Surprise! I have something for today after all :) The one shot I had planned on posting Monday was longer than I remembered, so I decided to split it up into two parts and post one today and the second Monday. I'm still going to start posting the sequel to "Family First" (The Ties That Bind) next Friday.

This story is set during the events of "First Blood" and was also inspired by the episode "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell".

Prepare yourselves for major Cas!Whump in this one! Thanks also go to Aini NuFire for letting me borrow her hellhound head canon for this story!

And just in other news: I have made a master list of my fics on my profile by Season and quick tags, so you can check that out as well as to see what is upcoming if you wish :)

Side Job

A Supernatural Fanfic

Part One

Castiel sighed heavily as he propped his chin in one hand, eyes searing from the long hours he had spent scanning the screen of his laptop. He had been alternating between looking into anything that could lead him to where Sam and Dean had been taken, and when those leads ran dry, he turned to figuring out where Kelly Kline might be—desperate to at least fix something. Both searches were pulling up equal blanks, though. He was beginning to wonder how Sam and Dean were ever able to find anything they needed on the internet. It seemed impossible to him, even with the notes Sam had made him a while back. He just didn't seem to be good at finding the information he needed. Just like when he was hunting alone.

It didn't help that the diner he was currently sitting in had a terrible wi-fi connection, and on top of that, the coffee tasted stale and bitter like it had been cooking in the pot since the day before. It was pretty much just adding insult to injury.

He almost breathed a sigh of relief when his phone rang, breaking the monotony, and he hurried to answer it as he saw Mary's name pop up onto the caller id.

"Mary? Is everything all right? Have you found anything?" he asked, before having to stop himself from blurting any more questions.

He heard her soft sigh from the other end of the line. "No, I'm sorry, Castiel, I still haven't found anything about where Sam and Dean might be." She sounded as tired as he felt and he felt a sharp pang in his chest again, still not having forgiven himself for letting Sam and Dean get captured like that. "What about you?" she asked after a second.

Castiel shook his head, glaring at the computer screen before he closed it. "Nothing. I can't find any information on the internet, and no one I have talked to is willing to help me."

"We'll find them, Cas," she assured him. "But in the meantime, I um…I've found a case, I think. If you have nothing else going on, I could use some help."

Castiel straightened up. "What kind of case?"

"Well, the deaths look like animal attacks; I thought werewolf at first, but the hearts weren't missing, so I'm not sure what this might be."

Castiel frowned. "That is strange. Where are you?"

She gave him the address of the motel she was staying at. "Thank you, Cas. I could probably handle this alone, but with the amount of bodies this thing's dropped, and the fact I don't know what it is…I'd kind of like to have some help on this one."

"Of course, you can always ask me for assistance," Castiel assured her. "I'll be there soon."

He ended the call and grabbed his laptop, leaving money on the table for the awful coffee. He was actually relived to have something to focus on. He thought maybe that had been Mary's intention. While Castiel would never deny her help, he knew she was also a very resourceful hunter and could probably handle the case herself. But still…the last thing he wanted to have to tell Sam and Dean when he got them back was that he'd let their mother go on a hunt alone where she got torn up by an unknown beast. So whether it was for her sake or his own, he was going to go offer his assistance.

Mary was only an hour away from where he was and he arrived at her motel in Leavenworth, Kansas around noon. Mary greeted him with a smile as he knocked on her door.

"Hey, Castiel. Come in, I've got some research going."

He followed her into the room and saw papers and books spread over the small table with more papers and a map of the area tacked to the wall nearby. Castiel went over to study it, seeing all the marks drawn onto the map.

"Are these all victims?" he asked with a frown, counting nearly ten dots Mary had marked.

"Yes," she said, standing at his shoulder. "All of them died the same, and all within the last two weeks. I talked to the local ranger yesterday and they're baffled as to what it might be. He thinks a rogue wolf or possibly even a coyote, but no one's seen anything."

"And it's definitely not a werewolf since the moon cycle is off," Castiel mused as he studied the map again, trying to see if he could make out a pattern in it. "Is there any connection between the victims?"

Mary shrugged helplessly. "If there is, I can't seem to find it."

"Well, it seems to be killing approximately within the area of a ten mile radius. Perhaps if we study the areas where the victims were killed we can find some more clues."

"I've looked at the most recent sites, but it wouldn't hurt to have a fresh pair of eyes," Mary told him. "I must be getting rusty."

Castiel offered her a small smile. "Well, you're still getting into your stride again, I'm sure. You're still better than I am."

"You just need more practice talking to the locals, Castiel," Mary assured him, smiling back. "But I'll help with that, show you some tricks. There was another attack last night but this time with a survivor. I was going to go question her today. Let me just change into my Fed gear and we can head out."

Before she could even grab her clothes though, a knock came at the door. Castiel cast a cautious glance at Mary.

"Are you expecting anyone?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No." She pulled a gun from the back of her jeans and approached the door slowly. Castiel was right at her shoulder, angel blade slipping into his hand as Mary opened the door and peered out to see who their visitor was.

Castiel groaned out loud and closed his eyes briefly as he saw who stood out there. "What do you want?"

"Love you too, Cassie," Crowley said with an insufferable smirk. "Is that any way to greet your former partner?" His eyes flicked to Mary and his smile widened. "And you must be the famous Mary Winchester. So good to meet you."

Mary stared blankly between the demon and Castiel. "You know him?" she asked the angel finally.

Castiel sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. Mary, this is…Crowley."

"Wait, you're Crowley?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at the demon. "I pictured you taller."

"I pictured you burning on the ceiling," Crowley shot back, and tried to get into the room, but Castiel stopped him with a firm hand on the shoulder.

"What do you want?" he demanded. "I know you didn't just show up for a social call. How did you even know we were here?"

Crowley rolled his eyes. "Really, Cas, after all that time we spent together hunting Lucifer you still don't trust me?"

"No."

The demon sighed. "Fine. I came about the murders."

"Why should you care about that?" Mary asked him, folding her arms across her chest.

"Because, someone stole a hellhound from its kennel, and now I've got to be the one to clean up the mess!" Crowley snapped.

Mary looked at Castiel before turning back to Crowley in surprise. "Wait, you think these people were killed by a hellhound? But I thought they would only come to collect souls when a person's deal was up?"

"Usually, yes," Crowley told her. "But this hellhound is being controlled by a group of Lucifer loyalists who are still running around despite my best efforts to eradicate the little verminous traitors. I knew there was a group of them operating close by, and so I went out to deliver a little justice, but one demon escaped with the stolen hellhound and now he's doing this as a way of giving me the finger, I suppose." He glanced between them. "Long story short, since you're here, I would like to employ you."

Mary glowered at him. "Why would we do that?"

Crowley looked to Castiel in appeal. "After everything I've done, can I get no trust here?"

Castiel glowered at him and Crowley sighed heavily. "Fine, long story short, I can't trust any of my own men. I never know when another one will turn on me, so I can't send demons to do this for me. You two are here working the case anyway, I assume, from the décor on the wall over there, so essentially, nothing changes. Except that I help you get better intel. What do you say?"

Castiel studied Crowley for a moment. "If we help you, we want something in return," he said.

Crowley raised his eyebrows, surprised. "Why, Cas, has our friendship meant nothing to you?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?" Castiel replied blandly.

Crowley pulled a face. "Fine, what does Castiel wish for his services? Please tell me a new vehicle that was actually made in this century, or possibly some fashion advice."

Castiel narrowed his gaze at the demon but said, "I want intel on Sam and Dean."

"I can't give you that," Crowley said.

"Aren't you the King of Hell?" Mary asked him, stepping forward. "You've got to have some kind of universal access to stuff like this, right?"

"Hell, darling, is the operative word here," Crowley told her. "Not a government official—not that most of them would know. As much as it positively pains me to say it, your boys are locked up far, far away from anything anyone can sniff out, even me."

"But you must have people, contacts, high up in government," Castiel insisted. "Surely they would know something."

"This is too top secret," Crowley insisted. "No one is going to let this one slip."

"Then we're leaving town and you'll have to do this yourself," Castiel said. "Good luck."

He turned back, about to shut the door when Crowley grabbed the edge of it, stopping him. "Wait…" he sighed. Castiel waited, cocking an eyebrow.

"I might be able to find someone who will know what happened to them," Crowley said. "But seriously, Cas, there's no guarantee here."

"I trust you to do whatever is in your power," Castiel said with no room for argument.

"Now you trust me?" Crowley rolled his eyes. "Fine. We have a deal then."

Castiel narrowed his eyes at the phrase but nodded. "We'll help."

"Fantastic. Because we have some questioning to do—latest victim's sister if I recall?" Crowley said, clasping his hands together.

Mary glanced between them, looking resigned. "I'll go change."

Crowley and Castiel were left standing there in awkward silence. Crowley finally smiled. "So then, Cas, together again."

Castiel simply glared at him and made a sound in the back of his throat halfway between exasperation and disgust. This had been the last thing he'd wanted.

"You know, sometimes I think it would be better if we just struck off on our own; no more Hell no, more Winchesters, and you and I start a supernatural private investigation business. What do you think?"

"Shut up, Crowley," Castiel growled.

"Think about it," Crowley coaxed. "After all, if you can't find the Winchesters, what will poor Castiel have to do with himself?"

Castiel slammed the door in his face, hearing a satisfying yelp at it struck the demon in the nose. But really, he'd been wondering the same thing. Not that he had given up hope yet—he'd gotten Dean and Sam both out of Hell, a government facility shouldn't be that hard. But if the worst-case scenario happened…if he lost them…what would he do? Going back to Heaven was out of the picture, he wasn't that great at hunting, he had experience as a store associate, but that was a long, tedious existence for someone who didn't really need the money to survive. The thought of never seeing Sam and Dean again, of losing these men who had become his brothers without knowing what had been their fate…it made him feel suddenly claustrophobic. They were the ones who had given his life meaning after he fell, the thought of not having them in his life ever again made him wonder what his purpose even was.

"Castiel?"

He was startled out of his dark thoughts by Mary's hand touching his elbow. She looked up at him with concern, already dressed in her Fed clothes. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Castiel swallowed hard, managing a jerky nod. "Yes, I'm fine. Let's go."

He followed her out to her car. Castiel promptly shoved past the demon for the shotgun position and Crowley huffed and climbed into the back with no small amount of grumbling. Castiel glanced over at Mary as she started the car and headed toward their first destination. He supposed that if nothing else, he could help her hunt. She was Sam and Dean's family, and that made her his own too, in a way.

He vowed then, that if worse came to worse, and he never saw Sam and Dean again, he would do everything in his power to keep their mother safe.

He owed them that much.

Mary pulled up at the house of the witness they were going to question, and glanced across at Castiel before turning the engine off. The angel had been silent the whole way, aside from a few snide remarks in answer to Crowley's comments from the backseat. He'd looked more rundown than usual when he'd shown up at her motel room that day. She could see a lot of weight on Cas' shoulders, and she could certainly sympathize with what he was going through. After she'd taken out that vampire nest for him, she'd gotten the feeling that he was floundering a little without Sam and Dean around. While she may not have known all the details of their long-running friendship, she was certain of one thing and that was that the angel cared very much for her sons. It was no wonder he looked so distraught as the days—weeks—crawled by with still no word on where they might find Sam and Dean. In a lot of ways—probably in all the ways that really counted right now—Castiel knew her boys better than she did. He had every right to take this hard.

Still, she knew it was important to get him out and doing something, even if they had no leads on Sam and Dean's location. Hopefully this hunt might give him something else to focus on.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Crowley asked, already out of the car while she had been occupied with her own thoughts. "Are we working this case or not?"

Mary was starting to see why Castiel found the demon so annoying.

"Of course," she replied and got out of the car to join the angel and the demon…this might have been normal for Sam and Dean, but she couldn't be the only one who saw the irony in this team up, right?

Apparently they were taking Crowley's lead though as he strode up to the door, while Mary and Cas trailed behind, sharing a glance.

Crowley knocked and the door was opened by a young woman a few seconds later.

"Yes?" she asked, looking around as if they might not be the only ones who had shown up on her doorstep.

"Hello, Laura Conners? I'm Agent Sterling with the FBI," Crowley told her, showing her a badge. "These are my partners, Agents Ford and Deveroux."

"We're here to ask some follow-up questions about what happened to your brother," Castiel told her.

Her face pinched and she hugged her arms around herself. "The FBI are involved? Why? I thought it was supposed to have been an animal attack." The bitter note in her voice as she said it, told Mary that she'd already been run through the wringer by the locals. She knew she'd seen something weird and no one wanted to believe her.

"It's just some routine questions; it won't take long," she promised. "May we come in?"

"Um, sure, I guess," she replied and opened the door, stepping aside.

Mary and the others followed her into the kitchen where she started clearing stuff from the table so they could sit down.

"I'm sorry, it's just…"

"No need to apologize," Mary told her with a small smile. "I'm sure this is difficult. We won't take too much of your time, we just have a few questions."

"Okay," she said softly, sitting down. "What do you need to know?"

"Where were you when your brother was attacked?" Crowley asked. "The report we got wasn't very specific."

"Um, I don't remember exactly," she said, pressing a hand to her forehead. "We were just hiking out in the woods, when that…thing…attacked him. I thought it was gonna get me too, but he told me to run and I…" She covered her face with her hands. "Oh god, I can't believe I left him, it just happened so fast and…"

Castiel reached across the table and touched her shoulder gently. "Miss Conners, I know this must be difficult, but we need to know as much as you can possibly remember. This thing has killed a lot of people already, and you're the only one who has survived being near it so far."

She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. Crowley plucked a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her with a flourish. Mary rolled her eyes but Laura Conners seemed to be grateful for she dabbed her eyes with it and blew her nose. "It's just…I don't really know what I saw. I told the police and the rangers when they questioned me, but…I must have been suffering from trauma, just like they said."

"Why would you say that?" Mary asked her.

The young woman shook her head. "Because I know I didn't see what I thought I did."

"What did you think you saw then?" Castiel asked. "Believe us, anything you have to offer will help."

She sniffed again, and sighed, glancing between the three of them sheepishly. "I—I didn't see anything. I could have sworn that whatever attacked us was invisible."

After a few more questions where Laura Conners was able to give them a general location after remembering she and her brother had passed a cabin out in the woods while on their hike, the three of them left. Mary had almost felt bad for trying to convince the girl she was most likely just suffering from post traumatic stress and that her brother had been most likely killed by a rogue wolf, but at the same time, wasn't it better to keep her as innocent as possible? The girl had already suffered enough, she didn't need to know that there were demons and hellhounds walking the earth.

"So now we have a general location," Mary said. "What's our next plan of action?"

"Find the little runaway and haul his ass back to hell," Crowley said.

"And what about the hellhound?" Mary asked. "We can't see it."

"Well, I can, and so can Cas," Crowley shrugged.

Castiel frowned thoughtfully. "Actually, Sam and Dean found a way to see them too. If you run a pair of glasses through holy fire, the wearer is able to see hellhounds."

"Oh," Mary said, impressed. "Perfect. I don't have holy oil, though."

"I'll see to that," Crowley said. "Meet me in an hour at the head of the hiking trail."

He disappeared and Mary and Cas both breathed a sigh of relief as they headed back to her car. She glanced over at the angel and offered him a small smile.

"You did good in there," she told him.

He glanced over at her, somewhat surprised and looking a bit skeptical. "Really?"

She nodded. "I don't think you're as terrible at this as you seem to think. It just takes a little confidence."

Castiel cocked his head to one side, considering. "I suppose you're right, I just…when I was at full power, I didn't need to rely on all this. I could get around easier, for one, and for another I didn't truly care what anyone thought. Now…well, I've been around humanity for so long—I've been human myself—I am more aware of how difficult it can be to…fit in."

Mary recalled his words when she had first come back about not being sure whether he fit in or not. She may not have been able to answer him then, but after seeing him with her sons, she could tell that he did.

"Honestly, Castiel, you're a lot nicer and more competent than a lot of hunters I've worked with over the years," she told him truthfully. "And I think all of us have trouble fitting in. We're not like normal people, and we never will be. Normal isn't part of the hunting life. Believe me, I've tried getting out of it, I should know." A pang went through her chest as old memories flooded her again. "For what it's worth, I think you fit in just fine."

Castiel gave her a small smile, but there was a sadness there as well. "I appreciate the sentiment. Perhaps some day I will be able to convince myself of that."

Mary had a feeling there was more to this than Cas was letting on. She made a mental note that if—when—they got Sam and Dean back, she would have to mention to them to talk to Cas about this. About making sure he felt that he fit in. She might be able to see from an outsider's point of view that was how her boys felt about the angel, but maybe Castiel needed the confirmation from them himself.

They drove back to the motel where Mary changed and picked out the best weapons for the job and she and Castiel then headed toward the hiking trail where they would meet Crowley.

The demon was waiting for them as promised and as Mary and Castiel got out of the car, grabbing weapons, he came over and handed her a pair of glasses.

"Cured for hellhound vision," he told her.

She put them on, but nothing looked different to her. "Are you sure they work?" she asked skeptically.

"They won't look different unless there's a hellhound in the vicinity," Cas told her. She shrugged. She supposed she would just have to trust the King of Hell. He had hired them, after all, so she was mostly confident that he wouldn't try to get them killed. At least not on purpose.

"Where is this cabin?" Castiel asked. "Do you think that's where the demon is holed up?"

"Considering that it's in the vicinity of the other attacks, I would say yes," Crowley commented.

"Let's go then," Mary said, already striding forward into the woods. She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. If not to get away from the King of Hell, then to have him make good on his promise to find out any information he could on Sam and Dean. Crowley might be annoying to work with, but even she had to admit he was probably their best bet for finding her boys after they had exhausted every other resource.

The woods were quiet, and she thought that was a little strange, but then decided it was only to be expected with a demon and his hound living nearby.

They made it to the cabin and Crowley halted at the treeline, turning to them. "Wait here and keep a look out. If he bolts, nab him. Take him alive if you can, but if not, I'm not sentimental. He'll die either way, though I would like him to have a nice long stay in my dungeons first."

Castiel rolled his eyes and slid his angel blade out of his sleeve. "We'll make sure he, or the hellhound, doesn't get away."

Crowley nodded and stepped off toward the cabin. Mary and Castiel shared a glance and then moved to opposite sides of the cabin to be able to watch from as many angles as they could.

It wasn't long before a commotion rang out inside the cabin. Mary stepped forward toward the front door, ready if the demon bolted, but it was Crowley who exited, dragging the culprit along with him, by the back of the demon's collar.

Castiel came back to join them, raising an eyebrow. "Is that him?"

Crowley nodded, throwing the demon to his knees at his feet. "Oh yes, this is most definitely the scraggy runaway." He looked down at the protesting demon with a glower. "You, I am going to make an example of. My subjects need a reminder as to why they don't cross me, don't you think?" He glanced back at Cas and Mary. "By the way, his hound isn't there. Must have let it out of his kennel before we got here. I trust you'll clean that up? I've got Hell business to see to." And with that, he disappeared with the demon in tow.

Castiel and Mary shared a look of exasperation and started off on a hunt for a hellhound.

It was a quiet night, and there was a chill in the air. Castiel might not be affected by it, but he saw Mary zip her jacket up after a few minutes of being out of the car as they trudged into the woods. She was wearing the glasses they had cured with holy fire, and they both had their weapons close to hand, ready for a surprise attack. They'd been unable to find anything earlier and had gone back to town for food before they had returned to the woods after dark, figuring that the hellhound was more likely to be out then.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that Crowley decided to bail on the dangerous part of this hunt," Mary said blandly as she looked around for any sign of the hellhound.

Castiel grunted. "That is how he typically operates. I'm actually surprised he helped with Lucifer as much as he did. But then, having Lucifer loose was just as bad for him as it was us and Crowley did have a score to settle. Still, at least he took out the rogue demon."

A branch snapped further in the woods and Castiel held up a hand to caution Mary to stop. They both glanced around, alert. Something flitted between the shadows of two trees, catching Castiel's eye.

"There," he said, pointing in the direction he'd seen movement.

"Is it the hellhound?"

"I—"

Their answer came as a dark, spectral breast suddenly lunged out of the trees with a snarl. Smoke wafted from its open mouth, and its eyes glowed red.

"Watch out!" Castiel shouted, as the hellhound barreled straight toward them, leaping off the ground, right at Mary's throat.

She dodged quickly, leaping to the side and spinning around as the hellhound landed, hunkering low in a fighting crouch, as it looked between Mary and Castiel as if to decide which one to go to first.

"Hey!" Castiel shouted at it, falling into a crouch himself as he held his blade at the ready.

The hellhound spun around toward him and lunged with a series of angry barks. Castiel skipped to the side, slashing with his blade and scoring a hit to the hellhound's shoulder. It only seemed to make it angrier though, because it dodged swiftly to one side before it jumped up and bore Castiel to the ground.

He fell with a grunt, his blade knocked from his hand and his sword arm trapped under one huge paw as he looked up into the snarling muzzle of the hellhound. Its breath was so hot, it nearly burned his face as it leaned down to growl at him.

"Hey, ugly!"

The hellhound whipped around at Mary's shout, which was soon followed by a gunshot.

The hellhound snarled again and leapt off Castiel to turn its attention to Mary.

Castiel scrambled to his feet quickly as several more gunshots rang out nearby, followed by the yelp of the hellhound. Mary had wounded it.

Castiel picked up his blade, starting forward to help her finish it off, when the hellhound suddenly charged at her with an angry growl.

Mary got off several other shots, but the hellhound was too quick and barreled straight into her.

Mary fell hard with a cry, the glasses jarring off of her head. The hellhound crouched several feet away, growling as it waited for her to make a move.

"Mary!" Castiel cried, lurching forward, his heart in his throat. All he could think about was the hellhound ripping Mary apart with its claws, tearing her throat out.

She scrambled to her feet, leveling the gun in the general direction of the hellhound, but Castiel could sense it was about to leap, its shoulder hunkering further to the ground, and she wouldn't get the shot off accurately enough if she couldn't see it.

"Get down!" he yelled, and leapt forward. Mary jumped to the side as Castiel lunged at the hellhound, striking out at it with his blade. It whipped around too fast for a decent strike and he only managed a glancing blow to the beast's head, before it snapped its head to the side and took the wrist of his sword arm in its teeth.

Castiel shouted in pained surprise as his arm was wrenched to one side and his blade was torn from his grip. Before he could fully register how bad this situation was, the hellhound barked loudly, and leapt at him, bearing him to the ground, sinking its teeth into Castiel's shoulder.

The angel cried out as he felt the hound's teeth puncture the muscle between his neck and shoulder, and he was shaken like a chew toy, his neck snapping to one side.

"Castiel!" he heard Mary shout, and he tried to scramble for his blade, knowing it was somewhere close to hand.

But he didn't get the chance, because the hellhound suddenly pressed a huge paw to his chest to hold him down, claws digging in and then ripping downward, tearing deep furrows across his belly. Castiel screamed at the agony, feeling his flesh ripped apart, and was so blinded by the pain, he wasn't aware of the hound's weight being forced off of him until a few seconds later when he heard the beast yelp.

He forced his eyes open, and saw Mary holding his blade, stabbing it again and again into the hellhound's body until it stopped moving all together. She stopped then too, looking down at it and panting, covered in black blood before she hurried over to Castiel, dropping to her knees.

"Cas, oh my god," she cried, hands hovering over him as if afraid to touch. Castiel tried to push himself up onto an elbow, but pain tore through him and he collapsed with a cry. Mary gently pressed down on his good shoulder and his knee.

"Shh, easy, don't try to move," she said, and started yanking off her jacket, pulling her flannel overshirt off and pressing it against the wounds in his stomach. Castiel arched his back, a pained moan escaping from between clenched teeth.

"How bad?" he asked hoarsely, the wound in his shoulder making it impossible to crane his neck to see, even though he knew from the way he felt that it was very bad.

Mary kept one hand pressed to the wound as she pulled his shirt collar aside to look at the bite. She pressed her lips together. "You'll be fine, we'll get you patched up…"

"No, I won't," he forced out, a groan escaping his throat as his voice trailed off. "Hellhound saliva is…poison to angels." He gasped again as she pressed harder, squeezing his eyes shut.

Mary was loosening his tie and before he could ask her what she was doing, she was threading it behind his back and tying her shirt tightly against his wounds. He cried out again, but she took his good hand and pressed it against his stomach.

"Keep pressure on that. I'm going to get the car."

He didn't have the breath to protest, and Mary hurried off to where they had left the car. Pretty soon, he heard the motor and the headlights blinded him as she pulled up close to him. Briefly, he wished it had been the Impala for he had begun to be as comforted by the old car's presence as the Winchesters were, but Dean's 'baby' was back at the bunker, waiting for him and Sam to return.

Castiel forced those thoughts out of his mind. He couldn't dwell on that right now. It wasn't hard, the pain from his wounds was taking up most of his capacity to think.

"Cas."

He started as he realized Mary was crouching next to him again, a worried frown between her brows. "You need to get in the car. Just help me get you up, I can't lift you by myself."

It was an effort of Herculean proportions, but Castiel somehow managed to push himself to his feet with an arm wrapped around Mary's shoulders, even though the wounds in his stomach burned so badly, he felt like he was on fire. Sweat broke out across his forehead and he couldn't catch a breath until he sank into the passenger seat. Mary carefully closed the door and he gratefully leaned against the cool window, trying to force air into his lungs.

She was suddenly behind the wheel and putting the car in drive, tearing off toward the main road. Castiel felt a wave of dizziness wash over him and clutched at the handle on the door, to keep himself upright.

"Hang in there, Cas," Mary said. "We'll get back to the motel and I'll patch you up. Just keep pressure on that."

He grunted, remembering to press his hand to his wounds again but even the slightest pressure caused agony to rip through him. He knew it was only a matter of time too, before the bites started burning and the poison truly started to set in. He didn't think they would make it back to the motel before that happened.

"Castiel, the poison…" Mary said, glancing over at him. "How bad is it? What can I do?"

He sucked in a deep breath as they drove over a pothole and his whole body jarred painfully. "Nothing," he ground out.

"But there must be something…"

"It won't kill me," Castiel said, turning toward her—well, he was pretty sure it wouldn't, but these wounds…they might very well kill him. "But it will take time to burn out and…it will not be pleasant. And my wounds won't heal until then." He swallowed against the bile rising in his throat, before he realized he was afraid. Afraid of the pain to come, afraid of not being strong enough to survive it. Just like he hadn't been strong enough to defeat Lucifer before the fallen archangel had wreaked more havoc, hadn't been able to stop Sam and Dean from being taken. Had lost Kelly Kline. At least he'd been able to save Mary tonight. That was the first thing he'd done right in a long time.

He was surprised to feel a hand on his arm, squeezing comfortingly. "Don't worry, Cas, you'll get through it."

He was touched by her assurance, but also somewhat ashamed. "I won't…it won't be a pleasant experience. If you don't want to stay, I'll understand." He didn't want to be more of a burden than he already was. He knew Mary hadn't signed up for this, playing nurse to a wounded, broken angel.

Her grip on his arm tightened as she turned to him with a frown. "No, Castiel. I'm not going to just leave you like this. Why would you think that?"

He swallowed hard, not wanting to admit that at some points in their relationship, Sam and Dean would not have thought twice about leaving him if there had been more important things to do. Of course, it wasn't like that anymore, but sometimes those memories still hurt. It wasn't like he'd ever gotten different treatment from his angelic brethren.

"Besides," Mary continued, putting her hand back on the wheel. "You jumped in front of that hellhound to save me. I owe you my life. And I know I owe you my boys' lives multiple times too. The least I can do is keep you company through this, even if I can't do anything to help." She glanced at him again. "But that's not why I'm going to stay either. I'm staying because I care what happens to you, Castiel."

Warmth spread through Castiel's chest that had nothing to do with the growing fever. He glanced over at Mary as she offered him a small smile and he let out a breath, not wanting to admit how relieved he was at the thought of not having to go through this alone. "Thank you," he managed to say. Then slid more heavily against the door and allowed his eyes to close. There wouldn't be many more moments now before he was in complete agony.