"Okay, Attempt #247."

"It hasn't been that many, Dean."

Dean glared half-heartedly from the driver's seat. "I don't care. It feels like the 247th time, and I am tired of driving all over God's creation looking for a hypothetical secret hideout."

"I know." Sam gave him a sympathetic look, and he looked like he wanted to say more, but then he directed his attention to the back seat. "You guys stay here. We'll be right back."

Castiel jerked his head, barely able to keep his eyes open. "I should… go with you. There may be… threats."

"We'll be fine, Cas, just get some sleep." Dean flashed them both a smile he didn't feel.

Liam nodded from his seat behind Dean, eyes downcast and underlined with dark circles, fingers idly picking at each other in his lap. Castiel looked like he might have passed out already, slumped against the door behind Sam's seat. Sam made sad, frustrated, helpless eye contact.

Sighing softly, Dean pushed the door open and got out, slamming it behind him. He wanted to do something. He so desperately wanted to do something. He wanted to fix things. It had been almost three weeks since Liam ran away, and their family was still barely getting by. Gabriel had helped Liam sleep that first night, and then he gave Castiel some mojo. Castiel was able to keep the angels out of Liam's dreams, but it was exhausting for him, and he practically passed out every time Liam woke up. Which, of course, made Liam feel terrible. Castiel insisted he be allowed to protect Liam's mind; Liam insisted he could survive on whatever sleep the angels let him have. Sam found a compromise where Castiel would help Liam sleep every other night, giving them both time to recharge. Liam accepted it, but it was easy to see the guilt every time Castiel nodded off or Liam was reminded that Balthazar was now in charge of getting the angels ready for the big battle.

They had tested the rings as soon as they were out of Chicago and found they worked, but it was hard to revel in the victory when it seemed like they were losing so badly. Then they had worked with Bobby to find out more about the Men of Letters, and that lead to a story about some kind of bunker where this organization had their center of operations. However, not only did it require a key, but the coordinates of both the key and the actual bunker varied in almost every document they found. Sam speculated this was because they wanted to make their hideout harder to find. Dean was inclined to think it was because the whole thing was made up, though he found himself a little more open-minded after one of the coordinates led to a box with a key.

"You're allowed to vent to me, you know."

Dean glanced to his right. "I have vented, Sam. We've talked a thousand times. I don't have anything left to say." Then, before Sam had a chance to reach out some more, Dean spread his arms and looked up at the large building before them. "Well, if this is the one, it might be big enough to hide the angels in. How many rebels are we up to now?"

"Thirty-one." Sam started down the steps, wary eyes traveling over their surroundings.

Nodding, Dean followed him down, fishing the key box from his pocket as they approached the door. He opened it and pulled the key out, giving Sam a 'here goes' look before pushing it into the lock on the door.

And it went in.

"Woah." Dean looked at Sam. "We've never gotten this far before."

Sam swallowed, gesturing toward the key. "Give it a shot."

Twisting the key, Dean heard a 'ka-chunk,' and he grabbed the door handle. He held his breath, looked at Sam again, and pulled. It was dark inside, but Dean reached into his jacket and grabbed his flashlight. Holy crap. We might actually be on to something. He cautiously stepped over the threshold, sending his light from one side of the room to the other.

They didn't say anything at first—partly in case something dangerous was inside, partly because they were desperately hopeful and didn't want to jinx it, and partly because there was nothing to say—and they started to move around. They found they were up above the heart of the potential bunker, and once they found their way down and Dean turned the power on, well…

"Dean, I think we hit the motherload."

Stepping away from the levers that had turned the power on, Dean let his eyes wander over the switchboards and radios, vaguely aware that Sam was saying something about the contents of the room. We… we found it. He hurried down the stairs, joining Sam as they crossed the… what was it? A foyer? Did bunkers have foyers? Whatever. They crossed it, going around some kind of table that looked like a map, and then they stepped into the next room.

"Woah." Sam breathed the word, eyes scanning the bookshelves and meeting tables in the massive, secret, underground… bunker.

Dean took a few steps, glancing around and briefly thinking they would need to do an unbelievable amount of dusting. He looked down, expecting to see some kind of trip wire or booby trap waiting to kill them, but as he made his way through the room, he found it seemed relatively safe. "We gotta get Cas and Liam. They're gonna wanna see this."

"I'll get them." Sam stared for another moment, awestruck, and then he shook himself. "Right. Going." He took a few steps and stopped. "Actually, come with me. I know this place is supposed to be super secure and warded from every evil on the planet, but… it's unexplored territory. We should stick together until we know more."

Dean nodded in agreement, eyes still on the treasure they had discovered, and then he pulled himself out of his trance the way Sam had. "Okay."

They made their way back to the entrance, and Dean checked his jacket three times to make sure the key was with him before he dared to leave the building. Sam took the lead, jogging up the stairs and going over to the Impala with a smile on his face—and that was something Dean hadn't seen in a very, very long time.

"Liam!" Sam rapped on the glass. "We found it."

Dean stood at the top of the stairs, watching with a faint, upward tug on his mouth as Sam got Liam and a nearly unconscious Castiel out of the Impala. In minutes, they were in that library-looking room again, this time in a group of four.

"This place is big." Liam took a few steps, beat-up Converse squeaking against the wooden floor. "And our research said it's got all kinds of wards and protections keeping it hidden, right?"

Sam nodded, and even though he tried not to hover, Dean noticed the way he didn't let Liam get too far away from him. "Yes. We think it could hide us… maybe the angels we're converting… maybe more. Who knows?"

Swaying on his feet slightly, Castiel looked around the room. "We need to determine what wards this place has as soon as possible. I believe…" he put a hand to his head, "…the other angels would be more adept at finding those wards. They… will be able to sense…"

"Okay, let's find a bed or a couch somewhere in this Batcave." Dean put a hand on Castiel's shoulder and started pushing him back the way they had come, seeing Sam and Liam turn to follow him out of the corner of his eye. "I think I saw some doors back here…"

Castiel took a couple uneasy steps. "Dean… we need to make sure this place is secure… before we start settling in…"

"Relax, Cas, we're going to. I'm gonna find a place to put you, and then I'm gonna call Balthazar, and we're gonna get the angels in here and start giving this place an extremely invasive pat-down." Dean watched Castiel struggle for another moment, and then he grabbed the angel's arm and dragged it around his shoulders. "You can barely walk, dude. You gotta lay down."

Castiel didn't respond, and Dean was fine with that. He started looking around, finding his way into a hall and opening every door they came across. It didn't take long to find some kind of infirmary, and Dean could practically smell Sam's desire to dig through all the drawers and cabinets and see what kind of nightmares it was ready for. Next, they found something that looked like a very well-equipped kitchen, and Sam quickly decided to break away from the group.

"We've got some groceries in the car." Sam walked up to the stove and gave one of the knobs a twist, happy to see the appliance worked. "I'll make us some dinner."

Dean frowned, wrapping his arm around Castiel's waist as he felt the angel start to slide downward. "You sure, Sammy? We said we wanted to stick together."

"I'll be fine," Sam assured, turning the stove back off and going toward his family. "I'll just be walking the short distance to the car, getting some food, and coming right back here. What kind of evil could be lurking in a kitchen?"

Dean hesitated another moment but eventually offered a nod. "Okay. We'll keep looking for somewhere to put Cas."

Flashing a small smile, Sam grabbed Liam by the shoulders and pulled him closer, kissing him on the forehead. "Be safe, okay?"

"Okay." Liam gave a tiny smile of his own. "You, too."

Sam nodded and started back the way they had come, and Dean turned to look at the hall they had yet to explore. He could feel Castiel slouching lower, even with Dean supporting almost his entire weight.

"Geeze." Dean started walking, pulling Castiel along and keeping a careful eye on Liam, and they soon came to some kind of common room that, thankfully, had couches. "Here we go, Cas." He half-walked, half-dragged the angel to the closest couch, one that was facing away from the entrance, and Castiel tumbled onto the cushions.

Liam walked around Dean and sat down on the floor, leaning against the couch and looking up at his uncle. "I'll stay here with Castiel. You get the angels and keep exploring."

Dean almost objected, wanting to keep Liam close and not liking the idea of him being essentially alone in a brand new, potentially dangerous place, but then he thought about what he was going to be doing. If he got the angels, and they explored, and they did run into something deadly that needed to be taken care of, it would be best if Liam was in this common room, where there appeared to be no threats of any kind.

"I'll tell Sammy where you are, and he can bring you some dinner." Dean tried to keep the anxiety off his face, but it was hard to walk away from Liam when the boy had performed a delirium-fueled vanishing act just a few weeks prior. "Just don't go exploring on your own, okay?"

Liam nodded, and even with the amount of sleep Castiel's protection was allowing him to get, he still looked exhausted. Dean watched him for a moment and then looked at Castiel, who was unresponsive. Reaching out, he tousled Liam's hair and muttered a, 'love you, kid,' before walking back out into the hall and starting toward the kitchen.

Maybe this secret hideout will have what we need. Maybe it's almost over.

"You're blaming yourself again."

Sam slowed his steps when he heard Castiel talking in the living room—or at least, the room with couches that they were calling the living room. Sam had been in the middle of delivering dinner to Liam, but when he heard the serious nature of the conversation, he slowed to a stop outside the entrance.

"It is my fault," Liam muttered.

"Liam, you know that's not true."

"But if it wasn't for me—"

"Liam," Castiel said sternly, though he didn't raise his voice. "Do you remember what I told you while you were in Heaven?"

Sam frowned slightly, the mere mention of Heaven lighting a fire in his gut.

"Yes…"

"Then stop it." Castiel was resolute.

"But—"

"Very well. You've forced my hand. I have no choice but to follow through on my threat."

The word 'threat' spurred Sam into action, but he had only taken one step when Castiel's next words stopped him.

"You are now required to sacrifice seven rams and seven bulls."

Liam giggled, but it was weary.

"You think I'm joking? I am not."

Liam let out another small laugh.

"You must go out right now and find seven rams and seven bulls and then slaughter and burn them on an altar. Go on. Go get them."

Liam was now fully laughing, and after a moment, Castiel let out a small laugh of his own.

"Where am I gonna get bulls and rams?" Liam asked.

"You should've thought of that before you insisted on blaming yourself."

Liam continued to laugh, and Sam inched closer to the doorway, trying to see inside without giving himself away. He could make out some of Liam's body over the top of the couch that was facing away from him, and he could only assume Liam had crawled on top of Castiel, who had been lying there. Smiling faintly, Sam watched as the duo settled down, and then he opened his mouth.

"Okay! So, I know mac n' cheese is a low-effort meal," he was saying as he walked into the room and around the sofa, "but I wasn't about to try figuring out that kitchen with everything going on." He held out one of the bowls. "Cas, are you sure you don't want some?"

"Yes, thank you." Castiel closed his eyes for a moment, just lying there like he was trying to collect himself, and then he opened his eyes and looked at Sam. "Dean is still exploring?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, and the angels are getting settled. I wish we had beds for them, but—"

"It is not necessary. They do not sleep, and they will be training constantly, anyway." Castiel slipped an arm over Liam's back. "This place is finite, though, however large it may be. We are…" He yawned, reaching up with his other hand and rubbing his eyes. "We are going to run out of room."

Sam scooped a forkful of macaroni into his mouth, not really hungry but wanting Liam to see him eat. "Well, we're stationary now. Maybe with a home base that doesn't move, we can start putting wards on the surrounding area. Protect more than just the building, you know?"

Castiel nodded, eyes fluttering as he struggled to keep them open.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Sam suggested, glancing around and quickly spotting a fifty-year-old blanket draped over the back of the couch that was opposite the one Castiel and Liam were on. "Liam and I can go explore some more, and you…" he set his bowl on the end table and crossed the room, grabbing the gray fabric and flicking it open, "…can get some much-needed rest."

Castiel nodded again, his head dropping onto the arm of the couch as a heavy sigh escaped him. Liam gave him another cuddle and then carefully climbed off, one hand still holding his dinner, and then Sam draped the blanket over the angel that, honestly, might have already been asleep.

"You sure we won't get lost in here?" Liam asked, taking another bite.

"If we do, we'll find our way back again. It's like Castiel said: this place is finite." Sam tousled Liam's dark red hair and grabbed his bowl from the end table, walking toward the doorway.

They stepped into the hall, and after a moment of indecision, decided to turn right and see where it took them. For a little while, they just walked, eating their mac n' cheese as they poked their heads into different rooms, and then Sam tried to strike up a conversation.

"You know, it's a pretty big deal that we found this place." Sam let his eyes wander up and over the ceiling. "We might be able to hide the angels… and we might be able to shield you from Heaven."

Liam flashed a weak smile. "I hope so. I don't want to keep Castiel from leading the other angels." He tapped his fingers against the sides of his bowl. "I… I know I'm not supposed to blame myself, but…" He sighed. "I'm working on it."

"Hey, that's all you can do." Sam shrugged, and he looked at Liam with a warm smile on his face. "I'm really proud of you. You know, you used to think you deserved to be blamed for everything, and you didn't really try to fight it. But now it's like you know it's not your fault, and you're just doing the best you can to keep yourself in a good mindset. That takes a lot of hard work."

Looking away, Liam ducked his head. "It, um… it feels good. I think." He took a deep breath. "It's weird for me to think… this might not be my fault. But… it feels healthier, you know?"

"I do know." Sam had his own experience with self-blame, and he struggled almost as much as Liam, but he was familiar with the kind of relief that came with the realization he couldn't possibly be entirely responsible for whatever he felt guilty about. "We'll need to figure out what to do about therapy so you can continue to get support. I was thinking we could call Mrs. Statton and tell her that we've moved and see if you could do some kind of therapy over the phone."

Liam nodded, reaching out to grab a doorknob on their right. "Yeah, that would be good." He pushed the door in, opening his mouth to say something but stopping short when he flicked on the light. "Woah."

Sam leaned to the side a bit and looked past Liam at the room, brows raising at the massive, round rug that almost filled the entire room, a devil's trap sewn or embroidered or something into the fabric. "That's cool." He followed Liam into the room, looking around and finding similar patterns on the walls, some of the circular designs completely foreign to him. "Someone seriously liked their wards."

"Talk about supernatural aesthetic." Liam walked a little further into the room, scanning the bookshelf to the left, perfectly opposite the bed sticking out from the wall. "I mean, this whole place is warded to kingdom come, right? It's supposed to be protected from every kind of evil there is."

Realizing where Liam was going, Sam couldn't help but laugh. "Wait, so they put all this stuff in here just because it looked cool?" He laughed again, and Liam laughed along.

"Can this be my room?" Liam walked past the bookshelf to a desk pushed against the wall. "I could do my school over here, and keep my books on that shelf, and I wouldn't be far from the living room or the library, so I wouldn't be far away from you and Dee and Castiel while you're working." He continued to walk the perimeter of the room, slowing to a stop by the wall on the side of the bed that was farthest from Sam, looking up at a black, long, narrow tapestry with all kinds of sigils and foreign languages on it.

Sam smiled, looking around at the dark red walls and stained, wooden dresser. "Yeah, it can be your room." It didn't exactly scream 'Liam,' but there was clearly something about the decorations that were appealing to the teen. "You wanna go out to the car and get your stuff?"

For the first time in a long time, Liam actually looked excited, and he turned toward Sam with bright eyes. "Can we?"

"Sure. Let's explore a little more while we finish supper, and then we can start hauling your stuff in here." Sam turned and walked back to the door. "And you know, just because you like the room, you don't have to keep everything the same. If you wanna keep the sigils and wards, but paint it a different color or get some brighter lights in there… maybe some new furniture in a different color?"

Liam shuffled alongside him, staring down at what little remained of his supper. "Oh… I guess… we do live here now, don't we? Or at least, that's the plan." He spent another moment struggling to comprehend the idea, and then a smile broke out on his face. "It's been a long time since I had a permanent place to call home."

That's the truth. Even before Sam had whisked Liam away and catapulted him into the hunting life, Liam had been moving between group homes and foster homes pretty regularly. He didn't stay in one place for very long, and the only permanent home he had ever known was full of bad memories and trauma. Hopefully, this permanent home wouldn't have the same story.

"Have you thought about what your room is gonna look like?" Liam asked, stuffing his face with macaroni.

Sam blinked, his own spoon halfway to his mouth. "Uhh…"

"Y'know, just because you're an adult, it doesn't mean you can't care about stuff like how your room looks." Liam scraped the sides of his bowl, taking another bite. "Maybe your room should have a desk, too, so you can grade my homework and do teacher things." He shrugged, licking his lips. "You could pick a color theme, start collecting knickknacks, get fuzzy blankets and pillows and whole dressers full of all kinds of clothes."

Still somewhat stuck on the idea of having a room that was actually his, Sam felt his lips pull into a faint smile. "That sounds really awesome, buddy."

He didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before, given that he was the one who told Liam he could personalize his room, but he figured he kind of saw the window for stuff like that as closed. It was hard for him to think of things like holidays and posters on the wall and a big screen TV in the living room as things that were still options for him. Things he could still have.

"That sounds really, really awesome."

Liam let out a moan, rolling over in bed and wrapping his arms around his 'You Are My Sunshine' pillow, and he settled in for some more sleep. It was still dark in his room, though that didn't really mean anything given that they were now underground, but it felt like it was still nighttime. Besides, he had to get as much sleep as he could while Castiel was guarding his mind so that—

Wait.

Castiel wasn't guarding him tonight.

Blue eyes snapped open, and Liam shot up in bed. He looked around, expecting to see an angel, expecting this to be a dream, but there was nothing. He turned on his bedside lamp and took another look, but the room was still empty and no different from how it had been when he fell asleep. Reaching up, he touched his face and then ran his hands down his arms, but his sensation of touch wasn't dull; it felt normal. He grabbed his phone from where it was charging on the nightstand, and he quickly woke up the screen, eyes widening when he saw it was after 8:30 in the morning.

Is it a trap? Liam felt his heart beat a little faster, those fears from his time spent battling his delusions creeping back in, but then he realized there was a much simpler explanation: the warding in the Men of Letters bunker was working. They had put up some kind of protection to keep supernatural creatures out of their dreams, and even though they probably hadn't known about angels back in their day, the protection they had used was so overreaching that it stopped Heaven's attempts to get inside Liam's head.

"Sorzie!" Liam threw his covers off and bolted for the door, tearing it open and trying to remember which way his family's bedrooms were in this new place. "Sorzie! Dee!" It took a moment, but he darted down the hall in the direction he remembered them being. He burst into Sam's room first, but it was empty, and Liam quickly realized it was after Sam's usual wake-up time—he was an early riser—so he was probably making breakfast or researching or something.

Closing the door, Liam continued down the hall, and even though he knew Dean was probably in his room asleep, he passed it without going in. He wanted to tell everyone, but he really wanted to tell his dad. So he ran until he came to the kitchen, swinging through the opening. "Sorzie!"

Sam looked up from his book and cup of coffee, eyes widening slightly. "What's wrong?"

"I slept all night. I slept straight through. All night." Liam was almost panting, overcome with a kind of excitement he couldn't explain, and he could tell by the look on Sam's face that he wasn't getting it. "Last night was Castiel's night off."

There was another split second of processing, and then Sam's face lit up. He put his book down and got off the barstool, rushing to the kitchen doorway and throwing his arms around Liam. "Buddy, that's incredible! That's amazing!" He squeezed Liam tight, putting his chin on the head of dark red hair. "However they warded this place, it must be working. It must be doing something to your—" He squeezed again. "I'm so happy for you, Liam. I'm so relieved."

"I can sleep again, and Castiel can get back to leading the angels, and I can sleep again, and now we know the bunker has wards that work on angels, and I can sleep again!" He took a deep breath. "We gotta tell Dean and Castiel. We gotta tell everyone!"

Sam laughed. "We will, we will. Dean and Castiel are both asleep right now, and I honestly don't know what the angels are doing, but I imagine they're training." He extended his hand toward the bar behind him. "Come over and sit down for now. You want some oatmeal or something?"

"That would be nice." Liam let out a long, steady breath, like he was physically pushing all the stress and terror of the past month out of his body. "I'm so happy we found this place."

"Me, too." Sam grabbed the last packet of oatmeal from the box they had brought in from the car. "Once we figure out which ward is protecting your mind, we can do something to get that protection on you directly. Either a charm for a necklace or a bracelet, or something carved into your bones like the Enochian sigils, or… something."

Liam put his elbows on the counter and lowered his chin into his hands, watching as Sam moved around the kitchen, opening and closing the cabinets as he tried to figure out where everything was. Frowning, Liam thought about the past several weeks and what his dad must have been going through. He had been so oblivious—it was hard not to be when you could barely function—but he knew how Sam felt about his decision to take Liam from the group home. He knew Sam felt like he had dragged Liam into the hunting life and it was his fault every time something bad happened to Liam, which Liam found incredibly ironic given Sam's reaction to Liam's own need to blame himself for everything.

"It's not your fault, y'know."

Sam turned away from the old-fashioned microwave with a bewildered smile. "What?"

"It's not your fault. My nightmares and memories, what happened to me in Chicago, Castiel needing to basically shut himself down to keep my brain safe." Liam smiled, trying to relay to Sam the kind of calm and comfort Sam had always relayed to him. "I know you think I'm just a kid, so I don't know what's best for me, but I'm halfway to fourteen. I'm old enough to know that I would rather be here, with you and Uncle Dee and Castiel, than anywhere else." He lowered his hands from his face, folding them on the bar and leaning forward with another smile. "You can't protect me from everything, and that's okay. It's not your fault that there are evil, terrible things out there."

Sam didn't say anything for a moment, and even though he was trying to school his expression, Liam could still see the confusion and struggle to comprehend. He turned back toward the microwave and opened it, pulling out the oatmeal and hunting around until he found a spoon. He carried them over and set them in front of Liam, mimicking the teen's position by folding his arms on the counter and leaning forward. "I keep forgetting that you're growing up." His mouth moved, trying to find words. "I'm glad you're happy here. I'm glad we're able to give you what you need, even if… even if we can't make it easy or enjoyable all the time."

Liam swung his legs slightly, stocking feet bouncing against the barstool, and as he looked at Sam, he found himself approaching a topic he had always been too afraid to breech with Sam. "Why…" He wet his lips. "Why did you… come back?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, clearly confused.

"That night. You killed the shtriga, and then you left… and then, two days later, you came back and got me." Liam met Sam's eyes, even though he wasn't sure he was emotionally ready for his question to be answered, and he was nervous, but he wasn't afraid. "Why did you come back for me?"

Sam let out a long stream of air, reaching up to tuck his hair behind his ear. "I… don't know." He huffed out a little laugh. "I don't know how to explain it. It was like… some kind of chemistry. Love at first sight, just… not romantic love at first sight." He shrugged, wearing an uncertain smile. "I wish I had a better answer for you, but I really don't know. I just knew I couldn't leave you there. I knew you had to come with me, and after you did, I knew I could never go back. I didn't want to go back. It was like… it was like coming home."

Staring, Liam struggled to process the answer, and he had no idea what he had expected, but what Sam had said was not it. Liam had always assumed Sam came back because he felt guilty, or because Liam had made him feel bad by talking about his suicidal ideation, or because Sam felt a kind of duty as a hunter. He had never thought…

"You fell in love? With me?"

Sam smiled. "Yeah, I did." He put his hand against the back of Liam's head and pulled him closer, planting a kiss on his forehead. "My Liam."

"I…" Liam watched as Sam returned to his own side of the bar. "Um…" He grabbed his oatmeal and pulled the bowl a little closer, using his spoon to stir it around before scooping some into his mouth. "We should wake up Dean and Castiel and tell them the good news."

Sensing Liam needed some time, Sam didn't push back against the subject change. "I'll go get them. You eat your breakfast."

"Don't tell them without me, okay?"

"I would never."

Liam smiled faintly as he watched Sam disappear around the corner, absently bringing another spoonful to his mouth. He loved me from the start? He had always assumed he had done something to earn Sam's love. He had obeyed or proven useful or been so pitiful Sam couldn't help it. But I didn't do anything. He just… loved me.

Blinking away tears, Liam calmed himself and focused on eating, but after the realization settled in, he found he couldn't stop smiling. He chewed, barely able to keep his lips together, and he just kept thinking.

"Hey, Lee." Dean walked into the kitchen, stretching his arms over his head, and Sam and Castiel followed on his tail. "Sammy said you have some news for us. What's up?"

Liam turned on the barstool, swallowing the oatmeal in his mouth. "I slept all the way through last night—no nightmares or memories or anything—even though it was Castiel's night off."

Dean's eyes widened, but after a couple seconds spent downloading the information, he rushed across the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his nephew. "Buddy, that's so awesome!"

"Indeed." Castiel shuffled over to them, and even though he didn't go in for a hug, it was clear that his tired smile was genuine. "I still wish to enter your dreams tonight, just in case they try to come back. If this is some kind of cruel trick, well… it seems like the kind of thing Heaven would do." His smile was gone by the time he got to the end of his sentence, but that was pretty typical for Castiel. "But it is very likely there is something about this bunker that is keeping them out."

Liam held on to Dean's waist, but he spoke to Castiel. "You can go back to leading the angels now."

"Yes, I can." Castiel seemed to consider it for a moment. "It might take me a while, though. And I may need more of Gabriel's Grace, should he be willing to give it."

Dean gave Liam and squeeze and then looked toward the stove. "What's for breakfast?"

Chuckling, Sam pushed off the doorway and walked into the kitchen, going over to the box of oatmeal and chucking it across the room at Dean. "Think fast." He leaned back against the oven and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm going to the grocery store as soon as I take a shower and get dressed. Now that we actually have a kitchen, we can really stock up."

"Dude." Dean held the oatmeal in one hand and put the fingertips of his other together. "If you're taking a shower, you should know the water pressure is marvelous."

Liam laughed—as did Sam, while Castiel just seemed confused—and then he took another bite, speaking around it. "It'll be nice to do stuff again. I haven't drawn anything in a really long time… or done school… or really anything."

"What do you think you'd like to draw?" Castiel asked curiously, pushing his way past Dean so he could sit on the stool next to Liam.

Shrugging, Liam tilted his bowl and started scraping the sides. "I don't know. I'd kinda like to try drawing a person." He pursed his lips, thoughtful. "I have no idea how I'm gonna get all the proportions right, but… I guess I gotta start somewhere."

Castiel nodded, entirely serious. "Your work will be wonderful, I am sure." He had barely gotten the last word out when he was slouching against the counter, fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Go back to bed, Cas," Dean ordered, waiting at the microwave for his oatmeal to be done. "Just because last night was your night off, it doesn't mean you're recovered." He made a shooing motion with his hand. "Begone."

Castiel glared at him briefly, and then he put his hand on top of Liam's head and deadpanned, "I hope you have a very good day." And then he stood up and walked out, still seeming a little unsteady.

"Love you, Castiel!" Liam grabbed his bowl and got off the stool, carrying it over to the sink. "I'm gonna go back to my room. I wanna explore and see what kinda stuff they left when they abandoned this place."

Sam looked over from where he was inspecting the refrigerator and probably trying to figure out what still worked. "Okay. Do you want anything in particular from the store?"

Shrugging, Liam moved toward the exit. "You know what I like." He lifted his hand. "Love you guys!" He stepped into the hall, hearing them call out their affections, and then he started back toward his room. He looked the walls up and down, once again finding it really cool how much the secret bunker looked and felt like… well… a secret bunker. It was cool.

Liam turned on the light when he stepped into his bedroom, and the first thing he thought was that he wanted to buy more lights when the time came to modify his room. It just wasn't bright enough for him. He also wanted to change the color of the walls, though maybe not all of them. He kind of liked the dark red, he just wanted something else… maybe some kind of blue? But that was another thing that would happen down the road. Right now, he wanted to sort through the contents of the drawers of every piece of furniture in his room.

Let's do this.

"You wanna learn to fight?"

Liam looked up from his sketchpad in surprise. "Oh, Amane." He flashed a quick smile, wondering why the angel had wandered away from the soldiers she was training to talk to him.

"Kaori, actually." Putting her hands on her hips, the young, Japanese girl glanced around the large room with concrete walls and floors. "I've seen you hanging out over the past couple days, just sitting on the floor and watching the angels train while you draw, and I thought you might like to join us."

Liam looked out at the group of eight angels, each of them sparring one-on-one, but then he shook his head. "No, thank you." He gave her another smile.

"Okay! Let me know if you change your mind." She smiled back and lifted her hand in a wave before starting back toward the group.

Wetting his lips, Liam watched her leave, still thinking about her offer. He really did want to learn how to fight; he had just always assumed Sam or Dean would teach him. He wasn't sure he trusted anyone else to teach him. But she didn't take advantage of you in Chicago. And on top of that, Kaori—or Amane—seemed to have actual fighting experience. Sam and Dean knew how to fistfight, but Liam had been watching Amane—or Kaori—teach the angels, and… she almost seemed like she was dancing. Liam wanted to know how to fight like that.

Liam set his sketchbook down and got to his feet, crossing the room that had nothing in it but angels. "Hey, Kaori!"

She looked away from the soldiers with a questioning face.

"Would you, um…" He slowed to a stop. "Would you teach me how to fight?"

She smiled, eyes lighting up. "I'd love to." Glancing back at the angels, she made sure they didn't need her, and then she pointed toward the far side of the room. "Let's go where it's not so crowded."

Liam nodded, and they made their way over, Kaori turning toward him once they arrived.

"Do you know any fighting moves?"

"Um…" Feeling a bit embarrassed, Liam averted his eyes and shook his head. "No, I don't."

Kaori only smiled wider. "That's okay! We'll start with the First Teaching, or Ikkyo, of Aikido." She moved her right arm. "Grab my wrist with your right hand."

Buffering for a moment, Liam extended his right hand and grabbed her wrist.

"Alright, so now I'm going to move away from your line of strength," Kaori explained, swinging her arms to her left and lifting her left hand. "I get your arm up, and I put my left hand on your elbow…"

"So Gabriel has been giving out small doses of his Grace," Sam was saying as they walked down the hall toward one of the training rooms, "and Amane is training the angels to fight in case we're up against angels from Heaven that are evenly matched with our guys and girls." He glanced over his shoulder at Dean and Castiel. "Did Gabriel tell you about his archangel blade?"

Castiel gave a solemn nod. "We may be able to kill Lucifer and Michael instead of trapping them, though we have no way of knowing if it would be more or less difficult."

"I think our most important concern right now is making sure our converts are legit." Dean gestured vaguely, walking on Castiel's left. "Now that we have a home base, it means a double agent could report back to Heaven on where we are and lead them right to us. We didn't have that risk when we were moving around."

Sam nodded in agreement. "We also need to…" He trailed off as he stepped into the training room, hazel eyes drawn to the two young teenagers on the far side of the room.

They were standing face to face, and Amane's hand suddenly flew forward, grabbing onto Liam's wrist. Liam shifted his arms smoothly, and in a couple quick movements he had grabbed her elbow and pinned her to the floor.

"How was that?" Liam asked, releasing her and sitting back on his heels.

"That was great!" Amane got up on her knees and faced Liam, clasping her hands together under her chin, and Sam realized it must have been Kaori in control. "You're still struggling a little with how your feet are moving. You really need to have a firm and confident stance. But your movements are really good!"

Liam nodded, a smile breaking out on his face. "Can you use a little more strength against me this time?"

"Sure." Kaori got to her feet and dusted off her miniskirt. "I'll even use a little angelic strength to give you a challenge."

Liam got up with her. "Awesome!"

Sam watched them with a smile, and suddenly, everything else in the room faded away. He couldn't see Dean or Castiel, and he couldn't see the angels taking up the majority of the room. Even Kaori, who was still in his sights, was not his focus. He could only see Liam.

It was hard, with the way his brain worked, not to worry about Liam learning to fight. He wondered if Liam was doing it because he wanted to, or because he felt obligated to help his family, or because he was scared of what might come after him in the future, or all three combined. But Sam didn't worry about that nearly as much as he normally did.

Because Liam looked so happy. He was making a new friend—someone his age, which was a miracle given their situation—and he was learning something new, which always excited him. He was smiling, and he didn't have those dark circles under his eyes that had plagued him for so long, and as Sam watched him, he felt a smile breaking out on his own face.

He really had fallen in love.

Author's Note: PLEASE READ

I recently spoke with a reader about potentially doing a third installment to this series, but it would not take place directly after this story. It would follow the Winchesters with Liam as a young adult. If you are interested in seeing this, PLEASE let me know in the comments. Thank you!

On another note, you can check out the list of stories I'm working on but haven't posted yet that can be found on my website as well as my tumblr. I'd love to know what you'd like to see next!

Thanks so much for reading and supporting me!