A/N: Sorry for the wait. I hope this chapter makes up for it. Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural.

Castiel, the angel of the lord, was huddled on the floor of the bunker with a book in his hands. His eyes scanned the pages, looking for something to catch his attention. He could hear Sam muttering from across the room and peered from behind the bookshelf he was leaning against. Sam hadn't moved from that desk for more than five hours.

He had his head balanced on one hand while the other hand held a page slightly up. His fingers absentmindedly pulled at his long hair, indicating that he wasn't any closer to an answer. Cas sighed and closed the book. He hadn't really been paying much interest in it anyway; he was still focused on that bizarre feeling he had had back in front of that mirror.

To Cas, it almost felt like the strength and intensity of a prayer made by none other than Dean Winchester. But that didn't make any sense. Dean was within the mirror- in an entirely different universe. There was no way that Castiel would be able to reach him, regardless of being an angel. Yet...there was something familiar about the feeling that was driving Cas mad.

Cas.

Castiel sat up straight, heart pounding. That was Dean's voice. It had been faint- even with his angelic hearing it was nearly inaudible- but he heard it nonetheless. Cas stood, his senses on high alert. Sam didn't seem to notice, much to the angel's relief; he wasn't sure how Sammy would react to his sudden behavior. He nearly tripped over the stack of books in front of him and steadied himself, his hands splayed out to maintain balance.

Castiel realized that he needed to calm down and took in a deep breath. He closed his eyes and breathed out slowly, trying to pinpoint Dean's voice again. Cas felt it again, the slightest tug at his heart. It felt as though the air had been punched from his lungs; he was breathless with joy. He had found Dean. Focusing on the tug, Cas thought of the first thing that came to mind. The moment he did so, he was suddenly overcome by dizziness. His knees were shaky and a cold sweat broke out over his skin.

Sam heard a loud crash and, for some reason, it sent a chill down his spine and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Cas? Cas!" he shouted, rushing over to the bookshelf the angel had been sitting behind. Castiel was passed out cold on top of a stack of heavy books. Sam turned Cas onto his back and frantically shook the angel, trying to rouse him. Cas didn't move. The angel was completely unconscious and no amount of shaking could wake him. 'Great,' Sam thought sarcastically.

Sam sat back on his heels and ran a hand through his hair. "First Dean disappears, now it's Cas," he muttered, "Can this day get any worse?" He realized that, as a Winchester, that was the worst phrase he ever could have uttered. Cursing under his breath, Sam awkwardly lifted Cas up and began to make his way towards the bedrooms. In between Sam's shoulder blades, an aching twinge had steadily begun shooting bolts of discomfort down his spine. Desperate to relieve himself of the ache, Sam pushed open the first door he saw and laid Cas down on the bed.

He straightened and rolled his shoulders. After the pain faded, Sam let out a sigh of relief and glanced around. Biting his lip to refrain from laughing, Sam left Dean's room, shutting the door behind him. "He's going to be so pissed when he gets back if he finds out I let Cas sleep in his bed," Sam snickered to himself. Shaking the hair out of his eyes, Sam hurriedly made his way to his own bedroom, exhaustion finally taking its toll. Meanwhile in the library, the book Cas had been reading flipped onto its cover, exposing its pages. The pages suddenly became a blur and the only sound in the room was the rustling of moving paper. Abruptly, the pages halted and gently relaxed.

Back in the other reality, Dean felt as though he was about to short-circuit. "M-married?" he spluttered. Cas laughed, a deep throaty sort of laugh that sent a strange tingling sensation through Dean's abdomen. Dean could feel his ears heating up. He didn't know why he was so surprised; all the signs had been too obvious to ignore. "Yes, my Dean and I were married for seven and a half years," Cas said, "Oh, we made such an amazing team. Sam, Dean, and I were the ultimate trio. Nothing could stop us from getting what we wanted."

He trailed off, a miserable expression on his face. Dean sensed the sudden shift in his mood and tilted his head; he'd have made the angel proud with his impersonation. "What happened here, Cas?" he asked softly. Cas closed his eyes for a long moment then looked over at Dean with tormented pain in his gaze. Cas shuddered and wrapped his arms tighter around himself.

"This world wasn't always like this; there were no monsters hiding around every corner, no life-threatening battles, nor was there so much destruction. This city used to be filled with life and excitement. Sure, there was the occasional monster, but nothing that we couldn't handle," he said, "All that changed within a matter of minutes. About a year ago, there was this huntress who, like many during the time, wanted to live in a world without monsters.

"She claimed that she had found a way to rid the Earth of every monster imaginable- werewolf, Djinn, vampire, genie, you name it. I think she thought that it was like some sort of plague that wouldn't affect humans, only monsters. Sam found out from a friend of ours, Charlie, and he told Dean. You could imagine how he reacted."

Dean's heart jumped at Charlie's name and memories of the woman he had cared so much for started spamming his mind. Cas noticed Dean hadn't said anything and glanced over to see the hunter with his head in his hands. He put two and two together and gave a tiny gasp. "You have Charlie in your world?" he asked quietly.

Dean swallowed hard, his throat bobbing. Cas's brows furrowed as he tried to decipher Dean's reaction. "She died," Dean whispered. Cas' heart clenched and he hesitantly put a hand on the hunter's shoulder. Dean tensed up for a moment, startled by the touch, then relaxed and even leaned into Cas' hand. "I'm so sorry. Ours passed as well," Castiel murmured.

Dean shut his eyes, the ebb of hope that he could see Charlie, the woman he considered his sister, vanished with a painful jolt. He lifted his head and wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. "That sucks," he said his voice breaking a little, "I'm sorry for your loss." Cas tilted his head at Dean, reminding the hunter once again of the angel back home. Dean felt a tug at his heart and, even though he knew it would never reach him, Dean sent out a small prayer.

Castiel, the human, sighed and slid his hand from Dean's shoulder. "The huntress took her from us, as she did with everyone else we loved," he said bitterly. Dean looked up at him, brows slightly furrowed. Cas clenched his hands into fists and swallowed hard. "The three of us went after her in an attempt to talk some sense into her. But, by the time we got to the warehouse she was hiding in, it was too late. She had already created the virus and had it in her hand when we arrived. Dean...he tried to talk to her. He told her that it wouldn't work, that there was no way something like that could exist. The huntress laughed at him and held the vial containing the virus high above her head.

"Before any of us could stop her, she smashed it onto the floorboards. The moment it hit the ground, there was an explosion that knocked all of us to the floor. The entire world went silent then I will never forget the awful sounds that followed." Cas squeezed his eyes shut and gripped at his hair with both hands. It was almost as though he could hear whatever noises he was referring to all over again. Dean put a hand on his shoulder and he felt Cas' startled jump. When Cas' eyes opened and locked on to Dean's, the hunter could see the overwhelming amount of sadness and longing in the blue depths. "You've been through your own Hell, haven't you?" Dean whispered softly.

"You don't know the half of it," Cas whispered back. They stared at one another for a few more moments. Dean was the first to look away. "What happened after that?" he said awkwardly. Cas' shoulders slumped and he leaned his head back against the cabinet, glaring at the ceiling. "The monsters," he said, "They all swarmed from everywhere and were surrounding the warehouse in a matter of minutes. The huntress- we never knew her name- panicked and fell to her knees, sobbing that it wasn't her fault. Dean took control and managed to get her back on her feet. Sam and I were just moving forward to help out when they broke through.

The virus caused a sort of berserk mode in the monsters and turned even the most neutral of monsters against humanity. We were mobbed, each of us with some thirty or so monsters attacking us on all sides. I don't know how he did it, but somehow Dean managed to get us out. The huntress had fled, gone her own way and left us to fend for ourselves. The three of us fought as hard as we could to get through the swarm and, eventually got back to our house. Sam and I had gotten away with some gashes, bruises and a few sprained limbs, but Dean...wasn't so lucky." His voice had become thick with emotion and he pulled his knees closer, wrapping his arms around them.

"He had been attacked by more monsters than we had; he was closer to the spot the virus had broken. His..his...entire torso was ripped open by deep gashes that even dental floss stitches couldn't hope to fix. We didn't know how he had gotten back to the house, let alone run and fight with his blood pouring out. S-Sam and I had tried so h-hard to stop the bleeding. W-we even attempted a few spells, b-but nothing worked. I had to watch m-my husband die right in front of me and I was powerless to stop it! Sam had to watch his brother die and it was all because of that stupid girl," Cas sobbed, slamming his fist on his knees. He was crying like the way he had when he first recognized Dean's face.

Dean moved closer and was about to pull Cas into a hug when the shaking man flinched back. Dean clenched his jaw and leaned back; Cas' reaction had stung- badly. "P-please, don't. I know that you're only trying to h-help, but...," Cas looked up at him, his lower lip trembling, "You smell like him." Understanding dawned on Dean and he nodded, his heart snapping in half. 'You dumbass, it would have only made things worse. You're an exact replica of his dead husband. You know, the one he's crying about?' he snapped at himself. He felt like a total idiot and guilty that he hadn't taken that detail into consideration.

"Don't do that," Cas suddenly said. Dean frowned in confusion and raised an eyebrow. Cas cleared his throat and got to his feet. "Don't do what?" Dean asked, rising. He and Cas stood about a foot apart, facing one another with slumped shoulders and dark circles of exhaustion under their eyes. Castiel tilted his head and smiled softly. "You're beating yourself up with guilt," he said shaking his head, "There is no need for you to feel guilty. You couldn't have known that I would react that way. You were just trying to console me, which I appreciate greatly." Dean flicked his eyebrows up in surprise; was he that much of an open book?

Cas seemed to sense his thoughts and chuckled sadly. "Even though I don't know you, I know you," he said softly. Every part of Dean's body felt heavy and his heart was like a lead weight in his chest, heavy with emotion. Cas motioned with his hand for Dean to follow him and together they walked back into the living room. Through the darkness, Dean watched Cas' outline walking in front of him. 'I'm sorry that you had to go through so much,' Dean thought, 'I wish you could just have a happy life in some reality, where nothing could hurt you.'

Cas turned toward Dean with a frown. For a split second, Dean panicked, sure that Cas had heard his thoughts. "Will you be warm enough with just that blanket?" Cas asked in concern. Dean's heart fluttered and he frustratingly shoved down his emotions; seriously, where were all these sappy feelings coming from? Dean absently nodded and was about to sit on the couch when Castiel pulled him into an embrace. It was brief and was over before he knew it, but Dean savored every second of it. "Thank you," Cas said quickly, "For...for talking with me. You're not so bad after all. You know, for a fake."

When Cas sent Dean a quick smile, the hunter huffed a laugh and shook his head. "Glad I could be of some comfort. Look, I know that me being here isn't easy for you and Sam and I'll try to get out of your hair as soon as possible. I want you to know that I wanna find a way to fix things here first," he said. Cas' eyes widened and his mouth dropped open a little in shock. Dean was frozen, realizing that he had said the words out loud rather than in his mind. Well, there was no going back now.

Castiel shook himself slightly and put a hand on Dean's arm. Goosebumps prickled on Dean's flesh at his touch. Cas didn't say anything at first; he looked at Dean as though he was trying to figure out a curious riddle. After a few minutes, he nodded slowly and squeezed the hunter's arm as a way of thanks. Dean returned the nod with his jaw clenched and Cas turned to walk away. Dean was just settling back down on the couch when Cas paused halfway up the stairs. "Goodnight...Dean," he said softly. Dean thanked his ribs for encasing his heart; he was sure it would have burst from his chest. "Goodnight, Cas," he said back.

A small quirk of a smile lifted the corner of Cas' lips and he quickly said,"Take some aspirin," before he vanished up the stairs. Dean heaved a heavy sigh, popped back the pills with a swig of beer, and covered his eyes with an arm. The other was thrown over his chest. He could feel his pulse beating rapidly against the pads of his fingers and he was sure that his cheeks were bright red. 'I'm in bad shape. I must be sick,' he thought. Dean shifted a little on the couch and found that he really missed his angel. A lot. He sent another quick prayer, sending all of his concentration into it. Dean was just slipping into the unconsciousness of sleep when he jolted up.

He thought he had heard...no, it couldn't have been. Dean felt a faint tugging in his heart and a tiny frown curled down his lips. "I must've been dreaming," he mumbled, "There's no way that angel could reach me here." Deciding to ignore it for now, Dean snuggled back down with his face smashed against his pillow. Though, replaying like a record on repeat, Castiel's- Dean's Cas- response to Dean's prayer played over and over in the back of the hunter's mind.

I miss you.

A/N: Thank you so, so much for being patient with me. I know it took longer than usual and I am sorry. I promise to try to keep up with the chapters from now on. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and please feel free to leave a review or PM me; I look forward to your feedback! 3