i'm soo sorry how long it's been. Life has been completely crazy, and I've barely had five minutes without something horrible happening. Anyway, here's chapter 3.

"I guess this is it," Dean sighed as he turned off the engine and opened the door of the car. The drive to the house in the middle of the woods was extremely quiet and awkward, nothing could have fixed it.

As Kitty looked over the house, she realized she had no idea as to where she was. "Do you know this place?" she asked Dean, who was already taking carefully placed steps toward the house.

"I think it's something from Sam's mind." Dean opened the door and the two hunters stepped into the house.

Sure enough, casual conversation could be heard down the hall, including Sam's distinct voice. Sitting at a huge table was an average family, including two younger children roughly the age of pre-teens. "Huh," Kitty sighed as she leaned against the wall in the dining room. "This is…"

"Wow," Dean finished as he and Sam caught eyes. "Just wow."

"Dean? Kitty?" Sam asked, his voice full of confusion. "What are you doing in my dream?"

"Heaven," Sam said as though testing the words for himself.

"Welcome to the party," Kitty smiled as she lightly pushed Sam. "Now you know what I've been dealing with for the past five months"

"Okay, but how are we in heaven?" Sam asked, his gaze flickering between Dean and Kitty.

Kitty rolled her eyes as Dean replied, "All that clean living, I guess."

"No, no. You, I get. Kitty, not surprising that she's here. But me? Maybe you haven't noticed, but I've done a few things…"

"But you thought you were doing the right thing," Dean countered.

"He's right, Sam," Kitty agreed. "You were doing everything because you thought it was for the best."

"Last time I checked, it wasn't the road to heaven that was paved with good intentions."

Dean sighed and glanced around the room that they were in. "Yeah, well, if this is the Skymall, it sucks. I mean, where's the triplets and the latex, you know? C'mon. A guy has needs."

With the heavy sound of Kitty clearing of her throat, she asked, "And I don't meet those needs?"

After stumbling over his words, Dean was finally able to reply, "No. Because I'm still angry at you."

"For being dead?"

"Yes," Dean smiled confidently before he looked back at his brother.

His brother's eyes were locked on the image behind him of the moving family. "Hey, Kitty," he began. "Is heaven just a build-up of memories?"

It took her a moment to gather up her words, but when she finally was able to find them, all eyes were on her. "Yeah," she answered. "The best ones. The ones that have a big impact on your life."

"Wait…" Dean interrupted, looking at the image of the family again. "Playing footsie with brace-face in there? Then that's a trophy moment for you?"

Sam sighed heavily. "Dean, I was eleven years old. This was my first real Thanksgiving."

"What are you talking about? We had Thanksgiving every year," Dean countered, steam starting to build up.

A rumbling interrupt everything, and the lights in the house began to flicker. "I don't remember this," Sam said, his voice unsure. Suddenly, the lights went out and the house began to shake.

"This never happened before…" Kitty said, her eyes glancing in every direction.

With that, Dean grabbed Kitty's arm and the three ran to the far side of the room, Dean pulling Kitty behind a couch. A bright light streamed in through the window, and as the light passed over the couch, Dean pulled Kitty's body closer to his, covering her smaller frame completely. Glasses shattered as the hit the floor, and lights fell from tabletops as the house continued to shake. And as suddenly as it began, everything stopped.

The three hunters move from their hiding places, and Dean's hand caught Kitty's. "Hey," he said, stopping her in her tracks. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she answered, quietly. "Thanks." Dean nodded in reply before he walked over to a radio and started to turn the knobs and punch buttons.

"Okay," Sam huffed as he rubbed his face. "What the hell was that?"

Kitty shook her head, while Dean replied. "I don't know, but we are taking the escalator back downstairs." Dean smacked the radio and glared at it. "Cas!"

"What is he doing?" Sam asked Kitty, as dean continued to beat the radio.

"Going crazy, probably," she answered as seriously as she could.

"Cas talked to me before using this phone-home radio thing, so I- Cas!" Dean yelled, still smacking the radio and trying to get it to work.

"I can hear you," came Castiel's crackling voice from the TV on the far side of the room.

Everyone walked over to the TV, where Castiel's picture rolled and was filled with static.

"Cas," Dean sighed. "Hey, so, I uh, found Sam, but… but something just happened. There was this weird beam of light-"

"Don't go into the light."

Kitty couldn't help but stifle a laugh. It had been a very long time, and she missed the weird things that came out of Castiel's mouth. "Okay," Dean replied, unsure of what to say. "Thanks, Carol Ann. What was it?"

"Not what; whom. Zachariah. He's searching for you."

Everyone shared an alarmed expression, and even though Kitty had never met this angel, she had heard plenty of stories about him, and she didn't want anything to do with him. "So, what would happen if he finds Sam and Dean?" she asked.

"They can't say yes to Michael and Lucifer if they're dead, so Zachariah needs to return them to their bodies."

"Great," Sam sighed. "Problem solved." Kitty, though could feel Dean stiffen next to her, and she knew what he was thinking. Problem solved for them, she thought, but I'd still be stuck up here.

"No," Castiel huffed. "You don't understand. You're behind the Wall. This is a rare opportunity."

"Rare?" Kitty laughed. "I've been up here for months!"

"Opportunity for what?" Dean asked, his brow furrowed.

"You need to find an angel," Castiel explained. "His name is Joshua."

"And why can't you do it?" Kitty huffed as she watched the flickering picture on the screen.

"I can't. I can't return to heaven," Cas explained, and that caused Kitty to feel as though she just ate her foot.

Easing the tension, Sam asked, "So what's so important with Joshua?"

"The rumor is: he talks to God."

Dean looked over at Kitty, as though asking if she knew this, and she shook her head in reply. "And… so?"

Castiel's voice became aggravated as he replied, "You think maybe—just maybe—we should find out what the hell God has been saying?"

"Jeeze," Dean sighed, taking a step back. "Touchy."

"Please," Castiel asked, his voice soothing over. "I just need you to follow the road."

"What road?" Sam asked, not being let in on the road part.

"It's called the Axis Mundi," Castiel explained. "It's a path that runs through heaven. Different people see it as different things. For you, it's two-lane asphalt. The road will lead you to the Garden. You'll find Joshua there. And Joshua… can take us to god."

The picture drifted away, and eventually the TV died. "Well, that was fun," Kitty sighed as she broke the silence. "What now?"

"I say we hit the yellow bricks," Dean replied as he rolled his shoulders. "Find this Joshua cat."

Sam, looking utterly surprised, asked, "Really?"

"Uh-oh," Kitty sighed as she leaned against the arm of one of the couches. "Sam has a problem with the plan."

"No, it's just… I'm surprised Dean wants to," Sam replied as his gaze shifted to Dean. "Last time I checked, you wanted to break God's nose. Now you think he can help?"

"He's the only one who can. I mean, come on, Sam. We are royally boned. So prayer? The last hope of a desperate man."

Dean walked over to the front door and pulled it opened, then just stood there. "What?" Kitty asked as she tried to look over Dean's shoulder. "Did you lose the road or something?"

"Actually… Yeah. I think we did."