Chapter 2

Dean was sprawled out on the motel bed, flipping through the newspaper in search of something interesting that might lead them to a new case. Sam was on his laptop, sitting at the small kitchen table, equally engrossed in his work. Finally Dean sat up and stretched.

"Dude, this totally sucks. There's nothing in here. Please tell me you're having better luck."

Sam slowly shook his head, his eyes not leaving the screen.

"Nothing yet. Everything seems quiet for now."

Dean groaned and reached for his boots. "Well I can't look at that damn paper anymore. My eyes are going to fall out of my head! I'm gonna go grab some dinner. You wanna come to or should I just pick you up something?"

Sam glanced up at him and shook his head.

"Nah, go ahead. I have a couple more sites I wanna check out. Just grab me a burger or something."

"Will do."

Dean threw on his jacket and left. Sam returned to reading the article he had found. While it was strange to not have any cases cropping up, Sam couldn't help but be slightly relieved for the break. It seemed like there always something going on that kept them on the move. Now, maybe they would get a minute to catch their breath.

Or not.

Dean had been gone for about 20 minutes when suddenly Sam felt a cool breeze and heard a flutter of wings. With a startled glance he looked over and saw Castiel standing nearby. The angel was dressed in his trademark tan trench coat and suit. His face stoic as ever.

And yet, there was something different. Sam had only seen Castiel a few times, but even with those brief meetings Sam had gotten a sense of what the angel was like. Calm. Focused. The angel that was here now was not like that. At least, it wasn't the feeling his was giving off today. Castiel looked exhausted as if he had been up for days. He was paler than normal and appeared almost distracted.

Sam nervously cleared his throat.

"Um… hey, Castiel."

Castiel gave Sam a polite nod. "Sam."

"Look, um, Dean went to grab us some dinner. He'll be right back if you want to wait a minute."

Was it just his imagination, or did Castiel just flinch when he said that?

"That… won't be necessary," Castiel said, his face unreadable, but there was a slight tremor in his voice. "I wanted to inform both of you that you will be needed in Utah. A seal is being threatened and you are needed to protect it."

"Oh. OK," Sam shifted uneasily in his chair. He just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong. "Yeah, we'll head out when Dean gets back."

"Good."

"Hey, Castiel?"

"Yes?"

Sam wasn't sure if he was overstepping his boundaries, but he couldn't help himself.

"Is everything OK? You… you don't seem the same."

Sam was positive that Castiel flinched at his words then. Castiel quickly averted his gaze and nodded.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't mean to intrude, but you look a little tired. Maybe you should wait and talk to Dean-"

"I'm fine," Castiel stated his tone unusually harsh.

Both Sam and Castiel looked startled at his response. Castiel took a deep breath in an effort to calm himself.

"Just get to La Sal, Utah as soon as you can. I will provide you with more details when you arrive."

Sam nodded mutely. Just as quickly as he appeared, Castiel left, leaving Sam to wonder what the hell had just happened?

A few minutes later Dean came into the motel room carry two bags full of fast food and a cup holder with two large drinks seated inside.

"Dinner has arrived!" Dean announced as he set the bags on the table. He then noticed Sam's face. "What's wrong?"

Sam looked at Dean and frowned.

"Dude, I just had a really weird conversation with Castiel right before you got here."

Dean stopped taking the hamburgers out of the bags and looked at Sam in shock.

"Cas was here?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah. He said we need to go to Utah. La Sal, Utah. Said a seal was in danger."

"That's it?"

"Yeah, he said he'd tell us more when we got there."

Dean frowned. "Why did he talk to you?"

Sam threw his hands up into the air and shrugged.

"Hell if I know! I was wondering the same thing! I don't know. There was something… I dunno… wrong with him."

Dean tensed. "What do you mean there was something wrong with him?" His voice was unusually tense.

"I asked if everything was alright and he said it was. But it sounded kind of forced. And he looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept in days."

Dean sat down, trying to appear calm.

"Well, maybe there's been some bad fights with the seals. He might have a lot on his mind."

"But why did he come to me? Isn't he your angel or something?"

"I don't own him or anything," Dean retorted, sounding slightly more annoyed then he meant to. "He can go see whoever he wants."

"But he seemed kind of anxious when I told him you'd be back soon."

Dean felt his stomach somersault, but ignored it.

"He was in a hurry probably. He didn't have time to wait."

"I dunno, Dean. Something seemed off."

"He's fine. He's an angel. He can take care of himself."

Dean's tone made it clear the conversation was over. They ate the rest of their dinner in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

***

It was going to be an 8 hour drive to get to La Sal. They had checked out and started the long drive with the plan of reaching La Sal by morning. Sam had fallen asleep in the passenger seat leaving Dean alone with his thoughts.

He was worried as Hell about Castiel. Nothing Sam had told him about the exchange made any sense. Since when did Cas start going to Sam with information? And why would he be tired? Cas never looked tired! And why would he not want to talk to him? Had he done something wrong? Did he piss him off some how?

Dean couldn't help but admit to himself that his concerns were more than that of just business or even friendship. He had been feeling something more growing during each one of their encounters and he found himself wanting more of those visits to occur. He wanted more out of the encounters. Wanted something more to develop. He was falling in love with the angel. He hated how that sounded, so chick flick, but it was the only way he could describe his feelings. He wanted to be with him every second of the day. He also felt lustful desires as well for him, something that had really freaked him out at first.

But there was no way anything like that would ever happen. There were so many things wrong with everything he was feeling and he knew there was no way Castiel would ever feel the same way. Hell, could feel the same way! It would remain Dean's closely guarded secret and there was no way he would ever tell anyone how he felt.

Dean swallowed hard and forced his attention back on the road before him. He pressed down harder on the gas pedal and sped on through the night.

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So that's the story so far! I'm not sure where this is going to go and would be very appreciative of feedback and ideas! If you want me to continue with this story I'll definitely need some ideas so don't be shy!

Thanks for reading!