Broken Connection

"Cas...Cas, this isn't you…" Dean choked. "…this isn't you." Cas punched him, bruising and bloodying the hunter with each hit. Dean's head flew back with each time the butt of Cas' angel blade smashed against his face. His body was aching in pain, but not as much as his heart and soul as Cas stared at him with uncaring eyes. "Cas, it's me!" Cas paused and Dean swallowed thickly, holding up a hand. He sent a prayer to no one in particular, hoping that somehow he'd be able to reach though to the angel he would have risked his life for. Just as Cas went to hit him again, Dean found his courage to speak. "We're family," Dean croaked painfully. Cas paused his hits, but there was still no recognition in his eyes. "We need you." Dean swallowed down his pain and stared up at his angel, keeping contact with the unseeing blue orbs. "I need you." The sound of an angel blade clattering to the floor echoed around the room and Dean let out a relieved gasp, lowering his head and finally letting his own pain wash over him. Cas then reached for the angel tablet, light erupting instantly all around them when he did. Naomi's screams of outrage died and Cas' mind was finally clear. The angel shook himself, taking in his surroundings. His eyes landed on Dean, taking in the beaten man's face. Cas reached out suddenly and Dean tried to pull back, mumbling no's and other pleas, but Cas only reached on. He took Dean's face in his hand, healing him of his wounds. Dean staggered to his feet, watching the angel with worry and apprehension. "What broke the connection?" Dean asked, glancing at the angel tablet himself. Cas shook his head.

"I don't know," Cas murmured while pressing a hand against the stone of the tablet. Dean opened his mouth to question the angel, but was interrupted as Cas' grace burnt the tablet to ash.

"What the hell, Cas?!" Dean screamed in shock. Cas looked to the shocked hunter, dropping his hands to his sides.

"It can't do any harm now." Dean relaxed a little because, yeah. With the tablet gone they were all way safer than they probably would have been with it still around. He tried to think of the possibilities of what having it around could have meant for him and his family, but he doubted any of his hunches would ever come close. Now they only had the demon tablet to worry about and as long as it stayed hidden and as long as they kept Kevin and his mom safe they could go on like always. Only this time Cas would be by their side again. Dean felt himself grin at the thought and he let those thoughts drift his mind away as he stood in the dark crypt with Cas. The hunter started to relax fully, letting his guard down at the worst possible moment.

The sound of wings fluttering startled Dean from his thoughts. A woman appeared behind Cas, angel blade posed right over the spot between Castiel's shoulder blades. Her teeth were grit together and her eyes were burning with a rage that could have smote cities. Dean broke into action, halting her blade as it came down with the one Cas had dropped. Naomi hissed, but pulled back quickly, glaring at the two.

"You broke free of my strings, Castiel, and destroyed the word of god. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end you now." Cas stammered, still in too much shock from Dean actually protecting him. Dean stepped forward instead, protectively raising a hand out in front of Cas as if to shield him from the angel.

"You don't have to worry about it getting in the wrong hands now," Dean said simply. "Heaven is safe and it's him that you owe that to." Naomi stared between the hunter and angel like they were a puzzle she couldn't piece together. After one or two seconds of silence she stepped back, nodding at them both before disappearing with a soft flutter of wings. Dean dropped his hand then and closed his eyes as he let relief washed over him. Cas turned to face Dean then, head tilted in confusion.

"Why did you defend me?" Dean laughed, shaking his head as he stared at the angel.

"Weren't you listening before?" he asked. "We're family."

Naomi shot awake, heart pounding in her chest. She took in her surroundings, finding that she was no longer in her office in Heaven. She was sitting on the cold welcome mat of some house. Her clothes were too big and her light blue wings were folded around her shaking form. Fear suddenly ripped through her, but she didn't understand why. She'd been alone before. That was nothing new to her. She'd spent most of her life in Heaven forgotten by her brothers and sisters. The only time she was ever remembered was when an angel needed to be reminded of their duties or when her skills of torture were needed. Why then did she feel so scared sitting out in the cold now?

The creaking of a door startled Naomi then and she turned to see a little Asian woman appear in the doorway. At first, she wasn't noticed, but when the woman's gaze fell down towards her feet her eyes widened in both shock and surprise.

"A baby?!" the woman gasped. She bent down, reaching out a hand. Naomi swatted a wing at the woman's hand, shivering in fear. Who was she calling an infant? Naomi glanced down at herself, eyes widening even larger as she realized why her wings were visible and why her clothes were too large. She was an infant. Tears began to fall then. She tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen to her. "Kevin!" the woman shouted back towards the door. Naomi jumped at the sudden shout and curled into a ball. The woman cursed softly and gave the frightened angel and apologetic smile before reaching out tentatively again. Naomi watched her hand grow nearer, readying herself to smack the woman's grabby hands away again, but she felt she couldn't do it when the woman started to coo and whisper soft things to her. Naomi let her wings fall back to the ground and the woman took her from the cold ground. A boy rushed over then. Kevin. He stood in the doorway watching them with round eyes. He reached over and pulled back the clothes the woman had balled up around the angel for warmth. Kevin sucked in a breath and hastily took the little girl.

"Mom, call the Winchesters."