.-.-.-.-.
Waiting for Salvation
.-.-.-.-.

Dean sat on the couch in silence, staring at the wall as Gabriel and Castiel argued about tracking down the demon Crowley. The moment Sam had mentioned Crowley's name, Dean had been dreading confronting the demon. Crowley had been the closest thing he had to a friend for a couple of centuries, but he wasn't quite sure where Crowley would stand with the apocalypse.

Crowley had been the one to show him the contract that had him stuck in Hell. Crowley knew who Seraphiel was, and yet hadn't exposed him. Yet. Wouldn't the demon have a lot to gain from at least telling Lucifer about him? He tapped his fingers on the couch arm and heaved a sigh.

'But where the hell are we gonna find someone that this guy is actually gonna show up to make a deal with?' Gabriel asked in annoyance.

'Someone rich or famous?' Bobby suggested.

'A clean soul? Would they be worth more?' Sam asked.

Gabriel shrugged as Castiel stared at the floor. 'I'm not a demon. I don't know how they operate,' Gabriel said. He glanced at Dean and frowned at his brother's distracted state. He lightly grazed Dean's Grace and narrowed his eyes. 'You know this bastard! Why didn't you say anything?!'

Dean groaned and ran a hand over his face. 'Just 'cuz I know him, doesn't mean we're on good terms. I threatened him with a spoon the last time I saw him.'

'But you do know where to find him. And given your past encounters with him, he'll listen before going on the offensive,' Castiel said as he glanced through Dean's memories of the demon. 'He may not be afraid of you, but he is wary.'

'Great. So we send Seri out to talk with Crowley. If it goes south, me 'n' Cas'll swoop in and take him out,' Gabriel said.

'I'm going, too,' Sam declared.

'No way, kiddo. It'd be better if we kept you away from known demon camps,' Gabriel said, shaking his head.

'Sam's fine comin' with me,' Dean said.

'No way! You wanna fuck up the apocalypse? Fine! But that won't happen if you just hand Sam over on a silver platter,' Gabriel said with a sharp flap of his wings.

'And I'm perfectly fine going in?' Dean countered. 'You really think Lucifer wouldn't jump at the chance to take out Michael's vessel? And he has all his demons out looking for me… For Seraphiel.'

'But he doesn't want to hurt you,' Gabriel pointed out. 'You'd probably have demonic servants left and right.'

Dean stood and crossed his arms as he glared at Gabriel. He flashed his wings, breathing evenly through the dull pain of his regrowth. 'Sam's coming.'

Gabriel took a step back. For an instant, he felt the commanding presence of Seraphiel settle over him. As soon as he felt it, it was gone, replaced by the familiar bravado he had come to associate with Dean. He glanced at Castiel for support and puffed out his feathers when he found none. 'Really? You'd trust these idiots with something like this? In the middle of this shit-fest?!'

'Yes,' Castiel said simply. 'Besides, if Dean's memories are correct, then we would be unable to…"swoop in" and assist Dean if things were to go wrong. Crowley's home is heavily warded against angels.'

'Then we can't even send in Seri!' Gabriel whined. 'This plan gets worse by the second!'

'I uh…I can get through the warding,' Dean quietly admitted, thrusting his hands into his pockets. He looked away from Gabriel's shocked stare.

'You can…' Gabriel tilted his head slightly as he trailed off then looked away. 'The same way you don't need permission to grab a vessel.'

Dean nodded, staring at the ground as he withdrew his Grace in shame over the actions that had tainted him. He pushed Gabriel's Grace aside as it tried to follow. 'Anyway, I know where to find Crowley. Me 'n' Sam'll get the gun. You guys just…sit tight.'

'Well, at least let us get you there,' Gabriel said. 'Take less time.'

Dean grimaced and glanced at Sam. 'I'd rather not.'

Sam tried to give Dean an encouraging smile. 'It'll only take a second,' he said. 'The faster we get the gun, the better.'

Dean shifted his weight and sighed, eventually nodding. He flexed his wings and wondered if he would be able to fly on his own.

'That's all well an' good, but we don't even know if the gun'll work on Lucifer,' Bobby pointed out. 'We're puttin' a lot of faith in something that might not work.'

'It's still worth it,' Sam replied. 'Anything that might give us an edge. And if it can't kill Lucifer, then it might be able to kill some of the other things that are cropping up because of the apocalypse.'

'I don't want to kill Lucifer,' Dean said tiredly.

'Not yet, at least,' Gabriel added. 'Only as a last resort.'

'Though I might have to shoot him in the leg. Just on principle,' Dean said. 'Besides, if the gun doesn't work, an angel blade will, but…we'd have to be a lot closer for that.'

Bobby looked between the two angels with his eyes narrowed. 'And how can we trust you two to do the right thing when the time comes?' he asked.

Gabriel shrugged, unable to come up with a good answer. Given time, he might be able to convince Lucifer that humanity wasn't all that bad, but there wasn't enough time. And if he couldn't convince him, would he be able to kill Lucifer if it came down to it? He just wanted the fighting to be over. He wanted to go back into hiding.

Dean glanced at Gabriel and lightly touched his Grace. Gabriel looked up and nodded, swallowing. 'Because it's about time we started doing the right thing…,' Dean said quietly.

.-.-.-.-.

Gabriel landed just outside of the location that Dean had given him. He took his hand off of Sam's shoulder as he stared up at the high walls surrounding the property—every inch was covered in anti-angel warding. 'Wow… This guy does not want any angels visiting.'

Sam looked around the empty road, frowning. 'Where are Dean and Cas?'

Gabriel looked around in confusion. 'Good question,' he said just before Castiel appeared in front of them. 'What happened? Where's Seri?'

'Dean does not like being carried,' Castiel replied. 'He's flying on his own. He was right behind me.'

'He has the strength for that?' Gabriel asked as he reached out, trying to sense Dean. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt Dean quickly approaching.

'Barely,' Castiel admitted. He vanished and reappeared several feet away.

Dean appeared and stumbled into Castiel's open arms. He panted as he leaned heavily into Castiel. He hadn't counted on the fresh growth giving him so much trouble. Flying with a pair of torn wings was bad enough, but adding in four slowly recovering stumps added in a whole other level of difficulty. He sighed as Castiel's Grace stroked him encouragingly.

'Should you really be flying in your condition?' Gabriel asked.

'I'm fine,' Dean insisted as he stood up straight. Other than his wings being extremely sore, he felt okay. Still weak, but okay to take on a few demons.

'Sure you are.'

'You made it in one piece on your own,' Sam said. 'That has to count for something.'

'Yeah. I'm comin' along pretty good,' Dean said smugly.

'Hey, I'll be more than happy to join in your little ego-stroking celebration when you can tap into Heaven,' Gabriel said. 'Until then, I really think you should be conserving your power.' He pulled out Seraphiel's blade and twirled it tauntingly. 'Especially if you wanna see this anytime soon.'

Castiel narrowed his eyes at Gabriel. 'I did not entrust you with that blade in order to tease Dean with it.'

Dean patted Castiel's shoulder and shook his head. 'It's okay. He has a point,' he said before facing Gabriel. 'If I can fly on my own, I'm gonna do it. I don't give a rat's ass how hard it is, I won't be dragged along.'

Gabriel flapped his wings and pointed the blade at Dean. 'Stop being so stubborn! This is for your own good!'

'I'll stop being stubborn when you stop being a coward!' Dean shouted back, trying to raise his own wings. He only managed to raise one as the rest hung limply.

Sam sighed as the lights by the front gate began to flicker, casting shadows of wings along the street. 'We don't have time for this,' he said as he turned away.

Castiel laid a hand on Sam's shoulder and nodded to the pair of angels glaring at each other. 'It's done.'

Gabriel lowered his wings as he gave Dean a sad look. 'Not much of a threatening pose with only one wing raised,' he criticized. 'But I'll give you points for looking scary as shit. You sure do fit the fallen angel look, little brother.'

'Still flying on my own,' Dean said as he raised his chin defiantly.

Gabriel nodded and tucked the blade away. 'Fine. You earned it.'

Sam looked between the two in confusion, uncertain of what was going on. 'What? Why'd you change your mind?'

'I'm mentoring!' Gabriel proudly declared.

'What?' Castiel asked flatly.

Dean sighed and winced as he tried to readjust his wings. 'It's…well… Things have changed.' He looked at Castiel and shrugged. 'You're too young to understand,' he said before facing Sam, 'and you're too human. Don't worry about it. Me 'n' Gabe have it covered.'

'But mentoring another angels is about kindness and guidance,' Castiel argued. 'Not…posturing and displays of dominance.'

Dean and Gabriel shared a look. 'You've had more contact with Heaven than me. How are they doing things nowadays?' Dean asked.

'Well, uh… These new angels are kinda soft,' Gabriel said.

'I'm not…'

Gabriel continued, ignoring Castiel. 'As I understand it, mentoring turned into babying, so they wouldn't get hurt.'

'But nothing's ever permanent,' Dean said. 'Builds character.'

'Well, that's what you get with a rush job,' Gabriel said with a shrug. 'Soft angels that can't—'

'I am not soft!' Castiel shouted, spreading his wings out as he slammed his Grace into Dean and Gabriel, commanding respect. 'I am a soldier of Heaven and will not be so easily dismissed!'

Dean and Gabriel reflexively lifted their wings, taking a step back. Gabriel brushed along Dean's Grace, sending a message.

'Except him,' Gabriel whispered to Dean's Grace. 'Dad made him different. I think…he made him like us. Like how angels are supposed to be made.'

Dean nodded and licked his lips as he gently stroked Castiel's Grace, promising that he wasn't brushing Castiel off like he was nothing. 'Add in the fact he was made for me… Whatever that entails.'

Castiel huffed in annoyance as Dean and Gabriel continued their private conversation. He folded his wings and turned away.

'Okay, so we agree that Cas is like a normal angel,' Gabriel said as he looked over the angel in question. He grinned as he sent all the possibilities along his Grace to Dean. 'He's never been initiated…'

Dean smirked at Gabriel. 'Don't you mean mentored?' he replied.

'Same thing.' Gabriel faced Dean, sniggering at the image Dean had sent him of Castiel walking under a door with a bucket of white paint propped above it. 'He'll have to wait until I'm done with you, though,' he said aloud.

Sam watched as Castiel's expression grew more sour. 'You guys know you're pissing him off, right?' he said, giving Dean an annoyed look.

'Isn't that the point?' Gabriel asked.

Dean sighed as he shook his head. 'No, Sam's right. It's not right if he doesn't understand.' He apologetically stroked Castiel's Grace and was happy when Castiel returned the gesture.

'What do I not understand?' Castiel asked as he turned back to face Gabriel and Dean.

'Finding your place in the hierarchy,' Dean replied. He shrugged as he glanced at Gabriel. 'Not much of a hierarchy if it's just us, though.'

'But that's assigned,' Castiel said.

'But you're not immediately respected, are you?' Sam asked, recalling Castiel's interactions with Uriel. 'You're not really…part of the group.'

Castiel looked away, unable to argue. Sam was right. Neither he nor any of the other newer angels were truly respected. No matter how much they tried to prove themselves. Uriel had despised having to work with him, and Zachariah had only kept him around because of his connection with Dean. It was no wonder that Anna had chosen Falling to the disrespect she had faced from the older angels on a daily basis—no matter how high she ranked.

'See? The human gets it,' Gabriel said, waving his hand at Sam. He gave Sam a proud smile, which slipped at the sight of Sam's annoyed frown.

'The human has a name,' Sam retorted.

Gabriel shrugged carelessly. 'Details. Now, enough bickering. You two go get that gun,' he said as he gave Dean a light push toward the gate.

Sam sighed as he looked over the gate and intercom. 'It's locked, and I don't think they'll just let us in…'

'And I can't hop it and get past the warding in my condition,' Dean added. 'Gotta do this straight up human. Be better if we had some bait.'

'Do I have to do everything myself?' Gabriel walked past Sam and stared at the intercom. 'Piece of cake.'

Gabriel's form morphed into a young woman that Sam recognized as Dr. Piccolo from Dean's hospital show. Complete with scrubs. He stepped back as she looked up at him, raising an amused brow.

'Like what you see, huh?' Gabriel said before pressing the call button.

'Hello?'

'Hi! I'm on my way to this very important conference, and, wouldn't you know it, my car broke down!' Gabriel replied.

'I'll be down in a minute,' said the voice on the other end.

Gabriel grinned at the other three as he stepped back to wait. They didn't have to wait long. The gate swung open and two demons stepped out, looking over Gabriel's false form.

'Evening, pretty lady,' one said. 'Get yourself on in here.'

Gabriel glanced at the sides of the gate. As much as he'd love to mess with the pair of demons, they would have to come to him. 'If you have a cell phone, that'd be great,' he said, taking a step back. If he played the scared victim, then they might follow.

'You don't need to call anyone, baby,' the demon said, grinning. 'We're the only help you're ever gonna need.'

Gabriel was poked forcefully by Dean's Grace, telling him to hurry up. He shifted uncomfortably and took another step back. 'Y'know what? I think I should wait by my car.' He turned and grinned triumphantly when a hand landed on his shoulder.

'We said, get your ass in here,' the demon growled.

Gabriel turned slowly, and he shifted back into his normal appearance. Three pairs of golden wings spread out behind him, and the demons stared in shock. 'Love to, but I can't,' he said sadly as he raised his hand to the closest demon's forehead.

The other demon turned to flee back to the safety behind the gate, but Sam stood in his way, knife drawn. In one swift movement, the knife was thrust deep into his neck.

'Well, that was fun,' Gabriel said. He looked to Dean and gave him a questioning stare. 'You sure you're okay to do this?'

Dean nodded, lifting his shotgun. 'There's just a few more demons in there. Nothing we can't handle,' he replied.

'Stay clean,' Gabriel warned.

Dean groaned in annoyance as both Gabriel and Castiel's Graces warned him against devouring demons. 'C,mon, Sammy,' he growled as he led the way.

.-.-.-.-.

Sam and Dean had already taken out three demons inside the mansion. Sam had been worried when Dean had disappeared for a moment, returning with a shit-eating grin.

'What did you do?' Sam asked.

Dean shrugged nonchalantly. 'Did a little rearranging,' he whispered as he stretched his senses as far as he could. He could feel two more demons approaching from another hallway. He signaled to Sam, and Sam nodded as he pressed against the wall.

'Well, well. If it isn't the Hardy Boys.'

Sam and Dean spun around in surprise. Their distraction was all that was needed for the demons that Dean had sensed to disarm and detain them. Dean kept his power well hidden as he glared at Crowley.

'You could have just knocked,' Crowley said. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small hex bag. 'After your last visit, I decided to whip this up. Especially when I heard what your preferred diet had shifted to. So… How have you been, Seraphiel?'

The demons holding Sam and Dean tensed, and they glanced uncertainly at each other before looking to Crowley for more information. Neither of them liked the easy stance and sly grin he wore.

'They're all yours,' Crowley said, indicating the pair of demons.

'Thanks, but I'm on a diet,' Dean growled in replied, flashing his wings. The demon holding him released him, and he quickly turned and slammed his hand into the demon's forehead, praying that he had enough power. He grinned to himself as the demon fell lifeless to the floor. He looked over in time to see Sam shove the demon knife into the other demon's gut. He turned to face Crowley and crossed his arms.

'So you're off the demon juice,' Crowley said in disappointment. He had actually been looking forward to seeing Seraphiel take out his minions in that particular fashion. 'Is there a specific rehab clinic for that?'

'Where's the Colt, Crowley?' Dean asked, raising his wings slightly.

'You're always so pushy,' Crowley complained. Dean stepped forward, and Crowley pulled the gun from his coat, pointing it at Dean's head. 'Should we find out if this works on angels now or later? That's why you want it, isn't it?'

'That's none of your business,' Dean replied. He glanced at Sam and shook his head, and Sam lowered the knife in annoyance.

'Actually, it is my business. You should know that better than anyone. You are, after all, the one who got me into sales,' Crowley said.

Sam looked at Dean in surprise. He constantly had to remind himself that Dean was still Seraphiel. And Seraphiel had not been a very pleasant being in the past.

Dean caught Crowley smirking at Sam, and he glanced to the side. He deflated under Sam's gaze and shrugged. 'What? He was fun to drink with!' he said defensively. 'I couldn't get him out of his contract, but I knew a few demons that could get him a better deal than being put straight on the rack.'

'For which I am eternally grateful,' Crowley said as he lowered the gun. He turned the gun around and held it out to Dean. 'And in a show of my gratitude…here.'

'Just like that?' Sam asked suspiciously. 'You don't want anything?'

'Oh, he wants something all right,' Dean said, glaring at the Colt. He held his hand out, but Crowley pulled the gun away.

'I want you to take this thing to Lucifer,' Crowley said simply. 'And empty it in his face.'

'You want the devil dead? But you're a demon!' Sam said incredulously.

'It's called survival.' Crowley sighed in annoyance as he looked between Sam and Dean.

'Lucifer's still an angel,' Dean explained.

'Exactly. And he's an angel famous for his hatred of humankind,' Crowley said. 'To him, you're just filthy bags of pus. If that's the way he feels about you, what can he think about us?'

'But he created you,' Sam said uncertainly.

'To him we're just servants. Cannon fodder,' Crowley said distastefully.

'And once he's done wiping out humans…' Dean trailed off and shook his head. Was Lucifer so far gone that he would just lash out at everyone and everything? He didn't want to believe that Lucifer was beyond saving.

'Who do you think will be next on his little to-do list?' Crowley said, finishing Dean's sentence. 'So, what do you say? Save the whole world. We can all go back to simpler, better times. Back to when we could all follow our natures.' He glanced over Dean and frowned. 'Back to when you in one of your moods was the only real threat. Though, I will say that the Plague was good for business.'

'That was an accident!' Dean growled. He thrust out his hand and spread his wings to their full span. 'Just give us the gun.'

'You'll do it? You'll kill the devil?' Crowley asked.

Dean nodded, not trusting his voice. When Crowley made no move to hand the gun over, he gritted his teeth. 'I swear to God, that I will shoot that fucking asshole. Dad knows he deserves it,' he said.

Crowley gave a curt nod and handed Dean the Colt. 'Deal.'

'Great. So…you wouldn't happen to know where the devil is, by chance, would you?' Sam asked as he watched Dean.

'Thursday,' Crowley replied. 'Birdie tells me, there's an appointment in Carthage, Missouri.'

Dean lifted the Colt and pointed it between Crowley's eyes. 'Thanks,' he said as he pulled the trigger.

The gun clicked, and Crowley stared back at Dean. 'Oh, yeah. Right. You'll probably need some more ammunition,' he said in a bored tone.

Dean grinned and held up his other hand. He opened it, revealing a handful of bullets. 'Already helped myself. Hope you don't mind.'

Crowley breathed in sharply as his eyes widened. 'Always full of surprises, aren't you?'

Dean smirked as he began loading the Colt. 'And you're predictable. I hope you like I what I did to your office.' He looked back up, surprised when he found Crowley still standing there.

'As fun as our little games are, this isn't good for my health, Seraphiel,' Crowley said. 'You fail, and I'm dead.'

'So I won't fail.'