The pair were several miles outside of town before Cas broke the comfortable silence between them. "I appreciate being invited, but wouldn't you be more efficient looking into this on your own? I don't believe I will be of any meaningful assistance."

"Nah. Besides, you're good company." Dean dismissed.

"I no longer possess the abilities that once made me useful on such endeavors."

"Cas, we didn't keep you around just because you were useful, or an angel or whatever." Dean said, his tone a bit more serious. "And this is probably nothing. A quick look, a quicker inventory, a stop for some buffalo wings, and we're on our way home, easy."

"Well, I am glad to offer any assistance I may provide anyway."

"Well good. Now, reach into the glove compartment and pick out a cassette to play."

With lunch on the road, they made decent time, passing through states one after another. Dean had to give Cas credit, he wasn't used to life in a car the way Sam was, and yet he was probably half as fidgety. Still, a little over eight hours into the trip he could tell Cas was getting uncomfortable. It was small shifts in the way he sat, trying to get comfortable. The number of times he checked the clock.

With this in mind, without saying anything, Dean began looking for a motel to call it a night. Finding one, he pulled in, cutting the engine, and froze when he saw Cas' face. "We can continue on." He had picked up on the fact it was unusual for Dean to call it quits less than 12 or 13 hours into a trip.

Dean did his best to fake a yawn. "I'd rather not." He said, glancing sideways to see if he was convincing enough. Cas simply nodded so he decided he had sold the part. He got out briefly, getting a room before getting back in and moving the impala.

Castiel followed his lead, bringing his bag along with him as they entered the motel room. He looked over the room with a sort of awe that Dean found amusing.

"You've been in a motel before you know."

"It has never meant anything." Cas tried to explain. "A motel was always a place I waited for you and Sam to finish sleeping so we could continue. I never stopped to appreciate what it really was."

"What, four moldy walls and some questionable bedding?"

"A port in a storm."

Dean dropped his bag on the bed closest the door, watching Cas sit gingerly on the opposite bed. He mulled over Cas' words and acknowledged the truth in them, even if he would still continue with his jaded thoughts on motels in general. His entire childhood was one motel after another, and it seemed so normal until they found the bunker. Now he had a home beyond the impala, and motels just felt like a disappointing reminder of the past.

This motel stop was different than most however. Dean usually found himself heading to the nearest bar, intent on drinking and fraternizing until he could come home and pass out. Sam would stay in, do some research, and by the time Dean stumbled in, he would have gone to sleep himself.

This time the hunter found himself staying in for once. Cas suggested they watch another movie, and although Dean was fairly sure the angel was just suggesting that because he thought it was what he wanted, he didn't mind, and agreed. A pizza and a couple beers later, and he was surprised how much he didn't care about skipping his normal bar hopping routine.

"So, this storage unit was Bobby's?" Cas asked, addressing the reason for their journey for the first time.

Dean closed the laptop, shoving it to the end of Cas' bed where they both sat to watch it. He finished off his beer, setting the bottle on the nightstand. "Yeah. He had some all over… we probably only know about a handful of them, he didn't exactly have time to write us a list before…" He let the sentence drift off.

Cas looked sympathetic. He had no words to offer Dean, no way of comforting him of his loss. Dean had insisted in purgatory that he never bring it up again. Cas had attempted several times to approach the guilt he felt at his hand in the Winchester's surrogate father's death, as it was his fault the Leviathan walked free. Dean would always shut him down almost immediately.

Dean for his part never wanted to hash it out. In his mind, Cas had made a mistake. He didn't feel too able to judge after Sam and he let Lucifer walk free. They all did the best they could with the information they had at the time. The only thing he had trouble getting past was Cas bringing Sam's wall tumbling down, but then the angel had sacrificed himself yet again to fix it. Dean couldn't fault him anymore. But he sure as hell wasn't going to talk about it.

Dean brushed past it this time as well. "Yesterday someone broke into half a dozen storage units in this place. Probably just a random smash and grab. But knowing what Bobby probably had in there, it's important we check it out." Dean leaned his head back, a half smile on his lips. "Dad used to have one maybe half an hour from this place… funny how that works. Doubt Dad knew about it. Bobby wasn't too open with him."

"Bobby and your father didn't get along?"

"God no." Dean laughed. "Bobby would have killed him sooner than help him towards the end there… difference in opinion." He frowned, the gears in his head turning. "Dad's place got broken into too…"

"Seems New York isn't a very safe place to store things."

"Yeah…" Dean said absently, feeling a twinge of dejavu alongside a sliver of something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Something not right about the similarity. "Seems like."

"What was it Bobby and John disagreed on?" Cas pressed, oblivious to Dean's feeling.

"What? Oh uh… let's just say they had differing views on how we were raised." He looked up at Cas, noticing the turned head. "Didn't know what exactly the breaking point was for a while. But Bobby let me in on it one night, years later. Turns out Sam had used him for a mailing address for colleges, I guess Bobby helped him fill out all sorts of applications for school… scholarships…" memories pushed out his discomfort for a moment. "Dad found out, things got heated. Ended with Bobby pushing dad off a porch with a shotgun in his face. Course, dad didn't know it was too late. Sam already had his acceptance letter."

"For Stanford?"

"Yeah. Two days later Sam told us. Way they yelled at each other you would have thought the world was coming to an end right then and there. He told Sam if he left he left for good, and Sam did. Closing the door on Bobby and Sam one right after the other. Wasn't my best week."

"But Sam returned."

"Yeah, after I dragged him back." Dean stood, grabbing his laptop and walking it over to the table. He flopped back down onto his own bed, arms across his chest. "His girlfriend died and he walked out on college for good. Handful of times in his life he's had the chance at a normal apple pie life, but seems like I'm getting pretty good at fucking that up."

"Dean-"

Dean shook himself from his thoughts, his face flushing. He straightened up, tensing as he realized how much he had overshared. His walls snapped back into place, and he stood abruptly. "Eh, enough with the girl talk." He covered, feeling suddenly far too warm. "I'm gonna take Baby out for some gas. Want anything from the gas n' sip?"

"Dean-"

"I'll just get a variety of stuff. I forgot you don't know what road snacks you like yet." Dean finished, cutting him off. He grabbed his keys and walked stiffly from the room before Cas could try and back him into another conversation.

He slipped behind the wheel, his heart pounding in his chest, feeling utterly disoriented by what happened. He wasn't sure what had chipped away at his carefully crafted armor, but he wasn't going to let it happen again.

All thoughts of his earlier bad feeling forgotten, Dean put the key in the ignition and started out of the parking lot.

Unbeknownst to the hunter pulling away in the car, a set of cold and careful eyes watched from afar. It was almost time.