Author Notes:

Hi to all the new readers, you're jumping into a story that is halfway in the telling. If you're not completely new, I hope you're enjoying the series.
If you are brand new, I recommend reading all the other stories first if you really want to get a feel for what's going on here.

Recommended prior reading:

Books 1-4 starting with Highway to Hell, if you haven't read the series at all.
Book 'Where Angels Fear to Tread' if you want to read more about Gabriel, Ezekiel and Sariel's story

If you have, here is a little Flashback Revision you might like!

Book - To Hell and Back - Chapter 8 - The Knife's Edge
Book - To Hell and Back - Chapter 27 - Jump the Shark

And I know, that I'm not always innocent
But every sin, I did it for you
So what's the use in all of this here for?
I'll never be worthy of you

I'm broken, and beat up, and bruised.
I've proven all that I can prove
There's nothing that I won't do
But, I'll never be worthy of you

I've tried and I've tried
Pure sacrifice
Fallin and fallin
nowhere to go

What do you want from me?

I'm broken and beat up and bruised
I've proven all that I can prove
There's nothing that I wouldn't do

POINT OF NO RETURN

Motel Room
West Liberty, OH

Dean's POV

I'd driven several hours, just enough to put space between me and Cicero. They'd be coming after me, I knew that, but I couldn't let them find me. I knew I wasn't strong enough to resist a full on Beth and Sam intervention. And I had to do this. It was the only way.

I took a shower, letting the hot water wash down over me. I tried to empty my mind of all the doubts, the fears: the reasons to not do this. I was a father, about to be a father again, and I now knew what had to be done to keep my family safe.

I changed into simple clothing: jeans, a black t-shirt and a matching dark over shirt. An hour later, over pizza, whiskey and the world's best pie, I sat down to do the impossible: say goodbye to Beth.

The blank piece of paper stared me in the face, taunting me with the words that were unwritten. My stomach twisted in knots over what I was putting her through. But she was Beth, she'd find a way to forgive me. And when I came back to her, it would have all been worth it.

I picked up the pen and started to write:

Dear Beth

Given what's about to happen, I'm sorry I couldn't say this to your face. You deserve so much better than anything I've ever been able to offer you. I just want you to know that I'm trying to be that man you need, even though this is the last thing you want me to do.

I want you and Sam to know this isn't about giving up. Dad taught us better than that. This is about time. We've run out of it. Dad said one day I'd have to make the hard choice - about family - and he was right. I'm making this decision to keep you all safe.

I left the Impala in Cicero, behind Lisa's work. I know you'll look after her for me; I've never told you this, but it was one of the best days of my life, the day you asked me to teach you how to give her an oil change. I have so many memories in that car, but the best ones are of when I'm with you.

By now you'll have guessed I know about the baby. You always said I'm a good dad. You have to know that's all I'm trying to be right now. I'm just trying to protect my family - all of you.

I don't know if you still pray every day. You probably don't, but if you do - give it one last try for me. I know we promised each other that we wouldn't go it alone ever again. When all this is over, I hope you can forgive me for doing this without you.

I love you always,
Dean

I sighed, reached for the whiskey and poured myself another glass, taking a sip. It was a good bottle, and went smoothly. With a nod, I resolved myself to what I was going to do. I folded my brown leather jacket and put it into the box I'd collected from next door. On top of the jacket I placed my empty pistol, running my fingers over the ivory grips. The keys to the Impala followed, and then the letter. Once sealed, I addressed it to Beth at Lisa's.

"Sending someone a candy-gram?" Sam's voice said from the doorway where he'd silently opened the door and was now standing in a brown and white flannel shirt.

I looked up sharply, not expecting him to have caught me this quickly.

"How'd you find me?"

Sam shrugged, stepping into the room with his disappointed and hurt facial expression.

"You're going to kill yourself, right? Not hard to follow the points of goodbye - Lisa's, world's best pie," he said softly, nodding to the empty container on the table. "Plus, I tracked your credit card."

I scowled at him, and mentally kicked myself at how stupid I'd been to use the card.

"I'm not going to kill myself," I said, waiting for Beth to step into the room behind Sam. I had my arguments well prepared; after all I'd been telling them to myself for three days now.

"No?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow. "So Michael's not about to make you his muppet?"

I looked away and downed the rest of my drink. I had no good answer for that.

"What the Hell, man?" Sam asked forcefully, shaking his head at me. "This is how it ends? You just… walk out?"

"Yeah, I guess," I shrugged, pouring another drink.

"How could you do that?" Sam asked.

"How could I?" I retorted. He was getting my hackles up, pushing on what was already a seriously sensitive issue. "All you've ever done is run away."

It was a low blow. But Sam was about to hit even lower.

"And what about Beth?" Sam asked, his voice breaking. "She needs you right now. She's never run away from you."

He couldn't have hit me harder if he'd actually thrown a punch. I shook my head, fighting the self-loathing. I was doing this for her!

"Yeah?" I asked. "Well where is she?"

It was an unfair question, but I didn't care right now.

Sam scoffed, glancing away for a moment then back at me with his big, round eyes.

"Dude, she's out looking for you," he said quietly. "Where do you think she is?"

I looked down guiltily.

"And for the record, every time I ran away it was wrong," Sam added. "Every single time I did."

I wasn't expecting that. I looked at him, angry, wanting to lash out because I knew, I knew, if Beth walked through that door, I was going to change my mind. She was going to be able to talk me out of this ridiculous plan.

"Just… please," Sam said, opening his hands out to me. "Not now. Not with the baby coming. Bobby is working on something…"

"Oh really? What?" I asked.

Sam's face fell as he tried to come up with something to reason with me.

"Well, then Gabriel," he tried to get out. "You know he spoke to Beth, told her he's working on something."

"Yeah, and he's reliable," I snorted, taking another drink. "You got nothing and you know it."

Sam sighed. "You know I have to stop you."

I pursed my lips together, getting ready for the fight. He was going to make us do this, wasn't he? I contemplated the irony that really, at the end of the day, Michael and Lucifer were playing out the same age old family drama that Sam and I had been doing for years.

"Yeah, well, you can try," I said, putting the whiskey down on the table. "Just remember, you're not all hopped up on demon blood this time."

Sam sighed, nodding. "Yeah, I know," he confessed, looking sadly at me. "But I brought help."

He glanced over my shoulder expecting to see Beth, but instead it was Cas with an angry death stare.

Before I could do anything he reached out and tapped my forehead - it was the last thing I saw before everything went black.

Motel
Watseka, IL

Beth's POV

I cut the engine on the motorbike, kicking down the stand as I climbed off and looked around the parking lot of the motel. There was a range of cars, trucks and a few bikes there too. I'd checked every motel in town, this was the last one, and certainly none of Dean's aliases were being used at the front desk. It would have been easier if he'd been driving the Impala, but he'd seen to that, dumping it in Cicero before he stole a car to run off on us.

I was exhausted both mentally and physically.

As I stepped into the motel room, looking around at the mediocre decor and flipping on a light switch, my phone rang.

"I've got him," Sam said without waiting for me to say anything.

"Okay," I replied. I didn't know what else to say. The plan was simple. Whoever found him first, called Cas, and then we would zap him to Bobby's and lock him in the panic room until we talked some sense into him.

"It's going to be okay," Sam promised. I wasn't so sure I believed him.

"Yeah, okay," I said quietly. "Don't let him slip through your fingers."

"We won't," Sam said. "Where are you? I'll send Cas to get you after this is done."

"No, no don't worry," I said. "I'm going to get some sleep, I'll call Cas when I'm awake."

"Are you sure? You can sleep at Bobby's."

I didn't want to. I couldn't face the thought of sleeping alone in our bed while Dean was in the panic room. I wasn't ready to face him after he'd run out like that. It hurt too much.

"No, I just need a bit of time," I said. "Just get him to Bobby's Sam, it's all that matters."

Once we'd hung up, I sat heavily on the bed. My chest was heavy with uncried tears, my throat ached from fighting them back for the last half day. I desperately needed a shower, but I couldn't move to get up and take one.

Clicking on the TV, I flipped through the channels until I hit reruns of our favourite spanish soap opera, leaving it on as I rolled onto the bed and pulled my knees up to my chest. The sounds of spanish drama rolled over me as I closed my eyes, fighting back the tears that were about to flood out whether I liked it or not.

How could he?

I had been asking myself this since he'd left. How could he just leave me like that? Knowing I was going to have a baby. Knowing how much I needed him. It flew in the face of everything we'd promised each other, especially over the past few years, he was acting like John right now and that hurt more than anything.

As darkness started to fall outside, I let the sobs escape me, wrapped up inside of myself I allowed them to come, the pain in my throat growing as I couldn't control it anymore. I felt like I'd lost Dean again, it was as desolate and painful as when he'd been dragged to Hell. The only solace was maybe we could talk him back around, to stop what he had planned.

With that tiny glimmer of optimism, I let sleep claim me in the hopes of a better tomorrow.

A short while later I was sitting in a nondescript bar, nursing a glass of whiskey in the booth by the window. The bar was relatively empty, and I couldn't remember getting there. I felt like this could be any bar we'd ever visited through the years of hunting, or scamming cash out of unsuspecting pool hounds.

Why was I here?

I couldn't remember getting there, or why. I looked at the drink in front of me with distaste, recalling that I shouldn't be drinking alcohol, and pushed it to the centre of the table and out of reach.

Beside me the bench seat moved, and a familiar face sat down, flashing me a smile that caused her emerald green eyes to sparkle.

"Sariel?"

"Hello Beth," she said. "We need your help."

"We?"

"Ezekiel," she clarified, dropping her voice and leaning closer.

It dawned on me what was happening as soon as she said his name. "This is a dream."

"Yes," she said with a nod. "We can't find you because of the warding Castiel put upon you."

"Oh, well that's easy I'm at…"

Sariel held up her hand,silencing me with both that a sharp shake of her head, sending her red curly hair into a flurry.

"Not here," she said, glancing around. "Anyone could be listening."

I frowned, not liking the sound of that. "What's going on? Where is Ezekiel?"

"He's in danger."

I shouldn't have been surprised. It seemed Ezekiel came to me more during that time than any other. I'd gotten away from playing host to the angel for a while, once he went fully rogue and decided that stealth wasn't going to help. Something serious must have happened. I was instantly on alert.

"Okay, then where do I meet him?"

Sariel slid a piece of paper across the table to me. It was in Enochian, something like 'The Hunters Cave." Instantly the scenery changed around me, and I was left standing in a literal cave, lit up by a campfire. Around me were hundreds of cave drawings of creatures no one had seen the likes of before - not without being in the hunting world anyway.

"Beth, thank you for coming!" A voice echoed out of the cave to me.

"Ezekiel?" I asked, spinning around.

"Yes," he said. "Sorry I can't appear before you, but… I've had a little problem."

"What?"

"My vessel was destroyed when I was discovered in Heaven," he replied. "I'm on the run."

"But if you have no Vessel, you can only stay in Heaven," I finished.

"Indeed. And they're zeroing in on me."

I bit my lip. I could see where he was going with this.

"You want to hide in my body again," I said, more a statement than a question.

"Yes," he said. "Gabriel is working on a new vessel for me, but for now… well it's safer on Earth than it is in Heaven for me. And I have news for you and Dean, time is of the utmost import."

I sighed, rubbing my temples. It was a done deal and he knew it. I couldn't leave him in danger. But Dean was going to kill me.

Then I thought about what Dean had been up to the last few days and I got angry again.

'Well, if he can play at this game, so can I." I reasoned

"Okay," I agreed, feeling an intensity building around me. "Let's do it."

There was little other negotiation, simply a rush of energy and light as Ezekiel's essence entered into me. I felt it, even on the dream plane, and gasped from the power.

"Now you need to wake up," Ezekiel said in my mind. "We have work to do."

Just like that I was awake, sitting up on top of the covers, still dressed in the same jeans and green shirt I'd been wearing when I'd fallen asleep. I stood up, shaking out my limbs and rolling my head from side to side. I felt normal.

Had it all been a dream?

'No', Ezekiel's voice echoed in the back of my mind. "I'm here."

"Okay then," I said, to no one in particular. "So what next?"

"We're going to need a few supplies." Already I could see what he was talking about flashing through my mind, as if I was thinking the thought myself. A ceremonial bowl, myrrh, holy water, and blood. Human blood.

"Blood?"

"Don't worry," Ezekiel said. "We don't need much."

I sighed, running a hand over my face, and then walked into the bathroom, pulling a brush through my messy hair, taming it somewhat before pulling it back into a braid, then shrugging into my black leather jacket.

"Okay," I said. "Let's go."

Ten minutes later we were standing in the middle of a pagan witches store, and the fact that I could just teleport when Ezekiel was with me was not lost on my otherwise very human body.

I gave Ezekiel control, and he led. It was always a bit of a wild ride, tagging along with an angel and being conscious for the duration. My uncle Jimmy had once described it as feeling like you're chained to a comet. I had never felt that way with Ezekiel, whether it was different depending on the angel, or I was just used to a warrior's life, for me it was like doing 90 in the Impala down a long, empty road. Breathtaking and exciting all at once.

I watched my hand write a sigil on the table before us, placing an empty copper bowl over it.

"What are we looking for?" I asked, feeling a touch of anger ripple through Ezekiel.

"I was in Heaven seeking out Michael, to see if this is truly his plan - to roast our Creator's planet. We have other options, and if I could just tell him…" The Angel fell silent for a moment, as he broke up three pieces of myrrh into the bowl then lifted a knife to my palm.

"I thought maybe I could talk some sense into him. But then I heard him speaking to Zachariah. And his latest plan… I can't believe it!"

"Dean, he's going to give in," I said quietly.

"This has nothing to do with Dean."

Ezekiel drew the blade across my palm, and I had a moment to cringe - those cuts always took longer to heal. The warm blood trickled dow and dripped from my fingers into the bowl for what seemed an eternity.

Finally, Ezekiel touched the wound and it healed instantly with a zing through my skin.

The final touch, holy water, poured down over the myrrh and blood. As an aware soul inside my own body, it was like standing slightly behind, listening and watching myself do something that was out of my control.

"Zod ah mah rah na ee es lah gee roh sah," I chanted in Enochian, a language I would normally need time to translate. As the chant drew to a close nothing happened, I felt as if I was holding my breath, except that Ezekiel was in control of my body, and physically I was breathing slowly and steadily like a pro soldier. After a few short moments, the ingredients in the bowl started to smoke, spiralling up into the air, until Ezekiel nodded with my head.

"I know where to go."

Suddenly we were transported across country. I was vaguely aware that we had travelled states away from where we had been, and we landed in a wooded area with no landmarks.

'What are we looking for?' I asked Ezekiel inside my mind, getting a reply almost instantly.

"Michael's Plan B, as you would call it."

I did not like the thought of that. As we walked quietly through the landscape, we started to get a feel for the land, the eddys and currents of energy that flowed in and around the trees, all converging on one space - a supernatural vortex of creation.

Ezekiel knelt us down on the rich earth, touching the ground and stretching our senses out further than I'd even known them to go. He, we, could sense the body of someone below, and it became clear to me what was about to happen.

"This way," said a voice behind us, and in an instant we had teleported to the safety of the treeline, crouching in the bushes and watching as six angels converged on the clearing.

They stood around one section of ground and then held their arms out, starting to chant…

Bobby's House
Sioux Falls, SD

Dean's POV

So they'd zapped me to Bobby's. Why wasn't I surprised?

We were standing in the library, Bobby in his chair by the desk, Sam sitting opposite him poring over old texts that all told us the same thing - we were screwed.

Cas stood guard near the entry to the kitchen, the fastest way out of the house, and I paced in the space between him and Sam.

"Yeah, no this is good," I complained, "really. You know, eight months of turned pages and screwed pooches, but tonight, tonight's when the magic happens."

"You ain't helpin'," Bobby commented, glaring at me from under his baseball cap.

"Yeah, well, why don't you let me out of your hair then?" I pushed.

Beth was still nowhere to be seen. I hadn't heard so much as a whisper as to what she was up to right now. I couldn't help but wonder if I was relieved or annoyed at that. Did part of me want her to talk me out of this? Or was I just surprised to find her gone?

"What the Hell happened to you?" Bobby sneered, and this made me stop moving, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning on the wall where Bobby and Sam had pinned charts and maps, pieces of articles.

"Reality happened," I said, glaring at him. "Nuclear's the only option we have left. Michael can ice the Devil, save a boatload of people." Including my family, I thought to myself.

"But not all of them," Bobby pointed out. Did I care? No, I wasn't kidding myself, I was no saint, I wasn't doing this for the rest of the planet. I was being downright selfish about it - because if it came down to saving Lisa, Ben, Beth and the baby, or having them die in an inferno, then it really wasn't a choice at all.

"We gotta think of something else," Bobby added.

"Yeah, well, that's easy for you to say," I commented. "But if Lucifer burns this mother down, and I coulda done something about it, guess what? That's on me." I emphasized my point by pounding down on the table next to me. Why couldn't they see what I was saying?

"You can't give up son," Bobby said softly, and it was the son that ate at me the most.

"You're not my father," I said, shaking my head and looking up at him. "And you ain't in my shoes," I finished.

Bobby looked at me, pain in his eyes, and then stared down at his desk, speechless. The look on his face ate at me, but I had to do it. I had to convince them to let me go. I was starting to think Beth knew it, and that's why she wasn't here.

Sam sat back in the chair he was seated on, his face stern as he gave me an incredulous look as if to say 'what the hell was I speaking to Bobby like that, how did I just go there?'

"All of you, trying to convince me not to do this, and yet there's one key person missing," I said, waving a hand around the room. "Where is Beth? Why isn't she here, trying to save me from myself like the rest of you?"

"Dean…" Sam said, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Because she knows," I answered my own question. "She might not be happy about it, but she knows I have to do this. It's the only way."

"Boy, if she heard you talking like that she'd slap the stupid right out of ya," Bobby retorted, reaching into the drawer in the desk and pulling out a gun, setting it on the table.

I stopped short of replying, looking at the pistol and frowning.

"So what?" I asked. "You're gonna shoot me instead?"

Bobby rolled his eyes, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a silver bullet, holding it up and looking at it.

"What's that?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"That's the round I meant to put through my skull," he replied. Bobby paused and then put it upright on the desk. "Every morning, I look at it. I think, 'maybe today's the day I flip the lights out.' But I don't do it. I never do it. You know why?"

"Because I promised YOU I wouldn't give up!" He yelled.

I swallowed, not knowing what to say to that.

I felt my resolve start to waver, but I couldn't give in that easily. I needed to do this. I had to do this for my family.

Next to me Cas suddenly hunched over in pain, grasping at his head.

"Ahhhh!"

He gasped from the pain, and then squinted as he focused in on whatever was causing the pain.

"Cas you okay?" Sam asked, and Cas shook his head.

"No."

"What's wrong?" Sam questioned.

"Something's happening," Cas replied.

"Where?" I asked.

But there was no reply. He vanished right in front of us, the speed of it sending papers from the room flying through the air.

Wooded Clearing
Michigan

Beth's POV

Ezekiel seemed to recognise what the angels were saying, and this sent a wave of panic through him.

He started to pull us back from the area, alarm racing through every fibre of my being.

'We're going to need help," Ezekiel relayed to me, and then I felt the call go out to our brother. It was an unsecure call but we had to hope no one was listening, because there wasn't any time for anything else.

Suddenly a pulse of energy rippled out through the area, knocking us off our feet and sending us flying along with trees and debris from the clearing. We landed hard, the wind knocked from our lungs.

'Ughhhhh,' I groaned internally, feeling the branches of a tree under us. 'What happened?'

Ezekiel didn't reply, simply pulled us up to our feet and crept forward while he kept low. In the distance we saw a trenchcoat and I recognised Cas immediately.

He didn't see or sense us, nor the other angels around. There must have been two angel teams in the wings, the six around ground zero blast zone had been disintegrated, but now others approached - we could see them circling Cas as he knelt on the ground, putting his hand to the pulsing ground beneath him.

A tall male with a bald head and glasses attacked him from behind, swinging and angel blade down at him. As soon as it started, Ezekiel had us on our feet, and we were running through the carnage around us - trees laid flat from the blast, and bushes uprooted and thrown with the energy.

Cas blocked the rear attack at the last moment, twisting out of the range of the angel and throwing a few punches. He went on the defensive, side stepping the angel's next attack, and reaching out to disarm him - spinning the silver blade in the air as he went on the offensive.

The angel was not going to give up, moving into a mixed martial arts stance, and throwing a few punches before blocking a downward swing of the angel blade with one hand, and grabbing Cas's free arm with the other, immobilising him as another angel ran at Cas from behind.

'We're not going to make it,' I thought to Ezekiel. 'Two more to the left."

He'd seen them. Cas threw a look behind him and stepped out of the path of the second attacker's blade, dropping his blade and then grabbing the rear angel's arm, ramming it forward into the angel in front of him. With a shout, the angel fell to the ground.

Ezekiel threw us into the fray as three other angels converged on the area. We stabbed one in the throat, and sprang toward Cas, driving the blade into the back of the angel still partially restrained by him. The angel died with a blast of heat, falling to the ground.

Cas locked eyes with us, nodded, and then pushed us aside, lunging toward the two final angels in the clearing, both running at us. He made short work of the first, and Ezekiel hefted our angel blade into our hand, weighting it with the precision of a warrior before tossing it without hesitation across several yards to bury deep into the chest of the final angel attacking. She fell to the ground, a sharp cry following the escape of light from the body following a wave of energy pulsing out under our feet.

Ezekiel's sadness at having to kill his siblings ran through me to the very core and I was pained for the angel.

"Ezekiel," Cas said, standing and bowing before his superior.

"Castiel," we said, moving to clasp his shoulder.

"What's going on?" Cas asked, and Ezekiel took a step back, gesturing to the bare patch of dirt in the centre of the ring of flattened trees.

We both surveyed our surroundings and then the ground started to move. At our feet, a hand pierced the earth's surface, reaching up. Cas exchanged a look with us, and then knelt down, grabbing a hold and pulling.

His strength was obvious as with one movement, he pulled the body of a young man, alive, out of the earthen grave. I gasped, recognising the face from years earlier.

'Yes,' Ezekiel sounded in my head, reading my thoughts. 'We have a problem.'

"We need to get him to Bobby's," I said out loud and Cas looked at me, frowning.

"Now," this time the order came from Ezekiel.

Bobby's House
Sioux Falls, SD

Dean's POV

I had to get out of here, before Cas got back. But Sam was watching me like a hawk since the angel had zapped out of here. I walked into the kitchen only to find him blocking the access to the door. I stared at him, unyielding, and then rolled my eyes.

"I'm gonna get a beer, do you mind?"

Sam contemplated for a moment and then stepped aside, closer to the door, which opened up the rest of the kitchen to me. I shook my head, taking a step toward the fridge when the sound of wings caught our attention, papers blew off the desk in the library again, and then Cas was back: this time with people.

"What the hell?" I muttered under my breath when Beth appeared next to him, unassisted.

"Help," Cas said.

"Boys!" Bobby called out as Cas stumbled under the weight of the kid he was holding up, one arm wrapped around him in support.

Beth caught the kid, lifting him off Cas and then moving him across the library to Bobby's bed which was positioned under the window. I looked over, debating the door, but I knew I wouldn't get far now Cas was back.

Besides, what was going on with the dude?

Walking back into the library, I pushed past Cas to look down at the dirty face of whoever was on the bed, sucking in a short breath of recognition.

"Who is it?" Bobby asked, wheeling over to get a better look at our unconscious visitor. I didn't like what I was seeing, or what it meant. Clearly, someone in Heaven had stepped up their game.

"That's our brother," Sam muttered beside, and we both glanced back at Cas who was looking just as surprised.

"Wait a minute," Bobby asked, looking confused. "Your brother? Adam?"

He had a right to be uncertain. We'd burned that kid, to make sure something like this, or worse, would never happen. Yet here he was, back in a body.

"Cas, what the hell?" I asked, turning to the angel who had caught his breath.

"Angels," he replied, pulling two silver swords out of his jacket and placing them on the desk.

"Angels?" Sam asked. "Why?"

"I know one thing for sure, we need to hide him, now," Cas said, shaking his head.

Beth walked up to the bed, and put her hand on Adam's chest, as she did so a red light formed under her fingertips, burning into the kid, and his eyes flew open. Beth held him down as he gasped for air, struggling against her hold. When she pulled her hand back, Adam sat up, breathing erratically.

I frowned at Beth, not liking that one little bit. What the hell was going on with her? Since when did she have that kind of power?

"Where am I?" Adam asked looking around the room urgently, pulling my thoughts away from Beth and back to him.

"It's okay," Sam said, reaching out a hand. "Just relax, you're safe."

"Who the hell are you?" Adam asked, scrambling back on the bed until he pressed up against the window.

"You're going to find this a little…okay a lot crazy, but we're actually your brothers," I said to Adam, whose mouth dropped open in surprise.

"It's the truth," Sam backed me up. "John Winchester was our father, too. See, I'm Sam…"

"Yeah, and I'm sure that's Dean," Adam cut him off, raising his chin to look at me. "I know who you are." I glanced at Sam, who looked as surprised as I did.

"How?" Sam asked, his brows furrowing.

"They warned me about you," Adam replied, his eyes narrowing as he glared from Sam to me.

"Who did?" I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest.

"The angels," Adam said. We all paused, thinking that statement over.

"Now where the Hell is Zachariah?!" Adam asked.

Beth's POV

Adam had been allowed to go and have a shower, clean up from the dirt that had covered the boy from having to crawl out of his own grave. I had silently watched the door to the bathroom, ensuring that he didn't make any escape, with Ezekiel on high alert inside of me, yet retreating for the most part to allow me the autonomy of interacting with Sam, Dean and Bobby without confusion.

Not that I'd done much of that. Sam had asked if I was okay, and Bobby offered me a coffee, but that was about it. Dean was avoiding me, and rightly so; I couldn't speak to him right now, it hurt too much. When Adam was safely dressed and back in the library, he sat back on the bed, nursing a glass of whiskey. Dean took a chair, turning it around and straddling the seat, his arms resting on the back.

"So why don't you tell us everything?" Dean asked. "Start from the beginning."

"Well," Adam started with a shrug. "I was dead and in Heaven. Except it - it uh, it kind of looked like my prom and I was making out with this girl, her name was Kristin McGee…"

"Yeah that sounds like Heaven," Dean said with a chuckle. "Did you get to third base?"

I stared at him, my brows knitting in frustration and Sam read the look, clearing his throat.

"Just uh… just keep going," he urged Adam.

"Well, these … these angels, they popped out of nowhere, and they tell me that I'm - I'm chosen."

"For what?" Sam asked.

"To save the world," Adam replied, his eyes wide and innocent.

"How you gonna do that?" Dean asked.

"Oh," Adam smirked, looking over at his brother cockily. "Me and some archangel are going to kill the Devil."

I knew what was happening, because of Ezekiel. He'd replayed in my mind a conversation he's overheard in a bar between Michael and Zachariah, a mission to find another vessel instead of Dean. It was the same conversation that had gotten his vessel blown to pieces when he was discovered.

Part of me was relieved at the plan, the other part horrified. I wanted to blame the horrified feelings on Ezekiel, but I knew it wasn't him, he was an angel - and while he definitely displayed more emotions than most angels, he wasn't as invested in the whole Michael sword thing as I was.

"What archangel?" Dean asked, his eyes narrowing. He was starting to catch on, and I wondered if this would change his plans to sacrifice himself any.

"Michael," Adam replied. "I'm his uh… sword, or vessel, or something. I don't know."

Dean paused, staring at the kid and then he stuttered a little, clearly struggling to come up with the words he was looking for. "Well that's insane," Dean said after a moment.

"No," I said, crossing my arms. "It's not."

"Not necessarily," Cas agreed.

"How do you mean?" Dean asked, glancing back at the pair of us standing next to each other. I glanced at Cas, sharing a meaningful look that I'm sure didn't go unnoticed by the others in the room.

"Maybe they're moving on from you, Dean," Cas said. I nodded my agreement.

"Well that doesn't make sense," Dean muttered, frowning over at Adam.

"He is John Winchester's bloodline," Ezekiel said, coming to the forefront of my consciousness. I felt myself shift back slightly, letting him take control of my body. It was a strange sensation to switch in and out like that, I'd not really done it so quickly or so often before. "He is Sam's brother. It's not perfect, but it's possible."

Dean's mouth dropped open, whether at the fact that to the rest of the room, I was sprouting this information with a certainty I shouldn't have, or the information itself, I didn't know.

"Well you gotta be kidding me," Dean muttered.

"Why would they do this?" Sam asked.

"Maybe they're desperate," Cas replied. "Maybe they wrongly assumed Dean would be brave enough to withstand them." The angel glared at the object of his disdain, and Dean got his back up, his shoulders coming back, chest puffing out slightly as he shook his head.

"All right, you know what? Blow me Cas," he said.

"Look," Sam cut in, trying to stop everything from blowing up. "No way. After everything that's happened? All that crap about destiny? Suddenly the angels have a Plan B? Does that smell right to anybody?"

He had a point.

Adam cleared his throat, seemingly not to care about the confusion. "You know this has been a really moving family reunion, but uh, I got a thing, so…." he put his glass on the floor beside the bed started to stand up, as if to leave, and Sam rose from his own chair.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, no, no, no," he said. "Sit down. Just listen, okay? Please."

"Unbelievable," Adam muttered, shaking his head and sitting down again as Sam stepped in front of him.

"Now, Adam… the angels are lying to you," Sam continued. "They're full of crap."

Adam scoffed, a smile turning up at his mouth. "Yeah, I don't think so."

"Really," Sam said. "Why not?"

"Um, cause they're angels," Adam said as if it were clear as day. I smiled, crossing my arms and shrugging. Kid had a point. Before all of this shit with Zachariah had started, I would have been saying exactly the same thing.

"Did they tell you they're going to roast half the planet?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"They said the fight might get a little hairy," Adam nodded. "But it's the Devil, right? So we gotta stop him."

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "But there's another way." On his chair, Dean was shaking his head in disdain, clearly disagreeing with what Sam was saying.

"Great," Adam said, smiling and looking at Dean. "What is it?"

Beside him Dean smirked, the sarcasm practically dripping off his tongue as he spoke, "oh, they're working on the power of love," he said.

Adam read the tone in his voice and scoffed. "How's that going?"

"Mmm. Not good," Dean replied, getting a chuckle from Adam while he smiled his told-you-so cocky grin over at Sam. I had to resist the urge to slap the look right off his face.

"Look, Adam," Sam tried, leaning forward and giving him the puppy dog eyes. "You don't know me from a hole in the wall, I know. But I'm begging you. Please, just trust me. Give me some time."

"Give me one good reason," Adam said.

"Because we're blood," he replied after a moment.

Adam's face fell and turned cold. "You got no right to say that to me."

"You're still John's boy," Bobby said from where he'd been quietly listening to the whole exchange. Adam turned on him, his eyes flashing in anger.

"No," he replied. "John Winchester was some guy who took me to a baseball game once a year. I don't have a dad." He looked back at Sam who was giving him a pained expression. "So we may be blood, but we're not family. My mom is my family. And if I do my job, I get to see her again. So no offense, but she's the one I give a rat's ass about, not you."

I thought I saw Dean's face fall slightly, his head dropping down as he shook his head slightly in contemplation of what had been said. The room was silent.

"Fair enough," Sam said after a moment. "But if you have one good memory of dad, just one, then you'll give us a little more time, please."

It was better than what I was wanting to offer the kid, which was a quick smack upside the head: to both him and Dean.

Dean's POV

They'd escorted me down to the panic room. Adam's little foray into the Winchester world clearly wasn't going to buy me any slack. I was searching through the cupboards, getting a look at what was in the room, finding the usual supplies - holy water etc. But no weapons - no they made sure they were gone. They hadn't left me a lot to play with. A table, lamp, chair and a pinboard with some old notes and pictures on the wall. A cot was in the corner with a pillow and blanket.

I wondered how long it was going to take for someone to come down and speak to me, and then I started guessing whether they were going to take it in turns, or team up. A creak sounded behind me, and I turned to see Sam opening the door to the room, Cas standing in the way, glaring at me. Sam walked into the room, and I spotted Beth move to fill the space where he'd been standing.

Ahhh. Guess it was going to be the team effort.

"Well, Cas, not for nothing, but the last person who looked at me like that… I got laid," I quipped, not getting a response from the pissed off angel. I winked at him, trying to get a rise, but he simply stared at me out of pits of fury.

Beth pushed past Cas, and into the room, crossing her arms and giving me a similar look.

"Yeah, I don't think that'll be happening this time, Dean," she said, unmoving.

"Uh, why don't you uh, go keep an eye on Adam?" Sam asked Cas, reading the tension in the air.

Cas said nothing, simply reaching out and slamming the door closed. It swung into it's groove with a bang that echoed loudly through the chamber.

"Is this really necessary?" I asked Sam and Beth.

"Yes," they replied in unison.

"We got our hands full, Dean… a house full of flight risks," Sam added.

"I'm not letting him do it," I said stubbornly.

"Who, Adam?" Sam asked. "No, I'm not, either."

"No, you're not getting me," I said.

"Oh, no, no, I get you, perfectly," Sam argued, holding his hand in the air. "But I'm not letting you do it, either."

I sat down on the desk, dropping my head back as I raised my eyes up to the ceiling, trying to get them to see sense. "That kid's not taking a bullet for me."

"Dean…"

"I'm serious," I said. "I mean, think about how many people we've gotten killed, guys. Mom. Dad. Beth's Dad. Her Mom?" I saw her glare at me, but I pushed on. "Jess. Jo. Ellen. Should I keep going?"

"It's not like we pulled the trigger," Sam whispered, his eyes sad.

"We might as well have," I pushed. "I'm tired, man. I'm tired of fighting who I'm supposed be."

Beth laughed shortly, and we both turned to see her giving me an incredulous look.

"Who you're supposed to be?" She asked, stalking toward me.

And then she slapped me. Hard.

"Who you're supposed to be?" She said again as I turned slowly back to see her eyes furious, dark and watery, the sting of her hit burned on my cheek, but I wasn't going to react, she had every right.

"How about being a good father?! What about the promises you made to me? To our family?!" She said. "You promised me Dean," she lashed out, shoving me in the chest with two hands, forcing me to take a step back with each sentence.

"'You'll never be alone again, Beth.'"

"'I'm never leaving you again, Beth.'"

"'We are in this together, Beth.'"

I stopped breathing, hearing the way her voice broke as she came to a finish, shaking her head as her whole body trembled in anger.

"What about the things you're supposed to be to me? To our baby?"

"Beth…"

"Go on," she challenged. "Tell me why you've just run out on the one person who has always, always had your back?"

"It's okay, Beth," Sam tried to intercede but she shook her head furiously.

"Don't, Sam. Just don't. This is between me and Dean," she cut in.

I looked at her, wanting nothing more than to take her in my arms and tell her it would be all right. But it wasn't. It was never going to be okay so long as this war was looming over our heads.

"Beth, please," I said. "I'm doing this for you both. And for Lisa and Ben. I'm trying to keep you all safe."

Sam bit his lip as he fought with his emotions.

"You left me," Beth said.

The words stung.

"Yeah," I said with a nod. "I'm sorry."

"I won't do this anymore…" she said, shaking her head and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She looked up at the ceiling, tears pooling in those big brown eyes of hers as she tried to pull herself together. "I just…." she swallowed a lump in her throat, shaking her head to herself, "just take me away from all this, I can't do this again."

"Beth?" I asked, feeling a slight alarm ripple through me..

She pulled back, looking up at me with calm and almost emotionless eyes.

"You've pushed her too far," she said, and I frowned at the sentence. Sam didn't miss it either.

"Beth?" he asked, stepping forward. "Are you okay?"

"She deserves better," she said, and then her eyes flashed blue and I groaned.

"I knew it! Damn angels," I muttered, and Sam looked at Beth in surprise.

"Angels?"

"Yeah," I said, bring my gaze level with Beth's.

"She's not alone in there, is she?" I asked, looking at my wife in a completely different light. Beth looked back at me with infuriating calm. "I knew something was up the minute you branded Adam's ribs with that angel ward."

She said nothing, just stared at me - impossible to read. Then she walked out of the room, leaving me alone with Sam, not so much as a goodbye. She was lost inside her own mind, that thing inside of her, completely in control now.

"Son of a bitch!" I muttered, starting to push past Sam and go after her.

"No," Sam said.

"No?!" I asked, looking at him in shock.

"Something has control of her, Sam," I said, feeling my chest start to heave and heart to race. "We've gotta get it out of her."

"I will deal with it," Sam said.

I scoffed, shaking my head at him. "You?"

"Yeah," Sam said.

"I don't think so," I said. He couldn't do it. He didn't have it in him.

"You know what Dean?" Sam said. "She's got a right to be angry. You left us all in Cicero, with some lame ass excuse about keeping us safe? Beth's pregnant, she's having your baby! Do you think you could maybe, just for a half second, stop trying to sacrifice yourself for a change, and we could just stick together?"

I shook my head again. "I don't think so," I repeated.

"Why not?" Sam asked, and he couldn't have missed the doubt in my face, because he stilled, and then asked again. "Dean, seriously. Tell me. I - I want to know."

I hesitated, knowing that if I said this, it would break the family unit. But hadn't I already done that? He wanted the truth? Beth hadn't been afraid to give it to me then.

I took a breath and then straightened up. "I just…. I - I don't believe."

"In what?"

"In you," I replied, seeing the words sink in as Sam looked away. "I mean, I don't. I don't know whether it's gonna be demon blood, or some other demon chick or what, but…. I do know they're gonna find a way to turn you."

There. I'd said it. The fear that had been sitting on my chest for months.

Sam drew himself back, sucking in a breath, his eyes full of tears.

"So you're saying I'm not strong enough?"

"You're angry," I pointed out. "You're self-righteous. Lucifer's going to wear you to the prom, man. It's just a matter of time."

And when he did, Lucifer was going to destroy everything that mattered to me, including Sam.

"Don't say that to me," Sam whispered. "Not you, of all people."

"I don't want to," I said. "But it's the truth. And when Satan takes you over, there's got to be somebody there to fight him, and it ain't gonna be that kid."

I had to keep Beth and Lisa, and our children, safe.

"So, it's gotta be me," I finished.

Sam shook his head, leaving the room and slamming the door behind him, locking it.

Penthouse Suite
Las Vegas, NV

Beth's POV

I withdrew so far inside myself I didn't know where I began anymore. I just wanted to float away on a warm current of water, lost in an ocean of self pity.

Beth.

'No,' I said to Ezekiel's probing mind. 'I don't want to. Take me away from here.'

Not waiting for any further permission, Ezekiel zapped us to what appeared to be the penthouse suite of a Vegas hotel. I stared in amazement at the view from the balcony, but then it was gone, completely lost on the angel inside of me as he turned and walked inside.

"Gabriel!" Ezekiel called out, stepping into the interior. "We're here."

The other angel came strolling out of the bedroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, drying his hair off with another.

"Ah!" Gabriel said, tossing me a grin. "Good, good."

He waved his hand and a banquet of desserts appeared on the table next to where we were standing. "Sweetie?"

Ezekiel paused to look at the table, and I had to admit, it did look delicious. I was suddenly hit with a physical need to devour the strangest combination of food before me. I pushed myself to the surface, Ezekiel naturally allowing me to take control and sat in front of the food.

"Do you have pizza?" I asked, looking up at Gabriel. He grinned and snapped his fingers, a pepperoni pizza appearing magically in front of me.

"As you wish."

"Wow," I said, smiling for what seemed the first time in a month. I grabbed a waffle from a nearby platter, dumping it on an empty dinner plate, then added a slice of the pizza to it. I stood to start searching the table, looking for that elusive ingredient that I was craving in the pit of my stomach. Gabriel watched with a big smile on his goofy face, then he snapped his fingers again.

"Try this," he said, offering me a jar of applesauce.

"Oh my god, perfect," I said, smothering the pizza with it and then lifting the whole concoction up to take a bite of the three things in one. "Mmmmmf!" I said as the sauce oozed out over the pizza, drizzling down my chin.

After a moment, chewing it all together, I declared it to be, "pwerfect."

Gabriel clapped his hands happily like a little kid, and then spun in a circle, suddenly appearing in a white t-shirt that read Official Guardian Angel with a picture of wings and a halo. He paired it with jeans and red high-top converse sneakers and I giggled around my food.

"You know what?" I asked, swallowing down the food and accepting the chocolate milk he handed me, taking a sip. "I've been pretty angry at you for like….months. Like, super angry. To think that I'm a hundred times more angry at Dean right now…." I shook my head, taking another bite of the food. Heck, I could pretty much forgive Gabriel anything with this food.

"That t-shirt, is perfect," I added, waving at his clothing.

Gabriel beamed and then nodded, sitting down at the table with me. "Isn't it just?" He agreed.

"But Beth, I really do need to speak to Ezekiel," he said a little more seriously. I sighed, and sat back, taking another bite of food and chewing slowly.

"Mmm, yeah, okay, I know," I said. "Okay, just a sec…" I sipped on the chocolate milk one more time then I dropped my hands to my knees and closed my eyes.

"You're up Zeke," I said.

Instantly he surged forth, taking over my consciousness, and I floated out of my body, as if watching from afar.

"What have you found?" Ezekiel asked Gabriel, who stood up and walked over to the window, looking out. He was silhouetted perfectly against the bright city lights, and through Ezekiel's influence, I thought for a moment that I saw wings folded in against his back. But when I blinked, they were gone.

"Nothing yet," Gabriel said. "No one willing, anyway." I realised that they were talking about Ezekiel's new vessel, someone from my bloodline who would allow him to walk among mortals again.

Ezekiel nodded, saying nothing. I felt no rise of emotion in the angel, just a simple recognition of the situation and acceptance of what it was. This was a being that had existed for millennia, a couple of days outside of a host was just a spit in the ocean to him. Once more I marvelled at the amazing and complex nature of these majestic beings.

"But that's not why I called you here," he added, turning around. "We have a lead."

"On?"

"The god," he said cryptically. Ezekiel's interest was immediately piqued.

"Where?"

"Not sure yet," Gabriel said. "But there's movement, they'll make their appearance soon."

I felt like I was only hearing half the conversation as they exchanged meaningful looks, and spoke in riddles.

'What are you guys going on about?' I asked Ezekiel.

'Hopefully, you won't need to know,' he replied.

Well that wasn't annoying at all, I thought to myself, and Ezekiel receded again, allowing me to continue chowing down on the first thing I'd eaten in days,

Panic Room Bobby's House
Sioux Falls, SD

Dean's POV

Sam had left me in here, locked up like a criminal while he went to deal with all the other crises going on. I paced the room, desperate to get out. I was feeling guilty after Beth's outburst, and already my determination was wavering. I had to get to Michael now, before I really did change my mind.

I had to be strong!

I needed to do this. This was my destiny, and it was what was going to keep them all safe.

Beth would forgive me, eventually.

But I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her or Ben.

I looked around the room at what I had to work with. Cas was still naive, and he was emotionally involved. All I had to do was get him to believe I was under attack and in danger.

I knocked over a chair and lamp, tossed a few books down on the floor with them, and then I moved and hid where he wouldn't see me from the peephole. I cut my hand and used the blood to draw an angel banishing sigil on the inside of a metal cupboard. This would only work if it were Cas to come looking for me; I was counting on Sam being out looking for Beth. Just in case, I could close the cupboard and hide my true plans if I Sam arrived.

Ready, I threw a wrench against the metal shelving holding the holy water, and it clattered down with a mighty crashing sound.

Then I waited.

I didn't have to for long. The peephole slid open and then someone looked in.

"Dean?" Cas's voice sounded and I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

"Dean?"

I waited. The door unlocked, and Cas stepped into the room.

Phew.

"Cas," I said after a moment, and he turned to look at me just as I opened the door on the cupboard and slapped my hand down on the sigil, sending him screaming to wherever it was that angels went when banished from a place.

With a sigh of relief, I hurried out into the basement, listening for anyone who might be coming down to investigate noises from Cas's disappearance. I held my breath and waited, but no one came. I grabbed a khaki jacket off a coat rack and slipped it on, then crept up the little used stairs leading to the outside of the house, escaping into the evening.

Sioux Falls, SD

Dean's POV

It didn't take me too long to get into town once I hitched a ride from an old farmer. As soon as he dropped me on the outskirts of town, I ran toward downtown. Somewhere there would be one of the evangelical fanatics that the angels had watching out for us. I just had to get to them and…

"The end is nigh!" I looked toward the voice, seeing a huge neon sign reading BAR. In front of it a guy in a nice black suit with a neatly trimmed, full beard called out to the people who scurried around him, trying to ignore what he was saying as he waved a Bible in the air. "The Apocalypse is upon us! The angels talk to me, and they asked me to talk to you!"

Perfect. I thought to myself, running toward him.

"The Apocalypse…."

"Hey!" I interrupted him, coming to a stop. "I'm Dean Winchester. Do you know who I am?"

The man's eyes widened. "Dear God," he said.

"I'll take that as a yes," I said. "Listen, I need you to pray to your angel buddies and let them know that I'm here?"

The man instantly fell to his knees, closing his eyes and clasping his Bible between two prayerful hands.

"Our father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name…"

The sound of wings hit me, and then Cas was standing next to the man. "You pray too loud," he said, touching the preacher on the shoulder and he fell down unconscious. I had a moment to think I needed to run, then Cas was upon me.

He grabbed me by the shirt and dragged me into the nearby alley, slamming me up against a brick wall.

"What, are you crazy?!" I yelled, struggling to get free of him, but he was having none of it.

"I rebelled for this?!" Cas yelled, spinning me around into the opposite wall of the alley and then throwing a punch, hitting me me twice in the face, before shoving his arm under my throat, holding me against the unyielding bricks at my back. "So that you could surrender to them?" His face was right up in mine, and I could see the unbridled fury in his eyes.

He swung me again, ramming my back into the brick wall once more, fist hitting stomach, and then across my jaw. I doubled over, the world spinning with the intensity of the attack. He lifted me up, holding me against the wall, pressing in against my throat once more.

"Cas! Please!" I begged, trying to grip his arms, but he was so strong. With a strength and speed much greater than my own, he pulled me from the wall, turning pushing me against the opposite wall again, knocking the breath out of my lungs.

"I gave everything for you," Cas said, his eyes mere inches from mine, his voice full of emotion. "And this is what you give to me!" I gasped for breath, and all I could do was hold on to his arm. I felt my head loll to the side, my vision blurred and the pain, so… much… pain.

"Cas!" I thought I heard Beth's voice call out. But then I was moving again, pushed further into the alley, a punch sending me staggering backwards, and then he kicked me in the stomach and I was lifted off my feet, flying back into a wire fence, feeling it give beneath me and almost springing me back toward the angel.

Instead, I fell to the ground, unable to withstand the force of the kick, and Cas stalked toward me, coming to tower over my cowering body. I tried to catch my breath, it was like breathing in shards of glass; I hadn't felt this kind of pain in a while. I gazed up at the angel, furious in his anger as he looked down on me, his hand clenching into a fist at the side of his body.

"Do it," I said, panting from the exertion of his attack. I deserved his fury, and anything he was going to do to me, so I looked up at him, feeling blood welling in my mouth, knowing there was nothing more he could do that would punish me more than I was already mentally doing to myself.

"Just do it!"

Beth's POV

"No!" I yelled, running toward Cas.

Everything was happening so fast. One second I'd been sitting in Gabriel's living room, listening to them discuss a God they were seeking, and the next Ezekiel had zapped us here, but it was nowhere I recognised, but for the two people in front of me fighting.

I saw Cas laying into Dean, a flurry of punches, and not much defense coming from Dean who eventually was kicked into a fence and fell to the ground.

"N-no," I muttered, running toward the pair. "Cas!"

As I grabbed Cas's raised arm, he stared down at Dean who was rocking on the ground, bleeding from a split lip and cut on his face. I took the scene in with a single glance, Ezekiel's strength rising to the surface as I took hold of Cas.

"It's okay," I said, looking him in the eyes, then glancing down at Dean whose cheek was swelling quickly, blood trickling from his cheekbone and the side of his mouth.

I reached out and used Ezekiel's power to knock Dean unconscious with a mere touch to his forehead.

"Cas," I repeated. "I know, I know how you're feeling. But you can't … kill him. We're not at that point yet," I said, sighing.

Cas was staring down at Dean, an unnerving look in his eye. I looked behind us, seeing some people starting to gather at the entrance to the alley, and a couple were getting out their phones. We had to move.

"Come on," I said, touching the angel's shoulder. "Let's go."

With a nod, we were all transported back to Bobby's living room, Sam and Bobby were in the centre of the room as we appeared, and they looked as if they were fighting.

"Watch your tone, boy," Bobby warned Sam. "He was right in front of me, and he disappeared into thin air."

Beside me, Cas had Dean's arm wrapped around his neck, and the latter was swaying on his feet, still out cold. I bit my lip, pained to see the cuts on his fact, and the swelling that was starting to occur.

"Because the angels took him," Cas said, jumping straight into the conversation Sam and Bobby had been having. Cas heaved Dean over to the bed in the library and dumped him there, I hurried to the kitchen, gathering a cloth and wetting it.

"Adam?" I asked, looking up at Sam questioningly. He nodded, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Yeah, he's gone," Sam said, turning his gaze to his unconscious brother on the bed. "What the hell happened to him?"

"Me," Cas replied, straightening up and looking at me as I wrung out the cloth and slid past Sam to sit on the side of the bed beside Dean. "I'm sorry Beth."

"It's okay," I replied, starting to wipe the blood from Dean's face. "I get it."

Bobby was still on the disappearance of Adam and as I started to fold the cloth into a compress, placing it against Dean's left cheek.

"What do you mean, the angels took Adam?" He asked. "Beth… or Ezekiel, or whatever angel that is inside of her, branded his ribs, right?"

I looked at Sam, and he frowned slightly. Clearly he'd been updating Bobby on events from earlier.

"Yes," Cas said. "Adam must have tipped them."

"How?" Bobby asked.

"I don't know," Cas replied. "Maybe in a dream."

It wasn't unheard of. It was how I communicated quite often with Cas, especially since his rebellion against Heaven. All it would've taken was for Adam to tell Zachariah where he was, and they had him.

I said a silent prayer of thanks that whenever this had been happening, Dean had been elsewhere.

"Okay," Sam said, rubbing his eyes. "Well, where would they have taken him?"

Bobby's House
Sioux Falls, SD

Dean's POV

They'd handcuffed me to the cot this time. Back in the panic room. When I woke up, Beth was wiping at my face with a wet cloth, and Sam was hovering in the background.

"How are you feeling?" He asked when I moved, looking around my surroundings.

I groaned at the pain that rippled through me, dropping my head back on the pillow.

"Word to the wise: don't piss off the angel nerds," I replied, taking a couple of deep breaths and staring at the ceiling. I didn't want to look at Beth. She was staring at me, I could feel it, and it wasn't in the old way she used to just lie awake as if she couldn't believe we'd finally decided to act on our feelings for each other.

No this time, I could feel her disappointment, sadness and hurt rippling from her into me.

I took a deep breath then flicked my eyes sideways, meeting her stare.

"So how's it going?" I asked almost tentatively.

"Adam's gone," she said softly.

"The angels have him," Sam added, taking a seat on the chair next to the desk.

I sat up, groaning with the effort and feeling the restriction of my left arm where it was cuffed.

"Where?" I asked.

"The room where they took you," Sam replied.

"You sure?"

Sam nodded, then looked at Beth. "Cas and Beth did recon."

I turned to Beth, fighting with my instincts to protect her versus my self-preservation. "And?" I asked.

"And it's not good," she said, shaking her head and shrugging.

"The place is crawling with mooks," Sam elaborated. "Pretty much a no-shot-in-Hell, Hail Mary kind of thing."

"Ah," I said, nodding slightly. "So the usual. What are you going to do?"

Beth stood up, producing the key to the handcuffs from her jean pocket.

"For starters," Sam said, as she reached down and unlocked the cuff around my wrist. "We're bringing you with."

"Excuse me?" I asked, stunned as the bracelet fell away and I subconsciously rubbed at my wrist.

"There are too many of them, we can't do it alone," Sam said. "Not even with Ezekiel."

Ah. I thought to myself. So it was that damn angel inside of Beth.

"And you're pretty much the only back-up we have," Beth continued, moving to stand away from me, her arms crossed. I wondered if it was her speaking now, or the angel. It was so hard to tell sometimes.

I stood up from the cot, glancing from one to the other.

"Isn't that a bad idea?" I asked them.

"Cas and Bobby think so," Sam replied. "We're not so sure."

"Well, they're right," I said, knowing that what I had to say next wasn't going to make them any happier. "Because either it's a trap to get me to say yes, or it's not a trap and I'm gonna say yes anyway." I glanced at Beth, gauging her reaction. "And I will. I'll do it," I added. "Fair warning."

"No you won't," Sam said stubbornly, looking at me with a certainty in his eyes. "When push comes to shove, you'll make the right call."

"You know, if the tables were turned… I'd let you rot in here. Hell, I have let you rot in here, Beth has too," I pointed out.

Beth glared at me, but Sam, he just smiled.

"Yeah… well, I guess I'm not that smart."

"I don't get it. Sam, why are you guys doing this?" I asked. Beth, she was so mad she walked out on me an hour earlier, and Sam, I'd been nothing but cruel to him.

Sam glanced at Beth, and they shared a look that I didn't fully comprehend - it pained me a little, because usually it was me sharing those unspoken words with her. After a moment he nodded silently and moved toward the door. He stopped when he reached it, looking back at me.

"Because you're still my big brother," he said, and then walked outside, leaving us alone.

I looked over at Beth, who hadn't moved, and I expected I wasn't going to get such a level headed response from her. "So, are you the good cop, or bad?"

"That depends, are you going to come to your senses or not?" She asked. I looked her over, her hair pulled back from her face in a braid. She hadn't changed since she'd reappeared with Ezekiel earlier - I was starting to lose track of time. I didn't know how long I'd been down here.

"Beth…you have to let me go."

"Never," she said immediately.

"You'll…. You'll have the baby…" I said pathetically.

It was completely the wrong thing to say.

"Don't tell me that makes it okay, Dean!" She snapped, her eyes filling with tears which she swiped at angrily. "You're about to go and give yourself over to Michael, you're leaving us here, alone - and you made that decision without me!"

"Oh you are such a hypocrite," I muttered under my breath, shaking my head.

"What?" She gasped.

"Really?" I asked, gesturing up and down at her. "You've got an angel riding around inside of you right now!"

"Wow, Dean," she said incredulously, crossing her arms. "It's hardly the same thing!"

"Isn't it?!"

"No!" Beth said. "This is a temporary situation. And Ezekiel isn't about to wipe out half the damn planet. This is completely different! And you know what? I would have asked you, if you'd been around! But you weren't. You were gone on your death wish, so I'm sorry - but you made that decision for the both of us when you walked out on me - on us."

Then she burst into tears.

Within seconds I was across the room, pulling her into my arms.

At first she resisted, pressing her hands up to my chest and balling them into fists, thumping them against my breastbone half-heartedly.

"Dammit Dean," she cried mournfully. "Why are you doing this to me? You of all people…."

She sobbed, pounding her fists against my chest again and again and I let her. I deserved her anger, and I couldn't deny her that. All I could do was hold her, hope that she could find it in her heart to forgive me.

I pulled her closer, her hands still thumping until she finally fell into me with a shuddering cry, her forehead against my shoulder as she poured her heart into my shirt in the form of salty, wet tears.

"I'm sorry…" I whispered, not knowing what else to do or say.

"I need you…" she whimpered after a moment. What was I supposed to say to that?

Abandoned Warehouse

Beth's POV

Daylight didn't seem like the best time to be mounting a rescue party, but the Sun moved with or without us, and the very point of a rescue was to have it happen quickly, if there was to be the greatest chance of success.

To be fair, there was nothing that was going to weaken angels against us, so really the only thing that darkness would have afforded us was the element of surprise.

Cas and Ezekiel were set to transport us, and within seconds we were in the middle of an industrial area, one that had been abandoned for what looked like years judging by the overgrown, brown plants. To our left were stack after stack of wooden pallets in varying shades of red, fading right down to the wood. To our right was the warehouse, old, metal, and like something out of a horror movie.

Only this wasn't a horror movie, I reflected with irony, this was my life.

I wasn't sure I could tell the difference anymore.

Cas led the way down the walkway, confident and self-assured. He knew exactly where he was going, and if I let myself go, Ezekiel would come to the front and I knew I would be following in the same manner. Behind us walked Dean and Sam, looking around for any signs of impending attack.

As we approached another building with a rickety old wooden door and faded sign, Dean finally spoke.

"Where the Hell are we?" He asked.

"Van Nuys, California," Cas replied, continuing to lead us toward the building ahead.

"Where's the beautiful room?" Dean questioned, looking around.

"In there," I said, coming to a halt in front of the large double bay doors.

"The room is in an abandoned muffler factory in Van Nuys, California?" Dean queried skeptically.

"Where'd you think it was?" Cas countered, that impossible to read and completely honest face looking at us.

"I… I don't know," Dean shrugged. "Jupiter? A blade of grass? Not Van Nuys."

"Tell me again why you don't just grab Adam and shazam the hell out of there," Sam asked, looking from me to Cas.

"Because there are at least seven angels in there," Cas replied.

"So?" Dean asked. "You're fast."

"They're faster," I heard my voice say, and I felt Ezekiel taking over. I let it happen, because he was the expert in angel warfare here. He'd fought countless times before in more wars than I could count. And as an angel, he had skills I couldn't even dream of.

Dean scowled when my eyes flashed blue. "Man, I will never get used to that."

Cas was taking off his tie, and then he wrapped it around his hand while contemplating the plan.

"Ezekiel and I will clear them out," he said. "You two grab the boy. This is our only chance."

"Whoa…. Wait wait wait…" Dean said, extending his hand. "You're taking Beth in there? To fight seven angels?"

"Yes," Cas said as if he was confused by the question.

"Uh, no. Beth is pregnant, and … and… she's pregnant. You can't do that."

"She volunteered," Cas said. "This is important."

"It's suicide," Dean countered.

"Maybe it is," Cas replied. "But at least we then won't have to watch you fail." Dean's face opened with shock, not expecting such little faith in the angel. "Sorry, Dean," Cas said without emotion. "I don't have the same faith in you that Sam and Beth do."

Cas reached into his pocket and pulled out a box cutter.

"What the hell are you going to do with that?" Sam asked.

Cas looked at me, and I felt an understanding pass between him and Ezekiel. They had a plan, and from the emotions running through me, I knew it was a risky one.

"It's only the back-up plan," Cas said to Ezekiel, who nodded with my head.

"We'll be of better service in the green room, if we make it," I heard myself saying.

"If you... " Dean spluttered, turning and shaking his head in frustration.

Ezekiel took the box cutter from Cas, and the other angel opened his shirt, baring his chest. Without hesitation, as if they'd done it before, Ezekiel started to carve a sigil on to Cas's chest, the blood trickling down his body we worked. Cas grunted softly, the pain had to have been excruciating, but he didn't let on.

After a few short moments it was done, and Cas buttoned his shirt back up, nodding to me.

"This is a crazy plan," Dean muttered beside me. "Beth, come on, don't go in there."

I pushed myself to the surface for the final time, reaching up to caress his cheek and smiling sadly. "It's the best plan we've got," I said softly, leaning in to kiss his lips. I lingered there, as if it might be the last time I tasted his kiss, tears welling in my eyes.

"I love you," I whispered, and it was too much like a goodbye, a couple of tears ran down my cheek and Dean wavered, leaning his forehead to mine.

"Don't do this Beth," he said. "I need you."

"I need you too, that's the whole point - I can't do this alone, Dean." I said. "So we're gonna do this, together, and you're going to come back to me - to us - I know you will."

"Beth…"

"I trust you, Dean, I always have," I said, taking a step back. "I always will."

He watched me with shiny eyes, just a lost man seeking out that confirmation that he was about to do the right thing. Nodding to Cas, I let myself give up control, Ezekiel taking over. He looked over at Dean and smiled.

"Trust your heart, it will never lead you wrong," I heard myself say, and then Ezekiel pushed open the door to the factory, and we disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind the light of day as we closed the door on the boys.

Inside, the warehouse was empty but for a small weatherboarded room in the centre. It looked like an old weatherboard house with a flat roof - old paneled windows so dirty you couldn't see in them, and a door in the centre of the front.

There, I heard Ezekiel say to me, and I knew we were looking at the outside of where Adam was being held.

Suddenly we were attacked, an angel jumping out of the shadows and swinging at Cas first. Cas ducked, spinning around to face his attacker and drove his blade through the angel's thigh. The man yelled in pain, Cas pulled the knife out and swung it into his chest, driving him to the ground, and blinding white light escaped the man's mouth as the angel inside him was killed.

From the side, a flurry of wings sounded, and two angels converged on me from either side. Ezekiel reacted, my body moving with grace and ease as they swung their blades in mirrored unison toward me. I dropped to the ground, hitting the floor with my back, and the angels collided, recovering quickly, but not fast enough as Ezekiel pushed us backwards along the floor, and then jumped to my feet, using his blade to stab first one, and then the other angel.

Shadows moved, circling us as all around angels came at us, the remaining four they had guarding this house. They flanked us, circling around as Cas and Ezekiel stood back to back, sizing up the competition.

"We've taken more," Ezekiel commented, and Cas chuckled.

"I'm not so sure about that," he said, and he lifted his chin to indicate we look beyond the initial circle. We did and saw another ring of at least seven angels. Waiting, watching in the background, waiting to see if we were going to fall.

There was a stillness that rippled through me as Ezekiel gauged the threat, and I felt an awareness of how important is was that the boys succeed here today. I knew then that they were about to make the call they'd been hoping to avoid.

"Time for Plan B," I heard myself saying.

Cas met my eyes, complete trust there, and Ezekiel nodded at him, turning to look behind us where another seven angels had arrived. They were protecting this room like it was holding the President of the United States. In reality, it held someone way more important to the future of the planet.

"What are you waiting for?" Cas asked the angels, glaring at them in challenge. "Come on!"

The angels were cocky. They descended down upon us, the first four, and then the wave after them.

I heard the unmistakable sound of fabric ripping, and then a fierce white light washed through the room like a hurricane. I felt myself start to rip apart, and then there was a blast, and we were catapulted through time and space, far beyond anything we'd ever experienced before, coming to rest in front of a pink nebula before I passed out.

Warehouse
Van Nuys, CA

Dean's POV

There was a burst of light that flared through the cracks of the building, and then silence. No more fighting, no clang of silver; nothing. I led the way through the door, seeing a dead body at my feet.

"Beth!" I called out, the word ringing out through the large empty building.

Nothing.

I frowned, but kept moving. We had to get to Adam, this is what we'd decided. I saw a small house in the middle of the warehouse. The windows were dark, and the house look long abandoned, but it was the only option for any kind of room, so I went with it and when I pulled on the door it opened easily, revealing a the ornate and beautiful room that I'd been kept in once before. White walls, gold trimming, with gold French style furnishings only befitting some kind of palace.

Across from me, lying on the floor, was Adam. I rushed over to him, kneeling and helping him to sit up.

"Adam," I said. "Hey. Hey."

The kid looked as if he'd been put through the ringer, blood staining his chin where he'd spit some up - obviously he'd been getting the angel treatment while here and I wasn't talking about the good stuff. He opened his eyes in surprise when he recognised me.

"You came for me?"

I helped him stand, wrapping his arm around him and nodding. "Yeah well, we're family," I told him.

"Dean, it's a trap," Adam replied, his eyes darting around the room in distress.

"I figured."

"Dean, please," Zachariah's voice grated on my last nerve as he appeared in front of us. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" He grinned, self-assured and pleased with himself.

I smirked, looking him in the eye and cocked an eyebrow at him, waiting a few seconds… and then, "did you?" I asked.

Sam ran at Zachariah from behind him, the angel blade from Cas in his hand. Zachariah spun around as Sam swung the sword down. Without so much as a flinch, he blocked the blade, then with a wave of his hand sent Sam flying backwards to hit a gold, decorative divider in the corner of the room before dropping to the floor.

"Sam!" I called out, looking at him struggle to get back on his feet. My heart was racing, things were not going according to plan!

"You know what I've learned from this experience Dean?" Zachariah asked with a smile, turning back to look at me. "Patience."

He waved his hand in the air, and Adam dropped to the floor beside me, coughing up blood.

"Adam?" I asked, looking down in alarm, then glaring at the angel. "Let him go you son of a bitch!"

"I mean I thought I was downsized for sure," Zachariah continued with a smirk. "And for us, firing…. Pretty damn literal." He chuckled, sitting back against the edge of the long dining table. "But, I should have trusted in the boss man," he continued, pointing skyward. "It's all playing out like he said…. You, me... your hemorrhaging brothers."

Sam spluttered behind the angel, and I saw him double over, blood pouring from his mouth.

"You're finally ready right?" Zachariah asked, standing up, his face turning serious. I had a moment to thank Ezekiel for Beth not being here, because if it had been her… on the floor… I shook my head, trying not to think about it - bad enough it was Sam and Adam.

"You know there's no other choice," Zachariah continued as I started to look around the room, as if I were seeking an alternative. "There's never been a choice."

There's always a choice! Beth's voice echoed in my mind.

To my left and right, my brothers continued to writhe in pain, and I had to make a decision. Could I save them? How? Was there any other way?

Sam groaned, doubling over in pain, and it ripped right through me. I wasn't in a position to do anything other than what they had brought me here to do!

"Stop it!" I snapped. "Stop it right now!"

"In exchange for what?" Zachariah asked.

"Damn it Zachariah," I said, sighing, running a hand over my face.

Beth is gonna kill me.

"Stop it, please. I'll do it."

Sam looked up at me in alarm.

"I'm sorry," Zachariah taunted, leaning forward. "What was that?"

"Okay, yes," I said. "The answer is yes."

"Dean!" Sam whispered, shaking his head at me. The way he looked at me, that he still thought I could get us out of this situation without us all dying was amazing. I'd never had that from anyone before - never from Dad, not even from Bobby or Cas. That level of trust was reserved for people who had good reason to believe in me.

People like Beth.

Like Sammy.

They'd known it all along. They'd brought me here to make it my choice, trusting I'd do the right thing.

Damn it!

I would have to act fast.

"Do you hear me!" I said louder, looking Zachariah in the eyes. "So call Michael down, you bastard!"

I glanced down at Adam, doubled over in pain, then at Sam, who was struggling to get up. Thankfully Beth wasn't here - but I used that visual, the thought of watching her, pregnant, coughing up blood and writhing with pain on the floor - I told myself she was here, and that I was going to lose her.

"How do I know you're not lying?" Zachariah asked, looking at me with narrowed eyes.

I was shaking my head, desperate, my chest heaving with the visual of Beth dying in front of me, and I looked up at the angel, that unsettling fear in my eyes.

"Do I look like I'm lying?" I asked.

Zachariah looked at me for a long moment, and I turned my eyes to meet Sam's, seeing the fear and anger there. Then finally, mercifully, the angel turned away from me, starting to speak Enochian to the room behind him, his face lifted to the ceiling.

"Zodiredo….noco….aberamage… nazodpesade…" he said in stilted speech. After a pause, the angel nodded to himself. "He's coming," Zachariah announced.

I smiled at Sammy, then winked, silently telling him I had a plan. He frowned a questioning look back at me.

"Of course I have a few conditions," I said. Zach's smile fell from his face, and he turned to look at me. The room started to shake like there was an earthquake occuring, only small, but I knew it would get louder .

"What?"

"There's a few people whose safety you have to guarantee before I say yes," I started.

"Sure, fine," Zachariah said dismissively, waving his hand in the air. "Make a list."

"But most of all…" this one was going to ram it home, and make him hopefully do something stupid. "Michael can't have me, until he disintegrates you."

Zach cocked his head to the side in disbelief. "What did you say?"

"I said…" I took a step toward him, but I wasn't anywhere near close enough to pull off my plan. "...before Michael gets one piece of this sweet ass… he has to turn you into a piece of charcoal."

Zach laughed. "You really think Michael's gonna go for that?"

"Who's more important to him? You….or me?" I asked. It had to be enough, it just had to.

Zachariah lunged toward me with a scowl, grabbing the lapel of my jacket and pulling me close, not breaking eye contact. "You listen to me," he said, glaring. "You are nothing but a maggot inside a worm's ass. Do you know who I am… after I deliver you to Michael?!"

I smiled. I knew exactly what he was. "Expendable," I replied.

Zach snorted. "Michael's not gonna kill me," he said, confidently.

"Maybe not," I smirked, "but I am." I chose that moment to play the ace up my sleeve, dropping the silver angel blade out of the arm of my jacket, and with a thrust of my arm, rammed the point through his chin and into his head.

The look of surprise and shock was clear on his face as the power of the blade sizzled through it, and then a white light burst from Zachariah's vessel, pushing me back to the floor.

All around us the room was shaking with the presence of Michael, coming to claim his prize.

I pushed myself up, grimacing as an intense ringing sounded in my ears, not unlike the sound made by Cas when he'd tried to talk to me when we first met, only succeeding in breaking a mirror over my head.

We have to get out of here. Move!

I quickly helped Adam to his feet, he nodded and seemed to balance okay.

Sam. I hurried to his side, also pulling him to his feet.

"Can you walk?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sam replied, wrapping his arm around my neck. I pushed us toward the door, opening it and glancing behind us at Adam who hadn't moved and was looking to the ceiling, stunned at the power of Michael who was quickly descending upon us.

"Come on move it!" I yelled at him, pushing us out of the door and helping Sam to a few yards away, setting him on the ground. Behind us the door swung closed and I could hear Adam yelling.

"No! Dean! Help! It won't open!" His cries were muffled by the wall between us, and I could hear him banging on the door.

I ran back, grabbing the handle - it burned hot in my grasp and I gasped from the pain, letting go.

"Dean, help!" Adam yelled from inside the room. I reached for the door again, but it zapped me as soon as I got close. "Dean!" The ringing in my ears was almost unbearable, Michael was close.

"Hold on!" I called back, looking furiously around the warehouse for something to assist me. "We'll get you out. Just hold on! Adam!"

The room fell silent, but for the ringing, and I staggered back - defeated. "Can you hear me?!" I yelled, but there came no reply.

Within seconds the small house and the light inside died, leaving darkened windows. I caught my breath, watching in disbelief. Adam! The door was cool to the touch now, and I opened it, moving inside.

"Adam?"

But there was nothing. Just an old office full of broken desk chairs and filing cabinets. Whatever touch of Heaven had transformed the room ten seconds earlier was now gone. As was our brother.

Behind me, Sam gasped for breath and I hurried back to help him, thankful that I'd at least gotten him out.

...FOUR DAYS LATER...

Impala

Dean's POV

It had taken almost two days to drive back to Indiana and collect the car. Every time I turned around I was waiting for Beth to appear.

But she never did.

Sam kept telling me she'd be back as soon as she was able, but I was starting to have my doubts.

What if Ezekiel was right? What if I'd pushed her too far and she'd finally left me for good?

It would be what I deserved.

I said it once to Lisa and she laughed in my face, pulling me into a hug that I so desperately needed.

"That girl is crazy about you Dean, trust me, she'd be here if she could be."

Which worried me even more.

Why wasn't she here?

I thought about how Ezekiel had drawn the angel banishing sigil on Cas's chest, a last resort they'd said, but it had been necessary to get us to the room where Adam was being held.

For days I'd been contemplating, more so than ever, exactly where the angel landed when we pulled that stunt on them. I'd done it more than a couple of times, never before worrying about the consequences - about where Cas, and now Beth, might end up.

I gripped the wheel, staring ahead at the road as we drove south for Nashville. There was a psychic Jefferson had pointed us toward, one who might be able to do a tracking spell for us to find Beth - wherever she was. I wasn't going to rest until I had her in my arms again, and could start making up for all the stupid things I'd said in the last week.

It had only been four days without her, but I felt her absence with a keening. I didn't drink, I didn't eat, I barely slept. Sam kept a watchful eye over me, but nothing would be okay ever again until I knew where she was, that she was okay. For the first time I understood the sheer panic I'd put her through by thinking about saying yes to Michael. I knew I couldn't do that to her ever again.

"You think Adam's okay?" Sam asked, staring out the window the car as we flew past cornfields and cows.

"I doubt it," I muttered, my eyes keenly glued to the road. "Cas and Beth either. But we'll get them."

Sam nodded slowly, falling silent for a moment before turning to look at me.

"So…"

"So...what?" I asked, glancing sideways at him. He had his concerned look.

"I saw your eyes," Sam said. "You were totally rocking the whole 'yes' back there, what changed your mind?"

"Honestly?" I asked. "I mean, I knew Beth was safe, and much as she'd told me I'd do the right thing. I thought I was doing the right thing, keeping her and the kids safe."

I paused, shaking my head. I was going to be a Dad, again!

Sam cleared his throat, pulling me back to my thoughts.

"Yeah, and, anyway the world was ending, the walls are coming down, and I look over at your and think… 'this stupid son of a bitch brought me here'." I smiled, shaking my head. "You and Beth, you put more faith in me that I deserve. And… I just didn't want to let either of you down."

"You didn't," Sam said with a smile. "You almost did, but you didn't."

"I owe you an apology," I replied. I'd been thinking on it the whole drive from Van Nuys.

"No, man," Sam shook his head. "You don't."

"Just… let me say this," I cut him off, holding up my hand. "I don't know if it's being a big brother, or what, but to me, you've always been this snot-nosed kid that I've had to keep on the straight and narrow."

I paused, smiling as I thought about how different our lives had become when Beth joined us.

"That got easier, with Beth, and she shouldered that responsibility with me. But, I think we all know that kid isn't you anymore."

Sam smiled sadly, but stayed silent.

"I mean, Hell, if you're grown up enough to find faith in me… the least I can do is return the favour."

I looked back to the road, nodding to myself.

"So screw destiny," I said, looking back at him. "Right in the face. I say we find Beth, make sure she and Cas are okay. And then we take the fight to them, and do it our way."

"Beth too?" Sam asked, his voice heavy with meaning.

I swallowed; thinking about how she'd lost the last baby, thinking about how she had been too afraid to tell me she was pregnant this time. Sam had told me it was because she didn't want to be sidelined in the fight - she'd been worried that I would tuck her away, with Lisa, and go off to get myself killed without her.

I knew, after the last few days, that I had to give her the same faith I was placing in Sam. I had to trust that she knew what she was doing.

And I needed her.

Plain and simple.

I couldn't be in this fight without her.

"Yeah, Beth too."

"Sounds good," Sam said, turning back to watch the road, a little smile toying at the corner of his mouth.

"First we gotta find her though," I muttered under my breath, the fear that we were too late gripping at me as if a wraith had its hands around my throat.

"We will," Sam said with a surety. "We will."

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Song for this chapter is Worthy of You by Plested

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