January 10th, 2011 - Lawrence, Kansas

It had been almost a year since Amy had begun living with her grandparents, and things had been going pretty well. She had gotten to know them well over the months and, after a while, had gone back to hunting, keeping up with smaller hunts that she was able to handle on her own.

The new year was almost upon them, and she hadn't heard much from Dean in months. Calls went to voicemail, and texts went ignored. After a month or so, Amy had given up on trying to contact the hunter. She could only hope that he was doing okay with Lisa and Ben.

She had cleaned up the spare bedroom she had been using a bit, making the air a bit more breathable, and had gotten some new sheets for the bed. There wasn't a heater in the room, so she kept a small stack of logs next to the fireplace for days when it got too cold, and she needed a bit of warmth.

Today was one of those days. It had been snowing all day, and Amy had kept a fire going since she had woken up. She put another log onto the dying flames and rubbed her hands together, holding them over the fire.

"Amy!" April called from downstairs. "Can you come down and help with dinner?"

"Coming!"

Amy headed downstairs to find her grandmother in the kitchen, preparing something in a bowl. She nodded towards a baking tray with garlic bread on it. "Could you put that in the oven for me?"

"Sure thing?" Amy opened the oven and put the tray in. "How long?"

"Ten minutes ought to do it."

A short while later, the food was ready. Amy found herself sitting in the seat at the dining room table that she had preferred to be in for the past few months, across from the window, looking outside.

"So, Amy," her grandfather spoke. "I heard rumors of some demon sightings in New Haven, Connecticut, if you're interested."

Amy shrugged. "Sure. Do you know how many?"

"Five? Six?" James shrugged. "Could be more, could be less."

"James, are you sure you want to send her to handle that many demons on her own?" April asked. "She's just one person."

"Don't worry, grandma," Amy said, "I can handle it." She hadn't told her grandparents about her powers yet, unsure of how they'd handle them, but her powers had proven to be useful in many of the solo hunts she had gone on.

November 28th, 2010 - Detroit, Michigan

Amy was on a demon hunt that had turned out to be more than what she had initially thought. Instead of one of two demons, she had found herself trapped in an abandoned house with several of them at once.

After managing to slip away from them, she was now creeping through the house, trying to sneak kill one of them and not alert the others.

The house was dark, making it difficult to see. A faint whistling could be heard from the next room, and Amy made her way to it, wondering if it was a trap. She stepped into the room, only to be greeted by five demons inside, one of them leaning against the wall, whistling a tune.

"Crap," Amy swore. She pulled out the demon knife.

One of the demons stepped forward, laughing. "Come on now, girly. You're outnumbered. We're gonna kill you just like your parents."

Amy glared at the demon. Without a word, she turned and threw the knife towards one of the demons. It embedded itself in his chest, and he flickered with light before dropping to the ground.

Another demon threw a punch at her, and she quickly dodged and used her powers to bring the knife back into her hand, stabbing the demon.

The demon that had taunted her held out a hand. She began to choke as an invisible force tightened around her throat. With a slight struggle, she moved the knife through the air and into the demon's head. The demon dropped dead, and Amy coughed a few times as she caught her breath.

Two demons left. Amy brought the knife back into her hand and stabbed a demon as it swung a punch at her before quickly turning around and stabbing the last one.

Amy smiled as she remembered a previous hunt. "I'll be okay," she assured her grandmother.

April sighed. "If you insist. I just worry about you sometimes, going on these hunts alone?"

"I know," Amy said. "But I promise, I'm tougher than I look."

April smiled. "I know you are, dear."

James cleared his throat, bringing Amy's attention back over to him. "So, are you gonna go?" he asked.

Amy nodded. "Yeah, of course."

"Good." Her grandfather let out a grunt.

Over the past months, Amy had gotten to know her grandparents really well. In a way, her grandfather reminded her a bit of Bobby. He was a gruff, old man who seemed mean at first but was as soft as a teddy bear once you got to know him. He often found her hunts to go on, while her grandmother would always make her something to eat for the road.

"So you don't have to stop at a diner," April would always say.

Amy finished eating her dinner and got up from the table. She put her plate in the sink and walked back to the dining room.

"If you're gonna go," April began, "I'd wait until this snow clears up. It doesn't look safe to drive right now."

Amy looked out the window. Several inches of snow still sat on the ground, covering the sidewalk and street. "Yeah, you're probably right. I should probably go pack, though."

"Alright, then."

Amy headed upstairs and grabbed her duffle bag. As she tossed it onto the bed, the strap caught onto the corner of her nightstand and shook it slightly. The hunter frowned as she heard something inside the top drawer.

Not remembering putting anything inside earlier, she opened it up to find a blank DVD case covered in dust. She frowned even harder before suddenly remembering where she had seen it before.

It was the DVD she had found in her bag several months ago. She still hadn't gotten around to watching it, but maybe now was as good a time as any. It had been almost a year since that night, after all.

Sitting down on her bed, Amy finally opened up the case and popped the CD into her laptop, hoping it still worked.

A media player popped up on the screen, and Amy hit the play button. A small gasp escaped her mouth as Gabriel appeared on the screen.

"Hey, kiddo," Gabe said quietly.

Amy had to fight hard to not stop the video right there and close her laptop back up. She took a deep breath and continued watching.

"I, uh, I wanted to make something for you before I go into face my brother and let you know that I have a plan."

'He must have filmed this that night,' Amy thought. 'But didn't I get this a few nights after that?'

"Anyway," Gabe continued. "I'm gonna send one of my clones after him. There's plenty to go around, after all."

'What?' Amy thought in shock. 'That wasn't really him that night, but then that means-'

"That means that if my bro does try and kill me, he'll kill the fake. And I'll be free to go do my own thing."

Amy could feel herself start to tear up. Gabriel was alive? But, if that was true, then where was he? Why hadn't she seen him since that night?

"I'm gonna go stay with an old friend of mine in Monte Carlo," Gabe continued. "Someone who owes me a favor. And, I'm sorry to do this, kiddo, but we won't be able to see each other again. I can't have anyone else knowing I'm still alive, especially Lucifer. But I couldn't let you think I was dead."

Amy couldn't believe what she was hearing. She just learned Gabe was alive, but now she was being told that she couldn't do anything about it? Now she had another secret she had to keep?

"Please don't tell anyone about this," Gabe said, "the more people that know I'm alive, the sooner it'll be before Lucifer discovers that as well. But I'm telling you this because I couldn't live with myself knowing you think I'm dead. And because I know you're good at keeping secrets." Gabe sighed. "Alright, kiddo. Time to go face my brother. Take care."

Amy started sobbing as the archangel on the screen smiled before the video ended. Why had it taken her this long to watch that video? She could have learned he was alive months ago. Not that it would have mattered since he had said she couldn't see him again.

There was a soft knock at the door before it opened up.

"Amy?" April asked. "Are you alright?"

Amy nodded and wiped a tear away. "Yeah, I uh, I'm fine," she said, faking a smile. "Sorry."

"What happened?"

"Oh, uh,-" Amy stopped herself, unable to think up a believable excuse. She shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Are you sure?" April asked. "It doesn't seem like you nothing."

Amy nodded. "I'm okay. Really, I promise."

April frowned. "Okay then. I'll be downstairs if you want to talk about whatever's bothering you." She left the room, closing the door behind her.

As soon as the door was closed, Amy burst out into tears, unable to hold her emotions in anymore. Why the hell hadn't she watched that video months ago? She wouldn't have gone this long thinking Gabe was dead. She wondered if he was still where he said he'd be or if he had moved on since the video was filmed.

Amy let out a shaky breath and ejected the disk from her laptop. She held it in her hand before putting it back into the case and back into the front pouch of her duffle bag, zipping it up.

Maybe one day, Amy would see Gabe again, but she was just glad he was still alive right now. With everything happening right now, she needed some good news in her life.

Later that night, Amy's bag was packed with her knives and guns, ready to go for the next day. She set it by her bedroom door and headed downstairs.

"You all packed up?" April asked.

Amy nodded as she joined her grandparents in the living room. "I think so." She looked out the window. "You sure this'll all be clear by tomorrow?"

The snow had stopped falling, but there were still quite a few inches of snow on the ground.

Amy's grandfather ruffled her hair, much to her annoyance. "Eh, it'll be fine. Supposed to be a lot warmer tomorrow."

"Just be sure to drive carefully," April said, a hint of worry in her voice. "And call us as soon as you get there."

Amy smiled. "I always do."

"I know." April frowned. "I just worry about you."

"Oh, stop it, April," James said with a huff. "You're practically babying the poor girl. She can take care of herself. You were the exact same way with Jess when she went out hunting."

"Well, it's a good thing I was," April snapped. "That girl ran headfirst into danger long before our granddaughter was born. It's a damn miracle she didn't get herself killed sooner."

"She did get herself killed!" James argued back. "Her and that husband of hers. And it wasn't for nearly two decades after that we learned our granddaughter survived."

"Hey, that wasn't my fault," Amy said quickly.

"I never said it was," James said. "I'm just saying, maybe instead of sending you to live wherever they sent you, they could have at least checked to see if you had any family still living."

Amy glanced down at her shoes. She hadn't thought about how her grandparents must have felt, learning after all this time that she had survived that night. Granted, she hadn't even known herself until a year or so ago, but still, maybe things would have been different if she or they'd known sooner.

"I'm sorry," Amy said quietly.

"What are you sorry for?" April asked. "None of this was anyone's fault. There's no possible way you could have known we were still alive, just like how we couldn't have known you had survived."

Amy glanced down at the carpet. "Yeah," she muttered. "I guess you're right." She decided to change the subject and stood up. "I'm gonna go take a shower. And then, maybe head to bed. Got a long drive tomorrow if this snow clears."

"Alright, dear. We'll see you in the morning."

Amy bent down to give her grandparents a hug. "Love you guys. Night."

"Goodnight, Amy."

January 11th, 2011

The following day, Amy woke up and immediately looked out her window. Sure enough, the snow had cleared from the ground, and cars were driving on the road below.

After quickly getting dressed and throwing a hoodie on, she grabbed her bag and headed downstairs to see her grandparents.

"Morning," Amy greeted cheerfully as she jumped past the last three steps and landed on the floor.

"Morning, dear," April said. "You want anything to eat before you go?"

Amy nodded. "I'll just make myself some cereal." She grabbed the cereal box from the pantry and poured herself a bowl before sitting down at the bar to eat.

James slowly came into the room, leaning against his cane. "There's my favorite granddaughter."

Amy laughed. "I'm your only granddaughter," she said before groaning in protest as her grandfather ruffled her hair. She finished up her breakfast and put her bowl into the sink.

"You taking off?" April asked.

Amy nodded, turning to her grandparents. "It's a long drive to Connecticut from here. It's better if I get going now."

"Alright, then," April said, a hint of worry in her voice. "Drive carefully, okay? And call us as soon as you get there."

Amy chuckled slightly. "I always do." She threw her arms around her grandparents in a hug. "I love you guys."

"We'll see you when you get back."

Amy picked up her bag and headed out the front door. She tossed her bag into the trunk and climbed into the driver's seat. Starting the engine, she waved goodbye to her grandparents and drove away from the house.

January 13th, 2011 - New Haven, Connecticut

A day and a half later, the young hunter finally pulled into the parking lot of the Starlight Motel and shut off the engine to her car. The only stop Amy had made had been to spend a night at a small motel somewhere in Ohio, and she was exhausted.

Dragging herself out of the car, she popped open the trunk and headed inside the office. A short, balding man with thick glasses on his face was standing behind the counter.

"Good afternoon," the man greeted with a smile that made Amy feel uneasy. "Checking in?"

Amy pulled out her card. "Can I get a room, please?"

After giving the man some information, she was handed a key.

"Head up the stairs, third door on your left," the man said.

"Thank you." Amy took the key and headed outside. There was a small set of stairs attached to the side of the building, which she took up to the second floor. She quickly found the room and unlocked the door with the key, giving it a hard shove to get it open.

Amy dropped her bag onto the table by the TV. There were two beds in the room, much like every other motel she'd been in. Even after months of going on hunts alone, it still felt weird being in a motel by herself.

Still tired from the drive, Amy collapsed on the bed and kicked off her shoes. She just needed to rest for a little while, and then she would figure out what to do next.

That evening, Amy woke back up. She pulled out her phone and glanced at the time. It was a little after eight p.m., which meant she had slept for roughly seven hours. Stretching her arms as she got up from the bed, she sat down at the table and opened up her laptop.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she thought about what to search up first. There had to be something in the local news about the sightings, right? She opened up her search engine and got to work.

After a few minutes of searching, Amy came across an article about a teen with pitch-blackeyes spotted in an alleyway. "Bingo," she said to herself.

According to the article, a man had burst into the police station, yelling about a teenager standing alone in an alleyway on 51st Street. The man had claimed to see the teen's eyes turn black, and police had reportedly chalked it up to be the ramblings of a drunk man and decided not to do anything about it.

'51st Street?' Amy thought. 'I wonder where that is.' She opened up google maps and typed in the name of the street. About five or six results popped up, including one only four blocks from where her motel was.

"Of course, it's close by," Amy muttered. "I definitely wouldn't choose a motel on the other side of town or anything." She closed up her laptop and grabbed her keys. Better to go check this out, now that she was wide awake.

Before heading out, Amy grabbed her handgun and the demon knife, just in case. She made sure to take the key to the motel room as well before heading out to the car.

It was a quick drive to the street. Amy began slowly driving down it until she finally came across an alleyway, which she assumed was the same one mentioned in the article.

Across the street was a house that looked like it had been abandoned for years. The wood on the porch was rotting away, and two of the windows on the second story were hanging by a single hinge, one strong gust of wind away from falling off.

Amy froze as a figure moved past one of the windows upstairs. There was definitely someone in the house. She needed a plan and fast.

The only weapons she had with her were the demon knife and her pistol. Right now, there was no telling how many demons were in that house. She didn't even know if there were any demons in the house, to be honest.

Amy decided to make her way into the house to check it out. If Sam and Dean were with her, they'd probably do the same thing, after all. Clutching the demon knife, she made her way to the front porch.

The steps creaked as she put her weight down on them, and Amy couldn't help but feel like she was giving away her position to anyone inside. The door was open slightly, and she gently pushed it open, finally getting a look inside the dark, dusty house.

Everything but the floor was covered in a layer or two of dust. The moonlight shone on some dust floating through the air. If Amy hadn't seen someone walking around upstairs, she would have never guessed that anyone was here.

There was a flight of stairs to her right, and Amy decided to make her way up them. Being sure to take quiet steps. The house was quiet, and Amy couldn't help but worry that she was walking into a trap. If it was this quiet in the place, then the demons were either smart enough to not draw any attention to their hideout, or they knew she was here.

Reaching the second floor, Amy came across a long hallway with several closed doors and one open at the very end. She clutched the demon knife even tighter and made her way to the open door. The door creaked as she pushed it open. Every part of her told her to turn around and come back when she was better prepared, but she ignored it.

Her worst thoughts were confirmed as soon as she stepped through the doorway. A demon that had been hiding in the room threw her across the room. The demon knife fell from her hands as she was pinned against the wall. She struggled against the invisible hand around her throat before attempting to move the blade and stab the demon.

As the knife began moving across the floor, another demon moved into view and stepped on the handle. He chuckled slightly and bent down to pick it up. "Well, well, well," he said, "look who we have here." The demon waved the knife around as he stood slightly behind the demon holding Amy. "Still all alone, I see. No Winchesters to save you now."

Amy chuckled. "I've been on my own for months. Been just fine, so far."

The demon holding her against the wall smiled. "We'll see about that." He looked over his shoulder at the other demon. "Kill her."

The second demon smirked. Before he could do anything, however, a hand came up from behind him. The hand grabbed the knife and stabbed the demon.

The demon flickered with light before dropping to the ground. The demon holding Amy turned around just in time to be stabbed as well. He dropped dead to the ground, and Amy fell to the floor.

Wondering who had just saved her, Amy quickly caught her breath before slowly looking up. Standing in front of her was a man she hadn't seen in months. Someone she thought she'd never see again.

"Sam?"

And with that, this story is officially complete! I know some of you will hate me for leaving it on a cliffhanger, but that's where the sequel will come in. If any of you are following this on AO3, you might have noticed that I added this fic to a series titled "Mirum A Novus Orbis Terrarum," which, roughly translated, means "A Strange New World." I'll be posting a sequel placeholder soon on here that you can follow so that you can be updated when I start posting. I am going to be doing things a bit differently, though. I would post chapters for this fic whenever I finished writing them, but I plan on doing scheduled updates for the sequel. Because of this, I'm going to get most of the fic written before I start posting, so it could be several months before you guys see anything, but I promise there will be another story coming.

To everyone that's read this fic and everyone that's helped me work on this fic/let me bounce ideas off of them: I just wanted to thank you. I've written a lot of fics in my life, but this is the first one that I've actually stuck with till the end, and, honestly, if it weren't for all of you, I probably would have quit a long time ago. I hope to see you all for the next one. Take it easy, guys, gals, and non-binary pals.