Three
Heavenly Host cont'd
"How is this possible?" Castiel asked even as Michael stepped into the cucina and looked around. "John Winchester is dead. His remains were burned. Why are te here?"
Michael grinned again, easing closer to the main room where Mary and Adam were sitting. "Even I still have some pull with my Father, after what happened anyway. I liked this vessel once, and when I sensed the child, it was only one of the favors I was able to call in." Michael turned to Castiel. "Your senses have been dulled da your Human charges."
"On the contrary," Castiel stated, meeting John Winchester's green eyes with his vessel's own blue eyes. "You simply take too many risks. Mary's been hidden from you, and me. How did te find her?"
"I smelled her, of course," Michael revealed, to which Castiel exhaled heavily. "A child of Lilith gives off a rather powerful scent, and with her still being innocent, picking up her trail was only too easy."
"How are te here?" Castiel pressed, remaining in front of Michael. "The area is protected. Only I know how to pierce the defenses."
"As I said, I was able to call in a few favors to my Father."
"And what about John Winchester's body? Are te going to return him to his time when you're finished with him?"
Michael turned back to the main room, laying his gaze on Mary and advancing slowly. "Oh, I'll do better than that. He'll return to his own time with barely a headache. I could have possessed Adam Milligan, but I decided against it since he was already in the house. I like to be invited in, and te don't live here. All te had to do was open the door."
Castiel moved quickly, stepping between Michael and the main room again. "Former Host of Heaven o not, te have no real reason to be here," he told Michael. "And te presence here will only alert them to her whereabouts. You're better off observing from a distance."
Michael smiled coldly, warranting the attention of Mary's other protector. "I'm not leaving now that I've come," he told Castiel as Adam entered the kitchen. "And te aren't the only one who was assigned to watch her. She's had many of us hiding her, including me and Gabriel before he died. I have as much right and reason to be here as you."
"What's going on?" Adam asked, looking at Michael and clearly recognizing his vessel since it was Adam's father as he stood in the cucina between them. He looked Michael in the eyes, speaking softly. "Dad?"
"This is not your father, Adam," Castiel stated.
Realization flickered in Adam's eyes as he watched Michael grin, and he stepped closer to the Archangel as he wore his father's younger body. "You've got a lot of nerve mostrare your face around here," Adam warned, his nostrils flaring gently.
Michael seemed unaffected, staring Adam in the eyes without wavering. "That very well may be," he agreed. "But I am here. And I'm not leaving. I've been watching Mary since she was in her mother's womb. Surely, I have più right to be here than te do, since te met her less than 24 hours ago."
Adam glanced at Castiel, but the Angel detto nothing.
Michael stepped through them both, moving into the main room where Mary was sleeping. "She's grown since last I saw her," Michael said. squatting successivo to the cot. "Wouldn't te say, Castiel?"
"Children grow at an alarming rate when they're her age," Castiel remarked. "Of course she looks like she's grown to you. When was the last time te saw her before te left for War? When she was five?"
Michael's demeanor didn't change as he remained close to Mary, and he extended his hand, allowing his palm to hover over her face less than an inch from her skin. Adam tried to sposta closer to them, but an invisible barrier stopped him.
"Don't touch her," he ordered, to which Michael glanced over his shoulder at him.
"And what will te do?" Michael taunted. "I could snap your neck with a mere thought. te have not right to threaten me. I will touch her whenever I like. Besides," he said, looking at Mary, "she's still protected da her mother's love. As she will be until she reaches adulthood. I couldn't hurt her even if I wanted to. Which I don't, not even in the slightest."
Castiel turned his eyes to Adam's, shaking his head and silently telling Adam to back off. Then he looked at Michael, watching the Archangel ease his finger down the width of Mary's forehead and her nose. "I'm calling Dean," he announced, stepping away from Adam to leave the room silently.
Castiel pulled a small, silver cell phone out of his cappotto pocket and opened it to dial Dean's number. Dean's gravelly voice answered after only one ring.
"Cas, what's wrong?" he asked immediately.
"You have to return to the house now," Cas ordered.
"Why? What's happened?"
Castiel glanced over his shoulder, watching Michael touch Mary's cheek lightly. "It's probably best that I not say this until you've returned to the house. But just come back. Now."
"We're on our way," Dean promised.
Castiel turned off the phone, returning to the main room as Adam watched Michael handle Mary helplessly. The youngest Winchester looked at Castiel pleadingly.
"He's coming, right?" he whispered.
Castiel nodded.
"She's strong," Michael detto absently, allowing his hand to hover over Mary from less than an inch away. "So much stronger than expected for her age." He smiled, looking at Castiel. "Certainly, you've felt as much."
"What I've felt is no concern of yours. te might not want to be here when Dean comes. If te thought Adam was angry."
Michael didn't move, his hand now hovering over Mary's legs. "Oh, I'm sure Dean will be furious. Even with his reluctance to bend. But he'll want to hear what I have to say. What te should have told him when te found them with her."
Castiel glanced at Adam, but he detto nothing, watching Michael carefully. Then he spoke softly to Adam. "Remain here. Don't let him out of your sight. I'll be outside."
Adam nodded silently, and Castiel turned to leave again.
"You won't be able to stop what's about to happen," Michael stated, now looking at Castiel over his shoulder. "You'll want to because of your attachment to her, but that won't make it any più possible. te should know that before te do something stupid."
Castiel detto nothing, leaving the room and then the house to wait for Dean.
If the ten hours Castiel had waited through seemed to last too long before, the fifteen minuti it took Dean and Sam to get back to the house felt like an eternity. With Michael nearby, Castiel was having to fight most of his deep-rooted instincts telling him to be afraid. It was true that Michael still commanded most of Heaven in his Father's efforts to clean up the mess they'd all made, but it was also clear that he was just as drawn to Mary as anyone else — coming here in the middle of all this only proved that even more.
And if Castiel had told Dean of Mary's true intentions, it would have skewed his efforts to protect her even più than Sam's reaction already had. Dean was still a very untrusting man, and he preferred to fight things he could understand. The fact that Mary had already caused Sam and Adam to react to her only compounded the way Castiel was feeling. It meant he had that many più people to protect, and for several different reasons. Castiel could see that Dean was struggling against his loyalties and his feelings. That was all about to change. Again.
The sound of the Impala racing toward the house caught Castiel's attention più than a mile away, and he made his way to the dirt road as it wove its way through the old junkyard. He wanted Dean to hear this from him first, and he hoped Dean would listen. He also hoped Sam didn't act hastily when he found out that the Archangel who'd tried to kill him was currently hovering over Mary like he was about to have her way with her.
As soon as Castiel saw the Impala, he looked at the house, and when Dean stopped in front of him, he looked at the car. Dean and Sam got out together, immediately on point.
"What's going on?" Sam asked. "Mary's still here, isn't she?"
Castiel nodded. "She is. But te both have to know this before te go inside. He's here."
Dean leaned closer, his eyebrows raised into his forehead. "Who, Cas? What's happening here?"
"You have to understand. I needed te to protect her. And it didn't matter how she would affect either of you, as long as she was protected from the Demons who are looking for her. But he caught her scent, and now he's here."
"Who?" Sam asked. "Who's here?"
Castiel sighed heavily. "Michael is here."
The look of confusion and anger that crossed both Sam and Dean's faces was exactly what Castiel expected, but it was Dean who acted first, hurrying to the house with Sam behind him. Castiel followed slowly.
"Hey!" Dean yelled upon entering the house and then hurrying into the main room where Michael was still squatted successivo to the cot Mary laid on asleep. "Get the hell away from her, te self-serving dick!"
Michael smiled, rising to face Dean as Sam followed. "Dean," he said, and the look of astonishment on both their faces was enough to make the Archangel laugh. "You look well."
"What the hell?" Sam exclaimed. "Dad?"
Michael looked at Sam, and he flinched. It was understandable since the last time they'd seen Michael, it had not gone well.
"What the hell do te think you're doing?" Dean demanded. "How in the hell?"
Michael remained calm, still smiling as he spoke. "What am I in your Dad? Again? How did I get him to say yet to me a secondo time? It's quite simple. He didn't remember the first time, of course. And I told him I could save his children. It only made sense for him to trust me. And I wasn't exactly lying, since you're even deeper in this now than te were the last time."
"Sam, take her upstairs," Dean ordered.
Sam didn't wait, moving around Michael and lifting Mary from the cot to carry her upstairs, and Michael spoke as he left the room.
"You'll want to hear what I'm going to say, Sam," Michael told him, but he kept walking, taking Mary with him.
Michael looked at Dean, his smile fading slightly. "You won't be able to protect her. No one will. You'll just prolong it until it becomes inevitable. Is that what te want?" He stepped closer to Dean. "Actually, I'll tell te want te want. It's what Sam wants. And it's what Adam wants. Even Castiel wants it, though he would never admit it. te all want to protect her. You're all willing to give your lives for her. And te want to know why? Because that's what she does. She's seduced all of you."
Heavenly Host cont'd
"How is this possible?" Castiel asked even as Michael stepped into the cucina and looked around. "John Winchester is dead. His remains were burned. Why are te here?"
Michael grinned again, easing closer to the main room where Mary and Adam were sitting. "Even I still have some pull with my Father, after what happened anyway. I liked this vessel once, and when I sensed the child, it was only one of the favors I was able to call in." Michael turned to Castiel. "Your senses have been dulled da your Human charges."
"On the contrary," Castiel stated, meeting John Winchester's green eyes with his vessel's own blue eyes. "You simply take too many risks. Mary's been hidden from you, and me. How did te find her?"
"I smelled her, of course," Michael revealed, to which Castiel exhaled heavily. "A child of Lilith gives off a rather powerful scent, and with her still being innocent, picking up her trail was only too easy."
"How are te here?" Castiel pressed, remaining in front of Michael. "The area is protected. Only I know how to pierce the defenses."
"As I said, I was able to call in a few favors to my Father."
"And what about John Winchester's body? Are te going to return him to his time when you're finished with him?"
Michael turned back to the main room, laying his gaze on Mary and advancing slowly. "Oh, I'll do better than that. He'll return to his own time with barely a headache. I could have possessed Adam Milligan, but I decided against it since he was already in the house. I like to be invited in, and te don't live here. All te had to do was open the door."
Castiel moved quickly, stepping between Michael and the main room again. "Former Host of Heaven o not, te have no real reason to be here," he told Michael. "And te presence here will only alert them to her whereabouts. You're better off observing from a distance."
Michael smiled coldly, warranting the attention of Mary's other protector. "I'm not leaving now that I've come," he told Castiel as Adam entered the kitchen. "And te aren't the only one who was assigned to watch her. She's had many of us hiding her, including me and Gabriel before he died. I have as much right and reason to be here as you."
"What's going on?" Adam asked, looking at Michael and clearly recognizing his vessel since it was Adam's father as he stood in the cucina between them. He looked Michael in the eyes, speaking softly. "Dad?"
"This is not your father, Adam," Castiel stated.
Realization flickered in Adam's eyes as he watched Michael grin, and he stepped closer to the Archangel as he wore his father's younger body. "You've got a lot of nerve mostrare your face around here," Adam warned, his nostrils flaring gently.
Michael seemed unaffected, staring Adam in the eyes without wavering. "That very well may be," he agreed. "But I am here. And I'm not leaving. I've been watching Mary since she was in her mother's womb. Surely, I have più right to be here than te do, since te met her less than 24 hours ago."
Adam glanced at Castiel, but the Angel detto nothing.
Michael stepped through them both, moving into the main room where Mary was sleeping. "She's grown since last I saw her," Michael said. squatting successivo to the cot. "Wouldn't te say, Castiel?"
"Children grow at an alarming rate when they're her age," Castiel remarked. "Of course she looks like she's grown to you. When was the last time te saw her before te left for War? When she was five?"
Michael's demeanor didn't change as he remained close to Mary, and he extended his hand, allowing his palm to hover over her face less than an inch from her skin. Adam tried to sposta closer to them, but an invisible barrier stopped him.
"Don't touch her," he ordered, to which Michael glanced over his shoulder at him.
"And what will te do?" Michael taunted. "I could snap your neck with a mere thought. te have not right to threaten me. I will touch her whenever I like. Besides," he said, looking at Mary, "she's still protected da her mother's love. As she will be until she reaches adulthood. I couldn't hurt her even if I wanted to. Which I don't, not even in the slightest."
Castiel turned his eyes to Adam's, shaking his head and silently telling Adam to back off. Then he looked at Michael, watching the Archangel ease his finger down the width of Mary's forehead and her nose. "I'm calling Dean," he announced, stepping away from Adam to leave the room silently.
Castiel pulled a small, silver cell phone out of his cappotto pocket and opened it to dial Dean's number. Dean's gravelly voice answered after only one ring.
"Cas, what's wrong?" he asked immediately.
"You have to return to the house now," Cas ordered.
"Why? What's happened?"
Castiel glanced over his shoulder, watching Michael touch Mary's cheek lightly. "It's probably best that I not say this until you've returned to the house. But just come back. Now."
"We're on our way," Dean promised.
Castiel turned off the phone, returning to the main room as Adam watched Michael handle Mary helplessly. The youngest Winchester looked at Castiel pleadingly.
"He's coming, right?" he whispered.
Castiel nodded.
"She's strong," Michael detto absently, allowing his hand to hover over Mary from less than an inch away. "So much stronger than expected for her age." He smiled, looking at Castiel. "Certainly, you've felt as much."
"What I've felt is no concern of yours. te might not want to be here when Dean comes. If te thought Adam was angry."
Michael didn't move, his hand now hovering over Mary's legs. "Oh, I'm sure Dean will be furious. Even with his reluctance to bend. But he'll want to hear what I have to say. What te should have told him when te found them with her."
Castiel glanced at Adam, but he detto nothing, watching Michael carefully. Then he spoke softly to Adam. "Remain here. Don't let him out of your sight. I'll be outside."
Adam nodded silently, and Castiel turned to leave again.
"You won't be able to stop what's about to happen," Michael stated, now looking at Castiel over his shoulder. "You'll want to because of your attachment to her, but that won't make it any più possible. te should know that before te do something stupid."
Castiel detto nothing, leaving the room and then the house to wait for Dean.
If the ten hours Castiel had waited through seemed to last too long before, the fifteen minuti it took Dean and Sam to get back to the house felt like an eternity. With Michael nearby, Castiel was having to fight most of his deep-rooted instincts telling him to be afraid. It was true that Michael still commanded most of Heaven in his Father's efforts to clean up the mess they'd all made, but it was also clear that he was just as drawn to Mary as anyone else — coming here in the middle of all this only proved that even more.
And if Castiel had told Dean of Mary's true intentions, it would have skewed his efforts to protect her even più than Sam's reaction already had. Dean was still a very untrusting man, and he preferred to fight things he could understand. The fact that Mary had already caused Sam and Adam to react to her only compounded the way Castiel was feeling. It meant he had that many più people to protect, and for several different reasons. Castiel could see that Dean was struggling against his loyalties and his feelings. That was all about to change. Again.
The sound of the Impala racing toward the house caught Castiel's attention più than a mile away, and he made his way to the dirt road as it wove its way through the old junkyard. He wanted Dean to hear this from him first, and he hoped Dean would listen. He also hoped Sam didn't act hastily when he found out that the Archangel who'd tried to kill him was currently hovering over Mary like he was about to have her way with her.
As soon as Castiel saw the Impala, he looked at the house, and when Dean stopped in front of him, he looked at the car. Dean and Sam got out together, immediately on point.
"What's going on?" Sam asked. "Mary's still here, isn't she?"
Castiel nodded. "She is. But te both have to know this before te go inside. He's here."
Dean leaned closer, his eyebrows raised into his forehead. "Who, Cas? What's happening here?"
"You have to understand. I needed te to protect her. And it didn't matter how she would affect either of you, as long as she was protected from the Demons who are looking for her. But he caught her scent, and now he's here."
"Who?" Sam asked. "Who's here?"
Castiel sighed heavily. "Michael is here."
The look of confusion and anger that crossed both Sam and Dean's faces was exactly what Castiel expected, but it was Dean who acted first, hurrying to the house with Sam behind him. Castiel followed slowly.
"Hey!" Dean yelled upon entering the house and then hurrying into the main room where Michael was still squatted successivo to the cot Mary laid on asleep. "Get the hell away from her, te self-serving dick!"
Michael smiled, rising to face Dean as Sam followed. "Dean," he said, and the look of astonishment on both their faces was enough to make the Archangel laugh. "You look well."
"What the hell?" Sam exclaimed. "Dad?"
Michael looked at Sam, and he flinched. It was understandable since the last time they'd seen Michael, it had not gone well.
"What the hell do te think you're doing?" Dean demanded. "How in the hell?"
Michael remained calm, still smiling as he spoke. "What am I in your Dad? Again? How did I get him to say yet to me a secondo time? It's quite simple. He didn't remember the first time, of course. And I told him I could save his children. It only made sense for him to trust me. And I wasn't exactly lying, since you're even deeper in this now than te were the last time."
"Sam, take her upstairs," Dean ordered.
Sam didn't wait, moving around Michael and lifting Mary from the cot to carry her upstairs, and Michael spoke as he left the room.
"You'll want to hear what I'm going to say, Sam," Michael told him, but he kept walking, taking Mary with him.
Michael looked at Dean, his smile fading slightly. "You won't be able to protect her. No one will. You'll just prolong it until it becomes inevitable. Is that what te want?" He stepped closer to Dean. "Actually, I'll tell te want te want. It's what Sam wants. And it's what Adam wants. Even Castiel wants it, though he would never admit it. te all want to protect her. You're all willing to give your lives for her. And te want to know why? Because that's what she does. She's seduced all of you."
