Castiel!
Castiel woke with a start. He sat up immediately and drew in a sharp inhale of breath. Looking around, his eyes immediately sought out a grinning Eros.
"It's about time you woke up, I released you ten minutes-" Castiel lifted his hand and slammed Grace into Eros so hard that he flew back against the wall. Castiel pinned his brother there, glaring at him, while he found his footing. "Cas-Castiel!" Eros managed through clenched teeth.
"Why did you put me under," Cas roared. This was not a game anymore. Dread roiled through him, overtaking every other thought or emotion, at the implication of what happened while he was unconscious and powerless to stop it.
"B-because…you would have tried t-to stop me," Eros managed to say. Cas assumed that the force of Grace he had on the boy made it increasingly difficult for him to breath but he cared very little at that moment. He walked across the room to where Eros was still suspended against the wall and glared at him.
"Was Sam hurt?" Castiel asked with danger in his tone.
"I assume so, but-" Eros keened as Castiel pushed harder against his vessels ribs with his Grace. His eyes glowed intensely blue from his fury and slowly, Castiel unfurled his wings. Eros gasped at the intimidating display which turned into more of a wheeze, and squeezed his eyes shut to not have to look at his brother.
"Why did you do this? Look me in the eye and tell me why you did this!" Castiel yelled but Eros refused to meet the challenge in his glare. Cas shook with the anger inside him, and felt it boiling over as his Grace rattled the jars; tossing them against the walls, and shifted the furniture in the room. The lights above them burst one by one, until only the backup generator lights remained.
"I…did…it…for…you," Eros managed to breath, "for…all…of…you." Cas suddenly released the younger angel, and Eros collapsed to the ground gasping for the air his vessel desperately needed. Castiel could only stare at him. The words they just exchanged…it sounded so much like a night long ago. When Cas himself was caught in a ring of angel fire and Dean asked him to look the hunter in the eye and tell him he wasn't working for Crowley.
Castiel swallowed around the lump forming in his throat. He had been so lost then. So prideful and refusing to rely on his friends who, at that time he would admit, he thought were beneath him in spite of his bond. He took matters into his own hands. He did what he thought was best for everyone when in truth, it was only what was best for him. Was this boy any different? Desperate for discovery, he held over the belief that he was doing what was best for them all.
"Oh Eros," Castiel said mournfully, and softly his anger ebbed away, "you have so much to learn about being human." Eros coughed once and then lifted his head to finally look into Castiel's eyes. His face was twisted in grief and hurt. Betrayal and confusion quivered his bottom lip, and bitter heartbreak slaked tears from his eyes. Castiel didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to make this right between them or if it was far too late to try. He had hurt Eros deeply in his anger, and his brother couldn't understand why.
"Eros…" Castiel began and reached out his hand to help his brother up but the younger angel looked away. With a flap of his wings, Eros fled into the night. Castiel sighed. The boy was angel warded now. It would be a much bigger challenge to chase after him. But he would try. Maybe if he-
Castiel! Cas jerked his head to the west. Towards Dean. Something was wrong. Searching for the hunter in his mind, he found him in a state of pure panic. Pain from an injury…fear for his brother and…fear for Castiel?
"Shit socks," Castiel cursed, and then chased the call to his Soul-bound.
This was bad. Beyond bad. Dean had been in some rough scrapes in his time, but this took the cake. Clutching his knife, he watched as three shadow witches edged closer to him. His leg was throbbing, half numb from the pain and useless. He tried to stand twice only for it to give out beneath him. His head spun from the blood loss, and Sam… Dean glanced at his brother.
Sam was rocking back and forth on the curb. His eyes were wide and haunted but seeing nothing around him. His mouth hung slack, and Sam…little Sammy Winchester, was openly sobbing. Never had Dean seen him like this. Not since he was three years old and he fell off an embankment. He cut himself up pretty good during the tumble, but when he went to their dad crying, dear old dad smacked him on his head and told him to act like a Winchester. From that point forward, he did.
Sure a Winchester cried; silent tears when confessions needed to be made. Yeah, Dean might have broken down a little and wept in the dark seclusion of a private room…or a distant meadow. But this…
"Sam…I could use your help here," Dean pleaded yet again. He has thus far been unsuccessful in snapping his brother out of it.
"He's gone, Dean! He's gone! He's gone!" and again Sam broke into open wails and weeping. He was an utter lost cause. Looking back to the witches, Dean slid back and rested against the front of his impala. This was so fucking far beyond bad. His mind scrambled for a plan but nothing came to mind. No way out.
"Castiel!" Dean shouted to the sky, and then lowered his head to watch the witches again. The pain of his leg drowned out all thought. The screams of his brother drowned out all sound. Dean gripped the hilt of the knife in a white knuckled fist and waited for the first shadow to strike.
A whistling sound cracked through the air like a bomb falling from the sky, and a second later the ground suddenly shook from the impact. And just like that, there he was. Castiel. Making the most impressive entrance since they first met so many years ago. His wings; fuck they looked amazing, were spread wide to show his power, and his whole body hummed with his Grace. In his right hand, he held his angel sword.
"About time you showed up," Dean mumbled, but he couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face.
"Dean, close your eyes!" Castiel commanded and Dean wasted no time asking for explanations. Diving towards his brother, he knocked Sam onto his side and placed a hand over both of their eyes. The glow from the street heated his skin like a refreshing hot shower, but then flowed away a few seconds later, returning the world to darkness. Hesitantly, Dean cracked his fingers to peek out and suddenly Cas was on him.
"Dean…oh, Dean no," his angel cooed as he ran his hands over the hunters face, his ribs, and his leg. Castiel placed his fingers on Dean's head and the numbing pain of his leg vanished with a wash of cool healing through his body. Dean gasped, and Castiel's lips were suddenly upon his. Kissing him, caressing him, bombarding him with soothing comforting mental images.
"Dean, I'm so sorry," he said between kisses, "I didn't" kiss "know you were hurt" kiss "I was knocked unconscious" kiss "please forgive me." Gently Dean got ahold of Castiel's shoulders and pulled him away. A glance behind Cas confirmed the streets were empty; no shadow witches lurking at the moment, and that Castiel's wings went back to whatever alternate dimension they sprung from which was somewhat disappointing.
"Cas, it's alright. You're here. You saved me. Thank you." Castiel beamed at this and pulled Dean into a tight hug. Soft sobbing behind them reminded Dean that they had much larger issues at hand. He pulled away from Cas and turned to see Sam watching them both, his face riddled with grief, and never ending tears flowing down his red cheeks.
"You look…so…" Sam's breath hitched and he scrubbed desperately at his eyes. "So…happy," he cried and his head fell into his hands. Dean turned back to Castiel whose face reflected all the pain Sam was feeling. Dean could feel how his body ached with guilt.
"Tell me that Eros was successful." Dean whispered and Cas turned to look at him blinking.
"I…I don't know," he begrudgingly admitted. "We…we fought. Eros seems to lack a true understanding of human emotions… and I seem to lack a control of my temper. I will have to work on this…once he is no longer angry with me."
"So you don't know?" Dean asked, his voice raising. He reached down and pulled his belt away from his leg. The thing was ruined from the blood but he stuffed it into his pocket anyway as he got to his feet. "You need to zap us there, Cas. Now." Cas turned and looked at Sam, and then back to Dean. He tilted his head to the side in question.
"I can't take your car. It's too heavy for me to carry."
"I'll get Baby later. This is a good neighborhood if you ignore all the demons and witches, and she ain't illegally parked. Just get us back to the bunker. Now." Sam got to his feet while Dean was speaking and took a step towards them. Gingerly, he took Castiel's hand.
"Did…did Eros cast the spell? I thought it would take longer but…did Gabriel go into his vessel?" Hope welled in his eyes and Dean could hardly look at his brother's vulnerable face. He let out a silent prayer to whoever might be listening that just for once; this one fucking time, they don't lose someone that they care about.
"I don't know, Sam, I am sorry," Castiel said and reached to take Dean's hand as well. In the middle of a quiet suburb, in the early dawning of a new day, the three men stood for a moment in silence. Hand in hand, they formed a bond that spanned not only years, but a lifetime. "Let's go and find out." Castiel said softly, and with a flap of wing, the three men winked out of sight.
They landed outside of the bunker entrance which worked well for Sam. It was as though Castiel knew what he was going to say.
"Wait here," Sam said, "I want to do this alone."
"Sam-" Dean began but Castiel shushed him to silence. Those two seemed stronger by the day and Sam was truly happy for them. And while he could never leave his brother's side, Sam really wasn't a part of them anymore. He had to find his own destiny now. With or without Gabriel, he had to find the strength to see this to the end. Wiping at his face, Sam willed his tears to stop. He took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves, and walked towards the door. His friends said nothing more as he vanished into the bunker below which was just as well. This wasn't about them. It was about Gabriel and Sam.
Making his way down the familiar stairs, Sam moved past the library/research area and deeper into their home. He assumed the lab was involved, and that the medical wing would probably be where he could find Gabriel. It had to be Gabriel. He couldn't think of his angel not being alive.
Hesitating, Sam swallowed back bile and pushed into the double doors of the laboratory. The room looked to be in utter chaos. Broken glass and liquids of various colors decorated the floor and walls. Some of the tables appeared to have been moved a few inches in different directions and some of the books were thrown off their shelves. Sam could only imagine what kind of fight Eros and Castiel had, but it didn't look like it ended well.
Sam tried to avoid the glass and moved further into the room. He looked towards the medical wing beyond and saw a shape laid out on one of the beds. It moved slowly under heavy blankets. Gasping, Sam dashed the remaining distance between them. He crunched through glass and fluids without thought. Reaching the bed, he threw back the blanket that hid the form beneath and sucked air through his teeth.
Large hazel eyes looked up at him. Scared, defenseless eyes. But something was deeper inside them. Something warm.
"R…Riot?" Sam breathed as he took in the full length of the dog he once hit on the road so long ago. Amelia's dog, but not really. From the moment he carried this dog into the emergency vet he knew that it belonged to him. Reaching out, he undid the straps that held the Australian shepherd in place, and the dog tried to get to his feet.
"No, no…it's okay boy. Rest. It's okay." Sam reached out gingerly, and sank his hands deep into the familiar fur. The dog's eyes slipped shut for a moment but then opened again and tilted his muzzle towards Sam.
"It's good to see you, buddy," Sam said with a smile, and didn't notice the tears leaking down his face once more as he leaned over and placed his forehead against that of his dogs. Suddenly, an image appeared in his mind. A flash of light and there he could see Gabriel's face smiling back at him. Pulling away with a jerk, Sam looked down and stared into the dogs eyes. Those big, hazel eyes. Were they hazel before?
"Gabriel?" Sam breathed, and the dog whined as his nose gently nuzzled at Sam's coat. The gesture was enough and Sam was undone. His face fell into open sobs and he clung to his dog. Pulling Gabe close and hugging him against his chest.
"I thought I lost you. I thought I would never see you again. Gabe…Gabriel…" Gabe continued to whine and nuzzle at Sam's chest, seemingly just as desperate to hug the hunter back. "Don't ever leave me again, okay?" Sam said, running his fingers through his dog's thick, silky fur. "You're home now." Gabriel closed his eyes and Sam could have sworn it looked as though his dog was smiling.
End of Part 4