Castiel looked around the house as he walked in. It seemed small, but looked comfortable. There was pizza and beers on the table in the room directed them to, as well as empty packets of Funyuns and bottles of Mr Pibb. One of the walls was decorated with several postcards from different places. Castiel thought it had a homely feel. As Sam entered the room a Labrador came and jumped up at the younger Winchester, licking his face.

'Hi Bones!' Sam said. 'We have visitors, look!' he turned to Dean. 'I found him in the backyard alone, and there isn't another house nearby, so I invited him in and he wanted to stay, so he did.'

'This is where you've been all this time?' Dean asked incredulously. 'Me and dad have been worried sick about you.'

'I was fine, Dean,' Sam said slowly.

'I can see that,' the elder brother said.

Sam turned to Cas. 'What are you doing here?'

'Dean called me down when you didn't turn up after two weeks,' Castiel explained shortly. 'He was worried about you.'

'I know, I can see that.'

'Come on, Sam,' Dean said.

'What?'

'We're going back to dad, he needs to know you're safe.'

'Dean, please no.' Sam's voice was so quiet at first Cas didn't think Dean could hear it.

Dean turned to look at his brother, who, even though he was tall for his age, had managed to make himself look so much younger than 16. 'I know, Sammy,' Dean said gently. 'But we have to, or he'll get worse.'

Castiel thought about it for a minute before realising he had an answer. 'I can make your father forget you were ever gone. Then he won't want to hurt you.'

Sam looked at him, eyes bright with hope. 'You can do that?'

The angel nodded. 'It might not work as well as Gabriel's, but this is something much smaller, so it shouldn't make much difference.'

'Okay,' Sam nodded as he turned to Dean. 'I'll come with you. On one condition.'


Dean drove for an hour in the opposite way he was supposed to be heading so that Sam could drop Bones off at an animal shelter. He hated having dogs in the car, Cas could tell, because Cas was sitting shotgun and Dean ground his teeth for the duration of the journey, not even singing along to Led Zeppelin when it played on the radio station they were tuned into.

Eventually, they got the dog dropped off safely and drove back to the motel.

Cas stood outside the doorway, making sure John Winchester was in there and asleep before he went in with Dean and Sam. He pressed two of his fingers to the hunter's head, editing his memories of the past two weeks. He turned to Sam when it was done.

'Just pretend nothing happened, and you've been here the last two weeks.'

'Shall do,' Sam smiled. 'Thank you so much, Cas.'

'Yeah, thanks Cas,' Dean said, smiling too.

'You're both welcome.'

Castiel didn't say goodbye as he flew off to Heaven.


Sam turned to look at Dean. 'What happened between you two?'

'You don't even want to know,' Dean replied.