Day 9
"Mum, what's wrong?" Jo asked, sitting next to Ellen.
"It's nothing," she said.
"Mum, I know when something's up with you," she replied. "I know it's hard now that Ash isn't here..."
"It's not about Ash," Ellen said. "Well, it is, but there's more."
"What is it?" Jo said.
"You can't tell anyone, alright? At least until I work out what to do."
"Mum, you can trust me."
"Before Ash died, he left a map in the safe for me to give to Dean," Ellen explained.
"I know he did. You said that he had marked out the Devil's trap in Southern Wyoming."
"Please Jo, just let me finish. He also left a letter to me in there. It explained how he had a sister, Bethany, who lived in Australia. He left me a phone number to ring her on. It turns out that she has abilities too. Like Sam. He said that if anything was to happen to him, for me to call her and she can help."
"So have you rung her yet?" Jo asked.
"What am I supposed to say? 'Hi I'm Ellen. Your brother is dead and we need your help to save the world.' "
"You'll think of something. You always do," she said. "And it's entirely up to you, but don't you think you should tell Sam and Dean about this?"
"No, not yet. I want to at least talk to her, to find out about her," Ellen replied. "And besides, I think the boys have enough to deal with at the moment, with the war and trying to get Dean out of this stupid deal of his."
"Ring her," Jo said, passing her the phone. "It's what Ash would have wanted."
Ellen smiled and took the phone before she headed outside. She pulled the note out of her pocket and dialled the number Ash had written.
"Hello?"
"Hi, you probably don't know who I am, but my name is Ellen Harvelle. Is this Bethany Coleman?"
"Ellen? As in Ash's Ellen?"
"You know who I am then."
"Yeah, Ash talked about you all of the time. And Jo too. Is he ok?"
"Beth, there was an accident. There was a fire and Ash was caught inside. He didn't make it. I'm so sorry."
"I thought something must have happened to him. He rang me, about a week or two ago. He was stressed out and worried. He told me that something big was happening, and he needed me to come back to help him, so he could look after me."
"Well, your brother was right. We need your help."
"With the demon?"
"Just how much do you know about the Demon?"
"Ash, he taught me a lot before I moved to Australia, and he kept me informed on what had been going on since. After I escaped Cold Oak, he did everything possible to hide me from the world. He did a good job too. None of the demons found me. The only way they could get to me was in my dreams."
"Wait, you said you were in Cold Oak?"
"It's a long story. I can get into America by tomorrow night and we can talk more then if you'd like."
"Catch a flight to Pierre Regional Airport, South Dakota. Give me a call back on this number when you have your flight details, ok?"
"Alright," she said. "I guess I'll see you later then."
"See you tomorrow."
Day 10
Beth had rung them with her flight number and now, Jo, Ellen and Bobby went inside to wait for her. They waited by the gate and looked at all of the people who went past. Ellen was able to pick Beth out straight away. Ash carried a photo of her in his wallet, although he never told Ellen who it was. She had asked, but he never told her. Ellen walked over to her and smiled.
"Bethany?"
"You must be Ellen. It's good to finally meet you," she replied.
"You too. I just wish it could have been under better circumstances. This is my daughter, Jo," Ellen added, indicating towards Jo.
"Wow, you look exactly like Ash described you," she said, smiling.
"Bobby Singer," he said, holding out his hand. She shook it and they went to pick up her bags.
On their way out to the car, Bobby stopped them and handed Beth a flask.
"Let me guess. Holy Water?" she asked.
"Just to be sure," he replied.
She took a swig out of the flask, swallowed and handed it back to Bobby. "See?"
"Ok then, now that that's sorted, let's go and meet the boys."
They pulled up into a salvage yard and Bobby stopped the car. They got out and Bobby and Beth got her bags.
"You sure you brought enough stuff with you?" Bobby asked.
"Well, I figured that I was never going back to Australia so there was no point leaving anything behind," she replied. "I didn't really have anything there anyway."
Ellen held the door open while they walked inside. Beth noticed that the doorway was lined with salt, as were the window sills.
"Bobby? Is that you?" she heard someone call from the other room.
"Yeah, we're back. Do you boys wanna come in here for a second?"
"Hang on, we'll be right out," Dean said. A man with short, dark blonde hair and hazel-green eyes came into the room, soon followed by a younger man with longer brown hair and blue-green eyes, who looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place how.
"Beth, right? I'm Dean, this is my brother, Sam," the first guy said.
"Pleased to meet you," she replied.
"So you're a spoon-bender like Sammy, huh?" Dean asked.
"Dean!" Sam said.
"It's fine, and yes, I am."
"So why didn't Ash ever mention he had a sister?" Bobby asked.
"Because we decided that it was too risky to tell anyone about me," Beth said. "For both of us, and anyone else who knew."
"Ellen said that when you were talking to her yesterday, you said that you'd been to Cold Oak, and that you managed to escape?" Sam asked.
"Don't ask me how I got out. All I know is that one day, about six months ago, I woke up in Cold Oak and there was this girl there, Ava or something. She was the first person I met when I woke up. I went to sleep that night and I saw the dude with the yellow eyes. He visited me in my dream and told me that he had other plans for me. When I woke up the next morning, I was back in my house in Australia."
"The demon let you go?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah," Beth replied. "I don't know why. He just said that I had a new purpose."
"So why did you moved to Australia?" Jo asked. "I mean, wouldn't you be safer here, with your family, rather than overseas by yourself?"
"Ash set it all up so that I could disappear," she said. "I had been visited from the demon every few years since I was little. Eventually, it got to the point where I was desperate to get away from it. So desperate that I started a new life. And by doing so I had to leave everything behind."
"So what sort of psychic ability do you have?" Sam asked. "Premonitions? Mind control?"
"I can sort of control demons. I can make them do basically anything that I want. Well, to a certain extent anyway," she added. "I can summon them without spells or anything like that and, I don't know, I'm kinda immune to certain things. I have some other ones too. Telepathy, telekinesis."
"Ok, how come you have so many abilities?" Ellen asked. "I thought that the psychics only had one or two."
"Ash said that it was probably hereditary. Ash and I, we both had a small amount of demon blood in us," she replied. "You see, many years ago, my great-grandfather, or something like that, he was a hunter, and one of his parents was human and the other was a demon. He hunted the yellow-eyed demon all of his life. This was back in like the early 1800's. Anyway, he created all of these things to try and stop this demon. One of these was a gun. It's said that this gun can –"
"Kill anything," Sam finished, turning to Dean.
"Samuel Colt," Dean said. "Son of a –"
"That's right," Beth replied. "You boys have done your homework, I see."
"So you're saying that you and Ash are direct descendants for Samuel Colt, who was half-demon?" Ellen said. "The same Samuel Colt that build the Devil's trap in Southern Wyoming?"
"Wait, you guys found the trap?" Beth asked.
"Ash did," Bobby replied. "He marked out the churches and from that we were able to discover the railway lines."
"Do you reckon I could have a look at his work sometime? Maybe I might be able to pick up on something he left behind. When we were little, he used to make me secret messages and leave them in his work."
"Sure, feel free to have a look. But for now I think we should all call it a night," Ellen said. "It's been a big day, for all of us."
"Good idea Ellen," Dean said. "Beth, you can have my room if you'd like. I probably end up crashing on the lounge anyway."
"You sure? I don't mind the couch," she said.
"No bother. Really. Just excuse the mess."
She smiled and said goodnight to everyone before practically falling onto the bed and she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Day 11
"Hello Bethy."
Beth turned around. "What do you want?" she asked the yellow-eyed demon.
"Just a chat, like always," he replied. "You know, I never thought you had it in you. Coming back to the States. Especially after loosing dear Mummy and Daddy and now your beloved Ash."
"You know that I'm going to kill you, right?" Beth said. "As soon as I find the Colt, you're finished."
"You really don't know yet, don't you?" the demon replied, smiling.
"Know what?"
"I'm going to leave it up to you to figure that one out," he said. "See you round, Bethy."
Beth sat up in bed, rubbing her head. In the last month, the demon visited her a few times a week. She was still trying to work out what the demon meant, when she got up to get a drink, only to realize that she was at the salvage yard, not her apartment in Australia. She headed past the lounge, towards the kitchen. Dean was there, leaning on the bench, with a cup of coffee in his hand.
"Hey," he said. "What are you doing up?"
"Couldn't sleep. What about you?"
"Same. So you're great-grandfather is Samuel Colt?" Dean asked.
"Yeah," Beth replied. "I don't get what the big deal is. I mean, everyone's gotta be related to someone. Your Dad, he was a great hunter."
"I suppose I owe you one," Dean said, smiling. "If it wasn't for you, that yellow-eyed bastard would still be breathing."
"What are you talking about?" Beth asked.
"The yellow-eyed demon, the one that can only be killed by the Colt? Shot in the chest? As in dead, gone, finished, terminated."
"The demon is dead?"
"Jeez, I thought you were a bit quicker," Dean said, shaking his head. "That's what usually happens when a demon gets shot in the chest with the Colt, they die."
"That's impossible," Beth said. "How can the demon still be visiting me in my dreams if he's dead?"
"What? You still see the demon?"
"Yeah, I had another dream, just before I came out here," she replied. "Dean, what's happening here?"
"I don't know, but that's what we're trying to figure out," he said, putting his hand on hers.
Day 43
Sam, Dean and Beth had just found the demons that were responsible for killing Ash. Beth had secretly wished that her great grandfather had made more bullets for the colt. She had always wondered why he only made 13 bullets. The demon told Beth that Ash had been screaming while burning to death. Beth ran out of the room and was soon followed by Dean.
"Beth. I'm so sorry," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I had no idea it was the same demon."
"It's not your fault," she replied. "It's mine."
"Hey, listen to me," he said, turning her around so she was facing him. "This is not your fault. Why would you think that?"
"Ash spent his whole life trying to keep me safe," Beth said. "And it ended up killing him."
"Come here," Dean said, pulling her close. "He loved you, ok? And he never would have blamed you for anything, so you shouldn't blame yourself."
"I miss him Dean," she whispered into his chest. "I miss him so much."
Dean stroked her hair. She looked up and her eyes connected with Dean's. She lent in and their lips connected in a passionate kiss.
Dean pulled away after a few seconds. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken advantage of you like that."
"You weren't taking advantage of anything," Beth replied, before starting to lean in again.
"No Beth," Dean said, stopping her. "We just cant."
"Why not?"
"You know why! I need to use the next 10 months to concentrate on killing as many of these demons as possible," he replied. "And in the next 10 months, you're going to get attached, I'm going to get attached, and then we both wont be able to let go."
"No," she said.
"What?" Dean asked.
"That's not good enough Dean," she said. "I would rather spend 10 months with you than a lifetime without you."
"That's my point Beth," he said. "You will have to spend the rest of your life without me in 10 months."
"I don't care," she declared. "I'll make sure that it's the happiest 10 months of my life."
Dean sighed. "You know you can be very persuasive, right?"
"I know," she said, a small smile gracing her lips.
Dean laughed and threw his arm around her shoulder. "We've got to discuss this more, but ok, you win."
"So there's nothing that can be done to get you out of this?" Beth asked.
He shook his head. "Not that we know of. And I'd rather let it happen than risk stopping it. The demon said that if I tried to get out of it, she'd kill Sam then and there."
"There must be something that we can do," she said.
"There is," Dean replied. "We can kill as many demons as possible in the next year and make the most of the time I have left."
Day 188
Beth, Dean and Sam had met up with Jo, Ellen and Bobby a few days ago. They had gone back to the Salvage Yard to catch up and swap notes. Beth had been able to catch Sam by himself and asked him if he would help her with something. Sam agreed and they told the others that they had to go and check something out and would be back later that night, before heading out.
"So are you going to tell me where we're going?" Sam said, as they pulled out of the Salvage Yard.
"I need to talk to an old friend of Dean's," Beth replied. "Just head somewhere secluded."
Sam pulled up in the middle of an empty paddock and shut off the engine. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, turning to Beth.
"Sam, it's fine," Beth said, getting out. "I promise, I'm not going to make any deals with it."
Sam nodded before following Beth to the middle of the paddock. Sam drew out a devil's trap before turning back to Beth.
"You ready?" he asked.
"Let's do it," she replied. She closed her eyes and focused on the red-eyed demon.
"Bethany Coleman."
Beth turned around and saw a man was standing right in the middle to the trap. His eyes flicked red as he spoke.
"I take it you know why I'm here," she replied.
"I can guess," the demon said. "And since you brought Sammy along, I'm guessing Dean."
"Release him from his contract," Beth said.
"I'd love to help you, I really would. But it can't be done. And you know that I'm telling the truth. Another one of your special gifts, right?"
Beth turned to Sam. "Can you go and wait in the car for me?"
"Beth, I really don't think –"
"Sam, please," she said, cutting him off. "I'm just going to talk. That's all."
He nodded and headed off to sit in the impala. Beth turned back to the demon.
"What do I have to do to get him out of it?" Beth asked.
The demon smiled. "There is a way. But there are no guarantees and you'll have to risk everything you have."
"Tell me."
"I cant promise you anything and there is only a slight chance that it will work," he said. "I know all about your powers, about how they work."
"What do you have in mind?" she asked.
"The only way to free someone from their contract without selling your own soul is from hell itself."
Beth paused. "So you're saying I have to physically go to hell if I want to save Dean."
He nodded. "That's it."
She thought for a moment. "You can't tell anyone what we talked about, or that I talked to you."
"Alright," he said. "Now can you let me out?"
Beth grabbed his arm. "Make a deal on it."
The demon kissed Beth. "You got all of the information you wanted. Now let me go."
Beth kicked away a bit of the devil's trap that Sam had marked out.
"I'll be seeing you soon," the demon said, before disappearing.
Beth slowly walked back to the car, still going over everything in her mind.
"What did it tell you?" Sam asked as Beth got in.
"Nothing really," Beth lied. "Just the same crap we already know."
Day 334
Beth sat on the bench in the bathroom, her watch in one hand and a home pregnancy test in the other. 'I'm not old enough to be a mother. A 19-year-old can barely look after herself, yet alone a child,' she thought. 'What am I talking about? I've been looking after myself all my life. I can handle this.' Still arguing with herself, she threw it in the bin before washing her hands and opening the door. Dean had gone to get something to eat and Sam was sitting at the table, researching on his laptop. It was exactly one month until Dean's deal ran out and Beth decided it was time to tell Sam the truth.
"Hey Sam," she started. "Can I talk to you about something?"
"Of course you can," he replied, shutting his laptop. "What's up?"
"If I tell you something, you have to promise to let me finish, ok?" she said, sitting on the bed, facing him.
"What is it?"
"You remember when we went to see the demon and I said that it didn't tell me anything. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He gave me some information which was rather useful and I think I have a plan on how we can end this war."
"Really?" Sam asked.
"Well, I cant do it by myself," Beth said. "It's not going to be easy and I'm going to need your help. But what we have to do is get all of the demons together at once."
"How are you planning to do that?"
"I've got it all worked out but you've gotta trust me."
"Beth, I don't think –"
"Sam, I know what I'm doing," she replied. "You just have to trust me enough to let me do this. And you cant breathe a word of this to Dean. He'll never agree with it."
"As long as you do your part, I'll take care of the rest."
"And what is my part?"
Beth smiled and told him what he needed to do.
Day 365
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure? Measure a year
They had all arrived in Wyoming a few days ago. They were staying at an abandoned house and an uneasy feeling was settling over the room. Dean had been trying to make wisecrack remarks all day but even he had given up after a couple of hours.
"Come on guys," Dean said. "Stop feeling down. We all knew this day was coming."
"Don't give up yet Dean," Beth replied.
"Yeah. We can still figure something out," Sam added
"Dude, don't make this any harder than it already is," he said. "I just want to spend my last day with the people I love, not waste my time on false hope."
In daylights, In sunsets,
In midnights, In cups of coffee,
In inches, In miles,
In laughter, In strife
The all sat around the house for the rest of the day, reminiscing about the past. I was getting dark and Dean sighed.
"Ok, well, we've all successfully dodged the topic for the last few hours, but lets get down to business. And no-one bitch about the chick flick moments!" he said as he got up and went to sit next to Jo.
"I suck at long speeches but I'll give it a go. Jo, you're like my little sister. We've had our ups and downs in the past, and no matter what, we've managed to pull through it. You once told me that you do the job for your Dad. Well, I know that he would be so proud of the beautiful woman that you've become. No matter what happen, you will always have people around you who love you and never give up on what you believe in." Dean reached over and kissed her on the cheek, before turning around and talking to Ellen.
"You took me and Sammy in and made us a part of your family from the moment you first met us. You made us feel like we had a home that we could always go to, no matter what happened. Even after everything that happened with Bill, you still welcomed us into you home. You've become the mum we lost so long ago, and for that, I can never thank you enough." He hugged her and Beth saw the first tears starting to form in the corner of his eye. Ellen kissed his forehead and he got up to see Bobby.
"Mate, you have done so much for me and Sammy all of our lives, especially over the last few years. When Meg was after us, when we lost Dad, when Sam was possessed, when Sammy went missing, not matter what happened, you were always there for us. Like Ellen, you've become like one of our parents. I could spend my life trying to find some way to show you how much you have given us, but it would be impossible. There are no words for it so all I can say is thank you," he finished, as Bobby pulled him into a hug.
Dean pulled away after a while and went to sit between Sam and Beth.
"I don't blame you for anything Sammy," Dean said, hugging him. "It saved your life and I'd do it again in a heartbeat to keep you safe."
"Beth and me, we have a plan to fix this," he said. Dean pulled away and turned to Beth.
"Sweetie, you have to let me go," he replied. "You both do."
"I'm going to save you Dean," she whispered as she leant against his chest. "You can't leave me. We're going to be a family, alright?"
"I'm sorry babe, but this is happening and you can't stop it," Dean said, stroking her hair. "I'll always be with you though, no matter what. They can never take that away from us."
"They wont," she said.
"I'm going to go and get another coffee," he said, getting up. "Anyone else want anything?"
"I'll get it," Bobby started.
"It's fine Bobby," Dean replied, shooting him a look that told him to stay where he was. Bobby nodded and Dean went to the kitchen.
In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in a life?
A few seconds later, they heard a crash from the kitchen. Beth and Sam were the first up, and started towards the noise. Bobby grabbed Sam to stop him and Ellen reached for Beth but she was too fast. She pushed past and ran to the kitchen. Dean was lying face down on the ground, the mug smashed on the floor next to him. She dropped to her knees beside him.
How about love?
Measure in love... Seasons of love...
"I'm sorry Dean," she started. "I know you told me not to, but I don't have a choice."
She rested her head on his stomach, watching his chest and wishing that it would start moving. By now, the rest of them were standing in the doorway, not that Beth noticed.
"I need you back Dean," she whispered. "I'll be damned if I'm going to raised this kid by myself, let alone have it grow up without a father."
Beth felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up.
"You wont be alone," Sam said. "How long have you know you were pregnant?"
"One month," she said, before getting up. "We've gotta go."
"Wait, go where?" Ellen asked.
"To the trap," she replied.
"What are you talking about?" Jo said.
"Beth has a plan to end the war," Sam told the three of them. He turned back to Beth. "But that's not going to bring him back."
"There's more to the plan then just ending the war," Beth said, standing up and leaning against the bench, trying to clear her thoughts.
"What are you talking about?" he asked standing behind her.
"We've gotta get moving," she replied, trying to get pass Sam. "I'll explain on the way. I need everyone for this to work."
"What do we do with Dean?" Jo said. "We cant just leave him here."
"He's coming with us. Now let's get moving."
They started to argue but it was Sam that cut them off. "I trust Beth. So the sooner we go, the sooner we find out what she's got planned."
Bobby pulled up at the cemetery and met the others, who had all come in the impala.
"So what's this great plan?" Jo asked bitterly.
"Jo," Sam warned and she fell silent.
"I know we're all hurting after loosing Dean," Beth said, "but I have a plan that, if all goes well, will end the war, and also bring Dean back."
"How?" Ellen asked.
"Well, to start with, we need to have Dean in the trap," she said. "Then it gets interesting."
The told them the rest of the plan and waited for them to reply.
"You can't be serious," Jo said.
"No," Ellen added. "It's too risky."
"Ellen's right Beth," Sam replied. "I was fine with the whole demon part, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let you sacrifice yourself, even to save Dean."
"Don't you guys get it?!" she yelled. "I'm not just going to give up on him! I'm not going to let Dean never know his child. I'm not going to let Sam and Jo loose a brother, I'm not going to let Ellen and Bobby loose a son and I'm not going to let my child loose it's father. I have to do this, for all of us."
Bobby spoke for the first time since Dean died. "Are you sure this will work?" he asked Beth.
"Yes," she replied. "It has to," she said to herself.
"What do you want me to do?" he said. "Everyone else in?"
They all nodded. Beth's speech had touched them all in one way or another, and now they were all ready to bring Dean back to them.
After Beth had put them where they needed to be and told them what they had to do, she went back to Sam.
"You ready?" she asked.
"No, not really," he replied. "You?"
"No way," she said smiling. She and Sam linked hands and used all of their powers to summon the demons into the devil's trap. Beth had already drawn up a separate devil's trap for the red-eyed demon and had managed to trap him in there.
"Now!" she called out to Bobby, Jo and Ellen. They quickly worked together to repair the broken iron railway track so that the demons couldn't escape again.
While the other three were working on the rail, Sam and Beth went over to the Red-eyed demon.
"If this goes south, I want you to promise me that you'll get the others and get the hell out of here, ok?" Beth said. Sam didn't say anything. "Sam?"
"Alright," he replied.
"I'm serious Sam," she warned. "If you don't, I'll come back and haunt you or whatever, and I'll get Dean to help me."
Sam shook his head. "You and Dean are exactly the same, you know that right? It's a little creepy."
Beth smiled and stopped in front of the demon.
"Bethany, I see you listened to my advice, although I'm not sure what you hope to achieve by bringing everyone here," the demon said.
"Oh, just a little reunion of sorts," she replied. "So you still prepared to make that deal with me?"
"Oh you know I can pass up a good deal," he said, smiling. "And watching you pine over Dean is just too sweet. It's comforting to know that you might not make it back."
Beth nodded for Sam to go and turned back to the demon. "Oh, I'm making it back, and Dean is too," she said. "Now, you know what I want. It's pretty easy. All you have to do is send me downstairs for an hour or so, and then I come back."
"That's not a part of the deal," the demon replied.
"It is now," Beth said. "Either take the deal now, or I'll send you straight to hell. It's up to you."
"Fine, but it's you're funeral," he said.
"I don't think so," Beth said, sealing the deal.
Beth opened her eyes and knew why people described things as being like hell. She walked pass piles of flesh and bone and fire leaped from all around. Dark smoke figures flew around, demon who didn't have a body to possess. She looked around for a while before finding someone who looked familiar.
"Dean!" she called out, running up behind him.
He turned around just as she reached him.
"Beth?" he asked as she hugged him, clearly shaken to see her. "What are you – ?"
"I told you I was going to save you, and I wasn't lying," she replied.
"I told you that you had to let me go," he said. "What did you do? Did you sell you soul?"
"No, but it's complicated," she said. "Do you trust me?"
"What?"
"Dean, do you trust me?" she asked him again. "This is only going to work if you trust me."
"I trust you," he replied. "Beth, listen, if we get out of this alive, you marry me?"
"Yes, I'll marry you but we're not out of this yet," she said. "Dean, no matter what happens, you can't come back for me, ok?"
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
She kissed him. "It's time to go," she said, looking up.
Dean felt his feet leave the ground and felt like he was being sucked towards the sky. He looked up and saw an opening which was drawing nearer. As he looked back down, he saw Beth getting further and further away. He tried to call out to her, the worry and pain clear in his voice, but she never replied.
It was taking all of Beth's strength to lock all of demon in hell where they were, let alone drag the rest of the bastards down too, all while making sure Dean could get away. Beth watched as he rose above her, pass the demons which were now rushing by. She heard him call out, and when she heard the fear and torment in his voice, her heart broke.
Dean gasped as he felt the life come back into him. He sat up and tried to get his bearings. He suddenly got flashbacks of everything that had happened. It took him a while before he realised that he was in the same devil's trap he hadn't been in for nearly a year. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sam standing by himself, looking to the other side of the trap. Dean followed his gaze and saw Ellen, Bobby and Jo trying to shut the devil's gate.
"Stop!" Dean called out, while they're trying to close the gate. Sam looked up and saw that Dean was alive. Dean started running at them but Sam stopped him.
"Sammy, let me go!"
"No Dean. It's the only way to end the war, and you know it," he replied, trying to hold his struggling brother.
"I don't care about the God-damn war, alright? I'm not going to let her go!" Dean yelled, as he managed to get away from Sammy, just as they were able to close the gate. He fell silent and walked to the impala. Sam followed him and watched as he opened the trunk and pulled out a small box.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked, already knowing the answer.
"No-one else is dying to save me," he said, pulling out his wallet and putting one of his ID cards into the box before walking off.
"This is ridiculous," Sam said, grabbing his arm and stopping. "Hey, listen to me. We cant keep making deals with demons to save each other." When Dean didn't answer, he continued. "You told Beth that she had to let you go, well now it's your turn to let go."
Dean dropped the box to the ground and Sam watched as all the strength that he was able to pull together disappeared. "She told me not to come back for her, Sammy."
"Do you really want to let her down by not honouring her final wish?" Sam asked, putting his hand on Dean's shoulder.
"I'll let her down her either way. It's what I do best" Dean said, walking over and collapsing to the ground next to Beth's body.
By now, the other three had made their way over. "Sweetie, you can't stay here," Ellen said, standing next to Dean.
"Go, all of you," he replied.
"Dean, come with us," Sam said. "When we lost Mum, when I lost Jess, you said that no matter what we do, they're gone, and they're not coming back..."
Dean turned and stared at him before turning back to Beth.
Sam started to say something but Bobby put his hand on Sam's shoulder and stopped him.
"Give him some time mate," he said, pulling him back. "He needs him time alone with her. Trust me, it's how he deals with things."
"How do you know?" Sam asked
"It's how he coped when he lost you."
"Bethany Coleman, who would have thought we'd find you down here."
Beth turned around and came face to face with a solid person. He looked familiar and Beth recognised him as the demon that killed Ash.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"It's more what you want," he replied. "I can make a deal, for you to have Ash back, and since you're already in hell, you don't have to sell your soul."
"How the hell can you do that?" Beth said. "Normal demons can't organise deals."
"No, but I have friends in high places who can organise it for us."
"Ok, I'll do it but first you have to tell me what you want," Beth replied.
Sam, Ellen, Bobby and Jo were standing near the cars, where they could give Dean some space but still keep an eye on him. Sam was leaning against the car when he got a sharp headache.
"Sam? You ok?" Jo asked.
"My head," Sam said. He got a buzzing in his ears and heard Beth's voice.
"One of the demon said I can get Ash back if I release him from hell. I need you guys to get the demon as soon as he gets out. Head to the most northern point of the trap and I'll release him there. He said that Ash will be returned to the nearest cemetery. Pick him up there and bring him back to the trap."
"Sam!" Ellen yelled, as Bobby tried to keep him from falling. "What happened?"
"Beth," he panted, trying to catch his breath. "She told me that they were going to bring Ash back and one of the demons was getting out."
"What?" Bobby asked. "How can Ash be coming back?"
"I don't know," Sam said. "Maybe she made a deal. We gotta go though. If this demon gets out, who knows what it will do to release the others."
"What about Dean?" Beth said.
"She's right," Ellen said. "We can't just leave him here."
"Give me a second," he replied, going over to see his brother. He bent down next to Dean. "We got a message, from Beth. She worked out a way to bring Ash back."
Dean was still sitting next to Beth's body. When he didn't respond, Sam turned and walked back to the others.
"He's not moving," Sam told them. "Look, we can go and come back in under 30 minutes. He'll be fine. And it's not like we really have a choice."
"Ok," Bobby said. "Ellen and I will go and see if the demon was telling the truth about Ash and you and Jo can kill him when he escapes."
"Sounds good," Sam replied, before they headed off in separate directions.
The tears were now falling freely from Dean's eyes. He didn't care who saw him like this, he just wanted Beth back. "I'm sorry Beth," he said. "All of my life, I've lost the people that I care about. My Mum, my Dad, Sammy and now you. I should have never fallen for you in the first place. I should have known you would get hurt. So I suppose this is my punishment, for thinking that I could have the same kind of life as everyone else. The same kind of love. I guess me screwing things up is just what I'm meant to do. I deserve what has happened, but you didn't, so I'm sorry. For everything."
He bent over and kissed her cold lips. He held her hands in his and whispered in her ear.
"I love you."
Dean felt her fingers start to move under his. "Beth?"
Her eyes flew open and tried to catch her breath. When her breathing had slowed down, she turned to Dean. "Hey Sweetie."
"Oh, I'm so happy to see you alive," Dean said, cradling her in his arms. "Don't you ever scare me like that again."
"I'll do my best," she said, smiling. When she kissed his lips, Dean immediately noticed that the warmth had returned.
Jo and Sam pulled up to the cemetery and were soon joined by Ellen, Bobby and Ash. They all walked back to the cemetery together. When Ash saw Beth in Dean's arms, he thought that what Ellen and Bobby had told him was true, that Beth was really dead. Beth and Dean heard the sound of Ash running and looked up. Ash stopped in this tracks when he saw that Beth was alive.
"Beth?"
"Ash!" Beth said, scrambling to her feet and running over to him.
"How did –?"
"Don't worry about that now," she replied, hugging him tightly. "I can't believe it actually worked."
"What worked? Bethy, what's going on?" Ash asked.
"Long story," she said, as Dean came over to join them. "I'll fill you in later. But for now, business must come first."
She took Ash and Dean's hands and the three of them walked back to the others. They were all surprised to see Beth alive.
"I thought something had happened and it didn't work," Sam explained. "Then I got your message and I didn't know what to think."
"Did you get the demon?" Beth asked. He nodded.
"None of it really matters now anyway," Ellen said. "All that matters is that everyone is alive and safe."
"Well, this has been a fun day," Bobby said. "The final tally; We had 2 deaths, 3 resurrections and one war ended."
"You know what this means, right?" Sam asked happily, turning to Dean.
"Dad got his wishes. We can stop loosing people, you can go to school..."
"You and Beth can have a home," Sam added.
Dean draped his arm across Beth's shoulder. "Yeah, and although Mum can't be alive, I'm sure that her and Dad are together again. And now that this is finally over, let's all go home."
Epilogue
Beth cursed to herself as she knocked her coffee over. "Hey Dean, can you take Mary for a minute?" Beth called out.
"Yeah, give me a sec," he said from the other room. He took her off Beth and handed her the cloth.
"Thanks," she said, starting to clean up the mess. "And keep Shaun out of the kitchen for me too!"
"He's drawing in the lounge so I doubt he'll be moving anytime soon," Dean said, walking off just as the phone started ringing.
"I'll get it," Beth called out, reaching across the bench for the phone. "Winchester Residence."
"Hey Beth, it's Bobby."
"Hi Bobby. What's up?" she asked.
"I need to talk to you about something," he said. "Do you reckon you could get Sam and Jo to meet me at your house tonight at say, 9:00?"
"They'll have to drive back from Nebraska. They went up to the Roadhouse for a few days."
"Shouldn't Sam be at school?"
"He took a few weeks holidays so they could go and see Ellen and Ash," Beth replied. "He's been crammed with his study now that he's nearly finished his degree."
"Tell them that I'll pick them all up on the way through. Ask them if Ash and Ellen can come too," Bobby said.
"Bobby, what is it?" she said. "You're scaring me."
"Don't worry Beth," he replied. "I'll see you soon."
"See you later," she said hanging up.
She went to tell Dean about her conversation with Bobby. It had been nearly 4 years since the war had ended, and they all kept in touch with each other fairly often. Although the demons had been completely eradicated, there were still other supernatural creatures that needed hunting. Luckily though, there were still plenty of other hunters who still wanted to keep hunting, allowing Sam and Dean to give it up. Dean and Beth had gotten married and moved to Lawrence. They had two children; Shaun was going on 4, Mary was 2 and Beth was pregnant with their third child. Sam and Jo were engaged and had a son who they named John. They lived on the other side of town from Beth and Dean and often visited each other. Ellen and Ash had moved back to Nebraska and rebuilt the Roadhouse. They still kept in touch with everyone and always loved to know what was going on, especially with the kids. Ellen was enjoying being a grandmother, and Ash loved having a little niece and nephew running around. Bobby still lived at the Salvage Yard but often stopped in to see everyone.
"What do you think it's about?" Beth asked.
"No idea," Dean replied. "But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Anyway, I've got some work to do at the garage. The impala is making some funny noises."
"Ok. Just don't be home too late," she said. "Dinner will be ready at 6."
"I'll be here," Dean replied, kissing her cheek. She put Mary in the playpen before going to her office. She tried to get some work done on her university studies but she was distracted by what Bobby could be coming to talk to them about.
She started getting dinner ready at 6. Dean came home shortly after that and went for a shower. When he came back down, he set the table while Beth dished out dinner. After dinner, Beth went for a shower while Dean bathed the kids and put them to bed.
When Beth was changed, she headed back downstairs.
"Sammy called," Dean told her. "He said they'll be here in half and hour or so."
"Good," she said. "I just want to know what Bobby needs to tell us."
Just over half and hour later, the doorbell rang and Dean went to answer it. Dean had told Beth to put her feet up for a while. Beth got up when they all entered the room.
"Can I put John down somewhere?" Sam said, carrying the sleeping little boy.
"Yeah, you can put him up in Shaun's room if you want," Dean said. Sam thanked him before going upstairs.
"Hey sis," Ash said, hugging her. "You look great!"
"Thanks Ash."
"Ash is right, you're positively glowing," Jo said. "Pregnancy does wonders for you."
"Well, between the morning sickness and the cravings, you'd want to make sure you get something out of it," she replied, smiling.
"Well, it's all worth it at the end, isn't it?"
"Absolutely," Beth said. "So Bobby, what is this big news?"
"Yeah, she's been annoying me about it all day and I think the rest of us are anxious to know what's going on," Dean added.
"Let's sit down," he replied.
"I'll go and get some drinks," Dean said.
"I'll give you a hand," Ellen said, following him to the kitchen. Sam came back downstairs and sat on the lounge next to Jo.
Dean and Ellen returned soon with drinks for everyone. When they were all comfortable, Bobby started.
"I was looking out for some hunts for a friend of mine when I came across this," he said, spreading a map out on the coffee table. There were 3 X's spread randomly across Utah.
"What are we supposed to be looking at Bobby?" Jo asked.
"About a week ago, I found signs in these three areas," he explained, pointing at the X's. "I cant think of anything to explain it. The only explanation for it is demonic omens. I've been keeping and eye out and I'm sure that the demons are back."
An uneasy silence fell across the room and they all looked at each other. Beth was the first to speak.
"I knew it was too good to be true," she said sighing.
"We all knew this day was going to come eventually," Ellen explained.
Beth looked at Sam and Dean, who were both smiling. "Want to tell us what's so good about this that the two of you would be grinning like the Cheshire cat?"
The looked at each other and nodded. "We got work to do."