AUTHOR'S NOTE:

So we are at another chapter!

Yay!

This one is…well see for yourself.

WARNINGS: Rated "M" for language, dirty thoughts, sex, innuendo, blood, violence and dark themes.

ENJOY!

xxxx

"Wake up, Lanni." A familiar voice said.

I opened my eyes to find my father sitting on the side of my bed. Not my adopted father—my biological one. He was just sitting there looking at me and honestly I didn't know why he was there or what I should do, but talking seemed my best option.

"What the Hell are you doing here?" I asked looking around, but no one was there but me. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

"You're perceptive." He told me, and smiled. "Then again, you are my eldest."

"Can you just tell me what the Hell you want, and let me wake up?" I asked.

"But where's the fun in that?" He asked me.

I gave him a look. "Will you spill it out already?"

He nodded at me and reached out, touching my stomach and I flinched, which just made him smile at me. I didn't know where he was getting off touching my stomach or me for that matter, but he was acting like this was normal.

"That kid of yours is really gonna be something." He told me.

I got out of the bed and I backed away. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that he can't be touched." He replied with a large grin. "He's going to be a very special boy, your son. Why do you think I've left you alive? With the demon powers this child will have, I don't even need your sister anymore."

"You leave Annie alone!" I yelled at him.

He chuckled at me. "Oh Lanni, Lanni, Lanni—Annie is dead."

"What?" I asked.

He nodded swiftly. "Ava picked her off."

"What the Hell are you talking about?" I asked him strongly. "I will kill you."

"Well when you wake up, you can keep hunting me all you want, sweetheart." He told me. "I'm getting everything that it is that I need."

I swallowed at that because somehow I knew it was true and that he was here for a reason and I didn't understand what reason. Was he just here to make me feel like I was actually making the wrong decision procreating like this? Maybe if I just let him talk before I woke up, I'd get my answers—duh, Lana.

"What do you want? You just come and invade my dream to tell me my sister was dead?" I asked angrily.

He shook his head. "No…I need you to bring Sammy to me."

"In your dreams." I told him, glaring at him.

"You'll know the way when you get there." The demon replied. "And you'll do it graciously. Annie would have wanted you to."

I slapped him and he just chuckled. The scenery around us changed, and I saw Annie's body lying on the ground, ripped to shreds and my heart felt like it had been broken. I knelt down, touching her limp body, and the tears spilled out of my eyes. I suddenly felt rage, and a twinge of revenge, and then my eyes flashed yellow as I accepted the feelings—wanted to kill.

"Welcome to my side." My father whispered. "And remember—that son of yours is going to be a weapon used in the coming war—and he won't be on the side of good."

I opened my eyes, breathing a little deeper, and I felt it—the demon part was in more control—practically complete control. It actually felt kind of good to have so much power coursing through my veins and I turned over to see Dean lying there, and I smiled a bit, and then my phone rang. When I picked it up, a familiar voice greeted me and I knew that thought things had changed, I was just fine.

"Hey, Lan." Jen said quickly.

"Hi, Jenny." I responded merrily, getting up and moving my call into the bathroom so as not to disturb the boys. "How are you?"

"I'm good. I wanted to check in—see how everything was." Jen replied.

I nodded and stroked my stomach. "Everything's terrific. Actually, I have some news for you."

"Yeah?" Jen asked me.

"I think I'm having a boy!" I told her merrily, my smile a little evil.

Jen was silent for a moment and I knew the exact conversation that we were going to have before she spoke to me again. There was no way for me to tell yet—it was far too early on in my pregnancy—but I just knew. My father hadn't just come to me to flip a switch…there was a plan set in motion and I was part of it.

"Honey you're what," Jen asked, going over to her calendar, I knew it, "you're only 9 weeks along right now! You can't know, yet!"

I nodded and then smirked. "Dad came to me in a dream and told me."

"What?" Jen asked me hurriedly.

"Yeah, it scared me too, but he came and told me I was having a son." I explained to her.

"Okay, but do you think that he said that to throw you off?" Jen asked me.

I turned around and saw Kate opening up the bathroom door. "Hey, Kate is up and I'm sure that means Sam's at least up since they share a bed now, so I'll call you back with the details okay? I love you."

I hung up on her and smiled at Kate, her blushing but I waved it off and told her I was just making a call. Then I let her have the bathroom and I smiled at Dean, going over and climbing onto the bed with him. Dean lifted up the blanket for me and I got on top of him, smiling at him and kissing him as I tucked my hair behind my ears.

"I love you." I whispered to him.

He smiled and stroked my cheek. "Sometimes I wish we had our own motel room."

"That's so sweet." I said, kissing him again.

"Were you talking to Jen?" Dean asked me.

I nodded slowly. "She said Annie's still missing."

"I'm sorry, Baby." Dean told me, stroking my hair.

"It's okay. I know we'll find her." I said with a small shrug.

Dean made a face at me but kissed me back as Sam finished getting dressed and rolled his eyes at us. I knew it had something to do with me being a little more evil now, but I just smiled at him and stole a quick kiss from him again. He knew something was up but I wasn't acting like anything was wrong, even though he was asking me if I was all right with his eyes.

"I'm fine, Baby." I replied, and kissed him again. "We should probably hit the road, though."

Dean nodded, and got up, both of us getting dressed, Sam reading a newspaper as Kate came out of the bathroom fully clothed. She brushed her hair as I sat next to Sam, looking at me funny like she knew something was wrong. I just smiled though and Sam stroked my hair, nudging me in the ribs softly.

"Someone's happy this morning." Sam told me.

"I guess so." I said, and then I got up and grabbed my jacket. "You guys up for some food and then a hunt, or what?"

"You're a little…jazzed." Dean told me.

I needed to tone it down a notch, so I shrugged. "I guess I feel like I have to do this—it may get us closer to finding Annie and bringing her around."

Honestly I didn't know why I felt so jazzed about this—yeah I'd been feeling different since I had woken up, but not too different. I mean I didn't feel as in control of my own actions, but…that didn't mean I should be too worried, right? Of course not, so I pulled the sad face, and Dean kissed me again, stroking my stomach.

"Fine—but you stay out of this fight." He told me firmly. "I seriously mean it, Lanni."

I nodded and held my hands up in surrender. "Sure thing."

He smiled and grabbed his jacket, the four of us loading up the car and taking off. I knew that we had to veer off soon, and so I pointed to an exit and we got off, parking in front of a cafe. All right so I was feeling like I wasn't in control at all…that was definitely a reason to worry since I felt like suddenly my body was doing what it wanted to do and not what I wanted it to do.

"Don't forget my extra onions this time, okay dude?" Dean said, handing Sam the money as we stopped off at a diner that night.

"Dude, we're the ones that have to ride in the car with you and your extra onions." Sam told him, and I smiled as Kate laughed a little, her laptop open.

I looked at Sam. "You know? I could use a coffee."

"No." Dean said firmly, shaking his head. "Bad for the baby."

I bit my lip. "Fine, then…coffee.""

"Lanni…" Dean chastised.

"It's perfectly okay to have a little bit in the first trimester." I protested earnestly feeling the darker side keep the control for herself. "Just a small latte is fine."

Sam nodded, and flashed me a smile, which I knew I was supposed to return, so I did and then he asked Kate what she wanted. She smiled at him and then told him she could go for a burger, and Sam nodded. Then he glanced at me because he thought I was acting strangely but he couldn't prove anything. Besides, I wasn't possessed—Holy Water wasn't going to have any affect on me.

"Hey, see if they have any pie." Dean told Sam as he got out of the car, and Sam gave him a look before shutting the door and heading towards the cafe. "Bring me some pie! Bring me some pie."

I smirked—it was weird that even with the demon side in control, Dean still made me hot for him. He turned and looked at me, and I smiled, knowing that at about this moment, Sam was being carted off, and then the part that wasn't evil started to fight back—and she was feisty. I made a face—Lana cared about Sam and with Kate stirring a little, it was only a matter of time anyway.

"Something's wrong." I found myself saying.

Dean looked up to see that the place was looking deserted, and the radio began to play static. Dean got up and ran towards the cafe, Kate right behind him, and I got out of the car slowly, shutting the door behind me, and leaning on it. The better part of me may have been fighting back, but the eviler part was definitely in control and this was all she wanted—she wanted to do what her father wanted her to do.

When Dean came out calling Sam's name, I pretended to be looking for him, and Dean never noticed the difference. You'd think that he'd notice that his wife wasn't in the least bit worried about where Sam had been carted off too—at least the part in control wasn't worried. The part that was still good was hurting and Kate was looking at me like she knew what was up and it was worrying the eviler part of me.

"We have to find Bobby." Dean told me.

I nodded and we drove for a ways until we got to Bobby's, Kate looking at me the entire time, studying me and my behaviors. By the time we did make it to Bobby, it was getting light outside, and we were driving around until I told them to stop and look at the map—again, good Lana's doing.

"This is it—all demonic signs and omens in the last months." Bobby informed Dean.

"You've got to be joking. There's nothing here." Dean protested loudly.

Bobby nodded at him. "Exactly."

"Come on, there's gotta be something. I mean what about, uh, low level stuff like exorcisms—that kind of thing?" Dean asked him.

I got out of the Impala and I leaned against the side, listening to Bobby and Dean talk to each other. Good Lana wanted to speak up and say something about where she thought they were, but I was keeping her quiet this time. Kate got out of the car and she looked at me, taking a deep breath.

"Something's up with you…I can feel it." Kate told me. "I don't know what it is yet, but I'm going to figure it out…do you know something, Lan?"

"That's what I'm telling you. There's nothing. It's completely quiet." Bobby explained to Dean.

Dean was getting annoyed. "How the Hell are we supposed to look for Sam? Just close our eyes and point?"

"Ash?" I asked as Dean's phone rang, and he nodded and answered it as I turned to Kate. "I don't know anything."

"Yeah…but you're lying." She replied softly.

I made a face at her and she studied it, firmly standing by her belief that she knew me well enough to know when I was telling the truth and when I wasn't. It was probably true enough, but I wanted her to believe I didn't know anything. I looked up at Dean and the helpless look on his face made me feel a little something inside, but Evil Lana wasn't budging—not at all.

"Come on man, you gotta give us something! We're looking a 3,000 mile wide haystack here!" Dean protested helplessly. "Well, what? Come on, man, I don't have time for this!"

Dean got off of the phone and looked at Kate, me and Bobby. I guess we're going to the Roadhouse—come on."

I sighed as Dean got into the car, and then got in myself, Bobby giving me a weird look and I sighed loudly because was I really acting that differently? I sat in the back as we drove there, and when we got there, we were all stunned—even all the different sides of me. The Roadhouse was burnt down to the ground.

Bobby and Dean waded through the bodies while I stayed by the car, Kate e-mailing someone—I didn't know who. Things were getting heavier here and suppressing Lana wouldn't last forever. Ellen had been part of her family was far as she was concerned, and as soon as Dean said Ash was dead, Good Lana started to try and fight back, but I suppressed her for now…just for now.

"God, what the Hell did Ash know? And we have no way of knowing where Ellen is—or if she's even alive." Dean said dismally. "We have no clue what the Hell Ash was trying to tell us. Now, how the Hell do we find Sam?"

"We'll find him." I assured him, Bobby nodding.

Kate smiled at him softly. "No matter what, Dean…we're going to find Sam."

Bobby smiled at Kate, and then he looked at me and he wanted desperately to figure out why I wasn't comforting Dean. It was all in the look and I realized that in order to keep up this charade, I had to comfort him—tell him it was all going to be all right and stroke his hair or something. As I started for him though, Dean suddenly looked incredibly miffed, and then pain shot through both of our heads.

"Dean? Lana?" Bobby asked us.

"Ow!" I cried like a little girl. "Ow!"

At least Dean was taking it like a man—here I was, Evil Lana, and I couldn't even take the pain searing through my head without whining about it. The pain in my head was rather searing, and then images began to flash in…there was a bell. It all meant something and I needed to put it all together…

"What was that?" Bobby asked us.

"I dunno." Dean said, trying to compose himself. "Headache?"

"You get headaches like that a lot? At the same time as Lana?" Bobby asked skeptically.

I shook my head. "No."

"It could just be the stress." Dean said, and chuckled.

"I'm pretty sure I saw something." I told them, wondering why I was helping.

"You mean—like a vision?" Bobby asked me. "You mean like what Sam gets?"

"What? No! We're not psychics! It's called a coincidence." Dean said firmly.

"Ow!" I yelled again. "Ow!"

I banged my fist against the car as Bobby reached over and touched Dean's shoulder. I banged my fist against it again, and Bobby seemed scared as I leaned over and put my hands on the ground, breathing deeply, and Dean rested his head on the car, a flash of Sam and a bell coming to me.

"Stupid bitch, Andy—I touched that receipt too." I muttered into the dirt. "Couldn't have picked something that just Dean touched, could you?"

"You guys still with me?" Bobby asked us.

I nodded as Kate helped me to stand. "Yeah."

"Sam. I saw him." Dean said firmly.

"So it was a vision." Bobby told him.

Dean nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"And it bloody hurt." I said, leaning on the car.

"I don't know how—but yeah. That was a vision. Whew! That was about as much fun as getting kicked in the jewels." Dean said with a nod.

I nodded quickly. "God I hope childbirth is a walk in the park compared to that—I mean I doubt it, but a girl can dream."

"What else did you see?" Bobby asked us.

"There, uh, was a bell." Dean replied.

Bobby nodded at that. "What kind of bell?"

"Well, uh—it was big." Dean told him. "Like a big—a big bell."

I sighed but smiled a little. "There was an oak tree on it—he's in Cold Oak, South Dakota…the most haunted ghost town in the world."

Bobby nodded and got into the passenger seat of the car, Kate getting into the back, Dean stroking my hair. He wanted to make sure that I was all right because I was his wife and he loved me and I was pregnant and I just let it happen. I couldn't be caught flinching away at this moment, and I knew that I needed him to think I was me and fine for now.

"Do you know how we were contacted?" Dean asked me.

I nodded slowly. "Remember Andy?"

"Of course—he took the Impala." Dean said with a nod.

I smiled a little. "Well, he tried his telepathy long distance, and we got visions. They hurt like Hell though."

Dean nodded, and we drove to South Dakota, getting there in the dead of night, knowing that Sam would be there. We had to stop because of a fallen tree, and we got out to look at it, a feeling of panic suddenly entering me. That was it—I was done being coy. We were where we needed to be, and I was in control now.

"This is stupid." I said suddenly.

Dean turned to me. "What is?"

"Trying to find Sam—the demon has him anyway." I told him with a smile and a shrug. "We took Sam right to that diner and he was kidnapped and now he's falling directly into Daddy's plan."

Dean shot me a look and Bobby took his gun and pointed it at me, Kate's eyes widening. She knew that she had been right all along that something was wrong, but she hadn't even thought about the switch. She had been far too worried about Sam and Sam's well-being to be thinking about the switch.

"We have to go on foot, Dean. Grab some weapons, and I'll take care of her." Bobby instructed Dean.

"Take care of her? Bobby! She's my wife!" Dean protested, stopping in his tracks.

"DEAN!" Bobby roared, and Dean grabbed the weapons but didn't walk.

"So my demon side took over. What do you care?" I asked Bobby. "I mean Annie's dead—what more did I have to live for?"

"Wait, slow down—what?" Dean asked me.

I just smiled. "Daddy put her to the test, and she failed. Ava killed her easily. Ava's been in the top running but Daddy really wants Sammy."

"Dean! Go to your brother!" Bobby told him.

"Oh, Bobby—we can all go together." I told him, cocking my gun and starting to walk forward. "Shall we?"

"This is so not my day." Dean said with a sigh. "How could I not have known?"

Dean took a deep breath and looked at me, Kate stepping close to me and holding her hand out for the gun. I looked at her because there was no way I was handing over my source of protection, but I understood it would make her feel better, and probably Bobby and Dean too.

"Look, I'm still Lana. It's not like I'm possessed or anything—this is just my demon half showing its true colors and I don't have a beef with you guys—I'm just following Daddy's orders." I explained to them.

Dean swallowed. "Your switch?"

"My switch." I repeated with a nod. "After Daddy came to me in my dream and told me about Annie and showed me her body, I snapped. Now I'm just as evil as he is—okay, well, give or take. He has plans for me apparently…are you gonna shoot me?"

Dean and he shook his head as I looked at him. "If the demon's here—then you'll be back to normal when I kill him."

"Kill him?" I asked, and then laughed. "That's hilarious."

"Keep walking." Dean said hostilely, and I just laughed and continued until we saw Sam.

"Sam! Sam."

Sam turned around and began to walk towards us. "Dean!"

Sam had said it rather happily and he looked like his night was so much better now that we were around. I felt Good Lana squirm a bit, and I knew she was ready to break through because my hold on her was weakening. All it took was the other psychic, Jake, to get up with the knife in his hand and go for Sam to break my grasp, my good side completely back in control.

"SAM! LOOK OUT!" I cried loudly.

I don't know what did it, but Bobby and Dean running towards him, and Jake actually stabbing Sam, made me feel normal again. I was back in control because…because I loved Sam enough—cared enough—needed to save him enough—to put the evil side in better perspective—to restrain it.

"NO!" Dean cried, running toward him. "NO!"

Sam fell down to his knees, and I found the strength to run to them, but collapsed and started to cry. Kate fell to her knees next to Dean and I, reaching out and stroking Sam's hair as Dean grabbed a hold of Sam's jacket. Bobby took off running after Jake, and I reached out and held Kate to me as Dean looked at Sam.

"Sam! Whoa, Sam. Sam. Sam. Hey. Let me look at you." Dean said, holding him steady, and then he felt his back, and I looked at the blood on his hands, and wanted to throw up I was so distraught. "Hey. Look at me. Look at me. It's not even that bad. It's not even that bad, all right?"

I took a deep breath, and I looked at Sammy as he seemed to slip away, clutching Kate as she sobbed into me. It hurt me so much not just that Sam was dying, but that Kate was feeling so broken about this. How the Hell was Dean feeling right now? Sam was Dean's brother—his little brother. It was almost like reliving Annie's death all over again…the feeling of not being able to save your own sibling…

"Sam! Sammy? We're gonna patch you up, okay?" Dean told Sam. "You'll be good as new. Huh? Listen to me. I'm gonna take care of you. I'm gonna take care of you. I got you. That's my job. Watch out for my pain-in-the-ass-little brother. Sam. Sam? Sam! Sammy!" Dean cried. "No. No, No, No. Oh, god." Dean said, holding Sam tightly. "Oh...Oh, God." He said, and I touched Sam's arm, wishing I could do something, but I couldn't—I couldn't heal Sam.

Part of this was all of my fault, and I couldn't even move—I couldn't say anything. I couldn't think straight because everything had happened. This was Sammy—my Sammy…Dean's Sammy…Kate's Sammy. Where the Hell was Jake? That son of a bitch was gonna pay for what he did to Sam…I hoped that Bobby had hunted him down because watching Sam die in Dean's arms was the most painful thing I had ever witnessed.

"Sam!" Dean cried, and he started to cry…we all just cried.

xxxx

We were in an abandoned house, and all the psychics Sam had been with, were dead. Ava. Andy. All of them—even Sam. Well…all of them except Jake. Jake was the only one I cared about finding too because I wanted to make him pay for what he had done. I wanted to avenge what had happened while I was under the influence of my father…before my love and need for Sam helped me to break free.

"Bobby's getting food." I told Dean gingerly.

I had cried as much as I thought I could, and Dean still looked at Sam's body while Kate tried to keep herself occupies. She had already said some words to Sam's corpse and then she just steered clear of the room because it hurt her too much, but Dean…Dean couldn't get away from the room. He just stared at Sam's corpse. Kept his eyes fixated there. I wanted to move him, cover him with a sheet or something, but Dean refused, and I let him do what he wanted.

"Yeah." Dean replied softly.

It was his turn to grieve—I couldn't this time. I wasn't allowed to hold out in my room and have a good cry…I wasn't allowed to be weak in front of Dean. He needed me to be strong right now, and it was hard—especially being pregnant on top of it all. I only got to cry when I knew Dean wouldn't be around to hear it. I still blamed myself for all of it, and surprisingly—Dean blamed himself. After all of this, he still took it all upon himself and he shouldn't.

"Is there anything that I can do for you?" I asked him, slowly brushing my hand against his, smiling a little when he grasped my hand firmly. "Baby…what can I do?"

Dean just hung his head and nodded slowly, taking me into another room and I was surprised that he had left Sam's side. At the same time, I wasn't surprised at all when he kissed me, slowly helping us down onto the floor. It was an abandoned house, with no bed, and no sheets, and an old floor, but if this was what he needed…then this was what I was going to help him with to get his mind off of Sam.

We skipped right over any kind of foreplay because he needed to feel better and I knew that, our clothes coming off easily. I laid back on the old rug on the floor since we were alone in the room with the door closed, and Dean kissed me as he rested his naked body on mine. I held him close, one hand in his hair supporting the back of his head, and I nodded, rocking myself up again him slowly and softly as a tear splashed on my cheek.

"I'm here." I whispered to him and he nodded, kissing me back harder. "Baby, I'm here."

I wanted to tell him that it was okay, but I knew that it wasn't—Sam was dead so it was definitely not okay. Dean had lost so much in his life and the fact that he had lost his brother—the one thing in his life he felt honestly and truly solely responsible for—made everything that much worse. Sam's death was hard on everyone, but it was the hardest on Dean and nothing I could say or do would make that better…all I could do was numb the pain for a little while.

"I couldn't save him." Dean told me, looking me in the eye and stroking my cheek as I cradled his face lovingly, looking up at him as the tears came.

I nodded, biting my lip to keep the tears in. "I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough to save him for you."

"Lanni…Baby…" Dean said, shaking his head and kissing me, running his lips along mine as he spoke. "If anything, your love for him broke through your darker side…Baby, this isn't your fault—it's your father's."

"Yeah, but I wasn't strong enough to break through until it was too late." I reminded him, kissing him when he smiled at me sadly.

This whole thing with words wasn't working and we both knew it, so he just ran his fingers along my stomach and pushed in without any warning. I welcomed the feeling and the movement of his body against mine, using my hips to match every thrust he gave, helping to set the rhythm. We were mostly silent the rest of the time, only making noises when our releases hit and we had to, and then Dean rested against me, his face in the nape of my neck after he pulled out.

We were both pretty silent, just holding each other, not able to fall asleep or anything right then. It was a just a long period of time where we needed to feel close to each other, and once we were both feeling like it was time to get up because Bobby would be there soon we both just kind of nodded. Feeling his chest heave against me and feeling his heartbeat pounding was nice, but I understood when he pulled back, kissed my stomach and then me and then got up to get dressed.

"Thank you for being here, Lanni." Dean whispered to me.

I smiled and started getting dressed myself, really wishing I could have a shower or something, but this place didn't allow for that. When we were both dressed I caught Dean's hand, and he slowly turned to look at me, pain still in his eyes. I reached up and stroked his cheek, leaning up and kissing Dean softly, glad he responded to me even though I knew he felt broken inside.

"I love you, Dean Winchester." I told him firmly. "I love you, and I am never going to leave you…I'm here."

Dean nodded and rested his hand on my stomach, kissing me tenderly. "I appreciate that so much more than you know, Lanni."

I nodded and kissed him again, both of us heading back out, Dean taking his original position looking at Sam. I went to find Kate instead, wrapping my arms around her—she was beyond tears now…she just felt so broken and numb. It was just starting to get good for them and any time now I had expected Sam to ask her to be his girlfriend…how could this happen to them?

"What can I do for you?" I asked Kate softly.

Kate snuggled into me more. "I should be asking you that…you were closer to him."

"But you were falling for him." I whispered, kissing her head.

Kate nodded against me and took in a shaky breath, making me hold her even tighter to let her know she would always have me. She and I had been through some serious crap this year, and we need to be there for each other no matter what. We were family, and we needed to know that the other one was always going to be there for one of us to turn to, and that's how it was going to be—I could promise her that.

"Dean?" Bobby asked, coming in the door. "I brought you this—Lana says you need to eat."

Bobby set the bucket of chicken down as Kate let go of me, and went to check it out, me going over to Bobby. He looked at me with sad eyes and pulled me to him when I bit my lip, stroking my hair and holding me protectively and I was so very thankful for him. Then Bobby glanced over at Dean and I felt his whole body tense up a little, and the pain coming off of him was just…so much.

"No thanks. I'm fine." Dean replied, and I let go of Bobby, squeezing his hand.

"You should eat something." Bobby told him gently.

"I said I'm fine." Dean said firmly and I sighed softly.

I didn't know what it was that I could say that Bobby wasn't already saying and it hurt me when Dean came over to his beer from before and took another chug. It seemed like that was the only thing that Dean had been consuming in his grief: beer. He just needed to eat something and potentially…let us bury Sammy…but it was almost too early to be asking Dean that right now.

"Dean…I know this is the wrong time, I do…but don't you think it's about time we…bury Sam?" Bobby asked him.

Dean looked at him hard. "No."

"We could, maybe…" Bobby said, sighing and trailing off, not able to continue with his sentence.

"What—torch his corpse?" Dean asked, sitting down.

I turned to them. "Kate and I could see if Jenny was up to resurrecting him."

Kate glanced up at me as she grabbed some chicken, wondering why she hadn't thought about that before. Bobby looked at me with a look on my face that told me I shouldn't have brought it up, and at first I couldn't figure out how Dean felt about that. In fact I hadn't even really given it much thought but Dean was in so much pain and it wasn't like we couldn't resurrect Sam…

"Yeah, cause that turned out beautifully." Dean said angrily and I nodded and sat down, looking at my lap. "No."

Bobby leaned over the table. "I want you to come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere." Dean protested, the pain still very evident in his voice.

"Dean, please." Bobby practically begged him.

Dean looked at him sadly. "Why don't you cut me some slack?"

"I just don't want you three to have to be alone like this, is all." Bobby explained to us." I just—I admit that I could really use your help." Dean scoffed, and Bobby continued. "Something big is going down. End-of-the-world big."

"Then let it end!" Dean cried, and I closed my eyes and swallowed, wishing he wasn't making the tears come again.

"You don't mean that." Bobby told him plainly.

Dean got up. "You don't think so? You don't think I've given enough? You don't think I've paid enough? I'm done with it—all of it…and if you know what's good for you, you'll turn around and get the Hell out of here."

I turned around to look at Dean in Bobby's face, and then flinched a little when Dean yelled at him to go, and pushed him a little. He looked sorry though, and Bobby looked a little miffed. Dean didn't know how he could deal with Sam's death…he'd had his mother taken from him, his father who had given his soul to let Dean live, and then I'd died and been brought back and now Sam?

"I'm sorry." Dean told him. "I'm sorry. Please just go."

Bobby nodded and sighed, turning towards the door. "You know where I'll be."

I nodded and thanked him, wishing I could volunteer to help Bobby but I couldn't do that—I was pregnant and more importantly, Dean needed me. Kate looked like she wanted to go, but she couldn't find it in her to get up and leave Sam either. Sadly enough, Kate and I understood the pain that Dean was going through…we knew what it was like to have our family members picked off one by one.

"I have to go outside." I said, and headed for the door.

"I'm sorry I'm scaring you." Dean told me.

I stopped in my tracks and I shook my head, not looking at him as the tears started to come again. It honestly wasn't his fault that I had to distance myself right then at all—I just felt like I had to be strong and I needed to cry. I needed to cry and he really didn't need that and since I couldn't stop the tears from coming, I needed to just get out of the house and clear my thoughts on my own.

"You're not scaring me, Sweetheart. I just—I can't be in here right now." I explained to him, closing my eyes as he wrapped his arms around me.

Dean rested his head against mine. "Are you crying?"

I wanted so badly to lie to him right then and tell him that I just needed the air but I couldn't do that. I couldn't lie to him for one, and I knew that the second I started to speak, my voice would betray me anyway and then he'd feel bad that I felt like I needed to lie. Yeah, I knew it was all right to cry and I knew he would understand, but I was just not as broken as him right then…I knew that.

"I can't do this in front of you. You're hurting enough." I told him, and he turned me to face him, looking me in the eye.

"Hey…we have to trust each other here…you're all I have left." He said softly, his voice strained and hurt.

I nodded, and stroked his cheek, kissing him softly. "Baby, I trust you more than anyone…I don't want you to ever doubt that."

"I don't." Dean replied, kissing me gently. "I know you mean it."

"I'll leave you be." I said as our lips parted.

Dean nodded, and I went into the other room, leaning against the wall, and listening to Dean talk to Sam's body as I cried silently, praying ever so softly. This was such a terrible situation that we were in and I needed to figure out how to help Dean with this and had the feeling I needed to talk to Sam about it but then I remembered that I couldn't and I couldn't stop the tears. Sam was my family—he honestly was—and now I'd lost him too and I just had to cry.

"You know when we were little—you couldn't have been more than 5—you just started asking questions. How come we didn't have a Mom? Why did we always have to move around? Where'd Dad go when he took off for days at a time? I remember I begged you—'Quit asking, Sammy. Man, you don't want to know'." Dean chuckled softly. "I just wanted you to be a kid…just a little while longer. I always tried to protect you…keep you safe. Dad didn't even have to tell me. It was just, my responsibility, you know? It was like I had one job…one job…and I screwed it up." He said his voice breaking. "I blew it…and for that, I'm sorry." He said, pausing, his voice broken. "I guess that's what I do. I let down the people I love. I let Dad down. I let Lana down—that woman needs so much more than I can give her. And I suppose I'm just supposed to let you down, too? How can I? How am I supposed to live with that? What am I supposed to do? Sammy?" Dean asked, crying now. "God. What am I supposed to do?" He inhaled sharply and stood up, kicking the table. "What am I supposed to do?"

He got into the Impala, and I came out of the room just in time to see him drive off in his panic, Kate crying as she ate her chicken. I wanted to tell him that he hadn't screwed up or let John, Sam and I down, but I couldn't. He had to take a drive—clear his head—and I had yet to say my goodbye. So after I kissed Kate and held her close for a few moments, I let go and went into the room where Sam was, and I sat down, looking at his body. I tried to compose myself, but I was going to break anyway and I knew I couldn't stop it.

"Hey, Sammy." I started out. "Wow. Um…I guess I didn't really figure out what I was going to say until…well until it came down to actually saying it. I miss you. I miss you so much—we all do. Kate is so broken up about this because that girl loves you in a way that I was never able to manage because I love Dean like that." I admitted to him, the tears leaking out already. "I can't believe how much to blame I am for all of this. I let the evil inside of me take over, and I liked it—I liked all of that power until I saw that you were getting caught in the crossfire…you just mean so much to me, Sammy. The demon? My Dad? He keeps visiting me in my dreams—he knows I'm not under his hold anymore…doesn't know what else to use to snap me. Apparently my love for you and Dean is too much for evil to take over right now but still…man, this isn't what I wanted to talk to you about at all." I said, smiling a bit through my tears. "I love you. I always have and I always will the exact same way that you and I talked about. I just—I still need you. Who do I go to now? You're my family, Sammy. What am I supposed to do without you? What are Dean and I supposed to do without you?"

I was about to say something else when Sam's eyes shot open, and he suddenly seemed to have so much more color to him. He sat up, gasping a little, and I sat there, stunned wanting to call out for Kate but the words that did come out of my mouth were so much more jumbled and focused on Sam.

"Oh my dear sweet Jesus." I said, and then I reached out and touched him gingerly. "Do you feel that?"

Sam nodded at me. "Yes."

"Oh my dear sweet Jesus!" I exclaimed, and hugged him. "Oh my God! I love you!"

I threw my arms around him, Kate running in when she heard noises and standing in the doorway for a moment. I turned to her and then watched as she hurried to Sam, kissing him firmly on the mouth, Sam responding, holding her close even though he was wincing a bit. He wanted to be close to her, and she wanted to be close to him and I was so happy that he was alive…that Sam was alive.

Then I realized that there was practically no explanation for this—Sam was dead. He had been lying there for hours…how could he just suddenly wake up? There was no good explanation for it and I was racking my brain, trying to make sure that I had all of my information correct. Then Dean came in a little bit later as Kate and Sam had their arms wrapped around each other, me running my fingers through Sam's hair, and we just let go of Sam—let Dean come over and hug Sam tightly.

"Sammy. Thank God." Dean told him.

"Ow." Sam winced. "Um…Dean…"

"I'm sorry, Man. I'm sorry." Dean replied, and pulled away, and I raised an eyebrow—something serious was going on here. "I'm just glad to see you up and around is all."

Sam nodded slowly. "Dean…what happened to me?"

"Well, uh…what do you remember?" Dean asked him.

"I—I saw you, Lan and Bobby, and then…I felt this sharp pain. This uh, really hot, you know? Then you started running at me, and that's about it." Sam explained to him.

Dean nodded. "Yeah…that uh—that kid stabbed you in the back. You lost a lot of blood. It was pretty touch and go for a while."

"But, Dean—you can't patch up a wound that bad." Sam told him. "And neither can Lan, as skilled as she is."

"No, Bobby could." Dean said, and I knew something was up.

Dean was lying through his teeth, and I was going to get to the bottom of it because I had a feeling this wasn't going to end well. Sam had been dead, Dean had run off, and now all of a sudden Sam was up and about? Kate looked pretty suspicious too, but mostly she was just happy—she had Sam back and that was really all that mattered to her.

"I have to go and talk to Bobby since Jake disappeared into the woods, and I want a piece of him still." I told him, and Dean looked at me.

"Uh—how about we all eat—you want to eat?" Dean asked Sam, Kate and I.

I gave him a look. "Yeah…sure."

"I'm starving." Dean said, and got us a lot of food, Sam going over the events with us.

The demon had gathered all the psychics together to battle it out and see who came out on top. I knew it was Jake, but Sam was stuck on why he and Jake both got to live—that happened to be my question too. As wonderful as it was to have Sam back again, Dean did something, and I couldn't figure out what. I was normally on top of things, but I just couldn't place anything because I had too many emotions running through me at once right then.

"I have to call Jen." I told Dean, and I called Jen when I got outside.

"Hey, Lan." Jen said dismally—I had already told her about Sam being dead.

"I have great news—Sam is alive." I explained, and I looked at the door to make sure no one was listening.

"What?" Jen asked me after a pause.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah…suddenly he sat up while I saw having my goodbye speech. Dean did something. He's acting like Sam was just wounded. I don't get it."

"I'm going to hurt your husband." Jen told me.

I sat down, my back against the house. "Oh not before I do. This is big. What would possibly…no!"

No, he couldn't have done this to me—not now. Not like this. As everything fit together in my head, I realized that there was one and only one explanation. But how could he? How could he have done that? I understood his pain, I did, but how was this the answer? Especially now—especially with a baby coming!

"No, what?" Jen asked me.

I stood up. "What if he made a deal?"

"You mean like at a crossroads?" Jen asked suddenly very alert.

"Oh my God, Jenny…what if Dean made a deal?" I asked her sadly.

"You have to ask him." Jen told me.

I nodded. "I fully intend to. I'll call you back, okay? I love you."

"I love you too." Jen told me, and hung up.

I looked up as Sam, Kate and Dean came out of the house, and Sam told me that we were headed to Bobby's. We got into the Impala, Dean sending me a couple looks in the rear-view mirror, but I wasn't happy with him. If he'd made a deal, I didn't know what I would do. I loved Sammy—I wanted Sammy back to and I was glad he was—but deals were dangerous…you ensured yourself a spot in Hell. I just looked at my knees until we got to Bobby's and knocked on the door. When Bobby opened the door, he did a double-take with Sam.

"Hey, Bobby." Dean told him.

"Hey, Bobby." Sam chorused, and I gave a little wave as Kate swallowed.

Bobby was miffed. "Sam. It's…nice to see you up and about."

Sam smiled at him. "Yeah, well…thanks for patching me up."

"Don't mention it." Bobby said lamely as Sam walked past him, and he gave Dean a look.

"Well, Sam's better, and we're back in it now. So…what do you know?" Dean asked Bobby, not wanting to dwell on anything.

Sam looked at Bobby and Dean questioningly, and then Bobby sat us down and started talking about the demonic omens that had suddenly been occurring. They all seemed to be in Wyoming, but not in this one circle in the middle and he wanted to know why. It was a very good question, but I wanted to talk to my husband and figure out what the Hell was going on around here with him…and how Sam was alive.

"Sam, would you take a look at it? Maybe you can catch something I couldn't. Come on, Dean. I got some more books in the truck. Help me lug them in." Bobby said, and I just elected to stay with Sam and Kate, and Sam looked at me when they left.

"What was that all about?" He asked me.

I looked down at the map and tried to make a happy face, but it wasn't working. "Dean's—he's been a bit reckless since you got hurt. For a while there, I thought I was losing him. It's a good thing you recovered."

I swallowed down the words and I felt the pain rise in me—I hated lying to Sam and yet…I didn't have facts. If I wanted proof, then I would have to get it from Dean, which meant I had to get out and talk to my husband.

"How are you?" Sam asked me and Kate and I couldn't help but laugh—he was actually asking us how we were.

Kate held his hand. "I'm doing much better now that you're up and about again."

"I'm okay. I mean I'm not terrific, but I'll be okay." I told him, stroking his hair briefly. "Now take a look at the map. I want to go and help Bobby."

Sam nodded and I went outside, seeing Bobby and Dean in quite a mess and it was breaking me—the book thing was a rouse and I was so off reading people right now. Bobby was crying and holding on to Dean's jacket rather tightly, very much in his face, and not at all happy. It made my suspicion even more clear and I couldn't stop any of the words that started coming out of my mouth.

"What the Hell did you do?" I asked him. "Something was up as soon as Sam came to. What the Hell did you do?"

"Nothing." Dean said with a shrug.

"You're the worst liar." I told him firmly, the tears brimming. "You made a deal, didn't you?"

Dean swallowed, looking pained. "Lanni—"

"—Don't call me that!" I yelled at him. "I get your love for your brother, and I get that you wanted him back—we all did—but selling your soul? How much time did you get?"

Dean took a breath. "Is that really—"

"—HOW MUCH TIME?" I asked again.

"One year." He said after a pause.

I stood there, the tears filling my eyes, and I nodded, biting my lip as a tear rolled down my cheek. The rest of them just kept coming as it all sank in—Dean had exactly one year to live and then I lost him forever…how was that even fair? How in the world could I live without him? Live with our child without him? Dean started to come towards me, and I held up my hand, not wanting him to come any closer because as broken as I was feeling, I was beyond pissed off.

"Don't." I told him firmly.

"I had to do it for Sam!" Dean protested earnestly.

I nodded slowly. "I know—I get that, and I think that by now you should understand that I get that you had to have Sam. He's your brother…he's your family…but right now I want you to just leave me alone, Dean. We're having a baby and you're going to be dead in a year. What am I supposed to tell our kid, huh?"

"Lanni…" Dean said, trailing off as I shook my head, feeling rather queasy as I kicked the nearby car.

"You're leaving me alone to deal with a baby, Dean! In seven months I'm going to have a baby! That gives you, what? Five months to be in its life? What the Hell were you thinking? I can't do this without you." I admitted dismally dropping to the ground. "What about Sam? What will he say when he finds out?"

"We're not telling him." Dean said firmly, trying to come closer, but I held my hand up again.

"You're not even going to tell him?" I asked him, looking up at him and then I swallowed. "We could try again."

I didn't know why I was proposing it, but it made sense to me in my head and it could potentially work. I mean if Dean could make a deal, then so could I, and I had more to barter so there was a chance that I could Dean out of his deal. It was kind of a retarded plan making one deal to counter-act another, but if it meant not having to be alone and without Dean, then it was worth it, wasn't it?

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked me.

I stood up. "I can go back and make another deal because we can always try again."

"No! You are not using our baby as leverage to get me out of this deal!" Dean yelled at me, pain in his voice.

"Dean, please…I just can't do this without you!" I cried, shrugging.

"NO!" Dean replied loudly.

I bit my lip and looked at him hard. "I don't know why I'm even asking your permission, Dean—its kind of obvious that in this marriage whenever one of us has a plan they can just execute it without talking to the other one."

Dean opened his mouth to say something but before he could reply, we heard footsteps, and he and Bobby jumped out and found Ellen. They hugged her tightly, and then I hugged her when Dean let go, and she cried a little, and then we went inside. Bobby wanted her to take a shot of Holy Water just to check, and when that proved she wasn't possessed, he gave her the whiskey she asked for. Turned out that she wasn't in the Roadhouse due to sheer dumb luck—she was out buying pretzels. To top it off, it was obvious this showdown was going to happen in Wyoming.

"What does that mean?" Dean asked aloud.

xxxx

"Talk to me." Dean said softly and I shook my head as I went through one of the books.

"I don't have anything more to say to you." I replied slowly, hurting because I wanted to but it would just be more arguing. "What more is there?"

Dean sighed loudly. "I did what I thought I had to do."

"And now I'm doing what I think I have to do." I told him with a shrug. "Now can you please let me research in peace?"

"I love you." Dean said firmly, knowing it was what I needed to hear. "I can't believe you don't know that by now. From all we've gone through…all we've withstood."

I looked him in the eye. "I love that you brought Sammy back, but I am not going to pretend that I love the price it came at. I'm selfish—end of story. Maybe I just wanted you around for a few years. Maybe I wanted to be able to raise this baby with you. Maybe I wanted to be able to have more than one baby with you sometime in the future. Maybe I wanted a life with you, Dean…maybe I wanted a family. You took that away from me and from yourself when you made that ridiculous deal and I get why you did it, but I hate this feeling because I'm afraid of being alone."

"One year was the only way she'd do it." Dean explained to me, both of us hurt by my tears no matter how angry I was.

I nodded slowly. "Well then…I guess we better research so our year goes better without this demon war, huh?"

"Damn-it, Lanni!" Dean said, raising his voice a little.

This was not the place to be having this argument and I knew it, especially when Bobby shifted uncomfortably, his eyes glancing over at us. I bit my lip and then took Dean's hand and dragged him out of Bobby's place, and looked him in the eye. If he wanted to have this out, then we were going to have this out even though it wasn't the time or the place to be having this conversation…well, argument.

"You brought this upon yourself." I told him. "You made the deal and now you have to live with the consequences."

"I don't want you to hate me for the year I have!" Dean protested, grabbing a hold of my shoulders.

I looked down at the ground. "Then you have to give me some space and time to let it all sink in. You were selfish, and now I get to be."

"Selfish? You telling me that bringing back my brother was selfish?" Dean asked, starting to get mad at me.

"Yes!" I exclaimed nodding. "Or hadn't you thought about how much this is going to cost us all when you're gone? Excuse me while I spell it out for you: in twelve months you are going to die, your soul is going to go to Hell, and guess who has to live with the repercussions? Me and Sam, and everyone you claim to love! Sam will be racked with guilt because you gave your soul for his, and I will be alone with a five month old baby! And who do you think will take it harder? Sam, because you sold your soul for him! Only he won't show it! I will! So you know what, hate me for it all you want, Dean, but I am going to be mad at you right now! I have every right to be pissed that I only have one year to spend with you because you threw away everything!"

Dean watched me wipe a tear away, and go back inside, setting to work on the researching again. I hated that I was so angry—especially when I understood why he had done it—but I just couldn't get over the clawing hurt I was feeling because Dean had made a rash and impulsive decision and we all had to deal with the consequences here. I tried to shake the thoughts away as I researched, and strangely I was the first to find something. When I showed it to Bobby, he and I figured it all out together and decided to share with the rest of them.

"I don't believe it." Bobby said aloud to get the attention focused on him and me.

Sam looked over. "You got something?"

"Each of these X's in an abandoned Frontier church, all mid-19th Century." I explained, pointing to the map of Wyoming. "And all made by Samuel Colt."

"Samuel Colt? The demon-killing, gun-making, Samuel Colt?" Dean asked us.

Bobby nodded slowly. "That's the one, but that's not all. He built private railway lines, connecting church to church."

"That just happened to look like this." I told them, taking the pen and drawing the symbol.

"Tell me that's not what I think it is." Dean said slowly.

"It's a Devil's Trap." Sam explained. "A hundred square mile, Devil's Trap."

Dean rubbed his chin. "That's brilliant. Iron lines, demons can't cross."

"I've never heard of anything that massive." Ellen said slowly.

"No one has." Kate told her. "It's damn ingenious though."

I nodded and I smiled at her because her hunting knowledge was far above ours. She was amazing when it came to little tidbits like this, and whenever someone found something she knew, she was always quick to share it. Having her along made pretty much everything easier…on more than just me.

Dean looked up from his seat. "After all of these years, none of the lines have broken? It all still works?"

"Definitely." Kate said as I nodded.

"How do you know?" Dean asked aloud.

Kate looked at him. "All the omens Bobby found—they're circling it, but they can't get in…it's definitely still working."

"Yeah, well they're trying to get in." Bobby told us.

"Why? What's inside?" Ellen asked him.

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

Sam looked up. "But what's so important about a cemetery? What's Colt trying to protect?"

My eyes widened as I looked it over and I waved my hands around a little, trying to form my words and looking directly at Dean. We made eye contact, both of us thinking the same thing and all attention was on me and my hands. I had a tendency to speak with my hands and this was definitely no exception.

"I don't think he was trying to keep anything out….he's trying to keep something in." I explained, Dean nodding at me.

"Well that's a comforting thought." Ellen said dismally.

Dean nodded at her. "Yeah, ya think?"

"Could they do it, Bobby? Could they get inside?" Sam asked him.

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

"No." Sam said, looking thoughtful. "But I know who could."

"Jake." I said aloud and swallowed. "God I hate him."

Kate nodded slowly. "Me too."

I rubbed my temples and went away from the table, Ellen following me as I went outside and sat down on the porch. She put her arm around me and I leaned my head against her, snuggling up to her and trying hard not to cry. Ellen ran her fingers through my hair and kissed my head, always so motherly to me even though she never had to be.

"How are you holding up, honey?" Ellen asked me.

I shrugged a little. "The baby's fine."

"Yeah, but how are you?" Ellen asked again. "I saw you fighting with Dean in there."

"I'm as good as any wife can be when they find out their husband sold his soul to bring his brother back to life." I replied, wiping a tear away.

Ellen tensed up. "He did what?"

"Sam doesn't know and Dean doesn't want him to know so…just…I don't know what to do, Ellen." I told her, pulling away a little and looking at her, crying because I couldn't seem to get the tears to stop. "How am I supposed to do this without him? I mean Jenny has her own kids to deal with, and Kate and Sammy will have other and what am I supposed to do?"

Ellen wiped my tears away, looking me in the eye and holding my face. "Lana you will never be without me. Whatever it is that you need from me, I am going to be here for you through thick and thin."

"Thank you, Ellen." I whispered, hugging her tightly.

She held me back and stroked my hair as I let the tears fall, both of us turning to see Bobby come out of the house. He asked if he could talk to me, and Ellen nodded, kissing my forehead and then heading inside, Bobby opening his arms up to me. He knew I understood, and he knew I was hurting, and he just wanted to let me know that like Ellen, he was here for me if I needed him.

"You can't be mad at him forever." Bobby told me.

I nodded slowly. "I know."

"He doesn't want to leave you, I hope you know that." Bobby said softly.

"I just wish I could accept it, Bobby." I admitted to him. :I mean I know he did it for Sam, and I am so happy to have Sam back, but—a year? How am I supposed to get a year out of him without being mad at him that we only get a year?"

Bobby nodded, kissing the top of my head. "I know its tough, but you can't spend a whole year hating him for this…you have to forgive him."

"I know I do. I just don't know how." I told him, pulling away and looking up at him. "There are so many things going on with me right now that he doesn't know and I don't think he'll take too happily but I can't tell him—he already has so much to worry about."

"I believe a marriage is base on both parties speaking up no matter what." Bobby told me but then nodded and sighed when I did. "Like what? You can always talk to me, Lana."

I nodded at that because I knew I could trust Bobby with anything, even though I knew deep down I should be talking to Dean about all of this first. It was just that I was so mad at him that nothing was coming out right, and I just collected my thoughts and decided that this was just fine too…Bobby would try and help me through this.

"First off let me explain to you that the yellow-eyed demon is my biological father—yeah, you heard me correctly—and he keeps coming to me in my dreams. They're all different, but he seems so excited these days…because he says I'm having a demonic baby." I explained to Bobby slowly. "Here I am, all excited that I'm pregnant finally, and having my father tell me that the baby can't be hurt because of its demonic nature, scares me. When I died and was brought back, I didn't want this—any of it. I didn't want to pass my demon genes along, but I have no choice…it's also partly why I offered to give the baby up to get Dean out of his deal."

Bobby looked a little taken back by the news, and I knew what he was thinking—if the baby was so demonic, I should get rid of it. But how could I do that? Dean and I were looking forward to this baby. We had finally conceived a baby that would survive and what if this was the only thing of Dean I got to keep? I'd been thinking about that more and more too…this was my baby and Dean's baby…I had to give birth to it.

"And you really haven't told him about any of this?" Bobby asked me.

"I told him about my father being the demon but no," I admitted shaking my head, "no I haven't told him about the dreams or about that baby's possible demonic nature. Please don't tell him, Bobby…it's my place to tell him."

Bobby nodded and stroked my hair. "I promise, Lana but…tell him soon."

I nodded as the boys came out with Kate and Ellen, and we all got into the cars and took off for the cemetery. When we got there it was dark out, and we saw Jake as we hid in our own respective outlets until he was close to the large crypt, and then we stepped out. He was going to pay for everything that he had done, and I was going to enjoy every minute of the pain we put him through…

"Howdy, Jake." Sam greeted, and the six of us stood there in a line, looking at him.

"Wait…you're dead. I killed you." Jake told him.

"Yeah?" Sam asked him. "Well next time, finish the job."

"I did!" Jake protested. "I cut clean through your spinal cord, Man. You can't be alive. You can't be."

Bobby raised his gun a little more. "Okay, just take it easy there, Son."

Jake looked at him. "And if I don't?"

"Wait and see." Sam said firmly.

Honestly it was a little unnerving to see Sam so tough all of a sudden and I didn't know why it was making me feel so happy. Yeah, Sam was tough, but normally Dean was the one that threatened people and had the quippy comments. Jake had killed Sam though, and even though Sam only thought he'd tried, Sam was out for blood as much as I was.

"What, you're a tough guy all of a sudden? What are you going to do—kill me?" Jake asked Sam. "You had your chance, and you couldn't."

"I won't make that mistake twice." Sam explained and Jake chuckled, Dean and I getting angry and cocking our guns.

Dean looked directly at Jake. "What are you smiling at, you little bitch?"

"Hey Lady, do me a favor—put that gun up to your head." Jake said, and Ellen did as she was told.

Kate glared at him. "Getting quite the handle on your powers, eh, Jake?"

"You're an ass, you know that?" I told him.

Jake just smiled at us and then looked at me. "You're his daughter, aren't you?"

"If you're talking about the demon, then yes—I am. So you should know, that I don't take kindly to people making my friends point guns at themselves, your powers won't work on me, and I could shoot you in the head right now for what you've taken from me." I threatened, me stepping one step closer.

"Now, now we don't want her shooting herself. See, that Ava girl was right. Once you give in, there's all sorts of new Jedi mind tricks that you learn." Jake said with a grin.

Sam wasn't happy now. "Let her go!"

"Shoot him." Ellen said, willing to take this risk.

"You'll be mopping up skull before you get a shot in." Jake told us.

I cocked my head to one side. "You really think you can get her to shoot herself before one of us pulls our happy little trigger?"

"You wanna test the theory?" Jake asked me.

"No." I told him, and lowered my gun.

Honestly I couldn't lost Ellen too—I just couldn't. She was like a mother to me and if I got her killed then I would never be able to forgive myself. Ellen was so strong, and beautiful, and I just wanted this fight to be over…I wanted Jake dead and I wanted to figure out how I was going to get through this year with Dean…I wanted so desperately to just forgive him.

"Now everybody else put your guns down…except you, Sweetheart." Jake told Ellen.

Everyone dropped them on the ground, and then Jake sent me a look and I dropped mine, Kate sidling closer to me. She knew that I needed support right now and so did she—Jake had taken Sam from her and she wanted him dead. In taking Sam from her, he had made it so that Dean had run off and made a deal, and for that I would never forgive him…Jake had to die and that was really all there was to it.

"I really don't like you." I told Jake firmly.

Jake shrugged and smiled. "It's all right. I don't much like you either."

I gave him a look and he turned around and pulled out the Colt, sticking it into the door, Sam and I shooting him several times in the back since he'd let his guard down—really stupid move on his part. While Jake was on the ground, Sam walked up to him, and pointed the gun at him. Jake begged him not to, but Sam pulled the trigger, shooting him three times in the face. We all walked up to the door as it clicked into place, and then Bobby, Kate and I got worried looks on our faces as we saw the inscriptions.

"Bobby, what is it?" Ellen asked him.

"It's Hell." Bobby replied, and Dean grabbed the gun. "Everybody take cover now!"

We all ran away from the door and hid behind some of the larger tombstones, demons flying out, destroying the Devil's Trap. I took that moment to grasp Dean's hand, and he squeezed it, knowing I was going to try and be nice to him, even though I was still not happy. I even smiled at him a little because if this was our last moments together, I needed him to know that though still mad…I love him.

"What the Hell just happened?" Dean asked aloud.

"That's a Devil's Gate!" Kate explained loudly.

Ellen nodded firmly. "A damn door to Hell! Come on! We gotta shut that gate!"

The six of us ran to the door, trying to close it, but Dean stayed behind with the Colt, looking around. He was trying to pick a fight, and I didn't want the demon to show up, but he did, and took the Colt. There were enough of us so I knew that I could totally potentially go save Dean's ass since he was in trouble…

"Dean!" Sam cried as he saw him lying on the ground.

"Dad!" I yelled, and we both left Bobby and Ellen to close the door.

Dad sent Sam flying up against a tree, and then I was stopped in my tracks and I made a face at him. I really didn't want to deal with this, but there was no way around it now and I had to make sure that Dean didn't get killed. Suddenly, just one year with him looked amazing staring down the barrel at what could potentially be our last interaction. Hey, maybe I could make a deal with my father…maybe?

"I'll deal with you later, Champ." Dad told Sam. "And you, Kid—you're good there. You can watch the father of your child cope with what he's done and take it graciously before he dies."

"Dad, please don't." I pleaded with him.

Dad leaned down and looked at Dean. "You ever heard that if the deal's too good to be true, it probably is?"

"You call that deal good?" Dean asked him.

"It was terrible." I muttered.

"It was better than your Dad ever got." He said with a shrug. "You see how Sam killed Jake just then? You ever wonder that maybe what you brought back wasn't entirely 100% Sammy?"

I looked over at Sam and I sighed, because demons couldn't resurrect people unless a deal was made. Witches could, but at a price and they had to use dark magic and there were all sorts of warnings that came with it. Well this had a price too, and both Sam and Dean were going to pay it…Hell, Kate and I were going to pay it too, but not as ultimately as Sam and Dean.

"I knew I kept you alive for a reason." The demon said, happy Sam was back in the running and Jake was dead. "But I don't need you know. You can blame your reckless, self-loathing need to sacrifice yourself for your family."

"Stop it!" I yelled at him—how dare he put Dean down?

Then out of the chaos, John came, and pulled the demon out of his human body, wrestling him as Dean grabbed the Colt. The demon shook John off, Sam and I still stuck as long as the demon was alive, and I felt the evil side start to try and take over. When she did, the demon was back in his body and I actually smiled…my body was enjoying this pain…part of it was.

"That's my girl." Dad said, but then he saw Dean, who shot him with the gun.

His body crackled and fizzed, and then smoke started to come out of his body, and both of our eyes returned to their normal color. He was dead, and I was free—we all were. John looked at the three of us as Sam and I stepped closer and he rested his hand on Dean's shoulder. We all smiled, Sam and I tearing up, and then in a bright flash, he was gone. We looked at each other and then stood over the demon's body, Kate helping Bobby and Ellen to shut the door before coming over to us.

"Well, check that off the to-do list." Dean said, Sam and I still taking it in.

"Wow." I told the body, looking at Kate as she stood next to me, cringing as I kicked the body my father had been in. "Too many of my parents have been killed off but…this dad needed to go."

Sam took my hand since he was standing next to me and Dean was across from me, and I stopped kicking the body and crying and knelt down. Kate came and sat down next to me, holding me because she knew that right now everything was spinning out of control and there was really nothing to do. Yeah, my father was dead now, but he had done some things that he couldn't take back and the door had been opened…demons had escaped from Hell…

"Everything seems so…surreal right now." I whispered to the body. "You took everything from me, and this is your reward."

Sam looked at Dean. "You did it."

"I didn't do it alone." Dean replied slowly.

"Do you think Dad really…do you think he really climbed out of Hell?" Sam asked Dean.

Dean nodded slowly. "The door was open. If anyone is stubborn enough to do it…it would be him."

"Where do you think he is now?" Sam asked him.

Dean shook his head. "I don't know."

"Heaven." I said firmly, standing up as Dean came over. "But I don't know for sure. You said 'think' and that was a damn bright white light."

Kate smiled and nodded in agreement, Sam nodding too and hugging Kate and I to him, all three of us firmly believing. We really felt like it was what we needed to believe in order to get our heads all wrapped around all of this. Besides, John could be with Mary now…I firmly believed that there was good in this world and that helping Dean to kill my father, earned him the right to spend the rest of eternity with the only woman he had ever truly loved.

"I kinda can't believe it, Dean. I mean…all of our lives, everything…we've been prepping for this and now…" Sam chuckled softly. "I kind of don't know what to say."

"I do." Dean said, and knelt by the body. "That was for our Mom…you son of a bitch."

I nodded, and rested my hand on his shoulder, happy when he rested his hand on mine too. He had just killed the demon, and everything felt so done now…and yet it felt like nothing was over at all. Part of me had hoped that in killing him that meant that Dean and I could settle down a little more or something…but that wasn't the case here and I knew that. So we walked to the Impala, and I could tell that Sam had something on his mind and I swallowed when the words came to him.

"You know, when Jake saw me…it was like he saw a ghost." Sam said as Dean opened the door and scoffed. "I mean Hell you heard him Dean. He said he killed me."

"I'm glad he was wrong." Dean told him, and I sighed and sat on the hood of the car, looking at my hands as I twiddled my thumbs.

"I don't think he was, Dean." Sam replied shaking his head slowly. "What happened…after I was stabbed?"

"I already told you." Dean said, trying to keep a straight face.

Sam shook his head. "Not everything."

"Sam, we just killed the demon. Can we celebrate for a minute?" Dean asked, close to tears, and trying to be happy.

"Did I die?" Sam asked calmly.

"Oh, come on." Dean said.

"Did you sell your soul for me, like Dad did for you?" Sam asked and Kate squeezed my hand.

"Oh, come on, no!" Dean exclaimed, and I wiped a tear away.

"Tell me the truth." Sam told him. "Dean…tell me the truth."

Kate knew that this was hard for me and she was angry with Dean, I could tell, but Kate had her Sam back and she was grateful. She was just as conflicted as I was about it all because Sam was back…Sam was back and that was all that was supposed to matter but the cost of it…the cost was just so high. I got off of the hood of the car and walked away a little, Dean chuckling a little while he started to cry, and I heard Sam's voice break.

"How long did you get?" Sam asked him.

"One year." Dean said after a pause. "I got one year."

"You shouldn't have done that." Sam told him. "How could you do that?"

"Don't get mad at me." Dean told him painfully. "Don't you do that—Lanni's already mad at me."

Sam nodded as I turned around, my hands in my pockets. "Well she is carrying your baby, Dean. You have a wife and you're about to have a kid…what were you thinking?"

"Sam, I had to." Dean protested earnestly. "I had to protect you—it's my job."

"And what do you think my job is?" Sam asked him.

Dean was confused. "What?"

"You saved my life over and over. I mean you sacrifice everything for me. Don't you think I do the same for you? You're my big brother, and there is nothing I wouldn't do for you." Sam explained to him, me biting my lip. "And no matter what it takes, I'm going to get you out of this. I guess I gotta save your ass for a change."

Dean smiled softly. "Yeah."

Kate reached out and took Sam's hand, smiling and closing her eyes when he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. They were just so perfect together, and the look on Dean's face when he looked at the two of them made me feel even worse. He hadn't just done this for me to have my best friend back, or for him to have his brother back…he gave Sam back to Kate…and they had a chance to be happy…how could I be mad at him for that? And at the same time…how could I not be mad?

"Well…the yellow-eyed demon may be dead, but a Hell of a lot more came through that gate." Ellen told us, coming up to us with Bobby.

"How many, do you think?" Dean asked her.

"100. Maybe 200. It's an army." Sam explained to us all. "It's unleashed an army."

We all exchanged glances, and I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to figure out what to say to it all. Even though we had stopped it from being worse than it could have been, Jake had effectively opened up the door to Hell and demons had escaped. They were probably already wreaking havoc everywhere and we had to stop them…but how? Where did we start?

"Hope to Hell you guys are ready." Bobby told us. "Cause the war is just beginning."

"Well then…" Dean said, and he opened up the trunk of the Impala, tossing the Colt in. "We got work to do."

I got into the car while Bobby and Ellen got into Bobby's truck, and we drove to Kansas—it seemed to be where we went to regroup. I was silent the whole car ride, Kate and I e-mailing on our laptops and doing some research, checking to see what kind of damage could have already started by now. Dean glanced back at me as I rested my hand on my stomach, me catching his sad smile out of the corner of my eye and I knew I was being hard on him…and I needed to stop that. He felt sorry about what he had done and I had to accept that.

By the time we got to my house, we were all exhausted so Sam and Kate turned in—both headed for the room Sam always used—and Dean headed to our room. I smiled in the direction of Sam and Kate and then I went into the kitchen and I put my palms on the island counter, trying to figure out my words before I went to go talk to Dean. I had to brave him sooner or later, and I looked up when Sam walked into the room, coming over and wrapping his arms around me.

"I'm sorry, Lan." He told me softly.

I shrugged slowly, hugging him back. "Don't be."

"I have to be. He limited his time with you to bring me back." Sam replied, stroking my hair. "It's my fault."

I pulled back and looked Sam in the eye. "Sammy…this is not your fault. Do not blame yourself for any of it."

"I can't help it." He told me honestly and I squeezed his hand.

"So…you and Kate finally an item yet?" I asked him.

He smiled a little at me. "She's my girlfriend—I move slow though, so please don't try and give me the 'honorable' talk, all right? I'm going to treat her with respect."

"I honestly don't doubt that in the slightest, Sammy." I told him, and then I smiled sadly. "I really have to go and brave my husband."

Sam nodded and kissed my forehead, making me smile a little more and then head up the stairs. I paused at the bedroom door but then I opened it, Dean lying on the bed fully clothed looking up at the ceiling. He looked over at me and seemed genuinely surprised that I had shown up, and honestly I didn't know exactly what to say but I knew I had to try and get past this.

"Honestly? I didn't think you'd come in here." Dean told me.

I smiled sadly. "Yeah…I've been kind of avoiding you, but I figured you and I had a lot to talk about."

"Yeah…" Dean told me slowly, nodding and propping himself up on his hand as I got onto the bed with him. "Yeah, we do."

"I know that you just wanted what was best for Sammy and I really do understand, all right? I guess I just wish you hadn't made a deal like that. I respect your decision though. God knows I can't take it back, and I want our year together to be good, all right?" I told him, running my fingers along his buttons, stopping eye contact. "I'm going to stop being selfish and take things as they are because I don't want you to feel for a second that I don't love you…because I do, Dean." I told him, looking him in the eye. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." Dean admitted to me. "I'm so sorry I did this to you, Lanni…I'm really starting to realize that I'm the one that doesn't deserve you and the patience and loyalty you have for me."

I kissed him, trying to get him to stop because truth be told we were perfect—he had patience and loyalty with me too. It just felt like suddenly our communication was off…we needed to start working through things together when things happened and stop apologizing afterwards. I smiled when he slipped his fingers into my hair and held me protectively close to him and I started feeling sad again—our time to get to be together like this was already counting down. I had to make everything of this year—everything.

"We're going to have a son." I told him, pulling away a little, my forehead to his.

Dean smiled softly. "What? How could you possibly know that, Lanni?"

I took a deep breath. "And he's going to be demonic."

Note: Oh, what an ending to a 35 page chapter! There is so much more in store for you guys! Feedback is always appreciated!