Dean returned after about ten minutes, a smile still on his face when he pulled the door closed after himself. That smile changed into a scowl when Sam asked what had taken him so long in a teasing tone. "Back off, Sammy," Dean grumbled. "Cas said, he'll be here in a few minutes."

Spencer looked up in surprise. That was fast. The guy must have been close already. Was it merely a coincidence or had the Winchesters placed him nearby as potential backup? And if so, was that a tactic they used regularly? He carefully filed that piece of information away. With how often the Winchesters had escaped custody, it could be worth looking into.

Barely three minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Dean answered it and Spencer only caught a glimpse of a beige fabric, before he slipped outside to greet the other man. He closed the door behind himself.

Sam, seemingly unsurprised by his brother's behavior, snickered quietly to himself and began setting up a laptop on the small motel table. "We haven't seen Cas in more than two weeks, so it might take them a while."

Spencer wondered what the relationship between the two men might be. How did Cas tie into the brothers' dynamic? He'd have to figure that out in order to place him within the new profile he was slowly building in his head.

He was still caught up in his own mind when the two men reentered the room. The new guy wore a beige trench coat over a dark suit and a blue tie. He had messy dark hair and some of the bluest eyes that Spencer had ever seen. Dean gestured between the two of them in introduction, "This is Castiel. Cas this is…Reid, was it?"

Spencer nodded hesitantly. Castiel bowed his head slightly, a serious look on his face. "Nice to meet you."

Not knowing if he should return the greeting or not, he awkwardly gave another nod. Castiel seemed satisfied with that as he turned back to Dean. "You said, you wanted me to watch him?"

"Yeah," Dean answered easily. Spencer noticed that the two men were standing just a little bit too close together. He took a closer look at their body language; they were clearly comfortable with each other. "Just babysit him until we're done with the hunt."

Castiel frowned. "He is not a baby. And don't you think I should help with the hunt instead? My abilities would be very useful."

Spencer swallowed. He knew nothing about Castiel. Neither his face nor his name were familiar; he was clearly not in any database. This guy was a wild card, and he could only guess what abilities he was talking about. His earlier torture theory immediately came back to mind.

"Nah, just need you to keep an eye on the Fed so he doesn't escape." Dean clapped Castiel on the shoulder. His hand lingered for a second. "We'll be back soon. Think you can manage to keep the kid alive for a few hours by yourself?"

Dean's tone was lighthearted, but Spencer's breath still caught in his lungs at the implication. What did he mean by that?! Was this part of some kind of sick game he was playing?

Castiel seemed to have noticed the agent's distress as he turned towards him with a serious expression on his face. "Do not worry, he is simply joking. I mean you no harm; I am an angel of the lord."

Spencer's heart stopped. For a moment everything seemed to stand still. He wasn't breathing anymore and the world had gone quiet.

It was Georgia all over again.

No, please! God, no! Not again!

Then everything came rushing in at once. The sound of his own pulse was thundering in his ears. His heart was racing twice as fast. His breathing was barely more than gasping wheezes. Black spots were dancing in front of his eyes.

It was cold, it was dark; the air stank of burning fish and meat. There was blood in his hair and on his face. He was surrounded by wood and gravestones as Raphael pointed a gun between his eyes. Confess, sinner!

"I'm n-not. I…I'm not a s-s-sinner. I s-swear! No… Please! I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please d-don't h-hurt me…"

At this point, he wasn't aware anymore of whether he was talking out loud or just in his head. The world was slipping away around him.

Disassociation.

A response by the brain to protect itself from trauma. Something common in victims of PTSD.

He didn't know how long he was sitting there, quietly trembling as tears were freely streaming down his face; his eyes staring at nothing. There were panicked voices around him. People were talking, trying to get his attention. But he didn't really notice them.

After a while, he became aware of a hand on his chest. Someone was counting out loud. Calm and steady. Slowly, he was starting to come back to himself. When he blinked and the picture in front of his eyes cleared, he saw that it was Sam. The younger Winchester was taking exaggerated deep breaths and upon seeing his eyes on him, encouraged the young agent to copy him. "That's it. You're doing great," Sam said quietly.

Dean and Castiel were standing in the background. Castiel had an alarmed look on his face and didn't seem to know what he was supposed to do. Dean stood with his arms crossed over his chest and a grim expression. "Damn, kid. That's the worst panic attack I've ever seen; and trust me, I've seen a lot. What the hell have you been through?"

Spencer averted his eyes and refused to answer. He had to keep reminding himself that these were dangerous criminals. They might act concerned for him right now, but he couldn't trust them. It was most likely a façade to give him a false sense of security. He shifted uncomfortably until Sam removed his hand from his chest, got up and backed a few steps away.

"It's okay," Sam said. His voice was soft and full of understanding. "This must be terrifying for you. I'm really sorry. But I promise that we won't do anything to you."

"Just need to know what this was about," Dean added. "So we don't accidentally set you off again. That was severe, man."

Spencer risked a glance up. Both brothers were now standing in front of him with their arms crossed and firm expressions on their faces. (Castiel still looked mostly confused, but he was beginning to think that was his default expression.) They weren't going to back down. The young agent swallowed hard and cleared his throat. "I, uhm…I was k-kidnapped about a year ago. I-I was held hostage for two days by a man believing himself to be the archangel Raphael on a mission to punish sinners."

The brothers exchanged a grim look. "Fuck," Dean drew a hand down his face. He looked pained. "That sucks. Real sorry to be dragging up your trauma like this, kid. I really wish we had a choice."

"I promise we won't hurt you," Sam added.

"If it is any consolation, I can assure you that the man that held you wasn't Raphael," Castiel threw in. "He has been dead for more than two years now."

Okay… sure. Spencer decided that that had to be a part of their delusion. It was shaping up to be quite elaborate. Probably one of the most detailed he'd ever seen in a group of unsubs outside of cult activity. They'd really have to look into that possibility.

"This is shit!" Dean announced. He turned towards Castiel. "How is your mojo doing? Do you think you have enough juice to erase his memory right now, so we can let him go?"

Castiel crooked his head to the side, seeming to consider the other's words. The two of them were holding eye-contact the entire time. "I think so. I've had the opportunity to save up my grace the past weeks."

Dean was just about to answer, when there was a ping from the computer Sam had set up earlier. The tall man stepped over to the table and bent down to look at what had appeared on the screen. His expression darkened at what he was seeing. "Guys, we have a problem," he announced. "This just came in on the police server. The other Feds know that Reid is missing. And that we're the ones who have him."

Spencer's heart clenched in a mixture of relief and fear. His team was looking for him. They had a lead. But how would the Winchesters and their friend react to the news?

"Fuck!" Dean cursed.

Castiel looked from one brother to the other in confusion. "Can't we still erase his memory and simply send him back."

"No. It will be suspicious, if he can't remember anything," Sam said "Also, it won't change much. They'll still know we're in town and look for us. And we aren't finished with the case yet."

"It's better, if we keep him as insurance," Dean added with a look back at Spencer. "Sorry, kid."

Spencer's eyes widened. Even if his team caught the brothers now, they could use him as a bargaining chip to force a hostage exchange. Shit, this wasn't good!

Sam and Dean started to gear up, each throwing a worrying amount of weapons into a duffle bag. They instructed Castiel to stay in the room and make sure Spencer wouldn't get away and to not answer the door for anyone. Then they left to go 'hunt'. There was nothing Spencer could do to stop them.

He was left alone with Castiel. The guy that was convinced that he was an angel.

Spencer swallowed his instinctive terror. At least this man didn't seem inclined to carry out any mission beside the one the Winchesters had given him. If he was lucky, he wouldn't be harmed.

For the first few minutes, they waited in silence. Spencer tried to make as little sound as possible, barely moving so as to not set Castiel off. He wondered why the man wasn't sitting down or moving around or doing literally anything. But he seemed perfectly content to just stand there in the middle of the room and watch him. Watch him without pause. He was barely even blinking. It was making the young agent increasingly nervous.

"I can put you to sleep, if you would like. It would make this easier," Castiel offered after a while.

A needle flashed in front of Spencer's inner eye. The phantom sensation of a sting in his arm and the drugs entering his system. He flinched back in his chair so violently that it almost tipped over. For a moment, he was on the brink of another panic attack.

"No! Please, no! I don't want it! I don't!"

Castiel looked at him in surprise and confusion, and carefully backed a few steps away. He nodded slowly. "Okay. I will not force you."

Spencer let out a deep breath at the words and tried to calm his once again racing heart. Really, he'd overreacted. He had no reason to believe that Castiel had been suggesting drugs. Although, the likely alternative of a blow to the head wasn't much more appealing. In any case, Spencer would much prefer to stay awake while in the presence of an unknown criminal. He still hadn't been able to get a read on what exactly Castiel's role was here.

He was clearly submissive. More so to Dean than Sam. That was the puzzle piece that had been missing in the Winchesters' dynamic earlier. But the way they'd interacted still wasn't like what he'd expected. Even though Castiel took orders without question, Dean seemed to view him as more of an equal than what was normal for this kind of partnership. There had been something almost…affectionate about their interaction.

While Spencer was thinking hard and internally trying to build a profile, Castiel finally blinked and turned away. He stepped next to the window, alternating between gazing outside and throwing glances back to check on the bound agent. He seemed calm. So far the man hadn't exhibited any signs of violent behavior, so Spencer decided to try talking to him.

"Do you know that they're going to kill someone?"

Castiel pulled his gaze away from the window. "Yes."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Yes."

Spencer took a deep breath and chose his next words very carefully. "You trust the Winchesters' judgement. I can understand that. Trust between friends is important. I'm not asking you to go against your friends; I'm just wondering, don't you sometimes think that what they're doing – killing people – is wrong?"

"No. They are killing demons, abominations that need to be cleansed from earth."

Afraid of irritating the man, Spencer quickly agreed, "Yes. Yes, of course." Okay, so Castiel was as deeply invested in the delusion as the brothers. The cult theory was beginning to gain more and more traction. Clearly his sense of morality was screwed, so appealing to it would be pointless. What more did he know about the man? Not much, that was the problem. He was clearly submissive, only following orders that were given, not taking the initiative. That could be his in.

"So, if I understand correctly, they take care of the demons, and you follow their instructions and back them up."

"Yes."

"You're a very loyal friend, then. I'm sure they return the favor? Come whenever you need them? Take your input into consideration?"

Castiel frowned, his look turning piercing as he studied Spencer. It felt like he was looking directly into his soul, and the young man had to suppress a shiver. "I come when Dean calls and assist when they need my help. That is my purpose here on earth, now that I have turned my back on heaven. We might at times disagree on how to handle certain things, but their souls are pure, and I know that they'll always do what they believe to be for the best."

Spencer nodded quickly. There was a lot to be unpacked in that statement, but Castiel's determined tone of voice spoke of deep conviction, and his hard expression discouraged the young agent from digging any deeper at the moment. He had to make sure to not anger the man or he'd lose any chance of getting through to him.

"You are a very good, uhm…angel."

To his confusion, Castiel's gaze turned sad at his words instead of the righteous validation he'd been expecting. "No. I am a poor excuse for an angel. That is why I follow the Winchesters; they have a much better sense of the right path than I've ever had on my own."

Okay… Spencer realized that his empathizing strategy wasn't going to work. Clearly, Castiel's entire identity was based on the Winchesters. He seemed to believe himself to be entirely dependent on them in terms of thought and action. He'd have to switch tactics, try to break that foundation down by lowering the Winchesters from their pedestal.

"I'm sorry, but they don't. They're bad people. They've done horrible things, killed countless people, and I know that you don't want to see it, but they're manipulating you. Somewhere deep down you must realize that what they're doing is wrong, that the directions on right and wrong that they're giving you are screwed. I can help you; you just have to let me go." Castiel's expression was darkening, his jaw locked firmly in place, but Spencer ignored the alarm-bells that were ringing in his head. This was his last chance. So he powered on.

"The Winchesters are delusional and you can't believe what they've told you. I can see that you look up to Dean, but he, especially, is cruel and sadistic. He might seem like he cares about you, but he's just pretending to in order to manipulate you."

He knew his last words had been a mistake as soon as they left his mouth. Castiel suddenly straightened to his full height. His eyes seemed to be glowing in the dim light of the room and Spencer flinched back at the fury he saw in them. A sudden strike of thunder hitting in the distance startled him at the same moment that the light in the room flickered and Castiel strode forward.

Shit! He'd fucked up! He should've just kept his mouth shut. Now Castiel was going to hurt him.

"I'm sorry!" Spencer clenched his eyes shut and ducked down in his chair, but instead of the blow he'd been expecting, Castiel simply came to a stop right in front of him and said, "Do not presume to know Dean Winchester! He is the righteous man; he is good and his soul is pure. He has done more for this world than you could even imagine. So, do not ever insult him to my face."

Spencer carefully opened his eyes and looked up at Castiel's face. Even though he looked angry, there was no sign that he was going to turn violent. But as the young agent looked into the man's eyes, he could see the compassion and devotion in his eyes. At that moment, the thing that he hadn't been able to place earlier clicked in Spencer's mind.

Love.

He'd misjudged their relationship. Dean and Castiel were romantically involved, and even though Spencer couldn't be sure if it was true or just a ruse for cooperation on Dean's end, it was clearly real for Castiel. There'd be no point in arguing against the belief; he'd only anger the man further. Spencer could see in Castiel's eyes that his loyalty to Dean ran way too deep. There was no chance of getting through to him.

Spencer lowered his head in defeat.