Sorry you guys had to wait so long for this. But I've been gone a while, grieving.

A good friend of ours has passed on. I think you all know her if you've been following the ever-there Nothing Is Ever Easy. Her name was Pilali. And she has...*steadies self* She's gone.

I won't get into it, but she was sick, and that was why multiple times, i wished you all to wish her better. But she didn't and her cousin messaged me a few weeks ago when it occured. I took it very hard. I have avoided the website because it has reminded me of her and i have cried myself a river to drown in.

I wish you all to take a look at her art, on Akenia on devientart. Her cousin said he'd finish up some of her art and post it and he deleted her ffn. She drew me some pix for Nothing Is Ever Easy. I'll be picking it up again soon, so if anyone draws and sees her drawings and is moved and inspired (as you should be) then you can message me and maybe you wanna pick up where she left off: drawing for people, creating things. Her family business.

So thank you all for your patience. I hope you enjoy this final and short chapter. I just wanted to sum this up and wrap it up. Thank you all for your time.

Dean: *moment of silence*

Cas: *moment of silence and prays*

Sam: *moment of silence and prays*

Gabe: *tries for a moment of silence and fails* C'mon guys, she wouldn't want us to be SAD! She loved us. She loved you.

Me: I know. *sighs* So lets do this thing, bitches. *TURNS UP MUSIC VERY LOUD*

Dean: CARRY ON MY WAYWARD SOOOOOON.

Cas: THERE'LL BE PEACE WHEN YOU ARE DOOOOOONE.

Gabe: LAY YOUR WEARY HEAD TO REEEEEST.

Sam: DON'T YOU CRY NO MOOORE.

Everyone: DUNDUN DUNDUN DUN!

Current song: Carry On Wayward Son by Kansas

Current mood: Trying to remember the good times guys.

Castiel wakes up to bright white light and the smell of antiseptic. There's a dull ache in his chest and he can't move. The beeping of machines echo in his ear and he has half a mind to scream in frustration when it doesn't stop after the first few moments. He still doesn't understand where he is.

Castiel looks around and it all finally clicks. He's in a hospital. The shooting, the Demons, the agents, Crowley. And Dean...? He turns his head every which way until he spots the other man, asleep on an uncomfortable plastic chair right beside his bed. Dean's head is lolled to the side and his mouth is open, drool wetting his chin and collar of his shirt in a way that only Mary Winchester and Castiel could find attractive. There are dark bags under his eyes, which means Castiel has been out for a while and Dean has been worrying nonstop. There are new wrinkles around his eyes and they aren't from laughing.

Castiel hates to wake Dean up, but Dean's been worrying and he probably wants to know when Castiel is up and about so he opens his mouth to call to him. Except, he must have been out longer than he thought because his throat is rusty with disuse and he can't make a sound. The dull ache that Castiel had woken up with starts to turn sharp then, and he hisses as it intensifies. There's no morphine button, which tells Castiel that he's either been on a drip IV or a nurse has been administering it. Either way, the pain is coming back and Castiel can't even say that he's uncomfortable.

And as the pain comes, so do more memories...

Blood, tears, yelling and screaming. That's all that Castiel is aware of. And Dean, Dean is hovering over his body, speaking to him in incoherent sobs. He doesn't understand any of it, just feels the pain that is overwhelming his body.

I love you, he says.

And then everything goes dark.

But the pain rages on, oh it does! It cuts through his unconsciousness deeply and sears through his mind and he prays that he'll just die, because if he doesn't, he surely will go mad. He feels his chest burn and stretch and ache and any second now, Castiel will explode.

He can't stop it, he can't stop it, it'll all end, right now, any second now, he'll explode, he'll-

Castiel jolts awake, his monitors beeping erratically. He must've passed out from the pain. Beside him, Dean shoots up.

"Cas," is the first word out of his mouth, quickly followed by, "HEY, I NEED SOME HELP IN HERE! SOMEBODY!" as Castiel feels the pain seize him and he can't speak still, can't say a word as it makes him immobile.

There are hands and faces he doesn't recognize, but the one he does know is crying and carding fingers through his hair as drugs are pumped into his system, murmuring, "Thank God, thank God."

Castiel wakes up a few hours later, and this time, Dean is awake. There's a cup of what could be considered coffee, but what's really just caffeinated sludge, in his hands and his eyes are red and track every single one of Castiel's movements as he stirs awake.

"Cas," Dean breathes, but he doesn't touch him, only watches from a safe distance.

"Wh-what happened?" Castiel asks, stuttering over the words. His throat is still dry, but the pain is just a dull throbbing. "Dean, what-"

"He shot you," Dean says, his voice rising as the adrenaline rushes through him again. "Crowley shot you three times in the chest and..." Dean closes his eyes. His voice is wrecked when he speaks again. "And I lost you. For ten whole minutes you were a flat line, another corpse in the cooler." He looks Castiel in the eyes. "I've never been-" And now his voice breaks. "I've never been so ter-terrified, terrified. In my entire - my entire life." Dean stutters through, in tatters, in shambles.

Castiel wants to get up, to hold him, to press Dean's rough palm against the warm skin of his chest and let him feel his heartbeat, but he can't move, is afraid to even, after what happened a mere few hours ago. So he can only watch as Dean struggles not to sob again. Watch and feel his heart ache and ask, "How long?"

Dean sniffles and wipes a hand across his nose. "A week and a half. They weren't sure you... they weren't sure you would wake up." The silent, but I knew you would hangs in the air between them and Castiel is thankful that Dean still has that kind of faith in him.

"Where is everyone?" Castiel asks after that. "Is anyone else... hurt?"

Dean shakes his head. "Ash got grazed and Sam got some better-done stitches. Gabe wasn't happy but..." He shrugs. "Besides that...everyone's fine. Oh and Jo got a little surprise with Ash. Apparently, they'd had sex before I got in there. What I walked in on was round three." Dean's eyes hit his hairline as he wiggles them.

Castiel's eyes go wide. "She's...?"

Dean nods. "Oh yeah. They were doing some tests on everyone just to be sure and they caught it so damn early. I was surprised and she's still doing a couple of tests. Except, she's a couple months along. So we asked Ash how long they'd been a thing without telling him why we were asking and he said probably six months. Six months and she didn't tell anyone! Neither of them did!"

Castiel feels inclined to point out that they had been dating for almost three years and hadn't told anyone. So he does. At that, Dean's face goes oddly nervous and Castiel itches to ask what was wrong. He ends up just saying it. "Dean... what is the matter?"

Dean looks like he might throw up. "Um... well, everyone knows now. Cas. They know. We sorta...declared our undying love for each other. As you...died." Dean goes pale as he says that and Castiel sees his hands shaking.

Although he's weak, Cas lifts his hands and beckons Dean to put his own in them. Castiel closes his hands over Dean's and squeezes them once, then twice. "I'm not dead," he says, his voice a bit raspy. "Not yet. Not for a while."

"Hell no," Dean says quietly. "I'm not letting you get that far outta my sight." He licks his lips and seems like he's about to say something.

But Castiel cuts him off and asks, "What happened... to the Demons?" The word itself makes him sick to his stomach and by the look Dean is giving him, the other agent knows and respects all the courage it had taken Castiel to say that one d-word.

"Dead. All of them except Crowley, although it was close. Bobby trained his people well; I'll give the old fart that. They got those Demon bastards pretty good, with minimal damage to themselves. Bobby almost shot Crowley in the forehead though; Ellen stopped him." Dean sighs. "They gun-whipped him after that and tied him up as the ambulance came in." Dean stops talking.

Castiel knows where his mind is. He squeezes Dean's hands again. "Don't think about it. Please don't think about it. It will only upset you further and I do not want that." Dean nods and swallows hard. He tries very hard to just feel Castiel, right here and right now, and convince himself that this is all he needs to be worrying about. And it works. Castiel sees as Dean visibly relaxes, the tension smoothing down from his shoulders. The other man seems all cried out and Castiel thinks he needs to give him a few more laugh lines and make up for the ones that sprang up from tension and worry, though you couldn't not have tension and worry in their line of work.

"You know, Crowley still violated my personal space and well-being. You never made up for it..." Castiel gives a weak smile as Dean looks up at him, a small grin curling his lips and lifting them up. There are creases on the corners of his eyes and there, right there. Those will be wrinkles Castiel will remember for an eternity.

Dean leans over and gingerly slides a hand under Castiel's neck, lifting his head up as slowly as possible, and whether its to tease the other man or make sure he doesn't hurt him or even both, Castiel feels the anticipation of waiting for those glorious lips on his spike up his adrenaline and heartbeat and make his monitors go crazy.

Dean kisses him and Castiel knows that the readings the nurses will get later on in the evening will baffle them for ages.

The second Dean goes for coffee is when everyone decides to come in. Bobby and Ellen lead the way, with Gabriel and Sam following, Jo and Ash coming up behind them and unsurprisingly, Mary Winchester coming in last, closing the door so they could have some privacy.

"Cassie!" Gabe exclaims loudly, making the latter wince. "Oh, sorry," he whispers.

Sam rolls his eyes and grabs the other man by the wrist and drags him to a chair. There's a moments scuffle and shuffle with Sam demanding Gabe take the chair and then the smaller man shoves him into it and sits on top of his lap happily content. Apparently, by the way Sam just rolls his eyes and adjusts Gabriel so he's more comfortable, and the way everyone blatantly ignores them, this has been going on for a while.

"How're you feeling, sweetheart?" Mary asks him then, moving some hair behind his ear as she takes Dean's seat. Around them, everyone is settling down; Ash and Jo on a low couch, Bobby and Ellen on two more chairs.

Castiel shakes his head, fighting a smile, because damnit, he has the best damn family. "I'm... I am decidedly better, thank you Mary." Castiel had tried calling her Mrs. Winchester once, but she had cut him off and said crossly to, 'call me Mary or so help me, I'll put my saint namesake to shame and throttle you'. He'd liked her instantly.

Mary smiles at him and pats his arm just as Bobby says, "So you idjit boy, where'd you're worse half go?"

Ellen sighs as if he's insufferable and Mary sympathizes with the woman. Castiel knows they're friends and he can see why. "Bobby, would you just shut up about it?"

"Why?" the older man says. "They went against my rules and didn't tell me and he got shot to hell and-"

"Damnit Singer, you're giving me a headache," Mary said, a hand to her temple. Sam just rolls his eyes and offers his mother some aspirin, to which she asks, "Why do you have aspirin?"

Sam answers dryly, "When you spend all day with Gabriel, you actually need it."

To which Gabriel calmly retorts, "Yeah, and for other things."

Castiel is going to write it off as a joke, but Sam blushes and Gabriel looks self-satisfied, so he wonders if Dean knows. He turns to where Ash and Jo are sitting quietly. They've been quiet, he realizes, not like either of their personalities. "Ash, Jo. I heard. Congratulations."

Ellen immediately gets wry and says sarcastically, "Oh, right. Because getting pregnant at 22 is exactly what everyone is doing these days."

Ash bites back, "Yeah, it is. At least we're going to do the right thing and raise her right and proper." He looks at Jo pointedly and says, "Together."

Jo nods, a bit teary-eyed, and Ellen sobers a bit, Bobby helping out by rubbing her lower back a bit and whispering, "Easy Ellen."

Ellen whispers back, "But that's my baby..." And the rest of the conversation is too low for Castiel to hear.

"So...um... are you guys like, getting married? Or something?" Sam asks, breaking the awkward silence that had formed between them. He looks to Ash and Jo expectantly, shifting Gabriel a bit as his leg gets numb and looses feeling.

"Nah," Jo says. "Not yet I mean. And hell, who gets married these days anyways?"

They all freeze then and turn to Castiel, even Mary, and there's a longer silence than before. One of understanding and curiosity this time. He knows what they want to know, but Dean hadn't said anything about it, they hadn't discussed it again. Maybe... he's changed his mind? Castiel sure hasn't.

"Yes," Cas says dryly, laying back into the sheets of his bed, watching as Dean walks down the hall a bit despaired at seeing everyone in there with Castiel. "Who indeed."

Castiel is out of the hospital a few weeks later. He's still sore and his chest is all wrapped up in gauze, but Dean is driving them home and Bobby hasn't fired them yet (Castiel suspects its because he was shot and Dean had taken it so hard), so he counts this as a win.

Except... no, no. They're not going home, which is sooo against what Castiel wants to be happening. He wants Dean, under the covers, spooning him manly for warmth. He wants to tell Dean he loves him more than anything, more than life itself. And Dean is driving in a different direction than their apartment complex.

"Dean," Castiel says, making it clear that he is not pleased. "Dean, where are we-"

"We'll be there in a minute," Dean says, and... is he nervous? Yes, Dean is nervous. His voice shakes a bit at the end and his hands are white where they grip the steering wheel. There is something decidedly... off about the situation.

"Dean, whatever it is, you can tell me," Castiel says softly, so as not to spook his partner.

Dean ignores him though and turns up the music before just shutting it off altogether. Castiel resigns himself to lying back in the seat of the Impala and letting his partner drive him wherever it is they were going.

An hour later, Castiel is shaken awake by Dean and they are at the Roadhouse, Ellen Harvelle's bar and pub. He's confused at first, but then Dean is gently coaxing him out of the car and taking his hand in his own, entwining their fingers. In public. It's such a rare occurrence that Castiel basks in the moment, allowing Dean to lead him into the Roadhouse.

Which is pitch dark.

He feels a tug on his hand and suddenly, the lights are on and above the bar there's a giant banner that says 'WELCOME BACK CASTIEL!'.

"SURPRISE!" is suddenly yelled by all the people behind the bar. Ellen is smiling and Bobby is right beside her, sliding Ash a beer where he sits on the other side. At a side table, Mary sits with Sam and Gabriel, and there's food on the majority of the tables around him. Jo is wearing a t-shirt that says, 'Please Don't Give The Prego Alcohol' and Ash is waving his beer bottle in her face tantalizingly when Jo opts to kiss his lips instead of the bottle.

Castiel is so surprised that he doesn't notice that everyone's gone quiet now until he goes to turn to Dean and finds that his partner is no longer on eye level with him. Castiel feels his heart thundering in his ears as he looks down and there Dean is, Castiel's hand still in his, on one knee and looking up at Castiel shyly.

"So... I never did this properly the first time," Dean says. "I've been told I was shouting and you were indisposed to answer correctly. So." Dean shrugs, but Castiel can tell that this is a big deal for him. Hell, it's a big deal for Castiel. Hell yes, it's a big deal for Dean.

"Dean," he says weakly, because now everyone is watching them, just like last time, except he can answer clearly and Dean can follow through on any promises he makes there.

"Castiel Balthazar Novak, I love you so god-damned much, man, you don't even know the half of it. So." Dean fishes the black box Sam had been messing with out of his pocket and flicks it open with his thumb. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, will you marry me? Before I get shot this time?"

Castiel feels his throat close up, because really? Did Dean really think he needed to ask again? "Yes," Castiel says quietly.

Dean slowly gets up and tilts his head to the side, looking down after a moment, a shy, beaming smile on his face. "You sure?" he asks, rubbing his neck and letting the hand with the ring swing by his side. "'Cause, you know, I'm a pain in the ass to live with-"

"I already live with you," Castiel points out.

"But, like, forever. With no apartment next door to escape to when I snore. And Ana would be in the house with us. You think you can handle that?"

Castiel sighs and says, "Dean, I've said once before. I am saying it again: Yes. But ask me one more time and I'll take the ring and leave you." He smiles, because he's joking, but Dean gets the point.

"Um, right, here," he says and his face is red, like he's waiting for Castiel to catch onto something. Mary is smiling and Sam looks like he wants to burst out laughing. Gabriel is already chuckling and whispering to Sam, "Oh, your brother's dead."

Castiel let's Dean slip the ring onto his finger, and a thought briefly flits through his mind on how Dena knew his ring size. But that doesn't matter. It's a beautiful piece of jewelry and he looks up to Dean's face, smiling.

Dean is coughing lightly, putting the ring's box to the side. Bobby is chuckling and Ellen is already pouring a drink that Castiel has a sneaking suspicion is for Dean. There was something up.

Ash scoots over and Jo sits with him and whispers, "Ten bucks says that Castiel gets in a minute."

"You're on," Ash says, taking a bill from his wallet and putting it down, Jo doing something similar but taking the bill from her bra.

When Ash gives her a look she shrugs. "What? The Girls keep all my money safe." Ash only rolls his eyes.

Castiel is about to ask what's going on when he goes over Dean and his conversation in his head: Dean proposed, he said yes. Dean went on to make sure Castiel was sure, Castiel pointed out they lived together. Dean said that there'd be no apartment to run to and that Ana was living in the house with them, Castiel said-

Wait a minute, house?

"What house?" Castiel asks, his eyes wide. "Dean, we don't have a house. What are you talking about?" At Dean's sheepish look, Castiel blanches. "DEAN!"

"So maybe I put a down payment on that house in the suburbs that you liked so much." He shrugs. "Maybe." Castiel scowls. "Ok, I did," Dean admits rubbing the back of his neck and accepting the drink Ellen was pushing toward him. "You like you're engagement gift?"

Castiel just sits down. Dean bough them a...a...

He bought them a fucking house.

Castiel pinches the bridge of his nose as the party gets into swing and Ellen turns the jukebox on, Mary starting to get people food, Gabriel trying to get to dessert first and Sam verbally disapproving while his mother laughed in the background. Bobby is walking around the bar, catching Ellen by the waist, twirling her for a dance. Ash gets Jo food, the pregnant woman thanking him in-between bites, practically inhaling her food.

Dean brings over home-made burgers for him and Castiel and smiles sheepishly. "You know," Castiel says exasperatedly as the goings on around him fade into the background and its just him and Dean. "We're going to have to talk about this. The buying-things-without-telling-me thing."

Dean laughs and smiles. "Yeah?" He pushes some of Castiel's bangs out of his face.

Castiel smiles a bit, relishing the band on his finger and picking up his burger at the same time Dean does. "Probably not," he admits. "I'll be too busy thanking you when we get home." And the word slides off his tongue so smoothly because he's talking about Dean and everything is good.

Dean chuckles, taking a bite of his burger, but there's a heat in his eyes that Castiel is going to utilize when they get home. Home. Home with Dean.

For the first time in a while, Castiel is so glad that he broke Rule 12. He got the best things in his life out of it.

So. There you have it. I hope you enjoyed this little plot bunny mishap. I hope you all keep Pilali in your prayers. So. Um. Bye guys.

Dean: How 'bout one more round of Kansas, yeah?

Cas: I would very much enjoy that.

Sam: *soft smile* Yeah.

Gabe: Then let's get to it!

Me: Here we go. *Turns up music so loud that bf wakes up in next room and joins in*

Dean&Cas: CARRY ON MY WAYWARD SOOOOON.

Sam&Gabe: THERE'LL BE PEACE WHEN YOU ARE DOOOOONE.

Me&Kincade(my boyfriend): LAY YOUR WEARY HEAD TO REEEEEEEST.

Everyone: DON'T YOU CRY NO MOOOOOORE. DUNDUN DUNDUND DUN!