"Cas, are you okay?" Dean asked as he looked over at him. They were flying down the streets of Washington D.C. going well over the speed limit but Dean didn't care.
"No, my leg feels like it's on fire and I haven't eaten or drank anything in… I don't even know how long," Cas replied, holding onto his leg to put pressure on it. He glanced over and saw the worry in Dean's face. "Oh, I was supposed to lie, right? No, I'm fine!"
Dean smiled a little but worry was still etched on his face.
"How are you? You got shot, too," Cas said, eying Dean's shot arm. He was only driving with his left, non-wounded arm.
"I'm fine. Are we being followed?" Dean asked, looking in the rearview mirror.
"I don't think so… I'll keep looking," Cas said. They drove in silence for a little while, Dean focusing on the road and Cas making sure no car stayed behind them for too long. "I think we're good, where are we headed?"
"To an old friend's place. I'm sure they've already been to my apartment, probably trashed it…" Dean said, trailing off as he ran a hand nervously through his hair.
They made the rest of the trip in more silence but it wasn't uncomfortable. Dean pulled the Impala into the parking lot of a decent looking apartment building. He tried to park it so it couldn't be seen from the street.
"Let's go, we can get cleaned up and maybe something to eat," Dean said as they exited the car. He saw Cas was having trouble walking, so he went over to put his left arm around him and help him into the building.
It would have been easier to take the elevator but it was in the lobby where a doorman was sitting reading a magazine. The two didn't want there to be a trace of their visit so Dean hauled Cas up to the second floor on the side stairs, out of sight from the doorman.
Since Dean's arms were either around Cas or had been shot, Cas knocked as they reached apartment 2C after an encouraging nod from Dean.
The door opened after a minute to reveal a middle aged woman with shoulder length brown hair and fierce brown eyes to match. She wore a plaid shirt over a tank top with jeans.
She immediately pulled Dean into a hug, leaving Cas to lean a hand on the doorframe to support himself. Just as quick as she hugged him, she backed up a step and slapped Dean hard across the face.
"I haven't heard from you or Sam in months. Months, Dean!" She exclaimed. "You could have been dead for all we knew."
"I'm sorry, Ellen, it's been busy…" Dean sputtered, knowing there was no good excuse for making Ellen worry.
"Busy? Too busy to give me peace of mind?" She sighed as she glanced at Cas and realized they both needed help. "It is good to see you, Dean, come on in," she said, switching to a less harsh but still maternal, loving voice.
"Thanks," Dean said as they followed Ellen into the apartment. It was small and cozy, full of books and pictures. There was a spacious living room that the front door opened into with a kitchen and dining room to the right and a short hallway to the left leading to the two bedrooms and a bathroom.
A blonde twenty something was sitting on the couch and sprung up as the three entered the apartment. She rushed over to give Dean a hug but didn't slap him like Ellen had.
"Hey, Jo," Dean said rather fondly, Cas noticed.
It was then that Dean realized both women were looking back and forth from Cas to him and there hadn't been any introductions made.
"Oh right, this is Cas. Cas, this is Ellen and Jo," Dean said.
"Cas?" Jo asked. "Like Castiel, the guy you were hunting?"
Realization dawned on both women and they took a step back.
"No, no, it's fine. Really. Well, yeah this is Cas, but he's not the problem," Dean said, not really convincing either of them that Cas wasn't a threat.
"Why don't we get you cleaned up? Jo, honey, get the first aid kit and I'll get some whiskey," Ellen said authoritatively and they both headed in opposite directions leaving Dean and Cas in the living room.
The two sat on the couch with a considerable amount of space between them.
"So, how do you know Ellen and Jo?" Cas asked to break the silence.
"Ellen's Bobby's second wife, Jo is her kid from her first marriage and Bobby pretty much adopted her. They're like family to me and Sam," Dean said, looking at Cas.
"Jo seems to like you a lot," Cas pointed out quietly. Dean couldn't help but laugh.
"Probably more than she should but she's like a sister to me," Dean answered. "Why, Cas, you jealous?" Dean could see he made Cas blush and laughed some more as Ellen and Jo came back.
"What's so funny?" Jo asked.
"Nothing, nothing. Let's get patched up, huh?" Dean said.
Ellen and Jo quickly got to work. They cut away at Dean's shirt and Cas's pant leg to expose the wounds to clean and dress them. The whiskey was used to clean the injuries and to drink, though Cas barely had any saying he wasn't too fond of drinking.
"I'm sure it's a great story to hear how the two of you ended up at my door, bleeding and clearly on the run," Ellen said. Dean figured they owed her the truth.
Dean explained everything, starting at the Angel Project, what Sam found out about Crowley's involvement and how they escaped because Dean wasn't going to kill Cas. He didn't mention the capturing or interrogation process figuring it would contradict their unlikely almost friendship.
"Ow, shit," Dean said followed by a sharp exhale of breath.
"Don't be such a wuss," Jo said, digging in Dean's arm to remove a piece of the bullet.
Once both men were patched up, Ellen offered them some clothes to take.
"They're just sitting there, you boys need them, go ahead," Ellen said. Her face was wracked with pain, thinking about Bobby, and Dean looked down and said a soft word of thanks. He knew she didn't want to talk about Bobby and to be honest, Dean didn't want to either. They were similar in the fact that they both suppressed their emotions.
Dean and Cas headed to the larger bedroom to find some replacement clothes. Dean only needed a new shirt but Cas would need new pants and a new shirt because he had blood on it from the wounds Dean caused.
Both of them took off their shirts and Dean pulled two shirts out of the closet. Figuring it would be best to stick with their formal, business attire, they were both simple, white button-up shirts.
Cas tried to subtly glance at Dean, who was every bit as muscular as he would have guessed, at the same time Dean tried to subtly glance at Cas who was more muscular than he would have thought. They both realized the other one was looking and their eyes flew down as they buttoned up their shirts.
"I'll, uh, let you find some pants, then," Dean said. He made to exit the bedroom so Cas could change his pants but Cas's hand on his good arm, his shoulder specifically, stopped him.
Dean turned to face Cas and was surprisingly close to him. Close to his bruised face, hurt but beautiful lips, messy, dark hair and most importantly close to those gorgeous, deep blue eyes. Cas's hand was still on his shoulder and it was shockingly warm. Dean felt like he was burning his handprint onto him.
Dean looked from Cas's eyes down to his hand and back.
"I just wanted to say thank you, Dean. For everything," Cas said.
Dean would have responded, probably something sarcastic and funny to diffuse the seriousness, but Cas had started to lean in. Dean wasn't sure what to do at all and stood there until the moment was broken by his phone ringing.
He took a step back to answer it and Cas stepped back too, running his hand through his hair, making it even more messy.
"Hello?" Dean answered, not bothering to check caller I.D.
It was Crowley's voice.
"Winchester. We need to talk."
