Chapter Text
A man gazing on the stars is proverbially at the mercy of the puddles in the road.
-Alexander Smith
It had been a long week for Castiel but it was finally Friday and the last of his students had been dismissed to the front office. He still needed to make sure he had everything ready for his Monday lessons but after that he was free to go.
His 5 year old niece, Claire, had chosen to go camping to celebrate her birthday and, after a few days of research, his brother, James, had found a camping ground in Lake Bob Sandlin State Park. It was located in a small town called Pittsburg two hours away from their homes in the outskirts of Dallas, Texas. Castiel had looked at the pictures online and it seemed to be the perfect spot to get away from the busy city and enjoy a bit of fishing, hiking and time with his family.
“Dad! Dad! It’s time!” His 7 year old son, Jack, came running into his classroom and threw himself onto his back. The weight of his son almost made him drop the huge teacher edition book he had in his hands. With a sigh he tried to turn and look at his son but Jack’s arms were still around him, making it impossible for Castiel to give him the stern look he wanted.
“Jack, little bee. What have I said about jumping on me like that?”
“Not to.” His son responded with a shy voice, knowing he was in some kind of trouble.
“Exactly. So why have you decided to do it anyway?” Being a teacher had helped Castiel with his son’s education. Having been doing it for more than 10 years already, he tried to make every moment a teachable moment.
“I’m just so excited, Dad! We’re going camping!” Jack jumped off his back and ran around the room until he stopped right in front of Castiel. They had carefully packed and loaded his truck with all sorts of things Jack thought they would need. He’d been even more excited than Claire for this trip.
“I know. But remember you are a growing boy and might get us injured if you keep jumping on me like that.” Castiel tried to always be reasonable with Jack, helping him think through his actions instead of just expecting the boy to know what to do.
“Alright. I promise to try and remember.”
“I know you will.” Jack hugged Castiel around the middle, more calmly now, and looked around the room. "Can we go now?”
“I just need to make some copies and then we can leave. Want to come with me to the copy room?” He knew his son was fascinated with the copy machine for some reason.
“Yeah! Can I help?”
“Sure. Just leave your backpack here. You don’t need to be carrying it all around the school.”
---
It had taken Castiel and Jack twenty more minutes to finish with the copies and gather their things from his classroom. They were finally in the car and ready to start their drive to the campsite.
“Ready, Jack?” Castiel asked.
“Yeah!” Jack jumped in place, the car seat almost too small for the boy. He’d been thinking of finally exchanging it for a booster seat, but had decided to wait for Jack to grow a little taller.
Castiel looked back at his son. “Don’t forget to buckle your seatbelt. Balthazar won’t start until you do.”
Jack put on his seat belt with a soft ‘click’ and shouted, “Ready, Balty!”
“Try again using your inside voice ,Jack.” Castiel reminded him and tried to hide his laugh. He’d only named his old truck Balthazar to annoy Jimmy, but now it gave the vehicle a sense of personality.
“I’m ready, Balty.” He repeated in a softer, but not less excited, tone.
“Thank you, little bee.” He turned the key in Balthazar’s ignition and felt it splutter a little before starting. ‘That’s not a good sound .’ He’d been having some issues with Balthazar’s engine for a while, but refused to sell it and buy a new one like Jimmy had recommended. He loved his truck, it was the first he’d ever bought and was strangely attached to it.
“Balty, be strong for us.” He muttered and patted the truck's dash. With a sigh, he quickly drove out of the school’s parking lot. He’d been switching mechanics so much the last few years hoping to find someone reliable. The last place he’d taken Balthazar to had told him nothing was wrong with him, but still charged him more than $1000 in repairs. They probably had been hustling money out of him.
Promising himself to look for a new mechanic when he returned from this trip, he petted the steering wheel lovingly. “Just take us there and back, Balty. I promise to find you a better doctor when we come back.”
---
It was almost dinner time when they arrived at the campsite. His brother and sister-in-law were waiting near the largest tent he’d ever seen. He was surprised they’d been able to build it by themselves, it was that big. His niece, Claire, was jumping up and down; he was sure if Jimmy didn’t have a hold of her hand she’d run all the way to the door of his still moving truck.
“Uncle Cassie! Jackie!” She waved at them from where she was standing.
“Claire! We made it!” Jack screamed back at her and waved back animatedly.
“Jack. Remember to lower the window before you scream inside the truck.” Castiel reminded his overexcited son.
“Sorry, Dad.” He said, then took off his seatbelt. “Can I get out now?”
“Yes. Yes. Let me just finish parking.”
As soon as he turned off the car, Jack's door was being opened by an exasperated Jimmy. With a quick ‘Hi, Uncle Jimmy.’ Jack jumped out of the car and ran to his cousin. It always warmed Castiel’s heart how much they loved each other.
He was so distracted looking at his son and niece hug that he didn’t realize Jimmy was already standing by his door, opening it quickly and pulling him into a hug in greeting. It had only been a few days since he’d last seen his twin brother, but it felt like it had been forever.
“Hello, Jimmy.” Castiel said into his shoulder.
Jimmy squished him, like he always did. “Hey, Cassie. Missed you.”
“We had dinner together on Tuesday.” He pushed his brother away and walked to the back of the truck to start unloading things.
“I know! But still, you didn’t answer my text this morning and I started to feel twin withdrawals.”
“You are an idiot.” He answered with fond exasperation. “Now, stop whining and help me with this.”
He knew that his relationship with his brother was a little too dependent. People, mainly romantic interests, had always complained that he was too attached to his brother. Those people hadn’t been worth his time. He loved his twin brother and would not change his relationship with him for anyone.
“Geez, this cooler is heavy! What’s inside?” Jimmy helped Castiel carry the large gray cooler to where all the food was being stored. Jimmy and Amelia’s red cooler and other bags were already stored on the inside of their tent to protect them from forest animals.
“Claire said she wanted hot dogs and Jack said he wanted burgers, so there’s all the ingredients for that. Eggs, ham and cheese for breakfast and some other things.” Castiel explained with a huff.
“Bacon?” Jimmy looked up excitedly and did a quiet celebratory dance when Cas answered. “Yes, bacon too.”
“And cake?”
“Yes. Claire’s favorite.”
“You didn’t have to bother, Cassie.” Amelia walked up to them carrying a couple of bags full of chips and other condiments and placed them with the rest of the food. Then she gave Castiel a huge hug.
“Of course I did.” Castiel had offered to bake Claire’s favorite cake weeks ago, when they’d first planned to join them. “She’s my only niece and I have to spoil her. Especially on her birthday.” Castiel returned Amelia’s hug and was not surprised when Jimmy came and joined them.
“Twin hug!” They squeezed Amelia between them and made her laugh. “You are an idiot, James Novak, move away.” She pushed Jimmy and moved towards the truck to finish helping. Jimmy followed his wife without complaint.“You love it babe, don’t pretend.”
Looking at them and being part of their small family always gave Castiel hope. He wanted something like that for himself. A man or woman that would be able to fit in their small family. What he had with Kelly, Jack’s mom, had been something completely different. He was grateful for Jack, of course he was, but that was it. Kelly and him had been friends in college and had dated for a bit. Their relationship fizzled out into a friends-with-benefits kind of thing by graduation. They’d kept it up for longer than was healthy and had finally decided to stay only friends when Kelly had started feeling the symptoms of pregnancy.
Kelly had denied any kind of help during the pregnancy and had signed a share custody agreement that gave him Jack most of the time as soon as was healthy for the baby to be without her. She was career-focused and only spent time with Jack a couple of weeks every summer.
Jimmy and Amelia had been so much help those first few years, when he was by himself. They had moved in together and raised Jack together. Then Amelia had fallen pregnant and it went without saying that Castiel wanted to help as well.
Only when Jack started kindergarten did Castiel feel comfortable moving out into his own apartment. Amelia and Jimmy didn't want him to leave but he felt it had been time. It had been one of the hardest things he had done in his life but still felt like it had been the right move.
“Uncle Cassie! Uncle Cassie!” He was interrupted from his daydreaming by Claire. She was running his way with Jack on her heels.
“Claire-bear!” He kneeled and caught her, throwing her in the air and hugging her with a spin. Her laugh was one of the best sounds in this world.
“Did you bring it?” Claire asked with excitement, jumping up and down in his arms.
“Did I bring what?” He knew she was talking about her birthday present, but pretended not to know and made sure his voice sounded confused.
“My present, silly!” Her voice was exasperated and it just made Castiel laugh internally. He gave Jimmy and Amelia a surprised look.
“Wait, I needed to bring a present?” He could see them trying their best not to laugh at their antics.
“Yes! For my birthday!”
“It’s your birthday? Oh, no. I must have forgotten about that.” His acting must’ve been pretty on point because even Jack seemed to believe him. As he expected though, his son came to Claire’s rescue.
“What are you talking about, Dad? We did bring a present for Claire.”
“We did?”
“Yeah! We went to Target together to get it, remember?”
“You’re right, I remember now! Why don’t you go get it and give it to Claire.” He let down his niece to let her run behind Jack towards the truck.
“What did you buy for her, Cassie?” Jimmy asked when he stopped beside him.
“You’ll see.”
Both of them stood and waited as Amelia helped Jack and Claire with a huge gift bag. The little girl didn’t wait to start digging through the paper in the bag bringing out a Tyrannosaurus Rex Chomp n’ Roar Mask.
“Oh my god, Cassie! You didn’t!” Claire’s squeals of excitement answer for him. His niece was obsessed with dinosaurs and the T-Rex mask Jack and him had gotten for her was an instant hit. Claire could not wait to put on and start playing dinosaurs with Jack.
“Where did you find that mask?” Amelia asked as she approached them.
“Jack found it in the dinosaur area at Target. We instantly knew it was the perfect gift for Claire.”
“It is! We’ll just have to live with that roaring for the rest of our lives.” Jimmy laughed and gave his wife a big kiss.
Castiel looked around and smiled, he couldn’t ask for anything more than this. It was going to be a perfect weekend, nothing could go wrong.
---
“No, no, no. Please Balty, don’t do this to me. Not this weekend.”
His truck was not starting. He kept turning the key but the motor wouldn’t even make a sound. All the lights turned on, which meant the battery was working fine, his gas tank was half full and he remembered to check the oil last week.
He cursed his luck with mechanics while hitting his head repeatedly on the steering wheel. He knew something like this would happen, he’d been an idiot for believing those mechanics back home. He knew they’d been lying when they’d said his truck was fixed.
A tapping on his window made him lift his face from the steering wheel. His brother was outside and signaled for him to open the window.
“What’s up, Cassie?” Jimmy had his fishing rod and a box of bait in his hand. He could see Amelia walking further back with Jack and Claire. They’d been fishing all morning and were ready to drive back to the campsite and cook lunch.
“Balty won’t start,” Castiel confessed despondently.
“I hate to say ‘I told you so’ but I told you so.”
“Jimmy–” His brother doesn’t even let him start a sentence.
“Do you ever listen to me? No! You had to go buy the ugliest truck in the dealership– .”
“Jimmy–”
“-you’ve spent more money on mechanics than you would’ve if you had listened to me and bought a newer truck.”
“James!”
“What!?”
“You are not helping.”
“Shit. I know. I’m sorry.” Jimmy looks around, as if he would find whatever’s wrong with Balthazar by just staring at him. “Did you take it into the shop after last time?”
“I did, and then I took him back twice after that. The mechanic there promised me he was ‘good as new’”. Castiel used finger quotes to make his point.
“Well, he clearly lied.” Jimmy shrugged. “You’ll have to call a tow.”
“I hate calling triple A,” Castiel whined. “It’s a Saturday, and we are in the middle of Pittsburg, Texas. Normally it’s a two hour wait when I’m in the middle of downtown Dallas. Imagine how long we’ll have to wait here.” Resigned, Castiel grabbed his phone and started looking for the triple A app.
“There’s nothing else we can do. Unless you suddenly know how to fix cars.” Jimmy walked to his own car. “We can leave Balty here and drive my car back to the campsite for lunch.” He called the rest of the family to join him while Castiel looked back at his phone and groaned. The app showed the tow’s ETA as 2pm.
“Great.” He muttered, as he locked Balthazar and walked towards Jimmy.
---
“Triple A is never sending anyone, Jimmy.” Castiel showed his brother his phone. “ETA has already jumped to 5pm. This is a disaster.”
“Calm down, Cassie.”
“I can’t calm down, Jimmy. I need to start calling local mechanics and hope that someone is open and willing to help.”
“Cas—”
Castiel ignored his brother and opened Google Maps, he quickly typed ‘mechanic’ and waited for the results in the area. There weren’t many, but Castiel clicked on the first one without even looking at the name of the place.
“I just need to call.” Castiel brought the phone to his ear and listened to it ring.
“Cas—” Jimmy tried to interrupt again. But Castiel lifted a finger to signal for silence.
“MCR Automotive Repair. Ruben speaking.” A bored voice answered.
“Hello. This is Castiel Novak, my car won’t start and I wondered if you guys could help.” Castiel hoped his desperation didn’t show much in his voice.
“If you can bring it in, we can take a look at it.” was the answer he received.
“I can’t bring it in. It won’t start.” Castiel really tried to be patient, but he wasn’t being very successful. He looked at his brother and shrugged, Jimmy rolled his eyes at the other person’s stupidity.
“Call a tow service and have them bring it here.”
“Okay. Do you know of a local tow service I could call? Triple A does not have anything available.”
“What am I, the yellow pages?”
“O-of course not, I just though–”
He was interrupted when Ruben started talking, his voice sounded impatient now, as if he was dealing with an idiot that didn’t understand simple instructions. “Look man, we’re open until three on Saturdays. If you can bring your truck in before then we might be able to look at it Monday morning.”
“Monday morning? But—” Ruben, the asshole, abruptly finished the call without even letting Cas talk. He looked at his cellphone’s screen and read the "Call Ended” message incredulously.
“Did that just happen?” Cas asked no one in particular.
Jimmy was close enough to listen to him and said “I was gonna say, mechanics in small towns are very particular.”
“How do people stay in business when they treat their clients like that?”
“Let’s just try the next one.”
---
Half an hour later, Jimmy had given up calling after having a completely unnecessary fight with the person who answered the phone on the only call he had made. Castiel had just hung up on the fourth shop, none of them had tows or wanted to drive over to where Balty was parked.
Amelia and the kids had walked back from the park and they were getting ready for a nap. They had plans to stargaze tonight, so Claire and Jack needed to rest for an hour or two this afternoon if they wanted to be awake for that. Jimmy had immediately taken Claire and offered to put her to bed, running into their tent with his daughter in his arms.
Inside his own tent Castiel was helping Jack lay down on his sleeping bag. The boy looked worried and asked, “Daddy, are we staying here forever?”
“Of course not, Jackie. Why do you ask?”
“Because Balty broke down and we can’t drive back home.”
“We’ll figure something out, little bee. You don’t have to worry.”
“But Dad, what about school, and-and work and-and our plants! Who’s gonna take care of them if we are stuck here?”
“Calm down, Jack, I promise to do everything I can to fix Balty. We’ll be able to drive back home in time for school and to take care of all our plants.”
“Are you sure?”
“I promise.” Castiel leaned in and gave his son a kiss on his forehead.
“Okay.”
“Now close your eyes and rest. We want to watch the stars tonight and you need a nap if you want to be able to stay awake.”
“Uhum.”
A few moments later, Jack was snoring softly. It always impressed Castiel how his son was able to fall asleep almost instantly. This time he was grateful that Jack had believed his promises. He wished he could believe them himself. Crawling out of the tent, he found Amelia sitting on a camping chair drinking a glass of lemonade.
“How’s it going with the search for a mechanic?” Amelia asked when she saw him walk her way.
“None of the ones I’ve called are willing to help in any way and Triple A does not have an available tow in this area.” Cas sat on the chair next to her with a groan.
“Did you call everyone in town?”
“I did.”
“No luck?”
“No,” he said dejectedly. “But I left some messages. There’s still hope that someone will call me back, right?”
“At 3 pm on a Saturday?”
With another groan and a mumbled ‘you’re right’ he opened the Triple A app again, the ETA message had changed to unavailable at the moment.
“At this rate, I’m going to be stuck here all week.”
“Don’t exaggerate.” He looked back at her, she grinned. “At least until Monday or Tuesday.”
“Ames! I don’t know if you realize the seriousness of this situation right now.”
She offered him a glass of lemonade which he grabbed with an exasperated sigh. “Listen to me, Cassie. If no one can help you by tomorrow, we can squeeze into our car and drive back together. We might have to leave a few things behind, but everything is replaceable.”
“What about Balthazar, I can’t leave him behind.”
“Your attachment to that truck has always been a mystery to me,” she said. “I’m sure he’ll be fine if we let someone know you left him here.”
“But–”
His phone ringing interrupted him. He stared at the screen and said, “Someone is calling back.”
Amelia quickly took his empty glass. “Well, what are you waiting for? Answer it!”
He nodded and answered the call.
“Hello?”
“This is Dean, calling from Winchester Garage.” Cas looked at Amelia and smiled, he could hear machines in the background and other voices talking.
“Hello, Dean.”
“I heard the message you left and just had to call back.”
“Thank you! I really appreciate you calling back.”
“Let me guess, no one else has?”
“No.” Castiel’s whiny answer caused Dean to laugh on the other end.
“Well, what can I do for you on this fine Saturday afternoon?”
“Oh. Well my truck won't start and I’m not from around here so I’ve been calling everyone in the area and no one has been available to help.”
“That sounds about right for this town. What’s wrong with your truck man? Battery?”
“No, I just had that changed. It’s been in and out of the mechanics back home and they had assured me it was fixed. Then I had a hard time turning it on yesterday, and it seemed a bit wobbly when I was driving here yesterday. This morning we somehow made it to the lake but it just wouldn’t turn on when we were ready to drive back. Luckily my brother drove there with us so we weren’t stranded.”
“Well, if you say that the battery is new there must be something wrong with the starter or the gas tank.”
“Ohh, well if you say so.” Castiel really had no idea.
“Have you been able to get a tow?”
“No, that’s another thing… every tow in the area seems to be in use or broken or something else. Triple A won’t help and no one has been willing to drive out here.”
“Right, right.” A moment of silence made Castiel’s stomach churn. This man was his last hope. If he didn’t help, he was going to have to leave Balthazar behind and drive home with Jimmy. “Give me one moment and I’ll call you back, this number is alright for that?”
“Yes. This is my number.”
“Give me five and I’ll call back, Cas.”
“Okay. Thank you, Dean.”
“No problemo.”
Once the call was over, Cas leaned back on the chair and held his cellphone over his heart. Hopefully Dean the mechanic will call back soon with some good news. If he didn't, Castiel would have to start thinking about how to move Balty back to Dallas.
“So?” Amelia had been waiting quietly beside him.
“He’s going to call me back.”
“Did he say if he was going to help?”
“He didn’t say anything yet but hopefully.”
This whole thing had been a nightmare. It was supposed to be a fun weekend with the family. Fishing, hiking, sleeping under the stars… Instead his truck had broken down and not one mechanic in town cared enough to offer any help.
“This is a nightmare.”
“I’m sure he’ll call back soon, give it time.” Amelia squeezed his shoulder and smiled. He looked back at her and offered her a small smile back. Even if this weekend was not as fun as he expected, he had his family to support him.
---
A few minutes later Castiel, Amelia and Jimmy were sitting around the campfire. Then Castiel’s cell phone rang, making all three of them jump.
“Shit. Are we really this tense?” Jimmy joked and motioned for Castiel to answer his cell. Castiel did so with a nervous laugh and a quick. “Hello.”
“Heya, Cas.”
“Dean?”
“The one and only.”
“I hope you called back to tell me you can help with my truck?” Castiel bit his lip and looked back at Jimmy. His brother and sister-in-law just stared at him expectantly waiting.
“Yeah. ‘Course I am, I just need some information from you and I’ll do my best.”
“Oh, my god! Thank you so much! You have no idea how much we appreciate this.” He smiled and nodded at his family who quietly celebrated and hugged each other.
“No problem, man. Now just tell me where your truck is parked and I’ll go take a look when I’m done at the shop.”
“Alright.”
“Is your truck parked somewhere where it’ll be safe until then?”
“Yeah. It’s parked in the parking lot next to the fishing pond here in Lake Bob Sandlin State Park. It’s been there for a few hours already.”
“That’s only a 20 minute drive from my garage. Let me finish here and I’ll drive out there and meet you by your truck.”
“That sounds great.”
“I’ll text this number when I’m on my way there.”
“Thank you, Dean. Really. Thank you so much.”
“No problem, man. Just doing my job.”
---
Castiel was waiting by his truck when a black classic car of some kind parked beside him. He’d received a text from Dean twenty minutes ago letting him know that he was on his way. Jimmy had driven him here and promised to look after Jack until Castiel came back.
“We’re going to have a great time, Cassie. We’ll save you a hot dog and a s’more for when you come back.”
Claire and Jack had not been happy when they had woken up to find out that Castiel needed to leave to get the truck fixed. But a promise to tell them each a story when they stargazed that night had calmed them both down a little.
He quickly texted his brother, letting him know the mechanic had arrived, and then looked up as the man opened his car’s door. The first thing he saw was the huge tattoo spelling the word “Winchester” all across the right side of the man's neck and down his clavicle. Then he saw a cocky smile, perfectly symmetrical face and the greenest eyes he’d ever seen in his life. He was wearing a tight black shirt, oil stained jeans and black boots.
“Cas?”
“Yes. Dean, right?”
“The one and only.” Dean walked around his car and offered Castiel his hand. Both of Dean’s arms were covered in tattoos as well. Castiel had to consciously try not to stare. He didn’t want the man to think he was a creep but he did risk a quick glance down and could see gears of all kinds and mechanic parts all along his muscled arms.
“Is this the truck?” Dean moved around Castiel to look at Balthazar. “1987 Ford F-Series pickup truck? It looks to be in really good condition.”
“Yes, thank you. I try to keep up with his visits to the mechanic but the usual shop I visited recently closed and the new one has been a disappointment. Things keep popping up when they assure me he’s fixed.”
Dean nodded and finished his walk around the truck.
“Let’s hear him then.” He looked at Castiel expectantly.
“Sorry?”
“Turn the car on, man.” Dean motioned with his hand for him to twist the key and chuckled.
“Oh! Right.” He quickly got in and turned the key. The lights and the radio came on instantly but the motor only spluttered a little before dying again. “It’s been doing that all morning.” Castiel explained with a sigh.
“Alright. Open the front for me.” Dean slapped the top with an open palm and stepped back waiting for Cas to pull the lever for the front to open. Once he did, the mechanic didn’t wait a moment to look inside.
“I’m pretty sure I know what’s goin’ on but I want to be sure. Turn the key again.”
Castiel did as Dean asked and waited for his verdict. As much as he loved his truck he had never paid much attention to what was needed to keep up with it. He’d had a great mechanic back home that had taken care of it so he hadn't worried too much. Now he was suffering the consequences.
“Yeap. It’s the fuel pump.” Dean said, cleaning his hand with a dirty rag he had in his back pocket.
“The what?”
“The fuel pump. Your motor keeps sputtering and won’t turn on ‘cause you have a faulty fuel pump. That means that your engine isn't getting the fuel and air mixture it needs to initiate combustion and power the car.” Dean explained calmly.
“Oh. And you found that out just by listening to the car?” Castiel was really impressed.
“Yeah man.” Dean shrugged. “It’s a pretty distinct sound.”
“Can it be fixed?”
“Well, I can temporarily fix it but I wouldn’t recommend driving all the way back to where you came from with that faulty pump.” That made sense, it had been nerve wracking to drive all the way here with Balthazar spluttering off every hour or so.
“I have to be back in Dallas by Monday, though. Is there anything you can do to help me before then?” Castiel asked after a moment.
“Umm,” Dean scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, I think so. First we need to find out if it’s the fuses or the pump itself that needs replacement. Both are fixable problems. I think I can find you a replacement for either one.”
“Really?” Castiel asked hopefully.
“Yep. Let’s just get your truck to my shop and do a few more tests. Then we can go get the parts we need from a local junkyard. I know the owner.”
“Do we need a tow for that? I’ve been trying to get one out here since this morning.”
“Don’t worry, we can get it running, just turn the key when I say.” He walked back to his car and opened the trunk.
“Of course. Just tell me when.”
Dean got a hammer from the tool kit in the trunk of his car and walked back to slide face up under the truck. “Ready?” He asked. When Castiel answered in the affirmative, he hit something under the car with a loud ‘clang’ while screaming for Castiel to “Turn it!” They did that three times until finally Balty cranked up and was running with a loud rumble.
“I can’t believe it was that easy.” Cas said to Dean when the man stopped by his window.
“Remember this is temporary. Hopefully it won’t sputter off on the way to my shop. Follow me, man.” Dean walked back to his car and got in. He quickly turned it on and drove away.
“Lead the way.” Castiel said, even though the man couldn't hear him anymore.
On his drive there he thought about his very religious mother. He remembered how she would always pray when they found themselves in need. She believed that if you prayed enough ‘the lord will provide, Castiel’. She’d tell him and Jimmy stories of angels appearing to family members to help them in their moment of need.
“They don’t look like angels, boys.” She’d told a younger Castiel and James. “They look like regular people living all around us. But the lord sends them to you. They give their help freely and disappear when the deed is done.”
He hadn’t believed her then. Now? Now he was sure he had just met a tattooed angel. Sent down from heaven to help him in his time of need.