AN: So, two chapters in one night. That's definitely a record. This one is the shortest, but the last one was the longest so far, so I think they balance out. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The best show on earth (Supernatural - duh) does not belong to me. :'-(

The day that Dean was to break up with Cas came much too soon for both Sam's and Dean's likings. Both brothers woke up in pain. It was around midday when they were dragged out of their room and into the big open space in the middle of the building. Dean felt like he was going to fall apart. He couldn't stand the thought of what was about to happen. Before Dean even realized it, Sam had a gun to his head, and his own cell phone was being pressed into his hands, Castiel's phone already ringing on the other end. It was on speaker, as promised.

When Cas answered the phone, Dean said, "Hey Cas." He hoped Cas would take his unusually cold greeting, with a lack of nicknames, as a sign of danger. He hardly ever greeted Cas as simply as with his name. Of course, after what was to come, the man might just take it as being an effect of an ended relationship. "Cas, listen. I want you to know that you were one of the best things to ever happen to me. What I'm about to do is not your fault." Dean paused. He really hoped he could do this well enough to keep Sam alive for a while longer and yet not completely destroy his angel. Maybe he could let him down easy…? "I… we… this isn't working anymore. Cas, I could give you a thousand excuses, but it's not gonna change anything. I just can't…" Dean stopped and took a deep breath. The shifter behind Sam seemed to push the gun a little firmer into Sam's head as he did so, sending him a message. Be careful not to get your brother killed.

Dean really hated them all. He made a vow to himself that if he made it out of this alive, he would see to it that these guys regretted being born, or however it was they entered the world. If he didn't make it out alive, maybe he could haunt them as a ghost. Yeah. That sounded good. Bracing himself, Dean forced himself to continue. "Our relationship is over Cas. We aren't going to be together anymore, and I think it would be best if we didn't see each other at all ever again. I'm sorry, and this might be the hardest thing I've ever had to do because I do love you, but what we had is over now." Dean knew that was the closest thing he could say to 'I don't want to do this' without getting Sam hurt. Yeah, Sam was going to get hurt, but at least this way it wouldn't be Dean's fault.

"Wait," Cas had said, and Dean was sure Cas was about to cry. "If this is so hard, and you still do love me, why are you doing this?" He sounded unspeakably desperate as he said it.

"Please don't ask me to explain. Just remember, I do love you." Then the phone was taken out of Dean's hand and the call was ended.

"Well done, Winchester, you just might have bought yourself and your brother a little more time," said the shifter who wasn't holding Sam.

Then the angel made a motion to the two shifters, who forced Sam and Dean to come up to him, both with guns to their heads now. Before they could protest, Azrael had two fingers on each of their foreheads, and images flooded their minds – images of Cas. His phone was lying on the floor beside him, and he was sitting on the floor, his back resting against the wall of the room they'd left him in. He was shaking all over, and tears were streaming down his cheeks. Heart-wrenching sobs were coming from his mouth. Then blackness overtook them both again.

The next days were filled with pain for the Winchester brothers. All their wounds that had begun to heal were brutally reopened. They were beaten and kicked and burned and it wasn't long until both of them found it a challenge to locate a section of their body that wasn't in pain. Either there was bruised skin or torn skin, or even no skin. It reminded them both of Hell. The memory of what Cas had been experiencing last they knew of him wasn't helping.

Sometime after Dean had called Cas, a few days probably, he and Sam were in that room alone again. "Dean, what do we do?" Sam asked, sounding border-lined desperate.

Dean looked at his brother, and his heart nearly broke. Again. Sam looked so battered. "I don't know Sammy, but we're gonna get through this. Somehow, we will survive. We've still got time to figure something out. We don't have much, but we have each other, and that's enough. We're Winchesters, and we're hard to beat. This isn't the end for us. You just wait and see."

Sam wished he could believe Dean, so he allowed himself to. He smiled at his brother.

Dean wished as much as Sam he could believe his own words, and he had to put on a brave face for Sam, but the truth was he thought they were going to die like this. He couldn't let Sam know that, though. So he told himself that he was telling the truth, and he almost believed it. That was when they heard the gunshots outside.

AN: Free invisible pie will be shipped to your door if you review! Sorry I ended with a cliffie. Next chapter won't be up until close to the end of the month. I'm thinking I can get two more chapter out of this, or maybe one chapter and an epilogue. We shall see. TTFN (Ta-ta for now in case you weren't a fan of Winnie the Pooh growing up as I was).