Chapter One-No Time Like the Present

Third Person POV

Setting: A dark, cold, and extremely windy January night outside of a Catholic church in Columbus, Michigan.

Sister Madelyn Moore sat on the small cot in her cell crying. Something crashed into the small window above her cot. She quickly took a tighter hold on the small bundle of cloths in her arms and brought it up so it was closer to her chest, closer to her heart.

She quickly looked up when she felt someone elseʼs presence in the small cell.

"It canʼt be time. Itʼs only been a day." she said, her voice breaking and tears streaming down her face as she looked up at the man standing in the corner. "I am sorry, Sister Madelyn, but it has to be done." came a smooth reply as the man stepped out of the dark corner and into the lighter part of the room that was lit by the moon. Sister Madelyn closed her eyes and shook her head as more tears spilled.

This wasnʼt supposed to happen to her. Ever since she was a child, all she could dream about was becoming a nun and serving God in any way she could. She never expected this though. Never this. She was only eighteen and had been in the convent for two months when he came to her. Now, nine months later, he was having the most precious thing in her life taken away from her and she was going to die.

"Will she be safe?" she asked quietly, refusing to look into the manʼs eyes as she looked down at the bundle wrapped in her arms. "I promise you. She will be raised by a loving family and will grow up a normal life. She will be under my protection for as long as itʼs required. I give my word." came his reply as he looked down at the worn out women.

She looked up at him and nodded. "How long do I have?" she asked.

"A few minutes." he told her, watching more tears fall down her cheeks. She nodded, stood up, and hesitated. "She will be safe, Sister." he reassured her, noticing her hesitance. She took a deep breath and carefully handed the bundle over. He took the bundle carefully and cradled it in his arms as if it was the most precious item in the universe. He cautiously pulled a flap back to reveal the peaceful, sleeping face of a baby girl.

"Whatʼs her name?" he asked quietly, looking up from the small face of the sleeping child. Sister Madelyn tore her eyes away from the sleeping form to look up at him. "Lyssa, after my mother. Lyssa Rose Moore." she said with a sad smile. The man nodded and looked back down at the child before looking back up at Sister Madelyn.

"Thank you, Sister. Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated." he told her.

She nodded and let a few more tears fall, leaning over and placing a soft kiss on her daughterʼs forehead before stepping back quickly. She didnʼt know what was happening, but she had a fairly good idea of what was going to happen. "Thank you, Castiel. Keep her safe." she said, fear evident in her voice. Castiel knew what was happening and left the cell before Sister Madelyn burst into flames and disappeared into the smoke.

Four Years Later

"I know youʼre faking." came a smooth voice from the side of Lyssaʼs bed. She cautiously peeked open an eye and smiled brightly at the face that greeted her. "Cas!" she said, jumping out from under the covers and quickly wrapping her arms around his neck. "Happy birthday." he told her, wrapping his arms around the childʼs waist to return the hug. She pulled back and crinkled her nose.

"Whatʼs wrong?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Cas, my birthdayʼs tomorrow." she said, crossing her arms over her chest. Castiel stood up and straightened his trench coat. "I know, but Iʼm not able to visit tomorrow. Though I did think it would be acceptable to visit tonight and wish you an early happy birthday." he said, a smile tugging at his lips as he saw her contemplate his statement.

"Okay. I accept." she said, dropping from resting on her knees to sit in the middle of the bed. Castiel chuckled and reached into one of the pockets on the inside of his coat. He pulled out a simply wrapped gift. He kneeled down next to her bed and handed it to her. "What is it?" she asked, taking the gift and inspecting it. "Open it and see." he told her.

He watched her carefully unwrap the gift, making sure not to rip any of the paper, and pull out a dark blue journal once it was freed. She looked up from the journal and gave Castiel a questioning look. He smiled slightly and took the journal from her to open it to the back of the cover. Inscribed in gold lettering was something that Lyssa would unknowingly hold close to her heart for the rest of her life.

To Lyssa Rose Moore

From your friend and Guardian Angel-"Cas"

Lyssa looked up from the writing and smiled brightly, her light blue eyes shining with happiness. "Thank you, Cas." she said and threw her arms around his neck in a hug that would have knocked him over if he hadnʼt been prepared. She pulled away and and crawled over to her pillow. She lifted it and carefully placed the journal under it, laying the pillow back down once she was satisfied.

Castiel raised an eyebrow in question once she turned back towards him. "No one will find it there." she stated. He nodded his head and stood up. "Wait! You canʼt leave yet!" she said, hopping off the bed. "Lyssa-" he started to say, but stopped when he saw tears forming in the corner of her eyes. He sighed in defeat and looked down at her with a small smile. "Alright, but only for a while. I have to leave soon." he told her.

Lyssa nodded in understanding and smiled back. Castiel was always surprised at how mature she was for her age and how she didnʼt question anything he told her. He knew he should be worried about it, but he couldnʼt bring himself to care. He knew if he became too attached to her, it would only be worse in the end for both of them.

Quickly burrowing those thoughts, Castiel walked over to Lyssaʼs small twin bed and sat in the middle of it so his back was resting against the headboard, being careful not to crush the pillow. Lyssa crawled back onto her bed as well and curled up in Castielʼs lap, cuddling into his chest. He carefully wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him as she drifted off to sleep.

Glancing up at the clock, Castiel wasnʼt too surprised at how fast she had fallen asleep considering it was nearly midnight. He absently ran his fingers through her dark chestnut hair and smiled. He didnʼt like to admit it, but heʼd become quite fond of the child over the past four years. Every other night he would come visit her and listen to her tell stories that made no sense to anyone but herself and he listened because he was fascinated by the simplicity of a childʼs mind.

After he was certain she was in a deep enough sleep, he carefully slipped out from under her and covered her with the blanket. He leaned down and placed a light kiss to her forehead and made his departure.

Twenty-Two Years Later

"Come on, Lee! Get your ass up! Weʼre gonna be late!"

Lyssa groaned and pulled the cover over her head, trying to drowned out the voice of her roommate. She couldnʼt help but smirk when she heard Morgan huff in annoyance and grab her keys off her nightstand. "Fine, but if you fail your finals, donʼt come whining to me." she said and left the dorm room.

After laying in bed for another ten minutes trying to wake up more, she threw the blanket back and got up. Lyssa rolled her eyes when she looked at the clock hanging above the door. Morgan was getting all flustered over nothing. There were two hours till classes started. Running her hand through her, now turned light chestnut, hair and grabbed her things to take a shower.

After her shower, she walked back into her dorm and started pulling out her clothes for the day. She threw the clothing on her bed and grabbed her phone off the nightstand when it went off.

I hope youʼve finally gotten your lazy ass out of bed!-MM

Lyssa rolled her eyes and quickly replied to her, letting her know that she was up. She quickly got dressed and went over to the mirror on the wall next to the one window in the room. She ran the brush through her hair and put it up in a ponytail. Grabbing her purse and phone, she walked out the door and made her way to her classes.

"Dean? I think I just got a lead on where we should head next." Sam said, looking over at Dean in the driverʼs seat. Dean looked away from the road for a second to give Sam a questioning look. "Well, I just got a text from an unknown number. It has a name, an address, and a short message. The name is Lyssa Moore, the address is 1928 Jefferson Rd. Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the message says that some kind of demon is hunting her." Sam explained.

"Sounds pretty deep. Do you think we should check it out? I mean, it is from an unknown number. Could be a trap." Dean said, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. Sam scratched the back of his head and looked back down at his phone thinking about the pros and cons of going to check the case out. "Well, we can always check it out and if things go shitty, we can handle whateverʼs there." Sam said, throwing his phone onto the dashboard. "Well then, Massachusetts it it." Dean said, turning the radio up and smirking at Sam when he rolled his eyes.