As always, thank you for reading the last chapter :-)

Hope you enjoy!

Saving Grace

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Finding Hope Again

Van Nuys, California

Before Sam or Dean could even gather their thoughts, before they could get a single word out of their mouths, Castiel had taken them right out of Bobby's living room and they were standing, shoulder to shoulder, somewhere completely different. The cool breeze around them was an unwelcome change from the warmth of their previous surroundings, and the sudden change of scenery was enough to make anybody dizzy. The sun was bright in the sky above them, and shone down over the three men, but it did nothing to warm the cool temperature. They stood in silence, and the tension that had consumed them in Bobby's house had clearly followed them to where were now. There was nothing around them but an old and depleted, abandoned warehouse. It looked as though no one had been there in years, as if everyone had just walked out of the door one day and left it behind to crumble. Sam and Dean glanced around their new surroundings, attempting to pick up a sense of something familiar, but neither of them had the first clue where they were.

"Where the hell are we?" Dean asked, genuinely curious.

"Van Nuys, California." Castiel replied simply.

Dean raised an eyebrow at him, a little confused. "So, where's the room?"

Castiel nodded in the direction of the warehouse, as if to say it should have been obvious. "In there." he stated. "Where did you think it was?"

"I—I don't know." He shrugged. "Jupiter? A blade of grass? Not Van Nuys."

Sam turned to Castiel, a little shady on their plan. Did they even have a plan? Castiel appeared the only one to have some kind of an idea of what he was doing. "Look, tell me again why you don't just grab Haley and Adam and shazam the hell out of there."

"Because," he glanced to the door for a second. "There are at least five angels in there. They're stronger than me, they're faster. Your brother and sister wouldn't stand a chance. None of us would." As he spoke he took off his tie and began wrapping it around his palm. "I'll clear them out, you two grab Haley, and the boy. This is our only chance."

"Whoa, whoa, wait." Dean stopped him. He didn't like the sound of that. "You're gonna take on five angels? Isn't that suicide?"

"Maybe it is." Castiel frowned at him. "But then I won't have to watch you fail. I'm sorry, Dean. I don't have the same faith in you that your brother and sister do."

He reached into the pocket of his trench coat and pulled out a box cutter, and both sets of eyes went wide. "What the hell are you gonna do with that?" Sam asked, unsure he really wanted to know.

There was a strong and determined look on his face as he held it out slightly. "Nothing," he replied bluntly. "You are." He handed the blade to Sam and began unbuttoning his shirt. "You need to carve a banishing sigil into my chest. I can get rid of the angels and then you're free to get your sister back. This is the only way."

"Cas," Sam shook his head slowly, looking between him and the blade warily. "You can't do this. There has to be another way."

"This is the only way, Sam." he urged. "Every minute we waste out here, he could be torturing you sister in there. Dean was right, after what Haley did to him, Zachariah isn't going to waste time in getting his revenge on her. If you want to see her again, this is how you do it."

"Give it to me." Dean said, taking the box cutter from his brother. He looked to Castiel and gave an apologetic frown, but the angel didn't flinch. "Hold still."

Sam looked away as Dean began to carve the sigil into his chest, and as much as Castiel tried to hold pack the grunts of pain, they escaped his lips. There was no ignoring it. And there was no ignoring what the angel was about to do to himself for the sake of their sister. He had never known anybody give so much for their family, ever. After everything that had happened that week, especially between him and Dean, he was still more than prepared to give up everything to help them.

Dean was done almost as quick as he had started, and Sam knew that was to spare him anymore pain than was necessary. Castiel took the blade from him and made one final cut down the middle of his palm, he barely even flinched. It was as though he no longer felt the pain, or he was choosing not to.

"Good luck, man." Sam said to him, and Castiel gave him a short nod of acknowledgement. He turned away from them and strode to the door of the warehouse, never hesitating before he pulled it open and disappeared through it. They watched on for a moment, neither saying a word, anticipating what was going to happen to him in there. "I'm getting the feeling that maybe we should have said goodbye." he said quietly.

But Dean shook his head, his eyes never leaving the door. "It's Cas." he replied simply. "He'll be fine."

Sam was about to say something in reply, because he wasn't so sure about that. It was one thing to be banished by an angel sigil, he had seen the blow that came from them, but this one had been carved into the chest of his vessel, there was no telling the amount of damage it was going to do to him, there was no way that could be a good thing. He didn't want to think about what would happened to the angel, not for a second. But a loud scream erupted from within the warehouse which took them both by surprise, and it stopped Sam's words before he could even think to speak them. The force of the scream was enough to shake the door, but then things fell silent again. They shared a look and both gave a short nod, this was it. This was their chance.

Dean stepped inside first and glanced around the room. It was dark, cold, eerie, as though something awful had just happened there. A body of a man lay towards the side of the room, one of the angels that Castiel had just slain. There was an angel blade on the floor, he didn't know who it belonged to, but he didn't hesitate in picking it up. He didn't know why he did it, because he hadn't had any intention to kill anyone. Though his sole intention there was to save the life of his sister, and his brother, he still fully intended to say yes to Michael. That hadn't changed. But he took it all the same.

Right in the centre of the warehouse was a small, dilapidated old cabin like house. It was small, much smaller than what it had appeared to be on the inside, and he could barely believe that the room they had taken him to could be in something like that. But he knew that it was. Silently, he pushed open the door, taking a short breath as he glanced inside. For a moment he saw no one, and he thought that he was too late, that he was alone there. But he wasn't. His eyes fell to where his sister was lying on her side across the room, facing away from him, and his stomach sank. She wasn't moving. He wasn't sure that she was breathing. For a small second it crossed his mind that she was dead, that he hadn't got to her in time. That would have been enough to push him right over the edge. No way in hell would he have known how to carry on if Haley was gone. It was a pain he had been through in the past, and he refused to go through it again. He wasn't sure how he had managed to get through it the first time, but he knew that he wouldn't have been able to do it again.

Something snapped him out of his thoughts and he crossed the room to her in three long strides. "Haley?" He dropped to his knees beside her, everything else had completely left his mind at that point, he was thinking about nothing but his sister. "Hales?" The panic was rapidly rising in his chest. He pulled on her shoulder and moved her so that she was lying on her back, and that was when he felt his heart skip a beat. He smoothed the hair from her face, not noticing how his hands were shaking as he did. "Oh, God." He felt sick. She was completely covered in blood. It was everywhere. It stained her clothes, her hair was matted down to her bloody face with it. He still couldn't be sure that she was breathing. "Haley? Come on. Open your eyes for me, kid." He shook her, desperately trying to wake her up. "Haley?! Don't do this to me, come on. Please." He felt at her neck and released a deep sigh of relief when he felt a weak pulse. She was still alive. She was still holding on. "Hey!" he yelled at her, and all aspects of gentleness were gone. He needed her to wake up. He slapped her on the cheek, not hard enough to really hurt her, but hard enough. "Wake up, Haley. Come on."

A small frown formed on her face as she fell slowly back into consciousness. She was clearly in pain. "Dean?" she murmured, gradually opening her eyes to him. "Where are we?"

"Hey, hey," He sighed in pure relief, a small smile on his face. "Are you okay?" he asked, touching her cheek softly where he had slapped it just a moment ago.

"Wha—" She looked confused, as though she didn't know where she was. She made an attempt to sit up and let out a long, pained groan, settling to stay on the ground. A hand was rested at her forehead and her other arm crossed her torso, she looked in agony. "Hey," Things suddenly seemed to come back to her, and her voice became serious. "You need to get Adam." she told him, like she'd just remembered that he was there with her.

"Adam?" Dean pressed. "Where is he?" Before she could answer him, Dean spotted him. He was leaning up against the opposite wall, also unconscious. "I'll be right back, okay? Stay with me, Haley." He gave her shoulder a small, reassuring squeeze as he pushed himself up. "Don't you dare give up on me now." he added, only loud enough that he heard it. He all but sprinted across the room and crouched down beside his brother. "Adam, hey." He shook his shoulder roughly. "Hey."

Adam gasped awake and looked around frantically. He looked at Dean with wide eyes. "Dean?" he frowned. "You came for me." he sounded surprised.

"Yeah," Dean nodded. "Well, you're family."

"Dean, it's a trap." Adam told him, his voice panicked. "And Haley, she—"

"Dean, please." A voice came from behind him, and he looked up so fast that he felt his neck crack. Zachariah stood over them, an amused smile on his face. "Did you really think that it would be that easy?"

Dean simply smirked at him. "Did you?" he countered.

Before Zachariah could even think up an answer, Sam came at him from behind with an angel blade. But he was too fast, he turned sharply and knocked it out of his hand before he had the chance to use it. He flicked his wrist and sent Sam flying backwards across the room into the wall, knocking him down unconscious beside their sister, who looked like she was struggling to stay awake herself.

"You know what I've learned from this whole experience, Dean?" Zachariah smiled. "Patience." He clicked his fingers and Adam fell down to the ground, hunched over as he coughed up his own blood. "I mean, I thought I was downsized for sure. And for us, a firing...it's pretty damn literal. But I should have trusted the boss man. It's all playing out like he said it would. You...me...your haemorrhaging brothers," He paused and turned his hand towards Sam. He startled awake again and began coughing up blood the same as Adam was. "I mean, your sister wasn't mentioned in the plan but, hey," He simply threw her a glance and a scream of pain left her that went right through him, he didn't know what the angel had done to her but she sounded as though she was in agony. "You're finally ready, right?" Dean glanced between his siblings, he didn't know what to do. He didn't know where to turn. "You know there's no other choice, Dean. There never has been."

"Stop it!" Dean yelled at him, pleading. "Stop it right now!"

A cruel smirk tugged at Zachariah's lips. "In exchange for what?"

"Damn it, Zachariah. Stop it, please." He looked between Sam and Adam, both coughing up their own blood, they weren't going to be able to hold out much longer. He looked to Haley, he wasn't even sure that she was breathing anymore. He didn't know what else he could do. He had to do something. He had to stop it. He had to save them. "I'll do it."

"I'm sorry?" he pushed. "What was that?"

"Okay, yes." Dean finally said, after so long he finally said it. "The answer is yes." He didn't even dare look over at Sam, he didn't want to see the look on his face. "Do you hear me?!" he yelled up at Zachariah. "Call Michael down, you bastard!"

Zachariah narrowed his eyes at him. "How do I know you're not lying?"

Dean looked desperate. He looked wrecked. He was down and out of options. He was out of hope, out of faith and he was watching his family die around him. "Do I look like I'm lying?"

Zachariah regarded him for a long moment, but then he seemed to believe him. He smiled and turned around, looking upwards to the ceiling as he spoke in Enochian. "Zodiredo…noco…aberamage…nazodpesade…" The room began to shake, it almost sounded like there was a thunderstorm outside. "He's coming."

Sam looked over at his brother, shattered, he didn't know what to say. He looked at him as though begging for an explanation, and Dean could tell that he genuinely thought that was the last time they were really going to see each other. But he wasn't finished. He wasn't done. In that moment, something changed in Dean's head. He couldn't tell what caused it, he couldn't tell why it had happened, but he could feel it. He knew what he was doing, for the first time in a long time, he knew. He had a plan, and it was going right now he intended it to. Something completely changed it his face right there. He glanced back at Sam and threw him a wink, it wasn't over. Not yet.

"Of course, I have a few conditions." Dean announced loudly, rounding on Zachariah. "There are a few people whose safety you have to guarantee before I say yes."

"Sure," Zachariah said, unconcerned. "Fine, make a list."

"But, most of all," Dean smirked at him. "Michael can't have me, until he disintegrates you."

Zachariah's head snapped up at that, he looked furious at the comment. "What did you just say?" he asked, as though daring him to repeat it.

"I said, before Michael gets one piece of this sweet ass, he has to turn you into a piece of charcoal." And that was when he knew, the angel who had tormented them all for so long, the one who was so sure he had won the big prize, he was beaten.

He scoffed, as though he found it funny, but all aspects of cockiness had gone from his stance. "You really think Michael's gonna go for that? Do you know who I am after I deliver you to Michael, you little maggot?!" he fumed, in one stride he grabbed a hold of Dean and dragged him towards him, leaving inches between them.

But Dean only smirked harder. "You're expendable."

Zachariah huffed a laugh at him. "Michael's not gonna kill me."

"Maybe not," Dean shrugged and allowed an angel blade to fall from the sleeve of his jacket. And then his face changed to one of complete seriousness. "But I am."

Zachariah opened his mouth to say something, but before he had the chance Dean stabbed him through his chin. He drove the angel blade up as far as he could push it, a murderous glint in his eyes. After everything the angel had done to him, to Sam, to Haley, to Adam, to Cas and Bobby, he hadn't felt that good in a long time. He had wanted to stab that angel in the face for so long he couldn't even remember. And now he had done it. Everything else around him was lost for a moment, it was just him and the angel before him. It was pure justice for the amount of pain he had caused their family. He had left Bobby in a wheelchair, he had tortured his sister for days, he had spent weeks trying to break his brother down into nothing, and Dean was finally rid of him.

The familiar bright white light and high pitched ringing shot throughout the room, but Dean didn't even flinch. He pulled out the blade and the force of it was enough to send him flying back to the ground beside Adam. The room began to shake violently, and that's when they knew, he was close. He was coming. They had to get out of there, now. "Sammy," Dean yelled across the room. "Grab Haley." He turned to Adam and looked him over. "Can you walk?" Adam managed a short nod and Dean pulled him up with him. "Come on, we're getting out of here."

Dean and Adam crossed the room and followed Sam to the door, he kicked it open, holding Haley in his arms, and ducked through it. As they made their way through the doorway, something seemed to pull Adam one way and push Dean another. The door slammed closed between them, leaving Adam inside the room. There was silence on their side, they couldn't hear anything from where they were. Dean tried the door frantically but it wouldn't budge. He kicked and hit at it, shouting for Adam, but nothing happened. There was another bright white light from inside, and it knocked the brothers back a couple of steps, and then it died down. Sam and Dean exchanged a concerned look, and he reached forwards and tried the handle again, pushing the door open to nothing more than a dark and abandoned office. The room and any evidence that it had ever been there was gone. There was nothing.

It was over. They were gone. But so was Adam.

Fifteen Minutes Later

Dean pressed a little harder on the gas pedal, pushing the car faster. Neither he or Sam had spoken a word to each other since they had left the warehouse, they didn't know what they could say. They were too lost in their own thoughts to even begin to ask about the other's. Dean gave a short glance over his shoulder to the backseat, Haley was leaning against the door of the car, her face buried in her arm that was leaned against the window. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was low, she didn't look well at all. She was struggling, that much he could see. "Is she alright?" he asked Sam, nothing but concern in his words, as he looked back to the dark road ahead.

Sam turned around in his seat and looked over her carefully, he gave a short shake of his head. "She's gone again." he said softly. He could tell, she had been finding it harder and harder to stay awake, and she had finally completely lost her battle of slipping in and out of consciousness. "We need to get her to a motel, he's really done a number on her this time." Dean sighed deeply, nodding in agreement, but he chose not to comment. "You think Adam's okay?"

Dean scoffed, shaking his head. "Doubt it." he admitted. "Cas, either. But we'll get 'em."

Sam nodded. He looked over his brother slowly, he wanted to ask, but he didn't know how to. He needed to know what had happened back there. He needed to know what had changed his mind in that last moment. Things could have gone so differently had he not made that decision, he didn't even want to think about where they could be right now. "So," he pressed, unsure of how to word it.

Dean frowned. "So, what?" he asked, curious.

"I saw your eyes, man." Sam stated. "You were totally rocking the yes back there. You were ready to say it. What changed your mind?"

Dean gave a soft smile. "Honestly? The damnedest thing." He gave a small chuckle and glanced between him and the road. "I mean, the world's ending. The walls are coming down on us, and I look over to you and all I can think about is, this stupid son of a bitch brought me here." Sam gave a laugh. "I just didn't want to let you down."

"You didn't." Sam confirmed. "You almost did. But you didn't."

Dean looked away from him, shaking his head. "I owe you an apology." he said, sincere.

"No," Sam waved him off. "Man, no, you don't."

"Well, just...let me say this then." Dean said. His voice was serious, and Sam nodded. "I don't know if it's being a big brother or what, but to me, you've always been this snot-nosed kid that I've had to keep on the straight and narrow. And, you know, Haley was always this little girl who needed protection. But I think we both know that that's not you anymore, either of you. I mean, hell, if you're both grown-up enough to find faith in me…the least I can do is return the favour. So screw destiny, right in the face. I say we take the fight to them, and we do it our way."

Sam nodded in agreement. It was the best he could have hoped for. In fact, it was all he had been hoping for. "Sounds good."