"It seems like an odd delivery method, to be honest. You just can't get in much very quickly that way," she said from the backseat of the car as they headed back to the motel.

Elena was picking up more vocabulary hearing them talk in addition to what Sam was explaining for her. She was looking out the passenger side window when she felt a sudden presence next to her. She turned and grinned when she saw it was Castiel.

"Hey, Cas, nice of you to join us. It's been a whirlwind of adventure with your girlfriend, here," Dean said, glancing in the rear view mirror as he spoke.

Castiel looked at her with his piercing gaze and she felt her breath catch in her throat. He kept staring at her without saying anything and Elena felt her smile drop a little bit as she started to worry. She was second-guessing her interpretations of what was happening when he suddenly grabbed her face with his hands and put his mouth on hers with as much passion and intensity as he had the night before. Elena moaned a little as she kissed him back.

"Cas, I was just kidding about the girlfriend thing. Friggin' A! Give her some space!" Dean said.

Castiel pulled away, and Elena noticed the tiniest upward twitch to one side of his mouth.

"You are stickier than I remember," he commented.

"Than you remember? I thought she would be safe with you last night, man!"

"She was perfectly safe."

"Hey, Elena, if you're not okay with this just say so," Dean said, but Elena shook her head.

"It's very pleasant," she confirmed. "Like eating bacon."

Dean sighed as Sam laughed.

"Well, there's something you don't see every day, an angel shacking up with a unicorn," Dean muttered, and Sam shot him a look.

"Hey, I think it's kind of cute. Cas deserves to be happy for once. I mean, if you're capable of being happy, ever," Sam added, the last part directed to Castiel, who chose to ignore him.

"I have been trying to find out who is responsible for this. No one up there seems to even be aware of your existence. Like me, they thought you had all been wiped out by earlier humans or plague or something equally as devastating. It's been a long time since anyone has even seen a unicorn. Do you remember how or when your realm was created?"

Elena tried to think back.

"I don't know...I'm just not sure. I remember for a long time Asallam guided us, and we stayed in the most protected, sacred area more often than not. When he left, there were others who handled keeping the knowledge. It never crossed my mind to ask anyone who might know. Now they're all gone and I will never get the chance," she said sadly as the car pulled up to the motel.

Castiel frowned as he exited the car, and Sam offered a hand to help Elena out. They all walked into Sam and Dean's room, and Elena saw Sam grab something out of a strange pouch. He opened it up and began clicking away, and Elena walked over to investigate what the contraption was.

"This is a computer," he explained, without her having to ask. "I'm using something we call the internet to look up information from what you've told us so far. Maybe I can find out some more about where you're from and that might help lead us to who might have attacked you," Sam told her.

He looked over at Castiel and asked, "Hey, did you know Jesus was a unicorn?"

Castiel's head tilted so far that Elena thought it might fall right off.

"What?" he asked incredulously.

"That's what she tells us," Dean offered, coming over to the table Sam was sitting at and taking the other chair.

Castiel's expression remained as he turned his gaze back to Elena.

"It's true," she told him. "He had such fun watching the humans from our side. He begged God for the chance to be one of them."

Castiel straightened and looked around the room, his gaze a little lower than normal. Elena wasn't sure if he was upset about that information, but he was clearly shocked by it.

"I don't believe this," Sam said, "Elena's right. So, get this, there's stuff about Jesus being a unicorn. There are depictions in art of the Virgin Mary holding a small unicorn, Mary with a young Jesus but all this symbolism secretly painted in on the canvas, stuff they picked up with infrared scanners, oh wow. This is pretty incredible," he said.

Dean raised his eyebrows and nodded.

"Well, that kind of messes things up for about half the world's religions," he announced.

Elena sat on one of the beds, unsure of what to say or do. Castiel came over and sat down next to her, still in shock.

"You really didn't know?" she asked, and he shook his head ever so slightly. "I hope that information doesn't upset you," she said.

"It is surprising information, though what surprises me most is that I was around then and had no idea of any of this. Elena, you are—"

Sam interrupted, calling them over excitedly.

"Okay, I've been able to find a few things. So look, that unicorn you mentioned, Asallam, he predates the lore about humans living in the Garden of Eden. Supposedly, a unicorn named Asallam, was the first creature that Adam saw, and Asallam's horn pierced some sort of rock that opened a spring which seems to be the fountain of youth, so far as I can tell. The unicorn is mentioned throughout history. Sightings are recorded as far back as I can find, from Africa to Japan, across all of Asia. The first recordings seem to come from Israel, for what that's worth, going along with the religious aspect. Depending on who you ask, there was either an error in translation or the unicorn sightings stopped before more modern history was recorded. I guess we know which one is true," he commented, glancing at Elena before returning to look at the computer screen.

"Unicorn is just one name, there's also re'em, kirin, qilin, karkadann, monoceratus...the list goes on. Each version is a little different and some are more violent, or described as being pretty aggressive if threatened, at least, but they all have a few things in common. Eternal life, hooved, one horn which can heal any poison or toxicity, and pretty much impossible to catch by anyone but a pure soul."

"Pure soul, what does that mean? How do you know if your soul is pure?" Dean asked.

Sam rolled his eyes.

"They mean virgins, Dean. Only virgins can catch unicorns."

The three of them locked eyes on Elena, who shifted uncomfortably under their collective gaze.

"I don't know what that is," she said, feeling uncomfortable with the three of them staring at her.

"Humans refer to those who have not engaged in sexual relations as virgins," Castiel explained.

Elena just looked at him, still confused.

"Dean, this is your area of expertise so why don't you explain it to her," Sam said, chuckling.

Dean shot a look of annoyance at Sam before turning to Elena.

"So, uh, you know how baby unicorns are created?"

Elena shook her head.

"There are no baby unicorns. We are all as we have always been. I don't know where we came from, beyond Asallam being the first. I'm not sure how we were created. There was always a finite number of us, but we didn't have offspring."

They all stared at Elena again.

"You do not reproduce?" Castiel asked, his head tilting making it hard for Elena to keep a straight face.

"No. I'm aware that other species do, but I never really questioned it. It's just the way it's always been," she explained.

Dean jumped back in and took the lead again.

"Okay, so you are aware of other species reproducing, that's a great start. Do you know how they usually go about that?"

Elena shook her head no again.

"I have an idea," Castiel spoke as he pressed a button on the TV remote.

Elena saw a rectangle on a piece of furniture light up, similar to Sam's computer. Castiel pressed some buttons and suddenly there were people on the screen. Elena watched as a man wearing an oddly-patterned outfit with a matching hat put down a flat square box. A woman was in the room with him and he grabbed her hips and pushed her to the side against a wall, kissing her deeply. Elena looked over at Castiel, questioningly. He met her gaze and nodded.

"The pizza man knows what he is doing," he said.

"Damn it, Cas, enough with the porn! What'd we say about watching it with us around!" Dean yelled.

Sam was laughing so hard he was bent over on the table.

"My apologies, Dean, just a moment," Castiel replied, and suddenly he and Elena were in the room they had stayed the prior night.

The TV was now turned on with the same images on the screen. She watched silently as the man turned the woman to face away from him and pushed her over the table. He smacked her a couple of times on her flank and Elena turned to Castiel, confused.

"This is how humans reproduce? That seems unpleasant."

Castiel shook his head, his eyes looking between her gaze and the screen as he spoke.

"No, that is not always part of the process. I have not figured out exactly why that happens but the next part—" he stopped as the screen explained his point for him.

"That's how humans reproduce?"

Castiel nodded and the screen shut off. Suddenly they were back in the room with Sam and Dean.

"You okay, Elena? You kinda look like you might pass out," Sam laughed.

"Man, Cas, if I didn't know you any better, I'd say you have a problem," Dean said.

Castiel ignored Dean and spoke to Elena.

"Humans engage in those 'sexual relations' both to reproduce and for enjoyment. It is a rather pleasurable experience, or so I have been told."

Dean stopped laughing.

"Wait, Cas, you can't be serious. You still haven't gotten any yet?"

Castiel narrowed his eyes, his tone even sharper than usual.

"I've been a little busy Dean, what between saving you and your brother every time I turn around and leading a civil war in Heaven to defeat Raphael."

Elena was struggling to put everything together.

"So then pure souls, you called them virgins?"

Sam nodded.

"Actually," Sam said, clearing his throat, "Some of the lore states that a virgin will catch a unicorn by exposing her breasts and laying in a field or forest, waiting for a unicorn to be drawn to her. Then the unicorn, um," he cleared his throat again before continuing. "Then the unicorn suckles from her breast and allows her to tame him."

Elena felt the three of them all look at her again. She stamped a foot in frustration, her nostrils flaring. Even though they were familiar actions, they felt so strange in this form. Her human body was weak by comparison.

"I don't believe that's how it works," she said, her voice tinged with anger. "I mean, I'm not exactly sure how it works. I guess based on this information, all unicorns themselves are these pure souls, or virgins. As for only being caught by virgins, I don't know. No unicorn I know has ever been captured by humans. I mean, other than Jesus and myself being turned into humans."

There was silence for a minute while they all processed the information.

"Well, I mean Mary was a virgin when she had—er, rather, caught—Jesus," Dean said thoughtfully. "And Cas, you're a pure soul by your own admission."

Elena furrowed her eyebrows as she thought.

Maybe Dean's right.

"Did you catch me, though?" she asked Castiel.

"Only when you fell," he answered.

Sam raised his eyebrows in disbelief and shook his head. Dean gestured with open arms as he spoke.

"Well, then, there ya have it. Sounds like you two are fated or something."

Elena stared at Castiel as he looked into her eyes. She saw the smallest movement as he smiled almost imperceptibly.

"Or something," Castiel repeated.

Sam raked his hands through his hair.

"Okay, so with all of that information, I don't know that I have any more answers about who might have done this. There's no arch-enemy in any of this mythology. All of the lore speaks admiringly of unicorns, they're pretty much the only mythical creatures who retain such a positive message across all cultures that describe them. And they don't belong to any one culture, beyond having seemingly first appeared in Israel."

Castiel frowned.

"I can go back and check around with some of this new information," he said. "Perhaps there are one or two sources that I can add to my list now."

Castiel put his hands on Elena's shoulders and lowered his head, looking seriously into her eyes. "I will do my best to get you answers," he told her again.

Elena nodded slightly, acknowledging what he said. She was finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than her heart beating so loudly with him being so close to her and looking deep into her soul.

"Please be careful," she said softly.

Castiel moved his hands from her shoulders to behind her back and pulled her body against his, kissing her deeply again. She felt like she could hear the sound of water as they kissed, until she realized that she wasn't imagining it. She opened her eyes and pulled back, surprised to see them standing on the sand somewhere below a moonlit sky, waves breaking in the ocean nearby.

"I do not know how long this may take," Castiel told her. "But if you call for me, I will hear you and I will come. You are...most incredible, and I am humbled to be in your presence," he told her, taking her hands in his.

He was watching her face closely enough to see a moment of doubt pass across it followed by guilt.

"You can talk to me, Elena."

She bit her lip, unsure about how to say what she was thinking.

If it's easier we can talk this way, he offered, his voice filling her head.

As she looked into his eyes, she answered.

I lost everyone I have ever known and loved, my entire world ripped out from under me in every sense of the word. I cannot be happy about that, but I am happy to have met you, to be here with you right now. How can I take such enjoyment from something that never would have happened if not for my family being slaughtered? I can't bear the thought that I would regret never meeting you, because it means I would be grateful my family died. At the same time, my feelings about you are so overwhelming and I can't imagine not having you with me.

She wrapped her arms around him and held tightly to him, and felt him pull her even closer when he put his arms around her. She felt tears at her eyes again but couldn't hold them back this time. Castiel stroked her hair for a while as she cried. When her tears subsided, he leaned down and kissed her gently on her forehead.

"I think it would be difficult to deny that there is a connection between us," he finally stated. "I do not think that inherently means you would wish your family to die the way they did, or at all, simply to have met me. Something in you is calling out to me and I know you hear something in me calling out to you. Perhaps it is like Dean said; we are fated. It does not have to be good or bad, it just...happens to be."

Elena took a hand to pull his head down closer to her face, but instead of kissing him she rubbed her cheek across his. The scratchy feeling of his face against hers felt good and right. She kissed his cheek, then neck, suddenly feeling an overwhelming desire for him. Her body was flooding her with feelings and instincts. Castiel responded in kind, lifting her chin to put his mouth on hers and sliding his hands under her shirt and into her pants, pulling her closer to him again.

He turned her slightly and she realized her legs were bumping against something behind her—the bed from the motel room they shared the night before. As Castiel pressed himself against her, she lowered her body onto the bed, his barely leaving hers in the process. He was kissing her passionately, and she felt like she was melting into the bed. He had one hand behind her head and the other he slid down the front of her pants this time and against her, her breath catching as he touched her in a way that made her moan. He took his hand out and sat back for a moment, as if unsure this was what she wanted.

Please, she spoke to him, and a moment later she felt him taking off her pants.

She lifted her shirt off awkwardly but eventually got free, just as he lowered his mouth onto her, replacing where his hand had been. She held her hands in his hair, running them along his head gently as he made her moan. Elena never would have imagined she could feel this way, physically or otherwise. She felt her body tensing and building toward something, finally releasing and for a few moments there was nothing but bliss.

He climbed back on top of her and pressed his mouth against hers. Before she knew it they were both naked and her body knew what to do. They moved rhythmically, savoringly. Every so often he would pause and pull back to stare into her eyes, stroke her face, and kiss her gently and tenderly. She felt his sweat on her as she enjoyed rubbing and sliding against him. She licked one side of his neck and kissed the other, pulled his mouth down onto her, doing everything her body encouraged without thought.

Elena felt another surge coming, throwing herself against him and holding on tightly. He tensed underneath her, and she knew he was ready to join her. When they went over the edge together, purple and white light erupted outward from their union, shattering the glass of the window. Neither noticed as they tried to catch their breath, still intertwined. Elena slipped her hands into his, wanting every part of herself to be wrapped up with him. She could hear his heart pounding strongly under her head. Castiel pulled his hands away to wrap his arms around her, and she noticed the air shimmer a little. She stared at it for a few more seconds before seeing he had put his wings around her, too. She pulled away slightly to look up at him and smile.

The door burst open as Sam and Dean ran in, Sam with a sword and Dean with a shotgun. They looked around the room wildly, ready for a fight, before they realized there was no attack underway.

"Holy friggin' shit, Cas, we thought you were getting murdered or something in here!" Dean yelled, throwing his arms up in the air and turning away. "Didn't realize you were getting your freak on."

Sam had also turned away when he realized what was going on. Elena looked at Castiel, his expression of shock mirroring hers. After a moment or two she felt herself starting to laugh. She put her head down on him and just kept laughing. She felt him also begin to chuckle.

"You better hurry up and get some friggin' clothes on, we got about two minutes before the cops show up and we need to be gone like—now," Dean yelled over his shoulder as he left the room, shaking his head.

Sam followed Dean out and Elena pulled back again to look at Castiel.

"I think I am starting to understand a little more the positives of being a human," she said, kissing him gently.

Castiel's eyes stared into hers, his gaze still intense but now with a warmth behind it that made her want to cry. She rolled off him and tried to locate her clothes.

"I think they were right; we should probably get dressed and meet them at the car," she said.

Castiel climbed out of the bed and turned her toward him. He tilted her chin up to him and kissed her intensely again, so much so that she thought her knees were going to buckle and clung to him to remain upright. When her lungs started to cry for oxygen he stepped back, looked into her soul again, and suddenly was gone. Elena swallowed the lump in her throat and blinked quickly, trying to dispel the tears forming. She managed to get her shirt and pants on before grabbing her shoes and running out the door. Dean was already in the car and had it running, and Sam stood outside gesturing for her to hop in.

"Let's move it, let's go," Sam said, looking behind her, confusion spreading on his face.

"He left," she said as she hopped in, doing her best to ignore the tightness in her chest and heaviness in her stomach.