Cassie: I appreciated the fangirl moment. I'm still trying to get over "Omc" on my other story. I'm glad I did okay, and I hope I did even better here. Thank you for your patronage you little saint you. Just keep in mind if this traumatizes you, it's all on KittyCatAttack. She made me. Although it turned into a good way to advance the story line. If it was up to her it would've been much worse. We compromised.
~.~.~.~.~

"Since when are you drinking again?" Dean lowered the steel container from his lips, exhaling softly. "And out of a flask nonetheless."

"Since drinking out of the bottle became indicative of a 'problem'." Sam abandoned his task to stare his shifting brother down, as Dean sat on the bed avoiding eye contact before taking another sip. The only sign of an effect being the shadow of the smallest wince, no more than a twitch in his eye, but knowing Sam, he probably noticed.

"It's only a problem when you try to down a liquor store."

"Oh, come on, it was a couple bottles!"

"It was ten Dean... I thought you couldn't get drunk now anyway?" Dean thought for a second how to respond. Sam gave a suspicious look.

"The alcohol gives me comfort..." Dean went to take another sip, but Sam crossed the room. Dean rolled his eyes and willingly loosened his grip on the flask, knowing what Sam's intention was. He took the flask from Dean and sipped it himself. He looked confused.

"You're watering it down? You've never watered down a drink in your life." Sam got a knowing look and Dean just sighed, looking at the carpet. Sam looked down and then turned to Dean looking upset.

"Sammy-"

"No, Dean! What the hell are you thinking?! Do you have a Death wish, is that it? Because if you aren't okay we can talk about it, but this?! Why the hell would you ever willingly drink holy water?!" Dean sighed and shouted back, although he wasn't in any mood to be hostile toward his brother.

"It's nothing suicidal, damn it! It's not even the pain! I'm just trying to get the alcohol into my system, and this is what works, okay?! I'm not drinking enough to hurt me or anything!" Sam still had a bitch face so Dean lowered his voice. "Look, Sammy, I'm upset, yeah, but I'm okay. If anything, fuck Cas for being a dick, right? I just wanna work the case, and try to calm my nerves until Cas calms his... uh, I don't know, whatever angels have. I promise, I swear on my probably-non-existent soul. Little cagey, little pissed, but nothing to warrant a psych hold. At least, no more than usual." Sam sighed.

"Just stay on your game okay?" Sam reluctantly handed back the flask, giving him a worried look. Dean put it back in his pocket and stood up.

"Of course. Now move your ass, we have to go check out that vet..." Sam grabbed his satchel and followed Dean out. "I can't believe you're bringing your purse."

"It's a satchel, it's been around for over a thousand years, and they're helpful for carrying things." Sam said, responding rationally to Dean's immaturity as always.

"All I'm saying is, it's not that long of a walk, we could've just carried the file and you wouldn't have had to bring it."

"Well, I prefer having it. People find it less odd that you walk like you're trying to get somewhere when you've got a brief case or a laptop bag, or a satchel. Makes people think you've got something to do."

"Or you could just stop walking like you've got a stick up your ass and relax a bit." Sam gave him a dull glare as they walked. He avoided stepping on some gum on the sidewalk before responding.

"What, you're telling me something's not weird? We've got a string of maulings, sacrifices, disappearances, strange deaths, a werewolf pack in town, and then there's Crowley, who do not tell me isn't hiding something. I don't know about you, but I'm on edge until we explain all this."

"You think that pack has something to do with it?" Sam gave a small sigh.

"I doubt they did it, at least not all of it. I don't see how they could. But I wouldn't be surprised if they're involved. They'd have to know. I mean, right?"

"We would know if they'd just talk to us. Little shit." Dean saw Sam give him a look from the corner of his eye. "Ya got something to say, Sammy, say it." They started to near the animal clinic.

"Well, it's just, speaking of the kid, you're the only one of us that hasn't tried to get him to tell us.-"

"And you think I'll do any better? I've never gotten along with teens and they've never liked me. Unless you were thinking more of an 'interrogation'?" They paused a ways away from the clinic, watching who they assumed was the vet talking to some kid by a motorcycle.

"God no, that's not what I'm saying. It's just I think you'd get through to him. You seem a bit alike." The kid put his helmet on and got on his bike.

"Hey, you were always the gangly weird nerd. C'mon." They crossed the street as the kid left the lot. The doctor saw them approaching and Dean gave him a nod, but the doctor started across the lot toward his car. Dean jogged after. "Hey, Doc, can we get a sec?"

"No, you may not. I have no interest in speaking with you boys, I'd actually like you to leave immediately." So he knew what was going on around here. Dean grabbed the guys shoulder.

"Come on, cut us some slack.-" Dean reeled back, a cloud of some kind of powder making him dizzy almost instantly. The vet walked off as Dean fell back on his ass, thankfully close enough to the grass to stumble back to it first. Sam rushed to him, but the vet stopped beside them as he pulled out of the lot.

"He'll be fine. He's just dazed, it'll wear off. But my only advice for the both of you is to get out of town. No one here plans to welcome you." As the guy drove off Sam turned his attention back to Dean, who currently had a blank mind for the first time that day. He shook his head trying to get his wits about him.

"Help me up..." Dean managed, after a few minutes. Sam sighed and helped him up, putting his brother's arm over his neck to help him walk, but when they turned to start home, Sam took a punch so hard it put him on his back, right onto the side walk, Dean stumbled but the assailant threw him up against the build before he could fall. It wasn't anyone they knew but the chick had an angel blade in one hand and a vice grip on Dean's throat with the other.

"Where is it, Winchester?" The angel ground out firmly. Dean tried to scoff, eyes already involuntarily black, but if came out choked.

"If you mean the first blade, it's no where you'll ever find it. And if you mean my Asian Beauties collection, answers the same." She slammed him hard against the wall again, and Dean swore his ribs made an audible crack as they broke. Yep, it was final. All the angels they'd fought against had given the curtsey of holding back because they were human.

"Don't play dumb with me, scum. Where is he!?" She pressed the knife to his abdomen.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about but if I did, I'd still tell you to kiss my a- Aaah!" She stabbed the knife into his stomach, not being shy a giving it a wiggle once in.

"Where is the demon?! Tell me and maybe I'll make it quick." Dean panted once he'd finished cringing in pain. He didn't think the blade would kill him, at least not immediately, but hell if it didn't burn like holy fire. Why would the angels be looking for Crowley?

"Well, I'm not telling you shit so why don't you slip into something a little more comfortable? Suit of holy fire maybe?" She punched him, hard, the handle putting a gash across his left cheek, and splitting the skin of his nose and his right brow. He felt a bit of blood in his mouth and he spit it in her face. "Bring it, bitch." She pulled the knife back, winding up to stab him. He gritted his teeth, but before the blow could come, the tip of an angel blade stabbed through her chest. Dean slid to the ground against the wall, free of her grip only for her body to fall on him. He pushed her away with his legs, looking up to his savior, angel blue eyes meeting him.

"Sometimes I feel as if our relationship consists mostly of me saving your life and us staring intently at each other." Cas said looking anywhere but at Dean now.

"Yeah, so why'd you do it this time? Want to gank me yourself?" Dean ground out, guardedly. Cas' eyes snapped to Dean, looking hurt.

"I could never hurt you, Dean. I would hope I've shown that thoroughly enough by now." Dean scoffed.

"Never kill me maybe, but you've hurt me plenty; my feelings, at the very least." Dean started trying to squirm to get up and Cas reach out to heal him but Dean knocked his hand away. "I'm fine, I can heal it myself." Dean looked down at the very very slowly shrinking wound. "Eventually anyway." Sam finally got up and came over, obviously hurt. Cas healed him as he passed and he stood a bit straighter and gave Cas a nod in thanks. He helped Dean up and without asking Cas flew them back to the motel. Cas gave a small panicked look at the condition of the room as Sam laid Dean on his bed.

"Dean, please just let Cas heal you. For me?" Sam whispered. Dean sighed and made tense eye contact with Cas.

"No, Sam. I can heal myself. I'll be fine. This shouldn't throw me off too much. Just give me a bit and I'll be as leak proof as a boat before you know it. Just give me a bit to heal, okay?" Sam agreed, hesitantly. But time yielded no progress, and after a half an hour Dean more or less passed out. Cas healed his ribs and stab wound, only for them to realize his sutures had started to bleed again.

"Why won't they heal?"Cas asked Sam. Sam sighed.

"Crowley said that scratches from an alpha or former alpha can be harder for demons to heal. That he needed to keep up an effort at healing it for it to work. This isn't good, I'll call him, see if he can do anything." Sam took out his phone, dialed, and put it on speaker. Crowley picked up on the first ring. "Mm, are you alone this time?" Sam glanced at Cas and cleared his throat.

"No, I'm not. Dean's blacked out. He got stabbed by an angel and couldn't heal, and now his stitches are bleeding. If you could come help us out with him, we'd really appreciate it."

"Would you now?" Sam rolled his eyes.

"Yes, we would. Especially if you're quick and helpful." There was a knock at the door as soon as the call cut out, and Sam hurried to the door. "Tha-"

"Don't thank me." Crowley cut in, slipping into the motel room. "My progeny has company. Home is the last place I want to be right now. They grow up so fast." He made his way to Dean as he spoke, once at Dean's side he moved the clothing off the wound to get a look at it. "Two problems, love." Sam cam e over and Crowley continued. "The scratches aren't just 'not healing'. They're deteriorating. And it seems his blood is... tainted." He touched a finger to the blood then wiped it off to reveal a scald mark. Sam gave a sigh.

"He's been drinking holy water. Could that cause it?" Crowley looked slightly surprised but he nodded.

"Since when?"

"Just the last few hours, he was drinking it in whiskey to get it to give him a buzz. I don't know if he did it before that. Sounded like he had. He said he was upset and that was what worked. You know how upset he gets."

"Uh-huh... This one bad?" Sam nodded.

"He didn't break the bathroom too much, but yeah, he went off. I was worried." Crowley's eyes met Sam's.

"Suicidal?"

"Just when he was freaking out. He calmed down after. He said he wasn't, and I believed him. Can you fix this?" Crowley sighed.

"Purge his stomach and the rest should work its way out of his system pretty quick. Working from there, I can try to help him heal, but I don't know how much I can help. All I can do is put a bit extra energy and effort into it. At most I could get them back to where they were." Sam nodded looking a bit frazzled.

"Uh, yeah, good. H-How do we purge his stomach?" Crowley sighed and looked down at Dean. He took Dean's arm and hoisted him up, taking him to the bathroom.

"I'll deal with it. Be out in a few." Sam nodded and sat at the end of the bed.

"Was it my fault?"Sam looked up to Cas. "All of this?" Sam shrugged.

"More or less. Not your fault but, yeah, he freaked out because you disappeared." Cas gave what Sam assumed was an apologetic face.

"Sam, I don't know what he said but-"

"He said that you found out and now you hated him and were never going to come back." Sam said flatly and matter-of-factly.

"Sam, that's not true. You know I care for your brother more than anyone else, unconditionally." Sam shook his head.

"He overreacted. I know that, Cas. I've known that for a long time. The question is, does Dean? You scared the hell out of him Cas... He really thought you were never coming back. So of course he's pushing you away." Cas gave him a conflicted look.

"I would like to say I know what you mean but..." Sam nodded.

"You get the gist you just don't understand the word." Cas nodded back.

"Yes, quite." Sam sighed.

"If you 'care for him more than anyone' no matter what, then you should communicate that to him. Make sure that he knows you won't leave him. It doesn't matter if the rest of the world knows how you feel, if he doesn't know, he'll never be able to fully trust you. Get it?" Cas gave a sad look for a moment but then nodded again.

"Will... Will he forgive me?" Sam stood, took Cas by the shoulder and patted his cheek with his other hand.

"You really are thick in the head, aren't you?" Cas tilted his head, more so not understanding why Sam would have a fond look on his face while insulting him than caring that he was being insulted. Sam stepped back and sighed then gave a small laugh. "He's always forgiven you before, Cas. Just give him those big lost kitten eyes and he'll melt in your hands." There was a commotion in the bathroom, more than the quiet gagging and vomiting noises that had been going on, and they both moved closer to the door. They could hear Dean muttering faintly.

"Ge' tha fuck off me!" There were more stumbling sounds before they heard Crowley.

"Alright, alright, just going to help you out, that's all. Careful." The door opened and they both moved as Crowley moved Dean to the bed and dropped him on it. Dean didn't cringe so Sam took it as a good thing. Only by chance did he catch sight of Crowley's hand, scalded red, developing blisters. Sam took his hand to get a better look; Crowley flinched but didn't pull away. Sam only held it for a few seconds before dropping it and sighing.

"Did you realize-?"

"I'm not an idiot, Moose. Of course I knew." Crowley rubbed his hand, thinking Sam would be too close to see, but he did.

"Why'd you do it then? Me or Cas could've done it."

"You were both bundles of nerves. You would've chickened out. I can bite the bullet for my own every now and again." Sam nodded. Cas sat on the edge of the bed and put his hand on Dean's. "He should be fine. I would invite you to stay at the house, Moose, but it's early and Lydie is having friends over tonight."

"The friends that know who we are...?" Crowley nodded.

"The boy and the mutt are supposed to come, I don't know the others."

"Right. Why don't we give them some space, get some coffee?" Crowley smirked faintly and started towards the door.

"It's a date." Sam scoffed at that, following.

"So not, but keep dreaming."