Thanks again to the lovely Ninjakittee for her Beta work on this Chapter... and probably the rest of the story lol :P Did I mention that she's awesome?

Evolution is a curious thing.

For thousands of years it has run its play across the world. Silent, disregarded, but ultimately extremely effective. Slowly and steadily it moves through the sands of time, making every single particle of this universe subject to its force. Every step of it is part of the plan, the perfectly laid out plan to make the world what it is supposed to be.

I have seen many steps of evolution take their course in my time. I remember often marveling at the beauty of it all. The seemingly complex natural order, derived at the core by a surprisingly wonderful simplicity. My unchallenged faith once built upon the belief that no such depth of perfection could ever have been brought forth without the nurturing hand of a divine father. My Father. The creator of all things.

The underlying simplicity of evolution lies in its one basic rule that trumps everything else: What is meant to be will be. What is meant to survive will survive. Thousands of beings and species this world has seen since the dawns of time, yet only a certain amount of them have managed to live to see this day. Some humans call this God's will, others natural selection. They are both in fact right. For the reason that these particular species have outlived their natural competitors is that they have established themselves as the strongest and most remarkable creations from my Father's hand. They have survived because from the strength at the core of their being, they were always meant to survive.

Human kind is one of those species. In fact they are the most extraordinary of all of them, for God created them as His children as much as He did us. I know that several of my brothers have always resented Him for this, thinking that He chose to love some earthly, disposable experiment more than He did His own heavenly warriors. I pity them for this, because I know that very few of them have ever seen into the hearts of mankind the way I have been able to. They failed to notice the breathtaking beauty in these, the most exceptional of all our Father's creations.

Yes, they are flawed. Yes, they make mistakes. But for all their numerous imperfections, most of them never stop trying to do better. No matter how many times they fall, they somehow still manage to gather the strength to get back up. They love, forgive, never stop fighting. Even under the shadows of pain, guilt and confusion, they are capable of making the right choice. Because what matters is not the grand plan that destiny has laid out for you… But to make your own choices and stand up for what you believe is right. I learned that from Dean Winchester.

The one man who changed everything.

From the moment I first laid my hand on him in the fiery pit of hell… I could sense the righteousness of a heart far braver than any other I have ever witnessed in a human being. Even in his darkest hour and the most evil environment… it did not remain hidden to me. The courage of a true warrior, the undying loyalty toward his loved ones and an unequivocal sense of knowing what is right… These traits are so fundamentally fused into his soul that I don't believe any amount of darkness could ever achieve victory over them. And the worst part is that he does not know this. He does not believe himself to be worthy of any praise one would normally offer a man as magnificent as him.

He deserves better than this. He deserves better than to watch his brother lunge into the deepest pit of hell to save the world, thus losing the one thing that means everything to him.

I know him well enough to know how broken he is. Even now as I watch him from my corner on the street through windows of the dimly lit house, sitting at the table with the woman and child from whom he seeks solace… I can see the despair hidden in the eyes of a man who has lost everything. He will never be able to heal from this. Nothing will ever make it right.

And yet the peaceful atmosphere of the street corner brings with it some new air of hope, however distant. Catastrophe has been averted. The world is still here. After all the carefully laid out plans that heaven has been constructing for millennia, human kind has still managed to prevail. And after everything that he has been through… Dean Winchester is still standing. Because what is meant to survive will survive.

Against all odds, I have survived too. Through bringing me back to this life and to the former glory of my being, God has restored my faith in ways I never thought possible, making it stronger and more powerful than ever before. I know now that He has never really left us. The perfect plan I once believed in so strongly has not been an illusion, my Father still has a plan for all of us. And so His plan for both myself and Dean is for us to go on. Our work is not yet finished.

Some part of me longs to stay here with him, to somehow help ease the pain my friend is in. But I know the only thing that would really help him is to give him back his brother… And that is something I cannot do, however much I want to. I have turned my back on home for too long now. It is time for me to return.

As I steal one more glance at my friend through the window, I somehow know that he will be all right. What is meant to be will be. And the remarkable creature of Dean Winchester was always meant to be.

With a silent nod of farewell I lift my wings to return to heaven.