You guys! I am so so sorry this is late. Family stuff got crazy, but it's here! Thank you guys SO much for your reviews (rainwolf88 and Applejax XD), favs, and follows. LOVE YOU ALL!

Dean felt like a kid being called into the principal's office. He was standing in front of Crowley's door, waiting to be called in. He had to quit. He couldn't risk getting involved just to be another pawn.

"Dean, I know you're out there," came the gruff voice through the door. "Come in." Dean walked in and saw him sitting at his desk. He wasn't a tall guy, but he held a lot of power, and that made him intimidating. He gave Dean a quick glance and nod before going back to what Dean assumed was a contract on his desk. "Take a seat, Dean." Crowley signed the paper and then looked at Dean expectantly. After a few seconds of silence, Dean broke it.

"You called me in here."

"There are rumors about you around this place, Dean. That you…left early." Dean had called Meg on his way home so that she could let Crowley know that he'd broken his number one rule. Well, technically two, but he'd already broken number one, so may as well break number two. He'd seen the calls and texts from Castiel, and made a mental note to change his phone number the next day. "Is that true?"

"Yeah. I did. And I want to quit."

"You can't." Crowley stood up and walked to his file cabinet. He pulled out a similar looking sheet of paper to the one that was on his desk. "You've signed a contract."

"Which expires in a month." Dean threw back, giving Crowley a smirk. Crowley's eyebrows furrowed and he looked at the paper. His face went from confused to understanding to furious. He looked over to Dean.

"So, what? This is the one that just swept you off your feet? Fallen in love after a weekend? Can't wait for the movie." Dean clenched his jaw, but didn't say anything.

"Look, I'm leveling with you, man to…whatever you are, that I'm not renewing my contract. My Uncle Bobby is going to give me a job I've been in this business for too long." Crowley rolled his eyes and moved back to behind his desk.

"Dean, you're one of my best, I'd really hate to lose you. What if we up your pay? I do love negotiations." Dean shook his head.

"Nah, I'd rather just not renew my contract. You don't need me."

"Of course, I don't need you, that doesn't mean that I want to lose you."

"Thanks, Crowley, that really helps. Now, can I go home? I'm tired." Crowley waved him off.

"Fine, fine. You'll be back though." Crowley sat down and began reading something else. Dean stood up and offered his hand, but Crowley didn't look up, and Dean started to walk away. Crowley didn't say anything else, but Dean knew it was going to be bad for business. He didn't really care, he just knew that he needed out of there.

"So, you're leaving, huh?" Meg called from her desk as Dean walked past.

"Yeah, in a month. My contract is up and I just need to get out of here. It's not…"

"The guy was it, huh? You've never left early and now you're quitting. I just…I didn't know this would happen." Dean raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"I just thought it was going to be a fun weekend when I got the call. You were the only one available and…" Dean put his hand Meg's shoulder.

"Meg, stop. I've been thinking about leaving for a while now. I'm glad you booked that for me. It made it my time. I'll come back to visit." Meg gave him a small smile.

"No, you won't. But, we could go out some time." Dean nodded.

"Sounds good, now I really have to go. I'm meeting Benny at a bar."

"The Roadhouse?"

"Nah, some place new." Dean and Meg exchanged goodbyes and Dean left, knowing he didn't have to work for the next three days. And he needed that.

Castiel landed at O'Hare Airport, and quickly grabbed his bag from the overhead bin. He wasn't sure how he'd get home to his car, but he would find a way. He needed to find Dean. He calculated between the time that Dean should have gotten home and how long it would take him to get back. They should have been about equal, factoring in that Dean would need to stop for gas.

Castiel hailed a cab much quicker than he thought he would (and may have stolen it from a couple that seemed to speaking rapid German to each other), and barked his address to the driver. The driver simply nodded.

"Ya just gettin home, pal?" The driver asked, eyeing Castiel in the review mirror. He had a thick Chicago accent which, even after living in the city for five years, still threw Castiel.

"Yes." Castiel replied, annoyed that the man was trying to make small talk. He just needed the get home. Perhaps the driver picked up on that attitude because he didn't say much else except for Castiel's total once they arrived. Castiel gave him a nice tip for that. He quickly ran inside, deposited his bag on his couch, and then looked around for his car keys. He had detached them from his house key for the weekend, but now he couldn't find them. As he searched, Castiel asked his phone for directions to Crowley's.

"Crowley's Lounge is fif-teen minutes from your location. Here are your directions," the cool female voice countered Castiel's mood. He didn't even know if they would give him the information but…"Better hurry. This location closes in less than thirty minutes." Shit. Castiel finally saw his keys under his dining room table and quickly grabbed them. He ran out to his car and took off.

"Is Dean here?" Castiel demanded from the girl at the front desk. She had a round face and dyed blonde hair. She had large brown eyes and gave Castiel a smile. Her voice was soft and deep.

"No, he's not, but is there something I can help you with?" She looked Castiel up and down.

"Could you possibly give me his address? I really need to speak with him." Her mouth formed in a hard line.

"I'm sorry sir, we don't release that information."

"You don't understand," Castiel knew that he was probably going to get that for an answer.

"I think I do. Look, we cannot release that information." Castiel felt his face fall. He knew that this was a long shot, but he had been hoping Dean would be there. Castiel sighed, thanked the girl, and turned to leave. "But if I were looking for Dean, I'd check The Roadhouse or Singer's Auto just outside of town." Castiel turned around. The girl gave him a closed lip, genuine smile, and then shrugged. "But hey, that's just if I was looking for him." Castiel grinned back to her.

"Well, I appreciate your time." She nodded at him and Castiel left as quickly as he could. He asked his phone again for directions to The Roadhouse.

"There are three places called The Roadhouse in your area, all of which close soon." She replied. "To which are you referring?" Castiel sighed.

"Close out."

"Okay." The phone beeped. Castiel wanted to try one more thing.

"Directions to Singer's Auto."

"Here are your directions. This place will be closed when you arrive." Fuck.

In the morning, Castiel got out of bed. He didn't sleep very much, but he figured if he got to Singer's early enough, he could talk to somebody about Dean and then maybe he could find him. He found out where to go and decided to try to get there before they got busy.

Castiel wasn't sure he was in the right area when he pulled in. This place looked more like it belonged in the middle of nowhere, not just outside the busy city of Chicago. It nearly looked like a barn, but it seemed to be relatively clean. He also saw a sign that said "Singer's Auto" just above the door. There was an "OPEN" sign flashing just beneath that. Castiel parked his car and walked in. The bell above the door jiggled and Castiel heard a voice from the back.

"Give me a minute!" A gruff voice shouted. Castiel saw pictures along the back wall and Castiel knew he was in the right place. There were a few of Dean intermixed with other people. Dean with a woman with long brown hair and another woman with long blonde hair. A younger Dean with a boy with shaggy brown hair. Dean with two men, both with beards, one younger and one older, standing in front of the shop.

"Sorry 'bout that, can I help ya?" The younger man from the picture came out, tucking a rag into the back pocket of his overalls. He seemed even bigger out of the picture. He looked solid with beefy arms.

"I um…hi, I'm Castiel." Suddenly, the man's blue eyes went hard.

"Oh." Castiel didn't like the way this was going to go. "Is there somethin' wrong with your car or…?"

"Actually, I…I heard from somebody Dean might…"

"Well, you heard wrong. So, if there's nothin wrong with your car, you have a good day now." Normally, Castiel would have admitted defeat, but he wanted to know something.

"Are you his boyfriend?" The guy folded his arms, making him even more intimidating, practically doubling his biceps.

"Maybe I am. Even if I'm not, Dean doesn't need anythin from you. Now, like I said, you have a good day." Castiel was going to push him, but after noticing the look in the man's eyes, Castiel decided to wait until The Roadhouse opened and see if Dean showed up. He had discovered which one he would need to go to, and if he had to wait all night, he would wait all night.

Castiel left the shop and got into his car. He pulled out of the parking lot and started driving back to his home, trying to figure what he would even say to Dean. The Roadhouse didn't open until six o'clock that night. What was he going to do for the next seven hours? Castiel decided to go home, try to read, possibly go on a run (even though he hadn't done that since he first moved to Chicago). He needed to get out of his own head, so Castiel drove home, changed, put his headphones in his ears, and took off, hoping an idea would hit him while he was running.

"Come on, brother. I want to see Jo." Benny took a sip of his beer in the garage. They normally didn't do this, but Bobby and Ellen were out of town until tomorrow morning, so they were drinking a beer before they headed to a bar.

"You always want to see Jo, why don't you two move in together already?" Dean asked, mostly joking. Benny and Jo had met at Northwestern, but had only been friends until last year. They were one of the best couples that Dean knew. They fought, a lot, but it was mostly fake fights or teasing each other. Dean secretly wanted a relationship like that. He had been hoping… No. He wasn't thinking about that tonight. Or any other night. Tonight, he and Benny were going to go out, get drunk, and not move much if at all the next day.

"You know Ellen would never let us move in together until we're engaged." Dean laughed.

"Yeah, you're right. Alright, fine. We can go see your girlfriend." Dean gave Benny's shoulder a push before draining his beer and stood up. "Let's get going." Benny copied Dean and two got into Dean's car and drove to The Roadhouse.

Castiel waited for the blonde woman (that he was pretty sure was the same from the pictures at the garage) in the window to switch the open sign on. He thought he was going to be alone in waiting, but there were a few other cars waiting (and with a slightly crestfallen look around, Castiel realized that Dean's wasn't among them). The orange light flicked on and Castiel walked inside. The first one in. The girl moved behind the bar and smiled at the people that walked in behind him.

"Hi, there! Come on up!" Two men sat in booths and a third walked and sat at the bar. Castiel followed him and sat a couple seats away. He turned to watch the door, his back to the bar.

"Hey, handsome." Castiel jumped and turned around. He was face to face with the woman. She smiled. "I don't think I've ever seen you in here. I know this isn't exactly a small town, but…"

"I heard about this place from a friend. Actually," Castiel was hoping that she wouldn't have the same reaction the man at the auto garage had. "You may know him. His name is Dean Winchester." The young woman smiled.

"Oh sure," her smile faltered for a moment. "How do you know him? From work?" Castiel wasn't sure if the girl knew what Dean did for a living, so he didn't know if he should lie or not. He decided he could cover it up another way if she knew.

"Yes." The girl frowned.

"How do you know him from work? Did you and he…?"

"JO!" Castiel turned around at the name, and saw the man from the garage and…

"Dean." Castiel breathed out. He thought that he had figured out what he was going to say, but he apparently was wrong. Castiel turned back around, hoping they hadn't noticed him. The girl that must've been 'Jo', wasn't there. She was walking behind the bar and then disappeared out of Castiel's eyesight. He didn't hear them say anymore, but he was sure they were whispering to each other about him. Castiel sat, hoping Dean would be the one to walk up to him. He was wrong.

"Thought I told you to leave Dean alone." Castiel looked to his left. The man was there again.

"I just need to talk to him." Castiel turned and saw Dean watching with Jo. "Dean, please?"

"Look, man…"

"Benny," Dean finally spoke. The large man looked over to Dean. "I'll take care of him. Castiel, can we do this outside?" Castiel's heart sped up. He stood up and walked over to Dean. Dean nodded at Benny and squeezed Jo's shoulder before walking out the door, and Castiel followed. Dean leaned against the front of the bar and crossed his arms.

"What do you want?" There was that attitude that Castiel thought he had gotten rid of earlier in the weekend.

"Well, I was actually hoping you would apologize to me." Dean's eyes widened.

"ME apologize? You're kidding me, right? You were dancing making goo goo eyes at your girlfriend and…"

"You LEFT me!" Castiel was suddenly angry. "I wasn't making goo goo eyes at anybody but YOU all fucking weekend and you left me!" Dean's eyes narrowed.

"Really? That's why your brother and mom were talking about you two getting back together and living the life you were supposed to?" Dean was exaggerating, but he didn't really care. He wanted to push Castiel away. He didn't want to deal with the feelings he had. He didn't want to pretend that Castiel was actually there for him. Castiel was quiet for a moment.

"You really think that I want to be with her?" Castiel's voice was quiet. So quiet, Dean wasn't sure he had heard correctly. Castiel looked into Dean's eyes. "If I wanted to be with her, why would I be here? Why would I have left her, and one of my best friend's wedding, and come here?" Dean stared at him for a moment.

"Because it would blow our cover. You would have to admit that everything was a fucking lie and tell your family that the only reason you had me there was to make it seem like you were over Hannah, which obviously, you're not. Can I go back inside now?" Dean pushed himself off the wall but Castiel pushed him back against it and pinned him there. Dean widened his eyes as Castiel got so close their lips were almost touching. Dean could feel Castiel's breath.

"No. You can't just fucking leave me like this. Not when you say things like you got feelings for me. That you broke a rule because of me. Not when I've been thinking of ways to get you back since I found that you were gone and I read that stupid note. You don't know how much it hurt reading that. I don't want Hannah, I want you." Dean was about to reply when his lips were suddenly occupied with something else. He kissed Castiel back.

Castiel wasn't sure if Dean was giving him pity or not, but he didn't care. He was going to take advantage of it. Dean pushed against Castiel slightly, but Castiel pinned him back against the wall. Dean slid his fingers into Castiel's belt loops and pulled him even closer. Castiel took it as a good sign, until Dean pulled away.

"Cas," He whispered, shaking his head. Castiel thought that he could feel his heart breaking in a million pieces. "We can't do this here. Benny and Jo will give me all sorts of hell. Let me say bye to them and we'll go." Castiel's head was still spinning, but he nodded and moved away so Dean could run inside. Dean handed Castiel his keys, and then pulled him in for a hard, quick kiss. "Go wait in my car." Dean growled before running back inside.

Benny was at the bar, talking with Jo and drinking a beer. He saw Dean approach and smiled widely.

"You're leavin." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah. I'll see you at the garage tomorrow." Benny snorted.

"Like hell you will. Now get out of here." Dean smiled and ran back out to his car where Castiel was waiting.