21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Supernatural belongs to Erik Kripke, Warner Brothers and quite possibly others who are not mentioned here. No money will be made from this fan fiction.

Summary: When Dean goes to sell his soul at the crossroads to bring Sam back, someone else steps in to negotiate the deal. Cas did get a sign and it sent him off into the past to change things. AU from The Man Who Would be King and All Hell Breaks Loose.

It's All in the Details

By Colleen

Chapter 21

Several days worth of mail in hand, Bobby stopped in the kitchen long enough to grab a glass and a bottle of whiskey. He dropped his duffle bag on the couch on the way to the desk. Sitting at it, he poured himself a drink before picking up a letter opener to use on the first envelope.

"You know, you are terribly difficult to shop for."

Bobby knew his priorities. His hand was on the shotgun he kept holstered under the desk even as he looked up toward the 'man' standing at the entrance to the kitchen.

"That's why gift certificates are always a popular choice." He countered.

The man…or more likely, demon, smiled. While appearance didn't mean all that much when it came to something that could change bodies like other people change socks, Bobby had the feeling that the dapper exterior and English accent weren't necessarily being carried over from the poor shmuck that was being possessed.

"Ah, but that doesn't show a lot of thought, in my opinion. Besides, what you want can't be bought at Best Buy."

"And just what is it you think I want?"

"I'm going to guess… your wife. Karen, wasn't it?"

The sound of the shotgun was thunderous in the relatively limited space that made up the main floor of Bobby's house. When the smoke cleared, he had a few more holes peppered into the doorframe of the entrance to the kitchen. The demon had of course, disappeared.

"Balls." Bobby skirted around the desk and headed towards the kitchen.

"A simple, 'No thank you' would have sufficed."

Half way to the kitchen, Bobby spun around and sighted the gun at the demon, who was now standing at the desk and holding up one of the hunter's very rare books as a shield.

"You really think you're the first demon to try and make me that offer?" Bobby asked him.

The guy shrugged. "Seemed worth a try. Of course, I have to admit, it is an expensive gift. Although I would have thought that the ten years you'd have with her would be worth it."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Name's Crowley and I'm the person that can get you anything you want, for the right price."

Bobby rolled his eyes.

"How about a slightly less expensive present then? If I can't get you your wife…then maybe you would like the demon that possessed her. You could spend a little quality time with him…or her, not sure at the moment, but I can find them for you."

"And what makes that less expensive?"

"Well, I wouldn't charge a soul for it." He gave a little shrug. "Just some information."

"Such as?"

"The whereabouts of one Sam Winchester."

Bobby unloaded his second shot at the demon. The little bastard was fast though. He disappeared and the book got it. As he reloaded, Bobby took a fleeting moment to hope that the metal fittings on the cover had absorbed most of the rock salt and iron ball mix.

"I can see that you need some time to think it over."

The demon was back in the kitchen. The hunter was starting to feel like the net in a tennis match as he turned towards him. The demon smirked at him.

"I'll get back to you once you have."

Bobby lowered his gun when he found it trained on empty air.

"Damn it."

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Crowley dropped into the chair behind his desk. He looked over at the young woman who had been waiting for him to return to his offices in Hell.

"Fine, you where right. The direct approach was a magnificent failure."

Bela smiled wryly. "I told you so."

Crowley glared at her, but there wasn't much heat behind it. "I suppose I'll just have to go with plan B. Get him possessed and wait for Winchester to contact him."

Bela froze. Crowley came close to wincing, managing to make it look like he'd narrowed his eyes at her instead. The expression on her face was the same as the one she'd had when he told her the first plan.

"What?"

"Sorry, but… I would have to be beyond desperate to mess directly with Bobby. I've seen others try. Human, monster, demon, it never ended well for them."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Watch him. Sam will get in contact with him eventually. Also, Bobby might have gotten hold of him as soon as you left. Well, knowing Bobby, he probably relayed the message through someone else, but it would get you one step closer if it were traceable. You've got the magic to try and if that doesn't work, I can get you the connections on Earth to try it from a tech angle."

Crowley snorted. "I already tried that, both ways. Believe me, my connections are vast compared to yours. He must have figured out how you found the Winchesters before, because none of his phone lines are traceable through any means. Whatever he did, he used magic, but it affects tech as well. I think he must have had someone come in and do the work. I doubt he could have pulled it off himself."

Bela shook her head, but kept quiet. Crowley wasn't listening to her. If he had been, he wouldn't be underestimating Bobby.

Her lips curled up into a smile, because that just meant that when Bobby took him out, it wouldn't be her fault at all.

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"Ghouls want to kill me and mom as revenge against Dad."

"Yep."

Adam look vaguely nauseous, which meant he was taking it better than Dean thought he would.

"This is that future stuff your friend was talking about, isn't it?"

Dean nodded. "We've been looking for them, but Cas says that originally they didn't come after you until next April. There's no way we can hang around that long, and you're starting University in the fall…'

"I'll drop out.'

"No!" The two older Winchesters almost yelled the word out.

"No." Sam continued. "You can't lose a whole year. We have friends keeping an eye out for these guys, and before we leave, we're going to monster and demon proof your house.

"Demon? Like the one who…?"

"Yeah, we'll go over that too." Dean told him. Look, we'll check in with your mom regularly and we'll keep an eye out for anything weird happening around here or close to here." He hesitated for a moment, not wanting to bring the kid into even this much hunting. "We need you to do the same. Don't over do it though. Getting through your first year of University will be bad enough without adding this to it."

Adam shook his head. "I can't. Dean, Sam…I cannot leave my mother in danger like this."

"We're willing to tell her the truth. Make sure she knows what to watch for. The question is, do you think she'll believe us?" Dean asked him.

Adam thought about it for a moment. "Guess that depends. Is there anyway we can get another demonstration? It's kind of hard to disbelieve when a demigod zaps you to the other side of the planet."

Sam and Dean looked at each other. Dean shrugged. "Won't hurt to try."

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Henricksen sighed as he picked up the next file. He was officially on desk duty until his partner could return, or he was assigned a new one. From the looks of things, the second choice wasn't an option and it would be weeks before Dawson would be released from the hospital and even then, it would be months before he was well enough to return to active duty. All of that would have been fine, but…

He was being watched.

It was his top reason for putting up with the paperwork when everything in him said to just ditch the bureau and head into hunting full time. If he had been a little more seasoned when it came to hunting monsters, supernatural ones anyway, then he would have done just that and screw whatever games were being played here. However, he knew he still had a lot to learn.

He'd talked to Bobby since coming back to Washington and the man was sending him a care package. Basically a starter kit for the aspiring hunter. Mostly books and contacts, which made it a little too much like the paperwork he was already doing, but Henricksen wasn't stupid. He was the rookie in this. The probie. FBI training didn't cover demon exorcisms, ghosts, werewolves or how to deal with pagan gods. And it certainly hadn't trained him to find cases that involved them. Before he attempted even the simplest hunt on his own, he had to do his homework. So for once, it was probably just as well that he was grounded as far as work went.

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Cas looked at the items he'd collected for the ward spell and pushed them aside. For some odd reason, he felt uncomfortable with the thought of it being back in place. He couldn't come up with a reason for it, and he really wasn't one to get 'gut' feelings, but for now, he would let it be.

The ringing of his phone was a welcome distraction. He checked the caller and flipped it open.

"Hello Dean."

"Hey Cas, you wouldn't happen to be busy tonight, would you?"

Castiel looked at the spell components again, and then shook his head. "No, I am not doing anything. Why?"

"Because, we want to tell Adam's mom what's going on."

"And you would like me to provide proof, when she doesn't believe you."

Dean laughed. "Yeah. Figure it's safer than having Loki pop up again."

"That would be unlikely. He said he had something to do and would be gone for a time." Cas listened to the silence on the other end of the line.

"Wow, I just realized that I'm not unhappy that he's gone, but I am terrified that I have no idea what he might be up to."

"He did promise to keep the mayhem to a minimum."

"Somehow, I don't find that comforting."

"I did not believe you would."

"So?" Dean asked, drawing the word out.

"Yes. Call me should you need the demonstration."

"Will do."

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Dean stared at the lake they had appeared next to, wondering why Cas had chosen this place to zap them too. The conversation with Kate Milligan had gone as badly as they'd expected and they'd had to call Castiel in to prove that the impossible was real.

He glanced over at Adam's mom and noticed that she and everyone else in the group were not looking at the lake. Instead, they were staring at something above it. He turned to look at it himself and blinked at what he saw.

"Mount Fuji?"

"You said I should choose someplace recognizable." Cas replied.

"Mom!" Adam latched onto Kate before she could hit the ground. He looked from his brothers to the angel. "Um, I think we need to go home."

Cas nodded and before they could take another breath, they were back in the Milligan's living room. Adam helped his mother to the couch so she could sit down.

"That isn't possible." She said as she stared at nothing.

Dean shook his head. "Hey, we can always do it again. I wouldn't mind another coffee from that café in Paris."

"Mom?"

Kate worked on her breathing. Passing out would probably be a relief, but she didn't have time for it right now.

"Ms. Milligan." Sam crouched down next to her. "I know this is a lot to take in, but we only want to keep you and Adam safe, so you need to know about this stuff."

"About ghouls, and what John really hunted? What you hunt?" She wanted to laugh in his face, but even without the sudden trip to Japan and back, what they'd told her answered a lot of questions about Adam's father. Questions she'd stopped asking herself a long time ago. Although to be truthful, she'd always expected to find out that he was a mercenary soldier of fortune type, not… this.

She heard something that sounded like wings fluttering and realized that they guy they'd called who had… her mind skipped over what had just happened and went back to noticing that the guy had simply appeared in front of her and was holding out a glass of water.

She took it, carefully. "Thank you."

He nodded and stepped back.

She sipped at the water, surprised at how badly she needed it. Adam sat down beside her. "Mom, look, they don't think anything's going to happen until about April, but they're not sure. I can do University next year. I'll stay here, get a job for the year and…

"No." The expression on her face was horrified. "Absolutely not. You've worked too hard to get into Wisconsin University. There is no way you're throwing that away."

"It would only be for a year."

"No."

"Your mom's right Adam." Sam straightened. "Staying won't really help anyway. We'll show you and your mom what to watch for, but you can do most of yours over the internet. We'll be keeping an eye on Windom the same way."

Adam's expression was pissed. "And what if that isn't enough?"

"I have a warning system in place."

Everyone in the room turned to look at Cas. He took the expressions on their faces as a question. "I set it up when I realized that Adam and his mother would be in danger. If anything supernatural comes within twenty miles of Windom, I will know that they are here. Should that happen I will try to be here myself. Even if I cannot, I will relay the information to Sam and Dean."

Kate took a deep breath. "Would you be able to do the same for where Adam will be going to school?"

Cas nodded. "I had planned to, anyway."

"Okay then." Dean said. "Problem solved, for now anyway. With any luck, we may be able to find these guys before they even get here."

Adam didn't look very happy, but it was obvious that he knew he wasn't going to win this argument.

Dean smirked at him. "Cheer up kid, you get to help us monster proof this house. And what you learn here, you make sure you use at school. If something tries to sneak up on you, it had better not be able to just walk right into your place, got it?"

Adam nodded. "Got it."

"Okay, first lesson. Salt is your friend…"

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Dean tossed the last duffle bag into the Impala's trunk before slamming the lid shut. He turned around and held out a hand to his half brother. Adam clasped it and they shook. Sam offered his as well and the action was repeated.

"Watch you back, and we'll be checking in with you and your mom once a week, got it?" Dean said as he moved to the driver's side door of the car.

Adam rolled his eyes, he'd already heard it several times, and that was only since last night. "Yes mother."

"Wise ass."

Sam smiled at the two of them as he got into the passenger side of the car. "We'll try to make it back in time to help you move."

Adam smiled. "Don't suppose you could get one of your friends to just zap the stuff over there?"

Sam and Dean both snorted. "Good luck with that." The oldest Winchester said before getting behind the steering wheel. The Impala started with a growl and both men gave their younger brother a final wave before Dean put it into gear and started to drive away. Adam returned the wave before getting into his truck to head home. He had just enough time to double check the house's new 'security' before he'd have to head off to work himself.

It was going to be a long time until next April.

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Bobby glared out at the salvage yard. Someone was out there, watching him. Had been ever since that smarmy demon had shown up and tried to make a deal. Since he knew that his communications were secure, he'd managed to relay a message to Sam and Dean through Ellen. Sam had e-mailed back about it, but the boys had been busy with their newly found half brother and hadn't had much to say. Now, they were off on a demon hunt. With any luck, they could pump the thing for information. They sorely needed anything they could find out about this guy.

He should probably get them to ask the angel about it too. See if he'd ever heard of this Crowley guy or not.

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Cas looked up at the cool white adobe walls and wood beamed ceilings of the safe house in Fort Worth, Texas. He had decided to avoid the cabin and the neighbour that came with it and was working out of a Spanish Colonial style home that was hidden in an abandoned warehouse and warded against discovery and break in.

Right now, he was working on the spell that would cover Adam when he went to school. Mostly, he was trying to get it to identify when the supernatural presence it was recording was actually Sam or Dean, as they both had enough juice to set off the alarm system he had in place in Windom.

Interspersed with his work was a growing annoyance with what Dean considered a proper way to dedicate a hunt to a pagan god. Cas considered the man's ability to pray to be, uneven at best. However, while his dedications did work, they were all equally abysmal in execution.

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"I dedicate this hunt to Kaseva. May his feathery butt know power, glory and a lack of moulting. Ow."

Rubbing his head slightly, Dean looked over at the fuming angel that had suddenly appeared and swatted him upside the head.

"What was that for?"

Sam, who was standing by the Impala, snorted, shook his head and then started to dig their supplies out the car's trunk.

"Dean." Cas said, still glowering. "Has it ever occurred to you that dedicating something to a god should actually be done with some respect?"

"Well, yeah."

"Really, so what exactly is respectful about feathery butt?"

"Ah well… I'm sure it's a very nice feathery butt." Dean frowned. Did Sam just groan?

Turned out he didn't have any time to answer that as he found himself pressed up against the side of the Impala a couple of seconds later. Swallowing hard at the expression on the angel's face, Dean firmly reminded himself that Cas could be damn scary at times. It was something he'd kind of forgotten since not going to Hell.

"Sorry." The apology was short, but heartfelt.

Castiel glared at him for another second, and then let him go, nodding as he did. "Dean… I understand that being my chosen warrior is uncomfortable for you."

Dean jerked slightly at the term, chosen warrior. "Well, if it wasn't, it would be now."

Cas frowned, but didn't ask. At least, not that question.

"Do you wish me to release you from this service?"

It was on the tip of Dean's tongue to say yes. Hell, he'd thought about asking Cas to sever the connection more than once, but every time it felt like the wrong thing to do. As the feeling persisted, he shook his head. "No. You're right, I am uncomfortable about it, 'cause I'm no good at it. I'm not someone you should depend upon to be your…champion, or whatever it is I'm supposed to be."

"Believe me Dean, you are more than qualified. Just simplify the dedication. The first sentence that you said, where you dedicated the hunt to me is all you need say."

Dean let out a breath and nodded. "Okay, I can do that."

"And Dean, no matter how tempted you may be, please, no more dedicating your efforts at trying to find someone to sleep with you."

"Well… It's sort of like hunting."

Sam slammed the Impala's trunk shut and sent his brother a glare and a headshake.

Dean shrugged at the look. "Okay, okay. Monster and demon hunts only, I promise."

"Thank you."

Dean frowned as Cas disappeared, wondering why it was he could never manage to see the exact moment that it happened. Even when he thought he had his eyes glued to the angel, something would make him glance in another direction for just a split second.

And that was all the time the angel needed.

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After that, Cas went back to his spell work and Dean's dedications became straightforward. They also became dull and the angel was surprised to find that he missed the less respectful pledges. Of course, this was something he did not plan to reveal to the hunter. He'd never hear the end of it if he did.

When working on alarm system for Adam and Kate tested even his patience, he started making changes to the Kaseva disguise that Gabriel had created for him. Given the reaction his 'followers' had to it, it was a little over the top. He decided to keep the original look to use for special occasions, but added a second layer that he could switch to that he hoped would be less uncomfortable for the petitioner, while still keeping his own identity safe.

Several weeks of work later, he had a viable costume. However, he hadn't gotten much further with the alarm system. The best he'd been able to do was have it relay the type of creature, along with the identity of any beings that he knew personally. This way, even if Sam and Dean, or Gabriel, for that matter, set the alarm off, he'd at least know who it was. He'd concluded that anything he did that would alter it so that Sam and Dean wouldn't keep setting it off would have the effect of possibly excluding creatures of a like level of power. Sadly, the same went for himself and other angels. True, he could have taken the easy way by turning it off when he was there, but Winchester luck almost guaranteed that that would be when something would sneak into town and try to gut Adam and his mom.

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Cheers could be heard up and down the line as the Host finally fought its way through the latest block to reaching the Pit. As the spell cracked and broke under the weight of their assault on it, one angel reached out with his senses, ever hoping and searching for the righteous man.

Even though the others had told him repeatedly that his presence was somehow blocked, the angel was certain that he had felt him. Each time he'd thought he'd caught a whisper of him; the situation hadn't allowed him the opportunity to attempt to trace it. The first time it had happened, had been during the initial storming of Hell. The last, while he'd been time slowed to the point where it had taken ten years (Hell time) just to move five hundred metres. There had been nothing he could do about it. Now freed from that spell, and determined not to miss another chance, he would follow this feeling, no matter where it might lead.

In the end, Dean Winchester would be saved.