Five months had passed since Emily Schneider and the Winchesters had gone on their first hunt together. Over the course of those five months, the trio had learnt that they made a surprisingly excellent team. With Sam's knack for research, Dean's combat skills, and Emily's sharp, calculating mind they were nearly unstoppable. They were like a functioning clock, each of them a gear shifting into place only to move the others forward and continue the cycle. They were a unit. They depended on one another, fought for one another. They were family.

However, the first few weeks of their ventures as a team had not gone so smoothly. It took Dean a fair amount of time to warm up to Emily, and an even longer amount of time to finally decide that she could be trusted.

The moment of revelation had come about a three and a half months ago when they had been hunting a wendigo in Buckeye, Arizona. Dean could remember every second of the incident, each and every detail as though it were a vivid film, an eternal marathon playing in the theater that was his mind. He could still feel it, the ice-cold fear that had gripped his heart when he saw that the unholy creature had somehow managed to get ahold of Sam. Dean couldn't move, couldn't speak, his throat was dry and parched, his legs refused to work. He was too far away to get to Sam in time, that he knew. It was all he could do to watch as the monster sunk it's razor sharp teeth into his brother's tender flesh. But just when he thought all hope was lost, there was Emily. She came rushing in like a roaring fire. Her blue eyes burned with rage; her expression was alight with both fury and concern. She thrust her denim-clad form into the air, golden brown hair exploding into a beautiful, tangled mess around her shoulders. Her skin shone from the slick layer of sweat that coated her body. Raising up her hands, she shot a burst of flame at the back of the wendigo's head with her flamethrower. The monster writhed and squealed, releasing one final bloodcurdling screech as it crumbled and fell to the ground, a pile of ash. Emily immediately dropped her fierce demeanor and rushed to Sam's side to tend to his wounds. The injuries hadn't been serious, with time and the proper care they had healed easily enough. And though the wendigo incident hadn't been the most ideal way to learn it, Dean now knew that Emily Schneider was most definitely someone whom he could trust.

"Morning, asshole"

Dean hardly had a chance to register the words that had been spoken to him as a sudden wave of ice cold water splashed over his bare chest. He yelped as he flew out of bed and whirled around to face the whomever had had the audacity to pull such a cruel stunt. His glare was met with a pair of all too familiar mischievous brown eyes. Madison... That bitch.

Madison Parker was an old friend of Sam's from his years at Stanford University. After Jessica's death and the disappearance of Sam himself, as well as several of their mutual friends, she began to grow suspicious and took it upon herself to investigate the situation. Her discoveries opened her eyes to an incredible, yet terrifying, new world of monsters, ghosts, and ghouls. Not being one to shy away from danger or a challenge, Madison dove straight into the hunting lifestyle. On one of her later cases, she met Garth Fitzgerald IV who reunited her with her old friend, Sam Winchester. And after some brief catching up, Sam had asked her to join him, his brother, and Emily, on their current case. They needed someone to decode an ancient documentation that had been written in a language that they had not been able to identify. Seeing as Madison was a certified linguist, they would hardly be able to find someone better qualified for the task. She agreed and officially joined up with the trio as of two weeks ago.

"You!" Was all Dean could manage say as he glared down at the young woman.

"Sup, bitch." Madison smirked. "Listen, Em and I found something so you should come check it out."

"Yeah, well look." Dean snarled. "How about you let me go back to sleep and come back when it's not four in the goddamn morning?"

"Ok, sure. See you downstairs in five minutes, shit stick." Madison waved as she exited the room.

Dean gave her the middle finger as she left. Had his mattress and sheets not been soaked clean through with the ice water she had dumped on him, he would have just gone straight back to bed. But because of his current predicament, he decided it would probably be easier just to humor Madison's request. Who knows? Maybe she and Emily had uncovered something that could prove useful.

Once he had dried himself off, Dean threw on jeans and a grey t-shirt, then headed downstairs. He stopped by the kitchen to pour himself a cup of cold coffee from the leftovers of last night's pot. It wasn't the best tasting, but it was caffeine, and right now that was all he needed. Coffee in hand, Dean shuffled into the living room were he assumed Madison and Emily would be waiting. He had assumed right.

The two women were sitting at the coffee table, along with Sam, waiting patiently for the elder Winchester's arrival. The moment Dean stepped into the room Madison stood and applauded.

"Well look who finally decided to join us." She said in a mock-shock tone. "I thought you must have gone back to bed. I was just about to go get you another glass of water."

"I swear if you ever pull something like that again..." Dean grumbled as he sat down beside his brother.

"You'll what?"

Dean said nothing, but sent Madison a glare so fierce that it would have frightened even a demon. But it didn't phase Madison. Oh, no. She then responded by giving the older Winchester brother the most innocent smile she could muster.

"I freakin' hate you sometimes." Dean spat as he took a sip of his coffee.

"No, you don't." Madison smirked and leaned across the table.

Dean was about to make a rather rude remark when he was interrupted by a loud cough. Both he and Madison turned to see Sam and Emily looking quite put out.

"Are you two done flirting or should Em and I just leave?" Sam asked, his tone dripping with equal amounts of sarcasm and annoyance.

Dean's face turned bright red. He racked his brain for a half decent comeback, but it was to no avail. Sam seemed rather amused, if not pleased, with his brother's flustered state.

"Look." Dean finally said, his cheeks still a dark crimson. "How about you just show me what the hell it is you found so I can get back to dreaming about banging Angelina Jolie, ok?"

"Sure thing." Emily replied. "But do us all a favor and keep your perverted ass dreams to yourself, ok?"

A loud bang filled the silent space in the conversation and echoed throughout the room as Madison slammed an ancient stone tablet onto the table. She then proceed to throw down a thick stack of papers that hit the wooden surface with a heavy smack. These she shoved towards Dean who upon looking at them felt a vague sense of familiarity.

"I've seen these before..." He muttered as he leafed through the pile, unaware that he had spoken out loud.

"Well no shit, Sherlock." Madison snarked. "These symbols and letters are all used almost exclusively by celestial entities."

"Come again?" Dean asked, his mind not yet fully awake.

"Angels, dumbass." Was Madison's reply.

"Now get a look at this." Sam cut in before his bother had a chance to make one of his cringe-worthy comebacks.

He reached his lengthy arms across the table and handed the tablet to his older brother. Dean took the stone piece into his hands, brushing a thumb gently over the mystic lettering that had been etched onto the grainy surface. He took a sip of coffee and let the cool, bitter liquid run down his throat as he studied the markings, his mind still not making the connection. He looked up, turning to Sam and Emily for answers, all the while being careful to avoid Madison's gaze.

"The writing on the stone." Emily began. "It's Enochian."

Suddenly it all clicked. Why they hadn't been able to make sense of the riddle that was the tablet. They had been looking in all the wrong places. All those hours of pouring over books on different languages, both new and ancient, wasted. Dean then turned to Madison.

"Are you serious?" He muttered in disbelief. "We spent months on this and got nowhere. Then you waltz in here and manage to make sense of this crap in less than two weeks."

"What can I say?" Madison grinned smugly, folding her hands behind her head. "I'm just that good."

"You think Cas could translate this for us?" Dean said as he turned to his brother, ignoring Madison's comment.

"Yeah, I mean, I don't see why not." Sam shrugged.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Dean said as he rose from his seat.

"Who the hell is Cas?" Madison wondered aloud, not directing her question to anyone in particular.

"He's an angel." Emily answered. "I've never actually met him, but he seems to be pretty close to Sam and Dean. I guess he helped them stop the apocalypse and stuff."

"Ah." Madison nodded.

Dean was now kneeling on the floor with his eyes closed and his hands clasped together. He began to mumble a sort of mock prayer that went something like "Castiel get your feathery ass down here pronto." Just as he finished, the ground began to shake. The shaking was furious, it was as though the hooves of a thousand wild stallions were pounding across the earth's surface. Books fell from cluttered shelves; you could just barely make out the sound of them meeting the hard floor over the spin-tingling screech that echoed through the house. A bright light flooded the room, causing everyone to either squint or to close their eyes entirely. Then, all at once, everything became still.

Emily peeked her eyes open and saw a man standing before her. He was tall, of muscular build, had dark hair, blue eyes, and wore a tan trench coat. She quickly decided that he must be Cas. The man then cast a curious glance about the room, as if searching for some unseen object. His gaze fell to Emily and remained there for some time. It was as though he was studying her, trying to unravel a riddle yet to be presented to any but himself. She wanted to look away, but his unnerving blue stare kept her eyes fixed. Finally, he turned to face the one who had summoned him. From the man's lips came a deep, gravelly voice that uttered two simple words.

"Hello, Dean."

A/N: Hello there, dearest reader! I would just like to make a quick note. The present events of this chapter take place at the house of Bobby Singer, who is currently away on a hunt. I thought I had mentioned it somewhere in the chapter, but as I was proofreading I realized that I had not. Since I couldn't really fit these details in anywhere without it reading awkward or adding an entire unnecessary paragraph, I opted to simply add an author's note. They aren't very important details after all and have no real effect on the story. But I thought perhaps you might be curious as to where it was they were staying, so there you have it! That's all I have to say for now. Thanks for reading!