No matter how long I kept staring at the odd symbols they did not make sense to me. It was like I was trapped inside a bubble of hope waiting for a miracle to happen – that suddenly I would see everything clearly and the explanation of my situation would be described in the photo.

My catatonic stage of mind was interrupted when a tear fell onto the grey and white portrait of my ribs. I had no idea for how long I'd been sitting in my bedroom after I'd claimed my right to a few minutes of privacy. I hadn't even noticed the tears running slowly down my cheeks.

I had been marked by some… Trickster. I didn't even know about it, and I was convinced that one would remember having all your ribs covered in weird writings. How did they even get there? Wouldn't it have been painful? Also, it seemed like every time I searched for some answers the respond would raise new questions, and the web of mystery just grew bigger.

There was a subtle knock on the door. I had no intentions to look up or welcome the knocker, which I knew was rude and totally unlike me, but I just couldn't find the strength. I didn't have to either, because right after the last knock the door was carefully opened. My gaze was still locked on the picture, and I didn't know who the intruder was before he spoke up.

"Are you alright?" it was Sam, and he sounded genuinely worried.

I sniveled, "No.."

He sat down on the bed next to me, resting his elbows on his knees looking down onto the floor.

"Honestly, did you expect me to be okay?" I asked, trying hard not to mock his concern for me.

"Honestly, no. I'd say you've handled this better than most people would have." He looked at me, and his calm voice forced me to look at him. His gentle green eyes had a comforting glow in them, sending a sense of relieve through my body and mind. The power of empathy.

"At this time yesterday the world was normal to me.. you know? Now everything has changed.." I looked back down onto the photo.

"I know." His statement immediately caught my attention again. The calmness had changed into a mask of seriousness.

"When did you find out? I mean.. about things like these.. " I asked while waving the x-ray photo.

Sam took a long sigh, "When I was eight, I think.."

"Eight?!" I was shocked – I didn't even know if I wanted to hear the rest of the story. It was bad enough to experience a meeting with demons as a grown up, but as a child?

"Yeah.. My mother was killed by a demon when I was 6 months old. I was told she died in a car accident, but.. Dean told me the truth eventually. My dad started hunting after my mother's death, dragging Dean and I with him on the road." He explained. His face was hard to read.

"Oh.. so.. you've been a hunter practically all your life?" I didn't quite know how to react to this – suddenly my problems seemed so small.

"Yeah… When I grew older I started dreaming of a normal life. When I was 19 I left for college. My dad and I had a huge fight, he didn't approve. Neither did Dean. For three years I lived like a normal person, but one night Dean showed up telling me dad was missing. We worked on a case together in an attempt of finding dad. When I got home again my girlfriend was killed by the same demon that killed my mother. After that.." he hesitated.

"You've been hunting again." I ended it for him, which he seemed somehow grateful about.

"Yes. And believe me, a lot have happened since then, and I know how it feels to find out secrets about yourself you didn't know about. But where here to help you."

I put the picture down on the bed next to me, releasing myself from the mental burden of figuring out what message the symbols hid for me and gave Sam my full attention. After all, he'd just opened up to me. I'd learned from Mel that whenever a customer, no matter how drunk he was, opened up to you one ought to listen to him – if not just to avoid a brawl. "We're keepers of many of the secrets in this town, and you better respect your role – one day it might come in handy when you need it the most." He'd said. I'd slowly begun to realize what he meant – the bar was the safest place for me. I treated my regular customers with the respect they deserved and whenever a stranger who showed off a little too much attitude and sexist behavior towards me, I'd notice how the whole room would go silent. Eventually the dude would notice that all eyes were fixed on him and he'd cool off, or quickly leave the bar again. If he didn't get the message, someone would walk over to him and explain the situation.

"That's right.. and I don't think I've thanked you enough for that." Sam appreciated my gratitude, I knew because his face lit up a little.

"You're welcome."

"So… this Trickster… you guys seem to know him?" I asked, escaping the topic of bad childhood memories and dead girlfriends.

"Yeah.. but he isn't a real Trickster, he's an archangel named Gabriel. Or was.."

"An archangel? Castiel did mention something about archangels… And what do you mean by was?" Again, more questions than answers.

"An archangel is the more powerful than any other angel. As for Gabriel, he's.. dead." He hesitated before saying the last word out loud, like if he didn't say it wouldn't be true. He'd already figured that the direct source of finding out why this Gabriel had carved weird symbols inside my chest was impossible to get in touch with.

"So you're saying one of the most powerful angels did this to me, in this case Gabriel, is dead? Why is he dead?"

Sam took a few seconds to contemplate his choice of words making me fear his answer.

"It's a long story. But we'll find another way. There always is another way." He said sending me a reassuring smile. It didn't work out well though, but I appreciated the effort in how he tried to help me keep up my spirit.

"I kinda feel like you're hiding something for me.. about this Gabriel." Sam looked blank, like he tried to pull off a poker face.

"I'm not hiding anything, I'm sparing you. Do you really want to know everything? Or just what's important right now?" The guy had a point. It's was self torture to my poor overloaded brain to keep on feeding it with ludicrous facts about demons and angels, and actually believe that they were true. Even though I'd seen demons with my own eyes I still wasn't completely convinced, or maybe I just didn't want to believe.

"Okay, you win. I'll stick to the important information like the fact the dude is dead and we're screwed – again. Or I am.. at least until we find another way, because you said there is another way." I tried to sound like I believed him. I wasn't sure if he bought it; he just smiled and looked relieved that I gave in to his reasoning.

"I promise that we will." he put a little more power into that sentence, which left me speechless for a split second. Did he really mean it? He was very convincing, his eyes were sending beams of determination towards me. I finally brought myself to nod subtly.

Something caught Sam's attention; his eyes were focusing on something on my night stand. I followed his line of sight and realized he was looking at a photo.

"That's my brother, Mel, and I. Mel is my boss." I said, sparing him a question.

Sam gaped slightly while processing the information.

"What about your parents?" he asked, after looking at the photo for another few seconds.

"Never met my dad. My mom on the other hand she… she left Alex and I with my uncle about 10 years go." I tried to keep my story as simple as possible; talking about my past with a stranger wasn't so comfortable. Actually reliving my childhood wasn't comfortable at all.

"Alex's dad.. where is he?" He really wouldn't let it go, would he?

"My mom had a call from my dad once when I was a kid. He wanted to meet with her, alone. I guess you can figure out the rest."

"Oh…" Sam clearly hadn't seen that coming, and he probably felt my cold tone didn't welcome a request of elaboration on the matter.

I wasn't proud of my childhood, or my mother. Talking about her made me sick to my stomach. I never knew how to think of her; did I hate her? Did I miss her? Should I have searched for her? It was such questions I struggled to avoid, and there was no way I wanted them to be asked out loud by anyone.

I rose from the bed. I could smell food. The smell came from the kitchen and the thought of someone else than me or Max using my kitchen made me a little anxious. "Speaking of Mel; I'll talk about taking some time off from work tonight. I guess it's better if.."

"Woah.. wait a minute. You can't just go to work." Sam was quickly at my side looking alert.

"What do you mean by that? Of course I can go to work. I have to go to work! It's.. work! I have a responsibility!" Who was he to decide whether I was going anywhere or not?

"It's too dangerous." His tone almost sounded threatening but it just made me angrier.

I'd already grabbed the door handle and was about to enter the hallway when he objected. I just sent him an evil glare. I was too mad to argue with him.

I stormed out of the room leaving Sam behind gaping. In the kitchen Dean was occupied at the stove frying something that smelled like eggs. Castiel was standing by the fridge; his face was lit up by the light while he looked for something on the shelves.

"Cas? Where's that bacon? You've been standing there for minutes." Dean complained.

I quickly went to Castiel's side and grabbed the bacon on the top shelf right in front of his eyes, slamming the door t the fridge with too much force leaving Castile astounded and speechless. Dean turned his head to see what caused the noise while I slammed the bacon into the table to his other side. His face turned from lightly agitated to shocked, blinking a few times until he realized I was the woman in crime.

"Seriously woman! What's turned you into a PMS tornado?!" he asked with a deep voice.

"What's all this about me not going to work?! I'll tell you what! Yes, of course I am grateful for you guys helping me out, but that doesn't grant you parental status! I'm a grown up, I have responsibilities, and there is NO WAY you're keeping me home tonight! Mel deserves better! I'm going to the bar whether you like it or not!"

Dean froze with a spatula in his hand. The eggs in the pan were sizzling joyfully. Castiel was regarding us looking just as surprised as Dean. Sam joined us in the kitchen too.

"I'm not following.. Sam, what did you do to her? You had one job!" Dean turned his back to the eggs and sent Sam a blaming glare while pointing the spatula at him.

"What job?!" I squealed catching his attention again.

"Checking up on you… did you say you were going to a bar?" he asked with a frown, like it wasn't until now he realized what I'd been yelling.

"Oh so you are listening!" I uttered in fake surprise, "Yes, I'm going to the bar which is where I work, and when I'm there I'm gonna ask for some days off so I can focus on why I'm suddenly so popular among the demons." I would never have believed I would have said the last sentence out loud.

"Well… in that case.. Sam, Cas, and I will go with you." He stated attending the frying pan again, poking the eggs with the spatula.

"We are?" Sam and Castiel spoke out in unison. Castiel sounded excited, where as Sam had a more skeptical opinion like he was surprised Dean was so easily bended.

"Yes we are. Is that okay? Or are you gonna yell again?" Dean turned to me with a hint of blame in his deep voice. He'd been easier to convince than I'd predicted, which made me feel ashamed.

"Yeah.. that's alright… sorry.." Dean's face relaxed, looking relived that I had calmed down so quickly.

"So.. sunny side up?" he asked, like nothing had happened.

"So this is it?" Dean asked from the driver's seat looking out the window.

"Melvin's ark?" Sam read aloud. He was sitting next to Dean in the front seat.

Castiel regarded the building with much interest. The blue florescent letters lit up his face, making his eyes even bluer, "This is not an ark?" he stated doubtfully.

Since he had been all over the local news last night we'd had to dress him up a little differently. My brother had some leftover mustaches from a costume party and Castiel had taken quite his time when trying to decide which one to wear. He chose one that made him look like 'the pizza man', whoever that was. The look on the Winchesters' faces stopped me from asking what he meant. Dean had suggested shaving him bald, but Sam thought it would only make him stand out more.

"No, it's a bar. Mel calls it his ark and the staff is his crew, you know. Like on a boat." I explained assuming that was enough info. Of course it wasn't.

"Why?" he asked, still looking at the building. I still hadn't gotten used to his moustache.

"What do you mean?"

"Cas' we don't have time for this. Let's go in!" Dean said and opened the door.

"Hey, he asked ME a question, which I am gonna answer." Dean had already thrown one leg out of the car but stopped midway and sighed. Knowing he was annoyed gave me a strange feeling of satisfaction. Castiel on the other hand was looking at me with surprise written all over his face. Sam was smirking, probably enjoying Dean being challenged on his alpha-behaviour.

"Mel loves the idea of how people depend on each other and work together on a ship.. you know, everyone has a special task, but works as a unit. It's a figurative way of thinking.. so like when the waves are high at sea we have a full house at the bar."

A content glow fell upon Castiel's face. He looked.. grateful?

"Actually.. that makes sense in a strange way. I will make sure to look for more boat references when we get inside."

His playfulness and naïve spirit had a weird effect on me. He reminded me of a child who got his first chance of playing with the cool older kids and eager to follow the rules so he would be brought along some other time.

"Well… you do that." I said before grabbing the door handle stepping out onto the street.

"Uhm.. take a seat. My shift starts in 10 minutes." Abigail announced when everyone had entered the bar.

Right in front of them was a long, wooden bar. At first the structure of the bar looked messily made until one would realized it was probably made of wood from old shipwrecks. The wall behind the bar was lined with three levels of wooden shelves, made of the same wood as the bar, filled with various types of alcohol – even brands Dean didn't know about. The bar area was lit up by lanterns in all shapes and colors hanging from the ceiling and standing on the bar.

At the end of the wall to the left was a small scene just big for a small live band to perform. This night a karaoke machine had been set up, ready to serve the lost voices that still couldn't resist having a taste of a childhood dream they knew never would come true. To the right was what seemed to be the gaming area set up to pleasure the more playful or gambling souls with pool tables and darts.

Summing it all up – it was just like standing on an old ship with a few modern features; even the smell of tar and sand was authentic. Everyone, except Abigail, was taken aback by this sight. They were some of the first customers, only a few young lads were playing at one of the pool tables and two elderly men were enjoying a beer at the bar. Abigail disappeared behind the bar and started talking to a middle aged man with grayish, dark hair.

"Well you heard the woman, let's take a seat." Dean said clapping his hands together, his eyes focusing on the many bottles behind the counter.

They chose a booth close to the bar which also served them a little privacy. Dean was quickly on his feet when he discovered a jukebox leaving Sam and Castiel alone at the table.

"That must be Mel, her boss." Sam said nodding towards the guy talking to Abigail. Castiel regarded the man too with curious eyes. He also recognized him from the pictures in both Alex' and Abby's room.

Rock music started playing and soon Dean was back at the table looking satisfied.

"I still can't believe we're here. We should focus on why Gabriel marked Abby and why Metatron is looking for her." Sam said, quickly wiping off the smile on Dean's lips.

"She's here to ask for some days off, as soon as her shift ends we'll take her to the bunker and we'll work from there." Sam wasn't satisfied.

"It's not safe, Metatron probably knows she works here and will return." He argued getting agitated with Dean's lack of concern.

"Which is why we're here, right? To make sure she's okay. Relax Sammy." Sam clenched his jaws as an attempt to kill his annoyance towards his brother's cocky attitude.

"So what is the plan? Gabriel is dead." Dean didn't seem hooked on sticking to the important issues, he'd eyed an opportunity to lay back and enjoy a less serious evening at a bar which was practically made for him.

"Well.. it isn't just the angels who wants their dirty hands on Abby. I say we grab ourselves a demon and shake a little info out of the son of a bitch." Dean's mood had now completely turned into his grumpy, old self.

"Because that went so good last time, right?" Sam pointed out, poking his brother emotionally hoping to punch some sense into him.

"Crowley wasn't any demon, he is King of Hell damn it." Dean's voice became louder and louder and Sam had to gesticulate in silence for him to stop yelling.

"Crowley escaped?" Castiel asked. He still remembered the night he learned of Naomi's death and how Metatron had betrayed him – the same night Sam was going to complete the trial to shut the gates of Hell by curing Crowley whom they had held captured inside an old church. Turning human hadn't left him the biggest overview of the situation and he still fought to get used to how differently his senses worked and the unfamiliar emotions he felt. It was all very confusing to him and without his angelic powers he felt vulnerable and almost useless.

"Yeah… about that…"

"How?" Castiel wanted to know.

Both of the brother's tried to avoid any eye contact with Cas; Dean looked a bit ashamed while Sam just looked annoyed.

"Well, Dean made a deal with Crowley – his freedom for my life. I had no say in it since I was unconscious." Sam gave Dean a blaming stare which his older brother tried to ignore.

"Well you wouldn't be conscious now if it weren't for me!"

The ongoing issue between the brothers was still haunting them – none of them wanted to let the other one die, even if it was for the sake of humanity. Castiel knew from experience their argument wouldn't end if he didn't try to change the subject.

"What about Kevin?" Mentioning Kevin seemed to lighten up the mood a tad.

"He's at the bunker still trying to figure out if it's possible to redo the spell and allow your feathery ass back up in heaven. Maybe bringing Abby with us will help him cracking the code, you said you didn't understand all the runes on her x-ray, right?" the oldest Winchester thought out loud while rubbing his stubby chin.

Mapping out how to make the next move calmed down everyone around the table and the tension from before slowly left the booth.

Abigail's POV:

"You're late." I pointed out when Julie entered the door behind the bar. I was readying the bar for karaoke night and had counted on Julie to help me do so since it was almost empty of clean glasses and whatnot, and soon people would pour in.

"Yeah yeah, I know, but no one died, right?" she waved off my blaming remark while she tied her long, golden hair up in a pony tail.

"Can't argue with that I guess.. I started with the glasses but we're low on straws too. There's a box up there." I pointed towards the shelf behind her. She nodded happily.

"Hey, did you see those new guys in the booth to the left?" as I had predicted in my mind Julie would notice that there was fresh meat in town. I had feared she would because I would need to lie to her about why they were here and why I knew them. She knew I had only dated once in my life which of course ended pretty quickly because of my trust issues, so suddenly socializing with three men was very unusual for me. Luckily I had been working on a cover story.

"Yeah, I lead them here. What about them?" I said, sensing her stare in my back while I was still filling a tray with clean glasses for the bar.

"You… lead them here?" of course she was surprised, and now it was my time to shine.

"Yeah, or.. they stood outside asking if the place was worth visiting, and I said yes." I quickly grabbed my now filled tray and backed out of the door out to the bar avoiding her questions.

Afterwards I went to the fridge and grabbed three beers in a bottle and hurried to the booth where Sam, Castiel, and Dean were sitting. I placed the bottles in front of them and six pairs of questioning eyes looked up at me.

"It's on the house…" I pointed out referring to the beverage. "Uhm.. btw. if a blonde, female bartender asks about why you're here, I just lead you here, ok? You were standing outside and asked me if the place was alright." Dean seemed entertained about my attempt of being secretive.

"Copy that, agent." He said mockingly, making me turn to Sam instead.

"Mel gave me some time off.. at least for another two weeks.. you guys think that'll be enough?" My question seemed to startle everyone even more than the free beer.

"We can't really set timeline for these kinds of things.." Sam explained. If he found my question stupid, he hid it well.

"Oh.. right.. well.. enjoy your beer."

I went back to my glasses at the bar. Julie had come out with the straws but had put her actions on pause to look at the three companions in the booth. Was bringing the monster squat to work a bad idea?

"Huh…" she said, gaping slightly.

"What?" I asked from underneath the bar while wiping off a shelf with a cloth.

"The guy in the trench coat.. he reminds me of someone.. He's kinda cute actually. He should lose the moustache though." Her remark knocked me out and I lost control of my scheming.

"Cute?!" I was just about to defend my skepticism with the story of the lunatic with a pepper spray who attacked me less than 24 hours ago, "I mean.. I'd rather say.. hmm.. I don't know.." I tried to save the situation.. and luckily Julie was too distracted by the men that she probably didn't listen to me at all.

Dean rose from the booth and walked towards the jukebox. He winked at us when he passed the bar. Julie beamed like a little girl who just got a free pass to raid a candy store.

"I guess he's your favorite, huh?" I hadn't even ended my sentence before she was right at his side at the jukebox. Having seen Dean's acting skills at the hospital it didn't make me nervous. Honestly, Julie wasn't that hard to trick anyway. Her naïve nature always caused her trouble.

"Jealous?" a voice asked behind me. It was Jerry, one of my male coworkers. He'd spend most of his career at the bar trying to convince me to go out with him, which at this point had been for almost a year. He was what Julie would call 'a piece of eye candy', and if Julie hadn't made up her own rule about not dating colleagues she would have asked him out herself. Of course she was pushing me to accept at least one of his date requests.

"No, try amazed." When I looked at him he was looking towards Sam and Castiel. I was surprised when I realized he looked… angry? Did he know them? The anxiety started to build up inside of me, "What's the matter, are you jealous?" I asked trying my best to act normal.

"No, I just think I've seen the guy in the coat, but I can't remember where."

"Uhm.. we need to fill up the fridge too.." I fumbled with my words, but Jerry snapped out of his trance.

"Sure.. I'm on it." He smiled at me before going through the door behind the counter.

I seized the chance to hurry down to the table again. Dean's bottle was empty, so I had an excuse if anyone asked.

"Castiel take off your coat. Julie and Jerry are getting suspicious." Castiel's eyes widened and he quickly took off his coat leaving it in the corner of the booth next to Sam. Sitting there in his suit and tie he looked more.. manly. He certainly didn't strike me as the person who would run about attacking people with a mace. But Julie was right – the moustache wasn't doing him any good.

I quickly grabbed the bottle and returned behind the counter. More customers were arriving and some regulars had already taken their favorite spots at the bar. I took a deep breath and told myself that after tonight I'd be on my way to solve this stupid, supernatural mystery, and everything would turn back to normal in no time.

2 hours later, now play the song! :):

The Ark was almost packed and the karaoke machine had already more or less been a victim of horrible torture, and so had our ears. I wasn't surprised to hear Dean's deep voice mumble the lyrics to Mustang Sally along with Julie whose high pitch voice I feared would shatter the fragile cocktail glasses on the shelves and tables. Jerry on the other hand seemed different somehow; he was much tenser and less goofy than he usually was.

Sam too had female company, but he didn't seem to enjoy it as much as Dean did. Castiel on the other hand was observing the room. I felt a bit sorry for him, even though he was sitting at the same table as Sam the woman clearly tried to rob every bit of Sam's attention. Why was no woman interested in talking to Cas? Besides from the fake moustache he was… descent.

When orders were running slow and there was a good buzz in the bar one of the crew usually gathered a small crowd and set up a game of pool or darts. I guessed this was the right time to challenge Sam, Dean, and Castiel in a match at the pool table. I cleared the plan with Jerry, who only got tenser and seemed reluctant to say yes even though he could manage the bar with Julie without problems. What was his problem? Julie loved the idea, of course.

"Go get them tiger!" she said and clawed her hand at me and purred. Dean was still occupied with the karaoke machine and had teamed up with another guy screaming along to an ACDC-song.

I wiped my hands in a towel before I approached the booth. Castiel's blue eyes welcomed me; it was hard to believe it had been the same guy who attacked me yesterday. Sam seemed almost grateful that I interrupted the woman's constant talking.

"Hi guys. Sam, why don't you get Dean and Cas and I will finally have that chance of whipping your asses in a game of eight ball pool? I'm sure your girlfriend won't mind." The girl sent me an evil glare. I'd seen her at the bar before; she was a 'maneater' as Julie so poetically put it. Luckily Sam caught up on my plan and hurried towards the karaoke machine to pull down Dean from the scene.

"I don't understand, I never agreed to whipping anyone's rear while engaging in a game? Is that… appropriate?" he asked while getting up from the booth while looking suspiciously around him.

"Uhm.. it's a figure of speaking. We're not literally gonna whip someone with a cue stick, we're gonna win the game." Castiel still seemed confused when we approached the pool table.

"How are we gonna win when I don't know the rules?" he asked monotonously.

"No pool in heaven, huh? What a shame.. about time you learn then." Castiel raised his chin slightly like an obedient boy ready to receive directions.

"Who ordered ass-whopping?" Dean's deep, mocking words sounded behind us.

"We're not going to hit each other's rears with sticks; we're going to play the game." Castiel explained. Dean stared at him for a moment with an 'are you serious' expression on his face. Sam just huffed in amusement and started picking cues for him and Dean on the wall next to him.

Was I in over my head? To my surprise, and Dean's annoyance, Castiel seemed to have a hidden talent for playing pool. Or else he just responded well to my directions. Luckily I didn't have to perform that cliché-ish lecture like in the movies where people are all tied up with one another – show and tell was enough for Castiel and we actually ended up winning the game. Cas looked very pleased with his accomplishment, and knowing I was contributing to putting that huge grin on his face was very satisfying too.

"I believe we just served you an ass-whopping, figuratively." He said in his monotone, yet mocking fashion.

Just when Dean demanded a re-match Jerry called me to the bar. The situation hadn't changed much behind the counter, even Julie had time to chat with one of the regulars.

"Well, I'm needed elsewhere. Good game." I said, praising the ex-angels pool skills one last time before turning on my heels.

I followed Jerry out in the back behind the bar to the storage room. He was awfully quiet. He didn't stop until we were as far away from the door as possible. He turned around.

"What's the matter with you?" I demanded to know and folded my arms across my chest.

"I know where I've seen that guy with the moustache. I'm pretty sure he attacked a pharmacist last night with a pepper spray!" Damn, how did he know?! And what was that smell.. I'd smelled it before.. It came from Jerry. Out behind the bar I didn't notice, but now.. it smelled just like… sulfur?