Fallen Heroes

Chapter Ten: The Real Life (and Death) of DJ Winchester

I woke up to the sweet scent of a summer breeze, grass tickling the back of my arms and legs. My eyes slowly opened to the bright sunshine, taking their time to adjust.

As I sat up, I noticed a body next to me. My stomach twisted into a knot once I identified him. A mop of wavy black hair was sticking out of the grass, and eyes that were bluer than the sky were picking out shapes in the clouds.

"Cas?" I whispered.

He turned those eyes to me, the bags underneath them more prominent than I remembered. A tired smile lit up his face as he curled into my chest. "I missed you," he said.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I wrapped my arms tightly around him.

He shrugged. "I wasn't going to let you die alone."

My unbeating heart froze. "You did not." I grabbed his face between my calloused palms, his 2 o'clock shadow scratching the thick skin. "Castiel, tell me that you did not die for me."

"But I do not want to be president," he said quietly.

"What?"

His sad eyes looked up at mine, "I would by lying if I said that."

I stood up angrily, "I told you I wasn't worth it, Cas! Why would you do that?"

He got to his feet as well. "Because I love you! Because you deserve to be saved. Because from the moment I raised you from Perdition, I knew that you were going to topple everything I knew. I knew that being in love would hurt, but I fell anyways. I'm sorry that I couldn't save Sam, but I tried to save you." His voice trembled. "But you can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved. I learned that a long time ago."

I cupped my hand around his face, catching the tears that were falling from his eyes. "Cas, I-"

"Dean!" We turned around to another voice. "And... Cas? What are you doing here?" Sam asked, running up to greet us.

I yanked my baby brother into a hug, nearly crushing the air from his lifeless lungs. "I missed you so much, Sammy," I said.

"I missed you, too, but why is Cas here? Did you get your grace back?"

Cas shook his head. "I wasn't going to let Dean die alone."

Sam's face softened as he looked at Castiel: the angel who fell for a human, the human who died for the man he loved.

"Cas, is there any way that you can get back? I'm not letting you do this," I said.

"Dean-" he began, protesting.

I yanked him to my lips, tears pricking the back of my eyes. When I finally pulled back, I noticed that Cas was crying as well. "Baby, I love you too much to let you do this. I'm gonna get you home, even if it's the last thing that I do," I vowed.

Sam cleared his throat and I remembered that he was still there. "Why don't you two come back to the house. We'll figure out a game plan there."

I nodded slowly, grabbing Cas' hand and pulling him behind me as we walked towards my childhood home. I smiled remorsefully as I took in the old house, its paint still the same faded blue as it had been when Sammy and I lived there all those years ago.

As I stepped through the door, I was greeted by the familiar scent of something that I couldn't quite place. It simply smelled like home. I sighed and wrapped an arm around Cas. "Welcome to our house, Cas," I said.

"It is very nice, Dean," he smiled, leaning his head onto my shoulder. "I could stay here forever."

"Forever..." I trailed off, retracting my arm back to my own side. "Your forever isn't starting now, Cas. I'm making damn sure of that."

As I walked into the living room, I noticed that it wasn't the one that normally greeted you. Instead, it was a cramped space that was overflowing with books and loose pieces of paper.

That could only mean one thing... A joint Heaven.

Another familiar face looked up at me from his chair, his dark blue eyes twinkling behind a newspaper. "Been a long time, boy," he said.

"Bobby," I grinned.