Welcome Back to the Land of Oz

Disclaimer:

I do not own anything from Supernatural.

Pairings:

Dean/Castiel

Karen/Lily

Timeline

Season 6

Summary:

Sequel to "The Dimensions of Dreams" Dean gets some unexpected visitors while he's at Lisa's, more than one person is outted, relationships form, friendships deepen, Cas gets cleansed of pride, Bobby doesn't want to know why Dean's blushing


Chapter 2:

Acknowledging Uncompleted Bonds

Everyone looked up from their spots at the kitchen table as they heard the sound of wings but it was Bobby who took one look at the boxers in the angel's hands, saw Dean's flushed face, decided he didn't want to know and so swiftly excused himself. "You igits work things out between yourselves."

Lily and Karen were grinning while Dean sighed, covering his eyes with his hand. Was he never going to live down this particular prank?

Castiel took one look at Karen and the stranger before his eyes widened. "Karen?"

She stood up and tugged on Lily's hand. "Group hug!"

The blue-eyed angel wrapped his arms around the two women who gleefully returned the hug.

Karen glanced over Cas's shoulder toward Dean, "Get your ass over here. I said group hug. That means you too."

Protesting under his breath, he got up and went over to the group. He paused, trying to decide who to hug and how before wrapping one arm around Castiel and the other around Karen.

No one saw it but Castiel smiled. As the hug ended and everyone took a step back, his smile disappeared. "I bring grave news."

"Raphael booted you out of Heaven and threatened to kill you because he wants to get the apocalypse back on track?" Dean asked.

The angel's expression reflected confusion as he frowned. "Yes. How did you," he paused, remembering something. He glanced toward Karen. "You saw it?"

She smiled and nudged Lily, who smiled back. "Well, we saw it."

"What do we do?" Cas questioned.

Dean sighed, "Apparently wait for Crowley to show up and offer you a deal. You take it to buy us time while we figure something out and I go have a chat with Death to see about getting Sammy's soul back."

Castiel grimaced, "I brought him back without a soul?"

The hunter patted him on the shoulder, "You did your best buddy. And hey, according to Lily it shouldn't be too hard to convince Death to bring up Sam's soul."

Cas stood there, in disbelief that he had missed something so big. He should've known as soon as Sam walked away from Lisa's house. Sam did want his brother to have a normal life but he wouldn't want Dean to suffer, thinking that he was dead when he wasn't. Suddenly he felt something hit his head and purple-colored water coated the top of his head, dripping down onto the trench coat.

"Ta-da!" Karen exclaimed happily.

Lily was sort of looking at her best friend with this what-the-fuck expression.

"You have now been cleansed of pride!"

Dean snorted.

"Thank you Karen," he said seriously, feeling a lot better. She'd been right. He had been prideful, arrogant to think he could fully raise Sam on his own.

"Where did you even get a water balloon and the food coloring?" The brunette questioned the black-haired woman.

"Dean bought me some stuff at the stop we made, remember?"

To that, she narrowed her hazel eyes at the hunter who held up his hands in defeat.

"Hey, she promised not to use any of the stuff I bought for her on me." Dean said in his defense.

Lily rolled her eyes, causing Karen to giggle.

He glanced over at her, "Jesus, when did you turn so giggly?"

No evidence that he had ever been hit with the water balloon remained as Cas replied, "Perhaps it is due to her soul mate being in such close proximity without having completed the bond."

There was complete silence as Karen's eyes widened as she nervously glanced at Lily who was frowning in confusion. "Yeah," she cleared her throat, "Well, I can think of two other people in this room who haven't completed the bond."

Castiel shifted uncertainly as Dean looked at him. After Karen's disappearance he had a lot more free time. He'd been amazed at how much time she'd taken up but supposed it wasn't all that surprising when neither of them had needed sleep in the beginning. Karen's topic of a soul mate had made him re-evaluate his own bond with Dean and he had been surprised to find it was very possible that it was a soul-bond or rather in this case, a soul-grace bond.

"We have a bond?!" The hunter exclaimed.

His blue eyes met Dean's. "You and I do share a profound bond." Then he glanced away, suddenly nervous. Why did his face feel warm?

Dean just kept staring at the blushing angel.

Lily was torn between wanting to help push the hunter and angel together and asking Karen when they'd developed a bond on level with Dean and Castiel's.

The sound of wings flapping signaled the angel's disappearance.

She turned toward Karen, "We have a bond? We have a bond like Dean and Cas?"

Dean, long practiced in the art of denial and changing the subject, focused on the two women instead. "How else do you expect she got pulled back into your world?"

The brunette frowned as she stared at her best friend. "Me? I brought you out of your coma? I pulled you from another universe?"

The brown-eyed woman bit her lower lip and nodded.

Dean glanced back and forth between them while they stared at each other. "Sooo."

They both looked at him.

"You guys gonna kiss or what?"

Lily's eyes widened and she took a step back, "But I don't like girls!"

Dean frowned at her as Karen shrunk into herself a little. "Listen, the bond is already there. It's been there for a long time according to Cas. Whether you acknowledge it or not, reject it or accept it, the bond will remain there. It formed because of how you both felt."

"I-I."

Karen hesitantly glanced up at her.

"I need to think about it." Then she walked out of the room.

The black-haired woman's shoulders slumped slightly as she released a sigh.

Dean patted her shoulder. "Hey, don't worry so much. At least she didn't say no, right?"

She offered him an uneasy smile, "It's just that we both sort of have commitment issues."

The hunter frowned. "What? Like you'd actually cheat on each other?"

Karen shook her head, "No, nothing like that. I mean, since falling in love with her, even looking at another person sorta just felt wrong. And even if I did love someone else, even if I had the chance to be with someone else, it never felt quite right because they weren't her. And as far as I know, she's never even had any sort of interest in anyone else since we've met. It's just that…" She paused, trying to put her fear into words. "I don't want her to change for me. I want her to change for her. I'm afraid of asking too much, of pushing too far too soon and her thinking she's obligated to give in. And honestly, I've never felt I've deserved someone as good as her. She makes me want to be better, but what if that's not enough?" She paused, tears forming in her eyes as she whispered, "What if I'm not supposed to be loved?" Brown eyes met green. "Maybe the reason she won't have me is because I'm too screwed up inside."

Although she'd never told him a lot about her past, Castiel had shared with him the knowledge he'd gained from the memories she'd shown him. He wrapped his arms around her, expecting to feel tears on his shoulder but she never let them fall. "You're not too screwed up. You're just kinda quirky. And occasionally a bit nuts."

She choked back a laugh. "And silly?"

"And silly," he agreed.

"And you love me?"

"You're family," he reassured her.

"Even if I screw up?"

"Even if you screw up."

"Even if I put itching powder in your underwear?"

"Even then." He smiled, mentally making a note to check his clothes for itching powder.

"Even if you found out I was secretly plotting to destroy the world?"

Hoping she was joking, he replied, "Even if you plotted the destruction of the universe though that's not to say I wouldn't be angry about it."

She giggled, pulling away from the hug. "Well, I guess I'll just have to cancel that plan then."

"Good call." He smiled back.

Smirking, she told him, "You can go check your clothes for the itching powder that may or may not be there now." She laughed at the expression on his face as he grumbled thanks.

Dean never noticed Lily was sitting in the other room and so didn't know she'd heard everything that'd been said in the kitchen.

Lily loved Karen. That wasn't the question. The question was could she love her best friend the way her best friend loved her. She'd never considered herself attracted to Karen. Not really. If she loved seeing her smile or hearing her laugh, that was perfectly normal for a friend. If she couldn't stand seeing her sad or hurt, that was normal too. Friends could hug and cuddle. And if she enjoyed occasionally seeing Karen's eyes glaze over when she rubbed a certain spot, that was fine. Wasn't it? And those times when she wanted to explore, to find more ticklish spots or an area that would make her scream… That was perfectly innocent, wasn't it? She inwardly sighed. Yes, and it was perfectly normal friend-like behavior to wait for your friend to fall asleep, secretly cuddle with them and then lie about it when they wake up and ask if you were cuddling with them. And why lie? Why had she panicked? Karen wouldn't have objected or anything. At least, she was pretty sure she wouldn't. God, she was in love, wasn't she? She closed her eyes and tried to picture kissing her best friend. When she opened her eyes she realized she'd been holding her breath and her heart beat had quickened. Well, now for the final test, actually kissing said best friend.


As far as Dean could tell, there was no itching powder. However, he knew Karen was the type who could have the patience to go over a prank with a fine comb. So, with that in mind, he decided to be safe rather than sorry and decided to just wash all his clothes. The sound of wings made his body automatically turn to face the angel.

Castiel stood there nervously, his hands in his coat pockets. "I just wanted to inform you that I do not expect you to do anything about our bond. There is no need to-"

"Cas," the hunter interrupted.

Blue puppy dog eyes stared back.

"Dude, I get it. I'm glad you're not pushing me to make a decision right now." He scratched the back of his neck, "I'm not…" Dean's face flushed. Damn, he was gonna sound like such a fucking girl for saying this. "I'm not rejecting you or the bond. I just need some time to wrap my head around it; I'm not ready to complete the bond." His face turned an even darker shade of red. "Not yet."

The angel's mouth turned up in a small smile. "Then I will wait."

He coughed, "Thanks Cas."

"Perhaps until you are ready we could try dating?"

The green-eyed man laughed at his expression. Apparently his angel wasn't quite sure if he'd used the right word or not. "Yeah, we could do that."

"Awww," cooed a voice from the doorway. "You guys are so cute when you're having a moment."

Dean glared at the black-haired woman peeking around the doorway. "We're not cute! We're manly!"

The other woman in the doorway drawled, "But you're not insecure about your masculinity at all."

"Oh? And what about you Miss I-don't-like-girls?" He bit back.

With a bored expression, the hazel-eyed woman declared, "I'd didn't bond with a gender; I bonded with a person. She just happens to be a girl."

And Dean supposed he'd think of it that way with Castiel. After all, as an angel, Cas wasn't technically either gender though any physical bonding they did would be between two guys. His face flushed at the thought as he looked at the angel out of the corner of his eye.

"Five bucks says he thinking about sex with Cas," Karen whispered loudly.

The hunter's right eyebrow twitched.

Lily shook her head. "No bet. He's definitely thinking about it."

"Probably planning what moves he's going to try first," the dark-haired woman snickered.

He grinned widely in a way that was obviously the opposite of very happy. "Karen."

She glanced up at him.

"Run."

The dark-eyed woman laughed nervously. "Well, that's my cue." Then she disappeared, her feet surprising almost completely silent against the floor as she stealthy made her retreat.

Castiel and Lily stood there as Dean loudly chased after her, his feet thumping against the floor.

"Sooo."

The angel glanced at Karen's soul-mate.

The hazel-eyed woman looked at him. "Does this mean you and Dean could have kids?"

He blushed. "I am unsure. To my knowledge, there has never been this type of bond between a human and an angel. I do not know what the possible benefits of it could be."

Benefits. She gave him a small sly smile. "So you want kids?"

"I am not opposed to the idea." His blush faded. "Do you wish to have children?"

This time it was her turn to flush. "I…uh, I'm," she cleared her throat. "I'm not opposed," Lily replied.

Castiel stared at her for a moment. "Perhaps when the time comes that you and Karen wish to have a child I may be able to ensure the child will be of you both biologically."

She blinked. Then the corner of her mouth curled up. "Thanks Cas. But perhaps we should keep that knowledge to ourselves."

He tilted his head, puzzled.

"There's no reason to get her overexcited about something we're not ready for. Besides, we haven't even gone on a date yet."

Cas nodded in understanding. He could see the woman getting overexcited about the idea. Plus, perhaps it would be a more wonderful surprise if Lily was the one to inform her of the possibility. He knew the idea of Dean and himself possibly having a child certainly filled him with elation. Maybe he would do as Lily had decided though and keep the possibility to himself. After all, for it to even be a possibility they'd have to complete the bond first.


So what do you think of the Dean/Cas, Karen/Lily and the friendship/family moments between Dean/Karen, Cas/Lily?

Yeah, no complications with my opperation! ^^ So in about two more weeks I should be like 75% healed up. The time it takes to heal up fully varies. They said it can take several months before I stop feeling pain every now and then.


Next time:

Epilogue

Short but sweet and maybe a bit random