Author's note: You guys have no idea how many times I went back and edited this thing to make it perfect. So please enjoy it and Review! :)

Castiel spent the next hour of his life being tormented. Each and every time Azrael knocked him down, he got back up, determined to protect the boy who was still crying Behind him. The physical pain that was already harsh, but the emotional pain from hearing his child scream and cry like that was unbearable. But he kept getting up every time, even when it got to the point when he could barely stand up and was supporting himself by the side of the crib.

It was around that time when Bobby, Gabriel, and Sam returned home. As it turned out, the girl (whose name was Ariel) had been hunted by a Wendigo. It had taken all night but they had managed to find the wendigo's cave dwelling and Ariel's fiancé Nick, who was somehow still alive. Once they cut him down, they made a break for the exit, but the Wendigo tried to attack them. Thankfully, Bobby had come prepared and brought a flame thrower and a five gallon tank of propane. Sam doused the creature in gas and Bobby lit him up like a Christmas fire. The five of them made their escape out of the cave and eventually the three of them led the couple to the ranger station so that they could get out of there before coming home.

It was only when they were completely inside that they heard the distressed wailing, and started running toward the nursery. They got there just in time to see Castiel being stabbed in the stomach yet again. Castiel was a sight to behold. His eyes were black and his face was bruised and cut in places. He'd been stabbed so much that his clothes were drenched red with blood, making him eerily similar to Carrie White on prom night. His entire body was trembling as he forced himself up again. Azrael smirked. Gabriel was about to make a move to intervene when Azrael held up a hand.

"Ah ah ah. I wouldn't do that if I were you. If any one of you takes another step forward, he dies."

To prove his point, Azrael snapped his fingers. Castiel fell to his knees and began gasping for air, and his complexion turned from normal to blue. He left him like that for a few seconds to make his point. Then Azrael snapped his fingers again, and Castiel could breathe. Azrael yanked him close to him by the collar of his shirt.

"Let me be clear: the only reason you're still alive is because I find you amusing. The minute that ceases to be true, I will kill you, and the human you are so desperate to protect." He hissed.

"Do whatever you want to me, but please, let my son go. He's innocent. Please... He's just a boy." His voice was a tremulous falsetto. A single tear dripped down his cheek, just big enough to be seen by Gabriel, Sam, and Bobby, who were crowding the doorway. Azrael looked at him in a way that made him sick to his stomach.

"There's no fun in letting him live."

"You take me. Just take me." Castiel begged, unconsciously mirroring the words his vessel Jimmy had said when protecting his own child, Claire.

"Sorry. Not how it works." He said, letting Castiel go. Once again, Castiel shakily got to his feet.

"I don't care what you do to me, I won't let you hurt him."

Azrael's eyes flashed with indignation. "You won't have a choice."

Azrael took his blade and slashed Castiel's neck. It wasn't deep enough to kill him or even sever anything, but it was enough to get the blood flowing down his neck. He fell to the ground, instinctively trying to cover the wound.

Only one noise pierced the deafening silence that followed: a small voice hoarse from screaming and crying yelling "Daddy!".

For Castiel, the moment was one that was frozen in time. Everything stopped. It was the instant when everything changed. They all saw a spark flash through Castiel's eyes, and he suddenly got up as if none of the torture had ever happened to him. The word had sparked something inside of him, and suddenly he felt a power like nothing he had ever felt before coursing through his veins. He opened his connection with his brother and told him his plan in case the first one didn't work out. Then He stood up perfectly straight. He took a step toward the archangel, staring him straight in the eye. Suddenly, Dean was perfectly silent.

"You have five seconds to get out of my house."

Azrael seemed surprised, but was not intimidated. "Or what?"

"Or I'll gut you like the spineless snake you are."

Azrael laughed. "You're going to kill the Archangel of death? How amusing."

"Just watch me." He suddenly grabbed the scythe leaning against the wall and swung. It landed right where he'd planned: in the stomach. He was hoping the scythe would kill him as it had Death, but he would settle for shock. While he was stunned by the blow, Castiel quickly pushed him out into the hall and into the foyer, right in the middle of a circle of holy oil. Bobby did the honors of lighting it up, and Azrael looked at him irritably.

"So now you've got me in your little circle. This fire won't last forever, so what are you going to do? You can't kill me. Not even with my own scythe." He said confidently. Briefly, Castiel wondered why the scythe wouldn't work, but pushed the thought aside.

Castiel stepped as close as he could to him, rage evident in his eyes. "Oh, I'm not going to kill you."

"Really?"

"Yes." He paused when he saw Azrael's smirk. "That would be too easy." The smirk fell. Castiel's face was inches from his when he said, "but by the time I'm finished with you, you're going to wish you were dead."

Castiel didn't miss the flash of fear that went through his eyes before he replaced it with a do-whatever-you-want-to-me-I-still-won't-talk look.

He started off by using the scythe to cut his neck and then inserting a syringe to drain his grace. Gabriel helped him get it into a bottle before he put the fire out. Now his powers were gone. But before he put it out he enchanted a chair with cuffs on it to keep him from connecting to his brethren and keep him in place before shackling him in. Castiel loomed over him, radiating power.

"Let's start with a simple question: how did you manage to get in here?"

The question didn't even phase him. "Simple. Ariel made sure that Gabriel pricked his finger on a blade. She captured the tiniest bit of his grace and I used it to unlock the house."

"But how did you get in without my seeing you?"

"I'm death. I come in many forms, including a mist that can travel under your door."

"Who else knows you're here?"

Azrael was silent at that. Castiel grabbed the scythe and cut his cheek.

"Who else knows you're here?!"

He punched Azrael in the face. Nothing. He was about to do more when he heard Dean start to cry again and sighed.

"Gabriel, would you mind taking over here?"

"Not at all." He said. Castiel handed him the scythe and he grinned. Before he could do anything more, Gabriel grabbed him by the shoulder and put a hand to his forehead, healing his minor injuries and cleaning up the major ones. He looked like himself again. Gabriel nodded approvingly and let him go.

Azrael chuckled. "So this is it? All that threatening for you to just leave me with some babysitter?!"

Castiel paused and turned around. "I'm a father. I put my son first above everything and everyone. He means everything to me, and I would do anything for him, as you've seen." He stopped for a moment before continuing. "Our father should have done the same thing for you. He should have done it for all of us, but he didn't. And I'm disappointed that he didn't. You'll never know that kind of love. For that reason and that reason only, I feel sorry for you."

With that, he turned back around and went to see his son.