BOBBY'S PLACE - NIGHT

Ten o'clock. Time for Inferno. The hunting party was all waiting on bated breath to see what the King of Hell was up to. The band started playing Limelight...

But Castiel wasn't around to hear it. He was off by himself, sitting in the kitchen and brooding. He was waiting for his sauce to be done simmering. It was helping him cool down. A familiar shadow crept over him. Someone here to help him through these darkest of times.

"So," Castiel said, all dour and serious. "You're back."

"Yaaay!" cried Mr. Fizzles happily. "It's good to see you again, Cas."

"I wish it could be under different circumstances," Castiel muttered.

"Crazy times, huh, Cas? The bad guys are about to take over the whole world! That's not easy, is it?"

Castiel shook his head. Crazy times, indeed.

"But it's not just them. Mr. Fizzles hears that Cas is havin' trouble at home. Is that true, Cas?"

Castiel nodded, avoiding eye contact.

"A lot of our friends are fighting," said Mr. Fizzles sympathetically. "Why are they fighting, Cas? Do you know?"

"Sam and Dean came back after being dead for four years," Castiel said dryly. "It's led to some confusion."

"But that sounds like great news! You do want Sam and Dean back again, don't you Cas?"

Castiel practically choked on his anger at the implications of that question. "Of course I want them back. They're my best friends. Everything I have is because of them and their sacrifice."

"Then why doesn't Cas wanna apologize?"

"I haven't done anything!" Castiel whispered, trying not to draw attention to their argument. "This is turning into a witch hunt."

"O-kay," Mr. Fizzles chirped. "Mr. Fizzles isn't tryin' to call Cas names. He's on your side. But so are Sam and Dean."

"Do you understand that they've seized control of the party? ANd there's nothing I can do about it. It's frustrating. I'm accustomed to a certain level of influence - it's not my fault if I have a hard time coping outside of it."

"Oh, o-kay! But back on planet earth, we call that 'bein' spoiled'."

"Don't you judge me, Mr. Fizzles! I'm defending the life I've made here. You don't understand what it's been like for me - you couldn't possibly. Even in death, this house was the Winchesters' home, and Bobby was their family. Years ago, I was nothing but a traitor to Heaven. This was my only haven... But it's more than that..."

Oh, the water was getting deep. Garth could feel it.

Castiel stared hard at the tablecloth. "Before I'd even met them... In my best centuries, I was one of a number so great, we were the horizon. You obeyed and accepted your fate as a pawn in some endless, inscrutable campaign, with the constant threat of expulsion hanging over you. And maybe, if you were deluded enough, you gave in to the propaganda and harbored some... ridiculous fantasy that you were in your Father's thoughts. But it's all different now. Over the last few years, I've known feelings of peace and hope I'd never imagined were possible. I've had identity. Autonomy. Security. The things I've found here, I haven't had to share with anyone. I suppose you could say,... for the first time in my life, I've been an only child. And maybe it has spoiled me."

Whoa: revelations, man. Breakthroughs. Garth nodded sympathetically. This was good work they were doing.

"They deserve better from me," Castiel said. He looked up at Garth. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you should apologize to," Garth said.

"You're right." Straight to the puppet, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Fizzles."

"Dammit, Cas!" Garth said. They were so close.