Dean hopped out of the Tardis the second it landed at the hospital. He didn't know how yet, but he knew he was going to kill the weeping angel. And it was going to feel great. He shrugged his shoulders a few times to make sure his jacket wasn't catching on the handle of the First Blade that was tucked in his waistband. The last thing he needed was Sam having a bitch fit that he brought the weapon.
"We'll start at the top. Work your way up to us," River said.
Sam stepped out of the Tardis with Cas and Gabriel, following Dean into the hospital.
Immediately, Dean let his eyes turn black as he scanned for anything out of the ordinary.
"I'm going to check on Molly and make sure she's okay," Sam said, avoiding any and all eye contact with Dean.
Dean nodded absently, staring up at the ceiling. He could see the energy pulsing through the fluorescent lights, and he could see beyond that to the people milling around upstairs. It was unimaginably beautiful.
Gabriel went down to the morgue with Sam when Dean saw something expell a lot of energy by moving on the third floor.
"I see it," Dean said.
Cas said, "Okay, good. Where?"
"I'm going for it," Dean said.
Cas said quickly, "Dean, wait-" But Dean teleported to the third floor without another second's hesitation.
He stared intently through unblinking, black eyes at the angel statue in the empty hallway. Quickly, with a single thought directing his demonic mojo, he locked all the doors on the floor. Dean didn't need any humans getting in the way of him and his prey.
The weeping angel had its hands up like usual, but it was clearly peering through its fingers at him. Dean pulled the First Blade out and brandished it in his right hand. He couldn't very well stab stone, but the Doctor had said the angels turn to stone when observed. If he stabbed the angel without looking, his blade might find purchase. Demon senses were such a gift sometimes. He made his way closer to the angel.
"I really hope this kills you," Dean growled at the statue.
Slowly, Dean closed his eyes and let his other senses take over. His ears picked up the movement, and his heightened reflexes helped him embed the First Blade in the angel's torso.
His weapon penetrated effortlessly, sending chills of pleasure through Dean's demonic flesh. It definitely wasn't stone that his blade slid through. The resistance felt much more like flesh and gel than anything else. It was pure ecstacy in Dean's hands.
Before Dean opened his eyes, the angel's hand moved through the air toward's Dean's neck. He felt the motion and teleported instantly, reappearing several feet away with his back to the statue.
Cas came up the stairwell and shook his head at Dean. "That was incredibly reckless," he said.
Dean grinned as Cas glanced at the angel.
The First Blade snapped in half as the weeping angel became solid stone. Dean let out a cry of pain as his soul felt like it was being electrocuted. He dropped to his knees, clutching at his chest. The Mark on his arm started seering.
Cas ran forward, catching Dean as he fell to the ground at the same time as half of the First Blade clattered to the floor.
"Dean," Cas said, panicked, "What's happening? Heal yourself."
Dean felt his eyes flicker between green and black involuntarily. Blood started to pour out of his chest where Metatron had stabbed him so long ago.
"Dean. No, come on!" Cas shouted, putting pressure on Dean's chest.
Sam came up the stairs. "Where's the angel?" he asked.
Dean screamed in pain, not present enough to care that he didn't kill the weeping angel.
Sam's attention snapped to Dean. He ran to his brother and said, "Holy shit. Dean. What happened?"
Cas said, alarmed, "I can't heal him."
Dean watched as his arms and chest flickered the way he'd seen so many demons flash as they died. This was it, the end of the line, and Dean knew it.
Sam shouted quickly, "Gabriel!" Instantly, the archangel stood beside them.
"What's the-oh, crap," Gabriel said, seeing Dean's state. He pressed a hand to Dean's chest and the flashing stopped.
"His soul is dying. I can hold his energy here but only just," Gabriel said, "I can't heal a demon."
Sam looked from Dean to Gabriel. "We need to cure him. Now," he said.
Dean fought the urge to move despite the agonizing pain. He was afraid of what might happen if Gabriel let go of him.
Sam said quickly, "Cas, stay here. Rendezvous with the Doctor, and tell him what's going on."
"I won't leave Dean," Cas said sternly. Dean clapped a hand to Cas' arm, making Cas look at him.
"He needs my blood, and he needs Gabriel to keep him alive through the process. You're the one who has to stay," Sam said. Dean groaned as blood continued to seep into his shirt.
"Stay...here," Dean wheezed.
Cas withdrew his hand from Dean's chest, and instantly, Dean, Sam, and Gabriel were transported to a church.
"We need to get this show on the road," Gabriel said, "He's hard to hold onto."
"I need to confess," Sam said, "And then he'll need eight injections of my blood, one every hour."
"Great. Awesome. Confess quickly, please," Gabriel said.
Sam nearly sprinted to the confessional.
Dean closed his eyes and felt himself become somewhat numb to the pain.
"Oh, no you don't," Gabriel said, his palm beginning to glow, "C'mon, Dean-o. Stay with me."
Dean acutely felt the jolt of grace digging into his soul. The pain came back in full force, and Dean could do nothing to prevent a choked cry of agony from escaping his lips.
"Hang in there. No pain, no gain, right?" Gabriel said.
Sam came back out and asked, "Do you have a syringe?"
Gabriel manifested one with his free hand and said, "Stop making me multitask, Sammy. This isn't as easy as it looks."
Sam took the syringe and, using a strip of his shirt as a tourniquet, drew blood from his arm. "Sorry about this," he said as he stuck the needle in Dean's neck and pressed the plunger.
Dean felt his eyes turn black involuntarily. It was the slowest and most uncomfortable his eyes had ever transitioned. He felt the human blood filter through his veins, each drop leaving a trail of fire and scorching pain. Dean screamed and lost consciousness.
When Dean came to, the light filtering in through the church windows had dimmed drastically.
He groaned, and Gabriel said, "Hey, he's back." Sam rushed over and put a hand on the side of his brother's face.
"Dean?" Sam asked.
Dean opened his eyes fully and coughed up blood. Gabriel helped Dean tilt his head to the side, so he didn't choke on the blood.
"What's going on?" Dean croaked.
Sam said, "We're curing you. Two doses left."
Dean groaned miserably.
Sam glanced at his watch, grabbed a syringe, and stabbed it into Dean's neck. "Correction," he said, "One dose left."
Dean started to feel warmer as his system absorbed Sam's blood. It wasn't like he was overheating but more like he was finally warming up after being very cold. It felt like he was thawing from having been on ice...or spent too much time in a room with Lucifer.
"Sam," Dean said, voice cracking. Gabriel said, "You should save your strength, idiot. You're not out of the woods yet."
Dean ignored Gabriel. "Curing me...isn't gonna...kill you...right?" he asked.
Sam shook his head and said, "No, I'm not trying to do a trial with this. I'll be fine."
Dean looked at his brother and said with a bit more strength in his voice, "Sam, I'm sorry."
"That's just the blood talking," Sam said.
"No, I mean it," Dean said, words shaking occasionally, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I lied to you. I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry I took the Mark of Cain without thinking. I'm sorry I became a demon."
"I get it, Dean," Sam said flatly.
"I'm sorry I hurt you," Dean said earnestly, "And even if it is the blood talking, that just means I'm becoming human. You've got to believe me, Sammy. I'm sorry."
Sam said softly, "I forgive you, okay? Really. I'm just glad you're letting us cure you. Now, stop wasting your strength. We still have another syringe."
Gabriel sighed, not moving his hand from Dean's chest, "Yeah, in another hour. This whole process takes entirely too long."
Dean closed his eyes and tried not to breathe too deeply. It was sort of comforting to require breathing again, but each full breath caused twinges of pain in his chest that only added to the joy of the sharp pins and needle sensation he felt through his whole body.
An hour later, Sam injected Dean with the last shot of his blood. Dean gasped in pain as his black eyes receded permanently. Everywhere hurt. Everything hurt. Every inch of his skin felt like it was on fire, like he was feeling everything for the first time. The disconnect between his soul and his body disappeared with a painful snap.
Gabriel grinned and asked, "How's it feel to reconnect, Dean?"
Dean groaned and spit up more blood.
"Oh, right. You're dying. I'm sorry," Gabriel said. Quickly, he healed Dean's wounds with a small burst of light from his hand. "Better?" he asked.
Dean nodded shakily and tried to stand.
"Dean, no," Sam said, "You need to rest."
"We have to find the weeping angel," Dean argued, voice hoarse. He cleared his throat and tried to stand again.
Sam put a hand on Dean's chest and with only a small push managed to knock Dean on his back.
"You need to build up some strength, Dean. Ride the pine for a bit, okay?"
Dean sighed and remained collapsed on the ground. "Fine," he said, "Go help the others with the angel or Moriarty or whatever's going on. How long have we even been here?"
"Eight hours," Sam said.
"Great," Dean said, "Yeah, go find the others, figure out what's going on. Just come back for me, okay?"
Sam laughed, "Dean, I'm not going anywhere."
"Have you heard from the others in the last eight hours?" Dean pressed.
Sam gave Dean a worried look. "I can't just leave you in the middle of a church," he said.
Gabriel said quickly, "I'll keep an eye on him. He'll be fine, promise."
Sam reluctantly nodded. Gabriel snapped his fingers, and Sam was gone.
"Where'd you send him?" Dean asked.
"The hospital," Gabriel said, "If nobody's there, he has a phone. He'll figure it out."
Dean sighed and stared up at the ceiling. "So, this is what it feels like to have an archangel actually care," he said.
Gabriel laughed, "You think I'm here for you? That's precious, Dean, really. No, I'm here for Sam. I'd be a distraction if I went with him."
Dean was about to ask for clarification when Gabriel doubled over, collapsing next to Dean. He shook violently and struggled through several painful sounding coughs.
"Gabriel?" Dean said as he tried to sit up. He put a hand on Gabriel's shoulder. He asked, "Are you okay?"
Slowly, Gabriel gasped and stilled, laying on the ground. "I'll be fine. Saving your ass took a lot more out of me than I thought," he said.
"Thanks for that, by the way," Dean said.
Gabriel coughed and said, "Yeah, don't mention it."
Dean rolled back on his back and closed his eyes as Gabriel completely passed out.