Castiel walked determinedly, now nervous again that he wouldn't make it to Seattle in time. Both men were beginning to tire now that they had been walking for an hour with nothing in sight. Castiel's bag felt heavier with every step and he decided they should rest for a little while. Dean didn't fight it. In fact, he immediately dropped his bag and collapsed, tearing his duffel open for one of the water bottles he'd tucked inside. After drinking half of it in one go, he handed the bottle to Castiel who took it but drank the water in small sips. They sat on the side of the unpaved road in silence, listening for signs of civilization.

After a few minutes, Castiel heard the roar of an engine coming towards them. He waited for a moment and then saw the dirt rise at the horizon. Castiel stood up, hoping the driver would see him and stop. Dean's voice appeared behind him, saying, "Cas, just let them pass." Castiel just scoffed and stepped farther into the road. The vehicle, a beat up van, slowed when the driver saw Castiel. The van stopped and the window rolled down to reveal a thin blonde man. He smiled at Castiel and said, "Looks like you've been walking for a while."

"Yes," Castiel answered. "We were wondering if you would be so kind as to drive us to the nearest town."

"I'd love to, honestly, but we're a little full. Only room for one, up front with me."

"Cas, just let it go. We'll just keep walking," Dean said, coming up beside him.

"Well isn't that precious," the blonde man said. "Well Cas, can we tempt you with a ride? Your friend looks like he could handle himself. Here, let's just toss your bag into the back with the boys." The door slid open and two men peered out from within. The blonde man quickly grabbed Castiel's suitcase and handed it to one of the men. "Looks like it's high quality. Don't worry, they'll take good care of it. "

Castiel turned to Dean who had gone and sat down by his bag once again. "See Dean, they're nice peop-" Castiel was cut off by the sound of tires squealing. He spun around to find the van speeding off. Castiel just gaped as Dean said, "Sorry, but I did warn you. You don't take rides from strangers on the back roads."

"That was everything I had Dean!" Castiel shouted. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"Chill. We'll pick up some stuff in town. Can't be far now anyways."

Dean picked up his duffle and started walking again, Castiel still behind him. After a moment he heard the sound of the other man's footsteps as Castiel began to walk.

-

Half an hour later, Castiel was still walking with his arms crossed. That was one, very little, hardly there at all, good thing: He didn't have to lug around his suitcase anymore. Dean had tried to start a game of I Spy shortly into their walk but Castiel was still cross about the whole situation and had ignored him. Now Dean was walking a few steps ahead of Castiel, whistling some song Castiel had never heard but figured was probably on one of the tapes in Dean's car. Castiel was quickly becoming tired, not used to this much walking in one day, and the distance between Dean and himself grew.

Dean had already been in the bar for twenty minutes before Castiel walked in. He was seated at the table directly next to the door, drinking a beer, and looked up when he heard the door open.

"I'll call a cab when I'm done," Dean said in response to Castiel's glare. The dark haired man just rolled his eyes and wandered over to the bar. He cleared his throat twice before the bartender turned around.

"Excuse me. Do have a phone I could use?" Castiel asked.

The bartender just grunted and pointed to a pay phone on the wall between two doors. It was currently occupied but Castiel figured the current user couldn't be much longer. He went and stood by the phone, keeping a respectful distance but secretly hoping the man using the phone would end his call soon if Castiel was standing there. His position, while polite to the man on the phone, allowed Castiel to hear the conversation behind one of the doors, as it happened to be open a few inches.

"That was brilliant Luc," a voice said. It gave Castiel the chills.

"Hardly Alistair," a voice vaguely familiar to Castiel said. "The man was just foolish. He should've listened to his boyfriend."

Laughter followed and Castiel finally placed the voice as that of the man in the van earlier that day. He was quickly overcome by rage and stormed into the room.

"I believe that belongs to me," he said, carefully keeping his voice level.

"Oh does it now?" the blonde man, Luc, said. "I think you're mistaken."

"I demand you put everything back and return it to me." All of his belongings had been spread over the pool table.

"And if we don't?" Alistair said, his voice sending cold waves through Castiel's body, wiping away all of the adrenaline that had been coursing through his veins moments ago.

"I...um...you'll," he stuttered before hearing a voice to his right.

"Why don't we take this outside," Dean said from the doorway.

"And just who do you think you are?" a third man piped up, his voice sounding more bored than accusatory. Castiel had barely noticed him before.

"Just trying to keep the peace."

"Yeah, well, we don't need any peacekeepers here. Just take your boyfriend here and get out," Alistair said, moving closer to Dean.

"See, that just doesn't work for me," Dean said, finally stepping all the way into the room. The room was dead quiet as they all waited to see what Dean or Alistair would do. Then suddenly, Alistair was throwing punches without much strategy and Dean was easily blocking every attempt. This worked up until Luc started making his way towards Castiel. Dean got distracted as he tried to make his way over and Alistair finally had an opening. He sent his elbow into Dean's nose and the taller man collapsed. This got Castiel moving and he managed to knock down Luc with his suitcase which had been mercilessly tossed to the floor when the three men had dumped out Castiel's stuff. The blonde man fell as Dean groaned from his spot on the floor. The bored man, who had been watching this quietly, just got up and left. Castiel kicked Alistair's knees and watched him collapse as well. He made his way to Dean's side quickly, as the man had . When he didn't immediately open his eyes, Castiel began slapping Dean's face lightly and calling his name, hoping that Dean would wake up. Finally, Dean groaned again but he still didn't open his eyes. Castiel slapped him harder and Dean's eyes shot open.

"Jeez Cas. Can't you see I'm injured here? Don't need you wrecking my beautiful face anymore than it already is."

Seeing that Dean was going to be fine, Castiel began collecting his stuff from all over the room. The two other men were still unconscious but Castiel didn't want to be around when they woke up. Dean had picked himself up and was now sitting up, his back resting against the leg of the pool table and his fingers holding his nose in an attempt to stop the blood. Both men looked up when they heard the door open. The bartender stood in the doorway, looking very angry. Castiel could see people glancing through the door from their seats. Dean just looked up and said, "Yeah, yeah, I know. We're leaving."

Castiel finished packing his things and walked over to Dean, who was still having some trouble standing. Alistair must've really gotten him good. Dean picked up his bag carefully and walked out slowly, using Castiel as a support, leaving the two unconscious men with the bartender.

A/N: Put this at the end, just in case. I know it's been a while since the last update. School stuff has been piling up and all that. Sorry if some of the details are a little off, this was my first time writing a fight scene. Thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.