Again, Dean felt that sensation of weightlessness, as if he was floating in the air and being carried far away.

Then he was rolling onto green grass, landing on his back and facing blue sky. There weren't any roiling clouds. He couldn't help but blink at it for a moment.

A very familiar face leaned over him, blonde hair falling in sheets around her face. "Hey," Claire narrowed her eyes, the pissed off expression very reminiscent of Cas. "I've got a bone to pick with you." She said.

"Aren't you going to let him up first?" Dean glanced over to see Alex snickering at the two of them. Claire straightened and pointedly looked away, a slight pout on her lips. Alex laughed outright, which was very different from the sullen teen Dean remembered, and she held a hand out to the hunter.

Dean took it, and he stood on his feet, looking around. Behind him, there was Jody's broken window, shattered pieces all over the ground. The sheriff looked livid as she was obviously chewing Sam out on the sidewalk going up to the door.

"You said you'd have to break the window a little. Not this!" She gestured at the Dean sized hole in the window. "And that's after you spread blood or god knows what on it."

To be fair, it was a bit big to cover up. And it was facing the neighbors.

Sam was raising his hands in a placating manner. "Okay, we probably should have mentioned that it'd be breaking large enough for Dean to come through but it's only temporary." He looked over towards it himself. "See?" He gestured at it.

Dean looked at it as well. The pieces of window and glass trembled and began to fly back towards the house. Within moments, one would never be able to tell that a person had violently crashed through it.

Jody crossed her arms, obviously not happy still, but not about to mention it as the problem had been fixed. Or maybe she was just gearing up for a lecture regarding the recklessness of him and Sam. Either was a clear option.

It was then that a familiar figure emerged from the front door.

Castiel blinked a bit as he came out into the sun, and he turned to study the window and make sure that it was fully repaired. His lips quirked up a bit as he saw that he had done a satisfactory job.

Dean found himself moving before he could really think about. Cas turned to him as he got closer, smiling a small smile as he caught sight of the hunter. "Hello, De-"

His customary greeting was cut off as Dean pulled him into a hug.

The angel didn't react for a moment, which wasn't that big of a surprise as Dean rarely initiated any type of affectionate gesture. Then, he brought his arms up to hug him back though the older Winchester could almost see the confused head tilt, even as he was drawn closer.

"Dean," Cas murmured, "is something wrong?"

"Nah." With a final squeeze, Dean stepped away and just looked at the angel.

Cas was giving him that confused look, his brow furrowed in his concern. Still, Castiel was alive and here, not tortured to death on Hell's racks, and that was enough for Dean.

"Ah-hem." A very suspicious cough sounded, and both of them jolted a bit. A glance over showed Claire raising an eyebrow at their antics (it seemed like she's the one who coughed), Alex giggling, Sam snickering, and Jody looking like she was done with them already. The sheriff's reaction reminded him oddly of Bobby.

"So, go somewhere nice?" Sam asked nicely, a bit too nicely in Dean's opinion.

Dean realized he was still holding onto Cas's shoulders, and he immediately dropped his hands. "Not really." He admitted. Now, Sam's face scrunched with concern. He ignored it. "Anyway, I think we've taken enough of Jody's time; let's head back to the Bunker."

"Alright." Cas replied, moving towards the Impala which was parked in Jody's drive, though he sent a worried look over his shoulder at Dean.

"Fine." Sam rolled his eyes, knowing he wouldn't get anything from Dean about his trip, at least not today, and turned to Jody to thank her once more.

Dean moved to follow the angel, not being able to wait to get behind the wheel of his Baby and go home, but a sharp jerk on his arm stopped him.

A quick look showed Claire scowling at him. She tugged him away from the others. "I said I had a bone to pick with you."

When they had gotten a bit farther away, and out of angelic hearing range he noted, the girl turned to him and crossed her arms. For a moment, Dean wondered what had happened to her and her family in that world where Cas had never had to take Jimmy as a vessel.

It was probably not the best time to think about it as Claire looked pissed.

"I thought I told you to take care of him." She growled her eyes flicking over to Cas. "But he looks like complete crap."

Guilt flooded through Dean. He had promised her, hadn't he. And in the time since their last meeting, Dean had nearly beat the angel to death, Cas had been put under a spell that propelled him to attack others and the struggle not to clearly cost him, and he had been tortured and abandoned by his siblings.

The hunter really didn't need this on top of what he'd just seen and learned.

"I know." Dean followed her gaze, and he noticed for the first time that Cas really didn't look well. If the guy had been human, the hunter would have insisted that he slept because the angel appeared to need a decent eight hours to get rid of those bags under his eyes. He'd been so focused on the Darkness that he hadn't noticed that something was off about the angel.

Now that he thought about it, Castiel barely left the Bunker since the spell was lifted. And even for Cas, these Netflix binges were suddenly a bit suspicious.

A sharp pain jolted him out of his thoughts. "Hey!" Dean rubbed his arm where Claire had just punched him.

"It's not my fault you went off to La-La Land." Claire snorted. Her blue eyes, so much like Cas's, met his. "So what are you going to do about it?" She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, her foot tapping impatiently.

Dean already had an idea. "Look, I'll take care of it." He promised.

Claire looked at him for a long moment. "You better." She eventually said. "Or else you'll have to deal with me." There was a hard glint in her eyes, and for some reason, it reminded Dean of that time that Cas had literally knocked some sense into him during the Apocalypse.

The hunter wondered why he had thought that leaving the Grigori sword with Claire was a good idea.

"Yeah, I know."

"Good." Claire nodded, deciding to be satisfied with that. "Now go; your husband's waiting." She gave a little shooing motion towards the Impala.

Dean spluttered, and he hated the fact that he could feel the red rising in his cheeks. "We're not like that!" He insisted as the girl escorted him to the car.

Claire gave him an incredulous look. "Cas looks at you the same way my dad looked at my mom. I think I know best." And with that, she broke away to move to Cas. The angel looked down at her curiously, and Claire surprised him with a hug. He returned it, and Dean could see that Claire was whispering something into his ear. Whatever it was brought a smile to Cas's face.

Dean wondered what she had said.

The two stepped away from each other and Claire joined Jody and Alex in waving good-bye. "See you!" She called, as Dean slipped into the driver's seat, followed by Sam and Cas taking their respected seats, and turned the ignition.

Dean smiled as Baby left the drive, her smooth purr a welcome comfort.

He'd take care of everything once they were back at the Bunker.

Dean stepped into the Bunker, drinking it in.

This was his home. It wasn't abandoned or rundown or lacking in life. The lights were on, books were piled on the table, and he could see Sam's laptop charging on an armchair.

It was so much better than that horrible reality.

"So, who wants some food? I'm going to make some pancakes." Sam, the ever tactful brother, offered as he probably sensed that Dean wanted to talk to Cas. The older brother felt that old anxiety over actually talking begin to rise, but at the same time, he was thankful for his brother for giving them some space as it was going to be hard enough already.

He also was grateful that Sam was offering to only make pancakes. It was one of the few decent things that his little brother could make. For all his smarts, Sam was a kitchen disaster.

"Thanks, Sam." Dean said, knowing his brother would get the message.

Sam gave an understanding smile as he went off toward the kitchen.

That left just Dean and Castiel standing in the library. The angel glanced over at him, but after a few moments of the hunter not talking, he started shuffling towards the direction of the bedrooms.

"Wait!" Dean said quickly. Cas paused, and turned back to look at him. "We need to talk." The hunter firmly said, gathering his resolve.

If he didn't know Cas so well, he would have missed the tiny flinch that racked the angel. It was more in his eyes than in his body language, but it was still there. For a second, all Dean could wonder was what could have caused such a reaction.

Then he remembered the last time he had told Castiel that. He really did owe the angel a huge freaking apology for everything.

Cas deserved it, but he never asked for it. Probably because he was usually busy apologizing for something he himself done.

"C'mon." Dean gestured at the table and Castiel sat down, eyeing him warily. The hunter chose just to lean against the table, looking down and studying the angel.

"Look, I…" Dean ran his fingers through his hair. He really sucked at this sort of thing. "I'm sorry, okay?" He tried to ignore the way the angel's eyes widened at his words, because it made him just want to punch himself in the face. "For the other day," he began to elaborate, but Cas cut him off.

"You don't have to apologize." Cas replied. "As I said, I know you did not mean them. Instead, I," his face twisted a bit, "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Dean stared at the angel in shock.

Was Cas really turning this around to blame himself?

"No, Cas." Dean said a bit roughly, conviction in his voice. "That was not your fault, you had every right to snap at me. I shouldn't have said those things in the first place, and I shouldn't keep taking out my frustrations on you. You don't deserve it. Besides, I got the feeling everything you said was true to you, right?"

Eye avoidance was always a sure sign that Cas was hiding something. In this case, it just showed that that outburst the other day was really how the angel felt.

"And I wasn't just saying sorry for that." Castiel looked back up at him with a confused head tilt. "I was also apologizing for all of the other stuff you've been through."

Cas frowned, a bit annoyed. "I told you that that was my – "

"Yeah, your choice. I got that." Dean halted his rebuttal. "But not all of it was your choice, especially lately." He couldn't help but glance at the spot in the library where just weeks before, Cas had lain bloody and beaten.

Understanding crossed Castiel's face. Then his expression saddened with sympathy. "That wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was. My fists, my rage, my fault." Dean felt something crumbling in side, and he couldn't guess what his face was showing but it had a definite effect on Cas.

The angel rose from his seat so that he was standing right in Dean's personal space. "That was the Mark, it wasn't you." He said just as resolutely as Dean had about it not being Cas's fault.

"I'm the one who chose to accept the Mark, and because of that, you…" Dean found that he couldn't look at the angel, and brought his hand up to hide his eyes from the blue, ancient eyes staring at him.

A gentle hand caught his and brought it down. Castiel gave him a small, sad smile. "You cannot ignore the fact that I hurt you too, Dean." He brought his empty hand up and it hovered right over the spot on Dean's face where there had been a particularly bad bruise before Sam coerced his brother into letting Cas heal it. He looked conflicted for a moment before dropping his hand back down.

"You were under the control of Rowena's spell!" Dean defended the angel.

"And you were under the control of the Mark." Cas stated plainly.

The two of them just stared into each other's eyes, not wanting to back down. For a moment, for Dean at least, it felt like those old times. The times that may have had terrible things happening around them, but they were together so they could fight everything.

The hunter gave a huff of laughter. "I'm never going to convince you otherwise, am I?"

A more genuine smile quirked at Cas's lips. "No." He grew more somber after a small beat. "However, I – " Castiel looked away. "I thank you for apologizing. I think a part of me needed to hear that." He said quietly.

"Is something wrong?" Dean asked, worry prickling at him.

"Will you answer me from when I asked earlier?" Cas turned back to him.

It was too soon. How could Dean even begin to talk about that world where everything was going to Hell in a hand basket all because they never met?

"Touché." He countered. "Still, you can talk to me if anything's wrong, you know?"

"Of course." Cas nodded, though Dean suspected the angel wouldn't take his advice. He had picked up too many habits from him and his brother.

Apparently deciding that this was the end of the conversation, Castiel began to turn to return back to the bedrooms. It was then that Dean realized that the angel had still been holding his hand because Cas let go of it.

Dean still had one more thing to say. He couldn't talk about what all he'd seen, but he wasn't going to let it go to waste.

"Wait." He grabbed onto the sleeve of that ever present trench coat to stop the angel from leaving. Of course, if Cas didn't want to stay, he could easily draw away, but instead he turned back once more and his eyes rested on Dean, awaiting his words.

Dean took a deep breath. "I think I get it now, what you were saying the other day." He said. "If I had never known you…" He gulped as he couldn't help but think of his other self. "I'd be a mess, man. It's like some part of me would be missing. I'd have no clue what it was, and I wouldn't appreciate what I have at all because of that.

"So," his fist tightened on the trench coat, and he found he couldn't look the angel in the eye, "I'm glad too, that we met. I'm so, so grateful, because as long as you're around, I can't help but think that we have a chance."

This is so gay. Dean couldn't help but think. He'd managed to say it though, so that's all that counted.

As he finished speaking, he heard the small gasp, and he couldn't help but look up.

The light seemed to be shimmering in Cas's eyes like they were glassy. Dean realized that Cas was on the verge of crying, and seeing as that had never happened before, a part of him was freaking out.

Yet the angel didn't look sad. He appeared to be shocked, and it dawned on Dean that probably no one had told him such a thing before. After all, his siblings had made their opinions pretty clear, and he had always been the odd one out it seems.

Without thinking, like earlier, Dean brought Castiel into his arms. The angel took a shuddering breath and positively snuggled into Dean's embrace. But the hunter wasn't going to stop because it was obvious that Cas needed this. He had been hurt so often, especially lately, and not only by his siblings. Dean would gladly give this to Cas.

And if Dean were a bit braver, he would admit that he needed this, Cas safe in his arms, as well.

But for now, he just held the angel closer, trying to comfort the person who had always been there for him and should have heard what he had just told him a million times over.

That was what Castiel really deserved.

So he just pulled Cas close and felt that surge of gratitude once more for getting to know this angel.

AN: Wanted to get this done earlier, but college stuff. Only one bit left, and that's mostly done as I wanted to write the final scene before it left my mind. We'll get to see who's behind all this.

As I said previously, I was originally planning on ending the Dean and Castiel stuff differently. I was going to have Dean admit that he was glad he met Cas and that he appreciated him, but a clue to Metatron's whereabouts would have popped up while Dean was gone, so they'd promise to have a better, fuller talk once Castiel got back. Then, I watched 11x06. And there was no talk between them even though the episode built up to it and it truly felt like there needed to be one. Non-Destiel fans and casual fans have even admitted that there should have been a talk, especially as it was revealed that Cas has PTSD. That's why I put in some stuff about how Cas looks like crap and hasn't left the Bunker, which, after looking at what I had already written and posted (before 11x06), actually fit into what I already had and helps it fit into the (stupid) canon. I know that Cas wouldn't really admit to PTSD even if he realized that's what he had, which is why I don't address it further. I leave quite a few hints of Destiel in the air though.

In other news, I am disappointed in 11x09 and I didn't even have any expectations. How sad is that?

See you next time!