Chapter Text
Trudging beside the bubbling brook, Dean kicked a stone and sighed. His head was all over the place right now and he had no idea what to think. The last week had been confusing enough, although it had been great to meet up with Jody again. No, it was what happened last night that had him in turmoil.
* * * *
Last weekend, after enjoying Sam's take on 'Winchester Surprize' ( the no-meat version, which Dean had to admit, was better than he´d expected), the boys had taken their beers and sat in what they lovingly referred to as the movie room, checking out some of the Men of Letters film reels. They were on the second reel when Dean's phone had interrupted a particularly disturbing interview with a janitor who had been possessed by a demon (it didn´t end well for the janitor).
"Dean, hi. It's Jody.¨
Signaling to Sam to turn down the volume, he put his phone on speaker.
"What's up?" Sam asked, leaning across the table. His green eyes twinkled with affection as he listened to Jody explain what had been happening in Pisgah National Forest over the past couple of months.
"A sheriff buddy of mine, Dan Mills, no relation, got in touch two nights ago about some missing hikers," she started to explain. "He's aware that I've," she paused, trying to find the words. "Without going into specifics, he knows I've seen a thing or two that can't readily be explained.¨
Sam nodded to Dean, the two of them understanding what she was saying.
"So what exactly makes him think this is a case for you, or us," Dean asked, taking a slug of his beer, the condensation having pooled and left a circular mark on the table, which Sam knew he would have to sort out later, before it stained.
"Two of the bodies turned up. They had obviously been bitten.¨
"Werewolf?" Cas interrupted.
"Hey Castiel!" Jody called down the phone. "How are you?¨
Quizzically, Castiel looked towards Dean for the correct answer, still unsure of exactly what that phrase meant. Afterall, he was an angel and thus, that meant that he was actually possessing the vessel of someone who had actually died. He knew enough to know that this wasn´t the explanation she was after and so quite often, when he had been asked prior by other people, he had deferred to Sam or Dean.
Holding back a chuckle, Dean told her that Cas was fine. Looking across at his best friend, he felt his heart soften, knowing that Cas still struggled the intricacies of the human language. Seeing his aqua eyes staring back at him, he turned away, feeling a blush rise.
Lately, he had found himself looking at Cas differently. He didn´t quite understand when or how things had changed, but he felt a tug at his heart-strings when he was with Cas and there was definitely something happening in his shorts whenever he thought about him.
Realizing he had let his mind wander, he tuned back in to what Jody was explaining.
". . . like nothing I've seen before.¨
Dean silently cursed himself and hoped he hadn't missed anything too important, as he concentrated on what Jody was saying. She spoke for a little longer, before ending the conversation with the promise to meet them in Asheville the next day.
Standing up, Sam switched off the projector and stretched. "I'm gonna hit the books. We need to find what this creature is. I'll try and dig up some lore and I'll make some notes." He yawned once more and pushed his beer towards Dean. "I think I'm gonna put a pot of coffee on. I feel it's gonna be a late night.¨
Looking at his brother as he left the room, Dean felt a little embarassed that he hadn't offered to help, but he knew sometimes Sammy liked to study alone. Glancing at Cas, he was shocked to see him staring at him.
"What?" he asked gruffly, as he pushed his chair away from the table. Pulling the film off the projector, he tucked it back into its case, trying not to look at Cas.
"I have a bad feeling.¨
Waiting for Cas to continue, Dean threw up his arms frustrated, as Cas quietly exited the room without saying another word.
"Fuckin' angels," he muttered, turning the lights out and wandering down the corridor to his bedroom.