Family Don't End With Blood /Destiel//Sabriel//Michifer

Finding The Light

The night was beginning to draw to a close; little over an hour remained before dawn was due to break and bring with it the arrival of a new day.

Almost everyone sat around the campfire was fighting some sort of battle to stay awake, not wanting to miss a moment by slipping into unconsciousness. The only two who weren't having this problem were Lucifer and Elsa. Instead, they kept close to those around them, Lucifer holding a drowsy Michael in his arms and Elsa leaning lightly against Alfie's shoulder, whilst watching the fire closely.

Turning Alex's phone over in her hands, Elsa was reminded of the last time they'd come to the lake, in which Lucifer had gotten incredibly drunk and proceeded to cry over not being able to control the 'hell fire.' He'd then got even more upset when Alex had extinguished the flames, because she'd refused to teach him how to do it.

Looking up from the dying flames, Elsa caught Lucifer's eye. He was smiling to himself and his eyes twinkled slightly: they'd been on exactly the same train of thought.

~~

As quietly as possible, Cas drove the Impala back the way they'd come and turned down towards the lake. As he reached the gravel path sloping downwards he turned the headlights off, not wanting to disturb anyone who may be sleeping. Gently, he brought the Impala to a stop in the exact spot that it had been parked no more than a few hours previous.

"You okay?" Dean asked from beside him.

Cas nodded, moving to open the car door.  "I could honestly fall asleep right here," he confessed as a yawn escaped his lips.

"Then do," Dean smiled, leaning across to take his hand, "It's been a hell of a night. You deserve some rest."

Cas only shook his head, doubting very much that sleep would be kind in welcoming him tonight. Instead, he swivelled round briefly and brushed his lips against Dean's, before sliding out of the car.

Dean followed suit, shivering slightly as the cold air once again surrounded him.

From the vantage point on the bank, they could both see the glow of the dying campfire and the shadows of those around it. Together, they headed down the bank towards it.

~~

Sam was first to hear the shuffle of footsteps through the wet grass and, having instantly become more alter, was the first to see two figures take shape out of the darkness.

"Dean!" He called, as he recognised the first, getting up quickly to meet him.

Sam pulled his brother into a hug, ignoring his half-hearted mumble of 'no chic flicks,' before turning to Cas and doing the same. The second boy was much more alarmed as Sam dragged him into a hug and, for the most part, just stood there awkwardly, not being used to Sam displaying this sort of affection towards him.

Cas had barely recovered himself after Sam had moved away, when Gabriel launched himself at him and, soon enough, everyone was getting up and greeting the two arrivals, all relieved that nothing bad had happened to them. Michael in particular had had an awful image of the Impala stuck in his head, its sides smashed in as it lay upside down on an empty road, its passengers covered in a thick, dark, red liquid.

"Where did you go?" Adam asked, having found his way over to Dean.

"For a drive— to be totally honest, I'm not even sure where we ended up."

"Who drove?"

"I did," Cas announced, "Though Dean was not very happy about it."

A relieved smile stretching across the other boy's lips.

Together, everyone began to seat themselves again, gazing out across the lake in anticipation of the sun rise. The stars above were beginning to fade from sight, though the moon stubbornly persisted to glow on. Vaguely, the group became aware of movement around them. There was a low hum, and suddenly tiny lights seemed to be floating everywhere, moving about in front of them.

"What on earth—?" Balthazar jumped back as one of the lights whizzed past his face.

"Fireflies," Alfie breathed, moving his hand forward and allowing one to land on him. His face softened as the small creature crawled over his palm, allowing him to examine it in awe.

"These are fireflies?" Elsa whispered, captivated by the movement of twinkling sparks around her.

It was odd because, Alfie was sure, it wasn't even the right time of year for the creatures, let along the right time of night.  But here they were, thousands of them, appearing out of the darkness to shine their lights, as if they'd come solely for this moment.

"Do you know what I think?"  Anna questioned, standing up, " I think there has never been a more perfect opportunity for a dance."

"Sorry?"  Meg looked up at her, amused.

Anna shrugged, walked over to the speaker they'd brought and plugged her phone in.  She scrolled her way through her playlists, searching for one in particular and smiling as she found it.  She clicked play, turning up the volume to allow the notes to float through the air.

Then, as no one had yet moved, she hauled up the two people closest to her, Kevin and Jo, and began to dance. At first, no one moved to join her, Kevin and Jo standing awkwardly to the side. Then, suddenly, Jo joined in, twirling around enthusiastically in time to the rhythm of the tune.

Before Kevin could back away, Charlie had appeared and claimed him as her dance partner. He put up only mild protesting; despite having no previous practice in dance, he'd read a lot about it and was actually curious to try it out and, once he started, he found himself enjoying it more and more by the minute.

Soon everyone was on their feet, dancing wildly and struggling not to trip over their own feet. Lucifer and Gabriel were having a shimmying competition, Dean was attempting to look as cool as possible as he spun Cas around and into his arms, and Meg, Balthazar and Adam had taken to doing a badly co-ordinated Hokey Pokey.

Laughter echoed out across the grass space as the darkness slowly began to retreat, surrender to the rising sun.

Still, the fireflies weaved in and out of the dancers, adamant to be included in the fun.

Several people had been taking recordings or pictures throughout the oncoming dawn (which were likely to end up in some form of embarrassing group photo album) all of which had been taken on Alex's phone, passed from person to person, as a way of still including her. They'd also opened up a notes page (Sam's idea) titled 'For Alex', which had been filled with memories and messages from them all, in the hope that it may somehow reach their friend: wherever she may now be.

As the birds began to awaken and chirp and the speaker began to play its final song, the party of people determinedly took up the challenge of the final dance — most forming small groups in-amongst themselves.

Alfie, however, remained exactly where he was: holding Elsa tightly as they danced sleepily around in slow circles, bathing in the fresh light of the new morning.

~~~~~~~~~

The end.

(I know it's cheesy to say 'the end', but I wanted to make sure that the ending was clear.)

~ Kat