Thank you to new favoriters/followers! And to everyone who has joined along the way :) I just had to update again, what can I say? I'm a grade A procrastinator. At least this is the result ;) Thank you for your reviews! I wish I could thank you all by name, but I'll do that in the end. Just know that I am thanking you, yes you, whoever is reading this! Now, on with the story!

The sky had faded from a pinkish-gray to the crisp blue sky of the early morning. The sounds of violence seemed to have died down right away after the great event. It was almost too quiet for comfort, as the small amount that comprised the last of the enemy were being destroyed.

Gabriel had sunk to his knees, gazing painfully at what he'd just done. His beloved brother was there before him, the dead, sickly light of his grace was fading quickly. He looked over all the parts that made him into the being he was. He looked at each addition and could remember exactly all the memories he'd made with Raphael as they both grew up together. That was such a long, long time ago. They'd grown up together, becoming stronger together with each passing day.

He remembered it as if it were yesterday; it was just the four of them in the beginning, and things had been easy and simple. They were the four unbreakable brothers, the four only sons. Michael was the oldest, always looking after his snot-nosed little brothers and keeping them out of trouble. He'd act authoritative and like he was the boss, but all of them knew he loved them through it all. Lucifer had been extremely smart and full of personality with strong morals, he had an amazing compass pointing to personal rights and wrongs. Too bad that it had pointed completely wrong when he was cast down. Gabriel remembered how he himself had been; full of energy, cunning, tricky and with a large sense of humor. Him and Michael had been close, the older brother loved Gabriel's spark, and it was as if he fulfiled the itch to be devious just by observing Gabriel doing so. Raphael had always been the thoughtful, kind one, and he was definitely the least outgoing out of the brothers. He had such kind eyes and thoughtful words. Gabriel shook his head. No. That Raphael had left a long time ago.

Gabriel wished things had never gone haywire, that things never wound up this messed up. Each brother chose strikingly different paths to deal with the problems that arose. Lucifer had hated the humans immediately, and he was filled with jealousy and anger until it consumed him. Then, he'd been cast down. That left a sour taste in all the brother's mouths, especially Raphael, who agreed with Lucifer but didn't express it. Things kept going downhill from there. The sweet, kid brothers who had been close-knit were no longer. Michael was consumed with the need to be perfect, especially as new younger brothers and sisters arrived. Raphael began to grow more and more resentful and dark with each passing day, hating that he was always in his brother's shadows, the shy one, always overlooked and underestimated. Gabriel had gotten tired of his family the greater it grew and the further his brothers fell. He'd left it all completely, when they needed him most. He still felt regret that that had been the path he'd chosen to take.

"I'm sorry, Raphael. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Gabriel sobbed, feeling sadness well up in his chest and spill out to his surroundings like a flood. "I wish it didn't have to be this way. I loved you. But not what you'd become, brother. We both know the real you had died a long, long time ago."

He pictured in his mind's eye the four of them, happy and young, before all the problems had started. Michael, with his shining young green eyes and pure white wings. Their eldest brother, the gaurdian to all three of them. Raphael with his light brown hair, light coco complextion and intellegent amber-and-brown eyes, with those beautiful silvery-gray wings. Lucifer, with his regal crimson eyes bright and sleek black hair that matched his wings. He missed those times with all his heart.

Gabriel sobbed and felt his chest squeeze with greif as he caved in on himself.

"You did the right thing, Gabriel." Michael had appeared next to him, he slung a scar-crossed arm over his shoulder and hugged him tight. "You're right. The real Raphael left a long, long time ago."

Gabriel looked at the body once more before it disappeared. Suddenly aware he still held the weapon that had killed his brother, he flung the blade away in disgust. Michael brought his little brother into a full hug, wrapping him into his heavily scarred body.

"You still have me, Gabe. You'll always have me." Michael said, just a trace of tears in his voice.

When did everything take such a turn for the worse? Gabriel found himself wondering. Why did all these bad things happen? They'd been so happy before.

Gabriel hugged his older brother back tightly. At least he had him. And to think he'd almost turned evil himself; the thick scars would always be a reminder.

"We have each other, Micky. It's all being to be okay now," Gabriel cried, not able to contain it as the air was doused with another extreme burst of sadness. Michael ruffed his hair, still not letting go. He was smiling ever so slightly. Oh, Gabe. He'd never stop calling him Micky, would he?

"It's all going to be okay," Michael agreed, just one tear slipping down his cheek as he squeezed his brother tighter into his arms, a tiny smile on his face.

Then, it was clear that the enemy had been killed down to every last man when the air began to hum, stirring up primal angel emotions in the two of them. They pulled away, looking with amusement into each other's eyes. They thought this would occur only once.

Their six wings seemed to stretch on their own accords, filling the air with the first humming, beautifully low notes, the very beginning of the oldest song in all existence.

Dean slowly opened his eyes after the last, final clash was over, and the air had grown silent for a few minutes. The first thing that happened was the sound of music filled the air, a melodic humming that seemed to come from everywhere at once.

The tune felt so amazingly familiar, but Dean had no idea when he had first heard it. It was like a Christmas song; he felt warm and fuzzy inside just listening to it, as his heavy chest lilted with every note that he knew somehow by heart.

The second thing he noticed was the sound wasn't coming from the air at all. His wings were humming, sharp edges of the feathers exposed to the air and somehow letting out these low notes. Dean looked wearily to his left; Cas's were doing the same thing. Probably everyone around them was having the same thing happen.

"The angels are singing," Castiel said quietly, tipping to lean his head back and look at the sky, which had slowly faded into the light blue of the morning. He closed his eyes and listened, he hadn't looked this at peace in a long time.

"I haven't heard this since I was a kid," he said again, and he had a small smile on. This must mean everything was over. That they'd won.

Dean tried to focus on Cas's face as his vision began to blur and spot painfully, black fading over his eyes like a painful veil. He felt his neck lolling as he suddenly was struck with a bought of weakness. Just when everything had ended, when it was safe, Dean collapsed completely.

Sam looked up to the sky, breathing heavily. He felt his wings stiffen as a sweet lullaby filled the air. He wiped his face of some dark, cold mud, and looked to the sky. He was exhausted, but there was only one thing that gave him any motivation to even move.

He crawled from the pit he was in, getting mud all over his legs and arms. He called the heaven to mind, wanting to go there more than anything. He saw it just a few feet in front of him, and he pressed his lips together and set his mind on it. He rolled through the barrier, collapsing and hitting the floor from a few inches. He let out a groan and held his leg, gritting his teeth.

"Sam!" Jess cried out, and suddenly she was by his side, placing a small hand in the middle of his chest and a hand on the back of his head, lifting his head gently. He opened his eyes just a little to see her face. She was starkly clean, but all the filth on him was starting to rub off on her pure white dress, on her clean hands. She was smiling at him, her blue eyes sparkling as her eyes crinkled just a tiny bit in the corners. A little piece of blonde wavy hair had fallen into her face.

"It's over, isn't it?" She asked, sweeping a lock of dark hair from Sam's face, leaving behind a streak of mud. He said nothing as he curled up and hugged onto Jess tightly. It was over. This was the thing he'd been fighting for, and now he finally had her in his arms. He never wanted to leave her like that again.

Jess laughed lightheartedly and looked up into Sam's face. She gave him a little kiss, and Sam laughed when she pulled away she had a bit of mud on her clean cheek. He reached up to clear it away, but instead left an even darker, wider smudge. She grabbed his hand and used all her strength to haul him up by the arm. Sam's wings were heavy with mud as he tried to get up off the floor.

Jess was there for him as he stood up and leaned on her, walking with a lopsided limp to get back to the dorm room.

"Let's get you all cleaned up. I like your antlers, by the way." She laughed, wrapping and arm around his midsection to help him walk. Sam snorted and laughed. He'd almost forgotten, he'd gotten so used to his addition.

They had almost reached the dorm as Sam got the horrible feeling of putting his foot down wrong. It all happened so quickly that he couldn't remember everything that happened, but as he put his injured foot down he felt his whole leg give, and the next thing he knew he had slammed into the floor, cracking it. He had tried to reach instinctively for anything to hold as he felt himself falling.

Sam gritted his teeth, getting his bearings, and he looked up at Jess. He felt his stomach drop like he was on a roller coaster.

"Oh, my god. Jess, Jess, I'm so sorry!" He couldn't believe that he had hurt her, but the evidence was right in front of him. Where he had reached, his hand had slid down her forearm, breaking the skin in three straight lines. The skin had concaved and looked like it would have major brusing, and her skin had broken just a bit down the centers, leaking a small amount of blood.

Jess pressed her arm close to her chest. "Sam, it's okay. You're learning," she said, trying to comfort him. Sam didn't want to be lied to. He knew that what he'd done had really hurt her. She came closer to help him up, but he put up his hands and shied away.

"I can do it," He insisted, pulling himself to stand up. His muddy wings had left prints on the floor, and his hands were now leaving thin trails on the walls as he used the wall for support instead. "Sam, it was an accident!" She said, flustered.

"I can't hurt you again," He said to the wall, feeling so guilty that it almost felt like it was physically pulling him down. Luckily, there was just one door left until her room. Sam forced himself inside and collapsed on the bed. His leg was stabbing painfully, he was exhausted. He wanted to rest, really rest this time. Jess walked up on light toes, and slid gently next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and reached over, lightly stroking the tops of his wings.

"I'm so sorry," Sam said, barely able to bring himself to look her in the face. She softly smoothed down his feathers, snuggling her head onto his shoulder. "I'm not mad, Sam. We can work around this, okay? It will all be okay." She closed her eyes, only happy that she was with him again, nothing else mattered.

Sam gently put an arm around her, making sure to be extra careful. Deep down, he felt anger stirring in his chest. The one thing he wanted more than everything was getting ruined because of a decision that he didn't even make. What if Jess grew to slowly hate him after there had been too many 'accidents' like this? Or even worse, what if she tried so hard to make it okay that she wasted away, trying to conceal her pain? Sam's heart gave a little squeeze, and his anger began to grow even larger.

Dean woke up to the soft sound of voices talking in quiet tones in Enochian. He opened his eyes wearily and recognized the place right away. He was in the hospital ward, but it was a little hard to see as the light hurt his eyes, and his vision was still a little blurry. He saw someone on the bed with him, his back to him with dark black wings close to his face, as Dean strained his eyes he saw the wings spilling from a light tan trench coat.

Dean silently wrapped his arms around him, hugging him from behind as he shut his eyes again, pulling up to him and resting his head on where his shoulder met his neck.

"You're awake," Castiel said in a surprised voice. He probably wasn't expecting a hug like this.

"Good morning," Dean sighed happily. His head still felt a little fuzzy from before. And something else was making him feel a little woozy, a little drunk, like he'd just woken up from getting his wisdom teeth removed.

"Are you feeling better?" Castiel asked sweetly, as he reached up to stroke the fingers from Dean's hand that hung limply down.

"You probably shouldn't give him any more of that healing shit, Cas. I know you're worried, but it's messing with him." Dean took a second to match this second voice with his friend, Calcifer.

"Oh, hey Cal!" Dean slurred, smiling goofily. Calcifer chuckled, he sounded like he was probably in the bed next to them. "Hi, Dean." He answered good-naturedly.

"You saved me," Dean slurred sappilly, smiling. He'd probably get made fun of later for acting so loopy, but right now he was on cloud nine.

"I love you," Dean said in a sing-song voice, and he gave Castiel's shoulder a little kiss before settling his head back down on the same spot. Castiel was smiling, blushing a little bit.

"I've been waiting to see you two bastards get together," Calcifer laughed. "Jesus, what took you so long?"

"I dunno. I was kind of a big douchenozzle at first," Dean said woozily, grinning at his funny word.

"Take it easy, Dean. I guess I did give you a little too much." Cas admitted. Calcifer was right; he had maybe been a bit too concerned. He was the type of person who insisted that Dean have more than he really needed, just to be safe. He needed Dean to be okay, and that made him irrational.

"Nooo," Dean slurred, smiling and waving the comment off. Castiel knew Calcifer would get a kick out of that later. For now, he looked like he was somewhat in pain.

"Cal, stop talking or I swear to God." Dean heard another voice, this one was barely familiar, but he knew he'd heard it somewhere before.

"Swear to God what?" Calcifer answered, teasing. "You'll rip out the wrong thing?"

"Don't test me," The girl smoothly answered back, joking light-heartedly.

Dean opened his eyes and looked to the direction of the voice. Now he got it. The other girl was Leilias, and she was standing over Calcifer, one of her hands on his chest and the other was holding his hand.

They're together? Dean wondered. He never would have guessed.

"You're a stupid bastard for putting so many in, Cal." Leilias scolded him, and Dean watched as she sunk her hand into Calcifer's chest. Well, he'd seen stranger.

"But I'm your stupid bastard, right?" He said happily.

"Unfortunately," Leilias joked, she leaned forward and gave him a little kiss. "Hang on, okay? You're almost all done."

Dean now understood what was happening as Leilias dislodged something from Calcifer's body, and the little white orb bobbed up into the air, as it unfurled little flame-like tongues, bobbing in the air like a buoy, almost happily. He was getting rid of all those little stars that were packed in his grace. Dean had almost forgotten what they represented. He lifted his head for a moment, looking around the room. A few had been injured, but many were having the same thing done as Calcifer.

The mote disappeared as Leilias gently nudged it through a small portal that she'd opened up for it. "The nursery must be packed. I'm sure they'll be glad you're taking two off their hands for them."

"Ouch. How many left?" Calcifer asked, rubbing his ribcage, where she'd just pulled from.

"Oh, you big baby. Five. Not including them, though."

Calcifer groaned and shut his eyes.

"You were the genius who did this to yourself! Come on, hon. You'll see their faces soon."

Castiel found their relationship quite strange. But, he never really had understood jokes or making fun before, which seemed to be all these two ever did. Joke, but then be just as loving as ever. Both of them were very much like humans in that way. Angels had never had such powerful emotions before, so they hadn't paired up like this before.

He remembered when these two had begun falling for each other, and finally became 'official' together, almost forty years ago. Both had rapidly picked up what they'd learned from the humans they loved so much, and were almost the groundbreakers for emotional, sympathetic angels. They'd been somewhat of a scandal, he remembered. But they'd been together ever since, not wavering once in those forty years. He was suddenly aware of Dean's chin on his shoulder. He hoped they could be like that. He knew they could. They could make it work, just like Dean said. Cas felt the potent emotions of happiness and love that Dean was emitting as he rested in his medicine-induced doze, and smiled to himself.

"Last one," Leilias spoke up as she somewhat harshly tugged the little sphere of bright white light out. "Sorry," she said right away, nudging the thing out and away, for it to go into the infirmary with all the other infant angels of the next generation.

Calcifer lay flat on his back, looking exhausted. "That was the last one?" He asked in disbelief. Dean was hazily listening in. He didn't want to imagine how that must feel. He didn't like anyone meddling around in his grace, anything hurt like hell.

"You're ready to see them?" She asked softly, squeezing his hand.

"Fuck yes," Calcifer said, finally breaking into a smile. Leilias rolled her eyes. "Always with the language. You were planning on naming them swear words, weren't you?" She poked fun at him.

"Dammit, you caught me." He smiled, resting his head back on the pillows. "Make it quick, please."

Leilias took her hand and sunk it under Calcifer's collarbone, dislodging a little white light that bobbed up around her head, unfurling its white flames and dancing around her shoulder as she reached for the next one, taking just the lightest of a misting from her grace. Leilias blew a small piece of hair from her face as she gently pulled the second one out, which quickly rose to her other shoulder, and it quickly bobbed around her back and almost seemed to interact with the other mote, they floated close to one another, lightly floating up and down.

Leilias gathered them gently and herded them down, into Calcifer's outstretched arms. The man was looking up at the lights, a look on his face like a five-year-old on Christmas morning.

Right when he had them secured, they began to change. The light expanded into a familar human shape, before they solidified into their core forms. They were very tiny, if they had been human babies they'd probably be around five pounds each. Their wings were extremely small and definitely would not function yet. However, they were the prettiest blue-jay blue with white accents. They both had round heads of dark brown, soft baby hair. Baby boys.

Castiel caught just a glimpse of one of their eyes; they were a shining, pure silver. Leilias gave Calcifer a kiss on the cheek as he crouched down next to him, looking at the infants as well.

"I'm going to tell them everyday that they're the ones who saved my life," He said happily, looking into their faces. Leilias sadly combed through his hair and pressed her cheek softly and affectionately to his, closing her eyes. So he'd told her about his almost-incident.

"What are their names?" She asked quietly.

Calcifer smiled brightly. "Isiah and Evrael," he answered, softly stroking a head of brown hair. Both him and Leilias were silent as they stayed together, looking at the tiny angels he held. Calcifer slid over a little to make room for Leilias, who quickly joined him.

"Aren't you glad you didn't?" She said softly, rubbing his arm soothingly. He nodded and tilted his head to the side to give her a quick kiss. "Very glad." They then proceeded to sit there in silence. Castiel felt happy for them. Of all people, Calcifer deserved something nice in his life.

Dean was slowly gaining more awareness, and he stirred and stretched his arms, pulling away from Castiel.

"Hey, Cas." He said, finally clearly this time. He yawned and stretched, and Castiel was surprised when he pulled back into the position he'd been in before. So it wasn't just because he'd been doped up.

"It's over?" He asked, hugging him close to his chest. He was immeasurably happy that it had finally ended.

"It's over," Cas repeated, smiling. "Are you feeling well enough to leave?"

"Let's get out of this place," Dean agreed, and went to slide off his side of the bed. Castiel swung his legs off the matress, stepping down to the floor.

"Congratulations, Calcifer and Leilias." He said happily, nodding to both of them.

"Thank you for everything, Cas. See you around," Calcifer beamed at him.

Castiel turned around and found Dean waiting for him, facing the door with his arm out slightly behind him, with an open and expectant palm reaching. Castiel had a lapse of doubt; he wasn't still in that dreamy trap, was he?

No. He firmly told himself, as he slipped his hand into Dean's, and felt his heart give a little flutter. No, this was real. It was completey real.

They reached the end of the hall, but to their surprise no cold air was blowing through the cracks in the door. Dean went to open the door, and Castiel helped him open it, knowing that his shoulder must still be tender.

Castiel heard Dean gasp audibly at what he saw. He turned to Castiel, a look of pure joy on his face. "Can we go get Sam?" He asked excitedly, Castiel felt the pulse in his palm speed up significantly.

"Of course," Castiel said, smiling wider than he had in a while.

"Sam!" Sam heard his brother's voice from behind the dorm room door. Him and Jess were simply lying together, not doing anything but simply being next to one another, making up for lost time.

Jess was dozing lightly, something Sam was a little jealous she could still do. She had one hand softly resting on his chest and another on one of his wings, she'd been stroking them lightly before she'd fallen asleep. Her ankles were crossed over his as she napped lightly, halfway on his chest, as he stared into her face and lightly, rhythmically was stroking her hair. He looked at her sleeping face, a face he'd missed so much. But he was angry at himself that he'd hurt her, again, after he'd been the reason she'd died in flames.

Sam looked up and suddenly saw his brother and Cas in the room with him. Dean was smiling brightly, casually holding Castiel's hand like it was the most natural thing in the world. Sam saw Castiel and felt his anger flare up brightly in his chest. He ever so gently slipped Jess's arm off of him and placed it by her side, carefully lying her down and making sure she was comfortable.

He stood up slowly and came up to Castiel, silently towering over him. Castiel looked up to his face, confused.

"Sam?" He asked, confused, cocking his head to the side.

"Why didn't you tell me." He said darkly, it sounded less like a question and more like an accusation.

"Tell you what, Sam?" Dean asked, his face falling from his smile right away.

"That I would hurt her? That it could be dangerous to be with her?" He said, his voice climbing as he spoke.

"I wasn't aware-" Castiel started, but was abruptly interrupted.

To Dean's horror, Sam reeled up and punched Castiel hard in the face. It affected him much more than when they had been human.

Castiel was put off balance, and he brought his hand up to gently touch his jaw.

"You did this to me! You did this to both of us, and you didn't even ask! I heard my brother's screams in the living room, his cries for help, he was calling my name. You put him through torture, Cas. He was in excrutiating pain for a week." Sam accused him, and Dean felt his chest stir. He preferred not to think about that awful binding process, but Sam shouldn't be the one to tell Castiel what had happened. Castiel looked surprised at this news, his face almost dropping to an expression of horror.

"Don't you think for once in my life, I can rest? That I deserve it?" He was yelling loudly now, his face displaying his pain. "Why couldn't you just let us have something good for once?!"

Castiel remained extremely calm, but he kept his fingers on his jaw. "Your heavens were not adequate for long term use. Knowing you two, they would have gone bad in twenty or thirty years. Your drive to help people would overpower your death, and frustration would build as you could do nothing. You both had the potential to become either poltergiests, or waste away to nothing. I saw this as the best option, this was your destinies."

"You don't know me, Cas! And there's no such thing as fucking destiny!" He exclaimed, tears coming through his voice. His eyes looked hurt and wild. Unexpectedly, he threw another, extremely hard punch in the same spot. Castiel almost fell over, taking the hit and doing nothing to prevent it. "Fight back, you stupid bastard!"

Dean was pissed off now. "Sam, dammit, stop!" He demanded, trying to put Castiel behind his back. Somehow, something was holding him back. Sam utterly ignored him. Castiel was straightening up, his hand on his cheek. His deep blue eyes glittered dangerously. "I was only doing the best for you," He gravelled, looking angry himself now.

"Oh really?" Sam said bitterly, looking like he was going to do something again. Castiel couldn't help but throw his hands up in self-defense, which caused the much weaker and younger Sam to be shoved halfway across the room.

Sam slid a few feet, and looked up with an extremely angry expression. Dean saw his influence briefly before his normal vision returned; the somewhat-shadow surrounding Sam had begun to flare and spike as his anger rose. A picture frame popped with a crack, a lightbulb burst nearby.

Sam quickly threw himself at Castiel, tackling the angel who refused to fight back. They were both thrown into the wall by the kitchen, creating a large crater as drywall powder quickly puffed into the air and chunks of the walls fell into the kitchen with dull thunks. Sam was punching his face, taking everything out on him.

"Sam!" Dean barked angrily, rushing to try and help Castiel, but he was shoved roughly back by an invisible burst that cracked the walls in lightening-like shapes. Suddenly a thought struck Dean; Jess. She was the most vulnerable in this situation, being such a delicate little human.

To his horror, Jess was making her way towards the fighting angels. Dean just caught the image of Castiel shoving Sam off of him in the corner of his eye and he heard a loud crash as he turned to stop Jess. He gently put his hands on her shoulders, making sure she couldn't get by him.

"You can't let him hurt Sam!" Jess insisted, she was clutching her arm to her chest. Dean spotted three obvious finger-tracks, ripping her skin in clean lines, dark bruising appearing around each one. He understood where Sam was coming from; if he had hurt Castiel like that, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

"Cas won't hurt him. I'm worried about you," Dean rushed to say, gently leading her to a closet that was out of the way of their fight. He knew he needed to protect her, or who knows what kind of rash decision Sam would make. A loud crash and the sound of breaking glass and pottery came from the kitchen, and Dean rushed to get her there quicker.

"Stay here until I say it's safe." Dean said softly, somehow knowing how to slip a little bit of his own influence around the closet to protect her. Although she couldn't see anything, she somehow knew that he was protecting her. She curled up in the closet, still cradling her injured arm.

"Thank you. And please help him," she begged, unmistakeable love shining in her eyes. Dean already liked her, she was perfect for Sam. And that made him happy.

"Be safe, okay?" He said quickly, closing the closet tightly. He rushed back to the kitchen area and was amazed at how much damage there already was. Glass and clumps of drywall littered the ground, and high-pressure water was spraying into the kitchen from a broken faucet. The walls all had at least some damage, and looked like they were on their last leg. Dean's foot crunched on a broken framed photo as he tried to find them.

Castiel and Sam tumbled into the room, only stopping once they rammed into the far wall. Sam reeled up to punch Castiel again, but with a burst of influence Castiel was able to dodge the blow as Sam was shoved off of him, rolling to the side with the wind knocked out of him. Sam's invisible influence lashed out, and Dean could trace the path of it by the splintering in the walls, as it reached Cas it slashed a small horizontal gash in his cheek. Sam looked like he was about to do something worse as he stood up shakily.

"Sam! Stop, godammit!" Dean blared, and felt a same protective urge that shoved Sam back a few feet, away from Castiel.

Dean quickly wedged himself in between the two of them. "Stop right now!" He demanded, keeping an arm outstretched so that Sam couldn't get by him. Castiel stood up shakily from where he had been slammed with his back on the wall. He receded to be behind Dean, and he was lightly holding onto his arm, staring at something on the floor and looking beyond sad as he stood silent and pensive. He was covered in white drywall dust, and a tiny drop of silver had bled through the gash in his cheek, dripping down like a viscous tear.

Dean couldn't bear to see his brother and the person he loved fight like this; they were ripping the whole place apart, and hurting each other. These two were the only two people he loved so much it hurt. He couldn't let them be at each others throats like this.

"Why are you taking his side?" Sam asked in a choked voice, tears had started to form in his eyes. Still, at least he wasn't trying to force past Dean and hurt Castiel even more.

"Because I believe him," Dean answered, trying to calm his brother down. He hadn't seen him this upset in a long, long time.

"I see, Dean. I get it. You and your sweetheart are just birds of a feather, and isn't that great. But I can't even be with the one I love. We're not the same anymore, don't you get it? What about me, Dean?" He was calming down finally, just looking more upset than angry now. He breathed heavily, but he didn't look like he would have another violent outburst.

"What about me? Don't I get to be with the one I love?" He looked heartbroken, tears glittering in his eyes.

"I haven't forgotten about you, Sam. You are my friend, and I was only trying to help you." Cas finally spoke up softly, pulling away from Dean. When he flicked his eyes up from the ground, Sam saw no bad intentions there.

"She's the only thing I've ever wanted, okay? And now, I don't know if I can keep even that." He hung his head, and a tear slipped down his cheek.

"You can keep her." Castiel insisted, coming closer to Sam. Dean was amazed at his perseverance. He would have punched right back, or at least stayed the hell away from whoever started it.

"How?" Sam demanded bitterly. Another tear sparkled and fell from his eye, and he had a small frown on his face.

"You will both have to learn the limits, but you'll learn quickly. Things will be fine for both of you." Castiel said gently. Sam seemed to stare through him, and another tear dripped down his cheek, leaving a shimmering trail. Sam said nothing.

"I understand that you're angry. I'm sorry that I did not get your consent. But I assure that you can be with Jessica." Castiel came closer, and Sam looked confused through his tears.

"I care about you, Sam. I do not want you to be angry with me for what I did. I did not want you to become something you resent."

"I already have." Sam said extremely bitterly, but he seemed to regret it right when it left his lips. Castiel, who had been moving in for a hug, stopped in his tracks, a shocked look on his face. Dean felt his face drop as well, and then he clentched his jaw angrily.

"I didn't mean it." Sam blurted, seeing the pained expression on Cas's face. Both Dean and Cas knew that he was telling the truth, but it still stung.

"Look, I'm sorry." He said quickly, and Cas avoided his glace, only looking down at the floor as he spoke up quietly.

"I was only trying to do what is best for you," He insisted sadly again. No matter what he seemed to do or say to him, Castiel got the vibe that Sam wasn't convinced of what he tried to tell him.

Sam was sad all over again. He never thought Castiel gave two shits about him, that what he did for him he only did because it directly affected Dean. Castiel looked up into Sam's face. He was trying to smile a little, a look that seemed to ask if he had made it better.

"I'm sorry, Cas. I'm not usually the type to get that angry. But I just couldn't hold myself back anymore." Sam admitted, looking down at the floor. It was a split second before he added "...are you okay?"

At least Dean was getting his real brother back now. Sam's angry outburst had scared him; that was not like him at all. But he supposed that it had gotten to a point where he just snapped. Dean could understand, one of the few things they had in common was the extent they would go to for the people they loved.

"I'll be fine. I feel fine knowing that you are no longer angry with me." Castiel answered softy, feeling his cheek tenderly with light fingers. It looked like it was swelling slightly already, and it was a tender pink that would no doubt purple in a few hours.

"Oh, shit. What did I do to the place?" Sam said aloud, as if he had finally opened his eyes to the great destruction their fight had caused.

"Heavens are self-healing. But it may take a few days to get back to normal," Castiel explained. Dean had come up in the meantime and was inspecting him, gently holding his jaw and moving his head slightly to assess the damage with worried, mama-bear eyes. He tried something new; lightly pouring a bit of healing energy through the fingertips that held the jaw. Castiel closed his eyes, a serene expression on his face as the angry pink began to fade. "Thank you, Dean." He said in a pleasant voice, and Dean felt the urge to kiss him when he had his eyes closed, but he didn't. He didn't want to possibly aggravate Sam further after he'd just stopped fighting with him.

It wouldn't have mattered if he did, anyway. Sam was leaving, sensing that Jess was in the closet. Silently, he opened the door and leaned into gently embrace Jess.

Dean heard the quiet sounds of crying, and he came closer to investigate.

"...no, no. I'm perfectly fine, baby. Don't cry, it's all okay. It's over, please don't worry. I'm right here, okay?" Sam was talking quiety to Jess, pulling her gently from the closet like a parent would pull a sleeping child from a car, he was so careful and soft.

"I was afraid you were going to get hurt," Jess said in a watery whisper, burying her head into Sam's shoulder.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Sam said softly to her. "Don't worry so much about me."

Castiel came up quietly to the both of them. "We should give her heaven some time to mend."

"She can come with me?" Sam asked, surprised.

Castiel nodded, trying to slightly smile as before, trying to ask if everything was okay. "You're going to love what you see, Sam." Sam gently slid his hand down to be in Jess's small hand, smiling at her with all the love in his eyes.

"But first..." Castiel said, coming up and gently taking Jess's injured arm. He stretched it out lightly, and Jess made a little tsk at the stretching of her skin. Castiel gently placed his palm over the wounds, and it glowed a comforting white. He then moved it down as if he were wiping away the lines. The skin emerged, healthy and smooth, from the other side.

"Thank you," She whispered to Cas, looking at him with grateful eyes. Sam looked happy that she was okay now, even if she was a little shaken up from the fight she'd witnessed.

They all went to leave, Sam looked skeptical as to whether it would work. Sam put Jess before him, and she passed through the gateway easily as long as she held his hand. Sam stepped outside, and his feet no longer cruntched on snow, and there was no bitter wind to come up and nip his face. He looked out at the real heaven, and suddenly his anger and sadness completely melted away. He finally was seeing his new home as it was supposed to be.