Oh my God, you guys... You can't believe the physical pain I was in when I looked at the date of when I last published a chapter in this fic. I am truly sorry. I hate my studies for keeping me from my writing haha, but oh well... I'm back with a new chapter now and I promise the next update will definitely be sooner. For now, hope you enjoy this one :)
Unbetad, so sorry for any errors.
The Impala happily purred as Dean drove her down the highway. It seemed to him that now that she had her necessary occupant of the shotgun seat along for the ride, she was running more smoothly than she had in a while.
After Cas had zapped them back home from that crappy mansion, he had actually been quite pissed at the angel for just leaving behind his baby; that was until he had realized that the guy had managed to return her unnoticed just the previous day.
He still couldn't believe that Sammy was actually there, right next to him in the car, like it should be. Like it always had been. Part of him was afraid that this was just a dream (though a very different one than the ones that had been torturing him for months); that he could wake up at any moment to realize that his brother was still in the cage. He didn't trust this turn of events because it was too good; it was impossible that the universe could want him to be so happy.
But he knew that it was real and his baby knew it too. They were all back together again, like nothing had ever happened.
"So you really tried, huh?" Sam suddenly stated from next to him.
Dean frowned at him, not really following. "Tried?" he repeated.
"To go live a life... after," Sam explained matter-of-factly. "Gotta say I'm kinda surprised."
This confused Dean, especially since his brother stated it rather indifferently, like he was observing an interesting experiment unfold. "Why would you be surprised?"
"Well, cause," Sam went on with a small chuckle. "You were never the type of guy that was enough at peace to just settle down. I mean, this would actually be the first time you've really listened me, know what I mean?"
Dean couldn't really argue with that. "Yeah, I guess…" he murmured. "Well, I promised, didn't I?" He smiled half-heartedly at his brother to try to lighten the mood.
Sam smiled as well and nodded in agreement. "So you finally got what you wanted…" he said. "That's good, I'm glad."
They rode in silence for a moment (well, silence beside the loud mullet-rock tunes that Dean was blasting for old-times sake), as Dean tried to assess the somewhat strange mood his brother seemed to be in. The obvious exhilaration of having Sam back by his side had still not worn off – and he honestly didn't expect it ever would – but the more time he spent with the guy, the more he found himself worrying about the after-effects of the cage. After a few hours in the car it was almost evident to him: his brother seemed too ok.
It didn't make sense. He remembered all too well how he himself had acted like everything was all right after coming back, wanting to repress his horrid memories as best he could. But with Sam it was different. It was clear to Dean that he wasn't just pretending to be ok; he really seemed ok. And that in itself was cause enough to worry, because there was no way in hell that that would just happen without some kind of a nasty price.
It drove him to an almost desperate need of knowing what had gone down in the cage.
"So, how are you doing?" he broke the silence when he couldn't take his own thoughts anymore. "Really?"
Sam cast him a surprised glance. "I told you, Dean," he responded patiently, but also slightly bewildered at the question. "Maybe it's hard for you to believe, but… I really am ok. I mean, I'm not saying it was fun to be down there, but it doesn't bother me, you know?" He shrugged, pursing his lips in a casual expression. "I just wanna get back to my life, you know? Hunting, killing monsters… it's what I'm good at."
There was something so off about this. Dean heard Sammy say he was fine and he looked fine, but the alarms all over his body were shrieking their asses off. It all felt wrong cause Sam could not be fine and he was not the type of guy that would hide not being fine. Dean was the guy who always pretended to be indestructible; Sam always laid out his feelings. Even if he didn't want to, they broke out of him at some point.
But he was wrong. He had to be wrong. If Sam was fine, that in itself had to be a miracle, maybe he was just too paranoid to believe it. Maybe after all the unbelievable shit they had gone through in their lives, he couldn't believe that something actually turned out ok.
Maybe Sammy just needed time to sort through his memories alone before he was ready to talk about them. Several years down in the pit had to change a guy after all. Maybe it was all gonna be ok eventually.
"All right, John MacClane," he sighed, realizing that he was definitely not gonna get more out of his brother. "So let's say you did get out of the cage unharmed"-
"I did," Sam said matter-of-factly.
-"then what does that mean?" Dean went on, as if there had been no interruption. "I mean, if you're free does that mean Lucifer and Michael are too?" As terrifying as that thought was, they had to consider its possibility at some point.
"I don't know," Sam responded with a frown. "But if they were out, don't you think we would know by now? I mean, I don't see any Armageddon around us, do you?"
"Yeah, good point," Dean murmured. "But still, man, I'm just wondering… reopen the cage, that's all those freakin' angels wanna do and then suddenly you show up again?" He gave his brother a pointed look. "Come on, that can't be a coincidence!"
"Probably not," Sam admitted.
With a slight shake of his head Dean turned his eyes toward the road again and sighed. "But it makes no sense!" he contradicted his own words again. "I mean, if they were able to get you out, why the hell wouldn't those damn douche bags be out wreaking havoc right about now?"
Sam shook his head as well with a clueless expression to indicate that he also could not make sense of it. "What did Cas tell you exactly?" he then wanted to know.
Dean glared at the road with a grim expression, for somehow thinking about the angel still made him pissed about the fact that he hadn't shown up at a moment like this. "Raphael," he responded gruffly as a simple explanation. "Dude's hellbent on fulfilling all the eternal Paradise-wonderland… Last I heard he had his head set on a bunch of heavenly weapons or whatever, think he's looking for a way to break the seal on the cage again."
Sam listened with a very attentive and concentrated expression, which was not unusual for him, but Dean thought it was weird that he didn't seem more troubled. Quickly pushing his concerns away again, he continued in his exertions: "And of course on top of that he's still majorly pissed at Cas for the whole rebellion thing… He tried to get him to join the cause or else."
"Cas went for or else, I presume," Sam threw in casually.
"Well, yeah," Dean responded with a frown. "But it was more the issue of which or else he'd go for" – he shook his head briefly at his own choice of words – "He was pretty touch and go there for a while, but now he's trying to fight, you know, gathering other angels behind him or something. He was looking for the weapons too, but he had to run off again before they caught him…"
Talking about the angel's situation made Dean once again realize how impossible it really was. He shouldn't be pissed at the guy for not taking a moment out of his busy schedule to come and help him and yet he still was, because this was Sammy. He didn't care how bad Cas had it, if it was about Sammy then he was fucking supposed to be here.
"I fucking hate not knowing what's going on!" he growled insistently, not even realizing how his foot was pressing down harder on the gas pedal as an expression of his anger. "You know, the least he could do is just pop up and give us a hint or something! Dammit, this is pissing me off!"
Sam watched him with a slightly curious expression. "Well, I don't see how that's gonna fix anything," he pointed out.
"Shut up," Dean grumbled.
The drive took them several more hours, but sometime late in the afternoon they had finally reached their destination. While the Impala was pulling into the familiar surroundings, Dean found himself feeling strangely nervous and weird at the same time. He hadn't been back to this place for quite a while; God knows he had even been avoiding it out of fear of what it might remind him of. But hopefully that was all behind him now.
After parking the car, the two Winchesters walked up to the porch and the familiar front door and exchanged a quick meaningful glance before Dean raised his fist to knock decisively.
For a few moments everything remained silent, but then they could make out some distant scuffling going on inside the building. It took him so long that Dean spent an absurd second wondering if they were even welcome, but then the door finally opened to reveal the wary and gruff figure of a middle-aged man.
"Bobby," Dean nodded with a small smile. "Hey, it's good to see you."
Bobby Singer stared at them as if he couldn't believe his own, despite the age still highly functional eyes.
"Damn it," were the first words to escape his mouth.
Dean looked back at the tall figure of his brother and chuckled. "Jeez, Bobby, why don't you tell us how you really feel!"
Bobby continued staring at Sam over Dean's shoulder, eyes wide and in shock. He soon gave a slight shake of his head, as if he was testing the truth behind the image his sight was providing and Dean found himself fidgeting around nervously.
"It's ok, Bobby," he said reassuringly, unable to keep the awe from his voice. "It's… it's really him, I checked"-
"What did you do?" Bobby almost whispered. It was quiet and soft and said completely without any harshness and yet Dean instantly felt accused.
He stared at the older man, for a moment, his confusion lasting for only a second until it finally dawned on him. He realized exactly what this had to look like to Bobby. A dead kid miraculously returned to the living and his wary, insecure brother on the doorstep. Déjà vu didn't even begin to cover it.
"No –" he responded, shaking his head adamantly while looking back and forth between the two men. "No, no, Bobby, I didn't do anything!"
"You expect me to believe that?" Bobby grunted in response.
"It's true," Sam stated quietly and sincerely before Dean could continue defending himself. "He's right, Bobby. We got no clue what happened."
The older man once again stared at the one they had all believed to be dead and it was like hearing the sound of his voice had brought him back to his original awe-stricken mood. After what seemed like forever he finally took a wavering step over the threshold and carefully moved to put his arms around Sam.
He hugged him tightly and clapped him on the back for only a short moment before withdrawing and putting his hands on the taller man's shoulders. "It's good to see ya, boy," he grumbled in his deep voice, hiding how emotional he actually was.
Dean stared at the two of them, his heart overflowing with almost childlike joy. Something he had believed to have lost for the rest of his life was unfolding right here in front of his eyes and he didn't think he would ever be able to find words to how it made him feel.
Hidden under all his layers of a gruff old warrior, Bobby showed the hint of a smile and affectionately clapped his palm against Dean's neck. "You too, ya idjit," he said, that familiar hidden tone of annoyance always palpable in his voice.
The three of them then made their way into Bobby's study and the well-known surroundings allowed Dean to realize just how long he hadn't been back to this place anymore. Bobby first poured himself and then the two brothers a generous drink.
"God damn it, you two," he murmured. "I ain't clear on how you keep doin' it, but…" He raised his glass silently.
Dean couldn't help but grin triumphantly and quirk his brow at Sammy, who smiled slightly and took a sip of his drink, his eyes watching the two other men with almost academic interest over the brim of his glass.
How was it possible that in such a wonderful moment of reuniting with the old man, that steady feeling of unease still kept gnawing around inside him?
"So you ain't got a clue what happened?" Bobby asked after a while, bringing the inevitable skepticism along with him into the cheerful moment. "Ya just sprung free?"
Sam shrugged, staring thoughtfully at the ground. "I guess so," he responded and he proceeded to explain to Bobby the same things he had to his brother about his confusing and mysterious return.
"So no one's soul took a beatin' for this?" Bobby stated and gave them both a very long and scolding look.
"Nope," Dean said and he couldn't really explain to himself why he was chuckling nervously. This whole situation was making him uncomfortable.
"We have no idea what happened," Sam carried on casually. "I mean, something had to get me out, right?"
"Well whatever it is, it ain't good," Bobby grumbled. "Sure remember the last time we had ourselves a mysterious resurrection."
"Yeah," Dean snorted darkly. "Got an apocalypse out of the deal."
Bobby didn't immediately respond, but gave both the brothers a meaningful look, before evidently deciding to voice his concerns. "I'm thinkin'… it might be something similar this time…"
Dean and Sam exchanged a surprised gaze. "What makes you say that?" Dean wanted to know.
"Well…" Bobby started slowly. "Last couple of months… More and more hunters been runnin' into weird stuff, angel symptoms and all. Folks with burnt out eyes, disappearances and strange behavior… and a whole bunch of crazy I ain't seen in my life."
"What…" Dean asked, casting his brother an uncertain glance. "What type of crazy?"
Bobby shrugged. "Crazy like a whole damn person meltin' down into his own blood…" He sighed with a worried look on his face. "We don't know what's causin' it or why, but it ain't pretty. Looks like them angels are wagin' a private war, ya ask me."
Sam frowned at the revelation and looked over at Dean. "Isn't that what you said?" he asked, his interest obviously spiked.
Dean nodded wordlessly, his eyes firmly locked on Bobby.
"What he said?" Bobby repeated, a dumbstruck expression taking over his face.
"Yeah," Sam explained, untouched by the other men's changing behavior. "Apparently they're planning to re-launch the apocalypse."
Bobby's surprised expression wasn't as much due to this new knowledge he had already been expecting, but to the fact that Dean had somehow known about this and not informed him about it. "And you know this how?" he demanded.
Bobby stared at Dean for a moment, but Sam answered for him. "Cas told him," he explained. "He's been talking to him now and again."
"Cas, huh?" Bobby said, glowering slightly at Dean. "And you never thought that me and them other hunters stickin' their necks out might wanna know about that?"
Dean shrugged. "Well, not like you told me what you guys were digging up around here." The truth was that he actually knew he should've told Bobby about everything that was happening up in heaven according to Cas, but he had just not been able to pick up the phone at the prospect of being painfully reminded of his old life.
Bobby sighed in response. "Because you got out, Dean." The way he said it made it sound like some type of impossible miracle. Well, he guessed that's what it was. "You walked away from the life. And I was so damn grateful, you got no idea."
Dean looked into the older man's eyes for a moment and saw all the unspoken emotions reflected within them. Of course he understood that Bobby wanted something better for him, but as much as he had thought it over himself these past months… it didn't make sense to him. He was a Winchester. There was no such thing as out.
"I look out to you?" he asked darkly.
Bobby had no answer to that. Instead he nodded to himself and took another drink from his glass. "So, what'ya learn from Cas?"
Dean sighed, not really knowing where to begin with all of the confusing things he had learned from the angel. "He let some stones drop here and there," he recalled. "He came to see me a few weeks after…" – surprisingly he still couldn't put it into words, even with his brother standing before him in perfectly healthy condition – "… you know."
And he told Bobby the same things he had already informed his brother about. Raphael, Cas' once again fugitive status and his attempts to form some type of feeble resistance against the forces of heaven. Bobby didn't really seem surprised at the news, instead he looked tired and glum, like he knew he shouldn't have expected any better from this fucked up world they were living in.
"Do you think it's possible," Sam addressed him once Dean had finished, "that one of them brought me back?"
"Well, that don't make a lick of sense," Bobby grunted in response. "If one of them did it, where's Michael and Lucifer?" He shrugged briefly. "Where's Armageddon?"
"Yeah, that's what we figured," Dean agreed, rubbing his palm over his tired face.
"What Cas have to say about it?" Bobby wanted to know.
Dean huffed. "Yeah, that'd be nice to know," he said sulkily.
Bobby shot Sam a questioning look, to which the younger Winchester responded helpfully. "He already called Cas," he explained factually. "He's not answering." With an interested frown directed at his brother he added: "He seems to be pretty upset about it."
Dean glared at him. "Of course I'm pissed man," he said angrily. "If we need his help, he should damn well answer the call!"
Bobby shook his head in obvious irritation. "Well, boo-hoo," he stated, rolling his eyes. "Now when you're done feelin' your prissy little feelings" – Now it was his turn to receive Dean's displeased glare – "you think you could stop wastin' time and just try again?"
Dean opened his mouth to retort, but Sam beat him to it. "We tried a few times, Bobby," he said. "The son of a bitch isn't answering."
"And what, ya only get a limited number?" Bobby asked, still running on irritation as his primary emotion. "Go ahead, try again."
Dean was just about to talk back to him, but one authoritative gaze from the older hunter made him shut up and begrudgingly follow his instructions.
"Cas, it's me again," he said gruffly, not bothering to close his eyes, but letting them pass over his surroundings. "We're at Bobby's now and we still got no clue what's going on with Sam…" He emphasized his choice of words angrily, almost challenging the angel with his evident discontent.
"We need your help, man," he demanded. "You know, if you were wondering, this is kind of a big deal." He pretended to not notice Bobby rolling his eyes at his sarcastic tone of voice. "Come on, don't be a dick, Cas!" he ordered and then tried to bring his voice to a more benevolent level, even if he thought he was spectacularly failing in doing so. "If you got a moment, we'd really appreciate it if you could pop in…"
Dean was just about to throw his hands up in defeat, when he heard the familiar flatter of wings behind him.
"Hello," the unmistakably deep voice informed them of the angel's arrival.
The three hunters instantly faced the center of the room where Castiel had appeared in their midst, his gaze resting thoughtfully on Sam.
"Hello?" the latter repeated in disbelief.
Castiel cast a confused gaze in Dean's direction, before responding. "Y-yes," he said uncertainly.
"Hello," Sam imitated him, shaking his head incredulously. "Hello?"
"Um…" Cas looked around helplessly. "That is still the term?"
"I spent hours trying to get through to you!" Sam exclaimed, though he seemed less angry at the letdown, as Dean had been, and more irritated at the loss of time that had caused him. "I tried over and over and now all of a sudden it's just hello?"
Dean might've laughed at Sammy's imitation of the angel's deep and gravelly voice if he hadn't been in total agreement of his complaint.
"Yes," Cas stated, completely oblivious to the trouble this had caused his friends.
Dean stared at him for a second, but when Cas didn't elaborate further he went directly into attack. "Why the hell didn't you answer earlier?" he demanded.
"I couldn't," Cas responded.
"Oh, you couldn't," Dean repeated sarcastically. "And why exactly is that?"
"Dean…"
"No, seriously, enlighten us," Dean went on angrily. "What was so important that you couldn't make time to pop in for five fucking minutes?"
Castiel sighed at the hunter's aggressive behavior, by now highly accustomed to this type of situation when facing him. "Because," he retorted with an exasperated, but nonetheless dark tone of voice, "that was exactly what they were waiting for, Dean!"
This surprised the three hunters and they all exchanged a dumbstruck glance. "What do you mean?" Dean asked uncertainly.
"Raphael," Cas sighed and Dean wondered why he had even asked. It was always that son of a bitch. "Raphael and his followers… When I heard about it, I…"
He turned to look at Sam, a concerned yet pleased expression on his face. "Everyone was talking about you returning, Sam," he nodded briefly in his direction. "It's so good to see you alive."
Looking at the older hunter he also nodded at him. "You too, Bobby."
"Likewise," Bobby responded. "So, you're sayin' the angels all know about his resurrection?"
"Yes," Castiel confirmed.
"Ok," Dean stated, spreading his arms in a concluding gesture. "So, they gotta be the ones that brought him back, right?"
Cas hesitated, looking back and forth between the two brothers with an uneasy expression. "It's… it's not possible," he said quietly. "If I weren't seeing it with my own eyes, I wouldn't… You should not be here."
Dean frowned. "Come on, Cas," he protested. "It's not his fault, he's"-
"No, Dean," Cas interrupted vigorously. "I mean, he's not supposed to be here! No one could have broken into the cage and if they did…"
Sam nodded in agreement. "If they did we'd be facing evisceration right about now."
"It doesn't make sense," Dean sighed, running his hands through his hair in a frustrated fashion. It seemed they were all on the same page concerning that matter.
"What did you mean," Bobby asked, "when you said, ya know, exactly what they were waiting for?"
Castiel hesitated once again, trying to think of the best way to explain the problem to the three of them. "Look," he started carefully. "It's no secret in heaven that I am allied to you… especially Dean." He sighed. "And it's obvious that you are both of high interest."
Dean couldn't resist quirking his brows playfully toward his brother, which earned him an annoyed eye rolling from Bobby.
"It doesn't matter who caused it," Cas went on. "Dean, if something like this happens… Everyone is watching." He shook his head with an apologetic look. "I couldn't answer. If I did…"
"You'd be walking right into their trap," Dean finished his thought with an affirmative nod. "Yeah, I get it."
It made such a horrible amount of sense that he knew he shouldn't be upset with the angel. But as always, it was difficult to focus on anything else than making sure Sammy was all right.
"But ain't that a bit much?" Bobby suddenly asked. "Them spendin' so much time on that, when they go a cage to open? I mean, I know they want you dead, but"-
"They want me alive," Castiel interrupted him quietly. Something about the way he spoke the words indicated an incredible amount of relief, as if having spoken it aloud to his friends made it easier.
"What?" Dean asked, staring at him in disbelief, while wondering why this was the first time he was hearing about this.
"Why would they want you alive?" Sam wanted to know. His voice sounded more detached and interested in the facts of the matter than his brother was. It was creeping the hell out of Dean more and more every minute.
"They need me," Cas explained with a weary shrug and in that moment he looked so incredibly lost. "I'm their best chance of getting into the cage."
"Why?" Bobby frowned in confusion.
"Because I spent 40 years in hell looking for Dean," Cas responded. For some reason Dean didn't like hearing this, it made him feel absurdly responsible for what was happening. "I'm the only angel apart from Lucifer to know so much about hell." He sounded like he had spent a lot of time thinking about it.
Again it made sense, even though Dean didn't like admitting that. Not only was it his fault that the apocalypse had started in the first place, but now he was also responsible for turning his best friend into person of interest #1. Perfect.
"But – correct me if I'm wrong – but you don't know anything about the cage," Sam stated with a frown.
"Not much, no," Castiel agreed. "I passed it during my time there, I… I know where it is, but nothing more." He thoughtfully stared at the ground for a moment. "Maybe that's enough."
"When were you gonna tell me about this?"
The accusatory remark was out of Dean's mouth before he had fully considered it. Cas looked at him with a guilty expression. "I'm sorry, Dean," he murmured. "I didn't have time."
Dean snorted quietly. "Sure you didn't. Anything else you wanna tell me?"
Before Cas could respond, they were both interrupted by Bobby's irritated groan. "Would you two stop growin' lady parts and just move on to the damn problem?"
It couldn't have been more obvious from Castiel's face that he had no idea what Bobby had just said. "It is biologically impossible at this stage in human development to"-
He grew even more confused at the sight of Bobby's dumbfounded expression. "Was that…" he helplessly turned to Dean. "Was that a reference, did I miss a reference?"
Dean chuckled tiredly and waved it away with his hand. "Nah, just forget about it, Cas."
Cas still seemed slightly bewildered, but nodded. "There is something else I need to tell you," he then added and Dean looked up in surprise. "Dean, I need your help."
"My help, huh?" Dean repeated, unable to hide a certain amount of sarcasm from his voice.
"Yes," Cas went on, oblivious to the double meaning behind his friend's words. "I believe I have almost located the weapons."
Dean stared at him, needing a moment to realize what he was talking about. "Wait… the weapons?" he asked in surprise. "You mean those powerful, stolen weapons we went on that case for?"
The angel nodded. "Exactly."
"Weapons," Bobby snorted. "The angels got weapons now?"
"Yeah," Dean responded quickly. "Blame that for all the crazy you've been seeing." He then turned back to Cas. "And you're saying you got 'em?"
"Not yet," Castiel admitted. "But my friend, Balthazar, he… He's the one who took them."
"The dude we were looking for?" Dean wanted to know.
"Yes," Cas confirmed again.
"So, wait, you're buddies with the guy who stole that poor girl's soul?"
"Um…" Sam interrupted them, a confused expression on his face. "Dean, what are you talking about?" He looked over at Bobby. "Do you know what that means?"
Bobby shook his head, but Castiel ignored the interruption. "Yes, I thought he died in the war, but… he's still alive and he's agreed to help me." He suddenly sounded joyful upon speaking the last few words. Dean suspected that this Balthazar must be someone he had been very close to.
"So what's the problem?" he asked. "Why do you need my help?"
"The problem is that in utilizing the weapons for his… private purposes," Castiel continued explaining, grinding his teeth in frustration. "He has managed to scatter them everywhere. We first need to locate every single one of them and commandeer them and we need to do it fast, before Raphael does so first."
Dean nodded in understanding, but before he could respond, Sam cleared his throat behind them. "Let me get this straight," he said scathingly. "Your so-called 'friend'" – he raised his fingers to make air-quotes – "managed to set loose a whole bunch of psycho-canon balls and we're supposed to help you clean up his mess?" He chuckled, but there was nothing funny about it. "That's a pretty dick-move, Cas."
Cas looked taken aback and hurt at Sam's words, but Dean just pursed his lips and nodded in agreement. He couldn't deny that his brother did have a point.
Yet his uneasy feeling had by now grown to such epic proportions that it was becoming difficult to suppress. "All right, take it easy, Sammy," he said, holding up a hand in his direction.
Sam's expression didn't change, if anything there was a slight note of curiosity added when he looked at his brother's outstretched hand.
At this point Dean had to draw a metaphorical line in the confused state of havoc inside his head. This couldn't be normal. This was definitely not normal. He needed to figure out what was wrong with Sam and he needed to do it now.
Turning back to the expectant angel, he nodded once again. "Yeah, I'll help you with that," he murmured absently. "But first you need to help us find out what happened to Sam. We need to know what this is about, why he's back."
"Make sure there's no catastrophic downside to it," Bobby added gruffly.
Castiel looked back and forth between them, his face blank and uncomprehending. "I don't have time," he said urgently.
"What the hell do you mean you don't have time?" Dean retorted angrily. "You better tear the attic up, find something to help Sam, come one, chop-chop!"
"Dean, I just told you, we need to do this as fast as possible," Cas said desperately. "If Raphael finds those weapons before us, we'll loose any chance of going up against him!"
"To hell with Raphael, man," Dean stated harshly. "We need to figure out what's wrong with Sam!"
"I'm fine, Dean," Sam cut in, his voice full of irritation.
"I'm in the middle of a civil war, Dean!" Cas exclaimed; he was evidently becoming angry now as well. "I need your help, please. We can't just abandon this, we will loose our only shot, I need to go"-
"So, what, now you're just gonna take off?" Dean said in disbelief. "Let us deal with this crap on our own?"
"Dean, you're doing exactly what they want," Castiel shook his head, his usually so composed face suddenly wearing a distraught expression. "Don't you see that this is their plan?"
"What?" Dean growled, for he very much disliked being treated like a naïve idiot at this moment.
"They are trying to distract you," Castiel insisted, desperately trying to make him see. "If Raphael is behind this mysterious resurrection, it is only because he knows that this will work against you, that you will loose sight of everything else"-
"Well, I don't care!" Dean retorted loudly and the words sounded out powerfully and irrevocably in the small study. He had heard quite enough of this crap. "You're just gonna have to do it without me, ok?"
Castiel seemed so stricken at Dean's final words that he didn't know what to respond. The hunter glared at him coldly and added: "If this is so damn important that you ain't got a minute to help Sam, then please," he stepped up until they were only inches from each other. "Get the hell out of our faces."
Cas held his gaze stonily for a very long moment. "Of course," he then stated, back to his blank expression. "Your problems always come first."
Not a moment later there was a soft flutter of wings and Cas had vanished, leaving the three hunters alone in the painfully silent study.
"Whoa," Sam said after what seemed like an eternity. "Guess you showed him."
"Yeah," Bobby agreed softly. "Don't sugarcoat it next time, idjit."
Dean would've given some kind of angry retort, if he wasn't aware of the affectionate and understanding undertone in the older hunter's voice. Even if Bobby might disapprove of some of his actions, he had always understood the fundamental need to ensure Sam's wellbeing at all cost.
"All right," Dean said, clapping his hands. "Where do we start?"
Bobby and Sam exchanged an insecure glance.
"What?" Dean challenged them. "What is it?"
"Dean…" Bobby sighed. "Ain't you got a woman and a kid waitin' for ya back home?"
Home. It sounded so surreal.
"Yeah," Dean shrugged. "So?" He had been carefully avoiding all thoughts about Lisa's possible indignation all day, for he couldn't deal with this right now, he had more important things to think about. She would understand; she had to understand.
"So… I don't know," Bobby said slowly. "Maybe you should head back and explain and make sure that, you know…"
Dean knew Bobby wanted to say more, but he cut him off before he had the chance. "Look, I hear what you're saying Bobby and I appreciate it," he said curtly. "But I'll deal with that later. This is important."
Sam and Bobby exchanged another look, but seemed to be in agreement with his resolve.
"We are getting to the bottom of this," Dean said in grim determination. "I don't care how long it takes."