[ Dean's words are as cutting as they are terrified, and Castiel doesn't need to respond to them. He watches the road, focuses on it even as his shoulder burns and his heart throbs loudly. It's not his place to mollify Dean or, as he said, try to change him. Castiel's mission is simply retrieval. If he fails, another will take his place. He's already texted his location and route to the others. If he dies in this car, no matter how close or far from their destination they are, Dean will be found. Castiel will receive praise and prayer for his attempt. As long as Dean doesn't escape the vehicle, it doesn't matter what state either of them are in, physically or mentally. There's no more need for conversation.

Castiel watches the road for another few heartbeats before glancing at Dean in the rearview. He bites the inside of his cheek but still, a moment later, the words meant to assuage Dean come out. ]

Dean... In my lifetime spent in the community, no one has ever been... "converted" into something they didn't want to be. I've had brothers and sisters leave of their own free will. It isn't a prison. We're a family.

[ One Dean is being welcomed into with force, and that irony isn't lost on Castiel. He reaches to explain what he himself doesn't fully understand. ]

You're a special case. I've never met someone like you before, someone prophesied to join us. I'm sure it will be explained to you, to all of us, once you arrive.

[ He looks back at the road, which is a curving, empty dirt road devoid of other traffic. The highway is off in the distance. The woods on either side are a blue-gray mass sliding by the windows, all blurred together. ]