Samuel was staring at the spot where the angel had been moments earlier.

"Would've asked him to stick around for a beer," he muttered.

"So, what's with the book club outside?" Dean asked, referencing the group that had been researching when we arrived.

"Putting together a hunt," Stephan smirked.

"That's a lot of guys for one hunt," I quipped.

"You found him, didn't you?" Sam directed at Samuel.

"Who?" Dean and I chorused, looking over at Sam.

"He's got a lead on the alpha vamp."

"Do you?" Dean shot at his grandfather.

"Maybe. Yeah," Samuel chuckled.

"How'd you track him down?"

"We're good," Stephan responded.

"That's all I get? 'We're good'?"

"When's the run?" Sam asked.

"Dawn," Samuel responded.

"You didn't call me? Why?"

"Cause of me," Dean answered before Samuel could even open his mouth. "You don't trust me very much, do you? Especially when it comes to big game like this."

"That's not true," Samuel denied.

"Okay, well, then, we're in."

"No offense, but-"

"So you don't trust me."

"No, I don't know you. Not like I know Sam."

"Alright. You call the plays. One hundred percent. Ellie and I are here to listen."

"Excuse me?" I demanded, looking to Dean as Sam chuckled.

"Since when?" he asked.

"Big daddy bloodsucker?" Dean shrugged. "I ain't gonna miss that. And Ellie's sick of being benched, so she's coming, too. But this is your deal. Okay? I get it. We'll follow your lead. I trust you."

⁘

"I don't trust them. They're hiding something."

I snorted at Dean's words. He, Sam and I had moved outside to talk.

"What?" Sam asked, looking over.

"I can feel it. And if you weren't Robo-Sam, you'd feel it, too. I'm sure Ellie will vouch for me."

Sam glanced at me and I nodded.

"They're definitely hiding something."

"Huh," Sam scoffed, looking away.

"What?" Dean demanded.

"Just... You. Saying you don't trust family."

"Look, we hang close, we blend in, we see what we can pick up."

"You think Samuel and Stephan are connected to the whole soul thing?"

"I still think they're the only leads we've got."

⁘

While Dean went to snoop around Samuel's office, I got stuck on babysitting Sam duty.

"So, how've you been, Eleanor?"

"Ellie."

"What?"

"You usually call me Ellie."

"But your name is Eleanor."

I stared up into Sam's dark, empty eyes, swallowing hard.

"Yeah, but... Forget it."

I could feel Sam's calculating gaze studying me as I looked away once more.

"So, how've you been?" he repeated the question.

"You really want to know how I've been?"

He nodded once, waiting for me to continue.

"Well, let me think. I watched Lucifer, via you, kill and beat up everyone I cared about, and then watched you fall into a giant hole in the ground, supposedly never to be seen again without a goodbye. And then I got some semblance of a normal life with Dean and my daughter who was brought back, only for it to be torn apart because, surprise, surprise, Sam fucking Winchester is back from Hell and has pulled Dean back into the life without me.

"And now, my daughter is in Heaven spending time with angels so she can stay safe while we try and figure out how to get your fricking soul back."

It was silent as I attempted to catch my breath after the long-winded rant.

"You're angry," Sam spoke after a moment.

There was no emotion to the statement- perfectly monotone; an observation, nothing more.

"Angry? No. No, this is something so much bigger than angry."

The warmth in my chest that had come back when I started to blow up in front of Cass after Dean first ditched with Sam, before the vamp incident.

"Eleanor, please," Cass's voice echoed in my head. "You need to calm down."

Taking a few breaths, I focused on pushing the feeling down. I'd killed a demon, and nearly hurt angels before with that power. And thrown Dean across a room. I wasn't sure what would happen to Sam now if that feeling got out of hand. Everyone including Dean started coming out and climbing into cars then, to head out on the alpha vamp hunt.

⁘

Dean and I got stuck hanging back with Gwen, one of the Campbells, to get any stragglers the others flushed out while they were getting in on the main action. However, we heard gunshots and Dean and I left the post to go see what was going on. We ended up seeing Sam helping Samuel load the alpha vamp into the back of a truck, and then headed back to where Gwen had stayed behind.

"Where were you?" she demanded.

We didn't respond, because Stephan showed up at that moment.

"Everything all right here?" he inquired.

"Just, uh," Gwen glanced at Dean and I, "chopped up a runner. No big deal. How'd it go?"

"Rough, but one alpha down," Stephan responded.

"Where is it? Want to pay our last respects," Dean asked him, giving him an opportunity to confess if he wanted to.

"Well, bring marshmallows. Already on the pyre," Stephan lied.

Sam ended up in the Impala with me and Dean on the drive back, and Dean decided to give him the opportunity to tell us what Stephan chose to lie about.

"Things go okay back there?"

"Fine."

"Nothing weird?"

Sam shook his head, and Dean's jaw set. The engine revved and the tires squealed as he pulled off to the side of the road. I had to clutch the top of the front seat to keep from flying into one of the doors from the sudden movement.

"Ellie and I saw you walk the alpha out the door, Sam. Now, call me crazy... But that seems weird," Dean spat.

"Oh," Sam sighed quietly.

"Oh," Dean repeated, looking back at me before staring at Sam again.

"You weren't supposed to know about that," Sam continued.

"Know what?" I inquired.

"It's just something Samuel and Stephan are doing. Catching things, taking them somewhere, grilling them for info."

"Grill," Dean repeated. "Torture, right? And not telling us- that was his idea?"

"No, it was mine."

"Why?"

"Honestly?" Sam glanced at me then looked at Dean. "Cause you'd mess it up. You shoot first, ask questions later, and we needed to ask questions."

Dean was quiet, silently fuming as he took in the new information.

"You know, I- I don't care if you've got soullessness or the freakin' mumps, man- You know better than this! Do you even want your soul back?"

"How does that have anything to do-"

"Have you been to the place where they take them? I mean, have you been in on these interrogations?"

"No, but I hear-"

"And why?" Dean interrupted again before Sam could get a proper word in. "And did it ever occur to you that this is really shady?"

"They're our grandfathers."

"Yeah. Yeah, guys who talk a great game. But you can't assume that family means the same thing to them as it does to us. Samuel's not Dad. Wow. You don't see it do you?"

"What?"

"You got no instinct," Dean scoffed. "I mean, you are seriously messed up."

"Thanks," Sam mumbled.

"I'm not kidding, man. Nobody's forcing you to work with Ellie and me, okay. But if we do this... Ellie and I drive the bus, we call the shots, and you tell us everything, whether you think it's important or not, because- trust me- you can't tell the difference. Or, you know what, go- go with Samuel and Stephan. See how that goes. It's up to you."