The next day, Lily was in the kitchen washing a few dishes when she felt arms snake around her stomach. The warmth at her back, and the soft lips on her neck told her it was Dean before he even spoke.

"Aren't you supposed to be resting," he asked.

"I'm not sick, Dean. I'm pregnant."

"Yeah, but shouldn't you be staying off your feet or something?"

"I'm fine," she said with a smile.

Dean released her and stood next to her. He tucked a stray hair, that had fallen from her ponytail, behind her ear.

"Sam's setting up so we can listen to the tapes we got from the padre. You wanna sit in?"

"Yeah. Just let me get these dishes put away."

Dean walked toward the door, but Lily stopped him.

"Dean...," she hesitated, and Dean walked back to her. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

"Cas is gone."

"What?"

"I went to his room to check on him, and he wasn't there. Kevin and I looked all over... He's gone."

"Great," Dean said. His frustration was obvious.

"I'm sorry, Dean. I know you asked me to keep an eye on him, but-"

"Hey, it's not your fault. The guy's an angel. He can pop in and out of places before you can blink. There was nothing you could do." Dean hugged her tight. "We'll deal with him later. Let's go listen to those recordings, okay?"

Lily nodded. "I'll be there in a minute."

She dried the dishes and put them away before joining Sam and Dean. They were sitting at the table. Dean pulled out the chair next to him for Lily, then popped a tape into the player.

"So," Lily said, "what's on these tapes?"

"It turns out that Father Thompson recorded all of his demon-cure tests. This one here... this was the last one. Two days before he died."

"All right," Sam said. "Ready?"

Lily nodded and Dean pressed play.

They listened as Father Thompson conducted his tests. He asked the demon, over and over, what it felt like to kill. The demon's answers weren't what the priest wanted to hear. He announced each time he injected the possessed man with something.

"Do we know what padre was dosing him up with," Dean asked.

Sam looked in a file. "Uh, yeah, his own purified blood."

"Purified how?"

"Before he started, Father Thompson went to confession."

After several hours, Father Thompson recited the same exorcism that they heard in the film they watched. Only, this time, it worked. The demon now showed remorse over the killing it had done.

"Did he just... cure a demon," Sam asked.

"Maybe," Dean said. "Could we take this hoodoo on a test drive?"

"I have the exorcism right here. All we need is the blood, consecrated ground, and a demon. So, what? We summon a demon, trap it?"

"Sounds good to me," Dean said. "We've got the dungeon now. We could do it there."

"Woah," Lily said. "Hang on. You guys haven't even tried those chains out yet. How do you even know they work?"

"Well," Sam said, "they look like the same chains that were in Father Thompson's video."

"Yeah," Dean said, "and if the Men of Letters have them set up that way, I'm willing to take the chance that they work."

"Ok," Lily said. "Let's go check the place out and make sure you guys know where everything is before you go summoning some demon."

"I hope you don't think you're doing this with us," Dean said.

"The actual summoning, no, but I wanna check out this dungeon. I haven't seen it yet."

Dean nodded, and led the way to the hidden room. Lily examined the chains hanging from the walls, studying the symbols carved into them. Dean and Sam were making their plans when Sam's cell phone rang. It was Crowley. Sam threatened to hang up, but then was quiet a moment before he disconnected the call.

"What the hell did he want," Dean asked.

"He said we should check out yesterday's Denver Times."

"Why?"

"Didn't say."

"Well, forget it. We've got more important things."

"Dean," Lily said, "maybe you should check it out. You know Crowley usually has a reason for everything he does."

Dean let out a breath and pulled out his phone. A quick search on the internet pulled up the story.

"Here it is," Dean said. "Vic's name is Tommy Collins. Tommy. Why do I know that name?"

"Well, Tommy Collins," Sam said, "we saved him from a Wendigo forever ago."

"Okay, and, what, you think that Crowley blew his head off?"

"Uh, no clue."

"All right, well, we'll pour one out for Tommy later. As far as Crowley goes, screw him. We got almost everything we need to put him in a permanent time-out."

"Hang on," Sam said as he checked his phone again. "It's a text message from Crowley... an address in Prosperity, Indiana."

"Prosperity? Didn't we work a case there? Yeah, yeah, the one with the witches and the baked goods. So what? He's going after somebody there now?"

"I don't know. We gotta check it out."

"Well, you know it's a trap," Dean said.

"Of course it's a trap," Sam said. "But a trap means demons, and we could use one right now."

"Wait," Lily said. "'Of course it's a trap,' and you're gonna go anyway?"

"Sweetheart," Dean said, "if there's even a chance Crowley is going after people, we need to stop him. And Sam's right, if we can grab a demon out of this, it'll be worth it."

"I don't like how casually you're brushing off the word 'trap.'"

Dean pulled Lily into his arms and ran a hand over the back of her head. "We'll be careful."

"You promise?"

"I promise... but we have to leave now. If there's any chance that we can save someone-"

"I know," Lily said as she pulled back.

She pressed against him, as much as she could with her belly, and kissed him deeply. Sam took the opportunity to slip away to grab the few things they would need. Dean let his hands wander over Lily's back and up her neck until her ponytail slipped through his fingers. He pulled away with a sigh.

"Don't kiss me like you think you won't see me again," Dean said.

"I'm not. That's a remember-what-you-have-to-live-for kiss."

"Oh, I remember," Dean said with a smile. He cupped her face in his hands and gave her a soft kiss. Then he rubbed his hands over her belly. "I'll remember."

Dean took her hand and walked with her to the bottom of the stairs at the entryway. They kissed for a minute, then Dean pulled back and lifted his bag to his shoulder.

"I wish I were going with you," Lily said.

Dean gave his head a firm shake. "Not gonna happen."

"Yeah, I know that, bossy," she said with a grin. "I'm just going to miss you. I won't rest easy until you're back, and this sounds like it will be a long trip."

"Just think," Dean said as he shifted his bag to his back so he could pull Lily into his arms again, "if we can snag a demon, and Sam finishes the trials, this could be the last long trip I take away from you."

Lily rested her head against Dean's chest. "That sounds nice."

Dean brushed his thumb over her cheek, holding her to his chest as he softly hummed, then began to sing.

"I see it in your eyes, the love, the need, your tears. But I'll be lonely without you, and I'll need your love to see me through. Please believe me, my heart is in your hands. I'll be missing you."

"I'll listen to that song until you come back home," Lily said.

"Then I will, too."

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too, babe."

Another quick kiss, and Dean and Sam were gone.