Chapter Text
Life got back to routine after Azazel's plan and Sam's conversion. Sam took back the reins on his career and almost immediately saw it spiral out of control, Castiel started spending time at the Winchesters' house instead of hiding in his apartment all the time, but things were mostly normal again.
When Claire got sent home from school for exploding some beakers, Jody’s first reaction was to punish Claire for screwing around in science class. When it came out that she wasn’t screwing around, she had been following the directions perfectly and had no idea how the beakers exploded, Jody got curious. And then she talked to the teacher, who explained that somehow Claire had exploded every group’s beaker, not just her own.
After a chat with Michael, it was agreed that Claire would spend summer break going through conversion. She had two Angels to keep an eye on her, so she was not particularly vulnerable to begin with. Waiting until summer would probably not end in disaster. After talking to her teachers, they agreed to let her take her finals early, or to waive them entirely in some classes, so she could start during the last couple weeks.
Sam was not used to being called in to talk to Michael. Oh, sure, Gadreel had been often, but Michael had been very clear that he wanted to talk to Sam. “You wanted to see me?”
Michael waved him in. “Yes. We’ve got a story here that's going to break eventually, and I want it controlled. That means you.”
Sam breathed a quick sigh of relief. “Yes, sir. What’s the story?”
“Rachel. She’s the first of her kind. It’s going to be discovered and reported, and I trust you to do it right. To tell enough of the truth to make it clear what’s happening while holding enough back to protect the innocent people involved.”
“Rachel, sir? Who’s that?” The only Rachel Sam knew was Rachel Nave, his prom date, and he couldn’t imagine any reason for her to be mixed up with Angels. And he was very curious about 'first of her kind'.
“Castiel’s daughter. She’s the first second-generation Angel. Someone, somewhere, is going to sniff that out."
And Sam would be very insulted if it wasn't him. Although he wouldn't have reported on it, not without Michael's permission. "Are you sure publishing that is a good idea? People might start looking for human-identity connections."
"Honestly, I want this story out there. Yes, there's a risk. I'd appreciate it if you'd remind people of Abner and his family, but your story, you do what you feel is best. But people who get involved with Angels should know, now that we do, that it’s likely hereditary. Claire’s a bit of an anomaly, age-wise. Abner’s the only Angel I know of who had children before joining up, and his kids never got the chance to show any powers they had, and the other children born to Angels are all significantly younger. So we only have one data point, and will for a few years.”
“But there may be other cases like Claire out there, where people left behind children they didn’t know about. Running Claire’s story could have them contacting us looking for answers about their children.”
“Exactly. And that's a good thing - we watch for developing powers, but like with you, sometimes we miss things. They're not all obvious like Claire's." Michael smiled. "You’re a perfect choice for running this story – Rachel happens to be Castiel’s daughter and you’re openly involved with Castiel. I liked your article explaining why you’re taking that risk, by the way.”
Sam laughed. He'd written an article about his relationship with Castiel, and defended it with the logic that he was already the world's biggest target because of his employment by the Angels. He'd been very clear that his situation was unique and discouraged other people from going public with their relationships. “It was a lot of bullshit. I’m taking the risk because I can protect myself and so can everyone in my family.”
“I know. Very inventive.” Michael handed Sam a stack of folders. “This is very sensitive information – every child of an Angel that I know of, along with their parent’s human identities. Keep it safe.”
Sam took the folders. Michael's faith in him never failed to surprise him, but he'd learned not to comment on it. “Of course. When’s Rachel coming out?”
“She’s out. Just waiting for me to be done talking to you to go home and introduce herself.” Michael got to his feet. “Can I just say how useful it is having a reporter around who understands why we need to keep certain things to ourselves and is willing to spin stories in our favor? Don’t get me wrong, Gadreel’s nice to have around too, but having an official staff reporter… that was a great idea you had. I’m glad your human personality turned out dominant.”
“Me too. It’s not like this hasn’t done miracles for my career.” Sam was in high demand for interviews, guest articles… he’d even been asked to write a book. “I think I owe Lilith a fruit basket or something. And then a capture or swift death, of course. But if she hadn’t attacked the Shurley building that day…”
“And I’m sure her own people are giving her the hell she deserves for that. Go on now. Take Rachel to your family.”