"Hey Jude, don't make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better."
Sweet, mesmerizing, and soothing; Mary Winchester surely had the voice of something divine. Every night she lulled her eldest son to sleep with the promise of blissful dreams among the celestial bodies. Before her son would drift into deep slumber she would press her comforting lips to his forehead and whisper,
"I love you Dean. Good night, and remember… angels are watching over you."
She wasn't wrong. Dean grew quite close to an imaginary friend of his. His mother encouraged it, believing that his angelic friend was a sign of his deep spirituality. The friend, Castiel, would follow Dean around wherever he went. Dean would tell his parents that Castiel was his guardian angel. He said that Castiel was sent to protect him from anything bad. The family would playfully tease the boy, asking him if he was tough enough to defend himself. Of course, Dean insisted that he was.
When Dean was four years old the Winchesters added a new addition to their family; a little miracle named Sam. Dean adored his little brother, often toting the boy around. He taught his brother everything that their father had taught Dean. As they grew older Sam and Dean became inseparable. Of course, Dean's imaginary friend stuck around as well.
"Alright Cas, it's your turn." Dean nodded towards the little pile of cards sitting off to the side as the boys played poker.
"I still don't understand how to play this game."
"Did he go yet?" Sam asked, unable to see this invisible angel friend of his brother's.
"No. He said he doesn't know how to play. Whatever, you can just watch us, Cas." Dean waved off his friend and went back to focusing on his hand.
Most of their games went that way. Sam, who was a good deal younger than his brother, did not mind the presence of the boy that Dean called Castiel. However, after Dean reached the age of 10 John and Mary Winchester decided to have a talk with the boy about making friends at school, rather than sticking beside Sam and this imaginary friend all of the time. After all, he was getting to an age where having an imaginary friend would be frowned upon.
They sat their son down one day, while Sam was off watching television elsewhere, and spoke to him about their worries.
"Dean, Castiel needs to go away. You're getting to be too old to hang out with him. You need real friends- friends from school." Mary expressed with an empathetic expression on her face.
"Well, try telling that to him. It's not like I ask him to come. He just does." Dean answered simply. He was almost hurt that his parents would even suggest such a thing. To him, Castiel was as real as his brother.
"Dean, it's really just time that you let Castiel go." Mary continued.
"What do you want me to do?" Dean asked, crossing his arms and raising a brow.
"Grow up. Castiel isn't real, Dean. You're not a child anymore. You're too old for this shit." John Winchester added in, starting to get fed up with his son's childish behavior.
"You know Dean, I can show myself to them. And they'll believe you."
Dean glanced over at his friend and simply shook his head.
"He's gone." Dean lied. Despite his close relationship with the angel, Dean knew that his parents were right. He valued their opinions above all else, as he was trying to live up to his father's expectations.
Any time Castiel would appear from then on, Dean would ignore him. Eventually they grew apart, and Dean grew up to have a normal, adolescent life. As the boy let go of his belief in his friend, Castiel faded away. He was simply a guardian, and no longer a friend and a confidant.
Dean was quite popular, as was Sam. Sam was the intelligent one, the one with the sarcastic remarks, and the cute smile. Dean was popular among the ladies, sporting his leather jacket and worn jeans. Life was nearly perfect.
Years passed, and Dean moved to his own little apartment in a nearby town. He went into mechanics, specializing in older model cars. Since he made his own hours, Dean was able to make a special trip to his parents' house for Sam's 18th birthday.
"John! Did you pick up Sam's cake?" Mary called from the kitchen of their home, preparing Sam's favorite dinner. The two boys were seated at the table, and Dean was talking all about the job he was working on for this gorgeous girl. Dean, being as suave as he was with the ladies, had already obtained the girl's phone number.
"Uh… Was I supposed to?" John called back as he walked down the stairs. Mary rolled her eyes and took a deep breath.
"John. Winchester. What am I going to do with you?" Their mother sighed and washed her hands.
"We'll be right back boys."
"We'll go with you." Dean said, standing up and brushing off his pants. "It'll save Sam a couple hundred nerd jokes. Mr. Stanford." He looked over to his younger brother, who just rolled his eyes.
They all sauntered outside, John taking the driver's seat, and Mary beside him. The two brothers slid into the back, still laughing and bantering about anything and everything.
"Remember when you jumped off the roof because you actually thought you could fly?"
"Yeah, yeah. Well, remember when you ate that mud pie on a dare?"
"Dude, it has pie in the name. I figured it couldn't be that bad."
Mary laughed, staring out the window and listening to her two boys joke back and forth. She watched as water droplets slid down the foggy window, collecting at the bottom. It was pouring outside, but in here, in this 1967 Impala, they were safe.
Screeeeeeeech.
The outside world became a blur of blues and grays under Mary Winchester's gaze. Everything was moving in slow motion.
Dean was interrupted mid sentence when suddenly the traction under their tires was lost, and the car went spinning off the road. John jerked the wheel to the left, managing to avoid hitting a nearby tree, only to go spiraling into traffic. The shrieking of tearing metal was enough to make Dean's teeth grind in agony. Through the windshield he could see bright, blinding, headlights.
Mary Winchester threw her arm out between the front seats, as if to protect her sons, even if the attempt was futile.
The front of the car collapsed in with a sickening crunch. There was smoke and blood in the air. Then everything went still. Dean blinked open his eyes, only to see his younger brother Sam resting his head against the window. He was bleeding more than any human being should.
It was silent in the car.
"Mom! Dad!" Dean gave out a weak cry, sounding like a child once again.
He blinked a few times. His vision was blurry, but suddenly… There was something else. There was the dull roar of ambulance sirens, and a pair of blue-gray eyes looking directly to Dean, familiar and yet he couldn't place them.
"Hello Dean."
And then there was nothing back the dark.