Cas, carrying Elizabeth in his arms, transported Sam and Dean with him to the cottage. As soon as he arrived, Cas gently set Elizabeth inside the circle in the middle of the circle, being careful to tuck in her arms and legs so that no part of her was sticking out of the circle.

Cas gave Elizabeth a strange look and whispered, "There's something different about you."

Elizabeth swallowed hard and cast a fleeting glance towards Sam. Cas nodded in understanding. "I see."

Elizabeth looked up at Sam. Cas stepped back to allow Sam to kneel beside Elizabeth. Elizabeth took Sam's hand in hers and smiled at him. His lips twitched slightly and he bent down to give her one last kiss.

Reluctantly, Sam stood up and backed away. Dean said, "Take care of yourself, Lizzie."

Elizabeth nodded weakly.

Cas stood over Elizabeth and began pronouncing Enochian words. The earth rumbled beneath them. Cas looked up at Sam and Dean. "Cover your ears," he ordered. "Close your eyes."

They did as they were instructed. Cas finished the incantation, and the cottage was filled with a bright light and a piercing shriek.

When he was done, Elizabeth was gone. Sam and Dean ventured to look up. They looked around and slowly uncovered their ears. Sam looked up at Cas.

"She's gone," Cas told him, pointing out the window. Sam and Dean hurried to the window to look. A strange sight met their eyes- a shooting star, moving backwards, out into space.

Dean looked back at Cas. "Is that….?"

Cas nodded. "She's on her way home."

Sam stared up at the sky. The last flickering star disappeared as dawn broke. His eyes were stinging again. He blinked quickly and tried not to sniffle, aware that Dean and Cas were both watching him.

The cottage was as good a place to squat as any, so Sam and Dean decided to stay there while Dean fixed the car, or at least got it working good enough to get back to Bobby's salvage yard for more parts to get her back into perfect shape. Right now, Dean made do, trying to reassemble the busted, twisted parts just to get it to work for the three hour drive back to Bobby's. he'd been working on it all day, and night was falling again. Sam helped out a little, as much as Dean would let him, but mostly, Dean worked alone.

"Damn that Meg," Dean muttered. "I ever see her again, I'm gonna gank her for good, I swear!" He looked up at Sam, sitting on a stump nearby, looking up at the stars and holding a bottle of beer. Dean stood up and gave his brother a worried look. "Sam? You okay?"

Sam looked over at him, lowered his eyes, nodded sadly, and looked back up at the stars. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Dean set his wrench on the ground, wiped his hands on the rag, and went over to Sam. "You holding up all right?"

Sam nodded again, looking puzzled, if not annoyed. "Yeah. Yeah, I said I was. Why?"

Dean crouched beside him. "You already missing her?"

Sam took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I know it sounds strange, but I felt like we were similar in a way. We both had something supernatural inside us that others wanted to use to hurt people." He studied his hands. "I can understand why she would rather die."

"Sam," Dean said, "that's all over for you. And as for Elizabeth, you helped her make the right choice."

"She didn't want to go, Dean," Sam said. He sighed again. "I just wonder if she's happy."

Dean nodded. "I'm sure she is. And I'm sure she'll make a great angel someday, cuz she'll remember what it's like to be human. She was a pretty good person. She won't forget."

Sam nodded. "I hope so."

Dean clapped his brother's shoulder and got up to leave. Sam said quickly, "Dean?" He shrugged and studied his hands for a moment. He was doing that a lot lately. "Thanks for listening to me- at least some of the time."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Great, another Hallmark moment."

Sam shook his head and let Dean get back to the car, working by flashlight, as it was completely dark by now. But Sam wasn't left completely alone, as Cas now came up beside him. Sam gave him a puzzled look. "Elizabeth asked me to let you know that she's okay."

Sam asked him. "Where is she?"

Cas pointed up at the group of three stars he'd shown Elizabeth. They were just rising over the trees. "In the middle of those stars." He looked down at Sam, seeing the young man's angst. "She's fine, Sam. She's happy."

"Cas," Sam began reluctantly. "Can you look into the future, just for a second, and see… see what's gonna happen, to her?"

Cas took a deep breath and clasped his hands behind him, looking up at the stars. He wasn't supposed to do this, and it wasn't an easy thing to do… but for Sam, and for Elizabeth…. "She will become an angel, Sam, if nothing changes the events set in motion."

Sam swallowed. "Will she… forget?"

Cas shook his head, the vaguest shadow of a smile appearing on his face. "No. She couldn't even if she tried."

Sam felt hopeful. "Why not?" What would she remember? Her parents? Him and Dean? Or just humanity in general?

Cas considered his answer for a moment. "She's carrying something with her to make her remember."

Sam tilted his head slightly and gave Cas a questioning look. "What?"

Cas looked at Sam squarely. "She will give birth to a child, a girl- half-human and half-angel, like Elizabeth."

Sam's eyes glowed brightly. He was speechless for a moment, his mouth hanging open. He finally stammered, "My daughter?"

Cas nodded solemnly.

Sam was overjoyed and sorrowful at the same time. Overjoyed at the thought of being a father- to an angel, no less!- and sorrowful because… "I'll never get to see her, will I?"

"She will most likely live in heaven," Cas said. "A child of heaven can come to Earth, but it's never happened before. None of their mothers ever approved it."

Sam looked back up at the stars. "Could… could you tell me about her, from time to time- what she looks like, what she's like. I want… I want to feel like I at least know something about her."

Cas sighed. "Sam, I am still fighting a war."

Sam nodded, ashamed of his selfishness.

Cas said, as begrudgingly as he could manage (because he did feel for Sam and he understood the need to know about family, but still did not want Sam to take advantage of him), "I will keep an eye on them both, and if I should have to come here, I can tell you how they are doing."

Sam looked up at him. Cas' eyes held that little bit of softness that he so rarely allowed himself to show. Sam nodded and smiled slightly. "Thank you."

And then Cas left him. Sam looked up at the stars, watching and wondering. His large, hazel eyes filled with tears, and one of the largest escaped past his long lashes to roll down his cheek.