CHAPTER ONE

"Woof! Woof!"

A large fluffy dog ran ahead of them down the sidewalk barking loudly.

"Marbles, don't run far!"

Sam shot his companion a look.

"Uh, Kalen?"

The long haired, dirty blonde glanced at him.

"Yes?"

"Marbles?"

Kalen giggled.

"Kind of cute, huh? I wanted a cute name and Marbles sounded cute. You'll never guess his breed," she said.

Sam's gaze shifted down the path to where the big fluffy dog was scooping up a ball in his mouth. He took note of its floppy ears and long tail as it returned the ball to Kalen. She pulled her arm back and let the ball fly.

"I'd guess he's a Saint Bernard," Sam said.

Kalen shook her head.

"Wrong."

Sam frowned but shrugged it off.

"So you said you would tell me more. I'm guessing…more than you told me before?"

Kalen nodded again.

"Yeah. The time is right. A lot of time has passed since we first met. You've found a home and your angel is back. Your family is whole," Kalen explained.

Sam threw a finger up in defense, tapping the empty air once with a swift jerk of his head.

"Gabriel is not my angel."

Kalen shot him a pointed look as she stopped to fully face him.

"I didn't name the angel."

Sam felt the heat rising in his cheeks.

"Do you remember our first meeting?"

With a deep sigh, Sam nodded. He remembered that day all too well. He remembered the creature they'd been hunting. He remembered researching at the library. He remembered the screaming.

"How have you been?" Sam asked.

Kalen shrugged a shoulder before continuing their walk.

"Taking it one day at a time. One adventure after another. I climbed Mount Everest yesterday. It's a lot easier than people make it out to be," Kalen commented.

Sam smiled with a small chuckle.

"Have you told the angels about me? Have you even told your brother about me?" Kalen questioned.

Sam shook his head.

"No. I don't really understand…I don't really understand any of this. I was kind of hoping you could fill in the gaps," Sam answered.

Kalen casually shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. She sighed as she looked up at the sky as if searching for answers.

"I have special abilities. You already knew that. I've never told you the why or how," she told him.

Sam scrunched his face up.

"You don't have to explain anything if you don't want to."

"But I want to."

"But why now? What's changed?"

"Your timeline."

"Huh?"

Kalen guided them over to a bench. They sat down with Kalen turning towards him with one leg tucked under the other.

"One of my more special abilities is being able to see a person's timelines. I see the past, present, and future. Think of it…as a spider's web. At the center is you, the person, and growing out from you is the strands of the web. Each decision you make takes you down a different line," Kalen explained.

Sam brought a hand up to his head. This was a lot to take in. He had known Kalen a long time, but he had never imagined the true extent to her abilities.

"So you're what…a prophet? A trickster?" Sam inquired.

Kalen's abilities reminded him a lot of Gabriel in his Trickster days. Kalen looked to be contemplating the answer as she wavered her hand up and down.

"I suppose you could call me that. I mean it's better than what half of Heaven calls me," Kalen said.

Sam grew more confused.

"What do the angels call you?"

"Abomination."

Sam flinched. Kalen gave him a sympathetic look.

"Why?" Sam gasped.

Kalen smiled. She reached out to pat him on the knee.

"Because they're afraid of me, I guess. Afraid of what I can do. Afraid of what I am." Pause. "Sam, I'm half human…and half angel."

A sudden wave of dizziness washed over him. Their conversation brought him back to when he met Jessie, the half demon child. He wanted to protect Jessie. He wanted to protect Kalen.

"So you were saying these…timelines?" Nod. "Timelines change with decisions we make. Kind of like a fork in the road. I go left or right?"

"Essentially, yes," Kalen answered.

"You said mine changed," Sam pointed out.

Another nod. Marbles walked up to them and laid his head down in Kalen's lap with his long tongue hanging out. She smiled as she scratched his head. Sam reached out to pet him too. Marbles shifted over to Sam as he stuffed his nose into the hunter's stomach.

"Your timeline changed because I made the changes. After we met, I realized who you were. I took a long look at your timeline and I didn't like what I saw. The future had a lot of …sadness…agony in store for you and after you…I couldn't let that happen, Sam."

Kalen proceeded to explain that over the years since meeting him, she had been forced to time the changes to his timeline carefully.

"What did you change?" Sam questioned.

"I stopped Gabriel from dying," Kalen answered.

"Lucifer, you're my brother and I love you. But you are a great big bag of dicks."

He thought he had the upper hand on his older brother, but Lucifer always could anticipate his moves. Just as his brother whipped around ready to plunge his blade into him, Gabriel's eyes flashed to a corner of the room.

A short, unfamiliar female stood there watching. Smiling, she raised her hand up in a motion reminiscent of his snapping. Even from that distance, he could read the silent words on her lips.

"It's not your time." SNAP.

Sam glared at the ground.

"Gabriel didn't tell me," Sam growled.

Kalen patted him on the knee.

"Don't be mad. He's only seen me one other time. He probably hasn't even told any of the other angels. I don't make it a habit of hanging around angels, let alone archangels."

Sam thought back to the days before Lucifer was locked back away in the cage. Gabriel had popped in one day, proclaiming he was joining them and would help them figure out how to lock Lucifer back in the cage.

"Does he know who you are? What you are?" Sam asked.

Kalen's shoulders rose and dropped as her hand skirted up to scratch her canine's back.

"I think he suspects. The last time he saw me was a few years ago, but he didn't have any words for me before I left. I kind of wonder if he thinks I'm an illusion," Kalen pondered.

"Was…was that the only change?" Sam questioned.

Kalen shook her head.

"No. It couldn't be the only change in order to circumvent future events that you were still destined for. That was just the only change I made involving Gabriel directly," she explained.

Sam brought a hand up to rub at his face. The headache was raging hard by now. Kalen grew silent. Sam tried to allow himself time to take it all in, but his desire to know more overruled that. His hand absentmindedly continued petting Marbles' head.

"How many other changes did you make?" Sam inquired.

"Many. Probably too many. But I didn't care. I wanted to save you the pains of what lay ahead. I still feel like I can't repay you for what you did for me," Kalen replied.

Sam reached out to grab Kalen's free hand and squeezed firmly. He wanted to stop the discussion. He wanted to run fast and far. He didn't want to know what future events he had missed.

Yet he had to know more.

"W-What kind of pains?" Sam stuttered.

Kalen hesitated before answering.

"Going to Hell. Returning without your soul. The Leviathan being released."

Sam sat stunned. His eyes bored into her. She calmly waited for him.

"I…I don't know what to say to all that," he answered.

"I do. Let's get something to eat."

/…/

"What do you mean you don't know where Sam is?!"

Dean had to yank the phone away from his ear. He pulled it back when he felt it was safe.

"I told you, Bobby. His note didn't say anything except he was going out with a friend. That was two days ago! Every time I call, it goes straight to voicemail."

"What about Cas? Can he feel Sam out? Figure out where he is?"

Dean shook his head as he collapsed into a chair.

"No. And short stack can't find him either. Both of them have been out looking since I called them." Sigh. "I'm worried, Bobby. Sam hasn't done a Houdini on me in a long time and I am not a fan."

"Well, when he does return, you save a piece of him for me, boy."

Dean shared a few more words with Bobby before hanging up. He pressed his speed dial for Sam and growled as he once again was sent straight to voicemail. He slammed his phone down on the table.

"I'm going to kill him."

/…/

"What are Leviathan? And the Mark of Cain? Like Cain and Abel, Cain?"

Kalen waved her hand in front of them.

"It's best not to dwell on those events. I shouldn't have even mentioned them. Please know that it's saved you more heartache than I can ever explain," Kalen replied.

"What about Purgatory? Dean and Cas…they went to Purgatory when Cas tried absorbing the souls. It backfired and they were gone," Sam demanded.

Kalen ran a hand down her face.

"Unfortunately, that was a part of the timeline I couldn't completely change. I would have spared them a trip to Purgatory if I could. I'm just happy they both returned."

Sam thought of questioning her more about it but decided his head may not be able to handle it.

"Do you…do you mind if we stop there? At least for today?"

"Of course. Take all the time you need, Sam."

"Thanks, Kalen."

They got a hotel for the night. Kalen slept soundly, but Sam tossed and turned. His dreams were haunted of old memories. It centered around the day they locked Lucifer back into the cage.

Sam felt like he was watching everything through fogged glasses. Lucifer had full control of his body. Lucifer was too focused on Michael in Adam's body, Dean, Bobby, and Castiel. Sam shielded his thoughts and they had kept Gabriel quiet from everyone.

It was how he was able to sneak up from behind and light the grass sprinkled with holy water around him. Sam felt his body jerk as words flew from his mouth. It was his mouth, but Lucifer's vile words that were flung at Gabriel. Castiel yanked Lucifer's old vessel out of the trunk of the Impala.

A confused Michael-Adam stared on as they all started the ritual. Simultaneously, they forced Lucifer back into his old vessel and the cage was opened. Michael-Adam would have fallen in too if it weren't for Castiel yanking him back. Despite their disconnection, Sam could feel the internal rage from Lucifer as he fell into the cage.

As Sam slept, Kalen woke up. Sensing his unrest, Kalen leaned out of her bed and pressed two fingers to his forehead. His body and face relaxed as he fell into a deeper sleep.

/…/

"So you talked to Cain. That's why he helped us defeat Abaddon. You…you just talked to him."

Kalen grinned.

"I can be very persuasive when I want to be. All I needed to do was remind him was Abaddon walked freely with his wife's blood on her hands."

Sam's head was still pounding yet not to the degree it had started with when they first started talking.

"Why? I mean Dean was going to try and convince him to give him The First Blade. Did that not go well?" Sam questioned.

Kalen shook her head.

"It's probably best you not know. I know I've already told you so much. I'm sorry it's a lot to take in," Kalen apologized.

"Don't," Sam started. "Don't apologize. It sounds like you did a lot for us. For me. I'm grateful."

Kalen smiled.

"I'm glad."

END OF CHAPTER ONE