In the Light

Chapter Twenty-Four: Heart to Heart

Back at the hotel, Dean went out to get some ice. Ruby followed him. She leaned against the vending machine. "You know what I hate? How secretive everyone is. Like, if someone pissed you off, just tell them. Don't give them the silent treatment or try to get back at them. Why don't people just say what's on their minds?"

"I think I see where this is going." Dean had finished putting ice in the bucket. He closed the lid and put the bucket on top. He put his hands in his pockets. "Go ahead and ask."

"What happened at Mass today? Don't say 'nothing' because something happened."

"I'm still not sure if I believe in God. What kind of God is one that would let my dad die the way he did and let demons and monsters roam the earth? Still, I feel a ... connection to this angel. I don't want to trust him, so I keep pushing him away." Dean stopped talking and rubbed his eyes.

"What else?" Ruby knew there was more.

"I prayed, sorta. I said I was angry. I thought about Dad. I was four years old when he died. I barely knew him, but I miss him so much." He looked down at his shoes. Ruby knew he probably didn't want a hug or anything, so she settled for moving closer to him so their arms touched. He just kept rubbing his eyes like he was trying to keep tears from escaping.

They stood there for awhile until Dean sighed and picked up the ice bucket then walked back toward the room.

They'd been gone awhile, so when they came in, Sam analyzed the situation. Ruby nodded, showing him that everything was okay.

Castiel stepped out of the shadows. "Dean, I'd like to show you something." Dean started to say something angrily, but Ruby cleared her throat and he stopped. "I need to explain," Castiel began. "This," he pulled on the lapel of his trench coat. "This is just a vessel. My true form is approximately the size of your Chrysler Building. But I can transfer my essence into you so that you can see my intentions and finally trust me."

"That sounds invasive."

"It will be intense. You will experience everything that I have and vice versa. If you truly think you can't trust me, this is how I can prove myself to you."

Ruby knew that Dean would always have doubts unless he did this. He looked at his mom first. "It's up to you," Mary said. Dean looked at the others. Sam shrugged and Ruby nodded.

"Yeah. Okay." Dean shook out his arms and cracked his knuckles.

Castiel stepped close to Dean, their faces only inches apart. They looked into each other's eyes. Castiel put his hands on either side of Dean's face. Cas opened his mouth and icy blue, glowing smoke went out of his mouth and into Dean's.

Castiel's "vessel" started falling, but Mary caught it. The body must have been around two hundred pounds of muscle, but Mary was able to slowly lower it to the ground. She looked up at Dean.

His eyes were glowing bright blue. They flickered back and forth. It was like Dean was glued to the floor. They laid Cas on the couch.

Mary went back to Dean and stroked his forehead. "He's burning up." She went into mother-mode. She went over to Castiel's vessel. "And he's freezing." She went into the bedroom and took the comforter off the bed then put it on top of Cas. Then she found a tiny closet and got out a washcloth. She wet it and put it to Dean's forehead.

Sam and Ruby had just been standing there, watching her flit around the room. Ruby must've had a mothering instinct too. She went over to Dean and and took his jacket off to help cool him down. Sam went over to check on Castiel. "He isn't breathing. He doesn't have a pulse. Mom, what do we do?"

"He said that his body was just a vessel. It's like a suit of armor holding the angel in. I think that as long as we don't do anything to it, it'll be fine."

Things stayed like that for some time. Ruby didn't know how long. Dean really was burning up. The washcloth kept getting hot not long after they put it on. They kept putting more cold water on it, but that wasn't working, so they put the ice in the washcloth.

"This isn't getting better. Sam, do you know what to get from a clinic?"

"Yeah. I got it." Sam grabbed the keys and ran out.

They were so worried about Dean. Ruby broke the silence, "Tell me a funny story about Sam and Dean, you know, as a distraction."

Mary kept stroking Dean's hair. She thought for a minute. "Once, when they were little, Dean told Sam that he could fly. Sam was really young at the time, so he believed it. I had left them at a hotel so I could work a case. Somehow, they got on the roof and Sam jumped."

"Oh no. What happened?" The distraction was kind of helping.

"I got back to the hotel and there was a note on the table that said they were at the hospital. Dean told me later that Sam wouldn't stop crying and he was really worried. He didn't think to explain more in the note."

"You must have been mad. Was Sam okay?"

"Oh yeah. Dean got an earful at the hospital. Sam broke his arm. That was the first time he ever really got hurt and it wasn't even on a hunt." She laughed. She hadn't taken her eyes off of Dean for even a second.