His lips are hot on your skin. His hands urgently covering your body. You hold onto a fistful of his hair as you settle yourself in his lap. When his mouth finds yours, the kisses are desperate and needy. You pull away gasping for breath and his bright blue eyes are staring into yours. Blue eyes.

You wake up from the dream in a haze, shivering from the cold. It's then that you realise the sheets have been pulled back from the other side of the bed. You hear the toilet flush followed by running water from the bathroom. With the curtains drawn, the only source of light in the room is from a bedside digital clock. It's three fifteen in the morning. You rub your eyes with the back of your hand. You've never dreamt of Cas before. Your heart is still racing but you try to level your breathing as Dean walks out of the bathroom and back to the bed. He resumed his earlier position, lying on his side behind you, his other hand caressing your hip. You rarely slept together in the same bed. Dean usually shared a room with Sam. Or when there was one room between the three of you, you would all end up taking turns on the sofa or the fold-out bed.

Sam knew you were together tonight. You're not sure how long he's known about the two of you, or even how he found out. Dean isn't one for public displays of affection. You always imagined he wouldn't want Sam or anyone to know he's been sleeping with the same girl for weeks. You could imagine Sam ribbing Dean, referring to you as his girlfriend.

You feel Dean nuzzle your hair as his hand moves from your hip and across your stomach. When he reaches your breast, you feel him harden behind you. You turn your head to face him but before you have a chance to look at him, he's kissing you. It's not his usual style. He's sloppy and sleepy and somehow this feel a lot more intimate.

He pushes his t-shirt you're wearing up and over your breasts and moves himself on top of you. You raise you arms above you to assist in the undressing, smirking as he lifts the shirt over your head and then pushes it as far as your elbows. Impatient and distracted by the sight below him, he drops his head to kiss your chest while his hand gently squeezes the soft skin there. The move was unexpected and the sensation makes you grip the headboard behind you as your arch your back.

Keeping one hand on your body, he fumbles lower with the other. Lifting his body to get a better view. You realise he's trying to push off his pants. You smirk again when he lets out a soft groan of frustration. Once he's managed to undress himself, he catches your eye and smirks back. The he's kissing your mouth once again. Wanting to touch him, you free your arms from the shirt and toss it to the floor. Your hands move to his face, encouraging the kiss to deepen.

He nudges your legs wider apart with his knee and settles himself closer against you. He doesn't break the kiss as he guides himself to you. He lets out a guttural moan as he pushes against your tightness. Despite the lack of foreplay, you're more than ready for him. It occurs to you that your dream may have helped in your arousal but you shake that thought from your head. You can't think about Cas right now.

Dean's thrusts are clumsy and without rhythm, but with each contact he hits your g-spot. Gently, you reach a hand between your bodies to gently tease your clit. He pulls away from the kiss with tension spread across his face. You close your eyes in reflex as you feel the pressure between your legs building. He begins to speed up his movements and his breathing quickens. He feels hot and primal and you never realised sex with Dean could be like this. He was always so aware and in control, so focused on pleasing you. Right now he was bare and vulnerable. He was letting his guard down while he was with you and that kind of trust made you swell with affection for him.

When you finally open your eyes, you see him above you, watching your face closely. His gaze lingers and for a moment, the tension from his face is gone. He goes to speak but instead he blinks away any thoughts he has; goes back to concentrating on his pelvic movements. He looks between your bodies then. Watches where you are both joined together and the movement of your hand. He moves deliberately slower, pushing into you deeper. Sliding against your g-spot again, you cry out as your orgasm hits you. He looks up; watching you as you come. That sort of thing always made you feel self-conscious. You would usually turn away and close your eyes, so you weren't able to see him staring. You let him watch you this time. Meeting his eyes as the last few waves roll over you. His eyes are a darker shade of green than usual and you lift yourself to kiss him hungrily. It's hot, open mouthed and a lot less well practised. He responds to it though, and with a few more trusts he moans against your mouth as he comes. You wrap your arms around him tightly, holding his against you as he convulses with his release.

He stays on top of you for a few minutes, heavy and sated. You try to stretch under the weight of him and he moves off of you. Rolling onto his back, he pulls you with him so you're lying against his chest. It's only then you notice it has started raining again outside. You hear a soft roar of thunder in the distance and you nuzzle in closer to him, revelling in the secure feeling of being wrapped in Dean's arms. Post-sex cuddling was never something you both did, and right now you couldn't understand why.

You wake up to the sound of muffled voices in the next room. You know it's the two brothers from the absence of Dean beside you. You lazily stretch out an arm across the mattress. You can feel the slight warmth left there by him. The only sign that he was there the night before.

Glancing at the clock on the night stand, you're surprised to see it's only eight thirty-seven. Pulling the sheet up over your shoulders, you roll onto your back; savouring a peaceful moment alone before facing the day ahead.

The sound of the Impala's car door opening and closing outside gets your attention. Were they leaving already? You reluctantly get out of bed and quickly pull out an old t-shirt and cotton shorts from your bag. Once you're dressed, you let yourself into the brothers' room. The front door is open and beyond it you can see Sam placing his files and laptop case on the backseat of the car, and then moving to the passenger seat.

"We'll all set!" He calls out from the open window. Dean then emerges from the bathroom, looking surprised when he sees you.

"Hey, I thought you were still asleep." He walks over to the chair to retrieve his jacket.

"You guys going already?"

"Yeah," he sighs. "Sam wanted to get an early start. Not my idea." He pauses for a moment, considering his words. "Cas should be by later to pick you up." You look up at him questioningly. "What?"

"Nothing." You shake your head and your mind races for a way to change the subject. "Did you guys get breakfast?"

"Is there a reason you shouldn't go with him? Like you said, I have nothing to worry about."

"And you don't," you hesitate. "It's just that I would understand if that would make you feel uncomfortable."

"Of course it will make me feel uncomfortable," he rubs his jaw, eyes fixed on the floor. "But… I'll deal with it."

The Impala door opens again and Sam steps out. "Dean, you comin'?"

"Be right there, Sammy!" He calls over his shoulder. He pulls his jacket on and picks up his cell phone from the table. Pausing in the doorway, he turns to you. "I'll see you later." Before you can respond, he shuts the door behind him.

You had showered and dressed soon after Sam and Dean had left. For the last few hours you had been lying on your bed drinking the motel's cheap complimentary coffee whilst watching soap opera re-runs.

You glance at your cell phone. It has just gone one in the afternoon, and you have no messages or missed calls. Sighing, you sit up and switch the TV off using the remote. You had thought Cas would have been here a lot sooner. Getting up from the bed, you walk over to the window. At least the rain had stopped.

Scanning the parking lot, you have to look twice when you see Cas' Lincoln parked at the far end of the motel. You pull on your jacket and with your phone in hand, you walk out of the front door.

As you approach the Lincoln you can see Cas sat in the driver's seat. You walk around to the passenger side and let yourself in. He looks almost surprised to see you, like you had interrupted him deep in thought.

Deliberately raising an eyebrow, you ask "how long have you been sitting here?"

"Not long."

You fasten your seat belt. "Were you just going to stay in the car?"

He gives you a small smile. "No. Like I said, I was going to knock this time."

"Right," you return his smile. "So what were you doing?"

"I was just… Thinking." He turns the key in the ignition, and the car hums in response.

"Dare I ask?" You don't miss the spark in his eyes and the soft twitch of his upper lip.

"I saw Mrs. Lieberman this morning."

"This morning?" That would explain why he was late. "Why didn't you wait for me?"

"I thought it might be better if only one of us were to visit her. Talk to her one to one."

"Then shouldn't I have been the one to talk to her."

"Sam said it might not be safe. I couldn't have let you go alone." It's a endearing sentiment but you still have to fight to urge to protest. You could handle yourself; despite what Sam would have Cas believe. "She mentioned a warehouse. It's a old establishment a few blocks from her house. A few days before her daughter disappeared she had been walking home from work when she saw something strange."

"Did she elaborate on 'strange'?"

"She believed it to be an animal of some kind, but for whatever reason it troubled her."

An animal. That didn't sound too out of the ordinary, but that didn't mean it wasn't related to the case. "Okay, I guess we should check it out. I doubt it's anything, but it's all we got so far."

"Maybe you should call Dean. Let him know where we're going."

"It's just a warehouse, it wont take us that long to search. Besides he's probably still at the morgue." Nodding, Cas puts the car into gear and manoeuvres out of the parking lot.

The warehouse doors are unlocked and you tentatively push one open. The rusty hinges scrape against the friction as the door opens. You take a step inside but stop when you feel Cas' hand at your waist. You turn your head up to look at him, but he simply moves past you, positioning himself in front of you. You raise an eyebrow at the unnecessary gesture, but decide against saying anything. He walks further into the warehouse and you follow a few steps behind. It was dusty, dark and unremarkable. As expected.

Something on the right has caught Castiel's attention and he moves intently toward it. You're about to follow him when you become distracted by something else in the distance. You walk straight ahead to get a closer look. Hanging off the edge of one of the crates is a golden Saint Christopher chain. You pick it up and trace a thumb over the metal pendant.

You can feel Cas behind you even before you hear his soft breathing. You think of a quip about personal space but can't bring yourself to make the remark. For a moment you think it might be because his close proximity doesn't bother you as much as it should.

His voice is low when he speaks. "It was here."

"How do you know?" It's almost a whisper.

"I found a heap of clothing behind one of the crates. I believe the items belong to those who went missing."

"Is it here now?" There's a chill down your spine. You weren't prepared for this. You had expected this to be another dead end. "Cas?"

He deliberates for a moment. "No, it's moved on." He doesn't move away from you. If you were to lean back slightly, your back would be against him. You could almost feel his warmth against you. You remember his hand on your waist.

"Are you scared?"

The question surprises you. "No, why would I be scared?"

"Your heart rate has increased."

You feel your cheeks burn and your mind races to avoid response. "I'm going to call Dean." You side-step away from Cas and pull out your cell from your pocket. It connects to his voicemail instantly. "He must have switched it off. Maybe we should go back to the motel."

You both fall into step next to each other as you make your way back through the warehouse. A few dull creaks from the old rafters above echo in the open space around you.

"You know, I have a question for you." You look up at him, but he keeps his eyes forward.

"A question?"

"What do you do at night? I mean, you don't sleep. Where do you go?"

He doesn't miss a beat. "Hooters."

"Oh." You look away in embarrassment and carry on walking. When you realise he's not walking with you, you stop and turn to face him. Confusion drawn on his features. "Oh, that was a joke." You let out a breathy laugh and try to mask the relief in your voice as a small smile forms on his lips. "I didn't know angels had a sense of humour."

Suddenly, the rafter clanks loudly above you and before you can react to the sound, Castiel's arms are wrapped around you as he pushes you across the ground. The impact of the metal bounces a deafeningly echo against the walls of the building. When Castiel finally leans back away from you, you're able to see that part of the rafter has fallen from the ceiling. It had landed right where you were stood only seconds before. You suddenly become aware of a sharp pain across your palm. It feels wet, like you had landed in a puddle of water. Sitting up, you lift up your hand to see that it's not water, but blood. You study the ground around you and see shards of broken glass scattered on the floor. The burning pain becomes more prominent as the warm liquid pulsates from your hand.

You wince at the sight of your injury. "I'm going to need stitches."

"Let me," Cas says, and kneels by the side of you. Gently, he takes your hand in his and covers your palm with the other. A bright light glows between his fingers and it leaves your hand feeling pleasantly numb. When he pulls his hand away you're left in awe as you see that the deep wound has vanished.

"Wow. I forgot about whole… healing-" you gesture to his hand, not able to form the words. "Thank you."

He smiles warmly at you and then stands up, reaching out a hand to give you leverage. "We don't."

Regaining your balance, you think you may have misheard him. "We don't what?"

"Uh, we don't have a sense of humour. Angels."

"Oh." You're still shaken from the near miss of the falling rafter. You take a step forward but you feel the room begin to spin. You look around and see a wooden crate just behind where you're stood. You lean back onto it. "I just need a minute." Without question, Cas walks toward you and takes a seat on the wooden crate next to you.

You feel him watching you cautiously. Although you knew he meant well, the attention made you feel fragile, like at any moment you could break. Trying to appear more nonchalant than alarmed by the close encounter moments ago, you return to the conversation.

"Well, you do. You're not like the other angels. You're different."

"I hope so."

You look up at him then. "You are. You're more human than most guys I used to know." You turn your body towards him. "You're important to us, you know. You're important to Dean. I know he's been acting… off, recently. He's just trying to figure things out in his head."

A few minutes pass by with you both lost in your respective thoughts.

"Does Dean have feelings for you?"

You're completely taken aback by the question. He's looking at you carefully, appraising your reaction.

"I don't know." It's the truth.

"Do you have feelings for Dean?" How can you explain the answer to Cas when you hadn't really figured it out yourself? You'd be lying if you said you didn't, but you weren't ready to admit to anyone, not even yourself that you did. "He's very protective of you."

"Cas, I shouldn't have kissed you." The words are rushed. Spoken without thought. A mixture of relief and guilt burns in your chest. His lips part like he wants to speak but has no words. "I mean that it was just bad timing. It's not that I didn't want to kiss you. I do. I mean, I did." You take a deep breath, considering how to word what you are about to say next. "The truth is, Dean and I have been getting closer and-"

"Closer as in you're both having sex." It was more a clarification than a question.

"Uh, yeah." You awkwardly play with your hands. Stroking the now smooth skin of your palm. "I don't really know what it is, but it's happening. I should have said something sooner, I'm sorry."

He looks away from you for a while, processing what you just told him. His brow relaxes.

"I think I understand. Dean is upset that we kissed yesterday."

"He doesn't know." You reach out and lightly touch his hand, urging him to look at you. "I don't want things to be awkward between any of us, but especially you and Dean. I'm just a confused mess right now, but I'll figure it out."

When Cas finally looks up, his attention is immediately diverted behind you. You follow his gaze to see the outline of a man near the warehouse entrance a few meters away. You blink your eyes and the figure comes into focus. It's Dean.