Title: Under the Influence of Djinn
Chapter: Fifteen
Summary: AU: The Djinn siblings created a terrible detailed nightmare for Dean out of revenge, nearly killing him, Lisa, and Ben. With Sam alive, Castiel missing, and Campbell cousins in tow, he tries to pull himself back together.
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Supernatural was created by Eric Kripke. No disrespect in intended with this work of fan fiction.

While Daphne had been studying Castiel, Jo had been studying Daphne. The woman had seemed to fall for Cas in under a minute once he was well, behaving like a teenage girl getting a chance with her crush. Of course, with Castiel's newfound interest in women he ate it up, doing the worst job at flirting Jo had ever heard or seen. She wondered if he thought he sounded like Dean in his head, because a few of his lines were like ones Dean might come up with.

Daphne wasn't any great genius at flirting either. The two were well-matched in that area, prompting Jo to think that perhaps Daphne had been raised in a convent somewhere and only recently moved out.

Jo didn't blame Castiel for enjoying it. She certainly wasn't going to moon over him. It was fine with her that there was a woman here who would. It had to feel good to him to have that romantic interest since he was admittedly having those sexual urges.

So why weren't the two acting on that? She'd given them time alone, fully expecting to find they'd done the deed. They didn't. Far as she could tell, they'd only had the most sedate of kisses even. Strange, after the whopper Castiel had planted on Jo herself earlier.

Castiel and Daphne had gotten kicked out of a movie theater a few days earlier, but not for making out in the back row. No, the reason had been Castiel's inability to suspend disbelief long enough to believe that aliens could use meteors as their spaceships, or some such thing. Jo hadn't had any desire to see that particular movie. Castiel and Daphne had been asked to leave because he'd given a loud critical analysis of the plot as the movie was in progress, annoying quite a few people around them. As Jo had warned him beforehand that he'd need to just ignore anything that didn't make sense to him, she figured it was his own fault they'd gotten thrown out.

Daphne had been disappointed that they hadn't made out in the back row at all. Castiel had actually wanted to see the movie.

The woman confused Jo. She couldn't decide if Daphne was the dumbest, naïve, most clueless woman she'd ever met or if she was super smart and had some strange agenda. Just when she thought she'd firmly pegged her as the latter, she did something that put her in the former category. To be honest, she was almost like two different people and maybe Jo should start making inquiries about medication that needed to be taken and multiple personality disorder.

"What unholy sort of creature are you," she murmured softly, flipping a page in her magazine and not bothering to look down at it.

"Hmm?" Daphne looked up from her search a word puzzle book. Those books of word puzzles appeared to be her only vice, as she didn't drink, smoke, or do drugs. She worked through puzzle book after puzzle book in ink, not pencil. When every page was completed, she moved on to the next puzzle book.

"No one is as naïve as you are, except for Castiel." This was one of those weird times, when Daphne seemed to be a different person from the first one Jo had met. Jo looked in her eyes and saw a slight cool detachment that wasn't quite what she'd seen from the angels, but rather very much like it.

Daphne tilted her head to one side with a confused half-smile. "Excuse me? How am I naïve? I watch primetime tv and Cinemax sometimes. I even watch HBO."

"Uh-huh." Add in that she said things like that…. "How did you find us?"

"I told you. I had Divine guidance. I was supposed to find you."

"Sure. With your unlimited funds and willingness to wander the country." They'd had this conversation before several times. Daphne never wavered from her conviction that it had been Divine guidance leading her to them. Maybe it was. It'd be sort of nice if there was someone out there working to ease what Raphael had done.

Her confusion seemed to deepen. "You're upset that my family has money?"

"No, I -"

"I don't have to work. Plenty of people don't have to and I like traveling. Seeing new places is fun. I've always wanted to see the earth."

See the earth. Interesting way to put it. "Right. Seeing it this way is so much fun."

She did smile now. "I'm enjoying this journey with you and Castiel, learning about you both. Castiel is…not what I expected."

"What had you expected?"

"When I learned I needed to come and help you both, I didn't really have any expectations based on the little I knew. He's kind of…."

"Nerdy," Jo supplied. "That was what Dean used to describe him once. Called him a nerdy little angel."

Daphne knew all about him having been an angel. It wasn't something Castiel seemed able to keep a secret. He'd announce it to perfect strangers when he did something they found odd, coupling it with an apologetic smile. 'Sorry, I was an angel only a couple months ago.' Jo had been trying to break him of that habit, insisting it'd be a quick way for Raphael to find them again. All she'd have to do would be to follow those apologies.

"Unique is the word I'd use. He's not typical and I think that's a good thing. It's a needed thing."

As Daphne spoke, Jo got the feeling she was talking about something more than just in general, yet she couldn't figure out what and that began to bug her. Daphne bugged her. She was trustworthy thus far, yet Jo knew she wasn't exactly what she'd been telling them.

The more Jo looked into Daphne and her life, the more she should have been relieved, for Daphne Allen was indeed Daphne Allen from Colorado, the daughter of a couple who owned a moderately successful hotel chain in Colorado. She'd been born to them late in life, which Jo thought accounted for that seemingly sheltered upbringing. She'd had a somewhat privileged childhood, yet nothing too privileged. No private schools, no fancy college, no long vacations in Europe. Her parents had been relatively self-made millionaires and believed in good, old fashioned public education. She was who she'd said she was.

It was a gut feeling Jo had that something was off with Daphne and not one she could share with Castiel, for he trusted Daphne completely. Jo didn't. She couldn't, not when she had that feeling and couldn't explain it. There was a layer to Daphne that she hoped wouldn't end up biting them in the ass once it was revealed.

With several frank discussions about sex behind him, which were somewhat more enlightening than his book knowledge, Castiel determined that he wanted to have sex with Daphne. He was attracted to her, enjoyed being around her, and he was thinking of sex every few minutes. According to Jo, thinking about it every few minutes was normal male behavior and he was developing into a normal human male. He found himself taking more time to notice the women around him and see the wonderful variety.

He also began to truly understand Dean's preferred choices in reading material, venturing to buy his own magazine and proudly display it to Jo when she'd asked what was in the paper sack. She'd pursed her lips, sighed, and told him to only look at it in the privacy of the bathroom with the water running.

Castiel liked how many differences there were in women just in their physical bodies. All wonderful. All genuinely spectacular and sunglasses were marvelous inventions, letting him study women around him without anyone knowing he was looking. Somehow, he thought Dean might be proud of him for that.

The only snag to his natural hormonal state (or horniness, as Jo kept calling it) was Daphne. She'd made a vow of purity until marriage and he wanted to respect her vows because vows were sacred things. When one took a vow, one kept it. That said, he wasn't interested in marriage. It wasn't something he felt he could commit to at this time and when he told Daphne, she did understand. Castiel learned that kissing could be highly erotic, especially when done slowly and for long minutes.

He also learned why Jo had told him to keep the water running.

He made sure to only engage in that kissing with Daphne when Jo wasn't nearby and not to hint that they'd done anything at all on a personal level. It made Daphne call him a true gentleman and Jo get that funny perplexed look on her face that amused him. He enjoyed seeing that look appear on her face. So while he was understanding a lot more than he had regarding sex and intimate relationships, learning fast, he continued to act dumb just to tease Jo. Sometimes she caught him at it and sometimes she didn't.

Things were surprisingly well for them right now. Their monetary needs were met and Jo's stress levels appeared to have dwindled with Daphne helping out. Not to mention, he thought he was turning into a rather well-adjusted human.

Castiel laid in bed, dozing more than anything, when he realized Jo had begun crying. Her sobs were soft, as though she was pressing her face into her pillow and trying not to make any noise. With a glance at Daphne, sound asleep on her side facing away from him, Castiel got out of bed and padded across to Jo's bed. "Jo?"

She sniffled loudly in an attempt to stem her tears and sat up. "I'm fine."

"No, you aren't." He sat and, after a moment of hesitation, pulled her into his arms in a hug. She resisted at first, then fell into the hug, her breaths hot on his neck and shoulder. A burst of affection for her moved through him and he slowly ran a hand up and down her back in a comforting gesture. "Tell me."

"I don't want to be here." Her confession was husky, her voice nasally from her tears.

"I understand. You're burdened with me -"

"No, Cas. It's not you." She pulled back a fraction. Her eyes were red and swollen and face splotchy. She must have been crying as silently as possible from the moment she'd thought he and Daphne were asleep. "I remember heaven. I remember the peace and I don't have that here. Being here on earth again after having been at rest is…. It's pain. It's an empty ache that can't be filled until I'm back there. I'm so tired and I want to go home."

"Is this why you've been refusing to hunt? Because I'd think you'd be enthusiastic as you could be killed and returned to heaven."

"It's not that simple. I did die doing the job and you know what? Dying hurts. Not the going up to heaven part, but the mortal wound part. It was agony. Terrifying. I don't know that I want to die like that again."

Sam had told him once that it hadn't looked like Jo was really afraid in those moments. It had looked like she'd accepted her fate and faced it quickly. He'd said Jo had been far braver going to her death than many people would be. Had he perceived it wrong? He must have.

"I, too, have died." He didn't mention how quickly, since that wasn't pertinent in his opinion. "But Jo," he tightened his arm around her, "you like knowing that you're saving people, those future potential victims of whatever creature you kill. You enjoy making that difference. It's who you are. It's in your blood as much as it's in Winchester blood. Yes, dying hurts. Shrugging off your mortal coil for the eternal isn't supposed to be easy or taken lightly. It's a rebirth."

"It's horrible."

It hit him that they were actually in the same boat, going from the eternal to the temporary. Her, returned to a human existence. Him, shoved into one.

Castiel touched a hand to her hair and smoothed it down. She had as much turmoil and emotional upset as he did. Plus, Jo had the added burden of him to care for. He pulled her back into a hug, sliding his hand along her back once more, and paused when he noticed the line of her bra band under her t-shirt. Castiel rubbed his thumb along it, momentarily distracted. "Are you wearing your bra to sleep?"

She sighed into his shoulder. "Totally not an appropriate question right now, but yes, I am."

"Why, and when did you start doing that?"

"Since the night you laid one on me and the why should be obvious."

Laid one on her? Oh. That was slang for kiss. "But I promised I wouldn't look." He made a slight movement back from her.

"I know, but it's better to put temptation away."

"You can't really put those away, Jo. You can cover them up, but they're…there." He got a good look at her expression and decided to stop while he was ahead. She was in no mood for this conversation, though she was engaging in it. "Never mind. I apologize for my male tendency to notice these things. Your bra and breasts are none of my concern."

Her laugh was half sobbed and she leaned far enough back to easily place a hand on his cheek. "As my mom would have said, you really are a dear, aren't you?"

He knew what she meant. She meant that he was nice, sweet, and other such words, yet to lighten her mood, he said, "Not at all. I'm human, not a large woodland creature."

Jo relaxed further. "Comedian."

"I try. Would you like to lie down and be held for awhile? I'll gladly lend my chest and arms for that purpose. If it'll make you feel better."

She studied him a long moment, then nodded. "I'd like that. Thank you."

As he held her close, his thoughts went from her emotional state to Dean.

Dean remembered heaven as well. Had he gone through these emotions? Would he admit it if he had? Maybe to Jo. Perhaps Castiel should double up his efforts to find Dean because, clearly, Jo needed him. He'd fully understand her experience since he'd been human before his deaths and resurrections. He'd be able to, in theory, help Jo through this far easier than Castiel.

He threw himself into searching for things that might interest Dean to hunt, cases that would intrigue him. Finally, a headline on the browser page got his attention.

'Zombie Outbreak In Midwest?'

Carefully, he pressed the link. The article had little in the way of real information and he supposed it'd pass the Jo test. He called her over to look at it.

"Zombies?" Jo frowned and scooted a chair over beside Castiel to get a better look at the computer screen. One thing in Daphne's favor: she had plenty of money and loved to spend it on people she liked. Hence the new computer and Jo's nice shiny weapons. When it had been apparent they weren't going to get rid of Daphne and the woman kept trying to buy them things, Jo had caved and let her. Probably not her best decision lately, but at least she didn't have to worry for awhile. She perused the article and slowly shook her head. "No. Not my thing. Find me a nice ghost."

One brow twitched upward. "I've found you seven in as many weeks," he muttered under his breath but still loud enough for her to hear.

"Then find me a good eighth one."

"No. I won't allow you to ignore perfectly good hunts anymore. You need to…."

He floundered for whatever he was trying to say and Jo waited. It was better to let him think and get it out. If she didn't, he got all sulky. She rested her chin on her hand.

"…get back in the canoe. No, that's not it. It's a phrase pertaining to sports. Back in the…chaps?"

"Saddle," Daphne called out from the bed. She was working her way through a book of difficult Sudoku puzzles today.

"Yes. Back in the saddle." He nodded. "Thank you, Daphne."

"And just how do you plan to make me," Jo asked.

Castiel blinked, considering her question. She could see the gleam of calculation there in his eyes. He raised his chin a fraction, glanced at Daphne, and said," Daphne and I are going after the zombies."

He'd been picking up skills at a fast rate, including learning how far he could push and get away with things. He'd decided he was going to survive and take what Raphael had meant for evil and turn it into something good. "You do know those aren't real zombies, right? This story is a mish-mash of zombie lore and ghouls -"

"We're going." His jaw squared, a sure sign that he wasn't going to back down. He had a stubborn streak a mile wide and when it kicked in, there was no way she could budge him from whatever he was wanting or planning.

"Oh, come on. You'll get yourselves killed, Cas. You can barely fight anything without the angel powers. You're hopeless with a gun and have refused to learn how to use a knife."

"Why do you care?"

"Ouch. I care. Who gave you an eye mask and pills to get you through your first migraine?" He'd had several since then, all just as bad as the first. "Who's been with you every day since you woke up? I care. I do. You're Dean's adorable angel."

"I'm no longer an angel. You think I'm adorable?"

"Who wouldn't?" Daphne's remark was under her breath.

Jo frowned. "I care."

He snorted. "If you did, you wouldn't let us two inexperienced and naïve people walk into a potentially dangerous situation. It could be a bloodbath. Daphne could die. I just might die. You don't want our deaths on your conscience, do you?"

She opened her mouth to respond and wasn't really sure what to say to that.

"I mean, if you don't go with us, it's like you let us die."

"Not true. Don't twist this."

"It is true. Zombies are dangerous, Jo."

"Those aren't real zombies. I told you that already."

"Still. One bite and we could be zombified and then how would you feel?"

Zombified? Where had he heard that term? And was it even a real word? He went on and on in that vein until she held up her hands in defeat. "Okay! Fine! We'll go hunt the stupid not-real zombies. You're a Jewish mother, Cas."

"Thank you."

"Not a compliment, sweetheart. Though it does make me miss my mom a little more." She sighed. "We'll head out to Indianapolis first thing." With a stern finger at him, she added, "Do not be smug about this."

"I wouldn't dream of being smug."

But he was smug and Jo didn't really mind it after all.

Hunting with the Campbell family was an interesting experience once they'd all found their feet together. They'd worked out a rotating sort of schedule for who did what job while on a job and Dean found himself becoming interested in the little things again. He'd had the tiny thrill of putting a couple pieces together, the satisfaction of knowing he'd caught someone in a lie, and the second of joy in knowing they'd put down a threat.

None of those had lasted long, but it was more than he'd felt in a long time.

"Caught something." Christian laid a bunch of printouts on the table.

"What, the clap?" Dean snickered at his own joke and reached for his coffee.

"No, a case."

"Do tell. I am all ears, doc."

Christian poured a cup of coffee and joined Dean at the table. He'd begun simply ignoring whenever Dean called him 'doc', since telling him to stop made no difference. "A man attacked another man, tried to eat his face, then his arm. Got a couple chunks out and the next thing anyone knew, that man was attacking a woman and so on until there were six victims in the morgue."

"So? They had rabies or something." At least it wasn't another freakin' ghost. They'd dispatched seven in seven weeks. He'd been beginning to think there wasn't anything else out there.

He shook his head slowly. "Nope. Took multiple shots to brings them down and autopsies have shown they were all dead before they were shot, not to mention the first guy was drained of blood." The printouts were slid across the table, Christian's brows raising. "Tell me this one isn't interesting."

Dean studied the pages. "You weren't kidding." The first man was the only one drained of blood, the attacks vicious. Sickening, even.

"I don't kid about Romero zombies or anything near them. Last time I did, Mark got excited, then all pissy when he realized I was joking. He's a big Romero and The Walking Dead fan."

It sounded like a couple different things mixed together, but they wouldn't know the truth until they got there and sifted through all the information themselves. "Let's get moving. We can be in Indianapolis in about fourteen hours."

As they got into the cars, he thought he saw that woman again, there and gone without him getting a good look at her.