Fallen

Chapter Twenty-Eight

     The three of us, Dean, Ezekiel, and I, devise a plan to lie to Sam. I will sneak away for a second and return to the boys saying that Cas had prayed to me while I was alone. Then, we'll pretend to come to the conclusion on our own that I have angelic power in my DNA. It's a lie that could get us in trouble with Sam in the very near future, but it's a risk we have to take to save my father.

     Zeke allows Sam control of his body again. After an agonizing amount of time, Sam and Dean have finished their breakfast and I offer to take their plates to the kitchen. Of coarse, Sam, being the gentleman he is, resists for a moment until I'm finally able to convince him to give me his damn plate. I go to kitchen and wait for about a minute before rushing back into the library, keeping my lines in mind.

     "I know where my dad is," I say upon reentering the room.

     "What?" Sam says.

     "I can't explain it, I just suddenly heard his voice speaking to me. I think," I pause for effect. "I think he was praying to me."

     "Wait what? How is that possible?" Dean plays along.

     I shrug then run my hands through my hair. "I don't know, I mean-"

     "No, it actually makes sense," Sam chimes in. Dean and I both just look at him. "Well I mean think about it. Maybe it's the same kind of thing as the demon blood." He pauses, and I remember the whole Ruby fiasco the two of them told me about. "I've had demon blood running through my veins since I was six months old, but I never harnessed any power until I started consuming demon blood. Maybe its the same thing with your grace. Maybe you still have a little juice left."

     Again, Dean and I just stare at him for a moment, dumbfounded that he put it all together himself. Dean gives me a look that says 'Well that was easy.'

     "Anyway, we need to go now," I state.

     "How are we supposed to get there in time?" Sam asks.

     I run my hands through my hair again, pretending to think. "Maybe I can muster up enough power to get us there," I suggest. We'd also planned to fake me being winded when we got there to make it seem believable. Dean had figured that something like that would be tiring, so we needed to add the small detail just in case. And also apparently while I'm "catching my breath", I can stand guard to ensure that no other residents of the apartment building interfere.

     Sam and Dean agree, and I pretend to be mental warming myself up. Just as I place my hands on the brothers' shoulders, Ezekiel takes over Sam's body again. All part of the plan.

     "Your brother is a smart man," Zeke says to Dean. Then he turns to me. "And he's not wrong about the grace. You do still have some power left."

     I choose to ignore his comment. I don't have time for this. "Yeah, whatever, can we just go please? God knows we've waisted enough time." I don't mean to sound so cold, but it had to be said. Cas needs us, and we've been here playing pretend to cover our tracks for Sam. This whole unwilling angel possession thing is exhausting.

     Zeke places his hands on mine and Dean's shoulders, and we suddenly appear in a hallway. Zeke loosely gestures to the end of it.

     "Last door on the right," he says.

     Then we assume positions and Zeke leaves again. I immediately fall to my knees and rub my forehead. Dean plays along, bending down and asking if I'm okay. I tell him that the action "just winded me", and I catch a glimpse of Sam confusedly looking around.

     "That's weird, I guess I blacked out through it," he says.

     Dean helps me to my feet as I continue to rub my head and try to appear disoriented. "That happens," I say.

     Sam nods. "Are you okay to do this?"

     I pretend-wince. "You guys go, I'll just slow you down." I point to the end of the hallway. "Last door on the right. Be careful!" Sam turns his back to me, walking toward the door, and I immediately break character. I stand up straight and look at Dean. "Really be careful," I plead.

     "We will be," he pecks my forehead and catches up to his brother.

     When they get to the correct door, Dean kicks it in. They charge inside, and I look down the adjacent hallway for any signs of life. Luckily, there's no one. I hear signs of distress, but I refrain. I can't risk Sam getting suspicious, even the tiniest bit. I'm sure they can handle this, anyway.

     Less than a minute later, I see a bright light coming from the door and I hear a woman yelling. I take that to mean that they've killed the reaper, and I make my way down the hallway. Just before I can turn into the apartment, Dean rushes out the door and grabs my shoulders.

     "Don't go in there," he says.

     I furrow my eyebrows. "Why? What happened, what's wrong?" I try to push past him, but his grip on me tightens. I only manage to get him to back up one step.

     "Cel, you don't want to go in there," he insists. For a second, I swear I see him start to tear up. I'm instantly filled with worry.

     "Move, Dean," I say. I have to see what's wrong.

     "No, Cel," he tries. Somehow I'm able to free myself from his grasp. "Cel, don't!" He calls behind me, trying to reach for me. Before he can catch me, I walk through the doorway. Immediately, tears poor from my eyes, and I start to cry out. Dean has to stop me from dropping to my knees.

     Castiel sits in a grey chair with his hands tied behind it. His button-up shirt is open and exposing his bare chest. His bare chest, which is covered in cuts and has a triangular hole in the middle of it. Blood spills from each cut and crater.

     I struggle against Dean's grip to get to Castiel. I reach out to his lifeless body and try to get Dean's strong arms off my waist. My ears ring with adrenaline. I hear muffled shouts from Dean, but I'm too focused on my father to make out what he's saying. The scene is near identical to that of my mother's death.

     When I'm finally able to pry myself from Dean's grip, I trip on the kitchen floor but immediately jump back up to run to Castiel. Tears drench my cheeks and chin. I squat on the floor in front of Cas and look up at him. I place both my hands on either side of his face.

     "Dad?" I plead. "Dad, please wake up, please! You have to wake up!" My tears drip from my chin onto his pants below me. "Please, I can't lose you too. I can't." Suddenly, I remember what Sam said.

     Maybe you still have a little juice left.

     In an act of desperation, I move my right hand from Cas's face and hover it over his wounds. I close my eyes and will myself to heal him. I feel myself start to become exhausted, and I open my eyes again. A white light is shining from my palm, and the cuts are fading away. The hole in Cas's chest closes up, and I feel as though all the life has been drained from my body. My body becomes limp, and I fall to the floor in front of Cas.