Maybel had seen her fair share of monsters before. Hell, she'd seen so many as a kid that her parents had covertly talked about sending her to a shrink. She overheard, of course, and that was when she started to realize that not everyone could see what she could. That there was something wrong- different- about her, and it was something she needed to hide if she wanted to live a normal life. But her first day at Forks High had been a very challenging day for her.

Vampires. Why did it have to be vampires?

She was terrified. She waited all day, and the days after, for them to break their cover and attack. She knew vampires were fast and strong. That they lured humans in. That they could destroy half the school population before anyone even noticed.

But they never did. They seemed… Docile.

And then her sister started talking to one of them, and once again that cold terror griped her tight and held her down.

She debated for hours on whether or not she should say something, to warn Bella. But what would she say? If she told Bella the things she knew, she'd land herself in a padded room. No one would believe her. Before she could come to a conclusion on what to do, Bella was coming home from playing baseball, screaming about how she needed to leave.

Maybel tried to go with her, but Bella was adamant. She had to stay with their dad, Charlie. So she stayed. And God, did she regret it.

Charlie and she had raced to the hospital in Phoenix to see her after the… Accident. Maybel knew it had something to do with the Cullen's, but seeing the state her sister was in, she didn't dare say anything.

And when the Cullen's left, she felt relieved. At first, anyways. She assumed her sister was now safe from them and their world, and things would go back to normal. But Bella wouldn't return to normal until after she had run off to Italy to save Edward from something he had gotten himself into.

And now they were sitting close on the couch, watching a movie while Maybel sat in an armchair, reading a book. Bella had recently been ungrounded, and her time allowed to see Edward opened up.

Everytime he came to the house, Maybel was uncomfortable. She had come to learn that the Cullen's must be different from other vampires, but she was still nervous around them. And she knew they could tell, somehow.

She glanced over at the two of them, thinking back on all of these things. From her childhood and being ridiculed by the other children for believing in shapeshifters and demons to now, sitting in her living room with a non-dangerous vampire.

She shook her head minutely and looked back down to her book. She only read a few sentences before she was looking up again to the sound of flapping wings.

Edward was on his feet, snarling, ready to pounce on the man standing now in their living room.

"No!" Maybel cried. "Don't hurt him!"

Edward looked at her with worry and confusion on his face. "What?"

The man, who wasn't really a man, turned to look at her. His eyes were a striking blue that had her heart skipping a beat as it thumped quickly in her chest.

"Maybel Swan."

"Yes," she whispered in response. She knew he wasn't asking, and she wasn't answering a question. She was merely prompting him to continue.

"You know what I am?" He asked her.

Her eyes travelled the wings protruding from his back, soaking in the light that emanated from him. His eyes seemed to glow with the ethereal shine.

"You're an angel of the Lord," she said.

"Maybel-" Bella started, but the angel raised a hand to stop her. She cowered into Edward's side who stood in front of her, protecting.

"And how would you kill me?" The angel asked, tilting his head endearingly.

She swallowed thickly. "With an angel blade. It's three sided, and every angel has one."

He nodded once. "We need your help."

"Angels need my help?" She asked incredulously.

"No. I work with hunters. They protect innocent people by killing monsters."

"What do you need my help with?" Maybel asked.

"We need to know how to kill Lucifer. Do you know?"

She blanched. "L-Lucifer? I-I don't- I only know how to kill things I've seen. And I've never…" she trailed off, shaking her head. She glanced over to Edward and Bella. Bella was looking at her in shock and horror, and Edward was looking at her with a stern curiosity.

"Would you be willing to come with me? We know where Lucifer will be, and we have a plan to attempt to kill him. If this plan works, you will simply be a witness to the end of the apocalypse. If it fails, you will be the most important resource we have on how to kill the devil."

Maybel swallowed again. "I'll see him, then? The devil?"

The angel nodded once more. "I will not allow harm to come to you."

Maybel once again looked to her sister, who was looking even more horrified. "Don't go," Bella pleaded.

Maybel looked at her somberly before turning her gaze back to the attractive angel.

"I'll help you."

Before Bella could finish crying out her name, the angel reached forward and pressed two fingers to her forehead. A weightless feeling overcame her, and suddenly she was standing somewhere else entirely.

"Is this the kid?" A man asked in a gruff voice.

Maybel turned to look at who spoke, seeing three men and two women.

"Yes," the angel answered. "This is Maybel Swan."

The taller man stepped forward, a gentle smile on his face. "Hi, Maybel. I'm Sam, and this is my brother Dean. That's Bobby, Ellen, and her daughter Jo. We're uh, we're really glad you decided to help us. It means a lot."

"You're welcome," Maybel said. "The angel said something about the apocalypse so…"

"The angel?" Dean laughed. "That's Castiel, Cas, of course he didn't introduce himself."

She glanced back at the angel, at Cas. He was looking at her strangely, and she blushed, looking away.

"It's very brave of you to do this. We know you have your own life and don't have any responsibility in helping us," the man they introduced as Bobby said.

"Yeah, uhm, how did you know about… What I see?"

The brothers shared a look. "Cas told us there was a girl who could see monsters, and that it was believed she knew how to kill them."

Maybel looked back at the angel behind her again. "How'd you know all that?"

"There are many things the angels know. We know the names of every prophet, we know the people who will be crucial in the war of the apocalypse. We also know of people like you, born with special abilities."

"So I'm not crazy? All this is… all the monsters, they're real?"

Castiel nodded. "I don't know if that's a relief or not," Maybel said.

"Well, at least you're not crazy," Dean said, raising his beer. "Want a drink? We're all drinking. Tomorrow we try and kill the devil."

Maybel swallowed. "Uh. I'm not old enough yet…"

"How old are ya, Kid?" Bobby grunted.

"Twenty. My birthday's in June."

"Eh, close enough. Here ya go," Dean said, popping open another bottle and passing it to her.

"Oh. Alright." She took the bottle and hesitated a moment before taking a swig.

Ellen lined up five shots for Castiel, and the angel sat there and took all five in quick succession.

"I think I'm starting to feel something," He said.

Jo gawked and laughed along with Maybel. Ellen raised her brows and shook her head.

Maybel took another swig of her bottle as Ellen and Jo chattered.

"So," she said, looking at Castiel. "How do you think this is going to go?"

"Not well," he answered, meeting her eyes with his squinted baby blues.

She nodded. "Good. Great. So, I'm the backup plan?"

He nodded. "If this gun does not kill the devil, you are our last hope. I don't like the idea of you being near the devil, but you must see him."

"Yeah. I get it. I'm not psyched about it either, but as long as I'm with you, I'll be ok."

His squint got deeper as he studied her. "You have much faith in me."

Maybel shrugged. "You said you'd let nothing happen to me. I guess I just believe you." She meant it, too. He was an angel, for fuck's sake. A protector. A soldier. And there was just something about him… Something that made her feel safe and protected.

"Everybody get in here!" Bobby yelled from the living room, startling her. "Time for the lineup. Usual suspects in the corner."

"Oh, come on, Bobby. Nobody wants their picture taken," Ellen groaned.

Maybel followed Castiel into the living room where Bobby was setting up a camera.

"Do you want me to take it?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Girl, you might be saving our asses if tomorrow doesn't go well. I think you deserve to be in the picture."

She blushed. "Oh. Uhm, ok. If you're sure."

"We're sure," Sam agreed. "Even though none of us want a picture."

"Shut up. You're drinking my beer."

She ambled over to the corner, standing between Castiel and Sam. Bobby wheeled himself over in front of all of them.

"Anyway, I'm gonna need something to remember your sorry asses by," Bobby added.

"Ha! Always good to have an optimist around," Ellen said as they all smiled.

"Bobby's right," Castiel spoke. "Tomorrow we hunt the devil. This is our last night on Earth."

Every smile in the room fell. The camera flashed.

"Well, uh. On that note… Maybel, there's a guest bedroom upstairs. Sam, why don't you show her there?" Bobby instructed, wheeling out of the way.

"I can just take the couch-"

"No, no. Take the guest room," Dean said. Maybel nodded, feeling awkward. She followed Sam up the creaky stairs and he stopped outside a door on the right.

"Here you go. There's a bathroom right across the hall."

"Thanks, Sam." She said, opening the bedroom door.

"Yup. Uh, sleep well."

She raised her brows. "I'll try. You too."

He smiled ruefully. "I'll try."

Despite her doubts, as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out.

She woke groggily the next morning, sitting up and rubbing her eyes before looking around. She wasn't in her room, and that frightened her at first. Until she remembered the angel appearing in her living room and bringing her to a hunter's house so she could go with them on a quest to kill the devil.

A knock came at her door and she realized that's what had awoken her.

"One second," she called, flipping the blankets back. She had slept in her clothes and didn't have an extra set to change into, so she merely remade the bed and ambled over to the door.

She opened it and was met with Sam standing outside.

"Good morning," he greeted. "We're hitting the road in 30."

She nodded and stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind her. "Got it."

He smiled tersely and headed off down the hall. Maybel sighed and made for the stairs. When she reached the bottom and entered the kitchen, she nearly ran into Castiel.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" she mumbled.

He turned and looked at her. "Do not worry about it."

"Want some breakfast, Kid?" Bobby asked from the table.

"Uh, I don't think I can eat right now. I'm kind of nervous…"

Bobby nodded. "Yeah, I feel ya." She noticed that his plate had barely been touched.

Those thirty minutes went by very quickly, and before she knew it she was loading up into a car with Ellen, Jo, and Castiel. She and the angel slid into the backseat after Castiel had told the brothers he'd rather she stay with him.

The whole ride was silent, and Maybel could feel her nerves becoming more restless in her stomach. She was glad she hadn't eaten breakfast- with the way she was feeling now, she knew it would all come back up.

They finally reached what looked like an empty town. She watched out the window as they drove past signs that said 'ANTI-GOD IS ANTI-AMERICAN,' and 'ADULT VIDEOS.' The irony was not lost on her, but she was feeling so frightened she couldn't even manage a little nose laugh at the sight.

Ellen pulled up next to Dean and Sam, rolling the passenger window down.

"Place seem a little empty to you?" Ellen drawled.

"We're gonna go check out the PD. You guys stay here, see if you can find anybody," Dean ordered before driving off after Ellen agreed.

Ellen parked the car and her and Jo climbed out. Castiel turned to Maybel and touched her on the forehead again.

"Ever heard of a door handle?" Jo was asking as she turned to the car only to find it empty.

"Of course I have," Castiel said, sounding a little confused as to why she was asking. Jo spun around and looked at them in surprise.

Castiel took that time to look around, his brows furrowing into the squint she had come to expect from him. Now that she was out of the car, she was seeing what she was sure Cas was seeing.

"What is it, Cas?" Ellen asked.

"This town is not empty," he replied.

"It's full of reapers…" Maybel finished.

"Reapers? As in more than one?" Ellen asked.

Castiel continued to look around. "They only gather like this at times of great catastrophe. Chicago Fire, San Francisco Quake, Pompeii. Excuse me, I need to find out why they're here." He turned to Maybel. "Come with me, I do not want to leave you."

"Alright," she said, tugging at her shirt and following as he weaved through the 'empty' street. She weaved behind him, not wanting to walk through a reaper.

Suddenly he stopped, his gaze slowly working its way up to a building. She followed his line of sight and saw another reaper standing there before he turned and walked out of sight.

Without looking at her, he raised a hand and once more transported them.

They were now standing in an empty hall, and Maybel slowly followed behind Castiel down to a dark, open room. His pace was brisk and he didn't seem to notice her falling behind.

A bright light flared up and she covered her eyes, moving her hands when the light died down to reveal Cas stuck in a ring of fire. Holy fire, she assumed from what her brain had pulled up about angels.

Her eyes widened in fear and she stayed stuck in her spot. Cas looked around before finding something to his left and turning towards it.

"Lucifer," Castiel said lowly, and Maybel felt her blood turn to frozen slush inside her veins. She knew that this was going to happen, but now that she was here… She wanted to run away.

"So I take it you're here with the Winchesters," what she assumed was Lucifer's voice said. A figure came out of the darkness, his back to her, and her brain was filled with a rush of information.

She knew without being told that this was the devil, even if she had already figured that part out. More facts about him, including the ways to kill him, ran through her head.

"I came alone," Castiel said, his eyes not even flickering towards Maybel.

"Oh really? Then who's this?" Suddenly her feet were dragging across the floor as an invisible force pulled her towards the two angels.

"Don't hurt her," Castiel growled.

Once she was standing close enough to Lucifer, he grabbed a hold of her and spun her around to face him, a hand coming up and cupping her chin.

"Oh, she's a pretty one, isn't she? Are you the girl who's going to tell them how to kill me?"

Shaking in her shoes, Maybel stayed silent. Castiel did not.

"Let her go!" He yelled, coming uncomfortably close to the flames.

Lucifer looked past her to the angel and his eyes widened fractionally before gleaming with mischief.

"Oh. I see." He tilted his head and let out what could almost be called a giggle. "I see, I see."

"See what?" Castiel demanded, shifting back and forth as if he was ready to throw himself through the flames to get to her.

"You can't see it, little brother?" Lucifer taunted, spinning Maybel around and caging her against his chest. "Look closer at her, at her soul."

Cas's eyes flickered between the two of them, becoming more frustrated the longer this went on.

"Tell me what you mean," he demanded.

Lucifer tsked and turned her around again, trailing a finger down the side of Maybel's face. "Well, Castiel, right?" He paused, looking up at the other angel for confirmation. Cas must have given it to him because he continued, "Little Maybel here is your soulmate."

Her blood roared in her ears as she tried to comprehend what his words meant. Soulmate? No. She couldn't be, right? He was an angel. She was just some random human.

"No…" Castiel whispered to himself before seeming to snap out of his shock. "Let go of her!"

"Why should I?" He leaned closer and dragged his fingers across her cheek. "Tell me, Maybel. Have you already figured out how to kill me?"

Unable to speak still, Maybel shook her head as much as she could in his grip. The grip that only grew stronger at her denial.

"Don't lie to me," he said in a low voice.

"Lucifer," Castiel growled in warning. "Release her."

"I don't think I can. She's too dangerous in your hands."

A bad feeling washed over Maybel, and before she could rethink it, she sucked in a deep breath of air and yelled out,

"Only Michael's blade wielded by the one true vessel can kill-" she cut off with a gurgle as Lucifer's hand closed around her throat like a vice.

He lifted her off the ground, her feet kicking to find any kind of purchase.

"LET HER GO!" Castiel roared. Tears stung at her eyes as she struggled to drag air into her lungs.

"Ok." Lucifer dropped her, her knees cracking against the hardwood floor painfully. She gasped and grasped at her sore neck before looking up at the devil in front of her. He was already bending down towards her, and she tried to scurry back to no avail. He grabbed her, a hand on both sides of her head, and the last thing she saw was his evil grin as Castiel's horrified voice cried out,

"NO!"

Maybel felt like she just came shooting up from deep water.

She gasped and started coughing, her whole body twitching.

"Maybel," a watery voice called through the haze.

She opened her eyes to stare up at who had spoken. Castiel's face was hovering over her, and she realized she was being cradled in his arms.

"What… What happened?" She looked around as much as she could with Cas cupping her face in his large hand. They were alone in the room.

"I'm so sorry," he murmured. "I failed you."

"Did- Did I die?" Maybel asked in shock. She remembered Lucifer grabbing her head, and a brief moment of pain, before blackness.

"Yes," he said, voice full of sorrow. "I wasn't able to save you."

"How- Then how am I alive?" She asked, looking back up at him. Even though she was working through shock and residual fear, she felt warm and content being held in his arms.

He shook his head, and she noticed his wings drooped low behind him. The usual glow about him was dimmer.

"I prayed for you to be brought back to me."

"And that worked?" She gasped.

"It must have. You are alive again." He paused. "We must find the others." His sorrowful eyes met hers before he lifted his fingers to her forehead.

They were standing now between bushes, Sam and Dean crouched in front of them. Castiel put a hand on my shoulder, pushing so that I would crouch with him as he held his other hand in a shushing motion to his lips. He placed Maybel's hand on his shoulder and grabbed onto the two brothers, transporting them away.

Ellen and Jo didn't make it.

Maybel had only known them for a night and a car ride, but she felt their loss. Especially because Lucifer was still alive.

Especially because she hadn't given them the answer they wanted.

When they arrived back at Bobby's, Dean had whirled to her and demanded to know if she had found a way to kill the devil. She repeated the answer she had yelled to Castiel a few hours before, and Dean stood there stock still for a moment. Until he seemed to snap, swearing and throwing things.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Bobby had yelled from behind his desk. "Stop breaking my shit, boy!"

Realizing that her answer was not a good one, Maybel had started to tear up.

"I'm sorry," she'd said. "I wish I could give you a different answer."

Castiel had stepped closer to her, a hand hovering over her shoulder. "It is not your fault. We were searching for an answer that did not exist, and pulled you into this and got you killed."

"What?" Sam had demanded. "What do you mean?"

Castiel's shame could have been gathered up to make a whole fashion line. "Lucifer killed her while I was trapped in Holy Fire. I believe God brought her back."

Sam had looked to her with deep regret. "Maybel, I am so sorry. I wish we hadn't brought you into this."

She merely shook her head in response. "No. I knew there would be risks. At least I was able to give you a definitive answer so you can stop scrambling at guesses."

"I should take you home," Castiel had said, ending the conversation.

Now she was standing in the guest room, waiting for Castiel to say what he had to say.

"I should never have brought you with us."

Maybel stopped shifting from foot to foot. "I meant what I said earlier. I wanted to help, and even if it wasn't in a way we all wanted, I still helped. I wouldn't change my mind if I had to do it over again." She stepped closer to him. "And you still saved me."

He shook his head. "God saved you. You were very lucky."

"He saved me because you asked him to. If you hadn't cared enough to ask, I'd still be dead."

He hung his head. "If I had been more careful, you'd never have died in the first place."

"Ok, we're obviously not going to get anywhere with this topic. Why don't we, uhm, talk about the other thing?" Maybel said, wringing her hands nervously.

"What other thing?" Castiel asked, squinting up at her beneath his lashes. They were so much longer than she had thought.

"The uh, soulmate thing," she squeaked.

He sighed. "There is nothing to talk about."

"What?" She cried. "How could there be nothing to talk about?"

"There's nothing to talk about, because I am going to take you home, and we are never going to bother you again."

"What about what I want?"

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you stay safe, and if you are involved in this life, you will not be safe."

"I'm already involved in this life!" Maybel debated. "I'll never not be a part of this!"

"But you won't be on the front lines. The things the Winchesters and I get wrapped up in, people die. Every time. Look at today, three people died."

"But-" she started to argue.

"No. It is my job to make sure no harm befalls you, and if that means staying as far from you as possible, then that is what I will do."

Castiel stared her down, daring her to argue. And oh, she was gonna step up to the plate.

"This is not one-sided. I'm a part of this too, and I should get a say in what happens with my life. Does soulmate not mean the same thing that it means to me?"

He frowned. "I don't know."

"To me, a soulmate is the person you're made for. The person you're supposed to rely on and go to and spend the rest of your life with. You work through the difficulties together and get through it. But you stay. Together," Maybel stressed.

Castiel shook his head. "We can't. It's too dangerous."

"I don't care how dangerous it is! I just want to be with you."

Castiel seemed shocked at this. "Why?"

"I- I can't really tell you why. First off, you're my soulmate. So of course I want to be with you because I'm supposed to be. But more than that, I feel… Different with you. I've never felt so at home before. I've always felt like I didn't belong here. But you make me feel warm and happy and like I finally have someone I can connect with."

Castiel sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. "Despite that I cannot allow you to stay with us. I feel very similarly about you which is why I must protect you even if it costs our happiness."

"Why should you get to decide whether or not I'm happy?" Maybel snapped.

"Because it will keep you alive!" Castiel yelled, surprising her and causing her to falter back a step. His angry expression fell quickly and he held out a hand. "I did not mean to frighten you." He sighed again and flipped his hand so his palm faced up. "Let me take you home."

"Where I'll never see you again?" Maybel asked, her lip wavering.

"I want you to forget about me and move on with your life," he said softly as he came closer.

She shook her head as a tear fell. "I'll never be able to forget you."

He raised his hand to her forehead and suddenly they were standing on her front porch.

"Maybel!"

She spun around to see her father shoot up from his chair.

"Dad," she said, wiping at her face. He grabbed her and moved her behind him.

"How did you do that?" He demanded of Castiel.

The angel cocked his head at him. "I am an angel of the Lord."

Her father spluttered. "What do you take me for?"

Maybel grabbed her father's arm. "Dad, he's telling the truth. It's ok-"

"It sure as hell is not ok! Where did he take you? What did he do to you?"

"Uhm, well-" Maybel started but Castiel spoke over her.

"I took her on a mission to kill Lucifer. We needed her help to know how to kill him."

"Cas-" she warned.

"Excuse me? Is that code for something? What does that mean?" Charlie asked, looking between the two of them. Maybel sighed.

"He's telling the truth, Dad. Lucifer is real. And monsters are real. I can see them, and when I do, it's like… I just know their weaknesses. How to kill them."

"No. No, he's brainwashed you."

"I've done nothing of the sort," Castiel denied.

"Cas, let me handle this," Maybel said. "Look, Dad. I know you remember when I was a kid and you and mom thought you were gonna have to send me to see somebody because of the things I would talk about seeing. I didn't want you to do that, so I stopped talking about it, but it never went away. I've always been like this, and it won't go away. I just… I need you to believe me."

Charlie stared at her for a long moment, his mustache twitching, before he nodded. But then he turned back to Castiel and pointed a stern finger at him.

"If you ever come near my daughter again, I will shoot you. I don't want you to show up here again, do you hear me?"

Cas squinted back at him. "Guns have no affect on me."

"Leave!"

Cas gave her one last look she couldn't decipher before he was gone with a flap of his wings.

Charlie spluttered again.

"He really is an angel, Dad. And he'd never hurt me."

Charlie grunted and led her inside the house, checking behind him before closing and locking the door.

He turned to Maybel and grabbed her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "Are you sure you're ok?"

She nodded. "I… I'm fine. Just tired."

He didn't seem to believe her, but nodded anyway and let go.

"Maybel! Oh my God, you're ok!"

She turned and was crushed in a hug from Bella.

"Hey, Bells."

Bella pulled back and grabbed her face, causing Maybel to jerk back. Bella looked at her in worry.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No, no. I'm fine. You just, uh, startled me," Maybel said.

Bella stared up at her, brows pinched together. "Ok… What happened? How did that- that man just… Zap you away?"

"He's not a man," Maybel corrected. "He's an angel of the Lord." Her father scoffed and brushed past her to go to the living room and sit down. "He needed my help to figure out how to kill Lucifer."

She hadn't noticed Edward come up behind her sister, so when he spoke it caused her to jump.

"And how were you able to help with that?"

Maybel sighed. "It's… A long story."