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Cas was still hazy with painkillers. He had that floaty feeling, and his vision was a little blurred, but he was definitely awake, much to Gabe's relief. The first thing he heard was his brother's anxious voice- had he been praying? Cas couldn't recall.
What he did remember was saving Dean's life. He thought about it a lot. Mostly he wondered if it was worth it, especially the times when he was suddenly seized with pain and the machines beeped frantically. But even then, even when he was told about the severity of his injuries, he still felt like it was... Maybe not a good choice, but certainly not a bad one. Some would say that he had made bad choices, like Gabe, but Gabe didn't understand. Cas wasn't sure he himself really understood, but he knew he loved Dean and he knew that saving someone you loved couldn't possibly be a bad thing.
His room was usually quite cool at night, pleasantly so. It was probably the warmth, then, that woke him.
He was hyper aware, sharper than he'd been since before he was taken by the Winchesters. As his eyes fluttered open he could feel each individual eyelash hitting his cheekbones. The warmth was coming from someone lying next to him, wrapping their arms around him.
It was Dean, and Cas was somehow not surprised.
His features should have been softened by the moonlight but Cas' sharpened senses made them just as they were. The hard lines of his face were only bent when he saw Cas was awake and he broke into a smile.
"Hey," breathed Cas.
"Hey," whispered Dean.
His full lips parted, his brilliant eyes alight-- the beauty of it all made Cas shiver.
Dean kissed him then, sweetly, pressing his lips against Cas'. Cas could feel every crease, each bit of stubble, the pressure of his teeth. Dean's smell enveloped him. He drew back after what seemed like glorious millennia.
"Thank you for what you did, Cas."
Cas was unable to speak, and Dean was gone.
The next morning when Cas awoke his heightened senses had left him. The world had regained it's fuzzy quality. He sat up a bit, reeling at his vivid dream, because sadly it must have been a dream.
It was only then that he noticed the frantic screaming and pandemonium outside his room. He opened the door and called a nurse rushing past.
"What happened?"
"How could you have slept though it?! Someone broke into the hospital last night," the nurse gasped. He looked around and then leaned in conspiratorially. "I think it might have been the Winchesters!"
Cas must have shown something because the nurse began to back away.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have told you that- real dick move of me to mention it, after the shit they dragged you through. I'm so sorry, you okay?"
Cas nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."
The nurse left, and Cas sank back down onto his pillow, licking his lips and savoring the very real taste of Dean that lingered on them.