Las Vegas. The city of gambling. And they'd come here on a gamble. Tyler had said there'd been some demon activity in the past week, but since they'd arrived three days ago, they'd found squat. Sam and Dean were sharing a room while Tyler had paid for a single of her own. Dean didn't know why, but he could feel her slowly separating herself from them. And he wasn't pleased with that. When they drove home, the silence in the Impala had almost suffocated him. Sam wasn't comfortable either.
Tyler had wished them a good night and was about to enter her room, when Dean caught her by the arm. She turned back, her face betraying no emotion whatsoever. "You okay?" he asked her. A flicker of annoyance showed on her face a moment, then it passed. "Yeah. Just not used to hunting full-time." She turned to walk away again, but he held on. "That's not all, is it?" he said.
Now the annoyance did show clearly. "Yes, it is. I'm just tired, that's all. I'd appreciate it if you could let go." The tone of her voice made him let go immediately, so unkind did she sound. Her facial expression softened as she saw the hurt on his face. "I'm sorry. I'm just really tired," she said, "I'll be fine tomorrow." Dean nodded thoughtfully, but as she turned away, his eyes tightened. Just tired? Yeah right.
Sam had been watching the situation unfold from the doorway from their room and frowned as his big brother walked past him. "What's going on with her?" he asked Dean. Dean shrugged. "Says she's just tired. Don't believe her. I bet it has something to do with Serena and the conversation they had out of earshot." Sam agreed.
"What do you think she said to Tyler?" Dean frowned angrily. "How should I know?" Sam said nothing as he sat down on the bed. He switched on the TV and waited for his brother's bad mood to evaporate. Dean sighed inwardly. All of them had been quite irritable these past few days. He hoped it would all be better in the morning.
Tyler was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. In truth, she wasn't fine. She wasn't fine at all. It wasn't just the conversation she'd had with Serena, though that was a big part of it, but also her anxiety over the whole Castiel situation. Purgatory. He was in freaking purgatory! And it would be up to her to get him out. She couldn't ask neither Sam nor Dean to do this and quite frankly, she wasn't going to tell them either. It could end badly.
She might not be able to get the angel back. She might not be able to get back herself. Sure, her heritage would help her in a way – or so she hoped – but that didn't make the task she'd set for herself any easier. But that was the way to go. She was the only one who had any chance of making it out alive and with Castiel.
She didn't know why, but she felt she owed the Winchesters to try. She felt she owed Castiel to try. If anything, she could relate to the angel and wanted to extend a helping hand. Tyler sighed and sat up, grabbing her phone. She dialed the number as she picked up her stuff and packed her bags.
As she got on the midnight bus, after leaving a note for the Winchesters, she heard the other person picking up the phone. "Hey Bobby, I'm on my way to Missouri. I'll meet you there. We do this, tonight."