Author's notes:I'm so sorry for the delay! I wanted to correct previous chapters, before posting the new one. Again, no plot changes. And again, a huge Thank you! to AlexHamato for being my wonderful, helpful beta reader! Her story 'Wash Away' was my inspiration to build better Dean - Cas dynamics here. Thank you, dances-with-cacti and AlexHamato for recent reviews and support!
So, enjoy! Reviews are always appreciated :)
Occasionally, hunter's gaze strayed from the road and slid on the motionless figure of his friend in the front seat.
Cas was leaning his forehead on the window and was looking outside. His face, as always, had a thick mask of indifference. It was impossible to tell what the angel was thinking.
Too bad, because at that moment Dean was very keen to understand what was happening inside Castiel's head.
Castiel had not said a word most of the time. Not that he was ever particularly chatty, but in this situation his silence only worried Dean even more.
After discussing everything they knew so far in the small café, both decided that they needed to go back in the warehouse. Carmichael's house was warded, and it was better for them if Cas was able to use his Grace.
The hunter cleared his throat and muttered, "Um, Cas?"
The angel didn't answer, only turned slightly and looked him with a silent question in his blue eyes.
"Are you sure?" Dean continued, "I mean ... you don't have to do this. We can figure something out."
"No," Cas said with flat tone, "this is our best option."
The angel made it clear that the conversation was over. He turned his head again and stared at the quickly passing silhouettes, while the Impala was moving along the road out of town.
Dean opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it. The rest of the trip was plunged into silence. Inside the hunter's mind, however, the thoughts were quite loud.
He had a frustrating feeling that when the things go wrong this time, that he will have to watch Cas die again, unable to do anything.
Dean closed the trunk. The words came out of his mouth before he could consider them properly. "Well, we go carefully and try not to split up."
Seconds later he remembered that already had said them. In the same way, in front of the same building, and the consequences weren't good at all. Once again, he wondered if they were doing the right thing.
Cas was right. This creature, angel or whatever it was, it was changing the rules as it wanted. Dean strongly doubted that they would manage to surprise it. He had Ruby's knife, his gun was hidden in the waistband of his jeans, and Castiel's angel blade. But despite that he felt unprepared.
"Do you think this will work?" Dean couldn't help but asking.
"I believe so," Cas said. "There's only two things that can detain an angel - enochian binding spell and burning holy oil."
"I wish we had enough time for the spell," the hunter said grimly.
"Everything will be alright, Dean." Castiel's voice was flat and calm and Dean could not help but wondered at what point his angel had learned to lie so damn well.
Nearly an hour earlier Dean had made circles of holy oil in several places on the floor of the warehouse. Cas had waited outside the entrance. Both hadn't noticed anything suspicious then.
Dean hoped they still had the advantage of the element of surprise. But his experience told him that they shouldn't rely too much on it.
"Okay," the hunter rubbed his neck, "Let's go."
Dean crossed the threshold of the dusty warehouse. He blinked, allowing his eyes to adjust to dim light. But the hunter hadn't made even a few steps when he realized that he didn't hear the angel behind him anymore.
"Dean," Cas called his charge with a low voice.
The man stopped, surprised, and looked around. On the high windows of the building, bright red symbols were lit from an unknown magic.
The hunter turned towards Cas and his face darkened when he saw worry in the angel's eyes.
"Cas? What's this?"
"Binding spell." Castiel nodded nervously towards the windows. "But I've never seen it before. It appears that it reacted to my Grace when I came in."
"Damn it!" Dean pulled his gun out of his belt. "Okay, let's get out."
"Dean, " Cas looked at him with overt concern, "I can't."
"Cut it out!" the hunter replied, "We'll go back in town and we'll think of something else. Come on."
Dean grabbed the sleeve of his friend's coat and pulled him ahead. Cas took a few steps, but he stopped at the door.
"Dean," the angel said urgently.
"Damn it, Cas!" The man cut him off, anger flickered in his voice. "No time to argue. Just listen to me, okay."
Dean stood on the other side of the open door, one hand still clutching Castiel's forearm through several layers of clothing.
"I can't," the angel explained, "The spell does not allow me to leave the building."
The eyes of the hunter widened when he realized what Castiel was trying to tell him.
"Son of a bitch!" Dean cursed, unsure what to do in this situation.
Then the figure appeared out of thin air in front of his eyes, a few steps behind Cas. He wore a face that still inhabited Dean's nightmares.
The man spoke with a hissing accent that still startled the hunter in his dreams. "Boys," the demon smirked, "Find the place okay?"
"Alistair," the hunter murmured.
Although Dean was sure that the image was fake, part of him wanted to run away. His green eyes, filled with terror, met Castiel's blue gaze.
"Go now," the angel said silently and turned around, releasing himself of Dean's trembling fingers that gripped his hand.
Just let him kill me and remember as much as possible.
The words crept into his mind, but he didn't consider it. Not even for a moment. In Dean Winchester's life there was one rule that never changed. Do not abandon your family. So there was no way he would leave Cas behind.
"Yeah, right!" The hunter gritted his teeth, standing next to his friend to face the demon. The door slammed shut behind them. The sound echoed loud in the high room.
"Dean, Dean, Dean," the newcomer continued, "I'm sooo disappointed."
"You can save us the show," the hunter replied boldly, "I know what you are."
"Dean, you are insulting me," Alistair said, "I came back for you."
Dean had to admit it, the copy was pretty good. He was sure that the creature had pulled the image straight from one of his nightmares.
"Yeah, I bet that," the hunter said.
Cas stood beside him and watched the demon. The angel's head was slightly tilted sideways and he looked at Alistair with wide wondering eyes. As if he was trying to see beyond the appearance of the creature in order to understand what they're dealing with. But Dean assumed the spell which has been bound Castiel's Grace had left him with purely human senses, which the angel probably had found insufficient and limited.
"My star pupil." The creature was talking, amusement flicked in his voice, "It pained me when you left. And speaking of that," it turned his head to Cas and squinted, "You don't look well, kiddo."
Dean tried to swallow the lump that had stuck in his throat. In Alistair's words, besides the obvious threat, there was something else. Something the hunter refused to think about right now. Or ever.
Even without the bindings, Castiel wasn't in his best shape. His Grace was damaged when Metatron used it to cast the angels out of Heaven. Besides, Cas was still suffering from the effects of Rowena's spell.
Castiel had gone through a lot of crap lately. Dean kept telling himself that he needed to talk to the angel about all of this. But he put it off because he wasn't sure what to say. Besides, no chick-flick moments, right?
But now, facing the possibility of losing Cas again, he wished he had the balls to make this conversation earlier.
Again, Dean wondered whether to take Cas on a hunt, without knowing what they were dealing with, was the smartest decision.
"Bite me!" Castiel hissed to the demon, earning Dean's proud smirk.
"If you insist," Alistair grinned, "But enough foreplay."
With a flick of his wrist he threw Dean away. The hunter landed heavily on a pile of scrap on the floor to the left of the entrance. His head hit the ground painfully and he almost lost consciousness. The man tasted blood in his mouth. A piece of rusty metal tore his right shoulder and his numb fingers dropped the weapon.
However, Dean managed to stand up enough to see how Cas' back was being nailed to the door. His blurred mind barely registered the glowing red symbol painted on the entrance. Alistair's hand was stretched out towards the angel with the palm forward. Demon's fingers curled into a fist. Cas choked in painful moan and reached for his throat. His blue eyes were wide open and he desperately tried to catch his breath.
Dean hardly managed to get to his feet.
"You stupid son of a bitch," the hunter snapped, pulling the angel blade out of his jacket. "Leave him alone!"
The creature turned his head toward him, visibly amused. He loosened his grip on Cas. The angel coughed painfully, but still couldn't move. Alistar's outstretched arm was holding him in place.
"I'm sorry," the demon said mockingly, "This is a very serious, very emotional situation for you, right? I'm about to kill your angel."
"I said," Dean took a threatening step forward, "Leave. Him. Alone."
"Or what, Dean?" the demon shook his head.
"I told you to ditch the theater." The hunter took another step, "I spent forty years with Allistair. And you're a bad copy."
The expression of the demon changed as if he was considering Dean's words.
"Well," he shrugged casually, "You'll die anyways."
In the next moment, a woman stood where Allistair once did, replacing him. She was slightly shorter than Dean, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with the logo of a local café. The hunter recognized her; it was that cute redhead waitress.
"That's better," she smiled charmingly. "Oh, don't look so surprised, Dean. I bet that you could reconsider the things that you thought about me this morning," she raised her eyebrows playfully.
"Who are you?" Cas managed to say. His voice was hoarse from invisible fingers still clutching his throat.
"Castiel." Her gaze went back to the angel and she shook her head, "You really don't look well, brother."
"What... are you?" The angel asked, in his voice quivered confusion.
"Oh, very soon you will understand," the woman said, "But don't hurry. We have all the time in the world."
"So you're an angel?" Dean asked.
"I was," the woman nodded, "But now I'm so much more."
"Tell me your name," Cas said softly.
Dean frowned. If this thing was an angel, Castiel would undoubtedly try to save his heavenly brother, to bring him back on the right path. He couldn't understand this loyalty that Cas still felt for his siblings. Despite everything they caused him.
But on the other hand Castiel had devastated Heaven when he was drugged up from the souls from Purgatory. Dean knew that the deathtoll would haunt his friend for the rest of the angel's life.
The waitress glared at Castiel and said, "Nathaniel. My name is Nathaniel."
