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!

24. Swan Song

Tell me who's gon' save me from myself
When this life is all I know
Tell me who's gon' save me from this hell
Without you, I'm all alone

Who gon' pray for me?
Take my pain for me?
Save my soul for me?
'Cause I'm alone, you see
If I'm gon' die for you
If I'm gon' kill for you
Then I'll spill this blood for you, hey

---

SWAN SONG
(as told by Chuck)

---

On April 21, 1967, the 100 millionth GM vehicle rolled off the line at the plant in Janesville (and Beth says nothing good ever happens in Wisconsin…) – it was a blue two-door Caprice.

There was a big ceremony, speeches. The lieutenant governor even showed up. Three days later, another car rolled off that same line. No one gave two craps about her. But they should have, because this 1967 Chevrolet Impala would turn out to be the most important car – no, the most important object – in pretty much the whole universe.

She was first owned by Sal Moriarty, an alcoholic with two ex-wives and three blocked arteries. On weekends, he'd drive around giving Bibles to the poor "gettin' folks right for Judgment Day." That's what he said. Sam, Beth and Dean don't know any of this, but if they did, I bet they'd smile.

After Sal died, she ended up at Rainbow Motors, a used-car lot in Lawrence, where a young marine bought her on impulse. That is, after a little advice from a friend. I guess that's where this story begins.

And here's where it ends.

---

Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Bobby's Car Yard

Sam had disappeared into the car yard seeking the familiar sight of the Impala in amongst all the other torn up pieces of twisted metal and car shells. He'd been coming here so long he didn't really remember any other kind of home except the road.

Reminded of better times spent in the open country, sitting out under the stars with Beth and Dean, staring up at the night sky, he dropped the cooler he carried by the wheel and climbed up on the hood of the car, laying back against the windshield. Raising his left hand up, he brought the beer bottle he was holding to his lips and let the cool amber liquid run down his throat. It should have been a comfort to him, but he was troubled by the conversation he was going to have to initiate with his brother.

Of all the conversations he'd ever had with Dean, this was perhaps going to be the hardest. Sam had been giving it a lot of thought, seemed like that was all he did these days – thought about this plan to say yes to the Devil. He knew Dean and Beth weren't on board with it – they never could be. They were always acting on their well-meaning but misguided promise to protect him.

Thing was, Sam thought he was past saving and there wasn't anyone who was going to convince him otherwise.

Sam was trying not to let his head get the better of him, and to be selfless in his actions. It didn't matter how you spun it, at the end of the day, he knew he had a whole lot less to lose than Dean and Beth in this run at Lucifer, and maybe… just maybe he'd be able to make up for all the hurt he'd done if he could stay the course.

As he contemplated this thought, Sam heard familiar footsteps crunch along the gravel toward him and turned to look over his shoulder, seeing Dean saunter up to the car.

"Hey," he said, and felt relief wash over him that he wasn't going to have to seek out his older brother in the house where Bobby and Beth were going through antique tomes, trying to come up with something, anything that was going to give them an alternative to sacrificing Sam.

Dean walked straight up to the cooler on the ground and helped himself to one of the beers inside, twisting the cap off and leaning against the Impala; silent.

It was the silence that always unraveled Sam. He couldn't stand it. John had been the silent, broody type, and like it or not Dean fell into those patterns as well when he was deep in thought. Beth was more like Sam, she liked to talk it out - that's what made her a good companion for Sam when things were rough, they could tease out the options through bouncing ideas off each other, while John and Dean had just drowned their sorrows and wallowed.

Beth would miss Sam the most because of this.

Dean had been doing a lot of wallowing. If Sam was being honest, Beth had been uncharacteristically quiet too. Ever since she'd run off to Blue Earth a week ago, and Dean had gone to fetch her, she'd been troubled by whatever they'd spoken about, and Sam hadn't worked up the courage to discuss it with her yet.

"Dean? What's going on?" Sam asked finally, his resolve cracking.

"I'm in," Dean replied simply, not even looking at him.

Sam sucked in a breath, hopeful that they were talking about what he thought they were, but it just didn't seem in character for Dean.

"In with…?"

Dean sighed.

"The whole 'up with Satan' thing," he replied. "I'm on board."

That had Sam's attention. He sat up, spinning his legs to the side so he was now sitting on the hood.

"You're gonna let me say yes?" Sam asked carefully. It was almost too good to be true. He'd never, ever been able to get Dean on board with any of his hair brained ideas. Especially when it involved Sam running into danger, not to mention Hell.

"No." Dean said with a shake of his head, answering Sam's question. "That's the thing. It's not on me to let you do anything. You're a grown – well, overgrown – man. If this is what you want, I'll back your play."

"That's the last thing I thought you'd ever say," Sam admitted.

"Might be," Dean shrugged. "I'm not gonna lie to you, though. It goes against every fiber I got. I mean, truth is... You know, watching out for you... it's kinda been my job, you know? But more than that, it's... it's kinda who I am… hell, it's who Beth is too now."

Sam nodded thoughtfully.

"But you're not a kid anymore, Sam, and we can't keep treating you like one. Maybe we got to grow up a little, too…" Dean nodded to himself, looking down at the beer in his hand, and sucked in a breath.

Sam wondered if he was thinking about the baby on the way; it was almost the only thing on his mind these days, and the number one driving force behind his decision to make a play at Lucifer. Sam still carried the heavy burden of Dean and Beth's first baby. Possessed or not, it had been his body that had kicked Beth, causing her to miscarry.

If he could've gotten past the pain of that event,, Sam might have realised that he'd not managed to get his body back from Meg during those dark days, and that didn't really bode well for going up against Lucifer, but he wasn't thinking about that. He was trying to set a wrong, right. Somewhere, deep inside, Sam had convinced himself that if he could trap the Devil back in the Pit with him, saving the world from Armageddon and giving Dean and Beth a chance at a normal life, then he could atone for the horrors he had set upon his adopted sister.

"I don't know if we got a snowball's chance," Dean continued. "But... But I do know that if anybody can do it... it's you."

Sam's thoughts pulled back to the present, and his heart swelled at the speech. Dean's trust in this meant the world to him. It told the younger Winchester that he was ready to step up and fulfil the destiny that had been written for him so long ago.

"Thank you," Sam said with a simple nod.

"If this is what you want…" Dean turned to look at him, his eyes narrowing. "Is this really what you want?" He asked, pausing.

Sam took a deep breath. "I let him out," he replied simply. "I got to put him back in."

"Okay. That's it, then," Dean said, raising his beer up to his lips and drinking.

And just like that, they were moving forward with the plan to take out the Devil using a set of rings and a hope and a prayer.

---

Several Days Later

Finding the Devil, once it was decided, still seemed like searching for a needle in a haystack. But the Winchesters were hunters, they always got their monster, whatever it was - and this was no exception. Inside yet another old, abandoned warehouse (there are way too many of them in the world) Sam, Dean and Castiel were bleeding out demons by the gallon, filling empty bottles with the precious life force that Sam was going to need in order to give him enough power to confront and, all going well, overcome Lucifer.

Beth had been having recurring dreams since they'd returned from Blue Earth, and she'd called in the one person she knew who might have the contacts to help. Jefferson was standing outside an abandoned warehouse, looking over a couple of old books that he'd brought with him from Miami, flying in to meet the family during the early hours of the morning. They had the antiquities spread on the hood of the car, and he was pointing to a symbol that Beth had been dreaming of.

"There are many six-pointed talismans," Jefferson said, "but layered upon themselves in such a fashion…almost like a…"

"Star," Beth finished, watching him flip the book open to an illustration of a necklace. "Yes. That's it."

It was a hand drawn image of the exact pendant she kept seeing around someone's dainty white neck in her dreams. She never got to see much more, a flash of a forest, then a demon with black iris-less eyes, and a woman who screamed as the necklace was pulled… the chain breaking.

Jefferson frowned slightly and then looked at Beth again. "You say you've been dreaming about this?"

"For the past three nights," Beth replied, meeting his gaze. "What is it?"

"Princess, this is the Amulet of Hesperus," he said, as if she should automatically know what that meant.

Jefferson was older than Dean, Beth and Sam. He'd been around on the hunting scene a good decade more. Add to this his connections to some of the more unsavory parts of the world, all born of a world of privilege, money, and a certain thrill for walking on the wild side, Jefferson tended to forget that his knowledge was a lot broader than even the more experienced hunters.

"And….?" Beth prompted, smiling at him indulgently.

"Well, given we're all about to run into the den of the Devil, it might very well be relevant," he said in his clipped British accent. "Hesperus is from the Greek pantheon, however, I suspect he is just a Greek version of another God or being who is much, much older."

"Such as?" Beth asked. She knew almost as much as anyone on mythology, but Hesperus was a little obscure, even for her. "Who are we talking about?"

"They called him the personification of the Evening Star, Venus," Jefferson said, raising his eyebrow.

"Venus…" Beth said carefully, looking down at the way the amulet on the page - even as an illustration - seemed to radiate like a star.

"What's more, his brother Eosphorus was the morning star… otherwise known as Lucifer," Jefferson said.

The look Beth gave him was enough to inform the hunter that she understood the gravity of the situation. It was one thing to be dreaming about a pendant, another that it was linked to something older than the entire United States, and yet something more astounding still to have it linked mythologically to the fallen archangel himself.

No one could think it a coincidence, not when they were so close to go up against Lucifer as soon as they could find him.

"Indeed." Jefferson agreed with her expression of vague horror. "In fact, if you want to get right down to it, Venus as evening star or morning star, was still the same planet, the same celestial body. It would stand to reason that it's like two sides of the coin. Light and Dark, angel and fallen angel."

"Samael and Lucifer," Beth agreed, chewing on her lower lip. "So why am I dreaming about this?"

"I have no idea," Jefferson admitted, shaking his blonde head. "But I have heard about this amulet in passing, many, many years ago. They say it's a key: to what I can't tell you."

"A key to Hell?" Beth queried.

"It's possible." Jefferson mused. He had to admit that there was likely more to the story than they were seeing, he was half of a mind to summon his demonic companion Altea to see whether she'd ever heard of this Amulet, but they weren't exactly speaking at the moment, after she'd taken off to … and he wryly amused himself with the thought...protect him from herself after she'd found him conversing with Crowley about crossroads contracts, and how to get out of them. It never ceased to amaze Jefferson how tight a wire he walked in the hunting realm.

And here he was again, about to throw Samuel Winchester to the demonic circus in order to fulfil his own promise to Patrick O'Malley so many years ago.

"But we have the key to the Pit," Beth mused, reaching into her jacket to touch the small velvet bag which housed the four horseman rings.

"I'm sure there is more than one way to break into Hell," Jefferson replied. "After all, those rings weren't needed to break out."

"In the dreams, I'm flying, moving around like I've never done before… only in Heaven," Beth said. "I think… I mean, I think it might actually be Ezekiel's dream?"

"An angel seeking the Amulet of Hesperus?" Jefferson asked, that piqued his interest. He'd heard rumblings in the lower realm about Heaven, and some of the Lady's Legion, a rogue sect of angels belonging to a being perhaps as old as God himself. But whether that had anything to do with the current mission to put Lucifer back in the Pit, or not, he could not answer.

The door to the right of the pair clattered open, and Sam led the way out of the warehouse, Cas not far behind him. Both of them were carrying gallon jugs of fresh blood which dripped down the sides of the plastic on to the gravel at our feet. Beside Jefferson, Beth shuddered, and looked up at Dean as he followed, looking a little pale in the face himself.

As Sam and Cas moved to put the bloody containers in the trunk of the Impala, Dean joined us. Beth reached a hand up to rub in a motherly way at a smear of blood on his cheek, and he frowned, batting her hand away but then copying action until the blood was gone.

"You okay?" Jefferson asked, watching him carefully.

"Not really," Dean replied. He avoided making eye contact for a moment, staring down at the book in front of them, as if silently contemplating what the three of them had just done. Then, as if making a decision, he straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat.

"So, what's this?" He asked, nodding at the picture.

"The Amulet of Hesperus," Jefferson replied.

"Which does?"

"No damn idea," the Englishman answered. "And we're not likely to find out any time soon. I did a little research when Beth called me. I made some calls, just in case. There's a record of the necklace in this drawing, last seen at a rare antiquities black market. Discreet. I had to call in a few favours only to find out that it disappeared from the record books a good two hundred and fifteen years ago. Nobody I know seems to have any idea where it currently might be."

"Well, brilliant," Dean muttered.

"It doesn't matter," Beth cut in, reaching out to squeeze Dean's hand. "We have everything we need for our current mission, right here."

He tossed me a smile in reply, and then looked over his shoulder at Bobby, who had his head tucked inside his van over a bunch of newspapers. He was tracking omens in the hope of turning up the location to Lucifer. With a deep breath, Dean tugged on Beth's hand and walked over to the older man, Jefferson trailing behind.

"I still can't get used to you at eye level," Dean commented with a small smile as he neared Bobby.

Bobby chuckled in reply, glancing over at Sam and Cas who were still by the trunk of the Impala.

"So, was I right?" The change of subject was clear, his mind was on business.

"As always, Yoda. Two stunt demons inside, just like you said," Dean replied.

"Did you get it?"

"Yeah, all the 'go juice' Sammy can drink," Dean replied, still looking a little green around the gills which didn't go unnoticed by their surrogate father.

"You okay?" He asked, echoing Jefferson's earlier concern.

Dean didn't reply, just glanced at the newspapers. Next to the older brother, Beth shook her head silently at Bobby, who frowned, but mercifully stayed silent on the subject.

"What do you got?" Dean asked, changing the subject, and everyone seemed a little relieved by the question.

"Not much," Bobby replied, turning to grab the headlines, handing out a few pages. "These look like omens to either of you? Cyclone in Florida, temperature drop in Detroit, wildfires in L.A,"

"Wait," Dean said, his head shooting up. "What about Detroit?"

"Temp's dropped about 20 degrees, but only in a five-block radius of downtown Motown," Bobby said. Dean met Beth's gaze and an understanding passed between them. If you could have stopped time and put them under scrutiny, you would have seen the way their heart's jumped into their throats, the blood in their veins rushing to the surface and thundering in their ears. They'd heard that before, and the memory evoked a powerful kinetic response.

"That's the one," Beth said, nodding and managing to somehow keep her voice steady.

"Devil's in Detroit," Dean added.

"Really? As far as foreboding goes, it's a little light in the loafers." Bobby said. "You sure?"

"Yeah," Dean said, looking over at Sam with a sadness in his eyes. "We're sure."

It might have been months ago, but nothing was ever going to wipe from our dear couple's minds what it had been like in 2014, when Zachariah had zapped them to the future. There, they'd met the future version of Dean, hellbent on destroying the devil to get revenge for his wife's death, and to return the world to a safe place where he could raise their daughter, alone. While they were there, Dean and Beth had learned that Sam had given in to Lucifer in Detroit. It seemed that regardless of what they did to avoid this, Lucifer was right… Sam was always going to say 'yes' in Detroit.

All they could do now was hope they'd done enough to rewrite history.

---

Later That Night

In the rearview mirror Dean could just see the outlines of Beth and Cas, both asleep in the backseat. He smiled, thinking about how many times he'd watched her sleep, especially during the days when they hadn't been a couple - before John had given his blessing - and how those had been the only moments he could stare at her without anyone being the wiser for his feelings.

Beside him, Sam caught the smile, and Dean quickly cleared his throat to hide the embarrassing moment, deflecting it to another subject.

"Aw. Ain't he a little angel?" Dean asked, nodding toward Cas. Sam frowned, looking back at Cas, whose head was lolling toward the window, his mouth wide open, as he slept with Beth curled up next to him, her head leaning on his shoulder.

"Angels don't sleep," Sam said after a moment. This drove home just how out of angel-juice Cas really was. And Ezekiel? Well he might as well have been dead in the water too, despite these strange dreams that Beth was having about an Amulet that hadn't been seen for centuries. Dean had no idea what to make of that, and he wasn't even sure he was ready to even start.

One problem at a time.

"Sam, I got a bad feeling about this," Dean voiced his gut. He'd been feeling it since the warehouse. He had been running the numbders, and he knew at the end of the day they weren't much: a juiceless angel, and a few humans. Even with Jefferson on board, he wasn't feeling any better.

"Well, you'd be nuts to have a good feeling about it," Sam said.

"You know what I mean," Dean said, looking at him pointedly. "Detroit. He always said he'd jump your bones in Detroit. Here we are."

"Here we are," Sam agreed, turning to look out the windshield again.

"Maybe this is him rolling out the red carpet, you know? Maybe he knows something that we don't."

Sam sniggered beside his brother, rolling his head to the side so he could look incredulously at his brother.

"Dean, I'm sure he knows a buttload we don't. We just got to hope he doesn't know about the rings."

He was right, they did have that going for them. Somehow it didn't seem like enough. Sam fell silent for a short moment, but then he looked over his shoulder at Beth, then at Dean.

"Hey, um... on the subject, there's something I got to talk to you about."

"What?"

Dean had the feeling they were about to enter into some chickflick moment, which made him want to grind his teeth. He reserved these moments for Beth, and Beth alone. She was the only one who could create a safe space for Dean to let down his guard and simply be vulnerable. Dean didn't like being put on the spot with Sam in his sentimental schmucky mood, he was the strong one, the one who held it together for everyone else. He didn't understand why they couldn't just go up against the Devil without all this? Surely there was nothing more to say, was there?

"This thing goes our way and I...Triple Lindy into that box... y-you know I'm not coming back."

Sam always did have a way of stating the obvious.

"Yeah," Dean replied. "I'm aware."

"So you got to promise me something," he continued. Dean had been focused on the road ahead of them - dark, lit up by nothing but their headlights, but this simple request caught his attention.

"Okay," Dean replied, licking his upper lip and swallowing nervously. "Yeah. Anything."

Sam took a deep breath, his eyes going all puppy dog like, and Dean instantly regretted what he'd just said.

"You got to promise not to try to bring me back," he said, confirming his brother's suspicions.

"What?" Dean asked. "No, I didn't sign up for that."

"Dean…"

"Your Hell is gonna make my tour look like Graceland. You want me just to sit by and do nothing?" Dean asked, feeling his heart start to race at the very thought. Not many other than Beth were aware that Dean was still having nightmares about Hell. They were nothing compared to what it had been like when he'd first got out - he hadn't tried to actually kill his wife in his sleep in a good six months - but there were a few memories that stuck with him. Things he'd never forget, things that haunted even his waking hours, let alone the dark.

"Once the Cage is shut, you can't go poking at it, Dean. It's too risky," Sam said.

"No, no, no, no, no. As if I'm just gonna let you rot in there," Dean shook his head.

Breaking Sam out of the Cage had been the only way Dean had managed to get Beth on board with any of this. How the Hell would he be able to stop her from attempting the impossible?

"Yeah, you are. You don't have a choice," Sam said, his eyes doing that sad thing that had equally impressed and infuriated Dean.

"You can't ask me to do this." Dean's voice was stilted and flat.

"I'm sorry, Dean. You have to," Sam pushed. Dean took a deep breath and let it out quickly.

"So then what am I supposed to do?" He asked genuinely.

"You take Beth, and the baby, and you get out of all this," Sam replied. "Take her to …Minnesota, Lisa's, heck Miami if you want to - I don't care where, but give her and that baby a chance at a life Dean. You both deserve that."

"She'd never agree to that," Dean replied.

"You need to convince her, Dean," Sam said softly. "I mean it. She needs to be okay with this. She needs to understand I'm okay, with this."

"Nobody should be okay with this, Sam," he said, shaking his head.

"I should already be dead," he replied. "Back when Jake put that knife through my back – my time was up. I should have stayed dead, and none of this would have ever happened. You see that right?"

Dean sighed. Of course he knew what his brother was saying. It wasn't like Dean hadn't contemplated a thousand times over how different things might have been if he'd just gotten to those crossroads fast enough to stop Beth… if he'd just given them both permission that fateful night to let their brother go.

"If Beth hadn't made that deal, you wouldn't have ended up in Hell, the seals might never have been broken… Lucifer would be right where we're trying to put him now. Either way, I'm dead, Dean. It's like… like it's destiny." Sam continued.

"Destiny…" Dean spluttered, shaking my head.

"I don't believe in that," Dean liked to tell himself that he was his own agent, that no one controlled his life but him. He knew that Beth believed in a power greater than them, she'd always prayed to angels long before any of them had even known they were real. But God? Where was he? Dean might have been able to get on board with God, but the absentee deity certainly seemed to be out of the picture from where he was standing. Dean's faith in destiny wasn't about to start now.

"How can you not?" Sam asked, sounding genuinely confused. "You've seen the things in our lives. I mean, you and Beth alone… you've been put in each other's paths so often as kids it was as if it was predetermined you'd end up together. And what I'm asking for you both now, is to let me go so you can have that."

Dean's jaw twitched as he clenched my teeth together, Sam had struck at the heart of the one thing Dean did believe was cosmically ordained, he glared at his brother for bringing it up - there was a sacredness to his love for Beth that even Dean didn't like to speak of too often, lest it be taken away like it had been a dream.

"You gotta get her on board, because I need you both behind me here," Sam said finally. "You go and take her somewhere she's safe. Have barbecues and go to football games. You go live some normal, apple-pie life where you make a bunch of babies and live the life we never got, Dean. Promise me."

He was handing Dean everything he'd ever wanted, on a silver platter, and yet the cost was so high.

Too high.

John's words echoed in Dean's mind, about sacrifice, about family. Dean knew he was going to be a father, again. This time he had the chance to do something good with it. He'd tried so hard with Sam: Beth and he both, and yet here they were going against everything in their bodies, their every fibre screaming at them to get Sam away and safe.

There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be…" Beth had quoted the Beatles line to him when they'd been dating early on. Dean couldn't have hated John Lennon more than in this moment… because it seemed that regardless of how hard he tried, he was exactly where it had been pre-determined he'd be, like it or not: that was the way destiny worked.

"Yeah okay," Dean muttered after a moment, glancing in the rearview mirror again, taking in the peaceful expression on his wife's face.

"I'll talk to her," he said softly, feeling like his heart was breaking in two.

He thought about how he could approach the subject, and one thing rang true above anything else, Dean knew she was never going to forgive him, and in that moment, he knew he'd never forgive himself either for his failure to protect them all.

---

The Impala, of course, has all the things other cars have... and a few things they don't. But none of that stuff's important. This is the stuff that's important. The army man that Sam crammed in the ashtray – it's still stuck there. The Legos that Dean shoved into the vents – to this day, heat comes on and they can hear 'em rattle. When Beth joined them, the boys had found a Lady Guadalupe visor clip in New Mexico and bought it to cheer the sad teenaged girl up. She'd clipped it to the passenger seat visor and it had been there ever since, Our Lady watching over them. John had never said a thing. These are the things that make the car theirs – really theirs. Even when Dean rebuilt her from the ground up, he made sure all these little things stayed, 'cause it's the blemishes that make her beautiful.

The Devil doesn't know, or care, what kind of car the Winchesters drive.

---

Detroit, Michigan

Having lived the majority of their lives in the car, the Winchesters always made good time when they were in a hurry. They knew the shortcuts when there was one to be had, they knew the spaces where they could plant the pedal to the metal and throttle along long open highways with minimal traffic and no police holding them back. Even with Bobby trailing them in his van they made it to Detroit just before dawn, and found themselves parked in a back alley in downtown Detroit.

Bobby and Jefferson were on a whole other level when it came to tracking monsters. Which isn't to say that Dean, Beth and Sam didn't hold their own at any time of a hunt, but for Bobby it seemed like a God given talent - heck, maybe it was - none of us really know how this all works.

So Detroit was where we found our young heroes, loitering in the darkness of a misty narrow alley, staring down the long shadowy access lane at a brick building at the end of the street. Bobby was scanning the windows with his binoculars, and then turned back to walk toward the group with an affirmative nod.

"Demons," he confirmed. "At least two dozen of them. You were right," he looked at Dean. "Something's up."

"More than something," Dean said, "he's here. I know it."

Dean felt like a tightly coiled spring ready to unwind. The hair on the back of his neck was standing at end, and with a sinking stomach he knew that they had reached the end of the road. With nothing further to say, he set his mouth in that stubborn poker face that he'd perfected years ago, and walked to the back of the car, opening the trunk.

Beside the others, Sam sighed heavily, standing up from where he'd been leaning against the car. He looked at Bobby, whose eyes were brimming with tears one moment and then gone the next as he pushed his feelings down deep.

"I'll see ya around, kid," Bobby said, his mouth curling into a half-hearted smile.

"See ya around," Sam nodded, pulling the older man into his arms for a tight hug which was returned.

"He gets in…" Bobby said as he pulled away. "You fight him tooth and nail, you understand? Keep swingin'. Don't give an inch."

"Yes, sir," Sam nodded.

Cas was next. Sam held out his hand awkwardly to the angel.

"Take care of these guys, okay?" Sam whispered.

Cas's emotionless face cracked for a moment when he saw the vulnerability in the young man, and he sighed softly with his reply, "that's not possible."

Beth smirked and Sam chuckled at the angel, ever the literal one.

"Then humor me," Sam smiled.

The statement dawned on the naive celestial being and his eyes widened.

"Oh!" Cas replied. "I was supposed to lie," he glanced at Beth and she smiled, nodding slightly at him. He turned back to Sam and forced a smile to his face. "Uh… Sure. They'll be fine," he said unconvincingly with a forced grin.

Sam snorted and shook his head. "Just… just stop… talking."

Finally it was Jefferson and Beth's turn for goodbyes.

Beth had determinedly announced, not for the first time, that she was going with Sam and Dean in against Lucifer, but she was still half expecting Dean to handcuff her to the car or something equally as foolish.

Next to her, the older British hunter was leaning casually against Bobby's van, looking as at ease and in place as he ever did. Jefferson always seemed to morph into any situation, equally able to slum with the homeless in the ghetto as he was capable of donning a tuxedo and schmoozing his way through a celebrity red carpet event. There were hunters who had seen him do both, and he'd won his fair share of respect, and jealousy, for his skills.

"Thanks, Jefferson," Sam began, looking down at his feet. "For everything you've… well…"

"Hey," Jefferson interrupted. "It was my pleasure. I only wish I could do more."

Sam nodded, holding out his hand which Jefferson clasped warmly in his own, stepping into the taller hunter's countenance. Even with the height difference, Jefferson managed to hold his own with broad shoulders and a confident swagger.

"I've been looking out for you all for a long time," Jefferson added, glancing at Beth with a smile. Jefferson had been a part of the family longer than before John's death. A lot of his involvement was forgotten due to angel mind wipes, but Beth and Dean had started to recall some of the moments during those years when the older hunter had both rescued them, and also studied with Beth's father. For Jefferson, who recalled the timeline in a very linear fashion, he'd known them half their lives and felt equally as responsible for them as Bobby did.

"Yeah," Sam breathed, nodding. "And I never got to… uh… thank you. For taking care of Beth, when… well, you know."

Jefferson nodded solemnly, his eyes darkening slightly. It had taken a while for him to forgive Sam for the cruel way he'd abandoned Beth while Dean was in Hell. Sam wasn't even sure that he wasn't putting on an act now. But like the chameleon he was, no one would ever know.

"Don't worry," Jefferson said softly, looking at him. "I'll do it again."

Sam nodded, sighing slightly and turning to Beth, a sad smile pulling at his mouth.

"Are you sure about this?" She whispered, feeling herself waver slightly. Images of the thirteen year old boy she'd met just after being possessed by a demon herself ran through her mind. More so, the feeling of powerlessness, in knowing that her body had not been her own no matter how hard she'd fought against it.

"Yeah," he nodded, pulling her in for a hug. "It's gonna be okay Beth. I'm gonna set it right."

"I don't know…"

"Well, I do," he said, pulling back. "I need you to do something for me."

She couldn't even ask, but instead fed the question to him with her eyes, biting her lower lip in hesitation.

"When this is over," he said. "I need you to leave it alone."

The implication of what he meant weighed heavily on the air. Beth glanced over her shoulder, catching Dean's curious gaze, and then turned back to Sam with a shake of her head.

"Sammy… no."

"Yes," he said sternly. "You have to promise me you'll honour my sacrifice, Beth. Because I'm doing this for you, and for Dean."

His eyes dropped down to her stomach and Beth knew instantly what he was trying to say. He wanted his family to return to the life they'd tried to have before he ran off with Ruby and got suckered into releasing the Devil. It still haunted him every time Beth ran off to Blue Earth, and Dean followed. That was their little place, just their own, and he'd ruined it for them.

"Oh Sam…"

"Promise me," he said, taking her hands. "You, and Dean, you've both been here for me - all the time - now it's my turn to do this for you. I'm just setting things right, Beth. There's so many things to set right. But I can do it, I want to do this. You deserve it."

Tears welled in her eyes, and she glanced over at Dean again who looked to be casually leaning against the Impala even though he was a bundle of raw energy. He was far enough away that he couldn't hear the conversation, but the flicker of his eyes in their direction when she moved told Beth that he was alert to their body language, to the conversation being held.

"Please Beth," Sam pushed. "Do it for Dean. He never had a chance to grow up in a home, with people who love him. He has a son, he's going to be a father again… with you. Which is exactly what he's wanted for years even if he'd never admit it. You both want this, Beth. So promise me, don't come looking. Give this baby a chance at a real life; one none of us ever got."

Beth nodded, tears running silently down her cheek. She wanted to say 'yes', but her heart was breaking.

"Okay Sammy," she said after a moment.

Beth knew this was the moment Death had been talking about. The part where she was supposed to let him go. Yet even as he smiled and pulled her in tightly to him, she felt that tether still there, joined from her heart to his, where it had been firmly entrenched from the day the Winchesters had run into her life, and she'd fallen into theirs.

While Sam pulled away and walked toward the car, Beth said a little prayer for guidance. It was true, she didn't really know who she was praying to anymore. She certainly wasn't convinced God was listening, and she didn't want to alert any angels to their whereabouts, yet the the words helped - so she kept doing them.

Dean walked away from the Impala to let Sam finish this last bit alone - the drinking of demon blood - Beth stepped into his embrace and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, feeling him pull her in close, his breath ghosting against her ear as he let out a deep, sorrowful sigh.

"He didn't want me to watch," he whispered, and she nodded with her head tucked under his chin.

"It's okay," she said, as much for herself as for him. "It's going to be okay."

He didn't reply, simply squeezed her tight, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. There was nothing more to be said, everyone knew what was coming, and they were resigned to it. Now all they could do was wait.

Dean was holding on to Beth like the world was ending. To anyone else it might have been overkill, but for those of us in the know, reading this book, we knew the reality of the situation to be exactly that dire. The world as they knew it - the trio of siblings setting themselves against the monsters of the world - was coming to an end.

Of course it hadn't been the first time they'd lost Sam. The first being when he'd gone off to University, but they'd had John then, and they'd known Sam was safe even if he wasn't with them. It had been their father's strict drill sargeant routine - and their blossoming secret romance - that had kept Dean and Beth on track during those dark days. But now, there was no one left to call the shots, Dean and Beth had been alone in that for some time now. It wasn't until they looked over at their brother, watching him slam the trunk of the Impala closed, that they realised how far they'd come and it dawned on them how little they'd accomplished.

When Sam was on demon blood there was an aura about him that unsettled everyone about him.

"Oh God…" Beth whispered, feeling the undertone of aggression that simmered just beneath the younger Winchester's skin. Even Dean sensed it, and he let out a short breath, rubbing Beth's back reassuringly. He was no stranger to alpha males and their bristling demeanours, but this was a whole different ballpark. It made his skin crawl.

"It's okay," he said softly under his breath. Beth didn't believe him, but she didn't know how to stop what was about to happen, didn't know if she could, so she fell silent.

"Okay," Sam said with a gravelly voice. "Let's go."

Dean took Beth's hand, and they fell in behind Sam, walking toward the building. Dean hadn't even balked in taking Beth with them. In Blue Earth, he'd meant what he said about keeping her with him. There was one thing he'd learned when they'd been teleported to the future - things fell apart when they separated. It was something his father had drilled into him time and time again, but he only now felt like he was starting to understand.

Now, John hadn't been talking about Dean and Beth as a couple when he'd imparted that wisdom, he'd been talking about the family as a whole. Yet, like everything in life, the lessons people need come to them in the hour of their greatest need. Dean knew he couldn't do this alone. His head was screaming to put a stop to the whole plan, his heart was shattered, and he was moving only by the grace of the woman standing beside him. Baby or not, he knew he couldn't go on without her, not if he was going to lose his brother tonight, and therefore he had selfishly chosen to put them all at risk.

That, and Beth hadn't given him any other choice.

Sam raised his arms up in the air, oblivious to the discomfort of his siblings following, every step bringing them closer to the building with the demons in it. The stores on the first floor were all closed, including the Chinese restaurant directly below the apartments where Bobby had seen the demons.

"All right! We're here, you sons of bitches! Come and get it!" He yelled.

It didn't take long to get a response. A door to the side of the restaurant banged open and two demons stepped out into the dark street, looking curiously at the trio.

"Hey guys," Dean quipped. "Is your father home?"

---

It's hard to imagine what the Prince of Darkness thought of the Winchesters landing on his doorstep. Did he know they'd come to him in Detroit all along? Had he planned it from the beginning? Was it even his plan or was he just playing out a role of destiny that had been written millennia before his existence?

There were no easy answers to this, and try as I might to impart God's plan through these little novellas, there is always a bit of a mystery to His actions - though he'd probably try and tell you that he has always known that the path the boys were walking was always - always - going to lead right here to Detroit.

And then there were the rings.

They were perhaps the only shining light in the dingy little room of bare floorboards, interspersed with exposed brickwork and patchy wallpaper. It looked as if it hadn't seen the light of day in years, which could also be said for good old Lucifer.

He was standing by the dirty window, looking down into the street at the Impala and the remainder of the little group. His form was silhouetted black against the streetlight, and as our heroes were pushed into the room, he turned to look over his shoulder.

"Hey, guys. So nice of you to drop in," he said with his back turned to them.

Lucifer was not one to rush things. This could generally be said about any celestial being who had been alive for millennia. The fast paced drive to achieve in a short amount of time was only relegated to humanity and the small amount of time they had to live. But I ask you: if you knew you were going to live for thousands of years, would everything seem so urgent?

Taking a deep breath, Lucifer let it out as he faced the window, and a crackle of ice spread across the glass, frosting it over. With his index finger, the fallen angel reached out, drawing a pitchfork in the condensation before grinning at his captives.

"Sorry if it's a bit chilly," he commented. "Most people think I burn hot. It's actually quite the opposite."

This explained the temperature drop that Bobby had seen earlier.

"Well I'll alert the media," Dean snarked.

When Lucifer turned to look at them they could see the obvious damage that his vessel was taking. Nick was being eaten up from the inside out, open red welts cut across his face and neck, and there was a weariness in the vessel's eyes - whether his own or Lucifer's one couldn't rightly say, but no one could mistake that he was, quite literally, falling apart.

And everyone in the room knew there was only one solution to that: Sam.

"Help me to understand something, guys. I mean, stomping through my front door is… a tad suicidal, don't you think?" Lucifer asked, his eyes flicking from one Winchester to another.

"We're not here to fight you," Sam growled, his stance reading the exact opposite. He was a bundle of untapped energy, everything in his body language read fight.

"No?" Lucifer asked. "Then why are you?"

Sam glanced sideways at Dean, and then frowned, looking at Lucifer. "I want to say 'yes'."

"Excuse me?" The doubt was evident in the devil's eyes.

Sam didn't respond, instead he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and seconds later the two demons behind him dropped to the floor with a flash of light; dead.

Lucifer chuckled, seemingly nonplussed by the show of power.

"Chock full of Ovaltine, are we?" He asked, earning himself a glare from Sam.

"You heard me, yes."

Now, this is where one has to wonder - did the Devil know all along the conditions of Sam coming to him? Had he been guessing? Or was destiny the kind of bitch that tapped those of higher power on the shoulder, told you that you had a calling, and where to be - but not the how or why of it all? Lucifer preferred not to think about his father's mysterious ways, and whether or not he was a pawn in the great circle of life, because if that were the case then he would have to admit he had no say in anything - and that didn't sit right with the rebellious angel.

"You're serious," Lucifer said after a moment.

"Look," Sam said, letting out a heated breath. "Judgment Day's a runaway train. We get it now. We just want off."

"Meaning?"

"Deal of the century," Sam said. "I give you a free ride, but when it's all over, I live, they live, you bring our parents back -"

"Okay," Lucifer cut in, pressing his index finger to his chin in a thoughtful gesture. "Can we please drop the telenova? I know you have the rings, Sam."

Sam hesitated for a split second. His poker face had never been as good as Dean's.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied, but there was less conviction behind his voice this time.

"The Horsemen's rings?" Lucifer pushed, waving his hand in the air. "The magic keys to my Cage? Ring a bell? Come on, Sam. I've never lied to you. You could at least pay me the same respect."

He rolled his eyes at his vessel, and then smiled.

"It's okay. I'm not mad. A wrestling match inside your noggin... I like the idea. Just you and me, one round, no tricks. You win, you jump in the hole. I win... Well, then I win. What do you say, Sam? A fiddle of gold against your soul says I'm better than you."

This had not been part of the plan. All three of the Winchesters froze, glancing at each other as they battled to decide how to proceed. Odds were they had no choice, after all, Lucifer was far more powerful than them, and they hadn't brought Cas with them to teleport them out - even if he had been able to. This was the moment where I want to point out … destiny. As soon as they walked into that room they had only ever had one path to take, and there was no backing out now.

"So he knows," Sam said to Dean and Beth. "Doesn't change anything."

"Sam," Dean said cautiously.

"We don't have any other choice," Sam replied.

"No, Sammy…" Beth reached a hand out but Sam turned away, shaking his head at them, then looked Lucifer squarely in the eye, making his mind up in an instant.

"Yes," he said meaningfully, and Lucifer smiled.

To those standing outside the building, a big flash of golden light would ripple out of the third storey window and into the darkness. Piercing the night like a sword, and disappearing as quickly as it came.

For the two humans left in the room, they'd been blinded and stumbled into each other's arms. As the room faded back to the same din it had been earlier, Dean blinked, seeing his brother on the floor.

"Come on," he said to Beth, letting her go and pulling the horseman's rings out of his jacket pocket, glancing down to make sure they were all in place before throwing them against the wall.

"Bvtmon…" Beth started the enchantment, glancing behind her at Sam's motionless form. "Tabges…. Babalon!"

A rush of wind blew through the room as a portal opened in the wall and sucked the air into the void beyond.

"Oh my god," Beth breathed, her voice catching.

Dean grabbed at Sam's shoulder. "Sammy!"

"Dean!" Sam replied, struggling to his hands and knees.

"Sammy!"

He groaned out loud. "I can feel him! Oh, God!"

"You got to go, now!" Dean pressed, helping Sam unsteadily to his feet. "Go now, Sammy! Now!"

Beth grabbed Sam's other arm, pushing her brother to the edge of the portal. The wind being sucked into the world beyond caused their hair to blow around as he teetered on the edge, taking a few deep, urgent breaths as staring into the darkness.

"Sam!" Beth said, squeezing his arm and feeling tears come to her eyes. Sam turned to look at her, and in that moment the girl knew they'd lost.

Sam straightened up, turning to look at Dean with a smile.

"I was just messing with you," he said, the tone and mannerisms of Lucifer echoed out of Sam's familiar face. "Sammy's long gone."

Stretching his hand out to the wall, Lucifer spoke the ancient language, "Chdr bvtmon tabges babalon."

The hole closed in the wall, taking all hope with it. Beth stumbled back toward Sam as Lucifer walked up to the wall, taking the combined rings in hand.

"I told you," Lucifer said softly, almost apologetically, "this would always happen in Detroit."

"You son of a bitch!" Dean snapped, but Lucifer was already looking at Beth.

"Hold that thought," the angel said, and he flicked his wrist causing Dean to fly through the air and become pinned to the wall.

"Hey! Let him go!" Beth yelled.

"You got what you wanted!" Dean agreed.

"Yes, but I didn't actually promise you'd live…" Lucifer agreed. Beth scowled at him, and dropped the angel blade she'd been hiding in her sleeve down to her hand.

"Whoa whoa whoa…" Lucifer said, holding his hands up.

"Let...him...down," Beth said through gritted teeth.

But what neither of our humans realised is that it's very hard to hide the angelic essence, even when they are injured and hiding deep inside a human vessel. Lucifer was neither fooled by Beth's protests, especially once he saw the angel blade.

"Is that you Azakiel?" Lucifer asked, ignoring her. He moved quickly, disarming Beth before she could even get close.

"Lucifer! I'm gonna kill you myself!" Dean shouted, struggling against the power that held him in place.

"Oh relax, I'm not gonna hurt her…" Lucifer said, his arm wrapped around Beth's neck, her back pulled firmly into his new… much taller… chest. "But I'm afraid I can't let this one get in the way before I go to see our brother, either."

"What are you talking about?" Beth breathed.

"Azakiel," Lucifer said. "She's inside you, I can feel her. Our mother's energy. Now tell me, what is one of the Lady's Legion doing inside a simple… unimportant… mud monkey?"

The thing about angels is that when they've been slumbering, they can heal a lot faster than if they have been working overtime. Ezekiel also had an advantage, he could connect into the baby growing inside Beth, a child still in the womb is an untapped source of life that can heal all. He'd been staying hidden, biding his time like all angels do when destiny was involved, but the threat in Lucifer's voice couldn't be mistaken and he surged to the surface - permission from Beth or not.

Dean groaned when he saw the flash of blue in his wife's eyes. He'd been down this track before, and he didn't like it.

Within seconds, Beth was across the room, teleporting out of Lucifer's grasp.

"Ah, there you are," Lucifer said, unconcerned. "What are you up to?"

"I'm going to put an end to this nightmare."

Lucifer scoffed. "I'm just playing out my role, sister," he said. "You of all people know what that means."

"Mission? Words born of imbalance. There are other ways to avoid this foolishness," Beth's voice echoed into the room, cold and unlike her.

Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "And what pray tell is that?"

But it was too late, Beth disappeared with the simple thought of the angel inside of her.

"No!" Dean yelled, and Lucifer let his power soften, the man falling to the floor with a slump to his shoulder.

"Hmm, well I didn't see that one coming," Lucifer announced, raising an eyebrow. But the angel didn't seem too concerned. He'd been waiting a long time for this fight that was coming and he wasn't about to let one inconsequential angel get in the way - even if they did lead the Lady's Legion.

A dead legion, Lucifer reminded himself. He nodded to himself and then looked to his right. Dean stood up, his chest heaving with the emotion that was swelling inside, threatening to drown the man.

"Sorry Dean, guess it's not happily ever after for you after all," Lucifer said, and then he too vanished.

---

Unknown Location

By the time Sam became conscious again, he was in an entirely new place. Dean and Beth were nowhere to be seen. That at least made him happy, but he was furious with himself for letting Lucifer get the upper hand.

And the upper hand Lucifer most certainly had.

Sam could move in his mind, like a ghost inside his body, but he couldn't get his actual body to listen to him. No, Lucifer was completely in control. They had lost, and so Sam screamed his anger, beating on the little room he found himself in. It was like a white padded room, not unlike a mental hospital, and Sam reflected that this was probably appropriate. In time, Sam would have likely ended up here on the path he was headed, but could he escape this one?

After what seemed an eternity, Lucifer - in his own voice - echoed into the chamber.

"Sam. Come on. I can feel you… scratching away in there."

"Look. I'll take the gag off, okay? You got me all wrong, kiddo. I'm not the bad guy here."

Sam found the walls around him drop, and then he was looking into a mirror, and in it he could see himself, with a group of people in the background.

"I'm gonna rip you apart from the inside out. Do you understand me?" Sam growled at his own reflection.

Lucifer simply smirked in reply.

"Such anger...young Skywalker," he said. "Who are you really angry with? Me? Or that face in the mirror?"

"I'm sure this is all a big joke to you, huh?" Sam asked, barely containing his rage. Every muscle in his persona ached and flexed. If only he could get it to work on his physical body.

"Not at all," Lucifer replied, his eyes looking compassionately back at him. "I've been waiting for you… for a long, long time. Come on Sam. You have to admit - you can feel it, right?"

"What?" Sam asked, defiant to the end.

"The exhilaration," Lucifer replied, throwing his arms up in the air and spinning around. "And you know why that is? Because we're two halves made whole. M.F.E.O. Literally."

Sam narrowed his eyes at his reflection. "This feels pretty damn far from good."

"I'm inside your grapefruit, Sam," Lucifer said, tapping the side of his head. "You can't lie to me. I see it all - how odd you always felt, how...out of place in that...family of yours. And why shouldn't you have? They were foster care - at best. I'm your real family."

"No," Sam refused to accept what he was saying. "That's not true." But deep down, he had to admit, there was a resonance to what the angel was saying. The most free he'd ever felt had been when he'd been with Ruby, and under her influence as a demon. Ruby, and… no.

The thought escaped before he could shut it down.

No! She couldn't be.

Lucifer's face flickered in curiosity as the thought found him.

"Who?" He asked.

"Nobody," Sam sneered in the mirror at him. "You're wrong."

"I'm not," Lucifer said. "And I know you know it. All those times you ran away, you weren't running from them. You were running toward me. This doesn't have to be a bad thing, you know. I let Dean and Beth live, didn't I? I want them to live… though, I'm not sure it's looking good for your sister there. But we can fix that. Once we destroy Michael, we can get her back from Azakiel, and I'll bring your folks back too. I want you to be happy, Sam."

"I don't want anything from you," Sam growled.

"Really?" Lucifer asked. "Not even a little payback?"

Payback? Sam didn't like the idea of that.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

Lucifer inclined his head to the group of people assembled behind him. "Look closely," he invited. "None of these little devils look familiar to you?"

Sam peered beyond and what he saw made his heart skip a beat. It was like when he'd seen Brady tied to that chair, inside a devil's trap.

"That's Mr Bensman… one of my grade-school teachers," he said, a lump forming in his throat.

"And that's your friend Doug from that time in East Lansing. And Rachel… your prom date." He gestured to a pretty blonde girl in a pale pink dress who was staring down at her feet. They all looked worried.

Sam looked at the others, holding his breath, hoping against hope that she wasn't going to be there. He breathed a sigh of relief to find that she didn't complete the group, pushing the thought down deep, hoping Lucifer wouldn't catch it again. The last thing he needed was himself going after the one person who had brought him comfort. He'd kept her secret, even from Dean and Beth as much as he could - for her protection. But now Sam didn't like the idea that maybe she too, was just another demon, playing the part - the ultimate goal to drive him right here, to Lucifer.

"Sam Winchester," Lucifer announced in a gameshow host voice. "This is your life! Azazel's gang - watching you ever since you were a rugrat, jerking you around like a dog on a leash. I know how you feel about them."

There was a rage building up in Sam that was quickly consuming him.

"Me too," Lucifer said. "So, what you say you and I blow off a little steam?"

Sam gave into that rage, the despair eating away at him. Deep down he decided that as soon as he was free of Lucifer, he would go himself to find out the truth about whether or not the love of his life was a demon in disguise.

---

Detroit

Dean didn't know where to start. He was staring at a television in a store window, watching a news report.

"Reports are flooding in - a 7.6 earthquake in Portland, 8.1 in Boston, more in Hong Kong, Berlin, Tehran. The U.S.G.S. has no explanation but says to expect a six figure death toll," the news anchor read, with images of natural disasters flashing across the screen.

"It's starting," Castiel said from where he stood behind Dean and Bobby.

"Yeah, you think, genius?" Dean asked sarcastically. He was seething inside.

"You don't have to be mean," Castiel replied.

"So what do we do now?" Dean asked, ignoring him and turning back to Bobby, and Jefferson as he walked out from the herb shop next door.

"I suggest we imbibe copious quantities of alcohol...just wait for the inevitable blast wave," Castiel announced.

Jefferson snorted, and walked over to the van, starting to rummage through it. "Angels," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

"Yeah, swell. Thank you, Bukowski," Dean muttered. "I- I mean, how do we stop it? Or find Beth? Or… preferably both?"

"We don't," Castiel replied. "Lucifer will meet Michael on the chosen field, and the battle of Armageddon begins."

"Okay," Dean said, grasping at the first thing he'd seen as a plan all day, "well, where's this chosen field?"

"I don't know," Castiel said.

"Well there's gotta be something we can do," Dean said, looking past Castiel at Jefferson who was rummaging through some of the storage containers in the van.

"I'm sorry Dean," Castiel answered, "this is over."

Dean saw red, and wanted to lash out and hit the angel, the only thing holding him back was that he didn't know if it would make him feel any better.

"You listen to me, you junkless sissy - we are not giving up! Jefferson? Bobby?"

Beside him Bobby shrugged, tears in his eyes. "There was never much hope to begin with. I don't know what to do."

Over at the van, Jefferson groaned loudly, standing up and turning to them.

"If you lot are quite done, perhaps we could get on with this?" He asked in his usual optimistic and infuriating voice.

"This?" Dean asked.

"Well, you want to find Beth and Lucifer, correct?" Jefferson asked. "Well, I might just have the way to do that. But… it's rather unorthodox...I must warn you."

"Unorthodox how?" Dean questioned.

"Well…" Jefferson started to speak, his mouth pausing and then he closed it, frowning. "Look, better you don't know, to be honest. But, it's the only thing I've got, and if we are going to divine these locations, we'd best get on with it."

Dean didn't see any other option, shrugging. "Okay?"

"Excellent. We're going to need five silver dollars, and a… goat."

"A goat?"

"Like I said, the less you know…"

Surprisingly, it's a lot easier to come by a goat than one should think. Dean, Bobby and Castiel found themselves in a rather upscale part of the city, outside a penthouse suite in an apartment building, silver coins in one hand, the rope around the goat in the other.

He knocked on the door three times, and it was opened by a Haitian woman with dark skin, braids piled atop her head, and a gold tooth which glinted when she smiled.

"Ah, Jefferson," she said in a heavy accent. "Bonjou. Sa fe lontan. Sake pase?"

"It has been a long time," Jefferson smiled, speaking in English and then switching to Creole. "Mwen byen. Padonnen m 'pou mwen rele anonse. Mwen bezwen asistans ou. Li ijan."

"Really?" Dean asked. "How many languages do you speak?"

Jefferson chuckled, and clapped Dean on the back. "Latin isn't the only useful language you know?"

The woman laughed and waved Jefferson inside, the others made to follow, but he held up his hand.

"Best you don't," he said. "I won't be long."

Jefferson indeed was true to his word, and before long he exited the apartment, this time with a scowl on his face.

"Well?" Dean asked. "What did she tell you?"

"That I'm asking the wrong person," Jefferson growled, starting to walk down the hallway. "We need a crossroads!"

---

Jefferson was working with what he did best - his gut instinct, a ridiculous knowledge of the arcane, and a whole lot of mojo. He had also not seen that he'd have to resort to what he was about to do for some time. The first dirt road they'd come to, everyone had pulled over and within moments he'd assembled the necessary summoning herbs and items in a box.

"Ummm," Dean said, watching as Jefferson buried the box at the crossroads. "Is this wise? Haven't we sold enough souls in our lifetimes?"

"Ha," Jefferson said. "Trust me."

"Bold words coming from you," sounded a female's voice, causing them to spin around to face her.

The demon was a slim, pretty blonde, with a narrow nose, high cheekbones, and piercing hazel gaze stared at them from the six inch heeled boots she was wearing up to her knees, a tight black suede dress wrapped around her hips and swelling breasts. Her hair was dead straight, running over her shoulders and down to her waist and the only colour about her was the deep red lipstick she was wearing.

"My love, you always make me feel much bolder than I truly am," Jefferson soothed, a smile gracing his handsome face. She smirked, raising a questioning hand up in a shrug.

"We talked about this," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Well, it's the end of the world," Jefferson said, "I decided if ever there was a reason to … get in touch?"

"You're such a romantic," she said, arching her eyebrow.

"You bring out the best in me," the Brit replied.

"Oh. My. God," Dean spluttered. "Get a room!"

Jefferson laughed smoothly, raising his eyebrow at Dean.

"Not comfortable when the shoe is on the other foot?" He asked. Dean thought about the amount of times Sam had to say the same thing and frowned, suitably chastised.

"Why are we talking to a demon?" Dean asked. "They're nothing but trouble."

"I take offense to that," she replied, crossing her arms.

"Altea…" Jefferson said.

"You know her name?" Dean asked incredulously.

"Yes, and she was instrumental when we were looking for you in Hell," Jefferson replied. "Not to mention in exorcising Grace."

Dean sighed. "Yeah well, she didn't exactly get me out of Hell, did she?"

"Not for lack of trying," Altea snapped. "But whatever. Jefferson. Why are you here?"

"We need your help, in locating a Prophet," Jefferson said. "And a wayward angel."

"Angel?" Altea asked, looking around. "You mean other than that poor excuse for one?" She waved her hand over at Castiel, who was standing beside Bobby at the van.

"Beth," Jefferson said. "She's currently a vessel."

"Stupid girl," Altea replied, receiving a stern look from Jefferson. "Oh okay! Give me… ten minutes. As for the Prophet, ask your hero here. He has a direct line."

The demon vanished and Jefferson was left staring at Dean.

"What?" Dean asked.

"You… have a direct line to a Prophet?" He asked incredulously.

"Huh? What, you mean Chuck?"

"I don't care what his name is," Jefferson said. "Can you reach him?"

"Well, yeah, we can call him but…"

"But… you don't think he might happen to have a little insight into what is going on right now?" Jefferson cut in. He crossed his arms and Dean grimaced at the reproach. Of course Chuck would know what's going on, if there was anything to know.

He pulled his phone out and started to look through his contacts.

---

In between jobs, Sam, Beth and Dean would sometimes get a day – sometimes a week, if they were lucky. They'd pass the time lining their pockets. Sam used to insist on honest work, but now he hustles pool, like his siblings. They could go anywhere and do anything. They drove 1,000 miles for an Ozzy show, two days for a Jayhawks game. And when it was clear, they'd park her in the middle of nowhere, sit on the hood, and watch the stars... for hours... without saying a word. It never occurred to them that, sure, maybe they never really had a roof and four walls…

---

Chuck leaned back in his seat, looking contemplatively at the screen in front of him.

"...but they were never, in fact, homeless," he read from what he'd just typed. "That's a good line."

Beside him the phone rang, and he picked it up while clearing his throat. He glanced down at the newspaper ad he had open beside him, depicting a beautiful gypsy woman with a lascivious smile.

"Mistress Magda?" He asked in a slightly suggestive tone..

"Um, no, Chuck," Dean's voice sounded over the line.

"Oh, uh, Dean. Uh, wow. I, uh, I didn't know that you'd call," he said, trying to change the subject.

"Who's Mistress Magda," Dean asked curiously.

"Nothing." Chuck said, moving his glass of whiskey to place it over the photo as if Dean could see through the phone.

"She's a, uh, a - just a - close friend." Chuck cringed as he said it, the statement had been completely dripping in guilt.

"Yeah, I'll bet," Dean said sarcastically. "Real close. Whatever happened to Becky?"

"Didn't work out," Chuck said. "I had too much respect for her."

"Boy, you got a whole virgin/hooker thing going on, don't you?" Dean asked.

"Okay," Chuck said, his voice breaking slightly. "This can't be why you called."

"Sam said yes."

Chuck closed his eyes and rubbed at his forehead, nodding. "I know. I saw it. I'm just working on the pages."

"Did you see where the fight goes down?"

"The angels are keeping it top secret, very hush-hush," Chuck replied.

"Aw, crap."

"But I saw it anyway," Chuck chuckled. He paused, realising he was chuckling… and that rhymed, but then he shook his head and focused on the phone. "Perks of being a Prophet. It's tomorrow, high noon - place called Stull Cemetery."

"Stull Cemet…wait I know that. That's - that's an old boneyard outside of Lawrence. Why Lawrence?"

"I don't know," Chuck replied. "It all has to end where it started, I guess."

"All right, Chuck," Dean's voice sounded tired and sad. "You know of any way to short-circuit this thing?"

"Besides the rings? No. I'm sorry."

Dean sighed over the line and Chuck felt compassion for the man. It had to be hard not knowing what was coming, how your destiny was going to play out.

"Do you know where Beth is?"

"No, Ezekiel is keeping that very, very quiet. I'll let you know if I hear anything though."

"Well do you have any idea what's gonna happen next?"

"I wish that I did. But I- I just honestly don't know," Chuck replied.

"All right… thanks Chuck."

Dean hung up, and Chuck looked at his screen, reaching out to start typing again.

---

Beth's first memory of the Impala was directly after the death of her father. There had been snow on the ground, shoveled down the footpath which had been salted to stop it from icing over, and it was snowing again by the time they left the house. She'd pulled the faux fur fringed hood of her jacket up over her curly dark locks and sniffed back the tears that were threatening to spill again. With despair in her heart, she'd taken a few steps, looking at the house behind her and hesitated. Sam and Dean stood beside her, and the latter reached out to squeeze her shoulder, looking sadly at her. "You'll get used to it, saying goodbye," he said. "Now… let me introduce you to the best darn car on the planet…"

---

Heaven

Ezekiel was nothing if not over zealous about their stealthy approach into Heaven. By the time they reached the third level, he'd created a series of confusing mazes that would keep a lesser angel wandering for eons. He chuckled as he thought about how he'd been the inspiration for The Labyrinth and how the studio had gotten the name wrong on that. Labyrinths were not mazes. Mazes were designed to confuse and confound, leaving someone lost and in despair. Labyrinths were the tool of the Goddess, spiralling the person into the centre where they could connect with Her, and gain wisdom. A Labyrinth was the cycle of life, and not the tool he needed right now.

As he laid the last part of the maze he turned back to the landscape before him. It was a sweeping range of canyons and mountains, as far as the eye could see. He ran along a ridge, and slid down an embankment. He knew where he was going, but it was somewhere not many angels ventured. This was the far edge of the physical realm, where things were born from the ether into being before sent to Earth. No one had been here in millennia, not since God had gone missing.

It didn't take long to reach the cave. Hidden behind the soft, round mounds of rock that had been the template for the Olgas in Australia, he slipped in behind them to where he'd hidden his vessel. His original vessel, the one that everyone would recognise. But he couldn't stay in Beth any longer and he knew it. The human was seething with frustration over him having hijacked her body once more. He knew Dean would be looking for them too, but he wasn't going to find them - not even Castiel could help in the state he was in. No, Ezekiel knew he had to return Beth to her husband himself, but first he needed a vessel.

Then he had to find the others.

The information Beth had found from his dream about the Amulet of Hesperus was important and time was of the essence if he was going to complete his mission and stop this war.

With a simple breath, the angel exited his vessel, saying goodbye to the little soul growing inside her, and then zapped into his other.

"I'm sorry!" He said, reaching out a hand to Beth as she sucked in a breath, before she could speak.

"Sorry?!" She said, glaring at him. "I'm not sure sorry is going to cut it this time."

"I am certain you are correct," Ezekiel replied. "But know that I didn't have a choice. He would have killed you, and the baby."

"Who are you?" Beth asked, looking at the angel. "Why was he so afraid of you?"

Ezekiel paused, looking thoughtfully at the woman.

"I'm nobody," he said, though Beth knew it to be a lie. "Once I led an army, a legion of our Lady's angels. I… Ied the legion that helped Michael put Lucifer into his Cage."

"You?"

"Hard to believe?" Ezekiel grinned, throwing his arms in the air. "It didn't win me many fans, let me tell you."

"I feel like there's a lot more to this story than you're letting on," Beth said with narrowed eyes.

"Always," he said with infuriating honesty. "But, for now, you have to return to Dean, on Earth, you've already been missing several days."

"Days?!"

"Again… I'm sorry?"

"Look, Ezekiel, don't take this the wrong way, but I hope this is the last I see of you for a very, very long time," Beth said.

Ezekiel laughed, his face breaking into a genuine and pleasant smile, his eyes bright and shining.

"Oh I hope so too, Beth. You may not hear from me for some time, if things go the way I'm expecting. Take care of this little one, she's special," he said, gesturing to Beth's stomach. "Not that you don't already know. Let me take care of Sam, go be a family, go live a normal life."

"I'm not sure I know how," Beth admitted.

"You'll both figure it out," he said with a confident smile.

"Are you sending me to Dean?" She asked, and Ezekiel closed his eyes, falling silent. When he opened his eyes he looked troubled.

"What is it?" Beth asked.

"I might have left it too long. I'm not sure Dean is going to make it," he said. "He's… well, he's tempting fate right now."

"What does that mean?"

"It means he might not live through it," Ezekiel replied.

"Then you have to send me to him," she said.

"But the child…"

"I don't care. Either we make it through this together, or not at all," Beth said, her breath coming short and fast. "You stole me from him, now you send me back."

"Then this very well may be the last time we see each other," Ezekiel said sadly.

"Well…. Then so be it."

There was a hesitation in Beth, just a split second. But the overwhelming fear of losing Dean washed over her and left her shaking with dread. She couldn't go through it all again, not the four months without him while he'd been in Hell. She couldn't live through that, baby or not, she knew from that time nothing would have pulled her through. Ezekiel looked at her, as if he was reading her mind, and then nodded to himself.

"Good bye, Beth."

He tapped on her forehead, and with a blinding white light, the world around her fell away.

---

Detroit

Dean closed the trunk to the Impala as Bobby and Castiel walked up to him, they all turned to look at Jefferson who was standing in the crossroads with the demon Altea, looking exceptionally friendly. He ran a hand down her arm and she sighed, looking up at him while he spoke.

"That just makes me uncomfortable," Dean said, frowning.

"He always was a bloomin' idjit, but consorting with demons?," Bobby growled next to him.

Jefferson leaned down and kissed the girl long and sensually, and both Dean and Bobby groaned, turning away while Castiel watched with curiosity.

After a moment the hunter returned and the demon vanished.

"Okay, Altea's sources are some of the best, but the only thing she could come up with was that Ezekiel has taken Beth to Heaven. And Sam… Lucifer… is headed to the final battle ground - a place called Stull…"

"Cemetery," Dean sighed and nodded confirmation. "Yeah that's what Chuck said too."

"You goin' somewhere?" Bobby asked, looking at Dean. "You're goin' to do somethin' stupid. You got that look."

"I'm gonna talk to Sam," Dean said.

"You just don't give up!" Bobby snapped.

"It's Sam!"

"If you couldn't reach him here, you're certainly not going to be able to on the battlefield," Castiel agreed with Bobby. He looked resigned to what was supposed to happen, like he'd tried and now there was nothing else left to do but… as he'd said… drink a liquor store.

"Well, if we've already lost, and I can't find Beth, I guess I got nothing to lose, right?" Dean asked.

Jefferson was the only one silent, watching and contemplating. Out of the hunters gathered, he was probably the most reckless, and that was saying something given his present company. But he was also considering the suicide run Dean was about to make, and what might happen should Beth reappear at a later date. She was his first priority, always had been - a promise made to her father over a decade ago - and he knew she wasn't going to survive without help if Dean perished on the battlefield with his brother. As such, he'd made the decision to step down - as hard as it was to see Dean go off alone.

"I just want you to understand - the only thing you're gonna see out there is Michael killing your brother," Castiel said.

"Well, then I ain't gonna let him die alone," Dean said stubbornly.

He turned on his heel, not waiting for the others, and climbed into the Impala. It roared to life and then he was spinning the wheels on the gravel of the road, pointing himself toward Kansas - Dean knew if he pushed it, he could be there by noon, and he had every intention of making it on time.

---

Stull Cemetery
Lawrence, Kansas

The angelic story is long and complex, more than we can go into here in this short moment. But I can tell you that Michael and Lucifer arrived on the ground of Stull Cemetery with resolute, but heavy hearts. Perhaps Lucifer's was the heaviest, he'd always been the most compassionate and brave of all the archangels. It had been his downfall, of course - his love for his brothers and sisters - and he'd committed atrocious things since that time, even he could admit that. But there was still a part of him who hoped that maybe, just maybe, a few decades, if not millennia without their Father in Heaven might have woken his brother up.

Lucifer arrived first, wearing Sam's body of course. He stood in the centre of the cemetery, a warm breeze blowing through the empty and overgrown boneyard. Hundreds of stone crosses and headstones stood around, most of them so old and worn that one couldn't even read the names of the people buried below them. The gates to the cemetery were propped open, almost falling off their hinges, and a fine haze caused the sleepy place to shimmer in the daylight.

A crow cawed in alarm at Lucifer's sudden arrival, flapping its wings and flying off with protest. The fallen angel looked around for signs off any other life, hearing only the twittering birds in the trees, the earthworm in the ground below him. A flap of wings caught his attention, and he turned slowly to regard his brother, who was now wearing the body of Adam, son of John Winchester.

"It's good to see you Michael," he said, feeling his heart lightened at the presence of his brother.

"You too," Michael agreed. "It's been too long."

"Can you believe it's finally here?" Lucifer asked.

"No. Not really," Michael shrugged, taking a few steps toward him. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Lucifer shrugged. He felt strong in this body. He had to have a one-up on Michael who was wearing a poor substitute for his true vessel, Dean.

"A part of me wishes we didn't have to do this," he admitted, knowing that he would definitely be killing his brother today.

"Yeah. Me too," Michael agreed.

"Then why are we?" Lucifer asked, feeling a little hope.

"Oh, you know why! I have no choice, after what you did," Michael replied.

Lucifer's ire was instantly raised.

"What I did?" Lucifer scoffed. "What if it's not my fault?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Think about it," he said. "Dad made everything. Which means he made me who I am! Hell, he practically forced me to rebel after what he did to Layiel. You were there, you saw it. No, I'm certain. God wanted the Devil."

"So?" Michael shrugged.

"So why? And why make us fight?" Lucifer pressed. "I just can't figure out the point."

"What's your point?"

"We're going to kill each other," Lucifer said. "And for what? One of Dad's tests?" He implored his brother to see reason, to choose a better path. But Micheal looked on with that time honoured angelic poker face.

"We don't even know the answer. We're brothers," Lucifer continued. "Let's just walk off the chessboard."

For a moment, Michael looked away, contemplating his brother's words.

"I'm sorry," Michael said after a moment, "I - I can't do that. I'm a good son, and I have my orders."

"But you don't have to follow them," Lucifer said.

"What, you think I'm going to rebel?" Michael asked, looking in amazement at his brother. "Now?" He shook his head. "I'm not like you."

"Please, Michael…"

"You know, you haven't changed a bit, little brother," Michael cut in. "Always blaming everybody but yourself. We were together. We were happy. But you betrayed me - all of us - and you made our father leave."

Lucifer scoffed. "Really Michael? That's how you see it? He ripped Layiel's grace out and fed her to Adam like she was a piece of meat! He locked Our Mother up because she dared to pull all of this undone because of those actions! I didn't choose this, I chose to go after and rescue our sister. For that I was excommunicated. No one makes Dad do anything. He is doing this, all of this to us."

Michael struggled with what Lucifer was saying. He had no idea how he would have reacted if their father had chosen Sariel to be Adam's wife, but he knew one thing. He was a good son, and he had his orders.

"You're a monster, Lucifer. And I have to kill you."

Lucifer sighed, haven given his best to try and rattle the angel, talk Michael out of this ridiculous plan that was going to get him killed. But, stubborn as always, his older brother was going to play the cards he was dealt.

What he didn't realise was that Lucifer was playing a whole different card game.

"If that's the way it's going to be…" he said, shrugging and setting his shoulders. "Then I'd like to see you try."

The angels started to circle each other in their vessels, sizing each other up and waiting for the other to make the first move, or to be provided with an opening to strike.

Then suddenly from the south of them, the rev of a car caught their attention.

Dean had indeed made it to the Cemetery on time - high noon with the sun finally starting to peek out from behind the clouds. He had pulled into the gates in time to see the angels talking, and now they were starting to circle, he took the moment to announce his presence, revving the car, and throwing a cassette tape into the player.

Gunter, glieben, glauchen, globen! All right! I got something to say! Hey it's better to burn out! Yeah! Than fade awa-a-a-y all right oh! Gonna start a fire!

Def Leppard's "Rock of Ages" started to blast through the speakers and Dean put the car into drive, easing her forward toward the angels, who had stopped to stare at his approach.

When he was close enough, Dean got out of the car and leaned his elbows on the roof of the car and the top of the open door.

"Howdy boys," he said with a cocky grin. "Sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

The angels stared at him like they had no idea how to respond. Dean shrugged, shutting the car door and walking up to Lucifer.

"Hey. We need to talk."

Lucifer looked sadly at the human, shaking his head. "Dean. Even for you, this is a whole new mountain of stupid."

"I'm not talking to you," Dean said, looking deeper into his brother's eyes. "I'm talking to Sam."

"You're no longer the vessel, Dean," Michael's irritatingly whiny voice sounded behind him. "You got no right to be here."

Dean turned to look at his half-brother, sighing.

"Adam, if you're in there somewhere, I am so sorry," he said.

"Adam isn't home right now," Michael replied. Dean knew instantly that he'd made the right decision to say no. The angel would have taken him over completely, with a one-way view to his own needs, never considering Dean's.

"Well, then you're next on my list, buttercup. But right now," Dean turned back to Lucifer. "I need five minutes with him."

"You little maggot. You are no longer part of this story!" Michael snapped, his face twisting in anger.

"Hey, ass-butt!" From the other direction Castiel called out, and everyone turned to see him and Bobby standing nearby, Castiel holding a bottle with a burning rag in it. He threw it, and it hit Michael was an explosion. Michael screamed and went up in flames, disappearing in front of them.

"Ass-butt?" Dean asked, stupefied.

Castiel shrugged like it was all he could think of at the time. "He'll be back," he said. "And upset - but you got your five minutes."

"Castiel?" Lucifer said, his voice sounding like steel. "Did you just molotov my brother with holy fire?"

"Uh...no?" Castiel replied with a little laugh.

"No one dicks with Michael… but me," Lucifer said, he held up his hand and snapped his fingers. In an instant, Castiel exploded in a spray of blood and chunks of meat, hitting Bobby who stared in shock.

Dean looked in horror, but turned to his brother. "Sammy, can you hear me?"

"You know," Lucifer sighed, looking to Dean. "I tried to be nice… for Sammy's sake. But you… are such a pain… in my ass."

Grabbing Dean's jacket, Lucifer lifted him up and threw him across the field into the windshield of the Impala. The glass shattered from the impact, and Dean groaned, trying to get to his feet. Lucifer stalked after him, and was brought up short by a bullet fired from Bobby's gun. It did nothing but anger the fallen angel even further. With a snap of his fingers, this time Bobby fell to the ground, his neck twisted almost all the way around and broken.

"Nooooo!" Dean yelled, watching in vain.

"Yes," Lucifer said, reaching out and grabbing Dean's legs, pulling him off the hood of the Impala, punching him hard. Dean fell back against the car, spitting out blood.

"Sammy?" He asked, turning to face the angel. "Are you in there?"

"Oh, he's in here all right," Lucifer replied, punching Dean again. "And he's going to feel the snap of your bones." He hit Dean in the face again, this time driving him to the ground.

"Every single one," Lucifer continued, hauling Dean to his feet. "We're gonna take our time." He smashed his fist into Dean again and again, smiling at the sound of bones splintering beneath the flurry of his punches.

"Sam, it's okay," Dean pressed on, not fighting back; instead he pressed his hand to Sam's jacked, holding on and looking at his brother with imploring eyes. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm here. I'm not gonna leave you."

---

Beth's eyes adjusted to the bright light just in time to see Lucifer's fist crash down into Dean's already bloody and battered face.

"No!" She yelled, running toward the car with no fear for her own safety.

"I'm not gonna leave you," she heard Dean say as he fell back against the car, and Sam raised his fist again.

"Sammy no!" Beth grabbed the arm, and Lucifer reacted, throwing her aside with a vicious hit to her stomach.

"Beth!" Dean yelled, but he couldn't get up, he couldn't move with Lucifer's hand on his shoulder, holding him down. "Sam! No!"

Beth groaned, rolling to her feet, spitting blood out. "You can't win, Lucifer."

She stumbled, pushing herself to Dean's side, looking in anguish at his swollen eye, and what looked like a broken cheekbone.

" He won't hurt us. Will you Sam?" She asked, looking defiantly up at him. "We're here Sammy."

"Sammy's not home," Lucifer said, lashing out with his fist, hitting her in the side of the head.

---

But that was a lie. Inside his cage in his mind, Sam saw a ray of light.

He saw himself reflected in the window of the Impala, and through that reflection he saw the toy soldier shoved into the ashtray. Images flashed before him, as if opening up a doorway for him to follow, so he did. First the lego he'd shoved in the Impala's vent. Then Dean and him, young, carving their initials into the door. Later, adding Beth's to it too as a way to welcome her to the family. Picture after picture of hunting with both Dean and Beth rolled in front of him. And then he saw himself kicking Beth. Dean's face when he found out about the baby that she'd lost. Lucifer…punching Beth to the stomach...hitting her in the face... and with it, something shattered in his mind.

"Nooooooooo!" He yelled, surging forward.

And then he was unclenching his fist.

Breathe!

Sam sucked in a couple of fast breaths, letting go of Dean and reaching for Beth.

"Beth."

Beth groaned, looking up at him. She was okay.

He stood up, nodding. "It's okay, Dean," he told his brother, sucking in another breath. "It's gonna be okay. I've got him."

Sam could feel Lucifer scratching at his mental walls, but he wasn't going to get control again. Not this time.

Not waiting, Sam pulled the rings out of his jeans pocket where Lucifer had put them following their showdown in Detroit. He threw them on the ground and reached a hand out toward them.

"Bvtmon tabges babalon," he spoke the words to summon the doorway, and a rush of wind sounded as the portal opened a few steps away.

Sam looked back at the Impala. Dean was cradling Beth to him, they were both staring in despair, but Sam felt a calmness enter him. He could give them this now. He was going to save them, just like they'd been doing for him his whole life.

"Sam!" Another voice yelled as Sam took a deep breath, readying himself for the Pit. It broke his concentration, and he looked to see Michael had returned, and he looked furious.

"It's not gonna end this way! Step back!" Michael yelled.

"You're gonna have to make me!" Sam called out.

"I have to fight my brother," Michael said, stepping closer as the wind from the portal whipped up a fury around them, their hair blowing in their faces.

"Here and now! It's my destiny!"

Sam didn't care about destiny. All he cared about was seeing the people he loved safe. He looked over at Dean and Beth, battered and bleeding together, but they were alive. They had each other. It was enough. He closed his eyes with this image in mind, and spread his arms out, turning his back to the portal and allowing himself to fall backwards.

Michael lunged forward at the falling Sam, grabbing his jacket. Sam's eyes snapped open, and he grabbed at Michael in return, the momentum pulling them over the edge and into oblivion. Then they were falling, down into the darkness, and above him Sam saw the portal shut, all light instantly gone.

He had done it.

---

From their place at the Impala, Dean and Beth watched in horror as Sam took Michael with him into the Pit. Then with a blinding flash of light, the hole closed over, leaving only the shining rings of the horseman.

"Oh God," Beth gasped, holding Dean's jacket. "Oh no, oh no."

Dean closed his eyes and pulled Beth closer, his arm wrapping tightly around her shoulders.

"It's okay," he promised, feeling his heart break as she started to sob in his arms. "It's gonna be okay."

Deep down he didn't know how any of this was ever going to be okay. But he'd promised his brother he'd at least try and make a life for their little family. He thought about the blow Beth had taken to the stomach and felt his chest clench, but Beth was moving, he had to hope she was okay. He raised his eyes to the sky, and for the first time in a long time he prayed.

In answer, there was a flap of wings, and Castiel appeared next to them, in his usual trenchcoat.

"I'm here."

Dean stared.

"Cas… you're alive?" He asked.

"I'm better than that," Cas announced confidently. He reached out and touched Dean's forehead, and instantly the wounds healed. He then looked at Beth and sighed, repeating the gesture to her.

Dean pushed himself to his feet, and then helped Beth stand, still holding her close with his arm around her waist.

"Cas, are you God?" He asked, confused at how the angel had regained his mojo.

Cas smiled and chuckled. "That's a nice compliment. But, no. Although, I do believe he brought me back. New and improved."

Castiel shook his body and rolled his head to the side with a crack. He turned to see Bobby's dead body on the ground and walked over, reaching down to repeat his healing move.

Dean looked down at the horseman's rings, still on the ground a few feet away and walked over to collect them, staring at them in his hand. Beth moved beside him, smiling sadly.

---

Chuck stared at his keyboard.

Endings are hard.

Any chapped-ass monkey with a keyboard can poop out a beginning, but endings are impossible. You try to tie up every loose end, but you never can. The fans are always gonna bitch. There's always gonna be holes. And since it's the ending, it's all supposed to add up to something. I'm telling you, they're a raging pain in the ass.

---

Before long, Dean, Beth and Castiel were back on the road. Beth was in the back, trying to get some sleep, and Cas was riding shotgun with Dean at the wheel.

"What are you gonna do now?" Dean asked after a few hours on the road as they headed toward Sioux Falls.

"Return to Heaven, I suppose."

"Heaven?" Dean asked.

"With Michael in the Cage, and half the archangels on the run from the others, I'm sure it's total anarchy up there," he said with a shrug.

"So, what you're the new sheriff in town?" Dean asked skeptically.

Cas smiled. "I like that. Yeah, I suppose I am," he said.

"Wow," Dean said, shaking his head. "God gives you a brand-new, shiny set of wings, and suddenly you're his bitch again."

"I don't know what God wants," Cas said with a sigh. "I don't know if he'll even return. It just… seems like the right thing to do."

"Well," Dean said, contemplating. "If you do see him, you tell him I'm coming for him next."

Cas looked surprised at his companion. "You're angry."

"That's an understatement."

"He helped," Cas said. "Maybe even more than we realise."

"That's easy for you to say," Dean said. "He brought you back. But what about Sam? What about Beth, and me, huh? Where's our grand prize? All we got is our brother in a hole!"

"You got what you asked for, Dean," Cas said in his monotone voice. "No paradise. No Hell. Just more of the same. So go live your life with your wife, and child."

Dean sighed, looking in the mirror at Beth as she slept.

"I mean it Dean. What would you rather have? Peace or freedom?"

Dean turned to ask Cas exactly what he meant by that, but the angel had vanished, leaving him alone; just the long dark road ahead, illuminated only by the headlights of the car, and precious cargo sleeping in the back seat.

Dean sighed.

"Well you really suck at good-byes, you know that?"

---

Returning to Sioux Falls, Dean and Beth were quickly reminded of all the things that had brought them to this moment. And so, this would be the last Dean and Beth would see of Bobby for a very long time. And, for the record, at this point next week, Bobby will be hunting a rugaru outside of Dayton. But not Dean and Beth. Dean didn't want Cas to save him. Every part of him, every fiber he's got, wants to die, or find a way to bring Sam back. But he isn't gonna do either. Because he made a promise.

---

Dean pulled the car up in front of Lisa's house, looking at the lights still on even though it had to be ridiculous o'clock. He glanced over at Beth who was staring down at her hands, her rosary trailing through her fingers. She'd not stopped praying it the whole way here, and Dean didn't know what to do other than to love her, and hope that perhaps Lisa would have some idea on how to help her through their loss. Because he didn't think he could do it on his own.

He'd recalled how Lisa had supported Sam and Beth through his own death in the early months of his loss, and that had swayed his decision not to return to Blue Earth, but instead to point the car toward Cicero.

"Come on," he said gently, seeing the porch light come on and the door open. "Let's go."

As the couple stepped up on to the lawn in front of the house Lisa met them at the bottom of the stairs, her breath coming quickly.

"Hey, Lisa," Dean ventured, his voice breaking.

"Oh thank God," she said. "Are you guys all right?"

She'd been waiting to hear… or not hear… hoping against hope that the ominous premonition of Dean's earlier in the month had been wrong. That the end of the world wasn't going to happen. The earthquakes had appeared, and disappeared just as quickly. It was then that she'd known Dean, Beth and Sam had done something risky, and probably deadly, to save them all - and now, staring at the couple, minus their brother - she knew they'd paid a steep price.

Beth sniffed back another tear, and Dean bit his lip, nodding as he put his arm around her.

"Yeah," he replied. "We uh… if it's not too late… we'd like to take you up on that offer of somewhere to stay. Just until ..."

Lisa's face softened and she nodded quickly so that Dean didn't have to finish that sentence.

"Of course," she said. "Ben will be thrilled."

She then stepped forward and pulled them both into a hug, holding the broken couple close as they wrapped their arms around her.

"It's okay," Lisa promised. "It's gonna be okay."

---

So, what's it all add up to? It's hard to say. But me, I'd say this was a test... for Sam and Dean and Beth. And I think they did all right. Up against good, evil, angels, devils, destiny, and God himself, they made their own choice. They chose family. And, well... isn't that kinda the whole point?

No doubt.

Endings are hard.

But then again… nothing ever really ends, does it?

---

AUTHOR'S NOTES

---

Song for this chapter is: Pray for Me by The Weeknd

And that's the end of Season Five! A few additions to the story which I'm hoping to cover in more depth in Where Angels Fear to Tread - it's all a part of my expanding storyline and universe. Glimpses into some of the "spin offs" so to speak.

As always, I hope you enjoyed the story as presented, and stick around for the upcoming Season 6. I'm definitely still going ahead with future seasons, just slow going between real life commitments.

Please leave a review or PM me with any thoughts or comments, I love to get your feedback and encouragement - it definitely makes me want to keep writing.

In saying that - I want to acknowledge reader perfectly-paradox who got me inspired to complete this chapter and get a move on with the stories! Thank you very much for the vote on confidence and support.

Thank you all for joining me on this journey and I hope to see you all over at the new book (Season 6!) when it's released.