"The angels... They're falling."
Sam followed Dean's gaze as the angels fell. They looked like comets but Sam's sight was blurring more by the minute so he really couldn't tell. Dean kept shouting for Cas but the angel never showed and Sam could tell Dean was losing it. Sam had failed him again. He'd failed him by dying. He tried to stop it, tried to live for Dean's sake, but he was still fading and there was nothing he could do but hold on the best he could manage.
"Dean.. Dean I'm sorry."Sam breathed against his brother's chest, his eyes shutting and his head throbbing so much he could barley hear Dean trying to keep him awake. His arms felt like they were on fire, muscles like they were tearing apart, tendons pulling and snapping, hot blood rushing up his arm and burning his chest, suffocating his heart. Dean was shaking him, apparently he had drifted away again.
"SAM!? SAMMY?! No no no no no no no no, Sammy please, no..." Sam tried keeping his eyes open as he saw his brother's face through tunnel vision, everything else around him like static with a hint of glowing sparks in the corner of his eye. Dean was crying but his voice came out as muffled sobs as he screamed. He felt Dean's hands against his chest, wrapping around his shoulders, pulling his limp body to his chest and rocking him. But it was numb. Dean's touch like the feeling you get when your foot is asleep. Pens and needles, isn't it? Sam tried his best to stay awake, though he found he couldn't, the pain should cause him to scream but he couldn't tell if he was or not. His throat was raw but the sound... There was no sound but static. As if the dying angel radio was colliding with the throbbing in his head. Why or how...? He couldn't even stay awake, how could he possibly figure that out? He finally drifted off, his eyes closing for good. He wasn't dead, but he was getting there, his body falling limp in Dean's arms.
"No... No, Sammy, stay with me... CASTIEL! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE AND HELP ME!" As much as Dean tried, he knew Cas was most likely one of the angels burning up in the sky but he didn't want to think about that. He couldn't bear the thought of losing the only two people he cared about. It was too much. He lay Sam's head carefully in his lap as he took out his cell from his pocket, hands shaking.
"Hello? Dean, what the hell is going on?! The bunker is losing it! Lights, EVERYTHING! What did you guys DO?!" Kevin sounded about ready to have a panic attack like the one he had when Dean first met him.
"Kevin. Listen to me. Don't pay attention to the angels, it's not important right now-"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!"
"Kevin, the angels are falling. All of them. But please listen closely-"
"THEY'RE WHAT?! DEAN I-"
"FOR GOD'S SAKE KEVIN, SHUT UP AND LISTEN! YOU'LL BE FINE, SAMMY WON'T!" Kevin was silent, his uneven breaths echoing from the other end. Dean sighed and wiped a tear away out of frustration, his fingers curled protectively in his brother's hair.
"Okay, you need to drive here. You know where we are right? The old church where we are keeping Crowley. Just drive and drive and don't look back. You'll be fine Kev, I promise and I'm sorry but... It's Sam. The Impala won't start out of the blue and I have no way of getting him anywhere." Dean looked down at his brother's cold expressionless face and moved his fingers from his hair to place them on Sam's neck, making sure he still had a pulse.
"Okay, I'll be there." Kevin's voice sounded off but Dean trusted the kid. If he said he'd be there, he'd be there.
Cas watched them fall. All of them. Wings burning a bright orange and suddenly burning away entirely in midair, looking like feathered comets smashing down against the Earth. It was his fault. It was always his fault that Heaven was falling apart, his brothers dying, falling. He didn't know exactly what would come of them, this was different, this was far from normal and he wanted more than ever to go back to Heaven and stab that lying son of a bitch in the face. But he realized for the first time since Michael and Lucifer's 'prom' that he was wingless. Powerless, wingless, graceless, and pure human. He deserved it, after everything's he's done, he deserved to be this fragile and useless so someone would finally stick a knife through his gut and kill him. And he'd be gone for good. No resurrections or favors from God. Dead, just nothing. Dean hates him now and he knows he deserves that. He just wished he could fix it, he hates how everything's left them and how he has no way of turning it around again. And now he couldn't run from the look of disappointment and resentment. He had to stare it in the face, unable to angel poof away, and deal with it. He wasn't good at that.
Cas walked along the familiar street, trying to avoid his eyes from the falling angels around him and walk towards home. If it was even home anymore. He hoped like hell that Sam was okay. Dean's already crushed as it is and the weight of Sam...hurt, would just crush him even more. It'd destroy him. It'd destroy Cas. That's just one more friend that he's let down. One more friend he may never see again to make it up to. Sam always forgave him too easily and Cas really didn't deserve that. He'd wished the younger brother would give him more trouble for all he's done, the forgiveness hurt more because Cas didn't want it. He didn't want Sam to trust him again and be let down as he always was. Cas recognized where he was now, it was the back roadway to the bunker. At least Metatron had a small bit of decency to put him back in a familiar place. He walked down to the circular door just as the young prophet was running out of it with car keys in his hand. Once he was close enough to notice Cas through the darkness he froze, eyes unblinking.
"Castiel? Why aren't you...? Why aren't you with Dean?! You could help Sam! He's dying Cas! Why are you wondering around here when Sam is-" Kevin cut himself off as the realization hit him straight in the face, his eyes drifted to his shoes and he shook his head repetitively.
"This isn't happening, this isn't happening. I'm supposed to be done, job completed. Now the only angel we have isn't an angel... I'm sorry Cas, I didn't mean anything... Hey, YOU PUSHED ME INTO A WALL!" Cas looked at the prophet apologetically and walked over to the car without another word, getting into the passenger side and watching out the windshield quietly as he waited for Kevin to come to his senses and get in the car. Soon enough they were driving in silence on the way to the old abandoned church where Crowley was being housed and a Winchester was dying, Kevin apparently rambles when he's scared.
Dean stood up and tried to start the Impala again. It was useless, something was interfering with it. It didn't make a bit of sense but bad things seemed to happen around him all the time so it was probably just his bad luck. He hoped Kevin would be able to get there without car troubles. Sam won't be able to last much longer. He slammed his fist against the door if the Impala and cursed to himself as a flaming angel fell a few yards away, causing the ground to shake so hard Dean fell to his knees. He held Sam still until after the ground stopped shaking and checked his pulse one last time before rushing over to the crater-sized hole in the street, smoke covering the ground around it and sparks slowly dying out. It was hot, hotter than you would imagine. If Hell burnt cold, maybe Heaven actually burnt hot...? There was the shimmer of movement in the smoke and Dean reached his hand around his back, gripping his gun cautiously. He made sure he could still see Sam out of the corner of his eye as the fallen angel started to limp into view.
"Which dick monkey are you?" Dean called through the smoke as he fanned a hand around his face to try an see clearer. He heard a struggled laugh as a short familiar archangel appeared in front of him, scorched and bloody, a half smile plastered on his face,
"Only the dickiest. Can someone please explain to me what's going on and how the hell I ran into the Win-" The fallen cut off suddenly when he spotted Sam's limp body lying on the floor by the Impala. His face fell and he kept his eyes on Sam as he continued to talk to Dean.
"What... Happened?" He asked and Dean was left staring at him wide eyed, not putting two and two together very easily.
"You were-"
"Dead. I know. You guys miss me? Doesn't matter bro, tell me what happened to your brother." Dean should be questioning Gabriel's obsession with Sam, but he was still questioning how the hell the dead archangel was there in the first place. Gabriel limped over to Sammy and kneeled down, placing his fingers on his neck to check for pulse. Dean was right behind him within seconds, hand still on his gun incase this was a trick.
"Might as well give it a try..." Gabriel muttered to himself, reaching out his palm and placing it gently on Sam's cheek. Suddenly his hand began to glow and the marks on Sam's face and arms started to close up and heal. Dean made a mix between a gleeful laugh and sob as he kneeled down beside Gabriel, Sam's eyes beginning to open.
"But Gabriel... You fell."
"Well yes, I guess I did. I'm wingless now. Maybe for some reason I had leftover juice...? Hey man, I don't even know why I was back in Heaven in the first place. Last I remember my own brother was stabbing me through. Not the best of memories. Oh... Hey Sammy." Sam blinked his eyes open to focus on his brother and a familiar dead archangel above him. He suddenly panicked and gripped Dean's jacket.
"NO! DEAN?! You're dead too!? DAMMIT!" Dean stared at Sam in awe for a moment and Gabe laughed, rubbing Sam's shoulder.
"Dude, it gladdens me to know that I would be who you expect to see in Heaven. Or Hell, whatever you prefer. But no, you're not dead, Dean's not dead, I'm apparently the undead and the whole garrison is running out of their magical fairy dust and leaving Neverland for good. How are you doing?" Sam stared at Gabriel in stunned silence for what felt like forever. Finally a smile spread across his face and he reached out his hand to place it on Gabe's shoulder weakly.
"It's good to have you back Gabe. Not to say I missed you, but it's good to have you back." Gabriel smiled and then made a sarcastic comment about having a chick flic moment with none other than The Sam Winchester. Dean helped Sam sit up and pulled him into a relief-filled hug just as headlights shown on them and Kevin and Castiel were running out of the car over to the mess of people sitting by the Impala.
"CAS?! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU-"
"He's human Dean." Kevin said breathlessly as he ran over to Sam and wrapped his arms around his broad shoulders. Sam smiled and winced when the prophet hugged him too tightly and Kevin pulled back, smiling.
"I thought you were a goner. According to what I heard that angel say over the phone and the way- Oh never mind. I'm just happy you're okay." Sam scoffed and smiled widely at Kevin as Gabe sat there in silence staring at the two of them back and forth, expression unreadable. Kevin finally noticed the one who didn't belong in the picture and nodded his head to Gabriel.
"Who the hell is he?" He asked Sam, who just laughed and shook his head.
"He's Uh... His name is Gabriel. He was dead and now he's not. Don't know why yet. Saved my life though. This would be the second time now, wouldn't it be Gabe? Never got to thank you for that." Kevin smiled at the former angel and Gabe's cheeks turned bright red at Sam's compliment.
"I'm glad you're okay Sam. And, thanks... Gabriel" Kevin said softly, smiling at both of them.
Cas slowly approached the Impala and sat down next to Dean wearily, eyes looking straight forward as the older Winchester stared at him oddly. He brought his knees up to his chest and leaned back against the tire of the Impala, overjoyed to hear that his brother was alive, Gabriel too. He just knew he couldn't... He shouldn't... Show it.
"Cas?" Cas tore his eyes away from the horizon of fallen angels and peered at the hunter beside him, feeling a tear streak down his face unwillingly. That must be a human thing, he's never cried before, he didn't understand completely why he was crying now.
"I'm sorry Dean." Cas said, he could hear a waver in a voice, something like a sob that made Dean wince.
"I'm sorry." Dean replied, Cas turning his head to look over at him with tears falling down his cheeks.
"Please don't. I'm so sorry. I - I was wrong again, I failed you again. I failed my family again. They're all falling, each and every one of them, and it's my fault again. I've destroyed Heaven just like old times. That's what I do, isn't it? Destroy my family? I can't-" Cas couldn't finish, a sob caught in his throat and he felt like he couldn't breathe as warm water trickled down his cheeks. The feeling scared him and he thought he might be dying. Being human hurt worse than any other physical pain he'd experienced. Dean pulled the broken man against his chest and tried to calm him down as the sky cried tears of orange and a broken family watched in horror of what would become of the world now.