.-.-.-.-.
Familiarity
.-.-.-.-.

Dean walked along the empty parking lot of the motel they were staying the night at. It had been three days since they'd parted ways with Meg, and, so far, everything had been quiet. There had been a phone call from Meg earlier that morning full of warning that Ruby was using sacrifices to up her power for farther travel. She also had a new spirit under her thumb, but Meg had yet to find more information.

He grunted in annoyance as he opened the door to their room and reached over to flick on the lights. He blinked at the brightness and jumped as the door slammed shut behind him, echoing throughout the room.

Dean stilled as his heart raced. This wasn't right. He was supposed to be in a cheaply decorated motel room with the wallpaper peeling in the corners, not some boiler room from a Nightmare on Elm Street movie.

Behind him, he felt a presence manifest, and he slowly turned around.

'You're a tough man to find,' said a thin and aging man. He smiled at Dean and flicked his wrist, sending Dean flying backwards to slam against the wall.

The wind was knocked from Dean, and he coughed as his arms and legs were suddenly snatched and pulled into place by perforated metal strips, arms wide and legs apart. He gasped for breath and struggled against the metal binds, feeling them dig into his wrists. For a split second, the room blinked out, and he saw a normal ceiling before him.

A hand sharply struck his face, forcing him back into the pipe-lined room. He blinked in confusion as he felt Castiel's presence just on the edge of his senses, but unobtainable. 'What the fuck…'

'Now, now, Dean. I can't have you leaving so soon. Not when we haven't had a chance to get to know each other better.'

Dean looked at the man and narrowed his eyes. Was this one of Ruby's tricks?

'Not quite,' the man replied to Dean's unvoiced question. He nodded his head in greeting. 'Alistair.'

Dean tried to mold his magic around the metal holding him in place, but nothing happened. He couldn't feel his magic, and when he thought he had it, it slipped through his grasp.

Alistair patted Dean's cheek and laughed. 'Don't bother, little witchling. You might have the power, but you don't have the control, and no one can find you here.'

'What the fuck do you want?' Dean spat.

'I was hired to give you a few premonitions. Eventually take you out of the picture, but now? Now, I think I'll be taking that grimoire for myself. Now that I know what Ruby's really after.'

Castiel had refused to tell Dean exactly what Ruby wanted, but he had a feeling it had something to do with regaining her fading power. 'So, what? You're gonna try to nab Crowley's spells out from under her nose?' he asked as he tried reaching out for his magic and familiar again, but they evaded his grasp. He licked his lips and tried visualizing casting out a net. For a brief moment, he felt something and there was a little more give to the bindings holding him fast.

Alistair leaned in close, looking over Dean in fascination. 'You are a tricky one. No wonder he chose you,' he said before drawing back and waving a hand, tightening the makeshift manacles even more.

Metal cut into Dean's skin, and he shouted in agony as his blood began to run down his arms. How did he end up in this situation? How did Alistair get into the motel room? How would he have gotten past the wards? Past Castiel and Gabriel? Even asleep, Castiel should have sensed something was wrong.

'This isn't real,' he said in realization. 'I'm dreaming.'

'I assure you, Dean, it's real enough,' Alistair countered, quickly swiping his hand upward.

A deep slice made its way up Dean's side. His scream was followed by a painful groan as the cut began to burn. Again, he desperately reached for his magic, but still he came back empty handed. He gasped and grunted as another cut was made across his chest and arms. His net hadn't work, but there had been something. Maybe he was thinking too big.

His train of thought was cut of as a stab went through him, and he began to cough up blood. He kept repeating to himself that it wasn't real. He tried to think of water running through a filter, and he was rewarded with another slip of the restraints before Alistair sliced into him again, throwing him off balance.

'You are so clever!' Alistair complimented. 'It's a crying shame you're in my way. You could have been something special.'

'Hey!'

Alistair turned in surprise, and was greeted by a fist slamming into his nose. He staggered back, clutching his face, and stared up at the tall figure before him. 'And what did you sacrifice to get yourself in here?' he bit out.

Sam strode forward, fully intent on beating Alistair to a pulp, but the man vanished. He sighed and turned to Dean, grimacing at his bloodied brother. 'Dean, this isn't real. I need you to wake up,' he said as he lightly touched Dean's cheek.

Dean spat out a mouthful of blood and glared at Sam. 'No shit, Sherlock! Get me the fuck down from here.' He huffed as Sam tugged uselessly at the metal around his wrists.

'I don't know what to do,' Sam admitted as he took a step back to get a better look at what he was dealing with. 'Lemme see if I can find a crowbar.'

Annoyed, Dean reached out for his magic again. It slipped through his fingers again. His mind likened the feeling to water and sand. He kept sticking his hand in and coming away with damp sand. He let out a pained snort. His magic was the water, and everything else was what was keeping it from him. He was going about it all wrong.

This time, he imagined letting the water run through a filter and into a pitcher. He gasped as he fell to the floor and Sam caught him. 'What the fuck was that,' he groaned as he tried to stand.

'Dean, I need you to wake up,' Sam insisted, giving Dean a light shake.

Dean rolled his eyes and slumped to the floor, glancing around as the room morphed into a bordello staffed by skimpy nurses. 'Yeah… Don't need you in the Doctor Sexy dream,' he said quickly. 'Uh…' He slapped himself, hard, and came awake with a gasp.

He found himself back in his bed in the motel room, his head resting on Castiel's lap. He reached up to catch Castiel's hand, but froze when he saw small lines of blood lining his wrists.

Swallowing, he moved his hand to his side where Alistair had cut into him and felt a sticky wetness seeping through his shirt. 'Oh, fuck,' he groaned.

'It's superficial,' Castiel said quietly as he licked his thumb and lightly rubbed it across Dean's forehead. He then placed his hands on either side of Dean's head and closed his eyes.

'So he's gonna be okay?' Sam asked.

Dean looked over as Castiel nodded and saw Sam sitting up on the other bed, Gabriel latched on his arm. His brother had a shakily drawn sigil on his forehead, and he was tightly grasping what looked to be the battery from his laptop. 'What the fuck was that?' Dean asked, relaxing into Castiel's hold.

'A witch. Dark, powerful… If Sam hadn't… Dean, he could have hurt you. He could have killed you. Or worse!' Castiel said as his fingers twitched.

'I'm not even safe in my dreams?!' Dean felt a burst of magic that was neither his nor Castiel's. 'What the…' He tried to sit up, but the magic settled over him, holding him in place.

'Shh… I'm tracing his magic,' Castiel said, and the magic holding Dean in place eased.

Dean's eyes widened as he realized Castiel was using his witch's power to track Alistair. 'Cas, should you be doing that?' he asked carefully, wondering what it would take to tip off Ruby to their presence.

'He doesn't really have a choice,' Gabriel replied. He loosened his grip on Sam's arm and looked between Dean and Castiel with a wary gaze.

Castiel grunted in frustration. 'He's not close, but I could…'

Dean frowned as Castiel's hands shifted to hover over his eyes. The magic he felt running through him took on a dark tint, and Dean licked his lips as he tried to press into Castiel's thoughts. He bolted upright and threw up his hand, sending what he hoped was just enough magic to distract his familiar from the spell in progress.

Castiel breathed in sharply and bent forward, moaning softly into the blanket. He blinked rapidly as the feeling of Dean's raw magic subsided and sat up to stare at him in confusion.

'No!' Dean shouted as he got off the bed and stood, clutching his side. 'You don't get to be all high and mighty about not going dark and go off and do it yourself!'

'It's better than the alternative!' Castiel argued. He flinched as Dean cut him off from his mind and magic. 'I'm sorry! I'm beginning to feel desperate!'

He stared at Dean pleadingly. 'I could have lost you,' he whispered.

Dean crossed his arms and looked away. 'Fine. I get it. But don't you dare take things into your own hands like that again.' He waited for Castiel to nod before reestablishing their connection. He sat beside Castiel and wrapped his arm around his familiar's shoulders, holding him close.

He tried to make himself feel better, like he had hope for their situation, but he was failing miserably. He looked up at Sam helplessly as Castiel leaned against him. 'I don't know what to do. Who else is Ruby gonna send after us? How many witches for hire are there?'

'Technically, you're all for hire,' Gabriel replied. 'But dark witches? Too much risk for being stabbed in the back.'

'Tell me about it,' Dean grumbled. 'He said Ruby hired him, but he changed his mind. Now, he wants the damned book.' He felt Castiel go stiff beside him, and he gave him a little squeeze. 'Cas?'

Castiel quickly stood and strode to the bathroom. He paused at the door and sighed heavily, turning back to face the others. 'If what you say is true, then there may be a way to turn Ruby and Alistair on each other,' he said.

'How?'

'We tell Ruby what Alistair did,' he said, as if it was the obvious solution.

Dean's jaw dropped. 'Why the fuck would you do that?! You'll be telling her she's on the right track to take me out!'

'She wants the grimoire,' Castiel calmly replied. 'To her, you're easier to get out of the way than a properly trained witch. Alistair would be more difficult for her to go against. And if she doesn't time it right…if…if you die, and she's not there to sway me, I'll just go into hiding.'

'He has a point,' Gabriel chimed in. 'If we can get these two after each other's throats, then we'll get time, one less witch, and a the survivor hurtin' for a while. The only other thing that might get the same results would be to have Cas stand in the middle of wrestling ring and call for a death match. Winner takes all. Not exactly a bad idea.'

'It's a very bad idea,' Sam said. 'We don't need to advertise Cas and Dean and that…grimoire.'

Dean shook his head and slouched forward, resting his elbows on his knees. 'Do you really think telling Ruby would work?'

'There is small a possibility of it pushing her to desperation,' Castiel replied. 'Either way, we need to be even more careful from here on out.'

'Yeah? And how much more careful can we be?!' Dean shouted in exasperation, throwing his hands up. 'I'm stuck driving my own prison, Cas! You know what this is doing to me.'

Castiel returned to Dean's side and knelt before him, bowing his head. 'I know this is hard, and I'm sorry you had to be dragged into this,' he said quietly. 'I never should have appeared to you…'

Dean leaned forward and rested his forehead atop Castiel's head and breathed deeply. 'Maybe, but unless you know how to change the past, worrying about it ain't gonna do us a whole lotta good. You wanna tell Ruby her new lackey's turned traitor, go right ahead. Might buy Meg some time to find us something we could use.'

Castiel nodded solemnly before standing and making his way back to the bathroom, the others following and gathering around the open door. He took a deep breath and slammed the side of his fist into the mirror. Cracks spiderwebbed away from his hand, flashing brightly as the pieces between them cycled through various views before focussing on one. He pulled his hand away, and the mirror solidified, piece by piece, the image of a bare and dusty room taking over.

Sam and Dean looked on in wonder as Castiel demanded Ruby's presence.

Ruby sauntered into view, grinning. She caught sight of Dean and waggled her fingers. 'How've you been, Dean?' she drawled.

Castiel moved to block her view of Dean and glowered. 'You need to hire better witches.'

'Dead? Again?' Ruby said in surprise. She looked to the side and raised a brow before looking back. 'No… You wouldn't be able to trick him. Not Alistair.'

'No, he's alive,' Castiel admitted. 'And he knows what you want.'

Ruby blinked slowly before laughing. 'Of course he knows!' she said gleefully. 'We're going to share. I get you and the grimoire, and he gains access to whatever spells he wants. Cooperation, my dear Castiel. Something you should look into.'

Castiel narrowed his eyes at her, and she gasped lightly.

'That won't do you any good,' she hissed before her hand slapped against the mirror, turning it black.

Slowly, the mirror faded back into its reflective state.

Castiel met Dean's gaze in the mirror. 'She's about twenty miles ahead of us,' he said.

'And now, she knows exactly where we are,' Dean pointed out.

Castiel nodded as he turned to face Dean, giving him a small smile. 'But I think we just bought ourselves some time.'

'How do you figure that?' Sam asked. 'Nothing happened like you thought it would. If anything, we just lost time!'

'She wasn't expecting Alistair to betray her. I was her familiar long enough to be able to read her,' Castiel explained. 'She's scared. We can use that.'

'How's she run, Cas?' Gabriel asked. 'Cautious or reckless? Will she go for Alistair or Dean first?'

'Alistair. I'm certain. She won't risk the book.'

Dean could feel Castiel's certainty, but he didn't share it. 'So I can't kill her… Can I just… I dunno. Bind her magic or something? Is that a thing? They had it in a movie.'

'No,' Gabriel firmly said. 'Cas, don't ever watch that movie. It starts off all fun and games, but everyone turns dark. Binding a witch's magic is sick and wrong. Killing them would be a mercy.'

Dean huffed in irritation, making his way back to his bed and falling into it face first. What was the point of magic if he couldn't even use it to defend himself? The bed beside him sunk, and Castiel rubbed his shoulder. 'I hate this,' he mumbled.

'I know. We'll think of something, or…'

Dean shook his head, catching Castiel's line of thought. 'Don't wanna be like them. Don't wanna risk it.'

'It's not so bad,' Castiel's voice echoed through his head. 'You can always turn back.'

Dean thought of the dream Sam had stumbled upon. 'Won't do that to you,' he whispered.