Dean's body shuddered with every rattling breath he took. This was it. The end. He could feel that deep part of him, that which was uniquely Dean, preparing to leave the body. "Sammy," he croaked. He felt a presence by his side. "Sammy, is that you?" Castiel's voice answered him, sounding slightly panicked. "He's not here, Dean. He had to go after the demons. Dean, something's wrong. You look terrible." "Thanks a lot, Cas." Dean laughed quietly, then groaned from the pain of it. He was still trying to crack jokes, even so close to the end. "Cas, if Sammy doesn't make it back in time, tell him I love him, all right? He needs to know. I never said it enough." Cas shook his head. "Dean, you will not die on me, okay? You're going to be fine. You can tell Sam that you love him yourself." Dean looked at Cas with a slight gleam of pity in his eyes. "Cas, I'm dying. The bullet combined with the demon poison means that there's no saving me. I've died before. I'm an old pro." Dean winked. "Just….Cas?" "Yeah?" Cas answered. "Will you stay with me? I don't want to die alone." Cas saw something in Dean's face that he'd never seen before, a sort of vulnerability. "I won't leave your side," Cas vowed. And he didn't. As Dean lay there in the final death throes, Cas leaned down. "Before you go, Dean, there's something I've always wanted to tell you. I never told you before because I was afraid of your rejection, but if you're dying, it doesn't matter. I…I love you, Dean Winchester. Always and forever. And to an angel, that means a lot." Dean smiled up at Cas, and with his last breath, said, "I love you too, Cas." He pulled Cas's face to his and their lips touched. Fireworks went off behind Cas's closed eyelids. Dean could feel the shuddering passion working its way through his body. If he was going to die, this is how he wanted to go, with someone who loved him there beside him. Dean smiled, and surrendered to Death. But then something extraordinary happened. He felt the agony of the bullet and the poison recede, and he opened his eyes again. "Cas? Why haven't I died yet?" "I don't know," Cas replied, looking down at him. "But I think something happened when we kissed. I could feel some of my power draining into you, healing you." "So…I'm not going to die." "It would appear not." Dean grinned, feeling stronger with every second. "Guess what that means, Cas?" he said. "What?" "It mean I get to keep you." The two shared a smile before locking lips once more. When Sam came back several hours later, he found Cas and Dean leaning against a wall, pressed up next to each other. Sam cleared his throat, and Dean slowly pulled away from Cas, grinning like a madman. "So…what'd I miss?" Sam said.
