Well, final chapter! Thanks again to all the people who read and reviewed this :)

Chapter Eight

Dean felt himself waking up and almost didn't want to. Even drifting in a half awake state, he was unsure of what he would wake to. At the moment, he couldn't really remember anything from before, but he knew there had been bad stuff going on and he wasn't really thrilled with the idea of facing that.

But as his body seemed to insist on waking, he began to become more aware of his surroundings. He was lying on something soft, something warm tucked around him. He had a slight moment of panic as he thought he couldn't move, but then shifted his arm to one side, feeling the slide of sheets and blanket against his skin instead of the resistance of chains.

He blinked his eyes open.

His vision was bleary at first, but once it cleared, he saw he was in his room, back home at the bunker.

He closed his eyes again with relief, and brought a hand up to his stomach where he remembered pain, but there was nothing there, not even bandages. He took stock of the rest of his body. He was sore, tired, but seemed to be okay otherwise.

Memories suddenly flooded back, and he jerked into a sitting position with a gasp. The movement made him lightheaded, but he was certain of only one thing and that was all that mattered.

Michael was no longer inside of him. He was free.

"Dean!"

A shuffling came from one side of the bed and he turned to see Sam starting from a chair and moving to the side of the bed, grabbing his shoulder.

"Dean, are you okay?" he asked, eyes full of concern, and yet overwhelmed with relief.

Dean took several deep breaths to pull more oxygen into his body as his vision cleared again and focused on his brother. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I am."

Sam gave a wan smile and then simply pulled Dean into a firm embrace. Dean grunted slightly, but happily returned the hug. He was just as glad to be back as he knew Sam probably was to have him there. Just feeling the sensation of his arms around his brother, his fingers curling into the material of Sam's shirt, and the scent of that fancy shampoo Sam used assaulting his nose from where he had his face pressed against his brother's neck…all these sensations seemed to ground him, let him know his body was his once again.

Sam finally pulled back, sniffing slightly. "You've been asleep for almost two days. Cas said you would need time to recover, but we were getting a little worried."

Dean smiled. "Well, I feel okay now. Little tired, but I don't think I'm dying." He sobered as he saw Sam's face, and then asked. "Michael?"

"Dead," Sam told him firmly.

"What about everyone else? They okay?" Dean asked, glancing toward the door worriedly.

Sam smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, they're all fine. They'll be glad you're awake. Jack is even adjusting better, Cas and I are teaching him how to fight. Oh, and Gabriel is up running Heaven now."

Dean frowned. "Gabe?"

"Yeah, he's not actually dead."

Dean snorted. He should have known better than to trust any death scene that involved the former trickster. "Figures. Glad to hear it, though."

He was interrupted as his stomach growled and he suddenly realized just how hungry he was. "Oh god, I'm starving."

Sam chuckled and stood from the bed. "Yeah. Possession will do that to you. You feel up to getting out of bed?"

Dean stood with Sam's help and wobbled slightly, somewhat dizzy on his feet, but he made it out the door and toward the kitchen and only had to use Sam's shoulder to steady himself a couple times.

When they got to the kitchen, Mom was there pouring a cup of coffee.

"Hey Mom, look who's up," Sam said.

Mom glanced up with a relieved smile. "Dean!" She came forward and hugged him tightly. He leaned over to rest his chin on her shoulder for a long moment. He probably wasn't going to get over being back in control of his own body for a while.

"Hey, Mom," he said softly.

"Dean!"

He turned around as soon as Mom had released him and was instantly embraced by Jack. He staggered slightly, but chuckled, returning the kid's hug and pressing a hand to the back of his head before ruffling his hair slightly.

"Hey, kid, I'm glad to see you're doing okay."

"You too, Dean."

Dean looked up and saw Cas next who pulled Dean firmly into another hug after Jack had released him. Dean sagged against his best friend for a moment before Cas pushed him back to arm's length.

"Don't you ever do that again," the angel ground out.

Dean swallowed hard. "I'm not planning on it."

Cas' face softened then and he gripped Dean's shoulder tighter. "It's good to have you back."

They all proceeded to treat Dean like a king. Making sure he was comfortable at the table and bringing him food.

Once Dean had wolfed down two sandwiches and three glasses of water, he felt a little more energy spring up inside of him, but he still figured it would be a couple more days before he was going to be fully recovered. Really, he just wanted to go back to bed, even though he'd apparently slept for the better part of two days. He still wasn't completely sure of what had happened. Thought they were probably waiting for him to recover to bring it up, but he supposed that it didn't really matter. Everyone was safe, alive. And the world didn't seem to be broken so that was a plus.

Mom cast him a concerned look across the table. "You okay, Dean?"

He blinked, coming back to reality, and rubbing a hand across his forehead. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just, tired."

"It might take you a few days to feel…yourself again," Cas told him gently. "The binding spell, the injuries Michael gave you while you were trapped in your own body—those are not so simple for Gabriel and I to fix."

"Maybe you should go lay down again for a while, read or watch something," Sam suggested. "Trust me, I remember how exhausted I was after Gadreel."

Dean consented, mainly because he was really too tired to put up much of an argument. Besides, how many times did he really get the opportunity to lay in bed all day?

"Alright, fine." He staggered a little getting up from the table, and everyone surged to their feet to help him.

Dean huffed in annoyance. "This though, has to stop. Look, guys, I'm back, and I'm freakin' thrilled, but I'm still me—well, I am now. I'm not just gonna fall apart on you, I've taken worse hits."

Sam pressed his lips together, but stepped back. "I know. Just get some rest, Dean. Jack, how about we go do some more training?"

The ex-nephillim went off with Sam, and Cas took Dean's elbow to steady him back to his room. Dean rolled his eyes, but he allowed the angel that much. He knew he wasn't any better when his family had been hurt.

They made it back to his room and Dean collapsed onto his bed, unable to help a sigh of relief as it cushioned his achy body.

Cas stood by the bed, looking down at him, making no move to leave. "Dean, may I assess your healing?"

Dean rolled his eyes slightly again, but figured Cas wasn't going to leave until he humored him. "Fine, go ahead."

Cas pressed a hand to his forehead and Dean felt the slight warmth of grace spark through his body. Cas pulled away after a long moment but looked satisfied.

"The damage Michael did is almost completely gone. You'll be fully recovered within a few more days as long as you don't insist on going right back out hunting again."

Dean snorted. "I think I'm gonna enjoy taking a couple sick days to relax. After all, I haven't really gotten a chance to use the Fortress of Deanitude yet."

Cas looked confused, but didn't comment. Dean thought of the discussion he'd had with Sam, that seemed so long ago now, about retirement and what they would do if they knew the world was safe. He knew it wasn't going to happen soon, maybe not even in their lifetime, but…maybe they didn't have to give up on that dream entirely. Maybe they could take some time off every once in a while. Go to the beach for a vacation. That at least, they had earned in spades.

But right now, he was going to rest.

Except there was still an angel standing beside his bed, watching him.

Dean shifted to sit up against his pillows and cocked an eyebrow at his friend. What's on your mind, Cas?"

The angel was silent for a long moment, but then he finally opened his mouth to speak. "Dean…look, I understand why you said yes to Michael, but…you can't just be the only one to make those decisions, you can't just throw your life away."

Dean furrowed his brow, unable to help feeling a little defensive. "Like you did with Lucifer?"

"Exactly," Cas stated firmly. "Which you called me out for, saying that we couldn't do things like that anymore. That applies to you too, Dean."

"Well, yeah, but—" Dean stopped as he saw the almost stricken look on Cas' face. The angel shifted uncomfortably, jaw tight as he seemed to be searching for the right words to say. "Cas, what is it, man?"

"Do you remember why I rebelled, Dean?" Cas asked him finally.

Dean cocked his head to one side. "Yeah, because the angels were wrong and you didn't want any part of that."

Cas shook his head. "No, because you showed me that there was something wrong. That there was another way, that destiny didn't have to be written in stone. Because the man who had been destined all his life for the purpose of being a vessel of Heaven, stood up and said he was not going to do it. That he was going to find another way, a better way, to save the world. I believed in you then, and for good reason, you and Sam stopped the apocalypse from happening at all. And so you have to see why it pains me so much now to have seen you simply say yes to Michael—another Michael, yes, another situation and years later, but it was so easy for you to make that decision."

"Sam and Jack were in trouble, I—" he started but Cas cut him off, his fist clenching.

"After everything, you still ended up doing the one thing you promised never to do. And you didn't even give it a second thought." Dean watched his friend as Cas spoke, obviously saying something he'd been holding in this whole time. "You were gone and there was nothing I could do about it. It made me wonder whether there was any reason for defying destiny at all. Whether it doesn't matter; if the past will catch up to you anyway, no matter what path you choose."

"Cas," Dean said quietly, and then rubbed a hand over his face, not sure what to say. "Man, you know I don't regret what I did, just the consequences of what happened."

"I know," Cas replied blandly. "I would never have expected you to. I guess I just feel that if we can't even stop this, then what else can we not stop? These, unnamed 'cosmic consequences' Billie warned of, Heaven's inevitable demise…we've always tried to help people, but how can we if what we do only causes more harm than anything?"

Dean swallowed hard, knowing that Cas had a valid point, but at the same time, he wondered how much of themselves they could really hope to change? After all, none of them had ever done anything stupid or bad for the wrong reasons. Their actions may have been slightly misdirected, but they were all with the best of intentions.

"Cas," Dean spoke up quietly, seeing how tense his friend was. "We've all been there, you know that. We've all felt like what we do does more harm than good, but at the end of the day, the world is still here, and that's really only because of what we've done. Even now, we stopped Michael from destroying the world again." Maybe even partly because Dean had said yes, but he didn't want to actually mention that out loud to Cas right now. "And Lucifer is dead for good." He swallowed hard, and gave a firm nod, remembering the blatant look of relief in Sam's eyes when he realized what Dean had done. That was actually the last thing he had seen before Michael took him over completely and it had kind of made the whole, messy, situation worth it. "I can't see that as a bad thing." Cas sagged a little, his eyes showing relief as well. "And you even saved me without causing any other cosmic consequences."

Cas nodded, shifting slightly. "And it turned out all right this time, but what if next time it doesn't? We can't keep taking these chances, especially unnecessarily. I can't watch my family sacrifice themselves anymore. When I said before that I would do anything necessary to protect the people I love…" he shook his head and glanced up, emotion heavy in his eyes. "Sometimes, it scares me, the extents I will go to."

Dean nodded in agreement. "I know, Cas," Dean said. "It scares me too." He looked up at his friend and reached out to grip his arm so Cas turned back to him. "And for the record, man, I am sorry for what I had to do. I'm sorry you had to be the one to watch that."

The anger seemed to finally ease out of Cas, and a small wry smile appeared on his lips. "I know." He returned Dean's grip until they were both gripping each other's forearms in a warrior-like grasp. "I'm glad to have you back, Dean."

Dean smiled back and squeezed once before releasing Cas, lying back on the bed. "Glad to be back."

"You should rest," Cas said firmly. "You need to get your strength back."

Dean didn't protest, simply huffed and watched his friend leave the room.

Soon his eyes closed and he was out.

Sam woke him later to join them for supper. He'd gone to get Dean a bacon cheeseburger with chili fries and Dean grinned in thanks as he eagerly dug into the food.

During dinner, they chatted casually, and Jack told him about how Sam and Cas were training him how to use weapons now.

"He's a crack shot," Sam said, with a proud smile.

"He's getting better at hand to hand too," Cas added as Jack ducked his head with a shrug, but a small smile on his face.

Dean grinned. "Oh yeah? Well, when I'm back in shape, you and I will have to do some sparring. I'll teach you a few moves these two probably wouldn't think of. After all, in the heat of battle, you can't always fight fair."

"Already taught him those," Mom spoke up with a small smirk. Dean grinned. He wasn't exactly surprised.

When he was finished he pushed himself up from the table, still a little wobbly, but not as dizzy as before. His nap and all the food had made him feel a little better. "What do you say we have a movie night? Who's gonna make the popcorn?"

"I will," Sam said with a smile.

Jack eagerly perked up. "Can we watch Star Wars?"

Dean grinned, but reached out to ruffle the boy's hair. "Sure kid, that sounds good."

They all gathered into Dean's entertainment room, munching popcorn and discussing the movies together, and Dean looked around at his family, feeling glad to be back. Sam caught his eye during the movie and smiled and Dean nodded back.

Once it was over, he was slightly put out to find himself ready to sleep again, but Cas had assured him this is how he would feel for a few days still. And he did remember Sam always conking out after the Gadreel debacle so figured it was normal for angelic possession rehab. Plus Michael was an archangel and had beaten the crap out of his soul, so…yeah, he was entitled to being tired.

He smiled fondly over at Jack who had already fallen asleep against Sam's shoulder, looking even younger than he usually did. Dean hoped he would sleep well tonight, no nightmares.

Mom rose from her seat and leaned over Dean, stroking his hair and kissing his cheek. "I'm off to bed. I'm glad you're feeling better, honey."

Dean felt warmth fill him like it always did with the realization that he actually had his mother back.

"I guess we should probably be getting to bed too," Dean said, and glanced at Jack with a smirk. "You gonna carry him to his room?"

Sam glanced down at the ex-nephillim, and smiled fondly. "I don't want to disturb him. He hasn't slept well for a while."

"I've got him," Cas said and stood up, moving over to stoop beside the couch and surprised them by gently sliding his arms underneath Jack to lift him effortlessly. Jack snuffled slightly but didn't wake.

Dean felt partly responsible for Jack not sleeping well. He knew Sam and Mom probably hadn't slept either.

Sam's eyes were on him, seeming to see the inner turmoil. His gaze softened. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Dean sighed, and rubbed a hand over his face. "Sammy, I just…I'm not going to apologize for what I did, because it felt like the only option, and Lucifer is dead, and in my book, that's a win. But I am sorry for what I put you through, and hell, I know."

Sam nodded. "I know you understand, Dean, and I know this probably won't be the last time something like this happens either. But…I don't know, maybe it's time to reevaluate our mission again."

"I was thinking the same thing," Dean agreed. "Look, bottom line, we're family. We're never going to be able to let each other go, it's always going to hurt to see someone do something that could get one of us killed. But I think we need to have a new rule. We all make tough decisions together. No working behind each other's backs, no running off, desperate, and doing things we're gonna regret later." Cas came back into the room, leaning against the doorjamb to listen and Dean nodded to him and Sam both. "We'll protect each other like always, but…I know, I know that involves trust too. Fighting shoulder to shoulder instead of pushing everyone else aside just to keep them safe. I mean, hell, we're all warriors; we need to put up a united front to protect the people who can't protect themselves."

Sam smiled. "Like you've said before, Dean, we're stronger together."

"And I need to remember that," Dean said wryly. "It was my rule, after all."

"And who knows what the future holds," Cas added. "Perhaps someday, we won't have to fight anymore."

"But until then," Dean said, looking between his brothers, "We keep doing what we always have done. Saving people."

They were silent for a long moment before Cas took a deep breath and said. "Perhaps we can also promise not to do things without the other's knowledge. Always go into battle together unless we can't avoid it."

"Have each other's backs," Sam added.

Dean nodded. "And that's our new policy. Always have each others' backs. Unless you're going to do something monumentally stupid."

Sam and Cas both snorted, but they smiled too. "Yeah, then we do what we can to stop that from happening."

Dean glanced between his brothers, eyebrows raised. "So we good?"

"Of course, Dean," Cas replied sincerely.

Sam smiled and nodded and then Dean was unable to help a yawn. Sam chuckled.

"Looks like you need to get to bed too. Need me to carry you?"

"Shut up," Dean grumbled good-naturedly. "Your old bones couldn't handle me."

"Damn straight, not with all the burgers and pie you eat," Sam retorted.

Dean glared at him indignantly. "Okay, one, I'm not going to apologize for my diet, and two, when was the last time I had to buy a new size of jeans?"

"Oh, so you're not counting the number of times you've had to let your belt out a hole?"

"Bitch," Dean snapped.

"Jerk," Sam replied instantly. Cas watched with a fond smile as he stood up.

"I'm going to go check on Jack. Sleep well, Dean."

Dean nodded and couldn't help the small smile flitting over his face. Sam smiled back and his eyes told what he was really thinking. "I'm glad to have you back, man."

Dean leaned back in his chair, looking around at his little spot of comfort, of home, knowing that no matter what happened in the future, he would have a place and people where he could go to escape the horrors of the world at least for a while.

"I'm glad to be back," he said and then closed his eyes, looking forward to a little rest before they all had to get back to work.

After all, they couldn't retire quite yet; there were still people to save.

Friday, I'm going to change it up and post a one-shot for Criminal Minds so anyone who is interested in that, be sure to check it out :) After that, we're back to regularly scheduled SPN posts.

Thanks for reading!