Hi, everyone. Sorry for another looooong delay. But that Real-Life-Thingie kept me busy again, and then I found that the scene as it was, wasn't working, so I ditched it and wrote it anew.

I hope it was worth the effort and you'll enjoy what I came up with. Thanks for your patience.

14 February 2008 – † † [...] † † Heat of the Moment

Castiel was concerned.

Actually, he was worried.

Very worried.

Because something really bad was going on, and he didn't know what. But something was definitely going on, because Dean was dying, and Castiel could do nothing about it.

He had followed the Winchesters to a weird place that had furniture nailed to the ceiling. Humans and their idiosyncrasies just never ceased to amaze him. But already when the owner of the place had shown up, shot-gun at the ready, Castiel had known that the situation would end badly. With Dean on the receiving end of a fire-arm it usually did.

True enough the shot-gun went off, searing pain in Castiel's chest as the bullet tore into Dean's. Ignoring the pain, Castiel was at Dean's side long before Sam even could think of reacting. He pressed his hand down on the gushing wound, pressed down the other hand as well, when one didn't help, but the blood-flow didn't even slow down. 'No, no, no...' He thought. This wasn't happening, this couldn't be happening.

"No, no, no, not like this," Sam collected Dean into his arms.

'Come on, Dean, heal!' Castiel thought desperately. But not even repeating the plea in a whisper that sent a tremor through the room helped. Dean's body held out a little while longer, but his pulse became erratic and eventually stopped altogether. 'No,' Castiel thought dejectedly. 'No, not like this ... not yet ... not at all ... no...'

It couldn't be and yet it was. Dean was dead.

Slowly lifting his hands from Dean's body, Castiel turned to Heaven, intent on getting a couple of answers in exchange for a piece of his mind, but then he stumbled over something: Dean's soul, it was still inside his body. If he was really dead, it should leave the body and go to either Heaven or Hell, or even stay earth-bound.

Something was...

"... heat of the moment ..."

Castiel jumped and looked around himself in alarm. What was this? How did he get here into this...

"Rise and shine, Sammy!"

What...?

Time passed, and it was Sam who realized the truth: This was the same day they had lived through yesterday – which turned out to be today. Somehow. But he didn't tell Dean. He only tried to steer the day into a different direction.

Well, it did end differently. A lot sooner, too. Dean got run over by a car, dying instantly. Castiel had time to – unsuccessfully – try to revive him, before ...

"... heat of the moment ..."

And it was the same day again.

Sam and Castiel did their best to save Dean, but fate found a new way to kill him every new today. Slipping in the shower, choking on a bite of sausage, eating a spoiled tacco ... It seemed the number of ways to kill a person was endless.

At first Castiel tried to break the circle from within. If he could just keep Dean alive until it turned Wednesday, everything might be fine and back to normal. Only, he never made it. And it dawned on him, that there had to be somebody personally involved in this. Somebody, whose power was a match to his own.

Which meant it was an angel. But why would an angel ... and which angel?

The answer to that question was simple: Gabriel. He was the only angel who was unaccounted for. He had turned his back on Heaven without actually rebelling. One day he had simply left Heaven and had disappeared. The reaction to that had been minimal. Nowadays most angels had nothing much to do anyway, so Gabriel's absence didn't disrupt anything, he might as well be gone.

But now it all appeared in a different light.

Once he put his mind to it, it was no difficulty to find Gabriel. He was wearing a small, slender man, nothing about his appearance giving away the power hidden inside.

"Gabriel," Castiel spoke to the man, a threat carrying in his voice.

Gabriel looked surprised for a moment, but not at all intimidated. "Yeah. So. You found me. Swell. Now if you don't mind, I'm kind of in the middle of something here." He flailed his hand dismissively and turned away.

Castiel let his hand heavily drop onto Gabriel's shoulder and turned him back around. "I know, and I'm asking you to stop it."

Gabriel raised his eyebrows, then laughed for a moment. "Listen, buddy. I don't really care what you're asking, because I have personal unresolved business with the Winchesters. Do you know what they those bugs tried to do? They tried to kill me!"

"You are an angel. They couldn't have killed you."

"Duh." Gabriel shook his head. "But that's not the point. The point is, they wanted me dead! So I'm giving them a bit of their own medicine."

"It is against Heaven's wishes," Castiel clarified. "I have the duty to protect Dean Winchester. He is to be kept alive at all cost."

"Heaven's wishes?" Gabriel seemed insecure for a moment, but then he returned to his former arrogant attitude. "And that's supposed to bother me why?"

"Because I am giving you the explicit order to leave Dean Winchester alone."

"I am an archangel," Gabriel boasted. "Who are you to think you can order me around?"

"I am Castiel, your elder."

That finally shut Gabriel up. If he didn't follow Castiel's direct order, he would be rebelling against Heaven, which would maybe not get him banned. But it would threaten his sedentary situation, where he was being left alone, free to do almost anything he wanted to.

"Fine!" he snapped. "I'll let him go. You happy now?"

"Satisfied."

"But..." Gabriel held up a hand. "I want to do it my way. You have to give me that."

"I don't have to give you anything. You mess with my charge, which means you mess with me. You stop doing what you're doing, and you stop it right now."

"But if I just stop it, they will become suspicious."

Castiel frowned.

"Think about it: Those two boys are used to chasing the supernatural. They are experiencing something supernatural now. They will never accept that it stopped just like that."

That did actually make sense.

"I kill Dean today, tomorrow I let Sam catch me, I let him 'talk me' into leaving them alone, and we're all happy. How's that sound?"

Castiel didn't like the perspective, but he agreed.

5 May 2008 – Michael

"Michael!" Castiel felt like dissolving into a puddle of gratitude. His older brother has finally come to see him.

"Castiel, I apologize for not seeing you earlier."

"That's alright, we still have ten days left. Enough time to..." Did he dare speak it out?

"I am afraid, brother," Michael said gravely, "but I don't bear good news for you."

"You... are not letting me help him out." Castiel had hoped so strongly that Heaven would come to Dean's rescue, that he had actually started to believe it. To find now that it didn't...

Michael was quiet for a moment. "I am sorry, brother, but I can't let you, much as I wish I could. But we have to focus on the bigger picture."

Castiel nodded, defeated. The bigger picture, of course. What else.

Michael was right, though. Castiel had simply gotten too attached to his charge over the last thirty years. That was his fault alone, and he couldn't lay blame on anyone else.

"There is not much point in you still watching over him," Michael continued softly, "but you are welcome to keep doing it until his time has come. You may save him from all evil and harm that may still come, except this last one."

Castiel nodded again. He couldn't speak. Because he was upset. Because he was angry. Because he was distraught.

"I am sorry, but that is all I can offer you, little brother."