Please see prologue for disclaimers/warnings

A/N: Sorry about the lateness of this... I got stuck at work. Whew! Happy to be home :) Many, many thanks to all who took the time to review... I appreciate every word... you made my day again and again ^-^ Thank you also to everyone who read, favorited, or put this on their alerts pages. This of course is my last update for this story. If you still have any tips on stuff I did wrong/right now that it's done, feel free to let me know. Thanks again! :)

Epilogue

The old Volkswagen hippie van trundled along the highway on its small tires. Sam didn't feel safe taking it over sixty five, so they just barely managed the speed limit. Probably for the best, Sam thought, since they didn't really need to draw any extra attention to themselves in a stolen vehicle, nor did they have anywhere they particularly needed to be.

Sam glanced off to his right. Castiel sat in the passenger seat, his seatbelt propping him up while his head rested against the side window, eyes closed, apparently sleeping. In fact he managed to continue to sleep even with the van's poor shocks and the occasional road patches that jarred the vehicle well beyond what would normally be expected in a reasonably maintained vehicle. Sam wondered at the fact that Castiel even needed sleep now, let alone that he was so good at it. Even with so little practice.

Sam couldn't get one incredulous thought out of his mind though. It kept repeating even as he occasionally diverted his attention to other considerations. There would be no more angels and no more demons for him, or at least no more than the usual hunter's lifestyle would produce. At least he hoped this would be the case. But whatever else happened, his death sentence had been lifted, and he and Castiel were riding happily into the sunset, more or less. Except that the angel was now human, vulnerable, and homeless, and Sam needed to figure out what to do with the rest of his life.

The sun had drifted below the horizon about a half hour back, and all that was left was a slightly lighter blue smear of pale twilight in front of them. So much for riding off into the sunset, Sam thought with a sigh, nobody could outrun the sun. Nothing ever ended that easily anyway, but it seemed that the sun always managed to come up over their shoulders eventually, even after a long dark night. Hopefully this would continue to be the case.

"Cas?" Sam finally asked, tired of entertaining his own thoughts. "Castiel? Are you sleeping?"

"Not anymore." Castiel said. After a moment, he straightened up in his seat, eyes still clouded, face drawn with exhaustion.

Sam felt a little guilty for waking him just because he wanted to hear another voice besides the one in his own head.

"I'm sorry, Cas." Sam said. "Go back to sleep."

"That's okay," Castiel replied with a stifled yawn, hand rubbing at his shoulder. "My neck hurts. I believe it's from sleeping."

"It's not from sleeping, it's from sleeping all cramped up in a van," Sam said. "We'll pull over in the next town, find a motel there.

Then it was quiet again, silence hanging like a barrier between the two of them. There were things Sam still wanted... needed to know. Things that didn't sit right with him. If this was God's plan, why was there still inequity? Why did innocents have to pay so that the guilty could be redeemed? Castiel didn't need to hear these questions right now though. He looked lost enough sitting there, and probably didn't need any additional burdens on top of coping with his newly minted humanity. So, Sam stared sadly, quietly into the almost faded light. Castiel stared ahead too, an unreadable expression on his face.

The silence continued for a short while longer before Sam blurted out the thing he promised himself he wouldn't ask only minutes before. Despite himself, there was nothing he needed to understand more. He hoped Castiel would understand.

"What about Jimmy?" Sam tried his very best not to sound accusing, he didn't think he succeeded.

"I told you, he's home."

"In the fields of the Lord... I know, but..."

"No," Castiel interrupted. "He's home with Amelia and Claire. We promised him as much."

"Are they..."

"They're fine."

"On earth..."

"Yes."

"Then how are you still..." Sam waved a hand toward Castiel, "in his body?"

"I'm not." Castiel looked down at himself, appraisingly. "It is similar though. This is is a body much like Anna's... when her earthly form was destroyed after her Grace was restored. A copy of sorts. It has been this way since I was brought back."

"Why didn't you tell me he was okay?"

"I did. In the motel in Kentucky. You acted like you were listening, but I guess I can't always tell. I don't recall you ever asking before that."

"But..." and then Sam stopped. He was done arguing and simply willing to accept the fact that things were simply... the way they were. He allowed himself a long, cleansing breath. It must have come out as a sigh, because Castiel was looking at him, eyes narrowed in concern.

"Are you okay, Sam?" Castiel inquired, staring into him so deeply that Sam almost forgot that he was no longer an angel.

"Yeah," Sam said honestly. Then he shook himself and said more conversationally, "I guess I really am. For the first time in my life... I am. How about you?" There was a long pause as Castiel seemed to reflect on this, then Sam said, "Of course you'll miss Heaven, won't you?"

"I suppose I will," Castiel said, a wistful look on his face. "I'll just need some time. I know I will adapt, but I can't help but to miss it."

His home, his Grace, his identity. Sam realized that it was a stupid question the minute it came out of his mouth, but by then it was already too late. He knew that there was no way Castiel wouldn't miss it... all of it. Sam could see it in his face. Despite his insistence that he was 'all right,' or that it was 'God's will,' Castiel would still feel that hole. Like the day Sam lost Jess, or Dean, or Dad. Some holes could never be filled, while some... well, perhaps the means to heal some were not forever lost. With his new, unblemished life, he was finally in a position to find one. Sam made a decision then and there, and he found himself driving with more purpose, more hope.

"Do you have any idea what you want to do now?" Sam finally asked.

"I'm not sure what type of employment I would be qualified for, if that's what you mean. My skill sets are somewhat limited. What do you think I should do?"

"I don't know. Maybe you could be a minister or something."

"I've been told I'm not very diplomatic," Castiel said shaking his head. "I am... was a warrior of god. We have little use for tact, and I don't think that would go over very well with parishioners."

"Office work? Factory? Sales?... Church librarian?" Sam offered, but Castiel just looked at him blankly and tipped his head slightly to the side as if deep in some line of thought that was just as quickly dismissed.

"A hunter then," Sam said. "You could hang out with me, learn the ropes. Until you get on your feet that is..."

"It would be most appreciated," Castiel said, then nodded approvingly. "I have had positive experience with the shotgun. Yes, I think I would like being a hunter, Sam."

The silence hung between them again, but this time Sam didn't mind. It was comfortable now, no longer filled with too much uncertainty and apprehension, just thoughts of the future. It was a future filled with choices, but none of them would be decided for him anymore. It felt good to be free from the yoke of destiny that had bound him for his whole life. He would no longer be defined by the things that had been done to him, but only by the choices he would make, from now on. Despite the losses that could never be reclaimed, he thought he would be alright eventually. Sam felt sure that Castiel would adapt too, just like he said he would... maybe with a little help from his friends. In fact, he was certain of it.

"Where are we going?" Castiel asked.

"West, I think."

"I realize that. Are we on our way to see Bobby?"

"Yeah," Sam said. "And... well, Indiana's sort of on the way too. Thought we could stop and see how Dean and Lisa and Ben are doing."

"I would like that," Castiel said, with the first true, unadulterated smile on his lips that Sam had seen since this trip began, and then Sam smiled too.

It was true that there were holes in the soul that could never be closed, just slowly scarred over as time passed by... like Jess and Dad; like Heaven and Grace. But then there were those that could be fixed, and Sam knew that for him and for Castiel, there was one hole they had in common that could be healed.

...That somewhere on the road, I will turn into the person I want to be. I will turn into the person I believe I could be, that I am...

-Ira Glass

fin