Song Remains the Same

Chapter 24: Honeymoon's Over

"How can I change tomorrow if I can't change today?"
- Hatebreed

Cas had disappeared to 'discover Anna's intentions' roughly ten minutes ago.

Sam sat stock-still on one of the motel beds with elbows leaned onto his knees and hands clasped. He glanced at his twin, who had been sitting in the same spot since Cas vanished. She had a hand on her knee, index finger tapping constantly. She stared at the floor, deeply pensive. He could tell she was chewing the inside of her cheek like she did when something was really bothering her. He also knew she was exhausted from constant nightmares lately. She hadn't said anything about it, but Sam had heard her waking up breathless and scared for the past few weeks. Since Carthage, he was pretty sure. He hadn't said anything because he knew how she was about this stuff. She'd tell them when she was ready—or never at all.

Sam glanced at his brother, who was pacing in agitation, true to form. "Come on, how long does he need, anyway?" Dean gestured angrily with one of his hands.

As if on cue, Cas reappeared in the middle of the motel room, startling them all. Sam immediately noticed that he looked different than he had a few minutes prior—almost like he'd had the wind knocked out of him. After a brief beat in which the angel quickly laid eyes on all three of them, he made his grim announcement: "I found Anna."

Dean was impatiently urgent. "And?"

"And she wants to kill Sam."

Aghast, Sam shot to his feet. "What? Why?"

Cas looked at him dead in the eye, his expression foul. "She believes it will forestall the apocalypse." He turned and marched over to the motel table without further explanation.

Alex stood up too. "By killing Sam?" She sounded like she hadn't heard right.

At the table, they could only see Cas's profile—he was pulling something out of his pocket—chalk? But when Alex asked that he went still, his expression pinching slightly, a muscle jumping in his cheek. His eyes slid in her direction, but he didn't look directly at her. "Yes." He refocused and began drawing vigorously on the table. "No Sam—no Lucifer. Destroy the vessel, destroy the devil. That's her mentality."

Dean was shaking his head. "Really? Anna?" He sounded let down. "I don't believe it."

"It's true, Dean," Cas replied, sending a glancing dart of a scowl over. He sounded on edge and Sam looked at him intently, realizing that Cas was deeply upset—maybe because Anna had a point. Maybe because Cas thought Anna was right. Sam swallowed, his heart beating fast.

"So she's gone all Glenn Close, huh? Well, awesome." Dean said flippantly.

Cas looked at Dean with narrowed eyes. "And who, the hell, is Glenn Close?"

There was a shocked pause in the entire room at Cas's angry question. Dean looked at Cas oddly. "Uh... she's no one, just this psycho bitch who likes to boil rabbits."

Unamused, Cas gave Dean a dirty look and returned to drawing. His chalk strokes were sharp and jabbing—Sam saw that Cas's hand shook. Damn, Anna must have meant business. Sam had never seen Cas so shaken up. Afraid almost. Which kind of made Sam afraid too. He approached Cas cautiously, using a soft, appealing tone. He had to know. "The plan to kill me—would it actually stop him?"

"Sam, what?"

Sam glanced at his dumbfounded sister but ignored her shocked question and wide eyes to look at Cas again. The angel had gone still, listening hard as Sam asked again, rephrasing the question. "Cas, what do you think? Does Anna have a point?"