Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/13621323.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Supernatural
  Relationship:
      Castiel/Dean_Winchester, Gabriel/Sam_Winchester, Crowley/Bobby_Singer
  Character:
      Dean, Castiel, Sam, Gabriel, Dickie, Bobby, Crowley, Rowena, OCs, Jude,
      Jessica, Ollie, Clarence, Jane, Michael, Adam, Lucifer
  Additional Tags:
      established_relationships_-_Freeform, Post_Mpreg, Fluff, Smut, underage
      smut, Angst, World_Chaos, Darkness, Series, Judence, Jollie, Purgatory,
      angel_grace, team_work, Romance, Depression, heros_in_trouble, Evil
      villain, Character_Growth, Love_Wins, Series_Finale
  Series:
      Part 7 of Purpose
  Stats:
      Published: 2018-02-09 Updated: 2018-03-29 Chapters: 8/14 Words: 50991
****** Faith ******
by Snailhair
Summary
     On Jude's 17th birthday, an ancient evil awakes and throws the world
     into chaos, leaving the Winchester family scrambling to figure out a
     way to restore order. Separated from their parents, Jude and Jessica
     – along with their partners – are forced to recruit some of their
     long lost uncles for help.
Notes
     Hello, everyone! Welcome to the grand finale of the Purpose Series! :
     D Before you start this part, I want to inform all the new readers
     that this is the 7th part of a Destiel/Sabriel series. It's not
     entirely necessary for you to read the first six parts, (Purpose,
     Seeds, Home, Normal, History, and Devotion) but some themes in this
     fic may be difficult to understand if you haven't read them, such as
     the addition of certain characters and events that have caused
     changes to this universe's canon. If you would like to start reading
     here though, feel free! :) Either way, I hope you enjoy!
***** Chapter 1 *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Jude's room was nearly silent when Castiel crept through the open door.
Everything inside was arranged in a familiarly unkempt fashion. Boots and socks
were carelessly tossed about on the floor, the laundry basket in the corner was
overflowing with dirty clothes, and the dresser along the left wall was
cluttered with gum wrappers and writing utensils, which were scattered all
around framed photos of the family. But a twin-sized bed at the center of this
disarrayed cluster held Castiel's reason for entering.
The angel could feel a smile on his own lips as he inched closer to his teenage
son. It was eerily uncanny how similar Jude and Dean were when it came to
sleep. If Cas only spared a single glance at Jude, he could have mistaken the
teenager for his father. Single arm tucked under his pillow, mouth slightly
open and snoring, spiked oak hair tossed in all directions, freckled nose
scrunching every so often, closed eyelids flickering... Jude was Dean made
over. But of his physical attributes, there was still one thing that
drastically separated the two of them.
“Jude,” Castiel whispered softly.
The angel eased down to sit on the edge of his son's bed and reached out to
comb a hand through the teenager's warm hair. Jude only stirred a little,
flinching under the contact but refusing to fully acknowledge it. His defiant
reluctance to wake up was nothing new to his angelic father. Castiel had to
call his name several times to wake him each morning.
“Jude,” Castiel said again, “It's time to wake up, son.”
Cas leaned far over to plant a very small kiss to the edge of Jude's temple,
and the affectionate gesture seemed to be just enough to encourage him to start
the day. Jude finally opened his eyes, which revealed the breathtaking sapphire
that Castiel had been waiting to see. There it was; the main difference between
Dean and his child. Jude might have heavily favored Dean in terms of looks, but
his eyes belonged to the angel that had carried him.
“Good morning,” Castiel hummed with a smile.
On the bed, Jude made a face and stretched with a grunt – something that Dean
also did every morning, as he was a very grumpy sleeper – before adjusting
himself to look up at Castiel properly. He was wearing a strange expression
this morning; a bit of annoyance mixed with playfulness.
“Pop,” Jude grumbled, his voice so much deeper than Castiel remembered, “You
don't have to wake me up every single day, you know. I can just set an alarm or
something.”
“Yes, I know,” Castiel acknowledged, resting his hand on his child's arm, “but
it has been my honor and privilege to do so for the past seventeen years.”
The mention of the number seventeen seemed to make Jude's lovely eyes grow,
which caused Castile's smile to widen in the process.
“Happy birthday,” the angel stated in the most loving and proud tone he could
muster.
Jude sighed and smiled before covering his face with both hands and plopping
his head back down on his pillow. Apparently, he had forgotten that today
marked the seventeenth year since his birth. But the event was permanently
ingrained into Castiel's memory forever. Sitting on the floor of that cabin,
surrounded in blood, aching with pain, and holding Jude's tiny body close to
his own heart was something that Castiel would never forget. That was the day
his true purpose began...
“You're still in bed?!”
Jude raised back up and Castiel turned to peer at the door when they heard the
sound of Dean's loud voice. Dean – still wearing his robe and holding a mug of
steaming coffee – walked into their son's room with a playful look in his eye.
“It's nine-thirty! What's wrong with you, kid? Don't you know what day it is?”
Dean asked.
“Yes, Dad. I know what day it is,” Jude mumbled from his pillow, face still
adorned with a grin.
“Then why are you still laying here?” Dean asked, bracing his free hand on his
hip, “Dude, if you don't get up soon, Gabe's gonna eat your entire cake. I
can't hold him off much longer. He's already stolen one of the candy letters.
Now, it just says 'Happy Birthday Superma'.”
As was Dean's ultimate goal, Jude chuckled, seeming amused by the story.
Castiel, on the other hand, was honestly worried. Did Gabriel actually deface
Jude's birthday cake? Surely he knew better than to ruin anything related to
Jude's party, right? On the bed, Jude shifted to sit up, finally raising to
stretch once more and toss his legs over the side.
“Okay. I get it. I'm up,” the teenager promised groggily.
Dean's smirk faded into a more genuine smile as he reached out to ruffle Jude's
already-messy hair.
“I'll alert the media that Superman is on his way,” Dean said, pausing to sip
from his coffee and gesture for Castiel to rise, “C'mon, Pops. Let's go so our
little man can get suited up.”
Castiel obliged his husband's request and quickly stood to follow him toward
the door. In the meantime, Jude stood and rolled his eyes.
“I'm not little anymore, Dad,” Jude reminded sweetly as he watched his parents
go.
“Yes you are,” Dean replied over his shoulder, “See you in the kitchen in
ten,little man.”
Castiel was glad to see that Dean's emphasis of Jude's nickname only made the
teenager smile brighter. While Jude turned to look at the cell phone on his
night stand, Castiel caught Dean by the arm just outside his bedroom door.
“Did Gabriel honestly ruin Jude's cake, Dean?” the angel asked in an urgent
whisper.
Luckily, Dean's smile remained intact.
“No, baby. I was just playing around. Everything's fine,” Dean promised.
The mention of 'everything' made Castiel wonder about the rest of the events
they had planned for Jude later that day.
“What about Bobby?” Cas asked, “Is he still bringing the - ?”
Dean's hand shot up to cover Castiel's mouth in an instant. The man's wide
green eyes flickered toward their son a few feet away and Cas's blue eyes soon
followed. It seemed that Jude was too busy texting on his phone to have heard
what his parents were saying. After making sure that the surprise wasn't
spoiled, Dean lowered his hand.
“Yeah, he's got it covered,” Dean whispered back, “Relax, Cas. Jude's birthday
will be amazing this year. Super seventeen.”
As he stared at Castiel, Dean seemed to realize the magnitude of what he just
said because his smile slowly faded.
“Holy shit... Our son is seventeen...” the man breathed, his green eyes
dropping, “Damn, I'm getting old...”
Castiel tilted his own head and narrowed his eyes. Getting old? Cas never
associated the concept of aging with his husband – partly because he could see
the man's soul, which never aged. And while Dean may have been on the further
end of the scale in terms of a human life span, the idea never bothered
Castiel. He knew that their souls would remain bound together for all eternity.
And when it came to eternity, Dean had a very long way to go. Especially
considering how ancient Castiel was...
“You'll always be young to me, Dean,” the angel admitted.
Castiel's reply must have been nice to hear, because Dean lifted his sight to
gaze at the angel with loving admiration.
“Thanks, babe,” he muttered, briefly caressing Castiel's cheek, “I'm gonna go
get dressed. You can help me, if you want...”
Castiel gulped as he watched his husband wink and turn to wander down the hall.
While Dean's suggestive comment intrigued him, the angel lingered back to take
one last look at their son. Now that Jude was standing by his bed, Castiel
could see just how much he had grown. He was so very tall now. Gone were the
days of Castiel peering down at his child; of holding him in his arms, singing
lullabies to him, and kissing his face on a whim. Jude was nearly an adult, and
it was a very bittersweet notion to the angel that had given birth to him.
Castiel's hand instinctively rose to his own abdomen, where the scar on his
stomach was hidden by clothing. He truly hoped that the ache in his heart was a
good thing. He hoped that this wonderful, yet so very painful, emotion was
something that every parent experienced.
===============================================================================
Jude's fingers tapped nervously on his denim pants leg as he sat in the
backseat of his dad's Impala. His parents were in the front seat – Dad driving,
of course, with Papa right at his side – but he was alone behind them. Sam,
Gabe, and Jessie had left the bunker early to 'go pick up Ollie.' But Jude knew
better than that. His cousin and uncles probably left early to go set up his
birthday party somewhere. Everyone was trying to keep the party a secret, like
they did every year. And for the most part, Jude didn't try to get any answers
out of his parents. He just let them spoil him with surprises. Besides, he had
other things to worry about.
Like the fact that Clarence wasn't answering his text messages.
Jude looked back down at his phone for the millionth time that morning, hoping
to see a reply on the screen, but it was still blank. The mobile silence was
pretty upsetting because Clarence usually always texted right back, even in the
middle of the night. And whenever Jude sent him a 'good morning' text – like he
did a few hours before – the reply was almost instantaneous. Today, Jude was
even expecting some kind of 'Happy Birthday' message from him, but no. Nothing.
The lack of response was starting to worry Jude. What if something happened to
Clarence? What if he lost his phone? Or Bobby grounded him or something? How
was Jude supposed to know if he couldn't reach him?
Though he was tempted to panic, Jude shoved his phone back into his jacket
pocket and tried to relax. For all he knew, Clarence might already be at the
party with Jessie and Ollie. Jude attempted to let the idea simmer in his mind
while he stared out the window and fiddled with his necklace. It was the
Superman necklace that he got a long time ago from his Grandpa; the one that
lit up, just like his dad's. He decided to wear it today since 'Superman'
sounded like the party theme. Now that he imagined Clarence with his other
friends, Jude was starting to get excited. He couldn't wait to see them all at
once.
Although it was fifty degrees in mid-February, it looked like Jude's party was
outdoors. The teenager leaned closer to the front seat to peer through the
windshield, where he saw the local park come into view. It was the same park
where he and Jessie first met Ollie when they were little. Dad drove the Impala
down the wooded lane to get to the playground and picnic area in the back. As
the benches and colorful playground equipment came into view, Jude could see
the bright red balloons and blue table cloths concentrated in one spot – along
with the rest of Jude's family. His uncles, Sam and Gabe, were chatting with
Ollie's mom while flipping some burgers on the grill. Jessie and Ollie,
however, had already spotted the Impala and were running over to meet them on
the sidewalk... But there was no sign of uncle Bobby, Crowley, or Rowena. Which
meant that Clarence wasn't there either. Jude was tempted to start worrying
again, but the sweet sound of Jessie's voice distracted him a while longer.
“Hey, Jude!” Jess sang, dashing up to lean inside the window, “I betcha can't
guess what today is.”
Jude beamed warmly at his lovely cousin, whose really long golden curls were
dancing around her purple jacket in the breeze.
“Wednesday?” Jude replied sneakily as he slid toward the door.
“It's your birthday!” Ollie announced proudly, as if he thought Jude really
forgot.
Jude and Jessie both laughed a little bit, equally amused that Ollie didn't get
they were 'forgetting' on purpose. When Jude's parents got out of the car, Papa
walked over to him with a smile and gestured toward the decorated picnic
tables.
“I hope that this is an adequate space for your birthday celebration, Jude,”
Papa murmured in a worried tone, “If you'd like to have it somewhere else, I
could try to get -”
“No, no,” Jude immediately interrupted, “This is great, Pa. Honestly. It's too
much.”
Jude was glad to see a touch of awe and gratefulness appear on his Papa's
expression again. With a gentle tug, Papa pulled Jude close to peck a kiss to
his cheek, which made Jude's face burn with heat. Ugh! Why did Papa still have
to kiss him on the cheek like that? He was too old for that! What if someone at
the park saw?
“Papa,” Jude grumbled, feeling embarrassed as he pulled away to brush off his
face.
Jessie and Ollie hid their smiles with their hands and turned away, probably
fighting off the urge to laugh. Luckily, Papa seemed to understand that Jude
was uncomfortable with receiving kisses in public, because he nodded
respectfully and backed up. Dad came around the car just in time to put his arm
around Papa and lead him toward the tables, all while planting a kiss to his
cheek to make him feel better. In the meantime, Ms. Jane walked passed them
with a large gift bag in her hand. Her brown eyes and big smile made Jude's
bubbly feeling return.
“Hola, Jude! Happy birthday!” She hummed, pausing to wrap him into a big,
loving hug, “Oh, you're almost a man now. Between you and Oliver, I can't keep
up.”
“Thanks, Ms. Jane,” Jude mumbled.
“Here,” she sighed, backing up to hold out the gift, “You'll have to open it
now, sweetheart. I got called into work again, but I want to see your face
before I go.”
Jude spared a glance at his friends nearby as he took the gift bag and pulled
out the tissue paper. As Jude expected, there was an entire new outfit down
inside – only this time, it was a suit. Jude reached in to remove the black
suit jacket and held it up, looking at the faint gray pinstripes in the sun.
Holy cow! This suit must have cost Ms. Jane a fortune! Why would she get Jude
something so expensive? The question must have been on his face because she
smiled and shrugged.
“Gabriel mentioned that you might go into the family business one day,” she
explained, “and while I still don't know what business they're in, I see your
fathers wearing suits all the time. And I figured you would need one of your
own.”
Jude gulped, feeling so proud. It was so nice of Ollie's mom to get him
something like this, even without ever knowing what his parents' real job was.
After gently stashing the jacket back into the bag, Jude wrapped Ms. Jane into
a giant hug.
“Thank you so much,” he said quietly.
“Of course, Guapo,” Ms. Jane replied, softly patting his back, “I hope you have
a wonderful day.”
She pulled back from the hug to give him one last soft smile before turning to
look at Ollie.
“Calabaza, you call me when it's over, okay? Let me know when you get home,”
she warned sternly.
“I will, Mom. Promise,” Ollie nodded.
Once she gave each teenager another hug, Ms. Jane smiled and waved to all the
adults before heading over to her silver car. Jude could tell that she didn't
want to leave, but he supposed that she couldn't miss work. Not while she was
still a single mom with a mortgage... Now alone with this friends, Jude stepped
close to whisper to them.
“Have you guys seen Clarence yet?” he asked, feeling his worry begin to
resurface.
Jessie and Ollie both looked at each other with scrunched eyebrows before
shaking their heads in unison. Jude's heart deflated at the sight. Oh no, they
hadn't heard from him either? Why not? Jessie reached out to pat his shoulder
and gave him a reassuring look.
“He's probably on his way here with uncle Bobby,” she reminded.
Jude nodded, but the suggestion didn't really comfort him. If Clarence was on
his way here, he still would have gotten Jude's text messages. Did he leave his
phone at home? Or drop it in some water or something? Jessie and Ollie joined
hands – which made Jude ache to see Clarence even more – before pulling him
along toward the decorated tables.
“Food should help take your mind off things,” Ollie said playfully, “Maybe
he'll be here by the time you eat.”
Jude sighed and placed Ms. Jane's gift on the table, where both of his uncles
were arranging burgers and hotdogs on the table cloth. Dickie ended up stealing
a hotdog and running away with it while Sam wasn't looking; charging off toward
the swing set with a wiener wobbling from his mouth. Jude was pleased to see
that the giant cake on the table had a complete message. Unlike Dad said that
morning, none of the letters were missing from the “Happy Birthday Superman”
written on top. They were all neatly placed around the red and yellow icing
logo, but instead of the original 'S' for Superman, it had the letter 'J'. Jude
smiled down at the first letter of his own name and wondered which adult was
responsible for creating such an awesome design. Across the table, Papa beamed
at him again.
“That was your father's doing,” he explained quietly, even though Jude never
asked out loud.
The two of them shared a small look of private amusement – before the rumble of
a truck caught their attention. Jude instantly spun around to look toward the
parking lot, knowing exactly which vehicle made the sound. Uncle Bobby's old
Chevy pickup truck rolled into a spot near the playground with a trailer in
tow. Jude's heart leaped into his throat as he scanned the cab full of people.
He searched for Clarence's wild blonde hair amongst the many heads in the
vehicle – but the half demon was nowhere to be found. Jude dashed to the edge
of the sidewalk to watch everyone climb out of the truck, hoping that Clarence
was just hiding between them. But still no Clarence. Jude swallowed harshly,
feeling the sting of disappointment and worry ache through his chest again.
Where the heck was Clarence?!
“Oi! My sweet birthday bumpkin!” Aunt Rowena grinned, rushing over as fast as
her small feet and tight dress would allow to tackle Jude with a hug, “All
grown up and oh-so handsome! Ya take after yer great-aunt Rowena in that
department, love.”
Though Jude was flattered by the witch's compliments, he was more concerned
about Clarence missing from their group.
“Hi, guys. Wh – where's Clare?” he asked, forcing himself to sound calm, even
though he was dying to know the answer.
Uncle Bobby removed his hat long enough to scratch his balding head with a sigh
as he walked up.
“Apparently, he's 'too cool' to ride with a bunch of old people,” he huffed.
“Old people? Speak for yourself, darling,” Crowley grumbled next to him.
“He followed us here on his bike,” Bobby finished, ignoring Crowley's comment.
Jude gulped, feeling confused. Clarence followed them here on a bike? What
bike? Before Jude could ask the question out loud, a new rumble echoed across
the park. This one was much deeper and angrier than the sound of Bobby's truck.
Everyone standing at the picnic table turned to see the source coming through
the treeline. A huge, jet-black motorcycle coasted its way down the lane,
carrying a single passenger. All Jude could see of them was denim jeans, a
black leather jacket, a black helmet – and a very familiar guitar case. Jude's
heart was hammering in his chest by the time the bike rolled up to the sidewalk
and growled at the group of people standing there. Jude couldn't take his eyes
away. It was the shiniest, sexiest motorcycle he had ever seen in his life.
After revving the engine once more and turning it off, the driver kicked up the
stand and leaned the bike to the side. He swung his leg off as he stood up,
maneuvering around his guitar case strapped to his back before starting to
remove his helmet. The moment Jude saw the mess of blonde hair shake away to
reveal Clarence's chestnut eyes and pretty smile, he forgot how to breathe.
Holy hell. Jude almost couldn't believe that the sexy motorcycle driver was his
own boyfriend...
“Does he always have to make a grand entrance?” Ollie whispered behind Jude,
which caused Jessie to giggle.
Although Jude heard his friends talking, he was too focused on the sight of
Clarence to pay attention to them. His body was suddenly moving on its own,
dashing across the sidewalk with arms wide open. Clare's arms spread to welcome
Jude as he crashed into him. Clare's clothes were chilly, probably from where
he had been riding out in the cold wind, but his neck was warm and his soft
hair smelled so good. Jude wiggled both of his hands behind the guy's guitar
case to hug him properly, and in return, Clare's arms slid up Jude's back. Jude
didn't need any of the gifts on the table behind him. This hug was all he
needed and more.
“Mmm,” Clare hummed in Jude's ear as he squeezed him tight, “It's so damn good
to see you again, Jaybird.”
Jude held down a sudden laugh inside their hug. He loved hearing Clarence say
things like that. The teenager gave his boyfriend one more squeeze before
inching back to see his face again. Clare looked so good; so healthy and
handsome. His eyes were crystal clear and his lips were plump and full, just
the way Jude remembered. Jude felt the strongest urge to raise up and plant his
mouth to Clare's – but he didn't. He wanted to wait until there were less eyes
watching before he gave him a proper kiss.
“I – it's good to see you too,” Jude grinned, “I've been trying to text you all
morning.”
“Oh,” Clare muttered.
He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone – the phone that Dad got him
over a year ago, which had an awesome Led Zeppelin case – to look at the
screen, where all of Jude's worried texts were sprawled on the screen.
“Oops,” Clare chuckled, “Sorry. I couldn't hear it over the sound of my bike.
Pretty rad, isn't it? I finally got it running. I've been following Bobby's
truck all day to get here. Wasn't gonna miss this party for anything.”
Jude could feel a blush on his own face. Clarence was so sweet when he said
things like that... A short whistle came from the picnic table and the two
teenage boys turned around to see that the entire family was staring at them.
Jude's dad waved them over with a flat look.
“You two get over here. We've got presents to open,” he called.
“And delicious food to eat, in case you didn't notice,” uncle Gabe added,
gesturing to the full table, “Chop-chop, gumdrops.”
Jude shared a small smile with Clarence before leading him over to the picnic
table by the hand. Now that Clare was there, Jude wasn't about to let him go
anytime soon. Jessie waved at Clarence with her free hand, wearing a radiant
smile. Beside her, Ollie seemed a little intimidated by Clarence and his badass
arrival. But Clarence was just as friendly to Ollie as he was to everyone else.
“Sup, Barbie? Ginger-ale? Long time no see,” Clare winked toward Jessie and
Ollie.
“Hiya, Clare. Nice wheels,” Jessie complimented.
“Thanks. I rebuilt it myself,” Clarence shrugged.
Nearby, Bobby suddenly coughed dramatically, giving Clarence a set of narrowed
eyes from under the bill of his hat.
“... with help from Singer,” Clarence added.
“Damn right,” Bobby mumbled with a smile.
In the midst of his family's small talk, Jude noticed that his parents had dug
something out of a bag and were starting to walk toward him with it in hand. By
the controlled excitement on their faces, Jude could tell that whatever they
had was his birthday present.
“Jude,” Dad began, gaining almost everyone's attention, “I know you were
probably expecting lots of gifts this year, but we all sort of pitched in to
get you one big thing.”
Jude gulped again and looked around, seeing everyone's large eyes on him. One
thing? Oh boy, it was probably expensive. Was it a game console? A laptop, like
uncle Sam's? A stereo system? Jude had no idea. While his mind raced with
possibilities, Dad stepped forward to hold out the very flat object. He didn't
say anything; just winked and left it in Jude's hand. Extremely curious, Jude
ripped away the wrapping paper to reveal a very thin, rectangular-shaped piece
of metal. The front was airbrushed with an awesome Superman logo, with bright,
vivid colors. It was really beautiful, but Jude was confused. What was it for?
It seemed like some kind of license plate. But that couldn't be right. Jude
didn't have a car...
“Um... Thank you,” Jude offered shyly.
Dad grinned and shook his head, stepping forward to rest his hand on Jude's
shoulder.
“That's not the gift, buddy,” he said.
Jude only had time to scrunch his nose before his dad gently spun him around to
face the parking lot. A few yards away, uncle Bobby and Crowley had walked over
to the trailer hitched onto the back of their Chevy truck, where they started
to roll down a tarp. Underneath the gray cover was a shiny, dark blue vehicle
that looked just like Dad's. Jude's jaw fell as he soaked in the sight the car
from across the park. Holy cow! That was an old Impala, just like Dad's baby!
Except it was blue instead of black! Behind Jude, his dad leaned close to
whisper in his ear.
“That's your gift,” he hummed.
Jude's heart beat faster in his chest, even though he was too stunned to
breathe. What?! That car was his?! No way! It couldn't be his! He didn't even
have a license yet! Jude turned back to look up at his parents in shock, where
he found them both grinning and nodding their heads.
“But – ! I – ! That's too - ! How – ?!” Jude stuttered in disbelief.
“I found it online,” uncle Sam proudly announced from the back, raising his
hand.
“I picked the color!” Jessie added.
“And Bobby and I have been working on it at the salvage yard,” Clarence
mentioned.
“But it still needs a little work,” Dad admitted, “That's why Bobby brought it
over on a trailer. I figured you and I could get her running in the bunker
garage.”
“Yeah!” Jude nearly shouted, feeling like he could burst out of his skin at any
moment, “I mean, I can't believe you guys got me a car, Dad! Thank you so
much!”
Jude almost tackled both of his parents with a giant hug, yanking them close
with both of his arms, before turning to dash for the vehicle across the
parking lot. He couldn't wait to see the car up close. Hiscar! He couldn't
believe it! Jude met his uncle Bobby at the front of the trailer and reached
out to touch the glossy blue metal side, just above the wheel. How in the world
did everyone afford this car? It must have been quite the restoration job.
Uncle Bobby proudly reached out to pat Jude's shoulder.
“Happy birthday, kid,” the old man smiled, “She's got plenty of character.
Purrs like a kitten.”
Jude chuckled with excitement. Oh man, he couldn't wait to hear what his new
car sounded like!
“Can I take it for a ride, uncle Bobby? Just around the parking lot? I won't go
fast. I promise,” Jude asked, unable to contain himself.
“It doesn't run right now, Jude,” Dad reminded, walking up with Papa and
Clarence at his sides, “We still have to tinker with the engine and the break
system, but you'll get the first test drive when it's done.”
Jude turned back to his parents and nodded. He was still super happy about his
car, but he was slightly bummed about not being able to take it for a ride yet.
Dad was right, though. The best things in life were earned, and getting to
drive something that he helped work hard on seemed more rewarding. Clarence
seemed to be the only one in the group that noticed Jude's hint of
disappointment, because he stepped over to Bobby's truck and opened the door to
reach inside.
“But, if you really want to take a ride,” Clarence smirked at Jude as he pulled
out a spare helmet, “I could always give you one.”
With his hand still resting on his new car, Jude could feel heat explode in his
chest and on his own face. Clarence was offering Jude a ride on his new
motorcycle. He even had a helmet for him and everything. But while Jude was
totally ecstatic about going on a ride with his handsome boyfriend, his parents
seemed a little suspicious.
“A ride?” Papa repeated, his eyes narrowing, “To where?”
“Anywhere he wants to go. It's his birthday,” Clarence answered simply, still
wearing a cheeky grin.
Dad glanced between Jude and Clarence and Jude tried his best to make his own
eyes as big and innocent as possible. He really hoped that his parents would
let him have some alone time with Clare. Luckily, Jude's dad let out an
exhausted sigh and turned to look at the blonde demon holding the spare helmet.
“Fine,” he allowed, “but you better be careful with my son. He's still a minor.
And you better be back in twenty minutes. We still have candles for him to blow
out.”
“Deal,” Clarence grinned.
After Jude received his spare helmet, Dad gave Clarence a subtle look; clearly
telling him to give him and Jude a moment alone, even though he didn't say it.
Thankfully, Clarence obliged and started off toward his motorcycle parked
nearby. While he was gone, Dad reached into his pocket and leaned very close to
Jude to whisper.
“Here,” Dad said, holding out a condom, “Take this.”
Jude gasped when he looked down to see the tiny square wrapper. A condom?!
Seriously?! Jude didn't need that! He was still a virgin! He and Clare never
did that kind of stuff!
“Dad, I – I don't need -”
“Just take it,” Dad interrupted, shoving it into Jude's free hand with a stern
look, “I've been your age before. I know what boys like to do. And if you're
gonna be messing around, you need to use one, okay? We don't need anymore
surprises around here.”
Jude swallowed roughly. Surprises? Oh man, why did Dad have to make Jude blush
so hard? Even though he was pretty sure that he wasn't going to be doing
anything naughty with Clarence, Jude took the condom and quickly stuffed it in
his jacket pocket. Dad took a deep breath of relief and patted Jude's shoulder
with a look of gratefulness.
Luckily, before either of them could say anything else, the deep rumble of
Clarence's motorcycle cut their conversation short. The blonde demon – who left
his guitar case with Jessie at the picnic table and was now wearing his own
helmet – carefully guided his loud bike out of the parking space and came
around to pick up Jude. He purposefully revved the engine a few times when he
paused, which made Dad roll his eyes in annoyance. Fighting laughter, Jude
slipped the spare helmet onto his own head and stepped up to throw a leg over
Clare's bike; straddling it and sliding up to wrap both arms around Clare's
warm torso. Once Jude was in position, Clarence quickly pulled the bike away,
speeding off toward the main road while Jude waved goodbye to his parents
behind them.
When Dad, Papa, and the rest of his family was out of sight, Jude turned his
full attention to Clarence's warm body in front of him. The heavy vibration of
the bike mixed with the loud growl of the engine made Jude's whole body tingle.
The faster the bike went, the tighter Jude held on, and the hotter the fire in
his stomach raged. Getting a new car from his family was amazing – but taking
this adrenaline-fueled ride with Clare was just as awesome.
Jude was being honest when he tried to tell his Dad that he didn't need a
condom. He and Clarence had never had sex before. The closest they ever got was
a few shirtless kisses during a 'shirts vs. skins' basketball game at Ollie's
house last summer. Most of Jude and Clarence's relationship was based on
laughing, flirting, calling, texting, and playing around. Besides, Jude was too
nervous and shy to bring up the intimate topic... but that didn't mean that he
didn't wantto have sex with Clarence. Because he did. He thought about it all
the time, especially when they texted each other at bedtime. And now that there
was an actual condom in his pocket, and he was all alone with Clarence, Jude's
head was filling with possibilities...
Clarence drove his motorcycle just a few miles down the road and pulled off on
a dirt path, which led them into a small stream surrounded by forest. The bike
engine echoed through the trees, making birds and small animals scatter as it
came through. When the bike came up to a wooden bridge, Clarence slowly pulled
over and shut the bike off, making everything quiet again. When he started to
take off his helmet, Jude copied him, getting rid of the obstructions so that
they could see each others' faces again. Clare got off first and held a hand
out to Jude, who smiled shyly before letting his boyfriend help him up.
“I wanted to have you to myself for a bit,” Clarence said, which sort of
explained their seemingly random stop.
Jude nodded, but didn't say anything. He was too busy staring at Clare's pretty
face and thinking about the small item in his pocket... When they were both
standing, Clare took Jude by the hand and wandered over toward the wooden
bridge. The sound of soft trickling water played around them when Clare spoke
again.
“That's a kick-ass necklace,” he purred, reaching up to flick the Superman
pendant on Jude's chest, “Is it one of your new presents?”
“No,” Jude answered, glancing down at it, “My grandpa gave it to me.”
“Grandpa? I thought you said he was dead,” Clarence replied.
It took Jude a moment of thinking to realize who Clarence was talking about.
“Oh. No, that was Dad's dad. This necklace came from Papa's dad,” Jude
explained as plainly as possible.
Clarence gave Jude a strange look as they shuffled closer to the middle of the
bridge.
“Cas's dad?” he repeated, “Cas is an angel. So, you're saying that God gave you
that?”
Jude smiled and nodded proudly, remembering the night clearly in his mind. He
thought that Clarence would be impressed to find out that Jude's grandfather
was God – but, surprisingly, Clarence just laughed and shook his head.
“Yeah. Okay. Whatever,” he muttered.
It seemed like Clare didn't believe him at all. Jude opened his mouth to ask
Clarence why he found it so funny, but Clarence started talking first. He
finally paused on the bridge to turn around with a softer look.
“You know, there's actually a reason I brought you out here, Jay,” he began,
using one hand to fiddle with Jude's fingers and the other to reach into his
jacket pocket.
Jude felt his heart picking up speed again. Oh boy. Why did Clare bring him
here? The handsome demon smiled at the look of curiosity on Jude's face.
“I made you a gift,” Clarence admitted, “It's not much, but I thought it would
be a pretty cool birthday present for a superhero.”
Jude watched Clare's hand slip from his pocket and noticed the small bottle in
his fingers. It was a glass bottle, barely big enough to hold eight ounces,
that contained some kind of red-orange liquid. The portable jar was closed off
at the top with a tiny cork, which had a gold chain and small pentagram charm
on the side. Jude blinked a the bottle in wonder. It was so pretty, but what
was it? Jude raised his eyes to Clare's face for the answer.
“It's a potion,” the demon explained, “A courage potion. From one of Rowena's
books. Took me three weeks and twenty-seven ingredients to brew. I figured that
if you're gonna go around playing Superman, you might need a little extra
bravery now and then. And this oughta do the trick.”
Jude's mouth slowly fell open as he carefully took the bottle from Clare's hand
to look at it closely. When the liquid slashed around, more golden tones
appeared near the edges that quickly faded back into red. It was so beautiful.
Magical. And Clarence had spent several weeks making it. That was so sweet...
“It really works,” Clarence promised confidently, “I tried a sip before I
bottled it up, and I was pretty sure that I could fight a hive of bees with my
bare hands.”
A giggle escaped Jude's smiling lips. A bee hive? Really? That must have been
some crazy-strong courage. Jude's eyes dropped back to the bottle in his hands
and he just couldn't help himself. He really wanted to see if it worked, but
more importantly, he wanted to see what it tasted like... The teenager gently
popped the cork out of the bottle and brought it up to smell the contents. Rich
hints of cinnamon, ginseng, and clover tickled his nose and made his mouth
water a bit.
“Careful, Jay. It's strong as hell,” Clarence warned.
Jude nodded to acknowledge the statement before raising up the bottle to steal
a tiny sip. It was just enough to coat his tongue – and he found out that Clare
was right. Man, that burned! 'Courage' tasted a lot like hot sauce and
mouthwash. Jude coughed a bit and shoved the cork back into the bottle as he
smacked his lips together. Clarence was watching him closely; biting down a
grin and staring at him as if he was waiting for something to happen... and
after a few seconds, Jude could actually feel it. Huh. What was the big deal
about being afraid? There was nothing to be afraid of. No reason to be shy or
hold back words. For the first time in his life, Jude actually feltlike
Superman.
“Well?” Clare prompted, “Are you ready to fight a hive of bees or what?”
Jude turned to his boyfriend and smiled. Fight a hive of bees? No. He didn't
have any desire to fight. Quite the opposite, Jude had the urge tolove. And now
that he literally had the courage to overcome his shyness, Jude wasn't afraid
to give it either. The teenager gently placed the bottle of red liquid into his
jacket pocket – next to the condom – before stepping over to plunge his mouth
against Clare's. He could feel that Clarence was smiling inside their kiss,
even as Jude's hand slid up beyond Clare's shirt to touch his bare skin.
“Mmm,” Clare hummed, “You really are brave...”
Jude didn't reply with words. He simply guided his tongue back inside
Clarence's mouth and let his hands keep working. Clarence's torso felt so much
better than it did when they first met. He was no longer boney and frail, but
meaty and toned. Working with Bobby in the salvage yard and being fed by Rowena
seemed to really beef him up. And feeling along his warm stomach made Jude's
own body react. He could feel himself responding to the touch of Clare's body;
heart racing and underwear tightening. And the best part was that he wasn't
afraid. In fact, he wanted to go farther. Jude hummed a little bit inside their
kiss as he reached down to grab the belt on Clare's pants...
But then, Clare's hands shot up to grab him by the wrists. The demon yanked his
own mouth free and turned his blonde head away to pant in another direction.
Jude also panted, making Clare's hair move around with the hot air as he
blinked repeatedly. What happened? Was Jude going too fast? Could Clare taste
the potion, too? What was wrong? After a second or two, Clarence carefully
tossed Jude's hands away and straightened his own clothes; covering up his bare
skin and refusing to look Jude in the eye. The sight broke Jude's heart. Did
Clarence not want to have sex with him? Did he not want to go that far at all?
But why? An awkward silence settled between them as the birds chirped and the
stream of water babbled. Jude wished that there was something he could say.
Should he apologize? Try to explain his actions? Thankfully, Clarence turned
back just enough to shake his head.
“... I can't,” he almost whispered.
Jude swallowed hard and forced a nod. Maybe Clarence wasn't ready. Maybe now
wasn't the time. Since it seemed like there was nothing more to say on the
matter, Clarence took a breath and gestured toward the bike nearby. Jude could
tell that he was trying his best not to let the discomfort linger between them.
“C'mon, Jude,” he mumbled, “I've gotta get you back to the party before your
parents hunt me down.”
Though Jude was worried about Clare's distant behavior, he followed him back to
the bike without a word. He still loved him with all his heart and was proud to
hold his hand.
 
Chapter End Notes
     Happy (early) Valentine's Day, everyone! I'm finally back with the
     big finale! :D How many of you remember this time two years ago? Back
     when the very first chapter of this long story was published? It's
     crazy to think that the same little baby that Castiel gave birth to
     in that first fic is now 17 years old with a boyfriend and a car of
     his own, isn't it? :') (Sorry. I'm tearing up again over here. Lol)
     As you can tell, Jude and Clare are closer than ever, as are Jessie
     and Ollie. Rowena is still hanging around with her son, Ms. Jane is
     still single, and Dickie is still a pervert. Not much as changed in
     the year and a half since the last story. Lol. :D But the road ahead
     will be long and full of angst, which is why I'm warning you now.
     Also, *Minor Spoiler Alert* All of the teenagers will be losing their
     virginity this time, (Jude with Clarence, and Jessie with Ollie)
     which means there will be some underage smut scenes. I say 'underage'
     because they are still teenagers. So if that isn't your kind of
     thing, at least I warned you ahead of time so you can skip it. ;)
     *End Spoiler* With all that in mind, I really hope that you guys
     enjoy this big finale! There will be at least 14 chapters. And, as
     always, I will try to post every Friday morning until it's finished.
     :) I cannot thank you guys enough for following this story for so
     long (two whole years!) and I hope that you will continue to enjoy it
     until the very last sentence. :) Again, Happy Valentine's Day to you
     all! I love you with all my heart! *kisses and hugs* The next chapter
     – which kicks off the angst – will be out soon! :)
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Notes
     The angst is upon us! Take heed, fair reader, and brace yourself!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Jessica could tell that Clarence's over-the-top arrival took a chunk of her
boyfriend's giddiness away. Ollie wasn't the jealous type by any means. He
didn't care that Clarence hung around with Jessie and laughed with her and
stuff; because, usually, they were all laughing together. The only reason Jess
could think of to explain his less-than happy behavior was that he didn't feel
as 'cool' as the demon boy on the motorcycle.
But Jessica didn't care about what was considered to be 'cool.' All she cared
about were those big cocoa eyes under that tuft of orange hair and the big warm
fingers holding her own.
“I could drive a motorcycle,” Ollie muttered, probably to himself, as he poked
at the edge of the picnic table cloth, “I mean, it's probably not that hard.
Like riding a bicycle. Except, you know, you have to put gas in it and
stuff...”
Jessie couldn't stop the tiny giggle that bubbled out of her mouth. Oh, Ollie.
Why did he think that he had to drive a motorcycle to feel tough?
“Aw, I'm sure you could, Calabaza,” Jessie hummed back.
Ollie, of course, didn't appreciate hearing his girlfriend call him by the pet
name that his mom gave him. He groaned dramatically and plopped his head on the
table for a second, hiding the tiny grin on his face. In the midst of Jess's
giggles, he raised up again to give her a smirk.
“Alright, Bunny Rabbit, whatever you say,” he challenged playfully.
Jessica laughed out loud again. That was her favorite part of their
relationship; that they could pick on each other and joke around without either
of them getting offended. Kinda like her parents and uncles. Jessie slid closer
to the red-haired boy next to her at the picnic table to peck a kiss to his
pale, freckled cheek – after which, he quickly turned his head to fully capture
her mouth with his own. Jess's head was suddenly swimming as she breathed in
Ollie's scent and indulged in the feeling of his wet lips on hers. For a
second, she forgot she was even at her cousin's birthday party and that there
were other people standing around. That is, until she felt a cold baby carrot
smack her shoulder. Jessie pulled away from her kiss with Ollie to look up and
see her Papa grinning down at them while he arranged the veggie tray.
“Get a room, munchkins,” he grumbled with a smile.
Behind him, Dad quickly jumped over with a stern face.
“Don't say that, Gabe,” he hissed, bringing his eyes to Jess and Ollie, “No,
kids, don't get a room. Wait until you're much older.”
Jessica and Oliver both giggled, but there was a hint of heat on both of their
faces as they looked away. Neither of them had talked about the big 'S' word.
Frankly, they were too busy watching Disney movie marathons and playing board
games to think about adult things... Near the edge of the sidewalk, uncle Cas
was standing in a jittery pose with both of his arms crossed, staring out
toward the main road with studious eyes.
“It's been twenty minutes, Dean,” he hissed, “Where did that boy take our son?”
Uncle Dean placed a pie on the table – closer to his own seat than anyone
else's – and stepped over to pat Cas's shoulder.
“Calm your halo, babe,” he replied, “I'm sure they'll be back in -”
Before uncle Dean could even finish his sentence, the sound of Clare's bike
slowly came rolling in like thunder. The jet black motorcycle, carrying both
passengers, gently glided through the parking lot and resumed its previous
space near the sidewalk. As soon as Clare cut the engine, both he and Jude got
off and made their way back over to the group. And seemingly just in time too,
because aunt Rowena was already sticking candles into Jude's cake at the table.
Jessie nudged Ollie and winked at him before getting up to greet her boys
again.
Strangely, the first thing that Jess noticed when Clare and Jude walked up was
that the happiness on their faces had dimmed into seriousness. They weren't
smiling as much as they were before they left and it made Jessie worry. Did
something happen on their trip? Or did the ride turn out to be boring instead
of exciting? Though she was curious, Jessie didn't bring it up. She just wanted
to see them smile again; especially Jude. It was his birthday, after all.
“Hello, son,” Cas breathed deeply with a relieved look as he walked over to
wrap an arm around Jude's shoulders, “Are you ready to eat your celebratory
cake?”
“Yeah,” Jude nodded.
“Ah, no. No eating yet,” aunt Rowena denied, waving the metal cutter around,
“Candles first, love. It's not a proper birthday without making a wish.”
Jessie was glad to see a tiny bit of bashful joy return to her cousin's face.
And it seemed like uncle Cas was too, because his arm tightened around Jude's
shoulder as they walked. Once again, everybody gathered around the decorated
picnic table to watch Jude blow out his candles. Uncle Dean was the first one
to get out a lighter. He was smiling at Jude from across the table when he
struck the trigger, lighting the flame and cupping his hand around it to bring
it close to the first candle wick.
But a sudden gust of wind blew it out.
The hard breeze was enough to make Jessie shiver in her purple jacket. The
harsh wind seemed to pick up speed, blowing so hard that it tossed most of her
hair to one side. The balloons taped to the edge of the table ripped free and
danced away, all tangled together in a bouncing formation. Geez, that was
strong! The rest of the family noticed the drastic change in the weather too,
because they all lifted their heads and turned toward the direction it was
blowing from to see if a storm was coming.
Toward the main road, just over the tree tops in the distance, a swirling black
mass was barreling toward the park. At first glance, Jess thought that they
were thunderstorm clouds, coming to rain on Jude's party. But the fog of
darkness was moving way too fast to be part of the sky. The longer Jess stared
at it, the more it seemed like a colossal billow of smoke, swallowing up the
park and drowning out the sun. Before Jess could even take a step back, the
huge black cloud had reached the picnic area... and the ground beneath her feet
started to quake.
Jessica gasped and grabbed onto Ollie's shoulder, trying to keep her balance
and remain standing. The ground was shaking hard enough to rattle the picnic
table they were standing at. Jess frantically looked around at all the faces of
her family as the black smoke swarmed their party and dimmed her vision. She
almost couldn't see anything. It was like nighttime during the middle of the
day! What was happening?! Was this a thunderstorm and an earthquake all at
once?!
“Get under the table!” uncle Bobby's voice called from the dark.
With one hand holding a death-grip on Ollie's shoulder, Jessica quickly felt
around for the picnic table in the dark. Ollie's arm snaked around her back to
pull her close with a determined yank as they searched for the table together.
In the meantime, her dads and uncles were calling for each other in the dark;
shouting questions and sounding just as confused and scared as Jess felt. But
there was one voice that stood out among the rest – because Jessica had never
heard it before. It was more of a sound than an actual voice; a sort of deep
rumbling, like boulders grinding together underwater. The noise swirled in the
darkness as if it was coming from all sides, speaking in a language that
Jessica had never heard before.
“...Olapireta audcal...”
Jessica squeaked and covered one of her ears, getting goosebumps as the hairs
on the back of her neck stood up. It felt like the voice had whispered directly
behind her, but she was too afraid to turn around. Where was it coming from?!
Who was speaking?! What did they want?! Were they responsible for causing the
massive fog?! What did they say?! Jessica felt the urge to call out for her
parents, hoping that they would be able to calm her down and explain what was
going on, but she couldn't find her voice. She was too busy searching the dark
and trying her best to stand firmly against the shaking ground.
Soon after the voice spoke, Jessica heard the distant sound of a snap – and,
suddenly, everything was still and quiet. The area was deafeningly silent and
the ground had finally stopped moving, but Ollie did too. He was frozen in
Jessica's arm like a statue. She couldn't even feel him breathing.
“Ollie?!” Jess squeaked.
Before she could freak out completely, Jessica felt a pair of gentle hands take
her face in the dark.
“Jessica,” Papa said, his voice high and frightened, “Can you hear me?”
“Y – yes,” Jess nodded, “Papa, what's going on?! What's happening?! Something's
wrong with Ollie! He won't answer me!”
While Jessica talked and worked herself into a state of panic, she felt her
papa's arms grab her shoulders and fly her away. With a rustle of wings, the
darkened park was gone and she was suddenly standing in the well-lit bunker
with her angelic father. Jess blinked a few times to adjust to the drastic
change of light, seeing Papa come into better view. He was still clinging to
Jessica's shoulders and his face was an eery shade of white. Jessica had never
seen such horror on her Papa's face. But the two of them were alone. Why didn't
Papa bring anyone else back home with them?
“Wh – what are we doing here?” she asked.
“Jessica,” Papa breathed, his voice shaking and golden eyes starting to
glisten, “Listen to me. We don't have very long to -”
“What's going on?!” Jessica interrupted, feeling more frightened than she ever
had in her life, “What was that black smoke? What did that voice say? Why are
we here? Pop, we need to go back! Ollie isn't moving!”
“I stopped time!” Papa shouted, making Jessica flinch, “Oliver isn't moving
because I stopped time, Jessica. See? That's why the clock isn't moving,” he
rambled in a frantic rush as he pointed to the motionless clock on the wall
nearby, “You and I are basically working outside of the space-time continuum
right now, but I can't hold it for very long, so you need to listen to me,
okay?”
Though she was still a little confused and scared out of her mind, Jessica
obeyed. She nodded and listened to her papa, but he was moving and speaking so
fast that she almost couldn't understand what he was saying. He flew them to
her room, where he started searching through the things on her table in a
frenzy.
“It's the darkness. I don't have time to explain the whole story, but that's
what it is. I don't know how it broke free, but it just called out my name,”
Papa said, still rummaging through her stuff, “'Olapireta Audcal.' It's
Enochian for 'Golden Light.' And that's what I am, Jessica. It sought me out.
I'm pretty sure it's after me because I was one of the four archangels that
locked it away.”
Jessica's head was spinning. Darkness? Golden light? Four archangels? She could
barely keep up with Papa's story as he talked. He must have found what he was
looking for, because he swiped it out from under a bunch of papers and flashed
back over to Jessica. She glanced down to see a small wooden box in his hand;
the enchanted jewelry box that uncle Crowley made her for her tenth birthday.
Papa thrust it into her hand and used his own to make two vials appear out of
thin air. They were extremely small glass jars linked to necklaces. Once he had
them, Papa grabbed Jess's shoulder to look her in the eyes again. The absolute
fear on his face made Jessica's heartbreak. In the blink of an eye, Papa flew
them back inside the darkness. His face disappeared in the lack of light, but
Jess could feel his hands still clutching her shoulders.
“I don't know what's about to happen, but you've gotta be ready,” he breathed,
“I'm going to give you my grace, okay? And Castiel's too. Keep them in that box
until you and Jude are ready to use them. You're going to need it to lock this
darkness away again -”
“P – Papa?” Jess exhaled in confused disbelief.
“Find Michael,” Papa kept going, talking fast and high, “Make him help you. Do
whatever you have to do to get him on your side. And use the buddy system like
we taught you. You, Jude, Oliver, Clarence – you stick together, alright?”
Before Jessica could find her voice again, she felt her Papa's hands leave her
shoulders. She was briefly left alone in the dark with the wooden box in her
hand, but saw a small flash of blue light twinkle in the distance. Papa must
have been getting Cas's grace, like he said, because he returned with a glowing
necklace in hand. The jar was the source of light, shining with a pale blue
aura. Jessica opened the lid of her wooden box so that Papa could put Cas's
grace down inside. After it was safe in her possession, Papa paused again to
grab her shoulders. Though she couldn't really see him in the dark, Jessica
could tell by the crack in his voice that he was on the verge of crying.
“I love you with all my heart, baby rabbit,” he whispered, “Your Dad and I both
do. No matter what happens, just remember how proud of you we are.”
Hot tears were slipping down Jessica's face without her even being aware. Why
was he saying those things?! Was something bad about to happen?! Jessica's
stomach ached terribly. The wooden box that contained her uncle's grace was
trembling in her hands as she blinked into the dark.
“The second you get my grace, time is going to start again,” Papa explained,
“and when it does, you need to grab Oliver and Jude and fly to Bobby's house,
okay? Don't look back. Just go, make a plan, and save the world. Don't worry
about me. Don't worry about Dad. Don't worry about Dean or Cas or anyone else.
Stay focused and do what you have to do.”
Jessica gulped hard in the dark, feeling the enormous weight of responsibility
resting on her shoulders. How was she supposed to know what to do? What was she
going to do with Cas and Papa's grace? She didn't want anything to happen to
them! Even though she felt the urge to panic, Jessica took a breath to brace
herself. Her papa had given her a very important job to do. And if he had
enough faith in her to hand over his very grace, then he must have believed
that she had the power to use it.
“Okay,” Jessie whispered, accepting the monumental challenge.
She felt a pair of lips on her cheek, and heard Papa's voice say 'I love you'
again, before the bright aura of his grace lit up the immediate area. The light
was coming from Papa's neck, where it looked like he had sliced himself open.
The golden glow poured out and drifted into the other glass vile, filling it
and making it shine even brighter than Cas's. In the brief space of time that
she could see, Jessie spotted Ollie frozen next to her and Jude and Clarence
paused in the middle of hiding under the picnic table. She made sure to
remember their locations because she knew that she was going to have to grab
them and fly away as soon as time started.
And just like Papa predicted, the moment his grace finished leaving his body
and was shut away inside the wooden box, the ground started to quake again.
Jessie gasped and held the box close to her chest as she wobbled around and
heard the sounds of her family again. Over everyone else's voices, she could
hear Papa's again. He only said one word.
“Go!”
Tilting her head down in determination, Jessica started by stuffing the wooden
box into her jacket pocket. With both hands free, she lurched toward Ollie
first; grabbing his arm as tight as she could. Once she had him, Jessica used
her other hand to feel around for the picnic table, where she dropped down to
reach underneath and grab one of the other boys by the scruff of the neck. She
wasn't sure if it was Jude or Clarence, but it didn't matter. The two of them
were clinging to each other and would both fly away with her when she took off.
And that was exactly what she did. Jessica's heart was telling her to stay and
help her parents, but her mind and body knew better. She followed the
instructions that her Papa had given her; flying her boys to the safety of
Bobby's house. The four of them landed in the kitchen, where afternoon sunlight
was pouring into the windows to brighten the whole place. Jude, Clare, and
Ollie all gasped and looked around with huge eyes, seeming shocked but relieved
that they were in a new place.
“Wh – where are we?” Ollie asked, “What is going on?”
“This is Bobby's house,” Clarence explained, noticing the familiar surrounding,
“I just left here this morning.”
As if on cue, uncle Bobby's three hellhound mutts came running in from the
study to investigate the intruders. Peter, Willy, and Humphrey all seemed equal
parts excited and confused to see the teenagers standing in the kitchen. But
looking down at the happy dogs made Jessica feel like throwing up. How could
they be so happy when something so horrible was happening?! The blonde girl
swayed around a bit before backing up to fall into one of the kitchen chairs.
She let out a tiny sob as her eyes refilled with warm tears. Oh, God, what if
her parents were dead? What if that fog of darkness killed them? And all her
uncles? Papa and Cas were graceless, now. They were human. And while she didn't
know what the darkness was, Jessica knew in her heart that four humans couldn't
stand a chance against it...
“Jessie?” Jude asked, walking over to stand with her at the table, “Are you
okay?”
It wasn't until Jessica noticed her cousin's complete lack of concern that she
realized he didn't know about any of it. No one else was aware that Papa
stopped time and took her to the bunker. None of them knew that she was holding
two vials of angel grace in her pocket, or that their parents were probably in
mortal danger. She was the only one who knew!How was she going to tell them?
“N – No,” Jessie squeaked, shaking her head, “That darkness. It came for Papa.
And he g – gave me his grace. He said we're going to need it. I think it's
going to take them, Jude. That darkness is going to – going to hurt them! And
we have to stop it!”
The horror on Jude's face made Jessica feel even worse. She sniffled a bit,
which caused Ollie to kneel beside her and take her hand with worry. Behind
him, Clarence walked up wearing a scrunched nose with all the dogs wandering
around his feet.
“Then why are we here?” the demon asked, “Take us back to the park so we can
kick its ass!”
Just as Jessica opened her mouth to deny Clare's bold request, a puff of black
smoke appeared near the fridge. Jessica gasped and jolted up from her seat,
afraid that the darkness had somehow followed her to Bobby's house. But, to her
great relief, the smoke disappeared to reveal Crowley, Rowena, and uncle Bobby,
who was holding a very frightened Dickie. The three of them – four, including
Papa's dog – stumbled into the room and blinked in unison, seeming to adjust
their eyes to the light. Jessica was so relieved to see them. If her aunt and
uncles were able to get away, then maybe her parents did too!
“What in the name of Hell was that?!” aunt Rowena gasped.
“I have no idea. I just did what the blonde jester told me to do,” Crowley
mumbled back.
Blonde jester? Was he talking about Jessica's Papa?
“You talked to Papa?” Jessie stepped forward to ask.
“Only for a brief moment,” Crowley answered, patting out the front of his suit,
“He thrust that mutt into Robert's arms and told us to get out of there. I
wasn't about to argue with him.”
“What about Dad and Papa?” Jude inched forward to ask, “Where are they?”
Crowley, Bobby, and Rowena all seemed to give each other sad, pitiful looks.
The sight of their woeful expressions were enough to confirm Jessica's worst
fear. Oh, no. They were dead, weren't they?! No, they couldn't be dead! They
were her parents! They couldn't die! Jessie turned to bury her face into the
cavity of Ollie's chest, trying to find comfort and stop the tears from rolling
down her face. She felt his long arms reach up and circle her back, holding her
broken pieces together with a firm grip.
“I believe that shadow took them to another place.”
Jessica halted the floodgate of tears long enough to raise her head and look
toward her aunt Rowena. The red haired witch didn't seem very upset; just
curious, like she was deliberating something. Her eyes wandered around the room
for a second before finding Bobby and Crowley again.
“Didn't ya see that sliver of gray before we left?” she prompted, “Or was I,
yet again, the only one paying any sort of attention?”
Crowley took a deep breath of exhaustion and braced both hands on his hips,
giving his mother a stern look.
“Out with it, woman. Share your bloody information with the class,” he
grumbled.
Rowena sighed and glanced around the room, seeing the eager teenagers near the
table.
“Well, I can't be certain,” she began carefully, “but that shadow seemed to
swallow them up, like it was taking them somewhere. I caught a glimpse of the
other side just before Fergus brought us home.”
“What did it look like?” Bobby asked, still holding Dickie's shivering body in
his arms.
“... Gray,” she replied, “There was no color at all. Just fragments of gray.”
Jessica looked around at everyone in the room, hoping that at least one of them
would be able to figure out the place she was talking about from the tiny
description. For the most part, everyone appeared confused and worried. Even
Bobby, who was usually really good at already knowing things.
“That could be anywhere,” he said.
“Ah. Not just anywhere, love,” Crowley interrupted, his eyes growing calm with
knowledge, “I know exactly which place she's talking about...”
===============================================================================
When the darkness hit, the only thing on Gabriel's mind was making sure that
his daughter and the rest of the kids were safe. He knew how ridiculously
powerful it was; how destructive and merciless Darkness could be. And hearing
it call out his name like they were old friends made Gabriel panic. Using his
grace to stop time was a ballsy move. He wasn't sure if it would actually work,
but he was so grateful that it did. Because it gave him the extra minute and a
half he needed to fill Jessica in and get her ready to fight.
Because Gabriel was pretty sure that Darkness was going to kill him, and he
wouldn't be able to help her if he was dead.
He wished that he could go with Jessica. He wished that he could just fly
everyone to safety and think up a game plan together, like they always did. But
Gabriel also knew that the darkness was only after him. Where ever he went,
that damn cloud was sure to follow, so his main focus was to get everyone else
away as soon as possible. Gabe wanted his daughter to go first and gave her the
most important things he could think of beforehand. He remembered how difficult
it was to lock the darkness away the first time – how it took all four
archangels just to back it into a corner to trap it – and he knew that his
daughter would need his grace. And probably Cas's too. He knew that Castiel
wouldn't mind giving up his grace, especially for their children. There wasn't
any time to consult Cas about it. Gabriel was running on panic, not logic. He
didn't have the time nor the power to stop Darkness from taking over.
After watching Jessica fly the teenagers away in the dark, Gabriel turned his
focus on the rest of the family. Through the blur of shadow and quaking Earth,
he scooped Dickie up and shoved him into the arms of the nearest person. In the
meantime, Gabriel could feel wind picking up again. It was violently blowing
him backward, pushing him toward some kind of vacuum. Shit, he didn't have
anytime left! The end was nigh! Death wasn't just knocking at the door, it was
barging in to get Gabe.
“Crowley!” he shouted over the wind, “Get the hell out of here! Help our kids!”
Gabriel knew that the demon king had the ability to fly. He just hoped that the
guy would heed his warning and do as he was told for once. Luckily, Gabe felt
his dog disappear from his fingers, which meant that Crowley must have flown
away. After that, Gabriel couldn't fight the wind anymore. It was too powerful
for his human self to fight against. The last thing that passed through Gabe's
mind as he felt himself being sucked away was Sam. Oh God, he forgot to say
goodbye to Sam. How could he have forgotten to say goodbye to his own husband?!
Ugh, Gabe was the shittiest person in the world! Sam was going to be so sad
without him! But there was nothing he could do now. It was too late.
The archangel closed his eyes and braced for death, hoping that it would be
quick and painless. He was expecting to fall into some sort of sleeping state
and never wake up. The void that Dad always called 'The Big Empty,' was the
place where angels went when they died. At least, that's what Gabriel thought.
And he was prepared to spend the rest of eternity asleep there in the dark.
But when the wind stopped and Gabriel's body was still, he opened his eyes to
find trees instead.
They were different from the trees on Earth, though. These were all old and
worn with battle scars, like a scene from an old war movie. And they had no
color at all. Everything was gray and bland; forest, sky, ground, foliage. The
wooded area around Gabriel felt so cruel and rabid... This wasn't the Big
Empty...
“Gabe?”
The sound of Sam Winchester's voice echoed to Gabriel like a beautiful song,
making the archangel gasp and spin around. Holy shit! Sam was still with him?!
No way! Gabe instantly started running in the direction of his husband's call,
rounding a few bushes to get to a small clearing – where he saw Sam, Dean, and
Castiel all standing around together. The sight of Sam's stupidly handsome face
made Gabriel almost squeal with joy. He immediately raced over and catapulted
himself up into Sam's arms, wrapping both of his own around the kid's neck to
hold him tight.
“Sam!” he grinned, feeling moisture in his eyes, “I – I'm so glad to see you!”
Sam's long arms hugged Gabe back for a second, but eventually sat the archangel
back down so that they could look at each other again.
“Are you okay?” he asked, “Have you seen Jessica?”
Gabriel gulped, remembering everything that he just went through with his
daughter. Sam was definitely not going to like the answer to his question.
Before Gabe could even take a breath, Castiel interrupted.
“Dean,” the blue eyed angel said, reaching out to grab Dean's shoulder with a
look of acute worry, “I – I don't have my grace.”
“What?” Dean gasped, “What do you mean?”
“It's gone,” Castiel said, patting his chest, “I'm human. I cannot fly. I don't
know what happened.”
“I do,” Gabriel admitted.
All three sets of eyes turned to gaze at the archangel, who could feel the
weight of his decision tugging at his stomach. His feet shifted around on the
gray dirt as he glanced among his family.
“I gave Jessica our grace,” Gabe explained, “Mine and yours, Cas. I... I was
pretty sure that the darkness was going to kill us, so I gave our grace to the
kids. I thought they would need it more than we did, especially if we were
dead.”
“Darkness?” Sam repeated, “You know what that thing was?”
“Yes,” Gabe sighed, “and trust me, Sam. We're supposed to be dead right now.”
“But we're not. At least, I don't think,” Dean pointed out, pausing to look
around, “Where the hell are we? Maybe we did die. Is this Heaven or something?”
“No,” Gabriel muttered, swallowing a hard gulp as he turned to give his husband
a serious look, “... This is Purgatory.”
 
Chapter End Notes
     Phew! What a way to start the angst, huh? Gotta love that ol'
     Winchester luck. XD I really hope that this chapter wasn't too
     difficult to read. I know it seemed to move really fast and I tried
     my best to keep it coherent, but it's hard to write coherent chaos.
     Lol. :) As Gabriel pointed out, the Darkness called him “Golden
     Light” in Enochian. I used an online Enochian dictionary for the
     phrase, so if it's wrong, please correct me. I have no idea what I'm
     doing *insert science dog meme here* XD I know the angst seems pretty
     bad right now, but I totally have a plan, even if our characters
     don't. ;) I hope you guys had a great Valentine's day! Thank you guys
     so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this week's chapter! :)
     Concerning the Darkness: As you may have noticed, this is not the
     same character from canon. My version of the Darkness is not
     physically related to God, nor is it some woman who has a weird crush
     on Dean. (I still cringe just thinking about that... Yeah, I pretty
     much hated Amara. lol) This version of the Darkness was a
     collaborative effort by me and my good friend, gothichic from FF.net.
     (She gave me the idea and I sort of ran with it. I'm so sorry! I
     couldn't help myself! Lol) More about the Darkness will be revealed
     as the story goes on, but I just wanted to give you a heads up that
     it's not canon at all. Hopefully, this version will be much better.
     And much, much more devastating. ;) I hope you stick around to see
     where it goes! :D The next chapter will be out soon! :)
***** Chapter 3 *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Sam took another good look around, feeling himself inch closer to Gabriel
without thinking. He had read a few books and articles about Purgatory before
and heard some of Dean's old stories – but learning about a place and actually
being there were two different things. The lore never mentioned the
colorlessness; the eerie gray hues and deep contrasts of black and white. Dean
never thought to tell Sam about the smell; the overpowering stench of rotting
wood and the faint whiff of dead animals. And neither of them could accurately
describe the air itself. Every breath Sam took felt like it was full of mist;
as if he was breathing in gross fog from a dirty humidifier. Physically
standing in Purgatory offered much more to Sam's awareness than a story ever
could...
Luckily, it seemed like Sam wasn't the only one that felt completely lost and
uncomfortable in this place. Gabriel was still clinging to his arm with a death
grip and searching the trees around them with paranoia, as if he thought some
kind of creature was going to jump out and carry him away. Dean and Cas, on the
other hand, appeared to be more upset and confused than anything. Dean exhaled
deeply and scratched the back of his head, spinning in a slow circle before
looking back at Gabriel.
“Okay, so...” Dean started, pausing to get his words all lined out, “So that
big black cloud of smoke brought us to Purgatory, but the kids are still back
at the park? And you gave them Cas's and your grace? What the hell, man? You
mind telling us what's going on, and why I'm not with my kid right now?”
Sam also looked down at his short husband next to him, wanting to hear the
answer for himself. It really sounded like Gabriel knew more about what was
happening than anyone else. With his hand still clamped on Sam's arm, the
archangel took a bracing breath and finally started to explain.
“That wasn't a cloud,” Gabe answered softly, “That was Darkness.”
“No shit, Sherlock,” Dean snapped, “It was darker than a hellhound's asshole
back there – ”
“No, you're not listening to me, bowlegs,” Gabe interrupted, “That was
Darkness... The Darkness... As in, 'God separated the Darkness from the light.”
Sam scanned Gabriel's face, seeing absolute honesty – and a touch of genuine
fear – in his expression. His eyes, which were usually gold but were now sadly
monotone gray like everything else in Purgatory, were wide and piercing when he
spoke. And Sam was at a loss for words. Did Gabe just quote the bible? Was he
talking about the darkness that existed long before the universe was ever
created? A few feet away, Cas's eyes grew large.
“How?” the angel breathed, sounding appalled, “How did it escape?”
“If I had to take a guess, I'd say it's because Cain is probably dead,” Gabe
answered. He must have seen the look of total loss on Sam's face because he
turned to explain. “Cain was the keeper of the key that kept Darkness locked
away. You know, Mark of Cain? It – it's a ridiculously long story, moose. I
won't force you to listen to the whole thing.”
Sam was actually pretty curious to hear about the story. In almost twenty years
of their partnership, Sam had never heard Gabriel even mention Cain. Or the
Darkness. All of this stuff was new to him.
“How do you know that it's the Darkness or whatever?” Dean blurted, looking and
sounding skeptical, “What if it's just some weird monster?”
“With the power to transport us to an entirely different realm?” Gabriel
scoffed, “Trust me, Dean-o. It's Darkness. It... called my name, okay? It
remembered me. It knows that I was one of the four archangels that locked it
away. And I'm pretty sure it was out for my head.”
“But you're still alive,” Cas pointed out, his eyes narrowing inquisitively,
“Why would it place us here instead of killing us?”
Sam looked back to Gabe to hear his reply, but it seemed like he was out of
answers.
“I have no idea,” the guy huffed, fingers shaking around Sam's arm, “Maybe to
save us for later? Torture us? Kill us slowly? Who knows how ancient cosmic
beings work...”
For a second, all four Winchesters stood together and blinked in silence,
letting Gabriel's random theories simmer in their minds. Wow. None of those
options seemed very pleasant...
“Maybe it was too weak to kill us,” Dean quietly suggested, “Being locked away
since the dawn of time is bound to take away anyone's strength, isn't it?”
“That's a good point,” Gabriel muttered, his face lightening a bit, “But he
still would have been able to kill us if...”
Gabe's voice trailed off and he turned to look toward a set of charcoal trees
nearby. Sam, Dean, and Cas all followed his sight in the same direction – where
Sam heard the distant rustle of leaves and snapping of twigs. The sound seemed
to be coming close fast; too quickly for any of the Winchesters to properly
react. The slate-colored bushes were ripped apart, making way for a group of
strangers to enter the tiny grove. Five large men – wearing shredded,
eighteenth century clothes and baring sharp-toothed grins – bounded up to stop
and appraise the Winchesters. Gabriel squeaked and jumped behind Sam, hiding
himself from view. Sam, however, stood his ground. He had fought worse things
than a pack of werewolves...
“Look, boys,” one cooed, stepping close with his eyes glinting, “Fresh meat.”
While the werewolves laughed, Sam felt like rolling his eyes. Really? Fresh
meat? Could these guys be anymore cliché? Although Sam wasn't intimidated by
the pack, Gabriel seemed terrified. The archangel jerked Sam's shoulder back
and stood on the tips of his toes to hiss into Sam's ear.
“We've got to get out of here! Cas and I are human! They can kill us!” he
desperately whispered.
Oh, shit. Gabe was right. These werewolves were nothing for Sam and Dean – but
Gabe and Cas were graceless. Suddenly, memories of Gabriel being human when he
was pregnant with Jessica all those years ago were flashing in Sam's mind,
making him remember how frail, and weak, and human Gabe was. And if Gabe was
anything like that now, he didn't stand a chance against a single person, let
alone five werewolves.
After this stunning realization, Sam spared a glance toward his older brother a
few feet away, hoping he had some kind of plan. Dean was already standing in
front of Cas like a barricade, shoulders broad and eyes narrowed toward the
predators. He turned to give Sam a slight nod as he reached for his waist band,
signaling that he was going to give the rest of the guys a head start by using
his gun to hold off the werewolves.
“You boys want fresh meat?” Dean growled, “Come and get it.”
As soon as Dean pulled out his gun and fired the first shot, Sam spun around to
grab Gabe's shoulder and Cas's arm and shove them in the other direction. Cas
was reluctant to move at first, because he was worried about Dean, but Gabriel
was gone in a flash. He practically dragged Sam away by the arm, towing him
through ash-colored brush and forest to get to safety. Dean only fired three
shots before he started running for it, too. Normally, the Winchesters stayed
and fought their way through whatever monsters came their way. But with two
graceless angels, a few pocket knives, one gun, and limited ammo, running was
the best course of action at the moment.
Unfortunately, the pack of werewolves was bigger than they thought. When
Gabriel rounded a giant, half broken tree, he nearly ran into another pair of
them. They had been waiting for the Winchesters to run right through their
path; a perfect trap for frightened prey. Gabriel squealed and jumped backward,
desperately clawing his way into the safety of Sam's long arms. In the
meantime, Dean and Cas skidded to a stop behind them and turned to face the
other five headed their way. All four Winchesters were suddenly surrounded.
As Sam held onto his cowering husband and stared at the grinning, razor-sharp
teeth in front of him, he suddenly remembered what he had in his possession.
Oh! There was a switch-blade in his pocket! And it was made of solid silver!
These assholes were in for a rude awakening. Sam quickly and discretely pulled
the knife from his pocket and clicked it open just as one of the werewolves
lunged forward. He forcefully stabbed the creature in the neck, making it
shriek and scramble back in pain. When the other tried to do the job, Sam
stabbed it too – only this time, he shoved the blade straight through its
temple, killing it instantly.
Behind him, Dean and Cas were trying to fight off the other five werewolves,
who were chomping hungrily toward them. Sam – still dragging around Gabriel,
who refused to let him go – shifted around to help out his brother and brother-
in-law, making careful and accurate strikes with his silver-coated pocket
knife. He stabbed one directly in the chest and ripped the blade free before
jamming it into the skull of another, plunging the knife as far as it would go
into the bone.
“Sam, here!” Dean called, hand open while he fought with a werewolf of his own.
Running on hunter's instinct, Sam freed his weapon and tossed the only blade to
his older brother, who caught it and immediately killed the creature that was
after him. Once it was dead, there was only one other werewolf – who was
running after Gabe. Sam gasped and looked to his side, realizing that his
husband was no longer holding onto him, but fleeing away.
“N – nice doggy! Good doggy! Don't eat me! Go back to the pound!” Gabe yelled
as he sprinted through the trees.
Without thinking, Sam raced over, grabbed the knife from his brother, and
chased after the last werewolf, determined to keep the damn thing from hurting
his archangel. By the time Sam caught up with them, the werewolf had knocked
Gabe to the ground and was scrambling in the gray leaves to get to him. Its
spear-like claws were visible in the scuffle and the sight made Sam's legs move
even faster. The tall hunter dove toward the werewolf and landed on its back,
where he stabbed it repeatedly in the upper shoulder. It screamed and rolled
over to throw Sam off, but Sam hung on long enough to get a hold of its head
and bury the blade directly into its eye socket. As soon as the stubborn
werewolf screamed and went limp in his grasp, Sam let it go and crawled over to
check on Gabriel.
Gabe was panting and sitting on the ground, holding onto his left leg and
letting out soft whimpers. Sam directed his attention to his husband's leg
first, where the bottom of his jeans were shredded with jagged claw marks. Sam
reached out to carefully pull up his husband's pants leg and found five deep
gashes stretching all the way down his calf and shin. Blood was leaking from
all the gashes, pouring streams down his leg to soak his shoe and sock. Seeing
the severe wound made Sam feel so sick. Shit. Gabriel couldn't heal himself.
There weren't any doctors or pharmacies here. Just four grown men with no
medical supplies. How the hell was Sam supposed to help his husband now?
“H – hold still, Gabe. Relax,” Sam began, knowing that panicking would only
make it worse.
“It got me!” Gabe squalled dramatically, “Oh my Dad, I'm going to turn into a
werewolf! No! I don't wanna be a dog!”
“Gabriel, you're not going to turn into a werewolf,” Sam huffed as he ripped
off a strip of his own shirt, “You weren't bitten. Just clawed. You'll be
fine.”
In the back of his mind, Sam was tempted to wonder if Gabe would really be fine
with this deep of a wound. A small part of him worried that if they stayed in
Purgatory for longer than a few days, they might end up with something worse
than just minor injuries. If one of them died here, would they die forever? No.
Sam didn't want to even think about it. He focused on tying the makeshift
tourniquet above Gabe's knee to slow the bleeding instead of dwelling on bad
thoughts.
As Sam tried his best to doctor his pitiful archangel, Dean and Cas came
wandering up behind him, tired and out of breath. It was weird to hear Cas
actually panting. But, then again, was anything about this day normal?
“I'm getting too old for this shit,” Dean huffed, pausing by Sam to brace both
hands on his knees to catch his breath. In the meantime, he caught sight of
Gabe's leg wound and said, “Seriously? We've been here for three minutes and
you're already hurt? Geez, we need to get out of here.”
“Yes. I agree with Dean,” Cas huffed, “We must return to Earth as soon as
possible. If Darkness has returned, the entire world is in grave danger.
Including our children,” the angel paused and his eyes widened to full
capacity, “J – Jude and Jessica are alone!”
“No they're not,” Gabe chirped, still holding onto his injured leg, “I told
everyone to go to Bobby's house. Clarence and Ollie are with them, and so are
Singer, Crowley, and Rowena. Hell, they've even got Dickie.”
As he held pressure to Gabriel's wound, Sam paused to think about that
statement. It was nice to know that everyone else was together in a safe place.
Sam couldn't imagine how scared his daughter probably was at the moment, but at
least she was okay.
“Sounds like the kids are safer than we are right now,” Dean mumbled as he
reached over to pat Cas's shoulder with a reassuring glance.
“Right now,” Cas repeated, his tone much less hopeful, “It won't take Darkness
long to spread, Dean. And when it does... The children will face much worse
circumstances than simply being trapped in Purgatory.”
The look of severe anguish and concern on Cas's face made Sam's heart hammer
hard in his chest. The thought of his young daughter and nephew having to face
something so evil and dark made him want to puke. No. They couldn't let the
kids do this alone. Sam swore that he would protect Jessica at all costs. And
if he had to transcend different realms to do it, come hell or high water, he
was going to make sure it was done.
“Then we need to find a way back to Earth,” Sam replied sternly, “Now.”
===============================================================================
Jude fixed his eyes on his uncle Crowley in Bobby's kitchen, too shocked to do
anything else but stand there with his mouth open. Crowley had just told
everyone where the big dark cloud had taken his parents and uncles, but he had
trouble believing it.
“Purgatory?” Ollie repeated the answer out loud, sounding just as surprised as
Jude, “That's an actual place?”
“Of course it's an actual place, boy,” Crowley muttered back, “Where do you
think vampires, ghouls, and other monsters go when they die?”
Jude's heart nearly bottomed out. Die? Purgatory was the place monsters go when
they die? But if Jude's parents were there, did that mean they were dead too?!
Feeling anxious, Jude stepped nearer to Clarence's side, hoping that the close
proximity would help keep him calm. And, as if he could sense Jude's distress,
Clarence reached out to wrap both arms around Jude's shoulders; giving him a
comforting squeeze. Jude nuzzled himself deeper into the embrace, letting the
smell of Clare's warm chest slow his heart beat. Beside them, Jessie stepped
forward with tear-stained cheeks but a hopeful look in her eye.
“Can our parents come back from there?” she quickly asked, scanning all the
adults' faces.
Crowley scoffed loudly, giving a light-hearted chuckle as he glanced around the
room smugly.
“Can they come back,” he repeated with a smile, sounding as though Jessie had
just told a joke, “My dear girl, Dean and Castiel have already been there once.
They re-murdered half of Purgatory together before jumping through a portal to
get back to Earth... But that was many, many years ago. Long before you two
were born. God only knows if the portal is still there and working.”
“I could find out,” aunt Rowena volunteered, actually raising her hand with a
smirk, “After all, I'm practically the keeper of this family. I've found you
lot more than Fergus finds his own backside.”
Crowley gave his red-head mom a sideways glare, obviously offended by what she
said, but Bobby was the next person to speak. He sat Dickie down on the floor –
after which, the dog ran straight to Jessie's feet where he walked around her
in worried circles – before pointing out another problem.
“It's good that we can get the boys back,” uncle Bobby nodded, “but why are
they even in Purgatory in the first place? What the hell was that giant black
fog?”
“It was the Darkness.”
Everyone in the room turned to look at Jessie, who had just answered with
sorrowful confidence. She sighed and curled some of her windswept blonde hair
behind her with one hand while she left her other lodged in her jacket pocket.
“This is going to sound weird, but when the black cloud came, Papa stopped time
for a minute,” she explained, “He told me that it was the Darkness, and that it
was after him because he helped lock it away or something. And he took me to
the bunker to get this.”
Jessie carefully pulled her hand out of her pocket, revealing the small wooden
jewelry box that had been in her room for years. It was the one that uncle
Crowley made her for her tenth birthday; one under a spell that only she could
open. Jude stared down at Jessie's box in confusion. Why would he go back to
the bunker just to give her that?
“A jewelry box?” Clarence questioned in a curious tone.
“No,” Jessie breathed.
She paused to place her hand over the wooden lid and whisper her own last name,
which opened the box. A pair of bright lights shined from the inside as she
pulled back the lid, illuminating the whole kitchen with a divine glow. Jessie
reached down inside to raise two necklaces with tiny jars of light. Everyone
else in the room stared at the lights in awe; especially Jude, who took a keen
interest in the blue-ish white one. Why did it look so familiar?
“Papa gave me his grace,” Jessie said, “and Cas's, too. He said we were going
to need it to defeat the Darkness.”
Jude blinked at the two glowing necklaces with his mouth open, unable to feel
his own limbs. No wonder that blue-ish white one seemed so familiar! That was
his own Papa's grace! It was the same light he was conceived in; the same light
that healed him and cared for him all his life. And now, Papa was without it.
He didn't have it in Purgatory, which meant he was only human there...
“And how exactly are we supposed to do that?” uncle Crowley asked with a lifted
eyebrow.
Jessie gulped and carefully lowered the necklaces back into the box. She firmly
closed the lid again, sealing the angelic graces behind a spell that only she
could access, before shaking her head sadly.
“I don't know,” she muttered, “He just gave this to me... and told me to find
Michael.”
“Michael?” Bobby repeated, his eyes growing under the bill of his hat, “The –
the archangel Michael?”
Jessie shrugged a little, seeming unsure.
“I guess,” she answered.
Jude looked to the kitchen floor for a second to think. Michael. He remembered
uncle Gabe telling him about Michael a long time ago, when they were trapped
together in that cage in Heaven. Gabe said that Michael was the oldest
archangel, and that he was supposed to be fighting Lucifer in hell or
something. But Jude assumed that Michael was dead. No one ever talked about
him, even after uncle Gabe went down to hell to check on him and Lucifer. But
was he alive? If he was, why didn't he ever come to meet Jude or Jessie? Was he
a bad guy, like Raphael? Or was he just stuck somewhere and unable to get away,
like Jude and Gabe had been in Heaven?
“So, all we have to do is locate and recruit the oldest and most powerful
archangel in existence, then?” Crowley mumbled in a flat tone, “... Lovely.”
For a second, the entire kitchen was silent. Everyone looked in different
directions and let all the information sink in. Jude wished that there was
something he could do or say to make everything better; to bring back the rest
of his family, cheer Jessie up, and let everyone return to his birthday party
like nothing happened. But all he could do was stand next to Clarence and try
to brace himself for what was ahead.
“Fergus,” aunt Rowena called, waving at Crowley, “Take me to yer throne room so
I can fetch my things. We can't afford another minute.”
“Fine,” Crowley huffed, reaching out to pat Bobby's shoulder, “Darling, will
you be alright with the teenagers while take my mother to hell and back?”
“Yeah. Just don't take too long,” Bobby requested, voice tainted with a hint of
anxiousness.
After kissing Bobby's bearded cheek, Crowley turned his attention to Clarence.
His dark eyes remained soft even as he gave the blonde half-demon a stern
expression.
“Look after the old man in my absence, Clare,” he said, sounding like a real
parent.
“I always do,” Clarence replied with a tiny wink.
Jude felt a hint of a smile on his own face when he looked up at his
boyfriend's pretty eyes. It was nice to think that Clarence always took care of
Bobby when Crowley wasn't around... With a few goodbyes, Rowena linked her arm
around Crowley's and the two of them vanished in a puff of black smoke. Their
departure seemed to leave the kitchen in a somber state. Again, no one seemed
to know what to say. It was only after Bobby coughed loudly and inched toward
the study that Jude snapped out of his worried trance.
“Kids, I'll be right back,” he mumbled, “Y'all stay right here, okay?”
Jude, Jessica, and their boyfriends all nodded and watched the old man
disappear into a different room. Once he was gone, the four of them crowded
together in a comforting circle by the table. Jessica scooped Dickie off the
floor and up into her arms, where she held him tight. Jude eyed all of his
friends, wishing that he could provide answers and safety for them all.
“So much for a happy birthday. Sorry, Superman,” Clarence huffed, tightening
his arm around Jude's shoulder, “At least you're okay.”
“Yeah,” Jude shrugged, “but now I'm worried about everyone else... Jessie? Did
uncle Gabe say anything else about the Darkness?”
Luckily, Jessie wasn't crying anymore, but sadness was still written all over
her pretty face. She kissed Dickie, took a deep breath, and shook her head.
“No,” she admitted, “I don't think it's an actual person, though. Just a big
cloud of...”
“Darkness?” Ollie finished.
“Yeah,” she muttered, “Like an evil thing that had to be locked away a long
time ago.”
“So, what about Michael?” Ollie asked, his eyes flickering between Jessie and
Jude, “Is he, like, your uncle or something?”
“Yeah, he's Gabe and Papa's oldest brother. The first archangel,” Jude
explained, “but no one has seen him in forever. He was supposed to be fighting
our uncle Lucifer in hell, but he's missing I think.”
Ollie blinked his brown eyes a few times before raising his head to share a
look with Clarence. The two of them were wearing the same expression, as if
they couldn't believe what they were hearing.
“Jay,” Clare smirked a little, drumming his fingers on Jude's shoulder, “You've
got one hell of a family tree. You know that?”
Jude looked toward his cousin and they nodded in unison. Yep. Jude and Jess
knew that their family tree was huge and full of famous people. But it wasn't
always a good thing. Sometimes, those people turned out to be crazy mass
murderers, like his uncle Raphael. Or terrible fathers, like Grandpa John...
“So, um, I don't mean to put a damper on things,” Ollie mumbled as he reached
up to scratch the back of his redhead, “but I sorta left my book bag at the
park. And it literally has all of my homework in it, so -”
“Shit,” Clarence interrupted, his eyes wide with realization, “My new guitar is
back there, too! And my bike. Dammit...”
Jude was tempted to think about all of the things he left back there – his
untouched birthday cake, Dad's car, his own new car – but he knew that there
were more important things to be worrying about. Like the fact that his parents
weren't even on Earth at the moment.
“Don't worry, guys,” Jessie soothed, reaching over to pat Ollie's chest, “I'm
sure all of our stuff will still be there after we take care of this...
monster.”
The word 'monster' made Jude's ears perk up. He met eyes with Jessie again and
could tell that she was thinking the same thing. In a way, this was Jude and
Jessica's first time fighting a monster without their parents. This might be
their first solo hunting trip without adult supervision. Jude and Jess were
thrown into the middle of this just like their parents always were; without
warning and with very few resources. At least for them, they had Gabe and
Papa's grace on their side...
While the teenagers stood around and stared at each other, they heard the sound
of a television click on from another room. A lady's voice started talking in
the distance, making Jude and his friends give each other strange looks.
Curious to see what was going on, the four of them migrated into the study,
where they found Bobby standing in the middle of the room. He was holding a
remote control and staring at the small TV on the bookshelf with a deeply
concerned look.
The news station on TV was broadcasting bits of video footage that contained
glimpses of dark clouds. The headline underneath read, 'Breaking News: Strange
Weather Phenomenon.' The lady's voice kept speaking as the video played clips
of people running from the dark fog.
“... stated that it was not related to any foreign attacks,” the news caster
said, “At least four major cities in the United States have reported this wide
spread smoke, as well as seven other cities around the world. Officials have
not yet released a statement on whether this smoke is harmful or toxic, but are
requesting that people in the affected areas stay indoors to prevent
causalities. Should you come into contact with this bizarre phenomenon, it is
recommended that you take shelter immediately and avoid staying out in the
open. Eyewitnesses have also reported several earthquakes being associated with
the mystery smoke, and many are advised to –”
Before they could hear any more of the news report, uncle Bobby's television
shut off – and so did the lights in the house. Jude sucked in a breath of air
and slid closer to Clarence in the dim room, realizing that the power had been
shut off. Bobby tossed his remote away and turned to look at the teenagers with
wide eyes. It seemed like he was just as shocked by the power going out as they
were.
“Wh – what's happening?” Jessie breathed, clinging to Dickie and Ollie's arm.
“It's alright,” uncle Bobby assured, stepping over to get to the window,
“Everybody stay calm.”
As much as Jude wanted to stay calm, he just couldn't. His heart was beating
hard in his chest and he wished to have his parents by his side so much. He
clung to Clarence instead, who seemed much more relaxed than anyone else. The
teenagers watched Bobby look out the window, silently hoping that the darkness
hadn't found them. Even from a few feet away, Jude could see the sky outside
dimming, as if the sun was being blocked by clouds.
“Balls,” Bobby whispered under his breath, “I can see it billowin' up into the
sky from here...”
Jude gulped and turned to look up at Clare, feeling like he was on the verge of
panicking. Oh, God! The Darkness was coming again! Where were they going to go?
What were they going to do? How could they run away from something that could
surround them in seconds?!
While everyone clung to each other in fear, 'The Macarena' started playing in
the study.
It was the Spanish part of the upbeat dance song, filling the room with
cheerful music. Everyone looked toward the source of the sound, which seemed to
be coming from Ollie. The guy's face went almost as red as his hair as he
quickly searched around his pockets. His cell phone kept playing the melody as
he looked at the screen with worry.
“Guys,” Oliver said over his loud ringtone, glancing around at everyone's
faces, “My mom is calling...”
 
Chapter End Notes
     Leave it to Ms. Jane to call her little Calabaza and interrupt at the
     best time. XD Don't worry too much about the slight cliffhanger,
     guys. I promise our babies will be safe. And our babies in Purgatory
     will be safe, too. (Even Gabe, the clumsiest human ever.) ;) I hope
     that the story isn't moving too slowly right now. I'm just trying to
     make sure I cover as much plot in as possible, because more action is
     on the way. And not just angsty action, if you know what I mean. ;)
     *cue the sexy music* XD Thank you guys soooo much for reading and
     reviewing! I love each one of you to pieces! :D The next chapter will
     be out soon! :)
***** Chapter 4 *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
For once in his life, Dean was actually glad that he went through something
terrible in his past. His first trip to Purgatory was jarring, terrifying, and
nothing short of a severe wake up call. The last time his feet were planted on
gray soil, his only mission was finding Cas. Reclaiming the angel he had fallen
in love with and making sure they both got back home safely was the only thing
he cared about. It took them a few months to navigate their way through the sea
of monsters and find the exit, and during that time, Dean adapted to his
surroundings. He found his stride; made survival weapons, picked up some tricks
to use in combat, and grew closer to Cas through the hardship. And Dean
desperately hoped all of that knowledge was still there. He hoped that the
portal was still open and that he remembered the way to it.
Because this time, it wasn't just him and Cas that needed to get out. It was
Sam and Gabe, too. Both angels were graceless, Gabriel was already injured, and
to make things even worse, the gray sky was starting to dim. Night was falling
in Purgatory, which meant there were worse creatures than werewolves to be
concerned about. The vampires would come out to feed, the ghouls would scour
the place for flesh, and Leviathan – if there were any left here, from
Raphael's past visit – would surely descend from all corners to feast on the
newcomers. The open area the Winchesters were currently standing in was about
to be overrun with monsters, and Dean knew he needed to get everyone to a safer
spot.
While Sammy worked on bandaging Gabe's leg and getting the bleeding to stop,
Dean speedily searched the ground for some relatively sharp rocks. When it came
to primitive and savage territory, primitive and savage weapons were a must.
The last weapon he made here was constructed from a leg bone and sharpened
slate, and he planned to recreate a few copies of it again. In the meantime, a
gentle voice in the back of Dean's mind was softly reminding him that he was
separated from his son. Jude was still on Earth with that dark cloud, having
the worst birthday ever. But Dean tried his best to ignore the topic of his
child as he worked. Not because he didn't want to think about Jude, but because
he needed to maintain his focus. He's with Bobby and Jess, Dean mentally
replied to the frantic voice in his head, Don't worry. Jude is fine.
“Can you stand up, Gabe?”
Dean glanced back to see that Sam was on his feet and holding both bloody hands
out to Gabriel. The short archangel whimpered and winced a bit – acting like an
injured five-year-old, rather than an ancient being – but eventually let Sam
raise him up.
“Ow!” Gabe squeaked, wobbling against Sam's torso, “How the hell do you guys do
this for a living?!”
“A lifetime worth of practice,” Sam answered blandly.
Dean found a few suitable rocks among the leaves on the ground and piled them
up, switching his search over to sticks and bones. It wasn't hard to find a few
ribs and teeth; they were scattered everywhere, like the whole forest was a
mass grave. But Dean was looking for femurs and tibias; long strong bones that
wouldn't break as easily. A 'thunk' drew Dean's attention to the side, where
Cas had dropped down on his knees beside him. Cas's eyes were a little vacant –
as if he, too, was having trouble not thinking about their son – but his hands
were moving in the gray leaves.
“What are we looking for, Dean?” the angel breathed, ready to help.
Dean gulped first, wishing that he could help his own husband feel better about
this horrible situation, but eventually relocated his voice.
“Bones,” he answered, “We've gotta make some blades... Cas, do you remember
where the portal is?”
“Faintly,” Cas nodded, his low voice flat, “I recall it being far to the North-
West, but without knowing our current location, it would be hard to decipher...
Let's use the bones from the werewolf corpses.”
Dean raised his head to look at the few dead carcasses nearby. Duh. Why didn't
he think of that before? With Cas on his six, Dean walked over to yank Sam's
pocket knife out of the eye socket of a werewolf and used it to cut into its
leg. The loud 'sclurge' sound it made as Dean dug around to pull out its bones
caused Gabriel to gag.
“Ugh!” the archangel groaned like a wuss, “What the hell are you doing, man?!”
“We need its bones for weapons,” Cas explained so Dean wouldn't have to.
“Seriously?!” Gabriel huffed, “Ew, this place is like Fear Factor on steroids!
We've gotta get home!”
“We are going to get home,” Dean barked as he worked, using a bit of force to
rip the tibia free from the dead werewolf's meaty leg, “but in order to do
that, we have to find the freaking portal.”
“And to get there, we must have weapons. Thousands of undead abominations stand
between us and our passage back, and seeing as you and I are powerless, sturdy
weapons will heighten our chances of survival,” Cas explained.
“Plus, it's about to get dark around here. We can't see in the dark, but those
monsters can,” Dean added, “So unless you want to be dinner for some ancient
ghouls, I suggest we find a safer place to camp.”
Dean finally freed one of the bones and passed it to Cas, who started to wipe
off the excess blood.
“Camp?” Sam repeated, his voice a little high, “You mean, you actually want to
camp here? In this place?!”
Dean paused his slice into the werewolf's leg to look up at his little brother.
Sam was clearly petrified by the idea of staying in Purgatory longer than he
needed to, but Dean knew better.
“We can't move at night, Sam,” Dean denied, hoping that his brother understood,
“We get as much ground covered during the day as we can, and then we stop
moving at night. Because that's when they come out. That's when they all feed.
You and I might be able to fight off waves of monsters, but these angels can't.
And I'm not putting them at risk... Okay?”
Dean tacked on the last word so that his message wasn't too strong. As if on
cue, a distant howl echoed through the ashy trees, making everyone look toward
the sound. The screech vibrated around the area and faded out as the wind blew,
making the hairs on the back of Dean's neck stand on end. Damn, he hated that
sound... When silence returned, Dean looked back up at Sam and Gabriel, who
were holding onto each other for dear life.
“Okay,” Sam gulped with a nod, “What kind of place are we looking for?”
“Somewhere with good cover and at least two escape routes. We don't want to be
completely closed in,” Dean explained.
“Got it,” Sam confirmed, “Come on, Gabe. I'll help you walk.”
“Walk? What if I need to run?!” Gabe asked nervously.
“Then I'll carry you,” Sam resolved with a sigh, leading the archangel away.
“Really? You'll carry me? Like a real moose? Maybe we should fashion a saddle
or something,” Gabe joked in a shaky voice.
“Don't push it,” Sam mumbled.
Not wanting Sam and Gabe to get too far ahead, Dean freed the last leg bone he
needed from the corpse and turned to gather up the rocks. He stood up to follow
their brothers, but when he glanced back at his husband, Dean stopped. Cas had
that look on his face; that deathly anxious, fearful expression he wore back
when Jude and Gabriel were kidnapped by Naomi. It was the look of a parent
without a child; a terrified mother who longed to hold her baby.
“D – Dean...” Cas almost whispered.
He didn't have to say anything else. Dean already knew how Cas was feeling,
because he was feeling it too. Neither of them knew if their son was okay. They
didn't know for sure if Jude was hurt or not; whether he was safe, or alone, or
scared. Whether he knew that they were still alive. All they had to go on was
faith. And though he was tempted to fret over his son's well being, Dean had
hope that Jude would be alright. The kid was practically an adult, now. And he
was the son of the two most badass warriors of all time. Wanting to comfort his
worried husband, Dean stepped over to wrap his free arm tight around Cas's
shoulders; tugging him into a warm embrace to press a firm kiss to the side of
his head.
“Jude is gonna be alright, Cas,” Dean softly promised into his ear, “We're
going to make it back to him.”
Dean could feel Cas's arms trembling around his torso, but he held his own
limbs firmly around his angel. He knew that Cas needed support right now,
especially since he was human. In return, Cas's head weakly nodded against
Dean's shoulder.
“Yes. We are,” Cas replied in a determined tone.
===============================================================================
When Darkness fell on Sioux Falls and started to surround uncle Bobby's house,
he told everyone to spread out and throw blankets over the windows. He
theorized that if the Darkness couldn't see the people inside, it might pass
over the house. And although the electricity was off and it was difficult to
see without the lights on, all of the teenagers did what he asked. Jude and
Clarence went upstairs to cover the second floor windows while Jessie and uncle
Bobby covered the ones on the first floor. Poor Oliver, however, was stuck on
the phone with his worried mom, trying his best to calm her down.
Apparently, the Darkness had taken over most of Kansas already and knocked out
the power, which forcibly closed Ms. Jane's clothing store. Of course, in light
of such a wide-spread disaster, her first instinct was to call her son, make
sure that he was okay, and ask him to come home, but it was hard for Ollie to
tell his mom where he was without her freaking out even more. While uncle Bobby
and the Winchesters lit candles and searched the radio stations for information
in the kitchen, Ollie had taken his mom's frantic phone call into Clarence's
empty bedroom. Jessie wished that she could help him somehow, but what could
she do? The whole world was being affected by dark clouds. The only way she
could stop it was by doing what Papa told her...
Aunt Rowena and uncle Crowley returned in less than twenty minutes with armfuls
of books, equipment, and a few jars of ingredients. Staring at all the things
on the table in the kitchen made Jessica wonder if all of this witchcraft stuff
would really help. It had always helped before, but this time seemed different.
This time, her parents and uncles weren't around to make sure everything went
according to plan.
“Okay, dumplings. Here's what we're going to do,” Rowena cooed as she unrolled
a black sheet of felt fabric on the table, “Fergus is going to be a good boy,
and use a location charm to find your uncle Michael -”
“I am?” Crowley blurted, narrowing his eyes at his mother.
“ - and in the meantime, I'm going to figure out a way to link the portal in
Robert's garage to the one in Purgatory,” she continued, eying the three
teenagers, “It shouldn't take long to find Michael, but the portal will take a
wee bit longer. I suppose that after we speak with the archangel, we should
figure out a way to get rid of this 'Darkness' fellow. I'm hoping to have the
portal linked by then.”
It felt like Jessie's head was spinning. This was all happening so fast. She
was proud of her aunt Rowena being so level-headed when she, herself, felt like
panicking. Still, Crowley was blinking at his mother in disbelief.
“And just how do you propose I find a missing archangel?” he grumbled, “Shall I
just pull him out of my arse?”
“Aye. That's what you tend to do with everything else, isn't it, love?” Rowena
smirked and batted her eyelashes at her son.
Crowley's glare was his only reply, but luckily Rowena regained a serious
composure.
“We'll just use the spell that we used to find Clarence's drug-addicted birth
mother,” she replied, “Since the children are technically related to the
archangel lad, a strand of their hair should suffice.”
It seemed like Crowley was glad to hear her resolution. His sight drifted to
Jude and Jessica before coming to rest on Bobby near the fridge. He reached out
to pat the old man's shoulder with a gentle hand.
“Darling, I'm going to need your globe,” he said, “And some rubbing alcohol.
And those left-over Jellyfish parts, if you have them.”
Jessica turned to share a weird look with Jude. Jellyfish parts? What kind of
weird science experiments and spells were Bobby and Crowley doing with aquatic
animals? Surprisingly, Bobby seemed indifferent to hearing the bizarre list of
ingredients that Crowley needed. He just nodded and turned to go retrieve the
items. While Bobby left the room and Rowena opened her books and sorted her
things on the table, Crowley stepped over to the teenagers and held out his
hand.
“I'm going to need a strand of hair from one of you,” he informed, his eyes
staying fixed on Jessie, “Preferably yours, love. The length will be easier to
work with.”
Without hesitation, Jessica quickly combed her fingers through her own hair and
caught a few stray pieces. She gathered the strands in her palm and held them
out to Crowley, who gently scooped them up and took them to the counter. As he
walked, a slight rumble echoed up from the floor. Bobby's house shook a little
bit, as if a small earthquake was taking place. Rowena paused to hold onto the
table, Crowley hugged the counter, and Jude and Clarence clung to each other,
all looking around at the walls and ceiling with worry. Jessie reached out to
steady herself with the nearby door frame until it stopped. The rumbling noise
and movement eventually died down, but it left everyone in the house trembling.
What was happening out there? Was the Darkness causing earthquakes or
something?
When Jessie straightened back up, her first thought was of Ollie. Was he okay?
Did the rumbling scare him too? Desperate to check on him, Jessie quietly
slipped out of the kitchen and sneaked down the hall to Clarence's bedroom. The
door was cracked open and she could hear Ollie's voice as she approached.
“Yeah. South Dakota,” he huffed into his phone, “No, Mom, we just... we just
drove really fast, that's all... No, I'm not lying. That's really where I am...
I promise, everything is okay. I'm not hurt... No, don't try to drive mom, it's
dangerous out there! … Yeah, I saw it on the news, too... I'm still with Jude
and Jessie...”
Jessie gulped a little as she peeked inside to see Ollie standing by a lit
candle on Clare's dresser. His red hair was a mess, from where he kept raking a
nervous hand through it, and his face was full of regret. But his eyes, those
chocolate orbs that Jessie loved so much, they were full of pain. It was clear
that Oliver didn't like being away from his mom during this crisis. He was
worried to death about her, and having to lie about what was going on didn't
make it any easier.
As Jessica stared at the boy she loved with all of her heart, seeing the
distress and anxiety all over his face as he walked around and tried to calm
his mother, she began to wonder if their relationship was the cause of all his
problems. Would things be better for Ollie if he didn't know the Winchesters?
Would he be safer if he wasn't in Jessie's life? If they weren't together,
Ollie would probably still be with his mother, where he belonged. Jane and
Ollie could wait out the Darkness together, in their beautiful home, safe and
sound. Instead, they were torn apart and worried about each other. All because
Jessie wanted to keep him with her. And that didn't seem very fair...
“No, don't say that, mom,” Ollie almost begged, plopping himself down on the
end of Clare's bed so that he could lean over, “Please don't... I know you're
worried, but driving in the dark isn't going to help... Sioux Falls, but don't
– No, don't get in the car, mom. Please... I love you, too... I don't know
what's happening, but I'm sure it'll be okay... No, I haven't gone outside... I
know you do, but... I'm not going to leave Jessie here, mom. She's – she's all
shaken up...”
The more Jessica listened to her boyfriend's concerned voice, the more her eyes
began to fill with tears. She could tell that Ollie just wanted to go home;
that he missed his mom so much and just wanted to be with her. But he couldn't
go anywhere because of Jessie; because he felt like he had to stay for her...
Burdened with guilt, Jessica slowly backed away from the door. Really harsh and
painful ideas started to bloom in her head as she felt a hot tear roll down her
cheek. Maybe things would be better for Oliver if he wasn't romantically
involved with Jess. If it came down to it, Jessica could easily reshape
Oliver's memories with her grace. She could erase herself and her family from
his mind and Jane's, making it as though they had never existed. If she did
that, would it change the future? All those visions she had seen of them being
together as adults – the precious faces of the children that she and Ollie were
supposed to make some day – would it all go away if Oliver forgot about her?
Would he find someone else? Have a life, marriage, and children with someone
else? Would he be safer? Would he be happier?
“Jessie?”
With a sharp intake of breath Jessica turned in the hallway to see her cousin
and his boyfriend. Jude and Clarence walked up to her with worry, both holding
candles and searching her face.
“You alright, Barbie?” Clare asked, his tone low and hard, as if he was ready
to hurt anyone who had made her cry.
Jessica sniffled a bit and wiped her eyes, trying to give herself time to think
of her reply. She was actually grateful that two of her best friends had found
her in the hallway, because she felt like she could fall apart at any second.
In the candlelight, Jessie glanced between Jude and Clarence's questioning eyes
as she stepped closer to them and away from the cracked bedroom door. Should
she tell them about her thoughts? Would they understand?
“Ollie is worried about his mom,” she explained, taking a deep breath.
“Is Ms. Jane okay?” Jude asked, his eyes widening with concern.
“Yeah, I think she's fine right now. She just wants to be with Ollie,” Jessie
assured, “But I... I was just thinking that... M – maybe things would be easier
if I... sent him home...”
“Sent him home?” Clarence scoffed, pausing to glance around the darkened room,
“Uh, I think you need to take another look around, Jess. Sending that kid home
would be a death sentence.”
“No,” Jessie denied, shaking her head and feeling her tears resurface, “I mean
send him homefor good. If I wiped his memories of us, he would have a better
life... Oliver doesn't deserve this. He didn't do anything wrong -”
“Neither did we,” Jude softly pointed out.
“Yeah, but he's different. He's human,” Jessie argued, “The only reason he's
stuck in this mess is because of us, and he deserves a chance at a better life,
right? It's like Dad said. Being a hunter is a curse. And if I can keep that
curse from happening to Ollie, shouldn't I do it? I mean, I – I love him with
all my heart and I want to be with him, but I don't want to keep him out of
selfishness. I only want what's best for him -”
“You are what's best for me.”
Jessica nearly gasped again and spun around at the sound of Ollie's deep voice.
The freckled-faced boy had stepped out of Clarence's bedroom and was still
holding the phone, but his cocoa eyes were fixed on Jessie. Looking at Oliver –
and knowing that he heard everything she said – made more warm liquid pool in
Jess's eyes.
“Jessica, please don't send me away,” Ollie begged, reaching out to tenderly
hold her hand, “I know I'm not much help in these 'Superhero' situations, and
that I probably get in the way a lot. I can't kick much ass – but I know you
can. And I'll do whatever I can to help you get your parents back and stop that
giant ink monster. Besides, you oughta know by now... that you are the best
part of my life. I won't leave you, Jessie. I'll stay right here and help you.”
Tears were slipping down Jessie's cheeks faster than she could stop them, but
they were slowly morphing from sad tears into happy ones. Here, Jessica's mind
was set on the notion that Oliver was stuck in this situation because she
wanted him there, but she never stopped to realize that Ollie wanted to be
there. And hearing him confirm it out loud made Jessica feel a little better.
She quickly wiped the fresh tears from her face again before stepping over to
pull her Ollie-pop into a fierce hug; breathing in the sweet smell of hibiscus
on his shirt and letting the feeling of his heartbeat calm her down.
“I love you,” Jessie whimpered on his shoulder.
“I love you too,” Ollie back, his free arm tight around her back.
“Wow, Red,” Clarence's voice murmured behind them, “That was so cheesy, it gave
me indigestion.”
There was a small thump, which Jessie assumed was the sound of Jude forcefully
nudging Clarence in the ribs, and Clare hissed a tiny 'ow.' Ollie and Jessie
stayed in their embrace for a moment or two before she raised her head to look
at his adorable face again. Jess could hear the faint sound of Ms. Jane's voice
on the phone, rambling frantically in Spanish. Ollie noticed Jess's glance
toward the phone and sighed.
“Listen, I know my mom isn't supposed to know about your family secrets or
anything,” Ollie began, “but, is there anyway that we can bring her here? She's
freaking out and wants to drive all the way to South Dakota in the dark.”
Jessica gulped and looked back at her cousin Jude, hoping that he could give
her some ideas. Jess knew that she had the power to fly and could easily
transport Jane to Bobby's house in less than a minute. But that would mean
venturing back out into the Darkness, and Jess could almost hear her Dad's
voice in her mind, warning her not to even think about risking it... But this
was Ms. Jane. She was practically Jessie's mother-in-law already. Jude seemed
to be thinking the same thing because he gave her a woeful nod. Though it was
dangerous right now, flying was the best option...
“Here,” Jess said, quickly pulling the wooden jewelry box full of grace from
her pocket and holding it out to Jude, “Keep this safe. I'll be right back.”
“R – right back?” Ollie repeated, his eyes growing, “Wait, what are you – ?!”
Before she heard the rest of Oliver's panicked question, Jessie concentrated
her grace and flew from Bobby's house. Her feet landed inside Ms. Jane's
clothing store in Lebanon, near the checkout counter at the front. Just like
Bobby's house, it was dark here; no fluorescent bulbs or natural light at all.
The huge glass walls around the entrance displayed the sea of black fog just
outside, where people on the sidewalks seemed to be running for safety. Inside
the store, a few customers were all using cell phones in the dark, trying to
see what was going on with their built in flashlights. Nervous chatter filled
the whole area.
It only took Jessie a few seconds to locate Ollie's mom. The sound of her loud
Spanish voice was a dead giveaway. She was staring out the window at the front,
gripping her car keys tight with one hand and clutching her cell phone with the
other. Thankfully, Jessie was able to approach Ms. Jane from behind, which gave
her the added advantage of stealth.
“Calabaza?! Oliver?! Are you there?!” she nearly shouted into her phone,
“Answer me! … What? …No, you need to come home! … Porque ya lo digo!”
Being as quick and quiet as possible, Jessica stepped over and reached around
to tap Jane's temple. Jess used her grace to turn the woman unconscious –
knowing that it would be easier to explain everything later when they were
safe, rather than now while they were in a dangerous spot – and caught her
around the waist as she fell over. Her car keys and cell phone fell out of her
limp hands and dropped to the floor. Once Ollie's mother was in her arms,
Jessica immediately flew back to Bobby's house, leaving the store full of
confused and shocked customers behind.
The two of them landed in the dimly lit study, where Jessica instantly turned
to lay Jane down on the vacant sofa. She tried her best to be as gentle as
possible, making sure to rest Jane's head on a pillow and straighten both of
her legs out. As Jessie brushed some of Jane's dark hair away from her face,
the sound of footsteps came rushing into the study. Jude, Clarence, and Oliver
all came in with happy faces, appearing glad that both ladies had returned.
Ollie glanced at his cell phone, which he was still holding to his ear, and
turned it off.
“Mom?” he asked, walking over to look at Jane on the sofa.
“I, um, put her to sleep,” Jessie explained, “Don't worry. She'll wake up in a
few hours. I just wanted to get her here without freaking her out -”
Before Jessica could even finish her sentence, Oliver's lips were connected to
hers. He had given her a pair of sweet puppy eyes and swooped in for the kill;
cradling the back of her head and pulling her close by the hip to meet their
mouths. Jessie's eyes fluttered shut as she enjoyed the sudden kiss. Wow. Ollie
must have been really grateful to have his mom back. It was a good thing she
was unconscious right now, otherwise this kiss would have made her really
uncomfortable... Ollie eventually pulled back to look his girlfriend in the eye
with a bright smile.
“You are the sweetest angel in the world,” he breathed.
The only thing Jessie could do in response was let out an airy giggle. Once
again, her head was too busy swimming to really focus on thoughts. It wasn't
until uncle Bobby cough loudly that she remembered there were other people in
the room. Bobby, holding a lit candle in one hand and a large globe in the
other, gave each of the teenagers a glance before looking down at Ms. Jane with
a frown.
“Ah hell,” he sighed, “Which of you young'ins went and got her?”
Heat flashed on Jessie's face as she felt every eye slowly gravitate to her.
Uh-oh. Was uncle Bobby going to be mad when he found out that she went into the
Darkness again? Luckily, the old man only huffed an upset sigh and shook his
head.
“I'm glad the lady's alright and I don't mind her staying... but please don't
leave the house again,” he asked flatly, “I'm already worried sick about your
dads. I can't add y'all to the list, okay?”
“Yes sir,” Jessie instantly nodded.
All of the boys bobbed their heads in unison too; even Ollie, who couldn't
actually fly anywhere. Bobby nodded with them and gestured to the kitchen.
“C'mon. We're gonna find that archangel,” he mumbled.
After giving Oliver's mom one more glance to make sure she was sleeping
peacefully on the sofa, Jessie took Ollie by the hand and led him into the
kitchen with the rest of the guys. Rowena was hard at work at the table,
cycling through old books and combing through the objects in her large bag.
When Bobby handed off the globe to Crowley, another mild tremor shook the
house, making everyone cling to the nearest person. Jessie briefly closed her
eyes and held tight to Ollie's arm, wishing it would all just go away. The
shaking eventually stopped and Crowley positioned the globe on the counter near
the fridge.
“So, how is this spell supposed to find that Michael guy?” Clarence asked.
“It's relatively simple,” Crowley replied over his shoulder, as he crushed up
something in a bowl, “We're going to pour this mixture over the globe and
recite a certain phrase. Since we are using a strand of Jessica's hair, the
spell will cause to globe to reveal the location of any living ancestors by
making their whereabouts shine on the map. And since she is the daughter of an
archangel and Michael is the oldest archangel in existence, his location should
shine the brightest.”
Everyone nodded blandly, glad to know how the process worked – except for
Ollie. His mouth was open and there was a smile twitching on the corners of his
mouth.
“Awesome,” he commented in a whisper.
Jessie smiled at her boyfriend as she squeezed his hand. It was so cute to see
him get excited about magic. At the counter, uncle Crowley did exactly what he
said. He started by pouring a thick, clear liquid over the globe, coating the
entire thing in a thin film. Uncle Bobby held a candle close to the tiny world
so that they could see what they were doing. When the small world was covered,
Crowley held his hand toward it and muttered a Latin phrase, too low for Jess
to hear the words. After a few seconds, tiny sparkles of light started to
appear on the globe. All of the teenagers gathered close to the counter to see
it in action. Lots of points of light were scattered all over the place. Were
those... angels? There were so many, she could hardly count them all! So many
family members she had never met before! Why were they all on Earth? And why
didn't she know any of them?
“Here,” Crowley hummed, pointing to the globe, “This has to be him.”
“Where is it?” Bobby asked, holding his candle even closer.
Jessie could hardly see the words on the globe, but uncle Crowley could. He
leaned close to the round map and studied the dot of light, reading which city
it was closest to. The answer must have been pretty humorous to him, because he
turned around to smirk at everyone – especially Clarence.
“Chicago,” Crowley purred.
Everyone looked toward the blonde demon boy in the kitchen, who was suddenly
wearing a huge smile. Chicago was his home; the place where he was born,
abandoned, raised by witches, and finished going up on the street. He probably
knew every single nook and cranny of that city. And hearing that Michael was
there seemed to make his day.
“That's right, bitches,” Clare grinned, “I've got this.”
 
Chapter End Notes
     Yep. That's right. Michael is in Chicago. What's he doing there, you
     ask? We shall see! :D Although the Winchesters have been trying to
     prevent it for many years, I believe the penny is about to drop for
     our lovely Ms. Jane. Everything she thought she knew is about to be
     flipped upside down. Lol. :D Btw, that Spanish phrase she said
     earlier, “Porque ya lo digo!” translates to “Because I said so!” (but
     I am, sadly, not fluent in Spanish, so if it is wrong, please correct
     me!) :) Also, Jessie tends to take after her Dad when it comes to bad
     inner thoughts, like the ones she had in this chapter. She and Sammy
     (and most of the characters in this story) are quick to jump to the
     conclusion that things are somehow their fault. (aren't we all like
     that, sometimes?) ;) Luckily, Jessie had her boys to talk her down.
     And her Ollie-pop to kiss all the bad thoughts away. ;) I hope you
     guys are still enjoying the story so far! Thank you sooooo much for
     reading and commenting! The next chapter – which contains some first
     time Jollie smut! – will be out soon! :D
***** Chapter 5 *****
Chapter Notes
     As I stated before, this chapter contains some underage smut between
     Jessie and Ollie, who are only 16, so be advised. Oh, and Sam
     Winchester? if you're reading this, just skip to the next chapter,
     buddy. You don't want to see the end of this one. ;) Enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Jude could tell that his boyfriend was excited about Chicago just by the
twinkle of determination in his earthy eyes. Clarence was the only person in
the room wearing a smile, too. Everyone else was still somber from the events
that had taken place – and were still taking place – around them. But Jude had
to admit that while he didn't feel very happy about his current circumstances
or being without his parents, Clare's smile actually made him feel better.
“Which part of town is that bastard in?” Clarence asked uncle Crowley, “Lemme
guess, he's in South Side, isn't he? That place is a cesspool. All the weirdos
come from South Side.”
“Actually, I'm not sure of his exact location,” Crowley admitted, “Robert's
globe is too small to pinpoint it.”
Jude felt his own heart drop with disappointment, but he tried to look on the
bright side. At least they knew the general area that Michael was in. That was
better than nothing, right?
“So, we're gonna have to go search for him on foot?” Bobby mumbled everyone's
thoughts out loud.
Before Crowley answered, another rumble shook the house. Everyone grabbed the
nearest person or solid surface to keep from falling over. Some of the dishes
in the kitchen cabinets vibrated out and smashed to the floor, making Jessie
and Ollie both shriek. Jude held on to Clarence's arm for dear life and closed
his eyes, wishing it would all go away. 'It's alright, little man,' he tried to
imagine his dad's voice in his head to calm himself down, 'Nothing can hurt you
as long as you're with family.' The shaking eventually shuddered to a stop,
leaving the candle-lit kitchen in silence again. Crowley huffed a breath of
annoyance and straightened out his suit.
“Yes,” the demon king replied, “The children will have to search for Michael on
foot.”
Jude carefully opened his eyes and raised his head to look around the room.
Wait, the children? None of the adults were going to look for Michael? Bobby
chuckled a little, as if he thought that Crowley was being funny.
“The kids?” he repeated, “No, the kids are stayin' here.”
There wasn't a shred of humor on Crowley's face; not even a hint of smugness.
For once, he looked absolutely serious as he blinked back at Bobby with dark
eyes.
“No. The four of them are going to fly to Chicago together, find Michael, and
bring him here,” Crowley spoke every word carefully.
“Then I'm goin' with 'em,” Bobby spat back, the lit candle in his grasp
flickering from his harsh breath.
“No, darling. You're going to stay in this house,” Crowley commanded, gesturing
a hand toward the study, “That woman is going to wake up in a few hours in a
hysterical fit with no recollection of how she got here, and I don't have the
time or patience to deal with it. Mother and I must concentrate and find a way
to patch these portals together, or we can kiss the thought of the Winchesters'
return goodbye.”
Uncle Bobby's mouth was hanging wide open. It was like he almost couldn't
believe what he was hearing.
“I ain't lettin' them go alone! Dean and Sam would literallykill me if they
knew I sent these kids out into that black hole by themselves,” he breathed,
sounding a bit terrified, “and Cas and Gabe would bring me back so they could
kill me again!”
“We're not kids,” Clarence blurted.
Jude looked up at the blonde guy in his arms and could see that his excitement
had faded into a touch of resentment. He glanced between his two adoptive
parents with an arched eyebrow and a stern expression.
“I'm nineteen, and I've been on my own since I was eight years old,” he
reminded.
“Nineteen translates to 'still a kid' in my book, son,” Bobby argued.
“Yeah? Well, I know Chicago better than anyone else in this room,” Clarence
added, “I can slip in and out of anywhere in that city in no time flat. And
with Barbie's jet-pack wings,” he said, gesturing to Jessie, “We can have
Michael here in less than twelve hours.”
Although he was proud and a bit envious of Clarence's confidence, Jude could
feel his own heart beating super fast. The mere thought of venturing out into
that black smoke was enough to make him terrified. He didn't want to leave the
safety of uncle Bobby's house – but he trusted Clare. The guy did know the
Chicago area better than anyone. And if Clarence was leading the 'Michael
search party', Jude would gladly follow him... Still, uncle Bobby seemed
hesitant to let them go.
“And how'er you gonna find him once you get there, huh? You got some archangel
radar or something?” the old man asked.
“Jude and I might,” Jessie admitted, getting everyone's attention by raising
her hand a bit, “I mean, we might be able to pick him up on angel radio or
something.”
Crowley smiled a bit and looked back to Bobby, tilting his head to the side as
if he was trying to say, 'I told you so.' But it looked like Bobby was actually
starting to get afraid. He huffed a big sigh, which almost blew out the candle
in his hand, as he turned back to glance at all the teenagers in fear.
“And what if one of you gets hurt, huh?” he barked, “How am I supposed to live
with myself knowing that something happened to one of y'all on my watch?!”
“If something happens, you can blame me,” Clarence volunteered.
Jude gulped as his boyfriend stepped forward, inadvertently pulling Jude along.
The demon guy was standing proudly in the middle of the room, shoulders back
and head held high as he stared at Bobby.
“I'll take care of them all,” he promised, “Hell, I'm the oldest anyway. I'll
keep them safe from that Darkness shit... Even Gingerbread. Especially
Gingerbread.”
“Thanks man,” Ollie squeaked from the back.
For a moment, Jude could only stare up at Clarence in complete awe. He had
always admired Clare's independence. Jude adored how grown-up and protective
his boyfriend had become over the last year. And seeing Clare's devotion with
his own eyes never failed to give Jude goosebumps. Holy crap, Jude loved
Clarence so much...
Still, uncle Bobby seemed set on not letting the teenagers go. He only glanced
around at all their faces while his candle trembled in his hand. Jessie
eventually stepped up to Jude's side to look uncle Bobby in the eye, too.
“Papa told me to do this,” she reminded, her voice almost as low as a whisper,
“He trusted me with his grace, uncle Bobby... I think that means he's okay with
it.”
Jessie's statement seemed to seal everything. Though her and Jude's parents
weren't there right now, which still broke Jude's heart, it was clear that
their dads trusted them. Dad, Papa, Sam, Gabe – they had faith in Jude and
Jess. And maybe even Clare and Ollie, too. The Winchester family had practiced
the buddy system so many times, it was second nature. The reluctance on uncle
Bobby's face slowly morphed into saddened defeat. The candle was still
trembling in his hand and his bottom lip was starting to quiver a bit inside
his grayish beard. He spared a quick glance at his wrist watch and huffed a
sigh.
“Twelve hours,” Bobby repeated Clare's earlier estimation in a hard tone, “I'll
give you twelve hours. And if you kids ain't back here by then, I'm gonna come
after you myself. Alright?”
“Okay,” Clarence nodded with another smirk, “Don't worry, Bobby. We've got
this.”
There was a brief space of time in which everyone took turns hugging each
other. Jude and Jess hugged uncle Bobby, Clare hugged Crowley and Rowena, and
Ollie sneaked into the study to hug his unconscious mom and whispered that he
loved her. It was a quick goodbye; long enough to leave a good memory, but
short enough to save precious time. Once all the goodbyes were out of the way,
the teenagers met back in the kitchen and huddled together near the table.
Jessie made sure that the wooden jewelry box with their papas' grace was in her
pocket and they all held hands. Jude could feel his own fingers trembling. He
wasn't ready to face that huge black cloud again – but if Superman could do it,
he could too, right?
“When that clock gets back around to three, all four of you better be standing
in my kitchen again,” Bobby warned in a threatening tone, even though his voice
cracked a bit, “I don't care if Michael is with you or not, just come straight
back.”
“We will,” Jessie promised.
“Thanks for taking care of my mom, Mr. Singer,” Ollie nodded.
“We'll be alright, Bobby,” Clarence assured.
Still, Bobby sighed and turned away, as if he was trying to hide some sudden
tears.
“Go before I change my mind,” he croaked.
Luckily, before Bobby could change his mind, Jessie used some of her grace to
fly everyone away. Jude closed his eyes tight and braced himself for the
oncoming sickness that usually appeared in his stomach when he flew. He guessed
that Jessie was letting Clarence direct her, because the flight seemed to take
a little longer. Almost five whole seconds went by before Jude felt solid Earth
under his feet again. He quickly opened his eyes afterward, hoping that the
sight of a motionless surface would help him not to get sick – but it was
terribly dark outside.
All four teenagers – still holding hands – were now standing in the middle of a
city street, where tall buildings reached toward the swirling black mass in the
sky. There was no sunlight at all, even though it was three o'clock in the
daytime. A hard breeze was flowing through the area, picking up stray trash and
tossing it in the air. The sounds of sirens, breaking glass, barking dogs, and
shouting echoed from all over the place. Jude could faintly see flashlights
bouncing through the dark haze, as if people were running all over town.
Windows of the tall buildings were black and there were no streetlights at all.
Jude tried to calm his breath as he looked around in fear, but it wasn't
helping. It was so dark here! What was happening? What was that big black mass
in the sky? Why was the ground shaking? There was nothing but chaos here!
“Holy shit, it's like the Doomsday Blackout all over again,” Clarence shouted
above the noises.
“Wh – what do we do?!” Ollie shouted back.
“How are we supposed to find Michael in this?!” Jessie cried out, sounding so
scared.
Before anyone could answer her, a pair of bright lights came rushing up behind
them. A loud horn blared and Jude gasped, realizing that a huge truck was
barreling straight toward the four teenagers. Everyone scrambled out of the way
just in time for the truck to fly by, but it still made Jessie scream. Once
they were on the side of the road and next to a large building, the teenagers
rose to their feet and tried to breathe.
“This is crazy!” Jessie yelled, her voice high and terrified and her hand
shaking inside Jude's, “We don't belong here! This shouldn't be happening! I
can't take this!”
“Whoa, shhh,” Clare hissed, “Don't scream! You'll draw attention to us.
Breathe, blondie. We just need to get inside somewhere, okay? Hold hands.
Follow me.”
Though Jude felt very distraught himself, he did exactly what Clare said. He
gripped the guy's hand as tight as he could and followed his footsteps, seeing
that they were headed around the huge stone building and down the street. On
their way, several people ran by them in a rush, carrying huge TVs and other
electronics. Jude assumed that they were stolen, but it was hard to tell when
everything was so dark. The ground rumbled again, making everyone pause and
cling to each other with gasps, but Clarence kept pressing on, leading them
toward some unknown location.
By the time they stopped, Jude could almost hear Jessie panting. It sounded
like she was on the verge of freaking out, which was a little surprising for
Jude. Between the two of them, she was the strong one. If Jessie couldn't
handle this, how was Jude supposed to? After the sound of a few low bangs,
Clarence tugged on Jude's hand again, leading him through a door. It was much
quieter inside the dark room than it was outside. Once everyone was in, Clare
shut the door behind them and used the light on his phone to make the place
visible.
It looked like a rundown motel room of some kind. There was one bed, two
nightstands, a chair, and a small room off to the side that had a toilet,
bathtub and sink. The power was off, of course, so the place was just as dark
inside as it was out. But at least they were safe from the elements and crazy
people outside. Jessie immediately shuffled over to the bed where she plopped
herself down and let her head fall into her hands. Jude heard a tiny sob in her
voice and it nearly broke his heart. Poor Jessie. She had been through so much
in such a short amount of time; having to carry around the weight of their
papas' grace and the responsibility that came with it. It was no wonder she
felt like crying. But, ugh, Jude hated hearing Jessie cry! Both he and Ollie
instantly walked over to comfort her; Ollie sitting on the bed next to her
while Jude pat her shoulder from above.
“Uh, what are you doing? Get up. We have an archangel to find,” Clarence
reminded.
The rest of their group glanced at Clarence in the dim light, all sharing the
same look. How could Clare be so calm right now when the world was falling
apart? Jude gulped, realizing that it was probably because Clare was used to
it...
“I just need... five minutes,” Jessie slowly said, sniffling and wiping her
cheeks, “Please?”
“Yeah, I'd like some time to process this, too... And, uh, maybe some chips or
something?” Ollie timidly asked, “I'm sort of running on empty here.”
“Food?” Clare scoffed in disbelief, “Their parents are stuck in Purgatory, an
archangel is missing, we're on the clock, the world is literally falling apart,
and you're worried about food?!”
Clarence's voice was so harsh and judgmental that it made Jude immediately
stand up straight to give him a stern look. Clarence may have been able to go
with the flow, blend into chaos, and ignore his own hunger, but Ollie couldn't.
And it wasn't very fair of Clare to yell at Ollie for simply being human.
Luckily, the look on Jude's face seemed to be enough to convince Clarence to
change his tune. The demon guy took a breath and lightened his voice.
“Alright. Fine,” he sighed, “Barbie, Ginger-ale, you guys stay here. Jude and I
will go and find some rations. We're downtown and the shops are close together,
so it won't take us long. There's a store on every corner. C'mon, Jude.”
When Clarence held his hand out, Jude paused to look down at his friends. He
could see hesitation on Jessie's face and he knew that she was thinking the
same thing. Splitting up was a terrible idea... but they were still using the
buddy system, right? Jude would be with Clare and Jessie would be with Ollie.
Wanting to reassure his worried cousin, Jude pat her shoulder once more.
“If anything happens, we can pray to each other,” he reminded, “Clare and I
will be right back.”
Though her eyes were large and cheeks glistened with tears, Jessie forced a
nod. Ollie squeezed her shoulders protectively and winked at Jude, silently
promising to take care of her in his absence. With his two childhood friends
safe, Jude turned to walk over and take Clare's hand again. The blonde demon
guy smiled a little in the semi-darkness. It seemed like he was kind of proud
and pleased to see that Jude trusted him so much.
“Don't let go of me, Jay,” Clarence almost whispered.
After his fervent request, Clarence quickly opened the motel door and led the
way back outside. Jude could feel the hard breeze brush over his whole body as
he followed his boyfriend toward the street. It was clear that Clarence was
telling the truth. He seemed to know exactly where he was going; guiding Jude
around with total awareness, even though Chicago was pitch black. Somewhere
nearby, a car alarm was going off, echoing in the darkness and making Jude
nervous. He would feel a lot better if he could see where it was coming from,
but he couldn't see anything! It was so dark outside; like space without a sun.
And it was getting cold. It felt like the temperature was dropping by the
second.
Over Clarence's shoulder, Jude could see a burning barrel on the street corner
ahead. A bunch of people were standing around the bright source of light and
talking, sharing stories and theories about what was happening with the
weather. Jude almost mistook them for homeless people and was about to ask
Clarence if they should go around the group – when Clarence stopped short. The
demon guy had paused on the sidewalk and turned to face the building on his
right. With the light of the fire nearby, Jude could see that there was a smile
on his face.
“Jude,” Clarence breathed, “Look. This is the store that my guitar came from.”
Jude's eyes widened as he turned to look at the glass window next to them. He
could faintly see other musical instruments inside the dark building; drum
sets, pianos, banjos, guitars. A smile crept across Jude's own face as he
stared at the building in wonder. This was the place that Clarence's guitar
came from? The same building that he used to sleep in sometimes when he was a
kid? No way! Clarence stepped up and put his hand on the glass, peering at the
scene with childlike fondness. For a second, Jude forgot that they were
standing in the midst of a darkened world with impending doom all around them.
For a second, Jude was just sharing a personal moment with his boyfriend in the
place he grew up in.
“Yeah. The store with the nice owner who let you sleep there sometimes,” Jude
recited the story with a comforting grin.
Clarence chuckled a little and nodded, turning to give Jude a warm look.
Clare's face looked so good in the firelight; so happy and full of life. Jude
loved seeing joy beam from his handsome face like that...
“That's the one,” Clare agreed, “Man, I wish the power was on. I would take you
inside and -”
In the middle of Clare's sentence, a man stumbled up and bumped into them. He
was tall, dirty, and wreaked of alcohol, acting so drunk that he couldn't stand
upright. Clarence immediately let go of Jude's hand long enough to grab the
stranger by the front of his jacket and shove him toward the window.
“Hey! Watch what the hell you're doing, jackass!” Clarence growled.
The man who could barely stand held both hands up in surrender. He lazily
blinked his bloodshot eyes toward the two teenage boys... and then his
expression appeared to shift. He stared hard at Clarence for a second, as if he
was looking at someone familiar. A tiny smile spread on his dirty mouth and
revealed a toothy grin.
“Hey... It's you...” the man purred.
Jude looked to Clarence, hoping to find out if the two of them knew each other.
And though it was very dark outside, Jude could see from the nearby firelight
that color was slowly draining from Clarence's face. His hands slowly loosened
at his sides, releasing his fists to leave limp fingers. But Clare's eyes
revealed it all. There was disbelief and unyielding terror in his stare; a type
of 'deer in headlights' look that almost gave Jude a chill. Not only did
Clarence know this stranger, but it seemed like he was downright horrified to
see him...
“Look at you, baby boy,” the drunk man slurred, regaining enough balance to
lean forward and probe Clare with his eyes, “All grown up... So pretty...”
Baby boy? Pretty? Why would he call Clare such crude names? The longer Jude
stood there and watched their interaction, the more uncomfortable – and angry –
he became. That man had no right to look at Clarence like that; like he was
some piece of meat. Jude was sure that Clarence would knock his lights out for
talking to him that way – but Clare was frozen on the sidewalk. He was a pale
white statue, motionless as the stranger licked his own lips and staggered
closer.
“Where you been, huh?” the man asked, reaching out toward Clare with one dirty
hand and groping himself with the other, “C'mon... Let's go 'round back and
play...”
Just before the stranger's filthy fingers were able to touch Clarence's face,
Jude felt his own grace kick in. His entire body lit up with electric blue and
he reached out to grab the stranger's arm. With a strong, forceful shove – and
a bit of his grace – Jude pushed the man so hard that he flew through the store
window. The stranger didn't even have time to gasp or scream. He was simply a
blur of grungy clothes that smashed into the window and landed among the silent
instruments inside.
The sound of shattering glass seemed to snap Clarence out of his paralysis. The
demon flinched and blinked repeatedly toward the broken store front in shock.
And once Jude realized what he had done, he gasped in shock, too; quickly
concealing his grace and covering his open mouth. Oh, man, he broke the store!
Jude didn't mean to break into the music store like that! He only wanted to
keep Clarence safe! The people surrounding the burning barrel started to walk
toward them, wanting to catch a glimpse of the show. In the meantime, Clarence
reached out to shove Jude toward the edge of the building.
“G – go,” he breathed, “We've gotta get out of here.”
Before he moved, Jude made sure to grab Clare's hand and hold it tight. The two
teenage boys fled the scene, dashing around the building and heading down an
empty alley way to get away from the crowd. Once they were in a safer place,
Clarence slowed down to catch his breath in the dark. And Jude just couldn't
hold in his curiosity anymore. He wanted to know who that man was and why he
spoke to Clarence so vulgarly.
“Clare, who was that?” Jude asked, his voice echoing up the tall buildings.
“No one,” Clarence denied, keeping his eyes forward.
Jude was uncomfortable with that answer. Clarence obviously knew who that was.
He just didn't want to tell Jude. But why? Jude and Clarence were best friends.
They shared everything with each other. Why wouldn't he just tell him?
“He recognized you,” Jude reminded, trying to keep up with Clare's fast steps,
“Why did he - ?”
“Please!” Clarence suddenly spun around to shout.
Jude's feet halted abruptly and he scanned his boyfriend's face, seeing an
unmeasurable amount of pain and fear. The sight of Clare's anguish really hurt
Jude's heart. Whoever that man was, he clearly had a very powerful and
disruptive affect on Clarence. Looking at Jude, however, seemed to help him
reground himself. He coughed and reached out to gently cup Jude's cheek with a
set of puppy eyes.
“Please,” Clare repeated, his voice much lower and calmer, “We've got important
shit to do, Jay. Let's focus on that right now. Please...”
Despite his mind's adamant questioning of the identity of that drunk man and
his association with Clarence, Jude forced a nod. He didn't want to put his
boyfriend through anymore pain right now. Maybe after they found Michael and
brought back Dad, Papa, and Jude's uncles, Clare would be more willing to open
up about it. Clarence was extremely relieved by Jude's understanding. He
exhaled in the dark and caressed the side of Jude's face before reaching down
to reclaim his hand.
“Come on,” he whispered, “I know a shortcut to the convenience store.”
===============================================================================
When Clarence and Jude walked out of the motel room and shut the door, they
left the place in almost total darkness. The sudden difference made Jessie gasp
and hold onto Ollie even tighter. God, she hated this so much! Why was
everything falling apart? And why did it feel like the entire world was on her
shoulders? She just wanted her Papa! She just wanted to go home!
“It'll be okay, Jess,” Ollie whispered, gently rubbing her shoulder as they
hugged on the bed.
Jessica sniffled and held onto his strong arm in the dark, feeling herself
tremble so much that it shook the mattress. She felt so bad about Ollie being
caught up in this mess. It was bad enough that she and Jude had to search for
an uncle that they had never even met before in a city that they were
unfamiliar with – but Ollie? He was in harms way by association.
“I – I'm sorry, Ollie,” Jess said quietly, “I didn't mean for -”
In the middle of her sentence, Jessica felt something jump into her lap. She
let out a shriek and backed up on the bed, afraid that some kind of wild animal
was trying to attack her. What was that?! A possum?! A raccoon?! What was an
animal like that doing in a motel room?!
“What? What happened?” Ollie asked, sounding worried.
It wasn't until she heard a tiny bark that Jess realized – it was Dickie! The
thing in her lap was Papa's dog! Did he really follow her all the way to
Chicago? Jess quickly used some of her grace to light up her own palm so that
she could see her own lap, and found Dickie's adorably furry face smiling back
at her.
“Dickie?” Ollie gasped with a smile, reaching over to pet his furry back, “Hey,
boy! How'd you get here?”
Dickie barked a few more times, as if he was answering Ollie's question, but
Jessie let her grace go out and quickly scooped the dog up into a hug; holding
him as close to her heart as she could. She had never been so happy to see a
dog in all her life!
“Dickie!” Jess cried, feeling happy tears fill her eyes.
Like always, Dickie was quick to kiss away Jessie's tears; licking her wet
cheeks with a doggy whimper. Jess couldn't help but feel like Dickie was
channeling Papa's personality. Maybe Dickie could sense that she was upset and
in need of comfort... Once he got done with kisses, Dickie nudged around in
Jess's lap for a moment before jumping into the floor to sniff around. The
strange, abandoned room seemed to be new to him too. In the meantime, Ollie's
arm returned to Jess's shoulder.
“I think your Papa's dog might be magic,” the red-haired boy pointed out.
Through her tears, Jessie let out a breathy giggle.
“Yeah, I think so,” she agreed, pausing to look back at him before saying,
“Ollie, I'm sorry about freaking out and crying. This is just so crazy and we
almost got hit by a truck and -”
“Hey, hey,” Ollie interrupted, waving a dismissing hand, “You don't have to
apologize, Jess. I knew that you needed sometime to catch your breath. That's
why I told Clare that I was hungry.”
Jessie felt her smile slowly slipping away as she blinked at Oliver in the
dark. Wait, Oliver wasn't really hungry? Did he really ask Clarence to go get
food just so that Jessica could have a few minutes to breathe?
“You... You did that for me?” she whispered.
Oliver gulped, making his Adam's apple bounce along his throat.
“Well, yeah,” he shrugged, “I thought it might give Clarence something to do
and stall for some time so that you could -”
Jessie didn't need to hear the rest of Ollie's sentence. She felt like she
already knew what he was going to say. Of course Oliver stalled the other boys
for her. He would do anything for her; even face the Darkness and leave his mom
unconscious at Bobby's! Oliver was so unbelievably sweet! Before he could
finish talking, Jess leaned up on the bed to bring her mouth to his, clumsily
finding his lips in the dark. She wished that she could tell him how grateful
she was to have him in her life, but hopefully this kiss would do the trick.
At first, their kiss was like every other one they'd ever shared. It was
gentle, loving, and full of comfort. Jess turned on the bed to face him,
raising up to her knees so that she could reach his face better. She cupped
both of his cheeks in her hands and could feel his hands on her shoulder and
waist. The taste of Ollie's mouth was just like Jess remembered from earlier
that day; like heaven was hidden between his lips.
After a few seconds, though, Jess felt her own hands slide down to crawl under
the hem of Oliver's shirt. Her fingers slowly inched up his heated stomach and
to his bare chest, where she could feel his heart beating. In so many of her
future dreams, Ollie's heartbeat was the main focus. Many times, Jess dreamed
of laying her head on his chest and listening to the sound, while they lay
naked on their marriage bed. None of it had actually happened yet, of course;
those were things that were still to come. But the comforting, relaxing feeling
of it still lingered in her mind. Being intimate with Oliver was Jessica's
greatest stress reliever.
A moment or two passed before Jessie felt Oliver's warm hands carefully slide
up her bare back. He had copied her; sneaking his hands under the hem of her
jacket and shirt to find her goosebump-covered flesh. Jess hummed a little bit
into Ollie's mouth as her eyes flew open in the dark. Whoa. Ollie's hands were
on her bare skin. They were actually touching each other like adults; like they
always did in her future dreams. And Jessica really liked it...
Hoping to entice Ollie to keep going, Jessica lifted his shirt farther up;
exposing more of his torso so that she could rub it all with her hands. His
skin was so warm and smelled so good. She couldn't wait to see the rest of him
in person – but Ollie carefully tugged his mouth away from hers. He panted a
little in the dark, but kept his hands glued to her back.
“J – Jess,” he whispered, his breath brushing over Jess's wet lips, “Do... do
you want to...?”
Jessica knew that this was crazy. She knew that her parents were trapped in
Purgatory, that Ms. Jane was going to wake up in a frenzy, that she needed to
find Michael as soon as possible, that the Darkness was swallowing the Earth
just outside the motel door... But in this very moment, while she sat in the
love and safety of her future-husband's arms, Jessica felt more at peace than
she had in her whole life. While she never had a dream that told her when or
where she would have sex for the first time, Jess was certain that this was it.
Her stomach was warm with heat and her heart was pounding with adrenaline. In
the midst of total chaos, heartbreak, and Darkness, Jessica and Ollie were
about to make love...
“Yes,” Jess breathed, all but throwing herself against Oliver, “I want to.”
Though he seemed kind of shocked by her answer, Ollie quickly nodded his head
in the dark.
“O – okay,” he squeaked, “We should probably hurry, though.”
Jessie gulped. Oh, he was right. Jude and Clarence were going to be back any
minute. They didn't have very long to get it done. The two teenagers blinked at
each others' silhouettes for a second before jumping up to start taking off
their clothes. Jess made sure to place her jacket, containing her Papa and
uncle's grace, right next to the bed. The room was so dark that Jessie couldn't
see Oliver's body at all. She only knew that he was getting naked because of
the rustle of his clothing and the panting of his breath. While she undressed,
Jessica realized something very important and paused.
“Wait. Ollie, do you have one of those... you know. C – condom things?” Jessie
hissed nervously.
Saying it out loud actually made heat flare on her face. Man, talking to Oliver
about condoms in the dark was so awkward.
“Yeah, of course,” Ollie replied, “I always carry one. Uh, just in case... I've
never done it before or anything, I just.. I know that if something like this
were to happen, then we would need some protection, because... my mom always
said she would kill me if I became a dad before college, so I can't have
kids... I mean, I do want to have kids, one day, but Mom doesn't want to be a
grandma right now - ”
Jessica giggled a little as she quickly stepped out of her own jeans. Was
Oliver seriously talking about his mom? Jess knew that he was rambling because
he was nervous, so once she was in her underwear, she dashed over to take hold
of him again. She could feel most of his skin on hers and it almost took her
breath away. Whoa, he was so warm. Would she ever get used to touching him this
way?
“Do you know how to put it on?” she asked.
“Y – yep,” he answered, voice high.
“Okay,” Jess breathed, “Um, you do that, and I'll wait for you on the bed,
okay?”
“Okay,” Ollie agreed.
Jessica didn't waste time slipping out of the rest of her clothing. She made
sure to place her discarded bra and panties onto the small pile near the bed.
For once, Jess was actually glad that it was so dark. Her bra and panties were
two different colors and she certainly didn't want Oliver to see that it didn't
match. The feeling of open air on her skin made Jessie shiver with nervousness.
She quickly crawled onto the old motel bed and laid down on her back to stare
up at the dark ceiling.
Though she was a virgin, Jess knew how sex worked. Papa explain to her a long
time ago that boys put their 'sticks' into girls' 'pockets'. The mental
illustration of his explanation helped put Jessie at ease. She could feel that
she was already wet; muscles clinching and back yearning to arch upward just
from being touched by Ollie earlier. She was actually excited to get going. It
wasn't long before she felt Ollie's warm hand on her knee.
“Are you ready for me to... you know?” he asked from the edge of the bed.
“Y – yes, Ollie,” Jessie breathed, carefully spreading her legs further apart,
“Put it in my pocket.”
Heat was quick to take her face over again. Man, she felt so dirty saying stuff
like that! She was sure that Ollie was just as excited to get started, but he
sounded a little confused.
“You... you want me to put it in your pocket?” he repeated.
Jessie bit down a sudden moan. Just hearing Oliver talk about putting himself
inside of her body made her ache with lust.
“Yes,” she whimpered, “Please?”
There were a few seconds of silence in which Ollie's hand remained still on
Jess's knee. What was the matter? Did he not want to have sex the normal way or
something?
“... in your pocket?” he said again, sounding a little confused.
“Yes!” Jessie snipped, “Hurry up, Ollie! We don't have much time!”
Jess was sure that reminding him that Jude and Clarence would be back at any
second would help Ollie get on the ball. Luckily, his hand left her knee and
she was sure that he was about to crawl between her legs. But she couldn't feel
him. He left her laying on the bed by herself. What was he doing? Where did he
go? There was a rustle of clothing and Jess feared that he was putting his
clothes back on.
“Oliver?” Jessie whispered, “What are you doing?”
“I – I'm putting it in your pocket, like you said,” he answered.
Jessie narrowed her eyes at the dark ceiling. What? No he wasn't! He wasn't
anywhere near her! With a bit of grace, Jessica lit up her hand with golden
light so that she could see what was going on – and found Oliver standing by
the bed, holding her jeans to his waist. Jess's red-haired boyfriend was having
relations with her pants! He was actually putting his penis into the pocket of
her jeans!
Jessica found the whole thing so hilarious that she fell back to the bed and
laughed out loud, rolling around to catch her breath. But the sight of Jess's
naked body in the light must have been pretty shocking to Ollie, because he
paused to blink at her in surprise.
“Wh – what?” he asked, sounding utterly confused as his eyes drank in the sight
of her nudity.
Jessie laughed a little longer, trying to get it all out so that she could
talk. She eventually found her voice and was able to form words again.
“N – no, silly!” she giggled, “Not that pocket! Put those down and get over
here.”
Oliver didn't have to be told twice. He instantly dropped Jess's jeans –
revealing his hard, condom-covered shaft – and started walking back to the bed.
Jess's laughter immediately cut short when she looked down at Ollie's erection.
She had never seen a real penis before. She only saw one or two in medical
books, and those were only drawings. Man, penises were so much bigger in
person! Watching it wobble around with Ollie's movement was kind intimidating.
Would it even be able to fit inside her narrow opening?
Being slow and careful, Oliver finally crawled up in the bed to position
himself between Jess's legs. His huge brown eyes were the size of golf balls;
bouncing all around her body as if he couldn't believe the sight. His whole
face was almost as red as his hair in the light of Jess's grace, but he seemed
ready. Jessie spread her legs a little further to give him the space he needed
and reached up to grab him by the shoulders. She tugged his upper half down so
that she could kiss his lips again and revive that erotic feeling from earlier.
Ollie pecked her mouth a few times as he reached down to guide himself into the
wet lips between her legs.
Jess gasped at the sensation of being penetrated for the first time.
Thankfully, Ollie went slow at first; gently trying to work his way inside. But
that didn't help the pain. Jessica was trying her best to relax her muscles,
forcing herself to take deep breaths and not clench up. But it was so hard to
do when Ollie's erection felt so big. The deeper he went, the more her breath
was taken away. Oh, man, that really hurt!
“S – slower,” Jessie squeaked, clinging to his shoulders with shaking hands.
“Okay,” Ollie nodded, “S – sorry, Jessie. You just... You feel so good.”
Jessie smiled a bit, even though she was in pain. As he did in every situation,
Ollie was trying his best to cater to Jessie's needs and make her feel good. He
paused his hips and took the time to touch the rest of her body; rubbing his
hands over her breasts and reaching down to feel along her inner thighs. Jessie
kissed him and returned the favor, gently dragging her nails down his back and
up into the tufts of his soft orange hair. He hummed a little bit and inched
further into her canal, making her moan a little. Though he was starting to
feel better inside her, it was still uncomfortable.
Soon, Oliver was thrusting his hips repeatedly. Jessie tried her best to enjoy
the motions, but it was just too painful. She didn't say anything, though;
partly because she kept waiting for it to get better. Sex was supposed to feel
good, right? Wasn't it supposed to be mind-blowingly awesome? So far, it was
just a matter of trying to make her body mold to Ollie's. Oliver, on the other
hand, seemed to be having a great time. His hands got tangled in Jess's long
blonde hair and he moaned really loud... which got Dickie howling.
Jess and Ollie both turned to look next to the bed, where Dickie's outline was
visible on the floor. The dog had dug around inside their clothes and was now
howling toward the ceiling, filling the room with wolf-like sounds.
“Dickie,” Ollie groaned, “Come on, man.”
Thankfully, Dickie stopped howling and lowered his head to sniff around their
clothes again, which returned Ollie's attention to Jess. His hips picked up
speed again, making Jessie wince a bit. She tried her best to hide it, but it
was too late. From the light of her grace, Ollie saw the discomfort on Jessie's
face and he immediately stopped.
“What is it? Am I doing it wrong again?” he panted.
“N – no, you're doing fine,” Jessie nodded, “It's just... I've never done this
before so it... it kind of hurts.”
As soon as she said the word 'hurts,' pure agony overcame Ollie's expression.
He backed up as if he was going to pull himself from her body, but Jess quickly
reached up to pull him back.
“No, it's okay, I'll get used to it,” Jess assured.
“But I don't want to hurt you,” Ollie insisted, “I want to make you feel good.”
Jessie gulped as they stared at each other in the dim golden light. She could
tell that Oliver really wanted to make her feel good in a sexual way. And there
was only one way that Jessie knew would make that happen... With a quick
breath, Jessie took Ollie's hand and lowered it between their bodies. She
guided his fingers to the sensitive nub at the crest of her labia, which was
already hot and wet. The feeling of Ollie's fingers on it made an electric jolt
of pleasure shoot through her body.
“There,” she gasped.
Thankfully, Ollie was a quick learner. Jessie didn't have to say anymore. Ollie
gently rubbed the spot with his thumb, making Jessie arch her back and moan.
Oh! Feeling Ollie touch her so inappropriately made her want to moan! It made
her want to cry! It made her want to finish!
“Ah!” Jessie whimpered, feeling herself clench around Ollie's hard organ, “Yes!
Ollie!”
Oliver obviously didn't want to miss out on the fun because he started
thrusting again. And though his size was still a little uncomfortable, his
working thumb was able to make Jess feel better. Pleasure was radiating from
between her legs, racing up her whole body and peppering her skin with more
goosebumps. The two of them were practically bouncing on the bed, making the
mattress squeak with their motions. Dickie was even starting to howl again, but
they didn't really notice. They were too busy rocketing toward the finish.
“J – Jess,” Ollie panted, “I'm going to - !”
Jessie wanted to say 'me too,' but orgasm was eclipsing her body before she
could even speak. A loud, rich moan echoed from her mouth as she arched her
back, cutting off Ollie in mid sentence. The tight walls of her canal quaked
around Ollie; squeezing him from all sides and coating him with another dose of
wetness. Oh, God! That felt so good! Ollie's hand eventually fell away from her
lower half and he came crashing down on top of her, softly burying his face
into her mess of blonde hair on the bed.
Jessie, who was still trembling, tried to get her mind to function as she
reached up to hold Ollie against her. Wow. She always knew that they would have
amazing sex together some day and that it would feel awesome, but she never
expected it to be so soon. And feel so very good...
“I... love you, Jess.”
Though her mind was still kind of blank, Jess was able to register the
emotional tone of Ollie's voice. Jess turned her head to look at him and could
see vulnerability in his features. For a second, Ollie looked like a kid again;
the same freckle-faced little boy she fell in love with on the playground so
many years ago. His big brown eyes searched her face while his fingers tangled
in her hair, and Jessie felt like she could almost cry. Aww. She loved him so
much more than she could ever say...
Before Jessie could open her mouth to reply, the sound of howling wind – and
faint voices – echoed from the other side of the motel door. Jess and Ollie
both gasped and looked toward the other side of the room before scrambling off
the bed. They both dove for the clothes on the floor; shooing Dickie away and
yanking their garments as soon as possible. The terrifying thought of Jude and
Clarence seeing them naked was enough to snap them into action.
Luckily, by the time the door opened, Jessie and Ollie just finished slipping
their jackets back on. Their hair was still a mess and their lips were darkened
from kissing, but at least they were dressed. Jessie tried her best to act
casual when Clarence and Jude wandered back into the room. She was so glad that
they were okay. But nobody said a word as they entered and Jess could
immediately tell that something was wrong. Why did Clarence have that look on
his face? Why did Jude look so sad? Did something happen?
“H – hey, guys,” Ollie offered, finally breaking the silence and raking a hand
through his wild orange hair, “I'm glad you made it back.”
Clarence didn't reply at first. He only held out a shopping bag to Ollie, who
took it timidly.
“This was all I could get before the cashier ran us off,” he mumbled.
Jessie tried her best to tame her hair as she glanced between the two other
boys in the room. Whatever happened while they were out must have been pretty
bad. Jude's blue eyes were practically glued to Clare's face; staring at him
with worry and confusion. Clare, on the other hand, was almost avoiding
everyone else; trying not to make eye contact and standing off by himself. The
blonde demon boy coughed a little before finally bringing his sight to Jessie.
“Barbie? Are you good, now? Can we go and get this Michael guy or what?” he
asked flatly.
Jessie gulped and nodded, still feeling a few tingles echoing up her body. Yes.
That fifteen minutes of heaven she just shared with Ollie was more than enough
to calm her down and get her head back in the game.
“I'm ready,” she agreed.
As Clare opened his mouth to mention something, a burst of laughter came from
Ollie's side of the room. Everyone looked toward Jess's orange-haired
boyfriend, wondering what it was that caused him to laugh so hard. Ollie
eventually turned to smile at Jess with a red face and held up one of the items
that Clarence brought him.
It was a box of Hot Pockets.
 
Chapter End Notes
     And so it was, that our baby bunny Jess and our lil gingersnap Ollie
     lost their virginity to each other. XD (Sam Winchester, if you made
     it this far without freaking out, I give you full permission to kill
     me as many times as you'd like.) XD So, yes, as awkward and ill-timed
     as it may have been, Jessie and Ollie did the thing. And I really
     hope that my rendition of 'straight' smut is at least tolerable
     compared to the gay stuff. Lol. (Btw, happy belated International
     Women's Day!) ;D Now, I never been to Chicago, but the reason
     Clarence talks trash about South Side is because I got it from the
     show 'Shameless.' (Yes, I watch it. Mickey is my favorite character.
     Lol) And, once again, I have to give props to my good friend,
     gothichic, for giving me some of the ideas for parts of this chapter.
     That creepy guy that Jude and Clarence ran into – which we will,
     obviously, learn more about later – is actually modeled after William
     Dafoe (because he just looks so creepy. lol) And Ollie's mishap with
     Jessie's jeans was also her idea! I just couldn't pass it up. Lol. XD
     Thank you so much for those additions, girl! I hope you liked the Hot
     Pocket reference at the end! ;D With all that said, I really hope
     that you all enjoyed this chapter! We will get back with the dads in
     Purgatory next week. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
     The next chapter – in which we finally met Michael – will be out
     soon! :)
***** Chapter 6 *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The last time Castiel found himself trapped in the savage wilds of Purgatory,
his first course of action was to get as far away from Dean as possible. Not
because he wanted to, of course. If given the chance, Castiel would have never
left Dean's side. The angel left the man behind because he knew that his grace
would be a beacon to all dark creatures; that his heavenly light would attract
murderous, revenge-fueled Leviathan from all across the realm, and he did not
want his most beloved human to fall victim to them simply because of his close
proximity to Castiel. Being an angel in a land of abomination was one of the
hardest challenges that Cas ever faced.
But this time, Castiel was not an angel. With his grace left behind on Earth,
Cas was merely a human. And it seemed to have its fair share of advantages and
disadvantages. This time, Castiel wouldn't have to leave Dean's side. He
wouldn't be forced to abandon his now-husband or their brothers, because he was
no longer a beacon. Without his grace, Cas was able to blend in more easily
with his surroundings and not draw attention to himself or others. And the
prospect of staying with his family the entire time relieved him greatly...
However, being human in Purgatory wasn't an ideal choice either. Basic human
necessities, such as eating and sleeping, still had to be taken into account
and dealt with during their stay in this barren wasteland. Dean and Sam seemed
to adapt flawlessly to the change, while Gabriel was struggling just to
function. And Castiel was caught somewhere in between.
Night fell over Purgatory quicker than Castiel remembered, but by the time the
sky was pitch black, the Winchesters had luckily found a place to hide until
dawn. Sam was able to locate a dead, hollowed out log about a mile away from
where they entered. The horizontal opening was tall and fairly lengthy, large
enough to house all four men in a sitting position. When they found the log, it
was filled with a few dead carcases and bones from former tenets. And even
after clearing the space of rotted debris, the overwhelming stench of death
lingered within. The potent scent was so powerful, it actually caused Gabriel
to vomit. The graceless archangel quietly heaved just behind a few gray bushes
before allowing Sam to help him back into the log. Burying his face into Sam's
shirt seemed to alleviate his sickness. In the meantime, Dean silently crawled
into the log and beckoned Castiel with one hand, patting the space beside him.
As Castiel lowered himself to the ground and inched into the safety of the dead
tree, a powerful yawn escaped his lips. Exhaustion was slowly taking over,
bringing his full attention to the state of his physical form. The urge to
sleep reminded him of days so long ago; when he was almost human, carrying his
unborn child within his grace. Sleeping was so easy to do back then. But now...
Now, Castiel wasn't so sure if he would be able to sleep at all. He blinked
wearily at Dean's face in the dark as he crawled up to sit beside him. Cas's
head automatically fell against the man's shoulder, to which Dean's hand slid
over to rest on Castiel's knee. The affectionate touch was enough to comfort
Cas – but also remind him of their current situation. They were thankfully
together, but so far apart from their child...
“Jude is fine, Cas.”
The angel raised his weary head to stare at his husband. It was amazing how
well the two of them knew each other. Castiel didn't have to say a word for
Dean to know exactly what he was thinking. Dean's hand tightened on Cas's knee
and his eyes were large with honesty.
“If there's one thing that being a parent has taught me, it's to never
underestimate our kid,” Dean continued in a faint whisper, “It seems like Jude
overcomes a different fear everyday. That boy is as tough as nails. And this,”
he paused to gesture to the whole of darkened Purgatory beyond their hiding
place, “this is nothing, babe. We're gonna make it back to him. I promise.”
Castiel gulped in the dark, feeling warm moisture pool in his eyes. Dean was
such a loving partner; so comforting and trusting. His faith in their son was
unwaveringly permanent, as was his love for their family. Feeling an abundance
of gratefulness, Castiel leaned forward to find Dean's lips in the dark. He put
as much emotion into the kiss as he could, wanting to physically state how much
he loved Dean. But just to make sure it was known, Castiel decided to say it as
well.
“I love you, Dean,” the angel whispered.
“I love you too,” the man repeated, caressing Castiel's face, “I'll keep a look
out so you can get some sleep, okay? You've gotta be ready to travel when the
night's over.”
Cas nodded in reply before lowering his head back to Dean's warm, soft
shoulder. It sounded as though Dean already had a plan to get them home and
Castiel wasn't about to argue. Especially since he was weary enough for sleep
anyway. For a moment or so, Castiel blinked toward the darkened forest of
Purgatory, seeing the foliage shift and rattle as the things-of-the-night
scuffled and fought over prey. A few distant howls and low groans peppered the
area, but Cas did his best to ignore it. Dean was right; he needed sleep if his
human body was going to travel a great distance. In an effort to focus his
attention, Castiel concentrated on the sound of Dean's calm breath flowing in
and out of his lungs nearby. The familiar sound eventually relaxed Castiel's
senses enough for sleep to invade his body...
… Soon, the angel found himself sitting on the floor of a cabin. 
Castiel recognized it as the same cabin that he gave birth in so many years
ago; the one that was covered in Enochian symbols on the outside. Cas could
almost feel the pain in his abdomen again; the same stinging, throbbing pain of
slicing himself open. It wasn't until he heard a tiny whimper that Cas realized
he was holding his newborn son.
A tidal wave of emotion crashed over Castiel's heart as he bowed his head to
observe his newborn offspring. It was Jude! It was Cas and Dean's baby boy! He
was just as beautiful and pure as Castiel remembered. The tiny infant was still
covered in bodily fluids and swaddled inside of Castiel's trench coat, calmly
breathing and blinking up at his angelic father with the most beautiful blue
eyes that Castiel had ever seen. Cas could feel a smile on his own face as he
cradled Jude closer to his chest.
“Hello, son,” Castiel breathed, feeling as light as a feather.
In response, baby Jude wiggled around inside of the coat, reaching a tiny hand
out to grasp towards Castiel. The angel immediately gave his index finger to
his child, letting Jude hold onto it for comfort. As he sat on the cabin floor
holding his newborn baby, Castiel felt at peace. Holding Jude in his arms, and
knowing that the boy was safe and happy, was part of Cas's purpose. And he knew
that Dean would be there soon to make their family complete. 
But as Castiel and newborn Jude sat in their warm and comforting embrace, a
dark figure appeared in the doorway.
Castiel sensed the change and looked up to see the figure moving closer. It was
coming toward them at such an alarmingly fast pace, Cas didn't have time to
brace himself. Metatron had come for Dean and Castiel's offspring and the
wounded angel was no match for him. The Scribe of God simply strolled up to
Castiel and bent down to yank Jude from his arms; leaving Castiel to grasp
toward the empty air with a sharp inhale.
“No!” Castiel gasped, “Jude!”
The sound of Jude's infant cry echoed through the cabin as Metatron backed away
with him in his arms. Castiel groaned out and attempted to stand; to chase
after the monster who took his child. But the angel stumbled over like a
severely wounded animal. His stomach was still butchered open and pulsing
blood, painting the floor red. But Castiel didn't care about his own well-
being! He only wanted Jude to be safe! He needed his son back in his arms!
“Give him to me!” Castiel commanded.
Metatron only chuckled and curled Jude against him, grinning as he took slow
and deliberate steps backward. Jude's tiny voice rang out, begging Castiel to
save him from the clutches of evil. And Castiel tried his best to crawl across
the floor to get to him; using and angel blade to stab the floor and pull
himself through the giant puddle of blood. Cas kept his eyes on the Scribe,
watching him slowly disappear into the darkened doorway. No! Metatron was
moving too fast! Cas could never catch him in time! The bastard had Jude! He
was stealing Jude away! He was taking him!
“No! Please!” the angel finally begged, shivering in pain as he forced himself
to crawl across the floor, “Bring him back! Jude!”
“Cas!” 
Castiel sucked in a large breath of air and blinked his eyes open. He could
feel his shoulders being shaken violently, but it wasn't until he smelled the
scent of decay that he was able to ground himself and raise his head.
Everything was dark and gray, but the angel was able to make out a few shapes
in the dark. Sam and Gabriel were kneeling next to him on the ground, and Dean
was the one holding his shoulders. They were all huddling together around
Castiel inside of a hollowed out log.
“Cas,” Dean repeated in an urgent whisper, finally gaining the angel's
attention, “Shh, baby, you've gotta stop screaming.”
Screaming? Castiel was screaming? It wasn't until he looked at Dean and deeply
studied his features – his plump lips and freckles; the same freckles that were
genetically handed down to their child – that he felt tears rise up in his
eyes. Oh. It was a nightmare. The vision he had of Metatron taking Jude away
was only a memory that had morphed into a terrifying mental vision – but that
didn't make it any easier to forget. The angel threw himself at his husband;
tossing both arms around Dean's broad shoulders to weep into his chest. He
never knew how horrible a nightmare could be until he was forced to endure one
of his own. As Castiel quivered in his arms, Dean gently pat the angel's back
and whispered.
“It's alright, Cas,” Dean consoled quietly, “I've got you. It's okay.”
“It – It's not okay, Dean!” Castiel argued with a whimper, shaking his head,
“My – my son! My baby!”
“Shh!” Gabriel hissed anxiously in the dark, “Cassie, stop shouting! You'll
attract the monsters!”
Castiel gulped down the rest of his frantic sentence and blinked toward the
charcoal bark of the log. He could still hear the distant howls of predators
and faint screams of prey from just beyond their makeshift campsite. Dean and
Gabriel were right. Castiel needed to keep his voice down if they were going to
make it through the night without being seen. As the angel attempted to calm
himself by taking deep breaths, he felt Dean's hand cup his face in the dark.
The steadiness and strength of his husband's fingers amazed and confounded
Castiel beyond words. How could Dean be so tranquil in such a vicious
environment, knowing that their precious child was in danger?
“I promise it's going to be okay, Cas,” Dean said lowly as he caressed
Castiel's cheek, “Jude is fine. He's with Bobby and everyone else and he's
completely -”
“How do you know that?” Castiel interrupted, feeling tears oozing down his
cheeks, “You have no proof of that, Dean.”
Dean paused to take a deep breath, filling the hollow log with the sound of his
sigh.
“You know, I met an angel once who told me that my biggest problem was that I
had no faith,” he mentioned, warming Castiel's heart by recalling the first
time they met, “You were right, Cas. I didn't have a single ounce of faith in
me at the time. I didn't believe in anything; not love, or God, or even in
myself... But you changed that. You, babe. And our son might look like me, but
he's got a hell-of-a-lot more of you in him. I have faith that you can do
anything, Cas, which means I have just as much faith in our kid. Am I worried
about him? Of course I am. But I know he's gonna be alright. Because he came
from you.”
Warm liquid continued to run down Castiel's cheeks in streams, but it was no
longer out of terror. It was out of stunned awe. Dean's words were able to
cultivate a new perspective in Cas's outlook, as well as make him blush in
surprise. The angel never imagined that his husband thought so highly of him;
that Dean identified Castiel as the very source of his faith.
Not knowing how to properly respond with words, Castiel simply leaned forward
to get lost in Dean's loving arms again, burying himself among Dean's precious
scent and warmth. Of course, the man welcomed him by wrapping both arms snugly
around Castiel's back and curling him close. For a moment, Castiel was nearly
at peace. Dean's words had melted into his mind and comforted his worried
heart. Of course their son would be safe. Jude was their offspring; a mixture
of them both.
Jude was made from love, and love would protect him.
===============================================================================
Even though Clarence still held most of his attention, Jude could tell that
Jessie and Ollie were acting a little weird. For one thing, their hair was
messy and they were breathing really hard, like they had just got done running
a race with each other. Plus, Jude had no idea why Jessie and Ollie laughed so
hard at the box of Hot Pockets that Clare brought them. Maybe it was an inside
joke or something. Whatever the reason, Jude was glad that Jessie was laughing
instead of crying. Clarence, on the other hand, was much less happy about it.
“What the hell is so funny?” he snapped, “Do you guyslikebeing here or
something? The whole freaking world is kind of hanging in the balance, in case
you forgot...”
Clarence's harsh words seemed to cut Ollie and Jess's laughter short. They both
gulped down their smiles and glanced at each other before looking to Clarence
in shame.
“S – sorry,” Ollie offered, as he stashed the food back in the plastic bag.
Jude hated seeing his friends upset, but Clare was right. They weren't here to
play around, they were here to find Michael and recruit him to help get their
parents back. Somberness settled in the room for a moment before Clarence spoke
again.
“I don't know about you, but I'm ready to find this bastard and go home,”
Clarence said, his tone a bit lighter than before, “Barbie, you said you could
pick him up on a radar or whatever. Let's hurry up and do it.”
“Actually,” Jessie mumbled, curling some of her messy hair behind her ear, “I,
um, was thinking that I could try something else.”
Jude tilted his head a bit toward his cousin. Something else? He didn't know
that Jessie had another plan. Why didn't she share it earlier? Maybe she had
been too upset to think clearly.
“Papa taught me a trick once,” she explained, keeping her eyes on Clarence, “He
said that angel grace is easy to find if you have some of your own. They can
link up with each other, if you send grace out; kinda like an electric
boomerang.”
All the boys in the room glanced at each other in surprise. electric boomerang?
That sounded so cool...
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Clarence asked.
The half demon walked over and opened the door, letting the harsh wind and
darkened atmosphere flood the room.
“Do it,” he encouraged.
The thought of going back out into that black fog put Jude on edge, so he
quickly stepped over to reclaim Clarence's free hand. Luckily, Clare still
seemed willing to let Jude touch him because his fingers instantly tightened
back. In the meantime, Jessie took a deep breath and closed her eyes, raising
her arms to position her flat palms out in front of her. Her fingers glowed
gold for a second, briefly filling the room with light, before going out. When
she opened her eyes again, she smiled a little.
“That way,” she said, pointing toward the right, “I think he's in a building.
It's really high off the ground.”
“Lead the way,” Clarence prompted.
Jessie took a second to glance back at Ollie, who carefully grabbed her hand
and gave her an assuring nod, but eventually did as Clare asked. She kept her
free hand held out in front of her as she pressed forward and out of the motel
door. Clarence held onto Ollie's shoulder as he passed and pulled Jude along,
creating yet another conga line of safety. Jude briefly glanced down to see
that Dickie was there too. How in the world did uncle Gabe's dog get all the
way to Chicago?! Maybe he flew with them and Jude just couldn't see him in the
dark.
With Jessie in the front, all Jude could do was brace against the wind and keep
up with Clarence's stern tugs. The path led them down the street and around a
few corners; weaving through the forest of tall buildings. A few miles
overhead, the swirling black mass of clouds seemed to be growing, spreading out
to cover the entire sky. There wasn't a trace of sunlight. Darkness was taking
over more and more by the minute and it made Jude ache inside. Would they ever
see the sun again? What if they couldn't stop it? What if Dad and Papa stayed
trapped in Purgatory forever?
“Keep up, Jaybird.”
Jude gulped at the sound of Clarence's voice in the midst of his disturbing
thoughts, tightening their fingers together. It was amazing how just the sound
of Clare's voice was enough to calm Jude down...
Jessie eventually slowed to a stop by a particular building, where lots of
people were rushing in and out of the entrance. Jude was only able to catch a
few blurs as they sped by, wheeling gurneys and other medical equipment toward
ambulances. It wasn't until Jude saw the flickering neon sign above the
entrance that he realized he was staring at a hospital.
“He's in the hospital?” Ollie asked loudly over the sound of the wind.
“I think so,” Jessie replied, “My grace is bouncing back from the middle. Up
there.”
Jude tried to follow Jessie's pointing finger, but he couldn't see very far
through the dark haze. The only thing in his sight were a few lit windows, so
the building must have had some power. Besides that, the wind was picking up
again, making it hard for him to keep his eyes open because of the dusty
debris. Jude barely caught that Clare gave Jess a tiny nudge toward the
entrance, after which they all started into the hospital.
The four teenagers huddled together and paused just inside the emergency room
to catch their breath and look around. The place was absolutely packed with
people, some severely injured and in need of medical attention. Doctors and
nurses were rushing around like crazy to deal with all the people filing into
the building, but it was overwhelmingly chaotic. Babies and small children were
crying, adults were shouting, alarms were sounding, equipment was rattling, and
to top it all off, the lights were flickering a bit. The power was threatening
to go out and it seemed to make everything even more hectic. This wasn't a
hospital, it was a madhouse! Jude panted as he burrowed himself into Clarence's
side. He could feel anxiety and hints of claustrophobia trying to tighten his
chest.
“The stairwell,” Clarence shouted over the noise, pointing toward the door
across the room.
Once again, Jessica led the way through the crowd to get to the stairs. Jude
tried his best not to look too hard at the people around him – the man with the
bleeding leg, the woman with severe burns, the child who was crying for his
parents – but he had trouble keeping his eyes to himself. He was sure that the
Darkness had something to do with all of these hurt people; that it had caused
each and every injury in some way. And he deeply wished that he could help. He
wanted to stop and heal every single person in the room, but more people were
rushing in by the second. The pain wouldn't stop. The only way to completely
end the suffering was to get to Michael and beg for his help getting rid of the
Darkness.
The teenagers only passed a few people in the stairwell. Jessie directed all
three boys up several floors, always with her glowing hand out. Jude's lungs
were starting to ache from the climb and even he was starting to wonder why
Jessie just didn't fly them up there. But thankfully, before Jude could
complain, they seemed to get to the floor Michael was on. Jessie paused and
pulled the door open to her right, tugging the rest of them in behind her.
The electricity on this level appeared intact. There were still plenty of
people rushing around in a panic, but the atmosphere felt a tiny bit more
stable. Jessie walked as quickly as she could by a few nurses stations, blazing
a trail through the frantic people. Jude was relieved when she finally came to
a dead stop at room 520. The door was shut but Jess's eyes stared widely at it.
She turned to glance among the boys with a gulp.
“He's in there,” she confirmed.
Without missing a beat, Clarence maneuvered his way through their small group
and wrenched the door open, revealing the scene inside. Jude stepped a little
closer to his boyfriend's back so that he could see it properly. There was not
one, but two people in the room. A younger man, who appeared to be close to
Clare's age, was laying on the hospital bed. There was oxygen under his nose,
An IV in his arm, a tube coming out of his mouth, and various other medical
wires attached to his body. Jude was no expert, but it almost seemed like those
machines were keeping the guy alive.
The other person was an older man, seated at the younger man's bedside. His
hair was neatly combed and he was wearing a denim jacket; something that seemed
vintage to Jude. The chair he was sitting in was angled toward the headboard,
in a position that allowed him to see the younger man's face. Though his eyes
were open, the older man was motionless. Even when the teenagers entered the
room, he didn't move a muscle. He kept his eyes on the younger man and his
hands carefully folded in his lap. Jude eyed him the most. Was this... Michael?
The same Michael that tried to use Jude's Dad as a vessel? And who was that
other guy? Why were they here?
At first, all four teenagers just walked in and stood there for a second.
Clarence gave Jess a raised eyebrow, as if he was asking, 'are you sure this is
him?' Jessie nodded, confirming that her 'electric boomerang' was right. After
the reassurance, Clare cleared his throat and glanced back to the older man.
“Are you Michael?” he asked, his tone a little less friendly than Jude was
hoping for.
The older man didn't move his head at all. He only blinked once, keeping his
attention on the person in the hospital bed. His blatant ignorance of them made
Jude uncomfortable. What if this wasn't Michael? What if this person was a
complete stranger? Clarence, however, seemed to think otherwise.
“Because if you are, we've gotta talk,” the demon added.
The older man shifted in his seat, but didn't look toward them.
“I have nothing to say,” he muttered in a deep voice.
Jude exhaled the breath he had been holding and swallowed hard afterward. So,
hewas Michael! He was Papa and uncle Gabe's older brother! Jude and Jessie's
uncle! The thought was both exciting and a bit distressing. Michael didn't seem
very happy to see them.
“Then you can just listen,” Jessie stepped up to compromise, “I'm Jessica and
that's Jude. Gabriel and Sam are my parents, and Castiel and Dean are his -”
“I know who you are,” Michael interrupted flatly.
Jessie gulped down the rest of her sentence as if she was intimidated, but Jude
partially glared at Michael. What was his problem? Why was he so rude? Jude was
briefly reminded of his other angelic family members, Naomi and Raphael, and
instantly picked up on a pattern. Man, angels were such jerks...
“Then you know why we're here,” Clarence assumed with a shrug, “Let's go,
fancy-pants. Get your ass up out of that chair and help us get rid of this
Darkness shit.”
Jude cringed at his boyfriend's side. That wasn't a very nice way to ask a
stranger for help. Luckily, Michael seemed indifferent to Clarence's big fat
mouth. He only took a deep, gusting sigh.
“No,” he replied calmly.
All four teenagers' mouths fell open in shock. No? They had come all this way
to find Michael and get his help and now he was saying no? But, didn't he care
about what was happening to the world?! Didn't he care that people were dying?!
That the Earth wouldn't last long without the sun?! Jessie seemed deeply upset
by his answer, because she stepped close to the hospital bed too stare at him
with puppy dog eyes.
“Why?” she breathed.
Michael took another deep breath and paused, seeming like he didn't want to
answer her question, but he eventually started to speak again.
“It's a fool's errand,” he said, “It took the grace of four archangels to
imprison Darkness before the Creation, and it would take that same amount of
strength to do it again. Seeing as Raphael is dead, there is no reason to hope.
The Darkness will destroy this Earth and restore the universe to the way it was
before the Creation. Everything will be turned back into nothingness and we
will all be dead.”
It felt like Jude's heart dropped twelve stories. Whoa. That was a really dark
and cruel outlook on the situation. Jude glanced at his cousin and shared a
look of sadness with her. If it really did take the grace of four archangels to
imprison the Darkness, they were royally screwed...
“Well... That's cheerful,” Ollie mumbled under his breath.
“Yeah. It sounds like bullshit to me,” Clarence added.
Michael actually turned his head to stare daggers into Clarence. He seemed
really offended by the fact that Clare didn't believe him. The archangel
blinked a few times before addressing Clare's comment.
“Bullshit?” Michael repeated.
“Uh, yeah. That's what I said, numb-nuts,” Clare spat, crossing his arms,
“You're refusing to help us at all. You've given up already. You're hurt and
jaded. That doesn't mean there's no other way, it means you don't see a reason
to fight because you've probably lost the only thing worth fighting for. By the
way, who is this?”
The blonde demon gestured toward the unconscious young man on the bed, who was
connected to a bunch of machines. Michael's large eyes swiveled back and forth
between Clarence and the sleeping patient for a moment and it seemed like he
was reluctant to answer. But Clarence's clever intuition paid off. Michael sank
back in his chair a bit.
“This is Adam,” he admitted quietly.
Again, Jude felt his own mouth dip further open. Adam? Uncle Gabe said that
Michael used Adam as a vessel for his big fight against Lucifer; the one that
Dad and Sam stopped. Why and how were they separated right now? And what where
they doing here in Chicago, instead of being in the same place as Lucifer?
Jessie must have been wondering the same thing because she inched closer to the
headboard to look down at Adam's face with pity.
“What happened?” she asked with a glance at Michael.
“Roughly eleven years ago, I was able to escape the cage with him,” Michael
explained, his voice low and eyes a bit vacant, “The two of us left Lucifer
behind and resurfaced on Earth, but we were in separate bodies when we
appeared. I became this,” he paused to gesture to his own chest, “and he
became... that.”
Everyone glanced toward Adam's broken, barely breathing body on the bed with
equal remorse. Yikes. The aftermath of being inhabited by an archangel seemed
like a terrible fate...
“It's my fault and I cannot fix it,” Michael went on, his voice sinking lower,
“I've tried everything I could think of to restore his heart, mind, and soul.
But my grace has become toxic to him. Angels won't come near him. Human
medicine does nothing... You're right, demon. I have lost the only thing worth
fighting for. So I can't help you. Leave us alone and let us parish in peace.”
Jude's heart throbbed painfully in his chest. Oh man, it sounded like Michael
really cared about Adam. The guy had never left Adam's bedside, even after so
many years. Did Michael think of him as a really good friend... or something
more? If that was Clarence on the bed, Jude would never leave his side either.
Maybe that meant...
“You love him,” Jude blurted, feeling his own cheeks flush.
Michael tore his eyes away from the floor and met Jude's stare long enough to
give him a slow nod. Aw, it was true. Michael loved Adam. And now that Adam was
barely alive, Michael didn't see a reason to help anyone. After learning about
Michael's affections, Clarence huffed an annoyed breath.
“Seriously? You're in love with a dude, too? Does everyone in this family love
dick?!” he grumbled.
“I... I don't,” Ollie mumbled from the back.
While the guys were talking at the foot of the bed, Jessie was still standing
near the headboard. She reached out to gently comb some of Adam's hair to one
side in a motherly way, like she felt so bad for him. She eventually raised her
head and gave Michael a hopeful look.
“I can probably help him,” she mentioned, “I mean, my Papa taught me a few
tricks. Let me try. Please?”
Though it seemed like Michael already knew that Jessie couldn't help, he
shrugged anyway. Maybe he thought that an attempt at help was better than
nothing at all. Jude and the other boys watched patiently as Jessie slid her
small hand over Adam's forehead. She closed her eyes and bowed her own head as
if she was trying to concentrate, and her hand began to glow. At first, Jude
thought Michael was right. If an archangel couldn't heal Adam, how could Jessie
or Jude?
But then, Adam's eyelids twitched. And his fingers started to move.
Michael leaped from his chair and flashed over to the other side of the bed in
the blink of an eye. His entire expression had changed from hard and cold to
warm and soft as he waited for Adam to wake up. Jessie kept her glowing hand on
Adam's head and continued to heal him – until Clarence walked over and stopped
her. He gently pulled on her arm, breaking her concentration and making Adam go
limp on the bed again. Michael, along with everyone else, was confused about
why Clarence would stop her from healing Adam. But Jude knew by the tiny smirk
on his boyfriend's face that Clare was up to something. He had come up with a
plan.
“Jessica healed him a little,” Clarence pointed out, “Tell you what, big guy.
If you help us lock up this Darkness shit, we'll finish the job.”
Absolute rage blazed across Michael's face. The archangel squared his shoulders
and breathed in disbelief, glaring at Clarence as if he was the embodiment of
evil.
“Are you using Adam's life to bribe me?!” he growled, causing the lights
overhead to flicker.
“I wouldn't say bribe. 'Saving it as your reward' is more like it,” Clarence
revised, still wearing that tiny smirk as he looked to Jessie, “What do you
say, Jess? Wanna hold off on the healing until we get some work done?”
Michael's head whipped around to stare at Jessica who, surprisingly, seemed to
be taking Clare's suggestion into serious consideration. She glanced down at
Adam's motionless body for a moment before raising her head to meet Michael's
stare.
“We can move him to my uncle Bobby's house. He'll be safe there with the rest
of our family,” she began, “but... but I think Clare's right. If I woke Adam up
now, it would be pointless, because he'll wake up in the midst of chaos. We
need your help to stop it, and if healing Adam later is what it takes to make
sure it gets done, then -”
“How dare you,” Michael hissed, sounding utterly appalled.
Jude and Ollie glanced at each other and Jude could tell that his friend was
just as uncomfortable with this plan. Trying to 'reward' Michael with Adam's
life seemed like a really terrible thing to do. But Jess and Clare did have a
point. Adam was safer being asleep right now. Still, Michael was rightfully
outraged. And Clarence was rather proud of himself.
“Oh, lighten up, Mike. He'll be fine,” Clare promised, waving a hand toward
Adam, “We'll just move him to my house and -”
A blurry streak flew across the room and Michael was suddenly pinning Clarence
to the wall. The archangel had the half-demon held down by the neck, choking
him. A single glance at the scene was enough to make raw fury blast through
Jude's chest.
“You will wake him up now,” Michael threatened, “Or I will -”
The rest of Michael's sentence got lost in his throat, because Jude had flown
across the room to grab him by the wrist. Jude's grace had come to Clarence's
defense again, lighting up his entire body and making his eyes shine. The
lights flickered violently in the presence of his angelic aura and the
furniture rattled. It took almost no effort at all for Jude to lift the
archangel's hand from Clarence's neck. Jude could almost feel Michael's grace
burning under his own, just like Raphael's did when he was younger. The anger
on Michael's face instantly shifted into genuine shock and horror, like he
couldn't believe that Jude's hand was actually burning his wrist. But Jude
didn't care whether he hurt Michael or not. No one was allowed to lay a hand on
Clarence. No one.
“Don't ever touch him again,” Jude warned, his voice full of celestial
authority.
Jude let his grace burn Michael's for a few more seconds before forcefully
tossing the guy's hand away. Once he was sure the warning was clear and that
Clarence was safe, Jude slowly sheathed his grace; making it disappear inside
his body. The lights overhead slowly stopped flickering and medical equipment
was silent. Ollie and Jessica were cowering together near Adam's unconscious
body, as if they were actually afraid of Jude's power. Clarence, however,
looked really proud.
When Michael was able to reclaim his own hand, he immediately started rubbing
his wrist as if it was in pain. His eyes were large and surprised again,
staring at Jude for a moment before moving back to Adam on the bed. Silence
filled the room for what felt like a long time. All of the teenagers were
looking at Michael and waiting on him to make a decision. The pondering
expression on his face made Jude think that he was debating his options in his
mind. For some reason, Michael actually appeared relieved. Being the target of
Jude's powerful grace must have made him realize something, because he started
to nod slowly.
“Alright,” the archangel eventually agreed, “Imprisoning the Darkness. It's...
It's not going to be easy... but this feat may be possible. And I'll try to
help you, as long as Adam is kept safe.”
“He will be,” Jessie promised, “I'll make sure he's okay.”
“Good,” Michael nodded, turning to look at Jude and Clarence again, “In that
case, we need to move him and prepare for the journey.”
“Journey?” Clare repeated, his eyes narrowed, “What journey?”
“The journey to Hell,” Michael answered, wearing a look of defeat mixed with
annoyance, “I loath saying this... but we will need Lucifer.”
 
Chapter End Notes
     That's right, peeps. Uncle Luci is gonna come out! (So to speak.) ;D
     I know that a lot happened in this chapter and that you probably have
     more questions than answers, but I promise that more background on
     Michael, Adam, and the Darkness will be revealed as the story goes
     on. Btw, if you've read my earlier work, “Creation” - which, if you
     have, I already love you even more than I did before – you probably
     see a lot of similarities between that fic and this one. The denim
     jacket, the hospital, the love – I'm drawing all that from
     'Creation,' because there's nothing wrong with a little bit of
     recycling. XD I'm really sorry about Cas's feelsy nightmare at the
     beginning, but Purgatory affects everyone in bad ways. I promise that
     Metatron has nothing to do with the Darkness. That idiot is totally
     dead. Poor Cas was just remembering that awful time that Meta-douche
     tried to take his baby. :( Thank Chuck Dean was there to calm him
     down. ;) And I know that Clare's behavior in this chapter seems a
     little bossy and rude, but A) He doesn't have very good manners
     because of his harsh upbringing, B) he feels that he has to protect
     Jude, Jess, and Ollie (because they're younger and more innocent) and
     C) living with Bobby Singer, Crowley, and Rowena has made him a bit
     sassy. ;D (Jude will have to help him tone that mouth of his down a
     bit, eh?) ;D I really hope you guys liked the chapter! Thank you
     soooo much for reading and commenting! Hearing your opinions and
     ideas actually helps shift the course of the story, and I appreciate
     the feedback very much! :) The next chapter will be out soon! :)
***** Chapter 7 *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Once they got their uncle Michael to finally join the Darkness fight, Jude and
Jessica helped transfer their unconscious uncle Adam back to Bobby's house. Not
only did they have to fly Adam there, but they also had to take all of the
medical equipment attached to him too. They started by moving all of it close
to the bed, even placing some of it on the bed with him, to form a neatly
compressed package. Michael used his grace to keep electric current flowing to
the machines so that they could transport him safely. Jude really hoped that
uncle Bobby's study would have enough room to house all of this stuff and the
people surrounding it. Otherwise, some of them might appear on top of the desk
or something.
Jude, of course, braced himself as Jessica counted down from three. She and
Michael basically flew everyone back to Bobby's in under a second. The violent
inertia made Jude sick to his stomach, but he tried his best to ignore it;
especially since Clarence was holding his hand the whole time. All six people
landed in the middle of uncle Bobby's dark study, just three inches shy of the
desk near the fireplace. The whole room was still only lit with candles, where
the power was out – that is, until Michael started plugging the machines into
the walls. He must have used his grace to turn the power back on or something
because a few lamps and the TV clicked on, filling the room with light and
sound.
Within a few seconds of reappearing in the house, uncle Bobby – and a tear-
stained, frazzled-looking Ms. Jane – dashed into the study from the kitchen.
Uncle Bobby briefly closed his eyes and exhaled with relief, reminding Jude of
the way his parents looked when they lost him in a crowd and found him again.
Bobby was clearly happy to see the teenagers – but his eyebrows drew together
when he saw the hospital bed that they were huddled around. Ms. Jane only
searched the faces long enough to find Ollie and she immediately dashed to him
with arms wide open.
“Oliver!” she whimpered, almost tackling him with a hug.
“Hey, mom,” Ollie smiled, hugging her back, “I'm sorry I – Ow! Ow!”
All of the sudden, Ms. Jane had switched from hugging Ollie to smacking his
shoulder repeatedly. She was furiously ranting in Spanish, saying some things
that Jude didn't recognize at all, even after all the years of hearing her
speak a different language. After one last, generous smack, she planted one
hand on her hip and wagged a finger at Ollie with the other.
“Oliver Edwardo Thompson, don't you ever do that to me again! I mean it! You
had me worried sick!” She barked.
Jude bit down a sudden smile and shared a tiny look with Clarence, who was also
entertained by watching Ms. Jane scold Ollie. Oh man, breaking out the middle
name? Ms. Jane meant business...
“Okay, okay! I'm sorry!” Ollie squeaked as he rubbed his shoulder, “I was only
trying to help!”
“It was my fault, Ms. Jane,” Jessie volunteered with her head down, “I wanted
him to come with me to get my uncles.”
Jessie gestured toward Adam on the bed and Michael standing near by. Michael,
of course, was too worried about making sure that Adam's body was comfortable
than to say hello to strangers. Still, Ms. Jane's eyes softened when she looked
around and gave Jessica a hug.
“I'm glad to see you too, Jessie,” she admitted, “Oi, you children will be my
death.”
It surprised Jude to see that Ollie's mom was acting relatively calm. Wasn't
she curious about how they were able to appear inside the study in no time? Did
she know that she was hundreds of miles away from home? And that she was
standing in the same room with two nephilim, a half-demon, and an archangel?
And that their parents were trapped in another realm? Jude wanted to ask these
questions, but he didn't, of course. For all he knew, Ms. Jane probably thought
this was all a dream. Or maybe uncle Bobby had already told her about
everything while they were gone...
While Jane hugged Jessie and started to calm down, Jude noticed that uncle
Bobby was walking closer to get a better look at the strangers in his study.
The old man stared at Adam the longest and his eyes started to fill with
disappointment.
“Ah, hell,” he muttered, “Don't tell me that's Michael...”
“No,” the tall guy in the denim jacket replied, “That would be me.”
Almost everyone in the room looked at Michael after he spoke. Jude knew that of
everyone present, Michael was the oldest. Somehow, that must have meant that he
was the wisest, too. If anyone could explain what was happening just outside,
it had to be Michael, right? Apparently, Jude wasn't the only person who
thought so. Uncle Bobby narrowed his eyes toward the self-proclaimed archangel
in an almost distrusting manner.
“Nice of you to join us,” Bobby grumbled, “D'you mind tellin' us what the
hell's goin' on?”
While Michael paused for a moment to sigh and smooth out Adam's hospital
blanket, Jude tightened his hand around Clarence's. They still hadn't let go of
each other and Jude was glad. If he didn't have Clare to hold on to, Jude would
have been lost...
“Darkness has escaped,” Michael said simply.
“No shit,” Bobby huffed, “but why? How did it manage to send my boys to
Purgatory? What the hell is Darkness anyways? And how to we gank it?”
Jude definitely wanted to hear the answer to all of those questions, especially
the one about his dads. Everyone in the room was silently staring at Michael,
waiting on him to reveal the truth. The archangel started by taking a large
breath.
“Darkness is not a person, Robert Singer. Therefore, it cannot be 'ganked',”
Michael began, “Darkness is made up of many things. You've heard the old
saying, 'Darkness is the absence of light?' That is true in every sense.
Darkness is the absence of joy, the absence of courage and bravery, of love. To
everything 'light' and good, there is a 'dark' and terrible opposite. And that
opposite stems from Darkness...”
Jude gulped, feeling the hairs raise on the back of his neck. That Darkness was
more than just dark? It was everything dark? Like fear and sadness and stuff?
But how? Jude remained quiet as Michael continued.
“There is a reason that angels are made of light,” the archangel admitted, “We
– my three brothers and I, especially – were made to combat the Darkness. Our
Father created us to seal it away; to bind its power and limit its reach.
Raphael, Lucifer, Gabriel, and I were able to restrain Darkness and lock it
behind a very powerful spell. Once the Darkness was gone, our Father was
finally able to begin the Creation. He built the Earth and its inhabitants
inside of what once belonged to the Darkness. And now, it seems, the Darkness
has broken free. I can only gather that it wants to restore the universe to the
way it was before light ever existed.”
For a few moments, everybody just stared off in different directions to let
Michael's explanation sink in. Everything was starting to make sense, now. At
least they had a better understanding of the creature they were trying to
fight.
“So, it's a big ball of smoke that your dad locked away because it makes people
sad and afraid?” Clarence blurted flatly, rolling his pretty eyes, “Yeah. Okay.
Sure. Whatever. How do we kill it?”
“There is no killing it,” Michael spat, “If that was possible, we would have
done it before the Creation. Like I said, it isn't a physical being. It is the
combination of everything Dark in this universe.”
On the other side of Adam, Jessie stepped away from Ms. Jane and placed her
hand on the railing of the hospital bed.
“But it spoke,” Jess said, “It talked to my Papa.”
“Just because Darkness isn't physical doesn't mean it isn't sentient,” Michael
said, pivoting his head a bit, “Darkness can speak. It can fight, too. In fact,
if you try to fight it, it is able to use certain fears and memories against
you. It destroys you from the inside out. That is another reason why my Father
created four archangels instead of just one. A single being on their own is
easy for Darkness to defeat, but several together is much harder. That is also
why Adam had Eve.”
“Buddy system,” Jude breathed.
His parents had been right all along. Jude always thought that the buddy system
was just an annoying way for Dad and Papa to keep track of him and Jess, but he
was wrong. They used the buddy system for safety. There really was power in
numbers, especially when fighting the Darkness. Michael gave Jude a slow nod,
agreeing with his quite statement. Uncle Bobby, however, still seemed agitated.
“Well if that's the case, why did it send our boys to Purgatory?” he asked.
Michael didn't answer right away. His eyebrows slid together and he blinked at
Bobby strangely.
“What boys?” he asked.
“Dean, Sam, Cas, and Gabe,” Bobby recited, “They're in Purgatory, and they're
all human. We're tryin' to get them back.”
Again, Michael paused to think. His eyes circled the floor and Adam's bed for a
few seconds before he found a way to respond.
“When a human dies, their souls are sent to either heaven or hell,” the
archangel reminded, “I can only assume that heaven is no longer open to them,
and Purgatory was the closest area available. I'm not sure if Darkness was even
aware of the other realms that my Father created.”
“Of course you would know, aye?”
Everyone glanced toward the kitchen, where Crowley was standing in the doorway.
As usual, his hands were neatly stuffed into the pockets of his suit jacket and
he was staring blandly at Michael. When the demon entered the room, he paused
to stand next to Bobby.
“Tell me, Michael,” Crowley purred, “How did you manage to get out of the cage?
I put every trap known around that blasted box, yet here you stand, while your
brother remains imprisoned. Care to explain?”
The attention of the room slowly swiveled back to Michael and Jude felt really
curious. That was a good question. Did Michael break out of the cage like Jude
did when he was ten? If so, how was he able to put it back together and keep
Lucifer inside? How were Michael and Adam separate and on Earth? A severe look
of defeat spread across the archangel's face and he slowly released a sigh.
“When we all fell into the cage, I was able to scratch some of the Enochian
chiseled on one of the bars,” Michael admitted, “It wasn't enough to break the
spell completely, but it left a sizable gap for a small amount of grace to
reach through. Of course, I didn't tell Lucifer about it. I tinkered with the
gap only at times when his back was turned, which were rare and far between. I
knew that the only way to get out would be if I could find some kind of link to
Earth. When I wasn't fighting with Lucifer, I desperately searched for an
opening; any kind of doorway that I could fly through. Luckily, I was able to
find one. And I teleported Adam and myself to safety.”
“And then you took him to Chicago for medical attention?” Bobby guessed.
“No. We appeared in Chicago,” Michael explained, “Someone was in the middle of
creating a portal to hell, and the doorway opened up in the basement of a house
near the river. Adam and my appearance there caused some kind of explosion and
I realized we were no longer using the same body. He was knocked unconscious
and the house was on fire, so I flew him to the nearest medical facility for
treatment... And because he is in a coma that I cannot cure, that's where we've
been for eleven years.”
After Michael's last statement, Jude noticed that Clarence had stiffened beside
him. The half-demon's hand was no longer holding onto Jude's, but going limp.
Jude looked up at his boyfriend's face and could see a bit of curiosity and
disbelief in his eyes. What was going through Clare's head? What was he
thinking?
“You... You caught the house on fire?” Clarence repeated, his voice hollow.
“Yes,” Michael nodded, “When my grace separated from Adam's body, the light and
heat were powerful enough to create flames, I'm sure.”
Jude gulped, feeling his own chest tighten in pain. Clarence looked so mad all
of the sudden; absolutely furious. What was wrong? Why did he look so angry?
Clarence's ground his jaw together for a second before he let go of Jude's hand
completely.
“Were there blue flowers painted on the basement walls?” he asked.
It seemed like Michael didn't understand why Clarence had asked such a
bizarrely specific question.
“What?” the archangel asked.
“I said,” Clarence growled carefully, stepping away from Jude and staring at
Michael with fire in his eyes, “Were there. Blue flowers. Painted. On the
basement walls?”
Jude felt so helpless in that moment. He had no idea what Clarence was talking
about. But it seemed like Michael did. The archangel in the denim jacket
glanced away for a second as if he was recalling the memory.
“... Yes...” he finally admitted.
As soon as Clarence heard the answer, he yelled and ran across the room with
his fists drawn. Before Jude knew it, he was watching his boyfriend punch
Michael repeatedly. Clare's fists were connecting hard with the archangel's
face, but it didn't seem to hurt Michael. If anything, Michael was too shocked
to respond.
“You burned down my house!” Clare shouted, his voice echoing through the house,
“You killed my moms, you bastard! I'll rip your freakin' lungs out!”
Jude's heart leaped into his throat. What?! That was Clarence's house?! Clare's
house had blue flowers painted on the basement walls?! Michael had burned it
down?! And killed all his adoptive witch moms?! For a moment, Jude was too
stunned to move. He only blinked and watched Clarence beat the shit out of
Michael. But after he realized what was happening, Jude raced across the room
to stop his boyfriend. Michael was really strong and he couldn't let Michael
hurt Clarence again.
“Clare, stop!” Jude pleaded.
Clarence's eyes were jet black; glossed over with his demonic aura as he hit
Michael repeatedly. Bobby rushed over and tried to help Jude pull him off of
the archangel, but Clare was determined to actually kill him.
“Get off him, boy! This ain't the time or place!” Bobby shouted in a stern
voice.
“No! He killed them!” Clarence barked back, “He killed them all!”
Jude knew that Clarence wasn't going to stop unless there was a powerful
intervention. Hoping to calm him down a bit, Jude let his hand light up with
grace. The heavenly touch persuaded Clarence to immediately drop Michael's
shoulders. Once his grip was released, Jude and Bobby quickly towed Clarence
backward; carting him toward the kitchen to get him as far away from Michael as
possible.
“I'll kill you,” Clare shouted, though his voice was slowly trailing off as
Jude applied more grace, “I'll... I'll freakin'...”
By the time Jude and Bobby sat him in a chair, Clarence's panting breath had
calmed to faint huffs. The look on his face – all the pain and rage and
heartbreak simmering in his features – made Jude feel so bad. He had no idea
that Michael – his own uncle – was the cause of the house fire that turned
Clare into a homeless little boy. Even though Jude had nothing to do with it,
he still felt terrible.
The teenager pulled up another chair and sat down in front of Clare so that he
could lean forward and wrap him into a hug. It was all he knew to do. Poor
Clarence had been through so much; too much. And Jude wished that he could
somehow make it all better. Luckily, the hug seemed to help because Clarence's
arms raised to circle Jude's back as he buried his face into Jude's neck. Was
there anything Jude could say or do? He just wanted to heal Clare; mend his
heart and get rid of the bad memories.
“I'm sorry.”
Jude raised his head at the sound of the low voice nearby. To everyone's
surprise, Michael had followed them into the kitchen. The archangel's face was
beaten up pretty badly – bloody nose, bruised lip, swollen eye – but it didn't
seem to hurt him. In fact, of what Jude could see of Michael's facial
expressions, the guy appeared more sad than anything. Still resting inside
Jude's hug, Clarence slowly lifted his head up to look at the archangel too. He
didn't say anything though, because he was still under the calming effects of
Jude's grace.
“I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I was only trying to get Adam home,” Michael
explained, “I'm very sorry for all the pain I've caused, and I know that
nothing I say or do can make up for killing innocent people. The only way I can
truly attempt to redeem myself is by making better choices in the future.
Starting with the Darkness. I'm not asking for your forgiveness, demon, because
I don't deserve it. All I ask is for your toleration. Not for my sake, but for
the sake of the only one I love.”
Michael gestured toward the study behind him, where the machines surrounding
Adam's bed buzzed with activity. Jude was actually surprised to hear Michael
saying such nice, level-headed things. It wasn't everyday that his angelic
relatives were so patient and understanding. Jude looked toward Clarence in
front of him, hoping that his boyfriend would be willing to at least put up
with Michael's presence long enough to get rid of the Darkness. At first,
Clarence was understandably upset. He only glared up at Michael's injured face
for a while. It wasn't until he looked back at Jude, and saw the pleading look
in Jude's eyes, that his anger finally subsided.
“If it wasn't for Superman, you would be dead right now,” Clare spat bitterly
toward the archangel.
Jude felt a blush appear on his own face. He loved when Clarence referred to
him as Superman... Though he was out of the loop on the nickname, Michael gave
a single nod as if he took the snide comment as a good sign. The archangel
turned his attention to Crowley nearby and put on a slight look of authority.
“We will need safe and speedy passage to Hell,” Michael informed.
Crowley almost gave a loud chuckle at the archangel's request. His dark eyes
narrowed in offended disbelief.
“First, you crowd my husband's study with unwanted guests. Then, you piss off
my son, who has every right to kill you. And now you're asking me for safe
passage into my kingdom?” Crowley scoffed in disbelief, “The nerve of you
archangels never ceases to confound me!”
Michael huffed a breath and closed his battered eyes for a moment, seeming
equally irritated.
“Unless you want the Darkness to destroy everything that you hold dear –
including your husband, son, and kingdom – you will do this,” Michael said, “I
hate this situation just as much as you do. Believe me, I don't want to go to
Hell either... but to imprison Darkness, we will require Lucifer's help.”
Uncle Crowley's head tilted and he blinked a few times.
“Lucifer?” he repeated.
Michael nodded in defeat again as he touched his swelling cheek.
“Yes,” he confirmed, voice full of distaste, “My brother.”
===============================================================================
Between their instantaneous arrival with Adam, the lengthy speeches that
Michael gave, the way that Clarence's eyes turned black, and Jude's hand lit
up, Jessica was pretty sure that the cat was out of the bag for Ms. Jane.
Ollie's mom didn't say a word as all the events happened. She just watched with
weary, tearful brown eyes during the Winchester family squabble. Jessie kept in
mind to stand next to Jane the whole time, to protect her in case the small
fight got worse. Luckily, Jude was able to calm Clare down and take him to
another room... which gave Jessie a chance to talk to Ms. Jane.
Jess expected lots of Spanish rantings and confusion from her future mother-in-
law, but Jane was surprisingly calm. Ollie seemed a little taken back by his
mom's reactions, too. Jess and Ollie shared a small look of understanding
before converging in on her.
“Ms. Jane, I'm... I'm sorry that you had to find out like this,” Jessie
muttered.
It was all she could think to say. She really hoped that Jane understood what
she was talking about. Luckily, the lovely Hispanic lady smiled a little and
reached out to pat Jessie's shoulder.
“It's okay, Guapa,” Jane consoled gently, “Your uncle explained it to me... I
just... I am relieved to know my son has real angels watching over him...
Especially one as sweet as you.”
Jessie could almost feel tears pressing at the back of her eyes. Aww. Ms. Jane
really thought that highly of her? That was so sweet! In that moment, Jessie
really wished that her dads were there. She wished that she could turn around
and tell Dad and Papa how much Ms. Jane liked her; how they were practically
family already... but her parents weren't there. They were still trapped in
Purgatory, far away. And the only way to save them and stop the Darkness from
taking over was to go and get uncle Lucifer...
“Ms. Jane,” Jess blurted, feeling her smile slip away again, “We have to go and
do one more thing. It's kind of dangerous, but I really want Ollie to come with
me. Is it okay if he comes? I promise I will watch over him the whole time, and
it shouldn't take us too long – ”
“Jessie.”
Jess, Ollie, and Ms. Jane turned at the sound of Jude's voice. He was standing
in the doorway between the kitchen and the study, holding hands with Clarence –
who was still glaring at Michael nearby.
“We need to go,” Jude urged, nodding toward the backdoor.
Jessie gulped and turned back to her boyfriend and his mother, knowing that Ms.
Jane wouldn't want Ollie to go with her; especially if Jane knew the
destination they were headed to. And, of course, there was acute worry and
hesitation on Jane's face. It was clear that she didn't want to let her boy out
of her sight again... But when Ollie reached out to take Jessie's hand, Jane's
expression seemed to lift. She glanced between the two teenagers and let out a
heavy sigh.
“I am very lost and worried,” Jane admitted, her rich accent muffled with
grief, “... but I have faith in you. Cuidate, Calabaza. Por favor.”
“Si,” Ollie nodded, using his free hand to pull his mom into a hug, “Te amo,
Ma.”
Jessica swallowed a bit as she watched the sweet interaction between her
boyfriend and his mother. It wasn't very often that she got to hear them talk
to each other in Spanish like that; like it was their own private language.
Jessie really needed to study up on her own Spanish so that she could talk to
Ollie like that as well...
After their heartfelt goodbye, Ollie and Ms. Jane parted ways and Jessie was
able to lead him to the kitchen. On the way, she caught sight of Michael saying
goodbye to Adam. He was leaning far over the bed and whispering something into
Adam's ear, petting his hair the whole time like a lover would do. The sight
made Jessie's heart ache. It seemed like everyone was leaving someone they
loved behind...
Michael asked Bobby and Ms. Jane to watch over Adam while he was gone, which –
of course – they agreed to. The archangel fixed his face too, from where
Clarence had beaten him up pretty badly, before flying everyone to Bobby's
garage. Aunt Rowena was in the middle of working on a spell that could link the
hell portal to the one in Purgatory, but agreed to pause her progress long
enough to let them go to Hell.
“Fine. Be my guest,” Rowena huffed when they asked her, “Just keep in mind, the
longer you dilly-dally in Hell, the longer it's going to take to get those boys
back. I'm only one witch, not a miracle worker... Clarence? What's wrong,
lamb?”
Next to Jude, Clarence only shook his head under Rowena's concerned stare. The
raw anger and pain from finding out that Michael was responsible for his house
fire had lingered on his face. Even Jessie could tell that he was still upset.
“Nothing,” he forced out, “I'll tell you about it later.”
Though she seemed reluctant to let Clarence stay upset, Rowena nodded her head
of red curls and opened the portal for them. A black void appeared inside the
stone arch that Jude and Jess's dads had built years before, revealing the way
to Hell. Uncle Crowley led the way inside, directing the path straight into his
kingdom. Jessie was fully aware of how nervous Ollie was. His hand was like a
vise grip on hers; trembling and clinging with enough force to make her hand
lose circulation. Still, Jessica held on right back. To be honest, she was
feeling a little nervous too. Not about going to Hell... but about coming face-
to-face with the same angel that had tortured her dad and almost killed her
Papa.
Between the stories that her parents told her and all the books she read,
Jessica already had a strong sense of Lucifer's character. He may have been
Grandpa Chuck's son and her Papa's brother, but he was all but lost to them
now. Deceit, greed, betrayal, murder – Lucifer's whole life story was peppered
with evil intentions. And, honestly, Jessica had already pretty much decided
that she hated him... But now that Darkness was a threat, she tried her best to
at least give him a chance. Besides, she had never actually met him in person.
Maybe he was different than what people said. Maybe there was still some good
in him somewhere. Jess had to believe that was true, because the whole world
basically depended on it.
Uncle Crowley led the five of them – Jess, Ollie, Jude, Clare, and Michael –
down a series of hallways and corridors. Hell reminded Jessica of a very old
and huge castle; a haunted one that was filled with the echoes of tortured
souls. She kept her focus on the migrating group in front of her instead of the
screams. It was hard not to think about all the people trapped down here for
eternity. 'I'm proud of you, Sunshine,' she imagined her Papa's voice saying to
drown out the scary noises, 'That's my baby girl!'
The group eventually stopped at a certain door and uncle Crowley turned around
to look at Michael with a harsh stare.
“Should any harm befall these children while you're in there -”
“It won't,” Michael promised, “Give me ten minutes and I will have Lucifer on
our side.”
Jessica shared a private look with the rest of the teenagers behind Michael's
back. Really? He planned to have Lucifer on their side in ten minutes? How
could he possibly convince the devil to help them in such a short amount of
time? Though he seemed just as skeptical as everyone else, Crowley forced a nod
and opened the door.
It was almost like the doorway led to outside. It was a dark and foggy place;
like a swamp at nighttime. Lightening was streaking across the sky overhead
while a haze covered the ground. Michael strolled into the place without
hesitation, leaving the teenagers to follow him. Clarence was able to coax Jude
along, and Jessica was able to inch inside with Ollie. The five of them made a
small line all the way toward the massive cage in the middle of the area.
A huge metal cage etched with Enochian markings and draped with heavy chains
sat just before them. A wall of fire surrounded the box too, making it
difficult to see inside. But even though the cage itself seemed intimidatingly
strong, a pair red eyes were peeking out from inside, making Jessica's skin
crawl. Was that... Lucifer? Was he watching them walk closer? Just before the
group reached the fence of flames, the view of a face grew around the red eyes.
Two hands gripped the bars and a body leaned close to the edge, allowing the
firelight to reveal Lucifer's appearance.
Unlike his cartoon depictions, the devil wasn't red. He didn't have a tail or
horns, either. In fact, the devil looked kind of... unimpressive. He was just a
guy with glowing red eyes. Jessica felt a mixture of relief and slight
skepticism. This was Lucifer? He didn't seem very tough. After seeing what Jude
was capable of, Jess was sure that her cousin could probably take him in a
fight... Still, Michael was hesitant to go any closer. The older archangel
remained a good distance away from the fire. And it seemed like his presence
really pissed off Lucifer.
“Mikey,” the devil growled, his fists tight around the cage bars, “You're still
alive? Why are you still alive? Better yet, why the hell are you standing over
there instead of in here with me? I thought we were having funin here. I
thought we -”
“Darkness has escaped, brother,” Michael interrupted, cutting right to the
chase, “You remember Darkness...”
For a second, Lucifer was quiet. The pent up rage on his face slowly morphed
into something else, as if memories of the Darkness were swirling in his mind.
They must have been bad memories, because he didn't look too happy. Still,
Lucifer managed to maintain his prideful look.
“Good,” the devil spat, “Maybe it'll kill you. Somebody ought to.”
Jessie heard Clarence's voice whisper 'agreed' somewhere nearby. She didn't
think that anyone else caught it, because no one scolded him. In the small
silence that followed Lucifer's hateful comment, Jess noticed that the glowing
red orbs of his eyes had gravitated to her. The teenage girl practically froze
under Satan's gaze, able to feel him looking at every inch of her body like he
was appraising a cut of meat.
“Jessica,” Lucifer purred, “My, my... I never thought that the daughter of my
brother and my vessel would look so... full figured? Is that phrase still
acceptable? Or do the kids prefer 'booty-licious' now?”
Jessica paled and felt like hiding herself immediately. Ew, she didn't want to
be looked at that way! Especially not by her creepy uncle! No one was allowed
to look at her 'full figure' like that! No one except Ollie, that is. And Ollie
seemed to be more upset about it than she was. Jess's red-haired boyfriend slid
in front of her with a death glare, putting himself between her and the devil's
prying eyes.
“Hey, watch your mouth,” he barked in a warning tone.
Jessie's mouth fell open. Ollie was actually bossing Lucifer around. Holy cow,
he was so brave; like a knight in shining red hair. Uncle Lucifer scoffed in
surprise as his gaze shifted to Jess's boyfriend.
“How about you step in here and make me, kid?” the devil challenged, the red in
his eyes spiking with heat.
“Enough,” Michael interrupted, regaining everyone's attention, “Lucifer, you
know what it's going to take to put away Darkness again -”
“Yeah, yeah. I remember,” Lucifer grumbled, “The only reason you're here is
because you need me. But don't hold your breath, Mike. I don't want to have
anything to do with you, let alone 'Daddy's creation.' As far as I'm concerned,
it can all burn... Besides, even if I did decide to take pity on you, it
wouldn't matter anyway. Raphael is dead. And it'll never work with just three
of us.”
“Actually, it can,” Michael argued, pausing to gesture toward the teenagers
behind him, “These nephilim are just as strong as we are. I've witnessed the
power myself. They can fill in for Raphael and Gabriel -”
“Gabriel?” Lucifer said, his eyes widening, “What the hell happened to Gabe?!”
“Darkness placed him in Purgatory. Along with Castiel and the Winchesters,”
Michael informed, “As of this moment, you, these nephilim, and I are Earth's
only hope.”
“Aaaaand you expect me to just waltz out of this cage and help you? You, of all
people?” Lucifer scoffed, “Everyone might think I'm evil, but I'm certainly not
an idiot. Go screw yourself, Mike. Piss off and enjoy the terrible death that
awaits you.”
The devil let go of the bars and turned away, tearing his red eyes away from
the group to focus on the back floor of the cage. Michael sighed heavily and
briefly rubbed his forehead before looking back up.
“You haven't heard my peace offering yet,” the archangel called.
“Don't care. Go away. Kick your own ass on the way out,” Lucifer called, his
cold tone echoing through the void.
“I'll destroy this cage,” Michael blurted.
Even from the few yards distance, Jessie could see Lucifer's head raise. Though
he wasn't looking at them, the devil was listening. But Jessica and Jude shared
a small look of terror. Destroy the cage? But, what if Lucifer needed to be put
back in it? That didn't sound like a wise plan, but Michael quickly continued
anyway.
“I'll use my own grace to tear it down,” he offered, striding closer as he
stared at the back of his brother's head, “Once you walk out of this box,
you'll never have to go back inside another one ever again. I'll make sure of
it.”
Jessie was a little nervous about Michael's offer. Letting Lucifer walk free
forever didn't seem like a very smart thing to do. Maybe they should have
talked about this before coming here. Inside the Cage, Lucifer finally turned
around and came back to look at Michael from the edge. His expression had
shifted from anger to flat out disbelief.
“So what?” he challenged, “Other cages can be made. Do you seriously think I'm
that stupid? Do I have 'jackass' written on my forehead somewhere? Michael,you
were always the stupid one; blindly following Dad's orders and shit.”
Michael groaned loudly as if he was fed up with trying to argue with his
brother. After nodding his head and looking around, he shrugged and turned
away.
“Fine. Stay here and rot,” Michael hissed, already starting to shoo the
teenagers toward the exit, “We can manage without you.”
Jessica's heart pounded hard in her chest. What? Really? They could manage
without Lucifer? If that was the case, then why were they even here? Was
Michael telling the truth? … or was this a bluff? While everyone walked back
through the void, Jessica watched Lucifer in the distance. The closer everyone
got to the door, the more anxiety seemed to creep on his face. Soon, the only
thing Jessica could see were the two tiny red orbs growing smaller. And just as
Michael reached for the door handle –
“Wait!”
A tiny smirk flickered on Michael's lips but disappeared before he turned to
look at his brother in the foggy void. Lucifer was glaring hard at him in the
dark, gripping the bars with rage again.
“If you really want my help, I have a condition,” Lucifer called.
Unimpressed, Michael crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow. He must have seen
it coming.
“What?” he inquired.
In the flickering shine from the lightening above, Jessica briefly saw
Lucifer's silhouette. He was grinning, now; staring through the bars like a
person consumed with madness and delight.
“I want the throne,” he eventually stated.
Between the teenagers, Michael rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“I don't think Crowley will relinquish his rights to rule over – ”
“No,” Lucifer barked across the void, “Not Hell's throne... I want Dad's
throne.”
Jessica had to cover her mouth to muffle the gasp she inhaled. What?! Lucifer
wanted to take Grandpa Chuck's place or something?! The guy was absolutely
crazy! They would never let anything like that happen! Even as Jess thought
this, she could tell that Michael was mulling it over in his mind. The
archangel was actually considering Lucifer's condition.
“You want to rule Heaven?” Michael asked to clarify.
In the distance, Lucifer nodded in the firelight, looking terrifyingly giddy
with his red eyes glowing. Jessica was already shaking her head back and forth.
No! There was no way they could let Lucifer rule Heaven! That place belonged to
Grandpa Chuck and all the souls of dead humans! What was Michael thinking?! He
couldn't really agree to that, could he? To Jessica's utter shock and
disappointment, Michael's head began to bob up and down.
“... Deal.”
It felt like Jessica's heart dropped several floors as she gripped Ollie's hand
tight. No! How could Michael do that?! Jessica's parents would be horrified if
they knew this was happening! Jess turned to look toward Lucifer a few yards
away, where his red eyes loomed over a shining white grin between the bars of
his cage.
“Deal,” he agreed.
Chapter End Notes
     Whats that old phrase? Never make deals with the devil? I guess
     Michael never got that message. Lol ;) I know the angst seems really
     bad right now, but don't worry folks. I have a plan. :D I really hope
     that Michael's description of Darkness was easy to understand. Of
     course, we will learn more about Darkness (first hand) later. And I
     know what you're thinking; “Snailhair, come on. What are the odds of
     Michael being responsible for burning down Clare's house? Isn't that
     a bit of a stretch?” yeah, probably. Lol. My idea behind that is:
     When Clare's witch moms discovered that he was half-demon, they
     decided to try and get in contact with someone from Hell, to figure
     out his parentage. Of course, they didn't get far before Michael
     hopped on board and rode that portal to Earth. So, yeah. Be careful
     where to plant your portals, people. XD Oh, and Ollie's middle name
     is 'Edwardo' (after his dad) and he absolutely hates it. XD And
     speaking of the Thompson family, earlier in the chapter, Jane says
     “Take care, Pumpkin. Please.” in Spanish. And Ollie replies with,
     “Yes. I love you, mom.” (If it's wrong, please correct me, as always.
     Lol) :D I know we didn't get a chance to see the Dads in Purgatory
     this time, but we will check in with them next week. ;) I seriously
     cannot thank you guys enough for all of your comments and support.
     Like, honestly, your words help me through the day. Every day. And
     I'm honored to have all of you as readers. *group hug* XD The next
     chapter – which contains some first-time Judence smut! – will be out
     soon! :)
***** Chapter 8 *****
Chapter Notes
     Attention readers! This chapter contains underage Judence smut, as
     well as some pretty graphic references to Clarence's past. I would
     consider this a trigger warning for those of you who may have dealt
     with sexual trauma. Please be advised and read at your own risk!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Between the agonizing pain in his leg from being clawed by vicious werewolves,
to the burning ache of his over-worked lungs throbbing in his chest, Gabriel
felt like he was on the verge of passing out or something. The four of them –
he, Sam, and their brothers – were currently running through a gray forest,
heading northwest and dodging various groups of predators hidden in the
distance. Dean and Cas were leading the front, swinging their homemade bone
swords to cut down brush and any monster in their way, while Sam lingered
behind with Gabe, who could barely keep up.
Dammit, he hated being human! Not only was his weak mortal body threatening to
give out, but his mind and soul were bogged down with anxiety. 'What if's were
circling in his head like angry vultures. What if the kids couldn't find
Michael? What if they did find him, but he wouldn't help? What if something
happened to Bobby and the other adults and the kids were left all alone? What
if Darkness succeeded? What if Jessica was hurt? What if she was dying? What if
Gabriel made it back through the portal only to be greeted by his daughter's
lifeless body?! 
“Stop!” Gabe groaned toward the others.
The archangel stumbled onto the slate-colored ground and gripped handfuls of
dead leaves, panting hard. Just ahead, Dean and Cas paused and turned back to
see what was going on. And next to him, Sam knelt down to lay a gentle hand on
his shoulder.
“I know you're hurt, but you've gotta get up, Gabe,” the archangel's husband
breathed.
“No, I – I can't,” Gabe denied, feeling tears crest in his eyes, “I can't do
it! If I get back through there and... and its all dark... and my daughter
is... No, I can't!”
Gabe suddenly sobbed into the ground, feeling his whole body quiver in fear. He
couldn't stand the thought of his precious bunny getting hurt! She was still so
young and innocent! She didn't deserve to be put through this shit! Why did
Gabriel's past always have to come back to bite him in the ass?! Dammit, this
wasn't fair! While Gabe cried loudly, he could feel Sam's huge, strong hands
starting to tug him upward. The giant hunter rolled the archangel over and
cradled him softly in his long arms.
“Sam,” Dean's voice called, “We've gotta go.”
Sam simply lifted his index finger toward his brother, silently asking him to
wait. Afterward, he turned his attention back to his grieving husband.
“Gabe, Jess is fine,” he assured, voice as steady as a river, “Remember what
Dean told Cas about Jude last night? Well, it's true for Jessie, too. Besides,
she's got your grace, man. That means you're practically there with her
already.”
Sammy's sweet comment only made Gabriel sob louder. Ugh, that wasn't enough
though! Gabe wanted to hold his baby rabbit and keep her safe from everything!
Sam shushed Gabe as he pat his arm, sparing a worried glance at the trees as if
he thought it would attract other creatures.
“I know,” Sam nearly whispered, bringing his sight back to Gabe, “I know you're
worried. We're all worried. But right now, you have to get up, Gabe. Jess needs
us to make it back to her.”
Gabriel sniffled a little and reached up to wipe the moisture out of his own
eyes. Sam was right. Gabe couldn't just lay here and cry like a baby when his
daughter needed him. That old Winchester notion of never giving up was
practically coursing through his veins all of the sudden. If Sam always kept
fighting, then Gabriel could too, right? Still, his leg was absolutely killing
him.
“I... I can't run anymore,” the archangel admitted, reaching a trembling hand
toward the open wounds on his calf.
“It's okay,” Sam nodded, “I'll carry you.”
Before Gabriel could even take a breath to protest, Sam was climbing to his
feet and reaching both arms out for Gabe to take. The archangel shook his head,
wanting to stop Sam from actually carrying him because he knew that he was
nothing but dead weight. Still, Sam took both of Gabe's hands, twisted around,
pulled Gabe's arms over his shoulders, and hoisted the archangel up like a
giant backpack. Sam looped both of his own arms under Gabe's legs while Gabe
held onto his neck. The quick maneuver left Gabe in awe and surprise. He knew
his husband was strong, but holy shit, Sam was so casual about it.
“Y – you don't have to do this, moose,” Gabe commented.
“Sickness and health, remember?” Sam replied simply.
As he gently bounced with his husband's long strides, Gabriel smirked a little
and buried his face into the side of Sam's long, soft hair. God, Sammy was such
a smooth talking bastard.
“If we make it out of this, you're getting the greatest blow job of your life,”
Gabe hummed playfully into Sam's ear.
The moose-man chuckled a little bit but kept his stride. He carried Gabe
without a word of complaint and Dean and Cas started leading the way again,
heading in the direction of the portal that they all hoped would take them back
to their kids.
===============================================================================
Jude was stuck in a daze when Michael opened the cage to free Lucifer. It
didn't take very much effort for the archangel to extinguish the wall of flames
and break all the chains on the metal bars. Lucifer was able to pop himself out
and rise up to stretch dramatically in the same space as everyone else, wearing
a proud smirk the whole time. While it was happening, Jude could hear his
cousin's frantic voice hissing a slur of worried exclamations.
“He can't do that! Michael can't do that!” Jessie denied, shaking her head of
blonde curls as she tugged fiercely at Ollie's jacket sleeve, “Lucifer can't
take over Heaven! It belongs to Grandpa!”
Jude fully agreed with his cousin's confused outrage, but he couldn't find his
voice to say anything. Lucifer and Michael were both walking toward them, now;
Lucifer in front with Michael close behind. Honestly, Jude had always been
equal parts terrified of and mad at the devil. Terrified of him because of all
the unspeakable, disruptive, horrifying things he had done to humanity. But
absolutely pissed at him for turning Uncle Sammy into his vessel and using it
to hurt Jude's dad. Needless to say, Jude couldn't help but glare at Lucifer
when he approached with that stupid smile on his face.
“Look at all these little tadpoles,” Lucifer cooed, his eyes continuing to glow
red as they shifted between all of the teenager's faces, lingering on Clare's
last, “It's hard to believe you all pack the same punch as your ol' uncle
Lucifer. Maybe we should go a few rounds. You know, for practice and stu -”
“Stop trying to intimidate the children,” Michael barked from behind, as he
shoved Lucifer toward the exit, “We don't have time to listen to you flaunt
your selfish ego. We're going to Robert Singer's house at once.”
Lucifer turned to glare at Michael and fix his clothing – which consisted of
nothing more than a t-shirt, flannel, and jeans – before turning on his heel
and striding toward the door. Michael fell in line behind him and motioned for
the teenagers to follow, but Jessie caught him by the arm to stop him. Angered
panic still haunted her eyes.
“How could you do that?!” she breathed in a scolding tone, “Our dads are going
to kill you when they find out you gave Heaven to Lucifer!”
Michael glanced back to see that Lucifer was already walking through the door
to meet Crowley on the other side and paused to assure Jess.
“I agreed to let him rule Heaven, I never agreed to help him claim it,” Michael
quickly pointed out in a whisper, “Besides, what is left of Heaven? Nothing but
a few scattered angels and swarms of Leviathan. Our Father isn't even there. At
this moment, Earth is more important. If Lucifer wants to daydream that he will
one day take our Father's place, so be it. As long as he helps us get rid of
the Darkness, I will let him think that he is in control. And you all would do
well to follow my lead.”
After the last syllable was out, Michael turned and started walking away before
anyone could protest. Jessie glanced back at the boys and Jude could tell that
she wasn't convinced. It seemed like Michael's bargain wasn't as honest as he
made it out to be. Was he seriously trying to trick the devil? That probably
wasn't going to work out too well for anyone...
Not wanting to let the archangels get too far ahead of them, the teenagers
quickly scuttled for the exit. Uncle Crowley seemed extra leery of Lucifer. He
kept his head down and avoided eye contact with the devil as everyone made
their way through Hell to get back to the portal. Walking with Lucifer at the
front of the group made Jude feel uneasy, but maybe Michael stayed in the back
to keep an eye on him. Ollie made sure to keep himself between Lucifer and
Jessie at all times; taking the form of a protective human shield. Jude
couldn't blame him for doing that. Lucifer did seem quite perverted and scary,
especially when it came to poor Jessie.
When the group finally came through the garage, Aunt Rowena seemed a little
stunned to see Lucifer heading the group too. She paused her work to gasp at
him as he went by, free hand clutched to her chest and eyes wide. Clarence
reached out to give her shoulder a reassuring pat as they walked by and it made
Jude smile a little. If there was anyone in their group that could keep Lucifer
in line, it was probably Clare. Jude's boyfriend didn't put up with crap from
anyone.
Instead of walking from the garage to the house, the archangels simply flew
everyone into the kitchen. Jude assumed that it was because they didn't want to
risk the Darkness seeing them outside. Bobby and Ms. Jane had lingered near the
table and both gasped when everyone else reentered with a gust of wind. They
seemed relieved to see everyone, but Jude noticed that Bobby's eyes zoomed in
on Lucifer and stayed put. The sight of his uncle's distress made Jude feel
terrible. Bobby probably hated having the devil inside his house. Lucifer took
a deep breath and looked around like he was appraising every detail of Bobby's
kitchen, including the people inside it.
“So, this is all the manpower you've got to gangbang the Darkness, huh, Mike?
Not a very good looking bunch,” Lucifer grumbled, his gaze wandering toward
Jessie again, “Except for you, Princess.”
The devil leaned back on the counter and stared hard at Jessica, over Ollie's
shoulder. She was trying her best to hide behind her boyfriend, but it didn't
stop their uncle from being a total pervert.
“You know, I've possessed quite a few people in my time. Including your dad. I
fit inside him like a glove,” Lucifer purred, “But, honey, I sure would like to
get inside of you and see how it feels...”
Every single person in the room turned to converge toward Lucifer at once. Jude
and Ollie were in the lead, both stepping toward the devil in unison to put him
in his place – but Ms. Jane was the fastest. The Hispanic lady flew through the
crowd, stomped up to Lucifer, and laid a generous smack across his face. She
pointed a stern finger at him afterward, wearing her classic mom face.
“Watch your vile tongue in the presence of ladies!” she warned.
Jude was momentarily stunned. Whoa! Jane slapped Lucifer! Ollie's mom totally
just slapped Satan himself! Lucifer was equally surprised at being hit in the
face by a human. He held his cheek and blinked at Jane in complete
bewilderment.
“Did – did you just hit me?” he grumbled, turning to look at Michael, “Did she
just hit me? I can't believe she just hit me! Does this woman know who I am?”
Ollie, who now looked a little pleased with the fact that his mom just slapped
the devil, smirked and leaned forward to tap her shoulder.
“Mom, this is Jess and Jude's uncle Lucifer,” he introduced calmly.
Utter horror washed over Ms. Jane's face as she glanced back and forth between
her son and the short haired, red-eyed archangel in the room. Her hand slowly
rose to cover her open mouth and she started to back away slowly.
“E – El Diablo...” she breathed behind her hand.
Luckily, Ms. Jane's slap seemed to get Lucifer's attention away from Jessie and
back on the monumental task at hand. He gave Jane an odd look as he rubbed his
cheek, but eventually turned back to Michael and Bobby, who were beginning to
talk.
“Alright, Michael, you've junked up my house with strangers and filth. Now,
what's the plan? How're we gonna get rid of this Darkness?” Bobby asked.
“We must find the source of its reach and bind it away again,” Michael
explained, “It will take four of us, just as it did the first time. Lucifer,
the two nephilim and I will travel to the entrance of its prison and force it
back in. The rest of you will stay here and...”
Michael's voice trailed off under the sound of Lucifer's laugh. The devil
chuckled to himself by the counter as his eyes wandered back and forth between
Jess and Jude. Michael eventually sighed and turned to face him again.
“What?” the older archangel barked.
“Oh, nothing,” Lucifer shrugged, “It's just, you're leaving the fate of the
universe in the hands of these toddlers. It's adorably pathetic, even for you.”
Jude felt a streak of anger and resentment flash through him. Pathetic? Lucifer
thought that Jude and Jessica couldn't help just because of their ages? That
was stupid! Dad and Papa always told Jude that he could do anything, and he
firmly believed the word of his parents over some creepy, estranged uncle.
“They can do this,” Michael assured, “I've seen the power of their grace. It's
extraordinary.”
“Yeah,” Jessie agreed from behind Ollie's shoulders, though she was still
avoiding Lucifer's eyes, “Besides, we have our Papas' grace too. We can use it
along with our own.”
“You have Castiel and Gabriel's grace?” Michael asked, which received nods from
all over the room, “Excellent. That will make this task much easier.”
“Pfffff,” Lucifer scoffed, letting out a few more laughs, “Castiel's grace
isn't gonna help much. Gabe's might, but that little boy over there won't stand
a chance with a seraph's grace. Might as well kill him now and save ourselves
the trouble.”
Clarence instantly shot a severe scowl toward Lucifer.
“That tiny cage of horrors you were trapped in is nothing compared to what I
will do to you if you ever threaten Jude's life again,” the demon stated
calmly.
Lucifer only rolled his eyes as he and Clarence had a small stand off, but
Jude's heart was sinking. How could anyone talk so badly about his Papa's
grace? Jude was created in that light; it was his shelter when he was scared,
his blanket when he needed comfort. And to hear that it wouldn't be much help
against the Darkness made Jude upset... Still, Michael argued for the
teenager's inclusion.
“It doesn't matter. The nephilim grace should be sufficient,” the archangel
said, eying Jude, “At least, for the duration of the spell.”
“Duration of the spell?” Bobby repeated, his voice tainted with disbelief and
worry, “What? Are you saying that doing this is going to drain their grace or
something?”
“It will drain all of our graces,” Michael nodded, “A dark room will only stay
lit for as long as a candle wick can burn. Just so, an angel can only combat
the Darkness for as much grace as they hold. And seeing as the nephilim are
only teenagers... there's no telling how long they can last...”
The was a few seconds of silence, in which everyone glanced around vacantly.
Jude felt Clare's fingers tighten around his own as they stood next to each
other by the refrigerator.
“You mean Darkness could drain the very life out of them?” Crowley asked out
loud.
“... yes,” Michael carefully replied.
Jude closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Strangely, the first thing that
came to his mind was a memory of his parents. It was only a few hours prior
that they had hugged each other at Jude's birthday. Dad and Papa were so proud
and happy to see their son turn seventeen. They were always proud of Jude. They
told him so almost every day. And if there was one thing Jude knew about his
parents, it was that they never gave up. Dad and Papa, and Sam and Gabe too,
they always kept fighting, even in the face of death. That was one of the main
things Jude admired about his parents; how ready they were to die for him and
each other. Jude had faith that he could help put this Darkness away,
especially with the help of Papa's grace. Besides, if they could put the
Darkness away quickly enough, the angels probably wouldn't have to worry about
draining their grace. Jude was ready to fight.
Clarence, on the other hand, was dead set against it.
“Yeah? Well then, Jude's not going to do it,” the demon scoffed.
Jude blinked and turned his sight to his blonde boyfriend, feeling kind of
offended. Why would Clarence speak for him like that? Did he really think that
Jude didn't want to do it?
“Yes, I am,” Jude argued.
Clare spun back to give Jude a pair of scrunched eyebrows and downward frown.
Clearly, he didn't realize that Jude actually wanted to keep going whether it
put his life at risk or not. But it didn't seem to matter anyway, because
Clarence had already decided how he felt.
“No, you're not,” Clarence challenged, his eyes huge, “They just said that shit
has the power to kill you! Were you listening?!”
“Yes, I heard them,” Jude replied, keeping his voice soft, “But it doesn't
matter. The world is being eaten alive and we need to do something about -”
“Who gives a shit about the freaking world?!” Clarence interrupted, voice high
and angry.
“I do,” Jude answered firmly.
After the blue-eyed teenager spoke his mind, Clarence tossed Jude's hand away
to grab the front of Jude's shirt with both hands. There was a panicked sense
of frenzy in his eyes; an acutely worried and upset twinge that Jude never saw
before.
“I'm not gonna let you go out there and risk your life for that wasteland of
jerk-offs and garbage,” Clare spat, letting go to point a finger toward the
rest of the angels, “Let these assholes deal with it! It's their fight, not
yours! You're worth more than ten of them, each! And I'm not going to let you
burn out like a damn candle wick! I won't let you!”
Jude's heart was thumping hard inside his chest, just beneath Clare's trembling
fistful of fabric. He knew that Clarence's words were coming from a place of
love. Clare just wanted to keep Jude safe from harm, like any good boyfriend
would... but Jude knew that he had to do the right thing. There was no way he
could just stand by while the world – his home – was in danger. And even though
he knew it was going to hurt Clare very much, Jude had to force his next
sentence out.
“... I don't need your permission,” the teenager reminded soberly.
Jude might as well have shot Clarence directly in the heart. The demon's hands
dropped from Jude's shirt, his mouth dipped open, and his greenish-brown eyes
slowly filled with pain. Jude's heart ached as if someone was squeezing the
blood from it. He could even feel tears swelling in his own eyes. Ugh, he hated
making Clarence upset! But he knew he had to tell the truth, no matter how much
it hurt.
Clarence only blinked at Jude for a few more seconds before whipping around and
stomping away. He groaned with rage and banged his fist on the kitchen wall as
he ducked through the doorway and blazed down the hall. Jude took a few steps
after him, watching him shove over a stack of books as he made his way toward
the basement door. The demon all but flew down the stairs, kicking and hitting
things along the way. Clarence was really pissed about Jude's decision to help
put away the Darkness, but his anger only left Jude heartbroken. Jude never
meant to hurt Clare. He only wanted to help... A hand slid up to rest on Jude's
shoulder.
“He probably just needs some time, Jude,” Ollie quietly offered.
Jude gulped and nodded as he stared at the vacant basement doorway down the
hall. Ollie was probably right. But they didn't have much time left...
===============================================================================
After the small spat between Jude and Clare in the kitchen, Michael told
everyone that he and Lucifer were going to spread out and find the source of
the Darkness's escape. Just as he did before going to Hell, Michael took the
time to whisper in Adam's ear before leaving. Jude didn't know what he was
saying, but he found it all very sweet. Lucifer, on the other hand, was a brat
about having to go out and 'help' humanity, but eventually agreed to go with
his brother. He mentioned something about looking good in a crown before flying
off with Michael, which left everyone else to wait at Bobby's.
Jessie and Ollie sat down with Ms. Jane at the table and started slowly filling
her in about everything that was happening. Jess even showed some of her grace
to Ollie's mom and everything. In the meantime, uncle Bobby and Crowley spoke
to each other near the back door in hushed tones. Jude could hear his uncle
Bobby saying that he was really anxious for Rowena to finish the portal and get
the teenagers' dads back, while Crowley voiced his concerns about letting the
devil walk the Earth yet again. Jude glanced around the room and felt a little
lonely. It seemed like everyone was getting comfort. Except for him and
Clarence...
Jude's demonic boyfriend was still smashing around in the basement, letting out
his anger by breaking stuff. And while Jude wished that he could help Clare
feel better, he also knew that talking to him probably wasn't the wisest thing
to do at the moment. Besides, what would he say? They just couldn't agree on
what to do about this situation they were trapped in. And the distance between
them broke Jude's heart.
With Clarence cooling off in the basement, Jude saw no harm in seeking
sanctuary in the guy's bedroom. He wandered down the hall and opened the door
to Clare's room, where the sweet smell of the demon's cologne hit him in the
doorway. Even though the power was on, the lamps in this room were off. There
was a single candle lit on the dresser that gave off just enough light to make
the room visible. It must have been burning for a few hours because wax had
pooled all around it. Jude eyed the candle as he gently slid out of his own
jacket to hang it on the back of Clare's desk chair. Michael's earlier words
were haunting his mind again. A dark room will only stay lit for as long as a
candle wick can burn. The short flame flickered teasingly nearby, threatening
to blow out at any second. Maybe that's what Jude would look like compared to
the Darkness...
With his jacket and shoes off, Jude carefully walked over to climb up and sit
on Clare's bed. He bent his knees and hugged them as he stared at the
flickering candle nearby, feeling grief start to creep into his body. Man, he
really wished his dads were there. He wished that Papa would fly in and hold
him; wrap him into a hug and kiss his forehead. He wished Dad would walk
through the door, sit down close by, and tell him that he was doing the right
thing. Because right now, Jude was so afraid and unsure. He didn't want to burn
out like a candle. He just wanted to help save the world, like his parents did
all the time. He wanted to prove that he was more than just a little boy who
was scared to fly. He wanted to be brave and fearless like everyone else in his
life. Jude wiped away a few stray tears that managed to escape his eyes and
sniffled against his knees. Why did life have to be so hard?
Pretty soon, the doorknob across the room rattled. Jude looked up to watch the
door open and a figure step inside. With one small flame as the only source of
light, it took Jude a moment to realize that he was looking at Clarence. The
demon had calmly stepped into the room and was now leaning against the closed
door with his arms crossed. Though his body resembled a wall, his eyes were a
window into the pain inside. Clare took a small breath in the silence as they
blinked at each other.
“I'm sorry,” the offered, voice low and relaxed, “for bossing you around, Jude.
I just... I can't stand the thought of losing you.”
Jude gulped and nodded against his knees, feeling his heart thump a little more
gleefully. He knew that Clare's outburst had come from a place of love, but
hearing Clare say it out loud made him feel loads better.
“I know,” Jude mumbled back, shifting his legs around, “I promise I'm not doing
this to hurt you, Clare. I just can't wait around and do nothing while the
world is falling apart, especially if I can help.”
Clarence shook his head a little bit as a smile played at the corners of his
mouth.
“The world doesn't deserve you,” he admitted boldly.
Jude nestled back into his comfy position, feeling a blush appear on his cheeks
as he glanced away. That was a really sweet thing for Clarence to say... Still,
Jude felt a little worried about facing such a powerful foe. Superman might
have been Jude's nickname, but he was far from ever being that awesome.
“I'm gonna face the Darkness and I don't even have a license yet,” Jude
remembered out loud.
Clarence chuckled a little from the door, filling the room with the beautiful
sound.
“You don't even have chest hair yet, Jay,” Clare added playfully.
“I've never had alcohol, either,” Jude went on with a huge smile, “And I've
never...”
Jude was too embarrassed to finish the rest of his sentence. He just coughed
and glanced away shyly. He was going to bring up the fact that he was still a
virgin, but remembered that sex was a touchy subject around Clare.
Unfortunately, Clarence seemed to know what Jude was going to say anyway,
because his smile soon faded too. For a moment, silence reentered the room as
they both looked away from each other. Jude felt awful. He should have known
better than to mention something like that at a time like this.
From the corner of his eye, Jude noticed Clarence starting to move. The demon
slowly stood up straight from the back of the door and there was a softer look
in his eye. He seemed really gentle all of the sudden; more calm and determined
than he had been all day. Jude watched from the bed as the demon strolled over
to his desk chair and leaned over to dig around inside Jude's jacket pockets.
Clarence retrieved both the potion of courage that he got for his birthday –
and the condom that his Dad gave him earlier. Jude's heart rate increased
dramatically at the sight of Clare holding both items. Whoa. Was Clare actually
thinking about... having sex with Jude?
The blonde demon paused to uncork the tiny bottle of red liquid and inhale
deeply. Jude stared in awestruck silence as Clare quickly tossed back a small
gulp of his own courage potion. He made a face as if the liquid burned his
mouth and shoved the cork back into the open bottle that was still half full.
Afterward, he leaned back over to put the potion back into Jude's jacket
pocket, but kept the condom in hand. Jude's heart was pounding in his ears by
the time Clarence started to walk toward him. Holy shit. Clarence was taking
off his own leather jacket and everything. He really was going to have sex with
Jude...
Jude's mouth had run completely dry, but Clare's mouth was able to restore some
moisture. Their lips collided in a firm but caressing way; tongues slowly
inching out to meet. The spicy, heated flavor of the potion was still lingering
in Clare's mouth and it tasted so good. Jude closed his eyes and let himself
get lost in the sensation of his boyfriend's kiss and felt Clare's hands
tugging up his shirt. Jude willingly started helping discard his own clothes.
Even though his heart was beating fast with anxious arousal, his face was
blazing hot, and his hands were shaking, Jude wanted to keep going. He had
waited for this moment for a very long time and was eager to show Clarence how
much he loved him...
Soon, the two of them were just in their underwear on Clarence's bed. Jude
couldn't help but look up and down the length of Clarence's body to admire all
the creamy skin and flexing muscles. Clarence's body was so beautiful; so lean,
tall, and well-formed. Jude's hands traced as much of it as they could, even up
Clare's spine and the long, deep scar across the back of his shoulders. But as
they embraced, Jude noticed that Clare's movements were very calculated. He
didn't seem very eager to be touched. And for that very reason, Jude didn't let
his hands stray too far south. He only kept them on Clare's warm, exposed skin.
Clarence eventually guided Jude back to lay down on the bed, where his mouth
moved to kiss Jude's neck. Jude bit down a few whimpers and shifted around as
he felt Clarence's hand snake down to his bulging underwear. The demon was
massaging Jude's member through the fabric, deliberately stiffening it with his
squeezing fingers. It wasn't long before Jude had a genuine erection.
“Clare,” Jude sighed in a hot breath.
The sound of his own name must have made Clarence happy, because he returned
his mouth to Jude's for a second to kiss him. In the meantime, Jude could feel
Clare's hands pulling down his underwear. Jude's heart pounded hard against his
ribcage as he felt himself being exposed. Once Jude was completely naked on the
bed, Clarence raised up to rest on his knees. Jude watched from below in the
dim candle light as Clare used his teeth to open the condom wrapper. Arousal
and embarrassment were still fighting for dominance in Jude's mind when he eyed
the tiny rubber circle in Clare's fingers. Without hesitation, the blonde demon
simply reached down to roll it over Jude's erection; carefully holding the
shaft steady and slipping the condom on in seconds. It was such a quick and
easy motion that Jude almost couldn't believe it. It would have taken him a few
minutes just to get his shaking fingers to work. Clearly, Clarence had done
this before...
Before Jude had too much time to dwell on his own thoughts, Clarence raised up
to remove his own underwear – which allowed Jude to see his firm erection, too.
Gazing at the rest of Clarence's body made Jude's own shaft flicker around
excitedly. Clare was so beautiful; inside and out. Jude couldn't wait to love
his body as much as he loved his soul. Wanting to share some of the physical
pleasure, Jude reached out to grab Clarence's erection – but Clare intercepted
his hands. The demon firmly placed both of Jude's hands on his hips before
tossing a leg over Jude's waist. Before Jude knew it, he was staring up at
Clarence's naked body and feeling the tip of his own erection rubbing against
the crack of Clare's backside.
The demon shifted around a little, reaching back to grab Jude's erection and
guide it toward his heated hole. Jude's trembling hands clung desperately to
Clare's warm hips as he felt himself sliding into his boyfriend's body for the
first time. Ugh! Clarence was so warm and tight! Even with a condom on, Jude
could feel the muscles clinching against him. Above him, Clarence was wincing a
little and biting his lip as if it hurt him. But Jude didn't want to hurt
Clare. He only wanted Clarence to feel good.
“Cl – Clarence,” Jude sighed erotically, “We can trade places if you wa -”
The rest of Jude's sentence was muted by Clare's mouth. He had leaned forward
to capture Jude's lips, stopping him from going on. For a second or two, Jude
was so overwhelmed by the feeling of Clarence's muscles on his erection and the
taste of courage swimming between them that he forgot what he was going to say.
Oh God, being inside Clare feltso good! Jude's hips felt like thrusting. Was it
okay if he started thrusting? He was already rocking back and forth a little,
but could he go faster? The answers to his questions seemed to come when
Clarence raised back up and started to bounce slowly.
Jude groaned verbally at the drastic change of speed, letting his eyes soak up
the sight of Clarence moving on top of him. Clare was riding him like a cowboy
riding a horse, making his heavy privates bounce against Jude's lower stomach
in the process. The grimace on his face had faded into a look of pure
determination, though his mouth was open and panting. Jude was panting too.
Pleasure was coursing through his whole body and he knew it wouldn't be long
before he saw stars.
But even though he could feel himself getting close to the edge, Jude tried to
hold back. He didn't want to finish unless Clarence could do it with him.
Again, Jude tried to reach over and take hold of Clarence's flicking erection.
But his fingers only got to graze the ridged veins of the shaft before Clare
grabbed his hand. This time, the demon brought the angel's hand up to his face,
where he gently kissed Jude's palm and rubbed his cheek against Jude's fingers.
Jude whimpered and caressed his boyfriend's glistening face while he thrust
into him. Though he didn't understand why Clare didn't want him to touch him
sexually, Jude was just as happy to cup his handsome face.
“Clare,” Jude panted, rocking his hips a little quicker, “I'm really cl –
close!”
Jude hoped that stating his urgency would convince Clarence to let him help him
to the big finale too, but Clare only leaned forward to kiss Jude's mouth
again. He was rocking his ass up and down the length of Jude's shaft and
whimpering a little, getting Jude closer with just the sounds. And though Jude
tried his best to hold it back, he just couldn't fight the massive storm of
pleasure that took over his body. It momentarily possessed him, making every
thought flee his mind and every pain pass away. Jude moaned into the hot cave
of his boyfriend's mouth and could feel his own member pulsing. Ah! Clarence
was so tight and warm! Jude loved feeling this! Being able to share this
intimate, amazing experience with Clarence made Jude feel loads better.
Once Jude's thrusts slowed to a stop, Clarence carefully raised himself up and
slid over to join Jude in laying on the bed. Jude's head was all fuzzy and his
body felt so relaxed, and he really wanted his boyfriend to feel the same way.
He knew that Clarence didn't get to finish the way that he did, and Jude really
wanted to help him get there. Being as slow and careful as possible, Jude
rolled over to meet Clare's mouth. While they kissed in between panting
breaths, Jude tried his best to slip his hand down between them unnoticed. But
his fingers only got to their belly buttons when Clarence's hands stopped it.
Jude hummed a little, feeling so bad. In the candlelight, Jude could see just
how vulnerable Clarence looked. He may have been older than Jude, but his eyes
looked much younger. All Jude wanted to do was love him. Clarence knew that,
right?
“I won't hurt you,” Jude promised in a whisper, “I love you, Clare...”
For a second, Clarence's hand didn't let go of Jude's. He held it far away from
his most private parts for an extra second or two, as if he was too afraid to
let go. But after searching Jude's face, Clare's fingers finally released his
hand. Jude sighed with relief and quickly lowered his head to rejoin their
mouths, wanting to physically assure Clarence as he finally reached down to
take hold of his throbbing shaft. The guy's body was obviously turned on by
what was happening between them, even though his mind was hesitant.
As Jude began to jerk the length of Clare's shaft with one hand, he could feel
Clarence starting to tremble underneath him. His eyes were huge and blinking,
as if he was struggling to deal with whatever thoughts were in his mind. Jude
spread kisses all over Clare's mouth and even down to his neck and shoulders,
wanting to keep him calm and get him to the finish as gently as possible;
especially since it seemed like Clare was having trouble focusing. In the
meantime, Clarence's hands rose up to hold onto Jude's head. The demon was
blinking rapidly up at the angel's face, as if looking at him helped get him to
the finish. Jude tightened his own hand as Clare began to rock his hips and
could tell that the end was near. Clarence was close to an orgasm. Jude could
see it on his handsome, glistening face.
“Ah,” Clarence groaned, voice hitching as he panted toward Jude's mouth, “J –
Jay!”
Before Jude knew it, he felt hot liquid splattering up his arm. He didn't look
down to see it though, because he didn't want to break eye contact with
Clarence. It seemed like looking into Jude's eyes made Clare feel better and
Jude didn't want to take it away. Still, the warm fluid pulse for a few seconds
but eventually stopped when Clare paused his hips. Jude slowly released the hot
shaft and let it go limp between them. And after one more long, passionate
kiss, Jude rolled back over to let Clare catch his breath.
The two teenage boys panted in unison as they laid on their backs and blinked
lazily up at the ceiling. Jude made sure to keep his hand on Clare's though. He
wanted to keep touching him even though they weren't looking at each other.
When thoughts began to return to Jude's mind, he felt his mouth dip open
further in sudden surprise. Holy shit. Jude wasn't a virgin anymore. He and
Clarence just had sex for the first time! And it was everything Jude hoped it
would be! But, oh man, he really hoped that Papa never found out... Jude
eventually rolled over to press his lips to Clarence's bare shoulder. He really
wanted to tell the guy how much he loved and appreciated him, but couldn't
really find the right words.
“I was nine.”
Jude paused his affectionate kiss to look up at Clarence's face. In the
extremely dim candlelight, Jude could see that the guy was still staring up at
the ceiling. His eyes were kind of glazed over, though; like he was remembering
something.
“Nine?” Jude repeated, hoping that Clarence would continue.
“When I first... did something like this,” Clarence admitted, his voice so low
that Jude almost couldn't hear him.
Most of Jude's happiness vanished in an instant. What? Clare was only nine
years old when he first did something sexual? Why so young? And who was it
with? Jude wanted to ask what happened, but Clarence went on before he could
say anything.
“You couldn't blame me, though. It was winter in Chicago and I was freezing to
death,” he mumbled, “It was my first winter on my own, and I had been thrown
out of every store between Goodwill and Macy's because they were closing for
the night. So I just kind of ended up under a bridge around a campfire with
some other homeless people... I remember how cold my toes were. I remember how
hungry I was, too. I couldn't tell whether my stomach hurt from lack of food or
heat. It had been a few days since I had eaten... When that guy rolled up in a
shitty SUV, offering me food if I got in his warm car, how the hell was I
supposed to say no?”
Jude gulped, but didn't say a word. Oh, no. This story wasn't going to be a
good one...
“He seemed nice,” Clare nearly whispered, “I thought he genuinely wanted to
help me. So of course I climbed up in his car to get warm. He asked me where my
parents were, I told him that my house burned down and that I didn't have any.
He had a bag of drive-thru burgers in his hand, but instead of just giving it
to me, he told me to... to touch him first...”
Jude tried to hold in his gasp, but could still feel warm tears rising in his
own eyes. No! How could an adult ask something of a kid like that?! Clarence
coughed a little, letting go of Jude's hand so that he could cover his mouth,
and Jude could tell that Clare was trying to hold back tears of his own.
“I'd never grown up around men, so I didn't know what they were like,” Clare
went on, “I actually thought 'hey, maybe this is normal. Maybe it's a guy
thing.' So I didn't argue. I just... did what he told me to do... with my
hands... and when he was done, he gave me the bag and told me to get out of the
car. I was a little confused, because I thought...” he paused to sniffle sadly,
“I actually thought he was going to take me to his house and let me live there.
I thought I was going to have a new home or something... but when I got out of
the car and he drove off, I was too hungry to feel bad. I just swallowed those
burgers whole... Shit. I still hate the taste of burgers...”
Warm, wet tears were dripping from Jude's eyes and sliding down Clare's
shoulder, glistening in the candlelight. He hated hearing these things; he
hated knowing that his beloved Clarence was treated so badly by strangers. But
it seemed like Clare wanted to get it all out and let Jude hear it. Even though
he and Jude were both tearing up, he kept talking.
“But I learned that I could use that stuff to my advantage, you know?” Clarence
said, “I figured out that I could get things from people by letting them spend
time with me like that. When you're young, weirdos are willing to pay anything
to play with you. Especially the rich ones. Rich people are freaks... and I – I
eventually developed a drug problem, which only made things harder, because
then I had to keep giving myself up so that I could feed that monster of
addiction... You know that guy we ran into earlier? The one you tossed through
the window?”
Jude realized that Clarence was talking to him and he quickly nodded his head
to answer the question. Yes, he remembered that homeless-looking guy. He tried
to touch Clarence in front of Jude and Jude had to teach him a lesson. Though
he never actually looked at Jude, Clare nodded back.
“He was my main supplier,” Clarence admitted shamefully, eyes locked on the
ceiling, “Usually, our transactions consisted of money... but there near the
end, when I was about to go looking for the bunker, I was getting desperate for
fixes, so I... I let him touch me to get it... And I hate myself everyday for
doing that shit. I mean, h – how messed up do you have to be to let someone
screw you for drugs?” Clare gasped, his tears falling faster as his breath
hitched, “The worst part, was that I – I was so high all the time that I didn't
even feel bad! I didn't feel anything! Even when I was being used, I just laid
there and took it! God, what's wrong with me?! Why did I do that?! Why did I
let that happen?! What was I – ?!”
Jude stopped Clarence's frantic voice by rolling over to bury him in a fierce
hug. He couldn't stand hearing the raw agony in Clarence's voice or the
disturbing tale of his teenage years. He didn't want Clarence to hurt anymore.
He just wanted him to feel loved, because he deserved it more than anyone. It
wasn't his fault that he got tossed into the real world too early and was left
to deal with this all alone. He was still innocent in Jude's eyes.
“It's okay, Clarence,” Jude whispered softly as he raked a hand through the
demon's messy hair, “I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that, but it's
okay now. You're here with me, and I'll never let that happen to you again. No
one is ever going to hurt you. I love you with all my heart, no matter what.”
The teenager hoped that his words would help his boyfriend relax a little bit.
Jude couldn't take the bad memories away, but he could at least help Clare feel
better. The two of them hugged each other until Clarence's heaving sobs quieted
down to gentle whimpers and soft breaths. Once he was sure that Clare was
calmer, Jude raised up to look down at him from above, cupping his handsome
face and using a thumb to wipe away the wet tears. Clare blinked up at him and
slowly opened his mouth again.
“That's... That's why I was worried about doing this with you, Jude,” Clarence
said, “Don't ever think that I don't want you that way, because I do. I just –
I didn't want to be responsible for taking your innocence... because I didn't
get to choose who took mine...”
Jude nodded and let out a gentle 'shhh,' wanting to keep his boyfriend as calm
and comfortable as possible. He had no idea why Clarence suddenly wanted to
tell Jude all about his past. Maybe it was the courage potion that he drank
earlier or something. But he didn't have to keep going. Jude only wanted him to
be happy, not upset. How could Jude make him happy again? Were there any parts
of his past that were happy?
“Clarence,” Jude whispered softly, remembering what happened a few hours
before, “Tell me about the blue flowers on your basement walls.”
Jude figured that there must have been some kind of pleasant connection with
Clare and the flowers he mentioned earlier. Clarence's throat quivered with a
gulp, but a tiny smile appeared just below his tear-stained expression. Jude
felt the demon's hands slide up his bare back, leaving goosebumps in their
wake.
“Jeanette taught me how to paint them,” he said, voice much lighter, “She was
one of the women I grew up with... She was painting something on a canvas one
day, and I think I stole one of her brushes and started copying her by painting
on the walls,” he chuckled a bit, “She didn't scold me, though. She actually
knelt down on the floor with me and started brushing flowers on the brick. I
don't know how long we spent down there. It was almost like a mural by the time
we were done... Man, I wish you could have seen it, Jaybird. You would have
loved it...”
Jude smiled, feeling so glad that Clarence's pain was gone. The sight of his
smile alone was enough to make Jude feel at peace again. Clare must have known
that Jude brought up the flowers to make him forget about his pain, because he
seemed really touched by the remembrance of happy childhood memories. After
wiping his eyes again, Clarence shifted on the bed to roll over with Jude,
putting Jude on his back so that he could hover over him. Jude stared up at
Clarence's face in the candlelight, studying his warm eyes with affection.
“Jude, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me,” he whispered with a
heartfelt nod, “I love you more than anything... And if you're really set on
facing this Darkness shit, then I'll go with you. I won't let you face it
alone.”
After his breathless vow, Clarence lowered his head to seal it with a kiss.
Jude welcomed Clare's mouth with his own, giving the same amount of love back
to him. The taste of courage melted between their tongues before Clare let his
heavy head fall on Jude's shoulder. Jude cradled Clarence's heated body against
his own and nestled his head close to Clare's sweet-smelling hair. He was so
glad to hear Clarence say those things. It made Jude feel so much better to
know that someone loved him enough to face Darkness at his side.
But when Jude's eyes wandered over to see the candle burning on the dresser,
his heart sank. Michael's words were playing in his head again, reminding him
of his possible fate. If Darkness could drain Jude's grace like a candlewick,
what horrific damage could it do to a half demon? The flickering flame looked
so close to burning out; barely able to light the dark corner of Clare's room.
There were a lot of things that Jude didn't know about when it came to the
major battle on his horizon, but there was one thing he knew for sure...
He couldn't take Clarence with him.
 
Chapter End Notes
     I'm so sorry for hurting you with the feels regarding Clare's
     background story, guys. :( I'll admit, I actually cried a little bit
     while I was writing it. (As a matter of fact, the first draft of that
     part was far too graphic, so I went back and changed a few things to
     make it less horrible. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing.) :( I
     hope it wasn't so horrible that you didn't enjoy the fluff around it,
     though. Because, really, all Jude wants to do is love Clare,
     regardless of what happened to him in the past. ;) When it comes to
     Lucifer and Michael and the whole 'ruling heaven' bit, don't worry
     too much, guys. I've got a plan, it just needs some time to develop.
     Lol. :) In the meantime, we get to enjoy watching Jane slap the piss
     out of Luci when he starts acting up. (The woman lived with Eddie
     Thompson, for Chuck's sake. She ain't afraid of nothing!) XD I really
     hope that Jude and Clare's first smut scene was up to par as well.
     Clarence was (understandably) hesitant to take Jude's virginity, but
     I think he's pretty okay with it now. ;) Again, I'm really sorry for
     the feels. And I hope that you guys are prepared for more angst,
     because next week is gonna be a doosy. ;) Thank you guys so much for
     reading and reviewing! I love you all so much! The next chapter will
     be out soon! :)
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!