Comfort Crowd Δ SPN [ 1 ]

136. THE ANGEL'S BACK

They're in town for a case and it's nighttime, the four at the motel. Libby and Sam are asleep on one bed. Libby has her Eeyore stuffed animal in her arms, one hand gripping onto Sam's shirt tightly. Sam has an arm draped over her, the other resting above their heads.

Ophelia and Dean are in the other bed. Dean is sitting up and resting against the headboard while he uses the laptop. Ophelia is cuddled into his side, going in and out of consciousness. Both the storm and computer light keep waking her up, but not being held by Dean like she has been for the past year doesn't let her fall asleep either.

Ophelia is currently asleep as Dean researches something. Dean looks up as lightning flashes, seeing Cas outside the window.

Dean shuts the laptop, putting it on the bed, and he quickly gets up, Ophelia falling onto the mattress.

"Dad." She whines. Dean doesn't really hear her, going to the window, not finding anybody outside. Ophelia groans, turning over and burying her face in the pillow, wishing she had Libby's ability to sleep.

Sam wakes up, seeing Dean staring out the window.

"Dean? What's going on? Are you all right?" Sam asks, sitting up.

"I don't know. I just saw something." Dean says.

"Uh, you saw what?" Sam asks. He tries to get up, but Libby's grip on his shirt only tightens. It takes about a minute, but Sam manages to pry her hand away from him, moving her hand so it grips the blanket.

"Cas." Dean states.

"Cas? Where?" Sam asks, walking over.

"Right there. And--and--and earlier, on the road. I feel like I'm seeing him." Dean says.

"That's... not possible. I mean, you said it yourself. You and Oph made it out and he didn't, right?" Sam asks.

"I tried so damn hard to get us the hell out of there." Dean says, walking away from the window.

"I know you did." Sam says.

"You know, I could have pulled him out. I just don't understand why he didn't try harder." Dean says.

"Dean." Sam walks over to him. "You did everything you could."

"Yeah, but why do I feel like crap?"

"Survivor's guilt?" Sam suggests and Dean hums. "If you let it, this is gonna keep messing with you. You got to walk past it."

Sam claps Dean on the shoulder as he walks to the bathroom.

+++

"Hey, so it's not just Americans who are vanishing. Uh, this guy, Luigi Ponzi disappeared walking between two subway cars in Rome. And right above ground, there was a freak hail storm." Sam informs, sitting at the table and on his laptop.

"So, we going to Rome? Wouldn't be too shabby." Dean says from in the bathroom where he's washing his face.

"Yeah, I'd love to see you on a plane for almost 20 hours." Ophelia scoffs.

~ ~ ~

"Unbelievable, man." Sam says, sitting across from Cas who appeared a few minutes ago. Dean stands by the table and the girls are sitting on the bed closest to them. "I-I cannot believe it. You're actually here."

"Yeah, I've been trying to reach out, but for whatever reason, I wasn't at full power. So I couldn't connect with you." Cas says.

"That must have been why you kept seeing him. I mean, you think?" Sam asks his brother.

"Yeah. Yeah, uh, I got to be honest. I-I-I'm thinking, how the hell did you make it out? I mean, I--I know that place. I know how we had to scratch and claw and kill and bleed to find that portal and make it through it, and it almost finished me. I'm still kind of shocked I got Ophelia out."