I was writing this non-stop yesterday. I've almost finished the next chapter, which isn't like me, I'm usually very lazy, and when I finish I update and then notice every mistake on the update page. I have a feeling there's going to be about 20 chapters in this story, but there's another one to come, which hopefully, will be even longer (because I haven't finished planning it, really). Many thanks to the kind words from airiesgrl and awesome chats with GrammarDemon!

Dean looked around the blank space he had found himself in. There didn't seem to be any signs of walls or corners, just a blank, white nothing reaching for the ether. Like in cartoon shows, when the characters entered the void. Castiel was there, standing in his trench coat, looking quizzically at Dean. Dean secretly loved that expression on Castiel's face, the way his head tilted, the curiosity blazing in his brilliantly blue eyes and his mouth ever so slightly quirked up in the corner. Dean strode over to him, but Castiel barely seemed to move, to register his approach.

'Cas. CAS!' Dean sounded panicked, his voice slightly breathless as he forced the words out. There must be something wrong, if Castiel wasn't reacting.

'Dean?' A light, amused, female voice spoke behind him. He turned, and saw Cassandra, her long, dark blond curls framing her chubby face, her blue-green eyes sparkling with humour.

'Cassandra?' He choked out. She giggled, and he swallowed hard. 'Hey. Hey. So what happened?'

'Nice to see you too, Dean.' She cocked her own head, and observed him as seriously as she could manage. 'I messed up, that's what happened. I met a guy, I thought he was into me, but I picked wrong. Again. I didn't see it coming, otherwise I would have called Castiel. He would have come.'

The both looked at the static angel.

'Was the guy Leroy?' Dean asked, folding his arms, still looking at his angel.

'Yeah. Already possessed. Siobhan was playing in her playhouse when he did it.'

'How did he miss her?' Dean sounded baffled. Cassandra sighed, taking Dean's hand gently. Dean looked down, then back at Castiel, whose expression was now more one of concern, his eyebrows knitted together and his lips slightly parted. Whatever was going on in this world - Dean assumed it was some crazy dream - Castiel wasn't able to function properly.

'I don't know the answer to that Dean. Maybe nephilim have a built in ability to hide from demons? Either way, I'm just glad she did.'

'I'm sorry you didn't.'

Cassandra smiled weakly, then leaned her head against Dean's shoulder.

'I am too. After everything Castiel did for me, and I died that way anyway. I guess you can't ignore your fate, can you?'

Dean 'hmmmm-ed' in response. Cassandra turned her head, her chin resting on his arm, not quite reaching his shoulder.

'Dean, you shouldn't keep fighting it. Not with him. One of the reasons I trusted Castiel so much was because I could feel the way he felt about you, I could see what he means to you in your eyes. I was never scared. Just jealous, that he had someone who felt like that about him. I was happy for you both.'

'No one's that selfless,' Dean responded, still watching Castiel.

'You are. Why can't I be?' Cassandra drew away slightly, and Dean stepped closer to Castiel. 'Dean?'

'Yeah?'

'Trust Sam with this sort of thing. He's not going to sabotage you, or make you feel like less of a man because you fell in love.'

Dean snorted, and Cassandra let go of him entirely.

'Your brother already knows. And he already feels isolated. So give him something to go on.'

She placed a hand on Castiel, who turned to look at her.

'Maybe you can get through to him?'

Castiel gave her a small smile, as she faded from view. Dean watched Castiel as he turned to look at Dean, a slight hint of Cassandra's humour in his eyes.

'I don't know why she thinks I'll be able to convince you.'

Dean sighed, as the vision faded, and his eyes twitched before he fully came around. Sam was already awake, moving around the room, packing up and sipping coffee in brief pauses. Dean rubbed a hand over his face.

'Morning,' Sam sounded cautious, like he was worried that he'd overstepped the mark the night before.

'Hey. Ready to roll?'

'Yeah, whenever you are. Coffee?' Sam offered him another cup, still steaming. Dean sat up and took the cup, downing it despite the heart of the liquid. Sam chucked a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a button down on Dean's bed and picked up the local newspaper, scanning it so that he could give Dean some hint of privacy as he got changed. Dean slammed his coffee cup onto the bedside table, and grabbed his clothes, heading into the bathroom.

Siobhan looked up into the face of the man who stood in front of her. He was wearing jeans, chucks, a t-shirt and a blazer, and his face was contoured with bumps and wrinkles. Like a puppy Siobhan's old neighbours had. His greying blond hair stood up in a quiff. He almost seemed nice, if he didn't scare her so much. How had he gotten there? He bent down to her level, and she scrabbled up into a sitting position, clutching Bear tightly and hoping that she would stay asleep. Bear wouldn't like this man.

'I know what you are, little one. And as adorable as you might be, there's still a world of wrong in you. So the best way to avoid me driving my angel blade into you right now is to tell me the angel and the human who made you. Who is your father?'

Siobhan was terrified. What was wrong with her? Did this man not like her wings, like Mommy kept warning her about? He pulled a long, thin, silver blade from his blazer and held it casually in front of him. Siobhan squeezed Bear as tightly as she could, her mind blank.

'Let's try this again, shall we? My name is Balthazar. What's yours?'

'Sh-sh-sh-' was all she could manage. Balthazar lowered the angel blade, bowing his head.

'Okay. Okay. We'll make a deal. I won't hurt you. Not now. But you don't want to sleep on this cloud. Come with me and I'll make sure you're safe. For now.'

Siobhan gulped, and curled up into herself, her skinny little legs drawing up as she tucked her chin in. Balthazar sighed, his head dropping. He'd never met a nephilim before, but surely they were made of stronger stuff than this? The little girl was almost completely coddled. He reached down and scooped her up anyway, trying not to react as she let out an almighty, piercing scream.

'Nononononononononononono!' She wailed. 'Mommy! MOMMY!'

Garth woke with a start. He was sure he'd heard a distant noise, something high-pitched and out of the ordinary. He looked over at Bess, who was sleeping soundly in the bed. He crept out and went to get a drink of water from the kitchen, drinking it slowly as he leaned against the sideboard. He shuffled sleepily back upstairs, and noticed an unusual breeze, coming from the room they'd temporarily given to Siobhan. The light was on, and bright, though Garth was positive that he'd turned it off. He slouched his way over, and opened the door, blinking in the daylight as he took the room in. Her imagination was strong, he guessed, or else she was projecting her dreams into reality. Or maybe it was something she did at home. Either way, Garth decided to leave well enough alone, that she'd probably return the room to its normal state in the morning. He turned back, and walked back through the door, shuffling along the hallway, and collapsing back into bed.