Welcome Back! Thanks to Akayuki Novak(He's a bit stubborn, that one..), cadlg7(Thank you so much! Glad you'll be joining along for the ride! Glad you like their relationship as much as I do), DeerTopus C.(Don't fret, I just believe that love is something that shouldn't be rushed; and I do have a reason for Meg kissing Cas, you'll probably get an answer in the near future), Kather-Swine(One does enjoy a sense of warmth to cuddle up to, no? ;), and Air Guitar Pixie(welcome back, and it's no good to tear your hair out! As for Castiel's little dream… that will be answered at some point in this story. As for Dean and Cas being alive, it's not quite as bad as it seems. Although who knows? I'm the author, for all you know I could make it seem worse or not as bad as it is/will be. Please don't make this story be the cause of your extreme hair loss ;) for reviewing! A thanks as well to those who have followed and favorited; we've just reached 32 followers! I'm glad to have all of you as my own crew ;) Now, no more of this long AN, onto the story!

Huffing, Dean slumped back and leaned his head against the wall. "Seriously, again? Man you're timing is either terrible or well-put, I'm not quite sure." But his voice and face softened as he spoke again to a sleeping Castiel.

"I'm sorry, and I'm going to make sure you get out; I promise," after being only met with the former sailor's breathing, Dean closed his eyes.

Castiel cracked his right eye open slowly, relaxing once he saw that Dean's eyes were closed. He sat there for awhile in the silence, watching the calming rise and fall of the Winchester's chest as the pirate slipped into a quiet slumber.

"I don't get you," he whispered with one last look at the pirate before he decided to close his own eyes. Unable to resist the exhaustion that had settled inside of him, soon he found himself drifting off into his own peaceful slumber.

Gabriel stood at the bow, leaning against the smooth tan railing that ran along the perimeter of the ship. He couldn't decide whether he found looking out into the endless stretch of water peaceful or just plain bothersome. It was easy to understand to see why some found the ocean so daunting. Its vastness alone was what Gabriel found both beautiful and terrifying.

Somewhere out there in the vastness was his brother, and the longer he was out here in the ocean, unable to reach his brother, his worst fears began to torment him.

A hand rested on his shoulder, and he jumped at the touch. Turning around he was met with the familiar figure of Inias, who held a smile on his face.

"A bit jumpy today, are we?" He commented as he settled in next to Gabriel, both of them now looking out at the waves.

"It's not like I'm here with the best circumstances," Gabriel replied, frowning at the sky.

"I know, I'm really sorry about Castiel. But if I remember him correctly, most likely he's still alive. A bit too stubborn for death to take hold of him, aye?" Inias kept his eyes on Gabriel, concern for his friend obvious.

"Yeah that sounds about right." Gabriel answered with a small smile, the relief that Inias felt not going unnoticed. "Don't worry about me Inias, I'm just ready for us to hurry up and pick up my mess of a brother." Inias nodded thoughtfully, able to understand Gabriel's concern.

The older Novak brother had practically raised Castiel until he joined the navy. Gabriel hadn't been particularly pleased when his brother had decided to set his sights on the sea-faring occupation, but all the same he supported his younger brother. Although Castiel grew distant as he sailed, Gabriel would always think of the now strong and calculating man as the curious little child that he had been.

"Guess Zachariah isn't really searching out Castiel though," Inias pointed out. Both of the officers turned their heads and looked back towards the bridge. Standing at the helm was the captain, maintaining his air of authority as he shouted out commands.

"Fool's too focused on making himself look good. The man who captured the 'Great Dean Winchester'," Gabriel's voice laced thick with sarcasm, scorn also evident in the officer's words.

Inias glanced at Gabriel, "Dean Winchester; what's he like Gabriel?"

"Well it's not like I spent a great deal of quality time with him," the older Novak joked as he brought his attention back to the seemingly endless ocean. It seemed to stretch on for miles, the only thing that could be considered a border was where the sky and ocean met in the distance.

"He didn't kill us," Gabriel added, his eyes narrowing in thought.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Inias jested, a constant smile still located on his face.

"Not necessarily, it's just pirates aren't always so…"

"Merciful?" Inias filled in, nodding in agreement. "You've got a point, doesn't seem like his usual style."

"Agreed." Gabriel replied, shaking his head before getting off of the railing and stretching his arms. "Now then, best we get to work. This little heart-felt talk was just wonderful, Inias."

"Always with the joking," Inias muttered with a slim smile as the two walked away.

Castiel felt himself gradually easing out of the soothing feeling of sleep. His head seemed to no longer be screaming at him, the waves of pain disbanded. He couldn't help but feel impressed that he had been able to stay conscious while he had talked and argued with Dean.

Eyelids slowly opening, Castiel blinked slowly several times as he tried to open his eyes, while the rest of him still felt a strong desire for sleep. After all, he felt warm and comfortable. Why was that? It's not like there was anything remotely close to cozy in the cell.

Lazily the former sailor finally opened his eyes, and noticed how his head was tilted. Looking up, Castiel realized that his head was resting on Dean's shoulder, the distance between the two a lot smaller compared to when they had fallen asleep.

Startled by the realization, Castiel immediately lifted his head, and realized too late that Dean's head had been resting on his. He watched as Dean jerked awake, eyes wide with alarm as he glanced around the cell.

"What's going on?" The pirate sleepily mumbled, confusion written all over his face. Castiel could feel the embarrassment inside of him, he fought desperately to keep the color from his own cheeks. Nevertheless, his whole face felt as if it was burning, he could only assume that it was an embarrassing shade of pink.

"Nothing's going on whatsoever," Castiel quickly replied, his heart racing while his stomach felt strange; he could only describe the feeling as if he 'had butterflies in his stomach'. Faintly, Castiel remembered some people using that strange phrase that seemed to describe what he was feeling at the moment.

"Uh," Dean grunted before the pirate closed his eyes again. Castiel couldn't help but roll his eyes, it seemed the pirate wasn't an early riser.

"Dean," Castiel began, deciding to try and keep the pirate from falling asleep again. The pirate lazily opened one eye, the green iris staring at Castiel with slight annoyance.

"Come on, Cas. Sleep good," Dean muttered before shutting a heavy eyelid over his open eye. Castiel frowned in annoyance, apparently Dean wasn't a good morning person.

"Besides," he mumbled, "what else is there to do?"

Frowning, Castiel stared at Dean to see if the pirate was kidding. But after nothing but breath coming from his lips, Castiel let out a huff of annoyance before he turned away from the captain.

Now that he was awake, Castiel began to feel the soreness that had been gathering in his arms. He glanced at Dean's hands, which laid in his lap. How'd the pirate get them in front of him?

Deciding to test himself, Castiel brought his feet under him, getting onto his knees. Exhaling, the former sailor unsteadily raised himself up all the way. He gave a small thanks to no one in particular that his head no longer seemed about ready to explode, or that his vision was no longer swimming with spots.

Thinking back, Castiel remembered that he had been sitting in the corner. Eyes flicking over to the corner, Castiel's nose wrinkled up at the unattractive contents of his stomach, the smell rather unpleasant in the room.

Coming up with a theory as to how Dean did it, Castiel rolled his head before he decided to start. Tensing up, the former sailor jumped up, attempting to get his hands under his feet.

Unable to achieve this action, instead his hands connected with his feet. With little elegance Castiel fell to the floor on his back, grimacing slightly as his head hit the wooden boards.

A chuckle came from the wooden wall, and with narrowed eyes Castiel looked over to where Dean was sitting. The pirate was obviously stifling the majority of his laughter, though smaller ones managed to escape him.

Castiel felt the color returning to his face, and he quickly shook his head and managed to get himself back into a sitting position, facing Dean.

The pirate had managed to tame most of his laughter, calming it down to a small fit of chuckling.

"So sorry I can't do everything perfect like you," Castiel snapped, the back of his mind thinking he would get a rise out of Dean and they would end up arguing like yesterday all over again.

To Castiel's surprise though, Dean raised his eyebrows challengingly and threw on his classic smirk. "Pretty boy thinks I'm perfect at everything, eh?"

The color that had been leaving Castiel's face returned instantly, and the former sailor had never felt so red in the face before.

"No, that's not what I- I was just saying-" Castiel realized that he was stuttering and immediately shut his mouth, blushing madly.

"S'okay, Cas. I get that all the time," Dean winked as his smirk transformed into a dazzling smile.

If Castiel thought he had been blushing before, now he was sure that his face was nothing but dark shades of red. He couldn't handle all of the pirate's remarks, Dean was a whole different kind of beast that he'd never had to deal with before.

"You know Cas, most people could take you blushing like that as a sign; any thoughts you'd like to share?"

"What?" Castiel managed to croak out, cursing silently at how his voice seemed a bit higher pitched as he spoke.

Suddenly Dean broke into another fit of laughter, and Castiel watched as the pirate finally quieted down. A large smile remained on his face as he observed the former sailor's face.

"Man you are seriously red in the face, I'd never take you as someone who'd get so flustered."

"I wasn't flustered," Castiel defended, the color beginning to leave his face.

"Sure," Dean replied, though both his tone and his eyes spoke of a different answer. Castiel watched then as the pirate got to his feet, and he walked over to where the former sailor sat.

"Come on, let me show you how it's done." Dean held onto Castiel's arm, trying to pull the former sailor to his feet.

But both froze as they heard the door to the brig being unlocked.

"Shit," Dean whispered before letting go of Castiel's arm, who then fell back onto the floor.

"What a gentleman," Castiel muttered under his breath, bringing himself up to his feet once more.

He watched as Dean then jumped up, his knees hugging his chest tight while he was in the air, bringing his hands under his feet and behind him. With a thud his feet were back on the ground, and he looked at Castiel with a teasing smile.

"I guess I am pretty perfect, huh?" Dean remarked.

Castiel was about to reply, but the door opened and with it came a pirate wearing a familiar smug look.

Ruby looked to Dean, for a moment her eyes switched to black and the action caused Castiel to suck in a large breath to hold back voicing the words that formed in his head.

"Captain wants to speak to you," Ruby told the pirate, and Castiel glanced at Dean. Dean seemed unphased, though the former sailor caught sight of his jaw clenching slightly.

Dean didn't react when the pirate, he recalled somehow that her name was Ruby, told him that Meg wanted to see him. Honestly, he had been expecting it.

Of course that didn't mean he was pleased by the idea of another encounter with the demon pirate.

"Does she now? It would've been nice if she let me know earlier; my day's already planned."

Ruby raised an eyebrow, "Oh, really?" the demon pirate asked coolly.

"Just a bit, yeah," Dean replied, his stare confident as he looked back at Ruby.

"Too bad princess," Ruby said as she unlocked the door to the cell, glancing over at Castiel in warning.

Dean looked back at Castiel, and he gave the former sailor a small smile before he walked out of the cell.

He narrowed his eyes at Ruby, but the demon pirate simply took hold of his arm and led him out of the brig. Her grip seemed to be as solid as stone as she pulled him along, leading him down the long corridor.

Climbing up the stairs, Dean blinked as he looked up into the sky. Noticing the sun, Dean assumed that it was probably almost noon.

Trying to get a look at the surroundings, the pirate was disappointed to see that there was a lack of land. Instead Dean cast his eyes around the deck, watching the other demon pirates running around on his ship.

Balthazar better hurry his ass up, the pirate thought as Ruby brought him to his quarters. She knocked on the door, and Dean frowned as he heard the familiar southern drawl.

"Come in." Ruby rested her hand on the doorknob and twisted it, swinging the door open. A small pit was beginning to form in Dean's stomach while what remained locked in his steel trap began to scratch at the walls.

Stepping into his office, Dean was a bit pleased to see that most of his stuff remained untouched. What caused him to narrow his eyes was the sight of Meg.

The captain sat comfortably in his chair, her boot-covered feet resting on his desk. A smile grew on her face as she saw Dean, her dark eyes twinkling.

Meg nodded to Ruby, who released her grip on Dean's arm before walking out of his quarters, shutting the door behind her. Dean remained rooted to where he stood as Meg walked out from behind the desk. She stopped in front of it, crossing her arms as she leaned against it.

That bothered him a great deal, it wasn't too long ago that Dean himself had sat the exact same way.

"Hey there, Dean." Meg greeted, pulling Dean out of his head.

He kept his eyes narrowed as he replied roughly, "Meg. I see that being a captain hasn't changed you much."

"You'd be surprised. How's the unicorn's head?" Meg asked casually, her gaze raking over Dean's face to watch his reaction.

"He'll be fine," Dean answered, thankful he was able to cover the concern that he felt in his voice.

"You never told me his name."

Dean paused, remembering the power a name holds. Names were how you earned reputations, and the pirate didn't want Castiel to build one with demons of all things.

So Dean improvised, as was his specialty.

"What's it to you?"

Meg grinned, "Good to see you aren't too much of an idiot. But come now, no need to worry. I don't have much use for someone like him, just curious as to what you're unicorn's name is."

"Why do you keep calling him a unicorn, Meg?"

"Name first, questions later Dean-o." Dean clenched his jaw, his eyes looking around the room before he released a sigh.

"His name's Clarence Smith." He watched as Meg's eyebrows raised in surprise and suspicion.

"Clarence?" Meg repeated, doubt obvious in her eyes. Dean shrugged.

"It's not like I'm the one who named him," he defended. The pirate held his breath as Meg contemplated the name, and he gave an inward sigh of relief as she nodded.

"Clarence Smith, how wonderful."

Dean remained wary of Meg as he moved away from the door, making his way slowly around the wall.

"What's the plan here, Meg?" He shifted his gaze away from the large window and back towards the demon pirate.

"Wow, Dean. I'm surprised at how quickly you bounce back. Although it's hard to forget how you were just the other day. I found it quite lovely, going back down memory lane. Glad to know that you haven't really forgotten all the great times we ha-"

"Shut it Meg," Dean growled as he clenched his eyes shut, shaking his head. He could feel her eyes looking at him, staring at him with curiosity.

"Touchy, are we?"

Dean didn't answer as he leaned against the wall, his eyes still shut as he tried to focus. The steel trap in his mind was poking and prodding at him, fighting at the blockage that prevented it from leaking out. He trained his attention onto the crack, reinforcing it. To his relief, the fight from the inside gradually died down, and his shoulders relaxed as he opened his eyes.

"Meg, cut the crap and shed some light."

He watched as the demon pirate pouted mockingly, the bottom of her lip jutting out. "But things were just getting interesting."

"Look," Dean started as he took slow steps, the distance between him and Meg gradually decreasing. "We both know the rules, so we both know why you have not and will not kill me."

"Sadly," Meg replied dryly.

"Now enlighten me, what's your options?" Dean now stood only inches away from the captain, her eyes dangerous while she continued to lean against his desk. At first she just frowned at Dean, but then Meg's face transformed, her eyes bright while she wore a confident smirk.

"We're already reminiscing, so I thought why not get even more nostalgic, right?"

For a second Dean paused, analyzing and dissecting Meg's coded message. Once deciphered, Dean's eyes grew wide as realization dawned on him.

DUN DUN DUN! Hope you enjoyed and will be there for the next installment! Please review, favorite, or follow if you enjoyed! A lot more will be revealed with Dean coming up, so be prepared!