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huggybearsunshine · 2 years

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Things We Left Behind Part 23

[The Great Escapist] Takes place during 8x21. Sam’s health is declining rapidly so Dean takes it upon himself to get help.

“You’re leaving?” Dean’s chin dropped and eyebrows knit together in dread.

“Temporarily,” she assured him, sliding in across the table and taking his folded hands into hers, “My djinn dream… I saw my mom again, and there’s something I think I need to do…”

“Do you need any help?” Dean offered with full sincerity.

“Sam needs you more right now,” she replied darkly as he nodded, knowing she was right.

“Be safe and get back here as soon as you can,” he graveled.

“Before you can even miss me,” she winked.

“I already miss you,” he admitted softly.

She cupped his face with a sweet smile before standing up, “Be back soon.”

“Better be,” he looked at her pointedly, “Cas know?”

“Talked to him before you,” she smirked, “Needed to work my way up to telling you.”

“Yeah, save the needy friend for last, huh?” he looked away.

“No, I’m just gonna miss you the most, scarecrow,” she responded softly.

“Well, go on then, Dorothy!” he cleared his throat and schooled his expression, “Get gone before I decide to chase after you.”

A smile curled her lips and she hugged him before disappearing into the hallway with her bag thrown over her shoulder.

Dean sat for a moment before he found himself up and moving toward the stove. And within a half hour, he had a bowl in his hand and was headed toward Sam’s room with it.

He knocked softly, receiving a ‘yeah’ in response before entering.

“I uh, made soup,” he glanced down before giving his brother a shrug, “Thought it might help with the-“

He waved his hand and gestured vaguely toward him.

“What’s in it?” Sam arched his back to try to see into the dish.

“Meat, veggies, broth… you want it?” he presented the meal forward.

“Yeah, sure,” Sam warmed slightly, “You talk to Charlie?”

“Yeah, she just left,” he nodded as he placed the bowl in Sam’s hands.

“Yeah,” Sam offered softly, “Thanks by the way… for the soup.”

“No problem,” Dean sniffed and his posture stiffened.

He clapped Sam on the shoulder, causing some of the broth from the bowl to spill out.

“Oops,” he cringed, “Sorry.”

Sam’s smile turned suddenly and he grabbed at his trash can by the bed, holding it to his face as he leaned over.

Dean grabbed the soup from him before it could spill and watched in horror as he began to throw up blood.

“Sam?” his voice cracked as he practically slammed the bowl down onto the nearest surface and placed a hand on his brother’s back.

“I’m okay,” Sam assured him as soon as he could but Dean wasn’t buying it.

“No, we gotta hurry this shit along,” he looked around and grabbed the man a towel, “Cas!”

The Angel appeared, “What’s wrong?”

“We need the last trial…” he turned to him with desperate eyes, “Now.”

“Kevin,” Cas called out as he appeared at the door to room 20.

“What’s happening?” the door swung open to a frantic-looking prophet.

“It’s Sam,” Cas answered, eyes wide with worry.

“I’m not ready, I-“ Kevin ran a hand through his hair, “With half a tablet, I haven’t been able to-“

The sound of wings rustled before he found them both now standing in Sam’s room.

“I can walk, you know?” Kevin huffed.

“We need the other half,” Cas looked to Dean, ignoring Kevin’s complaint.

“There’s not enough time for that, but I might have… something,” Sam coughed, “I’ve been going through your notes, and I keep seeing this symbol…”

He stood on shaky legs and Cas reached for him but was waved off.

“The signature…” Kevin nodded, “For the scribe…”

“Yeah, I think I’ve seen it before,” Sam nodded, “A long time ago in one of my humanities courses at Stanford…”

He took off toward the library as the other followed behind.

“They taught Word of God at Stanford?” Dean scoffed as he rounded into the library behind him.

“It was an overview of Native American art,” Sam rolled his eyes as he searched for a particular book, “It’s a petroglyph, I think…”

“A petro-what now?” Dean’s face scrunched.

“This one belonged to a tiny tribe in Colorado,” he slammed the book down onto the table as the others gathered around him, “It says here, they held onto their scrap of mountains when all the other tribes fell to the white man, and this glyph was a territorial marker… Closest translation being ‘messenger of God’… Dean, I think we need to go there.”

“On that hunch?” Dean’s brows rose as he crossed his arms, “You can barely function.”

“And I’m only getting worse the longer we sit here,” Sam stood straighter as he turned to him, “Without the other half of the tablet, we’re just sitting ducks!”

“And you think Metatron is hiding in the mountains of Colorado?” Cas asked with a furrow to his brow.

“I do,” he turned to him, steel to his gaze.

“Fine, we’ll go,” Dean gave in, “You,” he turned to Cas, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking pointedly into his eyes, “Don’t let Kevin out of your sight ‘til we get back.”

“Dean, you can’t face down an Angel on your own with Sam in this state!” he argued back, “The bunker is safe enough, I should go with you.”

“Come here,” Dean pulled him aside until they were away from the others enough, “I don’t think we’re gonna find anything, and if something happened while we were gone…” he shook his head at the thought.

“I know,” Cas touched his chest, “But if something happened to you…”

“I’ll be careful, and I’ll be quick,” he held his neck just under his ear, a strength and assurance to the grip, “I promise.”

“We have a tendency to break that promise,” Cas swayed, his voice as uncertain as his movement.

“Not this time,” Dean tried for charm but there was far too much rawness to the tone, “But I have to do it, okay? It’s Sammy.”

“I know,” Cas swallowed, unnecessary for an Angel but there it was regardless.

Dean ran his thumb quickly over Cas’ cheek before turning back to the others.

“Let’s go,” he nodded to the other hunter and the two departed swiftly from the room.

“Hey,” Dean called back, earning Castiel’s attention, and without even a glance toward the others, he let the words fall, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Dean,” Cas’ voice was tight as he returned the sentiment.

Sam clapped the Angel on the shoulder as he passed him, smile tugging up on his worn face.

“Sam, I hope Metatron can help,” Cas nodded to him.

“Yeah, fingers crossed,” he joked before following up the stairs and out the door.

And as soon as it closed, Cas turned to find Kevin right behind him.

“So how long til you’re going after him?” he asked astutely.

“Not long,” he pulled his phone out.

“Who you calling?” the prophet’s head tilted.

“The vampire,” Cas rolled his eyes.

“Castiel,” the accented voice rang out from the speaker on the cell, “Didn’t expect to hear from you!”

“Benny, I…” the Angel cringed, “I need a favor.”

“I’m full of ‘em,” the voice returned, “Whatcha need?”

“That seemed intense in there…” Sam waited to speak until they were down the road a bit, “You okay?”

“This is all really new for Cas,” Dean admitted, keeping his eyes on the lines disappearing under Baby’s hood, “Everything’s intense, but… in a good way- I think… I mean, definitely good for me, but I think it’s really scary for him…”

“But not for you?” Sam asked with a skeptical brow.

“Yeah, I don’t know, maybe a little for me too…” Dean’s brows furrowed, “I said some things the other night… I don’t know what to do about it…”

“Did you mean it?” Sam turned curiously.

“A little…” he answered truthfully.

“Bad things?” Sam pressed.

“Told him I thought he made me weak,” Dean ran a hand over his mouth after the words as if trying to wipe any remnants of them away.

“Hm,” Sam huffed, drawing a questioning eye toward himself from his brother at the wheel, “I think he does the opposite actually.”

“Really?” Dean turned back to the safety of staring at the road.

“Without a doubt, Dean, yeah,” there was laughter in Sam’s words, not mocking but just light and happy.

“Thanks, man,” he nodded back, “Think I might’ve needed that.”

“Thank you,” Cas looked away from him to say it as the vampire entered the bunker and the pair descended the stairs together, “For your help.”

“And what exactly am I helping with again?” he chuckled.

“I need to go to Colorado to keep an eye on Sam and Dean, but I don’t want to leave Kevin here without protection,” Cas explained simply.

“Ah, so I’m the protection,” Benny surmised.

“Yes, I’m hoping nothing goes awry and I can be back quickly, but-“

“When do things not go awry,” Benny finished for him.

“Yes, exactly,” Cas deflated a bit before Benny surprised him with a nudge to his shoulder.

Cas straightened a bit before turning toward Kevin again.

“I’m sorry,” his eyes softened.

“Hey, don’t sweat it,” he waved him off, “I’d do the same thing… Maybe not for Dean,” he grinned teasingly, “But right person? I’d already be gone.”

“And I should be,” he schooled the impact of their words from his expression, “Be back soon.”

And with that, he was gone, the air whirling around them as some papers from a nearby table flew into the air and drifted back down.

He was there ahead of them and for good reason. He wanted to vet Metatron before they reached him to see where his allegiance fell, and he could sense him as he neared the building.

He didn’t stop, but headed directly for the stairs and toward the room where he knew he would find the scribe.

“I know you,” he heard behind him, once he was fully in the room, “Castiel, Angel of Thursday, yes?”

“Yes,” he turned, “And you’re Metatron. The scribe of God.”

“How did you find me?” Metatron asked as he stepped out further into the light.

“A very intelligent human named Sam found you, actually,” Cas replied with pride.

“And where is this human?” Metatron looked around them.

“Not here yet,” Cas stepped forward, testing the boundaries, “I wanted to make sure it was safe for them.”

“For the human,” he looked at him skeptically.

“And his brother, yes,” Cas’ face gave nothing away, remaining emotionless as stone.

This seemed to intrigue Metatron who also stepped forward, “Why would an Angel care about these humans? Are they important?”

“Very,” Cas answered almost like a threat.

“To which side?” Metatron furthered.

“To me,” Cas clarified.

“Fascinating,” the scribe’s face lit up.

“What happened… in purgatory?” Sam ventured cautiously, “I know you said it was… freer, somehow…”

“What are you asking me?” Dean’s brow dipped.

“I don’t know… I guess I’m just curious…” Sam looked almost nervous as he fumbled, “You’ve always been so closed off…“

“Sam, if you say closeted I swear to god-“

“No, Dean, I mean…” Sam’s eyes snapped toward him and away again, “What changed for you? Was it… was it that I wasn’t there for you to have to take care of or worry about..?”

“What?” Dean’s gaze snapped quickly from the road to the passenger’s seat, “No, it was… Jesus, okay, we’re doing this…” he adjusted in his seat, “I didn’t know there was a way out and then Cas disappeared immediately after we got there… He was all I had and I just became laser-focused on finding him…” he cleared his throat, “He’s all I could think about… and when I found him…”

“Yeah, happiest moment of your life,” Sam’s lip tilted up at the side, “I remember…”

“He decided he was going to stay… penance or whatever… He told me I was good and I deserved to get out, but that he had to pay the price for his failures… Then he…” Dean was lost in the road and his memory as a far away look set into his eye, “He said he was never going to forget me… that he just wanted me to know how cared for I was, and he kissed me. Practically pushed me through that portal after that.”

“Wow, I didn’t think Cas had it in him…” Sam shook his head, “That’s some pretty romantic stuff…”

“Yeah,” Dean responded simply, “He does that.”

“You did that… all of that…” Metatron asked at the edge of the chair he had found himself in, “For one human man?”

“Yes, which is why I am no longer aligned with heaven, but Metatron, I need to know who you are aligned with,” Cas implored, a seriousness to his stare.

The scribe looked him up and down curiously, “I’m not against you and your humans, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“So, you’ll help them?” he clarified.

“Yes, I will help them,” Metatron agreed, “As much as I can.”

“You will?” Cas looked surprised by his answer, “Why?”

“Because that sounds like an amazing story, and I want to hear more about it,” he walked passed him toward a chair.

The seraph’s eyes followed as he sank into the seat, “So I can… trust you.”

He said it like the words tasted bad coming out of his mouth.

“Yes, Castiel,” he nodded slowly, eyes seeming to try to piece the Angel together but falling short on the entirety of him, “No harm will come to your humans. Not from my hand.”

“Their names are Sam and Dean,” Cas informed him.

“When will they be here?” the scribe asked, but before Cas could answer, they heard Sam’s voice down the hallway, louder than usual and carrying to the point where even without angelic hearing, the pair would have known they were coming.

Cas vanished, appearing outside of the room as the brothers entered it. However, a creak in the floorboard alerted him to another presence.

“Castiel, what an unexpected surprise,” the familiar cockney voice spoke up behind him.

“Crowley,” Cas practically hissed, “What are you doing here?”

“I just had some eyes on the lumberjack twins there- should’ve known you wouldn’t be far behind,” the demon snarked as their eyes met, “I have a colleague that will be just chuffed to see you.”

“Who-?” Cas started to ask before everything went black.

“Sam and Dean, I presume,” Metatron stepped out in front of them as they neared the center of the room.

“Good, you know who we are,” Dean acknowledged, “Saves us some time.”

“And which one are you?” the Angel’s eyes focused on him in a heavy way.

“Dean,” the hunter said it like a threat.

“Ah, yes,” Metatron remarked, “You seem very much like a Dean.”

“I’m gonna take that as a compliment,” he remarked back, brushing it off to move the interaction along, “Got some questions for ya.”

“I think I may have some for you as well,” Metatron grinned.

“You managed to evade me for some time, didn’t you Castiel?” Naomi came into focus as Cas’ eyes blinked the fog away, “Or should I say Cas? You aren’t really ‘of God’ anymore, are you?”

“Naomi,” the Seraph growled, pulling at his arms to find them held by two other angels.

“No, you only serve Dean Winchester now,” she grimaced, looming over him with a sick enjoyment in her glare.

“More like servicing,” Crowley circled around into view, tugging at his cuff before brushing the shoulder of his jacket off with the back of his hand, “I hate when you do that…” he asided to Naomi, “I feel… blessed.”

He made a face of disgust as the last word left his mouth before his eyes returned to Cas again.

“What could’ve possibly brought you two together?” Cas’ brows dropped.

“We both had our reasons for following your boy toy,” Crowley shrugged, “Kept running into each other so we decided to pool our resources.”

“And how’s that going?” Cas’ eyes found Naomi’s.

“Bloody,” she sneered.

This pulled Cas’ attention away from the pair to notice the various bodies around the room. They were in a restaurant. Biggerson’s, Cas believed he recalled.

“We were supposed to be their shepherds,” he shook his head, “Not their murderers.”

“Not always, Angel,” she snapped back, “There was that day back in Egypt… not so long ago… where we slew every firstborn infant whose door wasn’t splashed with lamb’s blood,” her eyes met with the demon’s as she added, “And that was just P.R..”

“Well, I wasn’t there,” Cas looked down toward the floor.

“Oh, you were there,” she hissed, “You just don’t remember it.”

“How-“ his voice cracked, “How many times have you torn into my head and washed it clean?”

“Frankly, too damn many,” malice dripped from each word as she said it.

With a harsh snap of her fingers, a chair slid over and she sunk into it without breaking eye contact.

“You’re the famous spanner in the works,” she continued, “Honestly, I think you came off the line with a crack in your chassis.”

Cas’ face hardened defiantly.

“You have never done what you were told, not completely,” she looked away in disgust before continuing, “You don’t even die right, do you?”

Crowley interrupted, placing a hand on her shoulder which she glared at in utter offense.

“Where is the Angel tablet?” he released his hold on her and bellowed in Cas’ direction.

“In the words of a… good friend,” Cas smirked to himself as his eyes rose slowly to lock onto the pair, “Bite me.”

“Oh, we’ll bite,” Naomi threatened, “Don’t worry.”

Suddenly shots rang out and hit one of the Angel’s holding Cas in the arm while the other barely missed Naomi’s ear.

She whipped around in shock to the smirking demon behind her.

“Naomi, darling,” he blew the smoke away from the barrel of the gun, “This is where our plans diverge.”

“Michael and Lucifer?” Dean asked in disbelief, “They’re in the hole. Saw to it ourselves.”

“What about Gabriel? And Raphael?” Metatron added, sounding almost scared.

“Both dead,” Sam practically yelled, hands covering his ears as if in pain, “I’m sorry, could you turn that down, maybe?”

“Turn… what down?” it seemed to hit him at a delay, “Wait… you’re resonating, aren’t you? You’ve attempted the trials…” his eyes cut between the brothers in surprise, “Must be pretty far along too…”

“Wait, how do you know that?” Dean’s expression took on a firmer, defensive look.

“Get that far along, you start resonating with the word- or in this case, it’s source,” Metatron explained, then quietly to the side, “Castiel didn’t mention that.”

“What do you mean?” Dean stepped forward, suddenly not caring about the gun in the entity’s hand, “You talked to Cas?”

“Shit…” he grimaced, “Yeah, he… came by before you did… asked if I was going to hurt you…”

“Cas did… what?” Dean looked around as if half expecting to see him there.

“He was worried about where my allegiances fell,” he explained, setting the gun down on a nearby desk.

“And?” Dean pressed.

“And I told him I’d help you,” he answered back, “Seemed to believe me because he left after… I don’t think I was supposed to say…”

“Damnit Cas,” he turned away, sending a silent prayer of ‘We said we weren’t gonna do the whole behind each other’s backs thing anymore!’

“So you’re gonna help us?” Sam yelled out again.

Metatron snapped his fingers and Sam eased, pulling his hands away as the ringing stopped.

“Yes, what can I do?” the scribe clasped his hands together in front of himself.

“Tell us what the third trial is!” Dean stepped forward again, only this time in excitement.

“Oh, that’s easy,” he looked between them, “Cure a demon.”

“Demon scum,” she hissed.

“Do you like it?” he showed off the gun, “I had my R&D people melt down one of your Angel blades and cast it into bullets… seems to do the trick.”

“How dare you,” she spat back.

“I’m the daringest devil you’ve ever met, love,” he snarked.

Her eyes lit in holy fury, but he raised the gun without hesitation.

“We’ve been here before, haven’t we?” he challenged, “Let’s see who blinks first.”

The shot rang out but Naomi was gone, leaving nothing but the carnage she’d wrought and an Angel blade bullet in the wall behind her.

“Hmm,” Crowley shrugged and lowered the gun, looking almost disappointed under all that nonchalance, “Hi, Cas.”

His eyes followed the Angel and he answered the unasked question happily.

“That’s right, I got an Angel on the payroll,” he grinned toward the remaining one, “It’s that kind of universe these days, but from what I hear, you know that better than anyone…” he tisked as paced around, careful to remain in Cas’ view, “Shacking up with a human… and a Winchester at that. Must admit… I’m impressed.”

He raised the gun suddenly and shot Cas in the stomach.

The seraph let out a guttural cry and doubled over.

“Now, grab him and follow me!” he barked toward the other Angel in the room.

Dean drove with a lead foot, trying to get home as fast as he could to the point where Sam was white-knuckling the handle above the passenger’s side door and looking at him like he was crazy.

“Dean, it’s like a seven hour drive,” he offered gently.

“Not today, it isn’t,” Dean warned, and that was all that was said until they arrived.

He burst through the door and was down the stairs in a blink.

“Woah, Dean,” Benny stood in concern.

“Where is he?” he was practically frantic, “Is he here?”

“Guessin you ain’t talking about Kevin, huh?” his apprehension grew, “Cas went to find you… That’s the last I’ve seen of him.”

“Fuck!” the hunter yelled and threw everything off the table next to him before bounding back out of the bunker.

He reached the car and practically fell into the front seat.

“Don’t do this to me again, Cas,” his voice shook with his hand as he tried to get the key into the ignition.

He was about to take off when he heard the car rumble, not knowing where he was even going, but that question answered itself as a lump of tan coat appeared in the garage ahead of him.

He jumped out and ran to him, crashing to his knees and pulling the Angel into his lap.

“Cas?” the sound of his voice was pure fear as his hand came back up covered in blood.

“Dean, I’m sorry,” the Seraph’s voice gurgled as he spoke.

“Shut up,” Dean shot back before softening a bit, “What happened?”

“Naomi…” he explained, “and Crowley…”

“Together?” Dean looked surprised and disgusted in equal parts.

“Not anymore…” he winced and his hand darted toward his stomach.

“What did they do?” Dean’s grip tightened.

“Crowley thought I’d hidden the tablet inside my vessel,” he winced again as he shifted to sit up better.

“So he tore you open?” the hunter scoffed, “Remind me to return the favor. Come on, let’s get you inside.”

He stood him up with care and helped Cas into the bunker.

“Sam! Benny!” he called but they were already running up the stairs to help.