"You're right." "That might be the case." "He's not waking up." "Cas." "That thing." "Are you sure?" "I can't say." Dean heard the voices around him, knew it was Sam, Bobby and Tyler talking, but he couldn't understand it. What where they talking about? Who were they talking about? Why couldn't he move? And why was everything black? His head – well, he thought it was his head – was throbbing. He wanted to get up. He needed to get up. He needed to get to Cas. Cas. CAS!
Dean shot up, his eyes wide, the angel's name on his lips. Sam, who had been sitting on the side of the bed, watching over his big brother, maneuvered out of the way quickly. Three pair of eyes regarded Dean as he fought to keep his breathing steady. He blinked, swallowed the scream he'd thought to utter, calmed himself and blinked again. Tyler held up a glass of muddy water apologetically. He stared at it for while, his mind trying to tell him what he was supposed to do. Tyler uncertainly moved her weight from one foot to the other, waiting for him to take the glass. "It's the best we've got," she said. Slowly, Dean's arm rose and he grabbed the glass.
He nodded – or moved his head in a way supposed to imitate a nod – and hoped she understood that he was still very groggy. Bobby said nothing as he drank his water, but his fingers drummed quietly on the table. Bobby's face was disfigured by a long gash. Dean stopped drinking and squinted. Bobby's sleeves were tattered and there seemed to be some kind of splatter on his left leg. It was blood. He swung his head to Sam, who was sporting a black eye. How could he not have noticed that before? Sam was also standing a bit bent, almost as if standing up straight hurt. Gradually his eyes rested on Tyler.
Her sleeves were pretty much torn off and it looked as if her right cheek had been burned. She was holding a wet cloth against her face, trying not to wince. Suddenly images came flooding back. A lead on Castiel. Bobby trying to tell him the angel was no longer their angel. That monster coming out, saying Castiel was busy. So it hadn't been Castiel. It couldn't be Castiel. It couldn't. He wouldn't accept it. He couldn't. He remembered not being able to think clearly and attacking that…thing. And then everything went black.
"It's time for you to talk, son," Bobby said finally. "We need to know if your head is a'right or if we should get you to hospital." Dean put the glass on the nightstand. Nightstand? "Where the hell are we?" "Bobby's old love nest," Tyler said, before receiving an angry glare from the old man. "What?" "I used to come here, whenever I was hunting in the area. Real hunting. Game," Bobby explained. "That's not all you hunted," Sam murmured. Tyler stifled a laugh. "Why, I oughta throw you two giggling girls out!" Bobby exclaimed.
Dean didn't understand the situation at all, but he was feeling better. His head was starting to feel normal again; the throbbing lessening by the minute. Sam, Bobby and Tyler seemed to be fine – well, as fine as battered people can be anyway. "What about Cas?" As soon as the angel's name left his mouth, the cheery atmosphere evaporated. A silence fell. "Well, we established that wasn't Cas," Sam said. "And?" "And what? It wasn't Cas." Dean shifted violently. "So where is he?" Bobby and Tyler shared a glance and she shook her head slightly. It was easy to miss, but Dean noticed it. There was something they were keeping from him. And seemingly from Sam. He tried to catch her eye, but she avoided his insistent gaze.
"You should get some more rest, Dean, " Sam said. Tyler and Bobby stood up at the exact moment, as if hearing a signal. "We'll leave you two alone then," Bobby said. "Bobby," Dean said. The old man froze in his tracks and Tyler waited a bit longer than normal at the door, before walking out. "You'd tell me, right? If you'd found Cas?" Bobby nodded, pushed his cap down and walked out. As soon as Bobby closed the door he turned to Tyler.
"Are you sure about this, kiddo?" Bobby asked. "No doubt about it. My contacts don't lie." Bobby sighed and seemed to shrink. "What will we tell Dean?" Tyler fiddled with her watch. "Nothing for now. I will investigate this myself first. If it is true, the person most equipped to handle a situation like is me. You know that, Bobby. You know what's in my blood." At the world 'blood' Bobby looked her in the eye. "That's only one half of you. The other half is human. You're not immortal. By heavens, girl! This is Purgatory we're talking about!"