A/N: Thank you all so much for reading. I hope you're enjoying this. Please let me know what you think. Thanks!

Chapter 37: When There's No One Else

"I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I'll stand my ground

And I won't back down"
- I Won't Back Down by Tom Petty

Training with Five was interesting. Despite the fact that he looked like a kid, he didn't hold back. In his hits or his words.

"I don't have a grandmother, but if I did, she'd be faster than you."

I glared up at him. He had knocked me on my back again. It was hard when the opponent could teleport. I rolled back before I jumped up. "I highly doubt that."

"Prove it."

I stretched out my neck before I attacked. Five moved quickly even when he didn't teleport. He wasn't exactly faster than Jane, but his power gave him an advantage. I wasn't sure how to fight against it. That didn't stop me from trying though. Five blocked the hits that I got close to him, flashing away when I was just about to hit him. When he knocked me on my back again, I made a mental note to ask Jane for a way to fight him. If only to get that stupid smile off of his face. It also didn't help that he still looked like he was ten.

When we finally finished, I was covered in grass stains. I had managed a single hit, which was a win in my books. It had felt nearly impossible.

"You are hesitating," Jane's voice called out. I looked over to see her standing near the house, watching the fight. I wasn't sure how long she had been there.

"What?" Five had started training me to break my hesitation with the others. I wasn't sure how I was doing the same with him now.

She moved closer. "You are hesitating. The child's face is blocking you from hitting him. You are faster than that. You do not falter with me." She moved into position. "Up. We shall fight."

I groaned but forced myself to stand. I got into position and waited. Jane struck first, as hard and fast as the last time we fought.

I limped into the kitchen. The last kick to the back of my leg hurt like hell. Jane reminded me to breathe through the pain before she finally ended the session.

"You okay?" I looked up at Sam who was bent down in front of the open fridge.

I nodded. "Yeah, it was just more intense than usual." He looked concerned as he stood. I tried to relieve the tension. "I'll sleep well tonight," I joked.

"You looked like you slept well last night," he tried to hide his smile. "Snored like you did too."

My mouth dropped open in shock. "I don't snore!"

He nodded and looked like he was trying not to laugh at me. He closed the fridge and walked towards me.

My eyes narrowed and I pointed at him. "You're not allowed in my bed if you're going to spill state secrets!"

"Not a secret!" A voice called out from the living room. I looked through the doorway that connected the rooms. Kelly was sitting on the couch, leaning on Dean. There were a few of them in the room. I felt my face flush as I realized they all heard. "I prefer you snoring to screaming," she added.

I frowned. "I scream?"

"Yeah," Chloe spoke up. I looked at her in surprise before remembering we had shared a room once. "Sometimes when you have a nightmare."

"Oh." I felt Sam's arm wrap around my waist. "Sorry." I didn't know what else to say.

"We've all heard you snore," Chloe said. "Like when you fall asleep at the table."

"What?" I looked around the room as others started adding things.

"On the couch," Klaus said.

"Leaning against the wall."

"You once fell asleep during poker. You woke up, didn't seem to realize so we kept playing," Veronica said from her place on the floor.

I looked at Kelly for confirmation. She nodded. "I...I don't remember that," I said slowly. I knew I was tired and that I avoided sleep. I didn't know that I passed out during card games!

"We all try to be quiet," Kelly said. "Rather you get some sleep, even if it's in weird places."

"Jesus Christ," I muttered. I ran a hand down my face. I didn't remember any of this.

"Don't worry," Dean piped up. "Sam's snores could wake the dead some nights." It cut through the tension.

"Yeah?" I asked, giving a half-smile.

"Oh yeah," he nodded. "And be careful, he eats a burrito, he gets toxic."

"Dean!"

"What? She should know!"

I glanced up at Sam's face and tried not to laugh. He did not look as amused as the others did. I heard someone giggling.

I smiled gratefully at Dean. He had successfully diverted the attention away from me. He nodded slightly back.

"Alright," Dean motioned for Kelly to move. "We gotta hit the road."

"Already?" Kelly twisted to look back at him. He leaned forward and kissed her.

"Come on," Sam grabbed my hand and motioned for me to follow him. He led me out the back door. He stopped once we were at the side of the house. "You looked surprised back there."

"Yeah, I didn't...I didn't realize I'm apparently a bit narcoleptic." I wasn't sure if I should have been worried about that. The alarming part was that I never noticed.

"You're not narcoleptic. It's likely that your body just needed sleep and took it when it could. If you stopped avoiding sleep, it wouldn't happen."

I made a face before I could stop myself. Sleep meant dreaming. My dreams were either nightmares or of Lucifer.

"Sam!" I heard Dean's voice from the front of the house. "Come on!"

"Hold on!" Sam shouted back. I snorted at the annoyed look on his face. "I have to go, but I want you to call me, okay?"

"Sure," I said. That seemed like an easy request. "Just be careful."

His hand reached up and cupped my cheek. He leaned down and his lips met mine. His mouth was warm and eager, hinting at a hunger that I had felt in the motel. I wrapped an arm around his neck, trying to lift myself up closer to him. He pushed me back against the side of the house. It was so easy to kiss him and forget everything else. He drove anything but him out of my mind.

He pulled back slowly. His eyes were dark and he kissed me again and again. I smiled against his lips. He rested his forehead against mine. I closed my eyes, letting myself relax in his arms. He was hiding me from the world like this.

"Make sure you keep your phone on you, okay?" His voice was soft.

"I will." I smiled slightly at him. "Think I learned that lesson."

"Sammy!" Dean called out again.

Sam sighed and stepped back. We walked to the front of the house. Kelly was standing by the car with Dean. The two of them kissed again before Dean got into the car. Sam kissed me quickly.

"I'll call you," he said before he opened the car door. Kelly moved to stand next to me. We waved while the boys drove off.

"Let's go inside," I said. "I'm starving."

It was almost dark when I got back from running. I stretched as I watched the sunset. Having Kelly at home was strange. It felt like she was keeping an eye on me. After they had told me about my sleeping, I wasn't entirely sure I didn't need it. It dragged me into a bigger awareness of myself that was a little scary. I knew I had...problems, but it seemed that they kept growing.

It didn't help that I still wasn't sleeping much. Despite the increased workouts, the nightmares hadn't stopped. The only person who knew was Kelly and likely Jane. That was only because we still slept in the same room when the brothers weren't there, and because Jane knew everything. I didn't know how to fix it, or if I could be fixed.

"Mish?" Kelly's voice rang out from the living room as I walked in the door.

"Yeah?" I kicked off my shoes and went looking for her. "What's…" Sitting on the couch in the living room with Kelly was a man that looked vaguely familiar and a Black woman I didn't recognize. I stopped in the doorway. Jane was standing near the entrance to the kitchen. That gave me a little bit of comfort.

"There she is! Lucy's very own gatekeeper! Come on kitten, sit down," the man called out. He motioned ahead of him and an armchair appeared out of nowhere.

"I'll stand, thanks." I wanted space to run if I had to.

"Sit." The next thing I knew, I was sitting on the chair he had conjured. I gripped the arms. The motion had left me slightly queasy.

"Who are you?" I asked, looking between him and the strange woman. The others didn't look too concerned.

"Name's Gabriel," the man said. The name did not ring a bell at all. "Hello…" he drawled, "trickster?" he motioned to his face.

"Oh. Oh! Really?"

He looked over at the woman next to him. "Should I be offended at that?"

"No," the woman said. "I apologize for him. I'm Hermione Granger. I understand that you're Michelle?"

"What?" I looked her over. She looked around our age and had her hair pulled back out of her face. "Really?" She nodded. I looked over at Kelly. "Okay, I know not the time or place but that is so cool!" Hermione smiled at my excitement. Hermione was one of my favourite characters in the series.

"Hold on, she gets the excitement? Where was that with me?"

"Does it really matter? Weren't you the one who said we're on a time limit?" Hermione asked. He made a face back at her before he looked back between Kelly and me.

"Alright, listen up. This setup you got going on, it's working. Only thing is, you're losing vessels."

"We know. We've identified enough bodies," Kelly said.

"Have you noticed the headaches that go along with them? Those migraines are your cue you've lost a vessel." We stared at him blankly. "Let me guess, you blamed it on stress? Sleep deprivation? Hangovers? Dealing with the Winchesters?" He rolled his eyes. "So while those two yahoos knocked Cas out of commission, I'm going to help."

"You? You're going to help us?" He shot me a dark look and I regretted saying anything.

"I'm leaving Miss Granger in your care and two, I have the location of one of your lost vessels." He twisted his wrist and a paper appeared in his hand. He dropped it on the table in front of them.

"Why a location? Can't you bring them?" Kelly asked. She had a good point.

"I have a party to crash and your two knuckleheads to save."

"What?"

He ignored Kelly. "You two need to strike out on your own! Be the women you are or whatever. Go take care of it." He got up and looked like he was brushing himself off. "Always a pleasure, darling," he took Hermione's hand and kissed it.

"I'm sure," she drawled. "Don't die."

"Me? Never."

"Wait! What have they gotten into now that they need an archangel to save them?" Kelly asked as she stood up.

He ignored her again and walked towards the hallway. "Oh!" he turned back to us. "By the way, you two, start taking care of yourselves. This whole not sleeping, woe is me routine, getting old." He snapped his fingers and was gone. The chair I was on disappeared from under me and I fell to the floor.

"Ow!" I got up and glared at where he vanished. It was the unexpected drop that surprised me more than any actual pain.

"Answer the damn phone!" I looked up to see Kelly yelling at the phone. I assumed she was trying to call Dean. She made a noise of frustration before she hung up.

"It'll be okay," I said as I stood up. I brushed myself off and ignored the glare she sent me. The boys were always generally okay and could handle themselves. It was the rest of what he said that was a little more concerning. "What are we going to do about that?" I pointed at the paper that was still on the table. She turned and looked at it.

"If I may," Hermione cut in. "Gabriel has said that time is of the essence. We all seem to produce an energy that he has claimed can be...sensed by the creatures of this world. That is how he found me. How we are all found, I believe. It would be best if you retrieve this person before someone, or something, else finds them."

My eyes met Kelly's. She had a point. Castiel had said before that there was a trace of something that clung to us. That was what the demon sensed when I met her. I wondered how long it took to fade.

"Then we go," Kelly said. "We'll find whoever it is, bring them back and then...deal with whatever else happens." She looked like she felt a little better with a plan. Her grip was still tight on the phone though. "You know Jane. She can introduce you to everyone else. We gotta figure out where this is and get ready."

"What?" I waited until she turned to me to continue. "You sure that's a good idea?"

Her lips pressed together and she nodded. "We'll have to. If Cas is out of commission, then there's no one else." I could think of plenty of other people that were able to get them, but the ones I knew personally were limited. Besides, who would recognize them?

"What about the house? Who's in charge here?"

"Jane," she said, looking at me like I was stupid. If I was honest, the idea of leaving, searching for someone we didn't even know, scared the hell out of me. There was too much out there. "We can call Giles. Get him to come help." She looked down at Hermione. "You'll like Giles. He's good people."

The last time we saw Giles I had asked him if he would research a way to get rid of an angel, as well as more ways of protection. If he came, I'd be able to find out if he knew anything. Thinking of Giles gave me an idea.

"Yeah, let's do that." She looked at me surprised before she nodded.

"I'll grab our stuff. Who knows how long this will take."

I waited until Kelly headed upstairs to put together a bag before I faced Hermione. "I know we just met, but I have a favour to ask." She raised her eyebrows but nodded for me to continue. "I asked Giles to do some research for me, looking into more ways we can protect ourselves from the things here, and ways to deal with an angel. Would you be willing to help him? Maybe just look over anything he finds. I'd rather have multiple viewpoints on this in case we miss something."

"Certainly," she said. "I would love to get my hands on some books that could tell me more of this place." She smiled widely.

"Great." I nodded and went to leave before I stopped myself. "Oh! You'll meet everyone, but don't go into the basement. The vampires sleep there."

"Vampires?" She stood up in alarm.

"Yeah. Eric and Spike. Don't worry, they're under orders not to eat anyone here. Just don't bother them, they won't bother you."

"That is not reassuring."

I glanced back at her. "I'm surprised they're not up yet. It'll be fine. Don't worry."

We called Giles before we left. Well, Kelly did. I was trying to ignore the anxiousness building in my chest while I checked to make sure we had the weapons the boys left us. And checked it again. We had the guns and machetes. I was taking most of the bag, outside of the salt we kept stocked in the house. Remy had his staff and Jane and Eric were both weapons themselves. The others would be fine.

"And where are you off to?"

I looked up as Eric appeared next to me. I was already stressed enough that the suddenness of his appearance didn't startle me too much. "There's another vessel. We're off to find them."

Something in his eyes sharpened. "Alone?"

"I guess? There's no one else, least no one who would know it's a vessel."

"Hmm…" He looked away before his gaze settled back on me. "Streets can be dangerous at this hour. Not exactly safe."

"I don't plan on stopping," I said. "And anything that tries something is just going to piss me off."

He grinned at that. "Indeed." He looked over at Kelly who was still on the phone. "The Cajun is collecting for you. Don't die."

"I don't plan to." He took off in an instant. I made a face, confused at the whole exchange. Eric and I didn't speak too much, outside of playing cards.

"Come on. We're going to Kansas," Kelly said as she hung up and headed for the passenger seat.

I closed the back door of the car. "Kansas?"

"Yeah, that's where Bobby says the location is."

"Are we picking up Superman?" I asked. Kelly looked at me. It could be possible. "Nevermind," I muttered.

"Now hold on, cheres!" I turned to see Remy running towards us from the house. "They tell me you both are running off on your own. Trying to break Remy's heart?"

I couldn't stop my smile. "We have to go pick someone up."

"I know," he said. "Here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a large wad of cash.

"Woah!"

"Take it, cher. We got you covered. Get yourselves somewhere nice, you hear? Ain't no trip this late going to end up with you back in the morning." He made a good point. I nodded and took the cash.

"Thank you."

He nodded in turn and opened the car door for me. "You be safe out there."

"We will!" Kelly called out as she got in the car. Remy nodded and closed the door once I got in. I handed the cash to Kelly.

"Here."

"Wow," she flickered through it. "Where do they think we're going?"

"No idea, but least we're funded?" I turned on the car and started driving. "No need to worry about that front."

"Let's just hope the rest of this is that easy," Kelly said. She reached over to fiddle with the radio.

"Sure," I said lightly, "what could go wrong?" I could think of every single thing that could go wrong.

"You just jinxed us."

"I did not just jinx us!" I stopped at the end of the drive. "Which way?"

"Uh...hold on." Kelly pulled out a map and started looking over it. I tried not to groan.

"You're a terrible direction giver."

"I'm the only one you got. Turn left," she pointed, "then take the right at the first major intersection."

I followed her directions. It felt weird to drive and know we weren't headed to Bobby's. I was trying not to think about it. I had to get a hold of myself. I didn't want to panic and end up crashing the car or something. Kelly would never forgive me. "So, trickster's an archangel?"

"Um, yeah, I mean, I think so. Makes sense I guess, considering all the things he can do." I only remembered bits of episodes with the trickster. Mainly, the boys fighting and Dean dying. "Maybe he can help though."

I glanced over at her. "You think he will?"

"Well, he sent us after a vessel."

"Yeah, when he could just pop over and grab them himself," I grumbled.

"You seriously need to get out more," Kelly said. "I thought the bar would help."

"The bar was in town and we had the Winchesters plus Eric, Remy and Spike. This...we're heading out on our own, Kels. Doesn't that scare you?" My hands tightened on the wheel. It felt like something was waiting for us, waiting until we were far enough from the others to strike. I was being paranoid.

"I'm terrified," she said softly. "But we can't leave them out there, right?"

I sighed. "No. We can't."

[tbc]