The Last Goodbye

16

The two angels materialized in front of the small rural hospital. Each of them immediately recognized the husky middle-aged security guard that stood at the entrance.

"Hello, brother," Castiel snarled, a raw edge in her voice. She glowered at the guard, "I am here to surrender and he to witness the demise of this vessel." Her savage eyes narrowed as she stepped before her enemy.

The guard scrutinized them both carefully, searching their faces for any hint of betrayal. "Fine. In the basement," he commanded.

Cas counted nine of his brothers and sisters surrounding the comatose body of Elle Holcomb when they appeared in the morgue. Elle had been a heroin addict. An overdose stopped her heart long enough to cause severe and irreparable brain damage. Her soul left her body 5 months ago when she was found unconscious in an alley. Elle's only surviving relative was a cousin she hardly knew; a cousin who told doctors to keep her heart and lungs pumping on a ventilator in order to receive the government checks intended to assist in her care. Castiel pitied the pathetic life she led and the callousness of her own family. After so many years alongside the Winchesters, he had a tendency to forget the selfish nature of humanity. Sam and Dean were perpetually sacrificing themselves for the world and for each other... and for him. They certainly embodied the best of civilization and he didn't regret his devotion to them for a second.

They could feel wrath radiating from their assailants. They dared not move too suddenly, or speak too harshly, in an effort to avoid what would surely be a losing fight.

"Relax, comrades. I concede. Destroy the vessel, kill me, and it'll be done. Leave him," she nodded her head to Cas, who towered rigidly next to her petite frame, "and the Winchesters alone. I've learned my lesson," she paused for her trench coat clad counterpart to continue her argument.

A bit unprepared Cas continued, "just let Dean live. I made a stupid mistake, and trust me, I am and will continue to suffer for it. I betrayed you all, and I am deeply remorseful for that. But she is correct to say I have learned. I will remain in this vessel," he placed his hand on his heart almost patriotically, "for eternity. Once she and the vessel are gone, you have nothing to fear."

An angel Castiel recognized as his former cohort, Jael, emerged from the group of angels. His vessel couldn't have been more than 12 years old and had been hidden behind the others.

"Next to Lucifer, Castiel, you are the last angel any of us would trust. How are we supposed to simply have faith you will not risk our safety for your own self-interest? How many times have you endangered all of Heaven to have Dean Winchester?"

Cas remained silent. His brothers' and sisters' aggression thickened the crowded room's stale air. Dread washed over him... He'd spent a decade fearfully anticipating the moment he would anger the angels beyond forgiveness. Both versions of himself would die here. He shifted his stance and prepared to resist, but his inevitable end and what that would mean for Dean sparked a blistering inferno within him. Blinded by calamitous rage, Cas hadn't noticed his ally careful gliding toward the crescent of angels that hovered behind Elle's withered form.

The hostile group tensed when she reached the body of her analogue and they each gradually reached into their pockets or sleeves or lapels to arm themselves. "I know the nephilim cannot be allowed to exist," the pregnant angel whispered. She calmly lingered at her sick vessel's side and did not take her gaze from the woman's hallowed face. The atmosphere grew tenser and Cas momentarily considered making the first assault, before his senses were rocked by the crash of metal doors behind him.

He felt Dean's frenzied energy enter the room before he'd even turned to face him.

In the few seconds it took Cas to close the distance between them, his trench coat floated like a hero's cape as he soared towards the doorway, Dean helplessly watched the band of angels begin to lunge. The flickering lights that lined the ceiling reflected off of the group's silver blades and they looked like a single, shining mass collapsing in on the room's center. Castiel, draped in his own shirt, whipped her inky bob to the side and locked her fathomless blue eyes onto his. He fell into her gaze and wanted nothing more than to pull her safely into his arms. Dean saw the corners of her mouth gently pull into a placid smile, and her eyes shut tight. Cas tackled him and as the two men fell, Dean witnessed Castiel quickly place her left hand on the frail human in the bed before her. She raised her open right hand toward her attackers and a silvery blue light erupted from her palm. Blinding energy swallowed her and the angels around her, and Dean felt caustic heat billowing towards him and Cas.

He looked into the worn face of the angel hunched over him. Before he could say what he knew would be their last goodbye, there was a muffled pulse of feathers. Cas' massive black wings wrapped around them, encapsulating them in a solid shadow. The blaring wave crashed toward the shrouded pair. Dean yanked the blue tie that dangled past his head and pulled Cas' face to his. The hunter's lips grazed the angel's and as the celestial shockwave engulfed them, their mouths gently connected. Dean clung tightly to Cas as they kissed, promising to himself to never let go of him again.

As soon as the weight of energy subsided, Cas' gargantuan wings disappeared and he crumpled on top of Dean. Dean pushed himself upright, and pulled the dead weight of his angel into his lap. Cas laid face-down across him; Dean assumed he was knocked out by the blast. He looked across the room to where the explosion originated and was stunned to see nothing but shattered glass and a blackened metal table. He shook Cas gingerly to stir him back to consciousness. No response. Dean got to his feet and straddled the angel to carefully turn him over. He cradled Cas' face in his hands and noticed his skin felt unusually cold.

"Cas..." Dean's voice shook. Panic swelled like a storm within him. "Cas, please..." his distraught call reverberated through the deserted basement. "Cas!" Dean's stomach propelled into his chest, pushing the last bit of air from his lungs.

The hunter crumpled over the body of his soul mate. Dean rested his head on Cas' immobile chest, and heaved violently from the searing pain that pulverized every molecule within him. Even though Dean knew God was gone, he desperately prayed not to take Cas from him again. Not again.

@'