A/N: Thanks to everyone who read this story and special thanks to Ezza555 for the review! I'm so glad you're liking the story so far!

Chapter 4

"Dean."

Dean jumped as Cas suddenly materialised next to him. The angel stood a foot away from Dean's chair and he had a bloody gash on one cheek that was quickly healing over. Dean lurched upright and grabbed Cas's shoulders, assessing him for injuries. When he was satisfied that Cas was more or less okay, Dean released him and attempted a glare.

"Where the hell have you been man?" He demanded, although his voice lacked any heat. In truth, Dean was just glad that his friend was alright.

"I've found Sam."

Dean staggered back a couple of steps and sat down heavily. "What? How?"

"It is only an approximation of his general location but I believe he has been captured by someone called Lady Toni Bevell. Back at the house I spotted a newspaper clipping that hinted at her whereabouts so I investigated and discovered a house that was heavily warded against angels. I cannot be 100% sure because the warding affected my powers, but I would guess that is where Sam is being held."

"Okay, where is this woman?"

Cas hesitated, causing Dean to squint suspiciously at him.

"Cas?" He prompted. "What's wrong?"

Cas swallowed. "This house is in a small village in England. Travelling in one country on my own is easy, but across continents, with passengers no less, will weaken me considerably. Especially to a country like England. Other forces more complex than any we've faced before are at work there. I can transport all three of us there but I don't know how it will affect me."

Dean slumped in his seat and sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. "Awesome. Look, Cas, I wouldn't ask this if it was anything else but it's Sam and-"

"I understand, Dean," Cas interrupted. "I want him back just as much as you. I just wish there was another way."

"You said the place was warded against you anyway, right?" Cas nodded. "Okay then. Mom and me'll go in, get Sam out whilst you hang back and heal. We'll meet up later. Okay?"

Cas sighed in defeat. "Alright. We can leave now if you want."

Dean stood and headed off to the Bunker's archives where Mary was holed up. Cas listened to his retreating footsteps and tried to quell the feeling that whatever they found in England wouldn't be anything good.

Mary had been scouring the archives from top to bottom looking for anything that would help find her youngest when Dean had charged in, yelling that they'd managed to locate Sam. She had been excited to learn what Cas had discovered - she was liking the angel more and more - but that feeling had soon faded when Dean had explained the plan. Or, rather, the lack of.

"So Cas is just going to drop us there and we're going to charge in without a plan?" She clarified.

"I have a plan," Dean protested. "Attack." He grinned round at his companions but that soon turned to disappointment when he realised nobody understood the reference. Mary guessed it must be from one of those new movies.

"Look," he said. "We're going to be careful, take our guns, knives, whatever, but we don't have much to make a plan out of. We don't know the layout of the house, hell, we don't even know what it looks like. What we do know, though, is that Sam's there and that we're going to get him out."

Mary felt a pang in her heart as she watched her son. He looked and sounded so much like John and, although she had missed him growing up, she already felt like she knew him. "Okay," she said softly. "I'm ready."

Castiel stretched his hands out to her and Dean. "I will take you to a clearing a little way from the house. I don't know what condition I will be in or what we will meet but I will do my best to protect you as much as I can." He touched two fingers to each of their foreheads and the world went black.

Like Cas had said, they landed in a clearing surrounded by trees. A dirt track just large enough for one car led off in both directions. Dean blinked the brightness of the morning sun out of his eyes and tried to orient himself to the new landscape. Mary stood to his left and Cas was a little way in front of him. With a glance at his mother to make sure she was alright, Dean made his way over to Cas.

"Cas, buddy, you okay?" He called.

Cas looked up in bewilderment. "It appears that my grace was restored to full power when God ascended to Heaven," he slowly informed Dean. "I also believe that some of Lucifer's grace was left in my vessel when Amara ripped him from my body which is why I am able to fly. My wings are still damaged but I suspect they cannot be fixed now, not after two trips to Hell and back."

Dean grinned at him. "That's great Cas. Really. Which way do we need to go?"

Cas pointed north. "I will come with you as far as I can."

Dean nodded. "That's all I ask." He clapped Cas's shoulder and gestured to Mary to follow them as they set off into the trees.

The house was large and imposing. Dean could totally see psycho kidnappers living here, sipping their tea and listening to the screams of their victims. Which reminded him, they didn't know what Sam had been going through; for all they knew that was exactly what had been happening over the past week. He strengthened his resolve to get to his brother as soon as possible.

A little way down the driveway Cas stopped abruptly. "I can go no further," he explained. "I wish I could tell you what you will face but I don't know. Be careful."

"Careful is my middle name," Dean joked.

Cas's brows furrowed in confusion. "I though your middle name was-"

Dean cut him off. "It's just a figure of speech, Cas."

"Oh." Some of the confusion still remained on the angel's face but he attempted a smile. "I will turn invisible and watch from the trees."

"You do that buddy." Dean squeezed Cas's shoulder once then he and Mary turned and headed round the back of the house. The gardens were carefully manicured and well trimmed; this Toni person was obviously stinking rich. Must be nice. About halfway round they found a small wooden door set into the stone wall. Dean took out his lockpick whilst Mary stood guard behind him, gun drawn. The lock was simple - it took about five seconds for Dean to pick it - and the door swung open. He drew his own gun and they headed into the shadows of the house.

They emerged in a deserted, well lit corridor. Several ornate paintings hung on the walls and there were many doors. Great. How were they supposed to find Sam here? Silently, Dean signalled for Mary to go left whilst he went right. She nodded and the two of them split up.

Dean had been searching for about half an hour when he came across the symbol. Finally. Still, if it meant what he thought it meant, this just got a whole lot more complicated. He sighed and dialled his mother's number.

"Mom? Think I've found Sam."

"Where are you?"

"Right hand corridor, about 20 metres down. Listen, be careful. I think I know who we're dealing with and they're class A dickbags. I don't know how it's possible but I think these guys are Men of Letters. Or Women, in this case."

"I thought you said they'd been wiped out."

"Apparently we don't know everything about them. Just hurry. Sooner we can find Sam the better."

"I'm on my way." The line clicked and Dean lowered the phone from his ear, his fingers idly tracing the pattern on the door. He heard a noise behind him and spun, levelling his gun at the threat. He let out a breath of relief as Mary rounded the corner. He clicked the safety back on and turned to face her.

"We may have a slight problem," he said. "The door doesn't have a lock but I still can't open it."

Mary frowned. "Are you certain it's a door?"

"Positive. This symbol wouldn't be here if there wasn't something behind it. If there's anything I've learnt about the Men of Letters, it's that they're sneaky sons of bitches and nothing is ever easy. Sam and me are the only ones with the key to get into the Bunker." He cast his eyes down. "At least, we thought we were. Guess we need to add that to the list of things we don't know."

While Dean had been talking, Mary had been surveying the door. She traced the outline of the symbol and dug her nail into the ridges to look for hidden catches. Finding nothing, she took a step back and furrowed her brow, biting her nails anxiously. She stood like that for perhaps a minute before letting out a sharp gasp. Dean watched her curiously as she approached the door and rested her hands on the two diamond shapes, gently pressing inwards. With a groan, locks clicked and the door swung open. Dean cast an impressed look at his mother before drawing his gun and moving in, Mary following close behind.

The door slammed behind them, leaving them in darkness. Dean took two torches out of his jacket and tossed one to Mary. Switching the safety off on his gun, he crossed one hand over the other and crept cautiously down the steps, feeling for any traps.

They got to the bottom intact and were faced with another door. This one just had a simple, easy to pick lock on it but Dean still hesitated in reaching for his kit. He glanced apprehensively at his mother and received a nod and an encouraging smile. Spurred on, he deftly picked the lock and turned the handle.

It took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness of the fluorescent lights but, when they did, he heard Mary gasp in shock behind him. Puddles of dirty water flooded the floor and a table with all the torture instruments imaginable stood in the corner. The whole place reeked with the stench of blood and - even worse - burnt flesh. But Dean didn't care about any of that, no, his attention was focused on the figure in the centre of the room.

A man was tied in a chair, slumped over with his hands cuffed behind his back. He wore a thin white t-shirt and jeans and his feet were bare. Long brown hair obscured his features but Dean would know him anywhere.

"Sammy?"

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger ending. It wasn't meant to end here but it made more sense than what I'd originally planned. Sorry if this seemed a little rushed but I want to get the first bit out the way so I can get into the main plot. I think it's pretty clear this won't be finished until after season 12 has aired but that doesn't really matter. Please leave a review if you want and I'll try to update soon! Bye!