Chapter 32.

As Sam and Jack got back to the bunker, they were met by Paul. "Your angel just went out of here like a bat out of Hell." he said.

"What happened?" said Sam.

"No idea. I've never seen him drive that fast."

"He may have gone to Sarah again." said Jack.

"Maybe." said Sam, whose head was already full of far worse options.

"Should I tell Dean?" said Paul.

"Dean probably knows." said Sam, "Don't worry. I'm sure everything is fine."

When Paul had gone, Jack said, "This wasn't supposed to happen, was it? They were supposed to stay together and talk."

"It was always a risk." said Sam, "We can trace Cas if we need to, but I'll check with Sarah first." He called her.

"Sam!" she said.

"Hey, Sarah," he said, "Do you know anything about Cas leaving the bunker? Is he going back to your place?"

"Not that I know of, but he usually just turns up. Has something happened?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I suspect Dean said something. They've both been under a lot of pressure."

"Cas told me about the talismans." she said.

"He didn't happen to tell you how he really felt about them?" said Sam.

"We talked about a lot of things." she said, "I don't feel I have his permission to discuss any of them with any of you. No offence."

"No, none taken. I understand. I'm just worried about him. If he does go to you, could you ask him to call us?"

"Of course." she said, "You make sure Dean's alright."

"I will." he said.

"Oh, I was going to call you later and ask if I could come to the bunker tomorrow to get things ready for the party."

"Yes, of course." he said, "But don't drive here. It's a little tricky to find and you shouldn't be driving when you don't have to. When do you want to be picked up?"

"Oh, any time after 8 am." she said, "Whenever's convenient."

"See you tomorrow, then." he said, "I'll come for you or Dean will."

"I hope those too are fine." she said, "You let me know."

"As soon as I can." he said. He ended the call and turned to Jack. "We need to find out what happened. He texted Dean with one word, "Garage."

Dean arrived quickly. "What's wrong?" he said.

"You tell me." said Sam, "Cas just left, at speed."

"You saw him? Cas never does anything at speed. Where did he go?"

"Why did he go?" said Sam.

"I think I upset him." said Dean, "I talked too much. He may have thought I was saying something I didn't actually say. You know how he is. He seemed okay. I mean, he didn't like Bobby coming in and distracting me from our conversation, but he wasn't angry or hurt or anything, just mildly irritated. He even told me to eat something."

"So he felt ignored, he may have misunderstood something and he expressed concern for you? And none of that rang alarm bells?"

"What am I supposed to do? Follow him around, demanding to know where he's going?" said Dean, his guilt obvious in his anger.

Sam realised that he needed to stop making Dean feel worse. He didn't know what had been said on either side or what either of them had heard in their anxiety and confusion. "I'm not blaming you." he said.

"Good. Well, that makes one of us." said Dean. He took out his phone. "I'll call the dumbass."

Sam took the phone. "Maybe I should do that." he said, "Calling him dumbass may not help."

He used his own phone to call Cas, but there was no reply.

Dean snatched his phone back and sent a text.

"What are you saying to him?" said Sam.

"Come home." said Dean, "Call Sarah, he may go there."

"Already have. If he turns up, she'll try to get him to call us."

"He's probably fine." said Dean, "I mean, he's not five and he's not under house arrest. He can leave the bunker any time he likes. How fast was he going?"

"I don't know. Paul saw him." said Sam. He was already using his phone to check where Cas was. "Got him!" he said, "The good news is, he's still in Smith County. The bad news is, he's not heading for Ionia."

"Let's go get him." said Dean.

"What happened to 'He's probably fine.' then, Dean?" said Sam.

"He probably is, but he's not answering his phone and he's heading away as fast as he can."

"Chasing him may not be the best move." said Sam.

"He's stopped." said Jack. He took Sam's phone and zoomed in on the location. "I think he stopped for food."

"He doesn't eat." said Dean.

"Maybe he does when he's upset." said Jack.

"I've seen him upset a lot." said Dean, "I don't often see him eat." His phone buzzed. He checked the message. "It's from Cas. He says, 'Home soon.' What kind of message is that?"

"Exactly the kind you send." said Sam. He called Cas again.

"Hello, Sam." said Cas. He sounded tired.

"Why did you leave like that?" said Sam.

"I'll be back soon." said Cas.

"Dean didn't mean whatever he said or seemed to say." said Sam.

"How is Dean?" said Cas.

"Sorry for anything he said that you didn't like." said Sam.

"He didn't say anything." said Cas.

Dean took the phone from Sam. "Cas, you need to come back. Whatever you thought I said, you misunderstood." He gave the phone back to Sam. "Not one word. He's not talking to me. If anyone wants me, I'll be welding this chain to my neck."

"Don't do that." said Sam, "Let's just wait for him to come home."

"Can you two find a way to use the same kind of enchantment as Rhydian used, but permanently, on a person?"

"That's not gonna be easy." said Sam.

"Try anyway. Try anything. I need a permanent solution." Dean walked briskly away.

"I wish he didn't make that sound so final and fatal." said Jack.

"I may have miscalculated everything." said Sam.

"No, I don't think so." said Jack, "Cas says he's coming back. That has to be a good sign. You'd better call Sarah and tell her."

"Okay. Try to hang around with Dean. I don't want him doing anything dumb."

"You think I can stop him?"

"If you can't, no-one can. I have faith in you, Jack."

Jack turned to go, then turned back. "Are there any bats in Hell?"

"No, not that I've seen."

"I thought not. The opportunities for damnation must be fairly slight for any small mammal."

Sam looked at Jack, trying to work out what he was talking about, but Jack just smiled, turned and left the garage.