This one's for Aini NuFire (Merry Christmas! ^_^)

A/N: this is set sometime early S14 but no spoilers past ep 2

Frost Bitten

A Supernatural Fanfic

Sam pulled the sheet back over the corpse they had been viewing in the county morgue, a tense look on his face. Castiel frowned as well. This was the third body that had showed up in Lebanon—their own town where nothing happened—in the last two weeks. All the victims hadn't just died of hypothermia, but it seemed like all their internal organs had been frozen. If that wasn't strange enough, it wasn't even that cold. They'd only gotten a few snow flurries that week, certainly not cold enough for seemingly healthy adults to freeze to death within the town limits.

"We need to figure out what this is and fast," Sam said, echoing Castiel's sentiments as they left the morgue.

"Perhaps Dean and Jack will have found another lead at the crime scene," Castiel said.

"Let's hope." They got into Sam's car and drove to a local diner where they had planned to meet Dean and Jack. The Impala wasn't parked out front when they got there, so Castiel and Sam went inside to get a table and wait for them, ordering some coffee to warm up their hands. It was getting chillier outside. Castiel could tell that even though the cold didn't affect him.

He sipped at his coffee as he looked around the diner, seeing it decorated for the holidays. Even the waitresses were wearing Santa Claus hats and seemed cheerier than usual. He always marveled at how humans seemed to transform into happier versions of themselves during the Christmas season. Jimmy Novak had held quite a few very happy memories of Christmas with his family that Castiel had witnessed back when Jimmy was still occupying his vessel. He'd never really had the chance to sit back and truly celebrate the holidays, though sometimes he had joined Sam and Dean with watching Christmas movies and drinking eggnog, which he hadn't really acquired the taste for. This year, however, Jack had asked about Christmas celebrations and, like the doting parents they were quickly becoming, Dean and Sam had agreed that they should celebrate properly this year. Castiel had fondly taken part in finding a tree and decorating it, even Christmas shopping and cookie baking. Jack had been so excited about everything and it had been nice to see Sam and Dean start to relax and truly enjoy themselves, an almost childlike joy coming over the two of them as well which in turn had made Castiel happy.

But then people starting dying in their own town, and unable to let that slide, they had reluctantly stepped away from their celebrations only days before Christmas, and gone on the hunt for whatever was doing this.

Bells jingled on the door of the diner and Castiel looked up to see Dean and Jack walk into the building, heading toward their table as soon as they caught sight of Sam and Castiel.

"Hey," Dean said as he slid into the seat next to Sam and Jack took the one next to Cas. "Same MO for the vic?"

"Yeah," Sam said, setting aside his tablet for the moment, which he had been using to look over notes on the autopsy files. "What about the crime scene?"

Dean shrugged. "Not much to see. Lady died in her garage on her way to work as far as we can tell. Never even got into the car."

"But there was frost everywhere," Jack said, pulling out his phone and bringing up several pictures he'd apparently taken. "Just like at the other crime scenes."

Castiel took the phone from him and looked over the pictures. The strangest thing about the crime scenes was that, like the victims, the surrounding areas were frozen too, covered in hoarfrost that didn't melt for hours after the attacks. In this, the woman's car was completely frozen, the windows iced over, and it looked like the rest of the contents of the garage and the building's windows too were covered in a layer of frost.

"Dean says you've never seen anything like this," Jack said.

"We haven't," Sam agreed grimly. "I've never even heard of anything like this."

"I think we need to go back to the bunker and research after lunch," Dean said as their waitress came over to take their orders.

"I hope we find what this is soon," Jack said. "It's sad…people dying at Christmas time."

Dean gave him a small, reassuring smile across the table. "Don't worry, kid. We'll find this SOB and take care of him. No one comes into our town to make trouble and gets away with it. Whatever it is, it'll find that out soon enough."

Once they had eaten their food, they went back to the bunker and got to work in the library.

The four of them sat down with laptops and books, beginning the long process of research. Castiel pulled a dusty tomb from the pile and began flipping through it.

"Maybe it's a ghost," Dean mused after a while, as he tossed another book with no useful information aside. "You know, maybe someone who froze to death."

"Already looking into that angle," Sam said, clicking through several things on his laptop. "But nothing comes up with the right criteria. Plus there was no EMF readings around the crime scenes or the bodies."

"I think I found it," Jack exclaimed triumphantly from over by the shelves. He walked over to them holding a book, an excited look on his face.

Castiel leaned toward him. "What did you find, Jack?"

Jack put the book down on the table. "Something called 'Jack Frost'…like in the Christmas songs, right?"

Dean snorted. "Jack Frost? You've got to be joking."

But Sam had a thoughtful look and reached for the book Jack had been looking at. "Actually, there's a lot of lore saying that Jack Frost is actually a woods god, and, well, it would make sense, considering the cause of death."

"He is a lesser forest deity," Castiel confirmed. "And he would have the ability to do this, though why he would be doing it is another matter."

"We've seen gods go rogue before," Dean said matter-of-factly. "It doesn't matter why he's doing it, we just need to stop him. So, saying this is Jack Frost—how do we gank him?"

"Would an angel blade work?" Jack asked.

"Perhaps," Castiel mused. "But usually lesser gods can be killed with a specific type of wooden stake and some sort of blood—sometimes of an animal, sometimes of one of their victims."

Sam was already typing something on the laptop, looking through the digital archive he had created and clicked on something triumphantly. "Okay, so the men of letters suggest that since Jack Frost is more or less of Norse origin, a 'spear of mistletoe' is the most probable weapon that could do him harm."

Dean snorted. "Mistletoe? Seriously?"

"Apparently, it's one of the only things that can harm a Norse god," Sam said with a shrug. "In one story Loki tricks one of Baldur's brothers into stabbing Baldur with a spear made of mistletoe, which ended up being fatal."

"Huh," Dean grunted. "And here I thought it was just for kissing. So where do we get actual mistletoe?"

"Right here," Sam said, standing up. "Apparently we have a spear in storage."

"Break in case of Norse god?" Dean quipped. "Awesome. Let's grab it and get out there and take care of this frosty bastard."

Night was falling as they drove through town. There weren't a lot of people out right now as the temperature was dropping rapidly. Despite the cheery Christmas lights and decorations, there seemed to be a hush fallen over the town and not just because of the approaching night. Castiel could feel the presence of a being of power, he just couldn't tell exactly where Jack Frost was.

"See anything?" Dean asked them as he made another turn to circle back through town.

"Not yet," Jack replied.

"Maybe we need to look for people out in the parks or something?" Sam said. "Somewhere more isolated."

Dean nodded in agreement, and headed to the nearest park. If Jack Frost was going to strike at all this time of night that would probably be the most likely place. As they pulled closer to the park, driving slowly by it from the street, Castiel glanced over and caught sight of a woman hurrying briskly past on the sidewalk, bundled up and looking like she wanted to get in out of the cold as quickly as possible. Castiel felt sympathy for her, knowing from his stint as a human just how uncomfortable it could be to have a chill you shouldn't get rid of, and his thoughts almost caused him to miss the second figure he saw standing off in the trees further into the park. Castiel turned his gaze back that way and the silvery, pale figure disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Dean," he called urgently. "I think I saw something."

Dean instantly pulled over and parked against the curb. As the four of them got out, Castiel searched for the figure again, but still there was nothing.

"Where was it?" Dean asked.

Castiel pointed to the trees by a walking trail that led to a pond. "I saw it right over there but it disappeared."

"Do you think it was him?" Jack asked.

Castiel continued to scan the area. "I don't…" He was cut off by a sudden chill that came up out of nowhere, causing even him to pull his coat tighter around him. Sam, Dean and Jack who were all wearing heavier coats than usual, shivered, instinctively huddling closer together. There was a soft crackling sound and they all turned around to see the windows of the Impala freezing over, hoarfrost creeping across them.

"It's just like at the crime scene," Jack gasped, his breath puffing like a cloud in the air as he pressed his gloved hands close together, hugging himself.

"He's here," Dean said, pulling his collar tighter and heading to the trunk of the car, opening it up and pulling out the spear of mistletoe.

"That woman we saw on the way in," Castiel said suddenly, turning around. "She may be a target."

"Okay," Sam said, pulling out his angel blade. "Jack and I will go after her. Cas, you and Dean search further in the park. He may still be here."

Castiel and Dean nodded and trekked off through the park. The grass crunched under their feet, covered in ice, and Castiel could see Dean shivering slightly with every gust of wind.

Castiel was on alert, worried about Sam and Jack who didn't even have the proper weapon. The more they searched without success, the more he wished they hadn't split up, but then a positively frigid gust of wind swept past them. It was so cold that Dean's nose and cheeks instantly turned a chafed red and he shuddered so violently his teeth chattered.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered past his shivering. "It's artic out here!"

A cracking sounded to their right and they both spun toward the pond, which was icing over rapidly. And then a figure appeared in the middle of the pond, standing on the newly created ice. He was dressed in whites and greys and his skin and hair were both so pale they looked white. Castiel and Dean stood their ground as he walked slowly toward them, the ice not breaking even though it was only a film over the water.

Dean brandished the spear. "Jack Frost, I'm guessing?"

The pale man smirked in a cruel way and shrugged. "Indeed. That is one of the things I'm called."

"Well, I'd say it was nice to meet you, but…you know," Dean shrugged, motioning to the spear.

Jack Frost chuckled and more frost glimmered across the grass in front of him as he reached the shore and stopped, making sure he kept his distance from Dean's spear. "Well, I'll give you that. I have come to do more than simply nip at your nose, after all." He looked Dean up and down. "I must say that despite the nature of our meeting it's quite an honor to go up against someone as notorious as the Winchesters. Makes me feel practically important, which is not something I am used to." The last was said a bit bitterly.

"So you know us," Dean said. "Why'd you come to our stomping grounds?"

"Oh, to bait you," Jack Frost said flippantly and with a cold undertone. "Why else do you think I'd be so stupid? And really, Dean, killing isn't exactly my thing."

"Then why did you kill those people?" Castiel demanded.

Jack Frost turned to address him for the first time. "Because. You lot happened to be involved in the murders of a few distant cousins of mine. Loki's sons. You know them?"

Dean cursed under his breath. "Okay, for the record, that was Gabriel—we just happened to be there."

"Yes, and Gabriel is dead or in hiding again—otherwise out of reach. Thus I have to settle for the next best people to take my revenge out on. You."

Castiel wasn't quick enough to stop Jack Frost from stepping forward and snaking a hand quickly toward Dean. The hunter cried out as his feet were all of a sudden frozen to the ground, ice covering him up to his ankles, and freezing his hands to the spear as well.

"Cas!" he cried, struggling, and the angel whipped out his blade, inserting himself between Dean and the pale god who was grinning in amusement at their plight.

"Oops, got a little carried away there, didn't I?" he said, holding his hands up. "Don't worry, you won't notice a few cold bits when you're all frozen solid."

Castiel lunged forward and struck out at Jack Frost with his blade. He caught the man across the wrist and Jack Frost leapt back with a hiss. But the cut didn't bleed and already seemed to be healing, or freezing over. He gave the angel a mockingly apologetic look. "Looks like that's not gonna work on me." He darted a hand out and grabbed hold on Castiel's wrist, immobilizing his blade. His hand was frozen, the cold boring into the bones of Castiel's vessel. Castiel winced at the feeling. "I however, can affect any living thing—including angels." He yanked Castiel forward until he was sneering into his face. "And since I can't have Gabriel, well, taking out one of his brothers is a fair trade, I think."

Jack Frost thrust his other hand against Castiel's chest.

"Cas!" Dean cried out.

Castiel felt like the breath was punched from his lungs. Ice filled him. His blood, the flesh and bones of his vessel, and it wormed its way deeper and deeper until it started to bore its way into his grace too. Castiel's mouth opened in a silent gasp, no sound escaping; even his vocal chords feeling frozen. All he could see were the pale blue eyes of Jack Frost as they bore into him, freezing even his soul.

He heard shouting and suddenly Jack's hands were yanked away from him. There was a horrible cry of agony and a deep crunching sound. Castiel hadn't even realized he had collapsed until another body fell next to him. That one was then whisked carelessly to one side and Dean was hovering over him.

"Cas," he said urgently, hands cupping Castiel's face. "Cas, can you hear me? Are you all right?"

"S-s-so c-c-c…" Castiel couldn't even get the words out. Dean's hands on his face felt like fire, both painful and welcome. More footsteps pounded over and suddenly Sam and Jack were crouching over him too.

"Cas!" Jack cried. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Dean said as Cas continued to shiver. Dean and Sam were yanking their coats off, wrapping them around him. He wanted to protest, knowing they could get dangerously cold, but he couldn't form the words past his chattering teeth, which he couldn't seem to stop. "Jack Frost just grabbed him and did this," Dean finished helplessly.

Jack's hands were grabbing one of his, holding on tightly. "He's freezing!" he cried. "We have to get him warm."

"Good thing it's not too far back to the bunker," Sam said. "Dean, you need to load the body in the trunk. Jack, help me get Cas to the car."

Castiel tried to help as they each took one of his arms and hauled him upright. But as he got to his feet, his legs wouldn't work, and Sam and Jack had to wrap their arms around his waist and practically drag him to the Impala. Castiel was simply shivering too much to make his body move in any other way.

He slumped in the back seat and Sam and Jack frantically re-wrapped the coats around him and yanked several blankets from the trunk, wrapping those firmly around Castiel as well. He had never been this cold, not even when he was human.

Sam leaned over the seat to turn the keys in the ignition, turning the heat up to full blast before he closed the doors and disappeared, probably to help Dean with the body. Jack sat worriedly in the back seat next to Castiel, looking helpless.

"It's okay," he finally said, "We'll get you warm once we get home. Sam and Dean will know what to do."

Castiel tried to force a smile onto his lips despite his chattering teeth. "Th-thanks J-Jack," he managed then shuddered so violently the whole car shook too.

Jack slipped across the seat and huddled against his side. Castiel could feel the boy's body heat, but yet neither that, not the car's heater or the blankets seemed to penetrate past his skin to warm him. He felt frozen to his core, from the center out and worse, he couldn't even feel his grace. It was frozen too.

Castiel shuddered helplessly as another wracking shiver overcame him. He began to think that it was quite possible he didn't make it out of this one.

Dean's hands were tight on the wheel as he drove them back to the bunker. He glanced in the rearview mirror at the bundle of blankets with Cas' head sticking out the top, Jack pressed close to his side.

"He won't stop shivering," Jack said helplessly after a while. The boy's eyes were wide and frightened, which made Dean even angrier. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to be home, celebrating…why couldn't they ever catch a damn break?

"It's okay, Jack, shivering is actually a good thing," Sam said with forced lightness, turning in the seat to talk to him, assessing Cas at the same time. "It means his body's trying to warm itself up."

Cas let out a soft shuddering sigh at Sam's words and might have tried to say something, but his teeth were chattering enough for Dean to hear, so speech was obviously out of the question.

Thankfully, it was a short drive and they parked in the garage. Sam rushed inside to grab extra blankets as Dean reached into the backseat and grabbed Cas' arms to pull him out, Jack steadying him from behind.

"Okay, man, come on, let's get you into bed with about a thousand blankets."

Cas' teeth chattered in his ear but he clenched them long enough to grunt out, "D-don't kn-know if that w-w-would w-work."

"Sure it will. Blankets and a little Irish coffee and you'll be good as new."

Cas stopped him as Dean was trying to maneuver him toward the stairs, gripping him tighter so Cas didn't fall down them. "D-Dean it's m-my g-g-grace," he chattered. "The ch-chill it g-goes d-deep."

Dean looked at his friend for a second. "What do you mean?"

Cas opened his mouth again, but his teeth clashed together violently as he nearly collapsed in a fit of full body shivering that was so bad it looked more like a seizure. Jack wrapped his arms around Cas' waist and Dean gripped his arm tightly to keep him upright.

"Okay, okay, buddy, don't worry, all right? Whatever this is, we'll fix it."

Cas nodded in acceptance and they managed to finally get him down the stairs and to his room.

Sam was waiting there with a pile of blankets stacked at the end of the bed and two ancient space heaters he must have pulled out of storage. "I found these and a heated blanket but we may want to grab some hot water bottles out of the infirmary."

"I can get those," Jack said and hurried off.

"Okay, lay down," Dean coaxed Cas. "I'm gonna go find you something warmer to wear."

With a little digging, raiding both his and Sam's dressers, Dean came back with an armful of warm clothes. He and Sam wrestled Cas' shuddering body into a pair of thermals then sweat pants and a sweater and then one of Sam's big sweatshirts over that. Dean winced every time he came in contact with Cas' skin—he was freezing. And even more worrying, the tips of his fingers and toes were blue with frostbite. Dean picked up one of Cas' shaking hands to inspect it closer—his fingers really were like icicles, and they were discolored and darker at the tips. Dean swallowed hard, gave Cas' wrist a reassuring squeeze and placed his hand back in his lap.

Jack came back with several hot water bottles as Dean was shoving several pairs of socks onto Cas' icicle feet.

"What do we do with these?" Jack asked helplessly.

"We gotta boil water for them," Dean told him. "Come on, I'm gonna make some coffee anyway." He patted Cas' knee. "Don't worry, man, we'll bundle you up and get you warm."

Sam was plugging in the heated blanket and he began to put that and several others over Cas as Dean and Jack left for the kitchen.

"Dean?" Jack asked hesitantly as Dean filled a teakettle with water and put it on the stove. "Is Cas going to be okay?"

Dean's heart pulled at the sound of worry in the boy's voice and he turned, forcing a reassuring smile onto his own. "Of course he is, Jack. We just have to get him warmed up."

"But those other people…they died when Jack Frost touched them."

"Yeah, but Cas is an angel, he's tougher than that," Dean told him, though he would be lying if he said he wasn't also worried. He'd never seen Cas cold, and the fact the angel hadn't even started warming up yet didn't bode well. Dean tried to distract himself by making coffee, scooping out the proper amount of grounds and starting the pot brewing.

"What did he mean about his grace though?" Jack continued. "If his grace is frozen…he can't heal himself; he won't be able to fight the curse!"

Dean turned from the coffee machine and went to grip Jack's shoulders. "Jack, listen to me. We're not gonna let anything happen to Cas, okay? Whatever this is, we'll figure it out."

Jack took a shuddering breath but nodded. Dean squeezed his shoulders tightly before he let him go. The teakettle whistled and Dean nodded to it. "That's ready, why don't you fill the bottles?"

Soon enough, Jack had an armful of hot water bottles and Dean had a steaming cup of coffee with some whisky added to it. They headed back to the room where Sam was sitting beside the pile of blankets on the bed with Cas' head poking out of them, propped up on the pillows.

"Hey, Cas, I got you some coffee. Let's sit you up and drink some, okay?" Dean said.

Cas nodded eagerly and Sam helped him to sit up as Dean handed him the cup. Cas wrestled his arms from under the blankets and reached out his frozen hands to take it, but his hands shook so much that the instant they touched the cup, some coffee sloshed onto the top blanket.

"I c-can't," he said wretchedly.

"Don't worry about it," Dean said quickly and sat on the side of the bed, holding the cup up to Cas' lips. "Just drink."

Cas took several sips, coughing slightly at the added whisky, but he drank the whole cup between shivering fits, and for a second Dean thought it might have helped a little.

"Feel any better?" he asked.

"It is w-warm," Cas admitted, shivering a little less. "B-but this c-cold. It's…it's l-like it's d-d-deep inside." He shuddered again, burrowing further into his blankets. "It's like….the b-blankets, out-outside w-warmth, d-don't touch it."

Dean's brow furrowed and he shared a look with Sam whose lips were pressed into a thin worried line.

"Well, just give it a little time, Cas," Dean said and motioned to Jack who was still holding the hot water bottles. They placed them against Cas' torso and legs. When Dean reached under the blankets to tuck one under Cas' arm, he could almost feel the cold radiating off of the angel in a very unnatural way. He pulled his hand out and pressed the back of it to Cas' cheek, pretty much the only part of Cas' skin that was showing. The angel felt like ice. This wasn't a natural hypothermic cold, this was way worse.

"Sam, get me a thermometer," Dean said.

Sam frowned slightly but hurried from the room to grab one. Jack took a seat on the other side of Cas' bed, watching the angel's face worriedly. Sam came back soon with the thermometer and Dean took it from him, waving it in Cas' face. "Hey, buddy, can you open up for a second?"

"Dean," Cas growled past clattering teeth.

"Come on, man, it'll only take a minute. Humor me," Dean coaxed.

Despite the fact that he was frozen nearly to death, Cas still had it in him to give Dean a very peeved look that could rival Sam. Dean rolled his eyes, but Cas didn't protest as Dean forced the thermometer under his tongue. Cas' teeth clattered on the plastic but it soon beeped and Dean pulled it out, eyes bugging out, having to read the numbers three times to believe them.

"What?" Sam demanded.

Dean showed it to him.

"35 degrees?" Sam choked, reaching out to press his own hand against Cas' cheek. "How is that even possible?"

"Is that bad?" Jack asked frantically, hands wringing in his lap.

"Well, it's not natural," Sam said gently. "We have to be dealing with some sort of curse."

"I tr-tried to t-tell you," Cas murmured, his shivers strengthening again until he was shaking the whole bed.

"Well if it's a curse, we'll find a way to break it then," Sam said in determination.

"And until then, we'll just keep trying to get your body temperature up," Dean said. "The coffee seemed to help a little bit, so let's get more of that into you."

Sam went to the library, Jack ran to get more coffee and Dean reached under a couple layers of blankets to briskly rub Cas' chest, moving between that and his arms to try and circulate the blood. But even though his hands were warm, and he could feel his body heat transferring to the blankets even, Cas' body never responded. It was like it was rejecting heat entirely. Dean even pulled up one of Cas' sleeve to try and work up friction out of pure curiosity, but Cas' skin never got warmer. Dean thought he could probably hold a candle to Cas' skin right now and it wouldn't burn.

"Dean," Cas said softly while they were still alone, and the hunter looked up to meet the angel's eyes. "If th-this d-doesn't go the w-way we h-hope…"

"Cas, man, don't," Dean pleaded, rubbing his chest more briskly as if he could force the warmth into his friend through sheer will. "Don't give me that. This isn't even the worst curse we've had to deal with."

Cas clenched his teeth forcefully as he tried to talk. "But this c-cold, Dean. I can't even f-feel my gr-grace. I'm s-so cold. I h-hate being c-cold."

He closed his eyes as another wracking shiver claimed him and Dean swallowed hard, hating to see his friend suffer so much. His hands clenched in the blankets briefly before he withdrew them and tucked Cas' blankets more firmly around his shoulders, placing a hand on his freezing forehead.

"We'll figure out how to get you warm again, Cas. I promise."

Cas gave him a teeth-chattering look that didn't look entirely encouraged. Dean sighed and looked up as Jack came back into the room with another mug of hot coffee. Dean moved so Jack could take his place, holding the cup so his surrogate father could drink from it.

Dean felt a coldness well up inside of his own chest. They couldn't let this take Cas from them. No matter what, Dean wasn't going to let that happen.

That night and the next day, the three of them took shifts. One of them would rest, another would watch over Cas, and the third would do research in the library. So far, they had come up with nothing remotely useful. There were several generic curse removal spells but nothing happened when they tried them. Dean didn't know if it was because Cas was an angel, or because the cold just wasn't really a curse at all. Either way, he was tired of seeing Cas's suffering. The blankets and the heaters did nothing and even though his room was like a sauna, Cas's temperature stayed near freezing. The shivering hadn't stopped either, it was like Cas' body was trying to warm itself up, but the spell was preventing that from happening.

The morning of the second day, Dean got up from a restless few hours of sleep and went down the hall instantly to check on Cas. Jack was curled on the bed next to him, clasping one of Cas' frozen hands that was peeking out of the blankets. Dean gave a weary sigh, and came into the room, picking up the open book that Jack had obviously been reading before he dropped off. Dean plucked one of the few extra blankets they had off a chair and draped it over Jack before he went to adjust Cas' blankets, tucking them tighter around his shoulders.

Cas was shuddering continuously, his eyes closed. He looked like he was sleeping, but Dean frowned as he saw Cas' breath making clouds in the air. That hadn't happened before. He leaned closer and saw frost gathering at the corners of the angel's eyes and in his hair. Dean pressed his hand to Cas' cheek and pulled back almost instantly. The angel felt even colder than he had before.

"Cas?" he called, gripping the blanket padded shoulder and shaking Cas slightly. No reaction besides the continuous shivers. Dean shook him harder. "Cas!"

Jack started awake and jerked upright. "What's wrong?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"He's colder," Dean said, and shook Cas again, this time getting a hitch in the angel's breath at least. "Cas, come on man, wake up!" He patted Cas' cheeks and finally the angel's eyes cracked open, the ice at their corners fracturing. Cas blinked, frost decorating his eyelashes. He seemed to focus on Dean for a second before his eyes slid shut again.

"Cas?" Jack called, terror coloring his voice as he griped his surrogate father's hand tighter. "Dean what's wrong with him?"

"I think the spell's getting worse," Dean said as he swept the frost away from Cas' face with his sleeve. "Stay with him, I'm gonna go get Sam."

Dean hurried into the library where Sam was just getting off the phone.

"Sammy, you need to get in here, Cas is getting worse," Dean said, his voice tight with emotion. "Tell me you found something."

Sam's brow was furrowed in worry. "I didn't but…I called for help."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Rowena?"

Sam nodded. "She'll be here in a couple hours."

Dean's stomach twisted. "She better hurry."

Sam's eyes showed his own worry, and he followed Dean to the dormitory wing.

"Dean! Sam!"

Jack's cry sent them racing to Cas' room where they found the boy with his arms around Cas who was shaking so much the bed was rattling against the floor. Jack helplessly held on so Cas wouldn't fall off the bed and Dean and Sam rushed forward to help.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, he just started shivering really hard," Jack said helplessly. "And he won't wake up!"

Dean slid onto the bed and gathered Cas against him as the angel shuddered uncontrollably. His breaths puffed like clouds from between his blue lips and he was like ice resting against Dean's chest.

"Cas, come on man, hold on just a little longer," Dean murmured into his ear as he leaned over and adjusted the blankets up around both of them. He could feel Cas' cold creeping into his own body and he fought back his own shivers. Cas' teeth were chattering so hard, he wondered how they didn't break. "Rowena's coming to help us. Just hold on."

Cas didn't respond and Sam and Jack hurried to grab hot water bottles and heating pads, coming back and tucking them around Cas as Dean still held him through his violent shivers, trying to briskly rub some warmth into the angel even though he knew from previous experience that it wouldn't work. Cas' breaths were like artic blasts against his jaw as the angel's head lolled against his shoulder. Jack eventually crawled to Cas' other side, sandwiching Cas between him and Dean. Dean knew it was pointless to share their body heat since it didn't seem to do anything, but at the same time, he knew Cas would at least know they were there. And he hoped that would at least be a comfort to him. So he continued to try and force Cas' blood to circulate, wondering briefly if there was a way to do that with his grace instead. Sam took up position at the foot of the bed and starting rubbing Cas' popsicle feet and legs too.

They stayed like that, comforting Cas through his body wracking shivers until there was a knock on the front door of the bunker.

Sam hurried out of the room and Dean and Jack laid Cas back down, tucking him in as they stood to greet Rowena.

Her voice could be heard from down the hall, complaining as usual.

"I hope you're happy, Samuel. You pulled me from a very lovely Christmas party that would have proved quite profitable to me."

"I know it was a lot to ask, Rowena, but for the record, thanks for coming," Sam said sincerely as he and the red-headed witch entered the room.

Rowena sighed gustily. "Och, weel. Think nothing of it—just another thing you'll owe me for in the future." She glanced over at the bed. "Now, let me take a look at the wee angel."

Dean nudged Jack back a little, but didn't leave the side of the bed either. He may have gotten to the point where he trusted Rowena, but still…

"Dear god," Rowena gasped as she took in Cas' state. "What in the world has happened to the poor tweetie-pie?"

"Jack Frost tried to freeze him to death," Jack spoke up. "Can you help him?"

Rowena's mouth was open for a long second before her expression seemed to soften as she took in Jack's desperate face and she reverted back to her typical businesslike manner. "I'll do my best. Now, let me assess what we're dealing with."

She pulled the pile of blankets down, and Cas whimpered slightly, shivering even more. Dean's heart wrenched, but didn't stop Rowena as she hovered her hands over Cas, whispering something under her breath. It was several long moments before she finished and pulled a couple of the blankets back over him.

"Well?" Sam asked her.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I can help him, but I may have to do it in stages."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"Well, his vessel will be easy enough to reverse the freeze for, but it's not just his human body that's frozen, it's his grace as well."

"That's what he said," Dean said grimly, his heart sinking at the confirmation. "But you can fix it?"

Rowena raised her hands. "I'll see what I can do. I have an elixir that I think will work, but it's more of a…defroster, I suppose you could say. It will start the process, but it won't be instant. Castiel will have to unfreeze his grace himself."

"But it should help him to do that?" Sam asked.

Rowena nodded. "It should."

"Then do it," Dean said.

Rowena nodded again. "Let me get my things."

A few minutes later, she was throwing the last few ingredients into a bowl on the desk in one corner of Cas' room and crushing them with a mortar and pestle.

"Alright, you'll have to take the blankets off of him for this," she told them.

Dean reluctantly pulled the blankets from Cas, his body looking small and thin after all that time buried under them. Rowena reached over and took one of the angel's hands, pulling a small dagger from her bag.

"All part of the spell," she said, looking cautiously at the Winchesters as she cut Cas' icy palm and held it over the bowl so several drops of blood would fall into the ingredients. She then moved to stand at Cas' feet and held the bowl in front of her. She said a short incantation and the ingredients plumed up into a cloud of smoke that Rowena blew on, sending it out in a smoky train that settled over Cas.

Dean watched with bated breath as the angel's color started to come back, the blue tinge leaving his lips and fingers, the frost leaving his skin. Even better, the shivering had ceased to nothing more than intermittent tremors. Dean reached out to touch Cas' hand and found it slightly cool but not frozen anymore. It felt more like someone who had been out on a cold day, but there was actually body heat under the cold. He glanced at the others with a small nod. They all breathed a sigh of relief.

"That takes care of his human body," Rowena explained. "Now for his grace." She went back over to the desk and started to mix a small amount of several liquids into a vial, which she shook then handed over to Dean.

"He needs to drink this," she explained.

"And this will start to defrost his grace or whatever?" Dean asked.

Rowena nodded. "Yes."

Dean glanced at the small vial then popped the top and bent to slip a hand behind Cas' head to prop him up. He pressed the vial against Cas' lips and watched the liquid slide between them. He pulled back once Cas had swallowed it, and the four of them stood around the bed, waiting impatiently before there was a soft glow coming from under Cas' clothes, right in the center of his chest. It lasted only a second, but it was enough to tell that the elixir had worked.

That was when Cas stirred with a soft moan, and his eyes opened. Dean sagged in relief, reaching out to grip his shoulder. "Hey." Sam, standing on the other side of the bed, clasped Cas' other shoulder and smiled.

"Cas?" Jack asked eagerly, leaning over the bed as well.

Cas blinked, looking around, confused. "Jack? What…"

"You're better!" Jack exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Cas' neck briefly before pulling back again. "Rowena cured you!"

Cas' eyes traveled up to the witch who was standing off to one side looking rather pleased with herself. "You did?" he asked.

"Och, it was nothing," Rowena told him, waving a hand dismissively. "Your grace may take a few days to completely unfreeze, but I believe you'll be back to your normal, handsome self in no time."

She let out a surprised peep as Jack suddenly came around the bed and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

"Thank you," he said sincerely.

Rowena's surprise turned to something that almost looked happy, as she returned Jack's hug, patting him gently on the back. "Why, you're welcome, dear."

Dean, Sam and Cas all shared an amused look as Rowena cleared her throat and pulled away, turning to gather her things into her bag. "Well, I've obviously outstayed my welcome. I'm sure you all have Christmas things to get to." She started toward the door and Dean stepped forward, a hand on her arm.

"Rowena," he said sincerely. "Thank you."

"Oh, stop," she said. "Not that you wouldn't have dragged me here if I hadn't agreed to come on my own. But consider this a Christmas present."

Dean smirked and turned back around as she walked out, seeing Sam helping Cas to sit up against the headboard.

"Hey, how do you feel?" Dean asked him.

Cas pulled a couple of the blankets to him, considering. "I'm still a bit chilled, and my grace is not completely thawed yet. But otherwise, I suppose I feel alright."

"Well, Rowena said it might take a couple days for your grace to completely heal," Sam said, gripping Cas' shoulder. "Give it time."

"And until then, you need to stay warm," Dean said firmly. "Which gives us some time to kick back and do nothing. I'm thinking we should move this setup to the Dean Cave, watch some Christmas flicks, have some hot chocolate."

Sam and Cas both groaned slightly in good nature. "You do realize how stupid it sounds when you call it that, right?" Sam asked, but he was grinning.

"Come on, man, it's not that bad, right Jack?" Dean appealed, turning to the nephillim.

Jack scrunched his face up. "I think you should work on it," he said.

"Oh, really? That's how it's going to be?" Dean demanded. He threw one of Cas' blankets at Jack who grinned and dodged it. "Why don't you and Sam get Cas warm and comfortable in there? I'm gonna make some hot chocolate and popcorn. You can pick the first movie, Jack."

Jack grinned and went to help Cas out of the bed as Sam grabbed several of the blankets, including the heated one. Dean watched them fondly before he realized he had been going to make cocoa.

"Hey," he said fondly, as they all looked up at him. "Merry Christmas."

Three smiles returned his sentiments and Dean felt warm inside for the first time since this whole thing had started. He was definitely counting his blessings that he was able to share the holiday with his family after all. And even though next week, they might be fighting for their lives again, right now, they were together, and that was all that really mattered to him.

Now for that hot cocoa…