Author's Note:

I was going to end it with that last chapter but I just couldn't toss in the ending like 'oh here's a few paragraphs. So I'll elaborate on it all for you, I was going to leave some of their endings like 'you imagine what happened' but that's the point of telling a story, isn't it?

Heaven was in working order again; most of the angels had been taken home and assumedly grounded on a holy scale. Chuck wasn't just going lay back and say 'oh you did a bad thing, no dessert for you guys.' No, they were retrained, many of them. They were shown the way things were supposed to work in a new light, but this time Anna was the one teaching them all. She stood in front of her troops like the commanding figure she'd always been. Her eyes never leaving the many faces that stared right back, but her mind couldn't focus on it.

"You're leaving?" Castiel stared at her with those inquisitive blue eyes, his head tilted slightly, a combination that always drove her insane. And not because he was annoying, he was too cute to be as badass as he'd become. Remembering when they'd first met at Mrs. Milton's training camp, she never would have guessed that the bitter, 'I like sleeping naked' angel would become the very same one standing before her.

"I am." She finally replied to him, a hand coming up and caressing his face. "I've done all I can here and… Chuck's going back."

"Do you see him as Chuck or as God?" Castiel asked softly, "It makes a difference who you're following."

"I'm with Chuck." She smiled reassuringly. "I swear."

"I believe you." Her brother wrapped his arms around her and held tightly, stubbled cheek scratching hers slightly, "Please take care of yourself, Anna."

"Always. If anything ever happens, I'll come to you. If not, I'll see you eventually."

"Depends on Dean's lifespan." Castiel smiled sadly as he stepped back.

Anna looked over at the other angels assisting her in the vast re-training, Camael returning the gesture toward her briefly and smiled, his expression somewhat serious though it always had been.

"I don't care what you say, at the moment I don't see why any of this was necessary." Rochel bit out, "So I went with my gut on this one."

"You went and found things that were meant to be lost-" Chuck tried to argue though was immediately cut off.

"Excuse me? Fuck you 'meant to be lost'. We were cleaning up your fucking mess, asshole!"

"Jet, don't curse at God." Sam tried to sound serious through his smile, it wasn't working.

"Shut up, Sam." Jet pointed at him without really looking away from his staring contest with the Almighty. "You really want to kill us again? Are you actually that unhappy that he went and brought us back? One of the 'mean to be lost' is your freaking archangel!"

"Jet, it's alright." Lucifer lifted a hand to try and wave it off but he had to admit he was amused by the spectacle.

"You shut up too, Luci." Same treatment he'd given Sam. "So, Chuck, or God, or whatever you want to be called, are you ungrateful for what we did?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying." Chuck rubbed his forehead tiredly, "All I'm saying is that Rochel, from now on you can't go and resurrect beings as powerful as Lucifer on a whim, okay?"

Rochel smirked and nodded, "I suppose so, sir."

"Do you regret not staying?" Anna looked away from Camael as she asked, watching the angels do their 'homework'.

"Not at all. Jet's alive, he's been strong enough without me from the start, he just needed a boost." Camael closed his eyes as he chuckled, "I saw no reason to stay with him now that it's all over."

"That must have taken a lot of strength. I wouldn't be able to get over the distance between me and Chuck, your bond must be tearing itself apart."

"No, I suffered the tear already when he died." The angel of judgment tossed his staff from one hand to the other. "He died, that severed it indefinitely. Rochel brought him back, yes, but he and I would have to remake the connection and quite frankly I see no point in being tied to him after all has been said and done."

"So it doesn't hurt you?" She furrowed her brow.

"It does every now and then, but I take a glance down to see how he's doing and it feels better."

"Cute." She huffed out a laugh, "I never imagined you to be that type."

"Everyone changes with time."

"Seems that way."

Humanity climbed out of its hole and started to rebuild, like they always did. Life would always move on without those that had passed whether those that mourn want it to or not. Statues had been crafted to commemorate the achievements of the fighters that had given their lives, to the men and angels that never faltered in their beliefs, and to the most admirable souls anyone had ever known.

The leaders, the most memorable individuals in the war would go down in the history books. Dean and his angel Castiel, Sam and his archangel Gabriel, Bela and Michael, Annie and Raphael, Garth and Balthazar, and of course Jet and Camael; a list of names that were recorded immediately. There would have been more, like Rochel and possibly the story of Zeruch, but they much preferred to stay out of it. Those two had vanished as soon as they were allowed the luxury of no longer being noticed. No one saw them again, no one bothered to look. If they wanted to be alone then that was entirely their business. Everyone was happy for them.

As collected as the world attempted to be, as much as mankind did its best to clamber out of its hole of hatred and dysfunctional thought processing, people were still people. Many were extremely happy the angels were gone but the rest were sad. They knew what it meant, that they'd failed a test of some kind. But what more could they do other than try to get along with the angels that did stay? To treat them right for once.

Michael remained at Bela's side, her boyfriend, her husband, her partner until the end. Raphael followed suit with Annie after they'd gotten over the awkward 'not sure I want to be married to a different species' moments. A speech from Castiel definitely pushed that along, though it was more of an angry tirading rant.

Balthazar remained on earth for two reasons, the first being that he wanted to keep in contact with Castiel, they had been friends since the beginning of time and that friendship would continue until neither of them were able to breathe. The second reason being something he wouldn't admit outright, he'd miss Garth. The quirky, weird little human that managed to wiggle his way into Balthazar's often cold heart with an unwanted hug and a stupid manner of speech. Balthazar was very glad, though, that he could say he had more than one close friend in the world. Castiel would often be busy with his soul mate, after all.

Dean, Castiel, Sam, and Gabriel were the four corners on which the earth regained its footing. It never was truly over for them, not really. Castiel and Dean stepped up their game from peacekeepers, they became so much more than the symbols of peace and equality. They enforced it with the strength they knew they had and lived their lives as if they were one and the same, the example of unity to show the world. A symbol was nothing more than a theory, but an example held proof that it was possible.

Sam and Gabriel continued what they'd always done but this time without the aggression. They ended up working alongside Jet and surprisingly Lucifer as well. Jet did what he'd started doing and they were helping him take care of orphans on the one hand, and on the other they'd go out and do what they thought was right (whatever that might have been at the time). Jet did most of the aggressive actions from that point forward, he was never too shy or too shaken to do so. Lucifer felt somewhat endeared toward the human that decidedly risked his life alongside him, the first human to just go 'fuck it, I'm saving Lucifer', so he kind of became Jet's new partner. Sort of, without the actual bonded connection. Sam had gotten his fill of the fighting, but that didn't mean he wouldn't take part. Haniel had left a mark on the world that no one could really erase and he knew that they'd be dealing with it until they day that they died. But that was okay by him. The freedom fighters hadn't disbanded, instead they started to form the new government on their own. Taking from the example that they'd seen, Sam, Gabriel, Dean, and most notably, Castiel's.

Thanks to the example that the four of them had left for mankind, for men and angels alike, their work would be picked up when they had gone. Because when the Winchester's passed, their angels didn't stay.

Castiel sat in heaven and in his arms he cradled the soul that was forever connected to his grace. He wasn't sad; Dean wasn't gone. They were together, and they would be for the rest of eternity.

Of course he could say he wasn't sad until he was blue in the face but it would never really be true. Nothing would be like it was; it was all going to be so much different now. His world had changed forever, again. Balthazar watched from the sidelines, Garth had passed long ago and so Balthazar's return to heaven was nearly immediately after. He too had wanted to be close to the soul of his long-lasting connection, which meant it'd been ages since he'd seen Castiel face to face. And the first time in years that they see one another it's not on good terms. Because for Castiel to have come home Dean must be dead. There were no words to be spoken so instead Balthazar closed his eyes and prayed.

"No need for that, I'm already here." Chuck spoke, making the angel jump slightly.

"What are you doing here?" Balthazar asked softly. "Humans die all the time…"

"Not the ones that save world." Chuck walked into the room and placed a hand on Castiel's shoulder, not flinching when he saw the big wet eyes glance up at him. "Castiel," his voice was gentle as he reached down to lay a comforting hand on one of Castiel's, "You need to let go."

The blue-eyed angel could have argued, could have complained and refused, but he knew better. Clinging to a soul in solitude was unhealthy and wouldn't be good for either of them. "I can't just… let go." He whispered, "He was everything to me…"

"I know." Chuck slowly lifted the glowing ball that every once in a while took on Dean's shape from Castiel's arms, the broken angel watching sadly as it left him.

The following days were quiet; Castiel stood at the edge, looking down at the earth below, the place that had been his home for decades. He watched Sam as the elderly Winchester sat peacefully next to his archangel, their hands unconsciously linked. Castiel could see that Sam had several years yet, a perk of living healthy. He smiled sadly, watching Gabriel, knowing that Gabriel knew it was all coming to an end. He looked at Sam's wrinkled skin; the white hair and the distant look in his eyes. He remembered when those hands were strong, when that cane was never needed or even thought of, and most of all he remembered that man's brother.

"You're my angel."

"We won. We made it Cas."

"You know you're everything to me. I can't imagine my life without you in it, Cas."

Castiel closed his eyes as the tears slipped down his cheeks, "Nor I you, my love." He whispered.

"What's with the weird vocabulary shift?"

Castiel's head snapped up when he heard the voice. "Dean." He spun on his heel to see that face, the one he remembered so fondly from every day, the one he'd fallen in love with. Dean was standing before him. "Dean you're here." It was like a floodgate had opened in his eyes as he bolted toward his lover, his heart pounding like a jackhammer in his chest. The split second it took him to reach Dean he'd noticed so many things, the youthful look he'd taken on, the subtle glow of his skin, but mostly the bright set of wings on his back.

Dean caught his stumbling partner, wrapping his arms around Castiel and holding him tightly. "Looks like Chuck figured I deserved a recycling or something." He whispered with a laugh, running a hand through the soft, dark hair he'd missed.

"I can't believe you're here." Castiel sobbed, "I missed you, it hurt so much, Dean I-" He was silenced when Dean lifted his chin and pressed their lips together in a kiss. Passion wouldn't be a strong enough word to describe the feeling between the two of them. Words weren't needed, they could feel it, everything they'd ever been able to feel before but stronger. Their souls would always be connected.

As they broke the kiss, hands on each other and tears glistening on their faces, Dean smirked and ran his thumb along Castiel's lower lip, "Looks like you'll have to train me how to be an angel."

"I think you're a lost cause." Castiel laughed softly.

"Why's that?"

"What kind of angel is afraid of flying?"

"Then carry me."

"Always."

Author's Note:

There! Now it is done. Now I can happily close my eyes without going 'I fucked up that ending'. Thank you everyone for sticking with me (again). To all my reviewers I love you guys! And I am so sad to see this one go. I hope I don't ruin it by making a 4th because I was stupid and imagined actually writing Dean being trained as an angel but there aren't enough plot lines to cover that lol This is a good finisher.

See you guys around! Please review this and tell me your thoughts because I need to know that it went well lmao