I'm back and baby are you guys in for a trip. I think this one's worth the wait, people. Also, reviews fill my soul and fuel my muse. The fact of the matter is, a good friend started reading this and it reignited my passion for the story so if you want to thank someone it should be him. I don't know if he'll even get this far but still...

Okay, enough of that. Enjoy it ladies and gents. I know I did.

Ch. 20

3 Months Later

"Allison! Stop screwing around. You've got a table, party of three."

Ally smiled at her boss, Jeff, and stowed her phone in her back pocket. She'd been working at the grill for almost a month now and, no matter how much she pissed her boss off, she knew he would never fire her. He'd had a soft spot for her ever since they'd met. Erica, his sister, and co-owner swore that it was because she reminded him of his daughter who'd moved to California to start her acting career.

"The old coot misses her," Erica shrugged and smiled fondly. "But don't think that if I catch you slacking off, I won't write you up."

Ally was sure that Erica felt the same way Jeff did so the threat landed like a feather. The two fifty-year-old siblings had become her de facto parents ever since she'd moved to Leiper's Fork. It was a teeny tiny town outside of Nashville, Tennessee. There couldn't have been more than 700 people in the whole town, well, village really. Town felt like too big a place to describe Leiper's.

Anyway, ever since Ally had dropped out of college and moved down to that teeny tiny little village, Jeff and Erica had taken her in, given her a job, and made sure she stayed out of trouble. They made sure to warn her off the local men,

"Everyone knows everyone here, darlin'. You don't shit where you eat."

So she made sure to hook up with the people who were only stopping by. Working at one of the only restaurants around provided her with more than enough out-of-towners to choose from. One, in particular, had caught her interest in more than just the usual capacity. One night had turned to two, then three, then four. He'd been there almost as long as she had by then and she sometimes wondered if his stay had been extended because of her.

It was almost too much at times. His affection was smothering, and the easy devotion he sometimes hinted at made her squirm. She wasn't looking for a boyfriend, she was looking for sex. She didn't think that Tom was ready for just sex. He wanted more.

Allison shrugged as she picked up three menus and headed over to her table for three. She'd wean him off gently. Before he knew it, she'd have him out the door and he wouldn't have even seen it coming.

It was a shame, really. He was cute.

As if he'd known she was thinking about him, Tom walked into the restaurant and shot her a mischievous smirk that warmed her belly. Her heart fluttered and she cocked her head, smiling back.

She could always 'break up' with him tomorrow.

"Hey," He smirked and ruffled his hair with one hand.

She smiled back, "Hey."

"You busy?" He glanced down at the menus in my hand and Jeff cleared his throat behind her.

"Aren't I always?" She walked away as Tom took a seat at the bar and waited until she was done handing the group their menus and taking drink orders. When she got back, Tom was nursing a vodka club and chatting easily with the bartender Laura.

"He always this chatty?" Laura quipped while she ran a rag over the polished wood.

"Unfortunately." She ran the back of her fingers over his stubbled cheek and he smiled widely.

Ally waited on her last table of the night while enduring the looks and longing glances Tom shot her from the bar. When her shift was over Tom downed the rest of his drink and met her outside the restaurant. He pulled her into his arms for a brief and hungry kiss that warmed her from the tips of her toes to the flushed skin on her neck.

"Wow, somebody missed me," She grinned against his lips and he chuckled.

"Don't flatter yourself," He teased. "There's nothing else to do in this godforsaken town."

She cocked an eyebrow at him knowing better than to take offense, "If it's so godforsaken then why haven't you left?"

"Jeez," He mocked and held her closer, "There's this infuriating little blonde that I just can't shake loose."

"Oh really? You should introduce me sometime."

"I don't know. She's kind of a bitch. But she's really hot and funny, so I ignore it."

"Sounds like my type of gal."

Tom smiled at her like his heart was three times too big.

"Wanna go fool around at the park?"

Ally shook her head and giggled, "You're twelve years old."

Tom's smile softened infinitesimally and Ally swallowed.

"You know you love me," Tom insisted and Ally kissed him so that he would stop saying stupid things that made her regret ever getting involved with him. She really was going to have to kick him to the curb, wasn't she?

Ally, again, lamented what a shame that would be. Tom was cute, sweet, funny, and devoted. Everything that a girl could ever want and yet Ally was so so so not interested. Ever since she'd essentially run away from home, the idea of sticking with someone in any kind of permanent way made her skin crawl. The urge to run and keep running had only been minimally quashed by her lack of funds to move anywhere else than where she was now.

She liked working at the grill and having sex with Tom. She liked Jeff and Erica and their pseudo parental concern. But Ally knew that the time to move on was coming fast and couldn't help but feel relieved. Something was calling her and Ally knew that the restlessness she felt wouldn't disappear until she found it.

"Let's get out of here, you clown." Ally rolled her eyes and let Tom hold her hand as they walked to his car. It wouldn't hurt to indulge him for just a little bit longer. Well, it wouldn't hurt her.

Castiel was back and juiced up. Unbeknownst to the Winchesters, he'd been held captive and escaped and held captive again and again by a variety of militant guerrilla angel factions before finally fleeing for the final time by stealing and eating one of his captors' grace.

When he returned to the bunker, it was empty.

That usually wasn't an issue. The Winchesters were almost continually hunting so to have it empty wasn't so shocking except that there was a fine layer of dust starting to accumulate on every exposed surface. The air was stale which hinted that their absence had been much longer than what was typical.

Castiel stood silently and stared at the empty room for a moment before taking a deep breath, opening his wings, and landing just outside a dive bar in Kentucky. One cursory glance around the parking lot and a breath later, he pushed through the doors and made his way towards a stained bar top littered with beaten down drunks. Lined faces and drooping shoulders occupied every other corner of the bar, but there was only one set of drooping shoulders that mattered to him.

"Dean," Cas muttered.

Dean Winchester stiffened and turned in his seat with surprise and relief.

"Cas, holy crap. Where have you been, man?"

"It's a long story."

A bitter laugh and a sad almost smile, "I got time. All the time in the world." An empty glass struck the bar and the man behind it quickly filled it too the brim.

"Where is Sam…" Castiel looked around the room again, "And Avery, they aren't with you?"

"Avery?" Dean frowned and lingered on the name as if he'd forgotten what it felt like to say it. "Avery, Avery is gone."

"Gone?"

"Gone. Sam's somewhere in Tennessee, I think. I haven't spoken to him in weeks."

"Dean, what happened?" Cas asked.

"Slater happened. He came, killed Kevin—"

"Kevin's dead!"

Dean flinched so violently that whiskey spilled over the sides of his glass and onto his hand. He rubbed his eyes hard with his thumb and forefinger before looking back at Cas.

"He took her. He killed him and took her and it's my fault. Sam can't even look at me after what I did. I tried finding her, but it's like she fell off the face of the earth. I don't know if she's even alive, Cas." He said this all in one breath and when he finished, seemed almost winded.

Cas lowered himself on the stool next to Dean slowly. He couldn't believe what had happened.

"We have to get Sam and go looking for her," He insisted.

Dean's lips thinned, "I tried Cas. She's gone. And Sam doesn't want anything to do with me anyway." He finished his drink and tried to stand but crashed into the bar top when his feet hit the ground. Cas scrambled out of his seat to help Dean from collapsing completely.

"I'm fine!" Dean snapped and shoved Cas away. His unrolled sleeve rode up exposing the angry brand on the inside of his forearm. Cas yanked Dean's hand towards him despite Dean's protests and stared at The Mark.

"Dean….what have you done?" Cas's voice shook and his hand tightened almost painfully around Dean's wrist.

"What have you done!" Cas yelled.

"Get off of me," Dean hissed and stumbled back drunkly.

"Damn it, Dean!"

"It's a means to an end, Cas. Last I checked, you're pretty familiar with those!" He snapped.

Cas stared at Dean and Dean stared back before sighing and rubbing his eyes again.

"Cas, man. I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"Forget it. We have to go find your brother and rescue the vessel."

Dean gaped at him, "How?"

The shadow of Castiel's damaged wings unfurled and the lights in the bar flickered, "This is how."

Ally listened to Tom's even breathing next to her as she stared up at the ceiling of his apartment. His naked body was pressed against her back and his arm was loosely draped over her waist. She didn't like staying over after they fucked but whenever she left he got this sad, wistful disappointed look that reminded her how shitty it was to ditch someone after sex. Especially when they'd been having sex for almost two months.

In an hour the sun would come up, and she'd be able to use the excuse of wanting to go home to shower and change before she helped Jeff pick up supplies for the grill. She wagered that she'd be able to catch a few hours of sleep before then.

Today after work she'd give her two weeks notice and after that, she'd board the greyhound that would take her to California. She'd bought the ticket two days ago and, honestly, the date of her departure couldn't come soon enough. It was finally time to move on.

Tom shifted behind her and Ally sighed when the tempo of his breath started to change. He was waking up. Warm lips touched her shoulder gently and she could feel them pull up in a smile.

"Morning,"

"Hey," She offered quietly and turned to face him. He pulled her closer and she smirked at him.

"Well, good morning to you too…"

"We could always make it a better morning."

Ally dragged her nails against his chest lightly and Tom's breath caught in his throat. "Not if I want to help Jeff today."

She jumped out of bed gracefully and Tom groaned, "You bitch."

She blew him a kiss and started pulling her clothes on, "Have you seen my—"

Tom held up her panties playfully and, when she went to grab them, pulled away.

"You bitch," Ally huffed before pulling on her pants in defiance. She was ready to go in under two minutes flat, Thomas watching her all the while.

"I'll see you after work?"

"Can't, I'm going out with Laura," She explained.

"Shame," He shrugged, "kiss me."

Ally climbed onto the bed and then his lap before twinning her fingers in his hair roughly. She kissed him with all of the hunger he desired and then left reveling in the fact that he wouldn't be able to think straight for at least the next two hours because of her.

The walk home to her apartment wasn't long, but the winter chill made her walk all the more quickly. Leiper's Fork was completed abandoned at that time of day. The silence was almost deafening so to hear the rumbling growl of a car pull up on the other side of town was unsettling, to say the least. She never got a chance to see the offending vehicle but knew that if the visitor were staying any longer then just passing through the town, she would meet him at the grill later in the day.

After bathing, changing, and feeding her cat Jim, she trekked over to the liquor store to meet Jeff who was already loading kegs of beer into his Ford pickup.

"It's about damn time," He grumbled. "Get the vodka if you please."

"Aye, aye captain," She saluted and waltzed over to the back. Stephen Raime, the proprietor of the only liquor vending establishment in all of Leiper's, liked to have his bulk customers pick up their purchases before the steady stream of deadbeats and alcoholics came to pick up their poison of the week. The ex-Mormon could handle the day to day sale of moderate alcohol purchases, but the profoundly ingrained shame of liquor was enough to have him sell the more indecent amounts in the wee hours of the morning, so no one needed to lay eyes on his impropriety.

"Hiya, Steve," Ally chirped and picked up the box of Tito's.

Stephen grunted at her and checked a box off his inventory. For whatever reason, the occupants of Leiper's were either perpetual grumps wasting away in bum fuck nowhere or young runaways, like herself, looking for a place to hide until greener pastures presented themselves. Ally wagered that enough of the runaways ended up never finding the opportunity and thus became the aforementioned grumps. In any case, Ally was among friends.

The Ford was packed up in under an hour and, when they arrived at the grill, the unloading was finished in half the time. Jeff sent her away with the expectation of her return hours later for her shift and Ally wandered to the park to read and kill time. Ally was in a constant state of almost finishing The Screwtape Letters, and she was determined to try and finish it before she left Leiper's. Her favorite place to tackle the Sisyphean feat was on the only swing left in the park. The other three had been ripped down, the empty chains swinging lazily in the breeze.

Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one-the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts…

"Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape…" Ally muttered and smiled.

"Excellent choice."

Ally started and looked up at her new companion. A very slight brunette girl with brilliant, almost alarmingly so, green eyes cocked her head.

"Uh yeah, I like it," Ally offered.

"Abolition of Man is my favorite," The girl continued, "You can't go on 'seeing through' things forever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. To 'see through' all things is the same as not to see."

"Right."

The girl smiled and held out her hand, "Name's Sadie."

Ally shook her hand, "Ally. I don't think I've seen you around here before."

"Yeah, I just got in. I'm actually looking for someone."

"Oh?" Ally frowned. It wasn't uncommon to have people show up on Leiper's doorstep looking for a missing loved one or a missing not-so-loved one. "I'm pretty familiar with the people around here. Maybe I can help?"

She laughed, "Probably, but I think I'll manage on my own."

Ally frowned again, "Have we met before?"

Sadie took a step forward, kissed her on the cheek, and then leapt back quickly, "In another life maybe, but not this one. See ya!"

Sadie turned and walked away before Ally could so much as absorb what had just happened. The place that Sadie's lips had touched her face tingled with warmth, and she pressed her cold fingers to her skin in disbelief.

"What the fuck?"

Thomas was flitting from lacunae to lacunae he'd created filled with magical warding that made the spherical forcefield essentially cutting Leiper's Fork off from the rest of the world. The only things that could get into the town where things he allowed through. Every day he checked them to make sure they weren't damaged and that the protections remained. Nothing had even attempted to breach the defenses in almost three months, so it was a nasty shock when he found the lacunae nearest Avery's apartment destroyed. He could sense that Avery wasn't home, so he decided to investigate.

If Avery, or Ally rather, knew he could come and go from her apartment as he pleased, she would be less than happy. But, what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. In fact, there was a lot of things that if she did know would absolutely hurt her.

Her room seemed undisturbed by anything or anyone that wasn't Avery. For whatever reason, this iteration seemed to be unapologetically messy. Weeks of dirty laundry were piled around, her bed was unmade, and a small army of empty mugs and cups seemed to be accumulating on any available surface. Her bathroom was as equally messy. When he finally got to her kitchen/living room, he found something, or rather someone, that absolutely, completely, and utterly didn't belong.

"What are you doing here, Sadie?"

Sadie closed the distance between them and straightened Slater's collar, "Tom. Tom Tom Tom. You didn't think I'd let this slide, hmm?"

He pushed her hands away, "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?"

"This is pretty rapey, even for you," She continued.

Tom sneered, "I didn't give her memories of loving me. She did that all by herself."

Sadie laughed, "That's cute. You think she loves you."

Tom didn't need this. He didn't need to listen to her try and break down everything he knew to be true. Avery loved him. The way she looked at him when he walked into the room. Fuck, even the way they had sex proved how much she loved him. Before it was good but fast and impersonal. Now, now it was slow and soft and sweet. She kissed his jaw and held him like it hurt to let go.

"You don't know anything," He spat.

Sadie rolled her eyes, "I spoke to Him."

"…What?" Tom paled. "That's not— He hasn't since…"

Sadie bent to stroke the cat that had leapt off its perch and started rubbing up next to her leg, "He's got plans for her so don't be surprised when she leaves."

"No," Tom growled, "I did this with Death's help. He's in bigger cahoots with Him then you'll ever be. So don't tell me that this his plan because it can't be!"

Sadie stood, "That's silly, and you know it. You don't think God might've given Death the okay? You know how He is. He does whatever the fuck he wants whenever the fuck he wants."

Tom glared, "Get out of here and don't come back. We've got a good life here." Tom's brows pulled up, "Please," He begged, "she… we love each other. We always have, and it's been so long… we haven't been able to… please."

Sadie looked sad for the first time since she'd arrived, "I'm sorry Tom. I really am… the Winchesters are here."

Tom cursed.

"How! How are they here? I hid her. I—" Tom's face went slack. "You brought them here, you bitch."

Sadie smirked, "They brought themselves, but you know I didn't stop them from coming."

"Fuck!"

Sadie smirked again, "Fuck is right."

Tom rubbed his eyes and started pacing. If God were manipulating events, there would be little he could do to stop him. But, that wouldn't keep Tom from trying. He would have to get her to leave Leiper's Fork. He didn't know how but he'd convince her, one way or another, to come with him.

"She won't leave with you."

Tom glared at her and pushed Sadie out of his head, "You don't know that."

"Why not? I was friends with her first. I know her better than you do."

"You say that, but I dated her for hundreds of years. And where were you? Off gallivanting with vampires," Tom clenched his fists, "She. Loves. Me." He insisted.

"The Winchesters are here" Sadie repeated, "When they find her they sure as hell aren't going to just let her leave, especially not with you."

"They can't keep her safe."

Sadie frowned, "And you can?"

"How can you be sure she's here, Cas?" Sam asked as they made another loop around the town.

"Vessels have a specific celestial frequency, a loud one. It's actually a miracle no one else has descended upon their location yet. By my count," Cas closed his eyes and breathed through his nose, "there are three here."

"Three?" Dean repeated, "There's more than just Slater and Avery?"

"There are only ever three in existence," Cas nodded. "For them to all be in one place and one time is very unusual."

Sam exhaled, "Three, huh? Kind of like the Holy Trinity."

"Exactly like the Trinity," Cas said.

"So we know Avery's one," Dean started ticking off fingers, "and Slater is one. Who's the third?"

"I don't know," Cas admitted. "And I'm afraid I won't be able to stay and find out."

Sam and Dean turned to look at Cas in dismay.

"But, you just got back," Dean said.

"I have responsibilities, Dean," Cas sighed. "It's my fault that heaven is in ruins. It was my grace Metatron used to cast the angels out. I have to find him and make things right. My brethren are counting on me."

"We understand," Sam smiled sadly. "Don't be a stranger, Cas."

"Do you need help finding a ride?" Dean asked him, but Cas shook his head.

"I learned many things while I was human. I think I'll be able to handle it on my own. Stay safe."

Cas walked away back towards the main road and Sam and Dean watched him go for a moment before heading back to the inn they'd checked into early that morning.

"We should probably start making rounds, see if anyone's heard of Avery," Dean tried and Sam refused to meet his brother's gaze.

"I don't know if we wanna tip off Slater that we're here. He might have eyes and ears all over town."

"You have a better plan?" Dean scowled.

Sam pursed his lips with annoyance, "This is a small town and it's a Friday. I bet if we wait till it's dark out, everyone will be heading to wherever's most popular to grab a drink. The likelihood that a twenty-something single female will be out drinking with her friends is pretty high. Until then we should lay low and plan for contingencies. That plan good enough for you?"

Dean clenched his jaw and shook his head, "Good to see you again too, brother."

"Oh please," Sam rolled his eyes.

"Did you think that maybe picking up the phone and letting me know if you were okay might have been a good idea? I've heard what you've been up to. Looking for the blade without me makes a whole lot of sense, right Sammy?"

"I'm sorry if I needed time away from you, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop moving forward. Like Cas said, we've got responsibilities. I'm not gonna forget about them because of the shit you've pulled. That doesn't mean I want to still hunt with you." Sam yanked the door of their room open and tossed the keys on his bed before rifling through his duffel bag.

"This crap's dangerous. You should have had backup." Dean insisted before unscrewing a flask and taking a deep drink.

"We're big boys now, Dean. I think we can both handle ourselves," Sam looked up from his bag to stare at his pacing brother, "and if you really can't sit still until tonight, go and take a lap around town. I can't think with you fidgeting all day."

Dean's face fell infinitesimally and only the slightest hint of pain flickered across his eyes, "Yeah, I think I'll do that." He took the keys and his flask with him. Dean was just so exhausted. Dean hadn't felt this tired in such a long time. He didn't have Cas, he didn't have Sam, he didn't have Kevin, and even though he hated to admit it, and even though he knew that she was within a mile radius of him, he didn't have Avery.

This kind of loneliness took a toll. A price that sapped the energy away from him. What was the point of all this crap if he didn't have family?

And with that lovely thought, he wandered around Leiper's Fork with a quickly emptying flask of whiskey.

He didn't know what he was going to say to her or how she would react when they found her. Would she be pleased? Would she fall over herself at having been found ready to leave with them? Or would she be reluctant? Would she want to stay with the man who knew her better than any of them did and probably ever could? What if he found her and she told him to leave and let her live her life?

And worse, the one question Dean couldn't help but agonize over despite his bis efforts not to, what if she could have found her way back to them but never even tried? Even with the death of Kevin, what if she decided that her allegiance lay not with them, but with Slater?

He was half expecting this last possibility, his greatest fear, to come true. And if it was true, would she hate them all the more, would she hate him, when he killed Slater?

He hadn't told Cas and he hadn't told Sam, although he doubted his brother would object, that he planned to kill Slater the second he laid eyes on him. Killing Kevin was the straw that broke the camel's back. Slater was beyond redemption or forgiveness, and he would kill him if it was the last thing he did.

The last drop of whiskey hit his tongue and Dean sighed. All good things came to an end, one way or another. At least running out of booze was on the less violent side of the spectrum. Dean was usually never so lucky.

Dean acknowledged his surroundings for the first time since he'd left the inn and realized he was in an old park. The same park, although he didn't know this, that Avery had occupied moments earlier. He sat on the same swing she'd sat in and waited. Waited until the sun started to sink in the sky. Waited until the last of the buzz he'd managed to build up left him completely.

When he finally stood again his muscles were stiff with cold and the emptiness he felt ever present in his chest. The walk back to the inn was much shorter than the walk that took him away earlier in the day.

Sam was clicking away at his computer, no doubt sifting through the scanned pages of Men of Letters research that might help him lock onto the First Blade's location. Crowley had dragged the entire Atlantic and Pacific oceans in search of the weapon with no luck. Wherever Cain had left the blade no longer protected the weapon. Someone had found it before they had. The only problem now was to find out who.

"Any luck?" Dean asked and Sam tore his gaze away from the monitor for a second before turning back.

"Maybe…"

Maybe. That was better than nothing. That was much better than nothing. After so much nothing for so long, Dean would take maybe in a heartbeat.

"Really? What?" Dean couldn't subdue his excitement.

"Well according to Crowley, the last known person to have the blade was a member of the Men of Letters. I checked through all of the records but every active member before Abbadon burned the place to the ground, is dead." Sam told him.

"How's that any help? If the guy we're looking for is dead, then we might never find it!" Dean huffed.

Sam rolled his eyes, "I wasn't done. Every active member is dead, but, there was one member who got thrown out for, and these are leadership's words, "eccentric" and "irresponsible" experiments. He was master of spells and was responsible for most of the warding that keeps the bunker safe."

"And you think this might be our guy?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged, "Like I said, maybe."

"How do we find him?"

Sam sighed and leaned back in his chair, "Crowley got us this far. He might have some mojo or a spell that could get us the rest of the way there."

Dean nodded, "This is good. Great, even. Nice job, Sammy."

Sam paused before nodding back reluctantly. To be honest, he wasn't thrilled with Dean's choice to take The Mark or go after The Blade. From the research he was able to do, both things were bad news and Dean like he always had, jumped head first into it. If Sam had voiced his concern, he knew his brother would bite back with, "What do you care?"

Dean was still Sam's brother, and although he had only teamed back up with him under the stipulation that this was 'just work,' and the rather biting remark that he wasn't ready to be brothers yet, it was true. But he couldn't say that. Dean had a lesson to learn. He couldn't keep using 'family' to fix his mistakes or justify them. So, for now, at least, Sam would hold his tongue.

"You ready to go?" Sam asked.

"I've been ready all day, Sammy."

Sam stood and shrugged on his jacket, "Don't call me that."

P/N Yikes. I'd forgotten how painful this fight between Sam and Dean was. Also, EEEK! Avey and Dean are so close and yet soo far away. But, Dean doesn't know how far away she really is...

We're getting close people. Davery is on its way so be patient. I've already written a scene that will make you guys go bananas when you read it. In fact, this time around, instead of a sneak peek of the next chapter, everyone who reviews will get to read that scene before it gets put into the story. How fun is that?

As always,

Love,

Lucy