It started to rain just as they arrived at the motel. If it'd come any sooner, Dean would have absolutely had to walk a mile down the road in the pouring rain just to retrieve them. The only thing Melody hated more than storms? Driving in storms.

The brunette busted out her sleeping medicine she'd started having to take regularly the past year. Slowly, but surely, she was able to take it only as needed for anxiety, and this storm was absolutely anxiety-inducing.

Once she was asleep next to him, Dean pulled her computer into his lap and started looking at more details of the case. He knew it had to be demon possession, but he had no clue what they'd want with a little boy.

His eyes flicked up to the window when the room was filled with brightness from the lightning. Just like before on his trip to town in Montana, he swore he could see Castiel standing outside, looking at him.

Slowly, not trying to wake Melody, he closed the laptop and climbed out of bed and made a beeline for the window to get a closer look. When he got there, the face was gone.

Melody reached over to Dean's spot in the bed, searching for something to cling onto after the last lightning strike. She looked up to find him staring outside. At first glance with unadjusted eyes, it was terrifying to see the silhouette outlined by the muted light outside. "Dean?" Her voice was still heavy with sleep, and slight fear laced her tone. "What's wrong?"

The Winchester immediately turned around to face her. "I don't know..." he admitted. "I just saw something. I-I swear it was Cas."

Melody sat up, and slowly crawled out of bed. "Castiel? Where?" She shuffled over beside him, glancing fearfully out the window, anticipating a roll of thunder to blow through at any minute.

"Right there." He gestured outside. "And yesterday, on the road. I feel like I'm seeing him." There was a surplus of emotion in Dean's voice.

It didn't seem out of the norm to Melody that he was seeing his best friend everywhere. She slid her hand under the back of his shirt, offering a soothing touch. "You know that's not possible, Sweetheart," she murmured. "You said it yourself. You made it out and he didn't, right?"

He didn't respond right away, and for a moment she didn't think he would. "I tried so damn hard to get us out of there." He turned to look at her, with a defeated look across his face. "I could've pulled him out. I just don't understand why he didn't try harder."

This was the first time he'd really opened up about what happened with Castiel in Purgatory. It must have been hitting him hard lately. "You did everything you could," she countered.

"Then why do I feel like crap?"

Melody's eyebrows knitted in a frown, causing a crease to form in her forehead. "Survivor's guilt," she guessed. "If you let it, this is gonna keep messing with you. You've got to walk past it." He seemed like he was a thousand miles away while she spoke. "Come back to bed, please?"

He stayed put for a moment longer, captivated in his own thoughts, before he agreed to join her again in bed. Even feeling her body curled up next to him didn't settle the discontentment that was settling in the pit of his stomach.

The next morning was no different, feeling like Castiel was there, watching over his shoulder constantly. Blair and Sam had, as usual, ran and grabbed breakfast for all of them, and they were regrouped in Dean and Melody's room.

Sam was drinking what little coffee he had left, reading through articles posted today that seemed relatively similar to the case they were working. Blair was working on sipping a smoothie, while Dean brushed his teeth in the bathroom where Melody was showering.

"Get this, not just Americans who are vanishing," Sam called loud enough to where the others could hear him. "This guy, Luigi Ponzi, disappeared walking between two subway cars in Rome. And, of course, right above ground there was a freak hail storm."

"So we goin' to Rome?" Dean chuckled half to himself. When he looked back into the mirror, his blood ran ice cold at what he saw in the reflection. The same image he'd been seeing over the course of a few days: a run down, trench coat wearing Castiel. This time, though, when Dean turned, he was still there.

"Hello, Dean."

Melody stopped in her tracks when she heard a voice not belonging to Dean—a man's voice, at that. She stuck her head out from behind the curtain stunned at the sight before her. Dean had to look over to her to assure him that he wasn't crazy, and judging by the look of horror and embarrassment as she gripped the curtain closer to her body, she saw him too.

Melody was swift to finish up her shower and join the others back in the room.

"Unbelievable, man." Sam's mouth hung open, mirroring his wild eyes. "You're actually here."

Dean couldn't take his eyes off the angel, very clearly mystified by his appearance. After thinking he was losing his mind both times he'd seen his friend before, actually knowing he was there caught him off guard.

Castiel, though, seemed unbothered. Aside from the harsh stubble growing on his face, the filthy clothes and messy hair, of course. "Yeah, I've been trying to reach out," he explained to the group. "But for whatever reason, I wasn't at full power, so I couldn't connect with you."

"That must be why you kept seeing him," Blair suggested, speaking to the still unusually quiet older Winchester.

Melody noticed the way he was shifting his weight. It was as though he was nervous, or still unsure of the situation. She'd seen the same look on him when he laid eyes on her ghost of a father. "Yeah," he murmured, looking as though he was still gathering his thoughts, before he spoke again. "Yeah, uh, I've got to be honest. I'm thinking...how the hell did you make it out? I mean, I was there. I-I know that place. I know how me had to scratch and claw and kill and bleed to find that portal and it almost finished me. So how exactly are you sitting here with us, right now?"

Melody winced at Dean's expression when he recalled there events in Purgatory. For a moment, Castiel seemed lost in his memories as well. "Dean, everything you've just said is completely true," he broke his thoughtful silence. "That's the strange part. I have no idea. I remember endlessly running and hiding from the Leviathan, and then I was on the side of the road in Illinois. And, well, that was it."

"Th-that was it," Dean repeated, slack jawed. He let out a sigh of discontent. He was glad Castiel was back, but the fact that there was something he could have done to get him out all this time was eating him alive.

Castiel nodded, looking down at his disheveled clothing. "Oh, I'm dirty."

"Purgatory will do that to ya," Dean murmured, finally turning away and making a beeline straight for a beer, no doubt.

Melody walked towards the angel, out stretching her arms. "Let me get this," she instructed. Her words were sharp, but her tone soothing. "Go ahead and in our bathroom and clean up."

He did as she said, leaving the still reeling minds in the room behind him.

Dean's mind drifted back to his final moments in purgatory. From Benny hitching a ride, to Castiel all but giving up on trying to come back with him—the Winchester remembered every gruesome minute of the year he was trapped in that holding tank.

"Dean?" Sam spoke, jolting Dean back into the present. "You okay?"

The older brother took a seat across from Sam, shaking his head slowly. "You do see there's something severely wrong here, right?" Sam cocked an eyebrow up, signaling for him to elaborate. "I remember everything about leaving that place. I remember the beat, the stink, the pain, the fear...I have that whole ugly mess right here." He pointed to his head. "And he's saying he doesn't remember a thing. I'm not buying it." He was speaking quietly, but the urgency in his town was prevalent.

Melody crossed her arms, looking down at him. "So, you think he's lying?" She didn't entirely agree. They could have gotten out two completely different ways. Just because Dean felt everything didn't necessarily mean that Castiel had to as well.

"I'm saying something else happened," he countered. "I saw the shape that he was in. I mean, there was no way he was fighting his ass out alone. No way."

Sam nodded, agreeing to his brother's point. "Okay, so who got him out?"

"Or what," Blair chimed in.

Their eyes darted between each of themselves, hoping someone had some kind of logic to emit, but they really had no way of knowing just what to say.

"Exactly," Dean muttered.

Castiel walked out of the bathroom, looking just as him old self. Truthfully, it was terrifying. Like seeing a ghost all over again. "Better?" He was wearing a smile, which was good in and of itself.

"Absolutely," Blair affirmed.

Castiel swapped through channels on the TV, sitting on the edge of the bed. Melody was trimming Blair's hair, and Sam was sitting at his computer, looking for anymore disturbances.

Dean opened up the door to the motel, carrying a six pack of beer. "What's the latest," he asked his brother.

Melody looked up at the sound of Dean's voice, smiling a bit to herself as she returned to her task at hand.

"The latest is nothing," Sam sighed. "It's like it all stopped. No freak disappearances linked to any freak natural events."

Dean set his keys down, and looked at the computer over Sam's shoulder. "So what we got, seven?"

The younger Winchester nodded. "Yeah, uh, Luigi, Justin, Aaron, Maria—,"

Sam was cut off by Castiel beginning to speak in unison, only to continue naming off the last of them. "Dennis, Krista, Sven." The room went silent. Everyone peered curiously at Castiel, who wasn't paying much mind to their human activities. "I missed television."

"Wait, Cas. How did you know those are the names?" Sam announced everyone's question.

Castiel continued watching TV, shrugging. "They're prophets," he said casually. "Angels instinctively know the names of every prophet—past, present and future."

Dean's forehead creased, as he stepped towards a captivated Castiel. "So this list is the name of every one of 'em that exists?"

"Yes, until the next generation is born," he confirmed. "Plus, Kevin Tran, of course. The other seven are future prophets, since only one of them can exist at one time."

"How is Kevin a prophet if Chuck is a prophet?" Sam asked, questioning the authenticity of that fact.

Castiel frowned. "I'm not sure what happened to Chuck, but he must be dead."

"Chuck, as in the Chuck that wrote your entire lives into books, Chuck? The one who was indirectly responsible for Sam's first marriage?" Melody and Blair couldn't help but laugh, recalling the story of the superfan Becky, who almost sold her soul to spend the rest of her life with Sam.

Dean cracked a smile too. "That's the one." Sam was not amused. Dean turned his attention back to Castiel. "So, the next one comes off the bench of Kevin goes down?"

"Exactly," Castiel nodded, still keeping his eyes glued to the fleeting pictures on the screen. "And they have no idea who they are, of course."

Something within Blair's mind clicked, with the given information. "Crowley," she said. "He's looking for some kind of insurance. He must be getting desperate."

"Explains all the weird phenomena," Sam agreed, looking at his screen. "Lower-level demons nabbing heavy-duty cargo. The vessels of God's word. Boom."

Castiel finally rose to his feet, joining Sam and Dean in the kitchen. "I get the feeling something's going on."

Sam's phone started ringing, capturing everybody's attention. "Hello?...Mrs. Tran?" The entire room was surprised to hear from her, after they bolted. "Where where the hell have you b...what?" He lowered his phone to his side, looking at the others in the room. "Crowley's got Kevin."

Melody paused from where she was packing away her tools, looking up. "For fucks sake," she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What now?"

They drove to Mile Marker 96, meeting halfway between them and Kevin's mom. Melody rode up front between Dean and Castiel, leaving the backseat for Blair and Sam.

"Cas, can I talk to you outside?" Dean hadn't so much as torn his eyes from the road ahead of them, even after they'd been parked to wait for Mrs. Tran. He didn't wait for a response, before opening his car door, leaving the rest of them inside. Castiel looked at Melody, before climbing out behind him. The windows were rolled down, as usual, and it wasn't exactly like Dean was being quiet anyway. Melody wasn't sure why they even got out of the car. "So, what the hell?"

Castiel's head dipped slightly to the side in confusion. "What?"

"Exactly, what. What happened back there, in Purgatory?" He crossed his arms over her chest. "I told you I would get you out. We were there! It was like...you just gave up. Like you didn't think it would work. I mean, you kept saying you didn't think it would work. Did you not trust me?" The hurt was clear in Dean's voice, but he was determined to get answers. "I did everything I could to get you out. Everything. I did not leave you."

Castiel's eyebrows knitted together. "So you think this was your fault?"

Before Dean had a chance to respond to the question, the headlights from Mrs. Tran's car broke through the darkness. Melody noticed it next, immediately opening her door and stepping out onto the blacktop. The older woman seemed distraught as she left her vehicle. The other four joined Melody next to the newcomer. "You guys can do this, right? You can get him back?"

"How did Crowley find you?" Blair's tone was just as concerned as how Melody was feeling.

Mrs. Tran sighed. "Oh, I hired a witch and she ratted us out."

"A witch?" Dean repeated. "Why the hell would you hire a witch?"

"To make demon bombs, of course," she responded, placing her hands on her hips. She grabbed a notebook out of her bag, handing it to Melody. "These are Kevin's notes."

Melody grabbed the black book from her hands, flipping through it. "Do you have any idea where Crowley might have taken him?"

She shook her head, but the smirk on her face showed that she had something up her sleeve, as she moved towards her trunk. "I don't, but this guy might." She inserted her key into the lock, opening it to reveal a tied up demon under a Devil's trap that was painted onto the door to the trunk.

Melody nodded, impressed with the older woman's tactic. Dean slid his blade from out of his pocket, looking down at the powerless demon. "Alright, lets talk."

It didn't take much, partly because the monster knew that it didn't have much of a choice. He was going to be killed either way, so he could either skip the torture, or endure it. He chose the easy way, telling them of the abandoned power plant in Atlantic, Iowa, where Crowley had brought Kevin to force the translations out of him.

Melody drove Mrs. Tran's car, with the unspoken understanding between the hunters that the woman was in no way to follow them into the rescue mission. "Sorry, Mrs. Tran," she murmured, handcuffing her to the steering wheel.

"What," the woman screeched. "My son is in there!"

Melody nodded, frowning. "Which means Crowley already has leverage," she explained. "He doesn't need another hostage. You know I'm going to do everything in my power to get Kevin out of there safe, I just need you to trust me."

"Melody," Dean called for her, signaling that it was time to go inside. Melody dipped her head once more to Mrs. Tran before joining the others. "Bet she didn't take that well," Dean commented once she was next to him.

Melody shook her head. "No, and I can't really blame her," she muttered. "It would be a cold day in hell before someone kept me from helping my child."

Dean raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you...do you want kids?"

She rolled her eyes, looking up at him. "You honestly think that now is the time to talk about this?" Their pace had slowed until they were just out of earshot of the others. "We're about to kill Crowley."

Dean's shoulders rose and fell again. "Is there ever a time that we're not about to kill something?"

He had a point, and Melody knew it. She screwed her face up, unsure of how to answer. "I haven't thought a whole lot about it," she admitted. "Probably not, but maybe...? I don't know. Do you?"

"No."

The abruptness in his tone and the way he avoided Melody's gaze made her stomach drop a bit. "Oh." Was all she could muster up to respond.

Dean opened his mouth to speak, but he closed it again, figuring out how to better put his assuredness. "It's not that I wouldn't want kids, y'know, with you. 'Cause if I had them with anyone, it would be with you. I just don't think I could willingly bring a kid into this life."

Melody didn't respond, instead, keeping her focus on the task before them. She followed closely behind Castiel, Blair and Sam, being mindful of how and where she stepped. If Crowley got the jump on them, it was game over. They rounded a corner in the maze they were wandering, when a set of footsteps started to approach. Sam put out his arm, signaling for them to stop and hide in the crevices in the wall. Sure enough, a demon circled around, but as soon as he turned his back, Dean pierced him with the blade.

Melody looked around, half-expecting a herd of demons to follow through. "I'm gonna check this way," she nodded her head one direction. Dean nodded, walking in another. Castiel followed Melody, Sam went one way, while Blair trekked speedily behind Dean.

"We're very near Kevin," Castiel murmured, after a ways of walking. "I can feel his presence."

Melody could feel a set of black eyes burning into her back. She and Castiel turned at the same time, Melody with her blade in hand. She started for the demon, but he effortlessly threw her over into a pile of chains. He tried the same with Castiel, but he was able to recover from it. All it took was a touch from the angel, and the demon was cooked from the inside out.

It was clear that the attack had taken a toll on him, by the way he was gripping onto the wall. Melody scrambled to her feet, rushing to his side. "What's going on?" Then she realized. "You're not all the way back, are you?" Castiel shook his head, though it seemed as though he hadn't even fully known that himself. "C'mon." She helped steady him on his feed, continuing down the hallway.

They reached a locked door, and unluckily enough, it seemed to be the only door in existence that Melody couldn't pick the lock to. "I'm going in." He informed her.

"Castiel, no, you're not strong en-." Before she could get the sentence out of her mouth, Castiel was gone. "Son of a bitch," she groaned, continuing to pick at the lock for a moment longer.

It took an ungodly amount of time, but Melody was able to break into the room where Castiel had flown into, just in time to see Crowley vanish with only half of the Demon Tablet, though, the only thing she cared about was finding Kevin in one piece. Melody wrapped her arms around the young boy, simply thrilled at the fact that she wouldn't have to go back and tell his mother that they were too late.

When they met back up with Dean and Sam, they discovered that a bulk of the prophets that had gone missing, were just being hoarded by Crowley. He had every intention of figuring out whatever information was being held by that tablet, and he was willing to kill any rising prophet in order to get it.

"The police are on their way," Sam informed them, hanging up his phone. "They're coming to pick up the prophets, and they'll be heading home."

Mrs. Tran took a break from cleaning the blood that covered Kevin's face to look among the group. "What about us?"

Melody walked forward, placing a hand on her arm. "I called a friend of ours, Garth." Her tone was laced with as much comfort as she could manage. "He does what we do...well, in his own way," she chuckled. "He's going to keep an eye on you both, but no more going out on your own, okay?" Mrs. Tran rolled her eyes, returning to her former task of cleaning her son's face.

"You realize that it was hiring that witch that got you into all of this, right?" Blair spoke next, clearly agitated by the woman's inability to take this seriously.

Melody, feeling the overwhelming urge to protect Kevin at all cost, diverted the conversation. "How ya holding up?" She asked the adolescent.

The look on his face said enough, but it was the rage behind his gaze that concerned Melody the most. "Are you kidding? I wanna seal those bastards up forever," he responded. "He took my finger." He raised his wrapped hand, emphasizing his point.

Melody frowned at the sight. "Cas thinks he might be able to fix that. In the meantime, just lay low 'til we get back to you. Okay?" When she looked up, she could see Castiel and Dean having what appeared to be an intense conversation. She waved her goodbyes to the Trans and walked over to join them. "Hey," she spoke, seeing a distraught look on Dean's face.  She placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "Everything okay?" She looked between Castiel and Dean, waiting for an answer.

Castiel kept his gaze on Dean. "Just setting a few things straight." He nodded.

Unsure of that answer, Melody continued on. "Garth is gonna lay low with the Trans. All we have to do now is track down the other piece to the tablet. You're with us on this one, right Cas?" Castiel seemed to space out for a moment, lost in his own mind. "Are you okay?"

He blinked rapidly, nodding his head. "I-I'm fine," he assured them. "And yes, I'm with you. If that's alright." He looked expectantly up ad Dean, before walking away.

Melody frowned, watching after the angel. "It is, right?" She asked Dean. "You two alright?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah."