A noise caught my attention, drawing me from my restless slumber. Nightmares had plagued me since Dean's death. I couldn't recall a time they had been this bad. I mean, sure this job would give anyone proper nightmares. But I'd always had Dean or Sam's presence to comfort me. Anyone might have thought it strange or gross, or whatever if I slept in the same bed as one of them, but I mean, be sensible. We weren't rich. We couldn't always afford three beds in a hotel room. Which worked out perfectly fine if I was having nightmares. But Sam was acting strange since Dean died. I didn't really want to bother him with my nightmares.

I opened my tired eyes. The dim light from the moon shone on Bobby's guest room floor. It also illuminated a tall familiar figure standing in front of the other bed on the opposite side of the room. He was shoving clothes in his bag as fast as he could, not even bothering to fold them.

I sat up, leaning on my elbows. "Sam?" I asked quietly. He turned slightly to look at me, but he didn't stop packing. "Where are we going?" I asked, throwing the covers back.

Sam zipped up his duffel and slung it over his shoulder. "You're staying here. I've got somewhere to be."

He made for the door and I watched him for a moment, stunned. I rubbed my eyes and sprang out of bed before charging after him. I jumped in front of him, effectively stopping him before he could start down the stairs. "The hell you do."

He pushed me out of the way. "I'm not arguing with you. You're staying here."

"Sam, where the heck do you have to be that's so important?" I asked, still following after him.

"It doesn't matter."

"The hell it doesn't!" I spat heatedly.

Sam spun to face me, grabbing my shoulders. "Listen to me!" His tone reminded me of Dad's, or Dean's when they were angry. "You're staying here, and I swear if you follow me, I'll drag you right back here and cuff you in some way that I know you won't break out of for a long time."

I stared at him. He was deadly serious about leaving me behind. He finally let go of me and opened the front door.

"Wait! What happened to the Winchester's against the world, huh?"

Sam didn't stop when he mumbled. "There's not enough of us left to matter anymore."

With that he left, slamming the door behind him. I stood in the kitchen, still wearing the old t-shirt of Dean's and shorts that I slept in. I heard the familiar rumble of the Impala and then I heard gravel crunch as Sam sped away into the night.

"I need a new job." I stated, bursting into Bobby's kitchen and throwing my weapons duffel on the floor.

"Where the hell have you been, girl?" He demanded, standing from the table where he was loading a shotgun.

"I took care of that vamp nest in Nebraska."

Bobby stared at me, his mouth gaping slightly. "I thought we agreed we'd leave today."

"Yeah, well you were moving a bit slow for my taste."

"So you just drove to Nebraska and wiped out a whole colony of vamps in one night?"

"Yeah."

Bobby shook his head, and turned away from me for a moment. Then he exploded. "You coulda been killed, girl! I promised your daddy and your brothers I'd look after you."

"I'm fine Bobby. I just got a little beat up is all." I grabbed the scissors, sat down, and carefully began cutting the leg of my jeans all the way up to the long deep gash running down my thigh. I peeled the bloodied cloth away, fighting off a hiss. In truth the wound hurt much worse than I would ever admit. Blood ran down my leg as the newly formed scab peeled off with the cloth.

Bobby took a bottle of whiskey down from the cabinet and took a swig before handing it to me. I gingerly poured it over the cut with a grimace. Then I took the needle and dental floss Bobby handed me, and began sewing it up. Halfway through I had sweat dripping off of me and I noticed Bobby was watching me with concern. He stopped me, taking the needle from my shaking hands, and finishing the stitches himself. He poured some more whiskey over it when he was finished and then washed his hands before grabbing a clean roll of bandages and wrapping it.

"Thanks." I mumbled, standing.

"Don't thank me, you idgit. And the only other job you're getting is straightening the bookshelves."

"Bobby." I whined, though truthfully this was my favorite chore, and Bobby knew it.

"Don't 'Bobby' me." He waved his hand and went back to work cleaning his guns. "Now get."

I limped into the living room, and plopped down in a chair by the bookshelf. I grabbed the first book off the floor, read the cover and then crammed it at the end of the shelf.

The second book I picked up read "The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe" I flipped through it. I found one of my favorite poems and began reading the first verse aloud:

"The skies they were ashen and sober;

The leaves they were crisped and sere-

The leaves they were withering and sere;

It was night in the lonesome October

Of my most immemorial year;

It was hard by the dim lake of Auber,

In the misty mid region of Weir-

It was down by the dank tarn of Auber,

In the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir."

"I questioned that man's admittance into Heaven."

I snapped around. "Cass!" I exclaimed. I glanced into the kitchen, but Bobby obviously hadn't heard my exclamation. I looked back to Cass. He was in his young form again, which for some reason slightly annoyed me. "What are you doing here? Where have you been? "

"I'm here to train you."

I stared at him. "Train me? Train me for what? I'm already like your vessel or whatever."

"True. Which is why I am still using you. Just not actively."

I blinked. "Wait. Hold up. You're still technically in my head!"

"Yes, more or less. I have been since you and your brothers went after Lilith."

I was torn between feeling repulsed, angry, and relived. It was probably because of Cass that I had lived that day. That presence I'd felt must have been his'.

Cass knocked me out of my thoughts by asking suddenly, "She wiped your memory didn't she?"

I furrowed my brow. "What? Who? Lilith?"

Cass shook his head. "Naomi."

"Who?"

He touched two fingers to my forehead before I could protest.

"She's waking up."

I groaned and attempted to lift my hands, only to find myself restrained. I blinked up at the harsh fluorescent lights. A figure suddenly blocked them, and I winced again.

It was the woman from earlier, her hair still pulled back, and her pinstripe suit still crisp. She smiled wryly at me, her face pinching up like there was a bad smell.

"Hello, MacKenzie. I'm Naomi. Do you know why we're here?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Not a clue. But I know that you had better let me go fast or you'll regret it."

She 'hmm'd. "I doubt that."

I wracked my brain. Naomi. The name sounded familiar. Then I realized why. I had never met her. I wouldn't find her in my memories. But Cass'…I remembered a Naomi from them.

My eyes widened as I recalled the scene. I had been here before. No, not me. It had been Cass. Or maybe it had been me. Sometimes our memories blurred together.

Naomi smiled tightly at me again as she reached over to a side table and plucked a tool off the metal tray. I struggled in my bonds uselessly.

"Now, let's just see how much dear Castiel showed you." As the sharp tip pierced my forehead I let out an earsplitting scream.

I was back in Bobby's living room. I was breathing heavily, and Castiel was still standing in front of me, his face one of concern. I glanced at Bobby who was still in the kitchen cleaning weapons before looking back to Cass.

"What the hell was that?"

"It wasn't Hell."

I gave him a disbelieving look. "Yeah, Cass, I got that. Who was that woman? W-was she an angel too?"

He nodded. "She's somewhat of an expert on memory wiping. She thinks I showed you too much when I used you as a vessel."

"Well you sure did show me a lot." I muttered, remembering the battles of Heaven and Hell, Lucifer being cast out when Castiel was a fledgling, and what I suppose you could call the angel's "dirty little secrets". "How come I still remember them then?"

Castiel looked slightly proud of himself. "When I reentered you, your mind automatically just took in those memories again. You are one of my true vessels after all."

"So, what about that other guy." I waggled my fingers for emphasis about his trench-coated friend.

He chuckled. "Well, Jimmy is one of them too. But he's not as strong as you. That's the problem. Naomi and the others think you're becoming a little too strong. They think that you're taking in too much of my grace, and they fear if you do that you'll become somewhat of an abomination yourself."

"Like, a half-angel, half-human."

"Exactly."

I gaped at him. "You're joking, right? I mean, they're just being suspicious for no reason. Of course Naomi's not correct…Is she?"

Cass gave me a serious and somewhat confused look. "No."

I stared at him, my mouth gaping. "You're joking."

He tilted his head to the side. "No. How is this a—"

I held up a hand to stop him. "Don't worry about it."

He opened his mouth to continue and then stopped again.

"Why does it matter to her or Heaven or whatever if I have some angelic powers? I don't even know how to use them."

"But think. If Lucifer and the others could get you on their side. He could teach you."

I stared at him for a while longer. "Lucifer? H-he's like still—?" I didn't exactly know how to finish that sentence.

Castiel nodded. "I thought you read the Bible."

I glared at him. "I can't read a whole freakin' Bible, Cass. Have you seen how big that thing is?"

He cocked his head to the side. "But I thought you liked to read. What was that very long book you read? The Lord of the Rings?"

I blushed. "That's not the point." I said hastily.

Cass opened his mouth again and then closed it again. Good. It was about time a man had some sense enough to not start an argument with me.

I asked after a moment, "So…what are you here for exactly?"

"I need to make sure that the angels can't find you."

"So now the angels are the bad guys?" I asked, a small, ironic smile twisting my lips.

Castiel advanced on me and I figured he was going to like mentally rape me or something again. Well, I had practically told him it was ok. He touched my forehead though, and I felt a searing pain if my chest. I gasped, grabbing my ribs.

"What the heck, Cass?" I exclaimed.

"I branded your ribs with Enochian warding symbols. You should be good now."

"Thanks. I think. So why else are you here other than the training and the branding?"

Cass glanced at Bobby in the kitchen, still oblivious. "It's a long story. And you've got a lot to learn first." He touched two fingers to my forehead again, and before I could protest we were suddenly standing inside of a large abandoned textile warehouse.

Castiel looked around us and then nodded, satisfied. "Castiel. Why are we here? Bobby's going to be pissed at me."

"He thinks you're still there."

"Books don't categorize themselves."

"I'll fix it."

"And he's not an idiot either. He'll realize something's off."

"We have more important things to worry about right now." Cass insisted.

I sighed and threw up my hands. "Fine. Then let's get going. Whatcha got to tell me?"

"First off, you need to learn some things to protect yourself against the angels if they manage to get to you." He moved over to one of the workbenches, and beckoned me toward him.

"This is an angel banishing sigil." He explained, taking a pencil off of an old desk and drawing a symbol on a scrap sheet of paper. I studied it while he spoke. "It needs to be written on something with your own blood. Then when the angel gets close you press your palm to it."

I slipped my hunters journal out of my jacket pocket. It was fairly new. Since Sam had taken Dad's with him I realized I would need to make my own.

I copied down the sigil and how to make it. I caught the movement as a long, slender, silver knife slipped into his hand. He handed it to me. "This is an angel blade. It will kill just about anything, including angels."

I examined it and then gave him a sidelong look. "Wow. You actually trust me with a knife that could kill you. Why?"

Cass gave me a sideways look of his own in return. "You've not given me reason not to trust you. And you've seen Heaven. You've seen my entire history. As I have seen yours."

I shrugged. "True." Then I paused before asking, "So, you still don't know where God is?"

Castiel shook his head. "He can do as he pleases. It's not my place to question Him or orders."

"So teaching me all this, that's not technically insubordination?"

Castiel shrugged. "Yes. But that's only Naomi's orders. Michael hasn't said anything."

Castiel didn't say anything further though, and instead disappeared, returning moments later with a covered, clay jug.

"This is holy oil." He explained. "Making a circle, and lighting it works best if you're trying to trap angels."

"It's like a devil's trap, only for angels." I nodded in understanding and wrote it down.

Cass showed me several more Enochian symbols that day, and over the next couple days I mastered them. He also showed me some great warding's for demons and other things of the supernatural kind. Luckily Cass was able to cover for me about Bobby, so it worked for me in the case that all my chores were done. Although Cass had healed it I still had to pretend my leg was injured, and I put on a show of limping around the house when Bobby was nearby.

Cass hadn't showed today. I wasn't worried though. He had said he might not be able to make it all the time. He was still an angel after all.

Bobby was out probably buying a new stash of liquor. He'd finished the last bottle last night sometime around three, and had passed out not long after. The only reason I knew this was because one of my nightmares had been bothering me again and I'd gotten up to walk it off.

Now I sat on the hood of one of the cars Bobby was repairing, sipping a Coke. I couldn't bring myself to drink any of Bobby's liquor. I'd had one shot the day we buried Dean, but other than that I left it alone. I'd rather have a clear head.

I scrolled through my contacts. He had told me to call him if I needed him, I reasoned with myself. I think one brother dying and one brother leaving me definitely qualified.

He didn't answer which disappointed me slightly. I left him a message, stating only coordinates, tomorrow's date, and the codeword 'Bad Moon Rising' we had worked out almost a whole year ago that basically meant 'one p.m.'

I scrolled through my contacts again. It had been a little after Christmas when last I'd spoken to Emma. We hadn't said much to one another. There hadn't been enough time. And she didn't know Dean had been dying. I hadn't actually seen her in years. But she'd also said to call if I needed anything. Yet again this qualified. I really needed a girl friend right about now.

"Hello."

"Hi, Emma."

"Oh my God!" She cried. "MacK? Gosh, it's so good to hear your voice."

I smiled. "You too."

"So what have you been up to?"

"Oh the usual. Um, could you meet me somewhere near Sioux Falls, South Dakota?"

So that's where I was now, waiting for the only two friends I had around my age. I mean, sure, maybe Cass was my friend, but he was only God knows how old.

I looked up from where I'd been aimlessly stirring my frappe when I heard the bell over the door jingle. It was storming badly outside, so the person's hood shielded their face from me until they threw it back.

Emma looked the same as she ever had. Pale skin, light brown hair with blond highlights, flushed cheeks, ripped jeans, combat boots, and probably some graphic T under her grey and red Illinois state hoodie.

When she spotted me she grinned, and quickly made her way over, plopping down in the seat across from mine. I'd chosen the corner booth to ensure there would be enough room. She tossed her shoulder bag onto the seat beside her and pulled the wet hoodie over her head, tossing it down as well.

Her T-shirt, I noticed, had some band plastered on it.

"Pierce the Veil?" I questioned, cocking my head to the side.

"It's a band. Oh my gosh. You've got to hear them!"

I smiled. "Yeah. Maybe later. We're expecting one more."

Her eyebrows rose questioningly, so I obliged. "It's a hunter friend."

She narrowed her eyes, and a sly smile touched her lips. "Would they happen to be a guy hunter friend?"

I rolled my eyes and smiled. She gave me an impressed look, but before she could say anything further the door opened again with another jangle. I looked up to be met with the sight of a rugged young man.

I was startled at first. Dylan was looking a little worse for wear. His dark hair was choppily cut near his shoulders, like he'd done it himself. His ripped jeans were stained with dirt and possibly blood, and the sports logo on his hoodie had all but faded. At least he looked like he'd shaved and showered recently. His stride wasn't quite the ground-eating pace it had once been and his shoulders slumped slightly.
His eyes scanned the room for a moment before coming to rest on me and Emma where we sat in the corner booth. At least the grin that lit up his face seemed the same. Cocky and completely teasing.

He strode over to us, a slight limp hindering his walk. "Well if it isn't the Winchester girl herself."

I grinned in return and scooted over to make room for him. "I didn't think you'd actually show." I replied truthfully.

He gave me a look of hurt. "How could I ignore a summons from my queen?" His tone was one of feigned indignity.

My grin widened and I nudged his arm. "So, hunt anything good lately?"

His eyes darkened, and I wondered what I'd said to upset him. Then he shrugged and grinned. "Nothing much. The usual. So what are we here for exactly?"

Right to the point? That was unlike him. "Um, well…Dean's dead, and—"

"Dean's dead!" Emma exclaimed, and Dylan's eyes filled with compassion.

"Yeah, and Sam left me with Bobby saying something about—"

"Your brother's not here?" I could hear the disappointment in her voice, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

"No. He left me at Bobby's. But I need you guys help. Something came up, and—"

"Something came up!" Dylan cried in a near perfect imitation of Emma's voice.
"Hey! That's my line!" Emma reached across the table to hit his shoulder. Dylan simply grinned back at her.

This time I did roll my eyes. I fought off a fond scowl as I continued. "I need some help. There's something I need to tell you two. It's pretty big. And Emma, there's some more hunter notes for you to take."

She reached into her bag, pulling out a notebook and pencil. She smiled. "I'm ready."