Title: Full of Woe
Author: Aaeth Payne
Rating: PG
Genre and/or Pairing: none, really. But maybe Dean/Castiel pre-pre-slash
Spoilers: Mentions events from "In the Beginning"
Word Count: ~900
Warnings: none.
Disclaimer: None of these wonderful characters are mine. All these boys are belong to Kripke.
Summary: Zachariah gets involved.
AN: A big thanks to my awesome beta, smartassmusicjunkie94, without her this would be a whole lot suckier. The remaining mistakes are all on me.

No, this simply would not do.

The archangel Zachariah watched with growing irritation as the woman went about her business, nearing, but not yet going into labor. At this rate it might not even happen until next week.

He had been planning this for decades longer than Mary Winchester had lived, and he was not about to let everything be pushed back by who knows how many decades before there was another opportunity like this.

The apocalypse was going to happen in accordance with his plan. There was no way some spunky hunter, who just had to go about making deals, would mess with his time table. She was going to give birth to the righteous man. And she was going to do it when he decided.

Wasting no time, Zachariah found a convenient vessel. It was relatively easy to find a doctor that would host an angel.

And it was lucky for the Winchesters too since John and Mary Winchester's chosen doctor had suffered a small, unfortunate accident earlier that day. No matter, he'd regain consciousness in a few weeks. Probably. In any event, you need to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

Once he'd slipped into the meatsuit and began speaking with the young couple it was surprisingly easy to get them back on track. Even without saying anything directly, Zachariah was a master of suggestion. A significant look at a nurse- one the nurse took to mean 'where is my coffee' became 'something is seriously wrong and we could lose mother and child if something is not done immediately' to the self-centered parents to be.

By the time he even got around to casually mentioning induced labor, they were practically begging for a cesarean section. And it was about time they got with the picture.

With the ball set in motion, Zachariah left his vessel and let the doctor do his work. Zachariah was not about to let his hands get dirty- literally or metaphorically.

And so, thanks to him, Dean Winchester came a few hours earlier than intended into the world, screaming his outrage for all to hear.

Watching the chaotic scene from the safety of his disembodied state, Zachariah smirked. The Winchester brat would just have to get used to raging uselessly. His fate had been decided long ago.

The birth came not a moment too soon. At the stroke of midnight he felt another angelic presence arrive. Castiel.

Such a young angel, and yet so serious about his charges. He was an angel that would spend too much time and energy on watching over the future righteous man. And that would be inconvenient.

Turning to the angel, Zachariah studied his face. There was nothing there to cause Zachariah concern, just a look of soft surprise and perhaps a bit of disappointment. The angel was so open, it was really too easy to read every last thing that ran through his head. And right now the poor dear was in need of a sympathetic superior. "I'm sorry, Castiel." He shook his head, for all appearances truly sorry for the angel's lost charge. "It seems the Winchesters were too eager to hold their little one." As if Zachariah himself weren't the one pulling the strings to make these puppets dance.

The other angel said nothing, just looked at the happy scene of a young mother holding a small baby to her chest, and a proud farther watching over them both. It was so saccharine it nearly sickened Zachariah. But no matter, he would get what he wanted from these mud monkeys, and if he had to put up with a little nuclear family bliss in the meanwhile, then so be it.

"I know how much you were looking forward to another charge, but it seems it was not His will." He barely held back the snicker. There was something so fun about invoking Him with the grunts. They couldn't know that God had left them behind to rot. They had no way of knowing that it was Zachariah's will they enforced. So sure they were that there was a father that cared for them, and hadn't abandoned them in favor of imperfect mud monkeys. So, it was moments like these that made it all worth it. "Come, let us return. I'm sure Caluel will be interested to know he has another child under his care."

"Of course, Zachariah." It was the first time the low ranking angel had said anything. It was delivered with the proper amount of respect and deference. Zachariah nodded, satisfied. One more potential problem nipped in the bud. Castiel would never be too closely tied to Dean Winchester's life, and thus the righteous man would be lost in hell long enough to break the first seal.

With barely a thought, Zachariah was transported back to heaven. He never noticed that Castiel arrived in heaven not at the same time, but a heartbeat later. He never saw that in the instant he left a pair of bright blue eyes, that would one day be green, opened for the first time and saw an angel. And that it was in that moment Castiel began to disobey.

AN: Many babies have blue eyes when first born, especially those who grow up to have lighter eye colors like green and hazel. It can take up to two years for a baby's eye color to finalize. And actually it may change again later in life.