Chapter Eight

Dean stared, heart pounding, as the metal door unlocked, opening slowly and noisily. He desperately hoped it wasn't Tim or one of his pals again. He shifted his attention down to his brother, who was twitching slightly at the creaking sound, brow creased. Dean was grateful that it didn't wake him because he knew his brother would have a full-blown panic attack if he found Dean so close to him, since he didn't trust anyone right now, which still saddened him but he vowed to himself that he would earn it. He looked back up, and froze for a fraction of a second, before a relieved smile crept across his lips. He released a shaky breath of relief, feeling like he could cry with joy.

"Cas..." he said softly, staring at his angel friend. He felt a billow of consolation wash down on him, and he had never been happier to see him.

"Dean?" Castiel said, his erythraen blue eyes reflecting Dean's own relief when he saw them both. He rushed over to both of them.

Dean's smile disappeared, furrowing his eyebrows. "Wait, but how did you...?" he began to question, but he didn't have to finish.

"Bobby," Castiel answered simply. His gaze strayed over his own shoulder, and Dean followed his eyes to find four bodies lying down on the ground, unconscious.

He turned his head back to them. "They won't be unconscious for long. We need to get out of here right now. I will take you both to Bobby's house. I have already teleported your car to his salvage yard," he told him. Dean nodded, and Castiel raised two fingers to place it on both of their foreheads, but stilled when he heard voices behind him.

"Step away from the boys," Tim growled, pointing a shotgun at the angel, a bottle of holy water in his other hand. It didn't faze Castiel in the least. He turned towards them and took a step forward when a loud bang echoed in the room.

Sam's eyes fluttered open, blinking against the blur flooding his vision. He glanced around the room blearily, settling on the man in the trench-coat and then at his tormentors. He felt terror rise within him at the sight of them, painful memories resurfacing. His head was leaning against something, or...someone. He jolted away and immediately curled up protectively, his nose buried into his knees, rocking back and forth. He flinched as another shot rang out, his hand snapping up to press hard against his ears, trying to block out the loud noises.

Dean hesitated with his hand in the air, not wanting to scare his brother any more, but he laid a warm hand on his back. He wanted to give as much comfort as he could, as much as he was allowed.

Sam felt a strange sense of comfort from the familiar warmth.

The hunters' eyes widened as the man in front of them seemed unaffected by the gunshots to his chest. One of them dared to splash holy water at him but he still seemed unmoved. "Wh-what the hell ar-are you?" One of the four stammered out in astonishment and fear. The angel only responded by outstretching his hand, causing them to fly back with a dull slam of flesh as their backs slammed against the hard wall.

Now, the terror was shown evidently on all of their faces, except Tim, who didn't seem to show it very openly. Castiel could still sense the fear radiating off of him.

Dean climbed off the cot and walked over, standing nose-to-nose with him. His expression was cold but there was a tremor of controlled malice and fury in his voice when he spoke. "Nobody messes with my brother, and gets away with it," he growled. "You better watch your step, 'cause I'm gonna come back for you." He stepped back, pointing his finger with a sweep to all of them. "For all of you. I don't know if you heard about my little trip downstairs. Well, I'll tell you. I've learned a thing or two about torture down there, and I'll be very happy to use it on you."

Tim only smirked, not knowing what a dangerous button he had pushed. He strained his neck to stare at Sam, jerking his chin at him. "Consider him lucky. Because I could have done a whole lot worse to the little bitch, since he deserved worse," he sneered. The white-knuckled fist that shot straight to his cheek made him see black stars for a second. He spat out the blood at his side and grinned in satisfaction at the rage burning in the Winchester's eyes.

He grabbed a hold of his collar. "He didn't deserve any of this, you son of a bitch," he spat angrily. Sam had made a lot of mistakes, but he wasn't the only one at fault, Dean had pushed Sam away instead of being there for him. He had broken the first seal. But out of all, the angels had the biggest part in this. They both had been played all along, and Sam only thought he was doing the right thing. His intentions were pure.

Dean released him, slamming the back of Tim's head against the wall. He turned away and breathed deeply, trying not to turn back around and beat the fuck out of him. Instead, he looked at Sam, and then at Castiel.

"Just take us to Bobby's, Cas," Dean said softly, running a hand through his hair to calm himself down. He tried to focus on Sammy, moving towards the cot, but making sure not to be in a close proximity with him. He swallowed thickly, wondering about what could be ahead of them.

Castiel gave a small nod and looked at the metal door, raising his hand. It slid shut and locked itself from the outside. He strode toward the brothers and rested two fingers on each of their forehead.

Sam remained curled, clenching his eyes shut. He flinched when he felt two fingers on his forehead and stopped rocking back and forth, opening his eyes slowly and peering up at him. Castiel smiled a little, sadly, at his friend, who he knew didn't recognize him anymore. He had first thought of him as an abomination, because all he had seen was the demonic blood coursing through his veins. He had never thought to pay attention to the huge heart behind his sternum.

There was a gentle breeze of flapping wings before the three disappeared.


Author's Note: So, what do you think? I'm a little sleepy right now. It's actually 5 in the morning. :) But the funny thing is, when I'm sleepy is when I'm in a writing mood. LOL! So, Sam still didn't learn to trust Dean. Now they're both saved and the healing process begins. Tim and his pals are such donkey-asses, huh?