This is based on the song 'Forever and Always' by Parachute. If you haven't heard it, you should listen to it. I cry pretty much every time. As always, thanks for your favs and follows! Love you guys! (by the way, sorry for this. I've been having a rough time lately in basically everything, but AKF, right?)


Castiel Novak gripped his cup of tea just a little bit tighter and tried to concentrate on his book. It was nine-thirty, and his fiancé, Dean Winchester, was supposed to be home hours ago and he wasn't answering any of his calls.

'Relax, Castiel. He probably went to The Roadhouse with Benny and Bobby after work for a couple of beers. And he probably forgot to put his phone on the charger again last night so it's just dead.' Castiel tried to convince himself, but it felt like there was a knot in his stomach that he just couldn't get rid of. Maybe he would feel better if he called Benny, or Bobby, or even Dean's brother, Sam. Castiel pulled his phone towards him and dialed Benny's number first. He would know if Dean had gone somewhere after work. The phone rang once, twice, thr…

"Hey?"

"Hello, Benny, it's Castiel."

"Ya know, I got caller ID on this fancy contraption." Castiel could hear the smile in Benny's voice.

"I um…was Dean going somewhere after work? He isn't home yet and his phone is either dead or off."

"Well, he said he was gonna go see his brother, but other than that I don't know." Castiel breathed a sigh of relief. The Winchester brothers could get to talking and easily lose track of time. Castiel would just give Sam a quick call.

"Okay, the information is much appreciated, thank you." Benny chuckled on the other end.

"Anytime, friend, anytime." The line disconnected and Castiel then dialed Sam's number. Sam answered on the first ring.

"Hey, Cas, what's going on?"

"Oh, hello, Sam. I was just wondering if Dean was still over there with you." Sam was very quiet for a long time before he answered.

"Dean left here almost two hours ago. Why? Is he still not home? Did something happen to him?" The panic in Sam's voice was so startling that Castiel almost broke out a sob.

"N…no. Maybe he stopped by Bobby's after he left? You know he has to pass by there on the way home so maybe he decided to stop?" Sam was quiet again.

"Right. Yeah. When he uh…when he gets home, give me a call, alright, Cas?"

"Of course, Sam. Good bye."

"Bye." The panic started to set in. If he wasn't with Benny, or Sam, hopefully, he would be with this pseudo-dad, Bobby Singer. Just before Castiel could find his number, his phone began to ring. It was an unsaved number, but a local area code, so Castiel answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello," a tired sounding female voice came over the phone. "I'm looking for a mister Cas-tie-el Novak?" Castiel almost rolled his eyes. Probably a telemarketer.

"This is Castiel Novak."

"Oh, Mr. Novak this is Nurse Harvelle at St. Michael's. We need you to come down right away, sir. There's been an accident involving a Mr. Dean Winchester." Castiel was almost sure that his heart had stopped. He wasn't sure he could actually be hearing what she was saying. This had to be a dream.

"Thank you, I'll be down there immediately." Castiel whispered into the phone before hanging up. 'It can't be that bad. It just can't be. He'll be okay. He has to be.' Castiel debated on calling Sam to let him know, but there could be time for that later. He went out to what Dean had deemed his 'pimpmobile' and he tried to remain calm as he sped down to the hospital. He smiled bitterly to himself imagining all the times that Dean had told him he needed to drive faster and now here he was, driving almost twenty miles over the speed limit to try and get to him. His mind ran through many memories of Dean, particularly just a few months ago, when he got down on one knee in the park they had ended their first date at and had said those incredibly sappy words that brought tears to both of their eyes, and ended it with "Cas, I need you, I love you, will you marry me?"

Castiel parked his car and practically ran inside. He walked up to a small blonde behind the nurses' station. She looked at him with an exhausted smile.

"Hello, sir, is there something I can help you with?" Castiel was pretty sure that was the voice that had told him about Dean. Castiel even looked at her nametag and sure enough 'JO HARVELLE' it read.

"Hello, my name is Castiel Novak, I received a phone call about my fiancé, Dean Winchester." Her smile dropped for a second before she stood up and came around the desk.

"Oh, yes sir, um…please follow me this way." Castiel nodded and followed the nurse down what felt like hundreds of hallways and past what felt like a million rooms. They stopped just outside of one and Nurse Harvelle turned around and pegged him with a far too sympathetic look.

"Just be warned, a lot has happened. I'll send his doctor in as soon as I find him."

"Thank you very much." Castiel was trying to ignore the pure terror that he felt in his chest. Why did she feel the need to warn him before they went into the room? It couldn't have been that bad. It just couldn't have been. Castiel peeked in the room, and realized that he was wrong.

Dean had wires sticking out of his arm and one that was wrapped under his nose. His whole body looked broken, and Castiel had never seen Dean look so frail. He was sleeping, and Castiel almost choked out a cry. He walked over and grabbed Dean's hand and gave it a hard squeeze, but Dean didn't respond.

"How did this happen?" Castiel whispered, not even trusting his voice as he felt tears come to his eyes.

"Mr. Winchester, is it?" Castiel tore his eyes away from Dean. The doctor had his head buried in a clipboard.

"He's asleep actually."

"I know, he's supposed to be. I was referring to you."

"Oh, we're not…please tell me how he is." The doctor looked up at Castiel and gave him a sad smile.

"Well, I um…I'm not going to lie, sir, he's not doing great. There's a lot of internal bleeding and broken ribs and…"

"So, he might not…?" Castiel didn't even finish the sentence and glanced at Dean, the tears spilling out.

"I'm very sorry, sir. We're doing everything we can." Castiel nodded, not taking his eyes off Dean as the doctor left the room. Castiel gently ran his hand through Dean's hair. This wasn't part of the plan. They were supposed get married. Live with their kids in the house just on the outside of…

Dean's eyes fluttered opened and he looked at Castiel. His lip turned up slightly and Castiel gave him a smile back.

"Hi, angel." Dean whispered.

"Hello, Dean." Castiel whispered back.

"How are you?" Castiel laughed dryly. "What?"

"You are lying in a hospital bed and you're asking me how I am?"

"Of course." Castiel sighed and placed a kiss to Dean's forehead.

"How are you, really?"

"Fan-freaking-tastic, Cas. At least you're here." Dean gave Castiel's hand a squeeze.

"What happened?"

"They told me that I got hit by a driver that was having brake failure."

"Break failure?"

"I know right? If the asshole had come to me his breaks would've been great and I'd be fine."

"Of course, baby, of course." Castiel gently carded his hand through Dean's hair again. The two sat in silence for some time as Castiel continued and just stared at Dean.

"Don't look at me like that." Dean said.

"Like what?"

"Like I'm dying." Castiel opened his mouth to mention that it was a possibility, but Dean cut him off. "Shut up, Cas. I'm not going anywhere."

"Dean, I just…"

"You know what I heard today? That house on the edge of town is going up for sale at the end of the year and that's when our lease is over ya know, so maybe we should get a relator to help us in a couple months. We're going to need a bigger house for the kids."

"Kids? Dean, I think we should be more realistic and…"

"I think we should try and adopt a boy first." Dean spoke louder than Castiel. Castiel sighed and decided to humor Dean.

"Okay, a boy, what would his name be?" Dean looked up at the ceiling as though thinking and then smiled at Castiel.

"What about Benjamin? I've always liked that name. What do you think for a middle name?" Castiel thought for a moment. They really needed to have a serious conversation, but Castiel could also see the scared look in Dean's eyes. He needed this little distraction.

"Well, what about James?"

"Benjamin James?" Castiel chuckled and nodded.

"What about after him?"

"A girl, maybe two?"

"Two girls?"

"Yeah, two little blonde girls. Mary and I know you like the name Claire."

"Yeah, I do. And you would be bad cop of course." Dean laughed at first, but it turned into a cough that lasted much longer than Castiel expected it to. Then, there was blood and Castiel stood up to get somebody. Dean began to pull him back down, but started coughing again. Castiel stood up and ran out to the Nurses' Station.

"I need somebody in room 894, my fiancé is coughing up blood." One nurse stood up and another picked up a phone. Castiel followed the nurse back to the room and looked at Dean.

"I'm fine! You guys need to calm down and…"

"Mr. Winchester, things are worse than we thought. We um...we can't stop the bleeding. The surgeons thought they did, but after the tests we've run, there's a lot more bleeding than we thought." Castiel sat back down next to Dean. Dean was quiet. Too quiet.

"Dean?" Castiel prompted. Dean looked over at Castiel and he saw something that he'd had only seen once, maybe twice since they'd been together: unadulterated fear. "Can I have a moment with my fiancé?" Castiel looked over to the doctor. He nodded and took the nurses with him. "Dean? What…?"

"Cas, let's get married. Call Sammy, get him down here, grab the Chaplin, and we'll get hitched. Right now."

"Dean, I don't think…" Dean squeezed Castiel's hand.

"Cas," Dean murmured. "I want to get married to you, while I can." Castiel bit his bottom lip to keep from crying, and brought Dean's hands to his lips.

"Okay, I'll be right back." Castiel stood up and dialed Sam's number. He walked out of the room because he knew that he would probably cry while talking to Sam. Sam answered half way through the first ring.

"Cas, please tell me Dean's home."

"No, he um…Sam we're at the hospital and Dean wants to get married. Here. Right now."

"He's dying." Sam's voice wobbled, but there was no question in his voice. Castiel almost nodded, not knowing what to say.

"Yes." Castiel replied. There was a long pause.

"I'm on my way." Sam hung up and Castiel then made his way to the chapel. There was only one man there, and Castiel figured that he was the Chaplin.

"Excuse me, sir?" The man turned around and smiled warmly at Castiel.

"You can just call me Pastor Jim, son." The man offered his hand and Castiel shook it. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, my fiancé is…" The tears were back. The pastor put a comforting hand on Castiel's shoulder.

"Does she want to get married before something else can happen?"

"Yes, he does. He's in room 894 and…" Castiel suddenly heard somebody breathing heavy in the doorway.

"Jim!" A nurse said, trying to catch his breath. "Room…745…Last rites re…request."

"Thank you, Paul." The Pastor looked at Castiel. "Room 894. I'll be there in twenty minutes, thirty at the most." Castiel smiled gratefully and nodded.

"Thank you, Pastor." Castiel walked back up and heard a familiar voice at the nurses' station.

"Look, my brother is in there! Let me…!" Sam stood as close to the counter as he could.

"Sir!" Nurse Jo yelled, giving Sam a look that most people would back down from. "You need to understand…."

"Nurse Harvelle?" Castiel walked up to the station. "This is my fiancé's brother. I'll take him back to the room." Jo smiled at Castiel and then gave Sam the same look she had previously been giving him.

"So what's wrong with him?"

"You'll see soon." Castiel replied as he led Sam down the hall. Once they got to the room, Castiel walked over and sat next to Dean, but Sam stood in the doorway.

"Sammy!" Dean said weakly, but smiled. "Cas tell you the great news?"

"You mean that you're…"

"Getting married! Speaking of, where's the pastor?"

"He's helping out somewhere else right now, but he'll be here soon."

"Good, now Sammy, get your gigantic ass over here so I can ask you a question." Sam reluctantly walked over and looked at his brother up and down. "Will you be our witness?"

"Are you serious? You want me to just stand there and act like nothing is going on?"

"Of course not! I want you to act like me and Cas are getting married."

"I…I don't think I can…"

"Sammy, please?" Castiel noticed the tears well up in both of the Winchesters' eyes. Sam sighed.

"Y…yeah, okay, De."

"I'll be right back." Castiel leaned forward and kissed Dean's forehead and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"Just going to do something quick." Castiel walked out and to the elderly couple's room next door.

"Oh, hello young man, can we help you?" The old man was sitting next to his wife in the hospital bed.

"Yes, um…my fiancé and I are next door and we were just wondering if we could borrow your wedding bands for just…an hour or so?"

"Oh of course! Jeremy, give him your ring." The woman slipped her ring off as Castiel walked deeper into the room.

"And you promise to give them back?" Castiel smiled at the couple.

"Of course, sir. And like I said, we are just next door." The man handed Castiel his ring along with his wife's. "Thank you so much. We both appreciate it."

"How long have you two been together?" The woman asked.

"Five years." Castiel smiled.

"Wow, that's fantastic. Congratulations."

"Thank you." Castiel said again and then walked out of the couple's room and into Dean's. The pastor was sitting next to Dean and talking to the brothers. All three looked up at him.

"Hello, Mr. Novak. I was just speaking with your fiancé and his brother. They're fun, aren't they?" Castiel walked over and stood near the head of Dean's bed.

"Yeah, they are. I have rings for us, too and,"

"Rings? See? Didn't I tell ya he's the best?" Dean positively beamed at Castiel. Castiel took it in and smiled back, it could be one of the last times he saw that smile.

"Well, Mr. Novak," the pastor stood up. "To make this official we need another witness."

"Sammy, go grab a nurse."

"Dean, I don't…"

"I'll go grab one," The pastor suggested. He walked out and Castiel ran his hand through Dean's hair again.

"Are you sure about this?" Dean asked. "I mean, this will be binding and…" Castiel gave Dean a gentle kiss on the lips.

"I've never been surer." Pastor Jim walked back in with Nurse Jo.

"This little one loves weddings." Jo rolled her eyes, but stood next to Sam. Castiel handed the rings to Sam and then stood next to Dean, holding one of his hands with both of his own.

"Alright, well, let's begin." Pastor Jim began with the explanation of marriage and then recited some passages from the Bible.

"Do you two have your own vows?" Pastor Jim looked up from the Bible in his hands and smiled at Dean and Castiel.

"Well, not really, but I think I could come up with something." Dean grinned at Castiel and Castiel grinned back. "But Cas can go first." Everybody laughed, and then Castiel stared into Dean's eyes, trying to find what to say in the moment. What do you say to the love of your life that is dying before you got to live your life with them?

"Dean, I've known you since we were ten years old. At fifteen, I knew that I wanted to be with you. At twenty, I knew you and I were going to be together forever. And now, at twenty-five, we're finally getting married. I know that the whole 'soulmate' thing isn't something you completely believe in, but I do, and I know that you're mine." Everybody had tears in their eyes, some even falling. Dean smiled wide and then wiped his eyes. Castiel noticed something was off though. He seemed tired, and when he spoke, his voice was so low it sounded like he was whispering. That was when Castiel noticed that the beeping from Dean's heart monitor seemed to be slower.

"Cas, I love you more than anybody or anything. Angel, I love you more than Baby." Sam and Cas laughed at that one. "I can't wait for us to do everything that we've always talked about, because none of that scares me. It should, but with you by my side, there's nothing I can't do. You are one of the strongest people I've ever met. Cas, just remember that I'll always love you, no matter what." Castiel almost started to cry because he knew that it was Dean telling him that he was leaving and things were going to be okay. They put their rings on and smiled at each other.

"Well, by the power vested in me by the state of Kansas, I pronounce you spouses for life. You may kiss your husband." Castiel leaned down and gave Dean a kiss. Sam, Jo, and Pastor Jim applauded. When Castiel pulled away, there was suddenly a loud beeping noise.


Three Years Later

Castiel set the flowers down and then looked around. It was a beautiful day outside. Normally, they would be at a park, but today was an important day. They needed to be here.

"Benjamin!" Castiel called. A little boy walked up and hugged Castiel's waist. He peeked around Castiel's leg and tilted his head, much like Castiel did, squinting his green eyes.

"Who's dat, Daddy?" The boy questioned, looking at the black stone in front of them. Castiel knelt to be closer to his son. The picture staring back at him reminded him of the man that he still loved so much. "He's in all dose pictures wif you an Uncy Sammy." Castiel nodded and placed a kiss to Ben's blonde hair.

"Yeah, he is. That is the man that would've been your Papa. He i…was Uncle Sam's brother. He would've loved you so much." Castiel picked Ben up and began to walk away. He threw one more glance over his shoulder to read the stone, even though he knew exactly what it said.

'DEAN WINCHESTER

GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN'