THE ROAD SO FAR... - Chapt 19

CHAPTER 19
You know I'd give my life for you, more than words can say...

When Dean pulled up to the burnt out mill, the very first thing he noticed; was that the lone brick wall left standing after the blaze, had finally collapsed. The heavy fog that hung low to the ground drifted over the debris, concealing most of the carnage and giving off the illusion of a smoldering fire. For a moment, he could have sworn he could still smell the thick acrid smoke. With a full moon high above, anything and everything cast an eerie shadow across the ground. He put the Impala in park but left the headlights on as he leaned forward in his seat, his eyes scanning the scene in front of him for any sign of Castiel. Aside from various beams and the scorched boiler towering over the fog, there was nothing but the night. He let out a yawn as he glanced down at his watch, mentally calculating how many hours, minutes and seconds he had left before his deal with Lucifer would be up.

When he looked back up towards the mill, his eyes instantly focused on the silhouette of a man that was walking in the distance among the fog and debris. "This better be good Cas..." He muttered to himself as he stepped out of the car and slammed his door shut, sending the sound echoing through the dead autumn trees. He took a few steps forward but stopped dead in his tracks when he realized that the other man was much too tall for Castiel, even the way he walked wasn't like the renegade angel he had come to consider as family. His hand instinctively reached for the gun in the back of his belt, bringing it up at arms length and taking aim. "Who's there?" He called out, loading the gun as he waited for the stranger to step out into the headlights of his car.

"Dean?" Came the faint reply. "Dean, are you there?"

The voice that made a shiver run down his spine made his blood run cold, his hands started to shake and his grip on his gun instantly dissipated as his arms dropped down to his sides. It was a voice from the past, a voice he never thought he would get to hear again. "Sammy?" He managed, his words catching in the back of his throat as he watched his little brother step out of the fog and into the Impala's piercing headlights. He swallowed hard as his eyes focused on the other man, his heart skipping a beat when he realized that it wasn't a dream, that Sam really was walking towards him.

"Dean, are you alright? How are you holding up?" Sam asked, walking to join his brother by the car. "Come on, we need to get you to a Hospital... get that bullet out of your shoulder as soon as possible."

Dean couldn't put two words together as he reached out to pull the other man into a tight hug, holding him near for a moment just to make sure that he really was there in front of him. When Sam muttered under his breath, he quickly pulled away.

"My side is just killing me..." Sam explained, looking up to catch his older brother's eyes. "It's like, searing hot." He couldn't help but wince in pain as he lifted the bottom of his shirt, turning slightly to make use of the Impala's bright headlights. "Is there anything there?" He asked. "Did I get shot?"

When Dean's eyes focused on the hand print burned into his brother's flesh, it all suddenly became quite clear. The rogue angel that had pulled him from Hell, had just done the same for his little brother. "Cas..." He started, choking on the words as he turned towards the gutted mill. "Cas, you son of a bitch..."

Sam looked down at the burn and then watched as his brother took a few steps back. "What about him?" He asked, still trying to make sense of it all. "I thought he was dead?"

Dean took a deep breath as he turned on the spot. "Sam, what do you remember?" He asked, catching his younger brother's eyes. "What do you remember about the night we came out here to check out that haunting?"

"You mean, tonight?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched his brother take a glance around the lot. "Dean are you feeling OK?"

"Tell me what you remember about that hunt..." Dean quietly replied, his thoughts darting back to the night that had changed everything.

There was a moment of silence as Sam let out a sigh, well aware that there was something different with Dean, but not sure yet what that might be. "Not much." He started, his eyes drifting over to where the mill once stood. "We came out here to check out an old abandoned mill, that used to be over there, and then Bobby called to tell you it was a trap. We got ambushed by some hunters, you got shot and I used my um, my psychic crap to push you out of the way. I locked you in a room of some kind to keep them from getting to you and then the other hunters..." Sam paused for a moment as he watched Dean wipe the tears that were starting to form with the back of his hand. "I guess he must have knocked me out because I don't really remember much after that..." Sam continued. "Why? How long was I out?"

"Five years..." Dean replied, swallowing the lump that was caught in his throat. "Sam, you've been out five years... you died that night."

"What?"

"You died that night." Dean repeated, trying to keep his voice from wavering. "That night, those hunters killed you, lit the place up and left us both for dead." There was a moment of silence as he pointed down towards the makeshift grave marker nearby. "Castiel pulled me out of the mill, but there was nothing he could do to save you... that was five years ago."

When Sam's eyes focused on the charred wooden cross held up by a pile of scorched bricks, his mind started to race. "I died?" He asked, looking back to catch his brothers eyes. Dean could do nothing more than give him a nod. "Then how did I come back?"

There was a moment of silence as the pair turned their attention to the burnt out mill in front of them and at what they could see of it in Impala's headlights. "The same way I did." Dean quietly replied. "Cas told me to meet him here, he must have pulled you from the pit."

"I was in Hell?" Sam asked, lightly passing a hand over the burn in his side. "Dean, I don't remember any of it... I heard the gunshot and I blacked out when I was in the mill." He paused for a moment as he tried to wrap his head around the fact that the last hour or so to him, had been five years to Dean and the rest of the world. "When I felt this searing pain burn up my side, it just stunned me, it pulled me wide awake..." He paused again as he sucked in a ragged breath, his imagination running wild with everything he might have missed in the last five years. "Hey Dean, what happened with Zachariah and Lucifer and the Apocalypse?"

"I'll fill you in on that later, Sammy... but right now, we really need to find Cas." Dean started, walking back to the car to grab his flashlight from the trunk. "He's got to be around here somewhere."

Sam watched as his brother tossed him a flashlight and made his way towards the front of the Impala, a certain urgency in his step as he ventured through the debris that littered the ground in front of them. He flicked his own light on as he joined the other man, carefully scanning the mess of scattered bricks and burnt wood. "Are you sure he's out here?" He asked, trying to see through the heavy fog that was hanging around his knees.

"He's gotta be here somewhere." Dean replied, still having a hard time believing that Sam was really there with him.
When he eyed the large boiler in front him, he couldn't help but feel his breath start to catch in the back of his throat. Standing among the debris of the old mill, he was standing in the very same place he had been the night that shotgun blast tore through the door he was pounding on, the night his younger brother had died at the hands of other hunters.
As his gaze drifted from the scorched boiler to the ground nearby, his heart sank like a stone. "Cas..." He breathed, his eyes focusing on the angel that was laying among the debris.

Sam turned on the spot as he watched his brother kneel down. "Did you find him?" He asked, cautiously making his way over to the other man. When Dean pulled Castiel up into a sitting position, Sam couldn't help but swear under his breath. The angel seemed pale, his hands covered in cuts, scratches and burns. "Is he alright?" He asked, surprised to see that Castiel was no longer sporting his tan trench coat and black suit.

"I don't know." Dean replied, setting his flashlight down as he pressed a finger against the side of the angel's neck. "I think so... Cas? Cas!" He started, trying to get the angel's attention. "Come on, Cas... Snap out of it." He pleaded, studying a small gash across the side of his cheek. When Dean noticed the dark red stain that had started to seep through the front of Castiel's blue shirt, he swore under his breath. "Grab his legs, we need to get him out of here."

Sam shoved his flashlight into his pocket as he reached down to grab the angel's legs, waiting for Dean to get his arms before they lifted him from the cold, wet ground. Right away, he knew something was different." Dean, is he still an angel?" Sam asked, carefully stepping over the debris as they made their way back towards the Impala.

"Yeah, he's still an angel but lots of the stuff he used to be able to do, he can't do anymore... Not since he rebelled." Dean explained as Sam reached over to open the Impala's back door. "Healing himself and other people, is one of them."

"So where are we taking him?" Sam asked as they lay the angel across the back seat and shut the door. "Where do you bring an injured angel, the Hospital?"

Dean shook his head as he slid in behind the wheel of his car. "We're taking him to Home-base." He replied, closing the driver's door and turning the key in the ignition.

"Bobby's place is at least two hours from here..." The younger man started as he slammed his door shut.

"We're not going to Bobby's, I know a little place nearby." Dean clarified, putting the shifter in reverse and pealing out of the lot.

When Sam's eyes caught the small picture that was wedged between the radio and dash panel, he couldn't help but reach over to grab it. "Who's this?" He asked, a smile creeping up from the corner of his lips as his older brother glanced over for only a moment. "She's got your eyes..."

"That's Castiel's Goddaughter." Dean explained, turning his attention back to the road ahead of them. "Congratulations man, you're an uncle..."

"You have a daughter?" Sam asked, carefully putting the small picture back where it had been. "I don't know what to say... how old is she? What's her name?"

"She'll be six in a few months and her name is..." Dean paused for a moment as he looked over to catch his younger brother's eyes, his little girl's namesake. "Her name's Samantha." He replied with a smile