~contains spoilers for season finale~

Castiel wakes up sore, battered, and in an awfully familiar bed of white sheets and poor cushioning. At first he believes he is in one of those overnight homes the brothers liked to stay in, but at a quick glance around the room he finds that he is in a hospital.

"Man, are you alright? I'm so sorry about that. Gus here-"

"I am a wonderful driver, Shawn, this guy appeared out of nowhere!"

"But you were speeding a little bit-"

"Because your foot was in my space and floored the gas!"

Castiel ignores the bickering and observes himself. Not only had he woken up, implying that he had slept. He was... barren. The thousands of souls crawling inside him, fueling him, had left him, taking whatever grace he had within him also. He was human?

Less than that. A shell, where a human should be.

Jimmy was dead.

This body... useless.

"Where am I?" He asks, knowing that these children would not know what had happened. He, himself, hardly remembers. The only thing really sticking in his mind being things of little consequence. Watery blue eyes. A whisper of a name.

"Santa Barbara Mercy Hospital." The shorter, louder one answered quickly before the bald one took the lead.

"Listen, I know you must be a little disoriented. But if you could tell us who you are, if there's anyone you need to call? The nurses couldn't find anything on you except for a book."

"A book?" Castiel asks, and the bald one hands it to him with Shawn whispering to him, "Nice choice."

The sixth Supernatural book.

He opens it with a puzzled expression, and sees that the front cover is signed.

"Best of luck with your new life. Your oldest friend, Carver Edlund."

"Chuck." He hears in his mind with Dean's voice. A prophet of the lord.

God.

Why did he interfere only now?

"Hey, are you listening?" The short one asks, "He's gone, isn't he. Braindead. We killed him."

"Castiel." He says finally, looking up at them with wide, unblinking eyes and the short one can't help but 'aw' quietly to his friend. "I need to contact my," He pauses, furrowing his brow. After all that had happened, all that they had one to each other.

He gathers his courage and looks again at the two.

"My friends."

The two blink at his conviction.

"Um, alright. The phone's right there."

He turns and notes that, yes, a phone is there, and dials the familiar number he has had memorized for more than a year and waits for it to ring.

"Yeah?" The harsh voice asks, and Castiel is silent for a few moments.

"Dean. It's me."

There is silence on the other line, and Castiel chooses to elaborate.

"I'm human."