"Hey Sammy. Good to have you back." Dean said when he entered the room in which his brother lay, finally awake again.
"Dean." Sam answered with a weak smile.
"How do you feel?" Dean asked as he sat down next to Sam's bed.
"Pretty good, actually. Just a little bit tired. But I can probably leave the hospital tomorrow." he informed his older brother.
"Tired? You just slept for almost two weeks straight, you should be well-rested." Dean teased, earning him a glare and Sam's best bitch-face. This made him smile. He had missed his brother a lot, even this side of him. "I was worried." Dean then admitted, getting serious again. "Don't scare me like that again, 'kay?"
"I don't intend to." Sam answered. "I didn't ask that ghost to knock me out like that. What happened to it anyway?"
"Bobby took care of it, with Cas' help. We don't have to worry about that son of a bitch anymore." Dean told him.
"Sounds like Cas did a lot of helping while I was out." Sam now teased his older brother. Dean's head snapped around and he stared at him open-mouthed.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Dean asked aggressively after a moment of stunned silence.
"Dean, I heard every word you said to me while I was in that coma. I heard you talking about what Cas did for you and how you described his wings." Sam told him, wondering if he should further tease Dean about this. But the look on Dean's face made him decide to wait until he had his strength back again, because his brother would retaliate for sure.
" It was nothing. I just couldn't sleep and he helped with that." Dean dismissed Castiel's role during the last few nights.
"If you say so."Sam replied, not wanting to argue with his big brother but not really believing him either. After this was settled, the brothers just enjoyed some time together, even though they had to stay in the hospital room. Eventually Dean had to leave for the night, but he promised to be back in the morning to pick up Sam, when he was released.
This night Castiel did not visit. But Dean was so happy about Sam being alright, that he hardly missed the angel's presence, even though he did notice the absence of the familiar shield of angelic wings around him. But this was only a minor part of his thoughts and he didn't even think about Cas at all the next morning, when he went to pick up Sam.
For a few days they stayed in the same town, because Sam needed a little more time to get back to his old self. The two weeks in a hospital bed had taken their toll on him. But eventually he felt better again and found a new job for them. Just a straight forward salt and burn, as Sam had put it and Dean only hoped that he was right about that.
Castiel hadn't shown up again, since Sam had woken up. And, even though he found it very hard to admit it to himself, Dean had started to miss the angel's nightly visits. After only three nights he had become used to seeing him and especially the wings in his dreams.
After ganking the ghost Sam had found, Dean had gone to a bar to wind down, while Sam had declined and gone straight back to their room to sleep. At the bar Dean checked out the ladies. But none of them really caught his eye this night, so he just had a few drinks and then went back to the motel to find Sam already asleep in his bed. He softly poked his brother to make sure that he was really only sleeping, he was still a bit paranoid. But when Sam turned over in his sleep Dean was satisfied and went to bed himself.
He didn't fall asleep as easily as he had when Castiel had been there, but eventually he did fall asleep with thoughts of the angel on his mind.
"Hello Dean." he suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him. In his dream Dean was driving around in the sun in his beloved Impala and now he had a passenger. Castiel had appeared in the backseat.
"Fuck." Dean yelled as the car swerved because Cas' sudden appearance had startled him. But he recovered quickly, stopped the car and got out to lean against the side of his baby. Cas got out as well and came to stand next to him.
"How is Sam?" he asked the hunter.
"Sam is fine. You were right. He is strong and he woke up eventually, same as always. Thanks for giving me hope." Dean quietly answered.
"You're welcome." After this they both remained silent. They just stood there, leaning against the gleaming black car and looked out into the distance. It was a peaceful moment and words weren't necessary.
Finally, when he could feel the end of the night getting closer, Dean broke the silence. There was something he needed to ask and he hadn't done it earlier, because he wasn't sure if he'd like the answer. But he had to know.
"Cas, why didn't you come back again after Sam woke up?"
"You had your brother back. You didn't need me anymore." Cas replied evenly and with a voice void of emotions.
"I…Cas…that's…" Dean stammered. This wasn't easy to say. "Cas, you're my friend. Of course I still need you." he finally managed to say.
Cas looked at him, surprise evident on his face. "But you didn't call me."
Now Dean was surprised as well. He honestly hadn't even thought about calling the angel. It had been hard enough to even let himself miss Cas. Calling him just for company had never even crossed his mind. "Then why are you here now, in my dream?" he asked, thoroughly confused by his thoughts and feelings and this whole situation.
"I just wanted to see how you and Sam were doing. And I felt you thinking of me. Your thoughts had almost prayer intensity tonight. So I came to make sure that everything was alright." Castiel explained.
"Oh. Well, we're fine. But thanks for dropping by." Dean said and Castiel nodded. For a moment they were silent again. Then Dean changed the subject.
"Hey, Cas. What else can your wings do, apart from shielding someone in their sleep?" And apart from looking and feeling absolutely amazing, Dean added in his mind.
"What exactly do you mean?" Castiel asked, not having expected a question like this.
"I don't know, that's why I'm asking."
"When you've figured out what exactly you want to know about my wings let me know and I'll tell you or show you, if I can." Castiel told the hunter. Dean simply nodded in surprise as he felt the dream slowly fading. He was waking up.
Cas walked a few steps away from the car and turned around to face Dean. "Let me know." He repeated as he spread his wings to their full extent and then vanished as the dream ended and Dean woke up in the cheap motel room, hearing Sam already walking around.
More Sam than Cas in this chapter I think. It just happened. I couldn't leave Sam in that coma forever now, could I? But there is more Cas coming up in the chapters, once Dean knows what he wants to ask about Cas' wings ;)
I still have a few more ideas for this story, but if you have any suggestions as to what Cas' wings can do, feel free to let me know.