Author's Note: I wanted to give a huge shout out to 'ncsupnatfan' for providing me with great advice and is now a beta reader of mine when I'm feeling stuck. I dedicate this chapter to you! And thank you for the continued support on this story to everyone!

Please enjoy and reviews are welcome as it helps to know if I am doing something right or wrong.

Chapter Four

Ruby Tuesday

Riding back to the bunker Castiel and Rowena sat next to an unconscious Courtney while Sam drove with Eileen by his side in shotgun. The drive was a bit quiet after a discussion took place where they decided to put Courtney within a demon sigil after Castiel told them it was Ruby who had been taking over her vessel.

"The poor Lasse still has Ruby inside roaming around. The spell I used will only keep the demon at bay. Either it or Courtney will wake up first. I suspect it should be the girl, as I put Ruby into a deep cavernous part of Courtney's mind." Her voice full of concern, Rowena thought back on when she trained Ruby in the past. How dare the demon use her own magic in such a retaliating approach against her. It made Rowena's blood boil.

"Good," Sam felt relieved. "Will we be able to talk with Ruby before casting her out?"

"I can do that for you Samuel," Rowena is always pleased to help her friend in any way she can. "The hard part will be to separate the bond Ruby has on Courtney. It has been fatal for one soul in the past. However, I believe in my own craft. I'll try my best not to harm the girl."

Castiel fretted over what Rowena said, so did Sam and Eileen, however they trusted the witch and hoped the extraction in the future will go as planned.

Sam interlocked his hand with Eileen's reminding her that he did his job greatly and turned up safe. It was a good plan from the beginning. The battle had been won. The war with getting Ruby out of Courtney's body will be the final step.

Eileen grinned up at Sam from ear to ear. She began to understand why Sam acted the way he did in the past with her. He'd follow to make sure she was always okay on missions she's wanted to take alone. This was a dangerous job. Who knows what Ruby could've done? She'd almost killed Castiel tonight. She gripped Sam's hand, though not too tight. He returned a beaming smile to her.

As far as Castiel went, he couldn't get rid of the fact he'd hit Courtney out of his brain. He replayed the moment of seeing the girl's shocked expression when a darkness left her eyes like a broken record. Human emotion took over him again. He felt, misery. In that minute Ruby was going to stab him with the angel blade something had took a turn. It wasn't Ruby anymore, yet he still struck her out of fear.

Castiel glanced down where Courtney had her head resting untroubled against his arm, her long hair overlapping parts of his shoulder and chest. He could see how peaceful she was, even in the blackness of the car after the sun had gone down. He saw faintly where he'd struck her left eye. A dark pigment of purple had spread the inner corner of her nasal bone and the ridge of her brow.

He wanted to heal Courtney's injury but didn't want to counteract with the spell Rowena had already placed on the girl. He wouldn't ask either. Ruby was still in there doing God only knows what else to Courtney's state of mind.

After arriving back at the bunker Castiel helped Sam by moving a motionless Courtney inside. After making their way down the steel staircase Sam threw Courtney over his shoulder, her head and arms hung low down his backside. Sam carried her to what he called 'The Dungeon Room' and Castiel came in close behind him with a chair and rope.

Castiel flipped the chair upright in the middle on the demon sigil displayed on the floor. He along with Sam propped Courtney up onto the chair and bound her down with the rope.

"That should be good enough to hold Ruby." Sam sounded too self-assured as he wiped his hands together from rope burn.

Rowena stepped in the room from behind the two men. "I'll keep my eyes on the girl. When she awakens, I'll come get you boys."

A part of what made Castiel care stepped forward. "I can wait for her to wake up with you." Castiel insisted, part of him also wanted something to do for the rest of the night as he doesn't sleep.

Rowena scoffed at Castiel flipping a red lock of her hair back. "The girl is tied in a small vacant room that screams murder scene. I don't think she'd be ecstatic waking up to the sight of you. You did pummel her face by the way."

Castiel lost some light in his eyes as embarrassment and guilt took over once again. But he knew Rowena was right. "I'll just wait in the library then if anyone needs me. I'll be there." His lips trembled slightly. He looked at Courtney tied up in the seat. That bruise over her eye he'd left was going to consume his mind for the time being and he turned to take his leave from the room.

It had been a while since Sam had actual sleep time. He went to his room to get a few or several hours in. Eileen joined Rowena in watch over Courtney. It took an entire day for her to warm up to Rowena and found the witch/queen of hell to be a substantial conversationalist and humorous.

Castiel sat alone in the library swarmed in the human emotions of what happened that day and into the morning. Dejected wasn't even a big enough word to describe the feeling. He tried distracting himself from thinking about the girl by reading an encyclopedia and a couple of fiction books. Either he wasn't trying enough, or he was taking this harder than expected.

Before noon Sam had woken up and Eileen had gone to sleep. He trudged into the library with a cup of black coffee Eileen had made earlier in the kitchen. "Anything yet?" Sam took a sip of his coffee after asking Castiel about Courtney.

Castiel brushed a hand through his dark tousled hair with an eye roll as he slouched. It wasn't an aggravated roll. Sam could tell Castiel had been overthinking something for a while.

"Are you okay Cas?" Sam asked placing his cup on the table and sat across from his friend.

Castiel drew out a long sigh. "Yeah," It seemed forceful at first, but Castiel was able to give Sam his attention. "I haven't retrieved any news yet from Rowena and Eileen just went upstairs to get some rest."

"Does hitting Courtney have anything to do with you feeling down right now?" Sam asked guarded, he didn't want to offend.

Some would say is it that obvious? Castiel on the other hand hated to be read that obviously. He squinted at Sam uncertainly. "You should be upset not concerned over my well-being. I harmed your niece, Sam." He wanted to help, not hurt her.

"If she's my niece you mean." Sam still didn't 100 percent know for certain yet. Though she did hold a strong resemblance to the Winchester line.

Castiel tilted his head at Sam puzzled. "She is Sam. Now that I've been around her, I can feel it."

"Samuel!" Rowena's voice echoed from the room.

Both Sam and Castiel stood from their chairs in unison. Only Sam left the library in a sprint. The angel pitter pattered with his finger along the table as he leaned against it not knowing if he should be around Courtney's presence. Castiel didn't think it a good idea.

In the room Courtney was slowly coming to. Something felt strange to her the more the world and realization came back after a long slumber. She yawned and wanted to stretch when she felt her arms and hands couldn't move. Her one eye got wide as she looked down and saw that her wrists are tied to the arm rest of a chair. This is too creepy! Survival instinct kicked in. She yanked with her fists balled up back and forth with the ropes that bond her as she whimpered. Her field of vison betrayed her as she could only see out of one eye and not the other. She regained memory of that man in the trench coat who struck her in the eye.

Shifting her eyesight away from the arm rest she saw that her feet were tied with rope and looked up to see two strangers looking back at her, a man, and a woman she thought was beautiful with long red hair. One was a man she remembered vaguely.

Courtney was on the verge of tears as she analyzed the room, she woke up in. It was almost too dark to her, and the only light shown was from a green ceiling hanging lamp over her. It felt like an interrogation. She looked at the tall man who crouched in front of her. Behind him appeared to be some boxes holding documents up top of cabinets. He didn't have a vicious look about him, nor did his soft features scare her. Though that didn't mean squat about a person. She wanted to scream.

"Where am I? Who are you people?" Courtney tried kicking her legs, but they were bound too tight with rope. "Untie me."

The man surrendered with his arms up. "It's okay. We're not going to hurt or harm you in any way. I'm Sam Winchester and," He hand gestured over to the woman who waved at the girl. Sam continued. "This is Rowena. We're here to help you. I know that you're aware of something that's taken over you?"

Courtney can now feel a small bit of relief roll off from her shoulders as she could now relate to something that was asked. Still, she wasn't going to let her guard down as she is tied up. "Does someone have any explanation on what is happening to me?"

"You have a demon from hell possessing you."

There was a different man's voice that took Courtney by complete surprise. It didn't come from Sam it came from the man at the door beyond him. It was the guy in the trench coat. Courtney heaved heavily as her icy gaze burned through his own striking blue eyes. She held it as she wanted the man to know her anger.

"If I wanted your response, I would've asked you personally." She took her narrowing gaze off the trench coated man as she shook and looked at Sam. "I don't want him in here."

Castiel felt a sting inside him that grew. It was as though he'd been slapped in the face too. Seeing Courtney's squinted purple eye in the shape that it had upset him and sent shivers throughout his senses. Without waiting for Sam's notion that he should leave Castiel had already gone.

"Well," Sam nodded his head toward the doorway. "As Castiel stated it is demon possession."

Courtney didn't care about getting his name, as cool as it had sounded, she wanted nothing to do with him. She could still feel the pain where he struck her, and her vision wasn't up to par as it should because of him. Shaking Castiel or whatever his name was away she snorted at the thought of demons. "Demon possession, are you people for real?"

The girl's snarky reaction reminded Sam of Dean. Sam shrugged and knew that what he was about to explain to her wasn't going to be easy. "How else would everything that's happened to you make sense? I possibly look familiar to you because the demon residing within yourself was following me around. Surely you knew all this time you've not been in full control of yourself. Trust me I know since it's also happened to me too. How do you explain how the receptionist at the motel was flung into the air?"

The last sentence stunned Courtney. "How did you know about that? Is the girl, okay?"

She remembered everything. The girl, whose name she believed was, Cassidy was innocent and at the wrong place at the wrong time. Courtney knew she had nothing to do with the girl's ill fated injury, but it still came from something in her body. Maybe this demon thing was real after all.

"I," Sam started not knowing if he should relay the information or not, he caved. "I hack into camera footages around the world. Be it street cameras, building cameras, you name it. We watched it before finding you. As for the receptionist she was still alive when someone eventually found her."

"What do you do for a living?" The way it sounded to Courtney was weird and illegal. She was back to feeling frightened.

"My brother," Sam choked on 'brother'. He bit his lip and restarted what he wanted to say. "My late brother and I have hunted things our entire lives. Monsters, ghosts, gods, and demons. I know it's hard to understand, but they're real."

This was too unreal, a part of Courtney wanted to believe what she was hearing and another bigger part of her wanted to laugh hysterically. "Assuming these things are real, why me? I'm a basic person just getting by in life like other normal people. Why am I being mixed up in this?"

"There's more to it than you think Courtney." Sam scooted closer. "It's very possible that you're my late brother's daughter. As a Winchester if you happen to be one it makes you a big target for these beings."

"She is a Winchester!" Castiel called down the hallway.

Sam, Rowena, and Courtney glanced at the same time at the doorway. They ignored him.

"On what based evidence?" Courtney scowled turning her attention back on Sam. "And why now?"

"That's just the thing little ducky." Rowena spoke for the first time after minutes of waiting impatiently to get a word in. "We won't know any bit of detail until we talk to the demon that resides inside of you. It's why you are tied up to this chair. We just want to speak with it and then send the creature on its merry way back to hell where it belongs."

Courtney felt there were no other options but to play along with these strangers. "So, you talk to this, thing, that you say resides in me, you get answers, it gets out of me, and I can go back to living my life as though all of this never happened?"

Rowena and Sam glanced at each other, they couldn't tell her the whole truth, at least not yet.

The witch clasped her hands together. "Pretty much how you said it. We get the demon out. Everyone goes back to their everyday lives. Everyone's happy." She lied in a comical way that was obvious to Sam, however Courtney seemed to believe her.

Gullibly Courtney took Rowena's word. "I just have one proposition." She added.

"What's that ducky?" Rowena asked.

Courtney was wishing she'd stop calling her ducky. "I haven't had food for almost a week and I'm starving."

Castiel sensing that Courtney had been hungry made a jump start for the kitchen and produced a thick turkey sandwich for her. Sam, perplexed to see his angel buddy standing over a sandwich when opening the fridge door, Castiel spoke, "I knew she'd be hungry, so I made this for her."

Sam closed the fridge door faster than he'd opened it. "Thanks Cas," Sam picked up the plate. "She'll appreciate this." He grinned. Castiel nodded Sam off nervously.

When Sam came back with the sandwich in a brisk amount of time Courtney knew it wasn't made by him and was told Castiel had made it for her. It was amazing how he knew, she thought. However, it didn't change how she felt about him.

"Aren't you going to take the ropes off of my wrists?" Courtney asked stiffly.

Sam winced in her direction. It was only fair, and he wasn't up for hand feeding an adult. "What is your prominent hand?"

"I'm left-handed."

Sam took out a pocketknife from his tan jacket switching the blade out. He cut the rope away from Courtney's left hand and dropped the plate with the sandwich onto her lap. "Castiel put a lot of effort into that." He pointed out.

What was she supposed to say? 'I forgive the dumb guy for hitting me because his apology was making me a turkey sandwich?' Instead, Courtney didn't say anything back. She only gawked down at the prepped food. She picked her food up and bit into it. Her pleading stomach began to settle after a few more bites. It was put together in the way she loved. The perfect amount of mayonnaise, honey mustard, and lettuce was layered. So was the turkey meat. It felt good getting some protein back into her system.

Sam came back with a bottled water for Courtney. "You might need to hydrate as well."

Courtney took the bottle in an appreciative manner even though she might need to go to the bathroom soon it was less likely he would allow her to go anytime soon. There was no way these people were going to let her go from the bondage. She unraveled to top on the bottle and took a few sips of the water. Courtney studied Sam some more as he leaned between the archway of the door frame.

"You know, if I am a Winchester," Courtney began lowering the bottle from her face. "It doesn't make us family. It doesn't matter who my real father was. I'll always be a Croce and a Heckerling."

Sam sighed in exasperation, but there was a name she just said that stood out. How did he know 'Heckerling'? 'Heckerling' played over in his mind until he thought back to a school he and Dean attended for a short period. He thought of a blonde girl Dean had gone out with, what was her first name though?

"Dean and I knew a girl back in high school. Her last name was Heckerling." It was the first time Sam told Courtney his brother's name. "I think her name was Amanda."

Courtney's eye grew stunned. "That was my birth mother's name. She put me up through an open adoption after I had been born."

"Was?" Sam asked almost vacantly.

"She passed away a few years ago. Before I became a senior in High School."

Courtney had a disconsolate expression that revealed to Sam she didn't want to talk about it anymore. He'd ask more about the subject later.

The sun was beginning to set, and Rowena had been preparing a safe spell to remove Ruby from Courtney's vessel. Eileen had been awake for a few hours helping the witch with anything she could do. She mixed perennial herbs with water in a bowl as it said it helps to allow a body to let go and purify the soul.

Sam and Rowena would go back and forth checking on how Courtney was doing. Castiel had gotten word from angel radio, a message relayed from Jack that ordered him to turn on the news.

Castiel stepped into what was his old room in the bunker, grabbed the television remote from the front of the bed and turned on the TV.

It had become nationwide that there is search for Courtney Croce after footage was recovered from the motel after attacking Cassidy Smith. What used to be a locally missing person now developed into a manhunt.

"SAM!" Castiel called. He left the room to go find him. He found Sam on his laptop in the kitchen. "Sam, you need to see this." He said in a rush.

Shock was all Sam felt when he watched the footage on the news with Castiel. There was a piece of the footage missing that didn't show up. "Feds have got to know now that something superstitious is going on."

Castiel sighed deeply. "I should've gone to the motel the moment we saw the video and destroyed the evidence." He stepped in front of Sam. "This isn't good."

Sam and Castiel went downstairs were they met with a petrified Eileen. "It's time to talk to Ruby." She spoke.

"I don't know how it happened." Rowena stumbled precariously with everyone outside of the dungeon that Courtney is being help captive in. "Ruby just suddenly took over Courtney's mind again. I don't know how far gone she is or if she's conscious."

"What does this mean for the girl?" Castiel asked bothered. Sure, she didn't like him, but his compassion for her remained.

"It depends on if my spells are able to separate both souls." Rowena explained. "I can't have them awake at the same time nor one far away in their own mind. It's too dangerous. Courtney could easily die during the separation or have her own soul taken away entirely."

"I thought you said you could do this?" Castiel felt rage taking over him.

Sam steadied his hand over Castiel's shoulder, patting it calmly. "Hey now, easy, Cas."

"I can," Rowena encouraged and breathed heavy. "It's just, this is going to really hurt the little duck."

Everyone one filed into the dungeon. Sam and Castiel noticed the difference in Courtney's features as Ruby had taken full control of the girl's body again. It was callous, menacing, and seductive all at once.

Ruby watched every move Sam made toward her as she sneered. "Oh Sam," She stared him up and down. "I can say it's truly a pleasure to see you again in the flesh. I'd hoped it would've been under different circumstances." She struggled with the binding rope. "This is somewhat uncomfortable."

Castiel rolled his eyes in irritation and looked up at Sam who had yet to make progress of getting the information they needed. If the Winchester wouldn't make his move soon, he will.

Ruby continued. "Courtney is still awake and can see and hear everything taking place right now. She still doesn't want the man in the trench coat here. Truth be told she kind of wished she had stabbed you Castiel." She nodded at the angel.

Castiel took a step forward until Sam stopped him.

"Why her Ruby?" Sam asked numbly. "How did you even break out of the empty?"

"I'm sure your angel friend already told you about Jack letting him out of the empty?" Ruby raised her brows as Sam nodded. "Yes, well the entity in the empty grabbed hold of Jack ripping the darkness, we call Amara, out of him. Of course, Feather's here and Jack thought nothing of it at first, but Amara, she ended up defeating and devoured the entity whole, so the Empty doesn't exist anymore."

"You mean to tell us," Sam's voice and lips quivered. "That everyone that was in the empty are walking the Earth again?"

Ruby tried to shrug her shoulders. She simply implied that there were some things she still didn't know. "Some of us demons yes, we haven't felt or seen Lucifer if he'd gotten out. As far with Courtney, the reason why I took her body is because this is all about revenge. You and your brother killed me. I was going to do the same to you, but in your niece's body." Ruby chuckled.

Everyone was glancing at each other at this point. Sam gulped. There was a worried look Rowena had as she thought of the chances of Lucifer coming back. Castiel seemed vacant, but there was concern swarming around his mind.

Ruby finished laughing and continued. "After that Amara is going to do away with Courtney. She did not appreciate the way Dean Winchester was going to explode her along with her brother. Amara loved him, he changed her for the better, and he ended up betraying her."

Sam remembered the event of that. It took place in the bunker. He thought up something to say but was interrupted by Rowena.

"Listen here, bitch," Rowena spat. A quiet Eileen along with Sam and Castiel spun their heads simultaneously at Rowena astonished. Even though Eileen couldn't hear anything coming from anyone's mouths she could easily read the room and felt the heat coming off the witch without seeing her lip movements. She could see that Ruby was taken aback.

"I didn't teach you my spells so that one day you'd use them against me!" Rowena shouted and began a chant that Sam and Castiel didn't know she was using.

Castiel glanced quickly at Courtney's vessel and saw how pale she was getting and didn't get any breath as though squeezing the life out of it. "Rowena stop!" He ordered.

Rowena immediately stopped what she was doing, and Courtney's body returned to its normal coloring. "I'm sorry." She said to both Sam and Castiel. She left where she was standing to fetch the basin of ingredients made previously that day.

Ruby shot a devilish look at Eileen. "So, you're Sam's new girlfriend? Of course, he'd pick a deaf woman as he whines too much."

"I may be deaf, but I'm not stupid." Eileen retorted.

Rowena returned with the basin placing it in front of the chair Courtney's body sat in.

Ruby giggled. "I promised Amara I'd keep the girl alive before tossing it to her. Just know, you can take my soul out, but Courtney's still good as dead with or without me. Amara will have her revenge."

Rowena along with everyone else glared at Ruby. The witch threw her hand out and without saying a word Ruby couldn't say anything else.

"I don't know about any of you, but I've heard everything I can from her." Rowena glanced down as she set the ingredients in the basin on fire. Everyone agreed.

Rowena said a few chants before getting to the actual spell after Courtney's vessel appeared peaceful.

She needed Sam and Castiel's help with holding the vessel of Courtney down as the bonds were breaking from her wrists. The walls began to shake, and the ceiling lamps light flickered. Rowena stuttered the last words of the spell.

A dark force forcefully left Courtney's mouth as her head pushed back. Everyone watched the dark smoke swirl around the room until noticing it shrunk into a vial Rowena capturing it. Afterward it was all over.

"That was effortless than I thought it would be." Sam spoke after a moment of silence checking on Courtney.

'Well," Rowena twisted the cap tightly on the vial and tucked it away under her dress near the breastbone. "It's just what Ruby said, she promised Amara that Courtney would be delivered to her alive. What concerns me now is if little ducky still has her soul."

Castiel placed his index and middle fingers on Courtney's neck finding the jugular to see if there had still been a pulse, there was and used his angelic power to see if there was a soul. "Her soul is still intact. She is free from Ruby."

Suddenly Courtney gave a deep and loud heave when she woke up and made everyone jump.