And the next chapter and a (pretty late) Happy New Year to everyone who follows this story.
Let us start with a calm chapter...

Chapter 34

Birdsongs…

These were the first things he heard when he slowly woke up.

Slowly he stepped out of the darkness that had held him captive for so long.

His eyelids fluttered, a low moan slipped from his throat as the sunlight hit his face. He opened his mouth, tried to speak, but the words didn't dissolve from his throat. Instead only a gasp came out of his mouth, because his throat was dry. He tried to open his eyes, but the sunlight stung like a thousand needles in them and so he let it be. He tried to orient otherwise. His fingers closed around a soft blanket that lay on his body as he clenched his fists. His head was bedded on a fluffy, comfortable pillow and the pain in his body...it was gone.

There were no bleeding deep wounds, no more broken bones, nothing!

Only his head ached as though a tank drove over it.

His eyes got used to the stabbing light and he managed to open them a little further and the place where he was slowly took shape.

He saw old furniture in the small room in which he found himself.

Thin curtains hung in front of the window, but couldn't stop the sun.

He himself lay in a bed, which he knew all too well and his lips curled into a small smile and also his heartbeat calmed down a bit, as he began to realize where he was.

He was in Bobby's house and he was safe.

There were no longer angels or demons who wanted his death, no more pain, which robbed him of his mind, no more fear to be thrown into the depths of hell and there was no longer Lucifer who wanted to take over his little brother's body.

At the thought of Sam Dean's eyes widened and his heartbeat quickened again.

His brother!

Where was his brother?

Was he safe?

Or did Lucifer manage to get him in the end?

Panic took over of his body, as he thought about that and he would have loved to open his mouth and scream, but not a single sound came over his dry lips.

Minutes seemed to become hours and taciturn he just lay there, looking at the ceiling, his eyes still wide open. His chest rose and fell quickly; his heart was pounding wildly in his chest and in his mind arose terrible images he never wanted to see!

He saw Sam how tried to fight against Lucifer.

He saw how he lost the fight and how the Devil took over his body.

Then he saw the Archangel Michael in front of him and how he raised his sword against the only man in his life, which he loved more than anything else in this world.

Before his thoughts could go on further, became even more terrible, a noise penetrated his ears, which had its origin outside the door to Bobby's bedroom.

Steps!

Slowly someone climbed up the wooden stairs and came into his direction.

Closer and closer…

The doorknob was moving and only moments later, the door opened slowly and with a creaking, which sounded like fireworks in Dean's ears. The hunter turned his head ponderously to the side, trying to see who came through the door and entered the room and when his eyes met the person, all worry and anxiety fell away from him.

"S-Sammy..." he managed to get out with difficulty.

His younger brother was at his side almost immediately, looked down at him with a look in his eyes, as he didn't believe that his brother was with him again.

"Dean! Is everything alright? How do you feel? Do you feel any pain?"

Too many questions, way too many questions!

The older hunter turned his head back in a straight position, closed his eyes briefly and swallowed, causing a terrible burning sensation in his throat.

"Water..." he whispered so softly that Sam could barely understand him.

The younger brother had nevertheless understood him, got up and disappeared into the small bathroom, which was adjacent to the bedroom. A few moments later he came back with a glass of water. He helped Dean to sit up, led the glass to his lips, but Dean pushed his hand away and told him that he needed no help, that he could do this himself, but he couldn't. He was too weak and inwardly he was glad for the help his brother offered to him and so he drank without grumbling. The icy water tasted like the sweetest honey he had ever tasted, like silk put on his sore throat and robbed him of his pain.

"That's good Dean. Drink."

The glass was emptied in no time and Dean felt a lot better than before and also speaking seemed to be easier for him now, but Sam wanted him to spare his voice.

But Dean had questions.

Had a lot of questions and he wanted answers to these questions.

He didn't want to wait until his throat would feel better, because he wanted to have answers to his questions now. But before he got the chance to get a word out of his mouth, steps penetrated his ears again, that quickly approached the small bedroom and only moments later the door opened again and Gabriel entered the room.

Dean felt how a wave of relief overran him; one of the most beautiful feelings that he had felt for a long time.

His brother was fine, Gabriel was fine and from the floor among them Dean heard the muffled sound of moving wheelchair wheels, which told him that also Bobby was fine.

But one person was still missing...

"Well look at who is back among the living."

Gabriel's voice tore him from his daydreams and the elder hunter turned his full attention to the Archangel, who was much too cheerful for his taste.

"Gabriel...you're alive?" Dean managed to ask and a small smile formed even on his face, which the Trickster replied happily and he sat down on a chair beside the bed.

Sam meanwhile had sat down on the bed, right next to his older brother.

"Yes I live Dean-o, and it's nice to see that you're back with us as well."

"H-how long...?"

"How long were you unconscious? Almost two full days."

It took Dean a few moments to realize the meaning of those words.

"Two days ..." he whispered and he could hardly believe it.

He forced himself to calm down and turned his head back to Gabriel.

"Have you healed me?"

The gentle smile faded from the face of the angel, his gaze turned serious.

"No. I myself was very weak and thus I wasn't able to heal you. I have not even had enough power to get us out of there. Dean. What do you remember?"

The question seemed to surprise the hunter, because he was silent for a while, seemed to be thinking.

"I...I remember pain...hellish pain. It's as if I still could feel their claws and fangs."

He shuddered.

"I remember Lucifer. He laughed as they have torn me to pieces...or at least they tried. Then I can only remember a bright light. It was so blindingly bright that it burned in my eyes and I heard words I couldn't understand. That's the last thing I can remember. Then I woke up here."

His gaze went restlessly between his brother and Gabriel back and forth and he dared not to ask the next question.

"If you haven't healed me...then who did it?"

Gabriel's gaze softened, but the smile didn't return to his face when he opened his mouth and said what Dean had secretly been thinking:

"Castiel has healed you Dean. And he was the one who has saved our lives..."