95 miles per hour. That's how fast Dean Winchester pushed his precious Impala before the whole thing began to quake and shudder in protest. But he ignored it, pushed it even harder, flying down the mountain side road while frequently reaching over to apply pressure to the deadly wound in his friend's stomach. He hated how much blood there was; it was literally everywhere. All over the floor, the seat, his hands, soaked into both of their clothes. But there seemed to be no end. His friend and brother, Castiel, looked like a corpse, pale and clammy, his body slumped against the passenger side door. The blood loss had made him weak and exhausted, and Dean had to keep getting his attention when he looked like he was about to fall asleep. With a wound like that, he wouldn't wake up again, not even with his angel wiring. Dean knew, the moment Cas ran the angel blade clean through the Billie's back, that something bad was coming. But even with that expectation, he still wasn't ready. In that moment, he could've said "I told you so", reminded the angel of why he was so upset before. But what was the point. Cas didn't even regret his decision, and lecturing about it all over again wasn't going to help him in any way.

For the hundredth time, Cas's head lolled to the side and his increasingly foggy blue eyes began to close. Dean gently shook him and started talking again.

"Cas, buddy, I need you to stay awake, okay? You can't sleep right now. Just keep your eyes open, please."

Cas forced his head up, shaking it from side to side, and responded weakly.

'I…I-I'm trying…doing the best I can, Dean. I swear…."

"I know, I know. You just gotta keep trying, okay? I can't so this without you, I need you with me. Just stay with me."

Dean focused back on the road and hit the gas a little harder. It was extremely dangerous, going this fast on a road this narrow, but time was not on their side. He couldn't waste a single second. If they could just get back to the bunker, they could try and fix this. He already warned Sam that they'd be comin' in hot.

Castiel was starting to look a little green now as they went swerving around sharp corners, their bodies thrown side to side.

"Dean, can…c-can you slow down, just a little? I-I feel…like I'm gonna be s-sick…."

Dean shook his head. "Sorry, no can do. If you feel sick, just aim for the floor. It'll be fine, it's already a wreck in here anyway. Baby will understand."

Cas chuckled weakly, somehow finding some humor amongst everything.

"That'll be great. I'm already…c-covered in blood…just add a little vomit and the picture will be c-complete. I…I always did have the better fashion sense between the two…of us."

Despite how shitty everything was at that moment, Dean couldn't help but laugh. Even dying, his best friend was a total dork.

"You suck at jokes, you know that Cas? Totally suck."

Cas looked over with a bleary smile. "Y-yeah, but…you still love me."

"Yeah…I guess I do."

And it was true. The infamous 'profound bound', which had sounded so strange to him at first, was real. Besides Sam, Dean was closer to Cas than anyone else on the planet. And yes, what they shared with each other definitely fell under the category of love. Over the years, it seems they had become inseparable, no longer just a guardian angel and his charge, but family, brothers. Now, Dean was doing his best to control his level of panic, knowing that his best friend was sitting beside him, bleeding to death, and had a high chance of succumbing to the shockingly serious wound in his gut, made by a weapon more than capable of killing an angel. This was something Dean Winchester was not about to accept. Come hell or high water, he would save Cas's life.

Cas began coughing violently next to him, trying in vain to cover his mouth as blood spewed from it. Dean felt his own heart rate increase at the sight and sound of it. He couldn't accept that his best friend was dying. He just couldn't. No. No. No. No. No. No….

"Cas, just shut up and save your breath. No more talking. Relax, stay awake, and don't speak. Just breathe. I'll get you help, I promise. Just hold on."

Castiel stared down at the blood, mixed with salvia, which now pooled in his palm. He knew how bad his chances were but said nothing. Dean might have been in denial, but somewhere in his mind, Cas figured he knew that just as well.

Suddenly, Dean was forced to slam on the brakes. Luckily, he was wearing his seat belt and had forced Cas to wear his as well despite the fact it crossed directly over his wound. The reason he had stopped:

Billie.

Dean had hoped against hope that the reaper would be unable to catch up to them, but he realized now how stupid that had been. She wasn't human after all and had serious motivation to track them down. She had been standing in the middle of the narrow mountainside road, staring at them menacingly. If he had swerved, they would have gone down the side of the mountain, but if he had tried to hit her, she would've just obliterated the Impala with them inside; it was well within her power to do such a thing.

Dean peered out of the windshield, his eyes wide. Cas groaned, still recovering from the sudden stop, and followed his gaze to the middle of the road only a few yards away. He could feel the amber eyes of his own doom staring him down hungrily, straight into his soul. The injured angel shuddered.

"Fuck" Dean exclaimed. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!"

Cas swallowed roughly, trying to control his wheezing gasps. "We knew this would happen, Dean. She…she was…always…gonna find me…."

Dean ignored his friend's comment, shaking his head and whispering under his breath.

"No…no…not now…not today….no…."

Cas looked over at him, trembling slightly.

"Dean…Dean, we…we gotta-"

"Just stay here" Dean interrupted, reaching into his jacket to retrieve his handgun. It wasn't the Colt, but any weapon was better than none. "Don't move. Stay."

With that, Dean, much to his friend's dismay, shoved open the driver's side door and stepped out. He ignored Cas's shouts of protest and began walking rapidly towards their enemy, gun raised in her direction. Billie merely smiled at him in a sickeningly sweet way.

"Aw, look who it is. Fancy meeting you here. Always a pleasure to see your mad little face, Dean Winchester."

Dean stopped a few feet away, his gun aimed directly for Billie's head.

"Shut the fuck up. You're not getting him, so just do us both a favor and fuck off!"

Billie narrowed her shiny amber eyes. "Really? You know how this is going to play out. I can take him, nice and easy, or I can just tear through you first and do it anyway. Either way, he's mine. One involves me ignoring your pathetic little existence for the time being, and other involves ending it. The choice is yours, Dean. The outcome is the same either way for me, I could care less."

Dean was furious. "Shut up, you bitch! I'm gonna blow your motherfuckin' brains out if it's the last thing I do! I don't give two shits what you do to me, but you are not touching Castiel, got it!?"

Billie threw her head back and laughed, then regarded him with a smirk.

"I don't think I've ever seen this side of you, Dean. So willing to sacrifice your own life and yet you won't allow others to do the same. But I guess a pet angel doesn't come around all that often. Should've trained him better, then maybe we wouldn't be in this situation. Remember, I'm not the bad guy here. He screwed with our deal, so he deserves what's coming to him. It's out of your hands now."

Dean aimed the gun a little higher. "Then I'm putting it back in my fucking hands. Like Cas said, it was a stupid deal. I should've told you to fuck off when I had the chance."

Now, Billie looked irate, the playfulness gone from her expression and replaced entirely by rage, controlled but intense.

"Listen, human. I'm done waiting. Either step aside so we can honor our 'agreement', or pull that fucking trigger so I can annihilate you. Choose NOW!"

Before Dean could respond in any way, he was startled by a hand landing on his shoulder. He whirled his head around to see Cas, barely able to stand up straight, now teetering beside him, leaning heavily on him for support.

"That's…that's…enough, Dean. I gotta…end this…."

Dean's eyes flew wide with shock. "What the fuck are you doing, Cas!? I told you to stay put!"

"And watch her tear you apart for my sake? No…n-no way…you know me better than that. If…if things…were reversed, you…you wouldn't just…sit there…either…."

Cas started to sink to the ground, eyes fluttering closed. It was too much for him. Too much pain, too much blood loss, too much stress knowing he had put his best friend's life in danger.

"Cas!" Dean cried out, catching him before he could fall and gently lowering them both to the asphalt. Cas's skin was grayer than ever and cold to the touch, colder than human skin should ever be, let alone an angel's vessel. Dean's panic level had skyrocketed now.

"Cas…Castiel, please…talk to me. Don't do this. Open your eyes."

His friend listened, forcing his eyes open halfway. His breathing was loud and ragged, coming out in uneven pants, and his whole body trembled. Dean wrapped his arms tighter around Cas's thin shoulders, holding him close to his body as if that alone would stop the inevitable; as if that would protect him from everything that was trying to hurt him and keep him alive. Cas finally spoke, his voice weak and hoarse, barely audible.

"D…Dean…you…you have…you have to let…let me do this…I won't…won't allow…her…to k-…kill you…I…I just…can't…please…please, d-…please don't m-make…make me…do that."

Dean had trouble understanding Cas's broken words but he got the gist of it. He hugged his friend a little tighter.

"What…what am I supposed to do then, Cas? Are you…are you really…asking me to just…l-let you go?"

Tears began pouring down Dean's face.

"How am I supposed to do that, huh? How!? We're…we're brothers, man. Family. You were right before. We're supposed to protect each other, not let each other die. That's not a part of the deal, Cas. That's not the fucking deal!"

Castiel looked up at his friend weakly. "I…I k-know…I'm…sorry…I'm so s-sorry Dean…."

At the sight of tears in his friend's dulling blue eyes, Dean shook his head wildly. "No, no. No, Cas. Don't be sorry, okay? Please? It's not your fault. It's not. Don't think that. Not for a second, you hear me?"

Castiel blinked at him. "O-..okay…but…it's…not…yours…either…you did protect me, Dean…you d-did…now…let…me…protect…you…."

Cas coughed several times, blood running down his face, and struggled to continue. "I'm already…done for…you…you know that…I'm d-dying…at least…at least let me…die…s-…saving…my…best…b-best friend's…l-…l-life…."

Dean was full on crying now. He dropped his head down against Cas's and sobbed, unable to hold it in any longer. The denial period was over and acceptance had taken over with a vengeance. Castiel…his guardian angel…his best friend…was going to die.

Cas managed a weak smile and reached over, gently squeezing Dean's arm. "Heh…it's alright Dean…it's…it's not…not the end…end of the w-world…."

"It sure feels like it" Dean choked out, furiously wiping at his face. "This…this really sucks."

"You're…you're telling me…."

Through all of this, they had almost forgotten the situation at hand. They were rudely reminded when Billie loudly cleared her throat, causing both men to raise their heads.

"You know," she growled "as touching of a display as this is, I really do have other things to attend to. Your contract, Castiel, that you inadvertently signed when you interfered with the deal between myself and the Winchesters, is way overdue, so let's just get this over with, shall we?"

Dean gritted his teeth so hard he could hear them crack.

"Fuck you, bitch. Fuck. You. I swear, on my own grave, that one day I will find you and annihilate you. You can count on that. You will pay for this."

Billie smirked again. "I look forward to it, handsome."

"E..enough…" Cas groaned, struggling to sit up. "Enough…of…o-of this. Dean…c-can…can you help…h-help me up?"

Dean nodded, wiping away the last of his tears. As gently as possible, he hooked his arms underneath Castiel's and hoisted him to his feet. He kept a firm hold on his shoulders to steady him, but Cas lightly shrugged him off.

"I…I can stand on my own."

Dean let go and smiled in spite of himself. He couldn't help but feel proud of his friend who, in his last moments, chose to face death with courage and determination, and to stand on his own two feet despite the severe lack of physical strength. Cas took several steps towards Billie, leaving a thick blood trail behind him which Dean chose not to look at in fear of losing it again. Tears were already threatening to resurface behind his eyes. But he couldn't allow that right now. He had to be strong, as strong as Cas was trying to be. Reality would crash down on his soul later, but for now he had to stand firm.

Cas stopped a few feet away from the reaper and took a deep, shaky breath, regarding her with a fierce expression. Billie's smile widened as she looked him up and down.

"My…I have to admit, Castiel. I am mildly impressed by your resolve. Your loyalty, even if it is to these lower life forms, is astounding. Too bad you don't extend the same dedication to your own brothers and sisters. But nonetheless, I almost feel privileged getting to take your life. Who knew?"

Billie laughed, but was immediately cut off by Cas, whose voice was still terribly hoarse but had lost its former weakness.

"Jesus, you talk too much" he growled, eyes narrowing. "Just get it over with already. Your words, remember? As you can clearly see, I don't got all fucking day either, thanks to you."

Dean laughed out loud, both at Castiel's last jab and the effect it had on Billie's expression. She looked a little more shocked than she intended and had to physically shake herself to regain her former ferocity. Dean, on the other hand, was swimming in pride for his angel. It had taken Dean a long time to get Castiel to start mellowing out and to stop walking and talking like a mindless robot soldier. And with his dying breath, Cas had demonstrated that Dean had in fact rubbed off on him over the years. Dean felt like a proud older brother. Hell, he was.