The day passed very slowly. Sam and Dean took turns napping until both were fully rested. Elizabeth stared at the ceiling, looked over at Sam, looked away casually when he noticed her watching him, looked back up at the ceiling. Dean left the room a couple of times, once to order donuts for breakfast, and once to order pizza for lunch. The three of them ate their meals in the panic room. That afternoon, when all of them were finally awake at the same time, they played poker (for potato chips, as Elizabeth didn't believe in gambling, to which Dean muttered some comment about her acting like a perfect little angel) and listened to Dean's AC/DC and Blue Oyster Cult cassettes on Bobby's old cassette player.

Around four o'clock in the afternoon, Elizabeth's nerves caught up with her, and she just sat staring at her watch, tapping her cards on the table.

Dean spread his cards on the table and grinned smugly. "Full house. Kings over tens. Beat that."

Sam was watching Elizabeth. "Huh? Oh, uh… I'm out." He tossed his cards down.

Dean was stunned by Sam's move. "Dude, you had four aces!"

Sam wasn't listening. He touched Elizabeth's shoulder. She jumped, startled.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked.

Elizabeth nodded, trembling, and signed, I'm fine. Just nervous, that's all.

Now Dean was staring at his watch. "Where the hell is Cas?"

Sam shook his head. "I thought he would've been back by now."

They heard a noise outside the door. Elizabeth stood up quickly, her wide, frightened eyes staring at the door. Sam cocked the salt gun and stood in front of her protectively. Dean pulled his flask of holy water out of his jacket pocket. He looked through the peephole and sighed with relief as he opened the door. "Cas!"

Sam sighed and lowered his gun. Elizabeth slumped back down in the chair.

Dean closed and bolted the door. "The prodigal angel returns!" he proclaimed triumphantly. "What the hell took so long?"

"I told you I had to prepare the ritual site," Cas said, a little frustrated by Dean's ignorance and impatience.

"Oh, yeah?" Dean said, a little skeptical. "And just what all does that involve?"

"I had to find an indoor location, dark, secluded, abandoned, where no one will find us. The walls had to be covered in Enochian symbols. And I had to remove a portion of my grace in order to transport her."

Sam looked worried. "A portion of your grace? You mean, you took some of your power in order to do this?"

"Raw angel power," Cas affirmed. "This is a very complicated, difficult procedure. It can only be done with the raw power of an angel. Now, if I was an archangel, I wouldn't have needed to use so much, since my power would be stronger. But since I'm not, I had to use a lot more."

Dean had noticed that Cas looked quite worn and haggard. "You gonna be okay?"

Cas nodded tiredly. "Yes. I just need to rest." He looked up at Elizabeth. "Perhaps I will when this is over. We have to go. The demons are watching us closely. I think I might have been seen."

Dean and Sam both looked ready to punch him. "You what?"

Cas set his jaw and replied indignantly, "It's very difficult to do something like this in total secrecy. I didn't see any agents of hell, but I felt their presence. They are close. They are surrounding us as we speak. We must leave now." He looked up at Elizabeth. "Are you ready?"

Elizabeth tapped her fingernails on the table indecisively. Finally, she looked up and nodded stiffly.

Cas went to her and took her hand. "Then let's go."

Cas was too weak to fly all of them to the ritual site, and Elizabeth insisted that Sam and Dean be there with her, so- much to Cas' chagrin and annoyance- they went in the Impala. But Dean drove very fast, following Cas' directions. After an hour or so, he became frustrated and asked, "Can't you just tell me where the hell it is we're going?"

"No," Cas said. "If we run into demons, it would be unfortunate if they got the location from you."

Dean glared at Cas. "Now, how would they do that?"

"They have methods, Dean," Cas said somberly. "Some of which you have never encountered."

"What are you saying?" Dean asked, irritated. "That I'll give in to their torture?"

"It's happened before, Dean," Cas reminded him quietly.

Dean clenched his teeth. He was quiet for several minutes. Finally, he said, "You know, Cas, you have a knack for hitting sore spots. Why don't you just nail my crotch to the car door?"

"I was only answering your questions, Dean," Cas said.

Sam was in the backseat with Elizabeth. He was that she was looking out the window, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Elizabeth?"

She looked up at him, smiling tightly past clenched teeth. She winced, pressed harder, and let out a small whimper. Sam reached across the car and placed his hands on her shoulders, his round puppy eyes expressing deep concern. "Dean…!"

Dean was already watching Elizabeth in the rear-view mirror. She clasped both hands behind her head and leaned forward. "Oh, crap," Dean said. "Is she gonna hurl?"

"I-I don't know, dude," Sam said, his worried eyes never leaving her. "Just pull over."

Dean did so quickly. The car had barely stopped before Elizabeth yanked the car door open and tumbled out. Sam scooted across the car and hopped out after her. She knelt on the ground, doubled-up, clutching her head in both hands. Sam knelt beside her, holding her shoulders.

Dean and Cas both got out of the car and rushed to Elizabeth. "What's wrong with her?" Dean asked, sounding almost as scared as Sam.

"It's demonic witchcraft," Cas diagnosed.

Sam looked up at Cas, then back down at Elizabeth fearfully. Dean looked at Cas, reading the tension in the angel's face, and asked, "Are you sure?"

Cas bent over Elizabeth and parted the hair on the back of her head, revealing a strange symbol, a six-pointed star in a hexagon. "I've seen this symbol before. It's a demonic tracking symbol, used to track angels who demons consider to be targets."

Sam's head snapped up. "So she's been marked for death?"

"No," Cas said. "Not with this symbol. When an X covers the symbol, then she will be marked for death. When that happens, she will not survive past the following dawn."

Sam said frantically, "We've gotta get her off Earth, fast!"

Cas shook his head sadly. "The ritual cannot be performed until after dusk."

Dean sighed heavily. "Great. My question is, someone had to touch her to put that mark on he, so why didn't they just kill her then?"

"It's a tracking device," Cas reiterated. "They probably wanted to know what we planned to do with her. I'm pretty sure they've been watching us, and now that they know what we're going to do, they're ready to make their move. That's why she's in such pain. The demon who marked her must be nearby."

Elizabeth's headache was subsiding, and she, along with the other three, began looking around for anyone who seemed unnatural. Sam helped her stand up, and she was the first one to spot it. She pointed towards a small group of trees by the road.

A smiling young woman stood there, leaning against a tree, her arms folded. "Well, if it isn't the Winchester boys."