Chapter 18

Casey woke abruptly. Her teeth were chattering and a vicious cough tore through her with her first conscious breath. Her eyes widened as she stared up at the ceiling. The last thing she'd seen above her had been a stormy sky and then Dean's worried face. Now, she saw mildew-spotted ceiling tiles. Chest spasming with teeth-rattling coughs, Casey tried to sit up, desperate to find Dean, but found she couldn't move. Something was holding her down.

"Casey! It's ok, it's ok."

Nothing is ok! Casey thought to herself, but couldn't find a way to make her mouth work yet. She blinked past the dark spots in her vision and the all encompassing cold that surrounded her as she tried to figure out who was trying to be comforting.

"Hey," Sam's worried smile came briefly into focus, "hey, it's ok. We're all safe, Casey."

"Dean?" Casey was surprised at how ragged her voice sounded. She blinked at Sam and whispered, "Dean's ok?"

The panic in her heart at not seeing him was making it hard to breathe, but Casey did feel herself relax just a bit when Sam's smile grew wider. He said, "Yes, your stupid boyfriend is fine."

"Not fine." A sleepy voice mumbled from somewhere to her left. "Got shot. By a ghost."

Casey's breath caught in her throat and she tilted her head to the left and came practically nose to nose with Dean. Mind like sludge, it took her a minute to work out that he was lying on his side on the bed right next to her and despite his obvious discomfort, he kept his arm protectively draped over her.

Casey let out the breath she was holding, letting her body soak up the welcome warmth of Dean's presence, hoping it would calm the chattering of her teeth. Some of the fear ebbed away now that he was in sight. She stared at him, trying to gauge his condition. Realizing she did not have the strength she needed to heal him, Casey felt a moment of defeat, but before she could even ask how he was, Dean spoke up.

"Stop that, Echo." His voice wasn't much stronger than hers had been.

"What?" Casey asked, trying to glare at him. It took a lot of effort though, so she gave up and just concentrated on not falling asleep.

"Stop worrying about me."

This time Casey found it easier to glare and insisted, "I'm not worrying."

Dean rolled his eyes and said, "You're worrying that you can't heal me. It's written all over your face."

She couldn't exactly deny it. Tears burned her eyes as she whispered, "I'm sorry. I just need a little time, ok? Then I can…"

"I forbid you." Dean said firmly, cutting her off.

"What?" Casey asked in disbelief. She blinked, then almost smiled as she asked, "Did you just say you forbid me?"

"Yes. I forbid you from healing me."

"You can't forbid me."

"Yes I can."

"How do you figure?"

Dean lifted his arm and brushed her hair back from her face as he whispered for her ears only, "Because I'm the one who can't live without you. So I forbid you from using your powers until you are feeling 100% better."

A tear ran down her cheek at his words and the emotion in his eyes as he spoke them. She was everything to him. Ever since they'd come back from Purgatory, ever since regaining their memories, it had been one hard struggle after another. They'd both been so uncertain, so at a loss when trying to find their balance that more than once she'd doubted. Doubted that they could make it work.

Now she knew.

She had no doubts any more.

Casey nodded slowly and saw some of the worry in his eyes fade. Just as she was ready to drift off to sleep, safe and comfortable in his loving embrace, she caught sight of a glint of mirth in those deeply emotional eyes as he said, "But when you are 100% better, I have a bullet hole in my leg you could patch up for me, ok?"

Casey laughed and nodded, "Deal." She finally managed to move her hand and grasp his. Squeezing gently, Casey asked, "Seriously though. How are you?"

"Great." Dean nodded, "Got shot by a ghost Nazi, fought a ghost pirate, never want to go near a beach again, but we're all alive so I'm calling it a good day."

Relief flooded her at his words, and Casey couldn't help but ask, "Really? No more beaches? Cuz I have this sweet little red bikini…"

"Oh you are so wearing that on our vacation." Dean's eyes lit up and Casey laughed at the eagerness in his voice even if he was obviously exhausted and in pain.

"Our vacation?" Casey asked with a grin. "Where're we going?"

"Some place warm."

"Sounds awesome." Casey sighed, then realized the room had grown very quiet. She glanced around and saw that Sam had left the room at some point. Frowning, Casey turned back to Dean and asked, "What happened?"

Dean drew her closer and she settled against his chest, hearing the familiar thump of his heartbeat as he spoke, "We defeated the big bad. Dramatic escape and all…"

"I remember being soaked and covered in sand and seaweed…" Casey wrinkled her nose, still smelling it. "I need a shower."

"Later. Don't interrupt my thrilling tale."

"Fine. Go on. I just remember feeling like I'd swallowed the entire ocean."

"Yeah. And then you puked it up."

"Don't remind me about that." Casey groaned, "Go on with your thrilling tale. Get to the good part where we're safe and warm."

Dean rubbed her shoulder and said, "Sam found us on the beach. And got us off the beach. And got us here."

Casey rubbed at her eyes, trying to focus on the surroundings. She asked, "Where's here?"

"The cottage. Island's a mess. Guess they're evacuating and the school is the makeshift clinic. So we decided that we might as well just come back here rather than sit there with five billion people."

"There aren't five billion people on this island, Dean." Casey rolled her eyes, finally starting to feel warm.

Dean shifted next to her and said, "Maybe four billion. Whatever. The traffic was a bitch to get back here."

"How long have we been here?"

He shifted again and she saw him peering at his watch. Dean said, "Few hours. Finally starting to feel warm."

"Me too." Casey smiled, snuggling closer. "But I'm really looking forward to Florida."

"Miami?"

"Hmm."

"Disney World?"

Casey laughed at the undisguised excitement in Dean's voice. She said, "As long as we go to the beach too."

"Deal."

She relaxed and was almost asleep when she heard a quiet voice ask, "You two need anything?"

"We're good, Sammy." Dean answered and Casey yawned, glad he had answered for them. He added, "Go get some sleep."

Casey didn't hear if Sam replied. She was already asleep.

"They ok?" Bennett asked, hearing Sam come into the room.

"Yeah. You?"

"To quote your brother," Bennett said from under the pillow, "Fandamntastic."

She felt the bed dip as Sam sat down next to her and said, "He doesn't mean that in a good way, you know."

"Neither do I."

"That bad, huh?"

"Got hit by a tree, remember?" She whispered, the mere memory of it sending chills of renewed pain through her body. Fighting the itch to move because she knew it would only aggravate her murderous headache, Bennett tried yet again to relax into the bed.

Sam's voice was pleasantly and mercifully soft as he asked, "More ice?"

In answer, Bennett shoved the melted ice pack from under the pillow off the edge of the bed onto the floor.

"Be right back." Sam whispered and gently touched her shoulder before he walked out of the room.

She listened to him moving around in the kitchen and counted her blessings yet again that they were all alive and well. Drawing the pillow more tightly around her head, Bennett thought about how close they had cut it this time. And then decided thinking like that was a good way to make herself sick so she went back to counting her blessings. Sam hadn't told her how he'd managed to find Dean and Casey in the storm, not that she'd been awake enough to even follow him if he had told her. By the time he'd returned to the car with Dean, she had been barely awake, concentrating on the sound of Casey breathing.

The next thing she knew, she'd been carried into the cottage and bundled under a pile of blankets on the couch. Sam had assured her everyone was safe and that he'd patched Dean up and Casey was sleeping and she'd summoned enough energy to get out of her sopping wet clothes and into something warm and dry and fall into bed before she passed out from the pain. Ever since, she'd been floating in a drug induced haze thanks to whatever it was Sam had made her take.

"Here you go." Sam whispered, gently easing up an edge of the pillow and sliding an ice pack under the pillow.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Try to rest, ok?"

Bennett felt him start to move and reached out to grab his wrist and tug him closer. Forcing her head out from under the protective cover of the pillow, she kept her eyes closed but said, "Stay. Ok?"

"Ok." Sam said, sounding as tired as she felt.

No letting go of his wrist, Bennett pulled on him until she felt his arms around her. His hand brushed the throbbing bruise on her side, but he seemed to know exactly where it hurt the most and carefully kept his grip gentle and light around her shoulders. Shifting until she was laying on her side with her forehead pressed against his chest, Bennett felt him settle the ice pack against the top of her head.

"Better?" he asked.

"Perfect. Are they ok?" Bennett asked, needing one more confirmation before she could fully relax.

"They're fine. Probably going to sleep till noon and expect breakfast." Sam mumbled sleepily.

Bennett smiled slightly and said, "I want to sleep till noon too. What are we doing next?"

"Apparently we're going to Disney World."

"Really?" Bennett felt excitement bubble up despite the pain. "I've always wanted to go there!"

"So has Dean." Sam snorted, "Got a thing for Cinderella."

Bennett snickered knowing that was probably something Dean would never admit aloud. She asked what Sam wanted to see most, but he was already asleep. With a sigh, Bennett relaxed in the safety of his arms, listening to the gently falling rain.

Dean woke up to the smell of something burning. That was never a good smell to wake up to. Or to smell at any other time, actually. He blinked in the pale light of what might have been mid-afternoon or early morning for all he knew. Taking a moment to assess the situation, he saw that Casey was still soundly sleeping on the bed next to him and he carefully unravelled himself from her embrace. He would never have left that spot if it hadn't been for the knowledge that if he didn't Bennett was going to burn the cottage down.

Groaning as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, the burn of the wound in his leg making itself known as he moved, Dean sat there for a moment. The clock on the dresser showed it to be just after ten in the morning which seemed much earlier than it should have been given how hard he'd slept. Running a hand over his face, he was tempted to flop back down next to Casey, but the sound of a crash and muffled cursing from the kitchen reminded him he had a cottage to save from flames, so he dragged himself to his feet and unsteadily limped out of the bedroom.

Reaching the hallway, he called out, "Bennett? Are you trying to burn the house down?"

"I'm trying to make eggs." Bennett practically shouted, turning around quickly, then swaying dangerously.

"Whoa, whoa!" Dean stumbled toward her, catching her elbow before she could hit the ground. He pushed her into a chair at the table and said, "How're you doing, B?"

She gave him a very unconvincing thumbs up with one hand while she clutched the edge of the table with her other.

"Uh huh." Dean rolled his eyes, leaving her sitting there as he limped over to the stove and pulled the pan of black scrambled eggs off the burner. "What are you doing up anyway?"

"Was trying to make breakfast. I'm hungry." She mumbled, dropping her elbows onto the table and resting her head in her hands.

Dean would have laughed if she hadn't sounded so dejected. Instead, he scraped the eggs into the garbage and pulled out the carton of eggs from the fridge. He said, "I'm hungry too. I'll give it a shot, ok?"

"It's stupid eggs and I can't even do that right."

Cracking the first egg into the pan, Dean said, "Well, I guess eggs are lower on the scale of intelligent foods, but I think it's more the gas stove that was tripping you up. Just a good thing it is gas and not electric since we still don't seem to have power."

By the time he'd started stirring up the eggs, Bennett still hadn't said anything, so he turned around to check on her. She still had her head in her hands, but looked up when he sat down across from her. She said, "Are we really going to Disney World?"

"Sure." Dean said, stretching his aching leg out and deciding another few days rest wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. He was amused that news of the impending vacation he and Casey had talked about had already made it to Bennett. Never trust a little brother to keep his mouth shut. "Sound like fun?"

"Yeah." She said with a tiny smile that faded almost instantly.

Dean was struck with how hard all of the recent events must have been for her and decided they were definitely going to Disney World. He said, "How're you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a tree."

"Not gonna let that go, are you?" Dean raised an eyebrow in amusement.

Bennett arched an eyebrow, straightening slightly and said, "How'd you get that hole in your leg, Dean?"

"Got shot by a Nazi ghost!" Dean grinned.

"Not gonna to let that go, are you?" Bennett smiled a bit longer this time, then said, "You're gonna burn the eggs."

Dean pulled himself back to his feet and headed back over to stir the eggs, resting his weight on his good leg. He heard the chair move behind him and saw Bennett holding out the salt shaker. Taking it, he asked, "Where's the boyfriend?"

"Sleeping. I think he's getting sick." Bennett said, rubbing her forehead. "He was coughing all night."

"Great." Dean muttered, adding salt to the eggs. "Just what we need."

"What I need is coffee."

He turned and smiled fondly when he saw Casey walk into the room, her bed head rivaling Sam's on a bad day and her eyes barely open. She leaned against the doorway and yawned. Dean said, "Mornin, beautiful."

"I hate mornings." Casey whined, crossing to the table and slumping down in the chair he'd just left a moment earlier. "Why am I awake?"

"Because you missed me." Dean said, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead and heading over to start the coffee.

Casey nodded, "I suppose. Make me coffee and I'll be sure."

"On it." He said, setting out some coffee mugs and asking, "How're you feeling, Echo?"

"Better. Could sleep for a month, but I'm better." She said with a smile, then glanced over at Bennett and asked, "How are you, Bennett?"

Dean caught Bennett's eye, saw the glint of humor and knew what she was thinking. She rolled her eyes though and said, "I'm ok. Headache."

"I bet." Casey said, "I can help with that…"

"No." Dean said at the same time as Bennett. Before he could say anything further, Bennett said, "It's just a headache, Casey. Wait till you feel all the way better, ok?"

Dean could tell Casey didn't like it, but the fatigue was evident in her posture and her expression. She nodded slowly and said, "Tomorrow. If you don't feel better tomorrow, I'm healing you. And you too." She looked at Dean meaningfully. "You're not limping all the way through Disney World."

"Deal." Dean said, serving the eggs up, then pouring the coffee and reaching for the bottle of painkillers. Handing first the coffee to Casey, then the medication to Bennett, Dean said, "Bon Appetit."

Both girls looked less than impressed but gratefully accepted what he offered them and Dean pulled out another chair, joining them at the table. He smiled as he watched Casey move to tie up her messy hair.

"What the hell?" She cursed. Her fingers pulled away from her dark locks, a good portion of them resting in her open palm.

Dean couldn't help but laugh, but quickly shut up when Casey glared at him.

Feeling more annoyed than anything, Casey stated, "Guess I'm due for a trim before I meet Prince Charming."

Bennett caught sight of the look of murderous jealousy on Dean's face and laughed so hard she nearly spit her eggs across the table.

The next day

Dean tapped his fingers in growing irritation. He turned to Sam and said, "What is taking them so long?"

"They're getting their hair done." Sam muttered, not opening his eyes. He coughed a few dozen times then said, "It takes time."

"Cover your mouth." Dean grimaced, wishing he had a mask. "Don't spread your germs."

"Sorry." Sam said, tilting his head away and coughing another dozen times into his sleeve.

Shifting further to the left, Dean decided his bum leg could wait. The minute Casey was back to full strength she was healing Sam's cold. He shuddered as the coughing continued, then tapped the steering wheel in double time as he said, "We aren't going to make it to Disney World tonight if they don't hurry it up."

Sam's coughing turned to laughter and he opened his eyes, tilting his head to look at Dean as he said, "You're an actual five year old."

"You're an actual…" Dean started, breaking off and straightening abruptly as he caught sight of the salon door opening. Whatever comeback he had been about to say was completely forgotten when he caught sight of Casey stepping out into the sunlight. He muttered, "Holy crap."

"A five year old with a dirty mouth." Sam said in amusement, then looked forward and caught sight of Casey and Bennett heading their way and then he was sitting up and said, "Holy crap."

Dean would have laughed but he was too busy trying to continue breathing. He was having a hard time even coming to grips with what he was seeing. When Casey had said she was going to get her hair done, Dean had expected a haircut to help disguise the areas where her hair had been burned off while aboard the Flaming Ship of Ocracoke. What he had not expected was what he was seeing before him now.

Gone were Casey's long, dark chocolate strands. Now she was sporting short blonde hair in a modern, asymmetrical style that he found incredibly sexy. She looked stunning in her black leather coat and boots, with a pair of shades and bright red lips. Dean swallowed hard, wanting to go to meet her, but not certain he could actually move yet. Staring through the windshield as the girls walked toward the car, Dean realized Bennett's always wayward hair was still in her face, but was now also blonde.

Dean found his voice and said, "What the…"

"Hell." Sam finished for Dean.

They met each other's gaze and he was in so much shock that he didn't even yell at Sam when he sneezed in his face. Dean shook his head and said, "I did not see that coming."

"Me neither."

When the girls climbed into the back seat a moment later, he and Sam both turned as one and leaned their elbows on the back of the seat as they stared.

"See something you like?" Bennett asked, bouncing forward and kissing Sam.

"Yeah." Sam stammered, then started coughing again and Bennett ducked her head to avoid the germs.

"I see something I like too." Dean grinned, not breaking eye contact with Casey.

"You do, do ya?" Casey leaned forward, smiling.

"Oh yeah." Dean said, giving her a quick kiss, then started the car. As the girls sat back in their seats and Sam muffled another three thousand coughs, Dean rolled his eyes and said, "Time to get this family vacation on the road."

"Bout time." Sam said hoarsely.

"Can we get snacks?" Bennett asked as Dean pulled onto the road. "We need snacks."

He sighed and pulled the car right back off the road again and into the gas station. Bennett was out the door as soon as he parked and Dean decided he would turn a blind eye when she instantly darted to the far side of the parking lot and lit a cigarette. Casey got out of the car and he glanced over at Sam.

"Cold medicine and cough drops?" Dean asked with a grin.

"Yes please." Sam said, then sneezed again and added, "Maybe some kleenex too."

"Geeze, you germy freak." Dean glared at him, "I'm buying hand sanitizer too."

"Whatever jerk." Sam glared back, crossing his arms over his chest and resting his head on the back of the seat. "I caught this cold saving your stupid ass."

Dean saw Casey hovering by the door of the gas station and thought back to that night and the fear he'd felt when Casey was unconscious in his arms on the beach. He clapped Sam on the shoulder and said, "Yeah. You did. Thanks for that. Bitch."

Sam smiled and Dean got out of the car, catching Casey around the waist and pulling her close. He kissed her forehead and said, "You look phenomenal, babe."

"Yeah?"

"Very much so."

Casey touched her hair and said, "Good." She hugged him, then said, "So we're really doing this then."

"Doing…"

"The whole...family thing." Casey said and Dean was surprised to see the uncertainty in her eyes.

"Yes. We're doing the whole family thing. Complete with the germy younger siblings and constant requests to pull over for snacks," Dean cast a long-suffering sigh over at Bennett, adding, "and, apparently, smoke breaks."

Casey followed his gaze and said, "Give her time, Dean. She'll give it up. She just needs a little more time."

"I know." He nodded and said, "Shall we?"

"If we want to hit that beach so I can unpack my bikini, we should get a move on." Casey grinned, "I'll get the medicine for your poor brother and you get the snacks so we don't starve between now and Bennett's next smoke break."

"Deal." Dean said and opened the door for her. He paused as his phone rang and said, "Go ahead, I'll catch up with you."

"Don't keep me waiting." Casey said with a bewitching smile.

He grinned at her, then turned to answer the phone. Watching Casey walk into the gas station, Dean flipped his phone open and answered, "Cas? Hey, good timing. I've actually got a question for you. It's about your daughter…"

The End

Thanks for taking the time to read! Phew...No lie this process has taken us like three years to accomplish. It was a long time in coming, but we're both happy we finally got this posted! Thanks again from DamonsGirl92 and Noxbait! Now excuse us while we go plan our own trip to Ocracoke Island. :D