23. Chapter 23

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 23

Dean poked at a couple of tapestries that hung on the walls of the safe house in Fort Worth. He glanced over at Sam and Bobby, who were looking through the small, but apparently useful library that Cas had stored here.

The angel himself was busy. The first thing he'd done when they'd arrived was to make up several more 'hex' bags for blocking angel and demon radar. He stuffed one of them into the pocket of his coat, held in a sort of stasis, for emergencies. He then gave one to Bobby and another one to Dean, to use in the Impala. It would hide anyone in the car, as well as giving the vehicle a subtle 'ignore me, I'm not the Impala you're looking for' vibe. Those finished, he started to work on safety measures for when his younger self showed up. He'd chosen to attempt a confrontation in this place, because he needed to at least try to speak with himself and he needed to do it without Heaven listening in. Of course, this assumed that Now Castiel would come alone and didn't have the Host following along right behind him.

That's why one of the safety measures would zap Cas out of there if needed. As for the three hunters, he intended to send them back to Bobby's place shortly. They wouldn't be decidedly unhappy about it, but he didn't want to risk having their eyes burned out by the angel's unguarded grace.

He wouldn't have had them there at all if Dean's presence wasn't required for the moment, as he was who the angel was trying to communicate with. In a way he was bait, as the Castiel from this time was the only angel, other than himself, who would be able to both sense Dean and be able to find him through the safe house's wards.

The aforementioned bait came up beside Cas and looked over the spell he was setting.

"So, are we just hoping that you'll show up, or are we going to try to summon you?"

Cas paused in thought. A summoning would be more certain, but he wasn't sure what casting a spell that would pull in both of them would do. To be honest, he suspected that it wouldn't be a problem, but now was not the time to be proved wrong about something like that.

We will..." Cas frowned and Dean felt… something. It was as if a wave front of static electricity passed through him.

"You're almost here, aren't you?"

"Yes." Cas tilted his head, and then he frowned deeper, perplexed. "I will have to send…" The angel paused mid-sentence and blinked. "I've taken a vessel."

Dean did not look happy about that, and he would have said something, but he noticed that Cas didn't look any happier about it than he did.

Bobby and Sam joined them and Cas had a moment to debate if he should send them to safety, when the problem became moot.

The door to the safe house blew open, and a young girl, about twelve years old, walked in. She was blonde and thankfully didn't have the creepy presence that Lilith had in a similar body, but Dean still found her disturbing. Her expression was far too unemotional for the situation. He turned to speak with Castiel and jerked back slightly as he noticed that the angel appeared to be in pain.

"Cas?"

Castiel winced. It wasn't technically physical pain he was feeling, and it wasn't exactly his own. Instead it was emotional pain, and it mostly belonged to Jimmy.

'You promised me. After the second time you promised me you would see them safe and that you would never again take her.'

"Cas, why is your younger self wearing a kid?" Sam asked. As if to match his brother, he didn't sound very happy either.

Castiel actually grit his teeth against Jimmy's pain. 'I will fix this.' The thought wasn't enough to stop his vessel's anguish, but it did give the angel the breathing room to try to do what he'd just promised.

"She is Claire Novak, my vessel's daughter." Cas said, shifting mental tracks to answer Sam's question. "She should not have said yes. I know for a fact that her father spoke to her about me and asked her not to."

"She is with me and made the choice of her own free will." Claire/Castiel said. "Who are you, that you have taken her father?"

Cas sighed. "I'm you…dumb butt."

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Dean didn't know if he should be shocked or laugh his ass off. One look at the perplexed expression on the little girls face decided it.

Spluttering and choking, Dean tried to hold it in, but after a few seconds of that he gave up and simply dissolved into helpless laughter.

"Dean." His brother was clearly annoyed with him. "Now isn't the time."

Dean took a deep breath and steadied himself. "I'd like to say otherwise…" He looked at the little girl. "But you're right."

The girl seemed to hesitate for a moment, looking between the being wearing Jimmy Novak and the man for whom the angel had been searching. Her eyes centred on the man. "Dean Winchester, the Host has been searching Hell for you. I have been commanded to the task of finding and raising you." She hesitated again and turned to Castiel. "What do you mean, you are me?"

Dean backed up slightly as a staring contest broke out between Castiel and Castiel. The hunter had the distinct feeling that stepping in between that could get him fried.

The girl blinked first. "You are me, but from another time."

Cas nodded.

"Why are you here?"

"That is…complicated." Cas looked at her. "Will you permit?"

Castiel stared at him for a few moments longer and then gave him one sharp nod. Cas crossed the space between them and leaned down slightly, placing his forehead up against the girl's and closing his eyes.

Sam, Dean and Bobby all exchanged looks as this was occurring. Almost as one, the three of them shrugged and turned back to watch the angels.

The girl pulled away from Cas, her eyes wide with shock and horror. It was the most emotion they'd seen on her face since she'd arrived.

"You…we…how…how could we…?"

Cas sighed. "I do not believe you could understand it without living it." He glanced at Dean for a moment. "Hopefully you won't have to, as the first seal is still intact and Lilith is dead."

Younger Castiel visibly pulled herself together. "You…we… I…I defied Heaven and worked against God's plan."

Cas smiled slightly. "Heaven wasn't acting very heavenly and it was a plan our Father no longer had any liking for.

She narrowed her eyes. "And what of what happened after."

Cas closed his eyes for a moment. "We were given freedom. It was time for us to grow up and make our own decisions. Sadly, they were not always the right ones. At least I knew enough seek help, although I wish I had asked my friends sooner rather than let it become so bad that I had to go to Father. If he had not answered…" Cas shook his head and decided that it simply didn't bear thinking about.

Castiel shook her head. "I… I have to report this. Report what you have done… What I would have done…" Her voice tapered off as she worked to sort through her new memories.

"Uh, why do I get the feeling that that would be a bad thing?" Dean asked.

The female version of Castiel looked at him, tilting her head as she studied him. The version of Cas they were used to simply winced. "Because it will be." He answered Dean's question, even though he suspected that it was rhetorical. "Although by this point, I believe that there is little they can do about it."

Cas focused on his now self and sighed. He asked Jimmy a question, nodding when he received his answer. "Castiel, I realize that you will do as you must, however… I did promise my vessel that I would never again ask his daughter to serve. While I realize that she a strong vessel, if you were to gain some of the powers I now possess, you would burn her out in a matter of months."

Behind him, he could feel Dean and Sam straighten to attention.

Female Castiel frowned. "Her father has already said no."

"Her father from this time line has. However, the Jimmy Novak that is currently my vessel is willing to say yes to you."

"Whoa, Cas." Dean took a step towards them. "If she trades up, then what happens to you?"

"I will leave. " He smiled slightly at the concerned expression on Dean's face. "I have spent millennium without a vessel. I assure you, it is not a hardship."

"But, you won't be able to do anything here on Earth."

"No, I will not." He would be of limited help as a waveform of celestial intent, but he wasn't useless. He would do what he could for them while avoiding his brothers. Besides, having two of him on Earth would make things complicated. His decision made, he turned to himself, obviously waiting for an answer.

Castiel hesitated. "I…" She shook her head. "I need to think. These memories…I …I need to make sense of them." She stepped back from them. "I will return within an hour."

She was gone before anyone could stop her.

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"So, any one want to place bets on the likelihood that that Castiel will be back with Heaven's version of 5-0?" Dean asked.

Bobby and Sam both snorted. Cas narrowed his eyes for a moment as he tried to figure out what 5-0 meant. He dismissed the problem a moment later. He didn't get the reference, but he understood the gist of it.

"It is likely. I was always a good little soldier."

Dean gave him a wry look. "So what happened?"

Cas had just the smallest of smiles on his face as he answered. "I met you."

Sam choked a bit, obviously fighting off a laugh. Bobby just shook his head.

Dean tossed both of them an annoyed look, and then chose to ignore them. "Okay, so what are we going to do…?" He broke off as Castiel placed his hand on his shoulder and he, Sam and Bobby found themselves back at Bobby's place."

"I will deal with it." Cas said. He disappeared the next moment.

"Wait!" Dean made an annoyed sound. "Damn it Cas, get your feathery ass back here. You don't have to face this on your own."

Dean looked around, but Cas was still gone.

"Nice try, but I don't think he's listening Dean."

"Son of a bitch."

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Clarestiel sorted the memories, studying them from all angles. Pulling them apart in a way that would have been vicious had they been living things. So many wrong choices. So many mistakes. She wanted to discount everything that her older self had done and was trying to do and she could have if it wasn't for one thing.

Father.

It was a simple fact that could not be ignored. Castiel had taken a wrong path, that was certain. Yet when he sought and received their Father's council, a thing amazing all on its own, it had set him on the road he now travelled. True, there had been other choices, but even she had to admit that the one he'd made offered the best chance to set things right.

So, the question was, would she remain the good soldier and side with Heaven. Would she report this, taking whatever punishment they would mete out to her and her older self. Or, would she follow the Word of her Father and attempt to change everything?

She gave a slight huff of amusement, surprised that she could find anything funny about this as she was quite simply terrified. All of her questions were unnecessary, because the answer was obvious.

And what she would have to do about it, even more so.

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Exactly fifty-nine minutes after she had left, Castiel returned to the safe house in Texas. Her other self was already there and they nodded to each other.

"Brother…" The term wasn't exactly correct, but it would do. "I have thought hard on what you have shown me."

Cas glanced upwards. "As you came alone, I take it that you agree to switch vessels."

"No."

Cas jerked slightly, the movement reflexive and mostly Jimmy's.

"However," She continued. "I am willing to leave Claire Novak…" She took a deep breath. "And join with you."

Cas' mouth dropped open. Fundamentally, he had just shocked himself silly.

"But… that is usually only done when an angel is sent back through time to tweak an event and finds that his future self would have significantly different memories when he returns. It isn't usually done the other way around."

"But it can be, and I know that the changes you've already made have altered what I was to know."

Cas ran through the variables in his mind, using math that would send a top-flight physicist into mind-ruptured hysterics. It could be done, although there was a danger, mostly to his vessel's mind and his younger self. Jimmy was willing to accept the risk to get his daughter free. As for the other…

"You do realize that as I am the older, more powerful part of you, that you would essentially be subsumed by my personality."

Castiel nodded. "Yes. However, your vessel's mind could act as a wedge. You would still be dominant, but we could be separated if it were ever necessary."

Cas had the feeling that if Jimmy could control his body at the moment that he would be hyperventilating, although he noted that even in a state of panic, that the man was willing to go through with it. The angel reassured him further. Acting as a wedge to keep a crack open between the two of them would actually protect him from being crushed. They would both be very careful not to put too much pressure on it.

Cas took a deep breath. "Sister, are you certain that you wish to do this? I am still willing to leave the rest of this history up to you."

Castiel nodded. "Yes, I… I would not be able to do what needs to be done. Not having lived it I am… too set in my ways. You, we…" She shook her head, in an attempt to align some of her new memories. "We rebelled against Heaven, but we held our faith in our Father, even if it did get scraped raw a few times. And now you are following the path He set you. You can fix this, or at least you have been given His permission to try. The best way that I can help you do that, is to get out of your way."

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Jimmy Novak woke out of a sound sleep and looked around the darkened room. Unlike the last time this had happened, he could hear the sound of voices in another part of the house. Quietly he got out of bed and shrugged into his robe as he stepped into the hall, listening. He froze, his mouth going dry as he recognized one of the voices coming from his daughter's room as Castiels. The deep rumble was too distinct to mistake for anyone else.

A moment later, he was opening the door to Claire's room, the memory of him moving down the hall completely gone in his worry. The first thing he saw was his daughter, fully dressed and sitting on her bed. He noticed Castiel across the room, leaning against a dresser.

"Dad." Startled, Jimmy found his arms full as his daughter threw herself at him, hugging him for all she was worth.

"I'm sorry."

"Claire?"

"I'm sorry, you said to say no, but when he asked… He was so beautiful. I couldn't."

Jimmy's arms tightened around his daughter as he looked towards angel.

"What. Happened." The question was asked through gritted teeth.

Cas sighed. "My self from this time came and asked her to be his vessel. She said yes."

Jimmy closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, no… Please. If it has to be one of us, then let it be me."

"Dad…I already…"

"What?" He looked from her, to Cas.

"She has already acted briefly as… as my other self's vessel. Once I realized what had happened, we were able to make alternate arrangements. There should be no reason for any version of me to seek out either of you again."

Jimmy slumped slightly and held on tighter to his daughter.

Cas straightened up, preparing to leave. He hesitated for a moment, and then looking around, he took a piece of paper and a pen from Claire's homework desk and quickly wrote something down.

Jimmy and Claire slowly let go of each other as they watched.

"If anything should ever happen. If you ever need help, then I can usually be reached at the first number. If that doesn't work a message can be relayed through the second number." He placed the paper and pen back down on the desk.

Jimmy almost laughed at the thought of phoning an angel. "And if neither of those works?"

"Then pray, I will hear you. The only problem is that others may as well." Cas paused for a moment, before continuing. "If anyone asks me, I will inform them that the vessel I am using is your twin brother. I will enter the information I showed your wife into the system just in case."

"You think someone will look?"

"No, but I prefer to be thorough." He smiled slightly at man and daughter. "In the meantime, James Novak, Claire Novak, live a good life."

"Thank you." Jimmy said, the words only half way out of his mouth when he realized that he was talking to thin air. Shaking his head, he turned to look at his daughter.

"Now, what did I say about talking to strange angels?"

Laughing and crying at the same time, Claire hugged her father, happy to be home.

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Cas left the Novaks and flew to the safe house in Texas. As soon as he got there, he started to pull out the items he would need to replace his last layer of warding. He didn't know if it was premonition or plain dumb luck, but his earlier reluctance to fix his shielding would now make it possible for him to pass as the him from this time.

Right now, Cas appeared as a being of power. He was able to manipulate the wards enough that someone trying to 'feel' him out wouldn't be able to sense the true level of his strength. With a little adjustment to the spell that he had already prepared, he would be able to present a façade that would let him pass as the Castiel from this time. He would also be able to 'flip' it, allowing him appear as Kaseva as well.

He could only thank Father for giving him this information about the wards. It would have made him wonder how much He already knew about what was to happen, but since it tended to be everything, the thought died before it could be born.

Castiel started to move faster. He could get away with being absent from Heaven for a few more hours, as long as he had a rescued Dean Winchester to show for it. However, he couldn't be gone too long, or they would start to wonder why they couldn't find him.

And even at angel speed, this was going to take a while.

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Dean startled awake and then stood up abruptly as he found himself sitting on the toilet in a bathroom stall with a broken door and not on Bobby's decrepit old couch. The thump of music with a serious dance beat bled through the walls and Dean poked his head out of the stall out to see a run of sinks and a couple of urinals.

"Well, at least it's the men's room." Though not a very clean one. The sound of music got louder as the bathroom door opened and a guy came in. His body appeared to be in a competition to see how many piercing and tattoos he could cover himself with.

Dean just out and out decided to ignore the fact that the guy was also dressed completely in latex.

He gave Dean a brief, slightly confused glance, and then ignored him as he made his way to one of the urinals. Deciding that getting out of wherever here was would be a good idea, Dean headed to the bathroom door. He made a quick pat down of his pockets as he did, not surprised to find that he didn't have his cell phone. Thankfully, he'd fallen asleep fully dressed and did have some money in his pockets.

"Payphone." He glanced back at latex guy. "Payphone right now."

He walked out of the bathroom and into the club. Noisy, gritty, smelly…he paused to watch a dancer gyrate in a cage and added interesting to the list. At random, he stopped a passing woman, who was wearing a very short leather corset dress.

"Hey, where am I?" He asked, yelling to be heard over the music.

She smiled. "Why, you're in Hell baby."

Dean blinked and stepped back, letting her continue on her way. Looking around he figured his best course of action would be to try for information at the bar. He worked his way through the crowd, trying to avoid the mosh pit of a dance floor. It made getting there annoying enough that he ordered a draft before yelling out his question.

"Hey, what's the name of this place?"

The bartender looked slightly surprised at the question, but just shrugged and answered.

"Club Hell."

Dean swallowed half his beer in one gulp. He was pretty sure that he'd have heard of this place if it were actually in Sioux Falls. "So, what city am I in?"

The guy shook his head. "When did you start drinking today?"

Dean glowered at him. "Just answer the question."

"Providence."

Dean blinked. "Rhode Island?"

"Yeah." The bartender was giving him an 'I think I need to cut this guy off or call the bouncers,' look.

Dean downed the rest of his drink and set the empty glass down on the bar. "Thanks. You got a payphone?"

"Back by the washrooms." The bartender gave him one more look before moving off to help rubber bedecked patron.

Dean sighed, cursed himself for not having noticed the phone earlier and turned to start the arduous task of working his way to the bathrooms. He jerked back as he found himself nose to nose with Castiel.

"Cas?"

"My name is Castiel. I am an Angel of the Lord." He gave the club a look. "I am here to grip you tight and raise you from perdition."

"Wha…"

Dean didn't get to finish what he was about to say. Castiel reached out to hold him by the left shoulder, his hand matching itself to the burn mark there. Dean grit his teeth as he felt it heat up, wondering if he was about to get a replay of what had happened when he'd first gotten the hand shaped scar.

The next instant, man and angel were both back at Bobby's place.

Castiel didn't let go, and Dean swallowed against the sudden dryness in his throat as he stared into the angel's eyes, worried that this was no longer the Cas that he'd come to know.

"Dean Winchester is saved." Castiel said, the sound of his voice reverberating so deeply that Dean felt it down to the marrow in in his bones.

Then the angel let go of the hunter and stepped back.

Dean narrowed his eyes at Cas. "You just pulled me out of 'Hell'."

"Yes."

The hunter slumped in relief, his previous fears dismissed. "Dude, is that even going to work?"

Castiel shrugged. "I admit, it is ridiculous. However, the more I can technically avoid lying, the less likely it is that I will be caught at it."

"Okay, sure, but why did you need to do something like…?" Dean's voice tapered off. "What happened with your other self?"

Cas took a deep breath. "We have joined together, so that there is currently only one of me. And since there is only one of me, I must take up my duties again."

"And the less you have to lie about saving me…"

"Yes."

"So, is this going to work?" Dean asked.

"I have no idea."

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Many miles away and a minute or so previously, a young woman sat up in bed and looked around for the voice she had just heard.

"Who is hell is Dean Winchester? And saved from what?"

When nothing answered her, Anna Milton fluffed her pillow a little before curling back up and falling asleep.

It would be the last good night's sleep she'd get for a long, long time.

Author's note: Apologies to Club Hell. What I know of it I got from the web.