The Littlest Winchester

Chapter 109

We heard Cas say" And yet every time I look at him, all I can see is the supreme agent of evil."
Jack said" You talking about my dad again?" We made ourselves known to them," Look, I understand. Being around Nick- it's hard for me, too."
Mary said" Uh, Jack, we're gonna need you to sit this mission out. Not a permanent thing."
" I know the last time, I sucked when it mattered, and I need to improve. So... that's what I'm gonna do."
Sam said" All right. Okay. Let's move." They walked out, I grabbed Sam's arm, pulling him back,
I said" Don't get dead. Love you." I hugged him, he hugged back,
" Love you too." I let go of him, smiling at him,
" I'll keep an eye on them." He nodded, walking away, I sighed, please just don't get dead, I can't find Dean without him.
——
Jack was looking through biblical lore, I was sitting in the chair sideways, feet on the armrest.
Cas said" Looks like about... two centuries of biblical lore. Light reading."
Jack said" I'm researching how long it takes archangel grace to replenish. Well... archangels being exceedingly rare, the data on that is woefully scant. The books say it can take from a month to..."
" A century. Yeah. Complicating factor being your... human component, which slows the process. Jack, um... mourning what you've lost... it's wasteful. Might be smarter to focus on what you still have."
" You don't understand what I'm going through."
" Yes, I do- a little. At the time of the Great Fall, when the angels were banished from Heaven, I lost what I thought was everything. I had no grace, I had no... wings. I felt hopeless and useless."
" What did you have left?"
" Well, uh... well, I had Sam, Hazel and Dean. But I had something else that was extremely helpful. I had myself. Just the basic me, as, uh... as Dean would say, without all the bells and whistles. You know... Sam and Dean, they weren't born with their expertise. They've been at it since they were children. Failing, winning, developing over the years. Patience... persistence- those are skills, too. The past, where you came from, that's important, but it is not as important as the future and where you're going."
——
So Jack went to his grandparent's, which was a risky move, but I think it was a smart move.
Cas said" Jack, what were you thinking taking that kind of a risk?"
Jack said" No, it wasn't a risk."
" But t-to go out there alone? Jack, you have been on the radar of every angel and demon and power broker in creation since the day you were born, and I'm sorry, but you're not exactly yourself." We stopped in the map room,
" Weak and defenseless, you mean."
" I mean that the possibility of capture is real, yes."
" I heard what you were saying, Cas, and me finding out where I came from. Well, I never knew my mother. I thought the next best thing might be for me meet the only real family that I have left."
" That is not- Well, did it help?" Jack nodded," And you didn't tell them who you were, did you?"
" Of course not." He sat down on a pillar," I wanted to. I wanted to tell them I was their grandson. They thought I actually kind of looked like her." Cas nodded," I... I couldn't tell them that she died. They just... loved her so much. I know I should have."
" What you did, you did... from a place of kindness. I suppose there are worse ways to be human than to be kind."
" Have you heard from Sam? Did they find Michael?"
" Yeah, they think so."
" So they're gonna try and kill him?"
" Uh... no. No, the- the plan is to subdue him using angel cuffs and spell work. They have to get Michael out of Dean."
" And if he doesn't leave?"
" Then they'll try to drive him out."
" And if that doesn't work?"
" Jack-"
" Cas, Michael has to be stopped."
" I know, and he will be, after Dean is-"
" No, Dean doesn't matter. You're all so focused on trying to save Dean. And I get it, I understand, but if he can't be saved, if it comes down to him or Michael... Michael has to be stopped. Caged or killed-"
" And if that means that Dean dies, too?"
" Then Dean dies, I know this Michael. I've seen what he's done to an entire world, and so have you. If stopping that from happening here means that Dean has to die, then... Do you think he'd want it any other way?" Jack walked away, I looked at Cas, I looked down, sighing.
I said" We try to save Dean, but Cas, Jack's right... we can't have Michael do what he did to the apocalypse world happen to our world. Michael has to die. There has to be another way, right? Like what you did with me, when my demon side was in control... Dean killed the demon side and you healed me just in the nick of time?" Cas sighed," There's always another way. Always." I walked away from him, headed to my room, there's always another way with us. Always, right?