Hidden under nightmares

Chapter four

Dean is once again the first to rise, repeating the same motions he went through the morning before, this time in silence, too in his head to whistle or hum.

Cas also seems quiet when he wakes.

Dean can't tell if it's the usual first thing in the morning silence or if it's something different. He is dying to know if last night is repeating in Castiel's head too.

It is and it isn't.

It is not the first time Cas has held Dean's hand through a nightmare and it most certainly won't be the last. The secret of last night doesn't weigh heavy on Cas as it does Dean. He feels at peace with it, grateful for it even. The whispers he shared in the dark were as much for him as they were for Dean.

He spoke his thanks into existence and Dean's nightmares into nothingness.

*

Over the course of the day they come to the conclusion that they are hunting a ghoul.

A ghoul that just so happens to own a motel.

Cas notes the intelligence of the strategy, Dean huffs at the hunt becoming more layered.

The motel is manned by unaware humans with the ghoul being the mostly silent manager obviously only turning up to eat the occasional guest.

They head back to the ghoul infested motel and while Cas rents a room from the front desk Dean waits in the impala round the corner. The ghoul has only gone for lone visitors so they are using Cas as bait.

He heads to a room on the ground floor and sets his bag on the bed. Dean gave him a makeshift signal blocker that will kill the camera in his room for a few minutes. He turns it on, opens a window and texts Dean his room number. Within a minute Dean is through the window and joining Cas in the bathroom.

The camera footage they have shows the ghoul entering and exiting the rooms from that point.

Cas notices the cabinet at the end of the bath is locked from the inside. He nudges Dean and shows him the find. "Okay, good to know. Good job buddy.'' They only have another 40 seconds before the camera resets so Dean makes for the window again.

He jumps out and turns to Cas, "Promise you I won't let anything happen to you. I will be close by." and he ducks down. "I know" comes Castiel's response.

Cas turns away, smiling. He's happy he's useful, he's happy they are near the end of the case.

He has enjoyed the time alone with Dean but he hates watching Dean battle in his sleep. The nightmares have been draining and two in a row has kept Cas from sleeping properly. He's exhausted not only from the hunt but also the worry. He has also been on the shallow side of sleeping ever since Dean woke him the first night. Just in case he was needed.

He sits reading in the room for a while, texting Dean some of his favourite lines from the poetry book. This was a habit he had picked up when he first started reading books years ago. He had once stopped as he was worried it annoyed Dean but after 3 weeks of no book related texts Dean had asked what was going on and so Cas had picked the habit back up again.

The clock hits 11.15pm and he's in bed, lying on the right side. The left still empty as if waiting for Dean. He reminds himself that he can spread out and crawl into the middle if he wanted but he decides it would feel weird, so he stays where he is.

Cas feels vulnerable. The camera on him meant he went to bed with no weapons.

He is completely defenceless to the ghoul that might crawl from the bathroom at any moment.

He lies still, eyes closed, wide awake. He breathes in for 4, holds for 1, breathes out for 4.

He is not defenceless, Dean is right outside the window and there is no one he trusts more to have his back.

It's just after 1am when he hears a faint sound from the bathroom.

Cas feels himself go on edge, he focuses to make sure his breath doesn't hitch so that there is no way the ghoul can know he's awake. He feels the hairs on his arms spike up as the monster enters the room.

He daren't open his eyes. But the unknown is terrifying.

Hes human, he has no defense against this monster. If it grabs him he will bleed, he will break as any human would.

He prays to Dean. Please come. Please come. Please come.

He feels a tug on the edge of the duvet, he clenches his fists. DEAN. He is yelling on the inside. He feels a hand on his leg. It grabs him.

It throws him from the bed. His eyes shoot open as he crashes to the floor.

He turns to watch as the ghoul walks towards him, smiling. Cas doesn't flinch, forcing bravery. He looks around for something to grab, to fight with.

"Hunter." The ghoul stands above Cas, smirking at him. "Always enjoy a hunter, more satisfying than the usual begging idiots. Hunters try to fight, you can almost taste the fight in their blood and their meat."

Cas tries not to panic, he knows if he backs up any more he'll have his back to the wall, he'll be trapped.

3 things happen at the same time.

Castiel launches up from the floor, aiming for the door. There's nothing around he can grab to protect him so he knows it's his only hope

The ghoul steps forward, it lashes out. It is aiming for Cas's arm, to grab him and throw him back down. It catches it.

Dean comes flying through the window, swinging his knife and decapitating the ghoul in one deadly strike.

As the body falls, as Dean breathes out, as Cas slumps down against the wall, the room goes silent. "Alright, good job man, here- Cas!" Cas is sat on the ground, a dislocated shoulder and a bleeding arm.

Dean kneels down gently next to him, assessing the damage. He puts on a smile and looks Cas in the eye, "It's not too bad, alright. Couple of stitches. You're going to be okay. I am however going to have to do this -" POP.

Without giving Cas a second to process what he meant, Dean pops the shoulder back into place. Cas hisses through his teeth, "assbutt" he aims at Dean who is now wrapping his shirt around Castiel's wounds. "There that will hold until we can get back to the motel.''

Dean starts cleaning down the room, telling Cas that if he even tries to help he will knock him on his ass.

Not 10 minutes later they're in the car, the body in the trunk and they are on the way back to their room. They'll sort the body out tomorrow.

Dean cleans Cas's arm with a splash of whiskey and takes a sip before handing the bottle back to Cas, "You're going to need this.''

Cas looks nervous as he takes a big gulp from the bottle. It's not the first time he's had to be stitched up by the Winchesters but it doesn't make it any easier and the long cuts along his arm will take a good few stitches to be closed up properly.

Cas watches the concentration on Dean's face as he expertly works on his arm.

He focuses on the creases in Dean's forehead, the freckles on his face. He listens as the hunter mutters apologies and comforting comments to him. Sat here, at 2am, covered in blood and stitching up Castiel's arm; he's still beautiful. Still Dean Winchester.

Cas must have winced sharper than he intended as Dean pauses for a second, looking up to his best friend in concern. They both take another drink.

"Just a few more left okay? You kicked ass today Cas, you should be proud. I'm proud of you. And these will heal nicely, I'll make sure. You're okay. A couple left. I got you. Just for a few more minutes and then we were done." Dean continues to mutter comments to Cas absentmindedly as he works. He finishes the final stitch and pulls back, taking a moment to study his work. Happy with what he sees he looks back up to Cas whose eyes were still trained to his face.

Dean smiles, hesitates for a second, as if he's going to say something. He doesn't. Instead he grabs the bottle, splashes more whiskey onto Castiel's arm and laughs as his friend swears and swipes at him with his good hand.