The heater had gone out in the Impala. Snow was blowing down in sheets, covering the highway in a layer of slippery sleet that made Castiel nervous. The sky was pale, somewhere between snowy white and soft grey. It was unusually wintery for mid-November. Cas did not normally worry over such things as car accidents, but now, with his fading grace, he was certain that he would not be able to heal his friends if the tires of the Impala were to slide across the icy road.

Sam was driving because the older Winchester brother was having a sneezing fit in the passenger seat. Castiel flinched at the hunter's discomfort. He wished he could heal his friend's sickness, but even with his new temporary grace, he didn't have that kind of strength, or "juice" as Dean called his angel powers.

"Dean, I could at least try if you-"

"No, Cas it-" he sneezed loudly. "It's fine. I'll be" sneeze, "OK." Cas sighed. He decided to give up for the time being. He could see in the mirror that Sam's lips were pursed. The younger Winchester was clearly considering asking if they wanted to stop for the night for the twentieth time in the last twenty minutes. Cas had counted.

"Guys, there's a motel off of this exit," Sam said. "I'm stopping." Castiel was relieved that Sam didn't seem to be asking this time. He was telling them.

"Sam, come on," Dean whined. "We've talked about this, and we decided that if we drive all night we can make it by tomorrow afternoon." They were headed towards a cemetery where recent grave desecrations had the locals in an uproar. The three of them all agreed that it looked very much like necromancers were behind this.

"No," Sam said. "You decided that, Dean. Now I'm deciding. We'll take the Impala to an auto shop tomorrow and have her fixed up. I can't keep driving with you like this," Sam nodded towards Dean, whose cheeks were pale, and his nose red. Dean was obviously about to try and dispute his little brother. Cas was ready to jump in on Sam's side. "Besides, you're no good in a fight if you're this sick. What are you going to do, sneeze in the ghost's face?" Dean couldn't seem to argue with this logic, so he just slumped back in his seat.

They drove to the motel in silence. When they pulled up, Sam glanced at the clock on the dashboard. It was a little after six in the evening.

"Why don't you two go check in, and I'll get us some food?" Sam asked.

"No way!" Dean said. "You'll just go to some tofu serving salad bar or something."

"I promise I'll get you two burgers," Sam consented.

"Fine," Dean grumbled. He climbed out of the car, and Cas slid out of the backseat to join his friend in the ankle deep snow on the path leading up to the hotel. No one had bothered to shovel the walk, and the light advertising the place was flickering. Cas only hoped that the heat was working inside. "But Sammy," Dean said, leaning towards the window which Sam rolled down an inch in order to hear his brother. "Don't forget the pie."

"Of course," Sam said. Cas had a feeling that Sam was going to forget. It seemed like he often did, despite his big brother's constant reminders.

Cas slipped an arm around Dean's shoulder. The older Winchester had on only his usual brown leather jacket to shield him from the heavily falling snow. They trudged through the snow towards the dirty glass doors. Cas did his best to hurry Dean along, because he could feel his friend's shoulders trembling. They made their way into the lobby, and headed for the front desk with Cas' arm still around Dean. He gave the hunter a squeeze before dropping his arm, and waiting near the elevators. Dean checked in with the young secretary whose shirt was unbuttoned unnecessarily far.

"So, when do you get off tonight?" Dean asked her.

"Um…" she sounded nervous as she glanced at Cas. "Listen, I think you're really cute and all, but I don't want to get between you and your boyfriend." It occurred to Castiel that if he were completely human, he would not be able to hear them, so of course the secretary assumed that he could not.

"My what?" Dean asked.

"So, you'll be in room 221 B," she said hurriedly. She handed him a room key. Dean headed over to the elevators. Cas was relieved to see that there was some color in his cheeks, even if it faded as they rode up to their room.

Dean was shivering as they walked down the hall. Being an angel, even with his fading grace, Cas was immune to extreme temperatures, but this didn't mean he was unaware of them. He could feel that the hotel was comfortably warm. He slipped his arm around Dean's shoulder again as they made their way into the room. Dean pressed against him, shaking. Cas could feel that the hunter was burning up.

"Come on," he said to Dean, leading the hunter to one of the beds. "Let's get you tucked in." Dean complied without complaint, which worried Cas more than if he had protested. Under normal circumstances the hunter would have objected to being taken care of. Now, he just climbed into the stiff hotel mattress, and pulled the blankets up around his chin. Even under the layers of blankets, Cas could see him shivering violently.

"Cas," he asked softly. He wouldn't meet Cas' eyes, which was too bad. Cas never grew tired of staring into his friend's pretty green eyes.

"Yes, Dean?"

"Would you just…I'm really cold. Would you just lay with me?" Cas felt his stomach turn over a little. Dean looked so unusually vulnerable.

"Of course," he replied. His voice cracked a little, and he felt embarrassed. He climbed stiffly under the covers. Dean rolled onto his side, and pressed his face and hands onto Cas' chest. Cas just lay on his back, staying as still as he could so that Dean could get comfortable.

They just lay like that for a long time. Cas could feel Dean's breathing slow as he relaxed a little, although he did not stop shivering. When Sam entered, Cas expected the younger Winchester brother to laugh. He had grown accustomed to humans having an odd sense of humor. Sam didn't laugh. His wide eyes grew worried as he set down the paper bags filled with food and soda onto the table. Cas couldn't help but notice there wasn't any pie.

"He's really sick, huh?" Sam asked. Cas nodded slightly, trying his best not to jostle Dean. He must have failed, because he felt the hunter shift.

"Sammy?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, Dean, I brought some food when you're ready to eat," Sam said. Dean didn't sit up. He just pulled himself more tightly against Cas. If he wasn't getting up for food, he must really feel awful.

"Did you remember pie?" he asked.

"Oh, crap," Sam muttered. "Dean, I'm sorry."

"I'll go get some," Cas offered, seeing the guilty look on Sam's face. He hated to see his friend feeling so bad. After all, Sam had only been trying to help.

"No," Dean said, clutching Cas' tan trench coat tightly.

"Ok," Cas said, relaxing into the bed to let Dean know he wasn't going anywhere. "Don't worry. I won't leave you."