
Though I thought Dean's anthropomorphism and insistence that this genderless object was a "her" was strange, I found it charming as well.
As Sam came more often to help fix the Impala, Gabriel, who had previously avoided the "grease pit" - as he called it - came to help, which, in reality, meant to annoy.
"Saaaaaaammmm…. I'm sooooo bored," he would whine, as he juggled three wrenches and a screwdriver.
"Gabe, I can't really entertain you right now," came Sam's muffled reply from underneath the car.
"Why don't you get us something to drink?" suggested Dean as I slid his dolly out with my toe. "And that is not how you treat tools! Put those down!"
Gabriel gave him a lazy smile. The tools suddenly dropped, but I caught them before they clattered to the floor.
Dean glared.
Gabriel laughed. "Deano, you are just precious! Those grumpy little faces you make this whole babysitting thing worth it."
I intervened before things got further out of hand. Setting the tools back in their proper place, I offered, "If you are thirsty, Dean, I will bring you something to drink."
Face relaxing, Dean shook his head. "It's all right, buddy. I just wanted to give him something to do other than being a douche."
"That's gross. And also hurtful. I am going to cry," Gabriel pouted
"What's going on up there?" came Sam's stifled voice once more.
"Nothing, Sam. I'm going to take a break."
"Okay, bring me back something to drink, will ya? It's hot out."
Gabriel popped his head down. "Sam, why didn't you tell me you were thirsty? Here, drink this." A cool glass with tinkling ice cubes, a twisty straw, a tiny umbrella, and at least three pieces of fruit appeared in his hand. Sam took it gratefully.
Dean rolled his eyes and headed to the door. "Come on, Cas. Let's take a walk."
"Certainly." I followed Dean out the door.
Behind me I could hear Sam sputtering. "What is this, Gabe!? Sugar water!?"
"I thought you'd like it!"
After completing his investigations, Michael had sent all us angels instructions on some changes regarding our charges. Most we had already heard, but I was surprised to read that he wanted more social interaction between the humans.
It was that new guideline that prompted our visit to some old friends. Like the three of us angels, Anna and Hester had decided that they would rather live together than try to figure things out on their own. In years past, I had worked with both Anna and Hester - and for the last forty, we had been in the same garrison. I was pleased to be visiting them, though I never knew what to do during social visits. I had to rely on the others to give me an example.
Dean, Sam, and Bobby were excited to be going as well. For unlike our other recent excursions, they knew one of the humans residing here.
Her name was Joanna Beth Harvelle, and she was a hunter and a close friend. Dean claimed they practically grew up together - between jobs. It was clear by the amount of hugging and inside jokes that this was in fact true. They were also close to her mother, an Ellen Harvelle. She was living a few houses down. Once the initial excitement wore down, Jo (as she demanded to be called) appeared more withdrawn, almost sullen. As the others conversed, I watched her cautiously, concerned for her well being.
As Gabriel talked with Anna and Hester, I sat in the living room with Balthazar, Bobby, and Hester's charge, a redheaded girl named Charlie. Dean and Sam were upstairs with Anna, who had wanted to show them something; I had not asked.
"So do you all go outside much?" the girl Charlie asked.
Confused, I responded, "Yes, we spend a large amount of time in our garden."
"No, I mean do you, like, leave the compound? I need someone to make a run to a GameStop for me. I'm dying for some new, and by 'new,' I mean old, games to play. Hester refuses to go anymore. And she always brings back the weirdest stuff. I'm seriously bored, ya know?"
I blinked. I did not know if it would be appropriate for me to do what she asked, let alone precisely what she was asking.
Balthazar spoke, slowly, but his tone dripping with sarcasm, "We don't run errands." Seeing her pout, he relented just slightly. "Tell Hester what you want to play; she has the capability to just make it appear."
Bobby snorted. Charlie giggled a bit, saying, "I suppose you're right. Hester's really swell. Not as hot as Anna though. Redheads! Oh wait, I would know, wouldn't I?" She gave her own red hair a silly flip. "I don't see why Jo doesn't like her. I'm glad you guys came to visit us though. To top off the totally lame entertainment, we've basically been on house arrest since 'The Incident.'"
"What happened?" asked Bobby.
"I'm so not supposed to talk about it, but Jo like tried to run away and Anna and Hester were going nuts trying to find her - Jo musta been a hide and seek champ or something. They didn't want anyone knowing they'd lost her, right? So when they finally found her, they were pretty pissed. As you can imagine." Belatedly, she remembered, "But don't tell anyone I told you, mmkay? I'd be in so much trouble. At least, more than usual."
On the walk home, things were subdued. After Charlie's chattering, I was concerned - not only for Jo, but for Dean and the others. If Jo wanted to leave this place so badly, did they as well? I pushed aside the thought they Dean was only pretending to be my friend.
Later that night, as I walked down the hall, checking to make sure everything was well as I did each night, I heard Sam and Dean talking in Dean's room. Though it pains me, I admit that I stopped to eavesdrop. They were clearly in the middle of a conversation about our visit, especially about what was going on with their friend, Jo.
Sam's whisper reached my ears first, "I can't believe she ran off."
His voice a bit louder, but still in a gruff whisper, Dean replied, "I can; it's Jo. She was always getting into trouble. That's why Ellen was always so strict."
"I suppose you're right. Where was she planning on going?"
"No idea, but she still thinks it's a good idea."
Sam paused before asking, "Do you think she's right - that it's not like they've said: war and destruction everywhere?"
"If you're asking if I think Cas lied to us - then no. Gabriel, maybe; Balthazar, definitely; but not Cas. He doesn't have a dishonest bone in his body."
I felt my face warming. Human bodily functions were so strange at times. I will my body to calm and stay absolutely still.
Sam spoke slowly, like he was pondering each word, "Do you think she's right - that we've given up?"
"Michael sure seems to think so; we're like annoying little yappy dogs to him - nothing more than pets that no one wants."
"I'm serious, Dean. I know we're ultimately on the same team - the good guys - and this is supposed to be our reward, but do you ever feel like we're traitors?"
"How so?"
"Isn't it the American dream, to be free? Give me liberty or give me death and all that? It's like we've gotten Stockholm syndrome. We become friends with our captors; we sympathize with them, even care for them. Would we ever run away, even hurt them if necessary?"
There was quiet for several minutes. Panic rose in my throat with every silent second. Finally Dean responded, "It's good here, Sammy. We're safe and we have each other. As much I love being out on the road, fighting monsters, I don't want to leave. I guess Jo's right. I just don't want to lose this. But you're right - I'm supposed to want to get the hell out of Dodge. I just don't. Something's wrong."
"Something's always wrong wherever we are. Maybe this wrong isn't so bad on the outside, at least."
"Maybe." Dean's answer weighed heavily on me. "I can't think about this anymore; I need sleep. Scram."
Before they saw me, I disappeared back into my room. I felt sick. Though I knew how impossible it was, my heart physically hurt. I had no desire for meditation; with a quick burst, I appeared out in the yard and went for a long walk out in the woods behind our house. I only returned home when I saw the sun rising, pale and cold in the east.
Chapter 7
Fandom: Supernatural
Characters: Castiel, Gabriel, Balthazar, Dean, Sam, Bobby, Jo, Anna, Hester, Charlie
Rating: PG so far
Genres: Humor, drama
Era: AU
Warnings: Language, sugar-water, way too angst
Word Count: 2,346
Summary: Angels and hunters don't know each other. Apocalypse happens. Righteous humans given to angels on earth. Read a better summary here. In this chapter, Castiel brings the boys a present, which makes everyone happy, but then they go visit Jo, which makes everyone sad.
Notes: Look at me, posting twice in one month!
"Where are you off too, Cassy?" Gabriel asked me as I straightened my trench coat, preparing to vanish. I would have jumped in surprise if I had been, but I had heard him coming.
"I am not going to tell you." It would be dishonest to say I would, but I would have to refuse his request.
"'Not going to tell?' Hmm… now that does make me curious." Gabriel grinned mischievously as he leaned against the doorframe of my bedroom. "You've been disappearing late every night for a week. You've told no one and obviously don't want the humans to know you're leaving - secrets, secrets! Where are you going?"
I frowned. I most certainly did not want to tell him what I was doing at night, but I had to tell him something. It was not like I was ashamed, but his tone of voice was implying that I was up to no good. "It is a secret."
"I realize it's a secret. That's why I'm asking you about it." Gabriel raised his eyebrow condescendingly.
I refused to give in, "It is a present - a surprise present. I do not want anyone knowing about it."
Gabriel's seemingly-nonchalant-but-actually-tense posture shifted into true relaxation. "Getting a gift for your boyfriend; that's adorable, Castiel! Almost sickeningly sweet (and I would know). "
"Dean is not- it is not just for him. It is a gift for all of them."
Gabriel only smirked and waved his hand dismissively. "Go on then. Be back by breakfast. And bring me back a toy!"
I glared but disappeared to a location halfway across the country.
It was a few hours after Gabriel had accosted me, and I had finally brought my surprise back to our house. I had been searching for weeks before I had found it and then had to find all the extra parts to go with it. It had been time consuming, but I hoped that they would be pleased and it would all be worth it.
"Dean, Sam, Bobby, will you come with me, please?" I asked the three men as they finished washing up the dishes after their lunch.
"We in trouble, boss?"
"No, Dean, you are not in trouble. Unless - did you do something wrong?"
"Nooooo… don't think so."
"Then you are not in trouble. Please come with me; it's a surprise."
"Oh, Cassy's surprise!" Gabriel jumped up, setting down the now-empty bottle of real maple syrup. "I've got to see this."
I led the way out to the garage, as they chattered behind me. "You don't know what it is?" asked Sam.
"Nope," replied Gabriel. "Either it's amazing, or, knowing Castiel, something he thinks is amazing. Which could be anything. Like a cow. Or a sculpture of creepy children. Once he spend an entire month following monarch butterflies." He poked Dean, "Your angel - is totally weird."
"He's not my angel," Dean grumped as I unlocked the shed.
"Well, you're his human. Don't you think I would have stolen you by now otherwise?"
"W-what!?" Dean sputtered.
I sighed, but gaining their attention, opened the garage doors with just a bit of flourish.
Dean gasped.
Sam gasped.
Bobby harrumphed.
Gabriel laughed. "Where'd you find this old piece of junk!?"
I glared, "The Impala is not a 'piece of junk.' It was written about a great deal in the Prophet Chuck's book; it has great historical and sentimental value. At least I think it does." I hesitated a moment before looking at Dean and the others.
I need not have worried. There was a light in Dean's eyes. There was still a shocked look on his face, but I could see a real joy glowing underneath that.
"Cas," Dean stuttered, finally looking at me. "Where did you-how did you know-I just can't believe it! This is great; really, really great."
Sam laughed. "This is amazing, Castiel. Thank you so much."
Bobby snorted, "You coulda fixed it up, angel-boy. That old girl has seen better days."
"I thought-" I started, but Bobby interrupted.
"I'm only messin' - 'course they'd want to fix it up themselves. That car's been their home in many a storm. You did good."
I smiled; I was so thankful that they were pleased. "It took me awhile to find it," I explained. "The prophecies were unclear about where your last battle had taken place, so I searched several states around my best guess. I did think about fixing it up, but I searched for parts instead. Thanks to Dean's teaching, I checked the car out and wrote down all the parts that I could see that were broken and found replacements. They are on the shelf over there."
Dean grinned and grabbed me in a side hug. "You're the best! Cas, let's get working on my baby right now!"
Even though he did not have the same love for the car as Dean did, Sam spent more time working in the garage with his brother. At first I felt like an intruder, but at Dean's insistence, I resumed my job as their assistant. I loved hearing stories of their favorite memories involving the Impala.
"We almost lost her a few times," Dean said as he lovingly buffed her hood, "but she's always managed to pull through.
Though I thought Dean's anthropomorphism and insistence that this genderless object was a "her" was strange, I found it charming as well.
As Sam came more often to help fix the Impala, Gabriel, who had previously avoided the "grease pit" - as he called it - came to help, which, in reality, meant to annoy.
"Saaaaaaammmm…. I'm sooooo bored," he would whine, as he juggled three wrenches and a screwdriver.
"Gabe, I can't really entertain you right now," came Sam's muffled reply from underneath the car.
"Why don't you get us something to drink?" suggested Dean as I slid his dolly out with my toe. "And that is not how you treat tools! Put those down!"
Gabriel gave him a lazy smile. The tools suddenly dropped, but I caught them before they clattered to the floor.
Dean glared.
Gabriel laughed. "Deano, you are just precious! Those grumpy little faces you make this whole babysitting thing worth it."
I intervened before things got further out of hand. Setting the tools back in their proper place, I offered, "If you are thirsty, Dean, I will bring you something to drink."
Face relaxing, Dean shook his head. "It's all right, buddy. I just wanted to give him something to do other than being a douche."
"That's gross. And also hurtful. I am going to cry," Gabriel pouted
"What's going on up there?" came Sam's stifled voice once more.
"Nothing, Sam. I'm going to take a break."
"Okay, bring me back something to drink, will ya? It's hot out."
Gabriel popped his head down. "Sam, why didn't you tell me you were thirsty? Here, drink this." A cool glass with tinkling ice cubes, a twisty straw, a tiny umbrella, and at least three pieces of fruit appeared in his hand. Sam took it gratefully.
Dean rolled his eyes and headed to the door. "Come on, Cas. Let's take a walk."
"Certainly." I followed Dean out the door.
Behind me I could hear Sam sputtering. "What is this, Gabe!? Sugar water!?"
"I thought you'd like it!"
After completing his investigations, Michael had sent all us angels instructions on some changes regarding our charges. Most we had already heard, but I was surprised to read that he wanted more social interaction between the humans.
It was that new guideline that prompted our visit to some old friends. Like the three of us angels, Anna and Hester had decided that they would rather live together than try to figure things out on their own. In years past, I had worked with both Anna and Hester - and for the last forty, we had been in the same garrison. I was pleased to be visiting them, though I never knew what to do during social visits. I had to rely on the others to give me an example.
Dean, Sam, and Bobby were excited to be going as well. For unlike our other recent excursions, they knew one of the humans residing here.
Her name was Joanna Beth Harvelle, and she was a hunter and a close friend. Dean claimed they practically grew up together - between jobs. It was clear by the amount of hugging and inside jokes that this was in fact true. They were also close to her mother, an Ellen Harvelle. She was living a few houses down. Once the initial excitement wore down, Jo (as she demanded to be called) appeared more withdrawn, almost sullen. As the others conversed, I watched her cautiously, concerned for her well being.
As Gabriel talked with Anna and Hester, I sat in the living room with Balthazar, Bobby, and Hester's charge, a redheaded girl named Charlie. Dean and Sam were upstairs with Anna, who had wanted to show them something; I had not asked.
"So do you all go outside much?" the girl Charlie asked.
Confused, I responded, "Yes, we spend a large amount of time in our garden."
"No, I mean do you, like, leave the compound? I need someone to make a run to a GameStop for me. I'm dying for some new, and by 'new,' I mean old, games to play. Hester refuses to go anymore. And she always brings back the weirdest stuff. I'm seriously bored, ya know?"
I blinked. I did not know if it would be appropriate for me to do what she asked, let alone precisely what she was asking.
Balthazar spoke, slowly, but his tone dripping with sarcasm, "We don't run errands." Seeing her pout, he relented just slightly. "Tell Hester what you want to play; she has the capability to just make it appear."
Bobby snorted. Charlie giggled a bit, saying, "I suppose you're right. Hester's really swell. Not as hot as Anna though. Redheads! Oh wait, I would know, wouldn't I?" She gave her own red hair a silly flip. "I don't see why Jo doesn't like her. I'm glad you guys came to visit us though. To top off the totally lame entertainment, we've basically been on house arrest since 'The Incident.'"
"What happened?" asked Bobby.
"I'm so not supposed to talk about it, but Jo like tried to run away and Anna and Hester were going nuts trying to find her - Jo musta been a hide and seek champ or something. They didn't want anyone knowing they'd lost her, right? So when they finally found her, they were pretty pissed. As you can imagine." Belatedly, she remembered, "But don't tell anyone I told you, mmkay? I'd be in so much trouble. At least, more than usual."
On the walk home, things were subdued. After Charlie's chattering, I was concerned - not only for Jo, but for Dean and the others. If Jo wanted to leave this place so badly, did they as well? I pushed aside the thought they Dean was only pretending to be my friend.
Later that night, as I walked down the hall, checking to make sure everything was well as I did each night, I heard Sam and Dean talking in Dean's room. Though it pains me, I admit that I stopped to eavesdrop. They were clearly in the middle of a conversation about our visit, especially about what was going on with their friend, Jo.
Sam's whisper reached my ears first, "I can't believe she ran off."
His voice a bit louder, but still in a gruff whisper, Dean replied, "I can; it's Jo. She was always getting into trouble. That's why Ellen was always so strict."
"I suppose you're right. Where was she planning on going?"
"No idea, but she still thinks it's a good idea."
Sam paused before asking, "Do you think she's right - that it's not like they've said: war and destruction everywhere?"
"If you're asking if I think Cas lied to us - then no. Gabriel, maybe; Balthazar, definitely; but not Cas. He doesn't have a dishonest bone in his body."
I felt my face warming. Human bodily functions were so strange at times. I will my body to calm and stay absolutely still.
Sam spoke slowly, like he was pondering each word, "Do you think she's right - that we've given up?"
"Michael sure seems to think so; we're like annoying little yappy dogs to him - nothing more than pets that no one wants."
"I'm serious, Dean. I know we're ultimately on the same team - the good guys - and this is supposed to be our reward, but do you ever feel like we're traitors?"
"How so?"
"Isn't it the American dream, to be free? Give me liberty or give me death and all that? It's like we've gotten Stockholm syndrome. We become friends with our captors; we sympathize with them, even care for them. Would we ever run away, even hurt them if necessary?"
There was quiet for several minutes. Panic rose in my throat with every silent second. Finally Dean responded, "It's good here, Sammy. We're safe and we have each other. As much I love being out on the road, fighting monsters, I don't want to leave. I guess Jo's right. I just don't want to lose this. But you're right - I'm supposed to want to get the hell out of Dodge. I just don't. Something's wrong."
"Something's always wrong wherever we are. Maybe this wrong isn't so bad on the outside, at least."
"Maybe." Dean's answer weighed heavily on me. "I can't think about this anymore; I need sleep. Scram."
Before they saw me, I disappeared back into my room. I felt sick. Though I knew how impossible it was, my heart physically hurt. I had no desire for meditation; with a quick burst, I appeared out in the yard and went for a long walk out in the woods behind our house. I only returned home when I saw the sun rising, pale and cold in the east.
Chapter 7