"After what you did to us, Castiel, you deserve what I'm going to do to you"
A woman's voice carries down the hallway and Dean moves quickly toward it, keeping his gun at the ready. It's not going to be very useful against an angel and considering that that is what the woman certainly is, he is probably running to his death but that thought barely even occurs to him. Cas is in that room and from the sounds of things he needs saving.
A scream rips through the air and sends Dean's heart into overdrive as he jumps immediately to a sprint completely regardless of consequence. He reaches the door just in time to see a petite red-haired woman shoving an angel blade through Cas's naked chest. His vision turns red.
Dean immediately body-slams the woman away from Cas before she can do any more damage. He manages to maintain enough presence of mind to keep his feet beneath him while he knocks her to the floor, but it doesn't help much. She turns and flicks her hand at him and he feels that familiar sensation of an invisible force lifting him and throwing him across the room. Sam's heavy footsteps stop abruptly as he is thrown against the wall immediately upon entering the room and collapses to the floor.
"Sam!?" Dean calls, but he doesn't answer. Why does this keep happening? Dean thinks grimly to himself, simultaneously hoping that maybe Ezekiel will show up again, waste the ginger bitch and heal Cas.
"Dean!" Cas sounds like he's in so much pain but Dean doesn't even glance at him. It won't help his focus.
He keeps his eyes on the redhead as they both get to their feet. He needs to get his hands on that angel blade still stuck inside of Cas. Out of the corner of his eye he can see that Sam isn't moving. Apparently he will not be receiving any angelic assistance.
"You! You're just as much to blame as him! Why couldn't you just obey? Castiel would still be an angel, still command a garrison in God's name, still be one of us. He would never have murdered thousands of angels and we would all still have our wings. But you're just like Castiel, you never do as your told." Her fingers are shaking, her lips tembling, her eyes flashing. Good.
"That's right. Me and Cas, we're just alike. We never do what we're told, ain't that right, buddy?" Please get the message. Please, please, please get the message.
"Dean..." Cas's voice sounds more like a gurgle now. Shit. Dean chances a quick glance. There's blood leaking from the side of his mouth and he looks absolutely terrified.
"Don't you pull that knife out, Cas. you'll bleed out quicker." Dean starts circling to his right, and the angel readily mirrors his steps. The movement brings her closer to Cas, which is the opposite of what she would expect him to do, but he doesn't want to be close to Cas. He wants Cas to be behind her.
He stops when she is about three paces away from Cas still, but he is out of her peripheral vision. He glances at Cas, then the knife, then back to her.
'"nd look at you. You brought a gun to a knife fight. Pathetic. You think you can win every fight with your bravado alone, don't you? You arrogance will be your undoing."
At the same moment that she moves towards him, Cas reaches up with his left hand. He grips the knife and, to Dean's astonishment, doesn't make a sound as he pulls it in one smooth motion from his gut and throws it to Dean. Dean catches it deftly, twirls it and steps into a ready stance just as the angel reaches him. She barely has time to look surprised before he shoves it beneath her ribs.
Five seconds and a bright flash of light later, Dean is hurrying to Cas's side and pressing his hands into his stomach.
"Dean." Cas's voice is a strained whisper and when dean meets his eyes they are wide as saucers.
"Come on, Cas, you're not gonna die. Not now." Dean looks back down at the blood seeping between his fingers and curses the pricks behind his eyes that mean tears are coming. He needs to see.
Cas's hand grips his arm and his breaths come in ragged wet gasps. "Dean, leave me."
Dean's heart almost stops. He uses one hand to keep pressure on the wound and the other reaches up and grips the back of Cas's neck forcing his face upwards towards Dean. His voice is harsh and he emphasizes every word. "I will never leave you again. Never. You are not dying today."
Cas's eyes harden and he looks down. "There's nothing you can do. The wound goes all the way through. I'm bleeding out the back as well. I'll be dead in a minute."
Fuck No. No, no, no, he is not noticing that Cas is getting paler by the second. He is not seeing the weakening of his body. He is not thinking that Cas might be right. What he is doing is wrapping a hand around to his back and trying to put pressure on the exit wound as well. Cas cries out in agony at that. Fuck. Dean needs a medical kit, a couple pints of O-, and about 4 people to help him.
"Cas you stay with me, ok? No, no you STAY WITH ME! Just look at me, Cas, LOOK AT ME!" Cas's eyes meet his and his vision blurs as he recognizes what he sees. Cas is right. He's not going to make it.
Dean moves his hands and wraps his arms around Cas's shoulders, pulling him close. "Please don't die. Not now, Cas, I can't do this without you." A tear slides down his cheek and Cas's fingers reach up to wipe it away. Dean catches the hand as it falls and grips it tightly. Cas's eyes flicker down to the hand wrapped around his and through the pain in his expression he looks almost surprised. Dean doesn't understand the emotions on Cas's face as he looks back up at him. There's pain, but also something that looks like hope and despair at the same time. He doesn't have time to figure it out before Cas starts coughing up blood. Dean holds his head to the side so he can spit it out and not choke. He'll take as many seconds as he can get. Cas leans back onto the chair he's half lying on.
"Dean, thank you."
Unexpectedly, anger swells up inside of Dean. Cas has no right to thank him. He failed him. Cas is going to die and it's his fault. He should have gotten there sooner. Cas has lost his faith, his home, most of his family, and his grace and now he's going to lose his life and he's barely had any time to live it on his own terms. It's not fucking fair. Well he's not going to lose Dean.
"I got you cas, I'm not leaving." Cas's eyes are drifting downwards as they close and Dean's breath catches in his throat and he chokes out, "Castiel, I... I love you."
Cas's eyes snap back up to Dean's, widen for a moment, then flutter closed for the last time and he slumps motionless against Dean.
"NO! CAS, NO!" Dean pulls him upwards and sobs into the side of his head, his mouth open against his neck and one hand fisted in his hair. His chest feels like it's under fifty thousand gallons of water and he can't breathe. Cas can't be gone. He just can't.
A hand touches his shoulder and he jumps. He can't believe what a fucking idiot he was to let his guard down. He wasn't even listening for footsteps. He turns his head and is surprised and relieved to see Sam looking down at him. No, the expression is wrong. Not sam...
"Well you took your fucking time, didn't you." Dean spits at him. "Cas is dead."
Ezekiel's brow furrows and he reaches out and touches Castiel's forehead.
"I can still heal him, but it will use a lot of my energy. It will add weeks to the amount of time I must remain inside Sam to complete the healing that is still to be done."
Dean doesn't hesitate. "Do it."