Illegitimi non carborundum 7/?
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When Sam returned with the groceries Dean and Jimmy were sitting next to each other on the porch. The smaller man had a blanket covering most parts of his body and was wearing one of Sam's hoodies. He looked tired and sick but not as ill as Castiel had the last time he was 'at home'. It was warm outside, the already strong sun promise of a hot summer soon to come. Sam handed Dean one of the beers he had just bought and produced a bottle of apple juice out of the brown grocery bag for Jimmy.
"I think we need to talk." Sam knew they had to hit the road again way too soon and there were a few things that had to be settled in advance. "Jimmy, you don't look so good, how 'ya feelin'?"
The older man took a cautious and small swig of his juice before he shrugged. "Queasy. Exhausted. Dizzy. Like I didn't really sleep in a few days. But I'm good compared to Cas."
Sam nodded. Obviously the angel's damaged Grace had started to affect his vessel directly.
"How's he doin'? We able to talk to him?" Dean asked, his voice gruff. Nevertheless Sam could see right through it. His brother was no longer worried, he was afraid.
"I'm sorry." Jimmy shook his head. "I don't know. I can feel he's still here but... That's it." He shrugged apologetically and Sam sat down next to the smaller man, only half of his butt on the bench. He did not care if Jimmy felt uncomfortable because of his closeness. What he was going to say would make him feel much more uneasy.
"You know, I've read about... possession and sebastomania. And I know it might not be 100 percent applicable on your case but I think you should - theoretically - be able to retreat and hand over the reins to Castiel deliberately. I'm sorry, but we really have to talk to Cas."
Jimmy looked as if he had not swallowed one lemon but a whole bucket. Nevertheless he nodded. "Yeah. But I think we should at least get inside again."
~*~
While Sam prepared everything, Dean made the older man take a couple of ibuprofen and paracetamol before they started. The Angel was surely going to need the drugs. Jimmy was lying on Dean's bed who sat down next to him while Sam kept his distance manning the laptop.
"Ya ready?" the older Winchester asked and after a short nod Jimmy closed his eyes and followed Sam's instructions. As there was no manual, not even on the internet, the younger Winchester used what he knew of autogenic training, hypnosis and psychology while making the rest up. Strangely it worked. After just a few minutes Jimmy was no longer responsive and the fever was rising rapidly. Castiel was back.
"Ok, let's go." Sam said and took Castiel's feet while Dean grabbed the unconscious man's arms. Together they lifted the slack body from the bed and carefully carried him into the bathroom where a full tub was waiting. Slowly Sam lowered the Angel's feet into the luke warm water and not long after he was fully laying inside the bathtub. The thin t-shirt and boxers did not prevent the water from cooling the hot body down and the reaction to the Winchester's drastic solution was not long in coming. Castiel started to shiver and weakly tried to get away from the cold, his hands flailing around without aim full of panic.
"Cas! Cas, it's ok! Calm down. Castiel. Please calm down. Shhhh, relax." Although Dean was still holding Castiel's arms slowly the shorter man ceased fighting and slackened off his efforts to get out of the water. "Easy, Cas. We just want to talk. You with me?" There was worry etched into Dean's face. Worry and anxiety. The Angel's panic fit had affected Dean, too.
Sam noticed Castiel's eyes were more focused, less glazed over perhaps they really could be successful with this drastic treatment. At least for as long as they were going to talk. The younger Winchester did not hear the Angel's response but there must have been some kind of answer because Dean continued: "Good... Good... Well, Cas, we need you to... you know... your Grace thing... you have to turn it off for a while. Bobby thinks otherwise you'll die and Sam agrees so... I think you really should do it. Jimmy's here to help. And me too. And Sam. You won't have to cope alone. I promise. You know, being human can be really fun. We could eat pizza, try the magic fingers..." He shot a pleading glance at his brother who grimaced in cluelessness.
How do you talk a frightened angel into discarding his Grace - even temporally? "You could catch your breath. Take a look at the world from a more human point of view. I think that would really be helpful in your battle against the demons. Because they know how to manipulate us mortals, how to play us. But you and your Host are just plain alien. You are not good with humans..." He darted a look at his younger brother before watching Castiel again not sure if his rambling had done anything good.
The Angel was lying very still, breath coming laboured spurts. But suddenly he started to talk. Not really talk, more of a whispering interrupted by gasps for air. "My Grace... it is burning the vessel up... When I leave... I will not be sent back... There are... I am not sure... I have doubts, Dean. I will..."
"Stop jabbering, Cas. You 're doing the right thing. Just do it now. Please." Dean was no longer holding the Angel's arms down. He was just holding them, holding on to him and at the same time giving Castiel support.
Support the angel apparently needed. He exhaled deeply and abruptly went totally slack. Although Dean still had his hands around the other man's arms even parts of Castiel's head submerged.
"Come on, Sam, help me."
Rapidly the Winchesters yanked the unconscious Angel out of the cool water and while Dean helt the limp body up as good as he could Sam tried to towel Castiel own. By the time they were done Dean had noisily amended his opinion about Castiel being of lithe build. The guy was heavy!
When the Angel was lying in Dean's bed again, clad in fresh cloth, the older Winchester joined his brother at his laptop. "What now?" he asked, a hint of uneasiness in his voice.
"Now we wait. What about pizza?"
~*~
Two pizzas, five donuts, one package of chips and 8 flasks of beer later the brothers were ready to hit the hay. The Angel was still unconscious but the fever had decreased to an only sightly increased body temperature. And there were no signs Castiel would wake up any time soon. Neither Bobby nor Sam had found anything about injured Angels and damaged Graces so they could only guess how the situation would develop from this point on. Whereas Bobby thought the Angel would swiftly recover because an Angel - even an injured one - still was a mighty and powerful being, Sam's opinion differed clearly. Because not being in Heaven and with the connection to upstairs - the Grace - out of order Castiel had to rely on his vessel's energy. So he concluded healing would take place in a more human like time frame.
Chapter 8