Part 3- Carry on My Wayward Angel

Chapter 21

"Dean!" He could hear the voice coming from behind him. A jarring contrast to the screams bellowing in front of him. The tone of the scream had taken on a new high pitched keen that made his bones feel as though they might crack. He didn't care. Let the pain come, he had to get to Castiel. "Dean stop!"

Suddenly Eros was there, standing in front of him; barring his way, and Dean skidded to a halt. His shirt was soaked in sweat and the air was thick with the promise of desperately needed rain. Dean looked past Eros to a light in the distance. It taunted him brightly between the thick trees.

"Let me past, boy," Dean growled.

"Dean you can't go there. He has no control over himself right now. You will burn up and I suspect that would be the least of your worries."

"Let me go to him!" Dean shouted and glared at the little angel. Eros didn't flinch. Instead he took a step towards Dean and made his voice low and sharp.

"Listen to me, Dean. You have got to calm down. With how sensitive he is, you are likely to cause him to combust with all your desperate longing." Dean scowled at this but stopped trying to push back Eros. The boy angel tilted his head to the side, looking mischievous. "You know that trick you pulled when you were mad at your boyfriend? It felt like your soul was camped out in an igloo. Totally shut away from the outside world." Dean blinked for a moment, and then he knew. Cold. Ice. Dean nodded. "Can you do it again?"

Closing his eyes, Dean concentrated. It was difficult since he was not mad, and worse he was edging on panic with the horrible sound coming from Castiel, but he focused on his breathing. Breath in, breath out, in then out; and finally the cold was there. Dean embraced it.

"Good!" Eros said, delighted. "You might actually avoid getting us all killed!" Dean glared at him, but held on to the ice inside him. He felt removed, distinctly distance from his surroundings, but still very aware that Cas needed him.

"Can we go now?" Dean asked in a much calmer voice, and Eros held up a finger.

"Soon, almost, but first…" reaching to his throat, Eros pulled a slim scarf from away his neck and placed it over Dean's eyes.

"Is this really necessary?" Dean asked, feeling on edge with the blindfold in place.

"If you want to keep your eyes. I told you, he is not in control of himself. Alright…that'll have to do. Let's go." Eros pulled at Dean's hand and in a flash they were running again. Not being able to see, Dean relied entirely on the little angel to keep him from knocking his head off a low branch or snapping his ankle in a gnarl of root. He wouldn't put it past Eros to hurt him for the fun of it, but he gave in to trusting the other angel in this because the alternative would be him groping through the forest on his own. The sooner he reached Cas, the better. The sound of the angel's screams changed tone again and Dean covered his ears as it shifted into the familiar angel voice he heard when Castiel first tried to speak with him.

"Here!" Eros shouted through the throng, and rested his hand on Dean's head. Instantly, the sound vanished.

"What did you do?" Dean asked

"Something your brother taught me," Eros said with a chuckle, "I bent my Grace so that only the highest frequencies were masked from your hearing. Your brother really is quite brilliant. Learning to bend arrows the way he did…I didn't know such a thing was possible."

"Eros!"

"Right," the boy angel said distractedly and grabbed Dean's hand to pull him into a run once more. It was not long before Dean could feel the heat of light starting to bleed through the fabric of his companions scarf. He squeezed his eyes shut to try to block out the sight of Castiel's true form.

"Father's light…" Eros whispered beside him, "oh Castiel, what have you done?"

"What? What do you see?" Dean asked desperately. He reached out his hands and tendrils of heat snaked through his fingers. What was that? Was it Cas?

"Castiel!" Eros shouted and he pulled Dean closer to the heat. "Pull yourself together! You have to learn to control it! Castiel!"

"Where is he?" Dean asked. He could feel his body shaking. Was he shivering? Tendrils of heat snaked around him now; his face; ruffling his hair, and Dean could feel his breath catching in his throat. He clawed desperately at the ice that covered his mind and pulled it around him tight like a shield. "Please, Eros, take me to him." The angel led him closer and soon Dean noticed that the terrain leveled out to a clearing where the ground was soft with moss.

"He is right in front of you," Eros said in a shaky voice. He sounded terrified and if he was terrified… No. Cold. Ice. Dean took in an unsteady breath and then moved forward on his own. "Dean, careful!" Eros called out, but Dean brushed the boy's voice away. His hands, reaching; exploring, reveled in the feel of Castiel's true form moving through him like a pleasant memory or a peaceful afternoon. Was this what it felt like to be an angel?

"Cas," Dean said softly as his hands wandered about him searching. "Cas can you hear me?" No response except for the high pitched keen that Dean could not hear. Dean's foot caught an embedded rock and with a curse, he toppled forward, landing on his hands and knees. "Cas?" He edged forward in a crawl, hands reaching out, until at last his fingers brushed against a shoe.

"Castiel!" Dean exclaimed and his hands reached out, exploring. The crisp feel of his dress pants, the warmth of the skin beneath. Dean crawled closer; scrambling to reach the man he cared for and around him the heat of the air heightened; tearing at his clothes, pulling at his hair. It felt desperate and hungry. Dean gritted his teeth, hanging on to the ice inside him with a fingernail, fearing Cas would tear him apart if he left his emotions unshrouded. Dean found Castiel's hands, and he pulled the angel, slumped over and lifeless, into his arms.

"Cas please, you gotta pull it together, man." Dean let his hands explore the other man's face, and Dean kissed him softly on his forehead. "Come on, Cas, put yourself back together. Please." The flames of his lover's spirit lashed at him, leaving his skin pink and burned. Dean leaned in and placed soft lips upon the angel's still mouth. "Come back to me, Castiel."
Suddenly the angel gasped as his body jerked upright. Dean screamed as the fire of the angel spirit rushed past him, lashing at his flesh with wisps of flame. The heat retreated into the vessel in his arms, and Castiel jerked reflexively from the assault.

"Dean!" Eros called out "let go of him! He's killing you! "

The hell I will, thought Dean and he pulled the angel tighter to him as the last tendrils of flame licked at his skin. The air around him slowed and settled, before growing still. Dean waited a moment, then reached for the blindfold, uncovering his eyes. He winced at the sight of his arms, red and raw with blood and fluid seeping from his assaulted skin. He suspected the rest of him fared no better and the immeasurable pain left him numb. Cold. Ice.

"Castiel," Dean whispered through the clench of his teeth and winced at the effort of speaking. Cas was all in one piece again but he seemed no better for it. His body jerked and spasmed and shivered against some unseen assault.

"You people are all ridiculous," Eros snapped as he fell to his knees by Castiel's side. "First Samuel, then Castiel, and now you Dean. Do you all throw yourself into the cook pot expecting to not get burned?"

"Eros...what's happening to him?" Dean was panting from the pain but he forced his arms to hold onto Cas as the angel struggled against him.

"He is fighting it," Eros said softly and he took up his brother's hand. "He took the potion all at once. I told him he needed to do it over time. I told him it might kill him if he did it this way. Dean...I worry about what his intent was."

"We aren't going to talk about that right now. Can you heal him?" Blackness creeped into his peripheral vision and Dean worried he might pass out. "Help him. Please."

"I...I can't. This is far beyond any skill I might have to ease the spirit. He's doing what he can on his own."

"Fine." Dean suddenly felt incredibly pissed off. "Then leave."

"Dean..."

"Go!" Dean roared and Eros flapped wings in retreat. He knew it wasn't Eros's fault. The pained look on the boy's face told him that he would help Cas if he could, but Dean felt helpless himself and wanted no one to be there in that moment except him and the man that he loved.

"Cas," Dean whispered and grunted as he pulled the angel closer. His thrashing had subsided, but he still continued to tremble as though he had just been pulled from an iceberg. Dean kissed Cas' s forehead, leaving a smudge of blood in his wake. "It's my turn to look out for you, Cas," he said with a dry laugh that stabbed needles into his sides. Settling in on the mossy forest carpet, Dean waited for the angel to come to. All he could do was hope that Cas would fight through this and be alright.