.-.-.-.-.
Bitten
.-.-.-.-.

The night had come and gone, and the nomadic wagon was being pulled steadily along the road. Inside, Dean sat across from Benny, his arms crossed and a worried frown marring his face.

'Are you sure?' Dean asked quietly.

'That's what he said. Before you scared him off,' Benny replied, biting back a yawn. 'Stands to reason he used the same stuff on the rabbit as he did the horse.'

Dean nodded and glared at the front wall. 'Right… So he's got some way of boostin' an animal's intelligence… Animals are bad enough, but what if he starts using this crap on humans?'

'Maybe Gabriel knows what was used,' Benny replied. 'Just be careful how you ask.'

Dean sighed, not taking his eyes from the closed window. How was he supposed to ask without sounding accusatory? He needed to find out if they had to worry about roaming experiments being left behind by Castiel—like a trail of mechanized breadcrumbs that had the potential of mauling unsuspecting travellers. He narrowed eyes, promising never to voice that particular thought around Castiel and Leviathan, lest they get an idea.

'I'm gonna… I'm gonna risk it. If it's that easy for him to alter people, then I gotta know,' he said as he stood.

He opened the window and reached out to tap Gabriel's shoulder. 'Hey, Gabe.'

Gabriel looked up, his expression a mixture of wariness and hope. 'Are you ready for that pick-me-up?' he asked.

'No,' Dean sternly replied before voicing his concerns. 'How's Cas makin' animals smarter?'

Gabriel shifted uncomfortably and looked away, putting all his attention on the screwdriver he held. He twirled it between his fingers as he tried to come up with the best way to word the answers for the inevitable questions that would follow. 'Erm…'

'I know it's an injection, but how easy is it for him to mix up a batch?'

'He…could probably get away with about a pint of…it…every two months,' Gabriel quietly replied. 'But it only takes about five to fifteen milliliters.'

'Dammit…' Dean shared a concerned look with Sam. 'And what about humans? Same deal?'

Gabriel spun around, kneeling on the seat to face Dean more easily. 'No! He would never do that!' he shouted. 'Who knows what the results would be with such a pure sample?!'

'Sample?' Sam repeated. 'Sample of what?'

Gabriel stared at Sam with wide eyes, and his mouth snapped shut. 'Nothing.'

'Gabriel, we're trying to help,' Sam said as kindly as he could, casting a pleading look to Dean.

Dean sighed and nodded in agreement. 'The more we know, the better we can help. And the less likely we'll be to accuse him of somethin' he didn't do.' He silently added that it would make it easier to recognise when Castiel did do something. If artists and some criminals had signatures, then how would a Maddy 'sign' their work?

'He… It's not… He's not responsible for…' Gabriel shook as he tripped over his words. 'You can't blame him for what Azazel did!' he said in a panic. 'He's a victim! Just like those kids!'

'Gabriel…' Sam touched Gabriel's shoulder, and the Maddy shrank away. 'Is he using what Azazel used on those children?'

Gabriel swallowed and quickly shook his head. He noticed that the wagon had stopped moving. He could probably jump off and snag the horse he had bought, but what then? He didn't know exactly where Castiel was, and he would only have what was currently in his pockets. So far, Sam and Dean had been reasonable—a bit quick to judge, but still willing to listen to reason and reconsider their stance. He would just have to trust them not to overreact.

'Not exactly,' he said quietly. 'It's… What he's using is a pure sample. What Azazel used is… It's a manufactured version. And from what little I've seen of his research, it's been corrupted with magic. Granted, he seems to have gotten it close to…right with the later batches of kids.'

'Got it right?' Sam repeated. 'He destroyed those children's lives!'

'Well, you don't hear about the later kids, do you? No one tearing out their eyes or eating their own intestines! I'd call that as close to right as you're gonna get,' Gabriel argued.

'So how did Cas get a pure sample of the Nova Serum?' Sam asked. His eyes widened just as the words left his mouth. 'Oh, my God,' he whispered.

Gabriel flinched and slumped down, cringing away from Sam. 'Not a very creative name, huh?' he mumbled, forcing a smile.

'The blacks veins… It was his blood!' Sam said in realization. 'That's why you found Cas barely alive. Azazel took every last drop he could, then he found a way to make more.'

Gabriel nodded silently. 'He found a way to separate the Madness from the Darkness… And Cas was pretty Dark to start with,' he said. 'He used magic to do it. The other bodies I found with Cas had the same sigil carved into them. He was the only one still alive…'

'But that's based on a banishment spell,' Dean said.

'Banishes Cas for a little bit, doesn't it?' Gabriel replied with a shrug.

'This is why you get edgy whenever someone mentions Azazel's special children,' Sam said. He lightly stroked Gabriel's shoulder and felt some of the tension in Gabriel ease. 'It's not your fault. And not Cas's, either.'

Gabriel nodded. 'I know that, but not everyone else is gonna see it that way. Cas… Leviathan… Their blood is what Azazel derived his new research from. The effects are kinda hit or miss.'

'And temporary,' Sam added.

Gabriel glanced up at Sam sadly. 'I don't think so. Those kids mighta stopped showin' signs, but…' He let out a weary sigh. 'Cas's animals are permanently changed. And the kids that went crazy? They mighta gotten better for a time, but they're all locked up again. Or dead.'

Sam breathed in slowly and looked at Dean in worry.

Dean grimaced as he held Sam's gaze. 'Just the early ones, right?' he asked carefully. 'You said Azazel managed to get it right, near the end.'

Gabriel shrugged as he picked at his screwdriver. 'They're the only ones you ever hear about. Don't know what the later kids would end up doing. Don't really know what Azazel was trying for, anyway.'

Sam nodded his head to Gabriel, raising his brows in question.

Dean shook his head, then relented with a sigh at Sam's pleading stare. 'Fine. Whatever,' he grumbled.

'Azazel was trying to manufacture dark Maddies,' Sam said, closely watching for Gabriel's reaction.

Gabriel nodded as he recalled all the notes he had seen. 'Yeah. That's makes sense. How did you figure…' He trailed off as he looked over to Sam. Sam had pulled off his coat and was currently rolling up a sleeve. He swallowed as a smattering of pale dots were revealed all along Sam's upper arm. He hadn't noticed them before, but in the bright sunlight, the tiny scars jumped right out. 'Oh. Oh… I-I have to go.'

'Gabriel! Wait!' Sam called out just as the Maddy leapt off the seat and hurried around to the side of the wagon. 'I don't…blame you or Cas,' he said, sighing in frustration. He glanced up at Dean, who rolled his eyes.

'Yeah, yeah. I'll get—'

'I'm still here,' Gabriel interrupted grudgingly as he climbed back up to his spot next to Sam. 'Do you want me to keep this from Cas?' he asked without looking at Sam.

'What?'

'He'll be curious. I know I am, but I'm not the one that'll want blood samples to look at. He'll probably pester you for a skin sample from the injection site,' he explained.

'Could he…fix it?' Sam asked slowly.

'You don't need fixing!' Dean insisted.

'Fix what? You're perfectly normal. Emphasis on the "perfect".' Gabriel looked at Sam from the corner of his eye and chanced a small smile. To his relief, Sam returned the smile. 'So, uh…if you don't mind me asking… What happened? What did the serum do to you?'

Sam looked at Dean, who shrugged. 'It… I couldn't think straight. Nothing was…simple anymore,' he explained. 'I wanted to take things apart. Machines, clocks…animals. Azazel gave us access to some basic stuff and a lot of rats. It was…I don't wanna say "fun", but we were completely enthralled with learning everything we could.'

Gabriel nodded as he listened. 'Sounds like the Madness. You still get the urges?' he asked quietly.

'No. It all went away. And then I started spending time around you,' Sam replied. 'No urges. No need to see what makes things tick. Just… Now, I understand. I understand what you're making and how you're making it,' he said, pointing to a cylinder that lay between them.

Gabriel stared at the cylinder in silence before licking his lips. 'So you knew what it was like to have the Madness, and you still went after Maddies,' he said bitterly. 'I wouldn't trust your food being left alone around me for at least a week.'

'Gabriel… The ones we went after… They stood out. They caused trouble. They weren't in their—'

'Weren't in their what? Their right mind? Non compos mentis?' he bit out viciously. 'Do you have any idea what it's like pretending to be normal? How hard it is for some of us? It builds up, Sam! If I didn't tinker all the Goddamned time, I woulda snapped already. I've come pretty damned close, but Cas has kept me sane. And it's getting harder and harder every hour that he's not here. I know you've noticed!' He slumped back, crossing his arms and pointedly looking away from Sam. 'So you know what it's like having the Madness. Fine. Do you know what it's like pretending you don't? What would it've been like if Azazel didn't provide you with toys? No rats or whatever to play with? What then? Would you have started cutting into your playmates? Yourself?'

'Gabriel—'

'I don't wanna talk to you right now,' Gabriel said as he slipped off the bench to the ground. He picked up his discarded screwdriver and cylinder, still refusing to look at Sam. 'I'm not leaving. I'm just going inside.'

Gabriel disappeared around the side of the wagon, and the window behind Sam slammed shut a moment later. Sam leaned his head back, wondering if there had been a better way to break the news to Gabriel. He looked over as Dean took the reins from his hand.

'Benny thinks Gabe'll be his normal, obnoxious self in no time,' Dean said. 'I'm actually impressed that he removed himself from the situation. Speaks volumes.'

'Yeah. I get it. He's trying. I remember… I remember how blinded I'd get if someone took away whatever I was working on. We'd all get irrational over little things,' Sam replied. 'After that… I thought that state of mind was just a constant for them. No way of controlling it. I wonder how many we turned in were just having a small tantrum…'

'The Maddies we turned in had been having their "tantrums" for more than just a couple days,' Dean argued.

'We were gonna turn in Gabe and Cas on our way out,' Sam said quietly.

'And judgin' by the way they handle themselves, I think they coulda weaseled their way outta that just fine. How many towns have we told the local sheriff that there were some suspicious signs around a store or house? How many times did we hear back that it was a false alarm and thanks for your concern? How many "clueless" shop owners thought some symbol or other would make their sign look fancy?' Dean rattled off. It happened too often for it to be a coincidence, but he hadn't really thought about it before—not when he hadn't met a Maddy that wasn't completely off their rocker.

'I guess. Somethin' Gabe said about the percentages… There are a lot more Maddies out there than we thought.'

'And a lot of 'em can probably pass as eccentric. 'Specially if they have money,' Dean added as he looked over at the horse Gabriel had bought.

'Those first days with Gabriel… I had no clue he was a Maddy. Thought he was just…evasive because of his brother,' Sam admitted.

'Then I wouldn't worry about it. He'll get over it and come 'round. 'Sides, we're headin' west. We're all gonna have to adjust.'

'So you think Gabe's right about the Territories being more…accepting?'

Dean sighed and shook his head. 'I don't think they have much of a choice. Winter's hard enough as it is. You got a Mad Scientist that can rig up an entire town with heat, and all they want in return is fingernail clippings? I think a lot of people would reconsider their prejudices.'

'Kinda like you, huh?' Sam said with a sly smile.

'I'm still very prejudiced,' Dean insisted.

'Reminds me of how you eased off vampires after…'

'Things change when you see it from the other side. Not sayin' they're all angels, but… I'll admit I was wrong.'

.-.-.-.-.

It was a week later when Castiel found himself on the side of a well-traveled dirt road, staring at a large barn. He had seen plenty of barns before, but never one that had been painted in chartreuse. There were cows in the pasture, and a quaint farmhouse was a little farther down the road.

He was eventually able to tear his gaze away from barn to look up the road in worry. In the distance, he could just make out the outline of a town nestled in the foothills of the mountain range that lay ahead.

'Where are we?' he mumbled.

Meg shook her head and whinnied in response.

'I guess we'll just have to find out,' Castiel said as he patted Meg's shoulder. 'I don't think anyone is going ask any questions here, so we can just head on into town. We'll stop if I see a sign that says anything different.'

As they closed in on the town, Castiel picked up the reins and held them loosely in one hand—the other still tightly gripping the saddle horn. There were no signs warning Maddies to be cautious. No carved symbols on fenceposts. No trees or flowers planted in any specific order.

They reached the edge of the town, but there was still no indication of whether or not Maddies were unwelcome. Castiel felt on edge as Meg carried him down the main street. A few townspeople would stop and watch him before turning to each other to speak in hushed voices.

'They're going to lull us into a false sense of security then kill us! They'll experiment on us! This is one of those crazy cult towns. I just know it!'

Castiel tried not to flinch as Leviathan's voice echoed through his head. He looked around, hoping to find a general store or another outlet for supplies. 'An apothecary!' he exclaimed in an excited whisper.

He nudged at Meg's neck and quietly asked her to head to the storefront. He slipped off the saddle and placed the reins over a wooden bar in front of the store. 'I'll take the bridle off right after we leave town,' he promised.

Meg tapped the ground with her hoof and tried to give Castiel a nod to hurry along. She was grateful that the one thing the human could actually learn quickly was how to bridle and saddle a horse. He had only needed to watch a stableboy remove and replace them once and was quite capable of doing it himself quickly and easily. Mounting and dismounting, however, still left something to be desired.

The inside of the shop was empty. From the back, a voice promised to be right out. Glass and ceramic jars filled the many locked cabinets and shelves that lined the store walls. A closer look proved that the clientele ranged from normal humans, witches, and even Maddies.

Castiel wanted to feel relieved, but Leviathan's voice kept whispering that it could all be an elaborate ruse. It certainly wouldn't be the first time someone had tried that tactic. He heard the shuffling of someone coming to the front of the store, and he grabbed a glass jar that held a floating pair of human ears growing from a fleshy mound at the bottom.

'What can I help you with, stranger?' the man asked, voice laced in suspicion.

He hoped Gabriel's ploy of playing an idiot would garner the answers he wanted without giving himself away. He turned to face the man, holding up the jar. 'What's this fo— Balthazar?!'

Balthazar stared at the newcomer, his shotgun raised and ready. Word traveled quickly in the town—especially when the locals thought someone had come to claim a bounty on their resident Maddy. He had been warned of a dark-haired man in a tan duster. He had been expecting a hardened man, bent on claiming a quick reward, not a confused young man with messy brown hair and familiar blue eyes.

'Ca… Castiel? God, you're alive!' He lowered the gun and took a step forward. 'When they said Azazel got you…'

Castiel looked down as he fiddled with the jar he held. 'I barely survived,' he said quietly. 'I would have died if Gabriel hadn't found me when he did.'

'So he's here, too?' Balthazar asked with a slight smile. 'Keeping an eye on you, huh?'

'Actually, no,' Castiel replied. He looked back up and frowned at the apprehensive look Balthazar was giving him.

'Are you on the run?'

'What? No!'

Balthazar caught the quiver in Castiel's voice and narrowed his eyes. 'Don't lie to me, Castiel,' he warned. 'And don't give me a reason to run you outta town.'

'I'm avoiding Gabriel,' Castiel admitted. 'It's...complicated.'

'I understand,' Balthazar said. He moved his finger to rest on the trigger, uncertain of how Castiel was going to behave. 'How are you feeling?'

'I feel all right,' Castiel replied. 'Tired from the ride, but that is to be expected.'

'Not looking to do anything…special with those ears?' Balthazar asked, nodding to the jar Castiel held.

Castiel looked down at the ears. 'No. They aren't exactly high quality. I prefer mechanized replacement parts. Quicker to make and easily replaceable if something goes wrong,' he explained as he set the jar back where he had found it. His thoughts went to Dean and the prosthetic he had made for him. He had expected Dean to have caught up by now. Maybe Dean still hadn't figured out the enchanted jewel.

'You sure?' Balthazar pressed. 'Thing is, the last time I saw you, you were elbow deep in the lungs of a corpse, going on about how you needed a large fish to fit them in.'

Castiel could vaguely recall being in such a position. A lot of blood and dead bodies. The need to rip into each one and find that one special piece to complete an experiment. The thought would have excited him once—Leviathan certainly perked up at the memory. Now, all he could see were flaws in his methods. There had been no control—only a desire to pull things to pieces in the messiest way possible before finding a new way to reassemble them.

He shrugged indifferently. 'There are better ways to create a terrestrial fish than…' He trailed off as he looked back at Balthazar and caught the wary stare. 'I'm not…'

'He thinks you're a threat!' Leviathan screeched indignantly.

'Well, we are,' Castiel mumbled.

'In that case, kill him. We have a knife. One quick swipe to the carotid, and he'll feel justified in his suspicions. You'll be doing him a favor, really.'

Castiel sighed in annoyance.

'Who are you talking to?' Balthazar asked carefully.

Castiel's eyes widened as Leviathan went silent. 'I didn't come away from Azazel completely unscathed,' he said slowly as he took a step back.

'What did he do to you?'

'I-I'm still me,' Castiel said. He brought his hands up in surrender as the gun was pointed at his head again. 'I mean… I'm…'

Leviathan knocked the gun away and glared at Balthazar. 'I don't appreciate such infantile weapons being directed at me!' He glanced to the side and back as Castiel reprimanded him. 'Shut up. The man's a lush. The last time we saw him, he could barely suture a wound. I highly doubt he can shoot straight.'

'That was actually because I was never trained in surgery, not because of my preference of beverage, thank you!' Balthazar shot back. He quickly took in the black veins that traced up the sides of Castiel's neck and face. 'And who the hell are you, anyway?'

'I am Leviathan.'

Balthazar warily eyed Castiel. He had been wondering if Castiel had really changed from the last time he had seen the younger Maddy, but now… He recognized the smug look and the holier-than-thou glint in Castiel's eye. The little boy who had so many ideas of how to make the world 'better' was definitely standing in the middle of his shop. The grin was new, though. 'No… You're Castiel,' he said. 'So, what… Azazel managed to suppress you or something? Make a more complacent slave, and this is you rebelling?'

Leviathan tilted his head to the side as he regarded Balthazar. 'You're the first to assume I'm the original personality,' he said as his grin slipped. Even though he shared memories with Castiel from the time before the change, he had never really thought of himself as being Castiel—and no one had ever treated him as if he were, either. He didn't know if he should be flattered or afraid.

'Probably because this is what I remember you acting like,' Balthazar replied. 'Am I gonna have to kill you or run you out of town?'

Leviathan shook his head distractedly. 'No, I'll be out of your hair soon enough.'

'Are you really running from your brother?' Balthazar asked as he moved to stand behind the counter. He felt a little better with the counter between them, but he certainly didn't trust Castiel not to jump over it and throttle him.

'Just far enough to make them work for it.'

'Them? Them who?'

'Gabriel and Dean.'

'And who's Dean?' Balthazar pressed.

'My lover,' Leviathan proudly replied. He faltered as Castiel reminded him that their relationship was currently up in the air. 'There was a bit of a, ah…misunderstanding, so I took it upon myself to leave. I inadvertently gave him the tools to find me, so he should be catching up anytime now. At least…I hope so. I'll find somewhere good to stop and set a trap, regardless.'

'A trap,' Balthazar repeated. From the gleeful way Leviathan spoke, he assumed Dean was probably the sort to enjoy a good chase. At least, that's what he hoped was going on.

'Mm, yes. Castiel thinks it's going too far, but I think Dean would enjoy the challenge,' Leviathan explained. His smile widened as Balthazar set the shotgun on the counter. 'He's a hunter, you know. Had his sweet, little heart set on turning us in until we won him over.'

'That's great. Wait. Hunter as in Maddy bounty hunter?!' Balthazar slammed his hands on the counter. 'You've brought a Maddy hunter down on me?!'

'He hunts other things, too. Dean Winchester. Of the Winchester Brothers.'

'You're sleeping with a bloody Winchester?!' Balthazar could not believe what he was hearing. Castiel, of all people, was not only sleeping with the enemy, but one of the more famous and successful bounty hunters out there.

'Not at the moment,' Leviathan glumly admitted.

'You know what I mean!' Balthazar shouted in frustration. He blinked as the black veins faded and Leviathan's annoyed frown dropped.

'I'm sorry. Leviathan gets…excited over Dean,' Castiel said, blushing.

'And you don't?'

'Oh, I do…' He coughed self-consciously and looked away.

'So what is it with you? Are you…you? Is, uh, Leviathan you? Which is the real Cas?' Balthazar asked. He had seen cases of a split personality. He had even seen a few people that had been given half a brain from another person. None of those instances included the black veins or the ease with which Castiel and Leviathan traded off.

'We both are,' Castiel said quietly. 'Although, I am the dominant personality.'

'What happened to you?' Balthazar asked, shaking his head.

'I… Azazel split me. He separated the Madness from the Darkness. I am the Madness, and Leviathan—'

'Is the Darkness. That's why he seems more like the you I know,' Balthazar finished. 'Gotta say… If this is the new you, then you're probably better off.'

Castiel nodded as Leviathan grumbled in the back of his mind. 'Is there somewhere I can stay the night? And possibly a place to perform a procedure on the horse that brought me here?'

'What kind of procedure?'

'Nothing terrible,' Castiel hurried to promise. 'I already explained it to her, and she's consented.'

'The horse consented?'

Castiel bit his lip and looked away from the disbelieving stare. 'Certain circumstances may have led her to having higher cognitive capabilities when compared to the rest of her species...'

'Do I even want to know?'

'Probably not.'

Balthazar sighed wearily as he set his shotgun on the counter. 'Right. Guess you should follow me, then.' He turned and looked to the open doorway leading to the back. 'Andy! It's all clear!' he called out.

A sloppily dressed, young man poked his head out. He was clutching an axe to his chest as he looked between the two Maddies. 'You sure about that, boss? He seems a bit shifty, to me.'

'He's…all right, I guess,' Balthazar said eventually. 'Castiel, Andy. Andy, Castiel,' he said, waving a hand between the two. 'Andy's my assistant.'

'You're training the next generation?' Castiel asked. He raised a brow as Andy sniggered. 'Or do you mean "assistant" in the way Gabriel would mean?'

Andy coughed mid-laughed and violently shook his head. 'No! I'm not that kind of—! I'm a… I have the Insight,' he said defensively.

'The what?'

Balthazar sighed heavily, shaking his head. 'One of Azazel's so-called "Special Children",' he explained. 'They catch on quick, and can parrot what's been taught. Maddy without the, uh…Maddy bit.'

Castiel's expression went blank as he stared at Andy's carefree smile. 'Oh. And how is that working out for you?' He tried not to let Leviathan's panic seep into him.

'He's going to kill us in our sleep! He'll want revenge!'

'Pretty well, now that I don't get the nightmares anymore,' Andy easily replied.

'I'm in a similar situation,' Castiel carefully said. 'Fortunately, I don't sleep much.'

'Great. Now that you two have met, I can show Cas the lab,' Balthazar said as he slapped Andy's shoulder. 'Hold down the fort for a while.'

Castiel followed Balthazar into the back of the shop and out a backdoor. They crossed the narrow alley and entered another building.

'Will this work?' Balthazar asked as he flipped a switch by the door.

Overhead lights flickered to life, and Castiel looked around, taking in the clean surfaces of surgical tables and wash basins. He nodded as he walked up to a large cabinet with a glass door and opened it. Cool air hit him and he smiled as he poked through the jars resting inside. 'This is perfect,' he said quietly, closing the cabinet and turning to face Balthazar. 'Although, I can't see you performing surgeries.'

Balthazar shrugged and waved at the wall behind him—it was lined with a wide selection of tools. 'I don't, but our doctor does, and we got a Maddy a few miles out that comes in about once a month to handle things that require more than a simple mixture,' he explained.

'Would they happen to live at that farm just east of town?' Castiel asked.

'No… That, uh…' Balthazar laughed softly as he scratched at his nose. 'That was my fault. Farmer's wife had a difficult pregnancy, and I mixed her up something to ease it. Side effect was a compulsion to paint the barn. But, hey! The twins were born healthy, so it's all good.'

Castiel nodded doubtfully as Gabriel's warnings to not stand out streamed through his mind. 'And you haven't had any trouble?'

Balthazar shook his head. 'Not yet. We get Maddies through here all the time, and they're easy to convince to contribute to fixing things up for a free night in the hotel. That's why we have electricity and hot running water through most of the town,' he said proudly. 'Any bounty hunters come through, and… Let's just say they don't last long before either the townspeople run 'em out or they suffer an unfortunate accident.'

He leaned against the wall as he watched Castiel move around the room, touching and examining everything. Black veins raced up Castiel's neck as he opened a drawer full of surgical tools, and Balthazar stiffened. He wondered just how much control Castiel had over himself.

The only two people that could control the Castiel he knew had been Gabriel and the brothers' mother. And, now, she was dead, and Gabriel was nowhere nearby. If he could keep Castiel in town for a few days (just enough to buy Gabriel some time to catch up), then he would rest easy knowing that there was one less power-hungry Maddy running around without a keeper. Or, at the very least, Gabriel could confirm that Castiel could be trusted to be on his own.

Balthazar pushed off the wall and moved to stand next to Leviathan. 'You mentioned mechanical replacements earlier,' he said, drawing Leviathan's attention. 'Think you'd be able to give someone a new leg tomorrow?'

Leviathan thinned his lips as he struggled to keep his eyes on Balthazar and not on the shiny scalpels in the draw. 'I suppose… But I really should be—'

'It's just that he's on his fifth replacement, and each time it's going necrotic sooner,' Balthazar continued. 'The Maddy I told you about has been grafting on old limbs. Latest one was grown from scratch for the man, but it went the same way.'

Castiel took over and nodded eagerly. 'He probably waited too long to have the limb initially replaced,' he said quickly, already formulating plans. 'Is it the whole leg? Would he be okay with losing it up to the hip?'

'As long as it works and doesn't need to be replaced in a year.'

'Here, I'll get to work on Meg, and you bring him over for a consultation. Give me about…five hours to finish with Meg. I'll have to take measurements before I make the prosthetic,' Castiel said, brushing past Balthazar.

Balthazar smiled as he nodded. 'I'll get right to it,' he said. He breathed a sigh of relief as the door shut behind Castiel. 'Now I just need to find a few more things to keep him busy.'