Dean stood at the cliff's edge, his gaze fixed off in the distance as he thought about the past few days. He certainly hadn't been expecting the events that had come to pass, though they did seem to confirm a few beliefs he had been pondering. His mind wandered back to Anna and the night of passion that they both had shared. He didn't know why he had thought male angels would be different from their female counterparts. Anna had been just as in to him as he had been into her. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind that she had enjoyed the coupling. So he couldn't help but question why it was that he would find the idea of Castiel being with someone a little preposterous.
It wasn't like Cas ever gave him any reason to think he would get involved. The fact that his chosen "fling" was with a human woman just made it all the more unreal. If Dean hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed it. He had to give kudos to the angel, though. Arianna wasn't exactly the type that Dean would have gone for, but she wasn't a frilly innocent either. At little more than five feet four, she was a petite little strawberry blonde that didn't take crap from no one. That wasn't to say she was outspoken and rude, on the contrary she was mostly the quiet type. She never said anything rashly and always thought her answers out thoroughly before she gave you her full opinion. The thing that Dean liked the most about her was the intensity of her eyes. They were a stormy blue ringed in charcoal. When Ari looked at you her gaze demanded your full attention.
As Dean continued to brood over the newest addition to their dysfunctional family, the nearly inaudible sound of flapping announced Castiel's arrival. By now Dean was quite used to his friend just popping in without any word of warning. He turned to glance over his shoulder and came face to face with the Lord's servant. "Hello, Dean."
Castiel had never been a creature of many words. He never minced things and always spoke what was on his mind with a cool and calculated efficiency. Dean licked his lips briefly before he spoke in a quiet voice. "Is she resting?" Cas nodded as his features melted into a look of concern. "Yes." The angel didn't seem to want to elaborate, but Dean prodded him. "Does she remember anything?" Both of them stood quietly for a long moment, the elder Winchester could tell that this whole thing was bothering his friend. "Cas," he said in as soothing a voice as he could muster. "What does she know? If there is anything that can help us...well...I'm all ears." Castiel drew in a deep breath and let it out in a sigh.
"Dregan knows everything. He knows why she was chosen and he knows what she is carrying." Just the admission of these facts caused a heaviness to settle over the angel's heart. All of this was his fault, or so he believed. He should have never left Ari unattended. In his defense, he had begged her to stay with Sam and Dean. When she had turned him down over that matter, he had pleaded with her to move in temporarily with Bobby, knowing that the young woman had taken to him as a daughter would a father. No matter what he said, though, Arianna declined and insisted that she would be just fine on her own. Now, her stubbornness had cost her, and in turn it had cost them all. Cas fell into silence as he sought a way to make reparations for the mess that they were currently in.
Dean turned to face his friend, his head lowering as he gazed up into the angel's distraught face. "It's not the end of the world, Cas. Didn't you pull a whammy on the guy and trap him in his meat suit?" Castiel's thoughts drifted briefly to the encounter they had all had with Dregan. The only good thing that had come out of it had been the binding. "Yes," Cas muttered, his gruff voice lowering more in tone than usual. "But that isn't going to hold him forever, Dean. And, if he manages to find another demon before we find him, then Dregan will be the least of our worries." The look on Cas' face caused Dean to grimace. He knew the angel was silently admonishing himself for something he really had not ever had control over. "Don't sweat it," the elder Winchester said. "We'll find the guy and Jimmy Hoffa his ass."
Though Cas didn't understand the reference, the tone of his friend's voice helped to put him somewhat at ease. He nodded his reply to Dean and then disappeared with the near silent flap of his wings. For some reason this always surprised the hunter and left him a little on edge. He took a quick glance at his surroundings, then muttered with a hint of sarcasm. "You're welcome."