Author's Note: So, I decided to put Dean in a coma, mainly for a timing issue that arose between the next few chapters (and me and my OCD) if he wasn't in the hospital for at least a week. Plus these guys get the snot beat out of them in every episode and never seem to actually have any injuries. (Except for when Osric Chau dislocated Jared's shoulder in the greenroom and they wrote it into the script, of course. Seriously, if you don't watch these guys at conventions on Youtube, you should. Unless you're under 17, in which case shame on you for watching those and shame on you for reading this story). I don't own Supernatural. Castiel and Dean own my heart, though.

***Castiel POV***

March 21, Late Night

What had gone wrong? Castiel had done everything perfectly. He had made a thousand devil's traps before. It wasn't possible that he could have made this one wrong. There was no reason that Alastair should have escaped, no reason that Dean should have almost died. And yet here he was, in a hospital bed, in a coma, and Castiel couldn't even heal him. Castiel had failed. If Sam hadn't gotten there in time…

Sam and Ember confronted Castiel in the hallway of the hospital. He knew they were angry with him. He thought about flying away, but he supposed he owed Sam, at least, an explanation.

"Get in there and heal him," Sam demanded. "Miracle. Now!"

"I can't," Castiel said resolutely.

"You and Uriel put him in there because you can't keep a simple devil's trap together!"

"No. I don't know what happened. That trap… it shouldn't have broken. I am sorry." He knew his words were useless.

"This whole thing was pointless," Sam said, towering over him. "Do you understand that? The demons aren't doing the hits. Something else is killing your soldiers."

"Perhaps Alastair was lying," Castiel said. As he said it, however, he knew it wasn't the truth.

"No," said Sam. "He wasn't." And Sam walked away.

Ember was next to chastise him. Ember confused Castiel. He could not understand why he felt drawn to her, and it made him uncomfortable. She also did not fit with any of the things he knew about demons, or even half-demons. Apparently, even his superiors were confused by her, so perhaps that was okay.

She was staring at him with pure loathing, and he felt an uncomfortable amount of guilt. "I've always wanted so badly to go to Heaven," she said venomously. "I've worked my whole life to overcome my demon side, to be good, to be righteous. But maybe I had the wrong idea about Heaven… because you disgust me."

There was another man walking down the hall nearby, and so Ember moved closer to Castiel so that she could whisper. Castiel could feel goosebumps travel down his spine, which surprised him for a second… seriously, what was wrong with this vessel?! Every time he was around her he always felt so sinfully good…

"Castiel," she said, and he looked at her, startled. "I may be a half-demon, but I'm pretty sure I'm more righteous than you today."

And then she walked away, and Castiel stood frozen in the hospital hallway, filled with fear and doubt.

***Ember POV***

March 30, Late Night

Dean had been in a coma for nine days, but the doctors were hopeful.

Ember and Sam had been by his bedside for the majority of the nine days. To protect from any demons or angels that might take advantage of the fact that Dean was unconscious, Ember took turns with Sam and Bobby keeping watch over Dean's bedside. Due to her ability to become invisible and the inconvenience of hospital visitation hours, Ember was assigned the "night watch."

It wasn't so bad. For the past four days, the other bed in Dean's room had been empty, so Ember had been able to get some sleep. She had the distinct impression that this had to do with the fact that the last two occupants of the bed had sworn the room had been "haunted", and also possibly with the fact that she and Sam kept showing up with more and more books about demons and the occult. Ember did what she could to perpetuate the rumor, since the empty bed assisted with her ability to get some sleep during the nights.

Ember now spent most of the day at the hospital as well. During the days, Ember and Sam continued to research Lilith and the apocalypse, though they were running out of books that they hadn't already read. Sometimes Sam would tell Ember stories about Dean and his adventures, and Ember enjoyed these moments the most.

On the ninth day after the incident with the angels, Ember was just drifting off to sleep in the bed next to Dean's when Castiel entered the room.
"You've got a lot of nerve showing up," she told the angel. She knew he had seen her, so she hadn't bothered to become visible.

"We've heard a rumor that the demons know where Dean is," said Castiel. "I came to watch over him while he is vulnerable, but it seems you already have that covered."

"Yeah, thanks but no thanks," snapped Ember.

They were silent for a long time, nearly two hours. Eventually, despite Castiel, Ember felt herself fighting sleep. She was just drifting off to sleep again when she heard Castiel say in his deep voice, "Are you alright?"

With a start, she realized that Dean was awake. Both of his eyes were open, and he was staring at Castiel. "No thanks to you," he said hoarsely.

"You need to be more careful," said Castiel.

"You need to learn to manage a damn devil's trap," said Dean.

"That's not what I mean," said Castiel. Then he added, "Uriel is dead."

"Was it the demons?" asked Dean.

"It was disobedience," Castiel said. "He was working against us." It occurred to Ember suddenly that she was invisible. She considered briefly showing herself, but then she realized that Dean and Castiel were having a conversation that perhaps they wouldn't have if she interrupted it. Apparently Castiel was willing to talk to Dean, and she wanted the information he was giving.

"Is it true?" Dean asked suddenly. "Did I break the first seal?"

Ember's heart plummeted, and Castiel's eyes darted her way for just a second, then back to Dean. "Did I start all this?" Dean asked.

"Yes," said Castiel, and Ember felt as though her heart had dropped through the floor. Castiel continued. "When we discovered Lilith's plan for you, we laid siege to Hell. And we fought our way to get to you before you…"

"Jump-started the apocalypse," Dean finished.

Ember's mind was whirling. It can't be true.

"But we were too late," Castiel said.

"Why didn't you just leave me there then?" Dean asked miserably.

"It's not… blame that falls on you, Dean. It's fate. And the righteous man who begins it… is the only one who can finish it." Ember felt as though she was going to throw up as Castiel said, "You have to stop it."

"Lucifer?" asked Dean with horror. "The apocalypse?" Ember felt guilty for watching this exchange, but it was too late now. "What does that mean?"

Castiel squirmed uncomfortably. "Hey!" Dean yelled at him. "Don't you go disappearing on me, you son of a bitch! What does that mean?"

"I don't know," said Castiel.

"Bull!" Dean yelled.

"I don't," whispered Castiel. "Dean, they don't tell me much. I know… how our fate rests with you."

"Well then you guys are screwed," Dean said, not looking at Castiel. "I can't do it, Cas. It's too big. Alastair was right. I'm not all here. I'm not – I'm not strong enough. I guess I'm not the man either of our dads wanted me to be."

Ember felt her heart go out to Dean. "Find someone else," he continued. "It's not me."

Castiel looked at him sadly, but said nothing. Soon after, Ember heard Dean's breathing again, and knew he had fallen asleep once more.

***Ember POV***

March 31, Early morning

Ember was reading a passage of The Apocalypse: A Trajectory when she heard Dean's voice once more: "Hello? Is anyone there?"

She felt her hair, making sure that it wasn't sticking up in odd places, and showed herself.

"Ember," he said hoarsely.

"Hey Dean," she said, coming near his bed. "You look like shit."

He gave a wan smile. "And you're beautiful," he said. He thought for a second. "Where is everyone else?"

Ember gestured toward the rooms' only window. "It's night, Dean. Visitation hours are over, and I can become invisible." She shrugged. "I'm on guard duty."

He thought for a second, turning his gaze on her. Slowly, he said, "Did Castiel visit earlier?"

Ember thought she must have looked guilty. "Yeah," she said. To distract herself from how uncomfortable she felt about what she'd overheard earlier, she decided to make a joke. "He was here. We're not very happy with him, but we've decided not to kill him for the time being… as if we even could."

Dean searched her face. "Did you hear… how much did you hear?"

She was busted, and she knew it. She should've known: even coming out of a coma, Dean was sharp and alert. She sighed. "I heard enough." A range of emotions flashed on Dean's face: anger, hurt, guilt, pain. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "It's just… sometimes I forget I'm invisible. And by the time I remembered, and realized what you were talking about… I didn't mean to overhear."

Dean's face eventually settled on a mixture of resolve and guilt. "Why are you still here?" he asked.

The question threw her off guard, but she quickly realized what he meant. "Dean, where am I going to go?" she asked him, moving closer. "I'm in this too," she told him. "The demons obviously have something big planned for me, and the angels are, if anything, even scarier." She smiled. "And I, for one, am going to throw my chips in with the most righteous man on either side." She took his hand. He flinched at her touch, but did not draw away. If anything, he held on tighter. "Plus, it works out," she added. "As I happen to be rather fond of him."

Dean stared at her, and she could tell he was trying to recover his tough exterior. "You could go somewhere," he said, hoarsely, "somewhere far away, for awhile. Like… I don't know, Bora Bora. Somewhere nobody expects."

Ember raised her eyebrows, but otherwise ignored him. "Do you want a nurse?" she asked. "They ought to check on you now that you've woken up. Dean, you've been in a coma for nine days."

"Damn it!" he said. It sounded like he meant it to sound loud and mean, but it came out hoarse and was accompanied by a wince of pain.

Ember only had a few seconds' warning before a nurse came in. "Oh my goodness, you're awake!" she exclaimed. "Hold on, I'll grab the on-call doctor."

It was nearly twenty minutes before Ember was alone with Dean in the room again, at which point she once more became visible. "I have a theory," she said, before he could begin talking, "about the apocalypse."

He looked at her, and she could tell he was curious; her attempt to distract him from his guilt had worked. "I've done some research about the whole 'righteous man sheds blood in Hell' thing," she said. Dean winced, but otherwise said nothing.

"It's pretty obscure," Ember continued, "but now that I know what to look for, it's not unheard of. There are a few people that have some theories." Ember paused. "In order to fit the criteria, first off, sources agree that whoever starts the apocaylpse had to be someone who had gone to Hell to prevent or protect someone else's death. Like you, or your father, or that lawyer you told me about that made a deal with the crossroads demon to save his wife from cancer."

"Okay," Dean said, paying rapt attention.

"But to be considered righteous..." Ember shook her head. "There's one source that suggests that a righteous man must be one that has spent his life helping others, getting very little in return. So… someone like a nun… only they would never make a deal with a demon."

"So?" Dean asked, barely looking at Ember.

"Don't you get it?" she said vehemently, and he looked at her in surprise. "How many people fit both of those criteria? How long do you think the demons have waited for someone like you or your father, or even Sam, to come downstairs?"

Dean looked surprised, but hopeful, and Ember continued. "Dean, they planned this. Azazel planned this, when he brought your father to Hell. Lilith planned this. This has been in the works for thousands of years. I mean, come on, even the angel told you it wasn't your fault!"

Dean looked like he was thinking hard, as though he wanted to believe it. "I mean, hell, Dean, do you want proof? They didn't have just any demon working on you and your father – they gave you Alastair, torture extraordinaire." Dean winced again at the name, and Ember continued. "It didn't matter whether it was 30 years, or 100 years, or a thousand years. It had to be you or your father, and they would've taken however long it-…"

"Alastair," Dean said suddenly, his voice harsher than usual. "What happened? How did I get away? Do you know?"

Ember stared at him defiantly. Dean didn't have to know the whole story. She and Sam had rushed in to find Dean unconscious and Alastair about to kill Castiel. Sam had used his demon powers to kill the demon…

But it didn't matter. Knowing what she now knew about Dean, and about Alastair, the demon couldn't be left alive.

"Sam, Cas, and I killed him," she said, daring him to challenge her.

"How?"

"A group effort, using all of our powers."

Again, Dean appeared to struggle through a range of emotions: surprise, fear, and exhaustion being the primary ones. Finally, he settled on relief. He looked up at Ember slowly, and gave her a wan smile. "Ember, I don't know why the hell you're still around. But you should be my girl, or… or whatever I can get. Because I sure as hell am gonna need you."