Cold Waves- Chapter Fourteen
Title: Cold Waves- Chapter Fourteen
Pairing: Dean/Castiel
Warnings:
Summary: Dean had enough to worry about between hunting and Sam hallucinating about Hell. The last thing he needed was to be forced to put a certain angel back together.
The next morning found Sam getting an ear full from Dean about leaving Cas alone and disobeying a 'direct order'. Sam shot back that Castiel was a grown man and not a six year old that still needed to hold hands when crossing the street. The argument died down when they realized Castiel had some point left the room and was patiently waiting in the back seat. They'd driven to the local museum after Sam found an article about their poltergeist having one of those freaky Victorian jewelry pieced made of human hair. With her body cremated they figured it was the only things keeping her around so they decided Dean would go in, discreetly swipe the necklace and burn it the bathroom.
Lucifer had been unusually quiet that morning which meant Sam could just sit in the car and enjoy the silence. Castiel sat in the front seat with him
"It is very cold this morning." He shivered and Sam put the windows up. "Could you turn the heat up please?"
Sam nodded and flicked the heat up, Castiel sighed feeling the warm air blow against his cold cheeks. They slip back into a silence, neither completely sure what they're supposed to say to each other. Castiel coughed and tried to push the sleeves of his shirt up "It's hot, why is it so hot? I asked you to turn the heat up Sam, not start a fire."
Sam chose to ignore the tone Castiel used and rolled the windows down to let some of the heat out. Of course it wasn't to long till Castiel piped up with another complaint. "I need a sweater."
"I don't think there are any sweaters in the car…you want my jacket?"
"Did I ask for your jacket?" He snapped.
"Wow sorry." He tried to compromise with heat on and windows down. "What's up with you?"
"I'm angry." He bit out.
"I know Dean hasn't-"
"It's not Dean."
"I told you yesterday-"
"It's not you either." Castiel grumbled sinking down into the seat. "I am angry at myself."
"Why?"
"Because you're finally being nice to me and all I want to do is beat your fucking head into the steering wheel so you'll stop talking."
"…did you just swear?"
"Yes I did." Sam knew he should just let it go but Castiel was twitchy and acting unusual even for him.
"Is there something you want to talk about? You've been acting kinda weird lately."
"I…Sam, I…I'm going to be sick." Castiel bolted out the door barely making across the pavement to the grassy edge before he felt the acidy liquid fill his mouth.
"Damn are you tossing your cookies again?" Of course Dean waited till that opportune moment to appear.
"I think I might be dying."
"I think you just have the flu Cas."
Castiel shook his head, feeling another wave of nausea hit him. "I'm never eating again."
"We'll get you some Gravol or something on the way to Bobby's." Dean leaned down to pat Castiel on the back which sent him into another fit of coughs. "Dude if you throw up in my car there'll be hell to pay."
Cas didn't see the humor in Dean's joke judging by the glare he shot up at the hunter. A car door opened and shut behind them and Sam joined them with a bottle of water in hand. "Here Cas, this will help."
"No it won't." Castiel leaned back on his knees, deciding there was nothing left in his stomach to purge. He looked wearily at the bottle in Sam's hands and hesitantly reached for it. Cas took a mouth full of water and spit it back out trying to rid his mouth of the bitter taste. "I don't suppose we could wait till I'm feeling better to go to Bobby's?"
"We were supposed to be at Bobby's a week ago, we should really be heading over." Dean grabbed Castiel's arm and helped him to his feet. "Trust me once you get a few Gravols in you'll be fine."
The three of them got back into the car, Castiel stuck his head slightly out the window on the way to the pharmacy, the fresh air on his face making him feel a little better. They pulled into another parking lot, the three of them went into the store, Sam and Dean went off to buy Gravol and it wasn't till they had reached the check out that Dean realized Cas had wandered off. Dean checked down the aisles and found Castiel next to a large Axe display expecting a black can in his hands.
"Trust me, you don't want that."
"I understand it's only supposed to be a metaphor but shouldn't they have chosen a creature more traditionally associated with sexual arousal, like a succubus or mermaid? Or at the very least one less dangerous then a fallen angel."
"You're over thinking it."
"Also we don't have halos, those were only artists impressions of the heavenly light that surrounds our entire body." Dean stopped himself from laughing, took the can away from Castiel and put it back on the shelf. He led Castiel back to the front and met up with Sam as he headed back to the car. When they were all back in the car Sam tossed the pills in the back seat and Cas, with some difficulty, swallowed them dry. It wasn't another ten minutes before the Gravol was pumping through his system and he had passed out, head leaning against the window and cheek pressed against the glass. The rest of the ride was relatively silent, Dean quietly sang to a few songs but it wasn't till they were ending a long stretch of empty road did Dean turn to his brother and speak.
"Hey watch this." Dean grinned swerving sharply around a corner, the force was enough to send the sleeping Castiel flying away from the window and onto the leather seats. The ex angel quickly shot back up, looking flustered and his eyes still blurred with sleep.
"What was that?" Cas asked his tired eyes narrowed in confusion at the laughter coming from Dean.
"Nothing Cas, just a bump in the road, go back to sleep." Sam didn't have to wait long before he heard soft snoring coming from the back seat again. "Dude, that was not funny."
Dean snorted back another wave of laughter. "He should have been wearing a seatbelt."
"Ya well when he pops open another stitch and bleeds all over your seats I hope it stains."
"Aw baby, he doesn't mean that." Dean purred rubbing a hand over the dashboard.
"You know you treat your car better then you own brother." Sam grumbled and the brothers fell back into silence for the rest of the drive. Castiel woke up at one point, too groggy to say anything but they knew he wasn't sleeping by the lack of snoring. It been a long week of interruption, almost like some untold force didn't want them ever reaching Bobby's house but they finally pulled up to the old rickety house, the closest thing the brothers had to a home. Dean had walked halfway up the stairs when he heard his brother cough to get his attention, Sam motioned over to the car where a certain blue-eyed man was still sitting. Dean rolled his eyes and walked back to the impala, he tapped his fingers against the window but Cas didn't even acknowledge his presence.
"What's up man?" Dean asked as he slid into the car next to Castiel. He stared straight ahead at Bobby's house and Dean almost missed the way his hands slightly shook.
"I…" Castiel voice broke off, his eyes dropped away from the house and he licked his lips in a new found nervous human habit. "I don't want to go in there."
"You can't stay here." Dean felt like he should put a hand on Castiel's shoulder, hug him or something, the guy just looked scared out of his wits. "Bobby's not going to hurt you or anything, he's not even here right now, he's over at Sheriff Mills."
"I'm ashamed of my actions and Bobby has no incentive to treat me kindly."
"Incentive." Dean repeated, the word sounded wrong somehow. "Cas, you know I wouldn't just toss you to the wolves you with all torn up."
"All torn up." He flinched; the way Castiel said it, as if his kindness came with conditions.
"Listen, if this was all about angel blood we would have tossed you to the curb the seconds Sam started hallucinating again."
Castiel finally turned to look at Dean, staring hard into the hunter's eyes to search for any hint of lying. He seemed to have found his answer and opened his mouth to say something before the car door opened and Sam interrupted him. "You guys might want to come inside."
Castiel followed behind the brothers, his footsteps slow and hesitant showing his reluctance to face Bobby even if he knew he wasn't in the house. Sam opened the back door and motioned over to the library, it looked empty at first except for a few books until Dean walked in the a bit more and saw a body laying among the books. On instinct he reached for his gun but she lifted her eyes up to him and said "angel proofing your motel doesn't really help if you instantly rush back to nest."
"Mastema." Castiel stepped forward past Dean and the angel and him fell into the most emotionally tense staring contest Dean had ever seen. "Rachmiel is dead."
"Now what would make you say that?" Mastema flicked the book pages absentmindedly, not really paying attention to the contents.
"She's loyal to heaven, she wouldn't work with some thing like you."
"Some thing like me?" She grinned. "Rachmiel doesn't trust me as far as she could throw me, especially with you her new pet project."
"Then why are you here?"
"She made a deal with the Winchesters and has found herself less then capable of holding up her side of the bargain. Unfortunately for her there are very few angels in Heaven willing to be involved with both the infamous ex-god and the Winchester brothers." She pushed herself to her feet and grabbed a knife off Bobby's desk, flicked the edge across her thumb leaving little beads of blood behind. "But being the thing I am, I wouldn't hurt little Sammy, she trusted me enough to fix him up."
She reached her bloody hand to the younger Winchester, who was so tired of seeing Satan everywhere that he didn't really care who reworked the seal. Castiel's hand latched onto the angels wrist and tried to pull her away from Sam though no amount of strength he could muster would be enough to over power an angel. "You lay a single hand on Sam Winchester, it will be the last thing you ever do."
"Or you'll do what, bleed all over me?" She tugged her hand out of Castiel grip, he gave the barest hint of a flinch trying to keep a stern face despite the pain sent through his wrist. "You don't think I'd hurt him do you?"
"I think you're a two-faced snake who is only in heaven because it's beneficial to you. I think you've tried everything you could possibly think of to bring Lucifer back from the pit and they all failed. I think the only reason you are here now is because you tricked Rachmiel into allowing you near Sam in hopes that he might offer some sort of answer on how to bring the devil back."
"That's very insightful Castiel." Mastema smiled again, though the grin was too small and stiff, Castiel's words had obviously touched a nerve. "But don't you think that if I really had wanted to bring big brother back I would have done it by now?"
Dean took a step between his brother and Mastema, he didn't trust demons or angels and somehow she was managed to be a little of both at the same time. Mastema saw that all three of them had suddenly turned wary of her presence and she took a cautionary step back, not because she had anything to fear from them but because her position was at risk. "You don't look very well, brother."
"I am fine."
"Look I…" She hesitated; Dean could see the gears working in her head thinking the best way to handle the situation, to dispel the doubt the three had for her. "I brought you something."
Her hand lifted up, holding what looked like a leather water canteen that she couldn't have been hiding in her short shorts or tank top. She held it out to Castiel who practically stumbled away from the outstretched arm. "Get that away from me."
"Hey now, this was hard to get." All the blood seamed to have drained out of Castiel's face his already pale skin turned a paper white. "I don't know if you remember but last time I tried to knit you back together, you nearly burned my arm off."
"I don't need it."
Mastema rolled her eyes and turned to Dean, her arm still stretched out toward Castiel in case he changed his mind. "You know if he dies, deals off and your brother gets to go on living in crazy town."
"What is that?" Dean asked.
Mastema looked over at Sam before dragging her gaze back to Castiel, the cocky smile finding its way back on her face. "Let's call it wine. And it was very hard to get and is the only thing I could think of that might actually stop Cassie from dying of gangrene and all the other nasty things you humans are always getting."
The fact that Castiel didn't trust Mastema was enough reason for Dean not to either, as much as it perplexed him that Castiel would refuse something that supposedly would make him better it was still his call. "Thanks but no thanks, we'll find another way."
"Or," She started taking a step back towards Castiel who instantly took one back "plan B where I knock you out and pour it down your throat."
Dean tried to protest, stepping forward but Mastema snapped her fingers and Dean felt a wave of electricity run through his body before his muscles went limp and he blacked out. He wasn't sure how long he was out, Bobby still hadn't returned when he woke up, Sam was till passed out on the ground. There was a sickening moment of fear when he looked around the room and saw neither Castiel nor Mastema till her heard the sound of running water. Dean muscled ached but he grabbed hold of the desk and pulled himself up, he walked over to the kitchen and saw Castiel bent over the sink.
"Cas, you okay?" Dean leaned against the counter next to Castiel and watched as he spat into the sink, blood and saliva mixing together before being washed down the drain. "Anything I can do?"
Castiel glanced up at him, catching Dean off guard with the harshness in his eyes. "I would like to have my teeth back."
Castiel stuck a finger past his lips rubbing the sore gap where his molars used to be, he spat into the sink again trying to rid his both of the acidy taste. Dean watched as Castiel moved his jaw, testing for pain or stiffness, and noticed the dark bruise that was forming against his skin. In another scenario Dean would have taken him to the dentist, fake teeth where better then no teeth, but there was no way they would have not taken one look at Castiel and called the cops.
"How do you feel?"
"Better." Castiel almost growled. "That's not the point."
"But-"
"An angel wouldn't have taken that." Castiel's hands gripped the edge of the counter, at least a good sign he wasn't he wasn't in as much pain anymore. "An angel wouldn't have needed it."
"I know being human sucks."
"You don't understand Dean." Castiel let out a frustrated sigh and turned the water off. "I don't think there is a single being in creation that could really understand."
"Okay, you're not a seventeen year old girl, no need to exaggerate like one." And just like that Castiel turned away from him, Dean was pushed out of his comfort zone and had to resort back to sarcasm. Even Dean had to admit he felt a bit like a ass when he watched Castiel stalk up the stairs and slam a door behind him.
Castiel didn't come out for the rest of the night then again no one went knocking on the bedroom door he'd locked himself behind. Sam said he needed space and Bobby agreed though Dean wasn't sure if it was out of genuine concern or a reluctance to talk to the ex-angel. Dean sat on the couch downstairs pretending to research when he was really just trying to figure out how he was supposed to handle both Sam and Castiel problems.
Bobby and Sam both go to bed without Dean realizing it and soon he was alone. When Dean found himself in front of the first door at the top of the stairs he reasoned to that he was only going to check on Castiel, after all he had a bad habit of disappearing lately. He tried to close the door quietly but it still creaked and Cas form shifted on the bed.
"Dean?" Castiel voice was groggy, hair rumpled from the sleep. Dean swallowed down any notion he had that this somehow went against his sense of pride and walked over the Castiel. A pair of blue eyes followed him as he walked to the other side of the bed, Dean lifted the covers and slid beside Cas wrapping an arm around him and pulling him tight against his chest before the fallen angel had a chance to say anything that might change the hunters mind.
"Don't go telling Sam about this, okay?"
He felt Castiel nod then in a meek voice asked "May I turn around."
"Ya, sure." Castiel shuffled around in Dean's arms, tucking his head beneath the hunter's chin his fingers gently wrapped themselves into his shirt. Cas was only fifty percent sure that Dean was actually in his bed, he knew there was a high likely hood that it was all a dream. But he was too tired to care, Castiel drifted back to sleep his hands holding on to Dean in hopes he'd be there when he woke up.