"Get your feathery âss down here Devin!" I could hear Crowley's voice resounding in the back of my head and sighed.

I teleported to him and said "What are you whining about now?" He spun, looking quite flustered. "You look bothered."

"Of course I do! Some of my minions have found out about our little transaction and have since taken it upon themselves to rebel."

"And you're telling me why..?"

He threw his hands up as he shouted "Because it's your dâmned fault! If you wouldn't fry a dozen demons every time you come looking for me, then this wouldn't have happened!"

"You're the King of Hêll, you fix it. Raise thy hand and smite thy rebellious underlings." He didn't look amused, which made me want to laugh all the more. "Come Crowley, I thought you were the funny one?"

"I rather abhor laughing when it's on my part for something you've done. You caused this, and I demand that you fix it."

"Demand? Well, haven't you just grown a pair." He looked equally interested and disturbed by my comment and I finally did laugh aloud. "I neither care about your issue or feel obligated to help you with it, so you can go kill your rebellious little demons yourself."

"Well, I'm sure you'll feel a lot more obligated when you hear that those rebellious demons are stationed on Earth. Now they'll possess humans and wreak unimaginable havoc, all because one little God didn't want to admit her mistake." I stepped toward Crowley and he nervously said "What, finally going to kill me now?"

"No." I snapped my fingers and he bent over in pain, screaming. "I'm just going to make you wish I did."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I leaned back on the soft bed of one of my fondest memories, enjoying the comfort after everything I'd just done.

I heard footsteps and said "You know, knocking is a common courtesy."

"I did knock." I vaulted upright and saw the familiar blue eyes of Castiel, and I immediately screamed. he disappeared in a flash of light and I had to remind myself that he was just part of the memory.

When one of the lower angels popped up though, I very nearly banished him as well.

"What?"

"You instructed that you be informed if there was a sharp rise in demon possessions...and there has been. Possessions and related phenomena have almost doubled since you gave the order."

Dâmmit...Why did Crowley have to be telling the truth? I'd instructed him to dispatch every rebellious demon, and tortured him until he agreed, but even I knew it would take a while to track each and every one down. I just hoped that he'd be able to do it before this started happening.

"Send someone to Crowley and tell him he has a week to start resolving the problem, or I'm replacing him. And if he harms my messenger, I'll replace him myself."

The angel nodded and disappeared, but it was too late. I was already too wound up to relax, mainly from my vision of Castiel. The fact that seeing Castiel disturbed me more than just having tortured Crowley, disturbed me in itself.

I teleported to the Garden and found Joshua mulling about his business.

"Hello Joshua."

"Devin. I hear you've been having some trouble lately with your demon minion."

"Yes...Crowley is having a bit of a rebellion, and I had to convince him to...eliminate those rebels. My mind is tired."

"Yes, it seems that was a problem with our Father as well. He had to deal with a great many things, and was usually very alone when he did them."

I got that too, as well as the almost constant vision stream, which did give me a migraine as God warned. I constantly got pictures of everyone and everything, but since I was just starting out, I could barely interpret what those things meant.

"Joshua...I know you heard several times from God since He has left...What has He said to you recently?"

"He has not contacted me in some time...It seems you and what you have been doing has kept Him busier than He's been in a long while."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not necessarily. It means He is more involved than He has been in a very long time and...perhaps it means He will return someday."

I enjoyed being in charge...but like Joshua, I hoped God would return. I still wasn't completely sure I wanted to go back to Castiel, but God would be able to do a much better job at this than I could, I knew it.

I heard a small voice in the back of my mind, and couldn't identify what it was at first. As I focused, I realized it was God. I immediately teleported to where the voice was coming from, and found myself in a small home in Oklahoma.

God was standing before me looking pleased, and I raised an eyebrow. "You call me to the middle of Oklahoma...for what?"

"The first reason, I wanted to know if you would hear my prayers." I was taken aback; God was praying to me. I shook my head, choosing to completely ignore that for fear of making my head hurt even more. "And second, we need to talk. You're aware I've been keeping a special eye on the Winchesters?"

I nodded. "You said you would, in case they tried to break into...the angel's mind...Wait, have they?"

"Look for yourself."

I took a deep breath and searched with my mind for Dean and Sam, and found they were back at the safe house where they were keeping Castiel. I could clearly see and hear Dean yelling at Castiel to wake up, even slapping him across the face.

"I knew you must've been busy with other things, which is why I called as soon as they started badgering him."

"But...how could he do that? Don't they know what will happen?!"

"I highly doubt it. Dean figures that since he isn't torturing Castiel, that it won't do him any harm to try to wake him up. His mind is so broken though, that even the slightest prod could send him over the edge."

"And when he goes over the edge...that's when he loses all of his memories and everything he's learned?" God nodded and I nearly collapsed within myself. How could Dean keep bugging Castiel, pushing him closer and closer to that point of no return? "I...Oh, what am I supposed to do!?"

"Either stop Sam and Dean, or..." He didn't have to say it for me to know.

I had to either stop Dean and Sam, or go back to Castiel.

I shook my head vehemently and said "I can't go back...I'll just have to stop Dean and Sam from detonating that particular nuke."

I teleported to an out-of-the-way area of the Sonoran Desert, a place where I could deal with Dean and Sam without anybody ever noticing. I teleported Dean and Sam to me next, while at the same time keeping my eye on Castiel. I didn't want him to go nuclear while there was nobody around.

As the boys glared angrily, I said "We're 100 miles from anyone and anything that could possibly help you, so don't bother trying to run."

"What? Finally going to kill us?"

"Yes, Dean." At his astonished expression, I said "Actually, I don't know if I will. It all depends on what you and Sam do here."

Sam asked "What do you mean, it depends on us?"

"You were just trying to wake Castiel from his catatonia. That was a very bad idea."

"Why? You want him to be a vegetable for the rest of eternity?"

"I'd rather him be a vegetable than lose himself." At their disconcerted looks, I elaborated. "If you try to force Castiel out of his...stupor, he'll rupture. He won't be the same Castiel you knew. He'll lose all his memories of us, and all the human things he's learned, you can forget about those too. He'll go back to being a straight-up angel with no emotions, only blindly following Heaven's orders."

"Which in this case, would be your orders, right?" I narrowed my eyes at Dean.

"Believe it or not, I have much bigger things to worry about than this, but this is taking up all of my attention. If Castiel explodes, there won't be anything of the angel I fell in love with, and he'll just be sent off to do some random task where I'll never see him again. And neither would you."

"And just how do you know this anyway? How do we know you aren't making it up?"

"Because I told her." I didn't have to spin or see Dean and Sam's bewildered faces to know who'd teleported beside me. God turned to me and said "I could see through their eyes that you were becoming quite perturbed, and thought I should intervene."

"As you finally should be." He and I eyed each other.

Dean managed to sputter out "Chuck..? What the hêll are you doing here?!"

"My real name isn't Chuck Shurley, Dean. You should know who I am." Dean took several slow steps forward.

"God?" He nodded and Dean nearly fell over. "Seriously!? Even during all those times when we screamed at you and when Raphael killed Cas...You were there the whole time?"

"Yes. I placed myself in your path to protect you."

"Protect us? You did everything but!"

"You're alive, aren't you?" Dean couldn't argue with that point. "You two did everything I expected up to this point. But this, attempting to break into my Seraph's mind, it is too much. I cannot allow you to break him."

"So you're going to just let him rot like that too? I thought you were supposed to care about your creations."

God took a step towards Dean and said "I hold you and your brother in the highest esteem for what you have done, but remember who you are talking to. I suggest you have a bit of respect for the one who has saved your life half a dozen times."

I looked back and forth between Dean and God, knowing that this would not end well. I could foresee a dozen different scenarios for how this would play out, and half of them ended with Dean getting banished somewhere.

While they grumbled on, I went to Sam and said "I hope you aren't too mad with me for doing this..."

"I get why you're doing it...but you could've done it differently. Cas is alone in West Virginia, and..."

"Don't worry, I'm keeping an eye on him. If anything happens, I can send you right back to him, or send a dozen angels, or whatever he would need."

"What if he needs you?" I looked down, biting my lip.

At that moment, I could see the morose Castiel staring at the floor of the safe house, and could feel waves of sorrow rolling off of him like a flood. I had the intense urge to go and comfort him, to make him forget all his troubles, but I kept myself from doing so.

Instead, I focused again on Sam and murmured "He won't..."

"Bullshît." I was actually taken aback by Sam's words. "He needs you to help him get out of this heartbreak-coma or whatever the hêll it is, and you need him too, and you goddâmn know it. I know you're probably pissed that I'm saying this...but you need to get over yourself and go get Cas back."

I smirked. "Maybe you're right...But I'm not gonna be the one to leave the deal between God and I. I can't even consider leaving Heaven without someone there to take over."

I looked over at God and Dean, seeing that they both had calmed some. I knew God had been listening to my words with Sam, because he kept glancing our way.

I went back to them both and said "I'm not going to kill you or Sam, Dean. But you can't go poking around in things you have no business being in. It's dangerous."

He turned to me and said "Sam and I trapped Lucifer and took down the Leviathans. I think we're okay with danger by now."

I groaned. "Do you not know how to properly accept a warning?"

"No, I'm just ignoring you." I just barely kept myself from flinging Dean somewhere far away, and instead peered into the future to try to see how this would end up.

God's voice filled my mind with the words I both dreaded and couldn't wait to hear, and I shouted aloud "No!"

The three of them all looked oddly at me. I looked at God and, unable to keep the sobs out of my voice, asked "Why couldn't you wait? Why couldn't you just give me a little more time to myself?"

Sam asked "What is she talking about?"

"He's already decided.. Go ahead God, tell Sam what I just saw."

God sighed. "I've decided...to relieve Devin of her responsibilities of ruling Heaven. I'm going to go back upstairs." God turned to me. "Go, tell Gabriel and prepare everyone for my arrival."

Knowing I didn't have a choice, I teleported back up to Heaven and began calling all the angels to me.

There in the Garden, Gabriel was the first to appear.

As soon as he saw me, he said "What's wrong? You look like...Hêll."

"I'll be leaving shortly...God is coming back." Gabriel's eyes went wide. "I suggest you get the legions ready."

Shortly after that, angels started appearing throughout the Garden, having been called away from their various places in Heaven and all over Earth. Even my doubters appeared, unable to resist the call now that I was ruler of Heaven. Luckily for them, they wouldn't have to put up with me for much longer.

As the last few dribbled in, I began to speak. "Thank all of you, including those who doubt me, for receiving my call. There is something of severe importance I wish to tell you all personally." I looked down at Gabriel, who seemed to be arguing with himself silently, over what I was about to say. "When I took control, I didn't know whether or not it would be permanent, and if it wasn't, how long I would be ruling for. It seems my rule is about to come to a decisive end."

There was murmuring through the crowd of angels.

"I will most likely be leaving to Earth, because I have spoken with your Father God and He will be returning to Heaven and all of you very shortly."

The murmuring turned to loud arguing and yelling and the angels began to lose their perfect composure. They began to get too out of hand, and Gabriel shouted in an amplified voice "Conquiesco!"

The angels immediately calmed and I said "Very authoritative...I like it."

"Well, my position does encompass a lot of respect from them...Plus you did bring me back from the dead, and that's pretty impressive." I rolled my eyes and he grinned.

I could hear God's voice in the back of my mind again, and I said to Gabriel "Prepare yourself..."

There was a tangible tension in the air as God appeared in the center of the Garden, and all the angels inhaled collectively. There was a rumbling directly outside, something like thunder, as God looked upon all of the remaining angels.

"My children...I have returned." Most of the angels looked ecstatic at their true master's return, but a select few seemed...not-so-happy. "I am sorry I left you all before without a single word, but I intend to make up for my many years of absence by not leaving you again." He turned to me, putting His hands on my shoulders. "Devin..."

"I know, I know...We made a deal."

"I know it will be hard for to to forgive yourself for what you've done, but I know you can do it. I know Castiel will forgive you as well, and be overjoyed to see you again."

"How?" He smiled.

"You know I cannot see your future, but I can see the future of my Seraph, and in his future he is a happy forebearer."

I raised an eyebrow, a smile hinting at the edge of my lips. "Forebearer..? I'm not ignorant of the meaning of that word, Cristo."

"I know. I also know that if something has the necessary parts to fructify, then they have the biological potential to. Not saying I'd like to be a great-grandfather or anything..."

Gabriel sniggered and I gritted my teeth. "Something funny, Gabriel?"

"Nothing important...Just that I told you He wouldn't be mad if you called Him Gramps."

God smiled at Gabriel. "Says the one that's been calling his niece Mother."

I laughed at that, but it was a sad laugh. God noticed, and said to me "Go, but I request that when my Seraph is healed, you bring him to see me. I think he needs a...reaffirmation of his faith."

"I agree." I looked at Gabriel and noted "We'll be coming to see you too. Castiel still needs some...help in being human, and you're the only angel to really master that."

"Oh, I'd be honored. For a small favor..." I raised an eyebrow. "We, are going out for drinks. You brought me back and I still haven't been able to celebrate that fact."

"Alright." I snickered and muttered to God "He was a bit upset when I forbid him from having any orgies."

I gave God, Gabriel, and the angels a small wave before I teleported out of there.

I went to the safe house and found Dean and Sam had already been brought back there by God, and they both looked surprised to see me.

Sam asked "What are you doing here?"

"God has started the process of taking control of Heaven again...So I've come back, just as I promised." I took a deep breath. "Is he here?"

Though I didn't have to ask to know the answer, it felt nice to hear Sam say "Yeah, he's in the one bedroom...Do you want some privacy?" I nodded.

He nudged Dean and they both got up. Dean grabbed his keys and said "Thanks for doing this...Cas really needs you."

"I know...and I'm happy to be back." The tears in my eyes might've suggested otherwise. Dean followed Sam out the door and I heard the sound of the Impala starting up and driving away.

Once I could hear it no more, I slowly made my way to the bedroom Sam had pointed out and opened the creaky door.

Castiel was sitting on the bed facing the opposite wall, his hands in his lap and his trench coat draped over an old chair sitting beside the bed. I stepped in and closed the door, but he did not make a single movement. When I stepped in front of him he didn't move either, and I saw that his eyes were closed and he was mumbling soundlessly to himself.

I knelt down and put my hands over Castiel's and the mumbling ceased.

"I must be having another hallucination..."

He'd been having hallucinations? Oh jeez, what happened inside this man's head?!

"You're not having a hallucination...Castiel." I sucked in a deep breath when I said his name, and released it as I hurriedly said "Castiel, I'm sorry for what I did and for saying that I'd never come back, I didn't know what it would do to you and I hope you can forgive me because I don't want to leave you again..."

His beautiful blue eyes opened and he stared silently into my eyes for what seemed like a very long time. Eventually, he managed to say "Devin...tell me you're really here."

"I'm really here."

Castiel lifted his hand and stroked the side of my face, and I closed my eyes and sighed contentedly. It felt wondrous to finally have him touch my face again.

"I screamed and I cried and I lost all hope that you would ever return...and here you are..."

My eyes snapped open as Castiel fiercely kissed me and pulled me up to his level. I didn't even have time to breath as he pushed me down onto my back and continued kissing me and running his hands all over my body.

I pushed Castiel back and quickly asked "What is this all about?"

"I don't know I just have the urge to..." He kissed me again and continued. "...keep kissing you."

"You weren't like this before...Are you okay?"

"I'm happy you're back." He kissed me again and I giggled, and he said "So happy."

"You're so weird...but that's one of the reasons why I love you."

"I love you as well." I didn't know if he meant it or if his instincts told him to say it back, but either way, I didn't care.

I pulled his face back to mine and kissed him hard and he kissed me back just as well.