Thanks for reading, everybody! You have questions (or just wanna hear John Winchester's horrible blonde cop joke) drop me a line.

BOBBY'S VAN - NEBRASKA HIGHWAY

It was early in the evening, the beginning of an unthinkable future. The Ending had, well, ended. And the world had kept turning, in spite of itself. Bobby was in his second hour of driving back to Sioux Falls, heading north on I-29 just outside Nebraska City. The air seemed stale, even though the windows were still down. They'd gotten off cheaply, considering. Still, Bobby was having a hard time keeping himself together. The local radio station started playing "Hazard" by Richard Marx.

Bobby grimaced. "Everyone in this state thinks they're a comedian," he said to himself.

He heard the sound of an ashtray snapping shut and was shocked to see Castiel brooding in the passenger seat.

"Dammit, Cas!" Bobby shouted. "How long have you been there?"

"Not long," Castiel said. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, that's fine," Bobby said, catching his breath. "I been meanin' to try out that new blood-pressure machine down at the mall. Nice to know you're back in rare form as far as scarin' the crap outta people goes."

"Apologies," Castiel said.

"If you came here to ask me how I am," Bobby said, "you're goin' out that window. I thought you left with Dean."

"I did," Castiel said, "but... I didn't feel welcome. He's different now."

Bobby's eyes flicked from the road long enough to give Castiel a suspicious glance. "Different how?" he asked.

"Distant," Castiel said. "Not like I remember. And it's not just him. At first, I thought I was imagining it. But now..."

Bobby couldn't help but smirk. "Van's seems smaller, don't it?" he asked.

Castiel frowned at him, incredulous.

"Thought so," Bobby said. "My ten year highschool reunion, I felt the same way. Anyhow. I'm gonna take a wild stab and say you're not here to hitch a ride."

"I came to say goodbye."

Bobby sighed. "They need you back at Jackass Incorporated?" he asked. "Or are you a free agent?"

"Michael is defunct now," Castiel said. "And he might've been... 'incorporated,' but he was the keystone of Heaven."

Bobby winced. "Yeah, forgot about that," he said. "Guess it's a good thing those new antlers came in when they did."

They sat in silence for a moment. "I know it's a bit late," Castiel said, "but I wanted you to know, I understand now what you were trying to tell me the other night."

"Which night?" Bobby asked.

"Game night," Castiel said.

Bobby kept his eyes on the road, trying not to let his disappointment show. He forced a laugh. "I started drinkin' at lunch that day," he said, "what did I know? Dean's the one who brought you down off the ledge, not me. How'd he swing that, anyway?"

"He told me to wait a day," Castiel said. "Then we went to get pie."

"A day?!" Bobby shouted, suddenly pissed. "As in, until yesterday?!"

"It got me on the ground," Castiel said, then felt the need to clarify, "in a... non-violent way. But I just wanted to say that I'm grateful for the time you spent on me. If you'd given up when I did, I wouldn't be here right now."

"Well, me either," Bobby said, calming down, "so don't mention it. I just figured I had one shot to knock the notion out of ya, before you were too hardcore to tangle with again."

"There was no way to know that my power would be restored," Castiel said. "No sign. But you anticipated it."

"Yeah, it's called paranoia," Bobby said. "I'm blue with it, in case you haven't noticed."

Castiel smiled to himself. "You know," he said, "there's another word for believing in something when common sense tells you not to?"

"Yeah," Bobby said, "and if you say it, you'll be real sorry you did."

Castiel rolled his eyes, and shook his head: stubborn bastard.

"You wanna find out how a human could blitzkrieg an angel with nothin' but a butane lighter and some rotgut?" Bobby asked. "Then roll your eyes at me one more time, boy, I ain't kiddin'."

"You're being prideful," Castiel said.

Bobby put his turn signal on and started steering right.

Castiel noticed, concerned. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm pullin' over," Bobby said calmly, taking more time than he actually needed to pull off to the side of the road. "You remember what happens if I get all the way to pulled over?"

In an apprehensive moment, Castiel seemed to forget a few things. "I'm sorry," he said quickly, looking scared.

Bobby stopped the car and, turning to Castiel, pointedly reached for the ignition.

"Sir," Castiel added.

Satisfied, Bobby put his blinkers back on and steered the van back onto the highway. A syrupy old Collin Raye song came over the radio.

"I just," Castiel began, but needed a moment to recover from his close call. "I came to return this." He set his tube of Burt's Bees in the cup-holder.

"You're givin' me used chapstick?" Bobby asked. "Can't wait to add it to my collection."

"It's unopened," Castiel said. "It thought you could use it."

"Sure you don't wanna hang onto it?" Bobby asked.

"No," Castiel said. "I don't need it anymore."

"Suit yourself," Bobby said, emotion creeping into his voice. "Look, I know you're about to do that thing again."

"What thing?" Castiel asked.

"The thing you always do," Bobby said. "Where you say somethin' and then vamoose while I ain't lookin'. I keep talkin', then I look over like a dumbass and find out I'm talkin' to myself. Do me a favor, son. Don't do that now."

Castiel nodded. "Okay," he said. He sat quietly for a moment. "What should I do, then?"

"It ain't long 'til Omaha," Bobby said. "Until then, just... sit tight. I mean, if you got the time."

Castiel smiled at Bobby. "I have time," he said. He reached out for the radio and Bobby swatted his hand away.