Sorry there have been so many slow paced chapters lately - I get so caught up in the relationship building pieces of these stories that I forget that I need to get some action in here to move the story along.

Thank you for all the feedback and reviews - it is really encouraging and gives me great food for thought.

I updated Chapter 9 slightly to add some more context for the SPN threads; no game changers but just some thought sequences.

Stay tuned for some exciting action chapters coming up!

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The next morning came too early. Hermione was the first one up. Despite the fact that she knew moving on with their journey was the right thing to do, she was going to deeply miss the safety of this place and the comfort of this make-shift family they had built in a few days. She dressed carefully, taking more time than she normally did putting up her hair and choosing her clothes. She was still the first one to enter the common area. The lights were still off and there didn't seem to be anyone around.

"Dean? Sam? Cas?" she called softly into the dark library. There was a soft rustle of feathers a few feet behind her and she whipped around to face Castiel, her heart hammering a little.

"Sorry," she mumbled but wasn't sure why.

"Why? I wanted to see you before you left.," he said stiffly.

"Where were you?" she questioned, wondering how she had heard him.

"Somewhere along the shore of the Galapagos, watching fish - it makes me feel peaceful," he said softly.

"You heard me from the Galapagos Islands?" she asked dumbfounded.

"I will always hear you, no matter where you are," he said softly. Hermione walked up to the angel. There were so many questions that she had about this world of demons and angels, about how he had channeled all that power through her, about the after effects that were randomly leaking out. But there were more urgent matters pressing on the forefront of her mind. As she looked up into the crystal blue eyes of the angel, she could not think of how to say or ask what she wanted, which was rare for her.

Castiel just smiled down at the young witch and, not for the first time, Hermione wondered if there was some psychic abilities in angels. Before she changed her mind, she threw her arms in a tight hug around the angel, hoping that it said everything she couldn't find the words for. Cas stood there for a moment, almost like he was in another place. But he returned the hug, resting his chin on her head and breathing in the smell of her hair.

A few moments later a door down the right side hallway of the bunker swung open and Ron came ambling out. He was staring at his shoes and managing his bag, so he didn't see Hermione quickly release the angel, leaving him looking confused. Ron smiled as he looked up and tapped on Harry's door as he passed by it.

"Ready for this?" he asked Hermione, showing that he too was sad about leaving the Winchesters. All she could manage was a jerky nod. Harry came out of his room, closing the door softly, resting his head against the wood. Although he never really had a home of his own, there was a handful of places where Harry felt safe. Hogwarts; the Burrow, and now this old little bunker in Kansas. He sighed deeply and walked to join his friends. They stared at one another, resigned to their task and hating it even more than they had before.

Cas, having learned from past mistakes not to flutter into the boys bedroom, walked down the left hand hallway, knocking on the boys doors. They heard a jerky rustling come from inside Deans room and the soft thud of feet hitting the floor hard in Sam's. Their doors opened in unison and the brothers blearly walked out.

"What time is it?" Sam mumbled sleepily.

"About 5 am," Hermione replied, "We wanted to start early, kind of make up for the time difference."

Dean scrunched his face together, willing his consciousness to shake the sleep and focus on the moment. He was still in his jeans and t-shirt from the night before. Sam was also in his day clothes, neither of them had broken that habit from the road since coming to the bunker. Although Sam rubbed his face sleepily, he looked drained, like he had hardly slept at all. Ron looked at him with a concerned face but he just smiled. Everyone stood there quietly for a moment, unsure of how to say goodbye.

"Oh! Oh!" Hermione said, startling everyone standing there as she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a large gold coin, "I almost forgot. I made this last night! It's a galleon - wizard money - but you can use it to get a hold of us if you need us," she explained handing the coin to Sam, who took it with a confused look. "Normally you would just a spell it and the twin coin that we have," she patted the pocket of her jacket, "would heat up. I changed it so if you hold it over a lighter or a match, it will stay cool and ours will heat up. If we need you, yours will heat up," she finished quietly, realizing that she had assumed they would want to see them again but had never really asked.

Dean smiled as Sam handed him the coin to hold. Rubbing his fingers over the engraved surface with words that had to be in Latin and a face he didn't recognize, he pulled another old silver lighter from his pocket. Flicking it, he held the coin by the edges and let the flame lick across the surface. Nothing happened to the coin in his hand but as Hermione pulled hers out, the brothers could see it softly glowing yellow. Sam touched the coin in her palm and smiled at the heat it gave off.

"That is so cool," Sam said, unable to hide the childlike glee he still had for small things like this.

It made Dean smile, to see that silly glimmer in his brothers heavy eyes. He pulled his wallet out of his jeans and slipped the coin carefully in a pocket where the leather was thinnest.

"Thanks, Hermione," and he held his arms out. She hugged him tightly, squeezing her eyes even tighter to keep them dry. All around hugs and hand shakes were shared between these people. Having known each other only a few days, the trust and ease they felt with one another was unusual. But until there was a reason, none of them questioned it, holding tightly to this small comforting memory, hoping to add to it... some day...

After a few more moments, the trio smiled wobbly smiles at the brothers. They joined eyes and started heading for the bunker door.

Dean chuckled, "What, no magic swoosh?"

"No, I put a ward over the bunker. Any apparating in or out will be very painful and leave some rather unpleasant marks," Hermione smiled, winking at the brothers. They reached the heavy metal door, heaved it open, and disappeared into the dark morning. As the door creaked slowly shut Dean, Sam and Cas heard the sharp crack that meant the trio was gone.

The three stood there for a long still moment, each wishing that those three kids hadn't left. Dean worried about them- almost as much as he worried about his brother. Sam wouldn't admit it but Dean knew that taking that dip in hell hound blood had knocked Sammy off his game. His little brother tried to hide it and play tough but Dean had seen this kid go through enough to know when he was fronting.

There was something unique that Sam missed about each of the trio. He missed Hermiones curiosity and he wished she could have stayed because he felt he could have learned so much from her. Harry reminded Sam so much of Dean - willing to take on the weight of the world to protect those he loved. That made him worry about Harry more than the others. Ron had brought a lightness and humor to their company - Charlie was really the only other person that made his brother laugh like that.

Castiel thought warmly of the soapy smelling brown hair of the young witch that carried a piece of him away; figuratively and literally.