Hello again my darlings. So here we have another chapter, I hope you like it. Please don't hate me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.

"And it's very far away
But it's growing day by day
And it's all right, baby, it's all right"

Road To Nowhere – Talking Heads

The three Winchester and the angel settled into friendly conversation, though Castiel observed more than he contributed. He liked watching Dean interact with Sam, watching the obvious brotherly love they had for each other wrap around the room. It was another new experience for him, for while he did love his brothers and sisters it was an abstract thing. Even with Gabriel, who he was closest to, he had never had what Sam and Dean seemed to.

"Okay, if we're having pizza we should order." Jess said into a lull in the conversation. With that she went to the sideboard and pulled out the menus, handing them to Dean and Cas, she and Sam were well aware of what was on them. Though when only Dean opened it and Cas just placed his on the table by the couch both her and Sam frowned in confusion.

"Don't you like pizza Cas?" Sam asked confused about why he wasn't reading his menu.

"I do." Castiel replied calmly.

"So do you know what you want on yours?" Sam asked still confused about why he wasn't devouring the thing like Dean was.

"No." Castiel replied still calm. He had got so used to Dean choosing his food that he thought nothing of it and it never crossed his mind that this was somewhat odd.

Before Sam could even think of a reply to that Dean spoke up, not moving his eyes from the menu.

"Cas doesn't like menus, so I pick his food for him."

"What?...Why?" Sam asked, this was getting weirder and weirder every minute.

At that Dean looked up at his brother and saw his confusion there, quickly going back over the conversations they had had this evening he realised he had never mentioned Cas' memory thing. Turning to look at the man beside him he silently, with his eyes, asked if Cas was okay with him telling Sam and Jess. Castiel smiled and gave a slight nod and so Dean turned back to his little big brother.

"Cas has a problem with memory. He doesn't really remember anything from just before we met." He explained making Sam's eyebrows raise until they practically joined his hair line but before he could speak Jess did.

"Oh Cas, what happened?" She asked which strangely enough caused a silence to fall on the room.

Because Castiel had no idea how to respond to that. He did not want to lie to these people but he couldn't tell the truth. He turned to Dean hoping he would be able to help but he saw the same question come into his eyes.

Dean had never thought to ask that question, but now it was raised he was curious of the answer, but when Cas turned to him he saw that he had no answer to give. It was like Cas… didn't know?

"Didn't Gabriel ever tell you?" He asked completely flummoxed by this.

"Who's Gabriel?" Sam asked suddenly going on alert, he knew there was something off about this Cas guy.

"My older brother. Before joining Dean on his journey here I was with him." Castiel felt safe saying this as it was in actual fact the truth.

"So you have no idea how come you have no memories?" Sam asked completely bewildered. Why, oh why, couldn't Dean ever have a normal life?

"I would prefer not to discuss it if you do not mind." Castiel said in a firm voice, though he refused to look any of them in the eye. At that Dean put his arm around his boyfriend and glared at Sam with a look that clearly said shut the hell up and accept it. Accept him. It was then that Sam realised that Dean could well be in some serious shit. Because from what he had just seen they knew nothing of this guy and it seemed to him Dean had given him his heart and he did not want his brother getting hurt, ever.

"Okay. So what are we ordering for dinner?" He asked. He would have to wait until later, when Dean once again dropped his guard before he could delve any more into this round of craziness.

Once the pizza was ordered and more beer had been handed round Dean rose to use the head, forgetting the earlier conversation, and Jess, with a look from her husband, went into the kitchen to leave Sam and Cas alone.

"So Cas, are you going to hurt my brother?" He asked without any preamble. He didn't know how much time he would have and he wanted answers.

"I will do everything in my power to make sure that Dean is never hurt." Castiel replied with a serious tone and looking Sam straight in the eye.

Sam studied the man opposite him seeing the look in his eyes. He may be a bit strange and have no history or anything, but from that look Sam realised that he now knew the one thing that was actually important here.

"You love him don't you?" He asked quietly so that no one would be able to overhear.

"With everything that I am." Castiel replied completely honestly.

At that Sam nodded, because while he may want to know everything he could about the guy his brother had given his heart to, he knew that it wasn't really his right. What he did know was that this man would look after Dean, protect him, love him and care for him. And that was enough for Sam. Cas would make sure that Dean was happy. With that he smiled at Cas who returned it as if he knew exactly what had been going through Sam's mind (which Sam still found rather creepy) and he knew the conclusion that the younger Winchester brother had come to. It was a smile of accord, one that said they had a bond now too. The bond that they both loved Dean and wanted what was best for him in all things. This quiet accord was broken by Dean's return and the conversation returned to light hearted banter once more which continued late into the evening.

Finally after more beer than was probably good for any of them Dean rose and dragged Cas up with him. They did after all have to walk back to the motel, and it would be best if they could actually walk to do it. Though looking over at Cas he didn't seem remotely affected by all the drinks. Damn that guy could hold his liquor.

"Right we'd best be off." He announced to the room as if them standing didn't really make that obvious.

With that Sam also rose slightly unsteadily to his feet, though less unsteady than Dean, he had learnt long ago to never try and kept up with his brother when he was drinking.

"I'll show you out." He said walking towards the door as Dean and Cas exchanged goodbyes with Jess.

"Maybe see you tomorrow?" He asked from the door once the two men had gone through it. At that Dean look to Cas as if asking what he wanted to do, Cas just smiled at him and shrugged. He had no idea what would be happening tomorrow, tonight he had to talk to Gabriel after all.

"Sure. We'll see you then." Dean responded and with that and a wave he grabbed Cas' hand and walked away from the confronting light of his brother's house.

The route back to the motel was a short one, but it also required navigation of some not so nice back alleys. Dean and Cas were walking down such an alley, Dean with his arm around Cas' shoulders and Castiel with his around Deans waist, almost carrying him back. Dean was chatting away about anything and everything that came into his mind, and it seemed that his love for Cas and his brother came into it regularly, and Cas was smiling and listening to him as he got them back to the motel. Suddenly someone stepped out in front of them holding out a gun and pointing it at Dean. Which in retrospect was really not the best plan.

Castiel saw the gun and moved without thought, no one threatened his human. With that he was in front of the man with the barrel of the gun pressed against his chest and his hand on the man's wrist.

"Desist, now." Castiel growled at the man. Giving him a warning for he did not want to hurt the human in front of him.

"Give me your money and I'll go." The man responded with a false bravo, he had no idea how it was the man in front of him had moved so quickly to be where he was now, but the situation was certainly no longer completely in his favour. Though he was the one with the gun and all he would have to do was pull the trigger and this man would no longer be in his way.

At that Castiel narrowed his eyes at him. This man was a sinner, he looked into his heart and saw blackness, and pain, Greed and evil swirling together as one. These visions made the hand holding the others wrist squeeze tighter in the aim of getting him to drop the gun, but the man was not going to give up that easily. Instead he pulled the trigger.

The sound of the gun going off startled Dean and sobered him like nothing else would. Cas was in front of that gun. There was no way that he wouldn't be shot. Dean didn't think, he moved, running towards the two men, but instead of seeing Cas' body crumpling to the ground he saw him reach out with two fingers towards the man's head and watched the robber fall at the touch. What the hell was going on? With that thought he tore his eyes from the crumpled heap of a man on the floor and looked at Cas who had turned to him.

"We need to leave Dean. I believe the sound of the gun shot will bring people to investigate." He said calmly.

Dean couldn't process it. What had just happened? He ignored Cas' suggestion and went over to him running his hand down his front and finding a bullet hole in his shirt over his heart. Cas should be dead, but instead he was standing in front of him, and somehow the robber was the one on the floor, the robber…

"Is he dead?" Dean asked somewhat dazed.

"No, just sleeping. Come Dean, let us go." Castiel said in a soothing voice putting his hand on Dean's shoulder making the man turn back to him.

Before Dean could process a thought he found himself no longer in the alley with an unconscious robber (and how did that happen?) but back in his brother's front room and Cas was guiding him to the couch.

"I have to go Dean, I… I have to go." And with that Castiel disappeared, though his vanishing was accompanied by a slight sound, almost like…. The flutter of wings? What the hell?