To my chapter-eight reviewers cherishiskisa, MissCimi, SilentHowler, ijustwatchthebees, nobodyweirdlikeme, Bitblondetoday, UrieNanashi, Gustin, AshSpark, We need more lube, and ammiratrice: you all rock. I salute you.


CHAPTER NINE

In comparison to how that day had seemed to stretch on forever, the next week flew by. Castiel was a quick study. The first night, by the time Dean had finished cooking up some stir-fry (beef, green peppers, beef, onions, and more beef), he'd stopped in his tracks while carrying the plates to the table, upon seeing that the sofa had been converted into a bed again, with the exact same sheets and pillowcases as yesterday. He let out a chuckle of surprise. "Look at that. You're something else, Cas." Castiel smiled proudly to himself.

Dean had been planning to call in sick again to work the next morning, as uncomfortable as it made him to lie to his boss, but to his surprise he got a voicemail message from Bobby that very evening. The message was curt and to-the-point, as always: Bobby wanted him to take a couple of weeks off, and would hear no argument. He ended the message with a cryptic comment about 'taking care of yourself and not overdoing it'. Dean frowned, replaying the message. He knew he had two weeks of vacation time coming to him, but this was kind of out of the blue. And he wasn't sure how Bobby expected him to 'overdo it' while on vacation. But hey, no point looking a gift horse in the mouth.

With this unexpected stretch of freedom ahead of him, Dean decided it was time to get Castiel out of the house. They could start small. Since the day of his short trip out to meet Sam which had ended so disastrously, Dean hadn't left the house for longer than it took to collect the mail from the mailbox, and he wasn't sure how Castiel might react to being left alone again. He thought there had been some real understanding after their little talk that night when Cas had come back, but he didn't want to press his luck.

So, in the spirit of 'starting small', Dean determined to bring Castiel along to the local corner store to pick up some food. A week into his impromptu vacation, Dean set his plan into action. After a long lazy breakfast during which he had fun trying various foods on the angel (Castiel liked buttered toast, but he didn't care for coffee), Dean casually pulled on his jacket and picked up his keys. Castiel tensed up immediately.

Dean gave him a little smile. "I know, you got scared last time I went away. But this time is gonna be different. You know why? Because you're coming along." He opened the front door and beckoned to Castiel, who dithered in the middle of the room, eyes wide and nervous. "Come on out," Dean coaxed. "It's a beautiful day. Don't you want to get out of the house for a change?"

Slowly, Castiel approached the open door, and Dean stepped out onto the front stoop, still holding the door open. "Come ON already, it's not that big a deal." Hearing the impatience in his tone, Castiel quickly rushed out through the door as if he were afraid it might try to bite him. Dean chuckled, closing and locking it behind them. "I swear, you are just like a kitten sometimes."

Getting Castiel into the car proved to be even harder. He wanted to follow Dean, so when Dean got into the driver's seat, Castiel tried to climb in the same side. "No, you have to go around to the other side," Dean protested. "Only the driver can use this door, and there is no way I'm letting you drive my Baby." Castiel stood in confusion on the driveway when Dean shut the driver's-side door and made gestures indicating that he should go around and climb in the other side. To no avail.

Finally giving up, Dean slid across the seat to the passenger's side and opened the door himself, leaning halfway out and calling Castiel around the car. "Over here, come on. You get in this side. Like I've been telling you." He slid back across the seat to make room, and Castiel quickly followed him in, seeming relieved to have completed the task. "Now shut the door after you," Dean told him, and Castiel immediately obeyed. "Well, all right!" Dean raised his eyebrows in approval. "Looks like you understood at least that much."

He'd thought Castiel might be nervous about actually traveling in the car, like a dog, but these fears were unfounded. The angel simply looked out the window as they drove, seeming perfectly content to admire the view. When Dean popped in a tape, Castiel looked in mild surprise at the tape player and then at Dean before returning to his contemplation of the outside world. Dean was a little disappointed by Castiel's indifference to Metallica, but he shrugged it off. You couldn't expect angels to have perfect taste in music on top of everything else, he supposed. When had he started unquestioningly believing that Castiel was an angel? He didn't know. But there wasn't really any point in continuing to doubt it.

When they got to the store, things went more smoothly than Dean had expected. Castiel was just as intrigued by the concept of shopping as he was by everything else, but he stuck close to Dean, showing no desire to wander off on his own. Their single day of separation appeared to have been enough for him. Dean was somewhat taken aback by how quickly he had become accustomed to Castiel's constant presence. If it had been anyone else, it would have come across as clingy and irritating, but Castiel's innocence was refreshing, as was his limited vocabulary. Dean was getting more and more convinced that Castiel knew more words than he let on, but he didn't know how to effectively string them together. The things he verbalized tended to be important identities ('angel', 'human', 'Dean') or simple reactions ('yes', 'no', 'thank you'). And Dean had to admit, it was nice to drive along in companionable silence, for a change. Sam would always talk when they were in the car together.

Luckily they hadn't bumped into anyone Dean knew at the store. He still wasn't sure how he'd explain Castiel's odd behavior and taciturnity to anyone they might encounter. The easiest explanation would be that Cas was his autistic cousin or something, but Dean felt weird when he imagined lying about Castiel in the angel's presence. It seemed like it wouldn't be right.

Shopping completed, they returned home. Castiel instantly cottoned on to the idea of helping Dean carry the bags in, although he didn't follow Dean's suggestion of simply magic-ing them into the house. Well, one thing at a time. Baby steps. They could work up to that. Dean couldn't help but notice how content Castiel was to be in his presence, helping him with whatever he was doing or else simply hovering nearby. "Are you my guardian angel, Cas?" he asked, half-jokingly, once they'd gotten the bags inside. "'Cause if everybody's got one but you're the only one who decided to get actively involved in your person's life, then I am damn lucky."

Castiel gazed happily at him over a carton of milk he was holding as delicately as if it were a treasure. Dean chuckled. "Put it in the fridge." He gestured. "Over there." Castiel tugged hesitantly at the refrigerator door until it opened, and then laid the milk carton tenderly on its side on the top shelf. Dean shook his head, grinning to himself as he turned to empty the next bag. Who'd have thought angel training would be so entertaining?

His grin faded as he allowed his brain to tackle a subject he'd been purposely ignoring for the past week. What would happen when he had to return to work? Usually he was at the auto shop five days a week (sometimes six, depending on workload) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. That was a lot of time for Castiel to be left alone. Would the angel vanish again? The only idea Dean had been able to come up with was to focus on bonding as much as possible during the rest of his time off, so Castiel wouldn't get too worried when Dean was gone. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was better than nothing.

Unfortunately, the temporary idyll he'd created for himself and his angel came to an end even earlier than he'd expected. One afternoon about two weeks later (he still hadn't heard from Bobby, and therefore hadn't gone back to work), Dean was lounging on the deck reading a book while Castiel perched on the railing, letting the wind ruffle his hair, when the phone rang. It was Sam.

"Dean? Are you at home?" His casual tone sounded forced. "I'm in the area and thought I'd swing by. I'll be there in ten minutes."