As the Winchester brothers neared Ohio, Castiel could not help but feel uneasy about this particular hunt. He was already aware of what was mummifying the citizens of Canton; he once had an encounter with the god Chronos, and the memory was enough to cause a sinking feeling in Castiel's stomach as he sat unseen in the backseat of the Impala. Normally the sight of the eldest brother's barely visible smile was was enough to cause all of Castiel's worries to melt away, but when the angel's gaze drifted to Dean, Castiel's anxiety nearly doubled. The drive into town felt like an eternity, even for an angel, as each mile caused more and more tension to form in Castiel's gut. Instead of the usual motel room, Sam and Dean set up camp in an abandoned house. Once they were settled in, Castiel decided to finally make his presence known.
As Dean finished laying out the sleeping bag on the dusty, wooden floor, the faint sound of wings fluttering filled the room, and he turned to see Castiel standing behind him. He greeted the angel with a smile, "I was wondering when you would show up. I haven't seen you in almost a week, Cas. Where ya been?"
Castiel evaded the question with a simple, "I'm sorry," Dean not being the kind to pry into anyone else's business left it at that. The truth was though, that Castiel rarely ever left Dean's side; Dean always had his guardian angel next to him, even if he wasn't aware of it.
"Hey, Cas," Sam said entering the room, "I'm glad you're here actually. I've been having a hard time trying to piece together the details of this case. You see the bodies were dr-"
Before he could finish describing the details of the case, Castiel was already answering all of their questions, "It's a deity by the name of Chronos. He uses the life-force of mortals to maintain his abilities, which is why the victims all look like they had the life drained from them."
"Okay, well how do we gank him?" Dean asked brashly.
"You'll need a thousand-year-old olive stake carved by vestal virgins and dipped in blood," Castiel replied nonchalantly.
"Oh well that's great. Hey, Sammy don't let me forget to pick up one of those up the next time we go out on a beer run," Dean said as Sam rolled his eyes.
"Cas, do you know of anywhere we could find a thousand-year-old olive stake?" Sam asked with hope in his eyes.
"No, Sam, I'm afraid Dean was accurate in assuming that a weapon like this is extremely hard to come by. The only one that would still be in existence would be the one kept in heaven, which is missing along with numerous other weapons," Castiel answered, hoping that the boys may call the hunt off without having a way to kill Chronos.
"Well is there any way to summon him here and then find a way to trap him, until we can find the stake?" Dean asked, causing a sour feeling in Castiel's stomach.
"There is a ritual to summon Chronos, but he is impossible to trap. The life-force he harvests gives him the ability to travel to any time or place he wishes. Even if there was some kind of way to bind him, he has the gift of foresight, making any attempt at trying to trick him futile," Castiel replied, hiding his worry behind his usual facade.
"Well we're just going to have to try," Dean said as if it was as simple as breathing.
Castiel was even better at hiding and bottling his emotions than Dean was, but the way Dean would so easily risk his life on a whim, because he was convinced that it was his duty to be a martyr caused an anger to rise in Castiel, and he could no longer hold back his temper. Castiel voice became loud, "Did you hear what I just said? Chronos has the gift of foresight; he'll be able to see everything you throw at him before you even think about it," before Castiel realized it he was yelling at Dean, and pushing him against the wall. All of the anxiety that had been building was finally released, "Foresight and time travel are not his only strengths though, like every other god he possesses an unimaginable amount of physical strength paired with an unlimited amount of stamina and intelligence. You don't stand a chance against him. None of us do."
Castiel's voice trailed off as his anger was extinguished by the fearless look in Dean's bright hazel eyes. As his way of apologizing, Castiel loosened his grip on Dean's neck and stroked the man's jawline with his thumb, before disappearing and filling the room with the gentle sound of wind once more.
Dean closed his eyes, and let out a shallow sigh. Castiel still standing inches away from him, closed his eyes as well, inhaling Dean's scent. It was moments like these, when Dean could not see him, that Castiel could let his true emotions show. Loneliness was clear on Castiel's face as he slowly rested his forehead against Dean's, and for a moment all of the worry, sadness, and pain were gone from Castiel.
"Well I guess we should call Bobby, and get him to find that summoning ritual then," Dean said before opening his eyes and walking right through Castiel and out of the door. Sam was on Castiel's side; summoning Chronos without that stake was a suicide mission, but he knew better than to argue with Dean. If Castiel couldn't convince him otherwise, then no one would be able to.
Even though the last thing Castiel wanted to do was leave Dean's side, finding that stake was the only way he could help the Winchesters. He had no idea where it could be, but he knew where to start.
With an blink of an eye Castiel found himself in front of a large, tan mansion with a stucco exterior and dark, clay shingles. Taking the open front gates as an invitation to enter, Castiel walked into a large sitting area with high ceilings, a chandelier, and a winding, marble staircase. The house was so extravagant that Castiel hardly even noticed the slender man standing at the top of the staircase.
"Ever heard of knocking?" the man said in a mellifluous voice that included a charming accent.
Castiel smiled at the man, "Come on now Balthazar, if we gave any kind of advanced notice before popping into each other's lives, it would almost be like we belong to a functional family," he said as he put his hands in the pockets of his trench coat.
Balthazar happily returned the smile before appearing in front of Castiel, "So, what troubles you, brother?" he said as he pulled Castiel in for a hug.
Castiel let out a sigh, "Where do I even begi-"
"Oh, wait let me guess. It has to do with your Winchester boy toy. What was his name again? Dan? Sean?" Balthazar teased playfully
Castiel gave Balthazar an overdramatized eyeroll followed by a light-hearted smile, "You got me."
Balthazar simply just smiled back knowingly, "How can I help?"
"I need a weapon, a thousand-year old olive stake carved by vestal virgins dipped in blood, thought you'd be the man to see about a missing weapon of heaven," Castiel said as he raise an eyebrow.
"Normally that would be the case, but I'm afraid I can't help you with this particular endeavor. I wasn't the one to steal heaven's weapon against Chronos," Balthazar said with slight disappointment in his voice.
"Well then who did?" Castiel asked.
"I haven't the slightest idea. It was gone before I could get to it." Balthazar replied.
Castiel had no idea what to do. No leads on where the stake may be, and no time to search for any. "Well I'm sorry to have bothered you. Thank you for your time," Castiel said with an obvious sadness in his voice.
"It was no trouble, I'm sorry I couldn't be of more assistance," Balthazar said, giving Castiel an apologetic look, because Balthazar was the only person Castiel ever trusted with his secret, and he understood what Castiel was going through.
Castiel decided that he had been away from the Winchesters long enough. So with no leads and nowhere else to go, he decided to return home. When he opened his eyes, the first thing Castiel saw was Sam's panicked face turning his way.
He didn't even have to look around the room to know what was wrong, "Sam, where is Dean?"
Sam spoke in a faint voice, due to a nasty blow to the ribs, "Chronos came, we tried to fight him. Cas, he took Dean."
Sam never thought he'd see a face filled with more fear and rage than Dean's the day he left for Stanford, but Castiel's face at this moment put Dean's to shame. "Took him where, Sam?"
Sam held his side as he whispered, "I don't know, Dean tackled him and they just disappeared."
Castiel tried to calm himself down, to hide all of the feelings that were rising to the surface, but it was no use. He reached out to grab Sam's shoulder and heal him, as the young hunter stood up straight, he nodded a silent thank you to the angel. As much as he hated to admit it, he was helpless. He didn't have enough energy to travel back in time and help Dean. All he could do was wait, and pray for him to return safely.