Free wifi on vacation is the best. I've got a couple minutes here, so I figured I'd post the next chapter, though I'm a day late.

Dean POV

The glint of metal registers, as does the fact that I'm about to die at Abaddon's hands. Her victory smile is already in place, twisting her expression into one of grotesque glee. And I know there's no way I'm moving in time.

Until I do.

Something solid slams into my shoulder, taking me off my feet. The side of my face cracks against the now wet floor and I feel the warm trickle of blood start to make its way down along my jaw, turning almost pink as it blends with the holy water. I'm dazed and more than a little bewildered, but the next sound I hear brings everything back into focus with resounding clarity.

Castiel's scream.

It cuts deeper than any knife, ringing through my ears like a gunshot, and it's followed by the heavy thud of a body hitting the ground next to mine. My head is hammering and ears are throbbing and none of this makes any sense because Cas is gone, long gone. We sent him away. He's safe, riding shotgun in the Impala on the way to some nameless town with Kevin in the driver's seat. I know all of this.

So then why is it that when I pick my head up off the floor, I see the familiar mop of messy dark hair lying still, way too still on the ground next to me? Why is it that Abaddon's laugh slices a hole in my heart as she casually turns to kill two of Crowley's demons that have approached her from behind, braving the effects of the holy water? I watch, still dazed, as she licks blood from her stained fingernails, her attention now returned to me. I push myself up by my elbows, catching sight of my angel blade lying a few feet away. I inch towards it, my eyes scanning the room for Sam, only to find him preoccupied with several of Abaddon's higher-level demons. The holy water hisses beneath their feet, but doesn't seem to be affecting them all too much as they lunge at my little brother. He tries desperately to fight them off, casting terrified glances my way, screaming my name.

I wince as the pain in my skull intensifies, tears springing unwillingly into my eyes. Abaddon stalks towards me slowly, lazily. She knows she has all the time in the world to kill me. My gaze shifts between her vicious grin, Sam's blurring form, and Cas's unmoving one as I continue to crawl away from her and towards the weapon that sits just out of reach.

"Come on now Dean," Abaddon chides, "you're not as smooth as you think." She raises her eyebrows at me, and I groan in dismay as the angel blade slides from my grasp, skidding to a stop once it's positioned behind her. "Oh I've been waiting for this," she chuckles, knocking her toes playfully against my boots as she gets closer, lowering herself to look me in the eye. I stiffen, meeting her gaze and awaiting the first blow.

"Ehem."

Abaddon pauses in her advance, her face just inches from mine. Her eyes narrow when she hears the arrogant grunt behind her and she regains her feet, spinning in one smooth motion to face the source of the interruption.

"Crowley," she drawls, cracking her neck and blinking slowly at the King of Hell. Crowley stands a few feet away, his usually spotless attire now stained with blood. Despite his battered appearance, he grins, shifting my recently discarded angel blade easily in both hands.

"Abby," he nods in response, his smile widening when she growls menacingly at the nickname. "Aw come on now, I thought you and I were getting along. You know, despite the fact that you attempted to seize my throne, you pompous mountebank." Crowley takes another measured step towards her and she tenses in response. I watch from my place on the floor, not daring to move lest I draw attention back to myself. A quick glance at my brother tells me that he's managed to take care of the demons that attacked him. Like me, he's now frozen in place. Waiting.

I risk another glance towards Cas, my jaw clenching when I see the knife protruding from his back. Nonononono.

I'm so focused on looking for the rise and fall of his chest that I barely register the clash of metal until the second or third blow. When I finally look up, I see that Crowley and Abaddon are now locked in brutal combat, Crowley swinging his angel blade while Abaddon wields what looks like a mix between a samurai sword and something straight from Purgatory. Abaddon has the upper hand when it comes to speed, but the King of Hell deflects each blow almost calmly, his occasional witty banter serving only to drive Abaddon further into a rage, her weapon slicing through the air with even greater purpose. As their fight takes them farther away from where I lay, I crawl my way over to Cas, rolling him carefully onto his side. Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead.

Sam reaches us then, dropping to his knees by my side, looking me over quickly. I give him a short nod before he even asks if I'm okay, but I can't meet his eyes. Instead they're glued to the man on the floor next to me.

"C...Cas?" I whisper, afraid to say his name. Afraid I won't get a response.

But I do.

He groans, his eyelids fluttering until he finds my face, smiling up at me like it's fucking Christmas morning. I smile back, but it forced, laced with anger and horror. Because he isn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to fucking listen to me for once in his life and get the hell away from this fight. God he can't die. He just can't. And yet I saw where the knife went in. I know he's lucky to have survived for even this long, to still be breathing. And I also know there's no way he'll get help in time. Unless...

"ADRIELLA? ADRIELLA DAMMIT WHERE ARE YOU?!" I scream her name again and again, my voice breaking when there's no response. I finally meet Sam's eyes, seeing the tears pooling behind them, and it only fuels my denial, my rage. No. Hell no. This isn't knife was meant for me...

Cas coughs, curling in on himself and groaning, tears springing into his eyes. He tries to speak, but ends up coughing again, his fingers latching onto my arm, digging in hard as the pain finds him again, rippling across his back to the place where the knife still juts out.

"It's okay Cas. It's gonna be okay," I lie, running a shaky hand along my jaw, trying to get a grip.

"ADRIELLA!" Sam calls again before I can, inching closer to rest his hand on Cas's trembling shoulder. It's then that I notice the jagged slice along the length of my little brother's arm. It flows freely, dripping onto Cas's sweatshirt.

"Sam, you okay?" I ask guiltily, disturbed by the fact that I hadn't paid attention to his injuries before now.

"Yeah, fine," he replies distractedly, not looking at me. Instead he's watching with fixed fascination at the place where his blood has settled on Cas's shoulder. I'm about to ask what he's looking at when I see it too- a barely discernible glow that emanates from his bloodstain.

"Sam...?" his name is a question, but he just shakes his head.

"I don't know Dean, I...hold on," he says, pushing past me as he crawls his way to where the knife rests in Cas's back. "Cas? Cas, this is gonna hurt okay?" Sam warns, grasping the hilt.

"Sam are you sure that's..." My question is interrupted by Castiel's deafening scream. His nails dig into my arm, drawing long scratches as he writhes on the ground, his blood now flowing from where the knife used to be. "SAM?" I yell, my attention torn between Cas's agonized expression and my little brother's determined one.

I watch, paralyzed, my arm still tethered to Cas's as Sam places his bleeding cut above the hole in Cas's back, their blood mixing together, creating that same faint glow. Cas sucks in a startled breath, drawing my attention back to his face. He stares up at me in confusion, but the pain is no longer evident in his expression.

"S...Sam? What did you...do?" I ask, my eyes flicking back and forth between my brother and Cas.

"Angel blood," Cas answers, his voice startlingly strong now, the color rapidly returning to his cheeks. He releases his grip on my arm, slowly pushing himself up onto his knees. I watch in disbelief, stunned into silence. But he was dying...

"When you healed Sam using angel blood, there seem to have been residual effects," Cas continues. "Namely, that Sam now has angel-like abilities due to the blood still flowing through his system. I personally have never seen anything like it, but there are rumors; stories. It could also have something to do with the mixture of demon and angel blood. That would be my prediction anyway."

I gape openly at my little brother, still too bewildered to speak. Sam wrinkles his nose in confusion, but there's a hint of understanding in his expression, as if Cas's explanation has answered a burning question I didn't even know existed. He sighs, pushing himself to his feet and then offering a hand to help me up. I accept it, still staring at him as both Cas and I make our way to our feet.

"Let's worry about this later okay?" Sam pleads, turning towards the garage stairway. "We've still got some stuff to take care of, yeah?"

I nod. "Where are Crowley and Abaddon? And where's Kevin, Cas?" I ask, my eyes roaming the room that is now empty save for the three of us.

"I imagine he has joined the fight. Neither of us was particularly interested in fleeing," Cas replies, twisting his back as if to relieve the stiffness.

"Yeah well that worked out brilliantly for you, huh?" I roll my eyes, anger seeping back into my voice. "Cas what the hell were you thinking?"

"Dean. Later," Sam cuts in, checking the ammo strapped to his belt. "Let's go. Let's finish this."

Next update probably won't be for a little over a week now, so I apologize, but I will get back to it and one way or another, the boys will "finish this". Have a beautiful day and as always, thank you for taking the time to read and/or review!