Dean's eyes widened. "Cas? That was Cas?" He almost couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, I'm sure of it. I recognized his voice," Jimmy said.

"Did he say anything?" Sam asked.

"Not really," Jimmy said, looking at Sam. "I think he just made some noise to make the demons go away. He didn't really say anything—"

"Is he okay?" Dean blurted out, interrupting Jimmy. Jimmy turned to look at Dean, concern in his eyes.

"I'm not sure. I can feel his presence but… he doesn't seem to be feeling very well. I think something happened." And then Jimmy froze and looked like he was listening to something. Dean and Sam stared at him in confusion before they realised Cas was somehow speaking to him. Jimmy started nodding and replying to the unheard voice, and the brothers observed him with interest. Anyone else would have thought the man was a schizophrenic.

Jimmy turned to look at Sam and Dean again. "He says he has to possess me again... I don't even like the thought of it, but rather me than Claire," he mumbled and looked away. Sam put a comforting hand on his shoulder, which Jimmy appreciated. Dean felt sorry for the guy.

When Sam removed his hand from Jimmy's shoulder, Jimmy turned to smile at them. "Thanks for everything, guys," he said.

"You're welcome," Sam said with a sad smile. Dean nodded, indicating he wanted to say the same as Sam.

Jimmy gave a sad smile, and then he sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Okay, I'm ready, Castiel." A strong light appeared, forcing Sam and Dean to cover their eyes and look away for a moment. When they were able to look up again, they could see light shining through Jimmy's skin, eyes and mouth. Suddenly the light faded and Castiel collapsed, but was caught by Dean before he hit the ground.

"Cas!" Dean said in concern. Sam came to support him as well. Castiel's eyes widened in shock and he quickly pulled away from the brothers.

"Don't touch me," Cas said in a low voice. Dean and Sam looked at each other.

"Uh, sorry," Dean said, staring at Cas in concern. Castiel seemed exhausted and tired, and when he was about to collapse again, Dean was ready to catch him, but Cas quickly flinched and stood straight again. Dean narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," Castiel said.

"You should probably get some rest," Sam said. "You look a bit—"

"I said I'm fine," Cas cut him off, a bit more rudely than he intended to. He looked guilty when he realised how rude he sounded. He sighed and then he disappeared with a flapping of wings.

Sam threw his hands up in a helpless gesture. "What's up with him?"

"I don't know, " Dean said, staring at the spot Castiel just disappeared from. "I think Jimmy is right – something has happened."

"Well, he went to hell just like you did, so maybe—" Sam said, but Dean cut him off.

"The demon said he sent him to a 'nasty part' of hell. I don't think it's the same part I was in; I think the part he sent Cas to was even worse." Dean almost chocked on his words. He knew there were parts of hell that were even worse than the part he knew, and the thought of Castiel having been there unsettled him.

Sam could see the concern in Dean's eyes, and put a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. Dean looked up at him. "I think Cas just needs some time, Dean. I'm sure he'll be fine." He turned around to pick up the demon knife and headed for the exit. Dean reluctantly followed his brother out and headed for the Impala.


They didn't see or hear anything from Castiel the next few days. Dean hoped that Cas just needed a few days to himself and would be fine afterwards, but he still couldn't help being concerned. For some reason it hurt him that Castiel didn't seem to want to talk to him about it. So all he could do was to wait for the angel to show up again.

They soon found out that the monster they had encountered in the town in Nebraska was a demonic creature called an Edo Abyssi, or Hell Devourer in English. Another town seemed to have been attacked by it, leaving over 375 people dead. Dean and Sam knew they could try and kill it with the Colt, but the creature was gone by the time they arrived in the town. It always seemed one step ahead of them, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

Dean threw himself onto his motel bed. Sam had gone out to get some fresh air. The last few days had been hard and frustrating. He dozed off on his bed, still fully clothed and laying on top of his blanket.

Suddenly his senses woke him up as he felt someone sitting next to him. He snapped his eyes open and quickly reached for his gun under his pillow, but when he looked back, the figure beside him was gone. He swore he heard feathers ruffling. "Cas?" Dean whispered, but received no answer from the dark empty room. He cursed under his breath and sat up; legs over the edge of the bed, elbows resting on his knees as he rubbed his face in his hands.

Cas had been there, right next to him, watching him while he slept. And he had scared the angel off. It frustrated him even more that Cas hadn't woken him up; hadn't talked to him. He suddenly wondered how the angel knew where he was. The sigils on his ribs prevented the angel from locating him. Castiel must have kept an eye on them; otherwise he wouldn't know where they were. The thought made Dean smile, but it also broke his heart even more.

Dean decided to go outside and get some fresh air like Sam. After he locked the motel room door, he turned to look at the Impala that was parked outside the room, when he saw Castiel leaning against the hood. "Cas?!" Dean blurted out. Cas looked up at him. He looked like someone who hadn't slept for weeks, even though the angel didn't require sleep. His looks made Dean even more concerned.

"Hello Dean," he said in his usual calm voice. Dean wanted to go over to Cas and sit down next to him, but the reaction he had gotten from the angel after he almost collapsed in the warehouse told him he better not do that. So he stayed where he was, only a few feet away from Cas.

"I thought you ran off to a place far away," Dean said, trying to catch the angel's eyes, but Cas wouldn't look him in the eyes.

"Sorry," was all Cas said. He looked at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in that place.

Dean sighed. "What's up, Cas? You haven't been around much lately." Castiel raised his head to look at Dean, and finally met his eyes.

"I've…not been feeling like staying around." He looked to the ground again, and that annoyed Dean slightly.

"You know you can talk to me about it, right?" Dean said in a gentle voice. "About what happened…" Castiel flinched a bit and bit his lower lip; a gesture Dean hadn't seen him do before.

"Cas…" Dean said, taking a step forward but immediately stopped when he saw Castiel flinch and widen his eyes. "Cas, what are you—"

"I have to go," Castiel interrupted and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Dean growled in frustration.


"He just disappeared again?" Sam asked the next morning in the diner. Dean poured some milk into his coffee before looking at Sam.

"Yeah, I guess I scared him off twice last night," he mumbled and took a sip from his coffee. It was still a bit too hot so he put it down again. "I wonder if angels have post traumatic stress syndromes like humans do."

"Somehow I doubt it, but Cas isn't exactly a full angel anymore, is he?" Sam said, drinking from his own coffee – without milk. "You saw him yourself after he transported us to the past; it drained almost all of his powers. And I don't think he's become weaker just physically, I think it's mental, too."

"Yeah I guess," Dean sighed. "Jimmy told me that before Cas disobeyed, he didn't feel many emotions. But afterwards he started to have more feelings."

"Jimmy said that?" Sam asked surprised.

"Yeah, we talked a bit before Cas flew back into him. Apparently he was able to feel some of the emotions Cas felt while he possessed him, so I guess it's true." Dean shrugged and took another sip from his coffee. It was drinkable now.

"Poor Jimmy," Sam said, looking at his coffee. "I mean, he's being ridden by an angel and he has no idea what's going on. The only thing he knows is what Castiel feels. Must be pretty tough. And he was a nice guy, too."

Dean nodded absently. He had never really thought about Jimmy being in there with Cas. But after spending two weeks with the guy and getting to know him more, he felt really sorry for him. He couldn't help but be slightly angry at Cas for screwing up Jimmy's life like that, but he knew the angel didn't have much choice. Either possess poor Jimmy or burn out everyone's eyes that looked at him.

"Dean," Sam said, alert in his voice. Dean looked up and followed Sam's eyes to look at two people behind him. They were standing by the counter, obviously talking to one of the waitresses. Both men were in their forties, dressed in black suits and had dark hair.

Dean frowned and turned to look back at Sam. "What is it? What's wrong with them?" he whispered in confusion.

"Demons," Sam whispered back, not taking his eyes off from the demons. Dean's eyes widened and he looked back at them. The two men turned to leave, walking past Sam and Dean without sparing them a glance and walked out the door. "We should follow them."

"Are you crazy?! Why?" Dean blurted out.

"Dean, maybe we can force out of them where the Hell Devourer will hit next." Sam rose from his seat and was ready to follow the demons. Dean threw some cash on the table for the coffee and left with Sam.

They followed the demons into the alley behind the diner and attacked them; using the knife to kill off one of them, and pinning the other demon against the wall. The demon surrendered when the knife was pressed against his throat, but not close enough to draw blood.

"Where will the Hell Devourer hit next?" Sam went straight to business, as he held the knife up to the demon's throat and questioned it. The demon grinned.

"What makes you think I'm gonna tell you?" it challenged. Sam pulled the knife back and sliced the demon in the shoulder. It cried out in pain before Sam placed the knife at its throat again.

"You better tell us before you have more cuts all over you," Sam hissed.

"Sammy," Dean said, warning in his voice. He didn't like the way Sam was looking at the demon. That cold look. But Sam ignored him.

"You can cut me all you want, I ain't telling you," the demon hissed back at Sam. "Nothing you can do to me is worse than what I've already experienced in my time in hell. Ask your little angel; he should know just how bad it is down there in the worst part of hell." He looked at Dean when he said that, smiling smugly at him.

"What? Where was Cas? What did you guys do to him?!" Dean shouted, stepping closer to the demon.

"Dean—" Sam said, but fell silent when the demon started laughing out loudly.

"Oh, he was right in the centre of hell. The part that's absolutely beyond any description. So bad it even drives angels crazy I guess." He started giggling and Dean felt like punching him, but he stopped himself from doing so. "I was there when he arrived, ya know. It was just before I got out. They did such terrible things to him. And it didn't even take a month before they had him screaming and begging for mercy." He started laughing again and Dean finally placed a hard punch right in his face.

"How long was he there?!" Dean shouted, grabbing the demon by his suit and pinning him against the wall, pushing Sam away. "HOW LONG?!"

The demon spat out the blood from his mouth and grinned. "Well, that part has a different time order than the rest of hell… I believe fifty years should do it."

Dean placed another punch on the demon's face and was about to punch him even more before Sam grabbed him and pulled him away. "Dean! We still need to question him! And you're hurting yourself, he's not worth it!" But Dean didn't care if his knuckles hurt like hell and had probably almost been broken; he was furious.

The demon was now on the ground, dealing with his dislocated jaw. He was still smiling smugly, and that made Dean want to work him over again, but Sam wouldn't let him. "Where is the Hell Devourer?" Sam asked one more time.

"I told you: I'm not gonna tell you," replied the demon.

"Fine, then go rot in hell," Sam said coldly before he stabbed the knife through the demon's chest. Electric light came from the demon before it fell lifelessly to the ground, the host's eyes staring into nothing.

"Damnit, I wanted to do that, Sammy!" Dean complained.

"Sorry," murmured Sam, wiping off the demon blood on the knife in a napkin. Dean cursed and turned away from Sam; his entire body still trembling with anger. "You okay?" Sam asked, walking up to stand behind Dean.

"No, I'm not fucking okay, Sam!" Dean spat. He tried to control his temper and took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. Sam looked at Dean, empathy in his eyes. Dean turned around to face him. "The things they did to him…" he started, trying to hold back the tears. He shook his head and looked to the ground. "Never mind, we should leave."

"Dean—"

"We should leave," Dean repeated more firmly and shot Sam a glare. Sam nodded slowly, concern and empathy in his eyes, and they walked away in silence.


When they arrived at the motel later, they were surprised when Castiel suddenly popped in, standing in the middle of the room.

"Cas?!" Dean said. He stopped himself from running over to the angel. "Why are you… what are you doing here?"

Castiel looked at him, face looking slightly hurt. "If it's an inappropriate time, I'll just leave again—"

"No, no," Dean cut him off. "Don't go." They looked at each other for a moment before Sam cleared his throat behind Dean.

"I think I'll go grab some… dinner," he said. "You want anything?" he asked Dean.

"No thanks, Sammy," said Dean, and Sam left the room quickly, leaving Dean and Castiel alone.

Castiel shifted, eyes to the ground. He looked uncomfortable and awkward. Dean dared to take one step forward, and Cas' eyes immediately shot up and looked at him. But he didn't flinch.

"Cas," Dean said. He wasn't sure what he should say, he was afraid to scare the angel off again. "You came. Any particular reason?" He prayed that Cas wouldn't just leave again like last time.

"I…" Cas trailed off. He looked as his feet, and Dean swore the angel looked embarrassed. "Not really, I just… didn't want to… be alone." He said it in a low, almost apologizing voice; something Dean hadn't seen him do before. Dean's face lit up a bit and he gave the angel a warm smile.

"Okay," he said in a gentle voice. "You don't have to be. I'm here ya know."

Cas looked up, still looking embarrassed and awkward, and he nodded slowly. Dean walked over and sat on the edge of his bed. He made an inviting gesture at Cas, who reluctantly walked over and sat down next to him, but keeping a proper distance between them. Dean didn't mind it though; he knew Cas still needed some time to get over it.

Dean looked at Castiel, and noted that the way the angel shifted was odd. It was like he was in pain somewhere. He wasn't sure if he should ask Castiel about it; he might just end up sitting alone if he did. But Cas seemed to see the question in his eyes as he looked back at him. "My back hurts," he explained after hesitating.

"Oh," Dean said. "Did you hurt something back there?"

Castiel hesitated before answering. "Yes," he said simply. Dean was a bit frustrated with that answer but he decided not to push the matter.

"How's Jimmy doing?" he asked instead. Castiel seemed surprised by the question, but he answered anyway.

"He's fine I guess," Cas said. "He's sleeping. As usual."

"Is that some kind of angel thing? To just let your vessel sleep while you're riding them?" Dean asked, smirking slightly.

"It's better that way," Cas said. He stared into the room. "If I keep him awake, he'll only feel uncomfortable. Probably he would feel pain from having me inside him. I'm doing him a favour by keeping him unconscious." Dean nodded absently. He guessed being possessed by an angel wasn't exactly comfortable.

Castiel's expression changed. It looked as if he was going to ask Dean something, but he was in conflict with himself. Eventually he stood up. "I should go."

"What? You just got here," Dean blurted out.

Cas turned to look at him. "I… I can't…" he trailed off.

"You're avoiding me again." It was not a question. Cas looked away, biting his lip. That only confirmed Dean's suspicion about Cas avoiding him. And then Cas was gone before Dean could blink.

Dean sighed in frustration. Castiel had come to see him, so he wasn't avoiding him completely. But he still had the feeling Cas was avoiding him. He had wanted to ask Dean for something, but he had hesitated and given up. Was the angel ever going to properly talk to Dean again?

- tbc -


I hope this chapter turned out well. There will be more Cas-avoiding-Dean in the next chapter, let's see how that affects Dean XD

I'm not sure if edo abyssi is the correct Latin translation of hell devourer, but I hope it is. The creature is something I created, it doesn't really exist.

Disclaimer: Supernatural belongs to Eric Kripke and the CW, not me.