He found himself standing in a familiar place. He didn't know how he had ended up here, seeing as he was now Earth-bound, but he welcomed the sight nonetheless.

He smiled to himself as he took in the vibrant colours, a palette of green speckled with red, pink and white against a backdrop of endless blue sky, a garden as well maintained as it is loved.

Oh, how he had missed this place, this corner of Heaven that he had so often retreated to in order to be alone with his thoughts, or simply to enjoy the tranquility of the place. It was one of the few things he pined for, that he could no longer attain.

He closed his eyes, breathing deeply the rich scent of wisteria, juniper, fresh cut grass and sun warmed wood. This unchanging place, forever a warm Tuesday afternoon, was his sanctuary. A paradise he sometimes shared with an autistic man who drowned in a bathtub in 1953.

He was aware that he was not, figuratively speaking, alone. Of course, this piece of Heaven belonged to the human soul that inhabited, but Castiel became aware of an angelic presence that was not his own. It was strange, he thought- he could sense the power emanating from his brother, but it was oppressive- it was not like he remembered, immediately sensing which of his brothers he found in his company.

He opened his eyes and searched for the source of that power, finding a familiar, welcome figure standing to his right, observing the scene as he did, with silent appreciation.

"Inias," Castiel said, smiling faintly.

Inias turned toward him, his vessel's eyes showing both sadness and relief. Inias, he felt, was much like himself before he had taken a vessel and joined the Winchesters. He was quiet, appreciative of the beautiful things that both their Father and humans had created, natural beauty, ingenuity. The mysteries of the world were not lost upon him.

Castiel frowned, becoming aware that something was not quite right. There was no way he could be here.

"You are dreaming, Castiel," Inias spoke softly, carrying a note of apology.

"I see," he said. Of course. He could not return to Heaven, now or ever again. Inias was visiting him in a dream. "This is... the first pleasant dream I have experienced. I am glad to see you, brother."

Inias gave him a wan smile, turning his attention to the sky as a simple, colourful kite took lazily to the air. Humans created such wonderful things.

"I admire your courage," he said after a long moment.

Castiel turned toward his brother, smiling ruefully. "I am a coward. I only did what was sensible. I murdered Samandriel."

Inias rounded on him, his eyes filled with divine fury. "NO! Castiel, You-"

Castiel watched him curiously. He felt no fear from his brother, but he saw that there was more that Inias would not, or perhaps could not say.

The angel's tone softened, the sadness returning to his doleful eyes. "It wasn't your fault."

Castiel sighed. He had secretly hoped that his brother might bring him answers.

"It was you who brought me to the Winchesters, after I fell."

"Yes. I could not leave you to suffer. I did not know what I would do, but when you spoke the human's name, I knew there was no other choice. You trust them," Inias held his eyes. It was a question as much as an observation. There was still so much that Inias didn't know of humans. Castiel thought that his brother would delight in the company of mortals, given the chance.

"Yes. I trust Dean and Sam with my life. They have always... been there for me."

He smiled again, knowing it was true. Dean, in particular, had always been there when he needed him, even if he had not taken advantage of that as often as he should have.

Inias quietly accepted this. There was no outward indication, merely a softening of his vessel's eyes. "You are in danger. Ramiel plots to kill you, your humans as well."

"I know," Castiel sighed. "She attempted to carry out her orders last night."

"Where are you, now? There is something I would like to give you and your... your friends."

Castiel regarded him in contemplation. Could he not simply come, as Ramiel had?

Inias shifted, looking somewhat embarrassed. Castiel smiled. The gesture was almost human. He loved and feared for his brother because of it. There were many of their... of Inias' kind who would not take kindly to such traits.

"There is something shielding you and your humans. No one has been able to detect you since you left the town in which you were attacked."

Castiel frowned, nodding. Of course. Dean would have done something to protect them, or possibly Sam. It was likely that one of them had placed wards in the car so that they would be relatively safe as they traveled to their next destination.

"The last I knew," Castiel said after pondering the question for a moment, trying to recall. "We had just exited the city of Spokane in Washington State, Eastward on interstate ninety."

Inias smiled. "I look forward to seeing you."

Castiel returned the smile. He looked forward to seeing his brother, as well- and any help they might acquire from him.

[XXXXXX]

Dean almost ran into the guard-rail when he heard Sam squeal from the back seat, his heart racing as he guided the Impala back between the lines of the highway, glancing in the rear view mirror. Sam had drawn his hunting knife and was pressed defensively against the back passenger door and there was someone else in the back seat with him, someone who looked bewildered and uncomfortable as he gazed out of the window with a look of shock and wonder.

Castiel, who had nodded off shortly after they left the gas station in Spokane, was now wide awake, smiling at the unexpected hitchhiker.

"I-Inias?!" Dean found himself stuttering, still not quite sure if he wasn't having a heart attack. "What the hell?"

Sam turned his eyes wildly toward Dean, trying in vain to keep the angel in his peripheral.

"Hello, Inias," Castiel greeted calmly, sounding pleased.

Inias turned toward the front of the car, and Dean couldn't help thinking as he saw his face in the rear-view of when he had taken Cas to that brothel, back when they had thought that he was going to die summoning Raphael. The angel looked freaked, and Dean figured it was probably because he'd never been in a car before, let alone one that was barreling down the highway at seventy miles per hour.

"Is-" Sam stuttered. "Is this a good thing?"

Dean saw Castiel turn and smile at Sam out of the corner of his eye. "Inias has not come to harm us, if that's what you're inferring."

"So what is Inias doing here," Dean fumed. He really hated angels, sometimes. They never call ahead.

The angel in question seemed to gather his wits, composing himself as he sat forward in the seat. "You should stop your vehicle," he said simply. Dean noticed warily that the angel looked a little green. That feathery bastard better not get sick in his Baby.

Muttering, Dean caught the next turn off, pulling into a rest stop along the highway and parking near the low brick building, shutting the engine off.

"All right," he said, turning back toward the angel. "Answers. Now."

Inias visibly relaxed once the car was stopped, sighing in what Dean could only assume was relief. "Ramiel is searching for you. You won't be safe out in the open, and the wards you are currently using on your vehicle are inadequate."

Inias reached out to Castiel, placing his middle and forefinger against Castiel's temple. He saw Cas wince in obvious pain before the angel pulled his hand away, moving the offending fingers to Dean next.

"Woah woah woah," Dean said, backing up as much as he could away from Inias's hand. "I don't do angel-whammies without prior consent."

"What did he do, Cas?" Sam had relaxed somewhat and was now merely cautiously aware of the newcomer.

"He is renewing the wards on your ribs, modifying what I had done when I hid you from Michael," Cas explained. "It's all right. I trust Inias. He is maybe the only one of my brothers that I find to still be worthy of trust."

Dean swore he saw the angel blush at the compliment.

"I only wish to help. Castiel was- is- a great inspiration to me. I do not wish to see him come to harm."

"Then why aren't you playing guardian angel?" Dean frowned, remembering when Inias had so unceremoniously dumped Cas off just over a week ago, begging him to take care of the fallen angel. "We sure as hell could've used some back up last night!"

Inias gave him a sad look, then turned back to Castiel. "I would if I were at liberty to do so. Things are... not as they once were, in Heaven. There are some of us who are against the new... methods."

Sam frowned, studying Inias. "What methods?"

The angel sighed in frustration. "I cannot say."

"Can't or won't?" Dean was sick of angel bullshit. With the exception of Cas, who wasn't even an angel anymore, he could care less if they all canaried in their damned clouds.

"Can't." It was Castiel who answered, not Inias. Dean raised an eyebrow at him, wondering just what the hell was going on, and if he'd missed some conversation between the two.

"As I said," Inias said with a rueful smile. "Things are not as they once were."

Dean sighed in resignation. The dude cared about Cas, and that mattered to Dean. What the hell, he wanted to help, so why not.

"Fine," he said, turning his eyes forward again and gripping the wheel in preparation. "Whammy away."

Inias nodded, lightly touching Dean's temple. The pain was immediate but thankfully brief, leaving his ribs feeling slightly itchy.

Once he had done the same to Sam, he turned to Castiel again, holding out a scroll of some sort. "Take this. Use this sigils to conceal yourself. I cannot guarantee your safety, but it should hide you well, so long as none of you call attention to yourselves."

"Thank you, Inias," Castiel smiled back.

"I will be in touch when I am able," the angel said, and then disappeared from the back seat in a flutter of unseen wings.

"Um, guys," Sam said, leaning forward. "What was that?"

"That," Dean said. "Was Inias. He's the one that helped with Kevin, remember?"

"Yeah, but," Sam struggled.

"He is an ally," Castiel said simply, as though this were all the explanation that was required.

"Yeah, well," Dean muttered, still a little rattled at the unannounced visit. "Least he could've done is patch you up before he flew off again."

Castiel drew himself up and scowled at him in such a way that Dean could almost see the powerful angel he had first met in the barn so long ago. "He came at great personal risk, Dean! I cannot ask him to do more than he is capable of!"

Dean put his hands up defensively. "All right, all right, jeez! I get it, dude did us a solid. I'm not complaining."

"Uh," Sam chided. "Actually you were."

"Shaddap, Sammy."

Sam smiled a bit, then turned to Castiel. "So, what did he give you?"

Castiel unrolled the old parchment, several symbols in Enochian inked on the yellowed page. The sigils were intricate, arranged in a way that Dean had never seen before.

"These are... very old," Cas said, frowning at the scroll in his hands. "Some of these have not been used in several millenia- I do not even recognize this one," he pointed to one of the symbols in the second ward.

"Will it work?" Sam was leaning over his shoulder now, intrigued by the ancient parchment.

"I have no reason to doubt Inias' intuition at this time," Castiel said, matter of factly.

Dean considered this for a moment, weighing what he knew about Inias against what he knew of Heaven's orders to have the three of them killed. Nodding, he opened the glove compartment, handing Cas a sharpie.

"Just," he said, biting his lip. "Don't put 'em on the leather or the glass."

Cas blinked, head tilted to the side, blue eyes on Dean's questioningly.

"Well," Dean muttered. "You've got the damned instructions, just take the damned pen!"

Castiel seemed to get the hint, nodding as he took the pen from Dean's hand, then stepped out of the car, marking the inside of the door where it joined to the frame.

Dean smiled. He could live with that. He would prefer to have it beneath the upholstery with the rest of the wards on the car, but they didn't have the time or the tools to do that here.

(A/N: Another little dash of plot! I adore Inias. I'm taking a lot of creative liberty with him, of course, but I'm working with the impression I got of him in the brief time he was on the show. I could see him very much taking a similar path to the one Castiel had taken- he seemed compassionate and truly caring of Castiel. I'm loving the comments, by the way! Some of you have been so sweet with your feedback. So much love!)