To the Death

Entering the town, Sam parked the impala outside a motel and headed inside to grab them a room, leaving Dean in the car with Kacey who was sleeping. He returned quickly and they gently moved her into the room they had been allocated, laying her on one of the beds.

"How do you think this works?" Sam asked after a long silence.

"I don't have a clue man, this is way beyond my hunter know how… as far as I know angels don't exist but hell, if demons do then why not angels," Dean replied, running his hand over his face.

"Bobby said that they were seen only by those on the brink of death, which means only Kacey would be able to see them."

"Except your circumstances are a little different to the others who have seen us," came a voice from behind them.

Sam and Dean both stood with their guns raised, staring at the man who had appeared out of nowhere and edged a little closer to Kacey who was still out cold on the bed.

"Who are you?" Dean inquired.

“My name is Castiel… I’m here to try and help.”

“What do you mean try?” Sam added.

“I am an angel of the lord, but I am not capable of performing miracles,” Castiel told them, his voice void of emotion, “The ritual your friend did to stop the battle was powerful, I have no idea what damage it has done so far and that means that I may be too late to save her.”

“You’ll try though?” Dean asked, glancing over at Kacey and then back to Castiel.

“I will try.”

Looking over at Sam, Dean thought about their options before once again turning back to Castiel and nodding. Moving to Kacey’s side, Castiel placed two fingers on her forehead and closed his eyes.

The brothers watched closely as a white light shone throughout Kacey’s body, causing her hands to ball into fists and Dean couldn’t help tensing at the sight. It was a few minutes before Castiel removed his fingers, stepping back and turning to face the brothers.

“What’s the verdict?” Sam said.

“The affects of the ritual have progressed a lot faster than they should have… there’s nothing that I can do,” Castiel informed them, a tiny glimpse of sadness flashing across his face.

“Can you tell how long she has?” Dean inquired.

“An hour.”

Dean and Sam stood staring at Kacey, hearing the flutter of wings and turning to find that Castiel was gone. Not knowing how to handle the surge of emotions running through him, Dean grabbed his leather jacket and left the motel room.

**

Hearing Kacey moan in pain, Sam wiped the tears from his eyes and made his way over to her. Her eyes opened as he took a seat on the bed beside her and took her hand, offering her a sad smile.

“You did everything you could,” Kacey mumbled, squeezing Sam’s hand weakly, “I knew there was nothing that could be done.”

“It’s not right,” Sam replied, the tears unstoppable as they rolled down his cheeks.

“Where’s Dean?”

“He’ll be back soon,” Sam responded, hoping that he was telling her the truth.

“You can’t let him become like your dad, Sam,” Kacey told him, “He’s better than that… you’re both better men than your dad.”

“I’d never let him become like our dad or yours.”

**

Dean had been sitting in the Impala, which he had parked at the side of the road, for twenty minutes and stared out the window. He knew that Kacey needed him, knew that he needed to be there for her and so, with a deep breath, he headed back to the motel.

Climbing out of the car, Dean fished the room key from his pocket and made his way over to the room. Freezing with the key in the lock, Dean steeled himself and opened the door, finding Sam sitting at Kacey’s bedside.

Closing the door quietly behind him, Dean took off his jacket and made his way towards the bed. He felt scared… he felt helpless and it was a feeling that he didn’t like.

“Hey superman,” Kacey whispered, looking at him and offering him a weak smile, “Come over here.”

It was only then, that Dean realised he had stopped in the middle of the room and moved closer.

“I’m going to step outside for a little bit,” Sam stated as Dean sat down on Kacey’s bed and took her hand.

Dean watched as Sam left, before turning his attention back to Kacey and realising how pale she was.

“Dean?”

“Yeah Kace?”

“Will you lay with me?” Kacey asked.

Dean let go of her hand and lay down beside Kacey, putting his arm under her head. Kacey got comfortable, grimacing as she moved onto her side and laid her head on Dean’s chest.

“I don’t know what to say,” Dean admitted.

“Just talk to me,” Kacey told him, entwining her fingers with his and resting their hands beside her head.

“I’m not ready to say goodbye,” Dean mumbled, knowing that Kacey deserved his honesty, “Before you came along the idea of love was… I didn’t believe in love, I had one-night stands and quickies between cases. Then I met you and that changed, I wasn’t interested in messing around anymore… but I kept my emotions locked down just like I had been taught.”

“You opened up in the end.”

“Yeah, but by the time I decided I was ready to tell you it was too late and now… now I’m going to lose you.”

“It may sound cheesy but… I’m always with you, Dean,” Kacey reassured him, although Dean could see how hard it was for her to speak, “You’re my superman.”

“Always,” Dean replied, fighting back his emotions and falling silent.

Sam soon returned, sitting back beside the bed and they waited. The only sound that filled the room was Kacey’s laboured breathing, but soon it fell completely silent and Kacey’s grip on Dean’s hand became slack.

“I love you,” Dean whispered, kissing Kacey on the forehead and getting up off the bed.

“What do we do now?” Sam inquired, staring at Kacey’s lifeless body and allowing the tears he had been holding back to fall.

“She’s a hunter, we should salt and burn her body,” Dean suggested, his gaze falling on Kacey’s face and he shook his head, “I can’t… I can’t do that to her, we’ll take her back to Bobby’s and sort out somewhere to bury her.”

“Are you sure?”

“I need somewhere to come back to…” Dean told his brother without looking at him and he knew that Sam understood.