Word Count: 5,000+

Content Warning: language and violence

DISCLAIMER: any words or phrases in bold in the story are not my own and are credited to the writers of Supernatural.

The soft sound of crickets chirping filled the quiet night. Sam, Riley, and Dean sat in Baby in front of the house of the family Sam had found. They were parked across the street as they watched the woman and her husband eat dinner through their window. Riley and Dean waited patiently as they trusted Sam's visions. The demon was coming, and that family would be in danger.

"Maybe we could tell them there's a gas leak or something?" Sam suggested. "I mean, might get them out of the house for a couple hours."

Riley scoffed under her breath. "Sam, when in the history of ever has that worked out for us?"

"…we could always tell them the truth."

Dean looked at Riley. They both imagined what hell that would unleash and found it funny Sam would even suggest it.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sam agreed. "It's just–these people have no idea what's coming for them."

"Sam we only got one move and you know it, all right?" Dean turned to look back at the house. "We gotta wait for that demon to show itself and then we get it before it gets them."

"I wonder how John's doing," Riley admitted.

"I'd feel a lot better if we were there backing him up."

With a raise of her brow Riley added, "hell, I wish he was here to back us up."

Sam nodded in agreeance. "It just all feels so weird. All these years leading up to us being here? I don't know. It just doesn't even feel real."

"Yeah, but we just gotta keep our heads and do our job like always." Dean reminded him.

"But, Dean," Riley leaned on the front seat from behind them. "This isn't like 'always.' This is so much bigger and different than anything we've ever done."

"True."

The youngest Winchester shifted in his seat to face his brother. "Dean, I uh–I wanna thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything. You've always had my back you know? Even when I couldn't count on anyone, I could always count on you. And uh, I don't know–I just wanted to let you know. Just in case."

Sam had brought up the thought that no one had wanted to admit. They were all terrified that they might not make it out of that house alive. Riley could feel she wasn't alone in that regard.

But Dean would have none of that kind of talk before they walked in there. It was his job to make sure they went in ready and not thinking the worst. "Woah, woah, woah. Are you kidding me? Don't say just 'in case something happens to you.' I don't wanna hear that fucking speech man. Nobody's dying tonight. Not us, not that family, nobody. Except for that demon. That evil son of a bitch ain't getting any older than tonight, you understand me?"

Nodding to his brother's words, Sam called John. The line rang again and again until it reached his voicemail. Sam closed his phone. "Dad's not answering."

Riley wanted to remain optimistic no matter how hard. "Well, I mean, Meg could be late to the meetup. Reception could be shitty."

As Dean was about to acknowledge her thoughts, the radio gave off a strange high-pitched frequency with static. The wind began to blow as the trees in the neighborhood swayed. They turned to look at the house as the lights inside flickered on and off.

Sam swallowed hard and went to grab the door handle. "It's coming."

All three hurried over the lawn and to the house. Dean went to work to pick the lock and they quietly snuck into the now dark house. They made their way into the family room near the stairs.

From the darkness, a scared man came out with a baseball bat and swung at Dean as he dodged it just in time. "Get out of my house!"As he took another swing, Dean grabbed the bat and forced the man against the wall.

"Sir, please," Sam pleaded.

"Be quiet and listen to me, okay?" Dean commanded as he caught his breath. "We're trying to help you."

The wife's voice called to him from upstairs. "Charlie? Is everything alright down there?"

"Monica, get the baby!" the husband screamed.

"No!" Riley yelled up to her. "Don't go in the nursery!" She and Sam ran upstairs.

The husband tried to fight off Dean still thinking they were intruders trying to hurt his family. When the hunter realized they were getting nowhere, Dean hit the man across the face rendering him unconscious.

As Riley and Sam made it up the stairs, they heard a woman cry out in fear and followed the sounds. They ran down the hall and rounded the corner to see the open bedroom door. Sam gripped the Colt as they rushed inside. Their hearts seemed to stop as they saw a black figure standing next to the baby's crib. The creature turned to them as its bright yellow eyes stared back at them. A swirl of evil swam through them. It was the demon.

Riley remembered the night of the fire in the diner. The feeling of pure evil brought her back to that moment as Deb's screams echoed in her mind. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she fought to hold on to her sanity.

Sam fired the weapon at the demon right as it had dissipated into black smoke and disappeared right in front of them. At that moment, the woman that had been held up against the wall towards the ceiling fell to the ground sobbing. "My baby! Rosie!" she screamed.

"Where the fuck did it go?" Sam's heart raced a mile a minute and he panicked wondering if he'd missed his only chance.

"I don't know!" Riley yelled.

Sam rushed to the mother's side to help her up. He began to force her out of the room and down the hall as she continued to scream for her child.

"Get her out of here, Sam! I got the kid." Scooping up the infant in the last possible second, Riley fled away from the crib as it went up in violent flames.

Dean was at the bottom of the stairs anxiously waiting for her to come down. As she reached the last step, he wrapped his arms around her to protect her from the fire chasing them. "We gotta go!"

Coughing, Dean and Riley emerged from the smoking house as the nursery exploded. Sam was out on the lawn with the terrified couple. The man shouted at the hunters, "give us our baby!"

"No, Charlie," the wife whimpered. "They saved us. They saved us." Riley went to the weeping mother and gave her back her daughter. "Thank you," she said through her tears as the woman's husband held her.

Riley, Sam, and Dean turned to look at the now burning home as the fire raged on. Up in the nursery, the black figure stood looking down at them. Rage coursed through Sam.

"It's still in there!" He began to charge towards the door before Dean could grab him. "No! Dean! Let me go! It's still in there!"

"The house is burning to the ground, it's fucking suicide, Sam!" Dean yelled as he held him back.

"I don't care!"

"I do!"

Riley hadn't moved a muscle. Her eyes locked on the creature that had destroyed her life. As hate and anger took over her, tears streamed down her face. "I'm gonna find you, you son of a bitch."With Riley's final thought, the demon disappeared once again into the flames.

—

Back in the motel, Riley sat with her face in her hands. The emotions flying around, plus her own were eating her alive.

They were so close.

Sam sat on the bed and scowled as Dean paced while he tried to call his dad. "Come on, dad. Come on. Pick up, dammit!" When John didn't answer, he closed the phone in frustration. "Something's wrong."

"If you had just let me go back in there, I could have ended this," Sam seethed.

With a scoff, Dean turned towards his little brother. "The only thing you would have ended was your goddamn life, Sam. You can't just sacrifice yourself! I'm not gonna let it happen."

Riley looked up with her hands over her mouth as her elbows leaned on her knees. It was all too much.

"What the hell are you talking about Dean, we've been searching for this demon our whole lives. It's the only thing we've ever cared about." Sam was furious.

"Sam I wanna waste it. I do. Okay? But it's not worth dying over," Dean said firmly but while still almost pleading with Sam. "If hunting this demon means getting yourself killed, then I hope we never find the damn thing."

Sam's jaw clenched. "That thing killed Jess. That thing killed mom."

"You told me before, they're gone. They're not coming back and there's nothing we can do to change that."

Something in Sam snapped as he charged at his older brother. He grabbed his jacket and slammed him up against the wall.

"Sam, stop! Please!" Riley begged. She began to feel lightheaded as she could no longer control the storm of suffering around her.

"Don't you say that, Dean! Not after all we've been through, don't you fucking say that." Sam's words dripped with disdain as he struggled to resist the urge to cry.

"Sammy…the four of us–that's all we have." Dean's voice broke as the pain became too much. "It's all I have." He paused as both brothers began to cry. "I know I always screw around and joke, but I'm barely holding it together, man. Without you, and Riley, and dad…"

Releasing his brother, Sam softened. "Dad."

All three had been crying at that point. Riley sniffled. "You guys, he should have called by now."

"Try him again, Dean." Sam wiped the tears from his eyes as he looked back at him.

Dean looked broken. He was hanging by a thread for his family and could feel himself being crushed under the weight of it all. Riley looked at him with love letting him know he wasn't alone as she carried the burden with him.

Pulling out his phone, the oldest Winchester son tried to call John one more time. And that time, someone answered–it was Meg.

"You all really fucked up this time."

Barely able to get out the words, Dean replied as he looked at his partners, "where is he?"

Riley went to Sam's side to hold onto him as they both felt fear wash over them.

"You're never gonna see your father again."

The line disconnected and Dean slapped the phone shut. "They've got dad." He walked to the other side of the room trying to decide what they should do as he ran a hand down his face.

"What do we do, Dean?" Riley asked.

Taking the Colt off the table, he put it in his waistband. "We gotta go." Dean went to get their things.

Sam went towards his brother. "What? Why?"

"Because the demon knows we're in Salvation, all right? It knows we got the Colt. It's got Dad–it's probably coming for us next."

"Good! We've still got three bullets left. Let the son of a bitch come." Sam's voice was flat and steady, but tight like a plucked wire

"Dean's right," Riley agreed. "We're not ready, Sam. We don't even know how many of them would be coming."

Throwing his duffle over his shoulder and picking up Riley's, Dean turned to his brother. "We're going. …now!"

—

Leaves flew out from behind Baby as she sped down the road. The air in the car was awkward, to say the least. Riley and Dean sat front as Sam sat in the back seat. He attempted to work through his annoyance with the older Winchester.

"I'm telling you, Dean…we could have taken him."

"What we need is a plan," Dean started. "Now, they're probably keeping Dad alive, we just gotta figure out where. They're gonna want to trade him for the gun." He could see Sam through the rearview mirror as his head shook and his lips grew tight. "What?"

"Dean, if that were true, why didn't Meg mention a trade?" Sam paused. "Dad, he might be–"

"Sam, don't," Riley interrupted. "Please." She could feel the tensions rising again. Dean's knuckles go white gripping the steering wheel.

"Look, I don't want to believe it any more than you guys. But if he is, all the more reason to kill this damn thing. We still have the Colt. We can still finish the job."

"Fuck the job!" Dean barked.

"Dean, I'm just trying to do what he would want. He would want us to keep going."

"Quit talking about him like he's dead already." Dean grew angry at his brother's stubbornness. "Listen to me, everything stops until we get him back, you understand me? Everything."

Turning towards the man she loved, Riley asked, "okay, babe. So how do we find him?"

"Maybe we start by going to Lincoln. We go to the warehouse he was taken from."

"Dean, do you really think the demons would leave a trail?"

"You're right," he paused. "We need help."

—

The hunters pulled into a junkyard. A large welded sign hovered over the entrance reading: "Singer Auto Salvage". Random parts and pieces of vehicles and other odds and ends scattered the yard. The property was unkept and vehicles were everywhere.

As they got out of the car, they stood in front of a dark grey house. The paint was peeling, and hubcaps had been hung over the walls. More scraps and junk leaned up against the home.

Sam, Dean, and Riley walked up onto the large white porch and knocked on the door. An older-gentlemen opened the door and smirked at the sight of the three. He was just about Dean's height. His face was tired and worn just like the clothes he wore. A beat-up baseball cap sat on his head and his mustache and beard were slightly ungroomed. "Good to see you kids." The man's voice was deep and raspy. The smell of alcohol wafted from his breath.

"Hey, Bobby," Dean gave him a hug and Sam followed suit.

Riley shot him a big grin as Bobby chuckled under his breath. "It's been too long, Munroe." He wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"It really has," she whispered into his chest.

He waved into the house. "Come in, come in."

The inside of Bobby's house matched the outside. It seemed as though he found order amongst the chaos of it all. The hunters headed into his study. Lore, pictures, notes, news clippings and more littered the walls. There were more books than any of them would know what to do with.

Both Winchesters knew the fellow hunter all too well. Through the years, John had dropped them off with him more times than they could count. He was a good man and always reliable. Bobby had been like a surrogate father to them both and they trusted him implicitly.

Riley went way back with Bobby as well. There were times that her dad had stopped by for help or to have him watch her for a night or two. He was like the uncle she never had. Riley hadn't seen Bobby though since before Jackson's death. How she and the boys never seemed to be at the salvage yard at the same time over the years, was a surprise to them all.

Bobby picked up two silver flasks with crosses etched into them and handed one to Dean. "Here ya go."

"What is this? Holy water?"

"Well that one is," he said taking a sip from the other flask. "This one's just good old-fashioned whiskey." Bobby handed it to Dean and he took a swig as well.

Riley's hand reached out from a chair she had found. "Don't leave a girl hanging." As the older Winchester handed her the flask, he chuckled.

Dean turned towards back to Bobby. "Hey, thanks for everything. To be honest, I wasn't even sure we should come."

"Nonsense, boy. Your daddy needs help." He let out a sound that resembled a sigh. "Though the last time I saw John, we weren't exactly on the best of terms. Had to threaten him with a blast full of buckshot." Bobby chuckled in that familiar raspy tone. "But John tends to have that effect on people."

Sam had been rifling through all Bobby's collected material through the years. He scoffed as he flipped through one old book that he found particularly interesting. "Bobby, this book—I've never seen anything like it."

"That there is the Key of Solomon," he replied as he sat on the corner of the desk next to Sam. "That's the real deal. See that?" Bobby pointed to a symbol on the opened page. "That's a protective circle. You get a demon it and they're trapped. Totally powerless. Like a demonic roach motel," he smiled at his joke.

"The man knows his stuff," Riley added with a nod.

"Well, I'll tell you what—this is some serious shit the three of you have stepped in."

Dean's brows furrowed. "Yeah? How's that?"

"Well, in a normal year, I'd only get wind of three or so demon possessions. Four tops." He shook his head and adjusted his cap. "This year? I hear of 27 so far. More and more demons are walking among us—a hell of a lot more." Bobby paused and looked at them with worry. "The storm's coming, and you three and John? You're smack in the middle of it."

Riley suddenly felt uneasy and anxious. There was a presence nearby that she had felt before but couldn't place. She grabbed Dean's wrist in fear as he stood beside her chair.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"…something's wrong."

At that moment, a crash came from the entryway as the door was kicked open with fury. The hunters all jumped at the sound to turn in its direction. Meg sauntered in with a look of discontent on her face. She stopped in the entrance of the room. "No more bullshit, alright?"

Dean tried to sneak into his pocket to grab the flask of holy water. As he went to throw it on her, she waved an angry arm that sent him through the air and across the room. He crashed into a tower of books and hit his head. Dean laid on the wooden floor and lost consciousness.

"Dean!" Riley turned to run in his direction, but Sam grabbed her and forced her behind him to shield her.

"I want the Colt, Sam. The real Colt." Meg began to walk towards them.

Her presence was a threat in itself. Guarding Riley, Sam and Bobby moved slowly across the room trying to get away.

"We don't have it. We buried it," Sam answered.

"Didn't I say, 'no more bullshit'?" Meg grew tired of the games and her tone went sharp in annoyance. "I swear–after everything I heard about you hunters, I got to tell you, I'm a little underwhelmed. First, Johnny tries to pawn off a fake gun, and then he leaves the real gun with you, three morons. Lackluster, children. I mean, did you really think I wouldn't find you?"

"Actually," a gruff voice from behind them spoke. Meg turned to the sound. "We were counting on it." Dean stood with a cocky look on his face as his eyes went up to the ceiling above her. She followed his gaze to see the protection spell from the book painted on the ceiling. It was the demon trap. "Gotcha," he growled through his teeth.

—

A powerless Meg sat bound with rope to an old wooden chair in the middle of the room. The spell had contained her while they figured out what to do with the demon. The fireplace crackled in the background and the light from the flames danced around them.

Sam, Dean, and Riley stood together across the room from the evil creature and looked at her with abhorrence. The three were silent as they refused to take their eyes off her.

"You know," Meg started with a hint of lust, "if you wanted to tie me up, all you had to do was ask."

Bobby made his way back into the study as he closed the large container he carried. "I salted all the doors and windows. If there are any demons out there, they ain't getting in."

With a nod of acknowledgment, Dean got up to trade spots with Bobby as he made his way over to their captive. "Where's our father, Meg?"

"You didn't ask very nice, Dean."

He smirked. "Where's our father, bitch."

"Wow, Dean…you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Meg chuckled. "Oh, that's right. You don't," she said with a pleased smile.

"Hey, you think this is a fucking game?!" Dean shouted as he leaned into the arms of the chair to get in her face. "Where is he?! What did you do to him?!"

"He died screaming. I killed him myself."

Dean's face began to shake and twitch with rage. He stood, only to backhand her across the face with force. Meg gasped out. Riley grabbed Sam's hand and squeezed. She could hear the soft and distant cries of the woman trapped inside with the demon.

"That's kind of a turn-on…you hitting a girl," she smirked as she composed herself.

"You're no girl."

"Dean…" Bobby motioned for him to follow as they went into the other room. The other's followed.

Sam's tone was gentle as he tried to comfort his brother. "You okay?"

"She's lying. He's not dead," Dean bit back.

Bobby turned around to face the older Winchester. "Dean, you gotta be careful with her. Don't hurt her."

"What? Why?"

Riley put a hand on Dean's arm and slid it down to find his hand. "Because that thing might be a monster, but there's a real girl trapped inside there. I can hear her, Dean. She's terrified."

"Fuck," Dean ran his hands over his head. "You're right. God, there's an innocent girl trapped in there." He turned to face Meg as she seemed almost hungry to kill them all. Looking back at them he said, "that's actually a good thing." Dean went to his bag and pulled out John's trusty hunting journal. He flipped through the pages looking for a specific one and then handed it over to Sam.

"You gonna read me a story?" Meg teased.

"Yeah, something like that. Hit it, Sam."

Focusing on the written words, Sam read aloud. "Regna terrae, cantáte deo, psállite dómino…"

As he continued the Latin incantation, Meg turned to the others. "An exorcism? Are you serious?"

"Oh, we're going for it, honey–head spinning, projectile vomiting, the whole nine yards," Dean spoke through his teeth as he still struggled to contain his desire to beat her to a pulp.

"…tribuite virtutem deo."

The possessed body winced and groaned out in pain. As she gasped for air she turned to Dean. "I'm gonna fucking kill you all. I'm gonna rip the bones from your body." Meg looked over at Riley who stood in the corner trying to not let the emotions and evil consume her. "But first, I think I'll slowly tear off the flesh from that one…" she smirked at Dean. "…and make you watch."

That was all it took for him to clench his jaw and seethe through his teeth. "No, you bitch. You're gonna burn in hell. Unless you tell us where our dad is." When Meg just returned his demand with a sinister smile he smirked. "Well, at least you'll get a nice tan."

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incuriso infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, onmis congregatio et secta diabolica…." As Sam continued, Meg yelled out in pain and shook as the power of the incantation clawed at her.

"He begged for his life with tears in his eyes," she said gasping through the agony. "He begged to see his sons one last time. And that's when I slit his goddamn throat."

Riley desperately wanted to read her mind and know if that was the truth. But the demon's thoughts were impenetrable. All she could hear was the emptiness inside her along with the sobs for help.

As Sam continued reading, Dean leaned back into Meg's face. "For your sake. I hope you're lying. Because if it's true? I swear to God!" His words dripped with fury. "I will march into hell myself, and I will slaughter each and every one of you sons of bitches, so help me god."

"Perditionis venenum propinare. Vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciae." A wind began to blow through the house as the exorcism went on. "Hostis humanae salutis. Humiliare sub potenti manu dei. Contremisce et effuge. Invocato a nobis sancto et terribile nomine. Quem inferi tremunt…"

She had sat on the sidelines long enough. The torture that was going on inside the man Riley loved filled her with a fire that she could no longer control. She slammed down on the desk she was leaning against and marched over to Meg. "You're full of shit! Stop lying and tell us where the hell John is!"

"He's fucking dead!"

"No, he's not! He can't be!" Dean screamed with wrath in his voice.

"Ab insidis diaboli, libera nos, domine. Ut ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias, libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos. Ut inimicos sanctae ecclesiae humiliare digneris, to rogamus audi nos…"

The chair that Meg was tied to, began to slide back and forth across the wooden floors as she wailed. Squeaking and creaking came from the friction of the chair against the floor. She shouted, "fine! He's not dead."

"Wait! Sam, stop!" Riley put a hand up towards the young Winchester.

At the pause in the exorcism, the chaos stopped. Meg looked up at them. "But he will be. I swear to god he will be after we're through with him." Dean's eyes grew and he yelled for Sam to keep going. In terror, she interrupted him, "wait! A building! Okay? A building in Jefferson City."

"Missouri?! Where? Give us a goddamn address!" Dean continued to shout.

"I don't know!"

"The demon we're looking for…where is it?" Sam added in earnest.

"I don't know, I swear!" Meg panted in fear and tried to catch her breath. "That's everything. That's all I know."

Dean's face twitched again as he gritted his teeth. "Finish it."

"What?! No! I told you the truth!"

"I don't care."

"You son of a bitch, you promised!"

Getting only inches from her face still itching to kill her, Dean screamed. "I lied!"

Completely on board with the way Dean was running the show, Riley crossed her arms as they clenched. She couldn't take the sound of the pleas for mercy inside Meg for another second. "Keep going, Sammy."

"Maybe we can still use her," Sam started. "Find out where the demon is."

"Sam! There's an innocent girl in there! I can hear her!"

"Oh, can you?" Meg snarked. "Isn't that interesting. Never heard of a freak like you, before."

Riley turned to her with an annoyed expression. "Oh, shut the fuck up already, would you?"

Walking up behind them, Bobby stopped them. "You can't keep doing this. You're gonna kill her." The three others stood there in confusion. "You said she fell from a damn building. That girl's body is broken. The only thing keeping her alive is that demon inside. You exorcize it–that girl is going to die."

"Riley's right," Dean said shaking his head. "We are not gonna leave her like that!"

"She's a human being."

"Then we're gonna put her out of her misery,"

Sam looked at his brother and Riley and then to Bobby, not sure what to do. He looked over at Meg.

"Finish it, Sam," Riley said with certainty.

Taking a sharp breath and still doubting their decision, Sam continued. "Dominicos sanctae ecclesiae, terogamus audi nos…" Meg's eyes turned a solid black as all color vanished. They resembled an obsidian so dark, it was clear they carried no sign of humanity. The chair began to flail around again, violently. "…terribilis deus do sanctuario suo deus israhel. Ipse tribuite virtutem et fortitudinem plebi suae, benedictus deus, gloria patri…"

Meg's head threw back as she released one last scream. The hunters watched in horror as a black smoke flew out of her mouth and shot towards the ceiling. As the demon was sent from the vessel, the cloud grew and grew as the room shook. When the creature had finally gone, the smoke disappeared, and the tortured woman's head fell to her chest.

Silence filled the room as the Winchesters, Riley, and Bobby stood dumbfounded; waiting for any sign of life in the girl. Blood dripped from her lips and the sound of it splattering on the floor was almost deafening.

Suddenly, a soft wheeze came from the blonde woman as she struggled to lift her head. She groaned in a hushed tone as the pain consumed her.

Riley was hit with what felt like a thud to her chest. The woman's agony and suffering took hold of her and tears began to run down her face. Pushing through the sensations of anguish, she rushed to the girl's side to comfort her.

"Oh my god, she's alive." Dean was almost shocked. "Bobby, call 911 and get her some blankets." He and Sam scrambled over to her to untie her.

"…thank you," a hoarse voice whispered.

"Shh. It's okay. You're safe now. We got you," Riley said softly.

"…thank you."

"Come on, let's get her down." Sam reached underneath her, and Dean did the same from the other side. They lifted her up trying to move her as little as possible as Riley made sure to support her head. The real Meg groaned with every movement as her broken body couldn't handle the pain. They laid her down on the floor as gently as possible. Her breathing was shallow, and she wheezed as she fought for air.

Riley pushed the hair from her face and gently stroked her head. She didn't make a sound and yet the tears continued to pour from her eyes.

"A year…" the woman struggled to say. "It's been a year."

"Just take it easy." Sam was gentle and tried to soothe her. All three were consumed with deep sorrow for the girl.

"I've been awake for some of it." She paused to gasp for air. "I couldn't move my own body. The—things I did…it was a nightmare." Meg's eyes found Riley. "You–you heard me. I don't know how…but you did. I could hear you too." Riley sniffled as guilt swallowed her. "I know—I know you tried. Please…don't blame yourself."

Trying to pull herself together, she looked up at Dean and then back to the dying woman in her arms. "Meg, I'm so sorry." She cleared her throat. "But we have to know, was it telling us the truth about John?"

With what energy she had left, she nodded. "Yes." Her voice got weaker and blood continued to come from her mouth and nose as she choked on it. Tears spilled down her temples. "But it wants you all to know…it wants you to come for him."

A part of Dean felt a sigh of relief while the other mourned for Meg. "If he's alive, none of that matters."

Bobby came back in with blankets and a glass of water. Dean lifted Meg's head and let her lightly sip at the glass while the others made her a pillow and covered her. Riley still ran a hand over her hair just wanting to help her know she wasn't alone. She could still feel Meg's physical pain to an extent. It hurt to breathe, and her body felt beaten and bruised from head to toe.

"Where is the demon we're looking for?" Sam pleaded.

"Not there…" she strained and gasped, "…other ones. Awful ones. They—they're keeping your dad by the river." What remained of the life inside her slipped away as she whispered, "…sunrise."

Riley felt the girl's soul wash over her almost like a breeze through her hair. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to feel her presence. And in an instant, she was gone.

The now deceased woman's eyes remained open. It was as though she wanted to make sure that with all she had suffered, that the last thing she saw were the ones that saved her. The ones that finally gave her peace.

—

Bobby walked Sam, Dean, and Riley towards the door. Riley's eyes were red as she was still recovering from the emotional ordeal. The three turned back to face the man they all saw as family.

"You all better get out of here, before the paramedics get here."

"Wait," Riley said with concern. "What about you, though?"

With a light chuckle, Bobby replied, "what? You think you threeinvented lying to the cops? I'll figure something out. Here." He handed the Key of Solomon to Sam. "Take it. You might need it."

"Thanks…for everything." Dean looked at Bobby and knew how lucky they were to have him.

"Just be careful, alright? Go find your dad. And when you do, bring him around, would you? I promise not to try to shoot him this time." The boys nodded in agreeance and went to head out. But before Riley could turn, Bobby took her arm. "I know we hadn't talked since…well–you know. But I'm here for you, kid. I promised your daddy I would always keep an eye on you. Don't make me a liar, girl. You come back when you can."

Riley gave him a closed mouth smile as she wrapped her arms around him. Bobby held her tight. He may have always smelled like whiskey and motor oil, but it somehow comforted her. "Love you, Bobby."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get out of here," he teased as she pulled away. "And do me a favor would ya? Look out for those two idjits for me."

She released a breathy laugh and gave him one last look. Riley turned towards the door and headed for the porch to catch up with the boys.

—

In Jefferson, Missouri, the Impala was parked in a dirt lot near a train track. The whistle blew as Sam flipped through the Key of Solomon on the roof of the car as he spun a marker in his hand. Dean was at the back of the car, loading up guns and putting them into his duffel bag.

Running her fingers over the engravings on the gun, Riley held the Colt in her hands. As she leaned against the car, she took a moment to herself in silence. She realized they finally had the power to finish what their fathers started. That weapon was the key to a life with hope. Riley knew what the boys were feeling right then. And if she were honest, it was too heavy a burden to carry but she did it without a single complaint.

Dean was solemn as he continued to work. Sam took a moment to look over at his brother. "You've been quiet."

"Just getting ready," he replied snapping the loaded clip into the gun in his hand.

Riley turned around to face the brothers. "John's gonna be ok, Dean."

He looked up to acknowledge her, but his eyes cast down after a moment. Dean wanted to believe her, but he feared the worst and she felt it.

Sam stopped as he found something that caught his eye. With the book in hand, he walked over to the popped drunk and began to draw an image onto the car.

As Dean saw what his brother was doing, he snapped in his direction, "Dude, what the fuck are you doing to my car?"

"It's called a Devil's trap. Demons can't get through it or inside it. It basically turns the trunk into a lockbox."

"…so?"

"So, we have a place to hide the Colt while we go get dad."

Riley shook her head. "Wait, what? No. Sam, we need the Colt if we even have a prayer at saving John."

"We can't. We've only got three bullets left. We can't just use them on any demon, we've got to use them on the demon."

"No, we have to save Dad, Sam, okay? We're gonna need all the help we can get," Dean barked.

"Dean, you know how pissed dad would be if we used all the bullets? He wouldn't want us to bring the gun."

"Since when have you given a shit what dad wants? 'Cause right now I sure as hell don't."

"I thought you wanted to kill the demon, Dean. You're the one that came and drug me away from school. I'm just trying to finish this!"

"Jesus Christ." Dean ran his hands over his head and then turned towards Sam. "You know what? You and dad are more alike than I thought. You both just can't wait to sacrifice yourselves for this thing." He raised his voice to a yell as his pain spilled through his words. "But guess what? I'm gonna be the one that has to fucking bury you!" Dean took a breath. "You're selfish, you know that? You don't care about anything but revenge."

"That's not true, Dean. I want dad back."

"Dean," Riley said softly as she went to his side. "Maybe he's right. They're gonna be expecting us to bring the gun. If they get it, we're all dead." She turned his head to look at her as she held the gun at her side. "I want this over just as much as you do. But if we aren't smart about it, it's over before it even starts."

Putting his hand on hers as it cradled his face, Dean closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he opened them again, he softened. "Okay."

Riley handed him the gun and wrapped her hands to close his around it. When she let him go, Dean put the Colt in the trunk and she gave him a soft kiss. "Let's go find your dad."

—

To be continued…