The Winchester Sister

Chapter 31 - Two Minutes to Midnight

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Dean asks as Sam told us his plan. I stay silent as I don't know what to say.

"Dean-" Sam starts but Dean interrupts him. 

"No, don't "Dean" me. I mean, you-you have had some stupid ideas in the past, but this-" Dean looks at us. "D-did you know about this?"

"What?" Bobby questions. 

"About Sam's genius plan to cram the devil down his throat." Dean replies. Bobby nods as I shake my head. 

"Well, thanks for the heads up!" Dean exclaims. 

"Hey, this ain't about me." Bobby defends. 

"You can't do this." Dean states. 

"That's the consensus." Sam responds. 

"All right." Dean returns. "Awesome. Then, end of discussion. This isn't over." He picks up the phone. "Hello?" A moment later.

"Dean?" I heard Cas' voice on the phone and I stand up straighter. I'd almost forgot that my hearing is better than pretty much everyone.

 "Cas?" Dean returns. 

"Is he okay?" Sam asks but Dean but Dean holds out a hand to silence him as he speaks. 

"We all thought you were dead." Dean comments. "Where the hell are you, man?" 

"A hospital." Cas answers. 

"Are you okay?" Dean questions. 

"No." Cas states. 

"Tell him to elaborate." I say to Dean who waves his hand to quieten me down. 

"You want to elaborate?" Dean asks. 

"I just woke up here." Cas replies. "The doctors were fairly surprised. They thought I was brain-dead."

"S-so, a hospital?" Dean confirms, questioningly.

"Apparently, after Van Nuys, I suddenly appeared, bloody and unconscious, on a shrimping boat off Delacroix." Cas explains. "I'm told it upset the sailors."

"Uh, well, I got to tell you, man - You're just in time." Dean responds. "We figured out a way to pop Satan's box."

"How?" Cas questions. 

"It's a long story, but, look - we're going after Pestilence now." Dean replies. "So if you want to zap over here..."

"I can't "zap" anywhere." Cas states and I frown. 

"What do you mean?" Dean asks. 

"You could say my batteries are-are drained." Cas answers. Oh, God. He's human. 

"What do you mean? You're out of angel mojo?" Dean questions, not understanding. 

"I'm saying that I am thirsty and my head aches. I have a bug bite that itches no matter how much I scratch it, and I'm saying that I'm just incredibly..."

"Human." Dean finishes for him and he sits down. "Wow. Sorry."

"Well, my point is - I can't go anywhere without money for...an airplane ride. And food. And more pain medication, ideally."

"All right." Dean agrees. "Well, look, no worries. Uh, Bobby's here. He'll wire you the cash."

"Dean, wait." I hear Cas say as Bobby voices, "I will?"

"You said "no" to Michael." Cas starts. "I owe you an apology."

"Cas..." Dean trails off. "I-it's okay."