Once Naomi falls, the rest resolves itself rather simply. Or so Castiel assumes. He is consumed by watching the remnants of pale blood ooze from her neck far too slowly to be human.

Eventually, a tug at his sleeve brings him back to the present. Dean, still torn and bleeding a bit (although this blood is much darker, he's fed more recently), is looking at him with concern shining in his green eyes.

"Hey, we gotta go, babe. Lucifer has someone coming to clean up, but we've gotta scoot."

Cas nods woodenly and lets Dean lead him out of Naomi's (mother's) office.

The hall, so bland before, is littered with bodies and blood spatters every wall (too red, they were too young for their blood to pale, they were children). Cas blinks at the sight of the carnage. He's fairly certain that Dean never actually left the office the battle started in, so that leaves-

"Yeah. All of this was Lucifer," Dean says, reading Cas' mind and waving a hand to indicate the bodies. "While we were in there, I guess he, uh, took care of everyone else."

"He didn't even have a weapon," Cas says, a bit shaken.

Dean shrugs, apparently all right with this. "Startin' to look like he really is the First."

Castiel is suddenly fervently grateful that Lucifer, who is an ancient and deadly entity, has no higher aspirations than owning a club in Las Vegas. And that he is on their side and, to all appearances, even likes them.

Dean once again takes the lead out of the building and Cas keeps his eyes on the back of his head instead of the death around them.

Naomi is dead. I killed her. I'll have to call Anna and tell her. If she'll even answer the phone when she sees it's me.

They step out into the night. It's quiet and cool, a blessing. A gentle wind takes the scent of dead vampires away and replaces it with the scent of grass, cars, humans, and darkness.

The SUV that brought them here is parked right out front, across several parking spaces. Gabe is leaning against the back of it, not looking at them, his phone pressed to his ear. Though he appears to be engrossed in his phone conversation (Being berated by Kali for recklessness, if Cas' own ears don't deceive him), the way his shoulders relax almost unnoticeably betrays his relief.

A bit further away, it looks like Balthazar and Lucifer are having a hushed argument. Well, Balthazar is arguing, Lucifer is as unworried as he has been for the last two days, maybe even a bit amused. As Castiel watches, Bal seems to run out of steam. Once he's quiet for a moment, Lucifer reaches out to touch his arm, briefly at first, then curling around Bal's bicep almost familiarly, warmly. Bal relaxes into the touch and Lucifer smiles.

Oh, Cas thinks, a bit beyond the ability to actually be surprised. Well, then.

Before he can think much more on it, Dean is tugging him around to look at him properly. The frown doesn't mar his handsome features, but makes them more intense, serious, masculine.

"Dammit, Cas," Dean murmurs. "What'd they do to you?"

He can feel, rather distantly, that there is a cut on his forehead that stings and is bleeding more than he's used to (he, too, fed more recently). He knows his coat is torn, but doesn't realize that his arm has taken a hit until Dean prods at it and scowls when Cas flinches. There are various scrapes and bruises, all quite expected from having been in the kind of skirmish they were in, but Castiel barely feels any of it.

What he does feel, however, is an almost staggering wave of absolute adoration for the young man (vampire) in front of him.

Because this is how Dean has always reacted when Castiel has been even the slightest bit injured. Always a bit accusing, a bit angry, and mostly worried sick. Dean is muttering about getting blood into him when they get home, ignoring that Dean himself has a few wounds that are just this side of significant.

Dean, who worries about Castiel. Who makes sure he eats and rests. Who has taught him how to have fun for the sake of fun, be it watching movies or making out in a hallway like teenagers about to be caught by their parents. Dean, who loves his brother and surrogate father fiercely, who protects the little family they've created staunchly and without apology. Dean, who came into Castiel's rigid, structured world, with tears in his eyes for his mother's doormat and a quip on his tongue for the dangerous being in his living room.

Dean, who he loves so much.

"Dean," he says before he realizes he's going to speak. "I love you."

Dean stops his muttering. His head whips up and he stares at Cas, eyes wide, his mouth dropping open just a bit.

He's too tired to really worry, but he does rush to explain, "I don't expect anything reciprocal, Dean, but I wanted you to know how important you are to me. You're quite precious, really, and I love-"

Lips slapping against his own stop his fast words, and he manages to catch Dean's hips in his hands when Dean shoves him back against the van and kisses the hell out of him. It takes him a beat, but Cas manages to catch up and kiss back, clutching Dean closer.

"Love you, too," Dean murmurs against his mouth, "love you, Cas, of course I do, you big idiot, I can't-"

"Oh-kay!" Gabriel's voice has them pulling away from one another, but not all the way. Cas keeps his arms around Dean when they both turn to glare at the shorter vampire.

Gabe's eyes are sparkling even as they roll in his head. "As much fun as it would be to watch you two break some laws, and it wouldn't be, can we go home before you tear each other's clothes off? I got an angry girlfriend to soothe, and Bal and Lucifer gotta canoodle, too."

"Excuse you," Balthazar says stiffly. "I do not canoodle."

Lucifer grins and throws an arm around Balthazar's shoulders. "I do!" he says cheerfully.

There is so much left to concern him. The Lightbringers, though they are without their guiding force, still need to be tracked down and dealt with. Dean, though he has taken to immortality remarkably well, is liable to spiral now that they do not have a set, definable goal to work toward. Castiel, himself, is probably going to need loads of therapy (Charlie's turn of phrase, and quite accurate). Will Lucifer go back to Las Vegas, and will Balthazar follow? Hell, will Gabriel follow?

In that moment, however, surrounded by most of his family and with the love of his long, long, long life in his arms, Castiel can do little but laugh, and be grateful that he had the foresight to take that invitation offered to him by a rug so long ago.

- And so here we are, at the end. Come On In started with a dumb little idea I had one night while watching TV with my husband, and now here we are. I loved this fic so much, and this series. Thank you so much, all of you, for loving it right alongside me.
- Shout out to Dragon67 for spotting the Balthazar/Lucifer connection and pointing it out to me!
- In case you were wondering, Lucifer and Balthazar totally run away together to track down the last of the Lightbringers and end them. Gabriel and Kali end up together, and when Balthazar doesn't want to settle down and Lucifer doesn't want to leave Balthazar, Luci gifts Gabriel with Fallen.
- And, obvs, Cas and Dean live happily ever after... Forever.