Author's Note:

Woo! Hope everyone enjoyed the recap chapters because they were a lot of fun to write out!

I made the rest all in this chapter because I didn't want to drag out this sort of thing. Nothing 'new' happens after the first Cas section, but there's some amusing dialogue.

"You okay?" Charlie sat down next to him and Castiel nodded quickly.

"I'm fine," he reassured her with a smile, "I would just feel better with someone in here, too."

"I totally get it," Charlie gave him a thumb's up and leaned back in her chair, "Where in the story are you at?"

"All over the place, every time I think of one thing I have to explain another so it'll make sense. And so on until I've gone in a circle." He sighed and rubbed at his temple, "I've tried focusing, Dee told me to just say what I thought was important but it all seems important. And at the same time none of it is, you know?"

She nodded with a soft hum, "I think I understand, maybe it'll be easier with me here."

"That's what I'm hoping," Cas laughed and looked up as the door opened. Victor walked in with a reassuring nod their way. "Is everything alright?" Cas had to ask, Victor had placed a black box on the table and it made Cas uneasy.

"Everything's fine," Victor said calmly, "This is a recording device, I'd like to ask you if it's okay that I record what you say from now on?"

Cas paused and looked at Charlie who nodded, "I guess it's okay."

"Please say yes or no."

"Yes."

Victor seemed pleased with that and turned it on, "Okay, so to make sure we have this straight I'm going to get you to restate a few things for me."

"Alright," Cas fidgeted with his fingers a little, Charlie subtly moved her chair closer to his so her shoulder was touching his shoulder. It was a small gesture but they used to do that when they were in high school. It was a symbol that stated 'I'm here with you, you aren't alone.' Cas exhaled steadily and readied himself for the memory digging he'd end up doing.

"Castiel Novak, our records say you went missing mid summer in 2011. Could you give some insight on that?"

"Uh, yeah…" Cas found it easier to go through a second time, a little more coherent and straightforward. He recounted the basics of his kidnapping, MacLeod's terms, payment, and declining mental state. With Charlie next to him the whole time he could say it all so much easier.

"So then you don't know who else was involved," Victor reiterated after Cas went through the same thing he'd already said before their break.

"I don't," Cas glanced at Charlie who lit up a little bit.

"Oh! But the computers in the basement would have that kind of information," She looked at Victor who jotted it down. "There are a lot of files, too much to go through for one person. I decrypted some of them but there's a lot more. We got videos, experiment notes, plans, blue prints, and that's just the little bit I could figure out."

"So MacLeod has everything documented?" Victor raised a curious eyebrow; Cas would dare to say the man's expression was hopeful.

"That's what it looks like," Charlie nodded and looked at Cas who did the same.

"They recorded pretty much everything, I don't think he wanted to lose any of his work in case something went wrong."

"That's good news," Victor did some more scribble on his notepad, "Means we probably won't need to ask you these questions more than just today."

"I like the sound of that," Cas chuckled and leaned his elbows onto the table, wings shifting agitatedly. He did his best to relax them but it wasn't working so well, he didn't really want them to droop onto the floor. "It should also cover what I can't remember."

"I hope you weren't feeling bad about that," Victor looked up, his eyes dark but caring all the same. Cas shrugged sheepishly and the officer just shook his head, "It's not your fault, Castiel. You're the victim in this scenario, it'd be different if you'd drugged yourself."

Cas choked on a laugh when this very serious man wriggled his eyebrows at him, "I didn't do that, I promise."

"Good, then you have nothing to worry about."

He wasn't sure if it was because Charlie was with him, or if maybe he just hadn't noticed the first time around, but Cas really liked Victor Henriksen. There was a stern but kind look to him, the more Cas recognized it the safer he felt.

"After MacLeod died no one showed up in the facility," Cas continued once Victor was ready again. "The drug he'd created to leave my mind a mess and malleable was wearing off, I didn't get any new doses. I started to realize things, have conscious thoughts of my own. They were still messy and really difficult to use, but I could think again. I remember realizing for the first time that I was alone, realizing I was in a cage, that no one was coming. I understood that I was hungry and, after a few days in there, I knew I might die."

Charlie touched his hand and he held on for support, maybe some reassurance too.

"As I was sure I wouldn't make it, the door opened. Dee walked in and… I don't know, it's hard to explain. I can't say I trusted him, though I didn't distrust him that much either. I remember liking his scent…" Cas furrowed his brow, digging to recall the portion of his memory that was so blurred and incoherent.

"When you say Dee, are you referring to Dean?"

"Oh, yeah that's what I've been calling him." Cas wasn't sure why but he felt a little silly saying so. Maybe because Dean was already easy to say. "I couldn't pronounce his name, at the time I couldn't speak and saying 'Dee' was all I could do." He took a moment to collect himself and continue. "Dee's voice was the first kind thing I'd heard in so long, in fact his were the first words I understood. He said 'It's okay, I'm here.'" Cas smiled to himself, it was a memory that he didn't want to lose. "I guess curiosity was what defined my actions at the time, considering what my clones were like."

"What were your clones like?"

"Violent. They attacked almost immediately, always vicious and hungry. I did run into one that was dying. It had starved and was docile, didn't try to hurt me at all. I think… I think I was treated better than my clones were." He found himself stumbling through thoughts he'd tried to ignore for a while; he hadn't wanted to think about a lot of those things. "They were agitated all the time, I never saw signs of intelligence as far as I can remember. At least, except for the starving one."

"What happened after you met Dean?"

"Cas couldn't talk or understand me, it took a few tries to get him to do things." Dean told Donna. "It was like talking to a human who had the mind of a dog."

"Cas hated me at first," Sam had to laugh at that, "Dean was his favourite indefinitely, probably because Dean had granola bars in his pocket. That's my bet."

"So Dean and Sam come out of those shady-ass doors with this brand new human-hybrid named Castiel." Jet recalled dramatically, fluent arm gestures and all. "Might I just add that they had no idea what Cas could do or whether or not he was as vicious as the other things down there."

"He kinda liked Jet, actually." Sam added with a pinched brow, "But Jet had a granola bar in his pocket too. I never asked them why they did that…"

"I remember everything scared me," Cas said more comfortably, "Every smell, every new feeling beneath my feet, but especially new people. Dee was the only one I really felt safe around, I tolerated Sam being there but Jet was loud."

"Jet kept calling Cas a kid or a dog," Sam continued, "If Cas understood him I bet he wouldn't have liked Jet at all. Regardless, we decided to leave since Cas was the only human-type thing we found."

"I never would've guessed the place was as big as it is," Dean shook his head, his gaze distant as he stared at Donna's notes. "We were just looking around, I didn't really expect it to be what it was. I mean, animal hybrids are one thing but human experiments? Cas was on a whole other level. I had no idea how to handle him, I just knew I needed to help him."

"I can't imagine what Dean must have been going through," Cas laughed a little, "I was a walking disaster; I made weird noises at him and my eyes glowed when I was scared. I was weird, he didn't know a damn thing I said and I was making my best guess at him right back. It's a miracle we made it this far."

"I swear I was the only one who gave a shit that Cas was naked the whole time," Jet frowned, "Dean was big on feeding him, Sam wanted to understand him, that's all fine and good. But seriously, pants. Pants was all I asked for."

"I'm pretty sure the first thing Cas did when we got out of the basement was run." Dean said, "I don't blame him, but it was a bitch trying to find him again."

"Freedom. That's what I felt when I walked out of that basement and no one stopped me from going anywhere." Cas reminisced with a sweet smile, "Dee was right there with me, making sure I was safe. I couldn't help myself, I had to do something other than sit in a cage."

"Living in town was out of the question," Sam shook his head, "Cas wouldn't do well there. None of us were really prepared to move all of a sudden but that was we decided. The mansion wasn't anyone's first choice."

"I wanted a place in town," Jet shrugged and glanced at his mom for a moment, "I mean the mansion was nice but it creeped me the fuck out."

"The mansion was really cool," Dean's face lit up, "It had an indoor pool, cool statues and stuff. The kitchen was enormous! I was okay staying there, whatever made Cas comfortable, ya know?"

"I'm never going back, not if I can help it," Cas' hand tightened around Charlie's, "I hate that place. I know it's where I met Dee, Sam, and Jet but it's too much for me. Feel free to burn it down."

"I started to notice that Cas could understand me once in a while," Dean muttered, so much had happened since then he was having a hard time remembering it all. "He would respond to me sometimes, exactly the way I wanted him to and even to very specific things."

"Dee never stopped talking to me, I think that's one of my favourite things about those memories. He was so sweet with me, even though he didn't think I understood anything he said."

"We eventually got Cas some pants," Jet stated proudly, "Dean failed at it, miserably. Luckily Sam had some to hand over."

"We really had to teach him a lot of things," Dean commented sadly, "I couldn't believe how little Cas knew about the world; pants, eating with forks, hell even blankets were a challenge."

"Castiel Dimitri Novak," Sam sat back in his chair, "I found him on Facebook; I was doing most of the research at the time and that felt like a normal place to go looking. That's where we first learned about who Cas was before the experiments."

"It was so weird seeing Cas online," Jet said, "I mean, before that we just saw some animalistic person, it was really easy to dismiss everything. Cas' profile was memorialized by his brother, that was the first time we heard about Michael or Charlie."

"I showed Cas his picture," Sam continued, "Thinking back, that was a very risky move. Cas hated seeing himself, he destroyed anything that looked like him other than an obvious reflection."

"I remember the first time Sam showed me a photo of myself," Cas furrowed his brow, "I think he was looking at my Facebook page, but he let me see it. After the experiments all I was used to was my own face, I knew my reflection and I knew that another being with my face was trouble. That was the first time I saw me in an inanimate object, I didn't classify it as a threat the first time, I was too confused. Plus that pic had sunglasses so I couldn't see my eyes, windows to the soul and all that jazz."

"I think we watched some of the experiment videos after that," Dean mused, more to himself than his officer. "That was my second trip to the lab, Cas didn't like it much. I don't really blame him, I mean we were watching videos with MacLeod narrating."

"Those videos were our first look at the clones," Jet shuddered, "They all have Cas as their base body, then the rest of them are mutated. It's pretty gross."

"MacLeod had a weird fetish," Sam divulged with a disgusted look on his face, "I don't know if he ever got sexual with Cas, but he was definitely after Jet. Those videos mentioned him once or twice in passing, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd gathered enough DNA to make his own somewhere in that lab."

"He never touched me," Cas said with a look of relief, "He was interested in me since I started working for him, but it wasn't like that." He paused and looked up with a more intense expression, "Actually, he didn't really start acting odd toward me until after my first week with him. After I was kidnapped I remember hearing about how my DNA was perfect and really compatible or something… Maybe he tested it somehow? I mean I wasn't keeping track of my DNA, that only happens in movies like Gattaca."

"Bobby showed up around then I think," Dean nodded, pretty sure of himself. "He watched Cas for us while we moved in officially, ran into Michael and Charlie in town."

"I didn't trust them for a second," Charlie chimed in, "But I was kinda at the end of my leads on where Cas could've been. I was willing to jump on anything that even mentioned him, and they did."

"I'm glad you joined us," Cas looked to her affectionately, "I wouldn't want you hunting around the countryside for me any longer than you did."

"Charlie did not give up," Jet snickered, "She followed us back to the mansion so we let her stay, lucky we did too because I don't think Cas would've snapped back as fast as he did without her help."

"I know what you're thinking," Dean raised his hand defensively, "We should've taken Cas to his family as soon as we found them online, or even as soon as we saw them in town. But we figured that we didn't know Cas' family that well and we weren't sure if they'd handle it okay. Charlie kinda agreed once she was with us, so I think it was the right move."

"Once I saw him I knew I wasn't done," Charlie explained solemnly, "I holed up in the basement for a long time trying to crack the files. Day and in and out, whenever I wasn't with Cas or taking a break I was trying to break into a pretty tough system. You guys are gonna need some serious muscle to get in there, good luck."

"Charlie was in there like a dirty shirt," Jet remarked, a hint of admiration in his voice. "I showed her the computers within the first 24 hours and she was already breaking in. Some of those files told us that MacLeod got kicked out of University for being a total fruitcake."

"Charlie's eagerness to learn stuff got us going again," Dean nodded with nothing but respect on his face. "We decided to go back downstairs, see some more of what we were dealing with and try to make a game plan."

"Dean and Jet didn't want to go that far in," Sam said, "I was already pretty sure that the main level wasn't going to give us much more information since Cas was further down. I'm glad we did, too, because we found out he was trying gerontology experiments."

"Further into the basement we found a cage with a kid," Dean rubbed his forehead tiredly, "They made a perfect clone of Cas and used it with a kid they snatched from the street or something."

"Desirae's got some Cas-clone in her," Jet admitted with a shrug, "I mean that's no weirder than the cat stuff, right? She knows some things that Cas knew, things about life and how some stuff works, adult crap. Sometimes I forget how old she is, I don't know the exact number but she's tiny, can't be that old."

"She took to Jet pretty fast," Sam recalled adoringly, "He went in, won her over, came right back out with her. She trusts him more than anybody else; she was the one he was protecting when he lost his arm."

"While Dee and the others were getting Desirae out, Charlie, Bobby and I were waiting." Cas glanced at Charlie again and she nodded once in acknowledgement. "Bobby had a friend, I forgot his name but they called him in for something."

"Rufus Turner, he was supposed to help us clear out the dead experiments." Charlie clarified for him. "I didn't know him either but he had one heck of a happy trigger finger."

"Charlie sent me a message while we were down there," Dean's fingers tapped at the table, his nose crinkling in anger. "One of Bobby's contacts was there to help us out with the basement stuff, he was just supposed help us move bodies. He got freaked out by Cas and turned a fucking gun on him."

"I don't like guns," Cas shook his head, "Sometimes I… like when I saw a clone, I would do this thing with my face…"

"His jaw pretty much unhinges," Jet explained with a gesture to show how far, "eyes glow, loud animal shrieks; the works. Yeah, it's enough to scare the shit out of a grown-ass man. Still gives me the creeps, to be honest."

"Well I do it with guns too," Cas continued with a nervous shrug, "Or, I mean I did before I remembered who I was. I haven't done anything like that since then, I've got full control over myself again."

"I ran as fast as I could," Dean's anger hadn't subsided, "I almost lost Cas right there. Rufus was going to shoot him, he fired but I made it in time."

Cas looked down, "Dean saved me again."

"None of us really knew what to do about Rufus," Sam sighed, "Jet pretty much kicked him out, Dean said he'd talk to the guy later on and get it sorted. I don't think we had contact with him again after that, probably ran for the hills."

"Desirae said that Cas was scared of guns because of what others did with them," Jet contemplated out loud, his gaze lingering away from his officer. "She was a great answer to trying to communicate with Cas, had some answers he didn't. Actually, I think she knows some of the other scientists that were involved. Cas doesn't seem to remember any of them."

"There are some things that I can't remember because I didn't really experience them." Cas explained as best he could, "I know most of what happened to me but not all of it. I know details about how it made me feel, the pain and loneliness were there but details weren't. MacLeod was the only one I really saw when I was anywhere close to sober minded."

"Cas was getting a better handle on speaking before Desirae showed up," Dean added, "But I think she sped it up, you know? She could teach him what words meant what, or something like that. I dunno, he just seemed happier when he could talk to and understand us, so I really didn't care how it happened at the time."

"We'd gone down into the basement the second time to learn more about the experiments and see what Rufus might've been dealing with." Sam reiterated, "We came back out with Desirae and the knowledge that most of the things left down there were dead. Some that had been alive the first day had starved to death."

"One of us… did something." Dean hesitated to say, "There was something on those computers that allowed the euthanization of all the main level experiments."

"Charlie decided it was the most humane thing," Sam exhaled heavily, "We didn't tell Cas or Desirae, Jet agreed with us and Bobby kept silent on it."

"They were already barely alive," Dean averted his gaze, "we didn't have the know-how or resources to feed them all and letting them starve is a pretty shitty thing to do."

"Though our humanity on the subject didn't really extend to the rest of the basement, apparently." Sam reflected on it, his tone told more of his dissatisfaction with the outcome than his expression. "The underground portion of the property is pretty big, it takes up over 50% and there had been more experiments in the rest of the place too. But instead of investigating further we just left it at that, hoping that maybe the 'clean all' option got everything."

"We just kinda hung out at the mansion after that," Jet said as he leaned back in his chair, his hand hanging onto the armrest for good measure. "None of us really knew what to do, Rufus didn't get back to us so we just sorta left the basement as it was. I'd promised Desirae she could go outside, so at one point she and Cas went for a fly."

"We ran into Garth at a nearby pond, an old high school friend." Cas pointed out, "It was amazing being outside though. I remember the incredible feeling I got from flying around, freedom was a big thing for me. I didn't know Garth at the time so I got kinda scared, I kinda wish I'd stuck around and watched the ducks some more though."

"Garth followed them back to the mansion, Cas was so freaked out." Jet laughed, "I mean, at the time so was everyone, but thinking about it now it's just too funny. Garth is such a tiny dude, Cas could've bitch-slapped him into space."

"He'd called Michael before he got out to meet us," Dean smirked, "I got to meet Cas' big brother and boy did that go downhill. People got emotional; tempers flared, mean words were said-"

"I probably should've told Michael sooner," Charlie scratched her head sheepishly, "I was being a little selfish, I guess. All that 'trying to protect him' stuff was just me not wanting to explain what happened to Cas right outside of our town."

"-tears, panic attacks, and screaming. It was just a mess."

"Michael was pretty mad," Cas stated quietly, "I mean, he wasn't mad at me but I could tell he was really hurt. I didn't remember him, that's pretty awful. I apologized, I know it wasn't my fault or anything, but I still feel bad for it."

"Mikey had a lot to say," Jet nodded with a bitter laugh in his throat, "He took out some frustration on us, I put him in his place."

"Jet could've been gentler about it," Sam frowned indignantly, "but Michael had to hear about Cas' situation sometime I guess."

"Michael and I bonded over being older brothers," Dean was proud of himself for that, "I convinced him to calm down, he decided to stick around to try and help Cas. I don't remember him doing much other than just being in the area, but I think Cas still needed him anyway."

"More importantly than Michael, Cas got to go into town." Jet lit up, "I made something to try and make his wings less obvious, a harness sort of thing. They didn't use it, but I'm pretty sure it was the better idea."

"Jet wouldn't let that go," Sam rolled his eyes, "It was a decent idea in theory but in practice it didn't work out. Regardless, it was enough to convince us to let Cas out into town so I guess I should just let it go too."

"Jet didn't get to go to town, I told him I'd-" Dean's eyes widened and he gasped, "I didn't record anything like I said I would. Ohhhh when he remembers he's gonna kill me…"

"I was so excited to go to town!" Cas was laughing at himself, "We drove there, so it wasn't as cool as flying but I still got to go. I mean, now I remember what being in a city is like so it's not so impressive anymore. But at the time I couldn't wait."

"Explaining Cas' wings to people was tough," Dean said, "Jet's whole plan had issues when you put it into play. But walking around worked well enough once we got him a big enough coat."

"They let me get Uggs," Cas was still laughing, "If my high school self saw that I'd be disowned from being me."

"Lots of people saw us that day," Dean nodded absent-mindedly, "Took Cas into a few stores, got him to try some food he didn't remember. Even got Cas a pet rock."

"I don't really know where I left Rockington," Cas lamented sadly, his laughter cut off.

"I should've thought it out better," Jet exhaled heavily and looked at his left side, "I fucked that all up. I'd promised Desirae she'd get to go to town but I didn't have a plan to hide her features, so she stayed home. I stayed with her but she didn't really want to have anything to do with me." A miserable smile came over his features, "I scared her and she ran away from me… Like, really scared her; she didn't even think, she just ran into the basement looking for a familiar place to hide."

"We were having fun in town," Sam said distantly, "but I wish I would've called home once in a while… Jet was having trouble and I didn't even know."

"I followed her," Jet glanced at his mom; Nikki was watching him with all of her focus. "She ran into a new part of the basement, past her cage and through a new door. It was a more important area, I think."

"We're pretty sure that part of the basement was built after the first section," Sam's hands were starting to tremble as he spoke. "It was made to hold the successful experiments based off of Cas, some seriously monstrous things were in there."

"Some of those things had crazy abilities," Dean said just before coughing and taking another few breaths from his inhaler.

"One of the clones smelled something in the area for the first time since MacLeod, it broke out of the cell it was in." Jet stiffened, his breathing started to get more ragged. "She was about to get eaten, I didn't know what to do so I jammed my arm into its mouth to stop it. It hurt like a bitch but it worked, we got out of there."

"He let it mutilate his arm," Dean stated slowly, "I mean, it's really shitty and I feel like crap for him, but that's metal as fuck. Dude's my fuckin' hero."

"It wasn't as stupid as hoping his arm was going to withstand the strength of a monster jaw," Sam explained, "Desirae had bitten him in a panic, his first aid tactics involved wrapping a whole sweater around it to stop the bleeding. He probably just thought that was enough to spare him a little."

"The thing shredded my arm," Jet continued, not wanting to see his mom's reaction to that. "It was dangling by some muscle tissue or something, but that was it. Rae and I got out of the first area with the crazy clones, but some had wandered out already. My arm was already fucked, I just tore it off the rest of the way and tossed it like bait, we got away that time too."

"Seriously, I couldn't rip my own arm off." Dean grimaced and shook his left arm out, "Didn't even think, he just-" he mimicked the motion a few times, "-and then throws the damn thing. If he weren't so sensitive about it I'd probably tell him awesome that was."

"Jet sent me a text," Sam lifted his phone and placed it on the table, "Hey babe, I don't want to ruin your trip to town but I need you guys home ASAP. Long story short the basement is crawling with Cas clones."

"Sam told me about the message first," Cas looked down ashamedly, "I stole Dean's car keys and flew back to the mansion on my own, I didn't want them to get hurt."

"One of us knows how to start cars without keys," Dean stated vaguely.

"I hotwired Dean's car," Charlie admitted and pat Cas on the shoulder, "No one's mad at you for that." He just smiled back at her.

"I was bleeding out and passing out," Jet said almost nonchalantly, "I was pretty sure I was dead at that point, Rae and I were still in the basement and there were still clones on our asses. I told her to go and that's it, I blacked out."

"When I got there Jet and Desirae were in my old cage," Cas went on, "There were a few clones around so I handled them before getting Jet and Desirae to safety. Bobby and Garth took Jet to the hospital immediately, we're lucky he's still here."

"It was a pretty horrific sight," Dean's excitement over Jet's heroics subsided, "Four of us decided to go and take care of the clone threat that was hanging around down there. It was me, Sam, Cas, and Charlie; we geared up with MacLeod's equipment and went in."

"We were not prepared," Sam stated frankly, "I was too angry to think straight but none of us could keep up with those clones. They were all enhanced, super strength and senses like Cas has."

"Cas did all the work," Charlie pat her friend's arm, "I mean, we did what we could but he took care of pretty much everything."

"Until he got hurt," Dean added bitterly, "We had to make him sit it out while we took care of the rest of them."

"It was easier in the second area," Sam said with a shrug, "More or less anyway. There was better lighting, and only a few clones were actually free from their cages. Cas had trouble with the ones that were free but he handled them. We decided that opening the doors was too risky, plus Jet was the one with the keys."

"The plan was for me to rip open a small enough hole in the door," Cas displayed with hand gestures how he'd done it, "And then they'd just aim in with the guns they grabbed and shoot the clones. It worked for most of it, but one of them gassed Dee…"

"It hurt like hell," Dean touched his throat gingerly, "I blacked out pretty much instantly. It sucks! I couldn't even go down heroically like Jet did."

"It scared me so much," Cas tensed up, rubbing his eyes to try and keep them dry. "I flew Dean to the hospital after that, I was so scared I'd lose him."

"Some recovery time later, here we are." Jet gestured to the room, "No one's been back there since it all went down, far as I know anyway."

"I don't know what it's like right now, but I know there are a few clones left." Sam shifted in his seat anxiously, "I don't know if they're all a lost cause, the enhancements those things have helped them last this long without food or water. Maybe if they get some rehabilitation they'll be more docile."

"I can't say if those clones have minds of their own," Cas shook his head, "I can only speak for me. Desirae is her own person because she was spliced with my clone, she isn't a direct copy of me…. Obviously."

"So…" Jet dragged out the pause, "think you guys can help me figure out to properly adopt Desirae?"

"That's it," Dean smiled at Donna, "About two months after pretty much winning the lottery I've got fucked up lungs, my best friend lost his arm, we discovered an underground mad scientist's lab, and I met the love of my life."