I don't own Supernatural.
Chapter 21
Dean kept a firm grip on Cas forearm as he led him outside to the car. Sam and Amber followed, with the rest of their bags and supplies.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Dean asked, concerned as Cas leaned heavily against him.
"No, I'm not. I'm fat and ugly." Cas snapped. Dean looked taken aback at this sudden, strange outburst as he glanced at the angel and helped him down the stairs. " Look, my clothes barely fit anymore." Castiel plucked at his shirt, which was stretched to the limit over his bulging belly.
"Cas..you're beautiful." Dean wrapped an arm around the angel's waist and pulled him close as they headed towards the Impala.
Cas snorted in disbelief. "I look horrible."
Dean stopped as they reached the car and turned to face Castiel. He placed a hand under his chin and gently tipped it up so that their eyes met.
"No, you don't. You're fine." he gave Castiel a quick kiss on the lips before opening the car door for him and helping him inside. He turned to find Amber and Sam both fighting to control laughter.
"What?" he said, confused.
"Cas." Sam mocked, and snorted. " 'You're beautiful'. " Amber giggled and Sam shot her a grin.
"Shut up." Dean shoved Sam. "I don't know why he's acting like that-"
"It's simple. He's pregnant, he has hormones raging through him, and he's afraid you won't love him anymore because he feels fat and bloated." Amber said, a hint of laughter in her voice.
"But a few minutes ago, he was fine, acting normal, and now he's all wacky and hormonal."
Amber shrugged. "Maybe it's because everything happens faster with angels. The gestation is shorter, maybe it takes less time for all the changes to happen. Maybe it's just mood swings. Who knows?"
"Well, whatever it is, I hope it doesn't last long." Dean muttered. All three of them jumped as Castiel pounded on the
car's horn.
"I guess he wants to get going." Sam snickered, and Amber followed him to the car door and got in, Sam holding the door for her. Dean rubbed his temple, thinking that he would rather deal with a horsemen then a hormonal angel, but now he had both.
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"Dean, can you stop there?" Castiel questioned, pointing at the gas station ahead of them.
Dean suppressed a sigh. "We just stopped half an hour ago."
"But I need to pee again. And I want another pie." Cas added.
"Can't you wait?" Dean suggested lightly, which caused a glare from Cas.
"Dean Winchester." Cas poked Dean hard in the chest. "I am carrying your child, if I need to stop, you stop!" Cas glared and Dean decided not to point out that it really wasn't his fault that Castiel was pregnant.
"Alright." Dean muttered, and glanced in the rear view mirror, meeting Sam's eyes, which were full of laughter. Amber had her face pressed into Sam's shoulder to suppress her giggles. Dean cursed silently and pulled into the gas station parking lot. At this rate, by the time they got to Famine, he would be gone.
He put the car in park, and reached over to button up Cas' coat to hide his stomach. "I'll get your pie, just hurry up." He said, grabbing a few bucks from his wallet. Amber and Sam both hurried to get out of the car; any chance they got to stretch their legs was welcome.
Dean waited, but Castiel did not get out. When he glanced over to see what was the matter, tears were running down the angel's face.
"Baby, what's wrong?" Dean asked, concerned. He grabbed Cas hand and held it tightly. "Tell me."
"Dean, I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm acting like this. I feel strange inside." Castiel choked out.
"Please don't cry." Dean wrapped Castiel up in his arms, embracing him tightly. "It's okay."
"I'm sorry I yelled at you." Castiel pressed his face into Dean's shoulder. "It just comes out, even though I don't mean it."
"It's okay." Dean repeated, rubbing the angel's back soothingly. "I'd rather you yell at me then cry."
Castiel smiled through his tears. "I love you."
Dean kissed Castiel forehead lightly. "Same here, babe. Now what do you say we get going?"
Castiel nodded as Dean wiped his tears away. "There. Good as new."
Castiel gave Dean a smile before getting out of the car, and Dean leaned against the seat, emotionally exhausted. This was turning out to be harder then he thought.
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They drove into through the town, going slow as Dean searched for somewhere to park. He pulled into a supermarket parkinglot and turned the car off, stuffing the keys into his pocket.
"This is it?" Amber asked as she got out of the car.
"Yeah." Sam replied, standing next to her and touching his pocket to make sure the demon knife was still nestled there.
Dean helped Castiel out of the car, gripping his hand tightly. "Now, stay close to me. Don't go anywhere if I don't know about it." he eyed Cas protectively. "Are you sure you're up to this? Are you feeling okay?"
Cas nodded a bit impatiently. "I feel fine, Dean. I am over the sickness. I want to help."
"Just..don't let go of me." Dean said, pulling Castiel close to him and keeping a firm grip on his hand.
Cas was quiet, even though he felt like a child, Dean holding his hand like he was about to run across a busy street.
"Got the knife?" Dean said quietly to Sam, and he patted his pocket. "Good. Let's go."
They strolled through the town, looking for any signs or anyone behaving abnormally, but there was nothing. Until they reached the center of town. A giant restaurant loomed in front of them with a big banner that read, "All You Can Eat!"
There were several people sitting on the ground in front, gobbling down food on plates in their laps.
"Well, I'd say we hit the jackpot." Dean said, turning to the others. "We need to make a plan. Amber and Cas-"
"I'm coming with you." Cas interrupted quickly before Dean could go further.
"Yeah, you are. What I was gonna say was you need weapons." Dean glanced at Sam, who pulled a gun out of his pocket and handed it to Amber, proceeding to show her how to use it.
Dean handed another gun to Cas, but the angel shook his head. "I still have my powers, Dean."
"Will it be enough?" Dean's gaze hardened as he looked at Cas. "Cause I don't want to lose you."
"Yes. Besides, I will be by your side the whole time."
"Okay. Amber, you stay with Sam. I would tell you to wait in the car, but we don't know where this thing is, and you'd be safer with us."
Amber squeaked, apparently to nervous to say anything. Without thinking, Sam reached out to envelop her hand in his, reassuring her. She looked at him, puzzled for a minute, and then flushed. Dean raised his eyebrows, and Sam cleared his throat and released Amber.
"Let's do this then. Dean, are-" Sam suddenly picked his head up, staring down the street intently.
"Sammy, what's wrong?" Dean frowned, as his brother's gaze was drawn to a suited man carrying a briefcase coming toward the restaurant.
"That guy." Sam took a step forward, but Castiel reached out to grab his arm.
"Sam, he's a demon." Castiel said quietly. "Your hunger is coming over you. Hunger for blood. We need to hurry." he let go of Sam and pulled Dean forward. "Let's go."
As they got closer to the front doors of the restaurant, they could hear strange noises; groans, screams, the crashing of objects falling to the floor. Dean gave Sam the signal before kicking open the front door. Immediately, he had to dodge sideways as a man came barreling past. It was chaos inside; people madly scrambling about, jumping over the counter and on the tables to find food to stuff into their mouths. There were a few naked couples here and then, making out furiously. A man was looting everyone's pockets, moving from one person to the next, until someone rushed by and grabbed the wad of cash straight from his hand.
"Oh my God." Amber said softly, terror coming over her at the madness that was ensuing around them. She ducked behind Sam as a naked man ran past, chasing a woman.
"Look for Famine." Dean said, bravely moving into the crowd and dodging people, Castiel following right behind him. The restaurant seemed never ending, but they searched everywhere, looking for Famine.
"He is here." Castiel whispered in Dean's ear. "He's close by."
It was Dean that spotted the door to the back room, and he pointed it out to the others. He held the door for Sam, but Amber was nowhere to be seen. Dean quickly scanned the area and saw her on her hands and knees, eating spilled food from the floor.
Sam poked his head back out. "What happened to Amber? She was just here." Dean pointed to the ground, and Sam called her name, but she didn't look up.
"We can't do anything for her now. Once we get Famine's ring, she will return to normal." Castiel said and Dean nodded, following Sam back into the dark kitchen area. It was dark and smelt of rot and something else Dean couldn't place.
"Sam?"
"I'm here." came Sam's reply and Dean felt a warm body sidle up next to his. "You have a flashlight or something?"
Sam pushed a mini-light into his hand and he turned it on, a single solitary beam cutting through the darkness. It looked like a normal restaurant kitchen: pots, pans, ovens. There was a door on the other side of the room that had light outlining the cracks around the door.
"There." Castiel said.
"Come on." Dean tugged Castiel, following Sam forward, but the angel wouldn't budge. "Cas?"
It happened so quickly that Dean didn't know what hit him. Instead of standing upright, he suddenly found himself flat on the ground, Castiel on top of him straddling his stomach and panting heavily. Castiel pressed his lips hard against Dean's, then moved to kiss his neck.
"What are you doing? Get off me. We need to get Famine."
Castiel ignored him and began tugging Dean's shirt off.
"Stop," Dean tried to push Cas off, but the angel was unmoving, hungrily kissing every part of Dean he could reach. "Sam!"
Sam quickly bent down next to them. "What the hell are you doing?"
"It's Cas. Maybe Famine got to him?"
"Or maybe you're not giving your man enough loving at home." Sam suggested innocently and Dean punched Sam as well as he could in his current position.
"This isn't funny, help me out."
Sam gripped Castiel under the arms and hoisted him off Dean, the angel thrashing and flailing the whole time.
"Dean!" he screamed. "Dean!"
Dean quickly got up, and through a hand over Castiel's mouth, casting a worried glance at the door. "Shh, baby. it's ok. Famine got to you, Cas."
The angel struggled against Sam, fighting to get back to Dean.
"That's interesting. The thing he's most hungry for is you." Sam said with a smirk, and Dean couldn't believe that Sam could joke at a time like this.
"We need to do this, come on." Dean said, frustrated with all this absurdity. He felt wetness on his hand and glanced at Cas; the angel was crying again, tears of desperation as he looked at Dean, pleading with his eyes. Not the eyes..anything but that. But it was too late. Dean's eyes met with Cas' and he could practically feel the terror that Cas was feeling at being ripped away from Dean.
"Sam, let him go."
"He'll start molesting you again." Sam protested, fighting to keep his grip on the angel.
"Just do it. I can't see him like this."
Sam let go of Cas, despite his better judgment, and the angel fell into Dean's open arms, sobbing.
"Calm down." Dean wrapped an arm around him and nodded at Sam to continue to the door. He brushed the tears away from Cas' cheeks with his palm. "It's alright."
"Dean, they took me away from you!"
"Cas, it's Famine, he's messing with you. Just stay close, and we'll be okay." Dean moved silently, holding the angel against him tightly. He gave Sam the signal and his brother proceeded to kick down the door, FBI style.
There were two figures in the small office-like room, one standing, the other seated in a wheelchair.
The old wizened man in the chair leered, showing crooked, yellow teeth. "Hello boys. Been waiting for you to come."
He twitched a hand to his attendant and drew the boys' attention to him. It was the same man Sam was staring at before they entered the restaurant.
"Here's a present for you, Sam." Famine made a gesture across his throat with a bent finger, and the demon clutched at his throat, blood trickling between his hands. Sam's pupils grew wide and his tongue actually snaked its way out of his mouth, licking his lips, before he leapt onto the weakening demon.
"Sam, no!" Dean screamed, and jerked forward to stop his brother, but Cas held him back, gripping him tightly.
"Get off!" Dean yelled, pushing Cas shoulders, trying to force him to back off, but he wouldn't budge.
"What about you, Dean? What are you hungry for?" Famine smirked, waving a hand and making several items appear: a case of his favorite beer, burgers, money.
There was a horrible slurping sound as Sam pinned the demon's arms down and drank the blood running from the wound on his neck. Cas screamed as Dean tried to loosen his grasp. He tugged Dean's shirt to pull him close and crashed his lips into the hunter's. Dean managed to move his face from Cas' suffocating kiss and glared as Famine enjoyed the show, clapping lightly.
"You have no hunger, Dean?"
"Yeah, I do." Dean used the pump of adrenaline that coursed through his body to squeeze out of Cas' grip and fall to the floor beside Sam, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the demon knife. Before Famine could react, the knife was upon his ring finger where it lay on the armrest of his wheelchair, cutting through layers of flesh and bone. The bloody digit dropped to the floor and Dean picked it up as Famine howled.
"I was hungry for this." Dean said, holding up the finger, but Famine was already gone. Dean relaxed a little, but as soon as he turned around to face his brother and Cas, he knew this mission was far from complete. Sam was still on top of the demon, his hands and face covered in blood. He looked up at Dean, his eyes returning to normal now that Famine was gone, and a look of horror spreading across his face. He hastily stumbled backwards off the demon, leaving bloody handprints behind.
"Dean," Sam said, panicking. "What am I going to do? I couldn't stop myself."
Dean bent next to his brother and laid a hand on his shoulder. Sam was shaking uncontrollably underneath his touch. "We'll bring you to Bobby. You'll have to stay in the bunker again, but you'll be okay, Sammy."
"Dean, I didn't want to, I swear-" Sam said.
"I know." Dean helped Sam stand. "Let's get out of here and get you cleaned up."
He held out a hand to Cas, who was standing quietly next to them. "Baby, you ok?"
Castiel nodded silently, taking Dean's hand.
"I'm sorry about yelling at you. Heat of the moment, you know?" Dean frowned as Cas didn't respond. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing." Cas shook his head. "I suppose its the aftermath of Famine's effects."
"Alright, but if there's anything else, you need to tell me, alright?" Dean stared at Cas, studying his face for a moment. "We need to go bring Sam to Bobby. Come on." Dean addressed Sam. "Go look for Amber. We'll meet you by the car."
As soon as they split up at the exit to the kitchen, Cas tugged Dean to make him stop. Dean turned to face a very emotional Cas.
"There's something else."
"What?" Dean said softly, touching Cas' cheek gently to urge him too speak.
"This..Famine's effect on me- made me realize how much I actually need you." Castiel looked down at the grimy floor. "If something happened to you, what would I do? I don't think I can do this alone, Dean!" Castiel rubbed his belly self-consciously. "I can't do it alone."
"Listen, you don't have to. Look, I'm fine." Dean grinned, standing back and gesturing at himself. His grin faded when Castiel didn't respond. "Hey, come on."
"Next time you might not be so lucky." Castiel whispered, his eyes tearing up.
"If I ever die prematurely, you could zap me back." Dean joked, but Castiel shook his head. "There's only so many times you can bring someone back to life."
"Enough of this crap, Cas. When did you become so pessimistic? I'm here, so just forget about it." Dean wrapped an arm around Cas' shoulders, holding him close, and the angel nuzzled into his neck.
"Can I ask you something?" Cas mumbled and Dean nodded.
"Anything."
"Why was your want for the ring your greatest hunger?"
"Because once we get all the rings and stop the Apocalypse, it'll just be me and you."
Cas looked up at Dean and he smiled, drawing down to give Cas a long kiss.
"Hey!"
Dean jumped at the shout, looking up to see Sam cradling Amber in his arms.
"Don't you have time for that later?"
Dean cleared his throat hurriedly. "We were just-"
Amber sighed loudly in Sam's arms and rolled her eyes. "Thanks for asking about me by the way. I'm doing just great. Ate countless burgers and now my stomach feels like it's gonna explode, but great." Her eyes suddenly widened. "Sam, put me down."
"Again?" Sam said disbelievingly and Amber glared at him.
"Unless you want it on you."
Sam hurriedly put Amber on her feet, where she promptly fell to her knees and vomited.
"Anything we can do?" Sam asked hesitantly, and Amber whipped her head around and practically growled at him.
He put his hands up in a defensive gesture. "Jeez. Okay."
He turned to face Dean and Cas so he didn't have to watch Amber emptying her stomach. "All in all, I don't think we did too bad. I just drank demon blood, Amber will be throwing up for the next hour, and Cas had separation issues. But we got the ring." Sam said, trying not to inhale as the smell of vomit washed over the area.
"Not too bad." Dean agreed. "One step closer to ending this damn Apocalypse." he shot a smile at Cas, who finally returned it.
"Yes." Cas snuggled back into the crook of Dean's neck. " Not too bad."