Between Heaven & Hell

by belladonna78

Sequel to "To Hell & Back", and the fifth installment of my Supernatural fanfics. Check out my stories and AN for more info on where to start. This is Season 5 -What will it take for Dean, Beth and Sam to put a stop to the Apocalypse? Will Beth lose Dean again? Dean/OC. Slightly AU but mostly follows the Supernatural show with my own spin. Rated MA for smut. Please read and review!

15. The Song Remains The Same

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

When the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

---

THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME

---

Chapel
Beth's POV

There were no sirens, no helicopter sounds, no revving of engines as a car tried to get away. Nothing at all but the search light, seeking, its brightness blinding in its intensity. I crouched behind one of the pews and peered up through the stained glass window as the light did another sweep of the area.

My heart was pounding in my chest, I looked down to see myself clutching at my glock, and felt a comfort in the sensation of its weight, something to grip. In my other hand I held my rosary - familiar in a different way.

Disconcerted, I looked around the chapel again. Had I come here to pray? Why did I have the gun out?

The lights.

Somehow I knew they were looking for me.

Standing, I crossed to an alcove, just beyond was a doorway leading outside. I peered through the darkness, the immediate area illuminated by a few dying candles on the stone ledge that encircled the small room.

Unexpectedly, a shiver ran down my spine and everything turned black as a shadow fluttered past these candles, landing behind me. It happened so fast, I hadn't even had a chance to raise the gun. Demon, I thought. I spun, lifting my arms and aiming in the direction of where I thought it had landed. The rosary dangled from my wrist, the silver cross and anti-possession amulet shining from the candlelight.

"Who's there?" I asked, taking a step closer.

"Now is that any way to greet an old friend?"

I paused, the voice was familiar but had the echo of someone I hadn't seen in some time. Outside, another sweep of the searchlight flicked through the windows in front of me, and I saw the outline of a man standing ten feet away.

In that brief moment I saw his wings silhouetted and I realised I was under-armed.

With a sigh, I tucked the gun into the back of my jeans and stood up straighter. Fortunately I also recognised the voice.

"Ezekiel?"

With a flashing smile, he stepped out of the shadows - a tall, dark-haired man who looked more like a punk rocker than an angel with his leather jacket and spiked black hair. The angel had a taste for the slightly flamboyant, enjoying his edgy look that got him into places around the world with just a smile and a cheeky word or two. I wondered what he had been like back in the days when he had entered into the biblical squire Ezekiel, and passed out the word of God.

"Present and accounted for," the angel said, flashing me a beaming smile.

"What? How?" I swallowed hard, frowning. "We thought you were dead."

No one had seen him, or heard from him, since he'd gone to help Castiel take on the archangel protecting the prophet Chuck. My blood still ran cold at how things had gone down, how close we'd come to both stopping Lucifer, yet also losing everything.

Ezekiel snorted and shook his head. "Takes more than the wrath of Raphael to take me down…. apparently."

"Apparently?"

He shrugged and took a seat in the nearest pew, gesturing for me to join him, which I did, looking over at his pale complexion. Alive or not, he didn't look well.

"It seems someone else has other plans for me."

"Someone else?" I asked. "Someone like God?"

"Perhaps," he said cryptically. "No doubt Castiel would think so. But me? I have less faith in our prodigal father."

I was starting to realise we were not in a real location, I had been going to churches less and less the more we got into the Apocalyptic path. I was starting to doubt my faith, and it was wearing me at the edges. I looked around at the chapel again, parts of it seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. "Where are we?"

"A little chapel in Kentucky…. Eminence. You visited it shortly after the death of your father."

"Ah." I remembered. I had only been with the Winchesters a few weeks.

John had taken us to a place he knew to get me some new identification, a birth certificate that said I had been born a Sullivan - my mother's maiden name - and miles from where I really hailed from. Just like that I'd lost my identity, and joined a family I didn't know, on a journey I was fast having to keep up with. If it hadn't been for Dean, I doubt I would have made it through.

I closed my eyes and replayed the first night in Eminence, the utter desolation I'd been fighting on a daily basis. Trying to get up and join in the daily training with Dean and Sam, I had been forcing myself to keep my head above water.

That night I'd been alone in the chapel, eyes dry for the first time in the last week, I had cried so much that I could get any more tears to fall, and my voice was hoarse and ragged.

Sam had followed me, and walked into find me on my knees before the altar, bent over and almost hyperventilating … I couldn't cry, I couldn't scream, I had barely been able to breathe as the despair poured out of me. I heard him run, leaving me alone in the chapel, the final abandonment. I thought I might die from the pain.

I'd laid down, trying to suck in a much needed breath, and hearing the ragged sound of choking echo through the room as the doors swung open, and then footsteps ran toward me, and I was being lifted up. It had been Dean pulling me into the safety of his arms. I had grabbed at his arms, and then felt him shift me so that my back was to his chest, wrapping me tightly in his warm embrace. "It's okay, you're okay, just take a breath. In through your nose… slow and deep… out through your mouth."

He'd pulled me back into the curve of his chest, my head resting back against his shoulder, and I'd managed a shuddering breath. "That's it. Just breathe. Don't think about anything. Just breathe, Beth. I'm here."

I opened my eyes, smiling slightly at the memory; difficult yet beautiful because of the way I'd been taken care of.

"One of the hardest times of my life….." Ezekiel nodded as I said this.

"But also the moment you realised you weren't alone. It gave me a focal point to find you," he replied, and then pointed up at the lights. "Just like they are trying to do."

"Who?"

"Heaven, of course," he grinned, standing up. "They can't see past the protections Cas has put on you.

"Mm. That makes sense." I subconsciously ran my hands over my torso, and recalled the x-rays Dean and I had taken of our ribs, the Enochian was etched into the bone itself.

It had been something I'd not given a second thought to since it happened, but in moments like this I was grateful for the protection they gave us. I narrowed my eyes at Ezekiel and stared at him.

"How is it you can find me, but they can't?"

"I know you," he shrugged as if it was obvious. "I've been inside your head remember? Humans have routines, even in their dreams. They go to regular well-loved scenes and relive them. This is one of those places for you."

I didn't know if he had pinpointed the well-loved theme, but it was certainly a well-visited scene if nothing else. It seemed like a legitimate explanation.

"Where are you, then?" I asked.

"Hiding," he said, lifting a finger to his lips and grinning cheekily at me.

"From Heaven?"

"Who else?" He asked, shrugging again. "Like Castiel, I am not one of the most loved right now."

"Hmmm. Why is that?"

"Heaven likes their angels shackled and obedient. When I revealed myself, to save Anna, I had to go on the run. I lost my position in the garrison, any insider info that I had."

"I'm sorry," I said, but Ezekiel shook his head.

"I'm far from alone," he replied. "There are others, like me, who are not sure about the direction Heaven is moving in. Something isn't right. I would rather work from the shadows, to achieve true peace, than struggle from the inside. I prefer to be a bit more… free."

I smiled ruefully at the comment. Something about an angel choosing free will when they were supposed to have none was especially satisfying to me. Maybe it was because it felt like I had so very little free choice of late. We were running in circles, trying to find a way to get at Lucifer, and a way to kill him at the same time.

"I'm watching over you Beth," Ezekiel said. "All of you. But right now, I'm also recovering. I slip into your dreams often, just to check in. You don't see, but now you know."

---

Strip Club
Dean's POV

I loved this song. Seriously, my favourite for anything sweet and sexy. It might have also been the main instigator for the pie nicknames I had for Beth too. Sugarpie seemed to stick more than anything, but when I was in the mood… that was cherrypie.

She's my cherry pie

Cool drink of water such a sweet surprise

Tastes so good make a grown man cry

Sweet cherry pie oh yeah

I bobbed along to the music, eyes glued to the scene in front of me.

Me, a plush blue couch in a lounge and a private show… with the Devil herself.

I chuckled, watching as Beth strutted out on stage.

Most people had never asked me, and even if they had, I wasn't the type to confess that the biggest turn-on about Beth was her innocence. From the moment I'd caught her in my arms, on the day she'd been possessed by a demon, I'd loved her. Those big brown eyes staring up at me before she passed out, that had been all it took. She'd been mine to protect, and I'd spent every day since then trying to do that - trying and failing at times to protect her innocence.

But every now and then, her devil came out. Like now.

I watched, thoroughly enjoying the sight in front of me. Beth had on the most perfectly sexy devil outfit I'd ever seen. Red, tight, wrapped around her in straps of fabric with more skin than silver sequins. It all converged on a skimpy halter that barely kept her breasts in as she sashayed toward me, swinging her hips side to side before dropping down to her hands and knees.

"Oh, I take it all back. I love the devil…." I murmured and grinned, watching as she flipped her long, dark curls down her back, little red horns protruding from the top of her head. My eyes dropped down to her lush, red lips … so close, just wanting to lean forward and kiss…

I closed my eyes, waiting for the contact… but nothing!

Startled (and a little disappointed) I looked up seeing her back on her feet, rotating her hips and wriggling her ass at me, the disappointment faded as I watched her continue to dance for me. Oh man… I was one lucky… I closed my eyes again in appreciation, feeling my body respond to the thought of what I was going to do when I got my hands…

When I opened them again Beth wasn't alone. She was on the stage with a buxom blonde, long straight hair falling all the way down to her ass.

"Olivia?" I asked, leaning forward. She winked at me, and I chuckled, recalling the fantastic night Beth and I had spent with the beautiful woman. So she'd turned out to be a succubus - I could think of a lot worse ways to die… and it's not like it had come down to that. Olivia was the perfect compliment to Beth's devil, a little white babydoll nightie on with a fluffy halo. Though, truly the roles would be more appropriate if reversed - Olivia had been a bit of a devil, but that red outfit looked amazing on Beth.

"Now, that's what I call peace on earth," I murmured, leaning forward to rest my arms on my knees. Beth and Olivia turned, smiling at each other, their lips hovering a whisper apart. Oh god how I loved this… every part of me wanted to get up on that stage and…

Screeeeech! The music came to an abrupt end. Beth and Olivia pulled away from each other and disappeared, leaving me staring at a redhead. Now I like redheads as much as the next guy, but this one was looking at me in a very non-sexy manner. Worse, I recognised her and that little smirk.

"Anna?" I asked. I could feel myself still reacting to the scene I'd just been watching, the way they'd been… Enough! Not the time now! I shifted uncomfortably, the angel staring down at me.

"I was just, uh, working on a case,' I said lamely and she raised an eyebrow.

"This is what you dream about?" She asked. I straightened up, hearing the judgment in her voice. What was it to her what I dreamed about? Didn't she know how stressful my life was? I was lucky I wasn't in one of the Hell dreams that still occurred from time to time. If the Hell in my dreams consisted of Beth in a sexy devil costume, then hey, I figured it was a good day.

"Well...this is awkward. Why are you gate-crashing my head? Why don't you just swing by the motel?" I asked. She sighed and stepped off the stage to sit next to me.

"I can't find you," she said.

"Oh," I replied. Riiiiight, of course. "Cas did this thing." I waved my hand over my ribs, kind of generically because it was difficult to describe having a bunch of Enochian wards carved direction into your bone.

"Cas. Right. Now, there's a friend you can count on," she snarked, looking away.

"What?"

"He didn't tell you?" She asked, turning back to me.

"Tell me what?"

"Where I've been. Of course not. Why would he?" She looked away again, the expression on her face a little unreadable. She seemed … off… and that was saying something for Anna. Like most angels she was lacking in some of the finer points of human interaction. Which was odd being that she'd basically been raised as a human when she'd ripped out her grace, and fallen to Earth.

"Where have you been?" I asked, not understanding what was going on at all.

"Prison," she replied, her eyes lifted to the ceiling and she continued, "upstairs. All the torture, twice the self-righteousness."

I frowned, concerned by the thought that one, Heaven had a prison, but two, Anna had been in there and Cas hadn't told us, and three - torture? I cringed at the through.

"Why wouldn't he have told us where you were?" I asked. We'd worked so hard to protect her, seemed odd that we wouldn't be doing that now.

"Because he's the one who turned me in," she said. My expression must have said it all, because she smirked, and added, "don't look so shocked. He was always a good little soldier. Did anything under orders," she replied.

I shifted a little uncomfortably - I didn't know what to say to that because she was basically describing me. I had, up until he died, basically been following my Dad's orders for was long as I could remember. Sam had always called both me and Beth good little soldiers.

"I didn't know," I said, clearing my throat. "Are you okay?"

"No," she said. "And I don't have long." She looked around the room as if expecting to get company any moment. "I broke out. Barely. They're looking for me. If they find me…"

"Okay," I said, nodding. "What do you need?"

"Meet me," she said. "Two-two-five Industrial. And, please, just hurry."

---

Motel Room
Unknown Location

Beth's POV

Dean started awake beside me, sucking in a huge gasp for air. It had been a while since he'd woken straight out of a dream like that and I was instantly on alert given that I had awoken very similarly just moments earlier. I sat up and reached for him in the semi-dark room while thoughts of Ezekiel raced through my mind.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

"Yeah," he croaked out, nodding and clearing his throat. "Get dressed, we gotta go." He was already pulling out of my arms and on his feet by the time he finished talking.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" I was feeling a lot more concerned as Sam started to stir in the bed next to us.

I wasn't unaccustomed to middle of the night up-and-go announcements when we were hunting, or even when John had been with us and we'd be on a break. We had learned to pack light, sleep dressed, and move out within fifteen minutes of a call if necessary. It created a sense of dejavu in me, hearing Dean almost echo the words John would have said.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, rolling over to face us.

"Anna," Dean replied, reaching for his jeans on the floor. "She came to me in my dreams."

"Dreams?" I asked, "why? Wait..." Ezekiel's visit was starting to make sense. "She's looking for you." Dean nodded confirmation at me as he shrugged into his jeans and zipped them up.

"She can't locate us because of that mojo thing Cas did to us, she wants to meet."

"You sure you just weren't having a dream?" Sam yawned, Dean glared at him.

"Hey, I'll have you know she interrupted a very…" Dean stopped talking and I saw his eyes flick down over my body, and he licked his lips. "Well, let me just say she has shit timing as far as interrupting dreams goes."

I chuckled, watching him run a hand through his hair before he picked up his duffel and started to shove things into it.

"She's been in Heaven's prison," he said as he zipped it up. Beside us on the other bed, Sam looked up and frowned.

"Prison?" He asked.

None of this was making any sense. I'd just figured Anna was laying low after our run in with Heaven, I certainly hadn't expected her to come stalking through our dreams in the same manner that Ezekiel had just done. And why Dean's?

"That's what she said, and she gave me an address. 225 Industrial," Dean said, now pulling on his boots.

"Wait, wait, hang on," Sam said. "How do we know this isn't a trap?"

Dean stopped, looking at him. "Dude, it's Anna."

"Yeah, and she's an angel." Sam looked at us like that explained everything. "What? Most of them have been complete dicks to us. She's been locked away? Why? What do they want with her?"

"That's what I plan to find out," Dean answered.

"Ezekiel did seem to trust her…" I mused, climbing out of bed and slipping into my jeans. "But Dean, we really should call Cas first, see if he's heard anything." I wasn't quite ready to announce that I'd just seen Ezekiel in my dreams.

"Yeah," Dean nodded. "Yeah okay, because I got a few questions for him… she said he's the one who turned her in."

I felt sick to my stomach.

Fortunately for us, angels don't sleep. With one call to Cas, he was standing in our motel room, looking curiously at us.

"Yes?"

"Anna has been in Dean's dreams, she wants to meet," I said. Cas's face was impenetrable, as if he'd locked away all emotion.

"She can't be trusted," was his final response.

"Why not?" Dean asked. "She helped us out. She says you turned her in. Just who shouldn't we be trusting?"

"I did what I was told." It wasn't the same. Something had happened. Cas had been wavering between Heaven and Earth for some time now. He had been with us in the beginning, and then he'd chosen to do Heaven's bidding. Now, he was on his own mission to find God. I wasn't sure where he stood anymore.

"She said you'd say that," came the reply. "Heaven's good little soldier."

Even as he said it, an uncomfortable emotion rippled across Dean's face, and I knew what he was talking about. I got it. We all did what we had to, with the information we had at the time. We all did what we had to do to keep those we loved safe.

"You don't understand," Cas said.

"Why don't you make me?" Dean countered.

Cas stared at Dean with a stern expression and I stood up, hands held out placatingly.

"Look, guys, it's late, we're all tired, we can argue the reasons later - we need to decide what we're doing now."

"Well, we're going to go see what Anna wants," Dean said, as if it was a good idea.

"Yeah, well, I have a bad feeling about doing that," I replied. My stomach was in knots about it, actually. Heaven was in turmoil, angels split with their loyalties, and preparing for war - plus I'd just come out of a dream where they were seeking us. - something didn't add up here. "Could she have just escaped, Cas?"

"No." He replied. There was truth in that statement.

Dean frowned at his certainty.

I had a thought running through my mind. It was a slightly crazy idea, but seemed better than sending Dean into a trap. He was still wanted by Michael for a Vessel after all, we were in hiding for a reason. This would be similar to something Cas had done with me when we were first working out our angel connection. It would just be taking it to the next level.

"She's expecting Dean, so it's not a far-fetched expectation for me to be there," I said.

"I'm not sure any of us going is a good idea," Sam said. He'd been silently listening and pulling on clothes before taking a seat on his bed.

"That's why I should go alone…I have a plan," I said. They weren't going to like it, but right now, I believed Cas.

---

Warehouse
Several Hours Later

Beth's POV

It was dark, the warehouse was even worse, I took a deep breath and stepped into the main factory room and looked around for Anna.

Nothing.

Dean and Sam were several blocks away in another motel, waiting. They hadn't liked the idea of me coming alone, but I wasn't really alone, it just looked like it.

The wind howled through the empty rafters and I heard a spooked voice call out from the other end of the warehouse.

"Hello? Who's there?" She sounded scared, jittery, like she was on the run. Dean had that part right.

I took a step forward, and one of the lights above me flickered then burst, a shower of sparks exploding above our heads. I looked up, slightly startled by that, then looked at the red-haired girl standing alone with her back turned to me.

"Hi Anna."

The girl turned to look at me, her eyes narrowing.

"Where's Dean?"

"Somewhere safe," I replied. "I'm sure you understand…"

A frustrated look flickered across her face before it was replaced with the expressionless gaze of an angel. Cold. Distant. Calculating, I thought.

"I need to speak to him," she said, stepping closer.

"You can speak to me," I replied. She narrowed her eyes at me, contemplating.

"Why didn't Dean come with you?"

I tilted my head to the side, assessing her. "Let's just say, this is to make sure you're not luring Michael's vessel into a trap."

She snorted and rolled her eyes, crossing arms over her chest.

"Well. If I didn't know any better," she said. "I'd say the Winchesters don't trust me."

"Just playing it safe," I said. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to Dean," she scowled.

"Whatever you have to say to him, you can say to me," I pushed. I didn't like the look in her eyes at all. Something felt...off.

"I'd rather talk to Dean, it's about his brother."

"My brother, too," I pointed out, crossing my arms and narrowing my eyes at her.

Anna sighed and shook her head. "I'd forgotten how stubborn you Winchesters are."

"I prefer determined." I didn't like the girl, that much had always been clear. She was a little too daring to flirt with a married man, and a little too slow to see what a mistake it was.

She was staring at me, her eyes piercing into mine and then she smirked. I raised an eyebrow at her, knowing she'd seen it, and was no longer fooled.

"Hello Castiel," Anna said, looking almost through me.

Having an angel come to the surface of your consciousness was always a bit of a challenge. Jimmy had once described it as feeling like you were strapped to a comet. For me, it felt like I was surfing a tidal wave, at risk of drowning any time. I held my breath as Castiel surfaced in me, and relinquished my body for his use.

"Hello Anna," Castiel replied, my own voice answering but taking on a more monotone sound. "What are you up to?"

"Who says I'm up to anything?"

"If you're out of prison, it's because they let you out. And they sent you here to do their dirty work." Cas said. It was almost like having an out of body experience, I was looking down on my own face, conversing with Anna, and feeling as if I was caught up in a soap opera, rather than my own life.

"And what makes you so sure?" Anna asked.

A rush of images hit me, of Castiel, strapped to a table, angels around him and blinding white light… pain… then they were walled up behind a sense of calm. A feeling of purpose. Angels closed in around me, Cas knew them all, and I felt myself give in to them, though it was simply a memory.

"Because I've experienced...Heaven's persuasion," Cas replied.

"You mean when you gave me to them," Anna countered.

"That was a mistake," Cas replied.

Cas had expressed regret on our way here, for his actions. We'd learned since then, exactly what the angels had been up to - what Uriel, Zachariah, and even Michael had been planning. I knew that Cas felt bad about not seeing it sooner - falling for the lies of the Angelic Host, but he and Ezekiel had done everything they could, when they realised, to try and stop Lucifer rising.

"Anna, whatever they sent you here to do…"

"They didn't send me. I escaped," she insisted.

"No one escapes," Cas replied.

"All these centuries, and you're underestimating me now?" Anna smirked. I almost believed her. If not for the underlying tension I was feeling from Cas, I would have fallen for it, given her what she wanted.

"If you're not one of them, then what do you want? Why do you want to talk to Dean about Sam?" Cas asked.

"I want to help," she said.

"You want to help?" Cas repeated, an almost dubious tone to his...my voice. My attention was drawn to where his was, like I was seeing through his eyes. Sensing through his supernatural abilities, and in my mind's eye I saw something that my physical eyes couldn't have noticed.

"Then what are doing with that knife?" He said pointedly. She stared at him, watching, assessing. Had he truly seen it? Was he bluffing? But then she reached behind her back, under the jacket she was wearings, drew out the very knife he was talking about.

"I'm not allowed to defend myself?" She asked.

"Against whom?" Cas asked, and I felt my arm move. "That blade doesn't work against angels. It's not like this one." As he finished speaking, a long silver blade slipped out the sleeve of my leather jacket. I'd seen them before, long before he'd put it there on our way to the meeting with Anna. We'd used them when fighting demons at the Third Temple.

"Maybe you're not working for Heaven. But there's something you're not telling me," Cas said.

Anna paused, watching Cas and then she squared her shoulders. "Sam Winchester has to die."

What?! I heard myself say, though the words didn't come out of my mouth. Cas was in full control of my body, I was just along for the ride.

"I'm sorry but we have no choice," she continued. "He's Lucifer's vessel."

"He's not the only one," Cas replied. I saw a flash of Cole pass through my mind, and frowned. But it was gone in an instance, and I turned my attention back to the redhead in front of me… us.

Anna scoffed, shaking her head, her eyes full of amusement. "What, that guy Nick? He's burning away as we speak. No. Sam is the only vessel that matters." She spoke with such authority, like someone who had been converted. She truly believed what she was saying, and if there was something I did know, it was that zealots were dangerous.

I felt myself starting to panic. All of a sudden too confined where I was, I needed to get out, back to my own body. I needed Castiel gone. I needed to get back to Dean and Sam, to make sure that they were safe. Of course they could look after themselves, but I always felt better knowing I was there with them. From day one after my dad died, it had been the three of us and John, against the monsters. It was why Dean and I had come back from Minnesota, to find Sam, to save him.

"You know what that means?" Anna asked, completely oblivious to my train of thought. "If Lucifer can't take Sam, his whole plan short-circuits. No fight with Michael, no Croatoan virus. The Horsemen go back to their day jobs." Anna sounded so sure of herself. But it didn't matter, there was nothing in the world that would cause me to hand Sam over to her.

"Even if you could...kill Sam, Satan would just bring him back to life," Cas said.

"Not after I scatter his cells across the universe." I felt sick. I wasn't sure if it was me or Cas, I assumed it was me. He turned away, I saw my head shaking, Cas contemplating.

"They'll never find him. Not all of him." Anna said.

The silence was deafening. I wanted scream at her, hit her, something. She had turned, and for what? To do Heaven's bidding? Heaven had just jump started the Apocalypse, and now they were having second thoughts on how to stop it?

"We'll find another way," Cas said finally. My eyes lifted to look at her, and the same determination Anna had, I saw in my own face.

"How's that going?" Anna smirked. "How's the Colt working out? Or the search for God? Is anything working? If you want to stop the devil, this is how."

"The answer's still no. Because Sam is my friend," Cas replied.

Anna stopped to look at him, her eyes seeing through me, to his very core. The angel inside of me was not the same angel she'd known when he'd turned her in.

"That's not just your vessel talking, and her human attachment. You've changed," she said.

"Maybe too late, but I have," he agreed. He turned back to her, looking at her with a sadness. "Anna, we've been through much together, but you come near Sam Winchester and I'll kill you."

He meant it too, I could feel it with every fibre in my body. Cas was well and truly on our side this time. I felt a rush of joy in knowing that, in being given the opportunity to see that. Now, however, it put him in as much danger as the rest of us.

Anna disappeared, right in front of our eyes, and I let out a breath.

"Well… crap." I thought and Castiel's voice echoed back at me while I regained the use of my body.

"Indeed."

---

Motel Room

It hadn't taken long for us to return to the motel and fill the boys in with what was happening. We had to come up with a plan, and that plan was to find Anna so we could go on the offensive. Dean was struggling to acknowledge the shift from friend to foe in Anna, and he wasn't the only one.

Castiel was drawing a symbol with chalk on the table in the room. Dean was pacing, a bundle of nerves and energy that was ready to explode. He was shaking his head, frowning, and he stopped to look at me.

"Really? Anna? I don't believe it," he said, not for the first time since we'd returned.

"It's true," Cas said.

"So she's gone all Glenn Close, huh? That's awesome," Dean said. Cas straightened up from where he'd been leaning over the table, and threw Dean a confused look. It wouldn't be the first time that Dean had referenced pop culture only to have the angel lose track of the conversation: angels didn't tend to hang out on Earth watching TV.

"Who's Glenn Close?" Cas asked.

"No one, just this psycho bitch who likes to boil rabbits," Dean replied, Cas didn't look like he was any clearer about the scenario, but he he also seemed to decide it wasn't worth pursuing as he went back to what he was doing.

Sam had been quietly sitting on his bed while this discussion happened, and I could see that he was deep in thought. He hadn't said a word when Cas and I had told them both about Anna's plan.

"So the plan to kill me," Sam said, his voice tentative. "Would it actually stop Satan?"

"No, Sam, come on," Dean said instinctively. I stood up, shaking my head at Sam.

"Don't even think it," I said. Even with all the frustration and hurt I held for Sam, I would never entertain that thought.

"Cas, what do you think?" Sam asked, looking at the angel. "Does Anna have a point?"

Cas looked up at Dean, and they shared an understanding in that moment. I was still linked in to some of Cas's emotions from having had him in my body. I felt a wave of trepidation wash through me, an almost urgent feeling followed by uncertainty. It wasn't mine, it had to be Cas. I looked at him, and then the doubt and all other emotion was pushed away like dust being swept under a rug. Cas glanced at Sam, shaking his head.

"No. She's, uh, Glenn Close."

Sam's head dropped back down as he stared at his hands. Clearly he didn't believe that any more than the rest of us. Of course it would throw a spanner in the works if something happened to Sam, but as far as either Dean or I were concerned, it wasn't happening.

"I don't get it," Dean said after a moment, gesturing to the table. "We're looking for the chick that wants to gank Sam? Why poke the bear?"

"Anna will keep trying. She won't give up until Sam is dead. So we kill her first," Cas said very practically.

"And now we're just killing angels?" Dean asked of me, coming to stand by my side. His hand slipped along the small of my back, and I leaned into it, pressing my side into his and feeling the comfort of his arm wrapping around my waist.

"So it seems," I said quietly, turning my head to look into his dark, concerned eyes. "I mean, if it's between her or Sam…" I left the sentence unfinished, we all knew there was no other choice for us.

Cas poured some oil into a bowl in the centre of the table and started to speak in a different language. "Zod ah ma ra la ...ee est la gi ro sa." The spell was finished with a blinding flash of red flame, and Cas staggered backwards to lean heavily on the back of a chair. I broke away from Dean and took a few quick steps toward him, seeing his eyes closed and his breath coming short and hard.

As I hesitantly reached out to put my hand on his shoulder, his eyes snapped open. "I've found her."

"Well, where is she?" Dean asked.

"Not where…" Cas said, standing up straight. "When. It's 1978."

"What?" Sam asked, standing up and joining Dean. "Why 1978? I wasn't even born yet."

"You won't be if she kills your parents," Cas said.

Oh. My. God. He was right. It wouldn't be the first time we'd been sent back in time. Cas had sent Dean and I back to that time once before, it hadn't achieved much - in fact, we'd failed to stop the Yellow-Eyed Demon at all. If Anna was going back with a similar agenda, but instead of killing demons, she was going to kill John and Mary…

"Anna can't get to you because of me. So she's going after them," Cas said.

"Well then we need to go back there," I said. My mind was racing.

"Yeah, exactly," Dean agreed. "Take us back right now."

"And deliver you right to Anna?" Cas countered. He looked from me to Dean and then shook his head. "I should go alone."

"They're our parents. Cas, we're going," Dean insisted. I was looking at Cas, seeing what I'd sensed when he was inside me: he was weak, and there was flash of fear in his eyes.

"The more of us going back, the better…" I said. "We don't know how many angels she's going to have with her. We don't know that she's going alone."

"It's not that easy," Cas said, stepping away from us.

"Why not?" Sam asked.

"Time travel is difficult even with the powers of Heaven at my disposal," Cas said, turning around.

"Which got cut off," Sam said. I frowned, looking at the angel.

"So, what, you're like a Delorean without enough plutonium?" Dean asked.

"I don't understand that reference. But I'm telling you, taking this trip, with passengers no less…" he shook his head at us, a frown shadowing his face. "It'll weaken me."

"Then we don't go alone," I said, thinking it over. "Call in someone else to help. Call Ezekiel?"

Cas looked at me. "Ezekiel?"

I nodded. Cas looked at me contemplatively.

Dean cut in. "You said he went to help Cas with Chuck's archangel, who knows if he survived."

"If he did, he's not been in touch with me," Cas interjected. "But I think you know that." Ezekiel had gone into hiding before Cas was taken back to Heaven for his … brainwashing.

"I can find him," I said.

I wasn't going to let Cas go alone, and I wasn't expecting him to do this without support. I sat down on the bed and looked up at Cas. "Put me to sleep," I requested.

"It's foolish, Beth," Cas said. "He's gone."

"No he's not," I said.

"It's too risky. Other angels could be listening in if you send out a call," Cas was frowning back at me, the realisation that Ezekiel was alive, hitting him harder than I'd expected.

"I'm not going to call. I'll wait for him to check in," I replied.

"Check in?" Dean asked. "What are you talking about?"

"I'll fill you in later, right now, I need to be asleep - I need to leave a message somewhere." I said.

"It's still risky," Cas said. "Even if you do think he'll find it, even if he really is alive."

"Cas!" I was already sitting on the edge of the bed, and I gestured impatiently to my forehead, waiting for the tap that would render me unconscious to the sweet oblivion of the dreamworld. Dean looked from me to the angel and sighed.

"They're our mom and dad. If we can save them, and not just from Anna... I mean if we can set things right, we have to try," Dean said, I could feel him looking at me - I knew what he was talking about. He wanted to warn Mary about the demon, to talk to my Dad… it had the potential to change our lives completely.

Cas sighed, coming to stand in front of me. "Just… whatever you are going to do, be careful." I nodded and then I felt everything go dark.

---

Motel
Later that Night

Dean's POV

Beth had not only left a message for Ezekiel - something about a note in a church, I had no idea what she was talking about, but she seemed sure he'd get it. She'd also called Cole, our older surrogate sister, who was apparently in the area. Cole had been a lone wolf since Dad's death, but Beth said she was ready for this fight, and she'd want in.

"I still think it's a bad idea," I said to Beth as she got off the phone from Cole one more time.

"She's a good hunter, Dean," Beth said. "We could use all the help we can get."

I sighed, something that was only echoed even louder than Cas. I couldn't have agreed more - Cole was a wild card. She could fight, I'd give her that, she was one of the best hunters I knew, but she was also unreliable when it came to her emotions around Dad. This was something I couldn't afford to stuff up. Beth was adamant though.

"This is foolish," the angel said.

"Sounds like something I need in on then," sounded an unfamiliar voice. Beth smiled as soon as she heard it, and everyone else in the room turned to look at a slim man of average height, with bright blue eyes and spiked black hair. Ezekiel dressed in leather pants and jacket, with a variety of chains and zips on them. He looked like he belonged in a punk rock band, and was most certainly not what you expected when you thought angel. Then again, neither was Cas, I reflected.

"Ezekiel?" Cas asked.

"Hello brother, surprised to see me?"

"Uh, well, yes," Cas replied. I looked from Cas to Zeke, and pondered. Had Cas even known Zeke was alive? I doubted it given the expression of contemplation … which was saying something… on Cas's mug right now.

"I've been lying low since that encounter with Raphael. But, my debt isn't quite paid to the Winchesters," he said, looking at Beth with a short nod. I scoffed lightly, trying not to let my skepticism show too much. I still wasn't as onboard with this rebellious angel act like Beth was. Zeke had risked my wife a lot during the breaking of the seals - she'd nearly died, would have died, if it hadn't been for Zeke residing in her for a time while they healed together.

I still didn't like how close I'd come to losing her - and not just on that occasion. There had been the time when she'd been injured by my own hand, when I had been suffering from ghost sickness and hallucinated her as a demon. I'd attacked her, and physically I'd broken her body before Zeke kicked in and took her away from me. It had been two weeks before I'd even seen her again, and a lot longer for us to get anywhere near back to normal.

I wasn't the only one with my doubts. Castiel approached Zeke and looked closely at him, as if trying to see beyond the body.

"You know we're going after Anna?" Cas asked after a moment. I crossed my arms and watched as Zeke nodded slowly. He'd had a serious hard on for the girl, or so I gathered from Beth, risking his neck to get her free from Uriel and Castiel.

"I'm aware."

"You won't stop us from doing what needs to be done?" Cas asked.

"If it comes down to it, but don't ask me not to try and talk to her," Zeke said.

"This is a mistake," Cas said to Beth.

"Anna was our commanding officer, Castiel," Zeke replied. I could see the hesitation on Beth's face as she looked from one angel to the other.

"And more, to you," Cas said.

"That was a long time ago," Zeke replied. "I owed her. But if she is doing Heaven's bidding… then, I will do what is right."

"I'm glad you're here," Beth said after a moment, moving to hug him. Zeke, unlike Cas, was a lot more familiar with the customs of Earth, having walked here more than most. He enthusiastically returned the hug, squeezing her tight.

"So, where are we off to?" He asked, looking around the room.

"Not where, when," I said. "1978. Anna is trying to kill our mother before we're born."

"Ooof!" He exclaimed, shaking his head. "You don't like to do things by halves, do you folks?"

"Can you help us?" Beth asked, and Zeke nodded after a moment of thought.

"I will do my duty on this one."

"Which is?" I asked gruffly, stepping closer.

"What Anna is trying to do is wrong. The timeline needs to be preserved," Zeke replied, looking to me, his piercing blue eyes alight with passion. "If she cannot be talked out of killing Mary Winchester, then I will do what has to be done. You, and your brother, you must be born."

I let those words sink in, feeling the weight behind the statement. I felt like there was something more at play here, something I was missing, but Zeke didn't elaborate, and I didn't know where to start with asking for more information. Instead I turned my attention to the next step.

"Then that just leaves…" My voice was cut off by the knock on the door. "Ah…" I was frankly surprised she'd knocked. I reached out and opened the door. "Just in time. Hey, short stack!" Cole hated that nickname, which was why I used it of course.

Cole was standing in the doorway, looking pensive. She smirked at the nickname and rolled her eyes, stepping into the room so I could close it behind her. "Hey Dean," she said. I looked sideways at her, not making it obvious that I was checking out how she was faring. For Cole, she looked in good shape. No obvious injuries, her blonde hair was loose and flowing in curls around her shoulders, her brown eyes appeared clear and bright - that made me feel a bit better; Beth had said she hadn't been sleeping much of late, and in the past that had made for a somewhat unpredictable Cole.

I finished packing weapons into our bag, and glanced over at the others. It seemed as if we were ready to go. Cole was helping Sam with some more weapons, stashing a knife into the back loop of her belt. Ezekiel had moved to stand next to Cas, and they were conversing with a very sombre look. After a moment, Cas shook his head at Ezekiel and stepped away.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Not really," Sam replied, but he moved a bag of supplies on to his shoulder and joined the angel just the same, Cole alongside him. I took a position opposite Cas and then glanced at Sam.

"Bend your knees," I advised. Cas stepped in between Sam and I, and put his hands on our shoulders. Ezekiel did the same to Cole and Beth. Suddenly, the world faded and we were on our way.

---

Lawrence, Kansas
1978

Dean's POV

It was raining when we landed: appearing right in the middle of the street. I felt Sam yank me out of the path of a car, as the driver honked his horn at us, slamming his breaks on.

"Get out of the street!" He yelled at us. We were already moving, narrowly avoiding getting hit by oncoming traffic before making it to the sidewalk.

I didn't see half our team anywhere. That made my heart skip a beat. I was nervous enough about this time jump without people going missing.

"Did we make it?" Sam asked as we moved out of the path of a few cars, and looked around our surroundings.

Beth? Where is Beth?

I pointed at a couple of cars and nodded. "Unless they're bringing Pintos back into production, I, uh, I'd say yes. Where's Beth and Cole?" I couldn't see them anywhere. My heart leapt into my throat, but I shoved it back down so that Sam couldn't see. I had to remain calm, I had to...

"Cas? Ezekiel?" Sam asked. I started to look around in earnest. They had to be somewhere!

"Beth?!" I called out, drawing a few glances from people walking by. I took a few steps along the sidewalk and spotted a familiar tan coloured coat.

"Cas?" I asked, breaking into a run. "Cas! Hey, hey, hey," I said, dropping to my knees next to the angel who was lying against the back of a car. Cas's head lolled to the side when I reached him, and I slipped my arm around his shoulders.

"Take it easy. Take it easy. Are you all right?" I asked.

"I'm fine. I'm much better than I expected." Cas said. That didn't make me feel any better.

I got my arm under his and helped him to his feet, Sam coming beside us to support from the other side. Cas coughed, a splatter of blood coming out his mouth and hitting the pavement at his feet. I didn't even have time to grimace before he passed out, and I caught him, looking over at Sam in consternation.

Oh this was not going well.

---

Blue Earth, Minnesota
1978

Beth's POV

"Oh boy, something tells me we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto," Cole said from beside me as soon as we opened our eyes. I felt my heart sink, taking a deep breath as I looked across the road at the familiar church with its attached house. We definitely weren't in Kansas, we were in Minnesota and I was staring at the house that Dean and I now owned… over two decades into the future.

"Dammit," I muttered. "Why are we here?"

"Best guess?" Ezekiel's voice called out from next to a tree where the angel was sitting cross-legged on the ground, looking a little pale around the edges. "Beth's tie to here was stronger than Dean's desire to go to Kansas."

"No shit Sherlock," Cole said, dropping her bag to the ground with a sigh, frowning over at the church.

"But, I wanted to go to Lawrence!" I said, shaking my head.

"I should have split the boys up," Ezekiel sighed. "Sent you with Dean and Cas."

"I don't understand," I frowned. "I have no tie to Blue Earth, not in this timeline."

"Time travel isn't exact," Ezekiel said, taking a deep breath. "There's… a lot that goes … into it. Our emotions can get the better of us. It might not be the place… but a person..." His words stopped short.

"Are you okay?" I asked, seeing his eyes close as he took another deep breath.

Cole was moving, already in nurse mode, and kneeling in front of him.

"He's not, he's… weak," she said.

Ezekiel smirked, his head lolling to one side. "Hey, I'd like to see you try what I just did," he countered. I squatted down beside him and frowned.

"You've been in hiding because you're injured," I said, thinking back to our conversation in my dream. Ezekiel sighed and met my eyes, I saw the truth. "You should have told me you weren't up to this."

"Like I said," he replied. "I owe a debt."

"Not at this cost," I said, shaking my head.

"You needed me," he said. "Cas couldn't have brought you all here, not now." Even as he said it, I knew it was true. Both he and Cas were suffering from a weakness that hadn't really been explained, other than that Cas had been cut off from Heaven. I wondered if Ezekiel was in a similar situation if he was in hiding.

"We need to get him somewhere to rest," Cole said.

I looked over at the church again, feeling my body almost compelled to go in there. "Come on, we can go inside and think about what we do next."

One thing that hadn't changed in at least twenty-five years was the interior of the chapel. It was basic, wooden pews either side of a carpeted aisle, the altar at the front with a simple cross, and to the right a large angel statue: every time I saw it I lost my breath.

"The chapel is always open, well… since I've known it anyway, but it's probably empty at this time of day," I said, helping Ezekiel into the back row and glancing worriedly at him as he lay down, and almost immediately passed out.

"Doesn't mean it's gonna stay that way," Cole muttered, looking around the room. "Didn't you say your Dad moved here when you were little?"

"Yeah, before I was born," I said, nodding absently at the question, though my focus was more on the angel with us. "Is… is he gonna be okay?" I gestured to Ezekiel, who was breathing - albeit rather shallow.

"Uh," Cole looked at him and shrugged. "I ain't Doctor Who, I sure as hell don't know anything about time travel or its effects on angels."

Sighing, I wrapped my arms around myself. "He went up against an archangel with Cas, or at least, I think he did. He really wasn't up to this trip."

"Or maybe it knocks them all around like this," Cole suggested. "Just pray that Anna got zapped like this too."

I nodded, looking over at the angel statue.

"Did you say… your parents came here before you were born?" Cole asked.

"Yeah," I replied, "Dad studied with Pastor Jim." I suddenly knew why I we'd been thrown into this part of the country. "In fact…"

"Oh boy," Cole said, seeing the connection at the same time.

"Yeah, exactly," I said, "they're already here!"

"That would be my take on it, yeah," she said, and I finally noticed that Cole was staring into the front entrance of the chapel, the one that led behind the altar to a preparation room for the pastor before his masses. I knew that it also connected to the side of the house as a shortcut into the residence.

In the doorway was a younger version of my dad: tall, blonde, sparkling eyes and a magnetic smile. He tilted his head sideways when his eyes locked with mine, and shook his head.

"Didn't think I'd ever see you again," he commented, loud enough for us to hear. With a few quick steps he made his way closer and I fidgeted next to Cole, my blood rushing to my ears.

"Da… Patrick," I said, correcting myself. "It's been a long time."

"Patrick? Really?" He asked, "don't try to fool me." His smile fell from his face, and he crossed his arms over his chest, eyes landing on mine with a knowing. I felt like I was six years old again, in trouble for sneaking into the church and stealing communion wafers.

"I… uh…"

"I know who you are, Beth," he said, watching me. "Your mother told me."

"My…" I couldn't even finish the sentence. He knew. In that moment I wanted nothing more than just cave beneath his look, and tell him everything. I just wanted my dad.

"I think we need to talk," it wasn't a question, it was a statement. With a glance at Cole and Ezekiel, he raised his eyebrow and nodded toward the door behind him. "You can take him into the house, first door on the right there's a bedroom - he'll be more comfortable in there."

Cole nodded, eyes wide, and then she grasped Ezekiel to roust him from his slumber. "Thanks," she said, getting the angel's arm around her neck before helping him to his feet. Ezekiel shook himself awake, looked at Dad then over at me with a frown, before following Cole's prompts to move.

Dad hesitated for a moment, but when he saw them moving unassisted he turned back to me, his eyes softening as they looked me over. I held my breath, scared that it might all go away if I spoke. Fortunately, he was the first to break the silence.

"I presume the injured one is an angel," he said, as if it was an everyday event. "The question is… why are you here, now?"

---

Lawrence, Kansas

Dean's POV

We'd checked into the nearest motel, honeymoon suite - 5 nights. I'd slapped a bunch of cash down on the counter and insisted that there be no interruptions. The man, who looked like something out of a Woodstock advertisement, sporting long John Lennon hair, a rainbow bandana, and round spectacles just looked me up and down, maybe amused by the statement.

"Yeah. Don't sweat it. Want to buy some dope?"

I liked this guy.

It wasn't ideal leaving Cas alone, but I had no choice. We were dealing with more than one emergency here. First, there was the mystery of where Ezekiel, Beth and Cole were, and then we had to find Mom and Dad before Anna did.

I pushed the concern for Beth to the back of my mind. Sam had already given me the lecture when I started to freak over her location. He was right. She was competent, she had Cole and another angel with her. I knew she'd be okay wherever she was, even though it didn't make me feel any better - I could protect her if I didn't know where she was!

Unfortunately she wasn't the only one who needed protecting - and she would argue that she didn't need me to protect her at any stage - but old habits died hard. Just the same, I couldn't let it distract me from the whole reason we were here.

After I left Cas, I walked outside, looking for Sam who had gone to find a phone booth. There were more of them around in this timeline - I shook my head wondering how anyone had survived before cellphones. I could see my brother at the end of the street on the corner, flipping through a phone book.

A couple of people sauntered past Sam as he ripped a couple of pages out of the phone book, and then looked at me hurrying toward them. I nodded my head toward a man with a giant mustache as we crossed paths.

"I mean, the mustaches alone…" I said with a grin to Sam, reaching his side and seeing him chuckle. I sobered up slightly, thinking about what needed to come next. "Right, we're paid up for four nights. I told the manager, 'Do not disturb no matter what.' You know what he says? 'Yeah. Don't sweat it. Want to buy some dope?'

Sam snorted, shaking his head.

"I can't believe we are here," he said, turning to look around the town where our parents had grown up.

"We ought to stick around here, buy some stock in Microsoft," I said, thinking about all the insider trading we could do. We'd be rich and never have to run another credit card scam again.

"Yeah, we might have to if Cas doesn't recover. Is he all right?" Sam said.

"What do I look like—Dr. Angel, Medicine Woman? He'll wake up. He's, you know, tough for a little nerdy dude with wings," I said.

"If he landed like that, hopefully, so did Anna. Should buy us some time." Sam pointed out.

"Right, so what are we going to do about Beth?" I asked.

Sam stopped short and shrugged. "I dunno," he said. "She'd be here by now, if she was nearby."

"Well, we don't know that Sam, it's not like we set a meeting point," I said.

"True, which means she'll do exactly what we're about to do," Sam pointed out, holding up the pages he'd just ripped out of the phone book. "She'll find the nearest phone book, figure out where Mom and Dad are, and go there."

I nodded thoughtfully. He was right, and he knew it. I knew it too. Didn't mean I had to feel happy about it. I decided to let it go, he'd won the argument.

"So, did you find 'em?" I asked, gesturing to the phone book.

"Yeah. Uh, the Winchesters. 485 Robintree," he said.

I grinned. I could hardly wait to see Sam's face when he saw Mom, and I was quietly hoping that he was right about Beth and we'd find her there waiting for us. "Let's go pop in on the folks," I said.

---

Blue Earth, Minnesota

Beth's POV

"I know this is going to seem sudden, but I really need a car," I said to Dad as he led the way from the chapel into the kitchen. Cole saw us and followed along, leaning in the doorway with her arms crossed.

"To do what?" He asked.

"We need to get to Lawrence," I said. "As soon as possible."

He paused, looking from me, to Cole and back again. "That's a six hour drive."

"I plan to make it in less," I said with a determined look. "Mary's life might depend on it, John's too."

He visibly paled and then nodded. "We'll take the Fury."

"Wait, I didn't say you were…"

"I'm coming, Beth. You want my car? You get me too," he said. "Besides, Mary is my sister, John my friend." It was said with such a certainty that I knew I didn't have much choice. I reflected quickly, seeing Ezekiel's point about how my emotions had pulled us here. Maybe there was a reason for that.

"Okay, but I'm driving," I said with a grin.

"Sure," Dad shrugged, tossing me a set of keys. "How bad a driver can you be? I'll be the one teaching you."

Cole snorted and let out a short laugh. "Oh man, you have noooo idea who she learned from." Dad gave her a confused look, and I shot her a warning look, then pushed past to the room Ezekiel was in. He was awake, sitting up on the bed.

"How are you feeling?"

He turned to me, shaking his head. "Better than Castiel will be, to be certain. But time travel, it's no laughing matter, Beth. I will must go and find him, make sure that he's all right."

"What?" I asked, looking alarmed. "You want us to take on Anna alone?"

"Isn't that why you brought Cole? And you have your father, not to mention Dean and Sam when you find them."

"We have no idea what we're going up against,' I said.

"Exactly why I need to find Castiel - to be ready to get you all home. I said I'd get you here, I didn't say I'd fight," Ezekiel said. "There are forces at play in time travel, paradoxes, you can't simply come in and mess around with a timeline."

"But that's exactly what Anna is doing!" Cole said, coming into the room.

"Which is why I am here," he replied. "To set it right. But Beth," he turned to look at me. "I must warn you that you should not try to influence the past too much. Simply maintain it."

"I thought you were the rebel," I said with a sad smile.

"I am," he grinned. "But not when it comes to the past. We don't know what might happen to the world if we make too many changes."

Dad had joined us, and as I looked up at him I saw the nod he gave Ezekiel. An understanding seemed to pass between them, and then I saw him make a decision. I'd seen it a thousand times before, the silent contemplating and then the final determined look on his face when he had come to a decision.

Often I hadn't liked the decision.

I certainly felt like it wasn't going to be different this time either.

---

Lawrence, Kansas
John & Mary's House
Later That Evening

Dean's POV

Stealing cars was even easier in 1978, mostly no one even bothered to lock them. I was in my element - eventually deciding on a blue coupe. We were parked across the street from the Impala now, waiting and watching. I felt nervous. The absence of Beth was starting to get to me.

We'd gone to the house, but no one - including Mom, Dad, or Beth - was there. So with Sam in tow, I had driven us around town to see if anyone caught our attention. After an hour or so, Sam had convinced me that we needed to stake out the house instead. We'd seen Mom and Dad come home about half an hour earlier, and were waiting to see if Beth would show up, and to size up the area for any unusual activity.

My mind had turned to the amazing condition of the car we were riding in. It was a gem of a thing, almost straight off the lot. Beautiful.

"This is crazy," Sam said, leaning forward in the seat and looking out the window.

"I know, look at how new she is," I said. "Like… pristine!"

Sam turned to look at me, rolling my eyes at the same time. "You are too precious for this world," he said.

"What?!"

"I wasn't talking about the car, Dean," Sam said, and then chuckled from the passenger seat.

"Oh," I replied, looking a little sheepish but then grinning at him. "Well, she is!"

Sam nodded at the door and a shadow moving inside the living room.

"Come on, let's go, we've waited long enough" Sam said, climbing out of the car and leaving me scrambling to follow.

"Sam!" I said, racing after the more eager sibling. "Sam. Wait. Wait, wait, wait." Sam stopped, turning to look at me as I crossed the street to him.

"Dean, Anna could show up any second," he said.

"What exactly are we gonna march up there and tell 'em?" I countered. The last time Beth and I been here - in this timeline, truth had not been exactly on our side.

"Uh, the truth."

"What, that their sons are back from the future to save them from an angel? Gone Terminator? Come on. Those movies haven't even come out yet," I said.

"Well, then tell her demons are after 'em. I mean, she thinks you a hunter, right?"

"Yeah, a hunter who disappeared right when her dad died. She's gonna love me," I pointed out. Maybe that's why I was hesitating about going in. "She didn't even see Beth before we were both transported back to the future!"

I paused, thinking it over and nodding ever so slightly. "Just follow my lead."

Without waiting any longer, I turned and walked up the steps to the front porch of the house, ringing the doorbell. Sam was silent, and trudged up behind me. It felt like an eternity, but finally the door swung open.

"Hi, Mary," I said to the woman standing in front of us. She looked the same. Still beautiful, still young and vibrant. She looked from me and then over to Sam, assessing us within a second.

"You can't be here," she said; my heart sank.

"I'm sorry if this is a bad time," I said.

"You don't understand," she cut in. "I'm not…" Her attention shifted from me to Sam, and when I looked sideways I could see him staring at her in awe. Mum frowned slightly and then looked at me. "I don't do that anymore. I have a normal life now. You have to go."

She started to close the door, but I stepped forward, holding my hand out and bracing against it.

"I'm sorry, but this is important, okay?"

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat and then the door opened wider, revealing Dad, young Dad, in simple slacks and a sweater, with his hair neatly combed, and a clean shaven face. I felt my jaw drop, almost stunned at the sight.

Mary smiled at him, and started to explain. "Sorry, sweetie, they're just…"

"Mary's cousins," I smiled. John looked from us to Mary, who forced an awkward smile, but didn't argue. I hoped that he didn't remember seeing me in the lot or diner the last time I'd come back in time.

"Yeah, we couldn't stop through town without swinging by and saying 'hey', now, could we?" I continued, stepping forward and holding my hand out to John. "Dean."

"You look familiar," John said, taking my hand and shaking it. Damn!

"Really?" I asked, shrugging. "Yeah, you do, too, actually, you know? We must have met sometime. Small towns, right? Got to love 'em," I was giving the performance of my life. Dad seemed to take his explanation at face value, nodding.

He then turned to hold his hand out to Sam. "I'm John."

Sam stared for a moment, and then hurriedly accepted his hand, shaking it.

"This is Sam," I said when Sam wasn't able to voice his name.

"Sam. Uh, Mary's father was a Sam," Dad said thoughtfully. Sam smiled and nodded at him, still speechless.

"Uh, it's a—it's a family name," I said quickly, watching Sam as he awkwardly held on to Dad's hand long past the moment he should have let go.

"You okay, pal? You look a little spooked," Dad said and Sam quickly dropped his hand, nodding.

"Oh. Oh, yeah. Just a...long trip."

"Yeah," I confirmed with a smile.

"Well, These guys were just on their way out," Mum said, shooting me a pointed look that told us all that we were not welcome here.

"What? They just got here. Real happy to meet folks from Mary's side. Please come on in for a beer," Dad said, smiling at us all.

"Twist my arm," I grinned, stepping toward the threshold of the door. Dad smiled at me, turning to lead us further into the house as Mom glared in my direction. Ignoring her, I pushed past and into the hallway, leaving Sam and Mom to awkwardly follow.

---

Des Moines, Iowa

Beth's POV

We'd been on the road for a while. Ezekiel had stubbornly stayed at the chapel with Pastor Jim to rest. They were having an in depth conversation about Heaven and Hell when we'd left. I found myself a little lost without him, like we were leaving someone behind, but I also had his reassurances that he could take care of himself, and resting was the best thing for him right now. When he was ready, he would transport himself to Lawrence.

I finished filling up the tank with gas and tilted my head to the side at the way Dad stared at me as he came out of the gas station.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," he replied, shaking his head. "You look so much like your mother," he added after a moment.

I beamed at him. My mom was the most beautiful woman on the planet in my opinion. She had always had that surreal and exotic feel to her with vibrant blue eyes like sapphires. Dad had often commented that when he'd finally taken notice of her eyes, my mother had become the only woman for him.

"Where is Mom?" I asked. I couldn't believe I hadn't already asked.

"Illinois," he responded. "Visiting your grandmother and uncle."

"You didn't go with her?" I felt panicked, and I think it sounded in my voice as Dad shot me a concerned look.

"I had a … I only just got back from a …"

"A hunt," I finished for him. He nodded and climbed behind the wheel of the car. I slipped into the passenger side and looked at Cole who was caught up in one of the books she'd borrowed from Pastor Jim. I wasn't sure what it was about… but she'd pretty much ignored us for the last few hours to read it.

"I knew you were both hunters when you showed up at Mary's last time. But, it still seems so far removed from our lives now. What happened to get you to this point, Beth?" Dad asked.

"Oh it's a long story," I sighed as he pulled away and back on to the interstate.

"I've got time," he said, gesturing to the road in front of us.

"What happened to not influencing the timeline?" I asked.

Dad frowned for a moment and stared ahead at the road.

"Easier said than done," he said after a while, looking across at me. "I don't believe in coincidences. You're here for a reason, tell me everything."

---

Lawrence, Kansas

Dean's POV

Sam was starting to get on my nerves a bit. He wasn't playing it cool at all. In fact, he was almost the exact opposite! Sitting on the edge of the couch, he hadn't stopped staring at Mom since we'd all entered the living room. Mom was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable with the attention, and everyone in the room - except Sam apparently - could read it in her body language.

"Are you sure you're okay, Sam?" Dad asked. Sam's gaze broke from away from Mom to look a him, and it was as if he was being pulled out of daze.

"W—oh. Yeah, yeah. Um, I'm just, um—You are so beautiful," Sam said, looking at Mom again. Dad leaned forward, curiously gazing at Sam. I rolled my eyes and had to stop myself from hitting Sam upside the head.

"He means that in a—a non-weird, wholesome, family kind of a way," I said, shooting my brother a warning glance. Sam nodded quickly, breaking his eyes away and looking down at his hands.

"Yeah, right."

"We haven't seen Mary in—in quite some time, and—See, she's the spitting image of our mom. I mean, it's—it's…" I lost my words. It was all I could do to not stare at her myself.

"Eerie," Sam finished my sentence. Dad didn't seem convinced.

"So, how are you guys related?"

"You know, uh, distantly," I said vaguely. I had to be careful. Presumably Dad knew all Mom's immediate family, so if we were too close with our story, he'd see through it.

"Oh. So you knew Mary's parents?" Dad asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Mary's dad was, uh, pretty much like a grandpa to us," I nodded. It would be interesting to see what had happened after I'd been catapulted back into the future once Yellow Eyes raised Dad from the dead.

"Oh. That was tragic—that heart attack," Dad said, reaching over to take Mom's hand in his. Mom glanced down, nodding silently.

Ah.

"Yes, it was," I agreed. So that was the story.

"So, uh, what are you guys doing in town, anyway?" Dad asked. Man, I was starting to think this had been a mistake. This guy was a huge change to the Dad I'd always known. The strong, silent, commanding type who didn't so much converse with you as order you around. It was starting to unnerve me, I felt like I was going to screw up and then he'd know… which was worse than just telling him the truth.

"Uh, business, you know," I said after a moment.

"Oh, yeah? What line of work?"

"Plumbing," Sam said at the same time I replied.

"Scrap metal."

Every one of us, except Dad, cringed at the bungle. Mom practically jumped to her feet, her eyes flashing in alarm.

"Oh, gosh. It's almost seven. I hate to be rude, but I got to get dinner ready." Her voice was light, but carried a wave of warning and dismissal. Dad on the other hand, he was still seeing the opportunity to quiz family of Mom's - something he didn't get usually.

"Maybe they could stay," he suggested. Mom's face was stern as she answered.

"I'm sure they have to leave," she said. There was a shrill ring from the kitchen, and I recognised it as the old rings of wall mounted phones. Dad looked toward the other room and stood up.

"Uh, look, please stay," he said, looking from me to Sam. "You know, it would mean a lot to me. I haven't met much of Mary's side of the family." With that he left the room to answer the phone.

As soon Dad left the room Mom zeroed in on us.

"You have to leave. Now."

"Okay, just listen…" I tried to reason.

"No, you listen," she cut in. " Last time I saw you, a demon killed my parents. Now you waltz in here like you're family? Whatever you want—no. Leave me alone."

"You and John are in danger," Sam replied, turning on the puppy dog eyes. Mom frowned, looking at him.

"What are you talking about?"

"Something's coming for you," I said. She looked back at me, instantly alert. It was the hunter inside. That never died, and I knew she would do whatever it took to protect herself and Dad.

"Demon?"

"Not exactly," I said, shaking my head.

"Well, what then?"

Dad had never known about angels. Had he? It had never been in his journal. His best friend Patrick O'Malley - Beth's dad - had been an expert in them, but Dad himself had never written about them anywhere. Why was that? Would Mom believe me?

"It's kind of hard to explain, okay? It's—it's…"

"An angel," Sam supplied, getting straight to the point.

---

Outside Kansas City, Kansas

Beth's POV

"And so...I just don't know what to do about that now," I said, continuing to spill my feelings to Dad. We'd been talking for hours. Cole had fallen asleep in the back, and that had given me a freedom to simply let everything out. I'd found myself talking about Dean going to Hell, and the way Sam had betrayed me for Ruby. I told Dad about how I'd killed her - the evil that had plagued our family for centuries.

Ezekiel's warnings about changing the course of the future too much still echoed in my mind - and Dad agreed with him, so I had skipped over how Dad had died, and Mom too, and simply said that after they'd died John had taken me in. I wanted to say something, to do something about it. But at the same time, if I told him - would that change my future? What would happen to me, to Dean… or Sam, if I never joined the Winchesters?

Could I risk it? Could I be that selfish to not tell him? Was Dean more important to me than my own father, than my mother?

We were less than half an hour from Lawrence. I had time, I kept telling myself. I could still tell him.

Dad glanced sideways at me and then started to slow the car to the side of the road beside the Kansas River. I felt my heart leap into my throat as he brought us to a stop.

"What are you doing?" I asked urgently. "We can't stop!"

"Yes, we can," Dad said. "A few moments won't hurt anything."

I didn't agree, but there was no arguing. Dad ordered me out of the car, and then followed his own instruction, walking to the river bank and sitting down, patting the ground beside him.

Following, I took a seat on the soft grass and took a deep breath.

"You've been through a lot, Beth," he said, looking at me. "I'm sorry I'm not going to be there to help you through that." He held up a hand as I started to protest, and I fell silent, wringing my hands desperately in my lap.

"The John you're describing to me doesn't exist at the moment. He's a different man. We're about to rush into a war we know nothing about," Dad said. "But I believe you, your mother has always said that darkness is coming - and we need to be ready. Mary has chosen to run from that, turned her back on hunting. My path continues to prepare."

I nodded, biting my lip. "Yeah, but…"

"You're a hunter, that much is obvious. You have no idea how proud that makes me - you're an extraordinary woman Beth." I smiled at him, feeling myself blush. "But you're at risk of losing something that will get you through this hard life." In puzzlement, I looked at him, seeing the kindness that I'd always taken for granted. For a moment, I heard the last, awful, words I'd spoken to him.

"Wh….what's that?" I asked.

"Forgiveness."

"What?" I asked. I frowned at him. "But I forgive… it's…. Dad there's days that seems like all I do!"

"You do the lip service, out of obligation. You forgive Sam because you love him, because he's a brother to you, but you haven't let the actions and hurt go. You forgive Dean for taking your place in Hell, but you're still angry he did that and left you alone. You still hold endless judgment and anger at yourself for failing to protect either of them, or John… or me."

I looked up from where I'd been watching my hands wringing together, and I opened my mouth to tell him.

"Dad, when you…"

Holding up a hand, he silenced me. He didn't want to know. Was it my selfishness that would push me to say how he died? Could I respect his wishes?

"Whatever happens to me," he said. "It isn't your fault, Beth."

A sob escaped my throat before I knew it was coming. "Yes it is," I whispered. "You have no idea…."

"No," he shook his head, reaching a hand out to cup the side of my face. My lips trembled as I felt the tears start to roll down my cheek. "You'd never hurt me Beth."

I couldn't tell him how wrong he was. So I told him the one saving grace that I held on to every night since Sam had opened Lucifer's cage. The one thing that should have been a victory, but now felt hollow to me.

"I killed her," I whispered. "I got our revenge."

"You have to let it go," he said softly. I shook my head.

"I can't."

"You can. And if you don't, that hatred will consume you. You will lose far more than holding on to the hurt gains you."

I was crying. I had no other thought other than for the first time in so, so long, I had my Dad's arms around me, holding me as I sobbed my heart out and allowed him to comfort me. I leaned into his embrace, half in his lap, half on the ground beneath us. He wrapped his strong arms around me, and I buried my face in his chest, the scratchy wool of his sweater causing my nose to itch. Still I couldn't pull away.

Only Dean had made me feel this safe, and he was God knows where.

And I was still angry at him. I said as much.

"Sometimes we make decisions that don't make sense, we just do the best we can with the information we have at the time," Dad's voice washed over me. "Anger is like flowing water," he continued. "It's fine, so long as you allow it to flow. As soon as you build a dam and keep it locked inside, it will stagnate. Stagnant water can become polluted with the dark thoughts and broken dreams inside us. You must let the anger go, allow it to flow. It can fuel you when you need it, Beth, but don't let it stagnate. Allow your forgiveness to float upon the water like a leaf, washing away with the anger. Allow yourself to feel anger. But allow yourself to forgive too. You are not betraying anyone if you let it go. Not me, not you, not God."

I could see the river beside us flowing as he spoke. With each word I could feel and see the hurt, pain and anger flowing out on to the branches and leaves washing by. It drained from me minute after minute. Some of the deepest hurts - Sam telling me it was my fault Dean was in Hell; Dean not telling me about Ruby's true identity; my belief that it was my fault I'd been possessed by a demon and killed my father - flowed out of me with deep, heart wrenching sobs and into the water.

A lightness started to fill me. One I hadn't felt since before my Dad had died.

"You're human,," Dad said, kissing the top of my head. "Be human. You're here to love, nothing more."

---

Lawrence, Kansas

Dean's POV

Mom was looking at Sam like he was stark raving mad. After a moment of contemplating, she laughed.

"What?" She asked asked. "There's no such thing as angels."

"I wish. But they're twice as strong as demons. And bigger dicks," I replied. How did she not know about angels? Beth's mother did, her father did - hell even Dad knew about them later on.

"Why would an angel want to kill us?" Mom asked.

I took a sharp breath and frowned. "It's a long story, and we'll tell you the whole thing, but right now, you've got to trust us, and we got to go. Look at my face and tell me if I'm lying to you."

I fed everything into that look. The desperation I was feeling, the worry about getting her and Dad out of here, the knowledge that these angels weren't playing around. She looked at me for a heartbeat, assessing silently and then nodded.

"Okay. Where do we go?"

I let out a breath of relief. She believed me. Step one. "Out of here. We got to move now, though."

"Okay," she agreed. "But what do I tell John?" John. Dad. Dammit!

"Just tell him…." I looked around the room, trying to come up with a viable story. Dad had gone to take a phone call, shouldn't he be back by now? "John?" I called out. Mom was already moving out into the hallway where he'd gone earlier. I followed, and found her by the phone, looking at a note scrawled on a pad.

I looked over her shoulder and felt my stomach sink.

Back in 5, J.

Dammit!

Mom picked up the note and turned to look at me, the same realisation in her eyes. Whatever was going on, wherever he had gone, he was in danger and he didn't even know it. We had to move, and we had to move now.

"Where would he go?" I asked, quietly hoping she would know.

---

Lawrence, Kansas

Beth's POV

We'd still made good time even with the stop over.

There was no way to know where we were going or where Dean, Sam and Cas were. For the first time I started to worry about leaving Ezekiel behind in Blue Earth, but it was done. I pushed it to the back of my mind, and let it go. I had more important things to worry about.

It was dark, having almost gone seven at this stage. Dad was driving, a pensive look on his face as he steered us toward the Winchester house.

"How long has it been since you've seen them?" I asked, distracting him from whatever he was thinking.

"Oh, not too long, but… Mary and I didn't exactly part on speaking terms," he said, tossing me a smile. "She's a stubborn one, you know."

I smiled, thinking I had no idea… I'd never known her, but I could imagine if my encounter with her in the past had given me any indication.

"Stop!" Cole said from the back seat, and Dad slowed the car, glancing in the rearview mirror at her. "Look." She was pointing toward a garage we were passing, and parked out the front was the very distinct Impala.

"That's John's work," Dad said. "Bit late for him to be out though…"

"He's there," Cole insisted.

"We should check it out," I said, nodding at Cole who was readying herself in the back seat. She steeled herself, a calm and unreadable expression settling in on her face. I could only imagine what was going through her mind as we prepared to run into John.

Dad pulled the car in beside the Impala and we exited. Even though we'd packed a bag of options, I didn't have much in the way of weapons, because at the end of the day nothing was going to help against an angel. The best was the banishing sigil Ezekiel had taught me, and I just needed blood for that. As such I found myself gripping a small blade in my left hand as we moved into the garage, and my trusted glock in my right for comfort more than anything.

As soon as we were inside we could make out the sounds of a scuffle, and rounded a privacy wall in time to see Anna hit a much younger John, in the face with a tire iron. I winced, and Cole reacted with a rage that was all her. She broke into a run, gun in front of her, pushing past John who was on the ground and shaking his head.

Cole didn't stop until she had pushed her gun into Anna's chest, and then she unloaded the whole clip. Suddenly, Anna vanished and I glanced around. She wasn't gone, that was for sure.

"Where the Hell did she go?" Cole asked, spinning, her eyes coming to rest on John.

"Who the Hell are you?" John asked in reply, looking up at her as he ran a hand over his cheek.

Cole rolled her eyes, stepping past him and going on the hunt. I nodded at Dad, inclining my head to John before going in the opposite direction to Cole.

"John," Dad said, moving quickly to help his friend up.

"Patrick?" John asked, looking in confusion. "What the hell are you doing here? What's going on?"

"It's a long story," he replied.

I was watching them both together when Anna reappeared behind John.

"No!" I yelled, but she was too quick.

Anna thrust a hand out in front of her, connecting with John's chest and sending him flying through the air, over a car, and onto the cold cement ground.

Cole let out a roar and launched herself at Anna. Dad reacted with the reflexes of a hunter, reaching for Anna and locking one of her arms behind her back while Cole raised her gun. Anna acted, her sheer strength sending Dad staggering away by a few steps. Just enough for her to grab Cole's arm and twist it painfully behind her back. Cole moved with it, grunting, but not allowing the momentum to be broken. With a sharp jab upwards with the heel of her hand she punched Anna in the nose.

Sickening sound of breaking bone echoed through the room. If she had been human, it would have killed her, that was a move that John had taught us all. You never forgot.

Instead, Anna released Cole, but then kicked out at her and connecting with her abdomen, winding the blonde. I threw a punch at Anna, ducking and weaving around Cole as we both stepped in to the fight. It moved so quickly. I couldn't plan, there was only instinct.

Cole lashed out with another series of quick punches and kicks, and then the angel got a hold of her, propelling her through the air like she had John earlier.

I ducked a punch aimed at my head, but she followed with a kick. I threw myself back, trying to avoid it, and then someone's arm blocked the limb. I landed on my ass, and looked up to see a blonde woman - Mary - her arms pressing back against the angel.

"Mary?" I muttered, clambering to my feet. "You can't be here!"

Mary frowned in my direction, and the distraction was enough for Anna to land a hit, sending the woman into the wall opposite us. Damn she hits hard. Anna stalked after Mary, pulling a long silver angel blade out of her jacket as she did.

"No!" I started to run after her, but then Dean intervened - a flash of brown leather jacket, and muscle, his jaw set in a fury that I hadn't seen in months. I smiled at the sight of him, and glanced around, trying to regroup.

Sam was at the far end of the workshop, and I realised that Anna was in a room with the three people she most wanted to kill. I looked at Dad, pointing to Sam.

"Get him out of here!" I called out, then I spun back to Dean and Mary, who were both fighting Anna. The angel moved in on Mary, a look of concentration and determination on her face as she lifted her angel blade and swung it at the blonde. Dean swung his arm and blocked her, disarming the blade from her hand and sending it spinning across the floor.

John struggled to his feet beside me, shaking his head, I reached down and helped him to his feet, a look of confusion on his face.

"What is going on? Who is she?"

Anna had her hand around Dean's throat, and as we watched, she lifted him and tossed him like a ragdoll through a window, sending him out into the night.

"Dean!" I glanced between the hole in the wall, to Mary and then John, torn.

"Mary?" John was staring at the blonde who was circling the angel, face to face, the angel blade in her hand as she took a defensive stance. Mary swung the blade several times, the third time she hit Anna's arm and the angel hesitated for a moment as blood appeared. Another stab and Mary was hitting thin air as Anna dematerialised, and then reappeared behind her target. Mary saw her, swung, and Anna blocked her arm.

"You need to get out of here," I said to John, out of the corner of my eye I saw Cole on the ground. "Get her out of here!" I pointed to Cole. "We'll get Mary."

I didn't wait for a reply as I started toward the fight.

"I'm sorry," Anna said. She picked Mary up, throwing her several feet into the windscreen of a nearby car. Mary struggled over the top of the car, crawling away from the approaching angel.

I ran at Anna from the side, tackling her as Mary escaped off the car and staggered to her feet. Anna scowled, rolling to her feet and squared off against me.

"I'm not here for you Beth."

"Yes, you are," I replied. "Stay away from my family." I swung out at her, landing a few punches to her face, but it was like hitting a brick wall. I knew it wouldn't do. Where was that angel blade?

I ducked under a punch, and glanced around, scooting behind the redhead and landing a blow to her kidney. I couldn't see the blade. As I kicked into the back of her knee, she landed hard on the ground, her back stiff as she faced Mary.

Mary had grabbed a crowbar off the bench nearby and she swung it, hitting the angel in the chest.

It wasn't enough.

The blade was missing. We were going to lose this battle.

I pulled a knife out of my pocket - I had to end this now before anyone got hurt. I sliced across my hand, flinching at the sharpness of the cut.

Without anyone attacking her, Anna got to her feet as Mary looked on in horror at how the crowbar jutted out of the chest of the woman in front of her, nothing seeming to stop her.

"Sorry," Anna said, slowly pulling the bar out of her chest, and dropping it to the ground. "It's not that easy to kill an angel."

I felt the blood dripping from my hand as I scrawled the angel sigil on the wall beside me.

"No," I said in reply. "But you can distract them." Anna looked over at me long enough to see my hand slap into the blood drawn markings, and then a white light streaked through the building, taking her with it.

We were safe for the moment, but it wouldn't last.

I looked around the garage, there was a dead man on the floor - his eyes burned out, and cars were wrecked from the fighting. This wasn't good, any way you looked at it. I put my knife back into my jacket and looked at Mary.

"Go find the others," I ordered. She hesitated a moment then ignored me, following instead as I started to move in the other direction. When she saw me reach the broken out window it must have occurred to her where I was going because her steps faltered just slightly.

I got faster the closer I got to the window, silent prayers running through my mind. Please let him be okay. Please be okay. Dean was still on the ground when I kicked out the remaining glass shards and hopped through the frame, falling softly to my feet beside him.

"Hey, Dean," I said, turning his face to mine as I leaned over him. "Dean, Dean?"

I felt for a pulse at his throat, finding it and breathing a sigh of relief. Gripping his shoulders I shook him a little more forcefully. "Dean, wake up!"

Dean responded, groaning and opening one eye at me as I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Beth!" He reached up and grabbed me tight, pulling me down on top of him as his hands buried into my hair. They felt so good, sure of where they were going, and I sank into his chest as he guided my head into the crook of his neck. "You're okay, oh, you're okay. I was so worried, I thought I'd lost you again…" he murmured into my hair, and the tightness of his arms told me the severity of his concern.

"It's okay, I'm here," I reassured.

"Anna?" He suddenly looked about, body going tense.

"Gone, for now," I said. He relaxed at that, and rolled us over so that he was leaning over me, my back pressed to the cement beneath us.

There was a desperation in his eyes, love, worry, and something more…

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," he shook his head. He leaned down, taking the breath out of me as his lips found mine and pressed urgently against me. A low moan escaped my mouth and I felt the telltale shift of his mouth when he smiled. My heart was racing, and if we'd been anywhere else there was nothing that would have stopped that kiss from going further.

"I love that," he said, pulling back enough to look into my eyes.

Behind us, still in the building, Mary cleared her throat and Dean tensed, glancing over his shoulder and seeing her looking at us.

"Oh," he said, "Mo...Mary, hey, we uh..." It was a different side to Dean, seeing him get flustered by his mother catching him making out with a girl. "You remember my wife… Beth?" I grinned up at him as he said it, a secret thrill still running through me whenever he called me his wife. I was like a kid in a candy store, I couldn't get enough.

"We should go," Mary said, and then she was gone.

Dean turned back to me with a chuckle. "Busted."

I laughed, pushing him off me so I could sit up. "Come on," I said, looking into his dark and stormy eyes. "She's right, we should check on the others."

"Not yet," he said, shaking his head and pulling me close again. "That was close."

"It was," I agreed. "And that was only Anna. She's in better shape than Ezekiel."

"Where is Zeke anyway?" Dean asked.

"Recovering, in Blue Earth," I said.

"Blue Earth?!" Dean's expression was full of confusion as he looked at me.

"Long story," I replied.

"It always is."

---

Dean's POV

As we rounded the corner of the garage, I glanced around at our surroundings. Standing by a very nice looking Plymouth was Beth's dad, talking in hushed tones to Dad and Mom, looking urgently back at the building. It was just one more thing to take in my stride…. Sure, we were back over a decade into the past, and with my parents. Why not add Beth's dad into the mix?

"We need to move," Patrick said, looking over at us and locking eyes with Beth. "Follow me, we have a safe house we can go." He exchanged a look with Mom, who nodded imperceptibly.

Dad seemed to be the one struggling the most, and that was understandable. The rest of us were hunters, we knew what lived in the dark, so angels were not that much more of a leap in belief.

Patrick spoke to Sam, who nodded and climbed into the Plymouth with him. Cole was already in the back of the Impala, out cold. Dad had carried her out of the building and put her there. I looked at Beth who was staring at her father, and I sighed.

"You should go with him," I said, nodding at the Plymouth, even though I didn't like the suggestion.

"No, I want to come with you," she said, shaking her head. Her hand tensed on my forearm, and she stepped in closer to me. I slid my arm around her waist and gave a reassuring squeeze.

"We'll be right behind you, I swear," I said, kissing her forehead. "I'll go with Mom and Dad, and make sure Cole is okay."

She looked like she was going to argue, but then Patrick stuck his head out the window. "Let's get a move on," he said, starting the car. She kissed me one more time and then jogged over to climb in to the back seat.

I did the same, noting how strange it felt to be in the rear of the Impala while Mom and Dad took the front. Glancing over at Cole, I noticed she'd hit her head pretty hard whenever she'd gone down, there was blood dripping down her temples. She was breathing though, no doubt she was going to wake up with a splitting headache. I just hoped she didn't have a concussion.

Dad eased the car in behind Patrick's and we started on the long stretch ahead of us, the Plymouth leading the way into the cold, dark night.

---

On the Road

Beth's POV

"Wow," Sam was saying as I finished relaying the story of what had happened to Ezekiel. "This is… wow."

"That's one way to put it, son," Patrick said with a grin into the mirror. He was so light hearted and easy going, my Dad. I saw in him the same personality that had been there until I was a teenager. Even after mom had died, it hadn't broken him. He'd been different to John, although when I looked back on the stories Jefferson had told me since then, I knew why.

Mom hadn't been dead. Not like Mary. She'd been possessed. That must have made all the difference to Dad, because instead of going down the route of revenge like John had when Mary was killed - Dad had gone hunting for demons. He'd known what he was after, John hadn't.

"Cas is wiped. We left him in a motel sleeping, and hopefully recovering," Sam said.

"Why isn't Anna this bad?" I asked.

"Must be because she has Heaven's backing," Sam said.

"And why don't Castiel and Ezekiel?" Patrick asked.

"They sided with humans,' I said, leaning forward on the back of the seat in front of me. "They're helping us. And I think it has something to do with how they were resurrected? Perhaps?"

"I don't know," Sam said, shaking his head. "But whatever it is, they do not have the strength that Anna does right now."

"We need to regroup, and fast. Come up with a plan," Dad said. "Because she will not be alone next time she catches up with us."

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"Because that's how they work," he said, a frown settling across his face. "Angels rarely work alone. She will get back-up."

I found myself wishing that Dad had taught me all that he knew about Angels before he'd died. I could have been a different person. But he hadn't. And he wouldn't. He was determined not to mess up the timeline, and every time I tried to tell him more of what was to come he shook his head at me, telling me no.

"How do you know so much about them?" I asked.

Dad smiled, looking in the rearview mirror at me. "I married one."

"Wait… mom?"

"Is not an angel, no. You know that. She's a…." his voice trailed off.

"A vessel," I nodded. "I know. Me too."

"Her whole family is," he said with a slight frown.

"I've done what I could to keep her out of this fight, Beth," he said unexpectedly. "After what happened to Samuel and Deanna… and Grace talking about Castiel coming to her in the body of her brother? Not to mention demons, a fight we haven't even seen the start of yet…."

He paused, then shook his head. "I took us away, when Mary told me she was out. I've tried to keep us all safe. I'm not so foolish as Mary to think I can take us out of the fight altogether. So I went to Jim, to learn more about what I did not understand. I had hoped that by doing that, I would give Mary the freedom to live in her bubble - and maybe Grace could have a new life too. I have tried to protect her, keep her safe."

I nodded, looking at him.

"But now?" Sam asked.

Dad sighed as he looked over at the latter.

"But now I'm seeing that it's not that easy. Even when you're out, you're never really free."

"No," Sam said, shaking his head. "No, there has to be a way."

"What are you talking about Sam?" I asked.

"You, Dean… you shouldn't have to do this, not for me," he said. His face was conflicted, and he turned to look at me as he spoke, the grief and regret in clear in his voice.

Dad glanced back at me, curious.

"We quit," I explained, looking at Sam, then Dad. "We moved to Blue Earth and we quit."

"Ah."

"If it weren't for me…" The heaviness in Sam's voice was almost unbearable. I could feel the wisdom of my father's words echoing in my mind as I thought about how hard Sam was on himself, only to have Dean and I driving that home.

"No Sam," I shook my head. "Don't go there." Maybe John and Dad had a point about hunting - it was the Hotel California - check out any time you like, but you can't ever leave. There was no going back to normal like Sam had wanted. Even when you thought you had created a normal life, something happened and you were pulled back in. We were hunters - it's what we did. Could we escape that? Did we really want to?

"You can't change your fate," Dad intervened. "Even if you could, how much of the world would be affected just by the death of one person prematurely?"

"That's why we're here, to stop Anna from doing just that," I said.

"We still have to try and fix things," Sam said. "I mean… if we can."

"We are here to preserve the timeline," Dad cut him off. "Ezekiel is right. We can't change anything. Only ensure that no harm comes to John and Mary. You, and Dean, you must be born. From what Beth has told me, the world depends on it."

---

Impala

Dean's POV

I wondered how much better, if at all, the conversations Beth was having with her father, compared to the ones I was having with my parents right now. It was strange, having lived pretty much my whole life taking orders from this man - having been drilled and trained to take on monsters since I was a child - to see him struggling with the concept in this moment.

Outside the night was dark, cold and rainy. I stared out the window with no real concept of where we were going, other than it was North. Patrick had mentioned a safe house that was in their family - that was in mom's family. I assumed it had belonged to her father, my grandfather, and had sat empty since his death. On one side, we had no idea if it was safe, on the other at least we knew it was stocked and ready for a hunt.

Beside me Cole stirred at the sound of Dad and Mom speaking, her eyes opened to catch mine, and she groaned aloud. "Oh God, my head is killing me," she complained, raising a hand up to tentatively touch the side of her skull where there was blood dried and mixed up in her hair.

"Yeah, you hit it pretty hard," I said. Cole looked around the car, taking in the couple in the front, the missing siblings, and sitting up quickly at this revelation.

"Where are Sam and Beth?" Quickly grabbing at her head and groaning at how quickly she had moved.

"With Patrick," I said. She took in a breath, assessing.

"What'd I miss?"

"You took on Anna unarmed and lived to tell the tale," I said, crossing my arms over my chest and smirking at her. It would be killing her to know she got knocked out in the middle of the fight. Dad would have never let us live that down. Cole threw me a look that told me she was thinking the exact same thing, especially when her eyes cut to Dad in the driver seat.

"That was pretty badass, Cole," I added, trying not to give her a complete complex over it. If anyone knew how hard Dad rode our asses it was me.

"Where is she now?" Cole asked. "Did you get her?"

"No," I replied, looking out the window again, we were passing a truck stop and the lights from the vehicles were sending sparkles through the rain in a washed-out picture. "She'll be back."

"Dammit," Cole muttered. "They're harder to kill than bloody chupacabras."

I chuckled, intrigued that Cole's mind had gone to the monster that we'd been hunting on the last time we'd all been together. She'd panicked when she thought Dad was in danger, and it nearly got Sam killed.

"Yeah…" I said quietly, reflecting on how I'd lost so much of my family that day. "Who would have thought angels were just another form of monster?"

"I can't believe angels are … well… real," Dad said from the front. "And Monsters? Monsters are real?"

"Yes," Mom replied with a short nod. "I'm sorry, I don't know how else…"

"And you fight them?" Dad asked, looking at her, and then back in the rearview mirror at Cole and I. "All of you?"

"Yeah," I murmured, glancing sideways at Cole who stayed silent.

"How long?" Dad asked. He had looked over at Mom when he said that. It made sense, it was clearly becoming evident that she'd been lying to him for a long time, and he had to be putting it all together now. Mom looked a little pained, her face conflicted as she replied.

"All my life."

Dad gave a little disbelieving shake of his head. He was mad, even seeing him so young I could read that from him in the set of his shoulders, the clenching of his jaw, the little hiss of frustration as he bit back something he was desperately wanting to say.

Cole was staring at him, as if seeing him for the first time in a long while. I supposed that it was. It was curious to me that he seemed to calm down when he looked at her in the mirror. It made sense however, she was a stranger. She hadn't been lying to him her whole life like Mom had. I couldn't even imagine what that would feel like.

"And you guys?" Dad asked, looking back at Cole and I again. "All your lives?"

I grimaced, looking over at Mom and then Cole.

"Pretty much, yeah," Cole answered. "Our…well both our mothers were killed by monsters, our Dads raised us to hunt them after that."

"That's crazy." Dad shook his head in disbelief. "And I can't believe you never told me," he added to Mom.

I tried to place myself in his shoes, to feel how I'd feel if Beth were the one coming to me with this huge secret. But I couldn't do it. Beth didn't hide things from me, it had been me who had hidden secrets from her.

"John," Mom continued. "Just try to under…"

"She didn't exactly have a choi…" I was speaking at the same time as Mom, but it was Dad who cut us both off.

"Shut up all! Both of you!" He said sharply. "Not another word or so help me I will turn this car around." It was so unexpected, I almost laughed. This wasn't the first time Dad had used that line on me or Sam, but I hadn't heard it in a good decade. Coming from him now, of all times, was beyond weird.

"Wow," I muttered, "awkward family road trip," I said under my breath. Beside me Cole chuckled, raising her eyebrow.

"No kidding," she replied, and then she fell silent when Dad glared at the pair of us in the rearview mirror.

---

Campbell Safe House

Beth's POV

The house a very unassuming farmhouse, out of the way, no neighbours. In fact, it looked like no one had been here in years. Dad pulled the Plymouth up to the front steps, and sighed, shutting off the engine.

"Here we are," he said, staring at it like he was seeing a ghost.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, leaning forward to stare at the house.

"Yeah," Dad nodded, shaking himself out of whatever thoughts he'd been having. "Just… well it's been a long time. This is… well this is where I first encountered Rhuddhem." He climbed out of the car and I quickly glanced at Sam.

Ruby, I thought, meeting Sam's eyes with a meaningful look before we hurried to follow Dad. .

"Oh," Sam said, stepping up to where Dad was now looking up at the door. "I thought this was Mom's family home."

"It is now," Dad said. "But it used to belong to my Uncle. He uh… well, my cousin Amanda was possessed by Rhuddhem, she was forced by the demon to kill my Uncle… the demon would have killed her too, but I got there in time to exorcise it."

Sam looked at me with a pained expression and I nodded gravely, trying to keep a straight face.

Dad sucked in a breath and then let it out slowly. "I arrived in time to save Amanda, but I… I couldn't kill the demon, only send her back to Hell."

"Well, you did your best," Sam said.

"I can only hope that's where she stays, she has been hunting my family down for centuries." Dad said.

"Uh…"

"What happened to her?" I asked, cutting Sam's next comment off before it started.

Another expression of loss and pain passed over my father's face and he sighed, looking up as the headlights of the Impala came into view.

"She joined a convent in Ilchester," he said. "And was murdered three years later by a priest who lost his mind."

I went pale, thinking back to the stories that I was told of the bloody massacre that had been a sacrifice to Lucifer at the very location where Sam raised him from his cage. It seemed almost impossible for my father's cousin to have wound up there. To have escaped a horrid death, only to die in a similar if not worse manner.

"Beth…" Sam's voice brought me back to the present and I snapped my head up to look at him, seeing his concern.

"That's…" I looked at my dad. "That's horrible."

"Sometimes we can't escape our destiny," he said quietly.

"Do you think our destiny is to die?" I asked.

"No," he said with a smile. "Sometimes our fate is to live, when all others would count us for dead." He looked over at the Impala as it came to a stop. Dean clamored out of the car, looking at me with a wide-eyed and slightly crazy look. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw me, moving to envelope me in a hug.

"Good," he said. "I uh… let's not do that again, okay?"

"The drive in separate cars, or the fighting Anna thing?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Both."

"Well you're welcome to ride with us Dean," Dad said with a bright smile. "But the angel will be back. They always are."

"Peachy," Dean muttered, glancing sideways as Mary stalked past us and up the stairs. She tapped her foot on a board near the side of the porch railing and it flipped up, revealing a hidden compartment from which she fished a key.

With a nod, Dad shook John's hand when he walked up, looking a little lost for words.

"How you holding up, John?"

"Uh, fine. Fine. You're… so you're hunter too Patrick?" He looked like he was having a hard time wrapping his head around the concept of what we'd just been through. "You and Mary?"

"I am," Dad said with a nod, letting out a sigh. "But Mary...she…"

"I don't want to get into it," John cut him off. "My wife, and my best friend, lying to me for years! Does Grace know?"

Dad's face fell, and he sighed, running a hand over his eyes and down his face. "Yeah, John. She's an angel vessel."

"A… a vessel?" John spluttered. "What the Hell is an angel vessel?"

"Let's get inside," Mary said, frowning at Dad. "Clearly there's some things we're both not aware of."

For the first time I realised that angels were a new subject to Mary. I gazed at Dad, his conversation about how he'd gone to learn from Pastor Jim after Mary quit hunting. This must have been where he learned about angels, not from Samuel.

In all of this I realised we were missing someone. "Hey, where's Cole?" I asked.

"Sleeping beauty is in the car, she got a pretty bad knock to the head," Dean said, moving back to the Impala and opening his car door again, grabbing our duffel bag.

"I'll get her," John said, "you guys go with Mary." Dean nodded, looking almost relieved to be getting away from John.

We all followed Mary inside, Dean and I first, followed by Sam, and then Dad. Mary flipped a light switch and the power came on, surprisingly. I found myself staring at a house that had seen better days, the paint peeling from the walls, a layer of dust over everything, it had a musty smell that gave away just how long it had been shut up without an airing.

"Place has been in the family for years," Mary said, leaning down and flipping up a round rug under a coffee table in the living room. The floors were basic polished cement, and under the rug were familiar red painted symbols.

"Devil's trap," Mary said, leaving the rug flipped over before standing and moving further into the house, flipping switches as she went. "Pure iron fixtures, of course. Um, there should be salt and holy water in the pantry, knives, guns."

"All of that will only work to piss an angel off," Dad said, moving to lean against the wall.

"So, what will kill it? Or slow it down, at least?" Mary asked, looking at us all.

"Not much," Sam said with a shrug, his eyes the perfect puppy dog apologetic.

Mary let out a dry laugh. "Uh, great…"

Dean looked at Sam, and then chuckled. "He said not much, not nothing. We packed." He held up a duffel bag as he walked past Mary into the kitchen. There was a large rectangular dining table and chairs in the middle of the room, and Dean unceremoniously dumped the bag there, unzipping it and rummaging through the contents.

"If we put this up and she comes close…" he held up a piece of paper with the angel-banishing sigil on it, "...we beam her right off the starship."

"Hm," Mary said.

Sam picked up one of the old ceramic jugs Cas had given us, holding it out for Mary to see. "This is holy oil. It's kind of like a, like a devil's trap for angels. Come on. I'll show you how it works." Mary and Sam moved out of the kitchen, leaving me alone, all of a sudden - with the two most important men in my life. I flashed Dean a smile, one that told him I was happy that Dean was getting to meet my Dad, even if it was a little premature and I hadn't been born yet. I'd always thought Dad would like Dean, and it seemed that he did… at least with how he was nodding at Dean's banter.

"I can get started on the sigils," Dad said, taking the paper out of Dean's hand. "This is good," he said. "Very good. Where did you get it?"

"Uh, an angel," I said, shrugging. "Ezekiel."

Dad chuckled and nodded, looking up at John as he came back into the room.

"Hi John," Dad said, falling quietly. "How is the girl?"

"Fine, for now," John said. He looked a little uncomfortably about and then his eyes fell to the paper in Dad's hand.

"Hey, what's the deal with the thing on the paper?"

"It's a sigil," Dean answered. "That means…"

"I don't care what it means. Where does it go?" John snapped.

Dean hesitated, looking from me to my Dad.

"It goes on a wall or a door," Dad said after a moment.

"How big should I make it?" John said.

"John…" Dad's voice was extremely concerned and I knew exactly why.

"What?" John snapped at his friend. "Y'all might have treated me like a fool, but I am not useless. I can draw a damn…" he reached out and snatched the paper from Dad's hands, "...whatever it is… a sigil."

"Why don't you go help Sam out?" Dean said. "Okay? 'Cause this has got to be done in...it's got to be done in human blood."

John didn't even miss a beat. He reached out to a knife that was on the pile of things in the duffel bag, unsheathed it, and then sliced it clear across his left palm, a pool of blood starting to well at the wound.

"So, how big?" John said stubbornly. Dad took a step away, nodding in approval.

"I'll show you," Dean said, smiling and chuckling to himself.

"What?" John asked, looking at him stubbornly.

"All of a sudden, you...you really remind me of my dad," Dean said, and he led the way back into the living room, leaving me alone with my own father, as soon as John followed.

"Hard to imagine John as the bitter, drill sergeant you told me about," Dad murmured, looking at his friend leave.

"Yeah," I agreed. "I know what you mean."

---

Later On

Dean's POV

We'd all taken different parts of the house. Patrick and I were working in the back rooms, and I had a sneaky suspicion that he'd worked it that way deliberately. I felt like I was at a job interview - my first ever - or worse… my first hunt? My heart was thundering, and I was choking on my words.

I was nervous.

When I dropped my knife for the second time, Patrick chuckled and sat back on his heels from where he'd been pouring a circle of holy oil.

"Dean, relax, I'm not going to shoot you," he said with a grin.

Pausing, I took a deep breath and glanced over at him. This was the Patrick that Beth always described to me. The one she remember as a child, before her Mum had died.

"Yeah, yeah sure," I nodded at him. "It's just…"

"You've absconded with my little girl without so much as a 'may I'?" He interjected and I almost choked at the question, it was so out of left field.

"Well… when you put it like that…" I looked down at my feet, trying to come up with a good answer.

Patrick laughed heartily and grasped my shoulder, urging me to look at him. When I did his bright eyes burned into mine. I couldn't look away.

"Do you love my daughter?"

"With all I am," I said. "She's everything."

Patrick smiled and nodded, breaking eye contact. "I feel the same way about her mother."

He fell silent for a moment and then frowned at the holy oil in his hands.

"She deserves better than a life like this," he said after a moment. I wasn't really sure if he was talking about Beth or Grace. "I don't have the… I don't have the courage to step away from hunting. It's all I've known since I was a young boy."

I nodded, fully understanding where he was coming from.

"Yeah I get it."

"It doesn't mean we shouldn't try," Patrick continued. "I hadn't really thought about children until Beth showed up all those months ago, and Grace told me who she was."

My heart ached a little at the thought of the child Beth had lost years back. It seemed a lifetime ago, and we'd been talking, dancing, around the idea of another child. Especially with this Gabriel prophecy hanging over our heads. It was one prophecy I wasn't opposed to, not that I had been given much of a chance to raise it with Beth.

"We had a child," I said finally. Patrick looked surprised. I smiled, thinking back to the few months before Sam had been possessed by Meg, before it had all come tumbling down. The idea of having that little piece of us both, and bringing it into the world… a son… and I ached for the loss. I knew Beth did too, though she didn't talk about it, neither of us did. Maybe I needed to stop being so silent on the matter.

"A little boy. We uh… well, it's just that… I don't know how…"

"You lost the baby?" He asked.

"A demon attacked Beth," I said, running a hand over my face. "I wasn't close enough…" I fell silent, reliving those moments when Sam had kicked her in the stomach.

"It's not your fault Dean," Patrick said.

"I should have been faster… I failed!"

"Dean, a lot of things happen that we don't plan. Things we'd take back if we could, things we wouldn't. But, it's what led us to here. It's what makes us who we are."

I looked down at my hands, at the cut on my left palm, and sighed.

"We named him Patrick…" I said softly, and Patrick's smile was one of whimsical sadness. "Beth'll never get over it."

"She will," he said. "She's strong, like her mother. And she has you."

---

Beth's POV

I finished up drawing the sigil on the kitchen wall and walked into the living room. The room was small and sat off the dining room, separated by raw wood beams and an arch, no doors. Mary looked up from where she was pouring holy oil on the floor as I stepped closer and hesitated on the threshold, thinking I probably should be avoiding her right now. Ten seconds later my instincts were confirmed as she asked the question I didn't really want to have to answer.

"Hey," she said. "You all said you'd explain everything when we had a minute. We have a minute. Why does an angel want me dead?"

I sighed and opened my mouth to answer her, hearing the answer come from behind me instead.

"'Cause they're dicks," Dean said, walking in from the hallway where he'd heard the question, I chuckled, shaking my head as he leaned casually against the archway. Mary found the answer amusing too and laughed, raising an eyebrow.

"Not good enough," she said, shaking her head. "Look, my best friend - Patrick's wife - she's always believed in them, says they speak to her, but why does that make me a target? Aren't they supposed to help us? Protect us?"

"It's complicated," Dean said as I stepped up beside him.

"Fine," Mary said as she stood up to face us. "All ears."

"You just gonna have to trust us, okay?" Dean said in his infuriatingly cryptic way.

"I've been trusting you all day," Mary said sternly.

Dean's posture changed as he went from leaning against the wall to standing, and I could see he was battling with telling her.

"All right, then," Mary said, raising her hands in the air and scoffing. "I'm walking out the door." She turned and Dean's eyes flashed with momentary panic.

"I'm your son," he said quietly and she froze for a moment before turning back around with incredulous eyes.

"What?"

Dean took a few steps toward her and my heart went out to him, he was about to lay it all on the line, to his own mother. At least I hadn't needed to do that, Mom had already known the first time we came back in time and I ran into her.

"I'm your son," he said again, stopping in front of her and staring down into her confused eyes. "Sorry. I don't know how else to say it." He glanced back at me and I managed an encouraging smile for him before he turned back to Mary. "We're from the year two thousand and ten. An angel zapped us back here..." he stopped and then clarified. "Not the one that attacked you, friendlier."

Mary looked incredulously from Dean and then to me. "You... can't expect me to believe that," she said with a frown.

Dean took a deep breath and I walked over to him, placing my hand at the small of his back in a show of support.

"Our name's Winchester; Dean Winchester, and Sam is my brother," Dean said. "We're named after your parents" Mary looked at him like he was crazy, and that was when Dean started to lay his memories on the line.

"When I would get sick, you would make me tomato-rice soup, because that's what your mom made you. And instead of a lullaby, you would sing Hey Jude because that's your favourite Beatles song."

Mary's face broke, tears starting to run down her cheeks as she shook her head.

"I...I don't believe it. No," she said.

"I'm sorry," Dean said, "but it's true."

"I raised my kids to be hunters?" Mary asked and Dean looked pained, shaking his head.

"No. No, you didn't," he said quickly.

"How could I do that to you?" Mary asked.

"You didn't do it," I said softly as Dean shook his head, his voice catching with emotion. "You didn't do it because you're dead, Mary."

Mary's eyes widened and she looked at me. "What? What happened?" She asked.

"Yellow-eyed demon. He killed you, and..." Dean stopped, shaking his head. I glanced behind us to make sure that John wasn't anywhere near us, but we hadn't seen him for a while since he'd gone upstairs to put sigils in the room where Cole was.

"John became a hunter to get revenge," I said, looking at Mary. "He raised us in this life."

"But... you're Dean's wife?" Mary said and I nodded. "How did John...?"

"He took me in, after a demon killed my father... Patrick," I said, giving her a moment to make the connection. I didn't think her eyes could have opened further but they did as she looked at me, taking in my features, more like my mother's, but my father shared the same eye colour and shape of our nose. My hair colour and high cheekbones, I got from my mom and I could see Mary putting it together.

"You're Grace's daughter?" She asked. I nodded.

"Where is Patrick? Does he know this?"

"He's finishing up in the back," Dean replied. "He knows about Beth."

"But if he dies…. What… what about Grace?"

"She's dead too," I said softly and she shook her head.

"No... no I can't believe that," she said, shaking her head.

"Well believe it," Dean said shortly. "Grace died in a car crash when Beth was eight years old, and Patrick raised her, until a demon killed him, and then we took Beth in..." It wasn't quite the full story, but it was enough for now.

"But you were already a hunter? Patrick would have…" Mary stopped as she saw me shake my head.

"I didn't know about any of this. Dad protected me from it."

"Wait, you took an innocent girl and turned her into a hunter?" Mary asked incredulously.

"It was the best thing they could have ever done for me," I said softly, looking at Dean and he smiled. Mary was still shaking her head. Dean turned back to Mary, his eyes sad.

"And beside the point," Dean said. "Listen to me," he ordered Mary, looking at her. "The demon - that kills you - comes into Sam's nursery exactly six months after he's born. November 2nd, 1983. Remember that date, and whatever you do, do not go in there. You wake up that morning and you take Sam and you run," he said and I nodded, yes, she had to run, we had to protect Sam.

"That's not good enough, Dean," Sam's voice said from the opposite wall where he was standing in another open doorway, listening to the conversation. We looked over at him and he sighed.

"Wherever she goes, the demon's gonna find her. Find me," he said.

"Well, then what?" Dean asked, short on options. I looked at him, the way he was holding his shoulders. He was frustrated, wanting desperately to change what was going to happen in the future.

Sam shrugged, leaning heavily against the doorway.

"She can leave Dad. That's what," he said softly, looking sadly at Mary. "You got to leave John."

"What?" Mary asked, shocked. I stared at him, my mouth almost hanging open at the suggestion. Was he serious? Did he even realise the impact such a decision might have on the timeline? On us?!

"When this is all over, walk away, and never look back," Sam said.

"So we're never born..." Dean mused, tossing me a look that I couldn't read.

"Now wait just a minute here," I said, feeling panic start to rise in my throat.

"I – I can't," Mary said, shaking her head. "You're saying that you're my children, and now you're saying..."

"You may have no other choice," Dean said.

"There's a big difference between dying and never being born. And trust me, we're okay with it, I promise you that." Sam added. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, starting to shake my head.

"Well I'm not," I said. "Dean!" He looked at me, sadness in his eyes as he realised what Sam was saying. I pulled him away slightly and leaned in to him, dropping my voice. "Dean you promised me you wouldn't leave me again."

Sucking in a breath he reached out to cup my cheek in his hand and Mary spoke, shaking her head.

"I'm not okay with that," she said.

"Listen, you think you can have that normal life that you want so bad, but you can't," Sam said to her. "I'm sorry. It's all gonna go rotten. You are gonna die, and your children will be cursed."

"There – there has to be a way," she argued.

"No, this is the way. Leave John," Sam said.

"No!" I said, shaking my head. "No, guys, you can't be for real, you can't... you can't just never be born. Dean... you can't just leave me like that."

"Beth, you wouldn't even know we existed," Sam cut in. "It would be like a clean slate, you'd be able to live a normal life." I frowned, shaking my head.

"No, no you're wrong. Because Ruby will come regardless for Dad. And if you guys aren't there... if... if John never becomes a hunter...who will save me?" I asked, cringing as I heard the slightly higher pitch entering my voice. I will not break down, I told myself, closing my eyes. Pull yourself together Beth. Dean hesitated, his eyes darkening.

"We can't know that for sure Beth," Sam said. I stared into his eyes, seeing nothing but heartache there. The pain of all he'd been through - never knowing his mother, being estranged from John, losing us all just so he could get a normal life, and then losing that too.

"I can't," Mary said, and I selfishly agreed wholeheartedly.

"She's right, there's got to be… Sammy, I know you're hurting. I know you think this is a better way, but… trust me it's not the answer."

"I can't see any other way out, Beth," Sam said. "I've tried, believe me. But all we do is give and give, and for what?"

I turned my face to Dean, who was pale in the face and clearly wavering between his desire to protect me, and his need save his mother.

"Please Dean, are you going to make me beg?" I whispered, shaking my head at him. He was frustratingly silent, his eyes flicking between Sam and myself. "Please you promised me."

"You'll never even miss him," Sam pushed.

"Miss him? Would you say that about the love of your life? What do you think this is? Some kind of a fling?" I turned back to Dean.

"Dean, I'd miss you even if we never met. There has to be another way. We can have a normal life, together, we can. We haven't even tried that hard." I said watching his eyes, seeing him hesitate.

"Sam…" he said, turning to his brother.

"This is bigger than us Dean," Sam said. "There are so many more lives at stake..."

"I don't care!" I yelled and everyone stopped to look at me. I lowered my voice to a slightly more reasonably volume and sighed. "I don't care... you do this, then you better go kill my father right now because I won't make it without you guys. I won't..." My voice broke, hoarse from emotion.

"You might as well hand me over to the demons now… they'll have a direct line to Heaven, two of us because of Mom, and everyone will lose then."

"What?" Mary asked? Looking sharply at us all.

Sam took a step into the room, throwing a warning glance at me.

"Do you know what my mother went through, Sam? Have you spoken to Jefferson? Because if you had any idea, you'd see this isn't a solution at all. Don't forget that it was John and Jefferson who saved my mom. Without them, she'd still be a meatsuit for that demon. So, you want to mess with the timeline? Go right ahead, but you're not saving anyone… you might just destroy the whole world earlier - because there's a lot of good that John has done, that Jefferson has done and if we don't exist, he will never become a hunter either - there is a butterfly effect here none of us can see. It's exactly what Ezekiel warned us about."

"She's right… Sammy," Dean said. I felt my heart stop at the words. He isn't going to leave me. He can see it.

"No, Dean. This is the only way," Sam said. "Anna is right."

I sighed, shaking my head and turning away from everyone. I couldn't say it any plainer than that. I started to walk away, seeing my Dad appear in the kitchen, a look of concern no doubt from my raised voice.

"Dad…" I felt the anger melt, and suddenly all that was left was despair. "I can't do this anymore."

"Beth…" Dean had followed me, "hey, let's…"

"It's too late," Mary said suddenly. "I can't leave John. I'm... I'm pregnant," and we all stopped, turning back.

She was pregnant, with Dean, and I knew she'd never get rid of him. My heart heat just a little faster as this sunk in and I found myself thinking about destiny, and what Missouri had said about it so long ago. Seemed like whatever we did, we were always 3 steps too late, this time I was grateful for it, we'd have to find another way to protect John and Mary, to protect Sam.

The room was tense with unspoken words, when suddenly John walked in.

"Hey, we got a problem. Those blood things, the sigils—they're gone."

"Gone as in…?" Sam asked, shaking himself out of the previous conversation.

"I drew one on the back of the door. I turned around. And when I looked back again, it was a smudge." It was like telling us all the locks on a prison had shut down. I had to see it for myself.

I'd just drawn one in the kitchen, I took a few more steps and looked at the wall. Nothing. Where I had drawn the sigil in my own blood, there was only a bloody smear where the protection symbol had been.

"He's right," I said to Dean. In the living room Mary bent over to check the oil circle she had just poured out.

"There's no more holy oil," she announced when she stood up.

And then suddenly there was an ear-splitting screech. All the lightbulbs in the room exploded, and the room was plunged into darkness.

For the first time I heard what Dean had been talking about, the high pitched ringing of an angel speaking. Before, because it was Cas, I had heard a thousand voices all speaking at once, because I was tuning in to that angelic line, but this was a different. I couldn't hear any voices, only the shrill sound as around us windows shattered. Dean grabbed me, pulling me to the ground as glass sprayed into the room, I felt the sharp sting of a couple of cuts as glass sliced into my face.

The ringing stopped, and hesitantly we stood up, Dean glancing at me worriedly before he moved to check on the others. Before we could even get a word out the door to the room burst open from the outside and there was the sound of angel wings as a young dark skinned man entered dressed snappily in a black suit with tie.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean demanded, looking him over.

"I'm Uriel," the young man replied and I felt my stomach sink. Oh no. Dean backed away, pushing John and Mary behind him and I saw two more angels coming up behind Uriel, blocking the way out from the direction he'd just entered.

"Oh, come on!" Dean growled.

Sam reached out and grabbed Mary's arm, urging her into the kitchen toward the hallway exit. "Go…"

I turned to see Anna blocking that exit, standing on the final landing of the stairs.

"Damn," I said, feeling Sam press an angel blade into my hand. I locked eyes with him for a split second, seeing the nod as he prepared to get Mary and John out of the room. Dean was watching as we looked to him, tipping his head sideways at us and smirking. And in the back I could see through the opening into the hallway, if I knew Cole, she would be coming down those stairs any minute, and she had another blade with her.

"Here goes nothin'," Dean said, turning back to the angels then running and throwing a punch at Uriel. At the same time I launched myself at Uriel, swinging the blade around to try and hit him in the side. One of the angels with Uriel blocked my arm, twisting it viciously.

"Ahhh!" I cried out, feeling the blade fall out of my hand. It landed on the floor with a clatter. I let my body weight carry me down, catching the angel off guard as I twisted, landing on my back as I hit the floor and he was forced to let go of me. Free, I lashed up with both feet, to land a solid kick to his chest, and then sprung to my feet stabbing the angel through the neck. A ripple of light flashed through him, and he fell to the ground lifeless.

Cole appeared to our left, throwing herself at Anna in an attempt to do the same to the red-haired angel. Anna twisted sideways, evading the attack, turning and landing a high kick which sent Cole crashing back into banister, where it splintered with her weight.

Dad was on his feet, but the other angel had joined the frey, and they were going head-to-head. Out of sight, I could hear signs of a struggle as Dean and Uriel slugged it out. Sam moved on Anna, while John had an angel blade in hand and stabbed the angel with Dad in the back. I made the decision to go after Dean.

As I rounded the wall into the other room, a spray of blood hit me across the face and Dean groaned as Uriel hit him again, then again. I pulled all my anger inside of me and focused it on Dean's assailant.

"Uriel!" I yelled, running at him. When the angel looked up, I tackled him to the ground, landing on top of the angel and throwing a right hook at his jaw. He grunted, but barely moved. My knuckles felt like I'd just punched a brick wall. With a chuckle, Uriel pushed forward with his hands, hitting me square in the chest, and I felt myself lifted through the air until I hit the couch.

Dean swung in again, a roar of anger, and landed a punch to Uriel's ribs. The angel was barely breaking a sweat. We needed those angel blades. I clamored to my feet and looked back to the kitchen in time to see Anna throw John out a window. There was a sickening sound of wood and glass giving way, and John disappeared from sight.

"John!" Mary cried out.

John had dropped the blade, and Sam dove after it, but wasn't fast enough. Anna ripped a pipe out of a hole in the wall, breaking the metal clean off and ramming it into Sam's stomach.

"Sammy!" I screamed, moving for him.

Cole, still not giving up, had climbed to her feet. Seeing Sam fall to the ground, she roared and ran at Anna with a recovered angel blade, but Anna was too fast. Within seconds, Anna had side stepped, then redirected Cole's arm straight into her stomach. I watched in horror as the blade drove into and blood started to flow.

"No!"

Anna turned to Mary. "I'm really sorry," she said.

I couldn't move, I felt the pull of a thousand different strings all attached to a different part of me, and they held strong. Dean, Sam, Dad, John, Cole… the sheer volume of this attack was overwhelming. I was frozen with indecision.

"Beth!" Dad was yelling, but it was as if he was a million miles away.

Everything seemed to slow right down.

Then John's voice, deeper, sounded.

"Anna."

Dad reached me, pulling me into his arms and pushing me toward Mary.

Anna spun around, and standing in the middle of the room was John. Only he walked differently, and there was a determination to his eyes.

"Michael," Anna said, her eyes widening. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, and without warning the angel burst into flames, screaming.

Once done, Michael turned to look at Uriel, who had released Dean and walked into the room.

"Michael. I didn't know," he said. There was a fear in Uriel's eyes, and he valiantly stood his ground even with the knowledge of what had just happened to Anna.

"Goodbye, Uriel," Michael said, snapping his fingers and instantly Uriel disappeared.

Michael turned back to Mary, and she was shaking, tears in her eyes as she looked at him.

"What did you do to John?" She asked.

"John is fine," Michael replied, taking a few steps toward her. Dad moved to put himself between Michael and Mary, frowning.

"John is a vessel?" He asked.

"Who… what are you?" Mary asked.

"Shhhh…." Michael said. He reached out two hands, touching their foreheads, and both Dad and Mary fell to the ground unconscious. I glanced at Dean, seeing him stagger into the room, and went to his side.

Sam was looking deathly still on the ground, and Cole was sitting with her back to a kitchen cabinet, bloody and pale. The silence was deafening, like the calm before a storm hit.

"Well, I'd say this conversation is long overdue, wouldn't you?" Michael asked, turning his intense stare to Dean. It was John, a young John, but his personality was buried deep beneath the pulsing energy of the archangel. We'd never met Michael, he'd been in Heaven, waiting for Dean to let him in. Now he had a new vessel.

Dean sucked in a breath, pointing at Sam and Cole. "Fix them!" He ordered. I cringed, not liking our chances of getting Michael to do anything that we wanted. But if there was one thing I knew, it was that Michael wanted Dean… why else would he be here? And if he needed Dean for a meat suit, then he needed Sam for Lucifer. However this played out, he would have to save Sam.

Michael smiled, shaking his head. "First...we talk. Then I fix your darling little Sammy."

"How'd you get in my dad, anyway?" Dean asked.

"I told him I could save his wife, and he said yes," Michael replied. Dean snorted, and shook his head.

"I guess they oversold me being your one and only vessel."

"You're my true vessel but not my only one," Michael replied.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Dean asked.

"It's a bloodline," Michael said. This piqued my interest, because Castiel had said something similar to Anna.

"A bloodline?" I asked, curious, glancing over at Cole. Michael looked at me, and raised an eyebrow. I tried to banish my thoughts from my mind, about John's other children, looking back at the angel. "How old a bloodline?" I asked, trying to distract him.

"Stretching back to Cain and Abel. It's in your blood, your father's blood, your family's blood," Michael said, this time to Dean. "Same as Beth… the twelve tribes of Israel - from which her mother descends of one - house the lineages of the angels."

That was something I hadn't known. To be fair I'd never really looked into my family genealogy, but now it was starting to interest me even more.

"Awesome," Dean said, his voice and eyes looking on in dejection. I reached out a hand and grasped his forearm, giving it a little squeeze to let him know he wasn't alone. "Six degrees of Heaven Bacon. What do you want with me?" Dean asked.

"You really don't know the answer to that?"

Dean scowled at the angel, slipping an arm around my waist and narrowing his eyes at Michael. "Well, you know I ain't gonna say yes, so why are you here? What do you want with me?!"

"I just want you to understand what you and I have to do." Michael said, stepping closer to us.

"Oh, I get it. You got beef with your brother. Well, get some therapy, pal. Don't take it out on my planet!"

"You're wrong," Michael said. "Lucifer defied our father, and he betrayed me. But still...I don't want this any more than you would want to kill Sam."

He turned away, shoulders slumping slightly. "You know, my brother, I practically raised him. I took care of him in a way most people could never understand, and I still love him." He turned back to us. "But I am going to kill him because it is right and I have to."

"Oh, because God says so?" Dean asked.

"Yes. From the beginning, he knew this was how it was going to end," Michael said. I shook my head at him, it couldn't be true.

"And you're just gonna do whatever God says," Dean pushed.

"Yes, because I am a good son." It was ironic how alike Michael and Dean were in that regard, and that was not lost on Dean, who smirked.

"Okay, well, trust me, pal. Take it from someone who knows—that is a dead-end street."

"And you think you know better than my father? One unimportant little man. What makes you think you get to choose?" Michael asked. The disdain in his voice was clear, he didn't think much of humans.

"Because I got to believe that I can choose what I do with my unimportant little life," Dean replied with a shaky voice, full of unexpressed emotion. I slipped my arm around Dean's waist and we stood as one against the angel.

"You're wrong. You know how I know?" Michael turned away, moving toward Sam and looking down at him. I felt Dean's gaze shift to me, and for a fleeting moment, he revealed the panic and the pain that he was feeling. I reached squeezed my hand against his hip, pressing the side of me to him, feeding back to him all the strength I could muster.

Michael stopped and looked back at us. "Think of a million random acts of chance that let John and Mary be born, to meet, to fall in love, to have the two of you. Think of how random it appears for you and Beth to have met, more than once in your lifetimes, only to be brought together in the most tragic of circumstances."

I felt my heart race. This is what my Dad had been talking about - this was the destiny he meant. I was starting to believe it too - we were meant to be here. All the pain, all the heartache we'd experienced in our lives, it was for a reason. Maybe those reasons weren't clear, but I had to believe they were good - and that we would prevail. And I knew in my heart that we were not here to play puppets to angels in a war of their creation.

Michael took a step closer and shook his head. "Think of the million random choices that you make, and yet how each and every one of them brings you closer to your destiny. Do you know why that is? Because it's not random. It's not chance. It's a plan that is playing itself out perfectly. Free will's an illusion, Dean. That's why you're going to say yes." He said.

I glanced at Dean, whose face was emotionless at the moment.

"Oh, buck up. It could be worse." Michael smiled. "You know, unlike my brothers, I won't leave you a drooling mess when I'm done wearing you."

"What about John?" I asked, drawing attention from Dean to myself. Michael tilted his head sideways and smiled.

"Better than new. In fact, I'm gonna do your mom and your dad a favour."

"What?" Dean asked.

"Scrub their minds. They won't remember me or you," Michael said.

"You can't do that." Dean said, swallowing hard. I could feel his arm tense under my hand and I was torn between letting this roll just the way it was going, or arguing, like Dean was no doubt about to.

"I'm just giving your mother what she wants. She can go back to her husband, her family… same with you Beth. Your Dad can go home to your mom. We need you where you are, too."

"What? Why?" Dean asked

"Because Beth is going to be the reason you finally says 'yes'," Michael said.

"You son of a bitch! She's gonna kill her own father! And mom is going to walk into that nursery!" Dean said, stepping angrily into the angel.

"Obviously," Michael said as he turned away. "But you always knew that was going to play out one way or another. You can't fight City Hall."

There was nothing to me done. We stood there, helpless to intercede, watching as Michael walked over to Sam and pressed two fingers to his forehead. Sam vanished right before our very eyes, the pipe that had been sticking out of his stomach falling to floor. Michael stood up and turned to us. "He's home. Safe and sound."

"Now her," I said, pointing to Cole.

Michael looked confused for a moment, as if he hadn't thought about healing Cole, but then nodded, moving to kneel in front of the girl who was fading in and out of consciousness. She coughed up blood as he reached a hand out to touch her forehead. Cole reacted to the movement, hitting the hand out of the way and snarling, "fuck off John."

I knew what was going through her mind, she was ready to die. Well, we weren't ready to bury her. "Cole, open your eyes, let him heal you. Think of JJ, he needs you!" I said, moving to stand nearby.

Cole opened her eyes long enough to glare at me, then looked at John's face, nodding. As he reached out, they seemed to have a silent exchange before Michael muttered the words, "you're welcome," and then the girl vanished.

Michael stood and looked at us. I was staring at my Dad now, unconscious on the floor, wishing I'd had more time. I wondered if Dean was feeling the same way.

"Your turn," Michael said, looking at us both. "I'll see you soon, Dean."

Without any further conversation, Michael pressed his fingers to both our foreheads, and I felt my stomach drop, a loud whoosh in my ears like blood was rushing to my head really quickly. Then everything was surrounded in a blinding white light.

---

Motel - Several Days Later

Dean's POV

My body, my heart, my thoughts… they were all heavy.

We'd failed.

What was the whole point of it all if it was going to lead us right back to the same place, each and every time?

Cole had taken off almost as soon as we landed back in the present, and she'd been ignoring our calls ever since. It wasn't like me to worry about the woman, she was stubborn and a pain in my ass most of the time, but she knew how to take care of herself. This time? I wasn't so sure what she would be feeling.

Castiel and Ezekiel were still missing in action, and that had me just as concerned.

I pulled out a bottle of scotch from the cupboard and saw Sam reaching for the cups. That's how I knew things were hitting him just as hard - wasn't like my little brother to turn to the drink … well, not when I was around. I couldn't help but think about his drunken booze and blood fueled tour of America when I'd been in Hell, and what that had done to Beth.

Beth.

She was probably the most changed from this experience. She'd fallen away from her daily prayers, something I never knew her to do the whole time I'd known her - yet in the last year that had become less of a habit and more of an obligation when she thought of it.

Now she had been going mornings and evenings, though I suspected that might taper off to evenings like it had been when we were young. Whatever her Dad had said to her during their time alone, it had shifted her perspective. She seemed lighter, happier, and in spite of how bad I felt, it was a joy to hear her laughter as she joked with Sam, or watched something funny on TV.

It was the only light in my life, if I was being honest.

I took the cap off the bottle and started to pour the brown liquid into the ceramic mugs.

"Castiel," Sam said suddenly. My eyes shot up to see him looking in the mirror behind me. Behind Sam was a familiar trenchcoat, and tucked under Cas's arm was Ezekiel.

Sam spun around, catching Cas's free arm and supporting him from falling.

"Hey. Hey, hey. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa."

"Cas! Zeke!" I put the bottle down quickly and hurried around the table to help Sam and Ezekiel guide Cas toward the bed.

"Man, he is heavier than he looks," Ezekiel joked, but it fell short of the worried look in his eyes as they took a few steps.

"We got you," Sam said.

"You son of a bitch. You made it," I said, smiling in spite of myself. I reached out and squeezed Zeke's shoulder.

"I...I did?" Cas asked, his head swinging from Sam to me.

"I'm very surprised," Zeke said, frowning.

Cas's legs suddenly gave way and Sam moved to give more support.

"Whoa! You're okay," Sam said, slipping his shoulder under Cas's arm. Zeke was struggling to stay upright from what I could see, and I moved in to relieve him.

"Bed?" I suggested to Sam.

Together we hauled an unconscious Cas to the nearest bed - Sam's - and he flopped down on his back. Nearby, Zeke dropped into an armchair, and rubbed a hand across his eyes.

Behind us the motel door swung open, and Beth rushed in, looking straight at Cas, then Zeke.

"I heard you!" She said. "I came as fast I could."

She was panting from the exertion of running the five blocks from the church where she'd been praying. Moving quickly she took in Cas's state of unconsciousness and then turned to Zeke.

"Are you okay?" She asked, Zeke simply nodded and waved a hand in the air.

"Peachy."

"You made it back," she breathed with a smile of relief.

"Wouldn't do to leave you without your personal angels," Zeke chuckled, but he looked exhausted. I wondered just what it had taken to get both him and Cas back to this timeline.

"Anna?" Zeke asked, looking up at Beth.

"I'm sorry," she said sadly. He sucked in a short breath, closing his eyes for a moment, and then nodded once.

"I have to go," he said. Instantly he vanished to the sound of angel wings, and we were left staring at the now empty chair he'd been sitting in.

"Well, I could use that drink now," I said, my mind turning back to the whiskey I had been about to pour.

"Yeah," Sam agreed, grabbing two more cups from the cupboard, glasses this time.

I filled them up, and handed them out to Sam and Beth, then turned to hold my mug up in the air, looking over at Cas.

"Well… this is it," I announced.

"This is what?" Beth asked, looking at me in confusion. Beside me Sam took a sip of his drink.

"Team Free Will," I said. "One ex-blood junkie, one dropout with six bucks to his name, the preacher's daughter, and Mr Comatose. It's awesome."

Beth chuckled, held up her drink in a toast and then knocked back the whole thing.

Sam frowned, his face clearly showing his disapproval. "It's not funny."

I sipped my whiskey a little more leisurely than Beth, though I smiled at her enthusiasm.

"I'm not laughing," I said after a moment. If anything, I was thinking we were in over our heads, but it wouldn't be the first time, and it sure as hell wasn't likely to be the last.

Sam took another sip, and then sighed. "They all say we'll say yes."

"I know," I said with a nod. "It's getting annoying."

"What if they're right?" Sam asked.

"They're not," Beth said, certainty in her voice. I smiled over at her, loving the faith she had in us.

"I mean, why, why would we, either of us? But...I've been weak before," Sam said, the doubt showing in his voice, the way he was carrying himself. He still beat himself up over his choices, but we'd all made bad decisions before.

"Sam," I growled at our little brother, shaking my head.

"Michael got Dad to say yes," Sam pointed out.

"That was different. Anna was about to kill Mom," I countered.

"And if you could save Mom… or Beth…. what would you say?" Sam asked.

I looked sideways at Beth. I'd do anything for Beth or Mom, I knew that. But give in to Michael? Would I do it? Dad hadn't known the consequences of saying yes… what it might mean. I was in a completely different situation - I knew it would be a one way street.

I couldn't answer that question.

Beth was watching us both, and after a moment she put her empty glass on the tv stand behind her and reached out to hug Sam and I close to her.

"I believe in you guys," she said after a moment. It was just like the old days, feeling her love and support for us both - a resolution, no doubt, just pure blind faith that we were going to do the right thing. "We've got this," she added.

She let us go, slipping behind me to grab the bottle of whiskey from the table and holding it up. "To Team Free Will," she said with a smile, and I couldn't have loved her more.

---

Author's Notes

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The song for this chapter is - Fix You by Coldplay

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Phew! That took a long time to get written! Thank you everyone for your patience. I've had a lot going on in real with deaths in the family, changes to my work hours and family commitments. I'm always hopeful that I can get things out quickly after an update, and I certainly have a lot of inspirations coming in, so fingers crossed things settle enough to give me some writing time and energy.

Welcome to all the new readers! Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to drop me a private message or a review - I always love to hear back and endeavour to get back to you when I can.

JEFFERSON is wanting his story written, but I think that's a little ways off for an update as I still want to plot out a bit more of the start of his story. In the meantime, I continue on with Season 5…

Hope you enjoyed this take on The Song Remains The Same - I wanted to bring a little more of Patrick into it, and show the different kind of man he was as a hunter, compared to John, and a bit of where Beth's faith in God comes from.

Cole (who is borrowed from my friend EarthhAngel's story How To Save A Life, also here on Fanfiction) came along as this episode is a turning point in her story, and you'll get to see her point of view and more of her relationship with John reflected in this episode when it's published over at How To Save A Life.

Lots more goodies on the way too, stay tuned!

P.S. Please leave a review, you know I love them!