A/N: SORRY for the long wait for the next chapter. Changes at work, my brother's wedding, and LIFE in general kept getting in the way. I hope I haven't lost anyone on that long wait. :)


The door flew opened and in stumbled Castiel. He was covered in mud and blood. His blood. Fresh cuts marked his face. Still struggling to catch his breathe and his balance, Castiel found himself being caught before he hit the floor. Slowly moving his head up to see who his savior was, his eyes were met by the green eyes of his friend.

Dean's reflex were quick. The door flew open and he was already there. To his surprise, it was the very angelic friend he was worried about. When their eyes met, Castiel only stared at him in shock.

"It's really you?" His voice sounded small. The pain of losing his friend was etched across his face. "You're not dead." Were the last words from his lips before he gave into unconscious.

Dean held tight to the angel. Looking up at Sam, who was now close by. Their eyes met and Dean could see the same pain in his little brother's eyes. Sam knelt to help his brother gather up Cas and move him to the couch.

Once Cas was settled on the couch, Dean turned toward Sam. "What does he mean I'm not dead?"

Sam found it hard not to look into his brother's eyes. Tears began to form in his own. "The demons got to you first. That's what I was told."

Dean could only look at his little brother. Slowly nodding his head in response. Movement from the couch brought both brothers to see Castiel was waking. Placing a hand on his chest, Dean said. "Easy there, dude."

Cas's eyes opened his friend. Though there was a hand on his chest, Cas set up in the couch with Dean's aid. "It is really you."

"Yeah." Dean answered as he moved a chair closer to the couch. "I look pretty good, huh?" He set down.

Cas's eyes moved around the room to see Sam, also sitting in a chair near to Dean, and Bobby moving in closer with the first aid kit. He slowly moved his eyes back to Dean. "You were dead. I held your dead body in my arms."

His friend looked so lost. Dean couldn't speak. The thought that was going through his head was 'I died again'. Sam took the kit from Bobby and opened it beside Cas. "What happened to you, Cas?" Dean finally asked.

Cas turned his eyes away from the brothers. He stared in front of him. Into space. "I heard Sam and Bobby talking about where they thought you were. I went there. I did find you there but Anna was there.'

"Anna? Why was she there?" Sam asked.

Cas moved his stare to Sam. "Michael had her watching out for Dean till we got there." Dean only set beside the two of them, listening to the conversation. Cas turned toward Dean. "I found you, but she wouldn't let me take you. When I finally got back to you, a demon had found you."

"Finally got back?" Bobby quickly added.

"Anna sent me away." Cas briefly looked in Bobby's direction. Returning his eyes to Dean, "I found you dead. She ripped your heart out."

"She?" Dean's voice was so small he almost didn't hear it. He couldn't believe Anna would do something like that.

It was Sam this time to speak. "Meg." He took a deep breathe. "She was there when I got there."

Cas continued. "Anna told me that I had to give up something to save you."

"What?" Dean's voice returned to its regular volume. "What did she want you to give up?"

It was Bobby who spoke this time. "You lost your moojoo. Didn't ya?"

Cas continued to stare at Dean. Dean knew Bobby was right. Cas's eyes told him so. "So does that mean you're human now."

"I guess." Cas answered. The pain of the bruised ribs and sting of the cuts started to sink in. His face reflected it.

Sam started to work on the cuts. "Well, if that's the case, we need to get these cleaned up."

Dean also helped on the wounds. "How did this happen?" He gestured to the cuts.

"Crowley's minion found me after." Cas couldn't finish the sentence. The three hunters nodded in understanding.

A few hours later, Cas was settled in on the couch and had fallen asleep. It took longer than expected. Cas was like a child on the introduction of rubbing alcohol, but the booze made quick work on that and Cas now was in a alcohol induced sleep.

Bobby had already gone to bed in the other room. All that was left was Sam and Dean. Standing in the living room, staring at their sleeping angel. Well, ex-angel.

It was Dean who broke the silence. "I lost the couch." Sounding more like a child who lost his favorite toy.

"You could go into the other room." Sam added.

Dean's face crunched up. "And listen to Bobby snoring. No thank you. I sleep on the floor by Cas. In case he wakes up." With that, Dean moved over to the blankets Bobby had brought in earlier and started to lay them on the floor.

"I'll take Bobby's snoring over a hard floor any time." Sam said as he started out the room. "See you in the morning."

"Night, Sammy." Sam smiled on hearing his name. He left the room. Dean had moved to the floor and was about to lay down. He stopped and looked again at his sleeping friend. "You were dead. I held your dead body in my arms." Was ringing through his head. The thought of dying again didn't settle well with Dean. A moment later, he was settled on the floor and asleep as well.

Dean never heard his little brother walking back into the room to check up on him. Sam did this several times during the night. He did this to reassure himself that Dean was really alive. Each time after checking up on Dean, Sam would walk back to the other room he was sharing with Bobby. Settle into bed and go back to sleep.

Sam never knew the older hunter would be awake, waiting for him to return from his vigil. Bobby would close his eyes once he was sure Sam was asleep.

More than the ones in the house were watching over them. A shadow at the window moved into the darkness of the night. None of the occupants even knew of the presence that slowly moved away from the house to a waiting truck by the road. Another individual set waiting for the unknown person. He climbs into the truck and says one word. "Go."

TBC

A/N: Well, what do you think?????