They were in the middle of a case, and Dean was frustrated. They hadn't found much yet in the way of research, and they only had one lead, which wasn't even really a lead. Sam just had a hunch. They were after a nest of vampires, risking their lives, and all they had to go on was a hunch. That made Dean uncomfortable. Nonetheless, they were off to find the nest.

The Impala was feeling especially stuffy tonight. Then again, it was always stuffy. It also could've been the tension in the air between Sam and Dean. The two had been fighting earlier, and they weren't in the mood for talking. The tension broke when Castiel popped into the backseat, making the boys jump. He greeted them with a serious, "Hello, Sam. Dean."

Dean shot the angel a dirty look in the rear view mirror. "Dammit Cas! I'm driving! I kind of need to concentrate."

"Sorry," Castiel apologized. "But I come with news."

That caught Sam's attention. "What is it?"

Castiel answered in a grave tone, "There seems to be a human girl being held in the nest of vampires you're tracking. She was kidnapped."

"…And? Vampires kidnap people all the time. They do drink human blood, you know." Dean quipped.

"I realize that. But this is strange. When vampires kidnap people, they usually kill them on the spot or hold them for their blood. But they haven't touched this girl." Castiel replied.

Sam and Dean said nothing.

"So, you must rescue her. She's obviously special."

"Special? Special how?" Sam asked, turning to look at Castiel. But the angel was already gone.

"Well, change of plans. We get the girl, and then get out without getting ourselves killed. We'll kill all the vamps another time." Dean said.

The rest of the drive was silent.

When Sam and Dean finally pulled up to the shack, Sam paused. "Hey, Dean?"

"Yeah, Sammy?"

"Don't you think it's a little weird that Cas didn't say why the girl was important?" Sam asked.

Dean thought for a second before answering. "No."

Sam gave his brother a sideways glance. "I mean, don't you think he would at least tell us what we need her for before he tells us to run blindly into a nest of vampires and rescue her? We don't even know what she looks like!"

"Sam, we need to trust Cas. He's never let us down before."

"I know, Dean. It's just…" Sam sighed, and his voice trailed off.

"Just what?"

Sam shook his head. "Never mind. Let's just go."

The boys got out of the car and crept up to the shack. Dean silently opened the door, checked to make sure it was clear, and waved Sam inside.

"Let's do this fast, okay Sammy?" Dean said. Sam nodded.

It was daytime, so all the vampires were asleep. Sam and Dean snuck through the building, being careful not to wake any of them. They looked around the place for a human girl, to no avail. The shack was small, and there weren't a lot of places you could hide a person.

"Where could she be?" Dean asked, frustrated again.

"Maybe there's a basement." Sam answered pointedly.

The brothers looked around again, this time for a door to a basement. They avoided the various hammocks and cots with sleeping vampires occupying them, and they froze in their tracks multiple times when one of the vamps rolled over groggily. They discovered two closets, which both turned out to be empty when opened. Finally, Sam came across another door. This door was well hidden, with cobwebs surrounding it. It looked like it hadn't been opened in a while.

"Dean! Over here!" Sam whispered to his brother.

"Let's hope this is it," Dean complained.

Sam opened the door, and both boys winced when it produced a loud creak. After looking around to make sure none of the vampires had woken up, Sam and Dean tiptoed down the stairs that were behind the door. At the bottom of the stairs was a small room, and in the corner was a pile of ratty blankets. On top of the pile laid a girl. She was dirty, and looked pretty rough. She was either sleeping or passed out. Dean concluded it was the latter, because when he slung her over his shoulder, she didn't wake up.

"The vamps must have drugged her," Sam said.

Dean raised his eyebrows. He thought about the pros and cons of that, and tried to think of a witty response. He finally decided on "Okay."

Sam and Dean started back towards the stairs of the basement. Climbing up the wooden staircase carefully, they did their best to avoid any creaky steps. The boys made it to the top with no troubles, and walked out of the basement quietly and unharmed. Sam shut the door behind him, and luckily this time it didn't creak.

"Dean, we have to hurry. It's almost sunset," Sam warned his brother.

Dean didn't need to look out any windows to see the approaching sunset. A glance in the direction of the sleeping figures proved Sam's statement to be true. The vampires were growing more restless; tossing and turning more often. They threatened to wake up at any moment. The two boys tiptoed to the exit a little faster. They froze when they heard a loud thud. Dean looked around. Amazingly, none of the vampires had woken. The source of the thud seemed to be one of the girl's shoes, which had fallen off of her foot and now lay on the floor. The shoe was dirty and looked as if it was about three sizes too large for her foot. The shoes she wore must have been a pair of shoes given to her by the vampires, which was an oddity. Vampires were not usually generous, or caring, towards their prisoners. Sam and Dean continued to the door. When they reached it, Sam slowly opened it and the two stepped outside. Dean let out a breath he wasn't aware he had been holding. The brothers turned around to head to the car, and bumped right into a vampire.

"Sam!" Dean yelled, swinging the girl off his shoulder and into Sam's arms. "Get her to the car!"

Sam sprinted to the Impala, carrying the unconscious girl bridal style.

Dean faced the vampire, who looked as shocked as the two boys had been just seconds before. "I take it you weren't expecting visitors?" Dean said slyly as he pulled a blade from inside his jacket.

The creature lunged, snarling, but Dean was already gone.

"Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me!" Dean taunted with a grin.

The vampire whipped around in anger at the provoking, and slammed itself directly into Dean's outstretched knife. One last look of shock passed over the monster's face as its head rolled off of its body.

"Thank God that's over," Dean breathed.

"God had nothing to do with that. You killed that vampire," Castiel said matter-of-factly, appearing next to Dean.

"Oh, well hey there, Cas! Thanks for all the help back there!" Dean retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He had almost gotten used to the angel popping in with no warning. Almost.

"You didn't seem like you needed any," Castiel replied, a puzzled look passing over his features.

Dean just rolled his eyes. "Come on, Cas. Let's get outta here before any more vamps wake up."

The two walked to the car, where they found Sam unsuccessfully trying to place the limp girl in the backseat of the Impala.

"Havin' a little trouble there, Sammy?" Dean teased.

"It would help if she were…awake." Sam said.

Castiel climbed into the backseat, where he eyed the girl with an unreadable expression. Sam and Dean got into the front in their usual seats, and Dean drove the four of them back to the motel where they were staying.

After they were inside, Dean placed the girl on one of the two beds in their motel room. Five minutes of extremely awkward silence passed, and the three looked at each other.

"…What do we do now?" asked Dean impatiently.

"I guess we wait," answered Sam. "When she wakes up, we can ask her who she is."

Dean grunted in response.

They sat for about thirty minutes in silence, waiting for the girl to wake up.

Suddenly, Dean stood up. "I'm going to the bar," he announced.

Sam looked from Castiel to the girl, and then back at Castiel, who was staring innocently at him. "Me too," he said, standing up alongside Dean.

"Wait!" Castiel exclaimed. He looked at Dean, then back at Sam. "What if she wakes up?" Castiel said, looking startled and very uncomfortable.

"Talk to her," Dean said.

And with that, the two boys left.