Castiel looked into the shimmering Rift. He could see nothing beyond the thin line, but he could guess what there would be. Ash. Angels. Michael, possibly. Demons and other dangers that he wasn't exactly familiar with.

That bothered Castiel. He wasn't familiar with what was beyond that strip of gold, and yet the people he cared about were on the other side. Sam. Dean. Gabriel. Mary. Jack.

Kylie.

She had to be there. He was certain she had to be there.

But as he was about to cross, he stopped, realizing that he had no proof. When Dean had come back, he hadn't heard about her. Dean was certain he'd heard her screaming, still, but other than that he'd heard nothing; no mention of her with Jack and Mary and Bobby.

Castiel had just been running on faith and probability that she was in that other universe.

"Castiel?" Rowena asked from behind him. Her voice jarred him slightly from his thinking. "Are you going or are you just going to stand there staring?" Castiel wanted to answer, but at the same time he wasn't certain he had one. He had no proof that she was on that other side. He had no proof she was safe. He had nothing but intuition and hope. What if she'd been on this side the whole time, lost and captured by someone else and waiting for him?

But what if she wasn't, either? What if she was on that side, the Apocalypse side? "Castiel," Rowena sounded somewhat annoyed with him, as though he was a child she had to explain something simple to yet again. "You can't go be the dashing rescuer for your wife if you're just standing here."

What if she couldn't even be rescued?

He reached into his coat pocket to pull out the rock, taking a moment to just look at it. It was still warm. She was still alive.

She may not need to be rescued. She was strong and independent and might even be doing just fine, if not waiting for a way home.

And Castiel was going to bring her home. "I'm coming." He muttered decisively, putting the rock back in his pocket. "I'm coming for you, Kylie."

"I'm here." He felt her voice in the back of his mind, soft and kind and a little wistful. He could almost feel her fingers on his chest, reaching out to guide him forwards. "I'm waiting for you. You just need to come find me."

For just a moment, he could imagine her in front of him so clearly and precisely. Her hair wasn't as short as when he'd last seen her, but it was still shorter than normal. She was reaching out, still smiling, just looking at him like she knew what he was thinking and was waiting for him to come to the conclusion himself. She was there. She had to be there.

She was there and alive. He had to keep having that faith.

I love you, and I'll see you soon. Castiel thought, striding through the image of his wife and onwards to the other side.

He slid quickly down a hill on the other side, following Sam and Dean and Gabriel's voices. When he reached the group, Gabriel looked annoyed and more covered in dirt and leaves than the other two. Sam was saying his name, looking around. "Cas, there you are." Sam said assuredly. "Where are we?"

"Uh," he thought for a moment, focusing on where they were on Earth. It was a different Earth, but still set up the same. He had an answer quickly. "Kentucky. Northeast Kentucky. Or what used to be Kentucky." He looked around with those words. This… This definitely did not look like the Kentucky he knew.

Dean said some things, pointing in a direction to march towards. Castiel wasn't listening too close, though. He was focusing on the rock in his pocket, still giving off a comforting warmth when he felt it.

She's here. Castiel thought. He was certain of it. She was here. She was waiting. He just had to find her first.