Chapter Text

Castiel was fast asleep in the expansive darkness that was the domain of the empty, forced to relive his biggest regrets. And what exactly were his biggest regrets? He had forced himself to feel true happiness for the very first time, only to have it ripped from him seconds later, or so he thought. And in doing so, he had spoken his truth to Dean. At the end of his touching, heartfelt speech, just before what he thought was his final goodbye to his best friend, Cas had let three little words slip out of his mouth; words that, as an honorary Winchester, he had been taught never to use lightly. He certainly didn't regret that. He didn't regret that no one had ever said it back to him.
But he did regret that, despite everything he had risked to prevent it from happening, Dean's worst fear had eventually come true. The Winchester brothers had died together in the midst of a hunt, and Castiel's final sacrifice for them had been in vain in the end. And yet a part of them was still alive as Castiel carried on their legacy. Besides, they were free to visit their loved ones in heaven any time they wanted.

All of a sudden, he felt something he had never expected to feel again. The presence of his son came into being somewhere nearby in the form of a bright light. The force was strong enough to pull him forward, out of his endless dream of despair...and he woke up with a sudden start and a gasp for air.

"Hello," a familiar voice said excitedly from somewhere. Cas could almost see the small wave of a hand in the distance, a familiar mop of blond hair...

"Jack?" Castiel asked warily, looking up at the figure who was most definitely his son. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to wake you up," Jack replied simply. "It's time to come home, Castiel."

Cas stood up and squinted in confusion. "Why?"

"Because this isn't your ending," Jack explained. There was an edge of wisdom to his voice that certainly hadn't been there before. "This isn't where you belong."

Cas frowned. Something was very different about Jack. But what was it? He decided to ask outright. "I'm sensing something...different about you, Jack. What happened?"

He listened closely as Jack filled him in on everything he had missed since fulfilling his part of the deal with the empty. The long-winded explanation of him becoming God ended abruptly with, "I want to make some changes to heaven, for Sam and Dean."

Castiel nodded, and made a split-second decision. "I'll go with you. I can help. It's what they would want."

Jack nodded, and with a snap of his fingers, the new God and the angel were released from the clutches of the empty at last.

Cas woke up in a cold sweat on the couch where he had fallen asleep in between Jack and Claire. Just ahead of them, the TV screen had faded to black. The movie they had agreed upon watching had ended long ago.

Claire stretched in her position on the couch and looked over at Cas concernedly. His eyes were red-rimmed, as if he had been crying. He frowned visibly as she turned and whispered to Jack.
"What's wrong, Cas?" Jack asked, looking over concernedly at his father.
Cas attempted a halfhearted smile. "Wrong? There's nothing wrong. I had a weird dream, that's all."