NOTICE: The chapters will no longer follow the canon timeline so hardcore. I am finally caught up to where I want to be. So, now I can start going were I really wanna go with this. I will be using some scenes but not as many.-Sorry for any grammar mistakes. Please review!
Sam and Dean sat across from each other in the large kitchen. They were both sporting the signature Winchester look. Dean took a bite of his toast and rubbed his eyes as he swallowed. Both of the boys felt strange. It felt so weird for them to eat breakfast and not be worrying about some big bad trying to destroy the world. They had grown so used to being under constant pressure.
Dean looked up from his breakfast and saw Castiel standing in the doorway. "Morning, Sunshine." Dean cringed when 'Sunshine' slipped out. "Coffee?" He added, trying not to look at Castiel.
"No, thank you. I have to go." Castiel stated. Dean looked up and met his eyes. He flinched when he saw the defiant look on the angel's face. Castiel turned away and started to leave.
"Cas, wait." Sam got up and tried to chase after the angel. Dean followed his younger brother slowly. "Where are you off too?" Sam asked.
Castiel sighed and turned around. "Cleveland, Ohio." He continued when he saw the confused look on both of the boys' faces. "I think I may have a lead on Lucifer. There is a report of a man whose eyes glowed red."
"Okay. Yeah, that sounds like something. We should check it out." Dean agreed.
"No, I will go alone."
"Cas, you can't go up against the devil alone." Dean insisted.
The angel rolled his eyes. "If it is him, I will call you. Okay? In the meantime, I think you're need here." Castiel sounded short and angry. He didn't want to be around Dean right now. He left before any of the other men could stop him again or ask him stupid questions.
"What the hell was that about?" Sam asked as he and Dean walked back to the kitchen. Dean didn't respond. He knew what it was about. Castiel was mad at him because he'd blown the angel off the other day. They both reclaimed their seats. Sam noticed the strange look on Dean's face and was about to ask what was wrong when their mom came in. She was also wearing the Winchester signature look but... There was something different about her.
"Morning, boys."
"Morning." Sam was the only one who responded. He watched as his mother reached for the bacon that was over an hour old. "Oh, I can fry up some more. That's probably cold now..."
"It's bacon." She said, giving Sam a funny look and shrugging.
"Wow, we are so related." Dean smiled up at her. "Did you cut your hair?"
"Um, yeah. I thought I should keep it short. Why give the bad guys the advantage of long, pullable hair, right?"
"I've been trying to tell Sam that for years." Dean said as he smirked. Sam glared at him.
"Wait, bad guys? Are you planning on hunting?" Sam asked as he motioned for her to take a seat next to him. She did.
"Yeah. I had Dean pick me up some newspapers." Sam shot Dean a look that screamed "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?"
"I didn't know she was looking for a case!" Dean tried to defend himself.
"I wasn't looking for one... It just kinda happened." Mary gave an awkward smile.
"Mom, I thought- I thought you were done hunting?" Sam asked. The last thing either of the boys wanted was their mother in danger.
"Well, dying was a wake up call. I mean, you said it yourself Sam. This is our family. Our family hunts." She gave them both a small smile. Sam looked at Dean, who had a look on his face that said, "See, it's not all my fault!"
"Fine, tell us about this case." Sam said, running his finger through his long, pullable hair.
Castiel was standing in a parking lot next to Crowley. This was the last thing the angel had expected, the last thing he'd wanted. He never thought he'd run into the ex-King of Hell in Cleveland. Crowley stopped him in the hotel lobby when Castiel had finished interviewing a friend of Lucifer's possible vessel. Crowley was still making fun of him for using Beyonce as his alias. Beyonce was a famous singer. He was just trying to do things as he'd learned them from the boys, from Dean.
There was something off about the way Crowley was acting. The demon seemed like he was hiding something. Well, it's not like that's too unusual.
"What are the odds, Cassie? Fate brought us together!" Crowley seemed a tad too excited.
"Not interested." Castiel didn't even bother to looked at Crowley.
"Why not? It's been months, I mean months, since we last tried to kill each other. We've both got very, very good reasons to want Lucifer dead. Besides... While you were grabbing with Vince's second fiddle, I was ransacking Vince's room. Found these." Crowley forced the truck's door shut and then showed Castiel the stack of postcards he was holding. "They're from his lovely sister, Wendy."
Vince wasn't as his sister's, but he had been. She told Agent Angel and Agent Demon that they should look in Vince's cabin. Wendy had also mentioned him having a 'red-headed groupie'. Castiel became furious after hearing this. He should've known.
"I should have know there was something you weren't telling me!" The angel growled
"So, Mother and I had an unfortunate, if not rather embarrassing run-in with Lucifer."
"Wow, I thought your motivation was ambition and revenge, but now I know you just want to save your mother." Castiel's voice took on a mocking tone.
"It's not about saving that Ginger Whore. Lucifer has made off with a colossally powerful witch, who by the way, is the only person alive who can slam him back in the cage. He will either kill her, control her, or she will offer her services to the biggest bad in town in order to save her neck, like she always does. Do any of those sound like particularly good outcomes to you?"
Castiel stopped himself from admitting how attractive the thought of Rowena dying was to him. "Let's go find this cabin." Castiel said, sighing to himself.
Mary sat alone in a motel room in Minnesota. She had been right, there was a case. She absentmindedly touched the handprint on her arm. Her boys were convinced that the children were the ones responsible for the deaths and were salting and burning their bodies. Something wasn't sitting right with Mary. The boy who'd touched her had seemed scared. He didn't want to hurt her. Mary stood up and reached for her phone.
When the duo got to Vince's cabin, they didn't find Lucifer, but they did find Rowena. Rowena sat in a chair, drinking tea. Crowley felt a little relieved that his mother was alright. He vowed never to share how he felt with anyone, ever.
"Where is Lucifer?" Castiel questioned Rowena.
"Gone. I sent him far, far away." She responded, then took a sip of her tea.
"Where did you send him? We need to know so we can lock him back up!" Castiel was getting impatient.
"I haven't a clue. Until Crowley forced me to get back into the game, I tried to forget about Lucifer. I loathe him, and I loathe that I had any part of letting him out of that pit he belongs in."
If you feel so awful, does that mean you'll help us find him?" Crowley asked.
"Good god no. That whole FBI pantsuit look? Not my hex bag. But if you get Lucifer cornered and find yourself in need..." Rowena paused for a moment before finishing. "I'm there."
The boys were both surprised at how good their mother was at hunting. They'd been so convinced that the hunt was as simple as could be, but really it was more than that. Thankfully, Mary had followed her gut or else they would have had a much larger problem on their hands.
"Sorry if me and Sam hijacked or sidelined you in anyway. You kicked ass by the way." Dean said once he and his mother were alone in the bunker.
Mary blinked in surprise. "I kicked ass? You saved me, I-" She said before Dean cut her off.
"Yeah, but you were right. You know, those kids were innocent." He looked at his mother. Mary looked haunted, like something was bothering her deeply. "Hey, at least we're home now."
"No." Mary looked down, her eyes filled with sadness. "I'm not. I miss John. I miss my boys."
"We're right here, Mom." Sam said as he walked up the steps into the library.
"I know. In my head. But I'm still mourning them as I knew them. My baby Sam. My little boy Dean. Just feels like yesterday, we were together in heaven, and now... I'm here, and John is gone, and they're gone. And every moment I spend with you reminds me of every moment I lost with them." Mary looked back and forth between her boys. How could she make them understand what was going on in her head? "And I thought hunting, working, would clear my head." She continued.
"Mom... W-what are you trying to say?" Sam asked. He didn't really need to ask. He already knew what she was about to say.
"I have to go." Her voice was shaking. Dean looked away, not wanting to look at her again. Sam glanced at Dean, he had never seen his older brother look so broken, not even after everything they'd been through.
"I'm so, so sorry. I just need a little time." It killed her inside to see her boys looking so hurt, but she had to go. She took a few steps towards Dean and he moved back, trying to keep distance between them. She turned away from him, grabbing John's journal off the table next to her. She walked over to Sam.
"I love you." She said to Sam and hugged him tight. She stepped back and looked back at Dean. "I love you both." And then she was gone.
