Healing

Sam stirred a spoonful of honey into Castiel's tea as he stood silently in the kitchen. Cas had only been awake for not even a full day now and the angel was trying to eat them out of house and home. If it was up to Dean the hunter would have fed Cas every burger, waffle, and french-fry the angel could stuff in, but Sam had made sure to keep a close eye on what was leaving the kitchen and going to Cas' room. Cas hadn't eaten actual food that wasn't fed to him through an IV in a long time. Letting him stuff himself was only going to make him sick. That was why Cas was on a strict diet of only simple foods; oatmeal, toast, and tea being a few examples.

"Hey, Sam," Charlie yawned, walking into the kitchen with her coffee mug and Kevin's. Sam let out a little hum in answer, concentration fixed on the tea he was stirring. Charlie laughed at him and put the empty mugs into the sink before tapping Sam's shoulder. Sam jumped from his thoughts, stirring stopping momentarily.

"Oh, sorry, Charlie…" Charlie waved him off.

"No worries, Sam," she reassured. Her eyes skimmed over the tea Sam had been stirring. "How's he doing?" Sam grinned then.

"Really good actually, but he's pretty weak from lying in bed for so long. A little exercise will get him back to normal though." Charlie raised a brow.

"Exercise?" she questioned. Sam nodded.

"I had Kevin look some up while Cas was sleeping. Dean's showing some to Cas right now…well, he's supposed to be," Sam huffed. Charlie nodded, glancing at the ground.

"What about healing the rest of him?" she questioned. Sam frowned at her and Charlie raised her head to meet Sam's gaze. "His mind still needs healing from…from what happened." Sam licked his lips and lowered his head, knowing fully well that she was right. All those nightmares and fears were still pushing at Cas. Dean was able to bring him back this time, but what if there's a next time? "Sam?" Sam stumbled from his thoughts and glanced towards the cup of tea steaming on the counter.

"Sorry. Um…what did you have in mind for Cas?" he questioned. Charlie thought for a moment, nose scrunching as she thought to herself.

"Well, maybe Kevin and I can find some coping mechanisms for him to try or something?" she offered. Sam nodded and handed her the cup of tea.

"Why don't you two go do that now then? I need to go help Balthazar and Gabriel anyway. They're gathering up all the cards everybody sent Cas the past couple of days." Charlie nodded and walked out of the kitchen, cup in hand. She waved Kevin over on her way to the stairs and the prophet followed with his computer under his arm. The door to the angels' bedroom was cracked open slightly and both Charlie and Kevin peaked in. Cas was sitting up in bed with Dean bracing his back with a firm hand.

"Alright, try again," Dean whispered gently to the angel. Cas nodded, a look of determination on his face as he carefully pulled one foot in and then pushed it back. He let out a big breath when his leg was stretched out again and Dean burst into cheers. "See! There you go, Cas! You'll be back on your feet in no time." Cas grinned at the hunter tiredly and Kevin's knuckles gently tapped at the door. Both hunter and angel turned then and the prophet and nerd fighter walked in.

"Brought you some tea, Cas," Charlie said, handing the cup to the angel. Cas took it, hand shaking slightly from the weight of it. Dean braced a hand over Cas' helping the little angel hold it. Cas leaned forward, sipping at the tea. Cas looked worn out and pale like he had when he first woke up, but now he had a small shade of color added to his face. His eyes were slightly brighter too.

"What're you doing with the laptop?" Castiel asked after taking another sip of his tea. All eyes drifted to Kevin. The prophet was seated on the beanbag set on the floor and he had his feet propped up on a sleeping Custos. The prophet smiled gently at Castiel.

"Looking up some exercises to help you get better," Kevin told him. Castiel pouted, lip sticking out.

"I don't like exercise. It's hard." Dean laughed and ruffled Castiel's feathers before standing suddenly. He bent down slightly, taking Cas' hands in his and rubbing his thumb gently over the soft skin.

"How about I go get us some real food since you're doing so well?" Dean suggested. Cas' eyes beamed.

"But Sam said –"

"It's just for tonight, Cas," Dean said with a wink before pulling back. "What do you think? Burgers, curly fries…maybe some ice-cream for shakes?" Cas' head bobbed and Dean placed a small kiss to Cas' curls before disappearing through the door. Charlie took Dean's spot at Cas' side then.

"You ready for some more exercise?" she asked the angel. Cas shook his head and rubbed at his sore limbs. Charlie laughed at him and tapped the side of his head gently. "I mean your head silly." Cas frowned at her in confusion again, head tilting.

"My head?" Charlie nodded, fingers suddenly fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"Cas, we all know you're holding stuff in that's hurting you. Kevin and I've decided we're going to help you with that."

"Why?" Kevin's fingers stopped tapping against the keys of his computer and Charlie glanced over at him, sharing a weary look with the prophet.

"Because we've all done the same thing and it never ends well for anybody," Charlie explained. The past couple days in general were perfect examples. Everyone was hurting and guilt-ridden and what did all that do? Hurt each other. Dean was depressed, the angels were scared, Sam was a worried wreck, and both Kevin and Charlie had been so guilt ridden by what had happened. Bobby had been the only one to push down his grief and if he hadn't the little family probably would have fell apart within a few days of Castiel returning from the hospital. "These memories or nightmares that are hurting you aren't going to go away, but we can at least try to make them less affective." Castiel nodded, glancing at the tea up.

"What's my exercises then?" Kevin got up then and took a seat next to Cas, placing the computer close to the angel. He waved his mouse then at an article he'd pulled up. Cas peered at the screen, squinting slightly as he read. "Step 1: take a deep breath." Cas did as it said and both Kevin and Charlie joined in. If they were going to do this they were going to do it together. Cas looked to the screen again. "Step 2: Remember the good times." Cas closed his eyes, envisioning the past. He thought back to when he was just a fledgling playing with his brothers and sisters in heaven. Cas thought back to his times with the Winchesters during hunts. Most of all, he thought back to his time after being turned into a child. Cas grinned as the images danced through his mind and pushed back the bad, frightening visions. Charlie and Kevin grinned silently to each other as they watched the angel's face light up and Kevin carefully shut his computer. They didn't need that anymore.

"CASSIE!" Castiel jumped from his thoughts and looked to the door as Balthazar and Gabriel burst in with Sam right behind them. Custos startled from his sleep and let out a grumpy bark before jumping onto Cas' bed and snuggling under Cas' covers.

"Sorry, for bursting in, but the guys are pretty excited," Sam chuckled, waving a hand at the bouncing angels. In their hands were tons of different cards. Both brothers quickly dumped them neatly into Cas' lap and the smaller angel held one up, then another, and then another. They were all addressed to him!

"What are these?" Cas questioned, carefully opening one up." Gabriel grinned at his baby brother.

"They're Get Well cards," Gabe explained.

"Yeah, and there are tons more downstairs too," Balthazar added. "We couldn't carry them all." Castiel's eyes widened and he opened the card he had taken from its envelope. It was a sheet of construction paper folded in half. On the top were big letters saying 'GET WELL SOON' and on the inside was a child's drawing of Castiel and a little girl with strange wings. Signed beneath the drawing was a little message. 'We love you sweetie and hope you'll get well soon. Love Missouri and Piper.' Cas grinned widely at the little picture and asked Sam if they could hang it up. To this Sam said yes and he took the picture from Cas and taped it to the wall next to the bed.

"There's more where that came from," Gabe told his brother, pointing at the others. "Luci, the twins, Samandriel, Ambriel…they all sent you something." Cas stared at his brothers, flabbergasted.

"Why so many?" he asked. Everyone in the room laughed and Castiel only tilted his head farther in confusion. "What?"

"Cas, all these people care about you," Kevin explained, waving at at the cards. "That's why they did it." Castiel blushed slightly and picked up another card. His fingers brushed over the envelope, heart swelling.

"Can I write them back or something?" he asked. "To thank them?" Sam nodded.

"We can do even better. You can call them yourself, but not right now. You need to recuperate and rest." Cas huffed at that.

"Haven't I rested enough?" Cas finished opening the card, finding that this one was from Jody, Alex, and Luciefer. They didn't have a drawing inside. Instead, there was a photograph of the three along with Gabriel and Balthazar standing in front of a large tree-house. Cas handed the picture to Sam and the hunter taped it to the wall next to Piper's drawing. Cas then continued opening his cards from his family until the entire wall was covered in drawings and letters. Gadreel and Ezekiel had written a nice letter (with a little help from their parents) and Cas also got one from Naomi too. Samandriel had made a finger painting, Ambriel a picture from a coloring book, and Metatron had sent a drawing of them all fighting a purple dragon. By the time Cas had filled the entire wall he still had several cards left and a ton more downstairs, but he was clearly getting worn out from all the excitement. Noticing this, Sam pulled the remaining cards from Cas' lap and set them down on the bedside table. He helped Cas back against his pillows again and pulled the blankets up to his chest. Custos huffed from his spot under the blankets, crawling out and dropping his head onto Cas' belly before closing his eyes. Cas' fingers stretched at the pup's ears and the angel grinned at the others.

"Thank you," he whispered tiredly.

"Night little bro," Gabe whispered, hugging his brother tight before moving to the side for Balthazar. Finally, Sam and Charlie had everyone file out and the two turned the lights off, whispering good-nights to the angel before leaving him alone in the dim room. Cas rolled over on his side so he was looking at the wall covered in pictures. He grinned at the pictures and letters, fingers still stroking through Custos' fur. The puppy let out a little whine and nuzzled at Cas' face. The angel giggled, patting Custos.

"Goodnight, Custos." He closed his eyes then, drifting off only to startle awake minutes later. He clutched at himself and Custos looked to him worriedly, whining again. Cas held up a hand and closed his eyes, breathing deeply and thinking about the good times. He thought of all the nice letters and his family until the darkness drifted away and was replaced with smiles and color. Custos whined again and Cas sunk back into his pillows, holding the puppy tight. Custos nuzzled close, watching his friend drift into a more peaceful sleep.

Thanks deathraptor22 for the coping idea.

P.S. Sorry about earlier with the chapter mix up. I was updating a different fic and accidentally put it onto W.A. It's all fixed up now though.