I opened my eyes, a bright white light momentarily blinding me. Once the light had disappeared, I look around, taking in my surroundings. "What in the world?" I mutter to myself. I was standing in my granny's kitchen, the familiar scent of herbs and spices wafting around me, making me feel like I was home. "Granny?" I yell out.

"No need to yell child, I'm right here," I turn around seeing her standing behind me, a calm smile on her face. I take her in, not remembering the last time I saw her. She looked exactly the same though, long grey hair pulled back into a neat braid, far too many necklaces and bracelets that suited her perfectly, a bright pink shawl draped over her shoulders.

"Granny," I say with a breathy sigh. "I'm so happy to see you!" Closing the distance between us, I throw my arms around her shoulders, taking in the scent of lavender that lingered on her.

"Are you honey?" she says, pulling me back and holding me at arm's length.

"Well of course I am," I say. She purses her lips together, causing me to retract a little bit. "Why- why wouldn't I be?"

"Sweetheart, what is the last thing you remember?"

I look deep into her grey eyes, trying to remember. "Um," I say, my forehead scrunching together. "The last thing I remember is, um…I had just helped these two guys in the ER at work."

"Do you remember their names?" she asks, an edge of caution to her voice.

"No, not really," I shake my head at her. "What does that matter Granny?" Behind us I hear a light knock on the front door.

"It matters a great deal," she says. "There is someone here I think you should meet." I watch her as she walks over to the door, opening to reveal a vaguely familiar blonde haired woman. They greet each other silently before walking over to me.

"Hello Rhiannon," the woman says. She gives me a kind smile as I look her up and down, taking in her white nightgown.

"Granny," I say cautiously, taking a couple steps back. "Who is this? What's going on?" I suddenly had a sick feeling in my stomach. Something about the woman's smile was too familiar.

"My name is Mary Winchester," she says coolly. At the mention of her name, a million different memoires come flooding back. The weight of them causes me to step back, clutching at my chest. Once my breathing calms down, I look up at Granny and Mary again. They both have concerned, sad looks on their faces.

I take another deep, shaking breath, swallowing back a lump in my throat. Standing here with them in this kitchen could surely only mean one thing. "I'm dead, aren't I?"

~o.O.o.O.o~

Two Days Earlier

Haniel's Point of View

"Damn, when was the last time you slept son," I say. I look across the front seat of the Impala as the elder Winchester's shoulders tense up at the sound of my voice. He slowly turns, a ghost of optimism on his face that quickly disappears as he looks me up and down. "Yeah, I know. I look like her but I don't. She's been bitching at me about straightening her hair and wearing the leather and the heels but I keep telling her if we're going to be a badass angel we have to look-"

"You got about two seconds to tell me what you want before I kick your ass," Dean spits out at me.

"Thought you could use a friend," I say, debating on whether or not to kick my feet up on the dashboard. "Seeing as how your brother is now my brother's play thing and your girlfriend is basically now a raging psycho inside her own mind."

"Okay, now you got about two seconds to get the hell out of here or I swear to God I'll-"

"Careful Dean," I say in a sing-song voice. "Daddy doesn't like people swearing to his name." Out of nowhere I feel a solid punch land on my cheek. The surprise of the attack makes me stumble back against the passenger door. "Okay, I deserved that," I say, rubbing at my jaw. "I was being a bitch, I get that."

"Oh, so she does have conscious," he sneers at me. "Like I said earlier, what in the hell do you want?"

I give him a smirk before looking around the car, picking up a random cassette tape that was on the ground. I hated to admit why I was here just yet. "Let me ask you something," I say. "How did you stand Rhiannon's persistent crusade on anti-cussing? I mean seriously, what's wrong with a few curse words every now and then?"

"Maybe it's because she isn't a bitch, like you," Dean says. I look up at him, a faint hint of a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, well, you got that right," I say, a smirk crossing my own face. If you don't get to the friggin point soon I swear I will start replaying my sex memories with Dean again, Rhiannon threatens in my head. "Oh dammit, fine," I say with an exasperated sigh. "I came here for Rhiannon."

The silence in the air is so thick I can basically see it. After a minute or so, Dean finally clears his throat. "What are you talking about?"

"Lucifer finally has his vessel, Michael has his, the battle is coming," I say, staring straight out the front windshield. "Tomorrow, actually."

"Where?" Dean says quickly.

I turn to look at him, certain eagerness on his face. I let out a sigh, feeling bad for him. "I'm not going to tell you Dean."

"Why the hell not?" he yells at me.

"Because it is Michael and Lucifer battling to the death, with me there to help Michael," I say. "Rhiannon and Sam will technically be there too-"

"Which is why I need to be there!" he roars at me.

"Which is exactly why you can't be there," I snap back at him. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. "Look, I've been a part of Rhiannon for almost her whole life so it's only natural that I have developed some fondness of her. I have…I have, for lack of a better phrase, ended her life." I hear Dean tense up again, but refuse to look at him. "Well, technically, my brothers have. But that's not the point, I came here as a favor to her. Dean, you have to promise you won't go anywhere near that battle field tomorrow." I finally look over at him, his jaw tight as his eyes are shut. "She, Rhiannon, doesn't want you to see it. She doesn't want you to see her or Sam die." I continue to look at him as his eyes open and he turns his head slowly to look at me again. "But, I'm not an idiot. I know you'll find out where it is and show up. So I'm going to make you a promise."

"What could you possibly promise me?" he says to me, a disgusted look on his face.

"I'm powerful, probably more powerful than my brothers," I say, a smugness in my voice. "I will try my best to save Sam and Rhiannon. Even if that means killing myself in the process." Dean looks at me, a hard look on his face. I could see the gears in his head turning, trying to decide whether or not to believe me. "Look, I don't really care if you trust me or not. Don't really care if you believe me either. I told Rhiannon I'd come tell you this, and I did. So just do me a solid and don't show up tomorrow." Before he can say anything, I disappear from the car.

~o.O.o.O.o~

The Next Day

I shake my head as I watch Dean get out of his car, that stupid, stupid idiot. "Sorry. Am I interrupting something?" he says, staring Michael and Lucifer down. "Hey. We need to talk." He shuts the door to the car and starts to walk towards us.

"Dean." Lucifer says. "Even for you, this is a whole new mountain of stupid."

"I'm not talking to you." Dean snaps. "I'm talking to Sam."

"You're no longer the vessel, Dean." Michael says. "You got no right to be here."

"Michael, just shut up and let him talk," the words slip out before I can stop them. The three men in the cemetery look at me, stares ranging from anger to gratitude.

"Adam, if you're in there somewhere, I am so sorry." Dean says, looking at the body of his younger brother.

"Adam isn't home right now." Michael says again.

"Well, then you're next on my list, buttercup." Dean threatens. "But right now, I need five minutes with him."

I could feel the rage rolling off Michael's shoulders. "You little maggot. You are no longer a part of this story!"

"Hey, ass-butt!" I hear behind us. We all three turn around to see Castiel and Bobby standing there. Castiel holds up a bottle with a burning rag sticking out of the top. I watch as he throws the bottle at Michael, hitting him square in the chest causing him to burst into flames and disappear.

"'Ass-butt'?" Dean says, raising an eyebrow at Castiel, who just shrugs his shoulders.

"He'll be back - and upset - but you got your five minutes." The angel tells him.

"Castiel." Lucifer says, anger lacing into his voice. "Did you just Molotov my brother with holy fire?"

"Uh..." Castiel says, backtracking and holding his hands up. "No?"

"No one dicks with Michael but me." Lucifer says, his nostrils flaring. He holds up a hand, snapping his fingers making Castiel explode.

I stare at the spot where Castiel was before Dean's voice distracts me. "Sammy, can you hear me?"

"You know... I tried to be nice, for Sammy's sake." Lucifer says, turning slowly to Dean. "But you are such a pain in my ass."

"Lucifer stop," I say forcefully. "You touch one hair on Dean and I will end you right here and now."

Lucifer stops his advance on Dean and turns to look at me. "Sister, who's side are you on exactly?" Lucifer says. "Because, first, you were with me. Then, you were with Michael. Now, you are defending the Winchester scum."

"I am on Father's side," I say. "He created us to protect this planet. Not to fight each other and destroy it in the process."

I watch as my brother stares me down, taking slow steps towards me. "No," he says slowly, looking at me deliberately. "This isn't you talking. You were on my side when I was cast out. Then you got cast out and into a human, now…now she has infected you." Before it even happens, I know what is going to happen next. I turn my head away from my brother to look at Dean, who is staring at us in disbelief. I feel Lucifer's hand close around my neck. I blink a couple times, I'm so sorry Rhiannon, I say to the girl in my head. I continue to look at Dean as I feel the painful, burning sensation rip through my body, my entire being. Biting down on my tongue, I hold back the screams of pain trying to escape before…

~o.O.o.O.o~

Rhiannon's Point of View

"Where exactly am I?" I say. "Is this heaven?"

"No child," Granny says. "I done told you once I can't stand those stuffy angels. You probably understand why now."

"This surely isn't hell then?" I ask.

"No," Mary says. "It isn't."

"Then where?" I say, starting to get frustrated.

"Think of it as a separate spirit world," Granny says. "Not Purgatory though, that's a whole different place. People that don't deserve hell, but aren't going to heaven, come here."

"I always thought you were in heaven," I say, turning to Mary. I didn't mean to say the thought out loud. "I mean, Sam told me about how you died so I thought…"

"Being in heaven was just too complicated for me," she says, smiling at me sweetly. "My husband and boys aren't there, so there's no reason for me to be there."

My heart gives an involuntary clench as I catch a glimpse of the younger Mary I had met before. "That sounds like something Dean would say," I say around a thick voice.

She gives me another smile as she walks closer to me, placing a hand on the side of my face. "You are so good for my son," she says. "Both of them, but Dean especially."

I start to blink rapidly as tears well up in my eyes. "I did the best I could," I say. "But I don't know what is going to happen to him now, loosing me and Sam." I knew in my gut that Sam wouldn't make it out of that battle alive.

"He isn't losing you," Granny says, stepping up next to Mary.

"What…what do you mean?" I ask. I look at them warily, trying not to get my hopes up on what I thought she may be talking about.

"She means that since I got myself killed for you, you get a second shot," I spin around quickly to see Haniel standing behind me. "Or well, in your case a third or fourth shot. I've lost count of how many times you've actually died."

"Haniel…I-" I was at a loss for words. While I was her vessel, I rarely knew what she was planning on doing but during that time she always promised she would find a way out of the situation for me.

"Oh save the blubbering," she says, waving a hand at me. "I promised you and I promised Dean that I would get you out of this."

"What about Sam?" I ask. "Is he…?"

"No," she says sadly. "He isn't going to make it out of this. But, that is why you have to go back. Dean is going to need you now more than ever." I was taken aback by the gentleness in her voice.

"But…what about you?" I ask. Haniel raises an eyebrow at me. "I mean, if I go back, will you still be part of me?"

She shakes her head at me. "When Lucifer killed me…us…you, whatever, he ripped me out of you completely."

"Taking her out of you is what killed you," Granny says. I take a step back so I can look at all three of them.

"So, what will happen to you?" I ask Haniel. "I mean, you made my life hell these past few months but still…you know…"

"I know," Haniel says, giving me a knowing smile. I felt connected to her, she was part of me. "Well, I can't go to Heaven, don't really think a former angel, former conspirator with Lucifer would go over well in Hell. I think I'll probably just hang out here for the rest of eternity. Keep an eye out over you with these two."

"When I go back will I-"

"Oh for goodness sakes girl," Granny says, cutting me off. "I know I taught you to never look a gift horse in the mouth." I give her an apologetic smile. "Now, get over here, give the three of us each a hug so we can send you back to Dean. This next moment in his life is going to be difficult and he'll need you."

"Yes ma'am," I say. I walk up to each of them, giving them all a hug.

"You watch out for my son," Mary says, giving me a stern look. "I'm leaving you in charge of him."

I nod my head at her. "Yes ma'am, I'll do my best with him." After Mary releases me, I step over to Haniel, looking into the mirror image of my own face.

"Well kid," she says. "It's been a fun ride."

"You have a warped sense of what 'fun' is," I say with a chuckle.

She returns the chuckle, giving me a half smile. "Yeah, I do," she says. Reaching out, we both wrap our arms around each other, holding the other close. "You keep on being good, okay?" Haniel says, her voice muffled by my shoulder. "You were far, far, far too good of a person for me to be put into. You deserved so much better than the life you were dealt."

I pull back from her giving her a teary smile. "You helped form me into who I am," I say. "I wouldn't have had it any other way."

Haniel shakes her head at me. "I may have a warped sense of fun, but you are just warped," she says with a grin. I watch her as she release one of her arms from me and reaches up towards me forehead. "Go live a life."

Before I can say anything, everything goes black again.

~o.O.o.O.o~

The sound of wind whirling and whipping around me wakes me up. I sit up abruptly, looking around at my surroundings, I was back in the cemetery lying next to the Impala.

"Sam! It's not gonna end this way! Step back!" I hear a voice yell. I crawl around the back end of the Impala to see Michael standing there, looking at Lucifer.

"You're gonna have to make me!" he yells back. As soon as the voice came out of the mouth I could tell it wasn't Lucifer anymore, but Sam again.

Looking away from them, I look down the side of the Impala and see Dean sitting there, looking between the two men.

"Dean!" I yell over the wind. He slowly turns his head towards me to look at me. I gasp at the sight of his swollen, bloody face, but still crawl along the ground to him, fighting against the wind. When I reach him, I kneel beside him, wrapping an arm around his broad shoulders, clasping one of his hands into mine. I didn't know if he knew it was me or if he thought I was Haniel still, but I didn't care.

"I have to fight my brother, Sam!" Michael says, ignoring everything else but Sam standing at the edge of the pit. "Here and now! It's my destiny!"

Sam looks away from Michael towards me and Dean. I knew he wasn't looking at me, but at his brother, who was so still that if I couldn't feel the warmth of him, I would've thought he was dead. Sam gives him one last look before shutting his eyes, throwing his arms open wide and starting to tip himself backwards. In a last ditch effort to spark the battle, Michael lunges forward to tackle Sam only causing himself to fall into the pit with Sam.

After a second, the wind dies down and the air becomes still. The only sound filling the air is mine and Dean's heavy breathing, and a few nearby crows. Dean slowly turns his head towards me. "Rhi?" he croaks out, trying to speak around the swelling.

"Yeah," I say, nodding my head, fighting back the tears. "It's me. I'm back."

"Sam…he…" Dean says, not able to form the right words, still in shock.

"I know," I say. I reach a hand up, thinking about wiping away some of the blood from his face but it's too swollen to even touch. "I know," I say again, deciding to just rest the hand gingerly on the side of his face.

We sit there for another few seconds, just staring at each other, before Dean finally moves. I watch him as he stands up and walks over to where the pit had been. He kneels down on the ground, picking up the horsemen's rings, just staring at the spot where his brother had disappeared. I stay back, pulling my knees up to my chest, letting Dean do his own silent grieving.

After a few minutes, I hear the beating of wings and then see Cas appear beside Dean. Dean turns his head and looks up at Cas. "Cas, you're alive?" Dean croaks out. I stare too in wonder at the angel that I had seen explode right next to me through Haniel's eyes.

"I'm better than that." He says, giving Dean a faint smile. Cas reaches down and touches Dean's forehead, instantly erasing all the wounds on his face.

Dean blinks a couple times before standing up and looking at Cas. "Cas, are you God?" Dean says in almost amazement. I stand up too and walk over to them.

"That's a nice compliment. But no." Cas says. "Although, I do believe he brought me back. New and improved." Cas starts to turn but stops when he sees me. "Did he bring you back too?" he asks, surprised to see me.

I shake my head. "Haniel." I simply say.

Cas says nothing as he turns from us and walks across the cemetery. I let out a gasp when I see him stop at Bobby's lifeless corpse that I hadn't even noticed. He reaches down and touches Bobby on the forehead like he did with Dean, causing the old man to open his eyes and let out a gasp of air.

I look over at Dean who was staring at the horseman's rings in his hand. "Is it really you?" he says quietly.

It takes until he looks up at me, placing the rings in his pocket, to realize his was talking to me. "Yeah," I say finally. "It's really me."

"Do you still have an angel in you?" he asks.

"No," I say, shaking my head. "One hundred percent me."

Dean nods his head as Bobby and Castiel walk up to us. No one says anything, no one knows what to say. Finally, Dean breaks the silence. "We should hit the road," he says.

We all nod our heads, Cas disappearing, me and Bobby following Dean to the car.

~o.O.o.O.o~

I roll up the window after giving Bobby one last wave as Dean drives out of the junk yard. The silence was hanging thick in the air. I didn't know what to say to Dean. I didn't know what would set him off. I didn't know what would happen if I tried to say something about Sam.

The silence continues to hang around the car as we drive down the road and continues into the motel room Dean booked for the night. After I got out of the shower, I walk out of the bathroom to find Dean sitting on the edge of the bed, not having moved from the position I had left him in. Sitting down next to him, I cautiously wind one of my arms through his, taking his hand into mine. He lets out a sigh as he reaches over with the other hand, rubbing the back of my hand. "I promised Sam that once this was all over, I would try," he says, finally speaking up.

"You would try what?" I say after a few moments of silence.

He lets out a sigh as he tightens his grip on my hand, like he was afraid I'd run away at his next words. "That I wouldn't try and get him out of the pit," Dean says. "And that I would try and live a normal life. Football games, barbeques, all that stuff." I knew what he was trying to get around to saying, but I was going to let him get it out in his own time. "I um, I was wondering if you would like to help me with that." He says. I continue to look at him as he turns his head towards me to look me in the eye. "I've…I've never lived a life like that, but you have. I don't…my brother is gone and I don't know what else to do beside try and keep this promise to him. So, will you help me?"

I swallow back the lump in my throat as I reach up and place a hand on the side of his face, much like his mother had done to me. "Yeah, I'll help you," I say, a rasp in my voice.

"Please," Dean says, closing his eyes and nuzzling his face into my hand. "Don't leave me."

"I'm right here," I say quietly. "I'm not going anywhere."

The End?

A/N: Wah! :( It's over! :'( Thank you EVERYONE for reading! It has been a lot of fun! I appreciate all of your reviews and words of encouragement! Stay tuned for a possible sequel and other stories I'll write :) THANK YOU ALL so much again!