Title: Vigilante
Author: alakewood
Warnings: Spoilers for Lazarus Rising and AHBL.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 700
Summary: A coda of sorts to the season 4 premier.
Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing.
A/N: One-shot for now, possibly becoming a short series.

XOXOX

Dean watched as Castiel swaggered out of the barn. So, it wasn't quite a swagger, but there was something triumphant in his effortless gait.

It gave a whole new meaning to 'touched by an angel,' he mused. Not an entirely new meaning, but he'd never think of Roma Downey in the same way. Not to mention the whole 'can you feel the power?" thing. Yes, he felt the power; and the power burned.

Castiel was right about one thing, however: Dean didn't think he deserved to be saved.

It was at that point in his random train of thought that he remembered: Bobby! He spun around, nearly tripping over Bobby's prone form. Kneeled beside him praying – Dean 'Touched by an Angel" Winchester, praying - that Bobby'd come to.

Sure enough, Bobby's eyes snapped open and he suddenly say up, gaze darting everywhere. "Where is it? Where is it?!"

"Calm down, Bobby. It's gone."

"Gone, dead?"

"No. It - he walked out."

"You didn't kill it?" Incredulous.

"I don't think we can."

"So you just let it waltz right out of here –" He stood abruptly, swaying on his feet just the slightest bit.

"Don't think I had a choice."

"Well, what do you think, boy?" Bobby sighed. "What was it, then?"

Dean shrugged his good, right shoulder and shook his head – wasn't prepared to accept the existence of...angels.

Bobby knew the look on Dean's face all too well. "Son-"

"Bobby, look. I'm gonna need some time with this, okay? I've got, like, serious thinking to do."

"What am I supposed to tell Sam?"

"We're not telling Sam anything – he's got his secrets, I can have mine." He paused. "You okay to put this stuff away? I'll go get the beer."

Bobby squinted at him long and hard, then his face softened. "Beer. Yeah. Sounds good."

"Bobby. We can't tell Sam – not yet."

"But you will?"

Dean nodded. "When I'm ready."

"You better get before the gas station closes. And don't worry – I'll get all this put away before Sam gets back."

"I won't be long." Dean left the barn half-hoping that Castiel would be there waiting, but he was alone. "Dean, you're crazy," he told himself, safely inside the confines of the hotwired car. Just because Bobby'd seen the "angel" didn't make him any less nuts. If he were to tell any sane person what had been going on – "Hi. I died four months ago because I sold my soul to bring my brother back from the dead. While my body was rotting in the ground, my soul was stuck in Hell. However, an angel busted me out because God has a purpose for me." – yeah. He'd be committed for life.

The trip to the gas station gave him a brief reprieve from his thoughts, however short-lived it was. He returned to the car, the cold thirty stashed in the backseat, and the thoughts resumed. Now, more important than how, was why.

What made Dean so special that he was handpicked by...God to be resurrected? Of all the people – alive or dead, in Hell or not – Dean Winchester? What could he offer humanity? All he was, was a hunter.

It dawned on him then. Dean was, by no means, a modest man. He knew he had a talent. Aside from his father, he and Sam were probably the best hunters around. A talent – but God-given?

Or was there a catch? Was he brought back just to be used? A tool to keep fighting the good fight?

He couldn't wait to cross paths with Castiel again, find out what exactly he meant by "We have work for you." Find out the real reason for the 'get out of Hell free' card he'd been given.

He had a feeling there was a lot more to it than simply being God's vigilante.