A/N: So sorry! I changed the Valerie B. thing correctly to "One Day at a Time," instead of the" Facts of Life." My oops. Thank you doyleshuny!

All seemed as per usual that particular day until there was a knock at the door. Sam and Dean had spent the day researching the needed tools for the next trial, and to no surprise, were making little progress. Since no one had done this before, there was very little lore to go on. The biggest clues the brothers had were each other—both had been there, both had been trapped there, and neither ever wanted to go back.

They made immediate eye contact when there was a knock at the door.

Dean signaled for Sam to stand down while he armed himself before he answered it. When he opened the door, he was shocked to find a small woman with dark hair and brown eyes, looking up at him.

"Hi. You're Dean, right?"

He peeped his head outside, beyond her, and looked around suspiciously. "Who's asking?"

"My name is Marla. Cas sent me."

He frowned and furrowed his brow, hackles still up and on alert. His mossy eyes scanned her again. She was hot with a capital H. She wasn't tall, but she had long brown hair, deep brown eyes and tanned skin. Her face was full and youthful. Dean though she looked kinda like Valerie Bertinelli in her younger, more "One Day at a Time" days. She was well-dressed for someone in her 20's, with jeans, and a tank layered with a sheer overshirt, as well as a white jean jacket and heeled boots. In short, she was Dean's kinda girl…

She stood, scanning him as well. "Really? 'Cas sent me' isn't the password? Wow, he's lamer than I thought. I need to work on that."

He scanned her again, this time looking up and down. He allowed her to walk over the threshold of the door, knowing that evil could not penetrate its walls. When she made it safety across, he followed her to the top landing.

"This is impressive. Sammy, is that you?"

Sam shot Dean a confused look.

She skipped over to him, hugged his head and kissed his hair. "I haven't seen you for…a long time."

He stood up from his chair, feeling awkward beyond awkward with the intrusion, not knowing who this woman was.

"You got tall."

"Excuse me, Marla, but, who are you?" Dean leaned in.

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry. I'm your guardian angel."

"Wait. What?"

"Your guardian angel. Am I speaking Enochian, 'cuz sometimes I do that."

"How did you find us?" Sam asked, guarded but still wanting more information.

"Cas let me know where you were. He can still find you. Maybe because he was the originator of the symbols on your ribs."

I'm sorry, sister, but I ain't buyin' what you're sellin'," Dean challenged, pouring himself a hefty portion of Johnny Walker. "And, if you are his guardian angel, you need to be fired or…demoted—whatever because you have been painfully absent for a long time."

She left out a sigh and looked down.

He handed a rocks glass to Sam with a generous amount of alcohol in his, too.

"It's eleven o'clock in the morning. Breakfast much?" She asked. "Where's mine?"

"Alright. You said Cas sent you. And where is he?" Dean spoke, leaning against the table.

"Yes, he did send me," she nodded. "He wants me to watch over you. I can't tell you where he is because he won't tell me. He's been AWOL for three weeks. He's not traveling on Angel Airways, or else Naomi would be able to find him and -."

"Who in the hell is Naomi?" Dean started. "He said her name when we were in the crypt."

"She's a witch…well, okay not really a witch. She's the angel that pulled Cas from purgatory. She moved her way up the food chain after the revolution in Heaven. She thought she could use Cas as a tool to kill you. She twisted him and manipulated him, and did awful things to him. If he seemed 'off,' that's why."

"Why kill us?" Sam asked again, astutely.

"You know what the demon tablets are for, right? Well, the angel tablets would do the same thing. And she wants them. Sam, you have been chosen to close the gates of Hell, should you choose to continue your mission. Dean, you can close Heaven."

"And lock the angels away," Sam deduced.

"Yep."

"Anyway, he wants me to watch out for ya. He loves you guys so much. He knows you're not well, Sam, and he wants to make sure you're safe. And he wants me to talk to you guys about these trials."

"You mean to talk us out of it." Sam glared at her. Where was she when I was six months old?

"I mean to present to you the consequences for yourselves, the world and Heaven. I'm not gonna try to talk you out of it. I'm gonna give you the facts. Then you can do what you want. Don't you call yourselves Team Free Will?"

"Okay, wait. Stop. Back up," Dean interrupted. He was irritated. "If you're his guardian angel, where the hell have you been? Do you realize what's happened to him? He's been in Hell. He's been tortured. He saw things that weren't there for a year, and now you pop up? Do you know how many times-."

"I know, Dean. I saw you hugging him tight when you were little and your dad stashed you in a motel room. I saw you chasing him down the hall to change his diaper. I saw you defend him in school and make dinners. I know. To answer your question, I was pulled off your case two days before Sam turned six months old. Two days. And no, I don't know by who or why. What I do know is that you need to be fully aware of what you're facing and I'm here to help you. By the way, I'm your guardian angel, too."

"Like I said-."

"You don't have any venereal diseases, do you? Who do you think that's courtesy of?"

She poured herself a drink.

"Well, neither one of us are on Team Cas right now. He seems like he's on a Team of his own."

"That's too bad. I've known Cas for a millennia. I know his social skill set is, um, a little lacking, but he loves you. When he called me, he was a wreck for what he did to you, Dean. His back is against the wall, and-."

"And what?" Dean pushed.

"And he doesn't want to leave you."

All three took a deep breath and were quiet for a full minute. Then Sam spoke.

"So, what about these trials?"

"Wait. First things first. I need to see what's going on with you. I don't know if I can fix it, but maybe I can find out what it is." She moved closer and Sam sat in the chair he was using when she came in. She pulled over a chair and sat opposite of him, and reached out her right hand to his chest, above his heart. When he flinched, she stopped momentarily. "I won't hurt you, Sam, I promise."

She laid her hand on his ribs, and frowned, concerned. "You're bleeding. Your lungs are bleeding, but it's not cancer or anything. It's a transformation thing. You're chemical makeup is changing. That 's why Cas said it was deeper than the molecular level."

"What does that mean? He's not gonna go all Seth Brundle is he?" Dean asked as he moved closer to his brother.

Sam just stared at this brother incredulously.

"I don't know. It's odd. It's a celestial thing, but I've never seen it before."

Marla kept her hand on Sam's chest, puzzled. Then, she withdrew, and covered her mouth with her hand.

"What? WHAT?" Dean demanded.

She stood up and took a few steps back. She took a breath, and looked at the brothers. "You're turning into an angel."