He cradled the trembling, broken soul closer to himself. His wings brushed over the precious being.

The Righteous Man.

The Michael Sword.

The first seal.

Castiel landed at the human’s--Dean Winchester’s--grave. Removing the dirt from the site, he revealed the pine box that contained the remains.

Grace tingled in his limbs as he removed the partially decayed body from the coffin. The soul shifted in his grip. Castiel swept his feathers over him in a calming motion.

With the soul calm for the moment, Castiel began to make the body inhabitable once more. Tendrils of his grace flowed from him and wrapped around the corpse. Bones and joints slotted back together; tendons attached themselves to the bones. Muscles followed the tendons, returning to their former strength and size.

Catiel then turned his attention to the organs. Enveloping each one with his grace, he cleansed and repaired each one before replacing it in its proper area. The heart and brain were the last to be placed. He took the human’s brain and set it carefully into the cradle of bone that would protect it in life. Once the brain was in place, the white nerves started to crawl their way into position. The nerves soon covered the whole body and brought sensation.

The heart was now the only major organ that was missing. Castiel held it for a moment before positioning it inside its cavity. As the brain had, the heart immediately started to regrow its veins and arteries, from the large aorta to the microscopic capillaries.

The angel watched the process before covering the newly reformed body in a protective layer of skin. He could tell what the old skin had looked like before death, but it was damaged beyond repair by the decay process. The skin glided smoothly over the prone figure, defining features and characteristics as it went. The man’s face became clear as the skin formed. Full lips, sharp cheeks, thin eyelids, angled brow, and a strong nose. Freckles blossomed across the face, upper chest, shoulders, and arms.

Light brown hair sprouted and grew on the body. The hair was concentrated mostly on the head and lighter on his arms, legs, and torso.

Castiel moved on to one of his favorite items of the human body: the eyes. Checking them over carefully one at a time with his grace, he made sure that both of them were capable of clear sight. The eyes, as he placed them, were dull.

A wise human once said: “the eyes are the windows to the soul.” The fact was, Castiel smiled to himself, that that is a fairly accurate statement. The eyes were the closest thing that the humans were able to see of each other’s souls. The “twinkle” they sometimes talked about seeing was actually their souls shining through.

Castiel stopped running his wings over the soul. Lifting it up, he examined it closely; there were several areas of darkness in the soul, but it was still so bright and beautiful. Dean’s soul shifted through various colors as Castiel watched.

He leant down and attempted to situate the soul into the newly re-formed body. Dean’s soul clung to Castiel’s grace, reluctant to let go of this source of light. An understanding came through his grace: Dean was afraid that if Castiel were to leave, Dean would go back to hell and the darkness.

Castiel sent reassurance to Dean.

You are safe.

You are home.

You are not alone.

He then reunited Dean’s soul with his body. Immediately, the body began working as it should. The lungs took their first breath, the heart started beating, and the eyes started to grow brighter.

After a few moments, Castiel noticed the eyes were not as brilliant as they should be. With a small tendril of grace, he touched the human’s shoulder. The soul immediately reached out to the grace, reiterating its concerns.

Castiel reassured Dean once more, but the soul still clung to the grace. Coming to a decision, Castiel separated the small thread of grace that was connected to Dean. He encouraged both the soul and the grace back into the body. As the grace entered the body, it left a burn mark on the human’s shoulder.

The eyes burned bright. The soul was settled into the body.

Castiel closed the eyes, set the human back into the coffin, and returned the coffin to its place underground. The grass that covered the grave site regrew. Castiel set the cross that stood as a grave marker upright before leaving.

The wind carried Castiel’s words back to the gravesite.



“Welcome back, Dean Winchester.”