Cas was back. The dirt and blood of Purgatory still covered the angel's clothes and body, but he was still back. Dean had no clue how, but part of him didn't care. Cas was back. He was safe and pretty much sane and... alive.
The other part of Dean, though, was seriously worried. How did Cas get back? It was hard enough getting Dean out, but Cas... Cas was an angel. Cas claimed he knew nothing about his return, but if that was true, it made matters even worse. They had no idea what they were up against, or even if it was something bad. Did Cas make some deal? Was it God? Was it a demon or some shitty angel? Was there some unknown price they had to pay? Would Dean have to lose his angel again?
Wait... his angel? Cas wasn't Dean's. Cas was Cas'. He deserved to make his own choices. As long as those choices didn't almost destroy the world. Or Heaven. When did he start think of Cas as his angel?
Dean brought his attention back to the angel in front of him. The blood and dirt, along with the new peach-fuzz, made him look as if he had fought a thousand wars and marched a million miles since they last saw him. His eyes looked much brighter when compared to the rest of him, but they also had a heaviness to them that had not been there before.
"I'm dirty," the angel suddenly said. Dean let out a small chuckle, but there was no humor in his voice.
"Yeah, Purgatory'll do that to you." As Cas got up to clean himself off, Dean started worrying again. Was Cas telling the truth? Did he really know how he got out? If so, then why hide it? Was Cas even on the same team as them? All of these questions were racing through Dean's mind, telling him he shouldn't trust the angel in front of him. Yet, there was that part that didn't care. That wanted everything to go back to normal. Or what passed for normal in a hunter's life. He wanted Cas to stay and hunt with him and Sam. That they could all be a family again. Of course, he knew it was never that easy. Not for the Winchesters.
"You alright?" Sam asked, concern etched on his face. Dean turned and Cas where Cas had been only seconds before.
"You do see something, severely wrong with this, right? Sammy, I remember every second of leaving that place, I mean I remember the heat, the stink, the pain, the fear. I have that while ugly mess right up here and he says he has no idea how he got out. I- I'm just not buying it."
"So, what? You think he's lying?" Sam asked.
"I'm saying something else happened. I saw the shape he was in. I mean there was no way he was fighting out his ass alone. No way."
"Alright, so who... or what got him out?"
Dean sighed. "Yeah, exactly."
The brothers heard footsteps and saw Cas, freshly shaven and sparkling clean, step out of the bathroom. He even had his suit back on instead of his old hospital clothes. Man, Dean hated those. It reminded him of the pain and betrayal that followed the apocalypse.
"Better?" The angel spread out his arms as if to show as much of his body as he could. Dean felt his heart beat faster and he was speechless. Him, Dean Winchester, was speechless over his best friend. I mean, he looked absolutely fantastic, especially after Purgatory, but Dean didn't feel that way about guys. And absolutely not about his best friend. That would be ridiculous. Ridiculous.
Dammit, Naomi. Why'd you have to fuck everything up when things finally started looking better for Team Free Will. Dean knew Cas had been acting stranger and stranger as time wore on; killing Samindrial, torturing those demons in such ruthless ways, lying to the brothers; but Dean still thought it was Cas making his decisions, not some winged ass.
Since they found out Cas was torturing demons, he hasn't been the same. He was cruel and rash and... not Cas. Dean had been wary of the angel, always on guard, ready for Cas to turn on them. But once the two of them stepped inside Lucifer's crypt, Cas had become harder and colder than Dean thought Cas could be. He truly wasn't himself. It was if his only purpose in life was to find the angel tablet. As if he would kill anything and anyone that would stand in his way. Including Dean.
But what really warned Dean that Cas wasn't himself was how he volunteered to take the angel tablet to Heaven, instead of Kevin like they had agreed. Dean had refused, making excuses about supply runs and such to keep the tablet. If Cas was being controlled, then he could cause some seriously big problems. That's when Cas had twisted his arm, forcing the tablet to fall to the ground.
Angel blade in hand, Cas had been knocking Dean to the ground, scraping his face with the blade as his fist passed. Pain burned in the hunter's face as he continuously fell to the floor. Why didn't Cas just get it over with and kill him already? It was obvious that he would not hesitate, so why was he just beating the shit out of him?
Despite the fact that Cas was being controlled, knocking Dean to the floor every time he tried to get up, there was that part of him that didn't care. That was willing to forget all about this mess and return to how things were without a second thought. That part that would do anything to keep them together. Unfortunately, things were never that easy with the Winchesters.
"Cas, it's me. We need you," Dean said, trying as hard as he could to get Cas back. "I need you."
The angel blade was held in the air, waiting to be brought down in one last stroke, ending the hunter's life. Yet, Cas lowered his hand, dropping the blade. Dean exhaled, glad that this mess was over. Cas raised his arm again. Expecting another attack, Dean tried to back away, but when the angel held his face, all the hunter's wounds healed.
"I'm so sorry, Dean," the angel croaked out. He explained everything about Naomi and being controlled.
"What broke the connection?" Dean asked after the story had been told. They stared at each other for a second, knowing the answer. They knew, but neither wanted to be the one to admit it.
"I- I don't know," Cas replied. Dean was still wary of the angel, but relief started to fill his body. At least he's better. At least now he's Cas.
"So now what, gonna protect them angel tablet from those winged asses?"
Cas looked away for a second. "Yes... but also from you." He locked eyes with Dean again before disappearing.
Fucking Metatron! Things were already hectic what with trying to close Hell and getting the angel table back, but he just had to take it all one step further.
Dean was already mad at Cas for losing the angel tablet, for not trusting the brothers... for leaving him. The stupid angel just had to leave the bunker, didn't he? But Dean thought if it hadn't been Cas, it would have been some other angel. It still hurt, though. Now Sam was dying, Crowley was an emotionally unstable almost-human, and the angels were falling. It was almost beautiful, the lights streaking the sky, lighting up the clear, dark sky. But Dean could make out the wings of some angels, could almost hear the screams of the creatures as they plummeted to an unknowing world. It was almost beautiful. Almost.
Dean carried his brother and gently laid him down in the backseat, then threw Crowley carelessly into the trunk. As he drove to the nearest hospital, he all he could think about was Cas. Was Cas still alive? Was he okay? Is he still an angel? Dean knew that he had brushed off Naomi's warning as if it were nothing and continued to gather the materials for the spell and that the angel (or ex-angel) foolishly put his trust in Metatron, but there was that part of Dean that didn't care. That was still worried about the guy and that knew Cas was just trying to do what was right. That believed that they could fix this and be happy again. But things were never that easy for the Winchesters.
Dean parked by the hospital and ran, carrying his heavy brother into the building. Nurses and doctors rushed him to the ER, asking what happened. Dean had no answers.