3

Hum Hallelujah

It was so beautiful. The sun was warm on my face, the breeze around me cool and light. The sky was clear, the mountains surrounding me magnificent. No troubles had followed me here. No fears. Not angles, not demons, not my father and not my pain. For once, I was at peace.

I looked at the two men at my side. My friends. The only people left in this world that I could trust. Sam and Dean.

I let myself smile. I shut my eyes, taking a deep breath, listening to birds sing. It was all so perfect, until I opened my eyes.

The scenery around me had changed completely. The trees were jagged and bare. The sky was pitch black, set ablaze by lightning, the air whistling with freezing winds and booming with thunder, rain coming down in torrents, soaking me to my bones. The mountains closed in around me, fire behind them.

I looked around for my friends, knowing they would help me-

They were gone. I was totally alone.

"SAM?!" I bellowed, my voice echoing in this empty place. "DEAN?!" No answer.

"You won't win, Castiel." I looked up at the hellacious sky. It was my brother's voice, but not his face. It was Sam's. "It's inevitable. You will lose."

"And there is nothing you can do about it." Michael's voice, Dean's face.

"No," I breathed, shaking my head.

The two brothers turned to each other, lips pulled back in snarls. Sam's eyes were red and fiery, casting an eerie glow throughout the valley. Michael's reciprocated with white. They reared back, fists raised.

"NO!" When their fists collided thunder that made my ears bleed shook everything around me, making the ground crack, the fires of hell shooting up. I saw the white lights of Heaven from above, the angels wanting blood. And here I was, caught in the middle.

The storm turned meaner, louder, stronger. The rain changed. It was thick and warm and made it hard to see around me as it came down in buckets. I looked down at my drenched hands. It was blood.

I watched my brothers fight with my friends' faces, destroying the Earth in the process as the blood rose higher and higher.

"DON'T! STOP IT! PLEASE! PLEASE, STOP THIS!" I was so scared and so utterly devastated that I had failed my friends. It hurt.

"Cas! Cas wake up!" I knew that voice.

My eyes flew open and I sat up, gasping and shaking, confused. I looked around at the motel room, wondering where the horrible scene I had been watching had gone.

"Wh-what happened? I w-was somewhere else. I do-don't-"

"Hey, it's okay, Cas," Dean assured, putting his hand on my shoulder. "It's alright. You were dreaming. It was just a nightmare." I looked at him, my mind remembering his eyes glowing white.

"I-it wasn't r-real?" I asked. It had all seemed so real. I still had that chill from the wind and rain, then I saw that my shirt was soaked in cold sweat.

"No, Cas," Dean said. "It wasn't real. You're alright, just go back to sleep." My heart beat a little faster as I shook my head.

"I don't want to," I said, my voice shaking beyond my control. "N-not if that's what happens when you sleep." Dean shook his head.

"It doesn't happen every time," he assured. "You'll be okay. It won't happen again."

"Do you swear it?" He looked away from me, not meeting my eyes.

"Just…just go back to sleep, Cas," he said gently. I didn't want to. I really didn't want to. What if I went back to that place? But I lied down anyway. I heard Dean go back to the couch he had been sleeping on. Soon the only sounds that reached my ears was Sam and Dean's slow, steady breathing.

I fought against the weight on my eyes for as long as I could. I didn't want to go back there, I didn't want to. I just wanted to rest.

I gave in eventually, too tired to fight anymore. I didn't go back to the place that I had been. I went somewhere worse. And when Sam woke me up about an hour before dawn, I didn't go back to sleep again.

"I think you're right, Bobby," Dean said. "I think he's human. I don't know how the hell he got that way, but he's human."

"I'm workin' on a reason," Bobby said. "But there's not exactly a lot out there that talks about angels randomly losing their mojo."

"Well, what the hell should we do?" Sam asked. Bobby looked up at the two boys.

"You two are gonna keep an eye on him. The last thing we need is for him to get lost or somethin'. And try and explain some things to him. Bein' human's hard enough for those of us that were born into it, let alone transfers."

"What're you gonna do?" Dean asked.

"I'm gonna go see if I can figure any of this mess out." He looked around Sam's hip into the motel window, looking at the lost soul sitting on the bed, staring at his hands, clad in his usual garb once more. "So how's he doin?"

"Bad," Sam exhaled. "He has no idea what to do. He doesn't know how to be human."

"In other words, he's scared shitless," Dean smirked ruefully.

"Well, do what you can for him," Bobby said, wheeling toward his can. "I'll be back later. And I'll call ya if I find anything." The brothers nodded and went back into the motel.

Castiel looked up at them. "What did Bobby say?" He asked quietly. Sam and Dean exchanged glances.

"He's about as lost as we are," Dean said bluntly. Sam glared at him. Dean half-shrugged.

"He's going to find a way to help you, Cas," Sam said gently. He nodded slowly. He jumped when his stomach growled, looking annoyed when it stopped.

Dean laughed. "C'mon, Cas, let's go eat. I'll buy ya a drink."

Castiel knocked his fourth shot back, not fully understanding why he was a little dizzy. Dean took a swig of the beer in his hand, watching the former angel in amusement.

"How ya feelin', Cas?" He asked, smiling. Castiel gave him a thumbs up and downed another shot. Sam shook his head, frowning at his brother.

"I still can't believe you're letting him do this," he griped. Castiel turned to him, a heavy, swaying motion and pointed at him.

"Do, do not blame your brother for my inebriated state," he said, slurring slightly. "I am fully a, aware of my actions." He swung back around and downed another shot.

"What's with the drinking binge, Cas?" Dean asked. "I mean, I like whiskey as much as the next guy, but…"

"I didn't plan on drinking this much," Castiel said, shaking his head slowly. "Then I noticed that it helped considerably."

"Helped with what?" Sam inquired. Castiel swallowed a mouthful of the amber liquid and grimaced.

"This, this horrible ache in my chest. It made me feel…hollow. This helps, quite a bit actually."

"Cas, you shouldn't-"

"Don't tell me what to do, Goliath," he snapped, then smiled as Dean laughed at his joke. Sam made the proverbial "Bitch Face" and shook his head.

"You know what, Dean?" Castiel said. "There's a lot about you silly humans I do not understand," He looked around the bar. "I mean look at all of this!" He threw his arms out.

"What don't you get, Cas?" Dean asked.

"Well, take those two over there trying to eat each other," he gestured to a couple making out in a booth. "I don't understand that. And those men playing the card game. That one is obviously better than he's letting the others know. And that one has three aces in his sleeve. Why would he do something like that? Lying never resulted in anything good…at all. Trust me, I've been around a few millennia."

"It's…it's hard to explain, Cas. We just, we have it in us to do bad things. But some of us try and do good. Others can't fight it or don't want to."

"I still don't get it," Castiel said, shaking his head. "I also don't understand why I can't see straight. Sam and Dean looked at each other and sighed. Dean tossed a few bills on the counter and slung Castiel's arm over his shoulder.

"You're officially grounded from liquor, okay?" Dean grunted, steering Castiel toward the door with difficulty as he swayed.

Sam pushed the door open to let them through and smiled curtly at the people that were staring after them.

Dean tugged Castiel toward the Impala when the former angel slipped away from him. Castiel stumbled, trying to gain his balance, and fell. Right into the chest of a woman. Her hair was a strawberry blonde and pulled back in a ponytail, eyes hazel in color, v-neck shirt bubblegum pink.

"Oh!" She exclaimed as he fell into her. She caught his shoulders, supporting his weight. "Easy there, big guy." She looked down at him, smiling, as if this happened to her a lot.

Castiel stared at her, lips parted slightly, eyes wide. Her grin broadened, her nose wrinkling. Castiel's heart beat a little faster for reasons unknown.

"You have really pretty eyes, you know that?" She said. Castiel swallowed hard. "What's your name?" He couldn't answer. For some very strange reason his throat wouldn't make any noise. She giggled. "You that drunk?"

"No, sweetheart, he's not that drunk," Dean said, grinning from ear to ear. "His name's Castiel." She turned her attention back to the wide blue eyes, still smiling,

"Castiel," she said. Castiel's heart fluttered again. "That's a funny kind of name. I'm Annabelle," He still could not speak to her. She giggled again. "Well, I gotta work, blue eyes. I'll see you around." She helped steady him into a standing position, waiting for Dean to duck under his arm and support him again. Castiel's eyes followed her as she walked into the bar, heart skipping yet another beat when she turned back and winked at him.

"Dean, I don't know why, but I want to come back here tomorrow."

"Soon as you get over your hangover, dude," Dean said, chuckling and getting him into the car.

"My what?" Castiel asked. Dean shook his head.

"You'll find out."

--Whoo, busy chapter. More soon!!--