Another chapter that has been left mostly untouched. Yay!

Zoe woke up in Bobby's guest room. The aging hunter had been kind enough to prepare a room for her. This mostly meant that stuff on the bed was stuff on floor or in the closet. Anything was better than a motel bed. Bobby's guest bed might as well have been heaven.

She dreamed of home. Where the last four months had been nothing but a very vivid dream, and she hadn't been gone. Nothing had changed, unless the crushing fact that it was just a dream now counted as change. She turned around on her back to stare at the blurry ceiling, squinting to make out the rest of the room before she reached for her glasses and went in search of coffee.

Bobby better have a coffee machine or a pot brewing.

The Winchesters were already up, but then again that wasn't all that surprising. Sam woke up too early in the morning to be considered normal, and she doubted Dean as any different. Ah, but she needed coffee, and thankfully someone, probably Sam, had a pot boiling. As she made her coffee, she overheard the brothers talking.

"Well, then tell me what else it could be?" asked Sam.

"Look," Dean said, "all I know is I was not groped by an angel."

"Okay, look, Dean," Sam said, "Why do you think this Castiel would lie to you about it?"

"Maybe he's some kind of demon," suggested Dean, "Demons lie."

Zoe silently scoffed. Of course Dean would automatically think that Castiel was a demon even when he had been proven otherwise. When in doubt, blame demons. The Winchester motto.

"A demon who's immune to salt rounds and devil's traps... and Ruby's knife? Dean, Lilith is scared of that thing!"

Thank you Sam. Zoe always knew there was a reason she liked the more reasonable of the Winchesters.

"Don't you think that if angels were real," argued the stubborn squirrel, "that some hunter somewhere would have seen one... at some point... ever?"

"Yeah," Sam agreed, "You just did, Dean."

Zoe grimaced when she tried the coffee and searched the cupboards for more sugar. Salt. Salt. Salt. Rice. Cereal. More Salt. Sugar? No, just salt. What's in the box? Oh my god! Salt! What a complete surprise.

"I'm trying to come up with a theory here," Dean said. "Okay? Work with me"

"Dean, we have a theory."

Zoe gave a cry of victory when she found the sugar and poured two teaspoons of it into her mug and stirred it while making her way towards the Winchesters.

"Yeah, one with a little less fairy dust on it, please," Dean continued.

Ah Dean. Stubborn as ever.

"Okay, look. I'm not saying we know for sure," Sam placated "I'm just saying that I think we -"

"Okay, okay," Dean interrupted, "That's the point. We don't know for sure, so I'm not gonna believe that this thing is a freaking Angel of the Lord because it says so!"

"But he is an angel," Zoe said and the brothers turned to face her. "One of the really nice ones."

Sam gave Dean an 'I told you so look', but Dean still refused to accept it. Zoe took a sip of her coffee. Ah. Just how she liked it.

Bobby spoke up, "You three chuckleheads want to keep arguing religion, or do you want to come take a look at this?"

The Winchesters walked over to Bobby to see what he had found while Zoe sat on the recliner, wondering if Bobby had any biscuits or cookies.

"I got stacks of lore – Biblical, pre-Biblical," he pointed to the respective books, "Some of it's in damn cuneiform. It all says an angel can snatch a soul from the pit."

"What else?" Dean asked.

"What else, what?"

Zoe considered asking Bobby rather than spend her energies looking for it.

"What else could do it?" Dean asked.

"Airlift your ass out of the hot box?" Bobby finished, "As far as I can tell, nothing."

But Bobby was busy.

"Dean, this is good news," Sam said, though Dean didn't believe him, "Because for once, this isn't just another round of demon crap. I mean, maybe you were saved by one of the good guys, you know?"

But she really needed to eat something with her coffee.

"Okay. Say it's true," Dean said, "Say there are angels. Then what? There's a God?"

"Yes and NO," Zoe spoke up.

All three frowned.

"What do you mean by that?" Bobby asked.

Zoe sat up straighter, "Well, God hasn't been seen in heaven for a long time, at least according to the show and multiple angels, and no Dean, they aren't lying." Said Winchester closed his mouth and frowned. "The archangels are calling the shots not God. Well, Archangel, since Gabriel ran off shortly after God left because of Lucifer and Michael's constant fighting before Lucifer fell, and I know for a fact that Raphael takes Michael's side in the fight."

"Do you know who God is?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Zoe said. "His name is Chuck."

"Riight," Dean said. "Now you're just messing with me."

"I'm serious," Zoe said. "His name is Chuck."

"Anything else we should know?" Dean asked, clearly expecting more bullshit.

Zoe paused to take a sip, "So there's sixty six seals keeping Lucifer in the cage. Dean was the first seal: When a righteous man sheds blood in hell, so shall the first seal break, yada yada yada. Lilith is trying to break them, and the angels aren't stopping her because they want the Apocalypse to happen and bring Paradise to Earth and eternal life and all that good stuff. Anywho, one of the seals is the raising of the Witnesses which is one of the first seals you encounter which is episode two."

"Apocalypse?" Dean repeated, "The apocalypse, apocalypse? The four horsemen, pestilence, $5-a-gallon-gas apocalypse?"

"And archangel Sunday dinner," Zoe nodded.

"Road trip," Dean said without missing a beat, "Grand Canyon, Star Trek Experience. Bunny Ranch."

"When is episode two?" Sam asked, ignoring Dean.

"Right now," Zoe said cheerfully and turned to Bobby, turning serious, "Olivia's dead and so's about twenty hunters. The Witnesses strike here next and I'm going to save you all a road trip and say that the victims of the Witnesses, who are people you couldn't save, are all found with their chests ripped open."

The three hunters were silent after Zoe finished. Zoe, for her part, simply finished her coffee and took the topmost book, an encyclopedia of angels, before walking away.

"I can tell you about angels later," she said, "There's a whole bunch the lore got wrong. And we're also out of milk."

Sam was ultimately volunteered to get more milk and more salt. Bobby and Dean both began scouring the Internet and books for any information on the Witnesses, well Bobby did since Dean wanted to see how good of a shot Zoe was, and took her outside. Zoe wanted to finish the encyclopedia, but Dean insisted and Zoe didn't feel much for arguing.

Dean was impressed with Zoe's accuracy. Sam had been teaching her, and Zoe supposed it helped that she managed to convince her cousin to take her to a shooting range for her eighteenth birthday and that Zoe was a quick learner, a trick she thanked her artistic skills for. Speaking of which, Zoe had to get Sam to invest in a sketchbook. Her hands were getting restless with a lack of drawing, having been reduced to mere doodling. She hated it.

As she practiced, she heard Dean remind Sam to buy more pie. Typical squirrel.

Zoe wondered if Dean's love for pie had something to do with the fact that Mary used to make him pie. It would explain why he got ecstatic for pie.

Sam pulled up a while later with the groceries. Zoe huzza'd at the milk while Dean huzza'd the pie. The teenager began to make herself some cereal while Bobby told the brothers that Olivia Lowry hadn't been answering her phone.

"Think those Witnesses the kid was talking about got her?" Dean asked.

Bobby and the Winchesters left to check on Olivia, wanting to see for themselves while Zoe stayed at home. Zoe for her part was offended that Bobby and Dean didn't believe her, and the fact that Sam was still reluctant to take her on any hunts and the older hunters agreed. Sam made Zoe promise to call if anything happened. Zoe promised, lifting up the iron poker she had found and pointed to the bags of salt Bobby kept should the Witnesses showed.

Then again, she couldn't really blame them for not believing her about Olivia. Perhaps once they found her dead, they'd believe her. A morbid thought, but true nonetheless.

As the impala drove out of view, Zoe wondered if Bobby had any bacon in the fridge.

Nearly around lunchtime, Sam called. Zoe took a sip of her soda and answered, "Texas morgue. You stab 'em we-"

"Zoe" Sam interrupted, sounding worried and slightly disoriented, "Are you alright?"

"Sam?" Zoe asked, placing her finished plate in the sink, "Yeah I'm fine. No ghosts. Why?"

"The Witnesses," Sam said, "You where right. Olivia. Jed. They're dead. Bobby's on his way back, so do whatever he says when he gets there. Where are you?"

"Kitchen," Zoe said.

"Make a salt circle and get inside it just in case," Sam said, "Don't do anything until Bobby gets back. Got it?"

"Roger," Zoe said.

"Bobby's on his way there," the concerned moose continued, "If you see any ghosts-"

"Shoot them or throw salt or stay in the circle," Zoe finished.

"Good girl. We'll be there soon."

Bobby arrived an hour later, and thankfully for Zoe nothing had happened; the old hunter found her sitting in the middle of the circle reading a book. She glanced up when he arrived.

"Bobby?"

"These Witnesses," Bobby said, "Is there any way to get rid of them?"

Zoe nodded, "A spell, but I can't remember which one. I only saw this episode oncer."

Bobby grunted and placed some books on the table, "Well get going. We need to find that spell."

Zoe did as she was told and began reading, making mental notes to come back to certain pages once her life wasn't threatened.

A few hours passed and the boys were still not back yet. Zoe tapped her foot impatiently, glancing at the door continuously. She sighed and froze, her heart skipping a beat when her breath became visible. A chill went up her spine and the room temperature dropped a few degrees.

And then the lights flickered.

Bobby turned to Zoe, "You know where the panic room is?"

"Basement," Zoe said nodding. She'd explored the place before Sam called.

"Go," he said, "Don't stop until you're inside."

And Zoe ran, her neck prickling as laughter echoed through the halls. She cursed Kripke and his brilliant idea of using ghost twins in the episode. As if Bobby's house wasn't creepy enough as it was. She heard multiple gun shots, but she didn't stop until she opened the Panic Room door and shut it behind her, taking deep breaths as she tried to calm herself.

Bobby would be alright. He wasn't set to die until Season Seven.

Zoe gripped the desk tightly and tried to calm her heartbeat and her breathing. Breathe. Think of happy things. Calm things. All she had to do was wait until the boys arrived.

And then she remembered she had left her phone on the desk because it kept bothering her when she sat down.

Great. No way to contact them and she knew for a fact Sam went full Mama Moose if there was danger near.

Zoe comforted herself with the look of relief Sam would have once he found her alive.

But they were taking so long. Zoe tried to distract herself by reading the few books Bobby had put for entertainment, but neither caught her attention. The brothers were taking too long.

Maybe she should go out and help.

No. Bobby would kill her for disobeying his order, if the Witnesses didn't get to her first that is. She'd just have to wait for them to find her, if they lived long enough for that.

But the time line hadn't been damaged, and everything was still on track. She just had to wait until they found Bobby from wherever it was the ghostly twins had taken him.

And Bobby did arrive, with the Winchesters in tow.

The youngest Winchester found himself taking a step back when Zoe ran towards him (propriety be damned) and pulled him into a tight hug, burying her face into his chest. Like predicted, Sam was relieved that she was alive, and Zoe released him after Sam returned her hug.

Sam looked around, running a hand down the iron wall, "Bobby, is this..."

"Solid iron," Bobby confirmed proudly, "Completely coated in salt. 100% ghost-proof."

"You built a panic room?" the moose asked, still in disbelief.

The old hunter shrugged, "I had a weekend off."

Dean looked around in awe, "Bobby."

"What?"

"You're awesome. Oh. Hello."

As previously mentioned, something caught the elder Winchester's attention. Zoe rolled her eyes and accepted her phone from Sam, apologizing for leaving it behind. At least she was still alive, Sam assured.

Zoe placed another book in the growing stack of Books That Don't Have What We're Looking For. During her wait, she had tried to find the spell they needed with no such luck. With Bobby, they mowed through the books faster. The brothers packed salt rounds for their guns, and silence dominated the Panic Room, well if grinding metal, falling books, and turning pages counted as silence.

And like most silences, they were broken by Dean Winchester.

"This is why I can't get behind God."

Zoe glanced briefly at the elder Winchester before returning to her book.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"If he doesn't exist, fine," Dean continued, "Bad crap happens to good people. That's how it is. There's no rhyme or reason – just random, horrible, evil – I get it, okay. I can roll with that. But if he is out there, what's wrong with him? Where the hell is he while all these decent people are getting torn to shreds? How does he live with himself? You know, why doesn't he help?"

"I ain't touching this one with at 10-foot pole," Bobby said.

"They actually cover that," Zoe said slowly. When the Winchesters had no qualms about hearing her opinion she continued, "This angel you meet, not Cas, talks to God and he says to back off when you try to stop the archangel's from fighting. God left like a millennium ago so Michael's been in charge, so really Michael cares about you. God stopped giving a shit about this world a long time ago."

"And Michael cares why?" Dean asked.

"Well," Zoe said, "According to some in depth analysis by yours truly and Tumblr, the Winchester Family is representative of God and the Archangels. You're Michael, Sam is Lucifer, and John is God. John wasn't around much in your childhood, or was at least your typical father. You're the good son, the soldier, always following John's teachings, despite his less than stellar fatherhood. And then there's Sam who rebelled against what John taught, and wanted to go his own way. Sam leaving for Stanford is symbolism for Lucifer's fall from Heaven, and John's disappearance, and I'm thinking death as well but don't quote me, is God leaving. Course Mike and Luci never got along long enough to settle their differences and find their father. Apocalypse is Sunday dinner. Tumblr comes up with a lot of theories since Kripke is big on subtext and foreshadowing."

"I don't know whether to be worried over the fact you gave the devil a nickname," Dean said, "Or be concerned over just how much free time you had in that other dimension to theorize over a television show's symbolism."

Dean looked like he had more questions, but at that point, Bobby exclaimed he found the spell they needed. Zoe glanced at the foreign language, and made a mental note to ask Bobby to teach her foreign languages.

"Mark of the Witness," Bobby said pointing to the respective mark.

"Witness to the unnatural," Zoe pipped in before Sam could ask, "None of them died what you'd call ordinary deaths. See, these ghosts – they were forced to rise. They woke up in agony. They were like rabid dogs. I think it's Lilith who raises them. The Raising of the Witnesses serves as a milestone for the Apocalypse."

"Great," Dean said, his enthusiasm gone, "Any ideas about beating our ghostly friends upstairs aside from staying in this room until Judgment Day?"

"It's a spell," Bobby pointed to the paper, "to send the witnesses back to rest. Should work."

"Should," Sam repeated, "Great."

"It does," Zoe said, "I doubt anything major changed. You have everything Bobby, 'cept the spell needs to be cast over an open fire."

"The fireplace in the library," Sam suggested.

Bobby nodded solemnly, "Bingo."

Dean grimaced at the thought, "That's just not as appealing as a, uh, ghost-proof panic room, you know?"

Zoe sank back on the chair, preparing herself to spend another hour in the Panic room, only for Bobby to give her a rifle. Zoe took it hesitantly and looked at Sam, who seemed reluctant, but nodded. A hunt. She was going to join the Winchesters fight against the Witnesses, and as fun as it sounded, Zoe was terrified.

"Cover each other," Bobby told them, "Zoe you stay with me. And aim careful. Don't run out of ammo until I'm done, or they'll shred you. Ready?"

Zoe nodded and followed them out, keeping a tight grip on the rifle. Well, time to see if a day at the shooting range, and three months with a Winchester paid off.

She was going so going to die.

They made their way out of the room, Zoe following close behind, reluctant to stay alone in the room, and headed toward the stairs. Zoe turned, her heart skipping a beat when she saw a curly haired twenty-year old man sitting on the steps.

"Hey, Dean," the ghost greeted, "You remember me?"

"Ronald, huh?" Dean guessed, "With the laser eyes? I wish I could say it's good to see you."

"I am dead because of you," Ronald accused, "You were supposed to help me!"

Zoe flinched when she heard a gunshot close to her and saw Ronald disappear in a cloud of smoke and sparks. Sam placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"If you're gonna shoot, shoot," Bobby said, "Don't talk."

Somehow, by some act of the absent God, they made their way to the living room without incident and the boys got to work. Sam began to make a salt circle while Bobby instructed Zoe to begin making the sigils and Dean started the fire.

"Sam," Bobby said once Sam was done, "Upstairs, linen closet – red hex box. It'll be heavy."

Sam nodded and left.

Zoe looked up briefly to see the two twins standing just outside the salt circle. She cursed whatever movie it was that thought it would be a good idea to have creepy ghost children, twins no less. As if she wasn't already scared of her wits. The left twin said Bobby's name but Dean shot them and they disappeared.

"Kitchen," Bobby said to Dean, "Cutlery drawer. It's got a false bottom. Hemlock, opium, wormwood."

"Opium?"

Had Zoe not been at her wits end, and on the verge of past the point of no return in terms of anxiety, she would have rolled her eyes. Instead she focused on keeping her hand steady while Bobby performed the rest of the spell.

The girls reappeared again and Bobby handed her the shotgun so he could better focus on the spell. Zoe took aim and fire, grimacing from the force of the recoil, taking a few steps back from the sheer force of it. Bobby glanced at her briefly, a silent question in his face, but she nodded. She could do this. She was fine.

She was a big fat liar.

The doors of the kitchen slammed shut, causing the two of them to look up. Bobby cursed and became even more focused while Zoe stood her ground watching for more ghosts.

"Dean?" She called, hoping for the better experienced and more available Winchester to hurry.

"I'm all right," she heard him say, "Keep working!"

Zoe bit her lip at the sound of a gunshot and hoped Sam got there in time.

Ghost hunting? Really not all that fun once you got into it. At that moment, Zoe envied the Ghostbusters with their more simplistic and nicer ghosts that were more pest than menace. Even that god - Zul was it?- was defeated in the end with science. No such luck here. This was very real and very dangerous.

The brothers Winchesters arrived, ingredients and ghosts in tow. Ronald appeared while Dean was reloading.

"Ronald," Dean complained, "Hey, come on, man. I thought we were pals."

"That's when I was breathing," Ronald said, "Now I'm gonna eat you alive."

"Well...come on," Dean taunted, "I'm not a cheeseburger."

Zoe wondered exactly how Dean could keep a cool head in the situation, then chalked it up to nearly a lifetime in experience. Zoe couldn't even think of a coherent thought without stammering much less make a snarky comment. Stupid Dean. Stupid TV show trying to show how awesome Dean is.

Bobby began to recite the spell in Latin, yet how he managed to translate the foreign script to Latin when the original wasn't even in Latin was beyond Zoe and she wasn't about to ask. The windows were thrown open and a powerful wind blew away the salt, some of it getting into her mouth. She thanked her stars her glasses somehow managed to stay on, else she'd pull a Velma.

She kept an eye on Bobby, and reached for an iron poker and gladly gave her gun to Dean who fired at Meg.

"Sam!"

Too much action. Zoe swung the poker, disintegrating the twins. Fight or Flight. Normally she would have chosen flight, but Zoe had the sinking feeling the ghosts wouldn't care if she was responsible for their death or not. Ghosts didn't discriminate. The same, unfortunately, couldn't be said for the government.

Bobby continued to recite the spell as Sam kept trying to push away the desk. Zoe saw Meg appear behind her and swung on instinct, years of living with a prankster sister finally paying off. Ronald appeared and Zoe found herself pressed against a wall.

After years of watching people get thrown against walls, Zoe no longer had to wonder what it felt like. It was as if something was keeping her flat against the wall. Sam might have called her name, but she didn't hear him.

And then the ghosts disappeared and Zoe fell to the ground, breathing heavily. Dean was the first to reach her and helped her up.

"You okay?" he asked.

Zoe took in a deep, yet painful breath, and nodded, making a mental check to make sure everything was in order before she began to take deep breaths to calm herself while sitting down in the nearest chair.

…

Sam had checked in on her before he retired for bed, to make sure how she was holding up after her first 'hunt.' Zoe considered more of her first official encounter with the paranormal, though her enthusiasm was lacking.

"This is what it's like for you guys?" She asked.

Sam chuckled, "Most of the things we hunt don't blame us for their deaths."

The youngest Winchester made her promise to call him should something happen, knowing first-hand how the aftermath of a first hunt, before he left.

Zoe turned her attention to the clock, squinting slightly to try to make out the words before deciding it was futile. She was too lazy to get her glasses, and honestly? She was too spooked to move from her spot, and simply turned to stare at the out of focus shadows on the ceiling.

Zoe turned her head when she heard the familiar sound of flapping wings to see a blurry khaki colored figure. Said figure was offering her something, and it took her mind a moment to register that it was her glasses.

Castiel watched her, expressionless, and Zoe simply stared back, waiting for him to speak, but it soon became apparent the angel wasn't going to speak first.

"So you tell Dean about the seals yet?" she asked, wondering if she sounded too casual.

Castiel nodded, "He claimed you knew about the seals and of the impending fight between Michael and Lucifer."

Zoe adjusted her position, motioning for Castiel to take a step back and sat up cross-legged.

"So tell me, Cas," she said, "What brings you to my room? I doubt it's because of my charming personality."

She needed to stop thinking of Cas as a lost puppy. She was getting annoyed by how many times she had to remind herself the angel standing before her was a soldier, and an angel.

But the little tilt of his head when she said Cas was all too adorable.

"You are correct," Castiel said, "I came to know what it is you know about the seals. Dean tells me that you know about them."

A shrug, "'bout as much as you. I know the last seal is Lilith."

"What?"

Zoe froze.

Fuck. Did Cas not know this?

Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck

No he didn't. He finds out after Dean tells him and…

So much for fixed points in time.

Castiel disappeared no doubt to ask about it leaving Zoe alone.

Fuck.

Would they send Zach after her? Zoe hated Zach. Metatron may have been a douche but he manipulated, never got his hands dirty, preferring to use trickery.

Zachariah, on the other hand, he had no mercy and he hated humans. Metatron appreciated humans.

She was dead.

At least she survived longer than a week before she was killed off.