Next chapter for all you lovely folks! Thank you ILoveSupernaturalcasisimine and Bani86 for the lovely reviews. Enjoy, it is time for a hunt!

-Paperganstah

Dean shifted tiredly in the passenger seat, itching to drive. There wasn't really any place for him to drive his beloved Impala and he missed her. Cas shifted gears and smiled at Dean as the old pickup kicked up the red earth and dirty snow under its tires. Dean figured it was just their luck. The first snow of winter was upon them.

"Wanna turn up the music? Do you guys listen to anything besides the golden oldies?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Shut up Gabe. And this ain't the 'golden oldies. The driver picks the music."

'Or the one fucking the driver' Gabriel though miserably. "Are we there yet?"

"Don't start that game now or I'm taking your sweets hostage." Dean grinned evilly. "I'll put them somewhere you can't reach."

"You're cruel." Gabriel pretended to pout and kicked Dean's seat every few minutes.

"Damn it stop kicking my chair!"

Cas glared as he shifted gears once more. "Would the both of you act your proper ages? I find your childish actions grating." He glanced in the review mirror to ensure that the red pickup truck was following behind them.

"Wow Dean. You must be really lame in the sack or Cassie wouldn't be so crabby. Couldn't get your dick past the stick up his ass?"

Cas' eyes narrowed and Dean spit out a mouthful of cold coffee. "Dude, we aren't gay. Got it?"

"Sure."

"And my name's not Cassie."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Can we listen to something else at least? How about some Gagnam Style?"

"I think when he got possessed by that demon and stopped making freaky dance songs was the first time I wanted to hug a demon." Gabriel sighed and kicked the seat again. "I'm tired of the Gabriel talk show. Can we change that channel?"

Cas sighed. He wished this was like his other hunts with Dean. Just Dean.

"We're here. Dead Man Falls." Dean finally looked out his window and gaped at the sight. It was beautiful. Waterfalls spilled into foamy rivers. Aspens climbed out of the foam and twisted their branches towards the sunlight. Ice crawled along the edges of the stream and chilled the early winter air.

"Damn Cas. It's gorgeous here."

Cas nodded with a slight smile. "See, in winter it becomes a kingdom of ice."

"Too bad it's so damn cold out here." Dean pulled on a large coat and a warm, green pair of gloves when the heater in the car went off.

"We will have to come here in the spring." Cas gripped onto Dean's hand for a moment before he climbed out of the driver's seat.

The other men parked their truck and piled out into the muddy sleet.

"We sure are going to freeze our balls off tonight." Brady rubbed his hands together.

Dean punched him in the shoulder. "Let's gank us some angels and then we can get the hell out of here." He missed the way Gabriel's eyes narrowed at his back.

"I hear you brother." A large-muscled man in a cap nodded at them. "I'm gonna get my order of hot wings and get my ass in some warm bed with someone pretty in it."

Most of the men laughed and broke out in a raucous sound of crude jokes and laughter. Cas rolled his eyes.

"Benjamin, I trust that you are not so stupid as to forget that this hunt has not yet happened?" He glared at the men. "Angels are not simple to track. They are precise and they are ruthless. We will be lucky if most of us come home." Cas immediately got to work on a fire.

Benny rolled his eyes. "If Princess over there would just get laid every once in a while he wouldn't be such a dick." Dean swallowed awkwardly.

A man with a mullet nodded. "Dude just needs to loosen up some. He needs to take a chill pill and just get some poon already."

Benny snorted and knocked shoulders with Dean. "Nah. He's kind of a pretty one. Probably wants a man to fuck out all that icy attitude. That's my guess.

Cas bristled and snapped a branch in half. He held his tongue. Cas was used to being alone. He had learned to not only live through the loneliness but to accept it. He remembered sitting on the cabin porch on warm summer days. The other boys would run past with the sun burning their skin an assortment of gold and pink.

"Heya Cas! We're swimming today, wanna come?" Ash had been rather friendly to the quiet boy when he got the chance. Another boy elbowed him in the back of the head with a scowl.

"You know he can't idiot, he can't even walk!" Some of the boys snickered. It was easiest for them to laugh at the crippled boy. They were afraid of him in their own way. All the other boys could run and whoop and steal a pie off the window. Cas was…he was different. It made the other boys uneasy.

Ash shrugged, unbothered. "Well maybe he can swim, maybe the dude just can't walk?"

"Hey Cas! Can you even swim?" Cas looked at their inquisitive faces and was jealous of their grimy little faces and callused hands. He glanced down at his own clean nails.

"No."

Benny grinned. "He can't hardly even talk either."

Cas closed his eyes and wished them all away. When the other boys finally lost interest in him they hollered the entire way to the lake. He rubbed a sleeve across his eyes and snuffled loudly. He tried to hold back the tears. If the other boys saw him crying things were worse. He worried with the cuff of a metal brace on his arm. It had left markings on the soft skin of his forearm. He used the metal crutches to get to the other side of the porch, out of the sun.

"Cas, what are you doing?" Leah wandered over with Jane and Chastity.

"Reading." Cas buried his nose in his book.

"What are you reading?" Chastity leaned against his chair and smiled brightly at him. Her long eyelashes fluttered.

Cas looked surprised. "You read?"

Chastity put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, of course. Like all the time!" Leah and Jane giggled.

Cas tilted his head. "Hmmm. I would never have assumed." He continued to read.

"Your brother is rude." Chastity tossed her blonde hair.

"Leave him alone Chastity." Leah gave Cas one of her sickly sweet smiles. "Father wants you inside."

Cas nodded. "Thank you Leah." He placed his book on the table and used his crutches to get back inside. Sweat trickled down his back and dampened the hair at the nape of his neck.

"Father? Leah told me to come inside."

Gideon smiled at the boy from the table. "Hello Cas. Yes, I wanted to talk to you. How are the crutches working out?"

Cas smiled softly. "They are fine."

"I thought that after Jonah built them for you I would see you go somewhere else for the day." Cas looked confused. "That's why we had them made"

Cas awkwardly fiddled with the metal cuffs again. He could feel the metal rods strapped to his legs pinching the skin. "I know. I just-I like it here. I think I would rather stay in here. I can still help you write sermons and other things." Cas wouldn't meet his father's eyes.

"Cas? You know son," he rested a hand on his shoulder. "Lying is a sin."

Cas sniffled and nodded. "I apologize. I-t-they still don't like me." He buried his face in his hands and Gideon felt his heart break for the young boy.

"Cas…" Gideon wasn't sure what to say. He had hoped that if they could give Cas some form of mobility that he would be able to play with the other boys his age. It seemed that Cas would always be an outsider.

"Sometimes people are born different. It is not a bad thing." He began to unhook the metal from Cas' wrists. "It just means that they are better at other things. While the other boys are running around knocking down bee hives and getting in trouble you are here. You are learning the Word of God. You are learning to lead those boys out there. When they learn, and they will, they will look to you for council. You will help them build a relationship with God. It won't be long before they realize how wonderful you really are." He got to work on removing the leg braces, wincing at the swollen, bruised flesh.

"I don't want to teach them. I want to be outside, with them right now!" Cas hung his head. "I think God messed up with me. I got broken and he was busy."

"Come here." Gideon lifted Cas into his arms and held him. "I am so proud of you, Cas" He whispered the words against messy brown hair. "I know that it is hard for you to be so strong, but you are. God is testing you. If anyone can pass that test, it's you."

"Do you really think so?"

The pastor smiled at Cas' eager smile. Cas was at times moody but he did not like to weigh down his father with problems. "Yes. I do. Would you like to see something interesting?"

Cas nodded. "Yes please."

Gideon carried his boy into his room and set him down on the bed. Cas got comfortable against the pillows. Gideon pulled out a bag from a drawer.

"I went on a hunt last week and I got a trophy." Cas watched in awe as the pastor pulled out several long, white feathers.

"Did you catch a bird?" Cas held out his hand questioningly and smiled when he felt the soft feathers in his hand.

Gideon ruffled his hair. "No. Do you know what else has wings, besides a bird?"

Cas thought for just a moment as the downy fluff tickled his palms. "An angel. You killed an angel."

"Yes I did. You can keep those."

Cas gave him a small smile. "Thank you. If God made angels, why are they evil?"

"He made the devil, Cas"

Cas frowned. "Yes, but I thought most angels were supposed to be good?"

Gideon smiled wanly. "Yes, didn't we all? They have chosen to fall and I help them when I can." He ran his finger down the quill of one feather and Cas shivered at the expression on his face. He wondered what the angel who had such pretty wings looked like. He didn't know why but something within him cried out. Something made him hate his father in that moment for killing the angel.

"Cas?" Dean rested a hand on Cas' shoulder. "Are you alright buddy?"

Cas nearly jumped, wrenched out of his daze. "Yes, I was just thinking."

Dean grinned. "You do that a lot."

"And you don't do it nearly enough." Cas smiled when Dean took his hand and helped him up from the rock he sat on.

Benny nudged Dean with his shoulder. "Don't mind Cas. He mopes around a lot but he ain't that dangerous."

Dean turned and glared at him. "Hey man, give Cas a break." Cas looked in wonder at Dean. Not once had someone stood up for him before. "He's the leader of this hunt 'cause he's damn good. You're lucky to have him. I'd apologize if I were you."

Benny was surprised. He nodded uncomfortably. "Sure. I am sorry." He shuffled to the other side of the fire and pretended to be really interested in cleaning his gun.

"When are we gonna get some action?" Ash ripped open a can of beer and chugged it.

Cas glanced his way. "We will begin tonight."

"Radical!" Ash passed around the booze.

"If we plan on hunting tonight I do not believe it will be beneficial if we are inebriated."

Gabe grinned." Party Pooper. Come on bro, just one?"

Cas rolled his eyes at the darkening sky. "I am not your brother. If you drink more than one, you will remain sentry in the camp. I will not have your blood on my hands." Gabriel's eyes looked amused for a moment.

Cas began to sharpen a knife against a whetstone. Dean recalled the blade from earlier hunts. Cas' gaze remained downwards, beat up jacket and stubble roughening up the pretty image. Dean stared for a while until he realized Cas' blue eyes were on him. He looked curious for a moment and then offered Dean a small smile. Dean returned it with a burning in his chest.

"C'mon Cas. Just one?" Dean tossed him a cold one. He figured that Cas might need a little help loosening up around the boys. He wished they could see what a bad ass the guy was.

Cas sighed and popped open the can. The others cheered him on. He chugged the whole thing and stomped it into a flat metal ring with his boot.

Dean brushed past Cas and felt the other man shiver. "Damn you're hot babe. Let's get those angels so I can get you back in bed."

"Is that all you think about? Fornication?"

Dean chuckled. "Yeah when you're around.

Cas gripped the front of Dean's jacket and pulled him closer, mouth almost against the other man's. "Then you'd better kill us some angels." He whispered the words roughly against his mouth and released his hold just before Dean could give in. Dean shivered at the way Cas' blue eyes had darkened. His body ached for him but Cas had moved away.

Cas stood before the men and looked them over.

Benny had never been a favorite of his, but Cas knew he was mostly a good person. The man had his vices but never offered excuses. He had a record with bagging dead monsters.

Andrew and Brody were best friends since childhood. They had tormented Cas since he was small but he knew they would keep an eye on each other. That was some heavy leverage.

Ash was an enigma. The man talked out of an eighties movie, rocked a mullet, and a past at MIT. He had never once insulted or harmed Cas.

Gabriel was a trickster and hid something under his immature ways. He was not to be trusted.

And then there was Dean. The man was grinning and the smile warmed his green eyes. Cas caught his eye and forced himself not to smile widely back. Dean was the first and only person he would trust completely. He was charming. He was brave and kind and good. Cas had never met anyone like him. If he lost him…Cas redirected his thoughts as he felt a weight in his heart. Dean was also his weakness. He had never been tied down to anyone and now he could feel their souls tangled like rope. If one of them pulled back the other held on. This only served to tighten the knot.

He tucked his blade away and nodded at the men. He felt a quiet pride rise up as they followed him down the trail. The fire behind them smothered into hot coals and pathetic embers. A sound of rustling twigs nearby slowed their steps. They waited for a few breathless moments. Then the preacher's son glanced ahead and motioned for the other men to follow him. It was time for some payback. Cas was ready to accept the currency of blood and feathers as payment for the wrongdoings of the angels. This night was for Mary and John Winchester. But most of all, this night was for Dean Winchester. Not only for all he had lost, but for all he had given.