The next morning Tyler and Castiel were up early, preparing to help Sam and Dean summon Death, or at least attempt to. Sam slept in, while Benny volunteered to go to the store and get some fast food. Dean decided to go with him; in part to pick out the food he thought Death would go gaga for, and in part because he wanted to pry some, any, information out of Benny. He wanted to know how they had fared the months they had barely had any contact.

Benny held the door for him as they walked into the diner, and Dean nodded his thanks. Diners usually aren't open this early, are they?

"Morning hon," said the middle-aged woman behind the counter, obviously talking to the vampire. "Up early today."

"Friends over," said Benny, as he indicated Dean with his head. "Big eaters. They love fast food."

"Well, our food might not be the fastest," said the woman, "but it is the tastiest. What do you want, hon?" This question was directed at Dean. He sputtered, having had no time to actually look around. Benny grinned, winked at the woman, then said, "Hold your horses, Martha. Give the man time to eye your wares in peace!"

Dean didn't catch the woman's reply, but from her tone he could tell she was being playful. He cleared his throat, then focused on the dishes – one didn't choose Death's food half-heartedly. He took about fifteen minutes to decide, then listed his wishes. Martha's eyes widened at the amount, but she said nothing as she prepared the food. Benny raised an eyebrow but likewise stayed silent. It took the woman ten minutes to prepare everything, and she added a second slice of apple cobbler for Dean free of charge because she "liked his appetite". Dean flashed her a warm smile before stepping out of the door after Benny, who kept it open for him. There's no way Death can ever fault me for these dishes, he thought with a smirk.

They hadn't taken either of the cars, preferring to walk the ten minutes it took to get to the small plaza surrounded by shops and restaurants, and Dean tried to think of a way to make conversation without Benny picking up on his determination to find out what he can about the last few months. And Tyler's activities specifically.

"Nice little town," he began. Benny nodded thoughtfully, before replying, "She thought about moving back to Hawaii, but decided against it eventually."

"Oh? Why?"

"Something about having a home base on Hawaii being too restricting," said Benny, kicking loose a stone half-buried on the sandy road they traversed. "Better for retirement."

"Not many hunters get to retire," the words were out of Dean's mouth before he could stop himself. He hadn't meant for it to come out so bitter; he'd not meant for it to come out at all. Benny looked at him, his blue eyes piercing.

"So I've heard," the vampire said. "Don't you worry about her. I've got her back. Cas has got her back. We owe her big time, we haven't forgotten that."

"Good," replied Dean, even though his stomach clenched at those words. A silence fell after that.

It was early afternoon when they finished setting up in the abandoned warehouse Tyler had somehow managed to get a key to in the time Benny and Dean were walking back to the house. Sam was finishing up the preparations for the ritual, while Dean set the rickety old table they'd dragged into the middle of the warehouse.

Benny was back at the house, and Cas fumbled with folding chairs, while Tyler balanced on a broken one. Dean turned over to look at her, did a double take, then shouted at her in consternation. "What are you doing?"

Tyler froze, the plastic fork laden with apple cobbler halfway between her lap and her mouth. She quickly recovered, put down the one remaining piece and shrugged.

"Taste test," she joked. "You should've gone for peach."

Dean was up in her face within seconds, Sam close behind. "This isn't a joke, Tyler," he said. "Death takes his food seriously!"

"I really don't think Death is going to reap me because I ate some of his apple cobbler," Tyler pointed out. "Look! There's plenty left," she waved towards the table. Dean frowned at her, and seeing the severity on his face, Tyler sighed, stood and put the apple cobbler on the table.

"Sorry," she mumbled. He directed her and Cas towards the folding chairs, then turned back to the table. He looked at his younger brother, and said, "Ready?" Sam shrugged, before replying, "Can we ever be ready? It's Death."

Dean took a deep breath, then began the ritual.

"Hello Dean," it sounded from the right, and the Winchesters swiveled around. There sat Death, on one of the folding chairs, the plate with the half eaten apple cobbler on his lap. He was chewing, and both brothers waited for him to swallow. When he finally did, Death cleared his throat and said, "Should've gone for peach."

Dean blanched, even as Tyler gestured at Castiel in a way that spelled out 'that's what I said!' Had Death been here all along, invisible? Had he heard that conversation? And if he had been there the whole time, why hadn't he just popped up? Why the game?

"Death," he said, hoping his anxiousness wasn't audible in his voice. "Thank you for coming. I know you don't like to be summoned, which is why we've prepared all this food for you. A feast if you will."

Death's cold eyes settled on the table, and Dean thought he could discern a hint of a smile on his face, then Death took in the rest of them.

"I see you are still nearly conjoined with your brother," he said as he nodded at Sam. Sam nodded back. "And Castiel," Death continued. "I would say it's good to see you again, but I have no feelings about our meeting whatsoever."

"As expected," said Cas. He glanced at Tyler, who only had eyes for Death. Then Death's eyes fell on her, and an actual smile adorned his face for about three seconds before it was gone again. Dean frowned.

"Tyler," Death inclined his head towards her.

"Granddad," Tyler said.

For a moment everything went white, and Dean's brain stopped working. Then suddenly he could see and hear again, and his mind processed the information it had just received. GRANDDAD?!