The manor was quiet when Paige and Dean orbed into the attic. Dean held an exhausted, sleeping Phoebe in his arms, while Paige stood handcuffed to a newly human Ruby. It was late, almost midnight, and Dean was sure that nearly everyone would be asleep by then. The hunter and the witch had finally decided on a course of action, though they were each dreading its repercussions.

Paige had refused to keep Ruby, and all that had transpired at the bunker, a secret from Sam or her sisters. Dean had refused to let Ruby behave as though the deeds of her past were null and void simply because she now had a soul. He had sworn up and down, multiple times, that she would never be forgiven, making Ruby shrink away from him, each time more terrified than before. Paige could not decide how she felt about Dean's words. She knew that Ruby was dealing with a lot, and the whitelighter in her wanted to help. However, the petty human in her, the one that had feelings for Sam Winchester, wanted the ex-demon to experience her newfound feelings of self-hatred and regret to the highest degree. One thing that both Dean and Paige had agreed on however, was the fact that they needed to talk over the entire situation with their families present. So, despite the extremely late hour, they had both agreed to return to the manor.

"I'm going to take her to bed," Dean said, referring to the still sleeping Phoebe who was stirring a little in his arms. "Meet you downstairs?"

Paige felt her stomach growl, "Sure, I'm going to go get something to eat."

The two of them descended the stairs and parted ways, their respective charges in tow. Paige looked back as Dean traipsed down the hall, the weight of her sister barely affecting the hunter's stride. She thought back to when they had been getting ready to leave the bunker, and how reluctant he had been to even go near Phoebe's sleeping form, much less to take her into his arms. But, when he finally did, the care and gentility with which he held her, gave away his true feelings. There was so much standing in their way, but still so much love between them. Paige felt her heart sink a little at the thought, and walked down the remaining stairs.

Ruby followed the best she could, though it was still apparent that she was not doing very well. She was still shaking horribly, much like a junkie who desperately needed to score. Her eyes were either wide with fear and pain, or dazedly looking off into the distance, as if she wasn't really present within herself. Currently, it was the latter.

"Ruby," Paige said, getting close to the girl's face, attempting to break her out of whatever trance her mind had her in. "Are you hungry? You're human now, and humans need to eat."

The ex-demon stared at the witch, her expression vacant. "Food…" she trailed off.

Paige nodded, realizing that asking Ruby anything at this point was useless, "It's okay, I'll find you something. Come on."

Approaching the kitchen, Paige stopped abruptly. Two voices filled with laughter emanated from behind the door. They were clearly trying to be quiet, but it didn't take Paige long to recognize either one of them.

"A beer? Stuck to his hand?" Chris said incredulously.

"Hands down, the best prank I've ever pulled, on Dean or otherwise!" Sam replied, the sound of his laugh making Paige's heart jump from her chest to her throat.

"Wyatt and I used to prank our aunts and Mom all of the time growing up. They hated it so much! One time, Aunt Phoebe and Auntie Paige tried to get us back using the old glue and feathers gag, but my brother and I completely turned it around on them! Just imagine my aunts, head-to-toe covered in bright pink feathers on our front lawn for the entire neighborhood to see!"

The two of them lost themselves in a fit of laughter until Chris finally caught his breath enough to continue. "And, I will never forget that time you and I tricked Melinda into thinking she'd gone deaf, I mean that one took planning!"

Their laughter cut off abruptly once they realized what Chris had just revealed. Silence ensued, and Paige found herself wondering who Melinda was, her thoughts interrupted as Sam spoke.

"So I'm around then, in your future, or I guess technically your past?" Sam asked, the pause that came afterward making Paige's heart race.

"You actually taught me everything I know about prank wars," Chris replied with the sound of a smile apparent in his voice. "Me and Wyatt both."

"What about Dean?" Sam asked, his voice barely audible from outside of the door.

"Sam, you know I can't… I'm sorry I let that last little thing slip, but I'm sure you knew already by my actions that I know you, and that you mean a lot to me. You and Wyatt were my best friends growing up, and you always understood me more than anyone else, but I can't say any more. I'm sorry."

Paige, deciding that she had heard enough, took a deep breath and pushed through the door, helping Ruby along behind her. Both of the boys looked up in surprise at the witch's entrance. Surprise quickly turned to complete disbelief as they registered the presence of her ex-demon companion.

"Aunt Paige, you're… back," Chris said, clearly grasping for words. "And you're handcuffed to Ruby."

The two of them were seated at one end of the kitchen table, a heap of empty beer bottles between them, and books of lore pushed haphazardly to the other end. They both looked relieved to have something to distract them from their previous conversation, their attention laser-focused on Paige's every move.

"Yeah," she replied as she helped Ruby up onto one of the barstools on the other side of the kitchen, "Dean and Phoebe are upstairs as well." Paige began to unlock the handcuffs that were currently shackling her to Ruby at Dean's insistence. This tiny action was met with extremely loud and startled protests from both Sam and Chris.

"Shut up!" Paige shushed them, suddenly finding that she was not really in the mood to explain the current situation at all. They both watched, flabbergasted, as Paige appeared to go about her business, heating up some leftovers, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

"You seem oddly calm about the fact that there is a demon loose in your kitchen," Chris stated.

At the word 'demon', Ruby's head snapped around to face the boys, her eyes wide. "Demon," she droned, as if she was trying the word out for the first time. "Demon…"

Sam looked at Paige, his eyes full of trepidation. "What happened to her? She's not… herself."

Paige sighed, realizing that her sudden irritation had not presented itself because she didn't want to explain the situation at all, but because she didn't want to explain it to Sam. "She's not a demon anymore. Dean and I cured her," Paige told him, ripping off the Band-Aid, rather than dragging out the inevitable. His gaze left hers immediately, and landed on Ruby, his expression unbelieving.

"Why is she all… loopy?" Chris asked.

Sam walked over to the dazed girl, who was still muttering the word demon over and over, her eyes once again empty. He inspected her, as if he was looking for a way to fix her, and Paige found she could no longer watch the scene unfolding before her. As she turned her attention back to her food, Sam answered Chris's question.

"When someone has been a demon as long as Ruby, committed as many unspeakable acts as her, and then suddenly has their soul knit back together, suddenly has the capacity to care about people and rationalize all of the chaos she's caused… Well it's enough to make anyone go insane."

"Sam," Ruby said, her voice the clearest it had been since she had been cured.

Sam looked startled for a moment, clearly unsure of how to respond. "Uh, yeah, Ruby it's Sam. Do you know where you are right now?"

Paige turned to see a single tear slip down Ruby's cheek as she whispered the words, "I'm sorry."

Sam's eyes widened and his jaw clenched. He turned away from the girl for a moment before turning back, his mind clearly made up. "I forgive you, Ruby."

"You what?" Paige blurted, what little control she had over her emotions completely obliterated by those last four words.

"Yeah, I'd like to ask the same question," Dean stated gruffly as he entered the room.

"Dean," Sam began, but his brother was having none of it.

"This bitch tortured you, lured you in and made you think she cared about you, started the damn apocalypse by using you, and you're going to forgive her just like that? A soul doesn't change what she's done, Sammy."

"Really, Dean? Should we talk about all of the crappy things I did to you when I was soulless? Or, how about we revisit your many attempts on my life when you were a demon yourself? We both know what it's like to regain a soul, and it is no walk in the park. She literally put us through hell, that fact is by no means lost on me, but she is going through her own personal hell now. I'm not giving her a clean slate, but I am giving her the footing to start making amends, a concept that you should be very familiar with by now."

Dean stood in stunned silence for a moment, before nodding and exiting the room the same way he had entered. Sam called after him, but it was no use. A few seconds later they all heard the front door slam.

Sam turned to Paige, "How did this happen?" he asked accusingly.

Paige felt tears welling up in her eyes for a reason that she could not quite articulate at that moment. "I really can't discuss it right now," she told him, putting a plate full of food down in front of Ruby. "Since you're being so forgiving right now, maybe you can get her to eat something. She needs it."

Forgoing her own meal, Paige followed suit and left the room, unable to bring herself to turn back when she heard Sam call after her. Heading for her bedroom she made it halfway up the stairs where she met a confused and tired looking Piper, clearly woken by the chaos that had just ensued in her home.

"Paige, honey what is going on?" her sister asked.

Paige opened her mouth to answer, but found that the only thing she could muster was a sob. Collapsing into the arms of her confused sister, she let out all the frustration and guilt she had been letting build up over the last few days. Piper held her, and, thankfully, stopped asking questions. Paige knew that she would need to be forthcoming about everything that had happened with Ruby, because clearly Dean wasn't going to cooperate, but she just wanted a few more moments to herself, a few moments that she was sure only her big sister could give her at that time.

Composing herself, Paige pulled away from Piper. "I need to go lay down. I can't do this right now," she stammered.

Piper nodded, "Okay sweetie, you go do that. Where is everyone else?"

"Kitchen," Paige said, heading up the stairs to her room.

"Do you need anything, honey?"

Paige shook her head and kept walking, exhausted by her own emotions. As she collapsed into her bed, doing her best not to wake Leila, she was perfectly aware that all of her problems would still be there tomorrow. But, at that point in time, she simply could not bring herself to care.

Sam awoke the next morning to a shooting pain traveling all of the way from his lower back to the base of his neck. He had fallen asleep in one of the living room armchairs early this morning after things had finally calmed down, at least a little. Ruby had gone wild the minute she realized that Paige had left the room and wasn't coming back, something Sam did not quite understand. But, eventually he and Piper had gotten her settled on the couch. When Sam had tried to go upstairs to lay down, Ruby had started to pitch a fit all over again. Sam was certain that the idea of being alone with her thoughts scared Ruby more than anything right now, and he didn't blame her.

He had meant every word he'd said to Dean the night before, and he found that he also felt no remorse for any of it. Ruby was a human being now, and she was going to need their help. There wasn't much more to it in his opinion. If only his brother could see it that way.

Sitting up straight and wiping the sleep from his eyes, Sam suddenly realized that he was the only one in the room. Panic ensued for a moment, until he realized that there were multiple voices coming from the kitchen. Walking into the room, he felt his stomach rumble as the smell of bacon and pancakes wafted over him. Almost everyone was awake already, and with the racket they were making, Sam was surprised he had slept as long as he did. Piper was at the stove, cooking up way too much food, while Chris sat across the bar from her devouring most of it. He scanned the room for Ruby and finally laid eyes on her, sitting at the kitchen table between Leila and Paige, going to town on a short stack. Sam wasn't sure what surprised him more, seeing Ruby eat or the fact that she seemed to be engaged in some form of meaningful dialogue with Paige. She was dressed in a white shirt and loose grey sweatpants, a far cry from her usual leather ensemble. There was an innocence to her now that took Sam completely off guard.

"Morning, Sam," Chris said, handing over a hot cup of coffee.

"Morning," Sam replied, unable to take his eyes of the witch and his ex-demon ex, his surprise and suspicion heightening as the two of them exchanged a smile.

"Weird isn't it? One minute Aunt Paige is having a mental breakdown because Ruby is here, and the next she's all 'come here sweetie, let's get you some breakfast'," Chris imitated his aunt, his voice going up in pitch.

"So they're being civil?"

"It's almost like the three of them are peas in a pod."

"Three?"

"Yeah, Leila's in their little club too, although I think she'd help anyone who seemed lost or broken. It's like her thing."

"Mhm," Sam chuckled as Chris got all starry-eyed.

"Shut up," Chris mumbled, shoving Sam playfully, like a little brother would.

"That's one hard crush you've got there," Sam teased as Chris's cheeked turned a deep shade of scarlet.

"Yeah well, it's never going to happen anyway."

"How come?"

"Um, she's like eighteen years older than me for starters, not to mention the small issue of me eventually having to go back to the future."

"Agh! Age is just a number! Look her up when you get back, maybe she goes for younger guys!"

The two lost themselves in a fit of laughter that was only cut off by the sound of the front door opening and then slamming again.

"Did Dean ever come home last night?" Sam asked.

"No," Piper replied.

Taking a deep breath Sam stepped back into the living room followed closely by Chris and the rest of the group. Unsurprisingly they found Dean staggering toward the stairs. He smelled strongly of whiskey and cigar smoke, and Sam knew that he'd been at some back-alley bar all night.

"How'd the bottle treat you, Dean?" Sam asked, his voice echoing through the manor's, now silent, expanse.

"Better than you," Dean slurred without turning to face him. He took a stab at climbing the first step, but quickly lost his footing and found himself in a seated positon instead.

"Look Dean, I don't want to fight with you. We have bigger fish to fry. Ruby is here now, and there's nothing we can do about that, so let's just move on and figure out what the best move is for everyone going forward."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a female voice rang out. Everyone looked up to see Phoebe descending the stairs, a strength back in her stride that had been missing for some time.

"Do what?" Sam asked.

"Play peacemaker," Phoebe replied. "It really pisses him off, especially in his current… condition."

"Well, I don't know what else to do! If I can forego learning how and why Ruby became human in the first place, then he could at least try to present a little humility!"

"You haven't told him?" Dean asked, the question directed at Paige.

Paige shifted her gaze from one Winchester to the other, "No I haven't had a chance to tell any of them anything, I… wasn't feeling well last night."

"Well damn!" Dean said, pushing himself back into a standing position, wobbling back and forth until he could find his balance. "I guess someone had better get me some coffee, because we have got a story for you."

"I think I can handle it, Dean," Paige said. "Why don't you go lay down?"

"Yeah right, and not have a chance to explain myself? No way, witchy-poo."

Phoebe walked down the rest of the stairs with a smirk on her face, saying, "Well then, at least let me help you to the kitchen."

"I don't need your help," Dean muttered taking a few uneasy steps toward Sam.

"Sure you don't champ," Phoebe said, inserting herself under Dean's arm and exuding way more physical strength than she appeared to have.

"Fine," Dean grumbled. "But quit that emotion reading crap. It's not good for either of us."

"Leila," Sam said, watching his brother closely, "Run upstairs and get Cas. Piper, I think you're going to want to call your husband."

When their group was fully assembled, and they had all spent a good twenty minutes skirting around the topic at hand, Piper was finally able to quiet them all and focus the conversation on the elder Winchester brother.

Dean cleared his throat and began, "Uh… When Sam, Paige, and Piper all left the bunker I figured the least I could do was get as much information as I could from the… prisoner. I had tried all of the usual ways by then, and started to realize that I wasn't going to get anything out of her. If Ruby is one thing, it's loyal. She's the best of the best when it comes to demon henchmen. Every punch, slice, kick had her cries of pain turning into maniacal laughter. So… I had to think outside of the box."

"Ruby, honey, maybe we should go upstairs. You don't want to hear this," Paige suggested.

Ruby furrowed her brow, "I think I need to. There's a lot I don't remember, and you said that it isn't good to deny my past, right? That denial will only hurt me more in the long run."

Everyone stared as she spoke, her voice clear and controlled, a miracle recovery from the night before. Sam was as startled as everyone else, but more so by the advice Paige had given her. How had both of these women overcome so much in just a few hours?

"What happened next Dean?" Phoebe probed.

The hunter took a deep breath, his eyes flicking up to meet Sam's and then quickly re-training his gaze on the floor. "I figured the only way to make her talk, the only way she would feel anything intensely enough to betray Rowena, would be to bring out her humanity. So I gave the bitch a taste of her own medicine."

Ruby flinched at the animosity in Dean's voice, but said nothing in reply.

"You didn't use my blood, did you?" Sam asked, trying to discern the full meaning of 'her own medicine'.

Dean shook his head, "Mine. Pre-mark."

"So what made you decide to make her fully human?" Castiel inquired.

"I think the better question right now, is what kind of information did you get from her?" Leo countered.

"I can answer both questions if Dean wants to hand over the reins," Paige said, proceeding only at Dean's acknowledgment. "When I arrived at the bunker, Ruby had received all of the injections to make her fully human, except one. She was… well she wasn't in good shape. I quickly realized that the final injection would probably kill her, and Dean allowed me to get what information I could out of her. Basically Rowena has this book of dark magick that belonged to some witch called Nadia. There is a spell in it that allows her to harness pure light energy and pure dark energy in order to spring Lucifer from…"

"The cage," Sam and Ruby said simultaneously.

"Right," Paige said, an uncomfortable look crossing her face. "She didn't know much more than that, and by then… she was begging me to let her die."

Ruby's eyes were closed now, her face contorted in pain, and Sam found himself wanting to go to her. It wasn't a romantic pull, but it was definitely an emotional one. He knew where she was at in her head, how all of the memories were flooding in at once, reminding her of the person she was, and threatening the one she could become.

"I injected her, Dean performed the ritual, but instead of passing on, she was healed."

"Healed by whom?" Castiel questioned.

"By the Elders. Leo, did you know?" Paige asked.

Leo shook his head, a look of shock and confusion on his face. "How do you know—"

"Because we spoke with one of them," Dean interjected. "He said his name was Jonnah."

"Jonnah is a very powerful Elder, third in command. Did he explain?"

Paige shrugged, "He just said that Ruby still had a part to play in all of this. That it would take witch, human, angel, and demon-kind to stop what is coming. Why are they always so cryptic?"

"Demon-kind?" Sam repeated. "What do you think he meant by that?"

"Well, he made it very clear that he didn't mean Ruby. He said that another would present itself."

Sam felt a pit begin to grow in his stomach. Another demon, he thought. Could it be… NO. He shut his thoughts down. There was no time for what-ifs right now.

"In all of this banter with an elder," Phoebe piped up, "Did you happen to ask them what's up with this new power of mine?"

Dean and Paige exchanged a glance, but stayed silent.

Phoebe looked down at her hands, "I just have this feeling that I'm developing it for a reason, you know? Like it will help in the fight somehow."

"I can ask around up there for you Phoebe, but you know how they like you to figure these things out for yourself," Leo said.

Phoebe nodded, and said no more.

"So," Chris began, "I guess all that is left to do now is figure out exactly how Ruby can help us, and to stop Rowena as soon as we can."

"Chris…" Piper trailed off, warning in her tone.

"Mom—"

"NO."

"Okay… what did we all miss?" Dean asked, the majority of the room nodding in agreement with his statement.

"Chris wants to offer himself up as bait to lure Rowena in," Piper replied.

Leo whirled on his son, "Under no circumstances—"

"Oh please!" Chris cut him off, "Save it, because I promise that whatever you have to say, Mom has already beat you to it!"

"With good reason!" Leo shouted, "Christopher Perry Halliwell—"

"Why am I here?" Chris tried, and this question did seem to quiet his parents. "I have to do this. Mom, Dad… I have to play my part, no matter the consequences. I promised. I promised her."

Recognition dawned on his parents faces as Piper laid her hands gingerly on her stomach.

"Her?" Phoebe questioned. "Who, her?"

Chris ignored his aunt and continued, "There is nothing for me where I came from. No mother, no father, no aunts or uncles… no Wyatt. There is no reason to go back if we can't stop this crazy bitch. Stopping her is why I am here, so argue, piss, and moan all you want, but this is a good, solid plan, and it will work."

A period of silence followed, broken ultimately by Sam asking, "So what exactly is this plan?"

Piper and Leo linked hands, mournful expressions on their faces as Chris spoke. "The idea is to distract her enough to rescue little Wyatt and vanquish her all at once. I orb myself to the Underworld, offer myself up saying I want the fighting to end—"

"Is the idea, excuse me, that she can use you for her ritual in the same way she can use the Chris from this time?" Castiel inquired.

"Exactly," Chris said. "The thing is, the odds that I'm still as pure as I was at age three are honestly… well pretty much nonexistent."

"But isn't it your light magic that Rowena is after? That doesn't change as long as you continue to practice it, right?" Sam questioned.

"It is a gamble, Chris," Castiel agreed.

"Look, it isn't even going to be an issue, I'm just the distraction, and as long as I'm not with Dean, she is still missing half of the puzzle. While she's distracted by me, some of you may be able to get close enough to vanquish her, while others can be rescuing my brother. Honestly, I think using me is our best bet."

There was silence for a moment.

"Well, I think it's as good of a plan as any we've come up with," Dean said.

"Yeah, well, you're drunk," Piper grumbled in reply.

"I hate to say this," Paige stated, "But I agree with Dean. We haven't come up with a better plan, and quite frankly I'm tired of sitting on our hands and letting the bad guys get the upper hand."

"If we are going to do this, I would like to help," Ruby said suddenly. "Maybe I can pretend like I've brought Chris to Rowena, like I've… captured him or something. It might not be much, but in the event that something goes wrong, I'd at least be able to take her off guard."

Sam felt something stir in him as Ruby spoke. It wasn't like listening to the Ruby he had known in his past. There was no bite to her words, none of that unrelenting sarcasm that he had learned to love. It was almost as if she were a blank slate looking to be molded, so different from the demon that had constantly put her guard up.

"That's all well and good, but if another demon sees you their going to know that you're all… un-demony," Dean replied. "They're going to be able to see your true face."

"We might be able to help shroud her in demonic energy, though there's no telling what toll that might take on her," Piper said.

"I want to do it, whatever the cost. I… I want to try and make amends, the right way. Paige says it is important to try and be better than I was. This is the way to do that, right?"

"Are many of your memories coming back?" Sam asked, unable to help himself.

Ruby avoided looking him in his eyes. "Some are more vivid than others, the intense ones. I remember a lot about our time together, and what I did to you and your brother. I know you said last night that you forgive me, but that does not stop me from feeling this… I don't really know what to call it. It's like dread, but sadder and long-lasting."

"That's called guilt, sister," Dean slurred, taking a long slurp from his coffee mug.

"Okay, will someone please take drunky-pants over there up to his bed, please? We have a lot more to do before this plan is going to be fit for action, and he is only going to get in the way," Piper said.

Castiel and Leila stepped forward to coax Dean out of his chair and, after a bit of maneuvering, out of the room. "Oh, actually Paige will you run and tell Dean to try calling the King of Hell one more time before he passes out? We could use all of the help we can get on this one."

Paige nodded and left the room. Sam felt compelled to follow her.

"Paige!"

The witch barely turned to reply. "Not now, Sam," she said, her stride unceasing.

"Why are you suddenly so buddy, buddy with Ruby? Yesterday you could barely look at her!"

His comment stopped Paige in her tracks. "That is the question you have for me? Of all the things you could ask—Look, Ruby is my charge now, so despite the personal feelings I may or may not have toward her, I still have a job to do. Not to mention she's like a newborn baby, all confused and breakable, so it's sort of hard to hold a grudge against her."

Sam sighed, "I guess I just want you to know that her being here, it doesn't change how I feel about you."

"Don't delude yourself, Sam. It changes everything. Just the fact that you're standing here talking about it, proves that fact."

"No—"

"Sam," Paige said, holding her hand up to cut him off, "There is a battle to prepare for, and the last thing I need right now is to be distracted by sweet words. Please, I need space."

Sam watched her walk away, and began to doubt himself. Did he truly know his own feelings when it came to Ruby? Their past was so tortured and tangled, was it any wonder he couldn't rationalize it? One thing he did know, is that Paige and her family gave him a sense of security that he hadn't felt in a long time. But, was he confusing love with that sense of safety? He shook his head, these were thoughts for another time. Paige was right when she said there were more important things to think about right now. Heading back to the kitchen, and back into the heat of battle planning Sam tried to clear his head and focus on the task at hand.

"Everything okay?" Chris asked.

Sam shook his head, "I'm not sure right now. But if we can all get through this… it might be."

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I know it was a lot of dialogue, but our heroes have all been away from each other for quite some time, so there was a lot to catch up on. The next chapter will be much more action packed, I promise!

As always, please review! I love hearing your ideas for where the story may go, or how you are liking it so far! You all inspire me to keep writing this fic! THANK YOU FOR READING!

XOXO AryaUnderfoot