Last Hope (Supernatural fanfic)

Chapter Thirty-One

Hope opened her eyes and sucked in a breath. She had died. Like, actual, proper died-and-went-to-heaven death... and now she was an angel. Not part angel, but a full angel, a made-of-grace angel with orders from God.

"Hope? Are you okay?", Castiel's worried voice asked.

As she was about to reply she heard Dean, "You'd better hope she's okay, Cas!", he practically growled, "Telling her it's okay to kill herself! What were you thinking?"

Hope sat up and, finding herself in Castiel's arms, blushed, "I am perfectly okay", she said, looking at Dean with wide, earnest eyes. Castiel wrapped his arms around Hope tighter and shuddered, "Are you okay, Castiel?", she asked. Hope had never seen Cas look so... upset.

"There was so much blood", he whispered, "I thought I had made a mistake. I thought you wouldn't come back".

"I will always come back, Cas", Hope said, looking into her angel's eyes. He gave her a watery smile and she layed a cool hand on his stubbley cheek.

Dean cleared his throat, the level of chick flick in the room was way too high for his liking, "What did Joshua want with you?".

Hope smiled and her happiness stunned Dean, "He explained that I am not what I used to be. He told me what I am now and he gave me a job".

Castiel stood up, slowly moving away from the couch where Hope was sitting, her blinding smile still on her face. The two boys looked suspicious, and the angel looked sad, "Hope, what are you?", he asked, not wanting to know the answer, but knowing it before the words left Hope's lips.

"I am an angel of the Lord".

Cas' face went pale, "I never wanted this for you Hope. I am so, so, sorry", he whispered, with more emotion than Dean had ever heard in a voice. Dean actually thought for a second that Cas was going to faint. Noticing the poor angel was to distrought to ask the question, Dean asked it instead, "What's your job, Hope?"

Her smile shifted into one the screamed trouble. One that would of looked at home on the face of a demon. "Disobey".

"Wait. What?", Cas asked, he seemed angry, and confused, and curious, all at the same time, he was still pale, but now his cheeks were tinged an angry pink.

Hope stood up and twirled around, showing off her perfect health, her perfect not-deadness. "I'm an angel now and my job is to disobey. My orders are to go against the other angels. I was sent to help you", she shrugged her delicate shoulders, "I cannot fall, and I cannot fail, because by rebelling I will be following my orders".

Everyone stared at Hope. She didn't look much like an angel in her bloodstained plaid shirt and her faded skinny jeans. But then neither did Castiel in that constantly filthy coat. "Prove it", Dean barked suddenly, "Prove to us you're an angel".

Hope sighed and ran her hand through her hair, "You went through this with Castiel, Dean".

"Yeah, well, we're goin' through it with you now".

"Castiel", she asked, "How do I...uh... how do I...".

"How do you show your wings?"

Hope nodded. "You have to relax, release everything. But don't relax too much or you will come out of your vessel", he explained helpfully.

"Okay", she said, nodding, "Okay". Hope closed her eyes and imagined a big weight falling off her shoulders and her wings unfolding. She opened her eyes and the lights of the motel room began to flicker, she looked at Dean triumphantly as the shadow of her wings unfurled dramatically across the wall. Dean notice that the shadow of her wings, though impressive, was nowhere near the size Cas' had been and he wondered why that was. Hope's moment of triumph was short lived though, as she opened her mouth to speak to Dean, her right wing struck a table and she cried out in pain. The table fell over, the lights stopped flickering and Hope's wings vanished again. "Ow ow ow!" she grumbled.