AN: Just a fluffy thing I thought of at two A.M. I don't own Supernatural (or Doctor Who or the song). This takes place during season seven between Hello Cruel World and The Born-Again Identity (the boys think Cas is gone.)
"…..blahblahblah time wordsblah bomb blahbleblue hour."
Dean was tired. He couldn't focus on the lore in front of him or even the supernatural jargon his brother was spewing. He looked at the younger man across the desk and noted the circles under his eyes that seemed to grow darker each day. He knew Sam was tired, exhausted even. Nightmares from the cage were keeping him awake…again.
"Well if Sammy can work with all that crap in his head, I sure as hell can."
Dean took a swig of beer and shook his head, focusing bloodshot eyes on Rapunzel Boy, king of hair.
"…and there's no telling where or when we would end up. Dean are you listening to me?"
"Um…no?"
Sam sighed.
"Okay, so based on the lore, if this thing touches you, it can send you back to any time or place, but it can't move if you look directly at it. But if you look away or you can't see, it sends you back, follows you, kills you and eats your liver while you're disoriented. Apparently livers taste better confused. It's basically a weeping angel, except the effects only last for about an hour before either you or what's left of you return to your own time."
"Dude seriously? Weeping Angels? You are such a nerd."
Sam rolled his eyes.
"Jerk."
"Bitch."
—-Page break page break creepy font page break —
Sam and Dean stood before the abandoned warehouse guns drawn, loaded with silver bullets, and flashlights at the ready.
They stared at the door, green with wood rot, hinges crusted with rust. Dean looked sideways at his brother.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Are you going?"
"I'm not going in first! Have you seen the episode In The Time of Angels?!"
"No Sam, I'm not a geek."
Dean inwardly winced at the word 'Angels.' It had been months since they lost Cas to the Leviathans, but it still hurt.
"Why'd you do it ya winged jackass? I've done stupid things, but opening Purgatory…"
His thoughts broke off and he mentally shook himself. They were on a hunt. He couldn't be distracted on a hunt.
"Well I'm not going in!"
Sam cocked his head and leveled a serious expression at his older, shorter brother. He raised a fist above an open palm.
Dean mimicked the gesture.
"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"
"This game is stupid and you're stupid…somehow you're cheating…freaky mind voodoo."
Sam chuckled as his brother eased the door of the warehouse open, grumbling.
"Dean," he whispered.
"What?"
"Whatever you do…don't blink."
"Shut up."
It was pitch black inside, the sound of dripping water from a leak somewhere within echoed off the walls. Dean clicked on his flashlight. A soft rustling was heard to his left, and he turned on his heel to face a creature of stone. It was humanoid, but long claws protruded from its fingers that reached out to Dean and a single eye, lidded and half closed, was visible on its forehead.
"Yeah, exterminate this you son of a bitch. See, I know references."
Something dropped to the floor loudly behind Dean. He turned away reflexively. It was just for an instant, but he could feel the cold hand grip his arm just above the old faded scar of a handprint. His vision darkened, he heard Sam call his name, and he knew no more.
—Page break page break pretty font page break—
Dean groaned. He sat up in a brightly lit corridor and looked at the door opposite him. It's only adornment was a silver plaque. He stood and examined the engraving.
"Home office."
He opened the door and his eyes were assaulted with bright light. He slammed the door shut.
"Those were angels. I'm in Heaven. Huh."
He walked down a corridor. It was a lot emptier than he remembered.
"Well at least I know I'm not dead. I wouldn't be here if I was."
His footsteps echoed along a corridor and he vaguely wondered why he hadn't been captured. Where were all the angels…or all the souls for that matter? He had walked down five corridors, and not a single door to a human heaven was in sight. That's when it hit him.
"It shifts through time and space. The bastard sent me back before the dawn of humanity!"
Dean vaguely wondered why his perception of Heaven was the same, but he didn't dwell on it. The metaphysical made his head hurt.
A sound suddenly came from down the corridor, like footsteps, if footsteps sounded like wind and screams of tortured souls. Dean ducked into a nearby shadow and waited for the figure to approach. When the sound grew louder he whipped around the corner and shot the statue, reducing it to rubble that blew away in a strange wind with a shriek. Feeling quite pleased with himself, Dean ducked into the nearest room to hide from any angels and wait out the hour.
The room was dark with a pale blue glow permeating the room and a strange, soft music playing. The room was filled with objects that resembled cribs. Dean thought them all empty until he heard a small cry on the other side of the room.
He walked over slowly to see a small figure in a crib. It was a baby boy, sleeping on his stomach, a grey cloth wrapped around him like a diaper. He had a shock of black hair that contrasted with his pale face and perfectly matched the little tufts of feathered wings on his back that flapped erratically as he dreamed. His chubby face scrunched up in fear and he cried out once more in his sleep.
Dean felt something in his chest seize up as he realized the little angel was having a nightmare. Instinctively he reached down and carded his hand through the tanged locks of hair, mumbling words of comfort and making shushing sounds, much as he had done for Sammy when they were young.
The fledgling quieted and opened lightning blue eyes. He let out a squeal of joy and reached up to grab Dean's finger. Dean felt warmth radiate up his arm and his heart melted. He slowly bent down and picked up the little cherub, cuddling him to his chest. He glanced back to the crib and saw a name engraved upon it. He closed his eyes as he felt a pang of sorrow. He looked back down at the baby and smiled sadly.
"Hi Cas." His voice broke.
Castiel reached up to play with the stubble on Dean's face; smooshing his cheeks together with his tiny hands and giggling.
Dean let out a little laugh, tears starting in his eyes.
Cas yawned widely and rubbed his eyes.
"You should get back to sleep, because apparently you do that. But no more nightmares okay? You shouldn't worry about nightmares for a long time."
Cas snuggled further into Dean's arms and closed his eyes.
"I don't really know many lullabies Cas, but I know an old song that used to put me to sleep when it came on the radio in the car. It's about angels. You'd like that right?"
Cas grunted sleepily.
Dean sang:
I feel I'm fallin' apart 'cause I know I've lost my Guardian Angel
A fleeting glimpse of your heart, loosin' right from the start, no return
And things will never be the same.
Dean broke off but continued to hum the melody until Cas was asleep. He placed him back in the crib. His hour was nearly up.
"Goodbye Cas."