This Broken Gospel

by Emilia Christine

Sequel to Distant Serenity. The wall put up in Sam's head by Death has been broken and the Leviathans have been let loose from Purgatory. Natalie and the Winchesters must now find a way to stop them from wreaking havoc. All the while, Death's warning to Natalie will come to a head in a way no one thought possible. Season 7. [DISCONTINUED]

10. Mutual Sacrifice

A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait. I'll have a longer explanation at the end for you all. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's not my favorite and I am not too fond of it. But I do hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural.

---

The first thing he noticed was an annoying stiffness in his right shoulder, that, and he was lying uncomfortably on his stomach. Prying his eyes open, Jake saw the alarm clock on the nightstand, in bold red numbers, 11:30. Jake groaned and rested his head further against the pillow. He was a little surprised that Natalie didn't wake him up yet. Although, as he laid in bed thinking about it, she must've been out fairly late. Most likely she slept in as well. Either way, they were going to need to wake up soon so that they both can leave here at decent times. They both had long drives to take.

Rubbing at his nose, Jake sniffed and then groaned, moving his body in order to get the kinks out of his back. "Nad." His voice came through groggy and he cleared his throat a few times. "Nad." It was a lot clearer this time. Jake finally rolled himself onto his back and looked over at the other bed, finding that it was empty. Not only empty, it had not been slept in.

Jake rubbed at his eyes, his brows creased with confusion. "Nad?" He called out again, only to receive silence as his answer. He stiffly pushed himself up into a sitting position, a hand resting against his sore shoulder started to make gentle rubs on the area. "Where the hell are you?" He mumbled to himself.

Throwing the covers off of his body, he stood up from the bed, his knees popping in place, which he groaned at and began to take a small surveillance of the room. She wasn't in the bathroom and there was no note from her. She wouldn't just take off without leaving him some kind of note or message. That wasn't how Natalie operated and he knew that she wasn't stupid enough to try and make a twelve-hour drive with how tired she was. Checking underneath her bed, Jake found her bag and slowly pulled it out, his eyes staring at the object, face completely frozen.

What the hell? Her bag was still here and she was not in the motel room. Standing up, he quickly walked over to the window and peered out, finding that her car was not in the parking lot. Stepping back in thought, Jake began to run through possible explanations. She said that she was going to see Alex last night when they returned from the hospital. Maybe, she stayed a little longer and slept over at Alex's home? But, why wouldn't Natalie just drive back? Knowing with how awkward she felt being around Alex, Jake didn't think Natalie would take the risk and stay at Alex's home. Maybe she was drunk? And Alex forced Natalie to stay with her.

Jake shook his head, regardless of why Natalie didn't come back, he just wanted to make sure that she was alright. He retrieved his phone, which was sitting on the nightstand, and dialed out Natalie's number, only to have the call go straight to voicemail. Her phone was off or it was dead. That made Jake just a little more worried. She wasn't in the motel, her bags were still here, he has no idea where she's at and now her phone is dead. The more he thought about it, the more his worry began to grow.

He needed to go and find her. After switching out for a new pair of clothes, grabbing all of the bags, he checked out of the motel and got into his car. The only place he could start was the bar. He had no idea where Alex lived and he didn't have her number either. The drive would only take him about five minutes, however, in that span of time Jake was able to do some damage to his paranoia. Sitting in the car allowed him to run all of this through his head and it started to come out more clear. When he finally pulled into the parking lot, he saw only two cars in the lot. One was Natalie's and the other, he didn't know who owned it. He didn't know whether to feel relieved that her car was here or to be more worried.

Putting the car into park, Jake switched off the ignition and got out of the vehicle. He made a quick look over of Natalie's car, nothing was wrong, it looked completely fine. It wasn't until he got up to the doors did his mind start to go hazy. It was open, slightly ajar. That's never a good sign. Reaching for the handle, he pulled open the doors, sunlight streamed into the barely lit bar. It didn't take him long to see Alex, strewn out on the floor and he quickly ran to her side, dropping to his knees.

"Alex?" Jake braced his hand against her face and pressed his fingers against her neck. There was a pulse. He blew out a quick relieved breath. "Alex." Jake gently shook her by the shoulder, seeing that she was starting to come to. "Hey. Alex. Take it easy."

Alex groaned and with the help from Jake, pushed herself up. "Ow..." She hissed, pressing her hand to the left side of her head and she took a quick look around before finally settling on Jake. "What happened?"

"I don't know, you tell me." Jake answered.

Alex looked down in thought, this massive headache from her head hitting the ground when she fell wasn't helping with her thinking. She seemed delirious. But, she was actually looking around the bar. Trying to recollect what had happened last night and that's when her body froze and straightened. Jake noticed this and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Alex?"

She snapped her gaze over to him, eyes wide. "Where's Nad? Did you find her?"

Jake was surprised at how erratic her words were. "No. I woke up and she wasn't at the motel."

Alex closed her eyes and slowly shook her head.

"That's why I came here. To see if you knew where she was."

"Oh god." Alex whispered, vainly. "You need to find...you need to find her...I don't know..."

Alex still seemed a little out of it and her hand pressed up to her head told Jake just that. Standing up, he pulled over a chair and gently took hold of her arm. "Here. Let's get you in this chair. Come on."

Alex took it slowly, with the help from Jake and gently sat down in the chair as Jake knelt down in front of her.

"Okay. Alex?" Jake waited until he saw that he had her attention. "What did you mean we need to find her? What happened?"

Alex faintly shook her head, trying to push through the headache she was being bombarded with. "I, uh, passed out...at least, I think I did...and Natalie..."

Jake raised his brows as Alex's voice tapered off. "Alex." He was able to bring her attention back to him. "What happened? Where's Nad?"

"There...there were these two guys...and..." Alex paused to take in a breath. "One of them had...Natalie."

"They had Nad?" Jake asked, needing to hear it again to make sure that it was clear.

Alex nodded. "She was...she was passed out and I... I tried to stop them but then...I just passed out." Alex looked up at Jake, her expression turning grim. "They took her."

Jake straightened his back, his hand covering his mouth as he began to strategize what to do next.

Two men took Natalie. Who? Was it two leviathans? Oh shit. Jake pulled out his phone and began to dial out a number. He didn't know exactly what he was going to say, but he had to inform them.

"Yeah." Dean's voice came through the other end. Jake had been rendered speechless, his heart was pounding and he felt almost nauseous. Natalie was missing. "Hello?"

Jake shook his head. "Dean."

"Jake? What's up?"

"I don't know exactly how to make this easy."

"You know, when you start with something like that, I know that it's gonna be bad."

"You have no idea." Jake whispered. "Dean. Nad's gone."

"What do you mean she's gone?"

"Exactly what you think I mean. She's not here."

"How is she not there? I thought that she was with you the entire time."

"She went out when we got back to the motel last night and she never came back. She's not here."

Dean was silent on the phone for a good minute. "Where are you at? Are you still down in Oregon?"

"Yes. Dean, some guys took her."

"Alright." Jake could hear Dean pacing around through the phone. "Oregon is about a twelve-hour drive so...you know what? That's too long to wait for you."

Jake shrugged up his shoulders. "What else do you expect me to do?" Jake could hear Dean talking in the background, but he couldn't make out exactly what he was saying.

"Okay, Jake. I'm sending a friend over there right now."

Jake furrowed his brows. "What?"

Right as the word left his mouth, Jake saw a young woman appear in front of him and he eyed her for a moment. "Let me guess. Angel?"

Sarah nodded and stepped forward. "My name is Sarah."

"Well, nice to meet you Sarah." Jake looked down at the phone in his hands and ended the call without saying anything else to Dean. When in reality the latter probably had already ended the conversation anyway.

Sarah had scouted out the bar, feeling like there was something lingering in the air. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. "What happened?" She asked.

Jake shrugged and looked down at Alex, who was still trying to come through the terrible headache she had. "I don't know. I walk in here and she's passed out on the ground."

"Well, Dean wanted me to bring you to him." Sarah added. "I suppose we should take her with us."

"Obviously." Jake pointed out. "She knows more than I do."

"Very well." Sarah nodded. "We should go then."

Jake nodded. He moved towards Alex and gently took hold of her arm. She approached both of them, placed her hands on their shoulders bringing both Alex and Jake back to the cabin. Alex was taken aback from it and she looked quickly around her.

Finally, she breathed out in her resolve. "Right. Angel." She whispered.

"Alex?"

Jake and Alex both looked up, seeing Dean, Sam and Caden looking at them, both completely surprised that Alex was with them. "Nice to see you again." She quietly commented as Jake helped her into a chair.

"Alright. Jake. You mind telling us exactly what happened?" Dean didn't waste time. He wanted to make sure that they spent all of their time trying to find out where Natalie was, not just sitting around.

Jake nodded and rubbed his chin. "Right. Um. So, last night, Nad and I got back to the motel a little late. But, she said that she was going to visit Alex at the bar, where she worked."

Dean and Sam both raised their brows. Jake only nodded, silently conveying that he would let Alex explain that. "Anyways. I fall asleep. When I woke up today, she wasn't at the motel. Her bed hadn't been slept in and her bag was still there. So, I went out to the bar to see if she was there and...I found her car parked in the lot. I walk in and Alex was lying on the ground and Nad was nowhere."

"She's not just nowhere." Alex suddenly spoke up, the three hunters turned their attentions towards her.

"What do you mean, Alex?" Sam asked.

"Last night. Nad came to see me and I went to the back to lock up." Alex exhaled and ran a hand down the side of her face. "I come back and there were these two guys...one of them was holding Natalie and she was unconscious." Alex timidly looked up at Sam, Dean and Jake. "I tried to stop them. I don't know what the hell I would've done but...I tried getting to her and I just...passed out."

Dean raised his brows and expected Alex to continue with the explanation, but she didn't. "Passed out? You just dropped for no reason?"

Alex looked down, trying to gather the cluttering thoughts from last night. "I-I don't know. That's all I am able to recall."

"Okay. Then let's start a little smaller." Dean walked around and pulled over a chair so that he could sit in front of Alex. "Do you remember what the guys looked like?"

Alex spotted Caden and Sarah, who were standing next to each other, casting wary glances at each other. She couldn't help but feel a little curious about it. Alex couldn't help but feel like they knew something about this. "Um. The guy who had Natalie...I don't exactly remember what he looked like. But the other one, he was about your height..." She pointed at Dean, who nodded for her to continue. "And he had black hair and it was in like a comb over and he had facial hair and..."

Alex paused and looked up in thought, which made everyone lean in a little closer, waiting for her to continue. "Actually. He wasn't that bad looking."

Dean allowed his head to hang and everyone else collectively sighed. "Alex. Stay on track." Dean urged.

"Right." Alex nodded her apology. "That's all I remember."

"Okay." Dean sat in his chair, settling over Alex's description and account of what had happened. "So. Two guys take Nad." He stood up from the chair and turned to face Sam, Caden and Sarah. "Could it possibly be demons?"

"Why would the demons take Nad?" Sam questioned.

But, Dean only shrugged. "We don't know what's going on with Crowley. Maybe he's coming up with some scheme and maybe he's using Nad for something."

"Or...maybe it's not demons at all." Sam offered.

"It's not demons." Sarah spoke up. There was something about the way that place felt when she went to retrieve Alex and Jake. She could feel something that was familiar and she couldn't exactly establish what it was. But, it has been bugging her and she does have a theory.

"I think I may know who took Natalie." Sarah added. "But, I'm going to need to check something." She made her way over to Alex and knelt down in front of her.

Dean turned to the angel and placed his hand on her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

Sarah slightly turned her head to the side, spotting Dean in the corner of her vision. "Just give me a moment." Sarah eyed Dean's hand, silently telling him to let go, which he did, hesitantly. Turning her attention back to Alex, she could see the confusion seeping from her gaze. "If it's alright..." Sarah raised her hands up towards Alex's head, silently asking the question again.

Alex was able to catch on fairly quickly to what Sarah was implying. She had no idea who this angel was, this was their first time meeting. But, if it would help finding out where Natalie is, then Alex is all for it. "Go ahead. Do...whatever it is you're about to do."

Sarah nodded, her fingers pressed gently against the sides of Alex's head. Memories. That's all Sarah was hit with the minute she started looking. She could see Alex's childhood, her parents, family, the countless time she's moved homes after the death of her parents. Her uncle and how he was beaten by a leviathan. Sarah tried her best to skip past all of the memories she didn't need to see. Sometimes, she can't force aside every single one of them. She kept on pushing forward until she came to the memory that she had been seeking. Natalie, unconscious and in the arms of one man, a man that Sarah immediately recognized and then the face that she didn't know. The one that Alex gave the description of and commented on his physical looks. As quick as the memory came, it was gone.

Pulling her hands away, Sarah stared at Alex, eyes widened and mouth slightly agape and she leaned away, her arms falling into her lap.

Alex had only been temporarily compromised from the action. If anything, she felt worn out and tired. What she felt, it wasn't exactly something that she could describe with words. A person would have to go through it themselves to understand.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" She asked.

Sarah didn't respond. Only her expression read that she looked...panicked. Could angels feel panic? Alex just thought of them as being emotionless. Turns out there's still more for her to learn about this crazy new world that she's still trying to familiarize herself with.

"Sarah?" Dean asked, she wasn't talking, all she was doing was sitting in the same position. "Sarah, what is it? Did you see something?"

Sarah's mouth snapped shut and her eyes looked down, scanning the ground aimlessly as she stood back up to her feet. "I saw the two men that Alex told us about." She turned to look at the others. "And I recognized one of them."

"Okay, who is it?" Sam asked.

Sarah glanced over at Caden, slowly shaking her head, silently commuting the thought to him and Caden's body froze. "It's Henry."

Dean and Sam both furrowed their brows at her answer. But, also the reaction they were witnessing from Caden and Sarah. They knew who this guy was.

"Henry?" Dean asked. "Who's Henry?"

"He's an angel that is working for Daniel." Caden answered. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. Caden could feel his pulse increase, the shock was numbing every part of his body.

"Okay. So, wait..." Dean took a moment to gather his thoughts. "So. Daniel has Nad?"

"I'm afraid so." Sarah answered quietly.

Sam was beyond confused. This didn't make any sense. "Why would the angels take Nad? There's no reason for them to need anything from her."

Sarah and Caden both remained silent, neither dared to look in the other one's eyes. They both had a theory but it wasn't logical to them.

"It's because of me." Caden answered. Both Sam and Dean turned their attentions to him. "I escaped from Heaven. Killed several other angels. I've been walking around here, hiding, trying to evade punishment. They've been trying to find me. I'm guessing, Natalie is their next plan on getting me to surrender."

"Wait a minute..." Dean raised his hand up in thought. "If they have Nad, can't you two just track down her location go in and zap her out of there."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Sarah said.

"What do you mean?" Dean turned to the angel. "Of course it's that simple. You two are freaking angels. You can find her."

"No, Dean. They are hiding her location." Sarah responded, making Dean go quiet. "I have been trying to pick out where she is, but they have her locked down somewhere. I can't get any kind of tracking on her."

"That doesn't make any sense." Sam commented, his hand brushed through his hair in his growing frustration. "If the angels wanted to use Nad, as a way to get Caden out of hiding...why would they hide her location? They leave it open, it would allow Caden to just pop over and get her. Why would they do this?"

It's all because of the plan. Caden and Sarah were both thinking the same exact thing. However, it didn't make any kind of sense to them. There were only a small group of angels who knew about the plan. No other angel knew about it. When Sarah looked at Caden, she honestly didn't know what to make of this. Neither of them did. However, the looks they were exchanging were picked up on by Sam and Dean.

"Is there something you two aren't telling us?" Dean was being adamant. He wanted to find out where Natalie was and go get her. He didn't want to waste any time. "Well?" He tried again.

"What makes you think that we may know anything?" Caden was testing Dean. He didn't have the nerve to come clean about what was going on behind the curtains. If anything, Caden wanted to avoid telling the truth to Sam and Dean.

"You two have these looks on your faces. Like you know something that we don't." Dean clarified. "So, are you going to tell us?"

"There's nothing." Sarah answered, her voice was low and held out a warning to Dean. Stop asking about it. "Caden and I are just as lost in all of this as you two are."

"And why do I have a little bit of a hard time believing that." Dean was just pushing Sarah's buttons. His goal was to actually see if Caden and Sarah knew anything more.

"Alright. This isn't going to help us find Nad." Sam had to step in before an all-out argument ensued between the two of them. And the last thing they need is a fight between Dean and an angel. "We just need to figure out another way of finding her."

---

Stale, muggy air. That was the first thing Natalie was greeted with when she finally woke up. The air was also cold, almost bitingly cold and her entire body was aching. The rest of her sense hit her all at once and it didn't take her long to realize that she was sitting in a chair. Natalie tried moving her body, finding that she was tied down in the chair. Bindings around her wrists and ankles. She was stuck.

Natalie pulled on both her arms and feet, seeing if there was any way of loosening the confines, no such luck. Blowing out a breath, Natalie looked up, a little taken back from her surroundings. From what she was able to gather, she was in some kind of abandoned warehouse. And the room she was in, wasn't that big and there was a man standing near a door.

Images from the night before flashed through Natalie's mind. Being confronted by Daniel was the last thing Natalie had expected to happen. And now, he has her locked up in some god forsaken building to try and lure Caden out. She just prays that he won't actually fall for it. Natalie couldn't afford to worry about that right now. She needed to find out where she is and to devise a way for her to get out.

"Hey." Natalie decided that she was going to get the guy's attention. Maybe she'll get some answers if she gets him to talk. However, he didn't turn his attention towards her. He purposefully kept his gaze away from her.

"Hey." Natalie tried again, this time there was a little more force in her tone. "Hello? I know that you can hear me, so there's no point in ignoring me."

Still nothing. Damn, angels are beyond stubborn. "You know, if you don't answer me, I'll be forced to sing some annoying song."

The man's feet scratched against the concrete as he turned to look at her. Natalie in turn have a slow shrug and a half smile.

"Even though you angels are probably not in tune with our pop culture. Either way, I'm pretty sure you guys still get annoyed."

Natalie continued to stare at the angel, waiting for some kind of response from him, but received nothing. But, she could see something forming in his expression. "By the looks of it, you actually look a little annoyed."

"It would be in your best interest if you just...keep quiet."

Natalie hummed in her disagreement and settled against her chair. "I think I'll be able to quiet down, if I were to get some answers."

"It won't be from me."

The mundane answer that she received from the angel made her scoff. She wakes up after being rendered unconscious and Daniel doesn't even have the decency to be here when she woke up. As if on cue, the door to the room open and Natalie's eyes gazed over, seeing Daniel walk in, a smug look was etched into his features. It only made Natalie roll her eyes.

"Are you feeling alright?" Daniel slowly approached Natalie, his hands resting in his pockets.

Natalie tilted her head up in thought and pouted her lips out. "I'd say that I would feel a whole lot better if I wasn't..." She pulled at her arms and legs, hearing the ropes stretch at her straining. "…tied up to this chair."

"Oh. Yes." Daniel tapped his finger against the rope bonds that were tied around her left wrist. "This is just a precaution. Can't have you trying to create problems or try and get away."

"Oh." Natalie with her head still tilted back, her eyes then glued on him. "Why would I want to leave the brilliance that is your company?"

Daniel's smile broadened and he finished it off with an over the top hum. "Well aren't you just a real charmer."

Natalie mocked his smile and then allowed her head to lower, until she was staring straight ahead. "You know that having me tied up here is not gonna benefit you in any way."

"And why is that?" Daniel had moved around to stand in front of her.

Natalie's eyes glanced up, meeting his in a silent stare. "Sam and Dean are going to be looking for me. And I don't think you want them on your tail for kidnapping me."

"The Winchesters are at the bottom of the list of what I'm worried about. Besides, if you just cooperate with me, then...this will all go over smoothly."

"How about, you just let me go? Because you're not going to get anything from me."

"Stubborn. And loyal." Daniel nodded in his content. "No wonder why you're the one."

Natalie's expression faltered, her lips twitched downward and then her mouth opened. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you don't know, do you?" Daniel saw Natalie's glare hardened and he silently relished in the fact that he was able to tease this to her. "It's a very old...story that has been tossed around, among the angels. One that we have all been waiting to see if it would actually come true."

"A prophecy." Natalie corrected.

"No. Not, necessarily. To us it was more of an urban legend."

"Then, why don't you just tell me the whole thing?"

Daniel paused and leaned forward so that he was leveled with Natalie's gaze, his faces just inches from hers. She couldn't help but lean away from him. "There is so much more to this then you realize Natalie. There were only a few selected angels who knew about it. And there was one goal they set out to achieve. To get to you. To get you on our side."

Natalie's brows furrowed and her expression was a mix of confusion and...disgust. Mostly because Daniel was literally inches from her face, she could feel his breath brush against her skin. He was a little too close for comfort.

"A goal? Why was I your goal? I'm nothing special." She retorted, though she had made sure to turn her head so that she wasn't facing him.

"You're wrong, Natalie. You were called to do something...something that is so much bigger than your existence. A calling that was placed upon your family and it echoed all the way down to you."

"Well, that just makes me feel a whole lot better." Natalie eyed him from the corner of her vision. His eyes were just baring down on her, like he was gazing right into her soul, reading her mind.

"That's one of the reasons why Caden escaped from heaven." Daniel added before finally leaning away from Natalie.

A silent, relieved breath soon followed and she hesitantly turned her gaze back on him. "What do you mean?"

Daniel's face lightened. "Oh. You didn't know? I shouldn't be surprised. You have given him so much loyalty and faith."

"Well, he's proven to me that he's worth my trust." Natalie timidly defended her relationship with the angel.

"Caden has been sneaking behind your back from the very minute you met him Natalie. The whole time and you had no idea."

Natalie slowly shook her head, dispelling the angel's words. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Caden is different...not like the rest you angels. So self-serving and not to mention you guys are extreme dicks."

"And what has Caden done to get you so wrapped around his finger?" Daniel questioned.

Natalie was taken aback from his question and she shook her head. "What the hell are you talking about? I'm not wrapped around Caden's finger. He's saved my life and helped us several times."

"And why do you think he did that?" Daniel's questioned rendered Natalie silent and confused. "Why do you think all of a sudden he just randomly appeared? You were his task, Natalie. Gaining your trust, was all part of the plan."

Natalie huffed out a laugh and shook her head in disbelief. "You really are going for the big guns aren't you? You just..." She shrugged. "You just really hate Caden don't you? What did he do to you that's gotten you this riled up?"

"I have my reasons. But, there is a whole group of us that are angry at him for a completely different reason. He's losing focus on the task at hand."

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Natalie lowered her gaze so that she was looking at the ground. "Caden would never lie to me."

"And how sure are you on that?"

"I'm quite sure." Natalie replied, shooting a defiant glare at Daniel, though he was able to detect the slight hesitation that was sinking in her eyes. "You don't know him."

"Really?" Daniel hummed and began to walk around Natalie. "I've known him for my entire existence. There are things about Caden that you will never know Natalie. I would say that you don't know anything about my brother. You know that Sarah is a part of this whole thing as well, right?"

Natalie remained silent, her entire body sulked down from Daniel's words.

"Of course you didn't know." Daniel paused in front of her and took a few steps back, surveying the hunter. "You don't have to protect him. He's done nothing but lie to you. Just give me his location and this will all be over with."

"I don't break that easily."

"Then the questioning will just continue." Daniel had made it directly clear in that one statement. He had no intention of letting Natalie go until she gave him what he wanted. Actually, she wasn't even sure if he was going to let her go, regardless. From the way he has been talking to her, the angels need her. Now that they had her in their possession, they weren't going to let her go.

"Where's Caden?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Make this easy for all of us Natalie. Just tell us where he is."

Natalie refused to answer him, knowing that it was just going to be the same thing she had just said. Her mind was racing from what he had told her, that Caden had been using her since they first met. She didn't know whether to believe it or not. But, there was a voice in the back of her mind that was just yelling.

I knew I shouldn't have trusted him. There was something off and I just brushed it off. I'm so stupid.

There was a two front battle going on. One side was still holding onto hope that Daniel was lying and he was just trying to break her down. But, the other side, which was fighting back harder was berating her for even trusting him in the first place.

"Where's Caden?"

Natalie snapped her eyes closed at Daniel's question, teeth pressed into her bottom lip as she tried to sort out her own confusion to try and determine where she stood in this mind battle. Did she believe Daniel or not?

"You're confused, I know that. And you feel betrayed by him. This is the perfect excuse for you giving him up. Trust me. It will all be better in the long run."

Natalie shook her head and exhaled heavily. "Would you just shut up?!" She suddenly called out. "I'm not telling you anything!" Her eyes widened at the end of her sentence. "You're wrong about Caden, so you and all of your little angel siblings can go piss off!"

"Where is he?" Daniel tried again, completely pushing aside Natalie's remark. When she shook her head, he asked again, this time his tone had gone up a couple notches. "Tell me where he is."

Natalie shook her head, defiantly. Daniel walked forward and once again, leaned right into Natalie's face. This time they both descended into a stare down, Natalie's chest was starting to heave from her own frustration that was brewing up.

"Tell me where he is."

"No."

"Tell me."

"I said, no."

Daniel grabbed onto each of Natalie's wrists, his grip tightening in the slightest at every second. It was almost like a physical warning. Tell me or things will get worse. Natalie was too stubborn. For one she didn't want to bow down to Daniel's command and two, she didn't want to believe that Caden had been lying to her. It was almost too much for her to comprehend.

"Where. Is he?" Daniel's frustration was annunciated with each word and his desired effect was not met. He only received a small smirk from Natalie. "Where is he?" He called out, making her flinch at the sudden change in tone.

"Screw you!" Natalie called back, her tone equal to his but maybe a little louder.

Instead of leaving the room, which Natalie thought was going to happen, Daniel remained in his position. His eyes remained fixed on hers and his expression went numb, practically dead. And it made Natalie feel a little uneasy. That's when she began to feel a pressure starting to form in the pit of her stomach. It felt like it was just bubbling but soon the pressure became heavier and Natalie felt like her stomach was heating up. The pressure rose and she could feel something slither up her throat.

Natalie furrowed her brows, quiet groans gradually turned into coughs that got more violent. Opening her mouth to cough, Natalie gagged and felt the substance pour out of her mouth. Daniel finally leaned away, allowing Natalie to push herself forward, her head hanging down, mouth open allowing thick, dark red blood ooze out of her mouth. Natalie spit out the remnants and gagged again as another spurt of blood gathered in her mouth, forcing her to spit it out again. The pressure in her stomach had gradually turned into an intense, white pain that was flashing through her nerves. Despite the fact that she was sitting, Natalie could feel the muscles in her body tense.

"Where is he?" Daniel asked again. "You can stop this, just tell me what I need to know."

Natalie strained on a breath as the pressure rose in intensity. Blood was continuously gushing out of her throat, forcing her to spit the blood on the ground. Daniel reached behind Natalie's head, grabbed a handful of her hair and tilted her head up so that she was looking at him. Her lips were dripping with blood and faint tear stains were visible on her cheeks.

"Where is he?"

Natalie closed her mouth, gathered up what was in her mouth and spit out. The blood splattered against his face, little droplets that had settled on different parts of his face. His eyes had closed but his expression contorted into rage. It wasn't frustration anymore. It was just pure rage. She wasn't cooperating and he wasn't going to wait all day for her to crack.

"That wasn't the best choice for you to make." Daniel warned.

"Bite me." Natalie mumbled.

"Fine. Have it your way." Daniel released his hold on Natalie and stood up to walk away. As he approached the man who had been standing near the door, Natalie's gags were turning into cries as her condition seemed to be getting worse.

"Why are you so determined to find him?" Natalie struggled to get the words out, which were followed by silent gags. "It can't just be due to him killing some angels and leaving a plan."

"He was planning on keeping you away from them. The angels that swore to watch over you, until the time was right. They couldn't allow him to do that."

Natalie allowed her head to hang back down, trying to catch her breath was painful. "Why?" She breathed out. "Why did Caden stop going on with the plan?" She asked, her hands closing into tight fists as the pulsating sensation in her stomach deepened. "It must be a pretty bad reasoning."

"That's none of your concern." Daniel was quick to brush off Natalie's question. Naomi had been clear to him that he wasn't to tell her anything. Not yet. "My goal is to just find out where Caden is."

"Well, then you better settle in because you're not going to get anything from me."

"Then I am sorry."

---

Sarah guided Caden into one of the spare rooms at the cabin and quickly closed the door. When she turned around, Caden had already started pacing back and forth, his hands slowly washed down his face. Clearly he was in a state of panic.

"How did this happen?" He asked quietly. "I mean why? Why would Daniel take Natalie?"

Sarah went to answer but Caden groaned.

"No, I know why." He continued. "Not only to get to me but...he has to know about the plan. But how? There was only a small group of us who knew about it."

Sarah sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "It has to be Naomi. I mean, think about it Caden. You told them that you were out. I knew that they wouldn't like it."

"So, you think Naomi them about the plan?" Caden paused in his own confusion. "But, why would Naomi do..." Caden cut off mid-sentence as his mind began to process the outcome. "Naomi and Daniel most likely made a deal. Naomi would give him all of the information about me and in exchange..."

"Daniel would give up Natalie." Sarah finished.

"This is a switch off. There is no win for us here, Sarah. If I turn myself over to them, they are not going to hand Natalie over."

"What do you want to do then?"

Caden was lost. He had no idea what they needed to do next. Nearly every single one of the angels were against him in some way. Sarah is really the only angel that he can rely on. That didn't give him positive outcomes for this situation.

"I don't know." Caden answered, solemnly. "I don't know what to do Sarah. Who else can we trust? Who can we go to for help?"

Sarah pressed her lips into a thin line, her eyes moving over the wooden floor. "I would think that Daniel most likely knows that I helped you escape heaven. He probably is looking for me as well."

"If we're being hunted, we can't afford to be leaving this place constantly. Soon, they will find our location."

"Natalie won't have any kind of chance if we wait any longer. Daniel will get impatient and...who knows what they might do with her."

That was a thought that Caden didn't even want to think about. But, Sarah was right. He knew how Daniel worked and he knew how easily frustrated he could get. "What do you suggest we do?"

"Maybe the only thing we can do is to try and meet with Henry. Work out some deal to get them to let Natalie go."

"You really think that's going to work?" Caden asked.

Sarah didn't answer Caden. She turned around and left the room, articulating to the other angel that this needs to be done. Sarah walked back out into the main room where Jake, Sam and Dean were talking, trying to figure out a plan of what they can do.

"We have a plan." Sarah's statement brought over the attention of the three hunters. She could see a small hint of distress in their eyes.

"What plan?" Sam asked, his brows raised in a sense of hope.

"Well, it's not a real concrete plan but I think the only way we can find Natalie's location is if, we try to make contact with Henry."

"Wait, you want out call out Daniel's little helper?" Dean asked.

"I don't mean actually contact him. I know a few angels that might be able to help us in this matter."

"Really? A few other angels?" Dean questioned. "You're seriously going to be putting trust into other angels. Sorry, I don't think that's the wisest choice."

"Look. You all obviously want to find Natalie; this is as good as it's going to get when it comes to plans. I'll go and find the ones who might help. Caden should stay out of this for as long as possible."

"And what happens if this plan doesn't work?" Dean asked.

"Then, we'll just need to find another way." Sarah only hoped that this plan would work. She knew that Naomi and the rest of her group were not happy with her or Caden. They both decided they wanted out. Well, Caden was the one who initially made his decision, Sarah ultimately went along with him. But, the more she thought about it, she didn't regret that decision.

Caden had kept himself out of the conversation. For the first time he felt, helpless. This was his fault. If he had not agreed to the plan, he would still be up in heaven, where he belonged and Natalie would not be in this situation. Not that long ago, when Balthazar and Caden were still hanging behind Castiel's back, Balthazar made several remarks to Caden. One of them being that if Caden stayed away from Natalie, it would benefit both of them. How right Balthazar was in the end.

Caden was forced to halt in his steps as a sharp ringing buzzed around his ear. It was loud enough for him to groan at the quick shot of pain he felt. Then, voices. They came at him in one single wave. Voices from the other angels, all of them muffled together creating a cacophony of noises. Caden could faintly hear both Sam and Dean calling him name, ultimately wanting to know what was wrong with him.

He placed his hand to the side of his head as the voices began to dim and soon just one was starting to come through more clear. The voice sounded very familiar—Caden paused when he recognized who it was.

"Natalie." The name slipped out, Caden didn't mean to say it. Though, it wasn't a negative.

"What?" Sam stepped closer. "Can you hear Nad?"

"She's praying to me." Caden narrowed his eyes as he focused on the messages that he was receiving from her, then he made a frustrated groan. "I can't get a mark on her location. They still have her on lockdown but...she said that Daniel has her in some kind of abandon building. She doesn't know where though."

Dean and Sam seemed to think that this was progress, but it was so faint. Natalie had no idea where she was and that information alone could have helped them end this. "Is she alright?" Dean asked.

Caden slowly shook his head. "She sounds weak..." Caden paused, waiting to see if he could hear anything else that might clue him in on her condition. "If something is wrong, she's not telling me."

The connection was severed and Caden was hit with another sharp ring that reverberated in his ears, creating a painful echo. "It's gone." He was straining to talk. "I can't hear her anymore."

"Alright." Sarah finally spoke. "I'm going to go. You guys stay here and wait for me to come back. I will have a way to get to Natalie."

….

Sarah really had no idea where to start. After leaving the cabin, she returned to the abandon house that served as Caden's temporary safe house. She didn't know exactly how she was going to do this. The house was still under a warding sigil making her location still discrete. But, she was starting to agree with what Dean told her. How sure was she that she could trust any other angel? Her and Caden seemed to be the only ones who could rely on each other. This was going to be tricky and Sarah knew that if she takes away the sigil, she would be exposed. Henry could come in and snatch her at any time. And she didn't want that to happen. Not that she was worried about herself. But, if Sarah were to be taken, at this point in time, there would be no way for the others to find Natalie. She had to come up with a different plan.

After pacing around the house for a few minutes, Sarah finally devised her plan. From what Caden has gotten from Natalie's prayers, Daniel was holding her in some kind of abandon building. That acted as a benefit and a disadvantage. There are a few key locations that the angels labeled as key places for them to use. Places where they can hold other angels or other creatures. The problem is there are more than a handful of them. Natalie could be in either of those places. Another problem Sarah faced was that there was probably a dozen more locations she had no knowledge of. If Daniel is smart, which Sarah knows he is, Daniel wouldn't hold Natalie in any of the locations that Sarah or Caden knew about. But, it didn't hurt to try. She needed to start somewhere and this seemed logical.

The list of places seemed endless. Michigan. Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri, North Dakota, Iowa. Sarah's search felt like it was never going to end. There were several locations in each state that could have been where Natalie was being kept. Each time, she would only be met with empty warehouses and buildings. Sarah was going to have to return to Sam and Dean, without knowledge as to where Natalie was being kept. Truthfully, Sarah would rather not do that. However, during the time that she had spent traveling from one state to another, Sarah was able to be one with her thought.

One thing that she thought about consistently was Caden's reasoning for not wanting to work with Naomi on this anymore. This plan was much more expansive, it went beyond Naomi's own comprehension. Caden and only two other angels knew about this plan, from the beginning. Sarah didn't find out until much later, when Caden told her the whole story. It started after Amdusias was unleashed with his army. Up until this point, they had done nothing but wait. Waiting for the moment in which everything would fall into place. They had been watching over the Collins family. And they were instructed not to interfere with the family in any way. Even though it meant not helping them during their battle against Amdusias. But, the plan had been nothing more than an urban legend to the angels, none of them believed it. That is until the leviathans were unleashed and that's when everything clicked. The angels realized that the story wasn't false...it was true.

Sarah knew that the end result of this would be her and Caden being taken by the angels. If anything, it was to ensure that Natalie wouldn't be bothered because of them. However, that was a real long shot. Sarah had no idea how in depth Daniel was with the plan. If anything, the only reason he has Natalie is to simply get his hands on Caden. For all she knew, the plan meant nothing to Daniel. But, she had to consider the possibility of her and Caden surrendering to Daniel and the angels. Sarah couldn't help but think about how ironic it was that she was willing to do this. For Natalie. She had not necessarily given Natalie the most kind first greeting but that was just her riding out the frustration of Caden keeping a vital form of information from her for so long.

Either way, Sarah knew Natalie's importance and it was up to her and Caden to ensure that nothing would happen to Natalie. No matter what, they needed to keep her safe at all costs...even if it means sacrificing themselves.

Sarah had made her last stop. Nebraska. It was the last place she had known to house a location the angels would use from time to time. This building was bigger than the previous ones she had visited earlier. The minute she set foot into the place, Sarah knew this wasn't it. There was no sign of any angels, nothing to key her in that this place was being used. Instead of moving onto the next building, Sarah stood in place, her head hung back and eyes were closed. This search was pointless. She wasn't going to find Natalie this way.

"She's not here."

A voice echoed around the dark, building. Sarah turned and saw a young woman, shoulder length black curly hair and a fair complexion. Sarah's body eased with the familiarity she saw in the woman's eyes.

"Hannah." She breathed out. Sarah and Hannah both walked towards each other, both stopping when they were close enough.

"Unfortunately, your slim knowledge of their bases is not helping you."

"Even with what I know...it's not helping me in anyway." Sarah relented. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about Natalie's location."

Hannah slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry. I've been trying to get any kind of information. But, none of the angels are willing to talk about it. They are being selective with who they share information with."

"This place was warded off. I thought that this might have been the location."

"That was me." Hannah answered. "I warded this place because I followed your pattern. I knew you were going to come here. I took the extra caution to seal this place off...so they couldn't find you."

Sarah nodded her thanks. "What are we supposed to do?"

Hannah could only think of one suggestion, but even she was having a hard time coming to terms with the idea. "Daniel has Natalie, in order to bargain for Caden. And now you are on the list as well."

"It was about time they found out about my involvement. You think the only way we can get Natalie out of there is to just...surrender?"

"Even if you did, I don't believe the angels are going to let Natalie go that easily. Naomi made a deal with Daniel..."

"How could Naomi betray us like that?" Sarah quickly questioned. "Naomi has no idea about the extent of this whole thing. She has no right to be calling the decisions."

"Before Seraphiel disappeared, Naomi was his closest confidant. Of course she would be the one to take the reins of this operation."

"Hannah." Sarah exhaled heavily. "Her plan...you can't truly agree to it."

"It won't kill her." Hannah's reply was very obsolete. There was no true emotion behind it and Sarah was caught off guard. "It is our way of gaining control over her."

"It will break her." Sarah took a few steps closer to Hannah. "You've seen what it has done to angels. It was meant for angels only. Can you imagine what it might do...to a human?"

Hannah broke her gaze and allowed her eyes to scan the floor. "There's nothing that you or I can do about this. Naomi has the upper hand, followers that beckon to her. You, me and Caden are no match against her and she is furious that you two would break away from this."

"Well. Seraphiel never mentioned this part. And I can guarantee, this whole idea was Naomi's."

"Did you or Caden manage to tell Natalie about this?"

"No." "Caden wanted to but the idea of losing the trust he has formed with her forbidden him from doing anything."

"Sarah. I am with Naomi. We have been waiting a long time for this. Watching over this family, allowing everything to play out. I can't just turn away from this."

"Then why are you here Hannah? Talking with me."

"Because I do believe that Natalie needs to be taken away from Daniel's hands and kept away from the angels. Not for long. She needs to find out the information on her own."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"Are you and Caden willing to hand yourselves over?"

"I think Caden is willing to do whatever he can to make sure that she is safe. He's grown very fond of her."

"That was not the best decision on his part." Hannah admitted quietly. She had hardly spent any time on earth. Her view of humanity came from the sidelines, watching over them. Hannah hasn't had the benefit of being in close contact with a human for a long period of time.

"Why would Naomi tell Daniel about this whole thing?"

"That night, where Caden told Naomi that he was done. He didn't just bail out of the plan. He wanted to make sure that he protected Natalie...from us. From Naomi."

"What?" Sarah received a silent nod from Hannah. "He never told me that. Caden told Naomi that he was going to keep Natalie away from her."

"Hide her. Protect her. Do whatever he can to make sure that we won't be able to get to her." Hannah then gave a small head tilt. "Naomi thought that Daniel would be able to help with getting Natalie."

"You talk about her like she's some kind of object." Sarah commented, the disdain was evident in her tone.

"Naomi doesn't want to lose focus on this."

"Will you help us?"

Hannah has been standing by Naomi's side since this whole power struggle began in heaven. And with this new dilemma, Hannah had become a confidant to Naomi, carrying out several tasks for the angel. But now, Hannah has been able to see what panic can do to someone, even to an angel. Was Naomi going to Daniel for help the wrong decision? Probably. Hannah was in no position at the moment to form her own opinion on the matter. Yes, Hannah has seen the development of this plan since the beginning. She's watched over this family generation after generation, seeing them being picked off.

The leviathans escaping purgatory was the perfect event that helped push them to this moment. Natalie had already been given information about the tablets. It wasn't much for her to go on, but the angels were counting on the idea that she would be able to find them. The exact content of what is written on these tablets is unknown to every angel. Only the Scribe and God know what was written down. But, Naomi had been hinting to Hannah that she knows these tablets hold valuable information, excerpts that will allow the angels to use to their advantage.

"If I do...then I am betraying Naomi's trust. We can't afford me being on her hit list. If I don't stay with her then it will just be Naomi in control."

"It seems like it's already at that point, Hannah."

"I think the best way is for me to try and convince Naomi to get Daniel to lift the ward on the location. I'll tell Naomi that you and Caden are willing to come forward. And I just need to get Naomi to agree that letting Natalie go is the best decision."

"Just do what you can."

Hannah took a few steps closer to Sarah, her eyes showing the faintest hint of concern for the angel standing in front of her. "Sarah. If we do this, that place is going to be watched over by Naomi and Daniel. The minute you two set foot in that place...I can't guarantee that you will be able to make it out."

"Who said that Caden and I would try and get out?" Sarah shook her head. "This whole thing has gone down a completely different route, Hannah. It's chaotic. Maybe, Naomi will learn not to take measures like this anymore."

Hannah nodded silently. "I will try my best. I will contact you with information."

---

The cabin was in a state of tension. Sam and Dean were pacing around the cabin, waiting for Sarah to come back and they were trying to relieve some of their nerves. Alex was still sitting on the couch, with Jake right next to her, and her mind rushing with the memories of the night that they took Natalie and Caden kept mostly to himself. Silently hoping that Sarah was able to strike some gold with finding Natalie.

He just wanted to keep her safe. From everything. That even included Naomi. But, Caden should have known better. Naomi holds a higher rank than Caden, she's above him and has unlimited authority over him. It was partially due to her that he was able to escape heaven, so that he could return to Natalie. But, that doesn't count towards anything at this moment. Should he have just stayed with the plan? Maybe Caden could have influence Naomi to not take such drastic matters, to allow this to play out on its own. Of course, there are no guarantees that would have happened. Caden was trying to come up with his own "what if's" to try and ease down the guilt that was slowly eating away at him.

Even now, looking over at Sam and Dean, seeing how concerned they were for Natalie and for her safety, he could only imagine how their views of him would switch within a second if they knew about it...about everything. There was one thing he was positive on. They were going to protect Natalie at all costs, especially after this event. Caden even came up with the idea that Natalie would need to be hidden from the angels by being branded with Enochian. Caden had heard that Castiel did this to them the year Lucifer was released. It proved to be good use to them. He couldn't help but think that this was an extra cautionary step that needs to be taken.

The entirety of Sarah's absence was spent partially waiting in silence and communicating the information to others. Bobby had returned back to the cabin after running errands and was more than surprised to see Alex and Jake sitting on the couch and Natalie not being there. Sam and Dean of course had to fill Bobby in on what was going on and as usual, Bobby's own concern shown through and he had to settle for waiting for Sarah to return. Marina had also called Sam after she received Natalie's voicemail every time she called her phone. It wasn't exactly an easy thing for Sam to explain. Her sister being kidnapped by angels and them having no idea where she is. It's not exactly the kind of news Sam wanted to give but he wasn't going to keep Marina in the dark about it.

However, there was something that seemed misplaced in all of this. Sam had taken a notice and began to really watch Caden, his mannerisms, how he was holding himself. It seemed like there was something more that was bugging him, something he was keeping from Dean and Sam. Should he poke at the subject? Maybe, but Sam was too busy trying to drown out Lucifer's taunts. Natalie going missing made him vulnerable and now, Sam's had to deal with seeing him all over the cabin since Sarah left. He tolerated it as much as he could before, eventually, having to press against the scar on his hand. At least this tactic still proved to be useful to him.

The sound of wings filled the room and everyone collectively looked over to see Sarah standing near the front door.

"Did you find anything?" Dean was the first one to question, he wasn't going to waste any time. However, the answer he received wasn't the one he wanted. Sarah simply shook her head.

"I didn't find Natalie."

Dean emitted a vain scoff and turned his back to Sarah, his hand rubbed against the back of his neck. Everyone else were able to show their frustration through the silence that came after her words. It was thick enough to cut.

"But, I did get to speak with Hannah." Sarah said, making sure to turn her attention to Caden. "I think that Hannah will be able to help us."

"How so?" Sam asked, slowly approaching Sarah.

"Well, she doesn't know the location where Natalie is being held. However, she…" Sarah paused before she revealed Naomi's whole part in this. If she were to go down that route, she was going to have to tell Dean, Sam and everyone else here what she and Caden have been doing. "Hannah has a way to get information from Daniel and the other angels. She said that she will try and receive the location of Natalie. Until then…we have to wait."

Sam exhaled silently. "We don't have time to wait Sarah. We need to find out where Nad is. Now."

….

Natalie didn't know how much time had passed, all she knew was that her body ached with pain, she can taste the strong iron of leftover blood in her mouth, while her lips were encrusted with the substance but it had dried during her interrogation. Daniel went at her longer than she had anticipated. Each question he asked coincided with her pain growing more intense. She didn't crack. She wasn't going to. However, Daniel might win a small victory. Natalie never forgot what Daniel said to her about Caden and all she could think about was whether she believed him or not. Had Caden been lying to her this entire time? Using her?

At first, Natalie didn't believe any of it. She thought of Daniel's information as a form of getting her to turn against him. Natalie wasn't going to fall for that. But, the more time she spent being here, the more she allowed it all to simmer. Natalie thought back to that day, after she had left the hospital following her confrontation with Elias, Caden just appeared out of nowhere. She even asked him why he had helped her in the first place. He never gave her a concrete answer and even though she was skeptical of him, she grew to accept his reasoning. It all made sense to her. Why the sudden interest in her? Because she was going to be used in some stupid plan that the angels had devised.

The plan still remains unknown to her, but she didn't care about that. She had been played, lied to by someone that she trusted. Caden wasn't like all of the other angels she had met, he was a lot like Castiel. Honestly, that should've been her first clue to knowing that something would go wrong. From what she had experienced with Castiel, he was trying to do what he thought was right, but he was driven by his own mad determination. This whole thing with Caden is a completely different scenario that shared one commonality with Castiel, Natalie thought that they were different. She thought that they both cared about humans, that they would want to help no matter what. Guess she was wrong.

Aside from the fact that she felt incredibly stupid for actually trusting Caden, Natalie wanted nothing more than to get out of here. She had prayed to Caden earlier, hoping that it would help them find her. But, she was still here and clearly it didn't seem to help at all. She was exhausted, numbed to her very core and yes, she was scared.

Daniel had left, along with the other angels, leaving her to drown in this silence alone and weak. Natalie could only think about lying in her bed at the cabin and falling asleep. In fact, the idea of sleep had lured her into that state of mind. Natalie's head slowly hung down and her eyes closed from their heaviness. A part of her thought that if she were to fall asleep, maybe by some miracle when she woke up she won't be here anymore. It was a long shot and most likely wouldn't happen but it was something to keep her sane and calm at this point.

It didn't take long her to actually fall asleep. She felt her entire body ease and this bitter numbing that had tensed every inch of her body melted away. There was a familiar peace that fell over her, enticing her more into a sleep state. Then, the dreams came fast. They were just quick flashes of images. There was an old worn down house that was settled in the middle of nowhere and the image of a pair of cellar doors made a brief appearance before flashing into non-existence. Then…there was nothing. It was just an empty darkness that filled her conscious that then was coincided with a swirl of voice that started out as whispers and gradually turned into a clear voice and Natalie could recognize it. It almost sounded like her…father.

The voices swirled around in her mind, creating a cacophony of words that were being jumbled together. Natalie. Protector. Mark. Those were the only words that she was able to actually pick out, everything else just sounded like nothing but a huge mess. But, those three words were always the ones that stood out from the rest. The empty, hollow darkness that greeted Natalie flashed with a brilliant light which was accompanied with quick images of a man. Dark brown hair and she was able to catch a quick look at facial hair as well. However, one distinct feature stuck out, which was a scar on the right side of his chest, that was barely covered by the shirt he was wearing. And there was something very oddly familiar about him, but she had never see him before in her life.

Natalie. Wake up.

The voice boomed around in her head, jolting her awake, her body shot up and the sensation of adrenaline pumping through her veins alerted her senses. Natalie breathed out heavy breaths and felt the restraints around her wrists had been loosened. Looking down, she pulled at the bonds, seeing them slide off and gather at the ground. What the hell? Raising her arms up, she quietly inspected her wrists, seeing that small bruising was already starting to form from how tightly she had been tied up. Natalie, unconsciously, moved her legs, hearing the bonds fall onto the ground. She had been untied…but by who?

Go.

The voice appeared again, this time only as a faint whisper that sounded like it was dripping down the walls of the room. Natalie remained in her seat, rubbing at her sore wrists and looking around the room, seeing if there was any way to detect where the voice had come from. There was nothing. But the "dream" she just had and the fact that she was now untied, they were connected in some way. However, Natalie was able to gather herself and pull her focus together. She just needed to do one thing. She needed to get out of here.

…

"We can't do anything until Hannah has contacted me with the information." Sarah placed her explanation in a calm manner to Dean and Sam.

"How can we even know that we can trust…Hannah?" Dean was not comfortable with how willing Sarah was to put all of their trust towards this one angel. Dean and Sam had no idea who the hell Hannah was and they had no idea what this particular angel was like.

"Hannah is a good angel." Caden stepped forward, giving his own say in. "Sarah and I have known Hannah for a…very long time. We can trust her."

"Our trust with angels is a little spotty right now, so, sorry if were not exactly in the same boat as you two." Dean offered.

"Listen. If you want to get Natalie back, this is our best way of doing just that." Sarah argued. However, that wasn't the end of her little argument. Sarah went to say more when both she and Caden froze, their gazes fixing on nothing. The act took everyone by surprised, to them it looked like Caden and Sarah were having an internal freak out.

"Caden." Sarah quickly turned to the angel, who's eyes were already emitting the answer to her unasked question. "It's Natalie. We have Natalie's location." Sarah turned her attention back on Sam and Dean.

"What?" Sam's eyes widened. "How?"

Sarah shook her head. "I don't know. Whatever kind of ward they had on the place…it's been lifted. We have her location."

"Then let's go get her."

"Dean. No." Sarah quickly shot down the idea and she received a look from Dean. "We can't go."

"What the hell are you talking about? Of course we can!" Sarah and Caden just found out where Natalie was, of course Dean's first instinct is to just get over there as quick as they can.

"No. We can't." Sarah argued back. "Hannah needs to contact me. There is no way that Daniel would just lift the ward like that. This could be some sort of trap."

"Well, you know…" Sam spoke up. "We don't care. Nad is in some abandoned building where the angels have the opportunity to do anything they want with her. We need to Nad out. We're going now."

"If we go in there, it will be a suicide mission." Caden needed to try and reason with Sam and Dean. Yes, he wanted to get Natalie out just as much as they do, but Sarah brought up a good point. "We don't know why the ward has been lifted, but it can't be a good reason. We should wait for Hannah to contact Sarah and then we'll—"

Sam had pressed his hands up against his face, trying to drown out Lucifer while trying to come up with an argument to go against Caden's words. Finally, he let out a frustrated groan. "No! Caden we're not waiting any longer. You said that you wanted to do whatever it took to get Nad out. Well here's your chance. Her location might be sealed off again, this might be the only opportunity we have to end this. We need to move. Now."

The wisest choice for all of them was to wait for Hannah to contact Sarah with information. However, Natalie's location has been open and there has been no contact from Hannah. Caden knew that this was not her doing. This was very much some sort of trap to get Caden and Sarah to come out of their hiding. And honestly, Caden was tired of hiding. That is all he has been doing and he has done nothing but sit on his thumbs while Sarah tried to figure out where Natalie was hiding. No more. This was their only chance to get this over with and if that means Caden has to go with the angels, then so be it.

"Fine." Caden finally said. "We'll do this."

Sarah turned to Caden, her eyes widened. "Caden. This is not a good idea. We can't do anything until we have heard from Hannah."

"Sam is right Sarah." Caden interrupted. "We need to do this. I don't care what it will take. I'm tired of just hiding around, letting the angels do whatever they want."

Sarah rolled her eyes and exhaled. "I don't even know why I try to be the voice of reason anymore." She placed her hands on her hips and hung her head back, taking in slow breaths. Finally, she agreed. "If we do this, then we need to come up with a plan."

"Okay." Dean nodded. "So, I was thinking…"

"Sorry, Dean." Sarah cut off Dean's words and leveled her head so that she was looking at him. "If there is going to be a plan, it will be mine."

Dean was caught off guard by the finalization in Sarah's words and normally, he would have argued until she was annoyed enough to agree, but they didn't have time. "What's your plan then?"

"Caden and I will go to the location. We'll go into the building and locate Natalie."

"You're not going without Sam and me." Dean added.

"Fine." Sarah agreed. She didn't have time to argue with him. "Then you and Sam will stay outside of the building. We can't risk you two getting hurt and I know Natalie would not be happy if she found out about that."

"Well, let me go with you as well." Jake stood up from the couch.

"Absolutely not." Sarah shook her head. "The less people who go, the easier it will be."

"It's okay, Jake." Sam assured him, seeing the hesitation in his eyes. "We'll bring Nad back. You, Alex and Bobby just hang out here."

"Then let's get going." Dean offered in an eager tone.

"I just want to make sure that we are all on the same page." Sarah spoke up, forcing Dean to halt in his steps. "You and Sam will stay out of the building. Caden and I will bring Natalie to you. Do I make myself clear Dean?"

Dean gave Sarah a half nod. "Crystal clear, ma'am."

Sarah took detect a small hint of resilience in Dean's voice. However, she had a hunch that Dean was going to abide by her plan. If he wanted to get Natalie out of there quick, then he better stick to the plan and not run interference. Sarah turned to Caden, seeing the slow burning determination in his eyes.

"Caden." She waited for him to look at her. "Are you sure you will be able to do this? With half of your grace gone, your combat skills are not exactly the best."

Caden gave a limp shrug. "I will be able to hold my own. I just want to get in and out quick."

….

Natalie pressed her hands down on the chair arms and gingerly rose back up to her feet. After taking a moment to find her balance, Natalie began to stumble her way over to the door. Her hand found its way to her stomach, where the numbness was starting to turn into a swirling ache that was rising in intensity the more she walked. When she made it over to the door, her hand gripped tightly onto the door knob while she braced her other hand against the cold, worn down metal. Turning the knob, she was actually surprised to find that it was unlocked or maybe the thing that helped untie her unlocked the door for her. Despite the reasoning, Natalie pulled the chunk of metal open and peered her head out, seeing no one was standing in the hallway.

Are all of the angels literally gone?

She was able to take a small moment to simmer in her own confusion. Why would the angels just leave her here? Unguarded? Perhaps it was a way to try and lure Caden out of hiding. During her time being tied up, Natalie was able to come to the conclusion that her location was being hidden by some kind of ward. Now, she can't help but feel like it's been lifted, for some reason, and she knows that Caden would jump at the chance to try and find her. However, Natalie wasn't sure how she was going to react to seeing him. She was still on the fence about what Daniel had told her. If she were to be blatantly honest with herself, she would conform to the fact that she was starting to believe Daniel's words. However, her stubbornness and unwilling to accept that she had been played, was forbidding her from doing so.

The only thing that Natalie was focusing on at the moment was trying to get out of this building. Once she was out, then she would figure out a way to contact Sam or Dean if she hasn't been found by that point. Natalie was just going to have to take her chances.

It was painful just taking small steps. Natalie could feel the swirl in her stomach build up, faster and faster. That didn't stop her. As she made her way down the bleak and dark hallway, several times, she had to spit out the blood that was slithering up her throat and gathering in her mouth. Natalie couldn't help but think about how annoying this was. Painful yes. But, incredibly annoying. Daniel just left her like this, hacking up blood and writhing in pain. He could have at least put her out of that misery. But, honestly, Natalie shouldn't have expected that level of kindness from him.

….

Outside of the building, Caden, Sarah, Sam and Dean had finally arrived at the location. They all took in the fact that this place was larger than they had anticipated. But, Caden and Sarah still had a lock on Natalie's location. They just needed to work quickly in case Daniel might return. Sam and Dean were in too much of a hurry and they tried to follow Sarah and Caden into the building. Sarah and Caden ultimately had to remind Sam and Dean to stay out here. They didn't want them creating any trouble. And if any of the angels are in there, the last thing they need is for the Winchesters to provoke them in any way.

Once they were assured that Sam and Dean would remain outside of the building, Caden and Sarah wasted no time and entered the building. The minute they were in, there was no sign of any angels and that only made Caden and Sarah grow uneasy. The only way that this place would be empty, without any angels around, is if this was all part of a plan. A plan to coax Caden out from his hiding and it worked. But, that was not Caden's concern. He just wanted to find Natalie and get her out of here. Then he would deal with the angels on his own. They made their way through the main room and were greeted by a few hallways that they had to choose from, which was easy for them. They were able to narrow down on Natalie's location, choosing which way to go wasn't complicated.

….

Natalie had made it about more than halfway down the corridor. The swirling in her stomach had now turned into a tight knot that was slowly growing tighter. The blood that was gathering in her mouth had slowed down considerably, but she was still having to spit the substance out. Nausea began to take over Natalie, swirling around in her head, making her vision go hazy. She just needed to keep going. Needed to keep on moving. The faster she moved meant that she would be able to get out of her faster.

Natalie's legs buckled and she fell against the wall, her hand pressed against the cold concrete, bracing herself as she slowly slid to the ground. Her knees made contact with the ground and leaned forward against the hand that was supported her up from the ground. Natalie opened her mouth, elicited a sickening gag and threw up thick blood that stained the ground in front of her. By the rate that she was going, there was no way she would be able to get out of here before the angels came back.

The sound if impending footsteps were muffled in her ears and the distinct sound of voices blended in with it. She wasn't able to fully make out words and she wasn't able to find anything familiar within those voices. She thought it was one of the angels who had found her and she could feel a sense of dread wash over her. Natalie had been given the chance to get out and she couldn't do it. And now, she's going to be taken back into that damn room, tied back up and have to sit there for god knows how long.

Natalie had expected a rough hand to take hold of her arm. Instead, it was a gentle hand that grasped her arm and the other cupped the side of her face, turning her head so that she would be able to look at the person. It was Caden.

"Natalie."

His voice was finally able to come through as clear to Natalie, the muffled barrier that been there earlier had now gone away. Natalie felt a flash of relief settle over her as she laid eyes on the angel. The careful touch he was ensuring to maintain brought comfort but in a split second Natalie could feel her building rage spill over. Caden had tried to help her back up to her feet and he managed to get her halfway up when Natalie pressed her hands against his chest and shoved him away.

"Get off of me." Her voice called out in a hoarse, raspy demand. Caden was perplexed by her sudden mood change and kept his hands off of her, taking a small step back.

"Natalie. What's wrong?" He tried again, making sure to keep the small distance between them. He didn't want to upset her even more.

Natalie braced her back against the wall, her knees slightly bent and arms hanging limply by her side. Her little outburst had taken more out of her than she had anticipated and she was trying to breathe in oxygen to help calm her aching body. But, she could see Caden take a slow approach towards her and she held her hand out to him. "Don't come near me. Don't even touch me Caden."

Sarah had been watching the scene in complete silence, completely taken back from Natalie's behavior. "What's with this whole new attitude of yours?" She finally asked.

"Daniel told me everything." Natalie admitted, allowing her hand to hang back down by her side. "He said that you have been sneaking behind my back." She glanced up, her eyes were empty. Completely void. But, Caden and Sarah to could sense that feeling of anger and betrayal. "Both of you. Keeping things from me. He said that I was your goal."

Caden was lost for words. This was something that he had not wanted to happen. If Natalie was going to learn about this, he wanted it to be from him, no one else. That day before she went to Oregon, he was going to tell her. But, the idea of losing that form of trust that they had developed stopped him from going any further. He didn't want to lose that. But, he should have been less naïve. She was bound to find out, regardless if she was told by him or not.

"Natalie, I-" Caden couldn't form words. He couldn't look her in the eye and try to lie to get himself out of this.

"Was he telling the truth?" Natalie asked, with more force behind her tone. "It's a simple answer Caden. Yes, or no?"

There was no point in trying to hold it back. This was his chance of finally coming clean. To finally tell Natalie the truth, which she deserved to be told way before any of this happened. "Yes. It's true." Caden allowed his head to hang. "Natalie I am so sorry."

Hearing the words come from Caden's mouth finally granted her what she had been debating over the entire time she had been here. Had he been going behind her back? Keeping things from her? Yes. Normally, Natalie would have felt betrayed, which she did. But, Natalie was only able to see red. The pain that was boiling inside her stomach made her anger reach its limit. Natalie pushed herself away from the wall, her hand raised up and made contact with Caden's cheek. The contact was quick and it made her hand throb. Natalie immediately back up against the wall and rubbed at her numb hand.

"Shit." She hissed to herself. "You're just like every other angel." Natalie started, focusing her attention back on Caden, who was trying to recover from her attack. "You lie and you sneak your way around everything. I should have never trusted you. There was no way you would have just helped me in the hospital that night. I should have just gone with my instincts."

Sarah had heard enough of this. Natalie had a right to be upset, but this was not the place to be lashing out in. She stepped forward and grabbed hold of Natalie's arm. "Now is not the time for you to lash out your anger at Caden."

"Really? You were in on it too! You don't get to tell me when I can and can't lash out!" Natalie violently pulled her arm out of Sarah's grasp. "I can lash out whenever the hell I want!" She shoved Sarah against the shoulder only to lean over in pain.

"Obviously, you can't." Sarah retorted, not letting Natalie's physical action have any kind of effect on her. "We're here to get you out. Sam and Dean are waiting for us outside."

At the sound of their names, Natalie felt true relief. She just wanted to see them. To see Sam. To get away from Sarah and Caden. "Fine. I'll go to them."

"With our help." Sarah added.

"No." Natalie shook her head, trying to use the wall to get into a solid standing position. "I can do this on my own."

Natalie's attempt to get out of here on her own was shot down the minute her body sunk back down towards the ground. Her knees ached and her legs couldn't hold up the weight of her body.

"Sure you can." Sarah stepped forward and took hold of her arm. "Caden and I are going to get you out of here." Sarah nodded for Caden to come over, which he began to do, but a voice made everything pause.

"Hello Caden."

Caden and Sarah straightened their backs, they knew that voice all too well. They both stepped away from Natalie and turned to see Naomi and Hannah standing next to each other with two other angels behind them.

"Naomi." Caden greeted and Natalie took notice of how his voice seemed to be void of any emotion when he said her name.

Naomi offered Caden a smile, which held nothing to it. The smile had no emotion which would have made the skin crawl on anyone who saw it. "It has been a while since we have seen each other. Ever since the last meeting we had together, when you decided to back out of our plan."

"It was for good reason."

"And what reason would that be?" Naomi question, her head tilting to the side and her eyes glanced over to see Natalie, who seemed to be on the verge of passing out. "Her?" Naomi raised her brows as she asked the question. "She's been more trouble for us than we had ever anticipated."

"She wouldn't have been any trouble to you if you had not made a deal with Daniel to come up with this whole scheme."

"That was your own fault Caden. You threatened to keep her away from us. It was never your position to decide what Natalie will and will not do."

"I decided to take it upon myself after I found out what you were going to do to her."

Naomi slowly shook her head. "Only as a precaution." Her tone gave way to the notion that she didn't find anything wrong with her idea.

Caden scoffed. "Now, you decide to call it a precaution. I'm not going to let you take advantage of her own sanity in order to follow through with this. There is no need to put her through that."

"She already has the grace in her, Caden." Naomi began to reason with him. "She's been labeled with it. There's nothing we can do about it now."

"Our kind always thinks that there is only one way to handle something. We are able to branch out and make our own decisions."

"That is not what he created us for. Every time one of us tries to do what we personally think is right, it always ends up going wrong. Just look at what happened to Castiel." Naomi offered as an example. "He opens purgatory and unleashes the Leviathan on earth. And his motivation was that he thought that it was the right thing to do. It was his own personal decision." Naomi then gestured at Caden. "And look at what happened to you Caden. You were advised to only heal Natalie from her concussion, not to retain contact with her. It landed you into trouble. Half of your grace has been taken away and now, you have been on the run from us. All of because of her."

Naomi pursed her lips together in her own contemplation. "I knew that I should have dismissed you from your position. You were getting to involved with her."

"That was done all on my own personal accord. It was my choice to remain in contact with Natalie. And I will continue to protect her if I must."

"How exactly are you going to stand up against me? And all of the other angels?"

"He has me." Sarah stepped forward. "Not to mention the Winchester's are also in our corner as well. I know that you have never been a big fan of them. I can't imagine you would want them on your tail if Natalie ends up disappearing."

"Sarah. I expected better from you. I thought you were loyal."

"I am loyal. But, I am loyal to Caden."

"Caden made a huge mistake by letting you in on this. You were never supposed to know about anything. Caden, Hannah and I were the only ones."

"Well, that is too bad, because I know everything that you have done Naomi and I don't think your fight for the seat in heaven would bid well if all of the angels knew you helped break Caden out of heaven."

Naomi's face hardened and her eyes narrowed at Sarah. "I heard enough." She quietly commented and turned to the two angels standing behind her. "Take Caden and Sarah back to heaven. Hannah and I will bring Natalie someplace else."

Caden and Sarah both tensed, their eyes immediately focusing on Hannah, silently asking her to step in. Hannah sighed quietly and finally spoke up. "Naomi. If I may, this is a huge mistake that you are making."

Naomi paused and turned to Hannah. "What are you talking about?"

"You say Caden broke a rule by interfering with Natalie. Yes, he did. But, so are you. We had strict rules. No interference. None whatsoever, unless it was absolutely necessary."

"This is necessary."

"I do not believe it is. You are acting on your own paranoia. Ever since Seraphiel disappeared, you have been keeping to much of your attention on Natalie. Constantly worried. This is not what we were supposed to do. We should be letting Natalie find out this information on her own and when the time is right, we would make contact with her."

"What do you suggest then? Let Natalie go. What about Caden and Sarah? Should I just let them go too? I would never trust the two of them with her. Ever."

"Then I offer myself up." Caden spoke up. Naomi and Hannah both turned their attentions to him. "You can take me back to heaven. I'm very sure that Daniel would be more than pleased to see me return. In exchange, you let Natalie go. Let her go back to the Winchesters, back to solving this Leviathan mess."

Naomi didn't seem like she was going to take the bait. After some of the stunts that Caden has pulled trying to evade them, it would make sense if she was wary about trusting him with something like this. Sarah saw the confliction in Naomi's eyes and then offered another addition to the deal.

"You can take me as well."

Naomi gave Sarah a vain scoff, signaling that she wasn't going to be taking this bait. Sarah knew that she would have to convince her. "Naomi. I had every intention on helping Caden keep Natalie hidden from you. I went against my orders, against you. I deserve to be punished just as much as Caden. So, a deal. You take both of us back to heaven. Do whatever you want with us. Natalie gets to walk free. And no more interference from you or Hannah or any of your angels."

"Naomi. I do think that it would be wise for you to agree with this." Hannah offered her own opinion in the matter. "And, if I am being perfectly honest, we are dealing with a hell storm up in heaven. You have already wasted so much time looking for Caden and even more keeping Natalie here. Plus, your deal with Daniel is going to cause conflict. She is trouble that we don't need right now. Natalie is the least of our concerns."

One of the things that Naomi absolutely hated was being proven wrong. She had so much pride, which is something that most angels have and to admit that she was at fault, it was something that would normally never happen. However, she was able to see Hannah's side along with Sarah and Caden's. They were right. She had been wasting too much of her time focusing on Natalie when she should be concentrated on the fight to gain control of heaven.

Naomi relented and finally nodded. "Fine. Both your surrenders for Natalie to walk free…I'll take it." She turned to Caden, eyes barreling down on him. "But, just so that we are clear, when the time does come there will be nothing you can do to stop me."

Caden swallowed hard, both of them maintaining eye contact, each of them silently challenging the other. Caden just gave a quick nod, despite everything in him wanting to fight against her. However, Naomi seemed pleased with it and that gave him some kind of comfort. She wouldn't be bothering Natalie any time soon. Naomi made her way over to Natalie, who was still semi-conscious and gently touched her forehead. Natalie's body slumped and her head tilted to the side.

"Take her back to the Winchesters. But, Hannah will be going with you, make sure you don't try and escape again."

"I gave you my word." Caden confirmed his side of the deal.

"Go."

Caden walked over to Natalie and gently scooped her up in his arms. Hannah went to stand next to Sarah and Caden, then, the three of them vanished from the building, leaving Naomi to sulk in the silence.

….

"She's alright." Caden said as he gently handed Natalie over to Sam, who held her in his grasp, allowing her head to rest against his chest. "Daniel did a number on her, she should be out for a few days but she will be fine."

Dean had taken a quick assessment of Natalie while Sam held her and nodded. He looked over at Caden and Sarah, only to notice Hannah standing behind them. "Who's that?" He said, nodding at her.

"Hannah." Sarah answered.

"How did you get her out of there?" Sam was the next one to question, not really paying too much attention to Hannah.

"We made a deal." Sarah started. "Caden and I both offered our surrender, which is what they wanted, for Natalie's freedom."

"And they just…granted that. They didn't ask questions?" Dean was quite skeptical about how they had managed to get Natalie out with just a deal. Angels were usually a lot harder to crack.

"No."

Caden nodded and exhaled heavily. "So, this is goodbye. For a while."

Dean nodded and narrowed his eyes at them. "Are you two going to be okay?"

"You know as well as us, our kind tends to not be too lenient on those who go rogue. But…Sarah and I will be able manage ourselves."

Sam looked down at Natalie and adjusted his hold on her. "Thank you, for doing all of this. Just to get her out."

Sarah remained silent and then shook her head. "You don't need to thank us. It was the least we could do."

"And I have said it before." Caden said. "I said that I would save her, no matter what the cost is. But, I'm not going to be able to be there to help her anymore. So, you two need to keep an eye on her."

"You know we will." Dean said, the unsaid part being that Caden shouldn't even have to tell them that.

Caden nodded. He knew that Natalie was in safe hands when it came to Sam and Dean. He couldn't even decently protect her from the angels. But for some reason, Caden always had this gut feeling that Sam and Dean would risk themselves to make sure that Natalie would never get hurt. And that gave him some sort of ease.

Caden didn't say anything else as he turned to walk back over to Hannah, allowing Sarah to send Dean and Sam back to the cabin.

"Caden wait." Sam spoke up and waited for Caden to look at him. "What do we tell her? When she wakes up?"

Caden thought for a moment, his eyes glancing down in thought. "Tell her…I'm sorry. She won't need to hear anything else except for that."

Sarah didn't wait for Sam or Dean to say anything else. She knew that the faster they get sent back the easier this would all be. She stepped forward and pressed her fingers against their foreheads, sending them back to the cabin.

---

So what did you guy think? Like I said, I don't like how this chapter turned out and I was tempted to re-write it completely but that would have taken me longer to write and I wouldn't have been able to get it up for you guys until like January and I didn't want that to happen. Just to clear it up, Hannah in this chapter is the same one we met in season 9. She has a different vessel for this chapter but when we get to her in season 9 she will have the same vessel as she had in the show.

Now, I realize that it is taking me longer to pump out these chapters and I am truly sorry about that. But, I do think that I have a reason for it. Season 7 has become more complicated for me because this is the story where more information about Natalie's story arc will be hinted out. Now, one of the problems with creating an original arc is that my brain doesn't know when to stop coming up with ideas. So, currently, Natalie's story arc is vast and it is more than I had originally intended there to be. This also leads to another problem, which is my self-doubt. When it comes to original content, I am always doubting myself whether it will be good or whether it would make sense. And because I doubt myself it takes me longer to write because I tend to think that what I have written isn't good enough or doesn't make sense. This is a problem I have always had when it comes to writing original content and it slows my writing process, tremendously. I don't have anyone to talk to in-depth with this plot, so I don't have the opportunity for feedback. I promise I am trying to be quicker with the writing. I am so sorry for these long waits for chapters. I do hope that I am able to pick up the pace.

Also, Natalie's story arc does have a backstory and I am currently working on writing out the history. On the main blog there will be a page dedicated to that backstory. It is not published yet, as I am still working on it, but it will be up soon. So make sure to keep checking the page.

Thank you so much for the support guys. I really appreciate it. It's what helps me keep on pushing myself to write.