Sam dialed Cas's number twice before he actually let the call go through. He felt stupid; probably seeing a problem where there wasn't one...but this was Dean. If his brother was in trouble, he had to do something about it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Cas."

"Sam, is everything alright?"

He frowned at angel's slightly panicked tone. "Calm down, Cas...why wouldn't it be?"

"I'm sorry. It's just, I talked to you and Dean less than four hours ago. Two calls in one day...either you have news about Lucifer's spawn, or you're in danger."

"No, we're not in any immediate danger." Sam assured. He felt bad as he realized Cas was right. They never called just to talk, or check in. They usually only initiated contact with him when they needed something.

"Sorry if I interrupted anything, are you busy?"

"Not right at this moment. Do you need assistance?"

"No, I just...wanted to talk about Dean. I'm kinda worried about him."

"Why? What's going on?"

"It's probably nothing to worry about, I've just noticed some old habits coming back."

"I don't understand."

"He's doing the thing again. The thing where he just sort of...stops taking care of himself. Working cases back-to-back without taking time for a rest, even a shower...a couple days ago we got home from a hunt and he hadn't changed his clothes for four days. He insists on doing all the driving, he doesn't let me take over so he can sleep. He's drinking again. I mean, he never really stopped, but it's getting excessive."

"That is concerning." Cas agreed. "But I've noticed he exhibits these behaviors during times of emotional turmoil. The situation with your mother probably isn't helping."

"Yeah, but it seems worse than usual...I'm honestly a little afraid to leave him alone tonight."

"Why?"

"Today was just...a really shitty day for him. We worked a case with a rogue Hellhound, first of all."

"Dean hates them."

"That's an understatement. I know it's been years, but sometimes I can just see it in his eyes, you know? Like he's remembering."

"Being torn apart by Hellhounds is not something you forget." Cas murmured.

"Yeah, also..." Sam hesitated. "I've sorta been working with the British Men of Letters."

"What?" Cas asked, clearly surprised.

"I know...and it's not like I trust them; I still hate them. But they've been sending me cases, and it's not like I can just ignore the fact that there are real people in danger that I could help."

Cas was quiet, so Sam continued. "Anyway, I've been keeping it a secret from Dean, but I finally told him today."

"How did he take it?"

"Shockingly well. It was weird, he just said, 'okay.' He didn't yell, kick me out of the Bunker, or anything. He didn't even look surprised."

"Dean is often more observant than you give him credit for. I'm sure he's suspected it."

"I guess I hadn't thought about that...but his reaction was still weird. A kind of tired acceptance, like he's just given up. He told me I was right. That's not how I expected this to go down. He just let it go without a fight; said we could give them a chance."

"That is unusual, considering he kicked your mother out for the exact same thing less than a month ago."

"Right? That's what I thought. I mean, I'm glad he didn't freak out. I am. The last thing I want is for things to go bad between us; I hate it when we fight. But-"

"But you think it's more than that."

"Exactly. And I don't think he's gonna talk to me about it. He's probably still pissed at me, whether he's showing it or not. So if you get a chance, maybe you could just swing by and talk to him...maybe he'll open up to you."

"I can be there tomorrow."

"Thanks, Cas."