I was sitting in a chair, across from Sam, we were trying to find cases, but that wasn't going as planned. My eyes closed, I started dozing off.
Then I was slapped on the thigh. I opened my eyes and saw Dean next to me,
Sam said" You think Amara just popped up in New Jersey and caused a blackout?"
Dean said" She's a player."
" It's weak."
" Well, right now weak is all we have, okay, 'cause nobody's found anything, and without Amara, we're screwed. So Atlantic City? All you can eat prime rib. And possibly one all-powerful cosmic being. Come on, man. Sounds like a road trip to me." Cas walked in,
" Cas."
" Hey, right on time." Cas squinted his eyes, I smiled.
Dean explained everything as we walked towards the library,
Cas said" Well, I should go with you."
Sam said" Cas, it's probably nothing."
" Uh, so I'm, what, supposed to just sit here?"
Dean said" Well, somebody's got to keep an eye on Jack in case Billie shows up for his, uh, thing."
" Right, while you track down one of the most powerful beings in existence and lie to her face."
" Exactly."
" Dean, Amara's dangerous. You can't just charge in."
" We're not, okay? Plus, you know, she and I used to have a thing, so..." Cas stopped,
I said" I still can't believe you've benched me!" We walked into the library,
Jack said" Sam, what's this case about?"
Sam said" I wouldn't worry about it. I-It's, uh, not our kind of thing."
Dean said" You sure it's-it's nothing spooky?"
" I mean, a kid got killed. It's tragic, obviously, but the local cops can handle it."
" Great. But you know what? Why don't you, Haz and Cas go run it down just to be sure?"
Jack said" Really?"
Cas and I said" What?"
Dean said" Yeah, you said you didn't want to sit around here after the whole Mrs. Butters thing."
Cas said" Mrs. What?" Oh, yeah... we need to catch him up,
" Just get out there, you know, stay busy."
" With a murder investigation?"
" Yeah."
" Sam?"
Sam said" Dean's not wrong. And, look, this case, uh, maybe you can help."
Dean said" Alright, well, you guys go Highway to Heaven that bitch." They walked away,
I said" Guys?!"
Jack said" I'll get my suit. Can we wear matching ties?" I giggled, smiling widely,
Cas said" Yeah. Blue's a good color on you." I dropped my head, Jack got up and walked away, I looked at Cas.
I said" How'd I go from benched to babysitting you and Jack?"
" Do you want an answer?"
" Nope." He sighed then walked away, I sighed," Jack, wait!" I ran to catch up to Jack," Come on, Tiger, let's find your suit."
He said" Are you actually going with us?"
" Obviously, I don't feel like letting you out of my sight yet." He smiled then hugged me," Okay, okay, enough chick flick moment."
" You love chick flicks."
" Shut up."
——
We were at the crime scene, I was in formal work attire, dress pants, blouse and jacket. I hate this. The sheriff walked up,
She said" Great, you found it. Which one did I talk to on the phone?" Cas took out his badge,
Cas said" Agent Swift." They shook hands," And this is, uh..."
Jack said" Agent Lovato. FBI." His badge was upside down,
I said" Agent Kelly."
Sheriff said" In the field long, Lovato? You look greener than Baby Yoda."
Cas said" He's a very smart, very, uh, pale young man."
Jack said" I just graduated from CSI." I kept a straight face, but Jack is so not allowed on any police cases ever again.
Sheriff said" Uh-huh. Well, we're standing in what I call the trap zone. The victim was first attacked here."
" Did anybody find any tiny bags with chicken bones inside?"
Cas said" Anyone smell any sulfur?"
" Or feel cold?" Ugh... uh... no, boys, no...
Sheriff said" I don't- uh, look, none of that. But there was a message. The kid, Connor, someone wrote the word Liar on his body. Sort of carved it in."
I said" I see."
" Whoever did this worked him over good. Cut off each finger one by one. Shoved it down his throat. And we found this." She showed us a picture of Marvelous Marvin the Talking Teddy.
Jack said" Marvelous Marvin the Talking Teddy. I have one." I coughed, covering up my laugh," Uh, for my stepson. Ronald."
" Right. Well, the toy, it's got a speaker in it, and we found another one in a fake rock over there."
Cas said" How strange."
" Gets stranger. We caught this off of one of the security cameras across the street." We watched the video, a person in a mask,
" Is that a mask?"
" Think someone's seen too many bad slasher flicks."
" This is all very horrific."
Jack said" Almost demonic."
Once we left the crime scene and we were far away from the sheriff, I slapped both their heads.
I said" You know what? I'm not even gonna blame either of you, I'm gonna blame Dean for sending you two out into the wild."
Cas said" We weren't that-"
" Hey, Jack, stepson?"
" Okay, Hazel."
Jack said" It slipped out."
I said" And your badge was upside down, which was very adorable but very amateur."
" I'm sorry."
" It's fine, Tiger. And you know, we don't usually outwardly say things like sulfur, or describe hex bags."
Cas said" Done yet?"
" Yep!" I smiled and walked ahead of them,
Jack said" She's irritated."
Cas said" Very. I believe it's became Sam and Dean benched her."
" They ditched her, Cas."
" Yes, I know."
It was night, we were at a cross roads,
Cas said" Well, if this is a demon, I know how to get answers. What are you doing?"
Jack said" I'm looking up Conner online. Like Sam always says, when in doubt, try social media."
" Oh, yeah. I did that once. There were so many cat photos, it was just... there were too many cats. Someone should be here."
" It says I need a parent or guardian's permission to join."
" You have my permission."
" I have his permission." As he looked at the pad, I dropped my head, shaking it.
A guy said" Sorry, lads. Shop's closed. No more deals." He showed his true eyes, I walked closer,
Cas said" We don't want to make a deal."
" Do tell. So how can Zack be of service?"
Jack said" Why is he talking like that?"
Cas said" I don't know."
Zack said" Because Zack has style."
Jack said" Who killed that boy in the alley downtown?"
Cas said" Was it a demon? Was it you?"
Zack said" No, and- wait, are- are angels solving people crimes now? Like Highway to Heaven but with murder or something? Because I-I would watch that show."
Jack said" Right. If you didn't do it, do you know who did?"
" No. I admire their work, but it's got nothing to do with us. Just some wacko. Humans, am I right?"
Cas said" So no one made a deal?"
" N-No one's making deals. Like, at all. Uh, Rowena has a hard people will end up where they belong philosophy. It can be nice, less quotas. But, like, look at me, uh, a crossroad's demon who can't bring in a deal? Like, wha- um, what even am I?"
" You're a deviant soul corrupted by Hell."
" Well, yeah, yes, but I-I mean more in, like a work life balance sense."
" Okay. We should go."
" No, wait, wait. Um, I-I-I-I could help. Do you need a driver, or... Come on. I'm bored out of my mind." We walked away,
Jack said" Sam was right. It's not a monster."
Cas said" Well, he was half right. Sometimes humans can be the worst kind of monsters."
" Yeah, but it's kind of not our thing. Guess we should just go back to the bunker and do nothing while we wait for Sam and Dean."
" No. No, we're gonna stay. We can help."
I said" Oh, great. We're gonna mess with real police business... fun."
" You could always go back to the bunker and wait for your brothers to return."
" Bite me, Cas." I walked to the door and got into the truck, Cas and Jack got in.
We were in the truck, Cas is on the phone with my brothers.
Cas said" Yeah, it would appear so. Focused. Agitated. We were with the police earlier, another woman has gone missing. Apparently, she and Connor were from the same church group. Okay, I understand." Dean so just said for us to split and definitely said for Jack to be the one to sign up, aka drink the kool aid." How's the search for Amara?" Then he looked at his phone,
I said" Now you know how I feel, Cas!" Cas looked at me," So, we really gonna send newbie to drink the kool aid? Because you know I'm not letting that happen." I let my eyes glow, then go black, he sighed, I blinked and they were back to normal.
——
I was invisible as I stood next to Jack as we walked into the place, I was holding his arm gently.
He said" Hello. Where can I find the kool aid?"
A girl said" What?" I touched the side of his face, closing my eyes, You want to join.
" I'm sorry. I mean, I want to join. To help. My name's Jack." He held out his hand for her to shake, ugh, I really need to teach him more, don't I? And I've learnt a few new tricks.
" Okay. Fill this out." He was handed a clip board,
" Is that the pastor? What's going on?"
" It was a prayer dedication for... one of our members just passed away."
" Were you close?"
" Come find me when you're done with the form." She walked away, Jack sat down, I sat next to him, Cas walked in.
Cas said" Hey."
Jack whispered" That way." Cas nodded, I smiled, then tousled Jack's hair," Hazel!" I smiled widely, giggling," You're supposed to be quiet." I held the side of his face, smiling, What's the fun in that, Jack?, he smiled a little.
We walked to the girl,
Jack said" I'm all done with the paperwork. Now what?" Another girl took it,
She said" You can work with me."
The first girl said" People come here from all walks of life. Make sure you look them in the eyes, give them a smile. Then hand them a bagged lunch and a water."
" Thank you. Next. We used to give out bibles, but we stopped."
Jack said" Oh. What I said earlier, about Conner..."
The first girl said" Excuse me." She walked away, I squinted my eyes, hmm? Jack followed her,
" I'm-I'm sorry. I didn't want to upset you." He sat down," I'm no good at this."
" You're okay. It's just, uh, you were right. Conner and I, we... dated, years ago... sort of. More like we watched a lot of old movies together. We were kids. He was always there for me."
" I lost someone, too. My mother."
" Yeah? I... My mom died three years ago. Now it's just me and Pastor Joe."
" The-The pastor is your father?"
" He's a better preacher than he is a dad, but, yeah."
" Well, I have more dads than most, and I always just feel like I'm letting all of them down."
" I've been there. You're sweet, Jack. Put your trust in God, not people." I covered my mouth quickly, stifling my laughter.
I was sitting on a table behind Jack, still invisible, I wasn't really paying attention to what the preacher was saying.
I heard padre say" Jack, as the newest member of Patchwork, I invite you to share your journey." Oof. I don't have anything, and Jack's barely good at lying with a straight, no tells face. He can't do it, I saw Cas.
Jack said" I... I, um.. I-"
Cas said" Um, I'll do it."
Padre said" Please."
" My name is, um- well, my name's not important. I do know what blind faith is. I used to just follow orders without question, and I did some pretty terrible things." Ooh, like taking my brother back in time, tell a little girl, me, that I had to tell my brother a secret in order to save him, I think threaten my other brother... the list goes on, probably." I would never look beyond the plan. And then, of course, when it all came crashing down, I found myself lost. I didn't know what my purpose was anymore. And then one day, something changed, something amazing. I... I guess I found a family, and I became a father. And in that, I rediscovered my faith. I rediscovered who I am." Pain zapped me, I doubled over, my hand gripped Jack's shirt. I gritted my teeth to stop any noise, my eyes tried to roll back but I refused to let that happen. Jack put his hand on my arm, I breathed slowly till my fingers let go of their grip. I'm so gonna regret this later but that's later, for now I need to be here with Jack.
Jack was serving soup, I was sitting a little ways away from him. The tv went static then a countdown was on the tv, I stood up. It went to 0:00, and the video showed a woman gagged and tied up. Her finger chopped off, she screamed then the screen said YoU wonN't sAVe hER. Jack ran over to the tv, I followed, he pulled out a usb drive.
He said" Who could've done this?"
Padre said" I don't know."
Cas said" I do."
Jack threw himself into a door, we walked in,
Cas said" Brother Rudy left the congregation, the pastor said. It was amicable, but-"
Jack said" Maybe that was a bad lie."
" Yeah. Maybe. And he was good with computers, so..." I looked at the door in front of us,
I said" We gotta check." Cas and Jack pushed open the doors and we saw a very dead body, the flies, decaying skin." He's been dead a long time."
We got back to the congregation, a girl was on the ground.
Cas said" Excuse me, excuse me." We walked up, padre ran off real quick, I looked at Cas," Jack, follow him." Jack and I followed him.
We got into a back room, and Sylvia, pastor's daughter, and the pastor were there. Pastor with knife at his neck,
Pastor said" Please don't do this."
Jack said" Let him go." She threw the pastor down," I know you're in pain. I can- I can feel it. Just let me help you."
Sylvia said" Everyone's trying to help me. Who are you? You're nothing. You're just a scared little boy trying to make your daddies happy." She stabbed him, he healed," What?" I walked to Jack, she went to attack me, my eyes glowed, I grabbed her wrist and forced her to drop the knife, I got her in a chokehold. Cas walked up,
Pastor said" Don't hurt her."
Cas said" Sleep." While putting two fingers on her forehead, I let her fall to the ground. Cas walked to the tied woman and tore off the device on her hand, then the ropes." Go get the police. Go!" Jack ran out, Cas healed the woman, she woke up and looked at her hand. I looked at the pastor,
He said" What are you?" I looked at Cas, as he looked at the pastor.
——
Pastor said" You're an angel?"
Cas said" Well, not a very good one." An officer walked by with Sylvia, she was put into a cop car.
Jack said" What's going to happen to her?"
Pastor said" I don't know, but she won't be alone. Whatever she needs, whatever it takes, I'll find a place where she can get help. I spent my life taking care of all these other people. Should've been taking care of it."
I was asleep, slowly waking up, we were headed back to the bunker,
I heard Jack say" I'm gonna die. When we- When I kill Chuck and Amara, I'll die, too." I kept my eyes closed, kept the tears in,
Cas said" What?"
" Billie's spells have been turning me into some kind of bomb, and when I go off, God and Amara will cease to exist. And... I won't survive. Don't tell Sam and Dean. Don't tell Hazel."
" Oh, yeah? Why not?"
" They won't understand. But I know... this is the only way they'll ever forgive me."
" No. I watched you die once, and I will not do it again."
" It's not your choice." There was silence... intense, intruding silence and I couldn't handle it. I grabbed Jack's jacket and teleported...
We landed in the field, I saw the truck halt to a stop, I stared at Jack, he gulped.
I screamed" So, you were just gonna kill yourself without telling me?!"
Jack said" No. I-"
" You were gonna sacrifice yourself without telling me?!"
" Hazel-"
" No, Jack! No! I've watched you die twice, okay?! Twice! And each time hurts worse than the first! And I won't accept it! And you know what? You say you're a Winchester, and you're right, one thing all Winchesters seem to fucking do is sacrifice themselves for others! I've seen my brothers die, I've died, Cas has died! Okay?! And I can't anymore! I can't take it!" I pushed him," We're connected, we were connected before you were born! I've stood by you! I stood by you in apocalypse world! I stood by you when everyone thought you'd go dark side! I stood by you when you did go dark side! And I'm still right here standing by you! You're the first person I've ever been able to connect with outside of my stupid ass brothers! And I'll be damned if you think I'm gonna let this happen!"
" It has to happen."
" No! Okay?! No! I can't handle any more deaths! I can't do it on my own! I'm barely functioning as it is and I'm not losing you again!" I punched him as hard as I could, and he took the punches." I don't want to lose you again, Jack! It hurt like hell!"
" I'm sorry."
" You can't be sorry for something you're willing to do! You can't... you can't-" I fell, Jack caught me," I can't do this again." He lifted me up into his arms, starting to walk. He sat down, my head was on his chest, my eyes closed.
" I don't think she'll ever forgive me."
Cas said" She's forgave her brothers and I for a lot worse. She will, she's Hazel, she forgives everyone. Eventually."
——
We were back at the bunker, I looked in Dean's room but he wasn't there, I walked to Sam's room. I knocked on the door, then opened it,
I said" Sammy?" I watched his eyes squeeze shut a little then open, looking up to see me.
He said" Hey, Haz, you back? How'd the case go?"
" It went. Can I... uh, sleep with you?"
" If you tell me what's wrong."
" I just had to use my power a lot... most of the time, I just don't feel good."
" Come on, sweetheart." I smiled slightly, then closed his door, walking to his bed. I laid down next to him, laying my head on his arm, he pulled the cover over me." You okay?"
" I'm fine, Sammy."
" Get some sleep." I yawned and closed my eyes, falling asleep quickly, but didn't miss his words," Love you, baby girl."