(A/N)- I am the worst updater in the world, I swear to Godstiel…Once school lets out and my finals are done, we'll be back to new chapters every other day, but you just have to bear with me for a while. People who reviewed are puppyluv1031, celeste301, WhitneySheree, Splishboom, parchment faery17, Breean, matt-hardy-lover-101, angeleyenc, UntilNeverDawns and Julia, so thank you for reviewing and for your patience. LucklessRomance, Trinideanfan, UntilNeverDawns, and strangekitten, thank you for your story alerts, and to puppyluv1031, UntilNeverDawns and strangekitten, thank you for adding IWFYITD to your favorite stories list. I don't own Supernatural. Duh. (And check out my profile for the Cas Tales link and my favorite stories-I'm currently in the process of adding really great Cas romances, as well as SPN stories in general, to my favorites list)

"Well, it's the 11th hour, and I am useless," Castiel complained to Lydia and Bobby as he waved the shotgun he was holding. "What am I even supposed to do with it?"

Lydia felt a slight embarrassment when she saw Bobby roll his eyes at the angel. She knew that she shouldn't take it personally-he didn't even have his soul-but she could tell that Bobby was getting annoyed with Cas very quickly. They were waiting in Bobby's yard for the Winchesters to get back.

"You shoot it, Cas," Lydia offered helpfully. "You point it and shoot it. It really isn't too hard once you get the hang of it."

"Says the girl that almost shot me in the leg yesterday…" Bobby muttered.

Lydia shrugged. "I didn't say I had the hang of it yet…"

"I told you that I didn't want you shooting anymore guns." Cas said sternly.

"And I told you that I didn't want you telling me what to do." Lydia shot back.

"You never told me that!" protested Cas.

"Well, I'm telling you now."

"What I used to be…"

"Are you really gonna bitch to us?" Bobby snapped. "Quit pining for the varsity years. I don't hear your girlfriend complaining!" Lydia and Cas both looked at each other, then looked back at Bobby, who added, "And load the damn truck."

Lydia sighed and moved some of her hair out of her face. Once Crowley had shown up, things had quickly become deadlier than ever. Lydia wasn't even sure that she grasped exactly how bad things were. And her she was, standing outside of an old drunk's yard, rifle in hand, with the old drunk, two brothers with severe emotional problems, a demon, and an angel for a boyfriend.

"Alyssa'll never believe this one…" she muttered under her breath.

She tuned back into the conversation going on in front of her just in time to hear Cas say to Crowley, "How did you get that?" Lydia saw Dean holding a small scythe, which she assumed Crowley had given him.

Crowley simply smirked at him. "Hello? King of the Crossroads?" He looked at the other hunters. "So, shall we? Bobby, you just gonna sit there?"

"No, I'm gonna river dance." Bobby answered the "King of the Crossroads" sarcastically. Lydia tried her best to hide her smirk; she loved Bobby's sharp tongue and witty comebacks, even when they were directed at her.

"I suppose if you want to impress the ladies…" Crowley looked as condescending as ever. "Lydia, hon, do you find that sexy?"

"Crowley!" Cas snapped, upset. He became incredibly defensive whenever Crowley looked at Lydia, talked to Lydia, or was so much as in the same room as Lydia.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Cassie," Crowley purred before turning back to Bobby. "Bobby, Bobby, Bobby. Really wasted that crossroads deal. Fact- you get more if you phrase it properly. So, I took the liberty of adding a teeny little sub-clause on your behalf." The demon shrugged. "What can I say? I'm an altruist. Just gonna sit there?"

Lydia, Castiel, Sam and Dean all looked at the old hunter in amazement as Bobby stood up out of his wheelchair; none of them, however, looked as awestruck as Bobby himself. "Son of a bitch…"

"Yes, I know," Crowley said un-modestly. "Completely worth your soul. I'm a hell of a guy."

"Thanks." Bobby offered breathlessly.

Crowley looked bored and uncomfortable. "This is getting maudlin. Can we go?"

Sometime later, Lydia found herself inside Bobby's van. It wasn't the cleanest of vehicles, and it definitely didn't smell great, but it was a van, nonetheless. Lydia couldn't actually remember the last time she had been inside a car this small. She took the bus when she could afford it, but hadn't ridden in a real vehicle in years. She realized with a jolt that she had never even gotten a driver's license. In all 23 years of her life, she had never once driven anything.

"'Yes' to Lucifer." Cas' voice next to her interrupted her thoughts. Sam had been telling their angel friend and herself all about the plan to trap the devil once again. Lydia didn't know that much about what he was saying, but it seemed well thought-out and reasonable- if you excluded the part where Sam's soul was trapped in hell forever.

"Then jump in the hole…" Cas looked pensive and thoughtful. "It's an interesting plan."

"That's a word for it." Bobby snorted.

Sam looked at Cas seriously. "So? Go ahead and tell me it's the worst plan you ever heard."

"Of course. I am happy to say that if that's what you want to hear," the trench coat-wearing angel said, completely serious. "But it's not what I think."

"Really?" Sam seemed surprised.

Cas nodded. "You and Dean have a habit of exceeding my expectations. He resisted Michael. Maybe you could resist Lucifer." Then, in a more serious tone, he added, "But there are things you would need to know."

"Like?"

"Michael has found another vessel." Cas explained.

"What?" Sam's eyes widened in surprise as the dark-haired angel nodded.

"It's your brother Adam," Cas looked between the two brothers. "You must have considered it."

"We're trying not to." Sam confessed.

"Sam…" Cas' tone was much more serious than before. "If you say yes to Lucifer and then fail…This fight will happen. And the collateral…It'll be immense." Cas paused for a second. "There's also the demon blood."

"What?" Sam seemed to be thrown completely off-guard. "What are you talking about?" Lydia, however, was completely clueless. Her face flushed with the shame of seeming so ignorant.

"To take in Lucifer, it would be more than you've ever drunk." Lydia's mind was reeling. Drinking demon blood? They have got to be kidding.

"But…why?" Judging by Sam's worried look, he and Castiel clearly weren't kidding.

"It strengthens the vessel," Cas explained slowly. "Keeps it from exploding."

"But the guy he's in now…" Sam tried to protest.

"He's drinking gallons."

Bobby looked at the angel like he was crazy. "And how is that not the worst plan you've ever heard?" And Lydia had to agree with Bobby…on this one, at least.

Sam looked in Lydia's direction, apprehension written all over his face. "Are you sure this is a good idea, bringing her along?"

"No," Cas admitted. "But there's nowhere else where she could be safe. If Lucifer finds out where she lives and she's there alone…" He grimaced at the thought.

Suddenly, Lydia felt her heart leap up into her throat. "What about Alyssa? Will he go after her?"

Cas sighed. "I don't know. He might."

"Well we've got to go get her!" Lydia shrieked. "What the hell are we doing here!"

"Lydia, no." Cas looked into her eyes seriously, but Lydia was having none of it.

"Castiel, she could die!"

"We don't have a choice," said Cas. "Lucifer might not even go near her. But if he does, there's nothing we can do without putting you at risk…"

Lydia nodded weakly. Cas could be as stubborn as she could, and she really didn't want to argue with him. She had never seen him like this, though; he was infuriating, yes, but he was usually a sweetheart. She could see that there was another side to him that she hadn't yet seen, and she wasn't sure if she liked it. And although she felt like a coward just letting Lucifer go after her only friend-if he did go after her-she knew that Cas was right, that she couldn't do anything to stop it. But it didn't stop her from feeling disgusted with herself.