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thegrrrl2002Title: All the Pebbles in Your Path
Fandom: SPN
Pairing: Dean/Castiel
Spoilers: Season 6, up to 6.07
Word count: 12,331
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Dean takes an unexpected trip. It's up to Cas to get him home again.
Notes: Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
takadainmate for the ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
deancas_xmas fic exchange. A big thank you to the very awesome mmmchelle who read this through and encouraged me and listened to me ramble on about it.
"All I know is that Crowley is pulling the strings," Dean said as he tucked his kit into his duffel bag. "And I don't like it one bit."
Cas stood by the window, looking out over the parking lot. "Perhaps it's not all Crowley."
"Like he's taking credit for holding Sam's soul, but he doesn't have it? Wow, a lying demon. Who would have thought it." Dean grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the bedside table. He considered stashing it in his bag, but since there were only a few swallows left he unscrewed the cap and it raised it to his lips.
"He would have to be very powerful to do such a thing." Cas turned to Dean. "Until we understand the extent of his powers, we can't be sure of anything."
"That's fucking great." Dean wiped his mouth, satisfied by the burn of the whiskey. He tossed the bottle in the trash with a loud thud. "Well, I'm heading off to Bobby's."
He retrieved his gun from under the bed pillow, tucked it into the waistband of his jeans and shouldered his duffel bag. When he looked up again, he expected the room to be empty. Yet Cas was still there, as irritating as ever.
"Don't you have some place you have to be?" Dean asked.
"Yes, Dean, many places. But you said you needed my help."
"Okay, fine." Dean relented, regretting his snide tone. "I just figured you had a battle to get back to."
Cas shook his head. "There's been a lull in the fighting. We're taking the time to regroup."
"So you're coming along with me?" Dean asked.
"Yes, I am," Cas said, "I will be riding shotgun."
Dean snorted and turned away before Cas could see him smile. He wasn't sure why he was so pleased, but the truth was he had missed Cas over the past year, missed his solemn, glaring, annoying presence. "Come on, then."
When he reached the door, Cas put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "What?" Dean said, immediately wary. "You were looking out the window before--is something out there?"
"I'm not certain. But I may have sensed something."
Dean stepped aside, reaching for his weapon as Cas opened the door.
All seemed quiet, but the parking lot was dark. Too dark. Three of the street lights had been broken and the area was illuminated only by the sickly green and yellow motel sign. Cas shot Dean a look and Dean knew at once that yeah, something was up.
Dean was glad Cas was with him.
Cas stepped out onto the covered walkway. Dean followed, alert and ready. The Impala was parked in front of the unit, only a few feet away. Sparing a quick glance at the neighboring units, Dean noted they were dark, seemingly unoccupied. Then he heard a sound above his head.
A loud thump in front of him as a man leaped from the roof of the walkway onto the hood of the Impala. Dean narrowed his eyes, raising his gun and aimed it directly at the man's chest. "Oh, you are going to regret that," Dean snarled.
The man smiled and even in the dark Dean could see sharp, deadly teeth and his blood ran cold.
Dean hated vampires more than ever.
The door next to him swung open and two more came out. Cas raised a hand, sweeping them back but the vamp on the car leaped to the room's door, holding it open and grinning viciously.
Dean saw the sigils on the inside of the door and his heart dropped. "Fuck."
The vamp slammed his hand against the door and blinding light flowed from it. Desperate, Dean reached for Cas, but he was already fading into a smear of white light, his face strange and distorted. Dean threw himself at the light, catching a glimpse of wings as they opened, feathers brushing his face and then all went white.
***
Dean woke to a throbbing pain in his arm. His wrist was twisted awkwardly underneath his body and he groaned as he rolled over onto his back, his entire body aching with the effort. The air smelled dank and heavy and he opened his eyes to cloudy skies above and that smell--damn it, that was sulfur in the air.
It could only mean one thing. Demons.
Heart pounding, Dean sat up abruptly, wincing at the dizziness it caused. A quick look around showed he was alongside a body of water, mud stretching out to the water's edge--a salt marsh. No demon in sight. Or vampires. No one at all. Just ferns and moss and water lapping at the shore.
The smell was coming from dark sulfurous mud exposed by low tide. With a sigh of relief, Dean rubbed a hand over his face, batting away the flies. He saw his gun lying in the greenery beside him and he reached for it, tucking it away in the back of his pants.
"Cas," he said. "Where the hell did you go?"
Pushing himself to his feet, Dean stumbled over leafy ferns, search for any sign of Cas's presence. His left wrist was swollen and bruised, maybe even broken and he held it against his chest protectively. Catching a glimpse of beige trench coat against the rich green, not more than twenty feet away, Dean shouted,"Cas?"
He hurried over to find Cas lying motionless, face down. Cursing, Dean knelt beside him and tugged his shoulder, rolling him onto his back. Cas's eyes remained closed. Dean cupped a hand in front of Cas's face, and yes, still breathing. He gently pressed his fingers against Cas's neck, reassured by the slow, steady heartbeat throbbing underneath his fingertips.
"Thank god." Dean sat, shoulders slumped. He spotted his duffel a few feet away, but he was too tired to get it. His head was pounding with pain and even though he knew there was aspirin in his pack, it was just too damn far away.
"Any time you want to wake up, Cas," he said. "I mean, we seem to be safe for the moment, but--" Dean raised his head, eyes on the horizon. The marsh gave way to thicker bushes a few hundred yards beyond, and it looked like a fairly dense forest past that. Low, thick trees with huge fronds--palm trees, maybe?
"It's a jungle out there, buddy." Dean patted Cas's chest. "Come on." He took Cas by the shoulder and shook him gently but there was no response. "This banishing thing sucks ass." He snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure you already know that."
Cas still didn't move.
"Great." Dean fished his cell phone out his jacket pocket and flipped it open. "Oh, that's even better," he added when he saw the 'no signal' status. "We must be in the middle of friggin' nowhere."
He gazed out over the trees, watching the as the fronds swayed in the breeze and wondered where the hell he was--South America? India? "I have no clue," he told Cas. "And you're not helping at all, are you?"
He got to his feet, groaning as his stomach lurched. For a moment he thought he was going to lose his lunch and he closed his eyes, breathing deep until the feeling passed. He held the phone up higher, as if were possible that buildings were blocking the signal. Shaking his head at himself, he closed the phone and slipped it back into his pocket, then trudged over to his bag to get that aspirin.
He found the aspirin and a bottle of water, then wrapped his injured wrist with a bandanna, using his teeth to help tie the final knot. Walking over to the edge of the mudflat, he wrinkled his nose at the smell. Clams were half buried in the exposed mud, streams of water running past, indicating the tide was still headed out. Snails moved slowly between the clams. "I guess I'm not going to starve," he said, eyeing the fauna dubiously.
An odd trumpeting sound in the distance and Dean froze, reaching for his gun. It sounded loud and deep, as if it came from something big. Really big. An elephant, maybe. Dean glanced down at his completely inadequate weapon and grimaced. It was enough to annoy an elephant, nothing more. The sound seemed to originate from the forested area beyond and Dean watched the distant trees with apprehension.
He saw movement but it was too far away to make out any details. Aside from the buzz of insects, all was quiet.
"A little too quiet," Dean muttered to himself as he glanced up at the sky. No planes. Or birds, for that matter. A marsh like this should be filled with bird life--seagulls, sparrows, ducks. Hell, maybe flamingos, for all he knew. But the only things flying around him were insects. Really big insects, like the red and yellow beetle that was currently climbing up his leg.
Dean brushed the bug off, and despite the heat, felt a distinct chill. Everything was wrong. There were no signs of life along the undulating coastline--no boats, no huts, cottages, not even any garbage washed up on shore. The sea was covered in a heavy mist and Dean couldn't make out where the water met sky, he didn't know if there was more land beyond or not. He spotted something large moving in the water, out in the distance--a whale, most likely. It broke the surface briefly, dark, sleek skin glinting in the sunlight, then it disappeared beneath the sea.
At a complete loss, he headed back to Cas, stirring up flies as he trudged through the low growth, which were promptly eaten by big blue dragonflies darting here and there. "You're welcome," he said to the dragonflies. "Don't forget to tip your waiter."
Cas was still unconscious. "You're missing out on a lot fun here, buddy," Dean told him. "Seriously, are we even on earth? Or some kind of weird-assed corner of heaven?"
He stared down at Cas for a moment.
"How long you going to keep up the silent treatment, huh? It's getting old." He nudged Cas with his toe, then sat beside him. "I feel like shit warmed over."
He watched Cas breathe, making sure his chest was rising and falling steadily. His gun was a somewhat reassuring pressure at the small of his back. He wondered how long he was going to be stuck here--where ever "here" was. He didn't appreciate being taken out of the game like this--those vamps had been waiting for him, somehow they knew he was there and even more chilling, they had anticipated Cas's presence and were prepared to take him out.
Plus, Sam. Sam was at Bobby's, expecting him to show up.
"Damn it, Cas. I have things to do," Dean complained. He sighed, wiped the sweat from his face and waited for Cas to wake.
***
The fire roared and crackled, yet provided only minor comfort . Uneasy, Dean sat with his pistol in one hand, flashlight and knife by his side. Cas was stretched out on the sand beside him, still unconscious. A circle of salt surrounded them--Dean kept a box tucked inside his bag at all times. He was exhausted, but determined not to succumb to sleep. He needed to stay alert. It had taken him all afternoon to gather up the driftwood scattered along the shore and then had to drag Cas down to the stretch of sand where he had decided to set up camp.
Damn, he was heavy.
"This isn't fun anymore," Dean had pointed out to Cas as he dragged him over the mossy terrain, arms wrapped firmly around Cas's chest. "Feel free to wake up any time now and walk on your own two feet. Or better yet, flap your damn wings and get us both out of here."
But Cas didn't wake. As the sun set over the distant forest, the strange calls grew louder and more frequent. Something large flew over the trees and maybe it was a trick of perspective but the thing looked fucking huge, too big to be a bird. Too big to be able to fly. Dean dropped another gray, twisted log onto the fire and thought fondly of his shotgun, tucked away in the trunk of the Impala.
Hell, he wished he had the Impala, so he could get the fuck out of here and find some real food. The clams he had dined on were tough and chewy and tasted awful, but Dean was hungry enough to eat them. There was a freshwater stream only a few hundred yards away where he could refill his bottle so yeah, he was going to survive for the time being.
"No thanks to you," he said to Cas, who didn't deign to respond.
Cas's silence was getting pretty damn irritating.
A mist rolled in off the water as the sky darkened, blurring the moon and allowing only a few bright stars to show through. The night air was warm and despite his best efforts, Dean's eyes begin to close. He stood and stretched, gathering what little energy he had left. Rubbing his face, he yawned and rolled his shoulders, trying to soothe stiff, sore muscles. His wrist was throbbing again and he focused on that, hoping the pain would keep him awake.
The tide had come in and water lapped at the edge of the sand but the circle of salt remained intact. Dean moved within it, looking in vain for signs of civilization in the distance. No lights, no movement, just complete blackness as far as he could see. Unsettled even further, Dean stood beside Cas, staring down at his face in the flickering yellow light. Cas remained utterly still, the hollows of this eyes and cheeks dark with shadow.
Dean wondered if Cas was ever going to wake up. And if he'd still be Cas when he did.
"Come on, Cas," he muttered under his breath. "I don't even know what I'm dealing with here. I don't know if this is earth, or heaven, or hell--"
A rustling just beyond the sand drew his attention. Dean froze, head cocked to one side, listening. Footsteps. Quick, thudding footsteps at the edge of the water, just up ahead. Footsteps that didn't sound human--too quick, too heavy.
Dean knelt slowly, reaching for his flashlight. More footsteps, some soft scuffling in the sand and Dean carefully stepped over the line of salt and crept towards the sounds, flashlight off, gun cocked and ready. Once he was beyond the circle of firelight, he waited for his eyes to adjust. With the mist hanging low to the ground, Dean could barely make out movement. But whatever it was, it was large. He crept closer, raising his gun.
More noise, behind him this time. Dean whirled around. Fuck, Cas was back there, lying helpless. Just at the edge of the firelight something moved. It was big with claws and Dean saw a flash of sharp, jagged teeth, heading directly toward Cas. Dean aimed his gun and fired.
A blur of movement and it was gone. The sound of the blast echoed down the coast, promptly followed by the thudding of feet. Monsters, running across the field toward the forest. Dean switched on the flashlight and caught a glimpse of a long tail, clawed feet, and then they were gone, whatever they were.
Not a typical werewolf--not enough fur. Maybe a rugaru.
"Damn it," Dean said, heart pounding in his chest. He ran back to Cas, who appeared unharmed. Dean swept the flashlight's beam across the surface--the line of salt was intact, but just beyond it there were deep grooves, three parallel lines in the sand.
Dean sat beside Cas, gun cocked and ready. He had no trouble staying awake for the remainder of the night.
***
The sky was a pre-dawn gray when Cas awoke. Dean's only warning was a sharp intake of breath and then Cas's eyes were open, surprisingly alert.
"Holy shit, Cas," Dean said, startled and relieved. He knelt beside Cas. "It's about time. You had me freaking out here."
Cas blinked, then his eyes focused on Dean. He stared silently for a few seconds. "Dean," he said with a frown.
"Yeah. Hi. Nice to see you, too," Dean said, raising his eyebrows. "You feeling okay?"
Cas sat up abruptly, causing Dean to fall back on his heels. Dean waited for Cas's reaction as Cas took in the campfire, the ocean, the sky, his eyes lingering on the forest before returning to rest on Dean.
"Yo." Dean grew worried. "You remember how we got here? The vamps? With the banishing sigil?"
"You shouldn't be here," Cas said.
"Yeah, no shit." Dean's worry gave way to frustration. "Neither of us should. Because I have no freakin' idea where 'here' is. What I asked is, do you remember how we got here?"
"Yes, Dean, I remember the events leading up to the banishing." Cas leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "Question is, how did you get here?"
Dean shrugged. "What? I jumped in after you."
"How?" Cas demanded. "That isn't possible."
"What can I say?" Dean waved his hands. "You started to go glowy and I grabbed onto you, and next thing I knew, I was face down in the dirt, unconscious."
"This isn't right." Cas shook his head, then stood in one easy movement.
"No kidding. Where the hell are we?" Dean asked. He climbed to his feet, slower than Cas, and followed him. Despite his relief at Cas's recovery, he was getting more irritated by the minute. And okay, maybe a little scared, too, because Cas was looking as close to freaked out as Cas could ever get. "Is this earth, or some kind of--of--alternative reality, like in heaven, or--"
"We are on earth," Cas said, but he didn't sound happy about it. He strode swiftly across the marsh, trench coat flapping around his legs.
"Okay," Dean said, his fear building. He broke into a trot, slipping on the damp moss as he tried to keep up. "Then where are we? Because there are some nasty things hanging around, and I don't know what the hell they are."
"A better question," Cas said, "would be 'when are we'." He came to an abrupt halt near the thick bushes and tangled undergrowth. "Look." He raised an arm and pointed.
The sun had risen and the first rays were slanting down at the edge of the bushes, revealing a herd of strange animals feeding on the leaves. They were the size of deer, with four legs, a high, arched back leading to a long tail that stood out straight, not touching the ground. Dean stared in disbelief. One of them turned its long narrow neck and stared back at him, a leafy twig hanging out of it's mouth as it chewed.
"What the hell?" Dean frowned, then took a step back as he realized just exactly what was in front of him. "No, Cas, that can't be--"
"I'm afraid so."
"Cas, those are not a dinosaurs."
"We've traveled far into the earth's past," Cas said. "About one hundred and fifty million years. Give or take a million."
Dean held his hands up, pleading. "That is not possible, okay? Are you sure this isn't just some heavenly version of Jurassic Park? Because heaven, that's kind of a weird place and you never know what's going on up there."
Startled by the movement, the creatures began to move away, surprisingly graceful as they broke into a trot. Despite his dismay, Dean couldn't help feeling a sense of awe as he watched them--dinosaurs, honest to goodness dinosaurs. He remembered Sam playing with a little plastic stegosaurus as a kid, making it attack Dean's soldiers on the battlefield they had set up in the back of the car. Sam loved that thing.
"Trust me, Dean," Cas said. "We've traveled back in time. Far, far back. I don't know how it happened."
"It was just your standard banishing sigil, right?" Dean asked. "What usually happens when you get hit with one those?"
"I am transported a distance away, and can't travel again for a time," Cas explained. "Usually a day or two."
"So how did we end up in the land of the lost?"
"I don't know." Cas said, his tone growing sharp. He whirled to face Dean. "What part of--"
Dean held his hands up. "I get it, okay? I get it. You don't know." He hated when Cas didn't know things. It never boded well.
Cas's expression grew thoughtful. "Perhaps the diseased blood affected its power," he mused.
"Vamp blood," Dean said with sudden realization. "It was drawn with vampire blood, wasn't it?"
"Either that, or your presence affected the spell." Cas folded his arms over his chest. "None of this makes sense, Dean."
"Ah, well that's good to hear," Dean said. "But never mind how we got here, how do we get back?"
"That's a very good question."
"Come on, Cas," Dean pleaded. "You've danced the time warp before."
"Thirty years verses one hundred fifty million." Cas scowled at him. "It's not the same."
"But you've got extra mojo now, right?" Dean knew he was grasping at straws but he couldn't wrap his mind around the possibility of being stuck forever in Jurassic Park.
"Once the banishment spell wears off, it's possible, but not a certainty," Cas said. "It will be a bigger jump than I've ever attempted before, even if we move forward in increments. We are a long way away from home."
"We need to get back, Cas," Dean insisted. "I can't stay here. There's too much going on. What about Sam? He's wandering around out there without a soul, and god only knows what Crowley is up to--"
"Dean," Cas snapped. "You are not the only one with responsibilities. I'm supposed to be fighting a war, for the future of my world--" Cas raised his arms in despair, "and yet I'm trapped here, as a direct result of helping you."
Before Dean could say anything more, Cas spun around and headed away from Dean.
"Crap." Dean scrubbed a hand over his head as he watched Cas stride off, shoulders stiff and angry. Cas had a point, as much as Dean hated to admit it.
A clucking sound in the from the ground and Dean noticed a small creature--dinosaur--peering up at him, head cocked to one side. It looked like a chicken, standing on two hind legs, a brightly feathered tail twice the length of its body standing straight up behind it. The front appendages were small and tucked against its body but Dean could see the long, sickle-like claws on its hands, and the mouth, even though shaped like a beak, was lined with rows of tiny, sharp teeth.
"What the hell do you want?" Dean asked.
It darted forward and before Dean could jump back, snapped its jaws, catching Dean's jeans in its mouth, right at the knee.
"You've got to be kidding me." Dean tried to shake it off but it was surprisingly tenacious for its size. He reached down to brush it away, realizing at the last second that it probably wasn't a very good idea.
The creature sank its tiny teeth into Dean's hand. "Fuck," Dean growled, gritting his teeth against the pain. The creature scampered up the side of his body, digging its claws painfully into Dean's hip as it bit down harder and Dean wondered if he had survived heaven and hell only to be taken down by a vicious killer chicken.
And then it was gone.
"Perhaps you should consider staying close." Cas appeared at Dean's side, eyeing him with something suspiciously close to exasperation.
"Okay. Good idea," Dean panted, clutching his bloody hand to his chest.
Cas reached out to Dean, demanding. After a moment of stubbornness, Dean relented and held his injured hand out. Cradling Dean's hand in his, Cas touched two fingers to Dean's palm and with a rush of warmth Dean's hand was healed.
"Thanks," Dean said quietly.
Cas didn't let go. Instead he moved closer, still glaring at Dean. Dean's breath caught in his throat and hell, he must be seriously tired--all he wanted to do was close his eyes and lean against Cas, to breathe him in, to let Cas glare all he wanted to. When Cas placed his other hand on Dean's hip, Dean nearly did just that, except when he followed Cas's lowered gaze, he saw blood and realized the killer chicken had gouged his hip with its claws. Cas was healing him.
"Uh. Thank you." Dean stared at Cas's hand, pale skin smudged with blood, resting against his jeans.
Cas curled his fingers over Dean's hip, his face inches away from Dean's. His expression softened as he searched Dean's face and Dean could feel Cas's breath on his cheek. Cas was too close. He was always too close. Dean knew he should just step away but he couldn't.
"Hey, while you're at it." Dean held up his other hand, exposing his bruised wrist. "I don't know if it's broken or--"
This time the healing warmth flowed up from the hand on his hip, through his chest and down his arm and fuck, it was almost sexual, the way it ran through him. Dean suppressed a shudder.
"Anything else?" Cas asked in a low voice.
Dean could think of a lot of things he wanted from Cas, things that had been lurking in the back of his mind for some time now. "Uh, I'm good," he said instead. "I do need to get some sleep, though."
Cas dropped Dean's hand and stepped away. "Of course."
Dean wasn't sure, but that might have been disappointed he heard in Cas's voice. "But first, I'm starving. I don't suppose you could mojo up some bacon and eggs?" Dean asked, trying to cover his confusion.
Cas gave Dean a look. "No, I'm afraid that wouldn't be possible."
"Pancakes? Biscuits and gravy?"
Cas shook his head.
"Jeeze, what good are you?" Cas raised an eyebrow and Dean grinned, feeling more like himself again. "Hey, do you think you can whammy a fish out of the water? It's got to taste better than those damn clams."
Cas could indeed. He stood at the water's edge, watching and listening. After a moment he raised his hand and a large fish landed in it. It looked almost like a regular fish, with a flat body and fins and two eyes and scales and everything else that made a fish look normal.
"Dude, that is awesome," Dean announced. In no time at all he had scaled and gutted it, washing it off in the water before gingerly placing it on a smoldering log in the fire. It smelled pretty good as it cooked.
"My strength is returning," Cas said, standing behind Dean as Dean poked the fire with a stick, building it back up again.
Dean glanced up, squinting at the sun. "You sound surprised."
"It's sooner than I expected, considering how weakened I was when I first woke." Cas walked to the water's edge. "But heaven is closer to the earth in this time period."
"Seriously? It is?" Dean looked up at the sky, but it was just clouds and haze, the sun a yellow glowing blob near the horizon.
"You can't see it from here," Cas said over his shoulder.
"I know that." Dean sat back on his heels, watching the skin on the fish curl and blacken with the heat. "So how soon until we can try getting back?"
"Another day. Perhaps longer." Cas shook his head in dismay as he paced in front of the fire. "I don't like this. I was expecting valuable intel from the cherubs on Raphael's supporters and their movements. Anything could be happening. The fighting may have resumed and yet I am trapped here."
"Yeah. About that," Dean said. "You were right. I was being a dick back there. I'm sorry I got you zapped into dino world."
Cas settled in the sand beside him with a heavy sigh. "Dean, you didn't draw the sigil. And by this time, I should know that spending time with you is fraught with danger." He glanced at Dean, his usual intensity tempered by surprising warmth.
"Nice." Dean snorted. "But it's true, isn't it?"
Cas gave a little shrug.
"And yet you still stick around," Dean mused. "This 'profound bond' of ours must really mean something to you, huh?"
"I value our friendship."
Simply spoken, and Cas's earnest tone warmed Dean. Embarrassed, Dean poked at his fish, checking to see it was cooked yet. "Yeah. You know. Me too," Dean said, without looking at Cas.
The fish was done, so he pulled the slab of wood away from the fire to let it cool down. He drank some water, then poured some in the cup of his hand and splashed his face. It was warm sitting next to the fire, the air heavy and humid. His t-shirt was wet with sweat and clung uncomfortably to his skin. He glanced at Cas, in his buttoned up suit and trench coat. "Aren't you hot in all that?"
Cas looked down at his clothes. "No."
"I'll never understand you guys," Dean mused, touching a cautious finger to the fish. Still too hot.
Cas leaned forward. "How so?"
"It's like a sauna out here, and you're dressed in a suit and coat. And," Dean said, warming to the subject, "what's the business about the Chrysler Building? If you are that god damn big, how do you squeeze down into a human body?"
"I can collapse upon myself," Cas said, as if it were perfectly obvious. "Utilizing different dimensions."
Dean stared at Cas. "Oh. Right."
His sarcasm was lost on Cas. "It was odd at first, to be so contained," Cas continued, looking down at his hands. "Confining. But I've grown accustomed to this form."
"Yeah. About that. How come you still have the same vessel? What happens to it while you're," Dean waved his hands, "doing the multidimensional wavelength thing? Where's Jimmy?"
"Jimmy's soul is in heaven. God has granted me this body, it is now an integral of my existence."
Dean frowned. "That doesn't make any sense."
Taken aback, Cas said, "Of course it does."
"Like I said," Dean repeated, "I"ll never understand how you guys work." He tested the fish again, and found it cool enough to eat. He picked up a piece and tasted it. Then shrugged. It tasted like fish.
"I find humans puzzling at times, too." Cas raised an eyebrow as he stared directly at Dean. "Contradictory."
"No kidding?" Dean grinned at him.
Cas turned his gaze back to the fire, but Dean could see by the set of Cas's mouth that he was amused, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
Dean ate his fish as the tide moved out. A few small lizards dashed about in the mud, and Dean was buzzed by something flying around his food, something big and shiny with too many wings. A cool ocean breeze kicked in and by time Dean finished eating, he was almost comfortable.
"I'm going to try and get some sleep," Dean told Cas as he stretched out on the sand, using his duffel bag as a pillow. "Don't go anywhere."
"Where would I go, Dean?" Cas was standing by the water again, looking up at the sky.
"Good point." Dean settled in, reaching behind his back to smooth out a lump in the sand. "Just make sure none of those things come back. Things with teeth."
"I will keep watch over you."
Dean closed his eyes, satisfied he would be safe, that no dinosaur would eat him while he slept since yeah, an angel was watching over him.
He's pretty sure that wasn't what his mother had in mind when she used to say that to him.
***
It was late afternoon when Dean woke. He found Cas sitting beside him, knees drawn up, arms clasped around his legs. "Hey," Dean said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "So we're still here, huh?"
Cas nodded.
"Thought maybe it was all just a bad dream." Dean yawned, then dug through his bag and find an apple, wishing he had a cup of coffee. "How's the mojo?"
"Growing stronger," Cas said.
"Good." Dean saw his cell phone, which he had tossed in the bag earlier. He picked it up, rising to his feet. "Come on. Let's go for a walk."
"Dean, you can't make phone calls from here."
"No shit. But I can take pictures. Pictures of dinosaurs." Dean grinned. "Come on, Sammy will love it. At least, when he's back to being my brother again he will."
And Sam was going to be his brother again, because Dean was going to get his soul back. He was sure of that.
"And anyway, Bobby will get a kick out of it, too. Come on," Dean insisted. He hopped up onto the mossy field and motioned for Cas to follow him. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. At least it had better be."
Cas stood, a puzzled expression on his face. "You wish to photograph these creatures?"
"Dinosaurs, Cas," Dean explained. "In the flesh."
Dean headed toward the forest, Cas beside him. He took a bite of his apple. Now that he had gotten over his shock at the situation, there really was something cool about being in prehistoric era. He was certainly only human to have laid eyes on a living, breathing dinosaur. He wondered if Cas had been down on earth this early.
"Hey," Dean said as he walked, dragonflies bumping against his legs. "Cas, is past you upstairs right now?"
Cas lifted his eyes to the sky and nodded. "Yes."
"Doing what?" Dean remembered all too well what Cas had been like when they first met--solemn and focused, steadfast in his beliefs. More than a little scary.
"Training, most likely. The garrison has just been formed. Anna, Uriel, all of us, learning to work together. To fight together. As opposed to fighting each other. It was a very different time." Cas sounded mournful. "I was young, and innocent of the ways of our leaders."
Dean came to a halt in front of a small stream. "Maybe you should go up there and have a little chat," he suggested. "Set yourself straight."
"No," Cas said without hesitation.
"No?"
"I wouldn't change anything." Cas turned to Dean. "Rescuing you from hell, being on earth, being cast out of heaven for a time--I value those experiences."
Dean snorted. "I guess. Hell, I'd go back and change things if I could." He found a narrow area of the stream, and leaped over it in one easy stride, feet sinking into mud as he landed.
"Yes," Cas agreed, appearing next to Dean. "You would, wouldn't you? You always strive to make things better, no matter how impossible the odds."
"Yeah," Dean scoffed. "If I ever succeed, you'll be the first to know."
Cas seemed amused by his answer. "You already have, Dean, you just don't realize it yet."
"Not so sure about that." Dean was sure that Lisa and Ben wouldn't agree with him. Or Lisa's now-dead neighbors. He took one last bite of his apple, then tossed the core into the water. And frowned. "Oh, wait, I didn't just screw up history by doing that, did I?"
"I'm afraid so." Cas looked out over the stream where Dean's apple had landed. "When we return to our time we will find that find giant sentient apples have evolved and taken over the earth."
"Was that a joke?" Dean stared in astonishment. Then grew worried. "Please tell me that was a joke."
"Yes. It was a joke." Cas lifted his chin, looking awfully proud of himself.
Dean snorted. "Cas, you've been hanging out with me way too long." He shook his head. Then movement in the bushes ahead caught his eye. He patted Cas's shoulder. "Look, over there. Come on."
The variety of creatures was astonishing. Big, long-necked dinosaurs nibbling on treetops, little feathered creatures dashing through the undergrowth, brightly colored lizards scurrying up tree trunks, Dean could hardly decide which to photograph first. He tried to capture them all, instructing Cas to keep an eye out for anything that looked like it was about to attack.
With Cas watching his back, Dean had to admit, he was having fun. He had almost forgotten what it felt like.
Go to Part 2
Fandom: SPN
Pairing: Dean/Castiel
Spoilers: Season 6, up to 6.07
Word count: 12,331
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Dean takes an unexpected trip. It's up to Cas to get him home again.
Notes: Written for
takadainmate for the deancas_xmas fic exchange. A big thank you to the very awesome mmmchelle who read this through and encouraged me and listened to me ramble on about it."All I know is that Crowley is pulling the strings," Dean said as he tucked his kit into his duffel bag. "And I don't like it one bit."
Cas stood by the window, looking out over the parking lot. "Perhaps it's not all Crowley."
"Like he's taking credit for holding Sam's soul, but he doesn't have it? Wow, a lying demon. Who would have thought it." Dean grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the bedside table. He considered stashing it in his bag, but since there were only a few swallows left he unscrewed the cap and it raised it to his lips.
"He would have to be very powerful to do such a thing." Cas turned to Dean. "Until we understand the extent of his powers, we can't be sure of anything."
"That's fucking great." Dean wiped his mouth, satisfied by the burn of the whiskey. He tossed the bottle in the trash with a loud thud. "Well, I'm heading off to Bobby's."
He retrieved his gun from under the bed pillow, tucked it into the waistband of his jeans and shouldered his duffel bag. When he looked up again, he expected the room to be empty. Yet Cas was still there, as irritating as ever.
"Don't you have some place you have to be?" Dean asked.
"Yes, Dean, many places. But you said you needed my help."
"Okay, fine." Dean relented, regretting his snide tone. "I just figured you had a battle to get back to."
Cas shook his head. "There's been a lull in the fighting. We're taking the time to regroup."
"So you're coming along with me?" Dean asked.
"Yes, I am," Cas said, "I will be riding shotgun."
Dean snorted and turned away before Cas could see him smile. He wasn't sure why he was so pleased, but the truth was he had missed Cas over the past year, missed his solemn, glaring, annoying presence. "Come on, then."
When he reached the door, Cas put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "What?" Dean said, immediately wary. "You were looking out the window before--is something out there?"
"I'm not certain. But I may have sensed something."
Dean stepped aside, reaching for his weapon as Cas opened the door.
All seemed quiet, but the parking lot was dark. Too dark. Three of the street lights had been broken and the area was illuminated only by the sickly green and yellow motel sign. Cas shot Dean a look and Dean knew at once that yeah, something was up.
Dean was glad Cas was with him.
Cas stepped out onto the covered walkway. Dean followed, alert and ready. The Impala was parked in front of the unit, only a few feet away. Sparing a quick glance at the neighboring units, Dean noted they were dark, seemingly unoccupied. Then he heard a sound above his head.
A loud thump in front of him as a man leaped from the roof of the walkway onto the hood of the Impala. Dean narrowed his eyes, raising his gun and aimed it directly at the man's chest. "Oh, you are going to regret that," Dean snarled.
The man smiled and even in the dark Dean could see sharp, deadly teeth and his blood ran cold.
Dean hated vampires more than ever.
The door next to him swung open and two more came out. Cas raised a hand, sweeping them back but the vamp on the car leaped to the room's door, holding it open and grinning viciously.
Dean saw the sigils on the inside of the door and his heart dropped. "Fuck."
The vamp slammed his hand against the door and blinding light flowed from it. Desperate, Dean reached for Cas, but he was already fading into a smear of white light, his face strange and distorted. Dean threw himself at the light, catching a glimpse of wings as they opened, feathers brushing his face and then all went white.
***
Dean woke to a throbbing pain in his arm. His wrist was twisted awkwardly underneath his body and he groaned as he rolled over onto his back, his entire body aching with the effort. The air smelled dank and heavy and he opened his eyes to cloudy skies above and that smell--damn it, that was sulfur in the air.
It could only mean one thing. Demons.
Heart pounding, Dean sat up abruptly, wincing at the dizziness it caused. A quick look around showed he was alongside a body of water, mud stretching out to the water's edge--a salt marsh. No demon in sight. Or vampires. No one at all. Just ferns and moss and water lapping at the shore.
The smell was coming from dark sulfurous mud exposed by low tide. With a sigh of relief, Dean rubbed a hand over his face, batting away the flies. He saw his gun lying in the greenery beside him and he reached for it, tucking it away in the back of his pants.
"Cas," he said. "Where the hell did you go?"
Pushing himself to his feet, Dean stumbled over leafy ferns, search for any sign of Cas's presence. His left wrist was swollen and bruised, maybe even broken and he held it against his chest protectively. Catching a glimpse of beige trench coat against the rich green, not more than twenty feet away, Dean shouted,"Cas?"
He hurried over to find Cas lying motionless, face down. Cursing, Dean knelt beside him and tugged his shoulder, rolling him onto his back. Cas's eyes remained closed. Dean cupped a hand in front of Cas's face, and yes, still breathing. He gently pressed his fingers against Cas's neck, reassured by the slow, steady heartbeat throbbing underneath his fingertips.
"Thank god." Dean sat, shoulders slumped. He spotted his duffel a few feet away, but he was too tired to get it. His head was pounding with pain and even though he knew there was aspirin in his pack, it was just too damn far away.
"Any time you want to wake up, Cas," he said. "I mean, we seem to be safe for the moment, but--" Dean raised his head, eyes on the horizon. The marsh gave way to thicker bushes a few hundred yards beyond, and it looked like a fairly dense forest past that. Low, thick trees with huge fronds--palm trees, maybe?
"It's a jungle out there, buddy." Dean patted Cas's chest. "Come on." He took Cas by the shoulder and shook him gently but there was no response. "This banishing thing sucks ass." He snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure you already know that."
Cas still didn't move.
"Great." Dean fished his cell phone out his jacket pocket and flipped it open. "Oh, that's even better," he added when he saw the 'no signal' status. "We must be in the middle of friggin' nowhere."
He gazed out over the trees, watching the as the fronds swayed in the breeze and wondered where the hell he was--South America? India? "I have no clue," he told Cas. "And you're not helping at all, are you?"
He got to his feet, groaning as his stomach lurched. For a moment he thought he was going to lose his lunch and he closed his eyes, breathing deep until the feeling passed. He held the phone up higher, as if were possible that buildings were blocking the signal. Shaking his head at himself, he closed the phone and slipped it back into his pocket, then trudged over to his bag to get that aspirin.
He found the aspirin and a bottle of water, then wrapped his injured wrist with a bandanna, using his teeth to help tie the final knot. Walking over to the edge of the mudflat, he wrinkled his nose at the smell. Clams were half buried in the exposed mud, streams of water running past, indicating the tide was still headed out. Snails moved slowly between the clams. "I guess I'm not going to starve," he said, eyeing the fauna dubiously.
An odd trumpeting sound in the distance and Dean froze, reaching for his gun. It sounded loud and deep, as if it came from something big. Really big. An elephant, maybe. Dean glanced down at his completely inadequate weapon and grimaced. It was enough to annoy an elephant, nothing more. The sound seemed to originate from the forested area beyond and Dean watched the distant trees with apprehension.
He saw movement but it was too far away to make out any details. Aside from the buzz of insects, all was quiet.
"A little too quiet," Dean muttered to himself as he glanced up at the sky. No planes. Or birds, for that matter. A marsh like this should be filled with bird life--seagulls, sparrows, ducks. Hell, maybe flamingos, for all he knew. But the only things flying around him were insects. Really big insects, like the red and yellow beetle that was currently climbing up his leg.
Dean brushed the bug off, and despite the heat, felt a distinct chill. Everything was wrong. There were no signs of life along the undulating coastline--no boats, no huts, cottages, not even any garbage washed up on shore. The sea was covered in a heavy mist and Dean couldn't make out where the water met sky, he didn't know if there was more land beyond or not. He spotted something large moving in the water, out in the distance--a whale, most likely. It broke the surface briefly, dark, sleek skin glinting in the sunlight, then it disappeared beneath the sea.
At a complete loss, he headed back to Cas, stirring up flies as he trudged through the low growth, which were promptly eaten by big blue dragonflies darting here and there. "You're welcome," he said to the dragonflies. "Don't forget to tip your waiter."
Cas was still unconscious. "You're missing out on a lot fun here, buddy," Dean told him. "Seriously, are we even on earth? Or some kind of weird-assed corner of heaven?"
He stared down at Cas for a moment.
"How long you going to keep up the silent treatment, huh? It's getting old." He nudged Cas with his toe, then sat beside him. "I feel like shit warmed over."
He watched Cas breathe, making sure his chest was rising and falling steadily. His gun was a somewhat reassuring pressure at the small of his back. He wondered how long he was going to be stuck here--where ever "here" was. He didn't appreciate being taken out of the game like this--those vamps had been waiting for him, somehow they knew he was there and even more chilling, they had anticipated Cas's presence and were prepared to take him out.
Plus, Sam. Sam was at Bobby's, expecting him to show up.
"Damn it, Cas. I have things to do," Dean complained. He sighed, wiped the sweat from his face and waited for Cas to wake.
***
The fire roared and crackled, yet provided only minor comfort . Uneasy, Dean sat with his pistol in one hand, flashlight and knife by his side. Cas was stretched out on the sand beside him, still unconscious. A circle of salt surrounded them--Dean kept a box tucked inside his bag at all times. He was exhausted, but determined not to succumb to sleep. He needed to stay alert. It had taken him all afternoon to gather up the driftwood scattered along the shore and then had to drag Cas down to the stretch of sand where he had decided to set up camp.
Damn, he was heavy.
"This isn't fun anymore," Dean had pointed out to Cas as he dragged him over the mossy terrain, arms wrapped firmly around Cas's chest. "Feel free to wake up any time now and walk on your own two feet. Or better yet, flap your damn wings and get us both out of here."
But Cas didn't wake. As the sun set over the distant forest, the strange calls grew louder and more frequent. Something large flew over the trees and maybe it was a trick of perspective but the thing looked fucking huge, too big to be a bird. Too big to be able to fly. Dean dropped another gray, twisted log onto the fire and thought fondly of his shotgun, tucked away in the trunk of the Impala.
Hell, he wished he had the Impala, so he could get the fuck out of here and find some real food. The clams he had dined on were tough and chewy and tasted awful, but Dean was hungry enough to eat them. There was a freshwater stream only a few hundred yards away where he could refill his bottle so yeah, he was going to survive for the time being.
"No thanks to you," he said to Cas, who didn't deign to respond.
Cas's silence was getting pretty damn irritating.
A mist rolled in off the water as the sky darkened, blurring the moon and allowing only a few bright stars to show through. The night air was warm and despite his best efforts, Dean's eyes begin to close. He stood and stretched, gathering what little energy he had left. Rubbing his face, he yawned and rolled his shoulders, trying to soothe stiff, sore muscles. His wrist was throbbing again and he focused on that, hoping the pain would keep him awake.
The tide had come in and water lapped at the edge of the sand but the circle of salt remained intact. Dean moved within it, looking in vain for signs of civilization in the distance. No lights, no movement, just complete blackness as far as he could see. Unsettled even further, Dean stood beside Cas, staring down at his face in the flickering yellow light. Cas remained utterly still, the hollows of this eyes and cheeks dark with shadow.
Dean wondered if Cas was ever going to wake up. And if he'd still be Cas when he did.
"Come on, Cas," he muttered under his breath. "I don't even know what I'm dealing with here. I don't know if this is earth, or heaven, or hell--"
A rustling just beyond the sand drew his attention. Dean froze, head cocked to one side, listening. Footsteps. Quick, thudding footsteps at the edge of the water, just up ahead. Footsteps that didn't sound human--too quick, too heavy.
Dean knelt slowly, reaching for his flashlight. More footsteps, some soft scuffling in the sand and Dean carefully stepped over the line of salt and crept towards the sounds, flashlight off, gun cocked and ready. Once he was beyond the circle of firelight, he waited for his eyes to adjust. With the mist hanging low to the ground, Dean could barely make out movement. But whatever it was, it was large. He crept closer, raising his gun.
More noise, behind him this time. Dean whirled around. Fuck, Cas was back there, lying helpless. Just at the edge of the firelight something moved. It was big with claws and Dean saw a flash of sharp, jagged teeth, heading directly toward Cas. Dean aimed his gun and fired.
A blur of movement and it was gone. The sound of the blast echoed down the coast, promptly followed by the thudding of feet. Monsters, running across the field toward the forest. Dean switched on the flashlight and caught a glimpse of a long tail, clawed feet, and then they were gone, whatever they were.
Not a typical werewolf--not enough fur. Maybe a rugaru.
"Damn it," Dean said, heart pounding in his chest. He ran back to Cas, who appeared unharmed. Dean swept the flashlight's beam across the surface--the line of salt was intact, but just beyond it there were deep grooves, three parallel lines in the sand.
Dean sat beside Cas, gun cocked and ready. He had no trouble staying awake for the remainder of the night.
***
The sky was a pre-dawn gray when Cas awoke. Dean's only warning was a sharp intake of breath and then Cas's eyes were open, surprisingly alert.
"Holy shit, Cas," Dean said, startled and relieved. He knelt beside Cas. "It's about time. You had me freaking out here."
Cas blinked, then his eyes focused on Dean. He stared silently for a few seconds. "Dean," he said with a frown.
"Yeah. Hi. Nice to see you, too," Dean said, raising his eyebrows. "You feeling okay?"
Cas sat up abruptly, causing Dean to fall back on his heels. Dean waited for Cas's reaction as Cas took in the campfire, the ocean, the sky, his eyes lingering on the forest before returning to rest on Dean.
"Yo." Dean grew worried. "You remember how we got here? The vamps? With the banishing sigil?"
"You shouldn't be here," Cas said.
"Yeah, no shit." Dean's worry gave way to frustration. "Neither of us should. Because I have no freakin' idea where 'here' is. What I asked is, do you remember how we got here?"
"Yes, Dean, I remember the events leading up to the banishing." Cas leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "Question is, how did you get here?"
Dean shrugged. "What? I jumped in after you."
"How?" Cas demanded. "That isn't possible."
"What can I say?" Dean waved his hands. "You started to go glowy and I grabbed onto you, and next thing I knew, I was face down in the dirt, unconscious."
"This isn't right." Cas shook his head, then stood in one easy movement.
"No kidding. Where the hell are we?" Dean asked. He climbed to his feet, slower than Cas, and followed him. Despite his relief at Cas's recovery, he was getting more irritated by the minute. And okay, maybe a little scared, too, because Cas was looking as close to freaked out as Cas could ever get. "Is this earth, or some kind of--of--alternative reality, like in heaven, or--"
"We are on earth," Cas said, but he didn't sound happy about it. He strode swiftly across the marsh, trench coat flapping around his legs.
"Okay," Dean said, his fear building. He broke into a trot, slipping on the damp moss as he tried to keep up. "Then where are we? Because there are some nasty things hanging around, and I don't know what the hell they are."
"A better question," Cas said, "would be 'when are we'." He came to an abrupt halt near the thick bushes and tangled undergrowth. "Look." He raised an arm and pointed.
The sun had risen and the first rays were slanting down at the edge of the bushes, revealing a herd of strange animals feeding on the leaves. They were the size of deer, with four legs, a high, arched back leading to a long tail that stood out straight, not touching the ground. Dean stared in disbelief. One of them turned its long narrow neck and stared back at him, a leafy twig hanging out of it's mouth as it chewed.
"What the hell?" Dean frowned, then took a step back as he realized just exactly what was in front of him. "No, Cas, that can't be--"
"I'm afraid so."
"Cas, those are not a dinosaurs."
"We've traveled far into the earth's past," Cas said. "About one hundred and fifty million years. Give or take a million."
Dean held his hands up, pleading. "That is not possible, okay? Are you sure this isn't just some heavenly version of Jurassic Park? Because heaven, that's kind of a weird place and you never know what's going on up there."
Startled by the movement, the creatures began to move away, surprisingly graceful as they broke into a trot. Despite his dismay, Dean couldn't help feeling a sense of awe as he watched them--dinosaurs, honest to goodness dinosaurs. He remembered Sam playing with a little plastic stegosaurus as a kid, making it attack Dean's soldiers on the battlefield they had set up in the back of the car. Sam loved that thing.
"Trust me, Dean," Cas said. "We've traveled back in time. Far, far back. I don't know how it happened."
"It was just your standard banishing sigil, right?" Dean asked. "What usually happens when you get hit with one those?"
"I am transported a distance away, and can't travel again for a time," Cas explained. "Usually a day or two."
"So how did we end up in the land of the lost?"
"I don't know." Cas said, his tone growing sharp. He whirled to face Dean. "What part of--"
Dean held his hands up. "I get it, okay? I get it. You don't know." He hated when Cas didn't know things. It never boded well.
Cas's expression grew thoughtful. "Perhaps the diseased blood affected its power," he mused.
"Vamp blood," Dean said with sudden realization. "It was drawn with vampire blood, wasn't it?"
"Either that, or your presence affected the spell." Cas folded his arms over his chest. "None of this makes sense, Dean."
"Ah, well that's good to hear," Dean said. "But never mind how we got here, how do we get back?"
"That's a very good question."
"Come on, Cas," Dean pleaded. "You've danced the time warp before."
"Thirty years verses one hundred fifty million." Cas scowled at him. "It's not the same."
"But you've got extra mojo now, right?" Dean knew he was grasping at straws but he couldn't wrap his mind around the possibility of being stuck forever in Jurassic Park.
"Once the banishment spell wears off, it's possible, but not a certainty," Cas said. "It will be a bigger jump than I've ever attempted before, even if we move forward in increments. We are a long way away from home."
"We need to get back, Cas," Dean insisted. "I can't stay here. There's too much going on. What about Sam? He's wandering around out there without a soul, and god only knows what Crowley is up to--"
"Dean," Cas snapped. "You are not the only one with responsibilities. I'm supposed to be fighting a war, for the future of my world--" Cas raised his arms in despair, "and yet I'm trapped here, as a direct result of helping you."
Before Dean could say anything more, Cas spun around and headed away from Dean.
"Crap." Dean scrubbed a hand over his head as he watched Cas stride off, shoulders stiff and angry. Cas had a point, as much as Dean hated to admit it.
A clucking sound in the from the ground and Dean noticed a small creature--dinosaur--peering up at him, head cocked to one side. It looked like a chicken, standing on two hind legs, a brightly feathered tail twice the length of its body standing straight up behind it. The front appendages were small and tucked against its body but Dean could see the long, sickle-like claws on its hands, and the mouth, even though shaped like a beak, was lined with rows of tiny, sharp teeth.
"What the hell do you want?" Dean asked.
It darted forward and before Dean could jump back, snapped its jaws, catching Dean's jeans in its mouth, right at the knee.
"You've got to be kidding me." Dean tried to shake it off but it was surprisingly tenacious for its size. He reached down to brush it away, realizing at the last second that it probably wasn't a very good idea.
The creature sank its tiny teeth into Dean's hand. "Fuck," Dean growled, gritting his teeth against the pain. The creature scampered up the side of his body, digging its claws painfully into Dean's hip as it bit down harder and Dean wondered if he had survived heaven and hell only to be taken down by a vicious killer chicken.
And then it was gone.
"Perhaps you should consider staying close." Cas appeared at Dean's side, eyeing him with something suspiciously close to exasperation.
"Okay. Good idea," Dean panted, clutching his bloody hand to his chest.
Cas reached out to Dean, demanding. After a moment of stubbornness, Dean relented and held his injured hand out. Cradling Dean's hand in his, Cas touched two fingers to Dean's palm and with a rush of warmth Dean's hand was healed.
"Thanks," Dean said quietly.
Cas didn't let go. Instead he moved closer, still glaring at Dean. Dean's breath caught in his throat and hell, he must be seriously tired--all he wanted to do was close his eyes and lean against Cas, to breathe him in, to let Cas glare all he wanted to. When Cas placed his other hand on Dean's hip, Dean nearly did just that, except when he followed Cas's lowered gaze, he saw blood and realized the killer chicken had gouged his hip with its claws. Cas was healing him.
"Uh. Thank you." Dean stared at Cas's hand, pale skin smudged with blood, resting against his jeans.
Cas curled his fingers over Dean's hip, his face inches away from Dean's. His expression softened as he searched Dean's face and Dean could feel Cas's breath on his cheek. Cas was too close. He was always too close. Dean knew he should just step away but he couldn't.
"Hey, while you're at it." Dean held up his other hand, exposing his bruised wrist. "I don't know if it's broken or--"
This time the healing warmth flowed up from the hand on his hip, through his chest and down his arm and fuck, it was almost sexual, the way it ran through him. Dean suppressed a shudder.
"Anything else?" Cas asked in a low voice.
Dean could think of a lot of things he wanted from Cas, things that had been lurking in the back of his mind for some time now. "Uh, I'm good," he said instead. "I do need to get some sleep, though."
Cas dropped Dean's hand and stepped away. "Of course."
Dean wasn't sure, but that might have been disappointed he heard in Cas's voice. "But first, I'm starving. I don't suppose you could mojo up some bacon and eggs?" Dean asked, trying to cover his confusion.
Cas gave Dean a look. "No, I'm afraid that wouldn't be possible."
"Pancakes? Biscuits and gravy?"
Cas shook his head.
"Jeeze, what good are you?" Cas raised an eyebrow and Dean grinned, feeling more like himself again. "Hey, do you think you can whammy a fish out of the water? It's got to taste better than those damn clams."
Cas could indeed. He stood at the water's edge, watching and listening. After a moment he raised his hand and a large fish landed in it. It looked almost like a regular fish, with a flat body and fins and two eyes and scales and everything else that made a fish look normal.
"Dude, that is awesome," Dean announced. In no time at all he had scaled and gutted it, washing it off in the water before gingerly placing it on a smoldering log in the fire. It smelled pretty good as it cooked.
"My strength is returning," Cas said, standing behind Dean as Dean poked the fire with a stick, building it back up again.
Dean glanced up, squinting at the sun. "You sound surprised."
"It's sooner than I expected, considering how weakened I was when I first woke." Cas walked to the water's edge. "But heaven is closer to the earth in this time period."
"Seriously? It is?" Dean looked up at the sky, but it was just clouds and haze, the sun a yellow glowing blob near the horizon.
"You can't see it from here," Cas said over his shoulder.
"I know that." Dean sat back on his heels, watching the skin on the fish curl and blacken with the heat. "So how soon until we can try getting back?"
"Another day. Perhaps longer." Cas shook his head in dismay as he paced in front of the fire. "I don't like this. I was expecting valuable intel from the cherubs on Raphael's supporters and their movements. Anything could be happening. The fighting may have resumed and yet I am trapped here."
"Yeah. About that," Dean said. "You were right. I was being a dick back there. I'm sorry I got you zapped into dino world."
Cas settled in the sand beside him with a heavy sigh. "Dean, you didn't draw the sigil. And by this time, I should know that spending time with you is fraught with danger." He glanced at Dean, his usual intensity tempered by surprising warmth.
"Nice." Dean snorted. "But it's true, isn't it?"
Cas gave a little shrug.
"And yet you still stick around," Dean mused. "This 'profound bond' of ours must really mean something to you, huh?"
"I value our friendship."
Simply spoken, and Cas's earnest tone warmed Dean. Embarrassed, Dean poked at his fish, checking to see it was cooked yet. "Yeah. You know. Me too," Dean said, without looking at Cas.
The fish was done, so he pulled the slab of wood away from the fire to let it cool down. He drank some water, then poured some in the cup of his hand and splashed his face. It was warm sitting next to the fire, the air heavy and humid. His t-shirt was wet with sweat and clung uncomfortably to his skin. He glanced at Cas, in his buttoned up suit and trench coat. "Aren't you hot in all that?"
Cas looked down at his clothes. "No."
"I'll never understand you guys," Dean mused, touching a cautious finger to the fish. Still too hot.
Cas leaned forward. "How so?"
"It's like a sauna out here, and you're dressed in a suit and coat. And," Dean said, warming to the subject, "what's the business about the Chrysler Building? If you are that god damn big, how do you squeeze down into a human body?"
"I can collapse upon myself," Cas said, as if it were perfectly obvious. "Utilizing different dimensions."
Dean stared at Cas. "Oh. Right."
His sarcasm was lost on Cas. "It was odd at first, to be so contained," Cas continued, looking down at his hands. "Confining. But I've grown accustomed to this form."
"Yeah. About that. How come you still have the same vessel? What happens to it while you're," Dean waved his hands, "doing the multidimensional wavelength thing? Where's Jimmy?"
"Jimmy's soul is in heaven. God has granted me this body, it is now an integral of my existence."
Dean frowned. "That doesn't make any sense."
Taken aback, Cas said, "Of course it does."
"Like I said," Dean repeated, "I"ll never understand how you guys work." He tested the fish again, and found it cool enough to eat. He picked up a piece and tasted it. Then shrugged. It tasted like fish.
"I find humans puzzling at times, too." Cas raised an eyebrow as he stared directly at Dean. "Contradictory."
"No kidding?" Dean grinned at him.
Cas turned his gaze back to the fire, but Dean could see by the set of Cas's mouth that he was amused, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
Dean ate his fish as the tide moved out. A few small lizards dashed about in the mud, and Dean was buzzed by something flying around his food, something big and shiny with too many wings. A cool ocean breeze kicked in and by time Dean finished eating, he was almost comfortable.
"I'm going to try and get some sleep," Dean told Cas as he stretched out on the sand, using his duffel bag as a pillow. "Don't go anywhere."
"Where would I go, Dean?" Cas was standing by the water again, looking up at the sky.
"Good point." Dean settled in, reaching behind his back to smooth out a lump in the sand. "Just make sure none of those things come back. Things with teeth."
"I will keep watch over you."
Dean closed his eyes, satisfied he would be safe, that no dinosaur would eat him while he slept since yeah, an angel was watching over him.
He's pretty sure that wasn't what his mother had in mind when she used to say that to him.
***
It was late afternoon when Dean woke. He found Cas sitting beside him, knees drawn up, arms clasped around his legs. "Hey," Dean said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "So we're still here, huh?"
Cas nodded.
"Thought maybe it was all just a bad dream." Dean yawned, then dug through his bag and find an apple, wishing he had a cup of coffee. "How's the mojo?"
"Growing stronger," Cas said.
"Good." Dean saw his cell phone, which he had tossed in the bag earlier. He picked it up, rising to his feet. "Come on. Let's go for a walk."
"Dean, you can't make phone calls from here."
"No shit. But I can take pictures. Pictures of dinosaurs." Dean grinned. "Come on, Sammy will love it. At least, when he's back to being my brother again he will."
And Sam was going to be his brother again, because Dean was going to get his soul back. He was sure of that.
"And anyway, Bobby will get a kick out of it, too. Come on," Dean insisted. He hopped up onto the mossy field and motioned for Cas to follow him. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. At least it had better be."
Cas stood, a puzzled expression on his face. "You wish to photograph these creatures?"
"Dinosaurs, Cas," Dean explained. "In the flesh."
Dean headed toward the forest, Cas beside him. He took a bite of his apple. Now that he had gotten over his shock at the situation, there really was something cool about being in prehistoric era. He was certainly only human to have laid eyes on a living, breathing dinosaur. He wondered if Cas had been down on earth this early.
"Hey," Dean said as he walked, dragonflies bumping against his legs. "Cas, is past you upstairs right now?"
Cas lifted his eyes to the sky and nodded. "Yes."
"Doing what?" Dean remembered all too well what Cas had been like when they first met--solemn and focused, steadfast in his beliefs. More than a little scary.
"Training, most likely. The garrison has just been formed. Anna, Uriel, all of us, learning to work together. To fight together. As opposed to fighting each other. It was a very different time." Cas sounded mournful. "I was young, and innocent of the ways of our leaders."
Dean came to a halt in front of a small stream. "Maybe you should go up there and have a little chat," he suggested. "Set yourself straight."
"No," Cas said without hesitation.
"No?"
"I wouldn't change anything." Cas turned to Dean. "Rescuing you from hell, being on earth, being cast out of heaven for a time--I value those experiences."
Dean snorted. "I guess. Hell, I'd go back and change things if I could." He found a narrow area of the stream, and leaped over it in one easy stride, feet sinking into mud as he landed.
"Yes," Cas agreed, appearing next to Dean. "You would, wouldn't you? You always strive to make things better, no matter how impossible the odds."
"Yeah," Dean scoffed. "If I ever succeed, you'll be the first to know."
Cas seemed amused by his answer. "You already have, Dean, you just don't realize it yet."
"Not so sure about that." Dean was sure that Lisa and Ben wouldn't agree with him. Or Lisa's now-dead neighbors. He took one last bite of his apple, then tossed the core into the water. And frowned. "Oh, wait, I didn't just screw up history by doing that, did I?"
"I'm afraid so." Cas looked out over the stream where Dean's apple had landed. "When we return to our time we will find that find giant sentient apples have evolved and taken over the earth."
"Was that a joke?" Dean stared in astonishment. Then grew worried. "Please tell me that was a joke."
"Yes. It was a joke." Cas lifted his chin, looking awfully proud of himself.
Dean snorted. "Cas, you've been hanging out with me way too long." He shook his head. Then movement in the bushes ahead caught his eye. He patted Cas's shoulder. "Look, over there. Come on."
The variety of creatures was astonishing. Big, long-necked dinosaurs nibbling on treetops, little feathered creatures dashing through the undergrowth, brightly colored lizards scurrying up tree trunks, Dean could hardly decide which to photograph first. He tried to capture them all, instructing Cas to keep an eye out for anything that looked like it was about to attack.
With Cas watching his back, Dean had to admit, he was having fun. He had almost forgotten what it felt like.
Go to Part 2
