Chapter 13

A Time to Heal

Castiel laid Dean's limp form down on the motel bed. He had returned them to the motel Dean and Sam had been sharing. It was late and the room was dark save for the filtered light coming through the window from a nearby street lamp. The room was silent except for Dean's shallow gasps for breath.

The angel knelt over him, carefully examines his wounds. They were as critical as he had feared. Dean's back had been ripped apart, leaving nothing but torn muscle and tendons barely holding him together. He had lost a great deal of blood back at the church and even now continued to bleed. His hands and feet had grown cold and discolored. His lips had begun to turn blue. Castiel knew he had little time left.

A sharp pain distracted him for a moment. He looked down and moved his trench coat aside. Blood dripped from the large gash Darius had dealt him. He also knew without looking at himself that he had been battered and bruised severely during their fight.

He also knew that he did not have the power to heal both Dean and himself. Not with how serious Dean's wounds were.

Castiel didn't hesitate.

He knelt over Dean's body and brought his face inches from Dean's. He cradled Dean's face in his hands and closed his eyes. He gently blew out into Dean's open mouth. A light began spilling out of Castiel's lips and sliding into Dean's mouth. Both Castiel's and Dean's bodies began to glow with an ethereal light. Slowly, the wounds marking Dean's flesh began to heal. The flesh began knitting itself back together and sealing itself shut. The bruises slowly faded away. Dean's breaths became less labored and then stopped when his body was completely healed. The last bit of light left Castiel and entered Dean. Castiel finally opened his eyes to look at Dean's face.

Suddenly, Dean's eyes flew open and he let out a gasp for air, his body arching off the bed. He lay on the bed panting as his eyes locked onto Castiel's. The look in his eyes was that of shock and confusion.

"You are safe, Dean," Castiel said calmly. "You are back at the motel."

Castiel drew back, allowing Dean to sit up. Dean looked down at himself; his body still covered in sweat and dried blood. The wounds were gone, though.

"What… what happened?"

"I defeated Darius. I then sent Sam with Jacob to the hospital in order to treat his injuries."

Dean looked at Castiel, concern in his eyes. "Is Sam OK?"

Castiel nodded. "Sam is fine. Jacob's injuries were more severe, but he will recover. I brought you back here and healed you."

Dean sat still for a moment, struggling to understand everything that had happened. He finally shook his head.

"I… I should get cleaned up…" Dean said slowly.

Castiel nodded. "That is fine, Dean."

Dean slowly got off the bed and stood. Despite Castiel's healing he still felt weak and slightly disoriented. He managed to get to his duffle bag and grab some clothes. He then walked to the bathroom and then suddenly stopped. He turned back to Castiel.

"You'll… still be here when I get done… right?"

Despite the calm manner Dean had asked the question Castiel could still hear the hint of plea in his voice.

"I will be here when you are done."

Dean nodded, satisfied with the angel's answer. He then turned back and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Dean turned on the shower and waited for the water to get hot. He removed his underwear and tossed it aside. He then happened to catch a glimpse of his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Even without the wounds he had suffered, he still looked horrific. He could only imagine what he had looked like before. He knew Sam had to be in a panic by now. He'd have to call him after his shower.

He stepped under the hot spray and tipped his head back. Already the water was rinsing away the grime covering him. Dean sighed as he began washing himself. He had to get away from Castiel, even if it was only for a few minutes. His time at the church had become a blur after the flogging had started. He remembered being tied to the cross. He remembered hearing Sam yelling to him. He remembered Castiel arriving. But after that everything became faded and disjointed. He shook his head as if it would clear his thoughts.

Everything was OK now. Jacob was safe. The ritual hadn't been completed. The seal hadn't been broken. Sam was safe. Dean was fine. And Castiel had come back.

His pulse quickened. He couldn't help but admit to himself that he had felt more than just a little aroused when he had awoken to find Castiel leaning so close to him. He had wanted nothing more than to just kiss him until he couldn't breathe any more. Tell him everything would be OK. That he would be there for him. He would never let anyone hurt him ever again. That he loved him.

Dean sighed at the last thought as he shut off the water. The fantasy was nice, but he was living in the real world. There was no way in hell Castiel was going to forget who he was and forget everything that had happened and be his lover. Life is not that simple.

He quickly dried off and got dressed. He was nervous that he would go out and find that Castiel had left despite his promise. He was relieved, however, to see the angel lying back on the bed. Dean had never seen Castiel lying down before, but there was a first time for everything.

Then he saw the blood.

Dean had initially thought the blood was from him. He knew he had bled a great deal from his injuries. But then he saw the spot of dark blood, fresh, on the light trench coat. And it was growing. He then also noticed Castiel looking paler and weaker than before.

"Cas? What the hell?"

Dean ran over to the angel's side. Before Castiel could say anything Dean quickly pushed aside the coat revealing the large gash underneath.

"Why aren't you healing?" Dean asked, panic filling his voice.

"I did not have the power needed to heal both of us," Castiel replied calmly, but weakly. "It will eventually heal on its own. I just require rest."

"Yeah, well, I'm not going to let you bleed all over the place!"

Dean went over to Sam's bag and pulled out their medical kit. It had everything they had ever needed to patch themselves up after a fight. He brought it back with him and sat down on the bed next to Castiel.

"I need you to take off your shirt and stuff," Dean said and he opened the case and began looking through it for what he needed.

He felt Castiel tense next to him. He looked over and saw the look of fear on the angel's face.

"What are you doing?" Castiel asked softly.

Dean felt like someone had slapped him. Darius' words came flooding back to him and as much as Dean had tried to deny it, Castiel's reaction practically confirmed their truth. He swallowed hard, trying to hold back his emotions.

"It's OK. I'm just going to stitch you up so you won't bleed anymore. But I need you to take off your coat and stuff so I can get to it," Dean said gently. "You can wear one of my shirts after until you get healed up."

He could see the hesitation in Castiel's eyes. The fear that this situation brought him. Dean felt sick knowing that there probably only been one other time the angel had been in such a vulnerable position and knowing what that situation had been. Finally, Castiel closed his eyes and nodded. Dean carefully helped him remove the layers of clothing as well as his tie. The gash marred the expanse of pale white skin of Castiel's upper torso. Dean forced himself to remain focused. This was not the time or situation to think about one of his dirty fantasies.

Castiel remained still, his eyes closed after he undressed. Dean quickly went to work. He cleaned around the site of wound with antiseptic and gauze. He then began careful stitching the wound closed. He was relieved to see it wasn't that deep so it wouldn't take long to heal. He watched Castiel carefully to ensure he didn't hurt him, but the angel never flinched. Fortunately, Dean had years of practice stitching up his own various injuries as well as Sam's. It didn't take him long to finish with Castiel's wound.

"There," Dean said as he knotted and cut off the thread. "It's done."

"Thank you, Dean," Castiel replied softly.

Dean looked over Castiel's chest and noticed the other marks and bruises on him.

"Look, Cas, why don't you get cleaned up a little? Then I would be able to see if you got hurt anywhere else," Dean said, trying to keep his voice casual.

He saw the nervousness in Castiel's face, but Castiel slowly sat up and nodded.

"Very well, Dean."

He slowly rose to his feet while Dean stood up next to him. Castiel took a step forward and immediately stumbled, far weaker than he had anticipated. Dean quickly reached out and caught him holding him tight to his chest.

For a moment, both men froze. Dean couldn't help but be amazed at the angel's sensual scent. He breathed it in as he held him. But then he felt Castiel shift in his arms and he quickly realized what he was doing.

"Dude, careful! You're getting as clumsy as Sam!" Dean quickly said jokingly, trying to cover up the awkwardness of the situation. "Come on, I'll help you in there."

Castiel didn't say a word, but did allow himself to be helped to the bathroom. Dean sat him on the toilet and turned the water on in the sink. He then began gathering washcloths and tossed them in the sink to get wet.

"Here, you can use these," Dean said as he hung some towels on the towel rack and set a new bar of soap on the sink.

He looked over at the angel. Castiel head was hung and he wrapped his arms around himself. Dean could see he was trembling.

"Cas," Dean said hesitantly. "You OK?"

He then caught a glimpse of the angel's face. He saw tears slowly slipping down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry," Castiel whispered softly.

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I know! Terrible spot to end the chapter. I did it, though, because I need to figure out exactly what is going to happen next. I did read the reviews for the last chapter and one in particular really got me thinking about how I want to approach this. So, again, please give feedback, but also feel free to make any suggestions or share any thoughts. I'm telling ya, I do read every one of them and take any ideas given into serious consideration! They also definitely get the creative juices flowing!

Thanks for reading, guys!

Side note: Oh dear. Just read this over quick before submitting. Just thinking about my Angel-Man all sad and hurt is getting me all teary-eyed! I'm probably going to starting bawling when I write this next chapter! : (