A Decent Proposal
"You're going to help me build everything." Dean looks skeptically at Babe as she smiles at him, putting her thumbs in the belt loops of her jean overalls. Her hair is in two puffy pigtails on the top of his head with a bandana. What is it with her and playing dress up?
"Yup. However you want me to do it. snap of the fingers or Rosie the riveter." she flexes a practically nonexistant bicep with a broad grin with dimples that makes her look irritatingly adorable and not at all like a little tornado of chaos and mischeif.'
"How about as far away from me as possible." Dean suggests. Babe just looks over to Sam with a giant 'I told you so' in her eyes. "I don't need your tricks and pranks, Gabriel."
"No tricks or pranks. I'll be good, I swear." she crosses her heart.
"Don't make promises you can't keep." Raphael's unhelpful comment earns him a dark look from his sister.
"I keep my oaths, Raphael."
"And I'm not leaving RuPaul over there alone with Sam."
"If I wished him harm, your presence would make no difference." Raphael turns to sam who has the plans out on the table. "My sister tells me you intend to incorporate a school for vessels and their guests into your sanctuary. Having the vessels and their families in a centralized location, would make them easier to protect. but what plans have you developed for their training and what resources are you using?"
"Well, Harahel gave Krissy a translated copy of the manual for vessels on being vessels. I did the basic lesson plans around that." Sam turns to his prospective brother in law.
"Raphael created both manuals. He'll be a great help." Babe informs them.
"Oh really? What chapter covered leaving your vessel a burnt out catatonic shell? Did your current vessel read that one?" It's Sam's turn to give his unhelpful older brother a withering look. Dean just crosses his arms and shoots Sam a look right back.
"Can I talk to you?" Sam nods to the garage
"I was just about to ask the same thing." Dean walks out to the garage. "What the hell are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that I'd like my brother and my future spouse to actually get along with each other and so is she. We're thinking we'd like our families to be able to coexist and attend our wedding and not be constatnly fighting all the time. Maybe even behave civily to each other and work together for the mutual benefit of heaven and earth."
"Anything else you want to throw in there while you're at it, Sammy?" Dean crosses his arms. "Say, world peace, total nuclear disarmament, dogs that shit skittles?"
"She could probably make that last one happen." Sam considers. "Look, I love you, you're my brother, and you always will be. But I love her too and she is going to be a part of my life whether you like it or not. If you can't be around each other, then that's going to be a part of my life you can't be a part of."
"You would shut me out of your life for that freaky little trickster bi..." Before he can finish, Sam punches him in the mouth. Dean just gapes at him, astonished. His hand to his lip. Granted seeing as he's still concious Sam pulled his punch a bit but still.
"I am sick of this bullshit. I am sick of your insult and snide remarks and I have had enough. Now you need to decide whether or not you love me more than you hate her, because I am not doing this any more."
"You hit me."
"Well asking you nicely doesn't seem to be doing the trick." Babe sighs and walks over to them, kissing the forming bruise from Sam's knuckles. "Thanks, Sampai but you don't need to do that. Kind of just makes things worse, you know?"
"Sorry, Babe." He kisses her cheek.
"You're apologizing to HER?!"
"We need to talk, hotlips." Babe snaps her fingers and dissappears from the bunker with Dean.
Sam takes a breath and sits down ont he head off the nearest car. Is it toom uch to ask that his brother be supportive of his relationship? Even if he doesn't approve does he have to make it clear every single time she comes up? He thought they'd been through this already. Maybe he has to be dying of cancer for his brother to actually put forth the effort. When he composes himself to go back to the main hall, Raphael is sitting reading his notes and writing down a few of his own in enochian script that looks alot like a kind of short hand.
"I think the idea of inducing lucid dreaming in the vessels in order to initiate communication is a good one but not all angels are capable of entering a human's dreams. Very few taught how. We didn't encourage fraternization after the war. It was dangerous." He puts the file down enough to look at Sam. "Do I need to ask how you know we can do that?"
"I don't think you do." Sam looks down at the notes. "Thank you for coming. I appreciate it." Raphael puts the papers down and clasps his hands together across his lap, looking up at Sam.
"Let me make one thing very clear." He waits until Sam meets his eyes. "I am here because my younger sister asked it of me. I love her very much and have missed her greatly as irrational as that seems to me now that I have her back. I do not like you, I do not want her having any sort of relationship with you and no matter what vows you make or ceremony you undergo, there is absolutely no force of law, human or divine, that will ever induce me to consider you my brother.
"However I will be supporting Gabriel's decisions and taking her part when we decide to inform Michael. Not because I find you the least acceptible or anywhere close to good enough for her but because I will not loose her again over something so insignificant. Finally I'm insulted that she would assume otherwise. Now if you could spare us both any attempts at bonding or ingratiating yourself to me, there are alot of revisions to be made to both the lesson plans and protective warding on the buildings. Several of them cancel each other out ihn too close proximity." Raphael stands up and spreads the plans out.
"I know that's why they're spread apart." Sam points out.
"The required distance is proportional to the size of the ward."
"Huh." Sam frowns at it. "So if we were to scale down so they all fit."
"The best way is to create concentric circles around the perimeter leading inwards to the center, each of alternating word patterns. The advantage of numerous smaller words is that it makes it considerably harder to take away all the protections. At they very center should be a place to fall back to as well as the armory and apothecary. "
"We're thinking about making an underground storage facility and a bomb shelter eventually. But for now, we're focusing on the surface structures." Sam points out.
"Why?"
"Because we're only human and can't transmute matter at will?" Sam replies.
"Gabriel can."
"Yes and everything done instantly would raise alot of suspicion and draw alot of attention. Neither of which is a good idea for a safe haven. Besides she has to take care of things u in heaven. There's no good reason to ask her to help do this." Raphael just gives him a quizzical look that oddly reminds Sam of Castiel.
"It would allow completion much faster nad we both know that if Gabriel wants something concealed, then she can conceal it."
"Yes, but at the moment Heaven has to be her priority. And really I'd appreciate it if you didn't poke hole in my attempts to shy her away from using the school as an excuse to slack off." Sam admits reluctantly.
"That particular battle is one you will not win." Raphael gives a ghost of a smile. "I am doing my best to encourage that as well. I am older and stronger than her and can enforce my edicts innumerous ways, where as you're confined to the lysistrata gambit." Sam manages not to laugh, not sure whether it was actually a joke or not.
"Well, there is also tryiing to talk some sense into her." He adds. There's a very significant pause.
"Good luck with that."
"Take me back. Right now." Dean demands as Babe pops a truffle into her mouth, ignoring him.
"Dean. Deandeandeandeandean. Dean. Calm the fuck down. Have a chocolate truffle." she offers himone. He smacks itout of her head. 'Aside from being stressed as hell, Sam is fine and will be fine. Raphael is not going to hurt him."
"You don't know that!"
"Yes, I do! He said he wouldn't and Raph doesn't lie. Ask Miti. At best he can be evasive but a direct answer to a direct question can always be taken at face value." she unwraps another truffle and shoves it in his mouth when he opens it to reply. "We need to talk about us, big boy." She pats his cheek as he swallows
"Please find a less disturbing way to phrase that.And we have nothing to talk about. Now take me back to my brother before that Teenage Mutant Ninja Angel hurts him or I swear I will destroy you." He grabs the straps of her overalls. Babe just laughs at the description.
"Oh, I'm going to have to remember that." She smiles. "Especially for Christmas. You know this will be the first Christmas I can actually go all out on as Christmas and not some pagan winter solstice crap? This will be so much fun."
"Wait, you haven't celebrated Christmas.com Is that, like, your starring role?"
"Yeah," She looks at him like she thinks he an idiot, not an unfamiliar expression. "That's why. I mean I'll have to get him something sincere too after trading him for a goat or I'd just bombard him with turtle stuff, like I do with Thor and Avengers merchandise. He's still pissed I lost his hammer. Oh, I'll send him a mjolnir paperweight."
"Wait, what? You what?" Dean laughs despite himself. "Is that where you got the goat?"
"Yeah, he's going to beat me for that as soonas he thinks my guard is down, I know, but so worth it." She snickers. "Look, I like you, Dean."
"No, you don't."
"No. I don't. But you have your moments. Youy know, when you're not being a self righteous know it all asshole." Babe snaps her fingers sending him to a recliner facing the opposite direction. "What do I have to do to win you over? Seriously. Me, I enjoy our little fights, but Sam, not so much. Now, I can hold my tongue when you're not around, but you piss me off like nobody's business, it's not even funny. I mean, c'mon what did I ever do to you?"
"Excuse me?" Dean gives her an incredulous look. "You repeatedly murdered me in front of my brother!"
"I mean besides that, geez." She rolls her eyes. "And I took it back. I didn't have to. They were always going to bring you back at some point and I honestly thought he'd be bettter off without your controlling unreasonable ass riding him, but nope. Fucking soul mates."
"Oh, that was all for Sam's benefit? Emotionally torturing him? Putting him through hell when a straight goddam answer would have told us enough to prevent that whole damn thing? Just one fucking peice of information andnone of it would have had to happen, but no, you cared more about saving your own skin until it was too damn late." Dean tries to put the footrest down, but it won't go so he just climbs over the side.
"Okay, then, maybe getting along is too much to ask from someone so damn selfrighteous, so what will it take for you to just stop giving him greif about our relationship when you two are alone together? He can handle a little jab or two when we're together but at least give him a break when we're not."
"Just send me back so I can actually get some damn work done." Dean snaps.
"Fine, but you're not fucking things up for Sam with Raphael." Babe snaps her fingers returning him to the bunker. He can hear Raphael talking to his brother.
"Michael was training our brother,leaving me to watchher in a room with one exit as it was the only way to keep her in one place. She was very new and even worse at listening than she is now, but still ridiculously fast and energetic. So, obviously I can't leave the doorway or she'll get out and either wreck havok or managed to escape heaven and risk drawing the attention of the darkness before we're ready. That meant I couldn't exactly play with her, so she was bored and starts asking questions while flying around the room. I answer as best I can until she asks what our father is working on now, and won't accept 'I don't know' for an answer. Finally I make the mistake of telling her to ask him herself.
"So she starts calling for him, trying to get his attention, and since she literally cannot stay still for any length of time, she starts flying faster and faster actually bouncing off the walls like that ball in that alien movie she had us watch a few days ago, and calling'lo,lo,lo,lo' just over and over. It's short for Elo, what we call him in enochian, like shortening father to dad. So it was just bounce bounce bounce lololo over and over again until I wanted to throttle her. Of course I'd have had to catch her first which would have required leaving the doorway And catching her was never garunteed. Just before I broke, father returns catches her up and asks her what she needs. The little shit just says 'Nothin'... Whatcha doin'?' And he took her and showed her, not bringing her back until the other two were done. I just lay down on the floor and enjoyed the silence and peace and stillness as long as I could. Though I was not a little irritated that she was rewarded for her behavior.
"When father returned he took me aside and taught me how to form the walls of heaven so the next time I could just remove the door and find a better way to occupy her and even play and train her instead of just keeping watch. It made things much easier, though I did get in trouble for just forming a box around her a couple times when she was getting especially annoying like when she kept trying to steal my feathers. She started crying when she couldn't get out and our brother came and pounded me into the floor for it for which Michael came and beat him to a pulp. She just started crying even harder and then dad had to come back and we were all in trouble." He shakes his head as Sam tries to stop his barely restrained silent laughter.
"You know, I don't think she was so much rewarded by being taken away as it was done for your sake." Sam turns to his plate. He's eating a sandwich? They must be out of lettuce.
"Now that I have some perspective, I have to agree. At the time it just felt like father spoiling his favorite's favorite." Raphael shrugs. "Alright, tell me about your first date, and remember I'm her brother."
"I'm not sure what counts as the first date." Sam tries to think.
"The movies afer she tortured that guy for his boots." Dean speaks up, walking over and stealing the other half of Sam's sandwhich. "Roast beef?"
"Bifrost. And that wasn't a date." Sam protests.
"It was so a date and you know it. So, what, you two decided to bond over lunch instead of work?"
"No, we finished over an hour ago. I simply decided that I wished to know more about my sister's time on earth and am trading information. Also I feel telling embarassing fledgling stories to her lover should make us even for Bia and Tano." Raphael gives him a breif glance.
"Those jackasses? What did... actually no, it's a start, but I have a better idea. Can you keep her out of here for a little bit?"
"Of course." Raphael eyes him suspicously. The mischeivous grin on Winchesters face is less than reassuring.
Babe snaps her fingers again, trying to get back to the bunker. Sam's not answering his phone, she's being blocked. Dean doesn't answer his een to tell her to fuck off, which is unexpeected. Raphael wouldn't actually do anything would he? He wouldn't just... would he? No, of course he wouldn't. Would he? A final attempt takes her back into the bunker. The entire roomis covered in bets of blood and flesh and bone and flannel. The goat is on the map table dismemebered into seven peices, limbs, head and two halves of torso. He turns around to see his brother sitting in the only clean chair calmly reading a book. Clearly he has lost what little sanity he had left.
"Raphael?" She asks cautiously.
"Yes, Gabriel?" He doesn't look up.
"Did, um, did everything go alright?"
"Of course, why did you ask?" He glances up at her breifly.
"Oh, no reason." she reaches out to touch the goat head near her. It's solid. It feels real. As far as she can tell it's the exact molecular structure of a goat head, though she's not as good about that as Raph is. "Did some redecorating I see."
"No." He looks at her like she's the one who's lost her mind. "Are you alright?"
"Fine. Fine. Where's Sam?"
"Around the bunker. He was intelligent, I will give him that much." Raphael returns to his book.
"Was?"
"Pardon?"
"You said 'was' intelligent."
"Did I."
"What did you do to my fiancee Raphael?" She demands slightly less calm. Raphael puts down the book and looks up at her, irritation creasing his features.
"I didn't do anything to anyone. What are you saying? Why would you ask me that? Did I not tell you I am accepting your relationship? That I would make an effort? And immediately upon returning you start accusing me of doing... something to him just because he is not here with me?" He snaps irritably.
"You're right. I'm sorry." Babe apologizes and takes a breath, looking around the room again, her gaze lingering on the sticky blood soaked carpet. "So, uh, where is he again?"
"He's with his brother."
"And where is his brother?" She prods.
"I'm fairly sure they haven't left the bunker." Is the reply. Babe just looks at her big brother who just looks back at her his expression blank, seemingly oblivious to the carnage.
"I see." she slowly back away. "I,. uh, have to go back to heaven, and, um, do something? So... let... let them know I was here."
"Of course." Raphael goes back to his book, looking back up with a laughing smile after she vanishes at top speed.