Alora woke screaming her back on fire. Sam and Dean jolted awake as well pointing guns into the dark as Alora screamed. "They're killing him." She screamed her eyes burning blue in the dark and Dean felt a sick feeling in his stomach.

Sam put up his gun and crouched in front of Alora. "You can feel him?"

She was gasping for breath as she sobbed. "I can feel him… he's so hurt… they're killing him."

Sam took her hands in his and made her look at him with those glowing eyes. "Alora I know it hurts but can you focus on him, can you find him?"

She took great gasping breaths and tried to push through the pain, she wasn't even really seeing Sam or the motel room, Dean was up and moving grabbing guns and tools while Sam tried to use her as a compass to find Castiel. She closed her eyes and could see the ring of fire that poured heat onto her skin. It felt like her skin should blister and crack from the heat, her arms burned from where they were held above her head, the worst pain was in her back, she could feel her wings pinned to her back with spears of light making every breath agony. She screamed and wrenched away from that awful pain and shot up through the air out of the circle of flames. She rose higher into the night, the moon illuminating the world.

She could see Castiel below her bleeding, dying and she screamed at the pain in her heart. She had to find him, had to save him. She looked around frantically searching for landmarks and found what she needed. Suddenly with a gasp she opened her eyes clutching at Sam. "We missed it… we missed one warehouse, it looked torn down, like a pile of rubble so we didn't search it… an illusion…" She was shaking so hard Sam had to hold her up or she'd have collapsed.

Sam leaned her against the headboard and grabbed his gear while he crammed his feet into his boots, she weakly started to get her own shoes but Dean just scooped her up and tossed her shoes to Sam. They ran to the car putting her in the backseat and Dean peeled out of the lot and drove towards the warehouses they'd searched earlier. Sam grilled her on Castiel's condition while she got her shoes on some of her strength returning.

Dean slammed the car into park and he started grabbing stuff out of the trunk while Sam helped Alora out of the car. In less than five minutes they were running full tilt towards the collapsed warehouse. As soon as they got within ten feet the illusion fell away and they could see the sigils and marks that hid the building from view. Dean handed Sam weapons and then after a moment of hesitation handed Alora an angel blade. "Wait for them to get right up against you and then ram that in up to the hilt." He said and kicked the door open.

Sam and Dean kept Alora at their backs through the worst of the fighting, there were only a handful of angels and they clearly weren't expecting Sam and Dean so it didn't take long to kill them and move deeper into the warehouse. Somehow Alora got separated from them and a door slammed shut and locked of its own accord leaving her trapped in the hallway alone, she heard the flutter of wings and turned her face hopeful only to see an unfamiliar male figure standing behind her. He sneered at her. "So you are the human he defiled himself for."

She felt her heart trying to climb up out of her throat and she swallowed, despite looking like a middle manager from corporate america his eyes were empty and she could feel the violent potential dripping from him. "I don't know what you mean." She whispered knowing he would hear her.

He stalked towards her and she backed up but he stopped a few feet away. "Castiel gave you a fraction of his Grace to safeguard your pathetic mortal life and you don't even know the gift he has bestowed upon you."

He shook his head and his face showed so much disgust. "You humans are filthy hairless apes with barely enough self awareness to understand your place in the universe and yet he is so enamoured of you all. He has destroyed himself time and again for you and I cannot fathom why."

"He said it was because God loved us and he loved God so he takes care of God's work." She said carefully.

The Angel in front of her spat on the floor. "You are filthy vermin. Not God's Work, not after all the depraved things you've all done to yourselves, to the paradise he left you. You yourself are the perfect example of how disgusting humanity truly is. A runaway junkie whore, you destroyed your body with chemicals, you despoiled your body and gave it away for temporary comfort and yet you think to hold the Grace of an Angel. You sicken me!" He screamed the last at her and she felt her heart stutter.

It was all true and she knew it, she knew how damaged she was and all the terrible things she'd done since running away at age 16. That someone as truly good as Castiel loved her was a constant amazement to her and now… now she knew that she held a tiny piece of his Grace inside her. A tiny part of what made him an angel and she held it inside her damaged soul. She knew she didn't deserve his love and that made it all the more precious to her.

"I am sickening." She admitted and looked up at the angel. "I am, objectively speaking, a terrible person. I've lied and stolen and sold my body. I've damaged it with drugs and I'm still lying and stealing because I am not who my files say I am. I have stolen the heart of someone so much better than I am and I have no idea why he loves me. I don't know why he gave me his Grace. I'm not worth it. I'm not worthy of him.

He frowned and took a step towards her. "You admit your perfidy?"

She nodded and looked down at the floor tears sliding down her cheeks and he came closer. "Have you lain with him?" He asked and she blinked at him.

"You mean sex?" She asked.

"Yes." He hissed angrily.

"Yeah… we've had sex…" She didn't know why that was important but he snarled something and a crack of lightning made his wings stand out on the wall as he lunged at her.

"You are a disgusting abomination. You foul disgusting ape! I would have been content to strip the Grace from you but now I have to kill you." He snarled his hands around her throat as she gasped and kicked trying to free herself.

The world was going in streamers of color as he choked the life from her but she remembered Deans instructions and had just enough strength left to let go of his wrists and grab for the angel blade. She gasped and her struggles weakened as she tried to bring the blade up and for a moment she thought she saw Castiel over the other angels shoulder. She pushed the blade into the angels stomach and he let her go screaming in pain as the blade stuck out not even six inches into his gut. He yanked it out and tossed it aside as blood poured down his front. She collapsed coughing and watched in dismay as the wound healed. "I will kill you slowly for that." He snarled and reached for her again only to stop short.

She watched as the veins and bones in his face lit up from the inside and saw the point of another blade jut through his stomach, her vision was still gray around the edges and she slid down to the floor still coughing. The angel collapsed and she saw Castiel standing in the other Angels place. He swayed still covered in blood but he managed to stumble over to her and dropped to his knees gathering her in close to his chest. "Alora…" He rasped and she managed to get her arms around him fresh tears pouring down her face.

She barely registered Sam and Dean running down the hall towards them as Castiel held her. "Alora I am so sorry." He cupped her face and looked at her.

"I am so mad at you." She sobbed and clung to him.

"I know." He said.

"I was so scared." She was shaking.

"I know." His voice was harsh and he shook too.

"I just want to go home." She pressed her head against his chest.

"Ok." He murmured stroking her hair.

Sam and Dean got them up on their feet and out to the car. "We need to put space between us and this warehouse, other Angels will probably show up soon." Dean rumbled getting them into the car and turning it back towards the interstate.

Castiel was regaining his strength rapidly, once Dean had extinguished the flames and released the chains Castiel's Grace had reasserted itself and was working to heal him. His rage at seeing the Voice choking Alora had given him strength and his fear for her life had made him swift. Now she was huddled in her seat her arms wrapped around herself as she struggled with her own inner demons and the knowledge of what he'd done. He desperately wanted to hold her but knew he had no right anymore.

The drove all night, everyone lost in their own thoughts until they reached the bunker. Sam helped Alora out and she winced a little as bruises asserted themselves but she stood in the early morning sun and rubbed her hands along her pant legs before following Sam into the bunker. Castiel took a deep breath and Dean squeezed his shoulder. "Look dude, you fucked up. I've been there but you Love her, and she loves you back, she still loves you so maybe if you apologize really hard and promise to quit dicking around without telling her she might just forgive you."

Castiel gave him a grateful look but shook his head. "I tampered with her soul Dean. She can't forgive that. No one could."

Dean faced his friend squarely. "She fought for you, she called me all kinds of names defending you, she traveled from freaking Oregon to find us on a gut feeling for you dude. You don't do those things for people you don't love enough to forgive. She's pissed, she has a right to be. I'm pissed but that's nothing new."

"Why are you angry?" Castiel asked.

"Well first off you never told us about your smoking hot girlfriend, you never told us what happened when you lost your Grace, you hid things from us and you did something to her that basically makes her an Angel Lite. These are the kind of things you need to tell your brothers." Dean gave him a light smack upside the back of the head.

"You've never called yourself my brother before." Castiel said slowly rubbing the back of his head.

"I figured you knew, Alora told me I was wrong. She's a tough one, smart and when she's trained up a bit she could be dangerous." Dean shrugged and frowned at the fear that crossed Castiel's face.

"I never wanted this life for her." He said looking down.

"Neither did my Mom. No one wants this life Cas, but when you stayed with her after getting your Grace back you kinda brought her in. And now she's in too deep to just walk away." Dean leaned against the car and watched Castiel.

"I have been selfish and now she will suffer for it." Castiel felt like crying, how did he always manage to ruin the good things in his life.

"Maybe. Or maybe you need each other. You're happy man. Even I could see it, the last 6 months since you got your Grace back you've been a happier person. She fills you with light and you are better man. That's all guys like us can ever hope for. To find that one person who accepts us warts and all. But now you gotta help her. She can't keep living with her head in the sand. You gotta train her to protect herself or another Angel is gonna destroy her." Dean thought about Lisa and Ben and how he'd had to let them go to protect them, he thought about how it felt like losing part of his soul and he never wanted Cas or Sam to have to feel that.

"Cas. Do you love her?" He couldn't believe he was pulling a chick flick moment but to give one of his brothers a chance to be happy he'd suffer the indignity.

"I do." Castiel replied looking at Dean with so much intensity Dean thought he might catch fire from the look.

"Then you go in there and you beg her for forgiveness, you promise her whatever you have to and even if she says she wants some time apart you give it to her then keep fighting for her because she will save you man. She already has twice now. Third time's the charm." Dean clapped his brother on the back and nudged him towards the bunker. "Now let's go inside before I start growing boobs with all this feelings crap."

Castiel smiled a little, that was the Dean he knew. He swallowed his fear and walked into the bunker with Dean and went to find Alora.