After sitting around for what felt like days, but in reality was only a little over 2 hours, Cas woke up. He sat up gently and looked at you with concern on his face.
"What time is it?" He asked.
"Almost noon" you say solemnly. You were done crying, but you still had a lot on your mind. "I was going to wake you up here in a couple of minutes"
"Where's Bobby?"
"Out"
Cas nods.
"Cas what happened?"
"I was, uh... I was betrayed. Rachel, uh...Raphael...He corrupted her. She turned on me."
"Sorry. What a bitch."
"She's dead. I was wounded. I needed... safety. Thank you." He tries to get up from the couch but winces in pain toppling over. You rush to his side, trying to get him settled on the couch again.
"How bad is it?" you ask.
He looks down at himself and sighs "I'll heal"
"Good because in less than an hour you will need to go pick up Sam and Dean"
"I can't"
You look at him dumbfounded.
"I can't. The fight drained me"
"Well, you better call one of your buddies because everyone I know that has the juice for something like this will have a hell of a price to pay."
"I can't" he grumbles. He sits there thinking as you start pacing the room. "There is one thing that might work, but it's extremely dangerous"
"I can work with dangerous" you state giving him your full attention.
"It's your soul"
"Cas my soul is corrupted, and I didn't think angels made deals" you scoff.
"No y/n. I need to touch it"
"touch it?"
"The human soul, it's pure energy. If I can siphon some of that off, I might be able to bring Sam and Dean back."
"Well you can try but I don't know how much of it is human anymore," You say leaning against the desk. "How is this performed?"
"y/n ... " he says with a worried look on his face. "Doing this is like putting your hand in a nuclear reactor. I have to do it very gingerly."
"Or?"
"or you'll explode"
"Then don't mess up" you quip.
Cas stands up approaching you. "Are you sure?" he asks hesitantly while rolling up his sleeve.
"I can't leave those jackasses behind" you chuckle. "How bad can this be?"
Cas looks at you very stern. Concern written over his features as he squints at you. "y/n I don't think you realize the risk you are taking"
"Yeah yeah, just don't explode me" you reply.
Cas looks at you for another second then moves his hand towards your chest. You watch, unknowing what exactly was going to happen when it hits you. You start screaming, pain filling your entire body. The pain was excruciating beyond the point of tears. Like the very cells within your body were getting torn apart.
The next thing you know it is over. Cas retracted his hand from inside of you, and you were able to finally breathe again, feeling instant relief. You collapse into the nearest chair and take deep breaths, while everyone turns to see the two men in the middle of the room. Bobby apparently ran in at some point, probably due to all the screaming.
Dean automatically jumps up from his position on the floor and turns to Cas.
"You gotta send us back," he begs as Cas goes to sit on the couch.
"Dean, look at him. He's fried." Sam says watching the tiredness grow over Castiel's features.
"I never want to do that again." He says turning to look at you.
Everyone at that point hadn't acknowledged your existence until then.
"y/n are you okay?" He asks concerned. Both Sam and Dean's eyes are wide with shock at the sight of you.
"I'm still breathing. I'll be okay in a year or two" you say out of breath.
Dean turns to Bobby "And we screwed the pooch. Bobby, I'm sorry."
There is a knock on the door and Sam walks to grab it.
"What are you apologizing to me for? y/n is the one that saved your sorry asses"
Dean turns to look at you, and boy did that not help your heart rate. He was wearing a hot as hell cowboy outfit that you didn't realize you needed to see him in. Your eyes connect to his forest green, getting lost in the depth when you suddenly hear Sam in the hallway,
"Yeah, that's mine. Great. Thanks"
Sam walks back in with a letter and box in hand. He starts reading out loud "Dear Sam, I got this address and date off your thingamajig, and I thought the enclosed might come in handy. Regards, Samuel Colt."
Sam proceeds to pull a bottle full of ashes from the package.
"Is that what I think it is?" Bobby asks.
"Ashes of a Phoenix. You know what this means?" Dean replies
"Yeah, y/n didn't get a 'soulonoscopy' for nothing." Bobby says looking towards you, sadness filling his features.
"Yes. And... it means we take the fight to Eve." Dean adds.
They all look at the bottle in wonder, smiles forming on their lips, while Cas just lays down on the couch.
"Theoretically" you butt in standing up and effectively ruining the moment. "We don't even know if it is really going to work"
Their eyes all dart back to you, and you instantly fill with regret and stop in your tracks, nervously looking towards the ground. "What are you doing here y/n?" Sam asks walking towards you, you look up to see a smile plastered on his face "Its been what, a year?"
He engulfs you in a hug, to which you wince. After going through what you just did, you were sore, to say the least. "Oh sorry" he says letting you go. You chuckle a little, letting a smile spread across your lips. You turn to see Dean next to you. Without a word, he puts his arms carefully around you being cautious from your recent trauma. You immediately hug him back, taking in the scent you have missed so much. It felt so natural to be in his arms, but mid hug you make eye contact with Bobby who is still pissed and pull away from Dean.
"Where have you been?" Dean asks, cupping your face and scanning you for injuries. You grab his hand and move it away while giving him a half-hearted smile. "Dean I am okay, really. I have realized that I shouldn't have left you" You thought you saw Dean swallow hard, but chose to ignore it looking at Bobby. "I shouldn't have left my family. But I am back now, and I am not leaving again."
Bobby looked at you with anger and disappointment. You truly wished you had made a better choice a year ago, but there was nothing you could do about it now.
***TIME SKIP*** (A Week Later)
You walk out of your room to see Dean making shotgun shells out of the phoenix ashes.
"How is it going?" you ask while pulling up a chair to sit next to him.
"I'm five shells in. That's how it's going" He grunts back, staying focused.
You could always tell how concentrated Dean was based upon one of two things. He would either be bitting his lower lip or if his hands were not busy, playing with the hair. He was currently bitting his lip, showing you his concentration level was pretty high. You loved watching him work. Whether it was on Baby, cleaning his guns, or researching because it was the only time you could really look at him without him noticing.
"Well," you say after staring at his handsome features for a bit "its a hell of a lot more than we had last week"
He chuckles "Maybe"
"What does that mean?" you ask as he turns towards you.
"It means I had a mishap a few minutes ago and well.." You watch as Dean takes some ashes and rubs them on his arm. "I mean, this stuff is supposed to burn the bejeezus out of Eve, and doesn't even give me a sunburn." He says defeatedly setting his tools down.
"Well, we have nothing else to rely on so its the best shot we have"
"If we can even find the bitch" Dean says rolling his eyes.
You had been searching all over for any signs of Eves presents but found nothing. You were tempted to ask Crowley but were worried about how that would sit with Bobby. He was still mad at you. He hardly said a word to you all week other than "Found anything?" or "Lunch is ready". It made you sad but you could understand. You knew the only reason he probably hadn't thrown you out was because he thought you could help.
"I have been searching all morning and still got nothing" you replied.
"I think that maybe it is time you make a call," Bobby says coming down the stairs with Sam following.
You were shocked. He wanted you to call Crowley?
"Why has it always got to be me that makes the call, huh? It's not like Cas lives in my ass. The dude's busy. " Dean whines.
Oh. Cas. Duh
Suddenly Cas appears behind Dean. Dean turns around and nearly falls over from surprise. "Cas, get out of my ass!" you try your best to contain your laughter but some chuckles escape as Dean shoots you a dirty look which only caused you to laugh more.
"I was never in your – " Dean gives Cas a glare as well and Cas gets the message. "Have you made any progress in locating Eve?"
"Well we were gonna ask you about that," Bobby replies.
"No, I've looked, but she's hidden from me. She's hidden from all angels."
"Awesome," Dean says sitting back down.
"You know, what we really need is an inside man," Sam says thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?" You ask.
"Something with claws and sympathy," Sam says.
"Like a friendly monster?" Dean scoffs. "Those are in short supply these days, don't you think?"
"Actually," you say, cutting in. "There is a whole network of monsters from all degrees of iniquity"
All the boys in the room turn to you.
"How do you know that?" Dean asks, staring right at you.
You shrug. "I know people". You turn to look at Bobby and his face says it all. Disappointment.
"So maybe we can find one" Sam pipes in, noticing the tension.
"I'll get right on it," you say standing up and walking into your room, making sure to shut the door behind you.
***Time Skip*** (about 30 minutes later)
You walk upstairs to see the boys all reading books and online articles. "Hey" you say as they all look up at you. You lean against the doorframe. "I am heading out to get the intel so you can all relax and focus on what we are going to do once we know where Eve is".
You turn around to leave but a hand grabs your shoulder. "You are not going alone".
It was Dean. You turn around trying not to get upset. "Dean I am not bringing a full-blooded human with me to a Vamp nest. It is too risky" you explain. He nods but his face is unchanging. His glistening green eyes staring at you in a manner that tells you you are not getting out of this. "I am coming with you" he says gently.
You know he is not going to change his mind, and as much as you don't want to see him hurt, you wouldn't mind some alone time with him.
"Fine, but we are leaving right now"
You turn around and make your way for the door. You hear Dean stumbling behind you, probably trying to grab his jacket and keys while nodding goodbye to Sam. You walk around to the passenger door of the impala and hop in, watching as Dean jogs to catch up with you. As soon as he is in, he revs the engine and turns to you all excited "Alright where are we headed?"
"About an hour south of here" You say leaning back against the leather seats you have missed os much. Dean watches you get comfortable as he pulls Babby out of the driveway a smirk plastered on his face.
"you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asks.
"I don't know Dean, you think of a lot of dumb-ass things" you joke back. He chuckles as he pulls out a Billy Squier Tape and puts it in. The drums start, letting you know that The Stroke was beginning as Dean belts out "Now everybody, Have you heard" and you join in "If you're in the game. Then the stroke's the word"