Chapter 25 -

Everyone had assumed that Ruby's demise would result in Lara waking up from her coma. However, she was still unconscious. When Dean had asked Castiel for an explanation, the angel had vaguely hinted that it was up to Lara herself now. So, the brothers and the angel silently sat vigil until Castiel left with the excuse that he needed to go back to heaven to restore his grace completely.

After hours of silence, the first to crack under the weight of the pressure that was building in the room was Sam. 'Dean, please can you hear me out?' Not getting any reaction other than Dean's eyes moving his way slightly, he carried on. 'Dean, for Lara's sake. She wouldn't be happy to wake up to us not speaking with each other.' He felt awful for using his baby sister to get Dean to talk to him but he had no other choice. And, he knew she wouldn't mind if she thought it would help.

Dean gave Sam a sharp look. 'Don't you dare bring Lara into this. What could you possibly say to make what you did okay? It's not okay, Sammy. No matter what you say.'

Sam felt so sad. 'Dean, I am so sorry for everything. Ruby found me in the bar and she told me that she had a solid lead on Lilith. She said Lilith had attacked Lara and she was planning on hurting others. What was I supposed to do? I didn't know Lilith was a seal. I wasn't thinking. I thought killing Lilith was the right thing to do. I should've told you about Ruby taking me with her. I should've done a lot of things I didn't do. If I had listened to you, all this wouldn't have happened. I know its my fault, Dean. And, I am willing to do anything to win your forgiveness and trust.' He said, tears falling from his puppy-dog eyes.

Dean sighed, dragging his hand over his tired face. He felt that the tension and strain was catching up to him. The events of late had been too much for him. 'What you did, can't be forgotten or forgiven that easily. I don't know how you can change my mind at the moment. One day I might forgive you but I can't just yet. I need time, Sam.' He admitted, trying to hold back his anger. Maybe his little brother had thought he was doing the right thing, but still he had gone off on his own and had trusted a demon over his own brother. If there was one thing unforgivable to him, it was putting others before family.

Sam nodded in understanding. Expecting Dean to forgive him had been asking for too much. He was glad at least his big brother had given him a chance to explain himself.

Unbeknownst to the Winchester brothers, Lara was stood listening to their little talk. She wished she could comfort her brothers. They looked so lost and hurt. That was when she felt her body call to her and she knew it was time to get back to the real world. She couldn't say she wasn't happy that she would be reunited with her body. She took a deep breath when she felt herself fade in the middle realm. The last thought that passed through her mind was, she was pleased that Castiel hadn't told her brothers about her being stuck watching them. Then, all feeling left her for a moment.

The next thing she remembered was surfacing in her physical body and becoming conscious with a gasp. She heard the machines going off with signals and noises. Her brothers frantically shouting at nurses and doctors. And, then she relaxed. Shutting her eyes momentarily, she gulped air and slowly opened them again. This time, the feeling of nausea didn't hit her and she directly looked at her brothers who were standing on either side of her bed, hovering over her. 'Dean, Sam...' She croaked out.

Dean gave her a smile and ruffled her hair in affection like he always did. She could see he had tears glistening in his eyes. Looking to Sam, she found her brother openly crying in relief. His dimples were more pronounced as he gave her a heartbreakingly adorable smile. She knew how her brothers were really holding up. All she wanted to do was to jump off the bed and encase them both in a hug to comfort them. Her lethargic body had other plans though as when she tried to sit up, she slumped back down against the cushions.

For a few minutes, the doctor and nurses carried on monitoring her vitals. Dean and Sam anxiously waited to hear what they would say. It was another case with Lara, she didn't care about what the doctor was going to say. She knew she was okay the moment she had heard the call from the physical realm. Rather than fret about her own health, she busied herself in studying her brothers. They looked ready to collapse, eyes weary and faces taut. They were both radiating tension like a volcano about to burst. Dean was eyeballing the doctor and nurses in anger as they prodded her. If she didn't know what her brothers had just been through, she would've found the situation hilarious.

'Right, Mr. Winchester.' The doctor addressed the older brother Dean, giving an acknowledging nod to the younger one, Sam.

'Call me Dean. Is my sister okay now?' He asked impatiently.

The doctor smiled but the confusion and amazement that was present on his face wasn't lost on the Winchesters. 'Your sister is back in good health. Whatever had caused the coma, has now fully healed on its own. I can't tell you much about the how and why. All I can say is it is a miracle. In my eighteen years of being a doctor, I have never met a case like your sister's. She seems to be handling everything quite well.' He reassured, smiling at his patient who was listening to him attentively.

'So, can we take her home?' Dean couldn't wait to get out of the damn hospital. He hated hospitals with a passion and he felt it would be better for Lara if they headed back to Bobby's for a while. They all needed to rest and collect themselves. All of them had been through a lot in the past few days. It was time to recuperate.

Doctor Graham could see that the Winchesters wanted to leave the hospital as soon as possible. Not being one to rain on someone's parade, he let them have their happiness. 'You can take her home as soon as you sign the release forms. Do you have insurance or will you be paying?' He couldn't help his confusion from rearing its head when they all exchanged a look that clearly said they hadn't been thinking about that. He understood that the brothers had been worried about their little sister. But, any normal person would've thought about the expenses as well. Maybe the fact that they had never struck him as normal explained their reactions.

That was when the doctor had the biggest shock of his life. A man, dressed in a suit and a trench coat, materialised out of thin air. One minute he wasn't there and the next moment he was stood next to the older brother, looking down at Lara. The Winchesters treated it like it was a daily occurrence and not a big deal at all. 'Everything is okay now.' His voice had a commanding quality to it like a soldier or a warrior of some sort.

Finding his voice, the doctor let out a sharp gasp. 'Where did you... who are you?' He barely managed to croak out. The man answered by walking up to him and placing to fingers to his head.

Sam placed the doctor's unconscious body on the chair. 'Castiel, did you have to do that?' He felt bad for the poor doctor. His first encounter with an angel of the Lord ended up with him passing out at the hands of the same angel.

'I came to get all of you out of here because I was made aware that you can not pay as you have revealed your true identity. I will transport you to Bobby's now.' Castiel looked at Dean as he said this.

'How were you made aware that we can't pay?' Lara asked, curiously. She had a suspicion the angel's answer was going to be something that needed to be heard. He looked pretty embarrassed about something. She couldn't wait to hear what was making the already awkward angel act uncomfortable.

Castiel blushed, to everyone's surprise. 'I picked up on Dean feeling worried about something. So, I listened into his thoughts for a bit.'

Lara was amused to see Dean blush at the angel's answer. It was the first time she had seen them both blush.

Dean made a show of being annoyed once he was over his initial embarrassment. 'I told you not to listen into my thoughts.'

'I have only been doing it because I wanted to know when Lara woke up. I don't have a link with her so I can't listen into her thoughts.'

If it was possible, Dean blushed harder at Castiel's admission. Trying to divert attention away from himself, he started to fire questions at Cas. 'What about the doctor? When he wakes up he'll remember everything. He'll think we are running some kind of scam. If you zap us out of here, then what about my baby? I can't leave her here.'

Castiel met his charge's gaze and held it. 'I will wipe the memory of the doctor and all the nurses who came into contact with you after I take you all to Bobby's. And, Dean I will take the Impala with me to Bobby's home on my last trip here. I can do all this in less than a minute if you are now ready to leave.' He moved to Dean and then placed a gentle hand on Lara's head. 'I think I will take Lara on her own.' Cas and Lara were both gone in a blink. A mere second later, Cas reappeared in the same spot and gestured for Sam to join both himself and Dean. Then, he placed two fingers from each of his arms on each of their foreheads.

Dean shut his eyes to blink. When he opened them, he was stood in the middle of Bobby's living room with Sam at his side, clutching his head. Out of instinct, Dean asked, 'You okay, Sammy?' Getting a nod, he looked around to find the angel had already left. Lara and Bobby weren't in the room. At this realization, his heart stuttered briefly until he heard voices in the kitchen. Sam had heard as well because he was already making his way to the other occupants of the house.

Before Dean could follow his brother to the kitchen, he heard the familiar sound of wings beating the air. 'Cas...' He breathed, even before the angel could be seen.

Castiel felt some un-named emotion rise in him as it always did when Dean said his name like that, with such awe and reverence. Blue met green as they gave each other their usual long stare. 'I have erased the memories of all those who came into contact with you and your siblings in the hospital. I have also transported your baby here. You will find the car in its, sorry I mean her, usual place.'

Under the angel's intense stare, Dean felt flustered. 'Thanks Cas. Thanks for everything.' However hard it was to say, he meant it with all of his heart. 'I don't know what I would do without you.' For the first time, he let his defences fall. He wanted to be honest with his best friend. Because, that was the truth. Cas was not only his best friend but also the only friend he had ever had. 'Cas, do you have to be somewhere? You know, heavenly duties?'

Castiel shook his head. He was confused as to why Dean would take an interest in heaven. He was aware of his friend's dislike of everything heavenly. 'No. I have free time.'

'What do you angels do in free time? I mean, do you have a date or something lined up?' Dean asked, scratching the back of his head in nervousness. He didn't know if he was offending his friend or not. Cas was always so serious. Sometimes it was hard to know what would be pushing the limits with him.

Again, very confused, Cas hesitantly answered. 'Some angels stay in their homes and gardens in heaven. Others like to watch Father's creations. I know some of my brethren come and walk amongst humans but in an invisible realm.'

Dean didn't let Cas finish. His friend seemed to be avoiding the personal question by talking about other angels. 'What do you like to do... what would you have done now?'

'Since I have been away from my brethren and the heavenly host for so long, the call to my grace is diminished. That is reason why, as of late, I have been spending my free time mostly on earth.' Unbeknown to Cas, Dean felt a pang of jealousy at the thought that some other human might have amused his angel enough for him to spend his free time watching them. Dean's feelings were unfounded though. 'I have found that I quite like to sit on top of Mount Everest in Nepal. It is possibly the most peaceful place on earth and I can tune in to hearing whatever I want to hear to as it sounds better up there. And, I also feel closer to heaven up in the clouds.' Cas explained with a shy smile.

Dean let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. Relief flooded him for some reason unknown to him. 'Well, that must be nice. I was only asking because I thought maybe you'd like to stick around here if you didn't have anything better to do.' He knew the angel would prefer to spend his time on the mountain, he shouldn't have asked. Now, the angel was going to feel obligated to doing what he said.

'I would like that very much, thank you.' Cas smiled, his bright blue eyes sparkling with a celestial light. 'And, Dean, it is not because I feel obligated to do as you say. I really do want to stick around here with you and your family.' He gave Dean a timid look.

'Did you just read my mind?' Dean was mortified.

Cas shook his head. 'I know you better than you know yourself. After all, I pieced back your soul. I don't need to read your mind to know how you think.' He shrugged.

Satisfied with the angel's explanation, Dean started to amble along to the kitchen. 'Come on then. The others will be wondering where the hell we have gone.'

Castiel followed Dean, his friend and his charge who he had complete faith in, just like he always had and always will.

Lara looked up to find Dean coming into the kitchen followed by his ever faithful angel. And, a thought stirred in her mind. She didn't know if it was divine intervention or her own imagination but in that moment she saw the solution to her brother Dean's loneliness and lack of true companion. The beginnings of a plot started to form in her mischievous mind. Slowly but surely, she was going to make sure her brothers got the happiness and comfort they deserved.

A/N; This is the penultimate chapter, so those of you who want a quick update review the chapters... don't just fav this story without also reviewing though i thank you guys for that too... its just i want to know if it is any good... is my writing still up to standard or has it gone crappy? thanks to all of those who have reviewed in the past 24 chapters... last chapter will be up soon... stay tuned, not long to go xxx