John woke up feeling a lot better than he had done in several months. Several years, in fact. He wondered what had happened to change that. He remembered coming back from the hunt and falling asleep on the sofa, not wanting to disturb Sam and Dean while they slept. He went to the kitchen and looked for food loudly. He stopped by the cupboard and got some coffee, deciding to have some of that instead of alcohol to give him a boost.

John Winchester felt different today. And that made him a little suspicious.

Dean noticed a change in his dad when he woke up to the smell of coffee and not alcohol. He turned to Cas, who was sat at the edge of their bed, and incredulous look on his face.

'Cas, did you do this?' he asked.

'I may have aided your father with his alcohol consumption, yes,' replied Cas quietly as he leaned closer to Dean so no one else heard.

'What are you two talking about, Dean?' came John's voice from the kitchen. He could feel his dad's eyes burning into him, obviously judging the lack of space between him and the angel, so he shifted awkwardly away.

'Nothing, sir,' he replied.

John's attention was then directed towards Castiel. 'Do you know how long this Hell's Knight business is gonna take? I have work to do.'

'I am unsure of how much longer my brother will take,' sighed the angel.

'Cas?' Sam's voice called his name from behind the bed, where he was sat on the floor, hunched over his novel.

'Yes, Sam?'

'It was Gabriel you were with, wasn't it? That's what you said.'

'Yes, that is correct,' nodded Cas, even though Sam wasn't looking at him.

'Like, the archangel Gabriel?'

'The very same,' said an unfamiliar voice. Castiel turned to see his brother, covered in blood and still holding onto an angel blade.

'Gabriel, what are you doing here?'

'Cas, no time. We gotta go,' replied Gabriel, ignoring everyone's eyes on him. He turned to John Winchester. 'Thanks for looking after him, we'll be going now.'

'Cas, please don't go,' cried Dean.

'Sorry kid, nothing personal,' said Gabriel in answer with a frown and a shrug of his shoulders. He went over to the door and stood by it, waiting for Cas, who was looking at Dean. 'Come on, baby bro.'

'Why do I have to go?'

'Well…' Gabriel drew out, voice higher than usual. 'Things may not have gone one hundred per cent to plan.' his words were accompanied by a rumble of thunder from the quickly darkening sky outside the motel.

'You mean to tell me you didn't actually kill this thing? And you're drawing it here?' asked John. His voice was dangerously quiet, and Cas saw Dean's expression change to one of fear.

'Not exactly,' replied Gabriel. 'It's still a bit away, so if me and Cassie leave now, there's still time for you to escape.'

Sam ran up from where he had been listening behind the bed and hugged Gabriel's legs. 'Please help us.'

At the same time, Dean pulled Cas close to him and hugged him tightly. 'You need to go, Cas.'

'I promised I would look after you, Dean,' whispered Cas back.

The door of the motel room flew open, and they all turned to stare at the figure framed in the entryway.