I'm working with advanced knowledge of the plot here...I'd seen Lucifer Rising before I was halfway done with this. Therefore, this chapter does contain some rather important spoilers for the last half of the season, starting from On the Head of a Pin. If you don't want to be spoiled yet, skip over Sam and Ruby's scene at the bottom.

Dean found himself jerked forcibly back to the present – the room, the night, the bed, the angel. Castiel still sat across from him, looking nearly as startled as Dean was. Both of them looked towards the door to see Crowley standing there, looking harassed.

"You!" he said, pointing at Castiel. Castiel frowned at being addressed by a demon. "You…angel! Castiel!" He quickly closed the door behind him, as if wary of pursuit. "For His sake, we've been looking everywhere, you scruffy little…"

"What do you want, Crowley?" asked Castiel, his voice hard enough to cut steel.

Running a hand distractedly through his hair, Crowley crossed the room to sit down next to Dean. Completely ignoring the human in the room, he stared fixedly at Castiel from behind his sunglasses.

"Alistair. He's in town. Planning…something."

Castiel raised his eyebrows. "Alistair? You're certain?" Dean noted that the suspicion was suddenly gone from his voice. Alistair was apparently a matter to be taken seriously regardless of species.

"Give me some credit, here. I know a demon when I see it. I know Alistair when I see him. He's here. He's planning something. I just said."

"What is he planning, Crowley?" Castiel asked intently. His tone was still quite hostile, but he seemed to be taking Crowley seriously. Crowley, in turn, looked rather more relaxed as his chances of getting smited steadily decreased.

"What's any demon got on his mind these days?" The demon shrugged expansively. "Seals, Cassie. You really think Alistair would be showing himself if it wasn't to break one wide open?"

"No. I don't." Castiel tilted his head, suddenly thoughtful. "Does Alistair know that you know his plans? Does Alistair suspect that you are in contact with us? With Aziraphale?"

"Alistair knows I know about the Seals. Hell, he's the one set me to breaking them. He probably suspects me of something, the bloodthirsty bastard, but…well, everybody suspects someone of something Down There. Lucky for us, Aziraphale and I have kept off one another's radar since last time." He smiled a snake's smile. "Fortunately, he knows that angels scare the living daylights out of me, so at the very least he should be…surprised."

Castiel nodded slowly. "This is…good news. You think you have an opportunity to strike?"

Crowley held up his hands. "I don't strike. I tell other people…like you and Uriel…so you can strike. You lot have got flaming swords and heavenly wrath."

"Very well. This is…good. If your information proves to be accurate…we will remember this, Crowley."

"I doubt that. But I've been surprised before." Crowley got to his feet, looking suddenly grim. "I sent Aziraphale off to find Uriel, since you seemed to be the one who actually has some sense. We'll meet up back at his bookshop."

Castiel also got to his feet. "Very well. Let's go."

"Let's."

Dean could sense that both beings were about to vanish, and he took advantage of the momentary lull in conversation to finally catch their attention. "Hey!"

Crowley and Castiel looked at him politely. Dean stared back angrily. "And where do Sam and I fit into your plan?"

Crowley smirked. "Ah. Right. Well, to be honest, you don't."

"What?! You son of a snake, you cannot keep me out of…"

"Stop and think about what you're saying, Dean!" Crowley yelled over his indignant shout. "You willingly want to go up against Alistair? After your history with him? For His sake, for once in your life let someone else handle it!"

"Alistair's my nightmare," Dean hissed. "He's my problem…"

"Alistair is everyone's problem, Dean," said Castiel sharply. Dean ignored him.

"…he's interested in me, and I'm not going to let…"

Crowley snapped his fingers, and Dean felt something pass through his mind like a storm cloud, there and gone in an instant. It took with it his current anger, his evident tension, and his surface rage. There was still anger, tension, and rage hidden safely in the depths of Dean's mind…there always was, nowadays. But the Hunter felt a deep, heavy peace spread over the surface of his mind. Without consciously thinking about it, he sat back down on the bed.

"Good boy," said Crowley, smiling in satisfaction.

Dean tried to think. It was hard. It was as though his thoughts were having to struggle through a thick fog to make themselves heard. "What…the hell…did you do to me?"

"Forcibly cooled your heels a bit. You don't go charging off after Alistair half cocked, not unless you're really curious about what your small intestine tastes like. This way, you might actually listen to what I'm saying." Crowley leaned down a little, until he was looking Dean in the eyes. "Stay away from Alistair. He's my demon as much as he is your's. You want to help? Well, of course you do. You always do. Then do me this favor, Dean. Go find your brother and keep him off the street tonight."

Dean froze. "Sammy? Why? You think…he could be…a target?"

"He's a human…he was one of Azazel's…he's a Hunter…he can vaporize most of us with his brain…he's out with Ruby…and he's your brother." Crowley treated Dean to another one of his serpentine smiles. "What do you think?"

Dean nodded slowly, his head still feeling frustratingly thick. Maybe it was Crowley's influence, but the demon was making sense. He didn't like it, but Crowley was making sense. "Yeah…yeah. Gotta…gotta find Sam," he murmured. He made to get to his feet, but Crowley's gaze on him intensified and Dean found himself sitting back down.

"How long will that last?" Dean heard Castiel ask Crowley, but only dimly.

"With a mind like this? Five minutes, if I'm lucky. Fortunately, I know he'll go charging after Sam before he does anything else. For once, time is on our side." He seemed to pull a set of keys out of thin air and dropped them with a jingle on the bed beside Dean. "I'll even let you borrow my car." Crowley treated Dean to a cheerful wave. "Enjoy yourself. And tell Ruby I said 'hi'."

With that, the angel and the demon vanished from the room without a trace.

It was one of the most frustrating five minutes of Dean's resurrected life. Whatever whammy Crowley had placed on him was thorough. As the seconds ticked by, Dean had to fight just to get to his feet. By the time he managed to regain enough control of his motor functions to grab the keys Crowley had so kindly left for him, it was only because his mind was a solid mass of rage and fear for Sam. With those two emotions driving him on, Dean managed to make it to the door, wrench it open, and stumble out into the night as the last of Crowley's influence left his body.

He'd seen Crowley's car earlier that morning, when he'd been driving away from the bookshop with Ruby. A sleek, well-preserved Bentley. As Dean unlocked the door and slid himself into the driver's seat, he thought ruefully that under different circumstances he might actually have grown to like the demon. As it was, he let himself relax. There was just something so…solid about a car that could survive so many decades.

The gas gauge was pointing firmly at E, but when Dean turned the key in the ignition the car rumbled to life and music began to play.

"We are the champions…we are the champions…"

Dean suddenly found that he was grinning. As he pulled the Bentley out of the parking lot, he let himself sing along. Yes, indeed…in another time and another place, he might have quite liked the demon known as Crowley. Here and now, however…

The Bentley shot away down the street. Dean left with only a handful of weapons…they kept most of the heavy artillery in the Impala, after all. Ruby's knife rested on the seat beside him, along with a sturdy handgun loaded with rock salt bullets. If any demons came calling, Dean felt confident that he could at least make them pause long enough to run them over.

He left the few possessions they'd taken inside the hotel room inside the hotel room. There wasn't much – just Sam's laptop and Dean's phone. By the time Dean remembered that he'd left it behind, he was four blocks away, accelerating, and in no mood to slow down.

* * *

Ruby hadn't actually found herself a motel room, but Sam drove her to the one she'd had in mind in any case. She paid for the night, and before Sam knew it he had followed her inside.

The door had barely closed behind them when she was kissing him. As always, the feel of her lips on his drove nearly all other thoughts from his mind.

Even so, Sam made an effort.

"I should…" he murmured, in the few seconds Ruby pulled away for air. "…really get back. Dean…"

Ruby pulled away, though not very far. Sam, still a little breathless, stared at her. The demon was still smiling, which made him feel a good deal better about his brotherly obligations.

"I know," she said. "In times like this…you both need to stick together. He needs you to watch his back. Every demon and their mother's gunning for Dean nowadays, from all I've heard."

Sam nodded slowly. "Yeah…yeah. And Dean hasn't been…himself lately. I'm worried about him, Ruby."

"You probably should be. Hell, even I can tell you he's been acting strange, lately. When I dropped by to tell you guys about Aziraphale, he actually talked to me without keeping a hand on my knife." Ruby stared up at him, her dark eyes urgent. "You're right, Sammy. Dean needs you. Until he gets back on his feet, you'll have to protect him."

Sam sighed, and couldn't help but notice the way his breath fluttered a few strands of Ruby's hair. "I know." A little reluctantly, they pulled fully away from each other. "So, I should get…"

Ruby reached down, and pulled a short, thin knife out of her belt. Sam felt silent, his gaze suddenly riveted to the blade.

"Before you go…" she said softly.

"You really think…?" Sam began, but he found himself trailing off. It had been a while. A long while. He'd felt himself getting weaker, and coming down off the crest of power demon blood brought…

"Sam," said Ruby, her voice firm. "There are three angels in town, and we already know that something's killing them. Whatever that thing is, it's way out of our league. With Castiel on his shoulder, what do you think will happen if Dean gets in its way?"

Sam suddenly found that he did not want to contemplate that particular scenario. But he could not deny that Ruby was right. With three angels in town, they were bound to attract unwanted attention. And with Dean so far off his game…

He nodded. Ruby smiled reassuringly at him as she pressed the knife against her own arm and cut deeply.