Nothing ever happened inside the rooms. Sam never took something like that for granted—letting yourself be lulled into a sense of false security was the worst thing you could do—but he'd accepted it enough to not be on full red alert when he was sitting inside talking to Ruby.

So he sure as hell hadn't expected the freaking angel to just materialize out of nowhere like some David Copperfield trick, along with some guy who looked more confused than not.

Jesus, what—

He started off the desk, drawing his gun without even thinking. (Threatening angels with bullets, great. This was his life now.) He moved forward to step in front of Ruby, as automatic as it'd been his brother instead. As ambivalent he might've felt towards her sometimes, he'd made his alliances a long time ago. Watching her back had stopped being something he had to think about when it came down to it. If Castiel had just walked up to them like a normal person, it would've been different, but sheer surprise of the situation threw every instinct he had on the defensive.

Besides, judging from Castiel's immediate reaction, the guy didn't look that interested in diplomacy at the moment.