And i will walk on water

Chapter fifteen

Title: And I Will Walk On Water (15/18)

Characters: Dean and Castiel, Jimmy, Sam, Bobby

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: ~7,800

Notes: ibroketuesday sent the Jimmy scenes back to me for edits 15+ times, no joke, so PLEASE LIKE IT. :P That is all.

Summary: In which there are several conversations and this fic becomes a hug!fic. Also, Dean and Castiel go to Africa.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14

Dean's head snapped up and all the air in his body left him in a wheezed, "What?"

Jimmy was standing at the end of the aisle, wide eyed and breathless himself, and now he hurried over to Dean and knelt in front of him. "It's Cas," he repeated. "He's back."

His words did funny things to Dean's heart, which couldn't seem to make up its mind between pounding against his ribcage and stopping altogether somewhere in his throat. When Dean remembered to breathe and found his voice again, he managed to ask, "How?"

"I dunno," Jimmy said with a slight shake of his head. "He didn't say."

Maybe Michael had pulled him out after all, or maybe it had been another angel, or maybe he'd done it himself, or maybe Lucifer had changed his mind, or hell, maybe it was even God who'd finally decided to show a little mercy. A dozen hectic thoughts chased each other through Dean's head, but then he realized something: none of them mattered. Castiel was back. He couldn't quite believe it. "You're sure?"

"Yes!"

Dean let out a half laugh of bone-melting relief, and if he hadn't already been on the floor, he would have sunk to it now. Instead, he switched the safety of his gun back on with fingers that were still shaking, then sat back and leaned against one of the shelves, looking up at the ceiling and feeling kind of dazed. He couldn't tell if it was from the aftereffects of Castiel's voice or from the news, but he was also feeling really fucking happy, and that was definitely from the news. "Is he still here?" he asked, unable to keep the eagerness out of his voice. "Why hasn't he, you know." Here he made a vague, hopefully possession-like gesture at Jimmy. "When can I see him?"

Jimmy sat beside Dean and hesitated for a moment before replying, "He told me to tell you to wait for him, and then he disappeared."

Some of Dean's happiness slipped instantly, to be replaced by worry. He remembered now that getting Castiel back was only the first step. It would probably take many more for Castiel to be okay. "Wait for him to do what?" he asked, kind of nervously.

When Jimmy shrugged, it struck Dean as an unhappy gesture. "Don't know, that's all he said."

Dean bit his lip. If Castiel was on Earth again but didn't want his vessel, maybe it meant he just couldn't deal with being back in a human body yet. Dean could understand that, of course, but it made him wonder how long he'd have to wait to see Castiel again. Utterly selfish though it was, he couldn't help but hope it wouldn't be months and months before Castiel was ready.

It seemed Jimmy could guess what he was thinking. "Look, no matter how bad it might be, I think he'll be in a better place to deal with it this time," he offered even though he was obviously concerned himself.

Dean glanced over at him and tried to gauge how much of that was what Jimmy actually thought and how much of it was for Dean's benefit. The guy seemed earnest enough, but Dean was wary of being too hopeful. "What makes you say that?"