Balthazar found them at the beginning of "The French Mistake" - was there a summoning ritual involved there? And Cas sensed when they were about to get par-broiled by Atropos and yanked them to safety, although honestly at this point I could see that as a case of him keeping one metaphorical eye on them constantly so he doesn't lose track.

So basically, in addition to running heaven and fighting the rebel angels, it's always his day to watch the Winchesters?

I have officially reached the point of fic confusion (last week's canon "call your angel" "why is he suddenly *my* angel???" [eyeroll, proof of attribution] exchange may have busted me forever), but did Balthazar explain how he found them? I know the answer is "They were at Bobby's", but...did Virgil track the boys? Or did he track Balthazar? Are they naked now?

Also, did Dean actually call Cas last week, or did he just show up in his ass because it seemed like a good time for assness?

Dean's ass is magnetic?

edited for clarity

Well, since Cas is apparently in some sort of cahoots with Crowley, maybe he planted another of those tracking coins on Dean. Or in Dean--the "hows" and "where" to be determined by the fic writer/artist of your choice.

I want to tell someone she's got the rules wrong. Sam or Dean can't be Cas's vessel unless you do some fanwanking heavy lifting. You can't just say "that'd be cool" and leave it there. That's not how you play.

Also, get over myself.

Speaking of myself. And Supernatural...am I being hard on a character I purport to love if I just really don't envision a domestic happy ending for Dean? Reading other places, you'd think you'd have to be a bitch to want him to hunt just one more second, but I want him to keep hunting, and I want him to be happy doing it, and I think the text totally allows me to project that as a happy ending for him.

Not the ultimate curtains, perhaps, but that's why I could never ship him with most of the women on the show bar Jo. And even that was mostly sex. He just...I like him on the road and agil.

Even Sam, I get sadface if he's paired with anyone other than Sarah, because I feel her letting him hunt is predestined in a way Dean never even managed with Lisa (because that was never going to work, simply).

But, I swear, to some parts of fandom, I'm a big old meanie who can't possibly love Dean the mostest. And I absolutely do.

I don't think you're the *biggest* meanie, because I agree with you in part. But I'm not sure I agree he would be happy hunting until his card is punched because he enjoys it. I think part of him is always, now, going to be making reparations for his time in hell, and before that he was programmed for too long to believe that innocent people needed saving from the same kind of *hell* he lived as a child, with his father broken and his mother dead and his baby brother essentially abandoned to his care.

I think he's seen too much, or knows too much about just how evil the world can be, in other words. And while I think he would still absolutely enjoy being on the road with Sam, especially hunting the simpler things (ghosts, werewolves, etc.), I think there's a part of him that really longs for companionship, and the emotional safety of someone who loves him.

I don't know if Lisa could ever be that, despite her intentions, because Ben will always come first. And having Ben in the picture changes things from Dean's perspective, too.

I guess I should change my answer to say I'm not sure Dean's ever going to be *at peace*.

You're making it sound like Dean can't be fulfilled with someone with kids. And there's the implication that Dean can never return what you say he needs, because of Sam.

Not that parity of that sort is required for a successful relationship--it's just a note.

I don't think Dean wants to have the weight of the world on his shoulders every year, but I do believe that the act of saving lives can be rewarding for him, and why not this versus EMT or firefighter or cop?

I do believe that the act of saving lives can be rewarding for him, and why not this versus EMT or firefighter or cop?

Well, most firefighters or cops have families and homes to go to at the end of the shift.

I don't see Dean as completely doomed to angst, but there's a difference between saving lives because you feel like you have to and doing it because you want to. What I got from him leaving Lisa and Ben the last time is that he doesn't feel like he has a choice, and he feels they're better off without him around. I think that might be different if Ben weren't in the picture -- an adult can consent to risk but you shouldn't ask that of a kid, which Dean knows firsthand.

I would love to see Dean settle down eventually, with someone to love, even with kids, but when I look critically at canon, I'm not sure it's really in the cards for him, even though I really believe part of him loved the life he built with Lisa.

Edited because I should have proofread the first time.

Well, most firefighters or cops have families and homes to go to at the end of the shift.

And in fiction, they're coming home to a spouse that's all "Wahh! Wouldn't you rather sex me up than save an innocent life? I don't get you! Where are your priorities? Why haven't you changed?" Thank DOG SPN has never gone there. But, really, supportive home life is not something stories put forward too often for people out risking their lives for others. I'm not sure why that is.

I would *love* in general stories if the cops wives and husbands were all "That's my hottie out there, saving lives and kicking asses!" And, SPNwise, I can kinda handle it for Sam. I mean, as long as he's out there hunting with Dean still. That's pretty much mandatory.

I'm not sure why I don't see it for Dean. Or want it for Dean. I just think that the first time Dean left Lisa and Ben he did it because he wanted to hunt too. Not because he was a monster, but because he was a hunter. It's his thing. He's good at it, and it rewards him.

I guess I'm erasing the damage John did to him, and his rock bottom self esteem, but the love of a good woman won't fix that for him either. He needs to get healthy and hunt, or get healthy and stop hunting.