Castiel was starting to have enough of these stupid visions. He was starting to doubt his own memory, and that simply meant no one was safe around him.

"Meg, I mean it. I'll come back, but I need to figure this all out first. I could never hurt you." He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and was gone before she could even say goodbye. She huffed loudly and slumped back on the sofa, closing her eyes, letting herself drift into the closest form of sleep she could manage.

"I said, leave them alone!" Meg threw herself at the demon, the blade sinking deep through her chest as she started to choke on her own blood.

"And I said back off, little girl." The figure cackled as it faded to black, Meg gasping for air that wasn't coming… She was going to die. But she wasn't dead. She was asleep. This wasn't right.

So jolted upright from her sleep-like trance, panting heavily, looking around frantically. Nothing was making sense anymore.

Dean had almost gotten himself killed, again. Gabriel was starting to have enough of healing his sorry ass every time he "forgot" to pay attention to the various monstrous psychopaths with their names on their lists. He wasn't himself. Sam was starting to think he never would be again.

"They were really close, weren't they?" Sam led back, watching his brother drive off God knows where, leaving him and Gabriel watching pointless TV in the scabby motel room.

"I can't even begin to explain what they had. It wasn't just love. It was... Everything. They quite literally were everything to one another." Gabriel sighed softly, knowing exactly how Dean felt.

"Dean can remember everything?"

"Yes."

"He saw us all... die?" Sam stuttered the last word, refusing to believe that he had just walked away from Death. Again. Gabriel stretched out his entire body, a slight breeze surrounding him as his invisible wings settled back into place against his body, letting his entire body relax.

"Yes." Gabriel closed his eyes, remembering the feeling of the angel blade piercing his rib cage, but the feeling of victory knowing his Winchester was safe. He could only imagine how Deano was dealing with all of this hell.

Sam had fallen asleep and Gabriel was as close to sleep as an angel could get when there was a distinct flutter of wings in the room. Gabriel had forgotten just how fast his reactions were concerning Sam, but he was stood between Sam and the intruding sound in less than a second, poised ready for a full blown attack. Cas didn't even bother to speak, simply walking past Gabriel and collapsing on the bed.

"I don't wish to speak about it, I just wish to lie here for a while. Do not start, Gabriel." Gabriel flung his arms up in mock surrender, taking the seat next to Sam's bed.

"Have you figured anything out yet?" Gabriel was speaking softly, letting himself get distracted by stroking his fingers through Sam's soft hair, clueless of the discomfort this was causing his brother.

"Not that I understand. I see things that haven't happened, and say things that aren't correct." Cas held his head in his hands, until he sat bolt upright, suddenly noticing what had been bugging him since his arrival.

"Where is Dean?" Gabriel shrugged, and tilted his head toward the door.

"He left about two hours ago. He wasn't in a friendly mood so I left him to it. He's a big boy, he can care for…" And Cas was gone.

Dean wasn't okay. He could act better than anybody, but he was not doing well this time. He sat with his legs cross over the edge of the cliffside, looking out across the entire plane ahead of him. It hadn't meant to be like this. Things were meant to go back to normal. Everyone would be alive and happy. Not completely turned upside down. Dean scoffed to himself, realising it was truthfully his fault for not thinking though the deal. He never even asked a single question. He was too selfish.

"Caring is not selfish." The mystery voice nearly caused the older Winchester to jump out of skin and straight off the cliff, but the familiarity of it kept him firmly on the ground.

"Hey Cas. I guess you still don't really know what happened?" Cas shook his head, leaning against the hood of the Impala, thick with dirt and sand. Castiel noted that this wasn't normal either. The Impala had never been anything less than pristine when he had seen it, now Dean couldn't care less.

They sat in silence for almost an hour, neither of them having the words to discuss what was happening; why Dean was out of character and why Castiel could see an alternate reality. That is, until Death reared his ugly head.

"You are as stubborn as I believed, Winchester." The smirk that crossed his face made them both sick to their stomach, Castiel instantly standing between Death and Dean without the knowledge as to why.

"How sweet. He still protects you and he doesn't even know why. How loyal. Like a puppy." Dean snarled at the last comment, pushing Cas back to square up to Death.

"This isn't funny. What you did was not what I asked."

"Oh, but it is. You wanted them alive. They are alive. For now." And he was gone again.

Dean's entire body was tense, his breathing laboured, his face grey. Castiel turned slowly, looked up and down the hunter's ragged form, tilting his head softly to one side, closing the gap between them.

"I remember…" He took the sides of Dean's face gently in his hands a placed a gentle kiss against his lips, never once moving his arms as Dean wrapped his around Cas, bringing him closer.

That was all Dean needed. Just a glimmer of hope.