The Beauty of Love As It Was Made To Be 3.1/?
Title: The Beauty of Love As It Was Made To Be 3.1/?
Rating: PG
Pairing and Characters: Dean/Cas, Sam, Faith, 2 OCs
Spoilers/Warnings: None
Word Count: ~4,500 (this chapter)
Summary: This is a sequel to "Like To Stay in Heaven..." you don't have to read that first to start this, but it would help a lot. That masterpost is here. You do need to read the prologue which is here. This starts two months after the end of my version of season 7.
This chapter: A case in South Carolina calls all of them out to fight. A local story may turn out to be much worse than they originally thought. All of them will be tested.
(I read about this story on Tumblr and for some reason it stuck with me. When I did some research and found out it was based on a real story, I had to do it. I have never been to Edisto Island though, so liberties will be taken on the location and the haunting(obviously once you read it).
Notes: This story will most likely turn into another monster. I've had this story in mind for a while and haven't had a way to write it out. It could go on for a long time to see Dean and Cas' daughter grow to an adult. I don't know a lot about Nephilim and will make up most everything about them in this story with my unique little Winchester.
Previous
The werewolf incident had shaken all of them. They were more cautious on hunts and always at least went in pairs. With Faith to worry about, they were all more concerned about their safety than they ever had been before. Even with the Nephilim being able to heal them, they didn’t want her to use her powers more than necessary at this age.
Over the three weeks after Dean got back from the hospital they had worked a few small cases that never required more than two of them to leave. A call from a friend in South Carolina changed that.
“Okay, thanks. We’ll be there as soon as we can.” Sam closed his phone and looked at Dean and Cas. They were sitting on the floor with Faith. “Looks like there’s a job in Charleston, South Carolina.” Sam pulled his laptop over and opened it.
“What’s going on?” Dean asked as he stood and moved over closer to Sam.
“Well,” Sam was typing into the search bar, “Tom says that there is a local ghost story about one of the churches.” He entered in his search and clicked on a few pages. When he found the right page, he read from it. “The Edisto Island Presbyterian Church.”
Dean leaned over Sam’s shoulder. “So, what’s so bad about this church?”
“Uh,” Sam scrolled down the page, “well, it’s not the church exactly. It’s the cemetery behind the church. I guess back in the mid-nineteenth century a local girl was presumed dead and laid in the family mausoleum. Around a decade later, the girl’s brother died and when they opened the mausoleum they found her skeleton against the door and bloody scratches on the marble door.”
Dean cringed. “Ew, buried alive? That would definitely breed some kind of haunting.”
“Yeah, I guess after they locked the son’s body in there, they found the sealed marble door open a few days later. After several attempts of sealing the door, it was found in pieces on the ground where it remains today.”
“Okay, so what’s going on that needs our attention?”
Sam turned away from the screen. “Tom said that over the past few weeks a couple people have been attacked out in the mausoleum. Some of the locals are starting to really freak out.”
Dean nodded and glanced at Cas and Faith. “Who’s going on this one?”
“I don’t know, Dean.” Dean turned back to face his brother. “I think we should have all hands on deck for this one.”
“Why?”
Sam shrugged. “Because we don’t know exactly what we’ll be up against. It could be just a ghost or it could be something a lot worse. We should be ready for anything.”
“What are we gonna do with Faith?” He looked back to his daughter. “We can’t keep calling on Jodi.”
“We could leave her with Tom in Charleston.”
Dean scoffed. “He couldn’t handle it if something came for her.”
“He’s not a hunter, no, but he knows a lot. We can warn him and put sigils on his house. He’ll be okay.”
Dean really didn’t like the way that sounded, but he didn’t have a better idea. He nodded reluctantly. “Alright, fine.”
They packed up and left that afternoon. A day and a half later they pulled up to Tom’s house in Charleston.
“I still don’t like this, Sam.” Dean was carrying Faith as they walked up to the front door.
“I know, but we don’t have a choice.”
“She’s due for some sleep anyway,” Cas was behind Dean as they walked, “she could sleep for most of the time.”
Dean doubted it, but he kept quiet. Sam knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a smiling middle aged man. Tom pushed the door open wide for them as he greeted them.
“Thanks for getting here so fast.” He shut the door when they were all inside. He pointed to Faith. “Who’s this?”
Dean shifted Faith a little to face Tom. “This is Faith,” he cleared his throat, “uh, my daughter.”
Tom raised his eyebrows. “Daughter?”
Dean could tell he had a lot of questions. “Yes, and that’s all you need to know. She’s gonna be staying with you while we work this out.”
“Why couldn’t her mom take her, and who is that by the way?”
Dean glanced at Cas briefly. “It’s complicated. She needs to be watched and she’ll be safest with you.”
Tom still looked confused, but he nodded. “Okay. I raised a couple girls a while back I think I can handle it.”
“Right, well,” Dean set Faith on the floor and handed her her tiger when Cas held it out, “it won’t be that simple. A lot of things would be after her if they knew she was here.”
When Tom’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth to talk, Sam cut in. “But, we’re gonna make sure you’re as safe as possible.”
“How?”
The three of them painted the angel proofing and binding sigils on Tom’s walls, along with devil’s traps and hex bags. Nothing from Heaven or Hell could get in now. Tom still had a lot of questions but they were silenced with their warning that the less he knew the better.
Before they left, Tom filled them in on what he knew about the deaths. “The whole ghost story is a local legend. When I lived down there, everyone knew about it. Every Halloween, that was the big dare or challenge for the kids: to spend the night in that cemetery or worse in the mausoleum. I never did, but I had friends that tried.” He shook his head. “The kid that died last week was found locked in the mausoleum, a bloody mess.”
“Found by who?” Sam asked.
“The pastor of the church, Father Liam. He’s who you’ll want to talk to.”
“How did the boy get locked in? I thought the door was left off in pieces.”
He shook his head. “A couple years ago, they attached another one. It never stays closed, but it’s still attached.”
They had the information they needed, so they decided to head out. They all took their turns saying goodbye to Faith. Sam crouched to ruffle her hair and give her a short hug. Dean picked her up and squeezed her tight, whispering promises of a quick return. Cas took her from Dean and held her close. She seemed to then catch on that they were all leaving and she didn’t like it.
Cas handed her to Tom. She held on tightly to his finger, whining in protest. “It’s okay.” Cas tried to pull away the strong hand, to no effect. “We’ll be back soon.” Faith let go reluctantly, pout stuck on her face.
“We’ll call you if something happens.” Dean nodded to Tom.
Sam walked out to the car, with Dean close behind. Cas was following out the door when Faith’s voice stopped him. She was reaching out towards them, tears in her eyes, and let out a small cry in Enochian.
Cas’ heart clenched at the baby’s voice and he was frozen in the doorway. She repeated the word and Cas almost dropped everything right there and walked back in. Dean snapped him out of his trance with a heavy hand on his shoulder.
“Cas, what is it?” Faith repeated the word, louder this time, while looking at Dean. Dean looked up and then back to Cas. He didn’t know what she had said, but by the look on Cas’ face, the fallen angel did. “Come on, we need to go.” He pulled Cas out and closed the door with a final wave to Tom and Faith.
Sam was waiting in the Impala as Dean and Cas made their way over at a slow pace. Dean kept a hand on Cas’ arm as they walked. He had a feeling he would run if he didn’t. “Cas, that was Enochian wasn’t it?” Cas nodded. “What did she say?”
Watery eyes turned to Dean. “Poppa.”
Emotion made Dean’s chest tighten. He understood now. Cas had basically heard Faith begging for her poppas to stay. He put an arm around Cas’ shoulders in an attempt to comfort him.
They were all quiet for the hour drive to Edisto Island. Dean parked the Impala in the small church’s parking lot in the shade from the afternoon sun. There were no other cars in the lot and no houses within a mile. Dense forest stretched out behind the cemetery and across the street.
“You think this guy will even be here right now?” Dean closed the squeaking door of his car while he looked around.
“He’s the pastor, right?” Sam walked around the front of the Impala. “He probably lives in or near the church.” They started for the church doors. “What exactly are we gonna say to him?”
Dean shrugged. “We’ll figure it out.” The brothers ascended the front steps of the church. Dean looked back. Cas had been oddly quiet. He was standing at the bottom of the stairs with a strange look on his face. “Cas, what’s wrong?”
Cas really didn’t like this place. He had a bad feeling before he could even see the church. Now that he was standing in front of it, it was so much worse. There was something evil here, but he couldn’t pinpoint it before Dean’s voice brought him back. He looked at his husband. “Nothing, I’m fine.” He hurried up the steps to follow them into the church.
Luckily, a priest was walking along the front row of pews. He looked to be in his early 30s with short light brown hair. He saw them walk in and turned to face them as they walked up the aisle. “Can I help you?”
“Yes,” Sam said, “are you Father Liam?”
The man nodded slowly. “I am. What can I do for you?”
Dean stepped up beside Sam. “Well, we were thinking about moving here and we just wanted to check out the local church and neighborhood, you know?”
The younger man narrowed his eyes slightly. “No you’re not. You’re lying.”
“What?”
“I’ve been a priest long enough, heard enough fake confessions and lies to know when someone is lying to me.” He smiled at their surprised faces. “You want to try that again?”
Dean put his hands up in surrender. “Okay, truthfully, we want to ask you about the boy you found in the mausoleum.”
Father Liam’s face hardened quickly. “Get out.” His voice was harsh and angry.
“Father…” Sam hoped to calm the suddenly upset man.
“No,” he raised a finger to the three of them, “if you just want to hear a ghost story, go rent a movie.”
“It’s not like that.”
“I’ve had dozens of people bothering me for my ‘story’ ever since that awful night and I’m done. Leave.”
“Okay,” Sam’s voice softened, “we’re sorry, but we need your help.”
“For what?”
“If you tell us what happened, what you saw, we can stop this. That’s why we’re here.”
He still looked skeptical, but he could tell they weren’t lying. “You don’t have any idea what you’re facing.”
“Why don’t you tell us what we are facing then?” Dean could see the fear in the priest’s eyes.
He shook his head. “I don’t know what it…I’ve never seen something like that before.”
Sam moved closer to Father Liam. “Why don’t you just tell us everything that happened that night?”
He nodded and moved to sit in the pew beside him. They all followed suit, sitting in the row behind him. He took a deep breath. “I was born here, grew up here. I’ve known the story of the poor girl that was buried alive in that mausoleum my whole life.” He looked out the window where the tomb was looming like a dark shadow. “I assume you know the story?” They nodded. “Well, people have heard and claimed to see lots of things, but nothing more violent than the door swinging open has ever happened. At least, not until just recently.”
“How recent?” Sam asked.
“A few months.”
“And how long has that new door been there?”
“Four months.” He was silent a moment as he made that connection. “Anyway, I’ve had enough teenagers trespassing at night and try to get in the church or the mausoleum that I’ve been on constant watch to chase them off. Most nights I hear the screaming coming from the cemetery and I’ve gotten used to it, but that night…something was different.
“It was late, maybe two or three AM, and I heard the door slam. I was the only one here and I immediately got up to see what was going on. I expected a group of kids to be out there, but I didn’t see anyone. I did notice the closed door though and I ran outside to check the grounds. Everything was normal and I was about to go back inside when a shout came from the mausoleum. I ran over and tried to open the door, but it’s impossible to open alone. It takes a few fully grown men to move that door. I couldn’t do anything to help. I heard a couple voices inside. One was the boy screaming and the other I believe to be the ghost of the girl.”
When he stopped, Dean leaned forward. “Did they say anything or does anything stick out in your mind?”
Something flashed in his eyes for a brief moment before he looked down and shook his head. “Hearing a child dying isn’t strange enough?”
“What did you do when you heard what was going on?”
“I ran to get help. By the time I came back, it was quiet. What I saw inside still wakes me up at night.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us about it?”
He bit his lip and shook his head. “Only that, if I didn’t know it was impossible, I would think an animal had ripped that boy apart. I can’t imagine what did this.”
“Father,” Sam shifted in the pew, “you said earlier that more violent things had started happening recently. Has something this bad happened?”
He hesitated before looking up to Sam. “Nothing to this degree, but some tourists have come out of the crypt with scratches or feelings of being shoved. No one has ever been trapped or hurt like this though.”
“Do you ever get nervous living here, so close to something like that?”
He shook his head and spoke with more conviction than he had yet, “No, I always feel safe in God’s house.”
Cas snorted lightly, making all eyes turn to him. “Hallowed ground might protect you from some low-level evil, Father, but it is hardly the safest place.”
Father Liam sat up straighter. “God will protect me. Do not insult this place.”
“Believe me, Father,” Cas looked up with a bitter expression, “God hardly cares about one priest in a small church like this. You need to protect yourself if you want to truly feel safe. He won’t be the one to save you.”
Before anyone could respond, Cas stood and left the building. Father Liam looked sympathetically to Dean. “I take it he’s not much of a believer?”
Dean laughed softly. “He knows too much, that’s all. Excuse me.” He patted Sam’s shoulder as he stood. He knew Sam would smooth things over with the priest and help him take proper precautions against whatever it was that was hurting people.
The humid air greeted him as he descended the front steps. He looked around for Cas. It didn’t take long to locate him near the mausoleum with a dark frown on his face. His steps crunched under the dry ground as he walked closer. He stopped a few feet away from him. “What was that all about?”
Cas shook his head quickly, his face souring. “Nothing. I was just telling him the truth.”
“Yeah,” Dean leaned against the stone structure and faced Cas, “but you didn’t have to be so blunt about it.”
Cas closed his eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s this place. I just feel sick. I have since we pulled onto this street.” He turned to Dean. “Dean, what did your note say?”
“What?”
“The notes we got when we got Faith. What did yours say? Sam and I didn’t read it. What made you run like you did?”
Dean had almost forgotten about that. He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it, Cas. I’m more concerned about you.” He reached a hand out and brushed Cas’ cheek. He looked a little pale. “You said you feel sick?”
Cas nodded. “I don’t know if it’s this place or whatever is here, but I can feel the evil.”
“That happen a lot?”
“No, just with some of the really bad stuff. Whatever is here is very evil, Dean.” He looked back to the church. “And I know that man is hiding something.”
“What? Why would you say that?”
“I don’t know if it’s some kind of leftovers from being an angel or what, but I can usually judge others easily and if they’re lying or hiding something. Much like he claims to be able to do.”
Sam appeared out of the door and headed towards them. “So, Father Liam said that he would help us with whatever we needed and that we could look around for a while.”
“Awesome.” Dean pushed off the mausoleum. “Why not start here?” He pointed inside.
“You two go ahead,” Cas stepped away, “I’m gonna talk to him again real quick.”
“Cas,” Dean stopped him as he turned away, “be nice.”
Cas nodded and continued back into the church. Father Liam was straightening the books in the front pews as Cas made his way up the aisle. “Father,” the man took a defensive stance as Cas got closer, “I’m sorry about how I spoke to you earlier. I haven’t been feeling the best.” The priest relaxed slightly and nodded. “But, I know that you’re hiding something, something important.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The man turned away from Cas. “I told you what happened.”
Cas walked around to look him in the eye. “Not everything. See, just like you, I know when someone is lying to me.”
“Look, I told your friend that I would help you and I have.”
“You don’t trust us, is that it?”
“I don’t know you, but that’s not it.” He turned away again and let out a sigh. “Your friend, Sam, said that you hunt monsters.”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever seen something or heard something that shakes you to the core or your soul? Something so awful that it haunts you?”
Cas smiled sadly. “We hunt monsters, Father. What do you think?” He moved a little closer to the other man. “What happened that you didn’t tell us? It could be helpful.”
He let out a shaky breath. His voice was quiet when he spoke, “That night, I didn’t just hear the boy’s screams. There was something else.”
“The girl who died there, you said.”
“Yes, but not just that. That was horrible enough. She was screaming with the boy, as if she felt his pain, or sympathized with him. What I didn’t tell you was: I heard another voice that night.” He ran a hand over his face. “The boy was screaming, begging for his life, but then it stopped and he laughed.”
“Laughed?”
“Like I’d never heard before. That’s when the girl really cried. This laughter was twisted, evil, like it was celebrating the pain it was causing.”
“You think it came from the boy?”
“It was his voice, for the most part, and the screaming stopped when the laughter started. That’s the reason I couldn’t save him. I could have gotten help a lot sooner but I couldn’t move. I was frozen in fear at the sound of this horrible laughter.” He was shaking and close to tears. “I’ve never heard anything like that and I never want to again.”
Cas nodded. He had a better idea of what they could be dealing with now. “Is that everything?”
He shook his head. “The boy’s funeral has already happened, but I visited the morgue beforehand. The coroner told me that,” he turned to look at Cas, “they found pieces of his fingernails embedded inside him, his bones, organs, and brain. The only DNA under his nails was his own.”
“He did it to himself? I thought you said there was no way a human could have injured him the way he was found.”
“I didn’t think it was. They said he must have gone insane temporarily, or been so terrified that he lost control.”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that it was physically impossible for another human to be in that room with him and not been seen when we opened the door.”
Cas nodded and smiled. “Thank you. That helps. If you think of anything else, please tell us.”
“I will.” Cas turned to walk back outside. “Wait, do you have a guess of what this is? A ghost or something else?”
Cas faced the holy man and shrugged. “A spirit possibly. More likely a demon.”
Father Liam started shaking. “A demon?”
“Yes.”
“Am I safe here?” He looked around quickly.
“As safe as you would be anywhere.” Cas pulled an amulet out of his pocket. “Here,” he handed it to the other man, “this will prevent possession.” The priest slipped the necklace on. “If you really want to feel safe, put a line of salt at the doors and windows.” He furrowed his brows. “I know how it sounds, but trust me. They can’t cross salt lines.”
Cas nodded and made to leave again. “One more thing.” Cas stopped. “Why do you speak so bitterly about God?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. You have faith and believe, Father. I’m afraid I lost those things a while back. Now I know, which is a lot different. Believe what you must, if it helps you.”
Dean and Sam were looking through the mausoleum outside and coming up with little. EMF readings were a little high, but they expected that with the girl’s spirit known for haunting the place.
“So what, you think the girl is a part of this?” Sam asked as he brushed webs off the wall in front of him.
Dean shook his head. “No, if the violent stuff is just starting now, it’s probably not her. I mean, why be mostly quiet for 150 years then suddenly start ripping people up?”
“I guess.” Sam caught sight of Cas coming back and stepped out of the stone building. “Hey, find out anything?”
Cas nodded and stood at the doorway. “I think the boy was possessed. The priest heard it laughing and all of his injuries were self-inflicted.”
“Wow.” Dean glanced along the wall and felt his heart drop at a familiar sight. “Guys.” He swiped a finger in the yellow substance and showed them. “Sulfur. I’d say the demon theory is right on.”
They spent a little more time scoping out the cemetery before stopping at a local restaurant for lunch. They knew what they were after now, but none of them knew what to do now.
“If it was possessing the kid, where is it now? Why is it doing this here?”
Sam looked at Dean. “I don’t know. Maybe it thought the girl’s ghost would take the blame and it could keep killing.”
“You think it’s possessing somebody in town?”
“Maybe, want to stay close or something?”
“What are we going to do while we figure everything out? Someone else could be killed while we sit around.” Cas doubted the demon would stop at one dead kid.
“Yeah,” Dean looked around the small diner, “even though it’s a small town, knocking on every door and saying ‘Christo’ hardly seems practical.”
“Maybe we should just wait by the mausoleum tonight and see if it shows.” Sam hated using others as bait, even when it wasn’t intentional, but he didn’t see another option.
After some arguing, Cas was left on watch at the church while Sam and Dean went to talk to the dead boy’s family for any clues about who the demon could be possessing. Cas had told Father Liam about what he was doing in case something were to happen. He was also ready to call Sam and Dean if anything happened.
Cas was sitting on the church steps as the sun set. He had seen only a couple cars drive past in the last hour. When the sky was black in night, Cas got a text from Dean telling him that they may have a lead and they were going to check it out. Cas sighed and put his phone back in his jacket.
The night so far had been uneventful and boring. A small noise to his left made him sit up straighter. It sounded like a light footstep. He stood and squinted toward the trees in the distance. Nothing caught his eye but another crunching sound behind him startled him into flipping around, shotgun raised. There was nothing.
He saw a glimpse of a shadow near the mausoleum that sent a cold chill down his spine. He raised his shotgun again and walked over while holding his breath. A little voice in his head told him to call Dean, but it could’ve been nothing right?
As he neared the open door, Cas felt his heart racing. He quickly rounded the door, finding the tomb dark and empty. He relaxed and lowered his gun. It must have just been his eyes playing tricks.
With a relieved sigh, he turned back to the church and suddenly felt himself being pushed back off his feet. His shotgun fell out of his hands and he landed on the concrete floor of the mausoleum with a hard thud. Before the pain could fully register, the large marble door swung shut with a ground shaking slam.
Cas’ vision was plunged into complete darkness as the locked creaked shut outside. Terror shot through Cas and he scrambled up to push against the door. He knew it was futile, but he had to try. He pushed with everything he had, running at the door and smacking it in frustration.
He fished blindly in his pockets for his phone. When he finally found it, he could feel the cracks in the screen and all his hope fading as it refused to turn on. He pressed close to the door and screamed with all he had, “FATHER LIAM! HELP! ANYBODY!”
He screamed in vain for at least half an hour before giving up and sitting on the floor. His eyes had adjusted a little to the pitch black surroundings, which didn’t help the fear pounding in his chest. Father Liam would check on his status soon anyway and then he could get help. It would be fine.
Cas truly believed that until the screaming began and the small form materialized out of one of the graves. She screamed and cried with the same intense horror that was beginning to pulse through him again. He squeezed his eyes tight, refusing to add a terrorizing sight to the heart-wrenching sounds echoing off the concrete walls. He curled into himself and prayed that Dean would get here before the demon joined the girl in making his night a living Hell.
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