Chapter 11

Dean and Sam sat quietly on the motel room beds staring at the TV, their food sitting next to each of them, half eaten. They were watching CNN in which the news anchor was talking about the latest celebrity dalliances. Outside there was a rainstorm going on. They could hear the thunder and see the lightening flicker in the windows.

Dean hadn't wanted to stop driving. He was prepared to drive all day every day until they reached Bobby's, but Sam had insisted neither one of them was in any shape to drive that far without any rest. So they found a motel and warded the room with every spell and incantation they could think of as well as extra salt lines and holy water.

But nothing was happening.

"Um… Dean?" Sam finally asked quietly.

"Yeah, Sam?"

"Nothing's happening."

Dean shot him a look. "Thank you, Captain Obvious."

"But… we saw it… we saw Lillith die… and the blood… and the light…"

"I know!"

"So why hasn't anything happened yet?"

Dean sighed. "I don't know, Sam."

Sam ran a nervous hand through his hair.

"It's just… I know what to do to fight demons and stuff like that, Dean… Dad trained us to fight… but this…? We're just… sitting here! And nothing is happening! And we have absolutely no idea what to do!"

Dean let out a shuddering breath as he watched Paris Hilton on the TV wave at the paparazzi with a smile on her face. This wasn't what he had expected. Of course, he had expected they would stop the Apocalypse from actually happening. He hadn't really let himself think too much about what exactly would happen if Lucifer was set free.

But this? Definitely not what he had expected. The only death and destruction they had seen was all crap that had been happening every day for as long as they could remember. No reports of demons taking over cities. No reports of sightings of Satan. Just… nothing.

"I know, Sammy," Dean said quietly, finally looking over at his brother. "But we'll get through this. We're going to get to Bobby and maybe he'll have the answers we need when we get there. And it can't stay quiet forever. Something's gotta happen soon."

They both fell silent and returned to watching TV.

"Do you think Cas is OK?"

Dean flinched at the question. He had desperately trying not to think about the angel, but Sam's question brought all the buried emotions to the surface.

"I don't know," Dean answered quietly.

"What do you think they did to him?"

Tears stung Dean's eyes and he quickly cleared his throat and turned his head, trying to hide them. He didn't want to think about it. In truth, he hated himself for dragging Castiel into this mess. The last thing he had wanted was for Castiel to be left on his own. Not that Dean could have done much, but Castiel shouldn't have had to be alone. And maybe dead…

"I don't want to know," Dean admitted quietly. "We can't think about that, anyway. He did his job to buy us time and let us get away. That's what we did."

Sam looked down at the bedspread, his face full of grief.

"I'm sorry, Dean," Sam said quietly.

Dean shot a look at Sam. "Dude, don't-"

"I mean it, Dean! I'm sorry I didn't listen to you or to Castiel. Instead I let myself trust… her… and now look at me! I'm a fucking monster, Dean!"

Dean jumped off his bed over to Sam and grabbed him by both arms.

"Shut up, Sam! You're not a monster so don't talk like that!"

Sam met Dean's gaze, his eyes filled with tears.

"But… I drank demon blood! I broke the final seal, Dean! I set Lucifer free!"

"Yeah, and I tortured souls and broke the first seal that got everything started! We both fucked up, Sam! And we both got screwed over and manipulated into doing it! We have spent our entire lives trying to do the right thing and save lives! Even though all this has happened we're not going to stop fighting because of it! We're human beings, Sam, and we're gonna screw up once in a while. But this time… this time we have each other and we're going to fight this battle together. So stop all this crap about you being a monster and shit because I don't want to hear it! It's time to move on."

They sat silently looking at each other for a moment. Finally, Sam swallowed hard and nodded slowly.

"OK."

Dean studied him for a moment before finally releasing his grip on his arms and nodding as well.

"Alright then."

Both brothers managed a small smile of relief. The tension that had been between them lessened, bringing back a sense of the bond they once had.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Both Dean and Sam jumped and spun around to face the door. Sam quickly went for the demon knife on the nightstand while Dean went and grabbed the shotgun. They looked at each other and gave a quick nod, each knowing the other's role. Dean went to the door and stood ready.

"Who is it?" He yelled.

"Dean… help…" A weak but familiar voice called back.

Oh God.

Dean's heart leaped to his throat and his eyes widened. He shot a glance at Sam who looked just as shocked as he was. Dean took a deep breath, reminding himself this could just be a trap. With trembling fingers he unlocked the deadbolt and swung open the door, shotgun aimed and ready.

He barely recognized the figure in front of him. Castiel's face appeared almost ashen and his clothes were soaked and dirtied with blood and mud. He was supporting himself by propping himself up with the doorframe while his other arm was wrapped tightly around his middle. His face was bruised and swollen, his eyes filled with pain.

"Dean," Castiel gasped and he stumbled forward. He would have fallen if Dean hadn't managed to catch him in time. Dean lowered him to the floor while Sam ran over and slammed the door shut.

"Shit… shit! Cas… Cas… what happened? What did they do to you?" Dean asked frantically as he wiped Castiel's sopping hair from his face.

"Dean," Castiel moaned. "He… I… I'm hurt…"

"It's OK, Cas. It's OK. You're with us now. Sam and I will get you all patched up, OK? Just hand in there and you'll be back to being a holy pain in the ass again in no time, OK?" Dean said, forcing a weak smile on his face.

Sam knelt down beside them and froze.

"Dean… what is that?" Sam whispered.

Dean looked at Sam and then followed his gaze. His breath caught in his throat when he saw what Sam was referring to.

Castiel's arm had fallen away from his stomach, revealing the gash that was there. Mixed with the blood Dean could see a strange bluish light that was also seeping out. Dean felt his heart sink as he realized what it was.

"My grace…" Castiel gasped painfully. "He… he cut out… my grace…"

Sam's face filled with horror. Dean was frozen, helplessly watching as the last bit of light trickled out of the fallen angel. He watched the light flicker and then finally go dark. He looked back at Castiel who was whimpering with fear and pain.

"We have to get him to Bobby's," Dean said quietly.

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I know! I know! I'm an evil awful person for ending it here! And y'all are gonna think I'm even more evil and awful when I tell you I probably won't be able to update again until Friday night! *ducking and running for cover* BUT… before you go nuts, just know that my vacation starts Friday as well and I will have a whole week to write and update! : ) So be patient! I'll do my best to make it worth the wait!