**A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting a new chapter, I was gripped tight by my muse and raised from writer's block perdition and couldn't stop writing long enough to post an update! :) But I will post at least one other part tonight since I won't be on tomorrow. Hope you enjoy! <3 Stacey**
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Sam browsed the shelves in the gift shop, hoping to find something to brighten the hospital room where they’d be living for at least the next few weeks at least. As much as he wanted to be there for Dean and Castiel, Sam couldn’t stand to be in that room more than a few minutes without wanting to scream or break something. Sam had avoided hospitals ever since Dean had almost died in the car accident that ultimately took their father’s life. He settled on a few items and made his way to the counter to pay. The older woman at the counter smiled kindly at Sam and he found himself unable to return her smile. He grabbed his purchase and walked back up to the Intensive Care Unit.
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Dean didn’t tear his gaze from Castiel as Sam reentered the room with a bag and two cups of coffee. Sam set a cup on the table by Dean’s elbow and pulled the things from the gift shop bag.
“I bought some things at the gift shop. I thought they’d make the room feel less … cold.” Sam placed a small teddy bear on the table beside him and handed Dean a book.
“What’s this for Sammy?” Dean asked as he read the title, Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
“Dr. Collins said that we should read to Cass so he knows we’re here with him. She said it’ll help him stay himself while he’s unconscious. I thought you’d like it.”
“I do like it Sam. Thanks for getting this. And you’re right; it’ll help for Cass to hear our voices.” Dean watched Sam stifle another yawn before taking a large gulp of his coffee. “You should go find a hotel and get some rest. You’re practically asleep on your feet.”
“I think I’ll do that. Call me once visiting hours are over and I’ll come back and pick you up.” Sam grabbed the Impala keys from Dean and left to find a place to get some shuteye.
The room fell into silence, the only sound the beeping of the heart monitor and the soft whoosh of the ventilator. Dean scrubbed his face with his hand, grimacing at the feel of scruff on his jaw. He was in desperate need of a shave and made a mental note to have Sam pick up razors and shaving cream on his way back. Dean finally picked up the book Sam had left him and opened it up to the first page.
“Chapter 1: Jonathan Harker’s Journal. Left Munich at 8.35 p.m. on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6.46, but train was an hour late.” Dean’s rough voice filled the room as he read, his eyes flicking to Castiel’s face every so often. He knew it was fruitless to hope that he would wake up already, but Dean couldn’t help but hope.
Dean continued to read, soon finding himself lost in the story. He hadn’t read Draculasince high school, and after years of hunting down real vampires, it hadn’t appealed to him as much. The minutes passed by quickly for Dean. He noticed that each time Nurse Wilson came in to check Castiel’s vitals, there was always another nurse with her, and they lingered in the room longer and longer. Finally, he stopped reading and turned to Nurse Wilson.
“Why do you stay in here for so long after you’re done checking his vitals?” Dean questioned, dog-earing the page in the book so he wouldn’t lose his place.
Nurse Wilson shooed the girl with her from the room and took a seat in the chair that Sam had vacated earlier. “I like hearing the sound of your voice,” She admitted truthfully. “You’re different from the families of the other patients. You understand how important it is for a comatose patient to be talked to and touched. It helps anchor them and gives them something to move towards when they’re well enough to wake up. It’s obvious you love your brother very much. I stay in here after I’m done checking his vitals because seeing you and him reminds me why I do what I do. Thank you, young man.”
“Please Nurse Wilson, call me Dean. He and I didn’t always get along, and there were times when I’d wish that I didn’t know him. But now I can’t imagine my life without him. Cass has always been eager to put others before himself, even knowing that he could get hurt. He’s the kindest, gentlest, most caring person I have ever known. That’s why it sickens me to think that someone could do this to him; that someone could find a shred of hate towards him and harm him,” Dean explained misty eyed.
“Please, call me Jody. Is Cass a nickname?” Jody wondered.
“Yeah sort of,” Dean chuckled. “His middle name is Castiel, so everyone calls him Cass because he hates his first name.”
Jody smiled and nodded. “Is it alright if I call him Cass?” She held Castiel’s hand and stroked her thumbs gently across the top.
“Of course you can. I’d like that very much.”
“Would you mind reading some of the book? I have a break right now and would love to hear more.”
“Yeah, I don’t mind at all. I think Cass is responding to it, at least subconsciously.” Dean picked up the book and continued reading where he left off. “God preserve my sanity, for to this I am reduced. Safety and the assurance of safety are things of the past. Whilst I live on here there is but one thing to hope for: that I may not go mad, if, indeed, I be not mad already. If I be sane, then surely it is maddening to think that of all the foul things that lurk in this hateful place the Count is the least dreadful to me…” Dean’s voice filled the room and surrounded them, taking away the clinical feel of the hospital and making it more like home.
Jody took her leave a few minutes later, though she doubted Dean had noticed her departure. She paused at the doorway for a moment, taking in the scene. Dean leaned toward Castiel as he read, looking over and smiling at him when he got to a particularly good part. She knew her brother was in good hands with the young hunter, and vowed that she would aid him in any way she could to find those responsible for the attack. No one harmed an Angel and got away with it. Jody’s eyes flashed blue with rage briefly before she turned and resumed her work. She would reveal her true identity to the Winchesters soon.
**Whoa! What a twist! Bet you weren't expecting that! I chose Bram Stoker's Dracula as the book Sam picked up in the gift shop because it's what I'm currently (finally) reading :D And if you're wondering what the meaning of the chapter title is, it's a song by Billy Gilman, and I chose it because Dean is the "One Voice" that Castiel hears most often/is the one that is around the most.**
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Not While I'm Around
Hayran Kurgu**Originally titled Your Guardian Angel** Sam and Dean Winchester are hot on the trail of the Colt, but before they can reach the small town of Lynden, Washington where the gun was last seen, a terrifying phone call starts a chain reaction that not...
