Chapter 23: Love Will Come Through

Dean opens his eyes slowly, his gaze sliding to the empty space beside him on the bed, and he stretches. He purposely ignores his phone, lying on his desk, still in several pieces from two nights earlier. He checks his watch and groans. It is barely 6am and he is already awake. He runs his fingers absently over his chin, feeling the harsh growth of stubble. He is about to go back to bed, figuring he has nothing better to do, when his door slams open.

"Get dressed, we need to leave. NOW"

Dean has barely opened his mouth to speak before Sam is already gone. For once, he doesn't ask questions. He knows that look, the one Sam gets when he is about to explode from nervous energy and the harsh tone that means he is afraid and upset. Something is wrong. A million thoughts cross through Dean's mind and he shakes his head to force himself to stop before he thinks about Cas again. It's not Cas.

He throws on a worn pair of jeans, a dark green Henley over the black t-shirt he is already in, and his tan jacket that is thrown across the back of his desk chair. As an afterthought, he grabs his phone from his desk, the pieces of it anyway, and shoves them into his coat pocket. He can put that back together in the car.

Dean takes the stairs two at a time, as his eyes take in Sam standing over his laptop. Sam looks up, a scowl across his face.

"What, you don't check your phone these days, Dean?" His voice is flat and accusatory.

Dean fumbles around in his pocket, his hands grazing over the battery to his phone, the phone itself, and the back cover to it. Shit.

"What the hell is going on, Sam?"

Sam snaps his laptop shut, throwing it in a bag and quickly zipping the bag. Dean looks around and sees that Sam already has their hunting gear gathered. His heart sinks, and he doesn't want to think about it, doesn't want to know what he already knows.

"Cas."

Sam doesn't look up or at Dean, he simply throws the bags over his shoulders and strides out, calling behind him, "I'll explain in the car". Dean slides his feet into his boots, nothing bothering to tie them. He can do that in the car. He notices briefly, that his hands are shaking, so he balls them into fists and continues out to the car, quickly. He contemplates giving Sam the keys, telling him to drive, but he can't. No, he needs to feel the hum of the impala engine, and to have his fingers grip the steering will just to ground him. This needs to not be about Cas, not be about anyone…just a hunt.

Dean puts his keys in the ignition, and looks at Sam, expectantly. "Where to?"

"Pontiac….Illinois."

They are a ways down the road before Dean can even ask. He focuses on the road ahead of him; on his speed which is inching a bit too high even for his own standards, and he keeps his eyes peeled for any police vehicles. He takes a deep breath before asking.

"It's Cas, right?"

Sam exhales loudly, his chest puffing out and relaxing. "What the hell, man? I assume he tried texting you first. All I know is he sent me this text this morning." Sam holds his phone up for Dean to read.

Cas_

Need help. Angels.

Dammit. Dean's heart sinks to the pit of his stomach and he tries to keep himself from hyperventilating. He knows they have about a 10 hour drive ahead of them, 9 if he can drive fast. His mind moves a million miles a minute, thinking of Cas. Now that Sam's said it, he can't think of anything else. He keeps one hand on the steering wheel and pulls out the pieces of his phone. He shoves them into Sam's lap, wordless. Sam puts it together, turning it on as he finishes, and Dean winces as he hears the familiar buzzing of missed calls or messages.

"I traced his phone, Dean. Don't worry, we'll get to him".

Dean shakes his head, holding his hand out to look at his missed messages. He suddenly feels embarrassed, not really wanting Sam to see whatever messages Cas had sent him. Maybe Cas sent more over the past two days, maybe he said how much he hated Dean. How Dean had ruined his life. Dean can't let Sam see that, no way. He knows it's stupid to be so secretive, especially when Cas is in danger, but he needs to read these himself.

He flips his phone open, looking at the blinking cursor. Three missed messages. No missed calls.

Cas_

Don't hate me Dean.

Cas_

Dean. I'm sorry.

Cas_

I messed up again. I won't bother you anymore.

"Stupid son-of-a-bitch," Dean grumbles, wishing that their circumstances were different and that he could feel just a little mad at Cas right now, but he can't because he's worried sick and not even the slow growl of the impala can soothe him.

"What'd he say?"

"Nothing, Sammy."

"Don't be an idiot, Dean. If it can help us find out what's going on, we can get to him"

"It can't. Drop it."

Dean can't help the malice that enters his voice, he knows it is because he is so worried right now, he could scream. He wants to punch something, punch someone. Cas isn't that far down on the punching list right now, but his stomach turns and acid burns in his throat when he thinks of anyone harming him. Even know, his knuckles are white on the steering wheel and his breathe hitches in his throat as he tries to take a few breathes to calm down.

"Sorry, Sammy. Just worried…is all. I, uh…Cas's texts are from almost two nights ago, it's nothing important," he says as he forces a fake smile at Sam.

He doesn't say another word until theyare in Springfield, IL filling up on gas. He lets Sam do the honors this time, as he sits on the curb outside the station. He runs his hands through his hair, pulling at it until it sticks up at all angles; the way Cas used to run his hands through his hair he thinks forlornly. His heart clenches and again, for a moment, he finds it hard to breathe as his mind fills with images of Castiel injured or worse. Dean closes his eyes and mutters a prayer, even though he knows Cas can't hear it, he says it anyway.

"Please stay safe, Cas. We're coming."

They pull into Pontiac, Illinois around 4pm, and Dean is thankful for at least it still being light out. It is a small town, one they've been to before. Dean recalls passing a prison last time they drove through, looking for Castiel's vessel, Jimmy Novak. Thankfully they seem in a nicer part of the town now, and he slows down, looking at Sam for further directions.

Sam's eyebrows are knit together tightly as he looks at the GPS on his phone. "I think he's at the police station…"

For a fleeting moment, Dean imagines Castiel getting arrested for doing something stupid like sleeping on a park bench all night, and he can't help but hope that is the case here. Of course he knows it's not. When was anything that simple?

They park the impala down the street from the police station and decide to wait for the sun to set a bit. They aren't entirely sure what they are up against, so they brought it all. They'd packed loaded guns with salt rounds, holy water, Ruby's knife, and another angel blade that they had picked up during the last year. Dean doesn't need to say it, but it feels like a trap, and he knows Sam is thinking it too. This town was chosen for a reason. They don't move, hiding behind some shrubbery while they scope out the location.

It doesn't take long for them to realize that the place is less busy than it should be; way less busy. The parking lot is empty, not even a single patrol car in sight. This is worrisome, and it screams "angels". Dean and Sam hadn't known what heaven would do after they rescued Cas, so they'd been meticulous with their angel warding and keeping Cas under the radar. Dean mentally kicks himself again for not being more insistent with Cas about staying, or at least demanded that he protect himself…that is, if he doesn't already have his powers back by now.

They decide on a plan of action, a simple one but it usually proved to be effective. They would pick the locks to the door they'd seen at the back of the building while they were scoping it out. All window shades were drawn, which worked in their favor considering it made it easier for them to sneak around under the setting sun. Dean would pick the lock, Sam would cover him. Easy. Whatever was inside, they would deal with.

It works, efficiently enough. Dean has the lock picked quickly and he motions for Sam to follow him. Sam has his gun drawn and Dean is clutching an angel blade tightly in his hand again. As they step inside, they realize they had made a stupid mistake. This isn't the back entrance to the precinct, this is a loading dock. There should be ambulances and squad cars parked here, but the entire area is empty save for one figure crumpled on the ground.

Before Dean has a chance to run to him, Sam grabs his arm, holding him back. His eyes flicker back and forth between two ramps leading to two separate doors. His mind is reeling, working overtime to make up for Dean's apparent lack of foresight.

Two figures emerge, one from each door. "I got left," is all Sam grumbles quietly to Dean.

Cas stirs on the floor, lifting his head slowly. Dean tries not to let his anger overwhelm him, because it is the fastest way to get himself killed. He ignores the blood all over Cas, and their eyes meet.

"No," is all Cas manages to get out before crumpling back onto the floor.

The rest happens fairly quickly, as most fights do. One moment Dean is looking at Cas, his eyes going wide, and the next an angel appears in front of him thrusting her knife towards him. He doesn't need to look over to Sam to know he is fighting too. The moment he takes to register her presence, he allows her to get a blow on him. Dean curses and licks at the blood trailing down from his lip. He is ready for the second one, and he catches her arm, twisting it behind her back.

She is much stronger though, twisting and throwing him off easily. Her dark hair is pulled back in a tight ponytail, and her hazel eyes hold a fire that causes Dean to worry, if only briefly.

"Nothing personal, sweetheart," he says as he evades her again and catches her in the stomach with a kick.

"You know nothing, Dean Winchester," she says, and he is thrown off for a moment by her soft voice, lilting and flowing over her words. She had reminded him of Naomi at first, which had fueled his fight, but now he isn't sure and her words cause a small panic in him. His pause gives her an opening, which she takes. Her hands close around his throat tightly, and he is too weak to fight back. He kicks his legs, struggling as his vision hazes around him. He slides his eyes over to Cas, still lifeless on the floor. Just as he thinks he is about to lose consciousness, she drops him and a bright light shines from her, followed by a scream.

From the floor, Dean looks up, grateful. Sam is beat up, and his chest is heaving with each breathe he takes. Dean can only assume he's got a few broken ribs. Sam extends an arm and helps Dean to his feet.

"Friggin angels, man," Dean mutters under his breath as he runs towards Castiel.

He drops to his knees, ignoring the slam of hard pavement against his bones and wraps an arm around Castiel, pulling him up. Castiel's hands are tied behind his back, and it looks like his ankles are as well. Dean will deal with those later, right now he just needs to make sure Cas is even alive. Sam does the same, flipping out his phone to dial 911 but he quickly puts it away with a huff of "no signal".

"Cas, hey, wake up," he says, lifting his head to meet his. He takes in the gash above Castiel's left eye, his split lip, and the bruises forming on both his cheekbones, most likely from some good punches. Dried blood makes a trail from underneath his nose and it looks like one of his ears has the same. "Oh god," Dean murmurs as Castiel's eyes flicker open slowly.

"Dean, you need to go," Castiel says with hitched breath, as if each word is a new wound opening back up.

"God, Cas, I thought-"

"Go, now, Dean it's a –"

"Hello, boys."

Dean's eyes snap up, and Sam is on his feet in an instant. "Crowley," they growl in unison.

"Gotta say, nice job taking care of the angels for me."

"What do you want?" Dean says; his eyes locked on the demon in front of him and his mind running a mile a minute trying to figure out how. They completed the trials!

"Well see, last I heard, you were trying to shut down hell. Did you think I would let you do that?"

Dean looks towards Sam who shrugs his shoulders the tiniest bit, but Dean gets the message. No clue.

Crowley laughs, and snaps his fingers, at which two more demons enter the loading dock, but they keep their distance. "Right now, you are both wondering 'how' and 'why' and, 'I thought we closed hell' but let me catch you both up…you didn't!"

"What are you talking about, Crowley? Spit it out, I hate monologues," Dean says, aware of Castiel slumped over again at his feet. The wound in his head is still bleeding, and he hopes that by now, Cas hasn't lost too much blood.

"First, I have some conditions," he says as he pulls out a revolver with a grin. "See, our friend Cas here, he's still mortal."

Dean looks at Cas, feeling the same twinge of guilt that he'd been experiencing since they last met. He glares back at Crowley. "And?"

Crowley laughs, "Rocky here isn't too smart is he, Bullwinkle. Can you catch him up, Moose?"

Sam looks over at Dean, his eyes worried. "He can shoot Cas with a regular gun and kill him, Dean," he says, and Dean can practically see how he would roll his eyes if this weren't such a dire situation.

"So what do you want?" Sam asks, keeping his gun trained on Crowley.

"You're gonna let my boys tie you up, and then you're gonna listen and tell me what I need to know."

A moment passes between Dean and Sam, and they both know they have no other choice right now. Cas looks like he's on the verge of death, and they really do need to find out how demons are still walking the earth after they shut the gates of hell. Dean grits his teeth, and throws down his knife as Sam does the same with his gun after removing the ammunition.

After their hands are zip-tied behind their backs, and all their weapons efficiently removed, Crowley seems satisfied. With a nod, the other two (presumably demons) step back and keep guns trained on each Winchester. Cas is still slumped over, apparently passed out by now.

"What do you want from us, Crowley?" Dean asks, hoping to hurry this along. The sooner they were in some other situation, put away or locked somewhere, the sooner they could try to escape and get some help for Cas.

"I need you to help me find something."

"Yeah, ok, what?" Dean says, his voice filling with irritation.

"Our fallen angel's grace," he says flatly, his eyes narrowing at Dean.

"What the hell, Crowley? Why and what for?" Sam says, giving Dean a look that tells him to keep his mouth shut. The last they knew, Cas had it and if Crowley is still looking for it, then Cas hid it somewhere.

"An angel's grace holds a lot of power, boys. And this angel, excuse me, former angel, owes me. In case you've all forgotten, he doesn't make for a good business partner and it is time to PAY UP!" Crowley yells, his face turning red with anger, "I'm done being patient."

"Well beats me," Dean says with a sly grin. For once, the truth is easiest here.

"Don't play games with me," Crowley spits out.

"How about you tell us somethin' then huh? Why the hell are you walkin' the Earth instead of locked away in the pit?"

At this, a grin spreads across Crowley's face. "You two still never figured it out? I'd be lying if I didn't say I was surprised."

Dean shoots a confused look at Sam, who frowns and shrugs his shoulders in response. Dean mentally kicks himself for not looking into the trial thing more, but really, they didn't have a choice. Kevin was no use and they'd accepted the blessing of Sam being ok because it seemed to fit. Maybe too nicely. Nothing was that nice…Dean narrows his eyes at Crowley.

"You boys never thought about what locking away hell would do, did you? It is always about doing the "right thing" with you Winchesters. For once, you can thank me."

"So we didn't close hell?" Sam asks slowly, processing the information slowly, his mind mapping out the implications. "Why am I fine then?"

"Ah, that. You see, I had some help in stopping you boys. It seems heaven and hell could align for once on something. You have a heavy spell on you keeping the sickness from the trials at bay. We searched for it extensively…you could say, we went back into history, far back" Crowley says with a glint in his eye.

"Help? You mean Naomi?" Dean spits out bitterly, remembering what she had done to Cas. "Isn't it wrong for a demon to get in bed with an angel?" Dean says, glaring at Crowley as he feels his blood begin to boil.

"Worked for you didn't it?" Crowley retorts with a laugh.

"You son-of-a-bitch."

"Son of a witch, you mean. And watch your mouth, squirrel, or I'll have that spell removed from Moose so fast he'll be in a worse state than your dear Cas here."

Sam finally interjects, knowing that for now, they have to play along. "We don't know where Cas's grace is, we can't help you."

Crowley motions towards the two demons who have had guns trained on the Winchesters. "Lock them up until they remember or the angel does, whoever breaks first." He shifts his attention back to Dean before saying, "My money's on the angel though". Dean feels a hit to the back of the head and his vision goes out of focus as he hits the ground.

"Dean," he hears distantly, and he runs a hand through his hair. His head is pounding, and his vision seems to be cloudy still. He hears his name again, and he realizes quickly that he is on the ground and his memories hit him hard. Dean snaps his eyes open and looks at Sam, who is standing up and trying to quietly get his attention.

He takes stock of their surroundings, quickly checking to make sure that Sam is physically fine, and then to assess how they will get out. They are in separate cells, and Dean curses the clever location Crowley picked, or maybe the angels...he's not sure who is screwing who over right now. Dean is on the ground now, but he needs to be standing. His legs are zip-tied together, as well as his hands behind his back. He stands, awkwardly, almost falling over multiple times.

"Ah, zip-ties, Sammy. My favorite," he says with a smirk.

"Yeah, Dean…I know," he says as he holds his free hands up before hiding them behind his back again, "I'm out, but I don't have anything to pick the lock with".

Dean smirks at him again as he leans forward slightly and slams his wrists against his tailbone. He closes his eyes as the pain sears up his back and he does it one more time, effectively breaking his constraints. He wriggles his free fingers at Sam, and then rubs his red wrists lightly before reaching down to pull his pant leg up.

"See, Sammy, an old friend taught me the importance of bobby-pins," at which Sam rolls his eyes; Dean has several pins hooked to the top of his boots. He removes them quickly and checks the outside of the cell for any demons who might be standing guard.

"They check about every 15 minutes, and I'm pretty sure they stored our stuff behind that desk across the room. I was just waking up as they threw me in here and I'm pretty sure that's what I saw," Sam says, absently rubbing the back of his head where he too had been hit with the back of a rifle.

Dean starts to work on the cell door, which is thankfully old and not locked with a mechanical lock. He pushes away thoughts of Castiel, promising himself to stay calm and to get them out of this situation. One step at time, he reminds himself. He hears the final click of the lock, and the door swings open slightly.

"5 minutes," Sam says, keeping his eyes open along both sides of the corridor. There are a few desks in the main area to their right, and he figures their stuff might be there. Crowley doesn't seem as interested in them as in Cas.

Dean hands over his bobby pins to Sam and sneaks out of his cell as quietly as he can, even with his ankles tied together. It is a slow process and he struggles not to curse under his breath. Every sense is heightened as he listens intently for the sound of footsteps approaching. He works as quickly as he can, checking underneath each desk until he finds what he is looking for.

Their knives and guns are piled underneath the last desk, furthest from the cells. Dean quickly grabs his knife and cuts the zip-ties around his ankles, and dives underneath the desk as he hears footsteps approaching and Sam starts coughing as a warning. Two guards are coming back into the room, and he pokes his head out quickly for an inspection. Grabbing their weapons, everything tucked into pockets in his pants and jacket, he watches them waiting for the right moment.

Sam has luckily just finished picking the cell door lock. With a swift move, he throws the cell door open with a push of his shoulder, swinging it to hit one of the demons in the face. The other is on him in an instant, pushing him back into the cell. Dean doesn't hesitate, moving quickly across the room. He throws Sam one of the angel blades while he focuses on the other demon. Dean moves silently, and stabs it through the back as he comes up behind it. He doesn't want to use guns to risk attracting more attention.

Dean darts over to Sam, who is on the ground wrestling with the second demon. Dean quickly stabs him too and cuts away the ties on Sam's ankles.

"That worked out," Dean says with a smirk.

"I'm pretty sure they were told not to kill us, otherwise it would have gone a little differently," Sam retorts, rubbing his ankles sorely.

"So now what? Where do you think Crowley has Cas?"

Sam shrugs his shoulders in response, "I guess we just start looking here first," to which Dean nods.

After searching and taking out multiple demons in the process, Sam and Dean find themselves outside of a small gym, where they have no doubt Castiel is being held. Dean resists covering his ears as he hears Castiel scream in pain, and instead crouches outside the doorway with Sam. There is one small window looking in, and it gives them very poor visibility.

"Look, there could be 10 demons in there, Dean, you sure we should go busting in alone?"

"Hey man, I know…but I've never heard Cas scream like that before, and I don't think we really have an option here. I'm not leaving here without, Cas," Dean says, narrowing his eyes at Sam for even thinking they would do that.

"I'd never say leave Cas behind, but you know, maybe we can get reinforcements or something?"

"Listen, Sammy, if it is too dangerous in there…I want you to get out. Don't stick around and try to be a hero. Get yourself out, you understand?"

Sam shakes his head sadly, "I'm not leaving you Dean, or Cas either for that matter. Do you have the bullets? We'll be fine."

Dean holds up his gun with a small smirk, "locked and loaded".

They don't bother leaving salt around the door, because it won't stop Crowley. The gun is their only chance, along with a little bit of luck and some perfectly timed teamwork. Dean can't help but think that they find themselves in these situations way too often and he hopes that they all make it out, because he can't imagine anything else right now.

With a nod from Sam, he throws open the door, running in and training his gun on Crowley. Sam covers him, quietly saying "we're alone" before sprinting across the gym floor towards Crowley.

"Boys, I should ha-" is all he can get out, before Dean shoots him with a bullet, square in the chest. Sam wastes no time, coming up behind Crowley with the rope from their bunker, laced with salt and inscribed with demon trapping symbols. Dean hesitates, looking at Castiel for a moment, but it is only a moment that Crowley needs. With a flick of his wrist, he throws Sam across the gym floor, where he lands with a loud thud. Dean doesn't need to see more, as he sprints towards Sam, who is knocked out cold. In anger, picks up the rope, looping it around his arm tightly.

Dean turns to look at Crowley, narrowing his eyes and turning down his mouth in disgust. "Do you know how long we've waited to gank you, Crowley?"

"I wouldn't count your chickens, blah blah however the saying goes," Crowley says with a smile and lifts his hand to wave goodbye. His eyes widen as he looks at Dean in shock. "What did you do?"

"Oh, this?" Dean says, waving his gun slightly. "Just a little trick we picked up in all our time hiding out recently. You see, we went way back too; found out how to trap a demon with a bullet. So you're ours now, Crowley."

Crowley's eyes betray him for just a moment as fear crosses through them, but it is only a moment before his smirk is plastered back on his face. He flicks his wrist again, throwing Dean across the gym floor where he lands close to Castiel. "Hey Cas, you ok?" Dean whispers, trying to ignore the obvious pain that Castiel must be in but he silently thanks someone for Cas not being in restraints anymore. He registers a small nod from Cas and that is all he needs. He drops one end of the rope by Castiel, hoping that they can somehow put their problems aside to work as a team.

"Please understand, please get the plan," is all Dean can repeat over in his head as he stands up, waiting for Crowley to throw him again. "Is that all you got!?" he taunts, hoping his false bravado isn't over the top. He needs Crowley to throw him again across the room, closer to Sam, and he needs to not be too injured to run he thinks as an afterthought. Luckily, Crowley bites, clearly at the end of his rope as well with his own movements hindered and unable to teleport away. He throws Dean across the room, a bit further than Dean would have liked, but he ignores the searing pain through his back and the possible broken ribs.

Dean sprints towards Crowley with the other end of the rope in his hand; his eyes meeting with Castiel's at the same time. They move in harmony, each one able to outmaneuver Crowley who is much slower than they are. They hit Crowley in unison, winding around him quickly, each bit of rope restraining each of his powers quickly. Dean ties the rope tightly into a knot, ignoring the profanities coming from Crowley. The blood in his ears is pounding so loudly, he isn't sure he can hear anything else. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Castiel slump over again, clutching at what appears to be a broken foot.

"Do it, Dean. I'm fine," Castiel says through gritted teeth on the ground. Dean doesn't need more encouragement than that, memories flooding his mind of the deal Crowley made with Castiel. The mere thought of them working together causes him to see red. He pulls out the angel blade, grinning menacingly at Crowley.

"Stop! Dean, you need me…I could help you boys…we-we've been through so much together."

"Shut it, Crowley. I've waited a long time for this," Dean snarls as he drives the knife through Crowley's chest.

Dean doesn't wait for more than a minute before pulling his knife back out and dropping Crowley back on the ground. He sprints towards Sam, waking him up and pulling him to his feet. "We need to go, Sammy. I got you."

He does the same for Castiel, each of them leaning on him in turn as he holds them up with him, moving as quickly as he can. For just a second, Dean looks back and can't help but smile. They won this time, for once, they won. He couldn't help but wonder "at what cost", but he supposed he would always wonder that. For now, Sam and Cas are both alive and he tucks them each into the back of the impala before peeling away and speeding towards their bunker, breaking every speed limit along the way. Someone must have been looking out for them, because they didn't get stopped once.

Dean drops onto the foot of his bed, careful to not disturb Castiel's broken foot. They'd tried to deal with all the injuries on their own, but Castiel needed a cast for his foot and so they'd taken a trip earlier to the local hospital, where Castiel got his first medical examination and he'd grumpily told Dean, "I hate humanity," which of course was a lie.

After that, they'd talked and it wasn't hard to forgive one another. In fact, Dean was shocked at how easy it was. He was just glad to have Castiel back and when he'd asked Castiel where his grace was, he'd told Dean that it didn't feel safe to carry around so he'd snuck back into the bunker one night (under the ruse of telling Sam he needed his clothing) and hidden it inside an old box in storage, sealed with protective magic. Dean had shaken his head and laughed, because it was so smart, so logical, and so Castiel; and of course his brother had helped conspire as well (perhaps without knowing it).

Now, Dean looks at castiel, a pained grin on his face as he grabs Castiel's hand away from itching at his cast. "Hey, if it hurts, let me know and I'll grab your pain meds for you."

Castiel only shakes his head, smiling widely at Dean. "It hurts, but I will be ok. I don't want to use any of the pain medications…ever." Dean widens his eyes, surprised at this, and he won't admit it but even a little relieved. The fact that Castiel broke his foot had been haunting his mind ever since the scuffle with Crowley, and it pained him to remember the Castiel that Zachariah had shown him…addicted to painkillers.

"Are you sure, Cas…I mean you aren't even used to this kind of…" Dean waves his hands around a bit, "human pain, I guess".

Castiel nods his head resolutely and takes Dean's hand in his and uses it to pull Dean on top of him. "I never want to be what you saw in the future, and this is my choice to make sure it definitely never happens."

Dean smiles and leans down, resting his forehead against Castiel's forehead. "I choose all of this, Dean. I want to be human…with you. Always," he whispers, his lips hovering above Dean's. That is all the invitation Dean needs before pressing his lips to Castiel's in a gentle but firm kiss, taking in the scent of his bodywash on Cas; the way Castiel is again wearing his favorite t-shirt and jeans that hang just slightly off his hips. Dean pulls back to look at Castiel, smiling widely, "is it took soon to make a joke about you falling for me, Cas?" he asks laughing. Castiel groans and pulls Dean into a tight embrace before saying, "I don't understand that reference", which leaves both of them shaking with laughter as they lie against one another.

A/N: Thank you everyone for reading this; my first fic ever and it was a huge undertaking. I'm very proud to have finished it. I will be posting one more chapter, a coda if you will, which is really a bit of domestic fluff. Again, thank you for the comments and words of encouragement :)