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A clock ticks. Pipes clank. Timbers settle under the weight of years. Cars drone past in the distance. It's just before dawn, and Bobby's house is quiet. On the ground floor, Dean and Cas, Sam and Gabriel, and of course Bobby himself, are asleep in their respective rooms. Upstairs, a light is on- the bathroom light. It blinks off, and a sleepy Nathaniel pads down the hallway. He feels his way along the wall back to the bedroom that he, his sister, and his cousin share. When he gets there, he heads straight for the bunk bed, and he's halfway up the ladder before the sound of footsteps catches his attention. One hand feels for his bedside lamp; when it turns on, its yellowish light illuminates the shape of a strange man. He's short and stocky, wearing a very expensive suit- and he's standing over Emma's bed. He looks a little bit like a bulldog. His face is round and smug, and his chin is covered with stubble like Cas, only not, and his eyes would almost be friendly if he didn't look like he was planning something horrible...he's smiling, which is also horrible. He doesn't seem to notice or care that he's been seen; instead he keeps looking at Emma like a cat looks at a mouse, and talks softly, both to her and to himself.
"Hello there, little one," he says, almost pleasantly. His voice sounds almost like Cas', kind of deep and scratchy, but with something on the edge of it that makes your skin crawl. "you must be Emma. I'm surprised your room isn't better-protected. All those years of fighting things that go 'bump' in the night, and now they neglect this one thing that matters most..." he waves his hand a few feet above the bed and chuckles to himself, a dark, throaty sound like an old movie villain. "And you're not even warded...my, my. They really have let their guard down, haven't they? Anything could stroll right in and posess the little darling, or even steal her away..." he tilts his head contemplatively, then seems to reach a decision. "...Yes, I think you'll do quite nicely." the smug smile disappears as he lowers one open hand toward her face. Nathaniel climbs down the ladder again- who does this guy think he is, trying to take his cousin away? -and pulls himself up to his full four-foot height.
"Hey!" he barks, although it comes out as more of a squeak. "Leave her alone!"
The man pauses, withdraws his hand, and turns his gaze to Nathaniel. The smug, predatory smile returns. "And you're the Trickster's son." he says smoothly. "It's Nathaniel, isn't it? You must be, oh, almost nine years old now; I haven't seen you since you were a bump in your dad's tummy." somehow, this sounds very wrong; his voice seems better suited to whispering curses in back alleys than it does to words like those. And how does he know their names, anyway? Nathaniel backs away and collides with the wall behind him. He scans the man's face, trying to remember what his dad and Uncle Dean have told him, but this guy doesn't have all-black eyes or sharp teeth. What's that word dad uses...?
"Christo...!"
The guy just chuckles again. "That's adorable, but you're better off throwing a feather at me. I'm not your common-or-garden demon. Kudos to Sam for teaching you that, though."
"Who are you...?"
"Tsk." the man clucks disappointedly. "You mean your daddies haven't told you about little ol' me? Oh, I'm hurt." he gives a sarcastic bow. "The name's Crowley, King of Hell." he announces. "I'm, er...an old friend of your uncle and dad."
Nathaniel narrows his eyes. "I don't like you."
"Tough shit, darling. Most people don't like me, I've learnt to live with it." Crowley straightens his jacket. "Now: I'm here to take you and your sister and cousin on a little trip. And if you come with me very quietly and don't make a fuss, you can even meet one of my dogs. D'you like dogs?" he smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. Nate scowls even more. This guy says he knows dad and Uncle Dean, but he's not buying it. He may not know what a demon is, but he can tell this guy is really, really bad news. He picks up a pen from his nightstand.
"No." he says, as deep and imposing as his nine-year-old voice can go. "Go away."
Crowley laughs aloud. It's even more unpleasant than the chuckle, and sends a cold shiver down Nate's back. "You are your father's son, aren't you. Are you really going to fight me with that?" he gestures to the pen in Nate's hand. "I suppose I should be frightened..." he chuckles again. "Look, sweetheart, you haven't got a choice. You and the girls are coming with me whether you like it or not, so you might as well put that down and come quietly. You really don't want to make me mad." as he talks, he walks toward Nate with his arms outstretched. "And who knows? You might even enjoy it there once you're, ah, settled in."
"NO...!" Nate repeats, a little louder this time.
"Shut up." Crowley's just a foot or two away from Nate now, reaching out to grab him by the arm, and that's the last straw: Nate takes a deep breath, stands up straight, and screams at the top of his lungs.
"DAD, PAPA, CAS, UNCLE DEAN!! HELP!!!"
Within moments, there's a flurry of activity downstairs. Crowley cringes and shuts his eyes. "Fantastic. Just what I don't need." Ava has woken up, and she shrieks at the sight of Crowley. "Oh, and you've set off the alarm as well." he turns a dark look on Nate. "You horrible little thing." Five sets of footsteps thunder up the stairs. Crowley turns to face them- but not before grabbing Nate's arm and pulling him close. Sam is the first one through the door; he stops short at the sight of them.
"Hello, Moose." Crowley's smiling again, but his voice is a little disdainful. "Last I saw you, you looked like you'd swallowed a bowling ball-" he mimes the shape of a pregnant belly over his own rather paunchy middle "-but you seem to have gotten through that alright...pity. Would've been a real treat to see you in that much pain."
Sam narrows his eyes in contempt as Dean steps forward. "What're you doing here, Crowley?"
"Hello to you too, Dean. I see you and Cas have had a little one of your own; congratulations...and hello, Bobby." Crowley blows a kiss to Bobby, who's still standing in the doorway. "It's been too long, darling."
"I said, what're you doing here?"
"I think that should be obvious...but then, you've never been good at seeing what's right in front of you, have you, Dean?" Dean scowls. "Not to put too fine a point on it:" Crowley gestures to Nate, Ava, and Emma, "I'm here for them. Frankly, I'm surprised they weren't better-protected; I was expecting at least a Devil's Trap."
"Yeah, well, me and Sam put all that behind us a long time ago. And if you think you're taking our kids, you thought wrong." Dean turns his dagger over in his hand; it glints in the lamplight.
Crowley laughs again. "You can never really get away from 'all that', Dean, you should know that by now. You may have put it behind you, but there are many entities out there who hold far worse grudges than yours truly. And as for your kids, I do as I please." Castiel is edging his way toward Emma; Crowley quickly plunges one hand into his pocket, pulls out a wicked-looking knife, and points it at him without taking his eyes off of Dean. "Please don't try anything, Feathers. I'd hate to have to use this."
"What do you want with them...?" Cas has his hands raised, but his eyes are scanning the room.
"I want the best for them, Cas, just like you do."
"I fail to see how being kidnapped is the best thing for them."
"Don't think of it as kidnapping, think of it as..." Crowley casts his eyes thoughtfully to the ceiling "...as adoption. I'll give them everything they could need: most of all, an education. I'm going to teach them all the things you have been so careful not to tell them. You- all of you -have things in your past you'd rather forget...but you can't, can you?" he smiles nastily. "Don't worry, they won't miss you at all. I'll teach them everything I know, and I'm sure they'll be very good little demons."
Nate is horrified. He looks from Crowley to Sam. "Dad...?"
"Don't listen to him. You're gonna be okay, buddy."
"No, he isn't!" Crowley shakes Nate's arm. "He and Ava are coming with me, whether you like it or not. And Emma, too- come here." he gestures at her. She shakes her head, eyes wide. "Come. Here. Now!" when she still doesn't move, he pulls Ava from her bed, and then stalks over to Emma and picks her up. Dean lunges forward, brandishing his dagger, but Crowley stops him with a look. "Ah-ah...! No heroics, darling. I'd rather not hurt you- at least, no more than I have to."
"Put her down." says Dean through clenched teeth.
"Sorry, no can do. I'm taking her, and there's nothing you can do about it. So if you'll just put down your knife, I'll be on my way."
"No can do."
Behind him, Sam tries to get Nate's attention, then gestures to the pen in his hand. Nate looks down at it, then back up. Sam jerks his head at Crowley. After a moment's hesitation, Nate jabs the pen into Crowley's side. Crowley yelps- and lets go of him and Ava.
"OW, You little SHIT!"
"Nate, run!"
It doesn't matter who said it- he does as he's told and runs with his sister, straight to Gabriel, who wraps his arms around them. When he looks back, Dean has a knife pressed to Crowley's neck, and Sam is moving toward him with another knife- a long, serrated one -and a bottle of holy water. Crowley's free hand is raised, but the other is still holding a frightened Emma.
"Let her go, Crowley." says Cas slowly. There's a soft white light coming from somewhere around him- or is it coming from him? He extends one hand.
"Oh please," Crowley scoffs, "not that old trick..."
"Let. Her. Go." the white lights grows stronger; it's definitely coming from Cas. He steps forward, and for just a split second he's not a scruffy, tired-looking young man, but a huge, winged being, immensly bright and powerful. "You will not harm my daughter." he intones. Nate has never been afraid of his uncle, but he sure is now: he's never seen Cas so angry. Crowley, however, just rolls his eyes.
"'These aren't the droids you're looking for,'" he mocks. But then Cas draws a complicated symbol in the air, and he grimaces in pain. Cas advances on him, step by slow step, his hand still outstretched. Crowley lets out a strangled noise; the collar of his suit is beginning to smoke. "That was a dirty trick." he gasps.
"Yes, it was..." Cas says mildly. He turns his hand just slightly, making Crowley grimace again. "...and I can do far worse, if you don't release my daughter to me. Now."
"Hey, Crowley." Sam has taken advantage of the distraction and sidled up right beside him, holding the open bottle of holy water in one hand. "Think fast." he flings the bottle's contents right into Crowley's face. It sizzles when it lands, the demon yowls- and then everything seems to happen at once. Cas somehow snatches Emma from him; Dean pins him against the wall, and Sam holds the tip of the knife just below his ear; Cas puts Emma down and motions for her to go to Bobby, then beckons Gabriel to him; throughout all this, Crowley is cursing and shaking his head violently against his restraints, and his face is sizzling like a hot griddle. Nate, Ava, and Emma run to the doorway; Bobby picks up the two girls, and Nate hides behind him. He can just see Cas and Gabriel standing in front of Crowley, hands outstretched, both surrounded by white light. Then Bobby puts a hand over his eyes.
"Don't look."
Even with his eyes covered, Nate can see the flash of light that follows. It's blinding, blue-white, and hot. He turns away. When it eventually fades, he cracks his eyes open. Dean, Sam, Cas, and Gabriel are standing in a half-circle around the spot where Crowley had been; there's a big charred spot on the wall, and the room smells like rotten eggs. Sam and Dean sigh almost in unison. They exchange tired looks, then turn around.
"You okay...?"
Considering that they'd almost been kidnapped by the King of Hell and then watched their parents fight him off...not really. It's like something out of a TV show. It would have been awesome if he weren't so scared. And it must show on his face, because his dad crouches down and holds out his arms.
"C'mere, guys." he says gently. They don't have to be told twice; they go straight to him and cling like barnacles on a rock. He hears Emma, sniffling wetly, hurry across the floor to her dads. The room is quiet for a minute or two. Then Dean speaks up.
"...I guess we have some explaining to do, huh?"
There's a murmur of agreement from the grown-ups. They look out the window; the sky is beginning to lighten, from blue-black to gray and pink and lemon yellow. Bobby sighs and heads for the door. "But first," he adds, "I think some breakfast is in order."
~** ☆☆☆ **~