As Evening Descends

Chapter One

"Citrus Springs, Colorado." Dean declared, slapping a folded newspaper onto the table.

Sam and Cas looked up at him in confusion. It had been ten days since the angels had fallen from heaven and they had gathered in the bunker, unsure of what to do next. The now mostly-human Crowley had fled to God-knows-where, and neither Winchester expected to see anything of him for a while. Sam was scrolling through news websites on his laptop, his eyes still heavy with exhaustion. Failing to complete the Trials, his health no longer continued spiraling downwards, but he was regaining his health at a painful crawl. At first he tried to push through, but after a few days Dean insisted that he take it easy.

Castiel was sitting kitty corner from Sam, pushing around the soggy oatmeal in his bowl with his spoon. The former angel was currently wearing some of Dean's hand-me-downs, since Sam insisted his regular attire go through the wash. The brothers had found Castiel two days after the fall, and when they did he was in a panic. Over time he had calmed down and tried to show that he was as in control of himself as ever. His mask was thin, however, and everyone could see the confusion and despair behind his facade.

Kevin was currently in the kitchen, fixing up his own breakfast. After all that had happened, the young man actually volunteered to stay on and assist however he could. Sam insisted that he didn't have to, but Kevin said he wanted to get the world back to how it should be and wanted to help.

"...what about it?" Sam asked finally, after he saw he wasn't getting anything from Dean aside from a smug grin.

"It's a town, 'bout five hours west of here. Looks like we might have some fallen angel activity out there." Dean explained, spinning the paper across the wooden surface to where Sam and Castiel were sitting.

"It's not much," Dean continued as Sam grabbed the newspaper and began reading, "but a couple of guys show up out of nowhere, totally confused. Figure it's worth checking out at least."

Dean grinned as Sam continued to look of the article, Cas straining his neck to get a peek at the story as well. Dean knew it was a slim lead- heck, almost anything would sound more noteworthy than this- but he was anxious to get on the move. What Metatron had did to Cas, and to all the other angels... Dean was more than a little ticked off because of that, not to mention how the guy basically encouraged his little brother to go to his doom. And that he had tricked Cas to do it, too... he still wasn't quite ready to trust Cas completely again, as much as it pained him to admit it, but he knew his friend was beating himself up for this. And no matter what he or Sam would tell him, he doubted it'd have much affect on the fallen angel. Right now, Dean would follow any rabbit trail if it would help get Cas back to normal and give that son of a bitch Metatron what was coming to him.

Sam let out his breath in a puff and tossed the newspaper back onto the table.

"Well, it's as good a lead as any at this point. When're we gonna head out?"

"We? Dude, there's no 'we' this time. I'm going solo."

Sam frowned, taking a few seconds to mull Dean's statement over. "...wait, you're planning on heading to Colorado on your own? Why?"

"Just look at you, Sammy! It's been barely a week since the Trials. I'm not gonna drag you out on some road trip unless I have to. You still need a lot more time to recover."

Sam was about to interject, but before he could speak Castiel let out a quiet sigh and stood up, allowing his spoon to clatter into his bowl.

"Don't worry, Sam. I'll go with Dean."

"No you aren't, Cas." Dean said firmly, hoping to cut off further discussion. "Like I said, I'm going on this one alone. You stay here with Sam."

Sam gave Dean an irritated look, and the former angel cocked his head in confusion.

"Dean, I... don't understand."

"Dude, you've only been human for a couple of days. You've barely gotten the hang of the normal stuff yet, we're gonna make sure you're fully equipped as a Hunter before you go out on the field again."

"Dean, I'm fine. I've had my powers suppressed before."

"This isn't just you cut off from your powers, Cas!" Dean yelled, struggling to keep his frustration out of his voice. "Right now you're 100%, bona fide mortal. And there's no way I'm letting you put yourself in danger until we're all sure you won't get yourself killed, all right? You two just hold down the fort, I'll be back in a couple of days."

Sam let out a snort and pushed his chair back from the table, locking eyes with his older brother.

"Come on, Dean. Going out there with no backup? You're not that stupid."

"Sammy, it's not like I'm going on a hunt or anything. This is just recon. Nothing's gonna happen!"

Sam rolled his eyes, disbelieving of how naive Dean was being. He couldn't be serious, could he? After everything that had happened, did he really think Sam would be fine with sitting this one out?

"Yeah, how many times have you or I said that and ended up in serious trouble? No way."

Dean let out an exaggerated groan. "I don't need a babysitter, Sam! I'll be fine. Look, I'll call in like I always do. But Cas... we can't just leave him like this, man. We have to help get him back to normal, and I'm not about to wait around when I can do something about it."

Sam sighed, his glare softening. "Dean, I understand, okay? I wanna help Cas too, you know I do. But throwing yourself into something half-cocked isn't going to help anyone."

Cas spend the last bit of discourse looking at his feet in discomfort.

"You don't have to feel obligated to look after me, Dean." He finally said, softly. Both Winchester brothers immediately turned to look at him, confusion and saddened disbelief evident on their faces.

"It's not obligation Cas, never was, never will be. You're our family, and I'm gonna do whatever I can to help." Dean said firmly, hoping against hope that this would be the end of Castiel's attempt to extract himself from the Winchesters. Castiel blaming himself, sure Dean didn't like that, but it was par for the course for anyone he got involved with. But thinking of himself as a nuisance... Dean just wished there was a way he could get it through his friend's thick skull that nothing would make him or Sammy abandon him.

"Me too, Cas," Sam added softly, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder. Cas looked up at him slowly, an insecure frown curling on his lips. Sam bit back a sigh, wishing there was some way he could hold the man and let his self-loathing melt away. Instead, he settled for tightening his grip on Castiel's shoulder and gave him a weak smile. Cas had troubles before, but nothing like what happened since he lost his grace. Every action he took screamed helplessness and despair, as if every second he was reliving how he had been led astray, stripped of his Grace and brought every other angel tumbling down with him. Sam could understand how he felt, a bit. With Ruby, and the demon blood... he had seriously messed up, stopped a hair short from causing the Earth's destruction, and spent all the time beating himself up for being so stupid.

But Dean had been there, Dean and Cas and Bobby and everyone. His family. They didn't give up on him, still loved him, and eventually they worked together and set things right.

And like Dean said, Cas was part of their family too.

Sam let out a long, slow breath. He couldn't help feeling that this was a bad idea, but he owed it to both Dean and Cas.

"You're sure you can't wait a day or two and bring us along?" Sam whispered to Dean. Dean shook his head no.

"We need to get on this now."

Sam slumped back to his seat, running a hand wearily through his hair, letting his silence act as a sign of surrender. Dean grinned brightly.

"Okay, I'm heading out. I'll call if something comes up, and I'll see you two in a couple of days!"

The angels falling was a brilliant thing.

Rena had been out for dinner, drinking from a late-night hiker who had the misfortune of crossing her path, when the sky lit up with the burning forms of thousands upon thousands of angels. She had quickly discarded the nearly deceased human and stared up at the beauty above her, a wide smile forming across her bloodied lips. They were falling.

The angels were falling. Finally.

Rena hated the world these past few years. What with the demons everywhere, then the angels coming from nowhere, it made life difficult for a poor little vampire just trying to scrape by. The centuries before had been wonderful, simple- traipsing from nest to nest, drinking her fill and igniting fear in the hearts of any Hunter that she came across. But lately... vampires just weren't respected like they used to be. What with these new creatures coming, each one harder to kill than the last, any Hunters she saw nowadays didn't have even the slightest spark of fear in them. Compared to those near-invulnerable beings, a monster that could be killed by simple decapitation wasn't considered much of a threat.

And then, just a couple of years ago, the demons and angels went after them together. After vampires! Vampires and fellow monsters, not to be killed, but caught and tortured to find some key to unimaginable power. They even let one of their charges, a Hunter, be turned for this cause. Rena had slipped from that nest not long after Dean showed up. She knew he hadn't changed completely, he was volatile and dangerous. Sure enough, only hours after she fled he had disposed of the entire nest.

Rena had left them, true, but their deaths still saddened her greatly. She may not stay in one nest for very long, for safety's sake, but those were her brothers and sisters that Winchester slaughtered. It wasn't right. He had been one of them, he should have embraced his elevated lot in life, but instead he killed everyone and let his power be ripped apart. Everything Rena knew was wrong.

But now... now the world had righted itself. The Leviathan were no longer a threat. The angels had lost their grace. The demon hierarchy was turned on its head and she doubted it would right itself any time soon. No, things were slowly turning back the way they were supposed to be.

Rena's eyes slipped closed in happiness as her grin softened to a small smile. After all this time, maybe it was right for Rena to start her own nest.

And she knew just where to start.