Dean opened his eyes groggily as he heard the door to his hospital room open, groaning as he glanced over at the clock beside him to see that it was six o'clock in the morning. He rolled over, ready to tell Ellen to come back later and let him sleep, when he froze, staring at Castiel who stood at his doorway.

"Cas?" Dean said, instantly wide awake as he realized who it was. He scrambled out of the bed and over to the quickly paling boy, putting his arm around Castiel's waist and supporting him until they reached the bed, where the Winchester set him down on.

"What are you doing out of bed? You know that's not a good idea." Dean muttered as he fussily made sure Castiel was comfortable. The color was already coming back to the teen's face, and the Winchester found himself sighing in relief.

"I wanted to come see you." Castiel answered, looking down at his lap in guilt. Dean couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "You're leaving today, aren't you? I just wanted to come say good bye, just in case."

"I wasn't going to leave without saying goodbye." Dean told the boy in a reassurance, relaxing when he realized that was the only problem that the boy was facing. "And besides, I'll visit you anyways. So don't worry too much."

Castiel smiled softly, shivering and hugging his arms around his frail body. Dean had learned earlier that his sudden change of body temperature was normal for his illness, but it often led to constant covering and uncovering.

It was this that Dean tugged the blanket out from under Castiel and wrapped it around his shoulders, knowing that he would have to call Ellen before she went to Castiel's room and found him gone.

"I'm going to call Ellen, okay?" Dean said, reaching for the nurse help button. Castiel shook his head, frowning slightly.

"She doesn't get to work until seven. It's only..." Castiel paused to glance at the clock behind him. "six fifteen."

Dean frowned at the clock, but shrugged and crawled into the bed beside Castiel, sitting so their shoulders were brushing. "Then I guess we'll wait until then. How'd you get here without getting caught by any of the nurses anyways?"

Castiel shrugged. "I don't know. I just walked here. I guess no one was around at the time." Castiel admitted, his shivering not abating as he wrapped the blanket tighter around his body, his face pale. Dean furrowed his eyebrows, rubbing the teen's covered back.

"Do you need another blanket?" Dean asked. Castiel shook his head, but he knew that he was just trying to deny help. That was something they both had in common. They didn't want to admit that they both needed assistance sometimes.

"I'll get you one just in case." Dean said, trying to spare Castiel's feelings and hopped onto the floor, shivering as the cool tile met his warm feet. He trailed over to the closet, opening it and pulled out a folded blanket.

He moved back over to Castiel and smiled knowingly, unfolding it and wrapping the blanket around the teen snugly. "Better?" Dean asked, moving back to his seat. Castiel reluctantly nodded, looking back at his lap again.

"What's your brother like Dean? You mention him in your stories, but I never thought to ask." Castiel said, leaning on Dean's shoulder so he didn't have to strain to remain upright. Dean didn't mind and he rubbed his hand over his knees, thinking long and hard for a minute.

"Well, I could talk about Sammy all day. He's literally the best thing that has ever existed in my life. He's so kind and cares so much about everyone. It's like there's this weight on his shoulders, as if he thinks that he has to be able to save every person he can. It's weird, but that's just the kind of guy he is." Dean shrugged, furrowing his eyebrows with concentration. "He's also incredibly sassy and sarcastic. He could insult you, and you'd never know it, but he deserves all the happiness in the world and it'd never be enough."

Castiel listened intently throughout Dean's description, watching as the Winchester's eyes softened when he thought about his brother. It was heart-warming, to see that much care in his eyes. He had heard stories of Dean's life, and he knew how hard it was for the boy to not succumb to the demon's he's been forced to face.

"Do you think you can bring him when you visit sometimes?" Castiel asked, smiling at Dean as the Winchester glanced at him. "I want to meet the brother that makes you so sappy."

The lightly teasing tone in Castiel's voice caught Dean off guard. Although he had only talked to the boy for two days, he had never heard him joke, not even a little. It was strange, but it was a nice change as well.

"Oh, shut it Novak." Dean responded back, smirking in his playful manner as he looked at the boy leaning on his shoulder. Castiel had a smirk matching Dean's but it slowly fell into a frown, his eyes darkening slightly.

"Do you think I'll ever be better?" Castiel asked, his happy mood gone and replaced by one of sadness. Dean let his expression soften, knowing that this was always in the back of the teen's mind and nodded.

"I'm sure you'll be." Dean said confidently, making Castiel look up at him. The Winchester honestly had no idea, but he wasn't about to tell the Novak that. "As soon as you're better, I'll take you out to get pie and hamburgers, guaranteed."

Castiel smiled just a little bit. "It's a date then." He mumbled, a slight hint of pink crossing his cheeks, although Dean didn't notice. His smile fell once more into a frown. "I'm terrified of not getting better."

Dean sighed turning to face Castiel, putting his hands on the teen's shoulders to make sure he was listening. "Cas, trust me, you will be fine. I'll be with you every step of the way if you want, so don't even get scared that you might be alone, because you have me, Gabriel, and I'll even get Sam to come visit you. We'll be friends now and after you are cured. You can trust me with that." Dean said firmly, seeing a sparkling come into Castiel's eyes that he hadn't ever seen before.

"Thank you, Dean." Castiel breathed, his arms quivering as the blankets pooled off his shoulders and pooled into his lap, wrapping his arms around Dean's waist and laying his head on his chest.

"I'm tired." Castiel said with a soft yawn, closing his eyes. Dean didn't know what to do, so he remained as still as possible, trying not to tense, not relax into it. It was a new experience with someone other than his brother using him as a pillow.

Dean remained still, even when Castiel's breathing had evened out. It was moving on seven twenty when he finally reached over and pressed the nurse button, waiting patiently for Ellen to arrive.

When the nurse came through the door, she relaxed when she saw that Dean was fine, only to furrow her eyebrows when she saw Castiel. "What's he doing out of bed?" Ellen asked suspiciously, moving over to wake Castiel up. Dean automatically wrapped his arms around the boy like a shield, shaking his head.

"He walked over here while I was sleeping. He said he wanted to say goodbye to me just incase." Dean said softly, keeping his voice low as to not disturb the boy. Ellen slowly nodded, though she looked worried as she checked him over, making sure he hadn't hurt himself. Castiel stirred, but did not wake.

"Poor boy. He's so alone except for his younger brother, and Gabriel won't even hardly visit him." Ellen said sadly, running her hand through Castiel's hair soothingly. "Gabriel loves his brother of course, but he has this fear of losing his older brother, so he keeps his distance."

Dean frowned at this. "But Cas told me he visits everyday." Dean countered and Ellen gave him a sympathetic smile, shaking her head.

"No, he tells everybody that. You didn't realize because you were in your room with Sam, but Castiel only gets a visit maybe once a day from his father, and once week from Gabriel if he's lucky." She explained softly. Dean looked down at the sleeping boy in his arms, feeling bad for the boy.

"Not anymore he won't. I'll visit him as much as I can." Dean said determinedly. Ellen's smile only saddened further, and she nodded before slowly shaking Castiel's shoulder, gently rousing the teen from sleep.

"Castiel, you have to get up now, Bobby will be here to pick Dean up any minute." Ellen urged gently, watching as Castiel slowly groaned and raised his head, his eyes blurred with sleep. He let go of Dean and stretched, his thin body making Dean cringe just a bit, before he looked at Ellen, a sheepish look crossing his features.

"Sorry for sneaking around, Ellen." Castiel mumbled, and he was greeted by a firm lecture from the middle-aged woman. Dean smiled softly, noticing how much a mother she seemed to be to the teen.

A knock on the door interrupted all of them before Bobby walked in, his usual cap and beard bringing a smile to Dean's face. "Hey, kiddo." Bobby said gruffly, smiling at Dean before looking at the other two.

"Bobby, this is Castiel. He's a friend of mine." Dean introduced, glancing at Castiel, who seemed slightly intimidated by the older man. "And you already know Ellen, I presume."

Bobby nodded his greeting to the both of them before gazing back at Dean. "Ready to head on home?" Bobby asked, motioning to the door. "Sam's asleep in the car or he would have come in too. Apparently, he had a eventful day."

"Yeah, let's get going." Dean said, standing from the bed. He felt a weak grip on his wrist and turned his head, seeing Castiel staring at him with a scared look in his eyes. "Don't worry, Cas. I'll come and see you tomorrow after work, deal?"

Slowly, the sick boy nodded, letting Dean's hand slide through his grip slowly. Dean offered him a reassuring smile before he headed towards the door, taking a deep breath. He gave Bobby a hug, glad that he was going to live with his uncle rather than his father anymore, and be able to see his brother.

But, he found himself looking forward to tomorrow when he could visit Castiel again.