A/N: Thank you guest Lobita for reviewing again!


Chapter 9

Sam buried himself in research during the drive. Everything he'd suggested with this plan had been purely theoretical, and he wished he had more time to go through the Men of Letters archives, consult more magic books, make sure he knew exactly what he was doing and that it would work. But he only had the time it would take them to get to the lake house, and in the spots where there was no WiFi, he'd be unable to access the online archive if he suddenly thought of something else to check.

He did have a spell for reassembling fragments of something, which was what he hoped to use here. As long as there really was power left over at the lake. He should only need a little in order to bind the nephilim's energy signature. But then the trick would be to make sure the pieces gathered together outside of Cas, not that the stuff at the lake would be drawn into him and make things ten times worse.

Yeah, Sam really wished he had more time.

They eventually pulled over at a diner to get some dinner, and Sam brought his tablet inside so he could get some more work done. The waitress seated them in a horseshoe shaped booth, Alex scooting around into the center with Jody and Cas on her right and Dean on her left. Sam ended up sliding in on Jody's other side. They were left with menus and a few minutes to decide, though Sam immediately connected to the restaurant's WiFi, since their password was printed on the drink menu attached to the salt and pepper shakers.

"What are you hungry for, Bug?" Jody asked Cas.

"'M not hungry," he mumbled.

She pulled him into her lap. "You have to eat something."

"Look, they have chicken nuggets," Alex said, sliding her menu over. Cas just gave the thing a wan look.

"I love chicken nuggets," Dean spoke up. "We could share."

Sam quirked a bewildered look at his brother, and was about to ask since when, but Jody was already talking again.

"How's that sound?" she asked, rubbing Cas's back.

"Okay," he said in a small voice, and Jody threw Dean a grateful look over the boy's head.

Sometimes Sam forgot how good his older brother was with kids, though it wasn't surprising; Dean had raised him, after all.

The waitress came back and they placed their orders. Sam got a hamburger with his salad so Dean could have more than chicken nuggets to eat.

Cas squirmed in Jody's lap. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Okay." She picked him up and started scooting toward the edge. Sam hastily climbed out so they could exit.

"I got it," Dean said, standing up and coming around to take Cas's hand as the boy slid from the booth.

Sam sat back down, more absorbed in his research.

"Find anything?" Jody's voice interrupted his concentration.

He looked up. "Oh, um, not really."

"I thought we already had a plan?" Alex said.

Sam rolled his shoulder. "We do. It's just…untested."

Alex's eyes widened in alarm. "It's not dangerous, is it?"

"We're running out of time," Jody put in calmly, though her own worry was evident in her expression. "And this is all we have."

Sam hated it, but it was true. "That's why I'm going over this a hundred more times to make sure I've thought of everything and got all our bases covered."

Alex leaned back in the booth. "I wish I could do something to help."

"You are," Jody said. "Keeping Cas's mind off things in the car is a huge help. For both of us."

The girl shrugged. "It doesn't feel like enough."

"I know."

They fell into a morose silence at that, and Sam dropped his gaze back to his tablet. Even with all his resources and quadruple checking things, he worried it wouldn't be enough in the end.

Dean and Cas came back, and Sam once again slid out of his seat so Cas could climb back in.

"Switch with me," Dean said, cocking his head toward the opposite side of the booth where he'd been sitting before.

Sam didn't argue, and moved around to the other side while Dean took his place, nestling Cas between him and Jody. Their food came a minute later, and most of the meal was eaten in silence, save for a few words of encouragement from Dean to Cas about eating his food. He would take a fork and knife and cut a chicken nugget in half, giving one piece to Cas and picking up the other for himself. Cas didn't look hungry at all, but he got the pieces down. Sam wondered if Cas noticed when Dean started cutting the nuggets into uneven proportions, giving Cas the bigger chunks. Either way, at least he was eating.

When the chicken was gone and Cas was nibbling on some French Fries from Jody's plate, Sam nonchalantly slid his burger across the table to his brother. Dean blinked in a moment of surprise, but then gave a small twitch of a smile and dug in.

After they were all done, Sam was disappointed that his research still didn't make him feel any more confident about his plan. What if he was wrong? What if he was dragging them all, including a sick Cas, halfway across the country on a wild notion that would never work? Maybe he should have given more thought to the other extraction option…except Sam remembered how excruciating that process had been, and he didn't have the stomach to subject a little boy to it. Not to mention that thing was made to extract grace, and if Cas's soul was somehow made up of bits and pieces of angelic essence…

No, Sam would make this work, because there was no other option.

Jody and Dean argued briefly over who was going to pay the bill, Jody winning.

"Don't think I don't know how you two get by most of the time. I can at least keep you on the up-and-up when I'm around."

Dean rolled his eyes, but it was good-naturedly.

"Can I ride with Sam and Dean for a little while?" Cas spoke up.

Sam straightened, and exchanged a look with Dean, wondering if his brother would be against it. Dean had been more gentle with Cas that evening, so maybe some of that emotional wall he'd built was coming down. Sam hoped so, because deep down he still hoped they could get Cas back, and he didn't want to keep their best friend at arm's length. Even if he wasn't the Cas they used to know.

Jody hesitated, but then turned to look at Dean as well. "Sure," she said carefully. "If that's alright…?"

Dean gave himself a small shake. "Yeah, of course."

They filed out to the parking lot where Jody transferred the booster seat to the back of the Impala, then buckled Cas in and weighed him down with blankets.

"You warm enough?" she asked.

Cas nodded.

Jody mussed his hair. "Okay. See you in a bit." She stepped back and shut the door almost reluctantly, and Sam was struck with just how much Jody and Alex had grown to love Cas as part of their family. And if Sam was successful in removing the nephilim's energy, what would happen to Cas? Sam didn't think he was a pure angel anymore, so would that make him human? Would that mean they would never get their Cas back?

Sam's heart clenched with grief. It wasn't a choice, though. Either they saved Cas—this Cas—or…no, there was no other alternative. They were going to save him. And whatever came after, they would deal with it. Just like they'd had to adjust when Mom came back. She'd been a stranger to Sam, so it hadn't been as hard for him, but he saw how difficult it'd been for Dean to reconcile the memory of their mom with the woman she turned out to be.

And losing their Cas for good…yeah, that hurt more than anything. But Sam believed in this second chance, even if it didn't make things go back to the way they were.

So as soon as they got back on the road, he was once again scrolling through his notes on his tablet, but was interrupted by Cas speaking up from the back seat.

"Do you know any car games?"

Dean tossed a look over his shoulder. "Um, yeah. Sam and I used to play some all the time…crap, that one's not appropriate."

Sam smirked, but then tried to wrack his brain for something. "Hey, didn't we used to play 'I Spy' when we were kids?"

"I know that one!" Cas said.

Sam decided he could put his tablet away for a bit. "Okay, uh, I spy with my eye…"

"Little eye," Dean said.

"What?"

"I spy with my little eye."

"Oh, right." Jeez, it'd been a long time. "I spy with my little eye, something that is…brown."

"Your hair," Cas replied.

Sam smiled. "That is brown, but it wasn't what I was thinking of."

"Mm, Dean's hair."

Sam shook his head. "Nope." He craned his head around to watch Cas purse his mouth and gaze around the car in search of more brown. "Need a clue?"

Cas shook his head adamantly, which made Sam smile again. Yeah, Cas had always been stubborn and determined to do things for himself.

After a few more minutes and Dean giving Sam covert looks of 'how hard are you making this?', Cas finally blurted, "Your jacket!"

"Yep! Okay, you want to take a turn?"

"Um…I spy…"

They played a couple more rounds of that before Cas got hit with a coughing fit that almost made Dean pull over, but Sam managed to twist around and lean across the bench seat in order to help Cas drink from a bottle of water. After that, the kid was utterly spent, and he fell asleep quickly, the prominent wheezes issuing from his lungs filling Sam with a pit of dread. He exchanged a look with Dean, and then called Jody.

"Hey," she answered. "We planning on stopping for the night?"

Sam flicked another concerned look at Cas. It'd probably be good for him to rest in a proper bed, yet at the same time, they didn't know how much time they had left.

"You good to drive straight through?" he asked instead.

Jody was silent for a moment, though Sam heard a muffled exchange between her and Alex.

"Yeah, we can do that," Jody came back with. "Alex can switch with me in a few more hours." She hesitated. "How is Cas doing?"

"He's asleep," Sam replied. "Just…I think the sooner we get there, the better."

Jody let out an audible breath. "Okay."

"Call when you're ready to pull over and switch," Sam said. He'd switch with Dean then, too.

And in the meantime, Sam pulled his tablet back out and started going over his notes from the beginning.


Jody was getting too old to sleep in the car, and she woke at dawn the following morning with a horrible crick in her neck. She tried to stretch it out, popping a few vertebrae in the process, but what she really needed was to get out and stretch her legs.

"How you doing?" she asked Alex.

"Fine." Alex cast her a sympathetic glance. "Looks like the Winchesters need gas again." She nodded up ahead to where the Impala was pulling off the highway toward a gas station.

"And I need coffee," Jody mumbled, rubbing her face. "Wait, didn't we all fill up at the same time?"

"That thing's a gas guzzler," Alex commented.

Jody smirked. "But stylish. Might as well fill up too while we're here." Even though a glance at the dash showed they still had half a tank.

Alex pulled her car in behind the Impala at the gas pumps and shut off the engine. All of the adults climbed out of the vehicles. "I'll get the coffee," Alex offered.

Jody nodded, already moving past the car to go check on Cas.

"Want anything?" Alex asked the guys.

"Coffee would be great, thanks," Sam replied with relief.

"Maybe a couple breakfast burritos," Dean added.

Alex nodded and headed into the mart.

Jody opened the backdoor and crouched down to see Cas. He was awake, but his eyes were bleary, and when she felt his forehead, he had a touch of fever again. "Hey, Bug, how are you feeling?"

"Tired."

Dean nudged Jody's arm, and she looked up.

"His breathing is getting more labored," he said quietly.

Jody's heart clenched. The mom part of her wanted to stop, find a motel and tuck Cas into bed instead of forcing him to continue on the road in the uncomfortable car seat. But that mom side was equally terrified that if they delayed, it might be too late by the time they arrived in Washington.

"I found a home health supply store in this town," Sam spoke up, scrolling through something on his phone. "We can get an oxygen concentrator for not too much."

Jody's lips thinned. They'd be paying for it with stolen credit cards, but at this point, she had bigger priorities than worrying about fraud. "That'd probably be a good idea."

She went to fill up Alex's car while Dean did the same to the Impala. Alex came back out with coffee and breakfast, and Sam asked her if she minded driving him to the store, which of course she didn't. Jody stayed behind with Cas and Dean, moving the Impala around to the side of the gas station to park and wait.

Jody managed to ply Cas with some water and Children's Tylenol, but Dean was right, his breathing was much more strained than yesterday. Neither she nor Dean could get him to eat some crackers, and he slipped into a restless sleep.

Jody ran both hands over her hair. They were halfway to Washington, and she worried the trip was taking its toll on Cas.

"Did he sleep most of the time?" she asked.

"Mostly," Dean replied. "Played some I Spy."

Jody smiled. She'd been somewhat reluctant to let Cas out of her sight, not that she didn't trust the Winchesters, of course. But she also knew it'd probably be good for them to spend some more time with Cas, get to know him. No matter…no matter what happened, she didn't want them to regret not having this chance.

"I was selfish before," Dean said softly.

Jody frowned, but waited for him to elaborate.

His eyes glistened as he stared through the car window at their sleeping passenger. "All I wanted was Cas back the way he was, and I'd still give anything for that. But- now all I care about is him being alive and safe."

Jody reached out and squeezed his arm in sympathy. "That's not selfish; it's normal."

"And maybe Cas is better off this way," Dean went on. "I mean, not sick, but away from me, away from us. He's died so many times already, been tortured, lost his grace. And if I got him back, the way he was, he'd throw himself right back into the fight, and die again down the line. So maybe this is better—"

"Hey," Jody said firmly. "None of us can say whether this is better or not. Castiel, he wanted to be in the fight with you, wanted to protect people and the world. To him, that was better than anything else. And this Cas…he wants a pony and to go to school. It's not 'better,' it just is. And I'll tell you something else," she added sternly when Dean opened his mouth to respond. "'Better' in either situation is him knowing you and Sam."

"You sure about that?" he replied gruffly.

"Yes." Jody crossed her arms. "The same way my life is better for knowing you guys. And Alex's. And Claire's. Yeah, we've all gone through some rough spots, but I have never once regretted knowing you boys."

"Pretty sure Claire had her moments," Dean muttered.

"She was an angsty teenager; what do you expect?"

Dean fell silent for a moment. "Is that what's best for him, though?"

"I think so." She paused. "But I guess only you can decide if that's true or not—for the right reasons."

He looked away, and Jody didn't try to say anything else, not here. Right now they were racing to buy more time; then they could figure out what to do with it.

Dean suddenly stiffened, gaze narrowing sharply. Jody whirled back toward the window in time to see Cas twitching in his sleep. She yanked the door open just as he cried out.

"Cas." She hastily undid the seatbelt and pulled him into her arms. He jolted awake with a hiccough, which broke down into sobs as he clung to her neck. "Shh, baby, it's okay. I'm right here," Jody soothed as she rocked him back and forth in the parking lot with Dean watching. "Just a bad dream."

His sobs turned to hyperventilating, and Jody rubbed his back frenetically, trying to get him to calm down before he triggered a worse attack. Hopefully Sam and Alex would be back with that machine soon.

"Shh, it's okay."

Dean finally stepped forward and put a hand on Cas's shoulder. "Hey, buddy, do you know what me and Sam do for a living? We chase away monsters and protect people."

Cas's chest hitched a few more times, but his tear-streaked face turned toward Dean.

"And we're so good at our job, that the monsters are afraid of us. So whenever you're scared of something, just tell it that Sam and Dean Winchester are coming to get it, and it'll run away. Okay?"

Cas sucked in a few more ragged breaths, but nodded. His breathing gradually settled into shallow bursts, and he dropped his head onto Jody's shoulder. A few moments later, the rest of his body went limp as exhaustion took hold. Jody continued to rock him in her arms.

Dean gave her an aggrieved look. "You think his dreams are him remembering stuff?" he whispered.

"I don't know," she replied honestly. "Or they're just bad dreams."

Dean nodded solemnly. "Not sure which is worse," he admitted.

Jody wasn't, either.

Sam and Alex eventually got back, and Sam immediately set to getting the oxygen unit out of the box and installing the battery.

"Do you want to move Cas back to your car?" Dean asked.

Jody hesitated, could see the pain in his eyes, like he was reluctant to be away from Cas for a minute for the same reasons she was, even though he was trying not to let himself feel those things. But she nevertheless nodded, and he got the booster seat out of the back of the Impala to transfer back to the other car.

"Are you okay to drive a little more?" Jody asked Alex.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, giving Cas a worried look.

Once Dean got the seat moved, Jody gently set Cas down in it. His eyelids fluttered, but he didn't fully wake, and Jody slipped the oxygen mask over his face while Sam turned the machine on. Cas's tiny breaths fogged up the mask, but after a few puffs, the lines of tension in his face started to smooth out, and his eyes fully closed again, hopefully in a more restful sleep.

Jody climbed into the back next to Cas to watch over him as they finished the last leg of their journey, with all their hopes riding on it.