The floor boards creaked. The smell of sulfur emitted through the room. With ease and stealth, I removed the Colt from under my pillow. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the shadow of a man. He crept into the room and stopped at the foot of the bed. He knew I was awake.

"If you think you're going to kill me with that, think again," he said in a groveled voice.

In a curt voice I responded, "I'm a good shot, I won't miss."

We stayed in silence for the next few minutes, neither of us making a move. We glared at each other.

I wondered why he was here, why this demon was here. I had nothing to give him. He could just be here to kill me for the fun of it, yet I was still alive, so what did he want? I hadn't realized that the demon had begun speaking again until he repeated his question with annoyance.

"Where are Sam and Dean Winchester?"

"I have no idea who they are." I lied.

I knew exactly who the Winchesters were. They were the boys who had a death warrant out for them from every monster and demon alive. Being questioned by a demon shouldn't have been a surprise. To my dismay, I had no idea where the Winchesters were, I had not seen in them in the past year.

The room stayed silent for a few minutes until it finally spoke once more.

"I know you know who they are, but you're not going to tell me anything. You hunters, always making everything more difficult."

"Now you know how it feels when we have to deal with you demons. If you know I'm not going to tell you anything then why are you still here?"

"I can't let you live knowing I'm looking for the Winchesters, now can I?"

At that instant I felt a surge of agonizing pain in my abdomen. The demon had stuck his hand into my body. Fully extending the Colt, I fired at the demon. The room filled with orange and red light as the life drained out of the demon. Gently coming off the bed, I walked over the dead body and headed to the kitchen in search of the first aid kit.

After entering the kitchen I heard a knock at the door. With the Colt still in hand I quietly walked to the door and opened it. Standing before me were Sam and Dean Winchester.

The boys brushed past me and entered the living room. They gave no introduction, but instead began to pace back and forth. Worried expressions shadowed their faces. Dean looked to be the most worried of the two with his hands on his head and him repeating in a frantic voice, "It's all my fault."

Not wanting to intrude their space I headed into the kitchen and attended to my wound. As I was applying my last bandage, Dean walked in.

"What happened?" Dean asked.

"Demon."

At the mention of demon Dean's eyes widened.

"Jo you dealt with a demon?! What did it want?"

I hesitated a moment before responding in a quiet voice.

"It was looking for you and Sam."

Dean's eyes clouded over with anger and fear. He walked out of the kitchen and headed over to Sam. I could hear a few words that the brothers whispered to each other. They wanted to leave and they needed to get help.

Confusion and terror clogged my mind. Something was wrong. After waiting in the kitchen Dean came back in.

"Grab all your stuff and be ready to leave in ten minutes."

I wasn't one to be given orders and was ready to argue with Dean, but something in Dean's voice and expression made me obey.

The Impala had just passed the Colorado River. We had left my condo in Nevada and were en route to Bobby's home in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

From the beginning, there was an uncomfortable silence in the car. The brothers were lost in their own thoughts and I was left with questions. Dean did not even bother to turn on the radio. After several hours of silence I decided it was time for answers.

"Dean, Sam, what's wrong? What's going on?"

"Jo," Sam said, "we'll explain everything once we get to Bobby's."

"I'm sorry Sam, but I can't wait. I was attacked by a demon in the middle of the night in my home, dragged out of bed, allowed you and Dean into my home after not hearing from you guys for over a year, and was forced to leave my home without any explanation. I think I've been patient enough. Tell me what's going on."

Dean was the one to answer me in a strained voice, "Cas is gone. Missing. We think Crowley has him."

That shut me up. Castiel, the Angel. I had only met him once, but I knew enough about him to know he was important to the Winchesters, especially Dean. Cas was one of the last friends the brothers had. Cas was the one that saved Dean from predation. He had been the only one that had faith in the boys in ending the apocalypse. Dean and Cas, had been through everything together, and now with him gone and with the King of Hell holding him, I knew why the boys were agitated.

Knowing what was at stake now I let the brothers continue on in with silence. Wanting to get rid of the uncomfortable silence, I leaned forward and turned on the radio. The Impala continued on as "Highway to Hell" by ACDC played.

We arrived at Bobby's house after two days of driving. Bobby was waiting outside for us on his porch.

"Hey boys, and Jo. It's great to see that all of you are here in one piece, especially you Jo. It's really good to see you're okay."

"Thanks Bobby, it's great to see you too, you old drunk," I responded with a smile.

Bobby gave me a hug to reassure me he had missed me. I hugged back tightly showing I was glad to see him. Once our greetings were done we headed inside.

The inside of the house was cluttered with more papers and books then I would usually see when I use to visit. Giving a closer look at Bobby I noticed he looked as though he had aged ten years in the one year I'd been gone.

I wasn't sure what had happened over the year, but it must have been tough if Bobby had aged significantly. It could only be the fact that Cas was missing that was taking its toll on Bobby. Nonetheless, things had been dyer, and now, with the Angel gone, things were heading down hill.

Dean stepped forward. He took a glance at the pages and books that were on the table near Bobby. His eyes lightened up. Sam also began to look at the pages, wondering what was giving some hope to Dean.

"Bobby how far are you in finding Cas? It looks like you're closing in on a location," Dean said impatiently.

I hadn't taken a glance at the pages and books, until now and I could see that it did look like a location was being found. I began looking up at Bobby expectantly with Dean.

"I found Cas. He is in West Branch, Iowa."

With relief flooding into his voice, Dean said, "That's great. Why didn't you call us? We could have been heading over there already. Well that's okay, we can go now. Thanks Bobby."

"Dean, wait. I think I know why Crowley wants Cas."

Everyone looked up at Bobby eagerly.

"I think he wants Cas because I think he figured out a way to get Cas to talk."

"Bobby, what do you mean?"

"I read in a book that there's a way to get to Heaven. A secret passage that lets anything into Heaven, even demons. Only the Angeles that protect the Garrison know about it."

My eyes widened with shock and fear. Everything made sense now. Crowley always had an agenda, and now we knew it. What worried me the most was that Cas was not one to talk. The only way Crowley could have Castiel talking was by torture. Looking at the brothers I knew that they were coming to the same realization I came to.

Dean began to swell with panic and anger. He swiped off the papers and books from the nearest table he could find.

I moved closer to Dean, and tried to calm him down.

"Dean, stop it! You're mad, I get it, but you need to calm down. You're not helping anyone by filling yourself with anger. Let's pack up and head out to help Cas. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can get to Cas."

At the mention of Cas Dean calmed down. He looked up at me to search for the honesty in my eyes from my words. Finding it, he nodded and headed out of the room toward the basement to get the weapons.

Once Dean left the room, I walked over to Bobby, Sam followed close behind.

"So Bobby, how do we get to Cas?"

Taking initiative was what I had to do now. Dean was in no condition to be making plans with his feelings jumbled up with anger. Sam looked worried for his brother, not focusing on the task at hand. Bobby was too old for this rescue. I was the only one that had no agenda, could lock up my feelings, and I was prepared to take this case and treat it as that, a case, not a mission to save an Angel.

Bobby explained to me that the building would be surrounded and filled with Crowley's soldiers. We'd have to figure out a way to get rid of all the demons outside. There are four exits that we could enter through. Bobby was sure the building would have more demons inside than outside. Our problem would be maneuvering through all the demons and getting to Crowley in time before he escaped with Cas. Bobby was sure that Castiel was located somewhere in the middle of the building. We'd have about thirty minutes to get in and out with Cas. After that, Bobby was sure Crowley would be gone with Castiel.

I thought up a plan to get us in and out. Once Dean came back, I told him and Sam my plan.

First we'd take out the demons near the side door on the east. With that door cleared, we'd enter and begin to spray paint different sigils and devil's traps to make it more difficult for the demons to get to us. We'd split ways, Sam taking the right side of the building and Dean and I take the left side. I would be the one searching Crowley out while Dean would be there for back - up.

Once Crowley was found, Dean would handle him while I took out Cas. Once Cas was out of the building, I'd call Sam and Sam would take him. I'd return back to get Dean out. We'd take two cars so Sam could leave with Cas and Dean and I could leave together.

It was a simple plan that could go wrong in many ways, but it was all we had. Dean and Sam were okay with it. We headed out, hopeful to reach our destination within a day.

The brothers and I scouted the area around the building. We found the warehouse after doing a little research. The building was a beckon for demons. It was near a cornfield with only a ranch nearby.

There were over twenty demons outside. We were in a rush to get it, but patience was key. Dean couldn't handle it, though. All he wanted to do was run down and take out all the demons.

Sam was looking through a pair of binoculars down near the warehouse when he suddenly turned to us, "Guys, we have an opening."

Dean and I looked through our binoculars and saw what Sam meant. The east door was empty. The demons that we're suppose to be watching over the door had left their post. We could see them a few yards away, talking with other people.

We grabbed our bags and headed down toward the cleared door. With no demons around, we entered the building without killing any. Sam began to spray paint the door with a sigil.

"Okay guys, you start searching the building," Sam said.

Dean and I nodded and started our search. I held the Colt up while Dean kept his demon knife in hand, ready to strike.

"Jo, why are you helping? We haven't exactly been updated with you."

"Well I guess it doesn't matter to me if you guys keep in contact with me or not. Right now helping you is more important. Cas is important to you guys; I know how it is when someone you care about is taken away from you by one of these demons. If I can help to stop this from happening, if I can help you save someone you care about, then it's worth helping out."

We had stopped walking. Dean stepped In front of me to face me. His face was filled with concern...

"What happened to you Jo? What happened this year?"

I looked down; the sadness I locked away for a year was all escaping.

"It was a few months after I last saw you and your brother. I had just begun seeing this guy, a cop. His name was Rick. He knew about my hunter life, and accepted it. We met because of a case…We were close. We knew each other for a short period of time, but, he understood me and accepted what I did and…he loved me.

We were together for three months until my hunting life caught up with me. I came home one night and found our apartment destroyed. I knew what had happened.

I searched and searched until I found him a week later. In an empty warehouse. His body had been beaten repeatedly. He had died by his heart being clawed out of his body.

It was my fault. I let him into my life and he died. I can't let that happen to another person."

Dean pulled me into a hug. He stroked the top of my head as my tears fell from my eyes. When I finally calmed down he looked deep into my eyes.

"None of that is your fault. You could never have done anything to stop it. He knew what he was getting into and he found it worth it. Okay? He loved you and that should bring you happiness, not sadness. Being sad means they won, but being happy, that means you won."

I nodded, and wiped the rest of my tears away. Looking at Dean I saw the care I'd seen in Rick's face. I looked away, and got back to searching for Castiel. Dean followed suit a few seconds after.

Telling Dean what had happened to me over the year was not what I had planned, but it made me relieved. Before Rick, I loved Dean, but Rick had never known. I was beginning to remember why I had loved him.

I kicked those thoughts out of my mind and began to focus more on the search. We had not run into any demons, which was strange. As we headed toward the center of the building, we began to notice them. There was a mass of demons surrounding one room. They noticed us as Dean and I neared the room.

"Well this is going to get bloody," Dean said.

I nodded as we charged toward the group of demons.

We killed off a few demons, but more and more demons came. This area was heavily protected which meant Cas was near. Sam found us and helped us fight off as many demons as possible.

It took a good ten minutes before we cleared the door. All of us were scratched up, but not bad enough to give up. I put my hand on the handle of the door and looked at the brothers. With a nod of approval from the boys, I opened the door.

Crowley had Cas tied to a metal chair in the middle of the room. He was battered from head to toe, his trench coat soaked in blood. There was a metal contraption clasped to his head with nails sticking into his brain.

Before any of us could make a move. Crowley had all of us pinned to the wall. Our weapons were knocked out of our hands. We struggled and fought Crowley's hold on us, but it was no use.

Cas began to whisper something in a foreign language. Crowley looked over at Castiel, focusing on what he was saying. With him distracted, his power over us loosed. I fought hard and fell to the ground. Without a second to lose I grabbed for the demon knife and struck at Crowley.

Dean and Sam took their chance. While I distracted Crowley, Dean and Sam headed over to help Cas. The plan was working out the opposite way I had planned, but we we're reaching our goal.

Crowley recovered from by blow quickly. He threw me against the wall with my head slamming on the first; I was dizzy, but still fighting. I ran toward him with the knife in one hand. He was ready and swung me once more against the wall. I wasn't one to give up soon. I threw the knife and struck him in the stomach. He stumbled down in pain.

At that moment Dean and Sam got Cas out of the metallic chair and metal contraption on his head and were taking him out of the room.

I picked up the Colt from the floor and limped over to Crowley. He was crumpled on the floor in a fetal position from the pain I inflicted with the knife. He saw the Colt in my hand. He began to laugh a rough, throaty laugh.

Before I could react to his behavior I felt a stinging pain in my stomach. Looking down I saw the demon knife in my body. I collapsed to the floor and began to breathe heavily.

"Did you really think you could beat me? I'm the King of Hell for crying out loud. Well it was enjoyable and a bit fun, this little fight of ours. But I should be on my way now, need to find that Angel of mine. It was a pleasure meeting you. See you in hell," Crowley said in a sarcastic voice.

With a snap of his fingers, he was gone. I lay on the cold concrete floor as the blood drained out of my body. If this was the way I'd die, I had to admit I was accepting of it. I'd fought my battles, helped out in as much as I could in my lifetime, and saved a few lives. I'd lived my life to the fullest and had no regrets. If today was my day to die, I was okay with it. I'd done my part. Now it was time for me to rest.

I woke to the sound of laughter. I blinked a few times before taking in my surroundings. The room was a paled red color with book shelves scattered around. Getting up slowly I noticed I was in a living room. It was filled with a familiar couch, a familiar coffee table, a familiar work desk and a familiar clutter. I was back at Bobby's.

The laughter was coming from the kitchen. I walked tentatively over to see what was happening. I saw Sam, Dean, Cas, and Bobby sitting around a small kitchen table playing poker. Cas seemed lost and confused which was getting a laugh out of the boys. It looked like Dean was winning the round with mountains of poker chips surrounding his area.

Cas was the first one to notice me. When all boys finally turned around I could see relief on their faces. Dean was the first to speak.

"When we got Cas into the Impala I noticed that you were still in the building. I told Sam to go on and I'd go back to find you. When I got to where I last saw you, with Crowley, your body was lying on the floor. You were terribly wounded. You were breathing rapidly. I picked you up and carried you out."

Cas stepped forward to speak, "I saved you. Sam decided it was best not to leave without making sure all was well. When I saw Dean rushing toward the car with you in his hands, I knew something had gone wrong. I stepped out of the car and looked you over. Your wound was easy to fix. One touch to your stomach and you were fine."

I took in everything they said. It seemed my day to die wasn't close by after all.

"Thank you so much. It's good to know I have an Angel looking out for me and friends who care about me."

I returned to the living room. I stood there thinking about the events that had occurred. Dean came in a few minutes after.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Good. I don't feel any pain or soreness. It's like I didn't fight at all."

"Yeah, an Angel can do that to you."

"Yeah."

We stayed in silence for a few minutes. Finally Dean stepped forward.

"You know, I was really scared. When I saw you there, close to death, I almost lost it. I had just gotten Cas back; I couldn't bear to know you would be taken away in the process. Especially after you where the one who planned this all out."

"Oh, well, you know why I helped; it wasn't too much of a big deal."

"That's the problem though. It would have been a big deal, to me. Jo, if you had been killed, I wouldn't have been able to stand it. You mean a lot to me. You're a strong, independent, girl and a damn great hunter. Losing you… I just wouldn't be able to handle it…"

I looked up at Dean, shocked by his revelation. I had never known just how much I meant to him until now. A tear escaped my eye. He gently wiped it away with his thumb.

His hands cupped my face and before I knew what was happening, his lips crushed onto mine. I was stunned, but didn't draw back.

I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer.

We separated from the kiss and looked into each other's eyes. All I could see was love and affection. He began to lean down to kiss me once more. This time I embraced it.