Svalbard

Cas awoke next to Dean, the room dark but for a projection of a vibrant coral reef on the wall. Dean was still fast asleep, so Cas lay still, allowing his grief to wash over him. Tears trickled down his cheeks and onto the pillow, the yawning hole in his heart eating him from the inside.

He didn't know how long he lay there for, but eventually, he had to move. He quietly got dressed and made for the door. When he glanced back at Dean, Cas saw that he'd woken, and was watching him with a blank expression. Neither of them said a word. Cas just sighed and left the room.

He picked at breakfast and made his way to the lab. The others turned up and sat at their stations, but none of them made any move towards work. Cas dismissed them all, and spent the day alone in the lab, staring at images of the virus, not focussing on anything in particular. He knew they would have to get back to work eventually, but the lab was so devoid of life without Alfie. Dean joined him in the lab for lunch, but they remained silent, throwing each other glances when the other wasn't looking.

That night, Cas stood in the doorway of the room he had shared with Alfie, trying to bring himself to go inside. Alfie's lab coat and shoes were still there, and Cas couldn't tear his eyes from them. He felt a gentle touch on his shoulder and turned around to see Dean.

'Let me help,' Dean murmured. He crossed the threshold of the room, breaking through the last traces of Alfie's presence that had kept Cas outside, and gently moved Alfie's things. The lab coat was folded and put away in one of the small drawers, and his shoes were carefully tucked under the bed. Dean then held out a hand and beckoned Cas inside.

Cas took a deep breath and stepped through the doorway, struggling to contain the tears that threatened to overwhelm him once more. Dean held him by the shoulders and sat down on the bed with him.

'Thank you,' Cas mumbled, wrapping his arms around himself.

Dean squeezed Cas's shoulder and got up, pausing briefly in the doorway as though he wanted to say something, but he just shook his head and left.

It took a long time, but Cas managed to fall asleep.

For the next few days, Cas, Anna, Kevin and Crowley would all gather in the lab after breakfast, but Cas would soon dismiss them, until one day, they refused to go.

'I need something to do,' Anna said, sitting down at her microscope, and pulling out her crate of plants to tend to them. 'I can't mope around and feel sad anymore, I have to think about something else.'

'Me too,' said Kevin.

'Alfie would have wanted us to continue,' Crowley said solemnly.

Cas nodded. 'All right.'

The first few hours were slow, but after a while, a new air of determination filled the lab, and though they worked in silence, they worked in harmony. Dean visited again and watched for a while; much longer than he should have.

Just as quickly as the news about Alfie's death had spread, so too did the mood inside the lab, reaching out to the corners of the ship and filling everyone with new purpose.

A guard shift was added to the armoury, in twos, and the crew set about taking inventory of their remaining supplies, calculating rations. Some tried to convince Dean to let them go fishing, but he insisted that it was too dangerous, and after he showed them the footage of the miles of infected ships above them, he heard no more argument.

'If we find a safe spot, I'll consider it,' Dean said, softening at their disappointed expressions.

Kevin took over the care of Cas's implants, casting an analyzing eye over the filaments every morning, and adjusting what he could. He wasn't as practiced as Alfie had been, but they made it work.

Charlie deployed her drones as much as she could, refitting them to run on solar power. It greatly reduced the time they could run for before needing to be charged, but it saved her from having to draw power from the fragile reactor. With the drones, she was able to find the end of the massive fleet of doomed vessels. It would still be several days before they would pass underneath the last of them, however.

Cas and his team were working quietly in the lab as they approached the northern tip of Africa. Anna had been attempting to splice new genes into her rice plants, but had so far been unsuccessful, despite Kevin creating new synthetic genes at breakneck speed.

'Come on, come on,' Anna muttered, staring down the microscope at her newest creation. 'Take. You can do it. Take.'

'I don't think that's going to help,' said Crowley, spinning around in his chair, waiting for inspiration.

'Wrong,' Anna snapped, her eyes still glued to the microscope. 'Plants respond to sound waves.'

'Crowley, find something to do and stop bothering everyone else,' Cas said, sketching diagrams of pathogens most similar to the Croatoan virus.

'You're right, perhaps I ought to break out the craft supplies and do some doodles like you,' Crowley shot back.

Cas just gave him a withering look, then Dean came into the lab.

'Any progress?' he asked.

'Nope,' said Kevin. 'Same as yesterday, same as the day before.'

'Wait, shut up,' Anna said, her voice rising a pitch. 'Give me the hydrogen sulfide.'

'Why?' said Crowley.

'Just give it!'

They all watched with bated breath while Anna carefully applied to chemical to her slides.

'I think - I think it's working,' Anna breathed. She took one of the slides and applied the cells to a growth medium that she had prepared. 'The cells are still reproducing,' she said, watching one of the remaining slides. 'It's chemosynthesising.'

'No way,' Kevin said, his mouth hanging open. He rolled his chair over and looked down the microscope. 'Oh my God, it's beautiful.'

'I mean, it's just the first step, we need to teach it to isolate the virus next, and-'

'Anna,' Cas interrupted. 'This is incredible. You've made a huge discovery, you're allowed to celebrate for at least five minutes.'

'You found something?' Dean asked.

'I found something,' Anna grinned. 'Kevin, can you synthesize some more of those gene sequences.'

'Sure can,' Kevin said brightly.

The lab became a flurry of activity, until suddenly, Sam's voice came over the intercom.

'Commander to control, incoming comms. Commander to control.'

Dean frowned. 'Comms? From where?' He beckoned to Cas as he walked from the room. 'Come on.'

Cas hesitated, glancing back at Anna, but followed Dean to the command centre. He heard the voice before they arrived, calling through the radio, desperate and trembling.

'Hello? Come in U.S.S Impala, can you hear me? Is anyone there? Please respond.'

Dean approached the console, but hesitated.

'Please come in, U.S.S Impala, this is W.H.O facility Svalbard. Respond if you can hear us.'

Cas gasped and Dean glanced back at him before finally opening the comms channel.

'This is Commander Winchester of the U.S.S Impala, we're reading you loud and clear, Svalbard.'

When the voice responded, she sounded deeply relieved.

'It's good to hear your voice, Commander,' she said. 'Please advise, is Dr Novak still aboard?'

'Yes, Major Novak and team are still with us,' Dean responded.

They heard faint sounds of celebration in the background.

'We heard your messages looking for survivors. Apologies for the delay in response. It's been so long that it took a while to restart our communications.'

'No apologies needed,' said Dean. 'How are you all holding up?'

'We can survive indefinitely, but we need Dr Novak and his team if we're to cure this disease. We lost our virologist early on, and our microbiologists have very limited expertise.'

'May I?' Cas asked Dean, and Dean gestured for Cas to approach the console.

'Svalbard, this is Dr Novak,' Cas said. 'I'm very glad you all survived.'

'Likewise.'

'I need to ask, do you have any samples of the pathogen? The human strain?'

'Yes, we do,' she told them.

'Any live?'

'We have access to some that we currently have in stasis, but we haven't figured out how to grow it so it'll stabilise.'

'Stasis?' Cas said, surprised.

'You gave us the idea. We have a stasis switch of our own, but we modified it to keep the samples safe.'

'Clever,' Cas smiled. 'And you're BSL-4 equipped?'

'Ready and waiting.'

Cas felt some of the stress lift from his shoulders. 'Can you send us all the data you currently have? We've been working with limited information down here.'

'Not a problem, we'll send it right over. Commander, scans indicate that your reactor is damaged, is that correct?'

Dean winced. 'Yes, correct.'

'This facility is designed to be fully, independently functional. We have our own reactor. I'll have engineering send you an inventory of our equipment and hopefully we'll have everything you need for repairs. Our nuclear engineer never made it to evacuation. We've been doing our best, but in return for the equipment, we're hoping you could take a look at our reactor.'

Dean too looked as though the weight of the world had been lifted from him. 'That's amazing to hear. Of course I'll check your reactor.'

'Thank you, Commander.'

'No, thank you, Svalbard. We'll be in touch. Impala out.'

'Svalbard out.'

They all stood in stunned silence for a moment, then everyone in the command centre broke into applause. Dean turned to Cas, his expression bright.

'You'd better go tell your nerds the good news,' he said.

Cas let out a short laugh and hurried back to the lab.

'What's going on?' Crowley asked.

'The Svalbard facility is still up and running,' Cas told them. 'You should be receiving their data on the virus any second now.'

Crowley's eyes lit up, and he pushed himself in his chair across the room so fast he almost fell out of it completely.

'Anna, send them the images of these new cells you've made, and Kevin, show them the gene sequence. We need to be communicating with them as much as possible until we get there, and make sure they make backups of our data.'

Cas sat down at his own station, feverishly typing reports and downloading thousands of images sent to him by Svalbard.

They worked through the night, not that any of them noticed, until Dean came to check on them the next morning.

'Okay, all of you need a break,' he said, clapping his hands loudly and breaking them out of their deep concentration. 'Everybody outside,' he insisted, before any of them could protest. 'The ocean's gonna get pretty cold the further north we go, so this is our last chance to take a dip.'

Cas dragged himself to his feet and followed the others outside. He watched them dive into the ocean and sat down on the deck. He thought of Alfie, drifting away on the horizon, but he had no more tears. The sun hovered overhead, not baking them as it had on the equator, but gently warming them. Cas pulled his wallet out and stared wistfully at the little pictures of his wife, and stroked it with a finger, barely noticing as Dean sat beside him.

'You miss her?' Dean asked.

'All the time,' Cas murmured. 'You were never married?'

Dean shook his head. 'Came close a couple times, but my place was always here, and they always wanted more.'

'I understand. I was lucky that Amelia supported me so much. I wanted to give her everything, but she never asked for more than what we had.'

'She sounds perfect.'

'She was.'

They sat in silence for a beat, and the memories of the night they spent together rolled over them. Cas put his wallet away and sighed.

'I wouldn't have minded if she'd wanted to punch me when I was being an ass though,' he said with a small smile, and drew a laugh out of Dean.

'Guess I'll have to stick around and be your designated puncher.'

'Well, you seem qualified,' Cas chuckled, running a hand over his jaw, at the place Dean's fist had connected with his face. It already seemed like a lifetime ago.

Dean smiled, then stood and stretched. 'Better let the guys go fishing.' He patted Cas's shoulder and left him alone on the deck.

Cas dozed off where he sat, but he was splashed awake by Crowley wringing the water out of his shirt over Cas's head.

'Come on, we've got work to do,' Crowley said in amusement.

Cas looked around and realised the sun had begun to set and most of the crew had already gone inside. He got unsteadily to his feet and clambered back down into the ship. Static crackled up his spine, and when his foot hit the floor of the ship, pain shot through his leg. He hissed through his teeth and limped through the ship, leaning heavily on the walls.

'Kevin?' he called, but he was too far away from the lab for Kevin to hear him.

He rounded a corner, his leg throbbing and shaking violently, and stopped to catch his breath.

'Kevin,' he called again, but his voice was even weaker than before.

'I've got you, Major,' came Dean's voice from behind him.

Dean approached and wrapped an arm around Cas's waist, holding him tightly and helping him walk to the lab, then lowering him into a chair.

'Kevin,' Cas choked, holding his leg.

Kevin finally looked up from his laptop and immediately babbled apologies.

'I can't see what's wrong,' Kevin said, raking his eyes over the tablet.

'S-sometimes some of the filaments get - get twisted,' Cas gasped. 'Try the - try the lower one.'

Kevin scrambled with it, but couldn't figure it out. Anna came over and fussed at Kevin, pointing at things on the screen, but she couldn't fix it either.

Dean rolled his eyes and grabbed the tablet from them. 'Give me that,' he said gruffly, and brought it over to Cas. 'Show me.'

Cas pointed at the places Dean should press with shaking fingers. 'That one,' he said, pointing out the twisted filament.

'Just untwist it?'

Cas nodded. 'Carefully, if you can.'

Dean stared down at it with great concentration, slowly moving the stylus around the screen.

Cas felt it when Dean finally untangled it. The pain in his leg disappeared and he let out a shaky sigh, slumping in his seat.

'Sorry, Cas,' Kevin grimaced.

Cas waved away his apologies.

'I think you should go lie down,' said Dean.

Cas nodded and pushed himself to his feet, swaying slightly. The pain had drained him. He would be of no more use that night.

'I'll walk you,' Dean said, noticing his unsteadiness.

Cas nodded and exited the lab, Dean at his side. They walked to his room and Cas sat on his bed.

Dean came in and knelt in front of him. 'Are you gonna be okay?' he asked, brow furrowed.

Cas just shrugged. 'Probably not. I just have to do as much as I can.'

Dean grimaced and stood up again. 'I'll get Charlie to have a look at that tablet of yours. See if she can't rig something on it. If you don't mind,' he added.

'Sure,' Cas said. 'I'm sure she can't make it worse than it already is, and I trust her not to break it.'

'I'm on it. Get some rest.'

Cas smiled gratefully, and was soon fast asleep.

Dean became more tense as the days went by. It was indeed colder the further north they travelled, but there was also less sunshine, making it harder to run the Impala on solar power. He anxiously switched some of the more minor functions of the ship back to nuclear power, and spent most of his time between the command centre and the reactor.

Finally, however, they began their approach to Svalbard. The facility had sent the location of their classified entrance, and Dean visibly relaxed when he saw they were only a day away.

It was a relief for Cas's team as well. Anna was particularly excited to continue her experiments. The first clump of cells she'd managed to grow with the ability to chemosynthesis had died, but she had more success with the second round. She'd even managed to get it to grow roots, and was more than ready to have a more stable envelope to grow it in, with more control over its environment.

Cas, however, was a little more apprehensive. He knew it was where they needed to be, but he'd grown fond of the Impala. Of its crew. Of Dean. He had already changed into his bedclothes on their last night aboard the ship when Dean appeared in the doorway of his room.

'We'll be at Svalbard tomorrow,' he said quietly.

Cas nodded, noticing a soft, vulnerable look in Dean's eye. He got up and put a hand on Dean's chest.

'Stay with me tonight,' Dean whispered, pressing his own hand over Cas's.

Cas kissed him softly, then took him by the hand, leading the way to Dean's quarters.

There was no whiskey this time, nor desperation to feel anything other than their grief. They put aside thoughts of everything outside the room. There was no past, no future. Only the breath between them, their hearts beating together, their limbs intertwined. Skin on skin, holding each other close.

They fell asleep in the early hours of the morning, Dean's arm draped protectively over Cas.

It was cold when they woke, so they stayed wrapped in blankets with each other for as long as possible, until the sounds of the rest of the ship stirring reached them in their cocoon.

Dean gave Cas a regretful look, kissed him, then climbed out of the bed to get dressed.

Cas was stiff, but followed Dean's lead and dragged his clothes on, his fingers slightly numb.

Without Cas having to ask, Dean picked up the tablet and began adjusting the filaments for him.

'You don't have to do that,' Cas mumbled.

Dean just raised an eyebrow at him and continued with what he was doing.

Once things were properly back in place, the stiffness subsided.

They caught each other's eye, and Cas could see longing on Dean's face that he was sure was reflected on his own.

'We should get packed up,' Cas said.

Dean nodded and let him go.

The ship was a flurry of activity that day. Cas and his team were carefully packing their equipment, and waiting for the very last moment before they had to move the plant strain of the pathogen and carefully deconstruct the biohazard cabinet. They felt it when the ship slowed and knew they were approaching landfall. At long last, after weeks at sea, the Impala surfaced and docked. They were all instructed to dress in their warmest clothes. After so long at sea, they would be unaccustomed to the cold.

They gathered at the main entrance to the ship, and waited for Dean to open the door.

The first thing they felt was the biting cold as it swept past the door, causing them all to hunch their shoulders against it. When the initial shock passed, Cas noticed that it was dark outside, despite it only being two in the afternoon.

'Must be winter,' he mumbled to himself.

Sam and Dean disembarked first, followed by Cas and the rest of his team. For a moment, he was dazzled by the amount of stars in the sky. In recent years, he had spent much of his time inside, and in cities, where the light pollution blotted out the constellations. The thousands upon thousands of bright points in the sky took him right back to when he was a young pilot on night patrols.

He stepped out in the dock, but was immediately unsteady, and wobbled sideways, as did both Kevin and Anna.

Cas thought it was his implants, but then saw both Sam and Dean laughing at him.

'Your sea legs will wear off soon,' Dean chuckled, patting his shoulder.

They'd all become so used to the constant motion of the submarine that solid ground was dizzying.

Waiting for them on the other side of the dock was a woman with shoulder length dark hair and harsh bangs across her forehead. She stepped forward and shook Dean's hand.

'Nice to meet you,' she said, her cheeks flushed from the cold, and Cas recognised her voice as the one that had called them. 'I'm Hannah,' she continued. 'Is everything ready?'

'It is,' said Cas, stepping forward and introducing himself. 'We should get our samples inside before they get too cold.'

'Of course, let's go.'

She and the crew gathered up the crates of the equipment, and she led the way to a huge, metal bulkhead door, set into the rocky slope just beyond the dock. She looked up at the camera hanging in the corner over the door, then the door slid open with groans and creaks.

'Welcome to the Svalbard facility,' she said, pride in her voice.

She led the down the slightly sloped hallway.

Cas was uneasy about being underground, but he never felt the same crackling static in his body as he had in the pressurised environment of the Impala.

Another set of doors let them onto a wider, warmer concourse that wound around thick panes of glass. Through the glass, they could see a huge garden, thick with plants of all kinds. Anna's jaw dropped at the sight of them, but they had no time to take it in.

Hannah kept going and showed them to one of their enormous labs, also enclosed in glass, and began helping them unpack their equipment.

'Oh, Commander, why don't you bring the rest of your crew inside, it's warmer in here,' Hannah said. 'I'll give you the tour once this is done.'

Dean nodded and went back the way they'd come to gather up his crew.

Other scientists appeared from within the facility. They made the whole process much quicker than it had been, when it was just the five of them loading on to the Impala.

When they were finished, they found Dean hovering awkwardly outside the lab, waiting for them.

'All right, let me show you around,' Hannah said with a smile, and walked them back to the enclosed garden.

'We started growing this to help air filtration and to grow food,' Hannah explained. 'And it distracts from us being underground.' They followed the glass around, past archways that allowed access to the garden inside.

She showed them the kitchens and exercise space, then into an elevator which went further down into the earth.

'Living quarters down here,' said Hannah. 'Not much of our team made it through the evacuations, and we only had the bare minimum already here, so there's plenty of space. Dr Novak, you'll be in here-'

She opened the door of the room nearest the elevator. It was cosy, lit by a soft lamp sitting on a desk, illuminating the set of shelves and filing cabinets, a chest of drawers, and a double bed. There was space for an office chair at the desk, but also a comfortable armchair to sit in.

After weeks in a bunk bed, to Cas, a double bed all to himself felt like the height of luxury.

Hannah showed them the rest of the living quarters, including a common room that had games and shelves of books, and even stacks of old DVDs that went with a TV mounted on the wall. The showers had doors that locked, and there was no need to limit the time spent under the water.

'The next floor down is the biohazard lab, I'll get you clearance to access the floor. Feel free to get acquainted with the facility,' said Hannah. 'We've got your data, so we can continue your work while you rest.' Then she turned to Dean. 'Commander, I know you've been at sea a long time, and I wouldn't ask unless it was urgent-'

'It's okay, show me the reactor,' Dean said briskly.

Hannah led Dean away, and the rest of them settled themselves in their rooms.

Cas allowed them a couple of hours before gathering up Kevin, Anna and Crowley, and taking them back up to the lab. As Hannah promised, there were people still working, but they all stopped when Cas came into the room.

It was strange, but exciting, to have a fully staffed lab again. He smiled and clapped his hands together.

'All right, let's get to work.'

Hey, it's been a while. Welcome back! Hope you enjoy the chapter :)