Archive of Our Own

Dean's mind was running in overdrive as he sat on the cold dungeon floor, tears still pouring down his face as he silently wept. He could still hear Cas's voice playing on repeat in his mind.

"When Jack was dying, I made a deal to save him.

The price was my life. When I experienced a moment of true happiness, the Empty would be summoned, and it would take me forever."

A gasping sob breaks its way out of Dean's throat, but the memory of Cas's voice continues despite his anguish.

"I always wondered, ever since I took that burden, that curse, I wondered what it could be? What my true happiness could even look like.

I never found an answer, because the one thing I want… It's something I know I can't have."

Dean feels a fresh wave of tears roll down his cheeks as he ignores yet another vibrating call from Sam.

"But I think I know… I think I know now. Happiness isn't in the having, it's in just being. It's in just saying it.

I know how you see yourself, Dean. You see yourself the same way our enemies see you. You're destructive, and you're angry, and you're broken. You're 'daddy's blunt instrument', and you think that hate and anger, that's what drives you, that's who you are. It's not! And everyone who knows you sees it!"

Dean shakes his head, face streaked with salty tear tracks. "NO, NO, don't, PLEASE don't," Dean begs his own mind, knowing it's a futile ask.

"Everything you have ever done, the good and the bad, you have done for love.

You raised your little brother for love. You fought for this whole world for love.

That is who you are! You're the most caring man on Earth. You are the most selfless, loving human being I will ever know.

You know, ever since we met, ever since I pulled you out of Hell… Knowing you has changed me. Because you cared, I cared. I cared about you. I cared about Sam, I cared about Jack… I cared about the whole world because of you.

You changed me, Dean".

"Why does this sound like a goodbye?"

Dean's breath hitches in silent agony.

"Because it is."

Dean begins sobbing again, his breath hiccupping out of him, the memory of Cas's words ripping the hole Cas's death has left in his heart further open. He wants to scream at the world that Cas was wrong. He was wrong about him, but…..

"I love you."

Dean knows that Cas believed in him; he can't deny the honesty in Cas's confession, the love pouring from his tearful eyes as he told him goodbye, he believes Cas's words, and he's never felt more broken. Cas is dead. Cas told him he loved him, and then he died, and he did it to save him.

"I love you."

Head in his hands, Dean gives in to his despair for just a moment as his heart breaks wide open. He can hear his phone vibrating with calls, but he can't bring himself to answer, despite knowing his little brother must be going out of his mind right now. All he can focus on is the absence of Cas.

"I love you."

Dean feels like a void has opened up inside himself; everywhere he didn't realise that Cas's presence was felt. In the space his friendship, his support, and their shared history and memories were, and yes, now that he can look at it objectively, he can see Cas's undeniable, heartbreaking love for him.

He feels like he can't breathe right now, let alone speak to anyone. But he also knows he needs to answer his brother. So Dean allows himself just one more moment to wallow in his despair over the loss of his best friend, his saviour, his angel who always came when he called, his angel who loved him.

He knows he can't allow himself to keep thinking about all of it right now, though; if he lets himself think of Cas's words again, he'll have to confront things that he doesn't have time to confront.

So, taking a deep, shaky breath and standing, Dean picks up his phone and unlocks it, seeing 23 missed calls from Sam. He sighs and taps the return call icon while wiping the tears still clinging to his face off. Sam answers after 1 ring. "DEAN, WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" Sam shouts angrily through the phone. Dean winces at the volume of the words in his ear after so long sitting in silence.

Ignoring the question, Dean gruffly responds with a "Where are you? I'll come meet you" as he needs to get out of the bunker, away from this cold, empty dungeon, and away from the despair of Cas's absence.

Sam's answering second of silence is telling before he replies, "Jack and I are headed to Main Street in town. Dean, it's bad".

Dean couldn't agree more, and he can't bring himself to say anything over the phone about Cas; he knows he'll have to present Sam and Jack with the devastating news as soon as they reunite, and he's in no hurry to relive the moment.

"Meet you there" was all he could manage to say before hanging up. Swiping the last of the tears from his face, Dean pockets his phone and heads out to Baby.

They were free!

They had beaten Chuck. Jack was the new God, and he'd be a better God than Chuck had ever been.

But he'd also left them, so their return to the bunker as half a family was bittersweet.

Dean and Sam settled at the kitchen table with a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. Dean silently poured them each a couple of fingers, and Sam grabbed his glass, holding it up for Dean to clink against his in their own private victory. Dean tapped his against Sam's, and they both took a drink. As Dean stared into the glass, watching the liquid slosh around, he heard Sam clear his throat to speak.

"Uhh, so…… You wanna tell me what happened with Cas?" Sam questioned, quirking his face into his understanding, sad puppy look.

Dean should have known it was coming, but that still didn't stop the way his face shuttered up at the mention of Cas's name.

He grabbed the half-full bottle of whiskey off the table, stood up, and with a look at Sam simply said "no," then turned and walked out of the room, leaving the still half-full glass on the table. A moment later, Sam heard what had to be Dean's bedroom door slam shut.

Sam sighs long and loud, rubbing at his own forehead with one hand, while the other raises the glass to take another sip of whiskey.

He always worries about Dean when they lose someone, but when Dean loses Cas, that worry takes on another level. Whether Dean would admit it or not, he always takes Cas's death harder than anyone else's, Sam suspected, including himself.

Dean mourns Cas like a widow. Like he'd lost his reason for living.

Sam had lived through it enough times to know, unfortunately. He was 100% certain that Cas was in love with his brother. And he was about 99% certain that Dean was in love with the Angel, too. He was also 100% certain that Dean either hadn't realised it, or was suppressing it out of some sort of bullshit internalised homophobia caused by their Dad. Sometimes he wanted to punch John Winchester in the face, whether he loved his father or not, it was undeniable that John had caused many more problems than he had fixed.

Dean had done so much for him, sacrificed so much, including himself, so many times. Hell, Dean was basically his father and mother rolled into one, even though they only had 4 years between them. Dean had raised him almost entirely on his own, with occasional help from Bobby. He hated the fact that he could do nothing to make it better for his older brother.

Sam put his glass down and clasped his hands together, closing his eyes, he prayed. "Hey Jack, it's Sam. Umm….. look, I know you just left us, and I get that you're probably really busy right now as the new God…… But I guess I just wanted to tell you that Dean's not doing so great without Cas. I think it's gonna be really bad this time. I guess I'm asking you to see if you can get him back. I know you miss him, too. I don't know if you can hear this, or if we'll even see you again. We'll miss you, kiddo. Love you, Amen" he finished.

4 Weeks Later

Pain!

Pain was the first thing that registered. The pain seemed to stab through his head to the pulse of his heartbeat, which he could feel throughout his entire body, his body that was apparently hanging halfway off his bed.

Dean shifted his upper body and instantly regretted it after the intense blast of hot pain shot through his spine.

Yeah, he was definitely regretting the six beers he'd drunk after the bottle of whiskey he'd already finished yesterday, or whatever day that had been.

He actually wasn't sure what day it was. He mostly stayed drunk so that he didn't end up thinking about Ca……..

…………

…………

And there it was. That gaping hole where his heart used to be, the one he drank away.

He needed another drink!

Pushing himself to his feet with a groan of pain and swaying a little, he stuck his arms out to his sides to steady himself, then stumbled over to his door. Opening it had him gasp as the bright light of the hallway hit his eyes. He hadn't realised his lights were off! Come to think of it, he wasn't sure how long it had been since he'd left his room.

Eh, whatever. He needed booze!

Stumbling into the kitchen, the first thing he sees is a shocked Sam looking over at him.

"Dean! Man, it's good to see you."

Dean looked away, his face blank, and turned to open the fridge and grab out another six-pack.

"Dean, wait, please. You can't keep doing this," Sam pleaded.

"Doing what, Sammy?" Dean sighed.

Sam's face looked pale and drawn with worry, "drinking yourself into an early grave, Dean. I know you're grieving, Ca….."

"DON'T," Dean screamed, "don't you dare say his name. Don't…… Please."

Dean flung the six-pack in his hand at the wall and watched it shatter, his face crumpled in agony as he watched his brother flinch away from the shattering glass.

"I can't," he gasped out.

Sam held his hands up in front of himself, his eyes shining and his face fallen in sadness. "Ok, Dean, ok. Just, please…. I can't watch you drink yourself to death. I know you're hurting, ok, I know, but I can't just sit here while you waste away to nothing at the bottom of a whiskey bottle. Please don't make me," he pleaded while the tears finally poured down his face.

Dean wasn't faring any better; his tears wet his hands as he grasped at his own face and hair. "You don't know Sammy. You don't understand," he gasped out.

"Then tell me, Dean…… Talk to me, please. You've locked yourself away for weeks now, you barely eat, and you're drinking yourself to death. It can't go on like this. Please, Dean, just talk to me," Sam begged.

Dean backed up to the wall behind him, sliding down until he crumpled to the floor, hugging his legs, his face buried in his knees as he tried to breathe through the panic racing through him. He wasn't ready for this conversation, but then again, he probably never would be.

Inhaling the deepest shakiest breath he could manage, Dean looks up at Sam, who has sat on the floor a few feet from him, tear tracks still visible on his face, hands still slightly raised, waiting.

And so he begins to talk. To tell Sam, finally, what happened in that dungeon room.

Dean trembles, his arms in a death grip around his own knees as he readies himself to say the words he's avoided telling Sam for weeks.

"And then he said……… he………"

Dean shuts his eyes

"He told me he loved me."

………

Sam sat still, silent, shocked.

………

"He told me he loved me, and he told me goodbye, and then the Empty dragged him to nothing."

Silence met his statement for what felt like an hour, but in reality was only a minute.

"Dean," Sam whispered, more tears falling from his eyes.

Dean shut his eyes to block out the look of pity he was sure Sam would be giving him, and took another deep, shaky breath in.

A big sigh comes from Sam's direction, followed by a gentle throat-clearing sound before Sam speaks again. "Dean…. Uhh…. Did….. How did you…" He trailed off.

Dean knew what Sam was trying to ask him, and he had made peace with the realisation that his actions over the past few weeks were probably a clear indication of his own feelings in the matter. But he owed his brother the truth. He owed his Angel the truth, too, the truth and so much more, and if he'd never be able to tell Cas, the least he could do to honour his Angel's love and sacrifice was to not be a coward about this now.

Taking a deep breath in and releasing it slowly to try and release some of the tension he carried with it, Dean finally looks Sam in the eyes, his brother's eyes just as sad as he expected, also glinting with tears, and finally reveals his truth.

"I love him too, Sammy. I have for a very long time," he quietly states, inhaling another deep breath, "I've been a coward for years. He deserved to know; he deserved so much better than me. I'll never understand how a freaking Angel could love someone like me, and I'll never forgive myself for the fact that he died without hearing me say it back".

The tears break free from his eyes again, sliding silently, slowly down his face as Dean just lets them fall.

Sam looks heartbroken; the look in his eyes isn't pity, it's worse, it's utter devastation for Dean.

"God…. Dean, I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry," Sam shakily says as he lifts to his knees and shuffles close enough to grab his older brother into his arms and hold him close. The embrace is just as much for himself as for his big brother.

The two men sit on the kitchen floor, Sam's arms firm around Dean, as his big brother rests his head on his shoulder, tears flowing freely, both men taking what small comfort they can from each other in this moment.

And that's how they stay for a while, sat together on the kitchen floor, taking comfort from each other's presence.

Until Sam finally lifts his head, clearing his throat, he rubs his reddened eyes before looking over at Dean again, "Hey, so how about this? I'll go out and grab us pizza, and you go take a nice long shower, soak away the aches I know you're feeling".

"You just want me to shower because I stink," Dean replies, but a small smile graces his face for the first time in weeks.

Sam snorts a laugh and smiles back at his big brother, "Well…… Now that you mention it, it wouldn't hurt".

Dean huffs a small laugh himself and nods. Sam slowly stands up and offers his hand to Dean to help pull his brother up. When the two are standing, Dean pulls his younger brother into a hug, and clearing his throat quietly says, "Thanks for being cool about the whole, you know, Cas being a dude thing".

Sam rolls his eyes and replies, "Dean, it doesn't matter to me whether it's just Cas, if you're bi, Gay, Pan, or anything else for that matter. And look, I know it makes you uncomfortable, but you know that if you were worried about my reaction because of how Dad used to be, you know, whatever homophobic shit he might have spouted is just that right! Bullshit"!

Dean had been looking at the floor through Sam's little speech, then looks up into his brother's eyes and sees nothing but sincerity, quietly replies "yeah, I'm working on it……. Thanks, Sammy" and gives his brother a gentle slap on the shoulder as he moves past to head to the showers. He turns at the door and says, "meat feast pizza" before turning and walking out.

Sam laughs and shouts, "Yeah, yeah, I know" at Dean's retreating back. Once Dean has gone, Sam lets out a long sigh smiling a small smile to himself. He feels really pleased that Dean finally opened up, and hopes that now that everything is out in the open, it might help Dean to start to heal.

1 week later

Sam slashes at Jenny's neck with his machete, decapitating the vampire and enabling Dean to get up off the ground as the brothers take on the two remaining vampires in the barn. Sam takes on one of them, Dean gets pushed back by the other, and feels a sudden sharp pain in his back that knocks the wind out of him. The vampire's head rolls and his body drops to the floor as Sam swings his machete again, having decapitated the other vampire first.

"Alright. Let's go find those kids, get them outta here," Sam says, putting the machete back in its case.

Dean lets out a little gasp, holding his hand to his chest, "Sam… Mm. I don't think I'm going anywhere," Dean replies.

"What? What are you talking about?" Sam says, looking confused.

"There's something in my… Something in my back. It feels like it's right through me," Deans says with another little gasping breath.

Sam moves in front of Dean and reaches around him to feel his back, feeling the rebar pole. As he brings his hand back around, he sees it is covered in blood, and a panicked look adorns his face as Dean moans in pain.

"Alright. Umm.. Hold on, Okay. Uh, I've got you," Sam says, reaching to pull Dean of the rebar.

"No, no, no, no, no. Don't… Don't… Don't move me. Don't move me. It feels like this thing's holding me together right now. Just give me… Just give me a minute," Dean states, his breathing heavier.

Sam, looking scared, replies, "Yeah. Um… alright. I'll call for help. I'll get the first-aid kit", taking his phone out of his pocket and starting to turn away to head for the car.

Panicked, Dean gasps, "Sam, Sam! Sam… Stay wi… stay with me. Can you stay with me, please?"

"Okay, yeah," Sam replies, tears appearing in his eyes.

"Okay. Okay. Uh… right. Alright. Listen to me. Um… You get those boys, and you get them someplace safe, alright?" Dean orders.

"Dean… We are gonna get them somewhere safe," Sam responds, motioning with his hand to himself and Dean.

Dean shakes his head, "No. You knew it was always gonna end like this for me".

Since he saw the blood on his hand, Sam's internal monologue has been repeating variations of the phrase "No, no, no, no, Jack no. Please Jack".

At that moment, a blinding golden light permeates the dark of the barn, and a high-pitched noise rings out, forcing Sam to cover his ears! The sound continues for a full minute, until the sound stops as the golden light fades away.

Sam blinks his eyes until he can see again, and what he sees makes his heart soar!

Standing in the middle of the room, whole and healed, is Dean.

And next to him, a hand on his shoulder, and golden light still fading from his eyes, is Jack.

Sam rushes over to the pair and pulls them both into an embrace. Gasping sobs erupt from his chest as he squeezes his brother and their kid into his arms.

"Jack! Oh my god… Jack, thank you, thank you! Dean, I'm so glad you're okay," Sam cries, pulling back to look at them.

Dean looks stunned, his gaze moving between his brother and son, whereas Jack simply smiles and says "hello".

After a few seconds of silence where they all just take the sight of each other in, Jack says, "I heard your prayer, Sam, the pain in it. I had to come. I know I said I would be hands-off, but I couldn't allow this to happen". Turning to Dean, he continues, "Dean… I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner. I couldn't let you die. It is not your time!" Jack's face takes on a soft look, and he continues "I have something I need you to do, alone. I can fly Sam back to the bunker" he finishes.

Dean, still looking a little stunned, nods his head, "yeah, sure. But first…" he grabs Jack and pulls him in to another huge embrace as Jack smiles and hugs him back.

"Thank you, kiddo. For saving me," Dean says quietly, patting Jack's back lightly before he releases him. Clearing his throat again, Dean asks, "So, what is it you want me to do?"

Dean walks up the steps of the church in the darkness of the night. Jack had told him that he needed to be somewhere that had been previously blessed by an Archangel, and this church had once been blessed by their universe's Michael, before he became a douchebag.

Stepping through the door and closing it behind him, Dean found the church empty, but lit by soft candlelight throughout. As churches go, Dean supposed this one could be classed as pretty. But he had no love for them after everything Chuck and the angels had put them through!

Following Jack's instructions, Dean stepped down to the foyer of the church, closed his eyes, and spoke the Enochian phrase Jack had taught him.

"Gon teloc uran aanaa vonpho Jack"

Once again, a bright golden light began to glow behind him, and the high-pitched ringing of Angel's sound began. Dean turned around to face the light, and could just make out a figure appearing at the centre of it before he had to close his eyes.

When the light and sound stopped, Dean opened his eyes, and standing in front of the doors of the church was Castiel, whole, handsome, and clad in his ever-so-missed suit, white shirt, blue tie, and trench coat. His eyes were glowing, not the blue they usually did when Cas used his grace, but a warm gold. Then, behind him as the light grew around him again, appeared the shadow of enormous wings, much bigger than the wing shadows Dean had seen on him before.

Dean's mouth hung open in shock as he stared at Cas, tears forming in his eyes as he looked upon the Angel he never thought he would see again!

As Cas's eyes returned to normal and the shadows of his wings disappeared again, he stepped forward, looking at Dean with a soft smile on his face and simply said, "Hello, Dean".

Dean's restraint shattered! He took the few steps of distance between them at a run, throwing himself into Cas's arms as tears poured down his face.

"Cas…….. Is it really you?" Dean gasped out.

Cas's arms wrapped around Dean, and he held him tightly.

"Yes, Dean. It is really me," Cas replied softly.

Dean couldn't believe it, and for a little while all he could do was hold Cas against him, his head on Cas's shoulder as he let his breaths become steadier, and the tears stop falling. Cas's scent helped soothe Dean. He had always found Cas smelled like the air on a rainy day, like petrichor and ozone, like lightning was about to strike. He hadn't realised how much he missed that smell.

Finally feeling steadier and sure that Cas was neither a figment of his imagination nor was he going to disappear again, Dean released Cas enough to have just his hands resting on Cas's upper arms.

Looking into his Angel's deep blue eyes, Dean, speaking softly, stated, "You love me!"

Cas suddenly stiffened and took on a look of nervousness as he replied, "Yes, I do".

"Romantically," Dean stated.

Cas rolled his eyes a little as he replied, "Yes, Dean romantically! I am in love with you!"

Dean smiled and softly replied, "I'm in love with you, too, Cas", and, ignoring Cas's slightly stunned look, he reached one hand up to cup Cas's jaw, the other winding into the soft hairs at the base of Cas's neck, and pulled the Angel into a soft kiss.

Cas seemed too stunned to move for a moment, but then his arms wrapped around Dean's shoulders and lower back, pulling the hunter closer into his own body.

They both adjusted the angle of their faces to slot their lips together better, deepening the kiss. After a moment, Dean swiped his tongue gently along the seam of Cas's lips, causing the Angel to let out a soft moan and open his lips.

Dean took full advantage and slowly slid his tongue into Cas's mouth, stroking it against Cas's, the Angel responding in kind and their tongues tangling together, exploring each other. Dean moved his hand that had been on Cas's jaw around to join the other at the back of Cas's neck, the other moving up to grip at Cas's hair.

The kiss lasted forever and not long enough, until Dean had to pull back to breathe deeper, resting his forehead against Cas's.

"I can't believe you're here, Cas. I'm so glad you are, though. I love you, Angel," Dean told Cas.

A tear rolled down Cas's cheek as he let out a small huff of a laugh and replied, "I almost can't believe this is real. I never thought I could have this," with a sniffle.

"You can have it, Angel, have me. I'm yours. Now and always," Dean stated, kissing Cas on the cheek, then leaning back to look into his angel's watery eyes.

Cas smiled Dean's favourite soft smile, the love so very obvious on his face.

"I love you more than anything ever in creation, Dean. I am yours also," Cas said, then leaned forward and claimed Dean's lips again.

Back at the bunker, Dean and Cas approached the door. Dean took Cas's hand in his, entwining their fingers. Cas looked over at him, appearing slightly nervous again, and Dean had a realisation.

"It's okay, Angel, Sam knows. I told him everything a while ago. I wasn't in a good way after I lost you again, and Sam forced an intervention," Dean told him.

Cas looked sadly back at him, "I'm so sorry, Dean".

"Hey, none of that, okay. We're together now. I got you back! And you couldn't have known how hard I always took losing you, because you didn't know how I felt about you, and I never let you see it after you came back. It's not your fault, Angel," Dean explained.

Another one of Dean's favourite smiles took over Cas's face, and a light blush adorned his cheeks as he replied, "I like it when you call me Angel".

A lascivious smirk crossed Dean's face as he leaned closer to Cas and said, "Oh yeah?"

Cas blushed harder and nodded. Dean laughed and planted another kiss on Cas's cheek. Walking forward towards the bunker door and pulling the Angel along with him, he said, "Come on, Angel, you and Jack got a lotta explaining to do".

They walked down the steps inside, moving through the map room into the library where Sam and Jack were.

Sam looked up and spotted Cas, a huge smile appearing on his face, and he took a few strides across the room to enfold Cas in his arms. Cas smiled and patted Sam's back with the hand not holding Dean's.

As Sam pulled back and spotted their entwined hands, he looked at Dean, then Cas, and with an even happier smile said, "Welcome home, Cas".

Cas's eyes watered again as he said, "Thank you, Sam." Then, with a look at Dean, he let go of his hand to go and hug his son, too.

After running to the kitchen to grab the group some beers, Sam returned, and they all sat around their usual tables together. Sam raised his beer bottle in a toast and said, "To our family", and the other three men raised their bottles and repeated, "To our family".

Sipping their beers, Sam looked to Cas, who was sitting next to Dean, the two still with entwined hands, then to Jack and asked, "Okay, so what happened? What's the story?"

Jack began the tale. "After I became God, I knew I needed to right some wrongs and fix heaven first. There were so few Angels left, Heaven was barely functional. I also couldn't leave Cas in The Empty. So, it took me a while to open a portal from Heaven. But eventually I broke through.

The Empty found me first, but this time I was too strong for it. I put it into a permanent deep sleep, then went to find Cas. After I woke him, we searched out the Angel candidates Cas recommended to begin re-populating Heaven with, and after we had woken them all, we returned to Heaven, and I sealed the portal permanently.

"Which Angels did you bring back?" Sam asked.

"Many you never met, but also a few you do know! Balthazar is back, as is Samandriel, Hannah, Inias, Benjamin, and Gabriel," Cas replied.

Dean and Sam shared shocked looks before Dean said, "Gabriel… really!" as Sam snorted a laugh.

Cas laughed too, and Jack tilted his head in such a Cas manner it made Dean's heart ache as he said, "Gabriel assured me you would be extremely happy to hear of his return".

Dean just let out a groan, making Cas laugh again, as Sam responded to Jack, saying, "remind me to tell you the story of TV land someday," laughing too.

Cas continued speaking then. "Gabriel is still an Archangel, but he uhh… isn't Jack's first," he said, looking slightly nervous again.

Dean looked at Jack, then at Cas, and his mouth dropped open a bit before he spoke again, "You! You're an Archangel now, that's why your eyes glowed gold, and your wings were so big," he said with awe. Sam's expression matched his as he looked at Cas, too.

Cas looked nervous but proud as he smiled at Dean.

Jack proudly stated, "Yes, Castiel was always going to be my first Archangel. He is the only Angel who ever fully understood and embraced Chuck's original and most important command of loving humanity. He is my first, but he couldn't return to Earth until he was summoned. That is why I sent you Dean. Castiel had to be summoned by someone who loved him," Jack explained.

Dean's cheeks turned a dark red colour, but he simply squeezed Cas's hand in his and said "yep".

They all smiled at Dean, but none smiled brighter than Cas.

Jack continued the story, "So with Gabriel back, I restored his powers and made him my second. Cas and I agreed there should be three to begin with".

"Who's the third?" Dean asked

"I made Balthazar my third," Jack replied

Dean and Sam both seemed surprised again, and Cas explained, "I know Balthazar had his moments, before I killed him… but he is a good Angel, he understands humanity in a way even I never did, and he is an excellent strategist. He was a valuable member of my garrison".

Dean and Sam both nodded their understanding, then Jack continued the story.

"So, after I had made my Archangels, we set about restructuring Heaven. It is no longer a series of prison-like rooms for humans to re-live the same old memory over and over. There are no barriers now! Heaven is an open country, where one can move around just as one would on Earth! They can be with the people they love and visit with each other. It is the Heaven the Human race deserves, the one it should have had, the one you both deserve!" Jack finished proudly

"That's amazing, Jack," Sam sniffled. Dean nodded, adding, "Yeah, Jack, that sounds perfect".

Jack looked proud and added, "Also, the normal Angels will not be permitted to come down to Earth unless specifically sent on a mission. Only the Archangels will be free to come and go as they please, but I will be keeping Gabriel and Balthazar fairly busy".

Dean looked suddenly slightly nervous and asked, "What about Cas?" his hand tightened around the angel's hand again.

"Cas is different," Jack replied. "He is my father, and he needs to be where his heart belongs! He'll come and help me out when he is needed," Jack finished, smiling at his Angelic father.

Cas smiled proudly back at Jack, before turning to Dean and shyly asking, "I would like to stay here on Earth with you, Dean. If that is what you want?"

Dean smiled a watery smile and pulled Cas into an embrace, his arms wrapped tightly around the new Archangel, and replied, "Yes, Cas, of course it's what I want, I want you with me always". He pulled back slightly and pressed his lips to Cas's, the Angel kissing him back with enthusiasm as the kiss deepened. Until Sam cleared his throat, reminding the two that he and Jack were still in the room.

They pulled apart, both with reddened cheeks as Dean plastered a shit-eating grin to his face, staring at Sam, who groaned and said, "crap, they're gonna be insufferable now!" and sighed, "I'm gonna need a warning before I enter a room from this point forward", making all of them laugh.

Jack stood up then and said, "I need to be getting back to Heaven, but before I go, I also have a gift for you, Sam".

Sam sat up straighter and replied, "Uhh… okay, what is it?"

Jack snapped his fingers, and with a flash of light, Eileen appeared standing whole and alive next to him.

Sam shot to his feet and pulled Eileen into his arms. Tears pouring down his face, he looked at Jack, "Jack, I don't know how to thank you".

Jack smiled widely at Sam, "You had already given her a second chance at life, Sam, and Chuck unjustly took that away from you both. I am just correcting that injustice. Thank me by living your life happily and honouring each other," he replied.

Sam nodded, and he pulled back from Eileen so that she could see his face, telling her, "I'm so glad you're back".

Eileen, who was crying too, nodded, then turned to Jack and signed thank you to him. Jack signed back You're welcome, before raising his hand and saying "goodbye" and disappearing with a snap of his fingers.

Dean looked around at his family, his little brother talking and signing to Eileen as she spoke and signed back, both crying tears of joy. And his gorgeous Archangel standing next to him, they looked at each other with soft smiles of love, before walking over to greet Eileen and welcome her back.

The End........

(For now)