Archive of Our Own

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Warnings: Angst. Slight violence. Fluff-ish. Drama.

DPOV
I remembered pain, torture, unspeakable horrors. Then I was awake…Breathing heavily, I felt around until my hand landed on a lighter. Flicking it on, I used the flame to look around, finding myself in a tight, wooden box. A coffin. I was in coffin, in the ground, in my body. My real, completely alive and intact body.“Help!” I tried to yell out, but my voice was too hoarse. I tried again. “Help! Help!” Lifting my fist, I pounded on the wood above my head.Dirt rained down on my face, but I continued to pound on the wood. Pushing, hitting and doing everything I could until the wood broke and I could work on getting myself out of there.Digging through the dirt, pulling myself up and out until I felt warmth on my hand. I didn’t stop until I broke the surface.Squinting against the bright light, taking a deep and needed breath, I grunted as I finished crawling out of the grave and on to the dry grassy ground.Rolling onto my back I gave myself a moment to catch my breath before I got moving again. I couldn’t waste time, I needed to figure out what was happening to me. Where I was. Why I was here, alive.As I looked around I found myself in a field, a circle of dead trees laying on the ground around where I’d been buried, as if they’d been blasted by something powerful.
What the…?
I’d made it to a seemingly abandoned gas station. Reaching the door, I knocked on it and waited. “Hello?”When there was no response, I pulled my shirt from my waist- the long sleeve, button up, green one which had been over my black top- wrapped it around my hand, and smashed the glass of the door with my fist.Heading inside, I quickly grabbed some water from one of the fridges and began to drink, finishing it quickly. As I lowered the bottle from my lips, I noticed a newspaper that sat close by, seeing that the date was Thursday, September 18th.I frowned. “’September’.”In the bathroom of the gas station, I washed my face as I tried to ignore the flashing memories in my mind. But there was one memory I couldn’t ignore. The memory of how I died.The Hellhounds had ripped me to shreds. Yet as I lifted my shirt, I found no scars or marks even hinting at what I’d been through.A tingling sensation pulled my attention away from my chest and towards my left shoulder. Lowering my top, I reached for my sleeve, pulling it up to reveal a large, raw, red, scarred hand print brand.
What is going on?
With a plastic bag in hand, I grabbed food, and water, shoving it all in the bag. I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to get to Sam, or Bobby, or Liz. So I would need all the supplies I could get.Moving around the shelves, I spotted a magazine. Busty Asian Beauties. Smirking, I lifted the magazine and began to flick through it quickly before stuffing it in with the rest of my supplies.Heading over to the counter, I set the bag down and opened the register to take all the money. As I looted the register, the TV to my left flicked on, though the screen only showed static.Cautiously, I reached over to turn the TV off, hoping that it had just been something wrong with the wiring. The radio turned on the moment the TV turned off. I stepped closer to turn that off as well, but as I did the TV flicked back on.Not wasting a moment, I hurried towards another shelf where I grabbed a carton of salt. Opening it, I moved to a window and began to pour, working as quickly as I could.But before long, a high-pitched noise began to ring, distracting me. I tried to ignore it but the louder it got the more it began to hurt.Groaning, I clutched my ear, hoping to block to sound out as I continued to try and pour a line of salt. But it was hopeless. The noise got louder and more painful, eventually I had to let the salt go and clutch both of my ears as I fell to the ground in pain.The window above my head shattered as the sound kept ringing. I got to my feet as quickly as I could, moving for the door, needing to get out of there. More glass smashed, causing me to drop to the floor again, and cover my ears and face to protect myself.A second later, the noise suddenly stopped.Groaning, I pulled myself up and stepped to the window, looking around to see if what had just done all of that was outside. But there was nothing. I was alone.In the phone booth, I put in some money and pressed in Sam’s number, only to be met by an automated voice telling me the number had been disconnected. When I entered Liz’s number she didn’t pick up and I was left with her voice mail- though, I didn’t leave a message because I wasn’t exactly sure what to say.That left Bobby.Putting in more money, I dialled his number and let it ring as I waited. Lucky for me, it rang twice before there was an answer.“Yeah?”“Bobby?”“Yeah?”“It’s me.”“Who’s ‘me’?”“Dean.”The dial tone followed me. He’d hung up.Sighing, I hung up as well and dialled again.“Who is this?”“Bobby, listen to me-”“This ain’t funny. Call again, I’ll kill ya.” With that, he hung up.I knew better than to test him. If he was going to believe me then I needed to show him in person.Looking around, I spotted an old, beat-up white car parked outside. My mood lifted as I left the phone booth and walked over to the car, thankful I knew how to hot-wire because there was no way I was walking all the way to Bobby’s.I pounded my fist on the door in front of me. A moment later, the door opened, revealing Bobby as he stood in his hallway, looking at me suspiciously.Me on the other hand, I was a little out of breath, slightly apprehensive and completely aware of the fact that I was risking my life showing up like this when I was supposed to be dead. Bobby was a well-trained hunter that knew about a dozen things that could make themselves look like me.Still, I smiled. “Surprise.”“I- I don’t-”“Yeah, me neither.” I nodded, carefully stepping into the house. “But here I am.”I saw him move first.Bobby pulled a knife out from behind me and lunged forward, slashing out at me. I grabbed his arm and twisted it around, trying to make Bobby let go of the knife. He fought against my grip, pulling himself away from me before backhanding me in the face.I stumbled back into his office, recovering as quickly as I could. “Bobby! It’s me!”“My ass!” His grip on the knife was tight and ready.I shoved a chair between us, holding my hands out. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Your name is Robert Steven Singer. You became a hunter after your wife got possessed, and… you’re about the closest thing I have to a father.” I hoped that would convince him. “Bobby. It’s me.”He lowered the knife and stepped forward slowly, pulling the chair away. Cautiously, I lifted his free hand and rested it on my shoulder. I honestly thought I’d gotten to him, that he understood and believed.But once again, he lifted the knife and slashed out at me.I grabbed him again, this time getting his arm behind his back so I could take the knife away from him. “I am not a shapeshifter!” I insisted, back us up into the kitchen.“Then you’re a Revenant!”I shoved him away and held out the knife in front of me. “Alright. If I was either, could I do this, with a silver knife?” Rolling up my sleeve, I grimaced as I used the knife to slice my forearm causing a line of blood to appear.Bobby’s eyes went wide. “Dean?”“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”He reached forward suddenly, only this time it was to pull me in for a tight hug. I hugged him back, finally taking a breath and relaxing. He believed me.“It’s…” He pulled away. “It’s good to see you, boy.”“Yeah, you too.”“But… how did you bust out?”“I don’t know.” I shook my head and turned away for a moment, putting the knife down on the dining table. “I just, uh, I just woke up in a pine bo-” As I looked back at Bobby I was cut off by the holy water he threw at my face. Looking away, I spat some of the water out. “I’m not a demon either, you know.”He shrugged. “Sorry. Can’t be too careful.” Reaching over, he grabbed a towel for me to wipe my face before he started for the office. “But… that don’t make a lick of sense.”“Yeah. Yeah, you’re preachin’ to the choir.”Standing behind his desk, he turned to face me, shaking his head. “Dean. Your chest was ribbons, your insides were slop. And you’ve been buried four months. Even if you could slip out of hell and back into your meat suit-”I cut him off, nodding, knowing where he was going. “I know, I should look like a Thriller video reject.”“What do you remember?”“Not much. I remember I was a Hellhound’s chew toy, and then… lights out. Then I come to six feet under, that was it.” As he sat, I went on, “Sam’s number’s not working. He’s, uh… he’s not…”“Oh, he’s alive,” he assured me. “As far as I know.”“Good… wait, what do you mean, as far as you know?”Bobby shook his head, sighing. “I haven’t talked to him for months. Lizzie doesn’t stick around much either.”“You’re kidding, you just let them go off by themselves?”“No.” He looked up at me. “I didn’t let Sam do anything. He was dead set on it. And as for Lizzie… well, she comes and goes like she used to. Meets up with Sam a lot. Hunts on her own. Either way, I got no control over what those two do. I tried. These last months haven’t been exactly easy, you know. For Sam, Lizzie or me. We had to bury you.”“Why did you bury me, anyway?”“I wanted you salted and burned. Usual drill. Lizzie… she wasn’t really in the right mind set to know what she wanted. But… Sam wouldn’t have it.”“Well, I’m glad he won that one.”“He said you’d need a body when he got you back home somehow. That’s about all he said.”Suddenly I was suspicious. “What do you mean?”“He was quiet. Real quiet. And then he just took off. Wouldn’t return my calls. I tried to find him, but he didn’t want to be found. At least by anyone other than Lizzie. She always knows where he is. Won’t tell anyone though.”“Oh, damnit, Sammy.” I sighed, shaking my head.“What?”“Oh, he got me home okay. But whatever he did, it is bad mojo.”“What makes you so sure?”“You should have seen the grave site. It was like a nuke went off. And then there was this… this force, this presence, I don’t know, but it, it blew past me at a fill-up joint. And then this.” I pulled the sleeve of my top up, showing him the branded hand print on my arm.Bobby stood and leaned forward to get a better look at it. “What in the hell?”“It was like a demon just yanked me out. Or rode me out.”“But why?”“To hold up their end of the bargain.”“You think Sam made a deal.”“It’s what I would have done,” I noted. “We gotta find him. You know where Liz is? If she knows I’m back maybe she’ll help us.”Bobby nodded. “Yeah, I know where she is.” Walking around his desk, he started for the front door. “Follow me.”Walking through the yard of broken down cars, following the sound of an ACDC song playing. Walking around the corner I paused in my tracks at the sight before me. I’d almost forgotten how breath-taking Liz had been.She was leaning into the hood of her dark cherry red 1969 Chevy Camaro. Red leather jacket hanging over the open door, white tee dirty from all the work, torn dark jeans, black worn boots, her long golden wavy hair falling around her. Body as beautiful as ever. Long legs, curves in all the right places…“Wow…”She paused, having heard me. Slowly she turned, her grip on the wrench in her hand tightening as she looked me up and down, glaring, her mind working through all the things I might be and all the ways she could kill those types of monsters.“Lizzie, it’s really Dean,” Bobby assured her, seeing her getting ready to attack.She didn’t look away from me, her gaze never softening as she spoke. “You sure?”“I’m sure.”Just like that, she dropped the wrench as a smile broke out on her face. Running towards me, I didn’t have much time to react before she jumped and wrapped me up into a hug, her thighs around my waist and her arms around my neck.It took a moment, but after a second or two I recovered, wrapping my arms around her to return the hug.She smelt amazing. Felt amazing. She was all the memories I’d tried to hold on to and so much more. Nothing compared to the real thing, and now that I had her back I was never letting her go again.
EPOV
“Yeah, I know where Sam is. But I mean… I don’t know exactly where he is.” I stood in Bobby’s office with him and Dean, explaining why I wasn’t much help. “He asked for a little space. Said he needed to do somethings and that he’d call me when he’s done.”“Well, he’s done,” Dean sighed.I frowned at him, confused. “What are you talking about?” When he gave me a pointed look, I understood what he meant. “You think Sam brought you back?”He shrugged. “Only thing that makes sense.”“No.” I shook my head. “Sam… if he was planning on bringing you back he would have included me in his plans. We promised each other.”Turning my gaze to the floor I remembered the moment the two of us agreed that despite the fact Dean was gone, we would still stay in contact and hunt together. Things were hard and sometimes both of us had needed to go our separate ways. But we always went back to each other. He was my best friend, I couldn’t lose him like we’d lost Dean.In the four months he’d been gone, my whole life had turned upside down. Losing Dean had nearly killed me. For the first month or two I fell into a deep depression. Sam and I went around offering any demon anything they wanted in the hopes they’d bring Dean back. None of them did.Once we figured out no one was going to help us, Sam and I dived into hunting. I spent a lot of that time on my own when I wasn’t with Sam. Bobby hated it when I was by myself, but I couldn’t let myself get close to anyone. I couldn’t watch anyone else die. So I shut myself out.But that was just for the first couple of months or so. Things changed after that…Dean sighed. “Liz, please. Just tell us the town and we’ll figure out the rest.”“Fine.” I took a deep breath, knowing how they were going to react to what I said next, “Sam’s in Pontiac, Illinois.”Bobby’s eyes went wide as he looked up at Dean. “Right near where you were planted.”“Right where I popped up. Hell of a coincidence, don’t you think?” Pulling out his phone, Dean shook his head as he punched in a number. “Yeah, hi, I have a cell phone account with you guys, and uh, I lost my phone. I was wondering if you could turn the GPS on for me.” He nodded. “Yeah. Name’s Wedge Antilles. Social is 2-4-7-4.” There was a slight pause before he nodded again. “Thank you.”Bobby watched him as Dean hung up and moved to sit in front of the compute on the desk. “How’d you know he’d use that name?”Dean scoffed. “You kiddin’ me? What don’t I know about that kid?” As he opened up the website to get the details of Sam’s location, he looked at the various bottles on the desk and around the room. “Hey, Bobby? What’s the deal with the liquor store? What, are your parents out of town or something?”Bobby looked to me with guilt and understanding in his eyes as he answered. “Like I said. Last few months ain’t been all that easy.”Truth is, yeah most of the bottles were Bobby’s. But in the first few months I’d emptied my fair share. I’d decided all my problems could be fixed by getting to the bottom of every drink I had.
DPOV
Reaching the door of room 207, I lifted my fist to knock on the wood as Liz and Bobby stood with me, waiting. Liz was leaning on the frame, looking a little anxious. It was odd. I was so used to her being confident and ready for action. Seeing her like this, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something.The door opened, revealing a hot, young brunette dressed in only a tank top and underwear.She looked to the three of us expectantly. “So, where is it?”I looked to Bobby and Liz confused, before turning back to the woman. “Where’s what?”“The pizza,” she answered as if it were obvious. “That takes three people to deliver?”Checking the number on the door again, my confusion grew. “I think we got the wrong room.”“Hey, is-”From behind the girl, Sam walked into the room and out of the bathroom. He came to a stop at the sight of the four of us at the door. But it was me that held his attention.A small smile grew on my lips as I looked to my little brother, having never felt this happy in my life. “Heya, Sammy.”He didn’t say anything or move as I stepped into the room. The hot chick moved aside so I could get in further, getting closer to Sam. When I was a step or two away from him, he finally reacted- though not the way I’d been hoping.Pulling out a knife, he lunged at me.The girl screamed as he pushed me against the wall. I struggled and fought against him, trying to keep the knife from getting to me. Liz and Bobby acted fast, grabbing and pulling Sam away from me.“Who are you?!” Sam yelled at me, struggling against Bobby and Liz.“Like you didn’t do this?!”“Do what?!”“It’s him,” Bobby assured him. “It’s him. I’ve been through this already, it’s really him.”Sam stared at me, slowly and eventually calming down. “What…?”Being careful and cautious, I moved closer to him. “I know. I look fantastic, huh?”Seeing that Sam was no longer ready to kill me, Bobby and Liz let him go. Once he was free, he stepped forward, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug that we held for a few extra seconds. We both needed this, to feel that the other was alive and well.Pulling away, Sam looked to me with tears in his eyes, relieved.“So, are you two like… together?”Sam frowned as he looked to the hot chick, remembering that she was in the room. “What? No.” He grinned lightly as I gave her a confused and offended look. “No. He’s my brother.”“Uh… got it. I… I guess. Look, I should probably go.” She gestured to the door.Sam nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. Sorry.”
EPOV
You have no idea how hard it was not to say anything. I was not an idiot. Sam and I had hunted many times together over the last four months. I saw him at least once every week. I knew what was happening in his life.Just like I knew that the girl he was escorting to the door right now, the hot chick with dark brown curls, she was not just some random chick he’d picked up. No. I knew exactly who and what she was.Ruby.But something told me Sam wouldn’t want Dean to know, not just yet. So I was willing to keep quiet. Just like I knew Sam was going to do the same for me. We both had a few secrets these days.Now dressed in a white button-down shirt, Sam opened the door to let Ruby out, the two of them pretending like they didn’t know each other.Once out of the room, she turned to him with a sweet look in her eyes. “So, call me.”“Yeah.” He didn’t sound too convincing, which was the point. “Yeah, sure thing, Kathy.”Her face fell in disappointment. “Kristy.”“Right.”Looking hurt and rejected, she turned and left a moment before Sam closed the door and came to join us by the couch.Dean stood close to where Sam sat, looking down at his brother disapprovingly and suspiciously. “So tell me, what’d it cost?”Sam chuckled. “The girl? I don’t pay, Dean.”Dean wasn’t laughing. “That’s not funny, Sam. To bring me back. What’d it cost? Was it just your soul, or was it something worse?”Just like that, Sam understood what Dean was saying. “You think I made a deal?”“That’s exactly what we think,” Bobby answered.“I just wanna point out that I don’t think this,” I gestured to Dean, “was your doing.”“She’s right.” Sam nodded. “I didn’t do anything.”“Don’t lie to me,” Dean said it so simply and straight forward, but there were emotions behind his words, and an underlining warning.“I’m not lying,” Sam insisted.Pushing off the wall, Dean stepped up to Sam. “So what now, I’m off the hook and you’re on, is that it? You’re some demon’s bitch boy? I didn’t want to be saved like this.”Getting just as frustrated and upset as his brother, Sam stood. “Look, Dean, I wish I had done it, all right?”Dean suddenly grabbed the front of Sam’s shirt. “There’s no other way that this could have gone down. Now tell the truth!”Pushing Dean away, Sam snapped. “I tried everything! That’s the truth. I tried opening the Devil’s Gate. Hell, I tried to bargain, Dean, but no demon would deal, all right? You were rotting in Hell for months. For months, and I couldn’t stop it. So, I’m sorry it wasn’t me, all right? Dean, I’m sorry.”Seeing the look in his brother’s eyes, Dean realised that Sam really was telling the truth, and that he felt so guilty about it all. “It’s okay, Sammy. You don’t have to apologise, I believe you.”“Don’t get me wrong,” Bobby chimed in. “I’m gladdened that Sam’s soul remains intact, but it does raise a sticky question.”Dean nodded. “If he didn’t pull me out, then what did?”
SPOV
I handed Bobby, Dean and Lizzie a beer each. Bobby and Lizzie were sitting on the couch, while Dean sat on the coffee table facing my chair which I moved to sit on.“So, what were you doing around here if you weren’t digging me out of my grave?” Dean asked, cracking his beer open.“Well, once I figured out I couldn’t save you, I started hunting down Lilith, trying to get some payback,” I answered honestly, with a shrug.There was no point in lying to Dean. But at the same time, there was no way I was telling him everything. Looking over at Lizzie briefly, I trusted she would do the same. The two of us had secrets now, and there was no way Dean- or even Bobby- was ready to hear them.“All by yourself.” Bobby didn’t sound very happy. “Who do you think you are, your old man?”Lizzie turned to him. “Bobby, Sam’s just as capable as I am, and I go out on my own all the time as well.”“Yeah, well, I don’t like that either,” Bobby mumbled, taking a drink of his beer.Dean frowned as he noticed something and got up to check it out.Ignoring my brother, I kept my attention on the old man. “I’m sorry, Bobby. I should have called. I was pretty messed up.”“Oh yeah,” Dean spoke up, turning to show us the pink bra he’d just found on the floor of my room. “I really feel your pain.”I scoffed lightly. “Anyways, uh, I was checking these demons out of Tennessee, and out of nowhere they took a hard left, booked up here.”“When?” Dean asked, taking a seat next to me.“Yesterday morning.”“When I busted out.”Bobby looked to Dean. “You think these demons are here 'cause of you?”“But why?” I frowned.“Well, I don’t know… some badass demon drags me out and now this?” Dean shook his head. “It’s gotta be connected somehow.”“How you feelin’, anyway?” Bobby asked, watching him carefully.Dean shrugged. “I’m a little hungry.”“No, I mean, do you feel like yourself? Anything strange, or different?”“Or demonic?” Dean finished for him. “Bobby, how many times do I have to prove I’m me?”“Yeah. Well, listen. No demon’s letting you loose out of the goodness of their hearts. They’ve gotta have something nasty planned.” Bobby had a point.“Well, I feel fine,” Dean insisted.Changing the subject, I spoke up. “Okay, look, we don’t know what they’re planning. We got a pile of questions and no shovel. We need help.”“I know a psychic,” Bobby suggested. “A few hours from here. Something this big, maybe she’s heard the other side talking.”“We’re going.” Lizzie stood up, leaving no room for discussion.“Okay then.” Bobby got to his feet as well, gesturing to the door. “I’ll be right back”As he moved to leave, Dean got up as well, him and Lizzie stepping around the follow Bobby. Lizzie left, but before Dean could get far, I stopped him.“Hey, wait.” Standing, I reached into my shirt. “You probably want this back.” Pulling out the necklace I was wearing, I showed Dean that it was the necklace I’d given to him years ago.He looked down at it as I placed it in the palm of his hand. “Thanks.”“Yeah, don’t mention it.” I shrugged, watching as he put it on. “Hey Dean, what was it like?”“What, Hell?” He looked up at me. “I don’t know, I- I must have blacked it out. I don’t remember a damn thing.”“Well, thank God for that.”“Yeah.”
DPOV
“She’s about four hours down the Interstate.” Bobby told us as he led us down some stairs to the parking lot before moving to his car. “Try to keep up.”I gave him a simple nod as Sam, Liz and I moved further down the lot.“I assume you’ll want to drive.” Sam pulled keys out of his pocket and tossed them at me.I caught them effortlessly, chuckling. “Oh, I almost forgot!” As we reached Baby, I ran my hand over her lovingly. “Hey, sweetheart, did you miss me?”Getting into the driver’s seat, I was just about to settle in when I spotted something plugged into the stereo. Pausing, I gave it a look as Sam and Liz got in the car- Sam next to me and Liz in the back.“What the hell is that?” I glared at my brother.“That’s an iPod jack.”“You were supposed to take care of her, not douche her up.”“Dean, I thought it was my car.”I sneered and sighed, turning the ignition on. As the car roared to life Vision by Jason Manns began to play. Rolling my eyes, I glared at Sam again. “Really?”He just shrugged as Liz chuckled lightly. Reaching forward, I ripped the iPod out of the jack and tossed it in the back seat before I drove off, reminding myself to never leave my Baby with Sam again.
EPOV
Sitting in the back of the Impala, feeling her vibrate under me as she roared, looking out the window at the starry night sky, turning to the brothers in the front seat. I felt good. I felt amazing. You have no idea how good I felt, how happy I was. My life was finally looking bright. I had friends, family, Dean. Everything was falling into place.“There’s still one thing that’s bothering me,” Dean spoke up.“Yeah?” Sam asked.“Yeah, the night that I bit it. Or… got bit.” Dean chuckled at his own joke. “How’d the two of you make it out? I thought Lilith was going to kill you both.”“Well, she tried,” Sam admitted. “She couldn’t.”His answer had Dean frowning. “What do you mean, she couldn’t?”Sam shrugged. “She fired this, like, burning light at us, and… didn’t leave a scratch. Like we were immune or something.”“Immune?”“Mm-hmm,” I chimed in. “You should have seen her face.”“Yeah.” Sam grinned lightly. “I don’t know who was more surprised, her or us. She left pretty fast after that.”“Huh. What about Ruby, where is she?”“Dead. For now,” Sam lied.There was a moment of hesitation before Dean spoke again. “So, you’ve been using your, uh, freaky ESP stuff?” he asked, looking to his brother and then to me briefly.“No,” another lie from Sam, but I wasn’t going to say a thing.“You sure about that?” Dean pressed. “Well, I mean, now that you’ve got… immunity, whatever the hell that is… just wondering what other kind of weirdo crap you’ve got going on.”“Nothing, Dean. Look, you didn’t want me to go down that road, so I didn’t go down that road. It was practically your dying wish.”“Yeah, well, let’s keep it that way.” Dean gave a short nod before looking to me through the rear-view mirror. “What about you? You still moving things with your mind?”“Yes.” I shrugged. “But that shouldn’t be a surprise. I used it before.”The look on his face told me he didn’t approve. I knew he wouldn’t. But that didn’t mean I was going to stop.
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

EPOV

The sun was up now. Walking onto the porch of a familiar house, my face lit up with a smile as the front door opened and a woman I knew and loved stepped out.
"Lizzie!" She grabbed me and pulled me into her arms, squeezing me in a tight hug.
I laughed. "Pamela!" Hugging her back, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face as my feet left the ground.
Putting me down, she shook her head. "I swear you get more gorgeous every time I see you." Still smiling, she looked to Bobby. "Bobby!" She stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, lifting him off the ground just like she'd done to me.
Sam and Dean shared a surprised look, waiting behind Bobby and Pamela.
"You're a sight for sore eyes." Bobby smiled, stepping back.
Pamela turned to the brothers, looking them up and down. "So, these the boys?"
"Sam, Dean. This is Pamela Barnes, best damn psychic in the state," Bobby introduced.
"Hey." Dean grinned, flirting- but not as much as he usually did.
Sam's response was a little more awkward. "Hi."
"Mm-mmm-mmm." Pamela chuckled lightly. "Dean Winchester. Out of the fire and back in the frying pan, huh? Makes you a rare individual."
"If you say so." He shrugged.
"Come on in." Nodding to the door, she ushered us in, first Bobby, then the brothers and lastly me.
"So, you hear anything?" Bobby asked, getting to business.
Pamela sighed, closing the door. "Well, I Ouija'd my way through a dozen spirits. No one seems to know who broke your boy out, or why."
"So, what's next? A séance?" I asked, a little excited.
Nodding, Pamela came to stand next to me, looking amused at my excitement. "We'll see if we can see who did the deed."
"You're not gonna... summon the damn thing here." Bobby didn't sound too confident.
"No. I just want to get a sneak peek at it. Like a crystal ball without the crystal." Pamela grinned, grabbing my hand. "Come on. You can help me set up."

DPOV

Sam and I stood back as Pamela, Bobby and Liz got everything set up for the séance. I wasn't too confident with the plan, but I was desperate enough to try anything at this point.
Watching the others move around, I stopped when I spotted Pamela squatting in front of a cabinet. The way she was bent over, I could see a tattoo scrawled across her lower back that read 'Jesse Forever'.
"Who's Jesse?" I asked.
She laughed. "Well, it wasn't forever."
"His loss."
Shaking her head, she stood and moved to the table, carrying several pillar candles. "Might be your gain." She grinned, passing me.
Once she was gone, I turned to Sam, my voice low. "Dude, I am so in."
He shook his head, smirking. "Yeah, she's gonna eat you alive."
"Hey, I just got out of jail. Bring it."
Coming back over to us, Pamela gave Sam a wink. "You're invited too, grumpy. Lizzie as well, if she wants." She gave me a knowing look before moving on.
I turned to Sam. "You are not invited."
He just chuckled. "What about Lizzie?"
"Shut up." I glared.

EPOV

The five of us sat at the table, each of us in front of a point of the pentagram painted on the cloth on the table. Six candles sat in the middle, the only light in the dark, black room.
Taking a deep breath, Pamela began. "Right. Take each other's hands," she told us, grabbing one of mine. "And I need to touch something our mystery monster touched." She slid her other hand under the table.
Dean jumped. "Whoa! Well, he didn't touch me there."
She laughed lightly, bringing her hand back up to the table. "My mistake."
Looking around nervously, Dean moved to take his outer shirt off one arm before pulling that sleeve up, revealing a branded handprint on his skin.
I gasped, wanting to reach out and touch it. "Dean..."
At the sound of my voice, his eyes locked on to mine, giving me a reassuring look. He was fine. I mean, he wasn't in Hell anymore, so he was fine. Right?
"Okay. " Pamela rested her hand on the mark before closing her eyes- which the rest of us then did as she began to chant. "I invoke, conjure, and command you, appear unto me before this circle. I invoke, conjure, and command you, appear unto me before this circle. I invoke, conjure, and command you, appear unto me before this circle."
In the background, behind me, I heard a TV flick on and the sound of static buzz, but Pamela wasn't distracted by it as she continued.
"I invoke, conjure, and command-" Stopping for a moment, she spoke instead of chanted, "Castiel? No. Sorry, Castiel, I don't scare easy."
"Castiel?" Dean asked.
"Its name," she explained. "It's whispering to me, warning me to turn back." The static continued as the table began to shake, Pamela going on with the chanting. "I conjure and command you, show me your face. I conjure and command you, show me your face. I conjure and command you, show me your face. I conjure and command you, show me your face."
"Maybe we should stop," Bobby suggested, worrying smothering his voice.
"I almost got it," she insisted. "I command you, show me your face! Show me your face now!"
Suddenly the candle on the table flared up as Pamela began to scream.
My eyes snapped open as I moved to help her. She was collapsing to the ground, now unconscious. Falling to my knees, I held her to me carefully. "Pamela?"
"Call 911!" Bobby yelled.
Sam scrambled to his feet and rushed out of the room.
Pamela stirred, taking a deep breath. I watched as her bleeding and now badly burnt eye lids opened, revealing nothing inside. Her eyes were completely gone.
"I can't see!" she sobbed. "I can't see! Oh god!"

DPOV

"Be up in a jiff." The waitress smiled at me before walking off.
I was sitting at a table in a diner. Sam was outside on the phone to Liz. She and Bobby had gone to the hospital with Pamela after the ambulance took her away. I felt bad about it all, and wanted to go as well, but I knew there was more we had to do first.
Walking into the diner, Sam spoke into his phone. "You bet." He nodded, taking a seat in front of me as he hung up.
"What'd Liz say?" I asked.
"Pam's stable. And out of I.C.U."
"And blind, because of us." I felt so guilty. You don't understand how guilty I felt.
"And we still have no clue who we're dealing with," Sam added.
"That's not entirely true."
Sam looked confused. "No?"
"We got a name," I noted. "Castiel, or whatever. With the right mumbo-jumbo we could summon him, bring him right to us."
"You're crazy. Absolutely not." Sam shook his head.
"We'll work him over. I mean, after what he did?"
"Pam took a peek at him and her eyes burned out of her skull, and you want to have a face to face?"
"You got a better idea?"
"Yeah, as a matter of fact I do." He nodded. "I followed some demons to town, right?"
"Okay."
"So, we go find them. Someone's gotta know something about something."
The waitress came back to the table with two plates of pie and set them in front of us before she wiped her hands on her apron and took a seat next to us.
I looked to her expectantly, smirking. "You angling for a tip?"
"I'm sorry. Thought you were looking for us." Her eyes turned black.
My smile fell as my heart began to race. Looking around the room, I caught sight of the cook behind the counter and another person at a table. Their eyes were black as well. There was no one else. Just Sam, me and three demons.
The one at a different table stood and moved to the front door, locking it as he stood guard there.
Turning her eyes back to normal, the waitress looked from Sam, to me. "Dean. To hell and back. Aren't you a lucky duck."
"That's me."
"So you get to just stroll out of the pit, huh? Tell me. What makes you so special?"
I gave a tight smile. "I like to think it's because of my perky nipples." Shaking my head, I dropped the smile. "I don't know. Wasn't my doing, I don't know who pulled me out."
She scoffed. "Right. You don't."
"No. I don't."
"Lying's a sin, you know."
Watching her carefully, I couldn't help but feel as if she was fishing, trying to figure it all out as well... "I'm not lying. But I'd like to find out, so if you wouldn't mind enlightening me, Flo..."
"Mind your tone with me, boy. I'll drag you back to hell myself."
Sam shifted, getting ready to attack. Before he could do anything, I lifted a hand to stop him. He looked confused, but settled in his seat again, though stayed tense and ready for action.
I shook my head at the waitress. "No, you won't."
"No?"
"No. Because if you were you would have done it already. Fact is, you don't know who cut me loose. And you're just as spooked as we are. And you're looking for answers. Well, maybe it was some turbo-charged spirit. Or, uh, Godzilla. Or some big bad boss demon. I'm guessing at your pay grade that they don't tell you squat. Because whoever it was, they want me out. And they're a lot stronger than you. So go ahead. Send me back. But don't come crawling to me when they show up on your front doorstep with some Vaseline and a fire hose."
She glared at me. "I'm going to reach down your throat and rip out your lungs."
Leaning forward, a challenge in my eyes, I reached over and back handed her right across the cheek. She straightened up again, but I simple slapped her once more.
Doing nothing, she looked from Sam to me, glaring. But under that glare I could see nerves. She was scared.
I scoffed at her. "That's what I thought. Let's go, Sam." Standing up, I pulled out some cash as Sam left. Throwing the notes on the table, I looked down at the waitress. "For the pie."
Walking out of the diner, I tried to walk as causally as possible, while also trying to get out of there as fast as I could.
The moment I was on the street, the door closed behind me, I took a deep breath. "Holy crap, that was close."
"We're not just going to leave them in there, are we, Dean?" Sam asked as we crossed the road and headed for Baby.
"Well yeah, there's three of them, probably more, and we've only got one knife between us."
"I've been killing a lot more demons than that lately."
"Not anymore. The smarter brother's back in town."
"Dean, we've got to take 'em. They are dangerous."
"They're scared. Okay? Scared of whatever had the juice to yank me out. We're dealing with a bad mofo here. One job at a time."

SPOV

I looked over at Dean as he slept on the bed with a book on his lap. He'd fallen asleep a little while ago while researching. I'd been waiting to see if he would wake, wanting to get out of here. I was itching to do something, to let off some steam.
When I was sure he wasn't going to wake up, I snuck out of the room and started for the hotel exit. I wouldn't be gone long. I'd be back before he woke up, and before Lizzie and Bobby got back.
At least I hoped I would be. Last thing I need was for the three of them to start asking questions.

DPOV

The sound of static on the TV and the radio whining, woke me up. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and looked around. In an instant, I realised what was happening. It was here.
My eyes landed on the shotgun by the other side of the bed. Rolling over, I grabbed it and got to my feet, finger on the trigger, ready.
Sam's bed was empty, the bathroom light off. He was gone. I was alone. Great...
Aiming at the door, I waited for whatever was coming to break through. It was the only way in the building, the only way the thing could get me. I was sure that's what it wanted. Me. Why else would it drag me out of hell?
Just like at the store earlier, a high-pitched ringing noise started. Getting louder and higher until it was too painful to bear. Keeping the gun up with one hand, I used the other to press against one ear as my other ear pressed against my shoulder, trying to block out the noise.
The mirror on the ceiling shattered, the pieces falling on to me. Dropping the gun, I dropped to the ground, clutching both ears with my hands as all the glass in the room exploded into the room.
The front door burst opened at Bobby and Liz rushed in.
"Dean!"
Liz took one look at me and ran into the room, helping me to me feet and out of the room as she used her body to shield me from the glass as it continued to explode.

EPOV

I sat in the back of Bobby's car, cleaning Dean up. He'd insisted he was fine, but I knew better. He'd been cut up by some of the glass that had shattered, and his ear had been bleeding from the high-pitched noise we'd all heard in his room.
"How you doin', kid?" Bobby asked as he looked at us through the rear-view mirror.
"Aside from the church bells ringing in my head, peachy." Dean mumbled as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.
"Dean..." I sighed. "I'm not finished."
"I'm fine, Liz. Promise." He gave me a reassuring smile before dialling a number into his phone and then pressed it to his ear.
I knew who he was calling. Sam. There was no one else.
"What are you doing?" Dean asked him. There was a pause before he spoke again, "In my car?" Another pause. "Well, uh, Bobby and Liz are back. We're going to grab a beer." When I opened my mouth to speak, he lifted a finger to stop me. Nodding to the phone, he went on, "Done. Catch you later." He hung up.
"Why the hell didn't you tell him?" Bobby asked before I had the chance to.
"Because he'd just tried to stop us."
I frowned, not liking the sound of that. "And what would he be stopping us from doing?"
"Summoning this thing," Dean answered. At the shocked looks Bobby and I gave him, Dean added, "It's time we faced it head-on."
"You can't be serious!" Bobby clearly didn't like this plan, and to be honest, neither did I.
"As a heart attack. It's high noon, baby."
"Well, we don't know what it is. It could be a demon, it could be anything," Bobby noted.
"That's why we've got to be ready for anything." Pulling Ruby's demon knife out of his jacket, Dean looked over at Bobby. "We've got the big-time magic knife, you've got an arsenal in the trunk..."
I shook my head, eyes on the blade. "I'm not too sure about this Dean..."
Bobby nodded, agreeing with me. "She's right. This is a bad idea."
"Yeah, I couldn't agree more, but what other choice do we have?" Dean did have a good point.
"We could choose life," Bobby suggested.
"Bobby, whatever this is, whatever it wants, it's after me. That much we know, right? I've got no place to hide. I can either get caught with my pants down again, or we can make our stand."
The idea of this thing going after Dean, of it may be taking him away again, suddenly it didn't matter how dangerous it might be, I was willing to do whatever it took to keep Dean safe.

SPOV

Back at the diner Dean and I had been at earlier- only now it was closed seeing at it was the middle of the night- I snuck in through the front door after picking its lock. Looking over at the counter, I paused.
The cook from before was dead, face down on the floor, his hands bloody.
Moving over to him, I carefully rolled him on to his back. Just like Pamela, his eyes were gone, burnt and melted out of their sockets.
Out of nowhere, a figure came out from behind me, pushing me away from the body.
The two of us traded a few blows before I pushed whoever it was away long enough to see that it was the waitress. Only now, her eyes were gone too. Blood trails ran down her cheeks, and she was clearly scared out of her mind. She'd seen the thing too.
Lowering my hands- though still ready for a fight- I spoke up. "Your eyes."
"I can still smell your soul a mile away."
"It was here. You saw it."
She sobbed, nodding. "I saw it."
"What was it?"
"It's the end. We're dead. We're all dead."
"What did you see?" I pressed, wanting to know what this thing was.
Her sobs stopped as she sneered at me. "Go to hell."
"Funny. I was going to say the same thing to you."
Taking a step back, I shut my eyes to concentrate and lifted my hand towards the demon. Taking a deep breath, I focused on drawing her essence out, on pulling the demon from its human vessel. I could hear her choking at I continued. She struggled, but was no match as I finished pulling all the demon out of the human girl.
As I opened my eyes I looked down right in time to see the black smoke melt into the ground. Once it was gone I moved over to check the pulse of the woman, but she was dead.
I let out a sigh of disappointment. "Damn it."
The kitchen door opened as Ruby walked into the room. "Getting pretty slick there, Sam. Better all the time."
Getting to my feet, I looked down at the body on the floor. "What the hell is going on around here, Ruby?"
"I wish I knew."
"We were thinking some high-level demon pulled Dean out."
"No way." She shook her head. "Sam, human souls don't just walk out of Hell and back into their bodies easy. The sky bleeds, the ground quakes. It's cosmic. No demon can swing that. Not Lilith, not anybody."
"Then what can?"
"Nothing I've ever seen before."

DPOV

Standing at a table in a warehouse, Liz on my right, I looked over at Bobby as he finished spray painting a few symbols on the floor. The place was covered in symbols, the walls, roof, floor and door.
"That's a hell of an art project you've got going there," I noted as Liz kept setting up all the weapons on the table we were in front of.
Finishing up, Bobby walked over to us. "Traps and talismans from every faith on the globe. How you doin?"
I gestured to the weapons laid out before me. "Stakes, iron, silver, salt, knife. I mean, we're pretty much set to catch and kill anything I've ever heard of."
Bobby shook his head. "This is still a bad idea."
"Yeah, Bobby, I heard you the first ten times," I sighed. "What do you say we ring the dinner bell?"
Nodding reluctantly, Bobby moved over to the other table, taking a pinch of some kind of powder and sprinkled into a large bowl full of other ingredient which began to smoke as he began to chant.
Liz took a deep breath next to me, clenching and unclenching her hands. "Here goes nothing."

SPOV

Still in the diner, I seat across from Ruby at one of the table.
"So." She folded her arms over her chest. "Million-dollar question, are you going to tell Dean about what we're doing?"
"Yeah, I just gotta figure out the right way to say it." When she gave me a look, I sighed. "Look, I just need time, okay? That's all."
"Sam, he's going to find out, and if it's not from you he's going to be pissed."
"He's going to be pissed anyway. I mean, he's so hardheaded about this psychic stuff he'll just try and stop me."
"You think Lizzie will tell him?"
I shook my head. "If she was going to say anything she would have the moment she saw you. Besides, she's got secrets too."
"Yeah, but still…" She took a breath, shrugging. "Maybe I'll just take a step back for a while."
"Ruby-"
She cut me off, "I mean, I'm not exactly in your brother's fan-club. But he is your brother, and I'm not going to come between you."
"I don't know if what I'm doing is right. Hell, I don't even know if I trust you."
"Thanks," she responded, offended.
Ignoring her tone, I went on, "But what I do know is that I'm saving people. And stopping demons. And that feels good. I want to keep going."

DPOV

Bobby had finished the ritual a while ago, now the three of us were sitting on the tables, waiting, bored out of our minds.
I kept looking over at Liz who seemed focused on the ground in front of her. I couldn't help but feel like there was something different about her. Out of the million times I'd thought about how it would be like to come back to earth- which I did a lot of while in Hell- I'd always pictured our reunion different...
As I continued to watch her, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a container of little red pills. I frowned as she popped one of the pills in her mouth and swallowed, before putting the container back into her pocket. But before I could say or ask or anything, the roof began to shake suddenly.
The three of us jumped off the tables and grabbed our weapons, aiming them at the door as we stood at the far end of the warehouse.
"Wishful thinking, but maybe it's just the wind," I yelled over the noise.
The doors burst open, revealing a man in a suit and trench coat standing outside. He walked in, the light bulbs above his head shattering in a shower of sparks as he passes them. Moving in a slow, carefree pace, he kept walking towards us.
Altogether, Bobby, Liz and I lifted our guns and began firing at the man. But the shots didn't even slow him down.
Seeing that they were doing nothing, I dropped my gun on the table and grabbed the demon knife before I stepped in front of Liz protectively, watching the man as he stopped in front of me.
Tightening my grip on the knife behind my back, I spoke. "Who are you?"
"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition."
"Yeah. Thanks for that." Moving quickly, I brought the knife out from behind me and plunged it into his chest.
He just looked down at it, unconcerned, not even slightly hurt. As I pulled back, taking Liz with me, the guy reached for the handle of the knife and pulled it out before dropping the weapon to the floor.
Bobby- who was behind the guy- went to attack him.
Without looking, the guy grabbed the iron rod Bobby's been about to hit him with. Turning around, the guy lifted two fingers to Bobby's forehead and within seconds Bobby was out like a light, crumbling to the ground.
Turning back to Liz and me, the guy spoke again. "We need to talk, Dean. Alone." He gave Liz a pointed look.
I shook my head, moving to stand in front of her more. "You're not touching her. I don't know what you did to Bobby-"
"Your friend's alive." The guy gestured to Bobby. "He's just unconscious. And she should be too." As he took a step towards us, I took a step back, taking Liz with me still.
"Don't."
There was nothing I could do to stop him, but if he wanted to talk to me then he was gonna have to do it with Liz awake. There was no way I was letting anything happen to her, and there was no way I was letting this guy take away all my back up.
When he stopped moving towards me, giving up, I relaxed- ever so slightly. "Who are you?"
"Castiel."
I glared at him. "Yeah, I figured that much, I mean what are you?"
"I'm an Angel of the Lord."
Looking him up and down, I shook my head, not believing him. "Get the hell out of here. There's no such thing."
"This is your problem, Dean. You have no faith."
Lightning flashed, the light coming in through the open doors of the warehouse. Behind Castiel I watched as the shadow of great wings spread along the walls off the building. As the light flashed again, the image was gone.
So, sure, it might be true, but that meant nothing to me. Not after what he did to Pam. "Some angel you are. You burned out that poor woman's eyes."
"I warned her not to spy on my true form. It can be... overwhelming to humans, and so can my real voice. But you already knew that."
"You mean the gas station and the motel. That was you talking?" I asked, which he answered with a nod. "Buddy, next time, lower the volume."
"That was my mistake. Certain people, special people, can perceive my true visage. I thought you would be one of them. I was wrong."
"And what visage are you in now, huh? What, holy tax accountant?"
"This?" He looked down at his body. "This is... a vessel."
"You're possessing some poor bastard?"
"He's a devout man, he actually prayed for this," he said as if that made it all okay.
"Well, I'm not buying what you're selling, so who are you really?"
He frowned, confused. "I told you."
"Right. And why would an angel rescue me from Hell?"
"Good things do happen, Dean."
"Not in my experience."
"What's the matter? You don't think you deserve to be saved?" He took a step closer.
Liz's hand gripped on to the back of my jacket as she stepped closer to me. She may be staying quiet, but I knew she was there, ready to back me up. She was always ready to back me up.
"Why'd you do it?" I asked, looking to Castiel.
"Because God commanded it," he answered simply. "Because we have work for you."

Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

EPOV

I sat on the couch in Bobby's study, flicking through a book while watching my phone, waiting for it to light up and tell me I had a message. I was still freaked after meeting the angel the other day, and wanted to get out on my own for a while. Well… kind of. It's a long story...
Reaching over to my bag, I opened the small bottle that sat inside and poured a pill into my palm. Grabbing the glass of water that sat on the floor by me, I took a sip and put the pill in my mouth before swallowing. The sound of the two Winchester brother arguing in the kitchen caught my attention as the pill slid down my throat.
"Well, then tell me what else it could be." Sam believed Castiel had been an angel, but Dean didn't.
"Look, all I know is I was not groped by an angel." Dean sounded so sure of himself.
"Okay, look, Dean. Why do you think this Castiel would lie to you about it?"
Dean shrugged. "Maybe he's some kind of demon. Demons lie."
"A demon who's immune to salt rounds and devil's traps... and Ruby's knife? Dean, Lilith is scared of that thing!" Sam had a good point.
"Don't you think that if angels were real, that some hunter somewhere would have seen one... at some point... ever?"
"Yeah. You just did, Dean."
Dean sighed. "I'm trying to come up with a theory here. Okay? Work with me."
Sam shook his head. "Dean, we have a theory."
"Yeah, one with a little less fairy dust on it, please."
"Okay, look. I'm not saying we know for sure. I'm just saying that I think we-"
Dean cut him off, "Okay, okay. That's the point. We don't know for sure, so I'm not gonna believe that this thing is a freaking Angel of the Lord because it says so!"
Rolling his eyes, Bobby looked up from the book he'd been reading and called out to the two brothers, "You two chuckleheads want to keep arguing religion, or do you want to come take a look at this?"
Reluctantly, both walked over to stand in front of the desk Bobby sat at.
Once they were in front of him, Bobby got to work. "I got stacks of lore. Biblical, pre-Biblical. Some of it's in damn cuneiform. It all says an angel can snatch a soul from the pit."
"What else?" Dean asked.
Bobby frowned up at him, confused. "What else, what?"
"What else could do it?"
"Airlift your ass out of the hot box?" Bobby shook his head. "As far as I can tell, nothing."
Looking over at Dean it was clear he didn't like the answer. I wasn't sure why this was bugging him so much, but clearly it was.
"Dean, this is good news," Sam assured him, smiling.
But it didn't seem to ease Dean's mind at all. "How?"
"Because for once, this isn't just another round of demon crap." Sam shrugged. "I mean, maybe you were saved by one of the good guys, you know?"
"Okay. Say it's true. Say there are angels. Then what? There's a God?"
"I'm putting my money on yes," I spoke up, pulling myself up from the couch and moving to the brothers.
Dean turned and took a few steps away from us, still not buying it. "I don't know, guys."
Sam sighed, watching his brother. "Okay, look. I know you're not all choirboy about this stuff, but this is becoming less and less about faith and more and more about proof."
"Proof?" Dean turned back to us.
"Yes." Sam gave a short nod.
"Proof that there's a God out there that actually gives a crap about me personally? I'm sorry, but I'm not buying it."
I frowned. "Why not?"
Looking to each of us, Dean sighed before he answered. "Because why me? If there is a God out there, why would he give a crap about me?"
"Dean-"
He cut Sam off, "I mean, I've saved some people, okay? I figured that made up for the stealing and the ditching chicks. But why do I deserve to get saved? I'm just a regular guy."
I could not believe what I was hearing. I mean, I knew Dean didn't think much about himself, but I never thought it was like this. Dean was one of the most loyal people I knew. He cared about others, did the best he could, and hardly ever put himself first. He was one of the best people I knew.
"Apparently, you're a regular guy that's important to the man upstairs," Sam told him.
"Well, that creeps me out. I mean, I don't like getting singled out at birthday parties, much less by... God."
Shrugging, Sam folded his arms over his chest. "Okay, well, too bad, Dean, because I think he wants you to strap on your party hat."
"Fine." Sighing, Dean turned to Bobby. "What do we know about angels?"
Bobby reached over and slid a large pile of old books on to the middle of his desk. "Start reading."
Looking at the pile of books, Dean shook his head as he turned to his brother, not liking this at all. "You're gonna get me some pie." There was no room for discussion as he grabbed a book from the pile and moved over to the couch.

SPOV

I stopped the Impala outside a corner store, putting the car into park as I spoke on the phone. "Yes, Dean, I'll get the chips."
"And don't forget my pie."
"Dude. When have I ever forgotten the pie?"
There was a pause before he answered, as if he had to think about it. "Never."
"Exactly." Getting out of the car, I turned to the shop, only to stop when I spotted Ruby waiting. "I got to go." He kept on talking but I didn't really hear him. "Yeah, all right. Bye." hanging up, I walked over to Ruby. "Ruby."
She pushed off the wall she'd been leaning on, skipping the pleasant greeting and getting straight to business. "So, is it true?"
I had no idea what she was going on about. "Is what true?"
"Did an angel rescue Dean?"
"You heard."
"Who hasn't?"
"We're not one hundred percent sure, but I think so."
"Okay. Bye, Sam." She suddenly turned and went to walk away.
I grabbed her arm before she could leave, stopping and turned her to face me. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait. What's going on?"
"Sam, they're angels. I'm a demon. They're not gonna care if I'm being helpful. They smite first, and then they ask questions later."
"What do you know about them?"
"Not much. I've never met one, and I don't really want to. All I know is that they scare the holy hell out of me. Watch yourself, Sam."
I laughed lightly. "I'm not scared of angels."
She gave me a look I couldn't quite read but I thought I saw hurt, maybe worry, before she walked off, leaving me alone.
...
I pulled up by Bobby's garage, seeing him walking over to the car. Once he reached me, he leaned into the passenger window. "Keep the engine running."
"Why?" I looked over at Dean and Lizzie as they put some bags into the trunk of Bobby's car. "What's going on?"
"I got a friend one state over. Olivia Lowry. I've been trying to reach her for three days on this angel thing. It's not like her to ignore this many calls."
"Olivia Lowry. A hunter, right?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "We're gonna go check on her. You guys follow me." He pulled back as the others came over to the car.
Lizzie got in the back as Dean moved to my door. "Scoot over."
"Yeah." I did as he said, moving to the passenger side.
Getting into the car, he reached for the bag of food before his door was even closed. Looking in, he didn't seem too pleased. "Dude?"
"Yeah?" I asked, wondering what might be wrong.
"Where's the pie?"

DPOV

Bobby entered the house first. I was next, the Lizzie, then Sam. We all had our weapons raised, ready just in case. Bobby had been worried, and none of us were taking that lightly.
"Olivia?" Bobby called, walking further into the house.
We all stopped when we entered the living room, seeing the body of a woman- who I presumed was Olivia- lying on the floor, covered in blood.
Bobby turned and walked out of the place before anyone could stop him.
I was about to call out to him when I saw the look on Liz's face. She looked horrified, on the edge of tears as her eyes refused to look away from the scene in front of her. That's when it clicked.
"You knew her?"
She nodded slowly. "Hunted with her and Bobby once or twice."
Sometimes I forgot that Liz had known Bobby longer than we'd known her. He saved her years ago, during a case that almost killed her and gave her the scar she had on her ribs. He took care of her for a few years when she was a teenager. He was the one who taught her how to hunt.
The fact she knew Olivia wasn't really a surprise. She'd met a lot of hunter while working and living with Bobby.
Out of instinct, I stepped closer to her. "I'm sorry." I was just about to wrap an arm around her in a comforting hug, when Sam spoke up.
"Salt line." He nodded to the doorway of the bedroom where Olivia's body was.
Sure enough, a line of salt ran across the length of the door way.
Liz walked away from me then, stepping into the room and moving to the wardrobe that had a hidden compartment where some weapons had bene stashed.
I followed her, grabbing an EMR reader from the stash. "Olivia was rocking the EMF meter."
Sam nodded, crouching down by the body. "Spirit activity."
"Yeah, on steroids. I never seen a ghost do this to a person." I gestured to the body, where the ghosts had ripped Olivia's chest open and ripped out her heart.
Bobby walked back into the apartment, stopping in the bedroom doorway, his phone in his hand.
I looked him up and down, knowing something other than Olivia's body was worrying him. "Bobby, you all right?"
"I called some hunters nearby..."
"Good." I nodded. "We can use their help."
"Except they ain't answering their phones either."
Sam stood from where he'd been checking the body out. "Something's up, huh?"
Liz tensed beside me. "You think something's going after hunters?"
Sam turned to her suddenly. "Lizzie-"
Before he could finish, Liz pulled out her phone and started dialling a number. Lifting it to her ear, she waited a moment before her face fell. She tried dialling again, but there was still no answer.
There were a number of hunters she could have been calling. I knew she knew a lot of hunter. I also knew she was friends with a number of them- but not all. The two that were the most important and not in this room being Jo and Ellen.
She kept trying as she hurried out of the apartment, clearly stressing and worrying more than before.

EPOV

I was on the phone to Bobby, walking down the porch stairs of a Jed's house. He was a hunter I'd met twice. He'd been a pretty decent guy and a pretty decent hunter. That was until his chest was ripped open and his heart was ripped out.
"Jed's gone too, Bobby. Have you heard from-"
He cut me off, "I talked to Ellen and Jo. They're both fine. I told them both to hunker down until we figure this thing out."
"Thank god." I let out a sigh of relief. "What about you? How's your end of things?"
"I checked on Carl Bates and R.C. Adams. They've redecorated… in red."
I came to a stop by Baby, the brother's moving to their doors. "Bobby, what is going on? What, did a ghost decide to start ganking hunters? Knock us off one by one?"
"I don't know, but until we find out, you guys better get your asses to my place."
"We're on our way." Hanging up, I got into the car, looking over at Dean as he sat behind the wheel. "Bobby wants us to head over to his. Everyone he went to is dead as well."
Shaking his head, Dean turned the ignition on. "What the hell is going on here?"
...
Dean was fast asleep in the passenger seat while Sam now drove us down the road. I was still in the back, looking out the window while also concentrating on my phone in my hand, waiting for a call or message.
My attention was pulled to Sam as he turned into a service station and stopped the car by the pumps.
"Hey." He turned around to look at me. "I gotta go to the bathroom, you mind-"
"Filling her up?" I gave a short nod. "Sure."
I got out of the car and moved to put some gas in Baby, while Sam headed over to the toilets. As I waited for the car to fill up I watched Dean in the passenger seat, still asleep, his head leaning on the door. He looked adorable sleeping like that...
A buzzing in my pocket had me quickly pulling out my phone to read the message.

Don't know why you're worried, but I'm fine. Just working a case.

I'll talk to you when I'm done.

Don't forget to take your medication.

Love you xox

- T

The worry I'd been feeling all day eased at that one message.
He's fine. I nodded. See, he's fine.
But just as I was beginning to feel relieved, the sound of a commotion in the bathroom pushed all the worry back into place. Sam...
Hitting the roof of Baby, I woke Dean up before moving to pull the pump out of the car.
"What the hell, Liz?"
"Sam needs help!" I told him as I started rushing towards the bathroom, knowing Dean would be right behind me.

SPOV

I was washing my hands in the bathroom sink when the room suddenly went cold. Looking up at the mirror in front of me I found it was covered with a foggy mist caused by the sudden temperature change.

Well, this can't be good...

Lifting a hand, I wiped away some of the mist, jumping at the sight of a young woman behind me.
She smiled, shifting on the spot a little. "Hi, Sam."
It took a second, because of the change in hairstyle and clothes, but as I turned to face her, recognised who was standing in front of me. "Meg."
She nodded, gesturing to her hair- which was longer than her blonde pixie cut from before, and now more of a honey colour. "This is what I looked like before that demon cut off my hair and dressed me like a slut. Before it took over my body. Before I died."
Looking her up and down, I shook my head, feeling so guilty about everything that happened to her. "I'm sorry."
"Are you?"
"Look, if we'd known-"
"You wouldn't have left me to die? You wouldn't have let that monster do all those things while in my body? You wouldn't have killed me?!" She lunged forward, grabbing and throwing me across the room.
I crashed into some old lockers, but didn't even have time to fall to the ground before Meg was there, grabbing me, holding me up. As she gripped onto my jacket I looked down and noticed a mark on her hand, but didn't have much time to think about it before she shoved me against a wall and then threw me against the mirror.
The mirror smashed as I hit it. Meg grabbed me again, knocking my head on the sink twice. The force of the hits caused my head to go foggy as a pain shot through me. Tossing me to the ground, she looked over me as if ready to finish the job.
"Hey, bitch!" Lizzie called.
Meg only had a moment to react before Lizzie threw her across the room- using her abilities. Dean- who had been a couple steps behind Lizzie- lifted his gun and shot Meg, sending the ghost away.

DPOV

Speeding down the road, phone pressed to my ear, I shook my head at the fact Bobby still wasn't answering his phone. "Damn it, Bobby! Pick up!" I snapped, hanging up. Sam side next to me, catching my attention. "How you feeling, huh? How many fingers am I holding up?" I asked, without lifting a hand
"None. I'll be fine, Dean," he insisted, sounding annoyed that I kept asking. But I was worried. It was my job to worry about him.
Liz leaned forward so her head was between Sam's and mine. "Who was the chick, anyway?"
"Meg," Sam answered without missing a beat.
I frowned, grabbing my phone to try and call Bobby again. "Meg? The demon?"
"No." Sam sighed again. "Meg Masters, the girl the demon possessed."
"Why her?" I didn't get it. She died years ago. "What did she want?"
"Revenge, 'cause we got her killed." It really sounded like he believed that.
"Sam."
He shrugged at me. "Well, we did, Dean."
Hanging up the phone once more, I shook my head as I turned to him. "All right. Stop right there. Whatever the hell is going on, it's happening to us now, okay? I can't get a hold of Bobby, so if you're not thinking answers, don't think at all."
There was already enough crap surrounding us, the last thing we needed was for some old guilt to poke it's head up and distract us. Right now, we need to focus on making sure Bobby was okay and then figure out what's killing hunters.

EPOV

Dean entered the house first, I was second, followed by Sam, all of us armed and ready. We stopped in the entrance, looking around, trying to listen out for any sounds. When the place stayed silent and still, Dean called out in a whispered tone.
"Bobby?"
With no answer, the three of us moved together, heading over to the kitchen and then to the study, making sure to keep our eyes open for anything. That Meg chick would show up again eventually.
After the study we stepped into the hall way which is where we found an iron poker lying on the ground by the bottom of the stairs.
My heart began to race as I pictured Bobby lying somewhere, just like we'd found Olivia and Jed.
Dean turned to Sam and I, taking charge of the situation. "You two check outside. I'll go upstairs."
There was no need for me to argue or say anything at all. I simply gave a short nod and moved with Sam as we headed for the back door that lead to the garage and junk yard full of old, rusting cars.
I really hoped Bobby was okay, wherever he was.

DPOV

Now upstairs, I moved down the hallway slowly. "Bobby?"
At the sound of my voice all the door began to slam shut with a loud bang each. All the doors closed, except one. At the very end of the hall, the last door slowly began to creep open.
"Come out, come out, whoever you are," I called, a moment before the temperature dropped a few degrees.
"Dean Winchester. Still so bossy."
I turned to see Meg standing behind me, looing just like she had in the bathroom hours ago. But she didn't look like she had when she died. This Meg's hair was a honey colour and fell to her shoulders, where the other Meg- the demon Meg- had cut it short and dyed it to a light blonde. She also wore different clothes, more modest clothes.
As she took a step closer I aimed the gun at her.
"It's okay, I'm not a demon," she assured me.
"You're the girl the demon possessed."
"Meg Masters." She nodded. "Nice to finally talk to you when I'm not, you know, choking on my own blood." There was venom in her voice, which had me take a step back. She lifted her hands up carefully, as a sign of peace. "It's okay. Seriously, I'm just a college girl… sorry, was. I was walking home one night and got jumped by all this smoke. Next thing you know, I'm a prisoner," she gestured to her head, "in here. Now, I was awake. I had to watch while she murdered people."
"I'm sorry." I meant it too.
The look on her face told me she either didn't care, or didn't believe me. "Oh, yeah? So sorry you had me thrown off a building?"
"Well, we thought-"
She cut me off, yelling. "No, you didn't think! I kept waiting, praying!" As she snapped at me, she moved forward slowly. "I was trapped in there screaming at you! 'Just help me, please!' You're supposed to help people, Dean. Why didn't you help me?" She sounded like she was on the verge of crying.
"I'm sorry," I repeated.
"Stop saying you're sorry!" Raising her fist, she punched me so hard I fell to the ground.
Groaning, I looked up at her, hoping to reach some kind of reasonable side. "Meg. Meg-"
I was cut off as she kicked me.
The force was so strong I was pushed a little further down the hall- and away from my shotgun. She kicked it away before I could even try to reach for it.
"We didn't know."
"No." crouching down so she was closer on my level, she spoke in a calmer tone now. "You just attacked. Did you ever think there was a girl in here? No. You just charged in, slashing and burning. You think you're some kind of hero?"
Gritting my teeth, I answered her question with complete honesty. "No, I don't."
She grabbed my jacket, pulling me a little closer. "You're damn right." As she spoke I looked down and noticed a brand on her hand. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be ridden for months by pure evil... while your family has no idea what happened to you?"
"We did the best we could."
Shoving me away, she got to her feet and kicked me again, clearly not liking my answer.

SPOV

Lizzie and I were searching around the yard, looking around and inside the many cars, trying to find Bobby. But so far there was no sign of him. That was until it was suddenly cold...
"Bobby?" I called, hurrying over to the closest cars. "We're here, Bobby?"
Lizzie used her mind to open the trunks and doors and move things out of the way, rushing around as we searched. We looked in every place a person could and might be hidden, moving as fast as we could so we'd get to him before it was too late.

DPOV

"It wasn't just me, Dean. I had a sister. A little sister." Meg followed me as I crawled along the floor, trying to get away from her. "She worshipped me. You know how little siblings are, right? How they'll do anything for you. She was never the same after I disappeared. She just... she just got lost. And when my body was lying in the morgue beat-up and broken..."
"Meg-"
"Do you know what that did to her? She killed herself!" She kicked me in the stomach again, hard. It was a wonder that she hadn't broken anything yet. "Because of you, Dean! Because all you were thinking about was your family, your revenge, and your demons! 50 words of Latin a little sooner, and I'd still be alive. My baby sister would still be alive. That blood is on your hands, Dean!"
"You're right."
Yet she just kicked me again, harder.

SPOV

As I turned away with the car I was finished with I spotted a mirror on a car on top of a pile, the glass frosting more than everything else. It was actually beginning to crack.
"Lizzie!" I called, getting her attention. Once she turned to me, I gestured to the car as I hurried towards it. "Bobby! Hold on, Bobby! I'm coming! Bobby!"
I climbed up on some other cars to get to the one I was sure Bobby was in. Just before I reached it, Lizzie used her mind to break the door away from the rusted car so I could get in to help Bobby.
But as I reached the gap where the door was I was thrown back by two little girls dressed in dirty white dressed.
I landed on the windshield of another car with a groan.
Before I could recover, one of the girls jumped on top of me, her hand reaching back as she got ready to grab my chest.
Reacting quickly, I used my iron crowbar- that I'd gotten from one of the cars- and swung it at her. Just as she disappeared the other girl went to jump on me, but was stopped and faded away as Bobby hit her with an iron rod.

DPOV

Still on the ground, I'd managed to crawl into the room at the end of the hall- which just had a few pieces of furniture against the wall and nothing much else.
Stopping in the middle of the space, I stopped and turned, pulling out my other gun to aim at Meg.
She leaned on the doorway casually watching me with an amused smirk. "Come on, Dean, did your brain get french-fried in Hell?" Pushing off the doorway, she started towards me. "You can't shoot me with bullets."
"I'm not shooting you." Changing my aim, I pointed the gun at the roof and pulled the trigger.
The chandelier fell, landing right where Meg had been standing, causing her to disappear.
"Iron," I explained before rolling onto my back with a groan.

Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

EPOV

The four of us were together again, in Bobby's study, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
"So, they're all people we know?" Sam asked.
"Not just know. People we couldn't save," Dean answered as he loaded his gun before pausing as if remembering something. "Hey, I saw something on Meg. Did she have a tattoo when she was alive?"
Sam shook his head. "I don't think so."
"It was like a-a mark on her hand." Dean gestured to his own hand. "Almost like a brand."
Sam's eyes went wide. "I saw a mark on her, too."
Bobby straightened from where he'd been leaning over his desk. "What did it look like?"
"Uh, paper?" Sam took the notepad Bobby offered and drew a quick sketch of the mark. Once he was done he showed it to Dean.
"That's it." Dean gave a short nod.
Sam turned to show Bobby, who took the notepad. "I may have seen this before." Reaching for a few things on the desk, he nodded to the doorway right as the light began to flicker. "We got to move. Follow me."
"Okay, where are we going?" Sam asked as Bobby handed him a few things.
Pausing for a moment, Bobby looked to him. "Some place safe, you idiot." Getting back to it, Bobby grabbed some more things before he hurried out of the room.
Sam was right behind Bobby, with Dean and I close behind. We walked into the basement, heading towards a large, heavy, metal door. With his hands full Bobby couldn't open the it, so I stepped forward to do it for him, letting the guys in first.
It was dark in the room, the only light coming from the large air vent in the roof- which had a fan in it. Once I was inside I flicked the light on so the brothers could see where they were.
The room was completely made out of iron, and covered in pentagrams with a large Devil's trap on the ground. On one side, the walls were lined with a range of weapons. The other side had a bed, a desk that stuck out into the middle of the room, a couch and then a shorter desk that ran along the wall.
As I closed and locked the door, the brothers looked around in amazement.
"Bobby, is this-"
Bobby answered before Sam couldn't finish, "Solid iron. Completely coated in salt. One hundred percent ghost-proof."
Sam looked impressed. "You built a panic room?"
"We had a weekend off." Bobby shrugged.
"'We'?" Dean asked.
I nodded, moving over to take the things from Sam. "I'm more than just a pretty face, Winchester."
Grinning, Dean shook his head as he looked form me to Bobby. "You guys are awesome," he chuckled, grabbing one of the guns off the wall.
...
I sat on the couch, my legs stretched across it as I read the book in my hands. Bobby was at one of the desks reading as well, while Sam and Dean were at the other desk preparing some rock salt ammunition just in case we'd have to leave the safety of the bunker. Which chances are, we'd end up out there again.
"See, this is why I can't get behind God."
I looked away from the book and over to Dean, seeing him frustrated and annoyed.
"What are you talking about?" Sam asked before I had a chance to.
"If he doesn't exist, fine." Dean shrugged. "Bad crap happens to good people. That's how it is. There's no rhyme or reason. Just random, horrible, evil. I get it, okay. I can roll with that. But if he is out there, what's wrong with him? Where the hell is he while all these decent people are getting torn to shreds? How does he live with himself? You know, why doesn't he help?"
He had some good points. But if I was being honest, this wouldn't be the first time I've wondered that. Growing up with a religious mother, I was taught not to question things. But after losing my dad and having a pretty rough life, I always wondered why. Then as I got older I just couldn't understand how 'God' could put us on Earth and just leave us like he had. He was the ultimate dead-beat dad.
Instead of responding to Dean, Sam looked over at me before the two of us turned to Bobby, waiting for him to give Dean an explanation or something. Unfortunately, his response wasn't what I'd been hoping for.
He shook his head. "I ain't touching this one with a ten-foot pole." Turning back to his book, he taped his pencil on the page. "Found it."
At least he had something.
Pulling myself up, I moved over to take a look at what he'd found. "The brand is called the Mark of the Witness," I told the guys, reading of the page.
"Witness?" Sam asked, confused. "Witness to what?"
"The unnatural," Bobby answered. "None of them died what you'd call ordinary deaths. See, these ghosts, they were forced to rise. They woke up in agony. They were like rabid dogs. It ain't their fault. Someone rose them... on purpose. "
As Sam opened his mouth to speak, I cut him off. "And before you ask, there's no way to tell who rose them."
"But whoever it was used a spell so powerful it left a mark, a brand on their souls," Bobby noted. "Whoever did this had big plans. It's called 'the rising of the witnesses'. It figures into an ancient prophecy."
"Wait, wait." Shaking his head, Dean stood from his chair and walked over to Bobby and I- Sam followed after a moment. "What- what book is that prophecy from?"
Turning away from the table, I looked to Dean as I answered. "Revelations."
"This is a sign, boys," Bobby started.
"A sign of what?" both brothers asked at the same time.
"The apocalypse."

DPOV

"Apocalypse?" I gave a short chuckle. "As in 'apocalypse', apocalypse? The four horsemen, pestilence, five-dollars-a-gallon-gas apocalypse?"
"No, the other apocalypse." The sarcasm dripped off Liz's tone.
"The rise of the witnesses is a- a mile marker," Bobby explained.
Sam nodded, clearly ready to get to work. "Okay, so, what do we do now?"
I scoffed, turning around and moving back to the desk. "Road trip. Grand Canyon, Star Trek Experience." Clapping my hands, I pointed to Sam. "BunnyRanch."
"First things first. How about we survive our friends out there?" Bobby suggested.
Giving a short nod, I sat down and turned to Bobby. "Great. Any ideas aside from staying in this room until Judgment Day?"
"It's a spell," he gestured to the book again, "to send the witnesses back to rest. Should work."
"Should." Sam gave a short laugh. "Great."
"If I translate it correctly."
"Which you will," Liz assured him. Looking down at the book, she nodded. "And we've got all the ingredients in the house. So this will work."
"Any chance you got everything we need here in this room?" I asked with a small smile, hopeful but also doubtful.
Bobby turned to me with a raised eyebrow and slight frown. "So, you thought our luck was gonna start now all of a sudden? Spell's got to be cast over an open fire."
"The fireplace in the library," Sam noted.
I looked around the bunker, not feeling too good about this plan. "That's just not as appealing as a, uh, ghost-proof panic room, you know?"

EPOV

Haven't heard from you since my text...

Just stay safe, okay?

Love you xox

- T

I looked down at my phone for the millionth time, wondering if and how I should respond to the message I'd looked at a million times by now. I felt so guilty for not sending a message back. But at the same time, I couldn't lie and wouldn't tell the truth. So radio silence was the best option for now.
"Hey." Dean came over to me, offer a gun. He frowned as I quickly slipped my phone into my pocket. "You get a message or something? Everything okay?" he asked, nodding to my phone.
"As good as it can be when the ghosts of people we couldn't save are trying to kill us." I shrugged, taking the gun. "And yeah, I got a message from a friend. Letting me know they were safe."
Before he could say anything else, I started for the door, ready to get out of here. The bunker might have been the safest place, but it was small and confined. I'd never really been one for small spaces, but that's what happens when you've got a slight fear of them.
"Cover each other," Bobby told us as he got ready to leave. "And aim careful. Don't run out of ammo until I'm done, or they'll shred you." He came to stand by me at the door, looking to the three of us. "Ready?"
I gave a short nod. "Ready."
Opening the door, Bobby looked around before he stepped out. We all had our guns ready, the four of us heading for the stairs. I knew the brothers were right behind me, always were in times like this.
As we turned to start up the stairs, we all came to a stop. Sitting there, on top of the steps, was a guy- a dead guy. He would have been in his early twenties with curly hair. I remembered him for a shapeshifter case we did. It was Ronald.
He lifted his head and smiled at us. "Hey, Dean. You remember me?"
Dean, who stepped in front of the rest of us, looked up at him. "Ronald, huh? With the laser eyes? I wish I could say it's good to see you."
"I am dead because of you," Ronald started, getting to his feet. "You were supposed to help me!"
Suddenly Bobby raised his gun and shot at him. Once Ronald was gone Dean turned to Bobby, who simply shrugged. "If you're gonna shoot, shoot. Don't talk."
With the path cleared, we continued. One by one we headed up to the first floor, keeping an eye out for any movement. The moment we were in the study, the four of us got to work.
Sam and I started on making a salt circle surrounding the desk, while Dean moved to the fireplace and Bobby collected everything he needed that was in the room.
Turning to Sam, Bobby stopped him for a moment. "Upstairs, linen closet. Red hex box. It'll be heavy."
"Got it." With a short nod, the youngest Winchester rushed out of the room.
I finished the rest of the salt circle on my own. The moment it was done I looked up to see two girls standing in front of me. I recognised them... not just from the yard earlier when Sam and I found Bobby and stopped the girls from killing him. Years ago, one of the first Bobby and I had been on, the thing we'd been hunting... it got to the girls before we could get to it. We'd lost them.
I froze with guilt, unable to look away from them.
"Elizabeth," one spoke.
"You walked right by us while that monster ate us all up," the other added.
The first one spoke again, "You could have saved us."
A gun shot went off, the bullet hitting the girls and sending them away.
Looking over my eyes locked onto Dean's. He watched me a moment longer to make sure I was okay. With a short nod to reassure and thank him, he then got back to work.
Bobby stepped up to me, needing something else that wasn't in the study or the safety of the salt circle. "Kitchen. Cutlery drawer. It's got a false bottom. Hemlock, opium, wormwood."
"On it." I nodded, hurrying to the kitchen to get the things he needed.

SPOV

I opened the closet door, finding the red box Bobby asked for in an instant. As I reached for it I stopped at the sound of Meg's voice.
"You know what really pisses me off, Sam?"
I turned and aimed to shoot her, but she disappeared before I had a chance.
"You saw how I suffered for months." She appeared behind me. "I thought you must have learned something." I turned to aim at her, but froze at the broken look in her eyes. "I thought I died for something."
"Meg-"
"But what you're doing with that demon, Ruby... how many innocent bodies has Ruby burned through for kicks? How many girls just like me? And you don't send her back to Hell? You're a monster!"
Maybe she was right, maybe she was wrong. I didn't know if what I was doing was the right thing to do. Hunting and killing demons alongside Ruby- a demon. It sure as hell didn't seem right. But if that's what I had to do to make a difference, then that's what I was going to keep doing.
Raising my gun again, I shot Meg.

EPOV

I knew where all the hiding places were in the house. I knew where Bobby kept things. So finding the false bottom in one of the drawers was easy. In a matter of minutes, I had everything Bobby asked for.
Turning, I was maybe two or three steps away from the study when the doors slammed shut.
"Liz?!"
"Lizzie?!"
Both Dean and Bobby were clearly worried about me. I could hear it in their voices. But as I went to open the doors and they wouldn't budge, I knew there was nothing they could do for me, so there was no need to worry them further.
"I'm all right! Just keep working!" I told them, even though my gut was telling me I was definitely not all right.
"Hey, Lizzie."
I spun around to see Ronald standing in the middle of the room.
"Ronald." Giving a weak smile, I reached over to place the ingredients on the table. "Hey, come on. You don't wanna do this. I thought we were friends."
"That's when I was breathing." He slowly started towards me. "Now I'm gonna eat you alive."
Raising my hand, I flung Ronald across the room. "Look, Ron, I don't want to hurt you. You're a good guy, really. But if you give me no other choice..." I shrugged at him as he turned to me again.
He suddenly disappeared, but I knew better than to think he was gone. No way was he giving up that easily.

Where are you?

Scanning the room, I tried to stay prepared for whenever and wherever he was going to pop up. Unfortunately, I don't have eyes at the back of my head and therefore didn't see him appear behind me… but I felt it.
His hand pushed through my back and into my chest, grabbing and squeezing my heart.
Everything in me tensed as it went into panic mode. It was as if I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't move. My body didn't know what to do as his grip on my heart tightened. He was killing me and I could do nothing.
"Why do you deserve to live and not me?!" he yelled, squeezing more and more. "Why?! It's not fair!"
"Liz!" Dean was on the other side of the door, knocking on it, trying to get through. "Elizabeth!"
Movement at the other doorway caught my attention as Sam walked in, raised his gun and shot at Ronald.
The moment Ronald was gone I took a deep breath and fell to the ground, my body still in shock and unable to do much.
"Hey." Sam hurried to help me up. "You alright?"
I shook my head, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as I now stood again. "No."
"Let's go." His arm wrapped around my waist as he moved for the doors to the study.
Lifting a hand, I opened them with my mind, seeing as Dean still couldn't get them open himself. The moment the doors opened, Dean was there, making sure I was okay as he looked me over with a worried expression.
"You okay?" he asked, looking me over.
"I'll be fine," I insisted, nodding to the table. "Sam, give that stuff to Bobby."
When Sam hesitated, still clearly concerned for me, Dean looked to his brother. "I got her. You help Bobby."
Once Sam's hold on me was replaced by Dean's arm, the two of us moved over to the couch in the study while Sam hurried to hand Bobby everything he needed. Feeling a little better, I helped Dean reload the guns, knowing the ghosts would be back, and soon.
As soon as all the ingredients were together, Bobby lifted the book and began to recite some Latin words, reading the spell.
The windows blew open as a wind filled the room, blowing everything around. I looked down at the ground, watching as the salt began to move until it was no longer in the form of a circle and we were no longer protected.
All the ghosts appeared, one by one. We all shot at them as Bobby kept reading. Sam, Dean and I knew that at this point, no matter what, we had to make sure Bobby finished the spell or none of us would make it through the night.

DPOV

We were out of bullets. I'd managed to grab an iron rod to use, but before Sam or Liz could find weapons, the ghosts attacked.
Ronald pushed a desk towards Sam which then pushed him against the wall, holding him there. The two girls went for Liz, pushing her against the other wall so her chest was pressed against it- that way she couldn't see them, and couldn't use her powers to send them flying.
"Liz! Sam!"
"Cover Bobby!" Sam called as he tried to break himself free.
Before anyone could say or do anything else, Bobby stopped reading and started to groan in pain.
I turned to see Meg standing behind him, her hand reaching into his back, grasping at his heart in his chest. She was killing him.
He lost grip on the bowl filled with the spell ingredients. "Dean!"
Diving for it, I managed to catch the bowl before any of its contents could spill.
"Fireplace!"
With an order from Bobby, I tossed the ingredients into the fireplace and watched as it all burned a bright blue before the light grew so much I had to look away. The whole room glowed as the fire's energy burned the ghosts away, setting them free from the curse that lifted them.
Once the ghosts were gone, Bobby was free from Meg's grasp and fell to the ground.
"Bobby?" I crawled over to make sure he was okay.
Liz hurried over as well, dropping to her knees by his side. "Bobby, you okay?"
He didn't say anything, but gave a tired nod. He was okay. We all were.
...
I'd been asleep, on the floor in a makeshift bed I'd put together with some blankets and pillows Liz had given me. Sam was on the couch while Liz and Bobby were in their rooms upstairs. We'd all pretty much crashed after everything.
What woke me was a feeling, of being watched.
Opening my eyes, I turned my head to look over into the kitchen. Sure enough, standing there, leaning against the counter, was Castiel.
I looked over to make sure Sam was still asleep before I got up and headed over to the angel.
"Excellent job with the witnesses."
I frowned, coming to stop a few steps away from him. "You were hip to all this?"
"I was, uh… made aware."
His response and the fact he knew about it all, pissed me off. "Well, thanks a lot for the angelic assistance. You know, my friends almost got their hearts ripped out of their chests."
"But they didn't," he responded as if it were that simple.
"I thought angels were supposed to be guardians. Fluffy wings, halos. You know, Michael Landon. Not dicks."
I swear he looked smug as he looked at me and spoke again. "Read the Bible. Angels are warriors of God. I'm a soldier."
That's bullshit. "Yeah? Then, why didn't you fight?"
"I'm not here to perch on your shoulder. We had larger concerns."
"Concerns? There were people getting torn to shreds down here!" I exclaimed, keeping my voice low so I wouldn't wake anyone. "And, by the way, while all this is going on, where the hell is your boss, huh, if there is a God?"
"There's a God."
"I'm not convinced. 'Cause if there's a God, what the hell is he waiting for, huh? Genocide? Monsters roaming the earth? The freaking apocalypse? At what point does he lift a damn finger and help the poor bastards that are stuck down here?"
"The Lord works-"
I cut him off, "If you say, 'in mysterious ways,' so help me, I will kick your ass." He looked away and shrugged in defeat. It was then I realised what he'd meant before. About the concerns. "So, Bobby was right... about the witnesses. This is some kind of a... sign of the apocalypse."
"That's why we're here. Big things afoot."
"Do I want to know what kind of things?"
"I sincerely doubt it, but you need to know. The rising of the witnesses is one of the 66 seals."
"Okay. I'm guessing that's not a show at Seaworld."
"Those seals are being broken by Lilith."
At least that part I understood. "She did the spell. She rose the witnesses."
He nodded. "Mm-hmm. And not just here. Twenty other hunters are dead."
"Of course. She picked victims that the hunters couldn't save so that they would barrel right after us."
"Lilith has a certain sense of humour."
"Well, we put those spirits back to rest."
"It doesn't matter. The seal was broken."
"Why break the seal anyway?"
"You think of the seals as locks on a door."
"Okay. Last one opens and...?"
He pushed off the counter and turned to face me completely. "Lucifer walks free."
"Lucifer?" I shook my head. "I thought Lucifer was just a story they told at demon Sunday school. There's no such thing."
"Three days ago, you thought there was no such thing as me," he noted. "Why do you think we're here walking among you now for the first time in two thousand years?"
"To stop Lucifer."
"That's why we've arrived."
Lucifer. The Devil. Satan himself. Nothing good was going to come out of this. If he got out, it would more than likely end everything and everyone. Not just the people I cared about. Everything would be gone. It had to be the scariest things I could think of, Lucifer rising and returning to Earth.
"Well..." I tried to cover up my fear and shock by replacing it with disappointment as I looked to Castiel again. "Bang-up job so far. Stellar work with the witnesses. That's nice."
"We tried. And there are other battles, other seals. Some we'll win, some we'll lose. This one we lost." He stepped closer to me, getting into my personal space- I suddenly didn't feel too tough. "Our numbers are not unlimited. Six of my brothers died in the field this week. You think the armies of Heaven should just follow you around? There's a bigger picture here." He leaned in a little closer. "You should show me some respect. I dragged you out of Hell. I can throw you back in." with that, he vanished, leaving me to think about everything he'd just said.
I was just threatened... by an angel. Could this night get any worse?

EPOV

Popping a pill into my mouth, I took a quick drink of water- finishing what was left in the glass on the table by my bed- before I grabbed my bag and hurried out of my room. After rushing to and down the stairs and walking into the kitchen, I moved over to the pantry and pulled out a granola bar out of it.
"So... you got no problem believing in... God and Angels?" I heard Dean ask Sam as the two of them sat in the study.
"No, not really," Sam answered.
"So, I guess that means that you believe in the Devil."
"Why are you asking me all this?"
When there was a long pause, and Dean didn't respond, I walked into the room, my duffle bag over my shoulder. "When Bobby wakes up tell him I'll call him later." Turning, I started for the front door.
"Where are you going?" Dean called, stopping me before I could leave.
"Uh..." Thinking of a quick lie, I looked over at the brothers with a shrug. "That friend that sent me a message yesterday, I'm just gonna go check up on them. Make sure everything's okay."
The look on Sam's face told me in an instant that he knew I was lying, and that he knew the truth. Still, instead of ratting me out, he covered for me. "Okay, just call us when you get there. Let us know if you get into any trouble."
"Will do." I smiled, hurrying out of the house before Dean could stop me again.
I knew I couldn't keep this up for much longer, keeping all these secrets from him. But during the four months he'd spent in Hell things had changed, and I just didn't know how to tell him...

Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

EPOV
The sound of someone moving around the hotel room had me roll on the couch so I could face whoever it was. But I hadn't needed to turn to know who was moving about. I'd known it was Sam."You're going, aren't you?"He froze at the sound of my soft voice, looking at me as if he were a deer caught in headlights. "Uh... yeah..."Sighing, I threw my blanket off and sat, looking up at him. "And what do you want me to tell him if he wakes up?" I asked, nodding to Dean.Glancing briefly at his brother, Sam shrugged. "You'll think of something." Tugging his jacket on, her started for the door.I found myself focusing on a stain on the ground as I spoke again. "When are you going to tell him? About Ruby? The demons? Everything?"He paused at the door, his hand on the handle. "When are you going to tell him about your boyfriend?"Tensing, I fell silent as I watched him walk out without another word. What we'd said was too heavy to really respond to. There was no right answer we could provide. Both of us knew that our secrets weren't good. They weren't all bad but they definitely weren't good.Sam knew Dean would disapprove of his extracurricular activities. He knew his brother wouldn't like that Ruby had been by his side, helping with said activities for months now.At the same time, I knew telling Dean about my boyfriend… well it was complicated.I'd always said I wasn't the type to settle down, commit, find someone and decided to stay with them. I'd been the kind of girl to go from person to person, and I enjoyed the ride. Having no strings attached seemed like the only way for me. Until him. Tristan.At the thought of him, I was reminded of the ache inside me. For the last few days it had been getting worse and worse, almost making me sick. Part of me was wondering if it was because of all this distance from him.Groaning, I reached over to my bag and grabbed the small bottle of pills that sat in the front pocket. Getting to my feet, I moved over to the bathroom to get a drink and wash my face, hoping the pills might help me get some sleep.
DPOV

Screams, everywhere. I could hear them all. Feel it all. It was like I'd never left. Like I was cursed to repeat it over and over for the rest of my life. Torture from the torture I'd already gone through.

Hell.

When Meg- while in Sam's body- had described Hell, I hadn't really understood what she meant. But now I did.

There was nothing on Earth that I could compare Hell to. Nothing so painful or terrifying. There was no way I could adequately describe what it was like there.
Pain, blood, screams, all the horrors you could imagine and so much more. All of it plagued my mind as I tried desperately to get some kind of sleep.…I woke up with a start, covered in a thin layer of sweat, my breath come out ragged and faster than usual."Hello, Dean."At the sound of someone's voice, I sat up and turned quickly, finding Castiel sitting on my bed."What were you dreaming about?" he asked, turning to look at me, a knowing look in his eyes.Instead of answering I shifted into a more comfortable sitting position, shoving my jacket- that I'd been using as a blanket- off. "What, do you get your freak on by watching other people sleep? What do you want?""Listen to me. You have to stop it.""Stop what?"But just like how I'd dodged his question, he didn't answer. Instead he raised his hand and pressed two fingers to my forehead. I'm exactly sure what he did to me, but suddenly I was out like a light.
EPOV
Drying my hair with the crappy hotel towel, I walked out of the bathroom only to come to a stop.Sitting there, on Dean's bed, was Castiel. But that wasn't all that was different. Now Dean was gone. Which meant I was alone, with an angel..."Where's Dean?"He rose from the bed and walked around to stand in the middle of the room, now facing me completely.If he wasn't so powerful and intimidating, and I wasn't taken, I probably would have tried flirting with him. They guy was hot. I mean, hot. Tall, dark and mysterious. The slight shadow of hair growing on his face- too short to be shaved yet- and the way his clothes sat haphazardly, it all just added to his attractiveness."Dean's gone."His answer pushed my nerves down as an annoyance grew. I knew Dean was gone, I wanted to where he went. "Where is he?""It's none of your concern."Taking a step closer to the angel, I glared at him, ignoring the fact my mind was telling me to back off. "Look, I don't care who you are, and I certainly don't care about whatever plans you have for this war you should be fighting yourself." Dean had told us what Castiel had told him about Lucifer and Lilith. "Dean is my concern. He's my friend. He's family. So, you will tell me where he is."He seemed so unfazed as he looked down at where I now stood barely a step away from him. "Or what?""Or I'll do whatever it takes to makes sure Dean doesn't do what you want him to do. I'll convince him to hate you and your kind, to distrust you all, to never believe a single word that passes through your lips." When he opened his mouth to respond, I went on, "And before you say I can't... there isn't much I can't do once I set my mind to it. So, tell me where he is. Now."
DPOV
"Move it buddy. You can't sleep here."My eyes shot up as I woke and sat up. I was outside, the sun bright and shinning down on me to a point where I could hardly see as my eyes adjusted.Standing by me was a cop, looking less than impressed with me."Okay..." I had no idea what the hell he was going on about. "Sleep where?""Anywhere but here." He gestured to where I was lying before walking off.I sat up and frowned at the bus stop bench I'd been asleep on. Whatever Castiel did to me, he sent me somewhere that clearly wasn't my hotel room. Which meant he left Liz and Sam there without me and they had no idea where I was.Pulling out my phone, I went to call them but found I had no signal. "Perfect." With a groan I got up and walked across the road, heading over to a place called Jay Bird's Diner.Walking in, I looked around the joint. There was some kind of old music playing in the background as people sat around eating food and drinking coffee. It was like any other diner.Moving to the counter, I took a seat next to a guy, looking over at him. "Hey, where the hell am I?"He turned to me, answering. "Jay Bird's Diner."I knew that. "Yeah, thanks. I mean, uh... city and state."The corner of his lip rose a little before he filled in the blanks. "Lawrence, Kansas."Sighing, I faced the counter again. "Lawrence." Great..."Hey, you okay buddy?""Yeah, tough night."Nodding, he gestured to the waiter behind the counter. "Hey, uh, coffee here, Reg."Pulling out my phone, I showed it to him, hoping he could help me with the signal problem as well. "Can you tell me where I can get reception on this thing?""The USS Enterprise?" he gave a short chuckle, turning back to the newspaper in front of him.The waiter came over then, placing the coffee in front of me. He was dressed like he'd just stepped out of a cliched '70s hippie movie. With the moustache, shaggy hair and flared pants, the whole outfit screamed flower power."Thanks... nice threads. You know Sonny and Cher broke up, right?" I grinned into my cup, taking a sip."Sonny and Cher broke up?" the guy next to me asked, sounding genuinely shocked. Even the waiter looked surprised.
Wait... what?
Turning around, I gave the place a better look, and only just realised what I'd miss before. The bad hair-dos, clothes, music. Even the furniture and style of the place seemed off, out dated. It was like...Looking to the guy next to me again, I glanced at his newspaper, reading the date. Monday, April 30, 1973.Son of a bitch. Castiel sent me back in time."Hey, Winchester."I turned to see an older man walking into the diner, headed straight for the counter, moving to the guy next to me."Son of a bitch." The old guy shook his hand. "How you doing, Corporal?"The guy next to me smiled. "Hey, Mr D.""I heard you were back.""Yeah, a little while now.""Good to have you home, John, damn good."John. "Dad?" I muttered to myself, still watching the exchange."Well, say hello to your old man for me." The older man gave John a pat on the shoulder as he started to head over to another table."You got it, Mr D," John called before he shifted to face his paper again, only to notice me staring at him. "Do we know each other?"With wide eyes, I took a moment to respond as I tried to not freak out. "I guess not," I managed to say as I reached for my coffee again.After a beat, John grabbed his jacket and started to get up. "Take it easy, pal," he told me before moving for the door."Yeah." I nodded, watching him.The moment he was out the door I was up and following him. There was no way in hell I was letting him go that easy. I mean, it's my dad after all....I was following my dad- the younger, 70s version of him. Keeping a distance that meant I could duck away and not be seen if he turned, but close enough so I could keep track of him. That's what I wanted, to keep track of him. To make sure he was okay. Safe.As I walked around the corner, I'd been expecting to see dad walking, but instead I found myself almost bumping into Castiel and Liz."Whoa." Liz lifted her hand to her head as she tried to stay standing.I stepped forward to grab her arm and help keep her steady. "You okay?"She nodded gently, moving closer to me as she closed her eyes to shield them from the light. "Just need a minute."Shaking my head, I turned to glare at the angel. "What is this?" I asked, gesturing to our surroundings.His voice was as flat as it usually was when he answered. "What does it look like?""Is it real?""Very.""Okay, so what? Angels got their hands on some DeLoreans? How did I get here?""Time is fluid, Dean." He turned away from me, looking around us. "It's not easy, but we can bend it on occasion.""Well bend it back or tell me what the hell we're doing here!"He nodded to Liz. "She's here because she's demanding and annoying." Liz flipped him off in response, while he just went on, "I already told you why you're here. You have to stop it.""Stop what? Huh? What, is there something nasty after my dad?"A car horn went off, catching my attention. I turned to see what was going on and then turned back to Castiel, only he was gone."Oh, come on! What, are you allergic to straight answers, you son of a bitch?!""He's a dick." Liz sighed, stepping away from me a little, still rubbing her temples. "But he sent you here for a reason, so let's just get to work. Okay?""Okay." I nodded, following as she started to walk down the path in the direction I'd been going before. "You sure you're all right though?""I'm fine Dean."
EPOV
Walking next to Dean, I followed him into a car dealership. In a moment or two I spotted her. The Impala. She was as gorgeous now as she was in the future.Smiling widely, I stepped up to her and crouched down, running a hand over her hood. "Hey, Baby."Dean chuckled as he stood next to me. "I swear you love her almost as much as I do.""Can you blame me?" I asked, grinning up at him."A fine young man like yourself, just starting out? How about I take off another two hundred and fifty?" a man asked from a car close to baby. It was a 1967 Volkswagen Samba Bus, cream and white. Nice, but no Impala.The young man he offered the deal to thought about it for a moment before nodding with a smile on his face. "Let's do it."I stood, looking the guy up and down, seeing the resemblance almost instantly. "That's your dad," I noted in a hushed voice as I leaned a little closer to Dean."Yeah. That's my dad." He nodded, shifting so he was leaning on Baby's hood. Once the car salesman walked off towards the office, Dean spoke up, getting his dad's attention, "That's not the one you want."Startled, John turned to us before frowning accusingly at Dean. "You following me?""No, no, I was just passing by," Dean lied as he pushed off Baby's hood. "I never got to thank you for that cup of coffee this morning. I was a little out of it.""More than a little." John grinned.Dean gestured to me. "Found my friend, so things are looking better." Turning back to his dad, he went on. "Let me repay the favour." He gave Baby's hood a pat. "This is the one you want.""Oh yeah, you- you know something about cars?""Yeah... yeah, my dad taught me everything I know." Dean nodded with a nostalgic look in his eyes. "And this. This is a great car." Pushing off the hood, I turned and opened her up as Dean and John came to take a look inside. "Three-twenty-seven four-barrel," Dean started."Two hundred and seventy-five horses," I added."A little TLC and this thing is cherry," Dean finished."You know man, you're right." John nodded. Just looking at him, you could see the admiration he had for the car. I could tell why he'd bought it all those years ago- or, now, I guess.Dean gestured to her van behind us. "Then what are you buying that thing for?"Pulling away from Baby's hood, John shrugged. "I kinda promised someone I would.""Over a '67 Chevy?" Dean chuckled. "I mean, come on, this is the car of a lifetime. Trust me, this thing's still gonna be badass when it's forty."After considering it for a moment, John pulled back and offered his hand to Dean. "John Winchester. Thanks."Dean shook his hand. "Dean Van Halen, and thank you." He gestured to me. "And this is-""Elizabeth Rose Hart." I smiled, offering my hand to John. "I just want to thank you as well. For helping Dean out this morning.""It's no problem," John assured me."I was in pretty rough shape this morning, huh?" Dean chuckled.Grinning, amused, John moved to Baby's open windows, taking a look inside. "No kidding.""I've been hung over before but, hey, I was, I was getting chills in that diner. You didn't feel any of those cold spots, did you?" Dean asked, trying to keep it casual.John shook his head. "Nope."Dean kept trying. "I swore I smelled something weird too, you know? Like... like rotten eggs. You didn't happen to smell any sulfur by chance?" Either he was trying to figure out if John was a hunter, or if something was after him."No," John answered, still checking Baby out."There been any cattle mutilations in town recently?"Before John could respond or freak out, I quickly spoke cut in, "Sorry about him. It's his hangover, I swear. Alcohol does weird things to him."John calmed slowly, looking from me to Dean. "Yeah, okay.""I'm gonna go get some food into him. But, uh, take care of yourself okay, John?" Offering him a smile I started backing up, grabbing Dean's hand to drag him along."Yeah, sure," John called to us as we left.Once we were out of the dealership, Dean turned to glare at me. "What the hell? We can't just leave him.""We're not. We're gonna follow him. Without being seen." Walking up to a car parked on the side of the street, I nodded at the car door, opening it with my mind. "Now get in."
DPOV
Liz parked a couple house down from where dad stopped. The two of us watched as he got out of Baby- which he just bought- and leaned against her, waiting. Not too long after a woman around Liz's age came out of a sweet, blue house, rushing over to John with a wide smile on her face.I frowned, taking in the exchange between dad and the woman. It didn't take long for me to realise who she was."Mum?"Liz shifted in her seat, leaning forward to try and get a better look. "That's your mum?""Yeah..."...We'd followed mum and dad to the diner again. It was dark now. The two of them were seated at a booth inside, drinking milkshakes, on a date. Liz and I were outside, watching through a window, hiding in the shadows."Sammy, wherever you are, mum is a babe," I muttered to myself. Liz chuckled beside me. "I'm going to hell... again.""You're not wrong. She's gorgeous," Liz noted as she continued to watch my parents. "Both of them. I can see why the Winchester are so irresistible."I turned to her then, grinning down at her. "You think I'm irresistible?"Slowly she looked up at me. She didn't say anything, but the look in her eyes told me enough. I could practically see what she was thinking as her eyes searched mine, and surprisingly, I didn't see the desire I was used to seeing.If I was being honest, there was desire there. But it was as if there was something else pushing it away, smothering it, telling her not to feel that way. There was a conflict in her eyes, and it worried me.
EPOV
"Why are you following us?"Dean and I only had a moment to turn to Mary- who was now behind us- before she attacked.Going for Dean first, she kneed him in the stomach and then grabbed me, pushing me to the wall before lifting her fist to punch me. But before she could, Dean shoved her away from me. Her attention was back on him now as he tried to dodge all her punches and kicks."Are you crazy?" he panted, dodging yet another one of her punches."You've been trailing us since my house."He managed to grab her arm before she could hit him. "I don't know what you're talking-"Cutting him off. kicking him in the stomach again. "Really?"As Dean stumbled back, leaning forward, I could see she was about to get him again. I stepped forward now, grabbing her arm and pushing her against the wall before she could hurt Dean anymore."Be careful," Dean warned me."I am," I assured him. Mary struggled against my hold, drawing my attention to her again. "Look, you can either keep fighting or-" My eyes landed on her charm bracelet. Her silver bracelet with protective charms hanging from it. Pulling back, I waited for her to turn and face me before I asked, "Are you... are you a hunter?"...Dean and I stepped out of the shadows by Mary's house once we heard John drive off."Dean and Elizabeth, right?" Mary asked as she watched as move toward her. "I'm not sure you should come in.""You can trust us," Dean assured her. "I mean, come on, we're all hunters, right? I mean, we're- we're practically family."I could only imagine what this must feel like for him. I knew it would be amazing, to see his parents like this, alive, young, happy and healthy. But at the same time, it must be torture, having to hide who he is. Tip-toeing around every conversation and move he makes, not wanting to mess anything up. It had to be hard.Mary shook her head. "Yeah, thing is, my dad, he's a little, um...""Oh, I gotta meet him." Dean was excited, but I understood why.Mary frowned, confused. "You've heard of him?"Dean hesitated a moment before giving a short shrug. "Clearly not enough."Sighing, she shook her head again as she started for the house. Dean and I were a step behind.I leaned in closer to him, talking so she wouldn't hear us. "Are you sure this is the best idea? Couldn't this mess up our whole future? Shouldn't we just be observing or something?" I'd seen enough sci-fi movies to know traveling to the past was never a good thing."Castiel sent me here to stop something. Can't do that from the shadows," he noted, sounding so sure of himself.
DPOV
Mary had brought us into her home, and lead us to the living room where her father sat on a recliner, reading an old lore book. She'd introduced Liz and I to him, but he clearly wasn't interested."So, you're hunters? Well, tell me something, you kill vampires with wooden stakes or silver?" he asked."Neither," Liz answered."You cut their heads off," I finished, causing Mary to smile a little from where she stood on my other side. "So, did we pass your test?""Yep," he answered shortly, closing the book and setting it on the table next to him. "Now get out of my house.""Dad!""I don't trust other hunters, don't want their help, don't want them around my family," he explained.Honestly, I understood what he was saying. Most hunters we came across, I wouldn't trust them either.Mary's mother was in the other room, setting the table. "Knock it off, Samuel," she called to her husband."They're hunters," Samuel argued.His wife walked into the room, not caring for his excuses and reasons. "Who passed your little pop quiz, and now I am inviting them to dinner." She turned to Liz and me. "Are you hungry?"I gave a short nod. "Starving."Liz smiled at the older woman. "Could eat a horse.""Good." She smiled back at the two of us. "I'm Deanna, you've met my husband Samuel, now wash up," she ordered before walking back into the dining room.I looked from Deanna to Samuel and then to Mary. "Samuel and Deanna?" She gave a short nod. "Really?"
EPOV
I sat between Deanna and Dean, enjoying an actually home cooked meal. I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten something that wasn't from a packet or heated in the microwave. This was pure bliss.As we all sat and ate the delicious meal, Deanna turned to Dean and me, breaking the silence. "First time in Lawrence?"Dean shook his head. "Well, it's been a while. Things sure have changed... I think.""I've been a few times, but mainly just driven through," I added."You working a job?" Samuel asked.Looking away from his grandmother, Dean shrugged at Samuel's question. "Yeah, maybe.""What's that mean?""It means I don't trust other hunters either, Samuel." Dean gave a light grin.I bit my lip, trying not to laugh as I looked down at my food. In the corner of my eye I could see Mary doing the same, as Deanna gave her husband an amused glance, while Samuel's lips turned up in a slight grin as well."Hey, um, so why were you following me and John?" Mary asked, looking from Dean to me."Oh, uh, we thought something was following your boyfriend," I answered causally. "Kept track of him for a while, but we're pretty sure we were wrong.""John Winchester mixing it up with spirits, can you imagine?" Deanna chuckled lightly, causing Samuel to sigh.Mary rolled her eyes at her father. "I saw that.""What?" He turned to us, playing dumb."That sour-lemon look.""Now hold on, John's a really, really nice... naive civilian."Mary scoffed. "So what? You'd rather me be with a guy like this?" She nodded to Dean.Dean nearly chocked on his food. "What? No, no. No.""Oh, no, I didn't-" Mary quickly looked to me. "He's a great guy, I'm sure. He's just not my type, and I'm sure you two are happy." She gave me a quick smile.I hadn't even had a real moment to think about what she'd just said to me, but I was pretty sure she thought Dean and I were together. As in, boyfriend and girlfriend, in love, dating, an item, a couple, partners, lovers. She thought what Dean and I were, was what she and John were.Before I could correct her, she turned to her father again, her smile gone. "Anyway, is that the kind of guy you want me dating?"Samuel shook his head. "Mary, of course not, it's just that I-"Deanna cut him off. "That's enough, both of you, we have company." She gestured to Dean and me.Clearing his throat, Dean changed the subject. "So, what about you, Samuel, you, uh… working a job?""Might be." The older man shrugged."He's working a job on the Whitshire Farm," Mary told us, earning a disapproving look from her father.Dean frowned, as if he couldn't remember something, but knew there was something to remember. "Whitshire, why does that name sound familiar to me?""Well, it's been all over the papers," Samuel explained. "Tom Whitshire. Got tangled up in a combine a few towns over.""That kind of thing happens," Dean noted."So why was he on it in the first place when his crops are all dead?""Demonic omens?" Dean and I said at the same time- which Mary smiled at.Samuel gave a short nod. "That's what I gotta find out.""What about the rest of the town? Well, did you find anything on the web?" Dean quickly realised his mistake and corrected himself, "Of information that you have assembled.""Electrical storms maybe," Deanna answered. "The weather service graphs should be here on Friday.""By mail?"I turned to smile tightly at Dean. "How else would they get it, Dean?" I asked, trying to remind him of where- and when- we were."Right..." He nodded, once again seeing his mistake. Looking over at Samuel, he shifted in his seat slightly before speaking, "You know, it sounds to me like we might be hunting the same thing. You know if we go in there in numbers, we could take care of this real quick."But Samuel still wasn't on board with the two of us hanging around. "What part of 'we work alone' do you not understand, son?"
DPOV
Liz and I had slept in the car we'd stolen before making our way over to the Whitshire farm in the morning. She'd managed to steal us some clothes while I got us some breakfast. She'd grabbed a priest out fit for me, and a modest church-goer's outfit for herself.Unfortunately, while questioning Mrs. Whitshire about her husband's death and the days before it, she offered no real help. There was nothing she told us that could help us figure out what we were dealing with.The three of us were headed for her front door, Liz and I ready to leave. As I opened the door, about to say good bye, the three of us paused, surprised to see someone standing on the porch. But it wasn't just someone. It was Samuel.He was dressed as a priest as well, and surprised to see Liz and I. "Father," he gave me a tight smile, "I see you beat me here.""The Lord is funny that way." My smile was lighter than his. As I stepped out of the house, I gestured to Mrs Whitshire. "Beth Whitshire, this is my associate, our senior, senior priest, Father Chaney.""Please accept our deepest condolences on behalf of the county diocese." Samuel offered her what looked like fruit cake.Mrs Whitshire accepted the gift. "Thank you.""Mrs. Whitshire was just telling the father and I all about Tom." Liz smiled at Samuel, playing on her sweet side she often used during cases. "She told us all about how normal and ordinary things were the day before his death."Samuel nodded. "I see, so you didn't notice anything unusual, ma'am?""You mean like my husband's guts fertilizing the back forty?" Mrs Whitshire asked, a little too harshly. But I didn't mind. It actually amused me, seeing the shocked look on Samuel's face.While he was still stunned into silence, I gave Ms Whitshire a short nod and smile. "Excuse us."Before Samuel could react, Liz and I walked off, heading over to where Mary stood with the Whitshire son. They stood by a tree, the boy leaning against it as he spoke to Mary.As we approached them, Mary turned to Liz and I for a moment before focussing on the boy again. "Charlie, would you like to tell the Father here what you just told me?"Charlie turned his attention to me, looking a little scared as he spoke. "Dad drank sometimes. Sometimes he got rough with mum.""And that's when the stranger came?" Mary pressed- though she did so gently.He nodded. "I just thought he was some Bible thumper, like you all. He showed up about a week ago.""And what did he say?" Liz asked."Did I want the beatings to stop? I just thought he was crazy, I didn't think-" He cut himself off for a moment before going on. "And the next thing I know, dad's dead. Am I going to jail?""You didn't do this, Charlie," Mary assured him."Did the stranger want something in return?" I asked.He shook his head. "He didn't want anything.""Come on, Chuck, he wasn't just handing out freebies now, was he?""He did say something about comin' a callin' ten years from now. Maybe he'd want something then."That did not sound good. "Something like what?""I don't know, okay? Look, I told you he was nuts."Gently, Mary grabbed my arm and lead us a few steps away. Liz followed, coming to stand with us as our backs faced Charlie."What do you think?" Mary asked the both of us."I think he just pimped his soul to a demon and doesn't even know it."Liz nodded. "Dean's right. I don't see any other option here."Looking from Liz and me, Mary nodded as she turned and moved back to Charlie. "Charlie, do you remember what this stranger looked like?"He nodded, answering as Liz and I moved over to stand with them again. "Yeah, he was about 5'10, white, normal looking really.""Anything else?" Mary questioned."There was one thing."When he didn't go on, I urged him to tell us. "What?""It's just, the light hit his eyes in a weird way and... for a moment I coulda sworn-"I cut him off, "What? That they were black? Or red maybe?"He shook his head. "No, they were yellow. Pale yellow."
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

EPOV
I was freaking out. I was majorly freaking out. Yellow eyes. A demon. Yellow-eyed demon. Going back in time meant he'd be alive, but I never would have thought Castiel would bring Dean and I back to where this thing was.But it made sense. Now that I thought about it, we were in Kansas, ten years before Mary died. Ten years before the demon fed Sam his demon blood.I could really use a pill right now. I thought to myself. But the pills were back in the future. Son of a-Dean slammed a map down onto the Campbell dining table. He was determined to find this thing and kill it. For his family. For all the victims. For himself. If he killed it now, instead of when he actually did kill it, then he would be saving so many lives, and changing his own."What do you say we just slow down and talk this thing through," Samuel suggested as he looked over Dean, a little concerned.Dean was short as he responded. "There's nothing to talk about.""Except you're saying it's a demon, and none of us has ever heard of a demon with yellow eyes.""Dean and I have." My hands were literally shaking as I looked over at the older man on the other side of the table. "This thing..." I couldn't even say it.This thing is the reason why my dad died. Four years later, on the anniversary of his death, my mum was so distraught that she crashed our car, which put me in a coma. She made a deal to save me and ten years later she was killed. Not even a year after that my sister rebelled because of her grief, and ended up making a mistake that cost her life.He also kidnapped Sam and I, put us in an abandoned town and forced a bunch of us to fight to the death. Which ended in Sam and I dying. Which is why Dean sold his soul and went to hell. Oh, and all the while, demons killed Ash and a bunch of other hunters because Ash found something out and Yellow-eyes didn't want him telling anyone.Everything that happened to me, all the death. It was because of Yellow-eyes."Hey." Dean walked over to me, seeing that I was on the brink of having a breakdown. "We're gonna find this thing, okay?" He cupped my cheek as he stepped closer to me. "We're gonna find him and stop him. I promise." His voice was tense and determined."Just calm down, son." Samuel stepped towards us.Dean shook his head, turning to his grandfather. "You don't get it, do you? You are in danger, we are all in danger. In fact, you need to get yourself someplace safe.""Not until we know what we're dealing with here."Deanna came in then, carrying a bowl of fruit salad. "Sam's right, Dean, it could be a demon, it could be a shapeshifter, it could be any number of things.""We know what this thing is!" Dean exclaimed. Deanna walked back into the kitchen as he went on. "And we're gonna kill it, that's all the talking I need to do.""You're gonna kill a demon?" Samuel scoffed. "How?""There's a hunter named Daniel Elkins. He lives in Colorado, he has Colt's gun. The Colt."Samuel nodded, but didn't look as if he believed Dean. "Yeah, I heard about the Colt, used to tell it to Mary as a bedtime story.""Well, it's real," Dean insisted, turning back to the map.I noticed Samuel look to his wife for a moment before he sighed and turned to Dean. "Alright, say that it is. You got some kind of crystal ball telling you where this demon's gonna be?""Yeah, maybe I do." Dean reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out his father's journal. placing it on the table.Stepping forward, Samuel took a look at it. "What's this?""It's a list," Dean answered as he flicked through the pages."Of what?""My dad wrote down anyone he thought ever came in contact with the Yellow Eyed Demon. Who, where and when.""Why?""'Cause the more he could learn about the son of a bitch, the more he could figure out why it killed my mum." Dean kept flipping through the pages until he found what he was looking for. "Look, Whitshire Farm. I told you that name sounded familiar."Samuel frowned, looking down at the name Dean was pointing to. "Whitshire Farm, that was two days ago. How the hell is that on your dad's list?"Dean and I shared a look, as Dean answered cautiously- and with a lie. "Uh... my dad could see the future." He didn't wait for a response before he gestured to the next name on the list. "Look at this, it says he's gonna hit here tomorrow night."Samuel leaned forward to read the name. "Liddy Walsh?""Haleyville. That's close," Dean noted.Shrugging, Samuel pulled back again. "I mean, yeah, it's about three miles, but..."The look on his face told me everything I needed to know. He thought we were crazy. It didn't matter what Dean said, nothing would change his mind. He looked over to his wife who had the same expression on her face.Dean pulled away from the table, looking to the two of them. "I know you guys think we're crazy.""You seem like really nice kids," Samuel nodded, "but yeah, you're crazy.""Yeah, maybe, but I know where this bastard's gonna be, and I'm gonna stop it, once and for all." Grabbing the journal, Dean turned to me. "Come on." He nodded to the door, knowing I was right behind him as we left the room.
DPOV
Liz and I stopped by the front door of the Campbell's home. Sitting in the living room was Mary as she flicked through some records.Looking from my mum to Liz, I hesitated a moment. "Hey, I'll, uh... I'll meet you at the car."With a glance at my mum, Liz understood. Nodding, she left without a word, leaving the house. The sound of the door closing caught Mary's attention, causing her to turn and look over at me."Hey." She smiled, getting up."Hey. We're shoving off. I just wanted to say, bye.""Really? So soon?" She genuinely looked disappointed."Yeah. Job to do." I shrugged, trying to keep it casual even though every fibre in my being was telling me not to leave her. "Hey, I wanted to- to tell you, you know for what it's worth. Um... it doesn't matter what your dad thinks, I like that John kid."She chuckled lightly. "You do?""Yeah. Yeah, I think you two are meant to be." I paused before muttering to myself, "Hell, I'm depending on it.""What?" She frowned, having not heard the last part.I shook my head. "Nothing. Um, can I ask you a question?" She gave a simple nod. "What's he like? John.""Why do you ask?""Just curious." I shrugged."I don't know." She smiled, getting a dreamy look in her eyes. "He's sweet, kind. Even after the war, after everything, he still believes in happily ever after, you know? He's everything a hunter isn't." After a beat, she corrected herself. "No offense.""No, none taken."Taking a deep breath, she smiled again. "Can I tell you something?" she asked, and I nodded. "He's gonna ask me to marry him. Tomorrow, I think," she giggled lightly."Yeah?""Oh, Dad's gonna explode. But I don't care." She suddenly became a little more serious. "I'll run away if I have to, I just… I love John, and...""And what?""I wanna get out. This job, this life, I hate it." She shook her head. "I want a family, I wanna be safe. You know the worst thing I can think of? The very worst thing? Is for my children to be raised into this like I was. No, I won't let it happen."I had to blink back tears after hearing her say all that. "Yeah...""Hey, are you okay?""Yeah, no, I'm- I'm fine." Looking at her, standing in front of me, young, beautiful and naive of the future, I felt obligated to at least try and warn her. "Hey, uh, Mary, can I tell you something?""Sure.""Even if this sounds really weird. Will you promise me that you will remember?"She nodded, laughing lightly. "Okay.""On November 2nd, 1983," my voice shook as I fought not to cry, "don't get out of bed. No matter what you hear, or what you see. Promise me you won't get out of bed."Her smile was gone as she nodded again, more slowly this time. "Okay."Wiping at my face to get rid of the tear that had escaped, I started for the door, needing to get out of there before I really broke down....I was driving down the road, Liz in the seat next to me. We were silent, the two of us deep in thought. I could practically feel how nervous she was. Yellow-eyes had ruined both of our lives, but I had a feeling there was more to her story than I knew, and that was the reason why she was suddenly holding back.Movement in the rearview mirror caught my eyes. I jumped, surprised to see Castiel sitting in the back seat."So what? God's my co-pilot, is that it?" I asked him. But he didn't say anything back, just gave me a blank look. "Well, you're a regular Chatty Cathy. Tell me something. Sam would have wanted in on this, why not bring him back?""You had to do this alone, Dean."I scoffed. "And that's why Liz is here?""She was... persistent.""And what?" I shook my head at him. "You don't care that Sam's tearing up the future looking for us right now?""Sam's not looking for you," he responded simply."Alright, if we do this, then the family curse breaks, right? Mum and dad live happily ever after, and- and, Sam and I grow up playing little league and chasing tail?""You realise, if you do alter the future, your father, you, Sam, even Elizabeth, you'll never become hunters. And all those people you saved, they'll die."I glanced over at Liz, who was focused on the window next to her. "We realise."We both understood what was on the table here. We both knew what wold happen if we did this, if we killed Yellow-eyes. Not only would it save our families, and countless other people, but it would change our lives completely. To the point that Sam and I would never have met Liz, or Bobby, or anyone else.But if that meant my mum and dad got to live, then I was willing to let them all go. They'd be happy, and so would I."And you don't care?""Oh, I care," I assured him. "I care a lot." I need him to understand that. "But these are my parents. I'm not gonna let them die again. I can't. No, not if I can stop it." Looking over at him again, I found he was no longer in the backseat.It was just Liz and I again, left in silence once more....Liz was keeping watch as I broke into Daniel Elkins' safe. I knew the Colt was in here, because dad had told Sam and I where it was years ago. During the case, we found out vampires were real.Opening the door, I was relieved to see the gun lying exactly where I'd thought it would be."Dean..."The sound of a gun cocking, and Liz's voice had me look over my shoulder. Standing between us and our exit was Daniel and the shotgun he was aiming at us."Hold it right there, friend. Drop the gun, be on your way." There was a warning in his tone, and I had no doubt he'd shoot us.Getting up slowly, I pretended to lay the Colt on the top of the safe. But instead- once I stood properly- I turned quickly, aiming it at him. "Can't do it, Daniel."At the sound of me using his name, he tensed. "Who the hell are you?""We're hunters, just like yourself.""Thieves more like it.""We just need it for a few days," I assured him."Not happening."Liz sighed. "Look, you don't know us, I get it. But we have the chance to saves lives. His family. My family. And so much more. But we need this gun to do it. I'm begging you. Please, just let us take it, for a few days."He watched her carefully for a moment, and I guess it was the desperate look in her eyes and the way she pleaded, because he actually lowered his gun."Thank you." Liz gave him a quick and small smile before nodding to me.The two of us started for the exit, but before leaving, I turned back to Daniel. "There's some hunters in Lawrence, the Campbells.""Never heard of them."I gestured to the Colt in my hands. "That's where she'll be." With that, I followed Liz and left.
EPOV
"Mary!"At the sound of Samuel yelling worriedly and desperately, Dean and rushed towards the front door of the Walsh's home. I nodded to the door, throwing it open right before we reached it.Dean was in first, gun drawn. I was right behind him, coming to a standstill where he'd stopped. Standing in the living room was a man, with yellow eyes, holding Mary in front of him like a shield."Let her go!" Dean ordered.But Yellow-eyes' attention was on the Colt, not on Dean's words. "Where'd you get that gun?"Suddenly Mary elbowed Yellow-eyes and pushed him hard enough so that she could break free. Dean was ready, cocking the Colt, prepared to shoot. But a second before he got a chance, Yellow-eyes threw his head back, opened his mouth and exited the body he was possessing.The body fell in a heap on the ground as black smoke rushed out the air vent in the wall.Dean sighed in frustration, lowering the Colt. "Damn..."...I stood outside with Mary, my arm around her shoulders as I tried to comfort her. She was clearly freaked out from the whole experience. I know I hadn't exactly been all smiles and laughs after meeting my first demon."Mary, what else did he say to you?" Dean asked as he paced the sidewalk in front of Liddy Walsh's' house."I told you, just that he liked me." She paused and tensed before slowly looking at me with fear in her eyes. "What did he mean by that?"Before I could answer, Samuel walked out of the house and towards us. "Liddy's a strong kid, she'll be fine." He faced his daughter. "Are you okay?""No, Dad, I'm pretty far from okay. Can we go?" She snapped as she pulled away from me and stormed over to her father's car.Instead of following, Samuel watched his daughter as he spoke to Dean. "Nice job in there.""I missed the shot." Dean sounded so disappointed in himself, and I understood why."Take the compliment, son." Samuel turned to him. "I'm saying that I was wrong about you."Dean didn't say anything as he looked to Samuel, then to me, then to Mary as she sat in the truck, before turning back to Samuel. "We need to talk."
DPOV
Samuel sat at the dining room table in his home, Liz on his right as I stood at the window, looking out. I was on high alert. Yellow-eyes wasn't going to give up that easily. He'd come back for mum, eventually."We have to kill this thing now, or Mary dies," I told Samuel."What?" He turned in his chair to face me. "How do you know that?"I pulled out dad's journal as I answered. "I just do, okay?""When?" he snapped."I don't know, maybe today, probably years from now, but it's happening, trust me.""So, what, are you some kind of a psychic now too?"I paused my reading and looked over at him. "No. Alright, listen to me." I moved to take the seat on Liz's other side. "Now, this is gonna sound a little... actually it's gonna sound massively, massively crazy."He nodded. "Okay.""Mary is my mother.""Excuse me?""And I am your grandson," I added. "And I know what the hell I'm talking about."He looked at me, pulling back slightly as the disbelief in his eyes only grew. "You wanna run that by me again, son?"Liz spoke up for the first time since coming back to the Campbell's. "My name is Elizabeth Rose Hart. I was born October 28th, 1983. This is Dean Winchester, born January 24th, 1979. His parents are Mary and John Winchester."Looking from Liz to me, Samuel shook his head. "I don't have to listen to this."I quickly went on, trying to convince him. "Mary gets killed by a yellow eyed demon in 1983, and I think that this... what happened tonight, I think this is the moment that he caught her scent. Now, if we don't catch this thing now, and kill it, and it gets away? Then Mary dies. So I am asking you, please."The look in his eyes changed a little. I think it was from the fact that the life of his daughter may be in danger, even if the chances of me being right and sane were incredibly small. But I was willing to play on that doubt, to string it into belief, because that's what I needed right now. I needed him to believe me. I needed his help."How did I know about the Colt? Huh? How did I know about the Yellow Eyed Demon? Or where it would be? We're not making this up, Samuel."He ran a hand over his face."Every bone in my body is aching to put you six feet under, but there's something about you. I can't shake it. Now, I may be crazier than you, son, but I believe you."My whole body relaxed a little- but not entirely. "Thank you.""Now how do we find this bastard?""Right here, the list." I opened dad's journal again, looking down at it."And with the Colt?" he asked.I pulled it out of my jacket and laid it out on the table in front of me. "Yeah.""Here, let me see it." He reached his hand out.I hesitated and pulled it away from him slightly. "Sorry, I don't let anybody hold it."He looked insulted. "I'm your grandfather.""Nothing personal.""Sure it is. Especially when it's me you're trying to kill." Samuel's eyes turned yellow.Before Liz and I could even blink, our chairs were pulled along the ground and pushed against the wall where Yellow-eyes held us. I could barely move my head as I tried to struggle from the hold."Future boy and girl, huh?" Yellow-eyes stood and walked over to us. "I only know one thing that's got the juice to swing something like that. You must have friends in high places. So, I kill your mummy? That's why you came all this way, to see little old me?"I glared at him, feeling all the rage I'd had for this bastard come right back up, as if it never left. "Oh, I came here to kill you.""Hey, wait a minute." He leaned forward, resting his hands on the arms of my chair. "If that slut Mary's your mummy, are you... are you one of my psychic kids?" Leaning forward, he sniffed my neck before pulling back. "No, not you. But you on the other hand..." He turned to grin at Liz.She struggled as he pulled away from me and stepped over to stand in front of her chair which was mere inches from mine. But I was still stuck, just like her, and despite how close we were, there was nothing I could do to help."I can smell the power dripping off you." He leaned into her neck, taking a deep sniff. "Ripe like cherries," he moaned."Don't touch her!" I warned.He turned his head to look at me, but stayed close to her. "Or what?" Looking to Liz again, he looked pleased. "If the others turned out half as power as you, I must have some strong kids on my hands. Means it all worked out." He pulled away from her. "After all, it's why I'm here."She snarled at him. "You're a sick bastard. That's what you're doing here, making all these deals. You don't want their souls.""No, I just want their children. I'm here to choose the perfect parents, like his mummy." He gestured to me."Why her? Why any of them?" I asked, needing to know what made our family different, what made him choose mum over others."Because they're strong. They're pure, and they eat their Wheaties. My own little master race. They're ideal breeders." When I frowned at him he rolled his eyes. "Oh, get your mind out of the gutter. No one's breeding with me. Though, Mary? Man, I'd like to make an exception. So far, she's my favourite." He grinned, and then turned to Liz. "You too. We could have some fun." Looking her up and down, he leaned in closer again.She pulled away from him as much as she could. "Why make the deals if you're not taking their souls?" she asked quickly, to distract him.He sighed and paused, only leaning in halfway towards her. "I need permission. I need to be invited, into their houses. I know, I know, the red tape'll drive you nuts, but in ten short years, it'll all be worth it. 'Cause you know what I'm gonna do to you? And your sibling?" he smirked over to me before focussing on Liz again. "I'm gonna stand over your crib and I'm gonna bleed into your mouth. Demon blood is better than Ovaltine, vitamins, minerals. It makes you big and strong.""For what?" I glared. "So, they can lead your discount demon army? Is that your big plan?""Please, my end game's a hell of a lot bigger than that kid.""End game?" I asked. "What end game?""Like I'm gonna tell you. Or those angels sitting on your shoulder." He shook his head. "No, I'm gonna cover my tracks good.""You can cover whatever the hell you want, but I'm still gonna kill you."He scoffed, clearly not believing me. "Right. Now that, I'd like to see.""Maybe not today, but you look into my eyes, you son of a bitch, 'cause I'm the one that kills you."He looked me in the eyes, and I wasn't too sure if he believed it or not, but he steered away from that conversation. "So, you're gonna save everybody, is that right? Is that it? Well, I'll tell you one person that you're not gonna save." He pulled a knife from his belt. "Your Grandpappy." With a wink he then plunged the knife into his chest."No!" Deanna yelled from where she'd snuck into the dining room.Yellow-eyes turned to her, seeing her hurrying for the Colt. He simply raised his hand and sent her flying across the room and into the kitchen. Liz and I struggled, watching him walk towards her and disappear around the corner.A moment or two passed before we were released from the hold.Leaping from our seats we ran for the kitchen, rushing around the corner. But as we rounded it, we came to a halt, finding Deanna on the floor with her neck broken. Yellow-eyes was nowhere to be seen.I'd never had a chance to meet either grandparent before, and now they were gone before I'd even had a real chance to get to know them. No..."Dean, your mum."The pain I felt for the loss of Deanna was pushed to the side as my concern for my mum rose. "Mary!"But there was no answer. She wasn't home.
EPOV
I sat next to Dean as he drove along the road, his feet pressed all the way down as he drove faster than I thought this car would go."Dean, if we can get him in a devil's trap I might be able to patch Samuel up. We don't know where Yellow-eyes stabbed him.""Liz." Dean's jaw was tense, his grip on the steering wheel tight. "Samuel's gone. Deanna's gone. My parents are next. Yours too. I'm killing him."There was no room for discussion, no place for me to argue. But I wanted to.It's not like I wanted my family to die, but it's not like my life was horrible. I had Bobby, Ellen, Jo, Sam and Dean. I had Tristan. I could do things most people couldn't. I was a hunter, and had a life most people didn't even know existed. If we killed Yellow-eyes, I had no idea where that would leave me. I had no idea how much things would change, and if it would be for the better.But Dean wanted- and I guess he needed- to do this. So, I would. For him. That's what you do for family, even though he may only be family for a moment or two longer.
DPOV
As I sped around the corner, the headlights of the car landed on Mary and Yellow-eyes as they kissed, while John was lying dead on the ground in Mary's lap.We were too late. The deal had been made. But maybe, just maybe, I could still stop everything else from coming. If Yellow-eyes stilled died now, mum and dad could still be spared. They still might have a chance.Stopping the car, I hurried out. "No!" Pulling the Colt out, I went to shoot.Yellow-eyes pulled his head back and opened his mouth, black smoke coming out as the demon left Samuel's body with a scream.As Samuel's corpse fell to the ground, Mary looked from her father then over to Liz and myself, looking so guilty. That was until John woke up, having come back to life. She turned and held her to him.Everything in me broke. I'd failed. There was nothing I could do now. Yellow-eyes was gone and mum had made the deal. Everything was going to happen just like it had before.A gentle hand landed on my shoulder.I turned to see Castiel standing by my side. I knew this was it. I knew what this meant. It was time to go back. To go home.
EPOV
When we arrived back in our hotel room, back in the present, Dean and I woke up on his bed. I sat up and looked around, making sure everything was how we'd left it, and it was. Including Sam's perfectly made and empty bed."We couldn't stop any of it." Dean sat up as well, looking over at Castiel who stood in the middle of the room. "She still made the deal. She still died in the nursery, didn't she?""Don't be too hard on yourself." The angel's voice was so flat as he spoke, "You couldn't have stopped it."Frowning, Dean stood. "What?""Destiny can't be changed, Dean." Castiel turned to face us then. "All roads lead to the same destination."Dean shook his head. "Then why'd you send us back?""For the truth. Now you know everything we do.""What the hell are you talking about?"Instead of answering, Castiel looked over at Sam's empty bed.I watched as Dean looked over at it as well, before turning back to the angel, worried for his brother. "Where's Sam?""We know what Azazel did to Elizabeth and your brother." Castiel didn't answer. "What we don't know is why. What his endgame is. He went to great lengths to cover that up.""Where's Sam?" Dean repeated."Dean..." I got off the bed and moved around towards him, "maybe-"Castiel cut me off, "425 Waterman."Grabbing his keys, Dean pointed to my leather jacket that sat on the couch. "Get it and let's go."Once again there was no room for argument, so I did as I was told and followed him towards the door. But before we could leave, Castiel spoke again, his words stopping us."Your brother is headed down a dangerous road, Dean, and we're not sure where it leads. So stop it. Or we will."
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

SPOV
I stood with Ruby in an abandoned warehouse, looking over the demon we'd tied and trapped in a Devil's trap. "Where's Lilith?" I asked him, not for the first time."Kiss my ass," was his response, as he turned his eyes black.I scoffed at his comment, giving an unamused smile. "I'd watch myself if I were you.""Why? Huh? Because you're Sam Winchester, Mr Big Hero? And yet here you are, slutting around with some demon. Real hero.""Shut your mouth," I warned.But he ignored me, going on, testing my patience and temper. "Tell me about those months without your brother. About all the things you and this demon bitch do in the dark. Huh? Tell me, hero."It was enough for me to break, unable to control my temper any longer.Lifting my hand, I focused on the demon, pulling him out of the person he was possessing. Forcing the black smoke which was the demon, to be expelled out of its host and into the floor where it would fall to hell, and burn there.As soon as the demon was gone, I was relived to find I didn't feel any pain, there was no headache or dizziness I usually felt.Looking over to Ruby I could see the proud and pleased look in her eyes. We both knew what this meant. If I could exorcise demons with my mind, without side-effects, then things were going to get a whole lot easier and better. I felt pretty good about that.I moved closer to the man, checking to make sure he still had a pulse. He did. He was still alive. He was the first person to actually survive this. More progress.As I smiled up at Ruby, she smiled back at me. "How'd it feel?""Good," I answered as I began to untie the man. "No more headaches.""None? That's good."As I finished with his ties, the man began to wake."Hey, hey. I got you," I assured him. "It's all right." Helping him out of the chair, I wrapped my arm around him to keep him steady as I turned to walk us out of here. But before I got far I stopped in my tracks.Standing between me and the exit was none other than Dean and Lizzie.
EPOV
I stood behind Dean, trying to get Sam's attention with my eyes so I could assure him that I did not rat him out. I knew how it looked, Dean and I showing up like this. I knew Sam probably thought I'd said something to his brother. But I didn't, and I needed him to know that."So... anything you wanna tell me, Sam?" Dean asked, clearly pissed.Sam placed the man he'd been helping, back into the chair as he stood there watching Dean slowly walk up to him. Ruby moved closer to Sam, her eyes flickering towards me for a moment before she focused on Dean again."Dean, hold on, okay?" Sam started. "Just let me-"But Dean cut him off before he could say anymore. "You gonna say, 'let me explain'? You're gonna explain this?" He shook his head. "How about this? Why don't you start with who she is, and what the hell is she doing here?" he asked, gesturing to Ruby.Sam turned back to look at Ruby who was completely calm. Hell, she even smiled at Dean as she spoke. "It's good to see you again, Dean."Dean nodded slightly, knowing who she was in an instant. "Ruby?" He looked to his brother. "Is that Ruby?"Sam didn't say anything. No one said anything. Dean simply looked from his brother, back to Ruby, scoffing lightly before he snapped into action. He grabbed her and pushed her back so she was against a wall as his pulled the demon knife out of his jacket and aligned it with her chest, ready for the kill.Before Dean could kill her though, Sam grabbed his hand and pulled him back. "Don't!"The two struggled for the knife for a moment until Sam managed to snatch it out of Dean's grasp just as Dean pushed him against the wall. Ruby grabbed Dean and pinned him where he'd had her, defending Sam."No!" I didn't even have to lift my hand to throw her away from Dean and towards the wall by Sam, which is where I pinned her so she couldn't move.Dean made the smallest of movements, but I could see in his eyes that he was ready to attack Ruby again, thinking this was an invitation to kill her. So, with a flick of my eyes, I held him in place as well, keeping both of them pinned in their spots.Sam looked to each of them for a moment and then turned his attention to me. "Lizzie, let them go.""They'll kill each other," I warned, feeling it in my gut. It was Ruby I was mostly worried about, thinking she'd go for Dean the instant I released her.Sighing, Sam turned to her. "Enough."She was tense for a moment longer, still ready for a fight. But she knew there was no way I was letting her go if she wasn't going to listen. So, after a second or two, she relaxed, giving up and doing as Sam ordered.Once I was sure both were calm enough, I let them go, and sure enough, they didn't attack each other.Dean glared at her though. "Well, aren't you an obedient little bitch?"She didn't say anything back, but we could all tell she wanted to attack him. We could read it in her body language."Ruby," Sam warned. She stared at Dean a little longer before looking over at Sam. "Ruby, he's hurt." He indicated to the man he'd been helping before, the one he'd exorcised. "Go."Giving Dean one more glare, and me a quick look over, she walked over to the man and helped him to his feet, putting his arm over her shoulder and her arm around his waist so she could walk him out."Where the hell do you think you're going?" Dean asked, watching her go wearily."The ER," she answered with a shrug, "unless you want to go another round first." With no other response from any of us, she left.The moment Ruby was gone, Dean looked to his brother. I could practically see the disappointment and anger dripping off him."Dean-"Instead of listening to Sam, Dean turned ad started for the door."Dean!" Sam called after his brother, but it was too late, he was already gone.
SPOV
Lizzie had explained to me that she hadn't told Dean a single thing. The moment we were alone, she'd assured me there was no way she would have told Dean anything.But the thing is, she didn't have to tell me any of that. I knew she hadn't been the one to tell him. She was my best friend, she'd been by my side through most of the crap I'd went through after Dean died, she would never betray me like that.That left me with one question... how did Dean find out?The answer was a shock, really. Hearing Lizzie tell me that Castiel- the angel- had told Dean where I was. It made me wonder why.It was morning now. Dean hadn't come back to the hotel after he walked out of the warehouse last night. Lizzie had tried staying up, but ended up taking one of her pills and then crashed on Dean's bed. I hadn't slept though. Instead I'd kept myself busy with aimless research.The door swung open and slammed shut as Dean came in, waking Lizzie. She sat up suddenly, startled, but froze as Dean walked to his bed and began gathering his things, not looking at me.I stood, watching him, confused. "Dean, what are you doing?"He glanced up for a moment, his eyes landing on Lizzie. "Pack your things."She went to move, but stopped as I spoke again, shaking my head, "What, are you- are you leaving?""You don't need us," Dean answered. "You and Ruby go fight demons." He shoved some more things into his bag, looking up at Lizzie again. "We're going. Now. Pack. I'll meet you in the car," he told her, moving for the door.Before he could go far, I moved to stand in his way, keeping him from leaving. "Hold on. Dean, come on, man."I had no time to dodge him as he lifted his fist and punched me in the face.He just watched as I recovered, giving a short shrug and ignoring my bleeding lip. "You satisfied?" I asked.Once again, he lifted his fist and punched me. This time, I let him.Wiping the blood from my lip, I turned to face him again. "I guess not." I shrugged once more.He dropped his bag, getting ready for more."Stop it!" Lizzie scrambled off the bed, putting herself between us, her hand on Dean's chest. "Please, just stop."Dean continued to glare at me, shaking his head. "Do you even know how far off the reservation you've gone? How far from normal? From human?""I'm just exorcising demons." I didn't understand what the big deal was."With your mind!" he yelled back before taking a breath and going on in a calmer tone. "What else can you do?""I can send them back to hell. It only works with demons, and that's it," I assured him.When he went to take a step closer to me, Lizzie turned to him completely, pressing a hand to his chest to keep him back. "He's telling the truth, Dean."Dean paused, his gaze slowly falling to her. "You knew?"
Oh, no...
"Yes," she answered, her confidence not as strong as it usually was."And you didn't say anything?""Keeping secrets is what friends do.""He's my brother!"Seeing how things could get worse for Lizzie, I pulled the attention back to me. "Look, I should have said something." Dean's eyes snapped to mine as I went on, "I'm sorry, Dean. I am. But try to see the other side here.""The other side?""I'm pulling demons out of innocent people.""Use the knife!""The knife kills the victim!" I yelled back. I just didn't understand why he couldn't see the good in all of this. "What I do, most of them survive! Look, I've saved more people in the last five months than we save in a year.""That what Ruby want you to think? Huh? Kind of like the way she tricked you into using your powers?" He shook his head. "Slippery slope, brother. Just wait and see. Because it's gonna get darker and darker, and God knows where it ends.""I'm not gonna let it go too far," I assured him.He smiled at that, but it was clear he didn't find it amusing, that he didn't believe me. Walking away from Lizzie, he stopped in front of one of the bedside tables, pausing a moment before he grabbed one of the lamps and threw it across the room.Lizzie flinched back as I moved closer, instinctively ready to protect her even though we both knew Dean would never lay a finger on her."It's already gone too far, Sam." He turned back to us. "If I didn't know you... I would wanna hunt you. And so would other hunters."Lizzie flinched again, pulling back a little more, to the point where her side brushed my arm.I knew he didn't realise it, but he wasn't just hurting me here. For years now, Lizzie had been using the powers she'd gotten from the demon blood. At first, I hadn't liked it just like Dean hadn't, but we were all so use to it now, we didn't really think about it.His words hurt me too, even though I could understand where he was coming from. I guess seeing me use my new powers was too much for him. Seeing me use them with Ruby would have made it worse. Keeping it from him was just the cherry on top.But it didn't make what he said any easier to swallow."You were gone," I told him. "We were here. We had to keep on fighting without you. And what I'm doing... it works."Pulling back, he nodded lightly. "Well, tell me. If it's so terrific... then why'd you lie about it to me?" he asked, causing me to look away with guilt. "Why did an angel tell me to stop you?"Lizzie hadn't mentioned that... "What?"Dean nodded at my question. "Cas said that if I don't stop you, he will," he explained. "See what that means, Sam? That means that God," he pointed to the roof, "doesn't want you doing this. So, are you just gonna stand there and tell me everything is all good?"Tears were brimming my eyes as I looked to my brother a moment longer before I my gaze turned to the floor. I had no idea how I was supposed to respond, no idea how I could ever apologize enough to get him to forgive me, no idea how to explain in a way so he'd understand.That's the hardest part of all of this. No one could really understand, no one but Lizzie. Yet, even then there were times- most of the time- where I just wanted to talk to my brother about it all. I'd never be able to though, I knew that.My phone started to ring, cutting through the silence. Lizzie and Dean both jumped at the sound as I pulled my phone out of my pocket to answer it."Hello?" I pinched the bridge of my nose as I listened to the person on the other end. "Hey, Travis. Yeah, hey. Uh..." I paused as he spoke. "It's good to hear your voice, too, yeah. Um, look, it's not a really good time right now. It's-" He cut me off to tell me about a case. "Yeah, okay. Uh, well, just give me the details, and, uh..." I nodded, listening to him. "Carthage, Missouri." Walking over to the other bedside table, I wrote the details down. "Looking for Jack Montgomery." With that, I hung up.Breathing heavily, trying to keep control of everything, I looked over at Lizzie and Dean, seeing the two of them looking anywhere but at each other or me.
EPOV
I was in the back of the Impala, on my phone, trying my best to get myself out of the situation I was in, while the brothers sat in the front as Dean told Sam all about the little adventure Castiel had sent us to.
Where are you?

I could use a break xox

- L
"I can't believe it." Sam shook his head. "Mum, a hunter?""I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen it myself." Dean chuckled lightly. "That woman could kick some ass. I mean, she almost took me down."
I'm on a case.

Everything okay?

- T
"How'd she look? I mean..." Sam hesitated before elaborating. "Was she happy?""Yeah, she was awesome. Funny and smart. So hopeful." Dean looked over at his brother briefly, then turned back to the road. "Dad, too. Until of course..."
I'm fine. I just need to see you.

Can you come get me?

- L
Sam sighed, drawing Dean's attention back to him. "What?"
I can be there in a couple of days.

Just gotta finish the job and then I'm all yours xx

- T
Looking out his window, Sam shook his head. "Nothing."
Thank you xox

- L
There were a few reasons why I wanted to have some time away from the brothers. One, I felt like it would be for the best, so they could reconnect. Two, I wasn't sleeping properly and feeling too good, which could put us in danger. Three, I missed Tristan. Four, what Dean had said about hunting Sam, that hurt me, it even scared me. If he felt like that towards his brother, then how did he feel about me?After a moment, Sam spoke up, turning to his brother. "It's just, our parents. And now we find out our grandparents too? Our whole family murdered and for what? So Yellow Eyes could get in my nursery and bleed in my mouth?"I tensed as I pulled my attention away from my phone and looked over at the eldest Winchester... Dean didn't know Sam and I found out about the blood years ago...Dean was looking to the road, but it was clear he was trying to think about the conversation as if trying to figure out if he'd mentioned that to his brother. It didn't take him long to realise he hadn't. "Sam, I never said anything about demon blood." He looked to Sam and then me, guilt clear on our faces. "You two knew about that?"Looking anywhere but at his brother, Sam nodded. "Yeah, for about a year."Eyes on the road again, Dean shook his head. "A whole year?""We should have told you," Sam admitted. "I'm sorry.""Me too," I added quickly.Dean just shook his head again. "You've been saying sorry a lot lately, Sam. But whatever. You don't want to tell me, you don't have to. It's fine.""Dean," Sam sighed, turning to his brother, but Dean ignored him, focusing on the road. "Whatever." Sighing again, Sam looked out the window, the three of us falling into an uncomfortable and tense silence.
SPOV
Dean and I looked through binoculars, watching the house across the street. We were focused on the guy in the kitchen, reaching into the fridge to grab a beer. He looked completely average, nothing weird about him. So why did Travis want us watching him?"Are you sure that's him?" Dean asked.I nodded. "Only Jack Montgomery in town.""And we're looking for...?"Lowering my binoculars, I turned to shrug at him. "Travis said to keep an eye out for anything weird."Lizzie reached over and grabbed Dean's binoculars, taking a look. "The guy is completely normal, to an excruciating boring level." She lowered the binoculars and turned to me. "Are you sure your friend hasn't hit his head on the job too many times, or something?""Travis seemed pretty sure," I assured her, turning back to watch Jack again.He was leaning on the kitchen island, looking thoughtful as if trying to make a decision, drinking his beer. As he lifted the bottle to his lips again, he paused and looked around to see if anyone was watching. Then he pushed off the bench and opened the fridge again.Dean, Lizzie and I watched as he grabbed some food and began to eat it frantically as if he had gone without food for days. Once he was finished with it, he put it to the side as grabbed a pack of uncooked meat and began to dig into it like a rabid animal ripping into its kill.Suddenly he stopped and looked over his shoulder, a noise or something must have caught his attention. He looked to the food again, and it was clear he now realised what he'd just done.Lowering her binoculars, Lizzie shuddered. "I think I just became a vegetarian."
DPOV
I opened Sam's and my hotel room door, walking in only to come to a stop at the sight of an older man sitting at our table drinking our beer, completely at home.A smile crept on to my lips. "Travis." I turned to Sam as he stood next to me. "See, Sam. Told you we should have hid the beer."Travis got up and moved towards he, smiling widely. "Smartass. Get over here." He laughed, pulling me in for a hug. "Ahh, good to see you.""You too." I hugged him back.As he pulled away, he turned to give Sam a hug. "Good to see you.""You too, Travis."Stepping back, he looked Sam up and down. "Man, you got tall, kid." We all laughed. "How long has it been?""Ah, gotta be ten years," Sam answered."You still a... oh, what was it... a mathlete?"Sam scoffed. "No."Lifting my hand, I gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Yep, sure is."Still smiling widely, Travis shook his head, looking at the two of us. "Been too long, boys. I mean, look at you. Grown men. John would have been damn proud of you. Sticking together like this.""Yeah. Yeah, we're as thick as thieves." I turned to Sam, giving him a look that had his smile slowly disappearing. Nodding, I looked to Travis again. "Nothing more important than family."Walking back over to the table- Sam and I right behind- Travis got to business. "Sorry I'm late for the dance," he started, taking a seat at the table. I took the other seat while Sam sat on the closer bed. "Thanks for helping out an old man. I'm a little, uh, shorthanded." He chuckled as he gestured to his right arm which was covered by a cast. "So, you track down Montgomery?""Yeah, we found him at his home." Sam nodded."And?"I shrugged. "Well, he had a hell of a case of the munchies, topped off with a burger he forgot to cook."Travis sighed. "That's him alright.""What's him?" I asked."Boys, we got a rougarou on our hands.""A rougarou?" I turned to Sam, wondering if he knew what that meant, because I had no clue. "Is that made up?" Before he could answer, I turned back to Travis. "That sounds made up.""They're mean, nasty little suckers." Travis sighed. "Rotted teeth, wormy skin, the works."I shook my head. "Well, that ain't this guy. I mean, he was wearing a cell phone on his belt.""Rougarou start off like every other human, but as time goes by, they change. Evolve. Turn into the ugliest things I have probably ever seen," Liz noted as she closed the hotel room door. "But that's not even the worst part about them. It's their hunger you have to watch out for."Travis looked over at her, clearly impressed. "I don't think we've met before." He stood, offering her his hand to shake. "The name's Travis.""Elizabeth." She gave him a polite smile, shaking his hand."You boys didn't tell me you had a friend with you." Travis turned to Sam and me. "Or that she was smart and gorgeous.""Yeah, Liz hunts with Sam and me," I stated, wanting to get back on track. "So, rougarou. What do they eat, exactly?"Sighing, Travis sat back down. "At first, for everything, but then... for long pig."Sam made a noise, clearly knowing what that meant, which by the sound he made, isn't good.Confused, I looked to the three of them. "Long pig?""He means human flesh," Sam filled in.I gave a short nod. "And that is my word of the day."Travis gave an amused smile before going on, "Hunger grows in, till they can't fight it. Till they got to take themselves a big, juicy chomp, and then it happens.""What happens?" Sam asked."They transform completely and fast," Travis answered. "One bite's all it takes. Eyes, teeth, skin. All turns. No going back either. They feed once, they're a monster forever. And our man Jack's headed there on a bullet train."I frowned, not understanding one part of this story. "Well, how'd you find this guy if he's a walking, talking human?""Let's just say it runs in his family.""You mean, uh-"Travis cut Sam off, answering, "Killed his daddy back in '78. Son of a bitch mangled eight bodies before I put him down. Guy used to be a dentist. Cadillac, trophy wife... little did I know, pregnant trophy wife. She put the boy up for adoption. By the time I found out, he was long gone, lost in the system.""You mean to tell me you couldn't find someone?" Sam sounded as surprised as I was. Travis was an expert at finding people.Sighing, Travis gave a short shake of his head. "I'm not sure I wanted to. The idea of hunting down some poor kid... I don't think I'd have the heart. No. I wanted to wait, make damn sure I had the right man. Apparently, I do."
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

EPOV
I sat with Sam by his computer in my room, doing some research. I'd heard about rougarou before, I knew the stories and the lore. So, hearing Travis explain it to the brothers, well it had me a little concerned. I knew there was another way out of this. I knew we could finish the case without killing anyone. But I also knew the only person who would listen to me was Sam.Which is why we were in my room researching, and not in his where Dean and Travis could hear our theories and concerns."You were right." He gestured to the screen. "There are stories of people fighting the urge to kill. They never take the last step."Sighing, I stood up and walked away from the bed. "Yeah, only problem is, how do we tell Dean and your trigger-friendly-friend Travis?"We shared a look, both understand what I wasn't saying.This Jack guy was going through the same kind of things as Sam and me. Only, we weren't on the verge of tearing people apart with our teeth. Dean and Travis would never understand that. They'd never get what it feels like to have so little control over your future.Dean's words from before started playing in my mind as I thought about the fact he hated Sam using his powers so much, he punched his brother and told him he would hunt him if they weren't brothers.How did he see me, then? Was a monster? Was I on the edge of crossing that line? Was he as scared for me as he was for Sam? Or was he scared of us? Did I even mean enough that he wouldn't hunt me if things got bad? Was staying with him, putting myself in danger? Would he kill me?A tear rolled down my cheek at the painful thought of Dean killing me. There weren't a lot of things in the world that scared me more than that..."Lizzie." Sam pushed himself off the bed and came over to me.I wiped away my tears, shaking my head. "I'm fine," I tried to assure him, even though it was a lie."No. You're not." Grabbing my shoulder, he gently pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me as his cheek rested against the top of my head.I leaned into him, enjoying the comfort from my friend. We'd gotten closer over the four months Dean had been in hell. Sam was like the brother I'd never had. I knew, no matter what, he'd always have my back. It was nice, having someone like him around.But at the same time, I knew being with Sam meant being with Dean, and I wasn't sure if I could handle that for much longer. Not right now at least.Sighing, I pulled back from Sam, looking up at him. "I need you to do me a favour."
DPOV
"So, Elizabeth?" Travis gave me a grin as we worked on fixing up some gas cans.I chuckled lightly. "What about her?""Who's the lucky guy, you or Sam?" he asked, when I didn't say anything, he stopped working and turned to me completely. "Don't tell me you've got a girl like her around and you're not doing something about it. She's a catch. So, catch."Shaking my head, I focused on the can in my hands as I responded, "Liz and I… we have a past. But things are complicated right now," I explained, not wanting to tell him anymore. Getting back to business, I nodded to the cans. "So fire, huh?""The only way I found to kill these bastards. Deep-fry 'em.""Well, that's gonna be... horrible. Is that what you did to Jack's dad?"He gave a short nod. "Uh-huh."The room door opened as Sam came in with some papers in his hands. Looking over at us, he gave a slight frown, seeing the gas cans in our hands. "Not wasting any time, are you?"Travis shrugged. "None to waste. The guy hulks out, we won't be finding bodies, just remains.""What if he doesn't hulk out?" Moving to take a seat on the bed near the table, Sam gestured to the papers he held. "I did a little homework. Uh, I've been checking out the lore on rougarous.""What?" Travis looked a little offended. "My thirty years of experience not good enough for you?""What?" Sam chuckled nervously. "No. No, I-I- I just wanted to be prepared. I mean, not that you didn't..."Seeing him struggle, I spoke up, saving his ass. "Sam loves research. He does. He keeps it under his mattress right next to his KY. It's a sickness." I looked to my brother. "It is."Shaking his head, Sam got back to it. "Look, everything you said checked out, of course, but uh. I found a couple of interesting stories about people who have this rougarou gene or whatever. See, they start to turn, but they never take the final step."This was news to me. "Really?""See, if they never eat human flesh, they don't fully transform.""So what? Go vegan, stay human?" I asked.Sam nodded. "Basically. Or in this case, eat a lot of raw meat, just not-""Long pig," I finished."Right.""Good on you for the due diligence, Sam." Travis got up and walked over to the kitchen in the hotel room. "But those are fairy tales," he stated, pouring himself a coffee. "Fact is, every rougarou I ever saw or heard of... took that bite."Standing up, Sam turned to him. "Okay, well, that doesn't mean that Jack will," he argued as I stood as well, taking his papers to give them a look over."So, what do we do? Sit and hope and wait for a body count?" Travis asked.Sam shook his head. "No, we talk to him. Explain what's happening. That way he can fight it.""Fight it?" Travis laughed. "Are you kidding me? You ever been really hungry?" he asked, pulling my attention away from the paper. "I mean, haven't-eaten-in-days hungry?""Yeah." I nodded."Yeah. Right then. So somebody slaps a big, juicy sirloin in front of you, you walking away?"I thought about it for a moment before I realised I wouldn't. If I was hungry and the food was being offered, the there was no way I was going to give up the chance for a big, juicy steak."That's what we are to him now, meat on legs." Travis shrugged. "I'm sorry. I'm sure he's a stand-up guy, but it's pure, base instinct. Everything in nature's gotta eat. You think he can stop himself 'cause he's nice?""I don't know," Sam started, not backing down. "But we're not gonna kill him unless he does something to get killed for." He was final as he looked to Travis a moment longer before walking out the room.We watched as he left, waiting for the door to close behind him."What's up with your brother?"I shook my head, moving to sit down again. "It's a long story."
SPOV
"All right, so we're gonna go have a little chat with this guy which, you know... I'm down," Dean noted as he drove down the road. "But I just want to make sure, if push comes, you two are gonna shove." He looked over at me and then at Lizzie through the rearview mirror.I frowned, turning to him. "Meaning?""Well, odds are we're gonna have to burn this guy alive." He shrugged."This guy has a name and a wife," I noted.He nodded. "Yeah, who we're probably gonna make a widow, okay? I mean, you heard Travis. He's gonna turn. They always turn.""You don't know that. And neither does he. Just because everyone he's killed has turned, doesn't mean they all do." The tone of Lizzie's voice made it crystal clear that she wasn't particularly fond of Travis' ways.It's funny, when we first met her, she was a kill-first-ask-questions-later kind of girl. She hardly blinked at the idea of killing whatever monster we were hunting.But it was different now. It was different because things weren't that black and white anymore. She wasn't on one side of the fence, and neither was I. Part of us was something else, something that wasn't human. We weren't completely human. That would change anyone's view on the world. It changed mine."Maybe he can fight it off," I noted, agreeing with Lizzie."And maybe he can't, that's all I'm saying." Dean was just as sure as Lizzie and I were, only we weren't all on the same side of the argument."All right, we'll just have to see then, okay?"Dean shook his head. "This is what I mean, Sam. You sure your emotions aren't getting in the way here?"I looked to him again, frowning once more. "What are you talking about?""You know, nice dude, but he's got something evil inside." He looked to me and Lizzie briefly before focusing on the road again. "Something in his blood. Maybe you two can relate."I tensed my jaw, patience and temper at they're limit. "Stop the car."Dean was genuinely confused. "What?""Do it, Dean, or I will," Lizzie snapped from the back seat.Doing as he was told, Dean pulled over to the side of the road. But before he stopped the car, Lizzie and I were already getting out. Dean wasn't even out of the car by the time Lizzie turned and started to storm off to the lake we'd stopped by.I slammed my door shut, turning to glare at Dean as he stood out of the car now. "You want to know why we've been lying to you, Dean? Because of crap like this.""Like what?" he asked as we moved around the car."The way you talk to me, the way you look at me like I'm a freak!" I pushed past him, taking a few steps closer to the lake before turning to him again, pissed."I do not," he argued."You know, or even worse, like I'm an idiot!" Walking up to him, I got a little closer than usual as I went on. "Like I don't know the difference between right and wrong!" Sighing, I turned and started to walk a few steps away. When I turned again, he was looking at the ground, thinking. "What?"Looking to me again, not pissed but not happy, he shrugged. "Do you know the difference, Sam? I mean, you've been kind of strolling a dark road lately.""You have no idea what I'm going through. None.""Then enlighten me!""I've got demon blood in me, Dean! This disease pumping through my veins, and I can't ever rip it out or scrub it clean! I'm a whole new level of freak!" I shook my head. "And I'm just trying to take this- this curse... and make something good out of it. Because I have to."As I looked away from him, I knew he was watching me, thinking it over before he spoke again. "Let's just go talk to the guy," he suggested, causing me to scoff. "I mean Jack. Okay?"After a moment, I gave a short nod before looking over at Lizzie, seeing her leaning against a tree, looking out at the water, quite a few feet away from us."I'll go get her," Dean offered. "Should probably hear her side of the story too." He sighed, walking past me and towards Lizzie.
EPOV
I looked out at the water, wishing I could just float away and pretend none of my problems existed. Maybe I'd float off to a little island or uninhabited forest. I could stay out there and forget the rest of the world, even if just for a few days.Shaking my head- knowing that deep down, I didn't want that- I reached into my pocket and pulled out the bottle of pills, pouring one into my palm and then popping it into my mouth. I swallowed it without any water, putting the bottle back in my pocket.A small shiver ran through me, causing my arms to come up so I was hugging myself, trying to keep myself warm."Hey."I jumped at the sound of Dean's voice.Turning to him, I pushed off the tree and took a few steps back as I hugged myself a little tighter. "Hi.""Look, I didn't mean-""To tell Sam that if he wasn't your brother, you'd hunt him?" I shook my head at him. "You were gone for four months, Dean. Sam and I, we didn't know what to do. Do you know what that feels like, do you have any idea? Losing you, it almost killed us. It almost destroyed your brother. And now that your back you feel like you have the right to judge him?""Liz-""Ruby is a demon. Yes. Castiel told you to stop, Sam. Yes. But that does not mean you get to throw a tantrum because you don't like the way your brother decided to cope with losing you. He did the best he could without you here. So, back off, and actually try to understand his side of things," I snapped before I turned to look out at the lake again as my arms came up to hug myself once more.Dean stood there for a moment, watching me, taking in everything I'd just said. I was sure there might have been a line I'd just crossed, but I didn't care. It was about time someone told him off for being such a dick to Sam.After a while, he stepped closer to me, lifting his hand to rest on my arm. I flinched back, causing him to sigh. "Liz, I don't want to hurt you. Or Sam.""Could have fooled me," I mumbled.Shaking his head, he stepped a little closer. "I know I'll never understand what you and Sam are going through, no one else will understand. But... I'll try," he offered, causing me to look up at him, surprised. "Now, come on. You're freezing."Being my stubborn self, I stood my ground. "I'm fine."He simply chuckled. "You're shivering." Stepping even closer, he rubbed my arm, warming me up- which actually helped more than I thought it would have. "You wanna get out of here?"Giving in, I nodded. "Yes, please."Chuckling again, he wrapped his arm around me as we started for the car....Sam led the way as he walked through the gate of Jack's back yard, Dean was right behind me as the three of us walked into the yard. Jack was there, watering his garden with the hose, seeming to be deep in thought, or maybe just zoning out."Jack Montgomery?" Sam asked, catching Jack's attention. He turned to us, surprised but didn't say anything. "I'm Sam Winchester. This is my brother, Dean. And our friend Elizabeth." Jack looked to each of us. "We need to talk," Sam noted.Turning his attention back to Sam, Jack finally spoke. "About?""About you," Sam answered. "About how you're changing.""Excuse me?""You're probably feeling your bones move under your skin," Dean started. "And your appetite's reaching, you know, 'hungry, hungry hippo' levels. How am I doing so far?"Frowning, Jack looked to each of us again. "Who the hell are you guys?""We're people who know a little something about something." Dean shrugged.Sam elaborated, giving Jack an answer he might actually like. "We're people who can help. Please, just hear us out."...After we'd tried explaining everything to Jack, we stood back and waited as it all processed. But it appeared, things weren't going to go as easy as we hoped. Not that I thought they would. Finding out you might become a monster isn't exactly a walk in the park.Jack shook his head. "A-a what?""A rougarou," Dean repeated. "Sounds made-up, I know, but believe me, it's not.""Alright, I've noticed certain things. I mean, some strange things. But I just, I-I don't know. I'm... I'm sick or something." Jack was completely in denial."Your father was one of these things," Sam told him, causing Jack to turn to him again. "Your real father. He passed it on to you.""No. Are-are you guys listening to yourselves? You s-sound like you're-""Insane? Yeah, okay, we get it. But let's not ignore the facts, Jack." I took a step closer, my hands in my pockets. "You're hungry. Starving. And that's not going to go away easily. It's just going to get worse. ""Hungrier for?""Long pig," Dean answered without hesitation. "You know, a little man-burger helper, may have crossed your mind already.""No," Jack answered simply, but I could see it in his eyes, the doubt, the fear, the truth."It doesn't have to be like this, Jack. You can fight it off," Sam insisted."No," Jack repeated, turning away from us."Others have," Sam assured him."We're not gonna lie to you, though." Dean shook his head. "It's not gonna be easy. You're gonna feel like an alcoholic swimming around in whiskey. But I'm telling you. You gotta say no... or-"Jack cut him off, turning to us again, "Or what?""One bite, and it's over. You'll change. And then we'll have no choice." I looked Jack in the eyes, not dancing around anything as I told him the complete truth. "We'll have to stop you.""Stop me?" He looked down at me. "My dad, did uh, somebody stop him?""Yes." There was no need for me to lie.That pushed him over the line. "Get off my property right now. I see you guys again, I'm calling the cops."Sam stepped closer, still trying to get through to him. "Jack, your wife, everybody you know, they're in danger.""Now!" Jack snapped.Sam's hand landed on my arm, pulling me away. We both knew this was a lost cause, there was no getting through to him. At least not now, and not here.As Dean, Sam and I headed for the gate again, Dean came to stand on my other side, looking over at his brother. "Good talk."
SPOV
We'd been following Jack all day, making sure he didn't do anything stupid- like kill someone. It was dark now. He was seated on a bench on the street, his phone to his ear. He'd been sitting there for a while now."So, have you told Travis what we're doing?" Lizzie asked from the back seat of the Impala, looking at the back of Dean's head."He knows," Dean answered without turning to her."And what? He has no problem with us stalking his prey without him?"Sighing, Dean turned to look at her. "You got something to say, say it.""Travis is a ticking time bomb. He's gonna do something stupid, probably get himself killed, and ruin any chance of Jack actually coming out of this thing alive and human."As the two continued to glare at each other, I watched Jack, seeing him get up from the bench and start towards the apartment building across the street, while he looked up at the window where a pretty, young girl was closing her curtains."Damn it. Jack. No." I turned to the back seat, grabbing one of the flamethrowers Dean and Travis had made.Dean and Lizzie got one each as well before the three of us hurried out of the car and started towards the building, hoping we weren't going to be too late.
DPOV
I kicked down the apartment door, hurrying inside, flamethrower at the ready as Sam and Liz stepped in to stand either side of me. The woman who lived in the apartment had just come out of her room and screamed at the sight of us before she ducked back into her room, closing and locking the door."Wait!" I yelled after her, a little confused. "Whoa, uh, we're here to save you, I guess.""I'm calling the police!" she called through the door."We should go," Sam suggested.I gave a short nod. "Yeah.""Best idea yet," Liz added as she turned for the door.Hurrying back out, I quickly grabbed the door and closed it, giving a short and embarrassed laugh as I did. Once the door was closed, I turned and rushed after Sam and Liz, knowing that if we didn't find Jack soon, things were going to turn bad, fast....I pulled up in front of Jack's house, getting out of Baby as Sam and Liz did as well, all of us carrying a flamethrower each. We all looked across the street, seeing Travis' car parked there."I guess now we know where Travis is," I noted before pointing a finger at Liz. "I don't want to hear, 'I told you so'. Okay?" I warned as we started for the front door.I stepped in first, opening the door slowly and carefully, trying to stay as quiet as possible. Creeping in, I looked around everywhere, keeping my eyes open, looking out for any movement. We had no idea what might be waiting for us.Sam and Liz were behind me, closing the door behind them as we then headed into the living room. A chair rom the dining table was lying on its side, with some rope by it, but that wasn't what had us stop in the doorway. No, it was the large pool of blood soaking into the carpet, and the trail of blood leading to the back of one of the couches.We moved over to see what was behind the couch, and what we found was not what I'd been expecting. It was meat. Raw meat. You couldn't even tell what it had once been."Oh, God. Think that's Travis?" I asked, looking around, keeping an eye out.Sam sighed. "What's left of him." As I turned to him, I could see just how defeated he looked. "Guess you were right about Jack."I was about to respond when a pair of hands suddenly grabbed Liz."Lizzie!""Liz!"Sam and I turned to see Jack throw her against the coffee table, knocking her out.We acted as fast as we could, pulling out our flamethrowers, going for the kill. But just as I got my lighter out and ready, Jack turned and jumped me, knocking the flamethrower out of my hands.The next thing I know, I've fallen to the ground with Jack on top of me, grabbing my shoulders before he lifted me and then pushed me down hard, causing my head to hit the ground. Then I was out like a light.
SPOV
My head hurt like hell as I woke up. Opening my eyes, I looked around, finding myself on the floor in a closet. But worst of all, I was alone. Getting up, I moved for the door handle to get out, only to find it was locked."Dean? Lizzie?""Dean and Lizzie can't come to the phone right now," Jack called from outside the closet.I slammed my hands against the door out of frustration and anger. "Jack! If you hurt them, I swear to God!""Calm down!" he snapped. "They're alive," he told me, and I relaxed a little, panting as I leaned against the door. "But not if you don't calm down."Calmer now, I nodded. "Alright, Jack. Listen. Open the door. We can figure this out, okay?"He laughed. "We'll have ourselves a little brainstorming session." I could hear the desperation in his tone, the underlining fear."Jack. Please.""I don't think so. After what you did?"I frowned, confused. "What? What are you talking about?""You send your friend here. He tried to burn my wife alive.""What? Why?" I asked as I started searching my pockets.There was a pause before Jack responded, his tone a little different. "He didn't say." Looking around, I spotted a metal hanger and grabbed it as Jack went on, "I guess psychopaths don't have to explain themselves.""Listen to me. You gotta believe me. My brother, our friend, and I, we never would have hurt her, okay?" I told him as I started to untwist the hanger."Oh, God. I'm so hungry."Finished untwisting it, I brought the hanger down to the lock to pick it. "Jack, don't do this.""I can't ever see my family again. You three... your friend. You made me into this!""No one's making you kill us," I told him as I kept working the lock, but it just wasn't working. "Listen to me. You got this dark pit inside you. I know." I stopped working, leaning against the door with my eyes closed as I spoke. "Believe me, I know. But that doesn't mean you have to fall into it. You don't have to be a monster," I insisted as I got back to work on the lock.He laughed again. "Have you seen me lately?""It doesn't matter what you are. It only matters what you do. It's your choice."
EPOV
I began to stir, hearing voices in the back ground, waking up. My head throbbed, and so did the rest of my body. But a voice in the back of my mind was urging me on, pushing me to keep going, to wake up. I knew there were people I needed to help, people I cared about that were in danger.As I opened my eyes, I quickly remembered where I was and what happened. Jack had attacked me after Sam, Dean and I found what was left of Travis' body.Blinking a few times, I looked around, finding that I was lying on the coffee table in the living room. Over on the mat I could see Jack, between me and the closet, his back facing me as he reached over, his hand inching closer and closer to Dean.I could see it. I could see it in his body language. I could hear it in the noises he was making as he neared Dean. If someone didn't stop him, Jack was going to eat him."No!"As I screamed, Jack was suddenly pushed up on to the roof with a force that was so strong it cracked the ceiling. Just as suddenly, he burst into flames, the red heat swallowing him as he screamed in agony, unable to fight or even move.The sounds coming from him sounded as if they should be coming from wild animals being ripped apart. He screamed, screeched and wailed as the flames continued to burn him until there was nothing left. Nothing but a burnt, crisp body.As the flames died, his body fell to the ground, crumbling and breaking at the impact. That's when I noticed the two sets of eyes watching me.Dean was sitting up by the body, while Sam stood in the doorway of the closet, both of them looking at me with unreadable expressions...
DPOV
There was tension in the car as Sam and I drove back to the hotel. Liz had run out of the house before either of us could stop her. She'd jumped into Travis' truck and sped off as we'd called and ran after her. Now we were hoping she'd be at the hotel, hoping we'd find her in her room.What she did... it scared me. Shocked me, too. With everything Sam had been doing lately, that was just the cherry on top. I had so many questions. Did she know she could do that? If so, how long had she known? Could she do anything else? Did she use the power a lot? What did she use it for? Why burn him on the roof?That had been just as frightening as her actual power. Seeing Jack burning on the roof. It was too real, brought back too many memories..."She didn't know."The sound of Sam's voice had me jump. "What?""She's never done that before. Used that power. I thought you should know that before you start judging her." The flatness of his tone told me a lot more than his words did. He was still pissed at me."I'm not judging her. I just wanna make sure she's okay," I told him, sighing as he still sat there, tense and pissed. "Sam, I'm sorry. I know I've been kind of hard on you lately."He shifted then, just slightly. "Don't worry about it, Dean.""It's just that your, uh... your psychic thing... what you and Liz do, it scares the crap out of me.""Look, if it's all the same... I'd really rather not talk about it."I looked over at him briefly, a small smile playing on my lips. "Wait a minute. What? You don't want to talk? You?"He didn't smile back as he turned to me. "There's nothing more to say. I can't keep explaining myself to you. I can't make you understand.""Why don't you try?""I can't. Because this thing, this blood, it's not in you the way it's in me, the way it's in her. It's just something Lizzie and I have to deal with."I shrugged. "Not alone."He sighed, looking out the window. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. These powers..." He shook his head. "I'm done with them. I'm done with everything."I looked over at him, surprised. "Really?" When he just kept looking out the window, I nodded, turning to the road again. "Well, that's a relief. Thank you."Sam just scoffed lightly as he turned to me again. "Don't thank me. I'm not doing it for you. Or for the angels or for anybody. This is my choice."...Sam picked the lock to Liz's room while I kept watch. Travis' truck wasn't out the front, and all our knocks hadn't been answered, so the only other thing we could do was break in."Got it," Sam told me as he opened the door and stepped in.I was right behind him, moving to start searching the room. But it was empty. There were no clothes, no food in the fridge, the bed was perfectly made. It was as if no one had even stayed in the room in the first place."Son of a bitch," I sighed, closing the doors to the wardrobe. I turned, seeing Sam reading a piece of paper as he stood by one of the bedside tables. "What is it?" I asked, moving over to him. He didn't answer. As his silence stretched on, my patience grew thin. "Sam?"Turning slowly, he handed the note over without a word. Taking it from him, I wasted no time and began to read.
Boys,

You've got questions. I know. I swear, I have never done anything like that before. It scared me as much as it scared you, maybe even more. But I don't know where it came from, and I don't know if Dean can handle both Sam and I right now. So... I'm gonna go away for a while. Just until I can figure some things out, and until you two sort out your own problems.

Don't worry. I won't be alone. And no, I won't be at Bobby's. Or with Jo. Or Ellen. Tristan was coming to get me tomorrow anyway. Instead, we're meeting up somewhere else. He'll take care of me. He always does- you know that Sam.

I'll call you in a few days, and you never know, maybe I'll be back after a few hunts. Just give me some time. Let me figure all this out. And then I'll come back. I promise.

Elizabeth.
I frowned, reading the note over and over again, my confusion and worry only growing more and more. Eventually I lowered the note and turned my frown to Sam."Who the hell is Tristan?"
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

EPOV
Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the door to the diner I'd agreed to meet the Winchesters at. It had been a few weeks since I'd run off with only a letter to assure them that I would be fine. During the time apart, Sam and I had shared a few phone calls, but I'd avoided all and any contact with Dean. Out of fear.But now there was no running. No hiding. It was time to face him.I saw the backs of their heads as they sat at one of the booths. They were silent, waiting. It made me a little more anxious, knowing that they were expecting me any second.You can do this.Walking passed, I slid into the seat across from theirs and looked up at them. "Hi."Sam shifted where he sat on the edge, a light smile playing on his lips. "Hey, Lizzie."Dean turned away from the window to meet my gaze. "Tristian didn't want to come in and introduce himself?" he asked. He wasn't happy, that was clear in his tone.I sighed, having expected something like this. "He did, but I thought it would be best he meet the two of you under less tense circumstances."Frowning, Dean looked from me, to Sam and then back to me. "You're telling me, you just spent the last few weeks doing God knows what, with a guy neither one of us have met?" He shook his head. "What the hell were you thinking, Liz? This guy could be a serial killer for all you know."Rolling my eyes, I leaned back in the seat, feeling less tense and more annoyed. "One, I can take care of myself. Two, what I do is my business and not yours. And three, he is a killer... he's a hunter." Crossing my arms across my chest, I glared at Dean. "A hunter who doesn't mind that I have psychic powers, might I add."This is what we were really doing here. This is what I'd met them for. To talk about how we were supposed to go forward, now that we knew my powers were growing just like Sam's were."Lizzie," Sam's smile slipped as he looked at my empathetically, "we don't mind-""Dean does," I noted, cutting the youngest Winchester off."No. He doesn't." Sam turned to give his brother a pointed look. "Right, Dean?"Looking out the window again, Dean's jaw tensed as he hesitated a moment before speaking. "I'm not gonna lie, Liz. It scares the hell out of me." Turning his gaze to me, he went on, "But I know you don't have any control over what's happening to you. And I know you and Sam need support, not judgment."Shifting in my spot slightly, I felt a little uncomfortable with the weight of their gazes. Sam and Dean, they meant a lot to me. They're approval meant more than anyone else's. More than Bobby's, Ellen's and Jo's. The brothers were my best friends, and I wanted nothing more than they're support, loyalty and respect."Have you..." Sam cleared his throat, trying to figure out the best way to go on. "Have you, you know... figured everything out?""You mean, have I learnt how to control the fact I can now start fires with my mind?" Looking down at my folded arms, I shrugged. "Things are better.""Have you been using the power?" Dean asked."No." Sighing I looked to each brother. "I'm not stupid. If the angels don't want Sam using his powers, they won't want me using mine. I know they came from a demon. I know they're meant for bad. So, I'm gonna try not to set things on fire. Try. But it's not like I'm a pro at controlling it right now.""And your other power?"My eyes snapped to Dean. "That power has saved all of our asses more than once. Castiel hasn't said anything about it, so as far as I'm concerned, it stays."Dean and I sat there, staring at each other, almost glaring. The tension between us grew with each passing second. It was clear he wanted me to give up all of my powers, but just like with everything, compromising was the best we could do, because there was no way I was giving it all up.Moving things with my mind wasn't as bad as setting things on fire. Besides, I'd been using telekinesis for so long, I was practically a professional now. When it first started, I could barely move a spoon in my coffee. Now? Now I could break trees, move objects like cars, and so much more. Restrictions were minimal to me now.But none of that mattered to Dean. He wanted it gone, wanted me to stop. He thought it was dangerous, reckless, like playing with a ticking time bomb. His worry wasn't just about what I- or Sam- might do, but also about my safety. None of us knew what might come from me using the power so much, and that scared Dean, I knew that. But he didn't have to be a dick about it.Clearing his throat, Sam spoke as Dean and I continued to stare at each other, "So, does this mean you're back? You're hunting with us again?""If that's what you boys want.""We just want you safe, Liz.""I can handle myself, Dean.""You sure about that?""Okay." Sam smiled awkwardly, trying to soften the mood as he went on, "Well, Dean and I think we might have a case. So, you ready?"Giving a short nod, I slid out of the booth. "Let's go."
DPOV
Liz, Sam and I stood in front of the coroner as he unzipped the body bag that sat in front of the four of us. "Agent Tyler, Agent Perry, Agent Whitford, meet Frank O'Brien.""He died of a heart attack, right?" Sam asked."Three days ago.""But O'Brien was forty-four years old and," Sam opened O'Brian's folder, "according to this, he was a marathon runner.""Everybody drops dead sooner or later." The coroner shrugged. "It's why I got job security.""Yeah, but Frank kicked it here," I noted. "Now, just yesterday, two perfectly healthy men bit it in Maumee. All heart attacks, you don't think that's strange?""Sounds like Maumee's problem to me. Why's the FBI give a damn, anyway?""We go where we're sent sir. Do as we're told." Liz gestured to the body. "And we were told to check out the results of Mr O'Brian's autopsy."The coroner frowned at her, confused. "What autopsy?"I gave him a quick smile. "The one you're gonna do."...Now dressed in the proper gear for an autopsy, Liz, Sam and I watched as the corner cut into O'Brian's chest with a scalpel. None of us reacted as the blade sliced through the skin. This wasn't even close to the worst thing we'd seen."First dead body?" the coroner asked without looking up at us.I gave a short shake of my head. "Far from it.""Oh, good. Because these suckers can get pretty ripe. Hey, hand me those rib cutters, would you?" He gestured to the table of tools by Liz. She did as he asked, not even thinking about what she was grabbing- she just knew.It didn't surprise me. Liz, she knew a lot about a lot. I guess all those years with Bobby, she learnt a few things. Sometimes she even knew more than Sam, and he was the smartest person I knew. The two had a lot of similarities.Like their powers. I didn't like that they could do these things, and I sure as hell didn't like that they did use the powers they had. But I knew there was no way I could keep them from doing what they wanted, what they felt was right, even though I was pretty sure what they were doing was wrong.At least Sam had agreed to stop, and Liz was willing not to set things on fire with her mind. If she was willing to compromise, I was happy with the choice she made.
But I'd be happier if she stopped it all, completely.
As the coroner cut O'Brian's ribs open, I looked over the body, noticing a distinctive mark on one of the finger on his left hand."Is that from a wedding ring?" I asked, reaching forward to turn the hand so I could get a better look. "I didn't think Frank was married.""Ain't my department.""Any idea how he got these?" Sam gestured to the scratches that ran up and down O'Brian's arm."You know what? When you drop dead, you actually tend to drop. Body probably got scraped up when it hit the ground." The coroner paused, looking into the chest, seeming surprised or maybe confused. "Huh...""What?" Sam asked."I-I can't find any blockages in any of the major arteries." Reaching into the chest, he pulled out the heart. I had to hold back as I gaged, wanting to throw up. "Heart looks pretty damn healthy. Hold that a second, would you?" He gestured for me to take the heart.Out of instinct, I grabbed it, but was filled with regret in an instant. I was wrong before. This was the grossest thing I had ever done."I've got it." Liz actually smiled as she grabbed the heart from me, looking it over curiously. When she noticed Sam, the coroner and I watching her, she looked up and shrugged at us. "I wanted to be a surgeon when I was little."Looking impressed, the coroner got back to work, reaching into to cut more of O'Brian's insides. Only, as the scalpel cut into the next part, juice squirted out, right onto Sam's face."Oh, sorry. Spleen juice."
EPOV
I grabbed one of the plastic cups and bent down to fill it up with some of the filtered water in the waiting room of the sheriff's station. Reaching into my pocket, I grabbed one of my pills and popped it into my mouth, swallowing it just as one of the office doors opened."Hell's bells, Linus, have you seen my-" The man that had stepped out of the office stopped himself as he looked over at the brothers and me. "Who are they?" he asked the deputy as Sam and Dean stood from where they'd been sitting, waiting."Federal agents. I, uh-"The sheriff cut Deputy Linus off, "And you kept them waiting?""You- you said not to disturb..."Ignoring him, the sheriff gestured to his office. "Come on back, fellas, ma`am." Turning he started towards his office as Sam, Dean and I followed. Reaching the door, he stopped us before we could enter. "Shoes off."Doing as he said, we all kicked off our shoes. I sighed as my heels sat next to Sam and Dean's shoes. Usually I didn't care about the height difference between the brothers and myself, but with how insecure I was feeling with Dean right now, I wanted those few extra inches.Stepping into the sheriff's office, he offered each of us his hand to shake. "Al Britton. Good to meet you.""You too." Sam nodded, taking the seats in front of the desk as Al gestured to them. "Thank you."Moving to the other side of the desk, Al grabbed a bottle of sanitizer and poured a decent amount on to his hands and rubbing it in. I shared a look with Dean- who was equally weirded out- as he sat next to Sam and I sat next to him."Okay." Al sat down in his seat. "So, what can I do for uncle Sam?""Well, we're looking into the death of Frank O'Brien," Sam started. "We understand some of your men found his body."Al nodded, leaning back in his chair. "They did. Me and Frank... we were friends. Hell, we were gamecocks." Dean gave a little snicker, causing me to elbow him in the ribs and for Al to give him a stern look. "That's our softball team's name." when Dean's smile fell, Al added, "They're majestic animals. I knew Frank since high school. To be honest, I just this morning got up the strength to go see him. Frank was... he was a good man.""Yeah." Dean gave a nod. "Big heart."I glared at Dean, wishing he'd take this seriously. O'Brian was a person, and Al was his friend. They deserved more respect than Dean was giving."Before he died, did you notice frank acting strange?" Sam asked. "Maybe scared of something?""Oh hell, yeah. Real jumpy.""You know what scared him?"Leaning forward, resting his arms on his desk, Al gave a short shake of his head. "No. Wouldn't answer his phone. Finally, I sent some of my boys over to check on him, and well, you know the rest," he started to cough then, taking a moment to stop before he reached over to grab the sanitizer again.Dean and I shared another look, not understanding this guy's thing with the sanitizer. I mean, people aren't really like that, are they...?Slathering his hands with the gel, Al looked to the three of us again. "So, why the Feds give a crap? You don't really think there's a case here?""No, no. It's probably nothing. Just a heart attack," Dean assured him...."No way that was a heart attack," Dean stated as the three of us walked down the street, headed for the Impala.Sam shook his head. "Definitely no way. Three victims, all with those same red scratches. All went from jittery to terrified to dead within forty-eight hours.""So, what are we thinking? Something scared them to death?" I asked, looking to each brother. "Because, I mean... the list of things that can do that is practically endless."Dean nodded, agreeing with me. "Ghosts, vampires, Chupacabra? It could be a hundred things.""We make a list and start crossing things off," Sam suggested."Alright, who's the last person to see Frank O'Brien alive?" Dean asked."Uh, his neighbour, Mark Hutchins," Sam answered as we were about to cross the road, almost at the car.Before we could cross though, Dean stopped us. "Hang on, hang on.""What?" Sam and I asked at the same time.Pausing a moment, Dean didn't look at us as he spoke. "I don't like the looks of those teenagers down there," he stated, causing Sam and I to look over at the group of teens standing between us and the car. "Let's walk this way." Dean gestured to the other side of the road, crossing it without us."Am I missing something? Did something happen while I was gone?"Sam shook his head. "Not that I know of," he answered as we followed Dean.
SPOV
Lizzie, Dean and I sat on Mark Hutchins' couch, across from him and the snake he held. "Tyler, Perry and Whitford." He smiled at us. "Just like Aerosmith.""Yeah, small world." I quickly went on, wanting to get back to the case. "So, the last time you saw Frank O'Brien?""Monday, he was watching me from his window. I waved at him, but he just closed the curtains.""Hmm. Did you speak to him recently? Did he seem different?" I asked, before elaborating. "Uh, scared?""Oh, totally." Mark nodded. "He was freaking out.""Do you know what scared him?" Lizzie asked."Well, yeah, witches.""Witches?" I shared a look with Dean and Lizzie. It seemed we might be onto something here... "Like...?" I pressed.Mark shrugged. "Well, Wizard of Oz was on tv the other night, right? And he said that green bitch was totally out to get him."That's not exactly what I was hoping for... "Anything else scare him?""Everything else scared him. Al-Qaeda, ferrets, artificial sweetener. Those pez dispensers with their dead little eyes. Lots of stuff."I looked over at my brother then, noticing the way he watched the room, his eyes darting to all the reptiles in their cages and around the room. It was like he was on edge, maybe even scared. Something was definitely up with him."Mark, could you tell us what Frank was like?" Lizzie went on with the questioning.Mark hesitated a moment, not sure if he should answer or not. "I mean, he's dead, you know? I-I don't want to hammer him but, he got better.""He got better?""Well, in high school he was, he was a dick.""A dick?" I asked.He shrugged again. "Like a bully. I mean, he probably taped half the town's butt cheeks together," he explained, causing Dean to chuckle lightly. Mark turned to him, unimpressed. "Mine included."Clearing his throat, Dean dropped his smile, trying to be serious. "So he pissed a lot of people off. You think anyone would have wanted to get revenge?""Well, I don't..." Pausing a moment, Mark looked to each of us with a confused frown. "Frank had a heart attack, right?""Just answer the question, sir," I told him."No, I don't think so. Like I said, he got better. And after what happened to his wife.""His wife? So he was married.""She died about twenty years ago. Frank was really broken up about it." Looking over at Dean, Mark smiled lightly, seeing the nervous look on my brother's face. "Don't be scared of Donny." He pet the snake he was holding. "He's a sweetheart. It's Marie you got to look out for." He nodded to the couch, behind us. "She smells fear."Lizzie, Dean and I looked behind us to see another snake coming up and over, heading towards us. Tensing, Dean looked away, making a noise of discomfort as he tried to ignore the snake. Lizzie though, she surprised us all."Hi there." Smiling, she reached over to run her fingers down the body of the snake. "She's beautiful."I honestly could not believe my eyes. The snake slid over the couch, and onto Lizzie's lap as she continued to pet it. I'd known Lizzie had guts, but I'd never imagined she'd be that brave. All the while, Dean was doing everything he could to keep himself from completely freaking out.
EPOV
Sam and I walked up to Baby, seeing Dean in the front seat, scratching at his arm absentmindedly as he read the papers he was holding. The three of us had split up hoping we'd find something that might tell us what the hell was going on."Hey. Any luck at the county clerk's office?" Sam asked as he got into the front with Dean, while I climbed into the back."I'm not sure I'd call it luck." Dean handed over the papers he'd been reading. "Frank's wife, Jessie, was a manic-depressive. She went off her meds back in '88 and vanished. They found her two weeks later, three towns over. Strung up in her motel room, suicide."Looking over Sam shoulder, I gave the article a quick read. "You think Frank might have been a part of it?"Dean shook his head. "No, Frank was working the swing shift when she disappeared. Airtight alibi." He turned on the car before driving onto the road. "How was Frank's pad?"Sam shrugged. "Clean. Searched it top to bottom. No EMF, no hex bags, no sulfur.""So probably no ghosts, no witches, no demons," Dean noted. "Three down and ninety-seven to go.""Yeah." Sam sighed as he looked over to Dean. I noticed him frown at something. "Dude, you're going twenty.""And?" Dean didn't seem to understand Sam's confused tone.To see for myself, I leaned forward to take a look, and sure enough Dean was going no more or less than the speed limit. "Dean... you never go the speed limit.""What? Safety's a crime now?" He sounded offended as he continued to drive... through an intersection... passed our hotel.Sam watched the building as we passed it. "Dude, where are you going? That was our hotel.""Sam, I'm not gonna make a left-hand turn into oncoming traffic. I'm not suicidal," Dean told him as if that were obvious. But as Sam and I looked at him, confused, Dean seemed to realise what he'd said. "Did I just say that? That was kind of weird." He chuckled lightly.A noise started in the back ground, getting our attention."Do you hear something?" Feeling around, Sam looked for the source of the noise, finding that it was coming from the EMF meter in his pocket.Still frowning, Sam moved it closer to Dean. The beeping increased. When Sam pulled the meter away, the beeping stopped..."Am I haunted?" Dean started freaking out, looking from the road to the reader and then back. "Am I haunted?!"...I sat in the back of the Impala while Dean sat in the front. We were waiting in the parking lot by the hotel, while Sam called Bobby to see if they could figure out what the hell was going on. That meant, I was stuck babysitting Dean.Watching him I shook my head, reaching over to slap his shoulder. "Stop scratching."Since last night he'd started scratching his forearm, right where we'd seen the scratches on O'Brian's arms...He grumbled, dropping his arms as he turned to pout at me. "I can't help it."Sighing, I climbed over into the front seat and sat next to him. "Turn around." When he opened his mouth to speak, I shook my head. "Just turn around." Once he did as I told him, his back now facing me, I reached over to turn the radio on before sliding closer to him as I rested my hands on his shoulders.Eye of the Tiger started to play as I began to push my fingers into his shoulders, giving him a massage so he would relax a little. Sure enough, the tension started to lessen as he leaned back into me a little more."Oh, God," he groaned. "You're really good at that."A smile played on my lips as I continued. "My mum used to make my sister and I give her massages after longs days at work. It didn't take me long to get good."We sat there a little longer, Dean leaning into me more and more as I kept massaging his shoulders, my fingers getting in deep, really working all the tension out. Groaning, Dean relaxed completely, practically going limp. I couldn't help but chuckle lightly at how adorable he was being right now."You two okay in there?"I jumped at the sound of Sam's voice, my hands flying off Dean as I pulled away from him as much as possible."Sam!" My voice was a little higher than usual. Getting out of the car, I moved to stand next to the younger Winchester. "I didn't see you there.""Clearly." He grinned down at me.Dean climbed out of the car as well, then, coming over to lean against Baby, standing next to me. "Dude. Look at this." He showed Sam's the scratches on his arms.Sam sighed at the sight of them, not sounding happy at all. "I just talked to Bobby," he noted, handing Dean the box of doughnuts he held."And?" Dean asked, smelling the doughnuts before passing them to me.Sam and I looked perplexed and surprised. Dean never ignored food. He was always thinking with his stomach... I guess whatever's wrong, really is messing with him."Um, well, you're not gonna like it," Sam started."What?""It's ghost sickness.""Ghost sickness?" Dean actually sounded disappointed, as if he knew what that meant.Sam gave a short nod. "Yeah.""God, no."I looked to each fo them. "Do you guys even know what that is?" When Dean shook his head, I rolled my eyes. "It's believed that certain spirits can pass diseases over to the living. It's why bodies are no longer displayed in homes during funerals and wakes."Dean watched me, shaking his head, impressed and shocked. "How do you know all this stuff?""I lived with Bobby, Dean," I noted, a grinning playing on my lips again."She's right," Sam started. "Symptoms are, you get anxious...""Then scared, then terrified, then your heart gives out," I finished."But, we haven't seen a ghost in weeks." Dean noted, looking to his brother.Sam shrugged. "Well, I doubt you caught it from a ghost. Look, once a spirit infects that first person, Ghost sickness can spread like any sickness through a cough, a handshake, whatever. It's like the flu. Now, Frank O'Brien was the first to die, which means he was probably the first infected. Patient zero.""Our very own outbreak monkey.""Right. Get this, Frank was in Maumee over the weekend. Softball tournament. Which is where he must have infected the other two victims.""Were they gamecocks?" Dean asked, pushing off Baby.Sam shook his head. "Cornjerkers.""So, ghosts infected Frank. He passed it on to the other guys and I got it from his corpse?""Right." Sam gave a short nod."So now what, I have forty-eight hours before I go insane and my heart stops?"Pausing a moment, Sam and I shared a look before he corrected his brother. "More like twenty.""Super." Shaking his head, Dean leaned on the car again. "Well, why me? Why not you? I mean, you got hit with the spleen juice." He gestured to me. "You played with the heart.""Yeah, uh, see Bobby and I have a theory about that too. Turns out all three victims shared a certain, uh, personality type. Frank was a bully. The other two victims, one was a vice principal, the other was a bouncer.""Okay..." Dean nodded, waiting for Sam to elaborate."Basically, they were all dicks.""So you're saying I'm a dick?"A laugh escaped my lips before I could stop myself. When Dean looked at me, offended, I shook my head. "You're not a dick, Dean. But, I mean... Frank and the others used fear as a weapon...""Now this disease is returning the favour," Sam added.The offended look only increased as Dean looked to Sam and me. "I don't scare people."Sam scoffed, amused by this brother's denial. "Dean, all we do is scare people.""Okay, well then, you two are dicks too.""Apparently, we're not." Sam actually looked a little smug then."Whatever. How do we stop it?""Find and gank the ghost that started it." I shrugged. It really was that simple."We thinking it was Frank's wife?""Who knows why she killed herself, you know?" Sam shrugged before he gestured to the hotel behind him. "Hey, what are you guys doing waiting out here, anyway?"Dean looked up the hotel nervously. "Our rooms on the fourth floor. It's... it's high.""I'll see if I can move us down to the first." Sighing, Sam shook his head as he started to walk off."Thanks," Dean called after him.Once Sam was gone, I opened the box off doughnuts, offering them to Dean. "You know you want one."Carefully, he reached in a grabbed one, watching as I did the same. He didn't take a bite until I did, wanting to make sure they were safe.
This is gonna be a long day...

SPOV
I was headed for Dean's and my hotel room. Lizzie had insisted on getting her own room- which was still on the fourth floor. Neither Dean or I had liked the idea of so much distance between her and us, but at the same time, I understood. Things were still a little tense, Dean going through all of this hadn't changed the facts.Lizzie's powers were growing, and it scared Dean. Dealing with me had been tough, but now he had both of us changing, I guess it was a little too much. The fact he was protective over her, and that she has a boyfriend he didn't know about and no one's met... well things aren't exactly running smoothly.But I knew he understood that Lizzie was trying, and Lizzie knew he was trying. It was just a matter of getting used to the three of us being together again.Opening the door to our room, I paused at the sight of a broken clock on the floor. Looking up, I found Dean sitting on the couch, a beer in hand and his feet on the coffee table."Everything all right?" I asked, moving to come sit on the single chair by the couch."Oh, yeah. Just peachy." He gave a sarcastic smile. "Find anything?""Yeah, Jessie O'Brien's body was cremated, so I'm pretty sure she is not our ghost." Lifting my feet onto the coffee table, I nudged his foot. "Hey, quit picking at that," I told him, seeing that he'd been scratching his arm again. "How you feeling?""Awesome. It's nice to have my head on the chopping block again. I almost forgot what that feels like. It's freaking delightful.""We'll keep looking," I assured him, a moment before he started coughing. "You okay? Hey!" But instead of answering, the coughing got so worse he began to choke. "Dean."Getting up, Dean hurried- as fast as he could while he choked- over to the sink. Leaning over it, he gaged and cough until he spat something into the sink.Moving over to stand next to him, I looked down at the wood chip as he picked it up. "We've been completely ignoring the biggest clue we have, you."He pouted. "I don't want to be a clue.""The abrasions, this, the disease, it's trying to tell us something.""Tell us what, wood chips?""Exactly."
DPOV
I hated this. I hated feeling helpless, and weak, and scared. Deep down, I knew everything I was doing was ridiculous. The real me would kick my own ass right now. But this disease was blurring everything, keeping me from taking control. I hated it.What I hated more was the fact Liz was driving.As she stopped Baby by the lumber mill, she still couldn't wipe the smile off her face. I'd wanted to drive, but she insisted that time was an issue and we could waste any with my slow driving. Sam hadn't even blinked as he gave her the keys while I watched, too nervous to argue.Getting out of Baby, I looked up at the mill. "I'm not going in there."Liz shrugged, moving to the trunk. "Fine, stay out here. On your own. If this place really is haunted, a scared lonesome man would be the perfect prey."I swallowed hard, refusing to admit that her words had done exactly what she wanted. Now I was too scared to stay out here on my own.Reaching into my jacket, I pulled out the bottle of whiskey I'd stashed in there earlier, and took a quick drink. "Let's do this." Moving to stand next to Liz as she unlocked the trunk, I looked at the building again. "It is a little spooky, isn't it?"Shaking his head, Sam reached into the trunk and grabbed a gun, offering it to me."Oh, I'm not carrying that." I shook my head. "It could go off." Leaning into the trunk, I grabbed a flashlight. "I'll man the flashlight."Sam chuckled lightly. "You do that."Grabbing a gun for herself, Liz grinned as she turned to me. "Stay close, okay?""You're enjoying this, aren't you?"Her grin simply grew. "More than you could possibly imagine."
EPOV
Walking around the lumber mill, we had been moving in silence when the EMF meter in Sam's hand started going off... because Dean had moved closer to his brother.Dean chuckled lightly, looking up at his brother. "EMF's not gonna work with me around, is it?""You don't say." Sam sighed, putting it away. "Come on."Before either of them could take a step though, I noticed something on the ground. Lifting my hand, I sent the object to my palm, startling Dean as I did. "'To Frank. Love, Jessie.'" I looked to the brothers. "It's Frank O'Brien's ring."Dean frowned, moving over to check it out. "What the hell was Frank doing here?"I shrugged, pocketing the ring. "No idea."Continuing, we walked into a room full of lockers. We could hear rustling coming from further into the room. Following the noise, we stopped by one locker in particular. Sam reached forward without hesitation, and opened the locker.A cat jumped out, causing Dean to scream louder than I'd heard anyone scream before."Oh, poor baby." I stepped up to the locker, grabbing the cat. "Hi there." I smiled, scratching under its chin. "You didn't mean to scare the big baby, huh?" Looking over at Dean, I gave a cheeky smile.He looked from me, to Sam, seeing the amused looks on our faces. "What? It scared me."Shaking my head, I started to walk out of the room, still holding the cat- who was purring, and cuddling into me. Sam followed close behind, with Dean catching up after him. As we walked into the next room, we each moved in opposite directions to look around.Petting the cat's head, I wandered around, not really finding anything off use. The place was a mess, abandoned, dusty and dirty. The sheriff would have a fit if he had to come here. I chuckled to myself."Luther Garland," Sam read from an I.D. card he'd picked up from the desk he was looking over."Hey, this is uh...this is Frank's wife," Dean noted, pointing to a drawing on the desk he stood at.Moving over to his brother, Sam took a look. "Plot thickens.""Yeah, but into what?" Dean asked, grabbing the picture, tearing it from where it had been stuck to the desk.The moment the picture had been ripped off, all the machines turned on"Well... that can't be good," I noted, putting the cat down on the ground as I grabbed my gun from the back of my pants, getting ready for whatever might pop up.Looking over at the brothers, I spotted Sam turning just in time to see his brother run out of there faster than I'd ever seen Dean run. Both Sam and I looked over at whatever had Dean dash off, finding ourselves looking at a large, scary looking guy in the corner, dressed in a janitor uniform and not looking happy at finding us here.The thing started towards Sam, who raised his gun the same time I did, the two of us shooting the ghost before he could reach Sam.Once the ghost was gone, Sam and I hurried after Dean to make sure he was okay. We found him hiding behind the Impala, taking another drink from his whiskey. He was shaking in fear, like a terrified child.Sam looked down at his brother, showing us the I.D. card he'd grabbed from inside the mill. "Guess we got the right place."
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

SPOV
Lizzie and I stood by the deputy's desk in the Sheriff's station. We'd left Dean in the car outside. He'd been drinking more, and Lizzie had noted that bringing a drunk 'FBI agent' into the station wasn't the best idea."This is the Garland file." Deputy Linus offered us the file he'd grabbed for us.Lizzie took it from him. "Thanks." She gave it a quick read as I looked over her shoulder to glance at it as well."Deputy, according to this," I gestured to the file, "Luther Garland's cause of death was physical trauma. What does that mean?"Deputy Linus shrugged. "The guy died twenty years ago, before my time. Sorry.""Then can we talk to the sheriff?" I asked.Looking behind him, the deputy took a moment before shaking his head. "Um, he's out sick today.""Well, if you see him, will you have him call us? We're staying at the Bluebird," I informed him.Lizzie closed the file. "Do you mind if we take this?" she asked, earning a shake of the head from Linus. "Thanks." Giving him a quick smile she then turned to me, nodding.The two of us left then, heading for the car. As we exited the building, both of us sighed at the sight of Dean in the back seat of the Impala, looking nervous as his eyes darted to everything that moved."I'm not exactly Dean's biggest fan right now, but I would so prefer grumpy, over-protective Dean over scared-of-everything Dean," Lizzie noted as she pulled the car keys out of her pocket.
EPOV
I walked next to Dean, keeping an eye on him as we moved through Peaceful Pines, a retirement home. He had been getting worse and worse with each passing moment, and I was really starting to worry. The humour of it all was long gone now.As we rounded the corner, Dean jumped and gasped, startled by an elderly woman that was going the opposite way of us."It's okay," I assured him as he looked away from her, leaning against the wall, trying to calm his breathing. "I'm not gonna let anything hurt you." Giving him a gentle smile, I tilted my head so he could see me.His eyes darted around nervously. "This isn't gonna work.""Sure it is." Resting my hand on his shoulder I turned him around and led us over to Sam where he waited by a door for us."Come on, these badges are fake," Dean argued. "What if we get busted? We could go to jail."Reaching Sam, I turned to Dean again, resting my hands on his shoulders. "Okay, Dean, I need you to breath and relax for me. Okay?" Nodding, Dean took a breath. "Better?" Unfortunately, he shook his head no.Sam sighed. "Just come on." He gestured for us to enter the room, slapping his brother's hands as Dean began to scratch. "Don't scratch."Taking the lead, I tugged moved over to the elderly gentleman that sat by the window- he was the only other person in the room besides us. Putting on a charming and kind smile, I stepped up to him."Mr Garland?" When he looked up at me, I went on, "Hi, I'm Agent Whitford. These are my partners, Agent Tyler, and Agent Perry. We're with the FBI and were wondering if you could answer a few questions for us. They're about your brother Luther."Watching the three of us suspiciously, he stretched his hand out. "Let me see some I.D.""Certainly." Sam nodded as we all handed over our badges.While Mr Garland looed them over, Dean began to shift nervously, causing the older man to look up at him. "Those are real, obviously," Dean chuckled. "I mean, who would pretend to be an FBI agent, huh? That's just nutty."Believing us- surprisingly- Mr Garland handed the badges back. "What do you want to know?""Uh, well," as we all took a seat, Sam took the lead in the questioning, "according to this, your brother Luther died of physical trauma," he noted, which caused Mr Garland to scoff. "You don't agree?""No, I don't.""Well, then, what would you call it?""Don't matter what an old man thinks.""Mr Garland, everything matters. We're just looking for the truth." I gave him a gentle smile. "Please."Watching me for a moment, Mr Garland thought about it before sighing. "Everybody was scared of Luther. They called him a monster. He was too big, too mean-looking. Just too different. Didn't matter he was the kindest man I ever knew. Didn't matter he'd never hurt no one. A lot of people failed Luther. I was one of them. I was a widower with three young 'uns. And I told myself there was nothing I could do.""Mr Garland, um," Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out the drawing Dean had found earlier, "do you recognize this woman?"Mr Garland took a look at the picture, seeming to recognise the woman in an instant. "It's Jessie O'Brien. Her man, Frank, killed Luther.""How do you know that?" Sam asked, an unsure smile on his lips."Everybody knows. They just don't talk about it. Jessie was a receptionist at the mill. She was always real nice to Luther, and he had a crush on her. But Frank didn't like it. And when Jessie went missing, Frank was sure that Luther had done something to her. Turns out the old gal killed herself, but Frank didn't know that. They found Luther with a chain wrapped around his neck. He was dragged up and down the stretch outside that plant till he was past dead."
Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. This is not good. Shit, this is really, really not good...
"And O'Brien was never arrested?" Dean asked."I screamed to every cop in town. They didn't want to look into Frank. He was a pillar of the community. My brother was just the town freak.""You must have hated Frank O'Brien," Sam noted.But Mr Garland surprised us with his response. "I did for a long time, but life's too short for hate, son. And frank wasn't thinking straight. His wife had vanished, he was terrified. A damn shame he had to put Luther through the same, but...that's fear. It spreads and spreads."...As we exited the retirement home I looked up at the night sky. We're running out of time...Dean took the lead, walking down the stairs and towards Baby, gesturing to the scratches on his arms. "Now we know what these are, road rash. And I'm guessing Luther swallowed some wood chips when he was being dragged down that road.""Makes sense." Sam nodded as we all stopped by Baby's hood. "You're experiencing his death in slow motion.""Yeah well, not slow enough, huh? Say we burn some bones and get me healthy."I tensed, looking from Dean to Sam, the youngest Winchester and I sharing a look. "Uh... Dean... it's not gonna be that easy.""No, no, it'll be that easy." Dean's wide terrified eyes looked to both of us. "Why wouldn't it be that easy?""Luther was road-hauled," Sam started. "His body was ripped to pieces. He was probably scattered all over that road. There's no way we're gonna find all the remains."The hope in Dean's eyes faded with each word Sam said. "You're kidding me.""Look, we'll just have to figure something else out," Sam offered."You know what? Screw this." Dean started walking away."What? Dean!" I called after him. "Dean, come on.""No." shaking his head, he turned to me. "No, don't 'come on' me. I mean, what are we even doing?!""We're hunting a ghost," Sam answered as if it was that simple... which it really was."A ghost, exactly! Who does that?""Us," Sam and I responded at the same time."Us? Right. And that is exactly why our lives suck. I mean, come on, we hunt monsters! What the hell?! I mean, normal people, they see a monster, and they run. But not us, no, no, no, we- we search out things that want to kill us. Yeah? Huh? Or eat us! You know who does that? Crazy people! We, are insane! You know, and then there's the bad diner food and then the skeevy motel rooms and then the truck-stop waitress with the bizarre rash." His tone started to get more and more freaked as he started to pace. "I mean, who wants this life? Huh? Seriously?"Do you two actually like being stuck in a car with me eight hours a day, every single day? I don't think so! I mean, I drive too fast. And I listen to the same five albums over and over and over again, a-and I sing along. I'm annoying, I know that. And you," he gestured to Sam, "you're gassy! You eat half a burrito, and you get toxic!" He looked to me. "And you, well... it's weird with you now, with the boyfriend, and the fire, and the everything." He shook his head. "I mean, you know what? You can forget it." Turning, he started to leave again."Whoa, Dean." Sam moved to follow his brother. "Where are you going?""Stay away from me Sam, okay? Cause I am done with it," Dean yelled over his shoulder before he paused and turned to us one last time. "I'm done with the monsters and- and- and the hellhounds and the ghost sickness and the damn apocalypse. I'm out. I'm done. Quit!"Sam and I could do nothing as we watched him walk away."Well..." I sighed, "now what?"
DPOV
Walking down the road, I had been adjusting my tie when I heard the growls. The angry growls coming from behind me. When I'd turned, that when I saw it, the dog. The scary, fluffy, dog with the pink bow on its head.That's when I'd ran.I ran so fast I had seen the homeless man around the corner as he dug through the trash. I ended up almost crashing into him, but I'd luckily stumbled and moved out of the way first.He turned to me confused, with a look on his face that clearly said he thought I was insane."Run!" I warned him, pointing to the dog. "It'll kill you!"But instead of waiting to see if he would listen to my warning, I made a break for it, running again. Running so hard and fast, never looking back as I headed to the only safe place I knew- Sam and Liz....The room door opened as Liz and Sam walked in, surprised and relieved to see me sitting on the bed."Oh, thank God." Liz let out a breath as she moved over to kneel in front of me. "We were worried sick.""We looked everywhere for you, Dean. How the hell did you get here?" Sam asked as he moved to sit on the bed next to mine."Ran." I admitted, still a little puffed. "What do we do now? I got less than four hours on the clock. I'm gonna die.""Yeah, you are." Sam nodded. "You're going back."I frowned, confused. "Back?""Downstairs, Dean.""To Hell," Liz added as she stood and took a step back."It's about damn time, too. Truth is," Sam turned to me, his eyes flashing yellow, "you've been a real pain in my ass."My eyes went wide as my heart began to pound. I looked to Liz for help, only to see her grinning down at me, her eyes yellow as well."No!" I jumped to my feet, but before I could do anything, Liz nodded her head once, pushing me against the wall with her mind. Struggling, I watched the two of them move towards me. "You get out of them, you evil sons of a bitch!"Sam laughed, stopping in front of me. "No one's possessing us, Dean. This is what we're going to become.""This is what we want to become." Liz grinned as she stood next to the demon that was my brother, she turned to look at him suggestively before reaching up to run a hand along his chest.Looking down at her, Sam had the same heated look in his eyes before he turned to me once more. "There's nothing you can do about it." Suddenly he reached forward, grabbing my throat as he started to choke me.I coughed a struggled, watching Sam and he squeezed the life out of me while Liz stood there with a look of amusement, like she wanted this. Like she wanted Sam to kill me. Never had I ever seen something so terrifying than these two now, with their yellow eyes boring into mine...A hard slap to my face had my head jerk back suddenly."You back with us?" Liz asked.Taking a deep breath, I looked over at her and Sam. They no longer had yellow eyes, the evil gleam gone from their gazes. They seemed completely normal…
Did I just imagine all of that?
Giving me a soft smile, Liz gently grabbed my arm. "Why don't we get you to bed, huh? Tuck you in? Get you all rugged up and safe in the blankets?"I didn't resist or argue as she did exactly that, and I had no problem knowing that she had stayed up all night, watching me while Sam did some more research on the couch. At least then, every time I woke up from a nightmare, she was there, right next to me, offering soothing words as she stroked my hair.
SPOV
Lizzie and I sat on the hood of the Impala, waiting for Bobby. We'd left Dean back at the hotel with some food and the tv, hoping that in the short time he was alone, nothing too bad would happen. But as much as Lizzie had wanted to stay- and so did I- we both knew we had to leave him to fix him.We were both really worried, but I was actually surprised at how worried Lizzie was. At first she'd laughed and found it all amusing, but last night? She'd sat next to Dean, on his bed, watching him. Not once had she left his side. She didn't nap, or rest, or anything. She was wide awake as she made sure nothing happened to him.Getting off the hood, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her pills, popping one into her mouth. Taking a quick drink of her water, she closed her eyes and let the pill slide down her throat, trying to relax."He's gonna be fine," I assured her."Tell that to the three victims this thing has already killed," she mumbled.I had just been about to say something in the hopes of it helping, but before I could Bobby pulled up, stopping his car on the dirt road, a few feet away from us."Howdy, Sam. Lizzie." He nodded, stepping out of his car and heading towards us."Hey, Bobby."As he came over to us, Lizzie stepped forward to give him a hug. "Thanks for coming."He rubbed her back. "Of course." As they pulled apart, he looked around. "Where's Dean?""Home sick," I answered."So, have his hallucinations started yet?""Yeah," I nodded. "A few hours ago.""How we doing on time?" Bobby asked as we all moved to lean against the hood again, Lizzie in the middle."We saw the coroner about 8:00 a.m. Monday morning, so, uh," looking at my watch, I sighed, "just under two hours. What about you? You find anything?"He'd brought a little blue book with him and handed it over to me now. "This uh, encyclopedia of spirits dates to the Edo period."I opened the first page to give it a read, only to find it wasn't in English. "You can read Japanese?"To prove a point- I guess- Bobby answered in Japanese, "Kimi ga umareru mae kara zutto dayo."Lizzie gave a little grin as she looked to me, seeing the confused look on my face. "He said he's known how, since long before you were born."I was impressed. "You can speak it too?""Just a bit." Shrugging, she added, "Learnt from the best." She gestured to Bobby over her shoulder with her thumb."Anyway," Bobby got back to business, "this book lists a kind of ghost that could be our guy. It uh, infects people with fear. It's called a Buru Buru.""It say how to kill it?""Same as usual. Burn the remains.""Wonderful. Uh," I sighed, raking a hand through my hair, "is there a Plan 'B'?""Well, the Buru Buru is born of fear. Hell, it is fear. And the lore says we can kill it with fear.""So we have to scare a ghost to death?" He must be joking...Bobby shrugged at my question. "Pretty much."Shaking my head, I looked out at the road, trying to think of what to do... "How the hell we gonna do that?"
EPOV
I looked down at my phone, reading my last message for the millionth time.
I'm gonna come get you this afternoon

Missing you too much

Don't forget your medication

Love you xx

- T
I knew there was no way Sam and Dean- or even Bobby for that matter- were going to be happy, but there was no way I could say no to Tristian. I meant that literally by the way. There was just something about him, I found it hard to tell him no.Closing the message, I dialed Dean number and lifted the phone to my ear, waiting for him to pick up."Hey.""Hey!" I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my lips. "How are you?""Been better." The nerves in his voice were thick and clear."Well, good news. You're gonna be fine. We have a plan.""What is it?""A plan..."There was a moment before he spoke again, sounding just as unsure as I felt. "Is it a good one?""It's a plan, Dean. Don't worry, about it, okay? You'll be fine." Before he could say anything else, I hung up and turned to Sam. "This has got to be the worst plan in the history of bad plans."Bobby nodded, agreeing with me as he looked to Sam. "I know I said, 'scare the ghost to death', but this?""Hey, you got a better idea, I'm listening." Sam shrugged, but when no one came up with anything better, he gave me a short nod, and with that, we headed into the mill guns and chain in hand.
DPOV
As I sat on the couch in the hotel room, waiting, trying not to freak out even though ever fiber in my being was absolutely terrified, I focused on my breathing, on staying calm. I trusted Liz and Sam. I was sure they knew what they were doing. I had to believe they'd get me through this.The sound of growling and howling caught my attention.Heart beating fast, I looked around with wide eyes, waiting. They were coming from me, I knew it. Getting to the ground, I turned the chair around as I hid behind it, hoping they wouldn't see me.The door began to rattle and shake as they pushed against it, trying to get in, trying to get me. Their angry, animal growls and snarls, I could practically feel their hot breaths on me. Every nerve remembered how it felt to be ripped apart by the teeth and claws.Suddenly the door burst opened, breaking off the hinges.But it wasn't Hellhounds that came in. It was the sheriff."Sheriff?" I stood, looking to him, confused. that was until I saw the gun in his hand... "What are you doing?""Why are you looking into Luther Garland's death?"My eyes trailed up his arm, seeing blood and scratches just like we'd seen on the victims. "Hey, hey, you're- you're sick. You're sick. You're sick, all right? Just- just like me, okay?" I showed him my arm. "You got to relax."Instead of doing as I said, he came closer, hitting me across the face, making me stumble back. "Frank O'Brien was my friend. So he made a mistake. So I didn't bust him. So what? And you're gonna bring me down over that?! No, sir." Lifting the gun, he aimed it at me.I reacted quickly, knocking it out of his grasp.We began to struggle and fight each other. I was just trying to stop him, but I could see the sheriff was ready to kill. To save his own ass. Whatever he was scared of, it was blinding him completely. All he saw was the fear...Eventually, I managed to push him hard enough to get him to the ground. He didn't get up though... clutching at his chest, hyperventilating, he watched with terrified eyes as I stepped up to him."Get away from me!""Al, you got to calm down!" I warned him, seeing where this was about to go..."Step back!" he managed to say before he had a heart attack and died, right in front of me...
SPOV
Lizzie and I walked around cautiously, my gun raised as she held the chain we needed for the plan. Luther hadn't appeared though yet, and I was starting to wonder if he was going to show up at all. We didn't have time to wait... Dean wouldn't last much longer."Any luck?" Bobby asked over the walkie."I don't know what's wrong, Bobby," I told him as Lizzie and I entered the room where we'd seen Luther before. "Last time he came right at us. It's almost like he's, uh..." Looking to Lizzie, I could see she was thinking the same thing I was at that moment. "Like he's scared.""So now what?"Putting my shotgun away, I moved over to the desk where Luther's drawings sat. "I guess we got to make him angry." Putting the walkie down, I then grabbed one of the drawings and tore it in half. "Hey, Luther!"The machines turned on...Lizzie stepped over to help, placing the chain on the desk as she began to rip the drawings as well. "Come on, Luther! Where are you?""Luther!" I called. "What are you waiting for?"We felt him before we turned. Lizzie and I both knew he was there. The temperature had dropped, and we could just feel another presence.Turning around, we came face to face with Luther... and he did not look happy.
DPOV
I sat at the end of Sam's bed. The blanket from my bed was lying over the sheriff's body, so I wouldn't have to look at it. But I didn't have the guts to leave the room. Which left me sitting here, scratching at my arm as I waited out my time..."You're going back." I heard Sam's voice echo around the room. "It's about damn time too," it laughed, followed by the sound of Hellhounds barking.Looking down at my watch, shaking and scratching, I couldn't keep myself from checking the time over and over again, watching as each second passed by. Each second bringing me closer and closer to death.Deep down, I knew it was going to happen. Liz and Sam had failed. I was going to die. I was going back to Hell. I knew it. The thumping of my heart told me. The line of sweat covering me. The shake in my hands. The empty feeling in my stomach telling me that something really, really bad was going to happen...My attention was pulled to an object on the floor, sitting by my feet. Reaching down, I grabbed it, finding that it was a Bible. Hoping that it was a sign, I brought it to my lips and closed my eyes as I began to pray."Hi, Dean."My eyes shot open.Slowly I looked to my right, seeing a little girl sitting next to me. But not just any little girl. The little girl Lilith had possessed that night I'd died. The night the Hellhounds had taken me to Hell.Dressed in a sweet, pink dress, with flower clips in her hair, she simply sat there, smiling at me."Huh, no!" I looked away from her, hoping that if I couldn't see her, she'd disappear. "No!""Yes! It's me, Lilith." Leaning over, she wrapped her arms around me in a hug. "Oh, I missed you so much!" She smiled up at me. "It's time to go back now."Sliding away from her, I got to my feet, refusing to look at her still as I moved away from the bed. "You- you are not real!""What's the matter, Dean? Don't you remember all the fun you had down there?" she asked. I couldn't help but look at her then as memories of it all flashed in my mind. Memories of the blood and pain... "You do remember," she stated matter-of-factly as she got to her feet. "Four months is like forty years in hell. Like doggy years. And you remember every second."A pain shot through my chest, causing me to hunch over and groan in pain as I clutched at my heart. "You are not real," I insisted through the pain, dropping to my knees.Stepping closer to me, she grabbed my face, forcing me to look up at her. "It doesn't matter." her eyes turned white, her voice changing, the tone more malicious and dark. "You're still gonna die. You're still gonna burn."As she let go of my face and stepped back, I continued to look up at her. "Why me? Why'd I get infected?""Silly goose." She put her hands on her hips, grinning smugly at me. "You know why, Dean. Listen to your heart.""Wha...?""Baboom." She leaned closer, the word causing the pain in my chest to increase. "Baboom." She watched as I groaned and fell back. "Baboom." Breathing was suddenly impossible as my muscles tensed and ached, everything screaming in panic. "Baboom!"
EPOV
I flew across the room, crashing into the old lockers. Luther was big and strong... and faster than we'd anticipated. As much as we could have shot him, or I could have flung him around all day, we didn't have time to waste. We needed to grab him. Unfortunately, that seemed impossible.So far, we hadn't had the chance, seeing as he'd made good use of his strength and size, pushing us around like ragdolls. We were nothing to him. Not when he was so enraged at us.Grabbing Sam, he threw him to the ground. Sam tried to scramble away, but Luther already had him. His hands wrapping around Sam's throat.I took this chance to act, seeing him choking Sam, too busy to take notice of me. Looking to the desk, I spotted the chain sitting right where I'd left it. Without using my hand, I sent the chain soaring through the air and over to Luther, wrapping it around his neck.His hands let go of Sam's throat as he tried to pull at the chain, but it was pointless. There was no escaping now."Bobby, punch it!" Sam yelled.A second later, Luther was dragged out through the double doors as Bobby floored it, pulling the ghost along. I couldn't see what was happening, but I knew Luther would be long gone in a matter of moments.Sure enough, the machines suddenly turned off. Luther was gone.
DPOV
I reached into the back of Baby, pulling out some beers. "So you guys road-hauled a ghost with a chain?" I asked Sam, Liz and Bobby as I turned to them, offering the drinks- which Bobby refused and the others took.Sam nodded, opening his drink. "Iron chain etched with spell work."Moving to lean on Baby, between Liz and Sam, I pictured what that would have looked like. "Hmm, that's a new one," I noted, taking a drink."It was what he was most afraid of." Sam shrugged. "It was pretty brutal, though.""On the upside, I'm still alive, so uh, go team!""Go team!" Liz cheered, raising her drink.Sam chuckled lightly. "Yeah. How you feeling, by the way?"I shrugged. "Fine." It wasn't a lie. The sickness was gone. I was back to normal..."You sure, Dean? 'Cause this line of work can get awful scary," Bobby teased."I'm fine," I insisted. "You want to go hunting? I'll hunt." Pushing off the car, I stood, ready to head out if that's what they wanted. "I'll kill anything."Sam grinned. "Aw.""He's adorable." Bobby chuckled, Liz and Sam joining. I just looked away, taking another drink. Sighing, Bobby started for his car. "I got to get out of here. You three drive safe.""Actually." Liz quickly took another drink before handing me the bottle. Turning, she reached into the back seat of Baby and pulled out her bag. "You mind driving me into town? Tristan's gonna pick me up at the hotel."Bobby paused a moment, looking from her, to Sam and me. I could see he was just as unsure as I was. None of us had met Tristan. We knew nothing about him. All we knew was that months ago, Liz insisted that she never wanted to be in a relationship. Yet look at her now..."We'll see you later, Lizzie." Sam smiled. "Don't be gone too long.""I'll miss you too much." She beamed, heading for Bobby's car.Sighing, Bobby turned to follow her, knowing he couldn't keep her from this guy even if he wanted to. "Take care of yourselves," he called to Sam and me.We watched as they drove off, leaving the two of us alone... again. These days it was weird for it to just be Sam and I. Liz was always around. She was family. She was part of the package. With her coming and going... it just didn't sit right..."So uh... so, what did you see?" Sam asked, pulling me from my thoughts. "Near the end, I mean.""Oh, besides a cop beating my ass?""Seriously."I thought about it for a moment before turning to him again. His eyes flashed yellow for a moment, making me freeze. I knew it was just the light, but it made me think of all my fears... Everything that we were going through, and everything that was coming our way.Looking away again, I cleared my throat, coming up with a ridiculous lie. "Howler monkeys. Whole roomful of them. Those things creep the hell out of me."He sighed, nodding. "Right."Turning to him, I shrugged, playing it cool. "No, just the usual stuff, Sammy. Nothing I can't handle."
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

SPOV
Dean and I had found a case involving a man who had choked on razor blades that were hidden in Halloween candy. If that didn't scream 'weird' then I don't know what did. We were in the victim's kitchen as Dean searched for anything that might help us, while I questioned the wife."Now how many razor blades did they find?"Mrs Wallace held back tears as she stared blankly ahead. "Two on the floor, one in his stomach and one was stuck in his throat." Her voice cracked as she looked up at me. "He swallowed four of them. How is that even possible?"Before I could answer, Dean made a noise as he looked in the over and on the stove.Mrs Wallace turned to him. "The candy was never in the oven."Closing the oven door, Dean straightened up before responding. "We just have to be thorough, Mrs. Wallace.""Did the police find any razors in the rest of the candy?" I asked, getting back on track.She shook her head. "No, I mean, I don't think so. I just... I can't believe it. You hear urban legends about this stuff, but it actually happens?"I let out a short sigh. "More than you might imagine."Dean got to the ground in the corner behind Mrs Wallace- by the fridge. I couldn't see him until he stood again, turning to show me the hew bag he'd just found. Once he was sure I'd seen it, and that we knew what we were dealing with, he tucked it into his pocket."Mrs. Wallace, did Luke have any enemies?"Mrs Wallace frowned at my question. "Enemies?""Anyone who might have held a grudge against him?""What do you mean?""Co-workers? Neighbors? Maybe a woman," I suggested.Suddenly understanding what I was saying, she frowned, offended. "Are you suggesting an affair?""Is it possible?""No! No, Luke would never-""I'm very sorry. We just have to consider all possibilities." I could see how distressed she was. I understood how absurd the question must sound."If someone wanted to kill my husband, don't you think they'd find a better way than a razor in a piece of candy he might eat?"Instead of answering, I looked over at Dean. She may have a point, but with witches, none of that mattered. The rules changed.
EPOV
I watched as Dean pulled Baby up, parking in one of the spaces by the gas station. Pushing off the wall, I adjusted the strap of my bag that hung over my shoulder as I headed over to him, smile plastered on my face.Looking out the window at me, he looked slightly offended. "Boyfriend didn't want to come say hi?""He's on a job," I told him matter-of-factly, throwing my things in the backseat before I climbed into the front, sitting next to him."And you left him to deal with it on his own? Chose Sam and me over him?" Grinning smugly, he pulled out of the lot and on to the road.I'd received a call from Sam yesterday asking if I wanted to help them out on this case they'd found. We both knew they could handle it by themselves, but we both also knew that the brothers missed me and I missed them. After talking about it with Tristan, we agreed that me hunting with the Winchesters every now and then wouldn't hurt us, and that's how I ended up sitting here, next to Dean.Seeing the smug look on Dean face made me want to push him down a peg or two. "Tristan doesn't need my help. He's perfectly capable of handling it himself."I wasn't stupid. I knew Dean didn't like the idea of Tristan. He'd always been protective over me. The fact I was now in a relationship with a hunter he'd never met, and knew nothing of, probably set him on edge. Bobby too.But I trusted Tristan, we cared about each other, and there was nothing keeping us from being together. No matter what Dean and Bobby thought. No matter what anyone thought.
SPOV
I was sitting on the couch in the hotel room, going through some research, trying to figure out what we might be dealing with. When the door to the room opened, I looked up to see Lizzie and Dean walk in, the two of them snacking on candy.I scoffed, looking mainly at Dean. "Really? After that guy choked down all those razor blades?"Dean shrugged. "It's Halloween, man.""Yeah, for us every day is Halloween," I noted.Grinning widely, Lizzie dumped her bag by the table and hurried over to me. Jumping onto the couch, she wrapped her arms around me in a hug. "Mr Grumpy-pants, always spoiling the fun."Chuckling lightly, I put an arm around her in half-hug as Dean came over to sit on the arm of the couch, gesturing to my laptop. "Anything interesting?"Pulling away from Lizzie, I nodded. "Well, we're on a witch hunt, that's for sure, but this isn't your typical hex bag." Reaching over, I opened the hex bag I'd put on the coffee table, showing them the three items that sat inside. Picking up the dried flower, I elaborated, "Goldthread, an herb that's been extinct for two hundred years. And this," I put the flower down and grabbed the coin, "is Celtic, and I don't mean some new age knock-off. It looks like the real deal. Like six hundred years old real."While I'd been talking, I hadn't noticed Dean pick up the last piece. He was looking it over, smelling it, curious. Little did he know..."And um," I nodded to the small charred object he held, "that is the charred metacarpal bone of a newborn baby.""Ugh." He quickly put it down, disgusted. "Gross."I shrugged, lifting the bone to look it over. "Relax man, it's like, at least a hundred years old.""Oh, right, like that makes it better? Witches, man, they're so friggin' skeevy." Shivering, Dean stood and moved over to sit on his bed."Skeevy or not, I've never dealt with this kind of stuff before." Lizzie grabbed the coin, fiddling with it. "It's gotta take a powerful witch to throw all this together.""More juice than we've ever dealt with, that's for sure." I nodded, agreeing with her. I looked over at Dean. "What about you? Find anything on the victim?""This Luke Wallace?" Dean shook his head. "He was so vanilla that he made vanilla seem spicy. I can't find any reason why somebody would want this guy dead."
DPOV
Sam, Liz and I walked down the stairs and into the crime scene in the basement. Some teens had been having a party, and one of the girls had drowned in a tub of water while bobbing for apples. But that wasn't it. The water had also boiled her...We came to a stop, scanning the room. That's when my eyes landed on a girl talking to one of the cops.Liz and Sam moved to join the questioning, but I put a hand out to stop them. "I got this one."Sam scoffed. "Two words. Jail bait.""I would never-"Before I could go on, Liz gave me a pointed look. I mean, I wouldn't do anything with the girl, obviously. But I could think about it. I would think about it. I was thinking about it.Liz knew me too well. I could tell she could practically see the thoughts going through my mind...Shaking her head, she tapped Sam on the arm, the two of them walking off to go look around the scene for any signs of witches- like a hex bag, for instance. While they walked off, I moved over to the cop and girl."It's just so weird," she started, looking to the cop. "The water in the tub, it wasn't hot, I had just been in there myself.""Your friend didn't happen to know a man named Luke Wallace?" As she and the cop turned to me, I showed them my badge. "Agent Seger, F.B.I."Nodding, the cop left me with the girl so I could finish asking her some questions.She looked at me, confused. "Um, who's Luke Wallace?""He died yesterday."Movement behind her shoulder caught my attention as Liz bent over the couch, feeling around the cushions. I couldn't help but watch her. I didn't want to. I knew she had a boyfriend and that I should respect that. But I couldn't help how I felt about her. I was still attracted to her. Very attracted."I don't know who that is." The girl shook her head, answering my question.Before I could ask anything else, Liz pulled back from the couch, holding up a hex bag for a moment and then shoving it into the pocket of her pants suit. But it had been long enough to see. The witch had been here too.
EPOV
I was sitting at the table with Dean, my feet on the table as I flicked through an old lore book. He was on the computer, searching the web, while Sam sat on his bed reading a book as well. So far, we hadn't come up with anything that might help us."I'm telling you, both these vics are squeaky clean. There is no reason for a wicked bitch payback." Dean sighed, pulling away from the computer."Maybe 'cause it's not about that."Looking over at his brother, Dean shrugged. "Wow, insightful," he noted sarcastically.The two of us frowned at Sam as he came over to us, carrying the book his was reading. "Maybe this witch isn't working the grudge, maybe they're working a spell. Check this out." He started reading, "'Three blood sacrifices over three days, the last before midnight on the final day of the final harvest.'" He handed Dean the book. "Celtic Calendar, the final day of the final harvest is-""October thirty first," I finished for him.Reading the book that was now laid out in front of him, Dean asked, "What exactly are the, uh, blood sacrifices for?""Uh, if I'm right, this witch is summoning a demon. And not just any demon. Samhain."Dean looked up from the book and to his brother. "Am I supposed to be impressed?""The origin of Halloween comes from Samhain," I started. "The Celts believe that October thirty first was the one night of the year that the vail between the living and the dead was thinnest. It was Samhain's night. Masks were worn to hide from him. Sweets left out like sacrifices for him. Faces carved into pumpkins as a sort of worship tradition."As I finished, I noticed Sam and Dean looking at me, impressed, confused, surprised... they were speechless, sitting there, Dean's jaw almost falling open."What?"Shaking his head, Dean leaned back in his chair to turn to me a little more. "How do you know all of this?""Halloween is my favourite holiday." I shrugged, reaching over to grab one of the Twizzler's off the table."Anyway," Sam cleared his throat, "Samhain was exorcised centuries ago."It took a moment before Dean turned back to his brother. "So even though Samhain took a trip downstairs, the tradition stuck."Sam gave a short nod. "Exactly, only now instead of demons and blood orgies Halloween is all about kids, candy and costumes.""Okay, so some witch wants to raise Samhain and take back the night?"Rolling his eyes and sighing, Sam leaned back in the chair. "Dean, this is serious.""I am serious," Dean insisted, but part of him was joking around. Part of him always was."We're talking heavyweight witchcraft. This ritual can only be performed every six hundred years," Sam noted."And the six-hundred-year marker rolls around…?"Before Sam could answer Dean's question, I spoke up, "Let me guess... tomorrow night?"Sam simply gave a short nod."Naturally." Shaking his head, Dean looked down at the book again, flipping to a new page. "Well it sure is a lot of death and destruction for one demon.""That's because he likes company," Sam explained. "Once he's raised, Samhain can do some raising of his own.""Raising what, exactly?" Dean and I asked at the same time- which earnt me a small smirk from the eldest Winchester."Dark, evil crap and lots of it, I mean, they follow him around like the friggin' Pied Piper.""So, we're talking ghosts?" Dean asked."Yeah.""Zombies?""Mm-hmm.""Leprechauns?"Sam rolled his eyes at his brother again. "Dean-""Those little dudes are scary. Small hands." Dean lifted his hand and gave it a little shake. I couldn't help but give a light laugh."Look, it just starts with ghosts and ghouls, this sucker keeps on going, by night's end we are talking every awful thing we have ever seen. Everything we fight, all in one place."That wasn't good. All joking aside, that had to be the worst thing that could happen. We didn't have enough strength and power to deal with something like that. We didn't even know enough hunters that could help control something like that. It would be war, and chances are... we'd lose.Dean looked from Sam and I, thinking the same thing I was thinking. "It's gonna be a slaughterhouse."
DPOV
I sat in the car with Liz. Sam was back at the hotel going through some research. There wasn't much else Liz and I could do there, so we decided to go stake out Mrs Wallace's house, waiting to see if anyone that might have been at the party last night would show up here. All while snacking on the candy that was meant for trick-or-treaters."So..." I popped another candy into my mouth. "How's the boyfriend?""Great." Liz smiled, shifting to get a little more comfortable."He working on a case?""Yep.""What kind of case?""I don't ask for details, Dean."See, that's something I didn't understand. Liz trusting the guy, yeah okay I got that. But the fact he could be anywhere, doing anything right now... I did not like that. He could be sleeping around, cheating on her. He could be slacking off, not hunting at all. He could be doing God knows what. The possibilities were endless, and I didn't like any of them.The sound of my phone ringing got my attention. Reaching over I grabbed and answered it, seeing the ID flashing Sam's name."Hey.""How's it going?""Awesome, yeah. Liz and I talked with Mrs. Razor-Blade again." I looked out the window to the Wallace home. "We've been sitting out in front of her house for hours and got a big steamy pile of nothing.""Look Dean, someone planted those hex bags, someone with access to both houses. There's gotta be some connection.""Yeah, well I hope we find 'em soon cause I'm starting to cramp like a-" I cut myself short as I saw someone walking down the street. "Son of a bitch." It was the girl from last night. Putting the phone down, I nudged Liz, gesturing across the street. "You seeing this?"Liz looked over, spotting the girl in an instant. "Holy crap."Sitting there, we watched as the girl walked to the front door of the Wallace home and knock. A moment later the door opened, Mrs Wallace standing there, smiling, holding her baby... which she handed to the girl.
Son of a bitch...

SPOV
I looked up at Dean and Lizzie as they entered the room, both clearly less than impressed. I was lying on my bed, on my laptop, having done some research on the girl from last night. Tracy."So, our apple-bobbing cheerleader?" I asked, wondering what they might have found out."Tracy?" Dean came over to sit on his bed while Lizzie moved to lie on the end of mine. "The Wallace's' babysitter," he explained. "Told me she never even heard of Luke Wallace.""Huh, interesting look for a centuries-old witch.""Yeah, well, if you were a six-hundred-year-old hag and you could pick any costume to come back in, wouldn't you go for a hot cheerleader? I would, hmm…" Dean thought about it, his mind clearly going off track.Lizzie sat up on her elbows and looked over at him. "You done?"He grinned at her. "You jealous?""I'm taken. Remember?" She gave him a pointed look.I hadn't met Tristan but I knew he made Lizzie happy, and that's all I really cared about. When Dean was gone, it had really hurt her. She hadn't been able to deal with it properly. So, when she told me about this guy she was starting to see, and how he was helping her, I felt no need to step in."Don't see your boyfriend here." Dean's grin stayed in place.Rolling her eyes, Lizzie sat up more. "Just because we're together doesn't mean we have to be with each other twenty-four seven.""But you should want to.""I do want to.""Does he?"Seeing Lizzie flinch at Dean's question, I quickly sat up, hoping to get the conversation back on track. "Well, Tracy's not as wholesome as she looks. Did some digging... apparently she got into a violent altercation with one of her teachers, got suspended from school."
DPOV
I walked into the high school art room, looking up at the masks that hung around the entrance. One in particular caught my attention. I couldn't tear my eyes away from its long mouth and dead eyes. I swear I could hear the echoing screams from hell surrounding me as the heavy weight of guilt and dread pressed on my chest and shoulder..."Dean?" Liz's voice called to me as her hand rested on my shoulder.Pulling my eyes from the mask, I looked down at the ground for a moment before turning to her. "Yeah... uh, yeah?""You okay?" she asked, looking up at me with genuine worry as if she'd caught me staring at the mask. As if she could read my mind and know what I was feeling.As I searched her eyes, and she searched mine, I found myself stuck staring again. But this was for different reasons. The mask made me feel scared, guilty, so many horrible things that I'd never wish on anyone. Not even my enemies.But Liz? She made me feel safe, welcome, needed, cared for. The way she looked up at me sometimes, it was like I actually mattered. As if me being in her life made it difference- in a good way. Just like her being in Sam's and my life made everything so much better."Bring back memories?"The two of us jumped and turned to see Sam heading over to us, looking at the masks as well.Clearing my throat, I stepped away from Liz slightly. "What do you mean?""Being a teenager, all that angst."I let out a relieved sigh, thankful that he hadn't seen through me... not that he could, or would have any reason to think something was up.Frowning slightly, he turned to me a little more. "What'd you think I meant?""Nothing," I answered quickly as I began to look around the room, seeing some kids working away. One in particular was putting a big bong-shaped piece into a kiln. "Now that brings back memories." I chuckled to myself."You three wanna talk to me?" a man asked as he walked into the room, with some papers in his hands and a coffee mug balanced on top of the decent sized box he held."Ah, Mr Harding." Sam nodded.The guy scoffed lightly. "Oh, please, Don," he insisted, reaching for Sam's hand, which he shook. "Even my students call me Don," he informed us as he reached for my hand next."Yeah, we get it, Don," I mumbled to him as he shook Liz's hand before moving to his desk. Pulling out our badges as we followed, I introduced us, "I'm agent Getty, this is Agents Lee and Young. We just had a few questions about, uh, Tracy Davis."Having put everything down on the desk, Don turned his full attention to the three of us. "Uh, yeah, Tracy, uh, bright kid, loads of talent. It's a shame she got suspended.""Uh, you two had a… uh, violent altercation," I noted."Yeah, she exploded. If Principal Murrow hadn't walked by when he did, Tracy would have clawed my eyes out."Sam frowned. "Why?""I, uh, you know, I was only trying to rap with her about her work. It had gotten inappropriate and disturbing."I turned, gesturing to the mask I'd been looking at before. "More disturbing, than, uh, those guys?""She would cover page after page with these bizarre cryptic symbols, and then there were the drawings," Don explained. "Detailed images of killings, gory, primitive, and she would depict herself in the middle of them, participating.""Symbols, what kind of symbols? Uh, anything like this?" Sam pulled a coin out of his pocket, the one that had been in one of the hex bags we'd found.Don took a quick look before nodding. "Yeah, yeah, I think that might have been one of them.""You know where Tracy is now?" I asked."I would imagine her apartment." He shrugged."Her apartment?" Liz and I asked at the same time, both confused. I couldn't help but grin slightly at the fact we'd- once again- said the same thing at the same time like that."Yeah," Done started, hands now in his pockets, "she got here about a year ago, alone, as I understood it, as an emancipated teen. God only knows what her parents were like."
EPOV
Dean pulled up at the hotel, getting out of Baby as Sam and I headed over to him. The three of us had split up in the hopes of finding Tracy. We all knew the urgency of the matter. Today was Halloween. Today was the day she'd be trying to raise Samhain. Our time was running out, and there were thousands, millions, billions, of lived on the line."So?" Dean asked us, closing his door.I sighed. "Mrs Wallace said Tracy won't be back until next week."Sam shook his head. "Tracy was nowhere I could find. Any luck with her friends?""Nah, luck is not our style. Her friends don't know where she is. It's like the bitch popped a broomstick," Dean noted as the three of us started for the hotel room, a kid dressed as an astronaut headed out way."She could be making the third sacrifice any time."Dean shot his brother an annoyed glare. "Yes, thank you Sam."The kid suddenly came to a stop then, in front of us, lifting his bucket of candy. "Trick or treat."Dean looked down at him. "This is a motel.""So?""So, we don't have any candy."Sam looked confused, turning to gesture to Baby. "No, we have a ton in the-"Dean cut him off, "We did, but it's gone."The two shared a look as I tried not to laugh. I'd warned Dean not to eat all the candy. I'd told him to go buy more. I told him something like this would happen. He didn't listen, of course. He insisted that no kid would come up and ask us. That it had never happened before. Yet here we were, just like I'd said we would be.Turning back to the kid, Dean shrugged. "Sorry kid, we can't help ya.""I want candy.""Well, I think you've had enough," Dean told him, earning an elbow to the rip from me and a glare form the kid.Sam walked to the room as Dean and I stood there looking down at the kid glare daggers at Dean, clearly pissed. It took a moment before he walked off, without another word. We turned and watched him go, moving to the door of the next room."I don't want to hear, 'I told you so'," Dean warned without looking to me.A grin played on the corner of my lips as I stayed quiet. There was no need for me to say anything when he knew I was right and he was wrong that's all that mattered."Who are you?!" Sam yelled from inside our hotel room.Dean and I turned in and instant, rushing for the room. We found Sam standing there, gun raised, aimed to the back of Castiel's head as he sat on Dean's bed, facing the window where another man stood- a man I gathered was another angel."Sam!" Dean hurried to stop his brother from shooting Castiel. "Sam, wait! It's Castiel. The angel." Looking over at the other guy he added, "Him, I don't know."Sam was stunned, looking at Castiel who stood and came to stand in front of him. "Hello, Sam.""Oh my God-" The stunned look on his face turned to shame and guilt as he realised what he'd just said. "Er… uh… I didn't mean to- sorry. It's an honour, really, I- I've heard a lot about you." Stepping forward, smiling widely, he offered Castiel his hand to shake.Castiel looked down at the hand for a moment, as if unsure what to do with it, before he reached forward and took it. "And I, you. Sam Winchester. The boy with the demon blood." Both Sam and I flinched at that. "Glad to see you've ceased your extracurricular activities.""Let's keep it that way," the guy at the window muttered."Yeah, okay, chuckles." Dean rolled his eyes, looking to Castiel. "Who's your friend?"Instead of answering the question, Castiel asked his own. "This the raising of Samhain, have you stopped it?""Why?""Dean, have you located the witch?""Yes, we've located the witch.""And is the witch dead?""No, but-"Dean finished Sam's sentence, "We know who it is."I was hanging back, by the door. I always got the impression Castiel didn't think much of me. I mean, Sam and I were both using our power, but he only cared about Sam. He never mentioned the fact I had demon blood in me. In fact, he didn't do much when it came to me. It was like if I wasn't there, it wouldn't matter.Walking over to the bedside table between the beds, Castiel lifted something from it. "Apparently the witch knows who you are too." He showed us the hex bag. "This was inside the wall of your room. If we hadn't found it, surely one or all of you would be dead. Do you know where the witch is now?"After a moment where Dean, Sam and I shared a look, Dean turned back to the angel. "We're working on it," he assured him.Castiel sighed. "That's unfortunate.""What do you care?""The raising of Samhain is one of the 66 seals.""So, this is about your buddy Lucifer.""Lucifer is no friend of ours." The guy at the window sounded genuinely offended."It's just an expression," Dean explained."Lucifer cannot rise," Castiel noted. "The breaking of the seal must be prevented at all costs.""Okay, great, well now that you're here, why don't you tell us where the witch is, we'll gank her and everybody goes home.""We are not omniscient. This witch is very powerful, she's cloaked even our methods.""Okay, well we already know who she is, so if we work together-" Sam started to suggest, only to be cut short by the guy at the window."Enough of this."The fact this guy wasn't offering any real help, and was annoying the hell out of us, pissed Dean off. "Okay, who are you and why should I care?" he snapped, causing the guy to turn and look to us."This is Uriel," Castiel answered for him. "He's what you might call a… specialist."Watching as Uriel walked over to us, Dean frowned, curious and suspicious. "What kind of specialist? What are you gonna do?"Once again, Castiel avoided the question. "You, all of you, you need to leave this town immediately.""Why?" Dean asked. I could tell by the look on Sam's face that he was thinking the same thing, and so was I. It didn't sound too good..."Because we're about to destroy it," Castiel answered so simply, it was like a slap to the face.
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

EPOV
"Excuse me?" I spoke up for the first time, looking to each angel. "So, what? Just because of this seal, this thing you might not be able to deal with in time... you decided to kill off everyone in the town?""We're out of time. This witch has to die, the seal must be saved," Castiel told us simply, as if that justified their plan, justified everything they've ever done."There are a thousand people here," Sam argued."One thousand, two hundred, fourteen," Uriel corrected, but the number seemed to have no effect on him what so ever.Looking over at him, Sam frowned, confused- and if I wasn't mistaken... disappointed. "And you're willing to kill them all?""This isn't the first time I've… purified a city," Uriel told him matter-of-factly."Look, I understand this is regrettable," Castiel started, only to be cut off sharply by Dean."Regrettable?""We have to hold the line. Too many seals have broken already.""So, you screw the pooch on some seals and this town has to pay the price?""It's the lives of one thousand against the lives of six billion," Castiel countered, not seeing how this might upset us. "There's a bigger picture here."Dean shook his head, looking to both angels. "Right, cause you're 'bigger picture' kind of guys."Castiel took a step closer to Dean, a sense of power radiating off him as he spoke. "Lucifer cannot rise. He does and hell rises with him. Is that something that you're willing to risk?"The thing is, it didn't matter what Castiel, Uriel or any angel did or said. Sam, Dean and I... We cared about everyone. Including the one thousand two hundred and fourteen people in this town at this very moment. Their lives were worth just as much as anyone else's."We'll stop this witch before she summons anyone. Your seal won't be broken and no one has to die," Sam assured them, trying to convince them that their plan was not the only way to go.Patience running on long, Uriel turned to Castiel. "We're wasting time with these mud monkeys.""I'm sorry, but we have our orders," Castiel noted... though I couldn't help but noticed the fact that he'd directed the words to Uriel, and not to us...Sam shook his head, still adamant about saving the town and its people. "No, you can't do this, you're angels, I mean aren't you supposed to- You're supposed to show mercy."Uriel scoffed. "Says who?""We have no choice," Castiel added. It occurred to me then that he might not want to do this, he just had to. It was his job to do what he was told and not ask questions. He was a solider, not a saviour."Of course you have a choice." Dean didn't seem to see what I could. He just saw two emotionless angels who didn't care what happened to any of us humans. "I mean, come on, what? You've never questioned a crap order, huh? What are you both, just a couple of hammers?""Look, even if you can't understand it, have faith. The plan is just.""How can you even say that?" Sam asked him."Because it comes from heaven, that makes it just.""Oh, it must be nice, to be so sure of yourselves." The look Dean gave Castiel as he spoke, it was on the edge of pure hate and anger. He did not like the angels.Stepping up at Dean once more, Castiel surprised me with what he said next, "Tell me something, Dean, when your father gave you an order, didn't you obey?"It took a moment before Dean answered. He stood there, looking at Castiel, trying not to react as he thought it all over. When he finally did speak, there was no changing his mind, "Well sorry boys, looks like the plans have changed.""You think you can stop us?" Uriel looked both amused and annoyed. As if we were children trying to do things on our own, but messing everything up as we went along.Dean turned to the other angel, standing his ground. "No." He stepped over to Uriel. "But if you're gonna smite this whole town, then you're gonna have to smite us with it, because we are not leaving. See, you went to the trouble of busting me out of hell. I figure I'm worth something to the man upstairs. So you wanna waste me, go ahead, see how he digs that.""I will drag you out of here myself," Uriel warned."Yeah, but you'll have to kill me, then we're back to the same problem. I mean, come on, you're gonna wipe out a whole town for one little witch. Sounds to me like you're compensating for something." Dean turned back to Castiel. "We can do this. We will find that witch and we will stop the summoning."Standing there, looking at Dean, Castiel thought it over. That in itself was a big feat"Castiel! I will not let these-"Before Uriel could finish, Castiel raised his hand to cut him off. "Enough!" he ordered, stilling looking to Dean. "I suggest you move quickly," was all he had to say....As we left the hotel room- both Uriel and Castiel now gone- Sam, Dean and I walked over to Baby... the hood now covered in smashed eggs.I shook my head, stepping up to the hood. "You've got to be kidding me."Sam didn't even stop, simply moved to the passenger seat and got in. But Dean? He was clearly pissed, and I had a feeling the angels weren't helping the situation. The fact it was his baby that had been hit was the worst of it. He loved this car more than anything, it was practically the brothers' home.Looking around for the culprit, Dean yelled, "Astronaut!"Sighing, I walked over to rest a hand on his arm in the hopes of calming him a little. "Come on. We don't have much time left, and we need to find this witch."Taking a deep breath, he gave a short nod and followed me as we got into the car- him in the front and me in the middle of the back seat. Once we were in, he turned to Sam who was looking down at the hex bag that had been meant for us. I couldn't help but noticed the fact the younger Winchester seemed a little upset."What?" Dean asked him.Sam shook his head. "Nothing." He took a breath, smiling lightly even though we all knew he wasn't amused. "I thought they'd be different."Dean looked at him confused. "Who, the angels?""Yeah," Sam answered simply.It had been the first time Sam had met the angels, but Dean and I had encountered Castiel on more than one occasion now. Each time I met the angel he was as emotionless and robot like as every other time. There was nothing there. Like he was a perfectly made machine that did as it was told and felt nothing. All he saw was the mission. All he thought about was how to please the people- or beings- above him. There was nothing there. Just a soldier ready to be put to work.I can understand why Sam might be disappointed. I remembered the case we were on a few years back, when we thought we were dealing with an angel when it had really been the spirit of a priest who had been killed and was trying the write the wrongs of his community. Sam had confessed that he prayed, and that he wanted to believe. That he did believe.As some stage, I had too. Growing up, after my father had died, my mum had turned to religion. She'd practically dived head first into it. Church and prayers were cemented into my upbringing, and there was honestly nothing wrong with that. It didn't do me any harm.But at some point in my life, I think I just gave up. In believing in the good. Now that I'd met some angels, I didn't regret my decision. Sure, they might be real. But were they good?"Well, I tried to tell ya," Dean noted. He had tried to tell Sam. But his brother had been hopeful that he was wrong."I just..." shaking his head, Sam looked down at the hex bag in his hand, "I mean, I thought they'd be righteous.""Well," Dean shrugged, "they are righteous. I mean, that's kinda the problem." When Sam looked to him, he explained what he meant, "Of course there's nothing more dangerous than some a-hole who thinks he's on a holy mission.""But, I mean, this is God? And Heaven? This is what I've been praying to?" Sam sounded utterly disappointed."Look man, I know you're into the whole God thing, you know, Jesus on a tortilla and stuff like that. But just because there's a couple of bad apples doesn't mean the whole barrel's rotten. I mean, for all we know, God hates these jerks. Don't give up on this stuff, is all I'm saying. Babe Ruth was a dick but baseball's still a beautiful game."I reached over and gave Dean a pat on the shoulder. "Such beautiful words."Dean rolled his eyes, starting the ignition. "Shut up," he mumbled.Sam chuckled lightly, looking back down at the hex bag to open it up and fiddle with the bone that had sat inside it and was now between his two fingers.Putting the car in reverse, Dean turned to his brother for a moment. "Well, are you gonna figure out a way to find this witch, or are you just gonna sit there fingering your bone?""You know how much heat it would take to char a bone like this, Dean?""No."Something in me clicked at Sam's question. It was like I'd just figured something out, but I just didn't know what that was exactly.Frowning, I leaned closer to grab the bone from Sam to get a better look. "No oven could do this. The heat would have to be extreme.""Exactly." Sam nodded.Dean looked between the two of us. "Okay, Betty Crocker one and two, so what does that mean?"Sam grabbed the bone from me again as he turned to his brother once more. "It means we make a stop."
DPOV
Back at the high school and in the art room, I walked over to one of the kilns while Liz and Sam headed over to Don's desk. The two seemed to have an idea of what the hell was going on, while I was still wondering why we were here exactly."So, Tracy used the kiln to char the bone, what's the big deal?" I asked, looking inside the kiln before moving over to join them at the desk.The two of them while rifling through the desk drawers, but it was Sam who answered. "Dean, that hex bag turned up in our room, not after we talked to Tracy-"I cut him off, nodding now that I understood. "After we talked to the teacher.""Hey." Sam gestured to a locked drawer."I got it." Liz only had to look at the lock before it unlocked.
She's getting stronger...
Opening the drawer, Sam paused the moment we all looked down at the bowl of bones sitting there. One of them were charred while the others weren't, but they were all small. Just like the ones from the hex bags."My God." Sam stood up. "Those are all from children."I sighed, looking down at them. "And I'm guessing he's not saving them for the dog."
EPOV
Dean, Sam and I lifted our guns and shot at Don right before he had the chance to stab Tracy. We'd found the two in Don's basement. He was chanting an incantation while Tracy struggled against the binds around the wrist as they kept her on her feet and unable to escape. The gag on her mouth had stopped her from calling out for help. Luckily, we'd made it in time to keep Don from finishing the ritual, and killing her.I guess we were wrong... Tracy isn't the witch. I thought as I put my gun away.Dean- his gun now away as well- moved to cut the rope tied around her wrists, setting her free. Sam checked Don to make sure he really was dead, while I moved over to take a look at the ritual table. I didn't touch anything- I wasn't sure what it might do- I simple looked.Tracy ripped the gag off. "Thank you, he was gonna kill me! Ugh, that sick son of a bitch." She looked down at Don. "I mean, did you see what he was doing? Did you hear him? How sloppy his incantation was?" I froze, turning to her. "My brother-"Dean, Sam and I all reacted at once. The brothers moving for their guns while I went to throw Tracy across the room.Unfortunately, she was powerful. With a few quick witchy words and a wave of her hand, she had the brothers flying back and hitting the ground hard. This was all done in the mere seconds it took before I had her shoved to the ground as well.Looking up at me, stunned, a small smirk played on her lips as she pulled herself back to her feet. "Well, look what we have here."She must have seen that I was about to do something else to her, because before I could actually do it, I found myself been thrown to the floor by the brothers, face down, the strength of the hold keeping me there almost enough to crush my spine.The brother's struggled and groaned, both of them watching me with worried and protective eyes.
DPOV
Sam and I couldn't move. Well, we could barely move. We could wriggle and struggle, but that was it. But we both wanted to move. Not only to kill this witch, but to help Liz. I knew she still had a lot of fight in her, but with the hold Tracy had on her... there was nothing Liz could do at this stage. She was as helpless and stuck as both Sam and I."Silly girl." Tracy shook her head, looking down at Liz as if she was simply annoying. Sighing, she turned to Don. "Now, you." She glared at his body. "He was gonna make me the final sacrifice," she told us. "His idea. But now, that honour goes to him. Our master's return? The spell-work's a two-man job you understand, so for six hundred years I had to deal with that pompous son of a bitch."Planning, preparing, unbearable." She knelt down, grabbing the chalice and knife he'd dropped, while Sam and I continued to groan in pain as she held up down. "The whole time I wanted to rip his face off." Digging into the bullet wound in Don's chest so the blood would pour into the chalice, she chuckled lightly. "And you get him with a gun, uh, love that." Standing, she moved over to the altar table. "You know, back in the day, this was the one day you kept your children inside. Well tonight you'll all see what Halloween really is."She began to chant something in what I guessed was Latin, but my attention wasn't on her. Instead I watched as Sam fought against her hold enough so that he could reach his hand over to the blood pooling under Don, and then wipe the blood on his face."What are you doing?" I asked, keeping my voice low."Just follow my lead," Sam muttered as he reached over to Liz and spread the blood on her face- seeing that the hold on her was stronger and she couldn't reach the blood.Taking a deep breath, I did as Sam suggested and reached for the blood as well, rubbing it on my face so it was covered just like his and Liz's.Just then, Tracy finished the incantation.The ground began to shake and crack as thick black smoke emerged for the damaged concrete. It flew into the air and then dived into Don's mouth as if knowing exactly where it belonged.As Don- who I guess was now Samhain- rose, I noticed that Sam and Liz had closed their eyes as if they were playing dead. Once again, I followed Sam's lead, hoping that this plan of his was actually gone to keep us alive.There was a moment before Tracy spoke. "My love.""You've aged." Don's voice had changed slightly, now that Samhain had taken over his body. It was deeper. Darker."This face… I can't fool you.""Your beauty is beyond time." Once again, there was a silence before I heard the indistinctive sound of something snapping and then a body dropping to the floor. In that instant, the hold on me broke. Samhain had just killed Tracy. "Whore."Listening, I waited into I heard him go up the stairs and close the door behind him before I opened my eyes to check that he really was gone. Once I was sure he was gone, and wouldn't be back, I reached over to check Liz."You okay?" I asked her as I helped sit her up.Groaning, she rubbed at her head which had hit the ground pretty hard. "Fine."Looking over at Sam as he moved to sit as well, I asked, "What the hell was that?""Halloween lore. People used to wear masks to hide from him." He shrugged. "So I gave it a shot.""You gave it a shot?!"
EPOV
Dean was being his usual over protective self as we walked to Baby. He was right beside me, a gentle hand on my back as if he thought I was going to fall unconscious right then and there. Sure, I'd hit the ground a lot harder than then, and sure Tracy's hold on my had been stronger than her hold on them. But I was fine...Just in case, I pulled out my pills and took two, hoping they would help."Where the hell are we gonna find this mook?" Dean asked Sam as his hand that wasn't pressed to my back used a rug to clean the blood off his face.Sam had a rag of his own to clean the blood of his face as he responded. "Where would you go to raise other dark forces of the night?""The cemetery," Dean answered as we reached the car. He opened the door for me and made sure I was in before he got into his own seat and started the engine, driving down the street as fast as he could while still being safe so he wouldn't hit any trick-or-treaters.
SPOV
"So, this demon's pretty powerful," I noted as Dean continued down the road and towards the cemetery.He gave a short now. "Yeah.""Might take more than the usual weapons." I glanced over at him, wondering if he understood what I was hinting at... he did."Sam, no, you're not using your psychic whatever. Don't even think about it. Ruby's knife is enough.""Why?""Well because the angels said so for one-"I cut him off, "I thought you said they were a bunch of fanatics.""Well they happen to be right about this one," he argued, sounding like a complete hypocrite."Dean," Lizzie sighed from the back seat. "Sam may have a point. If things get bad... we might need-""No," Dean cut her off sharply as he turned to me. "You said yourself, these powers, it's like playing with fire." Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out the demon knife. "Please."Without a word, I took the knife, knowing there was no way I could change his mind.
DPOV
We heard the screams and what sounded like a metal door rattling, before we'd even entered the crypt. Rushing down the stairs, we found a bunch of teenaged kids dressed up for Halloween, completely freaked and locked on the other side of some locked metal doors.As we reached the bottom stair, Sam turned to me. "Help them."I could see it in his eyes, he was going to go find Samhain. "Dude, you're not going off alone."But there was nothing I could do to stop him. "Do it!" he yelled before he ran off.I watched him for a moment until Liz pulled my attention back to the kids as they continued to freak out."Dean! Come on!"Hating the fact that my brother was on his own, dealing with one of the strongest demons we'd ever come across, I took a deep breath and turned my attention to the task at hand knowing it was the right thing to do."Stand back!" I warned, pulling out my gun. "Stand back!" The kids did as I said, allowing me to shoot at the locks.The moment the doors flung open, Liz ushered the kids out, making sure they got to safety as I entered the space they were in, seeing the graves in the walls shake as the fronts of them dropped off, opening them.Liz rushed back in, only to come to a halt as a zombie crawled out of one of the graves. Suddenly a grave on the other side of the room cracked and crumbled, opening up for another zombie to crawl out."Dean..."Dropping my bag on the ground, I looked over at my shoulder to Liz for the briefest moment. "Back to back."Nodding, she came over to stand behind me, reaching into my bag to pull out two silver stakes quickly. Once she handed one to me, we both turned to a wall each, getting ready as a few more zombies crawled out.I tightened my grip on the stake. "Bring it on, stinky."
SPOV
I was deeper in the crypt now, looking for Samhain. I was sure Dean and Lizzie had everything sorted back there. I knew they didn't need me right now, not when there were more pressing things to deal with. Like the demon bring Hell to this town.Walking down the corridor a little more, I found him tucked away in a room, facing the far wall. I tried sneaking up to him, but he suddenly turned around, lifting his hand to shoot me with the same bright white light Lilith tried on Lizzie and I.Now in the room, I came to a stop. "Yeah, that demon ray gun stuff? It doesn't work on me."Pissed, Samhain ran towards me. Before he could do anything, I managed to get the upper hand by making the first move by punching his right in the face. That's all it took before a fight broke out, the two of us throwing hits at each other... until he managed to push me to the wall and wrap his hand around my throat.
EPOV
Dean and I had managed to take down a few zombies now. But right when we thought we could take a breather, a ghost showed up... and boy was she strong. She'd managed to throw both of us across the room before we'd barely had a chance to register her presence. Then, she was gone again."Zombie-ghost orgy huh? Well, that's it, I'm torching everybody," Dean muttered as he got to his feet.But see, the fact ghosts were showing up now told me one thing. Samhain was still alive. That was not good. That meant Sam hadn't dealt with him yet. It wasn't that I didn't have faith in him, but I was beginning to worry."You take care of these guys. I'm gonna go help Sam." Without giving Dean the chance to argue or stop me, I rushed out of the room.
SPOV
I'd managed to pull the demon knife out of my jacket. As I went to stab him though, Samhain blocked me with his arm. The blade was pretty close to touching his skin, which then glowed as if sensing the danger.Snarling, Samhain shoved at my arm roughly, in order to knock the weapon from my grasp. I was now helpless.There was still some hope, but the chances of me getting out of this on my own, without my powers... with those chances were pretty much non-existent now. I knew Dean and the angels didn't want me to use them, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and seeing as there was no other way for me to get out of this..."Sam!"Lizzie caught both Samhain and I off guard as she lifted her hand and tossed him away from me.I fell back to my feet, taking a deep breath, taking a small moment to recover as Lizzie came to stand beside me. The second I stood straight again and saw Samhain standing in the corner a few feet from us, ready to attack, I knew what I had to do. Not only to save the town, but to save myself and Lizzie.Lifting my hand, I began to concentrate on him, on pulling the demon out of the body.He resisted. He struggled and fought, and actually started to slowly and eventually move towards us, still desperately wanting to rip both Lizzie and I apart. Try as I might, I couldn't seem to hold him back and draw him out.My head began to feel like it was ready to explode. I felt the familiar dripping of blood coming out of my nose as I struggled and fought as best as I could to destroy this demon.That's when I felt her hand slide into mine.In that moment, I hadn't had the chance to be surprised or grateful, but for a second I was both, seeing Lizzie raise her own hand as she helped me pull Samhain from Don's body.It still took a moment, seeing as he was strong and this was the first time she'd done this- that i knew of at least. But sure enough, we managed to pull him out of the vessel, before we finished the job and sent him straight back to hell.The moment the smoke disappeared into the ground, and we relax, Lizzie goes slack beside me, almost falling to the ground in a pile. I reacted quickly, wrapping an arm around her to make sure she stayed on her feet.She'd been about to say something when she froze, her eyes on her left, focussing on the entrance to the room... right where Dean stood watching us....After dealing with Samhain last night, none of us had said a single word. None of us even looked at each other. We'd simply come back to the hotel. I guess it had all been too much, because Lizzie had left early this morning. While Dean had been out at a bar or something, and I'd been in the bathroom, she'd packed her things and left... without writing a note this time.Dean had asked where she was, clearly worried about her even after what he'd watched both her and I do. But I had no answer, and she wasn't responding to any of our calls or messages. I was actually beginning to wonder if she'd come back this time...Standing by my bed, I packed up my things, ready to get out of here. There was tension between Dean and me, but not enough to change things. The job was done and it was time for us to move on to the next."Tomorrow."I jumped at the sound of a voice. Turning around, I found Uriel sitting on the couch."November second, it's an anniversary for you, right?""What are you doing here?"Instead of answering my question, he went on. "It's the day Azazel killed your mother, and twenty-two years later your girlfriend too. It must be difficult to bear, yet you so brazenly use the power he gave you. His profane blood pumping through your veins.""Excuse me?""You were told not to use your abilities.""And what was I supposed to do? That demon would have killed me, and Lizzie, and my brother and everyone.""You were told not to.""If Samhain had gotten loose in this town-"He cut me off, clearly not caring what I had to say, "You've been warned. Twice now.""If Lizzie and I-""Let me make one thing clear. You were told not to use your powers. Next time we while make you. And that whore you and your brother cart around, she means nothing to us. So, I suggest she stop using her abilities as well. Or you'll both suffer the consequences."I shook my head at him, wanting nothing more than to hurt him after what he'd just called Lizzie. "You know… my brother was right about you. You are dicks."Looking to me again, he got up and was suddenly right in front of me. "The only reason you're still alive, Sam Winchester, is because you've been useful. But the moment that ceases to be true, the second you become more trouble than you're worth, one word. One, and I will turn you to dust." Backing off, he went on, "As for your brother, tell him that maybe he should climb off that high horse of his. Ask Dean what he remembers from hell."Just as quickly as he'd appeared in front of me, he was gone with the sound of heavy wings fluttering behind him. I was left on my own again, left to think about what he'd just told me and what it meant.
DPOV
I sat on a park bench, looking out at some kids and their parents as they played on the swings and ran around. I didn't even have to look over to know Castiel was sitting next to me. I'd heard his wings. I knew he was there."Let me guess you're here for the 'I told you so'?" I asked, though had a feeling I knew the answer."No."Or maybe I didn't have the answer. "Well, good, cause I'm really not that interested.""I am not here to judge you, Dean.""Then why are you here?""Our orders-"I cut him off, not really in the mood to hear this speech for the millionth time. "Yeah, you know, I've had about enough of these orders of yours-"It was his turn to cut me off. "Our orders were not to stop the summoning of Samhain, they were to do whatever you told us to do."I frowned, confused. "Your orders were to follow my orders?""It was a test, to see how you would perform under... battlefield conditions, you might say.""It was a witch, not the Tet Offensive," I noted. "So I, uh, failed your test, huh? I get it. But you know what? If you would have waved that magic time-traveling wand of yours and we had to do it all over again, I'd make the same call. 'Cause see, I don't know what's gonna happen when these seals are broken. Hell, I don't even know what's gonna happen tomorrow. But what I do know is, that this, here?" I gestured around us. "These kids, the swings, the trees, all of it is still here because of Liz, my brother and me.""You misunderstand me, Dean, I'm not like you think. I was praying that you would choose to save the town."That was a surprise. "You were?""These people," he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, "they're all my father's creations. They're works of art, and yet, even though you stopped Samhain, the seal was broken and we are one step closer to hell on earth, for all creation. Now that's not an expression, Dean, it's literal. You of all people should appreciate what that means."He was right. I did appreciate what that meant. Which is why I'd wanted to save this people last night. Saving the world was great, sure, but not if the wrong choices had been made along the way. If I listened to the angels last night, then I'd deserve to be sent back to hell.Speaking up again, Castiel pulled my attention to him. "Can I tell you something if you promise not to tell another soul?""Okay.""I'm not a... hammer as you say. I have questions. I... I have doubts." He sighed. "I don't know what is right and what is wrong anymore, whether you passed or failed here. But in the coming months you will have more decisions to make. I don't envy the weight that's on your shoulders, Dean. I truly don't."We shared a look for a moment and I could see he meant it. Turning away, I wondered what that might mean for me. What it might mean for Sam and Liz... for everyone else. But before I could ask, I looked over to see he was gone, and once again, I was alone.
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

SPOV
"It just doesn't make any sense, Dean. I mean, why would Uriel tell me you remembered Hell if you didn't?""Maybe because he's a dick. Might have something to do with it."The two of us sat at a table in a bar, eating some food- Dean downing some shots. It had been a couple of weeks since Halloween. Since Samhain. Since Lizzie had left us. Since I met the angels. Since Uriel suggested Dean was keeping things from me. Two weeks since I'd asked my brother, and yet he still hadn't told me the truth.I didn't care how many times he told me he knew nothing, I could see he was lying. I could see it in the way he drank more and slept less. Things were wrong, and only now did I realise it was because of whatever happened down there."Maybe, but he's still an angel," I noted."Yeah, an angel who was ready to level an entire town. Look, I don't know what-" Dean cut himself off as our waiter came over to our table."Radical." The waiter smiled widely, abnormally happy and cheerful as he looked down at us. "What else can I get you guys?""Uh, I think we're good," I assured him."Yeah?""Yeah."But still, he didn't leave. Instead he stayed exactly where he was, still smiling. "You want to try a couple of fryer bombs? Or a chipotle chili changa?""No, no, we're- we're still good," Dean insisted."Okay, awesome." Smile never fading or wavering, the guy left, taking his flashing badges attached to his uniform with him.Once he was gone, Dean went on. "Sam, honestly, I have no idea why Uriel told you what he did, okay?" He downed another shot.Giving a short nod, I looked down at the shot glass as he put it down next to the other empty glasses. "Right.""What?""Okay. Fine. Then look me in the eye and tell me you don't remember a thing from your time down under."It took a moment, but after a second or two, he did exactly that. "I don't remember a thing from my time down under." He must have been able to tell I didn't believe him, because before I could say anything he got defensive. "I don't remember, Sam!""Look, Dean, I just want to help.""You know everything I do. Okay? That's all there is."The waiter came back then. "Outstanding. Dessert time? Huh? Am I right?"Dean sighed, looking up at him. "Dude.""Listen, bros. You have got to try our ice cream extreme. It's extreme.""Uh, no extremities, please. Just the-"The waiter cut me off, "Check? All right, awesome." Puling our check from his pad, he placed it on the table, still smiling like he had been since we'd arrived.I offered him a forced smile that was nowhere near as cheerful as his. "Thanks."Once again, the moment the waiter was gone, Dean spoke up, "All right, so, where do we go from here?""I'm not sure." Reaching over for my laptop, I opened it up to look through some stories I'd found earlier. "Uh, looks like it's been pretty quiet lately. No signs of demon activity, no omens or portents I can see.""That's good news for once.""Yeah, just the typical smattering of crank UFO sightings and one possible vengeful spirit. Here, check this out." I turned the computer to him- which he didn't even glance at as he grabbed his beer. "Uh... up in Concrete, Washington, eyewitness reports of a ghost that's been haunting the showers of a women's health facility." Dean choked on his beer and started to pack up as I went on. "The victim claims that the ghost threw her down a flight of stairs. I can see you're very interested," I noted, seeing that he was ready to go."Women, showers. We got to save these people." Getting up, he threw some money on the table and started to leave.I didn't get up right away though. Instead I took a moment to pull my phone out of my pocket and check it quickly. It had been a few days since I'd sent Lizzie a message, and I still hadn't heard back from her. We had no idea where she was, and even though Dean wouldn't admit it, I knew he was just as worried as I was.
EPOV
Lying on my back, looking up at the roof, I let out a long sigh."You okay, babe?" Tristan asked as he walked out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist as he used another to dry his hair.I couldn't stop myself from smiling at the sight of him. I had no idea how I was so lucky. He was like no other guy I'd met. Especially like no other hunter. If anything, I would have pegged him as a model more than anything.Styled, thick, honey hair that no matter what he did with it, it always looked good. With stubble covering his jaw, and deep brown eyes I could fall into forever. A body even I was jealous of, with abs and lean muscles in all the right places. No marks or scars. He was practically a walking Ken doll, perfect for any Barbie girl, yet he was all mine.Looking over at me, he gave a light chuckle as the corner of his lips pulled up slightly. "Babe? You okay?""Do you have to go?"After spending the last two weeks in this room, surviving on room service and each other, Tristan had received a call from a friend, asking for help. A friend who was all the way up in Canada.I wanted to go with him, of course, and he wanted me to go as well. But there was no way I could just pack up and leave the country. Not when I wasn't sure if everything here would be okay. Leaving Bobby, Ellen, Jo and the Winchesters like that... it would be selfish and wrong of me.Speaking of which... after they hadn't heard from me for a few days, Dean and Sam had got in contact with Ellen, Jo and Bobby in the hopes that they might know where I was. That's when I started to get bombarded by messages from all of them. They were all worried sick.To ease their minds, I'd sent a message out to everyone assuring them that I was okay and just needed some time. I had a feeling the brothers would keep the details of Halloween to themselves, but I still felt the need to make sure everyone knew I was safe and sound with Tristan.For the two weeks, he'd helped calm me down. I'd told him everything that happened with Samhain. When he hadn't completely freaked, I'd been shocked. Any other hunter probably would have killed me, but instead he'd been nothing but supportive and reassuring. He could see how scared and anxious I was, and decided that there was nothing more important than being there for me at that moment.It's one of the reasons why him leaving wasn't exactly making me smile."Look," he came over to sit on the bed next to me, "you and I both know that spending another week here would be like heaven to me. But my friend needs help, and we really should get some fresh air. So, here's what we're gonna do. You are going to call your friends. You're gonna make sure everyone is okay and let them know you are, too. Then you're gonna see if any of them need help with a case. You'll keep yourself busy, stress less about everything, and wait for me to come back. Okay?" he finished as he grabbed one of my pills and some water from my night stand, and handed them to me.Sitting up, I offered a reluctant nod as I let him put the pill on my tongue and then bring the cup to my lips so I could swallow. His eyes stayed on mine the whole time, and I couldn't help but wonder how I was supposed to deal without him for however long he'd be gone.
SPOV
I sat in Lucky Chin's Chinese Restaurant, at a table with Candace Armstrong. She was the woman the ghost apparently pushed down some stairs at the woman's health facility. A brace cradled her injured arm as she sat there telling me her story."I'm not surprised the spirit world chose to make contact with me. I'm something of a... natural sensitive.""I can sense that about you, Candace, that whole... sensitive thing." It was a lie. I couldn't sense anything, really. I just wanted her to tell me what I needed to know."So, what did you say you're calling your book?""Oh, well, um... Well, the working title is... 'Supernatural'." Once again, a lie. But it was a backstory for the case, and the first thing I came up with. "Yeah, I've been crossing the country, gathering stories like yours. But, anyways, you were telling me about your encounter.""Yes. Well..." she sighed, "once I saw the apparition, that's when I started to run."I'd been just about to respond when my attention was pulled to a couple at another table. They were an unlikely couple, him being a nerdy looking guy while she appeared to be the type of girl to go for Dean and not him. But as they sat there, holding hands, I could tell they were in love. Very in love.Clearing my throat, I turned to Candace again. "And you said the ghost chased you?""Not just that. It knew my name. It kept yelling, 'Mrs Armstrong! Mrs Armstrong!' And that's when I hit the stairs and fell.""You fell?" I frowned. That didn't go with the story she gave for the report I found online. "The ghost didn't push you?""Oh, I don't- I don't know. I mean, I think it did. Maybe.""Did you feel like it meant to hurt you, like it was violent, or-"She cut me off suddenly, "It was a ghost. I'm lucky to be alive. Anyway, I was at the bottom of the stairs, and that's when it got weird." Chuckling lightly, she leaned forward, getting a little closer as she added, "It helped me up.""Say again?""Yeah. It helped me up. And it kept saying over and over, 'Please, don't tell my mum'.""Yeah, that's weird." Really weird......I found Dean sitting on the steps of the porch outside the woman's Fitness Center, reading a newspaper."Well, you pick up anything?" I asked as I reached him.Folding the paper up, he stood and walked down the stairs. "No EMF in the shower or anywhere else. This house is clean.""Yeah. I'm not surprised. I kind of got the feeling back there that crazy pushed Mrs Armstrong down the stairs," I noted as we started walking."I got to tell you, I'm pretty disappointed.""You wanted to save naked women."He gave a short nod. "Damn right I wanted to save some naked women."Chuckling lightly, I shook my head in amusement as we reached the path, only to be cut off as a kid ran past us, running away from three other kids who were close behind him."Come on, guys, get him!" one of the kids yelled."I got him! I got him!" another added.Dean and I watched them dash past as Dean called out, "Run, Forrest, run!"With the kids now gone, I turned to my brother, not seeing any point in hanging around town if there was no case. "Sorry, Dean, but I don't think anything's going on around here."As if right on time, we overheard two men arguing. One was a cop while the other looked like a simple civilian. But the civilian was clearly upset about something."How the hell was I supposed to get a look at it? It grabbed me from behind and threw me into a tree!""Yeah, okay, Gus. I understand you got shook up. Anyone would be. But don't you think it- Don't you think it had to be a bear?" the cop asked, trying to reason with Gus- the civilian- clearly not believing him."I know a damn bear track when I see one!" Gus insisted. "This thing didn't leave bear tracks! Its feet were huge!""Now, Gus-""It was Bigfoot, Hal. The Bigfoot!"
Bigfoot?
"Gus, you're not talking sense here.""There's a Bigfoot out there, damn it, and he's a son of a bitch!"Walking over to the two men, Dean and I pulled out our badges as I cleared my throat, catching their attention. "Excuse us. FBI."The cop looked genuinely confused and shocked. "What?""Yes, sir. We're here about the..." I nodded to Gus. "That.""About Bigfoot?""That's right." Turning to Gus I asked, "Sir, can you tell me exactly where this happened?"Straightening up, arms folded over his chest, Gus gave a firm nod. "Yes, I can."
DPOV
Gus had directed us down a path and into the woods. Both Sam and I weren't exactly sure what we might be walking into, but whatever it was, it was clear it was weird. Nothing about this case had been normal so far."What the hell's going on in this town? First there's a ghost that's not real, and now a Bigfoot sighting?"Sam shrugged, hands in his pockets as he walked beside me. "Well, every hunter worth his salt knows Bigfoot's a hoax.""Well, maybe somebody's pumping LSD into the town water supply," I joked right before we both came to a stop as we looked down at what was clearly a huge track on the ground... I just had no idea where it might have come from. "Okay. What do you suppose made that?"Sam though about it for a moment, but all he came up with was, "That, uh... is a big foot."...We'd followed the tracks to a path that lead us over a bridge and to a store. Whatever had made the tracks, left prints up to the store's back door- which had been ripped off its hinges- and then inside. Walking in, we found the place a mess. Especially the liquor section. There was broken glass all over the floor, and a lot of missing bottles that weren't scattered all over the place."So, what, Bigfoot breaks into a liquor store, jonesing for some hooch?" I crouched down to read the labels of the broken bottles. "Amaretto and Irish cream. He's a girl-drink drunk." As Sam moved on, I reached over and grabbed myself a bottle of something, stashing it in my jacket."Hey. Check this out," Sam called me over.I moved towards him, coming to stand by the porn magazine rack... which was practically empty. "He took the whole porno rack? Well, I'll say it again. What the hell is going on in this town?"
EPOV
Jo and I sat on the hood of the truck she'd arrived in, looking up at the sky, just talking away. The moment I'd sent her a message to let her know I was okay, she'd told me to meet her at this park close to Bobby's that we used to hang around years ago. We'd been here a while now, just catching up like the good old times.It was nice, hanging out with her like this. Since that first and only case we did together, we didn't really see each other that much. But before, we saw each other almost every week. The distance didn't change how I felt about her though. She was still like a sister to me. Just like Ellen was like a mum to me. Things were just... different now."You know what your mum's been doing lately?""Hunting," Jo answered without having to think about it. "Sometimes we hunt together, but a lot of the times she goes off and does her own thing like I do."A small smile played on my lips as I turned to look at her. "Three years ago, would you have thought this is how we'd end up?""No," she laughed, shaking her head. "No way did I think I'd been hunting. Especially not with my mum. I actually thought, if there was anyone I'd hunt with, it would be with you. Best hunter I know."I scoffed. "Please. Bobby taught me everything I know. The Winchesters are the strongest people I know. Your mum is the toughest woman in the history of the human race. Oh, and you know... you're not too bad yourself," I teased."Ha. Ha. Ha." She rolled her eyes, looking up at the sky again. "What about you? Did you ever think you'd be where you are?""Did I ever think I'd be in a relationship, hunting with the Winchesters, and fighting to stop the apocalypse? Hm, let me think about that..." I gave it a moment as I pretended to think before answering, "Nope.""Admit it." She turned her head to look at me. "Hunting with the Winchesters... you love it."I shrugged. "It's not bad.""Oh, come on Lizzie." She sat up and turned to me a little more. "You love it. If you didn't, you would have come back to mum and me years ago. Or you would have moved back in with Bobby.""Okay, yeah. I love it. Because I'm hunting. It's got nothing to do with the guys.""That's bull, and you know it. Whenever we talk, you're always going on about the brothers. Sam's practically replaced me. And Dean?" She gave me a knowing look. "None of us are blind. We all know there's something going on between the two of you.""Um, excuse me… I'm in a relationship," I reminded her. "There's nothing going on between me and anyone other than Tristan."Rolling her eyes, she moved back so she was lying down again. "If that was the case, you wouldn't hunt with the brothers anymore. Tristan wouldn't have left you here. And you would have introduced him to everyone by now."I didn't care what Jo said. I was one hundred percent sure about Tristan. I loved him and he loved me. I really did. He helped through losing Dean. He'd saved my life a bunch of times and I'd saved his. He meant a lot to me.
DPOV
Sitting on a bench outside the store, Sam and I tried to think over what we might be dealing with. But try as we might, nothing seemed to add up. I could honestly say I've never had a case this absurd before, and that was saying a lot.Shaking my head, I let out a frustrated sight. "I got nothing.""It's got to be a joke, right? Some big-ass mother in a gorilla suit?""Or it's a Bigfoot. You know, and he's some kind of an alcohol-porno addict. Kind of like a deep-woods Duchovny," I chuckled lightly to myself.Just then, a little girl on a bike appeared, coming down the path, headed towards the store. She didn't even glance at Sam and I as she rode past. But as she did, the wind picked up, blowing a magazine out of the carrier that say behind her.She disappeared around the corner as Sam and I stood to grab the magazine. Strange thing is... it was a porno."A little young for busty Asian beauties," I noted.Sneaking over to the corner, Sam and I looked around to see the little girl leave a box of things by the stairs that lead to the broken door, before she grabbed her bike and started to walk to the bridge and into the woods, Sam and I right behind her....I pulled the car up in front of a house where the little girl's bike sat out the front. Sam and I got out and headed up the path, looking to the normal, everyday suburban home that stood before us."What's this, like a 'Harry and the Hendersons' deal?" I asked as we walked up the stairs to know on the door.A moment later, the door opened as the little girl looked up at us. "Hello?""Hello!" Sam smiled down at her. "Um, could we... You know what? Are your parents home?""Nope.""No," Sam sighed as he looked over to me."No," I repeated, turning back at the little girl. "Um... have you seen a really, really furry-"She cut me off, worry in her voice. "Is he in trouble?""No," Sam assured her, chuckling lightly. "No, no, no. Not at all. We just- We wanted to make sure he was okay.""Exactly." I nodded."He's my teddy bear," she explained, lowering her voice to a whisper as she went on. "I think he's sick."Standing there, looking down at her for a moment longer, it took me a second or two to think up of a response that would get us inside so we could see what was going on. Lucky for us, I was a god liar."Wow. Uh... amazing. 'Cause you know what? We..." I gave Sam's arms a nudge, "are, uh..." we pulled out our health inspector badges, "teddy bear doctors.""Really?" Her face lit up. "Can you please take a look at him?"Both Sam and I nodded. "Sure. Yeah."...Walking up the stairs, the little girl in front while Sam was behind, we followed her to a closed door. I'd looked around every corner and every room we'd passed, finding that we were alone. This little girl who would be no older than nine, was home alone.Stopping in front of the door, she turned to Sam and me as we stood a step behind her. "He's in my bedroom. He's pretty grumpy." Lifting her hand, she knocked on the door. "Teddy? There's some nice doctors here to see you." Reaching for the handle, she turned it and opened the door.I could not believe what I was seeing.Sitting inside the room, watching the news on TV while the lights were out, while drinking some kind of alcoholic drink from the bottle, was a bear. But not just any kind of bear. No, this one looked exactly like the kinds you found on kids' beds. Only difference is... this teddy bear was big. Bigger than Sam and I."Close the friggin' door!" he snapped, clearly drunk. It was also obvious that he wasn't angry drunk or bored drunk... he was depressed.Doing as he said, the little girl closed the door before turning back to Sam and me. "See what I mean?"Sam and I shared a look. Speechless. We'd never dealt with something like this. How were we supposed to respond? What were we supposed to say? Or do? How were we supposed to reassure this little girl, and get rid of the bear?"All I ever wanted was a teddy which was big, real, and talked," she explained when neither Sam or I said anything. "But now he's sad all the time. Not 'ouch' sad, but ouch-in-the-head sad. Says weird stuff, and smells like the bus.""Um, little girl-"She cut me off with an annoyed sigh, "Audrey!""Audrey," I corrected, before going on. "How exactly did your teddy become real?""I wished for it," she answered with a simple shrug as if it were obvious and normal... which it wasn't, by the way."You wished for it?" Sam asked, needing more than that. We needed details.Audrey gave a sharp nod. "At the wishing well."Looking down at her for a moment longer, I wondered if she was being serious or if something else had happened. What was this bear? What was going on in this town?Stepping forward, I opened the door and moved into the room, watching as the bear still sat there watching the TV, rocking back and forth, holding the bottle of alcohol still."Look at this." He gestured to the TV. "You believe this crap?"Giving a quick glance to the screen, I then turned back to him. "Not really.""It is a terrible world." He spun around to look at the three of us. "Why am I here?!""For tea parties!" Audrey exclaimed."Tea parties?" The bear chuckled lightly, unamused. "Is that all there is?" he asked as he began to sob.Slowly, I turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me as I moved to stand next to Sam again, looking down at Audrey once more."Audrey, give us a second, okay?" Sam asked, getting an understanding nod from the girl. "Okay." Walking a few steps away, Sam and I had our backs to her as he spoke in a hushed voice, "Are we... should we... uh… are we gonna kill this teddy bear?"I shrugged, not exactly sure about our options here. "How? Do we shoot it, burn it?""I don't know. Both?""How do we even know that's gonna work? I don't want some giant, flaming, pissed-off teddy on our hands.""Yeah." He nodded, agreeing. "Besides, I get the feeling that the bear isn't really the, you know, core problem here." Turning, he spoke to the girl again. "Audrey. Where are your parents?""My mum wished they were in Bali, so I think they're in Bali." She shrugged.
That doesn't help the situation...
"Okay, well... I'm really sorry to have to break this to you, but... your bear is sick." Sam sighed sympathetically, "Yeah, he's- he's got..."As he continued to struggle to come up with something, I saved him. "Lollipop disease."Sam nodded. "Lollipop disease.""It's not uncommon for a bear his size," I explained to Audrey, obviously lying through my teeth... but she believed us. "But, see, it's- it's really contagious.""Yeah, so, is there- is there someone, maybe a grown-up, that you can stay with while we treat him?" Sam asked."Mrs Hurley lives down the street," Audrey noted."Perfect." I smiled."Good, yeah, good. Uh, we'd like you to stay there for a few days, okay?" Sam told her."Okay." She nodded, still understanding.But before she left, there was one more thing we needed to find out. "Oh, and, Audrey? Where is this wishing well?"
SPOV
As Dean and i walked into Lucky Chins, the kid that had been chased before walked out, a look of determination on his face. Ignoring him, we headed straight for the wishing well in the middle of the restaurant.Stopping in front of it, Dean looked down at it curiously. "Think it works?""Got a better explanation for teddy back there?" I countered."Well, there's one way to find out." Reaching into his pocket, Dean pulled out a coin."What are you gonna wish for?""Shh!" He threw the coin in, closing his eyes as he made a wish. "Not supposed to tell."A second or two later, the bell above the door rang as a delivery guy stepped in. "Somebody order a footlong Italian with jalapeño?"Dean- just as shocked as I was- looked from the guy, to me, as he raised his hand. "That'd be me."
DPOV
Sitting at one of the tables, I dug into my sub, enjoying every delicious bite it had to offer. "I think it works, dude. That was pretty specific."Sam shrugged. "The teddy bear, the sandwich...""Mm. I'm guessing this." I showed him the front page of the newspaper that sat in front of me, pointing to the article of a man who'd won millions in the lottery.He gave it a glance before gesturing to the side. "I'm guessing that."I looked over to see a couple sitting there, all loved up, the guy a nerd the girl a bombshell. "Well, that definitely goes on the list. What are we supposed to do, huh? Stop people's wishes from coming true? I mean, it sounds like kind of a douche-y thing to do.""Yeah, maybe. But come on, man. When has something like this ever come without a price tag? And usually a deadly one.""I don't know. It's a damn good sandwich," I noted, taking another bite. "All right. Fine. We'll put a hold on the wishing till we figure out what's going on."Just then, one of the waiters came over to our table. "Uh, gentlemen, gentlemen. I'm sorry. We don't allow people to eat outside food here.""Well, I am certainly not gonna eat the inside food here." Gesturing for him to wait, I began to reach into my pockets until i found and pulled out the badge I was looking for. "Health department. You, my friend, have a rat infestation. We're gonna have to shut this place down under emergency hazard code 56C.""Rats?!"
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

EPOV

Not a lot of people knew this, but the night Bobby and I met... well a lot had happened.
I almost died for starters. Or maybe I had. I mean, when I died with Sam a couple of years ago, and Dean had sold his soul to get us back... the demon said I was already back. So, maybe I'd died that night as well? Maybe I've died a few times?
But that's not all that happened.
It had been a hectic night. It had been a hectic few months. After losing my mum, both my sister and I fell down dangerous paths. I went through things. She went through things. Only difference was, I made it out.
Gabby had started dating a guy. A bad-boy. Only she hadn't realised how bad he really. Neither of us knew he was actually a monster. In the end… he killed her.
Not even a year after finding my mum's lifeless, torn up body lying on the office floor of our home, blood everywhere and a look of terror in her eyes which refused to close... I then found my sister.
The similarities between the two bodies had been uncanny. My sister had been the spitting image of mum, in life and in death.
Bobby had saved me after that. After I found her body, tried to get revenge, drastically failed and almost- if not definitely- died.
Bobby did something for me then. Here was a scared, broken, lost girl. A fifteen-year-old with baggage to spare. A head-case and emotional wreck, who would drag everything and everyone she touched down. Yet, he didn't run. He didn't warn me away from hunting. Instead, he took me in.
Then, instead of burning my sister there, along with the monsters- even though there was a chance she may have been turning into one herself- he packed both her and me into his car, and took us to his hometown. There, he burned and buried my sister on the edge of the cemetery. The grave was marked by a single rock. He'd found it. Turned to me and asked if it was a good choice. I'd been too numb to see he was simply trying comfort, or maybe amuse, or even distract me at that moment. All I did was nod, and watch as he laid the rock on top of my sister's grave.
We went home after a few hours. We didn't speak. We didn't need to. He took me to his place, invited me into his home, offered me the bed in his office, ordered us some home delivered burgers, and then he just sat at his desk and did some research while I sat there looking out the window.
Over the next few years, Bobby became family. He taught me how to hunt, but also how to live again. He didn't just save my life, he saved my sanity, spirit and soul bit by bit every day after.
When I started to leave, to hunt on my own, I would always come back. I tried to come back as much as possible. The Roadhouse was where I lived, but Bobby's would always be home. As long as the only father I ever knew was there, and my sister's grave not too far away, I would always return.
Which is why I was now lying on the grass, under a tree in the cemetery. Looking up at the sky, my hand lying down on the soft grass above where my sister lay, I let myself be in the moment.
Powers. Tristan. Dean. Sam. Ash. Bela Talbot. Gordon Walker. Azazel. Lilith. Castiel. Ruby. All of it. All the drama, and pain, and fighting, and problems, and complications... sometimes I just needed this. Sometimes I just needed to be with my sister and forget all about monsters, demons, angels and the stupid apocalypse.

DPOV

Leaning down over to wishing well, I used the brush to sweep at all the coins lying on the now drained bottom. The restaurant had been cleared a few moments before Sam and I got to work, so as we'd have no distractions and could do what we needed.
"Typical fountain, plaster Buddha. Nothing I can see," I noted, pulling back to stand next to Sam again.
The waiter behind us nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, nothing. We keep a clean place here."
Sighing, Sam turned to him. "Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave during the preliminary investigation, okay? Thank you." With that, he turned back to me as the waiter waited a moment and then left us.
Once he was gone, I pulled out a coin form my pocket. "Oh, come on. Aren't you a little bit tempted?" I asked, flipping the coin over to my brother.
He caught it, chuckling lightly. "No." handing it back to me, he shrugged. "Wouldn't be real. I wouldn't trust it."
"I don't know. That bear seemed pretty real."
"Yeah."
"Come on, if you could wish yourself back, you know, before it all started... think about it. You'd be some big yuppie lawyer with a nice car and a white picket fence."
"Not what I'd wish for."
"Seriously?"
"It's too late to go back to our old lives, Dean. I'm not that guy anymore."
"All right, well, what, then? Hmm? What would Sammy wish for?"
"Lilith's head on a plate. Bloody."
"Okay..." Now that was a surprise.
Sam had never really been a violent kind of person. Sure, we were hunters. We killed things. But that was all in the name of saving others. Protecting those who didn't know what was out there, didn't know how to protect themselves. So to hear him say something so dark and heavy, with such a flat and determined voice... I never thought something like that would come from my brother.
Looking down at the well again, my eyes landed on something I hadn't noticed before. "What is that?" Reaching down again, I brushed away the coins that were resting on top of a different coin. One I'd never seen before.
Crouching down, Sam took a look as well. "Some kind of old coin. I don't recognize the markings." He paused a moment, leaning in a little more. "You know who probably would recognise it?" Turning his head, he gave me a knowing look.
I rolled my eyes. "Liz made her choice. If she's done with us, I'm not gonna dwell on it. We're all adults here, Sam. We make our own decisions." Reaching down, I went to pick the odd coin up... only to find that it wouldn't budge. "Damn."
Sam chuckled lightly, watching me, amused. "Lift with your legs."
But try as I might, the thing just wouldn't move. "Is that little mother welded on there? Huh."
...
Sam and I had left for a moment, but as we walked back into the restaurant, a hammer in his grasp and a crowbar in mine, I was one hundred percent sure that we'd get this coin out of the well once and for all.
The waiter spotted us carrying the tools and came hurrying over as I put the crowbar to the coin. "Hey, hey, hey, what is this?! You are gonna break my fountain!"
"Sir, I don't want to slap you with a forty-four sixteen, but I will," Sam warned, causing the waiter to walk away again- though he clearly wasn't happy with the two of us. "All right, thanks."
When the crowbar didn't work, I looked over at the sledge hammer in Sam's hands. "Let me see that. I got an idea." Lining up the crowbar, I then grabbed the hammer and took a swing, hoping that if I hit the crowbar, it would pry the coin away from the well.
But instead, as the hammer hit the bar, the hammer broke...
"Damn!"
Sam's jaw fell open as he looked form the broken hammer, to the well. "Coin's magical."
"Boy, I'd say. I think it's hoodoo that's protecting the well. I don't think we can destroy this."
Kneeling down, pulling a pencil and piece of paper from his pocket, Sam then traced over the coin to get an imprint of it, before handing the paper to me. "All right, here. You got to look into this."
I frowned, watching as he turned to leave. "Where you going?"
"Something just occurred to me."

SPOV

A woman stood by the sink, doing her makeup, completely obvious. But I could see the foot prints, and hear the steps.
Reaching out, I grabbed what felt like a body, and turned it. Just like that, a form appeared in front of me as a red-headed teen aged boy went from being invisible, to completely visible- hence why he moved quickly to cover himself seeing as he was naked.
"Aah!" the woman yelled out, noticing that she was no longer a lone, and that two males were in the bathroom with her.
Raising my Health Department badge to her, I gave a reassuring nod. "Don't worry, ma'am. I'm with the health department." In a hurry, without a word, the woman rushed out, leaving me with the kid. "So, you can turn it on and off, huh?"
Unable to look me in the eyes, both nervous and surprised, the kid muttered, "How... how did you know that I was..."
"You actually walked up to a wishing well, dropped a dime, and wished to be invisible so you could spy on women in the shower?"
"N- No. No," he stuttered. "N- No, no, no. That's crazy."
Let out a sharp and short breath, I shook my head disapprovingly at him. "Put on some pants. And stay visible," I ordered, poking him in the shoulder with each of the three last words.
"O- Okay."

DPOV

I was walking down the road, heading back to the hotel, when my phone started to vibrate in my pocket, telling me I had a message. Stopping in the middle of the path, I pulled my phone out to see who it was from. Bobby.

Just thought you boys would like to know.

She's home.

Liz. She was back at Bobby's. Safe and sound.
I wasn't going to admit it to her- or anyone for that matter- but I was jealous of this boyfriend she had. This guy I didn't trust, seeing as no one had seen him. This guy who just happened to sweep her off her feet, despite the fact she hadn't been interested in dating. This guy who I knew nothing about, except for the fact that he apparently made Liz happy.
I made her happy.
The thought was a shock to me at first, but as I wondered a little more, I realised that I wasn't wrong. At one point, I did make Liz happy. Maybe not the happy she was now, or the happy she needed, but it was a kind of happy.
She'd made me happy, too. But even if she was single, and we went back to how things were before... I doubt much would make me happy again.
The sound of kids running and yelling had me looking up to see the three bullies from earlier now running from the kid they'd been chasing.
"You better run!" he yelled, until he spotted me watching them. Coming to a stop, he glared at me. "You got a problem, mister?"
"What?" I shook my head. "No."
After a second or two, the kid headed off again, chasing the others once more. I took a step to leave as well, only to come to freeze as my stomach grumbled and everything inside it moved in a very, very, very bad way.

Oh, no. This can't be good...

EPOV

I was home. It was nice to be home.
After dumping my bag in my room, I headed down to see if Bobby needed any help. He was looking up some stuff for the apocalypse. He'd been doing that a lot lately. With the world possibly coming to an end, he was trying to help the Winchesters keep everyone alive.
But I knew he needed a break. Needed to get out of the house. So, while he sat at his desk, flicking through book after book, reading lore after lore... I got comfortable on the couch and started surfing the web for anything that might catch his interest.

SPOV

Walking into the hotel room, I slid my keys into my pocket as I closed the door behind me, only to freeze at the sound of Dean in the bathroom... throwing up.
"Dean?" I called out to him. "You all right?"
"The wishes turn bad, Sam," he answered back, voice strained. "The wishes turn very bad."
"The sandwich, huh?"
Instead of answering my question, he flushed the toilet and opened the door, leaning against the frame looking very unwell. "The coin was Babylonian. It's cursed. I found some fragments of a legend, but-" Before he could finish, the colour in his face dimmed a little as he quickly turned to the bathroom again.
I stood there, watching, waiting, concerned for him. But at the same time, I had warned him. He should have known better. When did getting your way ever come without consequences?
As he returned, he gave me a reassuring nod. "I'm good," he insisted as I moved over to the table where the coin and his research sat. "The, uh... the serpent is Tiamat, which is the, uh, Babylonian god of primordial chaos." Grabbing a beer from the fridge, he then come to sit on the bed next to the table. "I guess their, uh, priests were working some serious black magic."
"They made the coin?"
"Yeah, to sow the seeds of chaos. Whoever tosses a coin in the wishing well, makes a wish, it turns on the well. Then it starts granting wishes to all comers."
"But the wishes get twisted. You ask for a talking teddy..."
"You get a bipolar nut job," he finished.
"And you get E. coli."
"Mm. This thing has turned more than one town upside down over the centuries. It's even wiped a few off the map. I mean, one person gets their wish, it's trouble, but everybody gets their wish..."
"It's chaos."
He nodded, taking a drink from his can. "Mm-hmm."
"Any way to stop it?"
"Yeah. One way. We got to find the first wisher. Whoever dropped the coin in and made the first wish, they're the only ones who can pull it back out and reverse the wishes. So for now, we've got a couple of nutso dreams come true, but once the word gets out about the well, things are just gonna get crazier and crazier."

DPOV

Sam and I had a pretty good idea who made the first wish. It was published in the local paper a month ago. 'Wesley Mondale and Ms Hope Lynn Casey have announced their surprise engagement'. Which is why we were standing on their porch right now, Sam lifting his hand to ring the doorbell.
A moment or two later, revealing Hope- the woman from the couple in the Chinese restaurant earlier. "Can I help you?" she asked, a little bit of a lost look in her eyes.
Sam smiled at her, giving a short nod. "Hi. We're looking for Wesley Mondale and Hope Lynn Casey. We were called about a wedding. See," he gestured between the two of us, "we're florists."
Hope's eyes lit up as she ushered us in. "Oh, please come in. Wes is inside." She beamed before leading us towards the living room where Wesley sat on the couch, watching TV. "Wes! You didn't tell me that you called the florists for the wedding."
He looked from Sam and I, clearly confused. "Huh?"
Ignoring his confusing, Hope leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips. "You're the best! Mm! Ah!" pulling back, she turned to Sam and I. "I'm gonna go get my folders." With that, she left.
The moment she was gone, I turned to Wesley, smiling but clearly unamused. "Wesley, how's it going?"
"It's 'Wes-" He'd been about to get up, but as I stepped closer he fell back into the chair. Intimidated, he looked from me to Sam again, noticing something. "Aren't you the guys from the health department?"
"Yeah." Sam nodded- not nervous, unlike Wesley. "And florists on the side."
"Plus FBI," I added. "And on Thursdays, we're teddy bear doctors."
"Huh?"
"Doesn't matter who we are. What matters is what we know," I told Wes as Sam came to stand next to me.
"So, coin collector, huh, Wes?" Sam gestured to some framed coins hanging on the wall.
Wes turned to look at the coins. "Oh. Yeah. My... grandfather gave them to me."
"Did you happen to lose one of those coins lately?" I asked, going on to elaborate my question. "And by 'lose', I mean drop into a wishing well at Lucky Chin's and make a wish on it?"
"No, I- I don't know what you're, uh… talking about."
Just then, Hope came back in, carrying a bunch of folders and papers. "Okay, now. I have a lot of ideas, but, you know, we don't have all the money in the world. Wes is between jobs right now. Means more time for me. You know, I'm thinking a Japanese-y ikebana kind of thing."
"Yes." I smiled at her, keeping up appearances. "I can see it." Honestly, I had no idea what she was going on about.
"Yeah. So, Hope, uh, tell us how you two lovebirds met," Sam encouraged.
Hope's face lit up even more as her eyes landed on Wes again. "Oh, best day of my life."
"I bet." My own smile grew a little, but it was smugger and knowing than excited. The look of Wes' face told me just how nervous that smile made him.
"Yeah!" Hope went on. "It's the funniest thing. We both grew up here, but I never really knew who he was. Not by name anyway. Until one day, last month, it was like I just," she sighed, content and so happy, "I just saw him for the first time. He was just... glowing." She reached over to press a hand to Wes' chest, running her hand up and down. "Oh, just glowing."
Eyes nervously looking from his 'fiancé' to Sam and I, Wes quickly tried to change the subject. "Uh, babe, can you- can you get us some coffee?"
"Yes. Yeah." Nodding, she did the opposite of leaving, and leaned forward to kiss him. Deeply kiss him. It was getting pretty awkward, if you know what I mean.
"Oh. Okay. Okay. Mm-Hmm. Okay." Between each kiss, Wes tried to mumble words to her so she would leave. "Oh, okay. Oh. Mm-mmm, okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay."
Pulling away, Hope nodded again, fixed herself up. "Yeah." As she turned to leave, I watched her go, a little jealous of Wes at that moment.
"Wes, we know." Sam got to the point, getting back on track. "So tell us the truth."
It took a moment as he stood there contemplating it, but eventually, Wes told us everything. "My- my grandfather found the coin in north Africa, you know, World War II. And, uh, he brought it back. He, um, he said it was a real wish-granting coin, but that nobody should ever use it. Um... it was all I had, and when he died, I thought, 'Well, you know what? Why not give the coin a shot?'"
"Yeah, well, now you're gonna wish it back," Sam told him simply.
"Oh." Wes chuckled, until he realised we were being serious. "Oh. Ha, ha, no, I'm not."
"If you don't stop it, something bad's gonna happen," I explained.
"Something bad. Like us," Sam warned.
Stepping closer to Wes, I pulled my gun out and held it by my side so he could see it. "We really wish you'd come with us."
...
Wes sat in the back of the car as I drove down the street, headed for Lucky Chin's. Sam sat next to me, where he usually was. Only things were a little tense between us. Had been for the last few hours.
After he woke me up from a nap, he'd asked me about Hell again. Claimed he could tell things weren't right because I was drinking more, and that he knew I was having nightmares. But once again, I lied and insisted that everything was fine and I remembered nothing.
Of course, we were ignoring all of that for now. There was a case we needed to finish, and Wes was the guy to do it.
"I don't get it," Wes sighed from the back, clearly annoyed and frustrated with the whole idea of taking away his wish. "So, my wish came true. Why does that have to be a bad thing?"
"Because the wishes go south, Wes," Sam tried to tell him- not for the first time. "Your town is going insane."
"Come on." I looked at Wes through the rear-view mirror. "You're gonna sit there and tell me that your relationship with Hope is functional, that it's what you wished for?"
Wes shrugged as if he thought things were going the way he wanted them to. "I wished she would love me more than anything."
"Yeah, and, uh, how is that going? That seem healthy to you?" Sam asked.
"Well, it's a hell of a lot better than when she didn't know I was alive."
I shook my head at the guy. "You're not supposed to get what you want, man, not like this. Nobody is. That's what the coin does. It takes your heart's desires and it twists it back on you. You hear of the whole, uh, 'be careful what you wish for'?"
"'Careful what you wish for'," Wes repeated in a mocking tone, rolling his eyes. "You know who says that? Good-looking jerks like you guys, the ones who've got it so easy because you happen to be handsome."
Sam and I scoffed. "Easy?"
"Yeah. Women- women look at you, right? They notice you."
Yeah, they did. But that wasn't the point. That didn't mean we had things easy. It didn't mean we were happy. Or that we got what we wanted. Girls might notice us, but we still had no mum, or dad, or home, or stable life, or wives, or girlfriends, or anything 'normal'.
"Believe us, we do not have it easy," Sam assured him.
"We are miserable," I added. "We never get what we want. In fact, we have to fight tooth and nail just to keep whatever it is we got."
Sam shrugged. "But you know what? Maybe that's the whole point, Wes."
"Yeah." I nodded, knowing what he meant. "People are people 'cause they're miserable bastards, 'cause they never get what they really want."
"Right, yeah, you get what you want, you get crazy," Sam added.
"Take a look at Michael Jackson, hmm? Or Hasselhoff," I finished.
But Wes just wasn't getting it. "You know what? Hope loves me now. Completely. And it's awesome. Besides, look around. Where's all this, uh, insanity you guys were talking about?"
As if on cue, we spotted the kids from earlier as they yelled out for help. The smaller kid grabbed the bottom edge of the car they were in, lifting it as if it were as light as a feather, and then pushed it onto its side.
I stopped the car. "Well, that should cover it."
"Kneel before Todd!" The smaller kid looked up to the sky, yelling. "Kneel before Todd!"
Needing to stop the kid before someone got really hurt, I got out of the car and turned to Sam. "I'll handle Todd. You get Wes to Lucky Chin's. Go!" Without waiting a moment longer, I hurried over to the kid. "Hey, kid! Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Get out of my way!" he warned.
I raised my hands in the air as I took a few more steps towards him. "Okay. Hey, I can dig it, Todd. It- it's Todd, right?" He nodded. "Look, I-I know the score. Okay? They're- they're bullying you-"
"Every day," he claimed as I stopped to crouch down in front of him. "Every day! You do not know what it's like!"
"No, no, I don't." I shook my head. "But, you know, you're you and I'm me, so-"
"Couldn't stop them. I couldn't do anything. Then Audrey Elmer told me the wishing well worked."
"Okay, okay. Look- look, I get it. They're- they're mean little jerks, huh? But they're not superhuman like you. You see, with great power comes great respon-"
Before I could finish, he lifted his fist and punched me, throwing me across the parking lot and into some garbage cans and trash bags.

SPOV

Stopping in front of Lucky Chin's, I hurried out of the car, moving for the door.
"That- that- that kid turned over that car like- like it was nothing," Wes noted as he moved around to follow me.
"You should have seen the teddy bear. Now, come on. Fun's over. Time to pull the coin." But as I turned to him, I found he had stopped. He wasn't coming. "Wes!"
"Well, why can't we just get what we want?!" he asked, frustrated. He was seriously starting to get on my nerves.
"Because that's life, Wes."
I'm not really sure what happened next, but I just remember feeling something painful push through me, shaking me to my core. Something I'd never felt before, almost burning though my veins. Then everything went black.

DPOV

I pulled myself up and out of the trash, straightening myself up as much as I could as I stated for Todd again. "Hey, kid!" I called, getting his attention. As I reached him, I leaned down to his level again. "I didn't want to have to do this." I punched him.
It hurt. Bad. Like punching a wall. It hardly moved his head, too. Like he hardly felt it. But I did. I was pretty sure I'd been feeling it for a while. I hope my hand isn't broken...
Before I could test my hand to make sure it was in fact okay, Todd reached forward, wrapped his fingers around my throat, and began to squeeze.
I struggled and fought against him, trying to pry his fingers from me. But try as I might, he was too strong. I knew I wouldn't last much longer. I could already feel my lungs screaming like they were on fire, begging for air. My head was growing dizzy.
Come on, Sammy. I hoped and prayed he'd hurry up. I hoped and prayed Wes would pull the coin out any second.
It honestly felt like it wasn't going to happen though... and then, suddenly, I could breathe again.
Todd's hand was still wrapped around my throat, but the pressure was gone. The strength was no longer there. His wish was gone.
As his hand fell from my throat, he looked confused, a little scared, and even disappointed. I knew things weren't going to get better for him now, not when he was back to his weak scrawny self, and despite what he did I felt the need to help the kid out.
Getting to my feet as I tried to get control of my breathing again, I nodded down at him. "Okay. Follow my lead and you won't have a problem. Come on."
Heading over to the car he'd toppled before, I made sure the bullies were out and could see us as I suddenly backed myself up into the turned over car. Looking down at Todd, eyes full of fear, hands up in surrender, I shook my head at the kid.
"Okay, man, no more! No more, okay?" I looked to the other kids. "I wouldn't mess with this kid any more if I were you." Turning, I grinned to myself as I walked away, knowing I may not have saved the day but I might have saved Todd's day.
...
Sitting by myself, reading the paper, I looked up in time to see Audrey walking past with her parents- who were sunburnt- and her normal sized teddy in her arms. She gave me a smile and wave, continuing down the pier.
Sam walked over to me then.
Turns out, Hope had made it to the wishing well before us and wished that we be stopped from making Wes take away their 'love'. Seeing as I wasn't trying to do that at the moment, the wish turned on Sam, and actually sent a lightning bolt down to electrocute him. He'd died because of that. But the moment Wes pulled the coin out, Sam came back.
"Well, uh, coin's melted down," he sighed as I moved to stand next to him. "It shouldn't cause any more problems."
"Audrey's parents are back from Bali," I noted. "Looks like all the wishes are gone. And so are we." Turning, we started to leave.
But the guilt of keeping secrets from Sam had finally got to me. I guess seeing Wes holding onto something that wasn't really his, it made me think of the false truths I was holding on to. Just like how he wanted to be loved, I wanted to be happy. But you can't force these things. I can't force my memories away, just like he can't force Hope to love him.
I came to a stop. "Hang on a second."
Sam stopped and turned to look at me, confused. "What?"
Looking out at the water, I hesitated a moment, but didn't give myself enough time to chicken out before saying, "You were right."
The confused look on his face only grew. "About what?"
"I shouldn't have lied to you," I started, looking up at him. "I do remember everything that happened to me in the Pit. Everything."
The confused turned to what I had dreaded would come... pity. "So, tell me about it."
"No." It was as simple as that. "I won't lie anymore. But I'm not gonna talk about it."
"Dean, look, you can't just shoulder this thing alone. You got to let me help."
"How? Do you really think that a little heart-to-heart, some sharing and caring, is gonna change anything? Hmm? Somehow... heal me? I'm not talking about a bad day here."
"I know that."
"The things that I saw... there aren't words. There is no forgetting. There's no making it better. Because it is right here," I lifted my hand to tap my head. "Forever. You wouldn't understand. And I could never make you understand. So I am sorry."

Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

DPOV
I could not believe it. I could not believe we were on a job, for Ruby.Sam and I had been at a bar, hustling by the pool table, when he dropped the act and gave the guy five hundred dollars just because the demon bitch was there. Of course, I hadn’t been pleased at the sight of her, not after she’d taught Sam all that psychic crap while I was gone, but what made seeing her worse was the fact she had this ‘job’ for us.Chances are, she was fully of crap and we were headed for a trap.“Can I get a copy of the missing persons report?” Sam asked whoever was on the other side of the phone conversation he was on. “Great. Okay. Thanks.” With that he hung up and turned to me. “Well, Anna Milton’s definitely real.”“Don’t mean the case is real,” I noted, really not wanting to do this job. “And this hospital’s a three-day drive.”“We’ve driven further for less, Dean,” he countered. My response was just a shake of the head, which had him sighing at me. “You got something to say, say it.”“Oh, I’m saying it.” I turned away from the road briefly, to look at him. “This sucks.”“You’re not pissed we’re going after the girl. You’re pissed Ruby threw us the tip.”“Right. 'Cause as far as you’re concerned, the hell-bitch is practically family. Yeah, boy, something major must’ve happened while I was downstairs, 'cause I come back, and- and you’re BFFs with a demon?”“I told you, Dean, she helped me go after Lilith.”“Well, thanks for the thumbnail. Real vivid. You want to fill in a little detail?”“Sure, Dean, let’s trade stories. You first. How was Hell? Don’t spare the details.”I looked away from him again, both of us falling silent. He knew there was no way I was telling him anything. I knew there was no way he’d tell me anything without finding some stuff out from me. We were at a dead, heavy, silent end.…“Now, the orderly has no recollection of Anna’s escape?” Sam asked the psychologist as we stood in Anna’s room in the hospital.“Apparently, she knocked him unconscious,” the psychologist explained. “The blow caused some amnesia. He doesn’t even remember coming into her room.”“That’s a hell of a right hook to knock out a guy that’s got 80 pounds on her,” I noted.The psychologist gestured behind the door. “We think she may have planned this, waited behind the door.” With that, she started to leave the room, Sam and I right behind her.“Right.” Sam nodded. “Uh, you mentioned Anna’s illness was recent.”Stopping out in the hall, the psychologist turned to us. “Two months ago, she was happy, well-adjusted, journalism major, lots of friends. Bright future.”“So, what happened. She just… flipped?” I asked.I didn’t really understand how something like that could happen. I mean, I knew it did, but I didn’t understand how. Usually that stuff only happened when monsters and demons were involved. Right now, I was hoping they weren’t. I was hoping Ruby had been wrong. But it appeared she wasn’t.“Well, that’s the tragedy of schizophrenia. Within weeks, Anna was overtaken by delusions,” the psychologist informed us.Sam frowned, curious. “What kind of delusions?”“She thought demons were everywhere.” Reaching forward, the psychologist offered Sam the sketch book she was holding.You don’t say. I thought to myself, while speaking out loud as well. “Huh. Interesting.”“It’s not uncommon for our patients to believe that monsters are real.”Sam and I knew better than to say anything, but I couldn’t help but think that they were. Part of me actually wanted to defend this Anna girl and tell the doctor that she might not be as insane as everyone thought she might be.But I stopped myself from making the mistake, and instead looked up to smile at the psychologist. “Well, that- that’s just batty.”As Sam took and opened it, flicking through the various pages, I leaned over to take a look, noticing one page in particular. A page about the rising of the witnesses… The next page was just as surprising, showing another picture with the words 'Samhain the next seal is broken’ written above the Halloween setting.“That’s Revelations,” I noted, looking up at Sam.“Since when does the Book of Revelations have jack-o’-lanterns?” the psychologist asked, the look on her face telling me she clearly thought I was wrong.I shrugged. “It’s a, uh, it’s a little-known translation.”Nodding, she went on. “Well, Anna’s father was a church deacon. When she became ill, her paranoia took on religious overtones. She was convinced the devil was about to rise up and end the world. I hope you find her. It’s dangerous for her to be out there alone right now.”
SPOV
Dean and I stood in front of the Milton home, Dean moving towards the door to knock on it. I stayed back a step, noticing the two cars in the drive way. When there was no answer, Dean turned to me.“Maybe they’re not home.”I gestured to the vehicles. “Both cars in the driveway.”Turning back to the door, he reached for the handle, only to find it unlocked. Carefully, we stepped inside. “Mr And Mrs Milton?”“We’re from the sheriff’s department,” I called as Dean moved further into the house. “We just wanted to ask you a couple of questions.” Before I could move anymore, my eyes scanned the living room and landed on the two bodies lying on the floor.I had no doubt in my mind that it was Mr And Mrs Milton. Their throats had been slit, and by the looks of things, it hadn’t been too long ago.Dean came back over to see why I’d stopped. Without a word, we moved forward. While he looked around, I crouched down at the sight of a powder lying beside Mrs Milton. Dipping my finger into the substance, I then gave it a quick smell, recognising the scent instant.“Sulfur. The demons beat us here. Whatever the deal is with this Anna girl-”Dean cut me off. “Yeah, they want her. They’re not screwing around,” he sighed, moving around the room, looking for clue. “All right, so, I’m Girl, Interrupted, and I know the score of the apocalypse, just busted out of the nut-box. Possibly using superpowers, by the way. Where do I go?”I stood, my eyes landing on a photo on the shelf close by. Grabbing it, I noticed something in the background. “Hey, you got those sketches from Anna’s notebook?”“Yeah.”“Let me see 'em.” A moment later, Dean handed me one of the drawings. I looked from the picture to the paper, seeing the resemblance in the details of the window of the church and the sketch Anna had made. “Check this out.” I showed Dean.“She was drawing the window of her church.”“Over and over,” I noted, remembering all the pictures of the window that were in Anna’s book. “If you were religious, scared, and had demons on your ass, where would you go to feel safe?”
DPOV
Guns drawn, Sam and I entered the church attic, moving carefully. We weren’t sure what might be around. If the demons got to Mr And Mrs Milton already, there was a chance they’d be waiting here too.“Dean.” Sam got my attention as he pointed over to the corner, where we could both see someone hiding. “Anna?” he called as we both put our guns away. “We’re not gonna hurt you,” he assured her. “We’re here to help. My name is Sam. This is my brother, Dean.”“Sam?” she asked, staying behind the stained-glass wall that was keeping her partially hidden. “Not Sam Winchester?”“Uh, yeah.”Coming out now, Anna looked over at us, her eyes on me. “And you’re Dean. The Dean?”“Well, yeah.” I nodded. “The Dean, I guess.”She was gorgeous. Fiery red hair that fell over her shoulders. She was small, and petite, around the same height as Liz- maybe the tiniest bit taller. Dressed in boots, jeans a white top and khaki jacket. As simple as she looked, it just made her all the more gorgeous.“It’s really you. Oh, my God. The angels talk about you. You were in Hell, but Castiel pulled you out, and some of them think you can help save us.” She looked to Sam then. “And some of them don’t like you at all. They talk about you all the time lately. I feel like I know you.”“So, you talk to angels?” I was confused, because that’s what it sounded like she was saying.“Oh, no.” she shook her head. “No, no way. Um, they probably don’t even know I exist. I just kind of… overhear them.”“You overhear them?” Sam asked.“Yeah, they talk, and sometimes I just… hear them in my head.”“Like… right now?”She shook her head again, answering my question. “Not right this second, but a lot. And I can’t shut them out, there are so many of them.”“So, they lock you up with a case of the crazies when really you were just… tuning in to angel radio?” I chucked lightly.Her face changed, as if she was relieved that we believed her. “Yes. Thank you.”“Anna, when did the voices start?” Sam questioned. “Do you remember?”“I can tell you exactly. September eighteenth.”“The day I got out of Hell,” I noted, looking to Sam.“First words I heard, clear as a bell.” Anna nodded. “'Dean Winchester is saved’.”Looking from Sam, to Anna and then back, I asked, “What do you think?”“It’s above my pay grade, man.”“Well, at least now we know why the demons want you so bad.” I shrugged, giving Anna a small smile. “They get a hold of you, they can hear everything the other side’s cooking. You’re 1-900-angel.”She smiled back at me. “Hey, um, do you know- are my parents okay? I- I didn’t go home. I was afraid.”The door suddenly opened as Ruby hurried in. “You got the girl. Good, let’s go.”Anna yelled out, scurrying back. “Her face!”“It’s okay,” Sam assured her. “She’s here to help.”I scoffed. “Yeah, don’t be so sure.”“We have to hurry,” Ruby pushed, panic in her voice.But I wasn’t buying the act. “Why?”“Because a demon’s coming. Big-timer. We can fight later, Dean.”“Well, that’s pretty convenient. Showing up right when we find the girl with some bigwig on your tail?”“I didn’t bring him here. You did.”“What?"He followed you from the girl’s house. We got to go now!”“Dean,” Sam spoke up again, nudging me. As I turned to him, I saw his finger pointing to a statue of Mother Mary… blood dripping from the eyes.“It’s too late.” The panic in Ruby’s voice turned to fear. “He’s here.”Moving quickly, Sam grabbed Anna and lead her to the closet, putting her inside, telling her to stay and then closed the door before he came back over to stand with Ruby and I as he pulled out a flask of holy water.Ruby shook her head. “No, Sam, you got to pull him right away.”I frowned, not liking that idea at all. “Whoa, hold on a sec.”Rolling her eyes, Ruby turned to me. “Now’s not the time to bellyache about Sam going darkside. He does his thing, he exorcises that demon, or we die.”Putting the flask away without really thinking it over, Sam looked to the door and got ready as we waited.A moment later, the door broke of the hinges as a man dressed in a suit walked in. Sam lifted his hand to exorcize him, but nothing happened.The demon chuckled lightly. “That tickles. You don’t have the juice to take me on, Sam.” Raising his one hand, he threw Sam across the room, out the door and down the stairs.I moved then, reacting without thinking. Ruby’s knife in hand, I lunged at the demon, aiming for whatever I might get. But he was strong, and fast, and before I knew it, the knife had been knocked out of my grasp, his hand was wrapped around my throat, and I was pressed against a pillar, struggling for waist.“Hello again, Dean.” He grinned, throwing a few punches to my face. “Come on, Dean. Don’t you recognize me? Oh, I forgot. I’m wearing a paediatrician. But we were so close… in Hell.” He hit me again. I could feel blood trickling down my face.As I looked back up at him, I had no doubt in my mind of who this was. Who this demon was… “Alastair.”Suddenly Sam came up from behind him, stabbing Alastair with Ruby’s knife. But it did nothing…Turning around, Alistair focused on Sam. “You’re gonna have to try a whole lot harder than that, son.”As the demon dealt with the blade, Sam moved to help me up. With a look to each other and then a look to the window, we didn’t think twice before running. We shielded ourselves as best as we could as we broke through and fell through the air, landing on a car below.Everything hurt. I knew somethings were out of place and I was pretty cut up. But as I looked up and saw Alastair looked down at us through the window, I knew we didn’t have time to waste.Grabbing Sam, we helped each other up and hurried to Baby, climbing in and driving off as fast as we could. It occurred to me then that Ruby had left… and she’d taken Anna with her.…I leaned over the bathroom sink, checking my shoulder and cuts out as Sam sat on his bed in our hotel room, stitching himself up. I couldn’t do anything with this dislocated shoulder. It hurt like a bitch and wouldn’t move right.“Are you almost done?” I asked, turning to Sam.He let out a frustrated sigh, still focusing on the task at hand. “I’m going as fast as I can.”“Good, 'cause you know I got a dislocated shoulder over here,” I noted, walking into the room, grabbing a bottle of whiskey on my way, taking a big drink from it.“Yeah. I’ll pop it back when I’m finished,” Sam mumbled as he finally finished with the stitches. Turning to me, he gestured to the bottle. “Gimme that.” I did as he said and watched as he poured the liquor over his cut and winced at the painful sting.I felt very little sympathy as I looked down at him with annoyance. “So, you lost the magic knife, huh?”“Yeah, saving your ass. Who the hell was that demon?” he snapped, just as annoyed and frustrated.“No one good,” was all I was willing to give him. “We got to find Anna.”“Ruby’s got her. I’m sure she’s okay,” he insisted as he stood and moved to stand behind me. “All right. Come on. On three. One…” He grabbed my arm and forced it back into place.I let out a pained yell at the sudden jerk and pop, walking away from him and back into the bathroom as I tried to control my breathing again. “You sure about Ruby? 'Cause I think it’s just as likely she used us to find radio girl and then brought that demon in to kill us.”“No, she took Anna to keep her safe.” He sounded so sure of that.I scoffed, picking up the icepack from the counter and pressing it against my shoulder. “Yeah. Well, why hasn’t she called to tell us where she is?”“Because that demon is probably watching us right now, waiting to follow us right back to Anna again. That’s why he let us go.”“You call this letting us go?”“Yeah, I do. Look, killing us would’ve been no problem to that thing. That’s why, for now, we just got to lay low and wait for Ruby to contact us.”“How’s she gonna do that?” I asked. When he said nothing, I shook my head and turned to him again. “Why do you trust her so much?”“I told you.”Dropping the icepack back on the counter, I started towards where he was sitting back on the bed. “You got to do better than that. Hey, and I’m not trying to pick a fight here. I mean, I really want to understand. But I need to know more. I mean, I deserve to know more.”“Because… she saved my life.”Moving to sit on the couch, I shook my head. “How, Sam?” I pushed, needing more. Needing to know exactly what happened.Sighing, Sam looked down at the ground as he started to finally tell me what I needed to know. “I was a mess, Dean. You were gone, Lizzie was falling apart. Bobby insisted on taking care of her. That left me alone.” He fiddled with his hands in front of himself as he looked down at them. “I’d tried everything I could think of to get you back. Even tried selling my own soul to trade places. None of it would work."I hadn’t really been paying much attention to anything. Didn’t care enough to want to watch my back. I was drunk, coming back to the room at the hotel I’d been staying at. The moment I was inside and the door closed, I was jumped by two demons. Didn’t take long for me to realise one was Ruby. Told me she’d been let go so long as she killed me. I told her to. Practically begged. But instead, she killed the other demon, and helped me get out of there before more came."She offered help, tried tagging along. But I didn’t want her around. Not after everything that had happened. Especially not when I was suddenly very aware of the fact that she was in her second body. So, I sent her away. A few days later she showed up again, with proof that she was in a vacant body, and insisted that she could help me get Lilith. Told me she could teach me how to use my powers to get revenge.”“So?” I asked when he stayed silent for a moment or two too long. “What’d she teach you?”“Well, the first thing I learned… I’m a crappy student,” he chuckled lightly, finally looking to me as he went on. “First few times I tried exorcising demons, it went really bad. First time was the worst. He’d worked me up to a rage, and I lost all control. Could barely pull him out for a second, let alone drag him to hell."Ruby was there for me though. Killed him to shut him up once she was sure I couldn’t do it. She insisted things would get better. I thought she was talking about my powers, but she was talking about you. It pushed a nerve. I started shutting her out again, but she just kept pushing.” He shook his head, looking at the ground again. “One thing led to another and before I knew it we were on the couch, our clothes on the floor-”Before he could go on, I cut him off, “Sam.”Looking up at me again, he looked confused. “Yeah?”“Too much information.”“Hey, I told you I was coming clean,” he noted.Shaking my head, I leaned back into the couch. “Yeah, but now I feel dirty.” Grabbing the bottle of whiskey, I got back to the point. “Okay, well, uh, brain-stabbing imagery aside, so far, all you’ve told me about is a manipulative bitch who, uh, screwed you, played mind games with you, and did everything in the book to get you to go bad.”“Yeah, well, there’s more to the story.”“Just… skip the nudity, please.”“Pretty soon after… that, um… I put together some signs… omens.”“Saying what?”“Lilith was in town. And I wanted to strike her first. Ruby didn’t want me to go, but she couldn’t stop me. I left her, went to find and kill Lilith. But it was a trap. The house was full of demons, with no Lilith. They attacked, I was outnumbered and clearly going to lose. Things were bad."That’s when Ruby showed up, killed one demon, pulled the other from me. Told me to take the girl they’d used as bait and run. I did what she said, but when I realised she wasn’t following us, I went back and found the demon chocking her, threatening her. I didn’t like it. Not after everything she’d done for me. So… I exorcised him. Hurt like hell. But I did it."Ruby came back for me.” He shrugged, looking up at me again. “Whatever you have to say, she saved me. More than that, she got through to me. What she said to me… it’s what you would’ve said. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here.”A knock on the door had us both turn to it as a voice called, “Housekeeping.”“Not now,” I called back.“Sir, I’ve got clean towels.”Sighing, I got up and opened the door. “Couldn’t you just leave 'em at the door?”Instead of answering, she pushed past me and moved over to Sam. “I’m at this address.” She handed him a piece of paper.Sam smiled a little, though was clearly as confused as I was. “I’m sorry. What?”“Go now. Go through the bathroom window, don’t stop, don’t take your car, don’t pass go. There are demons in the hallway and in the parking lot.”“Ruby?” he noted, looking the maid up and down. Usually Ruby went for the white-petite-surprisingly-badass type. Not the larger, middle aged, African American maid…She rolled her eyes at him. “Okay, yes, so I’m possessing this maid for a hot minute. Sue me.”“What about-”She cut him off, “Coma girl? Slowly rotting on the floor back at the cabin with Anna, so I’ve got to hurry back. See you when you get there. Go!” With that, she left.
Did that just happen?

SPOV
Dean and I stepped up to the abandoned cabin’s door right as it opened, revealing Ruby back in the coma girl’s body. “Glad you could make it.” She took a step aside to let us in.“Yeah, thanks.” I nodded, moving into the room where we saw Anna sitting on the faded and damaged couch. “Anna, are you okay?”“Yeah. I think so. Ruby’s not like other demons.” She smiled. “She saved my life.”“Yeah, I hear she does that.” Dean looked to Ruby. “I guess I… you know.”Ruby crossed her arms over her chest. “What?”It took a second or two for Dean to finally say something. “I guess I owe you for… Sam. And I just wanted… you know…” He was clearly struggling.Ruby rolled her eyes. “Don’t strain yourself.”“Okay, then. Is the moment over?” Dean asked her, getting a nod. “Good, 'cause that was awkward.”With that over, Anna looked up at me. “Hey, Sam, you think it’d be safe to make a quick call, just to tell my parents I’m okay? They must be completely freaked.”I looked from Dean to Anna. “Uh…”Her face fell. “What?”Taking a deep breath, I sat down next to her. “Anna, um… your parents…”“What about them?”“Look, I’m sorry.”“No, they’re not…”“Anna, I’m sorry.”She cried as she leaned forward to rock and hug herself. “Why is this happening to me?”I shook my head, resting a hand on her back for support and comfort. “I don’t know.”All of a sudden, she sat up, fear in her eyes. “They’re coming.”The lights began to flicker. That was not a good sign…“Back room,” Dean told me as he moved to grab weapons from the bag we’d brought with us.I grabbed Anna and led her over to the back room, closing the door behind her before I moved over to grab a gun from Dean.Ruby started looking through the bag, only to stop when she didn’t find what she wanted. “Where’s the knife?”“Uh… about that…” Dean started.She looked pissed and really not amused. “You’re kidding.”“Hey, don’t look at me.” He gestured to me.I rolled my eyes at him. “Thanks a lot.” He just gave me a smile.“Great. Just peachy.” Ruby shook her head at us. “Impeccable timing, guys, really.”The door began to rattle then, before to blew open suddenly. A second or two later, Castiel and Uriel walked in.Dean lowered his gun. “Please tell me you’re here to help. We’ve been having demon issues all day.”“Well, I can see that.” Uriel eyed Ruby. “You want to explain why you have that stain in the room?”Not giving us a chance to answer, Castiel spoke up. “We’re here for Anna.”“Here for her like… here for her?” Dean asked what we were all thinking. Their tones weren’t exactly friendly.“Stop talking,” Uriel ordered. “Give her to us.”“Are you gonna help her?” Despite the fact I asked the question, I had a feeling I already knew the answer…“No.” Castiel didn’t even hesitate, “She has to die.”
DPOV
Sam shifted on the spot, looking to the two angels. “You want Anna? Why?”Without answering, Uriel stepped forward, being his usual asshole self. “Out of the way.”“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I moved in his way. “Okay, I know she’s wiretapping your angel chats or whatever, but it’s no reason to gank her.”“Don’t worry. I’ll kill her gentle.” Uriel grinned, it pushed a button, pissing me off.“You’re some heartless sons of bitches, you know that?”“As a matter of fact, we are,” Castiel agreed, not caring at all. “And?”“And? Anna’s an innocent girl,” Sam exclaimed.“She is far from innocent,” Castiel argued.“What’s that supposed to mean?”Turning to Sam, Uriel answered without really answering. Instead he basically just insulted Ruby. “It means she’s worse than this abomination you’ve been screwing. Now give us the girl.”“Sorry.” Shaking my head, I put myself between the two angels and the door, not letting them pass. “Get yourself another one. Try JDate.”“Who’s gonna stop us? You two? Or this demon whore?” Uriel grabbed Ruby and threw her across against the wall.I reacted before I really realised what I was doing. Using the gun I held, I went to hit Uriel, only to be grabbed by him before I could. He held me back and punched my face a few times, not hiding the fact that he was enjoying himself.“I’ve been waiting for this,” he admitted.But as he raised his hand to hit me again, a bright light engulfed both him and Castiel, and in a moment, they disappeared.Falling to the ground, I looked around, confused. “What the…” Seeing Ruby leaning against the wall, I got up and moved over to help her to her feet. “Come on.”She went to check on Sam as he started waking up from being unconscious, while I went to check on Anna.As I opened the back-room door, I found Anna standing by the dresser in the room, her wrists bleeding, hands and arms covered with blood.“Anna. Anna!” I hurried over to help set her down in the chair, noticing the markings on the mirror that were drawn from her blood.Out of breath, she let me use a rag to wrap her wounds up. “Are they- are they gone?”“Did you kill them?” I asked.“No.” She shook her head, weak and tired. “I sent them away. Far away.”“You want to tell me how?”“That just popped in my head.” She looked to the marking. “I don’t know how I did it. I just did it.”…Sam closed the bedroom door, leaving Ruby in the backroom to help Anna while the two of us tried to figure out our next move. Things were bad. If angels and demons were after this girl, things were only going to get worse.“So, what do you think?” I asked him as he came over to stand with me in the middle of the room.“I think Anna’s getting more interesting by the second.”“Yeah, I agree.” I nodded. “And what did they mean by 'she’s not innocent’?”“It seems like they want her bad, and not just 'cause of the angel radio thing. I mean, that blood spell. Some serious crap, man.”“Something’s going on with her.” Giving him a nod, I knew it was time we started really working this case. “See what you can find out.”“What are you gonna do?”“Anna may have sent the angels to the outfield, but, sooner or later, they’re gonna be back. We got to get ourselves safe now.”“Safe where, Dean?”I sighed, “I know a place.”
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

EPOV

It was dark and late. I'd fallen asleep a few hours ago. Being home alone with nothing much to do... it left me feeling drained. With no cases and no one to keep me company, I'd thought an early night was in order. I'd actually been having a decent sleep… that was until a loud knocking on the front door woke me up at four o'clock in the morning.
Hurrying down the stairs, tugging on my dressing gown to cover my bare legs- seeing as I was only sleeping in some grey cotton shorts and a loose black shirt- I headed for the door. I didn't really care what I looked like. Not at this hour.
Groaning, I threw the door open, fully intending on yelling at whoever it was, only to stop at the sight before me. Dean, Ruby and a red-headed girl around my age stood there. The girl was nervous and scared. Ruby unsure and worried. Dean shocked and hopeful.
My heart sank. It had been over a month since I'd seen either Winchester. I hadn't realised just how much I missed them until this moment.
"Dean..." My eyes scanned his face. I didn't miss all the cuts and bruises. Letting go of my dressing gown, I stepped forward to cup his cheek, checking his wounds. "What the hell happened? Are you okay?"
He relaxed a little, offering me a small smile. "Hey, Liz."
"Liz?" the red-head spoke up suddenly, sounding surprised. "As in, Elizabeth Rose Hart?"
Pulling away from Dean, I turned to eye the girl. "Yeah... who's asking?"
Before she could answer, Dean started talking, pulling my attention to him, "Liz... we need your help." He sighed, "Long story short, this is Anna, she can hear angel radio. Angels want her dead-"
Ruby cut him off, "Demons just want her."
Ignoring her, Dean went on, "I know it's a lot to ask, but you think we can stay here until-"
It was my turn to cut him off, "Come inside."
...
"Here." I offered Anna some tea and a blanket as she sat on the couch in the panic room. "The walls are made of iron and salt. This place is one hundred per cent demon proof," I assured her.
"Which I find racist, by the way," Ruby commented from outside the room.
Dean rolled his eyes at her from where he stood on the other side of the panic room, watching Anna and I. "Write to your congressman."
Shaking her head, Ruby kept her eyes on me, pulling three bags from her pocket. "Here."
I stepped forward, taking the hex bags from her. "What are these for?"
"They'll hide us from angels, demons, all comers. They're extra-crunchy."
Shrugging, I tossed one to Dean and handed another to Anna. "Don't lose that, okay," I told her.
"Thanks, Ruby." Dean looked down at the bag and then to Anna. "So, Anna, what's playing on angel radio? Anything useful?"
"It's quiet. Dead silence," she answered, voice so soft. She reminded me of a mouse. Small quiet, scared, adorable.
Dean clearly didn't like that answer. "Good. That's not troubling at all."
Anna turned to watch him as he moved around the room. "We're in trouble, huh? You guys are scared?"
Looking from Anna to Ruby, to me, Dean didn't answer right away. The two of us stood there, looking at each other, not wanting to tell the truth. We both knew she was right. We both knew we were all in trouble, and totally screwed. But that didn't mean she had to know.
Pulling his gaze from me, Dean finally answered. "Nah."
"Hey, Dean!" Sam called from upstairs.
I smiled down at Anna comfortingly. "Stay down here, okay?"
She nodded, shifting to get a little more comfortable. "Thank you, Elizabeth. For all of this." She gave me a small smile. "I'm, not sure why the angels don't like you."
It was like a slap to the face, putting a frown on my lips. The angels didn't like me? I thought I was just background noise, someone that hung around the guy they wanted to use to save the world. I knew they didn't like Sam, but me?
Before I could really dive into the idea, Dean called out, "Liz. You comin'?"
Clearing my throat, coming back to earth, I nodded. "Uh, yeah."
Following Dean, the two of us headed upstairs and into the kitchen where we found Sam waiting. The moment he saw me, a smile spread on his face.
"Lizzie?"
"Sam." I smiled back at him, moving forward to wrap him up in a hug.
After a moment, he pulled away, looking down at me. "Where's Bobby?"
"The Dominican," I answered as we started to head into the office.
"He's working a job?"
"God, I hope so," Dean piped up. "Otherwise, he's at hedonism in a banana hammock and a trucker cap."
"Now that's seared in my brain." Sam shuddered, causing me to chuckle lightly.
"How's the car?" Dean asked, always worried about his Baby.
"I got her. She's fine," Sam assured him.
With that out of the way, Dean got straight down to business. "All right, what did you find on Anna?"
"Uh, not much." Sam led us to the desk as he opened the file he was holding. "Her parents were, uh… Rich and Amy Milton. A church deacon and a housewife."
"Riveting," Dean noted sarcastically.
"Yeah. But there is something here in the report." Sam gestured to the papers where it showed what he was talking about. "Turns out this latest psych episode wasn't her first. When she was two and a half, she'd get hysterical any time her dad got close. She was convinced that he wasn't her real daddy."
"Who was? The plumber, hmm?" Dean asked, joking around. "A little snaking the pipes?"
Sam sighed at his brother. "Dude, you're confusing reality with porn again."
I missed this about these two. How they could joke around and mess about, but at the end of the day, they always got the job done. I missed the fact that they never judged or teased. You could be whoever you were around these two, and they'd go along with it.
Getting back to it, Sam turned to the file again. "Look, Anna didn't say. She just kept repeating that this real father of hers was mad. Very mad. Like wanted-to-kill-her mad."
I frowned. "She was two?"
"Kind of heavy for a two-year-old," Dean noted, as shocked as I was.
"Well, she saw a kid's shrink, got better, and grew up normal," Sam finished.
"Until now," Dean noted. "So, what's she hiding?"
"Why don't you just ask me to my face?"
The three of us were startled at the sound of Anna. Looking over, we found her standing off to the side, in the doorway of the office, arms crossed over her chest, Ruby next to her, the red-head clearly not happy.
Dean turned to glare at Ruby. "Nice job watching her."
Ruby gave a short shrug. "I'm watching her."
Sighing, Sam turned to Anna. "No, you're right, Anna. Is there anything you want to tell us?"
"About what?"
"The angels said you were guilty of something. Why would they say that?"
"You tell me," Anna started, tears growing in her eyes. "Tell me why my life has been levelled. Why my parents are dead. I don't know. I swear. I would give anything to know."
"Okay." Sam shrugged. "Then let's find out."

DPOV

After coming back to Bobby's having left to go get Pamela, I helped her down the basement stairs, leading her down step by step carefully. "We're here!" I called.
A moment later, Sam walked around, smiling up at us. "Pamela, hey!"
"Sam?"
He nodded down at her as she came to stop in front of him with me behind her. "It's me," he told her. "It's Sam"
"Sam?"
"Yeah."
Reaching forward, she grabbed his outstretched arms as his hand landed on her shoulder. "Sam, is that you?"
"I'm right here."
She let out a breath. "Know how I can tell?" Her hands carefully dropped before she suddenly grabbed his ass. "That perky little ass of yours. You could bounce a nickel off that thing," she chuckled. "Of course I know it's you, grumpy. Same way I know that's a demon, and that poor girl's Anna and that you've been eyeing my rack."
"Uh... uh... uh..." Sam stuttered.
She just shook her head at him. "Don't sweat it, kiddo. I still got more senses than most."
"Got it."
"Now..." Pulling away from Sam, Pamela looked over to where Ruby, Anna and Liz stood. "Come here." She stretched her arms out. "You know who I'm talking to."
Smiling widely, Liz stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Pam. "God, I missed you."
Pamela held her for a moment longer before she pulled back, a slight frown on her face. "Is there something you're not telling me?" Her hands gave Liz's shoulders a light squeeze. "There's something different about you..."
Liz looked guilty. It was only for a second, and I had a feeling I was the only one who caught it, but it was gone before I could read into it. "Everything's fine, Pam. I swear." It was a lie, but no one was going to question her. We all had secrets. "Why don't you come meet Anna?"
Nodding slowly, Pam let Liz lead her over to the red-head. "Hey, Anna. How are you? I'm Pamela."
Anna was as nervous as ever but surprisingly gave Pamela a smile. "Hi."
"Dean told me what's been going on. I'm excited to help."
"Oh. That's nice of you."
"Oh, well, not really. Any chance I can dick over an angel, I'm taking it."
"Why?"
"They stole something from me." Reaching for her glasses, Pamela showed Anna what I'd seen before. Where her eyes had been, now sat white plastic balls. "Demon-y, I know. But they're just plastic. Good for business. Makes me look extra-psychic, don't you think?" She laughed, which managed to make Anna's smile grow a little more. "Now," wrapping an arm around Ann's shoulders, they started for the panic room, "how about you tell me what your deal is? Hmm? Don't you worry."
I was about to follow when I noticed Liz step up to Ruby. The two of them sharing a look. Nothing really unusual about it. It was when they walked off to stand outside the panic room together, side by side, that's when I thought something was up. Maybe Sam wasn't the only one who had Ruby on their good side.

EPOV

I stood with Ruby outside the panic room, watching as Anna settled on the bed in the room, Pamela pulled a chair up by the bed, Sam sat on a box near the door and Dean sat on the desk by the bed.
Once we were all still, Pamela got started. "Nice and relaxed. Now, I'm going to count down from five to zero. When we're at zero, you'll be in a deep state of hypnosis. As I count down, just go deeper and deeper, okay? Five... four... three... two... one. Deep sleep. Deep sleep. Every muscle calm and relaxed. Can you hear me?"
"I can hear you," Anna answered in her sleeping state.
"Now, Anna, tell me... How can you hear the angels? How did you work that spell?"
"I don't know. I just did."
"Your father... what's his name?"
"Rich Milton."
"All right." Seeing as Anna wasn't pushing herself enough, Pamela upped the ante. "But I want you to look further back... when you were very young... just a couple of years old."
Anna shook her head. "I don't want to."
"It'll be okay. Anna, just one look. That's all we need."
Anna started to struggle. "No."
"What's your dad's name?" Pamela pressed. "Your real dad. Why is he angry at you?"
"No. No! No." Suddenly Anna let out an ear-piercing scream. "No!"
"Calm down." Pamela stayed very calm.
But Anna just kept screaming and struggling. "He's gonna kill me!" she yelled. The lights above her flickered as she tossed and turned, screaming in fear and pain.
"Anna, you're safe," Pamela assured her.
"No!" Anna screamed again, and this time, the lights exploded before the door shut in Ruby's and my face. "He's gonna kill me!"
Eyes wide, I reached for the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Shit." Pulling back a little, listening to the screams inside, I knew I had to get in there. Looking to the door, I forced it open with my mind, using so much strength I nearly ripped it from its hinges.
Suddenly Dean was flying across the room after Anna pushed him away in her panicked state.
"Dean!" I hurried over to him. Helping him to his feet, I made sure he was okay before we both turned to Anna and Pam again.
Pamela stood and reached for Anna, seeing that the girl wouldn't calm. "Wake in one, two, three, four, five." Just like that, Anna was calm as she slowly woke up. "Anna..." Pamela brushed Anna's hair from her face. "Anna? You all right?"
Carefully, Anna sat up. "Thank you, Pamela. That helped a lot. I remember now."
Sam frowned, standing on Dean's other side. "Remember what?"
Anna looked over at us. "Who I am."
"I'll bite. Who are you?" Dean pressed.
"I'm an angel."

SPOV

In the office, out of the basement, Dean, Pam and I leaned against the desk, Ruby stood in the doorway of the kitchen, Anna paced in the middle of the room, while Lizzie stood off in the corner.
"Don't be afraid, I'm not like the others," Anna assured us.
Ruby crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "I don't find that very reassuring."
"Neither do I," Pam added.
Not bother to change their minds, Anna turned to Dean. "So... Castiel, Uriel. They're the ones that came for me?"
How did she know that? "You know them?"
She shrugged. "We were kind of in the same foxhole."
"So, what, were they like your bosses or something?" Dean asked.
She gave a little smile. "Try the other way around."
He grinned at her. "Look at you."
"But now they want to kill you?" Pamela was clearly not happy about this situation, and I honestly didn't blame her. So far- besides bringing Dean back- the angels hadn't done much to earn our trust.
Shrugging again, Anna started to pace once more. "Orders are orders. I'm sure I have a death sentence on my head."
"Why?" Pamela want details, just like the rest of us did.
"I disobeyed. Which, for us, is about the worst thing you can do. I fell."
Dean frowned, confused. "Meaning?"
It was Pam who answered though. "She fell to earth, became human."
"Wait a minute," I started, needing some things to be cleared up. "I don't understand. So, angels can just become human?"
Anna nodded. "It kind of hurts. Try cutting your kidney out with a butter knife. That kind of hurt. I ripped out my grace."
"Come again?"
She looked over at Dean again. "My grace. It's... energy. Hacked it out and fell. My mother, Amy, couldn't get pregnant. Always called me her little miracle. She had no idea how right she was."
"So, you just forgot that you were God's little Power Ranger?"
She nodded at Dean's question. "The older I got, the longer I was human, yeah."
"I don't think you all appreciate how completely screwed we are," Ruby noted, drawing everyone's attention to her.
Anna sighed. "Ruby's right. Heaven wants me dead."
"And Hell just wants her." Ruby shook her head. "A flesh-and-blood angel that you can question, torture, that bleeds." She looked to Anna. "Sister, you're the Stanley Cup. And sooner or later, Heaven or Hell, they're gonna find you."
"I know." Anna wouldn't stop pacing. "And that's why I'm gonna get it back."
Now that was not what I was expecting to hear. "What?"
"My grace," Anna elaborated.
"You can do that?" Dean sounded impressed.
"If I can find it," Anna explained.
"So, what," Dean started, trying to wrap his head around all this news. We all were. "You're just gonna take some divine bong hit, and, shazam, you're Roma Downey?"
"Something like that." Anna's answer didn't leave me feeling too confident.
"All right." Dean nodded, a grin growing on his lips. "I like this plan. So, where's this grace of yours?"
"Lost track. I was falling about ten thousand miles per hour at the time."
"Wait." I might be able to work with that... "You mean falling, like, literally?"
"Yes."
"Like the way a human eye can see? Like a comet, maybe, or a meteor?"
"Why do you ask?"
...
I'd been researching all afternoon and well into the night. Sitting on the couch in Bobby's office, books and old magazines surrounding us, I showed Ruby what I'd finally found.
"Here. In March '85, a meteorite vanished in the night sky over northwestern Ohio. It was sighted nine months before Anna was born, and she was born in that part of Ohio."
She looked down at me from where she sat on the arm of the couch, a smirk on her lips. "You're pretty buff for a nerd."
Ignoring her comment, I got to the point. "Look, I think it was Anna." I grabbed another book to show her. "And here, same time. Another meteor over Kentucky."
"And that's her grace?"
"Might be."
"All right." Shrugging, she stood and started to walk away. "That just narrows it down to an entire state."
I closed the book with a sigh. "Look, it's a start."
"Sam... I'm sorry." Shaking her head, she turned to me.
"For what?"
"For bringing you this mess. If I had known, I would have kept my trap shut."
"Yeah, well," I put the book back on the couch beside me, "we'll muddle through."
"Not this time. You do not want to get between these two armies. It's Godzilla and Mothra. If one side doesn't get us, the other one will."
"So, what do you want to do? Dump Anna and run?" I asked. the look on her face told me she was thinking exactly that. "Forget it." getting up, I grabbed my laptop and went to start cleaning up. "Look, I know the angels freak you out-"
She cut me off, "Forget the angels. It's Alastair I'm scared of."
"Alastair?"
"You met him in the church. Practically the grand inquisitor downstairs. Picasso with a razor."
"And?"
"And you should pull him out and throw him back in the pit. If you weren't so out of shape."
I leaned against the desk with yet another sigh. "Ruby-"
"No. Your abilities. You're getting flabby."
"Yeah, so how do I tone up?"
"You know how," she claimed, stepping towards me. "You know what you got to do."
Looking away, I thought about it for a moment, just a moment, before I shook my head. "No, I'm not doing that anymore."
"Sam-"
"I said no," I told her, final.
"Well, then you better pray that Anna gets her groove back, or we're all dead." Turning, she went to leave, but before she could get far, I stopped her.
"Lizzie did it."
Pausing just steps from the kitchen doorway, she barely looked over her shoulder at me. "She did what?"
"She helped me pull a demon out. A strong demon." Pushing off the desk, I stood straight as Ruby turned to me. "She helped me pull out a demon without doing everything I've had to do."
Ruby looked shocked, impressed, and something else I couldn't quite read. "She did?"
I gave a short nod. "She can even start fires with her mind now."
There was a short silence that fell over us before she let out a short and harsh laugh. "That's why she was here instead of with you and Dean, isn't it? Because of her powers?"
"She freaked out," I admitted. "Left on Halloween, over a month ago."
Shaking her head, Ruby actually looked pissed and disappointed. "You of all people should know that going through something like that... you need people you can trust, Sam. Lizzie needs you."
"But, Dean-"
"Screw Dean," she snapped. "He doesn't understand. You do. Out of everyone in the world, she's the closest you're going to get to someone understanding you. You're the closest she'll get to someone understanding her. So be there." Turning, she went to leave again, only to stop herself. "Is there any chance Lizzie could pull Alastair out?"
"No." I didn't even have to think about it. She'd barely been able to pull Samhain out and that was while I worked with her.
"Then we really need angel-girl to get her mojo back."

DPOV

I parked Baby outside of Bobby's, seeing Anna leaning against another car, looking up at the night sky. Getting out of the car and closing the door behind me, I started towards her, hands shoved in my pockets.
"Pamela get home okay?" she asked after briefly looking over her shoulder at me.
"Yeah." I nodded, coming to stop beside the car, just behind her. "She said she was sorry. It's just after last time, she, uh... this is just a little too rich for her blood."
"I don't blame her. You guys should do the same."
"Well, we're not that smart." Moving around to lean on the trunk next to her, I spoke up again. "Can I ask you something? What do they want me for? Why did they save me?"
She shook her head. "I'm sorry. The angels aren't talking about it. And it was after I fell."
I nodded, understanding. But her answer left me wondering something else. "That's another question. Why would you fall? Why would you want to be one of us?"
"You don't mean that."
"I don't? A bunch of- of miserable bastards... eating, crapping, confused, afraid."
"I don't know. There's loyalty... forgiveness... love."
"Pain."
"Chocolate cake."
"Guilt."
"Sex."
I tried to think of something to argue with that, but there was nothing. "Yeah, you got me there."
She smiled. "I mean it. Every emotion, Dean, even the bad ones... it's why I fell. It's why... why I'd give anything not to have to go back. Anything."
"Feelings are overrated if you ask me."
"Beats being an angel."
"How's that possible? You guys are powerful and perfect. You don't doubt yourselves or God. Or anything."
"Perfect. Like a marble statue. Cold. No choice. Only obedience. Dean, do you know how many angels have actually seen God? Seen his face?"
I shrugged. "All of you?"
"Four angels. Four. And I'm not one of them."
"That's it? Well, then how do you even know that there is a God?"
"We have to take it on faith... which we're killed if we don't have."
That was a shock to me. "Huh."
"I was stationed on earth for two thousand years. Just... watching." She sounded so sad as she went on. "Silent. Invisible. Out on the road. Sick for home. Waiting on orders from an unknowable father I can't begin to understand. So don't tell me that-"
As she described what it had been like for her to be an angel, I couldn't help but find similarities in my own life. Before I knew what I was doing, I let out a short chuckle.
She frowned, turning to me. "What is so funny? What?"
I shook my head at her, feeling bad that I'd laughed when she was clearly upset. "Nothing. Sorry. It's just..." I shrugged, looking down at her. "I can relate."
"Hey!" We turned to see Sam standing a few feet away.
"Did you find something?" I asked.
He nodded. "I think so."

EPOV

I stood off to the side, Ruby having already shown and told me everything Sam had found. Right now, he was telling and showing Anna and Dean everything. Letting them in on the plan he was working on. Which wasn't really a plan. More like an idea.
"Union, Kentucky." He gestured to the map set out on the desk in front of them. "Found some accounts of a local miracle."
"Yeah?" Dean pressed, wanting his brother to get to the point.
"Yeah," Sam went on. "In '85, there was an empty field outside of town. Six months later, there was a full-grown oak. They say it looks a century old at least."
Pulling away from the desk, Dena turned to Anna. "Anna, what do you think?"
"The grace." She nodded. "Where it hit, it could have done something like that, easy."
"So, grace ground zero. It's not destruction. It's..."
"Pure creation," Anna finished for him.
...
I could not believe I was sitting in the back of the Impala, between Anna-the-angel and Ruby-the-demon.

Could this day get any weirder?

Before we'd all set off to find Anna's grace, Sam had pulled me aside and asked me if I wanted to go. I guess the others had just assumed I would. But he'd noticed how quiet I was being.
At first, I'd been about to say no. It's not like they really needed me. But one look at Dean, and before I realised what I was saying, I'd agreed to go with them.
Since then, I hadn't stopped kicking myself. Missing Sam and Dean was fine, but the way I was feeling towards Dean wasn't fine. I had a boyfriend, one I cared for dearly. So, what the hell was going on with me?
A chuckle from the front seat caught my attention as I caught Dean's eyes in the rear-view mirror.
"What?" Ruby asked what we were all thinking.
"Nothing." Dean shook his head. "It's just an angel, a hunter and a demon riding in the backseat." He chuckled lightly again, "It's like the setup to a bad joke... or a Penthouse Forum letter."
Sam sighed, shaking his head beside his brother. "Dude. Reality. Porn."
Dean scoffed. "You call this reality?"
...
Climbing out of the car, we all walked over to stand in front of Baby, looking up at the giant oak tree standing before us. The way the light shone down on it. The dark colour of the bark and deep colour of the leaves. The way it towered as if reaching for the heavens...
"It's beautiful," Dean said what I was sure we were all thinking.
"It's where the grace touched down." Anna nodded. "I can feel it."
"You ready to do this?" Dean asked her.
"Not really." But knowing she didn't have much of a choice, Anna started forward anyway, heading for the tree.
We were all a stop behind her, coming to stand by the large trunk of the magnificent oak.
"Anna, what are we even looking for?" Sam had a good point.
Reaching forward, Anna rested a hand on the tree. The moment she touched it, I saw her shoulders slump slightly, and without her saying anything I already knew what was wrong.
She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. It's not here. Not anymore. Someone took it."
...
It was dark, again. We'd found a barn to hole up in for the night, but we all knew we couldn't stay here. Not when every angel and demon were after us. We needed to be someplace where we could protect ourselves properly.
"We still got the hex bags," Dean noted, ready to get back on the road. "I say we head back to the panic room."
"What, forever?" Ruby asked, clearly not liking that plan.
"I'm just thinking out loud!" Dean snapped at her.
"Oh, you call that thinking?"
I rolled my eyes, not really in the mood for any arguments. "Would you two shut it?"
But Ruby wasn't letting it go. "Anna's grace is gone. You understand? She can't angel up. She can't protect us. We can't fight Heaven and Hell. One side maybe, but not both. Not at once."
"Um... guys?" Anna spoke up from where she sat on a desk. We all turned to her. "The angels are talking again."
"What are they saying?" Sam asked.
"It's weird. Like a recording. A loop. It says... 'Dean Winchester gives us Anna by midnight, or-'." She stopped herself short.
"Or what?" Dean pressed.
Turning to look at him, Anna answered. "'...or we hurl him back to damnation'."
"No." I shook my head. "No, that's not happening. We're not giving Anna up." I turned to Dean. "And there is no way in hell that you're going back to... well, hell. I don't care what we have to do."
Nodding, on my side, Sam could see there weren't many options left for us. "Anna... do you know of any weapon that works on an angel?"
"To what? To kill them?" She sounded offended, but when Sam nodded she answered simply, "Nothing we could get to... not right now."
"Okay, wait, wait. I say we call Bobby," Dean suggested. "We get him back from hedonism-"
Sam shook his head at his brother. "Dean, what's he gonna tell us that we don't already know?"
"I don't know, but we got to think of something!"

DPOV

Leaning over Baby's hood, reading a book on angel lore, I tried to focus. But my mind just kept going back to the possibility of the night ending with me back in hell... There was nothing worse than that. There's a reason why people describe shitty things as being hell. Hell, was hell.
Movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention. Looking up, I found Anna headed towards me. "Hey. Holding up okay?"
"Trying."
Nodding, I turned back to the book. "Yeah."
"A little scared, I guess," she admitted. "So, um... Dean." Pulling away from the book, I turned to her as she went on. "I just wanted to thank you."
"For what?"
"Everything. You guys... you didn't have to help me-"
"Hey, let's can the 'thanks for trying' speech, you know? Participation trophies suck ass." I chuckled lightly.
"I don't know. Maybe I don't deserve to be saved."
"Don't talk like that."
"I disobeyed. Lucifer disobeyed. It's our murder one, and I knew it. Maybe I got to pay."
"Yeah, well, we've all done things we got to pay for," I noted.
I knew I'd done plenty of things I'd end up paying for sooner or later. Before and after Hell. Hunting, it wasn't exactly a clean-living life. We had to break laws to survive out here. Hurt people. It was just how we did the job...
But the worse things I'd ever done... well they all came from my time down under.
Moving to sit on Baby's hood, she looked up at me. "I gotta tell you something. You're not gonna like it."
"Okay. what?"
"About a week ago, I heard the angels talking... about you... what you did in Hell. Dean, I know." I tensed, and she noticed. Raising her hand, she cupped my cheek softly. "It wasn't your fault. You should forgive yourself."
I shook my head, pulling away from her hand slightly. "Anna, I-I don't w-want to, uh... I don't want to..." I struggled with words. "I can't talk about that."
"I know. But when you can, you have people that want to help. You are not alone. That's all I'm trying to say." Slowly and carefully, she stood and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to my lips.
When she pulled back, I looked down at her, confused. "What was that for?"
She smiled up at me. "You know... our last night on Earth... all that."
A small grin found its way onto my lips. "You're stealing my best line."

EPOV

I stepped outside to get some fresh air and to make a call. As I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialled Tristan's number, I froze. My eyes had looked up and landed right on Baby, and I could not believe what I was seeing. Even through the foggy windows, I could make out the two intertwined bodies as they rocked against each other.
Dean and Anna. Together. In Baby. Having sex. Dean and Anna. Sex. In the Impala. Dean and Anna. Naked. In the car. Dean Winchester and Anna the angel... having sex.
"Hey, babe."
I jumped at the sound of Tristan's voice in my ear, having forgotten about the phone call for a moment. "Oh, uh… hi."
There was a long pause as I still stood there, watching as the fog on the windows grew, and the car continued to rock.
"Everything okay?" Tristan asked, pulling my attention to him again. "You, uh... you been taking your pills?"
Shaking my head to try and focus, I turned away from the car, wondering why I was hurting... "Uh, yeah. Yes. I've been taking them," I assured him. "I just... a lot of crap is going on and I wanted to know when you'll be back."
"Oh, babe, I don't know. My friend, he really needs me. You know? But I'm trying to work through everything as fast as I can so I can come back home to you. Promise."
A small smile spread on my lips, but I knew it was partially forced. "Okay."
"Look, I really gotta go. But I'll talk to you later." Before I had a chance to respond, he hung up.
Sighing, I shoved my phone into my pocket. As I did, my fingers grazed the packet of pills sitting in there. I hesitated only for a moment before pulling them out and taking not one, not two, but three. They were supposed to help keep me focused and centred, and if I ever needed to be those things, it was now.

DPOV

I walked into the barn, adjusting my clothes, only to come to a complete stop at the sight of Uriel standing in the middle of the open space, hands in his pockets, smug look on his face.

"Look at that. It's so cute when monkeys wear clothes."

Looking around, I noticed Sam, Liz, Ruby and Anna were nowhere to be seen. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

He shrugged. "It's the only way we could chat... since you're hiding like cowards."

"Don't normally see you off-leash. Where's your boss?"

"Castiel? Oh, he, uh... He's not here. See, he has this weakness. He likes you." The way he said it, it was as if that were a bad thing. "Time's up, boy. We want the girl."

"Wouldn't try that if I were you. See, she got her grace back," I lied. "Full-blown angel now."

"That would be a neat trick, considering," reaching into his top, he tugged a chain out. On the end of the silver chain sat a small tube filled with some kind of glowing stuff, "I have her grace right here. We can't let Hell get their hooks into her."

"Well, then why don't you just give her back her angel juice?"

"She committed a serious crime," he answered as if it were simple, slipping the necklace back into his shirt.

"What? Thinking for herself?"

"This is our business, not yours. She's not even human... not technically."

"Yeah, well, I guess I just like being a pain in the pooper."

"No." he grinned, moving towards me. "There's more." As he stopped in front of me, he laughed. "You cut yourself a slice of... angel food cake. Didn't you? Huh? You did."

"What do you care? You're junk-less down there, right? Like a Ken doll?"

"Ooh," he laughed again, moving back to his original spot. "Well, it's your last chance. Give us the girl, or-"

I cut him off, "Or what? What, you're gonna toss me back in the hole? You're bluffing."

"Try me. This is a whole lot bigger than the plans we got for you, Dean. You can be replaced."

I knew I was probably going to regret it. I knew I would hate myself for the rest of my life. But I already did, so it wouldn't make that much difference. As long as Anna and everyone else was okay, I didn't care what happened to me. Or, at least... I cared less for me than I did for them.

"What the hell?" I shrugged. "Go ahead and do it."

Moving forward again, he stopped in front of me once more, shaking his head. "You're just crazy enough to go, aren't you?"

"What can I say? I don't break easy."

"Oh, yes... you do. You just got to know where to apply the right pressure."

SPOV

"I don't know, man. Where's Ruby?" I was concerned. She had left last night, and now it was morning and she wasn't back...
"Hey, she's your Hell buddy," Dean mumbled before taking a drink from his flask.
I shook my head, walking over to Lizzie. "Did you see her? Last night, did you see Ruby?"
She shrugged. "I mean, yeah. I saw her, but-"
The barn doors suddenly burst open as Castiel and Uriel walked in. Dean, Lizzie, Anna and I all moved to the middle of the barn, standing together.
Coming to a stop a few feet away from us, Castiel set in gaze on Anna. "Hello, Anna. It's good to see you."
"How?" I shook my head at them. "How did you find us?" both pairs of eyes landed on my brother beside me. "Dean?"
Turning away from me, he looked to Anna. "I'm sorry."
I frowned at him. "Why?"
Without looking at me, eyes still focused on Dean's, Anna answered for him. "Because they gave him a choice. They either kill me... or kill you. I know how their minds work." Taking a quick breath, she leaned forward to kiss him goodbye. "You did the best you could. I forgive you." Standing strong, she turned to Castiel. "Okay. No more tricks. No more running. I'm ready."
"I'm sorry," Castiel told her.
"No. You're not. Not really. You don't know the feeling."
"Still, we have a history. It's just-"
She cut him off. "Orders are orders. I know. Just make it quick."
Before the angel could do anything, Alastair appeared behind us, with another demon and an injured Ruby. "Don't you touch a hair on that poor girl's head," he warned the angels.
Uriel sneered at the demons, walking towards them- Dean, Lizzie, Anna and I moved out of the way, knowing better than to stand between an angel and demon. "How dare you come in this room... you pussing sore."
"Name-calling." Alastair dropped Ruby to the ground before he stepped up to Uriel, just as disgusted. "That hurt my feelings... you sanctimonious, fanatical prick."
"Turn around and walk away now," Castiel ordered them.
"Sure. Just give us the girl. We'll make sure she gets punished good and proper."
"You know who we are and what we will do." Castiel stepped up to stand beside Uriel. "I won't say it again. Leave now... or we lay you to waste."
"Think I'll take my chances."
That's all it took before the angels and demons began to fight. Castiel dealt with Alastair while Uriel took on the other two. It didn't take too long before Uriel killed one of the demons- how I wasn't sure, but it had looked painful, like burning their insides.
Unfortunately, Castiel wasn't having as much luck. In fact, Alastair ended up getting the upper hand, pinning the angel to the ground as he started to chant something I'd never heard before.
"Potestas inferna, me confirma." His hand squeezed Castiel's throat. "Potestas inferna, me confirma. Potestas inferma, me confirma!"
Dean stepped forward then, using a crowbar he'd grabbed to knock Alastair away from Castiel. It was enough to get the demon to let go, but that's about it...
"Dean, Dean, Dean..." Alastair shook his head as he turned to Dean, Lizzie and I, the three of us blocking his path to Anna. "I am so disappointed. You had such promise." Lifting his hand, he didn't even touch Dean as he started to choke him, and then me.
I fell to my knees watching as his eyes moved to Lizzie, but nothing happened. She stayed standing, watching him, and after a moment his eyes went wide with wonder as he realised he could do nothing to her.
"Pick on someone your own size. Asshole." Lifting her hand, Lizzie sent Alastair flying across the room.
Both Dean and I looked to our friend, confused. Last time we saw her, she'd barely been strong enough to take on Samhain with my help, but now she could throw someone like Alastair around? That it begged the question... what the hell happened in the last month?
Before anyone could question her, a voice caught everyone's attention.
"No!" Uriel called out.
We all turned to see Anna throwing something on the ground. Whatever it was broke, setting some kind of white glowing fog-free for a moment before it flew towards Anna and into her mouth.
"Shut your eyes. Shut your eyes!" she yelled as she began to glow. "Shut your eyes!"
I looked away a moment before I heard her yell out, which was then followed by a loud explosion.
When everything calmed, I opened my eyes and turned to where she'd been standing. But she was no longer there. Neither was Alastair... Instead, all that was left of him was Ruby's knife.
Everyone stood looking around, some afraid- Castiel and Uriel- while the rest of us were just confused.
"Well, what are you guys waiting for?" Dean asked the angels. "Aren't you gonna go get Anna." He shrugged at them. "Unless, of course, you're scared."
"This isn't over." Uriel reached for Dean.
Lizzie stepped in front of my brother protectively, the same moment Castiel grabbed Uriel's shoulder to pull him back.
Dean kept his attention on Uriel, showing no fear what so ever. "Oh, it looks over to me, junk-less."
With nothing left to say, both angels disappeared. The moment they were gone, Ruby hobbled over to us. Limping and panting.
"You okay?" I asked her.
She shook her head. "Not so much."
Stepping forward, Lizzie wrapped an arm around Ruby, helping to keep her up. "Don't worry, we'll get you fixed up." She smiled at the demon.
"What took you so long to get here?" Dean question, drawing both girls' eyes to him.
Ruby sighed, only a little annoyed. "Sorry I'm late with the demon delivery. I was only being tortured."
"I got to hand it to you, Sammy." Dean turned to smile at me, proud. "Bringing them all together all at once. Angels and demons. It was a damn good plan."
I shrugged. "Yeah, well, when you got Godzilla and Mothra on your ass, best to get out of their way and let them fight."
"Yeah, now you're just bragging."
"So, I guess she's some big-time angel now, huh?" I noted, thinking about Anna and where she might be. What she might be doing. "She must be happy... wherever she is."
Dean just gave a short shake of his head. "I doubt it."

EPOV

"Liz." I jumped at the sound of Dean's voice as he came up from behind me.
We were back at Bobby's, just the guys and me. We'd come back here so they could grab some supplies and then head off again. I was back here with the intention of staying. It's not like I didn't enjoy being with the brothers again, but I just wasn't sure if hunting with them full time was the best thing for me.
I'd been busy cleaning up the study when Dean had come in. Sam was upstairs, packing the rest of his things he'd left here last night. That meant Dean and I were alone.
"Dean." A nervous smile played on my lips. "What's up?"
"I want you to come with us."
"Wow." I chuckled lightly. "Straight to the point, then."
"Look," he sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets, "I know I freaked you out. I know you think I'm gonna hate you because of what you can do. But I won't. I know better now. What you do, it's not bad. I mean, it's not good," he pointed out. "But it's not bad."
"Are you telling me you can handle the fact I set things on fire and can exorcise demons with my mind?"
It was his turn to chuckle lightly. "No. I'm not telling you that. What I'm saying is... it may take a while, but maybe one day I will be able to handle it." He shrugged. "If it means you come hunt with us again, then I'll work on it."
Looking up at him, our eyes locked. I tried to search for any lies or uncertainties in his gaze. I trusted Dean, but I wasn't sure how much. I wasn't sure if I trusted him to simply watch my stuff. Or if I trusted him to watch my back. Things just weren't that simple anymore.
But there was one thing that hadn't changed. I loved hunting. It was my life. Ever since Tristan and I started dating, I hadn't been doing as much as I used to… as much as I wanted to.
So maybe going with the brothers... maybe it would be a good thing for me. I could keep my distance while hunting. It would distract me while Tristan was gone. It would keep me busy. I loved being busy...
"Okay." I nodded. "I'm in."

DPOV

Sam, Liz and I had left Bobby's a few hours ago. We were parked on the side of the road now, the three of us enjoying a beer each as we watched a storm pass up ahead. Sam and Liz sat on Baby's hood while I leaned against it.
"I can't believe we made it out of there," I noted, my mind on this morning's events.
"Again," Sam added.
I held out my beer to the two of them, the three of our drinks clinking together in cheers. Together, there didn't seem to be a lot we couldn't do. Whether it be dealing with normal monster crap, or big bad angels and demons. Speaking of which.
"I know you heard him."
"Who?" Sam asked.
Liz nodded. "What exactly did we hear, and from whom did we hear it?"
"Alastair," I answered. "What he said... about how I had promise."
Sam gave a short nod. "I heard him."
"You're not curious?"
"Dean, I'm damn curious. And I won't speak for her, but I'm pretty sure Lizzie is too."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but he's right. I am curious," she commented.
Going on, Sam said, "But you're not talking about Hell, and we're not pushing."
I nodded, looking away from them, thinking about it. The fact they weren't going to demand answers. They weren't going to press me for information. They were willing to live in the dark, just so I wouldn't have to go through it all again... knowing all of that, it made me want to tell them. So I did.
"It wasn't four months, you know."
"What?"
"It was four months up here, but down there... I don't know. Time's different," I explained. "It was more like forty years." I took a deep breath. "They, uh... they sliced and carved and tore at me in ways that you-" I stopped myself, shaking my head. "Until there was nothing left. And then, suddenly... I would be whole again. Like magic. Just so they could start in all over.
"And Alastair, at the end of every day... everyone... he would come over. And he would make me an offer. To take me off the rack, if I put souls on. If I started the torturing. And every day, I told him to stick it where the sun shines. For thirty years, I told him." My voice cracked as tears formed in my eyes. "But then I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't." Unable to help it, I began to cry. "And I got off that rack. God help me, I got right off it, and I started ripping them apart. I lost count of how many souls." A tear rolled down my cheek. "The- the things that I did to them."
"Dean..." Sam cleared his throat from behind me. "Dean, look, you held out for thirty years. That's longer than anyone would have."
"How I feel..." My voice shook as I looked at the ground, still crying, feeling all the pain and guilt. "This... inside me... I wish I couldn't feel anything. I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing."
A set of arms wrapped around me then. Tight and comforting. Just holding me as I stood there crying. Liz didn't let me go until she was sure I wasn't going to fall to pieces right in front of them.

Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

DPOV

Sam was fast asleep, laid out on the back seat, while Liz was curled up beside me, leaning against her door. I sat behind the wheel, parked off the road and behind some bushes, looking over some papers in front of me, using a torch to help me see what I was reading.
Sam stirred. "What are you doing?"
"What's it look like I'm doing?" I asked without looking away from my work.
"Like you're looking for a job."
"Yahtzee."
Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he looked over at me. "We just finished a job like two hours ago."
I shrugged. "Adrenaline's still pumping, I guess. So, what do you think..." I showed him the papers. "Cedar Rapids, Tulsa, or Chi-Town?"
He let out a frustrated sigh. "I am all for working. I really am. But you got us chasing cases nonstop for like a month now. We need sleep."
"Yeah, we can sleep when we're dead," I mumbled, getting back to reading.
"You're exhausted, Dean."
"I'm good," I insisted.
"No, you're not. You're running on fumes, and you can't run forever."
Putting the torch and papers down, I turned to him. "And what am I running from?"
"From what you told Lizzie and me," he answered shortly. "Or are we pretending that never happened?"
Ignoring his question, I picked a case myself. "Stratton, Nebraska. Farm town. A man gets hacked to death in a locked room inside a locked house. No signs of forced entry."
Sighing, knowing there was no way he was going to get an answer from me, he shrugged. "Sounds like a ghost."
"Yes, it does."
With yet another sigh, he flopped back down to get back to sleep.

EPOV

I couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I hurried up the porch stairs of the large farmhouse, lifting my hand to open the door with my mind effortlessly. Entering the house, I came to a stop in the foyer as I took it all in.
As Sam and Dean came to stand beside me Sam looked down at me, confused and amused. "How can you be excited so excited? It's like you're addicted to hunting lately."
I gave a short and simple shrug. "You don't get it, Sam. Things were slow before. Now there's constant action. I love it."
We'd been busy for the last few weeks since I'd joined the Winchesters again. Tristan hadn't come back from Canada yet, so I'd spent all my time with the brothers. We'd gone from case to case, hardly stopping for breaks. Hell, we'd only just finished a job less than twenty-four hours ago.
Sam did have a point though. I knew he was running on fumes, and Dean was barely keeping up his I'm-perfectly-fine-there's-nothing-to-see-here bullshit. But I was fine. Give me a couple of hours sleep here and there, a few decent meals, and I was as energetic as ever. Of course, I had a secret weapon...
My pills.
When Tristan had given them to me, it was because I'd been dealing with the loss of Dean. Since then, I'd kind of become dependent on them. They helped me focus my attention, energy, emotions, everything. They made me feel good.
The fact I'd started taking more of them... well that helped too. Before I would take one or two a day. Now, it was more like five or six. They just made me feel so much better about everything.
Walking into the living room, I ran my finger over the mantle above the fireplace.
"Boy, three bedrooms, two baths, and one homicide. This place is gonna sell like hotcakes," Dean joked.
Continuing through, we headed for the kitchen, each of us moving to check the cupboards. As I opened a few, I found nothing. Literally. Not even a speck of dust.
"Hey, check this out." Dean caught Sam's and my attention as he knocked on the wall where there appeared to once have been a hole which was now covered.
I moved over to it, running my hand over the painted drywall covering the old hole. "We thinking a dumbwaiter?" I asked, turning to Sam.
He nodded. "All these old houses had them."
Dean looked between the two of us, mumbling something under his breath that I didn't quite catch.
"What?" Sam asked him.
"What?" Dean repeated, playing dumb.
"You said-" Sam started, but cut himself short. "Never mind." Shaking his head, he left the room, Dean and I following him.
We looked in all the rooms, finding nothing in all of them. When we finally reached the bedroom where the murder had taken place, we were surprised to see how perfectly clean it was.
"Well, no bloodstains, fresh coat of paint, it's a bunch of bubkes," Dean noted.
Sam- with his EMF reader out- nodded to the machine in his hand. "Needle's all over the place."
Heading over to the window, Dean took a look outside. "Yeah. Power lines."
"Great," Sam sighed, putting the EMF reader away.
I walked over to the closet, smiling at the brothers as I opened it. Turning to take a look inside, I let out a startled gasp at what I found.
"What is it?" Dean hurried over, followed by Sam. They looked over my shoulders and into the closet, seeing the doll head on the floor. "Well, that's super-disturbing," Dean noted, stating the obvious.
"Think it got left behind?" Sam asked.
Dean and I looked at him questioningly, but it was Dean who spoke. "By who? Unless Bill Gibson likes to play with doll heads."
The sound of a car approaching the house caught our attention. The three of us moved to the window to see a car and a moving truck headed this way, coming down the driveway.
"Uh-oh." Sam basically covered how I was feeling.
"I thought you said this place was still for sale," Dean commented as we watched the vehicles park.
Sam shook his head. "Apparently, it's not."

DPOV

Liz, Sam and I hurried down the porch steps and moved over to the man who was stepping up to us. It was obvious he and the woman were married, the two kids theirs. As for the other guy, my money was on uncle.
"Can I help you?" the father asked us.
"Hi. Are you the new owner?" I smiled.
"Yeah." the father nodded. "You guys are...?"
"This is Mr Stanwyk and Miss Walker. I'm Mr Babar," I introduced as the three of us pulled out some badges. "County code enforcement."
The father looked at the badges, confused. "We had the building inspected last week. Is there a problem?"
"Asbestos in the walls, a gas leak," Sam answered shortly. "Yeah, I'd say we got a problem."
"Asbestos?" The mum stopped unpacking the car as she stood with her daughter and the uncle. "Meaning what?"
"Meaning until this house is up to code, it's uninhabitable," Sam explained.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." The father shook his head, not liking that answer. "You're saying we can't stay here?" He gestured to the house.
"It's a health hazard." I shook my head at him. "You don't want to."
The uncle stepped forward then, just as unhappy and disappointed as everyone else. "Hold up. We just drove four hundred miles."
"There's a motel just down the road," I noted. "Till this gets cleaned up, I suggest you stay there."
The father crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. "All right, and what if we don't?"
"Well, you get a fine or you go to jail." I shrugged. "Pick your poison."
Looking up at me, shaking her head, Liz took a step closer to the father. "Look, I understand that this is an inconvenience and that you and your family want to get settled into your new home. But this place isn't safe right now, and if you stay, you'll be putting them in danger."
I didn't know how she did it. She could be the biggest bad-ass I knew one moment, outsmart Sam the next, and to top it off, she could be gentle and understanding. It didn't matter what the circumstances were, chances are she could empathise with people and get on their good side.
Looking from Liz to Sam and I, and then to the house, the father sighed. "One night." He turned to his family. "One night, and I'll take care of everything, ASAP, I promise."
"Yeah, you do that," I mumbled to myself.
The daughter's jaw dropped at her father's decision. "Another motel? Awesome, Dad. I hope this one has hooker sheets, like the last one."

Wow, harsh.

SPOV

We stood at the front door of Mrs Curry's trailer. She used to be the victim's- Mr Gibson's- cleaner. She had apparently found the body, so if there was ever anyone to go talk to, she was it. Hopefully, she could shed some light on what we might be dealing with.
"What did the room look like when you found it, Mrs Curry?" I asked as Lizzie, Dean and I stood outside the trailer home, looking at Mrs Curry through the security door.
"I already told the local boys, there was blood everywhere."
"And Mr Gibson?" Dean questioned. "Where was he?"
"Everywhere."
Dean, Lizzie and I shared a look before I turned back to Mrs Curry, going on with the questioning. "How long have you been cleaning Mr Gibson's house?"
"About five years."
"So, you knew him pretty well," Dean commented.
But Mrs Curry corrected him. "Well, not really well. He was real private. Not the easiest man. Not that I blame him."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"His wife dies in childbirth. Daughter hangs herself in the attic twenty years later. I'd be bitter, too," she explained. "I think I got some pictures." Pushing off the wall by the door, she disappeared around the corner for a moment before coming back. "Here." She opened the door and handed the two pictures over to Dean.
"Thanks." Dean nodded to her as Lizzie and I leaned to take a look. One of the pictures was of a schoolgirl, and the other was of a man and woman in front of the farmhouse. "Can we keep these?"
Mrs Curry shrugged. "Suit yourself."
Looking away from the pictures, I turned back to Mrs Curry. "Now, why'd the daughter kill herself?"
"I don't know. That was before my time."
"Did you ever notice anything odd in the house when you were cleaning it?" Dean asked as he tucked the photos into the pocket of his suit.
"Like what?"
"Did any of the lights flicker? Things move around? Did you feel like you were being watched?" Lizzie elaborated. "Anything out of the ordinary."
"No." Mrs Curry shook her head. But after a moment she frowned as if remembering something. "Well, maybe there was one thing."
"What's that?" I asked, hoping she might have something that will help with the case. So far, we didn't have much.
"Well, sometimes, I thought I heard like a... rustling in the walls."
"Like a rat?"
She gave a short nod at Dean's question. "Yeah."
"Must have been some big sons of guns out there, huh?" he chuckled lightly.
Mrs Curry shrugged. "Wouldn't know. Never saw any."
"Do you happen to know where Mrs Gibson and her daughter were buried?" I asked.
"They were both cremated."

EPOV

We were headed back to the farmhouse. After talking to Mrs Curry, we couldn't decide who's ghost we were dealing with. Only way to actually get rid of this ghost then, was to search the house and find whatever was keeping it back.
"Crap." Dean sighed as he pulled up on the road, looking over at the house. The lights were on. The family had stayed. "So, what now?
Sam shrugged. "We could tell them the truth."
Both Dean and I turned to him, surprised. "Really?" we asked at the same time.
Sam gave a short laughing, shaking his head. "No, not really."
"Well, then we wait." Dean turned to look over at the house again. "Once the lights are out... we'll do as much as we can. But there's no way we can just leave them on their own."
Sighing, I leaned into the seat, resting my head back as I pulled out my pills and took two. If we had to wait, I wasn't going to do it with nothing in my system.
It wasn't long after that when we all heard a scream.
Before I even had the chance to sit up again, Dean had Baby running, and speeding for the driveway.
...
Dean pounded his fist on the door. A moment later the uncle opened it. We didn't even wait before we barged past him and into the house, heading for the living room where the rest of the family were. The daughter was freaking out while everyone else was freaking out.
"We heard screams," Dean explained as we came to a stop in the room. "What's going on?"
The father turned on us. "Oh, you three! Did you touch my daughter?!"
"What?" Dean frowned- as did Sam and I. "No."
"Who are you guys?" the father demanded, clearly not believing him.
"Relax, please," Sam told them. "You have a ghost."
The father rolled his eyes. "A ghost."
"I told you!" the daughter exclaimed.
"It's the girl!" the son added.
But the dad clearly wasn't having any of it. "Both of you, relax." He turned back to Sam, Dean and I. "What are you guys playing?"
"Your family's in danger," Dean tried to explain. "You need to get out of the house now."
As if on cue, all the lights in the house turned off, leaving us in the dark.
"What the hell?" the uncle spoke from behind the brothers and me.
"Nobody move!" Dean yelled, needing to keep everyone together.
But at the sound of a dog crying out in pain, the son called out. "Buster!"
Then, without hesitation, the dad ran off, headed for the front door.
"Does no one understand the meaning of, 'Nobody move'?" I rolled my eyes, following as everyone else ran after the father.
Listening out for the dog's cries, calling out his names, all of us run down the porch steps and around the house, only to come to a halt as we neared the vehicles. On the ground as a dark, wet trail that led to the truck. On the back of the truck, in big, bold, bloody letters were the words, 'Too Late'.
"Buster!" the little boy cried out again.
The father turned to his family. "Go back inside. Go!" Once his family were gone, he turned to Dean, Sam and I.
"We are not the bad guys, but you're in danger," Dean tried to explain once again.
Sam nodded. "First thing's first. You got to get your family out of here."

DPOV

We'd gathered the family from inside the house and brought them back out, headed for the cars as I told them what to do. "Head to the motel I was talking about. You'll be safe there."
"What are you two gonna do?" Brian- the father- asked.
But before I could answer, we reached Baby and came to a stop. "Oh, no! Oh, come on! Oh, come on!" All her tires had been slashed.
Sam hurried around to look in the trunk. "Dude, the guns are gone. So is the... basically, everything is gone."
Ted- the uncle- came around from checking the truck. "Truck's no good."
Brian moved to take a look at his car as well. "Both tires slashed."
Frustrated and pissed, I yelled out. "What kind of ghost messes with a man's wheels?!"
The daughter- Kate- was freaking out. "What's going on? What's going on?" she asked, looking around frantically before she suddenly screamed. "She's there! She's there!"
Susan- the mother- hurried over to Kate. "Where?!"
"She was right there in the woods!" Kate pointed out at the tree line surrounding the house.
Sam and Liz came over to stand with me, my voice low. "What's a ghost doing outside?"
"I don't know." Liz shook her head.
"You want to stay and find out?" Sam had a good point.
"Everybody inside," I ordered.
Ted turned to me, the look on his face telling me he thought I was nuts. "Are you crazy? We need to get the hell out of here!"
"In what?! This ghost is hunting us! Everybody back inside now! Move!"

EPOV

In the dining room, Sam and I moved around the family on opposite sides, pouring salt down to make a circle, to keep everyone safe.
"Whatever's outside, it can't get in this circle," Dean explained as he crouched down by the fire in the fireplace, iron rod in hand. "As long as the salt line is unbroken, this is the safest place to be."
"Safe from ghosts?" Brian still didn't believe us.
"Yes, as a matter of fact," Dean answered shortly, getting annoyed.
I didn't blame him really, but it's not like we didn't deal with non-believers like this all the time.
"Okay, I'm not listening to this anymore." Brian moved to grab his family and leave. "Come on. I got to get my family out of here. Let's go."
Dean stood with a frustrated sigh. "Nobody's going anywhere until we kill this thing."
"Sir, please." Sam got in Brian's way. "This is what we do. Just... trust us."
"You hunt ghosts?" Danny- the son- asked, a small smile playing on the corner of his lips.
As much as I could relate to the excitement he felt, I also felt the need to do whatever it takes to keep the kid from thinking this is a way to live. Sam and Dean, they were pulled into the life just like me. Through tragedy. Living like this was hard, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
"That's right." Dean nodded. The look on his face told me he felt the same way.
Danny's smile widened. "Like Scooby-Doo?"
Dean chuckled lightly. "Better."
"You saw her outside, right?" Sam asked Kate as he pulled out the photos we got from Mrs Curry. "Okay. Does she look like either one of the girls?"
Kate took a quick look before pointing to one of the pictures. "Her. She was paler and a lot dirtier, but that was her."
Danny took gave the pictures a glance as well. "That's the girl in the walls."
Sam turned to Dean and I. "So it's the daughter?"
"That girl in the picture... she- she's dead?" Susan asked.
"She, um... she killed herself. In this house." I explained. It's not like you can give that kind of news gently. Looking behind me, I noticed the brothers talking in hushed tones a few steps away.
As I moved over to join them, I heard Sam. "Unless her spirits just attached to something inside the house."
"She hung herself in the attic, right?" Dean asked, looking from his brother to me.
I nodded. "Yeah."
"You two want to babysit? I'll check it out," Sam offered.
Before Dean or I could answer, Ted came over to us. "Look, I don't care who hung themselves where. Maybe something is going on here, but-"
Dean cut him off, "It's a spirit, man."
"No, it's just some backwoods hillbilly bitch, and I'm not about to sit around here waiting for her to go all Deliverance on my ass."
"Well, nobody's leaving the house."
"Stop me." Turning, Ted started to leave.
Dean grabbed Ted and pushed him against the wall. "Listen, man. I've got a gun. You don't get your ass back in that circle, you're gonna have yourself a third hole," he warned before letting him go and stepping back to Sam and me.
"Dude, you don't have a gun," Sam noted, voice low so no one else heard.
"And?" Dean shrugged. "I'm not letting that bastard or anyone else die tonight."
Sam looked a little concerned for his brother. "You cool?"
Dean gave a short nod. "Go."
With one last look at his brother, Sam then left to head for the attic.
Once Sam was gone, I stepped forward to rest a hand on Dean's shoulder. "You sure you okay?"
"I'm fine, Liz," he assured me.
...
Dean and I were pacing in the circle while Brian, Susan, Kate and Danny were huddled together, and Ted was playing with the salt. I was watching him though, making sure he didn't ruin the line. If he did, I'd make sure he regretted it. There was no way I was letting his family get hurt.
"Hey, Fonzie." Ted stood and turned to Dean, a smile playing on his lips. "Question for you." He gestured to the circle. "This indestructible force field made out of salt... have to be kosher stuff, or what?"
Susan rolled her eyes. "Knock it off, Ted."
A moment later, we all heard the sound of something rattling and moving...
"What was that?" Kate asked, voice shaking with fear.
All eyes were scanning the room, waiting and watching until we saw it. A door opened as a girl stepped out of the shadows. She was practically skin and bones, skin grey, hair a tattered mess.
"All right, everybody stay calm," Dean told the family as he and I stood in front of them protectively. "She's a ghost. She can't come in the circle."
We watched as the ghost continued to move closer, step by step, taking her time. As she neared the salt, I waited for her to stop. But when she didn't, when she crossed the line, even I started freaking out a little.
"I thought you said ghosts couldn't cross the circle," Kate cried out.
"They can't." Dean lifted his arm to pull me behind him protectively. "She's not a ghost."
"Shoot her!" Ted yelled. "Shoot her!"
"Yeah, about that..." Dean turned to me as the girl screamed and lunged for us. "Go, go, go!" He turned back to her in time, grabbing her arm and keeping her at bay. "Take them! Move!" he yelled.
I didn't hesitate, knowing Dean had a better chance of fighting the girl off than the family did. While he dealt with her, I took the family to the porch. "Split up, into groups. Hide and don't move until we come find you," I ordered before turning and running back into the house.
Dean was fighting with the girl, who apparently had a knife I hadn't noticed before. She pushed him to the ground and lifted the weapon, going for the kill.
"No!" I screamed, throwing her across the room.
"Lizzie?!" Sam hurried down the stairs, catching my attention for the briefest of seconds, but it was long enough for the girl to disappear.

Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

DPOV

Sam, Liz and I hurried down the porch stairs, seeing Brian hurry around the house and towards us.

"Hey. You okay?" he asked us.

Ignoring his question, I got to the more pressing issue. "Where is everybody?"

"Hiding."

"All right, go get them. Go. Go get them," I told him. Once he was gone, I turned back to Liz and Sam. "So, it's not a ghost."

"So, it's just a girl?" Sam shrugged.

I shook my head. "It's not just a girl. It's psycho Nell. I'm telling you, man. Humans."

"Who cares

what

she is? I wanna know who she is and why she's here." Liz had a good point.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "Maybe it's the daughter, Rebecca. Maybe she didn't hang herself."

"Dude, no." Sam didn't look convinced. "She'd have to be like fifty years old by now."

"Well, I don't know," I sighed. It’s not like we had a lot to work on right now. "What'd you find in the attic?"

"Some old junk. I found Rebecca's diary. That's about it."

"I wish you'd found a howitzer." Anything to get rid of the psycho and keep us safe would be good. "Listen, we got to get this family safe. I mean, it's just a human, so they can make a run for it. We just got to hold her off."

Just then, Susan, Brian and Kate came around the corner. "We're okay," Susan assured us.

"Danny! Ted!" Brian called out. "We got to go!"

A moment later, Ted jogged around from the other side of the house. "I'm good!"

"Danny!" Susan yelled. "Come on!"

"Danny, buddy, we got to go!" Brian added.

Ted turned to me. "Told you it was some crazy bitch."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "Yes, you did."

Sam stepped up to Brian and Susan. "Head to town. We'll take it from here, okay?"

"Danny, come on, baby! We're leaving!" Susan was still calling out to her son.

"Danny, we got to go!"

But when neither Brian's or Susan's calls were answered, she turned to her husband with fear in her eyes. "Brian, where- where is he?"

"Danny!"

"Danny!"

When he figured Danny wasn't coming, Brian knew the rest of his family still had to be taken care of, so he grabbed his wife. "Suse, Suse, Suse.” He shook her until she looked at him. “We will find Danny, I promise you."

She shook her head, voice shaking. "No."

"No. Take Kate and go now. Now, while you still have a chance."

"Not without Danny."

"We will find him," he assured her.

Kate shook her head. "I am not going out there with mum alone."

She had a good point, the two of them alone might not last that long... "She's right. Until we find your son, the safest place for you right now is in the shed." I gestured to the small shed a few feet from the house.

Kate turned to me. "I am not going in there either."

"Yes, you are." I wasn't leaving it up for discussion. "It is the best defence. The windows are boarded up. It's got one door. It's our best shot right now. Trust me."

Agreeing with me, Brian nodded as he grabbed his wife's attention again. "Suse. Kate. Go." When they didn't move, he repeated himself, a little firmer. "Go."

Once both Susan and Kate were gone, the rest of us huddled up.

Sam gestured to Brian. "All right, you and me will take the outside." Then he nodded to Liz, Ted and I. "You three take the house. Let's go."

EPOV

Back in the living room, both Dean and I moved to the door the girl had come out of while Ted grabbed a knife from one of the boxes in the dining room. Opening the door, I crouched down to feel the floor while Dean checked the walls.

"What are you doing?" Ted asked.

"She's human. She had to come from somewhere," Dean explained right before he found a loose board big enough for a person to fit through.

As we pulled the board away, we were hit with a rotting and stale stench. Dean and I didn't react, but Ted pulled away, making a noise of disgust.

"You smell that?"

"Every day," Dean mumbled. Turning to Ted, he gestured for the knife, which Ted gave him. Using his torch to light the way, he crawled into the space. "Come on." Putting both objects in one hand, he offered me the other to help me through.

I took his free hand while Ted held the board out of my way. Moving further into the space, Dean and I stood and shuffled down a little more so Ted could get in. It was a tight fit and dark, and in an instant, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

"You feel that?" I swear, it was like I could feel eyes on me, watching our every move.

Dean looked down at me. "What?"

Shaking my head, I dismissed the feeling as just being paranoid. "Never mind."

Once Ted was in, we started to move further down the space. It wasn't long before we came to a corner, and around that corner was a hole.

As Dean looked down the hole, thinking, Ted spoke up, "You're not going down there."

"Well, do you want to?"

Ted didn't say anything, but that told us everything. He wasn't going down, and I really wasn't surprised. Didn't blame him either. But as Dean started to crouch, I knew I couldn't leave him to go on his own.

"I'm going, too."

Dean looked up at me. I could see he was unsure of that idea. "Liz..."

"I'm not asking, Dean. I'm telling.

Sighing, knowing there was no point in arguing, Dean started to lower himself down into the hole. "Please nobody grab my leg. Please nobody grab my leg." The moment he was down he looked around for a moment before looking up at me. "Okay. Just… take it easy."

Nodding, I crouched down and eased my legs in, letting Dean grab my waist and help me down. The whole time, I knew I should be concentrating on the job and the danger, but I couldn't stop thinking about his hands on me. It was like my body was hyper-aware of

everything

around me. The eyes watching us before, now Dean touching me...

Once my feet were on solid ground, I dusted myself and gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

"No problem." He gave a short nod back and turned, only to jump when he nearly walked into a rat's corpse that hung mere inches from his face. "Son of a-" Turning away from the rat, he paused again, light shining on another corpse. "Dog. It's what's for dinner."

Buster the dog had been torn to shreds.

Poor guy...

"Danny?" Dean called, trying to keep his voice low.

"Find anything?" Ted asked from above.

"Yeah, her kitchen," Dean mumbled. "Watch where you're going, okay? There's crap everywhere," he warned me as we started to move, having to stay hunched so as not to hit our heads.

As we looked around, I noticed some artwork drawn on the walls, in blood. It was a picture of two stick figures holding hands, a boy and a girl.

"She's just a kid." The words left my mouth before I realised I was even thinking them.

Dean turned to me. "Liz, she's-"

Before he could finish, he was cut off by the sound of a scream, and then a thump.

Hurrying back to the hole, we reached it two seconds before Ted fell forward, half of him hanging out of the hole, blood dripping from the fatal wound in his neck.

Dean grabbed me and pushed me back as he used his other hand to cover the torch's light. The two of us pressed into the wall as much as possible, trying to stay hidden. Trying not to make a noise or move a muscle.

SPOV

Brian and I were in the shed with Susan and Kate, who were sitting in the corner, waiting. Brian was pacing. We'd been waiting for Dean, Ted and Lizzie to come back for some time now. They'd been gone a lot longer than Brian and I had been out looking for Danny.

"Look," Brian stepped up to me, "why are we just standing here? Let's go in. Let's check the house."

"We have to wait for them to get back, okay?"

There was a knock on the door then, followed by Dean's voice. "Sam, it's us."

Moving to the door, I gestured to the heavy desk we'd put in front of it. "Help me out."

Brian came over to help, pulling the desk out of the way so we could open the door. Once we did, Dean and Lizzie stepped in, alone...

Susan hurried over to them in an instant. "Did you get Danny?"

Dean shook his head, clearly feeling guilty. "No."

"No?" Looking around, Susan then noticed what I already had. "Well, where's Ted?"

"He's outside."

Frowning at Dean's response, Susan didn't stop with the questions. "Well, why doesn't he come inside?"

Dean and Lizzie shared pained looks as my brother answered, "Because I had to carry him out. I'm sorry."

"You're... what does that mean? What does that mean, you're sorry?"

Brian looked between Lizzie and Dean. "Are you saying that he's dead?"

Susan shook her head. "No. No, he's not saying that he's dead. You're not saying that, are you?"

All of a sudden, Lizzie turned and walked out.

Dean watched her go, no one stopping her as he explained what happened. "We were in the walls and she attacked." Susan's hand came up to cover her mouth as she moved to cry against Brian's shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her. "And I couldn't get to him in time."

"Uncle Ted is dead?"

Shaking his head, looking so guilty, Dean turned for the door. "I shouldn't have left him alone." Before he left, he turned back to Brian. "I'm very sorry."

EPOV

Dean was standing a few feet away from where I sat outside the shed, watching the perimeter. Everyone else was inside. Sam was reading the diary he found whileBrian tried to calm Susan who was in shock.

"Hi..."

I looked up from where I sat on the grass outside the shed, seeing Kate coming out to stand next to me. "Hey..."

"Can I join you?" she asked, gesturing to the spot next to me.

I moved over a bit as an answer.

Once she sat down, the two of us were silent for a moment or two. Looking out at the house in front of us. Seeing it at night like this, and under these circumstances, it really made the place seem ten times worse than it was. Underneath all the bad, there was plenty of potential.

If it wasn't for the fact hunters don't really settle down, I would have probably found the house nice enough to live in. A bit big. But still nice.

"What's it like?" Kate asked suddenly. "What's your job like?"

"What? Hunting?" I shrugged. "Like any job, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad."

"So, what you do, it's called hunting?"

"Yeah. We hunt monsters and stuff. Save people."

"People like us?"

"Well, yeah... but normally the monsters aren't people," I noted.

I wasn't sure if Dean, Sam, or even Bobby realised this, but I had never killed a human being.

Ever

. I mean, I've killed witches, and people who turn into things, and people possessed by demons, but I hadn't killed someone that hadn't been touched by the supernatural.

"How did you become a... a hunter?"

"Dad was killed. Mum was killed. Sister was killed," I answered, a little more harshly than I wanted.

Kate rested her chin on her knees that were bent to her chest. "I lost my brother last year. My older brother, Andy." I could hear the sadness in her voice, the loss. "Does it get better?"

I turned to her then, and for the briefest moment, I saw my younger self in her. Hurting. Lost. Confused. Scared. The world was a bigger and lonelier place now. She'd never see things the way she had before. Everything had changed, and she didn't know what to do.

"It'll get better. But it'll never be the same."

DPOV

I walked up to Brian as he stood in front of the house. "Andy your son?" I asked, having overheard Liz and Kate talking about the family’s loss.

He turned to me briefly before looking at the house again. "Oldest. He got himself killed in a car accident last year."

"I'm sorry."

"It nearly tore Suse and me apart. Still could, I imagine. That's why we moved here. Fresh air, fresh start. Not even my line. Marriage counsellor. 'Course, she might be right. After all, what could possibly go wrong in the country?" He shook his head.

"I'm getting your son back," I assured him. "If it's the last godforsaken thing I do."

"Why do you care so much?"

"Dean." We looked over to see Sam and Liz headed towards us, my brother holding up the book. "We gotta talk."

...

Back in the dining room, I looked around to make sure we were alone before turning to Sam and Liz. "What is that?" I gestured to the book.

"Rebecca's diary," Sam explained. "I just finished reading it."

"And?" I pressed, wanting him to get to the point.

"That girl back there? Pretty sure she was Rebecca's daughter."

I frowned.

That didn't make any sense...

"Rebecca had a kid?"

Sam nodded. "It's all she talks about. Being pregnant, being ashamed of being pregnant."

"Jeez, rent Juno and get over it," I mumbled. "Wait, why kill herself after the baby?"

"Maybe because her dad called her a dirty little whore and said he was gonna lock the baby up," Sam noted.

"Why would he say that?" When Sam said nothing but just gave me a pointed look, the answer came to me. "Oh, gross."

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"So, the daddy was the baby-daddy too?"

Liz's face turned up in disgust. "How could someone do that to their own child?"

Sam shook his head, just as grossed out. "Dude was a monster."

"Wow, a story ripped from an Austrian headline," I sighed. "Humans, man." Sometimes they could be worse than the monsters we hunted. "So, she's been locked up her whole life?"

"You saw her eyes. Has she ever seen light? She's barely human," Sam noted.

"Okay, so, what, then, she's been caged up like an animal and she busts out and ganks dear old Dad? Slash Granddad?" I asked, trying to figure out the story so we could figure out what to do next.

"I guess." Sam shrugged.

That made things a little clearer. After a life like that, no wonder she killed her father. "Well, can't say I blame her."

"I'm sure her life was hell, Dean. It doesn't mean she gets a free pass for murder."

"Like you know what Hell's like."

"I didn't..."

No, he didn't know what Hell was like. But I did. I knew the torture and pain of it all. I knew the agony and misery it pulls out of you. The never-ending nightmare you can't wake up from. I'd felt all of it, and I'd inflicted some of the pain too. I knew what it was like, he didn't, so to assume...

"Forget it." Shaking my head, I turned away.

Looking from Sam and me, Liz sighed. "So where is this girl and how do we find her? She's gotta have Danny somewhere."

A thought occurred to me then. "Kid's gotta eat, right?"

"What?" both Sam and Liz asked, confused.

"He kept her hidden, locked up, but he had to feed her, didn't he?"

Sam shrugged. "I guess."

"I think I know where."

SPOV

In the kitchen, Dean, Liz, Brian and I stood around the dumbwaiter. Dean used a fireplace poker to break the drywall to make a hole that would lead down under the house. His theory was that the girl lived under the kitchen, and would be keeping Danny down there too. With no other real options, we were working with his hunch.

"Could've kept her hidden here for years," I noted. "Kept her fed, nobody would ever know."

Once Dean broke through the drywall, Brian flinched back from the rotting stench coming from the hole in the wall.

I moved to lean in, shining the light into the shaft. "Danny! Danny!"

"Watch out, I'm going down," Dean told me. It wasn't a question, and there was no way to stop him.

"No," Brian argued. "That's my son."

But like I said, there was no way to stop Dean. "I know it is, but I said that I would get him. I will. Let me."

After a moment, Brian gave him a short nod of approval. Turning to the shaft, Dean pulled himself in and got himself into a position where he could use the sides to climb down.

Before he did, Lizzie stepped up to him. "Don't do anything stupid. You need help, you yell. Okay?"

"Okay," he assured her.

Once he started climbing down, I leaned into the gap to check on him. The moment his feet touched the ground, I pulled out to look at Brian. "Hey, you got curtains? We need rope."

Without a word, he turned to get what we needed.

Lizzie stepped up to join me then, the two of us squeezing together to look down the shaft to see Dean disappearing, out of sight.

DPOV

As I moved around, I found some of my weapons lying on the ground, scattered all over the place. Picking a gun up, I checked it. "Bitch is a klepto." Moving further in, I picked up another gun and checked it too. "Come on." They were both good. Now armed, I felt a little safer to call out. "Danny. Danny."

The sound of Danny trying to yell or scream caught my attention.

"Danny?" Following the noise, I ended up finding a small gap in a wall.

Shining my light through, I saw Danny bound and gagged, sitting in the dirt. Using my knife, I reached through to cut the ropes around his feet and wrists, setting him free so he could crawl through the hole to me.

"Your dad's upstairs," I told him as we started for the shaft again. "Come on. Watch your head, watch your head."

"Hurry, he's coming back."

I paused. "He?"

"Her brother."

Suddenly a yell came out of nowhere before I was tackled to the floor.

EPOV

Looking into the shaft, I saw Danny come into view. Turning, without a word, I grabbed the makeshift rope Brian and Sam had made out of curtains, and dropped it down the hole. "Danny! Grab on!"

He did as I said, tying the rope around him and gripping onto it tightly. "Okay!"

Once he was ready, I yelled to the others. "Pull!"

Working together, Sam, Brian and I pulled Danny up carefully. I was closest to the gap, grabbing him the moment I could as I helped him out and onto his feet.

Now safe, he ran to his dad, who held him protectively. "Come on. You okay? It's okay."

"Get him out of here," Sam told them. "You gotta go."

I didn't watch to see what they were doing, the moment Danny was out I'd already started to climb into the hole and down the shaft, heading for the basement.

"Lizzie? What are you doing?" Sam moved to try and stop me.

"Dean needs help," was all I said before I moved away from his grasp and started down the shaft.

As I landed on the ground, I listened to the sound of a fight and struggles. Following the noises, I found Dean under a guy who looked just as bad as the girl. It didn't take a genius to figure out he must be her brother.

But I didn't care who he was. He was on top of Dean, attacking him. Dean was in danger. He couldn't see, and I wasn't sure if he even had a weapon to protect himself with. Then to top it off, the boy pulled out a knife, lifting it above his head to bring it down on Dean.

"No!"

Lifting my hand, I threw the boy up and away from Dean, not really thinking about what I was doing. At the same time, Dean sat up and aimed the gun he had, pointing it towards the boy before shooting him in the chest three times.

As the body slumped to the ground, blood oozing from the wounds, I hurried over to Dean, falling to my knees beside him. I checked him over worriedly, making sure he was okay, that he wasn’t hurt. My wide eyes took every inch of him, panicked and concerned.

“Liz.” He rested his hand on mine, stopping me. “I’m okay.”

Slowly, I looked up, meeting his gaze. Then I was throwing my arms around him in a tight and desperately relieved hug.

It took a moment, but after a pause I felt him relax as his own arms wrapped around me, returning the hug.

DPOV

Turns out, while the brother had been attacking me, the girl had gone after Susan and Kate. But Brian had dealt with her... and by dealt with, I mean he'd killed her.

It was morning now, and time to get out of there. I was just finishing fixing Baby while Sam and Liz put all the guns and our supplies back in the trunk. As soon as I finished they came over to stand with me, the three of us turning to see Susan and Brian headed our way.

I gave them a nod. "Thanks for the head start."

Brian looked to each of us. "Why doesn't it surprise me you three don't like the police?"

Sam chuckled lightly. "It's sort of a mutual-appreciation thing, really."

Reaching forward, Brian offered me his hand, which I took. "Well, thank you."

Susan nodded. "Thank you."

"You okay?" I asked her.

She looked to her husband before shaking her head. "No, we're the opposite of okay, but we're together," she answered honestly as she slipped her hand into Brian's. "Thanks."

...

Parked under an overpass, Sam, Liz and I got out of Baby and moved to the hood as Sam passed around some burgers. Leaning against Baby, I unwrapped my food and gave it a smell before wrapping it back up and setting it down next to me.

"You okay?" Sam asked me as Liz paused, halfway through a bite.

"You know, I felt for those sons of bitches back there. Lifelong torture turns you into something like that."

"You were in Hell, Dean," Sam started. "Look, maybe you did what you did there, but you're not them. They were barely human."

I nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I wasn't like them. I was worse. They were animals, Sam, defending territory. Me? I did it for the sheer pleasure."

Liz swallowed her food, her eyes wide. "Dean..."

"I enjoyed it. They took me off the rack, and I tortured souls, and I liked it." I looked away from them as I went on. "All those years, all that pain. Finally getting to deal some out yourself. I didn't care who they put in front of me. Because that pain I felt, it just slipped away. No matter how many people I save, I can't change that. I can't fill this hole. Not ever."

Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

EPOV
Hands shoved into the pockets of my 'FBI' coat, I followed a step behind Sam and Dean as we walked down a street in Las Vegas. But we weren't here for fun. No gambling for us, unfortunately. No. This was all about a job.As we crossed the street, we neared a gathering people standing around a man dressed in black leather, and ripped jeans, with dark hair and eyeliner."This, this isn't a trick, okay?" the man told the audience as he shuffled some cards. "I- I- I don't do tricks. This is a demonstration. About demons and angels. Love and lust. All that stuff mixed up in my head.""What a douchebag," Dean mumbled as we came to stand with the crowd.I looked to the side, glancing at the cameraperson and microphone person as they focused on the man."That's Jeb Dexter," Sam noted.Dean looked up at him, confused. "I don't even want to know how you know that."Sam just shrugged. "He's famous, kind of.""For what? Douchebaggery?"I held back a laugh at Dean's disapproving attitude. "It's entertainment, Winchester." I smirked, looking up at the older brother.He looked down at me, surprised for a moment before he returned my grin with a smirk of his own.Jeb's voice pulled our attention back to him as he kept talking to the crowd. "But whatever happens, no matter how messed up it gets, don't touch me, okay? For your own safety, " he warned before inhaling deeply.After a moment, he closed his eyes and exhaled, focusing as he shifted on the spot. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head, letting the air out again.Suddenly he gasped as he began to shake as if having a seizure. With one hand, he grabbed the deck of cards that sat in the other hand as he opened his eyes enough so we could only see the whites."Go back to hell, demon!" Flinging the cards at the window behind him, we all watched as one of the cards stuck to the glass. The ace of diamonds. Reaching forward, Jeb ran his hand over the card, only to reveal that it was on the other side of the glass now. "Is this your card?" he asked a woman in the audience.Applause broke out in the crowd."You've got to be kidding me. A fake demon possession?" Dean shook his head as he turned to walk away. "I can't believe people actually fall for that crap.""It's not all crap," Sam argued as the two of us followed Dean."What part of that was not a steaming pile of BS?" Dean asked, gesturing back to Jeb and the people surrounding him.Sam gave a short nod, agreeing with Dean there. "Okay, that was crap, but that's not all magicians. It takes skill."Stopping in his tracks, Dean turned to his brother, grinning. "Oh, right, right, I forgot. You were actually into this stuff, weren't you?"A smile spread across my lips. "Really?"Turning to me, Dean was clearly enjoying the fact he was embarrassing his brother. "I mean, he had like a deck of cards, a wand and everything," he told me.I had to fight back the laugh bubbling in my chest. Sam Winchester, an aspiring magician. Now that's something I would have wanted to see.Sam rolled his eyes. "Dude, I was thirteen. It was a phase."Shaking his head, Dean shrugged. "Just... it bugs me. You know, playing at demons and, and magic, when the real thing will kill you bloody.""Like a guy who drops dead of ten stab wounds without a single tear in his shirt?" Sam noted, talking about the case.Dean gave a sharp nod as he started to walk again. "That's what I'm talking about."
DPOV
In the victim's hotel room, Liz, Sam and I were in the process of asking his assistant some questions while she packed up all of Vance's- the victim's- things."So, did your boss have any enemies that you know of?" I asked.The assistant nodded. "Vance had plenty of enemies." Leaning down, she grabbed the end of a series of tied-together handkerchiefs and began to pull them out of a bag to wrap them up."How so?" Sam questioned.The assistant shrugged. "He would steal from other magicians. All the time.""What would he steal?" Liz asked while I frowned at the handkerchief rope that just kept coming out of the bag as if it would never end.See, this is one of the reasons why I didn't like this kind of magic. I just didn't understand why it was so interesting. A never-ending rope of handkerchiefs? Where's the magic in that? How is it supposed to be entertaining?That's another thing. Magic is not supposed to be entertaining. It's dangerous. Deadly. Real magic? It ends in death, and torture and mayhem. Real magic? It's messy and gross and bloody."Stage effects, closeup techniques," the assistant answered, the rope finally coming to an end. "Anything he could get his hands on."Pulling my attention back to the assistant, I asked the next question. "Is that enough to get him killed?""These guys take this stuff pretty seriously," she noted as she reached over to remove a cloth from a table, revealing a white rabbit. "There you are." Bending down, she picked the rabbit up as I spoke again."Did you find anything weird in Vance's stuff? Well, weirder?""Matter of fact, I did." Putting the rabbit in a bag, she then pulled something out of a pocket of a cape before showing us the object.It was a tarot card, the Ten of Swords. The picture on the card was of a man lying on the ground with ten swords sticking into his back."I'm guessing this didn't belong to Vance," Sam noted as he reached forward to take the car.The assistant shook her head. "He hated card tricks. Never wanted them around. Let alone in his precious cape."
EPOV
While Sam was off doing some research, Dean and I walked into a theatre to find a possible lead. Up the front, on top of the stage, hung a sign. The Incredible Jay over the Table of Death. Under that sign of Jeb, on the phone, clearly annoyed and pissed."It's a lame gig. I'm in a fleabag hotel doing this man-of-the-people crap, and freaking Angel's in Vegas doing Cirque du Soleil! That should have been mine." He shook his head, even though the person on the other end of the phone couldn't see him. Hanging up, he sat down at a table, across from an older man while the camera crew hovered. "All right, boys, get it in gear, I don't got all day."Dean and I moved to a table near Jeb's where two older men sat, watching the interview between Jeb and the other older man."You Vernon Haskell?" Dean asked as he sat behind the man he was addressing."Who's asking?""Federal agent, Ulrich. This is my partner, Agent Hetfield," Dean introduced as the two of us pulled out our FBI IDs. "We're looking into the death of Patrick Vance."Our attention was pulled back to Jeb as he started the interview. "I'm Jeb Dexter. This is Devil Twist. We're chilling at the International Magicians' Convention, which is a dope chance to tip my hat to the wicked cats who came before me. Smoking hot effect last night, Jim.""Jay," the older man corrected.Jeb frowned at him, clearly confused. "Huh?""My name is Jay.""Yeah, whatever." Jeb waved Jay off. "We can loop it later."Vernon shook his head at the younger magician. "What a douchebag.""Couldn't agree more." Dean grinned as I held back a chuckle. "Is, uh," he pulled the Ten of Swords card out from his pocket, "this familiar to you?"Turning to give the card a glance, Vernon shrugged as he focused on Jeb and Jay again. "Should it be?""Well, we heard that you used tarot cards in your act," Dean noted."My act?" Vernon let out a humous laugh. "That was a long time ago. I haven't touched a deck in years, you know..." He held up his hand, showing us how shaky it was."Well, do you know anyone who might use them now?" I asked.Vernon thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Well, there was a guy down on Bleeker Street.""Oh, yeah. He, he peddles that kind of specialty stuff," the man with Vernon added.Dean looked to the two men. "Did he have a problem with Vance?""Matter of fact, Vance crossed him about a year ago," Vernon answered, voice slightly hushed. "Probably cost him fifty grand in royalties," he added, the man next to him nodding confirmation."Would you happen to know where this person is?" I asked as Dean tucked the tarot card back into the pocket of his jacket."Four twenty-six Bleeker," Vernon answered without missing a beat."Ask for Chief," his friend added."Chief?" Dean asked, getting a nod in return. "Thank you." He gave Vernon a pat on the back as the two of us stood, leaving...."Stay close to me," Dean told me as we walked down the creepy looking street, heading for the building Vernon and his friend directed us to.I wasn't feeling too good about this. The lonely street. The sirens in the background. The dark night. The unending possibilities of danger lurking in every corner of the place. It just wasn't sitting right with me.Coming to stop at the door of the building we were looking for, Dean knocked on the bars of the door before taking half a step back so he stood closer to me.The chain-link door inside swung open, revealing a man dressed in black, who looked the two of us up and down.Trying to play it cool, Dean moved another inch or so closer to me as he spoke to the man. "We're, uh… here to see Chief."Raising an eyebrow, the guy looked us over once more before opening the door without a word. Stepping to the side, he gestured for us to enter, which we did.The moment I stepped over the threshold, Dean's hand found its way into mine. I was startled for a moment but didn't question or stop him. I knew he was just being his protective self, so I let him hold my hand as we moved through the dark and mysterious building, following the man as he took us down to the basement.As we came to a stop, the man turned to us. "Stay here. Don't touch anything," was all he said before he walked off.Once we were alone, I turned to Dean, shaking my head. "I don't like this."Looking around, I tried to ignore the gut-wrenching feeling inside me that was screaming at me, telling me to get out of there. The graffiti on the walls, exposed pipes, and dark atmosphere, it all seemed to increase the suspicion growing inside me.Suddenly some music started playing in the background. We could hear the thumping of the bass get louder as a door opened, the light on the other side streaming in. Another man walked into the room, climbing the stairs, the light coming in from behind him making it hard to get a good look of the guy. That was until he stepped closer...The was dressed in all leather, carrying a flogger which he used to slap his hand a few times. "You are really gonna get it tonight." He grinned at the two of us.Dean moved a little closer to me as he tried to explain our way out of his. "There's been a misunderstanding." He grinned, just as embarrassed as I suddenly felt. "I, uh, think we've been had.""Oh, you ain't been had till you been had by the Chief." The Chief smirked for a moment before he quickly added, "Oh, and before we get started, what's your safe-word?"
Oh, my God...

SPOV
Sitting in the motel room, doing some research on my laptop, I looked up at the sound of a knock on the door. Getting out of my seat, I walked around to go check to see who might be here. As I looked through the peephole, I let out a sigh, seeing Ruby on the other side.Opening the door, I looked down at her. "What are you doing here, Ruby?"Arms crossed over her chest, she looked as annoyed as I felt. "I should be asking you the same thing," she countered, pushing past me and into the room.Closing the door, I followed her to the middle of the room. "I'm working a job.""The whole world's about to be engulfed in hellfire, and you're in Magictown, USA."I let out a short, bitter laugh. "You got something against magic?""That would almost be funny if thirty-four seals hadn't been broken already." She gave me an exasperated look. "Thirty-four, Sam. That's over halfway. The angels are losing this war. Every day is one day closer, and if someone doesn't do something soon-"I cut her off, "And that someone is me?""Who else would it be? Lizzie?""Leave her out of this." If I didn't want anything to do with the end of the world, there was no way I was letting Lizzie deal with it. Not the way Ruby was talking about. "Look, I don't know where these seals are. I don't know squat. So why don't you tell me where you'd like me to start?""Well, you can quit dicking around here, for one. Bigger fish, Sam. And if the seals are being broken, you might want to go after the one doing the breaking.""Lilith?""Cut the head off the snake. You're the only one who can stop her, Sam." She stepped up to me. "So, step up and kill the little bitch," she said as she passed me to stand on the other side of the room."Oh, I'm game, believe me," I assured her as I moved to where she'd been standing before. "It's not the psychic thing I got a problem with.""Yeah, I know what you got a problem with, but tough. It's the only way.""No." It was that simple."You know, this would all be so much easier if you'd just admit to yourself that you like it. That feeling that it gives you.""You don't know what you're talking about.""Oh, I don't, huh? Fine." She moved to leave, only to stop herself. "It's simple. Lucifer rises, the apocalypse starts. You think that you have blood on your hands now? People are gonna die, Sam. Oceans of people. So, you just let me know when you're ready." This time, she didn't stop, she just left.
DPOV
Back in the theatre, Liz and I headed over to where Sam stood, waiting for us. Liz and I hadn't really talked about what happened at the Chief's. It was awkward. Not because something happened, nothing happened, really. Once we explained the situation, the Chief was pretty understanding. Apparently, people got tricked into going there a lot.No, the awkward part was what happened after. When Liz and I were in the dark street again. Standing there, in silence, thinking over what had just happened, and all the memories it brought up. Memories of us.There was no point in denying my feelings anymore. I liked Liz. I knew. Sam knew it. I was pretty sure Liz did, too. So, standing there, in the ally, by ourselves... yeah it had been awkward."Find anything interesting?" I asked Sam as we reached him.He turned to us. "What? Uh, no. You?"I shook my head. "Nothing I want to talk about, or think about, ever again." There was no way I was telling him about the Chief. So, instead, I started towards Vernon and his friend as they stood closer to the stage. "The Chief, huh?"They both turned to Liz, Sam and I, Vernon's friend smirking at us. "What's the matter? Chief not your type?"I grinned back, but was clearly unamused. "You know, I could have you both arrested for obstruction of justice.""How? You're no Fed," Vernon stated simply."We con people for a living, son," his friend added. "Takes more than a fake badge to get past us."I let out a nervous laugh, our cover was blown. "You got us. Yeah, we- we are actually- aspiring magicians," I lied.Sam nodded. "Yeah, we- we came to the convention 'cause we thought we could learn something.""To get some idea for our new show," Liz finished.Vernon looked intrigued. "Ooh, what kind of show?""Well, it's- it's a-"When I stumbled on thinking something up, Sam saved the day. "It's a brother act.""And I'm their assistant," Liz quickly added.I went on with the lie, trying to make it sound believable. "Yeah. Yeah, you know, with the rings and doves and... rings."Before anyone else could say more, applause broke out in the gathering audience as someone spoke into a microphone, introducing an act. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Incredible Jay.""You want to learn something? Stick around." Vernon's friend gestured to the stage where Jay- the guy who Jeb had interviewed earlier- stood."Ladies and gentlemen," Jay addressed the audience, "what you're about to witness is a feat so daring, So dangerous, even the great Houdini dared not attempt it. I give to you...The Executioner!" Suddenly, a noose fell from the roof as the crowd 'oohed' and 'ahhed'....Jay was now strapped into a straightjacket, the noose around his neck as someone from the audience checked to make sure that he was in fact, securely strapped in."Now, sir, as you can see, this jacket is the real article. Thank you, sir." Jay nodded to the man. "You may take your seat." Once the man was off the stage, Jay addressed everyone again. "Now, I will have one minute, sixty seconds, to escape certain death. Let's see if I can do it."A curtain fell in front of Jay, so only his silhouette can be seen and he began to struggle and a time started to tick away.He continues to try and escape, but as far as I could see, he wasn't getting anywhere. He was still firming strapped into the jacket."I don't think he's gonna make it," I mumbled to Liz and Sam.The timer kept ticking down. Twenty-five seconds. Twenty. Fifteen. Yet he still wasn't out. There was no change.As the clock reached ten seconds, Liz's hand grabbed mine, squeezing it tightly. I looked over at her, seeing her eyes wide with fear and anticipation. Turning back to the stage, I watched as the timed clicked to zero and the bottom under Jay fell away, leaving him hanging.People cried out, gasped, stood and looked away as the lights changed so we could no longer see the silhouette.But the curtains were then pushed aside, revealing Jay, standing there, unharmed and out of the noose and jacket.People cheered and applauded the act as Jay gave a bow."Oh! That was amazing!" I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. "That was freakin' amazing!"But Sam shook his head, looking at the stage, confused. "That was... not humanly possible."
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

EPOV

I was currently sitting on Dean's bed while hanging out in the brothers' room. Flicking through some witch books, I was trying to find some kind of spell that might have helped Jay out with his performance, because despite the fact that it had been entertaining to watch, Sam was right, what Jay had done was impossible.
"Looks like this guy, Jay, was a pretty big deal in the '70s," Sam noted as he read from his computer where he sat at the table.
"Which in magician land means what, exactly?" Dean asked as he read from some book as well, sitting at the foot of his bed next to me.
"Big enough to play radio city music hall," Sam answered.
"So, what happened?" I flicked a page over, keeping my eyes on the book as I spoke to Sam. "How'd he go from hot, to flop?"
"He got old."
Looking away from his, Dean shrugged. "Okay, so maybe incredible Jay is using real magic to stage a comeback."
"It's possible," Sam agreed. "Some kind of spell that works a death transference."
"How does the tarot card mix into it?"
"I don't know."
"It's a symbol. A connection. A link," I answered. "Not entirely sure how, but it links the victim to the spell. Like a hex bag." When the room fell silent, I looked up to see both brothers staring at me. "What?"
"How do you know so much?" Dean asked.
A grin found its way onto my lips. "I'm a walking encyclopedia of weird, remember?"
The room fell silent for a moment as we all got back to our work before Dean shook his head and got up to look at the tarot card as it sat on the table. "Man... hope I die before I get old. Whole thing seems brutal, don't it?"
Sam looked up at his brother. "You think we will?"
"What?"
"Die before we get old," Sam explained.
Dean grinned. "Haven't we both already?"
"If you're talking about being old, then I gotta say no there. I'm still as young as ever." I shifted so I was kneeling on the bed. "The hottest chick you know." I gave Dean a wink.
He turned his grin to me. "And I won't forget it.
Rolling his eyes, Sam got back to his question. "Do you guys think we'll still be chasing demons when we're sixty?"
Dean didn't even hesitate when he answered. "No, I think we'll be dead. For good." Sam scoffed at the response. "What? You want to end up like- like Travis? Huh? Or Gordon, maybe?"
"There's Bobby," Sam noted.
Dean chuckled lightly, coming back to the bed. "Oh, yeah, there's a poster child for growing old gracefully."
I frowned a little, kinda sad. "Things could be different, Dean..."
He paused as he looked at me, his brows furrowing in confusion. He didn't realise the reason why I was so upset. No one really talked about it, and no one had really said it out loud before, but it had become clear. Every time I died… I came back.
We didn't know what that meant. We didn't know if that meant I would live forever, or if I could only die of natural causes. No one really knew the full extent of whatever my situation was.
So, the idea of Sam and Dean dying. Of Bobby, Ellen, Jo, Tristan. The idea of all my friends and family and the people I cared about dying... it scared me. I hated being alone. Sure, sometimes I needed space, but I always knew there was someone I could turn to when I needed it. If everyone died, then I'd be all by myself.
"She's right, Dean. Maybe we'll be different."
Taking a seat on the bed again, Dean turned his confusion to his brother. "What kind of Kool-Aid are you two drinking, man? Sammy, it ends bloody or sad. That's just the life."
"What if we could win?" Sam asked, his question even confusing me.
"'Win'?" Dean and I said at the same time.
"If there was a way we could just... put an end to all of it."
Dean sat up a little straighter. "Is there something going on you're not telling us?"
"No," Sam answered in an instant.
"Sammy," Dean pressed.
"No," Sam insisted as he stood up. "Look, I'm just saying... I just wish there was a way we could... go after the source. That's all. Cut the head off the snake."
"Well, the problem with the snake is that it has a thousand heads," Dean argued. "Evil bitches just keep piling out of the Volkswagen."
Looking down at the ground, Sam nodded. "Yeah. Guess you're right."
Dean sighed. "Why don't you go see if you can track down Jay? I'll see what I can dig up on this tarot card."

DPOV

I'd left Liz up in the room while I went to go get food. But on my way through the lobby, I ran into the coroner as they collected Jeb's dead body from his room.
"Hey." Sam came up to me, coming back from following Jay.
"Maid found Jeb hanging from the ceiling fan. Police think it was a suicide." reaching into my pocket, I pulled out another tarot card, this one called The Hanged Man. "I beg to differ. Pulled a little sleight of hand myself."
Sam took the card. "On Dexter's body?"
"Yeah, so I'm thinking if this spell is a death transference, then these cards work like black-Magic targets."
"Any connection between the victims?"
I gave a sharp nod. "Jeb was a total douche bag to Jay yesterday."
"What about the first vic? Uh, Vance?"
"Asked around. Apparently, Vance was heckling Jay at the bar the day he was killed."
Giving a short scoff, Sam started to walk off, me beside him as we left the scene. "Okay, so Jay sneaks a card into Vance's pocket, does the table of death..."
"And Vance takes ten swords to the chest," I added.
"Then Jay slips a noose and Jeb doesn't," he finished. "Hell of a trick."
"Yeah, I think it's time we had a little chat with Jay. Any luck tailing him?"
He looked away, a little guilty, and embarrassed. "He slipped me."
"He's a sixty-year-old."
"He's a magician," was his only argument.

EPOV

I'd searched my room up and down. Now I was in the brothers' room, turning it upside down as I looked in every nook and cranny, desperate and worried. The door opened as both Dean and Sam stepped in before they came to a stop at the sight of me leaning over, my arm reaching into the crack of the couch.
"Ah... Lizzie," Sam took a step forward, scanning the room that was now a mess, "everything okay?"
"No," I answered shortly, moving away from the couch and over to the bed where I got to my hands and knees to look under the bed.
"You wanna tells us what you're doing?" Dean asked as he manoeuvred through the mess and over to me.
"Have you seen them?" I asked, still looking under the bed, getting more and more frantic.
"Seen what?"
"My pills!" I snapped, getting to my feet, about to grab the bed that was already a mess and look through it again.
Dean grabbed and stopped me, turning me so I face him. "Liz, calm down. Take a deep breath." Sighing, I did as he said and took a deep breath. "All right, now tells us what's wrong."
"My pills are missing!" I snapped again. When I saw the pointed look he gave me, I took another breath and tried to calm myself so I could explain the situation. "My pills, the little red ones that keep me focused. They're gone."
"Well, did you take them all?" Sam asked.
I gave a sharp shake of my head. "No. I had enough for at least a few more weeks."
"Okay then." Dean shrugged. "We'll just go get some more."
Sighing again, I shook my head once more. "We can't. I didn't get them. Tristan did."
That put a frown on Dean's face. "Wait... your boyfriend you hardly know, gave you some pills, and you just took them?"
"I know my boyfriend, Dean," I argued, ready to snap at him again. "And it's not like they're drugs."
"How do you know?"
"Because he wouldn't do something like that!" Shrugging his hands of me, I pushed past him.
Sam quickly stepped in, seeing the hostility growing between Dean and I. "Look, why don't we just deal with Jay and then we'll figure out what to do next, okay? We'll call Tristan and-"
"I haven't heard from Tristan in a month. No calls. No texts," I sighed, anger deflated as the loneliness I'd been trying to suppress, started to poke at me. "He went to Canada to help a friend with a hunt, and I haven't heard from him, and I'm really worried that something might have happened. I mean, what if he got hurt? What if he's dead? He could be lying in a ditch-"
Sam quickly cut me off, seeing me growing hysterical, "You know if something happened, someone would find a way to tell you." Putting a comforting hand on my shoulder, he looked down at me. "So, until you know for sure, don't worry about it. As for your pills, we'll look for them after the case is finished, and if we can't find them we'll just have to deal with it later. Okay?"
I gave a small nod, knowing there was nothing else we could do. "Okay."
"Good. Now, we gotta go find Jay and follow him. Jeb Dexter was found dead, noose around his neck and a Hanged Man tarot card lying close by."
I looked up at the youngest Winchester then. "Jay's show last night," I noted, connecting the dots.
"Exactly. So, let's go," Dean spoke up as he walked past us and to the door.
I could still feel tension between us, but now it was more numb than anger like we were pushing away from each other. He knew better than to comment, I knew better than to argue.

SPOV

If you think following a magician is hard, try doing it with two people who clearly do and don't want to talk to each other at the same time. I could cut the tension between Lizzie and Dean, with a knife. It was really starting to get on my nerves.
Walking around a corner, we hurried over to Jay's room the moment he was behind the door. Guns in hand, we let Lizzie lead as she opened the door- with her mind of course- and barged in, Dean and I right behind her.
"Up against the wall!" Dean ordered, gun aimed at Jay.
Jay spun around to face us, a look of shock and fear in his eyes, hands in the air. "God, who are you? What do you want?"
"Now!" Dean yelled.
"We know what you've been up to," I told Jay, letting him know that there was no point in trying to trick us. We knew what he was.
"You been working some real bad mojo to jump-Start your act," Dean elaborated.
Jay looked at each of us, the confusion on his face growing. "What? I don't know what you're talking about."
It was a nice act, but it wasn't fooling me- or any of us. "Look, we know you put a spell on those tarot cards."
"Playing with real magic," Lizzie added.
Jay frowned. "'Real magic'? Come on, there's no such thing as real magic."
"Oh, is that so?" Dean asked, clearly not believing him, none of us were.
"Yeah, believe me," Jay insisted. "I've been around this stuff my whole life. It's all just- it's- it's illusions. It's tricks." He took a step closer to us, but the three of us just lifted our guns a little higher. "It's all fake."
Dean shook his head. "Jeb Dexter strung up. Was that just an illusion?"
Jay's confusion went back to shock as his hands lowered to his sides. "What? Something happened to Jeb?"
"He was found hanged in his room," I answered, but he already knew that. "Right after you slipped the noose last night."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Jay shook his head. "Please... just let me go."
Dean frowned. "Something's not right." He was right...
"Usually they're whipping some badass hoodoo at us by now," I noted.
"What do you wanna do?"
...
The answer to Dean's question was to tie Jay up to a chair. While Dean, Lizzie and I stood on the other side of the room, talking amongst ourselves, trying to figure out what we were gonna do next.
I sighed. "All right, so, if it's not him, who is it?"
It had become clear, that we'd been wrong. If Jay really was the bad guy, he would have whooped our asses, or at least tried. But seeing as he hadn't done anything, we'd come to the conclusion that we had the wrong guy. Now we just had to find the right on.
"Even if Jay's not working the magic, he's still getting the reward. His shows are selling out," Dean noted.
"So, it has to be someone close to him. Maybe Vernon? Or their other friend... Charlie I think his name was," Lizzie suggested.
"Is there anyone else?" Dean asked.
I shrugged. "Uh... we could always ask him."
The three of us turned to Jay, only to find his chair empty. He'd escaped...
"Guess we should have seen that one coming," Dean muttered.
"Come on. He couldn't have gotten that far," I noted as we started for the door, leaving the room.

EPOV

In the lobby, Sam sighed as we came to a stop, having not found Jay. "No way he could outrun us."
Dean shrugged. "Maybe he vanished. I mean, he really is good."
I rolled my eyes but didn't respond, though Sam did.
"Or he found a back door."
Suddenly the police pulled up outside the motel.
Dean grabbed my arm and turned us to the reception desk, the three of us trying to look inconspicuous. But there was no use.
Jay came rushing down the stairs, gesturing to us. "That's them! Those are the three nut jobs that just broke into my room!"
I let out a groan. "Crap."
...
I was in the cell next to the brothers, pacing while Sam and Dean sat on the long bench in their cell. We weren't alone. There was another man in with the brothers, while I was the only woman.
"Hey, baby." The man leaned against the bars, looking over at me, watching as I paced. "You need me to work out some of that stress?"
I saw Sam and Dean shift, getting ready to knock this guy on his ass, but before they could do anything, I walked over to him, a flirty smile slipping onto my lips.
"Oh, yeah? You think you can?"
His grin widened. "Baby you ain't ever been with a man like me."
Biting my lip, looking the large, bearded, bald, almost-biker-looking guy up and down, I took the last step towards the bars and ran my hand up and down one in a suggestive manner. "You'd work me hard, and fast. Give it to me good?"
"Yeah, baby. Any way you want."
"Would it be hot?"
"It'll be smoking."
My hand that was rubbing the bar had been heating up gradually, to the point where the bar was almost red hot now. I could feel it, but it didn't hurt me. Then again, I could make a fireball in my hand. The man, though? Oh, he felt it.
His hand gripped the bar, without really paying attention.
He let out a yell, scurrying back with fear, confusion and pain in his eyes. As he tried to back away, I didn't even bat an eye as I made him trip over so he hit his head on the ground hard enough to knock him out.
Dean and Sam were watching me with wide eyes. Sam a little impressed, Dean more concerned.
We hadn't spoken since being locked up, but that doesn't mean they didn't know how bitter I was about the situation. As far as I was concerned, this was their fault. They wanted to go after Jay. They tied him up. They thought he was the bad guy.
They were wrong, now we were locked up, and I still didn't have my pills.

DPOV

I'm not exactly sure why, or how, or of anything at this point, but Jay had dropped the charges and let Liz, Sam and I go. When we got back to the bar, we'd found him in the lobby, waiting for us. Now we were at the bar, having just heard about Charlie. He was dead, just like Vance had died.
"I was just a kid when we first met. All I knew was how to cheat at cards. Charlie got me out of more scrapes than I can count. Hell, I would have been dead by the age of twenty if it hadn't been for him..." Jay sighed. "He was more than my friend. He was my brother."
"I'm sorry, Jay." Sam meant it, too.
"Look," Jay looked to each of us, "I should have listened to you guys when you told me that my show was killing people."
"Well, you weren't the one pulling the trigger," I tried to assure him.
"Yeah, but someone did, and I want to find out who did this to Charlie, so I'll do whatever you guys say. Just tell me what to do."
"Jay, whoever's doing this... they like you. They're probably close to you." Sam tried to say the next part as gently as possible, "Did Charlie and Vernon get along?"
"No." Jay shook his head. "No, it's not Vernon."
"Who else could it be, Jay?" Liz asked.
I shrugged. "He's the only one that makes sense."
"Charlie and Vernon were your family, Jay," Sam noted.
"And now Charlie's gone," I added.
But Jay just didn't seem to believe it. "Yeah, but... they butted heads sometimes, but Vernon could never do something like this."
"See, the thing about real magic is it's a whole lot like crack. People do surprising things once they get a taste of it." In the corner of my eye, I looked over at Liz, who was staring down at the table now.
What she did in lock-up... I wasn't too sure how to feel about it. I know she's going through some stuff. But it doesn't make using her powers like that okay. Even if the guy had crossed a line, it still didn't make what she did okay.
Pulling me back to the situation at hand, Jay spoke again, "You better be damn sure about this. Vernon's all I got left."

EPOV

Jay had called Vernon from the theatre and had asked him if they could meet there. The moment Vernon left his room, Dean, Sam and I were right there, sneaking in.
There were articles, posters, little souvenirs laying all over the place, everything associated with magic in one way or another.
"Wow." Sam stood there, scanning the room. "It's like a... magic museum."
"You must be in heaven," Dean muttered.
I rolled my eyes. "Let's just get to work."
Moving to search the place, Dean was the first to speak again. "This guy doesn't travel light."
"He's been on the road his whole life," Sam noted. "Probably everything he owns is in this room."
...
Dean sighed. "This is just a bunch of old-Timey magic stuff. None of it magic."
"No herbs, no candles, and no tarot cards," Sam noted.
Going through some posters on the bed, Dean paused at one. "I'll be damned."
"What?" Sam and I asked.
"Look like anyone we know?" Dean lifted the poster.
My eyes landed on the scar on the man painted on the poster. I'd seen it before, only on a much older man. "Charlie."
...
Hurrying into the theatre, we found Jay, Vernon and a young Charlie standing on the stage. We'd only just caught the end of the conversation, but it was clear what was happening. Charlie was offering his friends immortality.
"Not so fast!" Dean called out, getting the men's attention. "I ain't Guttenberg, and this ain't Cocoon." The three of us climbed up the stairs of the stage, Vernon and Jay stepping back at the sight of weapons in our hands. "Immortality." Dean stepped up to Charlie. "That's a neat trick."
Charlie grinned. "It's not a trick." Suddenly a noose came down, wrapping around Dean's neck, lifting him off the ground. "It's magic."
Sam raised his gun without warning and shot at Charlie. But Charlie caught the bullet with his teeth. His teeth.
Charlie grinned again, so smug a cocky as he spat the bullet out. "Hey, bullet catch. Been working on that." He threw the bullet into the air and then disappeared.
"Get him!" Dean yelled struggled against the noose.
The moment Charlie appeared again, standing by the sword table, Sam raised his gun at him once more. "Let him go!
"Now!" I demanded, raising my own gun.
Charlie sighed at us. "Just leave me and my friends alone."
"I said now!" Sam ordered.
"All right, I will give it up. The spells, the hexes. This is the last time. I promise," Charlie swore.
I frowned at Sam as he slowly lowered his gun, I couldn't believe he was buying this crap. That he was letting this asshole go after everything he'd done, after all the lives he must have taken over the decades he'd been alive.
But then Sam suddenly lunged at Charlie.
Unfortunately, Charlie disappeared right before Sam could get him. Then just as suddenly as Sam had moved, Charlie appeared and pushed Sam onto the sword table, where the binds quickly locked Sam into place.
Having had enough, I dropped my gun, and lifted my hand, letting a fireball grow in my palm. "I suggest you cut the crap, asshole, and let my friends go."
Charlie looked at my hand, amazed. "You have got to teach me-" Before he could finish, he stopped as his hand clutch at his stomach. Blood began to seep from a wound that had magically appeared.
As Charlie fell to his knees, I turned to see Jay standing a few feet behind me, knife sliding out of his uninjured stomach.
"Jay..." Charlie reached into his pocket, finding a single tarot card sitting there. "You picked these strangers over me?" Before an answer could be giving, he felt forward, dead.
The moment Charlie died, the binds let Sam go, and the noose around Dean's neck released him. I hurried over to Dean as Sam scurried off the table seconds before the swords fell, barely missing him.
"Dean." Falling to kneel beside him, I reached out as he coughed, trying to get his breathing back to normal.
Dean nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm all right," he assured me. "Wanna get out of here?"
A small smile tugged on my lips. "Yes, please."
...
Back in the bar, we walked over to the table were Jay sat by himself, fiddling with a deck of cards, drink in front of him, a sad look on his face. We all knew that despite the fact he didn't like what Charlie had been doing, they'd still been friends.
"Hey, Jay." Dean nodded to Jay as the three of us came to stand by his table. "We wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday."
"I killed my best friend yesterday, and you want to thank me?"
Avoiding the question, Sam asked one of his own. "Where's Vernon?"
"Oh, he's gone. He said he didn't want to speak to me again after what I did to Charlie."
Dean sighed. "Listen, Jay... you know Charlie was never gonna give up what he was doing. Ever. You did the right thing," he assured him.
Jay looked up at him then. "Are you sure about that? You know, Charlie was like my brother. And now he's dead... because I did 'the right thing'. He offered me a gift, and I just threw it back in his face. So now I have to spend the rest of my life old and alone." Standing up, he laid his cards down on the table and downed the rest of his drink. "What's so right about that?" he asked before walking off.
A bartender came over to clean the table, grabbing the cards. "Jay... your cards."
He paused and turned to her for a moment, just to say, "Throw them away," and then he left.
Sighing again, Dean shoved his hands into his pockets. "Well, I don't know about you two, but... I could go for a beer."
Sam shook his head. "I'm gonna take a walk."
We didn't question him as he walked out. Dean and I just moved to the bar, and took a seat, calling out to the bartender and asking for two beers. We sat in silence for a moment longer, taking a sip of our beers. I was the one to break the silence.
"I know you don't like it. I know what I do scares you... it scares me too."
Without looking at me, he spoke. "Then, why do it? I mean, the moving stuff is fine. But the fire? And the exorcism?"
"It's too much, I know. In the cell, I was pissed. Emotional. Then with Charlie... you and Sam were in danger."
Taking another drink, he then put the bottle down on the bar and finally turned to look at me. "I don't like what you did. But I appreciate the fact that you were willing to do whatever it takes to save Sammy and me."
"You're family. I'd do anything for the two of you."
"I know." He nodded. "We'd do anything for you, too."
"I know."
We fell into silence again, the two of us finishing our beers. I had pulled out my phone and sent Tristan yet another message, following the other three dozen that had gone unanswered.
Dean glanced down at my phone as he put his finished beer down on the bar. "You really haven't heard from him?"
"Nope."
"You deserve better, Liz."
My eyes fell to my lap then. I didn't want to admit it, but the longer it took for Tristan to get in contact with me, the more it made me think. Maybe I'd been right in the first place? Maybe the dating scene wasn't my thing? Or maybe, I just wasn't dating the right person?

SPOV

I crossed the road and headed into the ally way, walking up to the lone car, waiting a few feet away, it's engine rumbling.
Opening the door, I slid into the passenger seat. "Okay. I'm in."
Ruby looked at me from behind the wheel. "What changed your mind?"
"I don't want to be doing this when I'm an old man."

Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

SPOV
Dressed as an orderly, sitting in a room in a mental hospital, a clipboard in hand, I faced the teen girl across from me. Apparently, she killed another girl from her high school, the thing is, she swears it wasn’t her, that she was possessed, which is why I was here.Refusing to look at me, April shook her head. “I’m not talking about it anymore. I already told the cops and the doctors. No one believes me. They think I’m crazy.”“Well, I’m a little bit more open-minded than most.” I offered a comforting smile. “April, why did you tell the police you were possessed?”“It doesn’t matter.”“It matters to me.”Hesitating a moment, she let out a sigh as she told me the story. “When I- when I hurt Taylor, I was there, in my head, but I couldn’t control my body. I could see what I was doing, but I couldn’t stop. I just wanted to stop. I’m sorry.”“You don’t need to apologise,” I assured her. “April, some of the kids at school told the police that you and Taylor didn’t get along.”“Well, yeah, but I never wanted to kill her. Never. Do you believe me?”“Yeah, I do.” It was the truth. “Just a couple more questions. On the day this happened, did you… happen to smell anything?”“Anything… like what?”“Like rotten eggs? Or… sulfur?”“Um, no.”“Okay. Um, did you notice any black smoke?”She frowned. “What are you, crazy?”…Opening the passenger door of the Impala, I slid into my seat as Dean turned to me from behind the wheel. Lizzie wasn’t in the car though. She was doing something for me, for the case, helping us get away into the high school April went to.“So?” Dean asked expectantly as I closed the door.“I think she’s telling the truth. I mean, the way she talked about being there mentally but not physically.” I shrugged. “Kind of sounds like demonic possession to me.”“Kind of?”“She didn’t see any black smoke or smell sulfur.”“Maybe it’s not a demon. I mean, kids can be vicious.”“Well, I mean, we’re already here. Might as well check out the school.”It took a moment before Dean responded, looking out the front window, an unamused smile on his face. “Right. The school.”“What?”“Truman High, home of the Bombers,” he said, a little too enthusiastically, giving me the impression he wasn’t interested.“What’s your point?”“I mean, we went there, like… for a month a million years ago. Why are you so jazzed to go back? ”“I’m not. I just think it’s worth looking into.” I lied, but there was no need to tell him that.Sighing, Dean shook his head, not bothering to question me anymore. “All right, well, what’s our cover? FBI? Homeland Security? Swedish exchange students?”“Don’t worry. Lizzie’s on it.”
EPOV
Sam had left me with the task of getting us in the school, and I just couldn’t help myself. I’d made it so that during the case, Dean would be the substitute gym teacher, and Sam would be a janitor, while I was stepping in as the history teacher.Walking into my first classroom, I was well aware of the eyes on me. As a substitute teacher, I knew I would get some attention… my age and outfit was just the cherry on top.I was wearing a pair of black leather high heeled ankle boots, thigh-high black socks that then left about an inch of bare skin, a red and black plaid skirt, and a tight black long-sleeved shirt, with my hair braided over my shoulder. It was safe to say I wasn’t like other substitute teachers.Moving to the blackboard, I grabbed a piece of chalk and proceeded to write my name. “I’m Miss Hart, I’ll be your substitute for a day or so.” Placing the chalk down, I turned to the class. “Unfortunately, your teacher wants you reading from your textbooks… but who finds that absolutely boring?”The students all looked at each other, confused and suspicious. But slowly, one by one, hands began to rise.“That’s what I thought.” I nodded, scanning the room. “Who here likes history?” Most of the teens put their hands down. “Not surprised really.” I took a step closer to the front row, a small smile growing on my lips. “Who wants to learn about the Salem Witch trials?”All hands shot up.
SPOV
Walking down the hall, dressed in my janitor uniform, I found myself thinking about the past, and how my time had at this school had been. It was one of the only places where I hadn’t hated every second of my life. I’d even made a friend here.The sound of the bell ringing caught my attention right as I walked past my old English room. Looking in the room as I passed, I spotted my old teacher, Mr Wyatt. Still moving, I couldn’t help but feel a little surprised that he was still here after all these years, but at the same time, I began to wonder if maybe I’d have some time to go talk to him before, Dean, Lizzie and I left.
DPOV
I paced in front of the lined-up students, dressed in my-unfortunate- uniform. A white shirt and tight red shorts, with a red headband on my head, and a whistle around my neck.Bring the whistle to my lips, I blew into it. ”Today, you will have the honour of playing one of the greatest games ever invented. A game of skill, agility, cunning. A game with one simple rule,“ bending down, I grabbed one of the balls on the ground, "dodge.”As I threw the ball at one of the students, he failed to dodge, letting out a pained groan.“Sorry,” I apologised as I walked the line again.“Uh, Substitute Coach Roth…” One of the students lifted their hand, getting my attention.I walked over to him. “Yes?”“Ms Boudreaux never let us play dodge ball,” he informed me, but I didn’t care.“Well, Ms B’s in Massachusetts getting married, so we’re playing.”“She says it’s dangerous.”I blew the whistle, loud, and close to his face. “Take a lap!”“But-”Before he could finish, I blew the whistle again, cutting him off. Without another word, he hurried off.The gym door opened before Sam walked in and gave me a nod.I grabbed the bag of balls, throwing them in the air to release the balls. “Go nuts,” I told the students as I headed over to Sam.“Having fun?” he asked as I reached him.I couldn’t help but grin. “The whistle makes me their god.”“Right. Nice shorts.”Shifting uncomfortable, I got to the point. “Find anything?”“I’ve been over the entire school twice. No sulfur. ”“No sulfur, no demon. No demon, no case.” I shrugged.“I don’t know. Maybe I was wrong.”“Well, it happens to the best of us. I say we hit the road, huh? But after lunch. It’s sloppy-joe day. You should let Liz know.”“Speaking of Lizzie… have you seen her?”I frowned. “No, why? Have you?”Sam simply shrugged. “Nope.”It had been just under a week since Vegas. Just under a week since Liz had confessed to the fact that she hadn’t heard from her boyfriend in over a month. Just under a week since she’d lost her pills.Most days were okay, but it was becoming clear that something wasn’t right. Maybe it was the fact she had no more pills, or maybe it was the fact she missed her boyfriend, either way, I could tell she was trying harder and harder to keep the smile on her face. It wasn’t coming as natural as it used to.She never stopped moving, hardly slept. Some days I worried she’d work herself into the ground. But no matter what Sam or I said, she just wouldn’t stop. It was like she was determined to keep herself distracted.“Oh!”Sam and I looked over at the students, seeing the one I told to do laps, running past us, hand to his nose.“Good hustle, Colby!” I called after him as he rushed for the door. “Walk it off!”
EPOV
I’d spent the morning talking about the supernatural to the two classes I’d had so far. About the history of folklore and myths in America, and how we’re influenced by these stories in day to day life. It was easy for me to talk about this stuff, because it was my life.Halfway through my third class of the day, just about to get into the history of the Salem witch trials, when the sound of someone screaming down the hall, got everyone’s attention.“Stay in your seats,” I told my students- knowing they wouldn’t- as I hurried out of the classroom, running in my heels, heading to the culinary room.The culinary teacher was rushing students out, his hand a bloody mess as the rest of her class ran screaming into the halls as well. Pushing through the crowd, I made my way into the room where a student- with blood on his face- was lying on the ground, Sam crouched over him.The kid looked up at Sam confused. “What happened?”But before either Sam or I could answer- not that I had an answer- we both noticed a black liquid ooze from the kid’s ear. I knew what it was in an instant. Ectoplasm.
DPOV
I walked into a hall where I found Sam scanning some halls with an EMF reader. As I stepped up to him, he turned away from the lockers to walk down the hall with me.“How’s the nonviolence assembly going?” he asked as I came over to him.“Apparently, shoving a kid’s arm into a Cuisinart is not a ‘healthy display of anger’.”I hadn’t been there when the incident happened, but right before the assembly had started, Sam had found me and told me what he saw. He told me Liz had been there too, but she had a class to take care of, so I hadn’t had the chance to talk to her about it yet. In fact, I hadn’t seen her all day, until the assembly.While sitting with the rest of the teachers, I’d been minding my business when I’d spotted a foot tapping on the ground while the principal had been talking. At first, I hadn’t cared, but the longer the tapping went, the more distracting it became. That’s when I looked at who the foot belonged to.Liz.She was sitting at the other end of the row of teachers, one leg crossed over the other. My eyes hadn’t been able to look away. Seeing the space between her thigh-high stockings and skirt, the peep of creamy skin… God, it was agonising.As much as I knew she would want to be here to talk with Sam and me while the rest of the school was busy, she’d be busy until the end of the day, if her timetable- which I’d stolen when I’d broken into the principal’s office- was correct. So, until then, she’d have to stay in the dark about the case.“So, the kid had ectoplasm leaking out his ear?” I asked, getting back to business.Sam nodded. “Which only comes from a seriously pissed-off spirit. It’s got to be ghost possession.”“Yeah, but that’s pretty rare.”“Yeah, but it happens,” he noted. “I mean, they get angry enough, they can take control of a person’s body.”“All right, so, what, we got a ghost in the building?”“Yeah, but where? I mean, there’s no EMF. Maybe we could find out who it is, at least. You know, check and see if somebody died bloody around here or something.”“Way ahead of you.” Coming to a stop, I pulled a piece of paper out of my pocket. “I had to break into the principal’s office to get this.” Unfolding the paper, I read what I’d found. “So, there was only one death on campus. It was a suicide back in '98. Some kid named Barry Cook.” Sam snatched the paper from me. “What?”He sighed, looking down at the paper. “I knew him. How did he die?”“He slit his wrists in the first-floor girls’ bathroom.”“That’s where-”I nodded, cutting him off. “Right where the chick got swirleyed to death, exactly. So, what? This ghost is possessing nerds?”“And using them to go after bullies, yeah.”“Well, does that sound like Barry’s M.O.?”“Barry had a hard time.”
EPOV
The siren went off and as if they were all programmed to do so, the students in my class started to pack their things so they could leave. I didn’t even try to stop them as I moved to lean on my desk. Crossing one leg over the other, I grabbed the textbook the teacher had assigned and started flicking through it.A knock on the door caught my attention. Looking up from the book, I turned to the door. It took a moment as the students continued to leave before I spotted my visitor.Dean.I held back a laugh at the sight of him in the tight red gym shorts he was wearing. “Nice look, Winchester.”“Could say the same thing to you.” He grinned, walking into his room, hand behind his back.I nodded to his hidden hand. “What you got?”Shrugging, he brought his hand around to show me. Sitting there, in his grasp, was a bright, juicy, red apple.This time I couldn’t hold back my laugh as I reached for the fruit. “You got me an apple? I never pegged Dean Winchester as a teacher’s pet.”“Well if all my teachers looked like you, I would have been the best teacher’s pet ever.” He kept grinning at me, taking another step closer.“I bet you were a bad boy. All mischief and mayhem.” I smirked up at him. “The kind of guy I would have crushed on from afar.”“Is that so?” He stepped even closer then, leaving barely a foot between us.I looked up, into his eyes, seeing the familiar stirring of a dark and lustful storm forming. It made my knees go weak and my heart skip a beat. The memories of us, of what we’d shared before…Clearing my throat, I jumped off the desk and turned to gather my things. “Yep,” I answered simply as I moved around him and towards the door. “Now, don’t we have somewhere to be?”
SPOV
After the school day had ended, Lizzie, Dean and I had gone back to our hotel and changed into our normal clothes. Dean and I had explained the situation to Lizzie and told her everything we’d found. Then we headed off to the graveyard to dig up Barry’s bones and burn them.Now back in the Impala, headed back to the hotel, I couldn’t stop feeling so guilty about what we’d just done.“You all right?” Dean asked.Without looking at him, I answered, “Barry was my friend. I just burned his bones.”“Well, he’s at peace now, Sam.”“I mean, if dad had let us stay just a little while longer, maybe I could have helped the kid, you know?”But Dean just shook his head. “You read the coroner’s report same as me. Barry was on every anxiety drug and antidepressant known to man. School was hell for that kid. His parents had split up. He just wanted out. It was tragic, but it’s not your fault. To tell you the truth, I’m glad we got out of that town. I hated that school.”“It wasn’t all bad,” I argued.“How can you say that after what happened to you?”“What happened?” Lizzie asked from the back seat.“He got bullied. Beat up.” Dean’s jaw tensed at the memory as he looked out the front window. “The place sucked for both of us.”I always knew Dean had hated the place, which is why I’d never told him the truth when it came to my experience there. Sure, I got into two fights, and sure, I lost one. But that was on purpose. After that, I took care of the bully. Things just fell into place then, and I can honestly say, it was probably the best school I’d been to.
EPOV
Dean parked Baby outside the school, sighing as he looked up at the building. “We came back here so you could talk to a teacher?”Sam sighed. “He’s a good guy.”“Well, whatever.” Dean shrugged. “Go have your Robin Williams 'O captain! My captain!’ moment. Just make it quick.”Leaving the car, Sam closed the door behind him as he shoved his hands into his pockets and started for the school entrance. Once he was gone, I climbed over into the front seat.“So, tell me, how come this place was so shitty for you?”Dean avoided looking at me, shrugging. “It just was.”“No, come on. Tell me,” I pressed, a smile tugging on my lips. “I won’t judge. I swear. And I won’t laugh. Cross my heart.”Arm resting on his door as he looked out his window, it took a second before he sighed and gave in. “There was a girl here.”My smile fell. “Oh…”Turning to look at me, he shook his head. “It’s not what you think. Well… it is what you think, but it didn’t end well. She just-” He sighed. “She tried getting too close, and I pushed her away, and then she embarrassed me in front of the school.”When he fell silent, I frowned. “That’s all you’re giving me? Aren’t you gonna tell me how she embarrassed you? Details, Dean.” Still, no answer, so I decided to guess. “Did she tell the school you have a small penis?”He rolled his eyes. “I didn’t sleep with her, Liz.”“Still, she could have pretended she did and lied.”This got his attention, getting him to turn to me. “Lie? So, are you saying it’s big?”Shrugging, I leaned back against Sam’s door. “It’s not small.”Now that the conversation had taken a sharp turn down a road we both tried to avoid when together, I couldn’t help but watch him a little closer. He grinned, jaw clenching ever so slightly. Shifting in his spot a little, he rested a hand on his thigh. I could tell he wanted to reach out, he was itching to touch me. Surprisingly, I wanted him to.Tristan was gone. Until I heard from him and got a reason for his absence, I was done with waiting. For all I knew, this could be his way of dumping me, and the best way to get over being dumped is to move on.Dean and I, we had a past. That was clear. What was also clear was the fact that we still liked each other. When with Tristan, I tried to ignore it, out of respect for my partner. But now? If I was a free woman, then my feelings and thoughts would be free as well, and right now, I was feeling a lot when it came to Dean.But before either of us could say or do anything that might lead to more, the doors of the high school opening caught our attention as Sam rushed down the stairs and towards us.
SPOV
I walked down the deserted hallway of the high school. It was the middle of class time, so everyone was tucked away in the classrooms. But I’d checked yesterday, to find out when the room I wanted to go to would be free, which was now.As I reached the door though, I was stopped by a voice.“Excuse me, sir, can you tell me find room three-oh-five?”I turned to the girl standing a couple steps away from me. “Sure. Um,” I gestured down the hallway, “head down the hall, take your first right, and it’s the third door on the left.”She smiled up at me. “Thanks, Sam.”I knew, in an instant, that something was wrong. But before I could do anything, the girl pulled out a knife and lunged at me, stabbing me in the stomach.“You got tall, Winchester,” she sneered at me.As I was hunched over, grasping at my stomach, she kicked me in the face.I fell to the ground, turning away from her and pulling out a small metal bottle I had in my jacket. Pouring some salt out of the bottle, I waited, listening as she stepped up to me. Once she was close enough, I moved.Turning, I grabbed her arm that had been reaching out for me and then forced the hand full of salt into her mouth.The ghost was ripped from her body and pushed through the roof, going back from where ever it came from as the girl collapsed in my arms.
EPOV
I knelt down next to Sam as he sat on a bench. We were parked off the road and by a river, out of sight so no one could see as I patched Sam’s stab wound up. Yes, stab wound. While Dean and I had been flirting, Sam had been attacked by a girl being possessed by the ghost.Dean came over, offering Sam a bottle of some kind of alcohol. “Trust me. This will help.”Reaching for the bottle, I took it from Sam and poured some of the liquid onto a rag before pressing it to the wound. Sam flinched and pulled away, hissing out in pain.Dean shook his head, watching me as I got back to work. “That ghost is dead. I’m gonna rip its lungs out!” When Sam and I looked up at him wondering if he knew what he’d just said, he rolled his eyes. “Well, you know what I mean.”Sighing, Sam shook his head. “It knew my name, Dean. My real name. We burned Barry’s bones. What the hell?”“Maybe it wasn’t him.” I shrugged, finishing up with Sam’s wound. “Or maybe we missed something? Maybe-”“No way.” Dean pulled Sam’s and my attention to him. We both looked over to see him leaning against Baby, reading a file. “How did we not see this before?”“What?” Sam and I asked at the same time.“Check it out.” Pushing off Baby, Dean came over to stand by us, turning the file to show us what he found. “Look, Martha Dumptruck, Revenge of the Nerds, and Hello Kitty, they rode the same bus.”“Okay, so maybe the bus is haunted,” Sam suggested.Dean moved back to lean against Baby again. “Well, that would explain why there’s no EMF at the school, but not the attacks. I mean, ghosts are tied to the places that they haunt. They can’t just bail.”“Unless this one can.” Dean and I turned to Sam expectantly, hoping he’d elaborate. “There’s lore about spirits possessing people and riding them for miles, then whenever they leave the body, they’re bungeed back to their usual haunt. But until then, the ghosts can go wherever they want.”“What, so this ghost just jumps into a kid who jumps onto the bus, and catches a ride into the school?” I thought about it for a moment, slowly nodding. “Doesn’t seem too impossible.”Dean groaned. “Ghosts getting creative… well, that’s super.”
SPOV
On the bus, in the middle of the day, while the students and teachers were in class, Dean, Lizzie and I scanned it for any signs of a ghost. The EMF meter I was using was showing giving off a high reading, letting us know there definitely was some kind of ghost action going on.“Here, ghosty, ghosty, ghosty,” Dean called out to the ghost. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”I shook my head, not understanding the whole situation. “Man, I don’t get it. No one ever died on this bus, and it’s not like there’s a body hidden in here.”“Yeah, but a flap of skin, a hair, I mean, hell, a hangnail. Something’s got to be tying the ghost to this place.” Dean wasn’t wrong. “We just got to find it.”Lizzie sat behind the driver’s seat, going through the papers and books she found in the compartment. “I found a new driving permit.” She lifted the piece of paper up to show us.Dean and I came over to take a look.“Issued a couple of weeks ago,” Dean read.“Just before the first attack,” I noted.Dean grabbed the permit from Lizzie. “Name of the bus driver is Dirk McGregor Sr, 39 North Central Avenue.”“McGregor?” I frowned, recognising the name.“Yeah.” Dean nodded, looking away from the papers and to me. “Why?”“I knew his son.”He scoffed lightly. “Did you know everybody at this school?”I didn’t just know McGregor… he was the kid who I got into the two fights with. He was the kid who’d been bullying Barry. He was the kid I beat up in front of the school so he’d stop being a jerk.…Dean, Lizzie and I sat on the three-seater couch in the McGregor home, across from Mr McGregor. He’d been surprised when I told him I’d been friends with his son, which had been a lie, but we needed a way to get inside and talk to him.“So, you were friends with Dirk?” he asked us.“Uh, yes, sir.” I gave a short nod. “In high school.”“I don’t recall Dirk having many friends at Truman.”Changing the subject, Dean turned the conversation toward Dirk’s passing. “When did, uh… when did Dirk pass?”“He was eighteen.”“What happened to him?” I asked.“Well, there was, first, drinking, then drugs, and then too many drugs. And then he just slipped through my fingers. It was my fault. I should have seen it coming, you know? Dirk, he, uh… he had his troubles.”“Troubles?” Lizzie questioned.“School was never easy for Dirk,” Mr McGregor explained. “We didn’t have much money, and, well, you know, kids, they can be cruel. They picked on him.”That’s not how I remembered it… “They picked on him?”Mr McGregor nodded. “They called him poor and dirty and stupid. They even had a nickname for him- Dirk the jerk.” Oh…“And after what happened to his mother, he-”I cut him off, “His mother?”“Yeah, Jane, my wife. She died when Dirk was thirteen. Cancer. I was working three jobs, so it fell to Dirk to take care of her. And he was a great kid. He made sure Jane got her medicine. He helped her, cleaned up after her. But, you know, you- you watch somebody die slow, waste away to nothing… it does things to a person.” Mr McGregor looked down at the ground. “Horrible things.”“I didn’t know about his mother,” I admitted.“He- he wouldn’t talk about her, not even to me. Lot of anger in that boy.”“I’m sorry.”“Well, we’d really like to pay our respects, Mr McGregor,” Dean started. “Um, you mind telling us where Dirk is buried?”“Oh, he wasn’t. I had him cremated.”“All of him?” Dean asked, earning looks from the rest of us. Lizzie and I hoped we hadn’t freaked Mr McGregor out, while Mr McGregor looked a little confused.“Well, I kept a lock of his hair.”“Oh, that’s- that’s nice.” Dean gave a little smile. “Where do you keep that?”Frowning, confused and a little offended, Mr McGregor answered, “On my bus, in my Bible.”
EPOV
I stood on the side of the road, hidden by the bushes as Dean, Sam and I watched and waited. We knew the bus would be coming down this way any minute. We knew Dirk would be on there. We knew the hair would be too.Sure enough, the bus came flying down the road, way too fast. But that was stopped the moment the tires ran over the spike strip we’d laid out, tearing the tires to shreds.We waited a moment longer as the doors opened and the driver stepped out, his almost robotic-like movements giving Dirk away.“Dirk!” Sam called as he stepped out of the bushes, shotgun raised to the driver.“Winchester. What are you gonna do, shoot me?”“Don’t need to.”As Dean and I stepped out of the bushes- on the other side of the road, Dean quickly wrapped the rope he was holding, around Dirk’s torso, while I used my mind to hold it in place securely. Tying it tightly without having to touch it.Sam nodded to the rope. “That rope is soaked in saltwater, Dirk. You’re not going anywhere.”As I kept a hold on the rope, Dean moved to go on the bus to try and find the hair. “All right, everybody stay where you are. You’ll be okay.”“Aren’t you the P.E. Teacher?” someone asked from inside the bus.“Not really. I’m like 21 Jump Street,” Dean answered, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “The bus driver sells pot.” There was a pause before he yelled out to us. “It’s not here!”Sam cocked his gun, still aiming it at Dirk. “Where is it?”“No way you’ll ever find it.”I squeezed my hand, making the rope tighten around Dirk. “Where. Is. It.”When Dirk simply let out a pained groan, but no answer, Sam stepped forward, pressed the gun to Dirk’s chest. “Where is it?!”Dirk just glared at him. “Sam Winchester. Still a bully. You- you jocks. You popular kids. You always thought you were better than everybody else. And to you, I was just Dirk the jerk, right? Now you evil sons of bitches are gonna get what’s coming to you.”“I’m not evil, Dirk.” Sam took a step back. “I’m not. And neither were you. Trust me. I’ve seen real evil. We were scared and miserable, and we took it out on each other. Us and everybody else. That’s high school. But you suffer through that, and it gets better. I’m just sorry you didn’t get a chance to see that. You or Barry.”“Nothing is gonna get better for me. Not ever.” Dirk suddenly broke the ropes, flung his elbow back into my face- knocking me to the ground- before he started for Sam as Dean hurried out of the bus.Sam fired the gun at him- though the driver was fine, it was just rock salt, not bullets. The driver fell back and onto the ground next to me, unmoving.“Liz.” Dean moved to offer me a hand, helping me to my feet. “You okay?”“No.” I groaned as I got up with help from Dean. “My face and ass hurt.” the three of us looked down at the driver. “You think the son of a bitch is still in-”Before I could finish, Sam was knocked to the ground by someone. Dean and I looked over to see a student kneeling over Sam, turning him over to punch him in the face. Dean grabbed Sam’s gun- which had been knocked out of his grasp- and shot at the student, slash Dirk. But nothing happened.“Find the hair!” Sam groaned, trying to fight Dirk off.Moving quickly, Dean went back into the bus to look for the hair, while I hurried over to the bus driver, going off on a hunch as I started searching his pockets and everything. As I took the driver’s boot off, the lock of hair fell onto the ground.Grabbing it, I stood and lifted it above my other hand. “Hey, Dirk the Jerk!”Dirk paused his beatings and turned to me, his eyes landing on the hair and going wide.Suddenly a ball of flames grew from the palm of my hand, and with that, I dropped the lock of hair to my other hand, watching the fire in my hand burn it away. Dirk screamed and flew out of the student, the ghost burning in the air.The student fell forward, landing right on top of Sam.“Little help?” Sam called.Dean- who had come out of the bus when Dirk had screamed- looked to his brother. “Huh… he’s giving you the full cowgirl.”A wave of dizziness took over me before I could react to Dean’s little joke. Stumbling a little, I reached for the bus, holding onto it to keep my steady and my energy depleted.“Hey.” Dean hurried over, concerned. “You okay? Liz? What’s wrong?”Feeling light-headed, weak, dizzy and short of breath, I shook my head gently. “I don’t know.” My grip on the bus slipped, causing me to start falling.“Whoa!” Dean was right there, catching and pulling me up into his arms. “I gotta ya. I gotta ya,” he assured me.…Once again, we were back at the school, Dean and I waiting for Sam to come back from talking to the teacher he’d wanted to talk to his old teacher.We’d spent the night at the hotel, packing up and getting ready to move on. Well, the brothers had packed. They hadn’t let me do anything. In fact, they wouldn’t even let me stay in my own room. Even after I started feeling better, they were still worried I might collapse again.But, like I said, I was better now.Sitting in the back of Baby now, I leaned over the front seat and looked in the rear-view mirror to try and see what damage Dirk had done to my nose. It’s not like he broke it or anything, but there was a little bruising, and it hurt like a bitch.Dean sighed, shaking his head at me. “Liz, it’s fine.”“It hurts.” I pouted, looking at him. “And it’s all purple and gross.”“It’s not gross,” he chuckled lightly. “You could never be gross.”“Really?” I raised an eyebrow. “Even if I was covered in, I don’t know… rotting guts?”He shook his head again. “Not gross.”It was my turn to laugh. “The fact you think that, makes you gross.”“Then maybe we can be gross together.” His grin grew a little as he shifted closer slightly.Biting my lip, I shrugged. “Doesn’t sound like a completely horrible idea.”“Yeah?”“Yeah.”I’m not exactly sure how it happened, but slowly and surely, we’d moved closer and closer to each other until there were just a couple of inches between us. I guess you could blame it on the uncontrollable pull between us. But now, as I looked from his lips to his eyes, seeing him do the same to mine, I could feel the unasked question hanging in the air.
Are we gonna do this?
Tristan and I hadn’t spoken in over a month. We hadn’t broken up, but it felt like we weren’t together anymore. My gut was telling me to move on, and who better to move on with than Dean Winchester? The chemistry between us had been there from the moment we met, and it never seemed to burn out. I liked him. He liked me. So, why not?Making my mind up- and acting before I could think myself out of it- I quickly pushed forward, pressing my lips to Dean’s. It was just a kiss. Just a simple coming together of lips. But soon enough, it grew into more. It always did.Dean’s hand came up to cup my cheek gently as he deepened the kiss, pushing into it more. My own hand came up to grasp his shoulder as I moaned. It had been so long since we’d been like this, I’d almost forgotten what it was like. Almost forgotten what he tasted like. Smelt like.It was as intoxicating as it had been the first time. He was surprisingly soft and smooth. He smelt like mint and leather, and that smell I could only describe as Dean. He tasted like the toothpaste he’d used the morning, and once again, just Dean. It was all Dean.Suddenly, he grabbed me and pulled me over the seat and onto his lap so I was straddling him, our chests pressed together. His hands grasped my thighs, my hands gripped his hair. The kiss deepened into more as our bodies began to move instinctively, grinding against each other.I could feel him, and it just added wood to the burning fire inside me. I wanted him. I wanted him bad. To feel him like I had many times before. He always felt so good. Always knew how to take care of me.“Dean.” His name fell from my lips in a moan.He groaned. “If you say my name like that again-”Pulling away, I bit my lip as I bucked against him, our eyes meeting. “Dean,” I repeated, moaning harder this time.Before I knew what was happening, Dean had put me on the seat beside him as he opened his door and slid out. Grabbing my hand, he helped me out as well before he closed the door and hurried for the school.“Where are we going?”He didn’t answer as he took me down the halls, looking around carefully while in a hurry, his hand still firmly holding mine. When he came to a stop and reached for the door, he opened it and pulled us inside, flicking the light on as he did. It was a janitor’s closet.I laughed lightly, looking around. “Why do I get the feeling you’ve been in here before?”“Don’t worry. She meant nothing to me,” he assured me as he moved closer to me again, pressing his lips to mine in a deepened kiss, hinting at what was to come.
SPOV
I walked up to the door of my old English room, seeing Mr Wyatt sitting at his desk, grading papers. Lifting my hand, I knocked on the door before stepping in.“Uh, Mr Wyatt?”Looking up from the paper he’d been working on, he turned to me. “Yes.”Walking closer to his desk, I gave a small smile. “You probably don’t remember me, um… but my name is Sam Winchester, and I just wanted to thank you.”“For?”“I was a student here, and uh,” I shrugged, “you gave me some advice once.”“Winchester, right.” He smiled, nodding as he got up. “Right. Yeah. You, uh… you wrote that horror story,” he noted, reaching out to shake my hand.“Yeah. Yeah, I did. Yeah, it’s kind of all been one long horror story.”“What do you mean?”“Nothing.” I shook my head. “Sorry.”“So, what was this advice? I might need to plagiarise myself down the line,” he chuckled lightly.“You told me that I didn’t have to go into the family business. You said I should make my own choices.”“So, you’ve managed to do your own thing, then, huh?”“Yeah, for a while, yeah. And I think I went to college because of you. But, you know, people grow up. Responsibilities, and…” I shrugged. “But still, um… you took an interest in me when no one else did. That matters, so thank you.”“Well, you know, the only thing that really matters is that you’re happy. Are you happy, Sam?”I didn’t know how to respond to that, because honestly… I wasn’t too sure.
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

DPOV
I’d been fast asleep in my hotel bed when the sound of a truck’s horn going off woke me up. I rolled over with a light groan, only to pause as my eyes landed on the bathroom door.The door was open slightly. Sam was inside, pacing, looking away from me as he spoke on the phone. Whoever he was talking to, he obviously wanted to keep it a secret. How did I know this? By the way his shoulders were hunched slightly, and the fact he was keeping his voice low.Sitting up to lean on my elbow, I watched him a moment longer, my suspicion growing. It had been some time since I started to realise he was acting strange again. I had a feeling of what might be going on, but I had no proof. Plus, I’d been a little too busy to question him or figure it all out for myself. The last few days hadn’t exactly been easy…Sam hung up then, moving to turn. I quickly laid back down, pretending to be asleep again. I didn’t want him thinking I was on to him. I wanted him to tell me everything himself. We needed that trust.A moment or so later, I heard him take a seat on his bed next to mine before he reached over to poke me. “Hey. Up and at ‘em, kiddo.”Groaning, I shifted, rubbing my eyes as I pretended to wake up. “You’re up early. What are you doing?”“Nothing.” He shrugged, gesturing to the bathroom over his shoulder. “I was in the can.”Pausing a moment, I looked at him questioningly. “Yeah?”“Yeah.” He grinned lightly. “You want me to draw you a picture?”“Nah, I’ll pass,” I answered, running a hand over my face again.“Found a job,” he started, grabbing the newspaper from his bed to show me the article. “Bedford, Iowa. Guy beat his wife’s brains out with a meat tenderizer.”“Yikes.”“And get this. Third local inside two months to gank his wife. No priors on any of 'em, all happily married.”“Ahh. Sounds like Ozzie and Harriet.”He gave a short laugh. “More like The Shining.”“All right, well I guess we’d better have a look.” I dropped the paper and pulled my blanket off me as I sat up. “You wanna go get Liz?”Sam just gave me a knowing look. “We both know you wanna do it, Dean.” He grinned again.He knew something had happened between Liz and me. When we’d been on that ghost job, back at our old school, he’d gone to talk to his old teacher and left us alone. Liz and I had snuck off to one of the janitor closets for some privacy. After, when we went back to Baby, Sam had been waiting. One look at us, and he could just tell.I don’t know if he knew exactly what had happened, but he at least had a sneaky suspicion. He never asked either of us or made any comments. All we got were a few grins and looks from him over the next few days.Shaking my head, I got out of bed, moving to grab some clothes. “Shut up,” I grumbled, which just made him laugh again, a little harder this time.
EPOV
The last time I felt like this was when the demon in Sam’s body had forced me to drink their blood. But even then, I swear I hadn’t felt this bad. It was like someone was in my head, playing the drums. My skin was hot, but I was cold. I was sweating, too. I couldn’t stop shaking. When I was alone, I swear I was seeing things. My sleep patterns were all over the place. I could barely get a few hours rest without waking up.Sam and Dean knew I wasn’t feeling well. There were certain things I couldn’t hide from them. But they didn’t know the full extent of how I was feeling. I did a pretty good job at pretending I was fine when I really wasn’t.In the last few days, I’d gotten worse, which made everything harder to control. That’s when Dean finally realised I was lying. He wasn’t mad though, more upset and worried. He’d spent some time making sure I was okay. Sam still hadn’t noticed. But seeing as he had his own secrets, I wasn’t really surprised.Yeah, I knew about all that. I wasn’t sure what he was keeping from Dean and me, but I knew he was definitely up to something.A knock on my door had me flinching and raising my hands to my ears, the noise hurting my already throbbing head.“Liz, you in there?”Dean hadn’t liked the idea of me having my own room, but I’d insisted. I didn’t want Sam realising how bad I actually was.I was on the floor, in the corner, curled up in a ball. Halfway through the night I’d tossed and turned so much I’d fallen out of bed. It had hurt like Hell, which was enough to keep me from climbing back into bed. Instead, I’d grabbed a couple of pillows and my blanket, and set myself up in the corner.“Liz?” Dean called again.I stretched my arm up and twisted my hand in the direction of the door before letting my arm drop down to the ground once more. The lock slipped out of place before the handle turned ever so slightly to open the door a crack.Taking that as an invitation, Dean opened the door a little more, poking his head inside. His eyes landed on me in an instant.“Son of a-” Hurrying over, he dropped to his knees by my side. “Liz…” He lifted a hand to my forehead, checking my temperature. “You’re burning up.”“I’m fine, Dean,” I lied. Even as I said the words, my body leaned into him, seeking warmth despite the heat it was radiating. I was just so cold inside.“No, you’re not.” Pulling back slightly, he looked me up and down. “We should get you to a hospital. You need to see a doctor.”Shaking my head lightly, I looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Dean, no. Please,” I begged. “I can’t. If Bobby finds out. Or Ellen. Or Jo.” I shook my head. “They’ll drop everything. I can’t make them do that. It wouldn’t be fair.”He sighed. “Liz-”I cut him off, “I’ll be fine as soon as I get some coffee and food in me. Just need something in my stomach and I’ll be fine,” I assured him as I started to shift, trying to get up. Seeing me struggle, Dean stood and helped me to my feet. “Thanks.”He clearly wanted to take me to the hospital still, but as he looked down at me, he knew there was no point in trying to convince me. I might have been ill and weak, but if I had to I’d fight him, and that would only make me worse.“Okay.” He nodded, hand pressed to my back to keep me standing. “Let’s get you some food.”
SPOV
Dean and I were dressed in our suits as we sat across from Mr Bensen, the guy who’d killed his wife with the meat tenderizer. While we interviewed him, Lizzie was booking us some rooms.I hadn’t said anything, but I’d noticed the way she and Dean were acting. Since Dean went to get her from her room at the hotel we’d been staying at before. While we were in the car driving to this case. When we’d left her at the new hotel. I could feel the tension. It wasn’t the sexual tension they’d been giving off lately. No, this was because she wasn’t well.Sure, I’d been busy doing my own thing lately. Ruby and I had been doing everything we could to find and kill Lilith. But that didn’t mean I was blind. I could tell something was up with Lizzie. I just wasn’t going to ask questions, not when I wasn’t sure she wanted to tell me anything.“Why does the P.D. keep sending you guys?” Mr Bensen asked, not looking up at us. “I already said I don’t want a lawyer.”“They’re lining up the firing squad,” Dean noted.“I’m pleading guilty,” Mr Bensen informed us.“All right, look, you don’t want us to represent you, that’s fine.” Dean shrugged, a small grin forming on his lips. “In fact, it’s probably not a bad idea, between you and me.” When I cleared my throat, he got back on track. “We just wanna understand what happened, that’s all.”“Mr Benson,” I spoke up, causing him to look up at us then. “Please.”He paused a moment, before giving us what we wanted. “What happened was, I killed my wife. You wanna know why? Because she made plans without asking me.”“Now when it happened, how did you feel?” I questioned. “Disoriented, out of control?”“Like something possessed you to do it?” Dean elaborated.“I knew exactly what I was doing,” Mr Bensen answered. “I was crystal clear.”“The why’d you do it?” Dean asked.“I don’t know. I loved her. We were happy,” Mr Bensen insisted.Nodding, Dean turned to me. We shared a look, knowing we were going to have to take this further if we wanted the truth out of him. With a nod from me, Dean reached into his briefcase and pulled out some papers, placing them in front of Mr Bensen.Dean tapped on the paper with his pen. “Nine G’s. That’s a hefty bill.”“Where did you get that?”Dean shook his head at Mr Bensen’s question. “Doesn’t matter. We have it. See, certain charges, ones you don’t want the missus to know… they show up under shady names like, ’M & C Entertainment’.”“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mr Bensen insisted, though the change of his tone and posture told us he was clearly lying.“Like dropping plastic at a nudie bar for instance,” Dean suggested, ignoring Mr Bensen.“We just wanna know the truth, Mr Benson,” I assured him. We didn’t want to scare the guy. We just wanted to know why.Looking to each of us, Mr Bensen then turned to look down at the table again as he let out a shaking breath. “Her name was Jasmine.”I frowned. “She was a stripper?”Dean turned to me. “Dude, her name was Jasmine.”“I didn’t mean for it to happen, I don’t like to go to strip bars,” Mr Bensen went on with his story. “My buddy was having a bachelor party, and there she was.”“Jasmine?”Mr Bensen nodded at me. “She came right up to me. And… I dunno, she was just…perfect. Everything that I wanted.”“Well, you pay enough and anybody will be anything,” Dean commented.“It wasn’t about the money. It wasn’t even about the sex. It was… I dunno. I… I don’t know what it was. It’s hard to explain.”“And your wife found out?” I asked.“No, she never had a clue.”“Then why’d you kill her?” It just didn’t make any sense to me.“For Jasmine,” Mr Bensen sighed. “She said we would be together forever. If… if only Vicki was-” He stopped himself there before moving on. “Afterwards, me and Jasmine were supposed to meet and she never showed. I don’t know where she lives, I don’t know her last name, I don’t even know her real first name! I’m an idiot.”“And you didn’t think to tell this to the cops?” It seemed like the obvious thing to do… at least to me.Bensen looked up at us again then. “What for? The stripper didn’t do it, I did it. And I know what I deserve. The judge doesn’t give me the death sentence, I’ll just do it myself.”…After talking to Mr Bensen I headed for the hospital to talk to the doctor who’d done some work on the case for the sheriff. Dr Cara Roberts. I was hoping she could shed some light on anything suspicious that could help us figure out what was going on.Reaching her office, I opened the door without knocking, finding a woman in a lab coat sitting behind the desk popping some pills and drinking some water before she moved her hands to rub at her temples.“Rough night?” I asked.“Fun night. Rough morning.” she countered, making me snigger. “Can I help you?”“Ah… yes.” Stepping into the office and letting the door close behind me, I pulled out my badge. “Um, I’m Special Agent Stiles, FBI. You Doctor Cara Roberts?”“Far as I know.”With her answer, I put the badge away. “You do some work with the Sheriff’s department?”“Yeah, when I’m not slogging it through the ER.” When I looked at her questioningly she explained, “It’s a small town. We multi-task.”“Well, I have some questions about a case. About several cases actually. Do you mind if I sit?” I gestured to the chair on the other side of her desk. Once she gave a short nod, I sat down. “Great. Adam Benson, Jim Wylie, and Steve Snyder.”She nodded. “Oh yeah, the men who killed their wives?”“You handled their work-ups, right?”“Autopsies for the wives and tox screens for the perps. Two-for-one special.”“You find anything?”She gave a short shake of her head. “Not really. I mean, c.o.d. on the women was pretty clear. There was nothing unusual in their systems.”“What about the husbands?”She paused a moment, looking a little unsure. “Can I…. see your badge again?” A small smile played on my lips as I pulled out my badge to show her. She gave both the badge and myself a close look before going on. “There was one thing, um, an anomaly in the blood work.” She turned in her chair to reach for the files behind her. “And I remember thinking how strange it was that it showed up in all three of the men.”“That what showed up?”Turning again, she handed me some documents from the husbands’ blood work. “Oxytocin. And their levels were crazy high.”“Ahh…. oxytocin?”“Mm-hmm, it’s a hormone that’s produced during childbirth, lactation and sex.”“Okay.”“People call it the love hormone. Um, you know how it feels when you first fall in love. The whole weak in the knees, tattoo you on my chest thing?” She gave a short nod. “That’s oxytocin. Of course, it eventually fades and then you’re stuck with every relationship ever. That and the painful regime of tattoo removal.” She grinned, causing me to smile as well.The door suddenly opened as Dean came in, looking at the two of us. “What’d I miss?”“Ahh, this is my partner, Agent Murdoch,” I introduced Dean to the doctor.He reached forward, offering her his hand. “Nice to meet you.”She gave him a light smile. “Doctor Roberts.” Letting go of his hand, she looked to both of us as Dean sat in the seat next to me. “So, um, can I help you with anything else?”“Uh, sure, just one more thing.” I handed her the documents back. “This chemical, this…”“Oxytocin,” she filled in.I nodded. “Oxytocin. What would cause those high levels that you found?”She shrugged. “Nothing that I’ve ever seen.”“Okay. That’s it. Thanks Doc.” I gave her another smile, getting one in return as Dean and I got up to leave. But before I walked out the door, I turned back to the doctor. “By the way… try a greasy breakfast. Best thing for a hangover.”She laughed lightly. “Watch it buddy, I’m the only M.D. here.”
DPOV
Walking through the hospital, it didn’t take long before Sam caught up to me. Once he did, we got straight to business.“So Whylie and Snyder totally fessed up, huh?” he asked.I nodded. “One emptied his IRA, the other, his kids’ college fund, all on the same day.”“Live nude girls?”“A club called 'The Honey Wagon’,” I answered as we exited the building, headed for Baby.“These guys have affairs too, with a stripper also known as Jasmine?”“Yes and no,” I started. “This is where it gets interesting. Each guy hooked up with a different chick.”He frowned. “So, what? These girls all connected somehow?”“Well, they all described their stripper in the same way, the exact same way. Perfect, and everything that they wanted.”“Yeah, at least until dream Barbie convinced them to murder their wives.”“There’s that.”“You know, it’s almost like they were under some kinda love spell.”“Sure seems that way.”“Which caused them to become totally psychotic.”“Absolutely.”He paused as we reached the car. “You seem pretty cheery.”I couldn’t keep myself from smiling widely. “Strippers, Sammy. Strippers. We’re on an actual case involving strippers. Finally.”
EPOV
I sat on my bed, rubbing my temples, flicking through the lore book that sat in front of me. I’d popped a few pain killers and was jacked on caffeine. That’s the only way I was getting through this case. Everything in me felt like it was barely staying together. As if the only thing keeping everything in place was some thin and flimsy tape.A knock on my door had me lift a hand to mentally unlock and open it.A second after, Sam stepped inside, dressed in a suit. “Hey.” He walked over to stand at the foot of my bed, looking at me with worried eyes. “How you feeling?”“Fine.” Sighing, I looked up at him, closing my book as I did. “Dean called, filled me in. I’ve been looking up some lore, trying to figure out what we might be dealing with here.”Still watching me carefully, Sam shook his head. “Are you sure you should be researching right now?”“I’m fine, Sam.”It was a lie. I knew he knew it was a lie. But what could I say? What could I do? Sit back and let them do all the work? Tell them I felt like I was a crack addict going through withdrawals? Not that I knew what that felt like, but this seemed like it would be pretty close to exactly that. It was like every fibre in my being was vibrating with need, screaming for something. I just didn’t know what I was missing…“Look, maybe we should call Bobby-”“No.” I unfolded my legs and pulled myself off the bed, moving to my bag on the couch, trying to ignore the shake in my weak legs. “We’re not calling Bobby. We’re not calling anyone. We are going to finish this case.”He wanted to argue. I could feel it in the silence that stretched out before us. But he knew there was no point in trying. Fighting me was like fighting a wall, it would get you nowhere and tire you out.“Okay,” he sighed, giving in. “But if you feel any worse-”“I said I’m fine, Sam.”“I know you’re lying, Lizzie. I know you and Dean think I don’t see it, but I can tell something is wrong. I can tell you’ve been getting worse. I can tell you’re trying to keep it hidden from everyone, but you’re barely holding it together,” he told me, causing me to freeze as I looked up at him speechless. “I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to do. But don’t lie. You’re not fine.”
DPOV
I stood in the Honey Wagon bar, talking to the manager. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t keep all my attention on the manager as I questioned him. My eyes just couldn’t help but wander. Girls were dancing all over the place, dressed in hardly anything while guys paid to sit and watch them.“I’m looking for three girls. Jasmine, Aurora and Ariel,” I managed to focus myself to the task at hand.The manager shook his head at me. “You seriously think those names mean anything to me?”“One’s a redhead about 5'9,” I noted, hoping a description would help. “The other one’s Asian, about-”The manager cut me off before I could go on, “You have any idea how many girls I deal with? Fake names, fake hair, fake…” He gestured to his chest.I fought back the urge to roll my eyes as I went on. “You gotta have some sort of paperwork. Cheque stubs. Some way to keep track of the strippers.”“Please, exotic dancers. Independent contractors working for cash. I stay out of their hair, they stay out of what little I have left.” He pointed to his balding hair.“Three of your customers murdered their wives. You don’t think that that’s weird?”“Yeah. I think that’s super-friggin’ weird. But you know what it ain’t? My problem,” the manager told me before walking off.Shaking my head, I turned away from him, annoyed with the lack of information he’d given. In a second or two, as I scanned the crowd, I spotted Liz and Sam from across the room.My eyes locked onto Liz’s in an instant. She paused and gave a light smile. Despite all the strippers and pole dancers- and the fact I could visibly see how unwell she was- Liz still managed to catch and hold my attention…Moving around the stage between us, dodging the guys watching the girls, I headed over to them. I stopped so I was closer to Liz, seeing her shake slightly on her legs. I wanted to be there if she needed help. I didn’t like seeing her like this, so weak and ill.“Any luck?” Sam asked once I was close enough to hear, pulling my attention to the case again.“No.” I shook my head. “You?”“A little.” He shrugged. “We have a theory.”“Sirens,” Liz finished.“Like Greek myth siren, the Odyssey?” I asked, earning surprised looks from both Sam and Liz. “Hey, I read!”“I’m impressed.” Liz looked me up and down suggestively.Ignoring her comment, Sam kept the conversation on track. “Yeah, but the siren’s not actually a myth, it’s more of a beautiful creature that preys on men, enticing them with their siren song.”“Let me guess, Welcome to the Jungle? No, no. Warrant’s Cherry Pie.” I grinned, amusing myself.“Their song is more of a metaphor, like… like their call, their allure, you know?” Sam corrected.“So, they shake their thing and the guys zombie out?” I asked.Liz nodded. “Pretty much. Traditionally, back in the day, Sirens lived on islands where they would lure sailors to the rocky shores. Of course, that obviously led to death.”“Sounds like Adam and his buddies,” I noted.“Yeah,” Sam agreed. “If you were a siren in '09 looking to ruin a bunch of morons, where would you set up shop?”The three of us looked around, seeing a number of men completely entranced by the dancers. It wasn’t odd. This was exactly how it looked in every strip club everywhere. The girls didn’t have to be supernatural to get attention. But it did make things easier if they were sirens…“So, whatever floats the guy’s boat, that’s what they look like?” I asked, getting back to business.“Yeah,” Sam answered, going on. “You see, sirens can read minds. They see what you want most and then they can kinda, like, cloak themselves. You know, like an illusion.”I shook my head, putting Sam’s words together. “So, it could all be the same chick? Morphing into, uh… to different dream girls?”“Yeah, actually. Probably.” Sam shrugged. “Sirens are usually pretty solitary.”“How do we kill it?”“I’m heading back to the hotel to work on it,” Liz told us. “But even if I figure out how to kill it, we still don’t know who she is,” she noted, having a really good point.I let out a frustrated sigh, looking at all the dancers again. “How the hell are we gonna find it? It could be anybody.”
EPOV
I was sitting on my bed in my room, flicking through some lore books. I’d been researching for a few hours and hadn’t come up with a lot yet. There was plenty of information on sirens, but not much on how to kill them. Everything I had found was in riddles, which made everything a little bit harder, and with my mind as fuzzy as it was, I was beginning to doubt my abilities.“Liz?” Dean’s voice called from the other side of my door.Too weak to use my mind to open it, I pulled myself off the bed and dragged myself over to the door, opening it and stepping aside so he could enter.Dean stepped in a second later, hands casually shoved into his pockets. He was no longer dressed in his FBI suit, now back in jeans, shirt, flannel, boots, and leather jacket. His eyes looked around the room, briefly taking in the number of printed articles on my bed before his eyes met mine.“How long have you been at it?”“A couple of hours.” I shrugged, trying not to show him how exhausted I was. Even as I walked back to the bed, I tried not to drag my feet as much.It wasn’t that I was tired, it was that I was tired of researching. I needed food, fresh air, and to move around. But I knew the guys needed me to find out how to kill the siren so we could finish the case and move on. That’s what kept me going, despite my headache and shaking fingers.“Time for a break.” Pulling his hand out of the front pocket of his jeans, he dangled Baby’s keys in front of himself. “I’m taking you out.”A small smile found its way onto my lips. “Is this you asking me out on a date, Winchester?”Grinning back at me, he put the keys back in his pocket as he responded. “No. If I was asking you out you’d know about it.” He gave me a wink. “Sammy’s coming. We’re going for dinner.”Giving a short nod, I closed the book in front of me. “Okay. Give me five minutes? I gotta change.”He looked me up and down then, taking in my tight black jeans, loose white shirt and messy bun. The glint in his eyes gave me an idea of how he felt and what he was thinking. I couldn’t help but blush under that gaze. It was like it didn’t matter what I wore, he always seemed to find me attractive.“Throw on some shoes and a jacket. You don’t need to change.”Nodding, without saying a word, I did as he said, grabbing my leather jacket and boots. Once I was dressed, I headed towards him, pulling my hair out of the bun and leaving it down. His eyes darkened a little more as I shook my head to loosen my hair, but he still didn’t break the silence.Offering me his arm, he helped me walk a little more steadily as the two of us left my room. He stayed close as I locked the door and headed down the hall. No matter how crap I felt, being close to him always made me feel a little better, and I could already feel my headache fading away and sore limbs relaxing.…In the bar with Sam and Dean, I sat on a stool, watching the two play their third round of pool. We’d enjoyed some food and had moved on to drinks a while ago. Seeing as I wasn’t feeling too good, I was taking it slow. But watching Dean and Sam go for it was definitely amusing. I’m pretty sure I’d lost track of how much they’d drunk by now.Dean moved over to me as Sam lined up his next shot. The older Winchester didn’t hide his grin as he leaned against me while he drank his beer. Looking up at him, I gave a knowing look. It was obvious that he was at the stage where if I allowed it, he’d leave Sam and take us back to the room.“You having fun?” he asked, continuing to grin.“Probably not as much as you.” I cocked an eyebrow at him.Moving closer, he whispered in my ear, “We can change that.”I shivered at the feel of his breath on my neck. The warm air breathing life into my desire. Just like that, I wanted to go just as badly as he did.“Ha!” Sam cheered. “I win!”Dean pulled back to look at his brother. Sam was beaming, so proud of himself. Of course, the alcohol in his system was to blame for most of his current confidence and good mood.Reaching over to his own drink, Sam found it empty. “I’m gonna get a refill. You guys want one?”“Yeah, I’ll have one.” Dean nodded.“Lizzie?”I shook my head. “No. Thanks, Sammy.” I smiled at him.Shrugging, Sam headed off to the bar, leaving Dean and me alone. The moment the younger Winchester was gone, Dean stepped closer to me once more, putting a leg between my thighs as he whispered in my ear again.“You’ve been sitting here all night. Everything okay?” he asked, brushing some hair behind my ear.Knowing he cared about me. Knowing he was genuinely curious about my wellbeing. Knowing how I felt mattered to him. Knowing I meant something to him. It made me feel a little bit better.“I’m okay,” I assured him.He pulled back a little, searching my eyes, looking for a lie or any sign of doubt. But there was none. It was the truth. Sure, I still felt pretty crap, but being out with the guys, having some fun, it helped. Even if it was just for a moment.“I worry about you.”A small smile crept onto my lips. “I know. I worry about you, too.”His eyes flickered to my lips then, just for a moment before they locked onto my eyes again. But it had been long enough for me to get the message. I knew what he wanted, and I wanted it too. There was something between us that I couldn’t quite figure out or name. All I knew was that it made me feel good, which was enough for me to start leaning forward…“You wanna get your hands off my girlfriend?”I pulled back quickly, my eyes going wide at the person behind Dean’s shoulder. “Tristan?”Dean tensed and turned, the flirty guy gone, replaced by the tough and protective Winchester. Tristan was just as tense, ready for whatever Dean might start.The scene reminded me of something you might see on National Geographic. Like a pair of alpha wolves ready to fight. I knew these two guys. I knew what they were capable of and how they thought. I knew how bad things could get, and just like in the wild, their fight could definitely lead to death…I slid off my stool and put myself in front of Dean, staying close to him so he was reassured. But not too close because I didn’t want to piss Tristan off.“What are you doing here?” I asked Tristan.His eyes reluctantly dragged themselves away from Dean, landing on me. They were softer the moment they locked onto mine. “I got back a few days ago. Made a few calls, looked around for a while. I’ve been trying to find you.”A glare found its way onto my face as my anger and annoyance showed themselves. “You didn’t think to call? Maybe try and ask me where I was? You’ve been gone for over a month.”“I know,” he let out a defeated sigh. “My, uh… my friend I went to help… he didn’t make it. The demon we were hunting, I thought he might come after you, so I ditched my phone and everything. To keep you safe.”Suddenly I was hit with guilt, like a punch in the heart. He’d been running for his life, to make sure the bad guys didn’t come after me. Of course, it was something like that. Do you really believe he would purposefully hurt you? I scolded myself.Shaking my head, I hurried forward to give him a hug.His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me up and off my feet as he buried his face in my neck, breathing me in. “I missed you so much. Was so worried,” he mumbled against me.I squeezed him a little tighter. “I missed you, too.”There was a paused moment before he put me down again. He frowned, concerned, lifting a hand to my face. He then carefully and gently grabbed my wrist to lift my arm, before watching my hand as it shook. He checked my pulse, his frown growing with each passing second.“You’re not well.”“You think?” Dean snapped from behind me.Tristan’s eyes flicked to the Winchester for a split second before they met mine again. “Have you been taking your medication?”“I, uh… I ran out a few weeks ago,” I admitted.His concerned frown grew a little confused. “But you had enough for a couple more months,” he noted.There was no way I was going to tell anyone that the reason I’d run out so fast was because I’d started taking more than I probably should have. Though mind you, there were no directions on the bottle, so it wasn’t like there was a limit to how many I was or wasn’t allowed to take. I just took as many as I wanted.But thinking about it now… I probably should have slowed down when I started getting closer to the bottom of the bottle…“Are you staying someplace?” Tristan asked, pulling my attention back to him.I nodded. “We’re at a hotel. I have a room.”“Come on.” Tristan’s hand slipped into mine. “Let’s get you back. I’ll take care of you.” He looked so determined as he went to turn for the exit.But before I let him drag me off, I looked over to Dean, seeing the angered glare he was throwing Tristan. As his eyes fell on me, I could see worry, some understanding, a little more anger and pain…With everything we’d gone through the last month or so, I could understand how and why he was feeling the way he was. Parts of myself were begging me to stay with him. But Tristan was back, and he was my boyfriend, and I found myself unable to say no to him just like I had before he’d disappeared.So, with a quick and silent sorry to Dean, I tried to give him a reassuring look as I followed Tristan out of the bar, hoping this wouldn’t damage my friendship with either Winchester.
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

DPOV
I was in a foul mood. I had been for hours now. All night I’d found it impossible to sleep. Not because of the alcohol, but because of the fact that Liz had gone back to her room with the same asshole who’d left her with no sign that he was okay.If I thought there was any chance that he would come back, and she would go with him again, I wouldn’t have slept with her. I wouldn’t have set myself up for rejection like that. So of course I was pissed.It didn’t help that now I had no distraction to keep my mind off of whatever Sam had been up to the last few weeks.He’d left an hour or so ago to do some research. We were both pretty sure Liz and her boyfriend would be too busy catching up for either of them to actually do any work, so Sam had offered to do it. On his way out, he’d accidentally left his phone in the room.I was sitting at the table, staring down at it, contemplating my options. Leave it be and wait for Sam to tell me what he was up to… though I was pretty sure that would never happen. That left me with option two, go through his phone logs and find out who he’s been talking to lately…Making my mind up, I reached over and picked the phone up, scrolling through the contacts until I found the only unknown number on the list, and rang it.After a few rings, someone answered.“Hey, Sam.” It was Ruby. When I stayed silent, she spoke again, ”Sam…? You there…?“Not knowing what else to do, I quickly hung up.I couldn’t believe it. Sam was talking to Ruby again. Were they meeting up? Did they talk a lot? Was he doing jobs for her? Were they hunting behind my back? Was she making him use his powers again? Were they sleeping together again…?Ruby, she was bad news. Sure, she’d saved my life and helped Sam and Liz even seemed to like her now. But she was a demon, and nothing would change that. Eventually, things will change and she’ll turn into an evil bitch like every other demon.The door opened then, Sam coming in. "Lenny Bristol was definitely another siren vic.”“You get in to see him?” I asked.He’d left when we’d gotten word that someone else who’d been at the strip club had killed someone close to them. We were hoping it was part of the case, while also hoping it wasn’t- because no one wanted more bodies to be added to the growing list.He gave a short nod. “Yep. He bought home a stripper named Belle. Coupla hours later he offed his mother. Belle, of course, went MIA.”“Wait, he killed his mum?”“The woman he was closest to.” He shrugged a second before his phone started to ring.I reached over and grabbed his phone, tossing it to him. “Yeah, you, uh… forgot your cell phone.”Giving me a worried look, he checked the ID and answered it without a word to me. Taking a seat at the table, he put the phone on speaker. “Hey, Lizzie.”“Hey, Sam. Sorry I’m MIA right now. Tristan and I just have some catching up to do.”I rolled my eyes but said nothing as Sam spoke to her. “That’s okay. Look, Dean and I can finish this case-”“No,” she cut him off quickly. “I mean… that wouldn’t be fair. And anyway, Tristan and I can still do some research. We’ve actually been working on some stuff this morning.”“Really?” Sam sounded as surprised as I felt. Neither of us thought Liz would get back to the case so soon, and I sure as hell didn’t think Tristan would help her. “So, what you got?”“Tristan helped me break apart a Greek poem. It says you need ‘a bronze dagger, covered in the blood of a sailor, under the spell of the song’. We’re dealing with three thousand years of lore here, so I’m not one hundred per cent sure… but I’m gonna say the siren’s spell is most likely some kind of venom. Something she gets in the victim’s system.”“And makes them go all Manchurian Candidate.” Sam nodded. “Uh, what do you think, she infects the men during sex?”“Maybe.”I let out a light scoff. “Supernatural STD.”“Dean… uh, hi…” Liz sounded a little nervous suddenly.“Hey,” I said back to her, before clearing my throat.Getting back on track, she went on, “Apparently once the siren doses the men she’s gotta be careful. One dose of her own medicine and she’s out. Like a snake getting hit by its own venom.”“So, we just gotta find a way to juice one of the OJs in jail?” I asked.There was a pause before Liz answered, “Tristan said it won’t be that easy. Those guys aren’t under the spell anymore,” she noted. “Not sure where you’re going to get the blood you need… unless you find and stalk the siren and wait for her to infect someone else…”Sam and I exchanged looks. I didn’t like the idea of putting people in danger. Especially when what we were hunting could change its appearance. It makes it harder to track the son of a bitch. So, Liz’s suggestion wasn’t exactly something I wanted to try unless we had to.When Sam straightened a little, clearly thinking of another way, I was relieved.“I think I might have an idea,” he told her.“Okay…” She didn’t sound too sure. “ Just, be careful. Sirens are tricky things, guys. They’ll have you wrapped up in knots before you know what hit you.”
SPOV
Followed by Dean, I entered the hospital, headed straight for Cara as she headed down the hall, looking over some paperwork.“Dr Roberts.”She looked up from her paperwork. “Agent Stiles.” She smiled, coming to a stop in front of Dean and me. “Can’t stay away, huh?”I chuckled lightly. “Actually, uh, we’re here on business. About the blood samples. The ones with the high… you know… oxytocin?”“You still have them?” Dean asked.“Mm-hmm.” She nodded.“Good, we need them,” Dean told her.“What for?”Before either of us could answer her question, a man approached Cara, stopping next to her. “Excuse me, Dr Roberts?”She turned to him. “Yeah?”Getting out his FBI badge, Dean cut the guy off before he could say anything else to the doctor. “Excuse me, uh… we’re a little busy here, buddy.”“Yeah, so am I, pal.” The guy pulled his own badge out.Oh shit. Looking at Cara, I tried to stay in character as I gave her a light smile. “Doc, can you give us a sec, please?”Backing away, she gave a short nod. “Sure.”Once the doctor was gone, Dean turned to the FBI agent. “What’s your name?”“Nick Munroe. What’s yours?”“I’m Special Agent Sam Stiles, this is my partner Dean Murdoch,” I answered, showing him my own badge. “What office are you from?”“Omaha, Violent Crimes Unit. My SAC sent me down here to see about the murders. You?”“D.C. Our Assistant Director assigned us.”Nick looked to Dean. “Oh, which AD?”“Mike Kaiser,” I answered without missing a beat.“What are your badge numbers?”Dean scoffed. “You’re kidding, right?”Nick shrugged. “I’m just following protocol.”“Look man, whatever.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a card, handing it over to Nick. “Just call our AD, he’ll sort things out.”Taking the card, Nick looked to Dean and me one last time before taking a step back and dialling the number. As he spoke on the phone, I hoped Bobby wouldn’t mess the call up. He never did, and I knew he wouldn’t, but I always got a little nervous when we bumped into real feds. I always wondered if they could tell that we were lying, and what they might do if they found out who we really were…After a minute or so, Nick turned around and came back over to stand in front of us again, handing me the card back “I’m sorry, guys.”Dean shrugged just like Nick had a moment ago. “Just don’t let it happen again.”Nodding, Nick looked to both of us again, a little more relaxed this time. “Where are you at with this?”“Where are you at with this?” Dean countered.“Well, I was just about to run the, uh… perps’ bloodwork.”“I already checked, dead-end,” I informed him.“Oh yeah?” he asked.I nodded. “Yeah.”“But get this. I feel like I found something that, uh, connects all the murderers.”“Really?” I asked, only slightly interested. There wouldn’t be much this guy knew that we didn’t already.“They were all banging strippers… from the same club.”“You don’t say!” Dean gave a light grin, controlling his sarcasm.“What do you say we, uh, go down there and check it out?” Nick suggested.“Well, here’s the thing, Nick. See, we’re kinda lone wolves-”Before Dean could go on, I cut him off, talking to Nick, “You know what, that sounds like an excellent idea. Just… just give me a second with my partner and we’ll, uh…one sec.” I looked to Dean, nodding over my shoulder. “Come here.” Once we were out of earshot, I spoke again, “Dude, you gotta stay with him.”“What?” Dean clearly didn’t like that idea.“Keep him outta the way.”“Why me?”“'Cause I gotta get the blood samples.”“What the hell am I supposed to do with him?”“Just take him to the strip club…keep an eye out for the siren. Come on, Dean, just… just focus on the naked girls. You’ll forget he’s even there.”He thought about it for a moment, but we both knew what he was going to do. “I’m not doing this for you, I’m doing it for the girls.”
DPOV
As we walked through the carpark of the hospital, I pulled my keys out, talking to Munroe without looking at him. “All right, we’re taking my ride, no complaining about the tunes,” I told him as we reached Baby.He paused at the passenger side door, looking Baby over. "No way. You drive an Impala?”As I came to my own door, I nodded, stopping as well. “Yeah.”“It’s a '67, right? It’s a 327 four-barrel. ”“Yeah, actually.” I was pretty impressed if I’m being honest.“It’s a thing of beauty.”“Thanks.”“How the hell did you talk the Bureau into letting you drive your own wheels?” Shaking his head, he opened the door to get in.
SPOV
I was standing on the other side of Cara’s desk, watching as she went through some files. I was trying to get her to give me the blood of the husbands that had killed their wives. At the time of the blood tests, they’d been infected with the siren’s song. At least I was hoping that was the case. I was also hoping there wasn’t an expiry date on the virus…“You want this blood because…?” she asked.“Uh, we’d like to run some tests,” I lied.She paused and looked away from the files, turning to me, giving a light laugh. “You know, I’ve run every test there is. It’s, um, my job. Notice the lab coat.”“We know a specialist who’d like to try out a theory.” Another lie.Sighing, she walked past me. “If you say so.” She headed over to a glass fridge that sat on top of a counter in her office. She opened it up and slid a tray of test tubes out, only to pause. “What the hell?”“What?”She turned, a look of confusion and slight anger on her face. “The blood’s gone.”
DPOV
I sat at one of the tables in the strip club with Nick, watching the girls and taking a few shots. I hadn’t really been paying much attention to the job we were supposed to be doing, because as we sat there talking, I’d found out that the guy wasn’t actually that bad. He was a lot like me actually.“Nobody’s Fault But Mine.”We were playing a game of sorts, where I gave him the name of a song and he had to guess who’s it by, and then he gave me a song and I had to guess as well. So far, I’d been impressed with his knowledge of classic rock.“Oh, oh. Zeppelin recorded it in '75. It was a cover of a Blind Willie Johnson tune.”I nodded, grinning. “Nice.”“You Shook Me.”“'69, debut album, written by Willie Dixon.”“And….?”“And what?”“Written by Willie Dixon and J.B. Lenoir.”I chuckled lightly. “Dude. Dude! You know, for a fed, you’re not a total dick.”“Aren’t we both feds?”Oh, right… “Yeah, I know,” I nodded, recovering from my slight slip of character, “I just… you know, not a lot of feds are as cool as us, huh?”He shrugged, taking a drink before changing the subject as we turned to the girls dancing. “So, what the hell with this case, man? How does a girl talk four different johns into murder?”“It’s a crazy world.”“I guess.” He shook his head. “Hey, can I level with you?”“Mm.”“I found something kinda weird.”“Well. You have bought your weird to the right spot. Lay it on me.”“I went to the crime scene this morning. Saw them bagging this up.” Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out an evidence bag with some purple flowers in it, placing the bag on the table in front of me. “So, I went back, uh, through all the files. It turns out a flower just like that was found at every crime scene.”“Like it was left on purpose?” I frowned. I’d never heard of monsters doing that before…Munroe shrugged again. “You know, sometimes a serial killer will leave an object behind, like a calling card. But with this case? Tell you the truth, I got no idea what’s going on.”As I looked over the flowers, listening to him, something clicked. “I think I might. I’ve seen a flower like this before…”
SPOV
Cara and I were sitting in her office, we’d been there for a while now, looking over security footage, trying to find out who might have taken the blood samples.With a sigh, she paused the video. “We’ve watched them twice. Whoever took the blood…”“Must have tampered with the tapes.” I finished, nodding. She had a point. “Who has access to your office?”“Everybody.” She turned to me. “I don’t lock it.”“You what?”“I’ve never had this problem before,” she noted. “What is so important about the blood anyway?”“I think someone drugged the men, made them commit murder,” I admitted.“What? What kind of drug?”“Ahh, I’m not sure yet.” It wasn’t like I could tell her the truth.“I don’t know.” She turned to the screen again. “I mean, I interviewed those guys and they had their reasons.”“Yeah but they all loved their victims.”“I’m sure they did.” When I just looked at her, waiting for her to give explain why that didn’t matter, she let out a soft laugh. “Come on.” She got out of her seat, turning to me. “Haven’t you ever been in a relationship where you really love somebody and still kinda wanted to bash their head in?”I chuckled lightly. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”“Yeah.” Her smile fell as she turned and moved to the cupboard behind her desk.“Look, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry.”“It’s okay,” she assured me, placing two glasses and a bottle of whiskey on her desk. “I was the one who bought it up.” She opened the bottle, pouring some of the liquid into the glasses.I looked at the drink she offered me. “Really?”“It’s medicine. I’m a doctor.” She shrugged before a small grin sound its way onto her lips. As I took the glass from her she spoke again. “His name was Karl. We were married,” she laughed lightly before we clinked glasses.“So what happened?” I asked, taking a seat on her desk.She took a sip and then answered. “Life happened. I don’t know. I mean I loved him. Still do I guess but… I don’t know.” She sat in the desk next to me. “It’s like one day I looked up and I was living with a stranger and… you know what I mean, right?”“I guess.” I shrugged, before thinking about Dean and I for a moment. “Or, I don’t know, maybe.”“People change. I know I did. But it’s nothing to feel guilty about. It happens.”“So, you two split up?”“I suppose that’s a word for it.”My phone began to ring then, but as I looked and saw that it was Dean calling, I wondered if I should answer or not…“Do you need to get that?” Cara asked.I looked to her, shaking my head as I hung up and put my hone back in my pocket. “Nope. Not right now.”She shrugged once more as she poured us another drink. “Whatever. We’ve all got our own sad stories, so… screw it. Have fun, no regrets and live life like there’s no tomorrow.” We clinked glasses again before she got up as she took a sip, moving closer to me. “For instance, I have been thinking about you, all night… well, parts of you,” she whispered in my ear.“Just parts?”“Mm-hm.” She nodded as she moved to stand in front of me, undoing my tie. “Like your lips. They’re very distracting. It’s a problem. And I can’t stop thinking about kissing them.”“That so?”“So… what the hell, huh?”I didn’t think or hesitate a moment longer before I leaned forward to kiss her. It only took a matter of seconds before things got heated. Before I knew it, clothes were being torn off as I pushed her against the wall…
DPOV
Driving down the road, trying to get ahold of Sam after I’d called him a hundred times already, I was both shocked and relieved when my phone rang… he was calling me.“Sam!” I answered in an instant. “Where the hell have you been?”“With Cara.”“Oh, it’s Cara now? And you’re not picking up your phone?”“We were trying to find the blood samples. Someone stole 'em.”“Yeah, I bet!”“What’s that supposed to mean?”“Nick found flower petals at the crime scenes. Hyacinths.”“So?”“Hyacinths?” I repeated, waiting for him to put the pieces together. But when he stayed silent, I went on to explain. “Mediterranean. From the island where the whole friggin’ siren myth started in the first place.”“Okay…”“Sam, Cara had hyacinth flowers!”He chuckled lightly. “You think Cara’s the siren?”“Well, I did a little checking up on her. She’s only been in town for two months.”“Yeah. And?”“And she has an ex-husband,” I noted. “A dead ex-husband, Carl Roberts. Dropped like a stone, no warning. Supposedly a heart attack.”“Well, maybe it was a heart attack.”“You’re kidding me.”“Look, I just don’t think it’s her.”“And what makes you so sure?”“I dunno, a hunch.”“A hunch? I’m giving you cold hard facts here and you’re giving me a hunch?” I paused for a moment, waiting once more, and that’s when it clicked. That’s when I realised what was actually going on here. “Did you sleep with her?”“No,” he answered, but I could practically smell the lie through the phone.“Holy crap. You did.” I shook my head. “Middle of Basic Instinct and you bang Sharon Stone? Sam, you could be under her spell right now!”“Dude, I’m not under her spell.”“Unbelievable, man. I just don’t get it.”“What?”“Nothing.”“No. Say it.”“No, it’s just… first it’s Madison, and then Ruby, and now Cara. It’s like… what is with you and banging monsters?”“Dean, I’m telling you, it’s not Cara. I feel fine.”“I’ll bet you do.”“You don’t trust me?”“No. Because this could be the siren talking.”“Look, tell me where you are, I’ll come meet you and we’ll figure things out.”There was no reason for me to think about it. I knew what had to be done. “No.”“Are you serious?”“I wish I weren’t. I gotta handle this, Sam. By myself,” with that, I hung up before quickly dialling the next number.Of course, Liz didn’t pick u, just like the other times I’d called her. I’d been ringing her over the last couple of hours, wondering where she might be, hoping she would know where Sam was. But she hadn’t picked up her phone, which left me both annoyed and concerned for her.But now was not the time to worry. I had a siren to deal with.I left a message on her voice mail, hoping she’d get it in time. “Sam’s in trouble, Liz. I think the siren worked her mojo on him. I know you’re busy with your boyfriend and everything, but I could really use you right now. Give me a call as soon as you get this,” with that, I hung up again before calling the next person.Munroe answered after just a couple of rings. “Hey man, what’s up?”“I need your help.”“Uh, sure. With what?”“Canvassing. We gotta find somebody.”
EPOV
I sat on my bed in my room, looking down at my phone as it lit up for the millionth time that night. As much as I wanted to answer it I knew Tristan and I needed this time to catch up. We’d been apart for some time, which affected our relationship. If we wanted to stay strong and together, then we had to work through everything.“So, how long were you with the brothers?”Tristan and I had talked about pretty much everything but Sam and Dean. It was hard being so close to two guys while in a relationship. I honestly didn’t blame Tristan for being unsure. I just hoped he realised that he meant a lot to me, and if I’d known what had happened and that he’d been coming back, then I wouldn’t have slept with Dean.“Just for a month or so.”“Anything happen?” he asked, avoiding my gaze as if he knew the answer.I could tell him, I could admit, out loud, that I had cheated on him with Dean. I could tell him that it hadn’t just been physical and that I had feelings I shouldn’t be feeling for a friend. I could tell him about the past I had with Dean, which I’d previously only told a few details about. I could let it all out.Or… I could lie. I could pretend nothing happened. I could act as if I hadn’t had slept with another man. I could even keep the nervous and unsure feeling in my gut, telling me that this thing between us was pretty much over, and had been for some time now…“No.” I shook my head, choosing to lie. “We just hunted, did the usual stuff.” I shrugged.He nodded slowly, looking a little relieved. “You think you can leave them behind for a while? Maybe we could head up to the cabin for a few days? Take a break from everything? Get you back on your feet?” he suggested. “I can get you some more pills.”The promise of more pills had something inside me stand to attention. It was like that’s all that mattered now. I would literally jump through hopes if that meant I could get my hands on even one of those beautiful, little red pills.“I think I’d like that,” I answered, trying not to sound too eager.
DPOV
I opened the passenger door to Munroe’s car, sliding into the seat and closing the door behind me. As I got comfortable, Nick filled me in on everything.“She went in just a second ago.” He gestured to the bar he’d parked in front of after following Cara here.“Nice work.”“Should we follow her in?”I shook my head. “No, no, no, I don’t wanna tip her off. Let’s just wait and see who she comes out with.”“So you think… what? She’s drugging these guys?”“Pretty much.” I shrugged, clearly unable to tell him the truth.“Uh-huh.” I could tell he didn’t believe it. Not entirely at least. He could feel the lies and secrets.“I know how it sounds-”He cut me off before I could go on, “You sure about that? 'Cause it sounds like crazy on toast. All these different strippers, they’re magically the same girl? But then they’re not strippers at all, it’s Dr Quinn.”“It’s kinda hard to explain, but I have my reasons and they’re good ones, so you’re just gonna have to trust me on 'em.”There was a pause as he contemplated my words before he gave a short nod. “Yeah. okay. I guess.”I was actually surprised. “Thank you. That’s actually nice to hear.” Reaching into the inside pocket of my jacket, I pulled out my flask and took a swig before offering it to Nick.He let out a soft laugh as he took the flask and took a drink, then handed it back to me. “So, let’s say she is drugging her vics,” he started as I took a drink, “how’s she pulling that off?”“She could be injecting them, you know, or passing the toxin through, uh, physical contact.”“Or it could be her saliva. ”I felt the change before I realised what was happening. Before I could stop it. Suddenly it was like nothing mattered except making sure Nick was happy. As long as I did whatever he wanted, we could be happy and together. That’s all I wanted. All I would ever want again…“You really should have wiped the lip of that thing before you drank from it, Dean.” He grinned. “I should be your little brother. Sam. You can’t trust him. Not like you can trust me. In fact, I really feel like you should get him outta the way, so we can be brothers. Forever.”“Yeah.” I nodded slowly, agreeing with everything he said because I knew he was right. I knew this was something I had to do. “Yeah, you’re right.”
SPOV
I’d looked around for Dean, but it had been no use. He was nowhere to be found. Even calling him had been pointless, seeing as he didn’t answer any of my calls. Despite what he believed, I knew for a fact that I wasn’t under any spell. I would know if I was because I would have hunted him down and tried to kill him by now.I opened the door to the hotel room and stepped inside before turning to close and lock the door behind me. When I turned again and turned on the lights I was surprised to find Nick sitting on one of the beds, looking so casual.“Nick. What are you doing here?”Suddenly out of nowhere, Dean jumped up and grabbed me, holding a knife to my throat and an arm around my neck to hold me in place.“Dean?” I struggled against him. It didn’t take me long to figure out what was happening. “I gotta tell ya, you’re one butt ugly stripper,” I snarled at Nick.Nick shrugged casually as he rose from the bed and moved towards us. “Well, maybe. But I got exactly what I wanted. I got Dean.”Ignoring him, I tried to get to my brother, hoping he could fight what was happening to him. “Dean, come on man, this isn’t you. You can fight this. Let me go.”Nick stepped closer again, talking to Dean. “Why don’t you cut him? Just a little, on his neck right there.” Dean did as Nick asked, without hesitating or thinking about it. Nick shrugged, his point proven. “Dean’s all mine.”“You poisoned him.”“No. I gave him what he needed. And it wasn’t some bitch in a G-string. It was you. A little brother that looked up to him, that he could trust. And now he loves me. He’d do anything for me. And I gotta tell you, Sam, that kind of devotion? I mean, watching someone kill for you? It’s the best feeling in the world.”“Is that why you’re slutting all over town?”“I get bored like we all do. And I wanna fall in love again. And again… and again.”“I’ll tell you what. I have fought some nasty sons of bitches, but you are one needy pathetic loser.”“You won’t feel that way in a minute.”Grabbing my face, Nick forced me to open my mouth before he opened his own, revealing a line of sharp teeth and a tongue that lifted. Liquid squirted out of his mouth and into mine, and within a second or two I could feel myself change.Pulling away, he nodded to Dean, who let me go. The moment I was free, I started towards Nick, wanting to be close to him.“So, I know you two have a lot you wanna get off your chests,” Nick started, talking to both Dean and I. “So why don’t you discuss it? And whoever survives can be with me forever.”I turned to face my brother, ready to do whatever it takes to make sure I was the one to stay with Nick. I’d do anything to stay with Nick.Dean was the first to speak. “Well, I don’t know when it happened. Maybe when I was in hell. Maybe when I was staring right at you. But the Sam I knew, he’s gone.”I scoffed. “That so?”“And it’s not the demon blood or the psychic crap. It’s the little stuff. The lies. The secrets.”“Oh, yeah? What secrets?”“The phone calls to Ruby for one.”“So I need your say-so to make a phone call?”“That’s the point. You’re hiding things from me. What else aren’t you telling me?”“None of your business.”“See what I mean? We used to be in this together. We used to have each other’s backs.”“Okay, fine. You know why I didn’t tell you about Ruby, and how we’re hunting down Lilith? Because you’re too weak to go after her, Dean. You’re holding me back. I’m a better hunter than you are. Stronger, smarter. I can take out demons you’re too scared to go near.”“That’s crap.”“You’re too busy sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. Whining about all the souls you tortured in hell. Boohoo.”He lunged first, my words crossing the line. We both were pretty evenly matched, each of us throwing punches and landing blows, but I did manage to get the upper hand for a moment, shoving him against the wall.“You’re not standing in my way anymore.”Before I could do anything else, he charged at me. We crashed through the door and into the hallway. I lost my balance and ended up on the ground, the wind knocked out of me. As I tried to recover, Dean smashed the glass of the emergency axe and grabbed the weapon before he came over to look down at me.“Do it,” Nick told him, a light of excitement in his eyes. “Do it for me, Dean.”Dean looked from Nick to me, determination set on his face. “Tell me again how weak I am, Sam, huh? How I hold you back?” Lifting the axe over his head, he got ready to finish me off.I looked away and covered my face, waiting for the next blow… my heart was thumping in my chest as I realised this was it. This was how I was going to die. But the blow never came.Opening my eyes, I watched as the axe in Dean’s hand flew across the hall as a guy stepped up to my brother and stabbed him in the shoulder. Lizzie stood behind the stranger, watching as Nick began to run away. But before Nick could get far, the guy let go of the knife, letting Lizzie use her mind to throw it down the hall and straight into Nick’s back.Nick froze for a moment before he began to fall to the ground. The moment his lifeless body lay in a pile on the floor, the spell was broken, and both Dean and I realised everything that had just been said and done…
DPOV
Liz leaned against Tristan’s pick up, hands in her pockets as she looked to Sam and me leaning against Baby. The three of us were standing in the parking lot, drinking some beers. It was something we did after every case, but this time it felt tense…“You know, if you hadn’t shown up when you did…”Liz cut Sam off, shaking her head, “You would have done the same thing for me.”“How’d you know anyway?” Sam asked her.I’d been wondering the same question. It’s not like she’d been around to even know about Nick, that we were at our hotel room, or that we were infected and set on killing each other. So, how’d she know?“Well, Bobby called for starters. He told me he’d made a few calls and found out that Nick Munroe wasn’t real. That was the first sign of trouble. Second was Dean’s voicemail.” Her eyes flicked to mine then. “I went looking for Sam the moment I heard the worry in your voice.”A silence fell over us then as Sam and I struggled to come up with a response, while Liz struggled to find something else to say. It was odd. No matter how close we were, and how much we all meant to each other, it was clear that the tension between the three of us was nowhere near gone.“You boys gonna be okay?”I gave Liz a reassuring nod. “We’ll be fine.”“'Cause, you know, if you’re not, then I’ll tell Tristan to wait for me at his cabin. I can spend a couple more weeks with you guys.”But Sam just shook his head. “We’re, fine, Lizzie.”Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t want her going. I didn’t want to leave her with this guy, not when there was no way Sam and I could protect her. It scared me to think that we were going to have no way of making sure she was okay.But I knew this was something she wanted to do, and I had to trust her instincts. I had to trust her boyfriend, even though everything inside me was screaming not to. Letting her go without protest or complaint was just something I had to do.The sound of a door closing had the three of us turn to see Tristan heading in our direction with the last of his and Liz’s bags in hand. None of us said or did anything as we waited for him to come over and put the bags in his car before he moved to stand next to Liz, his arm moving around her waist instantly.“I just wanna thank you guys for taking care of Lizzie while I was away. Knowing she has friends like the two of you, people who are willing to keep an eye out for her… it helps me sleep better at night.” He offered us a smile.“She’s family. It’s what you do for the ones you care about,” I told him, a little too sharply.Liz cleared her throat, shifting on the spot slightly. “Well, I guess it’s time we head off. I’ll see you guys later.” She gave a small and slightly sad smile as she stepped away from Tristan and moved closer to give Sam and then me a hug.I held her a second or two longer, not really wanting to let her go. She didn’t fight me. In fact, I was pretty sure she wanted those few extra seconds just as badly as I did.But we had to break apart eventually, and when we did she didn’t meet my eyes as she turned to head to the pickup. It wasn’t until she had set herself in the passenger seat and Tristan had turned on the engine, that her eyes finally met mine again. Then they were gone.Once the truck was out of sight, I cleared my throat, taking a sip of my drink. “You gonna say goodbye to Cara?” I asked Sam.“Nah,” he shook his head, “not interested.”“Really? Why not?”“What’s the point?” He shrugged.I had not expected that. But I’d grown to expect the unexpected from my brother. “Well, look at you. Love 'em and leave 'em.”He sighed, turning to me. “Dean, look, you know I didn’t mean the things I said back there, right? That it was just the siren’s spell talking?”I gave a sharp nod. “Of course, me too.”“'Kay. So… so we’re good?”“Yeah, we’re good.”We were so not cool…
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

SPOV
I sat at a table in a diner, on the phone to Lizzie as she went over a possible case she'd found. It was nice to hear from her. It had been a week since she'd gone off with Tristan. A week since I'd heard from her. As much as I was relieved to know that she was happy, I still missed having her around."No, no, no, you're right, it's definitely weird." I nodded, talking to Lizzie while I looked at my screen, at the article she'd told me about. "Okay, Lizzie, thanks. Will we see you there?""Wouldn't miss it for the world."Hearing the smile in her voice, I was okay to hang up and end the conversation there. As I slipped my phone back into my pocket, Dean slid into the seat across from me."What's up?"I began to type on my laptop as I answered him. "Lizzie found something in Wyoming."He'd been about to take a bite out of his burger when he paused at my words. "Liz called you about a job?""Maybe." I shrugged, before realising what he meant. "You haven't heard from her?" When he just gave a short shake of his head before he took a bite out of his burger, I let out a sigh. "It's the first time I've heard from her since she left, Dean.""I'm not worried, Sam."I knew it was a lie. He knew, I knew it was a lie. We both cared about Lizzie, and not having her around made both of us worry. But she was a big girl and could handle herself, and Tristan was there to take care of her, so there was no point in dwelling on it any longer."Tell me about the case."Shifting in my seat and clearing my throat, I explained everything Lizzie had told me. "Small town, no one's died in the past week and a half.""That so unusual?" he asked with a mouth full of food."Well, it's how they're not dying. One guy with terminal cancer strolls right out of hospice. Another guy gets capped by a mugger and walks away without a scratch.""Capped in the ass?""Police say Mr Jenkins was shot in the heart at point-blank range by a nine-millimetre."Still eating Dean asked, "And he's not a doughnut?""Locals are saying it's a miracle.""Okay.""It's got to be something nasty, right? I mean, people making deals or something."He thought about it for a moment. "You think?""What else would it be?""I don't know." He shrugged."All right." Closing my laptop, I put it in my bag as I stood up. "Get that to go." I gestured to Dean's food as I turned to leave. "Come on." But when I realised he wasn't moving to follow, I stopped walking and turned to him again, pulling the strap of my bag over my shoulder. "What?"He looked up at me as he continued to eat, glancing away from a moment before answering, "Sure you want me going with you?""Why wouldn't I?"He shrugged once more. "I don't want to be holding you back or nothing."I let out an annoyed sigh. "Dude, I've told you a hundred times, that was the siren talking, not me. Can we get past this?"Putting down the burger, he nodded as he got to his feet. "Yeah, we're past it." Brushing off his hands, he moved to leave, his body language making it clear that we clearly weren't past it.
DPOV
After talking to Mr Jenkins and hearing that he thought him surviving a gunshot wound in the chest must be a miracle, Sam and I had come back to our hotel. Sam didn't stay for long though. While he was out interviewing more people, I was looking up reasons why people might be dying, because the two of us were pretty sure all these people cheating death had nothing to do with demon deals...The door opened as Sam walked in then. "Hey." He nodded, closing the door behind him.I looked away from the laptop, facing him. "Anything?""That cancer survivor? He was clinically dead, his wife pulled the plug, and now he's taking her out for their twentieth anniversary.""Any sign of a deal?""No." he shook his head. "What about you? Found anyone dying around here?""Not since Cole Griffith." I gestured to the article I'd found on the internet. "He dropped ten days ago. It was the last death I could find.""So, what are you thinking?""Eh, maybe it is what the people say it is." I shrugged, getting up to make myself a coffee.With a scoff, Sam moved to take my seat, looking the article over. "Miracles? Dean, our experience, when do miracles just happen?""Well, there's no deals. There's, uh, no skeevy faith healers," I noted as I poured some coffee into a mug, going on. "I mean, these souls just ain't getting dragged into the light."Sam thought about it for a moment before suggesting, "Maybe 'cause there's no one around to carry them.""What do you mean?" I asked, coming back over to where he still sat by the computer."Well, grim reapers. That's what they do, right? Schlep souls? So, if death ain't in town-""Then nobody's dying." I finished for him. "So, what? The local reaper's on strike? Playing the back nine? I don't know, Sam," I admitted, taking a drink of my coffee."Well, then, let's talk to somebody who might.""Well, last I checked, huggy bear ain't available.""No, dude, the kid.""The kid? The kid's a doornail," I noted."Exactly. Look, if he was the last person to die around here, then maybe he's seen something. We should talk to him.""I love how matter-of-fact you are about that." I shook my head. "Strange lives."
EPOV
Things were not good. Tristan had left a couple of days ago to get my pills, and he still wasn't back yet. That meant I was alone, at his cabin, in the middle of nowhere with no reception and no TV. Not that I was in the mood for much of anything. No, right now all I could manage was to curl up into a ball in bed and try to fight the pain. As I said, things weren't good.Since being alone, I hadn't been able to eat a single thing. All I'd taken was some water so I could swallow the painkillers I'd found in my bag.Sleep was a faraway dream. The last time I'd had a good night’s sleep? I couldn't even remember if I'd ever experienced such a thing. All memories of feeling anything other than this pain, discomfort and misery seemed like lies.There was a large part of me that wished I wasn't alone at that moment. I wished I had someone with me.Jo would do whatever it took to make sure I'd smile. She would have brought an endless number of DVDs which we would have attempted to watch on the couch. It wouldn't take away the pain, but it would distract me enough to try and forget about it.Ellen would have me right where I am now, in bed. Only she would have tucked me in and made sure I'd eaten a good meal beforehand. She'd mother me the way she always had, making sure I got better as quickly as possible.Bobby would just be here. He'd do what he can, but he'd know there wasn't much change he could make. He'd just hang around in the background, waiting for me to call for him. He'd just want me to know he'd be there for me whenever I might need him.Sam would be trying to find out what's wrong with me. He'd spend half his time researching while the rest of his time would be spent making sure I was taken care of. Blankets, water, pills, food. Anything I'd need and he would give it to me before getting back to research.Dean, I wasn't too sure about. Before I would have said he'd be a mixture of everyone else, trying to distract me, while taking care of me, but also trying to give me space. Now, though... now I was pretty sure he would distance himself more than anything.The thought of my family made my heart ache, adding to my already growing pain.Groaning, I rolled over so I could reach over to the bedside table where the pills and a glass of water sat. With shaking hands, I managed to lift two pills and the glass, bringing them to my lips, hoping that the small reprieve the pills would give me might be enough to help me get even the tiniest bit of sleep.
SPOV
In the cemetery at night, Dean and I stood by Cole Griffith's grave. We'd lit five candles and arranged them around a pentacle we'd drawn on a cloth spread over the grave. I was busy putting a bundle of sticks in the centre of the pentacle while Dean sat on another gravestone, flipping through dad's journal."You sure this is gonna work?"I looked up from the sticks to turn to Dean. "No," I admitted. "But if his spirit's around, this should smoke him out," I noted before pouring some liquid into a bowl. When Dean closed dad's journal a little harshly, I looked up at him again. "What?""This job is jacked, that's what.""How so?""You want me to gank a monster or torch a corpse, hey, let's light it up, right? But this? If we fix whatever this is, people are gonna start dropping dead. Good people."I stood up with a sigh. "Look, I don't want them to die, either, Dean, but there's a natural order.""You're kidding, right?""What?""You don't see the irony in that? I mean, you and me, we're like the poster boys of the unnatural order. All we do is ditch death.""Yeah, but the normal rules don't really apply to us, do they?"Dean chuckled lightly, as if he thought I was joking, only to realise I wasn't. "We're no different than anybody else.""I'm infected with demon blood. You've been to hell." He looked away as I went on. "Look, I know you want to think of yourself as Joe the Plumber, Dean, but you're not. Neither am I. The sooner you accept that the better off you're gonna be.""Ah, Joe the Plumber was a douche," he mumbled, looking to the sky."You gonna help me finish this?" I asked, gesturing to Cole's grave.As Dean stood and went to join me, a flashlight shone on us."Hey!" A man headed in our direction, carrying the flashlight. "What are you doing here?""Uh…" I glanced nervously at Dean before looking at the man again. "Just take it easy.""What the hell is this?" the man asked, looking down at Cole's grave where I'd set everything up for the summoning ritual."Okay, this," Dean started, "this- this is not what it looks like," he laughed awkwardly."Really?" the man looked to him. "'Cause, it looks like devil worship.""What?" Dean laughed again. "No! No, this is not devil worship. This- this is- this- this is, uh..." coming up with nothing, he gave up, "I don't have a good answer.""We're leaving," I assured the man, hoping that if we just left he wouldn't ask any more questions or cause any problems.Shining the light on me again, the man spoke, stopping us from going anywhere. "You're not going anywhere." I frowned, watching him take a few steps closer to us. "Ever again. Sam." Turning his head, he looked to Dean, his eyes rolling back until they were completely white.I tensed, ready for a fight.Dean glared at the demon. "Alastair." He nodded as Alastair's eyes rolled back to human. "I thought you got deep-fried, extra-crispy.""Nah. Just the paediatrician I was riding. His wife's still looking for him. It's hilarious. Anyway," Alastair looked to me again, "no time to chat. Got a hot date with death." He flicked his hand.Dean went flying through the air, crashing into a gravestone, falling unconscious."Dean!"Turning to me, Alastair lifted his hand to flick me away as well, but nothing happened. He tried one more time, but as I smirked at him he realised he could do nothing to me."You're stronger, Sam. You've been Soloflexing with your little slut?""You have no idea."Raising my own hand, I threw him across the graveyard and against a tree, holding him there so I could exorcise him. But before I had the chance, he fled from the body he was holed up in, flying away, vanishing.
DPOV
I was lying back on my bed in the hotel, icepack to my head- which hurt like a son of a bitch. The last thing I'd remembered is Sam waking me up in the graveyard, helping me to my feet so he could get us to Baby and drive us back here. On the way I'd seen the human body Alastair had been in, but it was undamaged, and definitely not possessed anymore. It wasn't until we were in the car that I asked Sam what had happened.The hotel room door opened as Sam came in, looking at me lying there. "How you doing?""I'm in pain, that's how I'm doing. I think I have a concussion.""You want some aspirin?"Groaning, I sat myself up. "No thanks, House. So, demons, huh?""Yeah," he sighed. "So much for miracles.""And what the hell happened with Alastair again?""I told you, he tried to fling me or whatever." He flicked his hand to show me what he meant, while he moved over to the coffeemaker. "And it didn't work, so he bailed.""Well, how come he couldn't fling you? He chucked you pretty good last time," I noted.He turned to face me again, pausing as if trying to come up with an answer before he actually gave me one. "Got no idea," he said before turning back to the coffeemaker."Sam, do me a favour," I started, causing him to look at me again. "If you're gonna keep your little secrets, I can't really stop you, but just don't treat me like an idiot, okay?""What? Dean, I'm not keeping secrets.""Mm-hm. Whatever." I really didn't believe him. "So, did you go back and q-and-a the dead kid?"Coming over to sit on his own bed, he shook his head. "Didn't have to. Lizzie called. She did some digging.""And?""She thinks I'm right. Local reaper's gone. Not just gone. Kidnapped.""By demons? Why?""Listen to this." He pulled a little book out of his pocket and began to read. "'And he bloodied death under the newborn sky. Sweet to taste, but bitter when once devoured'.""Swanky. What the hell's that mean?""Well, it's from a very obscure, very arcane version of Revelations.""Which means what I think it means?""Basically, you kill a reaper under the solstice moon. Tomorrow night, by the way. You got yourself a broken seal.""How do you ice a reaper? You can't kill death.""I don't know. Maybe demons can. Where the hell are the angels is what I want to know. We could use their help for once." He had a good point there, but I wasn't holding my breath for them to show up."It looks like we're gonna have to take care of this one ourselves.""What are we gonna do, just swing in and save the friendly neighbourhood reaper?""You got a better idea, I'm all ears.""Dean, reapers are invisible. The only people that can see them are the dead and the dying.""Well, if ghosts are the only ones that can see them...""Yeah?""Then we become ghosts." I grinned, pressing the icepack to my head again.He frowned at me. "You do have a concussion.""Sounds crazy, I know.""It is crazy," he noted, which just made my grin grow. "How?"
EPOV
The light brush of fingers against my cheek had me open my eyes with a flutter, looking up at Tristan as he sat on the edge of my bed, smiling down at me kindly."Hey there, sleepyhead. How you feeling?"I groaned, still feeling pain everywhere. My veins felt like sandpaper, my legs like iron rods, my head like a bomb field, my heart like an uneven rhythmed drum. The pain was heavy and throbbed through me. Every time I moved, I expected my bones to snap. I felt weak and tired. I was actually beginning to wonder if I was going to survive whatever was happening to me.Seeing me struggle, Tristan stopped me from sitting up. "Whoa there, whoa." He guided me back down to the pillows. "Here. I got you something." Turning, he reached over to the bedside table and showed me a little red pill.I moved to sit up. Everything inside me, I could feel how eager it was to get a hold of the pill. It would fix this. It would fix me. I was sure of it."Easy. Easy." He helped me lean up as he brought the pill t my lips. I opened my mouth, letting him set it on my tongue. "One for now. You can have more later," he assured me as he grabbed the glass of water from the bedside table and pressed it to my lips. As I took a drink, he watched me. "You won't feel better right away, but in a few days, you'll be as good as new. I promise."The pill moved down my throat. I closed my eyes at the feeling, knowing it was only a matter of time now..."There we go." Gently, Tristan laid me back down on the pillows, bringing the blanket up to my chest as I began to feel the pill working a little already. "Just sleep," he whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to my forehead.Before I knew it, I was out like a light.
DPOV
The hotel door opened as Sam let unamused Pamela and me inside."I can't even begin to tell you how crazy you two are." She shook her head, feeling the counter in the room as she walked towards the table."Well, Pamela, you're a sight for sore eyes," Sam told her, closing the door.With a light chuckle, she turned to face us, lowering her sunglasses far enough to reveal her white plastic eyes. "Aw, that's sweet, grumpy." She put her sunglasses back into place. "What do you say to deaf people?" I looked to the ground, amused. While Sam was instantly uncomfortable and guilty. "Which one of you brainiacs came up with astral projection?"I raised a hand. "Yo."She scoffed. "Of course. Chachi."I turned to Sam, mouthing, "Chachi?"He simply shrugged."So, let's be clear." Pamela went on, grabbing our attention again. "You want to rip your souls out of your bodies and take a little stroll through the spirit world?""Mm-hm." I nodded."Do you have any idea how heavy-duty insane that is?" She folded her arms over her chest.I shrugged. "Maybe, but that's where the reaper is, so...""So, it's nuts.""Not if you know what you're doing," I noted."You don't know what you're doing," Pamela countered."No, but you do.""Yeah, I do. And guess what? I'm sick of being hauled back into your angel-demon, Soc-Greaser crap."I shook his head at her. "Look, I'd love to be kicking back with a cold one, watching Judge Judy, too.""Nice." Pamela scoffed once more. "More blind jokes?""You know what I mean," I told her, not in the mood to drag this on any longer. "We're talking the end of the world here, okay? No more tasselled leather pants, no more Ramones CDs, no more nothing." I stepped closer to her. "We need your help."
SPOV
"Tell me something, geniuses. Even if you do break into the veil and you find the reaper, how you gonna save it?"Pamela asked from where she sat on a chair at the foot of both beds while Dean and I moved around to step up the room for her."With style and class." Dean grinned.Pamela shook her head at him. "You're gonna be two walking pieces of fog who can't touch or move anything. You'll be defenceless, hotshot.""I seem to recall a bunch of ghosts beating the crap out of us," I noted."Yeah, well, they had plenty of time to practice.""Well, then, I guess we got to start cramming." Dean shrugged as if it was going to be that easy.Even with glasses on, I could tell Pamela had rolled her eyes at Dean. "Wow, couple of heroes." She shook her head again. "Where’s Lizzie? This would be a lot more pleasant if she was here."Dean and I shared a look before I cleared my throat. "She's, uh... she went with her boyfriend.""Boyfriend?" Pamela frowned. "Why haven't I heard about him?""I don't know." I shrugged, honestly having no idea.The frown stayed on Pam's face as if she was worried about something, but she didn't waste any more time before getting back to work. "All right." She gave my bed a pat. "Lie down. Close your eyes."As soon as the words had left her mouth, Dean and I had done as Pamela said. We'd been a little unsure at first but didn't question her as we laid down on our beds. Now it was just a matter of waiting for her to do the rest. It was all up to her now."Animum vult decipi, ergo decipiatur. Vis, vis, vis," she chanted before pausing for a second. "Okay, guys," she sighed. "That's it. Showtime."Dean sat up with a sigh, turning to Pamela. "Well, nothing like shooting blanks. What's plan B?"But Pam didn't hear him. Dean turned to look at my body where it was lying on my bed, while I moved to stand next to him. We both then looked behind him, to where his body was lying unconscious..."Oh, I'm so feeling up Demi Moore."I rolled my eyes at him."All right," Pamela started, "so, I'm assuming you're somewhere over the rainbow. Remember I have to bring you back." She stood and more to lean over my body. "I'll whisper the incantation in your ear." We watched as she whispered in my ear. "You have got a great ass."I grinned and chuckled lightly, causing Dean to turn to me. "What'd she- what’d she say?"But I simply shrugged.
DPOV
Sam and I were walking around outside, looking around. Everything seemed pretty normal, but the colouring was a little off. Like it was all a little bluer than normal... The other thing different was the fact that no one could see us. A jogged had been headed right our war and went straight through Sam without even noticing.I laughed, watching her go before I turned back to Sam. "That was wild."Lifting my arm, I stuck it in his chest, wriggling my fingers around a little. Sam just looked down at my arm, and then at me, unimpressed."Am I making you uncomfortable?""Get out of me."Doing as he said, I pulled my arm out of him. "You're such a prude. Come on," I mumbled before walking off, knowing he was right behind me.
SPOV
"Oh, man, we've been spooking this town for hours." Dean groaned as we walked down a street. "No demons, no black smoke. I say we hit Victoria's Secret and get our peep on, huh?"But instead of answering, I came to a stop as I saw someone in the window of a house across the street. "Hey. Three o'clock. Kid in the window." Dean stopped to take a look. "Am I crazy or is he looking at us?""It's 'cause we've seen him before.""We have?""Newspaper. Cole Griffith, the last person to die in this town."Cole flickered before he vanished...
DPOV
As Sam and I hurried up the stairs of Cole's house, a woman ran through us- he was running away from the room she'd just left. Moving closer to the door of the room, Sam and I could hear things moving around inside...Entering the room, I saw Cole throw a ball across the room. Seeing Sam and me, he began to throw balls at us."Stop!" I yelled at him. "How are you doing that?"Instead of answering, he stood defensively as he looked at Sam and me. "Who are you?""Relax, Cole," Sam told him, hands raised in surrender. "It's okay.""How do you know my name?""Look, this isn't gonna be easy to hear, but you're... dead. You're a spirit. Us too." Sam gestured to me and himself."Yeah, thanks, Haley Joel. I know I'm dead," Cole snapped. "What do you want?"Sam lowered his hands. "We just want to talk.""About what?"
SPOV
Standing in the Griffith kitchen, Cole, Dean and I watched Cole's mum as she poured herself a glass of vodka and moved around the room, clearly struggling with the death of her child. But Cole couldn't see the pain he was inflicting, being here. He just leaned against the wall, watching her with worried eyes, while Dean and I sat at the table."I was outside all morning," Cole explained. "They tell you to be careful when it's cold.""Cold air can cause an asthma attack?" Dean asked.Cole nodded, giving a short shrug. "But then I was in my room. It happened so fast. I called out for my mom, but nothing came out. Everything started spinning, and then I was just standing there, looking down at my body." He came over to lean on the table."And that's when you saw the man?" I asked, even though I knew that's how it worked."Creepy old guy in a black suit. He wanted me to go with him, but..." Cole paused, looking to his mum again. "I didn't want to go.""Reaper," I noted, and Dean nodded in agreement. "How'd you get rid of him?"Cole shook his head. "I didn't. The black smoke did."Dean frowned. "Black smoke?""It was everywhere. I hid in the closet, and when I came out, it was gone, and so was he.""Do you know where the smoke went?" Dean asked, leaning forward."No. But I know where it is," Cole told us, right before the lights began to flicker, causing him to jump. "They're back.""Who?"But instead of answering Dean's question, Cole vanished. Moments later, a blast of wind hit us before a white figure rushed through the front door and up the stairs."Another reaper." I got to my feet- Dean right behind me- and headed for the stairs."Hey!" Dean called after it. "Hey! Wait! We need to talk to you!" he finished as we stopped at the bottom of the stairs.Looking up, we watched as a woman walked down, moving towards us, his eyes on my brother."Dean."
What the...?
"Do I know you?" Dean asked, just as confused as I was.The reaper shrugged. "We go way back," she told him as she walked past us, moving towards the kitchen before she turned to Dean again. "You don't remember me?""Honestly, if I had a nickel for every time I heard a girl say that," he started as we came to stop a few steps away from her- Dean one step ahead of me. "You're gonna have to freshen my memory."Stepping forward, the woman reached up and pulled Dean down for a kiss... before she pulled back, just like that. But the look in Dean's eyes, I could tell that hadn't just been a kiss. Something had happened..."Tessa."She nodded. "That's one of my names, yeah.""So, you do know her."Dean glanced at me for a moment. "From the hospital after the accident.""The accident with dad?" I asked, remembering that day like it was yesterday. Dean nodded. "So, this is the reaper that came after you." I glared at Tessa.Dean nodded again. "Yeah."Tessa looked at me briefly. "Well, this was fun." She turned back to Dean. "Now, if you'll excuse me." She went to walk past us, moving for the stairs. But before she could get far, Dean stopped her."Wait, wait, wait, wait, you can't- you can't take the kid.""Why?""Demons are in town, that's why. They've already snatched your reaper pal. The kid knows where.""So?""So, you should shag ass. For all we know, they could try and snatch you, too," I told her."Except that this town is off the rails. And someone has to set it straight.""Yeah, we understand that, but these are special circumstances," Dean noted.Tessa scoffed. "What? Your whole angel-demon dance-off? I could care less. I just want to do my job.""Right, yeah, and, look, we want to help you do your job. So, if you would just bail town-She cut me off. "No.""Well, then, could you hold off until we fix this?" Dean asked. "Please."She let out a sigh. "All right, but just so we're clear, when I start reaping again, I'm starting with the kid.""Understood." I gave a firm nod. "I'll find him," I told them, moving for the stairs."Wait, wait, wait, wait." Dean stopped me, causing me to turn to him. "What-" He took a breath. "What are you gonna say to him?""Whatever I have to."
EPOV
I'd been asleep for a few hours now. I was sure of it. When I'd closed my eyes, it had been light out, but through the crack of the curtain, I could see it was well and truly dark now.Pulling myself up into a sitting position, I ran a hand over my face as I managed to get to my feet. I was still a little shaky, but I felt a little better, just like Tristan said I would. Though I wasn't a hundred per cent. Probably not even fifty yet. It would take some more time before I was back to normal.As I walked over to the bedroom door, walking lightly to keep noise levels minimal- for my headache's sake- I lifted a hand to the doorknob. Turning it, I pulled the door open a crack only to come to a stop at the sight before me.Tristan stood in the kitchen of the cabin... a knife to his bleeding wrist... the blood dripping into an ancient-looking metal bowl as he chanted something in what sounded like Latin. But that's not what had me freeze and my heart raced as fear began to replace the pain coursing through my veins. No, it was his eyes. His black eyes.
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

EPOV
Acting quickly, I ducked back into the bedroom, closing the door as softly as possible so he wouldn't hear me. Pressing myself against the wall, I looked around, trying to find an exit.It occurred to me then that there was none. We were in the middle of nowhere with no phone reception, and the keys to the only available vehicle were out in the kitchen. Besides, that vehicle was parked right outside the front door. Even if I could manage to fight my shaking hands and hotwire the car, I still couldn't get to it. Unless...My eyes flicked to the bathroom door attached to the bedroom. It's not like I could use the bedroom window, it led straight into poison ivy and thorn bushes that sat right near a steep and rocky descent. So, the only way I was going to get out of here was to climb through the small window in the bathroom...
SPOV
I walked into Cole's room, looking around, trying to find him. When I saw his closest door open a crack, I moved over to take a seat right outside the closest, sliding down the wall and planting myself on the ground."This all must be pretty overwhelming, huh? Pretty scary, too.""The worst is my mum.""Must be hard seeing her like this," I noted.He peaked out of the shadows. "She's always coming in here, talking to me, telling me how sad she is. I knock some stuff over to let her know I'm here, but... she only gets sadder."I gave a little laugh. "Well, you might want to ease up on the flying soccer balls.""I'm not telling you where the smoke is."I thought about how to approach the situation, before speaking again. "Hey. What if I told you that if you helped me, you wouldn't have to leave here? Ever?""What about the one downstairs?""Tessa?" I shook my head. "Oh, she wouldn't bother you. No reaper would. You could just stay here with your family for as long as you wanted.""You can do that?""Yeah, you bet I can do that.""You swear?"I hesitated for only a moment before answering. "I swear."It was a lie. I knew I had no control over what Tessa or any reaper did. But if we wanted to find the demons in town, then I had to do whatever it took to get Cole talking. If that meant telling a little lie, then so be it.
DPOV
Cole's mum was gone, leaving Tessa and me alone in the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room. I was waiting for Sam to come back with some news, while Tessa gave a light chuckle, pacing slowly."I'll tell you," she started, "life is funny.""What do you mean?"She shrugged. "You and me, together again."I was taken aback, not entirely sure if I was understanding her properly. "Are you... are you making a move on me?"She shook her head, but I felt like it wasn't a no. It was more a shake of amusement. "You're the one that got away, Dean. You'd be surprised how little that happens to me."I looked her up and down briefly. "Can I tell you something between you and me?""Who am I gonna tell?"Nodding, I opened up to her. "After our little, uh, experience... for that whole year, I felt like I had this... hole in my gut. Like I was missing something. I didn't know what. Do you know what it was? It was you. The pain of losing my father and Sammy. I just... I wish I had gone with you for good. But I guess things are different now.""What? The angels on your shoulder?""So, you know about that, huh?" I asked, earning a shrug from her. "Well, hey, don't get me wrong. I mean, most of the ones I've met are dicks with wings. But still... you know, I've done things. Horrible things. And someone upstairs still decided to give me a second chance. It just makes me feel... I don't know.""Uh-huh."I tilted my head at her tone and body language, sure that she didn't believe me, or that she felt like it was all nonsense. But before I could ask her, before I could confirm my suspicions, someone cleared their throat behind me.I turned to see Sam returning with Cole right behind him. "Hey, guys."Tessa turned her attention to Cole, smiling kindly and gently at him. "Hey, Cole. I'm Tessa. I'm not going to hurt you."When the kid looked to Sam, my brother nodded reassuringly. "It's okay, Cole. Just tell them what you told me."Taking a breath, Cole faced Tessa and me again. "I saw the black smoke at my funeral.""At the cemetery?" I asked him."At the funeral home. It was everywhere."Before he could go on, the lights began to flicker...I looked to Tessa. "You doing that?"She shook her head. "No."Suddenly the front door burst open as black smoke poured into the house, filling every corner. We all ducked away from it as it surrounded us, blinding us. There was no getting away.When it cleared up and I found myself still standing in Cole's house, I was surprised. When I saw Sam and Cole, I was surprised again. But when I realised Tessa was missing, I realised what had just happened."Tessa!"Sam turned to Cole, to make sure he wasn't hurt or anything. "Cole, you okay?" he asked, getting a nod from the kid.I moved to stand in front of the two of them, looking to my brother. "Well, how the hell are we supposed to fight that?""I don't know. Learn some ghost moves?" Sam suggested."By tonight?" I asked as he shrugged. "Yeah, sure. I'll meet you back at Mr Miyagi's.""Who's Mr Miyagi?"We both looked to Cole...
EPOV
Taking a deep breath, I headed for the bathroom door, still trying to be as quiet as possible. I knew if Tristan found out I was awake, he'd come in to check on me. I just knew it. If I wanted to get out of here, I had to make sure he didn't find out I was up and moving about.Once in the bathroom, I carefully closed the door behind me before moving to the toilet. Putting the lid down, I climbed up to stand on it. Reaching for the window above, I slowly and gently began to unlock it, edging it open bit by bit. I could tell it was going to be a tight fit...A knock at the door had me freeze. "Lizzie? You in there?"I quickly turned to look at the door, lifting a hand to lock it. "I'll be right out," I called to him, hoping he'd leave me alone then.Of course, that was just wishful thinking...The door handle rattled as Tristan tried to get in. "Lizzie? Everything okay?""Uh... no. No, I'm not feeling too well. I feel like I'm gonna be sick. I don't want you to see me like this," I called to him as I began to climb up to the window to escape.When there was no response, no more rattling of the door handle, I honestly believed that he'd listened, that he was gone and that he'd leave me alone. Why would I think otherwise? It's not like he had any reason to think I knew he was a demon...So, I continued to escape, pulling myself up and squeezing through the small window. I almost got stuck halfway through but managed to get myself out of there. The fact there was a tree right outside the window helped. It meant I could climb onto it and then down to the ground, instead of falling right away.Still unbalanced and shaky, I got to my feet and began to creep around the building, towards the car. The moment I got to the corner of the cabin and looked around, I let out a soft sigh of relief. The coast was clear...Taking a deep breath, I built up the courage before I made a break for it, running as fast as I could.Every time my feet hit the ground my bones felt like hollow glass bottles, rattling inside me. My head pounded in time with my rapidly beating heart. My eyes watered at the pain, blurring my vision. It was all so hard, but if I wanted to get out of this alive, if I wanted to get away from Tristan, then I had to push through.Just keep going. I told myself repeatedly, hoping motivation would keep me from collapsing and giving up right then and there. You're almost at the car, just a few more steps. You can do it.As I finished my pep talk, my hand landed on the cold, metal handle of the driver's side door. All the pain in me thrummed in the background as I took a split second to internally celebrate my victory.With no more time to lose, I carefully pried the door open. Leaning in, I pulled the cover of the compartment under the wheel out from where it sat and began to work on the wires. My hands shook uncontrollably, making it hard to get a grip on the wires I needed. But as I tried and tried again, I managed to finally hotwire the vehicle. The engine roared to life."Where do you think you're going?"
DPOV
Standing out on the porch, I focussed on the miniature windmill in front of me, trying to get it to move. But it was harder than I thought it was going to be..."It's not gonna move if you don't concentrate," Cole noted."I am concentrating," I snapped, before taking a breath and focussing again. After a second or two, the windmill moved. "Ah, here we go, baby." I smiled.Then it stopped.Cole looked up at me. "You pull a muscle?""All right, Yoda, let's see what you got." I gestured to the windmill.He turned his attention to it, looking at it with complete concentration. Soon enough, it began to move. Along with the porch swing. Even the wind chimes started chiming, causing Sam to give a short chuckle.Grinning, I looked down at Cole. "Dude! You are so Amityville."He grinned back at me. "This isn't even the good stuff."
SPOV
In the living room now, Cole stood in front of me, lifting his hand. Then, with a quick jab, he punched me in the stomach, making me fold over. "See? If you want to hit something, you just got to get mad," he told me.I straightened up. "Yeah, got it."He turned to Dean. "Now you try. Hit me."Dean shook his head. "Uh, I think I'll stick to just picking on somebody my own size." He gestured to me.Nodding, Cole then lifted his hand and slapped Dean right across the face. I laughed as Dean rubbed his cheek which was even a little pink.Cole came back over to me. "Hit me as hard as you can."There was no way I was doing that. "Dude, I'm not gonna do Fight Club with a twelve-year-old."He suddenly hit me across the face. Hard.I shook it off but was still a little annoyed. "All right, cut it out.""Make me," he said before taking another swing.I blocked the hit easily and moved to get my own hit in. But before my fist could touch him, Cole vanished in thin air. Just as suddenly, he reappeared in the corner.Dean grinned. "Whoa. Whoa, you got to teach us that."
EPOV
I spun around to attack, but before I had the chance to, I was already pulled away from the car and thrown to the ground.My lungs felt like they were on fire as I coughed, trying to regain my breath. I began to crawl away as best as I could. But try as I might, I could hear Tristan right behind me, closing in despite the fact he was walking at a leisurely pace..."So? You wanna answer my question?" He sounded amused, which just made me want to punch his pretty-boy face in."I don't have to tell you, demon," I spat.He laughed. I mean, he actually laughed. Like this was the most amusing thing in the world to him."Took your time." His feet came to stop right next to my head as I still lay in the dirt- no longer trying to crawl away. "You know, when I was first put on your case, when Lilith said she wanted me to keep an eye on you, to prep you... I thought she was nuts." He shook his head. "I mean, you're Elizabeth Rose Hart. You have a name as big as the Winchesters'. So, when I was sent to watch you, I thought I would last five minutes. Ten at the most."But no." He crouched down next to me. "No, I lasted months. And I went above and beyond. I was told to befriend you. Keep you safe. Help you grow. Get you ready for what's to come. I was never told to get this close." Lifting a hand, he reached over to brush my hair out of my face as I glared up at him. "Becoming your boyfriend, slipping between those juicy thighs of yours," he let out a hum as his eyes scanned my body, "that was just the cherry on top.""You're sick," I snarled.Chuckling, he shook his head at me. "No. You are." Taking a deep breath, he reached around his back and pulled out a knife. "I mean that literally, Lizzie. You're not well. Look at you." He gestured to where I lay in the dirt. "A few weeks ago, you were pulling demons out of bodies. You were setting things on fire with your mind. Now? Now you're lying in the dirt, by the feet of a demon. You can be so much more. You can be the woman you're meant to be. All you have to do is drink." Bringing the blade of the knife to his wrist, he made a small cut.I watched as blood seeped from the wound, a few drops dripping to the ground. "If you think I'm gonna drink that, then you're insane."He chuckled again. "Sweetheart, it's already inside you."Everything in me froze at his words. "What...?""Come on." He grinned. "Don't tell me you haven't figured it out yet."It was like a slap to the face. The pills. The little red pills. He'd given them to me. There'd been no name, or instructions on how to take them. They'd just been in a little orange container. I'd trusted him enough to do as he said. I trusted him and believed that they really would help me concentrate. I never second-guessed his motives or the drug.That's what they were. Drugs.He'd poisoned me without me realising it. I'd been taking those pills for months now. I'd even started to take more than he'd told me to in the beginning. I hadn't put the pieces together and realised that the reason why my powers were growing was because of the pills. I'd just thought I was growing, just like Sam was..."Oh, my God.""God's got nothing to do with it, sweetheart." He continued to grin down at me. "Now, why don't you be a good girl, and drink." Bring his hand closer to my mouth, he practically forced it against my lips, making the crimson liquid drip into my mouth.I struggled, but there was honestly no point. I was too weak, and he was too strong, and if I'm being honest... my body craved the blood.My mind knew it was wrong. I knew it was wrong. But I'd been so dependent on it for months now, and after going without it for so long, it was like my body didn't know how to cope without the poison.I let the liquid flow down my throat. I let it warm my insides and settle my pain, even though I knew this was so very, very wrong."That's it." He stroked my hair as my own hands grabbed his arms, pulling him closer to my lips. "Good girl." I swear he was almost purring.We stayed like that for a moment longer, but to me, it felt like an eternity. I knew what I was doing was wrong and that I should stop. But it felt too good. I was already feeling better, and stronger.
DPOV
Sam and I stood outside the funeral home, looking up at the glowing walls. Well, it wasn't the walls that were glowing, it was the symbols on them. People were walking past, as if they couldn't see it. But we could. It was bright and big and like nothing I'd ever seen before."This looks like New Jack City," I noted. "Can nobody can see this?"Sam shrugged. "Maybe it's demon invisible ink. Only see it in the veil.""Any idea what it's for?""We'll find out," was the only answer Sam could offer before we moved.The door was open, surprisingly. Like an open invitation. We stepped inside, cautiously, keeping an eye out for any signs of danger. But mostly for any signs of reapers.We eventually came to a large, open room. Hidden behind the corner, we looked to the demon pacing in the room, keeping guard on the two bodies lying in a weird symbol I'd never seen before, on the floor, in the middle of the room. I may not have seen the symbol before, but I'd seen at least one of the bodies. Tessa...I gave Sam's arm a tap. "Dude, check me out."Taking a few steps towards the demon, I then did what Cole showed us and made myself disappear, before reappearing behind the demon. I gave his shoulder a tap, causing him to turn. As he did, I punched him right in the face.But before he could recover and take a shot, I disappeared again.Sam appeared behind him then, giving his other shoulder a tap. As the demon turned, Sam punched and then kneed the demon in the chest. The demon scurried away, but I still managed to kick him one last time before he hurried behind a coffin that was on display.Sam and I just followed him, causally walking around."You know, this ghost thing, it's, it's kind of rad." I grinned at my brother.Suddenly another guy came from behind the curtain, carrying a chain. He groaned and grunted, clearly in pain, but continued to stretch the chain as the first demon quickly scrambled out of the way, right as the second demon blocked Sam's and my path."It's iron," Sam noted as the two of us looked around in the nook where we stood.The chain ran around the whole area. We were stuck."Boys. Find the place okay?" Another demon asked as he came from the way we'd entered the room. As he stopped just inside the open space, his eyes rolled back to whites.
Alastair.

EPOV
"There we go." Tristian gently pried his arm away from me.Shifting on the spot, he slipped both of his arms around me both he stood, carrying me in his arms as he started for the house. Once we were inside, he set me on the couch, laying me down."That's a good girl," he smiled down at me as he began to stroke my hair once more.My eye began to close as I felt his blood tingle inside me, warming everything, soothing everything. His gentle touch and soft voice were almost as good as the blood. I knew it was only a matter of moments before I would fall asleep.A sharp and sudden pain tore a scream from my lips.Eyes wide, I looked down at the knife now sticking in my stomach. The look on Tristan's face was unreadable. He was a completely different person. Hell, he wasn't a person at all."I really don't want to have to do this, but you'll be better soon and now that you know what I am you'll probably kill me." He began to slowly slide the knife out of me. "Don't worry. You'll come back, you always do. I just need enough time to get a head start," he explained.I was unable to speak, unable to move as I lay there watching the blood pour from my stomach. I knew it was only a matter of time now... before long, I'd be dead.The pain felt both foreign and familiar. As if I'd felt it before but blocked the memory.
This must be what it felt like, all those times I'd died before... I wonder how many times it's been now. How many times had I died?
There was obviously no way for me to answer the question. Even if I could have figured it out, there wasn't much time now. I could feel everything getting lighter like I was floating. I was a little dizzy, lightheaded. Everything was going blurry, getting darker. The last thing I remember was feeling a pair of lips pressing a kiss to my forehead before everything I was faded.
DPOV
Alastair's eyes turned back to human as he moved toward the chain. One of the other demons handed him a shotgun before he hurried of, followed by the other demon, leaving Sam and me alone with Alastair. Alastair checked the shotgun, aimed at me and then fired.It hurt like a bitch. Hell, it hurt worse.I reappeared, still stuck in the circle, still facing Alastair."Alastair." I glared. "You bastard."Ignoring me, Alastair looked at Sam. "Well, go on. Why don't you try some of your mojo on me now, hotshot?" I glanced at a fuming Sam as Alastair went on. "It's hard to get it up when you're not wearing your meat, huh?""Go to hell," Sam sneered."Ah, if only I could." Alastair turned to cross the room. "But they just keep sending me back up to this arctic craphole.""To kill death?" I asked."No, to kill death twice. It takes two to break a seal," Alastair explained. "I figured another one would show up, though. They're like lemmings." He pumped the shotgun and fired, hitting Sam, who disintegrated. Alastair just kept on walking, moving to the chain again. "By the way," he looked to me, "it's, uh, good to see you again, Dean.""You can shoot us all you want, but you can't kill us," I snarled as Sam reappeared.Alastair nodded. "Ah, that so?" Putting the gun down, he reached into the back of his pants, pulling out a scythe. "Anywho..." He started to turn the blade over in his hands as Sam and I watched him. "Moon's in the right spot. The board is set. Let's get started, shall we?""You're gonna kill a reaper with that?" I gestured to the scythe. "It's little on the nose, don't you think?""Is it? An old friend lent it to me. You know, he doesn't really ride a pale horse? But he does have three amigos." He grinned as he moved over to the reapers. "And they're just jonesing for the apocalypse." Kneeling next to the old, male reaper, Alastair pulled him up. "It pays to have friends in low places. Don't you think?" Putting the scythe behind the reaper's neck, he then began to chant. "Hic cruor messorius, illud sigillum, quod luciferem reverendum obstringit, aperiat ut resurgat!"With a quick slash, he cut the reaper's throat, killing him.As the reaper died, a bright, white-blue light shone from his body before he went limp...Alastair dropped the body before straightening up and moving to Tessa. He grabbed her by the shoulder, pressing the scythe to her neck. The touch woke her up, though all she did was let out the lightest gasp as her eyes darted to Sam and I."Stop!" She struggled against him.I glanced over at Sam, seeing him looking to me before his eyes flickered to a chandelier above Alastair... understanding his silent message, I turned my focus to the chandelier."Hic cruor messorius," Alastair started the chant, "illud sigillum, quod luciferem reverendum obstringit," the chandelier began to shake as Sam and I continued to focus on it, while Alastair kept chanting, "aperiat ut-"Before he could finish, the chandelier fell, landing and breaking the symbol on the ground, setting Tessa free.The moment she was free, she vanished before reappearing by the chain, which she unhooked for Sam and me.I grinned at Alastair. "Bye-bye."With that, Sam, Tessa and I got the hell out of there....When Tessa and I appeared in the ally, Sam wasn't with us..."Where's your brother?""I'll go find him," I told her. "You get out of here."
SPOV
I sat up suddenly, now back in my body and in the hotel room. But I was too late. Right as I came to, I watched as a demon pulled his knife out of Pamela's gut."Pamela!"Seeing her fall to the ground, I lifted my hand and flung the demon across the room, holding him against the wall. Getting off the bed, I moved closer to the demon as I began to exorcise him with my mind. The moment the demon was out, the body it had been in slumped to the floor.Turning to Pamela, I hurried over to crouch down to her level as she began to laugh. "What's so funny?" I asked, unable to hide the worry in my voice."I can't die. Not in this town," she noted, removing her hand from her injury. She wasn't even bleeding..."Pamela-""Quit your worrying, grumpy. How about you make me a drink, huh?""You need a doctor."But she wasn't having any of it. "Make me a drink, Sam."
DPOV
Looking for Sam, I stepped off the path and into the ally way, only to come to a stop at the sound of a particular voice."You can't run, Dean." Alastair stood in the ally, watching as I froze at the sight of him there. He began to step toward me slowly. "Not from me. I'm inside that angsty little noggin of yours."Suddenly, out of nowhere, white lightning struck right where Alastair stood. I looked away quickly, because of its brightness, but when I straightened once more and turned to where the light had just been, both it and Alastair were gone..."What the hell?""Guess again." I spun around to see Castiel standing behind me, a slight smug smirk on his face as he stood in a way so he wasn't facing me completely. "What just happened?" He went on, "You and Sam just saved a seal. We captured Alastair. Dean, this was a victory."Recovering from his sudden appearance, I looked him up and down, unimpressed and displeased. "Well, no thanks to you.""What makes you say that?" He gave me a pointed look.It took me only a few seconds to understand what he was suggesting. "You were here the whole time?""Enough of it." he looked away again.Now I was pissed. "Well, thanks for your help with the rock salt.""That script on the funeral home, we couldn't penetrate it."Oh... "That was angel-proofing.""Why do you think I recruited you and Sam in the first place?" He looked at me once more.Wait... What? "You recruited us?""Elizabeth didn't call Sam, Dean. She didn't tell him about the seal either.""That was you?" When he turned away, again, I found my agitation growing. "If you want our help, why the hell didn't you just ask?""Because whatever I ask, you seem to do the exact opposite.""So, what now, huh? The people in this town, they just gonna start dying again?""Yes," he answered. So simply and carelessly as if that didn't matter to him, and I guess it didn't. He is an angel after all."These are good people. What, you think you can make a few exceptions?""To everything, there is a season.""You made an exception for me."He paused for a moment, thinking it over before he looked to me as he responded. "You're different."A pause stretched out between us, heavy and tense. I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell him that he was wrong. I wanted to tell him that he had the wrong guy. But there was no point. He wouldn't listen. He wouldn't care. I was just a pawn to him. Wanted as long as I am needed.Without saying anything else, he left."Dean?" I looked to my left, seeing Tessa step up to me. "I could use your help."...We were in the Griffith dining room. Cole stood off to the side, watching his mother as she flicked through a memory book of her son. She was gentle sobbing, clearly struggling with the pain of losing her son and feeling him near, while not actually being able to hold him."Hey, Cole."Cole jumped at the sound of Tessa's voice, turning around to look at her. She now wore a white dress instead of the jeans and black jacket from before. She looked nicer, gentler, less intimidating and scary. Seeing her, Cole knew what was happening in a heartbeat.He looked to me as I stood behind her. "Tell your brother thanks for nothing."All I could do is look away with guilt.Tessa sighed. "Look at her, Cole." She gestured to his mother. "Do you see how unhappy she is?""That's why I want to stay with her.""As long as she can feel you, she'll be in pain, because she can't let go," Tessa noted as Cole looked over to his mum. "Because you won't let go of her."Turning back to Tessa, I could see the fear in his eyes. "Why won't anybody tell me what's on the other side?"Tessa gave a small, gentle shrug. "Maybe nobody wants to ruin the surprise," was all she was willing to say."That's not an answer," Cole countered."She won't answer you, Cole," I told him, knowing he wasn't going to let the question go, but that he also wasn't going to get an answer. "Reapers never do. But trust me. Staying here is a whole lot worse than anything over there.""Why?""Because one day, your family will be gone, and there'll be nothing left here for you," I answered. Still seeing the fear in his eyes, I tried reassuring him, "It's okay to be scared.""I'm not scared," he insisted."We're all scared," I admitted. "That's the big secret. We're all scared."He paused a moment, watching me before speaking, "Are you coming?"I gave a short shake of my head. "Oh, I'm sure I'll be there sooner than you think."He looked to his mother again, seeing her crying, before he unfolded his arms and nodded to Tessa as he began to step toward her. Tessa opened her arms and welcomed him into a hug, closing her eyes as she did. He melted into her, vanishing in a bright, white light. Then he was gone.It was at that moment that Mrs Griffith looked up, and I could already see some of the pain lift from her face.Tessa turned to me without a word."Look out for that boy," I told her."Look out for yourself, Dean."I frowned, confused. "What do you mean?""I've been around death from the get-go. You know what I see most? Lies. 'He's in a better place'. 'At least they're together now'. You all lie to yourselves, Dean, 'cause like you said, deep down, you're all scared." She shook her head lightly. "Stop lying to yourself, Dean.""What?""The angels have something good in store for you. A second chance. Really? 'Cause I'm pretty sure, deep down, you know something nasty's coming down the road. Trust your instincts, Dean. There's no such thing as miracles.""What are you saying?"Instead of answering, she turned to leave, before pausing."Tessa?"Slowly, she turned to me again a sad and sympathetic look in her eyes. "The angel didn't tell you, did he?"My frown grew. "Tell me what?""Elizabeth... Dean, she's-"
SPOV
Pamela sat on the edge of Dean's bed, one hand pressed to where she was stabbed as she leaned on the other, saying the incantation to him. "Imum vult decipi, ergo decipiatur. Vis, vis, vis." She stood to move to the other bed.I hurried over to help her. "Hey, we just got to talk to Tessa, that's all. Get her to hold off reaping till we get you better.""I'm pretty sure she's started up again," she told me, her breathing uneven and heavy. I looked down to see her wound bleeding... badly.Dean suddenly sat up as Pamela reached over to take a drink from her flask. He took one look at her and noticed the blood.Worry and concern flooded his face as he moved to the edge of his bed to get closer to her. "What happened?"Instead of answering, I looked to him, needing to find a way to help Pamela before it was too late. "Dean, where's Tessa?""She's..." He couldn't finish as he began to understand what was happening.Pamela took her sunglasses off with a pained sigh.I looked at her with guilt in my eyes. "Pamela, I'm so sorry.""Stop," she warned."You don't deserve this."She gave a harsh laugh. "Yeah, I don't. I told you I didn't want anything to do with this. Do me a favour? Tell that bastard Bobby Singer, to go to hell forever introducing me to you two in the first place." She went to laugh again before she started to cough.Dean reached for her. "Take it easy, Pamela. If it's any consolation, you're going to a better place."She turned to him as she stopped coughing. "You're lying. But what the hell, right? Everybody's got to go some time." Looking to me, she beckoned me closer. "Come here." I did as she said so she could whisper in my ear. "I know what you did to that demon, Sam. I can feel what's inside of you. If you think you have good intentions, think again." As she finished, she began to cough again. Leaning back, she rested against the headboard as a trickle of blood rolled out of her mouthThen, she was still."Pamela?" Dean spoke out to her, but the only response he got back was her head silently sliding down. "Pamela!" After a second of silence, he looked at me. "What did she say to you?"All I could do was look away as her words sunk in...
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

DPOV
I sat in the passenger seat as Sam drove down the road. It was dark now. We’d been driving for a little while, having just come back from the funeral… Pamela’s funeral.“Ruby will meet us outside Cheyenne,” Sam stated. “She’s been tracking some leads.” When I let out a grunt-like sigh, he looked over at me for a moment. “I know she’s not exactly on your Christmas list, but if she can help us get to Lilith-”I cut him off, “Hey, man, work with Ruby, don’t. I don’t really give a rat’s ass.”He frowned, glancing at me again. “What’s your problem?”“Pamela didn’t want anything to do with this and we dragged her back into it, Sam.”“She knew what was at stake.”“Oh, yeah.” I nodded, though my agitation was only growing. “Saving the world. And we’re doing such a damn good job of it.”“Dean-”Cutting him off again, I snapped a little, “I’m tired of burying friends, Sam.”“Look, we catch a fresh trail…”“And we follow it, I know,” I finished for him. “Like I said, I’m just… I’m just getting tired.”“Well, get angry.”
SPOV
“Ah, home crappy home,” Dean sighed.I unlocked the hotel room door, stepping in before Dean followed me. He let out a sigh as he placed his bag on one of the seats at the table while I pulled the key out of the door and turned the light on.As the lights turned on, we found ourselves looking at both Uriel and Castiel as they stood further in the room. It was obvious that they’d been waiting for us.“Winchester and Winchester.” Uriel looked to both Dean and I.Dean let out an annoyed groan. “Oh, come on.”Uriel turned his attention to my brother. “You are needed.”“Needed? We just got back from needed.” Dean snapped, pushing a button he probably shouldn’t be pushing.
I did say to get angry…
“Now, you mind your tone with me,” Uriel warned.Shaking his head, Dean took a few steps closer to the angel, letting his anger and annoyance grow. “No, you mind your damn tone with us.”“We just got back from Pamela’s funeral,” I explained.“Pamela. You know, psychic Pamela?” Dean elaborated. “You remember her. Cas, you remember her. You burned her eyes out. Remember that? Good times. Yeah, then she died saving one of your precious seals. So maybe you can stop pushing us around like chess pieces for five freaking minutes!“"We raised you out of hell for our purposes,” was Uriel’s only response.“Yeah, what were those again? What exactly did you want from me?”“Start with gratitude.”“Oh,” Dean scoffed.Seeing that things weren’t going to get better between Uriel and Dean, Castiel finally step forward and spoke up. “Dean, we know this is difficult to understand.”“And we…” Uriel turned to give the other angel a look, a look neither Dean or I missed, “don’t care.” He looked to Dean again. “Now, seven angels have been murdered, all of them from our garrison. The last one was killed tonight.”This calmed Dean a little. “Demons?” he asked, earning a short shrug from Uriel. “How they doing it?”“We don’t know,” Uriel admitted.I frowned, not understanding where Dean and I came into the scenario. “I’m sorry, but what do you want us to do about it? I mean, a demon with the juice to ice angels has to be out of our league, right?”“We can handle the demons, thank you very much,” Uriel assured us.“Once we find whoever it is,” Castiel added.Dean suddenly seemed to understand where they were coming from. “So, you need our help hunting a demon?”“Not quite.” Castiel stepped forward so he was next to Uriel. “We have Alastair.”“Great. He should be able to name your trigger man,” Dean noted simply.“But he won’t talk,” Castiel explained. “Alastair’s will is very strong. We’ve arrived at an impasse.”Dean nodded. “Yeah, well, he’s like a black belt in torture. I mean, you guys are out of your league.”“That’s why we’ve come to his student.” Uriel spoke up again, looking directly and only at Dean. “You happen to be the most qualified interrogator we’ve got.”“Dean, you are our best hope.” That was the closest Castiel would ever get to begging.“No.” Dean shook his head. “No way. You can’t ask me to do this, Cas. Not this.”Patience gone, Uriel stepped up to Dean. “Who said anything about asking?” He pressed two fingers to my brother’s head, and suddenly they were all gone.“Damn it!”
DPOV
Uriel and Castiel had brought me to an abandoned building, where I now stood in front of a door with a small and murky window on it. Looking through, I could see Alastair chained to a hexacle, in a devil’s trap I’d never seen before…“This devil’s trap is old Enochian,” Castiel explained. “He’s bound completely.”I took a moment longer to look at Alastair, thinking things over as I realised they were being one hundred percent honest. They wanted me to go in there and torture the truth out of him… But did they not know what that would do to me? Did they not see how much I was already struggling? Going in there now, it would irreversibly change me.“Fascinating.” Turning sharping, I walked away. “Where’s the door?”“Where are you going?” Castiel asked without watching me go.“Hitch back to Cheyenne, thank you very much,” I called over my shoulder as I walked past Uriel, only to come to a stop as he then appeared in front of me, blocking my path.“Angels are dying, boy,” Uriel noted from where he stood mere steps away from me, his hands tucked into the pockets of the suit he always wore.“Everybody’s dying these days,” I sneered. “And hey, I get it. You’re all-powerful. You can make me do whatever you want.” I gave a little grin for a moment before letting it drop as I looked over to Castiel. “But you can’t make me do this.”Turning to finally look at me, Castiel spoke as he moved to stand with Uriel and I. “This is too much to ask, I know. But we have to ask it.”I watched him for a moment longer, seeing the desperation in his eyes, despite the regular emotionless mask sitting on his face. It was then that I realised how much they needed this. How badly things must be if they were willing to make me do whatever it takes to break Alastair…Taking a deep breath, I turned to Uriel again. “I want to talk to Cas alone.”He looked from me, to Castiel and then back to me. “I think I’ll go seek revelation. We might have some further orders.”I gave a short nod. “Well, get some donuts while you’re out.”Uriel laughed, actually amused. “Ah, this one just won’t quit, will he? I think I’m starting to like you, boy,” with that, he was then gone.The moment we were alone, I stepped up to Castiel. “You guys don’t walk enough. You’re gonna get flabby,” I joked, getting no reaction from him. “You know, I’m starting to think junk-less has a better sense of humour than you do.”“Uriel’s the funniest angel in the garrison. Ask anyone.”Shaking my head, I got to the point. “What’s going on, Cas? Since when does Uriel put a leash on you?”“My superiors have begun to question my sympathies.”“Your sympathies?”“I was getting too close to the humans in my charge. You. They feel I’ve begun to express emotions. The doorways to doubt. This can impair my judgment,” he explained.Walking around him so I was closer and facing the door to where Alastair was held, I went on. “Well, tell Uriel, or whoever… you do not want me doing this, trust me.”“Want it? No. But I have been told we need it.”“You ask me to open that door and walk through it… you will not like what walks back out.”“For what it’s worth, I would give anything not to have you do this.”I closed my eyes, thinking about the options I had, but really there were none. I either go in there willingly, or they drag me in. I wasn’t leaving this place until the job was done. Until I’d dug the information out of Alastair, and then dug a little more. They would milk this opportunity until there was nothing left, and I had no say in the matter… but that doesn’t mean I’d can’t get something out of it.Opening my eyes, I turned to him again. “Fine. But you have to do something for me.”“Dean-”Before he could argue, I cut him off, giving my demands, “You let Sam know I’m fine. We left him there, and I know he’ll be worried about me.” I could practically feel the concern from here. “And I want you to tell me where Liz is. Tessa said you were keeping something from me.”He frowned. “Elizabeth?”“Yeah, you know. Blonde hair, blue eyes. About this tall.” I levelled my hand to my chest. “Small body, big attitude. Moves things with her mind.”His frown simply grew as he watched me for a moment longer before something seemed to click. But even then, he didn’t tell me what I wanted to know. “It’s not my place to-”Before he could finish his sentence, I stepped forward, getting in his personal space. I didn’t care that he was a powerful angel, or that could wipe my off the face of the Earth in the blink of an eye. All that mattered to me at that moment, was finding out where Liz was, and making sure she was okay.“I don’t care what your douche bag bosses say. Tell me what you’re hiding,” I demanded.He looked into my eyes, a stern look on his face as he contemplated his options before he finally spoke, giving me what I wanted. “Elizabeth… Tristan, her boyfriend… he isn’t who he says he is.”I froze. “What’s that supposed to mean?” When he stayed silent, I took yet another step towards him, with tense shoulders and clenched fists. “What are you talking about, Castiel?”“He isn’t a hunter… we don’t know what he is.”
EPOV
I woke up in pain, but strangle enough I was in less pain now than I’d been in for days. Looking down at my blood-soaked shirt, I lifted it enough to see the fresh scar on my stomach. After the last time I’d died, when Tristan had saved me, I figured out that even though I come back and the wound heals, a scar always remains…Great. Just another to add to the ever-growing list. I groaned as I sat up a little more, looking around.I was still in Tristan’s cabin, still lying on the couch in the living room. It was dark out. I had no idea how long I’d been unconscious… or well, dead. I had no idea where Tristan was, or where anyone was really, and I had no way of getting out of here.
Actually…
An idea formed in my head, but I instantly regretted it. Asking them for help was the last thing I wanted to do. Besides, I was pretty sure none of the would come to help me anyway. I mean, I’m not Dean, I’m not important. I’m just the Winchester’s tag-along…But there was nothing else I could do. I had no reception, no car. I was in too much pain to walk to the main road and even if I did there was still little chance that someone might actually pick me up. It looked like, if I wanted to get out of here, I was going to have to speak up and ask.“Here goes nothing.” I took a deep breath as I brought my hands together, closed my eyes, and began to pray. “Look, I know I’m not your favourite person right now… or ever… but I need help. I know I’ve done wrong. I know there are things that you wish I wouldn’t have done, and I’m sorry for it all. I didn’t know what was happening to me. I didn’t realise. I had no control. So, please. Please, help me.”Opening one eye, I looked around and waited for a moment, but nothing happened. Not even the wind stirred.
DPOV
I was raging, which I guess is a good thing seeing as I was about to torture Alastair himself. But I wasn’t really thinking about that as I wheeled a cart into the room where the demon was held. No, instead I couldn’t stop wondering.Wondering why Castiel hadn’t said something sooner. Wondering if Liz knew Tristan was lying. Wondering how I hadn’t seen it earlier. Wondering what he might be. Wondering if he’d hurt her. Wonder where she might be. Wondering if she was even alive. Wondering if I would ever see her again. I just couldn’t stop wonder…“Heaven, I’m in heaven, and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak,” Alastair began to sing and attempt to dance where he was chained as he watched me enter, a grin on his face. “I seem to find the happiness I seek, when we’re out together dancing cheek to cheek…”Stopping the cart just outside the devil’s trap, I then pulled the cloth off it, revealing an assortment of torture implements. Alastair began to laugh lightly as I continued to ignore him, still raging.“I’m sorry.” He tried to settle himself. “This is a very serious, very emotional situation for you. I shouldn’t laugh, it’s just that… I mean, are they serious? They sent you to torture me?”Turning away from the cart, I moved to stand in front of him, just a step or two away. “You got one chance. One. Tell me who’s killing the angels. I want a name.”“You think I’ll see all your scary toys and spill my guts?”“Oh, you’ll spill your guts, one way or another. I just didn’t wanna ruin my shoes.”He looked down at my shoes. “Oh, yeah.”“Now answer the question.”“Or what? You’ll work me over? But then, maybe you don’t want to. Maybe you’re, uh, scared to.”“I’m here, aren’t I?”“Not entirely. You left part of yourself back in the Pit. Let’s see if we can get the two of you back together again, shall we?”“You’re gonna be disappointed,” I told him, turning away and moving back to the cart, before I began to get everything ready.“You have not disappointed me so far. Come on. You gotta want a little payback for everything I did to you. For all the pokes and prods. Hm?” he asked, getting nothing from me. “No? Um… how about for all the things I did to your daddy?”
SPOV
As soon as I opened the hotel room door, Ruby walked in. “I can still smell them.” She turned her face up as she walked to the middle of the room before looking back at me. “Seriously, Sam, I’m not exactly dying to tangle with angels again.”“I need you to find out where they took Dean,” I explained as I closed the door.“Not sure I see the problem. You know they have Alastair strung up six ways from Sunday,” she noted, putting her bag down on the table. “Dean cuts himself a slice, Al’s reduced to a quivering heap, and the good guys get the goods. What’s wrong with that?”“He can’t do it.”She rolled her eyes. “Look, I get it. You don’t want him going all torture master again.”“No. I mean, he can’t do it. He can’t get the job done,” I told her. “Something happened to him downstairs, Ruby. He’s not what he used to be. He’s not strong enough.”“And you are?”“I will be.”
DPOV
“I had your pop on my rack for close to a century,” Alastair explained, trying to push my buttons. But I wasn’t going to let it work. I had a job to do.“You can’t stall forever.”“John Winchester.” He just kept on going. “Made a good name for himself. A hundred years. After each session, I’d make him the same offer I made you. I’d put down my blade if he picked one up.”“Just give me the demon’s name, Alastair.”Ignoring me, he went on. “But he said nein each and every time. Oh, damned if I couldn’t break him.” As I tugged my leather jacket off, he sighed. “Pulled out all the stops, but John, he was, well, made of something unique. The stuff of heroes. And then came Dean. Dean Winchester. I thought I was up against it again.”Grabbing one of the bottles from the table, I took a drink, needing the burn of the strong alcohol to keep me going, to get me going.“But daddy’s little girl, he broke. He broke in thirty. Oh, just not the man your daddy wanted you to be, huh, Dean?” he chuckled lightly. “Now… Now we’re getting somewhere.” I grabbed a metal bowl and poured some water from a large bottle that had a rosary in it, into the bowl. “Holy water?” he groaned. “Come on. Grasshopper, you’re gonna have to get creative to impress me.”I looked up then, turning to him. “You know something, Alastair? I could still dream. Even in hell. And over and over and over, you know what I dreamt? I dreamt of this moment.” he began to look nervous as I picked the needle up. “And believe me, I got a few ideas.” I filled the needle with some of the holy water, before lifting the needle and spraying some out. Walking over to Alastair, I stopped a step away, lifting the needle so he could see it. “Let’s get started.”
SPOV
I stood by Ruby by the hotel room table as she held a candle to a corner of the map on the table, chanting something I’d never heard before. I watched as the flame spread across the maps edges and grow… I suddenly wasn’t feeling too good about this plan.“Relax. The fire is our friend,” Ruby assured me. “Besides, the only part of the map we need is the ‘where’s Dean?’ part,” she explained, looked up at me with her black eyes before she turned to the map. “Out,” she ordered.Just like that, the flames vanished, leaving the map charred to the point where everything was unreadable, except for a small circle in the middle. That part appeared to be completely untouched by the fire.“There.” Ruby gestured to the only part of the map remain, her eyes now back to normal. “Your brother’s there.” Walking around the table, she moved to lean against the bench. “It’s a good thing angels aren’t concerned with hiding their dirty business. Not used to being spied on.” Shrugging she turned to give me a small smirk. “I mean, who’d be stupid enough to try?”Her words made me think about what I was actually doing, and if I could. I knew I was getting stronger lately, but was I strong enough now? Could I really go in there, and get what we needed from Alastair? Was I ready for that?No. But I would be. As soon as I had what I needed.“Ruby, it’s been weeks.” I turned to her. “I need it.”“You don’t seem too happy about it,” she noted.“You think I wanna do this?” I asked, moving to sit on my bed. “This is the last thing I-” I took a deep breath. “But I need to be strong enough.”Walking over, she moved to straddle me, sitting on my lap as she looked down at me. “It’s okay. It’s okay, Sammy. You can have it.” She pressed a kiss to my lips.When she pulled away, I was surprised to see the knife already in her hand. Bring the blade to her arm, she cut herself, letting the wound bleed as I watched. Once the knife moved away from her, I leaned in, pressing my lips to the cut, drinking her blood.It felt different every time. It felt better. I felt stronger. This is exactly what I needed. Now, there was no stopping me.“It’s okay, Sam,” Ruby assured me as she stroked my hair.
Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

DPOV

Standing at the cart again, I lifted Ruby's knife from the assortment of tools and weapons.
Alastair's eyes were on it in an instant. He let out a light chuckle. "There's that little pig-poker. I wondered where it went." I dipped a ladle into the bowl of holy water, which I then poured over the blade as Alastair watched. "Do you really think this is gonna fix you? Give you closure? That is sad. That's really sad. Sad, sad."
Not responding, I turned without looking him in the eye, focusing on the job at hand, blocking out all emotions as I turned to autopilot, re-enacting everything I'd done in Hell for years. Using everything he'd taught me, on him.
Stopping in front of him, I waited a moment before driving the knife into his gut, agonizingly slow. I listened as his flesh sizzled and he grunted out noises of pain.
"I carved you into a new animal, Dean." He struggled. "There is no going back."
Leaning in closer, I grinned. "Maybe you're right. But now it's my turn to carve," with that, I drew the knife in deeper.
"No!"
Leaving the blade in there a moment longer, I then slid it out of him just as slowly as I'd pushed it in. His head fell forward. Grabbing his face, I forced his head back up, which had him laughing once more.
"Now it's your professionalism that I respect."
Disgusted, I turned away, moving to the cart to grab the bowl of holy water. Walking back to Alastair, I threw the water in his face. On contact, his skin began to sizzle as the water screamed, Alastair gargling in pain.
"Who's murdering the angels?" I asked, ignoring his chokes.
When he didn't respond, I moved back to the cart, filled the bowl up again, walked over to Alastair once more, and threw the water on his face. He screamed as his skin sizzled and I watched, face void of any emotion.
Leaning over as much as he could while chained, Alastair spat out a mixture of blood and holy water. "You're just not getting deep enough. Well, you lack the resources. Reality is just, I don't know, too concrete up here." He shook his head as I moved to the cart again. "Honestly, Dean… you have no idea how bad it really was, and what you really did for us."
I glanced at him for a moment as I poured some salt into an old piping bag. "Shut up."
Ignoring me, he went on. "The whole bloody thing, Dean. The reason Lilith wanted you there in the first place."
"Well, then I'll just make you shut up." Walking over to him, I grabbed his chin once more.
"Lilith really-"
Before he could go on, I forced his mouth open, lifted the bag to his lips, and let the salt fill his mouth and pour down his throat as he tried to scream.

EPOV

“Don't really blame you guys. Not like I'm good for anything… maybe leaving me here is for the best. Maybe if I die of starvation, I won't come back,” I wondered. To make things worse, I actually sounded hopeful…
"Hello Elizabeth."
I gasped, looking over to my right, seeing Anna stand in the middle of the living room, a gentle and kind smile on her face.
Anna's eyes scanned me, her smile falling as she really took in the sight before her. "Why are you covered in blood?"
"My now very ex-boyfriend thought it would be fun to stab me so he could get away after I found out he's a demon… which is before he forced me to drink his blood. But that was after he'd already been drugging me with pills made from his blood."
She looked down at the ground, guilt in her eyes. "I didn't know…"
"But you do now?" I groaned, moving to sit up.
"I heard-"
"Let me guess. Through angel radio?" I laughed harshly. “When? How many of you guys know?”
“Not everyone has heard the news yet. I only heard it moments before I arrived here.”
“Great,” I sighed, hating this situation more and more with each passing second.
Moving around the coffee table, Anna scanned my body as if trying to see where she could help me. But it was obvious what the problem was. She couldn't heal the withdrawal symptoms of the demon blood, and there was nothing left to heal when it came to my stab wound. I was just going to have to ride the rest of it out.
"So, that means all you guys know." I sighed. "Please tell me you're not here to just say good bye and leave me to die."
"You prayed. I answered."
I looked to her with hope in my eyes. "So, you're going to help me?"
"Yes." Once again, she answered as if it were that simple.
But it wasn't. At least to me it wasn't. "Why?"
Frowning, clearly not understanding my question, she asked, "What do you mean?"
"Why do you want to help me? I'm not Dean. I'm not a Winchester. I'm just background noise. What do you get out of helping me?"
"Maybe I just want to pay you back after you were there for me," she responded, the kind smile back on her face. "Now, are you going to let me help you, or not?" she asked, reaching out to offer me her hand.
I didn't have to think about what I was going to do next. The moment she offered to help, I knew there was no way I was turning her down. Without further hesitation, I lifted my hand and placed it in hers, already thanking her in my mind.

DPOV

Trying to breath, scream, and struggle, Alastair leaned forward as he spat out a mixture of salt and blood… though mainly blood. "Something caught in my throat," he croaked, looking down at what he'd spat out. "I think it's my throat."
"Well, strap in, 'cause I'm just starting to have fun," I assured him, turning for the cart again.
"You know, it was supposed to be your father," he started as I poured some more holy water. "He was supposed to bring it on. But, in the end, it was you."
"Bring what on?" I asked, not missing a word he'd said.
But he didn't answer of course. "Oh, every night, the same offer, remember? Same as your father," he explained while I shook some salt onto the blade of Ruby's knife. "And finally, you said, 'Sign me up'. Oh, the first time you picked up my razor, the first time you sliced into that weeping bitch…" I turned to him, seeing him smirk. "That was the first seal."
Walking closer, I refused to let him see how his words had affected me, because it I'm being honest, he'd struck a nerve.
"You're lying."
"And it is written that the first seal shall be broken when a righteous man sheds blood in hell. As he breaks, so shall it break," he recited. "We had to break the first seal before any others. Only way to get the dominoes to fall, right? Topple the one at the front of the line."
I had to turn away before he could see me react. Before he could see the broken look on my face as I realised that this was all my fault. Everything. The apocalypse, the angels, Lilith, Lucifer. Everything that was happening and was coming, it was all my fault…
"When we win, when we bring on the apocalypse and burn this earth down, we'll owe it all to you, Dean Winchester."
I closed my eyes, trying to get control again.
"Believe me, son, I wouldn't lie about this. It's kind of a religious sort of thing with me."
Taking a deep breath, I looked down at Ruby's knife which I still held, getting a hold of myself again. "No. I don't think you are lying. But even if the demons do win… you won't be there to see it."
Ready to finish him off, I went to turn, but as I did, I froze. I wasn't sure how, but Alastair was no longer chained. No longer trapped. No, now he stood in front of me, barely a step between us, nothing left to keep me protected from his wrath.
"You should talk to your plumber about the pipes." He grinned before lifting his fist to my face in a hard punch that had me fall to the ground in an instant.
Reaching down, he grabbed my shirt and lifted me off the ground to punch me over and over again until I could no longer feel the hits. The pain throbbed in my face constantly, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I was out like a light.
Letting me drop, he then grabbed my throat and lifted me off the ground before pressing me against the hexacle he'd been chained to moment ago. "You got a lot to learn, boy. So I'll see you back in class bright and early Monday morning."
Suddenly, he let me go as he turned to see Castiel running toward him, Ruby's knife in hand. The knife plunged into Alastair, but did nothing to stop him as both the angel and demon began to fight. Though I didn't see much of it before everything went black as I passed out.

SPOV

As I hurried into the back room of the abandoned building, I found Alastair chanting, his hand wrapped around Castiel's throat as he held the angel against a pillar and off the ground. Castiel was clearly losing, his eyes and mouth glowing bright blue…
I raised one hand to Alastair and squeezed, causing him to stop. Castiel slumped to the ground as I threw Alastair against the wall.
"Stupid pet tricks." Alastair glared at me.
"Who's murdering the angels? How are they doing it?" I asked, moving to stand in front of him, though a few steps away.
"You think I'm gonna tell you?"
"Yeah, I do." I twisted my hand, causing his eyes to roll back as he choked, clearly in pain. "How are the demons killing angels?"
"I don't know," he struggled.
I scoffed, twisting my hand a little more. "Right."
Shaking and struggling, Alastair tried to fight my hold. "It's not us," he choked out. "We're not doing it."
"I don't believe you."
"Lilith is not behind this." Fighting against me, he grinned, shaking his head. "She wouldn't kill seven angels. Oh, she'd kill a hundred… a thousand," he answered, so I let my hand drop, no longer hurting him put still holding him. He shook his head at me. "Oh, go ahead. Send me back, if you can."
It was my turn to grin. "I'm stronger than that now. Now I can kill."
Lifting my hand again, I concentrated. Soon enough, gold light began to flare as Alastair let out a pained and blood curdling scream. Just as suddenly, he fell silent and still. Letting him go, I watched as his body slid down the wall and to the ground, now dead.
…
I sat next to Dean as he lay in a hospital bed, breathing few a tube, an Iv drip in his arm, bandages all over. It was pretty bad. I mean, almost-lost-his-life bad. Even now, he was on close watch, just in case, which didn't sit right with me. There had to be something that could be done…
As if on cue, Castiel appeared in the door way and paused for a single moment as I turned to him, before he continued down the hall, knowing I would be close behind.
Once I was out of Dean's room and only a few steps from Castiel, he opened his mouth to speak- probably to scold me for what I'd done. "Sam-"
But before he could say anything else, I cut him off, gesturing to Dean's room, "Get in there and heal him. Miracle. Now."
"I can't."
"You and Uriel put him in there-"
"No," he tried to argue, but I just went on as if he didn't speak.
"-because you can't keep a simple devil's trap together."
"I don't know what happened," he insisted, almost snapping back at me. "That trap," he sighed, looking away for a moment before turning back to me, "it shouldn't have broken. I am sorry."
But I didn't care about his empty apologies. They weren't going to help Dean. "This whole thing was pointless. You understand that? The demons aren't doing the hits. Something else is killing your soldiers."
"Perhaps Alastair was lying," he suggested, clearly in denial.
"No, he wasn't," I told him with complete confidence, because I knew, without a doubt, that Alastair hadn't lied.
Having nothing more to say, I turned for Dean's room and walked off, leaving Castiel there, needing to be by my brother's side.

EPOV

Anna had taken us to Bobby's. I wasn't sure how she knew he wasn't there, but I was thankful that he wasn't. I didn't want to have to explain who Anna was, why I was in the state I was in, and where Tristan was. If I didn't have to tell anyone that for a while, I'd be pretty happy.
Throughout the day, Anna had taken care of me. It was oddly nice, like having my own little angel sitting on my shoulder, guarding and guiding me. I never had to ask for anything, she always seemed to know what I needed or wanted. Even if that was some alone time. She would just get up and go for a moment or two before coming back once I was wanted or needed her again.
When the sun had set, and it was getting pretty close to midnight, she disappeared. I mean, literally. One moment she was in the kitchen making dinner, and then she was just gone.
It took a few minutes before she was back. By then, I'd gotten up and continued on with the cooking, eaten some food and started the dishes.
"Elizabeth, you really shouldn’t." She came to take over once more.
But I shook my head at her, refusing to give in. "I'm fine, Anna, really," I insisted, despite how awful I felt.
It wasn't even the withdrawals that were making me feel this way like they had for the last couple of weeks. No, they were gone because I'd let Tristan poison me again. The reason I felt so crappy was because I'd let him do it to me. Knowingly. I let him feed me his blood, and that fact was wrapping me up in unimaginable guilt.
"No. You're not," she sighed, gently taking the plate I'd been washing.
Taking a step back, I let her finish the dishes as I leaned against the bench, folding my arms over my chest to hug myself. "I'm not sick, you know. I've had some recently…" I shrugged lightly, looking to the ground. "I feel fine."
Without looking at me, she nodded. "I know you don't feel sick, not like you have lately, but there are other ways you can feel ill. You can be sick with guilt, for instance." Glancing at me then, she gave a pointed look before going back to work. "And you might have had… that stuff, but it won't be enough to keep you going. Not forever. You will start to feel the way you have for the last few weeks, and the longer you go without the worse it will get."
She was right. I knew she was. What I'd experienced, that had only been the beginning. I knew this time around, things were going to be harder. Things were going to hurt more. But it's a price I'm willing to pay.
…
After finishing with the dishes, Anna and I had moved to sit in the Bobby's office. We'd spent some time talking, and I found that despite her being an angel, she was actually pretty cool. But despite that, there was something still bugging me.
"Why are you here, Anna?"
She looked taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, what is an angel on the run doing here, cooking and cleaning for a human poisoned by demon blood. It’s not like I’ve done much for you, if we're being honest."
"You don't think you've done anything for me?" She frowned, both surprised and confused. "I was a stranger, and you welcomed me into your home. You didn't judge me. You brought me in and took care of me when I needed help. And when I remembered who I was and went looking for my grace, you came with me despite the fact that there was obvious tension in your life." She offered me a kind smile. "So, doing some dishes and cooking some food is the least I can do."
Slowly, I returned her smile, feeling a little better. Knowing that she wasn't doing this out of pity eased some of the guilt resting on my shoulders, which allowed me to breathe a little easier.
I was just about to reach for my cup of tea, when Anna suddenly stood. I looked up at her with worried eyes. "What's wrong?"
"It's Castiel, he needs my help," she answered before she got a look in her eyes that told me she was about to disappear.
But before she could, I reached out to stop her. "Take me with you."
She looked down at my hand which was wrapped around her wrist. "Elizabeth…"
It was obvious that she didn't want to take me. But if Castiel needed her help then something must be really bad, and the last thing I wanted was for Anna to be put in danger without backup of her own. I may just be a human, but I was currently a human jacked up on demon blood, so I wasn't as useless as I looked.
"Okay. Just hold on," she told me before we were gone.
…
I didn't have time to take in my surroundings. The moment we appeared in our new setting my eyes landed on Castiel. He was kneeling, with blood coming from his nose and mouth as he looked up at Uriel.
"You can't win, Uriel. I still serve God."
Uriel's usually impeccable suit was now covered in dust, and had a number of tears in it. He reached forward, wrapping his hand around Castiel's throat. "You haven't even met the man. There is no will." He punched Castiel. "No wrath." He punched him again. "No God."
Before Uriel could make another move, I looked to a short, silver sword looking thing that lay on the ground. Raising my hand as I stepped forward, I used my mind to will the weapon to my grasp before I stabbed him in his back right though his chest.
Anna- who had stepped forward at the same time and now stood behind his other shoulder- spoke, "Maybe. Or maybe not. But there's still us."
I pulled the blade out and took a step back, watching as Uriel collapsed to the ground where the remains of what appeared to be a fresh devil's trap lay.
"Look away!" Anna yelled just as Uriel began to scream.
I turned as quickly as I could, covering my face and closing my eyes and a bright light exploded out of Uriel. Once the light was gone, I uncovered my face carefully, and turned to see seared wings on floor across the devil's trap.
"Elizabeth?" I turned to see Castiel now standing, looking from me to Anna, clearly confused.
Without saying a word, the two angels appeared to have a conversation- one I wasn't privy too. A moment or so later, Anna turned to me, a small and sad smile on her face… and then she was gone.
My heart leapt in my chest, out of fear… I might have just saved him, but that doesn't mean Castiel suddenly liked me. I knew what I was and what the angels thought of me. I had no doubt in my mind that I was about to be punished for my sins.
But I was surprised when he rested a gentle hand on my shoulder. Looking into his eyes I could see both gratitude and pity. Then, before I could stop him, he reached forward and pressed two fingers to my forehead, knocking me unconscious in an instant.
DPOV
"Are you all right?"
I looked to my left as best as I could, opening my eyes to see Castiel sitting in the seat next to my bed. My hospital bed.
"No thanks to you," I croaked, trying to speak as best as I could.
There was a pause before he spoke again. "You need to be more careful."
"You need to learn how to manage a damn devil's trap," I countered.
"That's not what I mean." He took a moment before adding, "Uriel is dead."
I didn't feel bad for the guy, I mean Uriel was a dick. But it wasn't exactly good news. "Was it the demons?"
"It was disobedience," Castiel answered simply. "He was working against us."
I knew there were hundreds of questions I could have asked him then. I probably should have asked him to explain what that meant. But I didn't want, or need, to know. There were more pressing things I needed him to tell me. Like if Alastair had been telling the truth or not.
"Is it true?" I asked. "Did I break the first seal? Did I start all this?"
"Yes," he answered without hesitation. "When we discovered Lilith's plan for you, we laid siege to hell and we fought our way to get to you before you-"
"Jump-started the apocalypse," I finished for him, my tone a harsher than normal.
"We were too late."
"Why didn't you just leave me there, then?"
"It's not blame that falls on you, Dean, it's fate. The righteous man who begins it is the only one who can finish it," he told me as if it were written somewhere. "You have to stop it."
"Lucifer? The apocalypse? What does that mean?" I asked, needing to know exactly what I'm supposed to do. But when he didn't answer, and he silence grew, I just knew he was about to bail. "Hey! Don't you go disappearing on me, you son of a bitch. What does that mean!"
I knew he hadn't gone. I could still feel his presence. Yet he didn't answer right away. It took him another moment or so before he spoke again. But all I got was, "I don't know."
"Bull!"
"I don't," he insisted. "Dean, they don't tell me much. I know our fate rests with you."
"Well, then you guys are screwed. I can't do it, Cas. It's too big. Alastair was right. I'm not all here. I'm not- I'm not strong enough. Well, I guess I'm not the man either of our dads wanted me to be. Find someone else," I told him as I began to cry, unable to stop myself. "It's not me."

Bamby

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

DPOV
The moment the man in front of me pulled his fingers away from where they'd been pressed to my forehead, it was like everything around me changed. Like the lighting dimmed a little as everything settled back into place."What the hell?" I frowned, looking around, confused... as I looked down at myself, the confusion only grew. "Why am I wearing a tie?" As if on cue, my stomach growled, pulling my attention to the fact that it felt like I hadn't eaten in weeks. "My God, am I hungry."The man in front of me- who dressed in a suit which I was pretty sure would be more expensive than the one I was wearing- chuckled lightly. "Welcome back."Standing up I looked him up and down, getting ready to be on the defensive. "Wait. Did I- did I just get touched by... you're an angel, aren't you?""I'm Zachariah."I groaned, "Oh, great. That's all I need is another one of you guys."He smirked at my response, moving around to stand on my side of the desk in the office we stood in. "I'm hardly another one, Dean. I'm Castiel's superior. Believe me, I had no interest in popping down here into one of these smelly things." He gestured to the body he was wearing. "But after the unfortunate situation with Uriel, I felt it necessary to pay a visit. Get my ducks in a row.""I am not one of your ducks.""Starting with your attitude," he added without missing a beat."Oh, so, what? This was all some sort of a lesson?" I gestured to the room, but was talking about everything I was remembering... though I wasn't sure if it had all been real or not. "Is that what you're telling me? Wow. Very creative.""You should see my decoupage.""Gross. No thank you." I frowned, genuinely grossed out, before going on. "So, what? I'm just hallucinating all this? Is that it?""Not at all." He shook his head, moving back to the other side of the desk. "Real place, real haunting. Just plunked you in the middle without the benefit of your memories."The last thing I remembered was being in the hospital. I mean, I remember the rest, but it's like it wasn't me. Three weeks ago, I woke up in an apartment I knew, with a life I fully believed was my own. I had a new job, a family, things felt pretty great. I was a happy guy.But then people started dying at work. Most of them were suicides. Things started to get a little weird- especially after I met Sam a couple of days ago. We'd been working here for the same amount of time, but while I was some fancy office guy, he was a cubicle worker bee. We knew nothing of each other, but still managed to become friends pretty quickly.We figured out what was happening to all the people who were dying. We figure out who the ghost was and why they were here. We learnt how to kill it- which we did. We saved the day just like we did in our normal lives, despite the fact that we were one hundred percent clueless as to who we really were.I shook my head at Zachariah. "Just to shake things up? Hm? So you guys can have fun watching us run around like ass clowns in monkey suits?" I snapped."To prove to you that the path you're on is truly in your blood. You're a hunter. Not because your dad made you, not because God called you back from hell, but because it is what you are. And you love it. You'll find your way to it in the dark every single time and you're miserable without it. Dean, let's be real here. You're good at this. You'll be successful. You will stop it.""Stop what? The apocalypse, huh?" I asked, getting worked up. I just wanted an answer already. "Lucifer? What? Be specific, man.""You'll do everything you're destined to do. All of it," he answered, without telling me what I actually wanted to know. Without telling me anything. "But I know, I know. You're not strong enough. You're scared. You got daddy issues. You can't do it. Right?""Angel or not, I will stab you in your face," I told him simply.Ignoring me, he continued to speak. "All I'm saying is it's how you look at it. Most folks live and die without moving anything more than the dirt it takes to bury them. You get to change things." As I turned away he went on. "Save people, maybe even the world. All the while you drive a classic car and fornicate with women. This isn't a curse. It's a gift. So for God's sakes, Dean, quit whining about it." I turned back to him. "Look around. There are plenty of fates worse than yours. So are you with me? You wanna go steam yourself another latte? Or are you ready to stand up and be who you really are?"
SPOV
I was still reeling from everything that had just happened. I'd quit working at Sandover, walked out the front doors, and was hit with the memories of my real life. Just like that, I knew who I was. Only problem was, I had no idea how I'd gotten where I was.The first thing I did was turn back around and ran inside, heading for Dean's office, hoping he'd be there and that he remembered too. But as the doors of the elevator opened, I came face to face with him and knew he remembered everything as well.We both left then, getting in the car he'd been using during the three weeks that we hadn't been ourselves. As he drove, he explained to me what had actually happened to us. How the angels had erased our memories to prove a point. Then they'd told Dean where we could find the Impala and all our stuff- which is where we were headed.We found the car parked in the middle of a forest, a tarp thrown over her. Sure enough, everything of ours was inside. Nothing appeared to have been touched. Though our phones had been dead. Needing to make sure everyone was okay and that we hadn't missed anything, we headed for the nearest diner where we could grab some food and charge our phones."So, this Zachariah guy just dumped us in the middle of a murder ghost hot spot, hoping that we'd figure out how to save the day?" I asked.Dean shrugged, spooning a mouthful of pie onto his fork. "I mean, you even said it. It's in our blood," he noted.He had a point. Even with all our memories missing, I still felt like we were destined for more. After we ganked the ghost, it was like I just knew that's what we were made for...I reached for my phone and turned it on. The moment the light flashed on, I was bombarded with dozens of missed calls and messages from Bobby. Frowning, I checked some of the voice mails, hearing the worry in his voice. With each one he seemed to get more and more panicked. Then I heard the last one..."I don't know where you boys are, but I need you to get here now. Lizzie... there's something wrong with her. I don't know what to-" The line cut off.Grabbing my charger, bag and wallet, I threw some money on the table as Dean watched me with a confused frown. He hadn't checked his phone yet and had no idea about the missed calls and messages I was sure he'd have as well."Where are you goin'? We just got here," he noted with a mouth full of food."We gotta go. It's Lizzie."That's all I had to say. Hearing the urgency in my voice, and seeing the concerned look on my face. Dean knew this wasn't some joke. He could see how serious this was. If Lizzie was in danger, we had to go and help. She was family.Leaving his pie, he grabbed a napkin and stood, wiping his face quickly before throwing the napkin back on the table as we both left the diner in a rush.
DPOV
I was a fast driver. Sometimes Sam would scold me for it. I knew there were times where I would be a little too reckless just for the sake of having some fun, and it annoyed him. But at that moment, as I pressed my foot down as hard as I could, he didn't say a word.We both knew we needed to get to Bobby's as soon as possible. It was a bit of a drive, but I wasn't going to let that slow us down. If Liz needed us, then we'd be there.It was at that point, as I sped down the many roads, making our way to Bobby's, that I really wanted to rip the angels a new one. If they hadn't taken our memories away for their own purposes then Sam and I might have been able to be there for Liz and Bobby sooner.It's their fault. Son of a bitch.I was getting more and more worked up, the more I thought about it. My grip on the wheel tightened as I pressed my foot down even more.We couldn't get there soon enough....I slammed on the brakes as soon as we were at Bobby's. Dust and dirt picked up around Baby like a cloud, but Sam and I just ignored it as we hurried out of the car and towards the front door. Our feet pounded on the wooden boards of the porch, each of us lifting a hand to knock on the door with panicked force.A moment or two later, the door opened. Bobby stood there, genuinely surprised to see both of us. But at the same time, he was equally relieved and annoyed."Where the hell have you two been?" he asked as he stepped back so Sam and I could enter the house."Long story-"I cut Sam off, wanting to skip the pleasantries and get to the point, "Where's Liz?"Bobby looked to each of us, an unreadable expression on his face as he gave a short nod and started for the stairs to head to the second story. Sam and I were right behind, saying nothing as we followed.As we walked down the hall, Bobby stopped at a door.When I was younger, Bobby use to take care of Sammy and I. A lot of the times we'd stay here. At first the room had been empty. Just some boxes in a corner. But one day, when I went to go look inside, it was suddenly locked. Since then, the door had never been opened.When I was younger I thought it was because there might be something dangerous in there. As I got older I lost interest. If Bobby didn't want us to see something then he must have a good reason. But now, as he raised his hand to the open the door, I was surprised to see it open without a creak. The movement so smooth and silent...Stepping inside, I found myself looking around at the unfamiliar room. Forest green walls, wooden dresser and chest of drawers. Books lined the shelves on the walls. A mirror sat above a dresser, with some photos framing it. White lace curtains sat on either side of the window. A wooden double bed with dark grey sheets sat under the window, and tucked under those sheets and blankets was Liz, fast asleep.Just like that, it clicked. Nothing dangerous had been hiding in the room. Nothing sinister or creepy or weird. It had been locked for her privacy. Even when she hadn't lived here, when she'd gone off to hunt on her own, Bobby had kept the room locked."Sam called to tell me you were in the hospital," Bobby started as the three of us watched Liz, "I was about to go see you when that angel friend of yours showed up in the middle of my living room, with Lizzie. Her clothes were covered in blood, but she didn't look hurt. I didn't have time to ask any questions. The angel was gone as quickly as he showed up. I was still going to see you, but wanted to make sure she was okay first." He shook his head. "Last I heard she was with her boyfriend."My jaw tensed at the reminder of her boyfriend. The reminder of the fact that he'd been lying, that he wasn't a hunter. I hadn't told anyone, yet, but the moment I was sure Liz was okay, I'd find out who that asshole really is.As I stood there, I wondered where he might be. Why had Castiel been with her? Where was Tristan? Had something happened? Had they been hunting and something went wrong? Had he done something to her? Were they still together? Was he even still alive? So many questions..."Once I was sure she was okay, I ended up leaving. Lizzie wanted to stay and get cleaned up. I told her I wouldn't be too long. When I got to the hospital both of you were gone. I waited and looked around for a day or so, tried callin' both of you, but you were missing. So, I headed back home. When I got back things still seemed to be fine, but I wanted to make sure. Decided to keep an eye on her."Spent a week with her here. Things went back to fine. Eventually I got word of a case, had to leave for a couple of days. We talked on the phone while I was away, but I could tell things were getting worse again. I don't know what happened, but when I got home I found her on the bathroom floor, passed out. Managed to get her to bed, but she didn't wake up for hours.""You know what's wrong?" I asked, my concern growing with each word he said."Got no idea." Bobby shook his head. "She has good days and bad days. Most of the time she's fine. But..."When he didn't say anything, I pressed for him to go on, "But what, Bobby?""I'm really worried about her. I just... I don't know what to do, boys."
EPOV
As I opened my eyes, I flinched at the light streaming into my room. It was like looking directly at the sun, though I knew that was just my body reacting to the withdrawals. I knew everything that was happening was because of that. It had been three weeks since I had demon blood, which hadn't been much, not to keep the withdrawal symptoms at bay long enough."Here."I hadn't even realised someone else was in the room.Dean stood from the chair that had apparently been set by my bed while I was asleep. Reaching over, he pulled the curtains closed, giving me instant relief. As he sat back down, he watched me carefully.We were silent for a moment, just looking at each other. I knew he wanted to ask me a million questions, and I wanted to answer all of them. But he wasn't sure where to start and I wasn't sure if I should tell him anything..."Hey."A small smile played on my lips. "Hi.""How are you feeling? You need anything?""I'm fine. But I do need something..." Wincing and hissing in pain, I managed to sit myself up, ignoring every ache in my body and throb in my head. "I need to get out of here.""Liz, I don't think-""It's not a good idea. I agree. But Dean, nothing is going to make me feel better. There's just bad, and worse. Staying here, having you, Bobby and Sam worrying about me, is just going to make things worse. Getting out there, finding a distraction, it's the best thing for me right now."I wasn't sure if that was true, and if I'm being honest, the idea of moving from my bed was a horrible idea. But I did know that staying here was not going to help me find Tristan and kill the asshole.Yes, you heard right. I wanted to go out there, hunt, and do whatever it takes to find the asshole who did this to me, and kill him. Slowly."We don't even have a case-"As I reached over to the drawer in my bedside table, Dean fell silent. He watched while I pulled out some articles, passing them to him. "Possible haunting. Looks like an easy gank."Without a word, he took the papers and looked over them. Sighing, he turned his gaze back to me. "What if I say no?"I gave him a small and knowing smile. "You won't."
DPOV
It took some convincing to get Bobby to let Liz leave with Sam and me. While I'd been in her room, Sam had filed Bobby in on what had happened to us. I guess finding out that the angels could go the same thing at any moment... I mean I understood why he didn't want Liz to go with us. Also, her hunting in this condition was not a good idea, even I knew that.Yet here we were, dressed in out FBI suits, headed for a comic book store to find out if they'd seen or heard anything related to ghosts."Look, I know you said you're feeling fine-""Which I am," Liz insisted as I went on."But just take it easy. Okay?""I'm fine, Dean. I swear," she sighed, clearly annoyed.Hurrying ahead, she walked into the comic book store without Sam and me. My brother and I shared a look, shaking our heads as we walked into to join her, moving to stand by the counter to talk to the guy at the cashier.He looked up at us, his eyes glued to Liz. Every pair of eyes were. It was like they'd never seen a chick in here before... which they probably hadn't."Uh... can I help you?" the guy behind the counter asked."Sure hope so," I started as Sam, Liz and I pulled out our badges. "Agents DeYoung, Shaw and Gowen. Just need to ask you a few questions.""Notice anything strange in the building, last couple of days?" Sam asked.The guy looked confused. "Like what?""Well, some other tenants reported flickering lights," I noted."Uh, I don't think so. Why?""Have you heard any noises?" Liz questioned. "Skittering in the walls? Kind of like rats?"The guy's confusion grew into scepticism. "And the FBI is investigating a rodent problem?"Ignoring his snark, Sam went on. "What about cold spots? Feel any sudden drops in temperature?"Slowly, as if realising something, the guy began to grin. "I knew it! You guys are LARPing, aren't you?"It was my turn to frown, confused. "Excuse me?""You're fans.""Fans of what?" Sam asked, equally confused."What is 'LARPing'?" I looked to Liz. "Do you know what 'LARPing' is?"Before she could say anything, the guy behind the counter scoffed. "Like you don't know." But when we all continued to look at him with silent confusion, he explained what it was, "Live-Action Role-Play! And pretty hardcore, too."I shook my head. "I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about.""You're asking questions like the building's haunted. Like those guys and that chick from the books. What are they called? Uh... Supernatural. Two guys and a girl, use fake IDs with rock aliases, hunt down ghosts, demons, vampires. What are their names? Uh... Steve, Dirk and Lexi...? Uh, Sal, Dane and Lilly...?"Sam glanced at Liz and I for a moment before suggesting, "Sam, Dean, and Lizzie?"The guy nodded enthusiastically. "That's it!""You're saying this is a book?" This was weirding me out and not helping with the confusion..."Books," the guy corrected. "It was a series. Didn't sell a lot of copies, though. Kind of had more of an underground cult following." Getting up, he moved around the counter and towards a table labelled 'Bargain Bin'. Sam, Liz and I followed, tense and unsure. "Let's see. Um... ah. Yeah." He grabbed a book and handed it over to me. "That's the first one, I think."I looked at the cover of the book- which had an illustration of a topless guy holding a shot gun, and a guy carrying a bag of salt, standing by what looked like the Impala. "'Supernatural' by Carver Edlund." Turning it over, I read the blurb out loud. "'Along a lonely California highway, a mysterious woman in white lures men to their deaths'.""Give me that." Sam snatched the book from my hands to take a look. After a quick scan, he looked up at the guy. "We're gonna need all the copies of 'Supernatural' you've got."
EPOV
I sat on the couch in the hotel room I was sharing with Sam and Dean. Sam was on the computer at the table, doing some research. Dean was on his bed while I was on the couch, the two of us reading the books we'd gotten from the comic bookstore. At first, I thought it was amusing, reading Sam and Dean's lives... But when I showed up in the books, things got less funny. I felt very violated."This is freakin' insane," Dean suddenly spoke up, clear annoyed. "How'd this guy know all this stuff?"Sam shrugged. "You got me.""Everything is in here," Dean noted, flicking through one of the books. "I mean everything. From the racist truck to… to me having sex. I'm full-frontal in here, dude.""I am too," I added.Dean sat up and turned to me. "You are?" He sounded both pissed and interested. As if he wanted to read to but he didn't like the idea of other's reading it."Yep," I sighed, tossing him the book I'd been reading, as I got up and moved to sit at the table with Sam. "Like you said, everything is in these books." Even things the guys didn't know about…Dean- holding he book I'd tossed him- stood and moved over to join Sam and me. "How come we haven't heard of them before?""They're pretty obscure," Sam noted. "I mean, almost zero circulation. Uh… started in '05. The publisher put out a couple dozen before going bankrupt. And, uh, the last one, No Rest for The Wicked," he turned the laptop towards Dean and me, showing us a list of the books, "ends with you going to hell," he told Dean."I reiterate. Freaking insane," Dean mumbled as he started to scroll through the page. "Check it out. There's actually fans. There's not many of them, but still. Did you read this?""Yeah." Sam nodded. He didn't seem as excited as Dean suddenly was."Although for fans, they sure do complain a lot. Listen to this. Simpatico says 'the demon story line is trite, clichéd, and overall craptastic'," Dean read. "Yeah, well, screw you, Simpatico. We lived it.""Yeah. Well, keep on reading." Sam gestured to the laptop. "It gets better.""There are 'Sam girls' and 'Dean girls' and..." Dean's brows furrowed. "What's a 'slash fan'?""As in... Sam-slash-Dean," Sam answered, a look of discomfort and disgust on his face. "Together.""Like, 'together', together?" Dean asked, equally grossed out."Wait, what?" Grabbing the laptop, I took a look, cringing at the words before me. "Okay, gross...""Yeah," Sam sighed."They do know we're brothers, right?" Dean asked, genuinely disturb."Doesn't seem to matter," Sam noted."Oh, come on. That... that's just sick." Dean shut the laptop in disgust."They even have 'Sambeth girls' and 'Dizzie girls'." when Dean and I looked at Sam confused, but also afraid of what that meant, he explained. "Sambeth is a mix of Sam and Elizabeth. Dizzie, Dean and Lizzie. And then there's... 'Dean, Lizzie and Sam girls'."I looked to both brothers, eyes going wide. "You mean... together? All three of us?"Dean shook his head. "We got to find this Carver Edlund."Sam sighed again. "Yeah, that might not be so easy.""Why not?" Dean and I asked at the same time."No tax records, no known address," Sam answered, shifting in his seat to lean forward a bit more. "Looks like 'Carver Edlund' is a pen name."Dean shook his head. "Somebody's gotta know who he is."
Bamby

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DPOV
Sam, Liz and I stood in the house of Carver Edlund's publisher's house. I was surprised to find out that the publisher was a she, around the same age as us. But then again, I shouldn't have been. Not with the attention these books seem to get..."So, you published the Supernatural books?" Sam asked.The publisher nodded, moving to stand by the books that sat on a shelf. "Yep. Yeah. Gosh. These books... you know, they never really got the attention they deserved. All anybody wants to read anymore is that romance crap. You know, Doctor Sexy, M.D.?" She scoffed, "Please.""Right." Sam offered a polite smile, getting back on track. "Well, we're hoping that our article can... shine a light on an underappreciated series.""Yeah, yeah." The publisher took a few steps towards us, clearly excited about that idea. "Because, you know, if we got a little bit of good press then m-maybe we could start publishing again.""No, no, no, no. God, no," I said a little too quickly. In an instant, the woman went from excited to offended. "I mean, why- why would you want to do that? You know, it's, uh, such a complete series, what with Dean going to hell and all."Once again, the publisher's mood changed as she got a little emotional. "Oh, my god! That was one of my favourite ones, because Dean was so... strong... and sad and brave. And Sam... I mean, the best parts are when they'd cry. You know, like in- in Heart, when Sam had to kill Madison, the first woman since Jessica he really loved. And in Home, when Dean had to call John and ask him for help." She turned away, moving to her desk. "Gosh... if only real men were so open and in touch with their feelings."Liz let out a soft chuckle as I looked to the woman, confused and a little offended- though I wasn't sure why... "Real men?"The publisher turned to us again. "I mean, no offense. How often do you cry like that, hmm?""Well, right now, I'm crying on the inside," I muttered to myself."Is that supposed to be funny?""Lady, this whole thing is funny."Looking us up and down, moving to sit behind her desk, I could tell I'd messed up as the publisher started to shut down. "How do I know you three are legit, hmm?""Oh, trust me. We, uh..." I nodded, stepping a little closer to the desk, "we're legit.""Well, I don't want any smart-ass article making fun of my boys.""No! No, no, no. Never," Sam stammered."No, that's..."Liz rolled her eyes. "These two don't like to admit it, seeing as they're emotionless real men. But we're all big fans," she told the publisher."Hmm." The publisher looked unconvinced. "You've read the books?""Cover to cover." I nodded, going along with Liz's story."What's the year and model of Dean's car?""It's a 1967 Chevy Impala," I answered with a proud smirk."What's May 2nd?""That's my- uh... that's Sam's birthday," Sam answered, correcting himself."January 24th is Dean's," I added."October 18th is Lizzie's." Liz finished."Lizzie's sister's name?""Gabriella," Liz answered. "Or Gabby for short." She shrugged."Sam's score on the LSAT?" the publisher asked."One..." Sam sounded a little unsure as he looked down at me for a moment, trying to remember. "Seventy-four?""Dean's favourite song?"My smile returned. "It's a tie. Between Zep's Ramble on and Traveling Riverside Blues."Slowly but surely, the publisher smile. "Okay." She nodded. "Okay. What do you want to know?""What's Carver Edlund's real name?" Sam asked, keeping it casual.But the publisher shook her head. "Oh, no. I- no. Sorry, I can't do that.""We just want to talk to him," Sam assured her. "You know, get the Supernatural story in his own words.""He's very private. It's like Salinger."Liz and I shared a look as Sam pressed a little more. "Please. Like I said- we are, um..." he unbuttoned his shirt to reveal his anti-demon-protection tattoo, "big... big fans."When Sam gave Liz and I a pointed look, Liz turned around and lifted her ponytail to show her tattoo which sat on the back of her neck. I rolled my eyes and side, pulling my shirt over slightly to show the publisher the anti-demon-possession tattoo that sat on my chest.The publisher licked her lips, looking at Sam's and my tattoos. "Awesome," she chuckled lightly. "You know what?" She stood and turned, hiking up her skirt to show us her own tattoo which was on one of her cheeks. "I got one, too.""Whoa." I tilted my head slightly, grinning. "You are a fan."Putting her skirt back in place, the publisher grabbed a pen and paper. "Okay." She scribbled something down. "His name's Chuck Shurley. And he's a genius, so don't piss him off."...Sam, Liz and I got out of Baby, before walking across the street to the rundown house. This is where the publisher had sent us, but it looked like the place might be empty. If it wasn't for the motorcycle at the front, I would have thought we were in the wrong place.As we climbed the porch stairs, and came to a stop by the door, Sam and I shared a look as Liz lifted her hand to ring the doorbell.There was a moment or two before the door opened, revealing a short guy dressed in a white tank, boxers and dressing gown. He hadn't shaven in a while, his stubble turning to bush. He looked tired as he slightly squinted at the sunlight."You Chuck Shurley?" I asked."The Chuck Shurley who wrote the Supernatural books?" Sam added.The guy looked to each of us. "Maybe. Why?""I'm Dean. This is Sam. And that's Elizabeth. The Dean, Sam and Elizabeth you've been writing about."Without a word, the guy closed the door in our faces. Sighing, Liz lifted her hand and rang the doorbell again. This time it opened almost instantly."Look, uh..." Chuck shook his head, seeming slightly agitated. "I appreciate your enthusiasm. Really, I do. It's, uh, it's always nice to hear from the fans. But, uh, for your own good, I strongly suggest you get a life." He went to shut the door again.I reached over Liz and grabbed the door, stopping it from closing. "See, here's the thing. We have a life. You've been using it to write your books." Shoving the door opened, I moved around Liz and made my way into the house, forcing Chuck to back up."Now, wait a minute. Now, this isn't funny."With Sam and Liz behind me, I followed Chuck into the living room. "Damn straight, it's not funny.""Look, we just want to know how you're doing it," Sam told him, not as pissed as I was."I'm not doing anything," Chuck insisted."Are you a hunter?" I asked."What? No. I'm a writer.""Then how do you know so much about demons?" I advanced on him, ready to use violence to get answers. He backed away more, falling onto the couch as I went on, "And Tulpas, and changelings?""Is this some kind of Misery thing?" Looking to each of us then, Chuck groaned, "It is, isn't it? It's a Misery thing!"I frowned at him, getting more a more agitated. "No, it's not a Misery thing. Believe me, we are not fans!""Well, then, what do you want?!""They're Sam and Dean. I'm Elizabeth," Liz tried to explain once more.But Chuck just didn't seem to get it. "Sam, Dean and Elizabeth are fictional characters. I made them up! They're not real!"
EPOV
Dean opened the trunk to show Chuck all the weapons and things we used during hunts.Chuck's jaw fell open before he looked to the brothers. "Are those real guns?""Yup." Dean gestured to some of the items. "This is real rock salt, these are real fake IDs.""Well, I got to hand it to you guys. You really are my number one fans." Clearly nervous, Chuck started to back up towards the house. "That's, that's awesome. So, I- I think I've got some posters in the house.""Chuck, stop," Dean called.Raising his hands up in defence, Chuck looked like he was about to crap himself. "Please. Wait. Please, don't hurt me."Ignoring him, Sam got back to the questioning. "How much do you know? Do you know about the angels? Or Lilith breaking the seals?""Wait a minute." Every part of Chuck changed as he looked to each of us going from scared to confused. "How do you know about that?""The question is, how do you," Dean noted."Because I wrote it?"I frowned. "You mean you're still writing?""Yeah, even after the publisher went bankrupt, but those books never came out. Okay, wait a minute. This is some kind of joke, right? Did that... did Phil put you up to this?""Well, nice to meet you. I'm Dean Winchester, and this is my brother, Sam. And this is Elizabeth Hart."It was Chuck's turn to frown, even more confused now. "The last names were never in the books. I never told anybody about that. I never even wrote that down."…I sat on a chair by Chuck's dining table as Sam and Dean stood close by. The three of us were watching as Chuck poured himself a drink, before he turned and jumped at the sight of us and groaned."Oh! Oh, you're still there.""Yup." Dean shoved his hands into his pocket."You're not a hallucination."Dean shook his head. "Nope.""Well," Chuck sighed, "there's only one explanation. Obviously, I'm a god.""You're not a god," Sam assured him."How else do you explain it?" Chuck asked. "I write things and then they come to life. Yeah, no, I'm definitely a god. A cruel, cruel, capricious god. The things I put you through. The physical beatings alone.""Yeah, we're still in one piece," Dean muttered.Chuck looked to him. "I killed your father. I burned your mother alive." He turned to Sam. "And then you had to go through the whole horrific deal again with Jessica. And you?" He turned to me. "Oh, God. I didn't even leave you with your sister.""Chuck," Sam warned.Chuck just shook his head, moving to face the sink as he folded his arms over his chest. "All for what? All for the sake of literary symmetry. I toyed with your lives, your emotions, for... entertainment.""You didn't toy with us, Chuck, okay?" Dean started, taking a step closer to the writer. "You didn't create us."Chuck turned to Dean again. "Did you really have to live through the bugs?""Yeah." Dean nodded."What about the ghost ship?"Dean sighed. "Yes, that too.""I am so sorry." I was pretty sure Chuck meant it, too. "I mean, horror is one thing, but to be forced to live bad writing... if I would have known it was real, I would have done another pass.""Chuck, you're not a god!" Dean snapped."We think you're probably just psychic," Sam explained.But Chuck didn't seem to agree as he frowned and shook his head. "No." He moved to sit at the table, across from me. "If I were psychic, you think I'd be writing? Writing is hard.""It seems that somehow, you're just... focused on our lives," Sam noted."Yeah, like laser-focused," Dean added.I took a deep breath, lifting a shaking hand to rub at my temple. "Are you working on anything right now, Chuck?"There was a moment where Chuck thought about it before his eyes went wide. "Holy crap.""What?" Dean asked.Chuck picked up some papers from the table. "The, uh, latest book? It's, uh… it's kind of weird.""'Weird' how?" Sam pressed."It's very Vonnegut."Dean leaned forward, placing to hands on the table. "Slaughterhouse-Five Vonnegut or Cat's Cradle Vonnegut?"Sam looked to his brother, surprised. "What?""What?" Dean shrugged defensively.Getting back on track, Chuck answered, "It's, uh, Kilgore Trout Vonnegut. I wrote myself into it," he explained. "I wrote myself, at my house... confronted by my characters."
DPOV
I sat on the bench in the laundromat as I looked through the pages Chuck had given us. Sam was doing some laundry, while Liz sat next to me, doing nothing but watching and waiting."I'm sitting in a laundromat, reading about myself sitting in a laundromat reading about myself." I frowned, feeling a headache coming on. "My head hurts.""There's got to be something this guy's not telling us." Sam turned to toss his dark clothes into one of the machines."'Sam tossed his gigantic darks into the machine. He was starting to have doubts about Chuck, about whether he was telling the whole truth'," I read.Sam turned to me. "Stop it."I just continued to read aloud. "'"Stop it," Sam said.".' Guess what you do next." He turned away again, right before I started to read once more. "Sam turned his back on Dean, his face brooding and pensive'." I shook my head. "I mean, I don't know how he's doing it, but this guy is doing it. I can't see your face, but those are definitely your brooding and pensive shoulders." As Sam sighed I looked down at the manuscript again. "You just thought I was a dick."Liz chuckled lightly.Turning around to face us again, Sam looked impressed. "The guy's good."
EPOV
I sat on the arm of the armchair in Chuck's living room, while Dean stood next to me and Sam sat on the armchair a few feet away. Chuck walked in, still in the same dressing gown, white shirt and boxers he'd had on before. Moving to stand on the other side of the coffee table, he paced as he looked down at the pages in his hands."So..." Sam broke the silence. "You wrote another chapter?"Chuck finally looked to each of us. "This was all so much easier before you were real.""We can take it," Dean assured him. "Just spit it out."Chuck turned to him them. "You especially are not gonna like this.""I didn't like Hell," Dean noted.Taking a deep breath, Chuck built up enough courage to tell us why he'd ask us to come here… "It's Lilith. She's coming for Sam."I tensed. But not for the reasons you probably think… see, hearing Lilith's name like that… I was instantly reminded of what Tristan had said…"You know, when I was first put on your case, when Lilith said she wanted me to keep an eye on you, to prep you..." That's what he'd said. "I was told to befriend you. Keep you safe. Help you grow. Get you ready for what's to come."For the last few weeks I'd done everything I could possibly do to suppress the memory of what had happened in the cabin, despite the fact that I should probably face the truth. A demon had been sent to watch over and poison me. Why? I had no idea. But I knew Lilith had something to do with it.The fact she was coming here, to find Sam, it scared the crap out of me. What if she knew I knew about Tristan? What if she knows Tristan isn't watching me anymore? What if she knows I've stopped taking demon blood? I was pretty sure she wanted me on it. So, would she force me into drinking more? Into drinking hers…?"Excuse me." I stood and hurried out of the room and out of the house, needing air.
SPOV
We watched as Lizzie hurried out of the room and out of the house, but before I could go after her to make sure she was okay, Dean spoke up, stopping me."Is she coming to kill him?"Looking away from my brother and back to the writer, I sighed. "When?""Tonight.""She's just gonna show up? Here?" Dean asked.Chuck took a deep breath as he sat down on the couch, slipped his glasses on and looked down at the manuscript. "Uh... let's see, uh… 'Lilith patted the bed seductively. Unable to deny his desire, Sam succumbed, and they sank into the throes of fiery demonic passion'," he finished, looking up at us again.I let out a short laugh. "You're kidding me, right?"Dean turned to me. "You think this is funny?""You don't? I mean, come on. 'Fiery demonic passion'?""It's just a first draft." Chuck looked offended.Frowning, Dean shook his head, seeming confused about something. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. Lilith is a little girl.""No, uh, this time she's a 'comely dental hygienist from Bloomington, Indiana'," Chuck explained."Great. Perfect," Dean sighed. "So, what happens after the... 'fiery demonic' whatever?""I don't know, it hasn't come to me yet," Chuck answered.I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Dean actually thought this was all going to happen? Come on. "Dean, look, there's nothing to worry about. Lilith and me? In bed?"Dean looked to me briefly before turning back to Chuck. "How does this whole psychic thing of yours work?""You mean my process?""Yes, your 'process'."Chuck shrugged. "Well, it usually starts with a headache. A really bad headache. Aspirin is useless, so... I drink. Until I fall asleep. The first time it happened, I thought it was just a crazy dream.""The first time you dreamt about us?" Dean asked."It flowed. It just, it kept flowing. It still does. I-I can't stop it, really," Chuck explained."You can't seriously believe-"Dean cut me off, "Humour me." He took a step closer to the coffee table as he went to go on as Chuck held up the manuscript for him. "Look, why don't we, we just..." He took the manuscript and read from it… "'Take a look at these and see what's what.'" Still looking down at the pages, he spoke to Chuck. "You-""...knew you were gonna ask for that." Chuck nodded. "Yeah."
EPOV
The front door opened as Sam and Dean walked out and onto the porch. I stood at the bottom of the steps, leaning on the railing. Seeing the brothers, I quickly pushed off the railing and shoved my hands into my pockets, setting my gaze to the ground.A hand rested on my arm as Dean came to stand in front of me. "You okay?"I just nodded, not saying a word."Hey." He raised his hand to my chin, tilting it so I looked at him. "We're gonna be fine. We're gonna get out of here before Lilith comes, and we're gonna take you home. Okay?"Once again, I nodded. I didn't want to say anything that might upset or worry either Dean or Sam. They might think I was worried about Lilith coming for Sam- which I was- but what they didn't know was that I was worried about myself as well."Come on." He moved to rest a hand on my back, leading me towards Baby.I turned back to the house for a moment- don't ask me why, I just did. My eyes landed on Chuck as he stood in his doorway, hands tucked into the pockets of his dress gown, eyes full of pity and guilt. It was at that moment that I realised he knew everything…
DPOV
Driving down the road, I glanced at Liz through the rear-view mirror. She was sitting in the back, looking out the window, silent. Sam, on the other hand, was next to me, reading through the manuscript, talking out loud."Dean, come on." He shook his head. "'The minivan accident wasn't that bad, but Dean was still seeing stars. He scratched absently at the pink flower Band-Aids on his face'.""So?" I shrugged."So, I've seen you gushing blood. You'd use duct tape and bar rags before you'd put on a pink flower Band-Aid.""What's your point?""My point is this," he gestured to the pages in his hands, "all of this, is totally implausible. It's nuts.""He's been right about everything so far," I noted. "You think he's just gonna ground out at first now?"Scoffing, Sam read some more to try and prove his point. "Huh. 'Dean slid behind the wheel of his beloved Impala and drove off, the plastic tarp on the rear window flapping like the wings of a crow'.""A tarp?" Okay, I had to admit, I found it hard to believe that.Sam nodded. "Yeah. On the rear window. And you drive it like that."But despite the fact that I couldn't get on board with that, I still wanted to play things safe. "Well, he might be wrong about the details, but doesn't mean he's wrong about the end result.""So, we're just gonna run?" he asked."Dude, we are a long way from ready for a face-to-face death match with Lilith." I didn't understand why he wasn't getting that. We came to a roadblock then. I rolled to a stop as a deputy came to lean over and talk to us. "What seems to be the problem?""Bridge is out ahead," the deputy explained."We're just trying to get out of town."He just shook his head. "Yeah, afraid not.""Is there a detour?""Nope."Oh, come on. "There's not a side road that takes us to the highway?""To get to the highway, you have to cross that river. To cross the river, you have to take that bridge.""How deep's the river?"Instead of answering, the deputy just got straight to the point. "Sorry. Afraid you're gonna have to spend the night in town."
Great.

SPOV
Sitting in a diner, I looked over the menu while Dean read the manuscript and Lizzie fiddled with the salt shaker. I glanced at her every once in a while, my concern growing. She hadn't spoken since we'd left Chuck's…"Hey, this could be a good thing," Dean started. "I mean, if this is what puts us on the path to Lilith, then all we got to do is get off the path."I looked up at him. "How do you mean?""It's a blueprint of what not to do. I mean, if the pages say that we go left-""Then we go right," I finished.He nodded. "Exactly. We get off-book. We never make it to the end. It's opposite day. It says that we, uh, we get into a fight." He shrugged. "So, no fighting. No research for you...""No bacon cheeseburger for you," I added.For a moment, he looked uncomfortable and disappointed, but he quickly played it off with another shrug. "Yeah, no problem. I'll just order something else," he told me right as the waitress came by. "Hi, uh, what's good?" he asked her.The waitress smiled down at him. "Well, if you like burgers, Oprah's girlfriend said we have the best bacon cheeseburgers in the country," she noted, making me laugh lightly.Dean ignored me, grabbing a menu for himself. "Really?"Seeing that he was going to take a second, I ordered my own food. "I'll just have the cobb salad, please," I told the waitress.Still looking at the menu, Dean ordered the first thing he saw. "I'll have the... veggie tofu burger. Thanks.""And what about you sweetheart?" the waitress looked to Lizzie."I'm not hungry, thanks," Lizzie mumbled, handing her menu over.Both Dean and I paused as we looked to Lizzie. She was basically a female version of Dean, which meant she liked food, a lot. Over the years of knowing her I'd never heard or seen her decline the opportunity to eat, unless she was really upset or not feeling well. Even then, it had to be very serious before she'd actually say no to food.Shrugging, the waitress took the menus and left.Once we were alone again, Dean leaned closer to Lizzie. "Hey, you okay?""I'm fine," she answered, her voice flat.Dean and I shared a look, neither of us believing her. Sighing, I turned back to Lizzie. "You know you can talk to us, right?"She didn't respond right away. She just sat there reaching over to play with the salt shaker again. I watched her hands, noticing the way they shook lightly. She looked a little pale as well… something was clearly wrong."I'm just not feeling too well," was all she mumbled before she looked up at Dean. "You think I could go lie down in the car?"Nodding, he reached into his pocket, pulling out the keys. "Just… let us know if you need anything.""Yeah, okay. Thanks." She lightly nodded as she reached for the keys.We watched as she stood up and walked out, her hands shoved into her leather jacket's pockets. Her head down, hair falling around her, back hunched slightly… she looked nothing like the fun-loving Lizzie we were used to…Shaking my head, I turned back to Dean, knowing there was nothing we could do to help Lizzie at that moment. We had more pressing things to deal with. "This whole thing's ridiculous."Frowning, Dean turned his gaze to me. "What? Are you saying Liz is ridiculous? Or are you saying Lilith is ridiculous?""The idea of me hooking up with Lilith is," I answered.He chuckled lightly, clearly not agreeing with me. "Right. 'Cause something like that can never happen."I started to scowl but stopped myself, not wanting to fight with him. "Dean, for the first time, we have warning that Lilith is close.""So?""So... we've got the jump on her. If we know when she's coming, we know where she is. This is an opportunity.""Are you-" Before he could snap, Dean stopped himself and started again. "It frustrates me when you say such reckless things.""Well, it frustrates me when you'd rather hide than fight."The waitress came back then, with a smile and our food. "Cobb salad for you." She placed the plate in front of me before turning to Dean. "And the tofu veggie burger for you.""Thank you." Dean nodded to her. Once she left he leaned forward, talking to me again. "It's not hiding. It's being smart. It's picking your battles. This is a battle that we are not ready to fight." he argued as he grabbed his burger. I watched him take a bite, waiting to see his response, only to be shocked as his eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, my god. This is delicious. Tofu is amazing!"Hurrying back, the waitress looked down at Dean apologetically, clearly flustered. "I am so sorry. I gave you the bacon cheeseburger by mistake," she told him before she grabbed his plate and took it away.
So much for getting off the book…

Bamby