Ch 12

Dean, Sam and River sat in a crowded bar, drinking cheap beer and laughing about the giant suicidal teddy bear they had run into during their last case. The poor stuffed animal had been brought to life by the innocent wish of his young owner. River giggled when Dean mentioned being a Teddy Bear doctor. "Just when I think we've hit the pinnacle of weird we find giant self loathing Pooh Bears," she sighed as Dean got up from the table to get another round of beer. She watched him sidle up to the bar and wait for their drinks, "You think he's ok?" She asked Sam quietly. Sam looked across the table at her and over to his brother.

"I don't know. Why?" he shifted in his seat, remembering the night Dean spent with the bar tender at Oktoberfest.

"He just….sometimes he's great, we're great," she nervously peeled at the label on her beer bottle, "and other times he says things or looks at me like he wants to claw my eyes out." She watched as Dean chatted to the Platinum Blonde sipping a Cosmo at the bar. They could tell from where they were sitting Dean was enjoying the conversation by the way he kept shifting closer to her. "He has these nightmares. They're bad, he mumbles a lot; sounds like a name over and over. He won't talk about it. And he does shit like that," she pointed her chin towards Dean, "Do I get jealous? Do I ignore it? This is new territory for me. An actual adult relationship…sorry Sam. I'm talking to you like were girlfriends and you're not his brother."

"Look, I'm his brother but I am your friend too. Are you ok?"

"I'm trying to be," she answered. River chewed her bottom lip and looked back at Sam, "Do you think things would've been different…do you think I should've gone with Loki?"

Sam took a deep breath and sat heavily back in his chair, "I don't…no. It might've bought you some time but you never would've stopped running. She would've found you." River nodded and wiped a stray tear that had fallen out of the corner of her eye.

"I think about it a lot, Sam. If they would be alive…I wouldn't them to have this life." Sam reached across the table and gave her hand a quick squeeze. "I love him, Sam. I love both of you and I'm talking to much because I'm kind of drunk… I also love alcohol." She and Sam laughed and happily took the drinks Dean handed them when he finally returned to the table.

Several states away a young woman sat in cold, white room. She stared out a barred window and listened intently to something only she could hear. Her dark red hair shone brightly in the filtered sunlight, her green eyes dulled with the effects of antipsychotic medications. "Anna?" another woman sat in a chair across the room, her clipboard balanced on her bent knee. She scratched a few notes on the paper and watched the younger woman. "Anna? Do you know where you are?"

The woman blinked several times and seemed to come back to reality, "Yes? Sorry, doctor. I'm…I'm at…" she looked down at her plastic ID bracelet, noticing it for the first time. She looked around the sterile room, saw the hard bed she was sitting on and the blonde woman sitting in the metal chair across from her.

"You're at the Beverly Connor behavioral health hospital," the psychiatrist said, "I'm Dr. Jones. You attacked your father, do you remember that? Three people had to pull you off of him and restrain you." Anna nodded and turned back to the window, head tilting and listening again to the strange musical buzzing that echoed in her head.

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone," Anna said after a moment, "I was trying to warn him, warn everyone."

"Warn them about what, Anna?"

"I'm not crazy…" she inhaled deeply and plucked at the ID band on her wrist, "The end is coming, the apocalypse. There's this demon, Lilith, she's trying to free Lucifer from his cage."

"The apocalypse and Lucifer like in the Bible?" Dr. Jones asked, writing down another note.

Anna nodded, "Yes basically, look Lilith has to break the 66 seals to free Lucifer from Hell and then he will be free to walk the Earth." She stopped talking and drifted towards the window again.

"Anna?" the doctor stopped writing and watched the young woman, "You were saying there are 66 seals in the world…"

Anna turned away from the window and stared at the doctor, "No, there are over 600 possible seals but Lilith only has to break 66 and the Angels don't know which ones she gonna go after. It's nearly impossible to stop her, that's why the Angels are losing and that's why we're all gonna die." The one on one session ended shortly after when Anna turned away from her doctor and focused solely on the sound in her head.

"You sure you got this?" Dean asked quietly. River nodded and slid off her bar stool, she walked on unsteady legs towards the jukebox in the corner behind the pool table. Dean watched over his bottle of beer as she picked a song and began swaying her hips. She turned towards the pool table and watched two strangers play. One of the men landed a perfect shot, sinking a ball cleanly into a far corner pocket.

"Wow! Was that like a hole in one?" River stumbled up to the pool table and asked the large, bald man that had made the shot. He smirked down at her then at his partner, she peered up through hooded eyes, "You're really good. Could you teach me how to play?" The men eagerly agreed to show her the basics. Sam moved quietly closer but still managed to keep his huge body from drawing the mens attention. By the time the third song ended on the jukebox, River was bent over the pool table, pool cue in hand and ass pressing into the pelvis of the guy giving her a "lesson". She slid the pool cue forward and hit the wrong ball with a loud 'clank', the ball went flying off the table and was caught mid-air by Dean as he stumbled forward.

"Hey, Baby! How about you come with me and I teach you a better game?" he slurred.

River rolled her eyes at him, "Fuck off, pretty boy." The two men she'd been playing with laughed stupidly.

"You heard her pal, fuck off. She's busy, gonna be busy later too," the bigger one said stepping up to Dean.

"Hey, I never said that…" River mumbled taking another swig of beer.

"Well, then how about we play for this," Dean pulled out a wad of cash, "Winner take all, including you princess."

"Yeah, I bet Steve could beat you no problem!" River said, hooking an arm around the waist of big, tall and dumb. "You could beat him, right Steve?"

"My name's Alan," he said, "I win, you comin' home with me?"

"I'll suck you off on in the parking lot if you beat his flannel clad ass," River whispered loudly and tried to wink but ended up blinking awkwardly. Alan pulled out some money from his wallet, counted it then asked his friend for the contents of his wallet. When it still wasn't enough he stalked angrily to the ATM near the entrance. River took another sip of her beer and briefly met Dean's eyes before sitting on a bar stool. She'd seen Dean and Sam play this con out a few times over the last few weeks, this was the first time she'd been the bait. She watched as Dean led the man into a false sense of security, waiting for his opening. Dean took his first shot, then another and another; never missing, sinking ball after ball. The game was over and Alan and his friend stood their dumbstruck as Dean counted his money.

"Wait! Double or nothin!" Alan yelled as Dean turned away from the table, tucking the larger wad of cash into his pocket.

Dean's eyebrows shot up and he smiled widely as he faced the taller man, "You sure you got enough?"

"Two grand! Two thousand dollars!" Dean said happily as the three walked back into the Impala less than an hour later, "You were born for the grift, princess."

River smiled as she pulled her layers of flannel back on,"I smell like douchebag and Doritos, can we get an actual real motel room now with running water."

"I'll suck you off in the parking lot?" Dean laughed, "Jesus…the mouth on you. I think we're gonna get two rooms, Sammy." The hunters stoped short of the Impala when they saw the short, thin Auburn haired demon Ruby leaning against the car.

"What the fuck do you want, Ruby?" River said crossing her arms over her chest. The demon smiled coyly.

"Just came to pass on some intel. I've been hearing whispers, rumbles about a woman named Anna Milton," the demon glanced at River and Dean before turning her attention to Sam. "She escaped from a locked psychiatric ward yesterday. Demons want her bad."

"That's great Ruby, sounds real interesting, but we're busy. Working a case." Dean interjected.

"What case, Dean? Maybe we should check it out. What do demons want with her?" Sam asked.

"Don't know but the orders are to capture and deliver her alive," Ruby continued.

"What's the name of the hospital?" Sam asked, avoiding the green eyed glare of his brother.

The two rooms and warm showers were forgotten as the hunters barreled towards the psychiatric hospital Anna escaped from. "Ok, well thank you officer. Please email me a copy of that missing persons report," River hung up her cellphone and readjusted in the back seat, "Well, Anna Milton is a real person."

Sam nodded and Dean huffed, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "What, Dean?" Sam demanded.

"This hospitals a three day drive," Dean grumbled.

"We've gone further on less," Sam countered, "Say whats really on your mind." Dean took a breath but before he could say anything River piped up.

"I will, if that's ok. I know you two are getting kind of used to me being the silent backseat fixture but I got something to say," River sat forward, "Ruby is a demon bitch from hell that gave us just enough info last time to hang ourselves, she strung you and Dean along for months offering answers and never once fucking delivering. And yet here we are driving into who knows what…and I just don't understand why you keep trusting her."

Dean glanced over his shoulder at her and she shrugged her shoulders and leaned back into the soft bucket seat. "I told you she helped me go after, Lilith." Sam said looking between his brother and River.

Dean shook his head, "Yeah, wow, Sammy thanks for the snapshot. 'cause I just kind of figured it would have to have been something major for you to buddy up with a frickin' demon. Maybe just fill in a little detail for us."

"Yeah, sure lets trade stories," Sam said annoyed, "You first Dean. How was Hell? Don't spare the details. Then River and your personal episode of 'Touched by an Angel." Dean grit his jaw but said nothing, River sat back and hugged herself tightly watching as lightening streaked across the sky.

"So the orderly has no memory of the night Anna escaped?" River asked Anna's psychiatrist. The three day drive to the hospital had been filled with longs miles of silence in the Impala, none of the hunters wanting to be the first to offer up a story.

Dr. Jones nodded, "He received some head trauma during the incident and it's caused some amnesia. He can't even remember coming into her room that night." Dean scanned the room, checking the windows that were barred and locked, under the bed and around the door frame.

River nodded, "This is all new for Anna, right? You said up until a few months ago she was fine, a journalism major, had an internship…"

"Right, bright future, lots of friends, doting parents. Thats the tragedy of the whole thing."

"So what happened? She just flipped out one day?" Dean asked as they walked into the hallway.

"Well that's how schizophrenia manifests. One day you're a well adjusted young adult the next you're having delusions," the doctor continued.

"What kind of delusions?" Sam asked.

"She thought…demons were everywhere," she handed Sam one of Anna's sketch books. River stood next to him and looked at the drawings, several of them were of the same rose and violet stained glass window and a cross. "It's not uncommon for our patients to believe that monsters are real," the doctor said quietly. Sam turned the page and on it was drawn 'The Rising of the Witnesses' along with the sigil. The three hunters shared a quick glance.

"Well, thats just cuckoo." Dean said. The next page contained a drawing of a demon and the phrase, 'Samhain is risen and the seal broken.' "That's revelations." Dean muttered.

"Well Anna's father is a church deacon. Many of her drawings and hallucinations have religious overtones. She had recently become obsessed that a demon named Lilith is trying to rise Satan from Hell so he can walk the Earth…I hope you can find her, she is terribly ill." The three hunters thanked the doctor for her time and left the hospital.

"So, um yeah. Guess this is our type of case," River said quietly as they got back into the car. "We should go check in on her parents." Dean agreed and the three drove across town. The Milton family home was a Victorian style two story house in an older, quiet neighborhood. They climbed the front steps and rang the doorbell. No sound or movement came from inside the house.

"Maybe they're not home," Dean said, trying to look through the frosted glass.

"When have we ever been that lucky?" River said looking at the cars in the driveway, "Two cars in the driveway." She reached around Dean and checked the doorknob, the door swung open. "Mmmhmm" she murmured pulling her gun out and stepping inside quietly, "Mr. and Mrs. Milton, we're here from the Sheriffs department." A clock chimed loudly from inside the home but no one answered. "We just want to ask…shit." Mr. and Mrs. Milton lay in the middle of their living room floor, throats slit and blood curdled into cold puddles. Sam leaned down and ran his fingers through yellow dust that was scattered on the floor.

"Sulfur," Sam said disgustedly after he sniffed the rotten egg stench that wafted from his fingertips.

"Demons beat us here. They want this Anna chick bad," River said stepping around the dead bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Milton.

"So cuckoo ka-choo breaks out of the looney bin and doesn't come straight home. Where does she go?" Dean asked. Sam looked at the pictures on the mantel and picked one up, it showed the three members of the Milton family standing in front of a gabled church with a beautiful stained glass window.

"Look at this, looks like the one in her sketch book," Sam showed the other two the family photo. "It's the same window. If you were running and scared and had demons on your ass where would you go?" The hunters quickly changed out of their Fed suits and headed towards the church that Anna's father was a deacon at.

Dean parked the Impala in front of the church and the trio quietly entered the dark building. They quickly searched the church and found Anna hiding in her fathers office. "Anna?" River called out gently, she tucked her gun into her waistband and waived at the Winchesters to do the same. "We aren't going to hurt you. We're here to help you, " she continued, peaking around the statue where she noticed furtive movement. "I'm River and these are my friends Sam and Dean."

"Winchester?"a dulcet voice rang out cautiously. A lithe, thin woman stepped out from the shadows. "You're Sam and you're Dean. The 'Dean Winchester'."

Dean smiled shyly, "Yeah. The 'Dean Winchester' I guess."

"You were in hell and Castiel saved you. And the Angels talk about you, some of them think you can save us," she continued. "And some of them don't like you at all," she said turning towards Sam, "And you, most of them don't like you either, you're supposed to be dead." River smiled and silently mouthed "ok". "The angels talk about you all the time. I feel like I know you."

"Wait, you talk to Angels?" River asked.

"No, no, no. No way. They probably don't even know I exist. They talk and I hear them, sometimes in my head. They're so loud I can't get rid of the noise."

River nodded her head absorbing Anna's story. "So you get locked up for a case of the crazies but in reality you were just tuning into Angel radio?" Dean said.

Anna's face broke into a beautiful smile, "Yes! Thank you! That's it. I'm not crazy!" ,she said gratefully.

"Anna, when did the voices start, can you remember ?" River asked her.

She nodded, "Yes, I remember exactly. I was at home with my parents. It was September 18th."

River rubbed her temple and the brothers exchanged a look. "The day I got outta hell," Dean said quietly.

"Yes. I heard when it happened. A voice rang out clear as a bell, first words I heard on Angel radio," Anna stepped closer to Dean, "It yelled 'Dean Winchester is Saved."

"That's why the demons are after you," Dean said, "You can hear everything the other side is planning." The hunter smiled at Anna and she returned the smile.

"You could be their Enigma Machine," River said, "We should go. We need to get you somewhere safe." A door slammed downstairs and the hunters turned towards the staircase as they heard footsteps running up. Ruby rushed in a second later.

"Oh, good you found her first," she said out of breath, "We need to go."

Anna let out a startled yell and stepped back, "Her face! Her face!"

River turned to the other redhead, "It's ok. She's a demon but she's…I don't fucking know actually."

"She's on our side, Anna" Sam told her, "What's going on Ruby? How did you find us?"

"We can catch up later. We need to run, now! Someones coming, big time Demon."

Dean scoffed, "Yeah? What are the odds you happen to show up here, right now after we just find Anna. And you got some hotshot demon on your tail?"

"They didn't follow me, asshole. They followed you from the girls house," Ruby said.

"Dean, look." River pointed to a marble statue of the Virgin Mary, it had begun to weep tears of blood.

"We're too late," Ruby murmured, "He's here."

River grabbed Anna by the shoulders and led the woman away, finding a closet and shoving her inside, "Stay in here, stay quiet. It'll be ok." The door to the office exploded inwards and they watched as an older, white haired man strode calmly in.

"Sam you have to exorcise him or we are all dead!" Ruby yelled. Sam stood up to meet him, stretching out his hand and closing his eyes in concentration. The man stopped, raised a hand to his throat and coughed, his white pupils shining brightly for a moment.

The man cleared his throat and then smiled. His voice was nasally, almost to the point of being high pitched, "Sam, you don't have the juice to fight off something like me." With a flick of his wrist he sent the tall hunter flying ten feet through the air and tumbling down the stair well. Dean saw his younger brother be swatted aside by the demon and pulled out the demon killing knife from his jacket. He charged the demon with a feral growl, swinging the knife up in a deadly arch. The demon caught Dean around the neck, lifted him several feet of the ground and slammed him into the wall. The impact caused Dean to loose his grip on the knife and it clattered uselessly to the ground. "Hello, again Dean" the demon said slamming a fist into the side of Dean's face. "Don't recognize me in my new meat suit? It was a pediatrician." The demon punched Dean again, knocking his head back into the wall. "We were so close, you and I down in Hell," the demon sneered, raising Dean off his feet. Ruby ran away from the fight to the closet Anna was hiding in, wrenched open the door and grabbed the screaming woman.

"Alastair?" Dean croaked. Alastair opened his mouth to reply but was cut short when the sharp tip of the demon knife was plunged into his back. He cringed in pain and dropped Dean turning to face his assailant. River stood behind him holding the dagger out in a defensive stance.

"You stupid little gnat," he growled. She gave him a half smile and feinted left, swinging the knife to the right and stabbing into the demons upper arm. "Bitch!" he hissed, he reached out with his uninjured hand and sent River flying into the Virgin Mary statue. Alastair leaned over in pain, pulling at the knife. Sam rushed back up the stairs, saw River laying in dazed heap and Dean fighting to stay conscious.

"Get up, up!" Sam grabbed River under her arms and hauled to her feet as Dean struggled to his own feet. The hunters glanced at each other and then to the large stained glass window.

"Anyone have pixie dust?" River asked sarcastically before they ran at the window and crashed to the ground twenty feet below. They scrambled into the Impala and Dean sped away from the church in a cloud of dust and screeching tires.

"Sit still, Sam, or I will tie you down," River muttered angrily as Sam jerked away again. She held a needle in her bloody fingers and sewed another stitch into the deep gash in his arm. "Done. Your turn Dean." Dean stood in front of the motel sink and spat another mouth full of blood into the white porcelain basin.

"Sam can do it," Dean cradled his arm against chest trying to support his dislocated shoulder.

"Don't be a baby," she pointed to the chair Sam had vacated. He took a long swallow of whiskey and then sat down, gripping the edge of the chair with his good hand. Sam picked up the bottle and took a healthy dose himself. "One of you two lushes needs to be sober enough to sew up my back…ready on the count of one." River pulled up and out on Dean's arm, smiling when the satisfying 'pop' let her know she popped his shoulder back in place. "My turn." River gingerly pulled her shirt off over head and sat on the bed so Sam could stitch up the bleeding wound underneath her shoulder blade.

"Your bra's in the way," Sam muttered.

"Then take it off, Sammy," River said winking at him.

He shook his head and blushed, "Dean, I can't I'm sorry. Get over here." River laughed at him as he changed places with his brother. Dean sat down heavily behind her, gently prodding around the gash with calloused fingers before unclasping her bra.

"Your stitches are prettier anyways," she gasped as the needle bit into her skin.

"I should probably check out the one on your thigh too," he whispered into her ear.

She turned to face him, "I lost the demon killing knife."

"We'll get it back," Dean said, "Wanna join me in the shower?"

"Mmm, yeah in a few," River glanced at Sam, then back to Dean, "Who was that demon? You knew his name. I heard you say it. 'Alastair'... I've heard you say it in your sleep."

Dean rubbed his hands down his face, "He's no one good, we need to stay as far away from his as possible and we need to find Anna." River sighed as Dean deflected her real question.

"Anna's fine, Ruby has her." Sam answered.

"Sam, say that statement again. But slower and try and notice the problems with it," River said digging through her duffle bag for clean clothes. "Ruby probably used us to find Anna and brought that douchebag with the freaky voice along to kill us." She stood up holding her clean clothes to her chest and stepped into the bathroom.

"Listen, we just need to lay low and wait for Ruby to contact us. When it's safe and we have a plan we'll get Anna back," Sam said. The shower started a moment later and Dean watched from the doorway as River stepped under the steaming water.

"I just don't understand why you trust her so much," Dean said quietly, "We deserve to know, after everything that's gone down this last year. You need to tell us what's going on." Dean walked to the bathroom and shut the door.