"So you haven't heard from Cas, at all?" Sam questioned Jack.

"No. Dean said he was looking for me. What if he's in trouble, Sam?"

"Then we'll find him," he assured. "But you need to work with us here, okay? Trust me, Jack. All of us have tried running away to try and protect each other. It never works." He gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"Cas?" Dean's voice called from the other side of the room. He had his phone to his ear.

"Anything?" Sam asked.

Deans face scrunched up, like he had just been horribly offended. He put the phone down on the table. "Yeah. Said he was busy and hung up."

"So what, he answers your call, but not mine?" Claire chimed in. She looked equally offended.

"Well I mean, it was hardly a conversation," Dean argued.

"No, no. Claire has a point," Sam interrupted. "It's not like Cas to ignore her. She's like his daughter."

Claire swung her face to Sam. "I am not his daughter."

Sam gave her an apologetic glance, regretting his choice of words. "Right. Sorry."

"Oh!" Everyone turned to Jack, who was looking at Claire like he had solved the world's greatest mystery. "So that's why you look so similar to Castiel. He's your father. I get it."

"Like I just said, he's not my father."

"Not technically. Your father was a meat suit."

"What did you say?"

"That was the word you used earlier… in the cave. I'm sorry, is that an offensive term?" he asked innocently.

Claire's jaw locked as she rolled her head back to Sam and Dean. "Is he really necessary here, guys?"

"Look, a lot's gone down since you've last seen Cas. There's obviously something weird going on with him now, so lets all just get along so we can figure it out." Dean mediated.

"Jack, you said you prayed to him. What for?" Sam pressed.

Jack hesitated. "Well, I, uh-"

Claire interrupted. "-Jack over here got emotional and knocked me unconscious. Panicked and prayed to his good ol' Uncle Castiel for help."

"I didn't mean to hurt you... I only got emotional after you shot me... I'm sorry." Jack apologized.

"Well, I'm sorry that I tried to shoot the freaky thing walking towards me." she retorted.

Jack tilted his head. "That apology didn't sound sincere."

"It wasn't."

"Okay, okay," Sam interrupted. "That's definitely a prayer Cas would respond to. So he's either somewhere where he can't hear it, or he's trapped… Or both." Sam speculated.

"Hell?" Dean guessed.

"Asmodeus. He would be able to impersonate Castiel… Like he did with Donatello." Jack said.

"Shit. We gotta go find him. Now," Dean said urgently, grabbing his keys off the table and heading out the door. Jack and Claire followed.

Sam stopped Claire.

"Uh, maybe you should stay here, Claire."

"Why?"

"Well, this isn't just a normal case, and… I don't think Cas would want you to put yourself in danger for him."

Claire raised an eyebrow at Sam. She cared for Castiel, though she hated to admit it. There was no way she would stay in the bunker.

"I can handle myself," she told him. With that statement, she walked out the door. Sam heaved a sigh, then followed.

The car ride was quiet.

Every now and then, Jack would turn his head to look at Claire. Caire would feel his eyes on her, and turn to face him. He would quickly hide his gaze back towards the window.

After the fourth time, she gave in. "What?" she asked, snapping her head around to make eye contact.

"I just, I uh-" he stammered. "I was curious."

"...About?"

"Nothing. I… just didn't know Castiel had another child," Jack told her.

"I'm not his child. Neither are you. What's your deal, anyways?" Claire asked.

"My deal?"

"Why are you here?"

"Uh well, my real father secretly possessed a man that my mother loved, and since she was romantically involved with this man, they had intercourse while-"

"-That's… not what I meant." Claire stopped him. "Why are you here, helping us?" She clarified.

He looked at her for a couple seconds, as if thinking about the question. "I want to be good," he replied. "My mother thought I could do good in the world. She said Castiel would watch over me. Ever since I was born two weeks ago, Sam, Dean, and Castiel have been my family."

"...You're two weeks old?" She asked.

"And 3 days, to be exact."

She raised her eyebrows in disbelief. Then, Claire suddenly felt guilty about being so hard on the devil's spawn. No wonder the kid was so strange, he was practically a grown baby.

"Sorry I tried to shoot you," she apologized, actually sounding sincere this time.

"It's okay. Dean tried to shoot me, too." Jack said with a smile.

"That sounds like him." Claire smiled back and turned to the front of the car. "Anyways, who's Asmodeus and why does he have Castiel?"

"He's a demon. A Prince of Hell, to be exact," Dean answered.

"Prince of Hell?"

"The first human souls to be twisted into demons. They were made by Lucifer himself. Much more powerful than the average demon." Sam clarified.

"Lovely. So do you guys have a plan?"

"Well, he thinks that we think that he's Cas. So we catch him off guard. A devil's trap still works on a Prince of Hell. If we can trap him, we can use him to get Cas back." Dean pulled out his phone and dialled Cas's number.

"Hello, Dean," Castiel's voice greeted through the phone.

"Cas. We found Jack," Dean told the voice.

"Oh?" he responded.

"Yeah, but… I could use some backup here. I can't get him to come back to the bunker with us. Maybe you could. He listens to you."

"Tell me where you're at, Dean. I'll be there."

Thunder sounded from outside of the motel room. A lamp flickered.

"He's almost here. You two get in the other room," Dean told Jack and Claire. They complied.

A few minutes later, Castiel's form slammed opened the door.

"Dean. Sam." he greeted dryly.

"Hey, Cas. It's good to see you," Sam responded, playing his part.

"Where's Jack? Is he alright?"

"He's uh, just in the other room. Still seems a bit shaken up, but he's okay. He doesn't want to come back with us, but he agreed to talk to you. Maybe you could convince him?" Dean asked, carefully watching the man in the trenchcoat.

"Of course. Let me see if I can reason with him," He insisted as he took a stride towards the connected motel room. As his feet walked over the rug, his body froze.

"You alright there, Cas?" Dean asked knowingly.

Blue eyes flickered to yellow as he turned around to face his captors. He took a deep breath, and suddenly the rug underneath his feet burnt away to reveal the devil's trap underneath.

"It seems that you boys have tricked me." Asmodeus' voice rang through. His body morphed back into his own. "You do live up to your reputation."

"Where's Cas?" Dean demanded.

"Don't know," the demon answered calmly.

Then, the door swung open and Jack entered. Claire stayed behind, watching the scene unfold from the doorframe.

"Ah, Jack. So good to see you. I know we got off on the wrong foot the last time we met. For that, I apologize."

"You have Castiel," He stated. "Where is he?"

"Even if I did have the angel, it shouldn't matter to you. You've been brainwashed, Jack. Castiel is not your father You shouldn't be concerned with him." Asmodeus eyed him carefully.

"You will tell me where he is," Jack growled. His eyes glowed yellow, and Asmodeus was suddenly pinned against the wall, away from the devil's trap. A wicked smile danced across his face.

"Jack, no!" Sam warned, but it was too late.

"Alright, fine," Asmodeus told them. "I know where he is. Let me show you." He snapped his fingers, and suddenly they were all in Hell's throne room, surrounded by several demons.

"Son of a bitch-!" Dean exclaimed, taking out his blade and preparing to fight.

However, before he had time to stab anyone, Jack blasted them all to the ground. "Where is he?" he demanded.

"-Ah, be careful, boy. You'll scare me. I might accidentally hurt one of your friends." He twisted his hand, and Claire let out a shriek as her knees dropped to the floor in pain. She began coughing up her own blood.

Sam and Dean quickly ran to her aid. But before they could do anything, Asmodeus slammed both of their bodies into the wall with the wave of his hand.

"Now, you will talk to me, Jack." Asmodeus smiled. "If you have any more outbursts, your friends will pay the price. He closed his fist, and all three humans were knocked out.

"Claire!" a deep voice called out, worry evident in his tone.

She slowly opened her eyes. She was home. Her old home. She laid on the couch in her living room. A familiar man stood in front of her. Panic hit her as she realized she was staring into Jimmy Novak's eyes.

Am I dead? she thought.

She jolted up and her mind started racing. She never got to say goodbye to Jody or Alex. There was still work to be done- people to save. Dean, Sam, and Jack were all still stuck with Asmodeus, and Castiel was still-

The man cut off her train of thought. "Claire, what are you doing here? You shouldn't be here."

Then, she was angry.

"What am I doing here?" She yelled, her voice cracking. "You don't get to ask me that. You don't get to act so surprised that your daughter ended up dead."

"I'm not-"

"-I thought that you were insane." She cut him off. "You know, when you ran away. Mom said it was because you were sick. That you heard voices that weren't there. I went a whole year thinking that."

"I'm sorry, Claire," he said in a defeated tone.

"Yeah, I know. I could've lived the rest of my life thinking that you were missing... But you…You came back." She paused, unable to find the right words to say. He looked down at her, pain in his eyes

She continued. "You came back, and it turned out that you weren't out of your mind after all... It turned out that you actually chose to leave your family."

"It wasn't like that, Claire."

"Mom got possessed by a demon because of you. Smacked me and tied me up, just to get to you. And when you finally did show up, I had to see you, my own dad, all bloodied up and on the verge of death. By then, I was the one posessed by an angel and smiting demons with my own bare hands. And I was twelve."

"I should have never done that to you..."

"Then you left us. Again. I know you didn't want it to turn out that way, that you did it to protect me, but... Look at me now. I'm dead." she said, sitting on the couch and burying her face in her hands. She brought her head up to reveal the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. "I know you didn't want me to end up like this, Dad. I'm sorry," she cried.

"Claire, I'm not your father. And you're not dead."

"What?" She breathed, confused and shocked.

"...You're just asleep. I tried reaching you through a dream."

" ...Castiel?" She asked, feeling relieved and embarrassed at the same time. "Why are you here?"

"I'm sorry, Claire. Asmodeus knocked you unconscious. You need to wake up. Get Sam, Dean, and Jack. Get out. Don't worry about me."

"Wouldn't it be more useful to hijack one of their dreams?" Claire pointed out.

"Asmodeus has me locked away. The cell that I'm in has my powers weakened, and I can't reach Sam or Dean like this. It's… easier with you. It's..."

"..In my blood. Right," She finished.

"Claire, you need to wake up."

"How?" She asked hopelessly. She had been coughing up blood before she passed out. Even if she did wake up, she'd be helpless. Might as well already be dead, she thought.

"I- I don't know. You just need to wake up!" Castiel exclaimed

"Why don't you just wake me up, then?" she suggested.

"I can't, I told you. There's some kind of magic in the jail that has me weakened."

"Yeah, so? You're here inside my head now, aren't you?"

"What are you implying?" Castiel asked.

"I'm saying that we both make it out of here. I'll be your vessel."

"Claire, I told your father that I wouldn't-"

"You promised my father that you'd keep his family safe." She interrupted. "And you're kind of doing a piss-poor job right now. No offense."

He hated the idea, but he knew that Claire was right; this was the only way out for both of them. "I'll get you out, and then I'm gone. I won't use you for any longer than I have to." Castiel assured her.

"No. You need your body, Cas. You get me out, then you stay with me until we find a way to get your real vessel back.

"I won't do that to you, Claire."

"You're not doing anything to me. I'm trusting you. Besides, Jack, Sam and Dean... They need you."

Castiel didn't want to admit it, but Claire was right again. "Are you sure about this?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yes."

Cliff hanger! I had more written for this chapter, but then I got writer's block and decided to cut it short. Please review! Not sure if I should keep going with this fic or not. If you want to read another chapter let me know in the comments!