Crowley smirked as he collected the blood from the stranger he had his henchmen murder in the alley.
He cackled, "One Castiel coming up!" as the men painted a symbol on the ground. Castiel appeared in seconds and panicked when he could not move from the spot he was in.
"Oh I get it! Dearest Chuck never told you that you were an angel!" laughed Crowley upon the sight of the panicking boy.
Castiel pleaded, "Anything you want, and I'll give it to you! Let me go!"
Crowley smiled, "Oh, there's nothing I need from you, my dear boy. Not unless you happen to carry a Dean Winchester in your pocket."
Castiel snarled, "Whatever you intend to do to Dean, do it to me!"
Crowley shrugged, "I could, but I need you alive. At least, until Dean comes around."
Crowley faced a terrified Castiel and smiled, "Now, you're going to help your old pal Fergus Crowley with something, and if you don't follow my exact commands, your boyfriend is going to be in a world of hurt."
Dean kicked back and put his feet on his desk. Three chapters of criminal justice later, he was finally done with his assignments for the night. He sighed and closed his eyes, until he felt his phone vibrate.
"Yeah," answered Dean indifferently.
"Hello Dean," replied Cas.
"What is it this time, Cas? The heater clanking again?" asked a slightly irritated Dean.
"I need assistance with – Calculus?" answered Cas.
"Dude, the test was yesterday, you got a 100 on it, remember?" responded Dean.
"Dean, I seriously need help!" shouted a panicked Cas right before the line went dead.
"Cas? CAS!" shouted Dean.
Back in the alley, Crowley threw Cas's phone to the ground.
"Castiel, you had one job. Now Uncle Fergus has to get his hands messy." He snapped his fingers, and they appeared in Dean's room.
"Mr. Crowley, I don't know what the HELL you're doing but you leave him ALONE!" snarled Dean.
"Not likely, love. I need both of you for something only God can know!" retorted Crowley.
He placed a knife in Castiel's hands. He looked over at his henchmen and both of them pulled out their guns.
Crowley gently whispered, "Cas, your job is very simple. Kill the boy, or I will kill you."
Cas froze. There was simply no way he could kill Dean. He gulped as he prepared to do what he knew was best.
He slowly walked up to Dean and looked him dead in the eyes.
He muttered timidly, "Goodbye, Dean."
Defeated, Dean looked at him and said, "I'd rather die a hundred times over than have you die. Do what you must." He closed his eyes and accepted his fate.
Cas raised the blade in the air. He swung it down hard and fast, stabbing himself deep in the stomach.
Chuck was attending to business in heaven when he sensed something wrong on earth. His first thought was Castiel.
He sensed his location and fled to earth immediately, just in time to witness his youngest son stabbing himself.
He rushed to the side of the crumpled form of his son, banishing Crowley and his demons from the scene.
He held one of Cas's hands and closed his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks.
In the meantime, hot tears streamed down Dean's face. Was this the end of his friend?
He joined Chuck on the floor, gazing upon the face of his friend. He decided to follow suit and took Cas's other hand.
Slowly, Cas opened his eyes. Chuck wept even harder with joy.
"My boy! I thought you were gone forever!" exclaimed Chuck.
Cas sat up and asked, "What happened?"
Chuck replied, "I should have told you the truth. I lied to protect you from the dangers of the truth you now know. You are an angel of the lord."
Cas asked, "Is that why I recovered from the stabbing?" as he rubbed the site where he stabbed himself. There was no scar or blood anywhere on his abdomen.
Chuck shook his head as he picked up the knife.
He explained, "This knife is designed to kill angels, Castiel. A call from your soul mate revived you." He gestured towards Dean.
Dean became confused. He had become rather fond of Cas, but never considered it to be anything more than friendship.
Chuck looked at the two of them and said, "Your mission is to protect each other at all costs. Castiel was meant to protect you from harm, and I'm afraid that that run-in with Crowley was only a minor skirmish in the war we have against hell."