Chapter One

If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again. ~Flavia Weedn

Cas was gasping for breath in his arms, and in that moment of panic he'd later remember thinking how ironic it was for an angel to have to gasp for breath, but then he wasn't completely an angel anymore. He shoved the hotel door open with his foot, walked inside and gently laid the gasping angel on the bed.

Cas grimaced in pain and muttered, "Dean…Dean!"

"I'm here Cas. I'm with you. What should I do? What the Hell did those angel bitches do to you?" Dean gently brushed the hair from Cas's face with trembling hands.

Cas reached up and garbed Dean's arm feebly, opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out before the angel's eyes rolled up in his head and he passed out.

Dean gripped Cas's shoulders and shook him, "Cas! Cas! Damn you…answer me!"

"Shaking someone who is mortally wounded is never a good idea, angel or no angel." Dean whirled to face a woman he had never seen before, who was standing just inside the open door. She had hair the color of fire with eyes that held the sea and all its mysteries. Her was skin was like ivory and she was dressed in blue jeans with a silver belt and white shirt that did nothing to hide the curve of her breast as it hugged her body sinfully, and in a word she was beautiful, almost unearthly so. While Dean stared stupidly at her, she came the rest of the way in and shut the door.

Dean pulled the gun from his belt and trained it on her. "Who the hell are you?"

The woman didn't so much as glance at his gun. She just sighed and said, "I can save your angel if you want me to. Who I am can wait. All that you need to know is that you can trust me. You can ask your angel friend about me after I pull him back from the brink of death, or would you prefer I leave and let him die?" She raised a questioning eyebrow at him as if she couldn't care less how the situation went.

"How do I know your not a demon? How do you know he's an angel?" he asked suspiciously.

"If you have some holy water around, I'll drink it. Otherwise, you'll just have to trust me. Is your friend's life worth the risk? And as to the other question… Nothing can hide its true nature from me. Now, I'll ask you again do you want me to save him or not?"

Dean had no idea what to make of this woman, but at that moment he was willing to take a risk. He kept his gun out and trained on her, but he said, "Fine. If you can save him, then do it, but I'm not putting my gun down…No offense, of course."

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, sure. Whatever floats your boat big boy." She walked, undeterred, over to the side of the bed that held the angel and set a large black bag on the bed. "This isn't good. He's falling."

"What do mean by 'he's falling.'" Asked Dean although he far to afraid that he knew exactly what she meant.

"Don't be a blockhead. You know what I mean. He's falling from Grace. He's spent too long apart from Heaven. If it continues, he will turn human although that should take many years. Unfortunately it seems his ability to heal is among the first of his abilities to be affected. Gave me a hand with his clothing. If we hurry, I think we can save him although it may require some sacrifice on your part and his."

Dean blinked, "Wait…What?"

"Get over here and help me get his clothes off, ya dolt."

Dean glanced at the gun in his hand, huffed out a breath, and shoved it into the back of his jeans. "All his clothes, or just his top." He asked incredulously.

"His top is enough." Together they managed to wrestle the three layers he wore off. The angel's blood was beginning to soak through the sheets.

"Now what?" Asked Dean as the woman began to rummage around in the large black bag that Dean couldn't remember her carrying in.

After pulling some things that looked like a small glass wand, several clear crystal rocks, one smooth ebony rock, and a few other items that Dean couldn't name, she answered him, "Now… Now, I save him. Since he has lost his connection to Heaven, the only to save him is to establish another connection." She handed the five crystal rocks to Dean and said, "Place them around him where I tell you and hurry."

He did as she told him while asking, "What do you mean by 'establishing a new connection?'"

"I'm going to tie his life force to yours." She answered as if she was talking about returning a library book.

"What! What the Hell does that mean?" He sputtered.

"It means that his life will be in your hands." She took out several more crystals as she spoke and placed them in a circle in front of the bed the angel was lying on. "If he dies, you will die, and so it is true of the reverse. Also, if he is ever able to return to Heaven, it will mean the death of you, and I can't be sure but this may shorten your lifespan considerably. It will also mean that you will be connected to him in every form of the definition. If you so choose, you will be able to hear his thoughts, know where he is no matter what, you will even have the ability to take full control of his body, which I do not suggest you doing without his permission as there are repercussions for such things that I will put into terms of Karma, so your tiny human mind can grasp it." Without stopping her speech, she moved over to the angel and began drawing symbols on his chest with the ebony rock, for the rock was acting as if it was filled with black paint and left a clear line in each place she drew. "He will not be able to do any of those things to you as it is forbidden for creatures of the light, such as himself, to do so." She paused for a moment and said, "I won't lie to you. While humans can do this and have in the past, there is a great cost. I don't know what it will be for you as this is the first time it has ever, to my knowledge, been done to an angel, but do not be misguided. This is the only way to save him. Now, take off your shirt we are running out of time."

He didn't question her, didn't hesitate, and didn't ask more about what it would cost him. He just removed his shirt and waited as she drew symbols on his chest as well. When she was done, she made him get in the stone circle, which had begun to glow.

She looked at him with unearthly clam sea-colored eyes and said, "Last chance to change your mind."

"Let's get this over with."

"As you wish…" She turned to the angel, and what happened after that Dean couldn't say. He could only remember a blinding flash of light and a pain that was like no other he had ever felt, and that was counting his time in Hell.