21

Blood Oath

"Mm, mm, no," Dean groaned, face contorting in pain. "No, please…Sa-am…Sammy…God, Alastair please!"

"Dean, Dean, wake up!" Sam shook him lightly, worry in his eyes.

"Sammy, help me," he begged, voice cracking. Sam's heart followed suit. "No, no it hurts, please!"

"Dean!"

Dean's eyes snapped open, his breath coming in gasps. A tear leaked from one of his eyes as he squinted against the bright sunlight. "Sammy…"

"Shh, Dean, I'm here, I'm right here. Shh…" He scooped Dean into a hug, trying to get him back to sleep before he came to his senses and jerked away.

"Sam," he choked.

"Shh, go to sleep, go back to sleep."

"Wh-what time is it?"

"About noon. You've only slept for about three hours, go back to bed." He lied him back down, rubbing his forehead. "Shh, sleep, Dean. Go to sleep."

"Sammy, please!"

"Shh…" He gently pushed him back down. "I'm here, I'm right here. He can't hurt you if I'm here, okay? It's okay, Dean. Shh…"

"Y-you were never here before," Dean whimpered, still too asleep to fully comprehend what he was saying. Sam felt another kick in his gut.

"I know, I know," he said, smiling a little. "But, I'm here now, okay? Go back to sleep, Dean. It'll be better when you wake up." Slowly, Dean's eyes fluttered closed, his hand in a vice in Sam's, knuckles white. "I'm not gonna leave you again, Dean. I'm gonna stay right here."

Lisbon was still with Patrick, absently stroking his curls back, praying with all her might that he would be okay.

He looked around. The place was quiet, peaceful, but he had no idea where he was. Fog rolled around his legs, the sunlight warm on his face. There was no pain here. No tears. No blood. No Red John. Just peace. Beautiful peace.

"Patrick." He turned.

"Castiel?" He frowned. The angel stood before him, looking no different than he usually did. Well, he didn't look nearly as tired as he had before. "What are you doing here?"

"You need to see something," he said. "Do you know where you are?" Patrick looked around. There was nothing here. Absolutely nothing. Just the sky, the horizon, and the fog. He shook his head.

"This is what you once thought of as Heaven. In your mind, it is. Therefore, to you, it is." A thin drip of blood started to come from the angel's nose. "We can't be here long. I'm dying."

Patrick's eyes grew. "Why are we here?" He stammered.

He got his answer a moment later.

A warm hand touched his shoulder. "Patrick?"

He spun around.

She was beautiful. Her bright smile, warm eyes. He kissed her without another second's hesitation, hugging her. This is how he wanted to see her. This felt right, this felt like her.

"Baby, what are you doing here?" She smiled.

"Daddy!" She was running at him, grinning ear to ear, curls bouncing in their pigtails. He knelt down, catching her, smiling, tears rolling down his cheeks, standing with her in his arms, swinging her around. "What'chu doin', Daddy? Mommy, you said Daddy wouldn't be here for long time!"

"He isn't staying," Castiel said, his knees shaking.

"Hey, there, princess," Patrick smiled, kissing her cheek. "You look absolutely beautiful." The little girl giggled.

"I missed you, Daddy."

"I-I missed you too, sweetheart."

"Patrick…" Castiel croaked, his whole body trembling.

His wife touched his face. "I don't blame you, baby," she whispered. "It wasn't your fault." She kissed him softly, hugging him close. "I'll miss you."

"C-can't I stay here?" He asked quietly. She smiled knowingly.

"Not yet. It's not your time yet, okay? And don't try to get up here quicker, either. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Goodbye, Daddy." He smiled at his child, sniffing.

"Goodbye, sweetie."

Castiel literally fell into him. A second later and he was back in that interrogation room, more at peace than he had been in a long, long time.

Castiel was in horrible pain. That had nearly killed him. His breath was ragged and wet, but he was happy he did it. Patrick Jane might be able to have a peaceful night sleep now.

"Cas?" Sam exclaimed, going to him. "Cas, what the hell happened?" The angel smiled a little, despite his pain.

"I think I did something right for once."

Both Sam and Lisbon were right. When Patrick and Dean woke up the following morning they denied that anything was bothering them at all.

"Sam, I'm fine, don't say it again," Dean growled. Sam sighed, dropping the subject.

It took Castiel a little longer to heal completely, and once he did, Sam and Dean knew they'd more than outstayed their welcome in Sacramento and needed to get the hell out of there.

"We don't know how to thank you," Van Pelt said. Dean smirked.

"Just lookin' at you's enough, sweetheart," he winked. She and Sam rolled their eyes. Rigsby cracked his knuckles.

"If you guys ever need anything," Sam said, handing Lisbon a phone number. "Just give us a call." She nodded.

"Rigsby, nice meetin' ya," Dean said, shaking his hand. "Cho," he raised his fist. Cho reciprocated. "Stay awesome." Cho nodded curtly.

"Nice meeting you all," Sam said. The others nodded.

"See you around," Patrick said, shaking Dean's hand. "And if you ever want to talk about those issues with your father-"

"Never gonna happen."

Patrick shrugged, grinning. "Worth a shot." Castiel walked with Sam toward the car, still tired.

Dean sighed, looking at Lisbon. "Alright, just because I know you're begging for it." He grabbed her waist, yanking him to him and kissing her. His lips were gentle, slowly. Lisbon gasped, freezing for a moment before melting in his arms.

"Damn," Cho said, handing Patrick a twenty. Patrick pocketed it, grinning.

"Bye, sweetheart," Dean whispered, letting her go.

She stood there, smiling stupidly, cheeks pinked.

Dean smiled, satisfied with himself and got into the Impala.

"Bye, Castiel!" Van Pelt called, smiling a fraction. Rigsby's eyes grew as he looked at her. Patrick grinned again.

"Damn." Cho handed him another twenty.

The car started with a roar, rumbling down the street, both brothers giving a final wave before disappearing down the road.

"Think Dean'll be alright?"

"Oh yeah," Patrick said. "Give it a week and he'll drink it away."

"By the way," Lisbon said, turning to Cho. "Thanks for saving our asses." Patrick grinned.

"I've said it once, I'll say it again," Patrick grinned, dimples huge. "Ain't no business like Cho business."

"Well I'm out forty bucks so I guess I should step it up a little."

Patrick sighed. "So, tea anyone?" He stepped back into the office building, Van Pelt and Rigsby in tow.

"Keep an eye on him, would ya?" She asked quietly. Cho nodded shortly.

"No need, Lisbon, I'm fine!" Patrick called. She shook her head.

Well, at least things were back to normal.

THE

END

-It's been a helluva ride, folks and I thank everyone that read and reviewed. Hope to hear from you all again and thank you SOOO much! God Bless and happy reading!-