"That's ridiculous! H-How is that even possible?" she asked, almost sounding hurt, "Where did the pictures come from? My car? The research? What-"

"We just learned about it too," Sam reassured her gently, "You were… supposed to exist. Whoever handles that said you were supposed to exist, that all of your memories were supposed to happen. All the stuff you came with - the car, the pictures, your research - was supposed to be with you. But… Azazel killed our mom when she was pregnant with you, so your soul got called back to Heaven and placed in a vault."

"The Null Souls Vault," Dean continued just as nicely, making sure not to take his eyes away from hers. She looked about to cry, and he wanted her to know that they were still there for her. "Apparently, when a soul's birth is stopped because of demon interference, they store the souls in the vault. And if a soul is let out, they manifest in the body and the memories they would have had if they had been allowed to exist normally. Naomi was freaking out about it, saying your soul was under tighter security so it wouldn't be used as leverage-"

"Or so they could use it for leverage," Sam said interjected bitterly.

"Or that. But she came after us when we were out getting your… supplies, and accused us of doing something to let you out," Dean finished. Olivia's jaw went slack as the information sank in. It took a few more minutes of explaining before she fully understood all of what they suspected happened, but it didn't ease the blow. Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes but she kept them in by sheer force of will. She tried to excuse her sniffling as both of her brothers came to sit next to her.

"Damn hormones," she spat under her breath, "So, who let me- my soul- Uh… who let this happen?"

"Not sure," Sam replied, "Does it matter that much to you?"

Olivia pursed her lips in thought, then shook her head. "No, I'm just… angry. I mean, on the one hand, I'm grateful I exist, even if my memories are a lie that only I remember. But on the other hand…"

A tear managed to penetrate her defenses as she barked angrily, "It means that you two have been alone! No Dad, no Mom, no one when you really needed it! When one of you was dead or in Hell, you were just… alone! Why would they let that happen? They could have let me out to help you, comfort you, give you an advantage over Hell! But no! I was just a bargaining chip?!" With those last few words, she pushed the books in front of her away angrily, stomping as hard as she could in her bare feet towards the kitchen. The men shared a quick look between them and followed to find her getting out a huge slab of beef that had been marinating in a bowl and slamming it on a cutting board. Then she got out a meat tenderizer and began beating the beef with extreme vigor. Dean opened his mouth to say something when she launched into another anger-fueled panic.

"And what if one of you had stayed dead?! Then what? Who else is dead? What else has happened that I don't know about? And why the Hell am I here?" she grunted, punctuating each question with a slam of the metal mallet. "And who am I really? Did I make up the name Olivia? Why are you being so nice - I'm a stranger! I'm not your sister even though I- I just- Where is Bobby? Where is Dad? What's going on?! I don't understand, DAMN IT ALL!"

With an anguished scream, she chucked the tenderizer at the kitchen wall (it made a hole where it stayed headfirst - the brothers couldn't help but be mildly impressed) and turned around to punch the other wall. This also left a hole, but they also heard the possible crunch of bone, so Sam picked her up by her waist from behind and Dean grabbed her hands as they aimed more blows at the wall. Olivia struggled against them for a moment, kicking to try and get Sam to drop her (the fact that he was easily holding her up about five inches off the ground would have been funny if the situation was not so serious), but finally she gave up… and burst into angry, helpless waterfall-like tears.

Neither Sam or Dean were good with crying women. They had been stolid, monster-hunting bachelors for most of their lives, with a couple of exceptions. But something almost instinctual kicked in as they began to comfort their little sister. Sam let her back onto the ground where she crumpled, but he knelt down with her and kept holding onto her. Dean followed suit, holding both of his little siblings tightly. In a fit of something primal and protective that he didn't understand, he even kissed the top of her head, but that seemed to upset her more as she cried harder into his shoulder. Neither of the brothers knew what to say, so they just let her cry, wishing that there was another woman around to help. They understood why she was crying, and she sure as hell had every right to, but they didn't know what to say.

After a few minutes of crying, she hiccuped a bit and whispered, "Where's Dad? Where's Bobby?"

"Bobby's in Heaven, and Dad's… moved on too," Dean said sadly, leaning his cheek on her head.

"Azazel? Please tell me he's still dead," she pleaded.

"He is. He's gone. Dean got him with the Colt," Sam assured.

"Ruby? Lilith? Lucifer?"

"Dead, dead, and in the Cage," Dean replied.

"Meg?"

"Dead," Sam answered, and Olivia let out a low wail. Sam and Dean looked at each other in alarm. They felt her hands ball up to fists as she began hitting her legs with each sentence.

"She can't be!" Olivia sobbed, "I made sure she was safe! I insisted I stay and help her defend you against Crowley so you could get the Tablet! Crowley left! She was standing right beside me! She can't be dead! She's my best friend! Please, no, she can't be dead!"

"I'm sorry," Sam whispered into her hair. Olivia's sobs shook her body and she clung to her brothers more fiercely.

"She'd reformed! I figured out how to bind her demon powers, and she did it willingly!" she cried, and Dean's eyebrows shot up, impressed. Sam nodded, also intrigued, but both of their eyes softened at what she wailed out next, her teeth chattering with pent up emotion, "Does C-Cass know? They w-were f-friends! Sh-She saved his life! They're our friends!"

"I… I don't know if Cass knows," Dean confessed, "He just… disappeared. Did that happen with you too?"

Olivia nodded and sniffed hard. "He disappeared, but then he left a letter for us to tell us not to worry. And he left a special letter for Meg… They kind of liked each other, and she took it kind of hard, but she's…"

"Shhh…" Sam soothed and handed her a dish towel to wipe her nose on. She did, scrunching up her face at the scratchiness, and went a little limp in her brothers' arms. The Winchesters just sat in the kitchen in their little huddle for a while longer, Olivia sobbing and Dean and Sam trying to be as comforting as possible, until Olivia breathed a final shaky, watery sigh.

"What are we going to do?" she asked, "Our greatest assets against Crowley are either in the wind or… no longer with us. And Garth can't do everything, he's… overwhelmed."

"We… don't know. We were just going to research until we found some sort of hint," Sam answered, and he felt Olivia nod against him.

"Help me up?" The boys did as she asked, and the three of them marched, a little worse for wear, back to their library. Olivia slid down into her chair, put her glasses back on, and resumed her whirlwind of studying, her bare feet crossed under her. Dean resumed his book, and Sam went into the shelves to look for one for himself, when suddenly Olivia yelped and jumped out of her chair.

"The tri-tip!" she cried and hurried back into the kitchen. Both of her brothers tried very hard not to laugh as they heard her mutter curses and put the meat back in the refrigerator, closing the door with a slam and a very unladylike swear. She burst out of the kitchen, blushing and fuming, and resumed her seat for the third time. Dean could spot a speck of marinade on her face, but he chose not to agitate her further, and the rest of the morning was spent in sad silence.