Change of Plans

New Case

The brothers were in the kitchen sitting at the table talking about the British Men of Letters.

"All right, so what have you found on her majesty's secret suckbags?" Dean asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Well, I have turned the bunker upside down looking for any reference whatsoever to the British Men of Letters, and all I found was this letter tucked into an old ledger, uh, from the London Chapterhouse," Sam said as he brought out the aged piece of paper.

"Ok, that's something," Noah said with a hopeful shrug.

"Yeah, uh... not so much." Sam said as he showed them the blacked out paper with a big red stamp that read 'Classified.'

Dean just scoffs and says, "Awesome."

Cas walks in and Noah says, "Morning, sunshine. Want some coffee?"

"No, thank you. I have to go." Cas says vaguely before he walks away.

The boys gave each other puzzled and confused glances before they got up and called out to Cas before the angel left.

Cas halted and Sam asked, "Where are you off to?"

"Cleveland, Ohio." Cas simply stated.

"More context would be nice, please," Noah suggested and Cas just huffed.

"Don't you huff at me. I think it would be nice to know some detail about your whereabouts so we wouldn't be worried 24/7 about where you are. I might have been gone for a while and the dynamics might have changed in my absence but I am back and you are going to tell us right here and right now before my foot meets your ass." Noah threatened with his arms crossed and Cas' eyes widen a little.

"I think I might have a lead on Lucifer. I found a police report in Cleveland about a man whose eyes flared a glowing red. It could be Lucifer in a new body." Cas explained, knowing he couldn't beat the persistence and stubbornness of the eldest Winchester.

"Now that wasn't so hard. That does sound like something so we should check it out." Noah said turning to go pack but Cas denied his offer.

"No, Lucifer is out because of me so it is my responsibility to put him back," Cas said determinedly.

"Cas, you are going to want some back up on this," Sam argued and the twins nodded their head at their brother's statement.

"If it is him then I'll call you. In the meantime, I think you are needed here." Cas compromised and gave them a pointed look as if it had a double meaning. He then left and Dean gave his brothers a taken aback stare.

"I don't know what that was about but, Noah, you were always the better parent," Dean said as he patted his brother's back.

"Why thank you but Cas was talking about mom," Noah stated and Sam nodded his head in agreement.

"What about mom? She is fine." Dean said as he walked down the hallway with them following behind him.

"Sure, I heard her walking around all last night. I mean don't you think she seems a bit... withdrawn and shaky?" Sam asked Dean as they entered back into the kitchen.

"Of course she is shaky. She hasn't been on this planet since Jane Fonda was wearing leg warmers. Look, all she needs is a little R&R. Some good family time-" he clicks his tongue- "she'll be ace."

"Yeah, I'm not so sure about that," Noah stated but before Dean could comment Mary walked into the room.

"Hey," The brothers greeted her but they were taken aback by the new hairstyle.

"Ooh." She said as she saw the bacon on the table.

"Oh, we can fry some more. That's-- that's probably cold by now, mom." Sam said as he referred to the bacon in disdain.

"It's bacon." She said as she picked one up and ate it, giving Sam a glance as if he were crazy.

"Wow. We are so related." Dean said with a satisfied smile and they all chuckled.

"Did you cut your hair?" Sam asked her.

"No, she got extensions," Noah replied sarcastically and Sam gave him his famous bitch-face while his twin and mom laughed at his comment.

"I'm gonna keep it short if I'm gonna go out on a hunt, you know? Why give the bad guys the advantage of long pullable hair, right?" She asked rhetorically as she munched on her bacon.

"Wow. I've been trying to tell Sam that for years." Dean laughs and Sam just gave him his infamous disapproving bitch-stare.

Sam quickly gets over Dean's comment and looks at Mary confused as he spoke, "Did you say, uh, going on a hunt?"

She shrugs sheepishly and replies, "I found a case."

"I thought you were still struggling with even the idea of the internet?" Sam asked defensively shocked.

Mary just laughs and said, "I had Dean pick me up some newspapers when he went into town."

Dean's eyes widen as he realized that the gesture he did for his mom was contributing to her persistence on going on a hunt.

"Whoa, whoa, I... You didn't tell me you were looking for a case." Dean said defensively and it was like the roles were switched. Mary being the child scolded by her parents.

"I wasn't. I just... found one." She replied and the boys give each other knowingly looks.

"Minnesota. Two dead, locked room. Victims had put in a call about a crying baby. But the place was empty. The only thing at the scene was their bodies. Been five days, and the coroner still hasn't put out a cause of death. Seemed fishy. It's probably nothing. I just thought I might... get out there, stretch my legs." Mary explains to them the story.

"I heard yoga is amazing for stretching," Noah commented and Dean nudged him hard.

"Not now," Dean replies with a small glare.

"I-I thought you weren't down to hunt in the first place." Sam intervenes as he looks up to face his mother.

"Well, things change, right? Family hunting trip." Dean suggests with a smile and Mary immediately smiles back. Knowing that her son was trying to make her feel better.

"Sure," She responds.

"Alright, meet in the car in 10 minutes," Dean says enthusiastically as he slaps the table. Mary walks out of the kitchen and Sam sassily tells him, "What about the R&R?"

"Look, man, Cass healed your s'mores foot, all right? I've got Baby back to mint. We're road ready. And if mom wants to hunt, I say we hunt." Dean argued.

"Exactly. She wants it. That doesn't mean she needs it. But what do I know?" Noah argues before he throws his hands up in the air in defeat before he went to his room to pack clothes.