Dean finished up his nightly routine and exited the bathroom. Charlie was already curled up on her side of the bed, and he crawled in beside her, sighing as he sank into pure comfort. This group had been more stressful than the ones before it, and they would have to do it again tomorrow. He needed as much relaxation as he could get before then.

"Dean…" Charlie turned to face him, and he knew that relaxation and sleep were not going to be coming anytime soon.

"Yeah." It wasn't like he could pretend to be asleep already, although he thought about it for a second.

"Can I ask you something?" She looked a little nervous, and Dean knew he absolutely would not want to hear her question. He sighed.

"Yeah, what's up?"

She chewed on her bottom lip for a second, and it only served to increase Dean's own trepidation at hearing the question.

"What's going on between you and Cas?" And there it was. He should have pretended to be sleeping.

He might have pretended to be confused. Maybe throw out a 'what are you talking about?', but he didn't want her to answer that question. He just answered her instead. "Nothing."

"Seriously, Dean. You'd have to be blind not to notice that something was happening there. And I have perfect vision." Her voice was soft and gentle, and he knew she was lulling him into a false sense of security. She would stab him in the heart with facts just as harshly as Sam had.

"Is there some kind of intervention in my future? Have you and Sam assembled any other members into 'team: chick-flick moments' that I should know about?" He sighed heavily and flopped onto his back. He could stare at the ceiling and pretend like he couldn't see the emotions playing across his friends face.

"Is an intervention going to be necessary? I wasn't planning on it, but if that's what it takes..."

Dean didn't have an answer for that. He would rather they just butt right the hell out of his love life altogether, honestly.

Charlie sighed, and he could feel her staring at the side of his face. "Do you even understand why we want to talk to you about this?"

Dean grunted noncommittally.

"Think about it, Dean. It's not like we haven't known for a while that you wanted to throw him against the nearest flat surface."

It was startling enough to make him turn and look at her and as soon as he did so, he realized that had been the point. She raised her hand to his cheek to keep him facing in her direction.

"When I thought it was just lust, I just let you live in your denial. I know plenty of bisexual people that never get around to trying the other side. Whatever. You still had the option to live happily with whichever woman caught your eye." She rolled her eyes, and the hunter assumed it was toward people denying their inner gayness or whatever.

He cringed before she even started the next sentence. If his conversation with Sam was any indication, he knew where this was going.

"It's when I realized there was something deeper going on that I decided it was time that I talked to you about it."

Dean made sure his face showed her how displeased he was with the whole conversation, and especially the part they were at now. "So, you and Sammy got together to have some kind of torture fest on me this week?"

Charlie rolled her eyes, and grinned at him.

"I'll show you torture if you really want me to." Her grin faded. "But no, actually. I thought I was alone in my quest. Sam and I just figured out that we were on the same track earlier this week. Honestly, it surprised me more than it should have. Most guys aren't really attuned to this sort of thing, but you guys are pretty close. Of course he would have had to notice something like that." She shrugged as if it was perfectly normal to gang up with his brother on him.

"And you think I'm the gay one." He lifted her hand off his cheek so that he could turn his head away from her again. He heard her sigh next to him and roll onto her own back. So they could stare at the incredibly boring ceiling together.

"You are the gay one, buddy. You better start getting used to the idea."

He didn't bother to tell her he was already used to the idea. He didn't want to talk about this anymore. He hadn't bothered to defend himself to his brother, and he wouldn't start with her either. His love life was still only his business, no matter how many of these little talks they tried to have with him.

It took a while before she spoke again. "We just want you to be happy. And I'm not saying that in a 'you need someone in your life to make you happy' kind of way. I'm saying that right now, this is making you miserable. And if you opened your eyes for five damn seconds you would see that it's making Cas miserable too."

His attention snapped to her immediately, although he had been trying not to listen. "Why the hell would it be making him miserable?"

She turned her head to look at him again. The fondness in her eyes was unmistakable as she said, simply, "Don't be a moron."

As exhausted as he had been when he had crawled into bed, it took a very long time to fall asleep that night. His mind had been racing, and he couldn't stop thinking about the implications of Charlie's words. He felt like a zombie as they headed down to breakfast.

In all the times he'd thought about his feelings for the angel, he had never thought about the possibility of them being returned. Sure, occasionally, when he was feeling particularly needy or depressed, he might wonder what it might be like if they did get together. But even when he was trying to cheer himself up, he never thought about what it might be like if Cas really felt the same way about him. Not that he believed that the angel did feel the same way.

Although... Charlie had been right about him, so maybe she was right about Castiel as well.

His thoughts had gone in circles around the idea the entire night. Unhelpfully, he even dreamed of the angel. They shared a room in the bunker, and in the dream Dean had been completely comfortable sharing his space with Castiel. It was all so sickeningly domestic, and Dean woke from the dream with a combination of contentment and irritation swirling through his veins. The contentment had faded quickly, and the irritation had taken over.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to guess his mood. He could feel the scowl that was etched into his face, and he didn't even attempt to try to change it. He was in a bad damn mood, and it was probably better for everyone involved if they knew it. None of the others at breakfast tried to talk to him, and he was alright with that. He was left to stew silently between his brother and his fake wife.

Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Sam and Castiel glancing worriedly in his direction, while Charlie just shrugged and shook her head. As if she had no idea what he could be upset about. She knew, though.

As they headed to the the room where the group would be held for the day, she fell back to speak with Sam. Probably to tell him all about what an idiot Dean was, and how he couldn't be trusted to deal with his own emotions. Assholes.

He really needed to get ahold of himself. He knew he wasn't really this angry at them for meddling. He knew they thought what they were doing was right. And maybe it was what you were supposed to do when someone you loved was hurting. He was really just in a bad mood from getting shitty sleep. It might have something to do with having to wake up from his dream too. Only to realize that it was no where near real. That certainly hadn't helped.

He tried to push down his irritation. He had sulked long enough, and they still had a job to do. Hopefully, the god would show his face today. Dean couldn't imagine trying to do this thing again.

Everything was falling apart. Dean knew that this group would be hard, but he hadn't counted on the influence his own temper would have on the proceedings. Not necessarily the entire group, but certainly Charlie and him were having issues.

Dean had only been able to lift his mood minutely before the group had started, and between the looks his brother was sending him and the cute little comments from the red head next to him, even that had been a hardship. He did his best to make damn sure she knew of his irritation too. So, when it came around to them talking about the strengths within their relationship, Dean's sarcastic comment was met with a wall of frustrated anger from his partner.

"You are such an idiot!" She snapped at him, apparently at her breaking point for Dean's bad attitude.

"Yes, another strength! She tells me how dumb I am on a regular basis. It really helps keep me from getting a big head."

Charlie actually let loose a growl at the words. "I wasn't talking about your general intelligence. I was talking about your emotional intelligence."

"Oh yes. That makes me feel better. Thank you for clarifying." If Dean knew women, which he actually did, the fastest way to really piss one off was to make them feel like the bad guy in the situation. Especially when they really weren't. It worked like a charm, and Charlie's face reddened and her mouth turned down so sharply she didn't even look like the same person anymore. His success was really a failure, but he got a sick sense of pride from it anyway.

"You are such a dick! And to think, only days ago I was glad that we were on this trip together!"

"Well, that was before you decided to butt your head in where it didn't belong."

"It's my business, you ass! I'm supposed to be your best friend!"

"It isn't your business. None of it is." Dean could feel his own mouth turning down into a deeper show of emotion than he had revealed during the argument so far. "I've got it handled, so butt the hell out."

Charlie stomped her foot in frustration. "You can't even recognize your own feelings." Castiel stood, as if to move between them in case she actually went through with the clearly violent tendencies her face said were on her mind.

"You're right! Why don't you go ahead and tell me what I am feeling again?"

"You are feeling like a big jerk that wouldn't recognize love if it was staring you in the face!" Charlie's face was flushed, and he could tell that she was legitimately angry now.

Dean wanted to snap back at her, but he knew they were already getting pretty close to breaking cover. Real couples fought all the time. Probably not about one of them being in denial over being in love with someone, though. They needed to cool it before anything too incriminating came out. Castiel stepped up to them, placing one hand on each of their shoulders, as if he wanted to keep them separated.

"You're staring me in the face right now." Dean growled the comment at her, in the hopes that she would catch onto the meaning, even though he couldn't say the words aloud right now. I'm still mad at you. I'm still upset. I'm not backing down, I'm only staying in character.

"And you still can't see it, can you?" She said it aggressively, as if she really didn't believe he knew the things she was saying were only out of love for him.

"All I see is you trying to make me feel like an ass!"

"Dean, I do not believe that is what she meant by that comment." Castiel seemed to be trying to play peacemaker, and Dean would have none of that

"Oh, how the hell would you know, Cas?" Even he was surprised at his own vehemence when he spoke. It wasn't Castiel's fault that he was pissed. He had a reason to be upset with Sam and Charlie, but not the angel. He had done nothing wrong. Dean regretted his snap immediately.

It didn't help that the other man looked as if he had been struck. When the meaning of the words really sunk in, the shock on his face melted into a kind of sad anger that stabbed right into Dean's heart.

Before he could say anything, Castiel was pushing away from them. "I believe that I need some air." He said, heading toward the door.

The almost hilarity of the oddly human saying from the angel was short lived. A grey cloud formed near Castiel and as he inhaled with shock at the sudden appearance, the smoke drifted into him with his breath. The angel paused for a moment before he dropped to the ground, eyes closed and clearly unconscious. The guilt Dean was feeling at taking out his frustration on the other man intensified, as other emotions quickly found their way into his psyche.

Watching his angel drop to the ground slapped a fear into Dean that caused him to freeze in a way he never had before. The smoke flowed back out of Castiel, and although Dean was the closest, he didn't even think to throw holy water, or try to slash at it with the knife.

All he could see was the man he loved laying on the floor. All he could hear were his own words, echoing in his head. 'How the hell would you know, Cas.' And what if they couldn't figure out how to cure the coma epidemic that plagued the hotels guests? Would that be the last thing he ever said to Castiel? Hateful words, meant to sting, and completely unprovoked.

Dean forgot all about his cover. He forgot his job, and himself. He forgot about everything except the beautiful man lying unconscious on the floor. He rushed to his side and dropped to his knees next to him, not knowing what to do but needing to do something.

"No, Cas. No. You can't do this now." He didn't even know what he was saying. As if the angel had asked to be dropped into a coma. "Come on, come on." He pulled the other man's torso onto his lap. "Don't do this to me. I can't…" He could not handle this right now. He felt the stinging behind his eyelids, but he wouldn't allow that. "Castiel, you better fight this, man. You better not leave me out here, without you."

He felt his brother's hand drop to his shoulder, and he glanced up at him.

The look on Sam's face was filled with concern, and even a little fear. He dropped to his knees beside Dean and reached out toward the angel. Dean gripped the other man tightly, unwilling to release him. Sam nodded a bit toward the gathering crowd. This was supposed to be his fiancé. This whole scene was breaking cover in a big way, but Dean couldn't bring himself to care.

"Fuck them." He said firmly, pulling the nearly lifeless form closer to himself. It was then that he realized something that caused the blood to freeze in his veins. The angel wasn't breathing.

"No no no no no." He didn't even think as he pressed Castiel's shoulders into the floor. He compressed the angel's chest a couple of times, and when there was still no breath to be found, he lowered his mouth to the other man's. It was only the second round of CPR when Castiel's body suddenly convulsed and he sucked in huge gulps of air.

Surprisingly, his eyes popped open, and his dilated baby blues stared right up into Dean's.

"Cas?"

The angel did a full body shudder, and he rolled onto his side, coughing a couple of times. The hunter rubbed soothing circles onto the other man's back as he let it out.

"Holy shit, Cas. You scared the shit out of me." Dean let out a sigh of relief. He didn't know how or why the angel was awake, or why he hadn't been breathing, but he honestly didn't even care. Castiel was not in a coma. He was breathing now, and when he was done coughing he rolled back onto his back and looked up at Dean.

"I know." The angel said, confusing the hunter thoroughly. "Never do that again." He added, finishing the thought. Although it took the hunter a few seconds to realize what he was talking about, it still choked a huff of laughter out of him. He pulled Castiel closer to himself and the sounds of laughter that he made into the other man's shoulder were tinged with hysteria.

The police had a hell of a time getting any information from the newest victim. It could only have been frustrating to them. They finally had a witness that survived the encounter conscious, and he seemed to only tell them the same story as everyone else had. The paramedics were baffled at the level of health that the victim seemed to be in after surviving the attack as well.

Dean stood with Sam and Charlie, off to the side and out of the way. Although his eyes never left the spot where the angel was being interrogated, he found it within himself to apologize to them for his behavior. He wrapped his arms around Charlie's shoulders and leaned forward onto her back, pressing a kiss into her hair as they watched Castiel try to answer the questions being tossed at him from every direction.

"I'm sorry." He told her, completely sincerely. He wasn't ever really mad at her to begin with, and had acted like an ass. "I'm such an asshole."

She snorted, but didn't pull away from him, which could only be a good sign. "I know." She said simply. And that was that.

"Man, I really do love you." Dean told her, as if it was an amazing discovery he had just made, instead of something they had all already known for some time.

"I know." She said again, and he could hear the smirk in her words.

"You too, little brother." He didn't bother to turn and look at him. His brother would understand that right now he couldn't turn his gaze away from the man he thought he'd lose not even an hour ago.

"You love me too? Shocker." Sam was such a cheeky little fucker.

"I meant that I was sorry for being a dick." Dean scrunched up his face as if the idea of telling his brother he loved him was distasteful. "But I guess that too."

"Yeah, thanks." Dean didn't have to turn his head to guess the look on his brother's face. The eye rolling and gentle smile. He already knew it was there.

"Now if only we could get you to admit it to one other person…" And it was starting again already.

"I get it you guys. Got it. I've figured out all of your oh-so-subtle hints, ok? I just don't know if I'm ready for all of that yet." He knew he was beginning to sound whiney, but didn't know how else to get through to them. The idea of losing Cas today was enough for him to figure out that something would have to be done about his feelings, but he didn't quite know how or when.

"Well, you better get ready, dude. It's getting pretty close to the point where you are either going to have to accept it, and do something, or move on. Cas really shouldn't have to wait forever." Sam reached out and tugged Dean's arms off of Charlie. He raised his eyebrows at his brother as he dragged her away. She sent him a sympathetic look as she allowed herself to be guided.

What the actual fuck was going on? Now Sam was insinuating that Castiel felt the same way about Dean. This could not possibly be real life. As he watched the angel being poked and prodded, he met the other man's eyes and for the first time he looked for what everyone else thought they could see.

The staring contests that they regularly engaged in had nothing on this one. It was like Dean could stare into the other man's soul, and he feared the angel could do the same. That is until he realized that it was love he could read in the other man's eyes. And when he began to fear that it was the same brotherly love he felt for their other friends, another realization came.

Dean sensed the shift in atmosphere as Castiel continued to stare, and when the hunter licked his lips against the sudden change, that stare followed the movement. It wasn't that curious, ' what are these strange humans doing now ,' kind of stare either. It was a look of hunger. As if somewhere along the line the angel had picked up on the fact that tongues were heavily involved in intimacy, and he was interested in finding out more about that. It was a look that sent fire through the hunter's veins, and when their eyes met again, that fire was reflected back at him.

Well, Shit. When did that happen? And how had he been too blind to see it sooner?