"I understand your desire to talk to me, Dean," Castiel said, "but I need to heal Jimmy before another of our past injuries manifests itself."
Sam Winchester ducked to avoid hitting his head on the top of the doorframe, also with a sawn-off shotgun, a knife in his belt, and a sack over his shoulder. "We don't have a lot of time."
"Please...I don't want any more bad things to happen to dad, Castiel," Claire said, touching the angel lightly on the elbow.
"Wait, time until what, exactly? And what's with the local militia up in arms?" House asked.
"Sam used to get visions..."
"I know," Castiel said.
"Well, Jimmy, Claire, and whoever that poor bastard is glaring at me in the corner and asking all the questions who is going to get dragged into it hasn't had the luxury of stalking me since I was born! Now are you going to shut up, since this could get seriously dire and we're trying to help you even though you sincerely fucked up lasted time we got into a similar situation?"
Jimmy coughed. "Language, boys."
"It's okay, Dad, I watch cable," Claire replied.
"Anyway, I thought it was just a dream, since if it was really you talking to one of us in dreams you would have gone to Dean because of the 'profound bond' or whatever," Sam said, getting himself a drink of water, the cup comically tiny in his large hand. "But when we were fighting some demons, they confirmed it. They said they had worse problems than us. Then we got a visitor..."
"Crowley," Jimmy said. Everyone stared at him, and he gathered the blankets around himself, mindful of his stitches. "What? I remember things too. It's not like I was comatose in there, just sort of spaced-out. There aren't any more unfallen angels on your side roaming the earth, and you were in Ohio when we talked. There's no way you could have gotten here so fast without help from someone with that level of power."
"You all actually believe the things you're saying," House mused to himself.
It did him credit how little yelping and jumping he did when he felt Crowley's hand on his shoulder. "I feel for you a bit, darling, given what you're going to have to see within the next hour or so."
"What did the demons and your vision say?" Castiel asked.
Crowley pouted. "What, no hello? After all we did together?"
"Priorities, demon," Castiel growled.
"God is coming," Dean said.
"What?" House asked, having finally managed to produce sound again.
"You make that sound like it's a bad thing," Claire said. "And, isn't this guy a demon?"
"He's an okay demon, on our side; sort of complicated," Jimmy whispered before addressing Castiel. "I know you've had your differences - Lord, that sounds odd - but you had the message saying you've been forgiven, you're just sort of...grounded."
"It's not that in of itself," Crowley said. "It's that every demon walking the Earth right now is terrified. And some of them, the cleverer ones, think that they can escape destruction if they have something to bargain with. Like, say, a third-tier angel who went too far trying to win a civil war in Heaven, then claimed to be the new Lord of All until it killed him. They felt you come back, Castiel dear, and they're thinking that if they have you captured, maybe they'll have a bit of leverage."
"Lots of demons are coming?" Claire asked. "I mean, the kind that isn't okay, even if it's sort of complicated?"
"Yeah," Sam and Dean chorused accidentally.
Claire bit her lip and went to the corner to fetch her backpack. "Good thing I brought a lot of salt. Demons can't possess me or Dad or the Winchesters, but I'm not losing another parent today."