"I knew you'd come" Was the professor's response when she and Cas had knocked on the very same door they'd broken in through the previous night. "Please, come in" He continued, opening the door fully.

She sat down on the worn, oxblood chesterfield sofa that was opposite his desk. The professor perched on the front of the desk, inspecting her with the sort of look you'd see on a child's face at the Zoo.

"So, you've come quite a way to see me, defied the laws of physics as we currently understand them. Then again, you and I both know that all things are possible, don't we? Monsters in the night, Angels in the sky, or at least at one time"

"Why are you researching these symbols? And how do you even know about them? And how do you…."

"It's my job to know these things. I don't know nearly enough though, hence the research."

She pushed up her sleeve, which immediately drew the professor over. As he examined her arm, Cas kept a close eye on him. He did not like the thought of him touching her in any way, and was a little surprised by his reaction to it. She wasn't his, she wasn't a possession but every second that the professor held her arm made Cas deeply uncomfortable and he was glad when he let go.

"What does it mean?"

"Heaven, Earth and Hell- balanced."

"So demons on lockdown…."

"…. And angels in heaven, where they should be." He continued. "Of course… when I say in Heaven, I mean permanently. No more wondering the earth asking poor souls to say yes to them. "

She could've sworn, that even for a split second, her heart stopped.

Heaven… on lockdown?

That was not her idea of balance. That was her idea of well, Hell.

"You know what'll happen, right?"

Deans words echoed in her ears. She thought he just meant Cas would be an angel again, not that he'd be an angel stuck in Heaven never able to be with her. She knew that was incredibly selfish, but she didn't care.

"You see, that's how it was designed. Can't lock the gates of Hell without locking those of Heaven. That's why they wrote two tablets, or so the myth goes."

She and Cas looked at each other knowing full well it wasn't a myth, and that what he was saying made sense in a strange way.

"What happens if say, they remained unlocked?" She questioned.

"Hell on Earth, literally. Demons wondering the Earth looking for wretched body's to inhabit and Angels without purpose intent on finding a way back, no matter the cost, no matter the death."

Truth was, she didn't need to ask the question.

She knew the outcome- an unholy war between Angels and Demons. The war her family had tried to shield her from by sending her away to school. She knew though. She knew when she came home and saw the loads of blood soaked laundry waiting to be washed. She knew when she saw the black wing scorch marks of a fallen angel, or the soulless black eyes of a demon in someone she once knew. She'd kept quiet about it in this timeline after all, there was nothing that could be done. Or so she thought.

"What about the rest of these symbols?"

"They are the instructions, so to speak, for restoring the balance. Sadly I've yet to translate them so I'm afraid I can't help you. Truth be told, I'm not sure I could decipher them in time."

"What do you…." She began.

In that very same second, Azrael appeared and stabbed the professor through the gut from behind, and proceeded to run the blade upwards to his heart. Blood poured from the wound, staining the carpet as it ran off the coffee table.

As his body fell to the floor, lifeless and bloody, She wanted to scream but knew it was a bad idea. Her breathing was rapid as panic set in. Her last chance at figuring it out was dead.

"You two are just as disgusting here as you are then" He spoke, running his finger down the bloody blade.

"I don't get you Azrael. You want me to figure it out, then you kill the one guy who can help me?"

"I'm a demon, I like killing things. What can I say?"

"You can't possibly want me to lock the gates of Hell, you have far too much fun topside murdering innocent people and torturing me. So tell me, what is it you really want?"

"This" He sneered, grabbing her and tearing her sweater open. He used his talon like nails to scratch a circle around another symbol located just under her collar bone, causing her to grit her teeth hard to avoid screaming, before disappearing again. She looked down, he'd cut pretty deep into her flesh and blood ran down from the wound.

Cas placed his arms around her and recited the earlier incantation word for word, hoping it would take them home.

And it did.

"Celeste! Cas!" Dean spoke, hurrying over to the kitchen where they'd both just appeared from nowhere.

"You said you'd be gone three days!"

"Job finished early! Never mind that how the hell did you two just appear in the kitchen?"

"Demon trick."

Dean looked at him, confused by the whole situation. There was no time to dwell though as he realised she was injured. He grabbed the first aid kit and cleaned the wound as best he could, but he was almost certain it would scar.

"What happened?"

"Azrael. He killed the Professor after he finished explaining it all to me. Then… he said something about that symbol, the one he scratched around, being the one he wanted or something…. Then he left, as per usual"

Sam, Dean and Cas all looked at the symbol. It was similar to the other, except the two pentacles were side by side, not on top of one another.

"Here" She said, pulling the pen drive out of her pocket. "It's his research, there might be something on there about… this"

Sam took it from her and put in the laptop.

"I'm going to go and take a shower, let me know if you find anything- Ok?"

She walked toward the bathroom, aware that a headache had now set in which together with the stinging on her arm was making her feel like crap. She closed the door and undressed, before turning briefly to the mirror. It was the only time she could ever see her markings in full and even though she hid them from the world, every now and again she wanted to see them. She turned back to the shower and turned the temperature gauge round until it was sufficiently hot. The water made the stinging worse, but it made her head feel better. A few minutes later she stepped out, wrapped herself and her hair in a towel and headed to her room.

"Jesus Cas you scared the life out of me!" She half shouted upon entering her room and seeing Cas on her bed. She'd been a little lost in thought on the brief walk from the bathroom and hadn't anticipated he'd be in her room.

"Sorry, should I leave?" He replied.

"No, it's fine" She found herself replying, without really thinking. Back home, it would be absolutely fine for him to be in her room after a shower but now? Maybe she should have said no. Not that she could ever say anything other than yes to those eyes and that face. She took the towel off her hair and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

She needed him, needed his reassurance.

"Celeste" he began, shifting a little, forcing her to remove her head from his shoulder.

Oh God, was he about to reject her?

"Cas, I…"

She quickly realised rejection was the last thing on his mind when she looked at him, his head cocked slightly to the side and looking right at her. She knew she shouldn't, but she just couldn't resist anymore. She took his hand, lacing it with her own, letting him know it was ok. As they leaned in, kissing softly at first, then becoming more urgent, she had no regrets. As his hand tangled itself in her hair, drawing her closer she became aware that her towel had slipped but somehow, she didn't care. After all, Cas didn't have the awkward reaction to being naked that everyone else had. As their tongues explored each others mouth, she found herself more and more turned on to the point of drawing Cas down on top of her. She wanted him, every inch of him right now but she knew she'd be pushing things too far. So reluctantly, she broke of the kiss just before Cas's hand found its way to her thigh.

"Cas… I..I know I said…." She began, feeling the need to explain herself.

"Celeste I am not experienced in matters of the heart and human relationships. But I am beginning to understand, how I feel about you. I know I'm not the man you married, but I want to be with you, here and now."

She threw her arms around him. For the first time since she'd got here, she'd seen it.

A glimpse of the man she married.