Author's/Underhill's Note: Chapter 18! So, this chapter is a little shorter than the last one, but the next should be longer. 1) DISCLAAAAIMERRRRS I don't own anything but the original plot, 2) THANK YOU REVIEWERS! I adooore you! Reviews really help, not just motivation wise; it's good to know what you guys like and don't like about the story. 3) I don't know if there's a three. This week is slowly making me lose it... I kind of want cupcakes... Okay, I'm gonna go work some more on chapter 19! I hope you like it!

Chapter 18

Feb 13, 12 PM

It's Saturday. Tomorrow is the dance and Claire is stuck in her room, grounded. It's ridiculous, she thinks. She's fourteen and more of an adult than her mother will ever be.

She's searching the web for books on Enochian, but so far they're all crap. References on magic only half right and nothing on how to read and speak it. That's in one window; in the other are tabs opened to different department stores and the dresses they carry. She has a dance to go to after all.

…So maybe she's not completely grown up.

She is suddenly distracted by a buzzing in her ears.

Claire tilts her head at an angle, looking like she's listening to something even though nothing's there. The rest of her is stiff, her eyes are staring faraway, and she's perfectly still as whispers overwhelm her. Strangely, she holds herself a little like Castiel sometimes now. If Dean could see her, he'd wonder if it's a vessel thing.

They're talking about one of the Winchesters, but it's not about Dean and it's not about Sam. It's a boy called Adam Milligan, nineteen and pre-med at University of Wisconsin, and dead for nearly a year. Curious, she thinks.

Claire won't lie and say she's especially fond of the Winchesters. Their family has caused a lot of problems, but then again, it's not their fault. It's in their blood like it is hers. There was nothing they could do to stop it.

She used to feel like they took her dad away from her, because they were THERE. The whole time they were with Castiel they were with her dad and they never tried to help him. But now, she kind of gets it. Sometimes you get put in an impossible situation.

Sam Winchester though, scares the crap out of her. She remembers Castiel looking out through her eyes and seeing Sam's face covered in blood and Jesus Christ, all she can think is the man is a monster. Back then she wished she knew how to contact Dean so she could warn him what was riding around with him. Then Sam started the Apocalypse and it didn't matter anymore.

She's heard a lot about them through Radio Angel. She also knows how pissed the angels are at them, and that actually endears them a little to her. When she heard that Dean had been thrown back in Hell she'd winced and she'd cheered when he'd escaped. They're still looking for him, but it seems like they're looking for backup vessels as well. Claire wonders what this means for her.

Feb 13, 2 PM, Connecticut

It turns out Cas's case is a two man job, so Sam calls Rufus - - against Bobby's better judgment.

"Sam, he's a crotchety, crazy old bastard - - "

"Sounds familiar," Sam mutters over the phone.

"Shut up, ya idjit. You've met him. He's gonna shoot you."

Sam sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Bobby, you already told me he's the only Hunter in the area you trust - - "

"Barely trust."

"Fine, barely trust. I need help on this one. Besides, I uh, kind of already called him."

"Dammit, Sam!"

Since Dean's death, Sam has taken his place as resident 'idjit'. It's really starting to annoy him (he never calls CAS an idiot…) Because it's bad enough dealing with Bobby all the time - - who is even more bad-tempered lately - - but now he's got to deal with Rufus. Within a minute of his arrival, Rufus has been bossing him around like he's Sam's father, and goddamnit, he thought this crap was over with. First dad, then Dean - - Sam stops. Gulps.

So Sam decides to take it, because he's fucked up enough relationships for a lifetime.

That's how he ends up with one of the couple's hearts in his hands and resisting handing it over to Rufus and asking him to be his Valentine. Lucky it was him though, because he's pretty sure Rufus wouldn't have identified the marks.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. Wait a second." He takes a closer look. Yep. "These hearts both have identical marks. Check this out." He waits for Rufus to lean in to examine it. "It looks like some kind of letter. Oh no."

"What?" Rufus asks, not sounding patient.

"I think it's Enochian."

"Those angel scratches Bobby's been ranting about?"

"I think so. Give me a second." He hands the heart to Rufus who makes a gagging face before dropping it into the tupperware. Sam smiles and pulls his phone out and hits speed dial 3. Cas, it's Sam. Yeah, room 31-C, basement level, St. James medical center."

Cas appears and Sam twitches, more from Rufus' shouted swear than Cas's sudden appearance (he's gotten used to that). "I'm there now," the angel says.

"…Yeah, Cas, I get that."

"I'm gonna hang up now."

"Right." They both hang up.

"Is that a fucking angel?" Rufus asks, having slipped into a fighting stance. "Why the fuck did you call an angel?" Rufus has heard a lot about angels lately, and run into one himself. Sam's not surprised he's unhappy to see another one.

"Rufus, calm down, this is Cas."

"And why the hell does an angel have a cell phone?!"

Cas ignores him and walks over to the table. He leans and picks up the heart as Sam had before.

"You're right, Sam. These are angelic marks. I imagine you'll find similar marks on the other couples' hearts as well."

"So what are they? I mean, what do they mean?"

"It's a mark of union. The man and woman were intended to mate."

Rufus isn't looking fight or flight ready anymore, but he still sounds a little hysterical as he laughs. "Yeah, and who the hell put them there, genius?"

"Well, your people call them 'Cupid'."

Cupid. Of course.

"Sam, I don't care how good a Hunter Bobby swears you are. I am never Hunting with your dumb ass again."

Cas continues ignoring him. "What human has mistaken for 'Cupid' is actually a lower order of angel. Technically, it's a cherub, third-class."

"Cherub?" Sam asks.

"Yes, they're all over the world. There are dozens of them."

"They don't look like the kids on the Hallmark cards, right?" God, Sam hopes not.

"No. In almost all respects, they resemble the higher orders of angels. They simply have a different… attitude."

Sam gets a bad, bad feeling. "Okay, anyway, what you're saying - - "

"What I'm saying is that a Cupid has gone rogue and we have to stop him - - before he kills again."

"…Naturally."

Rufus laughs. "I'll give you this, kid. At least your angel friend makes things interesting."

Unfortunately, Sam thinks, that is all too true.

Castiel is not happy to be here. He gave the case to Sam because he thought the Hunter was the most qualified. He did not intend to get dragged here himself. He's in the middle of a tome to help in his research on demons and how to reverse the process and he can't afford the distraction. But if an angel is involved in this…

"Where is the little winged bastard?" Rufus asks.

Castiel frowns. "Cupids do not have wings."

"Here I am!" Castiel watches with resignation as the Cupid picks Rufus up and hugs him.

"GET HIM OFF ME!"

"Hello, you!" Rufus is dropped and Castiel finds himself with an armful of cherub. He feels extremely uncomfortable. He is somehow satisfied when Sam, alarmed, is picked up and swung around.

"Is this a fight?!" Rufus yells at Castiel.

"This is… their handshake."

"I don't like it!"

"No one likes it."

When Rufus makes the cherub cry and Sam suggests he comfort it, Castiel draws the line. Only one person could have convinced him to take on a task so unpleasant, and Sam isn't him.

"You are on your own, Sam." Castiel checks his watch, something he's needed for about a while now; his internal clock was thrown off balance when he was cut off from 'Radio Angel'. "It was nice to meet you, Rufus." Castiel reappears in Bobby's kitchen and Bobby doesn't so much as blink.

"It go well?" the man asks.

Castiel nods and takes a seat across from Bobby, stiffening when he sees the book the Hunter is reading. It's the tome he's been studying.

"Cas. You're still reading these things." It's not a question, because the proof is there in front of him.

"Yes." Because why deny it?

"Boy… You know he's not coming back."

The angel shakes his head. He can't believe that, he won't. If he gives up on Dean, he'll be gone.

"I can bring him back."

"Kid, he's a demon now. I know ya feel responsible, but he's gone now."

Castiel snatches the book from Bobby's hands. Bobby doesn't understand; he doesn't just feel responsible (though he does, if he hadn't gotten trapped by Meg he would have been there), he needs Dean. Dean means so much more. He's everything.

He needs to believe Dean can come back to him because he can't deal with Falling without Dean. He feels selfish for it, but he can't help it. If Dean were here, he could fix it with a few words, a joke, a slap on the back. Just like that, with a twinkle in his eye, Dean would fix everything.

As he storms back to his desk and the phone, he ignores the faint feeling tugging at his gut towards the west.

Dean's napping when he falls into the dream again.

He's crying by the time it's over. Cas is nuzzling up against his cheek, like he's trying to soak up the tears. Dean thought he could pretend and block out the part of him that knew… but it's not Cas. Jesus, it's not Cas.

He let this thing, he let, God…

"Was it good for you, Dean?" the demon asks.

Dean lets out a broken wail while It strokes down his chest.

"Was it everything you wanted?"

Shaking his head, trying to stop crying, can't stop crying…

"Good. That's good, Dean. I hope you enjoyed your reward. Because now, it's back to the basics."

And it starts all over again.