They had done everything they could. The hospital staffed worked with all they had to revive Bobby. It just wasn't enough. A nurse turned off the blaring heart monitor.
"Time of death: 7:03 pm." The doctor took off his gloves and tossed them into the trash bin behind him. He walked to the three men with a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry."
Sam's lips quivered as tears filled his eyes. He brought a hand up to cover his face. Cas closed his eyes and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Dean's lips stiffened as he looked at the doctor. After taking a deep breath, Dean turned and stormed off.
Sam and Cas turned to stop him but Dean ignored them. Cas let him go for now and turned to Sam. He had put his arm down and was looking into Bobby's room. Cas stepped up and put a hand on Sam's arm. "I'm sorry, Sam."
He sniffed as tears fell down his cheeks. "Yeah," he looked at Cas, "me too." He gave a weak smile. "Why don't you go talk to Dean? I need to talk to him." Sam pointed to the doctor.
"You sure?"
Sam nodded and waved him off. "Go. You're probably the only one he'll listen to anyway."
Cas doubted it, but he turned to find Dean. He walked down the hall a little and found him standing by the directory he had shattered earlier. He was like a statue, unmoving, gaze hard and blank. Cas moved in slowly and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. He twitched at the touch and quickly pushed his hand away.
Dean's lip snarled a little as he looked sideways at Cas. It was his warning not to do that again. "I'm sorry, Dean." Dean's eyes closed as he took a breath, making like he was about to speak. Instead he tipped his head back and sighed.
His voice came out in a hoarse whisper, "You know, he's been through so much. How many times has he been shot or broken a bone. He stabbed himself, paralyzed himself, but one bullet takes him out?" His throat moved as he held in a pained sob. He shook his head in disbelief.
"Dean," Cas stepped up beside him, "what can I do?" Dean didn't move. "Tell me what to do to help."
"You wanna know what you can do?" Dean turned to face him, sending a cold glare his way. "Can you go find God? Go get your wings back? Bring Bobby back?" Dean gave him a look of challenge, like he was daring Cas to say something about destiny or someone's time to die. But Cas didn't have anything like that to say. Dean already knew what his answer would be but he wanted Cas to say it and share in his helplessness.
"No."
Dean leaned in and practically hissed the next sentence, "Then what good are you?" With a last shake of his head, Dean moved past Cas and pushed the exit doors open and left.
Cas felt like Dean had physically slapped him. He had thought they had agreed on Cas's decision but Dean's threat of never forgiving him came back with a mocking voice. He rubbed the tears away as they formed in his eyes and walked back in to Sam.
The doctor had left and Sam was standing in the doorway to Bobby's room, watching as the staff got him ready to be moved. Cas walked up beside him. Sam looked at Cas, "Get anything?" Cas shook his head. "He probably just needs some time to let this sink in."
"So, what do we do now?"
Sam shifted on his feet and rubbed his forehead. "Uh, the doctor said that they'll release his body later tonight. We'll take care of it, I guess." Sam ran a hand through his hair. "I mean I guess we could have him cremated here. I don't know." Sam sounded close to tears again. "I don't know what I should do or what he even wanted."
Dean should have been here to help Sam make these decisions. Cas didn't know what he should do either. He offered the only help he could. "What did you do with your dad?"
"We took him, burned him."
"Don't you think Bobby deserves the same? A hunter's funeral?" Sam nodded and seemed to focus a little more, maybe just needed a little direction and encouragement that he made the right choice. "That's what he'll get then." Sam ran a hand over his face and sighed. "What's that?" Cas saw writing on Sam's hand.
Sam looked at his palm. "I don't know. You saw Bobby write them, but it can't be a phone number or a social security or coordinates. I don't know what it is." Sam through his hands up like he couldn't feel any more useless.
"Don't worry, we'll figure it out." Cas laid a comforting hand on Sam's arm. "How about we go outside and let them work." Cas pointed to Bobby's room.
"Yeah, okay." Sam turned and let Cas lead him out of the hospital. None of them had slept since they brought Bobby in and it was beginning to wear on all of them. The sooner they could sort everything out and sleep, the better they would all be.
Dean was waiting with the Impala outside the hospital when Sam and Cas stepped outside. The two of them walked over to meet him. "Dean, do you really think we should be driving this? Remember what Frank said about it?" Sam walked over to the passenger side.
"I don't care what Frank said. If the leviathans know what he look like, what does it matter if we drive our car. If they want me, I'm more than ready. Bring it on." Dean's voice was set with rage. He hadn't calmed down any yet. And neither one of them could expect him to be yet.
"They're gonna release the body later tonight, so we can intercept it then."
Dean nodded in understanding and slipped into the car. The three of them drove to a nearby motel. During the next three hours, Sam tried to talk to Dean which resulted in many heated fights. Dean didn't want to talk and share. Cas knew where he stood so he laid on an open bed while the brothers fought. It wasn't until fists flew that Cas interrupted. He pulled the fighting brothers apart and led Sam outside.
Cas managed to keep them apart until they drove off to get Bobby. They took his body out to a patch of woods away from traffic and set up his pyre. The three men stood in silence as the fire grew. Cas stood between the brothers to prevent anything from starting. Dean was holding Bobby's hat he had been wearing in the van.
When the fire had died down, the boys went back to the car. Dean put Bobby's hat in the trunk as a constant reminder of what they were fighting for and what could happen. They spent the night in the motel. Dean had made a point to take up all the space in one of the open beds. Cas knew he wasn't invited and figured that trying to slip in would result in bodily harm. Sam let him share with him as long as he didn't try to get too close. Cas didn't sleep well while trying to stay on the far edge of the bed so as not to touch Sam.
The next morning, Dean was up first and writing the set of numbers from Sam's hand over and over on a piece of paper. Cas slipped off to the bathroom to change. When he came out, Dean was staring at the paper and biting his lip, in deep thought. He glanced up when Cas walked out. "Pack up your shit. We're leaving soon." He still sounded tired. Cas wondered when he had woken up. Cas then noticed the mostly empty bottle of alcohol beside Dean. Dean noticed his look and rolled his eyes. "Don't even fucking start."
"I didn't say anything." He rolled up his dirty clothes and looked at a sleeping Sam. "Can't we let Sam sleep a little longer?"
"No." Dean stood, practically knocking his chair over. He picked up the piece of paper and smacked Sam's foot. "Come on, Sam, we need to leave." Sam stirred with a grumble. Dean picked his coat off his bed and slipped it on.
Sam sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"
"Time to go." Dean exited the room to start the car. Cas shrugged at Sam's confused look.
"I'll be out in a minute." Sam threw his covers off and stood up.
Cas picked up their room keys. "I guess I'll check us out." He tossed his clothes in the backseat before walking to the motel office. He heard Dean yelling from the car for Sam to move his ass.
They drove back to the cabin in Montana they had been using. Bobby had thankfully gotten most of his previously destroyed library copies moved here so they had a place to start in figuring out what the set of numbers meant.
After a day of coming up with nothing, Dean got frustrated and called up Frank Devero to hire him to do some research of his own. That first week was also explosive between the three of them. Sam and Dean were always on edge and bickering most of the time. Cas was met with nothing but malice from Dean. He either responded with a shouted 'Fuck you' or he was ignored entirely.
What troubled Cas more than Dean was Sam's behavior. He noticed that Sam was staring off more often or rubbing his scar on his hand a lot. Occasionally at night, he also heard shouts coming from Sam's room when he knew Dean was not the cause.
At the beginning of their second week of being in the cabin, Cas had tried to raise his concerns about Sam to Dean and was met with the silent treatment. When it came to him, Cas was fine with Dean being an ass but Sam could easily be having real issues and that made him mad.
Cas loudly pushed Dean's door open the day he had finally had enough. Dean jumped slightly at the noise but looked away when he saw who it was. "Dean, I need to talk to you." Cas was actually shaking with anger as he tried to keep his voice somewhat level.
"Go away, Cas." Dean was sitting at a small wooden table he had dragged into his room so he could work out of sight.
"NO!" Cas slammed his hand on the table beside Dean's hand. Dean looked up in surprise and irritation. "Are you that blind, Dean? Or do you not care that Sam could be falling apart right in front of you?"
Dean glared at Cas. "If he was in real trouble, he would tell us." Dean set his jaw in anger.
"Is that why he's yelling at nothing most nights? Why he seems to be hallucinating more often?"
"He says he's fine."
"Oh yeah that's reliable."
Dean pushed off the table and stood, going toe to toe with Cas. "Until he comes to me with a problem, I'm gonna work on this." Dean pointed to the numbers again. Frank hadn't responded yet and Dean was trying to make some sense of everything Bobby died for. Dean pointed to the door. "Get out."
Cas hesitated briefly but he knew Dean was set in his decision. He turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.
Another tense week past and all of them were getting stir crazy. The cabin was beginning to feel like a prison. Once in a while they went to eat somewhere but tensions between all of them made that almost worse than being stuck in the cabin.
Sam had withdrawn more into himself and hardly looked at Dean or Cas. Dean was starting to worry about him now, but Sam wasn't talking. Dean was also treating Cas like he was invisible. He never talked, touched, or even looked at him anymore. Frank still hadn't called and Dean was getting more irritated every day.
Cas approached Sam one afternoon while Dean was working in his room. "Sam," Cas sat on the small coffee table across from Sam, "how are you holding up?"
Sam shrugged looked over Cas' shoulder. "I'm doin' about as good as any of us I guess."
"Don't lie." Cas leaned into his line of vision only for Sam to flinch away. "It's Lucifer isn't it?" Sam looked up in surprise before looking back down. "Maybe I could help."
"No, you can't." Sam looked at his hands. "Nothing personal. I don't think anyone could help. You're already doing everything you can."
"I know it's getting worse." Cas leaned forward to rest a hand on Sam's. "Just, know that I'm here if you need anything."
Sam tightened his hand on Cas's briefly and smiled. "Thanks, Cas." Sam pulled his hand back and rubbed his forehead. When he stayed silent, Cas thought they were done but Sam continued in a quiet voice. "It is getting worse. I don't know if it's the lack of sleep or the tension in this place but it's so much worse." Sam took a shaky breath. "Of course the whole Bobby situation only makes it easier for him to mess with me."
Tears formed as Sam spoke. His voice getting louder and more panicked. "All he has to do now is show me Bobby. I see him everywhere. He shows me his death over and over and he kills him in awful ways over and over and I can't…I…" Sam dropped his head into his hands and made a frustrated noise. "I feel like I'm barely keeping it together. If anything happens to you or Dean I don't think I could take it."
He had expected as much. Unfortunately, Sam was right Cas couldn't do much to really help what was happening. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."
A few days later after a rather annoying breakfast, Cas had again become fed up with Dean's inability to let out everything he was bottling up and trying to drown in alcohol. It was just like what he had done after killing Amy and hiding it from them. Cas remembered Dean saying how he wanted to be set straight or punished for behavior like this. Cas finally felt like he could be up to doing that.
Dean and Sam were in the main room of the cabin. Dean was looking at his "Dick Roman Must Die" wall full of research connecting Dick to supernatural happenings around the country. Sam was looking through one of Bobby's books. Cas stood in the hallway leading to their rooms. "Dean," Cas waited for Dean to turn around before he continued, "come here."
"Why?" Dean turned away to look at the wall again.
"Because I say so." Cas raised his voice and put an unquestionable edge to his words. Dean turned with an angry look and crossed his arms, challenging Cas to make him move. "Now."
"Or what?"
"Or I will drag you in here by your hair." Cas curled his fists, completely done with messing around. Dean must have been able to read that on his face because he dropped his papers on the coffee table and walked over. Sam slouched in his seat and made sure to avoid any eye contact. He knew when to stay out of a fight.
Dean attempted to walk past Cas but as soon as he was close enough Cas grabbed him and manhandled him into his room. Cas ignored his protests and shut the door and threw Dean back a couple steps. "What do you want?"
"I want you to stop." Cas pleaded.
"Stop what?" Dean straightened out his tousled jacket.
"Stop with the drinking and the fighting and avoiding me and Sam."
"I'm not the only one fighting." He accused.
Cas licked his lips and took a step closer. "Dean, your brother needs you." Dean looked at Cas's feet with a sour face. "You're angry about Bobby." Dean's lips tightened. "You should be, but stop keeping it all inside. Do everyone a favor and just explode already."
"'Cause it's all my fault right?"
"No it's mine. Isn't that what you believe?" Dean rolled his eyes and tried to push past Cas. Cas took hold of his shirt and flipped him into the wall with a thud. Dean pushed Cas back. "Come on, Dean." Cas moved back into Dean's space. "I know you want to. Hit me, push me, scream, whatever you need to do." Dean looked him in the eye for the first time in days. "No matter what you do, I'm not leaving."
They watched each other, neither knowing what the other would do. Dean was angry. Cas could see that much. He just needed a little more motivation. "Bobby was like a second father to you, Dean." He saw the warning look in Dean's eyes but ignored it. "He's dead. Nothing you do now will ever change that." Dean took a defensive stance against the wall. "And I already made my choice…"
Dean growled and quickly flipped their positions. Cas held Dean's arms as he pinned him to the wall. Cas knew he wanted a fight so he tried to push him back. Dean twisted his arms and pushed his left arm into Cas's throat, effectively trapping him to the wall. They were breathing hard and glaring at each other. "Do you know what I see when I look at you, Cas?" Dean pressed his arm, making Cas grunt in pain. "I see Bobby die. Every time."
Cas tried to get a steady footing but Dean kicked his feet away, putting him completely at Dean's mercy. "I see his head gushing blood," Dean was getting angrier with every word, "I see him trying to breathe out his last words. I see him die!" Tears formed now and the pressure on his neck lightened up slightly. "Do you understand?"
Just managing the ability to talk Cas croaked out, "Is that why you can't be around me? Is that why you hate me?"
Dean paused. "Yes."
"Do you want me to leave, Dean?"
Dean searched his eyes, hoping to find some clue as to what Cas wanted him to say. "Does it matter? No matter what, you're not leaving right?" Cas nodded. Dean pushed off the wall and freed Cas. He could already feel the bruise forming on his neck. "I can't do this, Cas."
Cas stepped away from the wall. "Let me help you then." Dean moved away from Cas and ran a hand through his hair. Then, as if finally snapping, Dean upturned the small table by the wall and growled angrily. As if that wasn't enough, Dean picked up the small chair and hurled it into the opposite wall.
After a few rough breaths, Dean turned to Cas. "That good enough for you?" He waited for Cas to react but looked away when he got nothing. Done with this game, Dean moved past Cas without protest and took back his position at his wall.
Cas didn't know exactly what he had expected to happen but this was pretty close. He took a few minutes to calm down before leaving the room to join the brothers. He heard the last part of their conversation.
"Dean," Sam was standing by the fridge with a freshly opened beer, "I asked you a question."
Dean had been facing his wall and turned to face Sam, "Unless of course something happened to him. He can't get to the phone because a leviathan ate his face." He assumed they were talking about Frank Devero.
"Yeah, also a possibility."
"Maybe we should go check on him."
"Dean," Sam took a step forward in an attempt to get his brother's attention, "do you want to call Bobby's people or not?"
"Why?" Dean glanced at Cas. "Why is that our job?"
"Because, who else is gonna do it?"
Dean set his jaw. "I'm not callin' anybody. If you want to, go right ahead."
"I don't want to call anybody. You kidding me?" Dean turned away to look at the wall again.
Sam was about to take a drink when a phone rang beside him. They all looked at the source of the sound. It was one of Bobby's bags. Sam and Dean looked at each other. Dean shrugged. "Well I'm not getting it."
Sam tightened his face in irritation before setting his beer down and digging through the bag for the phone. Dean walked over as Sam answered it, "Hello?" Sam paused while the other person talked. "No, he's uh," Dean looked through Bobby's bag, "it's not but I'm a friend of his." Dean pulled out an old flask. "Right, well he's not here."
Whoever was calling was obviously looking for Bobby. "But, if you need help we can…" Sam pulled the phone back. The caller had hung up.
"Who was it?" Dean dropped the flask back into the bag.
Sam closed the phone. "Just some kid."
Cas sat in the open chair beside him. "For Bobby?"
"Girl Scout cookies?" Dean turned to walk back to his wall.
"I think maybe a hunter's kid. She sounded pretty scared." Dean picked up his own beer bottle and leafed through some papers while Sam opened the phone back up. "You know, I have caller ID. Maybe we should go find her. Check on her."
Dean looked up. "What about Frank?"
"Well, Dean, I think we should find this girl first."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Frank has been working on the numbers Bobby spent his last breath on, and you want to back-burner that?"
Sam pursed his lips and stared at his brother. Cas knew his opinion wouldn't matter much right now so he stayed quiet at the table. Dean threw him a look briefly before waving his arm. "Fine you two go check on Girl Scout. I'll find Frank."
"Fine," Sam started toward Dean, "but on one condition. If Frank is just spinning his wheels, then you bail out on crazy and meet us."
Dean nodded and lifted his beer to take a drink. The bottle was empty. "Thanks for drinking my entire beer."
Sam looked confused. "I didn't touch your beer." He turned to point to his. "Mine's right there." Cas sat up and looked at Dean's empty bottle. It had been almost full when he picked it up. At least, Cas thought it was. "You probably drank it without noticing."
Dean looked around the room. "Right." He didn't sound convinced but he had no explanation for it.
"Come on, Cas." Sam picked up a jacket and headed for the door. Cas gave Dean one last look before following Sam outside.
They hotwired a car and drove out to find the girl that had called Bobby. Sam knocked on the door to the rental apartment. Sam saw the peephole darken over like someone was looking through it. "Hello, uh we spoke on the phone earlier."
The lock clicked and the door opened as far as the chain lock would allow. The face of a teenage girl showed through, giving them both analyzing looks.
"Hi, I'm Sam." He moved over a little to let her see Cas better. "This is Castiel. You sounded like you needed help and we were in the area."
"How did you find me?" She sounded suspicious but not scared.
"Your dad is in Bobby's address book." Sam lied.
"So where is he?"
"Bobby?" The girl nodded. "He uh," Sam looked down at the floor before looking back up at her, "he passed away." Her face looked worried but softened a little. She must have been able to tell Sam wasn't lying. "Look um…"
"Chrissy."
"Chrissy, I get it. You don't let strangers in, but if your dad says you can trust Bobby you can trust us."
Chrissy sized them both up again before closing the door to unlock it. She opened it fully and lifted up her cell phone. "Just so you know, 911 is on speed dial, one button." She made the warning clear.
Sam and Cas nodded, "Yeah, note taken." This girl was smart. She moved aside to let them in. She locked the door behind them. They both took in the small apartment. Nothing seemed out of place and no obvious sign of being a hunter was left anywhere.
"So, you two are salesmen too?"
"Yes." Sam turned to face her as Cas continued to look around the apartment. "So, your dad is on the road right now?" Chrissy nodded. "Been gone a while?"
"He usually calls every night."
"How long has it been?"
"Five days." Cas stopped and turned to Sam who gave him a knowing look. That was a long time to be missing. Chances of him coming back weren't as high as they would like.
"Just you and him huh?" Sam made sure his voice didn't reveal his worry. She nodded. "I know how that is. Sometimes, on the road, crap happens so we'll help you track him down."
"Really?"
"Of course."
Cas turned to face Chrissy. "Did your father say where he was going?"
"He said he had a couple leads near Dodge City."
"Does he have a desk where he keeps his stuff?" Chrissy nodded and lead them to his bedroom on their left. Cas walked past the bed and stood by the clean desk. Sam turned to look at Chrissy. "Do you mind making some coffee?" Chrissy smiled and left the two alone.
"I'll look in here, why don't you check the rest of the room. He has to have something here about what he was hunting." Cas looked through his dresser while Sam shuffled through the papers in his desk. Neither were finding anything out of the ordinary.
Cas opened the closet on a hunch and moved the clothes out of the way. "Sam." Sam stood and Cas pointed to the back wall which was covered in maps and newspaper clippings.
"Bingo."
After looking over the information, Sam and as walked back out to talk to Chrissy. She was loading up the coffee maker "Hey, Chrissy, I think we have an idea of where to start, so we're gonna go." Sam held up a picture of Chrissy and her dad. "Can we borrow this?"
She looked like she was about to say no but then nodded, "Sure."
"Thanks." Sam dug in his pocket and pulled out Dean's cell number. "Here," he handed it to Chrissy, "here's a number in case you don't hear from me in a couple days. Don't worry, I promise I'll check in."
Chrissy looked at the number and sighed. "Don't say that. That's what my dad said." With a final nod and wave, Sam and Cas left the apartment.
They drove to check on the last victim that Chrissy's dad had had pinned in his closet. The coroner rolled the body out for them. "Matthew Havlena. Found in a ditch off the interstate."
"Cause of death?"
"The missing 5 pints of blood kind of helped. Puncture wounds on the femoral artery," he pointed to the man's right leg, "and carotid artery." He pointed to this neck.
"So what, some kind of animal attack?"
"Or a vampire." Sam and Cas gave the coroner blank looks. "Huh, usually that gets at least a chuckle." At their unamused looks, he left the room.
They left a few minutes later and Sam called Dean as they walked to the parking lot. "Did you find Frank?"
"Yeah, those numbers? Coordinates. Dick bought some land. We're headed there now."
"Wait, coordinates? I thought there weren't enough numbers for that."
"Apparently Bobby didn't get to the last one. Can you blame him?"
"No, I guess not. But you and Frank are just gonna drive up to where you think Dick is up to something?"
"Relax, Sam, it's a field not the Death Star. What's going on with the girl?"
"I don't think she even knows her dad is in the life. So far we've got three missing truckers and one bloodless body."
"Good times. Keep me posted."
"Yeah, of course." Sam hung up and he and Cas got back in their car and left for their motel room.
After doing some reading in his dad's journal, Sam figured out what they were probably looking for. He showed Cas the article as he pulled out his phone to call Dean. He got his voicemail. "Dean, hey so I think this guy was hunting a vetala. Dad took one down back in the day. Silver knife to the heart twist and done. His journal said they're maladjusted loner types, like to knock a guy out and drag him home and feed on him slow. So if Chrissy's dad got snatched he could still be alive. It would be nice to get this guy's dad home to her you know." Sam paused and sighed. "Well, Cas and I should be able to handle this. Just wanted to let you know."
Sam put his phone away and sat beside Cas. "Are you certain this is what's taking people?"
"It fits. We have to check it out."
Sam and Cas drove to a nearby restaurant and truck stop where the other men had last been seen. The manager directed them to a blonde waitress. They met her by the counter and flashed their FBI badges. "Excuse me, your manager said you might be able to help us?"
The waitress looked confused but nodded. "Okay, sure what can I do for you?"
Cas held up the picture Sam had taken from the desk at the apartment. "Have you seen this man?"
She shrugged. "Uh, I might have served him the other day." She looked around to make sure no one was too close before she leaned in to whisper to them. "I think he may have gone to talk to that girl out there." She looked out the window behind them. They turned to see a young dark haired woman dressed like a prostitute outside the restaurant.
"Thanks." Sam and Cas gave the waitress a card before going outside to talk to the other woman. "Hey, can we talk to you for a second uh," Sam looked at the woman's necklace that had her name, "Sally."
Cas held up the picture. "You ever see this man?"
Sally immediately looked nervous and looked away. She put on a fake smile and shook her head. "No."
"You sure?" Sam knew she was lying.
Sally smiled and moved closer to them. "It's not safe here. More private." She led them off to stand between a couple of the semi trucks. Her breathing quickened and she looked scared. "Something's happening around here. I'm afraid I'll be next."
"Tell me what you saw."
"I don't know what I saw." Sally looked behind them and fear lit up her eyes. Clicking of heels alerted them to someone approaching. Sam and Cas pulled out their knives and turned to face the sound.
The blonde waitress was coming at them fast. Sam launched forward while Cas stayed back to make sure Sally was safe. Sam yelled at them to run but stopped short. Cas turned to see Sally's teeth had grown the signature fangs of a vetala. Caught off guard, Sally easily pushed Cas to the truck behind him. The next thing Cas knew Sally had sank her teeth into his neck and his vision blurred and faded.
"No!" Sam tried to push forward but the blonde kicked his knee, making him fall to land on the hard concrete before she bit him. The venom pumped through him and he blacked out.
Dean wasn't sure how he had fallen asleep but he woke up leaning against a hard metal surface. He was sitting in Frank Devero's hidden trailer while he watched the surveillance they set up in the Wisconsin field Dick had bought. He groaned and wiped a hand over his eyes. "How long was I out?"
"About 36 hours." Frank was watching the multiple screens with a bored expression.
"What? Why didn't you wake me?"
"Not your butler. Come see this." Frank leaned on the desk in front of him.
Dean rolled his chair closer to look at the screens. "What?"
"This is where it gets good." Frank zoomed a camera in on a car where a couple was making out in the front seat.
"Frank, you need to get out more."
"Not that." He fast forwarded until the car left and a woman in a tan coat walked onto the field. "Check out Sarah Palin."
"Who is she?"
"Amanda Willer." Frank pulled up her records. "Surprise, surprise works for Richard Roman." A few more people walked up behind her.
"What's she doin'?"
"Being a naughty, bossy little girl."
Dean blinked a few times. "Man, I hate to ask for the non porn version of that."
"They're surveying, getting ready to build something."
"Build what?"
"Exactly. What? No idea."
"Well, how do we find out?"
"We watch. Patience, grasshopper."
Dean snorted. "Patience and me aren't exactly on terms."
"Well, then go out and kill something, or whatever it is you do to blow off steam." Dean glared at him. "What? You don't like my suggestion?"
"I don't think you're in a position to be giving suggestions. I think you are one tin foil hat away from a rubber room."
"Did I mention you look awful?"
"Yes, maybe because someone I cared about just got shot in the head. And this is like shoving a rock up a hill and…screw you."
"Here's my advice you didn't ask for: quit."
"What?"
"You wanna keep going?"
"I want Dick Roman dead."
"You're gonna drive yourself into the ground first. Good plan." Frank turned back to the screen while Dean stewed for a second.
"I'm not gonna quit. It's not even an option. I'm not gonna walk out on my brother." He thought about Sam and Cas. He hoped they were taking care of each other.
"Fine. Do what I did."
Dean laughed. "What? Go native? Stock up on c-rations? Right." Dean rolled his eyes.
"No, cupcake. What I did when I was 26 and came home to find my wife and two kids gutted on the floor: Decide to be fine 'till the end of the week. Make yourself smile because you're alive and that's your job, and do it again the next week."
"So, fake it?"
"I call it being professional. Do it right, with a smile, or don't do it." Frank's serious tone made Dean finally see this crazy hunter as another human who has known suffering like all hunters did. His advice made him think of the fight he had had with Cas last time they were together. Dean was definitely not being professional and Cas had been trying to get the anger and angst out of him so he could maybe be a little more professional.
A vibrating noise caught his attention. His phone was ringing in his jacket pocket. He stood up and opened his phone. He had a voicemail. He listened to Sam's message. "No, no Sam that's not right."
"What's the guff?" Frank leaned back in his chair.
Dean's phone beeped with an incoming call. He answered, "Sam?"
"No, who's this?" A girl's voice was not what Dean expected to hear.
"Who is this?"
"Sam told me to call if I didn't hear back from him." Dean felt his chest clench in fear.
"Where are you?"
Cas's ears were ringing as his head bobbed. His vision was swimming as he opened his eyes, trying to take in his surroundings. He thought he heard a faint voice but he couldn't quite focus on it. "Cas," Cas could see now. He was in some kind of abandoned storage room. "Cas!"
Cas jumped at how loud Sam's voice suddenly sounded. He looked to his left and saw Sam and another man tied to their chairs. Cas felt the rope wrapped around his wrists and behind his back. "How you feeling?" He groaned in response.
"He's a hunter too?" The other man, who Cas recognized as Chrissy's dad, asked.
"Yeah," Sam smiled, "he's a long story." Cas could see the patch of dried blood on Sam's neck and felt some of his own on his neck. "So are there just the two of them?"
"Yeah, they're a tag team. One of them knocks you out, the other one takes your wheels and dumps them somewhere." He looked at the two of them. "I'm surprised they were able to take both of you down at the same time."
"We thought there was only one. They caught us off guard." Cas shook his head. This wasn't a great rescue mission.
The father, Lee, looked pale and tired. "They've been draining you."
His voice was weak, "Yeah, they hit you 3 or 4 times and you're done. Let me tell ya, when they tap ya, you can't see, you can't walk. I thought they would kill me right off but they don't have to. They've got nothing to worry about."
Cas leaned forward slightly. "How many times have they fed on you?"
Lee looked at Cas with sad eyes. "Three."
Dean had driven faster than he had when Bobby was shot. He ran up to Chrissy's apartment. She let him in. "Did Sam tell you where he was going?"
"That's what I've been trying to figure out. What did you tell him?"
"He checked my dad's room."
"There?" Dean pointed to the side door.
"Yeah." Chrissy followed as he walked in the room.
Dean didn't see anything left out. He could feel the urgency of needing to find Sam and Cas now ticking away in his mind. He turned to Chrissy, "Look I really don't have time to hold your hand here."
"What are you saying?" She took a defensive stance in the doorway.
"I'm saying go wait in the living room. Your dad may not want you to know every single thing about him." She tilted her head and leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms. Sending the message that she wasn't going anywhere. Dean shrugged and looked around the room. He opened the closet behind him and turned the light on. It seemed normal, but he pushed the clothes to the side and revealed a mostly empty wall. All that remained was a corner of a map tacked to the wall.
Dean ripped off the small piece of paper and turned to find Chrissy standing close behind him with a smirk on her face. "Where is it?"
"You mean everything about the job my dad was working?"
"Sam said you didn't know."
"Sam and Cas seemed competent. So I figured, fine do what my dad always told me to do. Be a regular kid, don't say anything, stay out of the line of fire, let the adults work it out." She lowered his voice. "So much for that."
Dean pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Fine, alright just," Dean held out his hand, "hand it over. I've had a long, long week." Dean was a little surprised when Chrissy suddenly pulled out a gun and pointed it at him. He held his hands out and laughed lightly. "Alright, I get it. You're a tough kid." Dean leaned forward. "But I'm trying to get Sam, Cas, and your dad back."
Chrissy shifted in irritation. "My dad left and he didn't come back. Sam and Castiel left and didn't come back. If I give you the info, you leave and you don't come back."
"I'm coming back."
"I'm coming with you." She raised her voice and her gun.
"No…Hell no."
"I'm coming." Dean raised his eyebrows. "Or you're not going."
Dean huffed out a small laugh and smacked the gun out of her hand. She looked taken aback before rolling her eyes. "Ow."
"Now hand it over."
"I can't. I burned it."
"You what?"
"Lucky for you, I memorized it all first." She smiled, quite proud of herself. Dean knows he will regret this.
Cas pulled at his bindings, hoping he could get just a little leeway. They had been sitting in the storage room for over an hour. The click of heels made them all sit alert and Cas's hands to still.
Sally appeared before them with a smile. "Hunter day. All you can eat. How's everyone feeling? Good?" She looked at the three of them, trying to pick which one she wanted. "Strong and silent? Fine, I don't need much entertainment with my meal." She looked at Lee and walked over. She bent down and sniffed at Lee's neck.
Sam was about to say something when she moved past Lee and stood behind him. She ran a hand through his hair and put her face close to his previous bite. Sam braced himself for the bite but she stood up. "So many choices. Which one? Which one?" Sally brushed her fingers across the back of Cas's neck and leaned down to smell him. She hummed approval and pulled Cas's head to the side and exposed the unbitten side of his neck.
"The sad thing is," Sally whispered into Cas's ear, "I don't think you could survive any more after this one." Cas's head was still pounding from the previous feeding. He knew she was right. "But I just can't resist." She gripped his hair tight and sank her fangs into Cas. He vaguely heard Sam shout a protest as his vision went black.
Dean pulled the Impala up to the restaurant where all the previous missing truckers had last been seen. Chrissy was riding shotgun. "You ever actually work with your dad?" Dean glanced at the teenager to read her reaction.
"Sure, of course."
"No, I mean work. Not shoot cans in the woods."
"I mean," she looked at Dean, "I help all the time."
Dean smiled. "So, no?" Chrissy looked annoyed. "Well, right about now your stomach should be really knotted up."
"Not really. Look, maybe this was a lot harder for you when you were my age."
"Aw, you think you're a good actress. You're not."
"What are you talking about?"
"I hate to break it to you, but it's all over your face, you're scared."
"Stop treating me like I'm some girl. I've been training for this my entire life."
"Training is one thing. Doing is a whole different beast."
"Wow," sarcasm dripped from her voice, "you really scared me straight, thanks, Dean." They sat in silence a moment when Chrissy noticed something. "Why is that waitress getting into that truck?"
"I'm not explaining the R-rated crap to you."
"The front of the truck, not the back, Dean." Dean looked up and saw a blonde waitress drive on of the semis out of the parking lot. He started his engine and followed the truck out of the store.
They followed it a few miles before it parked beside an abandoned-looking storage building. Dean parked the car. "Alright." Dean held out a closed fist toward Chrissy.
She gave him a bitchface that rivaled Sam. "What century is this? No one fist-bumps anymore."
"Come on give it up." Dean shook his hand. "Good work." Chrissy stared. Dean shook his hand again.
"You're a dweeb." He kept his hand still. She rolled her eyes and lifted her left hand to return the fist-bump. Dean quickly caught her hand and brought up a pair of handcuffs from his right hand. "What the hell?" He cuffed her arm to the steering wheel.
"I've got an idea. How about you stay here."
"You jackass."
"Well, I'm the jackass that ain't bringin a kid in there, period."
"Why? I can do everything you can do."
"I'll bring him back. Trust me." Dean opened his door.
"Please, they're probably dead."
Dean sat back and shut the door. "You don't know that."
"It's been days. They're probably just a pile of meat." She shook her head in defeat. "I've seen it. People die, Dean. I watched my mom get torn to shreds. Let me go in there and kill them."
Dean could see a lot of himself in this girl, but he couldn't be responsible for her death. "No, I'm sorry."
"Oh," she shook her cuffed hand angrily, "you are such a hypocrite. How come you get to do it and I don't?"
"Because I'm a grown up." Dean sat and looked at her trapped hand. "Give it to me."
"What?"
"Your lock pick." She stared ahead blankly. "I will frisk you." She reluctantly took her lock pick out of her jacket and handed it over. "Thank you." Dean opened the door and got out of the car. He looked back as he walked to the door. Chrissy glared at him from the passenger seat.
He used her lock pick to get in the back door of the building. He walked in slowly, seeing dead bodies in a couple of the corners. The sound of female voices traveled to him.
"I'm so glad we picked up two new ones. This one is almost tapped out." Dean looked around the corner and saw the three men tied to chairs. A brunette was looking at Chrissy's dad, while the blonde waitress stood behind Sam. "You wanna finish this one off together?" The brunette ran her fingers through the dad's hair.
"Sure," the blonde walked away from Sam, "I'd love to." Dean grabbed the first thing nearby and prepared to attack the brunette as she turned toward him. He used the metal pipe he grabbed to knock the girl to the ground. The blonde looked up and charged Dean. He pulled his knife out. She stopped short. "Not so fast."
Dean slashed the knife forward but dropped it when she blocked his arm and pushed him back. Her hand closed around his throat. Dean groped at his side to a weapon and found a crowbar. He hit her with the metal bar, dropping her to the ground. He picked up his knife and kneeled down to kill the blonde.
"Dad, I've got you." Chrissy's voice made Dean freeze. He saw the young girl run past him only to be grabbed by the brunette on the floor. She made the teenager drop her knife and pinned her arms behind her.
"Let her go," she walked Chrissy back behind the others, "or little miss sunshine gets it." The men looked back at Dean. Dean stepped back and let the blonde vetala make her retreat.
"What were you thinking," her dad shook his head at Dean, "bringing her here?"
Dean took a few steps forward. He looked at Sam, he only had one wound and seemed alert enough. Chrissy's dad looked like he was on his last leg and Cas…Cas looked awful. He barely had his eyes open and all the color had faded from his face. Blood covered both sides of his neck. Dean felt a deep rage boiling inside at his appearance. He took another step and the brunette showed her fangs.
"Drop the knife." Dean stopped and raised his hand.
He lowered the knife slowly. "She's just a child. Let her go."
"Yeah, I don't think we'll be letting anyone go." She looked at the blonde one and smiled.
"We were going to kill daddy here," she looked at Dean as she walked closer to Cas, "but since we have her," she pointed to Chrissy, "we might as well hit you somewhere that hurts a little more." She pulled Cas's head up. His eyes caught Dean's but were glazed over from the previous bite. He knew he wouldn't survive another.
"What about him then?" Dean pointed at Sam. He could take another bite. "He's my brother."
Both girls laughed. "Except this one means just as much to you doesn't he? We see it in his blood."
"What do you want?"
"Nothing. Just your pain." With a laugh, she tilted Cas's head back and sank her teeth in. Cas made a strangled noise as he injected him with poison.
Sam and Dean cried out and Chrissy used the distraction to her advantage and pulled out her spare knife from her sleeve. Turning quickly, she stabbed Sally and killed her with a twist of her hand.
The blonde one released Cas at the scream of Sally and dove for Dean. Dean had picked up his knife and stopped the vetala in her tracks. Chrissy quickly cut Sam's ties and handed him the knife. Sam came up behind the girl and killed her when she turned around. She fell to the ground and shriveled up in death.
Chrissy was untying her dad when the brothers turned around. Dean ran to Cas and cut his ties. Cas slumped forward and almost fell off the chair. Dean scooped him up into his arms. "Sam, help her get him out of here." Sam was already doing so.
Dean ran as fast as he could to his car. "Hold on, Cas. You hear me. Hold on." Chrissy sat between her dad and Cas as Dean drove to the hospital.
It had been a close call. Lee was stable and Sam was fine, but Cas would have died if he had gotten to the hospital a minute later. He was currently in one of the rooms getting blood pumped into him. Dean had already talked to Lee and hopefully convinced him to get out of hunting before Chrissy was stuck in this life and was now waiting for Cas to wake up.
All the fighting and avoiding he had done over the past few weeks had been almost forgotten when he saw him in the chair barely hanging on to life. A pained noise got his attention. "Cas?" Dean moved forward and put a hand on his shoulder.
Cas opened his eyes slowly, the light burning his tired eyes. He remembered being held by the vetalas and could hear Dean's pleas for him to hold on but everything else was a blur. He then saw Dean's worried face leaning over him. "Dean?" His voice sounded foreign to him, distant and weak.
"Hey, you had us worried for a minute."
"What did I tell you, Dean? You'll never get rid of me." Cas tried to smile but couldn't quite muster the strength. "What happened?"
"Took the bitches out and saved the family." Dean pulled a small chair up to sit by the bed. "You know, the usual."
"Is Sam okay?"
"He's fine. He's off sleeping at the motel."
"Good." Cas looked at Dean and could see the worry and tiredness pulling at his features. "You need to sleep too, Dean. Go, I'll be fine."
"No," Dean waved a hand, "I'm good. I got a lot of sleep recently." He still didn't understand how he slept 36 hours straight.
Cas then noticed how dark it was. It had to be after visiting hours. "What badge did you flash to stay here so late?" Cas smiled at Dean's surprised look.
"I don't even know. I just grabbed one." Dean laughed.
"Thank you for staying with me."
Dean nodded. "Cas, I want you to know that…" Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"What?"
"You were right. I needed to get some frustration off my chest and I was not behaving very well." Dean looked at his hands. "I got a little obsessed and crazy there for a little."
"You think?"
"I'm a little better now. I promise."
"Better be." Cas tried to glare but failed. He moved his hand out towards Dean, it felt like a weight on his arm. Dean reached out and twined their fingers together. Cas felt a smile pulling his lips as he slipped into sleep.