Second SPN story: time for a wounded Cas! :)

You can view this story as either pure brotherly love or bordering on Destiel! As you wish!

Timeline: Set at the end of 6x18 (Frontierland). I created a slightly alternate ending to the episode. One I wished to see (I mean, come on, Dean, aren't you even the least worried Cas has been stabbed?).

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from SPN. (If I owned Sam Winchester, I would have made him hug Cas, obviouslyyyyy)


My heart is numb

The feeling that I get from

The way you shake your voice

And curse this bitter love

And oh, it's cold

Living in a fallen home

We were just kids back then

Too scared to be alone

- Withe Fences, by needtobreathe


"You gotta send us back!" Dean told Cas as he realized he had just failed in his task.

"Dean, look at him," Sam said. "He's fried." He was right, Dean had to acknowledge that. Castiel did look completely exhausted.

So Dean turned to Bobby who himself seemed pretty worn-out. "Bobby, you-"

"I'm still kicking, Annie Oakley! Be back in a decade of two," Bobby reassured, though his head was buried in his hands.

"What on earth happened here, anyway?" Sam enquired, surprised to see his friends in such a shape, considering they were fine when he last saw them.

"Cas has been wounded," Bobby answered, eyes closed, hand rubbing his sore forehead.

"What?" Dean let out, looking at Castiel who was seating nearby.

"It's nothing. I'm fine!" Cas tried to reassure.

"What the hell happened?" Dean went on.

"A fellow Angel... Rachel! She stuck him with her blade," Bobby answered.

Dean's eyebrows furrowed, looking worriedly at his angelic friend. "Let me see what that bitch did to you, Cas," he asked, kneeling in front of Castiel.

Reluctantly, he let Dean open up his shirt so he could examine the injury. "She's dead, now."

"'Course, she is!" Dean said. "She should've known better than to fight you in duel!"

Castiel frowned. He didn't know Dean Winchester had such a high opinion of him as a warrior.

Dean grimaced when he laid eyes on the wound. Blood was still slowly dripping out of it and a thin but very bright light was shining through. He gently probed it and felt Cas' body suddenly tense. The Angel winced in pain.

"Does it hurt much?" Dean asked, bothered by the reaction.

Cas didn't answer, but the tight features on his face told what he didn't say aloud.

"Is there anything we can do to ease the pain?" Sam enquired, placing his hand on Cas' shoulder in a comforting manner.

"There isn't."

"Really?" Dean asked, unconvinced.

"I'll heal. I just need some time."

"Well, maybe something like a wet cloth might ease the pain..."

"No, it's fine."

"That's actually a good idea, Dean!" Sam encouraged. "I'll go get that."

"There's no need, really..." Castiel tried to resist.

"Hey, you know what? Just stop talking for a minute and relax! Lay down on the couch."

No matter how many times Castiel told the Winchesters he was fine, the boys didn't give him a choice, so he eventually let Dean help him lay down on the sofa.

"Easy..." Dean said softly as Castiel uneasily settled in the couch. "Comfortable?"

The Angel nodded with a sigh.

Sam came back with the cloth and kneeled by the couch to place it on the wound but Dean wouldn't let him.

"Gimme that," he said, taking the cloth from Sam and seating on the side of the couch. Sam didn't resist and simply went to Bobby to make sure there was nothing he could do to help the old man.

Dean was examining the injury, disappointed in Cas. How could the Angel even let that Rachel woman inflict him such a blow in the torso... "How come she hurt you, Cas?" he asked, his voice harsh.

"She took me off guard..." Castiel answered in a tired voice.

"But I mean, when she answered my call to you, right before you sent us back in time, she seemed to like you. You said she was your lieutenant. Why would she stab you all of a sudden?"

"She rallied Raphael. She betrayed me. Raphael must have asked her to kill me."

Dean silently nodded. "Well, you should be more cautious, man. If you're at war against some badass Archangel, you'd better watch your back. At all times."

Castiel nodded in return. Dean had no idea how much he was right.

The short-haired Winchester then gently applied the cloth on his friend's wound. It obviously hurt the latter as his body tensed and he gasped.

"Yeah, I know," Dean encouraged. "I know it hurts, Cas. But it's either that or Jimmy's body will soon be out of blood. Trust me, man, that wouldn't be a good thing."

As Dean pressed harder on the wound, Castiel moaned in pain. "You said it would ease the pain, not enhance it!" he said through gritted teeth.

Dean chuckled. "Yeah... Well I lied. But I'm almost done. There. You can relax," he said, removing the cloth from Castiel's injury and getting up to wash his hands.

"You okay, Castiel?" Sam asked, concerned.

"Yes... I just...need to rest, now."

"That's a good idea," Dean encouraged, sitting back down next to Cas. He was folding a new hanky and the Angel frowned. "Chill out, dude! I'm just gonna place it on the wound to dress it. I won't press, alright?" he said, before adding "Friggin' baby..."

The Winchester hadn't lied this time. He simply put the dressing on Cas' wound to protect it.

After a little while, a dozing Castiel muttered "It does sting..."

"Yeah, well, if you go to sleep, you won't feel it anymore," Dean retorted, getting up to check on Bobby who himself was fast asleep in his chair. "'Oughta take example on Bobby. You don't hear him whining!" he told the Angel whose eyes were now shut.

"What did you put on Cas' bandage?" Sam whispered.

"Not much. Just a few drops of Bourbon," Dean answered, winking an eye.

The brothers exited the room to allow Bobby and Cas to rest. In the next room, Dean's eyes fell on his cowboy hat. A remnant of the incredible adventure he had just lived. Not everybody had the chance to actually go back in time and play cowboys and indians -especially not with real ones. He softly smiled, realizing once more how lucky he was to have his own guardian Angel to watch over him. He was actually glad that this time, it was the Angel who needed him. That way, he could try and repay some of the favors Cas had ever done to him. Castiel was right, they did share a profound bond. A bond that would never be broken, no matter how terrible things might get, Dean promised himself. Yes, he would be there for Cas, no matter what. Always.

Forever

and ever.


So what did you think? =D