The man watched the body, oddly detached.

Dean was still sprawled out on the floor. His heart was convinced he should be dead, and raced in his chest. He swallowed. "Who are you?"

"Yeah," Bobby growled. "How the hell did you get in anyway? This house is demon proof!"

The man's head tilted to one side. "I am not a demon."

Dean winced as he sat up. "Then what are you?"

The man turned to face him, and immediately dropped to his knees, grabbing Dean tightly. Dean tried to scramble back, but the man's grip was like iron. Then warmth flooded his body, and the man let him go.

Suddenly free, Dean fell back.

Bobby and Sam stared at him with wide eyes. Bobby was the first to speak. "Are you feeling alright, boy?"

Dean was confused. He touched his face, his chest, his arms. He was completely healed. "I… I feel fantastic." His eyes locked with the blue eyed man. "What are you?"

"I am an angel of the lord."

"Yeah. Right. Of course you are." Behind the man, Dean watched Bobby edge towards a desk. His eyes cut back to the man's. "So what? You've got feathers and a halo?"

The man's eyes narrowed and his face moved closer as though he was trying to peer into Dean's skull. Dean leaned back. "Jesus dude, personal space."

The man's head tilted again. "My brother is not here."

He pulled back and looked behind him as Bobby plunged a silver dagger into his heart. The man eyed it oddly as Dean scrambled to his feet and moved to stand with Sam.

The man stood, and pulled the silver dagger out of his chest and dropped it to the floor. Dean's face twisted in confusion. "Why didn't that kill him?"

Sam quickly grabbed a bottle from the kitchen and tossed it to his brother. "Let's try holy water."

Dean swiftly screwed off the cap and threw the water in the man's face. He frowned as it dripped from the man's hair and soaked into his white shirt.

Sam threw a handful of salt. It stuck. The man licked his lips oddly and his eyes narrowed. "I do not understand."

Sam turned to Bobby. "Why isn't anything working? Angel's don't exists… right?"

For a moment the three hunter's watched the strange man. Slowly, Bobby got an idea. He picked up a small knife and eyed it carefully, weighing it in his hand. He threw it at Dean.

There was a rustle of wings and the angel was standing in front of the hunter, deflecting the knife. Anger now covered his face, and he began to advance on Bobby, almost seeming to grow as his shadow cast out widely behind him. Dean jumped forward, pinning the man's arms to his sides, and pulling him back. The shadows vanished, and the air of menace left.

As they looked at each other something rose in Dean's chest, and he had to mentally shake himself, and remind himself why he was holding this… thing.

He cleared his throat, and let the man go. "Don't hurt Bobby, ever. That goes for Sam too. Understood?"

The man looked at him in confusion. "But he tried to hurt you."

"Ever."

"Alright, Dean."

Bobby moved around the man carefully and placed a hand on Dean's shoulders. He noticed the man's eyes narrow. "I think he's telling the truth, son. It looks like you have a guardian."

"A what?"

Sam moved over and nudged him softly. "You know, a guardian angel? Someone to watch over you?"

Dean laughed. "That's ridiculous."

The man's head tilted to the side again. Dean felt himself twitch. He wanted to reach out and move it back.

Bobby was looking at the man oddly as well. Dean felt a weird surge of jealously. He closed his eyes, and made a conscious effort to ignore that. "So. You're some kind of guardian, then?"

The man's eyes bore into his. He didn't seem to notice they weren't alone.

Dean cleared his throat. "Do you have a name?"

"Castiel."

"Castiel, eh?" Bobby eyed the bookcase behind them and selected a large book and started searching its pages. Sam realized what Bobby was doing before Dean, and walked over to his laptop to search the internet.

Dean was left to deal with the… angel. "So why are you here?"

"To protect you."

"Why? I mean I'm no saint. Hell, I don't even believe in God!" He leaned close conspiratorially. "And," he made a show of looking around, "I'm gay."

Castiel's eyes were wide and innocent. "What does that mean?"

"Uh. That means that I like men?"

"Why would God care if you liked men or not?"

Dean was mystified. For a moment they just stared at each other. "Doesn't the bible say that it's an abomination?"

Castiel smiled. Dean's breath caught. "The bible was written by man. There are many errors."

"Uh. Good to know." Dean needed to escape this weird conversation with this strange man. His eyes fell on his father's body still sprawled on the floor. "What are we going to do with him?"

The angel turned to face the body as though he'd forgotten it was there. He strode over and lifted him as if he weighed nothing and turned back to Dean. "Where would you like me to take him?"

Sam appeared at Dean's side. "Take him home." He rattled off the address. When the angel vanished he dragged Dean into the living room. "We found out who your angel is."

Bobby handed Dean an old black book with odd letters on the cover. He pointed about halfway down the page. "Castiel is the angel of Thursday."

Dean laughed. "There's an angel for Thursday?"

Sam nodded. "There are angels for a lot of things."

"Does that book say how we can get rid of him?"

Sam and Bobby paused. "Why would you want to get rid of him?"

"Because I don't want some fluffy ass weirdo following me around!"

Sam made one of his bitch faces. "Dean, having someone to keep you safe isn't always going to be a bad thing! He can protect you!"

"I don't need to be protected!"

There was a fluttering of wings, and the angel appeared standing just inside Dean's personal bubble. Dean growled. "Step back!"

Castiel tilted his head, but took an obedient step back.

Dean immediately felt bad, and ducked his head. "I'm sorry, Cas."

The angel frowned. "My name is not 'Cas.' It is Castiel."

"It's called a nickname."

Castiel continued to look at him in confusion.

Dean sighed. "I've had enough of this. I'm going to bed." He started for the stairs, with Castiel right on his heels. Dean stopped and slowly turned. "No, you stay here." He continued to climb the stairs. Castiel followed. Dean spun around. "No! Stay!"

Sam frowned up the stairs at him. "He's not a dog, Dean."

"Damn it Sam, I –" Dean stopped, and took a deep breathe. "Fine." He stomped up the remaining stairs and burst angrily into his room. He slammed the door in Castiel's face. He smirked, and turned, walking right into the angel.

Dean took a careful step around him, and angrily undressed. He casually looked over his shoulder and found Castiel watching him intently. He felt a tad self-conscious under such scrutiny, and opted to throw on a pair of soft pants.

He cleared his throat. "So… how is this going to work?"

"I do not understand."

"Sleep? Ever heard of it?"

"I do not require sleep."

"So you're just going to watch me?"

"Yes."

"Okay, awkward."

The angel tilted his head.

Dean groaned. He threw back the sheets on his bed roughly, and climbed in, moving around aggressively until he was comfortable.

He heard a soft swish and the bed dipped. Dean looked over his shoulder and saw the angel was now sitting at the foot of his bed, watching him. His face had softened, and his blue eyes almost glowed in the night.

Dean turned back to face the wall. He was used to insomnia, and when an uncomfortable warmth settled in him he knew it would be a while before sleep would claim him. He sighed and readjusted. "So, what's it like?"

"What is what like, Dean?"

"In heaven. Being an angel. Anything."

"For humans, heaven appears as all of your favorite memories; all of the times in your life where you felt at peace…"

Dean started to feel heavy, and darkness covered him like a blanket. Castiel's soft voice lulled him into a deep sleep, and despite himself he felt more at peace than he had in a long time.

Almost as though they knew the angel was watching over him, the nightmares stayed away, and he did not wake up until the following morning.