The door to their motel room was flung open and a strong gust of wind made Dean raise his arm to shield his eyes. Only seconds later were the light and the storm gone. Instead Zachariah and two other dicks in disguise were standing only a few meters away.

"Hello Dean." Zachariah said, all smug and grinning. "I see you've found something we've lost. Thank you. But now we'd like to have Castiel back."

"No way, chuckle-head."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I make you believe you had an actual choice? Like it or not, Castiel is coming with us."
"No. Take your two bloodhounds and just fuck off. Cas is stayin'. Right?" Dean turned to the Angel again and noticed with horror how Castiel was trying to breathe but instead there was blood dripping out of his mouth. The Angel had both hands pressed around his throat as if to prevent anyone from choking him but to no avail. His eyes were huge, pleading, full of terror and begging Dean for help.

With a sweet and at the same time sardonic smile, despite the continuous wet, choking noises, Zachariah started: "You see, we have ways and means that..."

"Knock it off!" Dean interrupted the Angel. "Why are you torturing him? Your guys already killed him, so just..." He heard a hollow thud and hurriedly turned around to find Castiel lying on the floor motionless in a growing puddle of dark blood. "Cas? Dammit! Cas?! CAS!!"

~*~

"Dean... Dean! Please... wake up. Please!" Castiel's voice sounded small - and full of panic. Dean opened his eyes and blinked a few times. They were still in their motel room. Castiel was alive and... Dean was lying next to the Angel in the small bed. He had no idea how he had ended up here but right now he didn't care. Castiel was pale, breathing heavily and staring at him wide-eyed on the verge of panic.

"I... I think I've just had a nightmare, Cas."

"A nightmare? You were dying!" The Angel clutched the hunters hand and refused to let it go again.

"No, just a bad dream." Dean tried to reassure his shell-shocked friend. "This happens from time to time..." It was impossible to work his hand out of Castiel's. Dean stopped his efforts and gave his attention back to the shaken Angel.

"But I saw Zachariah... He... He was torturing you because I disobeyed again. He... liquified your lungs. Dean, you were dying in agony. I witnessed it!"

Dean eyed the Angel, surprised. "Ok... that's weird. That's exactly what I was dreaming about except you did the dying."

"You mean, I have just experienced a dream?" piercing blue eyes bore into Dean. The Angel obviously could not wrap his head around it.

"Yeah, but what's bothering me is not you dreaming but you and me dreaming practically the same shit. I think we should take a hike as soon as Sam's back. You stay in bed, I'll get our stuff ready."

Castiel sank back onto his pillows and watched Dean. His heart was still beating frantically and his head was spinning. A dream. Although he had never dreamed himself, Castiel had witnessed a few dreams of other persons. He did not know why and how both of them could dream the same thing at the same time but Dean was right. It bore witness to nothing good. They had to leave immediately.

They had not unpacked most of their things so getting it back in their duffels was done in a few minutes. Only moments later, the familiar rumble of the impala told Dean his brother was back. Sam found them both ready to leave when he opened the door. He did not ask, simply took in Dean's haunted expression and helped him get the injured Angel back into the car. Then they were back on the road again.

~*~

"You know, Dean, I've thought about what Castiel told you." Sam said while searching through his duffel for a tissue. They had just stopped next to the road for a short pee break while the sun was setting again.

"And? Any revelations?" Dean said in a mocking tone while grabbing a beer from the trunk.

"I'm not sure... Castiel said he might be still able to heal himself. But if he'd do so the others would know where he currently is."

Dean nodded curious to learn what this was leading to while he opened his bottle and took a huge gulp

"What if we'd make a room Angel proof. You know all the Angel repellent sigils we saw in the warehouse where we'd found Jimmy. Castiel should be able to use his Grace to heal himself, shouldn't he?"

"Yeah..." Dean nodded slowly. His brother was right. "It's worth a try. I've seen a ramshackle house a few minutes back. It looked deserted. We could try our luck." He shot a glance at the sleeping figure in the backseat. Hopefully Castiel would be back to his old self in a few hours.

Dean downed his beer and entered the car again while Sam started his laptop. "I'll try to figure out what we might need but I think we won't be able to successfully ward the house without Castiel's help." Sam studied the injured Angel through the rear-view mirror. "I hope he's able to stay awake long enough..."

Dean shrugged. "Has to. And by the way, the meds should have worn off these past hours. Perhaps that'll help too."

They entered the short gravel road leading to the front of the ramshackle house the brothers had noticed earlier. Everything was dark, no lights inside or outside the building. Dean grabbed a flashlight and let it's cone illuminate the boarded-up windows and a door that had been unhinged ages ago. This house really was deserted. The front lawn was rampant and untended. The garden gate was pure rust. Meanwhile Sam had opened the trunk and packed everything they would need in a bag. "Hey, Dean. I'll check out the house, you take care of Castiel." The younger man shouldered the heavy bag and took their second flashlight. Dean nodded silently and turned to the car again.

Their stay here would not be pleasant. With their current luck, the roof would decide now was a good time to collapse or something equally delightful he was sure would happen. Like the floor collapsing. Dean shrugged. They had no other choice. He had to hope for the best. The car door made a small squeaking noise as the older brother opened it carefully. Castiel was still sleeping. Soft snores escaping his open mouth, the yellow blanket wrapped around his body and a tiny trail of drool coming from the corner of his mouth made him look not like the ethereal angelic being he was but like a mere human guy. Dean felt a breath hitch inside his chest. He carefully reached out and stopped himself at the last moment from touching the Angel's cheek. Instead he let his hand rest on Castiel's shoulder. The other man did not even stir.

"Hey, Cas. You have to wake up now."

The Angel slowly opened his eyes a tiny bit and turned his head to the hunter. "Dean...?" His voice was soft and low, husky from deep sleep.

"I'm sorry, but... You have to wake up, Cas. Sam's got an idea. Perhaps we know how you can heal yourself without the others finding you. But you have to leave the car." Dean really was genuinely sorry. Poor guy could not even sleep properly.

Castiel blinked a few times and mumbled, "I... I might need a hand leaving the car."

"Sure. Just take it easy and tell me as soon as you're ready."

~*~

In the living room there were too many rotten pieces of furniture but Sam found a small room in the back of the house, not much more than perhaps 3 meters long and about equally in width. It had only one door and no windows so they could cover all walls with symbols. The rusty iron frame of a bed was the only thing still inside the closet. Otherwise it was empty. Sam put the bag with their stuff down and tried to lift the metal but it was too heavy for him to carry it out without further help. Sam shrugged. They would just have to work around it. He opened his laptop and connected it to the internet. Hopefully Castiel would be lucid enough to ward this room on his own because Sam didn't even know where to start searching for Angel-proof wards. Unfortunately, the last - and only - time he had seen those very symbols had been when he was heavy on blood-withdrawal with no mind for remembering - or even writing down or taking pictures of the sigils. He was just about to open his mailbox when he heard heavy steps approaching and soon Dean, who was literally carrying Castiel, appeared in the door frame.

"I think this room is our best option. Access to the walls and no junk except the bedframe." Sam said and deleted a bunch of spam mails.

"Cas, you ready to start?" Dean asked the Angel with sympathy. He was standing next to Castiel who was leaning on the wall refusing to sit down.

Sam joined them, chalk and a flask of holy water in hand. "You just have to tell me what to do, I'll take care of everything else." He too felt sorry for the injured Angel. He could clearly see he was in a considerable amount of pain and still bone tired. But with a little luck they would be able to change that very soon.

"No, the wards won't be of use if you paint them. They have to be done by an Angel. By me and with my blood." He gestured at both items Sam was holding.

"By an Angel?" Dean frowned in confusion. "Like the holy piss-off-sign?"

Castiel turned his head a bit so he was looking directly at Dean. "You mean the sigil I used to..."

"... send Zach packing? Yeah, exactly." Dean interrupted the Angel. "I happened to use that one a few days ago again. Drawn by me. With my blood. And chuckle-head and his two trusty sidekicks were gone for good."

"You banished Zachariah and two other Angels?" Disbelief was clearly written all over Castiel's face.

"Yeah, I did."

"And, "Sam tossed in, "he said a few things to them that made Zachariah really mad."

"I thought you were dead, I was pissed!" Dean defended his actions. Thankfully it was dark enough so no one noticed the blush spreading over his cheeks.

"It should not have worked. Regardless of your emotional state." Castiel averted his eyes and studied the wall in front of him as if there was something written there. "We should talk later about that. Now I have to ward this room. I cannot risk the sigils being weak or even useless. I will draw them. But I might need your help. My surroundings have not settled yet."

Sam shot his brother a questioning glance and Dean translated with a shrug: "He means he's still dizzy. World spinning and stuff."

"Ok... Cas, you're sure you won't need anything except your blood?"

"I am, Samuel."

"I'll put our stuff back into the car so we have more space here. You call if you need anything. I'll be back in a few minutes." Sam waited for his brother to nod shortly and then started to pack the bag again.

Castiel leaned heavily against Dean while he smeared blood across the first wall. The hunter did not recognize this symbol but tried to memorize it for further use as he prevented the dizzy Angel from keeling over to one side. The sigil was not quite finished when Castiel softly told Dean: "I won't be able to seal this room completely off. The wards will cloak a specific amount of my... 'angelic energy' you might say. So I won't be able to heal everything but I might succeed in healing most of my injuries. I am not exactly sure how much the sigils will shield off so we should leave swiftly as soon as I am finished. Are you really sure you want me to do this, Dean? Are you really sure you want me to stay..."

"Cas, I am sure." Dean interrupted him softly. "I owe you. Just... finish your paint job. We can talk later. 'Kay?"

~*~

It took them nearly half an hour - not much time considering they were trying to get this room Angel proofed but it was more than Castiel had been awake for until now without falling asleep. In the end it was Dean holding the Angel upright, and if Castiel would have allowed it, Dean would have done the painting too. Sam was nervous. Standing with a loaded shotgun at the door watching the small room and the empty house likewise. As soon as the Angel was finished the older Winchester lowered him onto the floor where Sam had spread the yellow blanket and retreated to his brother. They were both ready to shield their eyes but nothing happened. Castiel was just lying still. No angelic light, no sound, no gust of wind, nothing. Then Castiel sighed heartily, took a deep and long breath and sat up. "I am finished. We should leave now." He swiftly stood - and keeled over before he had even made a single step. Dean helped the Angel up and prevented him from falling down head first again as Castiel shook his head clearly confused. "Still feeling dizzy, huh? We just have to make it to the car. I'll help you."

~*~

They had reached the highway about a minute ago and Dean looked in the rear-view mirror to catch a glimpse at the slumped figure in the backseat when he noticed a light inside the house they had just left. "Dammit. I think, the wards weren't strong enough, Cas." Dean floored the gas pedal.