I fiddled with the shotgun in my hands, running my thumb across its smooth barrel. Time was dragging its feet. I wished that thing, 'Castiel', or whatever it was would hurry its ass up. Supernatural creatures were a bitch and my trigger finger was falling asleep.

"Are you sure you did that summoning ritual cor-"

"Yes," Bobby interrupted, "For the hundredth time, yes."

I sighed and hung my head. It was going to be a long night. If only I had remembered to bring my watch. Had I left it at the hotel? Was I even wearing it when I woke up? Probably not. I mean, who buries a corpse with her watch, right? Not like I needed to keep track of time in hell. You blink and you miss four months, ya know?

I chuckled to myself, darkly, knowing, this was beyond untrue. That "four months" pain was never going to go away.

'Bang!'

Both of our heads shot up to the roof. The panels along the roofing of the barn were flapping violently in the night air and smashing back into the metal frames. "With our luck, I'm guessing that's not the wind, yeah?" I said.

"Yeah, great guessing on your part, Deanna!" Bobby shouted.

"Don't worry," I half laughed, "We're just out for a couple of beers. And Sammy's getting a burger…. wait-"

A lightbulb above my head exploded, sending sparks floating down on my jacket. Then another, then another, and another. I dove under a table, cradling my gun against my chest.

The doors to the barn blew open and a figure slowly stepped inside.

Bobby and I raised our guns, but I paused. "Wait," I said, putting out a hand to Bobby, "Hold on a minute."

It was a man. His black hair was tousled by the wind and a distinctive five o'clock shadow dotted his chin. A long tan trench coat hung on his shoulders and his blue tie was worn backwards. With long strides, he hurried towards us, only briefly pausing to admire Bobby's artwork. His cold expression was stiffening my fingers.

"Castiel…?" I called out, leveling my gun with his head.

The figure didn't stop. He was heading straight for us with harsh intent.

"Castiel!" I yelled.

The man froze and his ice blue eyes rose to mine. Shivers ran down my spine and the handprint on my upper hand tingled. Something about his gaze was so strange. He tilted his head curiously at me and his expression softened as I lowered my shotgun.

I wasn't sure what to say. What was this thing? Was he some sort of monster? Why had he rescued me?

'Bang!'

Castiel stumbled backwards slightly and glared down at the hole in his coat. Bobby had shot him, but it did not more than ruin his trench coat and make him angry again. His quick stride restarted.

"Castiel stop!" I picked up my gun again and fired at him. He didn't flinch this time; he only continued towards Bobby. I pulled my trigger until the gun clicked empty, but Castiel only stopped once he reached Bobby. He raised his fingers and tapped my friend on the forehead. Immediately, Bobby collapsed to the ground. Then he turned to me.

I scrambled back and snatched Ruby's knife off the table. The figure grew closer. "Okay, stop!"

He paused and tilted his head.

Sweat beads rolled down my forehead. "Who are you?" I demanded.

His icy eyes narrowed. "I am the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition."

Again, the burn on my left arm tingled. I raised my empty shotgun. "WHO are you?"

The hardened expression returned to his face. "I am Castiel, an angel of the Lord."

My jaw tightened. I raised the dagger and stabbed deep into his chest, just over his heart, with the demon-killing knife. He blinked, then slowly pulled the dagger from his chest and dropped it to ground. His eyes returned my glare as though nothing in particular had happened. "We have a lot to talk about, Deanna," he growled.