(Author's Note: from this point on, we shift to Castiel's point of view, now that he's a little older. He still won't be all grown up for quite a while, though.)


"What are we doing here, Gabe?" Castiel asked.

"You tell me, kiddo." Gabriel crossed his arms and looked at the young angel. "You know where we are, right?"

"This is where fledglings learn to fly."

"That's right!"

"But I'm not ready to fly yet. My grace isn't big enough."

"It won't be long now, Cassie. You can get some practice in now, and be ahead of the rest of the class."

"But all the other angels know how to fly already."

"Well, then, you'll catch up to them. Either way, win for our side. Don't worry, I'm right here to catch you. I won't let you fall."

"I gotta fall?"

"You won't fall. I'll be here. Trust in me."

Cas stepped to the edge and looked down. Whoa. It was a long, looooong way down there. If he fell, and nobody caught him . . .

"I don't wanna do this," he said, turning away.

"Aw, c'mon, Cassie! It's not that bad. It just seems scary right now, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy! You'll be flying all over the place, and you'll wonder what you were so scared of."

"Can't we just go home?"

Gabriel sighed noisily. "Okay, fine. We'll go home. We'll come back another day, squirt, okay?"

"Okay." Cas turned away from the edge, and Gabriel came up behind him and put an arm out as if to steady him. But instead of pulling him closer, he gave a shove that sent Castiel tumbling over the edge.

The child screamed and closed his eyes, trying not to think of how hard the ground had looked, and how far away. He couldn't even feel his wings. It was like he was paralyzed. Just when he braced himself for the impact with the ground, he felt strong arms around him, holding him up, lifting him into the air.

He dared to open his eyes.

"Gabriel?"

"Hey, I'm sorry I pushed you. I thought you were ready. Or that you'd be ready before you hit the ground. I promise I won't do that again."

"You better not." There wouldn't be an again. Cas wasn't ever gonna let Gabe bring him anywhere high like this ever again.

"If it makes you feel any better, Lucifer did the same thing to me when I was your age."

"And did you fly?"

"No. He caught me just like I caught you. I didn't speak to him for three days, I was so mad."

"I'll never learn to fly, Gabe. I can't do it."

"You'll do it, one day. You know why?" They set down on a flat bit of ground, and Gabriel looked at his younger brother. "Because you have the most beautiful wings I've ever seen. And Father wouldn't have given you such beautiful wings if he didn't mean for you to use them. We'll wait till you're ready. When your grace is a little bigger and can hold you up."

"Okay."

Gabriel pulled him in for a hug.

"You really like my wings? Zach said they were funny-looking."

"They're unique. No other angel has wings like yours. They're special. And one day, they'll take you places you can't even imagine. But right now, let's go home. Okay, Cas?"

The boy nodded. "Okay."

"No hard feelings, huh?"

"Just don't do it again. That was scary."

"I promise I won't. I'll never hurt you, or let you get hurt. I promise."

Cas took one last look out over the ridge before they left. It must be nice to swoop and float so high in the air, never worrying about the ground rising up to meet you. "Someday," he said. "I'll fly all over the place."

"You will," Gabriel promised him. "When you're ready."