Supernatural Fan Fiction ❯ Angels and Demons: A Supernatural Fanfic ❯ Fantasy and Reality ( Chapter 13 )

13. Fantasy and Reality

Ebony, Kansas 4:47 p.m.

“You don't really think these are actual alien sightings do you? I mean, do they even exist? Even if they do, why would they bother leaving crop circles and what do they want with humans?” Dean muttered as he and Sam walked into the gathering crowd. The townspeople had all come to see the strange crop circles that had formed in a deserted field overnight, along with the local news crew. The event had caused so much of a disturbance in the small Kansas town that the case was even receiving coverage via the internet. Amateur and professional UFO hunters alike were gathered along with the civilians, eager to find out what had happened. The sleepy little town hadn't been in such an uproar since Elvis Presley had died.

“I can't say whether they exist or not Dean. There are plenty of enthusiasts though. I think that any good hunter knows that they don't really exist. It's like with Bigfoot or unicorns or whatever. They aren't real. People just made them up. They have no actual factual basis I don't believe, but once we get back to the hotel we can ask Rachel and Castiel if they've managed to dig any interesting information up. In the meantime, we need to find someone who actually saw what happened.” Sam said, sighing in exasperation because with each passing minute the crowd grew larger.

“This is going to take awhile it looks like.” Dean said in slight irritation, bumping shoulders with numerous people as he and Sam began their interrogation.

The whole group had come with them to Kansas to investigate. Ruby and Grace had already melded into the crowd, questioning anyone who looked suspicious. Castiel and Rachel meanwhile were back at the hotel on Dean's orders, because Castiel didn't have good people skills. The two angels had been put on research duty, and while Rachel scanned the web for information, went to the library and county clerk's office to look up some things, and then back to the hotel for more research, Castiel followed faithfully at her side. After about two hours they took a short break. Rachel was slightly irritated because she couldn't find anything but half baked UFO stories on the web. Nothing paranormal or odd was connected to the town. As she was looking however, she came across some recent missing person's profiles. The latest victim had disappeared only three days previous. Rachel, who was very skilled as far as technology went, was just about to open up the profiles and view the online police report when a knock sounded outside their door.

She and Castiel exchanged surprised glances, knowing that if Sam and Dean were on their way back that they would have called. Rachel could sense that the beings outside the door weren't human, but they didn't seem malicious. She got up and silently padded across the carpeted floor over to the door and opened it.

“Hey, long time no see my friend! How have you been? Congratulations on your marriage too. I know it's odd of me to suddenly fly by like this without dropping you a line first, but Heather and I have some important news to share with you.” Cassie murmured, giving Rachel a hug and a nervous smile. She walked into the room, greeting Castiel while Heather gave Rachel a hug as well, looking slightly apprehensive. After Rachel shut the door behind the two sisters, she beckoned for them to sit. She knew their visit wasn't just to congratulate her on her change in status, and judging by Castiel's contemplative expression, he knew it too.

“Don't get me wrong Cassie, I'm glad you stopped by, but why are you here exactly?” Rachel murmured curiously, wondering what could have possibly made her confident friend so nervous. Cassie exchanged a brief look with her sister and began.

“Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but someone has to tell you, considering you don't have access to Heaven at the moment.” She paused, taking a shaky breath. Rachel gave her an encouraging nod and she continued.

“Michael and Raphael are fighting up in Heaven. God still hasn't returned, even though the Apocalypse is over, and it's starting to make a lot of us nervous and frightened. Those two started bickering amongst themselves because someone has to start getting things organized and in order or anarchy will ensue. They're fighting for power and our brothers and sisters are starting to choose sides. A civil war is starting.

It's not really that pleasant to be up there right now or safe if you're a pacifist. Neither one knows when nor if Father will ever return and they think that they need to assume control in the meantime. It's getting scary. They can't agree on anything and they're so angry. They both want power and control but only one can have that. They're probably going to kill each other over it. Michael wants to keep things the way they are and have always been, until God returns. Raphael however thinks that God has abandoned us and that we have to make changes in order to survive. So for now, anyone with any sense is going to lay low until this blows over. This is bad. There hasn't been this much confusion up there since Lucifer was cast out of Heaven.”

Castiel and Rachel sucked in a breath as they let the information sink in. This was definitely not good news. Heather resumed the conversation where her sister had stopped.

“Unfortunately it gets worse. Because of all the confusion and the power struggle going on, some ancient and powerful artifacts were stolen out of our storehouses, among them the Staff of Moses. We don't know who did this or why, but it's a bad omen I think. After all, why would any angel steal? It's not right in the least. Everything is changing, and it's not for the better I fear. You two need to be especially careful. There's a warrant out for your arrest, because you rebelled against Heaven and all.”

“Where's Gabriel in all of this? Hasn't he said something to Michael?” Castiel asked inquisitively. The sisters sighed, shaking their heads. “No, Gabriel is somewhere on Earth playing with the mortals. You know how he feels about his family. Why should he get involved if it doesn't directly affect him?” Cassie muttered glumly.

“You're right about that. Well hey, thanks for the talk guys. We'll be sure to keep a low profile. Be careful out there okay? If you need anything, you know where to find me.” Rachel said, standing up and walking them to the door. They once again hugged her and left. Shutting the door behind her and locking it, Rachel walked back over to the bed and sat down beside Castiel. For a few moments neither one could bring themselves to say anything, still trying to recover from the shock. An eerie silence permeated the room, making the angels feel even more disturbed. The news was disconcerting, a little scary even. There was no doubt in their minds that a Civil War would spell catastrophe for everyone.

“What will we do Rachel?” Castiel's voice sounded tired, rough, and sad. Rachel could sympathize. The news had left her drained and weary, almost heartsick. She leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. Castiel slipped an arm around her.

“We'll do as Michael instructed and stay with the Winchesters. You and I need to take care of our little family. They're real, they love us, and they won't leave. We can hope and believe in them.” Rachel replied quietly.

The thought of family comforted Castiel and eased his worries. He found himself softly smiling and kissed Rachel's temple. She always knew how to calm him down.

The chaste little kiss quickly turned into something more as their lips met. Their bodies tingled as heat sparked between them. Castiel slipped his tongue inside Rachel's mouth, loving the way she pressed her body against his. His tongue stroked erotically against hers and she moaned softly, slipping her arms around his neck. One of his hands fisted in her hair, grabbing a handful of the wavy midnight locks while the other one slipped under her shirt. Castiel was just about to pull it off when his cell phone rang.

Groaning in irritation, he gently broke the kiss and pulled it out of his trench coat pocket, giving Rachel a sympathetic glance. She looked just as annoyed as he felt but murmured that he should answer it.

It was Dean, and after talking with him for a few minutes he hung up, telling Rachel that they were on their way and would be there shortly. The Winchesters didn't disappoint. Within five minutes they had arrived and were standing in Castiel and Rachel's hotel room.

“Most of the people we talked to were your typical UFO fanatics, just dropping by to see what all the hype was about. Half of those people believe in that stuff and consequently we weren't getting very far.” Dean murmured.

“We did however manage to get to talk to a woman who thinks differently. She claims that it wasn't extraterrestrials but fairies that are behind the mysterious crop circles and abductions. According to this woman, there have been numerous cases of people disappearing recently. What would fairies want with humans though?” Grace said thoughtfully.

Sam snickered and Ruby laughed softly. Castiel and Rachel eyed them inquisitively. “You two don't think its fairies then?” Rachel asked curiously.

“Not really. I mean come on Rachel, fairies? Even for us, that seems a little out there.” Sam replied.

“Well don't think that they don't exist Sam, the Fey are definitely real. They can be a pretty troublesome group to deal with too, especially if they're interested in you. Of course, it might not even be the Fey, it could just be your typical garden variety fairy.” Grace said warningly.

“So there's a difference between the Fey and fairies? What is it exactly?” Sam asked.

“Well, the Fey can pass for human and are a lot more powerful than any single fairy. Fairies are tiny, no bigger than your thumb, annoying little things. Think of Tinkerbell only with a mischievous side and you've got yourself a fairy. I'm not joking about this.” She murmured, noticing Dean's amused expression.

“So wait a minute, you've dealt with the Fey before? How exactly?” Dean asked curiously. He was surprised to see Grace's face blush with embarrassment while her eyes flashed in anger. “We were on a hunting trip” She murmured, looking at Rachel. “and we ended up in Ireland, surrounded by all that old world magic.”

“What were you hunting?” Ruby asked.

“Druids.” Rachel replied, nodding for Grace to continue. “So anyway, while we were searching for druids, I was ambushed by some Fey and they ended up taking me to one of their courts. They wanted me to marry their ruler, but I wasn't interested and I was pretty pissed because I had been caught. They weren't going to give me a choice in the matter, their ruler had no qualms with raping me, I can assure you. Those stupid bastards had me confined using a devil's trap. If Rachel hadn't showed up when she did, well, I don't even want to think about what would have happened.” Grace murmured, shuddering.

“How did you get Grace out?” Dean asked Rachel. Everyone turned to her, intent on hearing her response. She smiled in amusement.

“I royally kicked their asses. You see, even though most paranormal creatures don't believe in God or even angels, most of them are smart enough to sense how powerful we are and leave us alone. This group wasn't that smart. Let's just say that there's a reason that the bloodline didn't continue for that clan.” She replied smugly. All of the men in the room looked at her nervously for a moment, having a pretty good idea of what she had done. Grace and Ruby laughed.

“Don't worry guys, I would never castrate you. That only happens to the misbelieving paranormal creatures that are stupid enough to piss me off and try to rape my friends. You don't have anything to worry about.” She replied reassuringly.

They all breathed a sigh of relief.

“Did you and Castiel manage to dig up any interesting information?” Dean asked. Rachel nodded. Grabbing her laptop, she opened the missing person's files and the police report, letting Dean and Sam read over them. Finding no obvious connection between any of the abductees confused them. Rachel murmured that she could look into it, and then she and Castiel told their friends the news that Cassie and Heather had given them. Dean and Sam looked apprehensive and Ruby and Grace looked worried.

“What does this mean for you guys?” Dean asked. Castiel looked dejected, staring at the floor. Rachel shook her head. “We don't know Dean. We'll just have to be careful I guess.” She replied uncertainly.

“But if you guys can't go back to Heaven, then what will happen to your powers?” Grace asked. Rachel bit her lip in thought, sighing wearily.

“If Castiel and I can't return to Heaven, then it's quite possible that we'll turn mortal. Before, when Father was there, my powers didn't fade even though I hadn't been home in centuries, but now that he's gone, it stands to reason that things won't be that way. I hope I'm wrong. Humans are so fragile and weak. It nearly drove me crazy when I was mortal for three days after Sam had stabbed me with the Angel Blade.” The thought was depressing.

“Sorry about that.” Sam muttered, feeling a stab of guilt. Even though Rachel had forgiven him, he didn't know if he had forgiven himself.

“Well hey, being human is better than being dead. You guys are still wanted in Heaven for disobedience right?” Ruby said. Rachel and Castiel nodded. There was yet another depressing thought.

“Well, not to be rude or anything, but Grace and I are going to go back to where the crop circles are and do some investigating. Since Rachel and Castiel have done most of the research, you and Ruby can look into the abductee's profiles further and see if you can't find a connection Sammy. See you guys later. Don't wait up.” Dean murmured, grabbing Grace's arm and leading her out the door. Seeing the angels look so despairingly depressed had made him more than a little uncomfortable. This hadn't gone unnoticed by Grace, but she knew it wouldn't do any good to say anything to him about it. He would talk to her when he was ready. Getting into the Impala, they drove back to the field and got out, planning to look for evidence as to what had caused the crop circles.

Grace paused in her walk for a moment, her breath catching and eyes widening. “Look Dean.” She said, pointing to the northeast corner of the field. There were about half a dozen distinct orbs glowing, floating in a circle, hovering just a few inches above the tall grass. Grace heard Dean's gun click as he pulled it out of his pocket and began walking toward the lights. She followed, slipping her hand inside the pocket of her jacket and wrapping her fingers around the sheathe of her blade. As they got closer the lights began to flicker. In a heartbeat they had vanished.

“Where the hell did they go?” Dean hissed in annoyance. Grace shrugged. Seeing something out of the corner of her eye, she turned and yelped, finding herself face to face with at least three dozen fairies.

They were glowing so brightly that she had to squint her eyes to see. She could hear them chattering amongst themselves, but it was too fast for her to make anything out of it. She stood there unmoving for a few seconds, noticing that some of the fairies were bending the grass over, making odd patterns that were eerily similar to the crop circles they had seen earlier.

“So it was fairies! That woman was right all along.” Grace whispered to herself, her voice filled with wonder, noticing the way the fairies' bodies seemed to shimmer and sparkle. A small, delicate, gossamer pair of wings was attached to each fairies' back, sounding like the wings of a hummingbird. They eyed her happily and began laughing, swarming around her and drifting up to her head, pulling at her golden curls capriciously. It tickled the slightest bit and a soft bubbling giggle escaped Grace's mouth before she could stop it. Pulling out her cell phone, she taped the mischievous creatures for a few minutes, laughing as they repeatedly flew into her phone. The seemingly harmless encounter was interrupted however when Dean shot down one of the fairies.

“Oh crap, now you've pissed them off.” Grace hissed, glaring at him, knowing that it was a dangerous idea to make fairies, no matter what size, mad. She gulped nervously, hearing the tiny voices fill with menace and anger. “We need to get out of here.” She said, grabbing his hand as she started running. They made it about halfway to the car, pursued by flashing light and small shrieking voices all the while. Suddenly a bright light appeared above them, stopping them in their tracks, and a second later they vanished along with the fairies.

“Oh come on Sam, just one more time, then you can do all that stupid research that Dean wants.” Ruby murmured seductively, laughing darkly as he pinned her beneath him and roughly kissed her, giving in to the temptation.

Wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist she switched their positions so that Sam was on his back and she was on top. Arching into him, she slid down his length, taking him fully inside her, shifting her hips in a slow, languid rhythm as she rode him, loving the control that she possessed. With just one move she had him shouting her name, his skin heated to a fever pitch, his body screaming for fulfillment. She knew that if she wanted, Ruby could have him on his knees and make him beg for it, but she wasn't in that sort of mood tonight. Throwing her head back she thrust forward and joined Sam as he screamed in pleasure and release, tumbling headlong over the edge as they were both consumed in a fiery demonic passion, waves of ecstasy washing over them both as they drowned in golden heat and love, knowing in her heart that she would never love or crave another's touch as she did Sam Winchester.

After recovering from yet another mind blowing climax that they had both experienced that evening, Ruby finally relented, telling Sam that he could start his research.

“We can worry about that tomorrow. It's late anyway, and Dean probably has other plans for when he and Grace get back than hearing me talk about a possible connection between the abducted individuals. Believe me, I know my brother, and by the time he and Grace return research isn't going to be the thing on his mind.” Sam murmured softly, one of his hands splayed on her back while the other cupped her rear. For most of the night they made love, dozing in between, not falling into a deep sleep until the sun began to rise and shine through the curtains of their room.

“I can't believe that this is happening. I thought that after we defeated Lucifer and ended the Apocalypse that our futures wouldn't be so uncertain and that Father would have returned. How can he let his sons destroy each other? The Heavens and possibly the world will fall into utter chaos if this power struggle is not resolved, and even if it is, there is no guarantee of what will happen then either. I'm losing my faith Rachel, I don't know what is right or wrong anymore, I don't know what of fight for or believe in. Everything I've ever known is falling apart.” Castiel murmured sadly as he and Rachel walked along the winding trail in a nearby park, hand in hand.

“I know Cas, I'm worried too. I don't have the answer for why God hasn't returned. I guess I'm tired, but my faith is slipping too. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if he let Raphael and Michael destroy themselves. I pray I'm wrong. Maybe I was naïve, thinking that everything would get easier once we put Lucifer away. At any rate, if we don't get let back into Heaven in the future, we might lose our powers, considering Father's gone and all. I'm selfish I guess, but I don't want to turn mortal again.” Rachel said softly, shuddering as she remembered how weak she had felt, how much she'd had to depend on others. Walking over to a bench that overlooked a small pond, the angels sat and Castiel slipped a reassuring arm around his wife's shoulders, giving her an easy smile and gentle squeeze. She looked at him blushing, smiling back, and he felt his heart melt.

“I can't imagine what having to eat and sleep would feel like, not to mention travel. It would take forever to get anywhere.” Castiel murmured thoughtfully.

“Believe me, it sucks. Having to eat is weird, but the need to sleep is weirder. Mortal's dreams are so odd, distorted. Traveling is slow, tedious. Those are just a few of a human's basic needs though, and that's a little nerve wracking. I guess that those are the reasons that mortals and immortals are different though.” Rachel softly replied.

“If we did turn mortal, would we have souls?” Castiel asked. Rachel shrugged. “I can't say that we would. We are two fold beings while mortals are three, but I don't know. If we permanently lost our powers, then I don't know what changes we would undergo. I hope we can avoid that displeasure.”

“I hope so.” Castiel said, watching his breath condense into a cloud in the cold January air. The moonlight shone through a break in the clouds, bouncing off of the cold white of the snow and making it glisten and sparkle. The ice on the pond had a similar glow, covered in a light dusting of snow. He looked over at Rachel, noting how the fluffy white flakes had fallen onto and in her hair, a stark contrast to the inky black waves. One of the snowflakes was caught in the long black eyelashes that framed her chocolate brown eyes.

“Don't move.” He whispered softly, gently plucking it away with his fingers, careful not to pull her delicate eyelashes. His fingers skimmed lightly over her pale cheek while his thumb caressed her jaw, his warm hand cupping her porcelain face. Rachel's dark eyes seemed to shimmer, the cold harsh light of the moon reflected in her gaze. Her small pink tongue darted out of her mouth and she licked her lips, drawing his gaze to them. His grey eyes darkened as he surveyed her softly pouting lips for a moment, leaning his head down to hers, pulling her face closer.

“You want to kiss me don't you?” she whispered, her voice soft and breathy, inaudible to anyone but him. His eyes filled with love, longing, heat, something close to a contented happiness. His normally somber expression softened a bit and a ghost of a smile formed on his face.

“I always want to kiss you.” He replied softly, his voice dropping low, a touch rough from emotion. Rachel's heart skipped a beat, her breath caught in her throat, her body shuddered softly, but not from the cold. She closed her eyes, leaning into him, lips trembling slightly. Castiel's lips met hers, firm and soft, yielding. Slipping a strong arm around her he twined his fingers in her hair, loving the how waves and gentle curls formed into dark silky strands that could only be described as Rachel's. His other hand cupped her delicate face, his fingers gently caressing her cheek and jaw, moving a bit lower, grazing her neck and throat. His lips followed the same trail, kissing the hollow of her throat before drifting back up to her face. His lips pressed against her soft skin with butterfly light kisses placed on her temple, forehead, eyelids, and nose before finding their way to her mouth again. He pressed a little harder, his tongue tracing her lips, and she sighed softly, letting him in.

Wrapping her arms around his neck she pressed closer to him, the sudden cold chilling her even as her body began to be bathed in waves of heat and longing. Castiel took her small, delicate body in his strong arms and pulled her against his chest, his body heat surrounding her in warmth, comfort, and safety. Slipping his tongue inside her mouth he kissed her softly, gently, languidly, his stomach doing a flip flop as he heard her whimper softly, kissing him back, almost shyly. Her hands clutched at his trench coat, slipping underneath and feeling the heat that burned his skin like fire through the thin layer of his shirt.

A prickling sensation on the backs of their necks caused them to pause for a moment. Sensing something was wrong, they both slowly pulled away from each other, gently breaking the kiss. Reaching out telepathically to Grace, Rachel was alarmed to find that she couldn't sense her friend's presence. Castiel couldn't sense Dean either.

“Something's happened. Should we get Sam and Ruby?” Castiel murmured, feeling an unusual sense of trepidation jolt down his spine. They could feel Sam and Ruby's presence nearby, and that wasn't the only thing they could sense.

“It's probably best we don't disturb them.” Rachel said softly, her voice carrying a hint of embarrassment as she blushed and her eyes widened. Castiel's face sported a similar expression as he nodded in agreement. A second later the angels had left the park behind and were at the field that contained the crop circles.

“There's the Impala, but where are Grace and Dean?” Castiel said curiously. He followed Rachel into the field, surveying the crop circles with a mild curiosity. He and Rachel could sense that something non human had recently been in the vicinity. Walking to the northeast corner of the field, Rachel stopped and bent down to pick up something.

“Look Cas, it's Grace's cell phone. Maybe I can find out what happened from this. Apparently she was taking a video when she and Dean disappeared.” Rachel murmured, noticing a light blinking that indicated the phone was still on video, her voice carrying a trace of excitement. She and Castiel watched the video and gasped in astonishment as numerous fairies appeared on the screen. Even though they kept flying into the screen, it was still exciting to watch. The angels had heard of fairies before but had never actually seen them. They found the small, fluttering, chatty creatures slightly annoying but none the less fascinating or amusing. A gun shot went off and they could hear Grace yell at Dean to run because he had made them mad. Grace had dropped the phone sideways on the ground and the two got smaller and smaller as they ran away. A bright light appeared and Rachel and Castiel watched in horror as their friends were taken, along with the fairies. Rachel turned the phone off and she and Castiel exchanged shocked glances.

“So it was fairies! How do we get our friends back?” Rachel said incredulously. Castiel looked abashed. Opening his mouth to speak, his eyes widened and he pointed to the middle of the field. They watched in amazement as the white light appeared and Grace and Dean materialized, dropping onto the ground. A second later the light was gone. They rushed over to their friends and Rachel checked them over for injuries. Finding none, they carried Grace and Dean back to the Impala and set them in the back. Praying that Dean didn't get too mad at her, Rachel pulled out his car keys and started up the car. Once they had got them back to the hotel they got the unconscious couple into their room. Rachel plugged Grace's phone in to charge and locked the door behind her. She and Castiel went back to their room and while waiting for Dean and Grace to wake up and ignoring the loudly broadcast, lustful thoughts of Sam and Ruby, they did some more research, mostly on fairies and how it could be connected to the people in town.

After a couple of hours it was getting close to sunrise and Rachel had a strange hankering for some vodka. Castiel, a more than happy volunteer, offered to go out to get some along with plenty of cheeseburgers. While he was gone, Rachel stumbled across some very important information.

A watchmaker in town up until two weeks ago, had an unsuccessful business. Seemingly overnight however, his store had become an instant success. His name was Ivan McLachlan. Rachel wasn't surprised to find that his son had been one of the victims of the abductions. Figuring that Ivan was the one who had summoned the fairies, she made a mental note to tell the rest of the group about her discovery once they had woken up.

A short time later Castiel reappeared, vodka and cheeseburgers in hand, looking as happy as a child on Christmas morning. Rachel couldn't help but giggle as happiness warmed her heart, harmonious joy making her lips form into a rapturous grin as she took a break and sat down on the bed beside her husband, grabbing a bottle of alcohol and a cheeseburger, watching Castiel's features be consumed in blissful, perfect happiness. For awhile they ate and drank, careful not to get intoxicated. In that time, for those few moments, their fears of civil war and their uncertain future were forgotten. After drinking about half of the alcohol and eating a good portion of the cheeseburgers, they put the rest away for later. Rachel's cell phone started going off and she got up, walking over to were her jacket lay on the chair, and pulled it out of the pocket. She answered, hitting the button to put Grace on speaker.

“Hey, are you guys alright? Cas and I found you last night out in the field. The fairies dropped you off. What happened to you out there?” Rachel asked, concerned.

“Dean and I will come over there and talk to you. Wait, it was just you and Cas? Where were Sam and Ruby?” Grace asked curiously.

“They…..they were um…..you know…..otherwise occupied. Have you heard their thoughts lately?” Rachel stammered, blushing. She heard Grace laugh.

“Oh yeah, so that's who it was. What would they need scarves for? Unless….. Oh. My. God. You don't think they were?.....”

“I don't know Grace! Don't ask me, I'm the last one who would know!” Rachel spluttered.

“Okay, okay! Don't have a conniption on me! I'm just thinking out loud. You remember how often I do that. God. And they think that you two are horny.” Grace murmured.

“Wait a minute, what does this word horny mean Rachel? I'm confused.” Castiel said. Rachel blushed. “Well, it means that you want to have sex all the time.” she replied, hearing Grace giggle.

Castiel grinned. “Well that's true. I love fornicating with you. It's the best thing in the world, besides cheeseburgers and vodka anyway.”

“Oh my God! Did he just say fornicating? That's freaking hilarious!” Grace erupted into a laughing fit and Rachel was too amused to be embarrassed. She and Castiel laughed right along with her.

“Wait a minute, did he just say fornicating? What, are we in the Dark Ages or something? Cas, you can just say fucking you know.” Dean said, sounding amused.

“But that's a very naughty word Dean.” Castiel replied.

“Oh come on Dean, leave him alone. Besides, fornicating just sounds so much funnier! Fornicating!” Grace went into another laughing fit. For a few moments no one could stop laughing, even Dean.

Once they had all managed to calm down however, they went over to Rachel and Castiel's room. Grace walked inside, took one look at Rachel, and they burst out laughing. Dean and Castiel exchanged amused glances.

Once they had really managed to calm down Grace and Dean told the angels what had happened to them.

“Well, once we went up into that white light, we found ourselves on an operating table. The fairies were really mad at Dean, because he had shot one of them, and they were mad at me because I was immune to them.” Grace said.

“What did they do to you?” Castiel asked.

“Well they didn't mess with Grace, because for whatever reason she was immune, but they screwed with me a bit. They had these little wands and they would fire bolts of energy at me. It stung, kind of like getting an electric shock but not hurting as badly. Things got really weird when the leader appeared though. They called her their queen. She was about three times as tall as them, glowing with a weird purple light. She was angry because apparently someone had been supplying them with food and was doing so no longer. She gave me a name or something, but I don't remember what it is.” Dean said.

Rachel's eyes widened. “Was if Ivan McLachlan?” she asked curiously. Dean and Grace nodded. “How did you know?” Grace asked. Rachel shared the information she had found out about the man with them. They agreed to go into town and interview the man, but before they left Dean went and checked on his brother. He met them at the car, looking a little more than a little weirded out.

“What is it Dean?” Grace asked as he got into the driver's seat. Castiel and Rachel were in the back.

“It smelled like sex in there, and I'm not talking about slow and gentle lovemaking crap, I'm talking hard-all night long-rough-fuck your brains out-sex.” Dean murmured. Castiel and Rachel were too shocked to say anything.

“You're joking.” Grace said shocked, her eyes wide. Dean shook his head. “No, I'm not. There was broken furniture, a few dents in the walls, even the ceiling looked like something unspeakable had happened to it. Thank God I couldn't see into the bathroom. And that's not the worst part of it. They were just laying there on the bed, ass naked, not even covered up. The sheets looked like confetti, and so did the curtains, the pillows……God Grace, it was awful.” Dean's voice was a little shaky and he shook the slightest bit. Grace bit her lip to keep from laughing, knowing that the visual had probably gotten to Dean. She just held his hand and murmured that he would be fine.

“I think Dean Winchester's just been traumatized.” Castiel whispered to Rachel. She nodded. “I'm sure after seeing what he did though that anyone would be traumatized.” Rachel murmured. They found the Watchmaker's shop in town and went inside to interview the man. He was surprisingly cooperative, telling them anything they asked, begging them to get his son back. He told them that he fed the fairies using cream and that in return they made watches for him. What he hadn't known was that their queen would want to abduct humans in the process. He had summoned them using a spell he said, but he couldn't go to the back of his shop and get the book that contained the counter spell because the fairies heavily guarded the book. He told them that the fairies could be combated using iron, but that he didn't have any iron in his shop. Going out to the car, Dean grabbed some iron crowbars and handed them to Castiel, Rachel, and Grace. Assuring the man that he would be fine and thanking him for his assistance, they went to the back of the store.

There were at least six dozen fairies in the room, flying around and keeping watch over the book. When they saw Dean and everyone else however, they changed tactics and swarmed them. While Grace, Castiel, and Rachel had some fun knocking the crap out of the fairies with the iron bars, Dean managed to find the spell that he needed in the book. Hoping that he pronounced it right, he said the spell and a few seconds later while screaming in agony and outrage, the fairies disappeared. A second later they heard Ivan McLachlan cry out in joy and went to the front of the store, seeing that the father had been reunited with his son. After asking the boy a few questions, they determined that no one who had been abducted could remember anything. Going back to the hotel, they ran into Sam and Ruby.

“I can't believe we missed all that. I guess that's what happens when we stay up all night.” Sam muttered.

“Yeah. Let's add a new rule to the list. If you two can't keep your hands off of each other then maybe you should stay at Bobby's while we go out and do our job. I'm sure he'd love to have you two underfoot.” Dean said. Ruby and Sam's eyes widened. “Um, we'll pass thanks. Next time we'll be around to help.” Ruby said. After that, everyone packed up and headed home. They arrived back in North Dakota early the next morning and while Sam, Dean, Grace, and Ruby all went upstairs to rest, Castiel and Rachel talked with Bobby for awhile, telling him what had transpired while they had been away. The news about the Archangel's fight made him nervous too, but he told them that no matter what happened, they were always welcome to stay with him. They thanked him for his generosity and Rachel murmured that he should go to sleep, because he was yawning and looked incredibly tired. He followed her gentle order without protest.

“I'm going to go get some books out of Bobby's study. There are a few things I need to look up. I'll be upstairs shortly.” Castiel said, getting up and giving Rachel a smile. She couldn't help but grin and walked up the stairs. Changing into a pair of shorts and a white tank top, she walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She turned the water on in the sink and dampened a wash cloth, and as she looked up the sight before her so shocked her that she nearly screamed.

Gazing back at her in the mirror was the face of a woman that Rachel had never seen before. She had pale, blotchy skin, hollow eyes and cheeks. Her face looked skeletal, in fact her whole body did. She stared at Rachel with empty, dead eyes, and that's when the screaming started, only this time Rachel could see where the screams were coming from. In a flash the woman had disappeared and she stared into the mirror in horror. Rachel couldn't even get the air to breathe as she saw flashes of mutilated bodies writhing in agony as their souls were torn from them, heard their tortured screams and pleas, saw fire and smelled burning flesh and smoke. She felt heat too, almost unbearable in it's intensity. Even when she blinked and the images were gone, she looked down at her hands and the sink and found the water had turned once again to oozing, thick, black liquid. In the back of her mind she knew what this meant, but she couldn't bring herself to say it, much less consciously acknowledge it.

The screams grew louder, intensified, the smell of rotting, burning flesh assaulted her senses and in her mind she could see the souls being ripped into pieces until there was nothing left. Rachel shut her eyes, clutching at the sink desperately, her knuckles turning white as she fought the urge to faint or throw up. After an eternity it seemed, everything faded and lapsed into silence. Cautiously opening her eyes, Rachel looked in the mirror, finding her own reflection staring back.

Releasing a breath she hadn't even known she'd been holding, Rachel cleaned her face and brushed her teeth, hoping against all hope that she was deathly wrong about the thing that these mysterious experiences meant. Hearing Castiel's footsteps on the stairs, she shut the bathroom light off and walked out, willing herself not to jump when the door creaked open. Castiel walked inside, grinning, carrying about half a dozen dusty, thick, books. Setting them down on his bedside table.

He looked at her curiously for a moment and Rachel gulped nervously, knowing that if she didn't distract herself that he was going to see right through her. Castiel sat down on the bed after he had taken off his burdensome trench coat, shoes and socks. He grabbed a book and started to open it but was pleasantly surprised when Rachel took it out of his hand and set it aside, pushing him back on the bed. Straddling him, she began unbuttoning his shirt rather quickly.

“You want to do this now?” Castiel inquired curiously, raising a dark eyebrow in amusement. Normally he was the one to initiate sex. Rachel nodded and kissed him, pulling his shirt off and throwing it on the floor. She broke the kiss for a moment, taking off her tank top and unbuttoning his pants. With one tug she had both that and his boxers off. She shimmied out of her own shorts and tossed them on the ground. Castiel cocked his head to the side, his grey eyes alight with a mixture of need and amusement. “Someone's eager.” He murmured, laughing darkly. Rachel didn't give him time to say anything else and kissed him again. She heard him laugh in the kiss. It quickly turned to a groan as her tongue met his and she explored his mouth hard and fast, drowning in his taste. It wasn't enough to get the memory of the souls and screams out of her mind so she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him deeper, pressing her body against his. Rolling over onto her back, she wrapped her legs around his waist, arching into him, her body and mind screaming for him to make her forget what she'd seen. For once she didn't want to be right, she wanted to be wrong, dead wrong. Her hands roamed his body hurriedly, drifting from his shoulders, down his back, cupping his firm ass, pulling him to her as she arched up against him, her wet sex pressing against his hard cock. Castiel groaned and broke the kiss. Confusion flashed in his hungry grey eyes. “You don't want foreplay?”

Rachel shook her head. “No, I don't. I want you to take me hard and fast without stopping. Think you can handle it?”

Castiel eyed her hesitantly. Rachel had never really been one to want hard or fast lovemaking. She preferred it to be slow, gentle, and languid. It surprised him that she seemed to be in such a hurry. “Of course I can handle it, but what brought this on? You don't normally want to go fast or hard, even when I want to. Is something wrong?”

Rachel closed her eyes, hoping to hide the nervousness and fear that might be showing in them. Her pulse accelerated and her mouth suddenly felt dry. She licked her lips and spoke, willing herself to calm down. She felt Castiel wrap his arms around her, felt his warm breath on her face.

“Rachel, look at me.” His voice was soft but commanding, but even if it hadn't been a gentle order, she knew she wouldn't have been able to refuse. She met his gaze, almost defiantly, holding onto every shred of willpower she had left. You are a soldier, you will not cry.

“Rachel, I know something is wrong. You can lie to mortals and demons, but you can't lie to me. Now, I don't want to have to read your mind by force, but if you don't tell me what is troubling you then I will. You're scared, I can see it on your face, in your eyes, so are you going to tell me or not?” Castiel murmured quietly. He knew it must be something terrible because very few things put any measure of fear in Rachel's dark eyes, and he was seeing more fear in them at that moment than he ever had.

“It's alright to cry honey, I'm here. I won't hurt you. Come on Rachel, let it out, you'll feel better if you do.” He whispered softly, seeing her brown eyes fill with shimmering tears and her lips tremble. He heart contracted painfully as he saw her face consumed with such pain, fear, sorrow. He knew she hated to cry, even in front of him. Rolling onto his side, he held her against his chest with his strong arms wrapped around her, murmuring loving, comforting words in Inokian, all but begging her to open up to him, reassuring her that she was safe.

Rachel finally gave in. Burying her face in his chest she let everything go, gut wrenching sobs pouring out of her mouth before she could even attempt to stop them. She could hardly breath, let alone find the words to tell him what was wrong, so she opened up her mind and let him see what she had seen, felt what she had felt. He knew that it was difficult for her, being so emotionally vulnerable, letting him see what had put so much fear into her. Trusting him alone was a scary thought and most angels would never have let him get so close, but Rachel loved him so much more than herself, and even though he knew she was afraid to get hurt she let him in anyway. He saw her visions, the water turning to black blood, the tortured souls, burning bodies, felt the heat and smelled the smoke, heard the screams. Like Rachel, he had a sickening feeling that he knew what it meant, but he prayed to anyone who was listening that he was wrong. By the time he was through seeing these things, Rachel's sobs had gone silent. She was still crying though, he could feel the hot tears against his chest. She was trembling. He held her tighter.

“She's coming for me, she's going to kill me Cas.” Rachel whispered brokenly, shuddering again, pressing closer to him.

“She's not going to hurt you. I won't let her. I'll do whatever is necessary to keep you safe.” He murmured reassuringly.

“What are we going to tell them?” Rachel whispered, speaking of their friends. She pulled her face away from his chest and willed herself to look at him in the eyes. He smiled gently, wiping away the tears from her eyes.

“We'll tell them everything we know about her. They've dealt with demons before. They'll not let anything harm you and neither will I. We can stop her before she finds you, we can send her back to the pit. To quote Dean, We'll gank that skank.”

Rachel gave him a small smile. He returned it, kissing her, making love to her long, easy, gentle, and slow, over and over until morning, allowing her to forget for just a little while. Even though she didn't need to, Rachel purposely fell asleep in his arms. Castiel watched her for awhile, guarding her dreams as best he could, vowing in his heart to do whatever it took to save her, even if he had to go through Hell and back, take on the archangels.

Even if he had to defy God himself.