The months dragged on and there was still no sign of Castiel. Benny had reminded Dean of the sheer size of Purgatory repeatedly, but the Winchester was still adamant that he wasn't going to leave without him. The latest edition to their group hadn't been so bad. He and Elizabeth got on rather well considering her initial hesitations, though, there was still something in her keeping him at arm's length. She was just happy to have someone else watching their backs whilst Dean slept. It also gave her someone to talk to at night.
The trio had ended up sharing a few things about each other and, between fighting the monsters, found common ground in their histories.
Elizabeth had also taken to teasing Benny after he'd made a few comments about Dean's age and level of life experience compared to his. As it turned out, the female Vampire had over a century on Benny, so was sure to antagonise him whenever he joked at Dean's expense – often referring to the both of them as children; to which Dean was sure to remind her of the fact that she was dating his younger brother and thus, must also be dating a child, by her own logic. She wasn't overly happy about that, so the 'child' comments quickly ceased.

It was coming up to the year anniversary before they found Castiel.
The trio came up to a river and had just found him crouched down by it.
He looked like crap, to say the least. The scruff on his face had grown an inch or so, his trench coat was tattered and filthy, his psych ward garb even more so.
"Cas!" Dean called out to him.
"Dean." He only uttered, standing up to face them.
"Cas..." The Winchester smiled, instantly bringing him in for an unreciprocated hug.
As they shared the exchange, Cas looked over to Elizabeth and Benny with a slight frown.
"Damn, it's good to see you." Dean said, tapping Cas' facial hair. "Nice peach fuzz."
"Thank you." Cas replied, simply. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.
"I want you to meet somebody." Dean told him, motioning to the Vamp. "This is Benny. Benny, this is Cas."
Benny looked as about excited to be there as the Angel.
"Hola." Benny mumbled.
"How did you find me?" Cas asked.
"The bloody way." Dean replied with a smile. "You feeling okay?"
"You mean am I still..?" The Angel waved his finger by his temple.
"Yeah, if you wanna be on the nose about it, sure." Dean chuckled.
"No, I'm perfectly sane." Castiel replied. "But then, Ninety-four per cent of psychotics think they're perfectly sane. So, I guess we'd have to ask ourselves 'what is sane?'"
"That's a good question." Dean sighed.
"Where have you been, Pigeon?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yeah, why'd you bail on them?" Benny frowned.
"Dude." Dean interjected.
"The way I hear it, you three hit monster land and hot wings, here, took off. I figure he owes you two some backstory." The Vamp continued.
"Look, we were surrounded, okay? Some freak jumped Cas, obviously he kicked it's ass, right?" Elizabeth could exactly believe that Dean was defending him.
"I didn't see anyone." The Vampire frowned.
"Well, you were kinda freaking out at the time." Dean shrugged. "Right Cas?"
"No." Cas replied.
"What?" Dean's brows knitted together in confusion.
"I ran away." The Angel explained.
"You ran away." Dean repeated.
"I had to." Cas sighed.
"That's your excuse for leaving us with those Gorilla-Wolves?" Dean was clearly growing angry.
"Dean..." Cas started.
Elizabeth gave a breathy chuckle in disbelief, opting to ignore the conversation from here on in. She crouched down by the river and began to wash away the blood and dirt from her arms and face.
"You bailed out and, what, went camping?" Dean raised his voice. Benny looked disgusted. "I prayed to you, Cas. Elizabeth prayed to you and you know how much she damn well hates that. Every damn night."
"I know..." Cas' voice turned small.
"You know?! And you didn't-" Dean shouted, cutting himself off. "What the Hell's wrong with you?"
"I am an Angel in a land of abomination. There have been things hunting me from the moment we arrived."
"Join the club!" Dean growled, glancing over as Elizabeth got up to re-join the conversation.
"You had Elizabeth. She'll go here when she dies. Not many monsters get a trial run. Clearly, she did a good jo-"
Cas was cut off when Elizabeth reared back and punched him square in the nose with every ounce of her Vampiric strength.
"Call me a monster one more bloody time, I dare you." She sneered, arching over him menacingly as he cupped his face on the floor. "I took care of you. Played bloody board games with you – listened to you ramble on about all sorts of crazy crap and that's the thanks I get? Screw you, Castiel."
She stormed off between Dean and Benny.
"Call me when you're done arguing. I'm going to find something to decapitate." She mumbled, disappearing off into the trees.
"These are not just monsters, Dean." Castiel panted as he rose to his feet again, blood dripping down from his nose. "They're Leviathan. I have a price on my head and I've been trying to stay one step ahead of them to... To keep them away from you. That's why I ran. Just... Leave me. Please."
Dean's face softened at the revelation. Hell, even Benny's did a little bit.
"Sounds like a plan. Let's roll." The Vamp said, turning into the trees. "I'll go get 'Liza."
"Hold on, hold on." Dean put out a hand, stopping Benny in his tracks. "Cas, we're getting outta here. We're going home."
"Dean, I can't." Cas grumbled.
"You can. Benny, tell him." Dean instructed.
"Purgatory has an escape hatch." Benny explained. "But I got no idea if it's Angel-friendly."
"Hey, we'll figure it out. Cas, buddy. I need you." Dean sighed. "And if the Leviathan wanna take a shot at us, let them. We ganked those bitches once before, we can do it again."
"It's too dangerous." Cas' voice was small, bordering on submissive.
"Let me bottom-line it for you; I'm not leaving here without you." The Winchester said. "Understand?"
"I understand." The Angel nodded.
"Great. Now go apologise to Elizabeth, because that was a pretty crappy thing to say after everything she's done for us. Then we can get outta here." Dean beckoned over in the general direction the Vampire had gone in.
Cas sighed heavily, knowing he'd gone too far. He nodded and walked to find the Vampire.

When he did, she'd just finished ripping the head off a Vamp with her bare hands. He hesitated, half frozen in shock, half wondering if he should let her cool down some more before he made his move.
But he went ahead anyway.
"Elizabeth." He called.
"Leave me alone, Castiel." She growled, going to pick up her machete from the floor a few feet in front of her.
"Please don't call me that." Cas sighed. "You've never called me by my name as long as we've known each other. I was just starting to like 'Pigeon'."
"Yeah, and I was just starting to like you. Guess we can't be happy all the time, can we?" Elizabeth didn't even make eye contact with the Angel as she walked passed him back towards the river.
"I'm sorry for what I said. It was wrong. You're not a monster." He called after her, making her stop in her tracks.
She turned around with a frown.
"You're right. I'm not. In fact, I've made it my eternal life's mission to not be exactly that. So you calling me that and reminding me that, when I die, I'll end up here like the rest of the savage, blood-thirsty creatures, was possibly the crappiest thing you could've done." She said, finally looking at him.
Castiel sighed, looking to the floor in shame.
"I know. I... Don't know what came over me. I won't do it again, I swear. You were right; you took care of me back on Earth, even if you didn't want to. You kept my mind active. In a way, I think you helped the most to get me back to sanity. It was a stupid thing to say and I didn't mean it. I just wanted you all to leave me alone. I'm still half-convinced that you'd all be better off without me attracting threat. But Dean won't leave here without me, so I must go with you. So, just... Please forgive me, Elizabeth." He spoke with a begging tone, clearly meaning what he was saying.
Elizabeth thought his words over with the upmost seriousness.
"Right, then." She eventually said. "Let's go home."
With that, she turned on her heel and headed back for the stream with the Angel trailing along behind with a small, hopeful smile on his face – the first smile he'd had since he landed in Purgatory.

Having been walking through the never-ending forest for months now, everyone's patience was wearing rather thin.
It didn't help that there seemed to be more creatures after them now that Cas was back in the picture.
Dean, Benny and Elizabeth had just finished with a small nest of Vampires when Cas came walking up.
He'd spotted one they'd missed, who came after him.
Elizabeth Vamp sped up behind him and grabbed his arms as Cas placed his palm on his forehead, releasing a bright white, burning glow to visually echo throughout the surrounding area.
"Well, I gotta admit, the Angel's got his strong points, but Holy Hell if he ain't a magnet." Benny commented as he and Dean watched Cas and Elizabeth approach them.
"Before we found Cas you said it was my Humanity that was drawing too much attention." Dean retorted.
"Yeah, that too." Benny shrugged.
"These arseholes really wanna piece of the only Human and Angel in the village, I suppose." Elizabeth smirked, wiping her machete on her skinny jeans.
"We should keep moving." Cas said. "But I think we're clear for the moment."
"I dunno... That group was way too small to be considered a nest. I'll bet there's more of them close by." Elizabeth frowned, moving her hair aside to get a better listen in. "Well... There definitely sounds like something's moving."
"It does present a curious curl in the metaphysics, doesn't it?" Cas commented, looking down at the decapitated corpse of a Vamp Dean had taken care of. "If you murder a monster in monster Heaven, where does it go?"
"And this is the crazy aunt I want to take on the road?" Benny cocked an eyebrow.
"I am not your aunt." Cas growled, taking a few threatening steps closer to the Vamp.
"What? Really?" Benny frained shock.
"I have no possible relationship to your sibling offspring." The Angel retorted.
"Now, you're kidding me." Benny smirked.
"Oh, you two are killing me." Dean groaned loudly.
"Pigeon, he was kidding. Come on. We need to get out of here." Elizabeth looked around cautiously, grazing a few fingers over Cas' coat in beckoning.
Cas turned to Elizabeth and Dean.
"I have to agree with the Vampire – the... Male one. The risk of crossing Purgatory with a Seraph, it's... Less than strategic. Certainly when we have no reason to believe that I can pass through the door that you're headed for." He said.
"You see, you're an intact, living Human being stuck in Purgatory's craw." Benny told Dean. "This dimension wants to spit you out, which is exactly what's gunna power our escape pod. Now, I'm pretty sure 'Liza and I can squeeze through too because, after all, you take away the fangs and the fun, we were born Human too. But..."
"I don't think it'll work for me." Cas mumbled.
Elizabeth frowned in thought.
"Purgatory was built for Angels as much as it was built for Humans. So it would make sense that you can travel through that portal too." She stated, earning an agreeing point and nod from Dean.
"Listen here, you undead blood junky – no offence, Elizabeth." He started.
"None taken." The female shrugged.
"I'm the one with the mojo; I'm the one with the plan. Elizabeth's right. Cas, we're gunna shove your ass back through the eye of that needle if it kills all four of us. You're not meant to be here either. So we're going - all of us. That's final." Dean continued.
"Obviously, I'm less than comfortable with that." Benny noted. "I ain't about to die for no Angel."
"I'm not sure any of us could give a crap who's comfortable with what right now. We have a plan, we're sticking to it. Now, come on. Otherwise we'll be eaten alive long before we reach that portal." Elizabeth huffed, continuing on ahead of them.

Elizabeth zoned out half way on the walk, but a comment from Dean had brought her out of it. He and Benny were having a conversation about what Benny would do when he was back in the land of the living.
"It's all about the value of life, ain't it?" Benny smirked.
"What the Hell do you know about the value of life? You're a Vampire." Dean grumbled. "No offence, Elizabeth."
"That's become your trademark sentence." The female cocked a playful brow.
"Yep." Benny popped his 'p'. "And I think we both know which of our kinds kills more Humans."
Elizabeth's eyes glistened in awe at the bold, yet true statement.
"If I had some tea right now, I would be drinking it at that comment." She sniggered.
"You can't drink tea." Dean retorted.
"It'd be worth the puking session." The Vampiress shrugged.
"Gross." The Winchester mumbled under his breath.
"I get it." Benny continued. "You're worried what I might do if we make it topside. I'll start eating your little piggies. I already told you, man – by the time I got iced, I was strictly on blood transfusions - donated blood. Not donated to me, I'll give you that, but I paid good, black market scratch for it."
"I gotta say, I think I'm impressed." Elizabeth said. "I've never heard of a Stage Two turning Stage One before. Normally as soon as you get it straight from the proverbial tap, that's it."
"I'm glad Miss Stage One approves." Benny replied, sarcastically. "All I'm saying is that I started seeing something in Humanity, okay. Something that shouldn't be taken. I drink blood, I don't drink people."
"Why the Hell should I believe you?" Dean groaned as the group stopped walking.
"What does it matter what you believe? You got your head so far up your ass, Dean, you don't even realise we're already done for. The Angel knows it. Hell, Stage One over there probably knows it too. We are never gunna make it with him glowing like a beacon." Benny retorted, lazily throwing an arm in the direction of Cas, who was scanning round the area with cautious eyes.
"Do I need to remind you of our deal?" Dean asked. "Of what you committed to?"
"He is gunna get us killed!" The Vamp shouted.
"We may get to test that theory." Cas interjected, looking around at the treetops as he turned to face them.
"More monsters?" Dean frowned.
"Leviathan." The Angel nodded.
"Why don't you blip outta here?" Dean suggested.
"They're too close. I can't." Cas replied. "Run."

They'd run for ages. Elizabeth knew that she, Benny and Cas could go on forever, more or less. But Dean? He was bound to be getting breathless.
Still, he kept going – kept leading the charge out of danger. But the danger was bound to catch up at some point.
Like a missile, a Leviathan crashed down into the dirt, separating Dean from the other three.
"Oh, great..." He mumbled as it came straight for him.
Cas went to run in another direction, but another Leviathan came out of nowhere, crashing down just like the previous one had.
It clothes-lined him as he charged at her, pinning him to the floor.
Elizabeth and Benny didn't really know who to go for. They simply watched as Dean beheaded the one that had gone for him.
The female Leviathan sprouted its true face, going in for the kill just as Elizabeth grabbed her by her ponytail and Benny sliced through her neck with his makeshift machete.
The Vampiress moved as Benny helped the Angel up.
"Thank you." He said, looking between the two Vampires. "Thank you, both."
"Don't mention it." Benny mumbled.
"Let's go." Elizabeth all but whispered, putting a reassuring hand on Cas' shoulder with a smile to match.