Castiel was a content angel. All angels were content; it was the only emotion they felt. For more than a millennium, Castiel and the rest of his garrison spent their time singing God's praises or readying themselves to be warriors for God. All that changed for Castiel on the twenty-fourth of January the year of the Lord nineteen seventy-nine. On that day, a very important, very busy angel named Zachariah summoned Castiel to his office.

"Congratulations Castiel." Zachariah's voice was a bored monotone. "We're promoting you to guardian angel."

"Thank you, sir. Who is my charge? What do they look like? When do I begin?" New emotions were forming in Castiel. He wasn't sure if he felt excitement or anticipation but it was something other than contentment.

Zachariah scowled at Castiel. This enthusiasm was unwelcome and unnecessary. "His name is Dean Winchester and he looks like all the other hairless apes." He looked at the paperwork and added, "He's being born right now so you better get a move on."

In a blink of an eye, Castiel was in a delivery room in Lawrence, Kansas watching Dean Winchester take his first breath.

The wailing infant was unlike any "hairless ape" Castiel had ever seen. He was breathtaking and Castiel stared in wonder as Mary soothed her child. "Isn't he beautiful, John?"

"Yes," Castiel sighed drowning out the father's answer.

Castiel wanted to immortalize the moment. He wanted to show the other angels in his garrison the beautiful human in his care. Since angels don't have cameras, he sketched the babe's image onto the palm of his hand.

Back at the garrison, Castiel was surprised that his fellow angels weren't as astonished at Dean's beauty as he was. Upon showing them the sketch on his hand, none of them seemed amazed.

Uriel rolled his eyes in annoyance and walked away without saying a word.

Balthazar looked at the smeared sketch. "Sorry Castiel. I don't see it. This mess on your hand looks like just a bunch of scribbles to me."

Hannah agreed. "Nice scribbles, Castiel but not breathtaking nor beautiful."

Anna, however studied the smeared sketch for the longest time. "I like it, Castiel. It's a nice arrangement of atoms."

Castiel withdrew his hand. "This isn't a very good likeness. I was in a hurry and it smeared upon my return flight. Come with me. Come see Dean Winchester for yourselves and then you'll understand. He's the most beautiful being in God's creation."

Anna and the others exchanged concerned glances. "Sure, Castiel, we'll go with you after we sing the new praises Naomi wrote."

Later, the troupe of angels gathered around Dean's crib in the hospital nursery.

Castiel beamed with pride. "See? Isn't he the most amazing human you have ever seen?"

Hannah looked at each baby in the nursery. "They all look the same to me," she began. "What makes him so special?"

Balthazar wrinkled his nose in disgust. "She's right. He looks like all the other hairless apes. He does, however, smell atrocious. Are they supposed to smell like that?"

Uriel stepped back in revulsion. "I don't have time for this spotted smelly mud monkey." He left with a flutter and was followed by Balthazar and Hannah.

Anna bent over Dean's crib. "He does have spots. Teeny tiny spots," She looked up at Castiel. "How can he be perfect if he has spots?"

"They are like the stars in the heavens. Constellations that show the wonder of God's power. The entire universe captured in miniature," Castiel explained.

Anna raised a brow in surprise at his answer. "Right. Of course." She saw that her friend was disappointed in the reactions of the other angels and didn't want to hurt him further. "He seems like a very nice mud- human. I'm sure he'll grow more beautiful every day." She patted Castiel's arm and flew off.

Castiel sighed and brushed his hand over Dean's head with a barely there touch. He couldn't understand why the others didn't recognize Dean's beauty but he couldn't get enough.

He brought parchment with him so he could sketch Dean's likeness onto something other than his own hand.

Although the drawing was a near perfect rendering of his subject, Castiel realized he had only captured Dean from one angle so a second sketch would be needed.

So it began.

Everytime Castiel visited Dean, he'd draw a couple of portraits from different angles hoping to capture the child's perfection. However, he always felt his art was missing something. An entire wall of his dwelling was papered with images of Dean. Dean smiling, Dean crying, Dean crawling, Dean sleeping, anything and everything Dean did was documented in a sketch by Castiel.

As he stood back to admire his work, Castiel noticed that although he had captured the roundness of Dean's cheek and the bow of his little legs, he had overlooked one of Dean's best features.

Castiel needed to start working in color. Those eyes deserved to be immortalized in the perfect shade of green. Charcoal on parchment simply didn't capture their splendor. As Dean grew, so did Castiel's art collection. Every surface in his home had a picture of Dean Winchester.

Guardian angels watch over their charges and protect them as much as they can but their powers are limited. They can prevent certain accidents but, angels may not interfere with man's free will. If their human chooses to do something harmful, the angel can only sit back and worry.

That is why Castiel wept the day Dean traded his soul for his brother Sam's life. He had only one more year to care for and admire his charge before the poor human would be dragged to hell.

That year Castiel began sculpting. If he would never see or touch Dean Winchester again, Castiel needed to immortalize him in something more than parchment. Dean's likeness needed to be chiseled from marble. However, it didn't matter how lovely those works of art were, Castiel found them to be cold. So, he carved another Dean from wood.

On the day Dean's deal came due, Castiel was once again summoned to Zachariah's office. As if this day could get worse, Castiel thought to himself.

"Well?" Zachariah began once Castiel had taken a seat in his office. "What do you have to say for yourself? What kind of guardian angel lets their human make a deal to go to hell?"

"I, well, I mean, angels aren't allowed to -" Castiel stammered.

"Don't tell me what angels are and aren't allowed to do!" Zachariah's booming voice shook the office walls. He stood and pointed a finger in Castiel's face. "You better hope Dean Winchester doesn't do anything stupid while he's in hell!" He sat down and waved a hand at the file containing the account of Dean's life. "But with his track record, it will only be a matter of time."

Castiel wept as he listened to Dean's screams. He couldn't prevent the hellhounds from dragging Dean to hell but he lessened the pain by having Dean die quickly.

He spent the next several months revisiting every portrait of Dean. Every night he'd smooth a hand over the wooden statue of his charge, polishing it until it gleamed.

After what felt like an eternity to the angel but it was only four months in human time, alarms sounded throughout heaven. Michael and Raphael called an assembly of all the angels from the seraphim to the other archangels.

"The apocalypse has begun." Michael bellowed, ignoring the few murmurs from the crowd. "The first seal has been broken. Therefore, we must lay siege to Hell and raise Dean Winchester, for only the righteous man who broke the first seal can end what he put in motion. Brothers and sisters, prepare for battle!"

Hell wasn't expecting the full army of Heavenly host to descend upon it. The few demons that were in the know, made themselves scarce. They knew a much bigger battle was looming. Castiel's garrison slaughtered a path to Dean. While his brothers and sisters fought, Castiel raised Dean.

Castiel rebuilt Dean atom by atom, making him as perfect as the day he was born. God's universe was redrawn with the freckles Castiel sprinkled on him. There were no tears or scars from the hellhounds, no broken bones. Nothing as much as a split end or hangnail marred Dean Winchester. He was perfect.

But Castiel had to sign his work. He wanted everyone to know who had raised Dean Winchester, who had put him together again. So he left his handprint on Dean's shoulder.

Now he sat back and waited for Dean to rise and thank him.

Dean rose but didn't seem to notice Castiel. He noticed the trees were blown flat all around him and it baffled him but he never thought an angel could do that. He didn't even think angels existed.

As Dean made his way to civilization, Balthazar joined Castiel. "Look how well I put him back together, brother," Castiel said pointing at his charge.

"Yes, fine work, Castiel." Balthazar surveyed the area around them, not really paying attention to Castiel or Dean, until the human walked closer. "He still smells rank, worse than I remember, actually. Couldn't you do anything about that?" Castiel began to explain how Dean's corpse had been rotting in those clothes but Balthasar waved him off. "Have you seen Michael or the others?"

Castiel shook his head. "Once I rescued Dean, I had only one objective."

"Good." The other angel shifted his robe which clanged like metal was beneath it, and nodded. Then he rested his hands on Castiel's shoulders, looked him in the eye and said, "Fare thee well, brother."

Too consumed with thoughts of Dean, Castiel didn't pay attention to where his brother went.

He found Dean at a gas station. Dean was examining himself and wondering what had happened to the hellhound scars. "See! I remade you!" Castiel explained. "I have been studying you your whole life. I put you back together just the way God created you."

Sadly, all Dean heard was ear piercing screeches which made him fall to the ground in fear and pain. Castiel stopped speaking the moment he saw Dean's reaction. He didn't want to frighten Dean.

Eventually Castiel was able to find a vessel. The angel didn't find this human as beautiful as Dean but at least it allowed him to talk and interact with Dean.

Castiel wanted to tell Dean everything. How he'd been watching over him his whole life, how he had put him back together, how he had drawings back at his place… but the archangels had different ideas. Castiel could only share what they wanted him to tell Dean.

With the apocalypse looming and the threat of the seals being broken almost daily, Castiel rarely had time for his hobby. His collection of Dean artwork gathered dust as he and his charge fought against the forces of evil.

Then came the day Dean called him 'Cas'. The dormant muse inside the angel awoke and he spent the next month creating dozens of images of Dean. Some were sketches, some were paintings, one was done in stained glass, another was made from a candy called Skittles. Cas felt immense joy at being able to recreate images of his human. He made so many that only one room in his heavenly dwelling had space for the angel to stand.

Fortunately for the world and the Winchesters, an angel 'month' is only a blink of an eye in human time. Castiel was able to assist the brothers whenever Dean called. And Dean called a lot. It seemed that every week there was a problem that needed Castiel's attention.

The other heavenly host thought Castiel might be becoming too close to his human, so they called him home for 'reprogramming'. When the angel chose the Winchesters over his fellow angels, Zachariah forced Castiel to watch as he and Raphael destroyed his art collection.

When Sam Winchester saved the world by jumping into the cage, Castiel rebuilt Dean once again. For a little while, things went back to how they were before Dean's time in hell. Castiel was busy with the civil war in Heaven and rarely had time to sketch let alone sculpt anything. There were only a few dozen new sketches of Dean hanging on the walls of his home.

A short time later, a mere moment to angels, Castiel opened the door to purgatory and absorbed all the souls there. Now he was extremely powerful but his own spirit was lost in the ocean of souls inside him. Many of those souls hated Dean Winchester which forced Castiel to keep his art to himself.

When Dean finally convinced Cas to return the souls to purgatory, the leviathan held on. Castiel was forced to destroy his vessel in order to rid himself of the monsters. Thinking his angel must be dead, Dean gathered Cas' trenchcoat and left the reservoir.

Hours later an exhausted Castiel crawled out of the water and collapsed on the beach. He had no memories of himself or his life. But when he closed his eyes he saw freckles like the constellations in heaven and the greenest of green eyes.

Daphne jogged the same path every morning. She enjoyed the scenery by the water and even though it was secluded, she always felt safe. On one particular morning she saw what looked like a dead body washed up along the shore. Daphne pulled her phone out, typed in the numbers 911 as she approached the body while her thumb hovered over the send button.

As she got closer, she could tell the man was breathing but unconscious. Daphne didn't want to get too close in case it was a trap and this naked man decided to attack her. She tapped his leg with her foot, still keeping her thumb ready to hit 911.

He groaned and rolled over, opening his eyes groggily. "Where am I?" His voice sound rough and scratchy. His hand scrubbed at his face.

Daphne stepped back, unsure if he was drunk or high. But, with this new view of him, she certainly wanted to help him.

"You're in Lakeview Park." She crouched down beside him. "My name is Daphne. What's your name? What happened to you? Where are your clothes?"

Castiel looked down at his naked body and immediately covered himself. "I, I, don't remember my name. My head hurts but I don't think I'm otherwise injured."

Daphne took off her jacket, handed it to Cas and he covered himself. "You should come home with me. We'll make some calls and try to figure out what happened to you."

Appreciating her generosity, Cas happily accepted her offer.

During the next few days, Daphne was very kind to Castiel. And, because he couldn't remember feeling such kindness before, Castiel became smitten. Daphne had never met anyone so innocent, so kind or so handsome. Castiel was the man of her dreams. It didn't matter that he couldn't remember his past, they would make a future together. His only flaw was his 'hobby'.

Castiel loved to doodle but his little drawings weren't random scribbles. He would draw the same face over and over. Daphne agreed that it was a very handsome face but she worried that maybe the person in the drawing had hurt Castiel. Perhaps he was the reason Cas had been naked and unconscious on the beach.

Castiel didn't think the person he drew had meant him harm. He was convinced that the man had been very important to him and that they shared a profound bond.

Daphne didn't like the sound of that. Castiel - who she called Emmanuel- belonged to her now.

After Castiel showed her a finished set of the most perfect green eyes, Daphne cracked a glass in her hand and cut herself.

Cas rushed to her side and pulled the shard of glass from her hand. And then just as she braced herself for the pain, Daphne saw her wound close and heal. "You are blessed by God!" she gasped. "You can heal people!"

"I can?" Cas whispered but if Daphne said it it must be true.

Though it meant the risk of losing him, Daphne couldn't keep Cas's gift from the world. Soon people from all over would be knocking on their door to see the healer.

As Castiel's reputation spread, Daphne knew the man with the green eyes would soon be at her door.

One day Cas came to her and said, "I'm out of the brown I use for his freckles and I'd like to get another shade of green. I know I haven't perfected his eyes, yet."

Daphne sighed, "Of course Emmanuel. Go buy some more paint. I'll have lunch ready when you return."

When Castiel returned with the art supplies he stumbled upon a man killing another man on his front porch. Castiel saw that the dead man was not a man at all but some sort of evil beast. But the man holding the knife, that man was far more interesting.

Castiel hurried that man into his house and dragged the body behind him.

"I can explain," Dean started but Castiel cut him off.

"No need. I saw his face. His true face." Then he saw Daphne gagged and bound to a chair. "Daphne!" He rushed to her aide. "Are you hurt?"

"No, Emmanuel, but that man was looking for you!" She turned to Dean. "Who are you?! What do you want with my husband?"

"Husband?"

Cas held out his hand to Dean. "Yes. I'm Emmanuel Allen and this is my wife Daphne. And you are?"

Dean shook Cas's hand. "Dean Winchester."

Cas looked at Daphne and shrugged. The name meant nothing to him. "Thank you for saving my wife from that." He pointed at the dead demon.

Dean was about to explain but Daphne found her voice. "How do you know my husband?"

Dean took a moment before speaking. He had only wanted to see if this healer, Emmanuel, could fix Sam. He didn't expect to find an amnesiac Cas. "A man named Mackey told me Emmanuel healed his eye. I wanted to know if he could help me, too."

Instantly sympathetic, Cas put his hand on Dean's shoulder. "What healing do you need?"

"Not me. My brother. He's in the hospital. Northern Indiana State Hospital, the psych ward. Uh, someone hurt his brain. I was hoping you could help him."

"Of course. I am happy to help. Anything you need, Dean Winchester."

"Indiana?" Daphne repeated in shock. "You're just going to go to Indiana because he asked you to?"

"Yes. I thought you would understand." Castiel looked confused. Surely his wife recognized the importance of this man. "I'll go pack a bag, then we can leave."

"Okay." Dean wasn't sure what was going on between the couple but he was grateful that Cas or rather Emmanuel was willing to help Sammy.

The moment Cas left the room Daphne turned on Dean. "Tell me who you are and how you know my husband."

"Lady, I just met him."

"Bullspit," Daphne growled. "Come with me."

She led Dean to what used to be her sewing room and said, "Explain this!" She threw open the door to reveal the hundreds of portraits of Dean that littered the room.

Dean stepped in and looked around with wide eyes and mouth falling open. "What the hell?"

"What the h-e-double hockey sticks, indeed. How do you explain this?" Daphne demanded.

"What? No. I don't understand any of this." Dean took a last look around and left the room with a small shudder.

"Well, you're something," Daphne said pulling shut the door and following him. "You know him. Or he knows you, that's for sure. Tell me how."

Dean didn't have time for her questions. He wanted to get to healing Sammy. "Maybe you should tell me. I walk into a house I've never been in before and you have dozens of pictures of me?! Pictures of me as a kid? I'm freaking out over here." Dean hoped turning the tables on her would get her to drop the subject.

Daphne gasped. "Oh my goodness gracious, maybe he knew you in a past life and your souls are drawn to one another. That's why you're here!" She was convinced God had wanted Dean to find Emmanuel.

Dean stared at her hoping the crazy dripping out of her wouldn't get on him. "No. I'm only here so he can fix my brother." He pointed to the room. "I don't understand any of that."

Castiel rejoined them carrying a small suitcase. "Daphne, I have to go with Dean now. I hope you understand. I'm sure I'll be home soon."

Daphne hugged Cas tightly. "Of course, dear. I know you have to help as many people as you can."