Dean just wanted to find an off-road motel and sleep. Taking his eyes off the road for a moment, Dean stole a look at his brother. Sam, lucky him, had fallen asleep. His head lay against the window and his mouth was slightly open as he breathed low and slow.
They had just finished up a case which involved taking out a rogue vampire that had been terrorizing a small town in Wyoming. It had been a long, fussy affair and when all was said and done, Dean had just wanted to get out of there.
"Dean."
The older Winchester blinked.
"Yeah, Cas?" Dean quietly answered. He glanced again at Sam and saw that he hadn't been disturbed. That kid could sleep through anything.
Upon first meeting the angel, Castiel had told Dean that he was part of a group of special individuals who could perceive the true voice and true forms of those celestial beings. Dean had accepted this. After all, Sam couldn't be the only weirdo in the family.
"I wish for you to see my true form," the disembodied voice told him.
"Okay," Dean said, raising an eyebrow. "But haven't I seen it before?"
"You have," responded Castiel, "However, I have been elevated to that of a Seraph, so I have changed."
"Okay," Dean said again and parked the Impala on the side of the road.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Close your eyes."
As soon as he did so, Dean felt something shift around him. He opened his eyes.
Dean was no longer inside the Impala, but standing in a golden field. The first thing he noticed, surprisingly, was that his hiking boots were gone and he stood barefoot. Dean knew enough from the Bible that standing on Holy Ground meant that the person must not wear shoes. So, Holy Ground it must be then.
As Dean looked around the tranquil place, his movements stopped completely.
An Ox walked towards him. But it was not just any Ox. Its body was formed by Grace and celestial light. It had six wings and covering every inch of those wings were eyes.
Dean shrank back.
"Be not afraid," the Ox told him.
Though it sounded different, Dean recognized its voice as Castiel's. He then remembered back to when Castiel had showed him his true form back when he was ranked as a regular angel. In angel form, Castiel stood as tall as a skyscraper and somewhat had the body of a man. He had even bent down on one knee so that Dean could have a better view of his face.
"Thank you, Castiel," Dean said softly.
Dean, on numerous occasions, had shown that he had trust in this angel explicitly. It was now that he realized that Castiel was placing his trust in Dean by showing him what he really was. The older Winchester would have been lying if he said that he wasn't moved by this revelation.
The Ox slowly blinked and Dean felt himself leaving this place. Before the golden field had disappeared altogether, Dean thought he could hear other unearthly voices singing.
Dean twitched in the driver's seat of the Impala and scrubbed a tired hand over his face.
"Five miles down the road you will find an inn," whispered Castiel's voice, then he was gone.
Sighing, Dean ignited the Impala and drove to where the motel was located. With no doubt, next time he'd see the now-Seraph, Castiel would be residing within his human vessel. The vessel may look like an unassuming man in a trench coat, but Dean now knew there was so much more to it.