AN: Again, just a reminder that this is speculative season 9 as in I do not know anything about season 9 - and with all the tid-bits being released I think we can safely say that this story is heading to AU territory. Thanks to MissMe13 for beta-ing :)

FOUR HOURS AFTER THE ANGELS FELL

"Finally," Dean muttered, pulling the Impala just in front of the Batcave's door. Sam hadn't moved a muscle since passing out, leaving Dean with hours of silence and a thudding chest when Sam's chest movement was so slight it appeared as if he was not breathing. Placing a palm against Sam's neck, he swore at the heat radiating from his body and shook his brother's bony shoulder. No response. Huffing out a breath, Dean wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulders, mindful of his height as he got Sam out of the car. "Fine princess, we're only doing this your way because you're unconscious."

As he approached the door, the sounds of alarms were blaring. Propping Sam against his body, he banged on the door so hard that he was sure his knuckles would be bruised in a few hours. When there appeared to be no sign of Kevin coming to greet them, he cursed. Sam let out a groan, his head dropping until it was just under Dean's chin, knees slightly bent in an attempt to stand.

"De'."

Brushing sweaty bangs away from Sam's forehead, he shuffled them closer to the door. "Shh. I know, Sammy."

The door swung open. "I swear I didn't touch anything!" Kevin said, holding his hands up in surrender. "Everything just happened. All the equipment turned on and the map on the table lit up and-"

"Kevin!" Dean barked, stopping the panicky garble. "I don't care, help me get him inside." Dean watched Kevin drop his bag on the floor, the kid's eyes expecting harsh words and demanding answers. Kevin looked like he was going to say something but Dean glared hard, jerking his head in Sam's direction. Sam was the present issue, not Kevin running away. That could be handled later and, in all honesty, he wasn't really that pissed, though it probably helped that Kevin hadn't made it out the door in the first place.

Relinquishing one of Sam's sides, he allowed Kevin to come around and together they slowly walked the younger Winchester down the stairs. "An elevator would have been too much to ask," the prophet grumbled to himself. Dean almost smirked, remembering a similar conversation with Sam after the first trial had been completed. Lugging a dazed and confused six-foot-four sasquatch down the stairs and into the bunker had not been easy.

"Kevin. Bathroom. Bathtub filled with cold water. Go, now." Dean ordered, swinging Sam into the corridor. He readjusted his grip as Kevin sprinted ahead to the bathroom. "Cas? Where the hell are you?" he muttered. He was angry at the angel because dammit, Castiel was so broken before and after Purgatory that he didn't know how to put his friend back together. Saying 'sorry' with a board game, appearing naked on the hood of the Impala...that was not cool in the slightest and then Castiel had said he might kill himself. Those words had left his stomach rolling and driven him near the brink of insanity for days after. And now, did he even know what he had done? Did he know that he dropped the angels...hell, had he even dropped with them?

Finally reaching the bathroom, he deposited Sam, as gently as he could, on the edge of the tub. "What else do you need?" he heard from behind him.

"See if you can track down Garth." When he heard the footsteps leave, he assessed Sam, opening his eyes and seeing the glaze upon them, noting the red flush on his skin and the shaking of his body. Carefully, he hauled Sam's legs over the rim of the tub and into the water before sliding him in the rest of the Sam submerged, he removed his sodden shoes and socks, then knelt by his brother's side. "Listen Sam, I'm gonna see if Garth can find us a doctor," he began, letting his fingers run through the cold water. "I said no hospitals, but man, this is out of my territory and I'm flying blind." He so needed Bobby.

"What's going on?" Kevin yelled minutes later, skidding to a halt just outside the door. "Garth said he'd call back later. But he said that there was like a meteor shower or something except some hunters are saying people are getting dropped from the sky. They were all out cold, but alive. And then he said he's getting calls from all over the world." Dean got up, mindful of Sam still floating in the tub and watched as the prophet face changed to shock."You said this would be all over and then Castiel said that this would never be over. What the hell?"

Quickly striding over, he grabbed the kid's shoulder and bent a little so they were face to face. "Listen to me, Kevin...hey, Kevin!" he yelled, snapping his fingers in an attempt to draw some focus. "Trust me when I say that I'm sorry that you got dragged into this shit. Now I don't know how, but those weren't people. Those were angels."

"Dean-."

Shaking Kevin slightly, he continued. "I need you to keep your game face on, okay? C'mon man, at the moment, you are the smartest kid in the room and we need you to stay onside." The words felt like empty platitudes even if it was the truth. Dean steered him out into the corridor and pushed him in the direction of his room. "Rest up, okay...oh and Kev? You're doing good, kid." He watched Kevin walk away in a daze and he shook his head.

The opening bars of his ringtone blared in the silent room. "Kevin texted me to call you guys. Did you really break heaven?" Garth asked. "That is the dumbest thing I've heard and believe me, I've seen my fair share of dumb."

"Don't 'Bobby' me, Garth," Dean said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Garth, Sam needs a doctor, like, a hunter doctor." There was silence on the other end of the line. "Garth? Garth. Garth! Dammit! Garth! Answer me!"

He could hear muffled shouting before Garth's calm voice funnelled through the speaker. "Chill, Deano. Give me the address and Sam's symptoms. I've got a guy on the other line who's leaving right as we speak."

Huffing out a laugh, Dean gave the information over, for the brief time things seemed to be looking up. He looked over at Sam still floating in the water and sighed. "And just FYI, we didn't break heaven."

Garth huffed, voice drifting softer as he spoke to someone else before returning once again with his final parting. "I gotta go and, by the way, thanks for cleaning the boat."

_?_?_

He woke up shivering, still on the rain-sodden floor, his posture changing to one of defeat after realizing that everything that had occurred wasn't a nightmare.

Pulling his coat close around him, Castiel stood up unsteadily and walked without a particular direction in mind. As he placed his hands into damp pockets, his finger curled around a thin leather wallet. Curious, he pulled out the beaten wallet and flipped it open, watching in fascination as a drop of water fell from his fringe and tracked a path across his laminated face - the name of the ID bearing James Novak. Searching through the wallet, he found cash and credit cards, his fingers tracking the edges of the seam continuously until his dirty fingernail tugged a loose scrap of paper.

Anger burned through his body, his mouth twisting in disgust. The piece of paper fell from his hand and to the ground, rainwater diluting the blue ink and making it run like tear tracks. His steps quickened, beating a hasty retreat from the truth of a madman's parting words:

Castiel, I can't wait for your return.
And to hear of your many adventures.
-M

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