Chapter 16

For a moment after the summoning nothing happens, and Dean wonders if Sam never freaked out because he knew that whatever type of creature Castiel is can't be summoned.

Then the doors get blown open.

Aside from the whole blowing the doors in and not reacting to any of the symbols, Castiel doesn't seem very threatening. He's got a suit and a trench coat on, and the whole thing strikes more as tax accountant than powerful supernatural creature.

There's an awkward silence until John speaks.

"What are you? And what do you want with me?"

"My name is Castiel, and I am an Angel of the Lord."

Dean doesn't know whether to gape or to laugh; an Angel of the Lord? Not only is that crazy because angels don't exist, Castiel also sounds to serious as he says it. The whole thing is a bit hilarious. Except Sam isn't laughing. In fact, he looks like he's taking Castiel's statement at face value.

It turns out John feels about the same as Dean does.

"Angels don't exist."

And then Dean sees something stirring behind Castiels back, shadows that seem to unfurl from his shoulders into two giant wings, until just as suddenly they disappear.

Angels exist? It seems impossible to Dean; it contradicts everything he thought he knew about the world. And he can't just take that kind of revelation on faith, so he quietly asks the only person he knows who might actually have a clue about this kind of thing.

"Sam, is he serious? Do angels really exist?"

The answer he gets back kind of blows his mind.

"Yeah, most of them aren't real nice though. Nothing like people think they are."

They don't get a lot more out of Castiel. Something about John being the Righteous Man, and Castiel raising him because heaven has work for him.

Most of the conversation is a bit fuzzy for Dean, he's more trying to reorient his world-view to include not so nice angels. The one thing that strikes him with perfect clarity is the moment Castiel leaves. Because Dean has heard that sound before. Dean has heard that sound a lot of times. In fact, he's heard that sound every time that Sam has transported them anywhere. Does that mean that Sam is … an angel?

They're back in the car, and they've split up from John and Bobby by the time Dean says anything again.

"Castiel... He's one of your brothers isn't he?"

Sam could just say yes. He could let Dean believe that he's figured out the secret Sam's been hiding, and Dean will stop looking for the secrets Sam will still be hiding. But Sam doesn't want to do that. While it may be the simplest explanation it won't explain all of his oddities and Dean will be horrified when he finds out about vessels. So Sam decides to tell him more of the truth than that.

"Not quite. We should probably find somewhere to stay before I explain, this isn't a good discussion to have while one of us is driving."

They don't talk again till they're in the motel room, and by that time Dean is almost on fire with curiosity. The silence persists inside the motel room, until Sam – looking pretty uncomfortable – sits down on the bed and starts to talk.

"Angels aren't nice, they're not good, and they're not kind. But most importantly for this discussion, they're not corporeal; they don't have their own bodies."

"They have to posses people? Like demons do?"

Dean is feeling kind of sick. He's pretty sure that Sam is an angel, and if Sam is possessing someone then there's been some poor bastard stuck inside of him who's been forced into having sex with Dean. And the thought of being a part of forcing someone like that is stomach turning.

"Yeah, but they have more restrictions than demons do. An angel can only posses certain people, and there is a specific person they want to posses, called a true vessel. An angel possessing a vessel that isn't their true vessel will start to wear that body out, but in they can posses their true vessel for as long as they want without any ill effects."

"They're not sounding much better than demons at all. Or like it would be much harder for them to get vessels. It would just take them a little longer to find one wouldn't it?"

"No. The other restriction is that they have to get the consent of their vessel before they can posses the person. But giving consent once is enough, you can't take it back."

That only helps to settle Dean down a little bit.

"So, are you possessing someone?"

"No actually. I was a vessel. I'm not going to get into the details but the short version is: I said yes, I didn't want to be possessed, and I fought the possession till I was the only one in here. Instead of driving the angel out I ended up destroying his, I guess you could say, mind. Who he was is gone, but his powers got left in me. Thing is, I'm not an angel, so I'm not real good at using them."

And actually, that explains a lot. Dean remembers their interactions with the non-trickster – angel – Loki, how he had looked so stunned about Sam needing sleep, and how he had thought something was wrong with Sam because Sam "didn't know how to listen to his messages".

"Wait. Does that mean your name really is Sam?"

"Yep. It's not exactly angelic though, so anyone who realizes about my powers is going to assume it's a fake, which is both useful and kind of amusing."

Dean has to laugh at that one. He feels like a weight has lifted off him, Sam's not possessing anyone, and he actually used to be human. Dean's not bonded to some completely supernatural creature, he's bonded to a man who made the wrong choice and whose struggles to take it back have left him with supernatural powers. While Dean's gotten used to the idea of being bonded to something supernatural it's nice that Sam is more human than he assumed. He feels less distant somehow, now that Dean knows they're less different than he thought.

Published February 5, 2015