November 7th - November 19th, 2008

I watched Sam play pool with some random guy at a bar. It was pretty amusing to watch the performance.

"Brian, come on, man, just one more. Just— Just give me a chance to win it back," Sam slurred as he tried to support himself with his pool cue.

Brian shrugged. "It's your cash."

Dean rushed over. "Excuse me. My brother's a little sauced to be making bets."

Brian shook his head. "He insisted."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, but you've already taken, what, two bills off him? I'm just saying."

"Hey, shut up, Dean," Sam snapped, "I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine. You're drunk!" Dean yelled.

"Let's make it five hundred." Sam smiled at Brian.

"Five hundred?" Dean asked, shocked.

Brian smirked. "Sure."

Sam put a stack of money on the table.

"Five hundred. Your break," Brian said, looking down as he set up the balls and removed the rack.

Sam, Dean, and I smirked at each other, while Brian wasn't looking.

Brian looked up and nodded at Sam to shoot. Sam took his shot and sunk several of the balls. Brian looked confused and furious all at once.

Then something caught Sam's eye, and his fake drunkenness left him. "Keep the money." He put his cue down on the table and walked off toward the bar.

"Keep the money?" Dean asked, both of us confused. "What—" He turned to see where Sam was walking off to when we both spotted Ruby sitting at the bar.

Dean stormed off, leaving Brian to look over in their direction, confused. I quickly got up and snatched the money off of the table and made my way over to my brothers.

"Well, you got a lot of nerve showing up anywhere near me." Dean snarled at Ruby.

"I just have some info, and then I'm gone," she said.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"I'm hearing a few whispers," Ruby said.

"Oh, great, demon whisperers... that's reliable," Dean said, sarcastically.

"Girl named Anna Milton escaped from a locked ward yesterday. The demons seem pretty keen on finding her. Apparently, some real heavy hitters turned out for the Easter-egg hunt," Ruby explained.

"Why? Who is she?" Sam asked.

Ruby shook her head. "No idea." She shrugged. "But I'm thinking that she's important, 'cause the order is to capture her alive. I just figured that whatever the deal is, you might want to find this girl before the demons do."

"Look, maybe we should check it out." Sam shrugged, looking at Dean nervously.

Dean shook his head. "Actually, we're working a case, but thanks."

"What case?" Ruby asked.

"Uh, we've got leads, big leads," Dean said.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Sounds dangerous."

Dean glared at her. "Yeah, well, it sure ain't goose-chasing after some chick who, for all we know, doesn't even exist, just because you say she's important."

Ruby shrugged. "I'm just delivering the news. You can do whatever you want with it. Far as I'm concerned, I told you, I'm done." She turned to walk away, and Dean nodded.

Sam grabbed her arm. "Wait, wait, wait. This hospital Anna escaped from... it got a name?"

"Connor Beverley Behavioral Medicine Center." Ruby pulled her arm away and left.

Dean shook his head and started drinking his beer.

"Wait?! Where's my money?!" Brian yelled from the other side of the bar.

I grabbed the beer from Dean's hand and set it down on a table next to me in front of two guys. "Here, drink up."

"What the hell?" Dean asked.

"We should go. Like now," I said as I peered around Sam and Dean as Brian was making his way over to us.

They turned to see what I was looking at.

"What did you do?" Sam asked.

I pulled the wad of cash out of my pocket and handed it to Dean. "We should go."

Dean smirked, and the three of us started heading out of the bar quickly.

"Hey!" Brian called after us.

Luckily, by the time Dean started the Impala, Brian had come out of the bar, but we sped by him.

"Dicks!" he yelled at us.

As we drove, Sam made several phone calls to find out more information about Anna.

"Can I get a copy of the missing persons' report?" Sam asked. (...) "Great." (...) "Okay. Thanks." He hung up. "Well, Anna Milton's definitely real."

Dean shook his head. "Don't mean the case is real. And this hospital's a three-day drive."

"We've driven further for less, Dean," Sam said.

Dean shook his head.

Sam rolled his eyes. "You got something to say, say it."

"Oh, I'm saying it... this sucks," Dean snapped.

Sam shook his head. "You're not pissed. We're going after the girl. You're pissed Ruby threw us the tip."

Dean nodded. "Right. 'Cause as far as you're concerned, the Hell-bitch is practically family. Yeah, boy, something major must've happened while I was downstairs, 'cause I come back, and— and you're BFF with a demon?"

"I told you, Dean, she helped me go after Lilith," Sam said.

Dean nodded. "Well, thanks for the thumbnail... real vivid. You want to fill in a little detail?"

"Sure, Dean, let's trade stories. You first. How was Hell?" Sam asked sarcastically. "Don't spare the details."

Dean glared at Sam and shook his head, but the ride was awkwardly silent after that.

When they talked to Anna's psychologist, she believed Anna had the escape planned. The orderly had no memory of what happened, but they think she hid behind the door and knocked him out. Which still seemed unlikely because Dean said the guy had like eighty pounds on her. The psychologist also explained that Anna had only gotten sick two months prior, she was happy, well adjusted, a journalism major, and had a lot of friends. She believed Anna had schizophrenia and was having delusions about demons. She also gave them a sketchbook that contained drawings about the seals, including Samhain. Apparently, Anna's father was a deacon in a church. The psychologist believed that was the reason her delusions had religious undertones.

After that, we drove to Anna's parents' home, and the boys went in, but after the boys were in the house for a few minutes, my phone started ringing.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Demons were here recently, just come in, so you're close," Dean said and then hung up.

I got out of the car and walked into the house, where I found my brothers standing next to two dead bodies with their throats slit.

"The Milton's, I'm guessing?" I asked.

Sam nodded. "The demons beat us here. Whatever the deal is with this Anna girl—"

"Yeah, they want her. They're not screwing around." Dean sighed. "All right, so, I'm Girl, Interrupted..." He picked up a stack of mail. "And I know the score of the apocalypse, just busted out of the nut-box... possibly using superpowers, by the way. Where do I go?"

I looked at some of the family photographs, and then Sam picked one up.

"Hey, you got those sketches from Anna's notebook?" he asked.

"Yeah." Dean pulled them out.

"Let me see 'em," Sam said and then grabbed the drawing. "Check this out." He compared one of the drawings to a stained-glass window in one of the family photos.

Dean nodded. "She was drawing the window of her church."

"Over and over." Sam flipped through the sketchbook to reveal more drawings. "If you were religious, scared, and had demons on your ass, where would you go to feel safe?"

At the church, I followed behind the boys as they walked up the stairs with their guns drawn.

As we reached the attic, Sam spotted something. "Dean," he whispered and pointed to someone hiding behind a stained-glass wall. "Anna?" He and Dean both lowered their guns. "We're not gonna hurt you. We're here to help. My name is Sam. This is my brother, Dean. And our sister, Maddison."

A beautiful red-headed woman walked out from behind the glass. "Sam? Not Sam Winchester?"

"Uh, yeah." Sam nodded.

"Maddison Winchester?" she asked.

I nodded.

"And you're Dean. The Dean?" she asked.

"Well, yeah." Dean smirked. "The Dean, I guess."

"It's really you. Oh, my god." Anna stepped toward Dean slowly. "The angels talk about you. You were in Hell, but Castiel pulled you out, and some of them think you can help save us." She looked at Sam. "And some of them don't like you at all." Then she looked down at me. "They're watching you closely." She smiled at all of us. "They talk about you all the time lately. I feel like I know you."

"So, you talk to angels?" Dean asked.

Anna shook her head. "Oh, no. No, no way. Um, they probably don't even know I exist. I just kind of... overhear them."

"You overhear them?" Sam asked.

Anna nodded. "Yeah, they talk, and sometimes I just... hear them in my head."

"Like... right now?" Dean asked.

Anna shook her head. "Not right this second, but a lot. And I can't shut them out, there are so many of them."

"So, they lock you up with a case of the crazies when really you were just... tuning in to angel radio?" Dean asked.

Anna smiled. "Yes. Thank you."

"Anna, when did the voices start? Do you remember?" Sam asked.

She nodded. "I can tell you exactly... September 18th."

"The day I got out of Hell," Dean said.

She nodded. "First words I heard, clear as a bell... 'Dean Winchester is saved.'"

Dean looked at Sam. "What do you think?"

Sam scoffed. "It's above my pay grade, man."

Dean turned back to Anna. "Well, at least now we know why the demons want you so bad. They get a hold of you. They can hear everything the other side's cooking. You're 1-900-angel."

"Hey, um, do you know... are my parents okay?" Anna asked. "I— I didn't go home. I was afraid."

The door shut behind us, and we turned to see Ruby quickly walking toward us. "You got the girl. Good, let's go," she said, urgently pointing to the door.

"Her face!" Anna stumbled back, looking horrified.

"It's okay. She's here to help," Sam assured her.

I rolled my eyes, not really buying it.

Dean scoffed. "Yeah, don't be so sure."

"We have to hurry," Ruby demanded.

Dean shook his head. "Why?"

"Because a demon's coming... big-timer," Ruby urged. "We can fight later, Dean."

"Well, that's pretty convenient..." Dean scoffed. "Showing up right when we find the girl with some bigwig on your tail?"

Ruby shook her head. "I didn't bring him here. You did."

Dean furrowed his brow. "What?"

"He followed you from the girl's house. We got to go now," Ruby said.

I looked up at Dean. "Maybe we should go."

"You think?" Ruby scoffed.

"Shut up." I glared at her.

"Guys..." Sam said and then pointed up to a statue of the Virgin Mary that now had blood seeping out of its eyes.

"It's too late. He's here," Ruby said with fear in her voice.

Sam took Anna by the arm and brought her to the closet at the back of the attic. "Okay. Stay in there. Don't move."

Anna nodded. "Okay."

Sam shut the door and walked back into the center of the room, pulling out a flask of holy water as he did.

Ruby shook her head. "No, Sam, you got to pull him right away."

Dean put his hand out. "Whoa, hold on a sec."

"Now's not the time to bellyache about Sam going dark side. He does his thing, he exorcizes that demon, or we die," Ruby said, firmly.

As Sam tucked the flask away, the door broke open, and a man stepped in with a snarl. Sam put his hand up, attempting to exorcise the demon like we had watched him do before.

The demon's eyes rolled back into his head, revealing just the whites of his eyes as he grabbed his throat and coughed. "That tickles." He smirked, and his eyes returned to normal. "You don't have the juice to take me on, Sam." He flung Sam across the room with his mind and sent him flying through the stair rails and out of the attic.

Dean pushed me back and then swung at the demon with his knife. As they broke out into a fight, the demon slammed Dean against a pillar.

As I went to swing at him just so Dean could get away, Ruby grabbed me.

"This is not a fight you want to be a part of." She shoved me toward the closet with Anna. "Let's go!"

"Let go!" I yelled at her.

She swung me around to look me in the eyes. "Listen to me! We need to get the girl and get out of here! I'm trying to keep you alive!"

I scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"I'm done playing nice." She grabbed my arm and swung the closet door open.

Anna screamed and flailed her arms as Ruby reached in and grabbed her too. She shoved us out of another exit of the attic and out of the church.

I tried to pull my arm away from her. "All right, all right. Let me go. Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe until Sam and Dean can get to us," Ruby said, still pushing Anna along.

"Which is where?" I asked.

"Stop asking questions," Ruby snapped.

I scoffed. "I'm not just going to follow some demon bitch around without knowing where we are going."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Wow, you've really got Dean's mouth, don't you."

"It can't be that shocking that I don't trust you," I said.

"Why? 'Cause I'm a demon?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah? Why else?" I asked as she led us into the woods.

"Don't trust me then. but if I left you behind, you would've gotten yourself and your brothers killed," Ruby said, "And to be honest, we need them more than you right now."

"Okay, screw you!" I yelled and stopped in my tracks. "Why did you help me then?!"

She stopped and turned to me. "Because—"

"Because what?" I put my hands out. "If I'm really that useless and a nuisance to you... why not just kill me right here?"

She put her hand on my back and pushed me along. "Stop being ridiculous."

"Seriously, why are you helping us?" I asked, "Shouldn't you want demons to get their hands on Anna?"

"'Cause demons are all alike, right? We all want death and destruction," she said.

I shrugged. "I've never met a demon who hasn't."

She scoffed, and we continued walking through the woods in silence.

About an hour later, she spoke up again, "So, all humans are alike then? You are all lazy, ungrateful slobs?"

"I must've struck a nerve." I smirked.

She glared at me.

"Jeez, sorry, all right?" I shook my head. "Where are we going?"

"We're almost there," Ruby said and pointed to a cabin that was slowly coming into view. "You and Sam have a lot more in common than you think."

I shook my head. "What?"

"I know that your little visit with your mom has got you thinking." She looked down at me. "I also know, Sam's worried about it too."

"Did he say something to you?" I asked.

"If he did, why would I tell you?" Ruby asked.

I glared at her. "Why would you even bring it up then?"

She shrugged. "I'm bored." She smirked at me as she opened the cabin door, and we all walked in.

"So, what? I do have whatever Sam has?" I asked.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "It's not a disease."

I sighed. "Do I have powers or not?"

"You are one of Azazel's children. From what I've heard, you're going to be special," she said, causing my heart to pound. "Sad thing is whatever those powers are will come into fruition a little too late for all this crap."

I looked down. "Does Sam know?"

"No," Ruby said.

I looked up at her. "You didn't tell him?"

She shrugged. "He has his suspicions, but I never confirmed them."

I shook my head. "Okay, so why keep it a secret?"

Ruby shrugged. "It's not my place to tell. I see how Sam struggles with Dean's disappointment..."

I nodded. "Thanks."

She nodded back.

"So, why are you helping us?" I asked again.

"'Cause I was human once..." She shrugged. "I guess I don't want to see the world end. Nostalgia and all that."

"What's your obsession with Sam then?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I don't have an obsession with him. We can help each other."

"How?" I asked. "When Dean was gone... you helped drive Sam crazy."

"Ah." Ruby smiled and nodded. "There it is."

I furrowed my brow. "What?"

"The real reason you hate me. You would rather blame me instead of the truth," Ruby said.

"And what's the truth?" I asked, not sure if I really wanted to know.

"I didn't even find him until the night you left," she said, "Sam was a drunk bastard all on his own."

"Oh," I said, disappointed.

"That night, Lilith had set me free, to kill Sam. Instead of killing him, I killed my partner," she explained.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I hate her too, and I knew with Sam's help, we would be able to take her out," she said, "So I trained him." She smirked. "The first night he tried to pull a demon out, he failed miserably. He told me he didn't want me around anymore, but out of his anger, one thing led to another, and we had sex—"

I put my hand up. "Okay, way too much info."

I didn't really want to know, but I was happy to know how strongly Sam did feel about her. Maybe she wasn't as bad as Dean made her seem... maybe.

Ruby laughed. "Sorry." She shook her head. "Anyway, a few weeks later, Sam thought he was ready for Lilith, but I knew he wasn't. Of course, he didn't listen to me and went to find her himself, so I followed him. Turned out, Lilith wasn't where we thought she'd be, but he almost got himself killed by a different demon. I stepped in and got myself pinned, and that was the first time Sam successfully used his abilities to exorcise a demon." She shrugged. "Saved him, and he saved me."

I nodded. "Well, thanks for keeping him alive."

She nodded. "We've gotta get in contact with them. I'm sure they're worried about you, and I will never hear the end of it from Dean."

I shrugged. "You got a phone? I left mine in the Impala."

"Not a problem," Ruby said and then put her head back, letting black smoke leave her body, and then she dropped to the floor.

Anna smiled down at the body in front of us. "I think we can trust her."

I shrugged. "I guess she isn't that bad, but I'm not gonna trust her completely."

"Why not?" Anna asked.

"She's a demon," I said, "I know she says she's doing this 'cause she was human once..." I rolled my eyes. "Blah, blah, blah. But I don't buy that that's the whole truth."

"Maybe it isn't the whole truth, but that doesn't mean her heart isn't in the right place," Anna said.

I shrugged. "I guess you're right."

Then smoke flew back into the cabin and into Ruby's body, and she sat up with a gasp. "They're coming."

About a half-hour later, there was a knock on the door, and Ruby opened it to reveal Sam and Dean. "Glad you could make it."

"Yeah, thanks." Sam nodded and walked in.

Dean rushed in and hugged me. "You all right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Sam walked by and rustled my hair and turned to Anna. "Anna, are you okay?"

Anna nodded. "Yeah. I think so. Ruby's not like other demons. She saved my life."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I hear she does that." He turned to Ruby. "I guess I— Ya know."

"What?" Ruby asked.

Dean sighed. "I guess I owe you for... Sam. And uh, Maddi now. And I just wanted... ya know..."

Ruby raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't strain yourself."

"Okay, then. Is the moment over?" Dean asked.

Ruby nodded.

"Good, 'cause that was awkward," Dean said.

"Hey, Sam, you think it'd be safe to make a quick call, just to tell my parents I'm okay?" Anna asked. "They must be completely freaked."

"Uh..." Sam said and then at Dean and me nervously.

"What?" Anna asked.

Sam sighed and sat down next to her. "Anna, um... your parents—"

Anna started to tear up. "What about them?"

Sam looked at her, sadly. "Look, I'm sorry."

Anna cried. "No, they're not..."

"Anna, I'm sorry," Sam said.

"Why is this happening to me?!" she yelled.

"I don't know," Sam said and put his hand on her back.

Anna gasped and looked up, terrified. "They're coming." Then the lights in the cabin started flickering.

"Backroom," Dean said and then pointed for Anna and me to hide.

I grabbed Anna's hand and walked into the back room, closing the door behind us. I knelt and peered through one of the several cracks in the door. Sam and Dean grabbed shotguns and peered out of the windows.

Ruby ran over to Dean's backpack and rifled through it. "Where's the knife?"

"Uh... about that..." Dean chuckled nervously.

"You're kidding." Ruby snarled.

Dean shrugged. "Hey, don't look at me."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Thanks a lot."

Ruby sighed angrily. "Great. Just peachy. Impeccable timing, guys, really."

Suddenly, the door started rattling, and it burst open. The three of them jumped back, ready to fight whatever walked through the door. Then Castiel and Uriel walked in, Sam and Dean relaxed a little, but Ruby's eyes turned black.

"Please tell me you're here to help. We've been having demon issues all day," Dean said.

"Well, I can see that." Uriel gestured to Ruby. "You want to explain why you have that stain in the room?"

"We're here for Anna," Castiel said.

"Here for her like... here for her?" Dean asked.

"Stop talking. Give her to us," Uriel demanded.

"Are you gonna help her?" Sam asked.

Castiel shook his head. "No, she has to die."

Anna gasped and grabbed my hand. I turned to her and put my finger up to my mouth to warn her to be quiet.

"Why?" Sam snapped.

Uriel stepped toward them. "Out of the way."

Dean shook his head. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, I know she's wiretapping your angel chats or whatever, but it's no reason to gank her."

"Don't worry. I'll kill her gentle." Uriel smiled.

"You're some heartless sons of bitches, ya know that?" Dean snarled.

"As a matter of fact, we are. And?" Castiel asked.

"And?" Sam asked. "Anna's an innocent girl."

Castiel shook his head. "She is far from innocent."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked.

"It means she's worse than this abomination you've been screwing. Now give us the girl," Uriel demanded.

"Sorry. Get yourself another one. Try JDate," Dean said sarcastically.

"Who's gonna stop us? You two? Or this demon whore?" Uriel asked and then grabbed Ruby and whipped her across the room and into the window. He grabbed her arm and went to attack her when Dean came up behind him and grabbed him.

Castiel stepped intimidatingly toward Sam.

"Cass, stop... please." Sam stepped away, but Castiel touched his forehead, and he immediately went down.

Anna let go of my hand and grabbed my knife out of its sheath.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I whisper-yelled.

She didn't answer and slit her wrist.

"Oh my god, Anna!" I ran to her and grabbed her arm, but she ripped it away from me and drew a symbol on the mirror and pressed her hand into the center of it. As she did, the cabin rumbled, and a bright white light lit the whole house.

A moment later, the door was opened, and Sam, Dean, and Ruby burst in.

"Anna. Anna!" Dean ran over to her and then looked up at me. "What happened?!"

"I— I—" I was lost for words.

"Are they— Are they gone?" Anna asked.

"Did you kill them?" Dean asked as he started wrapping her arm.

Anna shook her head. "No. I sent them away... far away."

"You want to tell me how?" Dean asked.

Anna shrugged and looked at the symbol she had drawn. "That just popped in my head. I don't know how I did it. I just did it."

Sam nodded at us to leave the room and talk to him.

"So, what do you think?" Dean asked.

"I think Anna's getting more interesting by the second," Sam said.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I agree. And what did they mean by 'she's not innocent'?"

Sam sighed. "It seems like they want her bad, and not just 'cause of the angel radio thing. I mean, that blood spell... some serious crap, man."

Dean nodded. "Something's going on with her." He looked down at me. "She do anything weird when it was just the three of you?"

I shook my head. "No. She didn't do anything weird until about ten minutes ago."

Dean nodded and then looked back up at Sam. "See what you can find out."

Sam furrowed his brow. "What are you gonna do?"

"Anna may have sent the angels to the outfield, but, sooner or later, they're gonna be back. We got to get ourselves safe now," Dean said and then walked back into the room with Anna.

Dean took us to Bobby's panic room, and Anna curled up on one of the lazy boys he had set up in there.

"Iron walls drenched in salt. Demons can't even touch the joint," Dean told her, and she looked around nervously.

"Which I find racist, by the way," Ruby said from the outside of the room.

"Write your congressman." Dean smirked at her.

"Here." Ruby tossed him a few bags.

"Hex bags?" Dean asked.

Ruby nodded. "Extra-crunchy. They'll hide us from angels, demons, all comers."

Dean nodded. "Thanks, Ruby." She looked taken aback, and then he turned his attention to Anna. "Don't lose this." He handed a bag to Anna and me. "So, Anna, what's playing on angel radio? Anything useful?"

"It's quiet. Dead silence," Anna said.

"Good," Dean said, sarcastically, "That's not troubling at all."

"We're in trouble, huh? You guys are scared?" Anna asked.

Dean shook his head. "Nah."

"Hey, Dean!" Sam shouted from upstairs.

"Just stay here, okay?" he asked Anna and me. Then he turned his attention to Ruby. "Keep an eye on them."

After a few minutes, Anna started fidgeting in her seat and then got up and walked out of the room.

"Anna?" I asked, but she ignored me, and I looked at Ruby, who just shrugged. Then the two of us followed her up the stairs and to the boys.

Sam was pointing something out in a file to Dean when we walked into the living room. "When she was two and a half, she'd get hysterical any time her dad got close. She was convinced that he wasn't her real daddy."

"Who was? The plumber, hmm? A little snaking the pipes?" Dean asked.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Dude, you're confusing reality with porn again. Look, Anna didn't say. She just kept repeating that this real father of hers was mad. Very mad... like wanted-to-kill-her mad."

Dean nodded. "Kind of heavy for a two-year-old."

"Well, she saw a kid's shrink, got better, and grew up normal," Sam said.

Dean shrugged. "Until now. So, what's she hiding?"

"Why don't you just ask me to my face?" Anna asked, causing the boys to jump and turn around.

Dean glared at Ruby. "Nice job watching her."

Ruby shrugged. "I'm watching her."

Dean rolled his eyes.

Sam shook his head. "No, you're right, Anna. Is there anything you want to tell us?"

"About what?" Anna asked angrily.

"The angels said you were guilty of something. Why would they say that?" Sam asked.

"You tell me. Tell me why my life has been leveled... why my parents are dead." Anna shook her head. "I don't know. I swear. I would give anything to know."

Sam nodded. "Okay. Then let's find out."

"How?" Anna asked.

Dean came back about an hour later, with Pamela. We waited in the basement as Dean guided her down the stairs.

"We're here!" Dean shouted when they reached the bottom step.

Sam ran over and hugged her. "Pamela, hey!"

"Sam?" Pamela asked as she ran her fingers over his face.

Sam nodded. "It's me. It's Sam"

Pamela continued to run her fingers over Sam's face and chest. "Sam?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah."

"Sam, is that you?" she asked again as she slowly lowered her hands down his chest to his stomach.

"I'm right here." He laughed.

"Oh. Know how I can tell?" Pamela grabbed Sam's butt. "That perky little ass of yours. You could bounce a nickel off that thing."

I frowned at the fact that I just watched her grope one of my brothers.

"Of course, I know it's you, grumpy." Pamela smiled and then turned to Ruby, Anna, and me. "Same way, I know that's a demon and that poor girl's Anna, and that Maddi's disturbed by what I just did..." She turned to Sam. "And that you've been eyeing my rack."

"Uh— Uh— Uh—" Sam stuttered.

Pamela laughed. "Don't sweat it, kiddo. I still got more senses than most."

Sam nodded. "Got it."

"Hey, Anna." Pamela walked over and grabbed her hands. "How are you? I'm Pamela."

Anna smiled. "Hi."

"Dean told me what's been going on. I'm excited to help." Pamela smiled at her.

"Oh. That's nice of you," Anna said.

Pamela shrugged. "Oh, well, not really. Any chance I can dick over an angel, I'm taking it."

"Why?" Anna asked.

"They stole something from me," Pamela said as she removed her sunglasses to reveal her white eyes. "Demon-y, I know. But they're just plastic. Good for business. Makes me look extra-psychic, don't you think?" She laughed and then put her glasses back on. "Now... how about you tell me what your deal is?" She put her hand around Anna and then walked her back into the panic room. "Hmm? Don't you worry." She had Anna lay down on the bed and relax. "Nice and relaxed. Now, I'm going to count down from five to zero. When we're at zero, you'll be in a deep state of hypnosis. As I count down, just go deeper and deeper, okay? Five... four... three... two... one. Deep sleep. Deep sleep. Every muscle calm and relaxed. Can you hear me?"

"I can hear you," Anna said, robotically.

"Now, Anna, tell me... how can you hear the angels? How did you work that spell?" Pamela asked.

"I don't know. I just did," Anna said.

"Your father... what's his name?" Pamela asked.

"Rich Milton," Anna said.

Pamela nodded. "All right. But I want you to look further back... when you were very young... just a couple of years old."

"I don't want to," Anna said and then started to fidget slightly.

"It'll be okay," Pamela assured her, "Anna, just one look... that's all we need."

"No." Anna started to squirm with her eyes still closed.

"What's your dad's name? Your real dad. Why is he angry at you?" Pamela asked.

"No. No! No." Anna screamed. "No!"

"Calm down," Pamela said.

"He's gonna kill me!" Anna yelled.

"Anna, you're safe," Pamela assured her.

"No!" Anna screamed and sat up with her eyes still closed. Then the lights exploded, and the panic room door slammed shut, locking Ruby out.

"Calm down," Pamela said again.

"He's gonna kill me!" Anna screamed.

"It's all right, Anna," Pamela said.

"Anna?" Dean stood up and walked over to her.

Pamela put her hand up to him. "Dean, don't."

Anna grabbed him and threw him across the room.

Pamela stood up and put her hand up to Anna's head. "Wake in one, two, three, four, five."

Anna laid back and relaxed.

"Anna... Anna? You all right?" Pamela asked.

Anna sat up slowly. "Thank you, Pamela. That helps a lot. I remember now."

"Remember what?" Sam asked.

Anna looked at him. "Who I am."

"I'll bite. Who are you?" Dean asked.

"I'm an angel," Anna said.

The six of us went up to Bobby's library to have Anna explain what was going on.

"Don't be afraid, I'm not like the others," Anna said.

Ruby shook her head. "I don't find that very reassuring."

"Neither do I," Pamela agreed.

"So... Castiel, Uriel... they're the ones that came for me?" Anna asked.

"You know them?" Sam asked.

Anna nodded. "We were kind of in the same foxhole."

"So, what, were they like your bosses or something?" Dean asked.

Anna shook her head. "Try the other way around."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Look at you."

"But now they want to kill you?" Pamela asked.

Anna nodded. "Orders are orders. I'm sure I have a death sentence on my head."

I shook my head. "Why?"

Anna sighed. "I disobeyed... which, for us, is about the worst thing you can do. I fell."

"Meaning?" Dean asked.

"She fell to earth, became human," Pamela explained.

Sam shook his head. "Wait a minute. I don't understand. So, angels can just become human?"

Anna nodded. "It kind of hurts. Try cutting your kidney out with a butter knife. That kind of hurt. I ripped out my grace."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Come again?"

"My grace. It's... energy," Anna explained, "Hacked it out and fell. My mother, Amy, couldn't get pregnant. Always called me her little miracle. She had no idea how right she was."

"So, you just forgot that you were God's little Power Ranger?" Dean asked.

Anna nodded. "The older I got, the longer I was human, yeah."

"I don't think you all appreciate how completely screwed we are," Ruby said.

Anna nodded. "Ruby's right. Heaven wants me dead."

"And Hell just wants her," Ruby said, "A flesh-and-blood angel that you can question, torture, that bleeds. Sister, you're the Stanley Cup. And sooner or later, Heaven or Hell, they're gonna find you."

"I know. And that's why I'm gonna get it back," Anna said.

"What?" Sam asked.

"My grace," Anna said.

"You can do that?" Dean asked.

Anna shrugged. "If I can find it."

"So, what, you're just gonna take some divine bong hit, and shazam, you're Roma Downey?" Dean asked.

Anna nodded. "Something like that."

"All right. I like this plan." Dean nodded. "So, where's this grace of yours?"

Anna shook her head. "Lost track. I was falling about 10,000 miles per hour at the time."

"Wait. You mean falling, like, literally?" Sam asked.

Anna nodded. "Yes."

"Like the way a human eye can see?" Sam asked, "Like a comet, maybe, or a meteor?"

"Why do you ask?" Anna asked.

I had gone to bed in the room Bobby had given me to finally get some sleep. When I woke up, Sam was showing Dean maps and articles.

"Union, Kentucky. Found some accounts of a local miracle," Sam explained.

"Yeah?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah. In '85, there was an empty field outside of town. Six months later, there was a full-grown oak. They say it looks a century old, at least."

"Anna, what do you think?" Dean asked.

Anna nodded. "The grace. Where it hit, it could have done something like that, easy."

Dean nodded. "So, grace ground zero... it's not destruction. It's—"

"Pure creation," Anna said.

As we drove to grace ground zero, I sat up front with Dean and Sam while Ruby and Anna sat in the back. A while into the drive, Dean looked in the mirror and laughed.

"What?" Ruby snapped.

Dean shook his head and smirked. "Nothing. It's just an angel and a demon riding in the backseat. It's like the setup to a bad joke... or a Penthouse Forum letter."

Sam shook his head. "Dude... reality... not porn."

"You call this reality?" Dean asked.

Finally, we made it, and we walked out into an open field with a gorgeous giant tree.

"It's beautiful," Dean said, astonished.

Anna nodded. "It's where the grace touched down. I can feel it."

"You ready to do this?" Dean asked.

Anna shook her head. "Not really."

As we walked up to the tree, Anna took the lead.

"Anna, what are we even looking for?" Sam asked.

Anna placed her hand on the tree trunk and sighed. "It doesn't matter. It's not here. Not anymore. Someone took it."

We found a barn to hide out in until we figured out our next move, but I could tell everyone was on edge. It made me super nervous whenever my brothers were scared.

"We still got the hex bags. I say we head back to the panic room," Dean said as he paced in front of Anna.

"What? Forever?" Ruby asked.

"I'm just thinking out loud!" Dean yelled.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Oh, you call that thinking?"

Dean walked up and got in her face, and Sam approached them quickly. "Hey! Hey, hey. Stop it."

"Anna's grace is gone. You understand?" Ruby asked. "She can't angel up. She can't protect us. We can't fight Heaven and Hell. One side maybe, but not both. Not at once."

"Um... guys? The angels are talking again," Anna said.

"What are they saying?" Sam asked.

Anna shook her head. "It's weird... like a recording... a loop. It says, 'Dean Winchester gives us Anna by midnight, or—'"

"Or what?" Dean asked nervously.

"'Or we hurl him back to damnation,'" Anna said.

Dean gulped nervously.

Sam sighed. "Anna... do you know of any weapon that works on an angel?"

"To what? To kill them?" Anna asked.

Sam nodded.

Anna shook her head. "Nothing we could get to... not right now."

"Okay, wait, wait. I say we call Bobby. We get him back from hedonism," Dean said.

"Dean, what's he gonna tell us that we don't already know?" Sam shrugged.

"I don't know, but we got to think of something!" Dean shouted.

After a couple hours of research, Sam and I fell asleep next to each other on the couch, and when we woke up, Ruby was gone. The four of us waited for something, anything to happen while we waited for her to come back, but it had been hours, and she hadn't shown up.

"I don't know, man. Where's Ruby?" Sam asked as he paced in the barn.

"Hey, she's your Hell buddy." Dean shrugged and took a swig out of his flask.

"Little early for that, isn't it?" Anna asked.

Dean scoffed. "It's 2AM somewhere."

"You okay?" I asked as I sat by him.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, of course."

Suddenly, the barn doors blasted open, and Castiel and Uriel barged in.

"Hello, Anna. It's good to see you," Castiel said.

"How? How did you find us?" Sam asked.

Castiel looked at Dean, which caused Sam and me to look at him. We found nothing but guilt on his face.

"Dean?" Sam asked.

Dean looked at Anna. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Because they gave him a choice," Anna explained, "They either kill me... or kill one of you. I know how their minds work." She walked up and kissed Dean. "You did the best you could. I forgive you." She turned to Castiel and Uriel. "Okay. No more tricks. No more running. I'm ready."

"I'm sorry," Castiel said, straight-faced.

Anna shook her head. "No. You're not. Not really. You don't know the feeling."

Castiel nodded. "Still, we have a history. It's just—"

"Orders are orders. I know. Just make it quick," Anna demanded.

"Don't you touch a hair on that poor girl's head," a Godfather-like voice came from behind us, and we all turned to see the demon from the church, and two more demons holding up a bleeding Ruby.

"Alastair. How dare you come in this room... you pussing sore?" Uriel questioned.

"Name-calling. That hurt my feelings..." Alastair grabbed his chest and smiled. "You sanctimonious, fanatical prick."

"Turn around and walk away now." Castiel scowled.

Alastair nodded. "Sure. Just give us the girl. We'll make sure she gets punished good and proper."

"You know who we are and what we will do. I won't say it again. Leave now... or we lay you to waste." Castiel threatened, and then he and Uriel stepped in front of Anna, Sam, Dean, and me.

"Think I'll take my chances," Alastair hissed.

They broke out into a fight, and Castiel pressed his hand to Alastair's forehead.

Alastair smiled. "Sorry, kiddo. Why don't you go run to daddy?" He uppercut Castiel and sent him flying to the ground.

Uriel pressed his hand to one of the other demon's forehead and exorcized him, leaving his eye sockets black and empty.

Alastair grabbed Castiel around his neck and began reciting something in Latin, causing Castiel to choke and start to tremor. Dean ran up and hit Alastair across the back with a crowbar.

Alastair stood up angrily and turned to us. "Dean, Dean, Dean... I am so disappointed. You had such promise." He put his hand out, and Sam, Dean, and I dropped to the ground struggling to breathe as if somebody was choking us.

While Uriel was attacking the other demon, Anna ran up to him and ripped a glowing pendant off his neck.

"No!" Uriel yelled.

Anna broke the pendant, and a glowing white liquid flowed into her mouth. The whole room lit up from the light that illuminated from her body. "Shut your eyes. Shut your eyes! Shut your eyes!"

I quickly covered my eyes with my arms, and then the room erupted with a rumble and whistling winds. Then the room calmed, and I looked up. The only ones left were Castiel, Uriel, Ruby, Anna, Sam, Dean, and me.

Dean stood up. "Well, what are you guys waiting for? Go get Anna. Unless, of course, you're scared."

Uriel glared at him. "This isn't over."

Dean nodded. "Oh, it looks over to me, junkless."

Castiel, Uriel, and Anna disappeared.

"You okay?" Sam asked Ruby as he helped her up.

Ruby shook her head. "Not so much."

"What took you so long to get here?" Dean asked.

"Sorry, I'm late with the demon delivery. I was only being tortured," Ruby said.

"I got to hand it to you, Sammy. Bringing them all together all at once... angels and demons. It was a damn good plan." Dean smiled.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, well, when you got Godzilla and Mothra on your ass, best to get out of their way and let them fight."

Dean laughed. "Yeah, now you're just bragging."

I shook my head. "Wait, you guys wanted that to happen?"

They smiled and nodded at me.

"Are you completely insane?" I asked, "How did you know that would work?"

Sam shrugged and smirked. "I wasn't sure it would." He nodded. "So, I guess she's some big-time angel now, huh? She must be happy... wherever she is."

Dean shook his head. "I doubt it."

After parting ways with Ruby, we sat on the hood of the Impala while Sam and Dean drank some beers.

"I can't believe we survived that," I said as I laid on the hood with my back on the windshield.

Sam nodded. "Again."

Dean held his bottle out for Sam to clink, and then they both clinked their glasses and took a swig. "I know you guys heard him."

"Who?" Sam asked.

"Alastair," Dean said, "What he said... about how I had promise."

Sam nodded. "I heard him."

I nodded in agreement.

"You're not curious?" Dean asked.

"You said you didn't want to talk about it," I said.

"Yeah, Dean, we're damn curious. But you're not talking about Hell, and I'm not pushing," Sam said.

"It wasn't four months, ya know," Dean said.

"What?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. "It was four months up here, but down there... I don't know. Time's different. It was more like forty years."

I sat up and scooched closer to them.

"My god," Sam said, shocked.

"They, uh— They sliced and carved and tore at me in ways that you—" Dean shook his head. "Until there was nothing left. And then, suddenly... I would be whole again... like magic... just so they could start in all over. And Alastair... at the end of every day... every one... he would come over. And he would make me an offer. To take me off the rack... if I put souls on... if I started the torturing. And every day, I told him to stick it where the sun shines. For thirty years, I told him. But then I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't. And I got off that rack. God help me, I got right off it, and I started ripping them apart. I lost count of how many souls." He started to get choked up. "The— The things that I did to them."

"Dean— Dean, look, you held out for thirty years. That's longer than anyone would have," Sam said.

Dean started fully crying. "How I feel... this... inside me... I wish I couldn't feel anything. I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing."

I rested my head on his back and looked up at Sam, extremely concerned.