The second time Cas woke up, the first thing he saw was Dean, still sitting in the chair, his chin on his chest, sleeping. He and Cas were still holding hands. Cas watched Dean's chest rise and fall slowly and felt a sudden wave of emotion roll over him, unlike anything he'd ever felt. He squeezed Dean's hand and Dean slowly blinked his eyes open.

"How are you?" Dean asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm okay. How long was I asleep?" Cas asked in return. Dean checked his watch.

"Just a few hours. I'm going to have to go soon, visiting hours are almost over," Dean said.

"Oh," Cas said quietly. Dean removed his hand from Cas'.

"Don't worry, I'll come back tomorrow," Dean said. Cas nodded. They both looked around as the door opened and a nurse walked in.

"Hello Castiel. My name's Meg. I'm here to check on you, just to make sure you're doing okay and check for infection on your arm," the nurse said. Cas smiled at her. Meg walked past Dean to Cas' side. "If you could step outside for a minute, Sir," she said. Dean nodded and stood up, but before he could leave, Cas spoke.

"Actually, could he maybe stay? I'm sorry, I'd just be more comfortable with him," Cas said. Meg smiled.

"Of course. As long as he stays out of my way," she said with a small joking laugh. Dean stepped against the wall, watching as Meg went about her business. Everything went smoothly, then Meg went to check Cas' arm. Cas didn't know what Aaron had done and was very interested to find out.

When Meg peeled back the bandage, Cas felt his breath catch in his throat. Carved deeply into Cas' forearm were the rough letters spelling out "Aaron". Aaron had branded Cas forever with his name. Cas looked up at Dean and saw that he had clenched his hands into fists so tight his knuckles were turning white. Meg replaced the bandage.

"Well whoever Aaron is, he definitely has some anger management issues, but you should be fine," Meg said. Cas thanked her and she left. Cas looked back over at Dean reluctantly. Dean was practically shaking with rage.

"I have to go," he said tightly. "I'll be back tomorrow." Cas watched him go sadly, wishing he could stay. He didn't know how to process this. He loved Aaron, but having his name carved into Cas' flesh felt... violating. Cas stayed awake a bit longer, but with nothing to keep him occupied eventually he simply fell asleep again, waiting for Dean to return.