I don't own Supernatural.
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Chapter 19
Sam and Amber returned to find the hunter and his angel asleep. Dean was holding Castiel protectively against his body, his embrace firm even though he was asleep.
"Should we wake them up?" Sam asked quietly as he set the bag of groceries that he was holding down on the little coffee table.
"No let them sleep. They look adorable." Amber smiled and set her bag next to Sam's.
"Don't say that while Dean's awake." Sam warned, a smile playing on his lips.
"Why not?" Amber questioned, unpacking the contents of the bags and setting them out on the table.
"Because Dean's Dean, and he wouldn't like you referring to him as 'adorable'."
Amber shrugged. "Your brother's something, huh?"
"Yeah." Sam grinned. "I wouldn't trade him for anything, though."
"Well, do you want to eat then?" Amber held up the boxes of Chinese takeout they had picked up. "I'm actually hungry."
Sam grabbed one of the boxes from Amber, his stomach grumbling loudly. "Yeah, I'm starving."
Amber and Sam brought their food to the little couch and sat down.
"So, you told me everything about demons and monsters, but you didn't tell me much about yourself and Dean." Amber smiled as she opened her container. "How about you give me a little glimpse into your lives?"
"Um..okay." Sam glanced back to the bed. How would Dean feel about him telling Amber all about them? He shrugged off the sense of guilt before obliging to Amber's request. He trusted Amber even if Dean didn't.
"We've been hunting since we were young. This demon killed our mother and our father stopped at nothing to find it. Dean and I were brought up in this life. We were born to hunt." Sam said, swirling his fork in the chinese box and pulling out some fried vegetables.
"Isn't it hard, never having a home to come back to, always moving around?" Amber asked quietly.
"A bit. I always wanted a normal life. I ran away from my brother and father to go to college, but after I came back to the game and after several more attempts to get out, I realized I can never have a normal life. Everything is just gonna keep coming back." Sam answered bitterly, and he was reminded of the hunters that came after him not that long ago.
Amber watched him sadly as he took a bite of his food. "So you don't want a home or a family?"
"I can't settle down. Something will always come back to haunt me. Whether it's hunters, monsters or something else."
"But your brother, now that he's going to have a baby, what is he going to do?" Amber asked curiously. Surely they wouldn't still hunt with an infant?
Sam put down his food, looking troubled. He folded the top of the box carefully to close it and placed his fork beside it. "After we beat Lucifer, if we beat Lucifer, Dean wants to have a somewhat normal life, I guess. He'll probably still hunt sometimes though; you can't ever get rid of that instinct. I hear him talking to Cass about the house they'll get, the things they'll do, but I don't have the heart to tell them it probably won't work out." he looked up at Amber, and she could see the sadness in his eyes.
"What makes you think it won't?" Amber asked, taking one last bite of her food before putting it down neatly next to Sam's.
"Because nothing ever turns out good for us. Castiel disobeyed orders; he's a wanted outcast. Even if we beat Lucifer, the other angels might try to find him. For Dean, there's still monsters out there, demons who would love to destroy the Winchesters. The kid will be half angel, so it might be able to protect itself when it's older, but not now. If anything happens to Cass or the kid, I don't know if Dean can survive now without them." Sam rubbed his eyes wearily. These were the things that had been running through his mind the past couple of weeks and saying them aloud made the situation seem even more hopeless.
"Sam, they'll obviously never be normal, and I think they know the risks. But Dean's willing to try, and that's what family's all about."
Sam sighed tiredly at Amber's enthusiasm, her optimism that everything would turn out okay. "I just want my brother to be happy, but I just can't see a peaceful future ahead of us."
Amber reached out and touched Sam's hand gently. "You can't predict anything. Don't be pessimistic. To me, the future looks bright. You're on your way to destroying Lucifer, and Dean and Castiel are gonna have a baby." She squeezed Sam's hand. "Your future can be happy, too, if you let it." Their eyes met, Amber's brown ones seemingly gazing into Sam's soul until he couldn't take it anymore and looked away. He couldn't let this happen; he wouldn't have a repeat of Jessica. Already visions of him and Amber were popping into his head; things he used to do with Jess, like going out to eat at crappy restaurants,walking on the beach, going to the occasional club. He pulled his hand out of Amber's grasp, and her smile died on her lips. Guilt ripped through his heart and he wanted to grab her hand up again, but he stopped himself.
"Yeah, maybe." Sam cleared his throat and stood up before anything else could be said. "I'm going to check on Dean and Cass."
Amber nodded, looking down at her hands, and Sam's heart gave a nasty twinge. How he wanted to wrap her up, caress those soft cheeks, move his lips against hers. He turned away so he wouldn't have to look at her depressed figure anymore.
He rubbed his eyes and shook his head to clear it before heading to the bed where his brother was still asleep.
"Hey Dean," Sam poked Dean's shoulder and he stirred.
"What's the matter, Sammy?" he mumbled, eyes still closed.
"We got some stuff. Do you want to get up and eat?"
Dean groaned before opening his eyes. "You got stuff for Cass?"
"Yeah."
"Alright." Dean looked down at the sleeping angel. He was still shivering, but not as bad as before. The red welts on his face seemed less inflamed, the oozing centers crusting over.
"I think he looks a little better." Dean said hopefully. He pulled his arm slowly out from underneath Castiel, and the angel stirred.
"Dean?" Castiel whispered, reaching out for his mate.
"Shh. I'm here, baby. I'm gonna get up for a minute." Dean planted a soft kiss on Castiel's forehead before sliding out from under the covers and tucking them back over Castiel.
Sam led Dean over to where the supplies were spread out. "We got some antibiotics, cream for those welts, and some other medications that might help."
"Can we give him any of this now?" Dean questioned Amber, who he noticed was quiet and avoiding Sam's eyes. He wondered briefly what happened before turning his thoughts back to Cass. "It won't hurt the baby, will it?"
"No. I checked out all these drugs, and they're safe to use while pregnant." Amber took a couple a vials and shook recommended doses for each medication into her hand before handing them to Dean. "You can give those to him with some water."
Dean nodded, closing his hand over the pills. He cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly before speaking again. "Thanks..for your help." Amber smiled at him and Dean decided he defiantly liked her better with a grin on her face. He smiled at her before bringing the drugs over to Cass .
"Cass" he said quietly. "I need you to get up for a minute so I can give you something." The angel opened his eyes, and Dean saw that they were clearer then before. Dean helped him sit up and handed him the pills and a glass of water. "Just take that. You look alot better already. At this rate you should be good in a few days."
"Then we can get the other rings."
Dean ran a hand through his hair and pulled a chair up to the bed. "Listen, I've been thinking about that, and I would prefer it if you stayed with Amber and let me and Sam do this. I don't want you getting hurt again."
"But Dean-" Castiel protested, and Dean cut him off. "No, I'm serious about this."
"You can't stop me from coming." Castiel said stubbornly.
"Oh no?" Dean raised his eyebrows. The angel sure was getting cocky.
"I need to come with you. What if you need my help?"
"If I think we can't handle it, then maybe. But only under the conditions that you stay by my side the whole time. I don't want to risk losing you." Dean gestured to the water and pills that Cass was still holding. "Now take those."
Castiel obliged, feeling somewhat satisfied at Dean's answer. There was no way he would sit this out, pregnant or not.
SNSNSNSNSNSNSN
Sam was working on his laptop, searching, searching for clues as usual while Dean was lounging on the couch watching TV.
Every so often he would glance over at Cass to make sure he was okay. Amber had gone out again to pick up some coffee and pie, at Dean's request.
"Hey, find anything yet?" Dean called to Sam, and he frowned.
"You know, maybe we should get another laptop so you can help me look."
"Nah, I'm good." Dean said lazily, stretching his arms out behind him.
Sam rolled his eyes. "Well, nothing on the Horsemen, but I did find a case a town over. Might be a vamp. We could go and take care of that since we're so close , it shouldn't take too long." Sam suggested, looking over at his brother for a response.
"I suppose we could." Dean answered slowly, already thinking about leaving Castiel alone with Amber.
"We could leave when Amber gets back."
"As long as it won't take that long." Dean said, and turned his attention back to the TV. Sam started reading up on more information about the job when Dean's cell phone rang, causing both brothers to jump.
"Its Bobby." Dean said, glancing at the caller id and answering Sam's unasked question. "Hey, Bobby." he pressed the talk button. "What's going on?"
"Just wanna see how you idgits are doing." came Bobby's voice.
Dean pushed a button on the cell phone to turn it to speaker phone. "Actually, we found a way to kill Lucifer."
"Did you now?" Bobby's voice was surprised. "And you couldn't think to call me and let me know?"
"Well, been kinda busy lately," Dean glanced at Cass' bed on instinct. "I'm sorry."
"Damn right you are. So Sam's back in the game, huh? I knew he would come back. How is he?"
"He's good, but...well he's Lucifer's vessel like I'm Michael's."
"WHAT?"
"My reaction exactly." Dean smiled at Bobby's response, and began pacing the room.
"How's he doing? The devil didn't come for him did he?"
"No, but the angels came for me. Cass carved symbols into our ribs to keep them away after that." Dean answered, still pacing as Sam watched him.
"Cass is sticking around?"
"Uh, yeah. I guess you can say that." Dean glanced again at Cass, nervousness flooding his body. If Sam's first reaction to him and the angel was anything to judge by, Bobby would be the same. He fought with himself for a split second and decided not to tell him yet.
"What's the plan to stop the devil, then?" Bobby asked.
"You know the Horsemen?" Dean started and after Bobby confirmed that he knew, Dean explained everything else.
"We just got Pestilence's ring." Dean said, a bit of pride in his voice, and he could almost see Bobby nodding approvingly.
"Where are you going next? Got any leads?"
"No, we're staying put for a few days...Cass is in bad shape. He's sick, and I need to take care of him."
Dean frowned at the silence on the other end of the phone. "Bobby, you there?"
"Yeah, I'm here. I'm just wondering why Cass can't heal himself. Why put off the hunt until he gets better? The world is at stake here, he can't rough it for a few days?"
Dean's frown turned into something angrier as Sam watched. It seemed like these days, anyone that said anything about the angel was in for a mouthful from Dean. "We're still looking for leads, and we haven't found any. And we need Cass' help. He can't help if he's sick." Dean snapped.
"Whoa, there. It was just a question."
Sam gestured to Dean to get his attention. "Maybe Bobby can help get Castiel better-" Dean cut Sam off with a frantic shake of the head and replied to Bobby.
"I'm sorry, I'm just-" Dean sighed softly. Bobby probably could help, but...he couldn't know, not yet. "Cass is looking better, but I'm still worried about him. There's this girl that's tagging along now, too. We saved her from Pestilence, and I think she's crushing on our Sammy."
Sam glared at his brother, who gave a wicked grin now that the attention was away from Castiel.
"Well, I'll keep me eyes and ears open for you boys, and if I hear anything I'll let you know."
"Thanks Bobby." Dean rubbed his eyes, suddenly exhausted.
"And keep in touch, idgit."
Dean smiled and said, "Of course" as Bobby hung up. Dean threw the phone on the couch before landing beside it. He closed his eyes and Sam allowed him to stay that way for a minute before interrupting the quiet.
"You didn't tell him about you and Cass." Sam stated innocently, and Dean turned to face his brother. "Why?"
Dean shrugged uncomfortably. "I'll tell him when we see him."
Sam smirked at Dean's predicament. "You're terrified, aren't you?"
"It doesn't matter right now." Dean coughed, trying to get off the subject. "Find anything?"
"No, Dean." Sam sighed as Dean shifted on the couch.
The door opened suddenly and Amber came in. "I'm back." she announced, setting her bags down.
"Good." Sam stood up, suddenly feeling claustrophobic; he needed to get out and hunt. "We found a hunt in the next town over."
"You're leaving now?" Amber asked, surprised.
"Yeah. We'll be quick. Shouldn't take more then a day." Sam said. "You can watch Cass until we get back."
"Oh, alright." Amber didn't expect to be left alone with the angel so soon, but she wasn't going to complain.
Dean looked apprehensive about leaving, but stood to say goodbye to Cass.
He bent to whisper in the angel's ear. "Hey, me and Sam are going on a hunt, just one town over. I'll be back soon." He ran a hand over Cass' forehead, bringing it down to cup his cheek.
"The Horsemen?" Castiel questioned, trying to sit up, but Dean pushed him back down, shaking his head.
"No; a vamp."
Castiel eyed Dean for a moment, trying to decide if he was telling the truth. Apparently he sensed that Dean was because he nodded slowly. "Alright."
Dean brought his lips to Cass'. "See you later, angel. Call me if you need help." Dean reached down to encase Castiel's hand in his, squeezing it tight.
"Be safe, Dean" Cass whispered as Dean straightened up. Dean stared down at the angel. What was he doing? This was madness, he couldn't leave.
"Dean, let's go." Sam called from where he was, already halfway through the door.
A small hand suddenly found its way to his shoulder and squeezed gently. Dean looked around and Amber smiled at him.
"It'll be fine. I'll take care of him."
Dean looked down at Cass again, who nodded at the door. "Go, Dean."
Dean reluctantly left Cass' bedside and went to stand beside Sam before addressing Amber. He said quietly, "You better take care of him. I swear if anything happens you're out. And worse then that. You will regret it if anything happens."
Amber nodded to show she understood, but looked somewhat apprehensive at Dean's menacing statement, although she understood completely that it was just because he cared about the angel so much. Sam shot Amber an apologetic glance, hopefully making up for Dean's attitude.
"Come on, then." Dean said to Sam. "Let's do this." He grabbed his keys and motioned for Sam to follow him out, fighting the urge to run back to Castiel's side.
How do you guys like this so far? I know Dean, Sam and Cass are a bit ooc, but I think its okay. How do you like the interaction between Cass and dean? Too fluffy? Not fluffy enough? What about amber? Should she stay or go? Do you think she should get together with Sam? Please let me know, I'm open to suggestions/ comments. I'm just trying to figure out how they're gonna get all the rings right now.