At the sound of Lily's voice, both Dean and Castiel looked toward her. Her eyes flicked rapidly back and forth between the men. Castiel was actually standing in her kitchen. He was dressed in the hospital scrubs he had been in when he and Dean vanished. His trench coat, along with the rest of him, was filthy, and he had a full beard.
"Go get Sam," Dean said.
Lily nodded and slowly backed away before turning to head to the study. She poked her head inside.
"Sam... we need you for a minute."
He followed Lily into the kitchen and his reaction was about the same as hers.
"Why don't we all sit down," Lily said, motioning toward the table. She watched Dean as he stared at Castiel. Lines formed in his forehead as his brow came together in confusion and disbelief. After a moment of talking, Dean's curiosity won out.
"I gotta be honest. I'm thinking, how the hell did you make it out? I mean, I was there. I know that place. I know how we had to scratch and claw and kill and bleed to find that portal and make it through it, and it almost finished me. So, uh... so, how exactly are you sitting here with us right now?"
"Dean," Castiel said, "everything you just said is completely true. And that's the strange part. I... have no idea. I remember endlessly running and hiding from Leviathan, and then I was on the side of the road in Illinois. And... that was it."
"And that was it?"
"Yes... I'm dirty."
"Yeah, well, Purgatory will do that to you."
Castiel stood and looked to Lily. "May I use your bathroom?"
"Of course," she said. "It's-."
"I can find it," he said with a nod before walking away.
Lily looked at Dean as he stared after Castiel. She saw such a mix of emotions of his face. Relief, confusion. Maybe even fear. She reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze.
"Baby, you okay?"
"You do see something severely wrong here, right?" he asked, looking into her eyes. He then turned and looked at his brother. "Sammy, I remember every second of leaving that place. I mean, I remember the heat, the stink, the pain, the fear. I have that whole ugly mess right here," he said, tapping his head, "and he says he has no idea how he got out? I'm just not buying it."
"So, what," Sam said, "you think he's lying?"
"I'm saying something else happened. I saw the shape that he was in. I mean, there was no way he was fighting his ass out alone. No way."
"All right. So, who... or what got him out?"
"Exactly."
Castiel reemerged from the bathroom. He was once again in a suit and tie. His trench coat was spotless, and his face clean shaven.
"Better?"
The other three just stared at him. Dean managed to give him a weak smile and a slight nod.
"So," Dean said, "you headin' back to Heaven? What's the plan?"
"No. I, uh... I've cut off all contact with Heaven."
"Why?"
"I don't want anything to do with that place anymore."
"Look, I don't like those angels any more than you do, but maybe they can help find out how you got out."
"I said no, Dean!"
All eyes went to Castiel at his raised voice. An uneasy silence hung in the air as Dean stared at Castiel, as if waiting for an answer to all of his questions to magically appear.
"Well," Lily said, "Castiel, I guess you'll need a place to stay for a while, if you're not going back to Heaven. I have one more extra room. You're welcome to it."
"Thank you. I appreciate the gesture, but I don't sleep."
"Of course you don't," she said. "You're welcome to it, anyway."
"Thank you," he said, slightly nodding his head.
Castiel hung around or a few days. Dean talked to him alone a few times, hoping to get a hint as to why he didn't want to go back to Heaven. Castiel finally told him that he couldn't face the destruction he had caused there. He planned to do penance on earth, helping people without the assistance of Heaven. He left soon after that.
The next day, they were all helping Kevin when Sam's phone rang. He excused himself and came back a few minutes later. The scowl on his face gave Lily a bad feeling.
"What's wrong?"
Dean and Kevin both looked up and followed her gaze to Sam. He looked down at Dean.
"We need to talk."
"Okay."
"Living room."
Dean stood and followed Sam out. Lily sat, telling herself she should stay put. Then she told herself to shut it.
"I'll be right back," she told Kevin.
She found the guys standing in the living room, arms waving and voices growing louder.
"You put 'mostly okay' Martin on Benny? What is 'mostly okay' doing hunting at all?"
"Not hunting, Dean. Tracking. Observe and report only. I was crystal clear about that."
"Wow. I can't believe that."
"Really, Dean? You don't believe that? Because Benny's a vampire, and any hunter worth his salt isn't gonna let one just walk around freely. So, I had Martin keep tabs on him. And right now, it's looking like I made the right call."
"So, Martin's saying Benny did this?"
"Yeah."
"Okay," Dean said after a slight pause.
"Okay?"
"If Benny's in Louisiana draining folks... we should look into it."
Sam nodded. "I'll get my bag."
As Dean watched Sam walk out of the room, his eyes fell on Lily. He smiled.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey."
"You heard?"
"I did. You don't think it's Benny, do you?"
"No, I don't. I know you two may not understand, but I trust him. I wouldn't be here now if I didn't."
"I get that, Dean. I do... but that was Purgatory. You said you didn't have to eat there. You didn't feel hunger. He probably didn't either. He has to feed now."
"I told you how he's getting by."
"You really think that can last?"
Dean closed the distance between them and stood in front of Lily. His voice was soft. "You said you would trust me on this. Sam doesn't. I need you to believe in me here."
"Okay," she said. "I'll go pack."
"No."
"What?"
"I don't want you coming. Martin is a loose canon. He was in the looney bin. I don't want you stuck between him and Benny if it goes that far. Stay here with Kevin."
"Fine," she said.
"Thank you." Dean let out a sigh and kissed Lily lightly on the lips. "I'm gonna go make sure we have everything we need in the car, just in case I'm wrong... or if it's another vamp."
"I'll pack your bag for you."
Dean went outside as Lily headed into their bedroom. She pulled out his duffel, then looked at the nightstand where his phone sat. She glanced at the door, as if to make sure she was alone, then picked up his cell. She quickly made her way through the settings and enabled his GPS.
"I trust you, Dean," she said softly to herself, "but I don't know Benny. And your loyalty has gotten you hurt before."
She finished packing his bag and sat it on one of the chairs at the breakfast bar, along with his phone. Sam was already waiting on the sofa when Dean came in.
"Ready to go?" Dean asked.
Sam nodded and walked past Dean, out the door. Dean turned to Lily and pulled her into his arms.
"Be careful," she said.
"I will. I'll call you."
With one more quick kiss, Dean released Lily, then walked out. She stood in the doorway until he got into the car. The drive would be a long one. Dean and Sam would likely take turns driving so they wouldn't have to stop. She wouldn't have that luxury. She waited just a couple of hours to be absolutely sure she wouldn't run into them before she hit Louisiana.
She went into the study and found Kevin slouched over the tablet, as usual. She hesitated leaving him alone, but her cabin was heavily warded against demons. He would be fine inside.
"Hey, Kev... I'm gonna meet up with the guys in Louisiana. You'll be okay alone for a few days?"
"Yeah, sure."
"We're fully stocked. Stay inside, okay?"
"Got it. I'll be right here... being a prophet."
Lily grabbed her bag, put it in the trunk and climbed behind the wheel. She headed south, toward Louisiana, and didn't stop until she was seeing two sets of white lines instead of one. She pulled off of the highway and found a motel. A quick call to check on Kevin, a shower, and she was soon asleep.