Fic: The Earth and Heaven to You (Part 11)

[dauntperplexity]

 

Part 11

So, Dean defeated the Demons. Or, at least he helped. And he wanted to celebrate with them and get thanked, but he had other things on his mind.

Dean needed to get back down to Earth as fast as he could. Something… something inside of him knew that Castiel wasn’t going to last long. He rushed to get to him. He needed to tell Castiel how he felt.

Especially since Lucifer told him how Castiel really felt about him. He had to let Castiel know that he wasn’t angry with him anymore.

LRLRLRLRLRLRLR

He and Sam landed where they had left Castiel, Bobby, and Pastor Jim. He tried to run up to see how Castiel was doing, but Pastor Jim stepped in his way and stopped Dean from seeing how badly Castiel was hurt. “Cas?” he yelled. He turned to look at Pastor Jim. “Is he…”

“He doesn’t have much time, Dean,” Pastor Jim whispered.

He stepped around and saw that Bobby had laid him across his lap. He still had his jacket wrapped around him. His eyes met Bobby’s. He couldn’t ignore the sadness in them. Bobby shook his head.

“Cas,” he whispered. He wished there were a way for his voice to stop shaking, but he couldn’t help it. He was terrified. He knelt down in front of Castiel. He grabbed one of his hands and held them tightly in his. “Hey. I’m here.” He brought the hands up to his lips.

Castiel turned his head slowly. It exerted a lot of his remaining energy, but he needed to see Dean. “Pretty boy,” he whispered.

“Yeah.”

“Did…” he took a pause and swallowed hard. “Did you win?”

“Yeah,” he replied. Tears filled his eyes, blurring his vision, and he found it hard to keep them from falling down his cheeks. “I kicked ass.”

Castiel smiled, his teeth pink from the blood gathering in it. “Good. That’s… good.” His eyes slid closed.

“Hey.” He tried to ignore how much softer Castiel was speaking. “Stay awake.”

Castiel tried to open his eyes, but he found that he could only open them halfway at most. “Dean.” The name spilled blood from his lips. “I’m… sorry.”

“It’s okay, Cas. It’s okay. I forgive you.”

“Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you.” He jerked in Bobby’s lap as pain shot through him. “Love…” his voice trailed off as his head lolled to the side.

Dean let go of Castiel’s hand and watched as it dropped to the floor. For a moment, everything played in slow motion. Then he froze.

He found himself back home in Vermont with his mom and dad. He found himself in the House of the Hunters meeting his father for the first time. He found himself getting hugged by Sam. He found himself meeting Bobby and Pastor Jim for the first time.

He found himself in the alley where he saved Castiel.

Then time sped up. And Castiel was dead.

“No,” he whispered. “No, it can’t end this way.” He grabbed Castiel’s limp body from Bobby’s lap and held him to his chest, rocking back and forth.

“Dean, let go,” Bobby said.

“No,” Dean growled. “Cas. Come on. You can’t die.” He shook Castiel, watching as his head flopped around. His eyes never opened. “Cas.”

Pastor Jim stood behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Dean, he’s gone.”

“No,” he repeated. “No, he isn’t. This can’t be the end. Not after everything.”

“You can’t do anything now,” Sam said.

“I’m a Hunter. He was an Angel. There is no way he could die.”

“Dean, he’s Human.”

“He’s an Angel,” Dean repeated. “He can’t be dead.”

“Why not?” Sam asked.

“Lucifer has his grace. And his wings. He can’t be dead.”

“Castiel was an angel?” Pastor Jim asked.

“Yeah. He made a deal with Lucifer.” He dragged a hand down his face then used the same hand to scratch the back of his head. He was tired. He didn’t want to have to deal with Castiel dying right in front of him.

“That changes things,” Pastor Jim replied.

“What are you saying, Pastor Jim?”

“If he’s an Angel, truly an Angel, then a bullet cannot kill him.”

“So he’s not dead.”

“He shouldn’t be.”

“So, I can save him.” Pastor Jim nodded. “How do I do it?”

“How?”

“Bobby.”

“What?”

Dean walked over to Bobby and grabbed the front of his shirt. “Tell me how to save him,” he pleaded.

Bobby slapped Dean’s hands off of him. “You know how.”

“I have to go into Hell.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Sammy, we’re going.” He said so without a second thought.

“We can’t let you do this.”

“I can’t let him just burn down there.”

“Dean.”

“Bobby. He saved my life. He didn’t have to, but he did.”

“Dean. You’re talking about going into Hell. Hell. Where the dead go.”

“But like you said, Cas shouldn’t be down there.”

“But you’re alive, Dean. You can’t just walk into Hell. And if you did, you wouldn’t survive.”

“Well, then at least he won’t be down there alone.”

“How are you even going to find him, Dean?” Pastor Jim asked.

“I’m going to ask Lucifer. Then I’m going to make a bargain with him.” He looked over to Sam. “You coming with me, or what?”

“Yeah,” Sam said.

“Dean!” Bobby yelled. “You can’t—”

“It doesn’t matter if I can’t,” Dean interrupted. “I’m going to do this.”

“Bobby,” Pastor Jim said, standing next to his fellow retired Hunter. “The battle is lost. He’s made up his mind.”

“Keep his body safe. We’ll be back as soon as possible.” He held his hand out to his brother. “Take me to the nearest Gate to Hell.” Sam grabbed his hand and they flew.

Part 12a