Title: Consequences of Action

Chapter: 14

~~~~~~~~~~

On the entire drive to see Michael, Dean second-guessed his decision. What was the right one? Was he wrong? His stomach churned. Did it really matter which option he chose? His world would be over no matter which answer he gave. If he agreed, he’d be a drooling mess. If he didn’t, he’d die soon anyway. It was a no-win situation for him, so he thought of those he loved. Over and over, Dean agonized.

He parked in front of the building and got out of the vehicle. “I’m here,” he yelled.

There’s no need to shout, Dean. I hear you.

The clearing grew bright with light, the warmth bathing Dean. He looked up. His hands trembled and he shoved them in his pockets.

Before you give your answer, Dean, there’s something else you should be aware of. I would have told you yesterday if I’d known. I apologize. I was unaware of this development when I left you yesterday.

“What is it?”

Dean listened and by the time Michael was done speaking, his answer was set and firm. He made sure Michael understood the condition of his acceptance. He wasn’t going to do anything without an assurance his condition was agreed upon. To his surprise, Michael agreed with no haggling.

“You agree?” It couldn’t be that easy. He’d expected to argue, to need to lay out his reasons one by one.

I do.

“No negotiating, no bargaining, just…agreement?”

Do you wish an argument, Dean? I’d accommodate you, but time is limited. Your conditions are reasonable.

He looked around the rest stop. “No, I don’t want to argue. Just…as long as we’re agreed, then….” He took his hands from his pockets, wiped his still damp palms on his jeans, licked his lips. There was a sense of anticipation in the air, the breeze swirling the treetops. “Yes. Yes. I’m saying yes.”

You’re certain?

“I am.”

The earth shook in violent spasms, nearly knocking him from his feet, the light brighter than before, and hot against his skin. He felt sweat drip down his face. There was a piercing screeching noise in the air, ringing like the gonging of a bell. He smelled earth and rain, then a thousand smells of summer. Honeysuckle and evergreen, watermelon and ripe corn. Pleasant scents rolled over him in a rush. He could scarcely identify one before it was gone. Was this part of it? Or was his mind rebelling, trying to make this experience something better than what it really was? The air was so hot that it hurt to draw in a breath, his lungs burning.

I’m drowning, he thought, gasping, staggering back. I’m drowning on air.

Dean saw the treetops begin to bend over, touching the earth, as though bowing to Michael’s presence. It felt like ants were crawling over his skin. No, not ants. Spiders, skittering over his flesh. Dean couldn’t think, couldn’t begin to think, his mind blank of everything except the static that hurt for several long seconds….

He felt the light inside him then, spreading out, the weight of his body dropping away from him until he felt like he was floating. The discomfort was gone. How was it possible to feel light? It was what Claire had told him and what Jimmy had once said all at once. The comet comment made a helluva lot of sense now.

He still didn’t believe Michael’s promise that he’d be okay when all was done, but if they succeeded, he thought his life was worth the lives of his family and friends.

His hands raised, turned this way and that, Michael studying Dean’s body.

“Do you wish to remain awake, Dean?”

He heard his own voice speaking, only lower, gravelly, as though the raw power of Michael was changing it. Can you do that, he asked, feeling weird as all hell because he knew he was talking yet he also knew his lips weren’t moving.

“I can. It will take some effort on my part during the fight, but yes, I can allow you to know what’s happening. Lesser-powered angels do not have the ability to let their vessel surface for more than a minute or two here and there.”

It was strange to suddenly be airborne, to see the world from great heights passing by in seconds. Was this what Cas and Jimmy used to see? I don’t think I want to be awake. I can’t watch you beat up Sam. I’ll let you do this, but I can’t watch it happen.

“I understand, but remember, he’s no longer fully Sam. Somehow, I doubt Sam will want to watch Lucifer beat you up. I’ll try my best not to damage him, Dean. The goal is to imprison Lucifer, not to hurt Sam.”

Sometimes hurting is unavoidable, he replied. Save your energy for the fight. Let’s finish this, once and for all.

Dean slipped into sleep before he was even aware he was going to.

~~~~~~~~~~

Michael stretched out inside Dean, adjusting carefully to the weight of a human body. It was…different and not entirely unpleasant. There was a strength to him in this body that had been lacking in his natural form. There were advantages to being corporeal, he decided. Strange to find an advantage in something he’d considered useless.

The earth looked different from a human perspective -- bigger, like he’d suddenly noticed just how much of it there really was. He let Dean’s memories slide over him, trying to understand the emotions he had for his friends and understand why Dean had agreed. As much as Michael himself could feel, he didn’t feel the depths Dean felt. Dean’s emotions were like an ocean that just went on and on, layer after layer, connection after connection. Was Dean unique in that? Or did all humans have such wells of emotions? It hadn’t occurred to him before that the subject of emotion could be so complex and yet it was. Very much so, in fact.

Was this what Castiel knew and had known? How…intriguing. Perhaps when this was all over he’d take a closer look at the subject.

Shaking his -- Dean’s -- head, Michael pushed aside all thoughts of Castiel and what that one did or didn’t know.

He gave Dean the choice of sleeping or waking, unsurprised when Dean chose sleep. To see Sam in the state Lucifer likely had him in would grieve him and, as Dean said, Michael needed to save his energy for the fight. Besides, he was not to cause Dean unnecessary grief. If he could shield him from anything, he was to do so.

He waited for Lucifer on the chosen field, glance turning to the sky. Lucifer would have seen the signs of Michael’s journey to earth and known the day was here. He would come.

~~~~~~~~~~

Castiel was the last to step into the main lodge. He saw Jo and Risa there already, with Chuck off to one side. He’d come because Natalie had told him it was urgent.

Mya was crying, her sobs husky and soft, rocking back and forth in her chair.

“I don’t know what’s wrong,” Rick said. “She just started screaming and holding her head.”

They all looked at him as though he knew what was wrong with Mya. He had the bad feeling that he did know.

Kneeling, Cas took her hands in his, the first time he’d touched her bare skin. It felt like an electrical shock passed between them and he let go from it, gasping. She jerked back, shivering. Slowly, cautiously, Castiel reached out touching her hands once more. There was no shock this time and Mya began to calm somewhat. “Are you okay?”

Her breaths slowed. Some of the tension slipped from her face. “I can’t feel you anymore,” she replied. “You were there and now you’re not. You are, I mean, but not….” She shook her head. “Not like the other now. What the hell was that?”

“Can you tell me what happened?”

She sniffed. “Before?” At his confirming nod, she went on. “It was like feeling I had that night I woke up, only even more. You remember I told you about it?”

Behind him, he heard Rick asking what she meant and ignored him. “I remember. Was it double the power level do you think?”

She laughed a little. “More like exponentially more powerful.”

Cas bent his head, a knot of dread and tension growing inside his stomach.

“What’s that mean,” Rick asked. “Exponentially more powerful? What’s more powerful?”

Castiel looked at him, then at Risa, Jo, and Chuck. “I’m guessing it means the Archangel Michael has come to earth. Power like that? That’s all it could be.”

Chuck paled and took a few steps back, a guilty shifting in his eyes, while Jo and Risa exchanged a fearful glance.

“Archangel?” Rick sat down beside Mya. “Are you serious?”

“Completely.” Cas released Mya once more and stood. “There’s one reason I can think of for him to come to earth --”

“Dean. I haven’t seen him in hours now.” Risa grasped what he was saying and turned to Chuck, hands on his arms. She shook him so hard he stumbled. “Where’s Dean? Tell me, Chuck! Where’s my husband?”

Tears shone in Chuck’s eyes. “He’s gone to save us all.”

The sky began to darken until it was like night had descended. The ground shook in the familiar feel of an earthquake. Somewhere in the building, Cas heard the crash of glass breaking.

Chuck pulled from her grasp. “I’m sorry. There’s no stopping it now.”

“You knew, didn’t you,” Cas asked him, taking a step towards him.

“I’m sorry,” Chuck repeated, shaking his head. “I’m so sorry.”

“How does it end?”

“I don’t know, Cas. I haven’t seen any of it, not one bit. I doubt I will until it’s done.”

Risa was stricken, her shoulders shaking, one hand covering her mouth as she tried to hold back her sobs. “No,” she moaned. “Dean!”

Cas reached out and pulled her to him, holding her while she cried, supporting her when her legs seemed to give out. He was grateful when Jo joined them, her arms joining his around Risa.

All they could do now was wait.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Michael.” Delight flashed in eyes that were once Sam Winchester’s.

“Lucifer.” Michael nodded.

“Do you really think you can defeat me a second time, brother?”

“You’ll be cast back into your prison,” he corrected. It wasn’t a case of defeat. Not this time.

“You can try.”

“I’ll succeed.” He spoke with a quiet confidence. “I can’t let you destroy the earth any further.”

Lucifer smiled and raised a hand, beckoning Michael forward. “Let’s see what you’ve got.” He turned his head, rolled it on his neck, bones cracking. “I’ve waited so long for this.”

“I know you have. Anything to say?”

“It’s all been said.”

The fight was messy. Lucifer had no qualms about endangering as many humans as possible in his quest to win the battle and remain free. Cities fell across the world in the aftermath, the earth shaking. Dust flew into the sky, turning day into night.

Michael found himself hurled into the Atlantic, the impact resulting in a tsunami that he knew killed as many as the earthquakes. Back and forth they went across the earth, Michael shielding Dean as best he could from the battle. Days passed. Finally, he was able to get a firm grip on Lucifer.

Below them was the prison, open and ready -- a team effort. Gabriel and Raphael had done their part well. He said the words he’d been given to pull Lucifer from Sam’s body, words their Father had told him to use if he had the chance. It was very much like how humans exorcised a demon. As he was forcefully separated from Sam, the light of him flaring free, Michael ripped a stunned Lucifer out the rest of the way and cast him down, kicking and screaming, into that prison. Even as he was locked away once more, Lucifer couldn’t believe he’d been beaten.

The earth settled to normal, the pangs upon it fading, the sky clearing, revealing blue sky and the bright sun.

It should be raining, Michael thought. It shouldn’t be nice on a day meant for grief.

Michael laid Sam Winchester out upon the ground, healing what he was able, cringing a little at the damage Lucifer had done to Sam. He’d known the human body could take quite a bit of abuse, but this was excessive, unfixable and wholly unnecessary. Sam was irrevocably damaged. Dean was going to be devastated. Michael read the broken paths of Sam’s memories, pieced together that information Dean craved to know -- why Sam had gone to Lucifer. Dean craved answers, needed to know that there’d been some good left in Sam. What Michael found was surprising and more than a little confusing to him.

How did the saying go? The road to hell was paved with good intentions?

Sam had left Dean with good intentions. He’d wanted to get his head on straight and then he’d decided to hunt Lucifer. He’d let the demon near him for information, but anger at each hunter attack on him ate at him. A small part of him had listened well to what the demon said to him. He’d wondered if he really was a monster, which led to a few bad decisions when doubt in himself and his motives overwhelmed him. He had been twisted. He had become jealous of Castiel. That jealous part of what Jo and Ellen had seen was genuine.

His pain over Dean refusing his calls had been a deep chasm inside him, something that couldn’t be filled or bridged.

When Ellen and Jo had come to him, he’d tried everything he could think of to get them to leave before he confronted Lucifer, for he still cared for both of them. He’d known Ellen would be pissed when he talked like that and hoped Jo would be to, but Jo surprised him by staying. Sam had needed to change tactics with her, find a way to thoroughly repulse her. He’d known Jo didn’t have any desire to rule the world with him and when Jo tried to talk him out of it, he’d tossed hateful words at her, wanting to drive her away before she got hurt or killed. In his mind, he was protecting them.

He hadn’t been as far down as Ellen and Jo thought, though he had sunk. He really had been ripe for Lucifer.

Sam Winchester had had a plan. He was strong, right? He’d build himself up, let Meg think she was preparing him, accept Lucifer, and take control. He’d keep him contained. He’d do it himself, take care of the Lucifer problem and clean up what he’d begun. He’d do what Dean -- and Sam himself -- didn’t really think he could. The only problem with it was that, without Dean, he wasn’t strong enough. His reason for acting was misguided, his plan lacking follow-through. He needed Dean and Dean hadn’t been there.

Sam had needed Dean -- Team Winchester saving the world -- and one lone person wasn’t a team. He’d been willing to try though, even if it meant he ended up sacrificing himself with no good coming from it. He had to try to end it all.

Summarily, Lucifer gobbled him up and laughed at his attempts to break free from that stranglehold and take control. He’d laughed at Sam’s plan and at his attempt to be a hero, mocked him for it and his noble intentions. Then, he’d gagged him and made him remain awake through the worst parts of his reign on earth. The blood drinking, the massacres. He’d made Sam watch everything, even the fight they’d just had.

Michael rechecked Sam and shook his head. What he’d done was sufficient for Dean and Sam to say goodbye -- whatever choice Dean and Sam both made in the end.

He knelt and wept for his brother.

~~~~~~~~~~

“How’s Mya,” Jo asked as Castiel stepped into the cabin. She was seated at the card table, a game of solitaire spread out in front of her.

Castiel took his jacket off and hung it up. “Sleeping.” Though she’d had a brief respite of the pain, it had returned. In a moment of desperation to help her, he’d discovered his power to make people sleep had come back. A forced sleep offered her slight relief.

There was another angel hanging around the camp, though the power level wasn’t nearly as high as when Dean had disappeared six days earlier. Mya claimed it wasn’t Castiel’s presence that hurt her; that the pain from his presence had dissipated with that shock when he’d touched her bare hand with his. She seemed sure it wasn’t him that was hurting her at all.

Cas could feel the other angel there, somewhere in the camp, though he couldn’t identify him.

Jo nodded, flipping over three cards. She’d taken the watch earlier in the day, sitting with Mya, talking to her to try to distract her from the pain in her head. They took turns sitting with her. Rick was worried sick for her. “And Risa?”

“Continues to be despondent. I made her sleep as well.” Risa grieved without knowing Dean’s fate. She’d refused to sleep voluntarily, only doing so when her body rebelled or Castiel made her. Constant tears wet her face.

“You made her?” She turned her head, watching him as he crossed to her, her gaze thoughtful. “Tell me, Cas, how did you make Risa sleep?”

“I stretched out my hand and willed her to rest.”

She abandoned the cards, crossing her arms. Discomfort sparked in her eyes. “So you’ve got that power back now, too. Peachy.” She shifted a little. “What else?”

He didn’t hesitate to answer. There were a couple more he’d noticed as the days without Dean passed. “My level of physical strength has increased and I seem to be tuning back into hearing thoughts, reading memories. I have…virtually no control over when it comes and goes right now, but it was like that when it left me. I can only assume that it’ll return to how it was and I’ll soon be able to do it at will.”

“And the rest? What’s next?”

Cas shrugged and when he went to touch her and reassure her, she slipped from the chair, placing the table between them. “Jo?” She’d deliberately moved out of his reach.

“What powers are we still waiting on? How much time do we have left before you ‘angel-up’ the rest of the way and….” Her lower lip trembled, her hands resting on her stomach. She’d begun doing that a lot -- touching her stomach, patting it even though she wasn’t showing.

And leave me forever. Leave us.

He caught that stray thought and it about gutted him. Cas moved in a blink, before she’d realize he’d moved, materializing behind her, his arms going around her, holding her tight to him. Mouth at her ear, he spoke softly. “I made a vow to you, Jo. No matter what powers I have or how much of what I was I become, I’ll keep that vow. I love you. That hasn’t changed. It’s you for the rest of my life and no other.” He slid one hand onto her belly, caressing.

“What happens when your emotions fade?” A hint of desperation in her voice. It occurred to him that she was just as frightened of that as he was. They were both dreading that day.

“You’re not going to lose me, Jo.”

“Why are you so certain?”

He turned her, cupped her face in his hands, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. “I love you.”

It wasn’t an answer, but she accepted it as one, laying her head on his chest and slipping her arms around him. He didn’t know if she could lose him or not.

Castiel found himself praying to the Father he’d given up hope on that he could have that happily ever after with Jo. He stood holding her, pouring out his pain on the subject of their future, hoping that someone was listening, yet fearing that no one was.

~~~~~~~~~~

An hour after Castiel left to check on Risa, Jo heard a tapping on the doorframe.

“Yeah?”

To her surprise, Vanessa took a cautious step inside. “Hi. I…I know I haven’t been the nicest, but…can we talk?” Her smile was shy. “I brought some tea. Natalie said you like the flavored kind, so I mixed up some of that powdered stuff we found.” She held up a small jug and two cups. “It’s decaf.”

She studied the girl, then nodded. “Okay.” The visit was odd, since Vanessa had seemed to wish to ignore her presence entirely since that outburst in the laundry. “We’ll talk awhile.”

Vanessa came inside, set the cups down and poured the tea. She placed one cup by Jo. “Here. This is really great, you taking the time for me like this.”

“It’s not a problem.”

“No, I mean it. We’ve never had a real good talk and I guess I should, you know, face how things are. Get to know you a little.”

Jo glanced at the clock. Claire would be here soon and she’d have a good excuse to get rid of Vanessa. She took a drink of tea. Instant flavored decaf. Vanessa asked if it was okay. It wasn’t like any sweet tea Ellen had made, but it was decent for the powdered stuff it was, with the faint flavor of peach and an aftertaste she couldn’t quite identify. “It’s fine, Vanessa. What did you want to talk about?”

“Just a couple things.” Vanessa paced around the cabin, holding her own cup, her attention returning over and over to the bed, making Jo even warier of her intentions. “How are you? I mean you, not Cas. I know how Cas is, always in perfect health. He’s fine. But how are you?”

“Healthy I guess. Why?” She sipped at the tea, trying to place what it was she was tasting. Was it the sweetener?

The younger woman ignored the question and as the questions continued, Jo realized Vanessa refused to mention the word ‘baby’. She skirted around it, her conversation rambling. Jo wondered if this talk had any point to it as the minutes ticked by. She almost hoped Claire would be early. She didn’t really want to spend too much more time with Vanessa.

“You must have been born under a lucky star. Is such a thing possible? Or maybe you had a guardian angel looking out for you. First you survive outside for years, then you stumble upon Cas. How weird is that? You just came upon him out there and he….” She stopped in front of the bed, staring at it. “He liked you so much and you got,” she gulped as though she could barely choke out the next word, “pregnant when no one else could.”

“Never meant to get pregnant you know.” Jo decided she’d had enough of the tea and slid her cup aside, moving towards the door. “Why don’t we go sit outside? It’s a nice day out.” Not to mention there could be people to witness anything strange that Vanessa might do.

“Outside. Right.” She turned back to face Jo, right hand reaching under her jacket, around to her back for a moment before she brought it back into the open. It was empty. “Okay. Let’s go outside.”

Outside, Jo didn’t feel any better about their talk. Vanessa was jittery, nervous, occasionally peering at her as though she expected something she wasn’t seeing. She began to feel…off, not quite right. “Look, Vanessa --”

“Hey guys! Jo! Van!” Kylie appeared, waving as she approached on the path. “What’s going on?”

Jo raised a hand to her brow. She didn’t feel good period. Something was definitely wrong…. She felt sweat on her forehead, her heartbeat quickening.

“Go away, Ky,” Vanessa snapped.

“Why? What --”

“You’re going to ruin everything!”

“Okay,” Kylie held up her hands in a placating gesture. “Calm down. Ruin what? What are you talking about?”

The two girls began to argue, back and forth, the words ceasing to make sense to Jo as she realized what that taste from the tea was. “Stupid,” she whispered to herself. “That was stupid.” Vanessa had drugged her and Jo had blithely drunk from the cup that had been placed in front of her. She leaned against the table, swaying a little.

But why drug her? To what purpose? What did Vanessa think she was going to accomplish?

~~~~~~~~~~

Kylie was worried about Vanessa. For days now Van had been behaving even weirder than usual, going silent on the subject of Castiel. Occasionally, she’d smile a smug little grin and sigh. So when she saw Vanessa talking to Jo outside by Cas and Jo’s cabin, she thought it might be a good idea to make a casual approach and see what Van was up to. It wasn’t a secret she was insanely jealous of Jo, so why was she talking to her?

“I have to eliminate the competition. He was very clear that she is all that’s keeping Cas from me.”

“Are you, like, delusional? Who was clear? What are you talking about?”

Reaching behind her, Vanessa pulled out a knife. The length was wicked, the blade gleaming. “Eliminate, Kylie. Are you stupid? I have to kill her.”

“Whoa, wait, Van, what are you doing? Put down the knife. Come on. Let’s talk about this, okay?”

Vanessa snorted, pointing the knife at her, disdain in her voice. “Shut up, Kylie. You think I don’t know how you’ve turned on me? You’re just like everyone else, under her spell. That’s all it is, Ky, don’t you see? She’s some kind of witch and he said this knife will kill a witch and end her spells. Once she’s dead, Cas will be mine. He promised. He said it’d happen.”

The enormity of Vanessa’s delusion swept over her like a rushing wind. This was worse than she’d thought and that knife was awfully big. Slowly, she tried to maneuver herself so that she was between Van and Jo. Why was Jo just standing there? Why wasn’t she doing anything? Running would be a good idea at this point. “Stop. This is wrong. Come on, just leave Jo alone. Come with me, away from here, and we’ll talk about this.”

“I’ve had about enough of your talking, your incessant chatter about nothing. You’re a useless little whore, just like her, Ky.”

“If you don’t want to talk to me, then let’s find Cas. We’ll sit down with him and --”

Jo was leaning on the picnic table, shaking her head slowly. “You drugged me. Why? What did I ever do to you?” Her words were slurred.

Vanessa’s laugh was harsh and ugly. “You really don’t know? Man stealing whore! He was mine and you took him!”

“Do you really think anyone could make Cas do what he didn’t want to do?” The stare Jo turned to her was sad and tired. “He’s not yours. Even if I’m gone, he won’t be yours.”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!”

Vanessa stepped forward, shoving Kylie aside and ramming the knife into Jo’s side. Kylie saw the pain on Jo’s face, heard her agonized cry, and then Vanessa was whirling upon her, the knife in her hands slashing, stabbing, hurting. She fell to the ground, trying to shield her face, her body, but the knife kept dipping to her.

The last thing she saw before the world faded from view was Claire, turning and running from the clearing.

~~~~~~~~~~

They were going to have a good afternoon. Claire was sure of it. She and Jo were going to really talk, like Claire had been wanting to do for awhile now. Jo had promised they would.

As she approached the cabin, she heard voices arguing and slowed her strides. Maybe she’d wait until they were done and sneak inside. Peering around the corner, she was able to see what was going on, registering Vanessa’s words with a bit of a shock. Claire clamped her hands over her mouth as Vanessa hurt Jo, then turned her anger onto Kylie.

Blood splashed in the air, Kylie’s screams not nearly as loud as Claire thought they should be.

She stood, barely breathing, half afraid Vanessa was going to come after her. A man appeared, something in his expression breaking Claire’s paralysis. Turning, she ran.

She had to find Cas and quickly.

~~~~~~~~~~

In his cabin, Chuck wrote, tears halfway obscuring his vision. This was the part he hated the most.

The final loss of a friend.

Please, he thought. I don’t want to see this.

But the vision came anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~

The pain was terrible. Jo thought her guts were going to slip out the hole in her side and spill out to the ground. She held the wound, as though doing so might lessen the pain and keep her insides from becoming her outsides. Her knees buckled. Jo fell heavily onto the ground, screaming, head turning.

Vanessa stood over Kylie’s prone form. The other woman’s blood wet her clothes.

“Very good, Vanessa.” A man appeared from nowhere, his self-satisfied smile oily, his voice unctuous. “You’re very obedient. I like my human acquaintances to be obedient. It makes things simpler, you see.”

“I did it. I did what you said. She’s there.” She pointed at Jo with one hand. “The knife went deep.”

“I saw.”

“Is he mine now?”

“About that….” The man slid one hand into his pants pocket. “I’m afraid I may have misled you on that a tad. You’re not actually going to get Castiel.” With a snap of his fingers, Vanessa was gasping for breath, dropping the knife, falling to the ground herself. “I do appreciate your efforts, Vanessa.”

“Who are you,” Jo said, trying not to move in any way, shape, or form.

“Oh, you don’t know me,” he replied, stepping over Vanessa’s now still form to approach her. “I however, know quite a lot about you, Joanna Beth Harvelle. I know you’re pregnant and that you’re hoping for a last minute rescue, but let me tell you, Jo, you’re going to be disappointed. You see, you’re dying. You’re bleeding out. Every second that passes leads you closer to death. There’s a Reaper here, waiting, in case you’re wondering.” He pointed behind her. “Right over there. It’s inevitable. You’re going to die and Castiel….” His smile was gleeful. “He’ll break from it. That, Jo, I can’t wait for.”

“Go to hell,” she spat.

“Oh no. I’m an angel. We only go there to rescue disobedient, ungrateful children like Dean Winchester. I won’t go to hell.”

“You so sure about that?” It was an effort to talk. “Because if I remember right, there’s a Lake of Fire for angels gone bad.”

“Who says I’m bad? This could all be…orders.” He licked his lips. “Feeling woozy there? A little numb? Cold perhaps?”

Jo could taste copper in the back of her mouth, her tongue dry, sticking to the roof of her mouth.

I love you, Cas, she thought, hoping that if he could hear anything, he could hear her in these last minutes.

As though her thought had called him, he appeared.

~~~~~~~~~~

Castiel was grateful for the flash of ability that let him see what Claire had seen. He took no time to calm her or ask further questions. Jo was hurt and there was no time to waste. He willed himself to the clearing outside their cabin, grasping the knife he’d kept with him since Dean had disappeared with Michael, ready to attack the second he appeared.

But then he saw Jo crumpled on the ground, blood on her clothes, her hands, her gaze pain-filled and fearful. It was too late, he could see it, feel it. It was already too late for him to save Jo. He could see the Reaper waiting, knew what it meant. She only had a short while left.

Off to one side were Kylie and Vanessa, both motionless. Standing over all of them was a familiar angel whose presence made Castiel’s gut clench.

Zachariah.

Zachariah turned. “Hello, Castiel.”

He could hear Jo gasping for breath, but he didn’t dare move to her. “What do you want?”

“Your pain.” He smiled. “She’s dying. You can’t save her. You’re human and weak, with feelings for her and that thing growing inside her.”

Did Zachariah not know about some of Castiel’s powers returning? Couldn’t he feel Cas? Castiel could feel his presence. He narrowed his eyes. “I’m going to kill you.”

Zachariah laughed. “Oh, that’s a nice empty threat, boy. Give me some credit. You can’t hurt me, even with that knife. Only an angel can kill an angel and I made sure you were rendered harmless years ago. It was my pleasure to make you helpless. You’ve caused me far too much trouble.”

“You.”

“Me alone. A last parting gift. You liked humans so much, it was fitting you become one.”

Time was running out for Jo. He could hear it in her wheezing breaths, see it on her face. In no scenario he could imagine did this end well for her and their baby. “I will kill you.”

“You’re ten kinds of stupid, Castiel. Always were.”

“You do remember that hubris was one of Lucifer’s biggest sins?”

“I’m better than Lucifer.” He spread his arms out. “I’m still here.”

“Not for long.” Castiel started forward.