So…yeah. Long wait was a long wait. I apologize the most to those few of you who read and/or review regularly. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, in a world darkened by mounds and mounds of schoolwork. For real, homework is getting crazy nuts, even for me; writing a Master's Thesis ain't easy. Special thanks to those who reviewed for the last chapter: Wol Lo, egyptian1995, supreme dramon, a-chan, ramen-is-my-goddess, and hdkwj! I'm planning one more, epilogue chapter after this but this is the main meat of the ending so I hope you dudes enjoy it!
O
Chapter 9
Sam's ears were filled with the sound of his own heart pounding in his chest as he grabbed hold tight of Claire's hand and ran. He didn't want to leave Dean, or Cas for that matter, alone to fight whatever was coming for them but he also knew that he'd be useless in a fight against an archangel thanks to the demon blood pumping through his veins. It was the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life—leaving them behind—but they were expecting him to make sure Claire at least got out alive. He was going to get her somewhere safe if it was the last thing he did.
He ran towards the safest place he knew of: the Impala. Luckily she was still right where they left her in front of the hotel next door, the valet service not even having the time to ticket them for parking there illegally. There wasn't a snowball's chance in Hell that they'd be able to drive out of the city before Raphael got here but maybe they could make it out of New York before whatever came next arrived. Unlocking the door with shaking fingers, Sam made sure that Claire was seat-belted into the passenger's seat before scooting over to the driver's side. At her age, Claire really should've been in the back seat but Sam wanted her up as close to him as possible for whatever happened next.
Shoving the keys into the ignition, Sam's fingers had just found the parking break when a sudden, searing pain burned through him. His vision swam as he felt his eyes shift, the feeling so intense that he actually blacked out for half a second. Coming to with his face pressed against the steering wheel, he tried to gasp for air, tried to ignore the sensation of a thousand red-hot needles poking into his skin.
It hurt, it hurt so freaking bad. Somewhere in the back of his mind he heard Claire yelling, felt her hands on his arm, but then the pain doubled and Sam choked as he felt his throat tighten up, his heart beating so fast it felt like it was going to explode. He must've blacked out again—thank God—because the next thing he knew he was gasping again, coughing as he was finally able to pull air down into his lungs.
The burning sensation had suddenly abated though his skin was still stinging from the memory of it all. Trying to get a hold of himself, Sam sucked in deep breaths, wincing as he felt something wet roll down his chin and drip down onto his pant legs. Something red and thick—blood.
"Uncle Sammy!"
His brain couldn't even acknowledge Claire's cry, his whole body still reeling from the after effects of the sudden attack. It had felt like he had been dropped into a vat of acid, something deep in his core hissing and writhing, trying to force its way to the surface and out even if it meant destroying him in the process. Anything to get away.
"Uncle Sammy? Sam, are you alright? Please!"
Sam shook his head, then realized what a mistake the motion had been and gripped at his forehead to try and soothe the ache back down. Belatedly noticing that he still owed Claire a response, Sam grit his teeth and forced out some words that he hoped were coming out in the right order. "I'm…I'll, be okay. Just…A minute. Give me a minute."
That had been…bad. Really bad. Ten times worse than how it had felt when he had first met Cas and about twice as painful as when he had gotten too close to Gabriel's place in L.A. There was only one thing it could've been: an archangel. It had to have been Raphael. No wonder no demons could stand being even in the same city as an archangel. Sam couldn't even imagine what would've happened if he had been a full demon, not just half. But if the feeling was already beginning to fade then that meant that Dean and Cas must've actually been able to lure him away. "How long was I out for?"
Claire's eyes widened further, "You were 'out'? Are you really okay?"
Good. It couldn't have been that long then if Claire hadn't even realized it, maybe only a couple of seconds. "I will be."
Shaking his head once more, this time with fewer negative repercussions, Sam took a deep breath and made a second attempt to grab the parking break. This time his body worked like it was supposed to and he put the Impala into drive and peeled off of the curb back into the New York traffic. There was no way he should be driving immediately after having an attack like that but there was no way he was going to just sit around until he fully recovered.
The other cars around him were in a panic, stopping and going bumper to bumper as they went down the block. Even inside the Impala Sam could hear them yelling something to each other about lightning striking down; again, it had to be Raphael. Probably happened when he had blacked out. "Was there lightning?"
Claire nodded in his peripheral vision as he began to wind them through the mass of cars. "Yeah, down in the alley. Do you think Daddy and Dean are alright?"
"I'm sure they are." They had to be. Sam wouldn't even let himself consider the fact that they could've just been killed. Logically, it was a very real possibility but, no, it couldn't have happened. It just couldn't have. They had to be alright.
Claire twisted around in her seat so that her face was pressed against the window pane, straining against her seat belt to look behind them toward the theatre. "Uncle Sammy, can't we go back and get them?"
"No." Though Sam would give anything to do just that. "They, they wouldn't be able to take care of themselves if they had to worry about us."
To his surprise she didn't question his explanation but just accepted it as if she understood. Dragging herself away from the window, Claire settled herself back into her seat, grabbing anxiously at her seatbelt. "Where are we going then?"
Now that was a good thing to question. Sam hadn't really given it much thought, his only goal to get as far away as fast as possible. Because of that he had started driving west because, well, you could drive a lot further west than you could east coming out of New York, but now that she mentioned it…Sam wracked his brain for somewhere they could go and hide away until Dean and Cas hopefully found them again. He didn't know how long it would take them to escape—because he wouldn't let himself consider that they might not be able to—but it was key that he found them both somewhere safe to stay. And considering what was coming after them, that wasn't going to be easy. But now that he thought about that, one place did come to mind. "We'll go back to Bobby's. He'll know what to do."
Claire nodded shakily and, after a moment of hesitation, Sam reached over and set a comforting hand on her shoulder. The Nephilim flinched at the touch but before Sam had time to pull away she reached up and snagged his hand and snuggled up against it like it was a teddy bear. Despite the tension still in his fingers gripping the steering wheel, Sam's expression softened at the seven-year-old's obvious distress. "It'll be okay. Dean will keep Cas safe and your dad will keep Dean safe. And I'll keep you safe, I promise."
Her grasp tightened around his arm and she nuzzled into his shoulder. "…I'm scared for my Daddy, Sam. He's, he's the only person I have."
Sam's heart right about broke when he heard that. "Hey," Sam let out a breath as he heard her sniffle. Please don't cry, please don't cry. "Like I said before, Dean will take care of your dad. And, no matter what happens," if neither of them made it back, "I promise I'll take care of you. I won't leave you alone." And Sam meant it. If the worst happened he owed it to Cas and Dean, and Claire, to protect her.
"Thank you…"
Maybe it would've been easier to drive with both hands but Sam didn't have the heart to pull his arm away from Claire. The idea that he was pretty much the only thing keeping her from danger was kind of…crushing but he knew he had to do it.
It felt strange heading out of New York on the same road they had come in on, but Sam didn't let that running-in-circles feeling discourage him as he sped towards Highway 80. A minute passed, then five, and ten, and when twenty minutes passed as they began to leave the bustle of the big city behind them. He was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, they had finally managed to out-run the angels.
Of course, he had forgotten about the demons.
They had just driven past a scatter of old industrial buildings and empty lots when a commotion up ahead caught his attention. There were a few cars ahead of them blocking his view of whatever was going on but he knew it wasn't something normal as the traffic slid to a stop. Not trusting anything abnormal, Sam tensed back up, the movement not going unnoticed by Claire.
"What is it?"
"Probably nothing. Just stay—" Sam cut himself off as traffic slowly moved forward ahead of them, car by car, until they got close enough that he could see what was really going on. There was some sort of road-block up ahead with two cars turned sideways perpendicular to the flow of traffic with just enough space between them for a single vehicle to sneak through at a time. There were a few people standing out in front of the cars giving off the vibe of law enforcement, like it was some sort of checkpoint. Sam almost bought it, until he caught sight of a woman leaning on the hood of one of the cars. It was that brunette demon from Chicago and she was looking straight at them.
Shit.
Freeing his second hand from Claire's grasp, Sam gripped the wheel and spun it hard to the right. Claire screamed as the car careened off of the road and onto the sidewalk, Sam narrowly steering them by light poles and a fire hydrant and out towards one of the open lots. The Impala was too wide to actually fit and they skid into an empty lot as Sam tried to circumnavigate the demons' barricade.
They seemed to have anticipated the move though and one of the cars barreled off of the road to block their path. Swearing, Sam jerked the wheel hard in the other direction, trying to get back onto the pavement but the second car zoomed in to cut him off. With his escape routes eliminated Sam went in the only direction left open to him and threw the car into reverse, the tires kicking up mud and grass as they peeled further back into the empty lot.
"Uncle Sammy!"
Sam flung out an arm to keep Claire from hitting her head against the dashboard as he made another sharp turn. "Damn it! Hang on!"
They were surrounded. By like a dozen demons. And this time Sam was the only one here to fight. Crap.
He needed to be smart about this; otherwise they'd both be dead. He could use his powers to take care of some of the demons but there was only so much he could do in one sitting. What he needed were the weapons currently sitting in the Impala's trunk. That, and they probably needed to find a better place to be to survive whatever confrontation was about to go down. "Alright. Claire, listen to me closely." In the lot next to the one they were in was an old, neglected warehouse. The concrete walls were cracked and the windows were all broken but it would still hold up better to an onslaught than the Impala. Sam swallowed and watched warily as the demons began to pile out of their cars and slink closer. "As soon as I move, you open your door and run as fast as you can to that warehouse behind us. Can you do that?"
"I, I don't—"
"Claire." He didn't mean to be sharp with her but this was kind of an emergency. They didn't have time to hesitate.
The little girl flinched away from him then nodded, her eyes tearing up. "Y-yes, okay!"
"Good." Sam's eyes never left the approaching demons as he leaned forward and turned off the car. There was only about twenty yards of open space separating the hood of the Impala and the small horde coming at them, which would give them just enough time to do what needed to happen. "On the count of three you're going to run as fast as you can to the warehouse. Don't wait for me, just get inside and stay there. I'll be right behind you."
"No, Sam!"
He ignored her. She was too young for something like this but she was just going to have to find the strength to do this. "One." Claire whimpered. "Two." Gripping his door handle, Sam checked to see that Claire was doing the same. She was, though her hands were shaking. "Three."
As soon as the word left his mouth, Sam threw his door open and heard Claire do the same on her side of the car. He heard a shout from one of the demons but didn't quite catch its words as he slammed the door back shut and sprinted for the trunk. Sam heard Claire race away behind him as he ripped the trunk open, quickly grabbing the shotgun, not having the time to pull on gloves to grab the iron bar or bothering to grab the nearly empty gallon jug of holy water.
Sam whipped his head up as he heard something approaching fast from his right. Expecting it to be Claire, the reproach on the tip of his tongue morphed into a strangled shout as a demon rushed at him, black eyes glaring. He didn't think to raise the gun gripped in one hand, just acted on instinct and raised his other hand, stretching his fingers out towards his would-be attacker. Reaching out with his mind, Sam felt his blood heat in his veins as he forced his will out onto the demon.
It took him only two seconds to bring the hell spawn to its knees, his abilities running strong thanks to all the adrenaline shooting through him. That was still too much wasted time though and that slight delay gave the other demons the chance they needed to catch up. Knowing that he would be quickly outmatched if he stuck around, Sam broke away before he was actually able to exorcise the demon, shut the Impala's trunk, and fled back towards the warehouse he really hoped Claire was hiding in.
He could hear the demons chasing after him, his longer stride and the slight boost in speed he got from his own demonic blood the only thing saving him from getting caught right then and there. Spotting a door left open just a crack along one of the warehouses side-walls, Sam ran for it.
Bursting inside, Sam's heart jumped in his chest as Claire let out a little shriek. Once she realized just who had come in though she was across the room with her arms wrapped around Sam's waist. "Uncle Sammy, I thought you weren't going to come!"
"I promised I'd take care of you and I will." Sam reached over the little girl as he barricaded the door behind him before checking the shotgun to make sure it was loaded. He would've pushed her away but thanks to her small stature she actually wasn't that much of a hindrance and, more importantly, the closer she was the better he could protect her.
Just as he had clicked the shotgun back together a loud bang on the door made Sam jump back, further into the warehouse and dragging Claire with him. Sam's arms and shoulders tensed as he immediately brought the gun up and aimed it at the closed door. "Stay back! I'm warning you, the first thing that comes through that door is going to get blown right back to Hell!"
The banging quieted at the threat, but the demons' hesitation didn't last long. Sam's brows drew together as the noise was replaced a minute later by a voice, loud and mocking as it echoed through the door. "Well, if it isn't Sammy Winchester. Where's your keeper and his has-been angelic fuck-buddy?"
He recognized that voice. It was that female demon that had cornered Cas and Claire in the streets near Crowley's place. Sam didn't even question how she knew his name. Demons had all kinds of ways to figure out what you were thinking and just what your weaknesses were. "I remember you from Chicago!"
A snort sounded through the door. "Oh good, you can remember back to this morning. And here I was thinking you were a complete idiot."
Sam's finger danced on the trigger of the shotgun. If he fired now there'd be a chance the salt round would make it through the door. Then again, if he did that it'd compromise the only thing keeping the demons from swarming inside. "Who the hell are you?"
"Name's Meg, halfie. Now how 'bout you come out so we can talk?"
"You want to talk?" Was there a chance that they could work through this? Sam knew from personal experience that demons weren't the mindless murders everyone thought they were; some of them could be reasoned with.
"Did I say 'talk'? I meant 'kill you', you and that miniature freak you're trying to keep alive."
Damn it.
OoOoOo
Dean heaved a breath into Castiel's trench coat as they sailed through the sky at ridiculously fast speeds. They had been flying for what felt like forever but in reality was probably only something like ten minutes. Dean had hoped that the longer they were up here the easier it'd get but he was wrong. It was not easier. It still sucked. A lot.
Every half a minute or so Dean would catch a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye and he would know that it was Raphael. The archangel was gaining speed, Castiel's own power and speed not quite a match for the other and they were definitely being overtaken. He could feel it in the way Cas was flying now. When Raphael got a little too close he would feint to the side and try to lose him in the clouds. He was always careful though to always keep a firm hold on Dean, cradling his human close to his chest as his wings cut through the sky like ebony blades.
Suddenly something slammed into Castiel from the side. The angel's wings beat at the air as the impact sent him careening sideways and his grip slipped then tightened around Dean. Dean in turn clung even tighter, his breath coming out in short bursts as he tried not to panic, his efforts ruined by the cold sweat he felt beading up on his face. "Son of a bitch! Cas!"
"Hang on!" Cas's voice clipped and tense, that alone being enough for Dean to know that he was about to do something drastic. He was proven right when a second later Castiel tucked himself into a barrel roll, narrowly avoiding another side-swipe from what could only be Raphael.
On Dean's end it felt like he had been chained to a supersonic jet that was getting into a dogfight and he tried not to throw up all over Castiel's shoulder as the angel banked sharply to the right. The motion caused them to dip down into a thick layer of clouds then break through it and Dean for whatever reason finally deemed it a good chance to take a small peek and see where they had ended up. It was probably the worst mistake he had made all day.
When he looked down the only thing Dean saw was tall, foreboding white tipped mountains rising up to meet them. He didn't know how they had gotten there so fast but from pictures he had seen it definitely looked like the Alps, maybe the Himalayas or wherever else in the world there was a big ass mountain range. He might've called the view pretty had his thoughts not been focused on the fact that there was a good too many feet between him and the snow-covered mountain face beneath him.
Dean's gaze whipped back up as Castiel was jerked to the side again, hard this time as Raphael slammed directly into them, hard enough for Cas's hold to slip just a little too far. "Dean!"
Every thought but pure panic left Dean's mind as he suddenly found himself ripped from his angel's grasp and falling. That fear was reflected directly in Castiel's eyes before Dean lost sight of them, the angel's wings flapping desperately as he struggled mid-air with their pursuer. Too scared to even let out a scream, Dean flailed his limbs, trying to figure out how to slow down as he plummeted back towards the earth, free falling towards the craggy mountain tops below. An icy wind whipped at his clothing, making it impossible to even breathe, and just as his vision began to white out he caught sight of Cas breaking away from Raphael's hold, tucking his wings close to his body, and diving for Dean.
Falling backwards with his eyes facing up towards the sky, Dean didn't know how close he was to the ground, didn't know if Cas would get to him in time, didn't want to know as he fought to stay conscious. Then out of the corners of his eyes he saw mountains rising up around him, like the rocks were surging up to swallow him alive. Cas was getting closer, almost close enough but he must be so close to impact now, it had to be just a second or two away—
Stretching out his hand, Castiel reached down for Dean and Dean scrambled frantically to grab onto him. He swore a blue streak in his head as their fingertips just brushed, but then Cas somehow gave one more burst of speed and the angel's hand gripped tight onto Dean's forearm. His black wings flared out around him as he tried to slow their descent, Dean's body jolting and his joints protesting at the sudden change in pace. He didn't have to sit with the discomfort long as a moment later he slammed into a snowy slope and the air was knocked out of his lungs.
Dean quickly lost track of which way was up as he and Cas tumbled over each other, limbs, snow, and wings flying. He could feel Castiel trying to tuck around him, protect him from the fall as they somersaulted further down the slope. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they skidded to a halt. Lifting his head from the pile of ice that had built up around him, Dean shakily wiped his face off as he slowly recollected himself.
Snow was underneath every piece of clothing Dean had on and had gotten into places Dean didn't even know he had. He felt movement beside him and looked over to see Castiel sprawled next to him and covered in white, his wings slowly emerging from the ice as he flexed them and pulled himself up from the ground. "…Dean?"
"Cas…You alright?"
At the sound of his voice, Castiel's head turned and a moment later the angel's hands were on him, smoothing over his arms and face. "I'm sorry! Dean, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"
Dean nodded but the truth was clear as even that small motion caused a dull twinge to shoot through his muscles. He was pretty sure that the arm Cas had grabbed onto had been about a second away from dislocating but, since everything still seemed attached and working, he was about as good as he could've hoped for. "I'll live…But swear to God I'm never flying again."
"Of course." Castiel tore his gaze away from Dean's face and looked up, "We aren't safe though, not yet. Come, can you stand?"
"Help me up."
Cas did, pushing himself up onto his own feet before reaching his hand out for a second time. Grabbing it with far greater ease than last time, Dean let the angel pull him up, stumbling only once before finding his footing. The snow came up past his ankles and seeped into his boots but the fear rushing through him momentarily kept the chill away.
Their attention was caught as a shadow rushed passed overhead and Castiel's hand tightened on Dean's. Neither of them had any time to do anything more than look up though before Raphael landed in front of them, his large white wings blocking out the sunlight. Cas immediately threw Dean behind him, the smaller angel's black wings flaring out in response as Raphael spoke. "Your weakness for humans has always been your downfall. You should have run while you had the chance, Castiel."
"I would never do that, Raphael. You know that."
"I do. Which is why I came prepared."
As he spoke, the archangel reached into an inner pocket of his suit and withdrew a large flask. Dean scoffed as he saw it, trying to hide his nerves. "What are you going to do? Give us alcohol poisoning?"
When Raphael's gaze shifted to Dean he kind of wished he had kept his mouth shut. "This is not alcohol. Here, Castiel, you tell your monkey just what this is."
Cas flinched back as Raphael uncorked the flask and with one smooth motion splashed the contents all over the both of them. The angel's eyes widened with fear but Dean didn't even have the chance to ask what was wrong. With a snap a spark flew from Raphael's fingertips and landed on the liquid Dean and Cas were doused in.
They went up like a tinder box. Shouting is surprise as flames instantly burst up around them, Dean quickly dropped back to the ground and slapped snow onto his burning clothes. He actually got most of it out but just when he was about to think that Raphael's attack was pretty pathetic for an archangel a stifled scream from his side stopped that thought cold. Spinning around, Dean watched as Cas stripped off his smoldering trench coat and flung it to the snow, his wings drawing tight against his back as a line of fire surrounded him. "Cas?"
"Dean!" Cas lurched towards him but the line of fire burst up and sent him stumbling back, the heat from the blaze melting the snow around it. The flame was separating Dean from his angel and by the way it kept growing let Dean know that this wasn't any kind of natural fire. "Dean, it's holy oil! I can't get out!"
Fuck, he should've recognized right away. That impromptu flight had gotten him all turned around. If Cas got any of that on him he'd get some serious burns and he couldn't get through. But Dean could. "Like hell you can't!"
By now the flames had reached about four feet high and what felt like about a thousand degrees but Dean ran straight for it. Raphael moved for him but held back for just a second, probably wary of getting too close to the fire himself. It gave Dean enough time to skid into the blaze, kicking up a wave of new snow. That alone wasn't enough to put the fire out but it helped, as did Dean's legs sliding through the burning oil. Yes, it hurt, it hurt bad but it was probably only a first degree burn and it was better than whatever would've happened to Cas if he had fallen in it instead.
Sliding through it didn't extinguish the fire completely but it did break the circle that had Castiel trapped. As soon as he was presented with the opportunity the angel rushed for the new escape route and jumped onto Dean. Wrapping his arms tightly around Cas, his wings shuddering under Dean's palms, Dean rolled back out and back into the snow. The ice instantly cooled his burnt skin and, after freeing Cas from his hold, Dean smacked the parts of his jeans that had started to char again, embers flying off of the singed fabric.
"It seems as if I will have to get my hands dirty after all. Pity."
That was the only warning Dean got before a gust of wind hit him and silver flashed out of the corner of his eye. Still sitting on top of Dean and still shaken from the fire, Castiel let out a sharp gasp and then tumbled off of him, tackled head on by Raphael. Cas struggled against the other angel, fought tooth and nail to keep the wicked looking silver blade Raphael held in his hands from stabbing into him.
"Raphael, please! Not this!"
"Your continued impudence has left me little choice, Castiel. It is clear now there is nothing I can do to change you and I have allowed this to go on for far too long."
Dean felt out of the loop again but the fear that had returned in full-force to Cas's eyes was a good enough sign that the blade in the archangel's hand meant trouble. "Cas!"
"Stay back!"
By some small miracle Castiel managed to wrestle Raphael away and he flew back to Dean's side, "Dean, that sword is an angel's blade; it is one of the few things that can destroy another angel's Grace!"
"What?" An angel's Grace? If his Grace was destroyed would that mean that Cas would be gone forever? Permanently gone? He couldn't let that happen. "Cas, get outta here!"
"No, Dean, I won't leave you."
"This is not the time to be a fucking martyr! Shit!" Dean stumbled back as Raphael rushed at Castiel again, pushing past Dean like he wasn't even there to get at the other angel. Dean didn't even see the two collide, just heard a Cas let out a sharp yell and saw a flash of black as he ripped himself free again and dodged away.
Without having any way to actually defend himself against the stronger, faster creature it was clear that Cas wasn't going to last long. All Raphael needed was one lucky shot and Castiel would be done for. They were both moving almost too fast for Dean to see but he still followed as close as he could behind their scuffle. Dean wasn't stupid enough to throw himself right in the middle of the fight; Raphael could probably break him in half with one hand, but he was waiting for a moment to come when he could actually help.
When Dean's chance finally came he almost missed it. Castiel was tiring fast and Raphael had begun to get the upper hand. The lesser angel ducked down as Raphael swung his blade but tripped over his own feet and fell down onto the snow, left fully exposed for a follow-up attack. As the archangel plunged his sword down, straight at Cas's chest, Dean made his move. Already close-by, it took him less than five steps to reach them and threw himself in front of Castiel.
The pain was instantaneous. Even Raphael looked surprised as the long silver blade sliced into Dean's abdomen. Dean could feel Castiel jump up behind him, the world suddenly moving in slow motion. He blinked and Cas was at his side, the angel literally grabbing onto the blade—not the hilt, the blade—still visible and pulled it out of Dean's middle with a spatter of red. Raphael withdrew his sword the rest of the way, slicing Castiel's palm open but Cas seemed unaware of his own injury, shouting something Dean couldn't quite make out at the archangel.
By the look in his eyes it seemed Raphael's full attention was actually on Dean for the first time, as if recognizing him as an actual living thing. For half a second he leaned forward, as if to grab a hold of Dean, but then he seemed to remember himself and stepped back. Then there was a bright flash of light and he vanished into thin air.
Gripping his wound, Dean's vision swam as he struggled to stay upright. In his peripheral vision he saw Cas crouched down over the snow, his palm pressed to a blood red sigil drawn onto the white snow at his feet, but before he could really understand what was happening a white-hot stab of pain sent his head spinning.
Dean felt his knees give out and fell to the snowy ground as he clutched at the growing spot of red on his stomach. Cas was back at his side in an instant, his strong hands gently lowering Dean the rest of the way down so that he was laying on his back. "Dean!"
"Wh-where is he?"
"When the sword cut me, my blood—Away, I sent him away, for a few minutes."
Dean bit his tongue to keep in a scream of pain, his breath coming in short, shuttering gasps as warm blood seeped between his fingers. It hurt like a son of a bitch, the pain deep and aching, and he tried not to move his hands. He could feel that the wound was deep and the cut itself a good eight to ten inches long. He didn't want to know what would come spilling out if he shifted in the wrong direction. The one plus was it made him forget all about the burns on his legs. "D-Damn it. This, this is the second time I'm, I'm dying in the same month. First I get in a wreck and now this…"
His voice trailed off as he felt blood welling up in his throat, a cough bubbling up and causing the pain in his stomach to spike. Castiel was leaning over him now, his wings draping over the both of them and his eyes wide with fear. "Dean, try not to talk!"
"This month sucks…"
The angel's lips pursed into a thin line before he seemed to come to a decision. "Tilt your head back."
Another painful cough burst out of Dean and he tried to swallow the blood that came up but his tongue felt too thick in his throat. As he moved his head to where Cas wanted it, Dean slowly noticed what Cas wanted to do as he bent down to press their lips together. It definitely wasn't a kiss he was going for though. "…Don't know what you heard about humans, Cas, but, this ain't something you, you can fix with CPR."
Sam had told Dean how Castiel had tried to perform mouth-to-mouth after he wrecked the Impala. The heart-sick desperation in it. Dean hadn't really believed it until now. It was hard to deny when he was staring right at it. Castiel though, he just narrowed his eyes. "I'm not trying to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. Now please, Dean, allow me to do this."
And how could Dean say anything against that? He was dying anyway, it wasn't like Cas could do something to worsen his condition. His thoughts faded away as Cas finally moved in and sealed their lips together. Dean allowed himself a moan as he felt Castiel's lips part to deepen the kiss and he quickly followed suit. This wasn't such a bad way to go, in the long run. If you died while making out with an angel, was that a free ticket to Heaven or a one-way trip to Hell?
As they kissed, Dean slowly felt something unnatural stirring in his chest and realized that he wouldn't have the chance to figure out the answer to that question. A warmth was seeping in from Castiel's kiss, a literal warmth, almost like he was inhaling a plume of dry steam. The heat was sinking down into him, into his core where it seemed to flare up once it reached his center. It was only when he felt the pain in his stomach beginning to fade did Dean recognize the reality of what was happening. Of what Cas had been trying to do on that day of the wreck. What he was feeling, it was Castiel's Grace. And damn, did it feel good.
Apparently feeling a little bit of good was too much to ask for. Dean was just about feeling something similar to healthy again when Cas suddenly pulled his lips away with a sharp inhale, his gaze snapping up to the left. Panting, Dean blinked up at him and tried to regain his senses. "Why'd you stop?"
"Raphael, he's already—ngh!" Castiel was cut off as he jerked to the side, blasted right off of Dean by a fucking lightning bolt.
Dean stared up wide eyed at the spot where Cas had been only an instant before his brain was able to catch up with what had just happened. "Son of a bitch!" Scrambling up with a wince as his newly repaired muscles and skin pulled tight, Dean clamored through the snow on his hands and knees over to where Castiel had fallen. The angel was shaking but used his wings to raise himself into a sitting position, Dean quickly wrapping his arm around him to help him the rest of the way up. Both their efforts were cut short as an invisible force slammed into them, knocking them both back another couple feet.
"Enough!"
Shaking his head, Dean grimaced as he looked up to find Raphael landing in front of them, his face drawn up in a furious scowl. "Enough of this! You dare to send me away with cheap parlor tricks? I gave you the honor of a fair fight and this is how you repay me? I was only going to make an example of you before, Castiel. Now I will make you suffer."
OoOoOo
Sam felt the palms of his hands beginning to sweat and he quickly let the shotgun drop just long enough to wipe the sweat off onto his jeans. No way was he going to risk having slippery hands. Claire let out a little whimper behind him as Meg continued to speak and he quickly returned to his offensive stance.
"Now that the archangel's gone, we can finally get down to business so stop hiding like a little girl, Sam. It's not very attractive." Sam's jaw tightened but he bit back a response, not wanting to show he was affected by taunting. He had spent enough time with demons to know that the worst thing to do was to show any kind of weakness. "How about you come out and play with the big boys now?"
If they were going to have a fight they were going to do it on his terms. "How about you come over here instead?"
"I suppose we'll have to. Fellahs, let's move this show along, shall we?" Her voice faded out slightly, like she had stepped away, but then there was another loud bang on the door. This time it was a strong enough blow to make the metal begin to buckle. Realizing that it was only a matter of time before the door gave, Sam hustled Claire back into the far corner. Heart pounding in his chest, he took the few remaining moments they had to crack open one of the salt rounds that was meant for the shotgun and scattered the salt crystals around them in a circle. It would be harder for him to get out but it would be nearly impossible for the other demons to get in.
Throwing the empty cartridge to the side, Sam brought the shotgun back up. Claire huddled beside him, grabbing back onto his pants leg as the door to the warehouse jumped in its frame as one of the demons landed another rough blow. It was followed by another and another, the metal crunching in a little more with each hit until, finally, the hinges gave in.
One more blow and the door ripped from the wall and fell to the concrete floor with a loud clang. Across the room Sam steeled himself and as soon as the first demon walked through the opening he made good on his earlier threats and pulled the trigger. The male demon let out a strangled hiss as salt was shot right into his chest and fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
Another rushed in after the first, stepping right over the fallen demon's body, and Sam shot him too. Soon though too many were flooding in at once for Sam to keep up with. He had to reload after every two shots and the ones he had hit first were slowly getting back to their feet, wounded but not dead. Meg had entered in the middle of the horde, a chilling smirk on her face as she watched Sam wear himself down.
By now the demons had them fully surrounded, the salt on the ground the only thing keeping them at bay. Sam was doing as well as he could with the shotgun, never missing a single shot as he fired round after round into the crowd. One, no, two demons who had been hit multiple time actually smoked out of their bodies and back down to Hell. That still left only…ten demons left.
Finally the inevitable happened and Sam's fingers closed around the last salt round in his pocket. Knowing he had to make it count, he stopped just long enough to line up a shot right between the closest demon's eyes. Claire let out a scream as the salt found its mark and the demon lurched back then opened his mouth, black smoke pouring out into the concrete floor.
Just because he was out of ammunition didn't mean he was ready to give up the fight yet. Sam spun the shotgun around and used the butt of the gun like a club, striking at whatever demon got in range. It quickly proved to be fairly useless though, like hitting an angry pit bull with a rolled up newspaper, so he switched tactics, using the only line of defense left to him.
Sam felt his eyes shift to black as he stretched out with his powers, picking one demon after another and exorcising them out of their physical bodies. After the second Sam was already starting to feel it, his head aching as he tried to focus enough to pick a third demon to go after. This was why he hadn't done this from the start. He knew his limits. But the salt line around them was beginning to thin; it wouldn't be long before the demons got through and he needed to take out as many of these bastards as he could. Or he could just go for the most important target he could. Sam's gaze found Meg in the crowd and he reached a hand out.
Meg's eyes locked onto his as her body froze up, her gaze turning black. Sam grimaced as he fought to keep her under control but she was stronger than the others. He tasted blood in his mouth as his body began to shake from exertion; he definitely should have taken her on first.
Sweat began to bead up on his forehead as Sam felt his body wobble, his legs feeling weak. Every ounce of his concentration was being funneled into keeping control over her but he knew he wasn't doing a good enough job when her lips twitched up into a sneer. She shouldn't even be able to move, that was not a good sign. "You just made the biggest mistake of your life, boy."
With a sharp jerk, Meg tore herself free from his control and Sam reeled back with a muffled scream as a sharp burst of pain exploded in his brain. It felt like the worst migraine he'd ever had multiplied by one hundred, like someone had stabbed an ice-pick right through his skull. The pain knocked him right down onto his knees, his chest heaving as he gripped at his head.
"Uncle Sammy!"
"Aw, look at that, the puppy is trying to protect its master."
Sam tried to focus through the red haze that had settled in his mind and realized that, sure enough, Claire had stepped in front of his crumpled form. "C-Claire, no. Get back behind me."
Meg crouched down so that she was at their height, her voice lightening into a sickeningly childish tone. "You should do as he says, little girl. You'll get your turn soon enough anyway, I promise."
A defensive instinct Sam didn't even know he had reared up in his chest and he tried and pathetically failed to get back up onto his feet. "Claire—"
"—No!" A shudder ran down Sam's spine as a rustling split the air above him and suddenly a small pair of pale yellow wings was fanning out over him. "No, I won't let you hurt him!"
Sam saw Meg take a step back but when Claire had put her wings out the wind had virtually destroyed what was left of their salt ring. The demon recovered quickly from her shock and a sneer was soon back on her lips. "How sweet. Now both of you had each made a bad mistake. You match now! Do you know what you just did, little girl?"
Claire had begun to tremble against Sam, the feathers in her wings fluttering. "N-no, I, I didn't…"
"Oh, but you did. You put your wings out and now, guess what? Every demon in the state will know exactly where you are and they're coming. They'll be so happy to meet you."
"S-Sam?"
Meg was right, Sam knew she was right. The aura coming off of Claire wasn't as noticeable—or as painful—as a full-blown angel's would be but it was strange, unique enough that every demon in the area would be sure to pick up on it. Even if they didn't know what it was, they'd probably come to investigate and it wasn't hard to guess whose side they'd join when the figured the situation out. A Nephilim would be a natural target for demons; something as potentially dangerous as an angel but held within something they could actually kill. Wincing, Sam pulled himself together enough to form a full sentence, "Claire, you flew once, do it again. Get out of here."
"But, I, I don't know how!"
"Too bad, looks like you won't have the chance to figure it out." Straightening up, Meg pulled a small, straight dagger from her belt. "I know this won't work on angels, but I'm pretty sure that rule doesn't apply for half-breeds. I suppose the only way to know for sure is to try it out."
Seeing Meg lunge forward, Sam reached up to pull Claire down underneath him but he knew he wouldn't be able to move fast enough. He closed his eyes, unable to watch as the demon swung the dagger down, directly into Claire's back.
But the scream he had been expecting never came.
A second passed and then another before Sam cautiously opened an eye to see what had happened. Claire was still pressed against him, quivering head to toe with her face buried against his shoulder. And there, hanging in the air, was Meg's blade, the dagger and the demon still grasping onto it standing as still as a statue with the tip of the dagger mere inches from Claire's skin. Behind Meg the rest of the other demons had gone still as well—in fact, the entire rest of the building seemed frozen. Demons were stopped in mid-step, dust hung motionless in the air, and even sound seemed to have stilled. It was like the rest of the world was just a movie and someone had pressed 'pause'.
Sam heaved a breath as his eyes moved back to Meg's dagger that had come so close to Claire. Another millisecond or two and she would've been a goner. "Jesus…"
"Not quite. Close though, you know, in the grand scheme of it all."
Sam and Claire both jumped at the new voice, their gazes moving over to the door in tandem as none other than Gabriel himself strolled in. The diminutive archangel had his hands in his pockets and a thoughtful look on his face as he made his way through the frozen demon horde and over to the corner Sam and Claire had trapped themselves in. "Boy, you two sure know how to pick them."
For a long moment Sam was sure he was hallucinating, that he had blacked out and was having a really strange dream, but no, he could still feel a pain in his head and Claire gripping at his shoulders. She seemed to be equally shocked, looking up at Gabriel with wide, hopeful eyes as Sam stammered out a reply. "What, what are you doing here? What did you do?"
"Just froze time for a minute or two, no big deal." Oh, right, no big deal.
"Are you helping us?" When they had last met, the archangel had made it pretty clear that he had no intention whatsoever in joining in the fight. And now Sam had a feeling that he hadn't had since he first laid eyes on the blockade the demons had set up in the road: hope that they might make it out of this in one piece.
Gabriel gave an exaggeratedly nonchalant shrug as he finally made his way over to their corner, strolling past Meg like she was nothing more than a lawn ornament. "You're interesting. Looking back, it's been a long time since I've seen something so interesting. Especially wrapped up in such a nice package." Sam returned the archangel's wink with a frown. Realizing Sam wasn't in a joking mood, he rolled his eyes. "That, and all the fighting and screaming was disrupting my television viewing."
Despite Gabriel's protests, Sam had a feeling that he wasn't entirely telling the whole truth. He was doing just a bit too much overacting and it definitely seemed like he was trying to cover up a separate motive altogether. "You sure it wasn't your conscience?"
"If it makes you feel better, you can think whatever you want, black eyes."
Yeah, it was totally his conscience. Who knew archangels could feel guilty? As if he was able to hear what Sam was thinking, Gabriel scowled down at the both of them. It seemed he didn't like having his caring interior exposed. "Listen, I'm putting my ass on the line for you nobodies so you might as well be grateful. Now you, kiddo," Gabriel's gaze switched from Sam to Claire, "let's get this over with. My soap comes on in thirty minutes and I cannot miss it."
Sam was about to ask what the hell the archangel was going on about until he remembered what Castiel had asked of Gabriel. He had wanted the archangel to take Claire "under his wing", to protect her. Sitting up all the way, Sam eyed Gabriel warily, having no idea what this was going to entail. "What do we have to do?"
The archangel barely spared him a glance, the rest of his attention still on Claire. "You don't have to do anything. This is all up to her. She has to agree to be put under my guardianship for this to work. You ready to do that?"
Claire nodded and Sam blinked in surprise as her hand moved down from his shoulder to clutch at his own hand, seeking some silent support. With Gabriel here most of her fear had faded away, trusting in a naïve way that now everything would be alright, but there was still a heavy shadow of apprehension in the seven-year-olds blue eyes. She didn't know what was going to happen any more than Sam did. "I, I can do that."
"Okay, then let's get this show on the road."
Sam and Claire both blinked in surprise as Gabriel paused then bent down on one knee in front of them. His face had been wiped clean of any trace of his usual grin, instead replaced with a solemn expression Sam hadn't been expecting. "I, the archangel Gabriel, hereby pledge to protect you, Claire Novak, daughter of my brother, the angel Castiel, to the full extent of my divine powers, given by the Grace of my Father, for as long as you shall exist on this earth. Under my guardianship neither the flames of Hell nor the sins of Man will ever cause you any harm that is within my abilities to prevent. Do you willingly surrender yourself to my care?"
Claire looked back at Sam before answering, her voice remarkably strong. If Sam had had to do this at her age, he would've peed his pants. Even as an adult he was still scared of the archangel but he was half certain that was just the demon inside reacting to him. Even though Gabriel had his powers cloaked to a tolerable level just his presence instinctually made Sam freak out a little bit on the inside. "Will you protect my family too? Daddy, and Dean and Uncle Sammy?"
The serious expression on Gabriel's face broke for only a second as his lips twitched up in a confused smirk. He probably wasn't used to people putting conditions on being saved. Mulling it over for a moment, he finally acquiesced with another roll of his eyes, "In so far that assisting them will ultimately lead to your greater security, then yes, I will do so. Now once more, do you willingly surrender yourself to my care?"
"Yes."
"Well alright then."
As Gabriel made to stand back up, Sam couldn't help the protest that bust out of him. "What, that's it? No, no beam of light or glowing?" This seemed like it had meant a hell of a lot, especially between the angels going off of Castiel and Gabriel's earlier reactions. He had been expecting a little more pomp and circumstance or something.
Gabriel snorted as he rose back fully onto his feet. "An angel's oath is his bond, smoke and mirrors would just cheapen it. Though now that you mention it…" Pursing his lips in thought, he finally let whatever idea was forming in his mind go with a wave of his hand. "Eh, we'll have time for that later. There are some cockroaches behind me that need to be exterminated."
With that, Gabriel turned on his heels, held his hand up, and snapped. Instantly the rest of the room lurched back into a proper time flow, Meg's swing flying down into nothing but a patch of empty air. Almost in the same moment, all of the demons in the warehouse noticed Gabriel's presence, their eyes snapping over to him and turning as pitch black as Sam's. It was intimidating as hell from where Sam was sitting but the archangel seemed completely unaffected as he looked out over the small crowd with a cocky smile. "Hi guys!"
Sam saw Meg swallow and take another couple steps back. He knew exactly what she was feeling and it had to be confusing: an intangible sensation that this short, smirky man somehow very, very dangerous in spite of his appearance. The demon's eyes scanned the new threat carefully up and down, trying to figure him out. "W-who are you? Where'd you come from?"
"The name's Gabriel, maybe you've heard of me?" Gabriel's smile grew as gasps whispered through the horde. Most of the other demons had probably never seen an angel either, and Sam was fairly certain that none of them had never seen an archangel before. "I see you have. Great! Means we don't have to go through awkwardly long backstories. Just as a heads-up, I don't like other people playing with my toys." Sam would've felt a little more insulted as Gabriel pointed a finger back at them had Meg's face no just paled to a deathly white. "That being said, you all five seconds to run as far as you can. After that, every demon within a fifty mile radius is going to be blasted into sulfur dust, capeesh?"
Even as some of the lesser demons took the angel's advice and made a panicked run for the open doorway Meg stood her ground for a minute longer. Sam had to give her props, she had guts. "You're willing to fight to protect that thing?" Meg nodded at Claire with a look of disgust on her face and Sam squeezed Claire's hand.
"Well, between you and me it wouldn't be much of a fight. Now run along, and tell your daddy his big brother says 'hi'."
She had a lot of nerve but Meg was smart enough to know not to push her luck more than once. As the rest of her demonic gang sprinted for the door she followed after, tossing back one last glare before disappearing. The whole of them had dispersed like a flock of startled crows out into the night and Sam had no interest in chasing after them.
Regardless of his previous threats Gabriel seemed to be of the same mind and just watched them leave with his hands resting on his hips. It was a little ridiculous that he could look so casual after having just completed such an impossible task. As far as Sam knew he and Claire were two of the few things in existence to have survived a mass demon attack.
"Piece of cake. Demons like that never have enough backbone to really stat anything with angels."
Shaking his head, Sam pushed himself back up onto his feet, his headache finally receding enough to where he could stand upright without risking falling right back over again. "That's because they're smart."
"That too." Gabriel grinned back at Sam from over his shoulder. "But now that the easy stuff is over with, I guess I need to head out. After all, doesn't seem like Cassie and Dean-o are going to save themselves." Sam's gaze sharpened at the archangel's words. Did Gabriel know what had happened to Dean and Cas? "Whadda say about a 'thank you' kiss, Sammy?"
All the questions were stopped on the tip of Sam's tongue with a wave of exasperation. "I don't think so."
"Ah well, never hurts to try, right?" The statement was apparently rhetorical as Gabriel didn't give Sam the chance to answer. Instead, his expression lightened as he nodded down at Claire. "See if you can't stay out of trouble for the five minutes I'm gone, alight?"
The little girl's fingers tightened in Sam's, her wings perking up with cautious hope. "Can you bring my Daddy and Dean back?"
"That's the plan."
OoOoOo
Dean crouched defensively over where Castiel was sprawled across the snow, still recovering from being blasted in the side by angelic lightning. Not that there would really be anything he could do to stop whatever Raphael's next attack was but maybe he could postpone Cas getting hit by it long enough for the other to make his escape. Not that Cas would ever leave him.
Essentially, in the shape they were in, neither of them would survive Raphael's next move. And they both knew it. They were both ready for it. Which was why Dean was so completely turned around when the entire situation changed in an instant.
"Raphael!"
Out of nowhere Gabriel had appeared in front of them with a rustle of invisible wings, blocking Dean and Castiel both from Raphael's view. A burst of air rushed from Dean's lungs as Cas started forward in shock, both crouched shoulder to shoulder as Raphael stared the other archangel down. He had hid any surprise he had felt well, the rage on his face melting into angry frustration.
"Well if it isn't Gabriel. What are you doing here, brother?"
"Sorry hermano, but I can't let you do this."
Raphael definitely didn't look amused. Behind Gabriel, Dean held his breath, afraid that any slightest movement would send Gabriel away as quickly as he had come. Castiel seemed struck silent as well, gazing up at the two other angels with something akin to awe mixed with a healthy amount of lingering fear in his eyes. "And why is that exactly?"
"Long story but basically the kid, all of these goofballs really, just recently came under my protection."
"Gabriel, you didn't."
"Actually I did. So if you want to get to them, I'm afraid you'll have to get through me first."
"You?" Raphael scoffed at the smaller archangel. "Stop this foolishness now, Gabriel. You never were a warrior."
"Yeah, you're right. I guess today must be a full moon or something."
"Enough with your jokes." Revealing the long blade in his grip, Raphael pointed it at Gabriel in a clear warning. "This is your last chance to change your mind."
"Oh, well in that case I think I'll stay exactly where I am." Dean jerked back as a long sword seemed to materialize in Gabriel's hand as well, looking every bit as dangerous as Raphael's. "It's been a while since we've spared. Let's see if I still have that old razzle-dazzle."
As soon as the words left Gabe's mouth, white wings, each almost twice as long as he was tall, surged from his back and his whole body began to freaking glow, the golden light coming from somewhere beneath the archangel's skin as the crisp mountain air was filled with the sound of an oscillating chime. To Dean's ears it sounded like thousands of bells ringing or multitudes singing and, with his glow, suddenly all those stories about what angels were supposed to look like made sense. It looked beautiful but the power coming off Gabriel was terrifying.
Raphael narrowed his eyes and as his dark skin began to glow in response to Gabriel's challenge but Dean's view was suddenly cut short as Castiel leaned over and pressed a hand over his eyes. A heartbeat later, Dean flinched as he freaking felt a wave of energy or light—something powerful—hit his face as both archangels reached their full power. It made his skin prickle and the hair on the back of his neck stand up, little shots of terror and adrenaline shooting through his beat-up body and found himself wondering just what would've happened if he had still had his eyes open. He was almost one hundred percent sure he wouldn't still have them now. "Very well, brother. Prepare yourself."
A gust of wind hit Dean's face and Castiel removed his hand from over Dean's eyes to reveal an empty field of snow in front of them. Gabriel and Raphael were gone. A flash of light and sound from above quickly indicated where they had gone off to and Dean craned his neck to look straight up. The archangels were dueling about a hundred feet in the air right over Dean's head. Again they were moving so fast it was hard to keep up with but every now and again Dean would catch a glance of white feathers or a flash of sparks when their swords crashed together.
It was like two forces of nature crashing together and Gabriel was definitely holding his own better than Castiel had. Then again, he wasn't obviously winning. The two archangels seemed equally matched but looking between the two of them Raphael seemed to be the more physically able one. It didn't help that Gabriel was nearly a foot shorter than him, though their wingspans were about equal.
Pulling his eyes away from the archangels, Dean looked instead at the angel sitting next to him, his brows drawn together in concern. "Hey Cas, is Gabriel going to be alright?"
Castiel frowned, his gaze still pointed up towards the sky. "I hope so. Raphael is powerful but Gabriel has a surprising amount of strength. That, and he has always been excellent at evading attacks. His speed may save him tonight."
"I sure hope so." Even if Gabriel had been a complete douchebag to them before he was helping them now so Dean had to be grateful for that. When Gabriel had first arrived he had said something about a kid coming under his protection; Dean could only hope that he was talking about Claire and that she and Sammy were alright, wherever they were. "Can you take us back home?" He'd even be willing to fly again if they could just get out of here.
"No, no I used up much of my strength already." The 'while I was healing you' part went unsaid but it was pretty clear to Dean what he meant. "I need time to recover."
"Castiel!" A shout from Gabriel overhead broke through their conversation. "Get your ass up here and help!"
Dean let out a small snort. "Was that enough time?"
"No. But I should go. Dean, stay here."
It wasn't like he really could've done anything different. Dean did what he could, helping to push Cas up onto his feet, but then had to just sit back and watch as Castiel spread his wings and launched himself up into the air. Dean had never felt more useless in his life as Cas soared up to meet them. He hated flying with a passion but sometimes being earthbound sucked.
Stuck in the position of spectator, Dean rose to his own feet to be as close to the action as he could. Now that Castiel was up there his eyes were glued on his angel, black dancing among white in a field of blue. Cas didn't have a weapon but he seemed to be keeping Gabriel between himself and Raphael, serving mainly as a distraction and a second pair of hands.
It seemed to give Gabriel just the edge he needed though and together they started slowly but surely beating Raphael back. Dean's breath caught in his throat a few times as Raphael's blade got a little too close to Cas's arms or chest but the lesser angel always dropped back just in time to avoid being seriously wounded. With everything they had already gone through that day he had to be tiring up there but was hiding his fatigue well.
Dodging a swing of Raphael's sword, Gabriel spun around and countered with a blow of his own, a burst of red indicating that he had actually made contact. The droplets of blood rained down onto the snow below where they were fighting and Dean shielded his eyes from the red mist with his hands. Being wounded did nothing to slow Raphael down though; if anything, he answered back with a vengeance, striking again and again at Gabriel and stabbing at Castiel whenever he got too close. Soon after Gabriel's blood joined his brother's on the snow as Raphael connected a blow on his side.
Dean nearly missed it himself as Cas chose that moment to act. Raphael's attention was on Gabriel and Cas jumped, almost literally, at the opportunity. In the blink of an eye he launched himself forward through the air, around Raphael's wings, and grabbed on tight to the archangel's sword arm. Raphael's wings beat at the sky and even from where he was standing Dean heard it as he let out a yell of frustration as Cas locked his arm behind his back. With blood still seeping from the cut on his side, Gabriel saw his chance and threw himself at Raphael. The two archangels crashed together then plummeted towards the earth, all the while wrestling for dominance midair while Castiel struggled to hang on.
Together they tackled Raphael roughly to the ground mere feet from where Dean was standing, slamming him into the snow. Dean knew he should probably keep his distance but he ran right over anyway to find all three floundering in the powdery ice. If it hadn't been such a serious situation it might've been a little funny but, as it was with swords, blood, and wings flying, it was hard for Dean to be anything but worried.
Skidding down into the small crater their impact had created, Dean eye's immediately searched for Cas, finding him tangled up with Raphael while Gabriel tried to pull himself away far enough away to make some sort of decisive move. All of them were gasping for air, Castiel just barely able to keep a hold on Raphael as he kept trying to surge forward and slash at Gabriel. Then Dean saw something change in Raphael's expression, his eyes widening as he subtly turned his sword around so that the blade was facing behind him. "Cas, look out!"
Dean's warning came just in time, Cas instinctively flinging himself to the side and avoiding Raphael's blade by inches as the archangel thrust it back. To Dean's surprise Gabriel had reacted to his call as well, throwing himself down onto Raphael and wrestling him down further into the snow. Cas was still trapped underneath both of them, his black wings a striking contrast to both the white snow beneath him and the white feathers of the archangel's above him. Other than being trapped he seemed relatively okay for the moment now that Gabriel had Raphael firmly under control, using one hand to keep Raphael's sword pinned and his other to hold his own blade to Raphael's neck.
Gabriel's expression was as serious as Dean had ever seen it, looking unexpectedly intimidating as he glared fiercely down at Raphael, a fire raging in his golden-brown eyes that hadn't been there when they had met in the abandoned theatre. His large white wings, now stained with crimson red streaks, were spread out wide, the wingspan a good foot or two longer than Castiel's on either side. He looked like a real warrior of God and only Raphael seemed to think little of the sudden transformation. "Stop this now, brother! Swear to me that you will leave the Nephilim, Castiel, and their humans alone and I will release you!"
Raphael snarled back at him, raging like a caged lion. "Gabriel, you know that I only intend to do what is right. The Nephilim cannot be allowed to live! Michael would agree with me."
"He probably would, but she is my concern and mine alone now. If she becomes a risk to us or humanity I will deal with her as is necessary. You will not interfere." Castiel's wings flexed but he stayed silent, probably not wanting to bring any unnecessary attention back onto himself.
"You are too soft, brother, allowing such an abomination to exist."
"Would expect anything less?"
Raphael sneered up at Gabriel. "Of you, no. Michael will hear of this."
A short laugh burst from Gabriel's lips. "I'm sure he will. When you see him tell him that I will be happy to come and explain myself in full."
"Release me and I will do just that."
"Ah ah," Gabriel pressed his sword just slightly closer to Raphael's throat, the blade pressing against the skin but not breaking it, "not until you say the magic words."
Gritting his teeth, Raphael looked like he was about to spit back an insult but seemed to think better of it. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that he wasn't in the best position to be belligerent and Raphael was not a stupid being. With a sickened look, Raphael finally relented. "I swear that I will not harm the Nephilim, Castiel, or their companions. But if they grow out of control I will come after you."
"Love you too, bro."
With that, Gabriel released the other archangel and pushed himself up. Dean stumbled back, sure that Raphael was going to spin around and attack them again, but instead the larger archangel just lifted himself up and off of Castiel, took a few steps forward, flexed his blood-stained wings, then, without even glancing back at any of them, disappeared. Even Gabriel seemed relieved that he had actually left and when he heaved a long breath Dean realized that he hadn't been the only one expecting a counter-attack.
"Damn…I need to exercise more."
Now that he was free, Dean ran over to where Castiel was still laying and helped his angel back up and onto his feet. Cas seemed as exhausted as Dean had guessed he was, leaning heavily onto Dean as his ruffled wings vanished. He still found the energy to speak though, his voice growing a little stronger as Dean's hand tightened around his waist. "Gabriel, thank you. For coming. It was, unexpected."
"Yeah, well…" The archangel tilted his head toward Cas, "it would've felt like a crime against nature to leave you to deal with this alone, like kicking a puppy caught out in the rain."
"And Claire?"
Gabriel rolled his eyes, "I've officially accepted her as my charge."
Dean felt Cas melt a little in his hold and it looked like the weight of the world had just been lifted off his shoulders. "Thank you, Gabriel."
"Don't thank me just yet." Gabriel's usual grin was back on his face, though the effect was somewhat ruined as he swiped his hair out of his eyes only to leave a streak of blood across his forehead. "All this means is that you just earned yourself a lifetime of dealing with me. And don't think I'm going to make this easy for you just because I helped you out today."
Instead of being bothered Castiel actually smiled at Gabriel, "My sanity for the lives of my daughter, Dean, and Sam is more than a fair trade-off."
"Yeah, you won't be singing that same tune in ten years. But who am I to ruin your moment of delusional happiness?"
Dean shook his head. He suspected that Gabriel was right, that Cas wouldn't be feeling so happy about the situation in about ten years but he also knew that Cas would never regret his decision. "Hey, Gabe? Thank you, seriously, for everything but do you think you could get us back to Sam and Claire now? I don't know if Cas here is delusional or not but he's definitely a minute or two away from collapsing."
"What, I haven't done enough for you today?"
"Please?" There was no way they were walking back. Dean still wasn't exactly positive about where they actually were but he had a sneaking suspicion it was somewhere in the Himalayas.
"Alright, fine." From Gabriel's tone it was clear he didn't actually mind too much and was just protesting more for the show of it than anything else. For such a powerful, ancient creature, he was pretty immature when he wanted to be. Not that that was a big news flash or anything.
Walking over to where Dean and Cas were standing—or barely standing in Cas's case—Gabriel eyed them each in turn before pressing two fingers to each of their foreheads. "You two knuckleheads better stay out of trouble for at least the next few hours otherwise I'm going to be ticked off. I don't deal well with high-maintenance relationships. It'll be a couple of days at least until I check up on you and I don't want to find any damaged parts."
"We'll do our best."
"You do that."
Dean closed his eyes and made sure he still had a good grip on Cas as he began to feel a weird tingly sensation in his head. He had spent enough time with angels in the past few weeks to know what was coming next. Sure enough, he felt his feet leave the ground an instant before he felt air whip around him and the world went black.
OoOoOo
"…De…an.."
"…Dean…"
"Dean."
"Hey Dean!"
Dean's eyes snapped open and was completely disoriented when he found himself on his back, sprawled out on a grass field under a clouded night sky. And then there was Sam, hanging over him like a six-foot plus vulture, his brows knit together in concern. "Dean, you okay man?"
"Ugh…" Dean pushed himself up onto his elbows. His whole body felt—it was hard to describe how it felt actually besides bad. That's probably what getting transported halfway across the world by an archangel got you. "Is Cas here?"
"Yeah, right beside you."
Turning his head, sure enough Dean found Cas laying on the grass next to him with his eye closed, Claire trying to comb the tangles out of her father's hair with her fingers. "What about Gabriel?"
"No, he never showed up. We were in there," Sam pointed back at a broken-down concrete warehouse that looked like it hadn't been in operation since the eighties, "when we felt something strange out here. We found you two like this."
Dean grunted as he rubbed his head, "Gabriel must've just dropped us off."
"He's got great aim then. Another four feet to your left and you would've landed right on top of the Impala." For some reason Dean didn't think that was an accident. "But is something wrong with Cas? Your clothes are both pretty torn up and bloody."
Dean looked away from Sam's worried stare and glanced back at Cas. "He's just tired. It's been a long day."
Sam let out a small, mirthless chuckle as he helped Dean up. "Tell me about it."
"What happened to you?"
"Demons." Dean raised a brow and took another look around. Now that Sam mentioned it, the Impala, which was indeed parked mere feet away, looked like it had skidded off the road into the field they had landed in and Sam smelled suspiciously of gunpowder and sulfur. "While I was trying to drive us out of the city they forced us off the road and Claire and I ended up cornered inside that warehouse. We probably would've been done for if Gabriel didn't show up when he did. He scared them off then I guess he went to you guys."
"I guess so. He had a pretty busy couple of hours."
"Almost as busy as ours."
"Not quite, but almost."
Sam shook his head, both Winchesters looking down as Castiel began to stir. "So, we're done, right? Now that Gabriel's on our side, we're okay? Nowhere else we need to drive off to in an insane amount of time in the dead of night?"
Claire scooted back and made room for Dean to crouch down next to Cas and drag him back up to his feet. The angel was a little shaky at first but slowly grew steadier as they slowly made their way to the car, though he still seemed pretty out of it. "Sammy, the only place we need to dive to is a hotel."
"That I think we can manage."
And they did, though just barely. After a short discussion and swapping more detailed stories of what they had each gone through that night, Dean decided that out of all of them he was probably the most fit to drive. Once they got him packed away in the backseat with Claire, Cas had started to snooze again. Now that he had his angelic powers back he was healing much faster though and by the time they finally found a hotel he was looking relatively good.
The best part about it was that on their way into a more populated area of town Sam told Dean to stop at one of the nicer hotels. Well, more specifically he said "I just survived near certain death, Dean. I want to sleep on a real mattress tonight with clean linens, a hot shower, and room service." And really, if Sam was paying Dean wasn't going to deny his baby brother his wish.
When Dean finally did find a place it was just ritzy enough to have valet parking without being too extravagant. Leaving Castiel and Claire outside to deal with the valet, Dean and Sam went on ahead inside the lobby to book a room. It felt weird as hell but really, really good to book into a hotel for the first time in almost three weeks knowing that there wasn't anywhere they really had to be in the morning. That they could legitimately relax tonight and maybe even sleep in tomorrow. Ah, the perks of having a guardian archangel.
Leaning onto the counter Dean offered the receptionist a quick smile. "Two rooms please, one with one queen size, the other with two doubles."
Sam quirked a brow as the receptionist began to type the request into her computer. "Dude, you're getting us our own room?"
"Nope, I'm getting you and Claire your own room. Tonight I plan to celebrate getting through all this shit alive in the best way possible."
"What do you-?" Sam stopped short before his face pinched up in a perfectly-executed bitch face. "Ah, ew! Dean! Too much information!"
"Serves you right for being so nosy." Truth was he, and almost definitely Cas, was too tired to get up to much of anything tonight but Sam was right. They had just escaped near certain death and they should be celebrating. Even if he and Cas just slept in the same bed, literally did nothing but sleep, Dean would be happy. And if they got enough energy to do a little more then, hey, that was just icing on the cake.
"So you and Cas are officially, you know, together now?"
"Yeah, I think so. I hope so." The receptionist ignored their conversation like a pro, just sliding a payment contract across the counter for Sam to sign and the keys to two rooms to Dean as his brother signed. Being positioned so close to New York, New York she had probably seen a lot stranger people walk through her doors.
"Good. Watching you two dance around each other was getting old."
Dean snorted as Sam slid the contract back over to the receptionist with a quick thanks. They had to go get Cas and Claire before either of them went anywhere so they both started walking back out towards the street. Something seemed to be on Sammy's mind as they walked across the lobby though, so Dean wasn't surprised when it finally spilled out. "Hey, Dean?"
"Hm?"
Sam seemed to be choosing his words thoughtfully. Normally it would've put Dean on edge but if something had gone wrong already in the short drive to the hotel, he was pretty sure Sammy would've spoken up in the car. "Now that this is over, what are you going to do with yourself?"
Okay, not that bad yet. It was just…"I don't know. I haven't given it much thought." And honestly Dean hadn't. Until about half an hour ago he had been positive that he was going to die. It was a little hard to try and plan out your future when you didn't think you had one. More than that, now that the Roadhouse was destroyed there was no real easy answer. Dean didn't know if he wanted to move back to his hometown, not with all the memories he had of it now, but he didn't know what else he would do with himself but that. All he knew was that wherever he went, he didn't want to go there alone anymore.
Sam nodded in understanding"…I was thinking about moving out of my old apartment. Been thinking about it for a while now but I think this is the year I'm really going to do it."
"Good. Good for you, Sammy." And it really was. From what Dean had gathered, the apartment he was living in now was doing nothing for his brother's mental health. He needed to get out of the place where Jess died and try to start moving on and it looked like Sam had finally realized that for himself.
"There're some apartments that just opened up near campus that I've had my eye on. Some nice three bedroom townhouses. It'd be perfect but they're too big for just one person."
When Sam glanced at Dean from the corner of his eye he knew that he didn't just bring this up to keep him well informed. "Three bedroom, huh?"
"Yup."
"You know…" Shouldering the door open, Dean met Sam's gaze. "I kind of always wanted to move out to California, just for a little while. I think a little time off would be good for me."
Sam nodded to where Castiel was just finishing handing the Impala's keys to the valet, his strict, deadpan warning to return it wothout a scratch reaching them down the sidewalk. He had Claire pulled up into his arms, his daughter happily wrapping one arm around his neck. "Cas and Claire could probably use some rest too."
If they were thinking the same thing, Dean had to admit that he liked his brother's train of thought. "Probably." Just the idea of him, Sam, Cas, and Claire all getting to live in the same place, even if it was just for a little while, made a warm, happy feeling pool in Dean's chest. It'd be hard to think of anything he wanted more than that at this point in his life. "I guess you're the only one that really has anything to get back to right now. The rest of us might actually get some well-deserved time off."
Speaking of getting back to things…Dean paused as they reached Castiel and Claire, the little girl quickly turning and stretching her arms out towards Dean for a hug. Cas smiled as he passed Claire into Dean's arms, Claire quickly wrapping her arms around Dean's neck. "Hey Sammy…When does school start for you again?"
Sam paused to think about it as he slipped the key to the room with the two double beds from Dean's hand. "On the 26th."
"Dude, it's the 29th."
"…I'm so screwed."
