Sleepless Nights

I Can't Sleep

Dean awoke in the middle of the night to the feeling that someone, or something, was watching him. Acting on pure hunter's instinct, he grabbed the knife under his pillow and prepared himself to fight. But when he switched on the lamp by his bed, he discovered two bright blue eyes staring straight down at him.

"Dammit Cas! What the hell are you doin' man?"

"Well Dean, since becoming human, I have found that..."

"Yeah minus the novel please," Dean interjected gruffly and tiredly.

Cas looked sheepishly down at the small teddy bear he was holding and said timidly, "I can't sleep. I do not even know the steps one follows to fall asleep."

"It's not that complicated, Cas," Dean explained. "Just lie down, close your eyes, and count to 100. Here. If it helps, I'll even let you sleep here with me tonight." Yawning and rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, Dean rolled over to make room for his friend on one side of the bed, and the pyjama-clad, sleepy-eyed angel climbed in, timidly at first. But soon, (much to Dean's surprise) he was curled up next to his hunter, using his chest as a pillow, teddy bear still held close.

Dean almost told the angel to move back to his side of the bed, but when Cas nuzzled his head into Dean's chest and said, "Thank you, Dean," he decided he could stay there. He just didn't have the heart to tell this sweet, innocent angel to move. And although he was afraid to admit it, even to himself, it was nice to have Cas there. Something about the whole situation just felt comfortable and right. So instead of saying anything, he wrapped his arm around Cas and stroked his dark hair, ruffled by hours of sleepless tossing and turning. Dean still didn't know why he liked it so much, and it still scared him that he did, but he could figure all that out later. For now, he decided to just enjoy the time with his buddy. And so there they stayed, hunter and fallen angel, side by side until both men were fast asleep.