Chapter 24

The Winchesters spent the next week scouring through the Men of Letter's notes looking for something, anything, which could help them open Eden. While Charlie, Sam, and Castiel looked through the library Dean spent time calling every hunter he knew searching for information.

"This is no use," Dean finally told them. "There is nothing here and no one seems to know anything."

"There has to be something," Charlie told him determined to find a solution without any death. "I mean everything, everything, has some sort of reverse switch…"

"What? I know that look," Sam said stepping closer to his little sister, "You just saw something. Does it help us?"

Charlie looked about ready to cry as she shook her head, " It won't help us."

"You had a vision," Cas stated firmly looking into the Prophet's eyes.

"If you had a vision then we need to know what happened in it! Nothing doesn't matter anymore. Whatever you saw we need to know," Dean stated.

Charlie shook her head not wanting to burden her brothers with the truth. Still she knew that they needed to understand what was happening, " It's a wild thing… it doesn't even feel so much like a vision as a thought. I'm not even sure it's right…"

Sam seemed to understand and stopped her with a quick look. The silent conversation that followed was clearly an argument that Charlie won, with conditions. Maybe they had only known each other for a little while, but the deep bond that formed between Sam and Charlie could be seen by anyone. They were so much alike and had done things no one else could understand… like freeing Lucifer.

"Don't get mad," Sam started, "I never told you last time because I thought the notion was crazy and it is. The idea was nuts. For me to actually believe it… yet, now it's happening to Charlie too so I think maybe it isn't so nuts but real."

"I think…" Charlie said with a gulp, " I think I can connect with Lucifer." Shock spread across Dean and Cas's faces as she quickly spoke again. "Not all the time and hopefully he doesn't even know it's happening."

"It happened with me too. I remember thinking of the Croatoan virus for the first time in year and thinking, 'that's what Lucifer will use to end the world.' Then you come back from the future and say that's the plan. I didn't want to scare you any more…" Sam confessed.

"Sometimes," Castiel told them calling on his angel memories, "A vessel will connect with the mind of an angel once the angel has asked them to say yes and they haven't. No one really knows why, it didn't happen often, but with Lucifer I'd imagine he wants you so bad he's accidently projecting his thoughts into your mind."

"Creepy. And Sammy you should have told me. But that's not important," Dean told them causing everyone to be surprised. Usually Dean would be freaking out over something like this. "The think that is important is whatever you think Lucifer just thought. If we can know his plan we might be able to stop him without even fighting in Eden."

Charlie knew that it would come to fighting and stopping Lucifer's plan wouldn't help that but she refrained from pointing it out. Dean was right they had much bigger issues. "You know how the past can't be changed. No matter what time will stay fixed." Everyone nodded and the teenage girl looked nervous as she continued, "There is a way to get around that. If an angel goes back in time and takes a vessel from that time they're effectively connecting the two periods and that angel could theoretically change the past if they're strong enough."

"What's he trying to change?"Dean asked not liking where this was going.

"He's going to go back and change… well you. He wants you to never be born… Sam too. Because if you're never born…"

"We can't say yes to Michael," Dean told her after swearing. "And you're saying he could actually do this?"

Charlie nodded and shook her head at the same time. "It's complicated. By doing this he'd be splitting reality. Everything you've ever done would still have happened but you will cease to exist and from this moment on no one will remember you. Michael would have to use Adam or Mike as a vessel and he'd be guaranteed a win since they're much weaker.

He'll be trying to kill Mary because if John dies then I'm never born and he won't have a vessel."

"Did you get any notion of when he's going back to?" Cas asked

"I don't know why… but he's cutting it really close if he wants Mary dead before you're born. He's going back to January 23, 1979. It's okay though because now we know and I can send us back."

"Sure, you could get us back to 1979, but will you be able to get back to 2013 from there? If Michael hadn't shown up we'd probably still be bunking with Artemis," Dean reminded her. "You were wiped."

"I have an idea," Charlie told them grabbing the Impalia keys. "I'll drive."

"No way" Dean told Charlie stepping in front of the door. "No one drives her but me. Not even Cas has gotten behind the wheel and he's a whole lot more responsible than you."

"Never mind the fact you're not even 16," Sam added.

"Yes I am," she whispered looking over at the crooked calendar. "I turned 16 this morning."

None of the boys knew what to say to her morose tone so with Dean taking a watchful shotgun they slid into the Impala.

Charlie drove with fever. Finally, they reached their destination which turned out to be a church parking lot. As Charlie backed into a parking spot she caught sight of bulging eyes from her companions.

"What?" she asked defensively, "I need some sort of connection to Heaven if I'm going to bend time. Despite… other things I'm still a Prophet.

Charlie without waiting for a response, glided from the old car and into the Church. After a hesitant glance that passed between then Dean joked, "Let's say hi to Chuck." And followed after his sister.

Charlie knelt on the alter looking entirely at peace. Brown hair cascaded down her back and Dean noticed just how much she looked like she did all those months ago back in Jerusalem- before she betrayed her family and freed Lucifer.

"He always hears me," Charlie reminded herself more than them. "Unlike everyone else he promised to never tune me out. Still, when I'm here, he hears me and actually seems to listen. I'll just be a minute if you want to wait in the car."

In all reality the skins were itching to get back in the Impala; none of the boys were exactly thrilled with god. Still, they felt the undeniable need to stay with Charlie in her place of peace for as long as she needed. Taking their places amongst the pews they prayed, or at least talked to God, for the first time in a long while.

Soon, before even Dean had a chance to get fidgety, Charlie stood color returned to her face, "Let's go."

The family joined hands and together they were thrust back in time.