Everyone Deserves a Chance to Fly

I do not own Supernatural in any way.

A/N - Welcome to the second to last story in the Castiel/Celeste series.

Castiel stood there and waited for them to bow down.

"Well, all right then", Bobby said as he knelt down, "Is this good, or you want the whole "forehead to the carpet" thing? Guys?"

Sam and Dean started to kneel, while Celeste stood defiantly.

"Stop. What's the point if you don't mean it? You fear me. Not love, not respect, just fear", Castiel told them.

"Cass..." Sam said.

"Sam, you have nothing to say to me; you stabbed me in the back", Castiel said to him. He turned to Bobby and Dean and said, "Get up".

"Cass, come on, this isn't you", Dean told him.

"The Castiel you knew is gone", Castiel said.

"That's for damn sure", Celeste quipped.

"So what, then? Kill us?" Dean asked.

"What a brave little ant you are", Castiel spoke in a condescending tone, "You know you're powerless, you wouldn't dare move against me again. That would be pointless. So I have no need to kill you. Not now. Besides...once you were my favorite pets before you turned and bit me".

"Who are you?" Dean asked.

"I'm God. And if you stay in your place, you may live in my kingdom. If you rise up, I will strike you down. Not doing so well, are you Sam?" Castiel asked him.

Sam cleared his throat and said, "I'm fine. I'm fine".

"You said you would fix him - you promised!" Dean yelled.

"If you stood down, which you hardly did. Be thankful for my mercy. I could have cast you back into the pit", Castiel told him.

"Cass, come on, this is nuts! You can turn this around, please!" Dean pleaded.

"I hope for your sake this is the last you see me", Castiel said and disappeared with Celeste.

They reappeared in a meadow.

"Please understand…" Castiel said.

"How do you expect me to understand?! You're not yourself Cass. You're not the angel I fell in love with", she told him, "I love you Cass, but I will not stand by your side. Not this time".

"I wish you would reconsider", he said.

"What will happen if I don't? Will you kill me?" she asked.

Castiel walked up to her and placed his hands on her cheeks. "I would never kill you Celeste. You're my wife. As much as it pains me that you won't stand by my side, I respect your decision", he said. He pressed his lips to hers and tried to memorize how it felt. He knew that this could very well be the last time he ever saw her.

Or kissed her.

When Castiel pulled away, he said, "I will always love you, Celeste. No matter what, but I want you promise me one thing".

"Anything Cass", Celeste told him.

"If and when the time comes, will you do for me what you did for Balthazar?" he asked.

"Cass…you can't ask me to do that", she said.

"Please, Celeste. I couldn't bear it if I hurt someone", Castiel said.

"Okay", Celeste whispered as tears filled her eyes.

"Thank you", Castiel told her. He kissed her forehead and disappeared, leaving Celeste alone.

She could only think of one place to go.

Dean was crouched inside the crushed Impala.

"So, you fixin' her or primal screamin'?" Bobby asked.

Dean crawled out of the Impala and took the beer from Bobby. "Ah, thanks. How's Sam?" Dean asked.

"He's still under. But alive", Bobby told him.

"Yeah? What about God part deux?" Dean asked.

"I got all kinds of feelers out, so far diddly", Bobby said.

"I think I might be able to help with that", Celeste said appearing beside them.

Dean could tell she'd been crying.

"Cass has got me blocked, but Gabriel wasn't on anyone's side, so he's keeping an eye on Castiel", Celeste told them.

"What exactly do you think we're looking for?" Dean asked.

"Miracles, mass visions, trenchcoat on a tortilla? I don't know what I'm lookin' for", Bobby answered.

"Ah, well, he'll surface", Dean said.

"So say we do suss out where "new and improved" flew off to...the hell we plan to do about it?" Bobby asked.

"I don't know, Bobby, I got no more clue than you do", Dean told him.

"Before Cass disappeared, he asked me to do something for him", Celeste spoke up.

"What?" Dean asked.

Celeste took a deep breath and said, "He asked me…to do for him what I did for Balthazar. If anything is to happen to him, I'm not allowed to try and save him".

"Which means?" Bobby asked.

"If Gabriel and I were to try something against him…I don't think he'd fight back", she said.

"You would kill Castiel? The guy you've loved since you were 16?" Dean asked her.

"He said he couldn't bear it if he hurt someone", Celeste said.

"Well, in the meantime, you know what I'm gonna do?" Dean asked them.

"What?" Bobby asked.

"I'm gonna fix this car. Because that's what I can do. I can work on her 'til she's mint. And when Sam wakes up, no matter what shape he's in, we'll glue him back together too. We owe him that", Dean said.

"I'm with you", Bobby said. Bobby went back inside as Dean crawled back into the Impala.

"You know you've got an archangel standing right here, right?" Celeste asked Dean.

"Yeah, but I need something to occupy my time", he told her.

Celeste was sitting next to the Impala when she heard something. She stood up and looked around.

"Celeste? You getting something on angel radio?" Dean asked.

She shushed him. She could hear voices.

They were whispering Castiel's name.

She suddenly felt sick and doubled over, grabbing onto the Impala for support.

Sam and Dean were at her side.

"Whoa there", Dean said as her knees gave out.

The boys lowered her to the ground.

"Celeste. What's wrong?" Dean asked her.

"I don't know", she said softly, "Something's wrong with Cass". Celeste closed her eyes and concentrated, silencing the voices. She went limp in Dean's arms.

"Let's get her inside", Dean said picking her up. He carried her inside and laid her down on the couch.

When Celeste woke up, she could hear voices.

"Do you think we should tell her?" Sam asked.

"No way", Dean said, "She's got enough on her plate as it is".

"Are you sure you're not siding with her because of your feelings for her?" Bobby asked.

"I don't have feelings for her!" Dean snapped.

Celeste got up and followed the sound of the arguing into the kitchen.

"I'm just saying that we should tell, Celeste", Dean said.

"Tell me what?" Celeste asked.

The three men turned around.

"Umm…" Dean said.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"The sudden deaths of some 200 religious leaders are currently under investigation. The Vatican has yet to issue a statement, but some are already calling this an act of God", she heard. She pushed the men aside.

"We all saw him. No beard, no robe. He was young...and...and sexy. He had a raincoat", a woman said.

Celeste gasped. "Tell me he didn't", she breathed.

"We don't know for sure", Dean said.

"I'm afraid it is", another voice said.

"Please tell me it's not Cass, Gabe", Celeste said.

"I'm not going to lie to you Baby Girl", he said, "Cass is gone".

"We can't just sit here and do nothing!" Celeste yelled.

The group jumped as a light bulb exploded.

Celeste stormed out to the junk yard, anger flooding her veins.

The car windows around her burst, glass raining everywhere.

Two arms wrapped around her.

"Easy there", Dean's deep voice said.

Celeste leaned back into his arms.

"We'll find him", Dean told her.

"And then what?" she asked him.

"We'll figure that out", he said, "I promise".

Reports kept flooding in throughout the day.

"He is off the deep end of the deep end. And there's no slowing down", Dean said.

"So, what? Try to talk to him again?" Sam asked.

"Sam", Dean sighed.

"Dean, all we can do is talk to the guy", Sam told him.

"He's not a guy. He's God. And he's pissed. And when God gets righteous, you get the hell out of the way; haven't you read the Bible?" Dean snapped.

"I guess..." Sam said.

"Cass is never coming back. He's lied to us, he used us, he cracked your gourd like it was nothing. No more talk; we have spent enough on him", Dean said.

"Okay", Sam relented.

"Hand me that socket wrench", Dean told him. Later that night, Dean entered Celeste's bedroom. "How are you doing?" he asked her.

"I miss him", Celeste told him, "I know it's stupid".

"No. It's not", Dean said sitting next to her.

Celeste turned her head and her golden eyes met Dean's green ones.

"We'll fix him", he told her.

"What if you can't?" she asked him.

Dean couldn't give her answer.

Celeste's eyes drifted down to Dean's lips. She leaned in and kissed him.

Dean froze and then jumped up from the bed.

"I'm sorry", Celeste cried.

"I want to", Dean told her, "Trust me when I say I do…but you're meant to be with Cass".

"How can you know that?!" she yelled.

"Because I've seen it!" he yelled back, "When Zachariah sent me to the future…you and Cass were married with children. You made me promise not to tell you".

"So why are you telling me now?" she asked him.

"Because you need something to fight for right now. So fight for a future with Cass. Don't give up", he told her.

Celeste wondered how she came to be standing in a ring of Holy Fire the next day.

Why the hell had she volunteered for this?

"You don't have to bind death", she had told them, "Use me".

"No", Dean snapped.

"I'm his one weakness. You know that. He would do anything for me", she said, "Please Dean".

They grabbed the Holy Oil and drew a circle around Celeste.

"Are you ready?" Dean asked her.

She nodded.

He struck a match and dropped it.

Celeste yelped as flames jumped up.

The heat was unbearable.

Her body went into a panic as she tried to escape. She screamed as the flames licked her skin.

"You dare hurt the one I care about?" Castiel said appearing. Castiel snapped his fingers and the flames disappeared.

Celeste collapsed in relief as her body began healing itself.

"I didn't want to kill you, but now..." Castiel said.

"Cass, please", Celeste begged. She struggled to her feet and looked at Castiel.

His face was covered in sores.

"Cass? What's wrong with you?" she asked him. She placed her hands on his face and tried to heal him, but it wasn't working.

"Your vessel's melting. You're going to explode", Gabriel said appearing in the room.

"No, I'm not. When I've finished my work, I'll repair myself", Castiel told him.

"You think you can because you think you're simply under the weight of all those souls, yes? But that's not the worst problem. There are things much older than souls in Purgatory, and you gulped those in, too", Gabriel said.

"Irrelevant. I control them", Castiel insisted.

"For the moment", Gabriel said.

"Wait - uh, what older things?" Dean asked.

"Long before Father created Angel and you muttonheads, he made the first beasts - the Leviathans", Gabriel told him.

"Leviathans?" Dean asked.

"I personally found them entertaining, but he was concerned they'd chomp the entire petri dish, so he locked them away. Why do you think he created Purgatory? To keep those clever, poisonous things out. Now Castiel has swallowed them. He's the one thin membrane between the old ones and your home", Gabriel explained.

"Enough", Castiel said.

Gabriel stood down as Castiel disappeared.

Celeste was in her bedroom when she felt it. "Cass!" she yelled running down the stairs. She found him in the kitchen with the boys. "Cass!" she breathed.

"I need help", he said.

They got Castiel to the lab and Celeste sat by his side on the floor.

"We need the right blood. There's a small jar - end of the hall, s-supply closet", Castiel told Sam.

"Got it", Sam said and left.

"Dean?" Castiel asked.

"What, you need something else?" Dean asked him.

"No. I feel regret, about you and what I did to Sam", Castiel told him.

"Yeah, well, you should", Dean said.

"If there was time, if I was strong enough, I'd - I'd fix him now. I just wanted to make amends before I die", Castiel said.

"You're not going to die Cass", Celeste told him.

"Is it working?" Castiel asked.

"Does it make you feel better?" Dean asked him.

"No. You?" Castiel asked.

"Not a bit", Dean said. Dean left to go look for Sam and came back with the jar of blood. Dean drew the symbol on the wall.

"That's good enough. Okay, step right up, Cass", Bobby said. Bobby recited the spell and the portal started to open.

Castiel turned back and said, "I'm sorry, Dean". He turned to look at Celeste. "I love you", he said.

There was a bright light and all the souls from Purgatory exited Castiel's body.

Castiel dropped to the ground.

Celeste ran to his side. "Cass, come on. Wake up", she begged, "He's not breathing!" She placed her hands on his chest.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked her.

"Ripping out part of my grace", she said. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Sweetheart", Gabriel.

"No! I can do this!" she said shoving Gabriel's hand from her shoulder.

Gabriel grabbed her and brought her forearms up to her chest.

"Stop it Gabriel!" she yelled, "I can help him".

"He's gone", Gabriel told her.

"No", she said tears dripping from her eyes, "No. He's not. He can't be". Celeste hung her head and started to cry. Gut wrenching sobs. "Cass!" she cried, "You promised you bastard. You promised you'd never leave me".

The lights began to flicker.

"I need to get her out of here", Gabriel said. Gabriel stood up taking Celeste with him.

"No! No!" she yelled, struggling to get back to Castiel's body. "Please", she begged, "Don't take me away from him".

Gabriel turned Celeste around in his arms and took her face in his hands. "Castiel is gone. Let's get you home before you blow up the place", Gabriel said.

"But…I don't want to leave him", she said.

"I know Baby Girl, but we can't help him right now", Gabriel told her, "Now come on".

She looked back at Castiel's body. She took off the cross necklace that Gabriel had given her and placed it around Castiel's neck. She leaned down and kissed his forehead.

Gabriel put his hand on her shoulder and they vanished.