{Deans POV}
"There was nothing I could do to stop her, Dean! She was hellbent on this!" Sam explains and sighs as he plops down on the edge of the bed that they shared this morning.
I can't help but cringe at the thought of them spending the whole day together, just what could they have done while I was gone? That question sits in the back of my mind while I ponder the possibilities. Then I come back to her dying her hair red? That's just unsafe.
"You know this can put her in danger," I yell at him and point in his direction. "If you cared about her as much as you say you do, then you shouldn't have let her do this!"
He jumps up and gets in my face, looking down on me.
His nostrils flare, "If you cared about her as much as you say you do you wouldn't have attacked her!"
I can feel the Mark stinging as I clench my fists. The bathroom door opens just in time for me to turn and see Cassie before I do anything irrational.
{Cassie's POV}
Dean doesn't like this, I can already tell by the look he gave Sam when they left the bathroom. This doesn't concern him, but it gives me the smallest spark in my heart to know that a little part of him cares. I just know it's not enough, after all that he's put me through.
After I shower, I look in the mirror and I can't see a difference when my hair is wet, but I can tell that it's darker than it should be.
I dry my body off and do my best to towel my hair, hoping that I can see some change in color. I can tell there is a little more red than just a second ago; I just wonder what it will look like when it's completely dry.
Getting dressed, I notice that the once white towel has now been streaked with red and I giggle quietly, trying not to disturb whatever conversation the brothers are having right outside the door. I don't give a damn if Dean doesn't like it, if this is what I can do to help this case, I'm going to do it. I'm pretty sure I already know where the coven is hiding, and I found out the hard way then, so I'm going to go back in the hard way.
The handle of the bathroom door is slippery with condensation and I successfully open it the first time. Sam and Dean are sitting across from one another and the tension in the room is so thick it could be cut with a knife.
"Everything okay?" I ask as I look at Sam. His head is down and his eyes are studying his hands, then he looks up and his hazel eyes meet mine. I never noticed how adorable his eyes are.
"Everything's fine," Dean interrupts, "I just want to know why he let you make such a stupid decision."
I look at Dean and shake my head, "If you think that he was going along with this because he wanted to, you have another thing coming pretty boy. I refuse to sit her and allow myself to not be of any help in this case. I was doing this regardless of him being here. I am helping in anyway that I can, so just get off your damn high horse for once and listen to what either one of us are trying to tell you!"
My blood is boiling and I can hear my pulse pounding in my ears.
"Just get over yourself, because I'm going to do this no matter how much either of you protest."
Dean opens his mouth to say something, but I glare at him before he can even make a sound and his jaw rehinges quickly.
That's what I thought.
"Sam, am I enrolled yet?" I turn to him and he nods his head.
"At this point, we're just waiting on an acceptance letter," he says and crosses his arms over his chest.
The brothers seem like they have nothing to say to me at this point, so I just walk over to the bathroom and grab the brush that's sitting on the sink. I quickly yank it through my newly dyed hair, and it's much harder to do than I had expected. I guess it's because the color has to set.
Sam's laptop makes a noise and I think it's an email. When I pop my head out to see, my suspicion is confirmed. Sam is now sitting at the little table and clicking away at the keyboard to enter his password.
"Email," he mutters.
I grin and crack my knuckles as I avoid eye contact with Dean; leaning up against the door frame, I listen.
"What does it say, Sammy?" Dean asks and I can see Sam clench his jaw from where I'm standing.
"She's accepted," he closes the computer abruptly and turns to the both of us. "You start tomorrow, Cassie."
I can't help but beam with pride at my acceptance. I don't know anything about the former education that I've had, but it sure does feel nice knowing that I can build a new identity for myself.
Dean wipes his hand down his face and sighs, "Congratulations, Cass."
Even though I'm not really paying much attention to him, I can tell that he's been drinking.
I see a bright flash and my heart begins to race; it cannot be those men that came for me before! Castiel encrypted my ribs!
I take a sigh of relief when I see that it's only him, but I'm worried because he looks livid.
He goes straight for Dean, "What the hell is wrong with you?!" He takes him by the collar of his shirt and jacks him up against the wall. "You could have killed her!" Castiels fist meets the right side of Deans face and he hits the floor coughing. "Do you have any idea what the hell you have done!?" He kicks Dean in the stomach full force. Dean begins to cough up blood and I scurry over and throw myself on the floor in front of him.
"Castiel! Stop!" Before I know it, there are tears threatening to spill from my eyes. I don't know why I'm reacting this way after what Dean has done, I guess it's just instinct. "Don't hurt him!"
Cas looks torn, I can see the dilemma on his face. He takes a step back and I turn to look at Deans face. His cheek is already bruised and his lip busted, there's blood dripping from his chin.
"He hurt you, Cassandra!" Castiel growls and he takes another step back, "He's getting what he rightfully deserves."
"No one deserves this!" I scream at him and watch Deans eyes close. I lower my voice and begin talking to the broken man in front of me, "Dean, look at me. Stay awake; you can't fall asleep."
"Your hair is a different color," Castiel mutters.
I ignore him and Sam butts in, "Cas, could I talk to you outside?"
I'm too focused on Dean to care about anything else. His green eyes open slightly and meet mine. I gently wipe the blood from his chin with my thumb and touch his cheek softly.
"Let me help you up," I beg quietly and wrap my arms under his. He's heavy, but I don't care as I haul him on to the bed.
He coughs again, "Cassie, d-don't help me."
"Shut up!" I yell and he closes his eyes tightly, and I can see the streaks of tears flowing from his eyes. "I need to help you," my voice fails me at the end and I know that he's going to be as stubborn as a mule for the rest of the time I have with him tonight, but he needs to deal with it. I jet over to the bathroom and grab the first aid kit under the sink; bandages, peroxide, and aloe cream. I'll have to deal with what I have. When I get back Dean is sitting up.
"Just don't, Cassie. You don't owe me crap," he mutters, "I did deserve that."
"Goddammit, Dean! Don't you ever shut the hell up?!"
I stand in front of him and take my shirt off. I pour peroxide on it and gently dab it on to his lip. He hisses, but he sits still and takes it like a man, and for that I am appreciative. When I'm finished with that, I dab some aloe cream on the Band-Aid and place it gingerly on his lip. I know it will be uncomfortable for now, but it's gonna have to be good enough.
"Lift up your shirt," I demand gently and he complies. His stomach is already a deep purple and I sigh as I run my hand through my hair. I tug up at the end of his shirt and it slips right off of him. The collar is stained with his blood, but I pull it on over my head anyway. "Stay right here, please don't move."
I jog to the mini fridge that looks like it hasn't been dusted in ages and grab some ice. It's freezing in my hand, so I quickly wrap it up in my discarded shirt and have him lay on his back. I place the makeshift ice pack on his stomach and he winces slightly. We sit in silence.
Finally my eyes linger to his arm where the strange mark is upraised.
"Are you going to tell me what the hell that thing is on your arm now?" I ask, "I think it's my right to know at this point."
He takes a deep breath and then sighs softly, "The Mark of Cain..."
I raise my eyebrow, "As in, Cain and Abel?"
He nods.
"What is it?"
"It's a long story," he says.
"Trust me," I move the ice pack to see if the swelling has gone down; it still has a little while to go, "I have time."
{Dean's POV}
Some of the little details slip my mind, but the story is all the same. I try to be the hero, I get messed up in some way, then it messes others up, puts them in danger, gets them killed even. Cassie listened all the same. Sometimes her reaction frightened me, but she braved on and kept her ears open. The whole story, cover to cover, I told her. Every little thing that's ever happened to me that I could remember, I laid it all out on the table. About my mom, dad, Jo, Ellen, Ben, Lisa, Sam, Lucifer, everything. Her face took many twists and turns, especially when I mentioned the part about Jo and the way that I felt about her, and about how I only ever saw her as a sister truly. I did love her once, but it was never in the way I thought it was. Cassie had her ears open through everything. Every up, every down, every horrible thing that I've done. Sam and Cas never came back, I think that they went to go stake out where the Vampires nest could possibly be; all in all that didn't matter to me. What matters to me is this beautiful girl sitting in front of me with solemn and tired eyes, a drained expression on her face from all the bull crap that she forced me to allow her to ingest.
Yet she's still here. This woman has been with me for a short amount of time, and she's willing to jump in front of an angry and powerful angel for me. That's something that I cannot allow to go unnoticed.
I remember all the little things that she's done for me, like the time I let her drive Baby; she knew I was in a horrible mood, but she still tried with every fiber of her being to make me smile.
God, her smile. If that could be the last thing that I ever see on this earth, I would die a complete and happy man. Her gorgeous hazel eyes meet mine and I can feel my heart skip a beat, this woman has me wrapped around her finger, and I swear from this day forward, no matter what the hell happens...
"I will do anything and everything in my power to keep you safe."