"Hey Castiel, need any more coffee?"

Dr. Castiel Milton looked up from his papers to the waitress and smiled. "No thank you, Cindy. It's getting late and I should be heading off. Class will be starting soon."

Cindy ripped the ticket from the pad for Castiel's breakfast and laid it on the table in front of him.

"How are those boys treating you?" Cindy teased as she leaned a hip against the booth, no intention of leaving just yet.

"They are treating me just fine. If they weren't, I'd let you know." Castiel chuckled at the older woman. Castiel was the chair of the religion department at a small liberal arts college for men.

She sighed. "I remember the days when those boys would come into the diner and ask me out or flirt. Miss those days."

"You're still an attractive woman Cindy. Besides, why would you want those college boys when you could have the professors?" Castiel winked at the woman causing Cindy to blush prettily.

Cindy started laughing. "If I was twenty years younger, I would take you up on that."

"How do you know I wouldn't want a woman with experience?" he purred which only caused Cindy to erupt into more laughter.

"Oh honey, you better watch it, I might steal you away and marry you!"

"At least I'd have a pretty lady that could cook."

"Castiel! Quit flirting with my wife!" Castiel and Cindy both turned toward the counter to see, Daniel, Cindy's husband and owner of the Green Street Diner, sending a mock glare Castiel's way.

"My apologies, Dan." Castiel smirked as he stood up.

Castiel pulled out his wallet and threw some money down on the table for the breakfast and tip before he started collecting his things.

"Will we see you for lunch?" Cindy asked as she pocketed the money and removed Castiel's plate and mug.

"Not today. I have an appointment with a grad student from Stanford that needed some information for his dissertation. The only time I could fit him in was during my lunch hour." he told Cindy as he put on his overcoat and threw his worn leather satchel over his shoulder.

"No lunch? You wait a minute, son." Daniel grumbled as he went back into the kitchen. He returned a couple of minutes later with a brown paper bag.

"It's only a sandwich and chips, but it's better than nothing." Daniel handed the bag to Castiel.

"Dan, you don't have to do this. I can get something from the cafeteria or…" Castiel was cut off.

"You're not refusing my food, are you boy?" Daniel threatened, but his light brown eyes twinkled in his weathered face.

Castiel took the bag and scoffed lightly. "I'm hardly a boy. I'm turning thirty-five this year."

"To a sixty year old man, you're still a boy." Daniel laughed and slapped him on the back.

Castiel gave his thanks and headed out of the diner. The Heisenberg College was a short walk from the diner and from his house which was only a few streets over. The October morning was a windy and cool one, the wind whipping around the edges of Castiel's coat causing the professor to walk faster to the warmth of his office.

As he walked through the tree lined campus to his building, several students greeted him and one student, Andy, walked him all the way to his office, asking questions about one of the papers that were due soon.

Castiel felt only relief when he finally made it to his office and his assistant, Charlie, started to help him get ready for the day. Tuesdays and Thursdays were the days he taught the most classes, so he was grateful that the next day was Friday when he only had two.

His day started out with the Hebrew Bible followed by Theology and Ethics. Then at one o'clock he would normally take his lunch and then finish his day with two back to back History of Christianity classes.

"Don't forget you have that appointment with Sam Winchester at one today. You really should let me reschedule that, I don't like you missing lunch. You work too hard as it is." Charlie chastised Castiel who just simply smiled.

"Its fine, Charlie. The man came all the way from California to talk to me. It's the least I could do." Castiel told her and started to walk to his classroom, but stopped and backtracked to his desk. "Can you put this in the fridge in the staff room for me?" Castiel asked, handing her the paper bag.

Charlie smiled. "Dan?" she asked when she saw the turkey sandwich inside.

"He didn't want me to eat from the cafeteria."

Charlie laughed. "Of course not. I swear Dan and Cindy dote on you. I think they might have adopted you. It's amazing since Dan is normally your typical grumpy old man except for when he's around you or Cindy."

Castiel just shrugged and headed to his class. What he didn't tell Charlie was he thought of the older couple as the parents he never really knew. When he had moved to town ten years ago as an assistant professor, Dan and Cindy took him under their wing and they became his family.

He brushed the thoughts aside as he entered the classroom to see thirteen young men, the mass majority of them looking like they hadn't fully woken up yet and was not thrilled at the prospect of being in an eight a.m. class about the Hebrew Bible. Castiel just chuckled to himself and got to work.

"Dr. Milton, Sam Winchester is here to see you." Charlie popped her head into Castiel's office just as he was finishing his hasty lunch. He wiped his mouth, took a swig of water and brushed the crumbs off his shirt.

"Send him on in."

Castiel stood up, straightened his tie and looked up when he heard somebody enter the room.

A very tall, younger man stepped into the room. The man appeared to be in his mid to late twenties with long, shaggy brown hair and gentle hazel eyes. The man looked to be in his element in Castiel's small office, made even smaller with the amount of books in every nook and cranny.

"Dr. Milton?"

Yes, and you must be Mr. Winchester." he held out his hand to the younger man. "Please call me Castiel." he smiled and motioned for Sam to take a seat.

"Thank you, call me Sam." he smiled as he sat down, sitting a file folder and notebook on his lap.

After the initial pleasantries were over, Sam launched into his questions, questions that Castiel were expecting, however, toward the end of their meeting Sam surprised him by opening up the file folder that had been sitting untouched on his lap.

"Castiel, there was a reason I chose to speak to you specifically. I know you are one of the renowned experts of religious symbolism so I was wondering if you could take a look at these and tell me if you know what they mean." Sam slid the folder across the desk.

Castiel looked down at the open file and started flipping through the pages of hand drawn symbols. He looked up speculatively at Sam, raising an eyebrow.

"These are Enochian, the language of angels." He watched as Sam's eyes widen in surprise before he smoothed out his features.

"Language of angels? There is an actual language? Do you know what it says?" Sam asked, leaning forward, writing furiously in his notebook.

"That's the thing, it's the supposed language of angels, but we are not for sure if it actually exists. It's mostly only found in the obscure journals of John Dee and Edward Kelley in the sixteenth century. The symbols are mostly used in the occult. However, I have always found the language fascinating and I could probably have these translated by Monday. Is this what your dissertation is over?"

"Yes, I wanted to find out as much as I could about these symbols. You really could have these translated by Monday?" Sam asked hopefully.

"I should as long as I don't run into any trouble because a few of these symbols I've never actually seen before. How did you come across these by the way?" Castiel asked curiously and saw Sam tense up slightly before relaxing. Castiel tended to be more observant than most so most people would have missed the telling action.

"I found them in an old journal when I was researching for a paper a couple of years ago."

Castiel could tell Sam was lying. He tried not to take offense though because Sam by all rights probably wanted keep as quiet about the origins as possible to prevent any theft of his research.

Castiel nodded and let the lie pass. "If you want to come back in on Monday at the same time, I should have if not all, at least a large portion of this translated for you."

Sam nodded and thanked Castiel again before leaving.

Castiel looked down at the folder, excitement building at the thought of translating. He had been so busy with teaching that he hadn't much time for research which he sorely missed. At least it will give him something to do this weekend. He slid the folder in his satchel and got ready for his next class.

The next day after his last class, Castiel decided to go to the local thrift shop to check out if their book section had been restocked with any new additions. Castiel liked coming in there because he would often find some old and obscure books to add to his collection.

He was currently crouched down, checking a few books on a bottom shelf when he overheard two men talking in the clothing section, one of the voices he recognized.

"I don't like it Sammy. Angelic language? Now it's starting to show up around here, looking like harmless graffiti in abandoned houses." a rough voice grumbled quietly.

Not moving from his crouch, Castiel peeked around the corner of the double sided shelf to see Sam Winchester and another man looking through racks of men's shirts. The man accompanying Sam appeared to be roughly the same height as Castiel, maybe a little taller with light brown hair, green eyes and freckles. The rest of him was blocked by the clothing racks. His face held more stern lines than Sam's did. While Sam's face was more open and friendly, the man's face was more closed and reserved. As if he knew he was being watched, green eyes narrowed down at him threatening causing Castiel to shiver. Every instinct in his body told him that this man was dangerous.

"Dr. Milton?" Castiel jumped slightly to see Sam staring in his direction. Feeling foolish for eavesdropping, he got up and walked over to the two men.

"Hello Sam." Castiel greeted once he reached the two men.

"Hey Castiel," Sam remembered to call him by his first name, "any good books?"

"They haven't restocked in a while so I'm disappointed not to find anything new." Castiel glanced over at the man next to Sam who had started looking through shirts again, ignoring him. Castiel could tell though that he was alert to his surroundings, listening to everything Sam and Castiel said.

Sam must have noticed the look and nudged the man. Bright green eyes captured his.

"This is Dean, my brother. He felt like coming on a little road trip with me. This is Dr. Milton, the one I spoke with yesterday about my dissertation."

"Hey Doc." Dean smirked, holding out his hand. Dean's face became a bit more open, but it was clearly just to mock him. Castiel felt his hackles rise at the nickname, but resisted the urge to glare at the man.

"Hello Dean." Castiel took Dean's calloused hand and gave it a firm shake, eyes never wavering from Dean's. Dean cocked an eyebrow at the little power play and increased the pressure.

Castiel didn't know how long they stood there in silent battle until Sam cleared his throat, shooting his brother an incredulous look.

"What? He started it!" Dean groused, but Castiel couldn't help to smirk when he saw Dean try to hide his hand, clenching and unclenching, behind his back. Never mind that his own hand throbbed, he refused to let the man see it.

Then the smirk dropped from Castiel's face. What the hell am I doing? What is it about this man that turns me into a Neanderthal?

Castiel looked away from Dean to Sam who had a slight smile on his face. "I must get going. I'll see you on Monday."

Sam nodded and Dean had already gone back to ignoring him. Just as well.

Once he reached the door, he could hear Sam and Dean hissing at each other.

"What the hell was that?"

"I think the dude just broke my fucking hand."

"Quit being such a drama queen, Dean."

"You're the queen. Bitch."

"Jerk."

Castiel left the store chuckling.

Saturday night, Castiel was deep in research, a big pile of books stacked up beside his desk.

Out of the six pages of symbols Sam had given him to translate, the first three were easy. He barely had to look anything up but it was the last three pages were where he was running into trouble.

It had taken him half the night to even find two of the symbols on the fourth page. He feared he wasn't going to get as much translated for Sam by Monday as he would have liked. It was going to take much longer which included hunting down certain books.

Of what he could make out so far, it appeared to be Enochian magic. It was a summoning spell they would use to summon an angel, but this particular one it didn't seem like it was exactly trying to summon an angel, but something else. Whatever the being was the person was trying to summon, Castiel didn't have a clue until he could get the other half translated.

He went back to his bookcase, thinking he might have another book he could use when his cell phone went off.

"Castiel!" blared from the other end followed by a giggle.

"Charlie, is that you?" Castiel didn't know why he bothered to ask since the ID on his phone clearly stated that it was.

"Of course it's me si-ik-lly." Charlie hiccupped.

"Charlie Bradbury, are you drunk?" Castiel couldn't keep the smile out of his voice.

"No, no, no…well maybe." came from the other line.

"You didn't have some gaming battle or some nonsense like that, did you?"

"It's not nonsense. They doubt my skills. I must show these freshmen whose boss."

"Which dorm are you at? I'll come get you and take you home."

After Charlie gave him the name of the dorm, he hung up the phone and sighed. He didn't really want to stop on his research, but he knew the break would do him good.

Almost an hour later, he was helping Charlie into her house. The ride was a long one since he had to drive slowly since the motion was making Charlie feel sick. It didn't help that Charlie lived in the middle of nowhere on a lonely gravel road that constantly made Castiel's car shake and Charlie's pitiful moans come out louder.

"You really should think about getting a place in town." he told her once he got inside.

"Why would I do that? This was my grandma's house, already paid for. Why would I move to town and have to pay rent?"

Castiel smiled down at his assistant and best friend. Even when she was drunk she still managed to be logical. He helped her into her room, took off her shoes and covered her up.

"I'll check up on you in the morning." Castiel said softly as he closed the bedroom door, but Charlie was already asleep.

Castiel shivered as he stepped outside, the bite of winter in the air despite it being early October. It didn't help matters that it had started to rain in earnest.

It was close to one in the morning by the time Castiel made it off the gravel road onto a slightly better paved road that would eventually lead to the highway that would take him back to town. He was only a few minutes down the road, when through the rain; he saw something large flying across the front of his car.

Out of instinct, Castiel slammed on the brakes, but due to the rain, the roads were slick making his car spin out of control until it went into a ditch on the opposite side of the road.

Castiel's body jerked, the side of his head hitting the door frame, causing him to black out temporarily. He came to with a groan and touched his head gingerly. He could feel a lump already forming. Besides a bump and possible slight concussion, he seemed overall fine. Castiel gave himself a moment to try to calm his racing heart. He didn't know what he saw, but whatever it was, it was big, probably a deer.

Once he was calmer, he got out of the car to check the damage. The front end of his car was buried in the mud. There was no way he could get it out without a tow truck.

"Damn it." Castiel muttered as he looked for his phone. He found it a minute later, crushed on the floorboard.

"Great, just how I wanted to spend my Saturday night." He wrapped his trench coat closer to his body against the wind and the rain and decided his next move.

He could walk back to Charlie's but that was a good six or seven miles. He did know that the Richardson farm was only two or three miles up the road. He could go there and use their phone. He just hoped Old Man Richardson wouldn't try to shoot him for coming onto his property in the middle of the night.

Decision made, he started his trek, fighting the wind, rain and dizziness from his bump on the head. He was a half mile down the road when the rain finally stopped and the moon came out from behind the clouds, illuminating the road.

At least I can see and not trip. Castiel was thankful at that moment for the small things. However, with the added light, he could also see more of his surroundings.

It didn't take long for him to realize from the trees parallel to the road, he was being watched.

Castiel picked up his pace, hoping it wasn't a bobcat or a coyote. He could sense movement from the woods as it tracked him. Despite the cold, he could feel himself break into a sweat as he looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon.

He spotted a large rock on the side of the road and went to pick it up. However, as he bent down, another bout of dizziness washed over him. He could feel himself falling and used his hands to break his fall, scraping them in the process.

The professor closed his eyes and breathed through his nose to control the dizziness and nausea that was turning in his stomach. The click of high heels on pavement had Castiel looking up in shock as a young blonde woman in her twenties stood over him with a cold smile on her face.

"Well, well, where have they been hiding you? You're a hard one to find, Dr. Milton." Her voice was sickening sweet in contrast to the black that saturated her eyes.

"Who are you?" he rasped out, scrambling backwards on his abused hands, trying to find the rock he saw earlier. Castiel felt his heart chill as he stared at the woman. There was something inhuman about her. Why would a woman be out in the middle of nowhere dressed in nothing but a tank top and a short skirt on a bitterly cold night with goddamn black eyes?

"Oh honey, it doesn't matter who I am but it does matter who you are. We've been looking for you for a very long time. You have some information that we need." She grinned down at him taking a step forward for every time he would shuffle back.

"Information? What kind of information?" Castiel tried to stall for time as he felt his left hand close over the rock.

"That brain of yours is full of all kinds of useful little tidbits that we need. And we are going to get every single one." she laughed and started to bend down, Castiel gripped the rock tighter, waiting for her to get close enough when the woman suddenly straightened and stiffened, a strange yellowish light emitting from her body.

Castiel watched as her eyes changed from black to normal before her lifeless body fell on top of his, pushing him down and the back of his head onto the pavement.

The last thing he saw was Dean Winchester standing over him with a bloody knife before everything around him went black.

I wasn't going to start a new story until my current one was done, but I've had to rewrite chapter 12 of The Reluctant Matchmaker like 3 times before I decided to give it a break and go ahead and post the first chapter of this one. As for the name of the college in this story, it's fictional. I asked my husband to give me a fake college name and this is the one he gave me. Obviously somebody has been watching too much Breaking Bad.

The updates on this story will be slow until The Reluctant Matchmaker is complete. I hope you like the start and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading! :)