"Sam's not coming." Dean stuck his head into the room, seeing that Grace was almost packed. "I've got the car all set to go, travel mugs of coffee and everything. Jack's all packed too. We can leave as soon as you're ready."

"Why's Sam staying behind? This isn't the kind of thing he'd want to miss." Grace zipped up her bag, double checking that she'd grabbed her laptop charger. She disappeared into the closet to grab a jacket as Dean answered.

"He wants to stay and look for another way. He's convinced there's another way."

"Okay. Well... wait." She came over to embrace him, Dean automatically holding onto her. "Just give me five minutes. If this is it, if Chuck shows up as soon as we get to Santa Fe… give me five minutes to stand here with you. It won't be just us until all of this is over."

Dean held onto her tightly, realizing that she might be right. This could be the last time the two of them were ever alone together. They were lucky Chuck hadn't appeared already. He sighed, thinking of all of the times they had taken a moment before a hunt, a moment to wish each other luck and speak the unspoken promise that they would look out for each other. It wasn't always like this. Sometimes it was a quick kiss in the car, or a solemn nod as they hopped out of Bobby's truck with him. "Gracie, I -"

"I know." Every atom in her body refused to let go of him. He had always been the one person she could run to, the one person who, no matter what monster they faced, would make sure everything was alright. They might be wiped from the face of the Earth that night, but right now, they had each other. "I know."

When Grace finally did let go of him, Dean cleared his throat, grabbing her bag for her to avoid having to make eye contact. "Ready? Let's go."

Grace went to say goodbye to Sam while Dean threw everything in the car and made sure they were ready to go. Both of them knew that this might really be goodbye, but they went through the same motions of promising to update each other as they learned things and saying they would see each other soon. As Grace walked into the garage, she tried to banish the thought that this might be the last time she would ever see the bunker. Sam watched them drive off, suppressing the thought that he might never see his family again.

As Jack slept in the back of the Impala, Grace double-checked the map she'd spread out on the dashboard. They had three more hours until they hit Santa Fe, Dean completely ignoring the speed limit as they raced towards the inevitable. They had no idea what they would be facing when they got there. It was possible that Chuck had beaten them there and would send them into a trap. She could easily read the worry on his face, Dean not saying much the entire drive. None of them had said very much, everyone dwelling on what lay ahead. As they crossed the state line into New Mexico, Grace reached out and took Dean's hand.

If she closed her eyes, just for a moment, she could imagine that they were twenty years old again, driving across the country chasing ghosts and werewolves. Their biggest worries back then were cursed objects and crossroads demons, not the apocalypse or killing the most powerful beings in the universe.

Dean didn't dare close his eyes, but he looked over and smiled at her, thinking back to when they had raced down this stretch of highway years before to investigate a string of disappearances in northern New Mexico. Things had been so much simpler back then. They had seen so much of the country together, stopping to take photos as they jumped from case to case. Whenever Grace had to go back to school, she would get postcards from across the country, whenever Dean found time to stop and buy one. It was nice to know Dean was alive, even if she knew that her letters would never reach him. He would have moved on by the time the post cards got to her, let alone by the time she wrote back.

But now they were driving towards a fight of biblical proportions, one they couldn't avoid even if they wanted to. The sun was slowly climbing into the sky as they pulled up in front of a souvenir shop, Grace checking the map again. "Are you sure this is it?"

"This is it," Dean confirmed.

The three of them hopped out of the car, everyone stretching as the shop door swung open. "Jack! Is that really you?" A woman ran out to hug him, Dean and Grace exchanging a glance. "It is you! I had a dream about you, and now here you are!"

The man behind her introduced himself as Adam, beckoning them inside. "Adam?" Grace asked, looking around the shop. "Like Adam Adam? Adam and Eve Adam?" She peered into a display case, finally turning to see the man nod.

"The very same. This is Saraphina. She's my angel. Literally."

Saraphina stayed with them as Jack followed Adam further into the shop. "So you saw us in a dream?" Dean looked to the angel, who perched herself on top of one of the counters. "Like a prophetic kind of dream, or a tripping-on-acid kind of dream?"

"I saw Jack in a dream," she answered cryptically. "But I did see you too. And her. You're meant for each other, you know. The whole universe thinks so. At least, in my dream it did. I think that counts for something," she sighed, staring at the two of them. "I've dreamt about the two of you since… about the spring of 1978."

There's no way she could've known that. Grace looked over to Dean again, both of them knowing the angel was telling the truth. "So you've dreamt about us since before we were born?"

Saraphina nodded adamantly. "It's been written for so long. So many of us knew you were meant for each other before you were even conceived… it's wonderful to finally meet you in person. We kept up with Carver Edlund's books, but when you disappeared from them, we started to worry. You were always one of my favorite characters."

"Thank you." Grace gave her an awkward smile, watching the back of the shop. She could hear Adam and Jack talking, but she wasn't sure what they were talking about. It was a test, she knew, but what cosmic test, she had no idea. "Do you know how it ends?"

"No," Saraphina sighed. "He stopped writing, and we have no idea what happened. This woman - Becky Rosen - she wrote more, and they're great, but they're not the same. You two though, she gave you a happy ending."

Adam and Jack emerged from the back room, Adam announcing that, "He passed. It's time." He handed Saraphina a knife, telling her again that, "It's time, my dear."

Without hesitation, she stabbed him in the chest, reaching in to pull out a rib. "Woah!" Dean lunged for her, but Grace stopped him.

"Adam's rib, remember? If one of them created Eve, then this one can help us destroy Chuck."

Adam nodded, immediately straightening up as Saraphina reached out to heal him. "You'll collapse into a living black hole for divine energy. Nothing can escape, not the Darkness, not light, nothing. You'll be able to get him" He put the still-bloody rib into a plastic bag, handing it over to Jack. "You'll know what to do with this when it's time. Good luck."

The three of them left with the rib, not saying a word until they got into the car. "Weird," Jack said, inspecting the rib. He showed it to Grace, who had taken the back seat so she could sleep for a little while before trading places with Dean.

"Kind of gross," she agreed, passing it back.

"Definitely weird." Dean shifted the car into drive, aiming for the bunker.

Several hours later, Grace was asleep in the back of the car when they rolled to a stop. They weren't home yet, but Dean was talking to Jack, his voice fading into her consciousness as Grace slowly woke up. "I'm sorry, kid. When I found out about Chuck, about everything he did, everything… everything felt like a lie, like my whole life I've never been free. The only free will I feel like I've ever had was Grace, and I can't even be sure of that. Chuck - we were written for each other. So I don't know if that was ever real. She told me once that we make little choices every day that he doesn't write down, but I don't know. I'm sorry, kid. I'm sorry for how we've treated you, and for how much you're giving up for us."

Grace smiled to herself, happy that they were finally getting along. Things had been tense between the two of them, cooling off at times, but never fully getting resolved. The car started moving soon after, the three of them rolling into the garage around half an hour later. "He's here." Jack held the rib in his hand, turning it to ash as he absorbed its power. His eyes glowed gold as they got out, the three of them running into the bunker.

"Dean, stop!" Sam burst into the hall, Cas following in his wake. "Billie wants to fill the power vacuum and take over. I've been to her library, I've seen it. We can't do this."

"Move, Sam! I know he's here. I don't care what her plan is, this is our one shot at taking out Chuck." Dean tried heading further into the bunker, but Sam stood in the way. "C'mon, we've been working on this for so long. Move!"

"Billie wanted this all along. She's been playing us. You can't -"

"Sammy, don't make me do this." He pulled his gun, the safety clicking off as he gestured for his brother to move. "Please don't make me do this."

Grace reached out for his arm, begging him not to do anything drastic. "Listen to him. This is how Chuck gets what he wants. Brother killing brother, Winchester killing Winchester, this is how he wins. You're so locked in on this, you've got to listen for just a second. Look at me. This is how Chuck dies and still gets what he wants. Dean, we have to stop."

"Gracie, no."

"Dean, stop!" She knew he was stronger than her. But there was one thing she had on her side that he didn't. Snapping her fingers, Grace threw a protective shield between the brothers. "Please, we can still stop this. We can stop this and stop Billie."

"Chuck has to die." He twisted his arm free of her grip, shoving Sam out of the way. "Come on, Jack."

"If Billie takes over, everyone goes back to where they're supposed to be," Sam spat, sitting up in pain. "The Apocalypse World hunters get sent back to a place that doesn't exist anymore. Everyone we've ever saved, they were all supposed to die. If we let this happen, nothing we've ever done will mean anything. They all die and… We're not supposed to be here. How many times have we died?"

Dean was dead-set on getting to Chuck and Amara. "We don't have a choice!"

"You always have a choice," Grace objected, trying to keep her voice level. "Dean, if she sends everyone back, I get sent back to Hell. I'm too meshed with Miczael to be here. At this point I'm not fully human, and you know Billie's not going to let me stay. I shouldn't be here. If Billie sends everyone back, she'll send me back too, and there's no way I'm getting out. Not this time. Dean, put the gun down. Please."

The door to the war room burst open, Chuck walking through. Everyone tensed as he greeted them. "How sweet. You might as well take a swing at me. Or enjoy watching him die. I'm going to love to see that." He laughed, disappearing into the air as Jack collapsed.