It's night and Impala races down a country road. Sam is driving. Dean is in the passenger seat staring out the window. "You get ahold of Jamie?" He doesn't look at his brother when he asks.

Sam glances over at him and then back to the road. He nods to himself. "I did, she should be at the motel by now. Ruby will meet us in Cheyenne. She's been tracking some leads. I know she's not exactly on your Christmas list, but if she can help us get to Lilith—"

Dean cuts him off. "Hey, man, work with Ruby, don't. I don't really give a rat's ass."

Sam sighs. "What's your problem?"

Dean finally turns to him. He's not angry, almost defeated. "Pamela didn't want anything to do with this and we dragged her back into it, Sam."

Sam sighs again, shrugging as he looks at the road. "She knew what was at stake."

Dean rolls his eyes. "Oh yeah. Saving the world. And we're doing such a damn good job of it."

"Dean—"

"I'm tired of burying friends, Sam."

"Look, we catch a fresh trail—"

Dean cuts him off again. "And we follow it, I know. Like I said, I'm just getting tired."

"Well, get angry."

They finally get to the motel and enter the room. The lights are off and Sam searches for the switch. "Ah, home crappy home." Dean says, mostly to himself as Sam flips on the lights. "Jamie, you here?"

"Winchesters." Dean and Sam both step back, startled to see Uriel and Castiel are waiting inside the room. Jamie is sitting down at the table with the two angels standing behind her.

"Oh come on." Dean groans.

Uriel isn't in the mood to put up with Dean's crap. "You are needed."

"Needed? We just got back from needed." Dean says, rather annoyed. Jamie and Sam share a look.

"Mind your tone with me." Uriel says, his voice dangerously low.

"No, you mind your damn tone with us." The older hunter shoots back.

His sister looks up. "Dean, please."

"We just got back from Pamela's funeral." Sam explains, trying to keep the tension from building up in the room.

"Pamela. You know, psychic Pamela? You remember her. Cas, you remember her. You burned her eyes out. Remember that? Good times." Dean's voice is laced with sarcasm.

"It wasn't Cas' fault, Dean." Jamie says evenly, glancing back at Castiel who looks away.

Dean ignores her. "Yeah, then she died saving one of your precious seals. So maybe you can stop pushing us around like chess pieces for five freaking minutes!"

"We raised you out of hell for our purposes." Uriel reminds him.

"Yeah, what were those again? What exactly did you want from me?"

"Start with gratitude."

"Oh."

Jamie gets up, walking over to her brothers.

Castiel looks at the Winchesters. "Dean, we know this is difficult to understand."

"And we—" Uriel gives Castiel a significant look."—don't care. Now, seven angels have been murdered, all of them from our garrison. The last one was killed tonight."

This forces Dean to calm down for a minute. He looks at Castiel but not Uriel. "Demons? How they doing it?"

Jamie looks at her brothers. "They don't know."

Sam finally speaks up. "I'm sorry, but what do you want us to do about it? I mean, a demon with the juice to ice angels has to be out of our league, right?"

Uriel looks at the younger brother. "We can handle the demons, thank you very much."

"Once we find whoever it is." Castiel adds.

"So you need our help hunting a demon?"

Castiel looks up. "Not quite. We have Alastair."

Jamie turns back to the angels. "You have Alastair? You didn't tell me that, Cas."

Uriel looks at the prophetess. His tone is even. "It was not necessary to inform you before now."

Jamie narrows her eyes and turns back to Dean. Dean glances at her, meeting her stare and then looks back at Castiel and Uriel. "Great. He should be able to name your trigger man."

Castiel sighs. "But he won't talk. Alastair's will is very strong. We've arrived at an impasse."

Dean shrugs. "Yeah, well, he's like a black belt in torture. I mean, you guys are out of your league."

"That's why we've come to his student. You happen to be the most qualified interrogator we've got." Uriel tells him. Jamie immediately turns back to Castiel. Sam's jaw drops a little. Dean looks down.

"Dean, you are our best hope." Castiel says after a moment.

Dean looks up defiantly. "No. No way. You can't ask me to do this, Cas. Not this."

Jamie moves closer to Dean, putting her hand on his chest, she holds the other hand out in front of her. "Cas, can't you…"

Uriel walks up to Dean and Jamie. "Who said anything about asking?"

Uriel and Castiel disappear, along with Dean and Jamie. Sam looks around in surprise. "Damnit!"

They appear in an old warehouse. Alastair is visible through a window in a door, chained to a hexacle standing in the middle of a devil's trap.

"This devil's trap is old Enochian. He's bound completely." Castiel tells the siblings.

Jamie nods glancing back at Dean. "He's not exaggerating. It's solid."

Dean isn't as impressed. "Fascinating. Come on, Jamie." He grabs her arm and turns away from the door. "Where's the door?"

"Where are you going?" Castiel asks.

"Hitch back to Cheyenne, thank you very much." Dean walks past Uriel, then stops. Uriel is blocking his path.

"Angels are dying, boy." The angel says, his voice is threatening but Dean won't back down.

"Everybody's dying these days. And hey, I get it. You're all-powerful. You can make me do whatever you want. But you can't make me do this." He tells him.

Uriel goes for Dean, but Jamie steps in front of him.

"He said he wasn't going to do it." She sneers, her eyes are bright blue in the weak light, wide, angry.

"This is too much to ask, I know. But we have to ask it." Castiel says from behind them. Jamie and Dean turn around to face him. Dean watches Castiel for a moment, then turns back to Uriel.

"I want to talk to Cas alone."

"Really." Uriel is almost mocking him.

"Uriel, do as he says." Jamie breathes, giving the angel a look.

"If you want a snowball's chance of me going in there, then you're gonna shag ass and let us talk."

Uriel pauses, looking at the identical expressions across Dean and Jamie's faces. Expressions of anger, frustration…fear? "I think I'll go seek revelation. We might have some further orders."

"Well, get some donuts while you're out." Dean tells him, a smirk playing at the corner of his lip.

Uriel laughs."Ah, this one just won't quit, will he? Heaven help us, I think I'm starting to like you, boy."

Dean watches Uriel vanish and turns back to Castiel. "You guys don't walk enough. You're gonna get flabby." Jamie snickers. Castiel doesn't react. "You know, I'm starting to think junkless has a better sense of humor than you do."

"Uriel's the funniest angel in the garrison. Ask anyone." Castiel tells him, completely deadpan.

Jamie puts her face in her hand. "Cas…"

"What?" He asks looking at the prophetess. "Oh was that a-"

"Yes."

"Oh."

Dean walks up to the angel, serious again. "What's going on, Cas? Since when does Uriel put a leash on you?" He looks at Jamie. Dean picks up on the look and turns to his sister. "Jamie, since when do you start ordering angels around?"

Jamie's eyes roll upward to Dean's face. "Since the last time I saw you guys. With every seal that breaks my power grows, and my uh importance goes up a step. I guess. Anyway…"She looks at Castiel. "Answer my brother." She tries hard to make it sound like an order, but it comes out unsteady and uncertain. She isn't used to it.

"My superiors have begun to question my sympathies." Castiel tells the hunters.

"Your sympathies?"

"I was getting too close to the humans in my charge. You." Castiel tells him, point blank. "They feel I've begun to express emotions. The doorways to doubt. This can impair my judgment."

Dean moves in close to the angel. "Well, tell Uriel, or whoever...you do not want me doing this, trust me."

"Want it, no. But I have been told we need it."

Dean stares at Castiel. "Jamie, order them to let me go."

Castiel stares back at him. "That is an order Jamie cannot give, she's been overruled."

"God." The female hunter mutters, turning away.

"More or less." Castiel says, still staring into Dean's face.

"Deus mihi…"She mutters to herself in Latin and sits on the table.

Dean glances at the door and then Castiel. "You ask me to open that door and walk through it, you will not like what walks back out."

"Cas don't make him do this. Please don't make him do this. Use me."

"I am sorry, Jamie. But you are of far too great importance to be involved. This not your fight. For what it's worth Dean, I would give anything not to have you do this."

Dean closes his eyes.

Not long afterward, he loads a cart full of tools and puts a cloth over it. Jamie walks up and hands him Ruby's knife. He looks down at it and then over to her. "How do you always manage to get this?"

She shrugs. "I like it."

They share a look and then both look towards the door. Jamie puts her hand on Dean's arm and he pulls her into a hug before pulling away. Dean wheels the loaded cart covered with a cloth into the room where Alastair is imprisoned. Jamie stands in the open doorway. Alastair watches Dean enter, grins, and starts to sing, moving within the chains almost as though he is dancing.

"Heaven, I'm in heaven, and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak, and I seem to find the happiness I seek, when we're out together dancing cheek to cheek..." Dean pulls the cloth off the cart, revealing an assortment of torture implements. Alastair laughs. Dean ignores him. "I'm sorry. This is a very serious, very emotional situation for you. I shouldn't laugh, it's just that—I mean, are they serious? They sent you to torture me?"

Dean stares at him. "You got one chance. One. Tell me who's killing the angels. I want a name."

"You think I'll see all your scary toys and spill my guts?"

"Oh, you'll spill your guts, one way or another. I just didn't wanna ruin my shoes." Dean smirks.

"Oh, yeah."

"Now answer the question."

"Or what? You'll work me over?" Alastair smirks. He notices Jamie watching from the doorway. "Or your beautiful little sister. Why don't you come over here poppet?"

Jamie sneers, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Dean glances back at her. "Jamie! Stay back."

Alastair grins. "But then, maybe you don't want to. Maybe you're, ah, scared to."

Dean looks at him. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"Not entirely. You left part of yourself back in the Pit." The demon once again looks at Jamie. "Did he tell you that, cupcake? All the wonderful time we had together?" He looks again at Dean. "Let's see if we can get the two of you back together again, shall we?"

"You're gonna be disappointed." Dean walks over to the cart.

"You have not disappointed me so far. Come on. You gotta want a little payback for everything I did to you. For all the pokes and prods. Hm?" Dean is impassive. "No? Um...how about for all the things I did to your daddy?" Dean's head comes up. Jamie stiffens. "I had your pop on my rack for close to a century."

"You can't stall forever." Jamie says, taking a step into the room.

"Jamie!" Dean points to her. She takes a step back.

"John Winchester. Made a good name for himself. A hundred years. After each session, I'd make him the same offer I made you. I'd put down my blade if he picked one up."

Dean looks at his sister and then back to Alastair. "Just give me the demon's name, Alastair."

"But he said nein each and every time. Oh, damned if I couldn't break him." Dean takes off his utility jacket. Jamie crosses her arms. "Pulled out all the stops, but John, he was, well, made of something unique. The stuff of heroes. And then came Dean. Dean Winchester. I thought I was up against it again." Dean drinks from a bottle of something alcoholic. Jamie frowns, closing her eyes as she listens to the demon. "But daddy's little girl, he broke. He broke in thirty. Oh, just not the man your daddy wanted you to be, huh, Dean?" Dean puts down the bottle. "Bet that makes your little sister proud, huh?" He glances once again at Jamie, but her eyes are closed. "Now." Dean picks up a jigger and fills it from a large bottle of water that has a rosary in it. "Now we're getting somewhere. Are those your little sister's beads? She's a fine one isn't she. Voice of angels, I hear. And Holy water? Come on. Grasshopper, you're gonna have to get creative to impress me."

Dean looks up finally. "You know something, Alastair? I could still dream. Even in hell. And over and over and over, you know what I dreamt? I dreamt of this moment." Alastair begins to look nervous. Dean picks up a needle. "And believe me, I got a few ideas." Dean fills the needle from the jigger, and sprays a little water from it. "Jamie." He looks at his sister for a final time. Jamie opens her eyes and backs out of the room, using her telekinesis to shut and lock the door. Dean goes over to Alastair. "Let's get started."

In the next room Castiel and Jamie hear Alastair screaming. Jamie puts her fist in her mouth. "Ave Maria gratia plena dominius tecum…." Castiel puts his hand on her shoulder. She puts her hands over her ears as the torture continues. "Ave Maria gratia plena dominius tecum…"

Castiel listens to Alastair's groans. The light flickers, catching their attention; the bulb explodes. Anna appears behind them. "Anna."

"Hello, Castiel." Castiel turns to look at her. "Prophetess, it is good to see you again."

Jamie opens her eyes and puts her hands down. "Welcome, Anna."

"Your human body—"

"It was destroyed, I know. But I guess I'm sentimental. Called in some old favors and..."

Alastair becomes slightly more audible, causing Jamie gasp out loud.

Castiel looks over at her and then turns back to Anna. "You shouldn't be here. We still have orders to kill you."

"Somehow with your prophetess here I don't think you'll try."

Jamie walks in between them. "Cas, I may not be able to stop what's happening in there, but I can stop this."

"Where's Uriel?"

"He went to receive revelation."

"Right. Why are you letting Dean do this?"

Castiel looks away. "He's doing God's work."

"Torturing? That's God's work? Stop him, Cas, please. Before you ruin the one real weapon you have. Look, even the prophetess is distressed."

Jamie looks up, her expression defiant. "I'm fine…"

"Who are we to question the will of God?"

"Unless this isn't his will."

"Then where do the orders come from?"

"I don't know. One of our superiors, maybe, but not him."

Jamie looks up. "Michael."

Castiel turns back to Jamie. "Is he speaking to you?"

" No. But that's my best guess." She pulls her black utility jacket tighter over her torso and walks over to the door, kneeling down next to it. She is listening against the door. She puts her hands against her heart. "Castiel, for the love of God…"

Anna looks at Jamie and then to Castiel. "The father you love. You think he wants this? You think he'd ask this of you? You think this is righteous?" Castiel can't meet her eyes. "What you're feeling? It's called doubt." Jamie gasps out, leaning against the door with tears falling down her face. Anna touches Castiel's hand. "These orders are wrong and you know it. But you can do the right thing. You're afraid, Cas. I was too. But together, we can still—"

Castiel looks down at their hands and then at Anna. "Together?" he yanks his hand away.

"I am nothing like you. You fell. Go."

"Cas."

"Go."

Anna vanishes. Castiel listens to Alastair scream. Jamie cries out. He goes over to her. "Jamie." He runs his hands over her shoulders. "You are a prophet of the Lord, he is your strength. Do not despair for the fallen."

She gets a far off look in her eyes. "…And it shall be written, the prophetess wept not for those who had fallen into perdition, but for her brother." She looks at Castiel petrified, moving away from him and closing her eyes.

She sees Alastair spit out blood and try to breathe. "Something caught in my throat. I think it's my throat." He rasps.

"Well, strap in, 'cause I'm just starting to have fun." Dean goes back to his cart.

"You know, it was supposed to be your father." Dean pours out more holy water. Jamie gasps again. "He was supposed to bring it on. But, in the end, it was you."

Dean looks over what he's doing. "Bring what on?"

"Oh, every night, the same offer, remember? Same as your father." Dean shakes salt onto the blade of Ruby's knife. "And finally you said, "Sign me up." Oh, the first time you picked up my razor, the first time you sliced into that weeping bitch..." Dean turns to face Alastair. "That was the first seal."

Dean does not visibly react. He walks closer. "You're lying."

Jamie bolts straight up from Castiel's grasp. Her voice is not her own. "And it is written that the first seal shall be broken when a righteous man sheds blood in hell. As he breaks, so shall it break."

"Jamie?" Castiel mutters. She faints dead away in his arms. "Jamie!" He puts his hand on her head, trying to heal her. He looks concerned as he looks down at her arm. "Jamie?"

Her eyes shoot open. "Oh my god. Oh my god!" She gets up and scrambles away from the door. Castiel grabs unto her.

"What is it? What's troubling you?"

She turns to him, her eyes wide with fear. "It's broken."

"What is?"

Jamie looks at the door. Castiel follows her gaze. He pushes Jamie behind him and throws the door open.

Alastair turns around. Dean is covered in blood in his grip. Castiel has Ruby's knife. The demon drops Dean, who doesn't move, to focus on Castiel, who stabs him in the heart. The injury sparks gold light, but not as much as when it kills. Jamie rushes in and goes to Dean's side.

Alastair looks down at the knife. "Well, almost. Looks like God is on my side today."

Castiel lifts a hand. The knife twists itself. Alastair grunts in pain and pulls out the knife, then tosses it away and charges Castiel. They fight.

"Cas!" Jamie gets up. She sees Ruby's knife on the floor and stares at it. It flies into her hand.

Castiel looks over at her. "Jamie, get out of here!" Alastair slams Castiel against the wall, impaling him on a piece of steel and begins choking him. He looks at Jamie

"Ahh the prophetess. You know, I wonder if it's true that if you're in danger Michael himself comes down to smite the threat."

Jamie swallows, blinks and stiffens. "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert." She rushes for Alastair and stabs him in the back with the knife. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus…"

Alastiar chuckles and sends her flying unto the floor beside Dean. "No!" Castiel yells, reaching a hand out towards Jamie.

"Well, like roaches, you celestials. Now, I really wish I knew how to kill you. But all I can do is send you back to heaven." Alastair chants in Latin. Blue light appears in Castiel's eyes and mouth. Suddenly Alastair stops abruptly, choking, and is slammed against the wall. Jamie is standing. She has blood trickling down her face. She squeezes her hand into a fist.

"Omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii."

Alastair starts laughing, despite being choked. "That won't stop me, poppet."

"No, but he will." Jamie lowers her hand. Sam steps into view beside her, one hand raised. Castiel slumps to the ground. Jamie rushes over to the angel.

"Stupid pet tricks."

"Cas?" He looks at Jamie and nods. She grabs unto him and he grunts when she pulls him off of the piece of steel.

"Who's murdering the angels? How are they doing it?" Sam asks Alastair.

"You think I'm gonna tell you?"

"Yeah, I do." Sam twists his hand. Alastair's eyes roll white and he chokes. "How are the demons killing angels?"

"I don't know."

"Right."

"It's not us. We're not doing it."

"I don't believe you."

Jamie pulls Castiel away from the wall. They go over to Dean.

"Lilith is not behind this. She wouldn't kill seven angels. Oh, she'd kill a hundred, a thousand." Sam stops. "Oh, go ahead. Send me back, if you can."

"I'm stronger than that now. Now I can kill." Sam holds out his hand. Gold light flares inside Alastair as he screams. The host collapses, dead. Jamie and Castiel stare at Sam.

Dean is in a hospital bed, heavily bandaged with a breathing tube and an IV drip. Sam sits next to him. Jamie sits on the other side. Neither of them say anything. Castiel appears at the doorway, pauses, and continues down the hallway. Jamie and Sam follow him out of the room.

"Sam—" Castiel starts but Sam cuts him off.

"Get in there and heal him. Miracle. Now."

"I can't."

"You and Uriel put him in there—"

"No."

"—because you can't keep a simple devil's trap together."

Sam's anger seems to radiate off him. Jamie looks away and says nothing. Castiel watches her and then looks at Sam. "I don't know what happened. That trap...it shouldn't have broken. I am sorry."

"This whole thing was pointless. You understand that? The demons aren't doing the hits. Something else is killing your soldiers."

"Perhaps Alastair was lying."

"No, he wasn't."

Sam goes back to Dean. Jamie looks at Castiel. "Cas. Someone broke that trap on purpose. I felt it break and then I felt my brother's pain."

Castiel looks as though he has been slugged in the face. "I will find out the truth, prophetess. I promise." He looks at her and then disappears. Jamie sighs.

Sam appears in the doorway again. "He left didn't he." He walks out into the hallway and runs his hand over his face.

Jamie takes a step towards him and then pushes him into the wall. "You son of a bitch!"

"Wha…" Sam's eyes widen, and then narrow when he looks at his sister. "Jamie?"

"You stupid son of a bitch!" Jamie pulls back and then slugs Sam across the face. Sam grabs his face, his jaw dropping as he stares at his sister, rage boiling over in her face. "How could you?" There are tears falling from Jamie's eyes. "Get out!" She seeths. "Go!"

Sam takes a few steps back, looking at his sister. He sighs and turns, walking away. Jamie covers her face with her hand and sobs.

Dean is still in bed, though the breathing tube is gone. Jamie is lying on her side beside him, one arm draped around his stomach. She's asleep. Castiel sits next to them. "Are you all right?" He asks, though he doesn't look at Dean.

"No thanks to you."

"You need to be more careful."

"You need to learn how to manage a damn devil's trap." Jamie opens her eyes and buries her face in Dean's chest. He reaches his hand up limply and strokes her hair.

"That's not what I mean. Uriel is dead."

"Was it the demons?"

"No." Jamie mutters quietly, closing her eyes again.

"It was disobedience. He was working against us."

"Is it true? Did I break the first seal? Did I start all this?"

Jamie opens her eyes again, staring at Castiel. "Tell him, Cas."

"Yes. When we discovered Lilith's plan for you, we laid siege to hell and we fought our way to get to you before you—"

Dean cuts him off. "Jump-started the apocalypse."

"And we were too late."

Jamie sighs. "The righteous man shed blood." Dean glances down at her and continues stroking her hair. He stares straight ahead.

"Why didn't you just leave me there, then?"

Castiel is also staring at the wall. "It's not blame that falls on you, Dean, it's fate. The righteous man who begins it is the only one who can finish it. You have to stop it."

"Lucifer? The apocalypse? What does that mean?" He looks towards Castiel. "Hey! Don't you go disappearing on me, you son of a bitch. What does that mean!"

"I don't know."

"Bull."

"I don't. Dean, they don't tell me much. I know our fate rests with you."

A tear falls down Dean's face. "Well, then you guys are screwed. I can't do it, Cas. It's too big. Alastair was right. I'm not all here. I'm not strong enough." He pauses, more tears coming. "Jamie?"

Jamie's eyes are red, she's starting to cry. "Yeah, Dean?"

"Are you scared?"

After a moment she nods against his chest.

"You should be. I can't protect you. And if I can't protect you…" His eyes fall again on Castiel. "Well, I guess I'm not the man either of our dads wanted me to be. Find someone else. It's not me." He begins to cry. Jamie closes her eyes and begins to sob with him. Castiel looks over at them helpless.