#sorta? like i'm fr ab animating this tho

[backdraft-bimbo]

beyond

(fix-it script for my storyboard)

SCENE 1 – DEAN’S BEDROOM – NOON

Dean dreams of Castiel. He wakes up at noon, and despite this, looks utterly exhausted. In his arms he clutches the jacket stained with Cas’ bloody handprint. 

He slowly sits up. On his bedside table, there is an uncompleted job application. He considers the paper, then looks back to his jacket. Dean seems torn between the two. He sighs deeply and looks up, searching. 

“Jack? I know you’re, uh, probably busy. But I’ve been praying for days, and I–I need your help. You know I’m not used to... y’know, all this. So I guess I’m apologizing in advance. Just… if you can stop by. Please.”

When there is no response, Dean sighs again and whispers, “Damn it.” He buries his face in his hands, the strength in his voice fading fast. “Damn it, Cas.”

A short beat passes, and Jack appears suddenly in front of Dean. He holds up a hand and greets the hunter with a characteristic “Hello.”

Dean looks up in awe, hopeful, blinking away the welling tears in his eyes. Jack smiles back. Dean almost wants to hug him. 

“Jack? Thank God–” Dean cuts himself off, huffing sardonically. “Well, you know what I mean.” 

Jack looks at him apologetically. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop by sooner. The universe is... a lot to handle, to say the least. But we are here now.” 

Dean remembers, struck out of his stupor. “Oh, right… Amara’s with you.”

Jack nods. The atmosphere changes swiftly, and said goddess emerges. 

“We know why you’ve been praying, Dean. Truth is, Jack and I have been contemplating this for quite some time.” Amara nods meaningfully at Cas’ bloody handprint. 

Dean looks slightly betrayed, but mostly tired. He can’t bring himself to be angry. “Then why not just answer me sooner?” 

Jack takes over again. “Because of Castiel.” 

Dean’s expression is broken, confused. His silence prompts Jack to continue. 

“Nothing made sense at first. My dad’s deal with the Empty… his true happiness.” Jack stares Dean in the eyes, hoping his message gets across. “But I understand now.” 

“You’ll bring him back?” Dean asks, nearing desperation. At that, Jack fades and Amara returns. She steps closer to Dean and places a hand on his shoulder. 

“No,” she says softly. Dean looks up at her, hurt, confused. “But you will.” 

Amara and Jack snap their fingers, and a portal to the Empty appears in the room. 

“Is that…?” Dean asks slowly.

“A portal to the Empty. Mortals can’t survive there for long. You won’t have much time, I’m afraid.”

Dean stares longingly at the glowing rift, like he can’t tear his eyes away. Jack continues steadily. 

“It needs to be you, Dean. You’re the only one who can do this.”

Dean is eager now, hope brightening his eyes. “How?” 

Amara looks thoughtfully to the portal, then back at Dean. She speaks the heavy truth. 

“Castiel must abandon his grace. If he wishes to return to you, then he must become human. As you know, humanity means eating, sleeping, growing old–all things good and bad that come with it. And, when he dies, he’ll go to Heaven. Just like you,” she nods at Dean. 

Dean is immediately conflicted. He doesn’t want Cas to remain in the Empty, but he’s not sure if the angel wants to be human, either. Amara approaches the portal. 

“Now, the Empty can’t keep mortals... something about ‘disrupting the order of things.’ So, if Castiel were to become human, it would be forced to let him go.”

Jack emerges, his face brimming with trust and determination. Dean’s heart lifts. 

“Right now, Cas is asleep. And it needs to be you, Dean, who wakes him up.”

Dean stares pensively at Jack before shifting his eyes to the floating rift with a growing resolve. 

SCENE 2 – BUNKER KITCHEN – EVENING

Sam and Eileen return from a dinner date and find Dean in the kitchen, looking to be in deep thought. The tea beside him on the table has gone cold. The beer fridge remains stubbornly untouched. 

“Dean?” Sam approaches, concerned. “What are you doing?” 

Eileen glances between the brothers, curiously reading them. Dean blinks the exhaustion out of his eyes and glances up at Sam, clearly holding something big back. “I, uh...” he trails off, preparing a lie. Before Dean says anything further, he looks from Eileen to Sam; considers them, their shared history. Dean decides that he doesn’t want to lie anymore. 

“I’m gonna get Cas back,” Dean replies, rising up from his chair. 

Sam visibly brightens, a smile growing on his face. “Did Jack finally return your prayers? Did you get to talk with him?” 

“Yeah, while you two were out. There’s a portal upstairs and everything.” 

Eileen signs with her hands: How? 

Dean gulps, gaze dropping to the floor. “Jack said I have to wake him up. That I’m the only one who can.” 

Sam catches on quickly. He’s known about Dean and Cas for a very long time, and silently agrees with Jack’s decision to nudge his older brother in the right direction. 

“Do you want to maybe... elaborate?”

Dean ardently avoids Sam’s gaze, struggling with himself. Eileen steps closer to Dean and says aloud (while signing), “You can do this.” 

Beside them, Sam nods in agreement. “She’s right, Dean. And so is Jack. If anyone can get Cas back, it’s you.”

Dean’s shoulders straighten out–he is slowly gaining confidence. Sam smiles fondly at Eileen, who catches his gaze and smiles back. Dean raises his eyebrows knowingly and grins, his prior nervousness fading. 

“Well ain’t you two just the cutest.”  

Sam almost pouts at the friendly jab. Dean stands up tall and moves with purpose from the kitchen, slapping his brother’s back on the way out. 

“Hey,” Sam stops him. “You want me to come with, or...?” 

Dean considers this carefully. Decides. “Thanks, Sammy. Eileen. But I’ve got this one covered.” 

Sam and Dean grin at each other. 

SCENE 3 – DEAN’S BEDROOM / THE EMPTY – NIGHT

Dean closes his bedroom door behind him. The rift glows steadily in the darkness. Castiel is asleep, and Dean must wake him up. The conversation with Sam and Eileen made him encouraged, hopeful. Dean no longer feels as terrified of failing as he was before. It’s almost exhilarating–the excitement of seeing Cas again. Dean is accustomed to managing hope, but now his emotions run wild. Free. The hunter feels young, naive, and exposed; yet opening himself up doesn’t bother Dean anymore, because this is for Cas. 

Dean sucks in a large breath and approaches the portal. 

“Okay, Cas. I’m here.” 

Dean steps through the portal to a black void, the Empty. He needs to take a stuttered few breaths before fully taking in his surroundings–or lack thereof. It’s freezing cold, he’s getting goosebumps, and his lips are turning blue. Dean can feel that he doesn’t belong in this place. 

“Cas? Where are you?” Dean asks, then shouts, “I’m ready to bust your ass out of here!” 

Dean is avoiding the obvious. He knows this. The darkness is silent, unresponsive. Images of Cas dying flash through Dean’s mind. Cas smiling sweetly at him, saying I love you, and Goodbye, Dean.

“Castiel, show yourself!” Dean yells, feeling his body grow weaker. The Empty seems to be gradually sucking the life out of him. “I’m not leaving here without you! I’m gonna stay right here until you wake up. Either you’re coming with me or we’re both stuck here forever!” 

The Empty hisses like a serpent from the darkness. You humans are so noisy. Castiel is mine, boy. My terms, his death. 

“Screw you!” Dean yells indignantly. 

Eloquent as always, Dean Winchester. 

“Bring him here now,” he grits out, frustration and grief swelling. “Cas doesn’t deserve this.” 

The Empty laughs venomously. “Cas” doesn’t want to be saved. 

“Bullshit, he doesn’t want to be saved. Now give him back.” 

It’s tragic, really. Just how far your angel has fallen, the Empty mocks. 

Dean bristles. “What’s that supposed to mean? No–actually, shut the hell up!” 

The Empty takes on a paternal, pitying tone. Anything to get Dean to stop yelling.

You don’t belong here, Winchester. You will soon be dead. As for the angel, Castiel... he wants someone he can’t have. He wants you. Just ask him yourself. When you finally understand the truth, it will be too late to save yourself. What a fitting end, don’t you think? 

Dean scowls. “Why don’t you stick it where the sun don’t–”

A black swarm of goo erupts from the floor to reveal a figure. It’s Cas, emerging from his long slumber. Dean turns to look at him, gaping in shock, and runs to catch the angel before he collapses. 

“Cas!” 

Cas blinks slowly up at Dean, who has him in his arms on the ground. 

“Dean?” 

“You wanna get out of here?” Dean smiles, tearful. 

“I don’t understand...” Cas trails off, perturbed. “Why are you here? Oh, no...”

“No, no, hey... I didn’t make a deal or anything. Jack and, uh, Amara helped me out.”

Cas squints his eyes, looking hilariously confused. “Jack... and Amara?”

“Yeah. Look, Cas, we don’t have a lot of time. If I stay here too long, I’m not getting out. But I sure as Hell ain’t leaving without you.”

Cas looks ready to hesitate, doubt blooming in his eyes. He opens his mouth to say something, but Dean grabs his hand and squeezes it. Cas looks up from his hand to Dean in shock. Dean smiles softly. 

“I’ll explain everything later. Just, please... come back.”

The Empty steps in. You know the price, Castiel. The price of leaving your slumber to pursue a mortal life. All that awaits you is suffering, heartbreak, and death. There is nothing for you back there. 

Cas looks up at Dean, who is growing weaker by the second. Dean, who is looking at him with love and trust in his eyes. The angel makes a decision. 

“You’re wrong. I have everything I want right here,” Cas says, gripping Dean tight. 

They stand up and face the portal. Cas starts to glow, bright as a star. Dean cringes away, his eyes hurting, but the beauty of the sight draws him back. Cas’ eyes glow white and fade into a very human, mortal blue. He and Dean are still holding hands. The Empty is silent. 

“Whoa,” Dean mutters. 

Cas smiles softly as Dean pulls him through the rift. The two stumble back into Dean’s bedroom, and the portal closes behind them. Back in the Empty, it is silent for a moment before....

That backfired.

SCENE 4 – DEAN’S BEDROOM – NIGHT

“That–wow, that... that just happened.” Dean stutters, rambling on nervously. “You had to sleep in that black goo stuff? Talk about poor accommodations, man...” 

He doesn’t notice Cas smiling softly at him until he trails off. Dean’s face scrunches up in a mixture of heartache and hope. 

“Thank you, Dean,” Cas says. 

Dean smiles shakily, quiet tears surfacing. The emotions of the past week are coming back full-force. “I’m the guy who should be saying that.” 

Cas catches sight of the bloody handprint on Dean’s jacket, which is still bundled up on his messy bed. “And I’m sorry. For leaving the way I did.” 

Dean gulps hard. He wants to say it, he wants to do something instead of just stand there. He wants to do everything he’s been dreaming about since Cas said goodbye for what he thought was the last time. 

“You ain’t gotta apologize, Cas. Least of all to me. You just caught me off guard, an–and I’ve lost you so many times, y’know?” Dean’s voice is lachrymose and quickly crumbling. He tries to piece himself back together, failing. Cas steps closer, eyes piercing, and Dean rambles on, nervous and desperate and needing.

“I don’t want to lose you ever again. Not in a million damn years, Cas. Before you left, I just wish you heard it clearly from me. After saying those things–all those things I don’t think anybody has ever said to me before, they’ve been replaying in my head nonstop... I don’t deserve you, Cas, but I want you so damn much. I love you. You hear me? I love you, too.” 

Cas nods, on the verge of tears; Dean is crying, and the air is clear. Finally, they can both breathe. Dean lunges forward in the heat of the moment and envelops Cas in a tight embrace. They hold each other for a long while, silent, joyful, until Dean starts laughing in relief. He doesn’t pull away. 

“We got a lot to catch up on, huh? Chuck is mortal, Jack and Amara are ‘in harmony’ apparently, and Sam and Eileen go on vegan dinner dates now. Charlie, Kevin, Bobby, Jody... everybody’s happy. Because we’re free. We’re finally free, Cas.” 

Dean’s words strike Cas in the heart. Freedom. Something he can experience in full now. It feels surreal, being here, with Dean, like this. Dean and Cas pull apart, but only so they can look at each other. They smile, joy bursting at the seams. Slowly, but surely, they lean closer. Their lips meet in a gentle kiss. Dean lifts a hand to Cas’ face. Cas grips his arm. They melt and fold into each other. 

Outside the door, Sam and Eileen eavesdrop intently. In the foreground, Jack and Amara stand close by. The conclusion is clear–they smile widely, stand up straight, and walk away together. 

THE FUTURE, AND BEYOND

Time passes gently from now on; the world is peaceful. Monsters no longer roam the planet, and everyone is free to be as they are. Dean and Cas live together alongside Sam, Eileen, and their daughter. Both couples get married soon after Jack’s promotion to God. Charlie and Stevie visit the bunker occasionally, as do Bobby, Jody, and others. They all get therapy and solve their problems in a healthy and comprehensive manner. 

Dean runs an auto mechanic shop with Cas, who has taken up interest in human rights activism. He single handedly destroys all homophobia. Everything is good. Dean, Cas, Sam, Eileen, and all the best characters reunite in Heaven after growing old and living long, where they spend in inextricable joy for all eternity. 

The end.