A/N: Thank you guys so much for all your comments. I don't say it enough, but they mean the world to me every time.

Sam looked up from his spot reading in the library when the exhausted prophet wandered in, a short furred cat close at his heels. "Hey." he greeted.

Kevin gave a brief nod. "Hey. Where's Dean?"

"He's with Cas. Cas just texted, they might not make it back in tonight."

"Huh." He said absently. "You notice he's been doing that a lot?"

"Yeah." Sam said, heaving a sigh. "I have."

"Guess I'll feed Paka." Kevin muttered, half to himself, starting back out of the library again, the cat still almost underfoot.

Sam watched, amused as the pair headed off. He shifted his focus back towards the closed door to the bunker, letting his mind mull over everything he'd seen and heard from his brother and Cas in the past weeks...

.

The sun's first lazy rays began to filter through the station wagon's windows, and the hunter stirred, opening his eyes before hastily pressing them shut again, even against the modest brightness. He froze as he felt the figure he was leaning up against shift slightly, but forced himself to relax as he remembered it was only Cas. Cas whose chest he was leaning against. Cas whose arm was wrapped around him. Cas who… Dean forced his brain out of that spiral of thought before it could get any worse. Right now it was nice… just let it be nice. "Mornin'." He grunted.

"Good morning Dean."

"What time is it?"

"6:13 am." Cas supplied.

Dean dragged himself upright, rubbing his hand over his eyes and stretching. He let out his breath with the tension in his shoulders. He blinked a few times, letting his eyes adjust to the early morning light. "That's what, five hours?" Dean raised an eyebrow. "Not bad." He rolled his neck a little. He removed the coat from where it had slid to his lap, carefully folding it over once and handing it back to the angel. He looked at it for a moment, realizing Cas must've mojo'd it clean after getting his grace back. Sam had said it was a lost cause. He shook himself from that pointless thought, stifling a yawn. "Alright, I need coffee."

Cas opened his door, stepping out to switch places. Dean just slid across the bench seat, coming to sit behind the wheel. He waited for Cas to get back inside before starting it up, feeling a twinge of annoyance at missing his baby. He put it in drive and started back onto the road.

It took almost ten minutes for Cas to catch up to their direction. "I take it we are not returning to the bunker?"

"Nah." Dean replied. "Figured we'd get breakfast on the road then head over to Tom's and see what parts he has on hand for the impala." He flashed a grin. "I told you I'd teach you how to fix her up."

Cas nodded, recalling Dean saying that in the cabin immediately before he stopped breathing.

Dean cleared his throat. "Hey, did you talk to Sam last night?"

"I informed him via text that we would likely not return last night." Cas supplied.

"Good. You want to throw him a text now, tell him not to expect us until the afternoon?"

Castiel nodded, pulling the phone from his coat pocket. He drafted up a text, sending it off. "I find communication without verbalization unsettling." He said at last, putting the phone back into his pocket.

"You'll get used to it."

Cas nodded, but said nothing, opting to instead look out the window as they approached the small diner just over state lines in Nebraska. He followed the hunter inside, mirroring him as they looked through the menus. He heard Dean rattle off some egg special to the waitress, and in turn he ordered a stack of pancakes that he figured Dean would enjoy. They held that companionable silence until food arrived at the table.

"Tom's salvage yard is just outside Norfolk. Been going there for parts since I used to work on her with my dad. Bobby used to do business with him, exchanging parts back and forth. Tom has to think I'm building a damn fleet of impalas with the number of parts I've grabbed over the years."

Cas watched, happy to see Dean dig into his breakfast with no hesitation. "How far is Norfolk?"

Dean started talking, mouth still full. "There and back in just under seven hours, give or take. Plus time spent there, obviously."

Castiel nodded. "What parts do you require to fix the impala this time?"

Dean snorted. "What parts don't we need?" He finished off his plate, pushing it aside and sliding Cas' over to him. "Frame didn't get messed up too badly, but she needs a lot of other parts. I have a list in the junker outside. We'll see what we can find, start working tomorrow."

.

Back on the road, Cas and Dean settled into silence. Cas spent his time looking out the passenger window, and Dean kept his focus on the road. But with a broken tape deck in their stolen car, the radio station he managed to find was not great, and Dean found his mind wandering too easily.

After debating speaking up for probably a good fifty miles or so, Dean finally reached up and turned down the music. "Hey, let me ask you something."

"Sure Dean."

"Angels… has any angel ever… you know… had a thing or whatever with a human before?"

"Had a romantic relationship?" He ignored the discomfort written across Dean's face at his words. "It has happened. The union of an angel and a human is not expressly forbidden, but it was for centuries punished as such. Still… there have been a small handful of nephilim born to prove it happens." He continued his gaze outside the car. "And then others have been more discreet about their relations. An angel in my garrison, he took a host in 1812 whom he is still with today. He has claimed it was convenience, but a few of us know otherwise."

"That what, the angel equivalent of in the closet?" Dean tried to push past his discomfort with a touch of humor. Though he could tell by Cas' expression that it was lost on the angel. "Never mind. So, uh, what you're saying is it's pretty frowned upon."

"I fell from heaven's grace years ago, I do not much care what they believe now."

"Yeah." Dean replied weakly, feeling that creeping sense of fight-or-flight kick in, but not being able to act on it while they were driving. He gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"In a touch of irony, Benjamin found his host long before we were together on earth to punish just such a disobedience."

"Thought you assclowns basically never came to earth before fishing me out of hell."

"We rarely did. But a seraph fathered a nephilim and a few of us were dispatched to eradicate the problem."

Dean narrowed his eyes. "A kid… you killed a kid?"

"Not me personally, but yes. The nephilim and the father."

Dean didn't respond for a moment, trying to sort his thoughts. He decided to skirt around that complicated issue entirely. "Man, I can't wrap my head around you looking like someone else."

"I only inhabited the vessel for an afternoon."

"No trench coat I'm guessing."

"Helen did not possess a coat, no."

Dean swerved the car just a little bit. "Helen?"

"My vessel at the time." Cas said simply.

"So you're telling me you were a chick?"

"I am an angel. My vessel was a woman."

"Huh." Dean said absently, trying to process this new information. "I never really thought… I mean I guess I remembered you possessing Jimmy's daughter but… I didn't really think about it."

"About what?"

"I don't know. You guys switching vessels."

"Raphael inhabited two vessels of differing gender." Cas pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. I just didn't really pay attention before." He said gruffly.

Castiel looked back at Dean, studying his tense posture. "You are uncomfortable that I inhabit a male vessel."

"That's not what I said."

"You did not need to say it."

"It's complicated, okay?" Dean tried to brush this conversation off, but he was aware Cas was still looking at him. He could feel the anger pricking at the back of his neck, but he tried to push it down, knowing it was uncalled for.

"I still struggle to grasp the intricacies of human emotion."

"Yeah, no shit." Dean muttered before he could stop himself. The angel didn't seem to notice though.

Cas turned his head to look over the oncoming road once more, giving Dean a bit of a reprieve in feeling like a wild animal on display. After a moment, Cas spoke. "I am sorry."

"I'm not asking you to be."

"Still. I do not wish to make matters more complicated. It seems to cause you to feel conflicted."

Dean was silent, trying to figure out what to say. "It's fine." He managed after a lengthy silence. It was just he never thought about it before recently. Being anything other than how he always presented. That wasn't entirely true, but he told himself passing thoughts didn't count. Actions counted. And the actions he allowed himself to take were clear and straightforward. This was anything but.

"There seems to be some disagreement amongst humans over the validity of relationships of certain sexual orientations."

"Look, let's not talk about that, alright?" Dean tried to end the conversation.

"Dean-"

"Besides, there's a lot more going on here anyway, okay? It's messy." Dean managed to let slip a laugh in spite of himself. "I'm 36, 76 if you count hell, and you're how old? Millennia? You're kind of robbing the cradle here. Not to mention the whole species difference." He managed to keep his tone firm and focus on the humor. "Let's not dissect this any more than we have to. Nothing needs saying, nothing needs a label. We just move on."

Cas looked the hunter over, noticing Dean struggling to keep the tension out of his body, to keep the conversation from spiraling out of control. So he bit his tongue on further comments and gave a nod.

"Good." Dean said, reaching down and turning the music on the crappy radio station up high enough to discourage any more talk until they reached their destination.

Pulling into the yard at last, Cas noticed how similar the layout was to Bobby Singer's property. Old rusted cars piled up and lining the fenced in property, and towards the back, a space to work on the cars.

Dean pulled right in front of the garage where an older fellow was working under the hood of an old sedan. He looked up when he heard the car door close. Dean smiled. "Tom."

Tom grinned, putting his tools down. "Dean." He wiped his hands on a towel, stepping around the car and walking over. "It's been what, two, three years since I saw you last? Worried you finally managed to tip that car off a cliff way you seem to like getting her in trouble."

"Not quite." Dean seemed instantly at ease. "She did get pretty banged up though. Was hoping you might have a few things I need."

"Obviously. Still keep a hold of every serviceable old Chevy part just in case you come kicking around." He turned towards Cas, holding out his hand. "Name's Tom. I've been keeping this guy's car on the road since before he was allowed to drive it."

Cas took the offered hand. "Cas." He said simply. "Nice to meet you."

Tom beckoned both of them to follow him back towards the office. "Hey, that crusty son of a bitch have a new number or something? I got a pile of truck parts seem right up his alley, can't get a hold of him. Ain't seen hide nor hair of him just as long as you."

Dean's smile finally faltered, and he frowned. "He passed. A little more than four months after we last saw you."

"Shit." Tom muttered, the mood darkening a bit. "I'm sorry to hear that. Condolences."

"Yeah well, he'd have been happy to know you're still up and running." Dean tried to steer the conversation around.

Tom nodded, allowing the discussion to be led. "You know what you need?"

"Always do." The hunter fished the list from his pocket and handed it over to the mechanic.

He scanned the written list. "Jesus, what the hell did you do to her!?"

"Hit some ice in New York, rolled right into a ditch."

"Maybe next time you're reaching for colder climates, try and swap out your wheels for something that might actually steer through the ice." He pulled out his books, flipping to a tabbed page that was set aside specifically with a list of car parts that could service a 67' Impala. "Though come to think of it, don't. You halfway keep the lights on around here."

"I'll take whatever parts you've got handy today, and I can come back for the rest."

"You still up near Sioux Falls?"

"Kansas actually. Almost the exact same distance the opposite direction."

"Lucky me." Tom nodded. "Yeah, I got most of this handy. You'll have to give me a week or so to gather up the body pieces. You need a new roof?"

"I don't think so. She got dented, but I'm pretty sure it's salvageable."

"Alright, you let me know if that changes." Tom looked at Cas and gave a genuine laugh at the bewildered expression on the angel. "I take it, you don't know much about cars."

"No."

"Well, stick with this guy and I'm sure you'll learn."

An hour later, Cas helped Dean carry a couple armfuls of parts to the station wagon, waiting as Dean nestled them in so they couldn't just slide around the back. Dean closed the hatch and stopped, studying Cas for a moment. He seemed to make up his mind, tossing Cas the keys.

Cas caught them, surprised. He tilted his head at Dean.

"Why don't you start us out of here. It's time you learn to drive if you don't have wings."

"I do not know if that is wise."

"Open road. No traffic. We're in the middle of nowhere, it'll be fine"

"Dean-"

"Besides. I'm not letting you touch my baby until you have the basics down. So this is a good time to start."

.

When Cas and Dean finally walked in through the bunker door, Sam was a little surprised. He had halfway expected Dean to find some case on the other side of the country and haul ass to avoid returning. "Hey." He greeted.

"Hey." Dean called back, clanging down the metal staircase. He slid the light jacket off, tossing it over one of the chairs. He nodded at Cas who started towards the bedroom, with intent to check in on the cat.

"How was Tom?"

"Same as always. Giving me shit for wrecking the car again."

"He have what you need?"

"Always does." Dean started out of the room again and Sam stood up from his seat, setting aside the book he had been trying to read.

"Dean, wait. Can we talk for a minute."

"No can do Sammy, I am well overdue for a shower."

"Dean-"

"Cas and I were thinking Chinese for dinner. Why don't you ask Kevin what he wants." Dean called over his shoulder as he left, not deterred at all by Sam's insistence.

Sam sighed, knowing Dean had seen him coming and not surprised Dean managed to dodge the conversation. He decided to just count it as a victory that his brother had mentioned food.

Hours later, When Cas finally saw the younger Winchester enter his room, he recognized that it was in fact Gadreel who was in control now. He looked up from where he sat on the edge of the bed, the cat lazily batting at a felted mouse in front of him.

"Brother."

"Gadreel." Cas looked at him steadily. "Is Sam...?"

"He is resting in his subconscious as I take a more direct approach on the last bit of his healing. I intend to take my leave this evening." Gadreel paused. "I had hoped to catch you for a moment before I left."

Cas gestured to the chair near the desk, aware that angels did not need to sit. Gadreel did anyway. "What can I do for you?"

"I apologize… it has been a long time since I have spoken to another angel, save for the few who were in charge of heaven's jail." He looked at Castiel. "You still are wary of me."

"I appreciate that you have healed Sam. That is not insignificant."

"I had hoped to consult you on life as an angel amongst humans. I have heard of you over the years. I know you have experience."

"If you have heard of me, you know I'm not much of an angel."

"You fell for disobedience. As did I. You fell for loyalty. I was merely deceived. I am in no position to judge you."

"What are your plans for after you leave here?"

Gadreel thought for a moment. "I am honestly unsure. I have not had a clear path in centuries. Now, to be free but directionless…"

"It can be overwhelming."

"I still wish to help, but I am unsure of how I may do so. I hear the angels from time to time, though it seems many are hesitant to call out amidst the chaos."

Cas nodded. "I hope to fix that. To help them return to heaven. Kevin is working to translate the angel tablet, hopefully we can send them back."

"All of them?"

Castiel frowned. "Those who wish to return. And those who would cause destruction to the humans should they not. But no. I have learned the importance of agency over blind obedience. I would not wish to force an angel to return if they do not wish. Nor would I see you locked up again once having a fresh start."

Gadreel nodded. "And what of you? Where does your path take you, once our brothers and sisters can return home?"

"It is my home no longer." Cas absently stroked his fingers through Paka's still-short fur. "I belong here."

"With these three humans and… this feline." Gadreel gestured towards the cat.

"Yes."

"Dean is the human you rebelled against heaven for. For whom you interrupted the angel's plan for the apocalypse."

"He is."

Gadreel seemed thoughtful. "At least for now, I suppose I will once more seek out my prior vessel. And then perhaps I can continue to do some good. Dean Winchester prayed for his brother, but he is not the only human whose calls for help go unanswered. Our brothers and sisters for the most part seem to have turned their backs on our father's creations. Perhaps I can assist in their stead."

"It is a noble endeavor. I suggest you confer with your vessel on occasion. The type of human who let an angel in is likely one who could use some guidance themselves. But there might be things of this world he can teach you as well."

Gadreel nodded. "Thank you. Should you require assistance with opening heaven again, please call on me. I will come."

Cas nodded as the other angel stood to leave. "Thank you Gadreel." He turned his attention back to Paka as he was left alone.

A/N Thank you guys again for all your feedback. It really helps me to know that I'm still doing okay with this story. I have this roughly outlined through chapter 37 so… interesting times be ahead!