A/N: Set during season 14, so SPOILERS! And I apologize if this becomes inaccurate as the rest of season 14 continues.
They had tried everything, but it hadn't worked.
The Empty had still come for Cas, as it promised it would.
It had waited until Cas and Dean had gotten together, and both of them had been truly happy. That's when the Empty always struck- when you were vulnerable from love and happiness. When it would be most painful for you to leave.
It had shown up in the bunker one day, in the form of some woman.
Sam had spotted her first.
"Dean!" He had yelled. Jack, Cas, and Dean had come running, and they all instantly regretted it.
"No." Jack whispered. "No, it's too soon." The Empty had only smiled at them.
"It's time for you to accept your side of the bargain, Castiel." It declared. Dean grabbed onto the angel, unwilling to let him go.
"Take me instead!" Jack yelled out.
"Jack, no." Sam insisted.
"It's not fair!" Jack cried out. "Cas gave up himself for me- why shouldn't I do that same for him?"
"Because I don't feel like spending the rest of eternity watching you two shuffle the blame back and forth." The Empty snapped. "Castiel is coming with me, NOW."
"Take me!" Dean retorted.
"You're a pathetic human. You mean nothing to me."
"I mean something to everybody else- I'm a great bargaining chip." Dean insisted.
"Dean, no." Cas whispered.
"I am here for Castiel, and no one else." The Empty declared.
"Well then take me too! Take me for free!" Dean proclaimed. He couldn't let the angel die. Not by himself.
"Dean, no." Cas said firmly. "All of you, stop it. We knew this was coming, and there's nothing you can do now."
"Exactly." The Empty agreed. "Come along, Castiel."
"Wait," Cas looked pleadingly at the Empty. "Can't I have a chance to say goodbye?" The Empty glanced at them.
"You have five minutes." She declared. "Use it well."
*~*~*~*
Jack was first.
Cas had pulled them all into a separate room one at a time, so that their goodbyes could be more private.
And Jack had dove into Cas's arms, half crying as Cas hugged him tightly.
"This is all my fault." Jack sobbed.
"No it's not." Cas declared. "None of this is your fault, Jack. It'll all be okay."
"How can it be okay if you're gone?" Cas gave him a wavered smile.
"I'm just one angel, Jack. I don't really matter that much."
"Yes you do." Jack retorted. "You matter more then any other angel ever could." He hugged Cas tighter.
"You be good for Sam and Dean, alright?"
"I will, I promise."
*~*~*~*~*
Sam was next.
The relationship between Sam and Cas had always been a little awkward, but now that was set aside, and Sam held out a hand. Cas shook it gratefully, and they looked at each other.
They were never a pair known for hugging.
"We're gonna miss you," Sam insisted.
"I know."
"Dean and Jack especially. Dean... I don't know what he'll do without you." Cas's heart panged at the idea of leaving Dean alone with that grief, but he had no other choice.
"You're going to have to be the strong one for them," Cas declared. They both knew it. Jack would blame himself for Cas's death, and Dean would shatter. Sam had to be the one strong enough to stay standing and help them back up.
"I will be," Sam proclaimed. "For you, I will be."
There wasn't much more that had to be said.
*~*~*~*~*
Dean was last. The hardest goodbye for last.
The hunter already had tears in his eyes when he walked in the room. Cas smiled sadly at him, at the man he loved so dearly.
"Don't-" Dean started, his voice breaking. "Don't you ever forget how much I fucking love you." Cas stepped forward and wiped the tears from Dean's face.
"Don't," he replied. "Don't you ever forget how much you mean to me, and to the world." Both of them on the verge of bursting into tears, Cas leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Dean's lips. The hunter wrapped his arms around Cas, and they embraced, not saying a word.
"I'll find a way back to you." Cas promised. "I swear it, Dean. If it takes a day, a month, or a hundred years, I will find some way to come back to you."
"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Dean insisted. Cas leaned back, looking Dean dead in the eye with a determined expression.
"I keep the promises I make to you." He declared. "That will never change."
And then the Empty had walked in, and Cas had reluctantly stepped away from Dean, the Winchester letting out a short cracked sob.
But the angel kept his head held high as he walked over to the Empty.
*~*~*~*
Dean walked out of the room a few minutes later, his eyes filled with tears. Jack and Sam looked at him expectantly, but they already knew what had happened.
"He's gone." Dean whispered.
أنت تقرأ
I'll Come Back To You
قصص الهواةCas has been taken to the Empty, and away from everyone he loves. But this angel is not going to go down without a fight. With the help of a few friends, and a few former enemies, can Cas make it back to his family? And how will his family react to...
