Late Night Hunting

Chapter 10: 20 Questions

Cas shuddered through most of the retelling of his terrifying nightmare from the night before,  and he was shaking uncontrollably by the time he had finished, Dean holding him closely against his warm chest as he rode out the last of the shivers that were running through his body. His muscles began to spasm slightly and cramp with every large movement he made. "Shh.." he whispered as Cas began to shudder and cramp up once more, and as Dean put the back of his hand against Cas's forehead, he realized that the other boy was burning up with fever. "Cas, when did you start feeling bad?" Dean said, worried, not entirely because of Cas's fever, but more about what other symptoms he could've been having and had either chosen not to or forgotten to tell Dean about. Cas groaned and said "As soon as I woke up this morning. I was freezing, couldn't think straight, and kept hearing weird, growl-like noises-" he stopped when he noticed that Dean had gone pale. "D-dean...? W-what's w-w-wrong with m-me?" Cas asked between shivers, which was rather hard. Dean slowly turned to face him. He had gone as white as a sheet, which looked very unnatural against his tan, beautiful skin. "Crowley." he whispered, so low that Cas had to strain to hear. "What? H-how c-c-could C-crow-w-ley be b-behind all this?" He asked, shocked. Dean looked Cas straight in the eyes. "There's a Hellhound on your tail, Cas. I suspected it earlier, but....I didn't want to frighten you." Dean said quietly, looking sheepishly at the floor and studying the faded, light blue carpet. He looked up when Cas laughed, a hysterical, smiling giggle, which made Dean look up in confusion when he saw that he was trying to hide a snort. "Cas..... Did..... did you seriously just snort?!" he said, trying to fight his laughter but finally giving in to hysteria. Cas joined him in the hysterical laughter, happiness and joy emitting from the two of them. When they finally stopped laughing, sides aching from fast breaths, Dean looked at Cas with a different sort of look in his eyes. It was a combination of joy, sadness, anger, and despair. Cas was utterly confused. He sat in thought for a few moments while Dean continued to stare at him with that same confusing mix of emotions on his face. Finally Cas couldn't come up with a good answer, so he found a sudden burst of energy and strength to finally burst out, to Dean's surprise, and saying "Will you PLEASE stop staring at me like that?! It's kind of annoying and, to be completely honest, slightly uncomfortable. Why are you almost always staring at me like I've grown an extra head, or a pair of wings and a halo?! I'm not some kind of replacement for the angel you lost Dean!" Cas practically yelled at Dean. Meanwhile, Dean was sitting on the bed, his mouth hanging open in shock and amazement. Suddenly he snapped it closed and blinked a few times when he realized that Cas fallen onto the bed next to him, wrapping himself in blankets and shivering again. "Cas, do you want me to take you home?" Dean asked, concerned. Cas thought for a moment, then shook his head no. He'd rather be with Dean, regardless of the circumstances. Dean gave a small sigh and got up, thinking of the best way to protect Cas from any Hellhounds that were chasing him. Unless...... Maybe. Maybe, just maybe, the Hellhound was an illusion, a practical joke from Crowley meant to unnerve and worry Dean. That bastard! That sounded exactly like something Crowley would dream up to get back at Dean for ignoring him. Dean was so mad he could literally feel the rage coursing through his veins, red-hot and burning with the desire for revenge on that evil son of a bitch. Then Dean took a deep breath and counted to 10, letting most of his rage out with the exhale. Then he sighed, grabbing the epsom salt they kept under the bathroom sink and pouring a good few chunks of it into the bathtub and starting the hot water. He walked over to the bed and carefully unravelled Cas from his cocoon of blankets, picking him up into his arms and asking him if he could stand. When Cas said yes, Dean chuckled, shaking his head and carrying him into the bathroom and setting him on the toilet. "Cas, you're gonna have to strip so you can get into the tub." Dean grinned, chuckling when Cas blushed. "O-ok, D-dean. I t-trust you." Cas stood up, smiling gratefully at Dean when he lent him his shoulder to lean against. Cas didn't notice, but as he pressed up against Dean, he smiled a tiny, happy smile. "C-c-can you h-h-h-hold the b-blanket up so I c-c-can ch-change?" Cas asked sheepishly, blushing and looking at the ground.  Dean smiled gently and turned Cas's face back towards him. "Of course." Dean held the blanket up, completely covering his view of Cas. Cas quickly got undressed, but started to slip because of his shaking frame. Dean dropped the blanket and quickly caught him, blushing slightly as he realized the lack of clothing Cas had on. Now Cas laughed as Dean turned red as a beet and slowly put him into the bathtub, turning off the water and turning away before Cas could see him blush again. He turned slightly, saying  "Call me if you need anything at all." and walking out before closing the door behind him. He smiled quietly to himself, not realizing just how deeply he'd fallen in love with the beautiful dark-haired, topaz-eyed, angel-turned-human. He just knew that whenever he was around Cas, this sort of euphoric-sad-nostalgic feeling came over him. Somewhere, deep in his heart, he knew who Cas really was, even if his conscious mind wouldn't recognize or even acknowledge it. He also knew in the deepest pits of his soul that he loved that boy, and would never let anything happen to him ever again, even if they managed to turn him back into the amazing, loving, gentle, and caring Angel he once was. With that, Dean walked over to the fridge, grabbed a reasonably-sized bottle of Jack Daniels, sat down at the little table where the laptop was, and began his work.