To Hell And Back

by belladonna78

Sequel to "Hell to Pay", and the fourth installment of my Supernatural fanfics. Check out my stories and AN for more info on where to start. This is Season 4 - How far will Beth and Sam go in order to save Dean's soul from Hell and be reunited with him? Dean/OC. Slightly AU but mostly follows the Supernatural show with my own spin. Rated MA for smut. Please read and review!

4. Lazarus Rising

I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling, don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more

Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What's standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this

One step closer

---

LAZARUS RISING

---

The air sizzled around me, enclosing my very skin like a latex glove. It was suffocating, and if I breathed too deeply, the stench of sulphur descended my nostrils with something more – the smell of singed hair, rotting flesh, and old blood spilled recklessly. This was the foul stench of desolated souls, the barren wasteland of one's final humiliation before breaking.

I stared in silent horror at the impaled heads around me, at the discarded bodies I was walking on and the fires that burned them. The sky above was a swirling vortex of reds, violets and dark greys, all centring around the Fall, the opening to the one place you never wanted to find yourself, it was a one way descent into a black pit of despair.

My eyes caught sight of him in the distance, wading through a sea of bodies, all broken and scattered before him. He was naked but for a single black cape that trailed down from his left shoulder, the right side bare except for symbols burned into his perfect flesh, red, sore and bloody.

A tall, thin woman came into view, stalking along the dead and dying, crushing them underfoot. She moved up to him standing alone at the apex of bodies, and took him in hand as she ran a tongue along his shoulder, licking the blood from where it lay. He didn't try to resist, a tired resignation to his shoulders while he hung his head as if ashamed of all he was doing and had done.

I started to run with a grace that was not my own. My feet almost floated over the bodies. This was it, the moment and it had to be taken now. She looked up and her eyes flashed white, she screamed a protest as I bridged the distance between us. He turned, hazel eyes staring at me, shocked in recognition.

The woman snarled, pulling a sword from her side and swung it. "Dean!" I screamed, reaching for him. I flew through the air, grabbing a hold of his arm, slick from blood, but I held on. There was a roar of anger as the woman tried to cut him away, but the deed was done, I had him. I pulled, and with a mighty cry we ascended upon the screams of a million dying souls.

I awoke with a start, sitting straight up in bed. "Dean!" I whispered to the empty room, my eyes adjusting to the darkness. Tiny cracks of light streamed through the open curtains as the sun started to make its way into the sky.

Not again.

How many times would I have to dream of this horror? The spell had been powerful, our bond too strong. Every time I closed my eyes I dreamed of Hell, I saw what he went through, I lived it with him. I hadn't slept more than a few hours since the spell, and it was wearing on me. I had started hallucinating, seeing Dean where he wasn't, apparitions in the car, in the kitchen, while I showered: even in the chapel – nowhere was too sacred for his tormented soul to find me.

I sighed and swung my legs out of bed. I slipped into my robe and slippers, sticking my head out of the bedroom door. The light was on downstairs, and I frowned, it couldn't be later than 5am, yet he was up?

Slipping down the stairs I stood in the doorway watching as the blond, blue-eyed man pottered around the kitchen, taking a pot of coffee off the percolator and pouring out two cups of coffee, adding milk and sugar to them both, just how we liked it.

"Good morning," he said, turning with a wicked grin and twinkle to his eyes.

I smirked, crossing my arms. "How did you know I was awake?" I asked.

"You're always awake at this hour," Jefferson quipped, handing me the cup. I held it under my nose and breathed in deeply, watching him as he took a sip and quietly assessed my mental state.

"I had the most... horrifying dream." I said to him, shaking my head, willing the images to leave. "I dreamed I pulled Dean out of Hell." He raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"How is that horrifying?" He asked curiously.

I put the cup down on the island bench between us and walked around to face him, holding my hands in the air. "Well clearly it was just a dream!" I said, sighing, tears in my eyes.

Jefferson pulled me in to his arms and held me close. "I'm sorry Princess," he said quietly, simply holding me.

"Yeah," I sighed, wrapping my arms around his waist. "Me too."

---

6 weeks ago

Beth's POV

There was someone following me as I flew along the roads. It wasn't a motorcycle, but it was fast, and it wasn't going to be left in my wake, that was for sure. I slowed, realising that there was no point getting myself killed and I reached behind me to the gun that was tucked into my waistband at the small of my back, pulling it out as the car following me rocketed past.

A "beep beep" that sounded suspiciously like the Warner Brothers Roadrunner sounded as the car cut in front andI groaned, pulling over to the side of the road, the car following suit. I tucked the gun back and pulled the helmet off my head, climbing off the bike and standing nearby, waiting for my stalker to reveal himself.

I was looking at a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner in a burnt orange colour, white ragtop, with black lines down the hood and trunk. There was only one person in the world I knew who drove one of these, and he was about as dangerous to me as Mickey Mouse. Jefferson grinned as he got out of the car, reaching in to beep the horn one more time, and it was definitely Roadrunner speaking to me. He'd once told me he bought the car for the horn alone: it was totally Jefferson.

"Why are you following me?" I asked with my arms crossed, Jefferson shrugged and leaned against the side of his car.

"Someone has to keep an eye on you."

"I want to be left alone," I said with a scowl.

"Too bad, we don't always get what we want," he said just as determinedly.

"Cole and Bobby let me leave," I countered.

"And Cole is a crazy broad who has her own problems to deal with, while her father has her to deal with. Me? My calendar is wide open Princess, I got nothing better to do than make sure you don't do anything stupid," he said, straightening up and walking over to me.

"I'm not going to do anything stupid," I said and he laughed.

"Are you kidding me? You've done nothing but stupid stuff since Dean died. You and Sam, who is gone, like the wind I might add."

I crossed my arms and looked away. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Yeah, yeah, you never do, but you're going to want to at some point, so I'm gonna hang around until you do," he said, walking back to his car. "I'll see you at the house when you get there," he added, winking at me.

"How did you know where I was going?" I asked and Jefferson chuckled, shaking his head.

"Where else would you go?" He asked. I stopped and looked at him, biting my lip. The man had a point. I had to admit, of everyone who had tried to help me since Dean had died, he'd been the least intrusive about it, firm but not demanding, not expecting anything from me. I could appreciate that.

I groaned and got back on the bike, well, looked like I was stuck with him for now. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, at least we had the same background in scripture, so maybe it would be of a help since that was where I was going next with my breaking-Dean-out-of-Hell mission.

---

Present Day

Dean's POV

I barely even recognised my own breathing as I lay in the dark, surrounding by a million screaming voices. Flashes of light flared around me and then there was nothing. I was trapped inside a box, in the dark, my breath short and fast as I wondered what I'd done this time to get thrown into a pit.

Tapping around in the box, my hands met with wood, and there were clothes on my body. I frowned, what was going on? I reached into my jeans and pulled out a lighter, flicking it on, the sinking feeling hitting me all at once. I was in a coffin. Sick, sadistic bastards were going to torture me again.

"Help!" I tried to yell, but it came out a hoarse cry, not even a whisper. The thought of returning to that rack got the better of me, what had I done to go back? "Help! Help!" There was nothing. I pounded on the top of the coffin and the wood cracked open raining dirt down on my face. What? I grabbed at the board and I pulled as hard as I could, groaning from the effort and a tonne of dirt spilled in on top of me as it gave way. I clawed at the dirt, desperately trying to get a pocket of air to breathe from, pulling myself up as I got my feet under me, scrambling for the surface.

When I reached air I could barely believe it, bracing myself and dragging myself out of the hole with every ounce of strength that I had. I gasped for a breath, groaning, my heart beating so hard I thought it might beat straight out of my chest. I lay on my back staring up at the sky. It was daylight. I'd never been so happy to see the blue sky in my life. Daylight. I was out! I was free, and it didn't feel like a dream, it felt real.

The reality hit me even harder as I climbed to my feet, looking at a crude wooden cross at my back, and then my gaze swept outwards to the destruction that was there. All around me in a perfect circle lay trees, dozens of them, all pulled out by the roots and spilling outward as if from a blast zone and I was ground zero. What on earth had pulled me out? It was some seriously bad mojo whatever it was.

---

Dean's POV

There had to be some kind of irony to the fact that I'd just escaped Hell and now found myself walking along an empty road in the blistering heat around me. I shook my head, wishing for a drink of water, something to quell the raspy sore throat. I rubbed the back of my neck and found beads hanging there and thought it strange. Tugging at them revealed Beth's rosary and I stopped to look at it – no, not hers, but one like hers: stranger still. I shrugged, taking it off and winding it around my wrist, tucking the crucifix under the beads.

In the distance I saw a gas station and I started to run for it, civilisation, I could start getting some answers.

I pounded on the door. "Hello?" I called out hoarsely, looking through the dirty windows. There was no one around and the store was closed. I took the shirt I'd tied around my waist and wrapped it around my hand, standing back a little and then smashing the glass on the door. Reaching in through the broken window, I unlocked the door and pushed my way into the station. The first thing I went for was a fridge and water. Nice, cold, freezing water. I gulped it down, gasping from the sensation that I'd been denied for so long.

A pile of newspapers was on display and I grabbed one, looking at the date. Thursday, September 18th. "September..." I muttered to myself. What?! I'd been dead four months? Only four? It just didn't make sense.

The next stop was a bathroom, I was so filthy from the dirt, and there was more. There was a stain on my soul I could never hope to wash away, but I had to try, and I'd start by getting the dirt and grime off my face. Staring in the mirror, I started to notice other things about me, the scar that had run along my collarbone where I'd been chewed on by a werewolf... gone. I pulled up my shirt and looked in the mirror at where the hellhound had ripped my guts out, there was nothing, no scars or any indication that I'd ever been in Hell. There were no scars at all!

There was something there however; it ached slightly, a dull throb as I started to zero in on the strange sensation. I pulled up the sleeve on my left arm and stared at a red, angry looking handprint on my arm, blistering and risen against the skin. I took my breath away; it was as if I had been branded.

Covering it up again, I put it to the back of my mind; I'd mull it over while I went about getting the heck out of here. I grabbed snacks and candy bars from the shelves, putting them in a bag along with several more bottles of water. The magazine rack caught my eye and a copy of the latest Busty Asian Beauties was just beckoning to me. I picked it up and flipped through it with a smile and then put it back. Beth would kill me.

Beth. I glanced down at my left hand, my ring was missing. I groaned, hoping it hadn't gotten lost in all that digging out of the grave. I shook my head, whatever, I could find it later. I went looking for a phone, time to reach out and touch someone. There was no phone in the shop, but there was money in the cash register, which I raided and shoved into my pocket.

The TV to my left started to flicker and I frowned, it turned itself on but there was only static playing. I shut the TV off only to have the radio next to me turn on to white noise. Demons. They had to be after me. I moved quickly, grabbing a carton of salt from the shelves and starting to pour it along the windowsill. They weren't taking me without a fight; I was never going back to that hellhole.

As I poured the salt a high-pitched tone began, it was the most painful thing I'd heard in a long time. I grabbed at my left ear as I kept pouring the salt with my right hand. The sound didn't abate and I couldn't fight it, dropping to the ground and clutching at my head in agony. The window above me shattered, and I leapt to my feet trying to escape as more glass flew around from the ceiling and walls; I rolled to the ground in a fetal position, covering my head with my arms. Suddenly it was gone as quickly as it had started, fading to nothing. I was alone, and I was all right.

I grabbed the bag of food and ran outside, there was a pay phone nearby and I got inside, wishing I'd brought the salt with me. I put some money in the phone and dialled Beth's number, waiting breathlessly for her to answer.

"We're sorry. You have reached a number that has been disconnected," the automated voice said to me. Disconnected? Why would she have done that? I frowned and dialled Sam, getting voicemail, his phone was shut off. What on earth had been going on up here that neither of them had their phones anymore?

I took a deep breath, fighting the rising panic in my chest. It was all right, I'd find them, and they would be all right. I just had to get to someone who might know where they were. I picked up the phone again, dialling a number I knew by heart.

"Yeah?" Bobby's voice came on the line and I smiled.

"Bobby?"

"Yeah?"

"It's me," I said into the phone.

"Who's me?"

"Dean."

The phone line went dead and I looked at the receiver with a sigh. I hung up, dialling again.

"Who is this?" Bobby asked when he answered.

"Bobby, listen to me," I said.

"This ain't funny. Call again, I'll kill ya," he said and hung up the phone. I shook my head: bloody paranoid bunch of people I ran with. I turned around, assessing my options. I didn't even know where I was. There was a beat up old car parked by the station and I smiled. Perfect. Time to pay a house call.

---

Bobby's House
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Dean's POV

I pounded on the door to Bobby's house all kinds of thoughts running through my head. Would he believe me? Did I believe me? What the Hell was going on? Or not Hell... whatever. Something jinky was up regardless.

Bobby opened the door slowly, looking out at me on the doorstep.

"Surprise!" I said. He didn't look impressed.

"I, I don't..." Bobby stuttered, trying to come to grips with me standing in front of him.

"Yeah, me neither," I said, pushing past him into the house. "But here I am..." Bobby lunged at me suddenly with a silver knife. I grabbed his arm and twisted it, but he broke my grip, instead backhanding me in the face. Ow! I gingerly touched my nose, holding a hand out to keep him at bay.

"Bobby! It's me!" I said.

"My ass!" Bobby snarled brandishing his knife. I pulled a chair between the two of us, trying to get some distance, buy myself a little time to reason with him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Your name is Robert Steven Singer. You became a hunter after your wife got possessed, you have a daughter and a grandson, and... you're about the closest thing I have to a father... Bobby. It's me." I said quickly, trying to think of other things that would convince him.

Bobby lowered the knife, stepping toward me slowly. He reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder, looking me in the eyes. Suddenly he slashed at me again; I was ready, pretty much expecting it. I blocked the swing and disarmed him.

"I am not a shapeshifter!" I yelled.

"Then you're a revenant!" He said angrily.

I shoved him off me, and grasped the knife in my hand, thinking. I couldn't believe I was going to do this, and I grimaced.

"All right. If I was either." I said. "Would I do this … with a silver knife?" I bit my lip and bared my arm. Another grimace, and I cut into the skin with the knife. Not too deep to do any damage, just enough to draw blood, and show him that I was telling the truth. The sting was nothing compared to my time in the pit, but it still bit into me.

Bobby looked at me, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Dean?" He said softly.

"That's what I been trying to tell you." I answered with a shrug.

Bobby grabbed me tightly in one of his big bear hugs. I hugged him back; it was good to see the old fella. I was relieved. Part of me hadn't wanted to believe it either. I needed someone, anyone to tell me that I wasn't dreaming and I was really here.

He pulled back. "It's... it's good to see you, boy."

"Yeah, you too." I smiled.

"But... how did you bust out?" Bobby asked.

"I don't know." I said. "I just, uh, I woke up in a pine box..."

Suddenly a splash of water hit me in the face and I spluttered. I hadn't seen that coming.

"I'm not a demon either, you know." I said, raising my eyebrow at him.

Bobby shrugged sheepishly at me, holy water in hand. "Sorry. Can't be too careful," he explained.

I shook my head, walking past him to grab a towel that was on the chair nearby. I wiped my face.

"But... that don't make a lick of sense." Bobby said.

"Yeah. You're preaching to the choir." I said.

"Dean. Your chest was ribbons, your insides were slop. And you've been buried four months. Even if you could slip out of hell and back into your meatsuit..." His voice trailed off.

"I know. I should look like a Thriller video reject." I answered. I'd thought about it, and I didn't like any of the answers I was getting.

"What do you remember?" Bobby asked.

"Not much. I remember I was a Hellhound's chew toy, and then... lights out." I told him. "Then I come to six feet under, that was it." Bobby sat down, thinking over this new information.

I stopped, taking a deep breath before sitting on the edge of his desk. It was time to track down the others, and I was going to need Bobby's help with that, he was the most reliable of places to come. I looked at Bobby, a little worried about what I might hear in response to my questions.

"Beth's phone is disconnected. Sam's phone is off... they're uh.. she's not?"

"Oh she's fine, well fine as can be given the circumstances." Bobby answered with a wave of his hand. "He's alive, far as I know."

"Good... wait, what do you mean, as far as you know?" I asked.

"I haven't talked to him for months." Bobby said.

"You're kidding; you just let him go off by himself?" I asked incredulously.

"He didn't go by himself. Beth went with him. They were dead set on it." Bobby said.

"Bobby, you were supposed to watch out for her!" I said, running a hand through my hair.

"I tried. These last few months haven't been exactly easy, you know. For any of us. She was a mess, she wouldn't leave Sam's side: he was the only link left to you... and...and we had to bury you."

"Why did you bury me anyway?" I asked. It wasn't exactly procedure.

"I wanted you salted and burned. Usual drill." Bobby replied. "But Sam and Beth, they wouldn't have a bar of it."

"Well I'm glad they won that one," I grinned, thinking of how stubborn Beth could be when she wanted her way. Beth, where was she?

"Sam said you'd need a body when he got you back home somehow. That's about all he said." Bobby continued. I whipped my head up to look at him, suspicious.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He was quiet. Real quiet. And then they just took off. They wouldn't return my calls. A month ago Jefferson and Cole turned up with her out of the blue, she was a mess. Wouldn't talk about where she'd been, what they'd done. Sam was nowhere to be seen and they'd had some falling out. I tried to find him myself, but he don't want to be found." Bobby finished, rubbing a hand across his beard.

"Oh dammit guys." I whispered, shaking my head.

"What?" Bobby asked.

"Oh one of them got me home okay. But whatever they did, it is bad mojo." I said grimacing.

"What makes you so sure?" Bobby was worried; I could see it in his eyes.

"You should have seen the grave site. It was like a nuke went off. And then there was this... this force, this presence, I don't know, but it, it blew past me at a fill-up joint. And then this..." I shrugged out of my shirt and pulled up my sleeve to show him the brand on my arm.

Bobby stood up to look, shocked. "What in the Hell?"

"It was like a demon just yanked me out. Or rode me out." I didn't really want to think about the consequences of that, so I put it out of my mind.

"But why?" Bobby asked.

"To hold up their end of the bargain," I said simply with a shrug.

"You think they made a deal?" Bobby said.

"It's what I would have done." I answered. I would have stopped at nothing to get Beth out, and the last I'd talked to her, she was feeling exactly the same way. We both gave each other a long look, the reality of my situation sinking in.

I looked around the house, nothing much had changed... My eyes caught a few familiar books sitting on a coffee table; I walked over, picking one up and flipping through it. I noticed Beth's familiar handwriting on some of the pages. I took this in with a thought, surely not? If she was still here... where was she? I had given a lot of thought to where Beth might go after I was gone. I knew Bobby would take care of her and Sam. I wasn't surprised she'd gone with Sam, but Bobby said she'd come back without him. So where was she?

"Bobby." I said slowly, shaking myself out of my thoughts. "Where is Beth?"

Bobby took a long sobering breath and looked at me.

"Gone," he said. "She took off and wouldn't say where."

"Why don't I like the sound of that? Come on, surely she left a clue," I said.

Bobby shrugged, looking at me. "She just said she was going back to the beginning. But I've been to Lawrence, she ain't there. She ain't in Wisconsin either."

I frowned, pacing as I thought about what that meant. She could be terribly cryptic when she wanted to be, but I knew she wouldn't leave a clue behind that I couldn't decipher. I stopped; looking up as it dawned on me and grinned, shaking my head at the man.

"No, that's not what she meant," I said quietly, looking down at my hands. "Where's your car? She's only a few hours away," I said with a confident smile. A few hours and I'd be able to see her again, touch her, and tell her myself that everything was going to be okay now. Bobby looked at me stunned.

"Man, she's been under your nose the whole time," I chuckled, heading for the door and patting him on the shoulder.

---

2 hours later
Blue Earth, Minnesota

Dean's POV

The chapel was a relatively new construction. Pastor Jim hadn't built it, only extended on to it with his own home, but it looked older from the outside than it was. Stone walls, stained glass windows, a double door at the front, one side of which was propped open to allow entry to the general public. I didn't know what I'd been expecting. Of course she would be here, Beth had a faith that I would never understand. What she'd been through would have been enough for me to give up any faith I might have had. But apart from a few moments where she thought about giving up, she never did, and somehow it made her stronger. I wasn't surprised to find her in the place we'd met, the place we'd married, she went where there was consecrated ground, holy water, and God – and if there was an emotional connection to it, all the better.

God. I smirked. Fat lot of good he does for us.

When we arrived, the door to Pastor Jim's house swung open and I was surprised to see Jefferson walk out to greet us. He stared at me for a while, eyes moving to Bobby and assessing the situation quietly. Finally he smirked at me and shook his head.

"About time you showed up," he said as if I'd just been away on an extended vacation. He grabbed me in a hug, the strength of it belying the relief he felt to see me. I pulled back and grinned at him.

"Well you know me, timing is everything," I joked, and he smiled at me. I looked up at the chapel door and then glanced questioningly at Jefferson. "Is she...?"

"Spends all her days here." Jefferson nodded. "Comes home to eat dinner, does a little reading, research on the computer, and then she goes to her room where I'm pretty sure she watches that DVD of yours every night," he finished, shaking his head. I was surprised: when I'd sent it to Maggie, I wasn't even sure it would find its way to Beth.

"Right..." I said, suddenly feeling apprehensive. I smoothed out my shirt and ran my hands through my hair.

"You look fine you damn show pony. Just get your ass in there; we'll be out here if you need us." Bobby said, giving me a shove toward the chapel.

I took a few hesitant steps, and then walked steadily across the yard to the door. I quietly stepped inside, crossing the little foyer to the interior of the church. My eyes adjusted to the dark, it was getting late out, there weren't any lights on, just some candles at the main altar, and the chapel was getting darker as the light faded outside.

Beth was kneeling at a little side altar where there were a dozen or so little taper candles burning. Prayer candles, I knew them to be. Her head was bowed and she leaned heavily on the wooden railing in front of her, chin on her clasped hands. My breath caught. I could barely believe that I was here, and she was within arm's reach. All those decades, because that is what it had been to me, inside the Pit, being carved and mutilated... a lifetime of remembering, holding on to the one shred of humanity left inside of me. Beth. I closed my eyes, my heart was racing and I willed it to slow down.

Stepping into the aisle, I moved slowly toward her. She didn't outwardly show that she had heard me, but I knew she was aware that someone had entered behind her. When I didn't step into a pew to pray, she started paying closer attention, her shoulders stiffened, and she turned her head slightly to the side to glance behind her.

I licked my dry lips: What to say? How to say it? I was reminded of the first time we'd met, so many years ago, just children. She'd been praying at the front of the chapel, and I had been running away from wanting to face the fact that I'd screwed up and nearly gotten my brother killed. She'd turned to me then, and she did so again now, nearly twenty years later.

I was within feet of her. I just wanted to run and take her into my arms. But I couldn't, I had to let this play out. She hadn't changed; her long dark hair loose and running down her back. The rosary she word under her shirt was out; hanging from her neck, the silver pentacle gleamed when the light hit it. Seemed a lifetime ago I'd clipped it to the cross, and it was still there. I looked for it, seeing it on her left finger, her wedding ring. She still wore it and that filled me with overwhelming joy.

When she finally looked at me, her eyes widened and she froze, staring at me.

"Hey..." I offered, pathetically, shrugging my shoulders at her.

She said nothing, just staring, but her chest started rising faster, she was trying to catch her breath.

I stepped toward her and she scooted back a few steps, putting the railing between us.

"No..." She whispered, shaking her head. "No..."

"Beth." I said, reaching a hand out to her.

"Get away!" She cried, moving back toward the wall.

"Beth, it's me!" This wasn't going well; at least I'd given Bobby a phone call, a heads up. Maybe I should have brought Jefferson in, I thought ruefully. Too late for that.

"God, why do you torment me?" She asked, tears brimming in her eyes. She shook her head. "You're not real... you're not real." She muttered to herself. Her eyes narrowed and she started moving toward the rear exit.

I followed her, hands out.

"Beth, look, I know it seems impossible... but I swear, I swear it's me." I stepped toward her again and she ran for the door, I was hot on her heels.

I'd nearly caught her when she grabbed the bowl of water by the door, twisting mid run to toss the contents at me. I stopped as the water hit me square in the face. It smelled of mould and roses, and I just stood there, holy water dripping down my face and sighing.

Beth's eyes widened, but she still ran out the door and collided with Bobby as he was entering. He grabbed her, and she shrieked, falling into his arms. He gave me a frustrated look and held her close. I shrugged again, feeling every bit as pathetic and useless as I seemed to be right now.

"I already did that," he said to Beth. She stopped struggling, turning to regard me again, this time with uncertainty, but a little hope.

"It's him. I don't know how, but it's him." Bobby was saying and she looked up at him, shaking her head. She looked down again, disbelief showing, and then her eyes fell to the rosary around my wrist and she stopped. She took a shaky breath, stepping away from Bobby, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, looking at me long and hard. She ventured a few steps forward until she was standing just in front of me. I grabbed a cloth from one of the pews with a sigh and wiped the water off my face, again.

She reached a shaky hand out to touch the rosary and then my face, eyes searching mine. "Dean?" She asked softly.

"Hey sugarpie..." I whispered, smiling at her, but not moving to touch her. I didn't want to scare her away again.

She contemplated what she was seeing, then without warning threw her arms around me, and I wrapped her tightly in my arms. She was laughing and crying at the same time and I just held her, rubbing her back, taking in the warmth of her, the feel of her in my arms. I've been gone so long... I closed my eyes, breathing the smell of her hair, vanilla... and squeezed her a little harder. Neither of us wanted to let go.

"Oh God, Dean..." She pulled back, touching my face with her hands. "It is you. It is you. You're here." She laughed softly. "It is you..." This time a whisper. "But how?"

I took her face in my hands, leaning my forehead against hers, our noses bumped and our breath intermingled. I saw Bobby leave the building quietly, giving us our space now that she was all right. "I don't know... I don't know." I whispered, shaking my head a little but never pulling back. She had put her hands on my shoulders and was leaning against me, eyes closed, as if she couldn't quite believe I was there.

"I never gave up hope... it's all I've prayed for Dean. I never gave up hope," she whispered. I nodded, sliding my right hand up into her hair and holding her head a little firmer against mine, she felt real, she felt solid. All those years the demons had used her image to torture me. To take her from me over and over. And here she was, in the flesh, safe, untouched.

"God, I've missed you," I said fiercely, pulling her chin up so I could kiss her. I felt her yield underneath me, her lips parting to let me in. I kissed her with a quiet desperation, like I might wake up from a dream at any moment. It wouldn't be the first time. But this felt different. She shifted under me, her hands sliding down around my waist and then up my back, pulling me against her. I heard her moan softly as I deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth with my tongue.

She was here. I was here. We were together. I don't know how that had happened, what deal had been done, but I didn't care. I was home; I was out of the Pit... I was free.

We pulled back unwillingly, just enough to look at each other.

"How are you here?" She asked again, this time wanting answers.

I shrugged. "I don't know... I was kind of hoping you could tell me." I said, looking at her.

"Me?" She asked, surprised.

"Well yeah. What did you and Sam do to break me out?" I asked, looking at her knowingly.

"Sam?" She frowned. "What does he have to do with this?" She stepped back just slightly, getting defensive.

"Beth..." I said, looking at her. "Come on, I know you guys were planning to do something, you said you wouldn't stop until you got me out. You left my body in a coffin, that's not standard procedure."

She sighed, nodding.

"We planned to Dean, we did. We left here and we hunted down demons, we went to crossroads, we tried everything we could think of... but..." she looked at me, fresh tears forming in her eyes. "But no one would deal, Dean. They had you where they wanted you; you were rotting in Hell, for months... for months Dean!" She stepped away, pacing along the stone floor of the foyer.

"And there was nothing we could do..." Her breath caught in a sob, and she put her hand to her mouth. "I couldn't stop it..." She stopped moving, closing her eyes and hugging herself.

I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her against my chest.

"Shh, it's okay. It's okay. I'm okay." I said, holding her, reassuring her that she hadn't failed me. She had to know I would never blame her; I only wanted her to be happy.

"You came back here?" I asked, the thought coming to my mind. She nodded against my chest; her words were slightly muffled into my jacket as she answered.

"Sam... he was losing it, I was losing it. He was so angry! He pushed me away Dean, oh he's a nasty drunk. He blamed me for you being in Hell and said I had to go, that he didn't want me with him..." She paused, her fingers were playing with a button on my shirt, I held her silently, letting her get her thoughts.

She sighed. "I'd lost you... and then I lost my brother. I've been all alone." Her breath caught in a sob. I squeezed her tight, kissing the top of her head, a multitude of thoughts running through my head. Maybe he was trying to protect her from whatever bad mojo he'd delved into to get me out.

"I'm sorry." I said into her hair, kissing her head again. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. But I'm here now, I'm here now." I slid my hand up into her hair, grasping her head firmly as I claimed her lips again, softly but firmly, needing to hear that little moan come from her. I wasn't disappointed, she clung to me as I kissed her trembling lips, that little sigh I loved so much escaping her mouth.

Beth pulled away only slightly and smiled at me, lifting my left hand to her mouth and kissing the palm several times. I unwound the rosary from around my wrist, placing it in her hands and she smiled at it, eyes full of glittering tears.

"Thought you might like it back," I said with a grin and she laughed, nodding.

"I uh... I don't know where..." I started to explain about the ring and she shushed me, smiling and lifting her own hand up. She twisted at her ring, tugging and I saw her ring separate, and I realised with a surprise that they nested together: I hadn't lost it; she'd kept it with her all this time.

Taking it in hand she slid it back on to my finger, biting her lip and smiling at me. "I told you to come and get this back off me," she said and I grinned, leaning my forehead in against hers.

"Thank you," I said softly and she smiled tearfully at me again.

---

Beth's POV

I had never unpacked my bag, not really, a few things here and there, but it had always been tucked in the closet ready to go at the drop of a hat if the opportunity presented itself. I hurried upstairs to grab it, throwing it on the bed and tossing in some underwear from the tallboy nearby, along with my candle from the top.

As I moved to the bathroom to get my toiletries the door opened and Dean walked through, closing it behind him.

"What are you doing?" He asked, watching me as I walked into the ensuite and then reappeared carrying my brush, toothbrush, shampoo and conditioner.

"Packing, we have to get Sam, right?" I asked, tossing the rest of my things in the bag and zipping it up. The mere thought of seeing Sam again was making me sick to the stomach, I didn't know what he was going to say when he saw me, and I didn't know how I felt. I ached at what he'd said, but that had been over a month ago, surely he'd simmered down since then.

"Are you kidding me?" Dean asked, and I paused, looking at him.

"What?"

He shook his head and crossed to me, his hands cupping my face again and he kissed me with a hunger I hadn't felt in a long time. I slid my hands up along his back, feeling the familiar grooves as his muscles moved against me. "He can wait," Dean said breathlessly as he claimed my lips again.

He started pulling at the hem of my shirt, lifting it up over my head and I moaned, feeling a yearning start to throb through my whole body. Tugging at my jeans, they dropped to the floor, Dean leaning down to run his hands along my legs, trailing them back up to peel my underwear to the floor, kissing along my hips and up over my stomach as he pulled himself up my body.

Dean grabbed me to him and I sought the comfort of his arms and lips, moaning as he lifted me up, carrying me over to the bed and laying me down on the soft comforter. He hovered over me, brushing the hair out of my eyes and smiling, looking at me with such love and tenderness. With gentle hands he removed my rosary and medallion from around my neck, placing them on the nightstand before returning.

I tugged at the hem of his t-shirt as Dean helped to remove it and I marvelled at his body, it was pristine, none of the familiar scars marring any of his skin. I ran my hands along where there had been a few stab wounds and then down over his stomach where the hellhound had gutted him. Even his tattoo was gone.

"I have waited a long... long time for this," he said, his mouth catching my lips in a hungry kiss. I worked at his jeans, pulled them down over his hips and he moved back long enough to drop them to the floor, revealing an erection that was already hard and ready. I reached out, taking it in my hand and tugging at him, watching the way his eyes glazed over and rolled into the back of his head. I pulled him on to the bed beside me, rolling on top and stroking along his stomach with one hand while I massaged him with my other.

His breath was already catching in short bursts, and he clutched at the comforter, his knuckles white. I flicked my thumb across his head, urging him closer and closer to his orgasm. Suddenly his breathing changed and became more frantic, he froze with short, hard and fast gasps as he shook his head.

"Dean?"

He didn't respond and I noted every muscle in his body was clenched tight as if fighting what he was feeling.

"No..." he whispered and I let go of him, my hands sliding along his chest as I moved to lie next to him, brushing my hand along his face. "I won't..." he said, shaking his head and biting his lip.

"Dean... what's wrong?"

With a cry he grabbed at me, rolling and pinning me to the bed as he pushed between my legs, his arousal pressing against me.

"Dean," I said warily with slightly bated breath. He didn't look at me, eyes tightly closed; instead he frowned and thrust forward. I wasn't completely ready and I cried out as he entered, it had been months and I was not expecting the rough treatment. He forced himself to go deeper in spite of the minimal lubrication, and I gasped from the stabbing pain as he rubbed inside of me, the friction sending searing red fire through me.

Dean's breath was coming harder and faster, his actions jerking and nowhere near as controlled or gentle as I was used to. The look on his face was familiar to my dreams, he was lost inside of himself, pinning my arms above me as he thrust harder and harder. I willed my body to soften, to take it as I gasped and tried not to panic.

"Dean... Dean you're hurting me," I said, he wrenched another moan from me as he hit my cervix hard, sending more pain coursing through my body. He gasped, moaning and shaking his head.

"No...no..." he muttered as he frowned, his eyes clenched shut.

"Dean!" I said, fighting at his hands that pinned me to the bed. "Dean look at me!" He stopped moving, and there was nothing but the sound of his heavy breathing as he turned his face toward me.

"Baby it's me," I said softly, "Dean it's me, come back to me," I said, kissing his lips and he released my hands as he stilled inside of me. Hazel eyes opened to look at me and I saw the way he was locked inside of himself, inside a memory. "You're hurting me, come back to me," I said again, stroking my hand across his forehead.

"Beth?" He said softly, gasping as he leaned over me.

"Yes, yes it's me... you're with me, you're safe, you're okay baby. You're okay," I said and he let out a shuddering breath, dropping on me and burying his face in my neck.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry," he said, sliding his arms under me and I pulled him tightly to me.

"It's okay," I said soothingly, stroking my hands along his back and up into his hair.

"Oh God I'm sorry," he said and I held him to me, kissing him and showing him I was all right.

"I'm all right, it's okay." He pulled out of me, cursing and moving off the bed, going into the bathroom.

"Dean..." I crawled out of bed and followed him, tossing a t-shirt on and bringing a shirt for him which I draped over his shoulders as he stood in front of the mirror, leaning heavily on the sink.

"I don't deserve you," he said, shaking his head.

"Stop that," I said. "Don't you dare push me away. You have been in Hell... the things you went through..." I turned him to face me, staring into tormented and guilty eyes. "I'm all right. I'm more worried about you." He refused to speak, shaking his head.

"You promised," I said to him, bringing his face around to me. "For better or worse, you would talk to me, you would trust me." He sighed.

"What do you see in me? The things I've done..." He asked, hanging his head.

I growled and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close, stroking along his back through the fabric of the shirt and he let out a shaky breath, his arms finally coming to hold me.

"Don't do that," I said softly. "Don't start down that road, you haven't done anything wrong."

Taking his hand I led him back into the bedroom, moving my bag on to the floor and getting under the covers, pulling him beside me on the bed and nestling in against his chest. His breathing evened out and he just held me, staring down at me as I smiled. "I missed you so much," I said, tears coming into my eyes as I thought about the time we'd spent apart.

"Me too," he said, kissing me with a haunted look. "You have no idea."

"Don't ever leave me again," I whispered, burying my lips against his neck and breathing in the scent of him.

"Never. Not if I can help it," he said, holding and squeezing me to him.

"All your scars are gone," I commented randomly, running my fingers along where he used to have a claw mark from a werewolf.

"Yeah I know," he said thoughtfully. "Guess I have some catching up to do to reach your level again," he added with a chuckle. I grimaced and sighed.

"Mmm, ugly scars..." I said with a sigh.

"Shh, you're beautiful, every little scar, every blemish, I wouldn't change a thing," he said, kissing my forehead. I smiled, running my hand up over his left arm again and finding one scar, a big angry welt in the shape of a hand on his bicep. I gasped, looking at it and then up at Dean.

"Yeah I know... I guess I have one that you don't," he said with a chuckle and I smiled, nodding at him.

"Does it hurt?" I asked, tentatively touching the finger marks.

"No," he said, shaking his head. I placed my hand over the top of them, and rested it there, just staring and trying to think of what could have pulled him out of Hell.

"You'll have to get another tattoo," I said, kissing his chest where his anti-possession tattoo had once been.

"Yeah, I know," he said. "First thing in the morning." I smiled, and pulled away long enough to grab my rosary. It still had one of the anti-possession charms on it; the same one Dean had put on the rosary so long ago. I slipped it over his head and smiled as the silver settled around his neck.

"This will do until then," I said and he nodded, kissing my forehead.

"Get some sleep Beth, you look exhausted," Dean said to me and I nodded, letting out a yawn.

"Yeah, I haven't been sleeping without you," I said, curling up closer.

"Well, hopefully we'll both get some sleep for a change then," he said, pulling me against him. "Close your eyes, I'll be right here in the morning."

"Promise?" I asked, trailing my hand along his chest.

"Promise."

---

Next Morning

Dean's POV

I could barely believe my eyes when I woke up in bed with Beth. She was tangled around me, clinging to my chest as she slept soundly. I tried to stretch, feeling a little sore from not having moved at all during the night, and she moaned, shifting a little and rolling on to her back. I smiled, moving her on to her side and slid in behind her, my arm circling around her waist and stroking softly. The touch started to wake her and she moaned, rolling back against me.

"Morning," I said into her ear, kissing the soft skin on her neck.

"Mmmm, good morning," she said with a smile, reaching behind to slide an arm around my neck. "How are you feeling?"

"Alive," I said with a chuckle, kissing along her shoulder. She turned to look at me and I swear you couldn't wipe the smile of her face if you tried. I chuckled and kissed her, happy to be alive and have her in my arms.

"Come on, let's get in a shower before breakfast," I said and she nodded, climbing out of bed and tugging me with her.

"Together?" She asked hopefully, big brown eyes looking at me in question.

"Of course, I'm not letting you out of my sight," I said with a grin and she laughed, skipping forward to kiss me again.

It was a chaste shower, by our standards, and by the time we got downstairs Jefferson and Bobby had finished their breakfast and were sitting at the table reading newspapers.

"In the oven," Jefferson said to Beth before she could even get out a question, and she grinned at him, moving to take out two plates of eggs and bacon. "Mind the plates, they'll be hot," Jefferson added and Beth rolled her eyes at him while she grabbed a couple of pot holders.

"Really?" She asked innocently and Jefferson smiled, shaking his head at her.

My stomach growled in hunger and I sat at the table as she brought them over to me.

"So, it wasn't Beth," I said to the other two men in the room and they nodded.

"Kind of figured," Jefferson said with a snicker.

"So we need to find Sam, and figure out what the Hell he's been up to," I said with a frown, digging in to my bacon and chewing, trying not to moan it tasted so good.

"Where's Baby?" I asked, looking over at Beth, she glanced up at me and squirmed a little, and I felt my heart race a little. What had she done with my car?

"She's kind of with Sam..." Beth said and I stared at her, stunned.

"You were supposed to take care of her," I said and she nodded, leaning over to kiss me.

"Yeah I know, but that was before Sam took off with a freaking demon," she said, forking some eggs into her mouth and looking down at her place. I spluttered and nearly spat my coffee all over the table.

"What?!"

"Ruby showed up, I refused to go with them because you told me to stay away from her, and Sam told me I had to choose. So I left to find my own way to get you out, he stayed with her," Beth said quickly, still looking at her plate. She was fidgeting, and I knew there was more to the story, but until she was ready to share, I wasn't going to push.

"So how are we supposed to find him?" I asked, frowning.

"That's easy," Beth said with a grin, swallowing a mouthful of orange juice. "I put a tracker on the car, why do you think I let him take her?" I laughed, shaking my head and leaning in to kiss her.

"I knew there was a reason I married you," I said and she grinned.

"Well it certainly wasn't for my cooking," she quipped, smiling at me.

After breakfast I sat at the computer and Beth leaned over my shoulder as she gave me the tracking information for the Impala.

"You think he knows it's on there?" I asked, looking up at her and she shook her head.

"Nope, Sam doesn't work on the car, and he'd have to do that to find where I put it," she said with a chuckle. I shook my head in quiet awe of her, grateful that she'd taken the time to learn about the Impala.

I keyed in the information and waited for the satellite to kick in, the screen finally revealing a location.

"He's in Pontiac, Illinois," I said, frowning.

"Right near where you were planted," Bobby said.

"Right where I popped up. Hell of a coincidence, don't you think?" I asked, and Beth chewed on her lip, nodding.

---

Pontiac, Illinois

Beth's POV

It had been a long drive. Jefferson had graciously allowed Dean to drive the Plymouth while he rode with Bobby, giving us some space to talk. We'd conversed quietly for a while before falling into a comfortable silence, Dean with his eyes on the road, me with my eyes on him. There was a lot to think about.

He glanced over at me periodically, smiling each time. I reached a hand out to rest on his thigh, I had to touch him, had to feel he was real. He reached down and laid his hand over mine, squeezing softly, as if to convince himself that I was real as much as I was doing the same.

"Won't be long," He promised. "Sam has a lot of explaining to do." I smiled sadly. I didn't want to know what sort of a deal Sam had made to get Dean out and I wasn't looking forward to finding out.

Astoria Hotel

The clerk had told me what room he was in when I handed over a few hundred dollar bills and flashed a bit of cleavage. Dean led the way down the hallway coming to the end. A big red heart with the numbers 207 stood out against the dark wood. My stomach was in knots. I didn't know how Sam was going to take seeing me again, and I certainly felt worried about how I was going to react to seeing him again. I'd thought about staying in the car, but Dean wouldn't hear of it, so instead I was trailing behind him and Bobby all the way to the door.

Dean frowned at me when I refused to knock, preferring instead to stand with Bobby, but he didn't force the issue. That left Jefferson who rolled his eyes and then knocked on the door.

A pretty young woman opened the door wearing nothing but her undies and a singlet, stepping back to look at him with a smirk.

"So where is it?" She asked.

"Um, where is what?" Jefferson countered with his own question.

"The pizza?" She smirked. "That takes a guy and..." She looked out the door a little, spotting the rest of our group. "...three bodyguards to deliver?"

"I think we have the wrong room." Jefferson said, turning to the rest of us but I recognised the girl from the last time I'd seen Sam, I shook my head and stepped forward just as Sam came out into view. He looked grim, wearing a grey t-shirt and jeans.

"Beth?" He asked, eyes widening as he stepped toward me.

"Hey Sam," I said, feeling sick and awkward as he stared at me, making no move to indicate how he was feeling.

"What are you doing here?" He asked coming up to the door.

"I uh..." I hesitated, and then Jefferson stepped in with a scowl on his face.

"She's here to do this," he said, and without any warning he punched Sam in the nose, the latter reeling back in surprise while the girl in the room shrieked.

"What the fuck Jefferson!?" Sam yelled, grabbing at his nose and Dean was moving into the room, coming between them, not sure what the hell was going on.

"That's for leaving Beth in a field, alone," Jefferson said, "because she's too nice to do it." Sam stood up, holding his nose and scowling, he made for Jefferson, and Dean put his hands in the air.

"Hold on there cowboy!" Dean said, and Sam paused, staring at Dean. His eyes widened further and he swallowed hard, eyes flicking between me, to Bobby and then Sam.

"Heya, Sammy," Dean said when Sam didn't move.

Sam was silent and Dean took a step forward. Suddenly Sam pulled a silver knife out from his jeans and lunged at Dean.

Dean blocked Sam's attack and Bobby grabbed Sam, gripping him around the shoulders. Sam struggled against Bobby, and I threw myself at him, palms pushing against his chest, holding him back.

"Who are you?!" Sam shouted at Dean, who was now behind me.

"Oh like you didn't do this?!" Dean yelled back, eyes flashing.

"Do what?!" Sam exclaimed.

"It's him. It's him Sam. We've been through this already!" I said, looking up into his eyes. He stopped to look at me. "It's really him." I said, tears welling in my eyes. Sam looked up again at Dean; I felt his body relax under my hands.

"What..." Sam muttered incredulously.

Dean approached us cautiously, staring at Sam. "I know. I look fantastic, huh?" He joked. Sam just stared at him, frowning.

Bobby let go of Sam, who now had tears in his own eyes. He looked down at me and then pulled Dean into a hug. Sam finally pulled back, looking Dean up and down. The woman was staring at us all, confused.

"So are you two like... together?" She asked.

Sam's eyes went to her and he looked confused, like he'd forgotten all about her being there. "What? No. No. He's my brother." Sam explained.

"Uh... got it. I … I guess. Look, I should probably go." She offered lamely.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Sorry." Sam said. Dean grinned at her, only just now noticing her lack of clothing. I rolled my eyes and went into the room collecting all the women's clothes I could see lying about.

The girl slipped into jeans and a plaid blue shirt quickly, her eyes warily looking at me, but then she shrugged. I was still feeling sick to my stomach as I watched her leave for the door, she was the same girl I'd walked in on with Sam over a month ago, and she'd been there when Sam had told me to take off. Sam had put on a white shirt and was ushering her out the door as I flopped down into one of the cushy armchairs, fighting back the urge to vomit.

Dean was standing next to me, leaning against the chair, his arms crossed over his chest. Sam sat down on the end of the bed tying his shoelaces.

"So tell me, what'd it cost?" Dean asked sternly, suddenly all business.

Sam laughed, looking up from tying his shoe with a raised eyebrow. "The girl? I don't pay, Dean." I smirked and shook my head.

"That's not funny Sam. To bring me back. What'd it cost? Was it just your soul, or was it something worse?" Dean asked.

Sam paused and looked at Dean confused. "You think I made a deal?" He asked.

"That's exactly what we think." Bobby said from where he was seated at the little round table by the bed.

"Well I didn't." Sam said.

"Don't lie to me." Dean said forcefully.

"I'm not lying." Sam said throwing his hands up in the air.

Dean advanced on Sam, his face was angry. I grimaced. "So what now, I'm off the hook and you're on, is that it? You're some demon's bitch-boy? I didn't want to be saved like this!"

Sam stood up angrily to face Dean. "Look, I wish I had Dean, all right?" Dean grabbed Sam by the collar, shaking him.

"There's no other way that this could have gone down. Now tell the truth!" Dean demanded.

Sam brought his hands up and broke free of Dean's grip, anger flaring into his eyes. "I tried everything. That's the truth! Didn't Beth tell you?" His eyes fell to me with a glare and I looked away. "We tried everything. We even tried opening a Devil's Gate. Nothing. I have been driving from one end of this country to the other just looking for an answer Dean. For months. And nothing. So I'm sorry it wasn't me, all right?" He paused, gulping, eyes looking sad and full of guilt. "Dean, I'm sorry."

Dean's expression softened as he looked at his brother. "It's okay, Sammy. You don't have to apologise, I believe you." He said softly. Sam was fuming, struggling with his failure.

Bobby's voice broke the silence.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm gladdened that Sam's soul remains intact." He said. "But it does raise a sticky question..."

"If he didn't pull you out, then what did?" I asked softly, slipping my arm around Dean's waist and looking up at him. He sighed, taking a deep breath, eyes just as concerned.

---

Dean's POV

You could have cut the air with a knife as Sam paced the room glancing at Beth and then Jefferson. He stopped a couple of times, looking over at her, and then kept moving, shaking his head. I'd never seen them so uncomfortable with each other, and it made me wonder just what had gone on between them, what Beth wasn't telling me yet.

Finally Sam grabbed some beers from the fridge, handing them around, and then sat on a chair across from the couch where I was sitting with Beth.

"So, what were you doing around here if you weren't digging me out of my grave?" I asked, cracking the beer and taking a sip.

"Well, once I figured I couldn't save you, I started hunting down Lilith, trying to get some payback," he answered.

"All by yourself? Who do you think you are, your old man?" Bobby snapped.

"Just like him," Beth smirked, looking at him. He stopped to stare at her and she rolled her eyes. "After all, the rest of us just make him weak." Sam looked like he was going to retort, but then he ignored the comment, turning to Bobby. I frowned, wondering what that comment had been about. She'd told me on the trip here that he's said some nasty things to her, but she didn't elaborate, and I wasn't pushing. Yet.

"Uh, yeah, I'm sorry Bobby. I should have called. I was pretty messed up," he said quietly, glancing back at Beth who was shaking her head angrily.

I raised an eyebrow; picking up the item I'd just found discarded on the side of the couch, a pink flowered bra, and held it up in the air.

"Oh yeah. I really feel your pain," I smirked: clearly he hadn't been suffering too much in the time I was gone. He actually looked pretty good, he was strong, healthy, and sober, a far cry from what Beth had said he'd been like when she'd last seen him.

It was also a far cry from Beth who looked like she hadn't slept in years. She was a little better this morning, and her smiles came easier the longer I had her with me. Now I just had to sort out what had gone on with Sam, but all in good time, more important was figuring out what was going on with me.

"Anyways, uh, I was checking these demons out of Tennessee, and out of nowhere they took a hard left, booked up here," Sam said, ignoring my comment.

"When?" I asked.

"Yesterday morning," he answered and I looked down at Beth, taking in a short breath.

"When I busted out," I said.

"You think these demons are here because of you?" Jefferson asked, still leaning casually against the sink in the little kitchenette. I tilted my head, shrugging.

"But why?" Sam asked, looking confused.

"Well, I don't know – some badass demon drags me out and now this? It's gotta be connected somehow," I said, a sinking sick feeling started to churn in my gut and I shook my head.

"How you feelin', anyway?" Bobby asked randomly, looking at me. I shrugged, glancing around the room.

"I'm a little hungry," I said to which Beth snickered.

"No, I mean, do you feel like yourself? Anything strange, or different?" He clarified. I looked at Beth and she bit her lip, squeezing my hand that was holding hers.

"Or demonic?" I asked in frustration. "Bobby, how many times do I have to prove I'm me?" It was getting to be annoying.

"Yeah. Well listen," Bobby said, raising a concerned eyebrow. "No demon's letting you loose out of the goodness of their hearts. They've gotta have something nasty planned."

"Well I feel fine," I insisted, taking another drink from my beer and glancing down at Beth. She was the only one who knew otherwise. I was still getting flashes of Hell, even when I was awake, but that was hardly surprising – and it was hardly related to whether or not I had a demon floating around inside of me.

I felt the amulet hanging around my neck, Beth had moved it to a chain this morning, and reminded myself that a visit to the tattoo parlour was in order as soon as possible.

"Okay, look, we don't know what they're planning. We got a pile of questions and no shovel," Jefferson said, walking over to sit down on one of the bed. "We need help."

"I know a psychic," Bobby offered. "A few hours from here. Something this big, maybe she's heard the other side talking." I nodded at the idea.

"Hell yeah, it's worth a shot," I said.

Bobby stood up with a shrug, reaching for his phone. "I'll be right back," he said and he left the room, Jefferson following him.

"I'm going to go put some gas in the car, back shortly," he said and then the door was shut and it was just three of again in the motel room. Beth was staring at the wall, silent and contemplative, and Sam was watching her with a mix of anxiety and worry. I stood up and she looked at me urgently until I leaned down to kiss her forehead, smiling.

"Bathroom," I explained and she took a breath, nodding.

"Hey, wait," Sam said, standing up as I walked away. "You might want this back." I turned back and he pulled a cord out from under his shirt revealing my amulet, the one he'd given me for Christmas so many years ago. I smiled, looking at it in my hand and nodded.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, don't mention it," Sam said, looking at me intensely. I put the amulet over my head and it was like having an old friend reunite with me. "Hey Dean, what was it like?" Sam asked, looking a little uncomfortable.

"What, Hell?" I asked, and he nodded. "I don't know," I lied. "I, I must have blacked out. I don't remember a damn thing," I said, glancing down at Beth who was chewing on her bottom lip, looking at me sadly.

"Well, thank God for that," Sam said nodding and I almost snickered. God. What the hell did he have to do with any of this?

"Yeah," I said with a nod, pushing past him and going into the bathroom. I turned the light on, staring in the mirror, into my eyes. As I looked my eyes seemed to turn blood shot and I heard the screams and whimpers of thousands of souls being tortured as the light seemed to flare around me. I shook my head, looking up into the mirror again and seeing my face, whole, fine, and I shuddered. It was just a memory.

Splashing some water on my face, I cracked the door a little and saw Beth pacing the room, looking anxious.

"Listen, Beth," Sam was saying and I paused to listen, wondering what they'd have to say for themselves now I was out of the room. "What I said to you, it wasn't me..." he said and Beth glared at him. "Really, I was in a bad place Beth, and I took it out on you. It was the alcohol, and the frustration... I didn't mean it."

Beth huffed and shook her head, coming to a stop and looking at Sam. "Really Sam? Because it seemed like you'd given it quite a bit of thought from where I was standing," she said angrily.

"It was the whiskey, come on; you know what it was like!" Sam said, walking up to her. "You know I'd never deliberately hurt you, I was just … angry," he said. I cracked the door a little further and saw her shake her head, pushing past him.

"You're lying," she said.

Sam grabbed her arm as she passed and spun her to face him with a wrench and I nearly rushed into the room and punched him myself, but I held, and waited. Beth pulled away, but he held on to her arm until she'd look at him.

"Let me go Sam," she said, glaring up at him.

"I'm not lying! Beth! You have to believe me, I tried calling you, dozens of times but then you disconnected your phone..." he said, she rolled her eyes and pulled at her arm again, this time he let her go.

"And Ruby? What happened to her?" She asked, looking back at him.

"Gone, I sent her away when I realised what I'd done, what I'd said to you," he said, looking down at her. "Beth, I'm sorry, you gotta believe me."

Beth sighed, and looked at him, taking a step back. "You were hurting, I get it," she said, biting her lip. "But people don't just say random things when they're drunk, they come from somewhere Sam. Deep down, you believe everything you said and I can't ever forget that, not anytime soon. We'd lost Dean, I get it, you were hurting and you needed someone to blame, but I needed you Sam! I needed you to back me up, like you promised you would, and you just... you turned on me, and now you expect me to just forgive and forget?"

Sam sighed and looked at her, shaking his head. "Beth, come on..."

"No Sam, I've let you get away with a lot, I have. But this... you might as well have stuck a knife in my gut," she said quietly, shaking her head. "I can forgive you, Sam. I can forgive you anything because I love you, and you're my brother. But I'm not gonna forget anytime soon."

She walked toward the door, hesitating when she got there, glancing up at the bathroom door and seeing me standing there. She shook it off not calling it to Sam's attention that I'd been eavesdropping.

Instead, she turned back to him and added. "Oh by the way I'd watch yourself around Cole. She'll be out for vengeance and she isn't likely to let you know when she plans to collect. She'll simply take it from you…" Beth said the warning hanging in the air between them. I almost chuckled as I looked back at Sam's expression: he paled visibly and gulped audibly at the warning. Fantastic, for once it wasn't going to be me the angry midget picked on.

I opened the door and moved out, looking from her to Sam.

"Everything okay?" I asked cautiously and she nodded.

"Yeah, yeah we're good. Think we can go yet?" She asked. As if on cue, the door to the room opened right in front of her and Bobby stood there, looking at the three of us.

---

Beth's POV

Bobby led the way down the steps to where Jefferson was waiting with the Plymouth.

"She's about four hours down the Interstate," he said to us as we hit the bottom step. He looked over at Jefferson's car with a raised eyebrow and then back at the boys who were walking toward the Impala. "Try to keep up," Jefferson said with a challenge before he and Bobby got in the Plymouth.

"I assume you'll want to drive," Sam said, pulling the keys out of his pocket and tossing them to Dean who caught them with a smile.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" He chuckled, hurrying around the side of the car and running his hand along her roof lovingly. "Hey sweetheart, did you miss me?" I laughed, shaking my head and climbing into the passenger seat, it was good to see him happy.

Dean settled into the driver's seat with a happy breath and his gaze fell to an iPod plugged into the stereo, I raised an eyebrow and snickered while Dean gave Sam a dirty look over the back seat.

"What the hell is that?" He asked.

"That's an iPod jack," Sam said with a smile.

"You were supposed to take care of her, not douche her up," Dean said with a frown.

"Dean, I thought it was my car," Sam replied and Dean looked incredulously at him, starting the engine up. The soulful tones of Vision started to play over the speakers and Dean rolled his eyes, glaring at Sam again with a pained look.

"Really?"

Sam shrugged innocently and Dean reached forward, ripping the iPod out of the jack and tossing it in the back seat next to Sam.

Jefferson pulled out ahead of us, the Beep Beep of his Roadrunner sounding as he rocketed off down the highway and Dean pulled after him with a screech of tires. "Oh it is on!" He said with a chuckle, putting the pedal to the floor and having the Impala lurch forward, speeding to catch up to Jefferson.

"You know, there's still one thing that's bothering me," Dean said, breaking the silence a while later.

"What?" I asked, glancing over at him from where I was leaning against the door. Sam sat forward, a curious look on his face.

"The night that I bit it. Or... got bit," he said with a chuckle. "How'd you guys make it out? I thought Lilith was going to kill you."

"Well she tried," Sam said, resting his arms on the front seat and looking at Dean. "She couldn't."

"What do you mean, she couldn't?" Dean asked.

"She fired this, like, burning light at us and... didn't even leave a scratch. Like I we were immune or something."

"Immune?"

"Yeah. I don't know who was more surprised, her or me. She left pretty fast after that," Sam answered.

Dean glanced over at me and I chewed on my lip, I didn't remember much from that night, but I did remember the relief of having her disappear, and the nausea vacate my body.

"Huh," Dean said. "What about Ruby, where is she?" He asked, knowing full well that she'd showed her face again.

Sam glanced over at me and I raised an eyebrow at him, almost daring him to lie.

"Gone. She showed up, said she'd been sent to kill me, but she killed the other demons with her and got us to safety," Sam said.

"You to safety," I said crossly, looking out the window.

"Well you were asked to come along too Beth," Sam said with a bit of frustration. I snorted and shook my head.

"I told her to stay away from Ruby," Dean said, looking at Sam. "She's bad news."

Sam looked as if he was going to argue, and then he bit his lip, sitting back against the seat, shaking his head. I wondered whether he'd actually gotten rid of the demon, of if she was still around, just waiting to pounce from the shadows.

"So you've been using your... uh... freaky ESP stuff?" Dean asked, looking in the mirror at Sam.

"No."

"You sure about that? Well, I mean, now that you've got … immunity, whatever the Hell that is... just wondering what other kind of weirdo crap you've got going on."

"Nothing Dean," Sam said with a sigh. "Look, you didn't want me to go down that road, so I didn't go down that road. It was practically your dying wish." I rolled my eyes again where he couldn't look. Funny how Dean's dying wish to me hadn't seemed too important when it meant ditching Ruby.

"Yeah, well, let's keep it that way," Dean said quietly, glancing over at me and then reaching out to take my hand, giving it a little squeeze.

It was daylight by the time we got to the psychic's house. She lived in a modest little weatherboard house with leadlight windows. When Bobby knocked she answered the door quickly with a happy laugh.

"Ha ha ha! Bobby!" She said, grabbing him in a big hug and lifting him up off the ground. Dean raised an eyebrow, she was strong.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," Bobby said with a smile as Pamela stepped back, casting an appraising eye over the boys, all three who were looking like they wanted to jump her bones at any moment. She was athletic, friendly and beautiful, definitely their type.

"So, these the boys?" She asked, crossing her arms with a smile.

"Yep, we've got Sam, Jefferson, Dean and Beth there," Bobby replied, winking at me. "This is Pamela Barnes, best damn psychic in the state," he said.

"Hey," Dean said with a flirty smile and Jefferson pushed in to extend his hand with a dashing smile.

"Lovely to meet you Pamela," he said. She took his hand and shook it, smiling over at me.

"Mmm-mmm-mmm, you travel in good company Beth," she said and I nodded, throwing the boys a smile. She looked back at Dean, giving him the once over. "Dean Winchester. Out of the fire and back in the frying pan, huh? Makes you a rare individual," she said, staring at him.

Dean shrugged, looking at me and sliding an arm around my waist. "If you say so." Pamela simply nodded and then waved as she stepped back into the house.

"Come on in," she said, ushering us into the foyer and shutting the door.

"So, you hear anything?" Bobby asked.

"Well, I ouija'd my way through a dozen spirits. No one seems to know who broke your boy out, or why," she answered, turning to look at us all.

"So what's next?" I asked.

"A séance, I think," she said, looking at us all "See if we can see who did the deed."

"You're not going to … summon the damn thing here?" Jefferson asked cautiously, looking at Pamela with a guarded expression.

"No. I just want to get a sneak peek at it," she said, walking past him with a smile. "Like a crystal ball without the crystal." She led the way into the living room and Dean shrugged, looking at me.

"I'm game," he said and I rolled my eyes. Of course he was.

I helped Pamela spread a black cloth with symbols on it over the table, and she smiled at me, turning to bend down at a chest of drawers, collecting some supplies from the bottom drawer. Her lower back was bared and the boys couldn't help themselves, looking and then nodding at each other. I looked too and noticed that she had a tattoo that read Jesse forever on her lower back.

"Who's Jesse?" Jefferson asked finally, casting an appreciative eye over Pamela. She chuckled and looked over her shoulder at him.

"Well, it wasn't forever," she quipped.

Jefferson smirked. "His loss," he commented and Pamela stood up with the candles in hand, walking over to stop in front of the blonde Englishman.

"Might be your gain," she said with a suggestive tone before walking past him and handing me a candle to put on the table.

"Nice, I am so in!" Jefferson said to Dean who nodded and patted him on the back.

"Yeah, she's gonna eat you alive," Sam said, still a little snarky with Jefferson after that punch the day before.

"Hey, I just spent the last month and a bit looking after your sister while you were shacked up with miss pink bra," Jefferson retorted at Sam. "Bring it!"

Pamela looked at me and winked, shaking her head a little as she passed by Sam and Jefferson again. "You're invited too, grumpy," she said to Sam with a wink.

Jefferson looked horrified and pointed at Sam. "You are not invited!" He said firmly. Dean chuckled and moved to slide his hands around my waist, pulling him back into him and kissing the back of my neck.

"Thank god I don't have those problems anymore," he said as he nuzzled my skin.

"Mmmm, I don't know... I get the feeling Pamela's the experimental type, she might give Olivia a run for her money," I said lightly, referring to the time we'd unwittingly ended up in the bed of a succubus – we'd had fun, but at a cost. I leaned back and ground myself against his groin, getting a low groan out of him.

"Uh, no thanks... no more sharing," Dean said, kissing me again. "Tease," he added before pulling away with a grin.

---

Dean's POV

The table had six lighted candles in the centre and I found myself sitting in the middle of Pamela and Beth as we all took a seat around the table.

"Right. Take each other's hands," Pamela said with a smile. "And I need to touch something our mystery monster touched," she added, sliding her hand in along my inner thigh causing me to jump.

"Whoa!" I said, glancing at Beth who grinned and raised an eyebrow. "Well, he didn't touch me there," I said with a bit of a chuckle.

"My mistake," she said with a smile, looking at me expectantly. I looked around at the faces gathered at the table, feeling a little nervous. Why did I suddenly feel like I was the key float at a Thanksgiving parade? Beth squeezed my hand and I took a deep breath, shrugging out of my shirt and then pulled the left sleeve up on my t-shirt, revealing the brand that was on my arm.

Sam and Jefferson stared at it shocked, and then I spotted them looking at Beth who smiled encouragingly at me. Pamela reached out and laid her hand on the scar.

"Okay," she said and we all closed our eyes waiting for her to begin." She started to chant in a commanding voice.

"I invoke, conjure and command you, appear unto me before this circle.
I invoke, conjure and command you, appear unto me before this circle.
I invoke, conjure and command you, appear unto me before this circle."
A television flickered on to static but it didn't seem to worry Pamela who kept on chanting.

""I invoke, conjure and command … Castiel? No. Sorry, Castiel, I don't scare easy," she said, stopping and talking to something on the other side.

"Castiel?" I asked, looking at Pamela.

"Its name. It's whispering to me, warning me to turn back," she replied. The white noise and static from the TV continued and the table began to shake as Pamela pushed on.

"I conjure and command you, show me your face.
I conjure and command you, show me your face.
I conjure and command you, show me your face.
I conjure and command you, show me your face."

The table started to move around a little more violently and Beth cast a concerned look at Pamela. "Maybe we should stop..."

"I almost got it," Pamela replied. "I command you, show me your face! Show me your face now!"

Suddenly the candles in the centre of the table flared to several feet tall and Pamela started to scream. Her eyes flew open and they were filled with a white-hot light. She collapsed on the table. I moved to grab her as the rattling and white noise disappeared, the flames dying down.

"Call 911!" Bobby shouted, taking Pamela in his arms and lowering her to the floor. Sam scrambled out of his chair and into the next room while the rest of us crouched around Pamela and Bobby.

There was blood seeping from her eyes, and they looked burned. She opened her eyelids to reveal black, empty sockets and I grimaced, pulling back, I hadn't seen anything like it outside of Hell. She sobbed, clutching at Bobby.

"I can't see! I can't see! Oh God!" She cried as Sam called for the ambulance.

---

Johnny Mac's Diner

Dean's POV

"Be up in a jiff," the waitress said with a smile as I finished placing my order for food. Beth was outside on the phone to Bobby, getting an update on Pam.

"That girl is blind because of us," I said to Jefferson and Sam, feeling the guilt seeping deep into my stomach. The things I'd done to people, the pain I'd caused, and I was still doing it on the other side.

"And we still have no clue who we're dealing with," Sam said, leaning back in his chair.

"That's not entirely true," Jefferson said quietly, looking thoughtful.

"No?" Sam asked.

"We got a name," I said with a nod. "Castiel, or whatever. With the right mumbo-jumbo we could summon him, bring him right to us." Jefferson was frowning at me and shaking his head.

"You're crazy. Absolutely not," he said, leaning forward and staring at me.

"Oh come on Jefferson, we'll work him over. I mean, after what he did?" I argued, we owed it to Pam to get some answers, and a little payback.

"Dean, Pam took a peek at him and her eyes burned out of her skull, and you want to have a face to face?" Sam asked, frowning at me.

"You got a better idea?" I asked.

"Well, I might," Jefferson said, "But I need some time to make a few calls, get my hands on something..." he added. "I'll be back, just don't do anything stupid," he cautioned.

"Well I have a better idea," Sam said as Jefferson got up and left. I looked expectantly at him. "I followed some demons to town, right?"

"Okay..." I said.

"So we go find them. Someone's gotta know something about something," Sam said.

The waitress came back carrying a couple plates of pie and put them on the table as Beth walked into the diner. I looked at the pie with a smile and picked up my fork, ready to dig in as the waitress sat down in the chair Jefferson had just vacated. I stopped, looking at her curiously as Beth hesitated, watching and frowning.

"You angling for a tip?" I asked.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Thought you were looking for us," she added, her eyes turning black.

"God..." Beth muttered, shaking her head, looking around the room with a wide-eyed look. She nodded at the cook and a uniformed man, who also showed their black eyes, the latter going to the door, locking it and standing in front.

Beth moved away from him, rounding to my side where I pulled her behind me, swallowing as I thought about our options.

"Dean," the waitress said with a smile as her eyes returned to normal. "To hell and back. Aren't you a lucky duck?"

"That's me," I said with a smirk, looking around and assessing our options. Near as I could tell it was three on three, but there was probably more of them hanging in the wings.

"So you get to just stroll out of the pit, huh? Tell me. What makes you so special?" She asked.

"I like to think it's because of my perky nipples," I said with a grin, trying not to show the nervousness I was feeling. She stared at me and I sighed. "I don't know. Wasn't my doing, I don't know who pulled me out."

"Right. You don't," she said sceptically.

"No. I don't," I reiterated, glaring at her.

"Lying's a sin, you know," she said with a smirk. I looked at her, assessing, seeing the uncertainty in her eyes.

"I'm not lying," I said honestly, pushing the subject. "But I'd like to find out, so if you wouldn't mind enlightening me, Flo..."

"Mind your tone with me boy, I'll drag you back to Hell myself," she threatened with a snarling look.

Sam shifted in his seat as if he was getting ready to attack, but I'd seen the flash in her eyes. I held up my hand and Sam stopped, settling back into his seat. I didn't dare give away my concern by looking, but I could feel Beth behind me, her hand against my back so I knew where she was, it jerked a little when the demon threatened to drag me back, but she stayed calm.

"No, you won't," I said with false confidence, smirking at her.

"No?"

"No," I said, leaning forward. "Because if you were you would have done it already. Fact is, you don't know who cut me loose. And you're just as spooked as we are. And you're looking for answers." She didn't move, but I knew I was on the right track.

"Well, maybe it was some turbo-charged spirit. Or, uh, Godzilla. Or some big bad boss demon. I'm guessing at your pay grade they don't tell you squat. Because whoever it was, they want me out. And they're a lot stronger than you," I sat back in my seat, looking at her mockingly. "So go head. Send me back. But don't come crawling to me when they show up on your doorstep with some Vaseline and a fire hose."

"I'm gonna reach down your throat and rip out your lungs," she said, but it was an empty threat. I leaned forward, sure to put my challenge into my eyes, amused, and then I slapped her, hard. She took it like a champ. When she looked up, I slapped her again, the sound ringing through the quiet diner. She did nothing but glare at us, starting to look nervous.

"That's what I thought," I said, glancing over at Sam who was looking surprised at me. "Let's go," I added, standing up and glancing back at Beth who was trying not to look flabbergasted at me.

The demon sat there, fuming as I took a roll of cash out of my pocket, peeling off a ten dollar bill and dropping it on the table.

"For the pie," I said, walking out of the diner.

As we left the diner I slid my arm around Beth, pulling her next to me and guiding us across the street to the car. "Holy crap, that was close," I said, breathing for the first time since the demons had revealed themselves.

"We're not just going to leave them in there, are we Dean?" Sam asked, glancing back at the diner.

"Well, yeah, there's three of them, probably more, and we've only got one knife between us," I said.

"I've been killing a lot more demons than that lately," Sam said and I looked at him.

"Not anymore, the smarter brother's back in town," I said.

"Dean, we've got to take 'em. They are dangerous," Sam insisted. I shook my head, looking at my little brother who was all gung-ho to go ganking demons.

"They're scared. Okay? Scared of whatever had the juice to yank me out. We're dealing with a mad mofo here. One job at a time!"

---

Later that night

Beth's POV

Sam and Bobby had taken up the adjoining room, leaving us alone, which normally we would have been jumping at, but Dean was a bundle of nerves, moving from couch, to bed, to minibar, and then back again. I watched him from where I was texting Jefferson, wondering where he'd gone to and what he was doing, surprised that he'd just dropped everything and taken off like he had.

"And he didn't say what he was doing?" I asked Dean, looking up as he took a sip from a little bottle of whiskey.

"No, just said he had to check on something, didn't give any indication what."

"Hmmm," I said thoughtfully, wondering what had caught his interest. It felt like maybe it was something I should know too since both our expertise was in similar areas. Jefferson had studied with my father; he knew pretty much everything my dad had known about demons: I was sure it had something to do with that. But what?

I looked at Dean who was standing around in the centre of the room looking a little lost and I sighed, putting my phone aside and getting up to run my hands along his chest.

"Hey," I said, looking into his eyes and he smiled at me. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing," he said, shrugging and sliding his hands around my waist.

"I know you better than that," I said, pulling him against me and raising my eyebrow. When he stubbornly refused to talk I slipped my hand behind his neck, kissing him lightly and waiting for him to respond, but finding unmoving lips. I pulled back, confused.

"What's wrong?"

"I hurt you..." he said, sighing, running a hand along my arm and looking where he was tracing along the skin.

"You didn't mean it," I said, realising what was on his mind.

"I couldn't control myself," he said, shaking his head and looking conflicted at me.

I looked back at him, putting all the love and trust I felt for him into my eyes. He had to know I would love him forever, no matter what. Sliding a hand along his cheek, I cupped the side of his face in my palm and he leaned into it, closing his eyes with a sigh.

"Yes you could, you stopped," I said quietly. Tentatively, I leaned up and caught his lips with my own again, sucking softly and trailing my tongue lightly along his upper lip, opening him to me and seeking more.

He groaned, responding and deepening the kiss, hands coming up to tangle in my hair as he kissed me with a quiet urgency. I couldn't help myself, I just wanted to feel his skin under my hands, to touch him and have him quiver beneath me and the thought drove me to start pulling at his shirt, sliding my hands up over his abs and chest until I tugged the shirt over his head, breaking our kiss.

Dean looked conflicted at me and I watched him carefully. It almost felt like how things had been after I'd lost the baby, and with a shock I now understood the patience he'd had with me, a patience I hadn't comprehended at the time. "We'll just take it slow," I said, and he nodded.

I kissed him again to silence the fear in his eyes and pulled him over to the bed, pushing him back against the pillow. I was already half undressed, running around the room in shorts and a tank top, but even that was too much. I slid the shorts down, revealing that I'd had nothing on underneath and Dean sucked in a breath, watching and waiting.

Moving to the bed, I crawled along the length of his body, sitting over his thighs and tugging at his belt then undoing his jeans. I climbed off and pulled them off him, his boxers going with them and leaving an arousal standing at half-mast. Dean swallowed and looked at me as I smiled, leaning down to take him in my mouth, sucking and flicking my tongue across his tip, drawing a moan out of him as he buried his hands in my hair.

He throbbed to life in my mouth as I quickened the pace and he guided me with his hands, moaning and thrusting softly up, moving with me. His hands tightened on my head and I looked up at him, he had his eyes tightly closed and his breathing had started to get erratic, but it wasn't the look I was used to, and he wasn't anywhere near close to finishing. I pulled away, sliding along his body, claiming my position over his groin, just resting him against my centre that was throbbing and ready to accept him.

Looking down, I brushed my hair across his face in a slow, tantalising tease and he sighed, his chest shuddering as he tried to relax.

"Do you want to stop?" I asked.

"No!" He said with a shake of his head. "No I want you, I need you."

I nodded with my eyes wide as I didn't know how to help him, I didn't know what to do.

"What do you need?" I asked, brushing my hand along his arm.

"I don't know..." he said, shaking his head. I looked at him with worry and then he said something I thought I'd never hear from him. "Just don't hurt me." I looked surprised, wondering where that had come from.

"Dean I love you, I would never hurt you," I said, but he didn't look convinced. Just what had they done to him down there? What had they done that I hadn't seen?

"Just breathe, I'm here, and nothing is going to hurt you," I said, brushing my hand along his face as I started to sink down on him, inch by inch until he was fully sheathed inside of me.

Dean took a deep shaky breath, moaning softly as I sat back far enough to balance, running my hands in wide circles all over his skin, softly massaging him and willing him to calm down. My hand ran up his left arm and I hesitated, causing him to open his eyes and look at my hand: it hovered on his bicep, and I stared at the mysterious red handprint on his arm, it still looked angry and sore.

"Oh Dean..." I said, and I trailed my fingers over the welts, gently touching them. Dean's breathing had started to sound panicked and I pulled my hand away, leaning down to kiss the redness, loving him and the scar upon his body. I kissed and licked my way up his shoulder, across his collarbone until I reached his lips, taking them in my mouth and sucking softly.

"I love you," I said softly and I started to rock into him slowly and methodically, grinding against him in a languid, deliberate rhythm. Dean grabbed my hips, holding me to him and moaned, throwing his head back into the pillow. We moved together, and it felt like riding a wave out to sea, I was drowning in all the sensations I hadn't felt in what seemed like forever, the tender pulse of him beneath me. I pulled my tank top off and he moaned appreciatively, his hands coming up to squeeze my breasts, pulling tautly at my nipples and causing me to shudder.

"Oh god..." I moaned, rocking a little more forcefully against him. As he drew nearer to his apex, I felt him start to thrust, holding me to him. Fiery green eyes looked up at me finally, and he smiled, watching me as I started to shudder, my own body beginning to react to the rocking.

My legs trembled and I gasped for breath as I felt a ripple of pleasure course through me. Dean sat up, his arms encircling me, pulling me down harder on to his arousal. Harder, deeper, every thrust took me further and further into our release and I slid my arms around his neck while he kissed my shoulders and pulled me urgently on to him, his release imminent.

"Beth," he groaned, hands sliding all along my back and up into my hair as he gasped, kissing me heatedly. "Please... oh please," he begged and I realised he was waiting for me. I moaned, kissing him back; rocking, clenching around him and flexing as my orgasm started to take hold.

I groaned again, kissing him in little fast kisses all over his jaw and face. "Yes... yes... now..." I shuddered, gasping for air and throwing my head back as I felt myself slip over the edge and he joined me, crying out with relief as he thrust forcefully once more into me, his hands grabbing at my hips and holding me as we moved. I shook uncontrollably, my legs turning to jello as I groaned and smiled, laughing softly with happiness to have him with me again.

I showered him with kisses as he moaned once more, rolling us on to the mattress where he pulled me in against him, his hands running the length of my body and holding me tight. I found myself pressed against his chest and as much as I loved it, yearned to have him touching me and holding me, dying in his arms wasn't something I wanted to do today.

"Dean..." I said softly and he shifted a little, still holding me just as tight. "Baby I can't breathe..." This got his attention and he released me a little so I could readjust, turning to rest my head in the crook of his neck and sliding my arm around his torso.

"Sorry," he said with a chuckle, kissing my forehead. His arms slid back around me and a thumb stroked along my cheek as he sighed happily. "So many times that would have just been a dream," he said, an ache in his voice as he sighed again.

"Not this time," I said. "This wasn't a dream." I splayed my hand across his chest, stroking him with a reassuring touch. He smiled and kissed the top of my head.

"I love you," he said softly and I looked up at him, smiling.

"I know," I said happily, leaning up to kiss him.

We relaxed into the afterglow of our passion and I moaned, grateful that we'd gotten that first time out of the way, we'd gotten off to a rocky start, and there seemed to be a few hurdles we had to manage, but at least we were together. I just wanted to be by his side forever, afraid that it might all be taken away from me at any time.

I wound myself around Dean's body, wrapping my left leg over his thighs, and clinging to him as we settled into the pillows. Dean flipped on the TV, channel surfing until he came to The Princess Bride, chuckling. I laughed as he quoted lines from the movie, watching as we lay together. This was one chick-flick that Dean begrudgingly admitted to liking in spite of the fact that he thought Westley was whipped.

---

Sam's POV

I let myself into the adjoining room and found Dean and Beth in bed, sheets tangled about them as she lay on top of him, resting over his chest with a smile on her face. They were both sound asleep and I smirked at them, shaking my head. Obviously there hadn't been any damage done to their libidos during Dean's absence.

I thought about Ruby and pushed her from my mind, I had more important things to be doing.

Grabbing the car keys, I crept quietly out the door, locking it behind me. I got into the Impala, starting her up and pulling away with a determination in my gut.

I was going to do this and get the job done, my way.

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Dean's POV

I had a dead weight on me when I woke up, looking down and seeing Beth lying pretty much right on top of me, fast asleep. She might have been heavy, but she felt good, and I smiled as I stretched. I reached down and started stroking along her shoulders, up under her hairline to tickle the back of her neck. She moaned, opening one eye and looking up at me.

"Mmmm..." she said with a smile, a hand sliding down between my legs as she shifted slightly to accommodate her touches. I moaned softly as she brushed along my inner thigh and then took a nipple in her mouth, clamping down on it firmly. I arched to meet her mouth and grabbed at her shoulders, groaning my approval.

I tingled everywhere she touched as her soft skin rubbed along mine, moving up my body so she could sit in my lap, kissing me tenderly. I chuckled, grabbing her by the hips and rolling us until she was pinned underneath me. I caught her lips in my own, kissing her again with an eager sigh. I worked my way down her neck, wondering what she'd do if I left a dirty big hickey on her neck as I sucked softly on her skin.

Suddenly the TV flared to life and I frowned... had we rolled on to the clicker? It was blaring static at us and I felt around for the remote as I continued to kiss and nibble at Beth's skin. When the radio joined in with a whining squeal I looked up, now that wasn't random.

I reached down beside the bed, grasping the shotgun in my hand and looked at Beth who had stilled beneath me, watching and waiting. Suddenly the same high-pitched noise I'd heard at the gas station started to sound shrilly in the room and I grabbed at my head, moving to a kneeling position. There was a shattering sound above us as the mirror on the ceiling broke and I pulled the blanket over us, rolling us off the bed with a thud as glass rained down to the floor.

Beth grabbed the gun as I clutched at my ears, groaning from the pain and suddenly all the glass in the room shattered explosively, showering us in shards. Bobby burst into the room, looking around frantically.

"Dean! Beth!" He yelled as another window exploded in on him. I covered Beth over with the blanket, sheltering her with my body as the noise faded and then was gone.

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Beth's POV

We'd dressed quickly, trying to avoid all the glass in the room. I grimaced at a few cuts on my arms and shoulders where the blanket had slipped down during one of the windows breaking, but they weren't life threatening, they wouldn't even need stitches.

Bobby was driving and we were in the Chevelle, Sam and Jefferson now both missing in action, Sam with the Impala. I reached forward and wiped some blood from Dean's face as he shifted in the passenger seat.

"How you guys doing?" Bobby asked, casting a look at us both.

"Aside from the church bells ringing in my head, peachy," Dean answered, turning to look at me. "Now, how come they didn't hurt you?" He asked, pointing out something I'd also noticed. I shrugged.

"I don't know Dean; I didn't hear any high-pitched ringing. It was more like a thousand voices started talking all at once, but I couldn't make out what they were saying." He frowned, shaking his head at me.

"This just gets better and better," he muttered, reaching for his phone and dialling Sam.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked when Sam answered and there was a brief pause.

"In my car?" Dean accused, scowling over the fact that the Impala was missing.

There was another brief pause and then Dean glanced over at Bobby. "Well, uh, Bobby's back. We're going to grab a beer," he said and I looked at him shocked, opening my mouth to speak but receiving a cautioning finger being held up.

Another pause and then Dean nodded. "Done. Catch you later," he said, hanging up.

"Why the Hell didn't you tell him?" Bobby asked.

"Because he'd just try to stop us," Dean said and I leaned forward, feeling a little sick to my stomach.

"Stop us from what?"

"Summoning this thing," Dean said, and Bobby looked at him in shock. "It's time we faced it head-on."

"You can't be serious Dean," I said, biting my lip.

"As a heart attack. It's high noon, baby," he said with a smile.

"Well, we don't know what it is. It could be a demon, it could be anything," Bobby said, always the voice of caution.

"That's why we've got to be ready for anything," Dean said, pulling out the demon killing knife. "We've got the big-time magic knife; you've got an arsenal in the trunk..."

"This is a bad idea," Bobby interrupted, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I couldn't agree more, but what other choice do we have?" Dean asked.

"We could choose life," I said, sitting forward with a concerned look. I was fast on the track to wanting a quiet life in some backwater little town where the only thing we had to worry about was whether or not I'd remembered to pay the electric bill.

"Beth, whatever this is, whatever it wants, it's after me. That much we know, right? I've got no place to hide. I can either get caught with my pants down..." he looked at me with a raised eyebrow and chuckled, "...again, or we can make our stand."

I smirked and shook my head, typical Dean with the crazy plans, but he did have a point. This thing, whatever it was, seemed to be following Dean around and we needed to get to the bottom of it before it got to the bottom of us.

"Dean, we could use Sam for this..." Bobby said, glancing over at the man.

"Nah, he's better off where he is," Dean said, shaking his head, and for once I couldn't have agreed more.

---

Johnny Mac's Diner

Sam's POV

After I'd hung up from Dean I decided it was time to check out the diner. The demons had to be in there somewhere. I slipped my lock-picking tools out of my jacket and opened the front door, coming into the dining area. There was a song playing on the jukebox and as I peered around the dark room I saw the cook from earlier face down on the floor partially behind the counter.

I crouched down to get a better look, rolling him on to his back, recoiling at the black eye sockets and drying blood on his face. Just like Pamela, only she was still alive. I stood up cautiously and suddenly a figure tackled me from behind, both of us crashing into a table and hitting the ground hard. I groaned, rolling to my feet as the person hit me four or five times before I got in a head-butt, pushing her off me.

She punched me again, and then kicked. I turned to the side, blocking her leg and moving in to attack, kneeing her in the face and then the stomach as she groaned in pain, swinging around to face me with her fists in the air. It was only when the light hit her face that I saw the damage to her, she too had empty, burned out eye sockets, and was gasping with fear, fighting blind.

"Your eyes," I said, backing off a little.

"I can still smell your soul a mile away," she said in a defensive stance.

"It was here. You saw it," I said.

"I saw it," she nodded and started to sob.

"What was it?"

"It's the end. We're dead. We're all dead," she sobbed.

"What did you see?"

She snickered, her breath coming in short, panicked bursts. "Go to Hell," she said with a grimace.

"Funny," I said. "I was going to say the same thing to you."

I planted my feet, shutting my eyes in concentration as I tapped inside of me to the part that could pull a demon out of a body. I willed the demon to dematerialise and leave the body of the woman standing before me and she heaved, beginning to vomit up black smoke like all the others that had come before her. In seconds, the waitress had collapsed on the floor and the demon smoke was being sucked into the floor, well on its way to Hell.

Opening my eyes, I crossed to the woman who had passed out on the floor, feeling for a pulse. Nothing. "Damn it," I whispered, sighing with disappointment, it was never nice to come too later to save someone.

The door to the kitchen opened, and I looked up, not surprised to see Ruby standing in the shadows.

"Getting pretty slick there, Sam. Better all the time," she said with an approving smile. She leaned against the doorway, casting an appraising look over me and I looked down at the body in front of me, shaking my head as I stood up.

"What the hell is going on around here, Ruby?"

"I wish I knew," she said, looking down at the body.

"We were thinking some high level demon pulled Dean out," I said, peering at her, hoping she would have some answers.

"No way," she said with a shake of her head. "Sam, human souls don't just walk out of Hell and back into their bodies easy. The sky bleeds, the ground quakes. It's cosmic. No demon can swing that. Not Lilith, not anybody."

"Then what can?"

"Nothing I've ever seen," she said with a touch of fear in her eyes.

I sat down at one of the tables, looking at Ruby and she joined me.

"So. Million dollar question, are you going to tell Dean about what we're doing?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I just gotta figure out the right way to say it," I said. There had to be a way to make him understand that what I was doing was of benefit to the people I saved. Ruby looked at me with a smirk. "Look, I just need time, okay? That's all."

"Sam, he's going to find out, and if it's not from you he's going to be pissed," Ruby said.

"He's going to be pissed anyway. I mean, he's so hard-headed about this psychic stuff, he'll just try and stop me," I said.

"Look. Maybe I'll just take a step back for a while," she said quietly and my head shot up, looking at her.

"Ruby, you..."

"I mean, I'm not exactly in your brother's fan club, and your sister hates me. But they are your family, and I'm not going to come between you guys," she said. I sighed, shaking my head and looking down at my hands.

"I don't know if what I'm doing is right," I said, looking up at her again. "Hell, I don't even know if I trust you," I confessed.

"Thanks," Ruby scoffed, looking a little offended.

"What I do know is that I'm saving people. And stopping demons. And that feels good," I said, looking at her, a determination in my bones. "I want to keep going."

---

Abandoned Shed

Beth's POV

I finished up spray painting yet another symbol on to the floor of the abandoned shed we'd commandeered, turning to look at Bobby who was also painting symbols. They were all over the walls, every possible surface, every religion, every magical symbol of protection and entrapment we'd ever come across.

Dean was at a table, setting up our tools of the trade and he glanced up when he saw me straighten and look over at him. "That's a hell of an art project you've got going there," he said with a chuckle. I smiled, coming over to kiss him softly on the lips, nodding.

"Traps and talismans from every faith on the globe," I said. "How you doing?"

Dean looked down at the table and shrugged. "Stakes, iron, silver, salt, knife. I mean, we're pretty much set to catch and kill anything I've ever heard of," he said. I nodded and bit my lip, hopefully we had stuff to deal with the things we hadn't heard of either.

"This is still a bad idea," Bobby said, coming to join us.

"Yeah, Bobby, I head you the first ten times," Dean said with a sigh. "What do you say we ring the dinner bell?"

Bobby looked at me and I nodded, in complete agreement with Dean. I just wanted to get this thing over and done with. With a reluctant shake of his head, Bobby moved over to another table we'd set up and took a pinch of powder from a bowl, sprinkling it into a larger bowl where it started to smoke. Bobby paused, allowing it to gather momentum before starting to chant in Latin.

When he'd finished we looked around, waiting for the big bad creature to be summoned into our midst, only there was nothing. I frowned and exchanged a look with Dean. How long was this going to take?

Fifteen minutes later we were still waiting and I was sitting next to Dean on a table, swinging my legs and starting to think we'd screwed something up.

"You sure you did the ritual right?" Dean asked Bobby who shot him a dirty look. "Sorry. Touchy, touchy, huh?"

Suddenly a loud rattling shook the roof of the shed and we jumped to our feet, arming ourselves with shotguns, moving to the end of the shed, away from the door.

"Wishful thinking, but maybe it's just the wind?" Dean said, looking at me. I threw him a wild look. Wasn't like any wind I'd ever heard.

Suddenly the door burst open and a man walked in wearing a trench-coat. The light bulbs above him shattered in sparkling displays of glass as he stalked into the building toward us, snapping and raining glass overhead as he passed. I cocked the shotgun in my hands and fired when Dean and Bobby opened fire, but the shots didn't even slow the guy down.

Dean backed away from us, and the man turned to face him, I could see Dean watching him with careful eyes.

"Who are you?" Dean asked, looking at the man.

"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition," the man answered, tilting his head to the side.

Dean's eyes opened wider, and he stepped forward, not missing a beat. "Yeah, thanks for that," he said and the man nodded at him while Dean took a swing, bringing the knife around to stab him in the chest, staring into the eyes of his saviour.

My breath caught in my throat as the man looked down at the knife embedded in his chest and then reached up to pull it out, dropping it to the floor. Bobby moved to attack and without looking the man grabbed Bobby's gun and swung him around. I gasped with surprise as the man reached out, touching Bobby on the forehead with his fingertips. Without any fight, Bobby crumpled to the ground.

"We need to talk, Dean," the man said, then turned to me and reached out. "Alone." I jumped back, expecting it. I'd had that done to me before; he wasn't going to catch me out like the last time.

Dean moved to put himself between me and the man; his arms reaching back to feel where I was. "No, don't you touch her," he said with a threatening tone and the man stopped, looking at us and then nodding.

I knelt down beside Bobby, feeling for a pulse. "Your friend's alive," the man said.

"Who are you?" Dean asked, and for the first time I got a good look at the man, worse: I recognised him.

"Castiel," he answered, but I climbed to my feet, grabbing at Dean's arm.

"No... no I know him. I know you," I said, looking at him.

"What are you talking about? How could you know him?" Dean asked with a frown, turning to the man.

"What are you?" Dean asked, pulling me beside him and away from the man again.

"I'm an angel of the Lord," the man said and I shook my head, a pain starting to pound behind my eyes.

"Get the Hell out of here," Dean said soberly. "There's no such thing."

"This is your problem, Dean. You have no faith," Castiel said, looking over at me. "Unlike Beth, whose faith has seen you out of Hell and back into her arms." He looked back at Dean and a lightning flash lit up the dark room we were in. Light continued to flash as a silhouette appeared on the wall behind the man, it was of wings unfolding, spreading the width of the shed and stretching off into the distance. The light suddenly went out and the image disappeared, leaving me blinking.

I stared at him, tears in my eyes and shaking my head. Angels? Dean turned to look at me, staring in shock.

"Some angel you are, you burned out that poor woman's eyes," Dean countered.

"I warned her not to spy on my true form," Castiel said. "It can be … overwhelming to humans… and so can my real voice. But you already knew that," he said, looking at Dean.

"You mean the gas station and the motel? That was you talking?" Castiel nodded, turning to look at me curiously. Dean didn't see the look. "Wait, how long were you there?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

Castiel looked at him, completely devoid of emotion. "If you mean was I there to witness you both coupling, then yes, but it is of no consequence," he answered and Dean staggered a little.

"Freaking pervert!" He said, waving his hand in the air and shaking his head. I felt myself blush, covering my face with my hands.

"Buddy, next time, lower the volume," Dean said. "You freaking broke a mirror on top of us!"

"That was my mistake," Castiel said. "Certain people, special people, can perceive my true visage. I thought you would be one of them. I was wrong." Dean looked a little taken aback, and I was frowning, thinking about the voices I'd heard in the motel.

"And what visage are you in now, huh?" Dean asked. "What, holy tax accountant?"

Castiel looked down at his body and shrugged. "This? This is... a vessel," he answered, looking up.

"You're possessing some poor bastard?" Dean asked with a frown.

Castiel looked at me, his familiar eyes watching me. "He's a devout man, he actually prayed for this. You all do, it is in your family. Do you recognise me Beth?" Castiel asked and I nodded, not wanting to believe my eyes.

"You're my uncle," I said, stepping toward him. I hadn't seen him in twenty-five years, but he still looked the same, just older. Castiel nodded.

"This body, yes. Your mother's family is of a holy line, a line of vessels that has been passed on from the time when angels walked the earth." I stared at him.

"My mother said she heard angels," I said. Dean stepped forward, grabbing my arm and pulling me away.

"You actually believe this bullshit?" He asked, looking me in the eyes.

"I don't know Dean... but that... that is my uncle Jimmy standing right there in front of me!" I said, a slow pounding ache in my head starting to throb.

"Well, uncle or not, I'm not buying what you're selling, so who are you really?" Dean asked, looking at the man.

Castiel frowned, looking at Dean. "I told you."

"Right," Dean said, nodding sceptically. "And why would an angel rescue me from Hell?"

"Good things do happen, Dean," Castiel said, stepping in front of us.

"Not in my experience," Dean snapped back and I looked at him, sliding my arm through his.

Castiel looked at Dean with intrigue, his eyes narrowing as he tried to comprehend what Dean was saying. "What's the matter?" He asked, staring into Dean's eyes and watching him carefully. After a moment Castiel's eyes opened wider and he looked surprised at what he'd seen there. "You don't think you deserve to be saved?" He asked with a gentle, incredulous voice.

Dean looked at me, and I bit my lip, watching at him sadly. He didn't, I knew that, years of being told he wasn't good enough had destroyed his self-esteem to the point where Dean though he deserved the bad things that were thrown his way.

Castiel looked at me and then back at Dean. "Beth believed you deserved saving, she's the reason I was chosen to pull you out of Hell." Dean scoffed, shaking his head.

"You're telling me that you pulled me out of Hell because my wife prayed for it?" He asked, and Castiel nodded once.

"That is partly why," he said.

"And what's the other reason?" Dean asked, looking sceptically at him, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Because God commanded it," Castiel replied. "Because we have work for you."

---

AUTHOR'S NOTES

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Song for this chapter is A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. Love it!

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He's back! **happy dance**

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I should have more to say, but I don't. I'm all talked out with the story. I hope I've done it justice and offered a little intrigue. There's more to Beth & Castiel than meets the eye :) We're going to find out a little more about their history very soon!

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Please leave a review, you know I love it and it makes my day!

I promise I will be replying soon, I've just been working away at this while I was inspired and haven't had a chance to sit and actually compose replies to the reviews and PM's I have already received, please don't let that deter you!

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As always, thanks to EarthhAngel for her beta reading and being a sounding board for story ideas. Be sure to pop over to her fanfic How to save a life as there's a new chapter up with a fun little moment where John lectures Beth about being an immature 20yr old - haha.