Disclaimer: I do not own the concept or characters from the show "Supernatural." Any other characters not related to the show or the Nightwold series, however, are mine and are not to be used in any other fan fictions. Some concepts were also borrowed or loosely adapted from L.J. Smith's "Nightworld" and "The Vampire Diaries" series. This chapter has information on the episodes up until 04/30/09. I will not include any spoilers for future episodes of Season 4 until they are released on TV. This is the start of a new trilogy. The first trilogy is: "Possession," "Broken," and "Sacrifice," followed with a new trilogy, starting with "Mission." This story takes place following the events in "Mission," and has the same characters from the first trilogy. I do not own any quotes used in the actual episodes.

April kicked the dirt around the toppled tombstone, occasionally looking down at the time on her cellphone. It was dark, and she was 'alone' in the graveyard, screwing around with the same grave that had cost those kids their lives. Awesome.

She continued to violate the sanctity of the grave by sitting on it. Her knees together, her feet apart playing on the grass underneath, she took a quick scan of her surroundings. No movement. April wasn't sure of her dad's strategic positioning but she knew he wasn't that far away; she felt it in her bones. It was a very comforting thought. The overall scene, however, was bleak. The place was in shambles, a victim of its own lore. Teens obviously came by to see if the rumors of the haunting were true. Didn't they know most cemeteries weren't? These were resting places of souls who had lived and died. The monuments carelessly strewn about with garbage were the only tangible possessions left of the souls. It was for the clear intent of remembrance, and instead, these passed people were considered useless. No wonder the ghoul was pissed. She couldn't blame it for being upset. She could, however, blame it for killing. It was going to end before someone else got hurt.

That's when she felt the hard tug at her shoulders. As if outside of her body, she could hear her own screams echo as she fell to the ground with a thud.

Her head hurt and her vision was spinning. For a moment, she thought she was gonna be sick. When she could finally focus her sight, April could make out a bluish light square above. Had she fallen down the hole? That's when she saw the ominous shadow to her right. Nope, she hadn't fallen; she'd been pulled in.

"DA-," she tried to call out, her cry muffled by a meaty, wet hand over her mouth.

"Shh."

She closed her eyes tight, not wanting to look at the ghoul. Maybe it was the fact that she'd never seen one before, or maybe it was because she was nervous, but she knew looking at the thing would absolutely terrify her.

Her body scraped against the cold, hard ground. She gasped as the being dragged her around, delicate strands of her dark hair being yanked from her scalp. April couldn't help but yelp in pain.

"Shh!"

April had been scared before but never for her life. Not like that. And that night, there was no Wes to save her. But it was ok. If she were to go, it would all be for the best. Her dad would get down and kill the fucker even if she went with it. But…what if her dad needed help and she wasn't there?

No. She refused to think those thoughts any longer.

'Stay calm,' she demanded herself. 'You're in control. You're in control.'

With that thought pounding, thundering through her consciousness, she pulled back at the creature, quickly followed by the thud of its skull crashing against stone. Scrambling to her feet, she ran.

April blurred back towards the luminous blue square in the ceiling. Her instinct was to scream for help from her father…but she couldn't. Once again, she found herself in the clutches of the beast, the sweaty palms gripping her body tight.

"Stay still," the gravelly voice demanded. April struggled. "I said stay still you stupid bitch!"

His warm breathe violated her neck, sending shivers of revulsion down her spine. She thought she was gonna throw up.

"You're young and fresh, not like the other ones," he sniffed through her hair. "No, no…you're…different."

April gasped as a sharp pain spread through her arm. Warm blood trickled from a wound, the knife shining below the flayed skin. Blood gathered on the blade, the red look obscene against the silver. The ghoul was practically moaning in pleasure as he brought the knife up to his lips and licked. She was going to throw up.

"Mmm…I was right…you taste good," he whispered. "I'm going to enjoy you."

The revolting touch of his slippery tongue on her neck almost sent her overboard.

'Calm. Calm. Calm. Daddy is gonna come for you. Dad is going to save you.'

But, Dad was no where around.

The ghoul grabbed her arm and squeezed the blood from her wound. She cursed in pain as he sucked out her blood; her lifeline. And then he bit down. Hard.

April cried out in pain, the timbre of her howl overpowered by the blaring of a gunshot.

The chunky hands slid from her arm and she tumbled to the ground under the force of his dead weight. She dared to turn and look at her attacker and regretted it almost instantly. The blood from the shotgun wound oozed out from his head…or what was left of it. To her surprise, the ghoul hadn't mirrored the body of any of the other kids. Apparently, the hobo who hung out nearby had also gotten in its way.

Other hands wound around her suddenly and pulled away from the grisly scene. These hands were different. Safe. Comforting.

"I'm sorry, baby," he choked. "I shouldn't have let you do this."

She tucked her head under her dad's chin, wrapping her arms around him, patting him on the back.

"It's ok, Daddy," she said, pulling back to look at him. "I'm fine."

"I had to take the shot, April. Are you ok," he asked, his eyes widening as he looked at her arm. "It bit you?"

"Yeah, but I'm fine, Dad," she scolded as Dean tore off the bottom of his t-shirt, wrapping it tightly around the open wound. "Seriously, I'm ok. Look, it's already starting to heal."

And to her amazement it was. The skin surrounding the open flesh was slowly binding back together. Thank god she was part vampire.

"You sure, you're -"

"Dad. Drop it. It's cool. Just glad you got 'em."

He pulled her to him, wrapping his arm protectively around her as he led her out the way he had entered. Strange sarcophagus-like tombs lay in state on either side of them, creating an eerie aisle that lead up to a set of stone stairs. One by one, they climbed to the top to find themselves in a mausoleum, the door already open, letting in the fresh night air. And it never felt better.

She smiled, happy to have had a hand in defeating the bag guy. April had to admit, she was pumped and ready for the next one. Her eyes sought her dad's only to find his filled with a different emotion. Regret. She could read Dean Winchester like a book...and she hated reading books almost as much as he did. He hated himself for putting her in danger. He never wanted to ask his daughter to lure a supernatural being. He hated the life he'd now passed on to her.

But she didn't. April stood before him proud of her work. She stood as the true huntress she felt inside.

"So, are you going tell me what's in that letter," Cas said, taking a bite of pecan pie. "Mmm…this is so good, Abby."

"Thank you, I could give you the-"

"Back to that letter," he replied through the gooiness of the dessert. "Why did you hide it? You know I could see you pick it up."

"What letter," a voice asked from the front door.

Gwen peeked her head from around the door, her eyes searching for Cas' and she beamed.

"Hi angel," she smiled, hurrying into the room. Cas got straight up and pulled her into his arms. His lips met hers as his hands searched her body for injury. "I'm fine. I'm fine. I came home to your note. Though I'd stop by and surprise you."

"Well, it is a nice surprise. I missed you," he sighed, caressing her cheek with her thumb.

"Aww," Abby chuckled. They were so cute together. Anna or not, those two belonged together. They just…fit. And now, with Cas not having to age as a human, it was logical. It appeared that the non-aging was an effect of the being-touched-by-an-angel experience on the human body. Well, for the most part. Luckily for her, Jamie didn't have the same effects. She wondered if that was because he was part Lamia; one part of him counteracting the other. Dean, however, seemed to be somewhat effected. Sure he was aging…somewhat. But, he did still look the same as he did 10 years before. A little more worse for the wear, sure, but…besides a few new crows feet, he was almost identical. Add into the equation his current workouts and maybe he looked even better.

Gwen turned to her friend and before Abby could even stand, Gwen tackled her.

"Oh, and I missed you most of all, Scarecrow," Gwen laughed, doing her best Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz impression. "Nice to see you back…sooo, are you back with Dean now?"

Abby smiled and nodded, causing her friend to squee with delight.

Cas plopped back in the recliner and Gwen quickly jumped onto his lap, accidentally kneeing him in the ribs in the process.

"So," he groaned while he patted Gwen's leg, "Spill the beans about that letter, Abby."

"What frickin' letter," Gwen asked again with animated frustration.

Abby sighed in defeat and pulled the envelope out of her back pocket. She sat it down on the coffee table and sank back, wishing the couch would swallow her whole.

Gwen raised an eyebrow and picked it up, bringing it to her and Cas. Cas immediately took it from her hands and examined the outside seal.

"What's going on?"

Abby twisted her head to see Sam and Ruby in the hallway. She could tell from their postures that telling Sam hadn't gone well. Abby patted the spot next to her and gestured for Ruby to have a seat. She made room for Sam on the other side of her and he took the hint.

Cas filled them in on what had occurred while he and Ruby were occupied in the other room.

"Is there anyone else who'd like to know," Abby threw her arms up aggravation.

"Mom, we're home," April said as she came in through the front door, followed close behind by Dean.

"Hi, April…uh, what happened to your arm," Abby said as she blurred over to her daughter's side.

"Nothin', Mom. Honestly, it's just a flesh wound. I'm gonna bandage it up right now," April kissed her mom's cheek and headed up stairs.

Dean ran a hand through his hair, resting it on the back of his neck and kept his eyes to the floor.

'Sorry,' he thought, slowly raising his sad, repentant eyes up at her.

"It's ok," she sighed. "Shit happens, right?" Abby wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back. His arms touched her hips softly, restraining himself back to hold her. It was almost as if it was his punishment.
"She's safe. You're safe. That's all that matters," she whispered, finally feeling his arms slightly restrict around her. He didn't argue or agree with her assessment of the situation. In fact, his mind didn't think of anything either. Instead, in order to block her, his mind sang the lyrics of a song:

'Like the coldest winter chill
Heaven beside you... hell within
Like the coldest winter chill
Heaven beside you... hell within
Like the coldest winter will
Heaven beside you... hell within
And you know you have it still, heaven inside you'

She pulled him back and kissed him sweetly on the mouth.

"Chill out," she whispered, and patted his butt. "Go grab a beer and come back in the living room. I'll be waiting."

"Yeah so will we," another sarcastic voice chimed in.

"Sammy, bite me," Dean answered with his middle finger in the air as he proceeded to the kitchen.

"Yeah, what he said," Abby smirked, jumping over the top of the chaise lounge, falling gracefully on top of it. Dean, beer in hand, returned almost instantly. He took a seat on the edge of the chaise, placing her feet in his lap. Normally, she would yell at just-returning-dirty-from-a-hunt-Dean sitting on the clean furniture. True, his boots were muddy, his white t-shirt spattered with blood, the rolled up sleeves of his gray shirt dusty as hell…but he never looked so attractive in his life. Why oh why were people at the house? He turned slightly and winked at her, causing her heart to skip. Damn, was she lucky…and he'd be getting lucky later, that's for sure.

"So, what's with the party," Dean drawled.

"Don't ask," Sam replied curtly. Ruby shrank. Poor girl.

Cas tossed him the envelope from across coffee table.

"What's this," he asked. Cas brought him up to speed as he had Sam.

"We're still waiting for an answer, Abigail," Cas demanded.

"Well I don't know what you want me to say," she replied, slightly more harshly than she should have. Dean rubbed her ankle, his thumb stroking the slight bony bump on the side. He looked at her questioningly. But what was she supposed to say? "It's a letter."

They all stared at her with harsh looks. Fuck.

"It's a letter to me, written in Spanish."

Dean opened the envelope and pulled out the parchment, looking over it curiously.

"Well, I see your name, but fuck if I know what this says. Anyone else take Spanish?"

Gwen looked it over.

"Abigail," she read aloud. "It is time to take your rightful place? Abby, what does that mean?"

"I don't know," she cut.

Sam reached over the table and grabbed the envelope from Gwen's pale hands, waving the seal in her direction.

"What does this seal mean, Ab," he asked.

"I-Don't-Know."

"How do you not know," he questioned, his brows furrowed. "You've had to have seen it before at some point in your life, right? You've lived a fucking long time."

"Are you callin' me old," she growled.

"Just answer the question."

"No, brother-in-law, I do not know what it means."

"So, you've seen it before," Dean jumped in, his voice softer than the others. He really did know her best.

"Yes," she sighed in frustration. "A long, long, LONG time ago, but, I don't remember when exactly. And that still doesn't mean that I know what the fuck it is cause I don't."

"How long is long for you," Gwen joined in the inquisition.

Abby thought back to the time when she seen the odd symbols before. A pentagram. A slice of a moon. Waves. Suddenly, flashes came to her. The warm glow of candle light. Her head peeked around a corner into a room. She was sneaking out to rendezvous with William, peering around the doorframe of the parlor, looking at her parents arguing.

"Are we going to be able to hide forever, Ann," he father scolded. "Eventually, they will find us. They're too powerful. There's only the four of us."

He sighed in contemplation, running a weary hand through his long hair.

"Then the four of us will flee together as a family. Soon. We will prevail."

Ann walked, her long gown whooshing behind her. She stood regally in front of the fireplace and tossed in an envelope. The wax on the seal started to bubble almost immediately, but she could faintly make out the markings. A pentagram. A slice of a moon. Waves.

"It was hand delivered, Thomas. They're already here," she sighed before she sank down to cry. Thomas blurred to her side and held her to him.

"It will be all right, my love," he whispered.

As soon as her parent's were concerned with each other, she fled out the servant's entrance, heading like a ghost towards the town. But her mind was still on what had transpired in the house. Their shields had been up like a fortification. Usually her parents were so open…what was transpiring?

"Abby," Dean's voice brought her back. "So, that's where you saw it? Babe?"

"Yeah, I'm here," she said, wiping away tears that had escaped. "Why am I crying," she chuckled in embarrassment. "Was I talking out loud?"

They all looked at her like she was crazy. Of course she had been. Figures. She couldn't keep her thoughts to herself when she'd take a ride on the way-back machine in her mind. Damn reminiscing.

"You mentioned that douchebag that was molesting you," Dean said. "So that means you were 17, right?"

"First, it wasn't considered molesting back then, Dean. Lot's of people were having consensual sex with minors. Plus, at 17, I shoulda been married with kids already. And yes, that means I was 17."

"What do you remember after that," Sam pushed.

"Very little," she said, shocked at that realization herself. "It's really blurry."

"Well, it makes sense," Gwen said. "That had to be right before the…uh…you stopped aging."

She was right. It had to be a few weeks before at the most, she figured. When the Lamia decided to or were forced into ceasing the aging process, she had heard that the memory for that time became fragmented; the only time it would happen in the life of a vampire. Ironic that it would also be the exact moment she would need to resurrect.

"Well, I have an idea," Gwen said, leaning away from Cas and slightly off of the chair. "What if--"

Abby didn't like where it was goin'. She already knew what Gwen was thinking but she needed to hear it.

"What if I put you under hypnosis?"

Dean's hand tensed around her ankle, his eyes looking down at the floor.

'No, absolutely not,' his mind thought. 'She shouldn't have to relive any of that shit again.'

His mind was filled with hateful swears towards anyone who had ever put her in harm, himself included during a number of hunts that almost went wrong.

"I will totally be in control, Abby. You won't have to relive anything you don't want to. Ok," her friend reassured her.

Dean looked into her eyes, his own begging her not to go through with it. But, he was clearly relying on her to make the decision.

"Fine," she sighed. "Let's do it."

April sat up in her room, tapping her dressed wound like an idiot. It did sting but the pain was slowly subsiding with every sip of the warm liquid she had swiped from the basement. It was nice to be back in pajamas on her own bed.

With her back against the pillows, her knees to her chest, she finally felt at home. Comfy. Cozy. And, on top of that, she was feelin' pretty good about a successful hunt with a ghoul. Another notch in the belt. She'd have to remind her dad to take her out shooting at some point.

A rustling outside of her window drew her attention. She opened it, feeling the warm, summer breeze from the south. It was a beautiful night. The moon was almost full, its light shimmering off of the coin-like leaves of the tree rustling in the breeze. Nothing could be more peaceful…that was, until she realized she wasn't alone.

She looked around, her vampire eyes searching far off in the distance.

With a shove, she unexpectedly found herself on the ground, spilling the contents of her glass in the process.

"Shh," it whispered, placing a hand over her mouth. Her heart jumped initially, thinking perhaps Dad's bullet had missed the creature in the tomb. But no, she had seen it herself. There was no way it survived. And these hands were different. They caressed her lips lovingly and with care.

"Hey beautiful," he drawled.

"Jesse," she whispered, her eyes wide with surprise. "Wha--what are you doing here?"

"Shh…I'm here for you."

She raised her eyebrow curiously, wondering what he really meant. That was when she noticed he was lying half on top of her, his body slightly more chilled than her own.

"I missed you," he said, his lips close to her's.

"I missed you too," she chuckled lightly.

"I'm going to keep you safe, April. I promise," he smiled crookedly before pressing his lips to her own. The kiss was chaste and reverent; safe. Nothing like the kisses she had shared with Wes. There was a passion beneath the softness, but she doubted Jesse would ever claim it.

She fell into the feel of his arms around her, his lips upon her own. It felt right and yet…she felt like she was betraying someone. But, that was silly, she had never claimed to be anyone's but her own…and yet…

"Dude, you seem pretty cool, but stop makin' out with my sister. I don't wanna have to fuck you up."

Dylan was crouched on the window sill, obviously more winded than the vampire had been climbing the tree outside her window. He swung his legs into her room and sat in the moonlight looking more like a vampire than anyone she'd ever seen. But, that was silly. He would never, ever, ever, be as stupid as she had been.

"Hey, sis. Don't I get a welcome home hug," he smirked.

She blurred over to him, almost pushing him out of the window by accident. Quickly, she took hold of him and pulled him in the house.

Almost immediately, she grilled them both on how the hell they became acquainted. That was pretty obvious; off course it had to be by Wes. She held down the butterflies in her stomach by the mere mention of his name. Dylan looked at her peculiarly.

"Jesse is gonna be stayin' with us for a while," Dylan said, adding that it would be in his room. April rolled her eyes. Apparently, there would be no boys in her room with out any kind of supervision. That's what she got for having an awesome yet totally overprotective brother. Dad would be proud.

"Any reason why," April plopped onto the bed. "Honestly, why are you back here?"

"He meant what he said, sis: to keep you safe. Both of us will."

"And Wes," she spat, feeling more and more annoyed and hurt by his absence.

"He won't be joining us anymore," Jesse said, his eyes becoming more sad. "I'm sorry, April, but he was a traitor."

She was sure Dylan could feel her heart rip in two.

"Abby, Abby…wake up," Gwen coaxed as his wife screamed in terror.

Her hypnosis session had been a waste. It was full of holes and wide gaps in time. There was nothin' useful in knowin' her everyday life. She hadn't relived anything that seemed useful…and then she got to that night.

She'd been screaming for a good half-hour out of pain then anguish as she relived the moments that made her who she was. And, even though he wanted to run, Dean stayed by her side helpin' her ride it out.

"Gwen, get her the fuck outta there, right fucking now," Dean seethed next to his wife on the couch.

"I could if you'd be quiet," she hissed back. "Abigail, on the count of three, you will wake up. One. Two. Three," she snapped her fingers.

Abby's bloodshot eyes finally opened, painfully slow.

"Hey babe," he whispered, smiling back at her, hoping she didn't hear the sad, unhappy thoughts playing in his mind.

"Oh, Dean," she sobbed, burying her head into his chest.

"Shh," he soothed, running his hand through her dark hair. "You're here now. You're safe, sweetheart."

"Perhaps if we delved more deeply," Cas whispered to Gwen, Sam and Ruby who were clumped together. They looked like a group forming a secret plan.

"No," Dean interrupted vehemently. "No. Fucking. Way. She's not doing it again."

"But, Dean, we didn't find anything out…"

"I don't fudgin' care! Ok?! I won't let you guys screw with her mind anymore," he replied, lifting her up in his arms. "Plan all you want. You're not gettin' at her again tonight."

He stomped off in the direction of their bedroom, tryin' to keep her from swaying at all when he plodded up the stairs. With a balanced push of the door, he carried her into the room and lightly put her down on their bed.

"You need somethin', honey," he sank down next to her, brushing the sticky hair away from her sweaty forehead.

"No," she whispered. "I just wanna be alone."

"I don't think that's a good idea," he replied, moving over her form to the other side of the bed. He wrapped an arm over her torso, leaning his head against his other propped up arm.

"Please, Dean. I'll be fine," she said in a monotone voice. "I just…I need a little time, ok?"

He knew what she meant, but he was still worried. Dean could remember back to the time when his memories from Hell practically took over his life. It had been Hell again…on Earth. That mental shit could consume you and he wasn't gonna let it take over Abby again. No friggin' way.

"Fine," he said, a little edge in his voice. With a squeak of springs, he was off the bed and heading out the door, back to the living room full of people. "Yell if you need me." Then he closed the door softly behind him. He couldn't help but feel like a douche as he heard her quietly sob in the growing distance.

"So what the fuck are you assholes planning," Dean said, looking from one to the other in the romo. "Come on, tell me."

"Dean, this isn't meant to hurt Abby. We're her friends. You know that," Cas started.

"But what does it fucking matter, Cas?! Ok, so she got one friggin' letter from some moron who left no return address. Doesn't exactly spell out problems for me," he paced. "And I know you're thinkin' about that seal on there. Could be anything. Maybe Abby's a little messed up and thinks she saw it and really didn't. You heard what she remembers. It was like fucking watchin' that one movie that goes backwards…what the fuck was it called? Sammy, you remember, you like shitty movies like that."

"Memento," Sam looked up towards the ceiling.

"Yeah, that crap. What she said made no sense."

"Chronologically, no," Gwen stepped in, her voice crisp. "But that's what happens during that time you stop aging. It's diorienting beyond belief. Believe me. Besides, there was something going on with it. Apparently something involving her mother or both parents. Something that she wasn't completely aware of. She was too wrapped up in her own little teenage world. I think we can all look back on what morons we were back then."

Well, she did have a point there. He was sure there was a whole lot of shit involving his Dad and the search for Yellow Eyes that he wasn't really payin' attention to back in the day. Hell, Dad had even had another kid and he hadn't known about it. Dean had been way too consumed with the opposite and hotter sex. After all, who wouldn't be? Guess that included Abby…even though it was a long, long, LONG time ago. Who woulda though she was even frisky back then?

"That being said, something was going on," Cas said.

"He's right, Dean," Sam agreed. "She may not have known everything, but there was stuff going down around her."

"Ok, so what if there was! Doesn't look that harmful right now," Dean snapped. "It was one fucking letter. Big whoop."

"Not just one."

All five of them turned towards the voice coming from the bottom of the stairs. Abby appeared, her face void of emotion. In her hands was the bag she brought with her on the hunts after she took off on her own.

Slowly, she made her way to the table. Abby held the bag and turned it over, unceremoniously dumping out its contents.

Their eyes were wide with surprise as letter after letter fell with soft crinkles of paper onto the table top, all of which had the same ominous seal.