play... Dean Winchester || So Cold... on youtube... (my inspiration... for Chapter 2)

Jody stood silently, watching the scene before her. She had absolutely no idea what was happening; one minute her and the Winchesters had been hunting vampires. Then just as they thought, they had them all, it turned out that they had indeed been in a trap. A very elaborate trap, and not a trap for Jody, but a trap for the boys. The last vamp, the one that Jody herself had killed, had known the boy's names. He had been waiting for them and he was supposed to kill them.

Instead, Jody had shot Sam and killed the vampire; but something had gone terribly wrong in the meantime. A girl was lying in front of Dean; surrounded by blood, she was clearly dead. The boys were distraught with grief for this girl, that much was clear to Jody, but she had no idea who this girl was or how she had gotten there.

Jody thought back over what had happened. The vampire had Sam by the throat, a gun to his head. He had been walking towards Dean, who stood alone in the aisle of the warehouse. Sam had noticed Jody, she was sure of that. Dean had offered up his life, for his brothers. Sam had tried to fight. Dean was still standing alone when Jody fired at Sam. Sam had gone down hard on his injured leg, but the vampire had managed to throw him and fire his gun. It all happened so fast, but Jody was sure that Dean had still been alone when the gun had gone off; seconds, before she cut the vampires, head off. Yet… How was it that this girl had taken the bullet that was meant for Dean? And, more importantly, where had she come from?

"Dean…" the quiet voice came from Jody's left; as she turned to see who it belonged to a guttural roar came from her right, "YOU…" A raging Dean nearly collected Jody as he took flight, aiming right for the man in the trench coat. "You…" he yelled again as he ran, "You brought her here… You. Did. This." On the last word, Dean made contact with the man. Smashing him to the ground. Dean wrestled with the man until he was on top and with his right arm free; he started smashing the man's face, repeatedly. "She. Is. Dead. Because. Of. You…" each word came out fierce and deep; stone cold, no emotion, emphasised by another punch to the man's face.

"Dean…" It was Sam yelling; Jody just stood there, in shock at this turn of events. Sam had made his way over to his brother, but the pain and effort this small trip took, was written all over his face, walking on his bullet-ridden leg. "Dean…" Sam yelled again in an effort to break through to his brother and stop this mindless beating, but Dean was not coming back from this so easily. All that he could see was his dead sister and the reason she was dead, was lying on the ground in front of him. Ripe for the punishment he was ready to deal out.

Sam caught Dean's arm, as it swung back ready to have yet another go at the now unrecognisable Castiel, who lay bruised and battered on the cold concrete floor. "Don't…" came the strangled cry from Sam's throat. Dean dropped his arm suddenly, taking Sam's balance with it and as he toppled forward, Dean rocked back up onto his feet and spun suddenly to his right. Twisting his arm around so that Sam, who was still holding onto Dean's wrist, fell faster towards him, and Dean, using the momentum of the turn and Sam's slight resistance managed to pull himself up. As he rose, Dean pushed out with both arms pushing Sam so that he flew through the air away from where Dean stood. Sam smashed to the floor, a couple of meters from his brother, as he grunted in pain he pleaded again with Dean, "Don't…" was all he managed before the pain was too much for his body to bear. He unfolded then and his head rolled to the side as he lost consciousness.

The sight of Sam lying there on the floor bought Jody back to her senses and she finally moved from where she had been standing. She started towards Sam but then froze again as she saw Dean moving towards her. As Jody watched, Dean walked past her and made his way back to the girl, who was lying several meters away, down the aisle. When he reached her, he fell to his knees beside her and then he started rocking back and forth in a slow rhythmic way, which scared Jody. The strong and unbreakable Dean was crumbling before her very eyes. 'Who was this girl?' she thought again as she watched Dean, unsure what to do; comfort him, help Sam or, help the man in the trench coat?

As she stood, unable to choose, Jody saw a movement to her left. The man in the coat had risen and made his way over to Sam. Sam groaned as the pain rushed back, into his waking reality; first, the physical pain, at having been shot, and then smashed into the ground by his brother. The emotional pain followed this quickly, as the memories, of why he had a bullet wound, and exactly what was tearing at his brother, came flooding back in.

"Sam…" Sam moved his head back, instantly regretting this tiny movement as more pain arced out from his neck and radiated down his spine. Sam grimaced, breathing in shallow gasps as he tried to stay conscious. Slowly he reopened his eyes and tried to focus on where the voice was coming from. As Sam blinked his eyes, the face, which was now totally clean and free from any evidence that it had just been beaten, came into focus, "Cass?" he asked, remembering Dean's violent outburst and subsequent beat down at hearing that voice. As Sam focused in on the face in front of him, he saw two fingers advancing towards his own face, "No… Don't…" came his strangled cry as he frantically tried to get up.

"Sam… You are hurt. Let me help you?" Castiel looked confused as Sam continued to struggle to sit up and move away from him. "You don't want me to help. You think I did this, don't you?" Castiel's realisation stopped him and his arm dropped slowly to his side, he straightened up as he continued, "Sam. I didn't bring her here."

"Cass, I…" Sam was struggling to stand now, as he spoke, but he stopped suddenly as the pain overwhelmed him again. Jody ran forward, seeing the strain on Sam's face. "Sam. Don't move you're too hurt." Jody warned him, but Sam just shook his head and continued to stand as Jody helped him. Once up, Sam turned to Cass to speak, but Jody beat him to it, "What's happening Sam? Who is that girl? How did she get here? Why is she…" Sam cut her off. "Jody, you should go."

"Go! You want me to go. Go where Sam? I can't leave you… I won't, not now. You are hurt. There is a dead girl over there. Dead because of me…" Jody's voice broke as her anxiety levels rose; she blamed herself entirely for the death of the girl. If it had not been for her, calling Sam and Dean in to help, that girl would still be alive right now and the boy's lives would not be crumbling around them. Jody asked the question, again, "Who is she, Sam? Who did I kill?"

"Jody!" Sam turned to Jody and held her tightly by the shoulders, forcing her to turn away from the scene she was looking at. Dean slowly rocking back and forth in front of the dead girl. "You didn't do this, Jody. This is not your fault!" Jody shook her head vigorously, "It is, Sam. It is! I called you and Dean. I made you come here and now that girl is dead because of me, because of me." Jody's voice rose in pitch as she cried this out to Sam. Sam moved his hands up and cupped Jody's head to stop her from shaking it and force her to look at him. "Jody, this is not your fault! You need to go. To be with Alex and Claire, not here." Sam looked meaningfully at Castiel; he meant Castiel to zap her away. As Jody started to argue with Sam, Castiel moved towards her and raising two fingers he touched her on the forehead and she was gone.

"Where did you send her?" Sam asked.

"To her home."

"Cass, she has two daughters, they are here somewhere, in Wichita." Just as Sam finished speaking, Castiel disappeared. Sam turned slowly, his shoulders drooping under the sheer exhaustion, pain and the memory of seeing Hope lying there, dead. He did not want to see it again, but he forced his head up as he turned and saw Dean kneeling before their sister. Sam started walking towards his siblings, a heavy heart weighing him down. As he arrived by their side, Castiel reappeared.

"I sent them home too."

"Get. Away. From. Here." came the growl of Dean's voice as he stopped rocking and slowly raised his head to stare at Castiel. "You. Did. This." Dean's eyes narrowed in with the pure hatred and anger he was feeling, and his brow furrowed. This, coupled with the ugly tone of his voice, made Castiel take a step backwards, away from Dean.

"Dean, I…" Castiel stumbled, "I didn't bring her here…"

"No. Then how did she get here Castiel? How is it, that one second I am about to take a bullet and the next, she is standing there in front of me, taking it for…" Dean faltered, as the pain, he felt rose up in his chest choking him.

"Dean… I didn't bring her here."

"Cass…" It was Sam speaking now as he tried to understand what had happened while making sure his brother did not fly into another rage. "How else could she have got here? Like that? One second not here and the next…" Sam sighed, shaking his head; he wanted to understand, but at the same time, he just wanted to break down and let somebody else try to work it out. He was done now; all he wanted was to grieve in peace. "Sam. She was talking to me and then she was gone… I tried… I tried to stop her but she was so fast… I could barely… I could… Barely follow… I…" Castiel was breaking down now, shaken by his own memories and the sight of his charge lying dead before him.

"You tried! To stop her!" roared Dean, "You did this. There is no way she could have gotten here… not like that… not by herself. You're the angel, Castiel. You are!" Dean was breathing hard, the anger building up inside him, as he tried to take control of himself.

"Cass… Tell us what happened." Sam begged.

"I didn't bring her… here…" Castiel reiterated before he began his story.

Half an Hour Ago

"Will you stop pacing? It is… Well, I don't know what it is, but you should stop."

Hope stopped pacing at Castiel's request; she looked up at him, desperation crowding her eyes, "Cass… The boys are in danger. We need to go to them. To help them."

"I know you think they are in danger Hope, but Sam and Dean are hunters, they have this under control. You need to sit down and rest; you are not fully healed yet." As he spoke, Castiel moved towards Hope, "Here, let me try again to…" but before Castiel could finish his sentence, Hope swatted away his approaching fingers and blurted, "No! Castiel, the boys are in danger. Why won't you take me to them?"

Castiel stopped short, shaking his head, a deep sadness reaching his eyes. "Hope. They would kill me if I took you to them. You are hurt. They have this… I promise…" Castiel watched as Hope's shoulders drooped and she let out a long breath. She turned away from him and started her slow and unsteady pacing again. Castiel hoped that the boys would be quick, on this hunt, because he was sure that Hope would not rest until they returned.

Castiel and Hope were in the library of the bunker. It had been hours since the boys had left. They had rung Hope, to check in, when they had first met up with Jody Mills in Wichita. From there they were heading to a warehouse, where Jody was sure they would find the vampire's nest. That had been just over an hour ago. They should hear from them soon when the hunt was over, Castiel was sure.

Castiel was standing near the war room, while Hope paced the length of the library. As she passed by her cup of tea, on the second table, Hope absent-mindedly picked it up and took a sip. The tea would have been cold now but Hope did not seem to notice. Castiel slipped back into his mind. Retracing his steps over the past few days, going over the conversations he had had with various demons and angels as he tried to solve the puzzle of Hope's life on the run and the strange events that had occurred with the terrible slaying of several humans across the states. Castiel was no closer to finding anything out about Hope, but he had some information about what might be happening on the other front. He had finally met with an angel called Jehoel; the angel over fire.

An associate of Michaels, Jehoel believed that the strange shimmering, which was followed by humans slaughtering each other, was the result of somebody trying to tamper with the Veil. Both Jehoel and Castiel had no idea why someone would want to do this; nor did they understand why it had that effect on the humans, who just happened to be nearby when the veil faltered here on earth. Castiel was yet to tell Dean and Sam of this new information, as they had been rather preoccupied with the sudden appearance of the secret room and Hope's injuries that she sustained when…

A sharp smashing sound echoed around the library as the porcelain cup Hope had been holding hit the ground, smashing into many small pieces. Castiel ran the length of library and reaching for Hope, he pulled her into his embrace. She was shaking violently and crying, "He has Sam. He has Sam. You must take me there Castiel. Take me to them. They need our help!" Castiel held Hope out so that he could look into her eyes as she continued to mumble about her brothers. "Hope. Look at me." Castiel begged Hope, but she stared past him as if she was watching a terrifying scene of a movie, on a screen that Castiel could not see. "Hope. Hope…" he called again as he grasped her face in his hands and tried to make her see him.

Suddenly she stopped thrashing about and became completely still and silent. Then, without any warning, she cried out, "He is going to kill Dean! No…" and then she was gone. Castiel's hands collapsed in on the air that was now between them. Flustered he let out a yell, before vanishing himself.

Now

"I tried to stop her. I refused to bring her here… but she… she got here anyway… without me… She flew… I don't know how she did that, but she did. I tried to follow her, but you know… you know that I can't track her – she is warded from me. I followed the movements in the realm, trying to trace her whereabouts, but she moved so fast. Faster than any angel, I have ever followed. I lost her tail twice and had to retrace my flight, which is why she got here before me. Before I could stop…" Castiel paused, taking in a sharp breath, and letting it go as his shoulders dropped lower still, "I tried to stop her…" he conceded, "I tried…"

"How could she fly Castiel? She isn't an angel." Sam asked before Dean, whose eyes were flaring with more anger, could attack. "I don't know. I don't understand it – it isn't possible and yet… she did…" Castiel replied; his eyes pleaded with Sam to believe in him, but he could not bring himself to look at Dean or Hope.

"Why? Why didn't you stop her? Castiel?" Dean whispered, turning his face back to Hope as he began to slowly rock, back and forth, again. Dean felt empty. He was lost, floating at sea, and not on calm seas but on an ocean enraged by a storm. It tossed and threw him about; his emotions swinging in the blink of an eye, from rage to a hurt so deep it felt like he himself had been lost. He wanted to kill. Something. He didn't care what at this point, Castiel would do. He wanted to hold on to this blame, and the rage he felt for the angel at this moment, because the truth was much harder feel. To own. Slowly though the rage lessened and the truth, Dean's truth, started slicing away at his heart. It wasn't Castiel. It had never been Castiel. This… Hope's death… was on him. Dean knew that it was his fault and the anger he wanted to cast on Castiel, was for him and him alone, because Hope was here, in this world, his world, because he had failed her. Dean had failed to let her go. He had allowed her to stay in a world where being his sibling surely meant that she would be hurt. Dean's eyes welled up in response to the terrible guilt that joined his truth in destroying him from the inside.

Silence fell over the warehouse.

Sam stood beside Dean; he was in pain from his injuries and his loss.

Castiel stood at Hope's feet, deep in despair.

One tear fell.

As it fell through the air, it glistened in what little light there was.

It hit Hope's chest exactly where the bullet that had killed her had hit.

As Dean watched, a small white light started to blossom from Hope's chest. At first, it was as small as the tip of a pin, but within seconds, it had grown to the size of a fist and before long, it evolved until it had engulfed Hope's chest. The light because so bright that it burned the boy's eyes. "Close your eyes…" Castiel screamed at the boys and they responded by turning their heads away from Hope. The light continued to grow, swallowing up Dean and then Sam and Castiel before it emanated outwards from Hope and lit up the entire warehouse.

Hope's chest rose up off the ground, while a breath was drawn into her body. As the light hit its peak, her eyes opened suddenly, but focused on nothing, before they slowly closed while the drawn in breath left her body. Her chest falling slowly back to the concrete floor and her head lolling to the side, as the light seemed to bounce and then dissipate outwards, leaving the boys back in the dim light of the warehouse once more. Castiel fell to his knees at Hope's feet. He touched his forehead, mouth and then chest as he whispered two words that Sam could not make out. Sam looked down at Hope; she was breathing. "She's alive…" he cried as he moved to kneel by her side, opposite Dean. Dean's eyes were wide and wild. He shook his head not understanding what he was seeing. Hope was definitely breathing, but…

"No…" he whispered.

"Dean… She is alive. She is breathing, whatever that was – it brought her back." Sam whispered back to Dean, afraid that his voice might somehow destroy what had happened. Castiel remained at Hope's feet, confusion the only emotion he displayed in that moment.

"No… It's not her." Dean's voice moved out of its whisper as he became surer of himself.

"Not her? What…" Sam struggled to find the words; confused by his brother's lack of joy and relief at having Hope back. Not her? What was he saying? "Dean…" he sighed, "Hope's here. She's alive…"

"Sammy, it's not her. Hope is not in… there…" as he spoke, Dean pointed at Hope's body, lying on the ground in front of him, "I can't feel her…" Dean looked up into Sam's eyes, the confusion and pain he saw there shook him; all he wanted to do was take the pain away from him, but to do that was impossible because Hope was dead and nothing was going to bring her back, unless…

Dean rose to his feet and taking one last look at his sister's body he strode off in the direction of the door that would lead him to his car.

"Dean…" yelled Sam, as he scampered to his feet to chase after his brother. Turning towards the door, he screamed out in pain, having forgotten his injured leg, and promptly he started to fall to the ground, but Castiel caught him just in time, "Sam. Let me heal you!" he begged, eager to be of some help to his friend. "No…" Sam cried as he shoved Castiel away. He hobbled after Dean, but with his injury, he was much slower than his brother was and by the time he reached the door to the warehouse, it was too late. Sam pushed the door outwards and stepped through just in time to hear the Impala roar to life. The wheels spun quickly in the gravel and small rocks soared through the air. The Impala tore backwards before making a quick one-eighty and with a slight pause, the wheels spun and screeched as the car took off for the road leaving behind a trail of dust. "Dean…" Sam yelled at the dust… "No…"

Sam slumped against the warehouse door, as he watched his brother leave. He had so many questions; why had he left like that. What the hell, was he doing? Why would he leave Hope? "I don't understand…" he whispered to the night. "He is gone. You are hurt. You are losing a lot of blood; you are about to collapse, you need to let me help you." Castiel spoke again, he was almost demanding that Sam allowed him to help; he did not understand why Sam would not want this too. "No… Cass… Just… No…" Sam managed to breathe the words out, as he turned back into the warehouse. He only made a few steps before he collapsed again; this time Castiel was unable to make it to him before he fell to the ground heavily. "Sam…" Castiel pleaded with Sam as he knelt beside him, "Why? Please… I did not bring her here. Why won't you let me help you?"

"Cass… It's not that. It's just…" Sam sighed, unable to put words to what he was feeling. "You want to suffer?" Castiel looked deeply into Sam's eyes, trying to read what Sam was hiding from him, "You don't think you should be healed. That you deserve that. You think you should be suffering… because Hope is dead?" Castiel offered an explanation. "She's not dead, Cass… You saw her. She is breathing." Sam forced the words out, trying to get through to Castiel; had he not seen what had happened with the light? "No. Sam. Dean was right. Hope is not there." Castiel tried to explain, but Sam cut him off, "She is breathing Castiel. Breathing!" Sam's eyes begged with Castiel to believe him, to tell him that he is right, that Hope is not gone.

"Hope's body is breathing, but I… Hope's soul is not there. I cannot sense it. Neither can Dean. Hope is gone. I do not know why her body has revived itself, but Hope is not there. Dean was right about that." With those words, the last bit of hope, that Sam was clinging on to, ripped apart in his chest and a small scream started deep from within his body. It reverberated through him before coming full voice as he opened his mouth, "No…" Sam slumped into unconsciousness as the blood loss and mental anguish finally took its toll.