"You've really found him?" I asked, desperate for it to be true but scared it was all a hallucination due to my lack of sleep.

Castiel lifted his gaze and nodded solemnly. From the way his shoulders were hunched, and his entire body radiated defeat, I knew the relief was going to be short-lived. They had found him but what if they was too late? My hand clutched at my chest as it gave a painful lurch.

"He isn't?" My voice cracked over the words before I gasped in a breath. "He isn't dead. He can't be dead."

Castiel quickly shook his head and pulled me into a hug. "No! No, he isn't dead." he squeezed me tight for a few seconds and then pulled away.

He glanced down at me and must have seen something on my face. It was probably disbelief. I could scarcely believe he told the truth when because he grasped both of my shoulders and shook me. "He is not dead. I promise."

Like something was unfurling within me, the strength which had kept me going through the last few days suddenly waned as I released the breath I had been holding. I rested my head tiredly on Castiel's shoulder. Trying to be strong when all I wanted to do was fall to pieces was exhausting. The mind-numbing, bone deep tiredness which was always there dragging at you minute by minute.

Yet despite the tiredness, the painful vice around my heart eased for a moment.

"I knew he wasn't dead. I don't know how but I just knew. Somewhere deep down in my soul I knew that he would come back to me." I closed my eyes as a shudder went through my body. "I didn't want to believe it though. If I had been wrong."

"But you weren't."

I pulled away and glanced over Castiel's shoulder. I almost expected Lucius to be standing in the corridor behind him, pulling a funny face at me for acting so silly. Then he would probably smirk and roll his eyes at me. Deep inside, I felt disappointed that he wasn't there to tease me. I needed to see him – to see for myself that he was still alive.

"So where is he? Has he gone up to our rooms?" I asked, slowly refocusing on the man before me.

Castiel entire body tensed at my question before he looked away.

"Cass, you should never play poker." I teased but my words fell flat. It was hard to joke when you felt ready to break.

Clearing my throat to clear the lump which had formed, I voiced the words which remained unspoken between us. "He's hurt, isn't he?"

Castiel turned his violet coloured eyes towards me and gave me that look – pity. Anger rushed through me suddenly, so unexpected that I had to press my lips together to stop myself from shouting him. Lack of sleep and overwrought nerves had left me emotionally unstable.

Castiel nodded once in answer to my question. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. He wasn't dead and he was the Devil. He could survive almost anything. He's too stubborn to die. He would live and all too soon he would be a giant pain in my side just begging for a kick in the shins.

Still, I needed to see it to believe it. I had hallucinations of his return once already. I need to hold his hand, see his face, and hear his breath to know that what Castiel said was the truth.

"Take me to him." I ordered. My voice cracked over the words but I soon straightened my spine and attempted to regain my strength. Lucius needed me.

"Savannah, maybe you shouldn't –." Castiel started, placing a hand upon my shoulder.

I shook it offer and glared up at him. "I am no fainting lady needing to be sheltered from life's horrors by men. Take me to him, Castiel. I need to see for myself. If you don't take me, I will just look for him on my own."

The angel ran a tired hand down his face, his gaze dropping to his feet for a few seconds, but finally he sighed.

"Fine, I will take you." He shook his head as he turned away from me. "Do not expect too much, the healer is with him but Lucius has not woken yet."

I gulped and nodded even though he wasn't looking at me. "I understand."

Without any further words spoken between us, he walked and I followed. It was easy to do. Exhaustion was becoming more difficult to ignore so I allowed my body to trail after him on auto-pilot. And when he stopped after weaving through corridor after corridor, I was too far gone to stop myself from walking into his back.

I blinked and looked around. I wasn't even sure where we were. Some lower level of the castle, so far out of the way that it would have taken me hours to find on my own.

His brows pulled together in a frown as looked over his shoulder at me. "Once you've seen him you need to rest." Castiel stated.

I laughed out loud hysterically. I must have looked awful if he was telling me to rest when he was covered in blood, most of it not his own, and dirt smeared over his clothing. My laughter stopped abruptly, and I was suddenly on the verge of tears. I needed to sleep desperately.

"I'm not going to get a better response am I?" Castiel asked. I just stared back at him. He already knew the answer. He sighed and looked away. "Let's go."

He strode forwards and opened the door to his right, holding it open and nodding to the open doorway. I gulped and slipped past him in a large room. Yet, despite its grand size, it may as well have been a small cupboard. The room was stifling hot, the heat closing on from all sides and the lights had been dimmed. In my mind it felt as if the walls were closing in all around me.

There were no crystals lighting up the ceiling in this room. Instead, the only light came from the fireplace and a small lantern flickering softly from the table beside the bed.

I stepped forwards cautiously, my eyes squinting into the gloom. A large bed four poster bed dominated the centre of the room, heavy red drapes hanging from the sides and on it laid a form which was still, so still. I inched closer, my heart beating faster and faster the closer I got.

Movement at the edge of my vision had me halting mid stride. The healer, a young demon woman who had helped to heal Castiel when he was injured in battle, rose from her seat near the fireplace. She brushed out her skirts deliberately, a delaying tactic before she closed the distance between us.

"Milady." She murmured, ducking her head briefly before she lifted her chin.

The young woman still baffled me, the way she could be so shy and unobtrusive and yet within the blink of any eye she transformed into a stern no-nonsense healer.

"How is he?" I asked, hating the tremble in my voice as I glanced over at the bed.

"Come and see. It is better for you witness it for yourself." The woman stated, gesturing towards the bed but making no attempt to touch me. I was grateful. I wasn't sure I could cope with comfort from anyone at that moment. One act of kindness and I knew I would probably come undone.

The capable woman stepped up beside the bed, her hand beckoning me forwards. Her face was softened in understanding yet I could feel the underlying power and strength within her small form. I edged closer, even as my stomach twisted uncomfortably.

I was almost afraid to look. Terror raced through me at what I would see. But I couldn't wait anymore. I had to look.

Turning my head, I sucked in a sharp breath.

Lucius was pale, so pale he resembled a corpse. If it wasn't for the painfully slow rise and fall of his chest I would have thought him dead. Everything else about him was still, his face smooth and unfettered by the worries of a conscious mind. Yet, what captured my attention was the fine layer of frost which had started to develop over the outside of his skin, as if he had been frozen. It was everywhere. On his face, coating his hands, and there were even miniscule flecks of ice clinging to the skin that disappeared under the duvet covers.

"What-. What's wrong with him?"

The young demon shook her head, her ruby red gaze looking Lucius over from head to toe. "I don't know. I've never seen anything like it in my three hundred years as a healer. It is as if he is being frozen."

"And you are trying to stop it with the heat?" I asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Yes, I am uncertain of the cause of the ...condition." The healer frowned as she stared down at Lucius' prone form. "Yet, my instincts are telling me that if it is allowed to progress unchecked, the consequence will not be pleasant. But the heat does not appear to be doing much to stop the progress of his condition."

Nodding my head, I stretched out my hand towards the frost covered skin, pausing before I could make contact. A cold aura hung in the air around him. "Is it safe?"

"Yes, it is not contagious from what we can tell and none of the other patients rescued from the scene are showing the same symptoms. He appears to be a unique case."

I frowned at her words. The healer almost sounded fascinated – like it was an experiment for her to puzzle over.

"Which means you don't know how to help him," I interrupted before she could become too lost in her thought.

Glancing back at the still man beside me, I drew in a steadying breath. Reaching out a hand, I pressed my palm to Lucius's cheek. His icy skin burned against the palm of my hand but I didn't pull away. Instead, I leant forwards and brushed my lips against his cheek in a chaste kiss. "You're home now, Lucius. You're safe."

"I'll give you a few moments with him but I'll be right outside in case you need me."

"Thank you," I murmured.

A soft click sounded a few moments later as the door closed behind her.

I lifted a hand and carded my fingers through Lucius's hair, just as I had done to Danny a few hours before. All of the heat from my body felt as if it was being drawn away the longer I looked at him but I fought through the chill. He needed me and, after all of the times he had taken care of me, it was my time to do the same for him. It was what you did for those you loved.

"I need you to get better Lucius. Terran is becoming an instigator for trouble. " I spoke softly, tracing my fingers over Lucius's face, wiping over the frost particles to remove them from his skin. New ones formed just as quickly. "I worry what he might do next. He does not fear me but I think he fears you, despite the words which escape his mouth."

I sighed laid down beside Lucius, drawn to the coolness emanating from his skin in the stuffiness of the room. Placing my head on the pillow beside his, I felt exhaustion clawing at my body. I wanted so much to sleep. Now that I knew he was alive I could finally get my rest. And yet I did not want to close my eyes in fear of the moment I would open them once more and Lucius would be gone.

"Damn stupid man," I muttered, reaching out and lacing my fingers through his. "Next time you won't be able to make me stay behind. I won't let you leave me behind when you go into battle. I am your partner and I will fight by your side. You asked me to be your wife and to do so you need to believe that I am strong enough to be your partner in everything. The only we will survive millennia together is if you believe I am strong enough to be the woman you need."

Lucius's fingers squeezed my hand. I gasped and shot upright, leaning over his body as I search for signs that he was waking up.

"Lucius, can you hear me?" I asked desperately, leaning over and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

His hands flexed around mine once more, weaker than the last time but a conscious action all the same.

"Oh thank god. You hang in there love," I begged, the endearment rolling off of my tongue so easily. "The doc will get you better in no time. You'll see." I pressed a kiss to his lips, lingering as the coldness of the frost made my lips tingle.

And then I was shouting. "Castiel? Doctor? Come quick! He squeezed my hand. Lucius squeezed my hand."

The door crashed open and with a flurry of activity I was forced away from the bed. But I didn't care because despite how bleak everything looked, there was still a shred of hope.

Oh, and apologies for any typos etc. I'm writing fast for #NaNoWriMo so I am just trying to get the chapters done, I'm not focusing too much on editing at present.