"Hey, come look at this."

Dean looked over to where Sam sat at the motel table, laptop open in front of him. He shifted his gaze down to his lap, where a very happy familiar was curled up—the familiar he hadn't even wanted to summon in the first place—and then he looked at Sam again. "Uh, I'm kinda indisposed at the moment."

Liam looked over from where he lay on his own bed, drawing a rose in his sketchpad. He immediately smiled, but he didn't say or do anything to incline Calypso to release Dean.

"It's a cat." Sam deadpanned, less than impressed.

"But she's asleep." Dean gestured to his own lap. "I can't wake her up." He gestured some more, nondescriptly, somewhat jerkily. "Just tell me what you found."

Rolling his eyes, Sam looked back at his computer screen. "I found some demonic omens about an hour away. I know it doesn't scream 'Pestilence,' but I thought maybe we could interrogate whatever we find. Even low-level demons have got to know something."

Dean groaned. "If we have to check out every demonic omen in the country—"

"I know, I know. It's a lot." Sam took a deep breath and let it out in a huff, blowing his bangs away from his eyes. "But we've got to start somewhere. We need to find these rings as soon as possible."

Dean held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, I'm not saying I've got a better plan, I'm just saying this is gonna suck."

"Indeed, this situation is most suckish."

Dean jumped a foot in the air and stood up, effectively scaring Calypso off his lap, as he let out an extremely loud swear word. He immediately held out a hand in Liam's direction. "Sorry, bud."

"It's okay, Dee." Liam lifted his hand in a little wave. "Hey, Castiel!"

Dean turned to look at the angel, eyes narrowed in a vicious glare. "Don't do that."

Cocking his head to the side, Castiel gave them a clueless look. "How exactly should I do it? I can't announce my presence until I'm actually here."

"I don't know, man." Dean spread his arms wide, heart still thumping a little from the adrenaline spike. "Fly to the outside of the motel room and knock on the door or something!" He reached up to rub his face. "What do you need, Cas?"

Castiel blinked. "I do not need anything." He glanced at Sam, then at Liam, and ultimately looked back at Dean. "Well, I suppose I do need something. I have completed my mission to summon Gabriel, so I am in need of a new mission. I assumed I would help you find the Horsemen."

Sam pushed his chair back a little and turned so he was facing Castiel. "That would be great. I don't suppose you have any more reliable sources that might help us find Pestilence?"

"I do not, but I recommend looking into cases of disease outbreaks." Castiel stared with his wide, owlish eyes. "I am sure you already figured this out, but the Horsemen work on a rather small scale."

"Which still makes absolutely no sense to me," Dean muttered, sitting down on the mattress he had been scared off of. "We found some demonic omens we were going to take a look at."

Castiel nodded seriously. "Good. I will be able to assist with any kind of interrogation, and my abilities will enable me to be… more effective at procuring answers."

Dean pursed his lips and gave a sideways sort of nod. "Can't argue with that." He turned to Liam, mouth already open to say it was time to pack up, but he stopped short when he saw the troubled look on Liam's face. "What's up, buddy?"

Liam wet his lips and stared down at his sketchpad. "Could I…" He stopped, pursed his lips, and then started again. "Could I come along? I'll just stay by the car." He hurried through the second sentence. "I can just sit outside with Calypso while you're doing what you need to do."

Dean was tempted to say 'yes,' but he looked to Sam for an official verdict. As much as he loved Liam, and as much as he loved being Uncle Dean, Sam was still the dad in the outfit, and Dean knew that.

"I don't think that's a good idea, buddy. If Heaven knows about you and is willing to kidnap you to get to us, chances are, Hell is in the same boat." Sam shook his head, an apologetic tone in his voice. "Maybe next time we're fighting a regular monster you can tag along, but I don't want you anywhere near demons."

Liam seemed a little disappointed, but he didn't argue. "Okay. I'll just stay at the motel with Cali." He pushed himself up on his knees, preparing to close his sketchpad. "Are we leaving now?"

Dean gave a nod. "Soon as we're packed up."

"Okay."

Liam started gathering his art supplies, and Sam closed his laptop, both of them moving to get ready to go. But Dean didn't move right away, an uneasy feeling settling in his gut. Why, he didn't know, and he couldn't put his finger on any one thought. He just got the feeling things were going to go wrong.

"Dean?"

Jerking, Dean pulled himself out of his thoughts. "Sorry. Thinking." He clapped his hands together. "Right. Let's pack up and get moving!" He walked over to the dresser and pulled open the top drawer.

It's probably nothing.

But the feeling didn't go away.

Liam frowned, pulling out an earbud and looking to his left as he heard a low growl. "Cali?"

Calypso stood up on the motel bed, her back arched, her tail stiff and low.

"Calypso?" Liam put his pencil down and almost reached out to pet her before realizing that might not have been the best idea. "What's wrong?"

Calypso only growled again, staring at the door, and Liam felt a twist in his gut. He quickly pulled his other earbud out and grabbed his iron knife, getting off the bed and moving toward the door. He glanced at the curtains he had closed to keep people from peering in, wondering if he should have kept them open so he could better see who was outside.

Liam was still walking across the room when he heard the knock.

"Room service!"

He wasn't at all reassured, and while he knew Calypso wasn't fond of strangers in general, he kept his guard up. "We're all good in here!" he called, still creeping closer to the door.

"Just need to do a general inspection," said the voice from outside.

Liam leaned forward, looking through the peephole and finding a normal, fair-skinned and dark-haired man standing outside in a uniform. "We don't need a general inspection."

"It's mandatory."

Wetting his lips, Liam looked back at Calypso and then faced the door again. "You can come back later and do it. It shouldn't be a problem then." He looked through the hole again, and he saw the man taking a step back.

Crap! Liam jumped away from the door just as it was kicked in, the wooden barrier flying open and slamming into the wall. Staggering backwards, he lifted his knife and tried to figure out what kind of threat he was dealing with.

"Christo!"

Immediately, the man flinched back, and his eyes turned coal black, but he only grinned. "Knowing what I am isn't going to help you very much."

Liam gripped his iron weapon a little tighter and stood his ground, knowing that retreat wouldn't get him anything. "What do you want?"

"What do you think I want, you little brat?"

Liam was opening his mouth to reply when he felt something slam into him, throwing him backwards into the wall. His head snapped back, striking the plaster so hard it dented, and then he dropped down to the floor.

"Calypso!" Liam put one hand to his head, the other still holding his knife. "Go get help!"

For a moment, the black feline hesitated, most likely wanting to stay and do all she could to protect Liam. But after that moment, she darted from the room, disappearing just as the demon grabbed Liam by the shirt and dragged him to his feet.

Liam tried to stab the weapon into the demon's neck, but the demon grabbed him by the wrist and twisted until Liam had no choice but to let go. Castiel! He did it out of panic, even though he knew that his family had purchased a phone for Castiel, meaning he most likely couldn't hear prayers as reliably as he used to. Castiel, help me!

"You better hope your cat has the ability to teleport," the demon hissed, grabbing Liam by the throat and squeezing. "If she doesn't, there's no way she's going to get help in time."

Liam struggled to breathe, pulling futilely on his wrist. That's right. They have superhuman strength. He tugged again anyway, using his other hand to try and claw at the demon's face. I can't breathe! He tried to kick, blackness pushing in at the corners of his vision as his lungs started to burn, and he wasn't sure how successful he was.

Sam!

He kicked again, still digging his fingers into whatever flesh he could find, but the blackness got bigger, and the pain got worse, and before he knew what was happening, he was going limp in the demon's hand.

Sam!

And that was the last thought he had before he went under.

"So, it sounded to me like the famer thought the cattle mutilations could have been some local kids getting into trouble. Is that the vibe you got?"

Sam nodded his head, coming to a stop at the Impala and opening the passenger side door. "It's possible this isn't demons. There were only two instances of lightning striking, which isn't insanely unusual, so maybe…"

"Yeah, but what are the chances that the lightning struck within a week of some kids mutilating cattle?" Dean dropped into the driver's seat and pulled the door shut behind him, starting the engine. "Even if one of these isn't due to supernatural causes, could it really be true that both aren't?"

Castiel closed the door and slid to the middle of the backseat, leaning forward between the two. "I would say this is most likely demons. I think it's best if I start investigating the town, using my abilities to—"

Sam watched Castiel for a moment, his brow slowly raising. "To…?"

Castiel shook his head. "I… felt something." He put a hand to his sternum and rubbed a few times. "It was like something was pulling on me."

Dean pulled the car onto the road and started cruising in the direction of their motel. "That's weird. Could it be Balthazar trying to get a hold of you?"

"Perhaps…" Castiel pulled his phone from his pocket. "I'll text him."

Sam frowned slightly, caution swirling in the pit of his stomach. "Could it have been a prayer?"

Castiel pursed his lips, stopping mid-text. "It could be. I don't believe anyone has prayed to me since I was cast out of Heaven."

"If it was a prayer, is it possible it was Liam?" Sam asked, already pulling his phone from his pocket. "You know what, I'll call him. Just to be safe."

Sam opened the device and entered his contacts, quickly pulling up his son and tapping the green icon. He paused, listening as it rang, and the longer the vibrating tone went on, the more his chest tightened.

"Don't freak out." Dean held out a hand, apparently able to read the look on Sam's face. "Maybe he laid down for a nap or something. Or maybe he's got the phone on silent."

Sam heard the phone go to voicemail, and he pulled it away from his ear, looking at the screen in worry. "But he loves to listen to music on his phone, and if he was listening to music, the phone should have been right there, vibrating at the least."

"I'll check on him." Castiel disappeared as soon as the words left his lips.

Sam wet his lips and decided to call again, struggling to get air into his constricting lungs. Not again. That was all he could think. He just kept remembering the horror and panic he felt the morning after Heaven took Liam. But he's got those sigils on his ribs to keep him hidden from angels. That was almost worse. Because, if they really were hunting a demon, it was likely the demon was the thing that had taken Liam.

"Did he answer?"

"No. I—"

"He's gone."

Sam jerked slightly as Castiel's sudden presence in the backseat, but he quickly processed what the angel had said. "Are you sure he didn't just take a walk or something?"

Castiel shook his head. "The door was broken, there was a dent in the wall, and his iron knife was on the floor. His phone and earbuds were on the bed as well."

"Don't panic," Dean was saying, reaching out and putting his hand on Sam's shoulder.

"How am I not supposed to panic?" Sam ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, so we need to figure out who took him, and then—"

"Woah!"

Dean slammed on the breaks, everyone lurching forward as the vehicle came to a sudden stop, a black housecat standing on the hood. It meowed incessantly, and it didn't take long to figure out why.

"Calypso!" Sam opened the door and waited for her to get off the car and jump into his lap. "Someone took Liam, didn't they?"

Calypso meowed again, every muscle in her body tense.

Dean hit the gas now that the cat wasn't in his way, quickly picking up speed as they moved toward the motel. "I guess you can't tell us what took him."

Calypso looked up at Sam and blinked, her eyes immediately turning solid black.

Sam cursed under his breath. "So, it was a demon." He turned in his seat, looking at Castiel. "I want you to go back to the motel. Start looking for clues. We'll be there in fifteen minutes or so."

Castiel nodded and disappeared without a word.

Sam reached up and put his hands to his face, rubbing a few times before exhaling into his palms. "I am not doing this again."

"Hey, it's not gonna be like last time." Dean reached over and put a hand on Sam's shoulder. "We've got Cas with us, and we know how to hunt demons way better than we know how to hunt angels. We're gonna find him, and everything is gonna be fine."

Sam swallowed hard, vaguely aware of the fact that Calypso was still meowing and growling, and he looked out the window. "You better be right." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Because I am not doing this again."

Dean didn't say anything, hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

Sam put his hand on Calypso's back, rubbing gently as his mind tumbled down a path of all the things he would do when he found the demons who had dared to take his son. He hadn't been able to unleash his wrath on the angels when they had kidnapped Liam, especially considering the fact that the one who had literally taken him was suddenly their friend and teammate. Sam didn't have access to Heaven, and the angels hadn't come anywhere near them since they got Liam back.

Demons were a different story. They were a different story, and Sam was already taking them apart in his mind. He was already painting the walls and floors with their blood. Because, as he said, he was not doing this again.

He just wasn't.

Liam spat out a mouthful of blood and glared up at the demon who hit him, blue eyes cold and unwavering. "You hit like a girl."

The demon—who appeared to be the leader of a group of three—snorted a laugh and reached out, grabbing Liam's chin and pulling his head up. "You really are a brat, aren't you?"

"What was your first clue?" Liam didn't pull on his head, and he didn't try to get the demon to let go, he just emitted the essence of how much he truly didn't care. "You're not getting anything out of me."

"You say that, but we've barely just begun, you little worm." Black eyes stared down at him, the demon's hand releasing his chin. "I'm gonna enjoy making you scream."

Liam snorted, his eyes flickering around the old barn. "Is that why you brought me out here in the middle of nowhere? So you can make me scream without attracting attention?"

Leader—because using 'the demon' was getting old—laughed and gave Liam a wicked grin. "You're smarter than you look."

"Psh." Liam shifted slightly, still bound to the metal chair by old ropes. "I spent almost my whole life getting beat up for things I had no control over. I'm used to dealing with pain when I can't do anything to stop it." He shrugged. "I refuse to give you information, so this is just another beating I can't stop. I'll survive."

"Who said anything about keeping you alive?" asked a female demon standing behind her accomplices.

"Oh." Liam stared for a moment, and then he shrugged again. "I guess I'll die, then."

Leader pulled a knife from his pocket and pressed the tip to Liam's cheek, right below his left eye. "Let's see if we can't get you talking first."

Liam leaned back and gave the demon a slow blink. "Do your worst."

"I can promise you we will."

Liam glared.

"Do you—really think—if I haven't—talked by now—that I'm going to?" Liam panted and shuddered, barely able to get the words out of his parched throat. "You should—just kill me."

"You're trying to get it to stop, aren't you?" Leader laughed, and Liam felt a knife cut into his forehead. "There's only one way to do that, little worm."

Liam gasped, feeling blood trickle down his forehead and onto his eyelids. "I guess it's—just more torture I can't—" He broke off, heaving as his stomach tried to empty was little acid was left in it.

"Everyone has a breaking point," the female demon purred. "We'll find yours eventually."

Liam thought back to the time he had spent in angel jail and how quickly he had warmed up to Castiel, and he briefly wondered if a few nightmares would have him changing his attitude toward the demons in the same way. It didn't take long to decide that no, it wouldn't, because they wouldn't offer him comfort the way Castiel had. They were also looking for information on his family, which was something Heaven never tried to do. It was a completely different situation, and Liam took a little comfort in the fact that this time, the line between good and bad was clearly drawn.

"I think…" Liam sucked in a breath, his words still choppy but more drawn out and slurred, "…you left a few bones… unbroken…" He was so weak that they were no longer restraining him, and he wished he had enough strength in his arm to reach up and wipe the blood from his eyes. "You might… want to fix that."

"You little smart mouth!" the other henchman, a black man with scarred knuckles, punched him in the face. "You think your family is still gonna care about you when Michael and Lucifer are done with them?"

Liam tilted his head back, having a hard time keeping it steady, and he huffed out a quiet laugh. "You don't know… anything about them… do you?"

"We know they're not powerful enough to keep you safe from two archangels and all of Heaven and Hell," Leader snapped. "They're outnumbered and outgunned. It's impossible for them to win this."

"Well, if you don't mind, we're still gonna give it a try."

Liam smiled when he heard Dean's voice, but he couldn't keep his eyes open long enough to see where Dean was or what was going on. He slouched, his body sliding from the chair until he crumpled into a heap on the ground. He could hear commotion going on around him, gunshots and shouts and footsteps, but all he could focus on was the act of breathing.

He tried to keep his lungs steady, even though they were surrounded by a broken ribcage, and he could still feel blood oozing from the cuts on his forearms and face. His knuckles were swollen and bruised from the lead pipe the demons had used, but he was fairly certain they weren't broken, so he was hesitantly grateful for that.

Huh?

He felt a little, somewhat cold, wet something touch him on the cheek, and then he heard a quiet mew. Lips pulling into a smile, he jerked his hand and tried to find his familiar, a quiet whisper slipping through his busted lips. "Cali…"

She meowed again and started to rub her head against his, and even though the act was a little painful, he made no attempt to stop her. He wanted to thank her for getting help, but he couldn't get his mouth to cooperate, so he settled for laying there on the floor and being nuzzled.

"Liam!"

Sam… He tried to open his eyes, but between the exhaustion and slowly drying blood, he couldn't quite manage it. Trying to lift his hand, he managed to jerk it around and strike something that felt like denim.

"I've got you, Liam." Sam grasped Liam's hand, gently rubbing but avoiding the fingers, probably because he could see how much damage had been done to them. "Cas!"

"Let me see."

Liam felt two fingers on his forehead followed by a rush of cold, and the pain in his chest and face dissipated into a cool tingling. He gasped like a man come back to life, and he forced his eyes open, blinking a few times before he could make out Sam, Dean, Castiel, and Calypso all gathered on his right.

"I can't heal everything," Castiel explained, an apologetic tone in his voice. "I am still cut off from Heaven, so I can only do so much at a time, but if we let my powers replenish for a few hours, I will be able to heal the rest."

Liam just smiled, gripping Sam's hand. "I knew you guys would come…"

"Always, Lee." Dean reached out and brushed Liam's hair back away from his face.

"Come on." Sam let go of Liam's hand and moved closer, working his arm around Liam's shoulders. "Let's get you out of here."

Nodding faintly, Liam let his eyes drift shut again, and soon he was being cradled against his dad's chest. He immediately leaned in, rubbing his face against Sam's shoulder, and he pulled his arms in close.

"I am going to check the perimeter. I don't sense anything, but I would like to ensure there are no other demons." That was Castiel, and even though he was speaking in his usual monotone, Liam thought he could hear a faint note of worry in his voice. "I'll be right back."

Liam opened his mouth to say he had only seen the three demons that had been in the barn with him, but Castiel was gone before he had the chance. Not to mention, just because Liam had only seen three, that didn't mean there truly were only three of them.

Moaning, Liam felt the backseat of the Impala touch his legs and lower back, and after a few seconds, he was laying in the car with his upper body nestled against Sam. He reached up and grabbed Sam's shirt, clutching the fabric as a weight settled down on his stomach, mewing quietly.

"Dad…" Liam opened his eyes for a half second, spying Calypso curled up on his abdomen. "You're… you're not gonna send me back to my group home, are you?"

Sam planted a kiss on Liam's forehead. "No, Liam. If I did that, it would be even easier for them to find you." He rubbed Liam's upper arms, careful to avoid the cuts Castiel hadn't been able to heal. "I would only ever send you back if it could keep you safe, and it can't." He squeezed Liam tightly, and since Castiel had fixed the broken ribs, it didn't hurt nearly as much as it could have. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. This is all my fault."

Liam shook his head, half-asleep and still aching from the hours of interrogation he had gone through. "You were trying to keep me safe." He exhaled softly, and he could feel Calypso purring on him. "You can't control other people's evil."

"I know." Sam sighed, running a hand through Liam's matted hair. "From now on, we're taking you with us. I think the closer you are, the better. If you're near us, they might not risk coming that close."

Liam smiled to himself, happy he was going to be allowed to tag along. "See, what you don't know is… I planned to have the demons kidnap me so I could come with you on hunts."

Sam laughed, but there was a heavy undertone of grief. "You're a crafty little genius, aren't you?"

"Yup." He opened his eyes again, tilting his head back and finding Sam's face. "I didn't tell them anything."

Sam shook his head. "That's not your job, Liam." He put his hand over the one gripping his shirt. "You don't have to keep us safe from the demons."

"Oh." Glancing down, Liam tried to hide his disappointment, though he wasn't sure how successful he was. "Okay."

Sam immediately realized his mistake—if it was a mistake, which Liam wasn't sure it was—and he quickly continued. "I mean, I think you were incredibly brave, and I'm very proud of you. I didn't mean to imply otherwise, I just…" He sighed. "I just hate to see you going through these struggles."

"I know." Liam dropped his gaze, feeling a little guilty, but the feeling didn't linger like it usually did. "But it's okay. Everything's okay."

"You're right. Everything is okay." Reaching out, Sam stroked the familiar that had become Liam's extremely faithful companion. "She's been taking good care of you, hasn't she?"

Nodding, Liam let his eyes close again. "She warned me when the demon came to the door." He shifted, tucking his head under Sam's chin. "She's good to me. I love her."

"I'm glad."

Silence settled over the car after that, broken only when Castiel came back from examining the land around the barn. He told the brothers that he hadn't found anything, and then they started driving. They stopped at the motel just long enough to grab the few belongings they had left behind, and then they hit the road, presumably trying to get as far away from the demons as possible.

Liam didn't say a word the entire time, soaking up the closeness of his family and the love they had for him. He listened to the music on the radio, which Dean and Sam and even Castiel sometimes sang along with. Over time, he slid down, until his head was resting on Sam's lap rather than his chest. Calypso occasionally shifted positions, but she stayed close to Liam, laying either on top of him or right beside him.

This is what home is supposed to feel like.

He had felt that way from the first night he spent with Sam, and every time someone was added to the family—Dean, Castiel, Bobby—the feeling only grew. It gave him a sensation inside that his parents and his group homes and foster homes never had. Even the ones that weren't bad had never felt so right. But his new family did.

This is home.

And Liam couldn't have been happier.