Chapter 3

"So let me get this straight," Dean said after Cas accounted the events in the meadow. He had managed to pound through five of those bad ass burgers before his gut had to call it quits. Cas really outdid himself this time. "This cupid angel hit you with his love arrow or whatever and now you are all ooey gooey emotional?"

"That…about sums it up," Cas said nervously, and Dean studied the angel for a few moments. He didn't know what to make of Cas acting this way. Always before the angel was just there. Sure he had some boundary issues but he was dependable. Cas seemed so insecure Dean doubted he would be any use at all to them in a fight now. Which was a damn shame cause they were going up against a lot of crap.

"How long will this go on?" Dean asked and Cas shrugged.
"He didn't say, but he assured me it would end eventually."

"Well this is just fucking great," Dean exclaimed as he got out of his chair. His stomach felt like a rock and he needed to move around to get them bacon babies through the old plumbing.

"Calm down, Dean," said Sam, always the tenderhearted worrier. Of course now they apparently had two worriers in their group. Two Sammys to contend with. Just fucking great.

"I am calm! I just don't know how this guy is going to do us a lick of good against that ghoul nest," Dean snapped stabbing a finger at the solemn angel. He was glaring at Sammy, not even noticing what he had said or did until a small inhale of breath drew his attention to where Cas was sitting. The angels head was down lower than before so that his face was hidden from view, but Dean could see that his shoulders jerked as he took in staggered breaths. "Cas…" Dean began hesitantly as he moved towards the table again, "buddy…" Cas suddenly lifted his head to face Dean, and his face was wet with the tears spilling from his large blue eyes.

"Dean I am so sorry," he wept, "I am useless to you now. I cannot help you…either of you. I am so ashamed."

"Cas…" Sam began but already Dean was at the angels side. He pulled at the pile of napkins that came with along burger mountain and leaned over to wiped at his friends face.

"Hush, it's alright. I'm sorry I yelled like I did. I'm just all worked up over being pent up in this hotel all day with goldilocks over there."

"What does that even mean?" he heard Sam exclaim but Dean's focus was on his friend. Cas's crying was reduced to quiet sniffling, but his eyes never left Deans. Dean suddenly felt very close in proximity to his friends body. The way Cas looked at him in that moment left him almost paralyzed as if under a spell. The intensity of his gaze. The open honest vulnerability of his clear blue eyes…Dean suddenly felt something in his heart that he never paid attention to before. It felt like he just kicked the biggest crap pile of hornet's nests he had ever seen and stomped on it for good measure. He felt like he was swimming; downing in those two pools of blue; falling…

"Guys?" Sam said behind him, and suddenly the spell was broken. Dean turned away and cleared his throat.

"I need to take a walk," he said abruptly as he stomped towards the door, and a moment later he was out of the room.

"How does it feel?" Sam asked Castiel, and the angel closed his eyes to try to shut out the world. The room smelled stale and salty. The air felt thick and heavy upon his skin. He yearned to feel the crystal clarity of the meadow again and the sun. He could hear Sam's breath coming in even eager rhythm, and could hear the subtle drip of a toilet in the other room in need of repair.

"How do I feel," he repeated the question but could not begin to describe it. He felt scared, vulnerable, raw and unhindered. He felt like he was constantly falling off the edge of a cliff but never landing at the bottom. "Horrible." Was what he concluded. But then there was Dean. The warm burning he felt when he saw Dean left him feeling as though he couldn't catch his breath. Did Dean always make him feel this way? What did it even mean? Was this apart of Eros's spell, or had these feelings always been there under some filmy layer of angel apathy?

"What happened there with you and Dean," Sam pressed and Cas felt a tinge of annoyance.
"I don't know," he said sharply and opened his eyes to look up at his friend. Sam was standing now and towered over Cas which made him feel so insignificant and small. "I don't understand any of this. I am so sorry Sam."

"No, no it's ok," Sam said and suddenly he was smiling warmly down at Cas. Sam always gave too much of himself to those around him. It just ended up hurting him in the end. Realizing this just made Cas want to cry all over again and he broke away from Sam's gaze to look out the motel window. The curtain was only slightly drawn but he could make out the sun descending over the ridge in the sky.

"Will he be back soon?" Cas ventured. He worried about Dean's safety but he also secretly yearned to look at his friend again. To feel the peace that came from the other man's presence.

"If I know Dean," Sam said, "he's probably just getting a six pack and will be back in no time." Cas nodded at this. He hoped Sam was right.

"Bartender! Give me another!" Dean announced and the bartender obliged him with another shot. This bar was a dive. Most the women were spent, and the music was far too Shania Twain for Dean's taste, but it fit the bill to get his mind off of certain angels.

Dean… Cas's voice sounded in his mind. Dean swallowed the shot without barely a taste and turned to examine the female variety in the crowd. There was one in the corner that seemed to be riding solo that evening and didn't look too bad to him. He hadn't seen her the first time he looked around. He wondered when she strolled in. Grabbing his beer from the bar, Dean presented his best saunter and made his way over to where she sat.

"Hello there," he said, and when she looked up at him he offered her his best smile. Her legs were long, and her dress was short. She wore her chestnut hair in a braid down her back and stuffed her feet into a pair of worn cowgirl boots. She eyed him suspiciously at first, but then relented a smile and gestured for him to sit. "My name's Dean"

"Angel," the girl offered back and Dean fought to not cringe. "Something wrong?" she said reading his face.

"Not at all," He mumbled, and took a deep draw from his beer. "Can I get you a drink?" She consented and he motioned the bartender over. After they both ordered a drink he settled in to get to know Angel a bit better. He wondered if Sammy and Cas could vacate the motel room for this one or if he could just get her in the backseat of his car.

"So what brings you out tonight, Angel?"

"I just needed to have a good time. I have been stuck up on my father's ranch for whole winter and the spring air has me feeling a bit…frisky." She finished the later with a wink and Dean offered her another smile. This was going to be a hell of a lot easier than he thought.

What are you doing? Cas's voice sounded in his head and Dean's smile faltered a little. Since when did Cas talk to him in his mind? Did he do some sort of mind voodoo with those eyes of his? Pushing the thoughts way he focused on his new friend.

"Well let me be the first to congratulate you on choosing the right man for the job," Dean said lifting his bottle and Angel cocked an eyebrow at him.

"You know I have been sitting in here all night and you are the first guy to even approach me? Most of the men in here are twice my age and are friends with my father," Angel wrinkled her nose at this and her eyes scanned the crowd.

"I take it you don't think highly of the man," noted Dean and his new friend shrugged.

"I don't' know. He's one of those power-trip kind of guys. He got some friends that rolled in to town about a week ago and has them working for him on the farm." This got Dean's attention and he set down his bottle of beer.

"What kind of new friends," Dean asked.

Don't sound too eager there, Cas's voice echoed in his head again and Dean gritted his teeth. Shut up, Cas!

"They just kind of wander around. Weird sort of bunch. It drives the cows crazy to have them there. They sleep in the barn out back, and the one night…" Angel trailed off and looked down at her drink.

"Go on," Dean urged. She lifted the glass and downed the beverage in one gulp which Dean thought was quite impressive.

"A few nights back I swear the one leaned over and…smelled me in the kitchen. Made my skin crawl." Angel shivered at this and her eyes went back to searching the crowd.

"Not the kind of company I would want hanging around," Dean agreed, "maybe I can come over and check things out. Maybe get a feel for these guys." Angel eyed him suspiciously. "I mean only if you want to. And for the…cows…" Dean shook his head feeling like the world's greatest idiot.

"I don't think they are there tonight," she said cautiously, "they went out."

"Do you know where they went?" Dean asked.

Too eager, Dean. Too eager, Cas whispered, and Dean smacked his fist hard on the table between them. The glasses rattled and Angel startled in her seat.

"Uh…sorry," Dean muttered and got out of his seat. This was getting out of hand. He needed to get Castiel out of his mind. "Look, I gotta go. Sorry to cut things short but I need to get back to my brother." He reached for a bar napkin and wrote his number on the back of it. "If these friends of your dad causes you any more grief, give me a call, ok? I'll be around."

"Oh," Angel said slipping out of her chair as well. Her legs were much longer than he thought and she tugged at the dress threatening to reveal a little too much of what she had to offer. "Are you sure you don't want to…um…go somewhere more quiet?"

If you sleep with that girl, so help me Dean…

"Shut up, Cas!" Dean shouted and Angel recoiled. Dean tucked his head and scratched behind his ear, trying to regain his composure. "Sorry," he said at last, "it's been a long night."

"No problem," Angel replied, laughing nervously. Dean stalked into the night knowing full well that girl was never going to call him. Dammit. The motel was only just up the road but Dean made the trek back slowly. He needed to sort out his mind. What the hell happened in there? What the hell was going on with him and Cas?