Callie was sandwiched in the back seat of black car between Cas and Crowley, with Ari on her lap. Ari was glaring between Cas, Sam, and Dean. Cas's gaze flicked between Ari and Callie, who continued pressing herself as much as possible against Crowley to stay away from Cas. Dean kept shooting her looks in the rear view mirror, which she returned with a steely gaze. Sam seemed to expect them all to get along somehow, which made Callie question whether or not he even understood what was going on. She was stuck between heaven and hell in the back seat, and the only thing keeping her sane was the fact she had her arms wrapped tightly around Ari. Having her daughter within her grasp and being able to protect her were more important than the current discomfort of the car ride.
"How much longer?" Ari asked, and Dean sighed.
"Seriously, kid? You just a walkin' cliché?"
Ari responded by glaring at him more steadily, and Sam shot Dean a look.
"We'll probably be there in another three hours," Sam said gently.
"I'm hungry now, though," Ari complained.
Callie had to agree with her. It had been hours on the road already, and even though she was stressed and overwhelmed, her body continued to have all the usual needs. She had been trying to ignore the pressure in her bladder for an hour, but with Ari sitting on her lap, it was becoming impossible.
If we don't stop soon, I might pee my pants.
"We should take a break," Cas said just as Crowley announced "Squirrel, pull over for refreshments."
The two of them exchanged glares and Callie did her best to ignore them both, confused and uncomfortable.
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea, Dean. I'm sure it will help to have some food," Sam added.
Dean tightened his jaw but didn't respond. Callie didn't think he was acknowledging the situation until he pulled over ten minutes later at a rest stop off the highway.
"Are we getting takeout?" Ari asked, and Dean gave a sharp laugh.
"No way. You're not eating in my Baby. You'd make a mess everywhere."
Ari glared at him again as Dean ignored her.
"Won't it be a little conspicuous, all of us inside the restaurant?" Sam said.
"We'll be fine. Won't we, Crowley?" Dean replied.
"I'll be fine. Calypso will be fine. Ari will be fine. As for the rest of you, remains to be seen," Crowley sneered.
"Calypso?" Cas asked, and Crowley hesitated almost imperceptibly once again.
"It's my name. It never really felt right, though, so I go by Callie," she explained.
Cas was staring at her and frowning.
"Hurry up!" Dean barked, and everyone got out.
Their very late lunch was punctuated with stony silences and dirty looks, but everyone ate quickly. The remaining trip in the car oscillated between more uncomfortable silences and snide remarks between any pairing of the men in the vehicle. Dean to Crowley, Crowley to Cas, Sam to Dean. Callie was starting to wonder whether they would be able to stop arguing long enough to keep Ari and her safe. She wasn't impressed by their collective attitude, nor when they pulled up to a non-descript section of forest off a road.
"Where's this safe house?" she asked, glancing around and holding Ari's hand tightly.
"It's underground. I'm going out for food and other supplies, but Sam will show you around," Dean grumbled.
Callie shot him a look that he didn't see as they got out of the car, wondering what his problem was when he peeled off. She wasn't the one who asked to have all this happen, and he'd had a bad attitude this whole time.
"You expect me to go into some underground bunker with a bunch of strange guys?" Callie asked Crowley.
"You'll be fine, love. They won't harm you. This is the safest place for you and Lady Arella. Much as I hate to admit, these boys are very good what they do."
"Well, I'd feel a little less worried if that angel would stop staring at me," she muttered.
"Wouldn't we all."
Ari grabbed Crowley's hand with her free hand, linking the three of them together. Callie noticed Cas's stare harden at that, and she could practically feel the fury rising from him.
"Take a picture; it'll last longer," she said, annoyed at all of them. She had the drive to the bunker to get used to whatever was happening, and now that she felt more comfortable, she was more confident in speaking her mind.
"I…suppose it would," Cas replied slowly. "Though not as long as my memory, which will provide a replica of this repulsive display whether I want it or not."
Callie made a face in response.
"Why's that guy so weird?" Ari asked Crowley, loud enough that Cas heard as they headed to the bunker door behind Sam.
"Well, Lady Arella, for quite a long while, he's had a stick jammed so far up his—"
"Crowley!" Sam warned.
"Jammed up his what? Where's the stick?" Ari asked, directing the last question at Cas.
Cas looked at her with more confusion before his expression softened.
"I don't have any stick, only my angel blade."
"Angel blade? That sounds cool!"
Callie kept glancing at him as he stared at Ari, his anger completely gone as far as she could tell.
"It's temperature is relative to my own, so it is only cool when I am."
Ari giggled and Callie thought she saw Cas's mouth pull a little at her laugh. Crowley seemed to notice their interaction as well and was frowning as he watched.
"I've got business to discuss with Feathers over here," Crowley said when they were inside. "Follow Sam on your guided tour. Look but don't touch—that goes for you, too, Lady Arella," he said with a wink.
Ari giggled again, and this time Callie was sure that there was a small smile on Cas's face. Sam was turned away but did a double-take when he looked back and saw Cas smiling.
"Cas, you good?" Sam asked, his voice tinged with worry.
"Yes, Sam. Thank you," he replied, inclining his head slightly.
"Wow! Look at this place!" Ari yelled.
"Yeah, just follow me, okay?" Sam said, and Ari happily bounded after him, with Callie following along a few steps behind.
She was amazed at the security this bunker appeared to offer. The structure itself seemed impenetrable, but Sam also explained the many wardings that lined the walls, floors, and ceilings to keep evil beings from getting in. Her mind resumed racing as she tried to keep track of all the information. She still wanted to talk with Crowley, but she wasn't sure if she'd have a chance to speak with him alone anytime soon. Ari had seemed perfectly fine with him teleporting her elsewhere and retrieving her after the incident at the house, and had accepted at face-value Callie's explanation that they weren't human. She left out the part about the spell, unsure of what it all meant. Crowley knew, though, and she was determined to get more answers.
"You two can use any of the rooms down this hallway," Sam said to Callie as they headed back.
"I want my own room!" Ari said immediately.
Callie's heart tightened, still unsure about this set up.
"You know, it might be more fun to have a sleepover with your mom the first couple nights," Sam said, noticing Callie's discomfort. "You can pull the mattresses into one of the rooms and even set up some blankets like a fort. How cool would that be?"
Ari paused and thought it over, giving him a big grin when she made up her mind.
"Thanks," Callie whispered appreciatively, and he smiled warmly.
"Sure. She seems like a great kid."
"She really is. We've been through so much, I—" Callie paused, realizing that whatever memories she had weren't the full picture of who she was, or who Ari was.
She stood still, frozen with fear and unsure of what was real. Crowley said that Ari's dad was an angel. She didn't know if that meant Dan was an angel, and the spell just tweaked her memories of him, or if Dan wasn't Ari's father. Her stomach dropped as a new thought crossed her mind: maybe Dan wasn't even real.
"Callie? Are you okay?" Sam asked, snapping Callie out of her thoughts.
"I just…it's been a long day."
Sam nodded in understanding.
"Hey, I meant to apologize about before," he said.
"Apologize?"
"Back when we thought you might be evil."
"Oh. Yeah. I mean, I understand why you thought that. Especially knowing now that my best friend is actually the King of Hell…"
Sam half-laughed and nodded, then shook his head a little.
"Yeah, that one is still pretty weird. Crowley's not exactly the warm and fuzzy type."
"Have you worked with him a lot?"
Sam frowned.
"I don't know if anyone ever really works with Crowley. More like…he lets certain people participate in his master plans now and then. He rarely asks for help. A lot of stuff has gone down recently between us and him. He's not a good guy, no matter what he pretends to be."
Callie frowned and considered how Crowley had been lying to her for two years.
"He protected us, though," she finally offered.
"Yeah, well, he opened Purgatory to get more power after trying once before with Cas. It was a bad idea the first time, and even worse the second time when he succeeded and unleashed a powerful, ancient evil. It cost Cas and Dean almost a year of their lives, and that ancient evil killed our friend. Crowley kidnapped and tortured another friend of ours, a prophet of God. He also killed a demon who was trying to help us find something important, after kidnapping and torturing her."
"I…didn't realize."
"Yeah. You don't get to be the King of Hell from all your good deeds."
Callie wasn't sure how to respond, so she stayed silent and watched Ari chatting with Crowley.
"I almost forgot, Lady Arella. Here's your present," Crowley said.
"Present? Is it her birthday?" Sam asked Callie, and she shook her head. She noticed Cas watching Crowley with Ari, head tilted.
"No, her birthday's in August. He always gets her something on May 13th though. I don't know why."
Callie saw Cas frown, and she was sure he'd heard what she said to Sam from across the room. She didn't know why it bothered him, but she didn't care. All she'd felt around him were things that made her feel uncomfortable. He was angry, hostile, and rude. His mood swings seemed to be frequent and irrational. Callie couldn't figure out why he was so volatile, and it frustrated her.
"Oh my gosh, Mom, look! The Pokémon Guide! I can't believe it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ari shouted, dancing around and hugging Crowley.
The anger Cas vibrated triggered a full-body shiver in Callie. She could feel it coming off him in waves, even at a distance. He was glaring at Crowley, who was smiling openly at Ari's dancing. Callie decided she wasn't going to be able to deal with Cas being around if he was going to act like this. She strode over to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him to a nearby hall.
"Hey, you! What is your problem?" Callie demanded.
Cas had allowed her to pull him into the hall but offered nothing aside from a hard look.
"Seriously! What is your dysfunction? Practically all you do is go around looking angry at everyone and everything! I don't want to see you looking at Ari that way anymore! I'll find some other place to stay if you can't chill out. This is all scary enough as it is without you looking like you're going to hurt us!"
At that, Cas seemed to snap out of his mood. She noticed a vulnerable flash in his eyes before he dropped his gaze to the floor.
"I have no problem with Arella," he said.
"Well, then, who? Me?" Callie prompted when he offered nothing else.
"Crowley. He's evil."
"Sam said you worked with him before," Callie retorted.
Cas met her gaze in surprise before looking away again, this time shame etched on his face.
"I…have made mistakes, yes. Trusting Crowley and working with him was one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made, if not the biggest. I don't know what he's after with you and your daughter, but I don't trust him, and neither should you."
"He's been the only one there for us! He's helped us so many times. He even helped get a special doctor when something happened with Ari last year. She had some sort of…episode or something at school and then she was unconscious, in a coma, and the doctors didn't know why. He had a special doctor come that helped fix her!"
"She was in a coma? When?" Cas asked, but it sounded more like a demand.
"November."
"Tell me exactly what happened."
Callie frowned, confused by his intense interest.
"I don't exactly know what happened, just that a boy at the school was injured and there was property damage, maybe a fire or something? That's when I first met Sam and Dean, pretending to be agents. They came to the hospital to talk to Ari, but she was unconscious. I don't exactly remember what happened, I was so stressed out that it's all kind of a blur. But Crowley's the one who got her the special doctor, Crowley's the one who made sure she could stay at the school, and he's the one who's been helping take care of us! So I don't really care what you think about him. Just back off!"
Cas's head was tilted again, his expression unreadable.
"Sam and Dean didn't mention that incident."
"Yeah, well, bring it up with them. Just leave us alone," she repeated and strode away.
