A/N: Merry Christmas, guys! Or Happy Hanukkah! Or Happy Holidays! I am so sorry having not updated in forever. Things were so hectic with school that I rarely if ever had time to write. Next semester is going to be worse though so sorry, guys! On a happier note, the wait is over! And I'm working on the next two updates now! As always, thank you to everyone who has reviewed and voted! It really has encouraged me to keep writing. Enjoy!

We dealt with it. Like we always did.

When Dean returned that night he brought with him a frappe, three cups of black coffee, a new case, and a much calmer, snarky temperament. I took the frappe gratefully. I knew a piece offering when I saw one.

The case was more or less a simple salt and burn. It felt good to have an easy case for once. Maybe things could finally go back to normal. Well…almost.

We had stopped at a motel for the night, planning to catch up on lost sleep. I was out for what felt like ages, and when I did wake, I was alone. The sun was just starting to rise, so I thought maybe my brothers had gone out to get breakfast.

I didn't have to wonder for long because Sam returned less than an hour later. I tried asking him what was wrong and where was Dean, but he just shook his head, sat down at the table, and opened a book. I dug through my duffel, pulling out a "comfort" book: The Hobbit, before sitting down across from him to read. I had a bad feeling a storm was about to break for the second time in a week.

Another hour passed in silence. Then, I heard the familiar rumble of the Impala, and moments later Dean entered the room. He didn't look at either of us as he made his way over to the bed, grabbing his duffel and throwing his stuff in. I stood, wondering if we needed to start packing. Sam was also up and by Dean's side in an instant.

"Dean, what are you doing?" He asked. Dean ignored him, continuing with what he was doing.

"Dean?" I inquired, but still no answer.

Sam asked, "What, are you, are you leaving?"

Dean grabbed his bag. "You don't need me." He retorted. "You and Ruby go fight some demons."

"Dean?" I questioned again, suddenly panicked. "What are you doing? What about me?"

Dean scoffed and turned to look me in the eye. "Why don't you and your angel buddies go have a good time?" He stormed towards the door again, only stopping when Sam intercepted him.

"Hold on." Sam tried. "Dean, come on, man."

In the next instant, Dean's fist connected with Sam's face, and the younger of my older brothers spun around. I gasped, having not been expecting Dean to stoop to this again. But maybe I should have.

Sam spat, "You satisfied?"

I thought for sure Dean wouldn't hit him again, but that was exactly what happened. Dean threw his bag on the floor, staring Sam down. I stood ready, but was unsure if I should go to Sam's aid or not. I wondered what had happened. Had Dean finally found out about Ruby? That was the only reason I could think of that would leave Dean this pissed.

Sam touched his bleeding lip gingerly. "I guess not." He muttered.

I took a step forward. "Dean. That's enough."

But he wasn't listening. He barked at Sam, "Do you even know how far off the reservation you've gone? How far from normal? From human?"

"I'm just exorcising demons."

"With your mind!" Dean took a deep breath and asked in a somewhat calmer tone, "What else can you do?"

"I can send them back to hell. It only works with demons, and that's it."

Dean grabbed him, shoving him backwards. "What else can you do?" He thundered.

I was still a little confused. But I got the gist of the situation. I swallowed hard, wondering if maybe I should have told Dean the whole truth, about my powers and all, and not just about knowing Cass.

"I told you!" Sam shoved him away.

"Guys!" I screamed. "Stop it! Stop it!" I hurried to get between them, grabbing their shirts and pushing them apart, but Dean just continued to speak around me.

"And I have every reason in the world to believe that." He yanked out of my hold and turned again.

"Look, I should have said something." Sam insisted.

"Damn straight." I muttered, but my sympathies still went more to him than Dean right now. Probably because I'd just been on the receiving end of big brother's wrath less than a week ago. And for the same reasons.

Dean froze, but didn't turn. Sam continued. "I'm sorry, Dean. I am. But try to see the other side here."

Dean spun around, "The other side?"

"I'm pulling demons out of innocent people."

"Use the knife!"

"The knife kills the victim! What I do, most of them survive! Look, I've saved more people in the last five months than we save in a year."

Ok. I wasn't proud of what Sam was obviously doing. I wasn't condoning it. But he had a point. Not that I was going to bring that up.

"That what Ruby want you to think?" Dean asked. "Huh? Kind of like the way she tricked you into using your powers?" He shook his head, suddenly sounding sad. "Slippery slope, brother. Just wait and see. Because it's gonna get darker and darker, and God knows where it ends."

"I'm not gonna let it go too far." Sam insisted.

Dean smiled at that. It was rather scary. Maybe it was only because I had been working with the so called "good guys," but I already thanking God that Dean hadn't seemed this pissed at me.

Dean made his way over to the side table, and slammed his hand into the lamp, causing it to fly across the room and crash. He turned back to glare daggers at Sam. "It's already gone too far, Sam. If I didn't know you...I would wanna hunt you. And so would other hunters."

Sam's eyes grew tearful, but he nodded. I had to swallow the lump in my throat. "Dean. I'm sure you're over-exaggerating."

Dean shook his head. "You weren't there, Kenzie. Just stay out of it, alright?"

Sam looked up, staring our brother steadily in the eyes. "You were gone. I was here. I had to keep on fighting without you. And what I'm doing...It works."

"Well, tell me. If it's so terrific...then why'd you lie about it to me?" Sam looked down. "Why did an angel tell me to stop you?"

Sam and I both looked up, surprised. "What?" We asked.

Dean's gaze was unwavering. "Cass said that if I don't stop you, he will. See what that means, Sam? That means that God doesn't want you doing this. So, are you just gonna stand there and tell me everything is all good?"

I looked at Sam. Surprisingly, I didn't feel as betrayed as I did when I first realized he left me for Ruby. Besides, Sam looked on the verge of tears. Dean, too.

A sudden piercing noise cut the tension in the air. Dean and I flinched, and Sam dug his phone out to answer. "Travis?"

I didn't hang around for the rest of the conversation. I flew out of the room, a dozen different feelings suddenly converging on me all at once. As I ran out the door, a rush of Enochian hit me and I ground my teeth, fighting off nausea.

I wanted to go for long run to clear my head, like Dad used to. But I knew my brothers would worry if I went too far alone right now. Instead, I paused at the edge of the building and leaned back against it, resting my head on its hard brick surface.

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. I hated it when my brothers fought. It wasn't right.

I closed my eyes for a minute, trying to find something to distract myself. Then I suddenly remembered. I never had managed to get Emma to answer my calls. I'd take another crack at it.

After five tries, a voice finally spoke on the other end, "MacK!"

I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Hey, Emma. How's things?"

We talked for a bit. I explained to her what had happened since we'd last spoken. She was shocked that I'd told Dean the truth. Well, most of it anyways.

"Um, how are you not dead right now?" She asked, disbelief evident in her tone.

I smiled ruefully. "Well. He did have a pretty hard swing."

She gasped. "He hit you!"

"Yeah. But not as hard as he could have. And certainly not as hard as he hit Sam, just a little while ago."

She, of course, already knew my suspicions about Sam and Ruby, but she was still shocked to hear them confirmed. She whistled. "That bastard, and that bitch! God. What are you going to do now?"

I shook my head, sighing. "I don't know" There was silence for a few moments before I asked, "So, what have you been up to, other than hunting? Oh, wait, I can guess. A little R and R with a certain someone. Or someones?"

I could practically feel her glare. "Thank you very much, I actually have been doing more productive things. And besides, the whole thing didn't work out between us. We're just friends now."

"Just friends? Just friends until he shows up one day and you put a bullet in his ass, right?" I grinned.

"Exactly."

We laughed. It felt good to do that again. It wasn't long before I sobered though. My brothers were leaving the motel room. I saw Dean looking around for me, so I waved at him. He jerked his head towards the car. I sighed again. "Hey, Emma. I gotta go. Looks like Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber found something. Be careful out there. Especially with this whole apocalypse business going on."

"Will do. You keep safe too, alright?"

"Yeah. Talk to you later."

"Bye."

After we hung up, I began to make my way over to the Impala. I was starting to wish I could get Dylan's number to work. If only the son of a bitch hadn't of disconnected his cell. I swore under my breath. When I saw him again, the first thing I was going to do was kiss him. Then, I was going to kick his ass.

We'd been working cases for the past month, just like the good old days. Well, except for the fact that my brother was back from Hell, I was friends with an angel I hadn't spoken to in months, and my other brother was best friends with a demon. Other than that, we were just peachy.

We were actually on a case now. We were thinking witches. It was close to Halloween and sticking razor blades in candy and drowning kids in candy apple barrels sounded witchy. That and the fact we'd found a couple of hex bags.

But things had come up. (Why could we never get a simple case anymore?) Now we might be facing the fact that a witch was summoning Samhain, a demon who used to be the reason Halloween was celebrated.

According to Sam and I's research the ritual could only be performed every six hundred years. This just happened to be tomorrow night. Halloween.

Once we'd finished explaining all of this to Dean, who had been doing background checks on the vics, he flipped through the book himself, looking at the images of heaps of dead bodies. "Well it sure is a lot of death and destruction for one demon." He stated.

"That's because he likes company. Once he's raised, Samhain can do some raising of his own."

"Plus," I added sarcastically. "It only happens every six hundred years. He's gotta make up for lost time."

Dean gave me a look before asking, "Raising what, exactly?

"Dark, evil crap and lots of it," Sam explained. "I mean, they follow him around like the friggin' Pied Piper."

"So we're talking ghosts?" Dean asked

"Yeah." Sam confirmed

Zombies."

"Mhm-hmm." I nodded.

"Leprechauns?"

"Dean—" Sam and I both turned to give him a look.

"Those little dudes are scary. Small hands."

"Look," I interrupted before he could bring up the sparkly, rainbow ponies, "It just starts with ghosts and ghouls, this sucker keeps on going, by night's end we are talking every awful thing we have ever seen. Everything we fight, all in one place."

Dean frowned. "It's gonna be a slaughterhouse."

I grimaced. "Yep. This is super-freakin-tastic."

The angels just had to make a guest appearance.

We were returning to the hotel room after having spent hours tracking our witch, with no luck.

After Dean had a battle of wits with an eight year old astronaut in the parking lot, we headed inside our room. I was still stifling a laugh, but all humor quickly faded as Sam drew his gun. My hand went to my knife hilt instinctively.

"Who are you?" Sam demanded.

My hand slid off my knife when I realized who the figure sitting calmly on the bed was. Dean pushed Sam's gun down, answering Sam's question before I could, "The angel."

"Cass?" I asked.

I heard Dean say, "Him, I don't know."

I followed his gaze to a dark-skinned angel standing by the window. I studied him closely. He was a lower rank angel judging by the looks of him. He was a soldier, which meant that, hopefully, Cass was the one in charge. I shielded myself further just in case the angel, or even Cass, thought me to be a Nephilim because of the remaining grace in my body. Nephilim were to be killed, no questions asked.

I knew that not all angels were on Zachariah and Naomi's side, but that didn't mean that I could trust all those that Cass was hanging out with. I wasn't even certain what his deal in Heaven was at the moment. Whether he was on the good side again or not. In fact, I was uncertain what was good, or what was bad, anymore.

Castiel turned to Sam, who was smiling, and said politely, "Hello, Sam."

Sam stuttered, "Oh my God–er–uh–I didn't mean to–sorry. It's an honor, really, I–I've heard a lot about you."

Sam moved closer and offered Cass his hand to shake. Cass studied it until Sam finally took Cass' own and shook it a little. I bit back another laugh as I heard Dean close the door behind us.

Cass put a hand on Sam's arm and smiled slightly. "And I, you. Sam Winchester–the boy with the demon blood." I cringed. "Glad to see you've ceased your extracurricular activities."

Cass glanced at Dean and then finally to me. I tried to pretend I was annoyed with his sudden appearance, which wasn't hard as that's how I used to react. Suddenly, he frowned at me and his mouth opened slightly. I kept my face impassive, but I waited for him to say something. Did he finally remember?

The other angel spoke first, "Let's keep it that way."

Cass and I broke eye contact. I blinked hard. It was just a hope. I should know better than to hope when it comes to immortals.

Dean replied, "Yeah, okay, chuckles." He looked to Cass. "Who's your friend?"

Cass didn't answer, instead asking, "This, the raising of Samhain, have you stopped it?"

"Why?"

"Dean, have you located the witch?"

"Yes, we've located the witch."

"And is the witch dead?"

Sam spoke, "No, but—"

Dean interrupted. "We know who it is."

Castiel made his way over to the bedside table as he spoke. "Apparently the witch knows who you are too." He picked up a hex bag and my eyes widened. "This was inside the wall of your room. If we hadn't found it, surely one or all of you would be dead. Do you know where the witch is now?"

My brothers and I exchanged a look. "We're working on it." I said.

"That's unfortunate."

Dean asked, "Why do you care?"

"The raising of Samhain is one of the 66 seals." Cass explained.

That made perfect sense.

Dean frowned. "So this is about your buddy Lucifer."

The other angel snapped fiercely, "Lucifer is no friend of ours."

Dean shrugged. "It's just an expression."

"Lucifer cannot rise." Cass stated.

I huffed. "I agree, but how does this help us?"

"The breaking of the seal must be prevented at all costs."

"Okay, great," Dean retorted. "Well now that you're here, why don't you tell us where the witch is, we'll gank her and everybody goes home."

"We are not omniscient. This witch is very powerful, she's cloaked even our methods."

"Okay," Sam said. "Well we already know who she is, so if we work together–"

"Enough of this." The angel from the window spat.

Dean bit back, "Okay, who are you and why should I care?"

The angel spun around to glare daggers at my brother. Cass sighed and answered. "This is Uriel, he's what you might call a…specialist."

Uriel made his way towards us, stopping beside Cass.

"What kind of specialist?" Dean asked. "What are you gonna do?"

"You–uh, all of you–you need to leave this town immediately."

I blinked. "Why?" Something was wrong here, and I was determined to set it right.

Cass looked uncomfortable. "Because we're about to destroy it."

A few silent and tense seconds ticked by before Dean exploded. "So this is your plan, you're gonna smite the whole friggin' town?"

Castiel set his shoulders, a determined look falling into place. I recognized it from our early days together. He was in complete soldier mode. "We're out of time. This witch has to die, the seal must be saved."

"There are a thousand people here." Sam interjected.

"One thousand two hundred fourteen." Uriel corrected.

Sam's mouth fell open, "And you're willing to kill them all?"

"This isn't the first time I've…purified a city."

A sudden image of Sodom and Gomorrah popped into my head, and I fought off a shudder. It was stories like that that made me question God so fervently.

"Look, I understand this is regrettable." Cass began.

"Regrettable?" Dean retorted.

"We have to hold the line. Too many seals have broken already."

"So you screw the pooch on some seals and this town has to pay the price?"

"It's the lives of one thousand against the lives of six billion." Castiel explained. "There's a bigger picture here."

Dean replied angrily. "Right, cause you're bigger picture kind of guys."

"Lucifer cannot rise." Castiel stated firmly. "He does and hell rises with him. Is that something that you're willing to risk?"

Sam interrupted. "We'll stop this witch before she summons anyone. Your seal won't be broken and no one has to die."

Uriel spoke suddenly, contempt heavy in his tone, "We're wasting time with these mud monkeys."

Cass turned away. "I'm sorry, but we have our orders."

"No," Sam shook his head disbelievingly. "You can't do this, you're angels, I mean aren't you supposed to–You're supposed to show mercy.

"Says who?" Uriel asked cynically.

Castiel sighed silently. "We have no choice."

I curled my hands into fists. I wasn't about to stand by and let an entire town get destroyed. "Of course you have a choice!"

Dean added, "Yeah, I mean, come on, what? You've never questioned a crap order, huh? What are you both, just a couple of hammers?"

"Look, even if you can't understand it, have faith. The plan is just."

I closed my eyes and fought off another shudder. Castiel had said those same words to me back in the church in Texas. "Why don't you have faith that God will deliver you?" I swallowed hard.

"How can you even say that?" I spat.

"Because it comes from Heaven, that makes it just."

I was seriously going to have to have my brothers hold me down in a few minutes. I felt all of my frustration threatening to overwhelm me.

"Oh, it must be nice, to be so sure of yourselves." Dean retorted.

"Tell me something, Dean, when your father gave you an order, didn't you obey?"

I did flinch this time. I looked down, remembering when Castiel made me swear an oath to follow Heaven's orders. "Do you swear to follow His will and His word as swiftly and obediently as you did your own father's?" I wonder if I was still being held to it. Surely I had broken it several times now? I started to contemplate whether or not I should warn Dean about angel oaths.

Dean didn't answer Cass directly, instead saying, "Well sorry boys, looks like the plans have changed."

Uriel looked like he was trying not to laugh. "You think you can stop us?"

Dean made his way over, slowly and deliberately, to stand eye-to-eye with Uriel. "No, but if you're gonna smite this whole town, then you're gonna have to smite us with it, because we are not leaving. See, you went to the trouble of busting me out of hell. I figure I'm worth something to the man upstairs. So you wanna waste me, go ahead, see how he digs that."

"I will drag you out of here myself." Uriel growled.

"Yeah, but you'll have to kill me, then we're back to the same problem. I mean, come on, you're gonna wipe out a whole town for one little witch. Sounds to me like you're compensating for something." Dean turned back to Cass. "We can do this. We will find that witch and we will stop the summoning."

I smirked, adding. "You can bet your pansy asses on it."

"Castiel!" Uriel barked. "I will not let these peop—"

"Enough!" Castiel ordered. He stared at Dean for a moment. "I suggest you move quickly."

It was much later that found us speeding for the cemetery from the witch's house. I clutched at my gut, memories of pain still lingering from the witch's spell. Some blood from Don's (a school teacher who'd been a witch also…long story) corpse was still dried on my face.

"So, this demon's pretty powerful." Sam stated.

"Yeah." Dean agreed, distracted with his driving.

I blinked as it occurred to me what Sam was suggesting. "Sam, no, you're not using your psychic whatever."

Dean looked over at Sam sharply. "Don't even think about it. Ruby's knife is enough."

"Why?" Sam protested.

"Well because the angels said so for one—"

"I thought you said they were a bunch of fanatics."

"Well they happen to be right about this one."

"I don't know, Dean, it doesn't seem like they're right about much.

"Well then forget the angels, okay? You said yourself, these powers, it's like playing with fire. " Dean handed Sam the demon knife. "Please." He begged. Sam took it.

My hand crept to my boot where angel knife was safely hidden. Sam had gotten me thinking. I didn't approve of him using freaky demon powers, but maybe I could use my angel powers. I took a deep breath. I didn't want my brothers to know just yet. It would be better if they never knew. But—if it came down to it, I would use them.

Upon arriving at the cemetery we hurried into the mausoleum and down the stairs. The first thing I saw was a locked room full of teenagers. They were screaming and pounding on the bars. Seconds later I realized why. Zombies were climbing out of the crypts and attacking them.

"Help them." Sam said.

"Dude, you're not going off alone." Dean said in his no nonsense tone.

"I'll go with him." I offered.

"No!" Sam grabbed my arm to stop me. "Stay and help Dean. I got this."

"Sam" I protested.

"Do it!" He barked, hurrying off down the hall. I swore and Dean and I hurried to the gate. Dean gestured for everyone to move away from the door. "Stand back! Stand back!" He ordered. Once everyone had complied he shot the lock off and kicked the door down.

"Go on, come on, get out, move!" I ordered, ushering the panicky teens out.

As the teenagers rushed out I rushed in, my knife at the ready to take on the first zombie that came at me. Zombies were strange. Sometimes killing them one way worked, but when you tried it again it didn't. It almost always depended on how they were raised from the dead. I usually preferred to take them out with decapitation, which was what I tried now. A messy affair with such a small blade like mine, but it would do. I heard Dean joining the fight behind me as more crypt doors burst open. Dean was staking his victims, I noted.

I knocked the zombie I was fighting behind the knees with my right leg, causing him to crumple forward. Then I grabbed his mangy hair and jerked upward while I pulled my knife through the flesh of his neck. I dropped his rotting head with a groan as I forced myself to keep all of the candy I'd eaten earlier down. To keep myself from puking, I glanced back at my brother—just in time to see him fly across the room and hit the wall.

"Dean !" I cried. The ghost spun on me, and seconds later I found myself joining my brother. I slid down, groaning at the sudden pain in my back. "That's gonna bruise." I grumbled.

Dean rolled his shoulders, muttering, "Zombie ghost orgy huh? Well, that's it, I'm torching everybody."

I bounded across the floor and outside the room where we'd left the duffel. Moments later, Dean and I were soaking the place in salt and lighter fluid. I stepped outside, grabbing up our remaining supplies and slinging the duffel over my aching shoulders while Dean flicked open his lighter and threw it into the room. A blaze lit up within moments. The heat would be blasting soon, so I grabbed Dean's arm and we raced down the hallway where Sam had gone.

We came around the corner, expecting a full-frontal fight, only to find that Sam was engaged in a different kind of battle. His hand was held out in front of him and his face was scrunched up in intense concentration. Samhain was struggling, but he wasn't getting anywhere. I was so shocked that I couldn't move other than to grab Dean's arm in a vice-like grip. Sam glanced up only once at us, but he quickly turned his attention back to Samhain. Sam's nose began to bleed, and moments later Sam grabbed his head with the hand not holding Samhain at bay. I drew a sharp breath as black smoke began to leak from Samhain's mouth, and then more until it disappeared into the floor and the body the demon was using collapsed to the ground.

Sam staggered a bit, wiping his nose. He looked up slowly, not capable of meeting mine or Dean's eyes. I was still unable to move, which was good, because none of us did for several moments. It wasn't until I smelled heavy smoke coming from down the hallway that I realized we needed to leave. And quick. I tugged Dean's arm.

"Dean we gotta go before…"

He nodded, looking down. I recognized the disappointment in his eyes, and tone, when he spoke. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

Sam moved slowly towards us, stopping once to check and make sure the dead teacher/witch Samhain had been possessing was dead, before joining us. Dean spun on his heel and stalked quickly up the hall, covering his mouth and nose with the collar of his jacket. Sam looked like he wanted to say something but I grabbed his arm and pulled him with us with a sad, "Save it, Sammy."

We luckily made it out alive, though we were gasping for non-zombie-smoke smelling air by the time we reached the top of the stairs. I heard sirens in the distance. One of the teens had probably called the cops. We hurried to the Impala, hoping to get out of the area before anyone saw us.

When we finally made it back to the hotel, it was late. We were all tired, and the last thing any of us wanted was a fight. Besides, Sam seemed like he wasn't sure what to say. Before either brother could think of something I pushed them towards separate beds.

"Let's get some sleep. We need to head out in the morning."

Sam didn't look up as he slunk towards the bathroom, quietly shutting the door. Dean sat on the bed and pulled off his boots silently. I ground my teeth. I was pissed, yes. But not as pissed as I knew Dean was at Sam. I could at least sympathize with Sam about the whole powers thing. Not that I liked using them. If I exerted too much grace then I could potentially send up a flare to the angels about where I was. I wondered if the same thing worked with Sam's ability. I closed my eyes, feeling sick. I couldn't get the image of my brother standing before that demon out of my head. I had exorcised minor demons once or twice, the same way Sam had, but instead of demonic I had been using my angel powers. It had left me feeling a little weak, yes, but nothing like what Sam looked like.

I turned suddenly on my heel and flung open the door to the hotel room. This time, I did run. My feet pounded against the concrete. I barely even heard Dean's shout because I was already too far gone.

Before long I was gasping, after effects of the smoke inhalation I suppose. I wasn't sure just how long I ran but when I did finally stop I was panting pretty hard and drenched in sweat, despite it being a rather cool night. I realized I didn't even know where I was. It was some sort of exclusive neighborhood. Most houses had fences around them to prevent burglars and I was certain that most of them had security systems and video cameras around the property.

I let out a long, low breath and collapsed on the sidewalk. I rubbed a hand over my tired face. My back, legs, and lungs ached. Why couldn't my family just be normal? I thought wryly.

I looked up at the sky. It had been forever since I'd really prayed. And I was always at risk of angels hearing when I did. I thought back to what Dean had told Sam earlier when we were in the Impala and trying to figure out where the witch could be. "I mean, for all we know, God hates these jerks. Don't give up on this stuff, is all I'm saying."

I swallowed hard, closing my eyes. Maybe Dean was right. Maybe God did care.

Cass' voice rang in my head again. "Why don't you have faith that God will deliver you?"

I drew a breath.

Then suddenly, I opened my eyes and jumped up.

Because I couldn't have faith. Not tonight.

I was sitting despondently on the swing set, still thinking about the events that had occurred the night before. Dean was somewhere across the park, probably still sitting on a park bench.

When I'd returned to the hotel room, at somewhere around two a.m. after having gotten lost several times trying to find the place we were staying, Dean had still been waiting up on me. He didn't reprimand me for running off, instead he'd simply let me slip into the other side of his bed.

When morning came, I woke as he was changing. His hair was still wet where he'd showered. I rose and followed in his footsteps, anxious to clean the sweat, blood, and grime from my body. Once I was ready, I took him up on the offer for breakfast. Neither one of us was very hungry, but we also didn't want to be there when Sam woke, hoping to prevent a confrontation for as long as possible. Besides, Sam was sleeping so peacefully, which was what I would have expected after using his powers so much.

As I slowly rocked the swing back and forth with my feet, I scrolled through the contacts on my phone. My finger lingered over Dylan's name, which I still had not deleted in hopes that he got his old number back. Before I could click it, I winced as a burst Enochian rushed over angel radio. I recognized the stream at once.

"Castiel." I looked up sharply, expecting him to be in front of me. But he wasn't.

I stood and looked around. He had to be somewhere near here. My gaze finally came to rest on two figures at the edge of the park. One was my brother, Dean. The other, was the little trench-coated bastard himself. I flew towards them, near tripping over a little kid in the process. Throwing an apology over my shoulder I made it to them just in time to hear Dean say, "Your orders were to follow my orders?"

Cass was answering, "It was a test, to see how you would perform under... battlefield conditions, you might say."

Noticing me approaching, slower now, Dean gestured for me to take a seat beside him which I did so with a questioning glance to Castiel.

"It was a witch, not the Tet Offensive." My brother retorted, but his usual snark was gone. There was a pause before he continued. "So I, uh, failed your test, huh? I get it. But you know what? If you would have waved that magic time-traveling wand of yours and we had to do it all over again, I'd make the same call. 'Cause see, I don't know what's gonna happen when these seals are broken, hell I don't even know what's gonna happen tomorrow. But what I do know is, that this, here? These kids, the swings, the trees, all of it is still here because of my brother, my sister, and me."

I blinked at Dean's words. He was right of course. But hearing him say it out loud made me feel…prideful. I started to realize that we really had done the right thing. Maybe it was alright to defy orders.

"You misunderstand me, Dean. I'm not like you think. I was praying that you would choose to save the town."

I looked sharply over to Cass. There was something in his gaze. Something I remembered. A spark of doubt. Doubt in Heaven's orders. Doubt was something I could work with.

Dean looked at him too. "You were?

"These people, they're all my father's creations. They're works of art, and yet, even though you stopped Samhain, the seal was broken and we are one step closer to hell on earth, for all creation. Now that's not an expression, Dean, it's literal. You of all people should appreciate what that means." I looked at Dean sharply. Had he been lying about Hell? I fought off a snort. That would be about like him. We lie, and we get socked. He lies, and it's A-OK.

Interrupting my thoughts again, Cass asked suddenly, "Can I tell you something if you two promise not to tell another soul?

Frankly, I was a little shocked Cass trusted me, but I nodded as Dean said, "Okay."

Castiel drew a deep breath. "I'm not a… hammer as you say. I have questions, I have doubts. I don't know what is right and what is wrong anymore, whether you passed or failed here. But in the coming months you will have more decisions to make. I don't envy the weight that's on your shoulders, Dean. I truly don't."

Dean looked down, nodding. Cass looked over his head at me. "MacK, may I speak with you a moment?"

I started. Stuttering, I said, "I s-suppose."

Cass nodded, stood, and gestured for me to join him. Dean glanced curiously at the two of us. He gave me a questioning look, but I just shrugged. I really had no clue what Cass wanted.

I followed Cass a little way off, just out of earshot. "What do you need to speak with me about?" I asked.

He paused, turning to study me curiously. "When we first met, you seemed to know me."

I blanched. "N-no. I-I—"

"It's alright. I…I thought I knew you, too. Something seems familiar about you. But that doesn't make sense because I have never been on earth until recently."

I shrugged, my heart pounding. I wasn't sure if the angels were listening to our conversation, so I wasn't certain whether I could reveal anything right now or not. "Maybe you saw me in Heaven." I lied. I hoped Cass wasn't too skilled at seeing through lies anymore. I blocked my mind the way he'd taught me, and in such a way he wouldn't know it was blocked. "My family is notorious for dying and coming back now. I died once. But my Dad made a deal to bring me back."

Cass looked down, his face still curled in confusion. "I don't think so. I distinctly remember something about you. Something about a…J. R. R. Tolkien."

His expression and words might have been laughable if the situation were different. Instead of crying, like I felt like doing, I shrugged. "He's my favorite author. Maybe my version of Heaven was his book. It would make sense, since I love it so much." I laughed, despite not finding very much humor in this conversation.

Cass shook his head. "Of course. Perhaps it was so." He was gone within the next instant.

My heart was shattering as I made my way back to Dean and plopped down beside of him.

"What did Castiel want?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Nothing."

Dean obviously didn't believe me, but he let it go. Instead he said, "Hey, Kenzie."

"Yeah?"

Dean licked his lips. "You said Castiel doesn't remember you, right?"

I felt my heartbeat quicken again. "Yeah."

He nodded. Then asked, "So you trust him?"

I looked at my brother. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd trust him with my life."

Dean nodded again, looking down. After a moment he glanced at me. "Dad would've been pissed."

I furrowed my brow and looked at Dean sharply. "What?"

Dean studied his hands. "That I hit you."

I rolled my eyes. "Dean Winchester, look at me." When he had done so I continued. "Listen. I deserved what I got, alright? I lied to you, for years. I knew I shouldn't have done it, and I did. Can't we just…" I sighed and trailed off, looking out at the playground once more. "Can't we just put that all behind us?"

I looked back at my oldest brother who nodded. "Okay. I just…I didn't want you to think…"

"Dean." I cut him off. "I know."

He gave me a half-smile, nodding again. "Good." Suddenly he grinned. "So let's cut out the chick-flick moment then, eh?"

I rolled my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, returning his grin. "God, yes. I thought it would never end."

Despite our words, I scooted slightly closer to him and he put his arm around my shoulders.

God, I prayed silently. Please just let everything turn out okay.