Dean was awoken from a fitful sleep by a violent cough that could only have come from Sam. Dean sighed, ran his fingers through his hair and padded silently to check on his brother. Sam should have immediately been taken to a hospital after the angels fell, but as long as he lived, Dean would never trust hospitals or doctors. Nurses and doctors asked questions. Too many questions. Dean remembered how simple life was before their mom died and before they were hunters; most of all, he remembered the things they hunt only being stories mothers told to teach their children to behave. That was many long, tragic years ago. Out of all these years, this month of just one year has been the most trying for the hunters, with Sam so close to death and the angels falling. Dean was overloaded. He stretched himself thin trying to help Sam and Cas almost at the same time. Thinking about his angel made Dean more concerned and frightened for him. 'It's been weeks, where is he?! Why hasn't he called or anything?! He could be dead or hurt badly…' Dean shook his head to get the horrific thought and image out of his brain. 'Cas is ok, he'll be here soon and everything will be back to normal. Well, as normal as things get for us.' Dean thought. He just needed to make sure his friend was alright. As much as Dean truly hated to admit, the chance that his best friend survived the fall were unbearably slim, and the chances of Sam surviving all this were even slimmer. Dean looked to the sky and prayed, only having done so once or twice before. He prayed to God that he would give Sam the change to survive and that Castiel was ok and would come back to them. All he could do now was make Sam as comfortable as possible and wait. He's always hated waiting.

Castiel wandered for hours. It took a lot of convincing to get him to move in the first place, but after a long, tedious debate with himself, he decided that it wasn't worth risking his sanity and safety for his own selfish reasons. He had done enough of that and he came to the realization that Dean might need him for support depending on Sam's condition. He set off after cursing Metatron and his own foolishness. He didn't know how much time had passed, but his now human body told him it had been too long since he last slept, ate or drank. At that point he didn't care about his body's needs, he just wanted; no, he needed to find Dean and apologize for everything, even if Dean wouldn't hear it or wouldn't let him into the bunker. Finally, after another couple of hours, Castiel emerged from the thick forest Metatron teleported him to. He breathed a sigh of relief and walked down the road with his thumb up, which he learned from the television, was a sign that he needed a ride. Hitchhiking, it was called. Soon enough, a car pulled over and the driver asked where Castiel was headed. "Where am I?" Castiel asked. "You're just outside of Kansas." The woman replied. Castiel smiled at his fortune, slid into the passenger seat and told the lady where he wanted to go. A short time later, Castiel found himself at the door of the bunker that his best friends called home. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and knocked three times. After a few nerve-wracking seconds, the door opened. Castiel lifted his head and was greeted by the beautiful, bright green eyes and the handsome face of the love of his life, though Castiel would never admit that out loud. "Cas?" Dean whispered. Castiel gave him a slight smile and nodded. "Hello Dean." Castiel replied. He noted that his voice was sweet and melodious, unlike the commanding growl he was so used to. Suddenly, Dean wrapped Castiel in a warm, loving embrace that Castiel gladly returned; the two stayed in that position, each lost in his own thoughts, for a period of time most people would find highly uncomfortable. To add to that uncomfortable silence and prolonged hug, Dean subconsciously ran his fingers through Castiel's hair while the latter buried his head into the crook of Dean's muscular neck. Sam always did have awesome timing… "Castiel?"

Please review and let me know if I should continue with the story! All feedback is greatly appreciated! :D