Dean had been driving for a few hours. He hadn't even turned on the radio. He was lost in thought. Cas' face, bruised and bloodied, kept swimming before his eyes. "No, Dean. Please…" Charlie and the Styne kid made their way into his thoughts sometimes too. But the look in Cas' eyes still haunted Dean. Another memory surfaced. "Cas. Cas. I know you're in there. I know you can hear me. Cas...It's me. We're family. We need you. I need you."
The roles had been reversed then. Cas had been under someone else's control. He had almost killed Dean, and then didn't at the last second. But why? Cas had never said…
Dean shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He had a job to do. He could think about this later.
Sam paced back and forth in the main room of the Bunker.
"Where the hell is Crowley? How long can this take?"
"I don't know," Cas replied.
Sam ran his fingers through his hair. He sat down, and then stood up again, clearly agitated.
"Look Cas. Crowley is bound to turn up sooner or later. But I'm assuming we need Dean there for Rowena to cast the spell. Can you go look for him? Please?" Sam looked at Cas, his eyes begging.
"Fine. What should I do when I find him? Should I bring him here, lock him up in the dungeon?"
"No," Sam said. "I'll text you when we're ready to go. Until then, Cas, find him. Keep your eye on him. If he does something stupid, stop him."
Dean stopped the Impala in the driveway of a small house in the country. White beehives that sounded empty stood in the yard. There were no lights on inside the house. The Mark on Dean's arm was heating up. Dean rubbed it while walking up to the front door.
"Cain?" Dean called. He threw open the front door and entered the house.
"Cain? I know you're here."
Cain was on his knees, looking up at Dean. "What's the matter?"
Dean looked regretfully down at him. "Tell me I don't have to do this. Tell me that you'll stop. Tell me that you can stop!" His voice cracked.
"I will never stop," Cain said with finality. His eyes lost the mad look in them, and he lowered his head, knowing what would come next.
Dean paced around Cain, lifting the First Blade. He yelled, and brought the First Blade down-missing Cain.
"You can stop. You will stop"
"No. I can't!" Cain was back on his feet again, facing Dean angrily.
"You have no idea what this feels like-"
"Don't I?" Dean yelled back, pulling up his sleeve to reveal the Mark on his arm.
"I'm fighting it. I beat it, just now. I could have killed you but I didn't. The burden of the Mark isn't on you anymore, it's on me. You didn't kill those people because of the Mark."
Cain was breathing heavily.
"As long as the Mark exists, I will feel its effects."
"That's bullshit," Dean shot back.
Cain lowered his face from Dean's.
"It is, isn't it?" Dean said. "Why would you kill all those people, they did nothing to you. Some of them were jackasses but the law would have taken care of them."
"I killed them because I knew that you would come after me and take me down," Cain whispered. "I can't live like this anymore. I don't want to live. I want you to kill me. I can be killed now, because God's curse is no loner upon me, it's upon you."
"No," Dean answered. "Because the more I kill, the more it effects me, the worse the curse gets. I can't kill you. Not yet. Once I figure out a way to get this thing off my arm, I'll take you up on it."
Cain grabbed Dean's shirt.
"Swear to it. Swear that you will kill me once you can remove the Mark."
"I swear," Dean said. "You better believe I will."
"Good," Cain said. "And if you do not, Dean Winchester, I will find you and hold you to your word. And you do not want me to come looking for you. I can promise you that."
And he disappeared.
"Cain?" Dean yelled again.
"You still possess the Mark," A voice from behind Dean said quietly.
Dean jumped.
"And you still sneak up on people," Dean said angrily. "Yes, I still have the Mark. But I also have an idea."
Cain frowned and crossed his arms. "I'm listening."
Cas walked outside the Bunker and concentrated, looking for the Impala. The Enochian symbols were still etched on both boy's ribs, making it impossible to find Dean himself. Cas closed his eyes and saw the Impala outside a small house somewhere in a countryside. He opened his eyes and the Impala was right in front of him. He could sense Dean inside the house….Dean and someone else.
Sam's phone buzzed on the table, and he lunged for it.
The message was from Cas.
Found Dean. He isn't alone. Don't know who else is there.
Sam didn't reply, because at the same time, Crowley called him.
"Crowley," Sam answered.
"Moose," Crowley purred. "I've got what you need to cure Squirrel. I'll meet you at that disgusting warehouse immediately."
"Fine. Don't make me regret trusting you, Crowley."
"Oh Moose, remember what happened last time? I should be the one with trust issues here."
And Crowley hung up.
Sam sent Cas a text back: Get Dean out of there now. Crowley has the ingredients.
Castiel read Sam's reply. He reached for his angel blade, pulling it out of his trench coat. He didn't know what this was about but the entire thing made him uneasy.