Fic: The Earth and Heaven to You (Part 12a)

[dauntperplexity]

 

Part 12a

Bobby, Pastor Jim, and Sam really wanted to convince Dean to just let Castiel go, but Dean was stubborn. And he was in love.

Sam took them there as fast as he could to the nearest Gate.

Time was running out.

Dean wanted to save Castiel before his body cooled.

LRLRLRLRLRLRLR

The nearest gate to Hell was in Wyoming.

Dean hugged his brother once, leaving him at the entrance of the gate of Hell. “Thanks, Sammy,” he said.

“Go save Cas.”

“I’ll try.”

“You will.” He put a hand on Dean’s shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

“If I die down there—”

“You’re not going to die,” Sam said, shaking his brother.

But Dean continued to speak as if he didn’t hear a word that his brother said. “You do not get my car.”

“What?” Sam yelled, pulling his hand off of his brother. “Why not?”

“Gotta go, Sammy.” He turned and pulled open the Gate of Hell and walked in.

As soon as he stepped through the gate, he felt a blast of hot air and he felt like he was being cook alive. He began his walk.

What he imagined Hell to look like was nothing like what it actually was. Hell was pretty damn organized. Like a giant hotel. Or a least a prison. But it was still hot.

So he walked down the long hallway, ignoring the staircases and the door with large windows that he could see through to the other side.

At the end of the path, he was met with two large doors. There may as well have been a sign that said he’d find Lucifer behind it. He grabbed the door handles, trying hard to ignore how hot the metal was, and pulled open the doors.

He stepped in and was surprised that the temperature on the other side was almost a complete opposite of what the walk down was. It was cool. Almost comfortable. Apparently even the ruler of Hell had his preferences.

It was a large room. Like the ballroom where proms are usually held. Toward the back wall, in the center, was a throne. Someone was sitting in it.

“Dean, it’s good to see you,” Lucifer said, standing up. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

Dean walked, crossing the distance from the entrance to the other side of the room. “Where is he?”

“You have to be more specific, Dean. Half of the people down here are males.”

“Where is Castiel?”

“Castiel,” he said, tapping his chin. “Castiel. Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Lucifer,” Dean growled. “I do not have time for your crap.”

“Which is funny,” he started, retaking a seat on his throne, “because I have all the time in the world down here.”

“Tell me where he is?” he yelled. His voice echoed throughout the entire large room. He began his charge toward Lucifer.

“Even if I did tell you where I was keeping him, what would you be able to do?” He was genuinely curious.

“I’m getting him out of here.”

“I would love to see you try,” Lucifer said with a short laugh. “Really, Dean. I would love that.”

“I’ll make you a deal, Lucifer.”

“Now we’re talking,” Lucifer said, clapping his hands. “Okay. Here’s the deal, Dean.”

“No, these are my terms,” Dean demanded. “You will tell me where you’re keeping me Castiel’s grace and wings.”

“It won’t do you any good,” he replied in a sing-song voice.

“If I can get Castiel out of wherever you’re keeping him, then you just let us leave.”

“But—”

“If not, you get an Angel and a Hunter in Hell.”

Lucifer quirked at the idea of having both a Hunter and an Angel in Hell. It was appealing to him. He flew forward and grabbed Dean by the hand. He looked at it and smiled when he saw the minor burns from the doorknob. He produced a piece of paper and knife then sliced Dean across his palm. He then pressed the bloody palm onto the blank sheet. “We have a contract,” he replied with a smile. “I have the perfect place for you once you start calling this place home.”

Dean yanked his hand out of Lucifer’s grasp. He wiped the excess blood onto his jeans. “Now, where is he?” he said, stopping after each word.

“There’s a special place in Hell of Angels. Especially for dear Castiel.” Lucifer snapped his fingers and a stairway appeared on the left wall. “I made it just for him.” He looked to Dean who had his eyes glued onto the stairway leading down. “He’s at the bottom of it.”

Dean’s eyes shot back to Lucifer. “If you’re lying to me.”

“I have no reason to lie to you, Dean. I’ve already made my deal.” He snapped his fingers and the contract disappeared. “You should get going. The more time you spend up here threatening me, the longer he’s down there having who knows what happen to him.”

“I’ll be seeing you.”

“I’ll be getting your cell ready.”

Without saying anything else, Dean made his way straight to the stairway. Sending one more glare at Lucifer, he started down the stairs.

As soon as Dean was out of sight, Lucifer called for Meg and Brady. He actually quite surprised that the two of them had managed to elude the Angels and Hunters when they were on the Hunter plane. “Call the Providences,” he said, grabbing the two of them by their shirts. “Now.”

The two of them disappeared. They reappeared a moment later with Pamela, Gabriel, and Crowley in tow.

“What do you want?” Pamela asked.

“Dean Winchester is in Hell right now. I want to keep him here.”

“He can’t be down here,” Crowley said, stepping forward.

“Yeah. That’s ruining the balance of the universe.” Pamela sounded disgusted at what she had heard. That was breaking all kinds of rules.

“Just kill him.”

“I agree,” Pamela said. She pulled out a strand of her hair and pulled it taut. “What’s dead should stay dead.”

Gabriel put a hand on Crowley’s hands, stopping him from pulling out his scissors. “Why is he down here?” he asked.

“What?”

“What is he doing down here, Lucy?” Gabriel asked. He searched his brother’s face, knowing that there was something going on with his brother that he was trying to hide. He was going to find out.

“What does it matter?” Lucifer asked, challenging his brother.

“Everything.” The answer was simple and honest.

“He’s trying to pull someone out of Hell,” Lucifer said. “Which isn’t allowed, so stop him.”

“Who is he pulling out of Hell?” Gabriel asked. Lucifer didn’t answer. “Who is he pulling out of Hell?” he yelled. Lucifer bit his lip, showing his brother that he wasn’t going to tell him a thing. Gabriel grabbed Lucifer and threw him to the nearest wall. He flew forward and pinned his brother to the wall with his forearm on his neck. “Why won’t you tell me?”

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Lucifer said. “Because a Human can’t get close enough to an Angel’s grace without being burned.”

“Whose grace are you holding?”

“Just cut his lifeline,” he yelled to Crowley and Pamela.

“No,” Gabriel yelled. It was loud enough to shake the entire room. “Crowley, put the scissors down.” The Demon did just that.

“What is going on with you two?” Pamela asked.

“Lucifer, you didn’t,” Gabriel whispered. “Tell me that you didn’t.” His voice cracked with the last statement. He was hoping that his assumptions weren’t true.

“What if I did?”

“You had Castiel’s grace down here all along?” Gabriel yelled. He unfurled his wings, not caring what he knocked over. He let go of his brother and watched him as he fell to the floor. “That’s who Dean is rescuing?”

Lucifer groaned and brought a hand to his neck. He rolled his neck, trying to work the kink out of it. “Trying to rescue. Now cut the damn line, Crowley.”

“Gabriel, what’s going on?” Pamela asked.

Gabriel’s body started to shake. “He’s been holding our youngest down here. All this time,” the shaking in his body was evidence in voice.

“He was foolish to bargain with his grace.”

“He was in love,” Gabriel yelled.

“He should only love our Father. That’s it.”

“And now he loves Dean?”

“How far our youngest has fallen. At least before he was in love with another Angel. Now it’s a Human.”

“It was his choice to make.”

“Well, it was the wrong choice.”

“By whose standards?”

“You think Father wanted this for him?”

“Yes, idiot.”

“Crowley. Pamela. Cut the line,” Lucifer yelled. He was desperate. He knew that he was slowly losing his chance of keeping Dean in Hell.

“Actually, no,” Pamela said. She dropped the strand of hair onto the ground. “I want to see if the pseudo-Hunter actually has enough balls to go through with what he’s doing.”

“Crowley,” Lucifer said, looking at his fellow Hell dweller.

“You know what, as powerful as you think you are down here, you still have to wait for our okay.” Crowley laughed. He then snapped his fingers and a couch appeared. “I’d rather see how this plays out.” He plopped down into the chair. He scooted over when Pamela and Gabriel decided to sit next to him.

Gabriel waved his hand and a screen appeared in front of them. They watched Dean walk down wherever Lucifer told him to go. “Have a seat, bro,” he said. “We both have a lot riding on this.” Lucifer went to sit back on his throne and the Providences kept watching.

Dean made his way carefully down the stairs. He kept his hands on the nearest walls, unable to see anything with how dark the room was. He felt like he had been walking down the stairs for hours and he had no idea how much long he would have to go. He knew that he was going to walk as long as he needed to.

He took another step and stumbled when he realized that he was on flat ground. Once on the bottom floor, or actually any floor at all, he realized that he was going to stay in the dark. He kept his right hand on the nearest wall and kept walking.

He ran his hands up and down the wall trying to feel for a doorknob, or something that would lead him out of the hallway. He was exhausted. And he was sweating like crazy.

Finally, he made it to the end of the hallway. It felt like years later. He dragged his hands up and down the wall, searching for any indication that it wasn’t just wall. It was massive, and for the most part, all he fell was smooth.

Then he found it. A door handle. He turned it and was glad that it was unlocked. He would have been monumentally angry if it wasn’t. He pushed it open and the entire hallway lit up with the light. He looked back and saw how far his journey actually was.

He opened the door all the way and immediately looked away. A bright light shone out of the room and even with the short glimpse, he felt like his eyes were on fire. It was like looking into the sun, but worse.

He knew that is where Castiel had to be.

He took a step into the room and he felt like he was getting cooked.

“Cas!” he yelled. A wave of heat pulsed through the room, increasing the temperature a couple of degrees. He jumped out of the room and closed the door to shield him from getting burned.

He opened the door a sliver, but even through that, he felt the heat. “Cas, come on,” he yelled into the room. “It’s me, Dean. You know me.”

He took it as a victory that the grace didn’t flare up again. “Cas, I’m coming in.”

He opened the door enough so that he could fit through. “Cas.”

“Get out!” he screamed. The heat burned hotter than before.

It was so hot that Dean had no other choice than to leave the room again. He wiped he brow with his sleeve. “Damnit,” he whispered. He leaned against the door.

He had to think. He knew that on the other side of the door was Castiel. He felt it. And he knew that he had to get him out, but he couldn’t handle the amount of heat that was coming from the room. It was turning out to be a much bigger problem than he anticipated.

He opened the door again and shielded himself behind it. “Cas,” he whispered. “Castiel. I know you’re hurting. I know that it hurts. But you need to let me come near you. I’m here to help you.”

“Why?” he sounded tired, not suspicious.

“Cas, it’s me. Dean. You remember me, right? It’s Dean. I saved you in the alley. And then you came and visited me in Kansas. Remember?”

“You’re Dean?”

Dean let out a sigh. It was a small victory. He had to keep pushing so that Castiel would trust him and let him in the room. “Yeah, Cas. Castiel. It’s me.”

“No,” Castiel cried. “Dean’s alive. He should be alive.”

“I’m still alive.”

“Then you’re a liar. I won’t fall for your tricks again, Alastair.”

Dean could feel the rage building up in him at the mention of Alastair. Any guilt that he felt for the Demon disappeared when he realized that he was one of the Demons that had tortured Castiel. “Alastair can’t hurt you anymore.”

“No. You’ve tried this before. With Balthazar.”

“This isn’t a trick, Cas. I swear to you. It’s really me.”

“How?”

“I walked.” He was breaking through. Now all he had to do was get into the room. “Cas. I want to help you, but it’s too hot. You have you turn your grace down for a moment so I can help you.” Then Dean waited for a response. “Cas?” he asked after waiting for who knew how long.

“I won’t be able to take it if you hurt me again, Alastair. I can’t.”

Dean’s heart broke. “Cas. I promise you, it’s me, Dean. Not Alastair. If I’m lying to you, as soon as I step into this room, you can burn me to a crisp.” Dean let out a breath realizing exactly what he was saying. It was a risk. “I just need you to let me in so you can see that I’m telling the truth.”

Then, Dean felt it. The heat died down and the room darkened. Dean found it safe enough to push the door opened completely.

The heat was finally bearable enough to be able to step inside. What he saw was horrifying enough for him to want turn around and leave. But he stood frozen.

In the middle of the room was a blue and silver silhouette of a person. Dean recognized the color. It was the color of Castiel’s eyes. He was staring at Castiel’s grace.

His grace that was strung up by hooks and chains. His eyes followed the chains. Chains would start on one side of the room, go through Castiel and end up on the other side. It was like a web and where the web went through Castiel, the graced didn’t look as bright.

Hooks were embedded in his wrists and legs and sides, keeping him from touching the ground.

Dean took a step forward. “Cas?” he whispered, his voice sounding nothing like his own.

“Dean,” Castiel said in the same volume. He looked up and saw Dean standing in front of him.

Even as soft as it was, Dean could hear, and even more feel, how powerful the voice was. “I’m here.”

“You… you shouldn’t be.”

“Yeah. I should.”

“It hurts so much,” Castiel cried, jerking weakly in his chains. “Everything hurts.”

“I know,” Dean whispered, trying to be as calm and understanding as possible. He knew that if Castiel started to panic again, he’d have to make a dash for the door. “I know. But I’m here now. And I’m getting you out of here.”

“No!” Castiel yelled. Dean felt the blast of heat fly through the opening. “You can’t be here.”

“I am, Cas,” Dean replied.

“Liar!”

Castiel’s grace flared so brightly that Dean had to look away. He could feel his skin start to burn the closer he got to the angel’s grace. “Cas, I swear. It’s me.”

“Dean shouldn’t be here,” he cried. “He doesn’t deserve to be down here. He should be in the Hunter plane with his family.”

“I’m here to save you, Cas.” He stepped closer to Castiel, stepping over and ducking through chains. “Do you believe me?”

“I don’t deserve it. Not after hurting you.”

“Cas. It’s all right.”

“Leave me here, please.”

“I can’t do that,” Dean whispered. “I can’t.”

“I hurt you. I betrayed you. This is my punishment. I accept it. Just leave.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t. Yeah, you hurt me. But I forgave you. Remember?”

Castiel shook his head. “You shouldn’t have.”

“Cas. You should know how much I don’t like doing what people tell me to.” He walked over to Castiel and reached out to grab his grace. “I made a deal with Lucifer.”

“Dean, no. Not for me.”

“If I could get to you, and set you free, I… we could leave.”

“He lied.”

“We shook on it.”

“He wouldn’t let you just walk me out of here.”

“I don’t think he expected me to make it. I like exceeding people’s expectations of me.”

“I don’t deserve you.”

“You do,” Dean replied. He stood face to face with Castiel’s grace. “And once you realize it, then you and I can get out of here.”

“Why would you come for me?”

“Because. I love you. And before you say I can’t love you because I barely know you and all that crap, I’m telling you I do. And I’m not normal so I’m allowed to fall in love with a person in a day. And because I love you, I can’t just let you rot down here.” He paused for a second to bring himself back in after that confession. “Are you going to let me help you?”

“Yes,” Castiel replied with a nod.

Dean would have smiled, but he had more important things to do first. “Let me get you free.” He reached for one of the chains.

“No,” Castiel whimpered when he saw what Dean was going to do. “My wings. Get my wings first. Please.”

“Wings?”

“Behind me.”

Dean looked up and saw exactly what Castiel was talking about. Behind Castiel were two massive wings that were at least seven feet in length. He had no idea how he missed them earlier. It probably had to do with the fact that all of his attention was on Castiel’s grace.

Looking closer, he saw that the wings were strung up with large hooks. Like the ones that were in Castiel’s wrists and sides. Each wing had eight hooks in them.

“I’ll get them down after you.”

“No,” Castiel repeated. “Wings first.”

“Cas.” He did not want to leave Castiel strung up any longer.

“Please, Dean.”

And that did him in. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll do that. Just…” he let his voice trail off because he didn’t really know what he wanted to tell him.

Tables lined the room. That was what he chose to use to get to the wings that hung overhead. He walked over to the tallest one and looked at what was on it. What he saw made him feel sick. Tools covered the surface. Tools that he knew were used to torture Castiel.

With a swipe of his arm, he pushed them all to the floor. He picked up the table and carried it under the wings. He climbed onto the top of it. As high as it was, he still had to reach overhead to get to the hook.

He grabbed at the first hook and immediately retracted it. The hook burned. He looked at his hands and saw the skin start to bubble. He winced, but he reached for the hook again. He undid the first hook after what felt like hours. He looked at his hands and saw the damage the hook did to them. He took a step and started to work on the next one.

His hands burned but he continued to undo every hook that was dug into Castiel’s wings. He got the first one free and gently dropped it to the ground. He then started on the second wing. He got it down in a lot less time than the first. He laid the second wing right on top of the first.

He stepped over the chains and stood in front of Castiel again. His eyes followed the chains and hooks. The tasked looked intimidating. “Cas, I don’t know where to start,” he whispered.

“Whatever you feel is best.”

“Where are you hurting the most?”

“Everywhere,” Castiel whimpered.

“Okay, okay,” Dean said. He was shaking. He had no idea what to do. “I’ll start with the chains first, then work on the hooks. Are you cool with that?” Castiel nodded. “Just hold on, okay. I’m getting you out of here.”

Dean walked to an area of the wall where one of the chains was attached. The chain was attached to a metal plate on the wall. He looked at it and saw that the chain was covered with the same symbols that were on the cuffs that bound Michael. He couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain the chains were causing Castiel.

Then came the thought of how he was going to get the chain off of the wall.

“Cas, are you okay?”

All Castiel could do was nod.

He walked around the room, looking at all of the tools that instruments that were around. All of them had symbols on them. He picked up something that looked like an ice pick and a hammer. He went back to the plate on the wall and started to chip away at the wall around it.

Once he got the plate free, it fell to the ground. Dean turned around at the sound of Castiel whimpering. “Cas?” he asked.

“Keep going, Dean.”

He was torn between going back to Castiel and continuing to work on the chain. He decided on the chain. He was then met with the task of having to separate the chain from the plate. He remembered seeing a large file somewhere in the room. He grabbed the file and started to file through the chain.

After about an hour, he finally cut through a link. The chain fell and flopped toward Castiel’s grace. It hit the form and Castiel cried out.

“Cas,” Dean whispered when he felt the temperature rise.

“You’re doing fine, Dean,” Castiel whispered back. He quickly calmed down so the heat wouldn’t hurt Dean.

“I’m hurting you.”

Castiel shook his head. “I swear, you’re not. Just keep going.”

Dean nodded once. It was all that he needed to move onto the next chain. He skipped removing the plate from the wall and went straight to filing at the link. He felt like he was getting through each chain quicker, but the ordeal of having to do so, along with the heat, was physically and emotionally tiring.

Once he got all six of the chains free, stood in front of Castiel again. “How you doing, Cas?” he asked.

“Better,” Castiel whispered.

“Good.” He let out a shaky breath. He was nervous thinking about what he was going to have to do next. “I’m… I’m going to have to pull the chains from your grace now.”

“All right.”

“If you need me to stop—”

“No,” Castiel interrupted. “I’ll be fine.”

Dean dragged a few tables around Castiel so that he could stand on them. He grabbed onto the chain, as close to Castiel’s grace as he could, and started to pull. Castiel’s body jerked and he wanted to stop. But he knew that if he stopped every time it happened, he’d be there for eternity.

Throughout it all, he whispered to Castiel words to calm him. It helped to keep the grace from flaring up and burning him. Though the chains still burned. He pulled the first chain free and let it go. It swung and crashed into the wall. He immediately went to work on the second, and then the third.

After the third, he stopped for a moment. He opened and closed his hands a few times to make sure that they still worked. He ignored the pain; his hands still did what they needed to do. He pulled on the next chain, slowly. He was working a lot slower than earlier. He let go of that one then pulled on the fifth, then the sixth.

Dean pulled the last chain out of Castiel’s body and dropped it to the ground. He groaned as he tried to open and close his hands. “Damnit,” he hissed.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Dean walked over to stand in front of Castiel. His eyes went to the hooks. He began planning the way to remove them from Castiel’s grace.

“Dean, you should rest,” Castiel whispered.

“I’m okay, Cas.”

“Dean, rest, please.”

“Cas, I can be tired for a few days. Because my exhaustion doesn’t compare to what you’ve had to go through down here. I can sleep when we get back on Earth.”

“Dean, you’re Human. You can’t overexert yourself.” He let out a shaky breath that jerked all of the chains that held him. “I’ve been here for so many lifetimes, Dean. I can stay for a few more days or weeks or months if it means you’re rested.”

Castiel’s age and knowledge showed and Dean found himself unable to answer. “You’ll be okay?” Dean asked, finding himself being overcome with exhaustion.

“Yes,” Castiel replied.

“Okay,” Dean said. He walked over to the nearest wall. He took his jacket off and rolled it into a ball to use as a pillow. He lied down it. He knew that he could close his eyes for a minute or two. Then he’d be awake enough to get Castiel out of there.

When he opened his eyes again, it was too warm in the room for him to think that he was anywhere else but in a room with Castiel’s grace. He rubbed his eyes, and looked around. His gaze went straight to the grace dangling in the middle of the room. He stretched and yawned. “Cas, are you okay?”

Castiel turned his head to face Dean. He didn’t realize the Human was awake. “I’m all right, Dean. Are you rested?”

“Yeah. What about you? Did you sleep?”

Castiel shook his head. “I haven’t been able to rest since I’ve been here. These chains don’t allow me to.”

Dean stood up and made his way to the front of Castiel. “As soon as I get you down, you are taking a long and well-deserved nap.”

Castiel looked down to Dean’s hands that were at his sides. “Dean, your hands. They don’t look too good.”

Dean brought his hands up and looked at them. “It’s okay, Cas. Nothing a few bandages can’t fix.”

“I wish I could heal you.”

“I know, Cas,” Dean said. “But first we need to get you out of here. Only the hooks are left.”

“How are you going to do this?”

“I think hands, then feet, then sides.”

“Okay,” Castiel replied.

With Castiel’s permission, Dean went to work. He grabbed one of the tables and dragged it behind Castiel. He climbed onto it and began working on Castiel’s left hand. The hooks also had the same symbols carved into them. Castiel just couldn’t catch a break.

Dean stared at the hook for a second trying to figure out how he was going to go about it. The hook went in through Castiel’s hand and then curved into his wrist. Apparently, that was enough to hold him up.

He held onto Castiel’s arm, just under the hook, to keep it from moving as he undid the hook. He was glad that his hands were already burned, because although he could feel heat in his hands, he knew that could have been a lot more painful.

He twisted and turned the hook, trying his damnedest to ignore the whimpering that came from Castiel as he did so. He finally found the angle that was enough to pull the hook out. He then moved to the second one, still needing to twist and turn, but it was a lot easier than the first. Castiel’s hands dropped to his sides.

Dean jumped off of the table and knelt in front of Castiel’s feet. Those hooks just dug into Castiel’s ankles. There was no readjusting needed. All he had to do was pull on Castiel’s leg to loosen the chain before he could unhook them.

Finally, he was down to the last two hooks that dug into Castiel’s sides. He could see the end of the hooks in Castiel’s ribcage. It was proving to be the most difficult because they were tight enough to keep him from spinning. He knew that he would have to break one of the chains from the wall.

He grabbed the closest tool and used it to start chipping away at the wall around the plate. When he had enough of an opening, he dug his fingers under it and started to pull. He braced his legs against the wall and pulled on the plate with all of his might.

The plate came off and flew past him, nearly taking his head off. He looked back and saw that Castiel’s grace had fallen to the floor. He was kneeling in the middle of the room.

He ran to Castiel’s side and quickly undid the hook. Dean moved to the next hook, and as if Castiel had awaken from a sleep, he started to fighting him.

“No,” Castiel whispered.

“Cas, come on. Just one more hook, and you’re free.”

“Hurts.” His grace started to flare up again.

“I know,” Dean whispered. He needed to calm Castiel down or he was going to be burned alive. “But just let me get this hook free and we’ll leave and never have to see this place again.”

Castiel cried as Dean pulled at the last hook in his side. He was tired. He couldn’t keep himself from screaming and crying any longer.

“I’m sorry,” Dean whispered, over and over again.

“Hurry, please,” he whispered.

Dean was going as quickly as he could, but his hands were in so much pain that he kept fumbling the hook. “Almost there.” He pulled the end of the hook out and Castiel fell forward taking Dean with him. Castiel grabbed onto Dean’s upper arm.

Castiel’s grace flared for a moment and Dean felt it in through his shirt. Dean wanted to cry out, but he bit his lip to stop himself. Where Castiel was touching his arm was burning. But he could handle the pain. That’s what he kept telling himself.

Finally, the heat died down. “Sorry,” Castiel whispered when he realized what he was doing.

Dean stayed where he was, unable to say anything “It’s all right,” he said when he had calmed down.

“I’m so tired, Dean,” he mumbled.

“It’s okay, Cas. I’m going to lie you down. You can rest. I’m going to grab your wings and then we’re out of here.”

Castiel nodded against Dean’s chest.

Dean eased Castiel onto the floor. He stared at Castiel for a moment. He couldn’t believe all that Castiel was going through. He ran his hand over the top of Castiel’s head. He was confused as to why he wasn’t feeling the heat coming from Castiel anymore. He was worried that it meant that something was wrong with the Angel’s grace.

He stood up and walked over to where he left his jacket when he fell asleep. He slipped it back on as he made his way to Castiel’s wings. He still could not get over how big they were. He stacked one on top of the other. Then he grabbed them and walked back over to Castiel. He set the wings down next to their owner. “Cas?” Dean whispered.

Castiel turned his head and looked over to Dean. But out of the corner of his eyes he saw his wings. “My wings,” he choked out. He reached out and ran his fingers through the feathers. “My wings.” His grace pulsed.

Dean watched as the blue and silver person in front of him brightened. He stared and felt a tear in his eyes as Castiel touched his wings for the first time after who knew how many years. “Cas,” he whispered, hating that he had to interrupt the moment.

“Yes, Dean?”

“We have to go.”

Castiel nodded. “All right.” He made a move to try and get up, but he was too weak. “I don’t think I’ll be able to walk out of here, Dean.”

“I figured as much,” he replied. He bent down and picked up Castiel. He laid him over his wings. “That’s why I’m carrying you out of here. And don’t argue with me,” Dean said before the angel could protest.

Dean gathered Castiel and his wings into his arms. He looked at his arms and watched Castiel’s grace. It looked different. More serene than it was in the room. He hoped that it meant that Castiel was asleep.

He wanted to sleep too. He was tired from all the heat and walking and burns, but he had just enough strength to carry Castiel out of Hell. Even if he had to put Castiel on his back and crawl out of Hell on his hands and knees.

It was a lot easier now that he could see where he was going. Castiel’s grace provided just enough light that he wasn’t walking around blind anymore. The path seemed a lot shorter. Now that he knew that Castiel was safe.

Then, after what felt like a lifetime, he made it back to the room where he left Lucifer. He saw Lucifer surrounded by three people. He had no idea who they were to the ruler of Hell. He made eye contact with Lucifer and smirked. He then changed his direction and headed toward the exit.

He was close, but he had to stop when Lucifer flew into his path.

“How?”

“Move,” Dean said.

“No. There is no way that you should have been able to get him off the rack. You should be cooked”

“Surprise,” Dean deadpanned. “Now get out of my way. A deal’s a deal.”

“No!” Lucifer yelled. “I will not let you walk out of here with him.”

Gabriel grabbed Lucifer by his arm and pulled him out of the way. “Go,” he said to Dean. Gabriel turned back to his brother. “Back off, Lucifer,” he growled.

“We made a deal, Castiel!” Lucifer yelled after the human.

“You are going to sit your ass down and let them walk out of here,” Gabriel hissed. “Because as soon as they’re cleared, I’m going to Michael and telling him exactly where Castiel had been all this time.”

“He can’t do anything to me here.”

“You better hope he can’t.”

“You can’t choose sides, Gabriel. You’re a Providence. You are not allowed to choose between Michael and me.”

“Well then it’s a good thing that I’m choosing Castiel. Pamela, can you make sure that they get out all right?”

“Where are you going?” the female Providence asked.

“I need to talk to Michael.” Tears threatened to fall from his eyes. “Please, Pamela.”

“I’ll keep them safe. But I don’t know how much of my protection they actually need.”

“Whatever you can give them.”

“Okay. Go talk to your brother, Gabriel,” Pamela said. With a nod, Gabriel left them. Pamela held her hand out to Dean. “I’ll clear the way,” she said, her voice full of compassion.

“Thank you,” Dean replied. He followed Pamela as she led them out of Hell.

Time went by at a turtle’s pace. Dean probably would have cared if he hadn’t been holding Castiel’s grace in his arms. He was on autopilot.

Finally, he heard the sound of a female voice.

“We’re here,” Pamela said.

Dean looked up and saw the familiar gate that he had walked through what felt like centuries ago. “Thank you,” he said.

“No problem, handsome,” she replied. “Glad to have you as one of my own.” She sent him one last smile, then she vanished.

Part 12b