Oh lights go down
In the moment we're lost and found
I just wanna be by your side
If these wings could fly
Oh damn these walls
In the moment we're ten feet tall
And how you told me after it all
We'd remember tonight
For the rest of our lives

JUS IN BELLO

Monument, Colorado

Motel Room

Dean's POV

We'd finally gotten a lead on the two faced bitch who had tricked us and stolen the Colt: Bela Talbot. Sam entered the motel room first, gun drawn and sweeping the area. Beth and I followed closely, backing him up as I shut the door. I went straight to the drawers of the nearby dresser, pulling them out and finding a few articles of clothing, but nothing of consequence. Sam was at the wall safe.

"Any sign of it?" I asked, Sam turned around and shook his head.

"Nothing. Are you sure this is Bela's room?" Sam asked.

Beth stood up from a bedside drawer holding a couple of wigs in her hands. "Oh, I'd stay so," she said with a smirk, tossing the wigs on the bed.

The phone, also on the bed, started to ring and I narrowed my eyes at it, sharing a look with Beth who raised her eyebrow. Slowly I walked over to it, Sam shook his head and Beth shrugged. Picking up the receiver I held it to my ear, not saying a word.

"Dean? Sweetie, are you there?" Bela's voice came over the line. I scowled and took a deep breath in.

"Where are you?" I asked. Beth and Sam were instantly on alert.

"Two states away by now," she answered in the usual flippant tone of hers.

"Where?" I asked.

"Where's our usual quippy banter?" Bela asked. "I miss it."

"I want it back, Bela... now," I demanded, not in the mood for games. I didn't believe for a moment that she'd just hand such a prize back, but I had to at least try.

"Your little pistol, you mean?" Bela asked innocently. "Sorry, I can't at the moment."

"You understand how many people are gonna die if you do this?" I asked her, trying to at least guilt her into returning the Colt.

"What exactly do you think I plan to do with it?" Bela asked.

"Take the only weapon we have against an army of demons and sell it to the highest bidder," I answered without hesitation. I knew exactly what she planned to do with it, it was what she did with anything of value that ever crossed her path.

"You know nothing about me," Bela snapped back.

"I know I'm gonna stop you," I responded.

"Tough words for a guy who can't even find me," Bela retorted and I smirked.

"Oh I'll find you sweetheart. You know why? Because I have absolutely nothing better to do than to track you down," I said confidently, and I meant every word. Until we found that Colt we had no way of bargaining my way out of this contract that was sending me to Hell.

"That's where you're wrong," Bela said to me. "You're about to be quite occupied." I looked up at the others, wary all of a sudden. "Did you really think I wouldn't take precautions?"

As she said that police officers burst through the door, pointing guns at the three of us. We all raised our hands above our heads.

"Hands in the air!"

"Down on your knees!"

We were badgered with commands, and I sucked in a breath, dropping the phone.

"That bitch!" I muttered and Beth's mouth twitched in agreement as she looked over at me, hands on her head as she watched the police officers filing into the room. There were a lot of them, they'd pretty much sent the entire police station at us.

"Turn around! Now!" One of them shouted at me, and at least two officers each forced Sam and I to the ground, pulling our hands behind our back and cuffing us. Beth was restrained by a couple of officers and I smirked, shaking my head. Idiots, did they really think she was any less dangerous than us?

"Sam and Dean Winchester, you have the right to remain silent," an officer started reading us our rights as I saw a pair of shoes walk my way. I looked over at Sam, curious.

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney and have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you at government expense," the officer finished as we looked up and saw Agent Victor Henriksen looking down at us.

"Hi guys... it's been a while," he said with a smile. I groaned, and laid my head against the floor. So not what we needed right now.

He looked up, gesturing to Beth. "What are you idiots doing? Cuff her and read her rights. She's just as dangerous as the pair of them!" Henriksen said. He raised an eyebrow as Beth's arms were brought behind her back and she was cuffed. "Guess you won't be playing attorney any time soon – Elizabeth Sullivan... that's right, I did my research as soon as I found out you sure as Hell aren't Kate Martin," he said. Beth raised an eyebrow and remained silent. I closed my eyes, groaning again. The last thing I needed was to end up in a maximum security prison when the Hell hounds came for me.

Monument Police Station

Beth's POV

You'd have thought we were on top of the world's most wanted list the way Henriksen carted us into the police station. They'd shackled the boys, sparing me the issue, but I was still cuffed and restrained by two officers. Sam and Dean were led into the station first, with the officers and myself following. Dean was in full smart ass mode, which wasn't surprising – he always did that to mask the nervousness he was feeling.

"Why all the sourpusses?" He asked, smiling at the officers gathered in the main office area. The secretary, whose name was Nancy according to the name plate on her desk, looked particularly scared of us, and she grasped a rosary in her hands. I raised an eyebrow in curiosity – a religious girl, interesting.

"I'll show you to the cells," Agent Reidy said, I'd met him back when Sam and Dean had been doing a job in prison, they'd thought I was a public defender then, now they had no idea who I was, so they assumed I was dangerous. In a way, they weren't wrong.

Reidy pulled on the chain attached to Dean's hands and he pulled back. "Hey! Hey! Watch the merchandise!" He said with an amused look.

My eyes met Nancy's as we walked past and I raised my eyebrow. "We're not the ones you should be scared of, Nancy," I said, nodding at her rosary, and then falling silent as we were guided into the cells.

An officer uncuffed one of the bracelets at my wrist, turning my arms to the front and then recuffed me. I smirked, shaking my head at him. "Just how dangerous to you think I am?" I asked, receiving a glare in response while Dean chuckled.

The three of us were shoved into a cell and left. Dean headed for the bed while Sam moved for the door, and they both nearly fell over due to the chains holding them together.

"Dean, come on!" Sam snapped, tugging on the chain.

"All right, all right! Sit?" Dean asked in frustration. Sam nodded.

"Yeah."

They moved awkwardly toward the bed and sat down while I leaned against the bars of the cell, looking at them.

"So, how are we going to Houdini out of this one?" I asked softly, taking a few deep breaths and trying not to panic.

"Good question," Sam said with a sigh.

A short while later Henriksen came into the cell area and stood looking at us all.

"You know what I'm trying to decide?" He finally asked.

"I don't know. Whether Cialis will help you with your little condition?" Dean asked with a smirk, I grinned at him, my back more or less turned to the Agent.

"What to have for dinner tonight," Henriksen answered. I turned to raise an eyebrow at him. "Steak, or lobster? What the hell, surf and turf," he decided on. I rolled my eyes at him, something that he didn't fail to notice.

"I got a lot to celebrate. I mean, after all, seeing you two in chains... and your accomplice behind bars..." He turned to look at me. "I still haven't pieced all the puzzle together with you, for instance, no record of your parents other than a stepfather... John Winchester, but give me time, I will, then it's cuffs for you too."

"You kinky son of a bitch," Dean said with a smirk. "We don't swing that way, threesomes not out thing." I chuckled and tried to hide my smile, it was definitely not something we'd ever tried again after one crazy evening where Dean and I had gotten caught up in the seductive spell of a succubus.

"Now, that's funny," Henriksen said without a hint of humour in his eyes.

"You know, I wouldn't bust out the melted butter just yet. Couldn't catch us at the bank, couldn't keep us in that jail," Dean said with a cocky attitude.

"You're right. Screwed up. I underestimated you, and didn't know about your little sister here. I didn't count on you being that smart, but now I'm ready," Henriksen said.

"Yeah? Ready to lose us again?" Dean asked, clearly taking the lead with the banter here. I decided it was best to keep quiet, Dean had this. I forced my face to stay neutral, just like Dean's and Sam's, like we'd been trained. Poker face. Don't let the enemy know what you're thinking, how you're feeling, don't let them read you in any way. My heart however was beating fast beneath my chest, and I felt like the walls were starting to close in; we were in trouble, I knew it, Sam and Dean knew it too – but we weren't going to give Henriksen the satisfaction of seeing us sweat.

"Ready like a court order to keep you in a Supermaximum prison in Nevada until trial," Henriksen countered. "Ready like isolation in a soundproof, windowless cell, that's between you and me... probably unconstitutional." I turned to look at Dean, swallowing back a throat of bile.

"How's that for ready?" Henriksen said. Dean's face was unemotional, but he ran a hand across his mouth, his eyes flicking to me as I bit my lip. Sam was frowning, glancing between Henriksen and Dean, we were in deep, and it was starting to hit home.

"Take a good look at Sam; at your sister," I glared at him as he smirked in my direction. "You three will never see each other again." We all looked at Henriksen, disconcerted and starting to feel apprehensive.

"Aw, where's that smug smile, Dean? I want to see it," Henriksen said.

Dean shook his head, a smile of disbelief tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You got the wrong guys," he said finally.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Henriksen said. "You fight monsters. Sorry, Dean. Truth is, your daddy brainwashed you with all that devil talk and no doubt touched you in a bad place. That's all, that's reality, probably find that this one here is a kidnapped girl who is suffering Stockholm Syndrome, parents out there still wondering where she is, who took her, what kind of harm she's come to."

I turned and stared at him, shaking my head. "You haven't got any idea about us, so shut your mouth," I said.

"Oh she does speak? Finally! Well, guess what? Doesn't matter how you feel about these two, whether you're a willing accomplice or not, you're still in some trouble," he said before turning back to the boys. "Life sucks boys. Get a helmet. 'Cause everybody's got a sob story. But not everybody becomes a killer."

The sound of a helicopter whirring over head came through the walls and I glanced up in alarm. Things were moving way too quickly for us to come up with a plan here.

"And now I have two, maybe three, less to worry about," Henriksen said with a smile, looking at his watch. "It's surf and turf time!" He laughed and turned, leaving us alone. I looked over at the boys who were starting to appear slightly as stressed as I was. I felt sick to my stomach, like I was going to throw up. I moved to sit next to Dean, tossing him a worried look – I didn't like the idea of any of us being in prison, but especially not of Dean being in a supermaximum isolation cell when those hellhounds came for him. Dean mustered up a reassuring smile for me, taking my hands in his and squeezing them softly. I leaned against him and sighed.

"We are so screwed," I said. The boys said nothing.

Not ten minutes after the chopper landed, a self-assured looking man in a suit with a head full of dark hair walked into the cells. He closed the door to the main office behind him and I felt the nausea in my stomach double, I was sure I was going to be sick, but I couldn't let them see just how much I was starting to freak out. Dean dropped my hand, giving me a warning look to stay calm and let him speak as he stood up and looked at the guy.

The man turned to face us and smiled. "Sam and Dean Winchester... Beth O'Malley... I'm Deputy Director Steven Groves. This is a pleasure," he said. I looked up sharply, curious at the name he'd known me as. Only people within the supernatural community knew that name, there was no record of it past the age of fifteen when I'd been reported as dead.

"Well, glad one of us feels that way," Dean said, glossing over this new information.

"I've been waiting a long time for you three to come out of the woodwork," he said. I didn't miss the reference to three of us, this man knew all about us, more than Henriksen knew.

"We've been looking for you for a while now." He said. That was when the sickness started to make sense.

"Dammit, he's a demon!" I muttered, standing up as he pulled a gun and shot Dean in the left shoulder. I flinched as blood sprayed against the wall and Dean fell back toward the bed. I moved quickly, unburdened by the shackles that Sam was. Groves was pointing the gun through the bars; several more shorts were fired, narrowly missing Dean as I got my cuffs around his wrists, yanking up and keeping the gun pointed at the ceiling.

I looked into the now black eyes of Groves, and started to recite the exorcism I had committed to memory. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio, infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica..." Groves' head whipped side to side as he fought the ritual. I stopped briefly for a breath and he smirked, looking over at Dean and Sam who were by the bed.

"Sorry. Got to cut this short. It's gonna be a long night guys," he said before throwing his head back and leaving Groves' body, disappearing as a cloud of black smoke into a ceiling air vent. Groves screamed as the demon left his body, bringing two police officers running.

Groves fell to the ground as Henriksen entered, pointing his gun at me.

"Put the gun down!" One of the officers yelled at me.

I held the gun out in a submissive pose, "Wait. Okay. Wait!" I said amidst the chaos, watching them as Sam tried to help Dean.

"She shot him!" The officer shouted.

"I didn't shoot him. I didn't shoot anyone!" I said, trying to keep my voice level and calm.

"He shot me!" Dean shouted at the officers.

"Get on your knees," Henriksen said to me.

"Okay, okay, okay. Don't shoot. Please," I said, holding out the gun. "Look. Here. Here." I said, sliding the gun through the bars and to the floor. "We didn't shoot him. Check the body. There's no blood. We did not kill him." The officers looked between themselves in confusion. "Go ahead, check him," I urged, waiting for them to find exactly what I was saying.

Reidy leaned down and checked the dead agent's body. "Vic, there's no bullet wound," he said, looking up at Henriksen.

"He's probably been dead for months," Dean said, grimacing and sitting up.

"What did you do to him?" Henriksen asked.

"We didn't do anything," I answered, my eyes on Dean and that bullet wound.

"Talk, or I shoot," Henriksen said to Dean, his gun still trained at me.

Dean's eyes widened a little as he looked over at Henriksen. "You won't believe us," he said, looking back at me.

"He was possessed," Sam said, his arm at Dean's back, supporting him.

"Possessed? Right," Henriksen said in disbelief. "Fire up the chopper! We're taking them out of here now."

"Yeah! Do that!" Dean said, nodding. Clearly wanting to get us out of here before the demon had a chance to bring an entire army of demons down upon us.

"Bill?" Reidy said into a walkie talkie. "Bill, are you there?"

There was no answer. Reidy stood up and Henriksen nodded for him to check outside. The two other officers still had their guns pointed at us. We waited with bated breath for Reidy to check in with us. Suddenly his muffled voice came over the airwaves.

"They're dead. I think they're all dead," he said, I closed my eyes, cursing. Suddenly there was a burst of light through the window and Henriksen flinched.

"What the hell was that? Reidy? Reidy?" He asked into the walkie talkie. "What the hell was that? Come in? Reidy? Reidy?"

Henriksen ran out into the main office and I turned to Dean, examining his shoulder. He shrugged me off a little as the lights went out, looking over at Sam.

"That can't be good," he muttered.

"We are so screwed," I said again, kneeling in front of him and opening his jacket a little to see the blood spreading through his t-shirt.

"We've run out of time," Sam said, "that demon has already gotten reinforcements, they're coming for us." Dean and I nodded our agreement, and I felt my heartbeat rise just a little. I didn't know what was worse: either we were on our way to maximum security prison with an FBI escort, or we were sitting ducks in a cell waiting for a demon army to appear.

"We need to come up with a plan, and fast," Dean said, looking at me. I bit my lip, he was always the one who came up with the plans, most of the time. I found myself yearning for the days when John was in charge, and we didn't have to worry about such things.

I grabbed the toilet paper roll from next to the toilet bowl, unwinding a large compress of paper and pressed it up against his wound, he grunted and flinched at the contact.

"Don't be such a wuss," I said with a grin, kissing his cheek softly.

Henriksen came back into the room, looking majorly aggrieved.

"What's the plan? Kill everyone in the station, bust you three out?" He asked us, coming to a stop at the bars.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, turning to face him as I stood up, the boys following my example and standing up as well.

"I'm talking about your psycho friends. I'm talking about the blood bath," Henriksen said, glaring at me.

"Okay," Dean said, still grimacing from his shoulder. "I promise you, whoever's out there, they're not here to help us." Henriksen looked at us sceptically, taking a step back and shaking his head.

"Look, you gotta believe us," Sam tried, looking at the agent. "Everyone here is in terrible danger."

"You think?" Henriksen asked sarcastically.

"Why don't you let us out of here so we can save your asses?" Dean said.

"From what?" Henriksen asked. Dean hesitated in his reply, we all knew how it sounded. "You gonna say 'demons'?" The agent asked, raising his gun up and pointing it at the ceiling in a frustrated gesture. "Don't you dare say 'demons'. Let me tell you something, you should be a lot more scared of me." He said, and he stalked off to the main office again.

I sighed, turning back to Dean who was shaking his head at nothing in particular. "How's the shoulder?" I asked.

Dean pulled the paper away from the wound and grimaced. "It's awesome." The bleeding had stopped for the moment, Dean looked at the paper pad tossed it into a corner. "I'll live," he said to me, his mouth twitching into a semi smile. "You know, if we get out of here alive."

I snickered and nodded. "So, you got a plan?" I asked, as I looked at the exit wound in Dean's back. He sucked in a breath as I felt around. It looked like a clean shot, nothing to stress about, no bullet lodged inside, but it still had to be smarting.

"Hey," Dean said softly, all of a sudden. We looked up and he nodded toward the entrance to the offices. Nancy was there, peeking around a corner at us.

"Hey..." Sam said to her, and she backed away, realising we'd noticed her.

"Uh, please, please. We need your help. It's... it's Nancy. Nancy right?" Sam tried again and she stopped like a deer caught in the headlights. "Nancy, my... my brother's been shot. He's... he's bleeding really bad. You think maybe you could get us a towel? Please? Just one clean towel?" Nancy looked uncertainly at us.

"Please, Nancy, just a towel... we're not the bad guys, I swear," I said to her, and she looked at me quietly before leaving us.

"Nice try," Dean muttered. Sam sighed, turning away from the bars and running a hand through his hair. A moment later Nancy was back, clean towel in hand. Sam approached her from our side of the bars.

"Thank you," Sam said with a smile. Nancy came closer, like a scared rabbit twitching and unsure. "It's okay," Sam said, holding out his handcuffed hands. Dean had to follow in order not to fall over as the boys were still attached together with the shackles.

Nancy passed the towel inside the bars as Sam smiled at her. She smiled back at him and then suddenly Sam grabbed her arm, dragging her against the bars. Nancy screamed and I gaped at Sam, not understanding the ploy. "Sam!" I cried out, moving toward him as one of the officers came running into the area waving a rifle at us.

"Let her go! Let her go!" He yelled at us and Sam complied, backing away with his hands in the air.

The officer pointed his rifle at Sam, eyes narrowed. "You okay, Nance?" He asked, she nodded, but looked scared. "Try something again, get shot. And not in the arm," he warned Sam.

"Okay," Sam said with a nod.

The other two left us and I looked at Sam, smacking him in the arm.

"What the hell was that about?" I asked, frowning at him and taking the clean towel from him and turning to press it against Dean's wound.

Sam held up Nancy's rosary with a smile. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Yeah? Got one of those!" I said, pulling my own rosary out from under my shirt.

Sam smirked, looking at me. "You're gonna thank me in a minute when I tell you what I'm about to do," he said. I raised my eyebrow at him, curious as to what he was thinking.

Jail Cell

Beth's POV

It had been about half an hour and nothing seemed to have changed, it was like the calm before the storm, and the air was alive with tension.

"We're like sitting ducks in here," Sam said and Dean nodded.

"Yeah, I know. Would it kill these cops to bring us a snack?!" He said, shouting the last bit toward the office where everyone else was gathered.

"How many you figure are out there?" Sam asked, looking at us.

"I don't know," Dean said, shrugging.

"However many there are, they could be possessing anyone. Anyone could just walk right in," he said. I bit my lip, nodding. Dean smirked, shaking his head.

"It's kind of wild, right? I mean it's like they're coming for us. They've never done that before. It's like we got a contract out on us." He smiled at me. "Think it's because we're so awesome? It think it's because we're so awesome." I snickered, shaking my head, but we both stopped smiling when our eyes met Sam's unamused look.

The Sheriff entered the cell area and unlocked the door, Dean looked curiously at him. "Well howdy there Sheriff," he greeted the man, standing up with Sam. The man largely ignored him while opening the cell door. I looked at him, he was sweating and looked panicked, not wanting to meet our gazes.

"Uh, Sheriff?" Sam asked, confused.

"It's time to go," he said to us, stepping into the cell. Dean took a step back, pulling me behind him a little and keeping his eyes on the Sheriff.

"Uh... you know what? We're just comfy right here. But thank you," Dean said, smiling at the man.

Henriksen appeared at the door, taking in the scene before him. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked.

"We're not just gonna sit around here and wait to die. We're gonna make a run for it," the Sheriff replied.

"It's safer here," the agent said.

"There's a SWAT facility in Boulder," the Sheriff countered, looking determined. We watched the exchange with curiosity, I couldn't think of a time when things were quite so insane and we had no say over it.

Henriksen stepped into the cell, his eyes fixed on the Sheriff. "We're not going anywhere," he said decidedly.

"The Hell we're not," came the reply and before I could take another breath Henriksen raised his gun, shooting the sheriff in the head. We moved instantly into action, Sam and Dean grabbing at the agent and disarming him, working together to move him toward the toilet. I picked up Henriksen's gun where it had been dropped and took a guarding stance over the boys as they shoved the Agent's head into the toilet bowl which now housed holy water, and Nancy's rosary.

Sam began chanting the exorcism as Dean held the agent down. The other officer ran into the room with his rifle, but stopped in his tracks as I pointed my gun at him.

"Stay back!" I shouted, sighting him and preparing to shoot if I had to.

Henriksen fought the boys, and his face was burning as he got out of the water, yelling. Sam shoved his head back down in the toilet and Dean looked urgently at Sam. "Hurry up!" Henriksen got his head free again, his eyes turning pitch black as he looked up to the ceiling.

"It's too late," he said. "I already called them. They're already coming!"

Dean shoved Henriksen's head back into the water as Sam finished the exorcism. Henriksen screamed as black smoke poured out of his mouth and into the air vent in the ceiling. I swallowed hard, looking at the agent as he fell to the floor.

Nancy had followed the officer into the cells and stared at Henriksen. "Is he... is he dead?" In answer, Henriksen coughed, regaining consciousness and sitting up.

"Henriksen! Hey... is that you in there?" Dean asked as the Agent looked around the room in distress, sitting up on the bed. He took one look at the Sheriff and shook his head in shock.

"I... I shot the Sheriff," he said.

Dean smiled, turning to look at me and then back at the Agent. "But you didn't shoot the deputy," he quipped, much to the disbelief of everyone around us. I suppressed a snicker, but smiled at Dean, amused at the comment.

"Five minutes ago, I was fine, and then..." Henriksen shook his head again, trying to understand what had happened to him.

"Let me guess. Some nasty black smoke jammed itself down your throat?" I asked, crossing my arms as best I could given I was still cuffed; the agent nodded.

"You were possessed," Sam informed Henriksen, who looked up sharply at us.

"Possessed like... posssessed?" He asked.

"That's what it feels like," I said with a shudder. "Now you know."

Dean smirked, looking down at Henriksen. "I owe you the biggest 'I told you so' ever," he said, taking the gun from my hands and giving it back to Henriksen. The Agent took the gun , his gaze falling to the floor as he thought about what we'd just said.

"Officer Amici," he said, standing up and turning to the officer who still had his rifle trained on us. "Keys..." Amici handed over his keys and Henriksen uncuffed us, his eyes meeting mine almost apologetically. "All right, so how do we survive?"

A short moment later we were demon proofing the station, Sam was drawing a devil's trap on the floor with spray paint in front of the main doors to the station. Dean and I were looking at the floor plans; he was marking out where the devil's traps needed to be as I cleaned his wound and dressed it in fresh gauze and bandages.

Amici and Henriksen prepared the guns, and I nodded toward them as Dean looked up.

"Well, that's nice. But it's not going to do much good," Dean commented, drawing their attention.

"We got an arsenal in here," Amici said.

"You don't poke a bear with a BB gun. That's just gonna make them mad," Dean said. Henriksen loosened his tie, looking at us.

"What do you need?" He asked.

"Salt," I answered, looking up. "Lots and lots of salt."

"Salt?" Amici asked, looking sceptical.

"What, is there an echo in here?" Dean asked smartly and I grinned.

"There's road salt in the storeroom," Nancy said from next to us.

"Perfect!" Dean said, looking at her and nodding at me. "Perfect!"

"We need salt at every window and every door," I instructed and Henriksen left with Amici to find the road salt. I finished up Dean's shoulder, taping it and sliding his t-shirt sleeve down over the bandage to help hold it in place. "There, that should hold," I said softly to him. He smiled, leaning back to kiss me quickly on the cheek.

"Thank you," he said. I met his gaze and saw the worry there, we were nowhere near out of the woods yet, and we all knew it. I mustered up a smile for him and then remembered that we were at least used to this kind of situation, some of those present were not.

"How you holding up Nancy?" I asked, looking over at the girl.

"Okay," she answered, but not very convincingly. "When I was little, I would come home from church and start to talk about the Devil. My parents would tell me to stop being so literal. I guess I showed them, huh?"

I smiled apologetically at her and shrugged, nodding at her. "Heck of a way to make a point though," I said with a smile, she simply smiled back at me.

Amici came in carrying two bags of road salt.

"Hey where's my car?" Dean asked him, and I frowned at him.

"Impound lot out back," Amici answered automatically.

Dean jumped off the desk he'd been sitting on and nodded. "Okay."

"Wait," Amici said, stopping to look at him. "You're not going out there?"

Dean nodded, looking at me. "Yeah, I got to get something out of my trunk," he answered. I sucked in a breath and sighed.

"Well you're not going alone," I said to him, putting the finality in my eyes. He opened his mouth to argue and saw the futility of it, sighing at me.

"I hate it when you do that," he said, grinning at me. I grinned back and patted him sympathetically on the back.

Impound Lot

Beth's POV

It was unexpectedly quiet and eerie outside as we approached the impound lot. Dean took the keys Amici had given him and opened the gate, creeping through the cars with me right behind him until we reached the Impala, opening the trunk. I took a shotgun that was loaded with salt from the arsenal, and kept watch as Dean started packing weapons and equipment into a bag. The lights across the road at a gas station started to flicker and I sucked in a panicked breath.

"Hurry up Dean," I whispered as thick black smoke raced past the lights. The lights around the impound lot started to flicker and crackle, and Dean grabbed the rest of the items we needed, slamming the trunk closed and meeting my eyes.

The black smoke was interspersed with blue and pink lightning like light, moving toward us. "Time to go," he said, grabbing my hand and running for the station. We didn't look back, sprinting through the lot and reaching the door.

We crashed through the door, slamming it closed and stepping over the salt line already in place. Dean was clutching a shotgun, and turned to shout down the hallway to the office. "They're coming!"

There was the sound of something hitting the windows and Nancy screamed. "Hurry!" Dean yelled and we all ran into the main office area. I tossed Sam one of the guns I had taken from the car. The lights in the room started to flicker and the light from outside faded with the black cloud of smoke forming at the windows. I held my rosary praying quietly to myself as the building shook, dust falling from the ceiling. Would it hold? We'd know soon enough.

Our surroundings fell silent and I realised I was breathing heavily.

"Everybody okay?" Sam asked.

"Define 'okay'," Henriksen answered and I chuckled. That was a fair answer.

"All right," Dean said, gathering his wits about him. "Everybody needs to put these on," he said, handing out the protection amulets that Bobby had given us some time ago. "They'll keep you from being possessed." Nancy looked up as he handed one to him.

"What about you guys?" She asked.

Sam and Dean grinned, pulling back the collars of their shirts, revealing the tattoos we'd gotten seven months ago. I pulled the hair at the back of my neck aside at the same time, revealing my own tattoo. Henriksen smiled and nodded.

"Smart. How long you had those?" He asked.

Sam and I exchanged a look, one long entrenched in the history of being at the mercy of the demon inside of us. "Not long enough," Sam said quietly.

Police Station

Beth's POV

It had fallen quiet again, and I was starting to understand why a siege situation could drive you a little batty. This seemed ten times worse than when we'd been caught in that bank, surrounded by FBI. At least then we'd had some idea on what we were dealing with, and there hadn't been demons involved.

I moved silently from where I'd been staring out a window at the growing crowd of people outside, and sat next to Dean on a couch. He was checking his gun again, for the twentieth time, and smiled weakly at me as I sat down.

"Hey," Nancy said from one of the windows. "That's Jenna Rubner," she said, pointing at someone outside. Sam crossed to her, looking out the window.

"That's not Jenna anymore," he said.

"That's where all that black demon smoke went?" She asked, looking over at him.

"Looks like," Sam said.

Dean and I started filling our shotguns with salt ammo and Henriksen shook his head. "Shotgun shells full of salt," he mused, a smile to his mouth.

"Whatever works," Dean said, continuing to load the gun in his hands.

"Fighting off monsters with condiments," Henriksen said sceptically, taking off his tie and tossing it aside. "So turns out demons are real." He started to fill his gun with the same ammo we were, looking up at us.

"FYI, ghosts are real too," I said with a raised eyebrow. "So are werewolves, vampires, changelings, evil clowns that eat people..." I trailed off. Too many monsters to name.

"Okay then," Henriksen said with a nod, taking this all in his stride.

"If it makes you feel better, Bigfoot's a hoax," Dean said with a smile.

Henriksen smirked at him. "It doesn't," he replied. "So, how many demons?"

"Total?" Dean asked, to which Henriksen nodded. "No clue. A lot."

"You know what my job is?" Henriksen asked. Dean snapped his shotgun closed and raised an eyebrow at the Agent, standing up.

"You mean besides locking up the good guys?" He asked, walking over to Henriksen. "I have no idea."

"My job is boring," Henriksen replied. "It's frustrating. You work three years for one break, and then maybe you can save a few people... maybe. That's the payoff. I've been busting my ass for fifteen years to nail a handful of guys and all this while there's something in the corner, so big..." Dean and he looked at each other resolutely, Dean listening intently. "So yeah... sign me up for that big, frosty mug of wasting my damn life," Henriksen finished.

"You didn't know," Dean said to him.

"She tried to tell me," Henriksen said, nodding at me. I raised my eyebrow, closing my own shotgun and shrugging.

"Well now you do," I said, resting the gun on my shoulder as I faced them.

"What's out there?" Henriksen asked. "Can you guys beat it? Can you win?"

Dean looked at me, a resignation in his eyes that I was starting to see more and more. He turned back to Henriksen, shrugging. "Honestly, I think the world's gonna end bloody. But it doesn't mean we shouldn't fight," he said. I smiled sadly at the sentiment, it was true and too much like reality for us right now. "We do have choices," Dean said. "I choose to go down swingin'," he said.

"Plus, you got nothing to go home to but your brother and sister," Henriksen said, pointing out the reality of our lives. Everything that might have given us something to go home to had been taken from us, all that was left was us.

Dean nodded, looking over at me. "Yeah," he said softly, before turning back. "What about you? You rockin' the white picket fence?"

Henriksen shook his head, looking a little disillusioned. "Mmm-mm, empty apartment, string of angry ex-wives. I'm right where you are," he said with a chuckle.

"Imagine that," Dean said with a grin. "Well...you're not quite right where I am." he said, turning and pulling me over, tucking me under his good shoulder. "She's not really my sister you know, and it's hard to have an ex if you drag your girl with you everywhere you go," he said with a chuckle.

I shook my head and laughed, rolling my eyes. "Yeah well, I'm just a sucker for punishment I think," I said in response as Henriksen looked us over, raising his eyebrow.

"Well I'll be," he said, nodding.

There was a crashed sounding from the back of the station and we moved instantly to attention, running to the office the noise had come from. I sucked in a breath when I saw who was standing there, trapped in the devil's trap Sam had painted under the window. Ruby.

"How do we kill her?" Henriksen asked, pointing his rifle at her. I sighed and lowered my ownshotgun to the floor.

"We don't," I said resignedly, wanting nothing more right now than to do just that.

"She's a demon," Henriksen pointed out.

"Yeah, I know," I sighed, and Dean raised an eyebrow at me.

"She's here to help us," Sam said, coming into the room.

"Are you kidding?" Amici asked from his position in the room, gun pointed.

"Are you gonna let me out?" Ruby asked finally, rolling her eyes impatiently at Sam.

Sam moved forward and scratched a piece of the devil's trap on the floor away with his knife. Ruby picked at her hair, glass and blood stuck in her long blonde tresses.

"And they say chivalry is dead," Ruby said, stepping out of the trap. "Does anyone have a breath mint? Some guts splattered in my mouth while I was killing my way in here," she said, nonplussed, and simply walking past everyone into the office.

I looked at Dean, rolling my eyes and he frowned. "Great," I said. "Gang's all here then." I shook my head and walked back to the main office area where Ruby had been headed.

"How many are out there?" Dean asked, following me and leaning against a desk.

"Thirty at least. That's so far," Ruby answered, turning to face the group of us gathered.

"Oh, good. Thirty. Thirty hit men all gunning for us. Who sent them?" Dean asked again, his eyes flashing with frustration.

Ruby looked over at Sam who was standing in the doorway and raised her eyebrow.

"You didn't tell them?" She asked, and I turned to look at Sam. "Oooh I'm surprised!"

"Tell us what?" I asked before turning back to Ruby.

"There's a big new up and comer. Real pied piper," she explained.

"Who is he?" Dean asked.

"Not he. Her. Her name is Lilith," Ruby answered, and I frowned, I'd read a bit of mythology on Lilith, surely this couldn't be the same person or being?

"Lilith?" I asked, clarifying and disbelieving at the same time.

"And she really, really wants Sam's intestines on a stick. 'Cause she sees him as competition," Ruby said, looking over at Sam.

"You knew about this?" Dean asked, turning to Sam as well. Sam didn't answer, a sure fire way of telling that he had. "Well, gee, Sam. Is there anything else we should know?!" He snapped.

"How about the two of you talk about this later? We'll need the Colt," Ruby interrupted, looking around. She stopped as her gaze met Sam's, and he refused to meet her eyes. "Where's the Colt?" She asked.

"It got stolen," Sam answered finally.

"I'm sorry. I must have blood in my ear," Ruby said, her facial expression barely changing. "I thought I just heard you say that you were stupid enough to let the Colt get grabbed out of your thick, clumsy, idiotic hands." Sam simply looked away, not really having a reply for that. I sucked in a breath and looked at Dean, he was looking around, seemingly not pleased with the way things were going.

"Fantastic! This is just peachy..." Ruby said, stalking off and staring at a brick wall, falling silent as she contemplated this new information.

"Ruby..." Sam started, getting cut off.

"Shut up!" She said, raising her hand. "Fine. Since I don't see that there's any other option. There's one way I know how to get you out of here alive," she added, turning to face us again.

"What's that?" I asked, not wanting to believe a word she said.

"I know a spell. It'll vaporise every demon in a one-mile radius. Myself included. So, you let the Colt out of your sight and now I have to die. So next time, be more careful. How's that for a dying wish?" Ruby said, leaning against a desk.

I crossed my arms and looked at Dean, shaking my head a little, I didn't like it. He shrugged and then looked at Ruby. "Okay, what do we need to do?"

"Aww...you can't do anything," Ruby said. "This spell is very specific. It calls for a person of virtue," she added with a smirk.

Dean nodded at her. "I got virtue," he said, standing up.

"Nice try," Ruby said with a chuckle, "You're not a virgin."

Dean laughed and looked over at me with a grin. "Nobody's a virgin," he countered.

Ruby looked at Dean, then over at Nancy who shifted uncomfortably, looking away from the group of us.

"No, no way," Dean said to Nancy. "You're kidding me... You're..." He stopped, flabbergasted, I almost laughed at Dean's facial expression, he was so shocked. I still didn't trust a word Ruby was saying, but maybe that was the sick feeling in my stomach I always had when demons were around, grating at my senses and driving me to the point of distraction.

"What?" Nancy asked, looking defensive. "It's a choice, okay?"

Dean was still reeling from this information. "So, y-you've never... not even once? I mean not even... Wow." He stuttered, and I moved to lay a hand on his arm, chuckling.

"Breathe, it does happen," I said and he raised his eyebrow at me, shaking his head with a small smile.

Nancy turned to Ruby. "So, this spell. What can I do?" She asked with a helpful smile.

"You can hold still while I cut your heart out of your chest," Ruby answered, not batting an eyelid.

"What?" Nancy asked sharply.

"What? Are you crazy?" I asked, turning to glare at the demon.

"I'm offering a solution," Ruby said, turning to look at me.

"You're offering to kill somebody," I countered, shaking my head.

"And what do you think is going to happen to this girl when the demons get in?" Ruby asked. I stopped and looked at her, not pleased at all with where this was headed.

"We're gonna protect her. That's what," Henriksen said, stepping in to the conversation.

"Excuse me," Nancy said.

"Very noble," Ruby replied to Henriksen, rolling her eyes.

"Excuse me," Nancy said again, but everyone just kept talking around her.

"You're all gonna die. Look. This is the only way," Ruby said.

Dean was shaking his head at Ruby, glancing over at me in disbelief. "Yeah, yeah, there's no way that you're gonna..."

"Would everybody please shut up?!" Nancy shouted, and we all turned to her. She looked a little startled at the sound of her own voice and I groaned internally, this kid had no idea what was waiting out there for us. "All the people out there... will it save them?" She asked.

"It'll blow the demons out of their bodies. So if their bodies are okay... yeah," Ruby answered with a nod.

Nancy paused, thinking this over for a moment, finally looking up. "I'll do it."

"Hell no!" Henriksen said, standing up.

"No, no," Dean agreed, stepping forward.

"You don't need to do this," I said to Nancy, looking back at Ruby. "We'll find another way."

"All my friends are out there," Nancy said, glancing toward the window.

"We do not sacrifice people. We do that, we're no better than them," Henriksen said, looking over at Ruby who was simply staring at the young woman with cold eyes.

"We don't have a choice," she said.

"Yeah, well, your choice is not a choice," Dean replied, running a hand across his mouth and shaking his head.

"Sam," Ruby said, turning to our silent brother who was standing in the doorway. "You know I'm right." I turned and looked at him, my eyes narrowing. I didn't think that he would agree with the demon, but he was being uncharacteristically quiet on this front. Normally he'd be right here with Dean and me, arguing to save the virtuous girl.

Dean smiled at Sam, fully expecting the same support. "Sam?" Sam remained quiet, looking pained, his eyes flicking from Nancy to Ruby.

"What the Hell is going on? Sam tell her!" I snapped, pointing at Ruby.

"It's my decision," Nancy said.

"Damn straight, cherry-pie," Ruby said. I frowned, shaking my head at the term of endearment that Dean often used for me. It sounded strange coming out of the demon's mouth.

"Stop! Stop!" Dean said, holding his hands up in the air. "Nobody kill any virgins. Sam, I need to talk to you," he added, throwing me a look that clearly said it was time for a family meeting.

Dean walked out into the hallway and away from the group, Sam stayed where he was for a moment until I gave him a shove toward the door, my expression telling him he needed to get himself out there before I gave him a kick up the ass. When we reached the hallway, Dean turned on Sam, eyes frustrated and angry.

"Please tell me you're not actually considering this. We're talking about holding down a girl and cutting out her heart," he said as he glared at our brother.

"And we're also talking about thirty people out there, Dean. Innocent people who are all gonna die, along with everyone in here," Sam countered.

"It doesn't mean that we throw away the rule book and stop acting like humans. I'm not gonna let that demon kill some nice, sweet, innocent girl, who hasn't even been laid. I mean, look, if that's how you win wars, then I don't want to win," he said. I felt a little pained at the idea, because I wasn't so sure I'd be so self-righteous if the situation was called for when saving Dean from Hell, but for now I could agree with him.

"Then what?" Sam asked, throwing his hands in the air. "What do we do, Dean?"

Dean turned away, thinking, and then he turned back to us, I could tell he had an idea by the way he was standing. I could also tell it was a little bit suicidal by the same stance, and I cringed internally, what I wouldn't have given right then and there for a quiet life in suburbia with white picket fence.

"I got a plan," Dean said. "I'm not saying it's a good one. I'm not even saying it'll work. But it sure as Hell beats killing a virgin."

"What's the plan?" I asked, knowing it was going to be worse than we expected.

"Open the doors, let them all in, and we fight," he answered, looking at me, I felt myself go pale at the thought, not even sure how well I could fight if I were suddenly surrounded by thirty demons, I was already struggling just by being in close proximity to one and all the others outside.

Police Station

Beth's POV

We set about preparing for Dean's plan. It was madness, but I had to agree, it did beat killing the virgin. Sam and I walked back into the main office where Dean was pacing along a walkway between the desks, waiting impatiently for us with a silent Ruby.

"Get the equipment to work?" He asked me as we came through the doors.

"Yeah," I said with a nod.

"So?" He asked.

"So this is insane," Sam said, and not for the first time since he and I had been set to task.

"You win 'understatement of the year'," Ruby snarked.

Dean turned on Ruby, glaring. "Look, I get it, you think..."

"I don't think... I know. It's not gonna work," she said, standing up and moving toward the hallway. "So long, boys... Beth."

"So you're just gonna leave?" Sam asked, almost looking a little panicked.

She spun around to face us. "Hey. I was gonna kill myself to help you win. I'm not gonna stand here and watch you lose," she said, taking a few steps back toward Sam. "And I'm disappointed, because I tried. I really did, but clearly I bet on the wrong horse." She stared at Sam who said nothing in return, his eyes angrily watching her. "Do you mind letting me out?" She asked finally.

Sam walked her to the door way scratched the paint away on the devil's trap, then broke the salt line so she could pass. Ruby walked outside, pulling her knife out of her jacket and we closed the door outside as she moved forward.

I looked at Dean unhappily and sighed, this wasn't going to end well, and we all knew it.

"Okay," Dean said, nodding. "Let's get in position," he said, looking at me and then stalking back down the hallway.

When I walked back into the main office Dean was already handing out final instructions. "All right, Sam will take this area, Henriksen take the back entrance, I'll take the front. He turned and looked at me, then over at Amici and Nancy. "Beth, take the others up on the roof."

"No, no way, you're not sending me out of the fight," I said, shaking my head.

"Beth..." he said with a warning tone.

"I said no!" I snapped at him, frowning. Henriksen snickered and shook his head.

"You're fast headed down the road to ex-wife-ville man," he said to Dean and I snickered.

"Yeah, I know. That's why she usually gets her way," Dean muttered, shaking his head but smiling at me just the same. "Okay, but you come with me," he said. I smiled and nodded.

Dean looked at Amici again. "Right, Phil, you take Nancy up on the roof, you should be relatively safe there until all the demons are inside, then you can carry out the rest of the plan." Amici swallowed hard and nodded, starting to move toward the roof access with Nancy.

"Good luck," she said, turning back to us as they were about to leave.

"Yeah, you too," I said, nodding.

Once they were gone Dean looked at the rest of us. "Okay, any questions?" He asked, and everyone shook their head, the plan was clear. We separated and went to our positions.

By the front door, Dean was crouched down, scratching at the devil's trap a little more so that we could be sure the demons could get through. I stood next to him, looking out the window, frowning at the amount of demons outside who were just standing there, waiting. There was the sound of Dean clearing his throat, and I saw he was looking up at me, a hesitation flashing in his eyes.

"You okay?" I asked, looking at him concerned. I glanced around us, wondering what had caused his sudden flip from all business Dean. "You're not having second thoughts about this are you?"

"Marry me?" He said, looking at me, serious.

"What?" I gasped, taken completely by surprise.

"You heard me." His eyes were watching me intently, waiting.

"Heck of a time to ask Dean!" I looked at him in shock, shaking my head.

He looked down at his hands, nodding, and then back up at me.

"Yeah well you know me, timing is everything," he grinned.

I smiled at him, taking in that face, the vulnerability in his eyes.

"You haven't answered the question," He pointed out, raising an eyebrow and hiding behind his nonchalant attitude.

I fell to one knee, crouching next to him, staring into those hazel eyes. Softly, I brushed a hand down the side of his face, and he closed his eyes, leaning into my touch.

"Yes," I whispered to him and he opened his eyes, staring at me. I leaned my forehead against his, smiling. "Yes," I said again kissing him softly, and he smiled at me.

There was a noise from outside and we startled back into the crushing reality of our situation.

"Let's just get through the next few hours first, hmmm?" I said with a grin. He nodded, suddenly all serious again.

"Yeah..." He sighed, standing and pulling me to my feet. He looked at me hesitantly. "I really wish you'd just gone up on the roof," he said and I snickered.

"Yeah, but that would have ruined your good timing," I said with a grin. He nodded and smiled.

"Should have done it a long time ago," he said, reaching a hand out to stroke along my face.

I shrugged, unconcerned. "Better late than never," I said as he pulled me in to him, circling his hands around my waist. "I love you," I said, staring into his worried eyes.

"Ditto," he said quietly, leaning in to kiss me gently, his hand sliding along my neck and down my arm, drawing a shiver out of me. I didn't want the kiss to end, if it were to be our last, drawing it out until finally we broke apart.

"Okay, ready?" Dean asked me, and I nodded, pulling away and re-checking my shotgun. He turned, looking back down the hallway.

"All set?" Dean yelled out to Henriksen and Sam.

"Yeah!" Sam yelled back.

"Ready!" Henriksen confirmed.

"Let's do this," Dean said, taking a deep breath. I did the same, reaching forward and breaking the salt line on the ground as Dean swung the doors open.

At first nothing happened, an eerie silence greeted us; Dean and I backed down the hall to where we had a bit more room to move, then the onslaught started. A demon ran in the door and Dean blew it away with rock salt. He reloaded while the next demon came rushing in, I shot it.

Demons started to fill the hallway inside and we backed up, colliding with Henriksen coming from an adjoining hallway. He and Dean stood back to back shooting at demons as I reloaded. I met Dean's gaze as he shot another demon and he inclined his head to the opposite hallway.

"Go! Go! Go!" He said and I ran down it, Dean not far behind me as Henriksen went in the other direction. We stood side by side, shooting where we could as more and more demons ran into the building.

We were completely outnumbered and it was only getting worse. Dean grabbed my arm and pulled me in the direction of the main office, meeting up with Sam along the way. There were at least a dozen demons in a circle, just waiting for us. We were surrounded. One of the demons stepped forward with a grin on her face, reaching out and we found ourselves propelled against the wall, pinned and unable to move.

"Henriksen now!" Dean yelled, and we waited to see if he'd managed to make it to his destination. It seemed like a lifetime, waiting for that recording to come over the PA system, but when it sounded it was a godsend. Sam and I had pre-recorded the Latin exorcism and when he started speaking the words over the PA system I smiled, watching as suddenly all the demons started grasping at their heads, screaming in pain. We watched, still pinned to the wall, as they ran for the exits, trying to get away. But Phil and Nancy had been diligent in their job to seal the exits from the outside with salt so no one could escape.

The demons screamed and thrashed in resistance to the exorcism, and finally erupted from their bodies, spewing forth in black smoke to swirl around the ceiling until finally the smoke turned orange and red, and then collapsed on itself, the room falling silent and still.

We fell to the floor, released from the will of the demon that had been pinning us against the wall. I grunted, leaning back against the brick and looking over at Dean and Sam to my right who were also breathing heavily and groaning. I groaned and moved closer to Dean, he chuckled and wrapped his arm around me, flinching a little when he realised it was the shoulder with the bullet wound. I tucked myself under his arm and laid my head in against his neck, taking some deep breaths and quieting my mind. The almost debilitating nausea had fled as the exorcism finished, and all I felt was relief that it was over.

Sam groaned and got to his feet, standing over us and looking down. I reached out a hand and he pulled me up, then we both got Dean to his feet, much to his protesting. He was starting to look tired and worn out from the ordeal we'd just been through, regardless of how strong he was, and his stubbornness at continuing no matter what, he'd still lost blood, and he was still in a lot of pain.

Henriksen came back into the room smiling and chuckling to himself, he swiped at his mouth, wiping away some blood. Dean shrugged at him and slid his arm around my waist, pulling me tightly in against him. The people who had been possessed started to move from where they'd fallen on the ground after the exorcism finished, they sat up, looking around in confusion.

Police Station

Dean's POV

We'd cleaned up the station as best we could and debriefed all the people who had been possessed. Beth and Sam were collecting up the remainder of our weapons and putting them in the bags as I talked to Henriksen. One demon had escaped during the time between the exorcism starting and Nancy being able to seal off the doorways; but all in all, the plan had been a good success, one of our better plans in the end, all considered.

"I better call in," Henriksen said to us. "Hell of a story I won't be telling."

"So what are you going to tell them?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"The least ridiculous lie I can come up with in the next five minutes," he answered with a smile.

"Good luck with that," Beth said with a smirk. "Not to pressure you or anything, but what are you planning to do about us?"

"I'm gonna kill you. Sam and Dean Winchester, and Elizabeth Sullivan were in the chopper when it caught on fire. Nothing left. Can't even identify them with dental records," Henriksen answered and Sam smiled at him. "Rest in peace guys."

I laughed and looked over at Beth. "How's it feel to be officially dead twice sugarpie?" I asked and Henriksen looked surprised.

Beth chuckled and shook her head. "Much the same as the last time," she said.

"Last time?" Henriksen asked, looking at us curiously.

"Well, I'm not really a stepdaughter to John... that was just … how did you put it? The least ridiculous lie we could come up with at the time?" Beth said, grinning at Sam and me. "My father was a hunter, I was possessed and killed him – these guys saved me. I've been with them ever since. But not before John faked my death so no one would come looking for me." Henriksen shook his head, looking at her with a curiosity.

"You're an interesting lot, you Winchesters..." he said thoughtfully. "Okay, time to make this call. You guys get out of here."

"Yeah..." Sam said, nodding and shaking Henriksen's hand. We smiled at him and I led us out toward the back, grabbing our weapons bags as we left. As we reached the Impala I found my gaze falling to Beth as she loaded the bags into the trunk with Sam. I leaned against the Impala and watched her as she bantered with him about not needing his sexist attitude about her not being able to carry a bag, and he chuckled at her.

Her brown eyes looked up and met mine, a happy smile gracing her features as she realised I was watching her. She pulled away, leaving the rest of the bags to Sam after all, and sliding her arms around my waist. I couldn't have loved her more in that moment. I traced along her hairline with my right hand, watching as her hair fell back against her face.

"What are you thinking?" She asked, seeing the faraway look in my eyes.

I shrugged and smiled at her, not really knowing how to put into words what I was feeling right then. "Just how lucky I am," I said, kissing her softly on the lips, pulling back to smile at her again. "Let's go now, I don't want to wait another day." I said to her, she looked surprised but nodded, pulling me tighter against her.

"I thought you might have changed your mind, now that we lived through the whole certain death plan and all..." she teased with a smile.

I shook my head at her, raising my eyebrow. "Nope, you're stuck with me now. Unless you've changed your mind?" I asked, holding my breath. She shook her head negatively and I let it out with a little sigh of relief.

"So what do you have in mind? Vegas?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Vegas?!" Sam asked, hearing the last couple of sentences. "You guys can't be serious, you want to go gambling? What happened to finding Bela?"

We turned to look at him and Beth giggled, shaking her head. "Not to gamble Sammy," she said.

"Well why else would you want to go to Veg..." he stopped, looking at us and making the connection. "Really?" He asked, and we nodded. "No, really?" He said again, this time looking at me as if to get confirmation.

"Yeah yeah Sammy, don't let your ovaries burst over there, it's no big deal," I said, shrugging. It was a big deal, but you know, I had a reputation to uphold. Sam laughed and rolled his eyes at me, coming over and kissing Beth on the forehead.

"That's great, about damn time," he said, looking down at me and shaking his head.

"Hey, timing is everything you know!" I said defensively. Sam snickered and walked around to the back-seat of the car, tossing his jacket in.

"Whatever dude," he said, climbing into the back, clearly leaving the front for Beth. I smiled and turned back to her, kissing her again.

"I have a better idea," I said to her. "No Vegas, you'll like this more." She looked at me curiously and I grinned. "Call Bobby and Cole, and Jefferson I guess, tell them to get their asses to Blue Earth, pronto." I said and Beth smiled, nodding at the idea – there was nowhere else that I would consider marrying her, Pastor Jim's chapel held special memories for all of us as kids, and it was Beth's favourite place. "You like?"

"I love it," she said with a smile. "It's perfect." It made me smile to see her happy. I kissed her one more time, tipping her chin up so that I could claim her mouth deeply, my tongue circling hers as she moaned, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Come on," she said, pulling away and moving around to the passenger front door. "Let's go." Beth was already texting people when I got in the driver's seat, smiling away. I chuckled and looked at Sam.

"So where to now?" Sam asked, "You're not really going to do this in Vegas are you?"

"Nope, Blue Earth, dude. Blue Earth." I said, starting up the car. Sam looked a little surprised that I'd given it any thought. I chuckled, looking at him in the mirror. He really didn't know me at all.

Motel Room – Sterling, Colorado
Several Hours later

Sam's POV

I was lying on my back on the bed staring at the ceiling, Dean was making some notes in his journal and Beth was down the street at the nearest chapel praying. There was a knock at the door and Dean got up to answer the door, looking a little confused. Ruby pushed her way into the room, looking grimly at us.

"Turn on the news," she said, crossing her arms. I reached for the remote, and flipped on the TV, it was already on a news channel and an anchorwoman was reporting on the latest breaking news.

"The community is still reeling from the tragedy that happened just a few hours ago. Authorities believe a gas main ruptured causing the massive explosion that ripped apart the police station and claimed the lives of everyone inside." Dean sat back on the bed, looking pale and I stared at the TV as pictures of the people we'd been with not three hours ago started to flash up on the screen and the reporter continued her news.

"Among the deceased, at least six police officers and staff, including sheriff Melvin Dodd, deputy Phil Amici, and secretary Nancy Fitzgerald as well as three FBI agents identified as Steven Groves, Calvin Reidy and Victor Henriksen. Three fugitives in custody were also killed. We'll continue to follow the story here at the scene, but for now, back to you Jim," the reporter finished and I clicked off the TV, looking over at Dean.

Ruby gave as an I told you so look, glaring at the pair of us.

"Must have happened right after we left," I said.

"Considering the size of the blast," she said, tossing a couple of hex bags to Dean, and one to me, "smart money's on Lilith."

"What's in these?" Dean asked, holding up the hex bags.

"Something that'll protect you. Throw Lilith off your trail... for the time being, at least," she said.

"Thanks," I said softly, looking down at the bag in my hands.

"Don't thank me." Ruby said shortly. "Lilith killed everyone. She slaughtered your precious little virgin, plus a half dozen other people. So after your big speech about humanity and war, turns out your plan was the one with the body count." She stared at us, anger seething off her. "Do you know how to run a battle? You strike fast and you don't leave any survivors. So no one can go running to tell the boss. So next time... we go with my plan." She left, walking out and not waiting for a response.

I looked over at Dean who had that guilty look on his face that always came when he knew he'd screwed up.

"No," I said, shaking my head at him. "You were right, even if it did end badly, you were right." I stood up, starting to pace the room. "We start acting like them, we become them." I said.

I looked up at the door, contemplating our next move.

"Don't tell Beth," I said, and Dean looked up at me in surprise. "Not yet, not until after the wedding."

"What?" Dean asked, shaking his head.

"It'll only ruin it for her, we don't want that," I said. In fact I was afraid she'd call the whole thing off, and I knew how much this meant to her, and to Dean.

Dean looked sceptical and shook his head. "She's not going to be impressed if we tell her after," he said.

"Tough. She'll live," I said, looking down at him. Dean thought about it and I pressed my case. "You really want to taint it with this knowledge? You want her thinking about those people when she walks down the aisle?"

Dean shook his head, rubbing at his eyes. He looked tired. "No," he said quietly.

"Then we'll tell her later," I said, and he nodded in agreement. Dean took in a long, deep breath and looked back at me.

"Okay, later. How are we going to explain these hex bags to her?" He asked, I paused and looked at the bag in my hands.

"We'll just say Ruby stopped by and dropped them off, left in a huff because our plan worked." I said, cringing at the lies that were already building up. Dean sighed and nodded.

"All right, well, we need to get some rest and then get to Blue Earth as fast as we can," Dean said. "In fact, I think we should just go as soon as Beth gets back, we can sleep when we put as many miles between Colorado and us as possible. I'll drive first, you sleep, and we'll trade when I can't go any further."

I nodded, it was a good plan. If we both drove, we could be in Minnesota in half a day.

"I've also got a little job for you," Dean said, his mouth twitching into a half smile. "Being that you're my best man and all," he added.

I smirked and shook my head, "I am so not throwing you a bachelor's party," I said, raising my eyebrow.

Dean chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, this is more important, this is for Beth," he said looking up at me. I gazed at him curiously and nodded.

"Sure thing man, what is it?" I asked.

"Later, once we get to Minnesota," he said, standing to grasp my shoulder and smiling.

"Dude, I cannot believe you are getting married," I said to Dean with a chuckle. Dean looked a little pained at the comment. "I didn't think anyone would be able to tie you down."

Dean grinned and shook his head. "Yeah well, Beth isn't just anyone, is she?"

The door opened and I looked up to see Beth walk through the door smiling. She looked happy, for the first time in months, actually happy. I knew we'd made the right call not telling her.

"No, she's not," I said quietly, smiling and turning back to my bed and starting to pack my things.

"We going somewhere?" Beth asked when she saw what I was doing.

"Yep, we're gonna push through to Minnesota," Dean said, kissing her on the cheek. "Put as many miles between us and Colorado as we can, just in case."

She nodded and shrugged, not questioning the decision. That was one thing about Beth, she trusted us implicitly, questioning only when something really didn't make sense. But for now, she understood the need to get moving, and keep moving. So that's just what we were going to do, and then we were going to hunt down Bela and get the Colt back, so we could save Dean from Hell.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Song for this chapter is Wings by Birdy – just love it!

I've had the proposal written since like mid-Season 1 so I can't tell you how excited I am to FINALLY get to using it! Yay! It was always going to happen during Jus In Bello, as soon as I looked at the season's synopsis it just provided me the perfect moment for an impromptu Dean-style proposal :D hehehe

Next up is the Wedding with a few little flashbacks and things :) If I get a good run on, maybe THAT will be out before New Years, given this has been done in like a day, I just got the inspiration and it came easily, just loved this episode in general, so it makes it easier, especially since I've seen the way it had to be rewritten for some time now. Ghostfacers, on the other hand, that might drag out, we'll see :)

Hope everyone had a great Christmas break and got to spend time with people they love. New years is fast approaching, so just in case nothing gets uploaded between now and then, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wishing you a wonderful 2014 full of abundance, prosperity, love and joy.

Please leave a review :) You know how much it spurs me on!