Babysitting - A Dean Winchester Love Story

Chapter 17

And there he stood in all his glory: an angel, disguised as a man in a trench coat.  An awkward half smile greeted the two hunters as Castiel nodded uncomfortably in Cora's direction.  Sam's mouth opened slightly but almost immediately reverted his attention back to Cora; her condition had deteriorated and it was evident that her time was almost up.

"Cas," he begged.  "Do something.  Please."

Although Cas was reticent, he proceeded with the healing.  All three hunters had prayed to him.  Something like that was extremely hard to ignore. 
Castiel swiftly crouched by Cora's weakening body.  Placing two fingers on the purple bruise that circled her neck, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply, allowing himself and Cora to be his only focus.  The screaming began.  The pain she was enduring was excruciating enough to make Cas wince at the sound of her wail.

A loud thud was softened by the screams as the door to the motel swung open, revealing Dean Winchester.  Just as he was about to rush over to the angel and hunter, he felt a solid hand on his chest.  Looking up to meet Sam's glare, he asked his younger brother what was going on.

"He's healing her; lifting the curse."

A small smile grew on Dean's face as he diverted his gaze over to the bed.  The tears were beginning to well in his eyes, yet he refused to show too much sensitivity.  The thought of losing her was unbearable - he was growing attached too easily, and too quickly.  Mid-thought, the screaming stopped.  Castiel stood and joined the two brothers, leaving the frail woman to sleep and recover.

Placing a hand on Dean's shoulder, Cas said softly, "She's going to be fine."  Removing the hand, his stare flickered between the Winchesters, "She needs to rest.  There will still be some bruising around the neck but she'll recover."

Dean and Cas exchanged a look of thanks and appreciation, but realisation surged through the hunter: "What the hell took you so long, Cas?  I was praying to you and you didn't answer me."

Cas smiled at his ignorance.
"You weren't the only one praying, Dean; you all were"

The hunter blinked and Cas vanished, leaving behind the sound of his wings.  What Dean didn't understand, however, was how Cora thought to pray to Castiel when he left her for dead in the werewolf attack.  He appreciated her seeing the light in his angel companion, yet didn't understand how she could.  Trying to clear the thoughts that were floating through his mind, Dean grabbed a cooling beer from the fridge for his brother, and self.  Sitting on the mouldy sofa, they exhaled simultaneously.

"Dean, how long are we staying here?"

"I don't know.  We wait until she recovers."  Both men turned their heads and watched Cora's irregular breathing, hoping that everything would be ok.  But when is that ever the case?