A/N: Per a request, I have included, for your squee enjoyment, a laughing Castiel. I hope it's as fun to read as it was to write. XD Again, much MUCH thanks to all those who have commented on this story. You guys are awesome. ^_^


After some debate on the subject, it was decided that the best course of action would be for the brothers to take Castiel on the run, trying to stay off the demon's radar until Crowley returned with the information they would need to take their fight on the offensive. Bobby's house had been marked now and they knew it wouldn't be long until more demons came looking in the hopes of getting their hands on the angel. Supplies were running low though and the older hunter agreed to wait behind with Cas while Dean and Sam made a quick run for the salt and ammo they would need while hiding out. Taking Cas with them would prove an unnecessary risk no one was willing to take after the brutal assault the night before and everyone involved decided it was better for him to wait within the safety of the bunker until their return.

Bobby sat back on his cot with a sawed off shotgun perched across his lap and heaved a sigh as the door was pulled shut behind Sam, sealing him inside. He looked over at the room's only other occupant who was sitting on Dean's pillow, casting a longing stare in the direction the brothers had gone. His little head turned as if realizing he was being watched and he met Bobby's gaze evenly, his wings the only sign of emotion as they flicked once and then stilled. The grizzled hunter smiled and made his way over to where the infant was sitting, plopping down onto the mattress beside him. "Looks like it's jus' you an' me for a while," he said, to which the only response was a slight tilt of Castiel's head. "Not much of a conversationalist," Bobby continued though he knew full well he wasn't going to get an answer, "but then you weren't mucha one when you were big either." Castiel blinked at him silently. "You know, you got us into a whole new mess a trouble. I swear, every time one'a you angels shows up, it's bad news." A single wing twitched. "Don't you people ever show up to save the day or make people's lives better?" Bobby paused and thumped his head back against the wall. "Guess that ain't really fair, seein' as yer the only angel that's ever done anything good by us." He placed the shotgun down against the side of his leg opposite of Castiel and stared up at the devil's trap etched into the ceiling. "But it wouldn't kill ya ta stop by every now and again just ta say hello either, ya know. I know it'd mean somethin' to Dean and Sam. Seems like the only time you show up is when thing's are goin' to hell. Literally. Those boys look on you as a friend. Might be nice for you ta figure out if you feel the same."

Bobby trailed off as he felt a small hand close around his index finger and he looked down in time to watch Castiel's fumbling attempts to crawl into his lap. The angel's knee slipped as he climbed, sending the infant sprawling across Bobby's leg but he quickly pushed himself back up and tried again, his tiny wings fluttering with the effort. The hunter reached down and gently hoisted the child up so that Cas could get his feet under him but the minute any weight was put onto the chubby little legs, they faltered and Cas sank down to Bobby's lap. He scooted forward and cuddled into the warm flannel shirt beneath his cheek and any irritation Bobby might have felt in that moment melted away. "Ya did that on purpose," he said with a chuckle. Castiel looked up at him and blinked innocently in response. The hunter brought one hand up to cup the back of the angel's head and it struck Bobby just how large it looked by comparison. Thick tufts of dark hair jutted out between the man's fingers and he brushed them down, marveling at how soft they were. He had never had children of his own but he had always looked on John Winchester's boys as the closest he would ever get to having sons. Still, he hadn't been a part of their lives when they had been as young as Castiel was now and he found himself a little more wistful than he'd expected in the face of what he knew now he would never have.

Castiel's wings tucked in around him slightly as he relaxed into the affection he was receiving and Bobby brought his other hand up to support the infant further. It was to his surprise when one wing slipped down and the feathers came to rest as light as snow on the top of his wrist. He froze so as not to scare the infant into withdrawing the wing again and looked down at the delicate appendage with renewed curiosity. Thin feathers seemed to be sprouting right out of the skin where the wings attached, growing out into fluffy down at the upper edge and then giving way to longer flight feathers at the bottom. The wings felt almost weightless against Bobby's arm and he couldn't help wondering how long it was supposed to take before angels learned to fly. He looked up at the ceiling again and a thought struck him. Deciding that it couldn't hurt to try, he gently drew the child up into his arms and stood, moving out to the center of the floor. He slowly boosted the infant up above his head until his arms were fully stretched and watched the child's face intently for any sign of discomfort. Castiel hung limply for a moment in obvious confusion and then glanced around him as if seeing the room for the first time. Satisfied that he wasn't displaying any signs of fear, the hunter jiggled him a little. Castiel's wings flicked with interest and Bobby grinned. "Well go on and flap 'em, son. I ain't gonna let ya fall." Cas looked down at the sound of Bobby's voice but didn't seem to understand what was being asked of him at first. The hunter playfully drew in and then extended his arms again at which point Castiel gave a few quick flaps of his wings as if to steady himself. A slight smile curved the infant's lips and he drew his knees to his chest to peer shyly out from behind them. Bobby chuckled and repeated the gesture again. He was rewarded when Castiel fluttered his wings in a sure sign he was enjoying the game.

Bobby tried a third time but switched tactics by spinning in a short circle as he lifted the angel up. This time there was a brief but definitive burst of what sounded suspiciously like a giggle. The sound was so mirthful and innocent that the hunter couldn't help returning it with a laugh of his own. The pair repeated the game a few more times, each successive turn gaining another short burst of infectious giggles, until Bobby was dizzy from spinning about. He chuckled quietly and drew the infant back in, setting him against his shoulder, and was met with a bright smile from Castiel who tucked his head bashfully and curled under Bobby's chin. The hunter was fairly certain by then that an infant angel's laughter had to be one of the most addictive things he'd ever heard and he wondered if there was anything actually supernatural about it as he felt more light-hearted despite their circumstances than he had in quite some time. Considering that it was more than possible since so little was known about baby celestials, Bobby decided it certainly wasn't the worst magic he'd ever discovered and he flopped back down on his cot to wait for his head to stop spinning.

The sound of someone moving around in the house upstairs caught Bobby's attention a few minutes later and he instantly stilled, listening intently. He looked over at Castiel as a gauge of whether their guest was a threat or not but the infant didn't react the way he had when the demons had been about before and Bobby figured it must be Sam and Dean having returned from their excursion. He playfully ruffled the angel's hair as he waited for the pair to make their way down to him. He hated to admit it but a part of him wasn't looking forward to Castiel's leaving. Still, he couldn't deny that as much as the angel's current incarnation was enjoyable, it wasn't meant to last and they needed to get their heavenly friend back to normal as fast as possible. A thought struck him and Bobby cleared his throat uncertainly. "Uh…I don't know if you're gonna remember any of this when we get you back ta normal but…uh…let's just pretend this whole you n me gigglin' like two little girls thing didn't happen, ok?" He genuinely hoped that the angel would retain no memory of his time as an infant since it would prove rather embarrassing for them both and he wasn't sure how he would look the other man in the eye again if things worked out otherwise. His thoughts were interrupted with the squeal of metal on metal as the handle was turned and the heavy metal door swung in a few inches. It stopped there however and simply sat partially open with no sign of further entry. "Dean? Sam?" Bobby called warily. He set Castiel down on the mattress next to him and stood, retrieving his shotgun from Dean's bunk before cautiously approaching the door.

There was no answer from the room beyond and Bobby felt his stomach sink. Sam and Dean knew he was armed and knew better than to play stupid pranks on him in situations like this. There were simply some things that were unspoken rules among hunters and scaring another hunter, even as a joke, was frowned upon heavily. After all, it was never a good idea to startle a group a people known for shooting first and asking questions later. Bobby tightened his grip on the gun as he eased closer, his ears straining to pick up anything out of the ordinary. He glanced back to ensure that his young charge was still where he left him and, satisfied that Castiel hadn't moved, he reached tentatively for the door. With a final bracing inhale, Bobby yanked the door open the rest of the way and leveled his shotgun out into the room in the same heartbeat. It was empty. Bobby slowly approached the opening and turned in both directions to see if he could find the source of the disturbance but nothing out of the ordinary caught his eye. With one last look at Castiel, the hunter eased out into the room, carefully checking every nook and cranny as he went. He knew the demons couldn't get Cas inside the bunker but he didn't want Dean and Sam to come back and walk right in to a trap either. Step by step, Bobby cleared the room and, once satisfied that there wasn't anyone down there, he began to work his way up the stairs. The door at the top stood slightly ajar as well and Bobby paused once again to listen for any sign of someone upstairs. Silence met his ears and he edged up a few more steps. He never saw the man unfold himself from the small crawl space under the stairwell nor did he see the crowbar that swung at the back of his head until it was too late.

Bobby's body crumpled to the stairs and his attacker, a young man in his early twenties, stepped aside to let the hunter roll past him. The intruder, one Edward Vans by name, tried to still his shaking hands as he stared wide-eyed at the limp form resting at the bottom of the stairs. He was dressed poorly in torn jeans and a baggy t-shirt and his haggard appearance showed all the telltale signs of years of heavy drug use. He looked up with bloodshot eyes and swallowed down the urge to wretch all over the floor. He'd never killed anyone before but it couldn't be helped, not in the face of a man with a gun, and Eddie repeated that mantra to himself as he moved back down the steps and carefully hopped over Bobby's still form. He headed at once for the metal door set into the far wall and stepped inside to claim what he'd come for. There sitting still as a photo on the cot opposite him was an infant boy, watching him with bright blue eyes. Eddie looked back furtively over his shoulder to ensure his path was clear and then raced over to the child. Castiel craned up to look at the newcomer but he made a small uncertain noise as he looked around the man to where Bobby had disappeared. "Hey little guy," Eddie crooned in a shaking voice, "we're gonna go for a walk now, ok?" He reached down and took hold of the infant's arms but froze in place at the sight of the small glowing wings when they fluttered at the sudden touch. His eyes grew wide and he gulped a few lungfuls of air like a drowning man, unsure how to deal with this change in situation. "Please not now," he whispered as he squeezed his eyes shut. He'd had hallucinations before when the meth had worn too thin in his blood but he couldn't afford to let his mind play tricks on him at a time like this. When he opened his eyes again however, the tiny infant was still looking up at him perplexed by the strange man clutching his arms and the little wings were still there, glowing like they were made of sunshine.

Eddie blinked rapidly a few times and tried every trick he usually used to push away the hallucinations but the wings remained firmly in place and by the time he realized it wasn't all in his head, the little boy was squirming unhappily in his grip. Castiel tugged for all he was worth but he couldn't dislodge himself and after a few moments he stilled again. He was rewarded a moment later when Eddie released one of his arms but his relief was short-lived as a hand wrapped painfully around his wing instead. Eddie took the appendage in his grip, spreading it out and marveling at the glowing feathers heedless of the high distressed noises the tiny angel was making. He pressed the soft feathers between his fingers and rubbed at them to assure himself what he was seeing was indeed real, eliciting a quiet pained cry from the infant, and then turned the wing to examine the other side of it. Castiel pushed futilely at the offending arm and scrambled as best he could to dislodge himself but to no avail. He let out a strained whimper and his free wing fluttered about, slapping against the mattress as Eddie pushed him onto his side to get a better look. The sound of a shotgun being racked sounded from the open doorway and Eddie halted his examination immediately in favor of slowly looking back over his shoulder. Bobby stood with his shotgun at the ready, the entire right side of his face smeared in blood, and an expression of pure murderous intent on his face. "You shoulda made sure I was dead," he growled dangerously, "Now git yer filthy hands off that angel."


When Sam and Dean finally returned, Bobby met them at the front door and filled them in on what had happened. It took some convincing, several threats, and a little bodily restraint for him to keep the brothers from murdering the intruder on the spot but eventually he calmed them down enough to feel it was safe to let them into the room Eddie was being kept in. The young man had been tied hand and foot to a chair in Bobby's study after the hunter had thoroughly tested him for signs of demonic possession. Despite the fact that he had proven to be utterly human, Bobby had taken the care to place him under the devil's trap painted into the ceiling anyway and Eddie's arms bore the thin cuts where he's been tested for any reactions to silver. Dean stood across from him with his arms folded as he leaned back against a short bookshelf. Sam had taken to pacing back and forth with a look that said he was still trying to convince himself killing the man wasn't a good idea, a problem made only worse when Bobby re-entered the room a few moments later with Castiel only to have the angel take one look at Eddie and begin squirming in his attempts to crawl over Bobby's shoulder and put as much distance between himself and the intruder as possible. He let out a few nervous whimpers as Bobby pulled him back down and cradled him gently in the crook of his shoulder. Sam's jaw clenched tightly and he shot a look at Eddie that suggested he was willing him to implode.

Bobby, sensing that Castiel's reaction might cause Sam to lose what little grip he was maintaining on his temper, walked over to the young man and gestured for him to take the angel. Sam cast one last sidelong glance at the intruder before reaching down to heft the infant from Bobby's arms. His expression changed right away as he tried to comfort his squirming friend and he took great care to avoid the little wings that Castiel had sealed tightly against his body. The child crawled as far up onto Sam's shoulder as he could manage and balled himself up against the hunter's neck. Sam could feel the slight tremble working its way across the angel's form and he shot Eddie another look that spoke volumes about what he'd like to be doing at that moment. Eddie recoiled in the face of that open rage and turned to the other brother instead. If he had hoped for a better reception he was in for a great deal of disappointment. Dean was glaring holes through him and it was Bobby that seemed to be the only one in the room at that moment not intent on tossing him into a shallow grave. The older hunter stepped into his field of view, his shotgun held at the ready. "You ain't exactly in the best'a company right now, son. If I were you, I'd start talkin'."

"Who sent you?" Dean interrupted tersely.

Eddie's eyes shot from one person to another as he tried to work out exactly how precarious his situation had become. Judging from the looks being cast in his direction which ranged from utter disgust to downright homicidal urge he came to the quick conclusion that cowardice was the better part of survival. "He said he'd reward me," he babbled, "Said it was an easy job. Just go into the basement and pick up the kid. That's it. Said you guys had kidnapped some rich kid and he was working for the dad trying to get him back. Said he'd pay me part of the reward if I just went in and got him. The kid was in the basement, for christ's sake. What was I supposed to think? I wasn't gonna hurt him. I swear." The words spilled forth faster and faster until he was practically tripping over himself to get them out.

"YOU DID HURT HIM," Sam bellowed angrily and Dean could tell from the look on his brother's face that the only thing keeping Eddie in good health was the fact that any motion in the intruder's direction elicited thin unhappy whimpers from Castiel.

"I didn't mean to," Eddie said quickly, "I've just never seen someone with WINGS before, man! I mean, come on, can you really blame…me…" his words died as Dean took a menacing step forward, restrained only by Bobby's hand slapping against his chest. "I didn't know it was an angel, ok? I swear. He didn't say it was an angel. He just said it was a kid, not a freakin' angel!"

"Who said that?" Bobby spoke up, cutting off what was no doubt a less than pleasant response from Dean.

"T-t-this guy," Eddie stammered, "I don't know his name. He came into the shelter. Walked right up to me. Started talkin' to me. I'm tryin' to get off the meth and he said he could help me. He just knew things, ya know? It was like he knew about my life, knew about everything that had happened to me. What he said made sense. That if I just did this one job he'd reward me." Eddie was practically falling over himself in his rush to explain what had happened. He could feel the need for a fix burning in his veins, it had been too long since his last one and his profuse sweating was quickly flushing out what little was left in his blood. "I swear ta god, man. I don't know his name. I didn't mean to hurt the kid. I swear." The addict was on the verge of tears by the time he finished, convinced that he was going to get snuffed out and left in a dumpster.

Dean snorted in disbelief and stalked from the room to grab a beer. His urge to just shoot the miserable bastard was becoming overwhelming. Sam simply shook his head, his face still tight with anger. Bobby was at least willing to buy part of the kid's story though and he lowered the shotgun to hang by his side. "All right, say we buy this cockamamie story of yours. Where were you supposed to take him?"

"There's a storehouse, over on 3rd. He said just bring the kid there. He'd bring the dad and I could collect the reward right then. That's it. That's all I know." Eddie sobbed.

Sam sighed in disgust and looked over at Dean who had come to lean in the open doorway. "I swear they're getting smarter," Dean said unhappily, "They know they can't get to him in the bunker so they sent a freakin' lackey to do it."

"Yeah but at least we have someplace to start now," Sam piped up, "Maybe we can find out who's behind this."

"All right, you two boys go meet up with our mystery man but be careful. We don't know what the hell we're up against yet. I'll stay here with Cas and the idjit until the police arrive," Bobby sighed. "And boys…anything with wings shows up, you hightail yer asses outta there."