Leader!Gabriel is so good! I wish he’d stepped up like this in the show. The angels do need a leader, and he wouldn’t let them take themselves too seriously. It’s sad that the show seems intent on killing off all of the angels while ostracizing Cas at every opportunity. Your version is better.

I like all the limitations in this AU, such as ritual-based prayers and toxic ether travel. It forces the characters to find creative solutions due to serious repercussions, and that leads to good storytelling.

Wow, I was really worried for Cas for a second there! There were some intense emotions going around, and I was really on the edge of my seat to see what would happen. I absolutely loved the soul/grace transfusion :D what a great way to elevate that bond!

I can't believe how close we are to the end of this series. Holy cow it's already November!

Oh man, Cas isn't doing too well. It's a good thing Sam found a car. It's going to be a long drive home. I really enjoy it when the boys have to keep an injured Cas safe. There's something about the drama and suspense that I can't help but love. I also really loved Dean and Cas's dialogue about not feeling to blame for this. This is S5 Cas who hasn't developed an intense guilt complex :)

I will never tire of Crowley's introduction, hehe. I was so happy to see him in this AU! And oh boy, things have escalated quickly. What did Lucifer do to Cas? I'm gonna go to the next chapter to find out!

Well, that was a nice turnabout for Castiel! Dean and Sam were just as willing to do whatever it took to save Cas, just like he was for them. I am so happy that they will still have their bond! I just know it will continue to benefit them, and they would have lost Cas this time, if he hadn't left some of his grace in them before. (I'm still waiting for Sam and Dean to be able to talk to each other through the bond ;P )

Ah! What a lovely comforty conclusion to this episode :) I had a feeling they were going to do something with the bits of grace Cas left in the boys, and now with the bond essentially going both ways, it looks like they're even more connected. Glad it worked out, even though it was touch and go for a while and I'm sure the procedure wasn't pleasant for Sam and Dean. Gabe wasn't as hard on them as I expected either, but I think he understood why they were dumb this time lol :P This was a great, suspenseful and full of feels episode! I can't wait to see what you're next one has in store, it sounds like it will be an exciting one!

Oh, you scared me! I thought he was gonna die in that horrible way! I almost cried. Loved how they saved him. It was absolutely perfect :) Can't wait for the next one.

Thank goodness Cas is okay! o.O I absolutely love the image of Hael healing him, with her grace butterflies and her gentleness :) So much nicer than her character in the show was, but given the trauma and confusion she was going through, maybe under better circumstances and guidance, she WOULD be this version of Hael that I love so much! So thanks for showing her in such a sweet light!

But omg, with your NEXT TIME snippet, and knowing there's not many episodes left, I'm super stoked for Friday! :D

OMG! That was *freaking* awesome!

It was well worth the wait ... it was *everything* I was expecting and then some! This episode has definitely become my favorite of the AW series so far. The Winchesters getting Castiel to the angel compound, brotherly feels with Gabriel, Cas's damaged grace Hael couldn't heal, the grace the Winchesters had transferred back to Cas with slivers of the boys' souls ... absolute perfection!

Some of my favorite parts:
1) "Gabriel arched a dubious brow. 'Are you calling me out of shape?'"
2) "Gabriel mentally reeled back. They had ... oh, Father help him, he didn't know whether to yell or smite them for being so *stupid.* He should ream Cas's ass for such an idiotic plan, too! Gabriel's chest constricted as he glanced over his shoulder at Hael, head bowed over their wounded brother.
3) "Gabriel was both proud and furious at him."
4) "Gabriel turned his gaze back to Castiel's lax face. *You hear that, kiddo? We're gonna fix this. Just stay with me.*"
5) "...and finally settling on Sam and Dean, who, despite the risks, were nothing but adamant and devoted to saving her brother."
6) "He folded his arms smugly. 'Worrying, isn't it? When people go to *extreme* lengths for something that has the potential to endanger themselves." (Ha! So there!)
7) "The older Winchester shook his head. 'It wasn't a sacrifice, Cas. Not to save you.'"
8) "He had a long recovery ahead of him, but he was alive, and home, and surrounded by family whom he loved and cherished and who loved and cherished him in return. With that, he could get through anything."

As is patently obvious, I still *love* and revel in the fact that Castiel is loved and adored by his angel family as well as by his adopted Winchester brothers; I just can't get enough of all those feels!

And "Next Time" promises to be all kinds of exciting. Can't wait!

Thank you so much for sharing this amazingly awesome story!

UPDATE: Um... the site did not post my review again. It's still sitting here in the review box. What is going on with this site sometimes? Anyways, here's what I said:

HOLY CRAP! That did not end well! O.o Cas, omg, my poor baby, what did Lucifer do to him?! And will they even be able to get away?

I love that you still kept Crowley giving them the gun in this AU :) Also, I *love* the extra little AU twists, like how flying with humans isn't as easy as it is in the show, and it's not just a simple matter of showing up somewhere else but is actually a process that might be harmful to the human (ie spending too long in the ether and asphyxiating. It's those clever little differences, combined with the story elements we love, combined with SUPER BADASS ANGEL DARLINGS, that make me love this series so much! :D I can't wait to see how they get out of this...

Oh my gosh, for a second there, that looked so hopeless! O.o Not that they're in much better shape now, but at least they know Lucifer's flown off. Imagine just sitting in a "bombed out" building, hiding and wounded and waiting for the Devil to find you... *shudders*

But at least now they're moving the right direction! The dynamic you have between the three of them gives me life! :D "Told you I'd get you to where flannel one day", HAHHA! The flannel saga continues! We needed that blip of humor here, LOL. Thanks for sharing, but if there's only one chapter left, I can't wait to see how the heck they get back to safety and hopefully healing in that span!

Poor Cas :( He's really bad off right now. But at least they were able to escape Lucifer-at least for the moment, of course it's yet to be seen if they run into trouble on the road. I hope Hael will be able to do something for Cas and that's he's not permanently injured from that, it can't be a good thing to have your grace almost ripped out 0_o Looking forward to the conclusion of this! Again, love seeing the pure camaraderie between Cas and the boys in this AU. It always makes me happy :)

(*more inarticulate screaming*)

I think this episode has the potential to be my favorite, by far - if it doesn't kill me first!

So you left this chapter off in an even *worse* place than you did the last one, and I was really hoping that *that* wasn't possible; alas, it was. While Lucifer didn't succeed in ripping out Castiel's grace entirely and consuming it (the sick, cannibalistic bastard), he did tear it, which *hurts* and is obviously life threatening. I love the brotherly feels and the Winchesters rallying around their angel. Of course all three of them feel guilty about the whole situation; although, honestly, I don't really see what Cas has to be guilty for and wonder if he just said it to get Dean to stop. And I was in tears for much of this, with how Cas is failing and then wanting Dean to pass his gratitude on to Gabriel for coming back to his family. *sobs some more*

Now I'm just hanging onto the Winchesters' determination to get Cas to the angel compound and the episode title and that Hael is the artwork for this episode and that the boys keep mentioning her and Gabriel and hoping the boys get there quick or Gabe shows up looking for his "delinquent" brother and all will be well. Cas won't die. Gabe can scream at him when he's all better and ground him in a pocket dimension until the Winchesters die or the Apocalypse ends, whichever comes first, for all I care. But he'll be fine. If not - I don't want to hear it just yet; I'll just continue living in the land of denial!

Do you see why I read multiple pieces at the same time now? I have to read something else now - and throughout the weekend - in order to get the final image of this story out of my head. Because that's all I'm going to see, Castiel dying in the back of a black SUV six hours from Camp Chitaqua.

What an awesome chapter and I seriously can't wait for Monday's conclusion!

I am glad that Sam was able to find a vehicle to get them back, now I just hope they will make the trip safely. I don't know how Gabriel or Hael will be able to help Cas, but I hope they can, and that they are available. This so sucks, that they have to drive all of the way back now, with Cas so grievously injured. :(