There were whispers flying around Angel HQ as soon as Castiel arrived. At first he had been embarrassed, not yet used to his celebrity status amongst his family, but he soon realised that it was not he who was the topic of this very human pastime, but one of his brothers. This then left him feeling foolish and egocentric; something he had hoped he had left behind after the incident with the Leviathans.
According to the scuttlebutt, Jophiel had secured an archangel vessel during the fall. To the rank and file angels, the additional durability of such humans was not necessary, of course, and only two years ago it would have been unthinkable for any of them to even dare take an archangel vessel, even one who was not designated a true vessel. Now, however, things had changed: the archangels were gone and the fallen were desperate to avoid death. The prestige of Jophiel's vessel was causing some excitement amongst their siblings (no longer just 'brothers'; the angels had discovered gender during the fall from Heaven).
Castiel had to admit to some curiosity himself, given that after Donnie Finnerman and his sister had both died childless, and Gabriel's preferred Scandinavian bloodline had died out over a millennium ago (aside from the nephilim daughter Castiel himself had killed a few months ago), the only remaining archangel line he was aware of was the Winchesters. Dean had not, and never would say 'yes' to possession, and Sam was currently being benignly occupied by Ezekiel.
He promptly became buried in the minutiae of the rebel angels, with multiple people filling him in on what had been going on while he had been in hiding, and all-but forgot about the excitement. Until he glimpsed Jophiel, that is, and his heart sank into his shoes. He should have known, really. And this too was his fault, although Dean would blame himself for asking Cas to do it. They had left the boy defenceless, without the knowledge he needed to say no.
Ben Braedon might not particularly resemble his father facially, but the musculature that has just been starting to fill out on his fifteen-year-old frame was definitely Dean's. And now, that half-grown boy was an occupied vessel. Cas could only hope that Jophiel would not realise that Ben's memories had been altered, not break the blocks Castiel had put in place. He didn't trust any of his brothers or sisters with Dean Winchester's son, but there was nothing he could do about it now without putting Ben or Dean in danger, without making Jophiel suspicious.
He could only be thankful that Jophiel was on their side and not Metatron's. And pray silently that when this was all over, his brother left Ben in as good a condition as he had left Jimmy, all those years ago. Somehow, though, he doubted that the Fates would be that kind to them.