"Seriously?" Dean asked, one brow raised as he looked between Sam who was sitting at the table and the books spread out on the bed.

"We have dealt with stranger things before." the younger Winchester said with a shrug of his shoulders.

The elder Winchester picked up one of the books with a picture and held it up to Sam as if he hadn't seen it, poking his finger at the picture of the old man depicted in the story. "Seriously? The Sandman? He's just a fairy tale!"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Just like fairies, djin and dragons are?"

"Exact- shut up." Dean tossed the book back onto the bed, knocking some off the other side and to the floor, and continued to shake his head. He just couldn't wrap his mind around it. "Seriously?"

"If you say that one more time, I'm going to hit you."

"Seriously?" Dean grinned and took a step back as Sam launched himself up out of the wooden chair towards him. Dean backed away another step and tripped over some of the books that were on the floor and landed with a loud 'oomph!'.

"It is highly possible, Dean." Castiel watched in amusement as the boys wrestled for a moment on the floor. "The myths match up to what the children were saying and what happened. It makes the most sense."

Dean shoved Sam off of him and rolled out of the way and to his feet before the bigger male could pin him again. He moved over to the bed not covered in books and sat down. The mattress barely dipped under his weight from how firm it was.

"Fine, let's say it is the Sandman. How do we gank the bastard?"

"No idea. Bobby is still looking into it." Sam sat back down at the small table with his computer and started clicking away. "I have not found any stories where it talks about the Sandman being killed. He's just around for a short period of time and then he's gone."

Castiel picked up one of the old books and began reading through it, eyes moving quickly over the text. "You can't kill it." he felt eyes on him and looked up to see both Winchesters staring at him. "The Sandman was created by sleeping humans. He is what brings dreams and nightmares to you, especially children. The only way to kill him would be to make it so that humans never slept." he set the book he was holding aside and picked up another. He did not open it but ran his fingers over the worn leather cover enjoying the texture. "As I said before in the hospital, when I touched Sara I could feel traces of him left and that he did not feel angry or that he was doing this for revenge. There is a high chance that something is controlling him and he is doing it against his will."

Sam nodded in agreement. "Most of the stories talk about the Sandman helping kids fall asleep and giving them good dreams. Only in a few stories has it been said that he is evil. He targets misbehaving children and steals their eyes. Fits with what's happened." he clicked through a few pages on his computer before he sat up a bit straighter. "Here we go. It says that the Sandman carries two umbrellas with him that he holds over the people he puts to sleep. One of them causes good dreams and the other one causes nightmares. There is no descriptions of what they look like or even how big they are."

"Sara didn't mention seeing two umbrellas." Dean frowned. "Being a kid, she would have noticed right away and asked him about it."

"That's it, that's how he's being controlled." Castiels eyes lit up a bit as realization hit him. "Someone has his other umbrella, leaving him with the one that causes nightmares. If he continues to use it, then maybe it gradually causes him to change? Only carrying nightmares around has to take a toll on you."

"That would explain why the attacks keep happening. If this is something that happened often, we would hear about it all the time." Sam said then groaned. "Now we just have to figure out who, or what, is controlling him and where they are hiding." He got up from his chair and stretched his arms and rubbed at his eyes. "I need a break. I'll be back in an hour." he then left the motel for a walk, ignoring the look his brother shot him on the way out.

Castiel continued to look through the books on the bed until he'd finished them all, then stacked them neatly in a pile on the floor out of the way. He stretched his back when he stood up, his shirt rising enough to show off some of his stomach, and saw that Dean was watching him intently. When their eyes met, he did not look away. Instead, he moved over to sit on the bed that Castiel was standing next to and continued to look at him.

"You said that I have seen your true form before but I don't remember it." Castiel nodded and Dean finally broke eye contact, looking down at the cross that hung around the angels neck instead. It was small and silver and suited him.

Castiel nodded slowly, already knowing what Dean was going to ask him to do. He sat down on the hard bed with a soft sigh and waited for it to come. It was so quiet in the room that he could clearly hear the ticking of the clock across the room, and the sound of Deans heartbeat next to him. The hunters breathing had also picked up a bit when he'd sat down beside him. Neither spoke for a few minutes before Dean finally looked up and met his gaze.

"I want you to show me."

"Dean, you know I can't do that. You'll die." the angel replied softly, turning a bit on the bed to face the other more.

The hunter hummed in thought. "You can read me my memories right? Then show them to me like a flashback?" the hopefulness in his voice was hard to miss.

Castiel hesitated before answering. "I can, but I don't want to." he said slowly and saw something flash in Deans eyes. Anger? Maybe disappointment. "Dean, if I send you back there, even if it's not physically, you understand what will happen right? You were in hell. You'll feel all the pain again. The suffering." his own heart ached at the thought of the man before him going through all of that again.

"Please Cas," Dean said softly, voice at a whisper, "I want to see you. Besides," he gave a smile, "I'm not afraid to go back because I know you'll be right there beside me. I won't break."

"Dean…" Castiel stared at Dean, his heart pounding in his chest, and he bit his bottom lip as he struggled with what to do. His head dropped slightly and he sighed. "Alright, I will show you what you want to see. You may regret asking."

"No, I won't." he was confident it was the truth, but at the same time he could not ignore the way his heart started pounding in his chest.

Castiel moved even closer to Dean and had the hunter turn to face him so their knees brushed. He placed a hand on both of Deans shoulders, one right where his mark used to be, and held him in place. Their eyes were locked onto each other and the angel squeezed his shoulders in comfort. He could hear the hunters heart pounding even faster now.

"Close your eyes."

Dean did as he was told only for them to shoot open again when he felt skin press against his forehead. Castiel was touching their foreheads together, his eyes gently closed.

A smirk spread across his lips but his eyes remained closed. "I said close your eyes, Dean."

Dean shivered at the feel of Castiels hot breath against his lips and the heat where their foreheads were touching. He licked his lips before shutting his eyes again and this time kept them closed. His heart was pounding from nerves but also with excitement. He felt a warm heat spreading through his body, starting from where his and Castiels foreheads were touching, and it went right down to his toes. His head began to spin with dizziness and he let out a small sound. Castiels fingers tightened soothingly on his shoulders to let him know that everything was okay.

Then everything went black.