Smoke

Sam paced around the motel room he’d booked, ignoring the way Hannah kept looking at him. She could tell him there was no point staying here all she wanted, but just in case it turned out this place was significant, Sam wasn’t turning tail and running right off.

“We can try a summoning,” Sam said.

“We can,” Hannah said, but the way she said it made it sound like she wasn’t on board.

“Why not?”

Hannah turned as Sam did, keeping him in sight, and that wasn’t at all weird. Sam had got used to Cas and his staring, but it was occurring to him that Cas rarely fixed on Sam the way he did on Dean. That made sense. As far as Sam knew, Cas had never wanted to jump Sam’s bones the way he clearly had Dean’s. Turned out, angelic focus was…a lot.

“If Dean is planning something, we could interrupt it,” Hannah said. “If not, we need more than we have here to defend against a Knight of Hell. Castiel at full strength could, perhaps, fight one, but I couldn’t.”

“Cas didn’t do so well against Cain,” Sam said, remembering the way Cas had limped away from the being thrown into a pile of crates or something when they’d faced off against Cain in that barn.

Hannah shook her head.

“He wasn’t at full strength. Besides, I said maybe.”

“And you’re both angels. Both, what is it? Both seraphs?”

Hannah shook her head again. Sam was starting to hate that.

“No. Castiel is a seraph. I’m not. I’d have no real chance against a Knight, though I will try, if I have to.”

Sam span around and stalked the length of the room again, pressing a thumb into the palm of his other hand. Right over his scar.

“Suppose storming Hell’s out, too, then,” he said.

Hannah said nothing. In fact, she said nothing so loudly that Sam found himself stopping and facing her. She had a look on her face he couldn’t quite place.

“Wait. Are you…are you saying we could storm Hell? Isn’t that harder than taking on a Knight?”

“Not necessarily,” Hannah said. “Harder for me to survive it than for Castiel to survive it. But I could get us in. I’m just not sure I can keep either one of us safe once we’re there.”

“But we’d be there if Dean needs us. Or if he needs bringing back from…from being that thing,” Sam said, taking a few steps towards Hannah. He still had a tight grip on his own hand. “We could help. Better than being stuck here.”

“We could be in the Bunker,” Hannah said. “Where you have more resources.”

It was Sam’s turn to shake his head.

“If you can get us into Hell, then get us into Hell. What do you need?”