Zachariah vanished from the room to give Dean and Carly some time to think. Dean helped Carly to sit up against the wall, taking a seat beside her. Carly's hand was placed upon her stomach as she gritted her teeth in pain. Dean peered over to her with worry.

"How bad does it hurt?" Dean asked.

Carly quietly grunted before meeting his gaze. "It feels like someone is grabbing my stomach and they're twisting it between their fingers."

"You don't feel like attacking the first thing you see, do you?"

"You mean am I turning out like Sam?" she asked, Dean slowly nodding. "No, I haven't lost my mind...yet. Do I want demon blood? Oh hell yeah, but I wouldn't attack some innocent person to get it or I don't think I would at least."

"I'm sorry," Dean muttered.

Carly gazed toward Dean with a raised brow. "Why are you apologizing?"

"If I'd been stronger, you wouldn't have been given demon blood in the first place."

"We were outnumbered, Dean," Carly said with shrug. "This was going to happen eventually and we both know that."

Dean rose onto his feet, turning his back to Carly. "I just can't do this."

He ran a hand through his hair as Carly stumbled up from where she was sitting to stand behind him. Carly grabbed his shoulder, so Dean would turn around and face her. She looked at him with confusion as she tried to fight through the pain that was wracking her body.

"What can't you do?" Carly asked.

"This...we're in a terrible situation. I don't want to give myself to Michael but if I don't I have to watch you or Sam be thrown into the pit and if I do, Michael and I may kill one of you anyways. It's so damn frustrating I could scream," Dean said.

"At least if I take Sam's place, you get to keep your brother," Carly muttered.

"Then I lose you."

Carly slowly shook her head. "I'm not as important as Sam is, Dean. He's your family and I won't sit back to watch you lose what little you have left. You've lost a lot of people and adding your own brother to the list would break you. You may fight and get so pissed you cannot even look at one another, but you're family and that is never going to change."

"Carly…"

"It's okay...if allowing Lucifer to possess me ends the apocalypse then it's worth it. I'm willing to die to save all of you."

"But I'm not willing to watch you die. I've seen you die or almost die too many times for my liking and I NEVER want to see it again," Dean insisted.

"It's the best of two evils, why can't you understand that?"

"I just don't want to lose you."

"Why?"

"Because I'm in love with you, Carly!" Dean admitted, raising his hands into the air before slamming them back against his thighs before repeating what he said in a whisper. "I'm in love with you."

"You...are?" Carly asked in a quiet surprised voice.

Dean nodded slowly. "Yes, I have been since we saved you all the way back in Wisconsin, but I hid my feelings down deep since I saw how you felt about my brother and I wasn't about to interfere with either of your guys' happiness. Then he hurt you, and I wanted to literally kill him, but I held back because he was family. Yet, since then, even before Sam came back, we've grown closer to one another. The cuddling while we slept, the compliments with lingering smiles, and the kiss...I did it to stop your panic attack, but it felt like more."

"Dean I…" Carly began.

"It's okay," Dean said, interrupting her. "If you don't feel the same way, that is totally fine. We can go back to how we were before. You can even get back with Sam if you truly want to. As long as I am in your life and we figure out a way to save you, I'm happy."

"I don't want to get back with Sam or go back to how we were before," Carly said.

"Then what do you…"

Carly stepped forward, stopping Dean's words short. She reached up to grab Dean's face with her hands. Her gaze froze him in place, his breath catching in his throat. She smiled as she pulled him down, their lips meeting in one swift motion.

The pain within Carly was forgotten as it was replaced with a tingle throughout her entire body. A smile formed on Dean's lips as they continued to kiss, their lips moving in unison with one another. For a single moment, everything stood still.

As they pulled apart, the two noticed movement out of the corner of their eye and found Sam standing on the other side of the room. Dean was the first to speak, awkwardly taking a step away from Carly. "Where's Castiel?"

"He's distracting the angels, now let's get going before they notice you're gone."

"It's too late for that now." The three turned to find Zachariah leaning up against the wall. "Castiel may have distracted my guards, but not me. I knew you would try to save Carly and Dean, which is why I had a backup plan."

Zachariah lifted his hand into the air and faced his palm toward Sam. With a flick of his wrist, he fell to the ground with a gasp. His other hand rose to face Carly and she also collapsed. Dean looked down at them both with fear as they began coughing up blood.

"Stop...STOP!" Dean yelled.

"Then say yes." Zachariah said, meeting Dean's gaze. "Say yes to Michael and I'll let them go."

"No…" Carly muttered.

Zachariah squeezed his fist tighter, causing Carly to scream. Dean looked down at Carly with blood on her lips. Her gaze met his with pleading. He looked at her for a long moment before winking. Carly looked confused as Dean returned his gaze to Zachariah.

"I'll say yes if you stop hurting them," Dean said.

Zachariah smiled as his arms dropped to his sides and as they did, Sam and Carly both sighed in relief. Sam scrambled over to Carly and got her arm over his shoulder, helping her to her feet. Dean looked at them with a nod as they headed for the open doorway that was now visible.

When they stepped out, they noticed they were in some sort of parking structure and there were no angels around, so whatever Castiel did must've worked. The entire place began to shake as Sam hurried out into a plot of cement where the impala was parked. As they exited, a scream rang out and it wasn't Dean.

Sam unlocked the impala and helped Carly into the backseat. As he turned to get in himself, he saw Dean running very quickly toward them. Sam wanted to ask but getting out of there was more important, so instead, he threw the keys to Dean. He caught them as the two got in the car and Dean put his foot all the way down upon the pedal, speeding out of there.

He stayed at that speed for a good twenty minutes before he slowed to a normal speed when they entered a small town, getting arrested was definitely something he did not need. As he drove, Sam explained how he and Castiel found them, what Castiel did to distract the angels, that they defeated Pestilence, and the rest of the details.

As the two spoke, Carly laid in the backseat, trying to ignore the pain plaguing her body. The three were going to drive until they ran out of gas and then they would stay at a motel and plan their next move, so Carly tried to get some rest. It took her some time, but eventually, she fell unconscious. Yet, she sadly wasn't alone.

She found herself within an apartment that looked abandoned. The little furniture that was strewn about was torn, broken, and covered in so much dust you could barely see what the original fabric looked like. She walked from what she thought was the dining room and made her way into the living room. As she did, Carly caught sight of a man standing within the room facing a window, his back to her.

He turned slightly at her presence, but with the shadows, she couldn't tell who it truly was. He turned back toward the window as it began to ice over. The man's hand rose into the air as he placed a finger against the glass.

"Most people think I burn hot," he muttered, drawing a pitchfork within the ice. "But it's actually quite the opposite."

"Why are you here?" Carly asked, ignoring Lucifer's comment.

"I know what you're up to," Lucifer said, turning to face Carly.

Carly leaned forward. "Then you know how close we are to ending you."

"Oh, I am quite aware. One more ring and you have the key to my cage, but is that really what you want?" Lucifer asked.

"Yes, more than anything."

Lucifer laughed under his breath. "You know what I just heard? Your heart skipped a beat at...yes. You may believe that's what you want but deep down you know the consequences of that action. That you or Sam would have to come with me."

"It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make," Carly muttered.

"Is it?" Lucifer asked, appearing in front of Carly while placing a hand on her cheek. "Is being stuck in Hell with the Devil really worth it?"

"It's the only option I have," Carly said, flinching away from his touch. "If I don't, I'll have to fight Dean or watch Sam fight him to death. Sacrificing myself saves them both of that torment."

Lucifer leaned forward with a smile. "Who said you had to fight Dean?"

"Dean is Michael's true vessel."

"Yes, but there is another who could hold Michael. His name is Adam and he's the Winchester's half-brother. As with you and Sam, Michael has two vessels as well. If Michael possesses Adam and you let me into your body, I can defeat my brother without killing Dean or Sam and when the battle is done, I will let you go. All three of you get to live," Lucifer explained.

"But then an innocent man will die," Carly pointed out.

"I'll be at this apartment in three days' time. The address is on a piece of paper within your pants pocket. Make your decision by then."

Then as Carly's eyes closed, she shot up in the back of the impala parked outside a motel room. Carly could see through the window that Sam and Dean were in the lobby getting them a room. She remembered what Lucifer said and dug her hand into her pocket to find a scrap of paper. She unfolded the paper and found an address scrawled across it with a date and time. Carly noticed the boys were returning, so she quickly shoved the note back into her pocket as they got in the car.