Eventually, Castiel did leave after all to get supplies and Dean wandered into the living room where Henry had his computer open and Sam was reading a record belonging to the Men of Letters. Both of them were silent until Dean cleared his throat.

"Cas, uh, left to get some supplies," he said. His voice sounded raw and his lips were red and swollen. Both his hands were in his pockets and he was looking down.

"He'll be fine, Dean," Sam said, not looking up. He could hear on Dean's voice just how much he probably hadn't wanted Cas to leave in the first place.

"'Course he will," Dean said, sniffing like he was personally offended, "he's tough for a nerdy dude with wings." Sam rolled his eyes at the familiar nick-name. Henry stayed quiet, flipping through some more information on the computer.

"Do we have a room 7B?" Sam asked, looking up from the records he was reading. Dean pulled a face like he was thinking.

"Yeah, why?"

"I think we need to check it out," Sam said. He stood and made his way down the hall. Henry stood to follow him but Dean stopped him just before he left the room.

"Thank you," he said, not meeting Henry's eyes, "for, uh, getting Gigantor out of the room. He doesn't, um, tend to pick up on hints."

"Of course, Dean," Henry said, "you needed space. I gave it to you." He started to walk out past Dean again before he stopped himself. "And I'm glad that you made up. He seems special to you. You should hold on to what's special."

The dungeon had been an interesting find. Not what any of them were expecting, really. The chains were very strange and Henry had no doubt they were for a specific, demonic use. Finding the tapes was more helpful. They got back to the main room just in time for Castiel to come back with supplies. He was quiet, but not bashful. He just didn't seem like the type to talk constantly.

"Can I help you with those?" Henry asked, pointing at the bags in Castiel's hands. He relinquished one to Henry willingly and with a nod of thanks. Dean followed them both into the kitchen without a word. Castiel and Dean walked side by side and when Henry glanced back he noticed their fingers lightly intertwining. Not hand holding, per say, just a need to be touching. Henry found himself watching the two of them as they put away supplies. They moved together like there was some sort of magnetic pull that kept them connected at all times. They constantly looked like they were about to crash into each other but one of them or both would gracefully move before any kind of collision could happen.

Not that they never touched. Henry had never seen Dean be so physical with a person, perhaps besides Sam, but this was a very different kind of physical. And he got the feeling Dean was trying not to be obvious, like he would touch Castiel more, if he could. Little things constantly happened, Dean touching Castiel's shoulder lightly as he moved around him, a tap on the elbow, even moving Castiel by his hips when he needed to get to a cupboard. To Henry it just looked like a need to establish that Castiel was really there, that he hadn't been imagined. Once, when they both thought that Henry probably wasn't looking, he saw them kiss quickly as Dean crossed in front of Castiel to get to the fridge. It was a quick peck, familiar and light, but both of them smiled as they pulled away.

"Alright, we'd better watch that movie," Dean said, sounding somewhat reluctant. All of the groceries were put away so there was no more need of the familiar dance the two had been doing.

"There's a movie?" Castiel asked. Henry was surprised, but he had forgotten Castiel hadn't been there for that part. It was so strange, but even after catching looks of the two for the past 15 minutes, he couldn't remember Castiel ever not being with them. Dean just seemed so much more alive and focused with him there.

"Oh, yeah, found it while you were gone," Dean said. "You know what we should do?" Dean smiled and started going for one of the cupboards.

"What?"

"What?" Henry and Castiel asked simultaneously. Castiel turned and smiled slightly at him, shyly.

"Let's make this a real movie, since it is probably your first, Cas," his hand came out of the cupboard with a foil container labeled popcorn.

"I've watched television before, Dean," Cas said, but he was smiling still.

"Sure, but you've never watched it right!" Dean went to work on getting the popcorn popping. The little foil container soon started filling up, expanding at each loud popping noise as the kernels heated. Other than the sound of the popping corn, the kitchen was silent. Castiel and Dean seemed more than content to live in the silence, but it was feeling heavy on Henry.

"So, Castiel," he started. The angel tore his eyes away from Dean almost like it actually hurt, "do you even eat human food?" As far as he had read in the Supernatural books (which he was still keeping secret from the boys) Castiel did not indulge in almost any human activities, and Henry had yet to read about him eating.

"Dean enjoys showing me what he calls 'perks' of being human," Castiel said. "I enjoy coffee and burgers, and I readily appreciate any variety of pie." Dean grinned behind him.

"That's right," Dean said, "we'll have to get some pie."

"I tried to get you some down at the store when I got the rest of our things," Castiel said, a hard edge coming across on his voice, "but the boy there said they had none." Henry laughed at the frustrated look on Castiel's face and Dean readily joined in.

"I have never seen you look so upset over something like pie," Dean said between laughs.

"I wanted to be able to bring you pie," Castiel responded like it entirely explained his very emotional reaction.
"That's fine, Cas, you can get some next time," Dean smiled and ran his finger along Castiel's arm quickly before turning to take the finished popcorn off of the stove. "For now, I have a new treat to introduce you to."

The movie was something Henry was much more used to, which made sense, he supposed. The thing was made in his time. It was so much simpler than movies now. Sam had made Henry watch a movie called Avatar just a few weeks earlier. It had been astounding to see how far things had evolved in terms of movie making, but it was just too much for Henry to take in at once. It all looked so real! But this, this movie was much more manageable.

The priest, Simon, was obviously distressed about what was about to happen. He shifted and looked uncomfortable, especially when asked directly about the exorcism. Henry jumped when he saw the camera person's reflection.

"Wait, is that Abaddon?" Sam asked, leaning forward.

"Nah, not killy enough," Dean said. Henry felt his heart drop a bit at the sight of his friend.

"It's got to be the chick she possessed," Sam said.

"Josie," Henry said quietly. "Her name was Josie." No one responded after that but he noticed Castiel turn to look at him, sympathy apparent. The movie continued, full of screaming. Finally the room opened up and Henry noticed something even as Sam put the thought into words.

"Hey, those look just like the chains in our dungeon!"

"In your what?" Castiel's eyes opened more as he turned to look at the brothers with obvious confusion. He went equally ignored, as Henry had.

"Demon on a leash – cool." Castiel turned to look at Henry, who was busy hiding a smile at the comical expression on the angel's face. The man shrugged and Castiel finally turned back around to the screen, which was producing noises that quickly wiped the smile off of Henry's face.

"Well, that was weird," Dean said, "with three exclamation points." Henry had to agree. He had studied traditional exorcisms and that was certainly not one.

"That wasn't a normal exorcism. They changed the words." Sam said.

"I believe 'lustra' is Latin for 'wash' or cleanse'" Castiel added.

"Oh, yeah," Dean scoffed, "'cause the most freaky thing was the vocabulary. What about the bloody high five or the chest burster? Anything else on the film, like director's commentary, sequel maybe?"

"Yeah, listen to this," Sam picked up a file, "the older priest, Max Thompson, bit the dust in '58, but the younger one is still alive and still in St. Louis."

"You think this kind of weird is worth the drive?"

"Dean, everything in these folders – the deals, the possessions, all of it – we've seen that before. But that – that was all new. Yeah, it's worth the drive." Henry was starting to feel like they were forgetting he or Castiel was even in the room as they started to leave. Castiel didn't seem to be as bothered by it, though, and he simply stood up to join them.

"No, you're staying here," Dean said, pointing at the angel.

"Sam is more damaged than I am, Dean," Cas was getting that lost look in his eyes that Henry had seen earlier when he was begging for Dean's forgiveness.

"Sam is the one doing the trials, I need him there," Dean said.

"And you don't need me?" The words were quiet, unsure. Henry looked down, once again uncomfortable to be in the same room with the two, who were having some sort of staring contest across the table.

"I need you… to stay and get better," Dean finally said. His whole stance changed with the last part of the sentence. He shoulders lowered, his eyes opened up. Now Dean was back to begging Castiel. He was worried. Why did it seem like they were always begging each other to just be safe?

"And what about me?" Henry asked. He stood up and looked at Sam and Dean in turn.

"What about you?" Dean asked.

"Am I staying here, yet again, to get better?" Henry asked. He had previously been feeling somewhat confined, but now he felt absolutely trapped in the bunker. "It has been months, I am better. I can leave. And this is connected to my past." Dean and Sam shared a look. Henry may have only known his grandsons for a few months, but he knew that look. So much for getting out.

"Henry, I just think that-"

"Fine." Henry cut Sam off before he could finish his stumbling sentence. "I'll stay here. Wait for your call. Like a good little research boy." He crossed his arms and refused to drop his glare. Dean shifted uncomfortably.

"Let's roll," he finally said, grabbing his jacket off of the chair behind him. Castiel went around the table to meet him.

"If you will not allow me to go, you will promise me that you will stay safe," the angel said, moving directly into Dean's personal , Henry wondered, how could Sam stand to be in the same room as them all the time?

"I promise, Cas," Dean rolled his eyes before noting the worry he read in Castiel's expression. He looked at Henry, who was still watching the two of them, before he seemed to decide it didn't really matter, and then he moved forward and kissed Cas. It was a relatively quick one, sweet and soft. Dean moved his hand behind Castiel's head and held it steady when he broke away and said with much more emotion, "I promise." Cas nodded and moved away from the hunter. Within minutes, the boys were gone and only the barest hint of the sound of crunching gravel could be heard as the Impala drove away.

Cas and Henry were silent for a while after the boys left. Henry looked at Castiel; Castiel stared at the door Dean had just walked out of. There was a distinct heir of longing dripping off the angel and Henry wondered if Castiel had been like this the whole time he was away from Dean. He also wondered if the two idiots knew just how suited for each other they were; he wanted to find a video of the way Dean had been pining after Castiel so he could compare just how similar their stance was when they longed to be near one another.

Finally, Henry couldn't handle the silent staring anymore. Even with no one in the room for Cas to stare at, it felt odd. "Well, I'm going to go do some reading," Henry turned back to the table and grabbed his laptop before going to the living room and settling into a chair.

"What are you reading?" Castiel's voice surprised him, almost causing the open computer to fall to the floor.

"Jesus, don't sneak up on me like that!" Henry scolded. Castiel was standing in the doorway looking lost and out of place. "Don't just stand there, come and sit down. And sorry. About the swearing. Should I not swear?" Castiel shifted back and forth again before heading into the room and sitting carefully on a chair across from Henry.

"Dean and Sam certainly don't alter their language for me," Castiel said. "So don't worry about it. And thank you. For offering the chair."

"Don't thank me," Henry waved his hand. "As far as I can tell, this is just as much your home as it is mine. You should feel comfortable." He noticed Castiel's small smile. He couldn't believe how different the angel was when he was away from Dean. He was so much less comfortable, much less willing to express emotion, much less… human. He got the feeling Dean had even influenced this already inhuman way of interacting, and that Castiel had probably been even more robotic before.

Who was he kidding? Of course he had been less human. Henry had read those books. He was still trying to work out how the angel had gone from the stiff soldier of the books that Dean only sort of tolerated to… Cas.

Henry was about to ask Castiel as much but the angel spoke first. "If you don't mind me asking," Castiel said, settling into the chair a bit more, "why have you not tried to go back to your own time?" Henry readied himself to be indignant but when he looked up, all he saw in Castiel's blue eyes was curiosity. He wasn't trying to be cruel, he wasn't attacking Henry, he just wanted to understand.

"I think it was Dean who convinced me," Henry said, somewhat reluctant. Neither of his grandsons had asked yet but Henry had been waiting to deal with this conversation. He had not imagined he would have it with an angel who was sleeping with his eldest grandson, but that just seemed like the way his life was going these days. "When we were trying to save Sam, back after I first got here, he told me that if I went back I could change their whole lives. They might even cease to exist. And after knowing them… I could never risk that."

"You are wrong," Castiel said after a few moments of silence. Henry's eyes shot up.

"Excuse me?"

"You would not change their lives; they would not cease to exist, because their path in history can't be changed. It is set. No matter what you did, you would not get back to John." Henry swallowed thickly. The angel had hit the nail on the head when it came to what Henry was thinking about. Always John. He just wanted to know his son and he had missed it. Although, after reading the books about John that he had, Henry wasn't sure he would have wanted to meet him all grown up. He seemed less and less like the kind of man Henry had wanted to raise. His eyes fell back to the computer screen, but they were glazed over. He couldn't read. He could never go back home. At least it had been confirmed. "I'm sorry, have I upset you?" Castiel looked worried and he leaned forward.

"No, you just… just confirmed something for me," Henry sighed. "Thank you, Castiel, for telling me." Cas nodded softly and leaned back into his chair again.

"So what are you reading?" Castiel asked again. Henry thought it might just be that Castiel was trying to keep up a normal conversation, but he had the sense that the angel was also desperate to have Henry's approval. Unfortunately, Henry wasn't entirely proud of his particular reading material.

"Look, the boys don't know," he began slowly, "but I'm reading their books. The Supernatural books."

"You mean the Winchester gospels?" Castiel asked. Henry barked out a quick laugh.

"Is that really what they're called?" The name just seemed so absurd. To have his name in front of the word 'gospels' felt all kinds of wrong. "They just don't tell me anything, and I wanted to know. About them. Their lives."

"I could tell you some also, if you wish," Castiel said.

"Really?" Henry was more interested now. He really had wanted to know about some of the things he had read from a person who was actually there. He had, again, hoped that it would be a conversation with one or both of his grandsons, but he was more than happy to let Castiel fill in some blanks.

"Yes, I will," Castiel said. He suddenly cocked his head. "But I'm afraid it can't be right now. I need to meet someone." He stood up to leave, his trench coat falling into place behind his knees.

"Wait, Dean said you were supposed to stay here," Henry said, standing also. "Who are you meeting?"

"Metatron," Castiel said. "We have things to discuss. I will explain to Dean when I get back. I enjoyed talking to you, Henry." The angel ducked his head in an awkward sort of almost bow and then he was gone.

"I can see how that is really annoying," Henry grumbled. He walked back to the couch sullenly and opened up his computer, ready to start a new book in the Winchester Gospels: The End.

Henry was still busy reading when the boys got back. He had almost finished his least favorite book this far. He was not a fan of this broken future Dean had been sent to. He hated reading about how harsh Dean had become. He was so dark, so unyielding. Castiel was almost as bad. Henry thought reading about the drugged-up fallen angel would probably be much worse if he knew Castiel better, but even knowing him the little bit he did, reading about him so broken was hard. Henry couldn't imagine how it had been for Dean to have seen it.

"Cas? Henry?" Dean called into the bunker as soon as he opened the door. Henry shifted uncomfortably. So Castiel hadn't called Dean to let him know where he was. This wasn't going to be a particularly fun conversation.

"Just me," Henry called, swallowing. Dean walked into the room. He was still in his suit. His eyes were wide open and verging on some sort of unpleasant emotion.

"Where's Cas?" Henry sighed and closed his laptop.

"He said he had to meet someone," Henry said. Dean bristled.

"He just left?"

"He said he would be back," Henry tried to add, but who was he kidding? Dean wasn't going to be calm about this.

"And you just –"

"Before you get your ass any more scrunched up," Henry cut in, "how about you call him?" Dean shut his mouth with a snap.

"Fine," he left the room, pulling a phone out of his pocket. Henry let out a breath. Well, that went slightly better than expected.

"So, what did you find out?" Henry asked Sam as he entered the room. Henry noted that he looked distinctly worse than when he left. Instead of answering, Sam held up a small tape.

"…just be careful, ok?" Henry heard Dean coming back into the room. "Yeah, you too." Dean grumpily hung up. "He's with Metatron. Angel stuff. Apparently he'll be explaining more later." Sam raised a brow at Dean but didn't comment.

"So, the tape?" Henry asked.

"Did he just… cure a demon?" Sam asked, eyes wide. Henry felt about the way Sam looked.

"Maybe," Dean said, though he had heard the tape just as well as the others, "Could we take this hoodoo on a test drive?"

"Um, I mean, I have the exorcism right here. All we need is the blood, consecrated ground, and a demon," Sam said, going through a couple of papers on the table. "So, what? We summon a demon, trap it –"

"Or," Dean cut him off, "we use one we've already tagged. Do we still have dad's old army field surgeon's kit?" Dean had a smile on his face that Henry did not appreciate, much the same way he didn't appreciate the sinking feeling in his stomach.

"It's in the trunk," Sam said.

"Why?" henry tried to put a firm tone along with the question, but he knew Dean's mind was made up.

"I think it's time we put humpty dumpty back together again." Dean didn't seem to notice the death glare he was getting from Henry.

"Are you serious about this plan?" he asked in a cool voice. Dean gave him a look like he was the one who was crazy.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because it is idiotic and will get both of you killed?" Henry said. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Please, she's not gonna kill us," he grabbed his bottle of beer from the table and took a nonchalant sip. "We cut her up into pieces before and we'll make sure she stays… all sliced and diced. Mostly."

"Then I'm coming with you," Henry said. They weren't keeping him out this time. Absolutely not. Dean put on his arguing face but Henry continued before anyone could say anything. "Abaddon almost killed me before. She is the reason I had to leave my son and my wife. I want to see her face when she finds out I made it. You aren't keeping me back anymore."

"Henry, you need to stay here and—"

"I swear to God, Dean, if you say 'heal' I'll punch you in the face. That 'healing' stuff is bullshit and you know it. I've been better for a while and I'm coming." Dean looked like he was about to do some punching of his own when he looked over to see Sam hiding a smile.

"And what the hell are you smiling about, Samantha?" he demanded.

"I told you he wasn't going to let you keep him locked up," Sam said. "I say he should come with us. It's his right. He's ready." It would have been a strong speech if he hadn't started coughing at the end. And it wasn't light coughing, it was wet and heavy. Dean's eyes changed entirely and he got the tissues and gave them to Sam with a heavy hand.

"Fine. You can come," Dean said, "after we do one thing."

The shooting range lit up at the flick of the switch and Dean walked to the same concrete window that he had with Sam and Charlie not too long ago. He grabbed the gun from his pants and got it ready, fired it once into the head of the target at the end of the range, and then handed it to Henry.

"You have to know how to shoot one before I'll take you out," Dean said. "I'm not asking for the accuracy I expect with Sam, but you have to get close."

The last time Henry had held a gun in his hand was the day he shot Abaddon and almost died. The thing felt as heavy in his hands now as it had that day, only now he looked at the weapon as something he had actually fired. He understood the strength at which the gun would push its way back against him when he took the shot. He felt stronger having the dangerous thing in his hands.

Henry looked at the gun for another moment and then moved his body, trying to get into one of the stances he had seen Dean, Sam, or Charlie shoot from. He tried holding the gun in one hand and turning away from the target but his arm shook too much. He shifted to face directly forward and put both hands on the gun. It felt better, more secure. Dean was mercifully silent the whole time Henry adjusted.

Henry took a deep breath in, out, in. He steadied his hands, looked at the target, set his shoulders, and, as he exhaled, squeezed the trigger.

The noise was loud, even through the headphones, and the blowback shook his arms, but Henry stood strong. He was expecting it this time. He lowered the gun and both he and Dean looked down at the target. Henry had caught the shadow of the man in the left shoulder.

Dean made a noise in the back of his throat and Henry turned to look at him. Dean was pulling a face that distinctly said, 'hmm, not bad,' and Henry allowed himself to agree.

"I think we can do a little bit better," Dean said, uncrossing his arms. "Get ready again, but this time, let the tension out of your shoulders. You're too tight." Henry refocused on the target. He put his hands together on the gun, put his finger lightly on the trigger, and rolled his shoulders, forcing them to relax and release. Then he started his breathing again. In, out, in, adjust, and fire on the exhale.

And got the target dead in the heart.

"Yeah, I thought we could do better," Dean said. "Now let's go do the most disgusting jigsaw puzzle of all time."

Abaddon rolled her neck and groaned, the bones crackling into place.

"Morning sunshines," she said, turning to look at them. Dean and Sam stood directly in front of her, Henry far off to the side.

"Hey, it worked," Dean said, "you both owe me a beer."

"And I owe you both so much," Abaddon said, adjusting her body in the chair, "I can't wait to tear out those pretty green eyes." Then she paused as if she had only just realized something. "Wait, did you say 'both'?"

"Yeah."

"Yes," came two voices at the same time. Dean's was a grunt, Henry's was almost elegant. He walked out of his corner a bit to stare at Abaddon fiercely. Henry was extremely proud of himself for being able to put that look of shock on the demon's face, even for as short a time as it was.

"Well, Henry boy, look who made it," Abaddon said, twisting her face into a sick smile. "How have you been? Any stomach aches?"

"Really, I'm just glad to have opposable thumbs at this point," Henry said with a grim face. Dean was only too happy to grin at him for the crack.

"We figured kitty didn't need her claws," Abaddon glanced down at her hands, or lack thereof, and her face settled into a much more abrasive emotion that Henry couldn't quite identify.

"Then I'll stump you to death, it will be swell," Abaddon spat out at them. She shifted suddenly but didn't move as she had intended.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen either," Sam said, "the bullet, remember?"

"Oh, I remember little Henry baby sticking this thing in my skull," Abaddon said. She was boiling off fury like actual heat.

"So, you sit there like a good little bitch. We're gonna consecrate the ground, and you're gonna get to fessing up," Dean said, looking far too cocky for Henry's taste. It was like the boy didn't realize who he was talking to. Or that he didn't remember the running history of remarkably bad luck the Winchesters had.

"Oh, I know this tune," Abaddon rolled her eyes and tried to settle more comfortably. Henry listened as she explained how she ripped men apart, men he knew, people from his world. She was vicious and Henry could tell she enjoyed the details, enjoyed remembering every single thing she ever did to hurt them. They were interrupted by Sam's phone going off. Dean gave him an annoyed glance but Sam picked up. His eyes opened wide at the greeting from the other end of the line.

"Crowley." Henry looked up at Sam's tone. The tall man was angry about the caller, though Henry couldn't quite remember the name. He may have heard it in passing but he couldn't recall a full conversation about the man. Or whatever the thing on the other end of the phone may be.

"Crowley? The salesman?" Abaddon asked, a comical tone to her voice. Her description didn't really clear anything up for Henry.

"Try the King of Hell," Dean said. Yeah, that cleared it up a bit more. Abaddon tried to laugh it off until she looked back at Dean's face.

"This is a joke, right?" Henry was frustrated to be out of the loop.

"Who the hell is Crowley?" he tried to ask quietly. Dean sighed and pointed at Abaddon.

"Stay," then he gestured to the other two Winchesters to follow him outside.

"Dean, what about her?" Henry asked, gesturing. Abaddon grinned maliciously and settled into her chair in as seductive a way as was possible when you were tied down to a chair and didn't have any hands. Somehow the move was still impressive.

"She'll be fine," Dean said, following Sam out of the large warehouse. "She's tied down and we need to take this call."

"Don't rush, Henry boy," Abaddon said, still grinning. "We have lots of time to play." Henry fisted up his hands and pushed his nails into the palms before finally stalking out after his grandsons.