THE ROAD SO FAR... - Chapt 15

Chapter 15 -
The hardest thing and the right thing are the same...

When the Impala pulled into the long driveway and up to the house, Michelle was waiting. Just seeing her sitting there on the front porch's banister, the morning sun warm on her face, made Dean's heart hit the bottom of his stomach. "What am I supposed to tell her?" He asked, not really wanting an answer as he put the car in park and shut the ignition. He looked over as Castiel reached into the glove box to pull out the small square silver box, handling it with care as he passed it to him.

"What ever is in your heart." The angel replied simply as he offered a reassuring smile. "You can't screw this up, I mean it's not like you're proposing to her..."

Dean couldn't help but grin as he took the box from Castiel's hands. "True..." He said as they stepped out of the car. He tucked the silver box into his coat pocket as they made their way up to the house, both doing what they could not to catch the woman's eyes as they approached. When she met them by the front steps, Dean was the first to look up. "You're not going to work this morning?" He asked casually as he joined her on the porch.

"I called in sick." Michelle replied simply. "Didn't get much sleep last night..." There was an awkward moment of silence as both tried to think of what to say first. "Dean, I'm sorry about last night, I just needed some time." She explained, nervously shifting her weight.

"It's alright." Dean replied quietly, catching her eyes. "I don't blame you."

"If you'll excuse me." Castiel started as he made his way up the steps, giving Dean a pat on the back as he passed. "I'm going to check in on my little one."

"She's in the living room, watching tv." Michelle replied, watching as Castiel made his way to the front door and let himself in. "So an angel, huh?" She asked, turning her attention back to Dean as she sat down on the front steps. "That does explain quite a few things." She remarked, watching as the other man joined her. "Like his total lack of humor and human emotion."

"He's come a long way." Dean replied with somewhat of a smirk, thinking of how long it took for Castiel to learn what humor and emotion were. "You should have seen him when he first touched down..." There was another long pause and Dean couldn't help but swallow hard as he turned his attention away from his Impala parked nearby. "Michelle, I just want you to know... That this isn't what I wanted for us."

"I know." She replied softly. "But I understand why you have to go." She paused for a moment as she took a deep breath. "Dean, this is what you do... and if what your brother says is true, you're pretty damn good at it. It would be selfish of me to keep you here when mankind is counting on you."

Dean offered a solemn smile as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the small box, turning it in his hands for a moment before facing the woman at his side. Love was something that seemed to always drift in and out of his life, there just long enough to renew hope but gone just as fast. A broken heart was nothing compared to what he put himself through, thinking about a life that was always going to be just out of his reach. His life was on the road, keeping those around him at arms length in order to keep them safe, his life was that of a hunter, being elusive at best not to leave a widow behind when his number was called and his time was up. "I can't ask you to marry me..." He started quietly as he popped the small box open and held it out for her to see. "But I want you to know that you mean the world to me, and that I'm glad Sammie's got a mom like you to look after her."

Words failed her as he took her right hand and placed the ring on her middle finger. When she leaned in for a kiss, Dean couldn't help but think of just how close he'd come to having a normal life, at least for a little while. "I love you, Dean and I'm really going to miss not having you around." She blurted as she threw her arms around his neck, holding him to her for a moment before pulling away. "Whatever happens, just know that I'll always love you."

"Hope we're not interrupting..." Castiel started. He stepped out onto the porch with Samantha trailing him closely, holding onto the bottom of his leather jacket as he walked.

When Dean looked over, a smile crossed his face. "Hey sweatheart." He said as he put his arms out and watched his daughter run into his hug. "I got you something special too..." He started, reaching up as Castiel passed him another small box. When he handed it to her, she looked up to catch his eyes. "Well go ahead and open it."

She paused for a moment to study the small box and then pulled the lid open to reveal a silver cross on a chain. "Thank you, daddy" She said with excitement as she threw her arms around his neck.

"Here, let me put it on for you." Dean replied as he pulled the chain out and motioned for her to turn around. Castiel reached down to hold her long hair up out of the way as he watched the young hunter clasp the chain around the little girl's neck. "This is for you to remember, that no matter what... Your daddy and your godfather love you very much." He paused for a moment as he felt his words start catch in the back of his throat. "You be a good girl and take care of your mom while I'm not around... Can you do that for me?" He paused again as he swallowed hard, watching his daughter give him a simple nod. "Come here give me a kiss."

When Samantha leaned in to plant a kiss on Dean's cheek, Castiel couldn't help but let out a sigh. The sight truly was heartbreaking but he knew it was for the best. "We should head out." He started quietly, watching as the little girl turned from her father to him.

Dean gave the renegade angel a nod as he got to his feet, doing what he could not to let his eyes tear up as he watched his daughter cling onto Castiel's leg. "Be good, child..." The angel told her as he reached down to place a hand against her back.

With a heavy sigh, the pair started to make their way down the front steps towards the Impala, leaving Michelle and Samantha on the front porch of their quiet country home. "You boys be careful..." Michelle started, watching as both turned slightly to catch her eyes. "The door's always open and the light's always going to be on... Should you need a place to rest for a while." She continued, doing what she could to keep her voice from wavering. "Don't be strangers..."

"We won't..." Dean replied as he offered her a smile. "I promise you we wont." He said as he slid in behind the wheel and started the engine. He swallowed hard as he put the car in drive and slowly started to pull away from what had been his life for the past four years. "Yeah, that wasn't hard." He muttered, sarcasm biting at his words as they pulled out onto the main road.

"It was for the best..." Castiel simply replied, keeping his eyes on the road ahead instead of the one behind them. "When things quiet down, we'll go back to gather the rest of your things... But until then, leaving is safer for you both."

"So where are we heading first?" Dean asked, sucking in a breath as he glanced over to the angel in the passenger seat.

"To Bobby's house." Castiel replied. "Chuck should know where we can find Zachariah."

"What exactly are we going to do, when we do find him?" Dean started, trying to piece together some sort of plan. "I mean, he's looking for me and now we know that he's out there looking for you, so that he can find me." Dean paused for a moment as he thought about what he had just said. "Wow, this story keeps getting more complicating as we go..."

"Zachariah can't see you, that's why he came after me." Castiel replied, pausing for a moment as he thought of his last encounter with his former superior and how it had literally, cost him his wings. Even the slightest movement sent a shiver of pain down his backside as the stitches rubbed against the fabric of his shirt. "Anna is gathering our army, our renegades will take on the angels while you and I ambush Zachariah, we'll catch him by surprise. Without a leader, the angels who followed him will have to choose a side."

"So this is really do or die, huh?" Dean replied, trying to picture how such a war could be fought. When his cell phone rang, he couldn't help but swear under his breath. The only other person that would call him on a regular basis was sitting in the car beside him. That meant that either Bobby or Chuck was on the other line and a call from either was never really good news. He fished the phone out of his pocket with one hand as he kept the other on the steering wheel. "Yeah?"

"Hey Dean, where are you?" Chuck was quick to ask.

"Why?" Dean replied, reluctant to give away his location when he was anywhere near Michelle's place.

"Cause I need to know." Chuck was quick to reply. "Are you out of Scythe yet?" He continued.

"Why, Chuck." Dean repeated. Though the prophet had come in handy many times, having someone else know everything about your life was one thing Dean couldn't help but see as somewhat of a curse.

"Because Zachariah and his angels are closing in on Cas." Chuck quickly stated. "You two need to split up, before they use him, to get to you..."

"What do you mean they're closing in on Cas?" Dean asked, his tone of voice pulling the angel's eyes away from the road ahead of them.

"They can't find you, but they can find him and they're getting closer." Chuck replied. "If..."

"Yeah thanks for the heads up, but you're a little late." Dean cut in. "I think it's safer if we stay together, Cas is still hurt."

"Dean, if you're there with him; which is what they're counting on, then they're going to find you too..."

"Zachariah already got his hands on Cas once... I'm not going to let it happen again." The young hunter growled.

"Dean... You need to split up." Chuck replied, his tone of voice gripping. "Before they narrow down their search."

There was a moment of silence and he let out a sigh. "All right, thanks for the heads up." Dean replied as he flipped his phone shut and swore under his breath. "We've got a problem, Cas..." He started, looking over to catch the eyes of the renegade angel at his side. "The angels have apparently picked up your trail again, Chuck thinks we should spit up."

"I'm sorry, Dean." The angel quietly replied, watching as the man behind the wheel looked over for only a moment. "I thought we'd have more time but desperate times, call for desperate measures... right?"

"What are you talking about, Cas?" Dean was quick to reply.

When Castiel reached over to place a hand on Dean's shoulder, he literally took the wheel.