Author's Note: This is a really short chapter, but for the life of me it wouldn't combine with any other parts of any other chapters, so here it is. I don't own Supernatural.

***Ember POV***

April 15, Late Night

Ember and Castiel were going strong, and Ember was happy. Castiel was gone quite a bit, of course, but Ember felt certain that there would be an end to it, at some point. She knew that Metatron was amassing an army to remake Heaven in his image, and that Castiel was doing whatever he could to find Metatron. Eventually, something had to give.

When Castiel was home, however, he was attentive, good with the children, and devoted to the family.

Until one day when, once again, Castiel didn't call in as usual.

"I was just about to call you," Dean said over the phone when Ember called him to see if he had heard from Castiel. "I was hoping he was with you."

"No, he left out the day before yesterday. Last time I talked to him was this morning. He was following some sort of angel beacon that was calling out to him."

"Last time we talked to him was last night, in Ogden, Utah," Dean said. "The GPS on his phone says he's still there. That's where we are, now. We've tracked Gadreel there."

"What?!" Ember said, beginning to panic.

"Don't worry, we've got Gadreel," Dean said. "But we don't know how to crack him."

"I'm not sure if Cas is the right person for that job, Dean," Ember admitted, "But I'm pretty worried about him too. I'm headed for Utah right away."

"Ember, I'm sure it's nothing-…"

"Bullshit, Dean," Ember said. "I'll be on the road in five. Let me know if you find him."

"Okay," said Dean. "We'll let you know."

***Castiel POV***

April 15, Late Night

Castiel had a decent sense of irony. It did not escape his notice that he had spent weeks looking for Metatron, only to be captured by him and held prisoner. Metatron was what Dean would have called "crazy". He had fashioned himself a hero and was attempting to rebuild Heaven in his image. "Every hero needs a good villian, Castiel," he had told him. He wanted Castiel to lead a group of angels against him.

"Do you know why I didn't kill you after I stole your Grace? I like you. Truly. Among all God's little windup toys, you were the only one with any spunk. I left you human because I was hoping you would live happily ever after, but you screwed that up, too. I mean, you've got a great piece of ass like Ember at home, and you still go off to save the angels? How does that compute?"

"Watch your tone," Castiel said, attempting to break out of his bonds, but it was no use. Metatron knew about Ember! It must be because of Gadreel…

"And now... you leave me no choice," Metatron continued. I mean, if you want to get back on board, fine, but you're gonna have to follow my script."

Castiel wasn't entirely sure what this meant, but he was sure he didn't like the sound of it. "Well, based on your assessment, that doesn't sound like me."

"Lead the dumb, disenfranchised, rebellious angels against me, Castiel," Metatron said. "They will follow you. And they'll all die, but I'm gonna save a nice, warm seat up top for you. You will be saved."

No, Castiel definitely didn't like the sound of that. "No," he said firmly.

"Mm. You're gonna make me do the hard pitch, aren't you? How's that, um, stolen grace inside you working out?" Metatron asked.

"It's fine," Castiel said firmly. It wasn't. There was something wrong with it, something different, uncomfortable. But he wasn't going to tell that to Metatron.

"No. It's not," Metatron said. "It's burning out. It's gonna burn you out. But I will give you an endless supply of rechargeable batteries. Deal?"

Castiel didn't show his panic on his face. Does that mean I'm dying?

Fortunately, just then, a woman entered the room. "Sorry to interrupt your writing session, sir, but something's happened."

"What's wrong?" Metatron asked.

"It's Gadreel," the woman said.

***Ember POV***

April 16, Early morning

"What's up, Sam?" Ember said, answering her phone.

"Metatron has Cas," Sam said immediately. "He's offering up a trade for Gadreel. Later tomorrow – well, today, I guess, since it's so late – at 6. Are you in?"

"Of course I'm in," Ember said. "What's the plan?"

But for all of their planning, the trade occurred exactly as Metatron had planned, despite their attempts to trap him. Gadreel was traded for Castiel, and then Metatron, Gadreel, and the rest of Metatron's army left. "You, and your little brother, and your half-demon pet, and your fine feathered friend, and all those secrets you've got locked away in your bunker can't stop me," Metatron said to Dean. "But I am gonna enjoy watching you try. It's gonna be a hell of a show."

Next, Metatron turned to Castiel. "I'll see you around, Castiel. Never forget, I gave you a chance." And Metatron and Gadreel both disappeared.

"Somebody want to tell me what the hell's going on here?" Dean asked irritably.

"Metatron is trying to play God," Castiel said.

"Play God?" Sam asked. "Cas, he erased our angel warding. He friggin' blew out holy fire. He is God. He's powering up with the angel tablet. How the hell are we supposed to stop this guy?"

"All right, so what if there is a stairway to Heaven?" Dean asked. "We find it and get a drop on the guy."

"You want to sneak onto the Death Star, take out the emperor?" Sam asked.

"Okay I... I'm not sure what a fictional battle station in space has to do with this, but if taking out the emperor means taking out Metatron, I'm on board," said Castiel.

Ember, Dean, and Sam looked at each other.

"Cas," Ember said slowly.

"Wait, did you... did you just understand a Death Star reference?" Dean asked slowly.

"Yeah, I think so," Castiel said. "But I don't understand what that has to do with Heaven."

"It's halfway, I guess," said Sam.

"You sure you're all right?" Dean asked Castiel.

"Yes. Are you?" Castiel asked. "There's something different about you."

Dean patted Castiel on the arm. "I'm fine."

Castiel grabbed Dean's arm and pushed up his sleeve, revealing a mark Ember had read about over the weekend in one of the books about defeating Knights of Hell.

"Dean!" Ember said sharply. "Is that-…"

"What have you done?" Castiel asked Dean, alarmed.

"It's a means to an end," Dean said.

"Damn it, Dean," said Castiel.

"Look, you find Heaven, you drop a dime. Meantime, I got a knight to kill." And he stomped off back to the Impala.

Ember was left with Sam and Castiel now. "Be safe out there," Sam said awkwardly to the couple.

"You too," said Castiel, and Ember echoed his statement. "Hey Sam?" Sam looked up. "You keep an eye on him," Castiel finished.

***Castiel POV***

April 24

In one day, everything had shattered.

First of all, he was dying. He knew that now. Perhaps he had known it for awhile, but never really wanted to admit it. How long did he have? Two months? A year?

And then there was Dean, with the Mark of Cain. How could Dean have done it? Did he know what he had done to himself? Did he understand the consequence of accepting that Mark? That part, at least, he could be open with Ember about. "More of Dean's stupid decision-making," she had called it once he had explained the situation to her. "I'm glad I've moved on."

But Dean was Castiel's best friend, and Castiel had hurt him by going out with Ember – he understood that now. And Castiel knew, better than Dean himself, that Ember may be the only person who could truly get through to Dean now that he had taken on the Mark. Dean would need Ember, far more than Castiel would.

And finally, there was the angel war. Being a rogue angel, a "fallen angel", was one thing. Being the leader against Metatron was something different entirely. He would've been kidding himself if he hadn't admitted that this created a much greater risk for their continued relationship. And this… Metatron would know everything about Ember, from Gadreel.

He had enjoyed being a human - at least, the parts where he was with Ember. Perhaps in a perfect world, he could have settled down with her. He'd known an angel who had done that once, Akobel. He had been a good man… until they had had a Nephilim, an angelic child. Castiel would never make that mistake, he thought.

But this was not a perfect world. He was Castiel, fallen angel, and despite his best efforts, he had once again been called upon to lead the angels. He knew what he had to do.

-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-

Ember did not seem surprised at all, though her eyes filled with tears.

"I knew it," she said, unable to keep the accusatory tone out of her voice. "I knew it, as soon as you stole that grace."

"I'm sorry," Castiel said. "You know it's not because I want to. It's not because I don't - …."

"I know," Ember said tersely, cutting him off. "But that doesn't make it any better."

"And besides, Dean needs you," Castiel said.

Ember looked angry, suddenly. "What the hell has Dean got to do with this?"

"Ember, Dean took on the Mark of Cain. I've told you what that means. You're one of the two people he cares most about, I can see it when he's near you. He loves you, Ember. And we need that."

"Dean Winchester's love for me shouldn't determine my destiny or my love life!" Ember snapped.

"It shouldn't but it does," Castiel said calmly. "Do you not understand? We do not want Dean Winchester, of all people, going dark."

"I thought you said it was inevitable," Ember said.

"It is," Castiel said derisively. "But let's not speed it up."

Ember looked at him, her eyes blazing. "So what am I supposed to do? What, are you, like, whoring me out to Dean Winchester?"

Castiel looked at her, suddenly angry. Tears were sliding down her face, and he couldn't ever remember being this miserable. "I'm leaving for your safety," he spat at her. "I didn't want this, you know that. I've made mistakes, and I have to make them right."

"You promised," Ember said. "You promised, remember? You said you would pray to the angels, and if you survived, we could settle down." Her eyes were full of accusations, and she spat them at him.

"Yes, but now I can do some real good," he said. "I can put this back together, I can make it right. You wouldn't love me if I didn't try to fix my mistakes, we both know that."

She gave him an angry look, but didn't respond for a second – he was right, and she knew it. Finally, however, she said, "Fine. Say you win this war, you and your followers. Say you put it right, and Heaven opens again. Then what?"

She was leaving the door open for him, he understood that. It was a tempting offer, and one he desperately wanted – a life with Ember, for however long Ember was alive. Before he knew that he was dying, he had even thought about waiting until she was old, then removing his grace himself to die with her, like they did in so many of the movies Metatron had shown him.

He was dying, though. And, as much as he hated it, she would be better with Dean. Dean might not be better for her, but the world would be better for it. She could help Dean fight the darkness that Castiel knew was growing inside of him. Ember would be good at that – taking in a wounded puppy off the street and giving it love and faith. Hadn't that been what she had done for Castiel? Plus, Castiel knew that Dean and Ember still loved each other – he had seen it in both of their minds.

He never should have been with Ember. It was eight months of pure bliss in an otherwise bleak existence, but it never should've happened. And so he said, "Then, my place is in Heaven." She turned away, tears streaming down her face.

"Call me if you need me," he told her. "I will always come if you need me."

And then he was gone.