"Well, it seemed like the snake enjoyed the trip," Dean said, glancing at Felix.
Monica looked at him as well, forcing herself to meet the beady black eyes. Like a demon's.
Jack looked thoughtful. "Hard to say. He's, uh, very guarded."
"Yeah. Yeah. And what about you, huh? Good time?"
"It was illuminating." He picked up the cage and walked to his room.
Just then Sam and Cass walked down the stairs.
"Oh. Hey! How was Arkansas?" Dean asked.
Sam exhaled a laugh. "Arkansas was, uh... It was weird."
"Heard you wore a cardigan," Dean said, almost tauntingly.
Monica tried to picture Sam in a cardigan. She winced and shook the image away.
"Yeah, I told him about the cardigan," Castiel explained.
"Great. Thanks," Sam said sarcastically.
"And the wife," Dean added. "He said you were, uh, really happy."
"Thanks," Sam sighed.
"Yeah. Where's Jack?" Castiel asked.
"His room," Dean replied.
Monica went to her own room, hoping to avoid being interrogated by Cass.
Unfortunately, she couldn't.
Five minutes later she heard the knock on her door. She sighed and opened it. "Castiel," she breathed and stepped aside. "Why are you here?"
"We need to talk about Jack."
"Shouldn't we include Sam and Dean?"
"No." His voice was firm in a way that scared her. Castiel saw her face and sighed. "Just--they don't need the extra stress."
"Castiel, what's going on? Is my brother okay?"
"He incinerated the snake."
"He what?" Monica asked. "Why would he do that?"
"He wanted to help it."
"Okay," she said slowly. "Why is helping a snake a problem?"
"Monica, he turned it to ash in his hands."
Her mouth opened slightly. "So--what? He doesn't have a soul? He has a bad soul? What's going on?"
"Just calm down. Jack is--we need to keep an eye on him. I need you to get him to open up, because you're the only one who can. I'm not asking you to babysit him, just--talk to him every now and then. I'll be watching, too. Okay?"
Monica nodded.
"Good." Castiel started for the door.
"Cass, wait."
He turned.
Monica swallowed. "How do we help him if he does go dark side?"
"He won't," Castiel said firmly. "And if you hear or see anything--anything--come to me."
She nodded again and watched him go. Then she sighed. There was nothing else to do, so she picked up her headphones and turned it up loud.
Author Note: I know this one's a lot shorter than usual, I hope you don't mind. Thanks so much for reading, as always. Don't forget to let me know what you think! Next episode: Don't go in the woods. Should be interesting.