Chapter 78.

Sam was heading for the kitchen when he heard an unusual argument. Jack never raised his voice to Jules or she to him. They were friends and they both loved Cas and there was no reason for them to allow conflict that could only hurt him. Yet here they were, in the corridor, Jack screaming, "Pray to him!" and Jules responding with, "No! Don't ask that!"

"What's wrong?" said Sam.

"He'll listen to you! Just try!" said Jack.

"I can't. You know I can't."

"Pray to him!"

Sam knew she could not and he knew how even asking it tortured her. "Jack!" he said, "Stop!"

Jack turned to him. "We need to get to Cas, now!"

"Why?" said Sam, "Cas is on a supply run."

"He thinks Dean is dead and he's not answering his phone." said Jack, "So we need Jules to pray to him."

"Dean is dead?" said Sam. Tremors began in his arms and legs and he could feel his knees about to buckle.

"No!" said Jack, "Cas thinks it, but it's not true. That's why we have tp get to him before ... "

Mark came along before Sam could answer Jack. "Sam, I'm glad you're here. We picked it up on the police scanner. A Lincoln Continental hit a tree. I called Bobby. He's heading there now to recover the car."

"The car?" said Sam, "What about Cas?"

"No driver at the scene." said Mark, "Given the damage to the car, the cops are assuming he's badly hurt and wandered away in a dazed condition. Of course, they don't know he's a frickin' angel."

"No." said Sam, trying to understand what was happening.

"A car accident couldn't hurt him, right?" said Jules.

Sam was still reeling from the news of Dean's apparent death, but he knew he had to offer some words of comfort. "With his grace intact, he's pretty much indestructible."

"Except he has his angel blade." said Jack.

"It's a car accident." said Sam.

"He drove into a tree."

"Knowing it wouldn't so much as bruise him." said Sam.

Mark handed him a tablet and pointed to the map on it. "The car's there. Farmland for miles. I'm guessing if the cops didn't find him, he's in a field somewhere."

"Okay. Jules, you and I will find him. Mark, tell Bobby to bring the car back. We'll get Cas. Anything new develops, let us know."

"I'm going too." said Jack.

"Fine, but don't yell at Jules. She'd pray if she could." He started to lead them to the Impala.

"He'd listen to her. He needs to know Dean isn't dead." said Jack.

"Why does he think Dean died?" said Sam.

"Angel radio. I heard it too, 'Dean Winchester is dead.' And Cas never questions angel radio."

"So why do you?" said Sam.

"Because it's Michael."

"His voice?" said Sam, not sure how angel radio worked.

"His message. Who else would send that out? Heaven keep pretty quiet because they know Cas can hear them and I don't think they know a lot about the Michael situation. It takes a long time for them to pick a response. Michael used angel radio to send it. And who did he send it to? I'm not sure he knows any angels here. I doubt he likes them."

"So you think ... "

"He used it for the same reason they don't. Cas is listening."

"And you think it's a lie?" said Sam.

"Don't you?"

"I want it to be." They got into the Impala, Jack in the back, Jules in the front. Jules was saying too little. "Are you okay, Jules?" he said.

"Stupid question." she said.

"Yes. Sorry."

She turned to Jack, "Go on."

"If it were true, where's the need to send it out to Cas ... to us? Michael has no need or desire to keep us informed. If Dean's dead, we're pretty much irrelevant. Nobody to rescue, no chance of overcoming him. In fact, he'd use our desire to save Dean to lure us into a trap. There's only one reason to tell us Dean is dead and that's to stop us trying to save him."

"Makes sense." she said, "If Michael feels a need to crush our hope, it's not because he's killed Dean, but because he can't control him. Dean is not just alive, but fighting and Michael is risking the use of angel radio because he's out of other options to isolate Dean or force us to give up on him."

"I hope you're right." said Sam. Everything they were saying made sense, but he still felt the fear that Dean was lost. As he drove, he concentrated on forcing his own feelings down. Cas was alone and would believe angel radio, even though he knew how angels could lie. It was part of his programming. They needed to find him quickly, because he was the one Winchester who could not smother his feelings and pretend not to feel them.

"Please try." Jack said to Jules.

"Jack," said Sam, "You don't know what you're asking."

"Then you try!" said Jack, "I tried, but I don't think he's interested in me right now. He never ignores my calls."

"What about the mind link thing?" said Jules.

He turned his mind inwards for a moment and, to his surprise, found the link open. "He hasn't closed it." he said, "But if he doesn't want to be found, he'll close it as soon as I try to use it."

"If we don't try, same result, but we know we didn't try and so does he." said Jules, "Even if he closes it, he'll know you cared enough to look for him. That could be enough to save him."

"I'll try." said Sam. Silently, in his head, he said, "Cas, where are you? We're coming to find you."

He waited for a response, but none came. However, the link was not suddenly closed. "He's not dead." he sent into the silence.

No words came to him, but he felt a terrible emptiness. He was unsure whether it was his or whether it came from Cas.

"Anything?" said Jack.

"I don't know." said Sam, "I think he's hearing me, but I'm not sure he's listening."

"Keep trying!" said Jack.

Guilt and remorse flooded his mind. The merest whisper drifted through, saying, "I'm sorry, Sam. You shouldn't have found out like this."

"Okay," he said aloud, "He's there and he's communicating." Silently, he said, "Cas, listen, Dean is not dead. Michael lied."

"No." said Cas, sounding defeated.

"Where are you?" Sam asked him.

"Something went wrong. The car ... " Cas replied.

"We know about the car. We need to find you. Which way are you headed?"

The silence that followed felt far too long. Finally, there was a faint reply. "Home. There are fields."

Sam tried not to sound irritated by the unhelpful information. "Can you get back on the road?"

"The car ... "

"Yeah, screw the car, Cas. We're coming in the Impala. We just need you someplace we can find you."

"All the groceries are in the car." said Cas.

"Bobby is getting the car." said Sam, "You need to be near the road."

"Sam, I'm sorry." said Cas.

"Sorry for what? You did nothing wrong."

"The car ... "

"Forget the damn car!"

"I think I wrecked it."

"It's okay, Cas. It's fine. Just try to get to the road." He turned to Jack. "He's not sounding great, but he heard me."

"In what way not great?" said Jules.

"He's not accepting that Dean's alive. He keeps apologising about the stupid car."

"Did he say where he is?" she said.

"No, but he's heading home."

She looked at him, seeming to notice the tremors in his hands. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." he said.