SOUIX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA

The ride to the Singer residence was a long and quiet one. Since the night before, when Oshea had told Sam and Ella about the last seal, the big green "go" button for the apocalypse, and about the possible reversal ritual, every one had been on edge and less chatty than usual.

When they arrived, they stepped onto the creaky front porch and was greeted by the older hunter, who was already standing behind the screen door.

Oshea grabbed her bag from the back of the Impala and silently stepped toward the house, jogging up the porch steps to the screen door. It was tugged open and Bobby's brows furrowed as he saw the bruises on her face. Wordlessly, she moved into the home, setting down her bags at the foot of the couch. The house was filled with the mouth watering aroma of freshly baked goods. Sam took a deep breath as he stepped inside and his eyes widened, "Bobby… are you… baking?"

"Not me. Him," He said, gesturing toward the kitchen as the door opened and Castiel stepped out, wiping his hands on pale apron that had been tied about his waist. He was wearing a too large red flannel shirt and dusty pair of jeans that were obviously Bobby's. The sleeves had been rolled up to his elbows, and pants were secured about his lean waist by a worn brown belt. He smiled pleasantly.

"Hello, Bobby said that you were coming. You are the Winchesters, yes? And the Blackwoods. It is good to see you. I am glad that you arrived safely. I baked an apple pie. I believe you enjoy those… uh… Dean, is it?" He questioned, his brows furrowing slightly as he looked to the eldest Winchester.

Dean's jaw dropped a bit as he stared for a few moments. "So I take it Martha Stewart here still has no memory of being a nerdy little angel?" He said to Bobby, but not taking his eyes off Castiel.

Castiel's brows furrowed a little. "Martha Stewart... are you referring to me? I thought my name was Castiel..." He said, glancing toward Bobby. The elder hunter rolled his eyes.

"It is! Geez, you idjit, don't confuse him!" Bobby said, giving Dean a little glare. "Since he's got here all he's been in a pain in my ass," He cursed gruffly, glancing toward Castiel who shifted a little uncomfortably.

Ella arched a brow. "He loses his memory, but still doesn't gain the concept of sarcasm... poor guy can't catch a break."

Bobby glanced to Castiel who was staring at his bare, flour dusted feet. Bobby rolled his eyes and sighed. "But... he can cook. Somehow." Castiel looked up and smiled a little. "How is supper coming, Castiel?"

The former angel perked up and nodded. "Good! It's almost ready. I'd better go check on it." He scurried back into the kitchen and Sam grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck guiltily.

"So uh... is there any way we can fix him?"

"Not that I've seen." Bobby said with a deep frown. "You really screwed him up, ya idjit. But I can't take much more of his housewife routine, so you boys are going to have to either work a miracle and rewire his deep fried brain or take him yourself."

"Speaking of miracles," Ella said, "Any luck with that ritual?"

Oshea looked up from the couch where she had been sitting, a little off to the side. When Ella mentioned the ritual, Oshea stood and walked over. Bobby nodded. "I've been doing a lot of research, but I've not found much. There are a lot of rituals that can ward off demonic deities, but I haven't found anything that fits Oshea's description."

"Maybe Jonah was lying," Ella said, looking at her sister with a frown.

Oshea kept her eyes down, curving her arms around herself. Bobby looked over to her. "Explain to me again everything that he said about this so called ritual. You weren't holding anything out on me were you, Oshea?" Oshea did not look up. Bobby sighed. "Okay, look. I know that things have been... off between you all lately, but now is the time to just lay everything on the table and be completely honest and..." He paused and looked between them. "Where the hell is Dean? This is important!"

Dean stepped out from the kitchen, holding a plate of a half eaten slice of pie. "What?" He said, his mouth full.

Bobby walked over to him and gave him a little pop on the back of the head. "Idjit." He grumbled before stepping to the living room, beckoning to the others. "Come on. We're going to sit down and Oshea, you're going to tell us everything Jonah said about this ritual. Now is not the time to be keeping secrets." Oshea nodded a little and sank down onto the couch. When everyone had sat down, she began, staring at her hands.

"He told me that there are many gateways to Hell and that one of them was a box. He said it's where the Greeks got the story of Pandora's box. Anyway..." She sighed. "He said that to close it, we would have to perform a sacrificial ritual and that it required the blood of a demon and the blood of the person responsible for opening the box. Apparently when Ella and I were taken from Heaven, we inadvertently broke the seal that held the box closed."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, and- wait, did you just say Heaven?"

Oshea looked up at Dean and nodded slowly. "Yes, Dean. Ella and I... we didn't go to Hell when we died. We were in Heaven."

Dean arched a brow. "I don't believe it."

Ella nodded. "It's true."

He shook his head. "No I mean I literally don't believe that you were in Heaven. Even if it does exist... us four, we're not exactly BFFS with those up above. Considering the things we've done, I'd say we had a better chance of winning the lottery than sitting up in Heaven drinking margaritas with God."

Tears ran down her face as Oshea looked up at him, "I know it's hard to believe that I'd be allowed up there, but it's true." She stood up from the couch and stepped from the room into the kitchen just as the lights flickered and Joel appeared among them. "I have some things to discuss with you all.."

Ella jumped a bit in her seat as he appeared and then glared. "You guys really need to quit doing that."

Joel smirked a little in amusement. "Sorry, Ella. Look, there's been a-" He froze as Castiel stepped into the room.

"Dinner's ready." He said. "Hello, who are you?"

Joel's eyes were very wide as he looked Castiel over then looked to Dean and Sam. "You turned my brother into a cooking lumberjack?"

Dean shrugged. "Hey, don't look at us," He nodded his head toward Bobby. "We haven't seen him since Sam put him in a mini-coma."

Joel arched a brow and looked to Bobby who shook his head. "Not my fault the emergency room cuts off a person's clothing. When angel boy came back from the hospital, he was upset because he couldn't remember anything and just... started cooking."

"This... is all my fault," Sam said weakly.

Joel rolled his eyes and shook his head. "And you wonder why some angels hate humans."

"Can you fix him, Joel?" Sam asked, glancing from Castiel to Joel. The younger angel looked to Castiel and stepped forward, pressing the heel of his hand sharply against his forehead.

"BE HEALED!"

Castiel jumped a little and rubbed his head. Sam's eyes widened and he looked from Dean to Joel. "That kind of thing really works?"

"No... it doesn't work that way. I've just... I don't know. Always wanted to say that." Joel said with a little smirk.

Ella rolled her eyes. "Can you fix him or not?"

"Yes." Joel said with a nod. "I am an archangel now, after all. The only reason I did not 'fix him' sooner is because his vessel needed to heal enough to handle housing him. A lot depends on the condition of our vessel, you understand." Lifting his hand, he pressed his two forefingers against Castiel's forehead. Castiel blinked a little and his brows furrowed.

"Joel?"

"Welcome back, brother." Joel said with a little smile. Sam's eyes widened and he jumped up, going toward Castiel quickly.

"Cas! You're okay!" He said with a smile.

Castiel looked at him and tilted his head before curling one hand into a fist and driving it sharply into Sam's face, sending him sprawling to the floor. Castiel lowered his hand. "Forgive me. For some reason that felt necessary..." His eyes lowered to his clothes and he arched a brow. "What is it that I am wearing?"

"Bobby's clothes," Ella said with a little laugh. "Bobby, please tell me you kept his trenchcoat at least? I don't think I've ever seen him without it.. You okay, Sam?" She frowned a bit, although at the moment, the expression on Castiel's face made it difficult to stay serious.

Bobby nodded, "Sure. That was the one piece of clothing they didn't hack to pieces. It's in the coat closet."

Joel smiled, "Come on, brother. I'm sure I have some clothes that will fit you better." He lifted his hand and touched Castiel's brow. The other angel vanished and Joel looked back to Sam, who was picking himself up off the floor. He nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I definitely deserved that."

She nodded, biting her lip as she tried to fight a smile. "A little bit." She rose from the couch and stepped towards the kitchen. "I'm just gonna check on Oshea."

When she left the room, Dean turned to look at Joel. "So, Ella and Oshea seem to be under the impression that they were in Heaven... care to elaborate?"

Joel took a deep breath as he heard the door close behind Ella. He looked to Dean and shook his head. "Give us a little credit, Dean. Do you really think that we would send Ella, the one who can see and hear the true forms and voices of the angels down to Hell? It's true, Dean. They were in Heaven... Paradise. Why do you think Zachariah was so keen on you asking for them back? Hm? And why Chuck told you both to be sure not to ask for them. To tell Zachariah you did not want them back. They were violently ripped from Heaven and thrown into coffins which they then had to dig themselves out of. You want to know why they are so different? Why they barely smile and laugh anymore? Because they have tasted perfect, untainted bliss... they have been in Heaven. And that was taken away from them."

Dean looked away. "We didn't have anything to do with bringing them back.." He said quietly.

"Well... regardless. Now you know." Joel said with a sigh. "But there is no time for this now. There has been some trouble in Detroit. We believe there is a large group of demons there... Castiel will go with you." As soon as he said his name, the angel appeared wearing his normal attire of a suit and his khaki trench coat.

"Demons in Detroit, catchy... what are they doing there?" Dean asked.

"There have been sightings of an omen of disaster," Castiel said slowly. "One that has not appeared for a very long time. A dwarf like creature called a nain rouge."

Dean arched a brow. "Nain rouge... I think I've heard that before."

"I think I have, too." Sam stood up and walked over to their suitcase, digging around a bit before pulling out their father's bulky journal. He flipped through it a few moments then nodded. "Right here it is. It always appears as a warning that a disaster is at hand. It appeared in 1763 just before the Battle of Bloody Run... in '67 before there was a riot on 12th Street..."

"Right," Dean nodded. "People said they also saw it right before the big fire in 1805, and then again in '76 before an ice storm. So this thing isn't dangerous, but it predicts danger."

Joel nodded, "Yes, and it has been spotted again. We believe there to be a large group of demons there, and if this creature is there as well, it means that a lot of people could die if you all don't do something."

Dean sighed. "Guess we're goin' to Detroit."