I want to live. I want to love. I think I am ready.

dark emptiness

"Wha... Cas. It's me." But he won't hear him. "Cas. Look at me."

He shakes his head.

"Look at me, Cas!" This time he does. He takes to study Deans eyes, his blue ones searching for something.

"You got it right this time. I'll give you that." He smiles sadly at Dean, who doesn't understand.

"What are you talking about, man?" Dean sits back on his heels. Hands resting limply in his lap.

"His eyes. You got the green right this time. That's a first."

"Wh..."

"Even the freckles." Cas raises his hand, stretching it out to cup Deans face. His thumb gently strokes the space underneath his left eye. "The pattern is so right I almost believe it's him."

That makes Dean realize what's been happening to the angel.

"That stupid son of a bitch." Dean mutters as he stares into Cas's eyes.

"You called?" A voice suddenly speaks from behind Dean. When he raises and turns around he almost falls to the ground again. In front of Dean, another Dean is standing in the darkness. Same face. Same clothes as he's wearing himself at the moment.

The Shadow. The Shadow had been appearing as Dean for Cas.

"Well, this one is new." Cas almost sounds amused as he stands and walks to his side. The Shadow laughs at that.

"Oh, poor little angel." The Shadow in front of them grins wickedly at Cas. Dean takes a step forward, as to keep the angel safe from the creature in front of them. "You really are blinded."

"No..." Cas reaches Deans side, hand on his shoulder turning him so that they are facing each other. "The Shadow never gets the green right."

"Cas." Dean needs him to believe it's real, or he don't know if he'll be able to get them out of there.

"Not the freckles either."

"Cas, listen..."

"The way you say my name. Only Dean says my name like that." Cas smiles sadly at Dean as some kind of realization crosses his eyes. "You shouldn't have come for me."

"Finally something we can agree on, Castiel." The name sounds wrong coming from the Shadow.

Dean is about to move closer to Cas, but the Shadow moves quicker. Suddenly the other 'Dean' is standing behind Cas. And as he places his hand on top of Cas's head, the angel collapses at their feet.

"NO!" Instantly, Dean drops to his knees, pulling the angel closer, resting his back against Deans thighs, supporting him and getting him away from the evil creature who is laughing at him with an amused look in his eyes. "Cas!"

"Dean Winchester himself. Losing himself in the void of darkness, only to get his hands on one insignificant trench-coat-wearing angel."

"Wake him up!"

"Ha! And where would the fun be in that?"

"Send us back, let me take him home."

"And," the Shadow starts walking, circling the two as he drags the words out, "what do I get in return for doing so?"

"Send us back, awake, together. And I'll let you go back to sleep."

"Seriously? That's your bargaining chip?"

"It's a good deal. You let one angel go, and we let you go back to sleep. Never to bother you again." Dean keeps an eye at the Shadow as it keeps walking around him, slow steps. He looks down at the angel in his lap, gently stroking his hand through the black hair.

"What makes think I can't just have that if I want to? I can just throw you out, lock the door, never to hear from you again."

"I'll come back."

"Right..."

"I mean it, I'll come back again, and again, and again. I'll make sure you never sleep again in your miserable existence. I'll come back to torture you while keeping you awake. Until you give me my angel back."

The Shadow narrows his eyes, a sour look on his face.

Without hesitation, Dean quickly pulls out an angel blade, hidden in the sleeve of his jacked. From his pocket he pulls out a small, round glass ball, tied to a chain. It was only the size of a small clinker.

"NO! DONT YOU DARE WINCHESTER." The Shadow screams at him and start reaching for the blade. But it's too late.

With a small flick of his writs, Dean makes a shallow cut at Cas's throat.

The cut starts to glow brightly.

Dean places the glass ball close to the wound and watches as the angels grace leaves Cas, absorbed into the small ball of glass, which starts to faintly glow a bright light. As Dean looks up he can see that the Shadow has transformed into its true form. A black shadow. Red eyes glowing in anger.

"You..." Anger radiates from the figure.

But it can't touch them. Dean smiles at it.

"Send us back. I won't ever return here. I promise. If you send us back." In his lap, Cas stirs. Awakening, slowly, as the Shadow no longer holds any power over him. "I'm human. And without his grace, so is Cas."

"No wonder every single being I've met has cured the Winchesters. You make all our existence so difficult with all your 'being a hero' stupidity. The Winchesters should have been destroyed before they even existed." Oh, yes. The Shadow is real pissed off now, Dean thinks as he smiles down at Cas.

"You can't keep us here. Humans doesn't belong here. So you have to send us back. And if you don't. Jack will come for another visit." Dean can see that the name has an effect on the Shadow.

"You wouldn't dare..."

"If I'm not back by the time we set, he will barge in here, wake every single being resting here. And turn them against you. You will never sleep again. You'll spend the rest of eternity having to deal with all the angry creatures you've got trapped in here." It's a long shot, and Dean hopes the Shadow can't tell that he's lying. Eventually, Jack would probably come looking for them, when Sam went crazy for waiting for him to return. But how much time passed in the human world, Dean didn't know. So how long they'd stay here, Dean didn't know...

"You better pray that this is the last time I ever lay eyes on you or that angel again."

"Don't worry. I don't wanna see you either. Ever again. Now send us back."

The red eyes of the Shadow glows even stronger now, and the figure of darkness starts to dissolve.

"Tik... tok..." Dean pretends to look at the time, raising his arm to show his watch. "Time's running out on you, bitch."