Sam's admission surprises me. More than a friend, what the hell does that mean? He knows I'm with Dean. Well not officially but Sam has to know about us, right?

"Uh, Sam--" I begin as I look toward him. I really don't know what to say. If he's developed some type of feelings for me in the last little bit, I don't want to break his heart. Just let him down easy.

Sam sees the concern on my face and quickly interrupts me. "No, Nic, not like that! God, no! I meant I see you as a sister. I love you like a brother would love his sister. I know you're in love with Dean."

Before I can respond, Dean slides into the driver's seat and starts Baby. Bobby settles into the passenger seat and we take off back to his place. On the way to Sioux Falls, Sam informs us of what happened while he was missing.

"Who was that kid, anyway?" Bobby asks, once we are on the road.

"His name's Jake. Did you get him?"

"No, he disappeared into the woods."

"We got to find him. And I swear I'm gonna tear that son of a bitch apart."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, Van Damme. We just got you back, alright?" Dean says, staring at his brother through the rearview mirror. "Let's get you something to eat. Huh? You all want something to eat?" Each of us nod.

"I'm starving." Sam says.

Dean pulls into an all-night diner and we all scramble out of the car. Sam helps me limp along since my foot is still sore from the strenuous activity of running, tackling and wrestling Jake earlier.

The four of us sit at a table in the diner, eating.

"And that's when you guys showed up."

"That's awful. Poor Andy," I say solemnly. Andy had been a good guy caught in a bad situation; as with most of the yellow-eyed demon's chosen children.

"The demon said he only wanted one of us to walk out alive."

"He told you that?" Dean asks, before taking a bite of his burger.

"Yep," Sam pauses as the waitress walks by our table."He appeared in a dream."

"He tell you anything else?" Bobby asks.

"No. No. That was it. Nothing else," Sam shakes his head. "You know, if the demon only wanted one of us, then he's going to be pissed that Jake and I both got away?"

"Well, I mean, Jake got scared off. I'm sure he thought it was over. So now Yellow Eyes probably has Jake, what's he gonna do with him?"

"I don't know. But whatever it is, we got to stop him."

"Well, hold on. We all need to get some rest. We got time."

"No, we don't," Sam scoffs, looking at his brother.

"Sam, oceans aren't boiling, okay? Frogs aren't raining from the sky. Let's get our strength back first."

"Well did you call the roadhouse? They know anything?"

"Yeah" Dean answers wistful and looks away.

"Dean... what is it?"

Dean continues to avoid eye contact so I answer. "The roadhouse burned to the ground. Ash is dead. Probably Ellen. A lot of other hunters, too."

"Demons?"

"Yeah, we think so," I tell him. "We think because Ash found something." I take a drink of my water and look at Dean who is still quiet and looking out the window.

"What did he find?" Sam inquires, hope evident in his voice.

"I'm working on that now," Bobby speaks up.

So, the Roadhouse is just...gone?" he asks, bewildered.

"Yea," I answer. "Whatever it was that Ash uncovered must have pissed someone off enough to kill everyone inside."

"We identified Ash's remains from his watch. Who knows exactly how many and who was in the Roadhouse at the time it was burned," Bobby explains.

When we arrive back at Bobby's, I limp upstairs to shower and change clothes, seeing as I'm still covered in the mud I was immersed in when I attacked Jake and saved Sam. Dean has yet to speak to me. Well, directly to me anyway. It's been radio silence. I hear the bathroom door open as I'm rinsing my hair. I wait to see if whoever it is will say something, apologize for coming in the room while I'm showering but all I hear is nothing. No sounds at all.

I peek around the curtain and see Dean leaning against the wall beside the door. His arms are crossed and his head is lowered.

"If you're here to bitch at me some more, save it."

He lifts his head and looks at me. The torment and anguish in his eyes breaks my heart and makes me just want to comfort him, not argue and fight. His features are so bleak and somber it makes me want to cry. He holds my gaze for what seems like hours before he speaks.

"I'm sorry Nic," he says low. Clearing his throat he pushes away from the wall and walks to the edge of the shower. "I saw him go for the knife and it seemed like time stood still I knew he was going to go after you or Sam and there wasn't enough time for me to get there and stop it. If I lost either one of you, I don't know what I would've done."

I reach out and grab his hand as he stands there looking despondent. "Join me?"

Dean smiles a small smile as he squeezes then lets go of my hand to undress. I close the curtain and stand under the spray and wait for him to step into the stall.

The sight of Dean in all his naked glory takes my breath away. I mean I know what he looks like nude, I know his body almost as well as my own but it still invigorates me every damn time. He steps closer and I move to the side so he can stand under the water and hopefully wash away the remnants of today. I watch the muscles of his arms and back as he reaches up to run his hands through his wet hair.

Dean turns to me and I still see the sorrow and remorse on his face. I gently cup his cheek and smile at him. "It's okay, Dean. We're here, we're alive. It's gonna be okay.": He closes his eyes and even though he is still standing under the stream of water, I see the tear slip down his face. "I can't lose him Nic. I just can't," he whispers. I wipe the tear track off his face and pull him to me. "You won't. Sam's okay baby."

Dean opens his eyes and looks at me. He leans toward me and presses his lips to mine. Our lips meld and I feel his tongue lightly caressing my lips so I part them and let him in. He pulls my body to his, knocking me off balance since I have little support with my ankle still tender and sore. Dean slides his hands down my sides and over my ass. He picks me up by my thighs and I wrap my legs around his waist, our mouths never parting.

Dean holds me tight as he slowly lowers me onto his hard length. I moan into his mouth as he enters me, the feeling of being connected to him overwhelming. He turns and presses my back against the wall of the shower and begins to thrust into me.

After the shower romp, we actually shower together. Taking turns lathering the other with suds and sharing the water to rinse. I grab the towel as I step out of the stall and run it over my body, soaking up the moisture then wrap it around my body. I take a smaller one and envelope it around my wet locks. I hand Dean one as he exits the stall and watch as he dries off. Once he is done, he secures it around his hips and pulls me to him, putting his chin on my head. "Thank you, Nicole. For doing what I couldn't. For saving my brother."

"Dean, he's my brother too. Maybe not by blood, but he is my brother too."

I just stand there, relishing the feel of Dean's arms around me. I feel safe and protected in his embrace. He eventually loosens his grip on me, places a chaste kiss to my lips and says, "Let's get dressed and go see what they've come up with."

Downstairs, Bobby and Sam are surrounded by books in the den.

"Well, I found something. But I'm not sure what the hell it means," Bobby says, not looking up from the book in front of him.

"What is it?" Sam asks, walking over to where Bobby is.

"Demonic omens... like a frickin' tidal wave. Cattle deaths. Lightning storms. They skyrocketed from out of nowhere. Here." He points to Wyoming on a map. "All around here, except for one place... Southern Wyoming,"

"Wyoming?" Dean asks, alerting them to our presence in the room.

"Yeah. That one area's totally clean – spotless. It's almost as if..."

"What?" I ask, timidly. I'm almost afraid of the anwer.

"The demons are surrounding it," Bobby explains.

"But you don't know why?" Dean looks between the map, the book and the man who has always seemed like a father to him.

"No, and by this point my eyes are swimming. Nicole, would you take a look at it? Maybe you could catch something I couldn't."

"Yeah. Sure," I say, stepping around the guys and peering at the pages laid out on the desk.

"I got some more books in the truck," Bobby proclaims as he makes his way out of the room.

Dean and Sam continue scanning the text in other volumes of lore as I try to make heads or tails of what I am looking at.

"You know, when we were little— and you couldn't been more than 5— you just started asking questions. 'How come we didn't have a mom? Why do we always have to move around? Where'd Dad go when he'd take off for days at a time?' I remember I begged you, 'Quit asking, Sammy. Man, you don't want to know.' I just wanted you to be a kid... Just for a little while longer. I always tried to protect you... Keep you safe... Dad didn't even have to tell me. It was just always my responsibility, you know? It's like I had one job... I had one job...And I almost screwed it up." He pauses, sighing out a deep breath. "I almost blew it. And for that, I'm sorry." Dean wipes the tears from his face. "I guess that's what I do. I let down the people I love. I let Dad down. And now I guess I almost let you down, too. How am I supposed to live with that?"

Dean continues crying and I feel my tears, hot as they fall down my cheek. I walk over to him and grab his hand, lacing our fingers together, squeezing.

"You're my little brother, Sammy. God. What was I supposed to do if I lost you? He inhales sharply and looks at Sam.

"But I'm here Dean," Sam says. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

"I let you down. Jake almost got you. If it hadn't been for Nic, you would more than likely be dead right now. He was going to kill you."

The brothers are interrupted when Bobby rushes back in the house, pulling Ellen by the hand, who looks very heartbroken and discouraged.

"Ellen?" We all three speak simultaneously. Ellen nods and then starts to cry.

"Ellen! Oh, God!" " I exclaim as I embrace her.

When I let her go Bobby pours a clear liquid from a flask into a shot glass then hands it to Ellen.

"Bobby, is this really necessary?" Ellen asks, taking the glass anyway.

"Just a little bit of Holy Water," Bobby says. "Shouldn't hurt."

Ellen lifts the shot glass to her mouth and swallows. "Whiskey now, if you don't mind."

"Ellen, what happened?" Dean asks. "How'd you get out?"

"I wasn't supposed to. I was supposed to be in there with everybody else," she answers the scoffs. "But we ran out of pretzels, of all things. It was just dumb luck."

She drinks the whiskey Bobby poured for her and exhales sharply. "Anyway, that's when Ash called. Panic in his voice," she pauses and sighs. "He told me to look in the safe. Then the call cut out. By the time I got back, the flames were sky-high. And everybody was dead. I couldn't have been gone more than fifteen minutes."

"Sorry, Ellen." Sam says, regret deep in his voice.

Ellen tears up. "A lot of good people died in there. And I got to live," she scoffs again then whispers, "Lucky me."

"Ellen, you mentioned a safe," Bobby questions.

"A hidden safe we keep in the basement."

"Demons get what was in it?"

"No," Ellen answers and then pulls out a map from her pocket, unfolding it and setting it down on the table. It has several black lines and X's on it.

"Wyoming. What does that mean?" Dean asks pointing to the lines.

We all look at each other, no one having an answer. Bobby goes to a shelf and grabs a large book, turning pages.

"I don't believe it," Bobby says and sets the book on a table.

"What?" Sam asks, sitting down at the table. "You got something?" Dean and I follow suit.

"A lot more than that. Each of these X's--" he points to the marks on the map. "--is an abandoned frontier church, all mid-19th century. And all of them built by Samuel Colt."

"Samuel Colt?" Dean asks. "The demon-killing, gunmaking Samuel Colt?"

"Yep. And there's more. He built private railway lines--" Bobby explains pointing to the black lines on the map. "--connecting church to church. It just happens to lay out like this." He connects the points on the map until the shape of a star is made.

"Tell me that's not what I think it is," I say, nervously.

"It's a Devil's Trap," Sam says, confirming my suspicion. "A 100-square mile Devil's Trap."

"That's brilliant. Iron lines demons can't cross," Dean says.

"I've never heard of anything that massive," Ellen speaks up, looking at the map. I nod my head in agreement.

"No one has," Bobby tells us.

"And after all these years none of the lines are broken?" Dean asks, impressed. "I mean, it still works?"

"Definitely," Sam answers.

"How do you know?"

"All those omens Bobby found. I mean the demons, they must be circling and they can't get in."

"Yeah, well..." Bobby says. "They're trying."

"Why? What's inside?" Ellen questions the old hunter.

"That's what I've been looking for," I explain. "And, uh, there's nothing except an old cowboy cemetery right in the middle."

"Well what's so important about a cemetery or... what's Colt trying to protect?"

"I don't know, unless ..."

"Unless what?" Bobby asks, looking at me.

"What if Colt wasn't trying to keep the demons out? What if he was trying to keep something in?"

"Now that's a comforting thought."

"Yeah, you think?" Dean smarts off at her.

Ellen looks at him and squints her eyes. "Boy, you might be bigger than me but I can still whip your ass."

I suppress a giggle as I see Dean sit back in his chair and hold up his hands in surrender.

"Could they do it, Bobby?" Sam asks, ignoring the stare down between his brother and Ellen. "Could they get inside?"

"This thing's so powerful, you'd practically need an A-bomb to destroy it," Bobby explains. "No way a full-blood demon gets across."

"No," Sam pauses and we all look to him. "But I know who could."

"Jake." I breath out. "You think that was the yellow eyed demon's plan all along? Get someone on his side that can get across the iron lines release whatever Colt was trying to keep in?"

"I don't know," Sam answers. "Makes sense though. He just needed one of us to do his dirty work."

"Well let's hit the road and hopefully get there before Jake and stop whatever he's going to do," Dean says standing up. "Sam and Nic will ride with me. You and Ellen can bring your truck. We might need the winch."

The five of us quickly check our guns and ammo and climb into the vehicles, ready to make the 9 hour trek to Wyoming.

We get to the old cowboy's cemetery right at dusk. The headstones standing against the evening sky gives off an eerie aura, most of them broken down from age and the environment. I visibly tremble as I look out over the field full of different shapes and sizes of the memorials. Dean notices me shiver and looks at me. "You okay?"

"Yea," I answer him, pulling myself together. "Just creepy. These graves are hundreds of years old. Who knows what's in there."

He grabs my hand and squeezes. "It'll be fine. I got your back."

"I know," I tell him, checking my gun once again. Locked and loaded, we enter the graveyard, flashlights in hand.

Night falls and without our flashlights, it would be totally dark. A gate creaks in the distance and we all hurriedly extinguish our lights and find a place to hide. Dean grabs my hand and leads me to a tall, wide tomb. I hold my breath as we watch Jake walk past headed toward the middle of the field, his own flashlight lighting the way. I watch as he walks up and stops in front of the stone building standing there.

"Howdy Jake," Sam says as he approaches Jake from behind, gun raised and ready.

Dean, Bobby, Ellen, and I all appear from the shadows, guns raised also

"Just take it easy there son," Bobby tries placating Jake

"And if I don't?" Jake asks, glancing between the five of us.

"Wait and see," Sam smirks.

"What, you a tough guy all of a sudden? What are you gonna do— kill me?"

"It's a thought," Sam says, leaning his head to the side.

"You had your chance. You couldn't."

"I won't make that mistake twice."

Jake begins to laugh.

"What are you smiling at, you little bitch?" Dean screams.

"Hey Lady, do me a favor. Put that gun to your head." Ellen shakily points her gun at her temple. "See that Ava girl was right. Once you give in to it, there's all sorts of new Jedi mind tricks you can learn."

"Let her go," Sam demands, focusing his gun on Jake.

With a trembling voice, Ellen speaks "Shoot him."

"You'll be mopping up skull before you get a shot off," Jake tells us the pauses."Everybody, put your guns down. Except you, sweetheart."

We all drop our guns, Ellen still holding hers to her head.

"Okay. Thank you." Jake turns around and pulls the Colt out of his pocket. While he is inserting it into the crypt, Dean and Bobby grab Ellen before she can shoot herself just as Sam shoots Jake in the back. Jake falls onto the ground, and Sam walks to stand over him.

Jake gasps and begins pleading with Sam. "Please... don't. Please!"

Sam looks down at his nemesis and shoots him three more times in the chest. Blood spatters onto his face. Ellen, Bobby and I walk past Sam, Bobby staring at him hard. Dean walks over glancing at Jake then looks at Sam in shock. Sam wipes the blood from his face.

We look over to the crypt as two separate engravings on the crypt spin in different directions, then stop.

"Oh no," Bobby exclaims.

"Bobby, what is it?"

"It's hell," Bobby utters.

Dean steps forward and pulls the Colt from the Crypt.

"Take cover— now!" Bobby yells.

All of us run behind tombstones as the doors to the crypt burst open, me joining Dean at the same tomb we hid behind before. A large black mass erupts from the other side and shoots outward. I sneak a peek around the stone and see demons breaching the Devil's Trap and escaping. Black demon smoke continues to pour from the crypt, with individual trails of smoke haring off in different directions.

"What the hell just happened?!" Dean yells at the others.

"That's a devil's gate. A damn door to hell!" Ellen answers back.

"Come on! We gotta shut that gate!" Bobby, Sam and I join her and begin trying to push the steel metal doors close. I lean my back against the edge of the door and push with my feet and legs.

I watch as Dean checks the Colt for bullets.

Thunder crashes overhead and I see the yellow eyed demon appear behind Dean. He flings the Colt out of Dean's hand and into his own. Dean looks astonished. I watch as he throws Dean into the air, where he hits his head on a tombstone and lies there, stunned. Blood begins trickling down his face.

Bobby, Ellen, Sam and I are struggling to close the crypt door. Sam notices my attention isn't as much on closing the door as it is the scene behind us. He looks over his shoulder and sees Dean down, and then sees the yellow eyed demon. The demon looks at Sam and smiles.

"Dean!" Sam and I both yell.

Sam lets go of the gate door and runs toward his brother. I watch as the demon throws Sam against a nearby tree. Dean is struggling to get up and the demon turns his attention toward him. The demon throws Dean against a post and approaches Dean, squatting to get right in his face. I can't hear what the demon is saying over the air whirling out of the gate, but I can tell by the look on Dean's face that whatever the demon is saying to him is terrifying. The demon stands and raises the Colt, aiming it at Dean. I gulp, afraid I'm going to witness the asshole shoot Dean.

Along with the black smoke coming from the door, I begin seeing apparitions start walking through the cemetery.

Suddenly John appears behind the demon and grabs hold of him. The body the demon had possessed falls to the ground as John holds onto the black smoke that is the demon. They begin wrestling and fall to the ground. The impact causes John to lose his grip and the smoke re-enters the body in the dirt.

The meatsuit stands only to come face to face with Dean pointing the Colt straight at him. Dean squeezes the trigger, shooting the body right in the chest. The body flashes orange and then falls to the Earth, dead.

We finally get the doors to Hell shut and Ellen and Bobby turns, surprised to see John standing there in front of his sons. John places a hand on his eldest son's shoulder and looks over to this youngest. John nods at Sam and then turns his attention back to Dean, smiling. He nods again and then steps back and vanishes in a white light.

The brothers and I stand over the demon's smoking body, looking overwhelmed.

"Well, check that off the to-do list," Dean says with a little laugh.

"You did it," Sam says, relief and satisfaction evident in his voice.

"I didn't do it alone."

"Do you think Dad really... do you think he really climbed outta hell?"

"The door was open. If anyone's stubborn enough to do it... it would be him," Dean tells his brother.

"Where do you think he is now?" Sam asks quietly.

"I don't know."

"I kind of can't believe it, Dean. I mean... our whole lives, everything... has been prepping for this, and now I..." Sam chuckles. "I kind of don't know what to say."

"I do." Dean leans closer to the body. "That was for our mom... you son of a bitch."

He stands up and pulls me to him, hugging my waist tight. I turn and put my arms around his neck. I look into his eyes and then our lips are crashing together. Dean kisses me passionately, every emotion in the kiss.

When we part, Dean looks at me and smiles, a genuine smile that I can't help but return. He begins laughing causing me to, which in turns causes Sam to. Ellen and Bobby walk over to us and smile at the three of us cackling, shaking their heads slightly.

We all begin walking toward the vehicles. Once we get there, I grab my bag out of the backseat. I wave my little first aid kit toward Dean. He leans against Baby, his legs stretched out in front of him. I stand between them and begin cleaning his forehead. Dean places his hands on my hips lightly. Once I get to the wound in his hairline, he squeezes my hips. I look into his eyes and whisper "Sorry." I inspect the gash in his head, confirming he doesn't need stitches. It's just a small cut.

When I'm done I pack the soiled gauze away and put my hands on his check. I tug his head down and kiss his hair. We pulls me to him and wraps his arms around me, his head on my shoulder.

Ellen approaches us. "Well... Yellow-Eyed Demon might be dead. But a lot more got through that gate."

"How many you think?" Dean asks.

"Hundred. Maybe two hundred. It's an army. He's unleashed an army." Sam answers.

"Hope to hell you guys are ready," Bobby says. "Cause the war has just begun."

"Well, then..." Dean says, smiling. He lets go of my hand and walks toward the back of the Impala, opening the trunk. He throws the Colt inside and closes it. Dean looks toward me and then the others and says, "...we got work to do."