This is an alternate ending to Goodbye Strangers that flows into an AU. This chapter starts right after Cas almost kills Dean because Naomi was controlling him.
I tried to keep the characters as consistent with their orginal personalities as possible while also allowing them to grow. Let me know what you think!
XXXXXXX
Cas dropped his blade and stepped away from Dean. Dean doubled over in pain without Cas holding him up. Cas dropped to his knees in front of the hunter so that they were at eye level. Dean gasped and tried to pull away when he felt Cas' hands brush against his face.
"Dean. I am so sorry. Naomi was controlling me. I'm not going to hurt you anymore." Cas' voice was deep and full of regret and pain. Dean felt power flow from Cas' hands and rush through his body, healing his wounds. The hunter grunted and gripped the sleeve of Cas' coat in his hand. Once Dean's head cleared and the pain faded, he looked up at Cas.
"If Naomi was controlling you, then how did you stop? Why didn't you kill me?" Dean asked.
"I heard your voice. It pulled me out of her control, let me take my mind back." Cas answered, his eyes flashing with anger. "I'll kill her for what she made me do."
Dean became suddenly aware that Cas was still holding his face in his hands, even though the hunter was completely healed now. Dean's instincts were screaming at him to pull away, to protect himself from being vulnerable. Instead, he leaned forward until his forhead rested against Cas'.
"It's not your fault, Cas. And if you want to hunt her down, then I'm with you. I promise." Dean's nose brushed gently against Cas' and Dean could have sworn that Cas leaned in closer. "But right now, we need to get the angel tablet somewhere safe and we need to go make sure that Sam and Meg are okay." Dean reminded him. At Meg's name, Cas pulled away from Dean abruptly.
"Meg. Sam. Right." Cas looked like he was trying to clear his head. He stood up. "We need to protect the angel tablet at all costs. If it fell into the angel's hands, the results would be catastrophic." Cas picked up the tablet and concealed it in his trench coat while Dean slowly stood up.
"Then we take it to the bunker. It's the safest place for us right now." Dean said.
"Dean? Dean?!" Sam voice echoed from outside the crypt.
"Sam! We're in here!" Dean called back.
Sam fell into the room, using the wall to hold himself up. "Did you guys get it?" He asked, looking back and forth between Dean and Cas.
"Yes, I have it. Where's Meg?" Cas answered, his voice deep.
"Crowley showed up. She's buying us some time." Sam looked at Dean. "We gotta go."
"Alright." Dean agreed. He looked over to where Cas was standing but the angel had already vanished. Sam and Dean hurried to make their way outside on foot. When they exited the building into the parking lot, they found Cas bent over Meg, who was lying motionless on the pavement.
"Where's Crowley?" Dean asked, his eyes scanning the area for danger.
"He fled after I killed all of his demons." Cas answered without looking at either of them. "But not before he killed Meg and stabbed me with an angel blade." Cas' jaw was tight and he was holding a hand against his stomach. Blood covered the front of his shirt and pants. Dean stomach clenched at the sight.
"We need to get you out of here Cas. Before Crowley comes back or he sends more demons after us." Dean said urgently.
Cas nodded. He reached a hand out and brushed Meg's hair away from her face, saying a silent goodbye. Then he stood up.
"I'm not going to be able to fly us out of here in my condition." Cas admitted, looking at Dean.
"Then we drive." Was all Dean said.
Cas nodded again and took one step toward Dean and then collapsed. Dean was barely able to catch the angel before he hit the ground. Dean slung one of Cas' arms around his shoulders and wrapped his arm around the angel's waist.
"Sam." Dean called out, tossing the car keys to him so he could focus on supporting Cas. Sam caught them and took off for the car. Dean slowly started dragging Cas toward the Impala.
"Don't you dare die on me, you bastard." Dean growled at Cas. One minute later, Sam was slamming on the brakes as the Impala screeched to a halt in front of Dean. Sam got out and threw the back seat door open. They lifted Cas inside and Dean slid in next to him. Sam jumped back into the drivers seat and hit the gas. The car sped away and Cas groaned in pain as he was thrown back in his seat.
"Cas?! Can you hear me?" Dean asked desperately.
"Yes. You don't need to yell, I'm sitting right next to you." Cas answered without opening his eyes.
Dean rolled his eyes but he was immensely relieved.
Cas gasped in pain as Dean lifted his shirt to examine his wound. Blood still oozed from the cut and Dean's heart pounded in his ears.
"It's not even that bad. So you can quit your complaing." Dean joked, putting a brave face on. At this, Cas opened his eyes just enough to glare at Dean. Dean reached down to pull out their emergency kit. He opened it and then was abruptly slammed into the car door as Sam made a sharp turn.
"Dammit Sam! Do you think you could slow down a bit?" Dean yelled.
"We're being followed." Sam answered, his jaw clenched.
"Angels or demons?" Dean asked.
"Demons. I think." Sam said.
Dean cursed.
Cas groaned again and Dean returned his attention to the angel. He pulled out scissors and proceeded to cut Cas shirt so that he could reach the wound better.
"Cas I need you to lay down okay? I need to be able to put pressure on the wound so I can stop the bleeding." Cas nodded and moved so that he was stretched across the back seat. Kneeling uncomfortably on the floor of the car, Dean pulled out several rolls of gauze. He applied a stack of it to Cas' stomach and pressed down. This earned a hiss of pain from the angel but he clenched his teeth together and didn't say anything. Dean's hands were wrenched away from Cas again when Sam made another sharp turn.
"I've almost lost them. Just a few more minutes." Sam reassured.
Dean cursed as he was thrown back once more. He knew he wasn't going to be able to stop the bleeding from his unstable position on the floor and Cas was starting to look incredibly pale. Dean knew that he was strong, but this was an angel blade wound, which meant that Cas wasn't going to heal fast. He was going to heal like a human.
"Desperate times." Dean muttered as he climbed onto the back seat with Cas. Dean threw one knee over Cas' hips so that he was now straddling the angel. Cas' eyes flew open and he gazed at Dean in surprise.
"Not a word." Dean growled at him. He snatched up the gauze again and pressed it against Cas' wound. Cas gritted his teeth in pain and squeezed his eyes shut again. Dean tightened his thighs against the angel's hips, pinning him in place as Sam swung the car around a turn. Cas sucked in a breath, whether in pain or because of something else, Dean couldn't tell.
Cas opened his eyes and looked at the hunter.
"Dean, I want you to know that I'm sorry for lying to you. I know that you have no reason to believe me, but I truly did not want to deceive you. Naomi has been controlling me since I got back from purgatory. She kept pulling me away from you and Sam, telling me what to say and do. And then she would wipe my memory so that I had no recollection of it." Cas was panting with the effort of speaking.
"Cas it's okay. I knew it something was wrong. I've known it since you got back. But we don't have to talk about this right now." Dean responded.
"Yes. We do. I don't want to die without you knowing the truth." Cas insisted, short of breath.
"Now you listen to me." Dean snapped. "You are not going to die. You got that? Not on my watch." Dean glared at Cas laying underneath him. "I can't lose you Cas. I need you. We both need you. We've got some crazy crap coming our way with Sam going through these trials and I need you to be there to help me pull him through. So you are not going to die." Cas gazed at Dean in a way that made Dean very aware of the bizarre physical position they were in.
"After everything I've done, after all the people I've hurt and all the times I've hurt you and your brother, why do you still want me around?" Cas asked, his eyes boring into Dean's.
"Because you're family Cas. And yeah, you've made some mistakes, but we all have. And you're the only reason that Sammy and I are even still alive. You've saved our skin more times than I can count."
They looked at each other in silence, both forgetting for a moment that their lives were in danger, that Cas was slowly bleeding out, and that Sam had been listening to every word they were saying.
"Dean, I-" Cas started.
"We're here." Sam announced, killing the engine. Dean snapped back to reality. He climbed out of the car and together, he and Sam hauled Cas inside the bunker. They laid him down on the table that overlooked the war room. Dean immediately started cutting away the rest of Cas' clothes while Sam scrambled to get everything they needed. Cas had passed out on their way inside and was laying limp.
"Stay with me, Cas." Dean kept muttering under his breath. Sam came back with supplies and Dean quickly cleaned the wound and set about stitching it up. Sam was better at this than Dean because growing up, Dean had always made sure that Sam stayed out of the line of fire, which left Sam to constantly patch up Dean's many wounds. But Sam didn't offer to do the stitches instead, knowing that Dean would want to be the one to do it. Dean finished quickly and put a bandage over it to prevent infection. Cas still hadn't woken back up.
"Why isn't he waking up?" Dean asked, his voice strained.
"He probably just needs the rest." Sam answered, sinking into a chair. Dean eyes snapped over to his brother. Sam was looking worse for wear.
"You should go get some sleep. You look like hell." Dean said, trying to hide the fact that this upset him.
Sam nodded. "Let me help you move him to a bed first so he can sleep better."
Cas ended up in Dean's room because it was the closest. He didn't look it, but the dude was heavy.
"Alright. I'll keep an eye on him. You go get some rest." Dean ordered. Sam rolled his eyes but left. Dean watched him go with worried eyes and then turned his attention back to Cas. Some of the angel's color had returned but he was still down for the count. Dean sighed and pulled a chair into the room.
"You better wake up, you son of a bitch." Dean muttered as he sat down to wait.
