Chapter 58.

Dean went into the kitchen and looked out of the window. Sarah followed, suddenly appearing at his elbow. Cas was between the hives, surrounded by bees. "That's not a good sign, is it?" he said.

"When he has a lot on his mind, he finds they help him to order the chaos." she said.

"Should I go talk to him?"

"No." said Sarah, "After a little while with the girls, he'll feel better."

"What's wrong with Cas?" said Sam, joining them.

"Maybe we should call Jules." said Dean.

"Maybe we need to talk about healthy boundaries and personal space." said Sarah.

"We literally share each other's thoughts." said Dean, "There is no personal space without the talismans."

"Then respect his now." she said.

"What if his issues cause trouble with the mind curse?"

"The what?" said Sarah.

"Okay, at Bobby's."

"At some point, one of you will be there in a less than perfect state of mind." she said.

"That's a nice thought." said Dean.

"Sarcasm is unattractive." said Sarah.

"Not the way I do it." he said. He smiled at her.

"True."

"Quit flirting." said Sam.

"How's Mom?" said Dean.

"Mom's fine. The bunker's fine. Cas clearly isn't fine. How are you?"

Dean glanced at Sarah before answering. "I'm good. I'm great. I've stopped feeling like I'm on the brink of irreversible insanity. I can control the damn link. I can control my own mind."

Sam smiled. "That does sound pretty great."

"All thanks to you, Sarah." said Dean.

"Now, I told you before, you need to own your victories as readily as you admit your failings. You and Castiel are doing this. I'm just offering a safe haven and some unconditional support."

"Whatever you call it, without it, we couldn't do this." he said. He looked at Sam and said, "How are you, Sam? All good?"

"Yeah, seeing you this positive is very good for my mental health." said Sam, "Today, I feel great."

"You over-invest in me emotionally." said Dean, "Sarah has some books that explain that."

"I care about my brother." said Sam, "Not the same thing."

"I have books that explain that too." said Sarah.

"Cas is heading for the house." said Sam.

They waited for him to come in through the back door. Dean stopped himself saying any of the first five things that entered his head and instead went for, "How's Jules?"

"Jules is incredible." said Cas.

"So, everything's okay?"

"I think so, yes." said Cas. He looked at Sam. He seemed about to say something, then looked out of the window at the hives.

"Cas," said Dean, "Winchester Pact."

"Nothing to discuss." said Cas.

"Dean," said Sarah, "Boundaries."

"Okay." said Dean.

"Everything is under control." said Cas, "Honestly." he said to Dean.

"Good." said Dean, "And Jack's okay?"

"Jack's fine. He's with Bobby. Jules is keeping an eye on him."

"Then I suggest we have lunch and then later, we can meet at Bobby's again and see how far we can control our surroundings." said Dean.

"Good idea." said Cas.

"So, we're all fine with that." said Dean.

"Yes, of course." said Cas.

"It's a very good idea." said Sam, "But before you go back in there, maybe spend a while making sure you're both stress-free."

"Not really a thing for either of us." said Dean.

"No, I know, but just choose to be calm and relaxed, because there's a little bit of tension here now and inside your heads, it will be magnified and it will be a lot less regulated. I don't mean be Buddha. I mean be better."

"Better than Buddha?" said Dean.

"Better than you are generally." said Sam.

"My thoughts are always tightly regulated." said Cas.

"Good. Then it should be easy for you." said Sam.

"Any preference for lunch?" said Sarah.

Dean put his arm around her shoulder. "You do enough, Sarah. Let's have junk food today. I'm buying. Sam, look after Cas, Cas, look after Sam and both of you take care of my favourite. I'll be back with burgers very soon. Cas, are you eating?"

Cas glanced at Sarah and said, "No."

Dean shrugged and headed out to the Impala. When he was in the car, he looked at his phone. One short call to Jules might tell him everything. He was tempted, but he resisted. Sarah was right. He insisted on his privacy and he should respect Castiel's.

That didn't mean he couldn't worry, though, so he did. The bees might calm Cas, but they couldn't give him much useful advice. He had not found Cas's assurances very reassuring. Cas was thinking too much and saying too little.

He started the engine and smiled at his own overthinking. "This is the new, calm, relaxed, non-interventional Dean." he said to himself, "This is me being mature and respectful of other people's boundaries." As he drove away, he said, "Even when they are being very evasive."