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Chapter Four: "Throwing Stones with an Angel"

Dean sat up in his bed, twirling an ornate ring between his fingers. War's ring. The dim light from the motel lamp beside his bed glinted off the ring, and Dean's eyes were drawn to it as he played with it. One ring down, three to go.

This one had been hard to get, but he didn't expect it to get easier as they went forward. He glanced over at Sam, who was sound asleep in the twin bed next to him. The poor kid was exhausted after their battle with War. He was surprised when Dean booked a room for both of them, because he had been staying in a seperate room lately. But after what happened that day, Dean wanted to be close to his brother.

War proved a challenging opponent. He had taken over a town, pitting the citizens against each other, making them think that their opponents were possesed. Until Dean and Sam came and settled things.

"You figured out my little game huh? Smart boys." War said where he was laying on the ground, Sam's hand around his throat. "But you can't stop war. The fighting will never cease." The Horseman smiled as Sam's hand tightened around his throat.

"I think I'll be going now, but I'm sure we'll meet again soon." War blinked twice, and Sam's arm twisted backwards , emitting a horrible cracking sound as it did so. War was on his feet in a split second as Sam screamed in pain, but before he had the chance to disappear Dean grabbed his wrist, drawing the demon knife down upon his ring finger. The bloody digit dropped to the ground, the ring rolling off and landing at Dean's feet. Dean received a nasty glare from the Horseman before he disappeared.

Dean picked the ring up, stuffing it in his pocket before kneeling beside Sam to check if he was alright.

"I think my arm's busted." Sam whispered, his face white as he gritted his teeth in pain. Dean touched the offending arm gently, and Sam gasped.

"We need to get you fixed up," Dean said, uneasy as looked at Sam' shirt, where there was a protrusion in the fabric at the elbow. It looked like the bone had cracked and was poking through the skin. A spot of blood was steadily growing bigger at the spot, seeping quickly through the fabric. "I'll get you to the hospital-"

"Dean," Sam winced as his brother helped him to his feet. "Please, call Cas. He can fix me up and I'll be back on my feet. If we go to a hospital, all they'll do is push the bone back and cast it, and I won't be able to hunt."

Dean hesitated as he supported Sam, careful not to go anywhere near the arm. His problems with the angel would have to be pushed aside for now; Sam was more important. "Cas." Dean said quietly, and Sam sighed in relief. "We need you."

A few seconds went by and then there was a quiet swish.

"What do you need?" Cas was suddenly in front of them, looking worriedly at the brothers.

"It's Sam." Dean said quickly, not meeting the angel's eyes. "Can you heal him?"

Castiel stepped closer, examining Sam's arm for a moment before touching the place where the bone was sticking out. When he removed his hand, the protrusion was gone, and Sam moved his newly healed arm.

"Thanks, Cas." He said gratefully as he rubbed his elbow.

"You are welcome." Cas looked down, the finger that was on the ground catching his eye. "I assume that is not one of yours?"

Sam shook his head. "No. It's War's. We got his ring."

Cas' face broke into a rare smile. "You have the ring?"

Dean nodded, pulling it out of his pocket and holding it up to the light. Cas reached for it, wrapping his fingers around Dean's and pulling it forward to examine the ring. Dean's heart stopped cold as his hand was encircled by Castiel's warm one. He could feel Cas' soft breaths on his arm as the angel leaned closer to look. The breath caught in his throat and he felt like his lungs might explode because he couldn't breathe, not while Castiel was touching him, and then the angel let go of his hand. Dean inhaled, taking a quiet shuddering breath.

"Good. But there are three rings left to get." Cas said, apparently oblivious to Dean's momentary suffocation.

"We already have a trail on Famine," Sam said excitedly. "We'll be able to get his ring, too."

Cas nodded in agreement before speaking. "Are you two going to celebrate by consuming large amounts of alcohol like you normally do after a hunt?" he paused and then continued. "I could join you."

Sam opened his mouth to reply, but Dean answered first. "No, we're tired. We're gonna get a room and catch a few hours of sleep."

"Oh." Cas sounded extremely disappointed. "I will go then, attend to other things." he looked up, and Dean wasn't expexting that, so he had no time to look away. Cas' blue eyes met his, and he almost stepped forward to embrace the angel, he could feel his muscles tensing up to complete the action. Then he managed to get control of his body and turned his back on the angel.

"Go then." Dean said. Sam stared as Cas' face fell; not even a shadow of the smile that was there minutes before remained. The angel nodded, and disappeared without pause and Sam thought he had seen something strange; tears welling in Cas' eyes.

"Dean," Sam said slowly, intending to ask about what was going on again, but Dean cut him off.

"C'mon, Sammy. Let's get the hell out of this town." Dean quickly away, and Sam closed his mouth, his unasked questions dying on his tongue.

Now they were at the motel in the next town over. Sam had fallen asleep right away, but Dean couldn't sleep. It was not because he was thinking about the Apocalypse, or Lucifer, finding the other rings, or what would happen to Sam when they did. No. It was Castiel that occupied his thoughts.

Dean sighed, putting the ring on the bedside table and turning off the light. What was it that he had seen in the angel's eyes? Could it possibly be the same thing he was feeling? Love and want and lust? No, it couldn't be. Did angels even fall in love? Dean stared up at the ceiling in the dark, hoping that they could. Listening to Sam's familiar breathing helped him drift off, his eyes closing slowly until he fell asleep.

"Go on, try it." Dean said, handing Castiel a flat stone. The angel took it, weighing it in his palm. He mimicked Dean's action, throwing the stone into the calm water. It dropped, like a, well like a stone, sinking quickly and sending ripples out. They broke the surface of the lake, ruining the reflection of the orange setting sun on the water.

"Not like that!" Dean laughed and bent down, searching the shore for another good skipping stone. A sleek black one caught his eye, different among all the larger white ones. "Here. It's perfect. It stands out, just like you. It's a rebel."

Castiel smiled at Dean's comparision, and took the stone. "Thank you. Will you show me?"

Dean nodded, hugging Castiel from behind. One arm went around Cas' waist, the other hand encircling Cas' hand with the stone in it. Dean rested his head on Castie'ls shoulder.

"You can't just throw it. You have to send it flying, skimming over the water." he whispered in Cas' ear.

He pulled Cas' hand back."When I say let go, release the stone, alright?"

"Yes." Cas said.

Dean pushed Cas' hand forward. "Let go!"

Cas opened his fingers and the black stone flew toward the water, gliding over the surface and skipping perfectly before sinking.

"You did it," Dean smiled. Cas turned around in his arms so that they were face to face. "Not without your help," the angel said.

Dean leaned down, pressing his lips against Cas. "Whenever you need help Cas, I'm right here. All you need to do is ask."

The sun set suddenly and everything became pitch black. Cas' warm body was gone from his arms, and he cried out into the night, screaming for the angel to come back, but there was no answer, only his yells echoed back at him.

Dean sat up in bed, the darkness pressing against his eyeballs. He screamed, rolling over and falling out of his bed before he remembered where he was. He was not on a lake shore, he was in a motel.

But one thing was the same: Castiel was not here. Dean climbed back into bed, glad his scream had not woken Sam so that he would not need to explain himself. Sleep would not come like it had before, so instead he stared at the window across the room until the sky outside began to lighten with the rising sun.

Are you guys enjoying the little dreams I put in, or do you think they're getting redundant? Let me know!