Dean was deep into a dream involving singing jelly donuts and a Ferris wheel when he was suddenly jerked off the mattress and onto the floor. Before he was completely awake, a hand was over his mouth, and a powerful arm clamped his arms to his sides. Dean immediately woke up and panicked, thrashing and kicking.

But Dean's attacker turned out to be Castiel. For some reason, Cass had pulled him off the bed in the middle of the night and was dragging him back into the bathroom. Once inside, Cass kicked the door shut and twisted around until he could reach the knob and lock it without losing his grip on Dean. He pulled a struggling, confused Dean with him into the tub, pushed the door closed with a foot, and then forced Dean down in the tub. His hand was still clamped tightly over Dean's mouth. Now Castiel's weight was pressing onto Dean. Dean was folded uncomfortably into the tub with Cass mostly on top of him. It was hard to breathe. He kicked at Castiel and strained to free his arms, trying to twist his head free of the hand over it so he could talk.

"Stop!" Castiel hissed. "Lie still!"

Castiel's voice was a harsh whisper, and the urgency in it caused Dean to instantly go still. He waited, expecting some sort of explanation. But Cass was silent, holding onto him, showing no sign of letting him go any time soon.

The inside of the bathroom was dark as a tomb. Dean, uncomfortable, wanted to shift. But as he lay under Castiel, he could hear the quickness of the other man's breath, feel the pounding of his heart. The arms that held Dean were tense. Something had spooked Castiel. What could spook an angel?

Then he sensed something coming. It wasn't a physical thing, nothing he could really see or hear. But a strange something was approaching. It lingered outside of the apartment building, something dark and cold and malevolent. Dean got the impression of it searching, peering through the darkness.

And then, somehow, it was in the apartment.

Castiel's arm tightened around Dean. The hand over his mouth forced Dean's head into Castiel's shoulder as he tensed. Castiel's head was up, looking towards the thing in their apartment, every muscle like a coiled snake ready to strike. Now Dean could hear movement in the apartment.

Dean couldn't remember a time when he'd ever been more frightened in his life. He could smell something foul, like rotten eggs or gas. Sulfur? The thing was out in the main room where Dean had just been sleeping on the mattress. But now it was moving, heading towards the bedroom. He could hear the closet door open, hear the rustle as it poked through the bags of clothing that Dean hadn't yet gotten around to hanging up. Something sniffed, snorted like a giant dog.

The thing moved again. Dean could hear scratching, the sound of nails, or claws, moving over linoleum. Whatever had intruded into their apartment, it was in the kitchen, right outside of the bathroom door.

Castiel sucked in his breath and lowered his head, pressing himself farther down on Dean in the tub. Dean was having real trouble breathing now, but he considered it the least of his worries. Outside, something was turning the knob on the bathroom door.

The air grew heavy, the sulfur smell becoming thick. The darkness in the bathroom became even darker, darker than Dean could imagine, a dark that was somehow physical. The temperature didn't change, but the room had grown cold all the same. It was a spiritual thing, a sense of a cold presence that filled the room as the claws on linoleum sound moved until it was right next to the tub.

All it had to do was open the shower door, and it would find them.

Please, God, please don't let it find us, please just let it go away, please dear God please!

Claws clicked. Something brushed against the shower door, pulling it open a couple of inches and Dean was nearly crushed as Castiel's grip on him grew painfully tight. But the monster in the darkness was only turning around. It was moving again, the click of its claws now outside of the bathroom, back in the living area.

Then it was outside the house.

Finally, it was gone.

For a long time, the two men stayed where they were. But Dean needed to breathe. He strained, pulling at Castiel's arm and shifting, trying once more to get Cass to let him go, let him talk. And finally, Castiel got up and let him go.

"What the ever-loving fuck was that?" Dean whispered.

Castiel didn't answer. Dean heard him fumbling for the door, unlocking it, and then a bit of light came into the bathroom as he carefully opened the door and peered out. He cautiously moved out into the kitchen.

Dean climbed out of the tub and followed, looking out after him. Cass had moved into the living area and was looking out the window. When Dean stumbled in the dim light and made a small noise, Castiel's head whipped around. In the scant light from the street, Dean could see his wide blue eyes, his frightened expression. Whatever had just been in their apartment, Castiel seemed terrified of it.

That scared Dean even more. He moved quickly to Castiel and clung to him. "What was it? A demon? What the fuck did it want? What's going on, Cass? Will it come back?"

Castiel shook his head and shrugged his shoulders at the same time.

That was not the answer Dean had hoped to get. "What was it doing in our apartment?" he pressed. "Why did it come in here?"

"Crazy winged jackass," Castiel growled. "Idiot! Stupid assbutt! Can't fight like this."

"Like what?" Dean pressed.

Castiel looked at him and shook his head. "You're in real danger here. I can't escort you like this. Can't fight!"

"Then tell me what to do, buddy. What do we do?"

Castiel looked around. "Vacate the premises."

Dean stopped breathing for a moment. "You think it will come back?"

Castiel only shrugged.

That was enough for Dean. "Is it safe to turn on the lights?" When Castiel nodded, Dean switched on the lights and quickly dressed, tossing Cass a set of clothes. "I don't think we can move again, buddy," he warned. "Not unless we move into a cardboard box, anyway. Do we need to leave for good?"

Cass shook his head. "I don't know."

Dean grimaced. "Ok, for tonight, it looks like we're crashing on Sam." He glanced at the clock. "Holy shit, it's four am! Jess's going to kill us, but we don't have a choice. I don't have enough money left for a hotel room." He paused. "That thing, whatever it was, it can't follow us to Sam's, can it?"

The angel shook his head again. "Don't think so."

"Good. We'd have been camping on a park bench otherwise. Ok, let's motor, buddy. I really do not want to stay here any longer right now."

"He's an agent for what?" Sam asked, sounding not at all surprised at his brother's world-changing news.

"Not agent, Sam," Dean clarified, "angel! He's got wings and everything!"

"Dean, you jerk, what the hell have you been smoking?"

"Listen, bitch, I'm dead serious!" Dean told Sam what had happened with the bus and at their apartment. He and Castiel were on their way to Sam's place. Dean had called his brother, rousing him out of a sound sleep. But Sam sounded wide awake by the time Dean finished.

He and Jess were waiting anxiously at the door when they arrived. Jess was holding a frying pan, while Sam had one of the twins' baseball bats in each hand. Dean eyed them. "Um, what are you two going to do with those?"

"Probably nothing, but I feel better, ok? Shut up and get inside!" Sam's eyes were wide and locked onto Castiel.

"I know, trust me, I know!" Dean called as they went inside and Jess locked the door behind them. "I was pretty blown away at first, too. But he's the same guy he always was."

"Good, then he can help me with this," Sam grunted. He was busy pushing a recliner in front of the door. Cass and Dean quickly assisted, and soon the heavy piece of furniture was blocking the entrance.

Dean looked around. Every window was covered with plywood. Jess saw him looking and sighed. "I always told him he was a damned fool, setting up those barricades for the windows," she explained. "Now, I'm just grateful he did it! Wasn't ten minutes, and the house was a fortress. Nothing is going to get in here tonight!"

"It's not the bomb shelter I'm saving up to build, but it's a start," Sam said proudly. "And now, maybe I can build it without someone telling me what an idiot I am?"

"Ok, you were right, I was wrong, but it wasn't about any damned government conspiracy," Jess defended. "This is way bigger!"

"And now I'll be altering the plans to include whatever I can find as protection against demons, believe me," Sam assured her. "But meanwhile, we're safe enough in here."

Dean decided against reminding them that the thing that had been in his apartment had no problem passing through solid doors and walls.

The group headed into the kitchen, where Jess poured them all glasses of steaming hot chocolate. Sam wordlessly tipped a flask into his and handed it to Dean, who did the same. He was about to hand it back when Jess wordlessly took it from his hand and dumped some of the pungent liquid into her own drink. "You want some, Castiel?"

"Maybe not a good idea," Dean called. "We don't know how it will affect him. You know, Jess, I don't think I've ever seen you drink."

"I don't often," she said, handing the flask back to Sam. "But I am tonight."

Sam was staring at Castiel again. His face showed a mixture of fear and awe. "I, um…" He swallowed hard. "I did some stupid shit in my life. I slept around a bit before I met Jess, and we got married real young because, well, the truth is I got her pregnant."

"I had about two months of twin baby boys under my wedding dress," Jess confessed. "And I was no saint either! I lied, I stole my mom's cigarettes and smoked them with my friends…"

"I tried drugs in college," Sam called. Dean blinked at him.

"I told everyone Mary Higgins was a slut because the boy I liked had a crush on her." Dean stared at her.

"I took Bobby's car and went joyriding, hit a guard rail, brought it back, and let him think it was a hit and run."

"I was the one who broke that glass ornament that Sam's grandmother gave his mother."

"I was the one who…"

"Guys!" Dean called, rolling his eyes as he figured it out. "Would you please stop confessing all your sins to Cass? He's an angel, not a priest!"

"Yeah, Dean, that puts him just a bit closer to God than the priest, doesn't it?" Sam retorted. "I'm sorry, but there is an angel sitting at my dining room table! That makes a man do a certain amount of soul searching, you know?"

"Sammy, this is the third time he's sat here," Dean pointed out. "He didn't ask to hear confession the last two times he was here, and I really don't think he wants to hear it now, do you, Cass?"

Castiel shrugged. "I don't mind."

Dean grimaced. "Dammit, hear their confessions later, Cass. Right now, we need to figure out what we are going to do. That was a demon at our apartment, wasn't it? And you think it came for you?" When Cass nodded, he went on. "If that is the case, then I absolutely can't leave you alone at the apartment. And I'm sorry, but I won't risk putting Sam and his family in danger, either. I only came here tonight because I had no other choice. But what the hell am I going to do? I need options!"

Silence. The four sat at the table, brows furled in thought as they sipped their drinks. "I was raised Catholic," Jess ventured. "I never went into it as deep as your parents ended up, but I know a bit. There's a lot of information available about angels. How about after work tomorrow, well, today, we do some research? After all, we can't really make any sort of plan until we understand what it is we're dealing with, right?"

"Yeah, I thought about doing research myself," Dean said.

"I don't get it!" Sam exclaimed. He turned to Castiel. "Castiel, even if that was a demon, you're an angel. You should have gone all holier-than-thou and smote its sorry ass right back to Hell! What's going on that you can't fight it?"

"Handcuffs," Castiel explained.

Sam's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "Dean, what kind of kinky-ass…?"

Jess pinched her husband's bicep, making him yelp and look at her, wounded. "I don't think he means actual handcuffs," she hissed, glowering at him. "He's talking about something else."

Cass nodded at her. "Not handcuffs, but I don't have the right words. I can't fight."

"Handcuffs?" Dean thought hard. "This have something to do with how we met?"

"Yes, Castiel, what happened that first night?" Jess pressed. "Was that you that wrecked Dean's car?"

Castiel sighed, nodding. "They beat the hell out of me."

"Who beat you up? Demons?"

Castiel shook his head. "No. Homeland Security goons."

That made the eyes go wide on the three humans. "Wait," Sam called, "you're telling us that those two assholes who have been after you this whole time, they're the ones who beat you up and sent you flying into Dean's car?" When Castiel nodded, Sam jumped up from the table and began to pace. "I knew it! I knew the government was somehow involved."

"Sam?" Dean called with strained patience. "They were never with Homeland Security, remember? They're something else. No idea what."

Sam shuddered. "I never thought I'd find anything that scared me more than the CIA! But wait," he said, turning back to Castiel, "you said it wasn't demons. So, those guys aren't demons?"

Cass shook his head again. "No."

"Then what the fuck are they?"

"I don't have the right words!" Castiel exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. "I can't tell you!" He looked pleadingly at Dean.

"Why is it that you can only get words from Dean?" Jess wanted to know.

"Because he's my guardian angel," Dean explained. "He's been protecting me all this time. That's what he meant when he kept saying he was my escort. And isn't it my fucking luck, that of all the people in the world, those two assholes decided to pick on my angel? All the shit I have had happen in my life, I can only imagine how bad it would have been if Castiel hadn't been there, watching over me. The guy must have put in a ton of overtime, and he's the one they decide to beat up?"

"Does everyone have a guardian angel?" Jess asked. "Do I? Is she here right now? Could you maybe ask her to come and talk to us, too?"

Castiel sighed, folded his arms on the table, and lowered his face into them.

"The man, er, angel, has to keep some of his secrets, Jess," Sam explained. "I get the impression he's not supposed to be here, in our physical world talking to us. So don't press him too hard, ok? Some things mortal man just isn't supposed to know."

Jess and Dean stared at Sam in shock. "You are the king of 'We Got The Right To Know,' and now you're saying that?" Jess asked.

"We got a right to know about the things our mortal government is doing, yes," Sam explained. "But this is way beyond us, and frankly, most of it I don't want to know. Besides, we got mortal problems to deal with right now, specifically work. What the hell do we do with Castiel while the kids are at school and we're all at work?"

"Take me with you," Castiel called, his voice muffled in his arms. "Don't lock me in again!"

"Cass, we have already had this conversation," Dean reminded him gently. "I can't take you to work."

"Why not?" Sam challenged.

"I don't know, how about my lunch break?" Dean shot Sam a look.

"Ooooh," Jess said, understanding. "Yes, I can see how that might be a problem." She glanced at Castiel, who had raised his head and was squinting at them in confusion. "You boys are going to have to work together on that. But even so, Castiel's right. You can't just lock him in again. You're going to have to take him to work with you."

Dean and Sam exchanged looks, Sam excited, Dean apprehensive. "Don't worry," Sam assured. "We work in a boring cubicle on the boring ground floor of a boring office building doing boring financial work. What could go wrong?"