Dean wasn't sure why Cas was so damn nervous. They'd gotten wind of a job. It was supposed to be exciting.

"Cas, you okay?"

"Y-yes. Of course Dean." He said distractedly, pacing around the bunker.

"Uh huh…" Dean muttered, arching an eyebrow.

"Really, Dean. It's just, I don't think I should accompany you on this particular job."

"Why not? You know we love having you around. And that angel mojo of yours is a big help." Dean grinned.

"Dean, you do realize where this job is located, right?"

"Yeah, some little bible thumping city in Illinois." He sounded confused.

"Hey, Cas, aren't you from Illinois? Well, not you you, but your vessel?" Sam asked, coming into the room.

"Err…Yes. That is the main problem with this situation."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"Well, if my – I mean if Jimmy goes back home, it might…cause problems for me. I may be…evicted."

"Even after all this time? I mean, hell, it's been, what? 5 – 6 years? Wouldn't he have gotten comfortable in there?"

"Dean…he may have given me this body, but it is still just a vessel. If he chooses, he can reclaim it, and I will be forced out." Cas looked thoroughly uncomfortable.

"Don't worry about it, Cas. You'll be fine. You won't be evicted." Dean smirked, and clapped him on the shoulder. Cas still seemed uneasy. Maybe it was his vessel's response to going home, maybe just nerves. Either way, it could be problematic for the case at hand. From what it looked like, they had wolf on their hands. Shredded bodies. Hearts missing. Lunar cycle. The whole nine yards. "Whaddya say?" He grinned. The angel still looked nervous, but he agreed to come. "Sammy! We're heading out. You coming?" His gigantor brother grabbed their duffel bag.

"Race you to the car, Dean?"

"You're on!" The two ran up the bunker stairs, but Dean stopped at the top. Cas hadn't moved. "Hey Cas." He looked up. "I mean it. I won't let you get kicked out. You've kind of grown on me. Can't have some bible thumper ruin our team." Cas smiled. "Now, get your ass up these stairs, or you'll end up with my foot up it." He shook his head as the sullen angel trudged his way to the car.

The ride there was quiet, well, except for the rock music Dean had blasting the entire time. Sam had given up trying to change it, and Cas really didn't mind. About 30 minutes out of Pontiac, where the epicenter of the attacks had been, someone finally spoke.

"So…what is the game plan?" Cas asked hesitantly.

"Well, we find the wolf. We shoot the wolf. We dispose of the wolf. And try like hell not to get bit. Sound good?" Dean said, off hand.

"Dean, I think he meant for him."

"I don't…I don't believe it would be a good idea for my vessel to see his old home again. I don't know if his wife and daughter are still living there, but I would rather not find out if Jimmy has had his fill of this life."

"Okay…then we'll avoid the bible house, and try to keep you in your body."

"But –"

"No, Cas. We're not going to dance around this shit. We came to do the job, and we're gonna get it done. We have enough to worry about with the werewolf on the loose and avoiding your damn house without over-complicating things and dragging this out. We'll get the job done in one or two days, and if things look like they'll take too long, we'll send you out somewhere or other until its done. Deal?" Cas looked unhappy.

"Fine."

"Good. So where'd this thing start again, Sammy?" The rest of the drive was spent going over the details of the case, and where to start. Cas had a scowl on his face the whole time. When they got to town, they set up shop in this dinky little hotel, on the other side of town from Jimmy Novak's old neighborhood to make Cas feel better.

"Okay, so let's go and try to find who started this whole thing. Who's up for pack hunting?" Sammy said cheerfully. He tossed Cas a sawed-off shotgun loaded with silver shells.

"Sam, I'm still not fully accustomed to human weapons. I would prefer to use a pistol, or just my angelic 'mojo' as you call it. I have no need of this." The gun looked too big in Cas's hands, not to mention he was holding it wrong and was liable to shoot himself in the foot. They didn't need a footless Cas. Dean snatched the gun and handed him a pistol with silver bullets. At least he knew how to use that.

"Cas, we know you can blast anything in our way, but just keep the damn thing on you." Cas scowled. "Please?" Dean added, hoping to soften him up. Cas grumbled but took the gun.

"Thanks, Cas. Now how about we go find ourselves a werewolf." Sam grabbed the shotgun from Dean and headed to the door. The sun had set and it was time for their hunt.

A couple hours later, they returned. They'd bagged one mutt, and found where the pack was. All in all, Dean thought it was pretty successful. Cas had relaxed significantly as the hunt progressed, and was smiling when they came through the door. Dean grabbed three beers from the mini fridge and tossed them to the other hunters.

"You did good, Cas. Haven't lost your touch." Cas smiled.

"Thank you, Dean."

"Tomorrow we'll head out early and track down the rest of them before nightfall."

"Dean. I don't think that would be a good idea. Tomorrow would be Sunday."

"And?"

"Church. My vessel's family, if they're still here, will be going to church. If we happen to run into them…" His smiled faded and he flinched slightly.

"Don't worry. We'll avoid the church. Besides, the pack ground doesn't seem to be anywhere near it. You'll be fine." Sam glanced over, agreeing.

"We better turn in. Early rise tomorrow." Sam said, being annoying as always.

"Why not celebrate?"

"Bed. Dean. Now." Dean grumbled but climbed into one of the twin beds. Cas crashed on the blow up mattress they'd gotten, since most motels don't come with three twin beds. Sammy fell asleep almost immediately. Dean stayed awake, for no particular reason, he just wasn't tired. He was also watching Cas, who as soon as he thought they were asleep, began pacing silently, wringing his hands.

"Cas." Dean murmured, trying not to wake Sammy. Cas jumped guiltily.

"D-dean. My apologies, I thought you were asleep. I was just – "

"Save it. Cas, you gotta stop worrying, man. You're gonna be fine."

"How can you be sure? If Jimmy sees his family, he might be tempted to – "

"Cas. You HAVE to stop worrying, or you'll drive yourself crazy. I won't let anything happen to you, okay? You gotta trust me on that. Now go to sleep, or you'll be one hell of a bitch in the morning." He said, smirking.

"That's not funny, Dean."

"That's hilarious. Now go to sleep, stupid over-obsessive angel." Castiel complied and lay down. Dean turned over and let himself drift off.

Their hunt the next day started off well. They'd located the pack, one male and two females remaining, and had decided on a place to set up base for the day. The boys then decided to head out for a bite before the hunt began. Cas seemed a lot more relaxed, either glad this job was almost over, or resigned to whatever was to happen, and didn't want to worry. Dean guessed the first. Cas always worried.

They were walking down some street looking for a place that served pie, Dean insisted, when Cas froze in place, staring intently across the street. Dean and Sam looked over and saw a young, pretty blonde girl walking quietly down the street, clutching what was probably a cross necklace. She was trailed by an older woman, obviously her mother. Cas's eyes widened, and Dean knew this had to be what they'd been afraid of. He grabbed Cas's arm and yanked him hard. Luckily the pair hadn't seen them yet, which was probably why Cas still had his body. He and Sammy pulled the shocked angel around a corner, out of sight of the woman and her daughter. When his line of sight to them was broken, he began to tremble, sliding to the ground..

"D-dean. I can't do this. We have to go. Now."

"Cas, don't be stupid. We won't see them again. It was just a fluke thing. We can wait on dinner. Let's go back and wait –"

"Excuse me?" A young voice asked. Oh shit. Dean turned around to see the same pretty blonde girl standing at the corner, looking surprised and confused. When Dean turned around, and she saw Cas on the ground, she gasped, and let out a small scream.

"Claire?" A woman's voice asked, and her mother rounded the corner. Her reaction was very different. She saw the hunters, and Castiel sitting on the ground, shell-shocked, and her expression went very blank. She took her daughter's hand and started to walk away.

"Amelia. Wait." He called. Dean swore. That wasn't Castiel. That was Jimmy's voice. The woman stopped dead.

"W-what do you want?" She said softly, her voice trembling. The girl at her side had flinched at her dad's voice, dropping her necklace. It wasn't a cross. It was an angel wing.

"D-daddy?" The girl's voice shook worse than her mother's. She had to be at least 14, maybe 15, but she sounded much younger. She tried to take a step forward but the woman stopped her.

"Yes, it's me, baby girl." He barely finished his sentence, when he let out an anguished groan. "S-stop. Please." Castiel had apparently taken over control of his vessel again. The girl screamed louder. She knew that voice. The woman's eyes went dark with anger.

"What do you want, angel?" She spat the word out, as if it hurt her. "Haven't you done enough damage to our family?"

"I am sorry for what I have done, but please leave in peace. If you do not, I believe Jimmy is on the verge of casting me out. I do not wish to leave. I am needed here and – "

"You think I give a damn what you want?" Amelia asked, viciously. "You took my husband, you tried to take my daughter. Because of you, all of us almost got killed. Because of you, our family is ruined. When my husband accepted you, it was the worst decision he's ever made." The girl was trembling, shying away from Castiel, who had started to glow, and was panting with the effort of remaining in control.

"I will not be able to inhabit this form much longer." He looked at the hunters, who were standing to the side helplessly. "Dean, if I do not find another vessel, I will be found almost immediately by those who hunt me, and captured." He convulsed, gasping.

"Wait. You mean one of us?" Sammy asked, incredulously. Dean's eyes widened.

"N-not you, Sam. I cannot inhabit your body. It has been too greatly damaged." Sam looked confused, but Dean started shaking his head.

"No way, Cas. I-I can't. Besides, how could I?"

"Michael's vessel. Much less damaged." His eyes rolled back in his head, the body couldn't handle the internal fight for control apparently. He slumped over, convulsing. Jimmy's back arched dangerously, and his mouth opened, emitting a silvery white glow, and an ear-splitting shriek. The body collapsed, and was still. The silvery glow thrashed about.

"Dean! What are you waiting for?" Sammy urged.

"I-I can't, Sammy. It's too – " He broke off. The glow had begun to fade, which terrified him more than the thought of being possessed again. "Fine! Cas, I say yes." The words were barely out of his mouth when the glow flared brighter and he felt a white hot presence in his mind, drowning out everything else. Sammy took a step back. His brother's eyes glowed a very bright, familiar blue, before Dean, too, collapsed onto the ground, before standing shakily.

"T-thank you, Sam. Thank you, Dean." It was strange for Sam, hearing his best friend's voice come out of his brother's mouth. Castiel looked at Jimmy's limp body and walked over, placing his hand on the man's chest. A soft glow pervaded him, and soon he gasped, and sat up.

"Daddy!" Claire shrieked, pulling away from her mother and running to him. He'd started to cry and hugged his daughter tightly.

"T-thank you, Castiel. I am sorry I had to do that, but…I couldn't stay away any longer. It's been hell without them."

"It – It was your right. I'd been a guest." Castiel looked away, looking uncomfortable.

"But you have another vessel now, right? The one you're in?" Jimmy said, hugging his daughter tightly as he stood up.

"I do. It is not ideal. But...You are free to return with your wife and daughter now. I will do what I can to protect you, as I once promised I would." Jimmy nodded. Amelia looked mildly awkward walking to her husband's side.

"Jimmy…I don't…are you really back?"

"Yes." She smiled and took his hand.

"I guess I ought to apologize, Castiel. You have done what you could to try and mend our family. Thank you."

"Sam. We have to go now." Cas said abruptly, looking at the sun, which was starting to set. He didn't seem at all comfortable with the current situation.

"Uhh…oh yeah." Sam muttered. He couldn't get used to Dean's possession. He had no idea if Dean was still aware in there or what. The family looked uncomfortable as well.

"Thank you, again." Jimmy said, leading his family away. Once they were gone, Castiel turned to Sam.

"I – I apologize for my earlier comment. I did not mean it the way it sounded. I only meant that your soul has suffered significantly more damage from demonic influences than Dean's, and would be a lesser fit for me."

"It's cool. We better get going."

"I do not care about the wolves. Can we simply go back to the motel?"

"We gotta finish the job. If Dean still had a say – " Cas flinched "- he'd probably say the same thing."

"D-dean still does have a say in this, Sam. He only did this because…." Cas's face was confused. "T-that's odd. He's blocked his thoughts. I've never met a vessel capable of such control."

"Well, if anyone's thick-headed enough to keep you out, it's him." Sam smirked slightly. "Now come on. Dean'll be furious at you for wasting so much time." At that, Castiel smiled hesitantly and followed.

The night had fallen by the time they got to the pack's base. The last night of the full moon gave more than enough light for them. Cas apparently shared Dean's skill-set because he matched Sammy exactly, and they'd disposed of all three wolves within two hours.

"NOW, can we go?" He asked, annoyed, sounding much more like Dean than he should have.

The drive back was quiet. Sam got to drive for once. He'd seen Cas in his previous vessel and still didn't trust him behind the wheel, Dean's body or not. Back at the hotel, Sam pushed a beer into his brother's hands and opened his own.

"I-I am going to relinquish control now. I believe Dean would appreciate his freedom, considering the arrangement." Cas said hesitantly. Sam blinked surprised, and then his brother's body slouched back, much more like Dean's posture than Cas's.

"Damn it all."

"You okay, dude?"

"Yeah yeah. I'm fine. Thank god I didn't say yes to Michael. This is weird." Sam smirked at his brother's words, then remembered an earlier comment.

"Hey, Cas said you were keeping him out or something? Earlier, I mean. Blocking him, or whatever." Dean rubbed the back of his neck, and twisted the bottle in his hands.

"Yeah well. Dude always did have a problem with personal space. Poking 'round in my thoughts and shit."

"But how? He said he'd never encountered - "

"I just did. He doesn't need to know what's going on in my head." Dean set the bottle down and crossed his arms defiantly. "Guess you took care of the mutts then?"

"Y-yeah. Cas was...He was great. It's terrifying, you know." Dean tilted his head, confused, mimicking Cas so well, Sam almost thought he'd come back. "He has all of your skills AND his angel mojo. Thank god you two don't have the same morals, or we'd all be done for." Sam joked. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

"Don't you need some rest, dude? It's like god knows 'o clock or something." Sam shrugged and stretched.

"I suppose. Don't you?"

"I got an angel in my head, bro."

"Right. No sleep. Have fun creepily watching me sleep or whatever. Night."

"Night." he watched Sam fall asleep almost immediately. Dean had to admit, he was tired. His body wasn't, but he needed a rest. He gave up control again, letting his mind white-out again as Cas took control and did whatever angel-y thing he did at night instead of sleep, as Dean let his mind wander. Castiel realized with a start, he'd forgotten to shield his mind. He fought his urge to learn more about his hunter and the need to respect Dean's privacy. He sighed. It was going to be a very long night.

The next day, they had started packing up. It was about 8 am when Sam got a call from an unlisted number.

"Hello?" There was a significant pause. Sam almost hung up when he heard a tired voice.

"Where is Castiel?" Confused, he handed the phone over.

"Yes?"

"I...I made a mistake. You can take your vessel back. I just...I don't fit in anymore. I've been gone too long." There was a sharp intake of breath. "I'm sorry for what I put you through. I thought…I thought it could go back to normal. I was wrong." He agreed to meet two pair at the church, and they set off.

"This must be a relief for you, Cas."

"I believe it will be more of a relief for Dean when his body is his own again." Sam could have sworn there was a note of regret in the angel's voice.

It took them almost 15 minutes to arrive at the church. They found Jimmy in a back pew, his head in his hands. He looked absolutely hopeless. He glanced up as they walked in, the barest spark extinguished immediately.

"Hello, Castiel." He said, dropping his head in his hands again.

"Why are you doing this, Jimmy?" Sam asked.

"Claire. I don't know her anymore. And…and she doesn't know me. Heck, it's been what? 6 years? She's...she's grown up. She...she was nine years old when I accepted you. Did you know that?" His voice was hollow. He let out a brief laugh. "Of course you do. You were inside her head too. I thought...I thought it could be like it was before. The good old days. But I was wrong. Amelia - She doesn't trust me anymore. And Claire doesn't know her own father. I can't be part of their life, so I might as well do something good while I can." He sounded so destroyed.

"I can wipe your memory if you wish, so you will only remember them as they were." Cas said softly. Jimmy looked up.

"Please. It's the least you can do after what you put me through. Do me another favor as well. Never come back to this place." Both Sam and Cas nodded, and Cas put his hand on Jimmy's forehead. The same silvery white glow as before emitted from Sam's brother and transferred itself to Jimmy, enveloping them both. For the second time that day, both of them collapsed, but recovered fairly quickly. Castiel stood up, returned to his old vessel again, and helped Dean up, who was looking shaken.

"You okay, bro?" Sam asked.

"Y-yeah. Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He said, glancing at Cas, and ran a hand along the back of his neck. "Well, you're back in your old body now, huh?"

"Yes. It seems so." Sam struggled to understand what had passed, because it was obvious to him something had passed. His brother and his friend were both looking shaken up, and were acting drastically different than before the possession.

"Let's head back now. You both need your rest." Cas started to argue. When Sam started to cut him off, Dean spoke.

"No, dude. What we need is to go home. Back to the bunker." It was one of the only times Sam had heard Dean call the bunker home. Sam acquiesced and they loaded up in the Impala again. Dean let Sam drive again, instead claimed the passenger seat as Castiel slid in the back. The drive back, Sam didn't protest to Dean's music, which surprised all of them. It was weird though. Sam noticed his brother looking in the rear view mirror, back at the angel, much more often than he normally did (which was actually quite often).

"Get a room." Sam joked after the first couple times, rolling his eyes, but upon seeing both Dean and Cas flush, he just arched an eyebrow and decided to drop the subject. The rest of the drive was uneventful, except for Sam repeatedly having to deny Dean stops at diners they passed because of his need for pie, and his brother's constant complaint at how slow he was.

"Shut up. You're the one who let me drive." When they got there, they unloaded and headed in. Sam just tossed his stuff in his room and sat with his laptop in the library. He honestly wasn't sure where Dean and Cas went. They could have gone to their own rooms, but he only heard one door open and close. Anyways, he didn't see either of them again until it was almost dinner time. They might have been slightly flushed and stood a little closer than they normally did, but if Sam noticed he wasn't asking questions. He really didn't want to know what those two had been doing for almost 6 hours.