Piper, Sam and Paige orbed into the living room of the manor, and immediately Piper set them all to work. "Paige, show Sam where the crystals are and then place them around the house accordingly. You know how to do it. I'm going to go check our stock of potions…" she said, being careful with her tone of voice and wording. If this seer was peeping in on them, she didn't want to put her on high alert.

Walking to the stairs, she was sure she saw something or someone enter the kitchen, just out of the corner of her eye. Quietly, Piper walked over to the swinging door that led to the kitchen, hands up and ready to blow the intruder to pieces. After a quick, silent count to three, she pushed through the door. Without thinking she unleashed her power, simply startled by the presence of this person in her home, not taking time to register the comfort with which he was leaning up against the countertop, or the familiar way his dark, shaggy hair hung in his green eyes. Those eyes…

"Ah!" Chris shouted, as the bowl of cereal he had been holding shattered into a million pieces, milk and Lucky Charms splattering everywhere, though mainly on him. "What the hell, Mom?"

Piper dropped her hands, not believing her eyes. "Chris?"

Her son smiled, "Hey."

"Hey?" Piper asked incredulously. "You scared me half to death, and all you have to say is hey?"

"Sorry?" Chris tried.

Piper smiled, "That's more like it. Come here." She held out her arms to her youngest son, not caring that he was covered in cereal, and hugged him tight. "What are you doing here, sweetheart?" she asked before pulling away from him.

Chris sighed as he began to unbutton his soggy flannel, "It's complicated, Mom… I—"

"Hold that thought!" Piper interrupted, remembering that there could be unwanted ears listening to their conversation.

"We should get everyone together before I divulge, anyway," Chris suggested. "Are Aunt Paige and Aunt Phoebe with you?"

"Yes to the Paige part. Phoebe isn't doing so hot right now, I left her in Kansas," Piper said, beginning to root through the cupboards for potion ingredients.

"Did you say Kansas?"

"Uh, yeah… With Dean Winchester, at his… home? It's more like a library crossed with a bomb shelter, but I guess they live there."

"Dean… You've met Sam and Dean already?" Chris asked, sounding a bit panicked.

Piper stopped what she was doing, "You know them?"

Chris looked uncomfortable, "I know of them. I can't talk about the future, Mom. At least not most of it, you know that. You're just further along in the sequence of events to come than I realized… What's the date?"

"July 20th," Piper replied, "Chris what is going on? Wait, don't answer that!"

Instead of asking her why she kept shushing him, Chris turned, yelling, "Dad!" as he walked out of the kitchen.

"Dad?" Piper asked. "Your father is here?"

"Piper?" she heard her husband's voice call from upstairs.

"Leo!" she felt herself relax substantially as he came into view. When he took her into his arms, she felt like a weight had been temporarily lifted from her shoulders. Here he was, her protector and guiding light, safe and sound. She kissed him fiercely, reveling in temporary happiness, not allowing herself to think about the fact that Leo had no idea what had happened in the last week, and that she would have to be the one to explain it to him.

"You're here," she said, as they pulled apart.

"I am. I'm here, and I'm okay. So are Leila and Castiel by the way, though they just stepped out to get some air."

"You got his grace back."

"We did, or should I say Leila did. She was brilliant, I wish you could have seen her."

"I can't wait to hear all about it, honey, but right now…"

"There's a lot going on, as I understand it. Sam and Paige are setting up demon-alarms all over the house."

Piper nodded, "And I can't imagine our son coming back from the future means anything good either. Not that I'm not happy to see you, sweetie."

Chris nodded, but remained serious, "Uh, Dad, did you… Did you say Sam is here?"

Just as Leo was about to answer, Sam and Paige came bounding down the stairs carrying as many crystals as they possibly could. "Upstairs is all demon-proofed," Paige said, "No black-eyed crazies or red-headed hags are getting in here without us knowing it."

"Okay, do this floor, and then we need to cast a safety spell," Piper told her.

"A safety spell? Isn't that for casting people out of the house?"

"I'm going to tweak it. Do the crystals. Oh, and say hi to your nephew."

"What?" Paige asked, looking around the room. Her eyes finally settled on Chris leaning up against the wall a ways away, his arms crossed over his chest, and his eyes trained on the floor in typical Chris fashion. "Holy hell, what are you doing here, kid?" Paige smiled widely as she went to embrace her grown-up nephew. The two of them had always had a special bond, what with them both being half-witch, half-whitelighter.

"Hey, Aunt Paige," Chris said, unable to help the smile that came at the sight of her. "It's a long story, that I think I am supposed to wait to tell until a particular spell has been cast."

"Ah," Paige said, realizing what he meant, "Well, then we'd better get a move on with these crystals, Sam… Oh…"

Throughout the entirety of Paige and Chris's exchange, Sam had been standing next to Piper and Leo, looking extremely confused, and Paige had finally realized it. "Sam," she started, "This is… Chris."

"Chris?" Sam said, and Piper could tell he did not understand.

She did her best to clarify. "Remember when I told you we had already seen the man he would grow to be? This is him."

Realization crossed Sam's face and he turned to Chris with wide-eyes, unsure of what to say. For a moment the two of them just stood there. Piper studied Chris's face, and in it she saw recognition. Chris knew who Sam was. In what capacity, she was unsure, but his expression also held an air of pain and disbelief. Before she could process what that might mean, Chris crossed the room and threw his arms around Sam, hugging him tightly. Surprised at first, it took Sam a moment to return the gesture, his face eventually breaking into a kind smile.

As Chris pulled away, his face beaming, Sam said, "It's really great to meet you, man."

Chris nodded, and his next words came out shakily, "Yeah, uh, you too."

Neither one of them broke eye contact for a long while nor was Piper sure they ever would have if Paige hadn't spoken up. "Alright Sam, let's make with the crystals. You two can figure out how weird your relationship to one another is later."

Sam laughed awkwardly before following her into the living room, leaving Chris and his parents alone again.

"Chris, are you okay?" Leo asked.

"I'm… I didn't think I'd ever see him again. I guess I didn't know if I'd ever see any of you again, but I didn't expect…" Chris trailed off, and Piper gestured to Leo, her way of telling him not to push the subject.

"Listen honey, I want to hear all about the future you've come to prevent but your brother is in trouble, and we need to get to work on the rescuing."

Immediately Leo panicked, "Where's Wyatt? What happened?"

"Give us a few minutes to secure the place, and then I'll answer all of your questions, I promise," she said, squeezing her husband's hand tightly.

Piper eyed her youngest son warily before motioning for him to follow her to the attic. The Book of Shadows stood where it always did, and Piper was instantly comforted by that fact. Opening to the page with instructions on how to perform a safety spell, a spell meant to dispel any unwanted beings from their home, she began to scribble down possible alternatives. Her idea was that instead of dispelling evil, they could ward the manor to keep evil from entering.

"This should work," she told Chris as Paige entered the room. "Would you mind standing in for your aunt?"

Chris nodded, and Piper held out the paper for the other witches to read. "That's perfect, Piper," Paige praised. "Let's do this."

The three of them linked hands as Leo and Sam stopped to stand in the attic doorway. They chanted, "When in the circle that is home, safety's gone and evils roam. Protect all within these walls, save this family now heed our call." A circle of light emanated from the group and grew until it left the room and covered the manor in its entirety. Sam's mouth fell open, causing Chris to burst into a fit of almost childlike laughter.

Piper stood tall, smug as ever after the success of her altered spell. "That should protect us from any prying eyes, and dispel any unwanted visitors, at least for the time being," she stated.

"Where's Wyatt?" Leo demanded immediately.

Sam turned and met the whitelighters eyes, "He's been captured by Rowena, who's trying to barter his life for Chris's. She had me too, trying to get to Dean, but she showed a little too much of her hand, and your family rescued me."

"You did a lot of the rescuing yourself," Piper admitted.

"So why haven't you rescued our son yet?" Leo yelled, fire in his eyes.

"It's not that simple, unfortunately," Sam replied.

"Well, excuse me but by the looks of you standing here in my house, it is that simple! You know where he is, don't you?"

"Yes, but—"

"No buts!" Leo cried, his voice becoming increasingly fainter with helplessness as the moments passed.

"Leo, honey," Piper stepped forward and grabbed her husband's hands, "I want Wyatt back safely as much as you do, and we are going to get him back, I promise. But, we have no idea what we're walking into in the Underworld. My sisters and the boys have made me see that we need to formulate a plan first, and that requires knowing what Rowena and her cronies are after."

"I can help with that," Chris said.

"Is that what you came back to tell us?" Leo asked.

"More or less. I expect Rowena has been skulking around hell for some time now, unbeknownst to your friend Crowley," Chris started, directing his comment about the King of Hell at Sam. "She's turning every demon she can to her side with a plan that will change the face of your world forever."

"What's she planning?" Sam asked, clearly not fazed by Chris's words.

"The end of the world, or at least the start of it. She has been having visions, or they've been coming to her, I'm not sure how that all works."

"Visions of what?"

"Lucifer. He comes to her, boasting, asking her to spring him out of his cage and rule as his Queen, after they take over the world, of course."

Sam swallowed, a look of nervousness crossing his face, "And how exactly are you or Dean a part in that plan?"

"It's going to take some freaky dark magic to break Lucifer out of hell, and dark magic often uses extremes, good and evil, light and dark. She has this book, this tome that Lucifer led her to. It's older than any magic I've ever been exposed to, beginning of time type stuff. She's going to use the spells in there to carry out her plot. From there, Lucifer has plans beyond my knowledge, but I do know that it won't end well. It's something similar to hell on Earth."

Piper studied her son's face. Chris, of her two sons, had always been the quiet, calculating one. It wasn't that he was timid, in fact he had more bravery and heart in him than anyone she had ever known, but he was often content to stand to the side, to let his brother or his father do all the talking. However, when the people he loved were threatened, there was no stopping him. She had seen that when he had first come back to them, doing everything he could to save Wyatt, and by proxy the world as he knew it. Now, he had that same look in his eyes that Piper had seen before, and she wondered who he was protecting this time.

"What can we do?" Paige asked. "How do we stop this from happening?"

"I think we need to vanquish her, first and foremost," Chris replied. "We can deal with her faction of demons afterward, but this all starts with Rowena. There aren't many powerful enough to raise Lucifer, so getting her out of the picture is important."

"That's easier said than done," Sam said. "She's protected, not only by her demon cronies, but by her own powerful magic. How do we even get close enough to gank her, much less do it when we get there?"

"Well, first thing's first, we're going to need Aunt Phoebe. There isn't much the power of three can't handle, and with the added help of the hunters, an angel, a whitelighter, and an extra witch, I think we have a good chance."

"I'll go check on her," Paige said.

"I'll come too," Sam offered.

Paige held up a hand to halt him, "I'll be fine on my own, but thanks anyway." She orbed out of the room, leaving an awkward silence behind.

"What did you do?" Chris asked, grinning.

Sam's brow furrowed, but a smirk played at his lips, "Not sure where to begin with that question. Your past comes back to bite you sometimes, or in my case, to devour you."

"Hey," Chris stepped forward and clapped his friend on the back, "It's going to be alright. She'll cool off. She usually does."

Sam squinted at the time-traveler, trying to figure out what his words truly meant. Meanwhile Piper and Leo, once again, studied the men in front of them. The two of them, with their shaggy brown hair and flannel shirts, could be brothers. And in a way, that was how they were acting. The instant camaraderie was like two old friends who had simply picked up where they had left off, wherever that may be. There was a lot Chris wasn't saying, and Piper knew he probably wouldn't let on about most of it, but that didn't stop her from being curious about his relationship to the hunter.

"Well," she said, interrupting Chris and Sam's banter, "I'm going to peruse the Book of Shadows for any spells that might help us. You three should really start thinking about how we can get close to Rowena."

"I have an idea about that," Chris began, but was interrupted by a scream from outside.

"That sounded like Leila," Leo said charging down the stairs. The whitelighter flung the door open to reveal Castiel holding an unconscious Leila in his arms, her head lolling from side to side.

"What happened?" Piper asked.

"I am not sure," Castiel replied. "She opened the door to the manor and was flung back by some invisible force. She hit her head on the sidewalk here, rather hard."

Leo put his hands on her forehead, golden light emanating from them as he healed the young hunter-in-training. She breathed in deeply as she came to, immediately confused as to why she was on the ground.

"It must have been the spell, Mom," Chris suggested, offering Leila his hand and pulling her to her feet. "It must only protect those that were in the house when we cast it."

"That's going to be a problem…" Piper trailed off, slipping into deep thought.

"Are you okay?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, I'll be alright. Thank you," Leila replied, acutely aware of the fact that her hand was still in Chris's.

"You're welcome!" Leo interjected, causing the two of them to break apart, both blushing.

"Thank you, Leo."

"Sure thing," he said, eyes flicking back and forth between his son, and his family's newest charge, a knowing smile on his face.

"I think I've got it," Piper said, turning around to face the house. "In this home our safety lay, for our allies, here and away. Protect all who mean us well, and modify our safety spell." A great burst of light left Piper's hands, and she looked pleased with herself. "Castiel, give it a try."

The angel walked up the steps, and took a tentative step over the threshold. Nothing happened. "I think it is safe now." Sam clapped his friend on the back in greeting, and the two of them entered the house, each of them filling the other in on everything that had happened in the week they had been separated.

Leila looked unconvinced, but Chris and Leo coaxed her back into the house. Once inside she announced quite loudly that she needed a drink, and walked to the kitchen.

"I don't have much in the way of alcohol," Piper said. But Leila seemed unconcerned as she walked over to the sink, and flung open the cabinet under it. Inside sat a half-full bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey.

"Where did that come from?" Leo questioned his wife, who looked as confused as he did.

"It's Dean's," Leila replied, looking for a glass. "He's been stashing it here for a while, I'm surprised you didn't notice during one of your manic cleaning fits."

Chris snorted and was immediately hushed by a glare from his mother.

"Anyone else?" Leila asked, pulling some glasses out of the cupboard.

"None for me," Leo said.

"Or I," Castiel agreed, as he and Sam entered the room.

"I think I'll just have a beer," the youngest Winchester replied, heading for the fridge.

"I'll have some," Piper said, after very little deliberation. She wasn't usually a drinker of anything as hard as whiskey, but circumstances lately had been a little rougher than usual, so she thought she'd give it a try.

"Uh, Mom, are you sure?" Chris cautioned.

"It's been a long few weeks, honey. I deserve a little drink."

"Um, yeah, of course you deserve it, but I still think you should probably abstain for a while."

"Chris, I'm an adult just like you and this little one," Piper said, referring to Leila, who was even younger than her youngest, time-traveling son. "If I want a drink, I'll have a drink, and that's final."

"But, Mom—"

"Chris what is the big deal, here?"

"I just think you should wait a while before you drink again…"

"Well, how long do you suggest I wait? Until the world is officially ending?"

"No, I was thinking maybe just nine months!" Chris exploded, leaving only silence behind.

Piper's mouth fell open as she processed her son's words. Was he saying, what she thought he was saying? Immediately her hands went to her belly, her protective nature taking over. She looked at Leo, who had a rather blank look on his face, until his gaze met hers. He smiled, then, in a way he had only smiled twice before.

"Chris, do you mean…?" Piper couldn't bring herself to say it, couldn't bring herself to processes what this might mean for her and her family, but still her tone was full of hope.

"As it happens, you have my baby sister in there, and I'm extremely protective of her. So let's just cool it with the whiskey, huh?"

Piper let out something between a laugh and a sob, and hugged her son tightly, before turning to kiss her husband. "A little sister!"

"Congratulations, Piper, Leo," Leila said, putting Dean's whiskey back where she found it, unopened. "I think that was the kind of news we all needed to hear right now."

"Wait until I tell my sisters, they've been begging me for a niece!" Piper exclaimed.

More congratulations, hugs, and smiles were shared, but after a few minutes, the true weight of this news came crashing down on Piper. She had another child now, another being that Rowena, or any other foe for that matter, could use against her and her family.

"We have to keep this a secret for as long as we can," she blurted. "How far along am I Chris?"

"Barely even a month," he replied, looking confused.

"Then there's no chance my body will give me away… So until we're done with this Lucifer business, this news doesn't leave this room," Piper said definitively.

"But, Piper, what about Phoebe and Paige?" Sam asked.

"No," Piper held up a hand. "The less of us that know about my daughter, the less danger she'll be in. My sisters will understand that in the end. With my sons being preyed upon already, I can't take any chances with my little girl."

Leo nodded, "Oftentimes unborn witches are even more powerful than normal, because they have a connection to their parent's magic. You should've seen Wyatt in the womb. As much as it pains me to keep this from people we love, I agree with my wife."

"You can't tell the elders either."

Leo's demeanor switched on a dime at her words. "Piper, even if they don't already know, it's my duty—"

"Leo."

With one word and a very pointed look, Piper silenced her husband. He had to know how difficult this was for her. To have her joy stifled by evil wasn't a new feeling, but she never got used to putting her life on hold for people that were trying to hurt her family. In a way it was like letting them have a small victory over her, and there was nothing she hated more.

"Look, let's not dwell on it for now," Piper said, her hands still cradling her flat stomach. "Chris, you had an idea about how to get close to Rowena. What did you have in mind?"

Chris looked at the floor, and then sheepishly over at his mother, "Well, I can tell you right away, you're not going to like it."

Paige orbed into the common room of the bunker, that familiar tug at her belly button dissipating as she took in the empty room around her. There were books strewn across tables, and empty beer bottles littering the room. One wall was covered entirely in newspaper clippings and headlines from what the witch could only assume were old cases. Whether they were laid out as trophies, or as reminders that not everything is solvable, she was unsure. Dean was nowhere to be found.

She took a few steps, the clacking noise her heeled boots made, echoed through the room. Quickly she made her way to Phoebe's room. She had only been gone a few hours, and when she cracked the door to her sister's room, she found Phoebe still fast asleep, her frame heavy with exhaustion. Closing the door, she knew that Dean must still be in the bunker, because he would never willingly leave her sister there alone. No matter how afraid he was, of what was going on between the two of them, she knew that his need to be near her, to care for her, would always outweigh that fear.

Paige thought of Sam then, and felt her heartbeat quicken. She hated the way she felt about him, if only because it made her feel selfish. Telling him that she was afraid that his relationship with Ruby might escalate, was only half of the story. She couldn't bring herself to tell him the whole truth, because it hurt her to even think about it. Each day since the arrival of the Winchesters, Paige had watched her sisters fall into their own respective downward spirals. Piper was losing her children, was stressed all of the time, and could barely stop barking orders at everyone. Her sister was in full on oldest child mode, taking care of everyone but herself, worrying herself into oblivion, and doing absolutely nothing to hold herself together. And Phoebe… Paige stared at the door to the middle Halliwell's room and flashed back to her banshee moment, full of so much pain and tired agony. Although they had been augmented by a new, developing power, Phoebe's emotions had been real. Meanwhile, what had little baby Paige been doing? Wooing and screwing a hot hunter.

Paige felt her face get hot, and she did her best to push her guilt back down inside her. She was doing what she could to help her sisters now, and Sam was not going to be a distraction for her any longer. Returning to her search for a very different Winchester, Paige figured that, as silent as the bunker was, he could only be one of two places. After checking his bedroom, she made her way to the soundproof torture chamber that they were currently holding her black-eyed arch-nemesis in. When Paige entered the room, she was completely unprepared for the scene that lay before her.

Ruby, who had been previously tied to a chair, now lay flat on her stomach in the center of the giant, red devils trap that was painted in the middle of the floor. Her red leather jacket had been removed, leaving her arms and shoulders bare, her dark hair was tangled and grimy, concealing her face. Pools of sweat soaked through the she-demon's white tank top, and blood, an extreme amount of it, covered the floor surrounding her. This was all extremely alarming, but none of that was as surprising as the sounds emanating from Ruby's heaving form. Her sobs echoed through the dark, empty room. They wracked her body. To an untrained eye, she could have been having convulsions, but Paige new the difference. This wasn't unconscious movement. This was pure grief, pain, sadness to the greatest degree possible. Paige found herself question whether demons could even feel all of that.

Dean stood off to the side, arms folded, expression blank, unaware that Paige had entered the room. "Feeling something now, bitch?" the hunter growled, his voice as unsympathetic as his appearance. The witch took a few steps forward, allowing the Winchester to register her presence. A look of surprise followed by guilt crossed his face, but it quickly became hard and emotionless once again.

"What are you doing, Dean?" Paige asked tentatively, sure that this was more than just the average demon torture.

Dean's eyes stayed trained on Ruby as he replied, "Giving her a taste of her own medicine, so to speak."

Paige surveyed the room, and noticed a bucket sitting on a table nearby. It was filled with a dark liquid, and surrounded by an open package of medical syringes, its contents strewn haphazardly around the table. A taste of her own medicine. He had been injecting her with blood, Paige realized.

"Is that… human?" she asked regarding the bucket of blood.

Dean nodded, "It's mine, blessed by a priest. Sammy and I found out a while back that if you inject a demon with enough consecrated human blood, you can cure them."

"Cure them?"

"Make them human again."

"Why would you want to make Ruby human?

"I wouldn't, but the more injections they get, the more human they become. It takes eight doses to fully cure her, and I've administered seven. Number six is when human emotion usually starts to present itself, isn't that right Ruby? Why don't you tell the nice witch how you're feeling right now?"

Ruby shook as she lifted her head and turned to look at Paige. She had a large gash on her forehead, possibly from slamming her own face into the ground. The wound was bleeding profusely, and streams of blood were pouring down her forehead, nose, and cheeks. Her expression was one of pure agony. Paige felt her stomach churn, and for a moment she thought she was going to be sick.

"Please," the demon begged. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

Ruby's head fell hard onto the concrete as though she could no longer hold it up. Dean walked to the bucket of blood, readying another syringe. "Remorse, that's what she's feeling. Guilt, sadness, realization of all of the grief and pain she has caused so many. Her severed soul is being stitched back together, and trust me when I say, there is no greater pain. She'll tell us anything we want to know because she wants what all humans want… forgiveness, redemption, and love. She wants to atone."

Paige studied the hunter as he spoke, and she knew that every word out of his mouth was genuine, and came, not only from a place of knowledge, but from a place of experience. There was an indescribable amount of sadness on his face, and in that moment, Paige finally understood Phoebe's need to continuously try and fix this broken, tortured man. The thought crossed her mind that she would really like to know Dean Winchester without the Mark of Cain, and that when all was said and done she would like to do her part to help rid him of it.

Dean turned, the emotion he had shown dissipating as quickly as it had come, and snarled, "Let's give her the opportunity, shall we?"

The hunter took a step forward, and Paige followed suit, stopping him in his tracks. "She may be feeling remorse, but she's also in pain, and she is completely and utterly alone in that pain. You've done your job well, but look at her. Look at all of that blood. Curing her… I have a feeling it could kill her."

Dean scowled, "And that is bad because…"

"You said it yourself, we need information from her," Paige swallowed, placing her hand on Dean's and taking the syringe from him. "Let me do this, please. For my sister, for Piper."

Dean scrutinized her face for a moment, as if he was trying to see into her, to the root of her intentions. Then, he let go of the syringe and backed away, seemingly satisfied with whatever he thought he had found. Paige swallowed and turned to Ruby. She knew that it was not in her own nature to hurt anyone that didn't deserve it. And right then, looking at the she-demon's lifeless form, Paige wasn't sure she deserved to go through any more pain.

Breathing deeply, the witch stepped into the devil's trap. She knew right away that she would do everything she could not to prolong Ruby's suffering any more than necessary. Kneeling down she turned Ruby onto her back, so they faced one another. Ruby's eyes, which had barely been open earlier, widened to their fullest when she saw the how close the youngest Halliwell was to her in that moment.

"Ruby," Paige started.

"Are you going to kill me?" Ruby asked rather calmly, her voice not much more than a whisper.

The question surprised Paige more than it should have, and she found herself stammering, "W-what?"

"I would deserve it you know, to die. I deserve all of this. I've hurt so many people. I've hurt you. You should want to kill me. I deserve it," the demon babbled.

Attempting to get some focus out of her, Paige raised her voice, "Ruby, I need you to tell me about Rowena. What is she planning?"

Suddenly the she-demon grabbed Paige's arm, locking it in a death-grip that Paige knew she would never be able to break herself. "I want you to kill me! Please, I want to die!" Ruby screamed, tears streaming out of her eyes.

Dean lunged forward, but Paige held up a hand to stop him. The she-demon's screams, dissolved into quiet sobs. "Ruby, I know you're hurting, and I promise I will make it stop, if you just tell me what you know about Rowena's plans. Thank about my sisters, my nephews… think about Sam."

Ruby shuttered at the sound of Sam's name, and the pain she felt at the thought of him was visible. "You know he never loved me, not really. He loved how I made him feel. And for me, he was just a means to an end. He's just so good, and I tainted him. I did this to him. What kind of monster—"

"Ruby, you can make it up to him. You can make it up to all of us, if you tell us what you know. What is Rowena planning?"

"You'll tell Sam that I told you? You'll tell him that in the end that I did the right thing?"

Paige hesitated, but then agreed, putting her own feelings aside for the time being, "I promise I'll tell him Ruby. He'll be so proud of you."

The demon smiled a mangled smile that made Paige's heart wrench. "Rowena's going to free Lucifer and be his queen. She's going to use this thing, this book, to get him out and their going to rid the world of humanity, so that demons are free to roam the earth and all of that stuff every demon has been going on and on about since the beginning of time. She needs Dean and Chris for the spell to spring Lucifer. You have to stop her. All of you."

"This book, what is it called? How can we stop her?"

"She's cocky, too confident. If you can bait her, you can vanquish her. Her power comes from the people she surrounds herself with. Tell her I've been turned. That will hurt her, even if she doesn't show it. The book, I don't know… it's old, older than any magic I have ever witnessed. It belonged to this woman… Nadia. I don't know any more, I swear. I swear."

"You did great Ruby. Thank you. It's all going to stop now, okay?" Paige felt tears well up in her eyes, and realized that she pitied the woman lying in front of her. She was truly more woman than demon now, and she was suffering.

"I'm so sorry," Paige whispered as she injected the last dose of blood into Ruby's neck.

Dean stepped forward then, his hand dipped in his own blood. He placed his hand over Ruby's already bloodied face and muttered, "Exorciamus te, omnis immundus spiritus. Hanc animam redintegra, lustra. Lustra."

A white light began to slowly emanate from Ruby until it was so bright Dean and Paige had to back away from her body. When the light dissipated, Paige could not believe her eyes. There, in the middle of the room laying amidst pools of blood and gore, was Ruby, perfectly clean and totally healed.

Paige looked to Dean, and if his face was any indication, he was as astonished as she was. The two of them inched closer and closer to the body, and Paige noted that though she was now unhurt, Ruby was not breathing. Before she had a chance to process this, a shimmer of blue light came down from the ceiling, and a dark-skinned man in long white robes orbed into the room.

"Paige, Dean, I am Jonnah, of the Council of Elders. I have been sent to you this day, to explain what is to happen in the coming battles."

Dean looked even more confused than before, but Paige had dealt with the Elders in the past, and she knew that when they showed up, it was on their own time, and it was best to get as many questions in as possible, before they ran back 'up there', and left you to fend for yourself.

"The coming battles," Paige began, "With Rowena?"

Jonnah nodded, "Those, and those that may or may not follow. Much hangs in the balance right now, and it will depend on the combined forces of witch, hunter, whitelighter, angel… and demon, to do what is necessary."

"Demon? So what you're saying, is that we have to work with this bitch, over here?" Dean barked, pointing at Ruby, who still seemed to be suspended in time. "Do you know what she has done to my family? No way, man, I don't care who sent you."

Jonnah blinked, seemingly unfazed by Dean's outburst, "She is not the demon of whom I speak. Thanks to the two of you, Ruby is now human. There will be another demon unleashed, one that is necessary to win this fight. All will be revealed in due time. However, Ruby has not fully served her purpose in this course of events, and now that she has been made human, the Elders have decided that she will be offered a chance to redeem herself in this life, by aiding you in the fight against Rowena and Lucifer."

Paige laughed, "This is so typical. You sit on the sidelines fight after fight, and then when it's least convenient you orb down here to tell us mortals how it's going to be, usually making the entire situation more difficult than it was before! Who gives you the goddamn right?"

"Paige," Jonnah began, but Dean was not about to listen to what he had to say next.

Hot with rage, the hunter grabbed Jonnah and pinned him against the nearest wall. "Now, I don't know you like the girls know you, but you remind me a lot of some feathery, haloed, dicks that I do know. If Ruby is going to make it out of this, if you expect us to follow your little orders and work with her, you've got another thing coming."

"Dean!" Paige yelled. "Let go of him, now!"

After a brief moment of consideration, Dean let go of the Elder, who still looked unflustered by the Winchester's antics. "The fact of the matter is, Ruby has a vital role to play in the coming events, but she will need help to get there. She has a long and difficult past to relive, and atone for. That is why we will be placing her in your charge for the time being, Paige. She will need a whitelighter to guide her on this journey."

Paige could not believe what she was hearing. "There is no way in hell that I will take her on as a charge! She isn't even a witch, and there's no way she's a whitelighter in training! Not to mention, I have other charges who actually deserve my help!"

"You will do this because the Elders have asked it of you. We have a special interest in this girl, and she needs your help, Paige, no one is more or less deserving of your aid. I have no more to say on this matter. The Council will be watching."

Before Paige could argue anymore, Jonnah orbed away and whatever suspension of time he had enacted upon Ruby very quickly melted away. The demon-turned-human took a huge intake of breath, as if she had just been revived after drowning. She sat up and surveyed the graphic scene around her, and then looked down at herself. Confusion crossed her face as she took in her crisp, white, tank top and clean, tan skin. Suddenly a look of panic crossed Ruby's face, and her hand flew to her throat. Paige realized almost instantly that she was checking for a pulse.

Paige took a step in her direction, attempting to swallow her pride. "Ruby?"

The brunette whirled around wildly, her eyes wide in fear. "Is this… Am I…" She tried, but she couldn't form a complete thought.

"You're human now, bitch," Dean said. "How does it feel?"

"This body…" Ruby looked at the hand that wasn't continuously taking her pulse, as if it was foreign to her, "… It's permanent. It's mine. I'm whole."

"Ruby, the Elders saved your life, and they left me to help you through this," Paige told her. "I need you to talk to me. What do you feel?"

Ruby stopped studying her own form, and turned to look at Paige. She opened her mouth as if she was about to speak, but instead of words, a long cry escaped her throat. Paige looked away as Ruby continued to cry, unsure what she could do for the pitiful creature. Looking toward Dean, the two of them locked eyes. His expression seemed to ask the question she was also asking herself: What in the hell were they supposed to do now?

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It's a little bit happy, a little sad, and I'm sure it left you with a lot of questions, but I promise all will be answered in the upcoming chapters! I'm so looking forward to writing this new version of Ruby... what do you all think of her now that she is human?

As always, I LOVE your input so PLEASE REVIEW! Feedback from all of my readers can really help with my ever present writer's block! Thank you, thank you! I hope I can get you all an update soon!

XOXO, AryaUnderfoot