Who's Cas?

Chapter 8

Gabriel watched over his little brother through the night like always. He got up to go make himself something in the kitchen and when he went back into the living room, that eight year old boy was a fully grown man now. The lollipop in Gabriel's mouth almost fell out when his jaw dropped. When it finally came into his head that the spell had worn off, another smirk appeared on his face. He nudged him awake again and Cas looked up at him,

"Gabriel?" He looked down at himself once he'd heard his own voice. The clothes he had worn were pretty much gone, the only thing to cover him were his wings that were three times the size they used to be and the blanket around him,

"Hey Cas, how're you feeling?"

"I feel..." Cas looked down at himself, noting his vessel had grown again. The cramped feeling he had grown used to was relieved and it felt like he hadn't been able to breathe until now, "fine." He looked back up at Gabriel,

"You remember everything?" Cas nodded.

"I remember the apocalypse and that witch."

"Don't worry, I got her before she escaped," Gabriel nodded, "welcome back. You should probably get dressed." Gabriel turned and went into the spare bedroom where Sam and Dean were sleeping to grab Cas' clothes. He had seen them bundled in a corner somewhere but when he turned around Cas was already mostly dressed. The only thing he wasn't wearing was his shirt. His wings were in the way. He took a breath and Gabriel knew he was going to hide his wings again. Gabriel had hid and taken out his wings so many times it barely hurt for him but when he watched his brother do it, it seemed like torture. He wandered back to him, not even closing the door to the bedroom, "you don't do this very often do you?" He went to him. Cas didn't respond as the wince grew on his face. His wings folded tightly into his back. The pointed joint pushed back into his skin so hard it pushed through. As it pushed in, the rest of the wing followed suit and as Gabriel watched the jet black feathers disappear into his back, Cas stumbled forward and grabbed the doorframe of the kitchen. His breathing was erratic and Gabriel had to grimace at him. Castiel was almost silent though in the kitchen. His nails dragged across the wooden door frame leaving faint nail marks in the wood. He also grit his teeth as the final length of the flight feathers sunk into his back. He took a few more breaths as his back healed, blood dripped down his back from the wound before it closed up. "Yeah, Dean's right. It is a scene right out of a horror movie." Cas was quiet again as he put his shirt and tie back on, looking relieved that the pain was over. Gabriel clicked his fingers and the light in the boys' room turned on, waking them both up while Cas was putting his jacket and trench coat on.

"It's 5 in the morning," Dean grumbled, "what are you doing?" Sam was already up,

"Cas?" He noticed Cas was up and about. When he said that, Dean slowly sat up and noticed Cas was back to normal again. He lay back down on the bed,

"Welcome back Cas," he called. Cas actually smiled when Dean did that,

"Yeah, how are you? You ok?" Sam asked. He was going to get up in an hours time anyway so he wasn't going to bother sleeping again,

"Yeah," Cas nodded, "back to normal."

"Now that that's all fixed, see ya," Gabriel said before he peaced out,

"Goodbye," Cas nodded before he too disappeared,

"The guy just got back to normal and he's already disappearing," Dean mumbled while still half asleep,

"Well, that's just Cas." Sam got ready for his morning run and Dean lay in. Meanwhile, Cas managed to sneak into heaven. None of the angels actually noticed which wasn't anything new. Castiel had managed to sneak in a few times. He was sitting on a stone wall in someone's heaven and he watched the young woman playing with a small scruffy dog. She was laughing and smiling with her much taller husband as their daughter ran around after the dog. The grass grew long around them and the girl's dress and knees were picking up multiple green stains and dog hairs from the dog she was play-fighting. The woman sat under a tree, her head leaning on her husband's shoulder. He cradled one of her hands lovingly and her eyes lit up at the sight of him, smiling warmly. Cas said nothing and just silently watched the family before she took notice of him. When their eyes met, Cas looked down at his feet and she came over to him. She sat down on the wall beside him, her husband and daughter carrying on as if she hadn't wandered away from them. She smiled at him,

"Are you an angel?" She asked him. He paused, then looked up at her, "I know I'm dead. I'm in heaven." Castiel nodded,

"You are indeed in heaven," he replied,

"My name is Hillary," she held out her hand,

"I know," he shook it, "I'm Castiel." She gave a smile,

"You came to see me," she said, "I know you have. You want to know if I remember." She wasn't making much sense but instead she leaned over and hugged him, "I'm sorry." Cas stiffened and she straightened up, "I do remember being an angel and I remember what I did to you." Cas nodded,

"Why?" He asked,

"Ila was a close friend of ours. Whatever she did seemed fun and cool to me and Joel. Now, living as a human taught me how valuable life is and that day, we almost took yours. I'm glad you came, Castiel. I always hoped I could see you again and hopefully... ask for your forgiveness." She didn't look up at him, ashamed and scared of what he might say. Cas was taken by surprise at the amount of remorse Hillary had. He didn't even expect her to remember him. His head tilted at her until he realised she was expecting him to say something,

"You are forgiven," he replied. Hillary looked up surprised and excited. She happily hugged him again and this time, Castiel hugged her back. On that wall, Hillary talked with Castiel for ages about her human life and what happened to her and Castiel listened, fascinated. From the treeline, watching them stood the archangel again. He watched the two of them and smiled. He wandered along heaven, out of sight from anyone. It was there, he snuck into the garden. He wandered the Axis Monde and to the heart of the garden, taking in the brightly coloured flowers and the buzzing of bees around him. There, Joshua approached him,

"I knew you'd come back eventually," Joshua replied, "when you were ready."

"I'm not staying," Gabriel replied,

"No?" Joshua raised an eyebrow, "but you are thinking of coming out of hiding."

"I have for Castiel and the Winchesters," Gabriel said, "but I don't need the angels on my tail. They've gotten real aggressive without a proper leader."

"You don't have to tell me," Joshua said, "will I see more of you?"

"Maybe," Gabriel nodded. He sighed, taking in the garden, "I just wanted to see it again."

"It is a wonder, I will agree," Joshua smiled, "but is that really why you came?"

"I need..." Gabriel paused and Joshua tilted his head, "I need to find our father."

"Well you won't find him here."

"I know, but you talk to him. Has he ever told you?"

"No," Joshua replied, "and if he had, he would have told me in confidence." Gabriel nodded,

"I suppose so."

"Can I ask why you need him?" Gabriel smirked,

"Not really," he said, "until next time."

"Be safe Gabriel," Joshua nodded, pulling Gabriel in for a hug. Gabriel smiled, hugging back,

"You too. Goodbye."