Chapter 4

Dean stared at the figure sitting on the floor. It had taken a moment to even recognize the man as Castiel. For one, Dean had never actually seen him wear anything besides his usual suit and trench coat, even during his time as Jimmy Novak. This Castiel wore a light grey shirt and dark pants and… sandals? And the Castiel he knew always was clean shaven. This one looked like he hadn't seen a razor in several days. The only similarities Dean could see between this Castiel and the one he knew were his piercing blue eyes and his tussled dark hair. Dean was pretty sure that would never change on the angel.

Of course, he had also never seen Castiel look as despondent as he did now. Castiel sat in a circle with several women, a glass bottle of some sort of alcohol sitting next to him. His face was buried in his hands and one of the women sitting next to him had her arm comfortingly around him.

"It's OK, Cas," the woman cooed gently. "Dean has been through worse situations. He'll be OK."

Castiel shook his head, not looking up.

"I should never have left him!" he whimpered, his voice slurred from the alcohol. "I should have stayed with him!"

The women looked on sympathetically while the first woman rubbed his back soothingly.

"You did what you had to, Cas. He told you to go and you did. You were following orders."

Castiel shook his head miserably. "It was my job to protect him… It's always been my job to keep him safe… and I failed him…"

He reached over and picked something up off the floor next to him. It took Dean a moment to realize just what it was, but when he did he nearly fell over. Castiel took a long, slow drag off the joint, closing his eyes as he held the smoke in for a minute before expelling the smoke into the air.

I have been dropped in the freaking Twilight Zone! That's it! There is no other explanation for it!

This was completely and totally wrong in every sense of the word for Dean. It was bad enough seeing Castiel this distraught, but to see him drinking and doing drugs! It made Dean almost feel sick and he was really wondering what the hell had happened to make Castiel like this.

The girls were now huddled around Castiel, hugging him and reassuring him that everything would be alright. Then one of the girls looked up at the doorway and spotted Dean. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock.

"DEAN!" she squealed as she jumped up and ran over, wrapping her arms around him in a huge embrace.

The rest of the group looked up in shock. A chorus of joyful screams filled the air as the girls rushed over to Dean and nearly knocked him over as they welcomed him with hugs and a few kisses on the cheek.

OK. Well, this part isn't so bad, Dean thought to himself.

He looked over at Castiel. The angel was still sitting on the floor, as if frozen. Dean could see the tears that had welled up in Castiel's blue eyes. The girls immediately noticed where Dean was looking and they quickly began making their exit. The one girl who had been comforting Castiel gave Dean's arm a gentle squeeze and she smiled warmly at him.

"I'm glad you're safe, Dean," she said before disappearing down the hallway.

Dean watched her go before turning back around. Castiel still hadn't moved, his expression still that of shock. Taking a deep breath Dean stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He knew this probably wasn't going to be an easy conversation he was about to have and he didn't want the whole building to hear them.

"Hey, Cas," Dean said, trying to smile like nothing was wrong.

Castiel slowly staggered to his feet, his efforts hindered by the alcohol and pot he had smoked. He slowly walked over to Dean and reached out to touch Dean's cheek.

"Dean?" Castiel whispered in awe.

"Yeah… well… look, Cas, we-"

His words were cut off as Castiel pulled the hunter into his arms and buried his face into Dean's neck. Dean could feel Castiel's body tremble as he sobbed.

"I'm sorry, Dean… I'm so sorry! I didn't want to leave you! I thought I would never see you again!"

This was not going to be easy. "It's OK, Cas. Really. Come on; look at me for a minute."

Castiel slowly pulled back enough to look at Dean's face. Dean felt his stomach tighten as he saw something in Castiel's eyes that he had never seen before. Something besides the guilt that he knew the angel was feeling…

Suddenly, Castiel shoved Dean against the closed door and kissed him passionately on the lips. Dean froze, too shocked to register fully what was happening. Castiel ran his hands down Dean's chest to his waist, pulling him in closer to him. As Castiel's tongue tried to gain entry into Dean's mouth, Dean's brain finally kicked in, causing him to react. He shoved Castiel away with full force and stared at him in shock.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" Dean yelled.

Castiel stared at Dean, his face full of shock and confusion.

"What…? I don't understand…"

"YOU KISSED ME!"

Castiel looked even more confused.

"But… but I always kiss you…"

Dean shook his head emphatically.

"No! NO! You do not always kiss me! You have never kissed me in the year that I have known you!"

Now Castiel looked even more baffled.

"But… Dean… I've known you for six years…"

His voice trailed off. Dean stared at him, not knowing what to say. He could see Castiel sobering up right before his eyes.

"You're not Dean…" Castiel said quietly.

Dean shook his head slowly. "No… well… I am Dean… but I'm not the Dean you know…"

Castiel dropped his gaze and Dean could see his hurt expression. He felt guilty about it, but he had to know what was going on.

"Cas… hey… look, I don't know where the hell I am. One minute I'm at my hotel getting a soda and the next that douchebag, Zachariah, zaps my ass here!"

"Zachariah?" Castiel asked quietly.

"Yeah. I had talked to you earlier. You still acted, well, like you. And we were talking and you were using your cell phone. We were talking about the Colt and how I didn't think it was still around."

Castiel's brow furrowed as he concentrated on Dean's words, then a look of realization crossed his face.

"Dean… that was, like, five years ago!"

Even though Dean had secretly suspected something like that, he couldn't help but close his eyes and groan.

"So… it's what year?"

"2014."

"Son of a bitch!" He opened his eyes and looked at Castiel. "So what the hell is all this? Where are we?"

Castiel dropped his gaze and turned away. He sat back down where he had been sitting before and reached for the bottle of alcohol sitting nearby. Dean quickly swooped in and grabbed it.

"Oh no you don't!" Dean said as he grabbed the bottle and the joint that was also sitting there. "I need you sober and not stoned, Cas! Why the hell are you doing this crap anyways? What the hell happened to you?"

Castiel looked at Dean sadly. "Dean… please… it's all very complicated…"

"Well un-complicate it then. Start at the beginning. When did this virus start?"

Dean sat down on the floor near Castiel. The angel closed his eyes and sighed.

"Two years ago. That was when one of the Four Horsemen, Pestilence, appeared. He started the virus and it spread like wildfire through the land."

"No one could stop it?"

Castiel shook his head. "No. The humans didn't understand what it was. Those infected killed many of those that weren't. Some were immune, like you and I. Those who live here are those who are immune to the virus. Our numbers are few, though. We had managed to gather over one hundred people when we first arrived here and set up our base. Now we have maybe thirty left. Most have perished trying to fight the infected while trying to gather supplies."

Dean frowned. "So that's why this town is destroyed?"

Castiel nodded. "There was chaos when the virus hit. Across the world there were massive riots and looting. The infected have taken over most of this town."

"And what town is this?"

"Laramie, Wyoming. We were trying to make for the mountains. We thought it would be safer for us there. But we lost our means of travel. There was a great solar flare that wiped out all electrical appliances, including vehicles. We haven't been able to figure out a safe way to travel and so we've had to remain here."

Dean ran his hand wearily over his face. "Damn, Cas, this story just keeps getting better and better."

Castiel dropped his gaze and Dean saw the pain in his face. He really didn't want to talk about it, but he knew it was going to come up eventually.

"So… then do you mind explaining… well… us?"

Castiel looked back up at him sadly. "Why?"

Dean sighed. "Because it involves me and I'd kind of like to know!"

Castiel fidgeted nervously for a minute before reluctantly sighing.

"It… it started after you brought me to that… place… with all those women… the place where I upset one of the girls? When you told me how much fun you had with me that day and how happy you were something… happened. I realized that I was also happy when I was with you. That I wanted to be with you whenever it was possible… I didn't tell you for a long time… I didn't fully understand it myself… we traveled together and you did your best to help me with my search… but… then the virus came… and then I… I fell apart…"

Castiel swallowed hard and wiped his eyes before continuing.

"I had lost all hope… I lost all of my powers because I had been separated from Heaven for so long… I didn't know what to do… I wanted to give up… to end it… but you… you wouldn't let me…" Castiel smiled weakly as he remembered. "You told me that you needed me… that even though the world was crashing down around us… at least we still had each other… and that you loved me…"

His voice faded and he dropped his gaze. Dean felt his stomach clench has he slowly realized what Castiel's words meant.

Holy shit. So… Cas has feelings for me now!? Back in my time!?

Dean was beginning to feel slightly overwhelmed with all this information. He was beginning to think maybe he would need to borrow some of Castiel's alcohol.

"OK…" Dean finally said quietly. "So then what happened to me? I mean, I know you're upset because I went missing or something."

He felt even guiltier as soon as he asked. Castiel clenched his fist and the tears he had been fighting finally escaped down his cheeks.

"We went out in search of an artifact," Castiel said hoarsely. "It was you, me, Jack, and Jean. We were trying to get to one of the buildings where you believed it was in. But we soon were attacked by the infected and overwhelmed… we were retreating back to here when you… you fell… you broke your ankle…"

Castiel struggled to continue. "I tried to convince you to let me help you back… but it was too far… you made me leave you behind…"

Castiel buried his face into his hands, too upset to say anything else. Dean sat silently as he absorbed the news.

"So… I'm dead?" Dean asked dully.

Castiel quickly stood up, clearly not wanting to discuss this anymore.

"We need to talk to Jack and Jean," he said briskly, trying to compose himself. "We have to decide what we're going to do now."

Dean stood up after him. As much as he wanted to ask more questions, he knew he would have to wait.

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OK, Folks! That's it for tonight! I'm tired and have a busy day tomorrow, but I promise to not leave you hanging too long! : )