Author's Note: 1) I would say something but let's just say this'll cover more of what was mentioned in the opening authors note from the prior chapter and leave it at that. 2) Cast Off is the first song off of Louden Swain's second album. 3) Are you ready to kill me yet, Andrea?

Other: And, a continuing thank you to my beta for this story, vrskaandrea - any remaining errors are solely my own.

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Cast Off

Sam looked up at the sign reading Purgatory with a banner below it reading Grand Opening. Purgatory was owned by Ellen Harvelle and her daughter Jo worked for her. He, Dean, and Cas all knew Jo and Ellen and Jo's father/Ellen's husband William who had died when Sam was in his teens, but he and Dean had never really gone to The Roadhouse that William owned and Ellen took over after his death…they had been too young and Dean wasn't THAT stupid, and Dean was finally able to convince Ellen and Jo to move out to LA - he also fronted the bill for the move - after The Roadhouse was burned to the ground by some stupid college kids stunt.

Sam walked into Purgatory followed by Cas. He wasn't surprised to already hear Ellen's voice yelling something or the other and Jo's response, those two being matching levels of stubborn. He figured they were both in the kitchen. 'Sam!' Cas whispered surprised and Sam's head snapped toward where Cas was looking with wide-eyes and his mouth hanging open slightly.

'What is Benny doing here?' Sam whispered surprised, looking back at Cas.

Sam and Cas walked up to the bar. 'Benny, what the hell are you doing here?' Sam asked confused. 'I thought you were back at home with Dean!' He added.

The guy looked at Sam confused. 'My name's not Benny.' He clarified.

'No, you're not.' Cas admitted.

The guy looked curiously at Cas. 'Ah, I see…this Benny…he's your maker.' The guy whispered.

Cas stood up straighter. 'Yes, he is…which means you're a vampire too.' He whispered.

'Eli, my name's Eli. Wait! Are you referring to Benny Lafitte?' Eli asked curiously.

'Yes.' Cas admitted.

Eli laughed. 'Well, I'll be damned! I finally found the son of a bitch.' He said with smile.

'You know each other?' Sam asked curiously.

'Uh huh. Benny was part of the Old Man's nest, I was part of Lenore's. Our nest was captured by - well, it doesn't matter…I escaped after Lenore died to give me a fighting chance. I thought about finding Benny and having him help me rescue what few members MIGHT have survived the capture, but I spent so long running…watching over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't being followed, I didn't want to draw them to him. Then when I finally got over the feeling of being followed - and went to find Benny, I found out about Benny's maker being dead and the nest itself in shambles and that Benny had left. I considered tracking him down but there was just something that told me that it might be best if I stayed away. And, when I found out that there were a couple of his former nest mates that were tracking him…I completely backed off, I didn't want what happened to my nest to happen to him.' Eli explained. 'Does he not live in Carencro anymore?' He asked curiously.

'Yes, he still lives in Carencro and runs his restaurant, but his soulmate…my best friend and Sam's -' Cas began, indicating Sam 'older brother lives here in LA…so, he divides his time. The fact that he accidentally turned me and that means he feels responsible for it, also means he divides his time between there and here. Benny's soulmate's name is Dean, mine's Castiel, but everyone calls me Cas.' He added.

'I'm glad he's okay, and he found his soulmate…he deserves to be happy.' Eli said with the hint of a smile.

'Is he your brother?' Sam asked curiously.

Eli shook his head. 'No, but we look a lot alike so even though we were part of different nests…we…treated each other as brothers.' He began before looking down. 'I do feel bad that I never contacted him, though. He probably thinks I'm dead…or got captured with what remains of my nest.' He added.

'You could call him?' Cas suggested easily.

Eli shook his head. 'And, risk Miss Ellen's wrath? I'd prefer keeping my bartending job for more than a day…and I don't plan on losing my head THAT quickly.' He admitted.

Sam laughed. 'How about after your shift?' He asked curiously.

Eli just nodded.

xXxXx

'Safe.' Dean massaged his temples. Well, he was glad that after three weeks of being at home and four weeks and three days since the stroke that Chuck was able to form and understand basic coherent sentences, again…but his favorite word was still 'Safe.' The fact that that word coincided more often than not with Chuck then deciding that he needed to snuggle up to Dean was beyond him. But, what was honestly uncomfortable for him was that Benny didn't seem to mind. Benny had come back to LA after Cas' stunt of grabbing Chuck by the throat three weeks prior and had determinedly kept Cas and Chuck apart. Okay, so maybe part of Dean's discomfort was that he was horny and the little stolen moments between him and Benny were just starting to make him twitchy. Maybe he could borrow Cas' handcuffs, handcuff Chuck to a doorknob, and then come back for him once - no, THAT wasn't optional…just because he wanted sex and to have his blood drunk didn't mean he was going to tie Chuck up to keep him from…interrupting.

Dean looked down at Chuck, buried his face in Chuck's curls, and started laughing quietly, his shoulders shaking. 'What's funny?' Chuck asked curiously.

'Cher?' Benny asked concerned. 'Are you okay?' He added.

Dean looked at Benny over Chuck's head. 'Just thinking.' He said with a smirk.

'About?' Benny asked curiously.

Dean glanced down before returning his attention to Benny and quickly shook his head. 'Cher, you've told me what types of things you and Chuck talk about, I don't think there's anything you could say to make him uncomfortable.' He explained. 'Dean can't make you uncomfortable, can he?' He directed his question to Chuck.

Chuck looked up at Dean. 'No.' He admitted.

Dean glared at Benny, knowing what he was about to say was going to bite him in the ass. 'I was just thinking about tying Chuck up so that I could have some…uninterrupted time with you…and I know you've been missing the taste of my blood.' He explained.

Benny narrowed his eyes before his eyes went wide. 'Cher, I'll make you regret that later.' He said with a smirk. Okay, so he'd wanted more with Dean then the moments they'd been stealing, so sue him, he was only hum- a vampire!

xXxXx

Dean about jumped out of his skin when he felt something touch his shoulders, he'd fallen asleep sitting up with Chuck tucked up against his right side, and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi on TV, the fact that the TV was back on the start screen for the DVD wasn't lost on him, and neither was the fact that when he leaned his head back he was looking into the eyes of Benny who woke him up by putting his hands on his shoulders. 'What the hell, Benny?' Dean whispered.

'Just thinking.' Benny said, repeating Dean's words from earlier back to him.

Dean looked down at Chuck before looking back up at Benny. 'About?' Dean asked uncertainly, unknowingly repeating Benny's word from earlier back to him.

'Your self-control and how hard or easy it is to wake Chuck up.' Benny said with a smirk, his eyes turning red and his fangs and claws growing.

'Benny?' Dean asked with a squeak. While there was a secret thrill that ran through him at the implication of what Benny said, that thrill was mixed with a shot of fear that screamed at him to NOT go along with it. It wasn't hard to figure out which side he planned to listen to, if he'd ever REALLY listened to the 'fear' side of his brain when it mattered concerning sex…he would have never had sex to begin with Lisa, nor would his first time have been with Cas.

'You don't HAVE to, cher…you can ALWAYS say no, you know that I'd NEVER FORCE you to do anything you don't want to.' Benny explained as he leaned down, moving his hands to the back of the couch, and nuzzled the right side of Dean's neck.

'Yep…nope…fuck! Think Dean! Oh, who the hell are you kidding?' Dean thought to himself. 'And, why would I say no?' Dean asked breathlessly.

xXxXx

Chuck climbed over Dean to get off the couch. He knew that Benny was in the kitchen. He knew that Sam and Cas were still out at the bar. And, he knew that he didn't belong there with any of them…he wasn't part of their family. Quietly, he made his way to the mudroom to slip his shoes on and grabbed the keys to his car, Dean didn't want him driving, yet…but it was obvious that Dean didn't want him there, either…so, he walked into the garage, and closed the door behind him.

xXxXx

Benny's eyes narrowed when he heard the sound of a car - not Dean's, Sam's, or Cas' - and that meant…he was in back in the living room in a moment. Dean was still asleep but there was no sign of Chuck. 'Merde!' He snapped.

Benny put his right hand on Dean's left shoulder and shook him hard. 'Cher!' He said concerned.

Dean's eyes snapped open. 'What?' He asked drowsily.

'I don't know what's going on. I was trying to figure out what I was going to fix everyone for breakfast and the next thing I hear is his car leaving and I come back in here…and he's just GONE!' Benny stressed standing back up and taking a step back as Dean sat up.

'Fuck! WHY?' Dean snapped.

'I don't know!' Benny stressed.

'You don't think he was awake, do you?' Dean whispered, concerned.

Benny shook his head. 'I - I don't know. I can't honestly say I was really paying attention to his heartbeat.' He admitted.

Dean groaned. 'But realistically, what's the likelihood he didn't wake up when you had your fangs latched onto my neck? When you had your hand down the front of my jeans? Or when I twisted around so I could touch YOU?' He asked curiously.

'It's not very likely that he didn't wake up.' Benny admitted regretfully.

'But, why would that cause him to run off?' Dean asked curiously.

Benny honestly considered boxing Dean's ears…THAT HAD TO BE THE STUPIDEST QUESTION he'd heard in a while! 'Dean, Chuck's doing A LOT better than he was when he first got out of the hospital, but you know the same thing I do…there's a lot of the longer or more complicated sentences that he's still having problems with, and there's A LOT of cues he's still having problems picking up on. So tell me, if you have a few fucked up wires in YOUR head and the person you're basically sleeping up against is getting off on what their partner was doing to them, how would you react?' Benny asked curiously. Suddenly, HE was feeling bad because this had been HIS idea!

'I wouldn't have stayed there pretending I was asleep!' Dean said confused.

'But, think about what we were talking about in front of him…about us missing our time together.' Benny explained. And, he was feeling lower by the moment.

'We're both scum.' Dean admitted.

Benny just nodded in agreement.

xXxXx

Gabriel walked to the door, rubbing his right eye. He was tired, dammit! Why can't people leave him alone on his Thanksgiving break from filming…or fall break or…whatever the company wanted to call it? He was fully intent on wringing whoever was at the doors neck, but when he opened the door to a distraught Chuck his immediate thought was 'What's wrong?' but the one that stuck in his head was 'Shit, he can't be here!'

There was a thrill that went through Gabriel's head when Chuck clung to him but he quickly buried it. 'Ga…Need you. Safe. Miss you. Not loose you. Not go away…Please.'

'Fuck, Dean didn't tell him!' Gabriel thought frantically. And, knowing that Kali was standing close by…he didn't want to do this, not to his face, not when he was still messed up! Gabriel took hold of Chuck's wrists with his hands, and untangled himself from Chuck. 'Look, I lied to you…you're not my soulmate, Chuck. I don't love you. I NEVER loved you. You were just a good fuck that I never had to worry about committing to. You're just a drunk, Chuck…why do you think anybody would ever love you?' Gabriel said calmly. But, watching Chuck's face crumple, Gabriel honestly felt disgusted with himself…and heartbroken.

Gabriel watched as Chuck took a couple of steps back before turning around at the edge of the porch. 'Hey, Chuck!' Gabriel had been about to shut the door when he heard a woman's voice.

'Becky!' Gabriel said in disbelief as the door was shut. Gabriel noticed Kali standing with her hand on the door. 'How the hell did Becky get here?' He thought to himself. 'Move!' Gabriel ordered. He didn't give a damn about those pictures right then, Chuck NEVER needed to be alone with Becky!

'Chuck isn't your problem anymore, Gabriel.' Kali said smugly.

Gabriel grabbed Kali by the front of her shirt with his right hand and slammed her back against the door. 'You crazy bitch! You had her come here?' He snapped.

'I knew he'd show up eventually so I had her watch this place until he did. And, since you CAN'T do anything, she can do what she wants.' Kali explained with a smug smile.

Gabriel took a step back from Kali. 'You know what kind of psychopath Becky is. Why the hell would you set him up like that?' He asked, desperate to understand.

'Because, my guess is…he's still not right in the head…meaning, he probably won't try to leave her this time.' Kali explained simply.

'Why do you hate him so much?' Gabriel asked desperately.

'He doesn't deserve you, Gabriel. He never will.' Kali admitted.

Gabriel shook his head. 'No, you have that backwards.' He said regretfully.

xXxXx

Chuck had walked down to where Becky stood before turning back toward the door when he heard it close. Gabriel didn't want him and Dean didn't want him around…maybe this is what he deserved. Becky interlaced the fingers of her right hand with his left and he didn't even attempt to resist as she led him toward a car.

xXxXx

'Do you think he could've gone to Gabriel's? We haven't told him about what he'd said, yet.' Benny asked curiously.

Dean shook his head. 'I don't know. Even if he did, it's not like I can ask Gabriel...I don't even know where he's at, right now…whether he's still in Vancouver, back here in LA, or wherever. And, I can't call him…he wouldn't pick up.' He admitted.

Hearing Sam's car, Benny looked toward the mudroom. 'Well, Sam and Cas are home.' Benny pointed out. But, when he heard a third set of footsteps, he wondered who they'd brought back with them…and more importantly, why?

Dean watched as Sam and Cas came into view, but the person who was with them had Dean looking between him and Benny so fast repeatedly that he was surprised his head didn't start spinning. 'There's two of you?' Dean asked curiously, confused, and a bit concerned.

'Eli?' Benny asked surprised.

'Hello Benny.' Eli said with a nod.

'What are you doing here? How are you even alive? Where's the rest of your nest? What about Lenore? Is everybody okay? Where have you been?' Benny shot off multiple questions without giving Eli a chance to answer any of them.

'I tried calling you earlier, but your phone kept going to voicemail. I escaped when the government captured the rest of the nest…most of them died in the capture, Lenore died so that I could escape. I've been on the run since then…things started to settle down so I settled here and got a job working for Miss Ellen at Purgatory.' Eli responded easily.

'Well, as great as it is to know that your sorta brother, sorta not brother is alive…or whatever the vampire equivalent of alive is…we do have more pressing matters to attend to.' Dean butted in.

'What's going on?' Cas asked curiously.

'Long story short, Chuck took off and we need to find him.' Benny explained.

'Chuck's MISSING?' Sam asked concerned.

'Yes.' Benny admitted.

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Author's Note: So, any clue on what is going to happen next?

Reviews/Comments/Constructive Criticism welcome!

Flames will be used to roast marshmallows and then promptly deleted!