Chapter 6
Before Sam could finish his prayer, a flutter of wings and a displacement of air had him looking to the middle of the room where a man dressed in a trench coat and suit appeared.
Castiel stood tall and looked around the room with intelligent, serious blue eyes taking in everything. His eyes landed on Dean, and he cocked his head as he brushed by Sam and sat on the bed beside Dean. He could hear the strangled whining Dean was making as he scooted away and laid a hand on his forehead so he could read him. His frown deepened as he did it again, not believing what he was feeling. He let two fingers rest on his forehead and put Dean into a light sleep so he would relax and rest.
"Sam, what happened to Dean?" Castiel asked standing to face him and finally acknowledging his presence.
"We came to this town on a possible case, and I think Dean was attacked by a witch or warlock who took his memories," Sam relayed looking to Dean for a moment and back to Castiel. "What did you see?"
"Nothing," Castiel replied. "There is nothing in his mind, but at least his soul is intact."
"I thought as much. There are other victims just like Dean. Their memories were taken too."
"What can I do?" Castiel asked as he sensed Sam's distress.
"I need you to bring Bobby here. I'm going to need help in finding this witch and hopefully figuring out a way to get Dean's memories back, and the other victims too, I hope. It'll take too long for him to drive here, and we need to get this resolved now before the witch decides to move on or do the ritual he or she is planning to do. If that happens, Dean's memories will be lost forever."
"As you wish," Castiel nodded, disappearing before Sam could stop him. "Damn it," Sam spat in anger knowing Bobby wasn't going to be very happy to be woken up in the middle of the night. He was going to catch hell for that. He stepped to Dean and gently eased his arms and legs out, so he was more comfortable before draping a blanket over his body.
Sam stepped to the bathroom to grab a wet washcloth to wash Dean's face of the dirt and grim clinging to his skin. "Bobby will be here soon, and we'll figure this out. He'll know what to do to help you," Sam mumbled as he wiped Dean's face and neck. He found a small lump on the side of Dean's head and figured he had bumped it when he fell. At least it wasn't bleeding. San wiped his hands and stopped, knowing that was the best he could do right now.
With the adrenaline rush dying away and his sheer exhaustion, Sam dropped onto the other bed and slumping over to lay down. He was facing Dean and watched his chest rise and fall, trying not to blame himself for not going with him. If he had been there to have his back, maybe they could have grabbed the witch or at least found out who it was. He was struggling to try and relax enough so he could think clearly as sleep pulled him under.
"Give me a warning next time, damnit!" a gruff, familiar voice growled, instantly waking Sam who sat up pointing a gun at them. "Wanna point that thing somewhere else boy," Bobby snipped as he leaned over trying to get his senses back after being transported by angel power. "Cas made me rush to get dressed and didn't even wanna let me pack a damn bag to bring, or go to the bathroom for that matter, the idjit was in such a hurry to get me here."
"Here he is Sam," Castiel stated in his neutral tone. He looked at Dean and moved a chair beside the bed to sit down ignoring Bobby's rantings.
"Sam, fill me in on what happened?" Bobby said as he drew in some deep breaths and moved to sit at the table dropping his small bag to the side.
"The witch got Dean," Sam told him in a quiet voice. "He went to a bar to see if anyone might have some information. When he didn't come back, I tracked his cell and found him in an alley by the bar. His mind is blank Bobby," Sam explained in a strained voice. "I didn't go with him. Maybe if I had been thereā¦"
"Stop it son. You can't blame yourself for this happening. If you had been there, it might be both of you ending up like that. Was he hurt?"
"I think he hit his head when he fell, but it wasn't anything serious."
"I'm going to get a room and try to get a little more sleep," Bobby stated glaring at Castiel for being woken in the middle of the night.
"Sorry about that Bobby. Cas left before I could stop him," Sam apologized.
"We can't do anything tonight son. You might as well try to get some sleep too. We'll start fresh in the morning and try to find this bastard."
"Yeah, you're right," Sam sighed letting his shoulders slump. He sat back down on the bed and watched Bobby leave before looking at Castiel. "Is there anything you can do Cas?"
"No, I can't restore his memories. I am sorry Sam," Castiel replied in a sad voice.
"I figured it wouldn't be that easy," Sam mumbled. He stretched out on the other bed, not bothering to change clothes, but did toe off his boots and arch his feet. He tried to loosen his tense and tight muscles as he slowed his breathing and closed his eyes. His mine was overloaded, plus, he was worried about his brother.
The room was quiet except for an occasional grunt or snore from Dean as Sam finally let go and fell into a light sleep. Darkness closed in around him and he drifted away. He never saw Castiel get up and drape a blanket over his body and look down at him with concern. Castiel placed two fingers on Sam's forehead and chased away the nightmares so he could rest.
spn
The following morning came too early for the young hunter as he rolled over in bed moaning softly. He rubbed his eyes and yawned as he stretched until he remembered what happened last night. 'Dean', Sam thought as he sat up too quickly making everything spin for a moment. He looked over at Dean and saw Castiel was still watching over him. He closed his eyes for a second and drew in some slow breaths before getting up to head for the bathroom.
As he was coming back into the main room, a knock sounded at the door. He went to answer it being sure it was Bobby before opening the door. The aroma of coffee followed Bobby into the room as he carried a bag and tray of coffees.
"I got us some breakfast Sam," Bobby said taking the food to the table. "Any change in your brother?"
"No, Cas has kept him asleep," Sam replied. "I guess he should wake him and see if he will eat something."
"I brought enough food."
"Cas, can you wake Dean, but be careful, he's scared and doesn't know who he is or who we are."
"Alright," Castiel nodded leaning over to press two fingers to Dean's forehead to wake him. He watched closely as Dean began to stir in case he needed to intervene.
Dean blinked rapidly and looked around with wide, frightened eyes. He saw the tall stranger standing near the bed and scooted away from him only to find another stranger on the other side of the bed looking at him with curious blue eyes. He whined softly as he trembled not knowing what to do.
"Hey Dean, it's okay," Sam spoke softly to him. "That's Cas, he's a friend and that's Bobby. They came to help us. Think you can eat something?" Sam took a step closer to Dean and watched as he grabbed the side of Castiel's trench coat and hugged it to him like a security blanket. "You try Cas."
"Dean, do you want to get up?" Castiel questioned, moving to help Dean sit up on the side of the bed. He let him clutch his coat when it seemed to keep him calm. "There's food to eat. You must be hungry." He took his arm and guided him to the table to sit in a chair.
Dean watched all the strangers around him as he cringed and tried to make himself smaller. He looked at something being sit in front of him, not sure what to do with it.
"I think we'll have to show him how to eat and drink," Sam offered when he saw Dean didn't move to eat.
"I will help him," Castiel told them. "You sit down and eat." Castiel took a bottle of juice and looked around for a straw that Bobby provided. He put it into the bottle and held the straw to Dean's lips. "You can drink from the straw," he told Dean placing a thought in his mind that made Dean suck on the straw.
"We should go back to the bar and see if there are any security cameras in the area," Sam suggested. "Maybe we'll be lucky and get a photo of the witch." He opened a breakfast sandwich and took a small bite.
"Alright and we need to check where Dean was attacked and see if there was anything left behind we can use," Bobby added.
Sam nodded as he watched Castiel cut a bite of biscuit and feed it to Dean like he was a little kid. At first, Dean frowned and pushed it from his mouth, letting it drop to the floor, so Castiel tried again as he spoke softly to Dean. He saw it seemed to work and Dean swallowed the bite of food. Sam was amazed at how patient the angel was with his brother, not pushing or rushing him. He thought about all the things that they took for granted that Dean didn't know how to do now and hoped they could find the witch and the memories of his victims soon. He ate his food and drank his coffee, deep in thought.
"Let me use the bathroom and I'll be ready to go," Sam told Bobby once he was done eating.
"You want me to drive son?" Bobby asked him as he gathered his trash to throw away.
"That's fine with me," Sam replied.
"Shall I check the town to see if I can find this witch?" Castiel offered, knowing if he could find this person it would move things along quicker.
"Sure Cas. Here, let me take over," Sam told him sliding closer to Dean. He watched Dean gasp and cry out when Castiel stood and disappeared leaving his hands empty of the trench coat. "It's okay Dean. Here, want another bite?" Sam held the bite to Dean's mouth waiting for him to open it.
"I'm going to my room for a bit. I'll be back shortly," Bobby told Sam. He got up and gently patted Dean's shoulder in passing before heading for the door.
"Dean, do you want another bite?" Sam asked his brother as Dean wobbled his head avoiding the fork. "Okay, at least you ate a little. You know it wouldn't hurt for you to have a shower. Maybe when we get back." He placed a hand on Dean's arm to get him to look at him. "Your name is Dean," Sam slowly said. "I'm Sam, your brother," he continued pointing to his chest. "Dean," he said pointing to Dean. "Sam," he repeated pointing to him.
Dean watched the stranger as he spoke and tried to understand what he was saying. He watched him say a word and point to his chest and then say another word and point at him. He watched his lips move as he formed the word.
"Dee," Dean whispered and frowned as he tried to say the other word. "'am."
"That's right. Good work," Sam praised him.
"I have found nothing," Castiel announced as he appeared in the middle of the room. "He must be warded in some way and is hidden from me."
Dean freaked out with Castiel's sudden appearance and fell from his chair to the floor to crawl away from them. He huddled by the bed and hid his face with a blanket hanging off the side of it.
"I'm sorry Sam. I didn't mean to upset him."
"I know Cas. All this is new to Dean, and he is going to have to learn everything again." Sam looked at Dean and saw that the front of his jeans looked wet. He realized what had happened and sighed as he got up to get some clean clothes for Dean from his duffle. "I'm going to give Dean a quick shower," he told Castiel. "When Bobby comes back, tell him I won't be long."
"Of course, Sam. Should I help?"
"No, it'll be bad enough when Dean learns I had to do this. But we've had to do it before so it's no big deal," Sam shrugged. "Hey Buddy, want to come with me?" Sam cooed to him as he knelt beside and took his arm. "We need to get you showered and put on dry clothes."
Dean let Sam help him up and looked warily at the angel in passing as he was led into the bathroom. Sam closed the door and started the water running to heat before turning to Dean to help him take off his clothes. He noticed a red dust on his shirt but didn't think anything of it as he unbuttoned it and slipped it from Dean's arms. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of urine on his jeans and tossed them to the side out of the way to deal with later.
"Okay, you need to step into the tub," Sam explained tapping Dean's leg and lifting it into the tub. He balanced him as Dean put the other foot in and whined when he started getting wet. "It's okay, it's just water. You wash yourself with it." Sam put some shampoo in his hand and made Dean step under the spray to wet his hair. He washed his hair and then his body, making sure he rinsed good. "Now let's get you dry and clean clothes put on."
Dean grunted when the water went off and reached up to the shower head trying to figure out what happened. He snorted when Sam threw a towel over his head to dry his hair and then the rest of his body. When he was done, Sam got Dean out and helped him dress in sweats and a T-shirt. It was a struggle when Dean tried to put both his feet in one leg of the sweats and stuck an arm out the neck opening of the T-shirt.
"There," Sam finally huffed once Dean was dressed. He led him back to the main room, dropped his dirty clothes by his duffle, and saw Bobby was back waiting on him. "Cas, can you maybe take care of Dean's bathroom needs until I have time to show him what to do?"
"Yes, I will be happy to," Castiel replied stepping closer to Dean. He watched as Dean reached for his coat again and clutched it in his hand. He snapped his fingers and cleaned the damp jeans and the spot on the carpet happy to help.
"I'm ready Bobby. If you need us, call me. Do you still have your cell, or you can use Dean's; it's on the nightstand," Sam told Castiel before picking up the room key and following Bobby to the door.
"I have my cell phone," Castiel replied pulling it from a pocket to show him.
"Alright, take care of my brother Cas," Sam told the angel in a serious voice before leaving.
"I will Sam. Would you like to watch some television?" Castiel asked Dean as he moved back to the bed and got Dean settled against the headboard with a pillow behind his back. He found the remote and clicked on the television making Dean jump when a person started talking on the screen. Dean scooted closer to Castiel as he eyed the screen and the noise coming from it warily.
Castiel flipped through the channels and found a nature program for them to watch. A fawn walked across the screen and nuzzled his mom's side. Dean didn't take his eyes off the screen when a flock of birds flew across it making him hide his face in Castiel's coat. "They won't hurt you Dean. They can't get off the screen." He heard Dean gasp and jerk in shock before crying out in fright as a jaguar chased a gazelle down and killed it. "Maybe I should find something else," Castiel decided once he saw Dean's reaction to the program.
A/N: Castiel is babysitting while Sam and Bobby search for the witch/warlock. Dean seems to be bonding with him. Reviews/comments would be great. NC
