Family and Hope

Dean opened his eyes, blinking slowly as the fog cleared. His body ached and his throat hurt like a bitch. It felt scratchy and raw and all his mind could think was that a cup of water would be really nice.

Water sadly wasn't going to just pop up in his hand.

Dean tried to sit up, but his head had different ideas. Everything went spinning and spots shot into Dean's vision, causing the hunter to sway. He gripped at the sheets of his bed in attempt to keep upright, but his body just kept on swaying.

"Hey, easy," a voice whispered from Dean's bedside. A pair of thin arms wrapped in bandages grabbed his shoulders and Dean turned. He smiled at Charlie and she smiled back. It was obviously forced. Charlie looked terrible. Along with the bandages, small burns and cuts marring her skin, and her bloodshot eyes she looked like she'd had all her pep and cheer drained right out of her.

"Charlie?" Dean held out a hand, reaching for her. "What…" Dean shut his mouth, thoughts scattering as he caught a glimpse of his own hand as he reached for the tired girl before him. His arm was covered in bandages from his fingertips to his shoulder. When Dean turned his head he saw the same for his opposite limb. Dean closed his eyes, focusing on the rest of his aching body. His head hurt and when he touched where it felt sore he found several staples knitting his skin together. His mind flashed and his gut twisted as images of a black eyed Cas stomped their way through his memories. Dean flew upward again, almost jumping off the bed. He swayed as another dizzy spell hit him and Charlie launched at him again.

"Dean, calm down! It's okay," she cooed, pushing him down. Dean's head hit the pillow and the hunter looked at her with wide eyes.

"Where is everyone? Are they…" Charlie pressed a finger to Dean's lips, shutting him up.

"Dean, you just woke up. You need rest. I'll tell you later –" Charlie's mouth snapped shut as Dean grabbed her by the wrist and squeezed maybe a little too hard. His eyes were dark as he glared at her and his mouth was curved in a snarl.

"Charlie," he hissed. Charlie wiggled her wrist free and reclaimed her hand.

"You've been sleeping for a full day now," Charlie informed him. "You still need rest. Dean, just get it now. Put yourself first for once!"

Dean laughed at that. "Yeah, when pigs fly," he had scoffed before casting an arm over his face. He forced himself to take a deep breath, breathing in and out before dropping his arm and looking back to his friend. "Please, Charlie. How are the others?" Charlie let out an irritated growl and threw her hands up into the air, but she did as Dean asked of her. Dean grinned at her thankfully and sat up a little against his pillows as he listened.

"Balthazar woke up during the night after his blood transfusion. That demon put Balthazar through some major blood loss, but the little guy is doing pretty well now. When he woke up the first thing he did was ask to be put in the same room as Cas. They're a room down from you now. As for the rest of us…" Charlie took a moment to spread her arms and show off her many bandages. "…the rest of us have some pretty ugly burns and blisters and you got yourself a concussion." Dean groaned, touching the stapled skin again.

"Yeah, I think I figured that one out," Dean grumbled. He pulled his hand back, draping it across his stomach. If the demon that attacked them was smart it would stay away because Dean Winchester was putting it on the top of his list. "What about Cas?" Dean questioned when Charlie stopped. "You said that he was in a room too?" Charlie chewed at her lip then, glancing at her hands.

"Oh, yeah…" she whispered. "Cas…he…"

"Charlie, come on. Tell me," Dean pleaded, grabbing (gently) at her hands. Charlie forced herself to look back up at him.

"He's okay, Dean. I swear he is," she told him. "It's just…Cas fell back into the coma again after he was free. Well, I guess he never woke up from it in the first place, but…" Charlie sighed, pulling one of her hands free from Dean's hold to run it through her hair. Dean squinted at her, unnerved by her sudden nervousness. His stomach twisted uneasily as an unwanted feeling of dread creeped up onto the hunter's shoulders. He opened his mouth to ask the foreboding question of what was wrong or what happen, but he was quickly interrupted.

"Cas'll be okay," a new voice whispered from the doorway. Both Dean and Charlie startled and looked up. A heavily bandaged Sammy stood in the doorway. "He's a fighter. If he could take down that demon he'll be able to take down his coma." Dean frowned at his baby brother.

"Wait…Cas what?" Dean questioned. Sam frowned back and looked to Charlie.

"Didn't you tell him?" Charlie rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I was getting to it until you barged in," she huffed. Sam shook his head and took a seat on the edge of Dean's bed.

"Cas started fighting the demon not long after you passed out. It was pretty cool actually."

"Yeah!" Charlie squealed. "He started glowing and when the demon ran for the hills Cas killed the flames too!" Dean stared at his brother and Charlie with wide eyes. Sam laughed and shook his head.

"Cas has style." Dean huffed, thinking back to the first time he and Cas had met.

"No kidding." Dean slowly sat back up again and pulled his sheets off. "Now, if you two would take me to the rest of our kick ass clan that would be great."

"What?!" Charlie yelped, giving the hunter a sour look. "You promised once you knew about the others that you'd get some rest!"

"I did," Dean stated with shrug. "I'll get some rest while with the rest of my family." Charlie glared at the stubborn hunter and Dean glared right back, refusing to give in.

Sam shook his head at the two and made his way to Dean's side. The younger Winchester snaked an arm around Dean's waist and helped the hunter up. When Dean managed to balance himself, Charlie and Sam led him down the hall to another hospital room. Charlie opened the door, holding it open for Dean and the hunter stepped in. He sucked in a breath. Kevin was curled up in a chair, snoring softly. By his side was Bobby. The old man's eyes were on the single bed in the room. In the bed sat a hellhound puppy and three angels. Gabriel sat in the middle, wings folded around his two brothers. Balthazar was on his left, covered in bandages, tubes, and wires. On Gabe's right slept Castiel. The angel looked almost like he had before 'coming out' of his coma. His skin was pale and dark bruises surrounded his eyes. He wasn't malnourished and his hair wasn't long like it had been. Cas getting better health wise apparently hadn't been an act put on by the demon. Cas also seemed untouched from the other day's uproar. No burns marred his body.

Dean walked over to the empty chair on Gabriel's left, glaring at the two heart monitors counting the angels' heart beats. He took a seat, smiling gently at Gabriel when the tired angel looked to him. His wings were frayed and singed from the flames, but those were only the wounds outside. Past Gabriel's bloodshot eyes was a deeper and more painful wound.

"I'm tired," the archangel whispered. Dean reached out, brushing a hand down Gabriel's wing and smoothing out the feathers.

"Get some sleep, Gabe. I've got you." Gabriel nodded and slumped against the pillows. He closed his eyes, slowly drifting to sleep. Dean pulled the blanket wrapped around the angels up higher, hiding their wings the best he could. "What a mess," he muttered to himself.

"Wait till you see the house," Bobby grumbled from his seat. "Sheriff Hanscum's over there right now with a fire crew and several other officers. She's been sending me pictures of the place."

"Hanscum?" Charlie questioned.

"The local sheriff," Sam informed her. He looked back to Bobby. "What's the damage?" The old hunter let out a sigh.

"Honestly, it could have been worse, but we're not going to be living in it for a while. The beams need to be redone along with the walls, floors, and anything else that the fire got a hold of. I called Jody after the doctors got us settled and she's got some spare rooms set up for the rest of us until the house is fixed up. "I'm having Sheriff Hanscum send what's left of our valuables over there."

"When can we leave the hospital?" Dean questioned.

"The doctors said tomorrow morning. They want to keep an eye on Balthazar a little longer," Sam stated. The hunter glanced at the pile of angels on the bed. "And Cas."

Something hopeful sparked in Dean's eyes at that. Dean knew never to believe demons, but what the demon had said to him the other night replayed through Dean's head on a loop. The demon had said Cas had been waking up on his own. Now that the demon was gone would that continue? Would Cas finally wake up?

"Oh, did they…did they say anything about his…um…condition when you talked to them?"

His question was met with silence. Eyes shifted back and forth throughout the room, never meeting Dean's. Dread wrapped its arms around the older Winchester's shoulders again and chills ran down his neck. He repeated the question, voice shaking as he did.

"We don't know when he'll wake up," Bobby admitted at last. He looked Dean up and down like he was gaging what else he should say. "The doctors said he's the same as the first time around. Also, we need to address the fact that there's no telling what that demon could have done. For all we know he made things worse for the angel…"

"Bobby!" Sam scolded, startling Kevin awake. "We don't know that!"

"I know, Sam, but we have to be prepared for the worst if it comes."

Kevin looked between the two hunters, looking to Charlie with a questioning gaze. Charlie shook her head, tapping a finger to her lips. The prophet nodded and slumped back into his chair. Charlie gave him a thankful smile and looked to Dean, heart drooping immediately at the sight of the hunter.

Dean stared at Sam, blinking at him slowly. The poor guy reminded Charlie of a six year old that just found out Santa Clause was fake.

"He'll be fine!" Charlie quickly jumped in, hoping to kill the terrible look off of Dean's face. "Remember what I told you? Well, it still stands. If anyone can kick this thing in the ass it's Cas."

Dean stared at her silently. Sam and Bobby's words bounced around his brain with Charlie's like ping pong balls, knocking files over and scattering important papers around his brain. He needed to shut down. He needed a moment. He needed to think.

The angels' hospital bed was huge, perfect for three angels, a hellhound, and a full grown hunter. Dean settled down against the pillows the angels all shared on their big hospital bed, snuggling so close to the angels that their feathers tickled his nose and cheeks. He looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. Slow breath after slow breath eased its way past his lips as he tried to collect his jumbled thoughts before opening his eyes again to face the world. He picked over the toppled over files and stuffed the papers back into their rightful place, sorting through them and searching for something to ease his mind and destroy the uneasy feeling in his gut. What he found was a file of every prayer he had made. Some were from the old days during the apocalypse, but some were newer. On the top of the file was one of Dean's most recent. It was more of a promise, but Dean had sent it as a prayer in hope that a blue eyed angel would still be able to hear it.

Feathers tickled Dean's nose lightly and Dean forced his eyes open, glancing at the three bodies sprawled out beside him. He reached up, brushing his fingers against the mix of gold, silver, and black flight feathers centimeters from his face. A sad smile creased his face and the hunter closed his eyes again.

"Cas, buddy? I'll find a way and everything will be okay again…I promise."

False hope was what plagued the hunter the day he sent Cas the prayer. He had vowed to find a new hope that he could count on to save his family. As Dean fiddled gently with the angels' feathers he realized what that new hope was. His hope had been at his side since day one. It saved him from past battles and pains. When the days were dark it made him laugh and on what started out as peaceful days it would awake and terrorize the house.

Dean draped an arm over the three angels and hellhound puppy, holding them gently. He cracked open an eye, grinning at Sam, Bobby, Kevin, and Charlie. Cas would wake up eventually and this time it would be at his own pace. His angel would come back because Cas was family. And for Dean his family was his hope.