Dean blinked at his roommate before he could bring himself to shift his gaze to his shoulder. "Oh my God." As he gaped at the bright red handprint that was somehow still fucking there, Dean ran his right hand through his hair, letting out a deep breath. "How in the f-"

"What happened?!" Charlie demanded, her brows raised as she moved to Dean's side to better inspect the mark. "Is this a scar? How the hell did you get a scar like that and keep it hidden for so-"

"I haven't been keeping it hidden, Charlie, I just got it."

Blinking, Charlie stepped back and said, "Um, pretty sure you can't get a wound that bad and have it heal into a scar that quickly. And why is it a handprint?! How does that even-"

"It was in my dream…," Dean managed to say, if only in a tiny mumble. He cleared his throat, bringing his gaze up to Charlie's. "I got it in my dream last night." When Charlie did nothing more than stare at him with the same wide-eyed expression she'd had for the past minute, Dean sighed and shook his head. "You think I'm crazy."

"I never said that! I mean, it sounds a little crazy, yeah, but… I don't think it's any more crazy than your current situation, here." Charlie gave Dean a squinty look and said, "Wait, is this some sort of prank? Is that just a bunch of makeup? Because if you think I'm that gullible… I am."

Dean shook his head. "It's not a prank, Charlie. Touch it if you don't believe me." After a moment, Dean frowned and added, "But not too roughly 'cause I dunno if it's gonna be all sensitive or something. I mean, Cas said it wouldn't cause me any pain, but-"

"Wait, who's Cas?"

Taking a deep breath and letting it out as he moved to lean against the back of the couch, Dean crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Remember when I told you I was dreaming about someone?"

"I don't remember you saying anything about that."

"Oh. Well, I think I told you I was seeing someone, right?"

Frowning, Charlie asked, "As in dating?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "No," he said. He squinted for a moment, recalling the events that took place in his dream the night before, then added, "Okay, maybe, but… I was talking about how I told you I thought I was hallucinating. Like, seeing a guy in the garage?"

"Okay, I remember that," Charlie said with a nod. "Sam wanted you to see a doctor. I'm guessing you didn't."

Shrugging, Dean shook his head. "Didn't need to. He's real," he said, then gestured to his new scar. "This is his." He blinked at the mark for a moment as he realized what he'd just said. "He's real…," he repeated, speaking slowly, almost in a whisper, as though saying it any louder would make it untrue. "Cas is real."

Charlie let it sink in for a minute before she asked, "Who else knows? About Cas, I mean."

Snapping his gaze up to Charlie's, Dean said, "Just Jo. Well, and Anna, her girlfriend."

"Are you going to tell them?"

"I… I don't know. Cas warned me about telling people too much, or something. He's worried that someone will find out."

"Find out… what, exactly? And, come on, do you really think you're gonna be able to hide that from them, anyway?" Charlie gestured at Dean's shoulder before shaking her head. "I think you should have Jo come down here before she goes to work. I mean, this is pretty big."

Dean bit his lip before nodding. "You're right." He stepped forward from the couch and pointed toward the hall. "I'll go call her."

"And get dressed, while you're at it," Charlie called as Dean took off toward his room.

It took Jo all of about eight minutes to arrive at Dean's door. "Okay, what's going on?" she demanded. "You made hardly any sense on the phone. I could barely make out a word."

"All I did was tell you to come over," Dean said, letting his friend inside, and frowning upon seeing her redheaded girlfriend standing behind her. "Uh, hey, Anna."

"Oh, she had to come along because we're headed to work after this," Jo said, walking into the kitchen area and leaning against the counter. "Hey, Charlie," she nodded upon seeing the girl at the table. "Okay, so what's going on?"

Dean brought his hand up to scratch the back of his neck. "Uh…," he sighed, looking between the girls as Anna joined Jo's side. "Okay, remember the whole Castiel thing? The dreams, and how I kept seeing him everywhere?"

Jo beamed. "Yeah, I remember," she teased. "Let me guess… You met him? The guy who was in your subconscious or whatever? You finally asked for his number?"

"What?" Dean frowned. "No. I… I don't know how to say this, but… Jo, he's real."

Cocking a brow, Jo turned to her girlfriend, who stared straight at Dean with widened eyes. Looking back to Dean, Jo said, "Uh, do we need to have an intervention?"

Dean shook his head, beginning to roll up his left sleeve. "I can prove it to you," he said. "Just, uh… promise me you won't freak out?"

Charlie chuckled. "That's a bit of a high demand, don't you think? This is definitely freakout-worthy."

Rolling her eyes, Jo stepped forward from the counter and folded her arms over her chest. "Just show me."

Without another word, Dean rolled up the rest of his sleeve to reveal the bright red handprint. He was almost surprised to see it there, still not used to the new mark. Shifting his gaze to a wide-eyed Jo, he said, "Cas gave this to me last night. In a dream."

Looking from Dean's eyes, to his shoulder, to his eyes again, Jo blinked, her jaw dropping. "What…"

"I know," Dean said. "What the hell, right?"

Jo walked to Dean's side and reached out her hand before looking up at her friend. "Can I…?"

Dean nodded.

The blonde's hand was practically shaking as she touched the mark, sucking in a breath and stepping back when she realized it was real. She looked up at Dean. "It's real. How in the hell is that poss-"

"I don't know. But, Jo, I know now. He's real. I mean, I thought he might be, before, but… now I know for sure. I'm not going crazy."

Jo nodded, her eyes wide as she dropped her gaze to Dean's shoulder once again. "If you're crazy, we all are." She turned to her girlfriend. "I mean, you're seeing this, too, right?"

Anna did nothing more than nod, her wide eyes focused intently on the handprint.

"You've gotta promise me you won't tell anyone about this, okay?" Dean gave serious looks to each of the girls before adding, "Cas would probably flip out if he knew I told you about this." Squeezing his eyes shut, Dean sighed and shook his head before looking up at the ceiling. "Actually, he probably already knows. Wherever the hell he is, he seems to be watching me, like, all the fucking time."

"So… Cas is real…," Jo began, slowly. "He's real and he's… not human."

"What is he, then?" Charlie asked, seemingly excited about the sci-fi crap that had become Dean's life. "An alien? A spirit? A man trapped in another dimension?"

"An angel?"

Anna coughed as soon as the words left her girlfriend's mouth. "I don't think we should be talking about this. Didn't you say it would upset Castiel?"

"Yeah, I did," Dean said, running a hand through his hair. "The guy is paranoid that his 'superiors' will find out that we're together. Well, not together, but… I mean, actually, yeah, I dunno." He sighed and turned around to mumble, as quietly as he could, "Look, if you're listening in, Cas, I'm sorry, I'm just a little… This is weird, okay? Don't be mad."

"Are you, uh, talking to yourself, Dean?" Jo asked, stepping closer to her friend.

Spinning around, Dean let out a deep breath. "What? No, I was just… I was telling Cas not to get pissed at me, since he kinda told me not to talk about him."

"Then stop talking about him," Anna said, her voice firm as she joined Jo's side. "We should go, and pretend this didn't happen."

"Whoa, what's freaking you out so much, babe?" Jo shrugged. "I mean, this is all a bit weird, and, okay, it's crazy, but-"

"Look, you said yourself that Castiel isn't human, right?" Anna said, meeting Dean's gaze. "If he can control your dreams, he must be pretty powerful. And if he has people above him in ranking, and he is seeing you behind their backs, he might be in danger. You might be in danger. You need to stop talking about him." Everyone else stared at the redheaded girl with wide eyes. "I am just trying to protect us all," she said. "Don't tell anyone else about this."

Dean blinked at the girl before sighing. "You're probably right," he said with a nod.

"And don't talk to him like that. What if someone else is listening in?"

"Babe, you're kind of weirding me out," Jo said, frowning at her girlfriend as she wrapped an arm around her waist. "Let's get to work, and try not to freak out about this."

Charlie let out a light chuckle. "Yeah, I don't think there's a chance of me not freaking out. This is the weirdest thing to happen in… ever."

"Well, Anna's right," Dean said. "Don't talk about it out loud, not even to yourself."

"How do we know these 'superiors' can't read our minds?" Jo asked as she approached the door.

Charlie's eyes widened. "I don't want to have to wear a tin foil hat for the rest of my life."

"They won't read your minds," Anna said. She blinked, her voice cracking as she smiled and added, "I mean, I'm just guessing. What reason would they have to-"

"Okay, babe, I think you're starting to overthink this a little," Jo said. "Let's go." She opened the door as she told Dean, "We won't talk about it, don't worry."

As they exited the apartment, Dean blew out a puff of air. "Well, that was weird."

"What was?"

"Anna. She was being… I don't know, just weird."

Raising a brow, Charlie smirked. "Weirder than waking up with a handprint on your arm from some guy in your dreams who isn't even hu-"

"Hey, no talking about it, remember?" Dean said, raising a finger to his lips before smirking. "Alright, I'm off to Bobby's. I need to get some work done on Baby today."

Just as Dean stepped out of the car at Bobby's, Sam was on his way out of the house, carrying what appeared to be crumpled paper in his hand and wearing a troubled frown.

"Hey, Sammy," Dean shouted across the yard. "Something wrong?"

Sam startled, nearly jumping as he scanned the area and found Dean. "I'm fine."

After shutting the car door, Dean began walking toward his brother. "You sure about that?"

"I said I'm fine, Dean. Back off."

"Whoa," Dean said, throwing his hands up, "whoa. Calm down. You just look-"

"You've been treating me like some helpless little kid for way too long, Dean. Everything isn't your responsibility."

Dean blinked, taking a step back. "You are my responsibility. You're all I've got."

"Ever since Dad…," Sam sighed, shaking his head as he looked at the ground. "Look, I'm fine. I can handle this."

"What is 'this', exactly?"

"None of your damn business," Sam said. "I'll figure it out. I need to go."

"Where?"

"I have to…," Sam sighed, clenching his jaw. "I have to talk to Jody."

Dean's brows shot up. "Mills? Jody Mills?"

"Yeah, Dean. Jody Mills."

Folding his arms over his chest, Dean asked, "Is this about Dad?"

"…Not exactly."

"Not… What the hell is going on, Sammy?" Dean demanded, trying to soften his voice. "What's in your hand?"

"You're always trying to protect me, even when I don't need it," Sam said. "Well, it looks like you're actually going to have to this time." He shoved the paper at Dean's chest and let out a deep breath, looking away as he crossed his arms.

Dean began to feel sick as he uncrumpled the note, staring at his brother with thinned lips. He looked down at the paper and nearly dropped it upon reading:

You're next, Sammy.