The Dream I Dreamed (A Dean Winchester Love Story)

Chapter 2: When Hope Was High

"Why would they come after her, Dean? As far as they know she's just a regular human." Sam argued.

"All I'm saying is-" Dean's reply was cut short as he slammed into a small figure that was passing by him. The girl was so short that he hadn't noticed her until his pacing brought him crashing into her. The force of the impact had knocked her to the ground, causing her to drop her books. Papers were spread like autumn leaves all around her.

"I'm sorry." Dean apologized, kneeling and helping the girl stand up. He wasn't given to helpfulness or apologies, but something about the girl filled him with a protective instinct almost as strong as the one he felt for Sam.

"No, it was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going." she insisted, her cheeks flushing red as her pale, almost gray, blue eyes met Dean's startlingly green ones. She ducked her head and began gathering her papers.

Dean, realizing that he still had a hand on her back and shoulder from helping her sit up released her and began to help gather the scattered pages when something in the top right-hand corner of one of the many pages of notes caught his eye.

"You're Hope Collins?" he asked. At this point Sam had reached them and was kneeling to help when he heard Dean's words.

"Um...yes?" she replied, incredulous. They had finished gathering the scattered papers and as Hope stood up Dean was stunned again by her petite build. She was a least a foot shorter than him, probably more, and standing next to Sam she looked like a child. Her golden, not-quite-shoulder length hair that was pulled into a messy braid that it was just barely long enough to form did nothing to offset this. Her skin was pale and silvery, dotted with freckles that matched her hair. She wore no makeup on her wide, stormy eyes and her lips were pink and round. She looked like she couldn't be more than sixteen, but Dean knew that she must be older since she was enrolled in college.

"We've been looking for you." Sam stated.

"You have?" Hope asked. "Why?"

Dean opened his mouth to attempt an explanation when he noticed two large shapes. A pair of college boys that looked like their single purpose in life was to be line backers were running toward them and as they neared, Dean could see that their eyes were jet black. "Shit." he muttered, turning to Sam. "Check it out. Two black-eyes, twelve-o-clock. Abbadon must have her minions tailing us."

Sam looked around, then cursed under his breath. "We've got three more over there, under that tree."

Dean turned to Hope. "Okay, we officially have no time to explain, we're just gonna have to do this, because we could really use some smiting right now." he said, his voice apologetic as he reached into his coat to pull out the angel tablet. He glanced quickly at Sam, hoping that Ezekiel would take the hint and come out to play.

"What?" Hope asked, starting to back away. Dean grabbed her wrist and she twisted in his grasp, attempting to get free.

Hope opened her mouth wide, sucking in air to scream, but before she could Dean began to chant the spell that he had memorized at the bunker. "Latentem ad te veniat. Nosce te officiumtuumimpleatur. Cuiusverbum in nomine Domini Deiloquorvobisimperosumihominumgratiae ac tueri." he finished, holding the angel tablet between himself and the struggling Hope. Suddenly she stopped twisting and her eyes flashed blue. She straightened her shoulders and looked around in confusion.

"Where-?" before she could finish the statement the first demons were upon them. Sam pulled out the demon knife and Dean clutched Castiel's angel blade (on loan to him from the former angel in case of such a situation). The two hunters fought back the demons with some difficulty, being surrounded and attempting to protect Hope's small form while they fought. The new angel hadn't moved since the spell ended.

"Hope?" Dean called over his shoulder. "A little help?" Suddenly a blinding flash of light surrounded them. The two hunters turned to face Hope. She seemed to be the source of the light, as if her soul was so bright that it's glow was blinding even through her skin. Two shadowy shapes appeared behind her, then spread into feathered black wings. The demon nearest to Dean opened its mouth and retreated in a column of black smoke, but before any of the others could move the light intensified until the whole world was white. When it faded and the hunters could see again, the demons had vanished. Both men sighed, catching their breath. "Took you long enough." Dean grumbled.

"HEY!" a voice called across the open space. They looked up to see several campus security guards running toward them.

"Shit." Dean exclaimed again, but before the word was fully out of his mouth he felt a tug in his gut and then he was in a different place. He blinked, disoriented. "What the hell-"

"I'm sorry, but we needed to get out of there fast." A female voice explained. Hope. She had teleported the three of them away from the place where the fight had occurred. Dean had to admit, it was better than running.

"Where are we?" Sam asked.

"A few blocks away from the dormitory. I assume you have a car?" Hope replied.

"Yeah. It's parked beside the building."

"What kind?" Hope asked, closing her eyes.

"Uh, a nineteen sixty-seven Chevrolet Impala. Black." Dean answered. Hope nodded and before he could say anything else they were sitting in the familiar leather seats, Hope perched in the back. Dean turned to face the new angel. "What took you so long to help us back there?"

"It has been millennia since I have had access to my grace, Dean Winchester. Forgive me if it took me a moment to remember how to use it."

"How do you know my name?" Dean asked warily.

"When you gave me my grace back, I got the cliff notes of the important conversations between the angels. And boy, do they talk about you."

Dean smiled sarcastically. "All good things, I hope."

"Dean Winchester; Michael's vessel. The man who stopped the apocalypse. They don't seem to like you too much." Hope replied. "And Sam; the one who said yes to Lucifer then threw himself and Michael into the pit. To be honest, I'm not sure who they hate more." Sam and Dean listened to this warily. Hope just grinned at them. "I think we're going to get along quite nicely."

Dean made a surprised sound. "So, let me get this straight; you've got the Winchester Biography as told by our dear enemies on the God Squad in your head, and you want to help us?"

Hope pursed her lips "Yeah, pretty much."

Now it was Sam's turn to be confused. "Um...why?"

"Are you kidding? Have you met the other angels? The only ones I ever liked are either dead or your friends. Or both. When God decided to make some of us human, I volunteered. I can't stand the, uh, 'God Squad'."

Dean laughed at the angel's use of the nickname. "Fair enough." the hunter conceded. "So, if you've been tuned into angel radio, I assume you know about Abbadon? And Metatron?"

The angel nodded. "I know a little, but it would definitely help if you filled me in on all of the juicy details." she teased.

"Take it away, Sammy."

"Alright. Well, Abbadon is forming an army..." Sam began. By the time they got back to the bunker, Hope knew everything the Winchesters did. Dean pulled the Impala into the garage and put his baby in park.

"C'mon; we've got work to do."