Hello all. I would like to thank rainystv for the wonderful review. Glad you are liking the story.
So here is the next chapter I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.
Dean was sitting on Bobby's sofa, across from him in a comfy armchair sat Cas. Between them was a coffee table covered in millions of tiny pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
"You once said we were family did you not Dean?" Cas asked not looking up from the puzzle pieces he was slowly assembling.
"Yeah." Dean replied looking down at the puzzle but unable to identify what the picture would be when it was complete. There were so many pieces, and they were so small. He didn't think anyone would be able to complete it.
"Do you still believe that?" Cas asked placing more pieces, seemingly randomly to Dean.
"Of course." Dean said looking up at that question. Of course Cas was family. He would always be family to Dean.
"That's good." Cas replied. After that they sat in silence for a while. It was a comfortable silence, it made Dean feel at peace, sitting there watching the angel as a frown occasionally graced his features as he studied a piece of the puzzle before it cleared and he placed it down. Dean's attention had long since left the confusing puzzle on the table and instead looked round the room. It was exactly as he remembered it, even if it was missing Bobby.
"Does that now make my true name Castiel Winchester do you think?" Cas asked bringing Dean's attention back to the angel as he briefly looked up at the hunter, as if fearing what the answer would be though he had posed the question casually.
"Yeah I guess so. If you want it to be." Dean replied honestly glad when that response gathered a small smile from his angel.
"I would like that very much I think." Cas replied going back to his puzzle.
"Why would you want to be a Winchester?" Dean asked. He couldn't see any reason why anyone would want to be one of them. They were cursed and doomed. Better off by far being anything else.
"Because you are strong. Your family together can take on the world and win. You have provided this many times. I like to think I am strong." Cas replied not looking up from his puzzle.
"You are Cas. Hell you're probably the strongest of all of us." Dean said sincerely.
"No Dean. I am not. I traded following one for following another. It is the one who leads that is the strongest. And they are not always the ones who chose to do so. The best leaders are often those who have the position thrust upon them due to circumstance." Cas spoke absently as he continued to do his puzzle. He had managed to place most of the pieces now but Dean could still not see the picture. To him it just looked like swirls of colour.
"So who are you following now?" Dean asked confused by Cas' previous statement.
Cas looked up at him in shock at the question. As if the answer to that should be obvious to all. "You Dean. I follow you." He replied.
"Don't think that's the best idea Cas. I ain't no one special." Dean said feeling uncomfortable about the devotion in Cas' voice.
"You are to me Dean. And you always will be." Cas said placing the last piece into the puzzle before looking back up to the man opposite him. "I pulled you from hell and remade you once before. I will do it again if I have too." With that he turned the puzzle to Dean and finally he saw the picture. It was him. He could see the cracks where the picture had been broken into millions of pieces but Cas had put it back together perfectly so you had to look real close to notice them. "I would prefer not to do that however. I would prefer for you to find the road. Allow me to heal the cracks." With that Cas waved his hand across the puzzle and the pieces fused together into the whole picture. "I do not want to have to rebuild that which is still whole Dean. I just want to heal the wounds."
And with that Cas disappeared. Dean looked around but he couldn't see him so instead he looked back down at the picture and noticed for the first time the difference between before Cas had fused the cracks and now. The cracks had previously depicted the Mark of Cain on his arm, now in the whole picture, the Mark of Cain was gone.
Dean woke with a start. His eyes shooting open so fast he thought that he had heard something and thus reached for his knife without thought. But slowly the dream came back to him. He remembered the conversation he had had with Cas and more importantly he remembered the puzzle. Was his dream trying to tell him something? He wasn't a damn prophet, nor was he psychic in anyway, but he was sure that his dream was telling him that the key to his salvation from the Mark of Cain lay in the hands of the angel Castiel. Though he was rather confused by the whole family conversation and the Castiel Winchester bit. I mean really what the hell was that all about? He guessed his mind was just doing crazy dream shit for that bit. With that he rolled over to fall back to sleep again and for the first time in a long time he hoped he would dream. If Cas was the key, he needed to find the lock he would fit to save him.
Gabriel retreated to the corner of the room quickly. He hadn't expected Dean to wake so quickly, he had almost been caught. Almost but not quite. No hunter was as quick as an archangel. Shaking his head at these thoughts he delved into Dean's mind to see what he made of the latest dream. He was glad when he saw that Dean had come to realise that Cas was the key but when he dismissed the family conversation and the Castiel Winchester bit he wanted knock his head against a wall. I mean how much clearer could he get? With another shake of his head he realised that he would just have to pace himself and Dean. Either that or just flood the empty space in Dean's head that he called his brain. With a sigh he looked over at the man and realised he had fallen back to sleep. With that he made his way once more to Dean's side, putting his fingers on his forehead and entering his dreams.
