Where the hell am I? Charlie thinks as she jolts awake, gasping for breath. She clutches her chest as it heaves, heart pumping faster than ever before.
"What happened" she whispers to herself as she spins around, looking for Eldon Styne.
"I thought I…" she trails off, realizing she's not where she was only seconds before.
Did I black out? She searches the motel for clues, following a trail of blood into the bathroom.
"Oh... my... Whedon…" she says as she pulls back the shower curtain.
Her lifeless body bleeds out inside the bathtub, Eldon Styne nowhere to be found. The hairs stand up on the back of Charlie's neck.
"Is that me?" she whispers to herself, backing away from her body.
She looks down but the blood on her shirt has disappeared. Please no. Please no. Please no. "I'm…"
"Dead?" a voice finishes for her.
"Who are you?" Charlie asks.
The woman that stands before her has blunt bangs resting upon her forehead, a somber smile across her lips. Her grey blazer sways as she steps forward. "Close enough!" Charlie says, throwing her hands up, "I know karate!"
Charlie balls up her fists in front of her, "Well, I've seen the Karate Kid about twenty times. That counts, right?"
The woman laughs warmly and smiles. "I'm Hannah," she says, "Friend of Castiel."
"Oh!" Charlie exclaims, un-balling her fists, "Cool. Sorry. I've got all of these really creepy dudes chasing me and I'm kind of on edge right now."
"Thanks for saving me," Charlie says, remembering how easily Castiel once fixed her carpal tunnel and bullet wound.
This wouldn't be hard to fix for an angel, right? "I'm sorry, Celeste, I couldn't save you."
"Don't call me that!" she bites her lip, remembering her parents, "Call me Charlie."
"I'm really dead, huh?" Charlie asks, regaining her composure.
"No extra lives? Just straight to game over?" Charlie asks, not really expecting an answer.
"I'm so sorry," Hannah answers.
Charlie stares at her former body for a long time before Hannah speaks again, "We should get going."
"To where?" Charlie asks, not looking to her.
"On," Hannah answers softly.
"No!" Charlie turns back to her, "I-I can't go. What about Dean...the mark? They need me!"
"It's better this way," Hannah says, "Sam and Dean have cheated death and destruction more times than I can count."
"Where's my cheat code then?" Charlie exclaims, "My 'get out of jail free' card?"
"That's not how life and death works, Celes-Charlie," Hannah says.
"I-I can't go, I have to stay here," Charlie says, "I won't abandon my friends."
"You must go," Hannah says, "Your parents are waiting for you."
"My p-parents?" Charlie chokes out.
Hannah nods as Charlie waivers. "No," Charlie says firmly, "No matter how much I'd kill to see them again, I won't die to see them."
"But you're already dead," Hannah reasons.
"I know," Charlie steps towards her, "And do you want to know something else?"
"I am a hunter, a Woman of Letters," she starts, "And I know damn well that angels don't reap people."
She grabs Hannah by the neck, her knuckles white, terrified and angry. "My friends, Sam and Dean Winchester, taught me that."
"Okay, okay," Hannah chokes out, morphing into another woman.
"Who are you really?" Charlie asks.
"Tessa," she chokes out, "I'm a reaper not an angel."
"Then why did you try to trick me?" Charlie asks, not loosening her grip.
"I-it's common to try to make it easier for you to move on by taking the shape of something they expect. Something you're waiting for."
"I don't think I've been waiting for Heaven. Not really. Been on Santa's naughty list for two decades too many," Charlie says, "Yeesh."
"It's my job to guide you, not decide where you end up," Tessa says.
"You won't be guiding me anywhere," Charlie says, "I've made my choice."
"If you stay behind it'll only get worse," Tessa says, "You lose pieces of yourself until there's nothing left. Don't go that route."
"I know what I'm doing," Charlie spits, "I can't go- not yet."
"You might not have much choice," Tessa says, "The Winchester boys may be many things but they're not stupid. They've been down this road before with Bobby Singer and you can be damn sure they're not going down it again. They're going to burn your body. A proper hunter's funeral."
"Your soul will move on whether you like it or not," Tessa says.
"Then allow me one final act of free will," Charlie says, "Just one."
"Let me see my friends one last time," she adds.
Tessa presses her lips together hard and fades away into nothingness. Charlie buries her face in her hands, pacing around the room. I need to think of a way to get out of this. There's got to be a way. I mean Castiel pulled Dean out of hell. And then Sam got out of the cage-Lucifer's cage. C'mon, Charlie, you can figure out a way to crawl out of a bathtub.
Footsteps at the doorway startle her as Sam and Dean burst in. "What's up, bitches?" Charlie says but they don't turn to her.
"Sam?" She waves her hand in front of his face.
He passes through her without missing a beat. "Dean, Dean?" he doesn't answer.
Horrified, they approach the bathroom. "I'm sorry, I should've stayed put," she says though she speaks to no-one.
"Charlie?" Dean says as he lays eyes on her, his heart breaking.
Charlie can almost feel the mark on his arm lighting up like Fourth of July fireworks. Thunder claps loudly overhead through the silence. "Son of a bitch!" Dean kicks the wall, "I will kill him, I will kill that bastard."
"Dean-" Sam starts but Dean interrupts him.
"No, don't you 'Dean' me- not tonight. This is your fault. She wouldn't have run off like that if you hadn't been keeping her locked up like a lab rat."
"I was only trying to help you," Sam protests.
"I never asked for your help, Sammy. In fact, didn't I tell you not to help me? That I had it covered. This...this is on you," Dean says.
Dean storms past Sam and into the bathroom. He falters a moment as he bends down to pick up Charlie's body. "I'm sorry, Kiddo," he says, "I'm so sorry."
He kisses her forehead, not caring about the blood, and picks her up. "Let me," Sam protests.
"No," Dean says coldly, "I think you've done enough."
"You can't fight like this," Charlie says, trying to put a hand on Sam's shoulder.
Her hand falls through his body like it's made of air. After a few moments of silent reflection Sam joins his brother in the car. Charlie, still tethered to her body, follows him out.
They ride in silence back to the bunker, Dean not even bothering to turn on the radio. Even chatty Charlie, a bonafide Gilmore Girl, is shocked into silence.
Charlie cannot feel heat but she knows Dean's blood is boiling. He won't rest until he kills them all. The mark won't let him. But this time feels different. Worse than ever. C'mon, Sam. Check your email. An email….If I could send them an email maybe I could stop it. Maybe I could drive them back together. Worth a try, huh? But something tells me I'm too late…
Sam and Dean begin to knit long logs together, into a massive funeral pyre. Charlie won't have much more than a few moments left. She hears a pop behind her and closes her eyes, realising who it must be. "Tessa…" Charlie breathes, "Can't I just Doctor Who this bitch? Because I'm David Tennant and I don't want to go."
"It'll be less painful if you go now," Tessa says.
Charlie can feel the warm tears welling up in her eyes, it's only a matter of time before they fall down her face. "I'm going to stay as long as I can," Charlie puts her foot down.
Tessa says no more as Dean pauses by the pyre. Remember the good times, Dean. Remember those. Not the revenge. He falters a moment before he turns back to Charlie's body, wrapped in a white sheet. He carries her as if she's made of glass, afraid of breaking her, but she's already in pieces.
Sam helps guide her feet onto the top, turning to his brother. Dean does not look up to him but lingers over her body, arm stretched out into half a hug, a last embrace she'd never get to feel.
Dean starts the fire and the pyre goes up in flames, leaving Charlie only a few moments left. "What's Heaven like?" Charlie asks Tessa softly through the flickering flames.
"Whatever you want it to be," Tessa says.
"I always kind of imagined it as the big Comic Con in the sky," Charlie sniffs, wiping the tears away, "But I'm kind of thinking it's not going to be that anymore. It's going to be me and my brothers. My parents. As it should be."
"Sam and Dean will die one day too," Tessa says, "You'll see them again."
"Those two?" Charlie half laughs, "Nah, they're immortal. They've got that Highlander juice. They'll live forever."
"What?" Tessa says.
"Wow, does nobody watch good TV anymore?" Charlie says, turning her attention back to Sam and Dean.
Sam speaks first, "Charlie... We're gonna miss you. You were the best. And I'm so sorry-"
"Shut up," Dean interrupts him, "You got her killed, you don't get to apologise."
"Yes he does," Charlie says, knowing full well neither of them can hear her, "I'd forgive you, always."
"We were trying to help you," Sam protests.
"I didn't need help," Dean shakes his head, "I told you to leave it alone."
But you did, you really did, Dean.
"What was I supposed to do…" Sam starts, "Just watch you die?"
"The mark isn't gonna kill me," Dean says flatly.
"Maybe not but... when it's done with you, you won't be you anymore," Sam says, brow furrowed with worry.
Dean's jaw tightens as Sam continues, "Dean, you're all I've got. So, of course I was gonna fight for you, because that's what we do."
"Listen...I had a shot-" Sam adds but is interrupted.
"Yeah, you had a shot," Dean nods, "Charlie's dead."
"Nice shot," Dean adds, his tongue forked.
"You think I-" Sam stops himself, considering what he wants to say, "You think I'm ever gonna forgive myself for that?"
"What's happening?" Charlie whispers to herself as her body begins to fade away.
"You wanna know what I think? I think it should be you up there - not her."
"This thing with Cas and the book ends now. Shut it down before somebody else gets hurt, you understand me?" Dean says firmly.
"What about you?" Sam asks.
"Oh, I'm gonna find whoever did this, and I'm gonna rip apart everything and everyone that they've ever loved," Dean says coldly, "And then I'm gonna tear out their heart."
"Is that you talking or the Mark?" Sam asks, losing his grip on his brother.
"Does it matter?" Dean turns to him.
"Time to go," Tessa says as Charlie fades into oblivion, screaming his name.
Charlie starts awake a moment later, a bright light hurting her eyes. "Jeez, I always thought this whole bright light thing was total crap….I guess not."
"Hello, Charlie," a voice overhead says.
Charlie shields her eyes from the light and stands. She looks upon Hannah, once again. "Tessa?"
Hannah shakes her head, "I'm afraid not," she pauses, "Welcome to Heaven."
"Can you bring me back?" Charlie pleads with her, "Those boys need my help. The mark…"
Hannah shakes her head. "Brilliant," Charlie scoffs, "I spend the last years of my life trying to save the world, save Heaven, and still you won't help me?"
"A true hero never saves people for glory or favors," Hannah says wisely.
"Then I must not be a true hero, huh?" Charlie says.
"In your heart I think you know it's better this way. You've fought hard for a long time," Hannah pauses, "And even true heroes can forget what they fight for sometimes."
"So what now?" Charlie asks.
"One last choice stands before you," Hannah starts, "You can move on, see your parents again."
"Or…" she pauses, "You can help us rebuild Heaven."
"Me?" Charlie says, taken aback.
Hannah nods and says, "We could use a mind like yours on the inside."
"But I'm not an angel…" Charlie starts.
"You have no wings, yes, but that does not mean you are not an angel," Hannah says.
I've spent so many years wishing I could see my parents again. They're right at my fingertips, yet I still can feel them slipping away. I've got one last battle to fight. One more kingdom to rebuild. If Heaven needs me, I can wait a little longer.
"T-there's something I have to do first," Charlie says, taken aback.
"I need to get a message to Sam and Dean," Charlie insists.
"I think if you need to send a message, a message will be exactly what you can send," Hannah says, "We'll be waiting…"
"But how?" Charlie looks up to her but she's already gone, a shiny white monitor taking her place.
Is this my "King's Cross Station" at the end of the Deathly Hallows? A computer. Way to be imaginative, Charlie. She cracks her knuckles. I guess that makes Hannah "Dumbledore". And oh my god I'm Harry Potter. This is all I've ever wanted out of life. Erm, death. Well, better get writing:
To my dear brothers,
Hey...this is really weird, with me being dead and all. In case you haven't figured it out yet, it's Charlie. Surprise! I'm writing to you from Heaven...how weird is that? Probably not that weird to you guys. Anyway...I just wanted to tell you I haunted your asses earlier. Sam, Dean...you have to let me go, you really do. Revenge and hatred is not the way to go- that's not what I want. Well...I mean you can kill that bastard Eldon but leave well enough alone after that. Stop fighting, right now. It's neither of your faults that I died. People die everyday. And I won't be coming back. Not this time. Heaven needs me. I'm going to help them rebuild, do what I can. Just please promise me you won't hate each other forever. I couldn't live (or die) with myself if I knew you hated each other because of me. It's my fault, I snuck off. I did that. Dean, it's not Sam's fault. I wanted to help you. I wanted the mark off, still do. Don't turn into the monster everyone thinks you'll be. You're friggin Winchesters, if anyone can recover from this you will. My death might sting for a little while but you'll get over it over time, it's part of the job. I knew this was the endgame when I signed up for this. Don't cry for me when I'm gone. Don't avenge me. Just remember me, alright? Remember me.
Peace out bitches (and live long and prosper),
Charlie
P.S. How cool is it that I get to save Heaven? I mean really think about it. Me. Me and my angels. Charlie's angels.
(message sent!)