This one is set in Season 5 as kind of an alternate version of when Cas woke up in the hospital room

Also, thanks to all the people who have reviewed and followed and everything! I'm glad you're enjoying these ficlets :) Also thanks to guest reviewer kathy!

9. Stranded

Castiel drifted somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness. This was a strange feeling for him, something he was not used to. He could hear vague sounds of conversation going on around him as well as an incessant beeping that was starting to annoy him.

He attempted to open his eyes, but they felt so heavy. Memory started to flood back then, though, and he remembered the pocket room in Van Nuys, Sam and Dean's attempt to rescue their brother Adam. His daring, and stupid, attempt to draw the angel guards off.

Castiel's eyes flew open then and he jolted upright. Someone let out a cry of surprise, and he whipped his head around frantically, trying to figure out where he was.

"Sir, stay still!" someone said. Hands were suddenly on him and he was still too out of it to realize where he was. What if he had been captured, taken back to Heaven? He struggled to break their hold but he seemed so weak…

"Sir, please, calm down, just lay down," someone was telling him, the hands pressing him back.

"I have—I have to…" he tried, but finally looked at his surroundings. It looked like a human hospital. And the people surrounding him were not angels, just humans in doctor's garb. He was lying in a bed, currently tangled in the blankets and wires that seemed to be attached to him. He felt dizzy too, and suddenly decided he didn't want to be on his feet after all. He allowed the doctors to maneuver him back onto the bed.

Castiel answered their questions as best he could, but he truly didn't remember what had happened. The doctors said that he had appeared on a fishing boat unconscious, and nearly scared the sailors there to death. That must have been where he landed after banishing himself and the other angels.

The doctors made him comfortable and asked him if he needed anything.

"No," he insisted, though at the same time wondered why his mouth was so dry. Why he wanted a glass of water so badly.

"Just rest then, we'll be back to check on you soon," the nurse said kindly as she checked the IV resting next to his bed and then left the small room.

Castiel lay back, exhausted, aching. He reached up to his chest and found it was bandaged under the flimsy hospital gown he was wearing. He shoved the shirt off one shoulder and peeled back one corner of the gauze, seeing the stark wounds that he had cut into himself with the box cutter. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach when he realized they hadn't healed at all. He searched inward, feeling for his grace and only felt the tiniest spark. No wonder he felt so tired, he was little better than human. Whatever grace he'd had left before had been completely knocked out with that stunt he'd pulled.

Which meant that he was completely stranded. He couldn't heal himself, he had no wings to fly, and he would probably need food and water too. All of this would require money, which he also didn't have, though he may have Jimmy Novak's wallet in his clothes if the doctors hadn't thrown them away.

For the first time in as long as he could remember. Castiel truly didn't know what to do.

He looked around the room helplessly, and spotted a phone on the side table. He could call Sam and Dean. If they were alive, if they had survived, and Dean had not said yes to Michael…then maybe there was a chance that they would come for Castiel. They were the only ones he could trust, and he hoped his friends were okay.

So he made the call.

XXX

Castiel had never been so relieved as when Dean and Sam walked through the door of his hospital room. He already felt like he'd gotten some of his strength back, and seeing his friends come for him made him feel even better.

"Hey, Cas," Dean said, worry on his face as he looked the angel over. Castiel had explained his situation fully on the phone, but it seemed he must look worse than he thought. He was just grateful to see his friends, especially still alive and not possessed by Michael and Lucifer.

"Hey," he said back, swinging his legs off the side of the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked him.

"As well as can be expected," Castiel said, glancing between the two of them. "Better now that you're here. Thank you for coming. I didn't know what to do."

"No worries, Cas," Dean assured him, and reached under his bed for the bag that had his clothes in it. "Why don't you get dressed while Sam and I sign you out? We got a lead on Pestilence—honestly I don't think it's a great idea to be hanging around a hospital right now."

Castiel nodded and took his clothes, and was about to head toward the bathroom to change when Dean added, "Glad you're okay, man. We were…we were really worried."

Castiel turned and saw their concerned expressions and he nodded slowly. "So was I. But I'm glad to see that you didn't say yes after all, Dean."

Dean shrugged, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Well, what can I say? I'm just naturally a rebel."

"Still," Castiel said. "I'm glad to see that my faith was not misplaced after all."

Dean didn't speak, but his eyes said it all. Sam met Castiel's eyes and nodded. Castiel felt stronger now that he had his friends with him. What was it Dean had called them? Team Free Will.

"Now, let's go get Pestilence's ring," Castiel said.