"Damn, so you guys put a hurtin' on Pestilence while we were away, huh?" Dean asked, inspecting the emerald ring that once sat on the horseman's digit. "And how did he know to come here, again?"

"The demon that came into town and possessed Archie," Sam explained, once again, leaning against his dresser. "Yeah, it definitely wasn't quiet while you guys were over there."

Dean chuckled, thinking about all the things Sam caught him up on that happened in town. There was one thing that Dean just couldn't let go of. "And Ruby really turned into a wolf? Man, what is it with you and the monsters," he asked with a light-hearted laugh.

Sam, interpreting his brother's well-intentioned jest, shook his head as he breathed out a snicker. "Whatever man. At least I didn't get my heart stolen – literally – from an old lady."

Dean's face soured as he scoffed. "It was a pirate, thank you very much."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Captain Hook, right? I guess he was probably pretty intimidating. How'd you get it back, dangle a ticking clock in his face and watch him run like a little girl?" Sam asked, a slight smirk pulling at the corner of his lips.

"Yeah, right. That Johnny Depp-looking bastard was the real deal, and so was the iron weapon strapped to his wrist." Dean sat up and started to change into a nicer shirt. He'd already taken three showers since he got back, and the clothes he'd worn were already on their second cycle in the wash to get out the dirt and stains. It was nice to feel clean again, and he'd slept like a baby on his soft mattress. "But y'know. For a second there, I thought he was gonna come over on our side. But that was before I knew the son of a bitch had taken my heart. It doesn't matter now though. I'm back," he clapped his hands together, a grin resting on his lips, "and I'm ready for whatever's next. So… what's next?"

Sam's face dropped as he looked down at the coffee cup he held in his hand. "Well, uh, it's funny that you ask that. Because Bobby and I have been talking and –"

Before he could finish his thought, someone knocked loudly at their door. Dean was still getting used to that happening, he realized. Usually when they were in a hotel for a job, people weren't looking for them. So when someone knocked on their door, it wasn't friendly. He even had to stop himself from reaching for his gun as he walked toward the door to answer.

"Hey guys," Emma greeted when Dean opened the door fully. Sam nodded a hello when she smiled at him.

Dean smiled wide when she took a step in their doorway, pushing her hands a bit in her back pockets, as if she were nervous about being there. "Good morning, Emma," he greeted in return. "You look lovely this morning."

Emma smiled shyly as she humbly thanked him for his compliment. "So, I'm not sure if you've heard yet, but the town is sort of throwing us a welcome home party tonight at Granny's."

"Oh, yeah," Sam spoke up, pointing to Dean. "That's what I forgot to tell you. Ruby told me earlier when I was down there while you were still asleep."

"Yeah, I slept like a rock last night, too." Emma said with a chuckle. "Anyway, it's a pot-luck dinner and we were thinking about maybe cooking some tacos and bringing a few trays over. Would, um, would you like to come over to Mary Margaret's with us and help? I mean, I'm not trying to put you to work or anything it was just, uh – it was Henry's idea, to invite you that is. Well, it was his idea to make tacos but that's not – uh, anyway. Are you interested?"

Dean hadn't been in many relationships before. Not real ones. There was Cassie, which had ended badly… both times. And then there was Lisa, who'd offered herself and her family to Dean once before, but he'd turned her down. And he hadn't seen her since. He'd been tempted to reach out to her right before he thought about saying yes to Michael, but he bailed at the last minute. He didn't wanted to put that on them. Because that's usually what his relationships ended up being – someone got hurt or was put in danger.

This, though, was different. Dean had fought by this woman's side against monsters and crazy psychopaths. They'd been through battles and still managed to find quiet moments to open up to one another in an intimate way that neither of them had really deeply explored before.

Emma's own words crept into his mind at that moment, from their first real conversation together. You have to find someone worth fighting extra hard for; who you can depend on to fight for you… someone who will fight next to you. That'd been exactly what Emma and Dean had done. And he knew that he could depend on her, and he hoped she felt the same way about him.

Dean smirked as he took a step closer to Emma. "I will, but only if you agree to go with me to the party."

"Like, a date?" Emma asked, raising an eye brow. Dean shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant even though he could feel his heart pound faster after hearing her say it. He was definitely sure he had his heart now. She bit her lip as she smiled and her cheeks flushed slightly. "Alright, fine. I hope you don't mind my parents and son tagging along," she said with a chuckle as she took another step closer to him.

Dean smiled brightly at her accepting his date proposal. He looked down from her eyes to her lips as he gravitated closer to her.

Sam cleared his throat, causing both of them to jump slightly as they backed away from each other.

Emma, whose face was bright red, ran her hand through her hair as she walked back to the door. "Alright, well. You can meet us at Mary Margaret's in about half an hour; Henry and I just have to run to the store. I'll see you then, and I'll see you later, Sam." She waved bye to both of them as Dean closed the door behind her.

Sam shook his head when they were alone again, having rarely seen his brother act like this. "Do you need a moment to lean against the door and slide down it," he asked with a smile as he teased his brother. "That's what they do in the movies."

"You would know what they do in chick-flicks," Dean retorted back, but the grin on his face didn't fall. He took a seat on his bed as he scratched the back of his neck.

Sam followed, sitting on his own bed as he watched his brother closely. "So, what's going on between you two? You look like a flustered school boy."

Dean shook his head. "I don't know, Sammy. A lot happened while we were over there. Now that we're back… I don't know." Dean stared blankly for a moment, thinking about how nice it would be to go on a normal date. A movie, dinner, midnight stroll by the beach. No one trying to kill them. Dean smiled at the thought. "Hey, why don't you ask Ruby as your date for tonight, and then we can double. We've never done that sort of thing before, a double date."

"We've never had the opportunity before," Sam replied. Dean shrugged, realizing that Sam was right. The younger brother's face dropped. "But I don't know if it'd be a good idea. Bobby and I were talking –"

Another knock on the door. Sam huffed as he was interrupted for the second time. Dean got up and answered it.

"Cas!" he greeted as he wrapped his arms around the angel for a hug. "Hey man, nice job taking down that horseman. Sam told me everything. Where've you been hiding?"

Castiel smiled as he nodded a thank you and stepped inside the hotel room. "I couldn't have done it without the Evil Queen's help. And I've been spending a lot of time in the library." Dean nodded, accepting his answer. "You seem rather cheerful, Dean. While I believe that Sam's plan to say yes to Lucifer and trick him into the Cage is the only real shot we have to beating him, I didn't think you would take the news so well."

Dean's mouth fell. His brow creased as he held up his hand to stop Castiel. He turned back to Sam. "What the hell is he talking about?" Sam's mouth closed, unsure how to explain. Dean didn't wait for him to find the words. "You're going to say yes to the devil? Have you gone crazy while I was gone?"

"Dean," Sam tried to counter, standing up and approaching his brother. "Look, for the record. I know you think I'm too weak to take on Lucifer; well, so do I. Believe me, I know exactly how screwed up I am. You, Bobby, Cas… I'm the least of any of you."

"Sam –"

"No, it's true. It is. But, I'm also all we've got. If there was another way…" he shook his head, dropping his hand, "but I don't think there is. There's just me. So I don't know what else we've got to do. Except just try to do what's got to be done."

"And saying yes is what has to be done?" Dean asked sarcastically. He turned to Castiel, "And you think this is a good idea?"

Castiel took a deep breath and look between the brothers. "You and Sam have a habit of exceeding my expectations. I thought you were a broken shell, but you didn't submit to Michael when Zachariah had you all captured. You resisted Michael; maybe Sam could resist Lucifer. But there are things you would need to know," he spoke now to Sam.

"Like?" Sam and Dean asked in unison.

"Michael has found another vessel. That was the last thing I heard on the angel radio before it completely faded away," Castiel explained. "It's your brother, Adam. You must have considered it."

The brothers exchanged a look, guilt painting their faces. "We were trying not to."

Castiel nodded, then turned back to Sam. "If you do say yes to Lucifer and then fail, the fight will happen. And the collateral, it'll be immense."

"Awesome," Dean said sarcastically.

"There's also –" Castiel tried to continue, but Dean cut him off.

He shook his head. "No. I'm sorry guys, but no. I'm not discussing this anymore. You know why? Because I have tacos to make and a date to get ready for. You know, normal stuff for once in my damn life. I just got back from Fairy-World and this is not going to be the first thing that I worry about. You two can keep talking about idiotic plans; I'm gonna go meet up with Emma."

He grabbed his bag and jacket, then slammed the door behind him. Sam and Castiel looked back toward each other. After a few seconds, Sam cleared his throat. "What else?"

Castiel gave Sam an empathetic glance, "Maybe we shouldn't –"

"No, Cas. What else would we need to know?"

The angel looked back to where Dean had left, and then toward Sam. He took a deep breath before he continued. "There's also… the demon blood."

"What?" Sam asked, his brow creasing. Suddenly, he was almost happy that Dean wasn't here for this. Bringing up his past addiction around Dean always made Sam feel guilty and ashamed. "What are you talking about?"

"To take in Lucifer, it would be more than you've ever drunk."

Sam shook his head. "But, why? I kicked the stuff; I haven't wanted any of it since the Cage opened."

"It strengthens the vessel; keeps it from exploding."

"But the guy he's in now –"

"Is drinking gallons," Castiel answered.

Sam's head dropped as he turned away from the angel. He opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. What could he say? There was a lot he had to think about… and one thing he couldn't get off his mind.


The diner was full of cheerful party-goers, sipping on mugs of beer as they happily awaited the arrival of their guests.

Sam sat in a booth, nursing on something with a little more kick as he waited on Bobby and Cas to join him. They'd spent a long time after Dean left talking about what they were going to do next. They'd been able to come to one agreement: they needed to find Death. And to do that, they needed to talk to Crowley again. Sam needed to get Dean on board, though. And after what happened earlier that day, he wasn't sure what kind of mood he'd be in tonight. Sam hated arguing with his brother; it always put him in a sour disposition.

But it was more than that.

The thing he couldn't get off his mind slid into the seat across from him. He didn't even need to look up from his glass to know who it was.

Ruby.

She reached out and unwrapped his fingers from his drink, grasping it in her own hand. She approached the conversation with caution. "What's wrong? You've been avoiding me since your brother got back."

Sam finally looked up, but only to their hands. It was ironic, really. He wasn't ready to let her go; to give up the warmth that her embrace had offered him in the short time that they'd known each other. And it was something deeper than just physical, their curse breaking kiss had proven that. Ruby had been the first woman he'd allowed himself to have these deep feelings for since Jess. They'd been able to connect and he had even started to picture what their life could be like… together.

And because he didn't want to give that up – give her up – he wasn't ready to reveal to her the painful truth.

That he was going to be leaving.

That there was a possibility he could die.

And in his attempt to keep from giving her up, he'd found himself avoiding her. He only saw her when he came down stairs for something to eat, but even then he tried to keep the conversation short.

She'd noticed his aloof attitude, but had been too polite to comment. She probably thought it had something to do with his brother, he imagined. But it was only a matter of time before she confronted him about it.

She squeezed his hand, pulling his attention away from his thoughts and back to her.

As he stared at her, her face pleading with him to explain, the crowd around them began to cheer when the bell on the door rang.

Ruby let go of his hand and moved out of the booth to greet the crew the party was thrown for.

Sam turned around in time to see Ruby wrap her arms around Mary Margaret, say something in her ear, and pull away, smiling warmly at her friend.

Emma was followed by Henry and Dean, both carrying trays of tacos. It made Sam's heart clench when he saw the huge grin on his brother's face as he followed Emma and placed the food where she instructed. Sam smirked when he saw Dean say something to her, a blush deepening on her cheeks as Dean nodded toward her parents. She playfully smacked him in the stomach, Dean laughing as he followed her back to the guests wanting to welcome them all back, placing his hand on her back. They moved with familiarity and comfort; so much so that if Sam hadn't known any better, he'd have thought they'd been together for longer than a couple of weeks.

While Dean took Henry to get something to drink, Sam overheard Emma tell Granny how relieving it was to cook something she didn't have to kill first, causing him to chuckle.

Everyone turned their attention to David, who was tapping on his glass to make a toast. "I just wanted to thank you all for joining us tonight," the Prince started. He pointed to his wife, "Mary Margaret and I, we have a saying: that we will always find each other. And while I believe that with all my heart, I'd like you all to raise your glasses and join me when I say – here's to not having to look for a while." Everyone chuckled, raising their glasses. "To Mary Margaret, Emma, and Dean."

Everyone cheered, ready to drink – when the bell on the door caused everyone to turn toward the entrance. Silence plagued the crowd.

Regina closed the door behind her. "Sorry I'm late."

Leroy was the first to set down his mug and address her, "What is she doing here?"

"I invited her," Emma replied, and Sam smiled. David and Mary Margaret pulled Emma aside, closer to Sam's side of the diner. He watched Dean tell Henry to help Regina with her tray, then joined up with Emma and her parents. Emma addressed her parents' confusion. "We're celebrating today because of Regina. She helped us get home."

"And she helped Cas with the horseman," Dean added, being a firm support for Emma despite the fact that he was still on the fence about the Evil Queen.

Emma nodded, "No matter what she did in the past, we owe her our thanks now."

"Didn't you think to tell us about it?" David asked.

"I did, but you two were a little busy this afternoon –"

Sam's brow creased as he looked toward Dean, who scrunched his face and shook his head. Don't ask, his expression read.

Mary Margaret tried to respond, but Emma cut her off. "She's trying to change for Henry."

Sam nodded, crossing his arms. "It's true. She just needs some support.

"That's right," Emma agreed. "Sam and Henry believe in her, and right now that's enough for me. I couldn't have changed if I wasn't given a chance. So, she gets one too."

David and Mary Margaret considered, looking over at Regina helping Henry to a slice of food. They nodded their support, gaining an appreciative smile from Emma.

Her parents walked over to fill their plates with something to eat, leaving Emma with the Winchesters.

Emma turned to Sam, "Thank you for the support. David told me that you've been spending a lot of time with Regina while we were away."

"I sympathize with her," Sam explained, unsure how to approach the topic. "We've both been down similar paths and I just told her my struggles. I mentioned that had it not been for my brother, I would still be lost." He looked up to Dean, who was avoiding his gaze. He cleared his throat before he went on. "She's been trying, really she has. The only time she used magic was for good; to help relay the dream messages and with Pestilence. It's been slow, but effective."

Emma nodded, and Dean noticed her relax. "So, you think Henry is safe, then? Inviting her was a good idea?"

"Yes," Sam answered.

Emma thanked him, then excused herself to go say hello to some of the other guests. When she left, Dean offered a beer to Sam.

They drank in silence for a moment before Sam finally started the conversation. "So, um – how was making tacos with the Charmings?"

Dean chuckled, and Sam immediately felt better. They moved to a booth before Dean went on. "Well, for starters," he looked back at David and Mary Margaret, "we sort of walked in on Emma's parents… making tacos." Sam's brow creased for a moment, then he understood. He laughed, shaking his head as he tried to imagine the comments Dean had made. "Yeah, luckily they were both covered with a blanket and I don't think Henry fully understood why David was helping Mary Margaret 'rest'. Emma was pretty mortified though. Luckily we never had to go through any of those traumatizing moments."

"Poor Emma," Sam said with a sad smile. "Our traumatizing moments were a little bit more… nightmareish." Dean scoffed amusingly, shrugging a nod as he took a long sip of his beer. Sam didn't want to spoil his big brother's cheerful mood – not just yet, that is. "I'm glad you had fun."

"I did."

A few moments of comfortable silence passed.

Dean looked around, "Where's Bobby and Cas? They didn't wanna celebrate?"

"They said they might come down," Sam answered, finishing off his bottle. "Bobby didn't seem too excited about being around so many people. But you know how he can be."

"Yeah, I do," Dean chuckled, taking another sip from his drink. He cleared his throat before he set it down. "Did you tell him about your master plan?"

Sam cringed slightly, knowing the bite behind the words were still fresh. "Yeah, I mentioned it the other day. He about killed me." That earned a smirk from his brother, making Sam feel a little more at ease. "He's more concerned about finding the next horseman, really."

"Still can't believe he sold his soul, the idiot."

"Lent," Sam corrected sarcastically. Dean knew that Sam disapproved just as much as he did. "We're gonna have to collect pretty soon though."

Dean nodded, "And how is he gonna do that?"

"Well… When Bobby talked to Crowley last time, he drove out into the forest outside of town."

"Smart," Dean commented. "He doesn't need to know about this place."

Sam sighed, "He might already, Dean. That demon in Archie told Pestilence about Storybrooke; that's why the horseman came here. I wouldn't doubt it if Crowley already knows."

Dean fidgeted with the bottle in his hand. Emma and her family's company had done well enough to keep his mind off of what his brother had told him this morning, but it couldn't keep it completely away. When he'd be left alone to cut the lettuce or prepare the shells, their argument would creep into his thoughts. Finding Death was important, he knew. Beating Lucifer was important. Saving the world was important.

But doing something normal was a treat. A treat Dean rarely got to indulge in.

And ironically, his day of normalcy was further motivation for him to find a way to keep the world from ending. To keep everyone safe. And the last thing he wanted was Crowley finding his way into the town… or anyone worse, for that matter.

The older brother took a deep breath, "So, when do we talk to Crowley?"

Sam was a bit shocked. He knew he'd have to talk his brother into meeting with him, but he didn't think it'd be that easy. He shrugged, "Um, well. As soon as possible, I think. We could drive out of town, park somewhere by the woods, then summon him."

Dean nodded, essentially agreeing as he finished his drink. He held it up, signifying it was empty and sat up to get another.

"Well, that was easy," Sam said to himself after Dean left the booth. His mood was a little lighter, feeling better about having some kind of game plan. He looked around at the party, noticing Emma talking with Archie. He continued his look around, his eyes falling on Ruby, who was talking with the Charmings. He watched the way she talked and laughed with her friends, obviously happy about Mary Margaret being back and safe. He smiled as she laughed at something David said, and he knew he was in for.

She moved her eyes to his, her smile falling a bit.

He thought about going over to talk with her, to reach out and spend one more night pretending like the world wasn't going to end for him soon.

But before he could, the sound of the bell on the door rang, his head turning to see Emma follow Regina outside. His brow furrowed, and he wondered if everything was okay.

A few moments later, he stood up and made his way to the door.

"Sam mentioned that you were trying to change. And well, you are."

Regina's head shot to the door, to Sam, a look of betrayal painting her face. "Did he?"

"Regina," Sam insisted, trying to get her to stop walking out of the porch.

She stopped when he called for her again, turning on her heel as she pointed at him. "You said I could trust you."

"You can," he persisted. "Regina, you've done a lot of damage to this town and these people. They need time. And just a few weeks of good behavior isn't going to make up for all of that. You've been doing so well!"

She looked between Sam and Emma, her eyes darting to the door as Dean stepped out carefully. She took a deep breath, then shook her head. With a whip of her hair, she left.

"Damn," Emma and Sam said together.


Emma had taken Henry home shortly after the incident with Regina, saying goodnight to Dean. After that, Sam pushed to get the Crowley thing over with, annoyed with the way things had gone.

So they grabbed all their gear and jumped into the car.

Dean was feeling a bit guilty, steering the Impala toward the town exit. A few weeks ago, such an emotion would have stumped him, since driving cross country and leaving hundreds of towns was something he did on the norm. But now he knew better, admitting otherwise would be cause for denial.

He was leaving Storybrooke without telling Emma or her family, and he felt like he was betraying them. Even if he had every intention of returning, it just felt – wrong.

Sam was feeling a bit different about leaving. After what happened with Regina and his feelings regarding Ruby, he was relieved to get away from it all for a while. Even if it was to meet a demon.

They drove in silence as they made their way through Storybrooke, and Dean was once again reminded of how big the sleepy town actually was.

When they hit the main road, the exit sign in full view, Dean felt the hairs on his neck stand up.

He glanced over at Sam, who was sitting in his seat stiff and his head cocked, as if he were listening for something.

There was something off, a hunter's intuition on high alert.

Sam looked over at Dean, who gestured with his eyes to check the back seat. Sam nodded slightly, then waited.

In a quick flash, Sam reached for his gun and aimed it as he lifted up over the seat to face the intruder head on.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Don't shoot me!"

Sam uncocked the gun and put it down, his mouth dropping. "Henry?"

"Henry?" Dean asked, whipping his head around as the kid sat upright in the back seat. "What the hell are you doing hiding in our car?"

Henry propped himself up between the two, leaning against the back of the bench. "I heard you guys talking at Granny's. How could you – you can't just – you can't leave."

"Oh, kid. We're not leaving," Dean tried to explain.

"We're coming back," Sam added. "We just have to go talk to someone."

"Yeah, someone dangerous. Which is why I'm taking you back home. God, your mom is gonna kill me when she finds out you stuck out. And then she's gonna kill you – and then me again."

Sam sighed. After a look from Dean, he shrugged. "We're already out here. As long as he stays hidden in the car –"

"You're not suggesting we take the kid with us… to talk to Crowley."

"Who's Crowley?" Henry asked. "Is he dangerous?"

"Yes." – "No."

Dean's brow creased as he looked at his brother. "No? Crowley's not dangerous? Since when?"

Sam shrugged. "I just mean, we can handle him. We've dealt with worse demons."

"He's a demon?"

Dean gripped the wheel tightly, a scowl on his face as he exhaled sharply.

Henry waited until they drove a little further before he went on. "So, you're going to talk to a demon?"

"We've sort of been working with him," Sam explained.

"Sam."

"What? I've already told him about this stuff; he was there when Archie was possessed. With the horseman, too."

Dean took a deep breath, looking between his brother and the road.

"Why are you working with a demon?" Henry asked, curious as ever. "I thought they were the bad guys."

Dean sighed reluctantly, "Sometimes you have to work with the bad guys to bring down an even worse guy."

"A horseman? You only have one of those left, right?" Henry asked, looking between Sam and Dean, who nodded a reply.

"How did you-"

"After what happened in the hospital, I went online and did some research. Found the story of Reva – Revel –"

"Revelations."

Right!" he exclaimed. "Do they really ride horses? Mary Margaret told us a story about a headless horseman once – is that the same kind of thing?"

"Kid," Dean replied, a small chuckle leaving his lungs. "The Headless Horseman isn't real; we've never run into him, that is. He's just a story."

Henry shrugged. "So's Revelations. But you're still fighting the Four Horsemen." Dean opened his mouth to reply, but closed it when he couldn't think of anything to counter with. The kid was right. Henry looked proud when Dean nodded to him and smiled. "So, which one are we fighting now?"

"Death," Sam answered.

"And we are not fighting anything," Dean reminded. "We don't even know where he is."

Henry nodded. "Are you scared to face him?" The brothers looked to each other and shook their heads confidently. "I would be if I were you. Death probably doesn't like you. I mean, really doesn't like you."

"We've come to find that most things we hunt, well… don't like us very much," Sam replied with a light hearted chuckle.

Henry's face stayed serious. "Yeah, but it's gotta be personal with him, right? I mean, he's Death. And you two have died and come back to life. He's gotta be upset with you guys for finding that loophole. Right?"

Dean and Sam shared a look; they hadn't thought about that.

The older brother cleared his throat, "Well, don't worry about it, kid. We've already fought and taken down three. The fourth times the charm."

They continued driving a little farther, trees and forest surrounding them.

"I think we're far enough out of town," Sam suspected. "This is probably a good spot."

Dean stopped the car, pulling it over on the side of the road. He turned around, leaning against the seat as he faced Henry. "I need you to listen to me, okay Henry? You stay in this car. Do – not – leave. Under any circumstances. Something happens, you take my phone," he handed him his cell, "and you call your mom or Bobby or someone. Okay?"

Henry nodded, taking his phone.

Sam returned from the truck, the supplies to summon a demon in his hands. After a few minutes of setting everything up, they were ready.

They lit the match and threw it in as Sam recited a few lines of Latin.

"Where in the bloody hell have you been?"

Crowley appeared in front of them, his hands in the pockets of his suit jacket, an agitated scowl on his face.

"Congratulations to the both of you nitwits on losing focus on the mission."

Dean crossed his arms, "I fell down a rabbit hole –"

"We're here now," Sam urged. "And we're ready for you to pay up. We need to know Death's location."

Crowley studied them both closely, taking a step closer. He took a deep breath, then shrugged. "I don't know where he is."

"What?" – "You son of a –"

"Now," Crowley went on, shutting them both up. "I don't know where he is now. But I know where he's going to be. Tomorrow."

Dean's brow furrowed, "Why tomorrow?"

"Lucifer has Death on a very tight leash," Crowley explained. "He has a specific schedule the horseman has to follow. Something big is going to go down tomorrow, I know that for sure."

"Well, where?" Sam asked. "Tell us so we can get a move on and start driving."

There was a twist in Dean's gut at Sam's urge to drive away.

Crowley smirked, a chuckle escaping his lungs. He looked down, then up at Sam again, pointing at the younger brother. "No, not you."

"What?!"

"Sorry, Moose. But this is a mission for Dean."

Dean scoffed, "I'm not going without Sam, you're crazy."

"Give me one good reason why I can't go –"

"Because I don't like you!" Crowley shouted. "Not to mention, you keep trying to bloody kill me!"

"That's not gonna –"

"You're insane if you think –"

Sreeeeeeeech.

All three turned to the sound of the Impala door whine loudly as it opened.

A mischievous smile curled on Crowley's lips. The demon snapped, and in a flash Henry appeared next to him, a firm grip around the collar of his jacket. "Well, well. What have we here?"


Hello, everyone! I'd like to take this opportunity to address my lovely readers for a moment. Yes, it's been roughly five months since I've updated this story. For all those who didn't get a chance to read over my PSA on my bio page, I sort of went on a hiatus from writing for a while. When I started writing, it was an outlet for relaxation that I found a lot of joy and excitement in. I love writing for this story, but it takes an awful lot of work. I have written roughly 145,000 words for this fic. It takes me days to organize and outline everything I plan to write in the future (that document alone is currently about 15 pages long). And once I do that, I have to make sure it all flows well with everything I've already written and it all makes sense for how I want the story to go in the future. That's about 15+ central characters, 3 major current story arcs, character entrances, character deaths, integrated character backstories, creating original story lines, and trying to connect two completely different universes together in a way that makes sense and can be entertaining. And that's not even counting the prior year and a half of work I've already poured into it. Not to mention, I do have other responsibilities, deadlines, and activities outside of my fandom life. When I do get free time to myself, writing is one out of a few things I like to do to relax, like I mentioned before. But lately, writing for this story and others has not been a relaxing experience. And a lot of that is my own fault. I put too much stress and pressure on myself to update quickly, and I got upset with myself when I took too long, because I was letting down you guys. They say that when a hobby starts to feel more like a chore, you should take a step back and take a break. So that's exactly what I did.

I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining. I absolutely love writing and creating this story. I get so excited when I think about everything I want to do with this fic and what I'm currently doing. And all the magnificently sweet reviews and messages you all send definitely do wonders in encouraging me. Not to mention, those who have been so respectful and encouraging during my little break have been such a huge support. I honestly can't thank you all enough for that, truly. And I apologize to all of those who I may have let down with my lack of updates or my disappearance.

On the other side of the coin, there are those who have not taken my hiatus so kindly. Criticism is one thing, but being rude is something else entirely. If there's something that you disagree with, or a direction with the story that you don't understand, let's talk about it. Instead of telling me that I ruined the story, or shouldn't have done something, tell me why you think that or ask me why I decided to go in that direction. But if your review/comment isn't constructive, I'm not going to address it.

Which leads me to my last Author's Note. Since my last update, I've gotten about 40 reviews. I would love to respond to each of them like I normally do, but this note is already really long. So if your review had a specific question or discussion, I will answer it. Please know that if I do not directly respond to your review, it's not because I don't appreciate your words or your dedication to this story. To those who said sweet compliments about the last couple of chapters: Thank you, they really did do wonders of encouragement as I got back into writing! To those who asked me to update soon: Please see the first bolded paragraph above. And to those who told me what you enjoyed most out of the last chapters: I read each and every one of your reviews and smiled like a fool because I'm just so happy that you all liked it! I hope you all enjoy this latest chapter, and know that I am writing again.

"Supernatural Creatures Rock100" It's funny that you relate the potential friendship between Dean and Hook with the friendship Dean and Benny had, because it's exactly what I envisioned their friendship would be lol. I think they definitely could be good friends, and I think they both sense that when they talked in the pit. There's trust issues between them now, but maybe in the future, that'll change. ;)

"Dede-42" Whether or not Dr. Whale remembers will be addressed in a few chapters, when a certain someone drives into Storybrooke and needs to be operated on!

"Kara" Yes, I did see the premieres! (And the mid season finales lol) I definitely think there are huge similarities between the Frozen sisters and the Winchesters!

"Evil Soul" To address your timeline query: you are on a very close track with your thinking! And what Crowley was referring to was the Swine Flu vaccination shots that were laced with the Croatoan Virus. In the show, Sam, Cas, and Bobby stopped the trucks from shipping out the viruses, while Dean went with Crowley to talk to Death. Because I didn't want Sam to leave Storybrooke yet, I changed the story to have Crowley be the one to take care of the operations on his own so that the viruses didn't ship. Lastly, Castiel's relationship with Belle will be brought up again soon, they can't keep their friendship a secret from Rumple forever.

"Guest: You shouldn't have inserted hook in this, if you wanted dean and emma, because captain swan for ever And btw, really hook making jab you with sword comments to dean? Lame...? You ruined it" I really wasn't going to reply to this, like I didn't for the other less-than-kind reviews, but every time I read it, it makes my skin crawl. I know you probably won't see this, since I ruined the story for you, but I'd like to address your comments critically in case there are others who share your opinion. To start: 'because captain swan for ever' is a terrible argument for a ship. You make me, a Captain Swan shipper, embarrassed to call you a shipmate. Second, I didn't set up Hook and Emma for a relationship the way the show did, I made very sure that I wrote it that way. Because this is a story that pairs Dean and Emma, always has been. So of course they're going to be one of the main couples. Third, Hook is a very vital character to Once outside of being Emma's love interest, especially in the beginning of the season 2 plot and season 3. His role will shift, of course, but I will do my best to keep him in character. To conclude: yes, I had Hook make the jab you with his sword comment to Dean. I truly believe that if Hook thought it would not only cause discomfort but be a distraction to Dean, he would have said it. Hook is a tongue in cheek, innuendo loving, flirt - just like Dean. And they would recognize that within each other and play off of that. Maybe instead of being rude, you could have asked me why I chose to write it that way. I'm just sorry that you had to read through 52 chapters before the story became lame enough for me to ruin it for you.