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Bobby is alone when it happens. It’s one of those rare days, where Athena is off at work, and Bobby has the day off. They always tried to keep their work schedules as close as possible, to maximize their time together. In the end, some differences are inevitable, so Bobby tries to keep himself busy when he has the house to himself. So far, his day has mostly been spent cleaning the house, with some minor reorganization involved. He’s considering kicking back and relaxing with some movies afterwards. Of course, something always has to happen to offset the peace.
When the TV first turns to static, Bobby isn’t concerned. Static isn’t especially abnormal, the TV likely just got flicked to the wrong channel. It’s an easy fix. He grabs the remote, attempting to turn it off. When the TV refuses to respond, and the static only gets louder, that’s when he starts to grow concerned.
He continues to press the button with no luck. A ringing starts to accompany the static, and the building intensity has Bobby stumbling back. One hand grips the mattress, keeping him upright. The other hand drops the remote, covering an ear. He hears the sound echoing off of glasses, and everything keeps growing louder and louder and louder . Soon, he’s falling forwards on the ground, gripping his head with both hands, looking around helplessly for the source of all of this. Any indication as to what’s wrong.
It’s when his vision starts spotting, and he feels his body growing weak, that he feels terror .
***
Bobby’s sitting out back on one of the lawn chairs. It’s a perfect day out for once. Not too hot, not too cold. He can feel the warmth of the sun accompanied by a gentle breeze in a perfect sort of harmony. It leaves him feeling relaxed, content. In this moment, he’s at complete peace.
“Your home is quite lovely,” states a deep voice from his right. It startles Bobby out of his reverie, and he turns quickly to look at the stranger.
On the chair next to him sits a man in a beige trenchcoat, one who’s only distantly familiar. He’s sat on the edge, posture straight and stiff, with his head tilted in the direction of the house. His face almost seems calm for a moment, but Bobby’s learned to read the signs of hidden fear, just below the surface.
Cautiously, Bobby responds, “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met.”
The stranger turns to him, smiling just slightly.
“We haven’t. My name is Castiel. I would like to apologize for earlier. I was not… fully prepared to return to Earth, much less without a vessel.”
Suddenly, it’s like the man- Castiel’s words unlock something in his head. Bobby recalls the events from earlier, recalls falling unconscious. As he looks around, he realizes he’s not awake at the moment. That this is a dream. He turns back to Castiel, eyebrows furrowed.
“Who are you?”
Castiel bows his head for a moment, hesitating before answering. When he does, he looks Bobby in the eyes, leaving his expression open and earnest. “I’m an angel. I know you are a devout man, that you have great faith, in Heaven and in people, and that is why I have come to you. I currently… do not have many options in returning to Earth. I find myself without a vessel to occupy, and unable to walk this world without one. There are people I must see- people who are- who are very important to me. But I cannot reunite with them in my current state. I am only able to communicate with you as I am due to your relation to my previous vessel. And so I come to ask that you let me inhabit your body.”
It’s not often that Bobby finds himself at a loss for words. In his line of work, you need to be able to roll with the punches, and roll with them quickly. There’s never time to be at a loss, because every wasted second could spell disaster. But now- now Bobby can’t say anything. Can’t piece together a coherent response. There’s too much for him to consider right now, so much information he’s trying to process.
Castiel doesn’t seem particularly phased by Bobby’s shock, seems accustomed to this type of response. He waits patiently as Bobby collects his thoughts.
Bobby sits up, adjusting his position on the lawn chair to face Castiel directly. Eventually, he settles on a question to ask. It’s probably best to take this point by point. “What do you mean by vessel?”
“Angels cannot manifest on Earth without a vessel. Our true forms are not built for cohabitation with humans. Most humans cannot even perceive our true forms and would be injured if we appeared without a human body. So, we must…” Castiel pauses, lifting his hands to make finger quotes, “possess a human should we wish to visit Earth. Not any human can be a vessel, though. Only certain bloodlines can host angels. One of those bloodlines being your own. Your… cousin had been my previous vessel.”
And that’s when the familiarity clicks into place. “Cous- Jimmy ?”
Castiel nods.
“Why isn’t he your… vessel anymore? Did something happen to him?”
Bobby hadn’t been particularly close with Jimmy, but they’d met on multiple occasions. They were close enough in age that it made family gatherings a lot less awkward. They’d gotten along pretty well, but he hadn’t seen Jimmy in a long time. Not since- not since the fire. For years, he’s considered reaching out, getting back in touch, but had always found some excuse not to. He had yet to really get in touch with any of his family since that night. It always felt like too much- too nerve wracking. Now, however, he’s beginning to regret it.
Castiel's expression grows remorseful, and a pit enters Bobby’s stomach. “He passed, a few years back. I had been able to… inhabit his vessel for a while after his death but- I am unable to return to it now. I am not entirely sure why. I was hoping that- that I could get some… assistance in that matter, when I reunited with-” Castiel pauses, glancing down, hesitant to continue. “With my friends. Human friends. But in the meantime, I would need a temporary vessel, hence why I have come to you.”
Bobby leans forward, clasping his hands together and resting his forehead against them. He swallows, giving himself a moment to accept Jimmy’s death. He files it away in his mind, packing that grief away to manage later. Right now, he needs to focus on the- the angel in front of him. That fact still hasn’t sunk in fully. After a few seconds, Bobby straightens back up.
“What would being a vessel mean? For me and my family? What would happen to me? To them?” Bobby asks.
“Unfortunately, you would have to be away from your family for a while. It’s up to you what you want to tell them, how honest you wish to be about the situation. But aside from that, they would be completely uninvolved. For you… you’d be partially aware of the world around you while I… piloted the body, so to speak. I could also… put you in a memory, so that you could remain there instead of passively watching over my activity. Either way, I would be in control of your body entirely. Your body would not need to eat nor sleep, and I would heal any injury that your body might obtain.”
Bobby nods. “How long would this take? I have plenty of vacation days, but I don’t want to be gone too long,” he responds, adding a hint of humor to his voice. This has all been… a lot to take in. So, Bobby decides it’s best to approach the situation with a bit of lightheartedness.
Castiel’s expression softens. “I cannot offer you an exact time frame. Ideally, it should only be a few days. If the situation isn’t resolved within a week, we can discuss how to proceed. I don’t want to keep you from your family for long.”
“A week… A week is fine. That’s long enough to visit some friends out of town,” he answers, adding a wink at the end. A vacation to visit old friends would be the most believable excuse, anyway. Bobby’s not sure where he’d begin explaining that he has to go take a ride with an angel. He’s not sure any of the 118 nor his wife would accept that.
“Do you have any other questions?”
Bobby mulls that over for a bit. The honest answer is absolutely . He has a plethora of questions. But most of them aren’t important right now. They can wait for later.
“Just one: how do I go about… becoming a vessel?”
“You just have to say yes.” Castiel stands up from the chair, stepping over to Bobby. “I will retreat into the back of your mind until you are ready for me to take over. But all you need to do is offer consent,” he explains, offering a hand.
“Alright. Then yes. You have my blessing,” he jokes, taking Castiel’s hand. The moment they touch, Bobby feels the world give out around him, feels his stomach drop as if he were falling, and then-
***
Bobby opens his eyes.