Zapped!

by thosespnfanficwriters

When three super-duper Supernatural fangirls get dragged into the dimension of Supernatural, things get pretty complicated. Best friends Katie, Olivia and Ashlyn are shocked when they get pulled through their TV onto a road where they are met with the headlights of the famous Impala. These three women struggle to lead their lives alongside the Winchester Brothers.

10. Broken

Disclaimer: We don't own Supernatural. I was going to put a joke here but I'm too tired to think of one.

Zapped: Chapter 10

The bright light got brighter, even though it didn't seem possible. The noise that resonated in their bones was nauseously similar to the pitch that had brought the girls there in the first place. It didn't seem real, but the all-consuming fear that it caused did. Satan was being released, and none of their legs wanted to move.

Olivia looked up to the man that was holding her- the man responsible for this, the man she loved- and the look of pure horror on Sam's face was enough to motivate her.

"Sam, come on!" She yelled, nearly inaudible over the piercing shriek of Lucifer. Her pulling on Sam's jacket combined with Dean's weak tugs said it for her. Sam started to run for the door, either being dragged by or dragging Olivia, he couldn't decide. Dean was basically cradling a frozen Katie. He didn't wait for her to snap out of it- he carried her to the open door. The open door didn't want to stay an open door, instead it slammed shut and became a closed door. Sam, Dean, and Olivia tried their best to knock it down, but their efforts were fruitless. The noise that surrounded them became more shrill, resembling the shriek of an angel. They all turned to watch as the light started to scrape the outsides of the blood circle. Dean's hands left Katie as he covered his ears like everyone else did. Katie could feel her eardrums exploding as her knees buckled. Olivia squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for whatever was going to hit them next.

But then there was nothing. The face-splitting noise vanished, the blinding light behind her eyelids was no more. She slowly peeled her eyes open, only to be met with the setting of an airplane. Looking to her left, she saw Katie in the same state. Their eyes met, and the only thought in their heads was-

"What the hell?" Dean's overly confused voice sounded from across the aisle. Sam's eyes met Olivia's, bewildered.

"I- I don't know." Sam managed, dropping eye contact. Olivia felt a hand hold her arm with the grip of death. Katie was visually panicking- Her eyes were sealed shut, her breathing quickened, and her grip was tripled in strength even though she didn't know that. Olivia quickly realized what it was about. The pilot was speaking over the loudspeaker, and Dean was in a similar yet less intense state as Katie. They both shared the same deep-seated fear of planes.

The slow droning of the pilot's voice was interrupted by the very same light and noise that the group had just escaped. The plane was going down- people were falling, rolling, crying, screaming. The emergency thingys, as Katie had always remembered them by, came bouncing down in front of their faces. They whipped them on, Katie screaming through it. She had always hated the feeling of adrenaline. Olivia was flailing, not sure what she was trying to reach for until she felt her hand join with another that she knew immediately was Sam's. She was able to relax to some level; only focusing on the feeling of his calloused hand holding her's. Dean's head hit the window next to him, forcing him to watch the blinding light outside, terrified.

---

"—and Governor O'Malley urged calm, saying it's very unlikely an abandoned convent would be a target for terrorists, either foreign or homegrown."

Switch.

"—Hurricane Kinley, unexpectedly slamming into the Galveston area—"

Switch.

"—announced a successful test of the North Korean nuclear—"

Switch.

"—a series of tremors—

Switch.

"—swine flu—"

Off. Then silence.

After surviving a plane crash, all four of the hunters were forced to rent a car. It was a stuffy, cramped van that Dean visibly hated. Katie and Olivia were shoved in the back, while both brothers were up front. Dean drove with a blank mask of a face, refusing to show emotion. Sam's guilt showed clearly on his face. On his body, too. Hell, he was practically radiating guilt and self-blame. What made Olivia feel worse was that the guilt and the blame made sense. The man had just released Satan, and while he earned the guilt, Olivia still wanted to hug him tight and make it all better. Katie still hadn't said a word, her thoughts too suffocating. The war she was battling in her head was all because of the bottle in her jacket pocket. It was like a bowling ball, she could feel it all the time, tempting her to fall into her old ways.

Sam sighs, The silence still intact. "Dean, look—"

"Don't." Dean said, his voice blank just like his expression.

A pause. Katie's head slowly rested against the rain-splattered window, the orange glow of the street lamps illuminating her face. Olivia watched her friend sigh, her eyelids growing heavier as she gazed out the window. Liv knew that Katie's mind was falling back into the lull of depression. She knew that she was helpless to stop it, but she thanked whatever God there was that Katie couldn't be victimized by her old addiction. Even if she found a way, Ashlyn wouldn't allow it.

She felt a pang in her heart. Ashlyn. Ashlyn wasn't here to keep the two of them straight. Ashlyn wasn't here to remind Olivia why she had to keep going. Ashlyn wasn't here to act like a petulant child and somehow cheer them all up while annoying them. Olivia's head involuntarily fell back into the headrest behind her. Her eyes fluttered shut to keep her tears at bay. Reality, which used to be her fantasy, was crushing her under it's weight. Sam had hurt her, almost physically, and she was still in love with him. Satan was walking the earth. There was a giant, irritating ginger shaped hole in her soul. She killed her best friend. There was no way that any of this was going to work out.

"It's okay. We just got to keep our heads down and hash this out, all right?" Dean said with a little more emotion. He was reassuring Sam, but unknowingly he was reassuring Olivia as well. She wanted to cry, but Dean's words helped a little.

Another pause, where you could hear the guilt-soaked gears turning in Sam's head.

"Yeah, okay." Sam accepted Dean's comfort uncertainly, with a little nod.

"All right, well, first things first—How did we end up on Soul Plane?" Dean asked, not sure that he wanted to know.

"Angels, maybe? I mean, you know, beaming us out of harm's way?" Sam shrugged, looking back in the mirror to the two ever-so quiet girls. One look at Katie, the girl who usually lit up a room by simply existing, caused sadness to wash over Sam in an instant. She looked so lost, so depressed. It didn't fit her face, made her look about 10 years older. Olivia's overwhelmed mind showed clearly on her features. A stab of guilt hit his chest. That's mostly because of him. His eyebrows furrowed. There was a big empty space between the girls where a ginger was missing.

"Well, whatever. It's the least of our worries. We need to find Cas." Dean grumbled. This situation was unreal, even for them.

"Yeah, and Ash." Sam said nonchalantly, not knowing the sudden tension that drenched the car was because of his words.

"Sam…" Dean said carefully, knowing that the news would crush his brother. Sam looked at him like a child who knew something bad was about to be said.

"Wh- what?" Sam said, looking back at the girls. Olivia looked either very done or very sad. Katie hadn't moved but her eyes were begging her to cry.

"She's dead." Olivia blankly stated, her voice thick. Sam's eyes widened and watered. He felt dizzy. His entire world was spinning and it wouldn't slow down to listen to Olivia's words.

"The angels stuck us there, in that place… Ashlyn, of course, wasn't going without a fight… so Zachariah turned her into a vamp. She tried to hold on, b-but it was too st-strong.." Olivia stopped and swallowed to keep her voice from breaking, but was unsuccessful, "She tr-tried to kill me… so I had to...I had to…"

She couldn't finish that sentence without tears making a reappearance, so she broke the eye contact with Sam in the mirror and put her head back where it had been resting. She didn't feel like she could do this anymore.

The car ride to Chuck's was silent, ignoring the quiet sniffling of the guiltiest man on the planet.

---

Dean took wide steps through the devastated house, trying to avoid the jagged edges of smashed china that littered the floor. He reached the kitchen, which looked like ground zero for the carnage. A table that usually stood cluttered with rough drafts and miscellaneous junk was clear across the room, flipped. Books, pictures, papers and even dirty clothes were strewn throughout. There was a big splatter of red liquid painting the floor and the adjoining counters. Looking behind him, he watched his brother and his friends look around with the same confusion and dread covering their faces. A question was forcing itself into their brains: Where was Chuck and Cas?

A small noise startled them all. Dean turned to look at the three behind him with a questioning gaze. They all shook their heads one way or another, telling him that in fact, no, that was not them. Sam held his hand up to Dean, using his brother-telepathy to say that he would go forward first. Slowly, he guardedly plodded into the main room. Olivia felt her breath holding itself, like this was a scary movie and the stupid curious guy was about to bite it.

A creak of the stressed floorboards under Sam's weight must've tipped him off that someone was coming. With a terrified and kind of pathetic cry, Chuck lunged at Sam, conking him straight in the face with a very solid toilet plunger. Sam stumbled back and put his hands to his face, surprised at the almost comical attack. Olivia's breath let go and came out as a really loud laugh.

"Geez! Ow!" Sam yelled, his hands pressed against his aching face. Chuck looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Sam." Chuck gaped, his voice coated in awe.

"Yeah!" Sam shouted incredulously, not sure why his author friend would hit him.

"Hey, Chuck." Dean greeted, if not a little sarcastically. Olivia grinned and gave a little wave, which Chuck awkwardly returned. Katie just looked at him for a millisecond then hid behind her waist-length hair. From what Chuck had seen of the girl in his visions, she was always glowing, always shining, always brightening the room with her existence. Her hair had always been lighter in color and cheerful to match her personality. Now, however, her pale face hid behind her dark almost-black locks of tangled hair that was once wavy and beautiful. When he got a weirded-out look for staring, Chuck snapped himself back to focus.

"So...you're okay?" He asked, looking at the sasquatch that wasn't supposed to be breathing.

Sam calmed down a little, still a little confused, which he chose to express through sarcasm. "Well, my head hurts."

"No, I mean—I mean, my—My last vision," Chuck stuttered, putting his fingertips to his head, glancing at Katie a little, "You went, like, full-on Vader."

At Sam's baffled look, Chuck continued, trying to explain his words, "Your body temperature was one-fifty. Your heart rate was two hundred. Your eyes were black."

"Your eyes went black?" two voices asked, surprised-sounding. Sam looked over his shoulder to Dean and Olivia, also being greeted with a wide-eyed but still silent Katie.

"I didn't know." Sam told them truthfully, trying to get their disappointed looks to go away.

"Where's Cas?" Dean said, dismissing the uncomfortable subject. Chuck's face fell.

"He's dead. Or gone. The archangel smote the crap out of him. I'm sorry." Chuck answered sadly. Olivia gasped in shock, Sam's guilt grew, Katie let out a shaky breath and allowed one tear to slip down her cheek. Dean refused to believe it.

"You're sure? I mean, maybe he just vanished into the light or something." Dean tried, but he knew it was worthless. His new friend was dead.

"Oh, no. He, like, exploded," Chuck imitated exploding without tact, "Like a water balloon of chunky soup."

Katie gave him a look of annoyance for his insensitivity, which he probably didn't see.

Sam took a closer look at Chuck. Seeing something, he waved a hand over his own left ear.

"You got a—" Sam tried, continuing to wave at his ear.

Chuck waved a hand at his right ear. "Uh...right here?"

Sam gestured the other side of his head, trying to get Chuck to follow. "Uh, the…"

Chuck felt around in his hair, finally finding what Sam was talking about. He felt it and immediately wanted to vomit.

"Oh. Oh, god," Chuck pulls the slimy object out, "Is that a molar? Do I have a molar in my hair? This has been a really stressful day."

Dean washed his hand down his face. "Cas, you stupid bastard."

Sam gave Dean a look. "Stupid? He was trying to help us."

Dean scoffed. "Yeah, exactly."

Sam rolled his eyes and sighed, knowing that his brother's words were slightly true. "So, what now?"

"I don't know." Dean said, feeling utterly helpless in this situation. The apocalypse was upon them, why would he know what to do?

Suddenly, Katie held on to Olivia's arm with her iron grip. Olivia could tell something was wrong, but Katie didn't say what. Olivia opened her mouth to ask her but Chuck cut her off.

"Oh, crap." He said, pushing a few fingers to his forehead.

"What?" Olivia demanded, trying to free herself from Katie's grasp.

"I can feel them." Chuck answered, watching Katie nod to Olivia. Abruptly, there was the sound of whoosh-ing angel wings behind them. Whipping around, Olivia was met with a face and a voice she never wanted to see again.

"Thought we'd find you here." Zachariah said, sporting that smug little smile that always seemed to accompany him.

"You." Olivia growled. She went for him, wanting to kill him for what he did. White-hot rage consumed her senses, all she saw was red. The only thought in her head was to murder the man in front of her in the most bloody way possible. Sam had to hold her back from attacking like a vicious animal.

The angel chuckled at her anger. He then took a step forward, looking at Dean. "Playtime's over, Dean. Time to come with us."

Dean pointed at the proud angel, stepping in front of Katie ever so slightly. "You just keep your distance, asshat." He snapped, angry and upset and experiencing far too many emotions for a Winchester to handle.

"You're upset." Zach observed, sounding a little confused or even surprised. What the hell did they expect? A fruit basket with a "thanks for bringing Satan upon us!" thank you card? Olivia fought harder against Sam, who was barely keeping her back.

"No shit, sherlock! You sons of bitches jump-started judgment day and killed my best friend!" She screamed, taking words straight out of Dean's mouth and making them more angry sounding.

The angel shrugged casually. "Actually, you killed her. I'm not the one who chopped her head off. And, maybe, we let the apocalypse happen, but we didn't start anything," Zachariah winked towards Sam. "Am I right, Sammy?"

Katie felt anger swirling inside her, but she did nothing. She knew that Zachariah was causing just about all her problems, but she was too tired to be angry. Olivia, however, was fighting, screaming, anything to see the bastard in front of her dead.

"You had a chance to stop your brother, and you couldn't. So let's not quibble over who started what. Let's just say it was—" A smug gesture to everyone in the room, including the angels behind him, "—all our faults and move on. 'Cause like it or not—" Another stupid hand gesture, "—it's Apocalypse time now. And we're back on the same team again."

"Is that so?" Dean asked rhetorically, knowing that there was no way in hell he would be playing for the angels team, no thank you.

"You want to kill the devil." Zach said plainly, like it was obvious, "We want you to kill the devil. It's...synergy."

"And I'm just supposed to trust you?" Dean said with disbelief. He thought Cas had the least understanding for human emotion, but he had been proven otherwise by the angel in front of raised his voice, "Cram it with walnuts, ugly."

If Katie didn't know better, she would've laughed. But she stayed quiet and watched as Zachariah pulled himself together.

"This isn't a game, son." A Pause. His voice had gained a serious, dark undertone, that was actually a little frightening, "Lucifer is powerful in ways that defy description. We need to strike now, hard and fast—before he finds his vessel."

"His vessel? Lucifer needs a meat suit?" Olivia piped up, earning herself the gaze of the man she hated the most.

"He is an angel. Those are the rules." Zachariah replied, turning back to Dean, "And when he touches down, we're talking Four Horsemen, red oceans, fiery skies,the greatest hits. You can stop him, Dean, but you need our help."

"You listen to me, you two-faced douche." Dean didn't even hesitate, there was no way he was taking that offer, "After what you did, I don't want jack squat from you!"

"You listen to me, boy! You think you can rebel against us? As Lucifer did?" Zachariah screamed, cutting Dean off before his sentence came to a close. Before continuing, the angel spotted deep red liquid dripping from Dean's hand. His angelic eyebrows furrowed.

"You're bleeding." He said, the bafflement in his voice could easily be confused with concern.

Dean acted as though he had just noticed it himself. "Oh, yeah—a little insurance policy in case you dicks showed up."

Then, without fanfare, Dean turned around, yanked the sliding door open to reveal a Angel Banishing Sigil. Despite the angel's dramatic cries of "No!" Dean slapped his hand to the door, forcing the angels to disappear to somewhere else in the world.

Dean glanced around, making sure they were actually gone, before yelling, "Learned that from my friend Cas, you son of a bitch."

They all looked at each other, none of them really sure what was going on or what was supposed to happen next. But at least Chuck knew what they were thinking.

"This sucks ass."

---

Sam's hands were shoved deep in his pockets as he rushed down the staircase. The black metal was sprinkled with rain, which was the reason for his shoes squeaking as he practically glided down. He passed a kissing couple, who were too lost in each other to realize he was there. He immediately thought of Olivia.

He didn't know where he stood with her. The last time he saw her, before Satan was unleashed, he had done something terrible. At the time, he had been so confused, he somehow convinced himself that she would be better without him. He somehow convinced himself that driving her away would help. He thought that she would understand after he stopped the apocalypse, that she would forgive him.

Except he didn't stop the apocalypse. And driving her away didn't help. She was broken on a whole new level, and it was his fault. If he had just listened, her best friend wouldn't be dead. She wouldn't have to replay the memory of murdering Ashlyn in her nightmares. She wouldn't look at him with both longing and slight hostility at the same time. Even if she was better off without him, which he wasn't sure he really believed anymore, he hadn't thought about himself. He hadn't accounted for how lost he would be without her. Maybe if he had died in the chapel, everything would be okay.

But of course, that wasn't an option.

He opened the cheap motel door, hoping that they could finally have a conversation about their problems instead of pretending they didn't exist. His brother stood in the middle of the room loading a gun while Olivia was sorting through various lore books. Katie wasn't there, and he didn't want to ask where she was. Hearing the door open, Dean looked up.

"Hey" He greeted, tossing the gun on the mattress. Olivia glanced away from her task, making eye contact with Sam for a split second before snapping her head back down. She gave a little nod to acknowledge his presence, but that was it. Sam sighed quietly. It looked like he had a long way to go before she forgave him.

"Hey." Sam repeated. He finally removed his hands from his jacket, pulling out a tiny, marked bundle with them. He glanced at his brother.

"Here." Sam tossed the object to Dean, who didn't expect it and fumbled to eventually catch it. Dean turned his attention away from his previous distraction, his phone that brightly displayed a half-finished text to Katie, and started to examine the bag in his hand. It had symbols painted on the exterior, ones Dean recognized to be witchcraft, and the interior held something crunchy. Dean cringed. He didn't really want to know what was in it. Witches were disgusting, always spurting bodily fluids everywhere and using dead baby parts. Just….ugh. Freakin' witches.

"Hex bags. No way the angels will find us with those. Demons, either, for that matter." Sam continued, unaware of Dean's internal ranting.

Dean made an impressed face. "Huh. Where'd you get it?"

Sam felt extremely awkward, noticing Olivia's questioning stare that she was trying to hide. He visibly swallowed and tried his best to prevent the blush rushing up his neck. "I made it."

Dean seemed content with that answer, but Olivia's eyebrows furrowed. Sam didn't know witchcraft off the top of his head, right? That wasn't like him. Well, he hadn't been "like him" for a while now. Who knew what he had learned from Ruby. Wait...

"How?" Olivia asked, speaking for the first time since Sam got back. She prayed she didn't already know the answer. Sam hesitated long enough for Dean to look up at him, expecting a response.

Awkward silences were a great pain in the ass. Sam tripped over his words, knowing that it would trigger some sort of reaction. "I...I learned it from Ruby."

Olivia shut her eyes and sighed out of pure exasperation. The bitch was dead, when would she go away? Ruby was infecting every aspect of their lives, or more specifically, Olivia's life. Wherever there was a problem, Ruby was to blame. Whenever Olivia was upset, Ruby was the scapegoat. Olivia replayed the memory of stabbing Ruby in her head to cheer herself up, and it always worked. Everything was about Ruby, and Olivia was sick of it.

"Oh. Of course you did." She said, slamming the lore book on top of the pile.

Dean approached Sam. "Speaking of. How you doing? Are you jonesing for another hit of bitch blood or what?"

Sam felt flustered and awkward. This is kind of what he wanted, but he could tell Dean was holding his anger back. "I-it's weird. Uh, tell you the truth, I'm fine. No shakes, no fever. It's like whoever...put me on that plane cleaned me right up."

Dean chuckled bitterly, "Supernatural methadone."

"Yeah, I guess." Sam flashed a quick unamused grin and paused, "Dean—"

"Sam." Dean shouted over him, turning away, "It's okay. You don't have to say anything."

"Well, that's good. Because what can I even say? "I'm sorry"? "I screwed up"? Doesn't really do it justice, you know?" Sam felt like he really needed to say something, so he began his giant apology, "Look, there's nothing I can do or say that will ever make this right—"

"So why do you keep bringing it up?!" Dean yelled, putting his phone down again. He heard Sam sigh, so he closed his eyes for a moment before turning back around. "Look, all I'm saying is, why do we have to put this under a microscope? We made a mess. We clean it up. That's it."

Sam nodded. Olivia rolled her eyes and returned to reading the book she had been going through. This one was about biblical mythology, so second pile...

"All right, so, say this is just any other hunt. You know? What do we do first?" Dean said, glad that they put that conversation off for another day.

"We'd, uh, figure out where the thing is." Sam guessed, still surprised that Dean was doing so well.

"All right." Dean finalized, thinking. Olivia spoke his thoughts for him without looking up from her task

"So we just gotta find the devil. Peachy." She said, roughly shutting the fragile, dusty book in front of her, "I'm going to get something to eat."

Sam jumped on the opportunity of finally being alone with her.

"Can I come too?" There was a long pause. Olivia sure as hell didn't want to sit across from him, let alone eat a meal.

"I kinda want to spend an hour by myself. Clear my head a bit." She replied, praying he would let it-

"I won't say anything. I just want to get a salad. Promise." Sam was dying on the inside for her to say yes.

Of course he wouldn't let it be. It was Sam after all. Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Um, then yeah… I guess," Victory! Sam thought as he grabbed his coat. "But I'm driving." Olivia added. She grabbed the keys out of Dean's hands and made her way to the door before Sam could say anything else.

"Pick Katie and I up a bacon burger while you're at it!" Dean yelled before the door slammed, talking to Olivia.

"We'll get you guys something." Sam replied to him and started to follow Olivia out the door.

"Yeah, don't be stupid." Dean said. Sam just glared at him and closed the door.

---

Silence. That's what filled the air in the rental car. Sam wanted to say something so bad but he didn't know what. There wasn't really anything that he could do without setting her off. He decided to try anyway.

"Can we talk-" He said but was interrupted.

"Shhhh. I said no talking." Olivia shushed, keeping her eyes on the road. No other car was on the dark, long backroad that they were on. As much as she wanted to explode and yell and blame everything on Sam, she just couldn't. It hurt her to much.

"It'll be quick." He persisted.

"I said no, Sam." Olivia gritted out.

"I just wanted to apologize for-" He started.

"Apologize for what Sam?!" She slammed on the brakes, stopping in the middle of the road and facing him. "Apologize for almost beating me to death the last time we saw each other, or for me having to kill my best friend, or for releasing the fucking devil?! No. You don't get to apologize. You get to sit there and feel guilty about all of those things. You get to feel guilty about cheating on me with a goddamn demon who was a liar and a manipulator. Just. Like. You." She had ended her rant. As she sat there waiting for a response, a couple tears slipped down her face. Her hands were shaking with rage and a little fear. She didn't know what to expect in the next minute.

Sam just sat there. Taking all of her words in. He didn't know how to respond. He regretted every single thing that she just mentioned. But he also knew that those things were true and his fault.

"I-I want to apologize for hurting you." He told her. "I never meant for any of those things to happen. I don't know what I was thinking, Liv. I never wanted to put you in pain or drag you down with me." his sadness amplified when she flinched at his nickname for her.

"Well… It's a little too late for that now, isn't it? You've dragged the whole world down with you." Olivia responded wiping her tears and grabbing the wheel again. As she began to drive, she wondered if she'd ever be able to forgive him for the things he had done.

The rest of the drive was silent. They both sat there, Sam keeping his emotions at bay and Olivia trying to stop her useless tears. The realisation that it was over between them was put into play at almost the exact same moment. It was official. They were done.

Neither of them wanted it to be this way. Two breaking hearts could be felt in the air of that crappy rental car.

As they pulled into the diner, Olivia sat there for a moment, processing. Sam looked at her worriedly, but he knew if he said anything he would be making it worse. Olivia hit the steering wheel and sighed. She faced Sam once more.

"You know what? Here. I'm going to take the bus back to the motel." She threw the keys at him, causing Sam to juggle them around in attempt to catch them.

"No, it's okay. You take the car, I'll take the bus." He extended his hand to return the engine starters but Olivia refused.

"No. I really shouldn't be driving right now." She stood up and continued out of the car without saying another word.

God. How am I going to fix this? Sam asked himself. Sighing, he climbed out from the van and walked into the diner, knowing exactly what her order would be.

---

Katie used to object to most of Ashlyn's music. She could never stand the screamo "music" that Ashlyn tried to play. She would always find some way to turn it off, some way to bitch about it. Now? Now, the deafening screeches were one of the only things left of Ashlyn. The mixture of Violins, hard rock, and hard rock violins is what Katie had to hold onto.

After finally figuring out the code to Ashlyn's phone, which turned out to be Castiel, Katie hadn't put it down. She let herself wallow in her friend's most prized possession. It was filled with so many things- so many things Ashlyn kept close. Pictures of the three of them, an assortment of music that couldn't be classified under one specific genre, unfinished writing ideas that she had quickly jotted down, and even some old photos of Katie, Katie (Katie L, Katie's best friend since childhood and Ashlyn's step-sister,) Olivia, Nicky, and Ashlyn herself during high school.

The most interesting and unexpected thing, however, was hidden in the notes section. Journal entries. Entries starting way back when they met Anna. Katie almost couldn't read them. It was too much, knowing that there would never be another one.

So that's where she was. On the roof of the most recent cheap motel, staring down at the phone. Taking a shaky breath, she opened the file that read "Journal Entry One"

This has got to be the weirdest week of my entire life.

So, we're in Supernatural. As in, we're living it now. Olivia, Katie and I. It sucks ass. Something, we don't know what, sent us here through our TV, for some unknown reason. I don't know about you, but that's just rude.

I don't even know why I'm writing this. I don't intend on showing this to anyone, so if you're reading this, get off my phone. Of course, if you have my phone, I must be dead. Because no one touches my baby unless they take it from my cold, dead hands.

Katie's cheeks were once again stained with tears, cursing the world for it's sick sense of humor. She sniffed, continuing to read.

I'm getting a bit off topic. Anyway, whatever brought us here is gonna be sorry, because, oh yeah, we're hunters now. With Sam and Dean. It's fucking crazy. In the past few days, We have escaped a super-demon, rescued an angel who didn't remember she was an angel, I met Casti-freakin'-el, Olivia got tortured by the super-demon, and we had to work with Ruby. I don't like her. Too bossy and demon-y.

Olivia loves it here. I kinda get why, since her past sucks. But I think she's in love with Sam. It's obvious, and he loves her back. It's disgustingly cute. Katie and I even agreed on it, Samvia is the OTP.

Katie seems pretty freaked out about this whole thing. I am too, if I'm being honest. But she has a reason…. Actually, we all have a reason to be a little freaked. She's psychic, apparently. She sees things in her head, how the future was supposed to pan out without us there to screw stuff up. It's cool, I guess, but I'm glad I don't have it. Also, she's falling for Dean. I can read people like books, I swear. Dean doesn't know what to think of her, but there's definitely something there.

I really don't understand why my friends feel the need to attach themselves to men. Maybe I don't get it because I'm Ace- no, excuse me, a pagan worm. Can you practically see me rolling my eyes? That is still the worst code name Katie has ever come up with.

It's kinda weird, the way this is all playing out. It's literally like a fanfiction. Everything except me. I mean, some added OCs with sad backstories? check. Olivia, the super independent badass chick with a dick boyfriend in her past, giving her commitment and trust issues. But she can't help but fall in love with the oh-so perfect Sammy Winchester, and those feelings scare the hell out of her. Then there's Katie, the scared, shy, way-too selfless girl who is the most problematic person on the planet. With her crippled-ness, the car accident with her dad that she blames herself for, the opiates addiction, and the general self-disregarding nature, she's pretty fucked up. She just wants someone to love her, blah blah blah.

Geez. I don't have a backstory. My parents broke up, and my best friend became my step-sister, but I'm fine. I was really good in school, earning myself multiple scholarships to a bunch of colleges. Olivia, Katie and I got the same scholarship to Minnesota University, so we decided to move from our small-town Ohio home to Minnesota together. Olivia couldn't figure out what she wanted to do so she did everything, Katie was trying to make up for her high-school lifestyle in college, and I decided to be a writer. We discovered Supernatural a bit after that, and it all went downhill from there. See? Not much there. I'm just the girl on her phone.

Holy hell, did I just sit here for 30 minutes writing down my thoughts? Wow. I guess I can keep doing this, it's easy. Anyway, I gotta go. Dean says that he's gonna start training us like he said. Oh, I can see him out the window. (Did I mention we're at BOBBY SINGER'S HOUSE?!) He's setting up targets! He probably thinks we can't shoot. I'll show his ass.

Katie smiled. It was just like Ashlyn to get lost in writing, even if it was about real life. Ashlyn never really spoke her feelings, or showed them, so the other two girls had grown to assume Ash didn't feel feelings either. Evidently, they were wrong. It broke her heart to see that Ashlyn felt so left out. If they had only known, they would've done something about it!

Katie's lip trembled, barely holding back her crying. She felt so helpless. Ashlyn was dead, and there was nothing any of them could do about it. She wished this pain would stop, that she would be numb. The bottle in her pocket felt heavier and heavier. She should open it. She will open it.

Her fingers closed around the object. She really shouldn't. It was a bad idea, a horrible one, even. But she hurt so badly, she was finding it harder and harder to care. She knew that she should've just dropped that stupid bottle off the roof her legs were dangling from, down to the distant sidewalk.

The bottle emerged from her pocket, wrapped tightly in her fingers. She looked up to the sky, asking- daring the universe to give her one reason why she shouldn't do it.

"Hey!" Dean's voice rang out from behind, scaring the absolute shit out of Katie. She jumped, almost sending herself over the edge of the building. Luckily, she caught herself and didn't go flying. The bottle was hastily shoved into her sweatshirt pocket before Dean's quickened footsteps reached her.

"You okay?" He asked, looking alarmed. Looking up to him with her permanently sad eyes, she nodded. He exhaled dramatically and shook a pointed finger at her. "Don't do that."

Katie simply shook her head at his exaggerated actions and looked down at her hanging feet once more. She usually hated heights, but she was too tired to really care anymore.

"How you doing, kiddo?" Dean tried. Katie shrugged without looking up. Dean bit his lip, unsure of how to fix her. He just knew that he had to.

"See, this is where you would say 'I'm only two years younger, dumbass' or something of that nature." Dean tried again. This time Katie did nothing.

She heard Dean sigh, then felt him move down until he was next to her. His legs kicked slightly, like a child would. Katie usually did that out of habit, but now she felt weighed down, heavy, kinda dead. Her head lifted to see him staring down at her. Dark brown eyes met apple green ones. If someone was watching them, that person might say they were about to kiss. That would've been a mistake. There was no tension in the gaze, only comfort. They stayed like that for a while, until Katie looked away.

Dean looked forward into the sky as well. "What are you even doing out here?'

Katie simply held out a dead girl's phone as an answer. Dean nodded.

"What's on there? TV show porn?" Dean tried to joke. Katie lifted a corner of her mouth, which wasn't much, but whatever. It was progress to Dean.

Katie unlocked the phone and tapped the "gallery" app. Making sure Dean was looking, she pulled up a picture of the three of them in front of the Minnesota University sign. Dean took the phone gently, his face cracking into a smile at the photo displayed on it. Ashlyn stood to the left of the sign, wearing the biggest smile he had ever seen on her face. Her eyes were crossed, most likely her definition of goofy. Olivia stood to the right, her tongue stuck out and her eyes lit up in a way that said she was laughing. Katie was on top of the sign, standing up and sticking her arms out. Her face was adorable, in Dean's opinion. Her eyes were closed, she probably blinked, but she had a grin on her face that revealed her one dimple, and her cheeks were rosy. Such a contrast to the depressed girl sitting next to him.

He handed the phone back, and she took it, staring down at the picture sadly. Her hair hid her face, but he saw tear drops splatter onto the screen and distort Ashlyn's digital face. His arm automatically went around her shoulders. She wanted to say she was fine, but she wasn't. She really wasn't. So she let herself fall against Dean, sobbing into this chest. He rubbed her back while putting his other arm around her, pulling her into a full blown hug. Her head raised itself to his shoulder, so he buried his face in her hair out of habit.

"I miss her so much," Katie sobbed into his jacket, finally speaking for the first time in days, "God, Dean, I want her back."

"I know," Dean said, flooding with relief after she finally spoke and let herself cry, "Trust me, I know that feeling pretty well."

"And I'm fucking scared," She continued, unable to slam the floodgates closed, "Satan's walking the Earth, and people are gonna die, oh god, we might die! We're gonna-"

"Katie, no. We're not gonna die. There's no way." Dean lied, seeing that she was transitioning into a panic now, "I will never let anything hurt you, ever."

That time he told the truth. The trueness of his words scared him, if he was being honest. Which he was.

"I know, I'm just, I-I don't wanna do this anymore, Dean." She admitted, pulling her face away from his now-drenched shoulder and looking at him in the eyes, "I wanna go home."

Her desperation and sadness broke his heart, but he had to act strong for her. He noticed that, through her tears, her eyes were slightly pink due to all the bloodshot lines, and they had collected shadows beneath them. Wait, she was really close to his face, why did she keep getting closer-

"When's the last time you slept?" Dean muttered, slowly figuring out why she was so close to him.

"Um," Dean could feel her breath fan across his face, he needed to stop this, "I'm not sure, when did Sam escape the panic room?"

He pushed her back gently, "Three days?"

"Mm-hm" She nodded, trying to lean back into him. He let out a breath of relief. (or disappointment?) Sleep deprivation. That's all this was.

"No, sorry, you're going to bed, Sleepy." He stated, standing up and offering his hand for her to take. She picked up the phone and took the offer, however grumpily.

"I'm fine, Dean." She denied, even though she was walking along with him off the roof.

"No, you're really not, kid." Dean replied, wrapping an arm around her. She leaned closer to him, sending him an annoyed look.

"Two years, Dean." She rebutted. Dean grinned, looking forward instead of at her.

"Oh, there she is." He said to himself. Katie heard it and tiredly swatted his arm, which somehow made him smile more.

---

Olivia stomped her way up to the motel room. She had thought long and hard about it, and she decided that, no, she wouldn't forgive Sam. He had tried to hurt her, even though he knew about her past. He promised never to be like Matt, and he broke that promise. She knew he wasn't perfect, but c'mon, he was Sam flippin' Winchester! The opposite of an abusive asshole!

She pulled the door open and slammed it behind her with equal force, ready to give Sam the verbal beatdown of a lifetime. All the anger she kept pent up inside was going to blow, going to explode right in his face. He was facing away from the door, looking at something, but she didn't care what. She was so furious-

Then he turned around. She felt the anger fade as she looked into his eyes, his watery puppy-dog eyes that she fell victim to every single time. He was crying, looking at her with such sadness and desperation to be forgiven.

She looked toward the bed, where he had been looking, and saw exactly what made him cry. Katie and Dean were both asleep, facing each other. Dean's chin rested on top of her head, keeping her wrapped up near him in what could only be described as a protective position. Olivia knew that they hadn't fallen asleep that way, by the way Katie was using her arm as a pillow she guessed they fell asleep talking to each other.

Olivia and Sam used to do that, too. They'd talk in hushed voices about anything and everything, then wake up in each other's arms. Where they both felt warm and safe. Olivia suddenly understood why Sam was crying. Everyone he loved and trusted was suddenly treating him harshly. He, too, had lost a friend, and Olivia told him that he was to blame. The end of the world was his fault, and above all- He missed her.

So as she stared at him, she let her anger go. She didn't hold it in, she didn't take it out on anyone. She just let it go. There was no room for it, because she loved him so much. She finally figured it out.

Sam wiped the tears from his eyes and picked up a white take out box from the table in front of him. "Ugh, sorry. Want some? I got it just how you like it. If that's okay, I guess."

She missed him too.

She ran toward him and basically stepping on his toes, making him drop the box in his hand. Their faces were really, really close, and Sam was confused. Happy, maybe, but mostly confused.

"Liv," He breathed, looking down at her lips, "What are you doing?"

She smiled and chuckled slightly. "Shut the hell up and let me kiss you."

Then, finally, after all that waiting, she pushed her lips to his again. He responded immediately after the initial shock, feeling his heart explode as he felt her so close to him once more. Their lips blended perfectly, the kiss filled with passion and love and forgiveness and relief, everything that couldn't be said with words. Olivia's lips curved up, smiling at his enthusiasm to be with her again, even though she had treated him horribly in the past few hours.

"I love you so much. I will never hurt you again. I promise." Sam said in between kisses, his breathless state showing how relieved he was that she was with him. His arms gripped the small of her back, holding her close so she couldn't leave again. Olivia nodded and went in for another kiss.

"It's okay. I'm sorry too." Olivia admitted as she pulled away and looked at- once again- her Sam. "I love you, Sam." At his beaming smile, which she returned, she crashed her lips onto his again.

They both had tears in their eyes now. The love they had for each other would never break. They weren't going to make that mistake again.

"We still need to talk though." He grabbed her and looked straight into her eyes. Olivia didn't like talking. Especially about this because all of those emotions will flood back in and just make her mad all over again.

"Why? No we don't." She replied to him, trying to kiss him again, but he held her back and spoke.

"Yes we do. We need to- I need to clear the air and make sure we are all right." He explained. Olivia understood, but if they were going to talk, they had to do it now while she was okay.

"Sammy, we are. I forgive you. I just want to be with you… I missed you. A lot." Olivia said playing with the grown man's hair in his face. She pushed it back behind his ear and looked into his big green (or were they hazel?) eyes.

"I'm going to make it up to you. Trust me" And with that, he pulled her into a tight hug, then walked out the door, leaving Olivia alone over the sleeping bodies of Dean and Katie. What she didn't know is that the two woke up and had heard everything that had just happened.

Olivia collapsed on the other bed, smiling giddily at the ceiling and sighing contently. She slowly closed her eyes, the relief of fixing her relationship covering her like a warm, fluffy blanket. She could cry with joy right then. Things were looking up for her. Yeah, it was the apocalypse, but the only thing that mattered to her was going to be okay.

"Freakin' finally." Dean grumbled, watching her eyes snap to him from the other bed. Katie was on the line of dreaming and reality, so she kept still, her eyes closed and her mind fuzzy.

"How much did you hear?" Olivia asked, a small smile resting on her face. Nothing could break her mood now.

"Next time you almost tackle the man, don't knock over the chair. It could've woken up a sleeping bear." He said, referring to the chair that almost tipped over in Olivia's advance.

It just made her smile more. "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do." She said, shrugging. She nodded to the girl that was still in Dean's arms. "Why didn't she wake up? And how is she?"

"She hasn't slept in three days." He said, making Olivia widen her eyes, "I found her crying on the roof with that phone. She finally talked a little, so I convinced her to come down here. She fell asleep talking to me and, I don't know, I'm tired too."

Olivia nodded at his explanation, slightly saddened at his story but her smile only decreased to a grin. "She's a cuddler." She pointed out.

The warmth Dean's chin left Katie's head for a moment so he could look down to her supposedly sleeping face. He didn't understand the emotion he was feeling. There was this pain in his chest, like his heart was about to explode just by looking at her. Protectiveness, maybe? He didn't know. He just knew that, one, that feeling scared him, and two, he felt when he was with her. He hated it, but he loved it. His eyes were set on her peaceful expression as he answered Olivia.

"Yeah, I know." He said. Olivia's eyebrows furrowed.

"Do you plan on moving?" She asked, not sure if she was reading him right. What was that look in his eyes?

He replaced his chin to Katie's crown softly, his eyes meeting Olivia's.

"Nah." He denied, then closed his eyes once more. Olivia got the message, turning off the lamp and plunging the room into darkness.

Katie smiled sleepily. She was so exhausted, her limbs were like dead weight, her entire body droopy. Somehow, she felt herself cuddle in closer to Dean's chest. She wasn't sure if she was dreaming or not. But that feeling of lips against her forehead? She dreamed that. Definitely had to be a dream.

---

The next morning was a lighter one. Sam was awake, lying flat on the bed and staring into his father's journal. Dean sat towards the end of the opposite bed, careful not to disturb a slumbering Katie who was still buried in the blankets. Before coming into the world of hunting and monsters, Katie always slept in. Always. Dean knew this and decided to leave her be when he woke up. He leaned forward, cracking his sore back while watching the news. Olivia called dibs on the shower that morning, even though Sam kept pulling her back into the bed with him for "Just five more minutes." She eventually fought him off, to his disappointment and Dean's relief, (Their couple-ness made him want to puke.) and went to take the shower that she had claimed.

Yeah, maybe Satan was walking the earth, but the OTP wasn't fighting anymore. That fact somehow made everyone feel better.

"How would you then explain an earthquake, a hurricane, and multiple tornadoes, all at the same time, all around the globe?" An announcer's voice blared from the TV, unknowingly describing the effects of Lucifer's jailbreak.

"Two words. Carbon emissions." An environmentalist said confidently. Dean scoffed, not understanding how people could dismiss all these things with such weak excuses.

"Yeah, right, wavy gravy." He said to the screen.

Suddenly, There was a knock at the door. Dean pulled out his gun. Sam answered it, confused at what he saw. It was a woman, so excited that she was having trouble breathing.

"You okay, lady?" Sam asked, not sure how to handle the fangirl behavior. The girls they travelled with had "fangirled" a few times, and it wasn't pleasant any of the times.

"Sam...is it really you?" The stranger asked. Sam glanced back at Dean. The woman stepped closer and put a hand on Sam's chest. "And you're so firm."

"Why can't we stay in a hotel with hot water? Once?" Olivia said as she walked into the room, a towel wrapped around her head. She leaned over, rubbing the water from her hair quickly. She stood back up, looking at Sam's wide eyes and Becky's ecstatic face groping him. She pointed with a blank expression. "What is that?"

"Uh, nothing!" Sam grabbed Becky's hand and pushed it back. "She's just some girl who knocked on the door," He tried to explain. "I don't even know her."

"No. But I know you. You're Sam Winchester. And you're—" The blonde haired girl looked at Dean, who was staring at her, his gun hand out of sight. "—not what I pictured. I'm Becky."

She pushed past Sam into the room, Olivia's disgust growing by the minute.

"I read all about you guys. I even wrote a few…" Becky trailed off, glancing down because her face was shaded in a very ugly shade of red, "Anyway, Mr. Edlund told me where you were."

Dean stood up, glancing down at Katie, almost surprised that she was still sleeping. The stranger's words confused him, but Olivia seemed to understand.

"Oh no, not a Wincest shipper!" Olivia said with disappointment, not caring that Becky's face glowed with offense, "I thought demons were the worst thing in this universe, you guys can't infect this world too!"

"Excuse me? All ships are equal! Who the hell are you to judge, huh? Actually, who the hell are you anyway?" Becky almost screeched. Olivia looked ready to fight the woman in front of her. She strode down the few stairs, past a extremely confused Sam, and got right in her face.

"I'm Sam's badass demon hunting girlfriend! Who are you?!" Olivia spat, watching Becky's face go vermillion with ugly rage. Sam hid a smile at the G word.

"Girls!" Dean said, forcing himself between them, grabbing Olivia's wrist to pull her out of Becky's face. He glanced back at Katie, actually surprised that she was still out cold. Becky followed his gaze, looking confused for the first time since arriving.

"What, you actually care about a one night stand for once?" Becky said, only being able to see Katie's brown, wavy mess of hair from where she was standing.

Dean began fighting to keep Olivia back, even though he was tempted to release her. "She's not a one night stand. What she is is sleeping, so if you could both quiet down-"

Becky scoffed. "She looks like a one night stand to me."

"Bitch!" Olivia said, Sam holding her back now. He was speaking in her ear, trying to calm her down. It was only slightly effective, but Sam was working on it. Dean took a deep breath and tried to swallow his argument.

"You mentioned Chuck?" He said calmly. She looked excited to help, then launched into her speech.

It made no sense, was kinda creepy, and just thoroughly pissed Olivia off. What they got was "The Michael sword is on earth. The angels lost it. It's in a castle, on a hill made of forty-two dogs." After being groped by the fangirl one last time, Sam politely asked her to leave, but thanked her for the information. When the freak tried to linger, Dean allowed Olivia to scare her off, much to Sam's disapproval. Olivia didn't give a shit about Sam's approval. Sam was her Sam, not anyone else's.

As Sam and Olivia held hands and conversed on their way to the vending machine, ('What's a Wincest?" asked Sam, curious about what Olivia was so disgusted over. Olivia stopped, looked him in the eye, and put a finger over his lips. "No." She replied, then continued to drag a confused boyfriend to go get food.) Dean checked on the sleeping girl in his bed. When he pulled back the covers, he was surprised to see a smiling, sleepy eyed girl staring back at him.

"You were awake the entire time?" He said in smiling disbelief. Her smile told him that reality had yet to crush her with sadness, so he planned to keep it that way for as long as possible. She giggled, wiping sleep from her eyes.

"I like to think I'm always sleeping." She laughed. He shook his head, unable to wipe the annoying smile from his face. She must have thought he was embarrassed, because she felt the need to rub it in.

"Oh, don't worry, I only woke up in time to hear my knight in shining armor stand up for my napping rights." She teased, watching his face burn a tinge of pink. She opened her mouth in a shocked laugh.

"Is the big, scary monster hunter blushing?" She said in a baby voice. Next thing she knew, she was under the covers again and an uncomfortable pillow was being shoved into her face.

"I'm not." He said, throwing pillows at her in a teasing assault.

"You are." She said, digging herself out of the pile of pillows.

"I'm really not." a pillow hit her face, but her smile didn't break.

"You really are!" She yelled, ducking behind the bed. She bounced up, attacking him with pillows. He blocked them effortlessly, but she felt accomplished.

She ran out in front of him, hitting his chest. He stopped then, looking anywhere but her. She was confused, but he knew she would forget.

"Pants." He said plainly. She looked down at her bare legs, snickering at his sensitivity.

"You didn't care last night." She said, almost losing it when his eyes snapped down to hers, catching on to her double entendre. It was very entertaining to make him squirm, dirty meaning not intended.

"We were having a very interesting conversation about the meaning of life, I forgot." Dean replied, teasing her for her drunken tendencies when she was low on sleep.

She scoffed, turning and leaning over to rummage through her duffle, in search of jeans. "You're really blushing now, though."

And he did not stare at her ass. Totally didn't… that wasn't what friends did to each other. Friends didn't burn holes in each other's asses. Even if it was a nice ass….slightly perfect, even.

Dean pinched himself. No, Dean, stop it. Look away, look away, look away… STOP. FRIENDS. YOU ARE FRIENDS.

Friends. That's what Katie and Dean were. That's what Olivia and Sam were, at first, but they grew into something more. Dean asked himself, is that what he really wanted in life? A lot of drama and heartbreak? No. He didn't want that. Usually, he would tell that feeling of "love" or whatever, to screw off. He wanted nothing that was in the same neighborhood of commitment. Even if those feelings of love and longing were literally forcing themselves down his throat, he wouldn't do it. Friends. That's what Katie and Dean would stay.

But did one glance count?

---

Later, Olivia was still plenty pissed about the fangirl encounter. She sat with Sam on the bed, each of them doing their separate research, quietly interrogating him on the subject.

"Do you think she's pretty? I mean, she was fugly, but what do you think? Like,-" Sam interrupted her for the seventh time.

"Liv, no, she is a cow patty compared to you." Olivia smiled, making Sam do the same out of habit, "You're the only girl for me"

"Barf." Dean stated from across the room where he was playing paper football with Katie, "Kill me now, por favor."

"Shut up, you're happy we're back together." Olivia said, turning to see Dean over her shoulder.

"At first, but now it makes me want to puke." Dean lied. Looking over her shoulder to look at the couple, Katie mimed throwing up for emphasis.

A knock sounded at the door, which Sam and Olivia raced to get. Olivia ended up cheating to get ahead, so she ripped open the door to reveal the form of Bobby Singer.

"Bobby!" Olivia exclaimed, hugging the man with exaggerated enthusiasm. He seemed surprised and hugged her back quickly, not used to the woman being in such a good mood.

"Hey, Bobby." Dean said, focusing on his shot, which missed and hit Katie in the face. Dean snickered at her annoyed face before getting up and hugging his surrogate father.

"Good to see you all in one piece." Bobby said, going from Dean to Sam. Sam grinned, enjoying the feeling of being around someone who had no clue he ended the world. Dean shut the door behind them. Bobby backed away from Sam, looking to Katie, who suddenly felt a cold feeling splash over her. Something felt extremely off about Bobby, something Katie really didn't like. Bobby looked uncertain of whether to hug her or not, but when Katie stumbled back a step or two, he got the message. Dean saw the troubled look on Katie's face and decided to make conversation.

"You weren't followed, were you?" He asked, not wanting any monster near them in case they figured out exactly who let the devil walk.

"You mean by angels, demons, or Sam's new superfan?" Bobby joked, looking to Sam pointedly, who laughed.

"You heard." he said, to which Bobby chuckled.

"I heard, Romeo. I thought Olivia was it for you." He commented, earning himself a dirty look from both Sam and Olivia, "So...sword of Michael, huh?"

"You think we're talking about the actual sword from the actual archangel?" Dean said in disbelief.

"You better friggin' hope so." Bobby said, walking past Dean and Katie (who backed out of the way before Bobby could get close, getting a weird look from Dean.) and setting a book down on the table. He flipped to a page of a feminine-looking angel surrounded by other angels. The angels in the painting looked like naked babies with wings, but everyone in the room knew that was not the case.

"That's Michael. Toughest son of a bitch they got." Bobby pointed to the bigger angel in the middle of the page. Sam flipped to another painting where Michael still looks like a giant winged woman.

"You kidding me? Tough? That guy looks like Cate Blanchett." Dean smirked, yelping when Olivia stamped on his foot.

"You saying a girl can't be tough, Deano?" Olivia said, glaring at him in a way that she knew terrified him. Dean didn't answer, just looked at Sam for help. Sam was wearing a shit-eating grin, gesturing to his girlfriend.

"You said it, dude." He pointed out. Dean stared at his unhelpful brother while Olivia gazed up at her supportive boyfriend.

Bobby was glaring at all of them, not caring at all. "Well, I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley, believe me. He commands the heavenly host. During the last big dust-up upstairs, he's the one who booted Lucifer's ass to the basement. Did it with that sword. So if we can find it…"

"We can kick the devil's ass all over again. All right. So, where do we start?" Sam concluded, excited for a new glimpse of hope for cleaning his mess up.

"Divvy up and start reading—try and make sense of Chuck's nonsense." Bobby instructed, watching Sam and Olivia head for the same pile of books that he brought. Olivia picked one up while Sam stopped and stared for a moment. After a minute of Sam not reaching for the books, Bobby became curious.

"Kid? You all right?" he asked, making Sam take a deep breath. He enjoyed Bobby's obliviousness while he could, but Bobby didn't deserve to be kept in the dark. Sam respected him to much to do that. He turned to face Bobby, preparing himself for the worst.

"No, actually. Bobby, this is all my fault. I'm sorry." Sam spewed out, ready to admit everything and tell the truth.

"Sam…" Dean warned, not wanting to bring this up again. Sam felt Olivia's hand grip his arm, silently telling him that he could keep going if he needed to. It was the comfort that he needed.

"Lilith did not break the final seal. Lilith was the final seal." Sam continued, trying not to get upset again.

"Sam, stop it." Dean tried again, this time coming out as more of a command. Sam ignored him.

"I killed her, and I set Lucifer free." He finished, hoping that Bobby would somehow be understanding, but not counting on it.

"You what?" Bobby gaped, not sounding understanding at all to Sam.

"You guys warned me about Ruby, the demon blood, but I didn't listen. I brought this on." Sam kept trying to apologize, not sure if forgiveness was in the cards anymore, or if it ever was.

Dean stays as silent as Katie, who hadn't spoken a word since Bobby arrived. The man himself strode forward closer to Sam, getting in his face and angry.

"You're damn right you didn't listen. You were reckless and selfish and arrogant." Bobby spat, telling Sam off like a disobedient child. Bobby had never been this brutally harsh before, and every single one of his words rubbed more salt into the wound.

"I'm sorry." Sam said thickly, at a loss for what to say that would fix this. He knew that there was no combination of words in the world that would grant him forgiveness. He deserved this.

"Oh, yeah? You're sorry you started Armageddon? This kind of thing don't get forgiven, boy." Bobby exploded, unable to hold his anger at bay. "If, by some miracle, we pull this off...I want you to lose my number. You understand me?"

Sam nodded, looking down sadly with guilt. Besides the guilt that only intensified, his expression barely changed. This wasn't far off from what he expected.

"There's an old church nearby. Maybe I'll go read some of the lore books there." he choked out, looking for any excuse to get out of there.

"Yeah. You do that." Bobby snapped. Sam hurried out, grabbing his jacket with lightning speed. Olivia stared at Bobby with a glare that could murder, setting the book down and gathering her things.

"I have lost all my respect for you. Not cool Bobby." She said with disgust, rushing after Sam and slamming the door behind her.

The room was silent. Bobby turned to the remaining two inhabitants, raising his eyebrow. "Something you want to say to me?"

Dean shook his head, going for a book that laid on the bed. Katie looked Bobby in the eyes, but immediately looked away. The feeling of icicles stabbing her spine assaulted her once again, making her squirm in her own skin. Something was very… wrong. Dean noticed her uncomfortable movements, but said nothing. He put it under the ask about later file in his mind.

---

"Sam? Sammy stop!" Olivia was trying to catch up with Sam while wearing her heels. Sam was hurt. He didn't feel like talking to anybody but her. As he walked up to the corner of the sidewalk, he stopped and turned around to see the love of his life, trying not to roll her ankles. He chuckled a little as he put his hands out to give her support.

"Are you okay? Bobby was way out of line back there and-" She tried to ask, but Sam corrected her.

"No, Liv… Bobby was right, hell, Bobby was the only one that reacted the way he should've. I don't deserve forgiveness, and why you are giving it to me is a mystery…"

"No Sammy. Please don't say that. Dean, Katie, and I are giving it to you because we all love you, and you don't deserve more guilt than you already have. That's what family is for." Olivia smiled, wrapping her hands around her boyfriend's back.

"Olivia, I know you guys care about me… but I did mess up. We are screwed because of me. So whenever you or anyone else tell me that this apocalypse isn't my fault, I know you are lying." He looked her in the eyes and told her the truth.

"Oh honey…" She replied with attitude and a little shake in her neck. "I know this is your fault. This is your fault completely. I won't sugarcoat that or anything else because you did take a demon's word over mine and everyone else's that you love, but that doesn't mean I don't forgive you." She played with one of his stray hairs sticking out.

"Thanks… 'Cause that helped a lot." He sighed, removing her arms from his waist. "Why did you forgive me for that by the way? The whole Ruby thing…"

"Because I killed her. That bitch was the one who manipulated you, and she's dead. I also know that you'd never be stupid enough again to cheat on me with a demon or anyone else because you know I would end you…" She said with a sneer smile. "Plus… I'm in love with you, and you're in love with me… Or at least I hope you are."

"You know I am." He reassured her. His heart felt like it was bursting at her admission. She finally said it, not because he was about to leave, not because it was her last resort, but because that was how she honestly felt.

"We need each other. We protect each other. That's what you and I do." She reminded, leaning into his chest and smiling up at him.

"How did I get so lucky to deserve a girlfriend like you?" Sam said grabbing her waist. As he lifted her feet off of the ground, he began kissing his love passionately.

"Because you deserve the world baby." She said back smiling. "Come on. Let's go to the library." As the two of them continued walking hand in hand, Sam had the biggest grin on his face.

---

Katie loitered around the vending machine for way longer than necessary, holding a half-empty bag of cheetos in a cheese-covered hand. It had been a few hours since Sam and Olivia left, and she had avoided going back in the room for at least 20 minutes, just so she didn't have to suffer anymore of that weird feeling or more worried looks from Dean. Plus, research wasn't her thing. She had texted Olivia a few minutes before (To Olivia: r u and sam doing it in a church or does research actually mean research) and still hadn't gotten a response. Sighing, she concluded that it was now or never and headed back to the room.

"He ended the world, Dean. And you and I weren't strong enough to stop him proper. That's on us." Bobby was saying as Katie quietly returned, "I'm just saying, your dad was right."

"What could that abusive asshole possibly be right about?" Katie asked through a mouthful of cheesy snacks. Dean shot her an annoyed look, which quickly turned to realization.

"Dad." He said, jumping up and dashing straight for his bag. Katie shoved more cheetos into her mouth before speaking again.

"Yeah, like I said, sadistic war general. What about him?" She asked, genuinely confused at his search.

"It's gotta be here somewhere." Dean muttered as if he hadn't heard her teasing. He pulled out a Ziploc bag and started shuffling through it.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Bobby asked, a little more forcefully than usual. Katie really wanted to ask why he was being such an ass, but Dean was having an epiphany, so it wasn't really the right time.

"Here." He finally found what he was searching for and held it in front his face. "I don't believe it."

"What the hell is it?" Bobby demanded again, sounding more impatient than usual. How Dean wasn't noticing was lost on Katie.

"It's a card for my dad's lockup in upstate New York. Read it." Dean answered. Bobby read it, giving Dean a very confused face in response. Katie stayed back, waiting for Dean to read it out loud.

"Castle Storage. 42 Rover Hill." Dean explained just as Katie predicted, "In Castle on a hill of forty-two dogs."

"So you think your dad had the Michael sword all this time?" Bobby asked, looking at Dean, who was too busy smiling at his new discovery to notice.

"I don't know. I'm not sure what else Chuck could have meant." Dean said, proud of himself for decoding the fangirl's puzzle. Katie opened her mouth to call bullshit on the giant coincidence, but Bobby's unusually cold voice rang out before she could make a noise.

"Yeah. Okay. It's good enough for me." Bobby said, shrugging. Suddenly, Bobby grabbed Dean and sent him flying, his body crashing loudly through the barrier between the Kitchenette and the beds. Katie's mouth dropped to the floor along with her bag of snacks.

"Bobby! What the fuck?!" Katie screamed, running toward Bobby with a rush of instinct and adrenaline. Her only thought was to help Dean, get him away from the attacker. Bobby quickly spun around and deflected what would have been a well aimed punch. She tried to hit him again, but he caught her fist and twisted her arm back, making it easy for him to punch her straight in the face. She stumbled, feeling herself fall onto her back and her glasses fly from her face. She felt disembodied, her vision fading to black on the edges. She was on the verge of passing out, but she knew that level of strength couldn't come from anything human.

"No…" Dean said, his nose bleeding from the impact "Bobby" had bestowed on him. He was confused, hurt, and in pain, but above all, he was furious. Katie was hurt, and he couldn't do anything about it. He attempted to pick himself back up, seeing her limp form on the floor and feeling his internal panic alarm activate. He almost didn't notice Bobby clutch his shirt again until his surrogate father pushed him forward and kicked him square in the chest, sending him crashing through the wooden doors of the closet. Pain radiated from every place that it was possible to do so. The only thing Dean could focus on was that Katie was moving. She wasn't dead.

Looking down at him menacingly, Bobby's usually kind eyes turned pitch black. Not giving Dean any time to process the new revelation, "Bobby" grabbed him by the throat and dragged him up to his feet. From the new angle, Dean was able to see that not only was Katie breathing, but she was slowly inching toward her fallen glasses. She didn't reach them before the door slammed open, allowing a woman and a man to swagger on in. By the expressions on their faces, they weren't here on a rescue mission. Dean assumed they were also demons.

"I always knew you were a big, dumb, slow, dim pain in the ass, Dean. But I never dreamed you were so V.I.P." The female demon said, waltzing over to the table and picking up Ruby's knife, "I mean, you're gonna ice the devil? You? If I'd have known that, I'd have ripped your pretty, pretty face off ages ago."

"Ruby." Dean guessed, not sure how the demon had found a way back to life. He struggled against demon Bobby's hold as the male demon grabbed Katie and shoved her around until she stood up.

"Try again. Go back further." the demon teased, standing in front of him now. Katie, in her beaten up state, found the answer in her mind quicker than Dean.

"Meg." She spat, finding the willpower to hold her head up. Her strength was coming back now, the shock and pain of the blow fading.

"Hi." Meg greeted cheerfully, turning to Katie with a look that might have been her version of curiousity. "Hey, aren't you one of those whores the Winchesters found? The Unknown, or whatever the angels are saying."

"Mm, pleasure to meet you, bitch." Katie sent back, proud of her sass that she thought of on the spot. Meg didn't appreciate it, though, and sent a fist to Katie's face. Katie still didn't regret it, even after Meg definitely broke her nose. Dean shouted some protest, switching Meg's attention back to him.

"Oh, did I get a bit too close to your girlfriend?" Meg asked, not really needing an answer to know that the girl's well being was a soft spot for him. Meg sighed happily, enjoying the day she had been waiting for for way too long. "These are the days of miracle and wonder, Dean. Our father is among us. You know we're all dreaming again for the first time since we were human? It's heaven on earth. Or hell. We really do owe your brother a fruit basket."

Dean rolled his eyes the best he could. "My god, you like the sound of your own voice."

Meg frowned for a moment at his attitude, something that hadn't changed since she last saw him. "But you, on the other hand, you're the only bump in the road. So every demon—every single one—is just dying for a piece of you."

"Get in line, sister." Katie choked out, having given up on wrestling with the demon holding her.

Meg chuckled towards Katie, smiling happily. She turned back to smirking Dean. "Oh, I'm at the front of the line, baby. Let's ride."

Then, to both Katie and Dean's disgust, Meg grabbed hold of Dean's face and kissed him full on the lips. Dean struggled to get away from her, squeezing his eyes shut and thinking happy thoughts. Katie felt a tornado of anger sweep over her and take control of her actions. She started to fight again to no avail, sputtering curses and radiating anger in general. When Meg finally released Dean, who looked thoroughly violated, she turned to Katie.

"Aw, what's wrong princess prophet? Did you call dibs?" She smiled evilly, figuring out that each of them were each other's weakness.

"Maybe, you demonic slut. You were my least favorite character anyway." Katie lied, not sure why she had gotten so angry. She decided that it was because Dean, her friend, had just gotten mouth-raped by a demon.

"What is that, peanut butter?" Dean said, still confused and horrified about what had just happened. Meg smiled, knowing Dean was hiding his fear with jokes. She knew the perfect way to remind him of reality.

"You know, your surrogate daddy's still awake screaming in there. And I want him to know how it feels slicing the life out of you." Meg explained, watching Dean's face lose color. She slowly walks to the redneck meatsuit and hands him the knife in her hand. The demon in Bobby raised it to Dean's throat, who started to struggle against it.

"Bobby!" Dean shouted, praying that his father figure could hear him in there. Katie was trying something similar.

"Bobby! That's Dean, your son! Fight this, Damn it!" She yelled, failing to escape the male demon holding her. The demon that was about to run Dean through looked to Meg, his expression almost unsure.

"Now!" Meg ordered, doubting that the hunter could actually beat the demon that had taken over his body. The demon did as she said, raising the knife above his head. Both humans pleaded out once more, but Dean braced himself for the lethal blow.

Katie was still without her glasses, so the whole thing had played out as a series of blurry blobs. In her not completely functional eyes, what happened next was slightly confusing. "Bobby" was about to stab Dean, she was about to start sobbing at the thought of losing him, and Meg was probably going to kill her next. Then, Bobby's body flashed gold and he fell, a blob of what looked like a handle sticking from his chest. Fighting broke out. Dean rushed Meg, Dean's blurry face spelling out murder. The demon that hadn't let go of her the entire time finally did, but sent her crashing into the wall. She heard something similar happen to Dean, so she assumed the demon had done the same thing to him. Even though she felt unconsciousness coming, she was able to finally crawl for her glasses and shove them on her face.

Sam and Olivia walked hand in hand down the hallway. Olivia stared down at her phone, opening an unread text from Katie and scoffing at the contents. Sam found the key, finally, and unlocked the door. Olivia expected to see Katie, Dean, and Bobby sitting at the table, researching. She prepared to scold her friend for her dirty mind, but when she glanced up she switched modes. She pushed back her feeling of horror as she saw Katie on the brink of passing out, Dean being beaten to a pulp, and worst of all, Bobby bleeding out on the floor with a knife sticking from his stomach.

"No!" Sam yelled out in horror, seeing the same as his girlfriend. The woman in front of the two turned around, delighted to the second Winchester of the day.

"Heya, Sammy. You miss me? 'Cause I sure missed you." Meg smiled, seeing the recognition on his face. She redirected her sights to Olivia. "Oh, and the slut he's been screwing! Don't worry, you don't have to kill your best friend this time. I've taken care of that."

"Meg?" Sam questioned, confused about how the demon knew him but angry about her jeering at Olivia. The demon in front of him, Meg, grinned. He took a swing at her, missing. Meg kneed him in the crotch and sent him down to eat carpet.

"Not so easy without those super-special demon powers, huh, Sammy?" Meg asked cockily.

"Yeah, but I don't need any powers, bitch." Olivia said before she hit Meg straight in the face. Meg sent her to the wall, sticking her there.

"Sammy sure does know how to pick 'em." Meg remarked. In the background, the male demon kicked Dean into the stomach. Meg turned away from Olivia to punch down an approaching Sam. Meg turned back to Olivia, fully intending to choke her to death.

The tables began to turn. Dean finally got the upper hand and swept the demon's feet from under him, pulling the demon knife from Bobby and stabbing his attacker in the chest. Meg saw this and decided to hurry up in murdering the girl on the wall. Except, the girl on the wall wasn't on the wall. Olivia had closed her eyes, focused on what she wanted, then walked away from the wall she was stuck to. Just like that. Olivia walked right up to Meg, hand out for the knife. Before Dean could toss it to her, however, Meg started to scream and smoke started spilling out of the woman. The body dropped, leaving the inhabitants of the room to stare at each other.

"How in the-" Dean started, but Olivia cut him off urgently.

"Bobby, hospital, now." She said curtly. She sprinted across the room while the boys picked up a barely breathing Bobby. She reached Katie, and after establishing that she was breathing, shook her gently.

"Katie, c'mon. Bobby's hurt." She said, shaking harder now. Katie grunted, then started to groan at the pain that was flaring up any and everywhere on her body.

"That didn't feel good." She grumbled, getting up at Olivia's urging. When she saw the boys supporting Bobby, she was up like she never got knocked out.

---

The doors of the local emergency room burst open, revealing two handsome boys carrying an older, injured man. Two similar yet vastly different looking girls trailed behind them, one looking anxious and the other looking hyper focused.

Dean yelled out, pleading for help. A nurse came running, listening to him explain that the older man got stabbed. The nurse demanded a gurney, and Bobby was carted away with the reassurances of his little family left behind. The nurse held the resisting Winchesters back, claiming that she would have questions when she came back.

"Guys, we got to go." Dean told them, watching Olivia nod in agreement and the other two start to protest.

"No. No way, Dean." Sam said on the verge of tears, while Katie was saying something similar with a more outraged tone.

"Sammy, they're gonna ask questions. You want to explain to them that satan is walking the earth?" Olivia reasoned, ready to split out the door at any moment.

"The demons heard where the sword is. We have to get to it before they do, If we aren't already too late! C'mon!" Dean demanded, starting to walk out of the crowded hospital.

"I'll stay with him" Katie piped up, sacrificing her comfort (she had a fear of hospitals for multiple good reasons) to make sure Bobby was okay.

Dean rolled his eyes, "Katie, if I'm right, there's going to be a lot of demons there. We need backup."

"Dean, Meg knocked me out with a single flick of her hand. I'm terrible at fighting and you know it." Katie argued back, causing Dean to look at the ceiling and grumble frustratedly.

"Which is why-" Dean grabbed her arm roughly, giving her no choice but to be dragged, which he wouldn't do normally, of course, but these were different circumstances "-I want you to be with me! C'mon, all of you get your asses to the car!"

---

The group of four exited the vehicle, which was parked in front of Castle Storage. Sam, Dean, and Olivia headed to the trunk to load up some weapons, while Katie stayed back and prayed Dean would change his mind about her going into the unit with them. Dean would do no such thing.

Katie watched as Olivia navigated the gun like an expert, despite only using one on occasion. It was confusing, how Olivia could shoot, fight, and kill like a natural, even though the girl had no affiliation with those activities before. Also freaky: her ability to resist demon force, and the seldom full-badassery mode. But Katie couldn't think about that now. She gazed toward Dean as he cocked his shotgun with only one hand, holding a pistol in the other. Katie wondered what the pistol was for, but he walked up to her and pushed it into her hands. She didn't want to do this.

"This is a bad idea." she said again. Dean rolled his eyes as he leaned over to pick the lock on his father's unit. Sam kept watch as his brother broke in.

"I heard that the last twenty times. Don't you trust me? I said I wouldn't let anything happen to you, and I meant it." Dean reassured her, acting more annoyed than he actually was. With a small click, the lock was open.

Olivia, who stood next to Sam, took her hand in his without looking down. Sam gave her a comforting squeeze, knowing that she was a little afraid as he was. Their hands fell from one another, Sam's going up to hold his shotgun and Olivia's going to steady her Glock.

The dark room became visible as the door creaked open. Dean looked behind him and gave his partners a little nod. They all proceeded into the room, but didn't get far before Sam almost tripped over a dead body. Olivia found a light, and it flickered on to reveal a bunch of bodies, all lying in the general vicinity of a devil's trap. The brothers had a silent conversation, but the girls could guess what it meant: Demons.

"I see you told the demons where the Michael Sword is." said everyone's favorite angel, appearing with two angel escorts to his side. The group turned to the source, Sam's hand going to Olivia's shoulder to calm her. This time, Olivia didn't try to fight. She knew it would do no good, so she settled for some heavy sass.

"Oh thank God, the angels are here." Dean said sarcastically, pure hatred lacing his voice.

"And to think...they could have grabbed it any time they wanted." Zachariah continued, waving a hand to slowly slide the door closed. Katie's eyes widened slightly, now knowing they had no escape, but she made no move to stop him, "It was right in front of them."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, not sure what to make of the angel's airy, mysterious tone.

"We may have planted that particular piece of prophecy inside Chuck's skull, but it happened to be true. We did lose the Michael sword. We truly couldn't find it. Until now. You've just hand-delivered it to us." Zachariah explained, almost looking happy. Maybe he was happy that he had outsmarted the WInchesters with his trick.

"We don't have anything." Dean said cluelessly. Zachariah looked at him as if the answer was obvious, but then reminded himself that humans were "limited." He sighed, then prepared to reveal the information that would change everything.

"It's you, chucklehead. You're the Michael Sword." He said, watching all four humans in front of him stare with wide, shocked eyes, "What, you thought you could actually kill Lucifer? You simpering wad of insecurity and self-loathing? No. You're just a human, Dean. And not much of one."

"Hey, fuck off." Katie defended angrily, but instantly regretted it when she received a glare of annoyance from the powerful being in front of her.

Dean glanced at Katie, thankful but irked that she would draw attention to herself like that. "What do you mean, I'm the sword?"

"If Lucifer needs a vessel, wouldn't Michael need one as well?" Olivia piped up, causing everyone to look towards her. Dean thought for a beat, then realized she was right.

"I'm a vessel?" Dean said thickly, the surprises becoming overwhelming at this point. Zachariah nodded excitedly.

"You're the vessel. Michael's vessel."

"How? Why—why me?" Dean sputtered out, not sure what to do or ask or say. It was very confusing.

"Because you're chosen! It's a great honor, Dean." Zachariah said, not really answering his question. Zachariah sounded encouraging, but his facade was starting to fade.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, life as an angel condom. That's real fun. I think I'll pass, thanks." Dean shouted emotionally, his sarcasm barely covering his overwhelmed emotions.

"Joking. Always joking." Zachariah observed curiously, his voice showing no indication of emotion. The angel was just plain done with Dean Winchester. "Well...no more jokes."

The angel made a handgun, much like a child would in a pretend gun fight. He pointed his finger at Dean, moving on to a thoroughly confused Katie, then shifting to a pissed off Olivia, finally resting on Sam. There was a moment's pause, then his finger snapped back like he was shooting his imaginary finger-gun.

"Bang." He stated, his dark humor causing a smirk to spread across his face. After a loud, sickening crunch, Sam fell to the ground, unable to stand.

"Sammy!" Olivia cried, rushing to his side.

"God!" Sam screamed out, grabbing his knee. His legs were bent at awkward angles that wouldn't be possible to achieve if his legs weren't broken.

"You son of a bitch!" Dean yelled, a fiery inferno of rage igniting inside of him from seeing his brother hurt.

"Keep mouthing off, I'll break more than his legs. I am completely and utterly through screwing around. The war has begun. We don't have our general. That's bad. Now, Michael is going to take his vessel and lead the final charge against the adversary. You understand me?" Zachariah demanded, his tone leaving absolutely no room for jokes.

"How many humans die in the crossfire, huh? A million? Five, ten?" Dean questioned angrily, still infuriated at their situation.

"Probably more. If Lucifer goes unchecked, you know how many die? All of them. He'll roast the planet alive." Zachariah pointed out, waiting for Dean to repent. Instead of coming up with another rebuttal, the gears in Dean's brain turned rapidly.

"There's a reason you're telling me this instead of just nabbing me." Dean figured out, watching the disappointment spread across the angel's face. He probably hoped Dean wouldn't figure it out. "You need my consent. Michael needs my say-so to ride around in my skin."

"Unfortunately, yes." Zach said reluctantly. Dean saw a new chance at leverage and took it.

"Well, there's got to be another way." He tried to bargain his way out, but the angel shot him down.

"There is no other way. There must be a battle. Michael must defeat the serpent. It is written." Zachariah said factually. Despite her fear and panic, Katie rolled her eyes along with Dean.

"Yeah, maybe. But, on the other hand... Eat me. The answer's no." Dean answered, his sarcasm back in place from where it had fell. Zachariah started to visually think, coming up with a counter offer.

"Okay. How about this? Your friend Bobby—we know he's gravely injured. Say yes, and we'll heal him. Say no, he'll never walk again." This was an offer that caused Sam to glance up at his brother, wincing in pain.

"No." Dean couldn't risk it.

"Then how about we heal you from...stage-four stomach cancer?" Zachariah snapped his fingers, and Dean doubled over, coughing. Katie ran forward and put her arm around his shoulders, thinking that he was falling over and needed someone to hold him up. He spat into his palm only to be greeted with the crimson shine of his own blood.

"No." He repeated, wiping his mouth between coughs.

"Hm." Zachariah paused, eying the way Katie still had her arm around Dean, even though he was standing fine on his own. "Well, oops, looks like that surgery didn't work as well as you thought!"

All four of the humans stared at the powerful being in front of them for a moment, completely lost. Then Katie's eyes widened as she felt her leg muscles tighten to a painful level, and her arms slowly start to weaken. She went from holding Dean up to hanging on him for dear life in a matter of seconds. All her limbs began to tremble from the exertion of simply standing upright.

"No," Katie said quietly, suddenly realizing what was happening. Dean watched her as she slowly sank to the ground, her legs almost rendered useless. She started sobbing, mainly out of panic, as her childhood nightmare came back before her eyes. "No, no, no, no, no!"

Dean's heart shattered, but he still couldn't let millions of people die for them. "No."

"Then let's get really creative. Uh, let's see how...Sam does without his lungs." Dean turns to look at Sam, who gasps for breath. This was it for Olivia. She glanced over to Katie, who was still lost in her panic, wishing she could be home in bed with some nice hot chocolate and TV.

"Alright, you listen here you Ass Hat!" Olivia started towards the older angel, but was suddenly flung into the back wall.

"Now, now demon child… No need to get your horns in a wad. How about I-" Zac was interrupted.

"Why do you keep calling me a demon and dropping subtle hints towards me?!" Olivia questioned.

"Oh honey, you still haven't figured it out… All that demon blood you have in you? That makes you half demon." Olivia's eyes fell. Her whole body trembled with fear and shock.

"That's not possible… H-how-" She managed to sputter out.

"Actually, it is. No one knows how, but your crippled-again friend over there is half angel. She has heavenly powers like prophetcy. And you? Well, you have powers from the deepest parts of Hell. I'm not quite sure what those powers mean, but many think you're more powerful and more evil than most demons." He continued to give the bad news to her with a sadistic smile. Olivia could feel a tear fall down onto her tanned skin. For the first time ever, she didn't have a response.

"Le...er...lone." Sam managed to say between gasps for breath.

"Oh, no. Let's see, Dean, how Olivia manages without her eyes?" Zachariah asked, causing Olivia to widen the exact body part he wanted to take away. Time slowed down for her, hearing a chorus of protest erupt from her friends. The last thing she saw was the angel coming toward her with a hand outstretched, then-

Pitch black. Nothing.

She felt her body being dropped to the ground, and she heard a woman crying. She realized that it was herself. Katie screamed, Sam felt anger and panic wash across his chest, along with the pain of oxygen deprivation. Dean looked down at Olivia charred remains of eye sockets, realizing he had to say yes. He needed to, or he would have nothing left. Or...

"Just kill us!" Dean shouted, wanting the torture to be over. Zachariah smiled, happy to have reduced the Winchesters to the point of begging for Death.

"Kill you? Oh, no. I'm just getting started!" He said with glee.

Olivia couldn't see, so the next minute or two was confusing. Sounds of fighting, stabbing, and general angel-ness filled her ears, but she was too numb to process it. She had no eyes. She wouldn't see again. She wouldn't see Katie, Dean, or Sam. She would never see his dimpled smile again, never see the love-filled looks he sent her on a daily basis. She would never see Dean and Katie making fun of their couple-y antics, hell, she wasn't even sure if there were going to be any more of that. After all, how could Sam love a blind girl? How could she live without seeing his face again?

She didn't know where she was positioned on the floor, but it must've been close to Sam. She could hear his struggled gasps by her ear. He was going to die, no human could go that long without oxygen. If she could cry, she would have.

Maybe he sensed her panic, or maybe he needed her in what he thought were his last moments, but Olivia felt his hand weakly grab hold of her limp one. She didn't see it, but she felt it. She felt him say anything and everything there was to say in that simple hand touch. She didn't need to see it.

Sam's hand went still, and he went silent. The panic that had infected her burst out in that moment, only to be calmed by the voice of a deadma- angel?

"It scares you. Well, it should. Now, put them back together and go. I won't ask twice." Castiel's voice boomed out sternly. There was a whoosh, and everything was right again. Vowing to herself to never take her vision for granted, Olivia bounced up and clung to a now breathing Sam immediately.

Katie sat on the ground, her knees to her chin. She was shell-shocked, tears still cascading down her face. Dean glanced down to her, his heart breaking anew. He coaxed her up to a standing position, his arm around her the only thing keeping her from flopping down to the ground like a pancake. Castiel approached them, not clearly addressing how he was suddenly not dead.

"You need to be more careful." He almost scolded

"Yeah, I'm starting to get that. Your frat brothers are bigger dicks than I thought." Dean said bitterly, causing Cas to shake his head.

"I don't mean the angels. Lucifer is circling his vessel. And once he takes it, those hex bags won't be enough to protect you." He warned, then proceeded to touch both brothers on the chest with both hands, making them both jump and gasp. Even though Olivia was backing up, Castiel did the same to the two girls as well. It stung, but by the look on Katie's face, she didn't notice.

"What the hell was that?" Dean asked, rubbing the area with his free hand.

"An Enochian sigil. It'll hide you from every angel in creation, including Lucifer." the angel explained.

"What, did you just brand us with it?" Olivia complained, also rubbing where she personally felt attacked.

"No. I carved it into your ribs." Cas answered, as if it was obvious.

There was a pause where someone could have easily slipped in a sarcastic "oh," but no one did.

"Hey, Cas, were you really dead?" Sam asked curiously, Olivia being close enough to be practically attached to him.

"Yes." Castiel answered simply, not seeing the wave of confusion ripple through the room.

"Then how are you back?" Dean asked, getting a blank look in response. With the soft sound of flapping wings, Castiel vanished without another word. Left with the dead, Sam, Dean, and Olivia all exchanged heavy looks before Olivia once again flung her arms around Sam's neck, pulling him into a relieved embrace. Dean glanced down to the deflated girl at his side, her blank expression and tear-soaked cheeks telling him that her silence had returned. He sighed, her sadness affecting him more than he would care to admit, and gathered Katie into a hug.

---

""Unlikely to walk again"?! Why, you snot-nosed son of a bitch! Wait till I get out of this bed!"

Bobby's threats filled the room that the doctor quickly left, feeling actually scared of the paralyzed man. Sam and Dean stood by the window, watching as Bobby cursed the man out. Katie sat in the corner chair that was meant for guests, quietly watching as this went on. Olivia was on the armrest of said chair, and was smiling slightly at the old man's stubborn nature.

"I'll use my game leg and kick your friggin' ass! Yeah, you better run!" Bobby called after him. He looked over to Sam and Dean, jabbing his thumb in the direction that the doctor had scrambled. "You believe that yahoo?"

"Screw him. You'll be fine." Dean lied confidently.

"So, let me ask the million-dollar question. What do we do now?" Sam asked, his mind never turning away from the problem at hand.

"Well... We save as many as we can for as long as we can, I guess. It's bad. Whoever wins, heaven or hell, we're boned." Bobby answered, an answer Katie agreed with, if the soft nod meant anything.

"What if we win?" Dean asked, as if he had just been struck with an epiphany. Bobby and Sam turn to stare at him, Bobby thinking that he had lost his marbles, and Sam thinking Dean sounded a bit too confident. Olivia scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Dean, c'mon. We're talking about the friggin' apocalypse." She said, not expecting the serious look she got back.

"I'm serious. I mean, screw the angels and the demons and their crap apocalypse. Hell, they want to fight a war, they can find their own planet. This one's ours, and I say they get the hell off it. We take 'em all on. We kill the devil. Hell, we even kill Michael if we have to. But we do it our own damn selves." Dean explained his logic, earning himself a small nod and a 'why not' frown from Katie.

"And how are we supposed to do all this, genius?" Bobby doubted, knowing Dean had no plan, as usual.'

"I got no idea. But what I do have is a GED and a give-'em-hell attitude, and I'll figure it out." Dean answered. Bobby rolled his eyes; he was right.

"You are nine kinds of crazy, boy." He replied.

"It's been said." Dean confirmed. He gave Bobby a pat on the shoulder, "Listen, you stay on the mend. We'll see you in a bit."

Dean headed for the door, followed by Sam, Olivia, and Katie.

"Sam?" Bobby called, stopping the man in question and the two girls behind him, "I was awake. I know what I said back there. I just want you to know that...that was the demon talking. I ain't cutting you out, boy. Not ever."

A long pause, followed by Sam's sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Bobby." Sam said, thankful that Bobby wasn't going to hold his mistake against him.

"You're welcome. I deserve a damn medal for this, but...you're welcome." Bobby replied.

Sam and Dean left the room, and Katie mumbled something about going to the bathroom. Olivia stood there, trying to figure out what to say, but faltering. She kept opening her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't form themselves.

"You gonna say something, or are you trying to catch flies with your mouth?" Bobby joked, making Olivia chuckle slightly.

"I'm sorry for saying I had no respect for you." Olivia finally spewed out, "I didn't know it was a demon, and I have nothing but respect for you."

Bobby shook his head. "No one knew I was possessed, and honestly, I don't blame you for reacting like you did."

"Really?" Olivia asked, not used to being forgiven so quickly. It was a nice change to the shitstorm she had been calling a life recently.

"Really. I haven't known you girls for long, but you're family. We forgive each other." Bobby explained.

"Thank you, Bobby." Olivia said, honored to be considered family by the man in front of her. He smiled, and she grinned back before leaving the room.

---

Katie sat in the bathroom stall, staring at the object that was ripping her apart on the inside.

The bottle.

She knew, if anyone, especially Dean, found out, she wouldn't be treated or even looked at the same. She would become a fragile, idiot child to her friends. They wouldn't let her fight, they wouldn't tell her anything, they would keep her completely in the dark so she wouldn't resort to this again. But the pain… the pain was too much.

Ashlyn was dead. Bobby was hurt. She was useless in a fight. Hell, she was useless anywhere. Dean probably didn't like her, and she would probably get her own stupid heart broken over it. The angels could bring back her crippled-ness any time they wanted, oh, and Satan was walking the earth.

You're an idiot. Useless. Pathetic. A mess. Why are you even alive? Murderer. Slut. Ugly. Bitch…

She couldn't do it. She grabbed the bottle.

NO!

She found her hands twisting open the cap.

STOP!

A few pills landed in her hand, she didn't care what it was or how much there was, and she practically slammed them into her mouth. Her eyes fluttered shut and a sigh escaped her.

She unlocked the stall, stepping up to the mirror and wiping away the tear tracks on her cheeks. She hadn't noticed she had been crying. The pill bottle was shoved into the jacket pocket once more, and the bathroom door opened and closed behind her. It wouldn't kick in until later, and by that time she would be in the impala. Or at a motel. It couldn't be that hard to act normally! It would be fine. Nobody would know.

She probably shouldn't have done that. Actually, she really shouldn't have done that.

But she didn't care. She felt better, she didn't need to think anymore.

---

"I just don't think I can trust you." Is what hits both the girls eardrums as they walk out into the parking lot. They share a look. Even though Katie seemed the teensiest bit off, Olivia could tell that she didn't expect that to come out of Dean's mouth either. And, apparently, neither did Sam. He watched Dean shake his head, shocked. Dean headed to the driver's side of the impala, and Sam, still processing Dean's statement, walked to his side of the car.

Olivia glanced at Katie, who seemed to read her mind, and gave her a lazy shrug. Olivia took that to mean to just go with it. The girls entered the car, saving Dean from having to text them. The impala drove off, the passengers inside of it not fully realizing just how broken they were.

---

Merry late Christmas! Happy late New Year! And Thanksgiving, for that matter. I AM SO SORRY THAT I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN AN ETERNITY! School, or at least procrastinating from school work and regretting it has taken over my life! I'm "depressed" and it's gotten "worse" Blah blah blah. I am really, really sorry. I hope this makes up for it. This chapter is the longest chapter we've written, with 49 pages in google docs and 18,000-ish words. Now, I'm not sure if our next update will be soon. I don't know about Olivia, but I've lost some motivation to even keep writing this story. Well, I've lost motivation in almost everything I enjoy, so I don't even know.

SUPERNATURAL SEASON 11 IS AWESOME! IN MY OPINION, THEY HAVEN'T HAD ONE BAD EPISODE!

Anyway, tell us what you think by reviewing! Seriously, some feedback would really help. My instagram is still Supernaturally_screwed, if you don't know how to review on here. Which i don't. I'm rambling. Thanks for reading guys, hope you like where the story's going.

{Katie}

**Forgot to clear something up just in case: Katie isn't schizophrenic or anything. She doesn't really have any disorders, but I imagine she is very anxiety-filled, all the time, and panics a lot. Just like me :) I'm just making sure, because the way I wrote her in the second to last scene was kinda weird. Basically, one side of her mind is beating her up, calling her names and just being generally bad thoughts, while somewhere inside her, she is trying to keep herself from making a bad choice. I'm bad at fight scenes, internal AND external. ...I'll go now.