One
Castiel felt nauseous. He opened his eyes slowly and looked around from his position on the couch. He swallowed back the bile that was rising in his throat and he slowly tried to sit up. He felt Dean's strong arms hold onto him from behind and help him sit steadily.
"Easy does it Cas." Dean said, helping him stay upright. He knelt in front of him so that he could meet his gaze. Castiel stared in a feverish haze into the hunter's comforting green eyes before he felt his stomach about drop to his feet. "Cas…are you gonna throw up?"
"I-I don't know what that is D-Dean…" Castiel lurched once forward and Dean rushed to the kitchen to get a bowl. He held it in front of Castiel and instructed him to lean over it. Castiel felt his body grow hotter and beads of sweat begun to form. He felt nervous and scared and before he knew it he threw up twice. His breaths in between were ragged and pained. Tears filled his eyes.
"M-Make it stop Dean make it stop!" Castiel cried out before vomiting a final time into the metal bowl Dean had given him. He felt the hunter's hand on his back slowly rubbing circles in the center of it. Castiel was shaking as Dean took the bowl away from him and placed it on the coffee table.
"I wish I could Cas…" Dean sighed and took Castiel's shaking hands in his own hoping to calm him down a bit. "I know that was scary, it's always scary when yah throw up."
"W-what's the point of doing so?" Castiel hiccupped once, an after effect of what had just happened and he moved to lay down again with Dean's help.
"Well it's kinda like eating in reverse Cas," Dean explained. He grabbed the cool washcloth from the coffee table and gingerly wiped at Castiel's forehead with it hoping to alleviate some of the heat. "You've got a virus right now, your stomachs just upset ok? It'll be ok."
"I-I'm scared Dean…" Castiel felt weak, powerless even as he touched Dean's hand and gently squeezed it as if he would fall if he let go. He'd never expressed fear before, not to anyone and it felt foreign.
"Me too Cas," Dean put the wet cloth on Castiel's forehead and squeezed back. "Me too."
-8-8-8-8-8-8-
Dean found himself at the nearest convenience store moments later gathering items for Castiel. So far he'd picked out cherry flavored cough medicine and fever reducer and a twelve pack of water bottles. He was currently in the candy aisle. He remembered when he was little and when he got sick and his mother would bring him lollipops and popsicles to suck on for his throat and fever. Dean dropped some various flavored lollipops into his handcart on top of the rocket pops he had dropped in there earlier.
He eyed the thermometers and he figured since the one at the bunker had been used by Sam for the past few weeks they could use a new, clean one. He dropped that in there too and walked to the register.
"Girlfriend sick?" the lady at the register asked as she rung up his items.
"Not exactly." Dean sighed and handed her the cash.
"I don't judge." She winked and bagged the items for him with a smile.
"Oh uh I meant they're uh," Dean found himself blushing. "They're for my friend; he's got a bad chest cold."
"I see." She smirked. "I hope he feels better soon."
Dean nodded and walked out of the store flustered. He dropped the bag down next to him in the Impala and pulled out of the parking lot. He couldn't understand why Castiel made him blush, sure he wasn't a bad looking guy generally speaking, but Dean had always only looked at women that way. What made Castiel so special?
"Maybe cuz he saved you from Hell yah dumbass," his brain wasn't the best companion right now. "Or maybe because he's always stood by your side, never questioned anything you did, and look at you treating him badly for his fuck ups when you've made enough of your own to go in a record book Dean Winchester."
"Shut up brain…" Dean muttered as he picked up the pace to get back to the bunker.
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When he walked back in he was greeted by Sam making a snack run in the kitchen for Kevin. Sam looked up and smiled at his brother. He handed him a new cloth freshly wettened with cold water and another bowl clean and empty.
"You buy like the whole damn store or what?" Sam chuckled.
"Bitch." Dean laughed and smirked before grabbing the cloth and bowl and tucking them under his arm. "I just want him to get better."
"I know yah do Dean." Sam nodded. "You care about him."
"So what if I do?" Dean snipped a bit, but it was followed by the blush creeping up on his cheeks.
"Dean geez!" Sam said. "There's no need to get defensive every time I bring it up, I know how you feel. We all do. I mean its pretty fricken obvious."
"Yeah well maybe I do Sammy," Dean was blushing worse now as he unpacked the items he'd bought for Castiel who was currently asleep on the couch, curled up under the throw blanket. "But he'd never reciprocate."
"And just how do you know that Dean?" Sam asked. "Don't pull that whole insecure bullshit you always do. This is Cas we're talking about, the former angel who follows you around like a lovesick puppy, the one who never stopped believing in you even when you messed up. He killed his own kind; he disobeyed, all for you. Now if that isn't love, I don't know what is."
Dean was taken aback and shocked by Sam's words. All of what his brother had just said was true, but still there was a part of Dean that was always afraid. He knew it was because of his father, the way he chose to hide his emotions and never show them. The reason why he always beat himself down. Dean just couldn't believe anyone could ever love him in that way, much less a former angel of the lord.
Sam left the kitchen with food and Dean grabbed two popsicles and the other items and walked over to the couch where Castiel was resting. He gently touched Castiel's shoulder and shook him lightly to wake him. Castiel groaned and Dean was met with the sickly watery eyes of his friend and a round of goose-like coughing. Dean patted and rubbed Castiel's back until his coughing fit was over and he helped him sit up again.
"You need fluids in you one way or another to help the fever go down," Dean explained and handed Castiel an unwrapped popsicle; he fiddled with the thermometer and finally held it up to Castiel's mouth. "Keep this under your tongue until it beeps."
Castiel cocked his head in confusion, but he obeyed Dean and stuck the foreign object in his mouth and under his tongue. Dean waited a few moments until it beeped before he pulled it out of his friend's mouth and observed it. Castiel broke into another coughing fit but luckily this one was short lived.
"102 Cas," Dean sighed and cleared the device before unwrapping his own popsicle and sucking on the tip of it, he tried not to think about how gay that looked in front of Castiel and he hoped it didn't look provocative in any way. "That's not bad but it's not great either, I'd feel better if it were lower."
"Why would you feel better? You are not ill Dean? Unless I have infected you in which case I apologize." Castiel slowly sucked on the popsicle unenthusiastically, he looked paler than before but he didn't look nauseous anymore.
"Nah Cas I'm fine." Dean said. "You're just scaring me a bit man, I mean pneumonia can be serious shit sometimes."
"I'll try not to scare you Dean." Castiel chuckled and finished his popsicle, placing the wrapper on the coffee table on top of Dean's and wiping his eyes.
"I just can't lose yah man." Dean chuckled nervously. "You're my rock, you keep me grounded and I just…can't imagine this place without yah."
"I'm not going anywhere Dean." Castiel said, placing his hand on Dean's shoulder. "I haven't the strength to stand much less walk."
Dean looked over at the blank television then picked up the remote, changing from TV to AV1. He stood and walked over to the shelf.
"How about a movie?" he suggested, he hoped it would take Castiel's mind off his chest. Castiel nodded and Dean picked out what he deemed to be a good movie. "If you haven't seen The Breakfast Club, you haven't lived yet."
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Hours later day turned into night and Dean found himself with Castiel's head on his lap and his eyelids were drooping.
"I don't understand what that movie had to do with breakfast at all Dean." Castiel stated, a few small coughs pounding out of his chest before Dean stood up to take the movie out of the DVD player Kevin had installed in his spare time.
"It's a symbolism thing Cas," Dean wearily stretched. He didn't feel like explaining it all to Castiel tonight. "Anyways I'm gonna hit the sack, you need anything before I leave?"
"No Dean thank you though." Castiel said before pulling the blanket closer to him. Dean re-wet the cloth and placed it on Castiel's forehead again.
"The bowl's right there if you feel sick again, that cloth should last for awhile but just try to sleep ok?" Dean instructed him. "I'll be in my room right there down the hall, if you need anything just yell my name."
Castiel nodded and closed his eyes. Dean bit his lip and resisted the urge to kiss him on the forehead like his mother had so often done when Dean was sick as child. He found it all too weird, so instead he grabbed himself a glass of water and walked off to his room. He listened for a few hours to Castiel's soft wheezy breathing before he found himself nodding off.
-8-8-8-8-8-8-
Dean wasn't sleeping well. He was tossing and turning with his usual nightmares until he was abruptly awoken and shot up straight in bed. He reached for his glass of water since he'd agreed with Sam he'd stop "curing" himself with alcohol. Dean sat over the edge of the bed, glass of water in hand and tried to calm his breathing.
He suddenly saw Sam bust through his door with a scared look on his face. Dean was slightly lost in a dreamy haze but that was only until Sam spoke.
"Dean! It's Cas!" Sam said with alarm. "Something's wrong!"
At those words Dean didn't even remember the next few moments. He pushed past Sam and tore down the hallway to the living room. He didn't even hear the sound of glass shattering as his glass of water hit the solid floor with a crash.
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HAHA cliff hanger! What's wrong with Cas you ask?
Find out in the next chapter ;)
I know I'm evil. More to come soon.