As per usual, I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters. Castiel would be treated a lot differently if I did.

The Angel with Too Much Heart

Once upon a time, God created an angel.

Well, to be fair, God created all of the angels. And long before that he created the archangels. But this particular angel, his last angel, the baby of the Heavenly Host, was different.

God created this angel and gave him a heart. Maybe too much heart, his siblings would whisper.

Because, as it would turn out, it seems that having too much heart would always be his problem.

You know, in a different situation, it may never had been a problem. If things had stayed the same as when he was first created, having too much heart would have been fine, but things, as they usually do, changed.

Whether that was for better of for worse, God only really knows.

God created humans. And he told all the angels and archangels to watch over them, protect them, and love them. He wanted them to love them more than they loved him.

Most of the angels balked at the idea. They couldn't believe that they were expected to care for what they saw as the equivalent of insects to us. However, with a couple glaring exceptions, they decided to tolerate humanity's existence. Some even watched over humans as if they were a rare bug to be studied; they were interested but they kept their distance.

But that little angel with too much heart was different.

He watched over humans and listened to them. He saw them rise and fall, live and learn. He could see past all the hatred, pain, and mistakes to see the good humans were capable of doing. He admired the great things humans could do and he learned from them. To him, they were his Father's greatest creation.

With all of his heart, he loved humanity.

The other angels didn't like that.

You see, because the angel loved humans, he did everything he could to protect them and the rest of his Father's creations. Sometimes, this meant he had to go against his orders, because angels are warriors, not all halos and harps. To the other angels, such disobedience was the worst of crimes and they couldn't let it pass.

And they didn't.

Over and over, they tore him to pieces, making him forget, making him lose himself, to try to recreate him how they wanted him. It never occurred to them that they were in the wrong. They never thought that God had made him that way, meaning that was how he was supposed to be. In their eyes, nothing they ever did was wrong.

But it never quite worked. The angel always remained as himself no matter how many times they tried to erase him. He always came back. He still had that huge heart and he still cared so, so much.

Then, once again, things changed.

The angel was given a mission along with many others: raise the Righteous Man from Hell. It took a long time but the one who managed to find and save the Righteous Man was, of course, our angel with too much heart. And so, he gripped the Righteous Man and raised him from Perdition.

I don't think anyone, except perhaps God I guess, could have predicted that that moment, as the angel cradled that soul of a broken man, would be when the angel began to fall, in more ways than one.

For you see, the angel with too much heart fell in love with the Righteous Man. He loved him as much, if not more (probably more), than all of humanity. It really did not take long for everyone to see it.

No, really, everyone could tell how he felt to some degree. Heaven, Hell, humans… I think the Righteous Man was the only one who didn't see the full extent of the angel's regard for him.

And of course, there were consequences for the angel falling in love. But to the angel, it was worth Falling from Heaven as long as he could stay by the Righteous Man's side to fight for and protect him.

And so, years passed. The angel, along with the Righteous Man and his kin, fought against the evil of the world, whether it was from Heaven, Hell, or anything in between. It wasn't all good to be honest. Mistakes were made. There was death and loss, sadness and heartbreak. Still, the angel and the Righteous Man always managed to find each other no matter what happened, through the depths of Hell to the forests of Purgatory to the halls of Heaven. It's amazing how they always came back together.

One time, the Righteous Man even got to return the favor the angel had given him before they had ever really met, cradling the angel in his arms when he was as lost and as broken as he had ever been.

That was how, to the angel's supreme shock, he learned that the Righteous Man returned his feelings.

Still, there came a day when a threat arose that they hadn't predicted. That happened to them quite a lot, but this was different. Something as dangerous as Darkness threatened all that cared about…

"And then what happened, Daddy?"

Sam was jerked from his thoughts, not having realized he had trailed off as he had gotten lost in his memories.

Large green eyes blinked up at him, reminding him so much of another set of familiar eyes. "What happened next, Daddy?" The little girl repeated, tilting her head in curiosity with her brown hair swaying from the movement. It too was familiar. "The angel and Righteous Man beat it up, right?" She bounced a bit causing the dog that had settled at the end of the bed to look up with a muted glare. "'Cause nothing can beat them when they're together!"

Sam smiled at his daughter. "That's right."

"And they lived happily ever after?" Those green eyes were shining with hope.

Sam involuntarily swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat, but continued to smile at the girl. What a loaded question that was. "They chose their own ending, which is all they ever really wanted." He settled for that as an answer and began to tuck her in. "So yeah, I guess they were happy."

"Good." She said with the certainty of a child as she snuggled down under her covers, knowing that with the story over she wouldn't be allowed to stay awake. "They deserved it."

"Yeah." He said softly. He paused a moment more before standing and turning off the bedside lamp, leaving the night light as the only illumination within the room.

"Night, Daddy." The girl drowsily mumbled.

Sam's smile became a bit more genuine. "Good night, Cassie." He placed a final kiss on his daughter's head, and then he walked out of her room, shutting the door behind him.

He leaned against the wall and heaved a great sigh, closing his eyes. He only started a bit as a gentle hand fell upon his arm. He opened his eyes to see Eileen looking at him worriedly.

"You okay?" She asked, managing to keep her voice low for the sake of their slumbering child.

Sam thought about it for a moment.

He could still see it in his mind.

Dean, grin on his face, extending his hand. "Are you ready, Cas?"

Castiel staring at the hand for a moment before taking it with a small, sad smile on his own face. "Of course."

Sam watching in horror, unable to move, as a touch of regret crossed his brother's face as he looked back at him for a second.

"See you, Sammy."

The fallen angel in a dirty trench coat who had cared too much and the broken hunter who had lived through too much standing together and turning away from him to face their final foe.

Dean and Castiel putting an end to it all, saving them all. Sacrificing themselves, hand in hand.

What he had told his daughter was true. They had chosen their own ending, just like in the aftermath, Sam had chosen his.

"Yes." He finally answered.

Either Eileen didn't believe him or she hadn't been able to read his lips with the way his face was angled, but regardless, she wrapped her arms around him.

Sam smiled even as tears welled up in his eyes.

Being able to choose your own end…

It was as fitting an end as any for Team Free Will, especially its fallen angel and Righteous Man.

AN: If Dean and Cas have to die by the end, I hope they're together. Personally, I want Sam to have a partner (please be Eileen), child, and dog(s).