A.N. Sorry for the delay and the short length. But I think I'm going to have to shorten chapters to around this length until the muse hits back like it used to, or I finish the story (whichever comes first). As always thank you so much for the reviews, they glare at me until I sit my ass down to write another chapter, so it's really all thanks to you guys! Please keep reading and commenting, it really makes my day :)

A.N.2. I hope I'm not the only one that found Alastair's little song in the show one of the creepiest yet most memorable moments of his character. Chills. I can't hear that song without thinking of him anymore.

Disclaimer: If only.


Castiel's eyes felt heavy. He'd been awake for some time, but he couldn't quite get himself to open them. With a frown, he berated himself for being lazy and slowly opened his eyes. The room was a blur whites and grays, and turning his head to the left, he squinted and waited for his sight to settle. It was still dark outside, a rim of orange light glaring just over the rooftops near the hospital. Heaving a sigh, he winced. Some time during the night, he'd been moved to sleep to lie on his back, which he guessed meant the stitches would hold. With a glance down at his arm, he slowly balled his hand in a fist. His body was still numb from the painkillers, he noticed grimly, just not enough to completely null the throb of his ribs and his back.

"Good morning, Sunshine." A monotone voice he'd hoped to never hear again made Castiel's blood run cold. Closing his eyes, he tried to keep from drawing a deep breath.

"Lucifer." He swallowed dryly, his voice still painfully hoarse.

"Oooh, such a nice tune," I voice he didn't recognize slurred appreciatively. It made a shiver travel up his spine. "You've really had some fun with him. I can just hear him screaming…mmm, how delightful."

Castiel clenched his jaw, keeping his eyes on the needle stuck in his arm, still hoping for their voices to be a hallucination.

"Alastair," Lucifer tutted in mock chastise, "Try not to upset my little brother," he could feel those gray-blue eyes on him, "He's had a hard couple of days."

Closing his eyes at the knowledge that this couldn't be a dream, Castiel finally turned to look at Lucifer. His brother was sitting on a wheelchair, that small smile plastered on his face while his eyes remained as cold as always. He was already dressed in normal clothes, a thick coat hanging from the back of the chair, and a green trucker hat on his lap. Behind Lucifer, a man dressed in doctor scrubs was smiling maliciously at him, the lazy but crazed look in his eyes making his heart shudder within his broken ribcage.

"What do you want?" he asked, hiding a wince at the feel of his parched throat.

Lucifer raised his eyebrows, tilting his head slightly as he shrugged, "To say goodbye…I guess?" Castiel narrowed his eyes slightly, earning himself a snicker from Alastair.

"He doesn't trust you," he sang, a glimpse of twisted childlike wonder shinning in his eyes.

Lucifer sent Alastair a bored look before his eyes locked back on Castiel. "I know he doesn't, but I wouldn't lie to him." Finally directing his words at his brother, he added, "I've never lied to you, little Castiel, and I never will."

Castiel knew it was true. Messed up; but true. Still, his brother had a tendency to keep things from him without having to lie. He'd learned that the hard way.

"Maybe." He admitted, "But it doesn't mean you'll tell me everything. That you won't come back."

Lucifer's smile was answer enough, but Alastair's laughter only made the truth that much more horrifying.

"He knows you well, your little angel," he drawled, "Oh, he really is your brother. I like him." Castiel shuddered under the blood lust in Alastair's eyes, "Such promise…"

"Stand down, Alastair," for once in his life, his brother's possessiveness allowed Castiel to breathe more easily. Despite the amusement he still detected behind his cold eyes. "You know we have little time before the Winchesters and company get here."

Fear for his friends' lives clawed at Castiel's heart. And he wished more than ever that he were strong enough to keep Lucifer away from them.

"Pity," Alastair clicked his tongue, eying Castiel hungrily, "You'll have to promise me you'll let me play with him next time you pay a visit."

"That depends," Lucifer answered, like they were talking product, like he wasn't in the room, "But if his lesson remains unlearned, and I do end up coming back to this Godforsaken little town…" his eyes studied Castiel carefully, "Then I'll consider letting you borrow him for a bit."

The grin Alastair sent his way made Castiel shiver in utter fear of what this man could do to him.

"Now then, I bid you goodbye," Alastair started turning the wheelchair towards the door, "Little brother."

Castiel watched in tense silence as they slowly made their way out the room, feeling the scars on his back burn when Lucifer suddenly raised a hand to stop Alastair.

"Oh, one last thing," he glanced over his shoulder at the younger man, "Say hello to Michael and Gabriel for me." The half smile, ever-present on his otherwise inexpressive face, widened slightly. "I wouldn't talk to Dean about this too much, Castiel." Castiel felt his stomach drop at the insinuation, "My warning concerning him still stands."

And with that, Alastair and Lucifer disappeared, leaving Castiel to try to control his breathing as his body's nerves suddenly burned like they had when Lucifer had hurt him. Trying to get his breathing under control, he clenched his eyes shut, making sure not to breathe to hard for fear of the pain in his ribs.

He could almost hear Dean's voice in his mind at the situation at hand.

Son of a bitch.


Dean stepped out of the impala, taking a breath of the early morning air, fresh and cold from the snow that had fallen the night before. Turning green eyes to the hospital, he felt his lungs quiver at the thought of spending the whole day breathing in the smell of disinfectant. He hated hospitals. He only wanted for Cas to get better so that they could take him home and have Ellen's friggin' Christmas dinner.

The only good thing that could come out of a stay in that damn place was if the nurses were hot. Which...when he thought about it…this hospital wasn't completely lacking on. He hadn't really been looking the night before, but he recalled Cas's nurse to be pretty damn hot. He snorted.

Ain't you a good friend, Winchester. Checking out your friend's nurse while he's knocked out in a hospital bed.

Locking the car and finally walking towards the dreaded building, he replied the short look he'd allowed himself when they'd talked. Hmm. Maybe he could even get something out of this goddamn place after all. He'd mention it to Cas first. Maybe. Not that the guy would mind, he already had Emily completely smitten with him. He grinned, not that the feeling wasn't mutual. Just talking about the sweet girl brought an unusual embarrassed look to Cas's eyes. He'd have to tell Gabriel to push a bit more with his matchmaking quest, it was clear the two already liked each other.

At the thought of the pie maker, he glanced down at his watch. Gabriel should be there by now. He hadn't paid attention in the parking lot, so he wasn't sure if the little man's car was there or not. Maybe he'd taken a bus. Guy was lazier than anyone Dean knew for anything that didn't involve sweets.

Walking into the main lobby, he checked with the receptionist for Cas's room, in case they'd changed him during the night. Dean didn't really know how these kinds of things worked, but he was damned if he was gonna get lost around here. Nope. Not him.

As he walked down the hallway to room 416, he nodded at a couple doctors and offered polite smiles to the nurses; some closer to grins depending on the packaging. It was practically second nature for him. Not much he could do about it or wanted to do about it.

Just a few doors away from Cas's room, he walked past a tall, lanky doctor and a guy on a wheelchair. The patient must have been ready to go home, he was already hidden in a thick coat, and had a trucker hat that shaded over his face. It almost made Dean think of Bobby, when the old man had broken his hip a few years ago and had been stuck on a wheelchair for three months.

A nightmare for him and anyone who worked with him.

He was distracted from his thoughts by the song the doctor was humming and mumbling, somewhat off key. He told himself not to stare. But it was really fucking creepy.

Heaven... I'm in Heaven,
And my heart beats so that I can…hardly speak...
I seem to find the happiness I seek,
When we're out together, and dancing…

Dean's eyes met with the man's for a brief moment. It was less than a second but it was enough to make a chill run down the detective's spine. The look in the doctor's eyes was crazed if he ever so one.

cheek to cheek.

Clear gray eyes dug into Dean's, making him feel like the bird waiting for the cat to jump. He felt his shoulders tense as the man and his patient walked past him, breaking eye contact. Dean followed them with his eyes, looking slightly over his shoulder while neither stopped walking. Then it was like time went back to normal, and Dean turned his eyes forward, the eerily cheery whistling of the doctor fading as they disappeared towards the main lobby.

As he finally made it to Cas's room, he shook the odd and short encounter from his mind.

Castiel was on his back, which could only mean the stitches were well enough for him to not have to lie off of them. "Hey, Cas." He greeted, stopping slightly at the startled look in his friend's eyes. "You okay?"

The older man immediately relaxed upon seeing him, closing his eyes briefly before shifting into a more comfortable position with a small wince. "I'm fine."

"You supposed to be leaning on those? I thought your back was all stitched up." He commented, hoping to come off as casual as he sat down by his bed. Cas gave him a look, and somehow Dean knew Gabe had asked the same thing. With a sigh, Cas answered anyway.

"I woke up on my back, and the nurse hasn't said anything, so I assume it's okay."

Dean nodded, "Great. Awesome. So is Gabe here yet? He told me he'd come in as soon as visiting hours started."

"Yes. Gabriel is already on his way to empty the cafeteria of pastries and chocolates of every kind." There was a smile in his friend's eyes as he said this, which helped Dean finally relax into his seat. "He should be here soon."

The detective chuckled, "I'm sure he will." They stayed in a comfortable silence for a long moment, both turning to glance out the window. It had started snowing, and as he turned his eyes to his friend, Dean was glad it had. Cas loved snow. He enjoyed watching it fall while he worked in the café.

Going over their conversation, the nurse he'd met the day before came to mind again, and he found himself clearing his throat. Blue eyes turned from the window to meet his with their usual intensity.

"So, speaking of nurses," Castiel rose an eyebrow, because it was kind of late to be mentioning this, but didn't say anything. "Did you get lucky? Huh?" he teased, wiggling his eyebrows with what Sam would call a shit-eating grin, "Did you get a hot, busty nurse?"

Amusement sparkled in Castiel's eyes, but his expression remained otherwise stoic. "Yes, I believe that's what you would classify her as, no doubt." And the bastard was playing with him. Cas had to know that he was only asking because he was interested himself. Sneaky nerd was not giving any details.

"So if I press the call button, she'll come right away, right?" he nodded to the right of Cas's bed.

"And what exactly would you tell her? I'm sure she has work to do, if you call her for nothing, she could get upset."

"Well then, I'll just have to clap you in the back a bit. You think she'll come then?"

"Most likely. To kick you out."

"Good, we could get some time alone."

"Unless she leaves you with security and stays to make sure I'm okay."

"Well, then…I uh—" he opened his mouth to find a way around it as Cas raised his eyebrows, waiting for a response and knowing full well he didn't have one. "Dude, stop raining on my parade! A man can dream, right?"

"Why dream when you can make it real?" came a teasing voice behind him, and Dean turned to give Gabriel a piece of his mind, only to see the nurse standing next to him, obvious amusement in her eyes. Gabe took a large bite of his chocolate bar, grinning at him and winking exaggeratedly as he walked past him to sit on Cas's bed. "Isn't that how the hallmark cards go?"

Dean felt a sheepish smile tug at his lips, a blush that was half anger at that bastard Gabriel and half embarrassment at being overheard tinting his cheeks and neck. "I uh…sorry about that." Gabriel snickered, and Dean was tempted to turn around and punch the dick in the face.

She smiled, an honest (if mischievous) dimpled smile that made odd things to Dean's stomach. "I'm not." And with that, she turned her eyes to Cas, back to the sweet, attending nurse, "Your brother seemed to have gotten lost in the cafeteria, thought I'd show him the way back to your room. Call if you need anything." With one last look at Dean, she was gone, leaving him staring after like an idiot.

Well damn.

"Ohoho, Winchester, you're either losing practice or you like Cassie's nurse a bit more than you thought." Gabriel guffawed. Dean fell back to his cool controlled self and sent a scowl the man's way.

"Shut up."

Gabriel grinned at him, obviously not falling for his façade but—thank God— deciding not to push. Turning to Cas, he patted his brother's leg.

"So, kiddo, I called the troupe while I was on my little supply run," Dean snorted. He was ignored, "Gigantor and his sweet angel will come for lunch, I'll go pick up Emily when they get here, and I think Ellen and Jo are coming around dinner. Ellen's dead set on giving you a decent home cooked meal instead of the crap they give here. I'll stay here and steal from your plate." He nodded at his own genius. "Good plan, I like it."

"'Course you do. Word of advice though," Dean said with a smirk, "If you want to have your balls, keep your hands to yourself."

The slight nervousness he noted in Gabriel's laugh told him the man knew that with Ellen, threats like that were no joke.

Castiel smiled at his brother, a small smile that would never take for granted after seeing his friend so broken.

They talked for the better part of an hour. Well. Gabriel and Dean talked, and Cas just listened or answered their questions as usual with few words and always straight to the point. Dean had feared that Cas would have closed off, but the detective had to marvel at his friend's strength. Acting normally after what he'd been through had to be a feat in and of itself. That Gabriel was being his usual self as well was more of a relief that he'd ever admit to.

When Bobby walked in, Gabriel was in the middle of impersonating Rufus as he demanded his morning coffee and complained at the fact that there was no alcohol in the café. The old man's serious mood sort of ruined the joke, and they all stopped like children being caught in a prank and looked sheepishly at him.

"Hey there, Chief," Gabriel greeted, shameless as usual. "Did your morning donut take longer than usual today? I thought you'd never make it!"

Bobby turned an annoyed look the man's way, "Well ain't you a funny man," he drawled sarcastically, "Idjit." Dean chuckled as Gabriel put on an offended face. The old detective walked over to stand by Dean's chair, allowing himself to show his concern as he looked at Cas. "How're you doing, son?"

Castiel gave the man one of his small smiles, "I'm fine, Bobby. Thank you." Everyone in the room knew Castiel was not referring to the question, but to having been saved from Lucifer. "No need for that, boy." Castiel lowered his eyes, like he didn't entirely agree but didn't want to upset him by voicing his thoughts. Bobby's eyes softened slightly, and he reached for Castiel's shoulder in a rare act of care, squeezing it reassuringly, "Family don't end in blood. And we don't leave family behind." Castiel's eyes snapped up to look at Bobby, wide and searching, like he really hadn't expected that Bobby considered him family, like he did Sam and Dean.

Dean smiled fondly at his friend, shaking his head slightly. Trust Cas to think himself a burden even after everyone assured him of the opposite. With a meek nod from Cas, Bobby let his hand fall back to his side and turned hazel eyes to look down at Dean. "Dean. A word?"

With a confused frown at the sudden severity in the old man's expression, he nodded and pushed himself up, "Sure." Patting Cas's shoulder, he gave him a brief smile, "Be right back."

He followed the older detective out of the room, closing the door quietly after them before turning to face him, "Alright, Bobby, what is it?" Bobby hesitated for a moment, and if that didn't put Dean on edge, then few other things did.

"It's Lucifer." Dean tensed, "He's gone."