𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 || 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫

Chapter 23 ~ The Return of Luke Castellan

Episode: Season 15 - Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven Pt. 3

Castiel was able to locate Michael once we got back and somehow, had managed to capture him, bringing him back to the Bunker with him.

"Even for you, especially for you, this is stupid," Michael declared, pacing with his hands chained together by handcuffs.

"Good to see you, too, Mike," Dean bit out.

"Sam. You look well," Michael commented, glancing at the other Winchester, "Last time I saw you in the Cage..."

I shifted from foot-to-foot as I stood with the boys on the other side of the room. Well, this was going to be awkward, I could tell.

"Yeah, it doesn't matter. We need your help. God-"

"I've heard. Repeatedly," the archangel said cagily as he sat back down in his chair.

"Well, then you're aware that-" Castiel began before he cut him off.

"I'm not aware of anything. You're asking me to trust you- you, who doomed me, you, who let Lucifer walk free while your own brother sat in Hell. And why do you keep looking at me like that?"

I glanced up, eyes wide with a dear-caught-in-the-headlights kind of gaze as I noticed Michael staring at me.

"Um, um, um..." I gestured vaguely to my own face then to indicate his, "You know, Luke...Castellan..."

The room fell silent, everyone looking at me in confusion so I just sighed, shaking my head, "Never mind."

"Look, doing what we do, we've had to get used to losing people. Probably too used to it," Sam changed the subject, "With Adam, we said goodbye because we thought we had to. We were wrong,"

"Well, don't tell me. Tell him," Michael snapped before suddenly, his eyes lit up blue and we noticed a change come over him.

"Hey, Sam. Dean," he smiled before his eyes flicked over to me as well, "Parker."

"Adam?" Sam asked, clearly taken aback as he chuckled in response to our surprise.

"Wait, Mic- Michael lets you talk? I mean, he lets you be?" Dean questioned.

He nodded, "Uh, yeah. In the Cage, we came to an agreement. We only had each other,"

Both brothers shared a look and I knew what was coming next. The guilt had been eating them up for years about this.

"Adam, look, I know we bailed on you, okay? And there is nothing that we can say to fix that," Dean told him and I could tell he was sincere.

Adam sighed, shrugging, "How about, uh "I'm sorry"?"

His eyes flashed blue again though and Adam was gone. I bit my lip, glancing at the sadness still lurking in the Winchesters' eyes. Sam left not long after that to go help out Eileen since she had a hunter friend in trouble.

And thankfully - with a lot of convincing on Cas' part - Michael came around to our way of thinking and agreed to help. He gave us a spell to lock Chuck away but apparently, the last ingredient for it was a Leviathan bloom - a flower that only grew in, you guessed it, Purgatory.

Michael snapped his fingers then and a tear in time opened behind him, "That's the door. It'll remain open for 12 hours. Now, if you'll please-"

He held out his hands then and reluctantly, Dean obliged and removed his handcuffs, "You coming with us?"

"No," Michael said before beginning to walk off.

"Before you go, can I talk to him?" Dean asked suddenly, making the archangel stop in his tracks before facing us once more.

I could tell it was Adam again once he turned to face us, there was something different - more sincere - about his countenance.

"Yeah?" he asked Dean quietly.

Slowly, Dean walked over to his brother, "Adam, I want you to know - we are sorry. What happened to you... You're a good man. You didn't deserve that,"

Adam was silent a moment, tears pooling in blue eyes before he sent Dean a sad smile, "Since when do we get what we deserve?... Good luck."

He walked away then and I turned to my angel friend, "Cas, would you look after Yaz and Romy for us?"

"Park, what are you-" Dean began but I waved him away as I looked over at Castiel expectantly.

"Of course." he said and seeing I wanted to be alone with Dean, he quickly made his exit.

My husband turned to me, concern in his candy-apple eyes as he gazed down at me, "Parker, you're not going. If that's what you have in your head then no way am I going to-"

"Dean, I love you, okay? And you know that," I told him seriously, standing my ground this time as I cupped his face in my hands, "But I will not - I repeat not - stand by on the sidelines again. I lost you once to Purgatory - and it almost killed me. I don't intend to ever make that mistake again."

His green eyes searched mine, surprise and anxiety swirling in his gaze.

"I'm going. Whether you like it or not."

Silence fell between us and slowly, ever so slowly, Dean nodded.

"Then I guess we're going to Purgatory."