The boys returned to the motel to drop off Dean's clothes, and the Batman action figure that Sam bought when the kid wasn't looking. He figured if Dean's attitude improved, he'd reward him. Or, if Dean started acting up again, maybe he could use it as leverage. I have no idea what I'm doing, Sam thought hopelessly to himself.

"Cas was here."

Sam looked up from where he'd been stashing the toy in his duffel bag. "Huh?"

Dean was pointing at the angel's weathered trenchcoat that lay on his bed. "Cas was here."

"I'm still here, actually," the angel said as he emerged from the bathroom, wiping his hands and face with a towel. He walked over to the beaming child's side, his head tilted slightly as he analyzed the little green eyed boy. "Dean? You... this is your problem?" he managed to say as Dean wrapped his arms around Castiel's leg and clung to him tightly, nearly causing the startled angel to lose his balance.

Dean nodded. "But you can fix it," he said with certainty. He looked up at his now much taller friend's worried face before allowing his lip to quiver ever so slightly. "You can fix me, right Cas?"

Sam didn't fail to catch that little lip quiver, and met Castiel's shamed eyes sadly as he observed the state of their friend. His white button down shirt had what Sam presumed to be blood stains, probably Castiel's own, and the angel had looked like he'd just finished cleaning some unhealed wounds when he'd exited the bathroom just moments ago. Sam hoped their friend wasn't in any serious trouble, he knew he'd been on the run from heaven. Had they caught him? He sucked in a deep breath as he waited for the angel to answer.

"I... I'm sorry, Dean. I can't." Castiel looked anywhere but down at Dean's big, green, and now hopeless eyes.

"B-but... you can do anything!" Dean started to cry, grasping Castiel's leg even tighter. "You can do it, Cas." He looked at the ground, which was much closer to him than he knew it should be, causing him to cry deeper. "You're my hero, Cas. You gotta do it," he said in a broken whisper.

Castiel looked at a concerned Sam as he sighed sadly. The angel's face held an expression that revealed the mix of guilt and panic he was feeling as he detached the child from his leg and crouched down in front of him. "I'm sorry, Dean. I was... beaten and tortured by-" He paused his explanation, glancing up at Sam as if to make sure he was speaking to the child correctly. By the way he shook his head slowly, Sam seemed to be suggesting that he shouldn't go into detail in present company. Cas turned back to the silently crying child. "I was hurt pretty badly, and my powers have been weakened."

Little Dean's concerned eyes widened as he looked at the angel's solemn face, which was still marked with a few little deep red cuts from a knife. "You need a band-aid?" He moved too quickly for Castiel to respond, scampering over to where he knew Sam kept some first aid materials, and retrieved a box of bandages. "Here," Dean chirped as he handed the confused angel the package. After a few seconds of Cas staring at the box inquisitively, Dean sighed, shaking his head dramatically as he pulled a band-aid out and opened it. Sam grinned as the child stuck the bandage on the angel's cheek. "There. All better."

Castiel couldn't keep himself from smiling lightly, nodding as he stood and uttered a "thank you".

"So," Sam finally said as Cas picked Dean up and set him on the edge of his bed, "when do you think you'll be at full power again?"

"I'm not certain, but I will help in any way I can until then." Cas looked down at Dean, who had taken his trenchcoat and was holding it out to him. The angel took it, an analytical frown on his face before he turned back to Sam. "He seems to be functioning well, at least."

Sam smirked. "Yeah, complete with the occasional meltdown. Hey, are you sure you're gonna, uh, be okay here?"

Cas stared at Sam a moment before nodding in understanding. "They're done with me, at least for now. I refused to show them the location of the angel tablet, under," he lowered his voice, "under even the most unbearable torture." Looking at Dean out of the corner of his eye, Castiel smiled in an attempt to put the concerned child at ease. "I'll be fine, for now. I just need time to heal."

A few minutes later and Sam had convinced Castiel to stay and watch Dean while he went out and retraced their steps from the day before. If Cas couldn't angel mojo his brother back to normal, it looked like Sam was gonna have to figure this one out alone. And he suspected that a certain woman Dean had been ignoring at a bar the day before may have been upset with him and... could she have been a witch?

"I'll be back in time for dinner, in fact I'll probably just bring it home, so just... watch him 'til then." Sam squinted and looked between the angel and his brother with hesitance. "Can you, uh, handle that?"

Castiel looked down at Dean, who was holding the belt of his trenchcoat as he stood beside the angel. He seemed content enough, Cas was sure he could keep the child entertained for a few hours. He'd taken on unthinkable creatures over thousands of years, he could handle this.

"Yes, I'll watch over him."