It's Time to Go:

Out of habit, Dean and I staggered our arrival upstairs by him going up first and telling everyone that I was still finishing with the last of my packing. Although I had seemingly dealt with my intimacy issues that had been the result of my time spent with Pacer, I was still having concerns in regards to the thought of working alongside Crowley. I sat in the Panic Room trying to come to terms with it, but for some reason I couldn't shake the nauseous feeling that had made a home in the pit of my stomach.

After what I considered to be an appropriate amount of time, I finally made my way slowly upstairs with my duffle bag slung over my shoulder. Although I was still trying to ignore the nagging feeling that resonated in my gut as I did.

As soon as I was up the stairs, I could hear the men talking in the study. I instinctively hung back from the doorway to eavesdrop on them to figure out what topic they were discussing.

"I don't understand your definition of good news," Castiel stated sounding tired and somewhat defeated.

What ARE they talking about? I thought to myself as I felt my curiosity being peaked. I then heaved a heavy sigh and concluded inwardly, I guess I should head in there and join in on the conversation.

Just as I was about to enter the study, I felt my cell phone vibrate. I pulled it out of my right buttock pocket of my jeans to check the call display. When I saw Toby's name and picture on the screen, I immediately dropped my bag by the study door and snuck out the kitchen door onto the porch at the back of Bobby's house.

"Hey Buddy! I'm so glad you called. How's it going?"

"Good… mom and dad said to say 'Hi' for them. I wanted to call sooner but they told me that I should give you and Dean some time to… you know… 'reunite'."

"TOBY!" I interjected with an embarrassed but firm tone.

"What?" He responded innocently. "We thought that you would be talking about everything that has happened while you two were apart. But since you made it about… well that…" he continued with a confident tease. "I've watched action movies with you, so I do know about all that stuff."

"TOBY!" I interrupted with an exasperated tone as I felt my cheeks burning hot. "Yes… Dean and I had a good long talk last night about everything, but that's as detailed as I'll be… So… your eagerness to call us, is it because you have some information about omens or signs that you've seen?"

"Oh… so… umm… no…" He stammered despondently.

"Really? Nothing?" I questioned almost sadly.

"What? Oh… yeah… yeah, I found something. There's this one spot where there were a TON of thunder storms within just a couple of days. But to be completely honest, I can't figure out why. I mean, seriously there's nothing of interest there and nothing major happened there in the past… it's really boring. There's just a bunch of warehouses."

"Well, alright… are there any strangely named companies that ship out of there? Or has there been any odd activity since the storms passed through?"

"It took a while, but I did get my hands on some of the shipping schedules for a couple of the places out of there. Umm… let me double check here. Oh, here… 'Niveus Pharmaceuticals' has been upping the frequency of their shipments since the storms. Does that mean anything to you?"

"No, sorry it doesn't mean anything to me Buddy. But I don't know if it might… I really don't. So, I'll pass that information onto the guys and see what they make of it. Thanks Tobs, you did some really great work on this one."

"Glad to be of help. But… umm… can I ask you a question?"

"Of course you can. What's up?"

"Well… you and Dean… you're not having a baby, are you?"

"No Buddy," I answered with an uncomfortable laugh. "Why do ask?"

"Oh, it's just… I uhh I had this dream, but it was so real… almost like a memory, you know? But I'm sure it's nothing. Yeah, it's nothing, just forget I said anything. Say 'Hi' to everyone for me. I'll let you know if I find anything else and we'll see you when you get home," he finished cheerfully.

"Oh… okay. Thanks again for all of your help. I'll let you know what we find out. Talk to you soon."

Oh my God! No freaking way! There's no way that Toby had the same dream as Dean and I… no… must be something else, I thought to myself as I entered the study without anyone noticing me.

"Can't? Or won't?" Dean shouted angrily at Crowley while towering over the demon.

I slunk in beside Castiel while I watched the heated argument that appeared to be escalating between Dean and Crowley.

"I won't, alright? It's insurance," the shorter man explained defiantly.

"What are you talking about?" Dean questioned suspiciously.

"You kill demons. Gigantor over there has a temper issue about it. But you won't kill me as long as I have that soul in the deposit box," Crowley answered with his own venomous tone.

"You son of a bitch!" Bobby shouted heatedly.

Oh no Bobby! What did you do? I silently questioned sadly to myself as I instinctively grabbed Castiel's hand in search of comfort. He responded by looking down at me with a look of bewildered shock.

Sorry Cas. I just thought that you could protect me from the big bad demon, I attempted to joke telepathically with a wink and a shrug.

Castiel once again responded by furrowing his brows and gave me a complete look of confusion. I squeezed his hand encouragingly but he continued to stare at me as if he had no idea what was going on in my head.

Cas? CAS! CASTIEL! I silently yelled in my head as if it would help him to hear my thoughts.

"I'll return it once this is all over and I can walk away freely. Do we all understand each other?" Crowley concluded arrogantly. "Adelaide. It would appear that your angel friend is no longer able to hear you thoughts, so would you mind not shouting?" He stated in my direction without attempting to hide his irritation.

The three hunters immediately turned and focused their attention on me. I quickly released Castiel's hand to step behind him slightly in order to shield myself from view.

"Oh… I didn't know," I admitted almost inaudibly.

I could feel my cheeks flush at being the center of everyone's attention, so I swiftly moved away from the trench coat clad angel to seek refuge on the other side of the room. Dean reached out from his seat to pull me towards him, but I didn't want any displays of affection to further maintain focus on me, so I shrugged him off without looking at him before being able to complete my path to Bobby's window seat. Sam instantaneously shot Dean an angry glare because he misinterpreted my actions as me being upset with his brother when I truly was just trying to keep from drawing any further attention to myself by sitting with Dean… well sitting on Dean's lap. Thankfully, the elder Winchester understood my motivation and continued with the discussion as if that incident hadn't happened at all.

I sat with my hands in my lap and quietly asked, "So… what did I miss?"

"Bobby here's a genius and sold… oh sorry PAWNED his soul to Crowley so that we can possibly find Death," Dean answered still sounding quite aggravated. "As if there wasn't any other way."

"Oh, Bobby…" I whispered sympathetically. I then took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly to maintain a calm demeanor. "Did it work?" I finally asked in a louder tone of voice.

"Yeah, it looks like Death is setting up shop in Chicago right now. So we were going to head out that way today," Sam answered while playing his usual role of the voice of reason.

"Which means we should get packing," Dean instructed sounding very annoyed. He then got off his chair so quickly that he almost knocked it over.

I had to restrain myself from getting up off my seat and chasing after him because I knew that when Dean was that upset, it was better to leave him alone to cool down for a bit. Castiel silently followed Dean outside looking lost and unsure of what he should be doing or how he could be of help. Crowley quickly disappeared from view and I had no doubt that he was reveling with delight at the turmoil he had created within the household.

Sam, Bobby and I were left alone in the study and sat silently with our own thoughts for a moment. Just as I looked up to apologize to Bobby for my actions the night before, Bobby quickly said, "The coffee is probably cold by now… I'll go and make a fresh pot…" before leaving the room without actually looking at either Sam or me.

I sighed heavily and stared at my hands that were still folded in my lap until I felt Sam sit down beside me and wrap his arm around me in a gesture of comfort.

"Addy, is everything okay? What did Dean do to you?" He asked with a quiet gentle tone while he placed a free hand over both of mine.

"What?" I asked sounding genuinely confused as I looked up at him. "What are you talking about Sam?"

"Well just now… when he touched you, you brushed him off pretty quickly. I was just wondering what he said or did to piss you off so much because I might be able to help you out."

"Oh God Sam," I started while trying not to laugh too hard and shaking my head. "No, you've got it all wrong. Dean and I are good, really. It was just that after my faux pas with Cas, I really didn't think that sitting on Dean's lap would be appropriate while we were discussing Death. So… I guess that I look the same when I'm embarrassed as I do when I'm pissed off huh?"

Sam laughed softly before he replied, "Yeah just a little… but that was my mistake. So, really… you two are good?"

I gave him a warm hug and said, "Really, we're great." I leaned back and placed my hand over his heart, "Sam, you have such a heart of gold, but don't worry about us. Dean and I are fine… better then fine. We all just need to focus on the Apocalypse okay?"

"Okay. But, if you ever need someone…"

"I will Sam, I promise," I interrupted as I hugged him again. "No why don't we go see if we can give Dean a hand outside?"

"Sure sounds like a plan," he replied while standing up and offering me his hand to help me to his feet.

Once I was standing, I heard Bobby moving around in the kitchen. When Sam noticed that I wasn't following him, he turned at the door to ask, "Aren't you coming too?"

I refocused my attention away from the kitchen to reply, "In a minute Sam, there's something that I have to take care of first."

He followed my gaze and nodded in understanding. "Oh, yeah okay… see you out there."

I cautiously made my way into the kitchen and timidly called out, "Bobby?"

He was at the fridge taking out a bottle of milk and he continued to the counter as he answered, "I hope milk's okay for you Koala Bear. I don't have any cream right now, but I'll try to get to the store before tomorrow."

"Yeah, that's fine. Thanks Bobby," I stated as I watched him continue to move from one task to another. Once he finally passed me a mug filled with coffee, I held his hands to force him to make eye contact with me.

"Bobby… can I talk to you for a minute… please?"

He nodded almost absentmindedly and followed me to the kitchen table. I took a seat and drank almost half of the mug's contents in one gulp before speaking.

"Bobby, I really wanted to apologize to you for my outburst last night. I should have let you explain everything to me. I shouldn't have stormed out like that. I'm really REALLY sorry Bobby," I stated calmly as I held his hands.

"It's okay Addy, you had every right to be upset about us working with a demon… especially after what happened to you. I didn't really expect him to show up like that either. I know you all are upset with me, but I honestly thought it was the best way to get a lead," he explained remorsefully.

"Bobby, I understand. I don't like it one bit, but I understand. And I'm guessing that Dean reacted the way he did because he still feels like it's his sole responsibility to stop all of this. The important thing is that we now know where to find Death," I replied warmly while still holding his hands.

"Thanks Addy, I appreciate you saying that and for your understanding," he stated while pulling me into a hug.

"Okay… now let's go find Death so we can get you your soul back before Crowley has a chance to do something unsavory with it," I teased amorously.

"You head on out and help the boys. I have a few things that I need to take care of in here first."

"Okay, but Bobby, we'll see you out there soon, right?" I questioned pointedly feeling concerned.

Bobby just smiled and nodded as I finished my coffee then picked up my bag to leave. I took it out to my car and dumped it in the trunk before making my way over to the Impala.

FUCK! Why is he back? I cursed as I approached the car when I saw Sam and Dean once again engaged in a debate with Crowley. Dean had his back to me, so I decided to make up for my brushing him off earlier in the study. When I stepped up behind him, I tickled his sides to announce my presence (part of the fun for me was that I knew how much he hated having that done to him in public).

"What the hell?" He exclaimed almost angrily as he turned around, but his face immediately softened when he saw that it was me. (I'm not sure who else he thought it would have been, but the reaction was amusing none the less.) "Oh! It's you… hey Lay."

I stood up on my tiptoes and pulled his face to mine so that I could kiss him softly. "So… what did I miss now?"

Sam was still smiling brightly at my exchange with his brother, so when he spoke, he sounded much more cheerful than I am sure he intended. "Crowley's pretty sure that he's figured out how Pestilence plans to spread the Croatoan virus country wide."

"Oh," I questioned more than a little stunned. "Is that all?"

Crowley rolled his eyes and passed me the newspaper that was sitting on the trunk of the Impala without uttering anything more than an annoyed sigh.

"'Niveus Pharmaceutical'?" I questioned out loud to myself as I read the headline.

"The loss of blood to your face tells me that that name means something to you," the demon observed in a cool, confident tone.

"Yeah… Toby was just telling me this morning that there were a bunch of storms around their main warehouse facility in the last couple of days… and now they're increasing the amount of trucks taking out shipments," I lost some momentum when I spoke as the realization of the culmination of all the information together actually meant.

"Well then, sounds like we found the place," Dean announced triumphantly. He wrapped his arms around my waist and placed his chin on my shoulder to quietly ask, "Is there anything else that Toby has found out that you forgot to tell us?"

I dropped the newspaper back on the closed trunk of the Impala and turned while still in Dean's arms so that we were face to face.

I shook my head and playfully pouted saying, "No, there's nothing else. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you. Can you ever forgive me?"

Dean combed my hair with his fingers and pecked my lips softly, "I think that could be arranged… but only if you make it up to me."

"Oh yeah?" I clarified while raising an eyebrow suggestively.

"Yeah," he confirmed before he leaned in and placed a deeper kiss on my lips. We both completely ignored the fact that we weren't alone outside.

"Ahem… ahem!" Crowley attempted to interrupt us by clearing his throat loudly a couple of times.

"You might as well just forget about it. Once those two start, wild horses couldn't tear them apart. Why don't we go and tell Cas and Bobby about Niveus?" Sam offered while pointing the demon away from our heated, loving contact.

I pushed back on Dean's chest and panted in a few excited breaths so that I could defend myself further. "Seriously Dean… I didn't mean… to keep… that… from you."

"I know, I know," he placed a soft peck on my lips. "So we have a lead on Death and Pestilence's version of a late inning rally, how about we go see what everyone else is thinking our next step should be."

"Alright… so now we're going to try for a shut out then," I agreed as I interlaced the fingers of my right hand with his left as we walked back to the house.

When we got back to the front stairs, everyone was there talking solemnly in a group and did not see us approaching them.

"Or… everybody on your feet 'cause the count is oh and two!" I joked a little too loudly as we got even closer to the group. Dean and I had been comparing our favorite baseball sayings, particularly the ones that were used for a comeback from behind win. However, our joking about anything seemed less appropriate now that we had almost rejoined the group.

Dean was the first to notice that I had attracted the attention of a confused audience and we both straightened up slightly as we made our final approach.

"Nice to see you two could detach your faces long enough to help us out with stopping the Apocalypse," Crowley commented sarcastically.

I diverted my gaze to the ground in response to his scolding. Dean however, glared at the demon and looked like he was going to lay into him with an angry comeback, but Sam thankfully jumped in as peace keeper once again.

"We were thinking that we could split up. You know, three of us take care of Niveus and the other three go after Death," he interjected quickly.

I swallowed hard as I heard our options; Face a Horseman or a bunch of demons. Hello rock and oh… hello hard place.

Dean could feel the sweat beading on the palm of my hand, so he turned away from the others and held my cheek to ask, "Lay? What's going on in that head of yours?"

I snorted in a laugh then replied, "Horseman or demons? Could I have a third choice?"

"Lay…" he started to say with an overly protective tone.

"No, it's fine Dean. I really don't care which one I face so long as I'm facing it with you," I interrupted while holding his hands in mine firmly.

"Okay then…what do we know about Niveus' warehouse?" Dean asked the four men who were watching our exchange as he fell into his role as the leader.

"Well… I just got a message on my phone saying that Toby emailed me something about the warehouse. Addy, do you think that he might know anything specific about its layout?" Sam asked as he put his phone back into his pocket.

"There's only one way to find out. Do you have your laptop handy Sam?" I questioned as he and I started up the stairs into the house.

"Yeah, of course. But how would Toby get his hands on the blueprints to the warehouse," Sam inquired as he opened the front door for me.

"Honestly Sam, I don't ask… that kid could probably hack into his school's server to change his grades if he ever failed a test," I replied lightheartedly.