I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I know it has been forever. I just didn't know how to end it. This was supposed to be the last chapter but I think there will be at least one more.

I'm sure by now that you are all aware that Supernatural does not belong to me. If it did, well let's just say that there a few deaths that never would have happened.

.~o()o~.

Castiel dropped Samantha and Nathan off at the hotel room and disappeared to find Sam, Dean and Leah. It was a strange sight that met his eyes when he found them. Sam and Leah had their arms wrapped tightly around each other, swaying with exhaustion. Dean was gradually coming back to consciousness and Gabriel was sprawled awkwardly on the floor by the wall, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth and still dressed in his ridiculous yellow courting clothes.

"Are you all well?" Castiel asked.

"Yeah," Sam answered, being the only one currently capable of coherent conversation. "I don't know how long Gabriel will be out and I don't know what the limitations of our power are so we need to do something with him. Is there anywhere you can take him?"

"I will take him to heaven. Someone will deal with him there. Michael and Raphael will know what to do, or perhaps Father will take an interest. They were always very close." Castiel reached down and touched Gabriel on the forehead and they were both gone. The room took a collective gasp of relief. Sam reached down and hoisted a now mostly conscious Dean to his feet.

"Come on, bro, let's go find your girlfriend."

"Shelby?" Dean asked, still kind of foggy.

"That would be the one," Sam chuckled, exhausted.

"And baby?" Dean asked more urgently, grabbing a fistful of Sam's jacket.

"Your car is fine. We had it the whole time. Gabriel never even touched it," Sam said calmly, only rolling his eyes a little bit.

"No," Dean said. Sam was confused, but it seemed Dean had run out of words in his concussed vocabulary and said no more, just shakily tried to push Sam away and head out the door.

"Whoa, slow down before you fall down. We'll find her."

They went back to the well-furnished room they had found before and this time there was a small figure huddled in the center of the extravagant bed.

"Shelby?" Dean whispered hoarsely. She sat up immediately, tearstained face transforming into joy.

"Dean!" she was off the bed and in his arms in an instant.

"Shelby!" Dean caught her and stumbled, almost going down. "I thought you were dead. I thought our baby was dead."

"We're both fine. He made sure we weren't hurt."

"I imagined him torturing you. It nearly drove me mad," Dean cradled her face in his hands.

"The worst I had to endure was a 'romantic' picnic and a horrendous love ballad written and performed by the Archangel himself."

Sam snorted from behind them. "That's bad enough."

Dean and Shelby remembered they had an audience and turned around, Dean smirking, Shelby blushing.

"So…" Leah asked. "Baby?"

Shelby blushed even harder. "Surprise! Gabriel told us and we have no reason to think he lied."

"Congratulations!" Leah hugged the pair. Sam joined in.

Dean quickly grew uncomfortable being the center of attention. "Ok, knock it off. I don't do group hugs. And all I'm interested in right now is making sure that Sam didn't destroy my car."

"Relax, the Impala is fine, Dean." Sam groaned.

"She better be. If there is even one scratch on her, I will be taking it out of your ass."

.~o()o~.

With a rush of air, Castiel appeared back in the room with Samantha and Nathan. "It's done," he said softly and opened his arms for Samantha to rush into them.

Samantha dissolved into tears. Nathan clung to Castiel's leg and for a moment, there was nothing but silence.

At last, Samantha drew back with a nervous giggle. "So what happens now?"

Castiel smiled down at her. "You go home. You take Nathan home. You go back to your job. You put Nathan into school when he is old enough and you live a normal, safe life. I can't promise no one will every try to come after you again, but I can make sure you are always protected. Someone will always be watching you."

"Well there's that, but I also wanted to know…what happens to you?" Samantha looked tearfully up into his eyes.

"I don't understand what you are asking. I stay the same as always. I remain your son's guardian, although I admit that I may have to delegate some of my responsibilities on earth in order to deal with the one's in heaven. I promise you that your son will not be without a guardian angel," Castiel looked at her quizzically.

"And what about us?" she whispered.

"Well, I love you. I will continue to watch over you. I still do not understand what you are asking me. My love will not change simply because I do not see you face-to-face. Father has asked me to be a key figure in the rehabilitation of Gabriel so I will have more responsibilities in heaven, but I am an angel. My love does not change."

"You're leaving me?" Samantha wept.

"No, I simply must return our relationship to one much closer to that of the past. I will still be simply a prayer away."

No…Castiel…please. You can't do this to me. I want you to stay with me…to be with me. I want us to be a family. You know that Nathan needs a father. And I…I need a man to walk beside me; to lie beside me in my bed; to grow old with. We can be together forever. Why are you throwing this away?" Samantha clutched at his trench coat, pulling him closer.

"Ahava, you know love in only one fashion. It is time for you to learn another. Someday, God willing, we can experience all the breadth of love, but for now we must wait. For now, we can have a oneness of soul and I promise you it is good and then later, when we can finally be one in body, it will be so much sweeter. This is falling in love as God intended it. I will be so happy to experience it with you," Castiel tenderly tucked her hair behind her ear.

"It's not enough," Samantha whispered, a single tear falling. She reached up and pulled him close to her, kissing him passionately, working her way from his lips to his neck and down his throat. His tie was off and thrown behind her in a matter of seconds and his buttons were undone by skilful fingers from one breath to the next.

Castiel placed his hands on hers, stilling her fingers one button from the bottom of his shirt. "We can't do this."

"Why not?"

"For one, your son."

"Just use your angel powers to magic up something to keep him entertained in the bathroom for an hour or two. Its nothing he hasn't experienced before. He'll be fine," Her voice sharpened as she reached for his fly.

"That is one reason, but not the greatest one," he trapped her hands again. "I have watched you for so long and I have seen the men in your life. Each one flies by so fast with barely time for you to lie with him before he is gone. I promised to myself that I would never be that man, that I would be the one to show you what love truly is."

Samantha grabbed him firmly, massaging; her voice was low and full of heat. "Tell me you don't want me and I'll never say another word."

Castiel gasped, his eyes closing for a moment, "You know that would be a lie. You can feel how much I want you but please, just trust me. This is a better way. I am not like your other boyfriends."

Samantha stepped back swiftly, her voice gone cold and her eyes hard. "I was afraid of that. I think you've been spending too much time with the Winchester's. You just can't seem to play your part."

She pulled a lighter out from behind her back and dropped it onto the carpet. He only had long enough to look into her eyes, proud and strong, before her face was hidden by a sheet of holy flame.

.~o()o~.

*Ducks flaming torches and pitchforks.* um yeah…review? And please don't hate me!