AN: Sorry about how long this chapter took, but I was super busy with holiday stuff and school, and then I basically had to rewrite the entire thing from scratch because I decided to switch viewpoint characters. (whoops)

LISA

They're late.

The thought ran on repeat through Lisa's head as she glanced at the clock for what must have been the fortieth time.

It had all seemed like a good idea at the time, letting them go on their little monster hunt- or rather, not a good idea, but…

"It's just vampires"

Dean had actually said that to her before the two of them left, as though a pack of vicious, blood sucking monsters was no big deal.

What if something happened to them?

Lisa shook the thought out of her head. It wasn't helping anyone, thinking that way. Dean was fine- he had to be. Castiel was fine too. She had grown used to the two of them moping around her house and wasn't prepared to face the possibility that they were anything other then fine.

She was jolted out of her worrying by the sound of movement at the door. She ran outside and let out a sigh of relief as she saw the Impala pulling into the driveway. Inside, was Dean and Castiel and…

Sam?

Lisa's eyes widened in disbelief. "Oh my God!"

"Yeah, I don't think that God had anything to do with it." Dean grunted, pulling his brothers unconscious body out of the car.

"But- how?"

"It was the vampires. Some sort of spell."

She blinked. "Vampires can do that?!"
Castiel steps in to explain. "Not technically. It was Eve that did most of the work, the vampires merely helped hold the portal open in this dimension."

"Eve?"
"The one from the Bible." Castiel answered flatly.

Of course. Lisa rubs her forehead, deciding that she officially does not want to know.

Dean is already almost through the door when the reality of the situation suddenly clicks. "Wait- why did you bring him here? I mean, it looks like he's bleeding pretty bad, shouldn't you take him to the hospital?"
Dean seems surprised by this perfectly reasonable line of questioning. "Hospitals ask too many questions. Besides, it's not like they can fix what's really wrong with him anyway."
Lisa looked to Castiel for an explanation.

"Eve bit him."

"Eve from the Bible." Lisa said in a monotone as Dean hauled Sam into the house. Castiel looked like he was about to follow but Lisa held him back, knowing that Dean was going to possessively hover over his brother for as long as Sam was bedridden and that the two of them would likely only get in the way. Lisa thinks of her own sister- she doesn't even really like Beth, but if, God forbid, something were to happen to her she would move Heaven and Earth to try and help her. She imagines that that feeling is even stronger with Dean and Sam. And she wasn't about to try and make that her business.

But she did need to understand what the Hell was going on.

"Explain." She said, and Castiel shifted uncomfortably.

"Eve's soul was… corrupted many years ago. It was similar, in many ways, to how Lucifer had corrupted Lilith's soul. What Lucifer did to Lilith- it was unspeakably cruel, and we angels swore that nothing like that would ever happen again. That is why we built the Garden."
"You mean like Eden."
Castiel nodded. "The Garden covered the entire planet- Back then, Hell was weak. It contained only Lucifer and Lilith. We were able to keep their influence out of Earth entirely, to keep Lucifer's corruption from spreading. But then something went wrong. An angel who secretly sympathized with Lucifer entered into the Garden and found Eve and corrupted her."
"Let me guess, he had her eat some forbidden fruit?"
"No," Castiel said flatly. "They engaged in intercourse."

Lisa coughs in surprise. "What?!"

"Sexual acts. That is the correct term, is it not?"
"So what you're saying is that paradise on Earth got ruined because some angel couldn't keep it in his pants?!" The absurdity of the revelation made sense in a strange way- after all, 'The Serpent' is a pretty phallic sounding name.

"Their offspring were destructive, violent creatures. The monsters that Dean hunts now, they pale in comparison. We called them the Nephilim and had we not stopped them when we did, they would have destroyed the entire human race. Fortunately, we managed to kill them all before that could transpire, and we sealed the angel in a cage similar to Lucifer's, deep within Hell. At the time, we believed that the crisis had been averted. We had no reason to suspect that Eve had been changed as much as she had- both of her sons with her human mate Adam were perfectly normal, entirely human. We only realized after she died that something had gone wrong. She never arrived in Heaven, despite our decision to allow her entry, and instead chose to go to Purgatory- a chaotic dimension where the ancient beings that once ruled the cosmos were held prisoner. She became one with that place, and from her came the monsters- her children. We tried to stop her, of course, but we could not reach her in Purgatory."

Lisa nodded. Something about the explanation didn't sit right with her, but she couldn't quite put a finger on what it was.

"So what does that mean for Sam? You said she bit him- what is that going to do to him?"

Castiel looked at her helplessly. "I don't know- the effects of her bite are different every time. Truthfully, it may kill him. The transition- isn't going to be easy."
Lisa looked at the door that Dean had dragged Sam through. It was closed now, and Dean was no doubt somewhere on the other side of it, having a nervous breakdown about the well-being of his brother. If he lost Sam again, it would destroy him. After all, he had only just gotten him back.

Castiel seemed concerned as well. "If he does survive, then it won't be as a human."
"What does that mean? Is he going to become a monster? Like the kind that Dean hunts?"

Castiel doesn't answer right away, which is not at all comforting.

"Why did he have to bring him here?" It's a terrible thing to say, but Christ, this is her house, where she lives and lives and sleeps and Dean had gone and…

"It's my fault." Castiel said suddenly, "Dean wanted to take him to Bobbys- but I told him that Sam would likely regain consciousness before we reached South Dakota, and Dean wanted a place that was fortified against the supernatural."
Lisa nodded, suddenly remembering all the times that she had caught Dean carving some strange symbol underneath the kitchen counter or under the floorboards. She felt better, knowing that this had not been his first choice- that he hadn't simply heard the words Sam and alive and proceeded to ignore everything else.

"And they will find a way to fix him, I am sure of it."

Lisa nodded. There was really no proof that 'fixing' Sam would even be possible, but the way that Castiel said it made it seem as though the statement was not up for question.

She wonders if he has that much faith in everything, or just when it came to the Winchesters.

And she feels guilty, that she doesn't seem to have that level of faith in them.

"Is it safe?" She hates herself for even asking, because this is Sam, Dean's brother, who had once helped save Bens life, and suddenly all she can think about are the words bite and monster.

Castiel grimaces, effectively answering 'no' without ever having to say it. She ran a hand through her hair. God, ever since Dean had started hunting again the stress had been killing her, but this was taking it to the next level.

"Allright." She exhales, trying not to get angry. "I'll go- get some things. Me and Ben will stay at my sister Beth's house."

Castiel nods. "That would probably be wise. At least for a while, until we can determine just how the bite is affecting him."

"I'm not mad, I just don't think that Ben should be here."

She isn't mad, not really. She gets why Dean had to come here- she can only imagine how bad it would be if Sam had come too on the road, how easily he could have broken free, gotten loose, and started chowing down on some random-

-No-

She is not thinking like that, no matter what the extenuating circumstances.

She keeps her mind studiously blank as she goes back inside and tells Ben to pack some things. He looks confused, but doesn't argue. When she comes out again, she finds Castiel awkwardly standing in a the living room, holding a duffle bag.

"What's this?"
"Some of your cloths. I packed for you."

"Already?" She looks inside. It actually looks pretty good in there. "Do you think that you could help Ben pack his stuff too? I'm kind of worried that he'll forget to bring an extra pair of pants."

Castiel disappeared into Bens room, giving Lisa a few minutes alone to ponder just how her life had come to this point. And then the two of them emerged.

"Mom, what's going on?" Ben asked, looking annoyed.

"Just go wait in the car, okay?"
He groaned, like she was being entirely unreasonable before heading out to the garage.

She turned to Castiel. "You will tell him that I'm not mad, right?" She wanted to go tell him herself, but he had already taken Sam down to the basement and she knew that Dean would have to be pried away with a crowbar before he would leave his brother

"I will." There is no judgment in Castiels promise, for which Lisa is extremely grateful. She feels guilty enough as it is.

"Call me if anything changes."
"I will."
"And don't let Dean get hurt."

"I won't. Everything will be fine."

The way he says it makes her feel a bit better, and she wonders if he actually believes it or if he has just gotten better at lying.

Feeling more guilty than ever, she turns around and leaves.