Chapter 2: Castiel Novak

"Castiel Novak. I came from Topeka."

So his name was Castiel. Those big blue eyes seemed to pierce through Dean, even though he was obviously weak. How can his eyes be so strong willed in these times of darkness?

Letting out a sigh, Dean wiped the lower half of his face and pursed his lips. Wait. Did he say Topeka? The capital?

"Wait. So, you came from the Capital? How in the hell did you make it from there?" His green eyes searched the sea of blue in front of him. But he found nothing. Those eyes were devoid of emotion, it almost pained Dean to see such beautiful eyes empty.

They had no life, no spark left in them and to Dean, that was the worst. He hated seeing people turn into this. Only those who had hit rock bottom, who had seen the worst of humanity, even in times like these, could look like that.

The man in question flickered his gaze to the ground, then meeting Dean's eyes again. "It's bad. I got lucky to make it here." Dean bit his lip, it wasn't going to be easy to get anything out of him. Well, he's not infected so that's a plus.

Reaching his hand out, confusion flickered across Castiel's face before soon being wiped off. As soon as he grabbed onto Dean's hand, he helped him up.

"Well, I'm Dean. Dean Winchester, and this is my camp. We have, uh, roughly 40 people. It's hard to keep track anymore. You're welcome to stay here, but once you get your strength back, I'll have to put you to work, but we can talk about that later, kay?"

Once again meeting those brilliant blue eyes, he acquired a nod from the smaller man. He was so small, though he was only a few inches shorter than Dean himself. The man was weak on his feet, very clumsy, which worried Dean.

When was the last time this man actually had a real meal? He was so skinny, it wasn't odd to be skinny in these times, but this guy had nothing on his bones. Dean made sure his people were well fed, not to the point of too much, but he made sure they all had their strength. He needed strong people.

Chewing the inside of his lip, he wrapped his arm around Castiel's shoulders, trying to help him. Feeling the man freeze under his touch he gently rubbed his shoulder.

"Hey man don't worry. I won't hurt you, but it worries me, seeing you this weak and fragile, so let's grab you some grub, eh?" Feeling him relax a little under his touch, Dean helped him out of the safe box.

Heading towards the mess hall, Dean had called for Sam to clean up the bodies. Neither said anything about the unknown man he was helping, Dean figured Sam of all people would understand, they'd get their introductions when the time came.

That's what Dean loved about his camp, his people. They all had an unspoken promise never to delve too deep. To always be considerate of each other, because obviously there were things people wouldn't talk about.

They knew Dean would introduce the new guy when the time was right. He could feel Castiel shaking underneath his arm as they walked through, getting stares. He knew many people were weary of him, and they had every right to be.

Even Dean wasn't sure about him, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to throw him out. It would be the same as murdering him with his own hands. If he posed a threat or caused problems, Dean wouldn't hesitate to kick him out, but right now, all Dean wanted was for this man to eat a meal.

Reaching the mess hall, he was glad there weren't many people occupying the space. He felt Castiel would be more comfortable if there were less people. Quickly finding a table, he helped Castiel sit down. He was really weak, it made Dean feel guilty for keeping him in the safe box for so long.

"Hey I'll get you some food, we don't have much choices, but I'll get you a nice juicy burger and some pie, my favorite." Seeing a quick nod from the man, Dean headed towards the kitchen. He knew that burgers and pie were very scarce right now, but for God's sake, this man deserved a good meal.

He got himself a salad and brought the burger and pie with him. Setting the delicious plate in front of Castiel, he headed off to get them both drinks. Coming back with a beer and some water, he gave the water to Castiel.

"Alright lets chow. Then I'll take you back to my quarters and let you get some real rest, in a warm bed. How's that sound?"

...

After a couple minutes of silence, Dean just started eating his salad. This guy really didn't talk much, he hoped he would warm up after a while. Once Dean began to eat, he was glad that Castiel began to eat as well. He didn't know what he'd do if he rejected the food.

Castiel was a weird guy, but he strangely trusted him. Of all the things, he felt a connection with Castiel. His green eyes examined his face as he ate the burger. He was so delicate. How could he make it out there?

Dean tore his gaze away from the man before him as he heard the mess hall doors open. Great, it's dinner time. Dean made eye contact with people coming in, warning them not to disturb the two unless it was an emergency. He didn't want to scare Castiel off or overwhelm him.

As Sam walked in, he waved him over. He couldn't keep things from his brother, and he'd demand to know what was going on anyway. He watched as Sam's eyes immediately went to Castiel, confusion flickering through his hazel eyes.

"Hey Dean, I took care of your, uh, mess." Sam nodded at him as his eyes still lay on Castiel. Dean gave him a small smile.

"Yeah well, they were acting weird and showing symptoms. I couldn't let them go." Dean shrugged as his gaze lay back upon Castiel, who was now poking at his pie, unsure of what was going on. He seemed uncomfortable under the gazes of both Winchesters.

"Well, this is Castiel Novak. Cas this is my brother Sammy." He noticed Castiel freeze up a little at the use of his new nickname. If he didn't like it, he just had to speak up. Sam turned and gave a friendly smile to Castiel.

"Hi Castiel, it's nice to meet you. Where you from?" He kept his gaze on Castiel, who wasn't returning the friendly smile or even looking at him. It didn't even seem like he was paying attention, it was a little shocking when he actually replied.

"Topeka." That was it. Castiel Novak really was a man of little word.

Dean had to hold himself back from laughing at the sheer disbelief on Sam's face. Quickly patting Sam on the back he nodded at him to leave, get food before they close up for the night. He could feel the entire room glancing at them though.

The little gossip they needed to stay sane sometimes. No doubt, Castiel would be the talk of the camp for a few weeks.

Once Castiel finished eating, he stacked his plates on top of each other, soon finishing his water as well, he finally met Dean's gaze. His blue eyes flickered a few unreadable emotions around. But now his body language showed that he was nervous.

"I'm done eating." Giving a small smile, Dean stood up, having finished his food long ago. He motioned for the man to follow him, he was soon standing and holding his plates.

"As you've tasted, our food is luckily tasty. Our main cook is Jody Mill, she's a wonderful person and I'll introduce you to her when we drop our dishes off. Usually you get your own choice of food, but you looked like you needed a nice fatty meal. Don't get used to that though, provisions change and sometimes you might need to go a day without food, or little food. Our scouting missions are generally good, but sometimes we just run out of luck. Anyway, when we finish our food, we bring all our dishes back here."

Dean motioned to set his plates down along with their drinks, though Dean threw his bottle away. He showed Castiel where to put the dirty silverware and once they had gone through the little things, he motioned for him to follow into the back.

He was glad to see that Castiel had a little more energy, though he was still quiet, he seemed to have more life to him. Dean really wanted to bring back the real Castiel. He wanted to meet him, not this empty shell of a man.

It was his goal to bring out the man hiding inside.

"Hey Jody?" Dean called out to the back room, though keeping an eye on Castiel, making sure he was following and not running away from him. Hearing nothing, he raised an eyebrow, walking the perimeter of the room, only to be startled when a dark haired woman jumped out of the closet at him.

"Jesus!" Dean gasped as he jumped slightly. He could almost see a faint smile playing on Castiel's lips. The woman in question slapped her hand on Dean's back, letting out a hearty laugh. The woman had a small build, but you could tell she'd had police experience before.

"Jody, you're such a bitch. I'm gonna get you back, I swear it." The woman, Jody, gave him a small smile as her eyes landed on Castiel, who immediately tensed up.

"Oh? Who's this little angel?" She walked towards him and gently raised her hand to ruffle his hair, but stopped when he flinched at her movement. Dean walked back towards Castiel and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"This is Castiel, we found him today and I just fed him his first meal here. This is Jody Mills, she was previously a sheriff out in South Dakota, I'm glad to have her with us. If you ever need anything, she can help you if I'm not around."

Castiel gave a small head bow as he greeted her. "Nice to meet you." Every time he spoke, it was quiet but it was loud enough to understand and hear. His voice was so nice, deep and gravelly.

Jody gave him a heartwarming smile and gently placed her hand on his shoulder, biting her lip when he flinched again. "I'm always here if you need me! Now if you excuse me, I have lots of dishes to do, and I gotta get food out to Bobby."

Dean smiled and gave her a little wave as he walked out of the building with Castiel. He seemed more relaxed with Dean than he did with others, which secretly, made Dean feel good about himself. There was just something about Castiel that was different, made him more interested in him.

"Alright, so I'll walk you through camp tomorrow, but I'm sure you're beat. You can room in my quarters, which I share with Sammy, but there are plenty of beds so you don't have to worry!" Castiel gave him another nod.

Dean felt proud, but realized that Castiel had barely acknowledged him all day, and it gave him a sour feeling in his stomach.

Soon reaching his cabin, he held the door open for the man. He walked over to a bed a few paces away from his own and patted it. "This'll be your bed for now, is this okay?" Acquiring another nod from him, he walked over to his bed and plopped down comfortably. Thank God these beds were actually comfortable.

Hearing shuffling, his gaze fell upon the man taking his layers off. Quickly averting his gaze, he felt embarrassed. Why the hell was he embarrassed? He'd seen other men change a thousand times. Feeling his cheeks heat up he glanced quickly over at Castiel, whose gaze was now fixed on Dean himself.

"…Thank you, Dean."

A/N: Wow! Thanks for reading guys! I'm so glad you guys seem to be liking it! I'm not one for writing multi-chapter stories, so I hope this one turns out well! I'm just really bad at naming chapter's ahahaha… I hope you stick around for this adventure of mine!