July 4th, 2014
Rexford, Idaho
The day after Alex returned home from the hospital, she was exhausted. More people had passed in and out through her door than Alex had seen since they moved here, and all had brought gifts of some sorts. The freezer was packed full of meals from friends and neighbors. The women at Craig's church had even gotten together a small charity fund to help them pay the bills. Two hundred dollars in three days, and the donations were still coming in.
"That was the Moris'." The door closed, and Castiel returned to the living room. "They were asking if we needed anything. I promised to call if we did." He sank down onto the couch next to her, and Alex shifted until her head was in his lap.
"Craig wasn't lying about town being tight-knit," she murmured, eyes closed. "I swear we've had half the state over." She nuzzled against his hip to find a more comfortably position, and Castiel's hand came to rest upon her side. "Too many people for me." She groped blindly for the remote and flipped on the news. "I need a nap."
"— tragic accident outside of Rexford today." The picture of an old, bedraggled man was on the screen, and Alex opened her eyes. "This marks the third unexplained disappearance this week. The police were not available for questioning ..."
"That's weird." Alex twisted to frown up at Castiel. "Three in one week, huh? You think it's ... you know, a hunter kind of thing?"
"No." Castiel's hand tightened on her arm, a quick, sharp squeeze. "No," he repeated more gently. "I'm sure it's nothing. The police will take care of it."
"But if they can't —" Alex sat up, turning to face Castiel with wide grey eyes. She could feel her heart beating within her chest, strong and solid "Shouldn't we at least look into it? Before anyone else gets hurt?"
One of Castiel's hands came up to rest on her cheek. "Alex. That's no longer your job." His fingers rubbed gentle circles into her neck, and Alex leaned into the touch. "We wanted to live a normal life, away from the supernatural. That's why we're here."
You can't escape it. Crowley's voice echoed through her head, and Alex closed her eyes. "Aren't we here — here on this earth — to help people?"
"That was my Father's mission," Castiel murmured. "My mission is to keep you safe." He leaned up, but Alex turned her head, letting his lips connect with her temple instead. He pulled back, and Alex watched his face fall out of the corner of her eye. "Promise me you won't look into it."
"Of course." Alex turned back, and she pressed a soft kiss onto his forehead. "I promise." She let out a large yawn, and her eyes flickered over to the clock. "Forget the news. Let's go to bed."
"It's only nine." Castiel's hand came to rest on her hip, and Alex shifted so she was straddling his legs.
"Well, I'm tired." Alex dipped her head to kiss his lips, and her fingers curled in the hair on the back of his neck. "I want to go to bed. Want to come?" Her invitation was accompanied by another quick kiss, and she felt Castiel's hands come to rest on her sides.
Then, to her surprise, he gently pushed her back. "You need to rest." The ex-seraph's blue eyes sparkled with concern. "The doctor said you shouldn't participate in any sort of activity that would raise your heart rate."
Alex rolled her eyes. "He's only saying that because he doesn't think I'm fine." She frowned as the mood slipped away, and she let her hands fall down to Castiel's shoulders. "He doesn't understand, Cas. He a doctor; they don't believe in the things we do."
"I just don't want to take any chances." The ex-seraph's fingers played with the hem of her shirt, and Alex shifted closer. "I don't want to go through that ever again."
"You won't have to." Alex pressed her forehead against his before mustering up the will to roll off onto the couch. "Fine. Let's go to bed."
The doorbell rang, and Alex fell onto the floor with an exaggerated groan. However, she made her way over to the door. "Hi, Maxine." Greg stood there, his white hair dampened by the night rain. "Someone left these at my door; I believe they're for you."
He held up a basket full of chocolate chip cookies, and Alex eagerly snatched them up, a noise of curiosity and excitement growing in her throat. "Great!" She carried them into the kitchen, waving over her shoulder for the old pastor to follow.
"Busy day?" Greg's eyes traversed the room, landing on the couch where Castiel sat. "I heard voices just a few minutes ago."
"The Moris' from down the street stopped by," the ex-seraph explained. He rose to his feet to shake their landlord's hand before joining Alex at the kitchen island. "They brought lasagna."
"Fifth lasagna of the day," Alex put in as she ripped back the plastic over the cookies and took one for herself. "So if you ever want a frozen dinner, we have meals galore." She threw her arm open wide to point to the freezer before she pushed the cookies towards Greg. "Ooh these are good. Try one."
The old man's eyes sparkled, and he pushed them back towards Alex. "Thank you, but no. I had one on the way up. They're very good."
Alex pushed the basket over to Castiel. "So very good. Here." She slipped past Cas and opened the fridge, careful not to dislodge the multitude of tin-wrapped pans. "Take one of these." She pulled out one labeled "casserole" in black sharpie and handed it to Greg. "Please. We have too many."
Greg let out a low, quiet chuckle. "Well, if you insist. I'll take it out of this month's rent." He looked over at the wall clock and then down at his watch. "I should get going. Early morning breakfast tomorrow with the church staff."
"Sounds like fun." Alex handed him the casserole and stepped back to Castiel's side. "I should get to bed anyways. It's been a long day." She patted her mate on the back before making her way to the living room as Castiel walked Greg to the door, and, once the door was closed and locked, stepped into the bedroom.
"I turned off the living room lights," she heard Castiel say as he followed her in. "Hopefully no one else will bother us."
"Good." Alex stripped off her jacket and tossed it into the hamper. "I've seen enough people to last me a lifetime." She turned back to Castiel; he was unbuttoning his shirt. "Except you, of course." She made her way over to her mate, wrapping her arms around his waist, and added teasingly, "I could always see more of you."
Her double entendre was lost on the ex-seraphim, and when he didn't respond, Alex rested her cheek against his bare back. They stood there for several seconds until Castiel finally pulled away. "Come on. Let's get ready for bed."
...
The days began to pass, and Alex slowly fell back into the routine of normalcy. Work at resumed at Lucky Chin's, but, though no one said anything, Alex could feel her coworkers tiptoeing around her, as if they expected her to fall over at any second. The day wore on, and before long, the end of her shift was approaching. "Mel?" The ex-angel tossed a towel into the basket and stepped out of the kitchen. "I'm heading out."
"Okay." Melanie looked up from her crosswords with a wide grin. "Sounds good. Just let me or Chris know whenever you feel like coming back and working full shifts again, alright?"
"Yeah. Sure thing." Alex pushed her way out the front door, wincing slightly at the wall of hot humid air that greeted her. She rolled up her sleeves and made her way down the street to the local Gas N' Sip. A horn honked, and Alex waved at the driver — not that she recognized them -- before she darted across the road and pushed her way into the gas station. "Hey."
"Hi." Castiel turned around to face her, and Alex leaned up to give him a quick kiss. "Is it four already?" He looked around, trying to find a clock.
"Yup. I'm done for the day." Alex grinned up at him before glancing towards the back of the store. "Mind if I grab a slushy? I'm thirsty."
"The machine is making a strange noise, so I'm going to fix it. You can grab a drink from the cooler, though."
"Thanks." Alex hurried over to the refrigerators that lined the far wall and pulled out a Mountain Dew. Footsteps approached, and she asked, "How was your day?" over her shoulder, expecting a response.
She didn't get what she anticipated. "Hi, Maxine." Alex turned to see Nora standing there, a smile on her face. "How are you doing?"
"Great." Alex kicked the fridge door closed. "Hey, thanks for, the, uh, those taquitos, by the way. Delicious." She heard the door open with a tinkle of a bell, but she ignored it. "How — how's Tanya doing?" she asked, referring to Nora's five month old daughter.
"She's doing great." Nora's smile grew wide at the question. "She's starting to figure out how to crawl. And she's talking up a storm. Oh!" Her eyes went wide as something came to mind. "I hope you don't mind. I've got a date tomorrow, and I couldn't get my normal sitter — I know Steve has his day off tomorrow, and he mentioned he was free —"
"Babysitting?" Alex guessed, cutting off Castiel's manager. "Sounds like fun. Yeah, he's free. Tomorrow was lazy Friday anyways." She cracked open her drink and took a sip, humming at the sweet, fizzy taste.
"Thank you. You're lucky, you know. He's a great man." Nora gave her a quick pat on the arm before she glanced up at the clock. "I hope you'll excuse me — I have some supplies I have order before the end of my shift."
"Yeah, of course." Alex watched Nora walk away before she swept her gaze around the store, searching for her mate. She heard a clatter, followed by the sound of rushing liquid, and she hurried over to the slushy machine to see Castiel struggling with the plastic cap. "I've got to go," he said into his phone and shoved it into his pocket to deal with the mess. Blue slushy had spilled out over the floor and his shirt, and Alex couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "You were right about it being broken," she joked, setting down her drink on a nearby shelf before rolling up her sleeves and stepping up to help. She took one of the plastic pieces from the ex-seraph's hands before asking, "Who were you talking to?"
"The, uh, the repairman." Castiel dropped his gaze — embarrassment at the mess or at the phone call? "I'll go get the mop."
Embarrassment of the mess, Alex concluded as she stepped away. The smell of sickly sweet blue syrup was filling the air, and the ex-angel's shoes stuck to the tile floor. "Gross." She took a sip from her drink. "How was the rest of your day, apart from this mishap?" she asked humorously as Castiel returned to the floor.
"We got in a new shipment of frozen treats." Castiel started mopping up the mess he had created. "And Nora charged me with taking inventory of the backroom." Pride lined his voice, and Alex couldn't help but smile; only he would take joy in being assigned the mundane. "I work closing tonight and opening tomorrow, so I should be able to get it all done."
Alex frowned deeply at his words. "Wait. I thought you were only working until six today. What do you mean you're working until closing?"
Castiel looked up, embarrassment reddening his cheeks. "Clive called in sick, so I offered to cover for him," he explained. "Nora offered to pay me overtime. We'll be able to pay Craig fully for rent this month."
"I ... I guess." Alex crossed her arms defensively as Castiel turned back to cleaning his mess. "That's fine. I'll just eat up the rest of that weird casserole by myself."
Cas picked up on her disappointment, and his shoulders fell. "I'm sorry. I should have consulted you first." His gaze dropped to the ground.
Alex let out a long breath, drawing out the silence before she shrugged. "Whatever. It's fine. I can swing by and bring you a new shirt later," she added, motioning to his purple and white striped long sleeve, now stained deeply with bright slushie blue. "That one's probably trash material."
Castiel followed her gaze down. "Probably," he admitted. "I have a shirt in the back that I can change into. Thank you, though."
"Of course." Alex stepped forward, one hand pressing lightly up against his soaked clothes to keep her own clothes from getting wet as she leaned up to press a quick kiss on his lips. "Okay, well, I guess I'll see you later tonight."
...
Castiel arrived home after she had gone to bed, and he was gone before she woke up. The only memory of his presence was the fading warmth in the bed. Alex had slowly made her though the first half of work, catering to the few patrons that had come in during the lunch hour before returning to the back room to get some peace and quiet. She slipped out the back on her break to make her way down the street towards the town's Gas N Sip. The air had cooled off substantially, bringing with it a chill that hinted at a storm on the far horizon.
She darted across the street and made her way up to the gas station doors. The sun peeked out from its cloudy covering, catching on the sleek black paint of a nearby car, and Alex froze, her hands gripping the metal door handle as her jaw dropped.
She threw open the door and stepped inside, eyes narrowing as they came to rest on the back of a jean-clad figure. "— knew you had to lay low from the angel threat, but, uh, wow." Dean Winchester shook his head as he surveyed the gas station. "This is some cover."
"My grace is gone." Castiel stood behind the counter, a frown upon his face. "What did you expect? Do you have any idea how hard it was? When I fell to earth, I didn't just lose my powers. I — I had nothing. Now ... I'm a sales associate." He puffed out his chest proudly, and his blue eyes glimmered in delight.
Dean barely held back a scoff. "A sales associate?"
"You got a problem with that?" Alex lifted her chin as both men turned in surprise. "Dean. What are you doing here?"
"Uh, Cas called. About those weird deaths and whatnot?" Dean looked back at Castiel, whose cheeks had reddened slightly. "Didn't you know that?"
"No, I didn't." Alex's voice was pointed as she stepped forward. "In fact, he specifically told me not to call you guys."
"There was another death." Castiel stepped out from behind the counter. "I thought that if it was something paranormal, Dean and Sam would be able to take care of it. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to get involved."
Alex huffed. "Well, I'm involved now," she retorted, crossing her arms. She turned to Dean and asked, "So? What have you found? It's definitely supernatural, right?"
"The victims weren't just killed, they were vaporized." Dean shook his head as he recalled what he had seen. He stepped forward as a service delivery man approached for Castiel's signature, and his voice lowered to a murmur as not to be overheard. "The latest vic — Joe Bridges — the inside of his cabin was covered in a layer of pink."
"Blood?"
"Sheriff said blood, tissue, hair. Everything. Same with the previous three cases. The neighbors reported a pink flash at the time of death, but that's the only lead they have." Dean's phone rang, cutting him off, and he reached into his jacket pocket. "One sec." He pushed past Alex as he answered with a, "This is Agent Lee Ermey."
Alex turned back to Castiel. "Why didn't you tell me?" she pressed. "Were you just going to let him pass through town without me even knowing?"
"I told you." Castiel's voice was even. "I didn't want you to get involved with hunting, and I knew the minute the two of you met that Dean would try and drag you back in again. That's why I told him to come while you were working."
"Lucky for me I took my break early then."
"Hey." Dean hung up and rejoined the conversation. "There was another kill, over at the high school. You guys coming?"
Alex felt Castiel's gaze on her cheek as she turned to the Winchester. "Can't. I'm in the middle of a shift." She saw the ex-seraph's shoulders fall slightly in relief at her words, but she ignored it. "Speaking of, I need to be getting back." Alex dug into her pocket for a list that she had scrawled onto the back of a receipt and handed it to Castiel. "Here. Can you bring this stuff back home? We're also out of syrup."
"Sure."
"And I'll see you for dinner?" Alex pointed a finger at Dean's chest. "Cas is babysitting, so it'll just be you and me."
"Babysitting —" Dean turned to look at Castiel, his green eyes wide in amazement.
"He'll tell you. I have to go." Alex glanced down at the time on her phone. "But, uh, I'll see you later, okay? I get off at three, so just text me then." She gave Dean a quick wave before she hurried out the door. Why hadn't Castiel trusted her enough to tell her? Hurt pulsed through her chest as she stepped out onto the sidewalk, but she couldn't help the small thrill at the prospect of a case in town. "Stupid." Alex kicked at a rock, cursing herself for the feeling; who was she kidding? Castiel had been right to question her resolve. The ex-angel pushed the thrill down, and, with one more glance backwards, she made her way back towards her work.
...
Seven o'clock rolled around, and Alex made her way out of Lucky Chin's Chinese Restaurant, a half-eaten egg roll in hand. The sun was reaching towards the horizon, and a wind brushed across the top of the buildings. "Night," she called back to Melanie, who was locking the restaurant doors behind her. "See you tomorrow."
She pulled out her phone as she crossed her street, drawing the hood of her sweatshirt up over her head as she continued down the sidewalk. She had heard no word from Dean, but Cas had texted her a little while after she had went back to work to tell her that his shift had ended. Hungry for dinner? she texted to Dean. I'm off work.
Not immediately expecting a reply, she shoved her headphones into her ear and hit shuffle on her playlist. As Shinedown started their introductory chords, she stuck her phone into her back pocket and continued on her way.
She turned up the street she lived on just as her music skipped, indicating a text had arrived. It was from Dean. Sorry, it read. Got a call from the sheriff. On my way down to the station now. Her phone vibrated again and a new text appeared. Text you when I'm done.
Yeah, sure thing. Alex pressed send as she crossed the street and hurried up the stairs to her front door. Call me with details, she quickly added before she dug out her keys and stepped into her home.
Almost instantaneously, her phone rang. "Hey-a, Pip. What's up?"
"Nothing." Alex kicked the door closed behind her. "Well, what'd you find out? You said there was another death. Details?"
Dean cleared his throat. "I took Cas with," he explained. "Good thing I did, too — Cas figured it out. We're dealing with a, uh, a Rit Zien. It's a, uh —"
"Medic angels," Alex finished. "Yeah, I know. Amazing healing ability."
"And the ability to obliterate instantaneously. Apparently they hone in on pain to find wounded angels. But now that they're here on earth, they're going after people. The suicidal, depressed. Last vic was a teen who got dumped publicly. Rit Zien can't tell the difference; pain is pain." Alex heard the car engine die. "Listen, I have to go. I'll swing by after I'm done here."
"Yeah, sure thing." The ex-angel hung up and tossed her phone onto the couch in passing as she made her way to the kitchen, where she unwrapped a slice of mexican hotdish from its tin foil and put it on a plate in the microwave. While it cooked, she moved into the bedroom to out of her clothes that smelled of old grease. She pulled on a pair of faded jeans and a black t-shirt, and was thumbing through her jackets when she heard her phone ring. Clothes forgotten, she ran back into the living room to answer. "Dean?"
"No." Castiel's low voice came through the line. "It's me." There was a loud crying in the background, and Alex could heard the tension in his voice. "The baby is sick. She feel really warm, and I'm getting worried."
The microwave beeped, and Alex pulled out her food. "Okay, well, she's probably got a fever. It's probably just a small bug or something. There's probably tylenol somewhere in the house. Dosage is on the label." She looked around at the darkened room before adding, "Why'd you call me?"
"I figured you might know, having cared for Ashiel." The crying was growing louder, and Castiel turned away from the phone. "Please stop," he murmured. "It's okay. Can you come down?" he asked of Alex. "I don't want to call Nora, but I'm afraid that if it gets worse I may have to take her down to the hospital."
"Don't overreact," Alex warned. "Have you taken her temperature?" She crossed back into the bedroom to grab a jacket. "I can be there in five minutes or so if you want."
"Thank you." Castiel hung up, and Alex shrugged on a jacket with a glance over at her quickly cooling dinner. Apparently a meal wasn't on the menu.
She locked the door behind her and cut through the yard. Thankfully she knew Nora lived less than ten blocks away — she could easily cut through the backyards under the growing cover of night.
She triggered a few yard lights and darted passed two small, growling dogs before she finally stopped in front of the small suburban house that belonged to Nora Oakley. A rusted brown truck sat out front, and Alex frowned. That wasn't Nora's car, not had she seen it around town. She made her way up to the front step and rapped twice on the door. "Cas?"
The door opened, revealing Castiel, a young baby in his arms. "You're here." He ushered her in, shushing the crying child. "Thank Father. Here."
Alex awkwardly accepted the baby into her arms, resting the back of her hand against the burning forehead. "She is hot," she agreed quietly. "Shush, sweetheart," she whispered, pulling the child up against her chest.
"I was about to take Tanya outside," Castiel began. "I thought the cool air would help cool her down." He crowded at her back, looking down in worry. "Should we take her to a doctor?"
"I think she'll be okay. Quiet, baby. Mommy's going to be home soon." She carried Tanya into the living room, humming softly under her breath.
The door opened, and Alex turned. A man stood there, tall and broad, face expressionless. He moved slowly, carefully — strategically. He wasn't human.
Castiel jumped in front of her, his hands going out to hide her from the stranger. "Ephriam." The name came out as a low growl, and Castiel shifted backwards, driving the three of them away from the stoic angel.
"You're the Rit Zien." Alex peer over the ex-seraph's shoulder, pressing the baby's warm head up against her neck.
"And you're the only one stupid enough to have taken Castiel for a mate," came the even counter. Tanya let out another shrill cry, and Ephraim's electric blue gaze fell upon her. "Let me see the baby."
"No." Castiel side-stepped, cutting off the Rit Zien's line of sight. "I won't let you touch her." Alex retreated into the living room, standing beside the crib. The baby cried in her arms, and Ephraim shifted so he could once again see the source of despair.
However, he still scoffed at Castiel's words. "You think I came for her?" he retorted, and his gaze flickered back to the dark-haired man. "No, Castiel. I came for you." He brushed past Castiel, who stood in stunned silence, and Alex turned her back to the Rit Zien. "Let me take away the fever." Ephriam's words came out in a low murmur. "She will stop crying then."
Alex kept her back to the fallen angel. "Give me one reason why I should trust you."
"Because my job isn't to mercifully smite all that I can; I heal those that I am able." Ephraim circled around to stand in front of Alex, and his hand came up to rest on the back of Tanya's small head. "Be quiet," he willed, and the child fell still. Alex could feel the temperature go down, and she shifted the baby to her other arm as Ephraim turned back to Castiel.
Seeing that the baby was no longer in harm's way, she laid Tanya down in her crib, shushing the child's soft coos of confusion. "Stay here."
"How did you find me?" Castiel was backing up, away from Alex and the child, and Ephraim followed slowly.
He raised an eyebrow at the question. "Because the two of you are warded?" he asked, stating the unspoken assumption behind the ex-seraph's words. "I found you the same way I find all my patients — I just followed the sound of your pain. You have no idea how loud it is. I could hear it for miles."
Alex backed away, gaze flickering around for any weapon that could distract and disable the angelic being. She had no grace, no angel blade. The only thing left was a blood sigil, but the kitchen was still far away. If Castiel could stall him long enough, she could make it, but ...
"Do you really think you're doing Heaven's work down here?" Castiel persisted. He had his back up against the sliding glass door, pinned in the corner by the Rit Zien, who had stopped his approach in the middle of the room.
"I know I am," came the steady answer.
Castiel shook his head. "Well, you're wrong. Earth can be a hard place, but these humans, they can get better. They're just doing the best they can." His gaze slid over to Alex, and the girl froze in place when Ephraim followed his example. Alex steadily stared back until he turned away.
"Is that what you think you're doing, Castiel — the best you can?" The angel began again, and Alex continued edging towards the kitchen. "Well, I'm sorry. But if this is the best that the famed Castiel can do, you're a more urgent case than I thought."
His voice faded as Alex slid into the other room and disappeared from view behind a dividing wall. A knife block lay just within reach, and Alex quietly removed a small paring knife, ducking back out of sight to press her back against the wall. "I used to admire you," Ephriam continued as Alex slowly drew the blade across the palm of her hand — she winced at the sharp, burning pain, clenching her teeth to keep quiet. "You failed more often than you succeeded. But at least you played big —"
The Rit Zien cut himself off, and Alex froze, afraid that he had felt her pain. With little thought for noise, she drew her fingers across her bloodied palm and began painting on the wall. She heard a thud and a cry, and she let out a cry of her own. "Cas!"
"Now what are you doing?" The ground disappeared from beneath her as Alex was flung away, and she crashed into the far wall. "Come. Here." Ephraim hauled her to her feet, ignoring how she struggled.
Alex lashed out with closed fists, and she hit the angel squarely in the clavicle. The bone broke easily beneath the pressure, and his shoulder slumped forward. The injury healed almost instantaneously, pulling the joint back into place, but the breakage lasted just long enough for Alex to rip herself free. She ducked past him and ran into the living room to find Castiel struggling back to his feet, a grimace on his face as he clutched at his shoulder. A bloodied circle, similar to her own, was traced onto the glass.
Alex spun around, positioning herself between the man and the angel, one hand held out defensively as Ephraim stepped into the living room. "Stay back," she warned. She could hear the baby crying in fear, and she balled her fists.
"This isn't your battle." The Rit Zien flicked his wrist, and a force like a brick wall sent Alex flying. She landed beside the crib, dazed. Castiel threw a punch, but Ephraim blocked it with ease and, in one fluid motion, twisted the ex-seraph around and pinned him up against the sliding door. Castiel let out a noise of pain, and Ephraim clicked his tongue. "Shh-shh-shh," he soothed. "It'll be over soon. I'll take the pain away."
Castiel struggled. "I want to live," he spat out, but he was no match for the fallen angel.
"But at what, Castiel?" The Rit Zien tightened his grasp on the man's twisted arm, and Castiel gasped out in alarm. "As an angel? Or a man?"
The door flew open, and Ephraim spun around to find Dean Winchester rushing in, angel blade in hand. The hunter had barely taken three steps into the house before he was thrown backwards by angelic grace, flying through the air and hitting the far wall with a dull thud. He slumped to the floor, and Ephraim turned back to Castiel, who had been released from his grasp during the commotion and had fallen to the ground.
"You say you want to live," the Rit Zien continued quietly. "But you can't see what I see. By choosing a human life, you've already given up. You ... chose ... death."
"No!" Alex jumped forward as the angel lifted his hand, light emanating from his palm, but Castiel's head snapped over to face her.
"No! Stay back," he yelled, a hand extending towards her to keep her away. Something slid across the ground, on a trajectory towards Castiel, but Alex was faster. She snatched up the angel blade and dropped to her knees, her momentum taking her across the floor until she could push up at the last moment, sending her up high enough to wrap one hand around the Rit Zien's shoulder. Her weight pulled him down and onto the angel blade as she thrust it up, sending the weapon between his ribs and into his heart.
Ephraim screamed, and burning white light poured from his face as his grace exploded. His wings flashed visible as they disintegrated into ash. Then, he was dead.
The body went lifeless, collapsing on top of the young human. She fell back to her knees and shoved it off to the side, chest heaving as adrenaline coursed through her veins. Dean was struggling to his feet; Castiel was still on his knees, a solemn expression across his face as he stared down at the body of his comrade. At the sight of his distress, Alex did the best to contain her giddy smile, but her heart was racing, and she felt like she was on top of the world.
"I forgot how good that felt," she commented off-handedly as Dean approached. "Good thing you showed up, though," she quickly added before anyone could ask her what she meant. "How'd you find us?"
"The vessel is the husband of the first victim." Dean brushed his hands down across his thighs, as if to brush off dirt before reaching up to straighten his shirt. "A real big follower of that nutcase Buddy Boyle."
"Who?" The name was lost on the ex-angel, and she tipped her head in confusion.
Dean waved it off. "We think he's helping the angels find vessels. It's not important; we'll take care of it. Come on." He bent down to pick up the fallen vessel. "I'll get this guy out of here. You two take care of the rest."
Alex hurried over to the kitchen to grab several paper towels; she wrapped them around her bloodied palm in a makeshift bandage before she returned to the crib to pick up baby Tanya; tears stained her face, and she sniffled. "It's okay," Alex murmured. "You don't have to be afraid anymore." She watched as Dean carried the body out the back door. "Hey, we gotta clean up the blood, man. You want to take the baby?"
Castiel didn't immediately respond. "I saw a sponge in the cupboard," he finally said, but when he spoke, his voice was slow and quiet. "I'll take care of it."
"Okay." Alex watched him walk away. She shifted the baby to her other arm, carefully checking the paper towels to make sure the blood wasn't seeping through to the young child's white clothes. "Crap. Do you have a rag or something?" she asked as Dean returned to the house. "I'm still bleeding here. "
"I'll grab you one. I'm bringing the car around to pick up the body — thankfully it's dark." Dean disappeared out the front door just as Castiel reappeared, a sponge and a plastic bucket of water in hand. Alex carried the baby back over to the crib and laid her down; her temperature had returned to normal and seemed to be staying that way. Good.
...
It didn't take them very long to clean up the house, and at the end it was nearly impossible to tell that such an ordeal had ever taken place. The only remaining trace was the faint hint of ash in the carpet from where the wings had disintegrated that the vacuum hadn't been able to pick up. Dean had driven off long ago to dispose of the body, leaving Castiel and Alex to add the finishing touches after promising to return to pick them up. Nora was on her way back, responding to one of Castiel's earlier frantic calls, and upon his insistence, Alex had stayed.
The door opened in a flurry of movements, and Alex looked up in surprise from the couch where she sat, cradling the sleeping child in her arms. "I came back as soon as I can." Nora dropped her purse on the counter as she hurried into the living room. "Is everything okay?"
"Nora." Castiel rose to his feet from where he sat beside his mate, and Alex slowly followed his lead, rocking Tanya gently as the young baby awoke. "Tanya is fine. I'm sorry, I overreacted. I should have called you back to let you know everything was fine — a dose of acetaminophen brought the fever right down."
Nora stepped forward to take Tanya from Alex's arms. "She feels fine," the woman quietly agreed. "You did the right thing." Gratefulness flashed through her eyes as she looked between Castiel and Alex.
"Sorry about your date," Alex ventured as she stepped away from the mother and her baby. "I feel bad about that."
"Don't. It was a bust anyways." Nora led them over to the door, holding it open so they both could step out into the cool night air. "So thank you." She followed them out onto the front step, and Alex started down towards the street, glancing towards the Impala that now sat against the curb. "Oh, and Steve?" Nora's soft words had Alex pausing to listen to the conversation not meant for her. "That part of you that overreacted, that cares so much? That's what makes you special."
The woman gave him a small, warm smile and turned to go back into her home, and the soft, unintelligible murmur of her voice hummed through the air as she spoke to her young daughter.
A warm hand enveloped hers, and Alex looked up into Castiel's face. "Let's go." The ex-seraph led her down the walkway to the Impala. He took the front, and Alex slid into the back.
Dean stuck his phone back in his pocket — he had been calling Sam, no doubt about it. "So?" he asked. "Where to?"
"How about a drink?" Alex leaned over the seat to look at the Winchester. "There's a bar down by my work that's open late." She grinned. "Just like old times, huh? I — I haven't been able to get drunk in years."
"I would prefer it if we just went home." Castiel spoke slowly, quietly, and Alex reached out to rest a gentle hand on his shoulder, doing her best to curb her disappointment.
Dean started the car, and Alex fell back into her seat as he guided it out into the street. For a moment, it had felt like she was back where she used to be, working alongside Sam and Dean and Bobby Singer, saving people. But now she was back. Back to working late and paying bills. "Yeah," she reluctantly decided. "That's fine with me."