The End | {BOOK 5}

3| Goodbye

"Dean?"

There were metal clanks in the distance followed by the sound of glass shattering and the door being ripped from its hinges as a bright light shone through.

"Dean?" Sam repeated more urgently.

Two angels, different from the female at Pirate Pete's, walked into the cell block. Their eyes were glowing blue from their grace and on the other side of the cell, Jack clutched his head as if he had just acquired a massive migraine. I furrowed my brow, assuming that he was reacting to them using angel radio based on the fact he had mentioned being scared of the loud, angry voices earlier.

The female angel ripped the cell door off and tossed it aside. Sam punched her and she fought back, slamming him against the bars. He headbutted her and she flung him across the room into me just as I was moving to help. The male angel came over and started kicking and punching both of us to keep us down while the female moved to grab Jack. The Nephilim was still huddled on his cot in pain.

As Sam started to cough up blood, I managed to get myself free enough to raise my hand and summon on my powers. The male angel screamed as I burnt him out of his vessel.

"Hey!" Sam called over to the female who was escorting Jack out of the cell.

She turned just in time to see him slap his hand down on the sigil he'd drawn on the floor using his blood. She vanished in a flash of light, and Jack appeared to be affected painfully by the sigil. Glowing lines appeared on his neck and he collapsed to the ground. Though quick to recover, Sam and I were both still instantly at his side.

"Jack!"

A moment later, Drunk Angel from the restaurant entered the room.

"Don't," Sam told her, putting himself between her and Jack and me.

"Or what, other one?" she taunted.

"Guess," came Dean's reply, appearing behind her.

He had a busted lip, but otherwise appeared fine despite what fighting I was sure had gone on in the other room.

"Stay away from the kid," I added, moving to stand beside Sam, pushing Jack behind me.

"You're right. But if we can't have him," she stabbed Jack through the bars with her angel blade, "no one can."

Jack dropped to his knees, angel blade still buried in his chest and I turned to kneel beside him while Sam killed the angel.

"Jack. Jack. J-" I started, pausing as he pulled the blade out of his chest.

"I... I'm fine," he said, looking up at the brothers and me.

I helped him to his feet, letting him lean on me as we made our way out of the Sheriff's station. The Sheriff was getting into an ambulance with her son, leaving us practically alone. Jack tugged on my arm, getting me to stop as Sam and Dean headed over to the Impala.

"Jack?"

"What happened to you? Why did you... stop breathing?"

"Oh," I swallowed, glancing over at the brothers. "That, uh, that was a panic attack... or anxiety attack... I don't know. I just get them sometimes."

"Why?"

"Stress mostly," I shrugged. "I've never paid much attention to the specific triggers, really. Jack, you said your mom told you I'd help Castiel take care of you."

"Yes," Jack nodded. "She and Castiel trusted you because you wanted to help when I was born."

"Well, I'm going to try my best. Come on. It's time to get out of here."

⁘

Back at the cabin, we gathered supplies to build a pyre while Jack hung back.

"Hey... Hey, you sure about this, guys?" Sam asked. "I mean, it's- it's Cass, you know? Maybe we can bring him back, like you said."

"No, we can't," I shook my head.

"Chuck did- uh, God did. Remember that? So maybe, um, I don't know, maybe if we prayed to him or- or..."

"You don't think I've tried that?" I snapped, causing both brothers to stare at me in surprise.

I explained how I'd prayed when I headed off behind Pirate Pete's and subsequently hurt my hand when I didn't receive an answer.

"God's not listening," I concluded bitterly. "He doesn't give a damn."

Not giving either Winchester time to respond, I headed over to where Jack was hovering and shepherded him inside. Together, we made our way upstairs to the room where Kelly's body laid under a sheet. He stepped forward, placing a hand on his mother's foot through the sheet. When Sam came up, I let him take the lead in preparing Kelly's body for the pyre while I headed back downstairs.

I joined Dean where Cass's body was laying on a table underneath a similar sheet to the one covering Kelly upstairs. I watched silently as he tore up the curtains from the window and wrapped them around the body. A while later, we were gathered outside by the pyre that had both bodies on top of it while Dean sloshed gasoline over the wood.

"You wanna say anything?" Sam asked Jack.

"I... What do you say?" Jack asked innocently.

"Right. Thank you. You say thank you. And you say you're sorry. You hope they're somewhere without, uh, sadness or pain. You hope they're somewhere better. You say goodbye."

Dean finished up with the gasoline, falling back in line beside me and pulling a lighter from his pocket.

"Well, goodbye, Cass. Goodbye, Kelly. Goodbye, Crowley," he bit out.

"Goodbye, Mom," I whispered, voice breaking.

"Ellie, we don't know if your mom-" Sam began.

"Yeah, we do. We do, Sam. Lucifer killed her the moment he realized we trapped his ass. He killed her. You know he did. She's gone. They're all gone."

My voice was barely audible by the time I was done speaking, but I knew they still heard it. Dean reached down with his free hand, intertwining our fingers together as he threw the lighter at the pyre and set it on fire. I closed my eyes, fighting against the tears threatening to fall. I didn't know how long we stood there, but at some point Dean gathered me in his arms and carried me over to the Impala and set me in the passenger seat.