I
couldn't think of another title. The story runs from season 4 of
Supernatural when Castiel first shows up until near the end of season
9 (so far). Jimmy Novak, Castiel's vessel does not get screwed over as badly and
Sam prays to Cass after the mess with the blade. There's a season by
season summary of the show. From season 4 to season
15.
"My
superiors have begun to question my sympathies." Dean couldn't
believe what he was hearing. "I was getting too close to the
humans in my charge. You. They're concerned my judgment and
dedication may have been compromised.”
“Then
tell whoever's in charge, you do not want me doing this, trust me.”
“Want
it, no. But I've been told we need it.”
“Castiel,
I don't know how else to say this. If I walk into that room, if I
give in, you will not like what walks back out.”
“For
what it's worth, I would give anything Not to have you do this.”
Dean
closed his eyes. Castiel might have had the powers of an angel, but
in this matter he was powerless. He stepped through to door, face set
hard and cold. The bastard strung up on the devil's trap had tortured
him in hell for something like thirty years. Until finally he had
agreed to be the torturer. And now, he would be one again. He forced
himself to put the thought out of his mind. But he knew it would
haunt him for years to come.
Sounds
of pain came from the cold storage room; the moans were Alistair's,
not Dean's. Castiel stood with his back ramrod straight against the
wall, his arms firmly at his sides. He knew that his brethren were
watching him with intense scrutiny, but somehow guarding an already
triple-bolted room did not seem as important as intercession. And so
he closed his eyes. “avi
hakdush bioter. ani nichna lech bekal dvar shani osha. abel ani
mevaksh am ze efshri, azor le'ish haza. haser et hameshima hazu
mechtafav.”
“My
most holy Father. I submit to you in everything I do. But I must ask
if it is possible, help this man. Take this burden from his
shoulders.”
“What
exactly are you doing?” Uriel's voice interrupted rudely.
“You
know exactly what.” Castiel replied tersely.
“You
really are enamored of these little grease monkey aren't you?”
“When
God himself tells me to stop caring about His most glorious creation
which we are sworn to protect, I will stop. Until then I am his loyal
solider. And you are not foolish enough to suggest otherwise.
Besides, you and I both know Dean Winchester is more important to the
fight than you are making out.”
“...Unfortunately yes.”
“
Then I should do everything within my power to keep him safe.”
“There
is another, more sure way to win this fight.”
“Not
without sacrificing the final battle. Or have you forgotten our
ultimate enemy is Lucifer, not Alistair, and certainly not humanity.”
“Humanity
isn't worthy of being our concern, much less our enemy. And what of
our brother Lucifer, rotting in th cage, what did he do to deserve
that?”
“He
rebelled against God, corrupted our father's creation and out of
jealousy, ruined humanity.” Castiel replied. His voice was
measured, his eyes searching. Was Uriel suggesting what he seemed to
be suggesting? He kept his face impassive.
(Something
else goes here. I don't know what but there is a missing scene)
Dean
Winchester was lying unconscious in a hospital bed. The Devils trap
that had bound his 'prey' had been smudged and as a result the demon
had been freed. Castiel and Sam had eliminated the threat, but were
at a loss for explanations.
“Do
not let your sympathy for these monkeys blind you Castiel! Our father
doesn't care what any of us do. That I am even standing here is proof
of that!”
“You
killed our brothers and sisters. You attacked the garrison, killed
our fellow soldiers, fellow angels, then blamed it on Alistair and
his demons?”
“I
only killed the ones who said no.”
“And
now, if I say no, you'll kill me.”
“I
don't want to. I like you. More than that, I need you. I need you to
help me, help me free our brother Lucifer. All you have to do is take
a stand.”
“I
intend to.” Castiel faced Uriel, any hint of timidity gone.
“Despite my attachment to certain humans, you consider me a worthy
solider. I'm gratified. But you make one grave miscalculation.”
Castiel
drove his blade into Uriel's heart. “I am still a loyal acolyte of
God, no other. Not Dean Winchester not you.”
Dean
woke up in his hospital bed to find Castiel sitting beside him.
“Are
you alright?” The angel said with concern.
“No
thanks to you.”
“Dean
will you let me...” He raised his hand, reaching for Dean's broken
jaw.
“Cass,
I don't think you can.”
“Dean,
I feel I owe you that much.”
“What
will the others think.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Caring
for you is in accordance with our orders. They won't object. I don't
think I'd care if they did.” Castiel pressed his fingers against
Dean's forehead and immediately the swelling vanished. Dean's sight
was normal.
“Caring
for me is 'according to your orders'?”
“You
are aware, of what happened in Hell? Not what happened to you but,
when you escaped?” Dean nodded miserably. “We believe that, it is
written that the righteous man who begins this calamity, must be the
one to end it. It's why Michael is so eager to have you as his
vessel. And why no one objected to my attentions to you. Until now.”
Castiel
was staring at him again, his eyes soft but intense. “Dean, I hope
I haven't ruined our chance at a friendship.”
Dean
couldn't help smiling. For a solider of God surrounded by an army of
ass-hats, Castiel was pretty okay. Almost human. “No Castiel.
You've made a friend.”
“James,
what is going on?”
“I've
thought about...what you said. I stayed up all night thinking about
it.”
Jennifer
leaned in, her movements cautious, her attitude loving. “And?”
“I
can't fail him.” James Cole looked briefly at his wife and walked
sadly out of the house. Standing on his front porch, he looked up to
Heaven. “Castiel, promise my family will be okay, and I'll do it.”
A warm white light surrounded him, he closed his eyes. “Yes I
understand. And yes.” He felt a surge of energy. It wasn't painful
in the slightest, but warm, inviting. The light faded a moment later.
Jenny
ran out the door and found James standing in the yard.
“I
am not your husband.” James Cole's voice intoned.
“You...you're
Castiel.”
“Yes.
Your husband is truly a devout man. Believe me, he prayed for this.”
“I'm
not certain I can. But I do believe he accepted this, accepted you.”
“That
is all I can ask. I must go.” He began walking into the yard. He
turned back briefly. “I must go. I must find Dean
Winchester.” Castiel wondered off into the night. To find his
charge and although he didn't realize it, his destiny.
James
Cole sat in the living room he once shared with his wife.
“James,
you don't have to pretend. I know the truth.”
“About
Castiel, how?”
“He...he
talked to me, right after. I guess you don't remember but I ran out
after you. Castiel told me you had invited him in.”
“I
did. I asked him to make sure you and Claire were okay. I've
been...I'm not sure where I've been since then.”
“And
out of the blue, he just let go of you?”
James
shook his head slowly. “I get the feeling it was more like someone
yanked him out of me, angry at him. I have NO idea what's been going
on. Sam and Dean said they've been _Dean?”_ Yeah, they say they've
been working with Castiel off and on for almost a year. It's weird
they call him 'Cass'. Have then been here?”
“No.
It's just when Castiel left he said he needed to find Dean
Winchester.”
“This
is starting to make a weird sort of sense.”
“Jimmy,
I know that look. Why are you so concerned about them?”
“Not
them. They told me not to come here, that I was putting you in
danger.”
“You're
right they did.” A voice said from the other side of the room. Two
men stood in the doorway. “You should have listened to them.”
Claire
knelt beside her father, but James could see it wasn't his daughter. He knew the warm expression on her face belonged to the angel Castiel.
“James,
you have our gratitude. But your work is done. It's time to go home
now, your true home. Rest now James.”
“No,
Claire.”
“She's
with me now. She's chosen, and fierce, like you.”
“Please
Castiel, take me back. I'll be your vessel again.” He clutched
Claire's hand, shaking in both desperation and pain. “Just take me,
please.”
“I'm
not angry with you.” Castiel answered, thoroughly confused. Jimmy
shook his head sadly. There was no way he could explain to an angel,
what small a sacrifice he was making compared to having Claire taken
from him. “I want to make sure you understand. It may be a century
before I can leave again. You won't die, or age. You won't see your
family except in your memory.”
“It
doesn't matter. She didn't choose this, I did. Just take me, please!”
Castiel
sighed heavily. “As you wish.” He pressed two fingers against
James Cole's forehead and once again the surrounding air shone with
light.
Castiel
stood, Jenny didn't need told Castiel was back. He carried himself
with the same mild confusion and distant expression she'd seen on his
face a year earlier.
“Daddy,
where are you going?”
“He's
answering God's call.” Jennifer answered.
“But
we just got you back.” Claire all of 12 years insisted.
“I
am sorry Claire. I hope you'll forgive me. I hope you'll understand
one day. God put a call on my life, at least an angel did. I'm
answering that call.”
“Where
will you go?” Jennifer asked. It was all she could think to say.
“Wherever
my charge takes me, I suppose.” Castiel answered.
“God
be with you...Jimmy.” Jennifer offered with a warm smile.
Castiel
actually smiled back.
Castiel
approached the vehicle with Sam right behind him. The front seat and
the ground beside it were drenched in blood. “He survived, right?”
Sam inquired, or suggested, it was hard to tell sometimes.
“This
way.”
As
they searched for Gadreel, Castiel realized he was feeling shame. He
was still unclear on the details but apparently Gadreel had been
inside Sam's body for several weeks, healing him from devastating
injuries while hiding from the various angel factions. He'd called
himself 'Ezekiel' at the time, which made sense. Had he used his real
name, Castiel would never have allowed the Winchesters to accept his
assistance. With Crowley's help Gadreel had been expelled from Sam's
body.
And
sometime in the last few months had chosen to follow Metatron. Who he
soon came to realize was the most manipulative, dishonest and
insincere angel that could possibly exist. Two days ago he had come
to them with an olive branch. The truth of one of Metatron's most
insidious schemes and an offer to help bring him down. Armed with the
First Blade and having succumbed almost completely to it's power,
Dean had attacked him with the viciousness of a wild animal. But
Gadreel could hardly be expected to know the details. Castiel had
recently experienced hunger and loneliness, but could not imagine
feeling wounded and afraid on top of that. He saw a man lying face-up
in the grass. It was Gadreel. The man's eyes went wide with fear as
soon as he saw them. He tried to crawl away.
“Please,
I'll leave you alone, I swear.” He pleaded shakily.
'As
if I needed to feel worse about this whole mess' Cass thought to
himself. “We're not here to hurt you. Please believe me.” Cass
assured the man. He reached for Gadreel's forehead but the man held
up his hand, blocking him.
“No...your
Grace, healing me would only weaken you.”
Castiel
smiled grimly. “We are both soldiers of duty Gadreel. Do really I
need to explain why I have to do this?” Gadreel sighed but did not
protest further. Castiel touched Gadreel's forehead. The wound in his
stomach healed instantly. Cass lurched forward as if struck in the
back. Then stood, and lifted the man to his feet.
“Should
I ask why?' Gadreel inquired patiently.
“In
reference to what?”
“Why
you trust me? Why you healed me?”
Castiel
tried to hide how ridiculous the question sounded. “You mean aside
from the fact that I am indirectly responsible for your injuries? Sam
told me what you did while you were with him. Humans don't cling to
the past like we do. They don't have our arrogance. At least,” He
indicated Sam. “they
don't.”
“We
have that much in common at least.”
“They've
been my role models on many things these past few years. This is just
one more thing I'm learning from them.”
Sam
and Gadreel faced each-other.
“Gadreel.”
Sam Winchester said rather formally.
“Sam
Winchester.” The angel replied with solemnity. They looked at
each-other for a soft moment. “I am glad to see you are fully
recovered. I may have lied about my name but I am not, by my nature
dishonest.”
“I
understand. Believe me, we've all made mistakes. Pretty sure Cass and
I will spend the rest of..my lifespan making up for ours.”
Castiel
decided to push the conversation into areas of more immediate
concern.
“I
have no right to ask but I'm going to; will you come back to the
bunker with us?”
Castiel
could not blame Gadreel for tensing at his words.
Hoping
to reassure the man, Sam gave voice to his thoughts. “Dean
is locked in a storage room. He won't be able to hurt you, I
promise.”
“I
don't suppose I should ask what happened?”
Castiel
measured his reply. “Dean is not in control of his actions. His
mind is clouded, his emotions... amplified. Gadreel, I am asking you
to trust me. Return to the bunker with us, help us figure out a way
to expose Metatron, take him down.” Castiel stared hard at the
angelic solider, the former prisoner of heaven he had once sought to
punish for his deceit, and said three words. “Point. Of. Honor.”
“You
don't need to convince me Castiel. I trust you. I'll come.”
They
walked into the bunker together. Dean was no where to be found bu
this did not immediately seem concerning.
Gadreel
turned to Sam and ventured, almost conversationally. “You've helped
both of us to see the other clearly.”
“What
do you mean?”
“Castiel
and I met a few days ago. It was the beginning of both doubt and
clarity for me. I had seen him through your eyes. You consider him
honorable.”
“To
say the least.”
Gadreel
nodded in Castiel's direction. “He
says you're the reason he reached out to me that day. I wanted to
thank you.”
“Gadreel,
I didn't give a glowing report or anything. I just told him the
truth. Cass asked me what it was like when you possessed me. He asked
me if I felt your presence, I told him I had. He asked if I ever felt
threatened and I never did. From the way he was talking, he already
suspected we were wrong about you. I feel I should tell you, the one
thing I felt clearly when you were with me was that you weren't at
rest. That you felt like you had more to do and were desperate to get
it done. That's what I told him. Nothing more or less."
Gadreel
would not be put off so easily. His lingering feelings about his own
intrusion might have been driving him harder than he knew, but
regardless of anything else that was going on, he was determined to
make sure Sam knew what he really thought of him. “One thing I've
learned being on Earth these past months? With the exception of one
we both admire, “He nodded toward Castiel again. “my brothers and
sisters don't think much of humans. They obviously don't know you
very well.”
“Castiel,
I know you're angry. I also know you're our friend. Please, I'm not
offering an olive branch just because we need you. But we DO need you
Cass. Look I know you have every reason to tell me to get stuffed.
I'm not asking for myself. I've made my peace. But please, Dean
deserves better. Dean deserves a life.”
He
looks up to find Cass standing beside the pew. Wearing a much softer
expression than he'd expected. “You continue to humble me Sam. You
and your brother make a habit of exceeding my expectations.”
“Does
that mean you'll help him?” Sam replied, his voice rising.
“It
means I'll hold onto him and never let go as long as there's a small
chance that I can save him.”
“Castiel,
I know you're angry. I also know you're our friend. I'm not offering
an olive branch just because we need you. But we DO need you Cass.
Look, I know you have every reason to tell me to get stuffed. I'm not
asking for myself. I've made my peace. But please, Dean deserves
better. Dean deserves a life.” He looks up to find Cass standing
beside the pew, wearing a much softer expression than he'd expected.
“You
continue to humble me Sam. You and your brother make a habit of
exceeding my expectations.”
“Does
that mean you'll help him?” Sam replied, his voice rising.
“It
means I'll hold onto him and never let go as long as there's a small
chance that I can save him.”
Castiel
felt his arm come down, delivering a vicious blow to Dean's shoulder.
'please stop!' his mind screamed. His voice did not comply. Neither
did his fist. Holding Dean by the arm with one hand, he continued
throwing punches, until Dean's face was broken and bleeding. As the
blows continued to land, he heard Dean pleading with him. “Cass
this isn't you. This isn't you. I know you're in there. I know you
can hear me. Cass you have to fight this. Fight back Dammit!”
Finally
he glared up at the one who was manipulating him.
“Who
are you? Naomi is powerless now. I would have sensed the presence of
another angel if you were one. Who are you?!”
The
blonde-haired, fair-skinned image of Naomi faded. Replaced with that
of a woman only a few centimeters shorter with chocolate brown hair,
deep, dreamy brown eyes and a complex-shaded skin tone. “Remember
me?” Her voice was as soft as the rest of her, but there was
something malevolent behind it. A malice she, or it
did not attempt to disguise. Castiel blinked once. “No?” she
sounded sincerely disappointed. “But we were so close
once.”
She teased, putting a silky, sexual tone on the word 'close'. At at
that word a memory flashed in front of his mind.
A
dark, hollow place, completely void of any and all life. Except for
an entity who looked exactly like him. This creature had called
itself.. “You're the Empty.” Cass said aloud. “Please let him
be. You'll KILL him.”
“That's
the idea.” It mocked him bitterly. “But I suppose I can afford to
give a brief respite.” Castiel's fingers touched Dean's forehead
and the hunter slumped forward, unconscious. “There that's better.”
The Empty said, appearing in front of Castiel. “Now we can speak in
private.”
“Why
are you after him?”
“Your
little playmates have brought scores of victims to my realm. And they
sleep like they're supposed to. But no matter how many times they
die, these hunters keep finding a way to come back, and pour new dead
souls into the either, into purgatory. They never stay in Heaven,
they barely touch their toes in hell. It's like we have a sign “Stay
for as long as it's convenient then bugger off.”
Castiel
saw through this immediately. “You're not concerned with Heaven, or
Hell for that matter. They aren't your realm. If you could drag Dean
into the void with you, he'd have been gone before I even found you.”
She
nodded almost remorsefully. “That unfortunately is true. But at
least what I kill stays dead. And with your solid rock safely in the
afterlife, Sam will throw his knife in the river and never bother
anyone again. And you will know true loss.” Her face grew hard.
Indeed her entire posture changed. Suddenly she looked darker,
colder. “No more interfering in my affairs. No more loud emptiness.
No more chaos. Your meddling ends now!”
She
approached the still unconscious form of Dean Winchester, Castiel's
angel blade in her hand. Cass felt himself grow sick and pale. Dean
was everything to him. And the Empty knew this. Whatever excuses or
false ideals she hid behind, this thing only wanted to hurt him. And
it could not have found a better means than forcing him to watch Dean
die.
“STOP!”
He cried out desperately. “Take me.”
“What,
was that? A little louder please.”
“Take
me in his stead. Take. Me.”
“You?”
She said, turning to face him. “But you're already mine.”
He
shook his head, as if amused at her increasingly transparent lies.
“No not for years. Eon's, maybe. As long as I'm inside of him,
Jimmy Novak is as ageless as I am. I know you're only doing this to
hurt me. I'm the one you want. I'm the one who woke you up. Not Sam
and not Dean. So take me. Let me heal him and I'll go with you
now...willingly.”
Castiel
reached down, touched his hand to the side of Dean's face. The marks
healed. Dean slept quietly. “Goodbye my friend.” Castiel
whispered. “Tell Sam thank you. I was honored to have known either
of you.”
In
one motion he stood and turned to face the Empty. He closed his eyes,
prepared to be taken into darkness.
“Oh
but not yet.” the empty teased. “No you were right I...I want you
to suffer. I want you to go back with your friends, enjoy your wacky
little life. And when you finally find the key to happiness, that's
when I'll come, to drag you to the nothingness you've condemned me
to.”
“I
accept.”
This last scene was unfortunately lifted from season 8 episode 17 and season 14 episode 8 of the series. In the show, Naomi brainwashes Castiel to beat the crap out of Dean, commanding Castiel to kill him. In season 14 Castiel bargains with The Empty, exchanging himself for his son Jack Kline.
A
timeline of Castiel's relationship with Dean and Sam from the time he
showed up until he came back from the void. A little bit about his
development as a character.
Seasons
4: An introduction to angel fo the Lord Castiel and his cohort Uriel.
Castiel appreciates humanity and has a conscience but is determined
to do ANYTHING to stop the apocalypse. Because of Dean he finds
a new way to live a new way to win. He is a recurring character
only who ultimately betrays Heaven to help Dean and Sam fight on
thier own terms. Season 5: Castiel is a bad ass who is working with
Dean and Sam as Armageddon looms. Lucifer and the Archangel Michael
are getting ready to duke it out. Sam is Lucifer's chosen vessel and
the angels want Dean to become say 'yes' to Michael the archangel.
Castiel has become a main cast member and a true friendship between
Cass and Dean blooms quickly.
Season
6: There's a civil war in Heaven that Dean and Sam don't give a damn
about they need Cass immediately for whatever they are facing. Cass
is a little angst-y but is perfectly able to kick butt. In fact, more
so than usually. In the end he deceives and betrays Sam and Dean,
getting into a deal with the king of Hell Crowley. words he later
uses to describe his actions. But what he does has an unforeseen
side-effect and he basically goes mad with power.
Season
7: Mostly absent after a self-sacrifice, trying to fix what he
broke. Has amnesia or brain damage when he returns in
episode 17. He and Dean work out thier crap and kill the bad
guy. They get sent to purgatory.
Season
8: Dean escapes purgatory and a few episodes later, so does
Cass. Totally done with Heaven, Cass joins the brothers as a hunter.
There's the strongest Destiel feel yet. The three of them
are family. But his relationship with Dean is...special. The angel
Naomi mind controls Cass for several episodes. The brothers to
notice he's even more off than usual. There's an AMAZING episode with
a glorious scene where a brainwashed Cass is beating the crap out of
Dean who refuses to defend himself. Their bond and the power of the
angel tablet, breaks Naomi's hold over him. The season finale? ANGELS
FALL. Like lightning from heaven fall to Earth. Season 9: This is
where Dean starts becoming a self-righteous jerk just for the
sake of writing conflict into the show. Something that Thank God
doesn't last more than this season. Dean kicks Cass out without
explanation, lies to Sam about why and never even really
explains to Cass why he kicked him out. Cass has tender moments of
friendship with Sam. Dean starts getting affected by something called
the Mark of Cain. Features the only angel other than Castiel who gets
how important humans are and shares his sense of honor. An angel who
introduces himself as 'Ezekiel'. You can guess how well
that went down.
Seasons
10-12 are them being brothers to each other through everything. Being
family to each-other and growing closer. This is where
Destiel moments started to feel like teases and just
queer-baiting. Castiel runs away from them partway through season 12
and actually dies. Like they hold a funeral for him and burn his
body. He comes back in early season 13 having pissed off an
ancient entity so badly that it spit him back out.
Almost
everything after that is worn out tired inconsistent stuff. Dean
resumes being poorly written and his anger and 'I don't give a crap'
attitude becomes the norm. Jack arrives and calls Castiel his
father. Lucifer was basically a surrogate because while in his
human mother's womb, Jack chose Castiel to be his father and
protector. Jack dies, they bring him back to life in a way that
damages his soul. The more the he uses his powers to protect
them, the less of his soul will remain. They're in denial about
how soulless he is for a long time. When they admit how soulless
he has become. That's when Dean becomes a sanctimonious hypocrite
and it is appallingly clear the writers are no longer trying. If
they were, Sam would have defended Cass. Dean rails against Castiel
for quote 'having known
how bad Jack is this whole time and never telling us'
and being the father of an inherently soulless monster that he's
been defending. Eventually even holding a gun on Castiel's son
Jack. Cass leaves the bunker. Not because Dean is particularly
wrong to blame him or treat him like shit for the umpteenth time, but
because he can't forgive him for (epic sarcastic air quotes) his
misjudgments and is holding onto anger like it was an old
friend. "You used to trust me, give me the benefit of the
doubt. And now you can barely look at me."
Seasons
13 and 14, with apocalypse world and the three of them raising Jack
together gave plenty of proof that Cass is romantically in love with
Dean. Unfortunately the best evidence is that no one would take this
much shit this much blame and anger from someone and not doubt it for
one second the way Cass does, unless they were in love with the
person. And were so completely in love with them they can't imagine
that person ever doing anything wrong or unfair. Dean needed to
loose what he had in order to admit for the first time how much he'd
taken Cass for granted and how badly he'd treated the man. THAT was a
beautiful moment. But what the writers used as an excuse in order to
get there was pathetic. They were basically married for the final
season. But the writers had long since stopped trying
and the episodes made no sense. I HATED God and Death and
Billie and any of it. The other two protagonists of these later
seasons, thier mother Mary the other universe's Bobby
Singer disappeared with barely any explanation. Mary was written out of the show before she was killed off. And Bobby left right along with her. Bobby Singer being the closest thing Sam and Dean had to a father for the first seven seasons of the show. But still, we got almost a decade of absolute BFF goals
out of these guys.