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Dean stepped from the Impala, his mind heavy with what he was going to have to do. He was ashamed of himself, ashamed he had to even come here. His mind was playing different scenarios, trying to think of anything but this. But he had to do this, because every other scenario he could think of would kill him before he could get the job done. He wouldn't have minded dying if he could just get the damn job done, but he knew he couldn't. And no matter what, there was still a risk of his death, at least he'd be able to do what needed to be done. He wouldn't even be here, would even bother if it had been someone else. But it wasn't someone else, it was Cas. He'd gone missing a few days back and Dean had followed every lead and still came up blank. So, he was going to his last resort. He knocked loudly on the front door, his heart hammering in his chest, he took a deep breath and turned to face the street. He had just about decided on leaving when the door opened.
"Dean?" His brother's voice called out behind him, Dean froze in his place. He took another deep breath and turned to face Sam, his little brother, his partner...well, ex partner. Sam had given up hunting a while back, he'd settled down and Dean was sure he'd have a baby soon enough. It'd been years since the last time they'd seen each other face to face and Dean couldn't believe how much he'd changed.
"Hey, Sammy." He mumbled and Sam stood frozen for a long moment.
"W-what are you doing here?" Sam asked, Dean sighed and, instead of answering his question, he avoided it.
"What no hug?" Dean asked and Sam sighed stepping into his older brother's open arms. They took a moment to hug and pulled away, Sam motioned him into the house. Dean could smell food in the air, his stomach rumbled and he sighed softly.
"Dean!" Amelia's voice rang out, she pulled him in for a hug and he hugged her back for a second before they pulled away from one another. Dean took a deep breath and looked between them, they were so happy and Dean was about to ruin that. He was about to step between them and ask Sam to start hunting again, ask Sam to leave his apple-pie life for a life of Hell. Dean sighed again and shoved his hands into his pockets.
"What do you need Dean?" Sam asked and Dean looked down at his feet, he took a deep breath and shook his head. He couldn't, he shouldn't be there.
"I shouldn't have come here, I'm sorry." Dean said and started toward the door, he need to leave before he asked Sam to five up everything.
"Well, why don't you at least stay for dinner? We're having pie for desert, your favorite." Dean had his hand on the knob, he closed his eyes and sighed. Trying to tell himself that he wasn't hungry and that he didn't want to stay. But that was a lie, he never got what he wanted. Why should he do it then? When it was basically life or death. Dean shook his head, he couldn't sit here having dinner with his brother and his wife while Castiel was lost somewhere. He just couldn't, it wasn't right.
"I should go." Dean said and turned the knob, he closed the door behind him and took a deep breath of night air. He walked down to his Impala, his hand on the doorhandle when the front door opened again.
"Dean! Wait." Sam said and jogged up to his side, Dean closed his eyes.
"Tell her I said thanks for the offer but I've really gotta be going." Dean said and Sam crossed his arms over his chest.
"I know you didn't come all the way up here just to leave." Sam muttered and Dean sighed.
"I didn't, but it doesn't matter anymore. I'll figure it out on my own, I can't ask this of you Sammy. I just can't, man." Sammy nodded, his eyes showing understanding.
"You want me to join you again, what happened this time?" Sam asked, he knew Dean more than anyone.
"It's Cas, he's missing." Dean said and Sam sighed loudly, nodding.
"Well, come join us for dinner and we'll talk afterwards." Sam suggested and Dean nodded, following Sam inside his house. Sam motioned him into the dinning room and he sat down in front of Sam as they ate dinner like normal people. They had conversation and Amelia asked Sam about his day, Dean watched in silence as it became harder and harder to ask Sam what needed to be asked. Sam had gone from hunting the things that go bump in the night to coming home to his beautiful wife everyday. And it wasn't fair, that Dean was showing up to ask him to leave all of it behind. Not fair at all. After they were done eating, Amelia brought out the pie, Dean's mouth water just thinking about it. He wished he could give up the life of a hunter to live a life so wonderful, but who would take him like he is. Lisa didn't remember him and Castiel was gone, just gone. He obviously wasn't meant for this life, because every time he got a chance to be normal it all came crashing down around him. They ate their pie and Dean looked up at Sam, he nodded once and looked up at Amelia.
"Excuse us for a minute." Sam said and she nodded as she cleared the table, the two walked out onto the porch and Sam sighed softly.
"I'll go with you, but when we're done, it's over. Okay?" He asked and Dean nodded, ashamed of himself for having to ask for Sam's help in the first place. Dean waited in the car, his heart heavy as he watched Sam kiss Amelia goodbye with a promise of return. He hurried to the car and waved as they pulled out, she waved with a smile and went back into the house. They rode in silence, mostly because Dean didn't know what to say. Should be apologize? Yeah, he should.
"Look, man. I'm sorry for having to do this." Dean said, Sam only nodded and looked out the window. Just like old times, except it was only for a little while. They'd find Cas and Sam would leave again, leave them to hunt together. Until the next time Dean needed his help. There was always that until the next time, they pulled into the parking lot of a motel a long time later and Dean stepped up to the counter.
"Morning, what'll it be?" The man asked and Dean motioned between the two of them as he spoke.
"Its just the two of us, two queens please." Dean said and the man nodded, giving them a strange look before handing them the keys to the room.
"Thanks." Dean said and the man nodded, they took their bags to the room and Sam took his laptop from the bag.
"I'm gonna go get coffee, it's gonna be a long night." Dean informed Sam and he nodded, he returned about an hour later and heard talking from inside the room. He stopped by the door and listened for a moment, his heart sinking again as he realized who Sam was talking to.
"Alright, love you too." Sam said and he flipped the phone closed. Dean sighed softly, opening the door and closing it before meeting his brother's gaze. Sam smiled softly but Dean knew he wasn't happy, he was typing away on his laptop as Dean sat down on the edge of the bed. He sat Sam's coffee on the table next to him and he hummed as he found something, a lead already? Dean was jealous of Sam's ability to find things so quickly.
"Huh, listen to this. According to a couple eye witnesses, they saw a man in a tan trench coat walk into a bar outside of town, a white light flash, and then he walked out again. Sounds like Cas to me. It says that the witnesses went in and found every person dead, eyes burnt out." Sam said, looking up at Dean. He scrunched his eyebrows, why would Cas kill people. Maybe he was smitting demons? Dean nodded, standing as he put his jacket back on. They got up and left, arriving at the bar ten minutes later. They took their flashlights from their pockets and began to examine the place. Dean sighed loudly in frustation as they walked back out a long time later.
"No sulfur, no wing marks on the floor, nothing. What the hell happened here, man? He just decide to go on the war path and kill humans?" Dean asked and Sam shrugged, clicking his flashlight off.
"I don't know but whatever's going on, it ain't right." Sam muttered and Dean nodded, they went back to the motel and Sam began his research again, looking for anything that suggested angels were to blame. They stayed up all night, listening to the police scanner, searching the internet and came up empty. Dean had a bad feeling about this, something was off.
"We need to find Cas, ASAP. Something's not right here, he don't just go around killing humans for no reason." Dean muttered sleepily, Sam nodded and yawned.
"What do you say we get a couple hours if shut eye and start fresh in the morning?" Sam asked and Dean shook his head.
"You get some rest, I'm gonna stay up. We need to be ready in case something else happens. I'll wake you if I find anything." Dean said and Sam nodded, he layed down and was snoring softly after a few minutes. Dean searched the internet all night, his ears would perk up when the police scanner would go off but it would always be nothing. Until the next morning. Dean had fallen asleep, his head rested on his arms and he was snoring softly. The police scanner went off and his head popped up quickly, he rubbed his eyes as he listened.
"We've got a 419 down at the Peterson's place, possible 459." Dean knew what that meant, 419 meant dead body, 459 meant burglary. He jumped up and quickly changed into his suit, the door opened just as he was slipping his jacket over his shoulders and Sam dressed too. They got into the Impala and arrived at the site about fifteen minutes later, they flashed their badges to the police officer in front of the police tape and he nodded for them to go ahead. The sheriff walked up and held his hands out for them to stop, they took their badges out of their pockets and showed them to him.
"I'm agent Smith, this is agent Braggs and we're from the FBI." Dean said and he nodded, they placed their badges back in their pockets and the sheriff motioned for them to follow him. It was the same as the last, eyes burnt out and witnesses saying they saw a man in a trench coat walk in, a white light, and then he walked out again. No sulfur, no EMF, nothing.
"Dammit Cas, what's going on?" Dean asked himself as they got back in the Impala. They both sighed and they went for a burger at the diner in town. They talked it over, tried thinking of ways to find him but there were no other possibilities but to find the pattern and catch him in the act.
"Alright, let's head back to the motel and get started." Dean said as he balled up his burger wrapper and tosses it at the trash a few feet away. He rung it and they both got up, Dean's left cheek stuck out as he chewed away at the last bite of his burger. They walked into the motel room and started the search, for Sam it didn't take long to understand the pattern but Dean was still staring at the map, his eyebrows scrunched frustratedly. He sighed, his hands pushing the paper away before he looked up at Sam.
"Come on, I know where he's staying." Sam mumbled and Dean nodded, they grabbed their black jackets and pulled them on as they headed to a warehouse. Dean killed the engine out front and sighed, he shrugged from his jacket as Sam did and they got out of the car. Dean took his gun from his waistband and got his flashlight ready as Sam opened the door. Dean walked in first, his eyes scanning around the room with his flashlight. Sam taped him on the shoulder and pointed off to another room, Dean nodded for him to check it and continued around the big open space. Dean's eyes landed on something, a body. But as he got closer, he could tell it was Cas. Dean yelled for Sam and ran over to his friend. Dean rolled Cas onto his back, he was out cold, Dean's hands shaking him roughly.
"Cas! Wake up!" Dean said and Cas' eyes fluttered open, they went wide and Dean smiled down at Cas. Then Cas was wrapping him in a hug and Dean didn't know what to do, so he hugged him back. There was a crash behind them and they snatched away from one another, their eyes searching the dark room. Then Dean realized Sam was missing.
"Sam?" Dean called but got no response.
"Sammy!" Dean called out again, still no answer. Dean growled angrily and looked down at Cas, he sighed. He had a choice, the love of his life or his brother, he sighed again. Sam had never left Dean when he needed him, he even left his wife at their house to come rescue the angel Dean fell in love with. Dean had to help Sam, Cas nodded for him to go and pushed on his chest.
"I'll be fine, go." Cas said and Dean nodded, his heart ached as he grabbed his gun and flashlight. It took forever but he finally found Sam, he was sprawled out in a corner, his head bleeding and unconscious. Dean sighed, he heard something rustling behind him and he turned just in time to catch a fist to the face. He flew across the room, hitting the metal with his back and falling to his stomach. His vision clouded at the ends and he struggled to regain his footing. He stood, falling into the wall for support. A hand grabbed his collar and snatched him to stand face to face with him, he recognized the face automatically.
"Remember me?" He growled and threw Dean back against the wall, lifting him up by the neck and held him above the ground. Dean gasped and choked as he tried to breath, he clawed and grabbed at the man's face but had no weapon. He just knew he was going to die.
"You killed my brother!" The shapeshifter yelled at him, Dean's eyes began to blur and his sight began to blacken around the edges. Then the shifter let him fall to his knees, Dean sucked a deep breath in and coughed and spit. He looked up just as the shifter walked over to Sam, he gripped him by the neck and Sam didn't fight back because he was still out cold. He smacked his across the face and Sam blinked his eyes open, he grabbed at the monster's hands, trying to break his hold.
"So, Dean. I'm going to kill yours." He snarled and shoved Sam against the wall with a loud bang. Dean stumbled to his feet, his vision still blurry and uneven as his brain tried to get the needed amount of oxygen. He was about to break Sam's neck but Dean was suddenly bolting toward them screaming in rage.
"NO!" He yelled and smashed into the two, Sam falling free before he could even move a muscle in surprise. Dean growled as he wrapped his hands around the shifter's throat. He snatched his knife out of his shoe and began to stab the monster in the heart, cutting clean through the other side.
"DON'T," he shouted as he stabbed again, "TOUCH," another stab, "MY," another, "BROTHER!" He yelled with yet another stab, and another, then another until he thought it good enough. A huge hole gaped in his chest, his skin rugid where Dean had stabbed him. Dean stood, wiping the blade on his pants as he stared angrily down at the dead body. He heard panting behind him, Sam had risen to his feet and was stating with wide eyes at the scene before him. He stumbled to stand beside Dean and looked to his face, then his eyes widened again as he swallowed roughly. His mouth fell open slightly and Dean wiped at his face, pulling his hand back to see blood on his fingertips. He took a rag from his pocket, wiping the blood from his face before he motioned for Sam to go to the car and wait for him. Dean rushed to Cas' side, his hands shaking as he saw him laying down in the floor. Dean slid to a kneel next to him and let out a sigh of complete relief as Cas turned his head toward Dean.
"Dean, wh-what happened?" Cas asked and Dean placed his index finger over Cas' lips to silence him.
"Nothing you need to worry about, everything's okay now." Dean whispered and Cas nodded, his eyes slowly fluttering closed. Dean picked Cas up bridal style and Cas grunted loudly, placing his hand against Dean's chest motioning for him to wait. Cas began to unbutton his shirt, grunting as he finally shrugged it off. He pushed on Dean's chest and he stumbled back a few feet, Cas grunted loudly and a white light flashed. Dean closed his eyes, waiting until Cas stopped grunting to open them again. When he looked back down at Castiel, his eyes widened as he took in the beautiful sight before him.
"C-Cas, y-your wings!" Dean said as he took in the sight of the beautiful white feathers. Cas sighed a soft sound, one that resembled relief as his wings extended out and Dean knelt beside him again.
"Let's go home, shall we?" Cas asked and Dean chuckled humorlessly, still transfixed on the sight of such a magnificent creature. Dean shook his head to clear it, he picked Cas up again and stood, the angels arms falling out as his head drooped. Dean stood still, worried.
"Cas?" Dean asked and Cas opened his eyes slightly.
"I-I'm alright, Dean." He said and Dean nodded, walking toward the door that would lead them to the outside and toward the Impala. He had just sat Castiel into the front seat when Dean felt something hot in his back. It began to burn, he grunted and fell to his knees. He let out a soft whimer and Sam was out of the car and behind him in and instant. Dean wondered what had happened but didn't ask as he began to bleed out, he had known he was going to die and here it was happening. Castiel was at his side, his hand pressed against Dean's forehead as he tried to heal him but he just didn't have enough mojo. Dean let out a soft sigh.
"C-Cas, I-I-" he stopped, the life began to fade from his body and soon he was limp in the injured angels arms. Tears streamed steady down Cas' face, he shook his head.
"No." Sam whispered, falling to his knees beside Castiel.
"Dean, wake up." Cas said, his voice cracking at the end.
"Dean. Dean!" That's the last thing Dean's mind registered before he died.
. . . . .
Two Years Later:
Sam had gone back home to his wife after a while. Life went on as it always had, he and his wife had invited Castiel over for lunch, they laughed and talked and spent most of the day this way. And then there was a knock on the front door, it opened and the familiar sound of boots on hardwood had Cas' heart pounding. He walked through the door with a smile on his face, happy to see everyone happy.
"Hey, I heard you were here. I decided to drop by after work." Dean said, his smiled crooked to the side when he saw Cas. He walked over to him and Dean leaned down to kiss him gently on the lips. Sam looked over at Amelia and she smiled over at him as he held his hand out for her, she took it and he squeezed her fingers gently. Cas and Dean had confessed their love for one another not long after Cas used everything he had in him to heal Dean. He'd used so much of himself while he was still weak, it'd taken most of his Grace from him. But he didn't care, he needed him alive. Dean had been mad at first until Cas had growled at him and kissed him hard, and their love just grew from there. Sam was the best man at their wedding, and they had been so happy. Dean laughed at something Amelia said and he reached over and held his hand out for Cas, Castiel smiled and intertwined their hands. Life was normal, well. . .beside the fact that Dean was married to an almost angel. But no one cared because Dean had never been happier.