Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or anything from it. Alexis is my original character.


Chapter 50: Soul

The drive to Chicago only took Alexis about 45 minutes. It was 3:21 when Alexis pulled her car into the garage and parked it. She wasn't sure what she was going to find when she walked into the apartment. Especially if Jo's spirit really had been there all these months.

As she walks through her apartment door, all the emotions she'd been suppressing flood to the surface. By leaving Chicago and not looking back, she'd locked away the worst of things. It was like the apartment was this box that held everything she didn't want to think about, and by walking in, the box opened again. For her, the apartment was filled with memories of dead people. Zach, Jo, her mother, even her unborn daughter. It hurt to be there. And the fact that she was there alone at nearly 3:30 in the morning just made it hurt more.

With the flip of a switch, the foyer lights up. Hesitantly she walks into the living room area. She didn't know what to expect. Was she really alone? Would she be greeted with her sister's spirit? Would Jo's spirit be angry or vengeful? She didn't know, and truly she was unprepared. Heading to Chicago by herself was an impulse decision. Just two hours prior, she'd thought her sister's soul was in the hands of the King of Hell.

Alexis turns more lights on, illuminating the rest of the apartment. Then she walks over to the kitchen and grabs a container of salt from the cabinet, just in case. She knew she wouldn't be able to bring herself to shoot Jo, even if she was trying to kill her. And she also knew the boys would track her down soon enough, so if that meant sitting in a circle of salt for hours, she'd do it. Only if she had to. And she was hoping it didn't come to that. That Jo was still Jo, at least mostly.

"Jo?"

A few moments of silence pass, and then, right before her eyes, her sister flickers into view in front of her. Tears form in her eyes as she mumbles, "I- I had no idea you were… stuck here. I'm so sorry."

A small sad smile spreads across Jo's face. "You're here now. You can get me out of here."

"No. I can get you back. I will get you back." Alexis resolves. She wasn't just going to free her sister from Earth, send her to Heaven. She couldn't let her go. Not again.

"Lexi…" Jo trails off. She didn't know what to say. She had most of the whole ghost thing down, but she hadn't interacted with anyone. It was killing her to not able to hug her sister.

"No. I'm getting you back. I just- I just have to think for a minute." Her mind was spinning, trying to come up with something, anything. After a few minutes, she settles on something. It was reckless, and it could very easily not work, but it was all she had. She just had to die, temporarily that is, to do it. "Got it."

"Lex, look at me. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to ask Death to bring you back. I did something for him once. Maybe he'll do something for me... I just have to die to find out."

"Alexis. No. Don't you dare kill yourself to save me. Don't you dare." Jo warns, the lights flickering around them. Oops, she thinks. Looks like she did have some slight anger issues after all. But after all these months, she was not about to watch her little sister kill herself to save her.

"Gabe can bring me back. I just need to talk to him, Jo. I need fifteen minutes tops." The flicker of the lights reminds Alexis that though she was standing in front of her sister, Jo wasn't entirely Jo. She was a spirit. One who'd been stuck for months, alone. "I promise I won't trade my life for yours, even if I want to, okay?"

Jo relents, knowing that if the two were reversed, and it was Alexis dead, she'd do the exact same thing. She'd do anything to have her sister back. "Fine."

"I'll uh, I'll need whatever it is you're tethered to I imagine. Any idea what it is? Maybe something of Dad's?"

"When I found myself stuck here, I tried to think of what it could be. I'm pretty sure it's Dad's knife that I've had for years. Top drawer in the dresser in the room I'd usually stay in."

Alexis nods and walks away, headed towards that bedroom. Once she has the knife on her, she heads back out into the living room and places it on a side table, next the salt she'd grabbed earlier. Standing next to her sister, she calls out for Gabriel.

The archangel appears within sixty seconds, and once his eyes land on the two Harvelle sisters, he grows confused. "What's going on?"

"Jo is stuck here, as a spirit. And I'm going to get her back. But I need your help." Alexis explains.

"But you- you burned her bones. I'm afraid there isn't anything I can do." Gabriel says, taking on a tone of empathy.

"That's not what I need. You can still bring back people from the dead, right? If you have their body? Like if I were to die right now, you could bring me back?"

The angel's face darkens, slowly coming to the realization of what Alexis was saying. "What exactly are you planning to do?"

"I need to speak with Death. The only way I know how to do that right now is to be dead. So if I died, could you bring me back in say fifteen minutes?"

"Alexis, that is a terrible idea."

"Can you do it or not?" she asks, not in the mood to be talked out of it. She had her mind made up, and she'd find someone who would help her if Gabriel wouldn't.

"I can. But I would strongly advise against it." Gabe says. He could tell he wasn't going to be able to sway her though. She was determined to get her sister back and there was no way he could stop her.

"I don't care. Will you do it?"

"If I don't, you'll find someone else who will."

Alexis nods. She could tell he wasn't pleased with her, nobody in her life was at the moment, but he was going to do it anyway.

"But for you to die it- it might be best if I do it. Anything else could be too painful, or take too long, or cause damage that's hard to reverse." Gabriel tells her. He didn't want to have to kill her, but he also knew it was the best way for her to die.

She nods again. Dying again wasn't exactly something she was looking forward to, and she knew if either Sam or Dean found out, they would be beyond pissed with her. But she also knew they were already going to be pissed with her, so she didn't really care. She couldn't care about them right now, she had to pretend they didn't exist. That they weren't out there wondering where the hell she was and if she was okay.

"One condition: you let me stay with you when you talk to Death. Not a good idea to be face to face with him alone."

"Fine." Then, taking a deep breath, Alexis adds, "Let's do this."

"Will I be able to see this?" Jo asks. "Alexis' spirit, Death?"

"I believe so, yes." Gabe answers, angling himself so that he could see both Harvelles.

"It'll be a reaper that shows, won't it? Then from there I'll have to get them to call Death?" Alexis asks. She knew Death had to be at least a little difficult to get to, he was one of the four horsemen after all.

"It will likely be a reaper. However, you still have his ring don't you?"

Alexis nods, not having thought of that. She'd hidden Death's separate from the other three, thinking one day she just might need it. She had after all intended to give it back eventually. But chatting with Death wasn't something she exactly did often, so she'd had to time or place to give him back his ring since it had come into her possession in the first place.

"I would say there's a slight chance he'll show off the bat then. You'd be classified as somewhat of a high profile death right now, so that coupled with the fact that you have his ring, might draw his attention."

Taking a deep breath, Alexis nods once more. "Okay then. Let's get this over with."

Gabriel nods, taking a few steps towards Alexis so that he was merely inches in front of her. "I can't guarantee that this won't hurt. And you know there's no guarantee that Death will, or even can, bring Jo back, right?"

"I know, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't try. I've come too far not to." Alexis says. She couldn't give up now, she'd gone too far off the deep end already. She had to see it all the way through. Then, realizing Gabe wanted her to acknowledge his first part as well, she adds, "And don't worry about hurting me. I've been through a hell of a lot worse."

The archangel nods once more before bringing his hand to her forehead. He feels her writhe slightly in pain, and seconds later she begins to fall. Catching her before she hits the ground, Gabriel pulls her body into his arms and places her gently on the couch.

"whoa." Alexis breathes, seeing her own dead body on the couch. "Never actually seen myself dead before. Weird."

"How do you feel?" Gabriel asks, whirling around the moment he'd heard her voice.

"Fine. Just want to get this over with."

Before either Jo or Gabe could say anything, another voice interrupts, an unmistakeable one. "To what do I owe this inconvenience?"

Alexis immediately turns to her left, towards the kitchen, and sees Death sitting at the counter. With her prior knowledge of Death, she decided to just be straightforward, "I um, I have a question for you."

"A question? You know, Alexis, I am quite busy." Death replies, giving her somewhat of an uncomfortable stare.

"I know."

"Well, I'm already here, I suppose I can get some pizza after. Now get on with it."

"Is there a way you could bring my sister, Jo, back to life?" Alexis asks, glancing over at her sister's ghost.

"Can I? Yes. But what would I get out of it?"

"Name something you want me to do and you've got it. And I do have your ring if you want that back."

Death pauses for a moment, looking over each being before him. Gabriel, the archangel, and then the ghosts of two of the Harvelle sisters. One was missing, one was always missing. Not that he particularly cared. "I suppose I could use you in the future, you do possess a unique ability. If you promise to do whatever it is I'll need you for, without any questions when it arises, then yes, I can bring your sister back."

Not allowing any room for either Gabe or her sister to object, Alexis quickly agrees. "Of course. Whatever it is, whenever. You've got it."

"Then it looks like we have a deal. It will take some time for me to gather what I need." With that, Death disappears and leaves the three in silence.

Jo speaks first, breaking the tense silence that had built up. "I cannot believe you just did that."

"Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn't have done it for me?" Alexis responds, turning towards her sister.

"No, because I probably would've tried. It's not me you're going to have a problem with Lexi, you just saved my life. Or well, got me my life back. It's Sam you're going to have a problem with. Dean too. Because judging by their noticeable absence, I'm guessing you split in the middle of the night and they have no idea where you are or what you're doing."

"I can deal with them. I will deal with them. I- I got you back, and right now that's all I care about."

As Jo opens her mouth to respond, she feels something tugging her away. And before she could get a word out, she vanishes.

Growing panicked at the sudden disappearance of her sister, Alexis turns to Gabe.

"I'm assuming Death grabbed her. The knife you had there," Gabe says, motioning towards the coffee table, "disappeared. He needs her soul to put her back on Earth. Now I need to do the same to you."

And just like that, everything goes momentarily black once again.

Alexis awakes with a gasping breath, jolting forward on the couch. Somehow, coming back to life felt weirder than dying.

"Do you feel okay?" Gabriel asks, looking at her with concern.

She nods, immediately sitting herself up and glancing around the apartment, searching to see if her sister had reappeared. "Little winded, almost feels a bit like jet lag, but I'm okay."

Suddenly, the sound of the front door opening rings through the apartment, followed by footsteps.

Alexis immediately stands up, instinctively knowing it was Jo. As soon as her sister rounds the corner, she runs to her. The two collide with enough force that they end up falling to the ground, their arms wrapped around each other.

"You're- you're alive." Alexis breathes as a tear slides down her cheek.

Jo, still holding onto her sister, pulls them both up into a seated position on the floor. With watery eyes, she nods and says, "You did it."

After a minute the two separate and help each other off the floor.

"Well, guess my job's done here. I should be going. Just do me a favor and stop dying or almost dying, alright?" Gabriel says.

"We'll do our best. Thanks, Gabe. Really." Alexis replies sincerely. She'd never be able to repay Gabe for all the things he'd done for her. He really was like a guardian angel.

With a nod, the angel vanishes.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you." Alexis says, turning to face her sister once again.

"Feeling's mutual." Jo responds, wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders. "Now, I don't know about you, but I am starved."

"It's nearly four am, so our options are limited. 24 hour McDonald's sound okay to you?"

"Never thought I'd say this, but McDonald's sounds like heaven right now."

Alexis chuckles and says, "McDonald's it is then."