Castiel was in his human form. While he liked it well enough, he wished he could be in his dragon form. As a dragon, everyone knew to respect him and, by extension, his bondmate. Back at the training field, he'd been able to cow that noisy Ketch person into backing off by virtue of bringing his scowling face up close to the screaming man when he'd been berating his Dean. Ketch had backed off quickly. He'd even helped Dean down, which was good because Dean did not seem altogether steady on his feet. But then he'd said something quietly to Dean and Dean had asked Castiel to please go back inside. Naturally, Castiel had been eager to please. He'd gone back into his room under the domed ceiling and had all of his riding gear taken off. Castiel had been sorry to see it go. He did not like the domed room. It was big enough to move around, but he couldn't really stretch his wings and fly around the way he would have liked. Flying with Dean today had been wonderful. From the way Dean had been screaming in excitement, he was sure Dean enjoyed it, too. But then he was told by one of the handlers that Dean wanted him to go back to his human form. It appeared they would not be flying again right away. Ah well. Now that they'd shown everyone how good they were, Castiel was sure they'd fly again soon enough. But for some reason, he could sense that his Dean was upset. He overheard one of his handlers saying something about Private Winchester getting reamed out. Why would anyone ream Dean out? Dean was wonderful! Of course, there was a part of his mind that could recall at least half a dozen times when Dean well and truly did deserve a good reaming, and a few times he'd been the one to do it. Still, no one should be yelling at Dean now, when he clearly hadn't done anything wrong. Castiel didn't like that at all and scowled at the person saying it, causing them to duck their head and scurry off guiltily. He'd have to ask Dean about it later and personally deal with anyone who'd hurt him. Dean was under his protection now. The sooner everyone realized that, the better.
The only good thing about being in his human form was that he could fill his belly much quicker with considerably less food than he required as a dragon. His human memories were all very cloudy. When he tried too hard to focus on them, he seemed to hear a loud bang echo and feel an odd twinge in the side of his head. It always made him feel a little woozy when that happened. He tried not to think about it too much. Still, he could remember enough about being human that he knew to ask for one of his favorite foods. That had surprised his handlers. All of them were used to him eating meat. Still, they'd obliged, bringing him an entire platter from which he could eat his fill.
Castiel was still enjoying the last peanut butter and jelly sandwich when he was instructed to come into the human-sized cage. He took the sandwich with him. The small cage wasn't something he remembered paying any real attention to, as it was too small for him to enter for as long as he could recall. Now he looked around in interest. There was a table with a chair where he sat, still nibbling on his last sandwich. A square contraption his new memories identified as a bed was in one corner, a toilet, sink, and shower in the other. The human part of Castiel saw something unsettling in the fact that the toilet and shower were both completely exposed. Castiel wasn't quite sure why, but it made him frown all the same. He understood why he didn't like it when the small cage door closed and locked behind him. If he couldn't get back out into the main part of the domed room, he couldn't turn back into a dragon. He'd be stuck in human form until the door was opened. Still, he thought to himself, his eyes once more moving to the bed, it might be for the best. His memories could recall sleeping on soft beds like this one. The bed was small, but Castiel was sure he could make it work. He'd expected to have his bondmate tucked under his wing when they went to bed tonight. This might actually be better. Cuddling with Dean would be wonderful. Castiel couldn't wait.
A large panel on the wall, which had always been white, suddenly changed, becoming clear. Now Castiel could see into a room where three humans were sitting down at a table. He recognized Ketch and gave him a smile, hoping the human had no hard feelings about the way Castiel had protected his bondmate. Ketch immediately returned it, along with a friendly wave. Good. Dean seemed to think Ketch would be helpful, so Castiel wanted to try to get along with him. The second man Castiel recognized as well, although he'd never spoken to him and Castiel didn't know his name. But the woman made Castiel frown. His dragon memories were as hazy as his human memories now, but he still remembered confinement and pain when she was around.
"Castiel?" Ketch's voice called through the speaker. "It's Lt. Ketch. Can you hear me?"
"Yes," Castiel replied. "I'm happy to see you again."
"Good, I'm glad to see you again as well." Ketch indicated the other two humans. "This is Col. Stephens, who is in charge of your training under General Thompson. And this is Dr. Naomi Tapping. She's the lead researcher here. I'm not sure if you remember…"
"I remember her," Castiel said, frowning at the woman. He pointed a finger accusingly at her. "You hurt me."
"Yes, I did, and I'm sorry, but it was necessary," she replied calmly. "Understand, you are, in your true form, a massive, extremely powerful and dangerous creature. We are already facing attacks from two other dragons. By studying you, we could learn ways to defend ourselves against them."
"Why would you need to defend yourself?" Castiel asked, confused. "We won't hurt you unless you're evil."
"I'm afraid that isn't true," Ketch called. "The Colonel here has a few things to tell you. Now, they may upset you, and will certainly be difficult to hear. But you need to know exactly why what Dr. Tapping did was necessary, and what you will be asked to do in the future."
Castiel listened, growing more alarmed the more he learned. The fate of his nestmates was indeed difficult to hear. What happened to Lucifer was sickening. Gabriel's antics seemed to trouble the humans, but Castiel wasn't sure why. His nestmate had simply done exactly what Castiel himself would have done, had he the ability. It was always best if a dragon found its own human partners. Still, that would have meant he'd possibly be with someone other than Dean, and that was something he didn't even want to think about.
When he learned what became of Michael and Raphael, he was shocked. Why would dragons attack good people? It made no sense at all. If Raphael had picked bad human partners, that was unfortunately understandable. Yet these humans were assuring him that Michael's partners were good. If that was the case, why would Michael be attacking good people? Castiel couldn't understand it. If bad people were threatening his bondmate, why didn't Michael simply destroy them all, take his bondmate back and fly off? Castiel was very disappointed in him. If anyone threatened Dean, Castiel would not hesitate to attack. He secretly vowed not to let Dean out of his sight again. From the moment his bondmate returned, he would simply have to stay with Castiel at all times. That would ensure Dean would always be safe. Castiel was sure Dean would agree. But meanwhile, what he was hearing about the other dragons was very troubling.
Castiel was quiet for a long moment after Col. Stephens finished. The humans were content to let him think things over. "I understand," he said finally. "You want me to help protect good people from the bad people with my nestmates. I'll do that."
A collective sigh of relief came from the three. Dr. Tapping was smirking at Stephens. "I told you it was more than a mindless animal now," she declared. "Once the bond with the joining partner was formed, it gained the ability to reason."
"Excellent," Stephens said, clapping his hands together. "On to the next issue. Castiel, your current guiding partner, PFC Winchester? He isn't the one we selected to work with you. That must be fairly obvious by now."
Castiel cocked his head to one side, confused. "What do you mean?"
"I mean he showed everyone once and for all today that he is completely unfit to train you," the colonel explained. "I know you bonded with him, and that means we unfortunately have to keep him around for now. But that doesn't mean he has to be the one in charge of your training." He indicated Ketch. "Ketch here was our actual candidate for you. Unfortunately, the man who was supposed to join with you died, which resulted in your current predicament. Novak was a good, loyal soldier. I know that there's a part of you that still is."
Castiel frowned again. "Yes," he admitted.
"Good. That's good, Castiel. As your direct commanding officer, I'm going to give you some orders now. Winchester will no longer be riding you during your training sessions. Instead, you are to train with Lt. Ketch."
"But I don't want Ketch to ride me," Castiel objected. "That isn't right. I only want Dean."
"Warrant Officer Novak, this is a direct order," the colonel insisted. "You are to train with Lt. Ketch. That means you will allow him to ride you and you will obey his direction."
Castiel shifted, torn. Part of him recognized the direct order and wanted to obey as he always had. At the same time, his dragon nature screamed in rebellion. To have a human he wasn't bonded with riding him was unnatural. It made all the small hairs on his human body stand up. He shivered. "I want to talk to Dean."
"There's no need," the colonel insisted. "We spoke to Winchester before we came in here. He said he's afraid of you."
That made Castiel sit up straight, staring in shock at the human. "What? Afraid of me? Why?"
The colonel made an odd twirling motion with his hand. "Play it, Naomi."
Dr. Tapping pushed a button. Immediately, a device his human memory identified as a monitor lit up with an image of Dean. Castiel smiled, but it quickly faded. Dean was looking past the camera at whomever he was speaking with, the familiar freckled face and green eyes flushed and upset. "I told you, I'm scared to death of it!" he exclaimed. "I was screaming in terror the entire time. It was all I could do to hold on and stay in that saddle."
"Then how do you recommend we proceed?" Dr. Tapping's voice asked from offscreen. "If you're too afraid of the dragon to remain bonded, then who's going to do it?"
"Let Ketch do it," Dean said immediately. "I'll tell Castiel to let him. Anyone but me!"
Castiel slumped in his seat. He couldn't breathe. None of the pain he barely remembered from Tapping's tests was as bad as what he felt right now. Dean, his Dean, was afraid of him? He wanted Castiel to bond with someone else? Castiel didn't know such a thing was even possible. Generally, according to the race memory he had, the death of the partner a dragon had bonded with quickly meant the death of the dragon, as well, usually by their own will. No dragon wanted to go on without their chosen human companion. But if Dean didn't want him, what did that mean? He was unaware of such a thing happening in all the shared memory of his species.
"We've been monitoring your blood levels," Dr. Tapping was saying, finally breaking into Castiel's painful thoughts. "When your eyes started to glow, your blood contained high levels of an unidentified hormone I called Tapping-D. I believe it is this hormone that readies your body for the process of bonding. While we are not able to identify all the chemicals and amounts present in the hormone, we hope we'll soon be able to synthesize enough to re-trigger your bonding cycle. Once Winchester is removed far from the base…"
"No!" Castiel exclaimed. His hands were clenched into tight fists. "Don't take Dean away."
"Castiel?" Ketch called softly. "I'm sorry, but it would appear that Winchester doesn't want to be bonded with you. You wouldn't want to make him stay when he doesn't want to, do you?"
Castiel shook. Another human memory rose, that of a woman. "I don't love you anymore," she was saying. "You can't ask me to stay when I don't love you."
"What's wrong with it?" Col. Stephens was asking, sounding alarmed.
"I'm not sure," Dr. Tapping admitted.
"Castiel?" Ketch called. "Are you with us, mate?"
"I… I'm here," Castiel managed. "I still want to talk to Dean. I won't make him stay. I just want to talk to him. No," he insisted, seeing the humans about to object. "I need him here. Please, I…"
The world was spinning, going grey. Sounds echoed around him as though from the other side of a long tunnel. The world tipped sideways. He heard something, human voices shouting from a distance. Then everything went dark.
"Cass? Hey, buddy, open those eyes."
Dean. Dean's voice, at last. Castiel opened his eyes and saw his bondmate's worried face hovering over his own. Dean's face stretched into a smile. "There you are! You gave everyone a scare."
"You certainly did," Ketch agreed. The lieutenant was standing across from Dean, smiling down at Castiel. "We're all very glad to see you awake."
"Vitals returning to normal," Dr. Tapping's voice reported. "That was way too close."
"What the hell happened?" Col. Stephens demanded.
"The dragon isn't completely stable yet," the doctor explained. "Its heart rate, blood pressure and respirations all dropped to an alarming level. I really worried we were going to lose it before its joining partner was brought in." She sighed. "I don't think it's advisable to try to reform the bond right now."
Ketch's smile vanished.
Dean was frowning, looking around the room in confusion. "Reform the bond?" he echoed. "What are you talking about?"
"Dean," Castiel whispered. "You're afraid of me?"
Dean looked puzzled. "Afraid of you?" he echoed. "No, I'm not afraid of you at all. Where did you get that?"
"Video," Castiel explained. He wanted to move, to reach out and touch Dean, but something prevented him. He looked down, seeing heavy metal clamps holding his body in place on a table. Once again, vague, half-formed memories from his life as a dragon swam to the surface. He'd been held down like this before. Massive chains holding down his limbs. A metal net trapping his wings. Heavy, noisy, stinking engines driving jacks to pry his jaws apart. Castiel moaned. "Dean! Help me!"
"Ok, it's ok, I'm right here," Dean soothed. "Hey, get this shit off of him!"
Col. Stephens and Dr. Tapping turned to frown at him. "That's not advisable," the colonel began. "It's only just regained consciousness…"
"Calm down, mate," Ketch soothed. "Nothing's going to hurt you."
"That doesn't matter! Can't you see he's freaking out?" Dean exclaimed. "If you're all scared, then get the hell out of here and let me do it, but he needs loose!"
Dean, wonderful Dean, was putting and tugging on the clamps. Dr. Tapping quickly ordered everyone out. The colonel quickly ran out, along with most of Dr. Tapping's team and, after a moment of hesitation, Ketch. The doctor remained, doing something under the table out of Castiel's sight. He moaned in relief when the clamps loosened. Dean quickly helped him get free. Then Castiel was being hugged tightly against Dean's chest. "Don't you scare me like that," Dean whispered. "When they dragged me in here and I saw you lying there? I honestly thought you were dead."
Castiel clung to his bondmate, mindful not to hurt the fragile human. Even in human form, his strength was considerable. "Why are you afraid of me?" he asked.
"I'm not afraid of you, why do you keep saying that? What's this about a video?"
"You said you were scared to death of me," Castiel recalled, not letting go of Dean. "That you were screaming in terror, trying to hold on and stay in the saddle. You said you wanted Ketch to bond with me, or for them to pick anyone but you."
Dean stared at him. "I said that about flying," he stressed. "I'm afraid of flying, Cass. When those bees stung me, I triggered you to fly by accident. That was terrifying, especially since I'd already started undoing my harness when you suddenly took off. I wanted Ketch to fly with you, not bond with you! Who…?" He paused and pulled out of the embrace to look at Castiel, an odd look on his face. "Did Ketch tell you all of that shit?"
"They showed me, the colonel and Dr. Tapping." Castiel's hands still clung to Dean, half afraid his bondmate would disappear if he let go. "There was a video of you. When Dr. Tapping asked if you were too afraid of me to remain bonded, you said Ketch should do it."
"I never said that! Doctor, you never asked that! You weren't even in the room! I was talking to Col. Stephens, and no one said anything about the bond. Why would you…?"
"Private?" Dr. Tapping called. "This is not the time or the place to discuss this. Now, if you would be so kind as to bring the dragon back into the smaller enclosure?"
Dean's face was red. "Yeah, sure," he growled. He was still very upset, but managed a smile at Castiel and take his hand. "C'mon, Cass, let's go back over there."
Castiel followed Dean, finally realizing that he'd been moved back into the domed room. He hesitated at the door to the smaller cage, not wanting to be locked inside of it again. But Dean led him right into it. Even knowing it was coming, Castiel still flinched a little when the door closed and locked behind them.
Dean stopped, looking back at the door. He let go of Castiel's hand, much to Castiel's disappointment, and moved to the door. "Um, I'm still in here?" he called. "How do I unlock this door?"
"Since it seems the dragon suffers great physical distress just at the idea of you being gone? It's safer if you simply remain with it until it can better adjust," Dr. Tapping told him. "Have a good night and I'll see you in the morning."
"In the morning? Wait, what do you… You can't… There's only one bed in here and the shitter's right out in the open with all these cameras, are you crazy?! Hey!" Dean pounded on the bars, ignored by the doctor heading out. "Hey, unlock the door!"
"Are you afraid of me after all?" Castiel asked unhappily.
Dean's shoulders slumped. He leaned his head on the bars of the door and sighed. "No, buddy, I'm not afraid of you. And I'm going to have a nice long conversation with that bitch and Col. Stephens about telling you that." He turned, offering a weak smile. "So, looks like we're roomies for tonight. Um…" He eyed the enclosure. "Well, this is awkward as hell."
"You don't want to be here," Castiel said in a small voice. He was starting to feel like he'd be sick again.
"Um, not locked in a cage, no, not so much," Dean admitted. "But if I had to be locked in a cage with someone, I'm glad it's you, anyway."
Castiel looked up hopefully. "You are?"
"Sure." Dean moved to the bed and sat down on it, bouncing his rear a couple of times to check it. "Geez, if they're going to force us to share a bed, at least they could have made it a queen. Going to be uncomfortable as hell with two of us in a twin."
"I could sleep on the floor?" Castiel offered. "I don't mind. I want you to be comfortable."
Dean scoffed. "You're not sleeping on the floor. We'll work it out." He bent down, untying the laces of his shoes. "Well, I sure as hell am not showering with my ass out for the cameras, so I guess we're settling for splashing some water from the sink. Do we even have towels?" He looked over and shook his head. "What a bunch of assholes. Tomorrow, I'm giving them all kinds of hell. This is no way to force someone to live."
"I'm sorry, Dean," Castiel apologized. He was secretly delighted and hoped it didn't show to his clearly-irritated bondmate.
Dean only shrugged. "Hey, it's not your fault." He moved to the sink. Pulling off his shirt, Dean tossed it over the back of the toilet. Castiel was annoyed to see a bandage over his mark on Dean's arm. The dragon part of him wanted to tear it off, but the human part of him knew it was to help heal it. No, it wouldn't do to have Dean get any sort of infection. As irritating as the bandage covering his mark was, it would have to stay for now.
Dean splashed in the water, soaping up his hands and using them to wash his face and underarms. Then he waved Castiel over to do the same. Castiel did so, vaguely remembering doing something similar as a human. When they were both relatively clean, Dean moved back to the bed and climbed in. "Ok, a couple of ground rules," he began as he waved Castiel over. "First, no spooning. Second, don't hog all the covers. And third, if you gotta pee in the middle of the night, please take my shirt off the back of the shitter. I don't want it splashed. Got it?"
"Got it." Castiel happily climbed into the bed. He reached toward Dean, but hesitated. "Can I touch you?"
Dean's eyes were already closed. Now he opened one, the green orb eyeing Castiel. "Yeah, sure, go ahead."
Castiel happily reached over, wrapping a hand around Dean's bicep below the bandage. Now he would know in case anyone tried to take his bondmate away while he slept. Content, he closed his eyes. "Good night, Dean."
"Night, Cass."
So what if Castiel waited until Dean was asleep and then spooned him anyway? Dean seemed to sleep better. It would be fine.
