Chapter 59

Narrowing his eyes against the sun, Cas peered across the junkyard to where Amber was standing with Bobby. They were both eyeing the open trunk of her newly refurbished 'metallicar'.

"It's certainly not as roomy as the Impala but you can get a decent amount of stuff in it" Bobby was saying. "We can work on it more next time you two swing by."

Cas shifted Kam in his arms so the baby was in a different position to give his tiring arms a break. He had asked Dean to come down to say goodbye, but the hunter took a long moment to respond.

"In a minute." he finally replied, before turning back to the window with a brooding expression on his face.

Cas started toward the others, being careful not t o trip on the abandoned auto parts lying around.
"Cas!" Amber squealed when he came closer. "Look at it!"

Kam made a noise at the high pitch voice and Cas held him tighter. Amber took no notice however, and gestured to the car instead.

It was a GTO Judge badly in need of a paint job but otherwise in full working order. Cas saw that they had already stashed useful gear in the trunk, but it did not have a secret compartment like the Impala.

While Amber went on about different features of the car, Sam leaned to Cas and asked quietly, "Where's Dean?"

"He'll be down."

Cas felt bad for the younger Winchester, who looked as though he were about to throw up. Apparently this parting was going to be hard on both of them.

"well, I gotta get back to the office. Gonna be getting a call that I have to answer." Bobby said gruffly. He patted Sam on the shoulder and gave Amber a quick, one armed hug, a smile peeking out from under his beard. "You too take care, and if you need anything call, alright?"

With that the older hunter made his way back to the house giving one last wave over his shoulder.

"We should probably get going." Sam said, surreptitiously glancing up at Dean and Cas' bedroom window. Cas gave Sam a smile that seemed to relieve the hunter's tension just a bit.

Amber hugged Cas, careful not to squish Kam in the process, then bent to lay a kiss on Kam's forehead. "I can't wait to see how big Kam is when we come back to visit. He's growing so fast."

She glanced to Sam as if to say, "Let's go already!" and then went to the car to hop in the front seat, where she was nearly bouncing with excitement.

Sam seemed as if he was arguing with himself internally, fighting with his body, before blurting out, "I'm just gonna say bye to Dean-"

It was almost as if using Dean's name caused him to appear, because suddenly there he was, pushing open the back door of the house and heading toward the small group. Time seemed to hold still for a moment, and the air was extremely tense as the brother looked at one another as if unsure what to say.

"Take care. see you soon." Sam stuck out his hand awkwardly like he was afraid even that might trigger a glare from his brother. Dean stared at his outstretched hand as if Sam was crazy before pulling Sam into a quick hug.

"Be safe, Sammy. Call me if you need to. I'll always be here." Dean said quietly so the others couldn't hear. Immediately after he released Sam, he spun on his heel and went back to the house without saying goodbye to Amber. She really didn't seem to mind; she was busy trying to wipe off a smudge on the dashboard.

Sam's brows knit together worriedly as he watched Dean's retreating back. "Cas, can you-?"

A knowing smile crept across Cas' lips. "Yes, I'll keep an eye on him, Sam."

Relief flooded Sam's face, whether from Dean's hug or Cas's words, Cas wasn't sure. But he was glad to see it.

"Call us if you need us." Cas said, before smiling again and following Dean's footsteps to the house. Sam watched the former angel disappear inside and then got into the car.

"What are we waiting for then?" Amber laughed. Sam could not understand why Amber was so excited and happy to fight big bad uglies and put herself in danger, but the mood was starting to catch. He had already warned her that being a hunter was not easy and it would take a while before he would even consider taking her on a difficult hunt, but it didn't seem to dissuade her.

Sam started the car up, and Amber punched the radio button, the music blasting as they roared away.