Chapter 2

Amy watched Rory out of the corner of her eye. Most of the color had returned to his face, but he was still a little uneasy in his steps. They all had left the room, Dean and Sam grabbing everything they needed before leading them out. Sam was listening to his mobile, or cell phone, as he did Dean's car was parked towards the entrance as the lots closer had all been filled as the night got into the really late hours of the night. She didn't want to think about what was going on behind closed doors.
The rest of the group had gathered at the car, and Amy joined them, choosing to stand between Rory and Sherlock. Dean was leaning against his car, with Sam standing in front of his brother, trying to convince him to join with their little group. The Doctor and the rest were standing a little ways away, trying not to appear as if they were eavesdropping. Amy put a hand in Rory's, listening to the argument between the two brothers.
"I don't know, Sam, this seems awfully strange. I mean, how long have you known these people? Ten, fifteen minutes? And all of a sudden you want to be best buddies?" Dean was saying.
Sam sighed. "Look, Dean, I know it's different, but I have a strange feeling going on and I think that these people can help."
Dean snorted. "Help with what? We don't know the first thing about them! We don't know what they do, we don't know why they're here and how they found us, and we're certainly not going to team up with anybody from the street just because they claim to have the same bad feeling as you do!"
"Come on, Dean. Monsters aren't the only things that are gathering. I called Garth, and he just got back to me saying that not only are demons are on the rise too, there have some "miracles" going on as well, making it seem as if both sides are rising. There are a ton of them in Sioux Falls alone, it's almost triple the normal numbers, demons and angels." Sam argued.
"So demons are rising again. That doesn't mean anything! They've done it before, and we'll send them right back to where they came from," Dean said stubbornly, ignoring anything to do with the angels. "I still don't think we should trust these people. Why should we? They aren't hunters, that's obvious, so how do they know about hunters?"
The Doctor popped over. "Ah, yes, I can help with that," he said. Sam and Dean both looked at him.
"That's great, Doc, but we're trying to have a conversation here," Dean said.
"That I couldn't help but overhear, and you're having trust issues, well, I think we should probably fix that," the Doctor said brightly. He grinned. "So, why don't we answer any questions that you have, as a show of good faith?"
Dean glared at him. "Why don't, as a show of good faith, you leave and not come back? Then maybe I'll consider trusting you."
"Dean," Sam said disapprovingly.
Dean turned back to Sam, about to say something, when he was interrupted again. This time he was interrupted by Sherlock.
"Look, Doctor, we don't have time for this. Why don't we just do back to the TARDIS. If Sam wants to help, then he can. His brother obviously doesn't want to, so let's hurry along instead of wasting time trying to convince him."
Dean bristled. Amy saw that despite how he was fighting, Dean was curious about what was going on. He was just too stubborn to admit it.
"I'll come," he grumbled.
"Fantastic!" The Doctor exclaimed. "Let's be off, shall we?"
"Doctor, one problem," John pointed out. "Where are we going, and how are we getting there?"
"Why, it's simple," the Doctor explained. "We'll take the TARDIS to wherever the main areas of activity are, and see what's going on. Then I'll continue to explain the plan we get there."
"Sounds like an idea," Rory said.
"So, where is this TARDIS?" Sam asked.
"Oh, it's back where we landed. Where you boys were this afternoon," the Doctor said.
Sam and Dean shared a look. "Back towards where the werewolves were camping out?"
"Is that why you were there?" the Doctor looked uneasy. "Well, yes, then, so I suppose we should hurry?"
Amy helped Rory as Dean called a friend called Garth to pick up and take care of his "baby" while Sam grabbed several dufflebags full of things from the back trunk. Amy watched curiously, wondering what could be in those bags. Dean came around to help his brother load the bags, and then grabbed some to carry. They turned to the Doctor.
"Thank God it's not a far walk," Amy commented.
"All the same, we'd better start walking," Dean said.
They began to walk. There was a sidewalk on the side of the road, but not much else. Amy was grateful for that much. Growing up in a small town made him appreciate the smaller things in life. They'd reached the exit of the parking lot when the Doctor turned to the Winchesters. "Don't you have to pay for the room?" he asked.
Dean shrugged. "Probably," he said. "Don't worry about it, Doc."
"You're not going to check out? But, you're cheating the owners out of their money!" the Doctor protested.
"Trust us, Doc, we've done a lot worse," Dean said.
The Doctor looked at Sam, who made a half-shrug. "They have our credit card number, they'll probably charge us," he said, as an attempt to placate the Doctor.
Dean snorted and Sam elbowed him. They were hiding something that the rest of them didn't know, but John urged them on before the Doctor could press the brothers. They soon reached the edge of the town. There was a police cruiser parked next to the side. "That doesn't look good," Rory noted as the officer got out of the car.
The officer walked over to them. "What are you doing, if I may ask, agents?" he asked.
Amy wrinkled her forehead in confusion. Why does he think we're agents? But then she realized he wasn't referring to all to them. He was looking at the Winchesters. The rest of them he had given them a passing glance. Dean walked up to him, Sam at his side. Behind his back, Sam gave a "keep moving" gesture. "We figured out who was committing the murders, Officer Michaels. The bureau will be expecting us back," Dean was saying.
Sherlock moved to pass the officer, but Michaels held up his hand. "Hang on, no one's going anywhere," he said.
"Officer-" Sam started, but before he could get another word in Michael hoisted his gun directly at Sam's face, his eyes flickering to black.
Instantly Dean had a knife in his hand, while Amy gasped at the black eyes. The rest of the group looked unsettled, but John took out his gun as well.
"Well, this is an interesting turn of events. I wasn't told there would be so many of you," the thing smirked. "Better for me, there's more of you to kill."
"No one's dying here except you, demon" Dean snarled.
Sam's hand had been slowly moving towards his jacket, reaching for something. The demon looked at him. "I wouldn't take out that pretty blade of yours, unless you want there to be another hole in your skull," he said.
The Doctor moved closer. "Now, now, there's no need to make threats," he said nervously. "Why don't we just put the guns down-"
"Doc, there's no way that will work," Dean said. The demon was looking at the Doctor like he was crazy. Amy felt the impulse to move up beside him, defiantly.
The demon began to chuckle. "The Winchesters with someone who seems to condone violence? It's as if Lucifer and God have decided to become best friends."
"Well, Lucifer can't do that right now, can he?" Sam said. "He's still a little bit occupied at the moment."
The demon's eyes narrowed, but before he could say anything Sam grabbed the gun in his face and Dean moved forward and stabbed the demon straight between the ribs. Everyone jumped back as blood came out of the wound. "Dean!" the Doctor protested.
"I'm sorry, Doc, but there's no way to get out with clean hands while dealing with demons," Dean didn't look very apologetic.
"We should continue in case there's any more of them," Sam said hurriedly.
"So that was a demon," Sherlock observed.
"What, never come across one before?" Dean said.
"No," Sherlock replied.
"Huh. Well, welcome to the club."
"Dean! Sherlock! Come on!" Sam called from up ahead.
Amy walked beside Rory, her hand ready to catch him in case he started to fall. She didn't like how he was still a bit unsteady. Amy wondered if there were any lasting effects to the witch's spell. She made a mental note to ask Dean or Sam later. As they walked, Amy looked at the two brothers. Sam was taller by a couple of inches, though Dean wasn't short in the slightest. Sam had the longer hair, while Dean's was kept short in almost a military haircut without the being that extreme. They both had guns tucked behind their back, and wore jackets and jeans. There wasn't anything extraordinary about them that would draw your attention; however there was something in their faces. Something dark, as if they have seen things more horrible than anything you could imagine.
Dean was talking to Sam in a low voice at the head of the group. Amy couldn't hear what he was saying, but she gathered that it wasn't something that she would be a part of. Both Sam and Dean kept casting their eyes around, looking for something or keeping watch. Amy figured they were making sure there weren't any more demons or whatever else they come across. Werewolves, she thought. Werewolves were what they were hunting earlier. Amy wondered what they looked like it real life. Probably nothing like the werewolves you see in movies or books.
The forest seemed dark and surrounding, making Amy wish they had waited until morning. However, when the Doctor got it in his mind to move, they moved. It also gave Dean less time to change his mind in coming. Amy didn't like him necessarily, but it was still a comfort to have someone who knew what he was doing with these creatures around. There was something about him though, a haunted quality that made Amy curious. What could Dean and his brother have seen that had left them like this? With what she had just experienced, Amy could imagine how horrible it must have been.
Sam dropped back a bit, keeping close to the group while Dean moved further up the road. Amy moved up to Sam. "Hey," she said.
Sam looked at her, surprised. "Hey," he replied.
"So, you guys seem like you've done this many times before," Amy said, hinting.
Sam smiled slightly. "Yeah, we were both raised to hunt by our father," he said, a hint of a shadow passing his face as he said it.
"Sounds like fun," she teased.
Sam chuckled. "It honestly wasn't that bad, compared to some other lives," he said.
"How did your dad get into the hunting life?" Amy asked.
He hesitated. "Our mother," Sam finally said. "She was killed by a demon when I was six months old, and that drove my father into the business."
"I'm sorry," Amy said. She's grown up without her parents, so she could understand how he felt.
"Thanks," Sam said. He didn't continue, and Amy didn't press him further.
They walked on in silence. John and Sherlock were talking in lowered voices at the back of the group, while Rory and the Doctor were talking about something. Amy wandered over to her husband and the Doctor. "...bad could it be?" she heard Rory ask as she walked up.
"It could be very bad, depending on if there's someone behind it all, which there generally is," the Doctor said.
"Great," Rory muttered.
"What are my two favorite boys talking about?" Rory and the Doctor looked up as she came over.
"Your husband is worrying again. This time about how bad this adventure could possibly be," the Doctor informed her.
"Hey, it's a valid concern!" Rory protested.
Amy kissed him affectionately. "Don't worry, it's going to be fine," she promised him. "Isn't it always?"
"No," Rory pointed out.
Amy smiled at him. Up ahead she heard a shout. The three of them started to walk faster, trying to see what was going on. Amy hoped it wasn't something that bad, she wanted to make good on her promise to Rory. Dean had disappeared around a turn in the road, she saw. As the rest of the group turned it, Amy saw that Dean was standing next to a man with dark hair in a brown trenchcoat and what looked to be a suit underneath with a crooked blue tie. The man was standing there talking to Dean. Amy watched as Sam ran up to the man and clapped him on the back. The man turned to him, a serious expression on his face.
The Doctor ran up to them as well, with Rory and Amy hurrying to keep up with him. "Why, you must be Castiel!" he exclaimed.
The man turned to him. "That is my name," he said in a gravelly voice. "I'm not sure how you came to know it." He turned to the Winchesters. "Did you tell them...?"
Dean shook his head. "The guy just seems to know everything," he said.
Castiel turned back to the Doctor. "Who are you?" he asked. "I've not seen you before."
"I'm the Doctor, hello!" the Doctor said cheerfully.
Castiel turned to the rest of the group, as by then Sherlock and John had joined them as well. "There are very many of you," he observed.
Dean chuckled. "Don't we know it," he muttered. Amy got the feeling he was still annoyed over the way they had to leave his car behind.
Sherlock walked over to him. "Who's this?" he asked, addressing Dean.
"My name is Castiel. I'm an angel of the Lord," Castiel said.
There was a silence. Amusement was on the faces of Sam and Dean, while Castiel waited. There were various looks of shock and disbelief on the faces of the rest of the group, with the exception of the Doctor, who looked excited. The Doctor took out his screwdriver and scanned Castiel, who looked confused at what he was doing. "Wait...like, an actual angel?" John asked.
"Yes," Castiel said. "It may take a moment to process, your reactions are not unusual, but I truly am an angel."
"I hope you're better than the last angels we came across," Amy said.
Castiel brightened. "You've come across other angels before?"
Amy hesitated. "In a sense. They were different from you though." Amy heard Rory snort behind her. She resisted the urge to elbow him.
"In what way?" Castiel asked curiously.
"They were...stone?" Amy said slowly.
Castiel frowned. He turned back to Dean. "So, you are traveling with these people?" he asked.
Dean nodded. The Doctor turned to them after a moment. "Castiel, why don't you join us?" he asked.
Castiel hesitated. His gaze flew from Dean to Sam and back again. Sam smiled while Dean shrugged. Castiel turned back to the Doctor. There was a look of regret in his eyes. "I'm sorry, but I cannot take you up on your offer. There are many things going on that I have to take care of right now," he said sorrowfully.
Dean and Sam looked unsurprised. Amy felt a twinge of disappointment; she kind of liked the guy in the trenchcoat. The Doctor looked disappointed as well. He looked down. "Yeah, I'm sure you're busy. Ah well, it was worth a shot," he said.
Castiel looked uncomfortable. He made a move as if to pat the Doctor on the shoulder, but his arm halted mid-gesture and he dropped his arm. Castiel took a step back, then looked towards the brothers. "I should go now," he said, still looking uncomfortable. Dean nodded; Sam lifted a hand in good-bye.
Amy was just wondering how he was expecting to go places. Does he fly? Are there wings under his trenchcoat? She wondered. Amy looked back to where Castiel had been standing. There was no one there. Dean half-smiled. "He'll be back," he said. "He can't keep away from anything; his curiosity's way too strong."
The Doctor clapped his hands together. "The TARDIS is right there," he said, pointing. "Geronimo!"
The Doctor started to run towards the TARDIS. After a second the others started to follow. Amy ran next to Rory, laughing. She saw the Doctor snap his fingers as they ran up, and the familiar doors swung open. Amy slowed a bit, waiting for everyone else to enter first. As much as the Doctor loved when people said "it's bigger on the inside" Amy loved seeing their reactions. Sam had begun to look concerned when he saw the size of the TARDIS on the outside, and that look had gotten more intense as he saw the rest of them run into it.
Their faces were priceless. "What the..." Dean muttered. Sam's eyebrows had shot straight up. "Well," he said.
Amy walked past them, punching each in the shoulder as she went past. "Come on, don't just stand there in awe," she teased.
She walked up to join the Doctor at the console. Amy watched as the brothers turned to watch the doors. They swung shut, closing with a strange sense of finality.

Dean turned slowly, taking a look at every inch of the room. "This is insane..." he muttered to himself. And he'd seen some pretty insane stuff.
"Don't worry." Dean turned to John, who was leaning against the rail. "You'll get used to it eventually. I did, more or less."
"And you guys travel here with the Doctor all the time?" Sam asked.
John shook his head. "Only Amy and Rory do that," he explained. "The rest of us are just friends that come along every once in a while."
"Huh." Dean looked at them all.
John smiled. "You wanted answers earlier, right?"
The brothers walked over to him. "Yeah," Dean said.
"Well," John adjusted his position slightly, as if getting more comfortable before a long talk. "Why don't you get some of your questions out the way? Everyone else is more or less busy."
"Thanks," Sam said. They moved to either side of him, also leaning.
"Who are all of you guys?" Dean asked. "Besides just names, what else can you tell us?"
"Well, I can tell you a little without violating any privacy." John considered for a moment. "Amy used to live in a small town where she grew up with Rory. They're married to each other, for a couple years now. Rory's a nurse; Amy has a perfume line that she designed. Sherlock and I share a flat in London. He's a consulting detective; I help keep track of the cases. I used to be a medical doctor in Afghanistan, then I got shot." John chuckled darkly. "Didn't seem so at the time, but that was one of the best things that could have happened to me, I suppose. Anyway, I can tell you absolutely nothing about the Doctor. The guy is as cheerful as they come, but he has a past and does not like to talk about it."
"Huh. Interesting," Sam said.
"And that's our merry gang," John finished. "Now, what about you two? I'm sure there's some story behind you both, with what you do and all."
Dean decided that he liked John. The man was quiet, but he had a strength about him that Dean admired. "There's not that much to tell," he lied. Just because he liked John didn't mean he was going to spill his life story to him. He had, after all, just met him. "Our father raised to hunt the things that go bump in the night."
"Uh huh," John didn't sound like he believed that that was all to the story. "All right. Out of curiosity, though, how on Earth did you meet an angel of the Lord?"
Dean chucked at the memory. "Well," he began. "I was in a very bad face," Sam rolled his eyes. "And Cas helped me out of it. Apparently he liked us, so he's been helping us and we've been helping him ever since."
John smiled. "Sounds like an interesting guy," he said.
"You have no idea," Sam laughed. "The guy had no idea what normal social interactions were."
"His first encounters with normal things were...interesting, let's put it," Dean laughed as well.
John laughed with them. "I know someone like that," he said, his gaze resting on Sherlock.
"Must be interesting to live with him," Sam noted.
"Never bored," John smiled.
Dean shuddered internally, imagining what it would be like to live with Cas permanently. The guy was one of his best friends and a part of his family, but living with him would be a whole new version of Hell. Dean looked around the room. "So, how large is this place anyway?"
"No one knows," they looked up. Rory had wandered over. "The Doctor is forever getting lost, though..." Rory cleared his throat. "Anyway, the TARDIS keeps changing, so there's no way to really get a clear idea of which way leads where. Though some rooms remain the same, like the bedrooms."
"Bedrooms?" Sam asked, incredulous.
Rory looked at him. "Of course. Amy and I share one, no idea where the Doctor sleeps."
"Or if he even needs to," John added.
Rory acknowledged his point as Dean and Sam looked at each other. "Why wouldn't he need sleep?" Sam asked.
"Well, he's not exactly human," Rory hedged.
"What do you mean, "not exactly human"?" Dean asked warily.
"He looks human, but he's really a Timelord," Rory explained. "Which means he's from another planet, it's how he has the TARDIS, but he's not human."
They looked at the Timelord now, who was chatting amiably with Amy and Sherlock about something. The Doctor seemed perfectly normal, but as Dean watched him he saw something different about him, something almost ancient. As they were looking at him, the Doctor turned in their direction and caught their eye. "All right, everybody!" he called. "We need to figure out where we're going to go now."
Everyone gathered around him at the console. Dean hung back from the rest of the group, just in case. He still didn't trust all of them, though some of them seemed like decent. Then again, he'd thought many people were decent, and they'd turn around and stab him or his brother in the back, sometimes literally. While he was there, Dean took a look at the control of the TARDIS. Dean wasn't as book smart as Sam, but he was smart. And he knew, looking at the controls, that there was no way any human could get a license on how to pilot something like this. There were dials, levers, an old TV, an old telephone, buttons, enough ways for something to go wrong that it must take someone extremely experienced to fly, Dean figured.
Just then the Doctor began, recalling Dean's attention to him. "Sam," the Doctor said. "You were investigating the levels of activity. Where were they activating?"
Sam thought for a moment. "There's activity in several places," he said slowly. "The first one that comes to mind is Nashville in Tennessee."
The Doctor clapped his hands together again. "Then it's settled! We're heading to Nashville, Tennessee."