It was still dark when Castiel opened his eyes again. The car was parked in utter silence next to a small wood, filled with the regular breathing sounds of both Winchesters. The Angel's forearm was throbbing dully and he felt hot. The impala's windows were tarnished with moisture. Slowly he sat up again feeling how queasiness became nausea. Castiel hastily opened the door and was on his knees on the ground as he started heaving.

~*~

When both brothers woke up again the morning sun was shining down on them, heating up the black car. Still it wasn't as hot inside as it should have been - because one of the doors in the back was open.

"Dammit, where's Cas?!" Dean was out of the car in an instant.

Sam followed swiftly and nearly stepped into what looked like relatively fresh vomit. "Didn't he say he was feeling queasy?"

Dean joined his brother, slowly bending down and studying the puddle closely. "There are marks. Looks like someone dragged him away. Into this direction." He pointed to their left where fields spread as far as the eye could see.

"Dean, get back in the car! I'll check what houses or other buildings are near but we're not save outside."

~*~

It only took Sam two minutes to check Google maps. Four farms. Two looked deserted. Dean started the engine and followed the way - because that was no street! - to the first buildings with a speed that tossed gravel in all directions. Both brothers knew they had no time to lose. Regardless of who had captured Castiel they surely were not going to invite him for tea or something.

~*~

An hour later they were searching the third farm - a deserted one judging by the looks of the buildings. When Sam found a decent Suzuki in one of the hovels they knew they had to be extra cautious.

Slowly, the brothers cleared each building leaving only the basement - always the basement! Dean stealthily descended the wooden stairs closely followed by his brother. He had not even set a foot on stable ground again as the first demon jumped him. A massive knock to his head sent the older Winchester down and before he was on his feet again Sam had quickly dealt with the attackers and stabbed the demons with Ruby's knife. Slightly swaying, Dean pressed a hand to his forehead and felt blood tickle down.

"You ok?" Sam whispered, trying to keep an eye out for other adversaries while checking on his brother.

"'m good... Just a small cut. Dammit, those guys were sneaky!"

Dean wiped his bloody hand on his pants and picked up his gun again before they continued to sneak through the basement.

They didn't have to search long to find Castiel. Dean opened an old metal door and instantly knew they had found his friend. The walls were covered with bloody symbols very similar to those Castiel himself had used only hours ago.

The Angel was bound to a huge cross, hands and legs nailed to the wooden surface in the same way Jesus was on every crucifix the hunter had ever seen. Countless sigils were carved in his skin - some familiar, some not. But the thing that captured Dean's eyes were the Angel's wings. Unlike the first time Castiel had shown them to him, this time he didn't only see mere shadows. They were huge. Translucent. Like the projection of a picture against a wall. Shining so brightly the hunter's eye hurt but still not even illuminating the small room. Two massive nails held each one firmly in place, looking as surreal as the blood seeping out of the wounds and staining the feathers, solid against the eerie wings. Castiel was obviously unconscious and the water canister full of blood standing next to him didn't make the picture less disturbing.

~*~

It took both brothers to free the Angel without harming him any further. Dean was bathed in sweat and Sam was breathing just as hard as they slowly lowered the lithe body to the ground. Castiel's clothes were gone. Only the black boxers Dean had lent him were still on him. Although it was nearly Summer down here, the air was chilly and Castiel's skin felt cold to the touch. But he was still breathing, Dean noticed thankfully.

"Dean, get the car as near to the door as possible... and take the canister."

"No, I'll..."

"Dean, I'm bigger and stronger than you, I'll carry Cas." Since his brother still looked unconvinced, Sam added: "And you are the better fighter. I don't see those two demons capable of keeping Castiel captured. Even in his weakened state he'd have wiped the floor with their asses - heck, you've seen how easily they went down yourself! We have to be prepared for more of them to show up any moment."

Dean sighed, his brother had a point, a very valid point. With a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, he took the water canister and cautiously walked towards the stairs.

~*~

No one tried to stop them. No demon and thankfully no angel either. Getting Castiel inside the car and reasonably comfy on the backseat proved to be more difficult than they had anticipated. Although the Angel's wings looked somewhat ethereal they still were corporeal enough to cause problems. In the end the brothers decided they needed to roll another Angel-burrito, although pieces of fluff from the cozy blanket would probably be sticking to all of Castiel's wounds.

They were still about 3 hours away from Bobby's. Too far to drive without patching up Castiel first so they took a room in a shabby motel. Getting their huge burrito inside the room without anybody noticing was nearly impossible. Luckily, the one guy on the other side of the street who was looking in their direction just walked by.

~*~

While Dean tried his best nurse-routine - Sam was so going to die for that comparison - his younger brother fetched the needed medical supplies after calling Bobby. Hopefully the older hunter could somehow help them - even if he was just giving them pieces of advice. But the developments of the last two days were more than even the Winchesters were used to. Sam hadn't told Bobby that Castiel was back. The older hunter didn't exactly like the Angel...

~*~

Castiel had not even woken once as Bobby arrived. The Angel's wounds were clean and patched up but Dean had noticed that the knife cut had been inflamed, angry red skin on a slightly swollen forearm with liquid oozing out between the stitches. They would probably need Cas to perform his Angel-healing-mojo again. After cleaning up, he noticed that the carvings on his skin proved to be superficial enough so they weren't likely to cause much trouble. In any case Dean had smeared a layer of antibiotic cream on each of them. What he did not understand was why Castiel hadn't woken up till now. Luckily at least the wings had disappeared as soon as Dean had touched the first sigil on Castiel's chest.

When Bobby entered the room and caught sight of an unknown third person lying in bed he shot a questioning look at the brothers. Dean had turned Castiel a bit so now the Angel was no longer facing the door hoping they would be able to talk to Bobby first before he spotted the subject of their call for help and could rush in.

"Look Bobby..." Sam started.

"What do you..." Dean said at the same moment.

The brothers exchanged awkward looks, not really knowing how to gently tell Bobby about the mess they had gotten themselves into again.

"Boys, you started the Apocalypse! You really think there could be something able to top that?"

Of course he was right...

"Bobby, we need your help, " Sam started.

"I figured that..." the man grumbled.

"We kind of have Heaven and Hell on our heels..."

"Still nothing new, Sam."

Of course Castiel chose exactly that moment to regain consciousness.