Hell To Pay

by belladonna78

Sequel to 'All Hell Breaks Loose'. Beth is now reeling from the fact that Dean sold his soul in order to get her out of the deal she made with the crossroads demon to bring Sam back to life. How will they cope with the sobering thought that in a year's time, Dean is going to Hell, and there's nothing they can do about it? Dean/OC. Slightly AU. Rated MA for smut

18. Mystery Spot

I think I've already lost you
I think you're already gone
I think I'm finally scared now
And you think I'm weak, I think you're wrong

I think you're already leaving
Feels like your hand is on the door
I thought this place was an empire
And now I'm relaxed and I can't be sure

But I think you're so mean, I think we should try
I think I could need this in my life
And I think I'm scared, I think too much
I know it's wrong, it's a problem I'm dealing

If you're gone maybe it's time to come home
There's an awful lot of breathing room but I can hardly move
And if you're gone, baby, you need to come home
'Cause there's a little bit of something me in everything in you

---

MYSTERY SPOT

---

Broward County, Florida

Motel Room

Beth's POV

Heat of the moment!

My eyes snapped open to Asia's Heat of the moment at the same time that Sam sat up in bed with a grimace. I rolled over to see Dean already dressed, sitting up and tying his shoelaces.

Tell you what your heart is...

"Rise and shine guys!" Dean said cheerfully and I groaned, pulling the pillow over my head.

"Dude, Asia?" Sam asked, and I was right there with him.

"Come on, you love this song and you know it," Dean said.

"Yeah, and if I ever hear it again I'm gonna kill myself, " Sam said.

"Ditto!" I said in fully support of that sentiment.

"Awww, come on, Beth... you know you love it. Get up!"

"Noooo!" I whined, it had been a long night and I sorely wanted a sleep in.

Dean shifted on the bed and suddenly the music got louder. I looked out from under the pillow and saw Dean bopping along to the music, a silly grin on his face. Sam shook his head at him. Dean pointed at Sam as he moved to the beat, and then spun around to include me in his little act, lip syncing to the music.

Heat of the moment. Heat of the moment. Showed in your eyes.

I sighed and dragged myself to a sitting position, looking over at Dean who stopped and grinned at me.

"You're so cute when you're grumpy," he said, leaning across to kiss me. I couldn't help but smile at that.

By the time I was getting out of the shower, Dean was in the bathroom brushing his teeth. He was doing his usual gargling and carry on which drove everyone up the wall including myself.

"You done yet?" I asked as I put some toothpaste on my own toothbrush and attempted to get a look in at the mirror.

"Mmm," Dean said, rinsing out his mouth and stepping back from the sink. I smiled and took his place, starting to scrub at my teeth while he watched. With a grin he sidled up behind me and slid his hands around my waist, a couple of stray fingers sliding in between the folds of the towel I had tied around my torso.

I groaned with a mouth full of toothpaste and shook my head before spitting it out and leaning down to rinse my mouth out. Dean took this as in invitation to shift his hand and slide it along my bare behind, taking in an appreciative breath.

"What are you doing? Are you serious?" I asked with a laugh and when I looked up in the mirror I saw his cheeky expression had bled away to one of intense lust.

"I'm always serious about this, cherry-pie, you know that," he said with a grin, spinning me around to face him so he could claim my lips with his own, sliding his hand back under the towel and riding it up over my buttocks as he pushed me against the sink, deepening the kiss.

I moaned and wrapped my arms around his neck, returning the kiss with a deepening hunger. So maybe it had been a bit of a long month, especially since Dean had been a bit broody since we'd all gate crashed his dream space; he seemed to be struggling a little with what he'd seen in there, and I couldn't say I blamed him – it had been frightening to see a demonic version of Dean, and I couldn't imagine what it would have been like if I'd been in his shoes. I had enough demonic Dean dreams as was without adding in a demonic version of myself.

There was the sound of a voice clearing from the doorway which was half open and Sam stuck his head in, rolling his eyes at us and the embrace we were locked in.

"Whenever you're ready, guys," he said with a sigh.

I chuckled and nodded at Sam, pulling away from Dean who groaned his protest. I shrugged at him and gave him a little sympathetic smile.

"Well, you know, you were the one keen to start the day," I said with a grin.

"Yeah, I should have stayed in bed with you; but you know, you didn't come to bed in that towel," he said, looking at me with narrowed eyes.

"Get us our own room tonight, and I'll come to bed wearing even less than a towel," I promised him with a salacious look, and walked out into the motel room to find myself some clothes.

"Tease!" Dean called out after me and I laughed.

"Who do you think I learned it from?" I asked, and Sam chortled at the comment.

Dean started rummaging through his bag, pulling out a black bra and holding it up to Sam. "This yours?" He asked, and Sam glared at him. "Ha!" Dean chuckled and tossed it at me, clearly our things were getting mixed up as usual. I was now dressed in my usual blue jeans, black tank top and a burgundy lightweight cardigan. I brushed my hair loose around my shoulders and flipped it down my back as Dean found what he was looking for in the bag, pulling out his gun.

"Bingo," he said, tucking it at the small of his back and walking toward the door. "Now who's ready for some breakfast?"

There was a little diner down the street from where we were staying, the type of diner we enjoyed eating at because of the mom and pop atmosphere.

There was a man at the counter, getting some change, and the cashier cheerfully sent him on his way. "Drive safely now, Mr Pickett," he said.

"Yeah, yeah,' the old man grumbled in reply.

"Order up!" A cook said in the background as we all found our way to a booth. I noticed a scruffy looking man sitting at the counter bench and a waitress standing in front of him.

"Can't stay unless you order something, Cal. You know the rules," she said. He fumbled through some change in front of him, pushing it toward her.

"Some coffee," he said. Dean was staring at the wall, it advertised the specials of the day.

"Hey. Tuesday. Pig in a poke," he said with a grin.

"You even know what that is?" Sam asked with a smirk. Dean looked confused for a moment and then shrugged it off.

The same waitress who had been bugging Cal to order something came wandering up to us, her name-tag read Doris and I looked at her. She looked like a Doris, I decided, heavily made up face, with red lipstick and curled brown hair cut in a shaggy bob around her ears – she was carrying a few extra pounds around the middle, and looked like she'd been working in this kind of job for a long time.

"You kids ready?" She asked, looked at us.

"Yes," Dean answered immediately. "I'll have the special, side of bacon and a coffee," he said.

Sam nodded. "Make it two coffees..."

"Three," I interrupted and he grinned at me, inclining his head.

"Three... coffees, and a short stack.. and?" He looked inquisitively at me while I frantically scanned the menu trying to decide what I wanted.

"I'll have the uhhhh... French toast... and a side of bacon," I said, settling on an old favourite. I was very curious to see what this pig in a poke was, but not enough to order it blind. Dean grinned at me and shook his head, not surprised by my choice.

"You got it," Doris said, writing it all down and smiling at us before going to put in the order.

Dean leaned forward, looking at Sam, his eyes intent on making his point.

"I'm telling you, Sam, this job's small fry. We should be spending our time hunting down Bela," he said.

I nodded my agreement, still furious with her and determined to get the Colt back, it had really messed with me, this whole thing – we had finally, finally gotten Dean to agree with us on getting him out of this deal, and the one thing that could help us had been stolen, by Bela.

"Okay, sure Dean, let's get right on that – where is she again?" Sam asked, getting an attitude. I glared at him and sat back in the booth, leaning against Dean with a sigh.

"Shut up," Dean said, rolling his eyes.

"Look, believe me, I want to find her as bad as you guys do. In the meantime, we have this," he said, pulling out some papers.

Dean slipped a hand under the table, squeezing my thigh a little and I grinned at him before leaning over and looking at the papers.

"All right, so this professor," Dean said, looking at the newspaper report in front of us. The headline read: Missing – Dexter Hasselback, last seen in Broward, Florida.

"Dexter Hasselback was passing through town last week when he vanished," Sam said, starting to brief us.

"Last known location?" Dean asked, looking up.

"His daughter says he was on his way to visit the Broward County Mystery Spot," Sam answered. I reached out and held up a flyer – it had a large question mark and the words Broward County Mystery Spot. The back of it had a bunch of physics equations which I theorised didn't mean a lot in relation to the magical Mystery Spot.

Dean looked at the equations too and grimaced. "Where the laws of phsyicals have no meaning," he read from the script below, looking unamused.

Doris returned with our coffees, passing them out one by one. "Three coffees, black, and some hot sauce for the..." She gasped as she reached for the hot sauce on the tray only to have it slide out of reach and hit the floor, smashing and going everywhere.

"Whoops. Crap! Sorry," she said, similing apologetically at us. She turned around toward the kitchen. "Clean up!"

After breakfast we were walking down the street, still talking about the Mystery Spot. Dean grabbed the flyer from Sam's hands and looked it over again.

"Sam, joints like this are only tourist traps, right? I mean, you know, balls rolling uphill, furniture nailed to the ceiling, they're only dangerous to your wallet," he said with a chuckle.

"Okay, look, I'm just saying there are spots in the world where holes open up and swallow people. The Bermuda Triangle, uh, the Oregon Vortex..."

"Broward County Mystery Spot?" I queried, as unconvinced by the whole thing as Dean was.

"Well sometimes these places are legit," Sam argued.

"All right, so if it is legit, and that's a bit if, what's the lore?" Dean asked Sam, looking over at him and slipping his hand into my back pocket, copping himself a feel at the same time.

"Well..." Sam said, getting interrupted as Dean collided with a pretty blonde girl walking past us. She looked in a hurry, and was carrying a stack of papers in her arms.

"Excuse me," she said, continuing to walk as Dean threw a look back at her, raising his eyebrow at me. I rolled my eyes and wondered just when we'd stopped our little phone number collection competition.

"Completely out of your league," I said with a grin to him.

"The lore's pretty frigging nuts, actually," Sam said, recalling our attention to the job. "They say these places, the magnetic fields are so strong that they can bend space-time, sending victims who knows where." I looked at him curiously.

"Sounds a little X-Files to me," Dean commented, shaking his head.

We stepped to the side as two movers argued over getting a desk in the door to a building.

"Told you it wouldn't fit," one guy said and the other guy groaned.

"What do you want, a Pulitzer?"

"All right, look, I'm not saying this is really happening, but if it is, we gotta check it out, see if we can do something," Sam said, playing the family business card on us.

"All right, all right!" Dean said, giving in. "We'll go tonight, after they close, get ourselves a nice long look."

---

Mystery Spot

Sam's POV

One of the first things we came across in the Mystery Spot was a neon green hallway with a black double spiral painted the entire length over the walls and doors. I closed the door behind us and we all moved slowly up the hallway. Beth had the EMF reader with her, and looked around our surroundings as she waved it around.

Dean shone his flashlight up at the ceiling, highlighting a table, lamp and ashtray attached upside-down to the ceiling. He shook his head with a chuckle.

"Wow. Uncanny," he commented sarcastically. My own flashlight lit upon another table with a wine glass and poultry dinner, this one was stuck to the side of the wall, at an angle to the floor. I shrugged and moved on.

"Find anything?" Dean asked Beth, who was waving the EMF over various attractions in the room.

"No," she replied with a shake of her head.

"You have any idea what you're looking for?" He asked her and she looked back at him.

"Uh, yeah, sure..." she said with a nod. Dean's raised eyebrow said otherwise.

"No," Beth confessed with a shake of her head. Dean grinned and went back to shining his flashlight around the rest of the room.

I was checking out the head of a large shark, teeth and all when we heard someone come up behind us, cocking a shotgun. "What the hell are you doing here?" A voice anxiously asked us, causing me to spin around. Dean pulled out his handgun, pointing it with the flashlight in his hand at the voice.

The light showed that the man had his gun trained at Dean, the latter of which quickly pointed his gun somewhere else.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa, we can explain," Dean said.

The man swung the gun around at me and Beth gasped from behind me.

"You robbing me?" He asked.

"Look, nobody's robbing you, calm down," I said. Dean moved to put his gun down and the man spun the gun back at Dean.

"Don't move!" He said.

"Just putting the gun down," Dean said, moving slowly.

The owner freaked out and pulled the trigger, and I felt my eyesight go white with panic as Dean fell to the floor.

"Dean!" Beth called out, running over to his side and falling to her knees. I rushed to their side and held Dean as he spluttered up blood, gasping for breath.

"Hey," I said to him, and Dean turned startled eyes to me. I looked up at the owner. "Call 911!"

"I – I didn't mean to..." he muttered, looking shocked at his actions.

"Now!" I yelled at him, watching for a moment as he left.

"Dean, oh god, no no no... not now, not like this," Beth said, brushing a hand along the side of Dean's face.

Dean gasped for breath again, looking from me to Beth, and then his eyes went dull and his body still – eyes falling closed.

"No!" I said, shaking him and looking up at Beth, she was staring at him, tears in her eyes and in complete shock.

---

Motel Room

Beth's POV

Heat of the Moment!

My eyes snapped open to the Asia song on the radio, and I sat up with a start, gasping for air. Dean looked at me from the edge of the bed, tying his shoelaces. I almost sobbed to see him, and looked at him lip syncing to the music.

"Rise and shine guys!" Dean said, and I frowned, hadn't I heard that before? This felt way too much like dejavu.

Sam looked from Dean to the radio clock as I stared at Dean, a little shocked from the vividness of the dream I'd just woken up from.

"Dude. Asia," Dean said, pointing out the song on the radio to Sam with a grin. Sam was looking at him like he'd just seen a ghost, breathing hard.

"Dean..." Sam asid.

"Oh, come on, you love this song and you know it," Dean said, reaching over to turn up the volume and bopping along to the music, just like he had yesterday. He got up, crossing to the bathroom and I jumped out of bed following him.

"You gonna shower?" Dean asked me as I walked into the bathroom, fiddling with his razor and looking at me through the mirror. I spun him around, kissing him with an urgency, just wanting to reassure myself that he was truly here in front of me, and that it had all been a bad dream. When I pulled back from the kiss, completely breathless, Dean grinned at me.

"Well, good morning to you too, I love it when you wake up frisky," he said, leaning in and kissing along my neck. I chuckled and pulled him in close, my hands running up to bunch in his hair, holding him tightly to me.

"I had the most horrible dream," I said, and Dean tensed, his arms sliding around me before he pulled back, hazel eyes meeting mine.

"About me?" He guessed and I frowned, nodding. "Did I die?" He asked, his eyes looking sad.

"Yeah, how did you know?" I asked, curiously looking at him. Dean shrugged and smiled at me, playing it off.

"Lucky guess," he said, "What else would be so awful to you?" He asked.

I sighed and leaned in to him, he was right. All I seemed to dream about these days were varying degrees of Dean dying, from falling into Hell from the skywalk at the Grand Canyon and then turning into a demon that attacked me, all the way through to this level, where I watched him die in my arms – all of them had the same theme, I was completely powerless to stop it from happening.

"I'm gonna shower," I said and Dean nodded, grinning and helping me to undress, just like he had yesterday. I fought off the feeling of dejavu and shook my head, climbing into the shower.

By the time I'd finished the shower and Dean was gargling loudly again at the sink, I was starting to feel a little freaked out. Sam came to the door and frowned, watching us both.

"What?" Dean asked, looking at him.

"I don't know," Sam said. He looked as perplexed as I felt, and I looked at him curiously.

"You all right?" I asked Sam, wondering what was bothering him.

"I think I..." Sam's voice trailed off and he simply looked confused. "Man, I had a weird dream," he said finally, shaking his head and rubbing the back o fhis neck.

"Yeah? You too? Clowns or Midgets?" Dean asked, making light of the situation.

Sam shook his head and I watched him as he left us alone in the bathroom.

Dean took this as an invitation for some hanky panky and slid up to me, slipping his hand through the opening in my towel.

"Well hello there," he said, leaning in to kiss me. I pulled back, looking at him a little incredulously.

"Are you serious?" I asked with a laugh, my eyes flicking to the door Sam had just vacated.

"I'm always serious about this, cherry-pie, you know that," he said with a grin, and I froze at the words, they were exactly what he'd said to me in the dream.

"What?" He asked, noticing the sudden change from me.

"Nothing, I don't think, I don't know..." I said. "I'm just still a bit freaked out by that dream I guess." Dean nodded and leaned in again, this time gingerly taking my face in his hands and trailing soft kisses along my jaw and mouth. I moaned softly, giving in to the touches and kissing him back. There was a knock at the door and Sam was back.

"Whenever you're ready, guys," he said with a sigh, sticking his head around and seeing the embrace we were locked in. I nodded at him and broke away from Dean, who complained.

"Well, you know, you were the one keen to start the day," I said with a grin.

"Yeah, I should have stayed in bed with you, but you know, you didn't come to bed in that towel," he said, looking at me with narrowed eyes. Again I froze, taking in that statement, and the very sentence I had just used. There was the unshakable feeling of dejavu and I knew I'd heard those comments in the dream.

By the time we reached the diner I was starting to feel jittery, like I was reliving the same day again. Sam was looking equally spooked, looking around at everyone there.

We walked past the cash register and the same cashier was there, handing Mr Pickett his change who grumbled back at him. "Yeah, yeah."

"Can't stay unless you order something, Cal. You know the rules," Doris said to the bedraggled man at the counter who handed her some change.

"Coffee," he said.

Dean looked up at the specials wall and pointed at a poster.

"Hey. Tuesday. Pig in a poke," he said. Sam and I both looked up at him sharply.

"It's Tuesday?" Sam asked

"Yeah," Dean said, looking at him like he'd lost his mind.

"You kids ready?" Doris asked us and just like yesterday Dean looked at her, smiling.

"Yes, I'll have the special, side of bacon and a coffee," he said and she noted this down on her notepad. Sam stared at her, and I waited to see what he'd say feeling my heart beat speeding up just at the thought of being caught up in this nightmare again.

"Uh, nothing for me, thanks," Sam said and I frowned, he hadn't said that yesterday. He looked over at me, eyes meeting mine and looked a little bewildered. Doris looked to be expectantly.

"Uh, coffee, please," I said, giving it some thought. Maybe I should order something different and change things, but Sam had already done that. Why had Sam done that? "I'll try the special too, thanks," I finished, and Dean turned to give me an appraising look.

"Really? No French toast?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"Not today," I said with a smile.

"Okay," Doris said with a smile, looking back at Sam. "Let me know if you change your mind."

Sam was looking increasingly aggitated and I could understand why when Dean launched into his next round of conversation.

"I'm telling you, Sam, this job's small fry. We should be spending our time hunting down Bela," he said.

Sam stared after Doris as she walked away.

"Hey!" Dean said, snapping his fingers in front of Sam's face. "You with me?"

"What?" Sam asked.

"You sure you're feeling okay?" Dean asked, looking at Sam with a frown.

Sam sighed, and looked at us both.

"You don't – you don't remember? Any of this?" Sam asked, and I startled, looking at him a little harder.

"Remember what?" Dean asked.

"This," I said. "Today. Like it's – like it's happened before?" I asked, looking at Sam. Dean turned to look at me like I'd just lost my mind.

"You mean like deja vu?" He said

"No, I mean like, like it's really happened before," I said, and Sam was nodding.

"Yeah. Like deja vu," Dean said, looking over at Sam.

"Dean, forget about deja vu. I'm asking you if it feels like, like we're living yesterday all over again," Sam said in turn.

"Okay, how is that not deja..."

"Don't, don't say it! Just don't even..." Sam looked at Dean angrily.

Doris arrived with the tray, this time with two coffees, handing them out to Dean and me.

"Two coffees, black, and some hot sauce for the – oops! Crap!" Doris said as she reached for the hot sauce. I opened my mouth to say something as it slipped from the tray and Sam reached out and caught the bottle that yesterday had smashed against the floor.

Doris gasped and Sam stared at the bottle in his hand for a moment before handing it back to the waitress.

"Thanks," she said witha a smile, putting the sauce on the table.

"Nice reflexes," Dean commented with a nod. I stared at Sam and he at me, shaking his head.

"You knew that was going to happen," I said, tilting my head at him. He nodded.

"So did you?" He asked, and I nodded back. Dean looked between the two of us, confused and shook his head.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" He asked.

Half an hour later we were walking down the same street we'd walked down yesterday, having just endured the same breakfast I had yesterday, only pig in a poke – not French toast, and the same dog was still barking at us as we passed by. I stared at the dog, almost tripping over my own feet as we walked.

"Guys, I'm sorry, but I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Dean said.

"Okay, look, yesterday was Tuesday right? But today is Tuesday too," Sam said, trying to get our point across, I nodded, fully supportive.

"Yeah. No. Good. You're both totally balanced," Dean said.

"You don't believe us?" I asked, feeling slightly agitated.

The same blonde girl from yesterday collided with Dean, still carrying the same stack of papers in her arms.

"Excuse me," she said as Dean turned to give her an appreciative look. I sighed, rolling me eyes. Great, we got to relive that moment too.

"Look," Dean said, turning back to the pair of us, his hand slipping around my waist and into my back pocket where he pulled me against him. "I'm just saying that it's crazy, you know, I mean, even for us crazy," he paused, looking over at Sam. "Dingo ate my baby crazy. Hey, maybe it was another of your psychic premonitions," he suggested.

"No, no way, way too vivid," Sam said. "Besides, how would Beth have the exact same vision?"

"Okay, look, we were at the Mystery Spot, and then..." I stopped, looking over a Dean, then at Sam who had taken in a sharp breath.

"And then what?" Dean asked, confused.

"Then I woke up," I said quietly, not wanting to voice what had really happened.

We started walking again, coming to the two removalists who were fighting over the fact that the desk they were moving wasn't going to fit in the doorway.

"Told you it wouldn't fit," one said.

"What do you want, a Pulitzer?" The other one grumbled.

"Wait a minute!" Sam said as I stared at the removalists. "The Mystery Spot. You think maybe it..."

"Maybe what?" Dean asked.

"We gotta check that place out, man. Look, just go with me on this, okay?" Sam asked. I bit my lip, feeling hesitant to return to that place in case we had a repeat of the day before.

"All right, all right," Dean said as Sam walked ahead of us a little. "We'll go tonight, after it closes, get oursevles a nice long look..."

"No!" I snapped, and Sam spun around, eyes looking a little panicked, something I didn't miss.

"Wait, what? No." Sam said, shaking his head.

"Why not?" Dean asked, frowning at me.

"Uh, let's just go now. Right now," Sam said, to which I vehemently nodded my head in agreement.

"Yeah, Business hours, nice and crowded," I said. Dean pulled away a little to look at us both.

"My God, you guys are freaks," he muttered.

"Dean..." I said, looking at him with my worried stare. Dean relented, always giving in to that look.

"Okay. Whatever. We'll go now," he said with a sigh and I smiled. He turned, stepping into a side street as he looked to his right. Suddenly out of nowhere a car careened into him from the left, hitting him and sending him through the air.

"Dean!" Sam yelled, rushing to his side. I stared, frozen in place as Sam picked Dean up off the pavement, cradling him in his arms.

"Dean, no no no," Sam said. I looked in shock at the car, and saw Mr Pickett from the diner in the driver's seat, looking out the window at Dean and Sam on the ground.

"Hey. Dean," Sam said, shaking our brother and looking up at me urgently. I shook my head, tears coming to my eyes as I saw the blood-splattered across Dean's face from the accident.

"No..." I whispered, covering my mouth with my hand.

"Dean, Dean!" Sam said, shaking him again, but it was too late, he was dead – again.

---

Tuesday – again.

Motel Room

Sam's POV

Heat of the moment!

I jerked awake to Asia once again, and turned to see Dean sitting on the bed, once more tying his shoes and lip syncing to the radio station. "Rise and shine guys!" Dean said, bopping to the music.

Beth was staring at Dean, a haunted look in her eyes as he jumped off the bed and bopped his way across the room into the bathroom to the music.

"Beth," I said, and she looked over at me, shaking her head and tears in her eyes.

"What day is it?" She asked, looking around urgently.

"Tuesday," I said, and she nodded.

"I was afraid you were going to say that," she got out of bed and started to pace the room. Dean stuck his head out the bathroom door, watching her.

"You gonna shower?" He asked, and Beth stopped, looking at him. Suddenly she moved across the room, grabbing his face in her hands and kissing him urgently. Dean looked surprised and then grinned, sliding his hands around her waist and kissing her back. I stared after both of them, still in shock, and then Beth pulled away, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "No... I uh... I'm just gonna have a shower later," she said. He frowned and then shrugged, holding her.

"You okay?" He asked, looking down at the top of her head.

"What the Hell is going on here?" She asked, looking over at me, still clinging to Dean.

"Did you..." I started to voice what I had just been through, but couldn't find the words.

"Did you what?" Dean asked.

Beth was staring at me, the same freaked out look in her eyes that I was feeling.

"Yeah," she said. "The car..." She said, tears coming into her eyes. I nodded slowly, letting out a breath.

"What's wrong with the car?" Dean asked quickly, letting go of Beth and rushing to the window to look out at the Impala.

"Nothing," Beth said, running a hand through her hair. "Nothing's wrong with the car... look, Dean... we have to talk," she said, looking over at me. Dean turned to look at us with puzzled expression.

"What's going on?" He asked, frowning.

Fifteen minutes later we were back at the diner, Dean looking at us like we were a little mad. As we walked past Mr Pickett Beth looked a little freaked out, and I watched him grumble back at the cashier as he left. We took a seat in the same booth we'd sat for the last two days, listened to Doris tell Cal he needed to order something, and then have him slide change across and order coffee.

"You guys ready?" Doris asked, coming up to our table.

"He'll take the special, side of bacon, coffee, black. Nothing for us, thanks," Beth said, jumping in.

Dean grinned, turning to look at her.

"You got it," Doris said, walking away.

"Bethie, babe, you know I get all tingly when you take control like that," he said, chuckling.

"Quit screwing around, Dean," I said, interrupting what was bound to be yet another sexual innuendo between the pair.

"Okay, okay, I'm listening," Dean said, looking back at me. "So... so you think that you're in some kind of a what... again?"

"Timeloop," I said to him.

"Like Groundhog Day?" Dean asked, and Beth nodded emphatically next to him.

"Yes! Yes, exactly, like Groundhog Day," she said. I chuckled a little, these two and their movies, they related everything in life back to one movie or another. In fact, it was a running theory of Dean's – if it hadn't happened in a movie, it couldn't happen. Beth thought he was nuts, but in this case at least, it seemed to be true.

"Uh-huh," Dean said, looking at Beth sceptically.

"You don't believe me," she asked sadly, biting her lip.

"Sugarpie... it's just a little crazy, I mean even for us crazy, you like, like uh ..."

"Dingo ate my baby crazy?" I asked, looking at Dean who threw me a surprised look.

"How'd you know I was going to say that?" He asked.

"Because you said it before, Dean, that's our whole point," I said, looking over at Beth who was nodding again.

"Coffee, black, and some hot sauce for the – whoops! Crap!" Doris said, but I was on to it. I whipped my hand out toward the hot sauce, almost before it fell off the tray she was carrying it on, I caught it without even looking, handing it back to her.

"Thanks!" Doris said with a smile, putting the sauce on the table and leaving.

"Nice reflexes," Dean said appreciatively.

"No. I knew it was going to happen," I said, sighing at him.

"Okay, look, I'm sure there's some sort of explanation..." Dean started to try and rationalise what was happening.

"You're just going to have to go with us on this Dean, you just have to, you owe us that much," I snapped. Beth reached out and squeezed Dean's hand, and he turned to look at her, a troubled expression on his face. Weird he was used to with me, what with the whole psychic vision thing. They were both used to it. But weird was not something he associated with Beth - at all.

"Calm down," Dean said, turning back to me.

"Don't tell me to calm down. I can't calm down. I can't! Because..." I stopped short, I couldn't even say it, but when my eyes met Beth's I knew that she had been through the same thing, seen it too.

"Because what?" Dean asked, confused.

"Because you die today, Dean," Beth said softly, still holding his hand.

Dean scoffed, looking at her like she was nuts. "I'm not gonna die. Not today."

"Twice now I've..." Beth looked at me and I nodded. "We've... watched you die, and I can't... I won't do it again, okay?" Beth said, looking at Dean urgently. He looked back at her, seeing the fear in her eyes and his face sobered as he reached out to brush a hand along her cheek.

"You're just going to have to believe us. Please." I said quietly to Dean when he looked at me, a worried expression on his face.

"Yeah, all right," he said thoughtfully and Beth breathed a sigh of relief. "I still think you're both nuts, but okay, whatever this is, we'll figure it out," he promised.

We both nodded at him, and Beth moved a little closer until he could put his arm around her and she laid her head against his shoulder.

I was feeling slightly less agitated now he was listening to us, but there was still the question of why this was happening to be addressed.

Half an hour later we were walking down the street again. The same dog. The same girl that bumped into Dean carrying the papers. The same movers with the desk that wouldn't fit in the door.

"Told you it wouldn't fit," one complained.

"What do you want? A Pulitzer?" The other asked.

"And you think this cheesy-ass tourist trap has something to do with it?" Dean asked, not seeing any of this as anything out of the ordinary.

"Maybe it's the real deal, you know?" I asked, looking at Beth. "The, the magnetic fields bending spacetime or whatever."

"I don't know, it all seems a little too X-Files for me," Dean said, quoting yet another TV show to relate to life.

"Well I don't know how else to explain it, Dean!" I snapped.

"All right, all right, we'll go tonight after they close, get ourselves a nice long look," Dean said, rolling his eyes at me.

"No!" Beth said and I stepped in front of him, stopping us all from walking.

"No no no no no, we can't," I said, shaking my head.

"Why not?" Dean asked.

"Because you ..." Beth stopped, biting her lip again.

"I what?" Dean asked. We both stared at him, waiting for him to get it. What the hell had we just been talking about? The conversation clicked into place for Dean and he looked at us with wide eys.

"I die there?" He asked, and Beth nodded.

"Blown away, actually," I confirmed with him.

"Huh," Dean said with a raised eyebrow. "Okay, we go now," he said, shrugging and turning away from us, stepping out into the street. Beth moved quickly, grabbing Dean because she was a little closer, pulling him back on to the pavement by his jacket, just as Mr Pickett sped past in his car.

"Stay out of the way!" Mr Pickett yelled out his open window at us. I breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Beth who was shaking. Dean stared first at the car and chuckled, and then saw the looks on our faces.

"Wait, did he?"

"Yesterday, yeah," I said with a nod.

"And?" Dean asked, looking at us both.

"And what?" Beth asked, confused.

"Did it look cool? Like in the movies?" He asked, chuckling.

Beth looked incredulously at him, shaking her head, speechless.

"You peed yourself," I said to him snarkily.

Dean paused and looked a little miffed. "Of course I peed myself. Man gets hit by a car, you think he has full control of his bladder? Come on!" Dean said, throwing his arms in the air. Just the same, I noticed he was a little more careful in looking both ways before crossing the street.

When we reached the Mystery Spot, Beth seemed to find it really hard to concentrate, avoiding the guy who only two days ago had shot and killed Dean, she wandered off to check out the attraction while Dean and I did the questioning.

"Guys, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. We could use all the good ink we can get," he said to us with a smile.

"How long have you owned the place, Mr Kopiak?" I asked.

"My family's been guarding the secrets here since you don't want to know when," he answered in an elusive manner, smiling at me. I looked at him thinking he reminded me a lot of a snake oil salesman.

"So you'd know if anything strange happened?" I questioned him.

"Strange?" He said with a smile. "Strange happens here all the time. It's a Mystery Spot." His grin widened and I tried to smile back at him, but I'm pretty sure it came out looking more like a grimace.

"What exactly does that mean?" I asked, glancing at Dean who was studiously taking notes.

"Well, uh, it's where the laws of physics have no meaning," he answered, quoting the flyer.

"Okay," I said. "Like how?!"

Mr Kopiak just grinned at me again. "Take the tour," he said to me, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

"The guy who went missing," Dean said, jumping in to the conversation. "Dexter Hasselback, he take the tour?"

"Uh, uh, hold on a minute, what kind of article is this?" Kopiak asked, looking over at Dean.

"Just answer the question," Beth said, coming up behind him and staring at him, clearly our conversation hadn't gone unnoticed by her.

"The police scoured every inch of this place. They couldn't find the man. I never seen him before. We're a family establishment..."

I got up in the guy's face, my temper starting to get the better of me. "Listen to me," I said. "There is something weird going on here. Now do you know anything about it or not?"

The owner looked at me and then faltered, glancing over at Dean and Beth before looking at me again. "Okay. Look. Guys. Um. Give me a break. I bought the joint at a foreclosure auction last March, all right? Hell, I used to sell bail bonds," he confessed. I stared at him, and then Dean took me by the arm.

"Okay, Kojak, let's get some air," Dean said, leading me away.

We were walking back down the street toward the motel and Dean was shaking his head at me. "I hate to say it, but that place is exactly what I thought. Full of crap," he commented.

"Then what is it, Dean, what the hell is happening to us?" Beth asked, running a hand through her hair.

"I don't know. All right, let me just..." He stopped walking, turning to face us. "So, every day I die?"

"Yeah," Beth and I both said in unison.

"And that's what you both wake up again, right?" He asked. We both nodded.

"Yeah," I said.

"So let's just make sure I don't die," Dean said with a smile. "If I make it to tomorrow, then maybe the loop stops and we can figure all this out."

Beth and I looked at each other, questioning his logic. I looked back at him. "You think?"

"Worth a shot. I say we grab some takeout and head back to the motel, lay low until midnight," Dean suggested. Beth was nodding her agreement and smiling, seemingly thinking this was a great idea. Dean looked at me and I nodded tentatively.

"All right, good," Dean said with a smile. "Who wants Chinese?"

He started walking again, taking two steps ahead of us when suddenly a desk fell from the sky, landing right on top of him. Beth shrieked, grabbing me by the arm and I stared disbelievingly up at the building where the movers from earlier in the day were staring in shock, hands on a broken rope.

---

Motel Room

Beth's POV

Heat of the moment!

My eyes snapped open and I sat up, looking at Sam who was looking equally as disturbed.

"Rise and shine guys!" Dean said.

He was on the bed, like always, tying his shoes and singing to the song on the radio. Sam lay back on his bed when he saw Dean, and started to breathe deeply, I closed my eyes, shaking a little. I was so tired!

By the time we reached the diner, Sam and I had filled Dean in what had been happening.

"I still think you're both nuts," Dean said to us, looking at us concerned. "But, whatever this is, we'll figure it out." He reached under the table, taking my hand in his and squeezing it a little, I tried to muster up a smile but it was short lived.

"Thanks," Sam said, nodding.

"So. Uh," Dean looked back at Sam. "You're stuck in Groundhog Day. Why? What's behind it?"

"Well, first we thought it was the Mystery Spot. Now we're not so sure," Sam said, glancing over at me.

"What do we do?" Dean asked curiously.

"Try to keep you breathing, try to make it to tomorrow. That's the only thing we can think of," Sam answered him.

"Shouldn't be too hard," Dean said with a shrug. I looked at him, biting my lip.

"Yeah, right... Dean... we've watched you die three times now... and... and we can't ever seem to stop it," I said, swallowing back the panic that was threatening to overwhelm me anytime I thought about what might happen next.

Dean looked at me, seeing something in my eyes that made him realise how serious this was. "Well, hey, nothing's set in stone. You said I order the same thing every day, right?" He asked softly.

"Yeah. Pig in a poke, side of bacon," I said, holding his hand tightly under the table where he'd grasped it earlier.

Dean turned to look at Doris who was standing by the window to the kitchen, talking to the cook.

"'Scuse me, sweetheart?" He called out, and Doris turned to look questioningly at him.

"Can I get sausage instead of bacon?" Dean asked.

"Sure thing hon," she said with a smile.

Dean turned back to look at Sam, then flashed me a smile. "See? Different day already," he said. "See, if we all decide I'm not gonna die," he said, looking at Sam and then kissing me quickly on the forehead. "I'm not gonna die."

I looked at him and nodded, feeling nervous about the whole thing just the same.

Ten minutes later Doris brought our food over, putting the revised Pig in a Poke with a side of sausage in front of Dean with a smile.

"Thank you," he said, stabbing the sausage with his fork and taking a bite, chewing on it in an exaggerated manner. Sam grinned and shook his head at him, and Dean grinned over at me.

Suddenly Dean started to choke and we both looked at him startled.

"Dean. Dean?" I asked, twisting to try and get at him. "Dean?"

---

Motel Room

Sam's POV

Heat of the moment!

I stared up at the ceiling when I woke up, Dean's death by sausage still playing in my head. Beth was already out of bed, pacing the room and then she turned to Dean who was starting to tie his shoelaces, coming over and pulling his shoes off.

"No, no!" She said, tossing the shoes clear across the room. "We're not going anywhere, we're staying right here."

Dean looked at her, a little stunned, and then grinned.

"Sugarpie, I like where your head is at," he said, taking in the short pyjama pants she was wearing with a tank top. Beth stopped and sighed, looking over at me.

"Dean," I said, sitting up. "We need to talk." Beth nodded vehemently at that statement, tears in her eyes as she crossed her arms.

"What?" Dean asked, his face turning serious. "Yeah, you're right, we do... we need to talk about you getting your own room tonight Sammy," he said, getting up and sliding his hands around Beth's waist. I looked at him and then thought about it, raising my eyebrow.

"You know what, you're right... I do. In fact, I'm gonna get one right now. You guys... you stay here. All day," I said, and Beth met my eyes with a fresh realisation of what I was saying. "Stay in, enjoy... each other or whatever..." I added, grabbing my jacket and walking out the door to the sound of Dean chuckling.

"Wait," Dean said, looking up at me from where he had Beth in his arms. "You mean we can't even go out for breakfast?" He asked.

"I'll bring you something back... later. You'll thank me when it's Wednesday!" I said, shaking my head and shutting the door, hanging up the Do Not Disturb sign.

Maybe this would work, Dean could easily be distracted by Beth all day, keeping him in the room, they'd done it before – sure they were both sore and tired by the end of it, but it never seemed to stop them when they got in the mood.

I stepped out into the sun, allowing it to shine down on my face, I wandered down the street, chuckling to myself about my wayward siblings, and then trying not to think about it because it would just gross me out.

The diner had the same old people in it, ordering the same old food, saying the same old things, but it seemed a little better without Dean there, knowing he was safe in the motel room with Beth. I'd order some food and bring it back for them.

I was waiting on my breakfast, starving, I couldn't recall the last time I'd actually eaten, when everything went black again.

---

Motel Room

Beth's POV

Heat of the moment!

I sat up with a gasp, looking over at Sam who turned to look at me, ignoring the lip syncing Dean on the bed.

"What happened?" Sam asked me, and Dean stopped to look at us.

"The alarm went off," Dean said, pointing to the clock. "Dude, Asia." He started to bop and then danced his way into the bathroom. I looked at Sam and shook my head, staring at the ceiling.

"We were in the shower..." I said to Sam, covering my face with my hands. "And he slipped!"

Sam stared at me in horror. Even here, in the motel room, we couldn't keep him safe.

"What the hell are we going to do?" I asked him. Sam sighed, looking at me in sad resignation.

"I don't know... I don't know..." He said.

Dean was humming away to himself in the bathroom, and I got up to go use the bathroom, walking in as he plugged his electric razor into the wall. Blue sparks flew out and he went stiff, electricity running through his body.

"Dean!" I said, running back into the main room, looking for a broom or something to break the connection. Sam looked urgently toward the bathroom, and then it all went black, again.

---

Motel Room

Sam's POV

Heat of the moment!

I sat up in bed, the last few days running through my head. A cacophony of Dean's dying sounds playing through my head. Death by tacos. Death by chocolate. Death by bee swarm. Death by heart attack. Death by heart attack during sex... that one had been particularly hard on Beth, and I was glad I hadn't been around to hear it, or see it. Death by ebola. Death by unknown kiwi fruit allergy.

By the time we got to the running of the bulls down the street, and Dean being the only victim from that random event, Beth and I were ready to pull the Mystery Spot down post by post. Which is what we were doing right now.

Beth was looking a little crazed, swinging at the wall with her axe, taking out a few boards. I was taking a break, having just finished up on the other two walls in the room. Dean was trying to reassure the owner of the Mystery Spot that in spite of currently being duct taped to a chair and gagged, everything was going to be just fine.

"Everybody's fine, nobody's gonna get hurt, okay?" Dean said, looking over at the girl swinging her axe. "Beth?"

Beth turned to look at him, raising her eyebrow.

"Baby, maybe you should drop the axe and let this guy go, what do you say?" Dean asked.

My gaze met Beth's and she shook her head.

"Something's gotta be going on here," she said, looking at Dean. "And we're gonna find out what." She went back to swinging her axe and I watched as Dean struggled to understand where we were coming from.

"Beth, place is tore up pretty good, sugarpie. Come on, time to give it a rest..." Dean said.

"No!" Beth shouted, looking back at him. "I'm gonna take it down to studs," she added, going to swing the axe again. Dean stood up, frowning at her and walking over.

"Baby, that's enough, give me the axe," Dean ordered her.

"No! Leave it, Dean," Beth said, trying to move away as Dean reached for the Axe.

"Give it," Dean said.

"No, you give it!" Beth snapped, pulling at the axe as Dean grabbed the handle.

"Let it go!" Dean said forcefully, trying to force her to release the axe. I watched as they struggled for control, Beth's eyes flashing anger at Dean as he fought to take the axe out of her hands.

"No!" Beth argued, shaking her head.

"Beth. Let it go, come on!" Dean said, getting frustrated.

"Dean, leave it, please..." She stopped dead as he yanked the axe, and it suddenly spun out of his control, connecting with his neck. I flinched as blood splattered across the owner of the Mystery Spot and myself. Beth screamed.

"Dean?" I asked, stunned as he fell to the ground dead.

Kopiak was yelling through the duct tape over his mouth and then everything went black again.

---

Motel Room

Beth's POV

Heat of the moment!

As soon as I opened my eyes I was moving toward Dean on the bed, climbing in his lap as I straddled him, running my hands over his face and down his neck, over his chest.

He stopped tying his shoelaces, grasping me by the hips and looking at me questioningly, returning my kisses with his own before pulling back to get another look at me.

"Good morning to you too," he said with a grin, his hands tightening around my waist and running up under my tank top.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry," I said, showering him with kisses along his jawline and cheeks, my hands tangling in his hair.

"Sorry for what?" Dean asked, looking a little confused.

I stopped to look at him, taking in those hazel eyes so trusting of us. It overwhelmed me all of a sudden how many times I'd watched him die, and I found myself tearing up, my breathing coming hard and fast. All of a sudden I couldn't breathe, and I fell back on the bed, gasping for air.

"Beth?" Dean asked urgently, grasping my arms, sitting me up and looking up at Sam.

"Damn," Sam uttered, moving quickly.

"Beth, it's okay, just slow it down," Sam said to me, reaching for a paper bag and holding it to my mouth, forcing me to take slow, deep breaths.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked, looking up at Sam and frowning. "What's wrong with her?"

Sam took control, holding my head down between my knees. "It's a panic attack," he said. I fought against the desire to throw up, my spinning head and shortness of breath.

"Panic attack?" Dean said, surprised.

It slowly passed, and I found myself able to breathe again, my lungs expanding with the air I was drawing in. I coughed and held on to Dean's arm tightly, trying not to freak out any more than I already was.

"I can't do this," I said softly, more to Sam than to Dean. "I can't... I ..."

Sam took my face in his hands, looking at me with worry. "You can, you're going to be all right," he said, watching me, urging me to stay strong.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?!" Dean asked, standing up and starting to pace the room.

"Look, Dean, we gotta talk man," Sam said, standing up but continuing to rest his hand on my shoulder. Dean stopped to take the sight of us both in and sighed.

"Talk about what?" He asked.

"Groundhog Day," Sam answered, drawing a confused look from Dean.

Half an hour later we were at the diner, taking a seat at the booth, I sat opposite Dean, next to Sam, which I never did, but I needed Dean to pay attention.

"Hey. Tuesday. Pig in a poke," Dean said with a smile, pointing at the specials board.

Sam had bumped into Mr Pickett on his way past us and I realised why as he unceremoniously dumped Mr Pickett's keys in the middle of the table.

"What are those?" Dean asked.

"The old man's. Trust me, you don't want him behind the wheel," Sam said, and I nodded emphatically.

"You guys ready?" Doris asked, coming to the table, pen poised over her pad.

"Uh, yes, we are," Dean said with a nod. "I'll have the special, side of bacon and a coffee."

"Coffee, please." I said, looking at my hands.

"Hey, Doris?" Sam said, looking at the waitress. "What I'd like is for you to log in some more hours at the archery range. You're a terrible shot." I grimaced and covered my face with my hands, not wanting to think about it.

"How'd you know that?" Doris asked, surprised.

"Lucky guess," Sam said, and she shook her head, walking away.

Dean looked across the table at us both with a smirk, until he met our eyes realising the implications of what it meant when we said Doris was a bad shot. We'd watched him die when she'd accidentally fired an arrow straight into his throat.

"Okay, so you think you're caught in some kind of what, again?" Dean asked.

"Time loop," I answered, not for the first time today.

"Like Groundhog Day?" Dean asked.

"Doesn't matter. There's no way to stop it," Sam said with a sigh.

"Jeez, aren't you grumpy," Dean commented.

"Yeah, I am!" Sam said. "I'm grumpy, and Beth is panicked, and we're both falling apart. You wanna know why? Because this is the hundredth Tuesday in a row we've been through, and it never stops. Ever! So yeah, I'm a little grumpy," Sam said.

"Hot sauce," I said on the tail end of Sam's rant as Doris made her way toward us.

"What?" Dean asked, looking at me confused. Doris arrived with the coffee, placing cups in front of Dean and me.

"Two coffees, black, and some hot sauce for the – whoops! Crap!" The hot sauce bottle precariously wobbled and then fell from the tray, Sam catching it with ease and sliding it across the table to Dean.

"Thanks," Doris said with a smile.

"Nice reflexes," Dean commented, nodding at Sam.

"I knew it was going to happen Dean. We know everything that's gonna happen," Sam said.

"You don't know everything," Dean said with a smug look.

"Yeah, we do," I said with a frown.

"Yeah, right," Dean said, Sam and I parroting him in unison. "Nice guess."

"It wasn't a guess," Sam said to him. I nodded.

Sam and I looked at Dean and I raised an eyebrow at him, we totally knew what was coming next. "Right, you're a mind reader," we all three said in unison. "Cut it out, Sam, Beth." We leaned forward as Dean did.

"You think you're being funny but you're being really really childish!" We all said. I sat back, shaking my head. How could he not believe this?

"Sam Winchester wears make-up. Sam Winchester cries his way through sex. Sam Winchester keeps a ruler by the bed and every morning when he wakes up he..." Sam was mimicking him word for word, Dean's eyes widening until he threw up his hands in a futile gesture.

"Okay, enough!" He said.

"That's not all," I said, looking at Dean. "Randy the cashier? He's skimming from the register. Judge Myers? At night he puts on a furry bunny outfit." Dean looked amused and the old judge who had been listening in knocked over his glass.

"Over there, that's Cal. He's gonna rob Tony the mechanic on the way home," Sam added.

"What's your point?" Dean asked.

"Dean, our point is we've lived through every possible Tuesday. We've watched you die every possible way. We have ripped apart the Mystery Spot, burnt it down, tried everything we know to save your life and we can't. No matter what we do, you die. And then we wake up. And it's Tuesday, again." I said. I ran my hands over my face, shaking my head.

Dean looked at me, a little pained, and reached his hand out to squeeze mine across the table. I sighed and got out, moving to the other side of the table so I could sit next to him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"You have to believe us Dean," I said, entwining my fingers with his under the table.

"I didn't say I don't, okay? It's just... well it's really weird." Dean said. I nodded.

Sam was still making our point when we left the diner, predicting everything that happened ahead of time.

"Dog," he said before the animal started barking at us. Dean looked back at the dog and then over at Sam.

"There's gotta be some way out of this," he said.

"Where's my dang keys," Sam said as we passed Mr Pickett on the street.

"Where's my dang keys?" Mr Pickett asked, patting at his pockets, looking confused.

"Excuse me," Sam said as the pretty blonde girl collided with Dean yet again and he turned to check her out.

"Excuse me," she said and kept walking.

"She's kind of cute," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes as Dean started to open his mouth. He closed it and looked at me, shaking his head.

Dean stopped. "Well she is," he said, throwing me a smile. "Phone number?" He added, looking at me with a challenge. I looked at him curiously, he hadn't done that before, in fact, it'd been a while in general since we'd played our little game of who can collect the most phone numbers in a month – games like that hadn't really seemed all that fun once I knew Dean was going to Hell.

"All the times we've walked down this street, I ever do this?" Dean asked, turning and chasing after the girl. "Excuse me, miss!"

I looked at Sam as we stared after him. "No..." Sam said quietly, frowning at me. I shrugged and watched as Dean had a conversation with the girl, and she wrote something down on the flyer she was holding, handing it to him with a smile.

Dean came jogging back and showed us the flyer, he winked at me, eye raised at the phone number on top of the paper that read MISSING.

"First, I'm winning," he said to me, and I smiled and shook my head at him. "Second. A hundred Tuesdays and you never bothered to check what she was holding in her hands?" Dean asked, looking at us both.

I mentally kicked myself, exchanging a glance with Sam who shrugged, looking at the flyer.

"It's the guy who went missing," I commented, reading the information on the paper he was holding, noticing the photo and name of the person. Dexter Hasselback.

"That's his daughter back there," Dean said. Sam grabbed the flyer and ran after the girl.

"Ma'am?" He called out as Dean turned to me, sliding his hands around my waist.

I took a deep breath and looked up at him, staring at those hazel eyes that were watching me so intently. "Hundred Tuesdays, have I done this yet?" Dean asked softly, leaning in and trailing his lips lightly across mine, teasing them and drawing a sigh from me. He pulled me over to a bench and sat down, settling me sideways on his lap as he started to kiss me with a renewed enthusiasm.

His tongue met mine in a slow tangle of caresses, moaning softly as he ran his hands up into my hair, holding my head at just the right angle to go deeper, to kiss me thoroughly. I wrapped my arms around his neck, moaning softly in return and when we both pulled back slightly I shook my head with a smile.

"No," I said quietly, shaking my head.

Dean smiled, looking up at me. "Well then, it's a different day already, isn't it?" He asked and I nodded with a smile. The dog was still barking at us from a few yards away, Dean looked over at it and chuckled. He stood up and I looked further down the street to where Sam was still talking to Hasselback's daughter.

"Hey buddy!" Dean said to the dog, smiling. "Somebody need a friend?" He walked up and reached out to the dog. "Good boy – aaaah!"

I watched as the dog suddenly attacked Dean, and then for hundred and first time, or more, everything went black again.

---

Diner

Sam's POV

I looked over at Beth who was slumped in the side of the booth closest to the window, staring outside and mute. She hadn't woken up well, I was starting to get quite concerned about her actually – it had been a few days more since the dog incident, this time round I'd made a point of ordering breakfast for us, with all this dying and waking up again, I wasn't sure when the last time had been where we'd actually eaten. Dean had noticed the attitude from her, but hadn't pushed it, she couldn't even look at him right now. The best I could do was try and get this cycle broken.

"So the police report says Dexter Hasselback is a professor, but that's not all he is," I said to Dean.

"What is he?" Dean asked, chewing on his food.

"I talked to his daughter. Guy's quite the journalist. Columns in magazines, a blog," I said, reading from the laptop in front of me. "He writes about tourist attractions. Mystery spots, UFO crash sites – he gets his kicks debunking them. I mean, he's already put four of these places out of business. Here." I spun the laptop around to face Dean. I'd pulled up the biography of the man form his blog – it read The Hasselback Report.

Dean read from the screen, looking thoughtful. "Dexter Hasselback, truth warrior? More like a pompous schmuck, you ask me," he said.

"Yeah, tell me about it. I mean, I've read everything the guy's ever written, and he must have weighed a tonne, he was so full of himself," I said, glancing over at Beth. She'd be uncooperative on the investigation front, in fact, she looked like she'd given up.

"When'd you have time to do all this research?" Dean asked and Beth shook her head silently, still staring out the window.

"Come on," I said to them both, closing the laptop and getting up. Dean nodded and laughed as he stood up. "What?" I asked, curious at his humour.

"I just, it's just funny you know, I mean this guy spends his whole life crapping on Mystery Spots and then he vanishes into one. It's kinda poetic, you know, just desserts," he said. Beth looked up sharply at that comment and I met her eyes.

"You're right, that is just desserts," I said, hoisting the laptop bag on to my shoulder.

Beth looked back out the window at the man we'd seen a hundred times before having pancakes and maple syrup, he walked by, unaware we were even watching him.

I looked at her as she looked at the counter, and I followed her gaze. Pink syrup.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked, seeing our reactions.

"Guy has maple syrup for the last hundred Tuesdays, all of a sudden he's having strawberry?" I said, looking at Beth who was scrambling out of the booth, heading for the door.

"It's a free country," Dean said with a frown. "Man can't choose his own syrup, huh? What have we become?"

"Not in this diner. Not today," Beth was already running down the street, leaving us for dead. "Nothing in this place ever changes. Ever. Except me and Beth."

---

Motel Room

Beth's POV

Heat of the Moment!

"Rise and shine guys!" Dean said cheerfully.

I sat up, looking over at Sam with a confused expression.

"What happened?" I asked him.

Dean looked at me and shrugged. "Alarm went off," he said, not for the first time as he tied his shoe laces. "Dude, Asia," he said with a grin, pointing at the radio before standing up and bopping his way into the bathroom.

"You don't want to know," Sam groaned, lying back down on his pillow. "Did you catch him?"

I shook my head negatively, sitting back against the headboard.

"We will today though," I said, and Sam nodded.

By the time we got to the diner I was a tightly strung coil ready to snap. Sam and I watched the man with the pancakes like hawks, he was back to having maple syrup again.

"So you think you're caught in some kind of what, again?" Dean asked, looking at us.

"Eat your breakfast," I said, glancing at Dean briefly before going back to watching the man. Dean frowned at the attitude from me, but didn't argue, tucking into his pig in a poke. When the man got up to leave, I followed, grabbing the bag Sam had handed me.

"What's in the bag?" Dean asked, getting up and chasing us down.

I followed the man down the street and as we reached him I grabbed him, shoving him up against the fence, pulling the wooden stake from the bag and holdin g it to the man's throat.

"Hey!" Was the surprised reaction we got from the man.

"I know who you are," I said through gritted teeth. "Or should I say, what?"

"Oh my god, please don't kill me," he said, holding his hands in the air.

"Uh, Beth, sugarpie..." Dean interjected, looking at me with a worried expression.

"It took us a hell of a long time, but we got it," Sam said.

"What?" Asked the man.

"It's your MO that gave you away. Going after pompous jerks, giving them their just desserts – your kind loves that, don't they?" I asked, shoving him against the fence a little harder.

"Yeah, sure, okay," the man said, glancing nervously at the stake. "Just put the stake down!"

"Guys, maybe you should..." Dean started to advocate for a little sense, but I wasn't having any of it.

"No!" Sam and I both said at once. "There's only one creature powerful enough to do what you're doing. Making reality out of nothing , sticking people in time loops – in fact, you'd pretty much have to be a god. You'd have to be a Trickster," I added, looking at the man.

"Miss, my name is Ed Coleman, my wife's name is Amelia, I got two kids," the man I was pretty certain was a trickster said. "For crying out loud, I sell ad space..."

"Don't lie to me!" I snapped. "I know what you are! We've killed one of your kind before!"

The man before me suddenly shimmered and transformed into the same Trickster we'd killed, grinning at me. Dean and Sam stared in surprise.

"Actually kiddo, you didn't," he said to me.

I was flabbergasted, but I kept the stake firmly shoved against his throat.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, my breath coming in short bursts.

"You're joking, right? You chuckleheads tried to kill me last time. Why wouldn't I do this?" He asked.

"And Hasselback, what about him?" Dean asked, pulling himself together.

"That putz? He said he didn't believe in wormholes, so I dropped him in one," the Trickster said with a short laugh. "Then you guys showed up. I made you the second you hit town."

"So this is fun for you? Killing Dean over and over again?" I snapped, restraining myself from shoving the stake in his neck right there and then.

"One, yes. It is fun," the Trickster said. "And two? This is so not about killing Dean. This joke is on you and Sam. Watching your brother, your lover, die every day? Forever?"

Sam bristled next to me, stepping forward. "You son of a bitch!"

"How long will it take you two to realise? You can't save your brother. No matter what," he said to us, and I swallowed, frowning at him then glancing at Dean who was looking down at the ground.

"Oh yeah?" I said. "I kill you, this all ends now," I said, pushing the stake firmer into his neck.

"Oh-oh, hey, whoa!" He protested, moving back a bit. "Okay. Look. I was just playing around. You can't take a joke, fine. You're out of it. Tomorrow, you'll take up and it'll be Wednesday, I swear," he said quickly.

"You're lying," Sam accused.

"If I am, you know where to find me. Having pancakes at the diner," he said. I looked over at Sam and Dean, then back at the Trickster, contemplating.

"No, I don't think so, easier to just kill you," I said.

"Sorry kiddo. Can't have that," he said, and he snapped his fingers.

---

Motel Room

Sam's POV

Promise me I'll be back in time.

There was a different song playing on the radio, I never thought I'd hear it ever again. My eyes snapped open at the realisation and I rolled over to look at Beth. She was lying in bed, her hands over her face.

Dean stuck his head out from the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth, looking at the pair of us lying in bed.

"What, you guys gonna sleep all day?" He asked.

"No Asia," I said to Beth, and Dean nodded at the comment.

"Yeah I know. This station sucks," he said, brushing at his teeth.

Beth rolled on to her side, looking at the clock radio, her eyes focusing on the station, and then she sat up with a gasp.

"It's Wednesday!" She said, looking up at me.

"Yeah, usually comes after Tuesday. Turn that thing off, will you?" Dean asked, shaking his head at us.

"What are you kidding?" I asked with a grin. "This isn't the most beautiful song you've ever heard?"

"No," Dean said with a frown. "How many Tuesday did you have?"

I threw on a shirt and shrugged at him. "I don't know, I lost count," I said, looking at Beth, she was lying down again, looking a little strained.

"Hey, wait. What do you remember?" I asked.

"I remember the pair of you were pretty whacked out of it yesterday and then I remember running into the Trickster. But no, that's about it." Dean said with a shrug of his own, spitting out his toothpaste and rinsing his mouth before coming back into the room.

"All right," I said, looking over at Beth, who hadn't moved. "Pack your stuff, let's get the hell out of town. Now."

"No breakfast?" Dean asked, looking hungry.

"No breakfast," I said, shaking my head at him.

Dean looked over at Beth and then sat on the side of the bed, reaching out to pull her hands from over her face.

"You okay?" He asked. She sighed and looked at him, sitting up and staring at him. She shook her head, and I frowned, looking at her.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It can't be that easy," she said, looking over at me. "Maybe we should hunt down the Trickster again, just to be sure."

"No, I think he was a bit over it, don't you?" I said, shaking my head.

Beth shrugged again, looking unconvinced.

"Right, well, gonna throw these things in the car then," Dean said, hoisting the weapons bag and his duffel over his shoulders. He left the room and Beth pulled herself out of bed.

"What's up with you?" I asked, looking over at her.

"I'm tired Sam, you realise I don't think we've actually had any real rest in over three months? That's what it feels like anyway, I feel like I've lost my mind." Beth said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, I know," I said, packing some clothes into my bag. "Well let's just..." My train of thought was interrupted by a gunshot downstairs.

"Dean!" Beth said, and we raced for the door. Dean was on the ground when we found him. I reached him first, pulling him up against me as Beth crouched next to us, looking him over and patting his face.

"No, no, no no no, hey, hey... Dean come on, not today, this isn't supposed to happen today, come on," I rambled as Beth just stared in horror, her eyes wide and panicked.

Dean wasn't moving. I saw Beth close her eyes and rock, and I waited to wake up again. This was like some kind of sick joke the Trickster was playing on us. Nothing happened. Everything remained the same.

"We're supposed to wake up," Beth said softly, sniffing back tears. "Sam, we're supposed to wake up!"

---

Six Months Later

Beth's Journal

Bobby has been ringing for weeks, but we are past talking. Jefferson, Cole, Ellen, they've all been trying to reach us and make sure we're okay. Truth is, we're not, and we're never going to be until we find the Trickster and set things right. I've reached this point where I now know it was always Dean keeping us together. How can we go on without him? It's the only thing that drives me now, getting him back, and it's so painful I can't even speak about it, I don't talk to Sam, I don't talk to anyone, I just write it out, and I pull it closely around me like a shield, and I go on.

I looked over at Sam as I drove the Impala into the motel. He had the phone out and on speaker, Bobby had called, again.

"Sam? It's Bobby. Heard about that demon thing you and Beth took care of in Death Valley. Nice job. Been about three months we talked though. Be nice to hear either of your voices. Give a call. I'm here."

We said nothing. I put the car into park and shut off the engine, grabbing a bag off the backseat and coming around to open the motel room. Sam followed me inside and sat down, pulling his overshirt off. The bullet wound looked worse than it probably was; I sighed and pulled out the whiskey, he was going to need some.

With a pair of scissors, I cut off the t-shirt and saw that the wound just under his heart was still bleeding. I sighed and pulled out the hydrogen peroxide, my eyes meeting his and he nodded, gritting his teeth. I cleaned up the wound's outer, then with long-nosed tweezers I fished around in the wound, looking for the bullet.

Sam never said a word, we didn't talk much these days. It was a hard life and somehow both of us were so busy blaming ourselves for Dean's death that we didn't want to come back into the real world. I looked at Sam as I worked, he was cold, emotionless, much like I suppose I was now too. He barely even flinched with the pain.

As I pulled out the bullet and started to stitch him up, I wondered if this was what we had to look forward to, if we managed to find the Trickster and revert everything back to the way it had been six months ago, we still only had a few months before Dean was going to Hell. What then?

I didn't even want to look at what happened then. It was too real, this life we were living. It didn't even feel like living. It was surviving, and barely that if one really took a closer look. When I was done with Sam, I helped settle him in bed and then brought him some food and a bottle of whiskey.

Lying on my own bed I flipped open my phone, I had a message too. Sam had nodded off so I didn't switch it to speaker. I knew who it would be. I stood up and looked at our research wall, all covered in newspaper clippings and security-camera stills of the Trickster. He'd been busy, but we never seemed to be any closer to finding him.

"Princess, you have to talk to me sometime." Jefferson's voice said on the recording. "Come on, you haven't called in months. I'm worried about you." There was a pause and I imagined him giving me his stern look. "Okay, well just tell me you and Sam are not sitting around obsessing over this damn Trickster. Call me, Beth. I can help." He paused again as if waiting for his statement to sink in. "By the way, I heard about that vampire nest in Austin, well done, but way too dangerous for you and Sam to have risked it alone. Stop being suicidal princess. Call me."

I saved the message, I did with all Jefferson's, it was good to hear the concern in his voice, even if I didn't feel like talking. Grabbing my candle from my bag, I went outside and sat down under the closest tree to the motel room that had some actual grass under it.

Leaning back against the rough bark of the trunk, I stared into the night sky, watching the stars sparkle back at me. Tears came to my eyes as I thought about all the countless nights Dean and I had done the same, sitting on the hood of the Impala, cuddled up under a blanket. Magical moments. Moments I might never see again.

Lighting the candle, I turned my stare to the flickering flame, stilling my mind for prayer. My voice was scratchy from the little I talked these days. Sam and I didn't really discuss anything, we worked in silence, existing with little nods and gestures.

"I don't even know if anyone is listening anymore, but I had to believe someone is, I have to believe you're all still there. I could use a little help, I'm really not coping, Sam definitely isn't coping, and we need Dean back here, with us, he's the only one holding this family together. Please. I don't beg, not usually, but I will now. I'm begging whoever is listening, help us find the Trickster and return Dean to us. You have to hear me, you have to help us. I don't know how much more of this I can take."

My hands were twisted together as I stared down at the flame. I never got a response, I don't even know why I kept doing this other than my parents' ingrained faith. I did believe, but I failed to see lately how my problems were relevant to a few angels, surely they had bigger and better things to be taking care of? Just the same, I still prayed, and hoped for a miracle.

I sat out outside for a good long while, just enjoying the peace and quiet.

The silence was broken by the motel room door opening, and Sam peering out into the darkness, looking for me. He'd find me, I almost felt too weak to rise to my feet, my resolve was weakening.

When Sam did reach my side, he held up his phone and hit replay on a voice message.

"Sam? It's Bobby. I found him." Was the simple message. I met Sam's eyes and for the first time in months I saw a flicker of emotion.

"Well let's go," I said, allowing him to help me to my feet. Sam nodded and moved with me to the motel room. We worked quickly, grabbing a few bags. We'd be back if we didn't find him, so all our research stayed on the walls.

Five hours later we were standing in the Mystery Spot, a place I hadn't been since Dean died. Bobby was already there, kneeling on the floor and turning the pages of a book in the middle of a circle he'd drawn. He had summoning ingredients in the circle, I didn't recognise any of them.

Bobby stood up when we entered, moving to give me a hug which I returned with a smile, it was good to see a friendly face.

"It's good to see you kids," he said with a smile.

He moved to hug Sam, but the boy was unresponsive, the way he had been for months.

"What are we doing here, Bobby?" Sam asked.

"Well, it's the last place we're sure the Trickster worked his magic," he explained.

"So?" Sam said.

"So you want this thing? I found a summoning ritual to bring the Trickster here," Bobby said.

"What do we need?" I asked, looking at him curiously.

"Blood," he said, looking at me.

"How much blood?" I questioned.

"Ritual says near a gallon. And it's gotta be fresh, too," he said, I felt myself pale a little at the thought.

"Meaning we had to bleed a person dry," Sam said without any emotion in his voice.

"And it's gotta be tonight. Or not for another fifty years," Bobby said to us. I frowned. What was so special about tonight? Sam didn't even blink.

"Then let's go get some," he said, starting to walk out.

I stared after Sam, frowning. "Sam..." I hesitated and he turned to look back at me and Bobby.

"You break my heart, kid," Bobby said softly.

"What?" Sam asked.

"I'm not gonna let you murder an innocent man," Bobby said, watching him with sad eyes.

"Then why'd you bring us here?" Sam asked, throwing his arms out.

"Why? Because it was the only way you'd see me! Because I'm trying to knock some sense into you! Because I thought you'd back down from killing a man!" Bobby said, looking at me.

"Well, you thought wrong. Leave the stuff, I'll do it myself," Sam said. I flinched at the coldness in his voice. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be.

"Sam, don't be ridiculous, I'm not going to let you murder someone just to get our hands on the Trickster, we'll find another way," I said, taking a couple of steps toward him.

Sam glared at me. "Like we've found during the last six months?" He asked me. I sighed, shaking my head.

"Dean wouldn't want us to do this," I said softly.

"Don't you talk to me about what Dean would want! He isn't here!" Sam said loudly at me, stepping in toward me.

"You think I haven't noticed?!" I snapped back at him.

"Stop it, the pair of you!" Bobby said to us, and we looked over at him. "Either way I'm not going to let you kill a man."

"It's none of your damn business what I do!" Sam shouted at him. Bobby paused, assessing him. I ran a hand across my eyes, shaking my head. This was all getting out of control, Sam was losing it. Bobby's eyes turned hard and resigned, sighing at Sam.

"You want your brother back so bad?" Bobby asked, leaning down and pulling a knife out of his bag. He held the knife out to Sam, eyes narrowing. "Fine."

Sam eyed the knife in his hand and frowned. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

"Better me than a civilian," Bobby said. I turned sharply to look at him.

"What? Bobby no," I said, shaking my head. Bobby simply held the knife out for Sam to take.

"You're crazy, Bobby. I'm not killing you," Sam said.

"Oh, now I'm the crazy one? Look, Sam, I'm old, I'm coming near the end of my trail. But you can keep fighting. Saving folk. But you need your brother. Let me get him back to you," Bobby said.

I stepped in between them and glared. "What are you talking about? You have a daughter, you have two daughters who might have a different opinion on just how near the end of your trail you are!" I said, looking at Bobby.

"Bobby..." Sam said, and I thought I caught a glimmer of tears in his eyes.

"You and Dean, you boys are the closest thing I have to sons. I wanna do this," Bobby said.

Sam took the knife from Bobby and nodded.

"Okay," Sam said. I gasped and stepped up to the both.

"This is madness! No, I'm not going to let you do this!" I said, stepping up to Sam and pushing him back.

"Stay out of it Beth!" Sam said, shoving me hard. I stumbled back against the nearest wall. He swung the knife back around at me and pointed it in my direction. "You stay back. I'm not gonna tell you again."

I glared at him, pulling a knife out of my boot and running at him, feinting at the last moment to come around and slash at Sam's hand holding the knife. He roared angrily at me, dropping the knife. He grabbed my arm, swinging me hard against the wall again, this time when I hit, I stayed down, my head ringing and near to unconscious and searing pain running the length of my left arm.

Bobby watched emotionless, looking at Sam as he stood up.

"Okay," Sam said again, looking at Bobby.

"Good," Bobby said with a nod.

Bobby turned and got down on his knees, his back to Sam. "Just make it quick," he said. Sam waited, looking at Bobby. "Do it, son," Bobby said, pressing him.

"Don't do it Sam," I said, holding my arm where I was pretty sure he'd dislocated my shoulder.

"Yeah, okay, Bobby," Sam said with a smirk, and then I watched as he pulled a stake out of his jacket. "But you wanna know why?" He asked. I stared, the realisation of what he was about to do dawning on me.

Sam grabbed Bobby around the throat and shoved the stake through his back. "Because you're not Bobby," he muttered, twisting the stake.

Bobby went still and then fell forward. Sam let him got and stared at the corpse on the ground. I struggled to my feet.

"Oh Sam, what have you done!" I muttered, moving toward the body. "Bobby? Bobby!" I knelt painfully by his side, shaking him.

"Bobby?" Sam asked, his face crumpling as I looked up at him. Suddenly the corpse disappeared from beside me, the stake fell over and then went flying through the air, over Sam's shoulder, stopping in the hand of the Trickster who had appeared behind Sam.

"You're right," he said with a grin. "I was just screwing with you. Pretty good though, Sam. Smart. Let me tell you, whoever said Dean was the dysfunctional one has never seen you with a sharp object in your hands. Holy Full Metal Jacket!" He looked over at me as I stood up, frowning. "Didn't think you'd hurt your precious sister to get at me though, interesting, a bit of resentment going on there maybe? Maybe some jealousy? Does brother Dean love little Beth more than Sammy?"

Sam sucked in a breath, glaring at him. "Bring him back."

"Who, Dean?" He asked. "Didn't my girl send you flowers? Dean's dead. He ain't coming back. His soul's downstairs doing the hellfire rumba as we speak."

I stepped up next to Sam, my eyes searching the Trickster's for the tiniest bit of mercy. "Please, please, just take us back to that Tuesday – er, Wednesday – when it all started. Please. We won't come after you, I swear."

"You swear?" He said to me with a skeptical look.

I looked at Sam who nodded. "Yes," he said.

The Trickster seemed to contemplate the request. "I don't know," he said, shrugging. "Even if I could..."

"You can," I said, I knew he could.

"True," he said with an egotistical look of satisfaction. "But that don't mean I should. Beth, Sam, there's a lesson here that I've been trying to drill into that Cro-Magnon skull of yours."

"Lesson?" Sam asked, tearfully. "What lesson?"

"This obsession to save Dean? The way you guys all keep sacrificing yourselves for each other? Nothing good comes of it," he said with a stern look. "Just blood, and pain. Dean's your weakness, for both of you. And the bad guys know it too. It's gonna be the death of you both. Sometimes, you just gotta let people go."

"I can't," I said, looking at him, shaking my head. "I can't, it's too much to ask, it hurts too much."

"He's our brother!" Sam added, putting his arm around me, grimacing when I flinched at the pain that sent through me.

"Yup," the Trickster agreed with us. "And like it or not, this is what life's gonna be like without him."

I looked at him, my eyes swimming with tears. "Please. Just... please," I begged, not having the words for anything more.

The Trickster looked at me and sighed, rolling his eyes. "I swear, it's like talking to a brick wall. You know, you guys are important, especially you," he said pointing at me. "You just haven't been given all the information yet."

I frowned, shaking my head. "What are you talking about?"

"All in good time, all in good time, not my place to say... yet," he said with a smirk.

"Well, say it now or not at all, because if you don't set this right, I'm not going to be around long enough to be important!" I snapped at him. "Because I'm done. I can't do this, and I won't do it without Dean, I can't."

"You can't save him," he said, looking at us both.

"You don't know that," I said, "we had time. Until you took that away from us. All I want is that time back."

I picked up my knife from the ground nearby and held it to my throat. "Or go tell whoever it is that thinks we're important, that I'm important, they can stick their great big important job up their great big ass because I'm not buying."

He sighed at me, shaking his head. "You're as stubborn as giant boy here, you might be worse," he said to me. I pressed the knife harder against my aorta to make my point.

"Oh I'm definitely more desperate," I said, watching him. There was something strange about this so-called god. Why did he give a damn about us? Why did he care whether we had to be prepared for Dean's death or not?

"Who are you really?" I asked, looking at him.

"What are you talking about? I'm Loki!" He said with a smirk.

"No, you're not. You're more powerful than a demi-god," I said, frowning at him.

He snapped his fingers and everything around us froze, including Sam, and he stared at me. "Maybe I am," he said. "But you'd probably be the only one who could tell, typical." He paused, looking at me, his eyes a little softer. "I'm not lying about your destiny, they expect big things of you," he said, "you and Dean and Sam."

"Who are they? And didn't they get the memo? Dean's going to Hell!" I snapped, dropping the knife to my side, curious.

"All in good time," he said with a smile as he started to pace in front of me. He paused again and looked to the side of him, like he was listening to somebody who wasn't there.

"Look, this all stopped being fun months ago. I'm over it." He said, looking at me.

"Meaning what?" I asked.

"Meaning, you can't escape your destiny Beth, but you can delay it for now. But, that's for me to know, and you to find out." He said, snapping his fingers.

---

Motel Room

Sam's POV

Promise me I'll be back in time...

I sat up in bed, hardly believing my eyes. Dean was standing at the bathroom sink just like he had been on that fated Wednesday, brushing his teeth. He turned around, looking at Beth in the bed and smiling. "What, you guys gonna sleep all day?" He asked.

"No Asia," I said to Beth, and Dean nodded at the comment.

"Yeah I know. This station sucks," he said, brushing some more at his teeth.

I looked over at the clock, and then Beth, expecting her to suddenly realise the change in days, the fact that we'd gone back six months in time. But she just shrugged, sitting up in bed, resting her arms on her knees and looking at Dean.

"It's Wednesday!" I said, looking at her.

"Yeah, usually comes after Tuesday. Turn that thing off, will you?" Beth said with a grin, climbing out of bed and crossing to where Dean was, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him softly.

I jumped out of bed and enveloped them both in a big hug, Beth laughed a little and Dean looked surprised.

"Dude, how many Tuesdays did you have?" He asked.

I pulled back, looking at him. "Enough. What, uh, what do you remember?" I asked them both.

"I remember you were both pretty whacked out of it yesterday. I remember meeting up with the Trickster. That's about it," he answered. Beth looked a little confused, shaking her head.

"Beth? You don't remember anything else?" I asked, frowning at her.

"Huh? No... I mean there wasn't anything else to remember right? He just... snapped his fingers and here we are, right?" She asked.

I contemplated that statement, looking at her. What was in it for the Trickster in wiping her memory of the last six months?

"Yeah... yeah right," I said, not wanting to alarm them. "Come on, let's go."

"No breakfast?" Dean asked, looking disappointed.

"No breakfast," I said, shaking my head.

"All right," Dean said with a shrug, pulling away from Beth and going over to their bags. "I'll pack the car."

I almost panicked. "Wait, you're not going anywhere alone!" I said, frowning at him.

"It's the parking lot, Sam," Dean said, shaking his head in amusement.

"Just... just trust me," I said, looking at them both.

I kept watch on Dean while Beth showered and dressed, skipping my own shower and just changing into a fresh pair of clothes. I was dying for a decent meal, and feeling a bit guilty over how hard I'd thrown Beth against that wall, dislocating her shoulder and everything – not that she remembered, one might even say it never happened at this point. But I remembered.

"Hey. You don't look so good," Beth said as she walked out of the bathroom, glancing at me. "Something else happen?" She asked, her eyes full of concern. I kicked myself a little, how could I have been so mad at her? She was always there for me, just like Dean, and I'd put her through Hell and more, yet she still loved my unconditionally, watched over me.

"I uh, I just had a really weird dream," I said as way of explanation. Beth's mouth twitched a little and she nodded.

"Clowns or midgets?" Dean asked, picking up Beth's bag off the bed.

I looked up at him with a semi-glare, and Dean grinned at me. I tried to smile at him, to forget what the last six months had been like without him. I picked up my bag as Dean and Beth made their way out of the motel room. I stepped over the threshold and glanced back at the room, the bed unmade, the way it had looked for hundreds of days on end, I couldn't even talk to Beth about it because for whatever reason, the Trickster had wiped her mind.

I wondered what that was about, and at the same time I was thankful for it because she didn't need to carry that with her, the desperation that had come from six months of futile searching for a way to bring Dean back. The reality of that situation would be with us soon enough if we didn't manage to save him from Hell, the least anyone could do is not taint the time she had left with him.

---

AUTHOR'S NOTES

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Song is: If you're gone by Matchbox 20

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Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you enjoy this little snippet before the holidays festivities all begin! I have family here for Christmas Eve and the following few days, but I am dying to get on to Jus In Bello, I've had parts of it written since Season 2 LOL

I hope everyone has a great Christmas! I'll be at Christmas Eve Midnight Mass (just like Beth hahaa) and then enjoying a few drinks Christmas Day with family.

I should, if I get the momentum going, have Jus In Bello out before New Years :D

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Thanks to everyone who sent reviews/PMs/FB messages about the last chapter – I'm glad you enjoyed it, I certainly liked writing it!

This chapter will also eventually get a look-in from Gabriel's perspective and all the hidden messages he's not telling Beth right now when I finally get around to starting his FanFic story... but that might not be for a while.

I realise this didn't really have a lot of original content in it - and by far isn't one of my best pieces, but it is an important part for character development of Sam and Beth, and there's plenty of original stuff coming up once Dean goes to Hell, you'll probably get sick of it!

I have a million plot bunnies running around in my head right now, especially a few ideas for originally pieces, but they are kind of post Dean-in-Hell so a little bit off being written yet, but I'm looking forward to getting them done at some point!

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Please let me a review, you know it puts a smile on my face and would be a great Xmas pressie for me :D

Mahalo and once again, happy holidays, however you celebrate.