Chapter 6

What It Takes To Let Him Go

After telling Sam he was going to get a beer with Bobby; Dean and his old friend headed to a bar off the side of the road just on the outskirts of town. The barn was covered in symbols; Bobby had been at it for hours with the spray paint. There was a Devil's Trap as well as hundreds of other occult and religious protection and binding symbols and traps. Dean was going through their weapons as Bobby finished up with the spray paint.

"We could use Andie for this, y'know." Bobby said to his young friend.

Dean paused briefly as he loaded his shotgun with rock salt bullets. Thinking of Andie was giving him a pain in his gut; he couldn't identify it. An insecurity maybe? He sure didn't think that Andie would be the one to distance herself from him if he ever got out of the pit. "Yeah, well, she's not talking to me." Dean muttered. "Hell of an art project you got going here." He nodded to all the symbols.

Bobby looked proudly at the work he'd done. "Traps and talismans from every faith on the globe." He joined Dean and glanced over the weapons. "How you doing?"

"Stakes, iron, silver, salt, knife," He listed. "I mean, we're pretty much set to catch and kill anything I've ever heard of."

"This is still a bad idea." Bobby warned him.

"Yeah, Bobby, I heard you the first ten times," He held up his shotgun. "So what do you say we ring the dinner bell?"

Bobby headed over to the other table where he had an array of herbs and occult ingredients. He sprinkled a powder over the bowl and it began to steam. "Matéus spiritus obscuré..." He mumbled

xxx

Andie tapped her fingers on the steering wheel along to a song on the radio; but she wasn't really paying attention. Castiel had taken off soon after their meeting at the bar telling her of a barn outside of town where Bobby and Dean were doing their summoning. She checked with her own mental ability and knew he was telling the truth; but Dean was slightly harder to read than Bobby. Andie wondered why; thinking maybe he still had some Hell on his clothes that was cloaking her ability to find him.

Even though she'd drunk a good half of that bottle of vodka, Andie felt none of the effects of it. She assumed Castiel had something to do with that because her driving was as smooth as ever. It took her a good couple of hours to get to the barn and, not surprisingly, Castiel was waiting for her at the head of the driveway.

"We'll walk from here." He told her before turning on his heel. "Stay behind me."

xxx

Bobby was whistling softly as he sat atop the table next to all his ingredients with a shotgun across his lap. Dean was leaning against the wall with Ruby's knife clasped in his hands. "You sure you did the ritual right?" Dean asked him. All he got in response was an 'of course I did, ya Idgit' look. "Sorry, touchy, touchy huh?" He rubbed his tired eyes when a large gust of wind picked up and the barn roof started clattering. The noise caused both men to get to their feet and adopt attack positions. "Wishful thinking, but maybe it's just the wind…" Dean muttered. Then one of the flickering light bulbs above shattered, the door, which Bobby and Dean had tried to barricade with a two-by-four, snapped like a twig and the barn doors flew open.

A man in a long trench coat walked calmly into the room. Dean and Bobby both immediately started firing at him; but the bullets either didn't hit or didn't affect him. He just kept on walking serenely towards them. Dean grabbed Ruby's knife tightly and started circling their visitor. "Who are you?" He demanded.

"Castiel. I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from Perdition." He said coolly.

"Yeah, thanks for that." Dean stabbed him in the heart with the knife and waited for the result. But it didn't come.

Castiel easily pulled the knife out of his body, no trace of blood at all, and dropped it to the floor. Bobby lunged at Castiel with a crowbar high above his head but all he caught it mid-air before Bobby could attack. Castiel pointed a finger to Bobby's forehead and he collapsed to the floor. "We need to talk, Dean." Castiel looked up at him. "Alone."

Dean dropped to the floor beside his friend and checked his pulse as Castiel went over to the table and started flipping through one of Bobby's books. "Your friend's alive." Castiel told him.

"What are you?" Dean got to his feet.

"I'm an angel of the Lord."

"Get the hell outta here, there's no such thing." Dean told him with a laugh in his voice.

"This is your problem Dean, you have no faith." Castiel scolded him.

Outside, lightning cracked loudly and lit up the barn. Behind Castiel; the shadows of two huge wings extended across the back wall. Dean watched in shock as the lightning cracked again and the wings disappeared. "Some angel you are, you burned out that poor woman's eyes."

Castiel sighed and looked at his feet. "I warned her not to spy on my true form." He said. "It can be...overwhelming to humans. And so can my real voice; but you already knew that."

Dean crinkled his brow. "You mean the gas station and the motel…that was you talking?" Castiel nodded. "Buddy; next time lower the volume."

"It was my mistake. Certain people, special people can perceive my true visage." Castiel explained. "I thought you would be one of them. I was wrong."

"And what visage are you in now, huh?" Dean said mockingly. "What, holy tax accountant?"

"This," Castiel gestured to his body. "This is a vessel."

"You're possessing some poor bastard?" Dean shook his head.

"He's a devout man," Castiel assured him. "He actually prayed for this."

"Look, pal, I'm not buying what you're selling." Dean told him firmly. "So who are you, really?"

"I told you." Castiel said calmly.

"Right, and why would an Angel rescue me from hell?" Dean shrugged.

"Good things do happen, Dean." Castiel said with the faintest of smirks.

"Not in my experience." Dean mumbled.

"What's the matter?" Castiel asked, studying Dean's face. "You don't think you deserve to be saved."

"Why'd you do it?" Dean asked.

"Because God commanded it." Castiel said emphasizing every word. Dean, always skeptical to believe, clenched his jaw and stared Castiel down. "Because we have work for you." He was almost eye to eye with Dean now. "You need to trust me Dean."

"Just like that?" Dean narrowed his eyes.

"If you won't listen to me," Castiel nodded his head at the end of the barn. "You should listen to your wife."

Dean spun on his heel and saw Andie standing in the doorway. He wondered how long she'd been standing there but that thought disappeared when he realized that Andie was working with Castiel. "What the hell is going on?" He asked.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," Andie said in a patronizing tone of voice. "I'm not evil. I'm not a demon. I'm here to help you, apparently." Her eyes glanced towards Castiel.

"You knew?" Dean couldn't believe it. "You knew he brought me back," He pointed at Castiel. "And you didn't say anything?! You let him blind Pamela?!"

"Ok, in all fairness, I didn't know it was him," Andie answered taking a few long strides into the barn. "Because that would imply him keeping his word." She sneered at Castiel. "Something that, up until today, I was yet to see him do."

"That why you took off?" Dean asked her; his jaw still clenched in fury.

"Partly." Andie answered hotly. "But how would you react if someone who was ripped to shreds by invisible dogs before your eyes suddenly showed up looking oh-so-good?"

"I wouldn't run in the other direction." He snapped. Andie didn't seem to have a response for that.

"As enthralling as this conversation is," Castiel spoke up as he started to exit in the barn in the same, calm way he'd entered. "I'll leave you two be." He turned back to Dean. "But I will be in touch."

"Awesome." Dean deadpanned as Castiel left the barn and was out of sight.

Without a word, Andie gave Dean a once over with her eyes before she turned around and followed Castiel.

"Hold up just a second here," Dean jogged after her and grabbed her wrist to turn her around. Andie wrenched her arm out of his grasp; she really didn't want him touching her. "Andie; what's going on?"

"What?" She asked evasively, turning back to him and folding her arms.

"I'm gonna just blow past the fact that you knew that Angel brought me back and didn't say anything," Dean told her trying to keep his voice level. "And jump right into what the hell is wrong with you?" He clenched his jaw and glowered at her.

"Excuse me?" Andie replied with heavy attitude.

"I want to know why you're acting like this!" Dean snapped. "Come on; I've been in Hell for four months now I'm back; aren't you the least bit happy?" He tossed his arms limply at his sides.

"Of course I am." Andie told him; but still with the attitude.

"They why are you treating me like a two-timing prom date?!" He yelled exasperatedly. "What did I do to you?"

"Dean, you died!" Andie reminded him. "And I couldn't do anything. I mean, literally. I couldn't do a thing after you were gone." Angry tears burned her eyes but she refused to let them fall. "I froze up; stopped hunting. And I almost lost Cass because of it. That's when I realized…I can't stop being a hunter. I have to do this."

"What does that have to do with how you're acting?" Dean folded his arms.

Andie sighed and looked at her feet for a few moments. "I'm so happy you're back, Dean, you have no idea." She finally admitted. "But don't expect me to jump into your arms and have my way with you." She told him. "With everything that's going on with Lilith and all of these demons...I can't…" She paused. "I can't be with you the way we used to be. Not anymore. Not if we want to win this fight." She bit her lip. "Because I can't deal with losing you again. What it did to me…how it…changed me…I can't do that again. I won't." She backed away from him. "I'm sorry."

"But Andie…" Dean called after her. "I love you. And you love me. And don't say you don't, 'cos I know you do; you're still wearing that ring." He shrugged. "Doesn't that count for something?"

Andie swallowed hard. "Love isn't the problem, Dean." She told him as she opened the door to leave. "It never was."

xxx