Desolation Comes Upon the Sky

Hunteri Heroici

November 20, 2013

Joplin, Missouri

Dean stepped out of the grungy, old Gas N Sip, outlined against the cloudy morning sky. Food was held tightly one hand, two beers in the other, and green eyes lit up with delight as he saw Alex standing next to Sam, the fledgling in her arms. "You guys came," he said with a grin as he set the food down on the Impala. One beer went to Sam who was currently on the phone with Mrs. Tran, and the other was set next to the food on the trunk as Dean took the fledgling into his arms. "Heya, Ace," he greeted.

"Bean." Ashiel tugged on Dean's ear with a grin, one hand feeling for the dips and curves of Dean's face.

"Sorry we're a bit late," Alex apologized. Her attention turned towards the front of the car where Castiel stood, a newspaper in his hands. "Is, uh ..." She nodded towards the seraph, but Dean didn't have time to answer before Sam spoke up.

"Yeah. Hey, uh, you know what?" he said into the phone, turning towards the two of them and raising his voice. "Uh, Dean's here. He really wants to talk to you." He held out the phone towards Dean, who took it with a roll of his eyes.

"Mrs. Tran, hi, uh —" He snapped the phone shut and tossed the phone back to Sam, shifting Ashiel so he sat more comfortably on Dean's hip. "What's going on in Tran-Land?"

Sam shrugged and stuck his phone back into his pocket. "Well, uh, Garth finally got them onto his houseboat, but Kevin's having a lot of trouble reading their half of the tablet," he explained as he cracked open his beer. "So far, bits and pieces. Nothing about boarding up Hell."

"Garth has a safe-houseboat?" Dean looked both surprised and impressed, and he set Ashiel down on the ground when the fledgling pointed and babbled insistently.

Sam shook his head with a small chuckle. "Dude, I don't even ask questions anymore."

Alex watched as her son hurried around the car towards Castiel, stumbling only once in his eagerness. "Ah!" he exclaimed, reaching up to tug on the seraph's coat. "H-Hi."

"Hello." Castiel's voice rumbled happily at the child's greeting, and he folded his newspaper to look down at him. "How are you doing?"

"G-Good." The fledgling rocked back and forth on his heels, grinning up at the angel. "I-I ..."

Dean walked up behind the fledgling, one large hand coming to rest on the kid's blonde head, and the fledgling fell silent. "What's the word, Cas?" he asked casually, ruffling the child's hair.

"It's a shortened version of my name," came the disinterested response as the angel reached into his pocket. He pulled out a plastic tyrannosaurus rex, and Ashiel's blue eyes grew wide. He grabbed it with a squeal of excitement and hurried off to show his mom.

"Yes, it is," Dean agreed as he watched Ashiel go, and Alex knelt down to praise her son on his new treasure. "I meant what's the word on the Word? Any, uh, tablet chatter on angel radio?"

"Oh, I can't say." Castiel looked up from the fledgling with a small shrug. "I turned it off."

"You can do that?" Sam asked as he moved past Alex to stand by his brother. He looked back at Alex and added, "Uh, what about you?"

"Yeah, um, I'm still figuring how to turn it on," Alex joked. She circled around the Impala to stand next to Castiel, and Ashiel followed, his new toy clutched dearly in his small hands.

Castiel nodded in understanding. "It's a simple matter of tuning in or out certain subsonic frequencies," he explained. "I could draw you a diagram if you want." The seraph suddenly moved away from the car as Ashiel ran off towards the edge of the parking lot, screeching in excitement as a rabbit dashed away.