(no subject)
Dean Winchester is saved.
And Castiel is abroad on Earth.
There was to be no respite for Castiel at the end of his mission. No time to pause for rest. For all that he had chafed at the delay, Castiel now finds that he is grateful for the long stretch of quiet he had had in Milliways, for it looks as though he is not going to be granted such peace again for some time.
Dean Winchester is risen. And Castiel is dispatched at once to make contact with him. To tell him why he has been brought back.
Only, it doesn’t go well.
Some humans are capable of perceiving an angel’s true form and of hearing an angel’s voice without damaging effect. Castiel at first thought that Dean would be one of them, but his first attempt to speak to Dean result only in shattered glass and one rattled human being.
The encounter with the medium goes far worse.
It is time to Castiel to seek out a vessel.
A tie of sorts exists between angels and their earthly vessels. Castiel follows his to a comfortable house on a quiet street in Pontiac, Illinois, where there dwells a man named Jimmy Novak. Castiel has never paid the man any mind before, except to know that he is a devout believer and favored by Heaven. The state of things being as they have been for so long, there has been no real reason before for angels to be mindful of available vessels.
When Castiel sees Jimmy Novak, he takes a moment to stand in awe of God’s Plan. Not to mention His attention to detail.
It is a familiar face. A face that Castiel has worn dozens of times at the End of the Universe. The form that God had provided to him to journey there and learn his lessons.
When Jimmy meets with him that night in front of his house, it is no surprise at all to see that he wears a rumpled dark suit and a long tan coat. Or that he pulls loose his tie when Castiel tells him, with full honesty and candor, what he is asking him to do.
There is some negotiation, of course. Jimmy is, naturally, concerned for the welfare of his wife and daughter, as is right and befitting for a man with a family. And Castiel is more than willing to ensure their safety. It is all but law among the Hosts - that those who offer such service earn protection for those they must leave behind.
Castiel settles into his vessel - into bone and blood and muscle and sinew. It is like donning a familiar garment. Castiel exhales a long, foggy breath into the cold air and, standing on the surface of the Earth, looks up at the stars high overhead.
He senses Claire Novak behind him before he hears her voice. Daddy?
In times long past, Castiel might not have acknowledged the girl at all. Might not have even noted the question and fear in her voice. With orders to be carried out, God’s Will to be done, there was not a great amount of time to spare to sooth mortal feelings. Before, Castiel would simply have been on his way.
But a great deal has changed. Castiel has seen enough, heard enough, experienced enough to know that vanishing without a word would be a cruelty.
So he turns to face Jimmy Novak’s young daughter. Acknowledges her. Looks her directly in the eye. And offers the only comfort he can give.
I am not your father.
This child does not deserve to be left in the false belief that it is her father who is leaving her behind.
It is all he can do for her.
Heaven and Hell are converging on Earth, and Castiel can already feel the very fabric of the world begin to shudder and strain. It is beyond time to find Dean Winchester.
Castiel disappears into the night.
He has work to do.
And Castiel is abroad on Earth.
There was to be no respite for Castiel at the end of his mission. No time to pause for rest. For all that he had chafed at the delay, Castiel now finds that he is grateful for the long stretch of quiet he had had in Milliways, for it looks as though he is not going to be granted such peace again for some time.
Dean Winchester is risen. And Castiel is dispatched at once to make contact with him. To tell him why he has been brought back.
Only, it doesn’t go well.
Some humans are capable of perceiving an angel’s true form and of hearing an angel’s voice without damaging effect. Castiel at first thought that Dean would be one of them, but his first attempt to speak to Dean result only in shattered glass and one rattled human being.
The encounter with the medium goes far worse.
It is time to Castiel to seek out a vessel.
A tie of sorts exists between angels and their earthly vessels. Castiel follows his to a comfortable house on a quiet street in Pontiac, Illinois, where there dwells a man named Jimmy Novak. Castiel has never paid the man any mind before, except to know that he is a devout believer and favored by Heaven. The state of things being as they have been for so long, there has been no real reason before for angels to be mindful of available vessels.
When Castiel sees Jimmy Novak, he takes a moment to stand in awe of God’s Plan. Not to mention His attention to detail.
It is a familiar face. A face that Castiel has worn dozens of times at the End of the Universe. The form that God had provided to him to journey there and learn his lessons.
When Jimmy meets with him that night in front of his house, it is no surprise at all to see that he wears a rumpled dark suit and a long tan coat. Or that he pulls loose his tie when Castiel tells him, with full honesty and candor, what he is asking him to do.
There is some negotiation, of course. Jimmy is, naturally, concerned for the welfare of his wife and daughter, as is right and befitting for a man with a family. And Castiel is more than willing to ensure their safety. It is all but law among the Hosts - that those who offer such service earn protection for those they must leave behind.
Castiel settles into his vessel - into bone and blood and muscle and sinew. It is like donning a familiar garment. Castiel exhales a long, foggy breath into the cold air and, standing on the surface of the Earth, looks up at the stars high overhead.
He senses Claire Novak behind him before he hears her voice. Daddy?
In times long past, Castiel might not have acknowledged the girl at all. Might not have even noted the question and fear in her voice. With orders to be carried out, God’s Will to be done, there was not a great amount of time to spare to sooth mortal feelings. Before, Castiel would simply have been on his way.
But a great deal has changed. Castiel has seen enough, heard enough, experienced enough to know that vanishing without a word would be a cruelty.
So he turns to face Jimmy Novak’s young daughter. Acknowledges her. Looks her directly in the eye. And offers the only comfort he can give.
I am not your father.
This child does not deserve to be left in the false belief that it is her father who is leaving her behind.
It is all he can do for her.
Heaven and Hell are converging on Earth, and Castiel can already feel the very fabric of the world begin to shudder and strain. It is beyond time to find Dean Winchester.
Castiel disappears into the night.
He has work to do.