Castiel stayed away for a week. He wouldn't admit it to himself, but Meg's relaxation techniques had a lasting impact on him. For the rest of his life as an Angel, he would probably never forget her techniques. And to be honest, even though he could be killed any day, he didn't really want to forget. After a week of fighting celestial beings more powerful than him, he was ready to relax. But then he heard something.

"Cas, are you there? Look, I really need your help." A pause. "It's Sam. He won't wake up. Please."

Castiel mentally sighed. It wasn't that spending time with the Winchesters wasn't relaxing in its own way, but Castiel could tell this wasn't a social call. Something was really wrong. He may not be able to understand human emotions, but he was getting very good at telling them apart. He could tell fear from happiness. Sadness from disinterest.

Castiel frowned as he thought of that. He was good at telling emotions apart on normal humans. The Winchester's were an exception. They had a habit of saying they were happy, and then Castiel would have to be told that they were being sarcastic. The Winchesters were very frustrating that way. Frustration was an emotion Castiel had developed. For obvious reasons it came up very often when he was near Sam or Dean. It came up a lot more when he was with them both. But angels were loyal.

Castiel bonded with the brothers in a way that none of the other Angels could comprehend. They didn't understand why he would leave Heaven in turmoil for two human. They didn't understand why he was more loyal to two temporary humans than he was to angels he had known for millennia. It was true that he knew the Angels for millennia. But it was also true that that's all they had. Acknowledgements. Sam and Dean were his friends. At least, right now, Dean was. They knew that they would die for each other. Of course out of loyalty Castiel would die for any other Angel, but it was still different. So he went to see Dean. Sam may be devout, but Dean would never pray unless there was an emergency.

What he saw when he got there schocked him. Dean was on the couch, his hair a mess. His eyes were bloodshot, but he didn't smell of alcohol. Dean had been crying. He looked like he was, what human called, 'on the verge of a nervous breakdown'.

Castiel looked around. The door to the Demonic panic room was wide open, obviously so Dean could look in on his baby brother. That was another emotion Castiel understood. The desire to protect. Dean tried everything he could to protect his younger brother. Who was currently on the bed in the Panic Room.

He walked into the room to look at Sam, who was knocked out on the bed. He was so still that to a normal human they would think he was dead. Castiel opened his eyelids and Sam's pupils were completely shut. Like they were trying to block out everything.

"Hold him down." Dean followed, and began to hold down Sam. He knew what Cas was going to do.

Castiel took his arm and plunged it into Sam who didn't even flinch. He gritted his teeth because even though Sam didn't move from the pain, Castiel felt like his hand was on fire. Souls were so powerful that they could even affect Angels. Humans themselves had no power, but touching Sam's soul had an unpleasant feeling to it. It was strange though.

There was a filming of some sort around the soul. Like a wall. He knew that it was there for a reason. He pulled out his arm, before it caused Sam permanent damage. Castiel turned to Dean accusingly.

"You put his soul back in him." It wasn't a question. It was an accusation. A statement of fact. "Dean, after what I warned you about, how could you-"

"I didn't have choice Cas, all right? He tried to kill Bobby. Just to keep the soul out of him."

"So you decided to kill him in return? Damn it, Dean." Castiel began to pace. He was beyond frustration. He was angry. He was pissed. "I laid my life on the line. Numerous times. For you. For the both of you! And this is how you repay me?"

"You don't understand. I made a deal with Death. He agreed to-" Castiel cut him off and turned to face him.

"Death? Dean are you crazy? Even angels don't deal with Death. Not even 'He' deals with Death. We never have anything he wants. It's suicide to try." Castiel turned away again. He couldn't bear to look at Dean right now. Dean's distraught form made him pity him, but Dean's actions made Castiel want to hit him.

"He did some ancient spell. He put Sam's soul back with a wall around it. It blocks his memories of Hell. It'll put him back the way he was."

"Damn you. I warned you not to put that mutilated thing back inside of him. Couldn't you have just been happy having your brother back? Alive? I feel like hitting you. I can't deal with this right now. I just can't-" Castiel punched the wall, taking off a good chunk of brick.

Dean tried to laugh but it came out like a choked sob. Castiel sighed. Emotionally he felt pity for Dean again. But mentally he was furious.

"Man whatever you did to relax you need to do it again." Castiel frowned at that.

"You may not look any less stressed but you are definitely less," Dean paused to think of the word "Angelic." Dean quickly corrected himself as he realized that would be taken as an insult. "I mean, it's like someone took the proverbial stick out of your ass. You've definitely loosened up. I'm beginning to think you actually feel."

Castiel didn't like what Dean was saying. He had a pretty good idea why he would be acting differently. His fighting was definitely better, but he didn't think anything of it. But if a kiss with Meg had her feeling 'clean' it meant some of his Grace probably rubbed off on her. He didn't feel anything when they kissed but that was because he was exponentially more powerful than her. But when he rubbed off on her, it probably worked both ways so…

Castiel began to feel sick. Nausea was a feeling he didn't like. Thankfully it soon ended.

"I have to go," he told Dean.

"Wait, Cas." Dean really did look like he was going to fall apart any moment. "Is there anything you can do for him?" For a moment Castiel felt pity again. But when he turned to look at Sam, it left. He looked at Dean again, dead in the eye this time.

"I'm sorry Dean. But if you wanted to kill your brother you should have done it outright."

After saying that, he left.