"So, Lilith busted out from Hell," Sam said, his eyes darting to the devil's trap on the ceiling and the salt lines on the windowsill. They must stay careful, protective bubble or no. No need for the demons to know they were invincible – less chance they'd switch to threats or blackmailing.

Bela sat on the chair with her legs crossed, completely unfazed by the gun in Dean's hand. This was definitely not the first time she'd been held at gunpoint. And even if she was surprised that Dean had recognized her, nothing gave it away.

"Possessing a little girl does sound like Lilith. But we can't be absolutely sure since we can't see demons' true faces," Dean said.

"The Colt is something a lot of demons would want to get. But me? It must be Lilith."

"Where did she tell you to go and when?" Dean asked Bela, rubbing his temples. The headache started again, but his liver wouldn't appreciate another dose of painkillers.

"We agreed to meet in four days at the Fossil Butte Cemetery, Wyoming."

Dean snorted. Agreed to meet. Even here Bela tried to sound as if she was in control of the situation.

"It's a two-day drive from here. And today you already blew your chance to steal the Colt and to get to us. Looks like somebody is running out of time."

Bela only raised an eyebrow in answer.

"Dean, wait. Wyoming. Isn't it where – " Sam paused, giving him a meaningful look. Dean frowned, trying to understand what his brother was trying to say. Discussing the past-future in Bela's presence was going to be complicated.

Then he remembered. The giant Devil's trap made out of railway lines with the Gates of Hell inside.

"Yeah, it is," Dean said, thinking hard. Things started to make sense now and it looked like they weren't one step ahead anymore. "That's weird though. No survival show with psychic kids this time?"

"You think she needs – she can't seriously think I'll open them?"

"Depends. She can trick or blackmail you into opening them. Or maybe she just wants to kill you, so that I – you know."

Bela leaned forward, trying to follow the conversation and intrigued by their conspiracy.

Sam turned to her, "So, you were trying to steal the Colt now?"

"Yes," Bela shrugged, unabashed.

"Why not attack me first? How were you going to get to me after stealing the Colt?"

"If I had stolen the Colt, you would've followed me wherever I went. Lilith didn't say I had to only bring Sam, so I figured I could bring her two Winchesters for the price of one."

"Bitch," Dean muttered.

Bela smiled, "Smart bitch."

Dean rubbed the bridge of his nose. Bela was dangerous – right now probably even more dangerous than the demons. She could still mess with them, though. Dean was sure she had a backup plan. Or she could turn them in to the police or the FBI.

But Bela could also lead them to Lilith, once she realized she could gain more from siding with them than from working for her. Lilith had offered to release her from the deal in exchange for the Colt and Sam. What if they led Bela to believe they could do it for free?

"Lucky for you, we have black cat's bones," Dean said, getting up and taking the duffel he hadn't even had time to unpack. "We'll go get some graveyard dirt and break your deal. Well, we'll try – can't promise anything, but it should work."

"And why would you do that?"

"Because nobody deserves Hell. Not even you, Abbie."

Something flickered across Bela's face at the sound of her real name, but she quickly put on her smug expression again.

"Even?" she asked with an edge to her voice.

"You made a deal to kill your parents. A car crash, huh?"

"If you're so well-informed, maybe you know why exactly I made the deal?"

"I'd feel a lot better about releasing you if you had a good reason, but I guess you just loved money more than your parents."

Bela let out a short laugh.

"True. I do love money a lot more than I ever loved them."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The nearest out-of-the-way crossroads was a half hour drive away. Bela was following them in her posh silver (and soulless, in Dean's opinion) Mercedes. Dean glanced at her through the rear-view mirror from time to time, to make sure she was still with them.

"You think she really made a deal for money? When she was fourteen?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. He honestly didn't find it surprising.

"I mean, how did she even know how to make a deal?"

"Don't know. Maybe a demon walked up to her, made an offer and she agreed."

"Because it's so common among demons to approach random teenagers and offer them to kill their parents in exchange for their soul," said Sam, before adding thoughtfully, "Demons usually choose those who are vulnerable, in despair or some sort of emotional distress."

"Bela, vulnerable? C'mon, you saw her."

"Making a deal to kill your own parents knowing that you'll have only ten years left to live? Sounds like she was pretty damn desperate," Sam shook his head.

Dean wondered if he should tell his brother more about their history with Bela – for starters, how they had nearly got killed at least twice because of her – but at that moment his phone rang.

"Ellen? Everything alright?" Dean asked apprehensively.

The Roadhouse couldn't be destroyed, it was too early, right?

"Yeah. Just checking on you, boys," Ellen said and Dean relaxed. He heard music in the background and people talking. Everything was fine. "I wanted to ask if you plan to come over."

Dean frowned. They must've done something important in his past if Ellen was calling them now. He remembered they had worked a job there, but Ellen's place was crowded with hunters, surely, someone could take the case.

"We're kinda busy right now, but we'll definitely come later," Dean answered. "Is everything okay?"

She sighed. "There were a few murders not far from here. Looks like there might be a hunt. I was going to tell my friend, but – doesn't matter. Now Jo's determined to go check it out herself. I just hoped maybe you could come and take the case."

Oh shit. Of course, things were going to change if they didn't follow the exact same course. At least he remembered the hunt – mostly thanks to his brother's clown phobia.

"Actually, we wanted to come by and already did some research. Are you talking about the murders committed by a clown?" Dean asked loudly and looked at Sam, grinning. Sam made a bitchface and turned to the window.

"Yeah. Any ideas what it is?"

"We thought it might be – " damn, they had hunted the thing only once and he forgot its name, " – that creature that sleeps on a bed of dead insects and needs an invitation – "

"Rakshasa?"

"Yeah, exactly. We think it's the blind man who works there. Make sure Jo takes a brass knife with her."

"Okay. Thank you. I still hope other hunters will take this case, though. Have you heard about Gordon by the way? He was found dead a couple of days ago. Somebody – or something, more likely – cut his head off."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that," Dean said, though he doubted his voice sounded sincere.

"Yeah. He was a good hunter," said Ellen, sounding equally indifferent. "Alright, boys. Be careful and keep in touch."

"Yeah. You too, Ellen," Dean hung up.

"Did we forget about some hunts?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. And Gordon was supposed to live one year longer, but I don't think his death changes much. He spent at least six months in prison anyway, so – " Dean trailed off.

"And the other hunts?"

"Screw the other hunts. In four days we'll have the chance to kill Lilith and to end everything. We need Bela on our side. Basically, we need to change her deal so that she's our bitch until Lilith's dead. Can you phrase it properly, lawboy?"

"Sure. Didn't you know all pre-law students have a course 'Dealing with Demons: How Not to Screw Up'?" Sam said, taking the notebook and a pen out of the glove compartment.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bela was furious when she found out they wanted only to change her deal, but agreed anyway. Not that she had much choice – Dean didn't exactly ask her permission.

Crowley became very cooperative as soon as Dean showed him the bones. He confirmed Dean's suspicions that Lilith didn't plan to come get the Colt herself; she was going to send Crowley instead. Obviously, she didn't want to risk coming near the weapon that could kill her.

Well, now Crowley had four days to figure out how to convince Lilith to show up at the meeting point.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The three of them stayed in a small town a hundred miles away from the meeting point with Lilith. To Dean's surprise, they had made it from Ohio in less than two days – he'd thought that Bela, not having anyone to change her at wheel, would ask for more rest time, but she drove all the way without complaint.

Dean was sitting at the diner, waiting for the bill and for Sam to return from the restroom. He'd just finished talking to Bobby – Adam was alright. The initial shock had worn off and he even helped Bobby to do some research on a crocotta that Rufus was hunting.

Dean paid the bill, ignoring the waitress's attempts to flirt, when Sam finally emerged from the restroom. Not alone. He was leaning heavily on Gabriel, who was effortlessly pulling his giant of a brother to their table.

"There you go, Sasquatch," said Gabriel, letting go of Sam and dropping in the chair next to him.

"I had a vision," Sam said before Dean could ask. He winced, rubbing his face. "And I think I accidentally called Gabriel. I thought at first I was hit on the head or something and the protective bubble wasn't working."

"What did you see?"

"Not much. A man – a doctor, probably – bought a gun and shot himself right in the shop. Rings a bell?"

It sounded awfully familiar but Dean couldn't remember why. Was it about that town infected by the Croatoan virus? No, that time Sam had seen him shooting a guy. But what was the vision about now then?

"Any other details?"

Sam squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating hard.

"I think I remember the bus logo. And this man was talking on the phone. And then – "

The phone calls. The man was controlled by voice. Now everything clicked into place.

" – he went to the shop and shot himself. Yeah, I remember now. It's another psychic kid. Two psychics, actually. Remember I told you about Andy and his evil twin and their power of mind control?"

"Dammit. That's really bad timing. What do we do?"

"No idea. It's in Oklahoma, but I don't remember the town and we won't find Andy's address in public records 'cause he lives in his van."

Even if they somehow managed to find him in time, Dean didn't see any other options except for killing the guy. The twin's brain was fucked up and there was nothing to be done about that. Not while he had his powers anyway.

"We gotta stop him. From what you told me, this twin is as dangerous as Max."

Dean sighed. Sam was right. The doctor was probably already dead; the next victim would be Andy's birth mother, and then the girl Andy liked.

Gabriel cleared his throat.

"From what I hear, you guys need help dealing with some douchebag? Sounds like fun to me."

"Can you just wipe out his memory or something like that?" Sam asked, "We need him out of the picture, but not necessarily dead."

The archangel didn't stand a chance against Sam's best puppy eyes and miserable look on his face.

"I'll see what I can do. Your head still hurts, Sasquatch?" Gabriel pressed two fingers on Sam's forehead. "Better?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Gabriel winked and disappeared.

Half an hour later he reported that now the guy had no clue about his powers and was working as a penguin turner in Antarctica.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dean stared at the ceiling. He had been lying in the bed for several hours already, but he was too wound up to fall asleep. They could put an end to the Apocalypse tomorrow. Dean couldn't help mentally going through various scenarios and his head felt like it was about to explode. Sam was lying in the next bed, but he didn't hear Sam's usual deep breathing, so Dean figured his brother was probably awake too.

Cas? We're killing Lilith tomorrow. It kinda reminds me of the day we tried to kill Lucifer. Our last day on earth, remember?

Cas had learned to 'speak' quieter, but his answer still made Dean wince. He thought the intonation of the high-pitch noise he heard sounded like a "Good luck, Dean."

I just hope everything will work out. Gabriel promised to be there – he'll see if it's really Lilith or not. We've Crowley on our side, too. And Bela – you don't know her, but she's a pain in the ass – won't screw with us 'cause she wants to live.

The noise he heard this time was less ear-piercing and almost soothing. It was good to be able to talk to Cas again, even like that.

You still don't know where you are? Okay. I promise I'll find you after we're done with Lilith.

Dean could swear he almost heard Cas's voice saying "thank you."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"There's grass everywhere here. How are we going to paint the devil's traps?" Sam frowned.

They arrived at the meeting point with Lilith. It was in about a hundred yards away from the line of the iron devil's trap that surrounded the Gates of Hell.

Gabriel shrugged. "Well, if we can't paint it on the ground, let's paint it in the sky."

He snapped his fingers and they saw a huge devil's trap appear in the sky.

"Wow. Is it contrail?" Sam asked, squinting in the sun.

"Yep. Good enough? It covers about three hundred square miles."

Dean whistled. "Awesome. Just break it now and fix it when the bitch appears."

Gabriel set up a bubble that would make people inside invisible for everyone except for Sam and Bela. Dean stayed there with the real Colt in his hand.

They didn't have to wait long. A few minutes later, Crowley and a young blonde woman, looking like the Lilith Sam had killed in the past, appeared out of nowhere. Crowley looked around and his face darkened – he hadn't expected to see Sam alone with Bela. Neither he nor Lilith noticed the devil's trap in the sky.

"Bela, I see you brought the Colt and Sam. It's been a pleasure doing business with you," Lilith smiled.

Gabriel fixed the trap and nodded. When Lilith walked up to Bela and reached for the colt, Sam grabbed her arm and twisted it. She stretched her free hand, attempting to use telekinetic powers or the white light, and Dean almost laughed at her facial expression when she realized she couldn't use her powers.

"Doesn't seem to be working, huh?" Sam asked.

"Crowley, you son of bitch – " Lilith hissed.

"Oh no, he didn't do anything," Dean said, coming out of the bubble. "Look up."

Lilith gasped as the realization dawned on her. Dean took aim and shot before she could leave the vessel. She fell to the ground, her body glowing with orange light.

And that was it. Lilith was dead.

Dean only vaguely remembered what happened next. He laughed hysterically for a few minutes. He checked her body several times to make sure she was dead and he wasn't seeing things.

Sam stayed calm somehow. He asked Gabriel to make a grave and help him to bury the poor woman Lilith possessed and then fetched Crowley's bones from the Impala and gave them to him.

After listening to the angel radio, Gabriel cursed and removed the devil's trap from the sky and disappeared, promising to catch up with them later. He muttered something about drawing too much attention.

Dean was sitting on the ground trying to fully understand that everything was over. There would be no broken seals.
No addiction to demon blood. No friggin' earthquakes, tsunamis and shit. No Apocalypse.

They had done it.

Bela was already on the phone with someone.

"What, you're already taking orders to steal – sorry, to procure – unique items?"

"I'm booking a flight to Seychelles," Bela smiled. "It's been a rough week, don't you think so?"

"Yeah, tell me about it," Dean snorted. It'd been a rough what, six months for him? Or pretty much all his life?

"And Dean?" Bela said, without looking up from the phone. "Just so that your conscience is clear, I did have a good reason for making a deal."

"You want to elaborate?"

"No. And you need to keep a better eye on your stuff," Bela said, handing him the Colt. "You should say thank you. Somebody" – she nodded at Crowley – "tried to steal. Ciao."

Bela turned around and went to her car. Dean sincerely hoped she'd stay in the Seychelles for the rest of her life and they'd never cross paths again.

"Anyone in particular you want to kill?" Dean asked Crowley.

"Alastair," he admitted reluctantly. "There's a struggle for power in Hell, and it's either me or him now."

Dean weighed up the options before answering. Alastair as a King of Hell would mean nothing good, even for Hell itself – not that Dean cared about demons, but he could see that having a sadist to rule Hell would be bad news. Crowley was the lesser of two evils. Yes, like all demons he was a smart and manipulative son of a bitch, who would abuse any loopholes for his own gain, but he'd also proved to be a useful ally when their interests were aligned.

"You know what? I'll be happy to kill this son of a bitch. Just tie him up or something and bring him to me," he said and added, seeing Crowley's skeptical expression, "I have a score to settle with him, okay? And I don't want this sadistic bastard to run Hell."

"So, how far is Sioux Falls?" he asked Sam after Crowley was gone.

"About twelve hours, I guess."

"Awesome. Enough time to listen to all Metallica and Led Zeppelin albums. Several times."

Sam sighed heavily.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"There's somebody waiting for you, boys," said Bobby and added, lowering his voice, "I don't know what it is, but the thing is damn powerful."

Dean cocked the Colt, which still had two bullets left and headed to the kitchen, giving Sam a sign to follow him.

"Dean, Sam. Join me," Death said, gesturing at the beer in plastic glasses and food. Chicago deep dish pizza again?

Sam froze in the doorway, staring wide-eyed. He had no idea who exactly was in front of him, but no doubt he could feel the aura of power that surrounded Death.

"Sam, this is Death. Death, this is Sam," Dean said. His heart was racing. Death's visit probably had something to do with Lilith's death. Shit, had they killed her too early?

"It's an honor to meet you. I – I've heard a lot about you," Sam said, stretching out his hand for a handshake. Death raised an eyebrow, looking mildly amused.

Dean coughed. "Sam, he's Death. Handshake is probably a bad idea."

"Oh. Of course. Sorry."

Dean sat at the table and pulled out the chair for Sam.

"So?" he asked cautiously. He hadn't screwed up, had he?

A hint of smile tugged at the corner of Death's mouth.

"Well-played, Dean, well-played. I'm glad to say I don't regret sending you back."

Dean exhaled in relief.

"Thanks for covering up for us. That wasn't as hard as it could've been, I guess."

"You'd be surprised how difficult changing the universe would've been had you made more ill-conceived decisions. You didn't try to change everything at once, so I let you fix what you wanted to fix."

"And our Dad?" Dean couldn't help asking.

"He could've lived, but that would've caused too many changes and ruined the balance. In the end, you'd have lost much more if you saved him. But he's in Heaven now."

"Alright. Good. So, it's all over?"

"Yes. From now on I no longer influence your life. Some things from your past might happen in the same way, some things will change – have already changed, in fact. You're free, Dean."

Dean nodded and took another gulp of beer. It'd take him some time to fully wrap his head around it. No Apocalypse, no destiny, no nothing. Just his life.

"One more thing. Actually, that's what I've come here for," Death stood up and placed his briefcase in the middle of the room. "Close your eyes."

Even with his eyes closed, Dean could feel intense, blinding light and warmth. After a few moments, when the light faded, he opened his eyes. At first he couldn't believe what he saw. He must've been hallucinating.

In the middle of the room stood Cas. His hair was a mess – even more disheveled then it had been when they'd first met; his trench coat was slightly wrinkled. Otherwise he looked completely unharmed.

"Thank you," Castiel said, nodding to Death. "Hello, Dean."

Dean stared at him in disbelief.

"Cas – holy shit – how?"

"Yes, Castiel, tell us how you got here," Death said, fixing the angel with an icy glare. Cas lowered his head.

"I felt you were going somewhere far away in time and space. So I followed you."

"I had almost closed the door between the two worlds when he barged in, kicked the door down and almost ruined everything. That's why your landing was a bit rough, Dean."

"I apologize," said Cas gravely, but he couldn't completely hide his smile, which wasn't apologetic in the slightest.

That was just too much. Dean stood up, knocking over the chair and pulled Cas into a tight hug. He couldn't find the right words but hoped Cas would understand how happy he was to see him and how much he'd missed him.

"It's really you," Dean said, smiling like an idiot and still not quite believing his luck.

Cas patted him on the shoulder. "Yes, Dean."

"So, all this time you were inside Death's briefcase?" Dean let out a nervous laugh.

"Yes. I assume I couldn't have been released earlier due to the possible consequences. It would be difficult to hide the changes between the present and the past me from Heaven."

"But where's the other Cas – I mean, the one that isn't from the future?"

"And where's the other Dean? They merged," Death answered. "I think I'm done here. Hope we won't see each other again until your time comes. And Castiel? Continue your research on souls here, you'll die before you start."

Cas swallowed and looked away. Death disappeared.

"Castiel? Cas. It's nice to meet you. Dean has told me a lot about you," Sam hesitantly offered his hand for a handshake.

"I'm very glad to see you too, Sam. You look much better now, with your soul in place."

"Uh, yeah. Thanks. It's kinda weird that you know me and I see you for the first time."

They heard a familiar loud voice, Bobby cursing and approaching footsteps.

"Hiya, Cassie," grinned Gabriel, walking in the room.

"Has that scary man left? What did he want?" Adam asked, nodding at the place where Death had sat.

Cas tilted his head. "It's good to see you alive, Gabriel. You too, Adam. Hell is an awful place to be."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Adam, this is our friend Cas. He means he's happy the demons didn't kill you."

Cas wanted to protest, but Dean threw him a meaningful look. "Yes. That's exactly what I mean."

Gabriel cleared his throat.

"Sorry to interrupt this heartwarming reunion, but I need a word with my lil bro. Don't worry, I'll return him soon."

Before Dean had a chance to stop him, Gabe snapped his fingers and he and Cas were gone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Boys, you mind explaining what was that all about?" Bobby asked when they came out from the kitchen, Dean still smiling, Sam looking overwhelmed.

They exchanged looks. Dean shrugged and nodded. Bobby had continued to fight and helped them to prevent the Apocalypse even after he'd ended up in a wheelchair. He deserved the truth.

Adam didn't need to know, but he was their family, and Dean hoped they'd become family for him in the future. While it'd be great if at least one of the Winchesters grew up having no idea about the world around them, it wasn't a guarantee of safety. It hadn't saved Adam in his past.

"It's gonna be a hell of a long talk. You got whiskey?" Dean said.

Adam had got tired of listening about people who he didn't know and things that he couldn't understand, so he had muttered something about anatomy books and gone upstairs.

The bottle was empty when they finished talking, but he didn't feel drunk. Just tired and emotionally numb. Some part of his brain still couldn't believe everything was over. He couldn't convince himself to let his guard down; he still caught himself listening to every noise, almost waiting for the lights to start flickering.

"You should've told me earlier. You knew I could help."

"Bobby, you've already helped. And you helped a lot in the past."

"Great job, both of you. Both in the past and in the present. It's weird to know how close the end of the world could've been. Taking back control from Satan himself, Sam," Bobby said, looking at Sam as if he was seeing him for the first time. "I can't imagine how mentally strong you'd have to be to pull this off."

"Well, yeah, the past me managed to do that," Sam said, looking at the whiskey in his glass.

"You'd have done it too, if it'd come to that," Dean said, rolling his eyes.

"Go get some rest, boys. God knows you deserve it. I'm driving Adam back tomorrow – his mother is coming home soon."

"Thanks, Bobby. For everything. For what you did in the past and now."

"It's good that your Cas is back. You need someone who really understands what you've been through," Sam said as they're climbing the stairs.

"Yeah," Dean couldn't help smiling. His Cas was back. He wasn't alone with his painful memories he knew he'd never forget. They'd been through all this shit together and he was so relieved to finally have someone who could relate.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It'd been two peaceful weeks.

Well, almost peaceful – one day Crowley showed up with Alastair in chains when they were having a perfectly normal dinner. Dean was happy to make a hole in his forehead, so he wasn't complaining.

They made a point of not reading any newspapers where they could stumble on new cases, and just tried to have a normal life, at least for a while. They did normal things like sleeping till noon, cooking real meals, and going for a grocery run. Dean spent hours helping Bobby in the scrap yard. Sam, after catching up on sleep, buried himself in his law textbooks preparing for the LSAT.

Dean plopped down on the sofa, turning the TV on. Cas sat down next to him and handed him a bottle of beer.

"Cas? I've been wondering what you and Gabe were talking about? You know, when he zapped you somewhere after Death released you."

Cas was suddenly very interested in the toothpaste ad.

"Gabriel thought Crowley's attempts to open Purgatory were dangerous. He was disappointed the other angels and I didn't try to stop him," he answered, not meeting Dean's eyes.

Dean started switching the channels. Maybe he'd stumble on some of the nature documentaries that Cas seemed to like.

"We're here downtown in front of the City Bank of Milwaukee, and though a short exchange of weapons fire occurred just minutes ago, police and SWAT teams maintain position – "

Dean jumped to his feet, spilling the beer on his shirt.

"Oh shit. Shit. Shit. It's the laser-eyes. We have to fix this. Sam, get the hell down here!" he yelled and ran to get the silver bullets and knives.

"Dean, what's going on?" Sam asked, walking down the stairs. Dean handed him the gun.

"We're going to Milwaukee to kill a shapeshifter. Cas, can you zap us there?" he pointed at the TV screen.

"Of course," Cas said and the next second they were standing right behind the reporter. Sam cursed under his breath and pushed them aside. It was then when Dean noticed they were just two yards away from Victor Henriksen, the FBI agent, who'd obviously seen them materialize out of nowhere.

"What the fu – don't move!" he yelled, pointing a gun at them.

"I can wipe his memory," Cas suggested, not bothering to lower his voice.

"Nah. Actually, now it'll be easier to make him believe us."

Dean remembered fighting demons side by side with Henriksen. He had turned out to be a great guy once he'd realized they weren't criminals.

An idea started to form in his mind.

Hope you all are alright, especially after the show finale.

Comments make my day, so let me know what you think!

Lilith's dead, the Apocalypse is stopped, BUT there's going to be an epilogue (mini-spoiler - we'll see more Victor Henriksen 'cause he's a great guy), so stay tuned. I really want to give everyone the ending they deserve.