I have no halos for the heartless
No pity for the insincere
No honour for the worthless
Who've done nothing in life to be revered

When addicts die
Their abuse fades
If heroes live
They face the hardest days

THE RAPTURE

Present Day
Pier

Dean's POV

Fishing had never been a big past time. Dad had taken us a few times, but I seemed to remember Bobby being the instigator for that, and overall it was something that never really stuck with any of us. I thought quietly about how there were many things that regular, nomal sons did with their fathers… like attend ballgames… that we never did. Sometimes he had surprised us and taken us to wrestling or something crazy like that. Most of the time it was a training exercise - I guess, at least with wrestling we could learn some hand to hand combat… in theory, but a ballgame? There was nothing to learn there. Okay, I'll admit, I was still smarting a little from the upstart Adam who had gotten to see a side of Dad we rarely, if ever did.

But for now, I was fishing, and it was relaxing. The water rippled out in front of me in a nice melodic manner making me feel sleepy and at ease - the birds in the trees twittered and talked among themselves. All that was missing was a nice cold …

"Beer..." I muttered, looking down with surprise to find that one had just appeared in my hand. That wasn't the only thing amiss. Castiel was suddenly beside me in his whole trench-coated visage.

"We need to talk," he said without an ounce of fanfare. I knew then that this wasn't real.

"I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

"It's not safe here. Someplace more private," Castiel said and I laughed at the absurdity.

"More private? We're inside my head!"

"Exactly," Castiel said. "Someone could be listening." There was something in his voice, something out of place – more so than usual. It had me sitting straighter in my deckchair, looking at him with a frown.

"Cas, what's wrong?"

"Meet me here," Cas said, handing me a piece of paper. Written on it was an address. "Go now," he said, and when I looked up he was gone.

Motel Room

Beth's POV

Dean woke up with a gasp next to me, and I reached out a hand to touch his back - it was smooth and warm, nothing like when he had the night terrors that left him in a cold sweat - yet something had obviously woken him quickly. He sucked in another breath and then was swinging his legs out of the bed, barely paying me any heed at all, which was extremely unusual for him.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked, pushing myself up on my elbow and lying on my side. I watched as he pulled on his jeans, jumping to his feet and wriggling them into place before tossing on a plain blue t-shirt that had been on the floor with them. He turned to me, and there was a low level of concern hidden behind his sharp hazel eyes.

"No, we gotta move. Something's up with Cas," he said. The very mention of the angel drove worry through my heart and I nodded, rolling to the edge of the bed and following suit. I'd dumped my own khaki pants on the floor when we'd fallen into bed last night, now I reached for them, sliding them over my pale legs and slipping on my boots. I was instantly awake, pushing back the weariness that seemed to be a constant in our lives of late. I stood, grabbing a fresh t-shirt from my bag and pulled my old one off, shoving it back into the duffel. I slipped the new t-shirt on and turned to the bathroom for the rest of our things.

"Let's go Sammy!" Dean snapped and I glanced back to see Sam struggling to open his eyes. His usual clear brown eyes were muddy and tinged with redness as he shook his head, groaning at the effort. He was partly pulled up by Dean grabbing at this t-shirt, until he braced himself on his elbows, looking bleary-eyed in the darkness of the room.

"What are you hung over?" Dean asked, flipping the switch by the door and flooding the room with fluorescent lighting, I blinked with the sudden brightness, turning to face the darker bathroom. Dean was throwing his things into his duffel without any care whatsoever, which was not entirely unusual for him, but his hurried actions told me that there was an unspoken urgency driving him. This was confirmed when Dean stopped, placing his hands on his hips, and growled at Sam's lethargic movements. "We got angel business, let's go!"

Warehouse

Dean's POV

It was late when we reached the warehouse located at the address Cas had given me. I rubbed thoughtfully at my chin, trying to think of the last time I'd had a good eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Hadn't been lately. I paused a moment to look at Beth, tossing her a reassuring smile that was anything other than what I was feeling. She returned it with one of her own, but it didn't quite reach her beautiful brown eyes. There was definitely an unspoken concern sitting beneath the surface.

With a protesting squeal a side door let us into the abandoned building, the lock easily picked from the outside. I flipped the light switch on the wall, but nothing happened. "Huh," I muttered, feeling my brow crease. This was a warehouse that was still in production, so there had to be power to it. Beth knocked on my arm with a mag light and I took it, nodding silently as I patted my lower back, ensuring that the gun I'd slipped into the waistband of my jeans was easily accessible. There was a churning in the pit of my stomach that was screaming warnings at me.

"Well, what did he say, Dean? What was so important?" Sam asked, not for the first time since we'd left the motel. He was sullen and moody, and I was certain I wasn't the only one who had noticed his attitude, as I'd caught Beth glancing in Sam's direction more than a few times during the drive.

"If I knew, would I be here?" I snapped, stepping further into the warehouse. We had the option of going left or right, down long corridors of industrial steel and sheet metal.

Listening intently for any indication on which way to go, I was provided with a big fat zero. We'd have to split up, and I latched on to the opportunity to take a break from my moody brother with a slight sigh of relief.

"Okay, let's do this," I said, nodding to the right. "Sammy, you go that way. We'll take the left. Circle around and keep your eyes peeled. Sam shook his head, rolling his eyes at the decision to take Beth with me, but I was already walking down the corridor, flashlight shining ahead and focusing on finding Cas. Something was up, and I didn't feel like getting into an argument with Sam over my lead.

I could hear Beth's steps fall in behind my own, turning the corner to find a series of steps starting to climb up to the second floor. I paused, listening for signs of life, but again there was nothing. I turned and glanced back at Beth, wondering if she could see the obvious annoyance in my face. "What the hell is going on with Sam, anyway?" I asked, and the look she threw me - that cute little eyebrow lifting up in amusement - demonstrated that she'd had about enough of him as I. "Seriously, we've been back with him not even a month, and he's driving me up the wall."

Beth chuckled, the softness of her voice always surprising me a little, she was one of the strongest people I knew, but at the same time there was a delicacy that belonged to her alone. "I think we're all a little on edge right now," she answered quietly.

"Yeah well, some more than others," I complained, thinking about how we hadn't had a night alone in the last few weeks. I rolled my shoulders and stretched my neck from side to side, the movement doing little to alleviate the tension in my body. Beth's hands came to rest on my shoulders, kneading at the knots she found there and I stifled a moan.

"You are really worked up," she said, the concern evident in her voice.

"Can you blame me? We're rooming with the … the Grinch, who stole Christmas and went on a bender," I said, chuckling at the image. Beth giggled and I felt her soft lips press to the back of my neck.

"Come on," she urged, giving me a gentle push up the stairs. "Let's find out what Cas needed, then we can talk about our sleeping arrangements."

I nodded, and started to climb the fifteen or so steps up to the next floor. There seemed to be some kind of lighting here, though I kept the flashlight on because it wasn't quite enough to see by.

"What the hell?" I muttered, turning my head from side to side, noting the debris everywhere. Twisted beams of steel lay over work benches and industrial machinery, crushing them; electrical cables dangled live from the ceiling where they'd been pulled out of their fixtures, kicking out sparks; shelves, tables, chairs, anything and everything that had been in the room was upturned and smashed together, piled high and balancing precariously in places.

"It looks like a bomb went off," Beth breathed from behind me, her footsteps stopping short, and I nodded. Smoke was rising from fires that smouldered in a few corners, and every now and then something tumbled to the floor echoing long and loud. It was downright creepy.

"There was a fight here," I said.

"Between who?" Sam asked, his voice coming from the other side of the room. "It's just as bad back there," he added, pointing his flashlight back toward a door in the corner of the long rectangular room. I shone my light around the room, looking for something to identify who or what had been the cause of this catastrophe. Just as I was starting to think it was going to be a bust, the light hit something red on the wall. I re-centered the light back on the wall, taking a few quick steps toward it and looking back at Beth. "Here," I said, calling her and Sam over.

"Check it out. Look familiar?" I asked.

"That looks like blood," she commented, and I nodded.

"It looks like the symbol you used to wish the angels back to the cornfield."

"Yeah," Beth said with a frown, turning to look around. She wrapped her arms around herself, and in the darkness I saw her bite nervously on her lower lip, her eyes wide and contemplative.

"So, what? Cas was fighting angels?" Sam asked, looking over a Beth. She shrugged and closed her eyes. A look of concentration settled across her features, and I reminisced that she looking like this when she was tuning in to Angel Radio. After a moment she looked at us, shaking her head.

"I don't know," she said. "It's all quiet, no one is talking."

There was a mound of rubble nearby, and as we walked around it I spotted a familiar sight on the ground, the tan coloured fabric catching my attention. My heart skipped a beat, at least three different scenarios passing through my mind which I fought to put back behind a wall. Deal with what is in this moment. I moved closer until I was certain, and recognition hit me like a tonne of bricks. I was looking at Cas. Leaving Sam and Beth to follow, I hurried to Cas' side, grabbing at the trench coat I had come to associate with the angel, and half lifting him off the ground. "Guys!" I called out. "Cas? Cas. Hey, Cas?" I said, shaking him by the lapels of his jacket.

"What's….? What's….?" Cas's blue eyes fluttered open in confusion, and he looked around the room urgently before locking on to my face. "What's going on?"

"Just take it easy," I said, looking up at Beth, letting out a breath of relief. Cas had asked us to meet him for some unspoken reason, and whatever had gone on here had been big – like nuclear explosion big – and maybe now we could get some answers. I patted Cas on the shoulder as he continued to stutter a little, trying to comfort him. "Take it easy man."

"Oh. No," Cas said, springing to his feet and backing away from us. He ran his hands over the front of his body like he was looking for injuries, and his breathing had gone from 0 to 60 in ten seconds.

"Cas, are you okay?" Beth asked, taking a step toward him, her hand outstretched in a concerned gesture.

"Ugh. Castiel. I'm not Castiel. It's me," he said with a shake of his head.

"Who's 'me'?" Sam asked.

"Uncle Jimmy?" Beth asked,

He nodded. "Jimmy, yes. My name's Jimmy. Who are you?"

"Where the Hell is Castiel?" I asked urgently, feeling a pit of worry start to churn in my stomach.

"He's gone."

A couple of choice words escaped my mouth, and Sam looked curiously at me. I didn't like when I was thrown curve balls like this – especially when one of the team, if you could call the wayward angel that, was now MIA, and we were no closer to any answers as to what the hell had just happened in Industrial Inc.

Lawrence, Kansas
36 Years Ago

Grace O'Malley's POV

2 months ago I'd met my daughter, and her future husband. At the time my mother, now into her second marriage was seven months pregnant with her second child. Now I was holding that child in my arms, looking at the tiny little baby who would hold so much destiny in his hands as an adult.

"Hi Jimmy," Patrick said with a smile, leaning casually over the back of the couch to look at him. "Hope you got your dancing shoes on, give this sister of yours a run for her money, eh?"

"I'll have you know I have plenty of energy, thank you very much," I retorted, my tone a lot lighter than the statement. Patrick chuckled and kissed the top of my head, his lips lingering softly in my hair. Mary, our best friend laughed from her perch on the couch opposite me and shook her head.

"So I have an announcement to make," she said, clapping her hands for emphasis. She was a little more light hearted - incredibly so, given that she'd just lost her parents to a demon two months ago.

"Oh, do tell!" I said, smiling at her.

"John and I are getting married!"

"That… is no surprise, whatsoever," Patrick quipped, snorting at Mary and shaking his head.

"And I'm leaving the family business," she said. "No more demons, no more hunting, I'm done with it, Patrick. I have to be."

"Also not a surprise," I said, looking up at my husband. "Tell her."

Patrick nodded and sighed, turning his vivid blue eyes toward his adopted sister.

"Tell me what?" Mary asked, sitting forward.

"We're leaving too," Patrick said. "Jim Murphy has asked me to come up to Blue Earth, he wants to train me, and work with Grace on her abilities."

"Pastor Jim?" Mary said skeptically. "Dad didn't like his … techniques."

"Well, Samuel is dead," Patrick said. "And I need a mentor. I'm not like you, Mary. I can't turn my back on this life - I have responsibilities to my family line, to my heritage."

"And you think I don't? None of it matters Patrick! Get out, now, before something happens to you, or Grace," Mary said, frowning. "Look at Jimmy in her arms. Grace, this baby becomes you. Go off and make babies, dammit. Make a family, instead of being a slave to what has been and gone."

Patrick moved to pull Mary up by her hands, he easily towered over her, their matching blonde hair and curls often led to people mistaking them for blood siblings, but that couldn't have been further from the truth.

"Nothing is going to happen to us. And we will have a family, won't we Grace? Just like you will."

"What about Jimmy? Isn't your mom going to need your help?" Mary asked. I could see her clutching at straws, anything to get us to stay. But it was long gone. "You can have Mom and Dad's house, I don't want it, you'd be comfortable there."

"We'll only be six hours north," I said, looking down at the baby in my arms. It was true, holding Jimmy did make me want a family of my own, but there were other things to consider. I had seen who I had assumed at the time was my brother, guessing only because he was the spitting image of his father, acting as a vessel for Castiel. Beth had been silent about why that was. Which meant something had happened to me. I had always known I would be the vessel for that angel when it came time for him to materialise on Earth. The fact that my infant sibling was chosen over me only said that something big had gone down. I intended to put a stop to that, to make sure I was ready for what was coming.

"The safest place for us is with Jim, he can teach us to hone our hunting, my gifts."

"You're both mad, this life will only get you killed."

Present Day
Motel Room

Beth's POV

Uncle Jimmy, the absentee uncle I'd had nothing to do with since my mother died. When John had called him after my Dad's death, he'd refused to take me in. I'd never gotten answer for why that was. Right now probably wasn't the best time to be asking questions however.

"Mmmm," Jimmy murmured appreciatively, his jaw working over time to devour the burger we'd picked up at the nearest drive through on our way to a motel. Dean watched on, a little green around the gills even for him.

"You mind slowing down? You're gonna give me angina," Dean said, and Jimmy turned those baby blue eyes on him, completely unfazed by Dean's grumbling attitude. I leaned back in my chair, feeling the solid back support my tired body. What I wouldn't give right now just to crawl into bed, with Dean, and have a fast, intense quickie before passing out into oblivion. Just the thought of it had me squirming in my chair, and I uncrossed my legs, switching them over to help loosen the jeans I was wearing.

"I'm hungry." Jimmy said, sipping out of the huge soda cup on the table and drawing my attention back to the present.

"When's the last time you ate?" I asked and he shrugged his shoulders, sucking further on the drink until it ran dry and made that annoying slurping sound. That sound grated on every nerve in my body, like nails on a chalkboard, and I resisted the urge to lean forward and snatch the cup out of his hand.

"I don't know. Months," he said finally, dropping the cup on to the table before, taking another bite out of the burger and chewing loudly. "Mmm. Mmm. Mmm!" I took advantage of his focus on the burger and grabbed the empty soda cup, tossing it across the room where it landed in the bin with a resounding ping.

"Nice babe!" Dean said, holding his hand up for a high five which I returned enthusiastically.

"Still got it," I smiled, and he chuckled, nodding. Sam looked at us for a moment, shaking his head and then turned his brown puppy dog eyes to Jimmy.

"What the hell happened back there? It looked like an angel battle royale," Sam asked, and Jimmy frowned, starting to chew a little slower and actually swallow his food before shoveling in another mouthful.

"All I remember is a flash of light and I, uh . . . I woke up and I was just, you know, like, me again," he replied.

"So, what?" Dean asked. "Cas just ditched out of your meat suit?"

"I really don't know," Jimmy said.

"Do you remember anything about being possessed?" I asked, leaning forward. "Anything at all?" I knew from experience that there was a black spot of things that occurred, but if you looked hard enough at it, you could piece together what happened during your possession. The problem with doing that tended to be that no one actually wanted to look at the things they did while possessed. I know I'd certainly kept the majority of my time possessed tucked away behind a big brick wall. Flashes would escape, even to this day, like water finding that little hole in the dam wall. It chipped away until suddenly you were dealing with a torrential downpour.

"Yeah, bits and pieces. I mean, angel inside of you, it's kinda like being chained to a comet," Jimmy said nonchalantly. I smiled and nodded, I had a little experience with that too, though to be fair I didn't really feel Ezekiel much because he had been dormant when he possessed me. I didn't remember my time with Castiel at all.

"Ah, that doesn't sound like much fun," Dean said, and Jimmy nodded vehemently.

"Understatement."

"Cas said he wanted to tell us something. Please tell me you remember that?" I asked, and Jimmy shrugged, a blank look crossing his face.

"Sorry," he replied, and I fought the desire to sigh. I sat up straighter in my chair, uncrossing my legs and leaning my elbows on the table.

"You must know something?" I asked, and Jimmy frowned, looking closer at me.

"My name is Jimmy Novak. I'm from Pontiac, Illinois. I have a family," he said, and then paused. "You called me Uncle..." he said, this time his brow furrowed and recognition flashed across his handsome features. "But … you… no it couldn't be. You're Grace's daughter?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding. "It's been a while."

"Ella! Wow, I had no idea! The last time I saw you, you were like…nine. What are you doing here? Why are you..." he stopped and then shook his head. "Grace wouldn't want you caught up in this."

"Hey, we can do the family reunion later, don't you think it's more important we figure out what he knows?" Sam asked, interrupting. I scowled at him, feeling a familiar frustration rise into my throat and making it ache. Every time Sam and I got into an altercation about something we were in disagreement on, my throat ached. I kept telling myself it was a coincidence, but those only got me so far. I had been starting to wonder if I was coming down with a sore throat, now I was almost convinced it the product of a lot of unspoken anger toward my little brother, I knew he was right, but his inability to toss me even the slightest bit of empathy and concern in recent times was grating. Add to the fact that Sam was still a bit on edge from when we'd woken up, and he was fast becoming my least favourite person of late.

"Yeah," I said, swallowing back the harsh words I wanted to toss his way. "Sam's right."

Dean leaned on the back of the dining chair he was riding in reverse, lifting his chin from his hands he broke his silence, staring at Jimmy. "Surely you know something?"

"Sorry," Jimmy said, shrugging again and coming out with that infuriating word. I replayed in my mind everything he'd told us so far, which wasn't all that much, and my attention hovered over something I'd been unaware of.

"You have a family?" I asked, curious.

"Yeah, a wife… a daughter, Claire," he said. "You uh, you never met her."

"How old?"

Jimmy paused, considering the time he'd been away and then smiled. "Thirteen."

I sucked in a breath, nodding, and glancing over at Dean who was doing the calculations in his head. His soft, sensual lips moved silently as he counted back the years one by one, and then I saw the moment he reached the same conclusion as me. Claire had been born the same year my father had died.

1 year ago
Pontiac, Illinois

Jimmy's POV

As we all sat down to eat at the table, I smiled, thinking about how blessed I was. It hadn't always been the way, I'd been a bit of a rebel as a young man, going off the rails, especially after my sister Grace had been killed in a car accident. But then twelve years ago something changed – my girlfriend got pregnant. We were young. I had to stop messing around, man up and flight straight – for my daughter. It was then that I started to really feel like God had a purpose for me, just like Grace had been telling me all those years ago.

Claire reached into the middle of the table and I frowned. "Claire..." She stopped and together we joined hands, the three of us bowing our heads.

"Bless this food, oh, Lord, and ourselves to thy loving service that we may always continue in thy faith and fear to the honour and glory of thy name. Amen," I said.

"Amen," Amelia and Claire repeated and then I smiled.

"This looks amazing, Amelia," I said, reaching for the mashed potato.

Later that night I was dozing in the armchair, and the TV in front of me started to turn to static. I looked up, climbing out of the chair and reached for the TV. "What the heck?" I tried to switch it off, but no matter what I did the static continued. Then it became high pitched, and I covered my ears, falling to my knees as it started to pierce my very skull. I groaned, for a moment wondering what could elicit such a thing, and then my body started to shake uncontrollably and everything went black.

Present Day
Motel

Dean's POV

The motel parking lot was the quietest place for us to have this conversation, and still keep an eye on the room where Jimmy could be seen pacing. Beth shivered in spite of the balmy night's air, and I instinctively reached out and wrapped my left arm around her waist, pulling her snuggly in against my hip and holding her as we all talked.

"So, what do we do?" Sam asked, and there was something in the way he was standing, the tilt to his brought shoulders, the angle of his head as it inclined down, that made me realise he already had an answer, he just wanted us to draw the same conclusions, and save him the hassle of having to convince us.

"What do you mean? The guy's got a family – heck, he is family," I said. "We get in the car and drop him off at home."

"I don't know about that," Sam said. Beth's body tensed almost instantly at those words, and I could feel the uncertainty rolling off her body. She leaned into me, allowing me to hold her weight - crossing her arms as Sam continued to speak. "He's the only lead we got."

"He doesn't "know anything," I argued, and Sam's shoulders rose and fell in a dramatic shrug, indicating that he wasn't convinced.

"Are you 100% about that?" He asked.

"You think he's lying?" I questioned. "You want to go Guantanamo on the guy?" I didn't know what Sam had in mind, but whatever it was, it sure wasn't going to involve torturing the empty meatsuit of an angel - that would make us no better than demons.

"Dean, maybe he doesn't even know what he knows," Sam pointed out.

"And what? Sam? We drag him around with us on a wild goose chase?" Beth said finally. "This is my uncle we're talking about."

"I say, at least we get him to Bobby's. Maybe all he needs is hypnosis or a psychic, it worked for you," Sam said, looking at Beth and we all paused to reflect on how Beth's memories from when we were kids had started to return. Indeed, my own had started to return, and that I had Cas to thank for - he'd removed the blocks. Then again, he'd also put them there in the first place, so I'm not sure I had a lot to thank him for.

"No, Cas happened to me. He helped remove the memory blocks, and I still don't recall everything about the time that demon possessed me," Beth argued. Her eyes flashed hot, and I reflected that Sam really needed to be careful with this, she wasn't in the mood to be pushed by him.

"Well, Hell, maybe Cas will just drop back into him," Sam said with a sigh

"I don't know, man," I said, glancing at Beth. She was worried about Cas, and Ezekiel, neither of them had been replying to her calls for contact - and frankly so was I. I hadn't much to do with this Ezekiel, but Beth swore black and blue that he was one of the good guys, and he was fighting to save Heaven from the angels who wanted to jump start the Apocalypse. He'd gone off to help Cas when the Archangel had appeared with Chuck - but no one had seen him since. I sadly reflected that he was possibly as dead as Cas had been.

"Dean, back there, that was angel-on-angel violence. Now, I don't know what's going on, but it's big. And we can't just let the only lead we got just skip out," Sam pressed on. Beth shook her head.

"What?" Sam asked, a frown crossing his face. He was used to getting an argument from at least one of us, but this time it was different, it was both of us hesitating.

"You remember when our job was helping people?" She asked finally, and her body softened as she looked down at the ground, a little sigh escaping her perfectly soft lips.. "Like, getting them back to their families?"

"You think I don't want to help him? I'm just being realistic. I mean, hell, we're doing him a favour," Sam said.

"How?" I asked.

"Dean, if we want to question the guy, you can damn well bet the demons do, too," he pointed out and I looked over at Beth. He was right. I sighed, defeated on this one and nodded.

"Yeah...yeah you have a point," I said and Beth sucked in a deep breath.

"Beth?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, fine, whatever," she said, throwing out her hands. "I have some questions for him, anyway." I smirked, squeezing the flesh at the side of her hip a little with the hand holding her. I fully supported her in anything she had to say to Jimmy - the guy had left to fend for herself during one of the darkest times of her life - she deserved some answers.

"He said he doesn't know anything," Sam said.

"Oh, I don't think she's talking about angel questions," I said. Beth had been so hurt when Dad rang Jimmy to ask him to take in Beth. She felt betrayed by her only living relative, and she never even knew why. I had no doubt in my mind that she planned on getting some answers now.

Motel Room

Beth's POV

The motel room, although a moderate size housing two double beds, a full dining table and chairs, and room to walk - seemed to shrink in size when our conclusions were relayed to our unexpected guest. Jimmy was staring at Dean and Sam in disbelief. "The hell are you talking about, I can't go home?" He asked, his eyes flashing anger at being told he

"There's a good chance you have a bull's-eye on your back," Dean said, taking a seat on the bed opposite him.

"What? From who?" Jimmy asked, looking confused.

"Demons," I said, crossing my arms.

Jimmy looked incredulously at me. "Come on, that's crazy. What do they want with me?"

"I don't know, information, maybe?" Dean asked.

"I don't know anything."

Dean nodded. "We know, but..."

"Look, I'm done, okay?" Jimmy said, shaking his head. "With demons, angels, all of it. I just want to go home."

"We understand," Dean said. I thought about that statement. It was so simple. We did understand the need to get out. How many times had we done this ourselves? We'd tried a few months ago, and still we kept getting dragged back into it. Now something was going on with Sam that Dean and I didn't understand. And we'd lost Castiel, one of the few people who might be able to give us any answers on what we were dealing with in relation to this coming Apocalypse.

"I don't think that you do understand. I've been shot and stabbed and healed, and my body has been dragged all over the Earth. By some miracle, I'm out, and I am done. I've given enough, okay?" He said.

"Look, all we're saying is that until we figure this out, the safest place is with us," Sam said.

"How long?" Jimmy asked, glancing up at me.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," I said quietly. Jimmy shook his head, standing and trying to walk past Sam toward the door. Sam blocked his path and Dean stood up.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"To see my wife and daughter, okay?" Jimmy insisted.

"No, you're not. You're just going to put those people in danger," Sam said.

Jimmy stepped back his brow furrowing in consternation. "So, what, now I'm a prisoner?"

"Harsh way to put it," Sam said.

"But yes," I said.

Motel Room – Later On

Dean's POV

We'd sent Sam on the pizza run because he'd started to get on Beth's nerves. Shortly after the discussion with Jimmy, she'd sunk into the armchair by the window, casually put her feet up on the coffee table, and fallen silent as she lost herself to whatever thoughts were going through her pretty head.

With a wary glance over at me, Jimmy had stood and shuffled his way over to his pensive niece. I watched without comment out of the corner of my eye, waiting to see if Beth was going to react to this with the surly anger that was simmering on the surface, or the disappointing hurt that was buried deep.

He stood over her for a moment as she stared down at her hands, twisting the simple silver ring on her left hand around her finger.

"Look, Ella, you know that…"

"It's Beth," she interrupted, and it threw the man for a moment, the confusion visible on his face.

"Uh, Beth, sorry," he said. "Your mother always..."

"Called me Ella, yes. But that was a long time ago, I haven't gone by that name since she died," Beth said. She was barely giving him an inch, and I couldn't say that I blamed her. I frowned, thinking back to when we'd met. Her father had always called her Beth, so when her mother died it only seemed natural for her to assume that as her name.

Jimmy looked a little pained at the reference to his sister, taking a seat in the other armchair and running a hand across his face. Beth wasn't being sold on it.

"She loved you, you know," Beth said, looking at him. "She always loved you, and would even though you abandoned her family."

"I didn't..."

"Yeah man, you did," I piped in, though I was sure Beth could fight her own battles. "You weren't there for her, when her Dad was was stabbed by that demon."

"I… I uh," Jimmy, shook his head, looking at Beth beseechingly. "I should have taken you in, I know that now. But at the time, I was… I was barely getting my life together. Amelia had just had the baby a few weeks earlier, and we were struggling. Things were hard. I didn't … I couldn't take on a teenage girl who'd just been orphaned. I had no experience… no ..."

"You didn't even try," Beth said quietly. "Do you know what it was like? Do you know what I went through?"

"I'm sorry," Jimmy said, reaching a hand out to place it on Beth's knee. "I do know what it's like to lose control of your body, to … have things taken from you."

"I was fifteen!" Beth snapped, springing to her feet and starting to pace the room. Waves of nervous energy rolled off her, and she brushed away a couple of frustrated tears when she had her back to him.

"And John took you in," Jimmy said, watching her with beseeching eyes.

"You didn't know he'd do that," Beth said, stopping to look at him. "He came to you so he wouldn't have to, so that I would be protected."

I watched her sadly, my heart aching. I knew that she wouldn't take any of it back, that she was happy with our life together. Selfishly I was glad that Jimmy had told Dad 'no' when he'd called. Beth had been the lifeline I'd been looking for – the friend, the confidante that I needed to get through everything else. While Jimmy's decision had led us to each other, it still sat heavily with Beth that her last remaining family member had turned his back on her when she needed him the most.

"I was scared," Jimmy admitted. "I knew Patrick and Mary, Grace grew up with them! I was younger, and I didn't grow up with Grace, she'd already moved to Blue Earth, Minnesota by the time I was old enough to really interact with her. But she always talked about the angels when I did see her. She told me that one day they'd come for me too." He stopped, shaking his head. "I thought she was crazy."

Beth stopped moving, staring at him, much as I was doing myself.

"I knew," Jimmy said, looking at her sadly. "I knew when John called that something had gone terribly wrong. I met him, you see, a few years after Dean's mother died. They stayed with Patrick and Grace for a few weeks. You weren't more than a few years old. I'd started to… I'd started to hear things, whispers… angels… and when I was visiting her for the Summer, I told Grace about it," he looked down at his hands. "Grace told me I had to embrace them, let them in, but I was scared. I told my mother what Grace had said and she hit the roof and said that your mother was crazy. I was twelve… thirteen… and she had me medicated, to drown out the voices. By the time Grace died, even the medicine wasn't working. So I drank, and I did drugs, and I threw myself in anything that would drown the noise inside my head."

"You went off the rails," I said, sitting up on the bed and looking intently at Jimmy.

"Yes, big time. And it took a miracle… Amelia… to save me. She was my lifeline, she pulled me out of the darkness and got me sober, got me back to church. Then she got pregnant and it was a blessing, a new beginning. Grace was gone, and Patrick had taken you God knows where all those years – he'd never kept in touch really. Then John Winchester calls me out of the blue, and tells me Patrick is dead. That you needed to be protected," he looked down at his hands. "I had Amelia and Claire to look after, how could I possibly raise a teenager? I was a child myself!"

Beth sighed, shaking her head.

"I wanted to," Jimmy continued, "a few months later, I tried to find you but you were gone. Vanished off the face of the earth. I knew then that John must have taken you with him – and I reasoned..." he paused, swallowing. "John had seemed like a good man. Flawed, yes, but aren't we all? What he went through, what happened to Mary… it … it broke him. And it broke Patrick and Grace too, they never got over it. But you, Beth. You're strong, just like them. Believe me, John was the better choice to raise you."

I snorted, shaking my head. "Dude, that is some messed up reasoning there," I said, moving to the minibar and grabbing a beer. I stood up and cracked the lid, taking a long pull from it, sighing at the cold refreshing liquid as it washed down my throat.

"Well, Dean, near as I can tell Beth is still alive. A fighter. And she has family – you… and Sam. Seems to me your father did okay by her."

Beth smiled over at me and I felt my heart melt just a little. There was one thing I couldn't fault Dad on – when things got tough, he still did what was right. He'd brought Beth with us, when he could have just left her behind to fend for herself. It was never going to be an easy road, but he did it anyway. And she became his daughter – she became family – and at the end of the day, family was all you could count on.

Motel Room – Next Morning

Sam's POV

I'd taken the watch after Dean and Beth, the clock said it was almost 5am, and I was feeling the effects of the ghoul attacks on me like nothing I'd felt before. I had just a small amount of Ruby's blood left in a flask, and it had helped to heal the damage they'd done to my arms faster than if I'd had nothing, but I was still in deep need of a top up. And Ruby wasn't answering her phone.

I sighed, looking at Dean and Beth tangled up together in their bed, they were fast asleep after having taken the first two shifts of watching Jimmy, all after having been awake since Dean's dream telling us where to find the wayward vessel. I had to get out of this damn motel room! I could literally feel the walls starting to close in. Jimmy was in the other bed, covered mostly by a blanket and he was sound asleep. I could chance it. They wouldn't even know I'd been gone.

Slipping outside I breathed in the cool morning air with a sigh of relief, and then pulled the flask out of my jacket, moving down to the end of the rooms by a vending machine. Opening the flask, I poured some blood out on to my hand, licking at it like it was the fountain of youth. A little bit more and I knew that the flask was getting empty. I had to convince Ruby to visit soon, or I was going to start to really hurt.

Dean's POV

Sam was frantically packing, the urgency written all over his face as he shoved items deep into the duffel, and zipped it up with a flourish. I stood in the bathroom doorway watching his anxiety with a touch of amusement as I diligently brushed my teeth. Beth was sipping on a mug of coffee, no more in a hurry than I was.

"Dean. Would you hurry up?" Sam snapped, and I laughed, shaking my head.

"Sorry, uh, this is funny to you?" My little brother said, frowning at me and tossing me that look that we all knew was him, when he knew he'd screwed up on something.

"Mr. Big-Bad-Prison-Guard, Jimmy McMook give you the slip? Yeah, it's pretty funny," I had to tease him. Come on, he had it coming, and like it or not, Jimmy had slipped out of the motel room on his watch last night. The guy was probably half way to Illinois by now.

"What were you doing, anyway?" Beth asked, walking over to the sink and tipping out the rest of her coffee, grimacing a little at the taste. Clearly it hadn't been the world's best morning beverage.

"I was getting a Coke," Sam said shortly.

"Was it a refreshing Coke?" I said with a touch of emphasis on the world Coke , just like he'd used.

"Can we just go, please?" Sam asked, hoisting his bag over his shoulder and walking out the door.

I chuckled and walked back into the bathroom, spitting my mouthful of toothpaste down the drain and running the water. I stuck my head down, drinking from the faucet and rinsed out the minty freshness from my mouth. Standing, I saw Beth looking at me in the mirror, a smirk on her face.

"What?"
"How long are you going to torture him?" She asked, stepping in to me and wrapping her arms around my waist.

"Oh, I dunno. Just until he can't…"

"Guys!?" Sam yelled from outside and I chuckled again.

"And there it is... ," I said with a chuckle, my hands finding a perch on her hips and kissing her jaw. "Because one thing is for sure…"

"Oh?" She asked, and I felt my centre tighten at the catch in her breath, wishing I had time to do something more than just get her excited.

"Yeah… like it or not, he's right about the danger to your aunt and cousin," I said, breaking my lips away from her face to look into those chocolate brown eyes, swirling with emotion. "We need to get there before the demons realise he's home."

One Year Ago
Jimmy's POV

The radio had started to get a little static mixed into it, breaking through songs and disturbing the peace. But the more I listened, the more I started to hear a voice. I moved closer to the radio, and there in amidst the white noise, was someone familiar. Someone who had been with me for a long time - simply shut out.

Moments later I wasn't expecting Amelia to walk into the room while my arm was elbow deep in a pot of boiling water, but it was a relief to see her standing there. Panic crossed her face, and she dropped the bags of groceries to the floor upon seeing me, moving to grab me.

"What the hell are you doing?" She demanded to know.

"It's okay. I'm okay," I reassured.

"Jimmy."

"Look," I said, seeking to comfort her, pulling the arm out of the pot of water and showing her that there was no damage.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked, a frown crossing her face.

"Nothing's wrong. He asked me to do it," I said, smiling at her. I was so happy, elated even. To know that Grace had been right all those years ago, that our mother had been wrong, and I wasn't going crazy. It was a relief.

"Who asked you to do it?" Amelia asked, and I smiled, thinking of his name.

"Castiel," I said. "To prove my faith. Look. I'm fine. It's a miracle." I said. I'd needed to convince him that I was listening this time, that I wasn't turning away like I had in the past. With Grace gone, I was the one he needed to fulfill his mission.

"Who's Castiel?" Amelia asked.

It was only a few days later that Amelia had me talking to doctors, psychiatrists, anyone who could help cure what was obviously a case of schizophrenia. I knew differently. I was solid in the understanding that all my life angels had been talking to me - one in particular, Castiel - and I wasn't about to turn my back on him again. Not now.

Amelia sat next to me now, on the couch, holding her hand out with several capsules in it.

"Take the pills."

"I'm not sick," I insisted, looking at her. Her eyes were rimmed in red from crying, and she looked like she hadn't slept in days.

"Jimmy, take the pills," she said, holding the hand out a little closer to me.

I smiled at her, leaning forward as if being closer to me might help her reach the same place I was in. "I know that this is hard to understand, but he chose me," I said to her.

"Castiel, the angel?" She asked dubiously. In the last week she'd heard it all.

"He's spoken to me now, Ames, a dozen times," I said, and she stood up, moving a few steps away. I knew I was losing her, I reached out to her with the only knowledge I knew for sure that she believed in. She'd brought me back to God - she was the one I had to thank for this and yet she didn't trust me! "Hey, you believe in God, don't you?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course," she said, looking back at me and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"And angels?"

"Yes, Jimmy," she replied.

"So, why is it then so hard for you to believe that they're talking to me?" I asked.

"Jimmy, you sell ad time for A.M. radio," she said, as if my profession had anything to do with my true calling.

"No, he said that I'm special. It's not the first time. I just.. I shut him out. Grace used to say the day would come… It's in our blood," I said.

"What does that mean, it's in your blood, hm?"

"She didn't say. She just said that God has chosen us for a higher purpose. Castiel needs me," I answered honestly. At this time truth was the only thing I could rely on, if I couldn't be true about this, then what good was I to Castiel?

"To do what?" Amelia asked.

"No, it's God's will. Not really my place to question it," I said, shaking my head briefly. "Hey, come here," I said, reaching out for her, she took my hand and sat beside me on the couch, tears welling in her eyes. This is a blessing. This is the most important thing that ever happened to me."

"I thought we were the most important things to ever happen to you," she sniffed.

"Hey, have faith."

"Jimmy, you're scaring me," was her reply. I knew I needed to reassure her. If only she could feel and hear what I was hearing going on inside me.

"God will provide," I said with a certainty.

"Like he did for your sister? What about your niece?" She asked. I took a deep breath, the mention of Grace and Ella like a stab to my heart.

"My sister is with God. My niece is with good people," I answered.

Amelia shook her head, watching me carefully, and then a resolution settled across her features, and I knew she had reached a decision that she'd been wrestling with until this moment.

"Jimmy, if you won't take your pills and if you won't get help, then I'm going to take Claire to my mother's in the morning." Amelia squeezed my hand, dropping the pills into my palm and then stood, walking out of the room without a backwards glance.

I sighed, watching her go, and then I went to the hallway coat stand, grabbing my tan trench coat from the hook and pulling it on. I needed answers. Outside the night was cool, the moon full overhead. I stared up at the pale orb that was watching me, its pale emotionless light casting an eerie glow over the outdoors.

"So, I wanna to help you," I said to Castiel, thinking of the formless voice in my head. "I'm about to lose my family here if you don't tell me how…" I shook my head, trying to clear it. "Please, Castiel, just talk to me. What do you want from me?"

Above me, a soft light appeared, brighter and warmer than the moon. I felt my heart skip a beat as I heard Castiel's voice whispering to me. I listened as he told me his plans, asked to use my body to do God's work here on Earth. It was terrifying and exciting all that once. Amelia would never understand, but I knew in my heart that I needed to do this. There was a war coming, the Apocalypse, and without a vessel Castiel's work would be undone.

"Yes, I understand. Promise my family will be okay and I'll do it…."

I listened as he continued to speak, hearing the words I was seeking, the reassurance that I needed. "Then, yes," I said with a nod.

I was engulfed by a bright light, and I felt nothing but peace as he entered me. I felt myself expanding, almost like throwing a stone into a pond and the energy of that rippling out. It was like trapping a hurricane inside a house - I could feel everything inside splitting and breaking to make room for the powerhouse that was Castiel.

After a moment it all settled, and it was as if I was thrust to the back of my mind. I heard the door to the house open, but I was powerless to turn my body and see who it was. Instead I lifted my hand, not of my own doing, and looked at it, feeling Castiel's observation of being in my body.

"Daddy?" Claire's voice sounded and I realised with a start that she had come outside. I looked up my daughter as Castiel turned, confused and then I felt everything start to get fuzzy. I turned away, and then the angel spoke, his monotone voice coming out of my mouth.

"I am not your father," he said. And then everything went black.

Present Day

Beth's POV

I'd taken the backseat so I could be alone with my thoughts - listening to Dean and Sam banter back and forth. Mostly it was Dean heaping hubris on Sam for letting my uncle slip past him in the night. I stared out the window of the Impala at the gloomy day, mind on where we were going - how close we were to where I'd buried Dean not all that long ago. My thoughts were back on those early days after my Dad was killed. The nightmares, the blood…. and then suddenly red was beside me, a river of it, and I gasped, pushing myself back against the door and reaching for the knife in my boot.

"Hey, guys," a voice said, and as my eyes refocused on the angelic vision of Anna beside me, I heard Dean exclaim in the front seat.

"Aah! Jeez!" His hands jerked and he instinctively moved the car away from the new threat, right into oncoming traffic. He swerved back into our lane before glaring back at her.

"Smooth," Anna smirked and Dean frowned, glancing in the rearview mirror, his eyes meeting mine.

"You ever try calling ahead?" He asked and she turned to look at him, her expression neutral, like she was ordering coffee at Starbucks.

"I like the element of surprise."

"Well, terrific…" Dean muttered, his hands gripping the steering wheel until they were white.

"You look good, Dean," Anna said, and I was certain the whole town could have seen me roll my eyes. The one thing about this angel? She had a hard-on for my husband, and she wasn't above showing that to him, even in my presence.

"Um, yeah… not really appropriate," I said, straightening up in my seat and finding my voice. She glanced in my direction, as if seeing me for the first time.

"You let Jimmy get away?" She said, her tone accusatory.

"Talk to ginormo here," Dean said, inclining his head to the already chagrined Sam. Anna's face spun to observe Sam and she leaned a little closer.

"Sam. You seem... different," she said, and Sam shrugged dismissively.

"Me? I don't know. Heh. A haircut?" He said.

"That's not what I'm talking about," she said, giving Sam a look full of meaning that I couldn't read. Whatever was going through our little brother's mind, it was enough to make him uncomfortable because after a moment he dropped his gaze, looking out the windshield again.

Anna didn't miss a beat, just turning her face to look at Dean. "So, what'd Jimmy tell you? He remember anything?"

"No," I said with a sigh.

"Why? What's going on?" Dean asked.

"It's Cas. He got sent back home. Well, more like dragged back," she replied, for the first time a small crease lined her face and Dean glanced back toward her.

"To Heaven?" He asked. "That's not a good thing?"

"No. That's a very bad thing. Painfully, awfully bad," Anna said, and for a moment she shivered, her body telling me that she knew firsthand what she was talking about. "He must have seriously pissed someone off."

"Cas said he had something to tell Dean. Something important," I said.

"What?"

"I don't know," Dean answered.

"Does Jimmy know?"

"I don't think so," Dean said.

"You don't think so?" Anna asked incredulously. "Whatever it is, it's huge. You gotta find out for sure." There was an urgency in her voice that belied her unusually calm appearance. Something was definitely getting this angel worked up, she wanted answers, and whatever she was running from: she was scared.

"That's why we're going after Jimmy," Sam supplied, turning back to her finally.

"That's why you shouldn't have let him go in the first place," Anna said. "He's probably dead already."

Then, as silently as she'd arrived, Anna disappeared, leaving me alone in the backseat. Dean glanced back at me, worry in his eyes and I slid forward on the seat, resting my arms across the back of the bench seat. "She's right," I said softly, meeting Dean's eyes. "Can we go any faster?"

Dean smirked, turning his eyes back to the road. "Sugarpie, we can always go faster."

Pontiac, Illinois
Novak House

Jimmy's POV

The house hadn't changed at all when I got there. I stepped hesitantly up on to the front porch, looking in the dining room window. Claire, a year older but unchanged, was sitting at the table doing her homework. She stopped writing and looked over her shoulder, calling out something I couldn't hear. Amelia appeared from the kitchen, and suddenly I was staring at the two most important people in my life.

I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry and reached out for the doorbell, pressing the button. The thirty second wait for Amelia to open the door felt like a lifetime, and I didn't know how she was going to react when she saw me. I could see her through the glass in the door, and she clearly saw me too, almost stopping before pulling the door open. Her eyes widened, and she glanced behind me and then back at my face.

"We, uh – we stopped looking for you," she said.

"I'm so sorry," I said, knowing that it wasn't going to be enough. That she deserved so much better.

"You were dead. We, uh – we thought you were dead," Amelia said, grasping for words and I nodded.

"I'm okay."

She invited me into the house, which felt weird when only twelve months it had been my home. Claire had run upstairs for something, and as Amelia and I sat down in the den, there was the creaking sound of the stairs and someone creeping down them.

INT. JIMMY'S HOUSE – SAME DAY

JIMMY and AMELIA sit in the den. CLAIRE comes down the stairs and approaches them.

"Claire. Room. Now," Amelia ordered, and I looked up to see blue eyes staring in the crack of the door at me. They blinked, and then she ran back upstairs.

"Can I see her?" I asked.

"No. No. I don't know yet. It's been almost a year, you know?" Amelia said, the pain written clearly on her face. I had abandoned them, she was right that I had no say over Claire anymore. .

"I know, I know," I said, nodding and feeling stupid.

"Yeah. Think your daughter would have wanted to know you were okay?" Amelia accused. It was nothing more than I'd already told myself. I'd been impulsive, hyped up on the call to serve, and I'd not thought about the damage I was leaving behind - even then I thought I was doing the right thing because they would be protected from the coming end times. Of course, if I told her any of this she wouldn't believe me. I had to be smarter than that.

"I was in a psych clinic. I just wanted to get myself straight before seeing you," I said.

Amelia raised her eyebrows at me. "Oh. And no telephones, or – ?"

"No, I know. You're right. I'm – I'm so sorry. But it's all – it's all over now. I mean, I'm – I'm really okay." I could only pray - thought I considered the question of who I would pray to carefully - for her to forgive me and allow me back into their lives.

"What does that mean?" Amelia asked.

"I was – I was confused, Amelia. I was completely delusional. And I thought – I thought God was calling me to something and I thought that it was important, and I was wrong. I was such an idiot. Heaven, hell . . . none of that matters. The only thing that's important to me is you and Claire. And I – I can't undo what I've done. But I just wanna come home again." I paused, completely unsure as to whether she believed me, or whether I had managed to convince her.

"I don't know if I can do that. Not yet," Amelia said after a moment. The confusion was written all over her face.

"I mean, whatever you're comfortable with. Maybe we could start with something smaller?" I suggested, an idea coming to mind.

"Like what?" She asked.

"I don't know. Dinner?"

Gas Station

Sam's POV

Dean and Beth were standing at the back of the Impala, gassing it up, she was smiling and he was telling her some joke to lighten the mood. As soon as we'd pulled up, Dean's voice mirrored almost the exact same thing Dad had said to us when we'd been on our way to rescue Beth. 'You've got as long as it takes to gas up and go."

I hovered in the gas station on the pretense that as soon as they were done, I could pay and we'd be on our way. Whipping out my cell phone, I checked - not for the first time in the last hour - for a message from Ruby. There was nothing. I dialed her number again, and got voicemail… again.

"Where the hell are you, Ruby?" I snapped. "This isn't funny anymore. I'm all out. Stop whatever you're doing. Call me. I need more." It was clear what I wanted. I could practically feel my skin crawling, and I didn't want to let on to the others that all I could think about right now was that blood - I wanted it, I craved it, I needed it, and soon.

I was smarter, quicker, and stronger with it - and that was becoming more and more clear with the slower healing from lack of blood. Those ghouls had done a number on me, I needed Ruby and blood to get back to full strength.

Pontiac, Illinois

Jimmy's POV

"Hi, Daddy," Claire said, when Amelia let her see me finally.

"Hi, baby," I smiled, and she returned the smile, running into my arms and pulling me close. Amelia walked into the dining room with a platter of sandwiches. I let go of Claire, and waved her to the table as Amelia spoke.

"Okay, so we have turkey and roast beef. Better be okay. It's all we have."

"Oh, it's fine. It's more than fine," I said with a smile. "Should we sit?"

"Yeah," Amelia said with a nod, and we all took our seats at the table. I waited for a moment, feeling a little awkward, and then I reached forward for a sandwich.

"It's perfect," I said, happiness filling my heart.

"Daddy, aren't you going to say Grace?" Claire asked. I looked down at the sandwich in my hands, the most humble and genuine meal I had held in my hands since the day I'd gone missing. I fought back tears, shaking my head.

"No, honey, I don't think I am."

"Why are you crying?" She asked.

"Because I'm happy," I said, sniffing back a sob.

I went to take bite out of my sandwich when the doorbell rang. Amelia's face creased with confusion, and she shrugged, standing up to go answer it.

"Hey, Roger," I heard her say, and I smiled, standing up from the table. My best friend, the one person I could have trusted more than my own wife.

"Hey, Ames. How you doing?" I heard him ask.

"Good."

"Am I crazy or did I just see your husband wander in here about half an hour ago?" Roger asked as I walked from the dining room and out into the hall.

'Yeah, uh, you did. But, Roger, now is not a good time."

As soon as I saw him my arms went out, and Roger smiled, returning the gesture and stepped up to me. "Hey, there he is. Son of a bitch," he said, embracing me in a hug. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Ah, long story. But it's over," I said, stepping back, but he held on to my arm, looking intently at me.

"Yeah?"

"I'm good," I said with a nod.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked, and Amelia stepped toward the kitchen.

"Can I get you a beer?" She asked.

"That'd be good. Thanks," Roger replied, and I watched her leave as he pulled me into the den.

"Buddy, you scared the hell out of a lot of people," Roger said to me once we were alone. I nodded, looking down at the ground and then back up at him. Would it ever feel less awkward? This having to explain to all the people I knew why it was - or at least the made up version - that I had been gone?

"I know. I know," I said with a nod.

"So really, what happened?" He asked.

"Honestly, worst year of my life and you wouldn't believe a word of it, but it's all okay now. I swear," I said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible.

"Actually, no, it's not."

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning as he looked at me, a strange glint in his eyes.

"Well, I mean I'm gonna gut your daughter while you watch," he said, and then the glint disappeared into pure blackness. Demonic. He smiled and then his eyes switched back to normal at the exact moment Amelia walked into the room, holding out a beer.

"Here you go," she said, and Roger looked in Amelia's direction.

I took the opportunity to make my move, grabbing a candlestick from the mantle and hitting him in the head with it. Roger went down, but I knew it wasn't enough. I hit him again, and again, determined to take him out before he could do any harm to my family.

Amelia screamed, grabbing at my arm. "What are you doing? Jimmy, stop!"

"He's a demon!" I yelled, "run!"

"Stop it!"

"Run!" I stood up, pushing Amelia toward the kitchen and into the utility room. "Claire!" I yelled, and she quickly joined us, completely confused over what was happening. I shoved them both into the utility room, shutting the door and starting to frantically look through the shelves, looking for salt.

"Where is it?" I muttered to myself. Amelia watched on, her chest heaving and eyes wide as she tried to process what had just happened.

"Roger was your best friend."

"Roger was a demon, dammit," I said, I found a bag of salt finally and with a feeling of relief I poured it in a line across teh doorway. "Don't cross this line!"

"Jimmy, you thought you were better, but you are so sick," Amelia said.

"Look, I am not crazy," I insisted, feeling fear grip at my heart. We had to get some help, I needed to get my family to safety. "This is all very, very real," I said, glancing back at the door.

"Stay the hell away from us!" Amelia demanded, pushing Claire behind her.

Claire looked at me, alarmed, and I felt my heart break.

"Claire, sweetie…" I reached out for her, but Amelia used the opportunity to push Claire past me, grabbing my arm.

"No! Run. Leave her alone, I said," Amelia said, trying to pull me back as I reached out for Claire. I was too slow, she got out the door and I struggled with Amelia, pushing her back into the room.

"Stay here," I said, running after Claire.

"Stay away from her!"

"Claire!" I sprinted around the corner and into the dining room, coming to a complete halt as soon as I saw Roger holding Claire at knifepoint. Amelia ran into the back of me, a gasp escaping her mouth as she saw our neighbour.

"Damn it," I cursed, we were in a lot of trouble now.

"Hey, pal," the demon said with a smile. "Told you I'd gut the bitch."

"Roger," Amelia's voice was filled with panic, and she started to move toward our daughter.

"Daddy?" Claire asked, looking at me with eyes full of terror.

"Just let her go, okay?" I impeached the demon.

"Now, me, I would, but the missus, she has other ideas." He nodded at his wife who walked into the living room from the kitchen, a wicked smile on her face. She looked at me and Amelia's breathing started to speed up.

"No!" Amelia said, grabbing my arm.

"Daddy!"

Novak House

Dean's POV

So many feelings rushed back to me as I pulled the Impala up to the house, looking up at the windows. It looked relatively quiet, someone standing with his back to the window almost out of view, and Beth glanced at me, breathing a sigh of relief.

"It's quiet, we got here in time," she said with a smile, and I felt my gut twist.

"Let's go," I said, seeing the guy raise his arm suddenly. It didn't look friendly, and then we heard someone's voice echo a shout out to us. "Your house looked quiet too!" I said quickly, moving toward the front door. All the memories flooded back from all those years ago. Pulling up to the house, snow on the ground, silence… deathly silence. We didn't know what we were going to find in the house, but Dad had known it would be bad. He later confessed he'd expected to find both Patrick and Beth slaughtered inside - he'd never expected Patrick to catch his own daughter, possessed, inside a devil's trap.

The house was anything but quiet and I pulled the demon knife out of my jacket, moving quietly to the door and listening to the commotion. I gestured for Sam to go around the back, just in case and he nodded, splitting up and sneaking around the side of the house. Beth looked at me, and I took a deep breath, nodding and then opening the door.

"Oh my God. No!" A woman yelled and I rounded the corner to see Jimmy on the ground, and a woman I assumed was his wife atop another woman with black eyes. The man in the window had a girl at knifepoint, but he was distracted by the fight going down. I moved quickly, bringing the knife up, and slit his throat.

The other demon through the wife off her, standing up with a roar and started to advance on me as Beth grabbed the girl and pulled her toward the front door.

Sam appeared behind her, stretching out his hand to use his psychic powers on her, and she stopped for a moment, unable to move. I could see him twist his hand, clearly intent on pulling that demon out of the woman's body.

"Go. Get them out of here," Sam said, and I grabbed Jimmy by the arm, helping him up and waving the wife toward the door.

"Go, go!"

Jimmy and his wife fled the house, and I turned at the last minute, looking back at Sam. He was struggling, which puzzled me. The demon smiled, and walked up to him.

"Aw. Can't get it up, can you, Sam?" She asked, brandishing a knife. I was already on the move.

"No, but I can," I said, and I swung the knife at her. With a shout and a cloud of black smoke, the demon left the woman, and was gone. I grabbed Sam's arm, and pulled him toward the door.

"Time to go!" I said, practically pushing him ahead of me. He was slow and lethargic, like he'd just run a marathon. "Come on, come on, come on, come on," I said as we ran down the steps to the car.

"Thank god," Jimmy said, looking at me with relief when we reached him. Beth was already putting the girl into the car and I looked around.

"Where's your wife?" I asked, seeing a missing face.

"Right here," she said, running up from beside her car with some coats.

"Let's go," Beth said, and she climbed into the front of the car, taking the middle. Jimmy and his wife got in the back, leaving driver and shotgun for me and Sam. Within seconds I had us moving, we had to put some space between here and fast.

Car Parking Garage

Jimmy's POV

Amelia and Claire were still in the car. I stood next to Beth, looking and Dean and Sam, feeling overwrought with emotion.

"You were right," I said sadly.

"I'm sorry we were," Beth said, her mouth twitching up at the side as she gave a little shrug.

"I'm telling you, I don't know anything," I said, glancing back at the Impala.

"I don't think they're inclined to believe you," Dean said. I sighed - how was I going to get us out of this, how could I protect my family when the one thing who had protected me was missing in action?

"And even if they did, you're a vessel. They're still gonna wanna know what makes you tick," Sam pointed out, and his eyes wandered to Beth as well.

"Which means vivisection, if they're feeling generous," Dean pointed out. I shuddered, that didn't sound good at all.

"I'm gonna tell you once again, you're putting your family in danger. You have to come with us," Sam stated plainly.

"How long? And don't give me that "cross that bridge when we get to it" crap," I asked.

"Don't you get it?" Sam asked with a tone of exasperation. "Forever. The demons will never stop. You can never be with your family. So you either get as far away from them as possible or you put a bullet in your head. And that's how you keep your family safe. But there's no getting out and there's no going home."

"Well, don't sugarcoat it, Sam," Beth said sarcastically, crossing her arms and frowning at the younger brother.

"I'm just telling him the truth, Beth. Someone has to," he said. I sighed, realising he was right. I could never protect them, not while they were with me. Sam was right. As much as Dean and Beth wanted to spare me the pain of this, it was clear what I had to do.

I ran a hand across my face, wondering if the fatigue and sadness showed as much as I was feeling it. I let out a deep, sorrowful breath, and then walked over to talk to Amelia, squatting down in the doorway where she was sitting.

"Hey. So I pretty much owe you the biggest apology ever," she said with a smile.

"No, you don't," I said, shaking my head.

"Yes, I do. I'm so sorry, Jimmy. And I will never, ever forgive myself for letting you walk out that door," she said. I could almost feel the guilt radiating off her.

"Well, you did what any rational person would have done. I mean, hell, I thought I was crazy half the time," I consoled. I thought about the attitude I'd given Grace when she told me about our lineage. I had been young, a teenager at first, and our mother turned me against her. I wondered briefly if she had heard them too, but we'd never know now.

"So demons, huh?" Amelia asked, jolting my attention back to her.

"Yeah," I said with a half smile.

"Can we . . . ? Can we even go home, or . . . ? What are we gonna do?" She asked. I could see the reality starting to settle into her as much as it had me. Before long, she would reach the same conclusion as me, though without Sam to give her the cold hard facts, it might take a little longer.

"These guys are gonna get you a car, don't ask me how, and you're gonna take Claire to Carl and Sally's as fast as you can," I said, thinking about her sister.

"Wait. What about you? . . . No, I'm not going anywhere without you, Jimmy," she said, her voice hitching in her throat.

"Listen to me. Every moment that I'm with you, you and Claire are in danger," I said.

"I don't care. We are not splitting up again."

"We don't have a choice," I said firmly. I had to be strong.

"For how long?" She asked. I wasn't that strong. I couldn't be like Sam, I couldn't tell her. Instead, I found myself repeating the same lame reasoning that he'd given me in the beginning.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"We're a family," Amelia said, taking that in.

"They will kill you, Amelia, and they'll kill Claire. You just have to get as far away from me as you can."

Beth's POV

Jimmy had told Amelia what was going to happen, that it was safer for them to split up. She was taking it a lot better than I would have. Then again, I hadn't spent half my teen years pining after Dean just to lose him to a demon. Their situation was entirely different, and untrained… well, Jimmy was the biggest threat to these guys. I wondered if a time would come when we had to make a similar decision. My heart almost stopped at the thought of it, and I glanced over at Dean as Jimmy and Amelia hugged their final farewell. Dean's mouth twitched just slightly, and he met my look, the message in his eyes clearly showing that he was thinking along similar lines to me.

The car nearby roared to life, and Sam stepped out from behind the wheel where he'd been hot wiring it.

"Okay, so, uh, here's your car," he said, as he reached Amelia and she nodded, a sad expression crossing her face that said it all: she hadn't thought her life could go this far south in such a short amount of time, and now she was on the run. Her life would never be the same again.

"Hey. Take care of your mom, okay, bub?" Jimmy said, hugging his daughter.

"Okay," she said with a nod. She turned and smiled at me, coming to give me an impulsive hug.

"It was nice to meet you Beth, take care of my Dad?" She said.

"I sure will, Claire," I said with a smile, pushing her hair back out of her eyes. "Maybe one day soon we'll get to know each other better, I never had a cousin before."

She smiled, and nodded, hugging me again and then moving to beside her mother.

Jimmy took one final look and climbed into the back of the Impala. Dean and Sam followed suit, both of them taking the front. Faced with the prospect of squeezing into the front with Sam, or having space in the back, it was a no brainer, and I got into the back behind Sam, glancing over a Jimmy who was staring at his hands. Dean pulled the car away and I pulled on my seat belt, sliding down in the backseat and closing my eyes. Maybe I could get a nap in before we tried to decide on our next move. Maybe I could talk to Castiel if I fell asleep.

A few hours later I awoke, disappointed by the lack of contact from the missing angel, and found Jimmy had fallen asleep. Rain was falling steadily outside, and the windscreen wipers were keeping a slow, even movement as Dean drove.

"What the hell happened back there?" Dean asked, looking at Sam, and I realised that I must have been woken by the sounds of their voices while they talked.

"What?" Sam asked defensively, and I perked up a little, curious what Dean was questioning.

"You practically fainted trying to gank a demon," Dean said, and I raised an eyebrow, looking at the back of Sam's head as he shook it, and then turned slightly to face Dean.

"Okay, I didn't faint. I got a little dizzy," he said.

"Well, you can call it whatever you want. Point is, you used to be strong enough to kill Alastair. Now you can't even kill a stunt-demon number three?"

"What do you want me to say about it, Dean?" Sam snapped.

"Well for starters, what's going on with your mojo? I mean, it's yo-yoing all over the place. I'm not trying to pick a fight here, okay? I just – you're scaring me, man," Dean said. To hear Dean tell Sam that he was scared, indicated that things were really serious. Not much scared Dean, but the thought of Sam losing control of himself was one of them.

"I'm scaring myself," Sam confessed, just as my cellphone started to ring. Dean glanced back at me and I slipped my hand into my jacket, pulling the phone out.

"Hello? . . . Who is this?" I asked, not recognising the number. The second I heard her voice, I knew who I was speaking with. I reached out, shaking Jimmy awake, and he blinked at me curiously when I handed him the phone.

"It's Amelia."

Jimmy took the phone, "Amelia?"

He listened to the woman on the other end of the phone, and then he went pale. He looked urgently at me, at then to Dean. "Oh, my god."

Several Hours Later
Warehouse

Jimmy's POV

Dean, Beth and Sam were all pensively silent as we pulled up to the warehouse following the call I'd had from Amelia. Only it wasn't Amelia now - it was the demon, she'd been possessed, and when I made my get away with the Winchesters, she'd waited until she could convince me to return without them.

Dean looked over the building and then got out, moving to the back and opening the trunk. He stepped back, turning to face the rest of us as we joined him. The night was late, it was dark, and eerily quiet.

"Alright, they're expecting you to come alone. That's exactly what you're gonna do," he said.

"We'll work our way through the catwalks. We'll be right behind you," Beth said reassuringly.

"All you gotta do is stay calm and stall. Let us do our job," Dean said.

"You want me to stay calm? This is my family we're talking about," I said, shaking my head. How could they be so calm about this? Anything could go wrong! I was shaking in my shoes, and I had no idea how we were going to get Amelia and Claire out of there without getting ourselves killed in the process.

"Jimmy, this will work. You understand? We've been doing this a long time, and we're good at what we do," Beth said. "Nobody's gonna get hurt."

I sighed, wanting to believe her. But the only person I believed could help us now was completely missing in action. I turned toward the warehouse, playing Beth's words over in my head. "Yeah, whatever," I said. It was now or never. "Give me a minute, okay?" I walked away from the three Winchesters toward the warehouse, feeling the terror grabbing at my chest when I reached the side access door.

"Castiel, you son of a bitch!" I yelled at the sky, in the direction of Heaven, or wherever it was supposed to be. "You promised me my family would be okay. You promised you were gonna take care of them. I gave you everything you asked me to give. I gave you more. This is the thanks I get? This is what you do? This is your Heaven? Help me, please. You promised, Cas. Just help me."

No one answered. I didn't even hear a whisper in my head. He was well and truly absent.

"Typical," I muttered, realising we were on our own. I stepped forward, pulling open the door and entering the warehouse.

The door opened up into a larger area, and in the middle was Amelia, smiling at me. Behind her Claire was tied to a chair, unconsciously slumped forward.

"Hi, honey. You're home," the demon said in a sugary sweet tone. Amelia's eyes turned black as she looked to me.

"Listen, I'm – I'm begging you here," I said, extending my hand out to her. "You do whatever you want with me, but my wife and daughter, they're just – they're not a part of this."

"Oh, they're a big part of this, Jimmy," she smirked. "And P.S. You should've come alone."

Beth's POV

Jimmy had left us, making his way down the small incline to the warehouse. He went slowly, giving us the time we needed to circle around to the fire escape.

"This is most certainly a trap," I said to Dean. "They know he hasn't come alone."

Dean looked at Sam as he reached up, grabbing the ladder and pulling it down, starting to climb.

"Yeah, I know. That's why I have a plan," he said. I reached for the ladder behind Sam, intending to follow up to the catwalks just like we'd told Jimmy, and Dean shook his head, grabbing my arm.

"What the hell, Dean?" I asked with a frown.

"Let Sam take the roof. You and I are going to take the other entrance," he said.

"We only have one knife," I pointed out, and Dean nodded.

"That's why Sam is going on his own, and we're going this way," he replied nodding toward the opposite end of the building. "We stand a better chance splittin up."

Sam was already up on the roof. I mulled over the new plan for a moment and then nodded - in theory Sam could exorcise demons with his mind, Dean was right. I moved to take the lead and Dean frowned at me, but let it go. We reached the door that was at the other end of the building to where Jimmy had entered, pushing it open with bated breath, hoping that this demon didn't have any back-up with her.

The room was dark, and we could hear voices beyond the wall in front of us. Suddenly we were attacked from behind, and I found myself manhandled, grabbed roughly before we could react.

Dean was similarly encumbered, another demon grabbing him and wrenching the knife from his grip. They kept firm hands on us, and I felt the sharp, cold metal of a blade being pressed to my throat, before he chuckled and shoved us forward.

"I am alone," I heard Jimmy say, and Amelia laughed.

"Oh, you're such a liar. Like I didn't think you'd bring The Three Stooges, hmm?" She said at the same time the demons pushed Dean and I into the room. I looked up at Jimmy, who returned an incredulous look, before I saw Sam being led in behind him. To our right was Claire, tied to a chair, she looked unconscious - at least I hoped that was all she was.

"Nice plan, Dean," Sam said, rolling his eyes over as the demon held a knife to his throat.

"Yeah, well, nobody bats 1,000," Dean said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Got the knife?" The demon inside of Amelia asked, and the demon holding Dean waved Ruby's blade, while still keeping his firm hold on his captive.

"And you know what's funny?" Amelia-demon asked.

"You wearing a soccer mom?" Dean asked, and she turned to look furiously at him

"I was actually bummed to get this detail, picking up an empty vessel. Sort of like a milk run. Now look who landed in my lap," she said, eyeing us off.

"Yeah, well, you got us, okay? Let these people go," Sam said. She turned back with a smirk on her face, taking a couple of steps closer to him.

"Oh, Sam. It's easy to act chivalrous when your Wonder Girl powers aren't working, huh?" She asked, then she turned to look at Jimmy. "Now for the punch line. Everybody dies."

I watched, shocked as she held up a gun and shot Jimmy right in the gut. Jimmy fell to his knees, and I felt my mouth drop open. He was a vessel! They needed him, right? Only then did I realise that he wasn't the only vessel here. Our whole family was. I looked at Dean, fear crossing my mind. After all, what would be more appealing that using a hunter as a direct line to Heaven?

We exchanged looks, and I felt a cold chill rise up my spine. They were crazy - I wore an anti-possession tattoo, they couldn't force their way into me like they could him.

Suddenly I felt a tendril of light touch my consciousness, I looked within, seeking it and hearing a voice.

Let me in, Beth.

"Waste Little Orphan Annie," Amelia's voice said to the one demons not holding any of us captive, and I closed my eyes, knowing I didn't have a choice.

"Yes," I whispered, and then everything went black.

Dean's POV

Amelia left the room, and the big demon bloke near us walked around Jimmy, who was lying on the ground, bleeding out, and moved toward Claire. I started to struggle, but this demon had me firmly held, the knife pressed up against my jugular and biting into the skin. The big fella reached for a pipe on the ground, picking it up. He turned at the same time I saw a flash of light emit from near Beth. I moved as the demon holding me slackened his grip in the wake of seeing his comrade collapse to the ground dead.

I twisted his arm, taking the knife from him and throwing myself at his chest, shoulder first and ramming him into a wall. I spun for a moment, seeing Beth reaching out and she blocked the downward swing of the big fella, stopping the pipe dead before it could hit Claire. She held the pipe in one hand, and then reached out with her other, touching the big fella on the forehead. He screamed as a light shot out of all his sockets, and then I was suddenly being grabbed again. I had gotten distracted.

The demon behind me grabbed me, tossing me against the wall, and I was suddenly back in the fight. Beth was moving to the girl, and I landed a couple of quick jabs before the demon got his hands on me again, throwing me to the ground. I looked over to see Beth's eyes flash blue and I knew that Castiel had found us in just the nick of time. She reached down, and the ropes holding Claire burned away, I moved to catch the girl who was just starting to stir.

"Castiel," Jimmy said, watching Beth in horror.

Sam was still struggling with his own demon, but she was closer to me. I looked around for the knife, seeing it on the floor as Beth reached out a hand, placing her palm on the demon fighting me. With a flash of light he screamed, and I was free to move for the knife. I rolled for it, grabbing it by the hilt and lobbing it through the air.

"Sam!" I yelled and he reacted, reaching out and catching it. Holding the knife, Sam cut the neck on the demon he now had around the throat, and to my surprise, bit down on her - drinking from the cut. He sucked on the cut, and I staggered to my feet - yelling for him. Sam turned, mouth still bloody, to look at us.

Then he swung the demon away, and stabbed her through the heart with the blade. He stood, shoulders heaving with exertion, and turned to reach out his hand. There was a gasp and Amelia stood rooted to the ground, gagging as black smoke started to pour out of her mouth with the urging of Sam's demon-blood fuelled powers.

I hurried to catch Amelia, holding her as she shook her head and Claire ran to hug her. We were in the clear, almost, and with a sudden urgency I turned back to Beth. She moved with a walk that wasn't her own, and then dropped to her knees in front of Jimmy who was lying on the dirt floor, breathing hard and fast, his hands grasping his bullet wound.

"Of course we keep our promises," Beth said, her voice flat and unemotive. I moved closer, listening to the conversation. "Of course you have our gratitude. You served us well. Your work is done. It's time to go home now. Your real home. You'll rest forever in the fields of the Lord. Rest now, Jimmy."

Jimmy shook his head, frowning at Castiel. "No," he said. "Beth?"

"She's with me now. She's chosen. It's in her blood, as it was in yours," Castiel said, and I felt my heart leap into my throat.

"No," I said, moving to stand over the angel now inhabiting Beth's body. "No! Cas you let her go! She wouldn't choose this."

"She has chosen to save her family," Castiel said, turning Beth's brown eyes to look at me.

"Please, Castiel," Jimmy said, reaching out to grab Beth by the shoulder. "Me, just take me. Let her go. Take me, please."

Sam and Amelia approached, holding back slightly but listening just the same.

"I wanna make sure you understand. You won't die or age. If this last year was painful for you, picture a hundred, a thousand more like it," Castiel said, and it was weird hearing Beth's voice saying these words.

"It doesn't matter. I owe her. She's family. You take me. Just take me," Jimmy gasped.

Castiel paused, clearly thinking about the proposal.

"Cas… I'm warning you," I growled.

"As you wish," Castiel said, and he reached out a hand to Jimmy's face. A bright flash of light emanated from his eyes and mouth and then suddenly Beth dropped to her knees with a gasp for air. Castiel was now in Jimmy's body, and he climbed to his feet uninjured, walking past me as I reached for Beth, pulling her up so that I could wrap my arms tightly around her.

"Are you okay?" I asked and she nodded, letting out a shaky breath and holding on to my hips, leaning heavily against me. Castiel turned back to look at her for a moment and then he walked away.

"Cas, hold up. What were you gonna tell me?" I asked. Castiel turned to look back at me, and what I saw chilled me to the bone. Staring back at me was the same emotionless angel that had first found me after I was saved from Hell.

"I learned my lesson while I was away, Dean. I serve Heaven, I don't serve man, and I certainly don't serve you."

He turned and walked away, this time going for good. I tightened my grip on Beth, listening to the quiet sobs of Amelia and Claire as they comforted each other. I was already replaying in my mind everything that had happened here, and I knew now that we were now, right in this moment, facing an even bigger challenge. A situation that - given the grand scheme of slaughter we'd just witnessed - might appear overlooked.

I glanced sideways at Sam, he still had blood on his mouth and I knew, deep in my bones, what had to come next. I buried my face into Beth's hair, nuzzling close to her ear as I held her tight. "Let's get out of here," I whispered and she nodded.

"You guys okay?" Sam asked, and I nodded, looking up at him and tossing him the best smile I could muster.

"Yeah, man, we're good here, let's get Amelia and Claire out of here," I answered and Sam nodded, tucking Ruby's knife into the back of his jeans and moving to escort the girls outside. I followed with Beth, lingering back - but not enough to get Sam suspicious. Once outside, while in full view of our brother as he got Amelia and Claire to the car, I spun Beth to face me so I could kiss her slowly, murmuring the words softly into her mouth that I didn't want him to hear.

"I want you to text Bobby," I said, pulling back to look her in the eyes, my meaning clear. We needed to deal with Sam, and this demon thing, once and for all. She smiled, and kissed me again, this time putting on an even better show for Sam. As I pulled away, I placed a kiss on her forehead. "Have him call Sam to get us there."

Beth's POV

We were about an hour gone from dropping Amelia and Claire at her mother's house in Cedar Rapids. I was riding in the back, lying down and pretending to be asleep. The amount of times I had done this was more than I could count on two hands, sometimes it was easier just to let them have their little powwows when they thought I was asleep. Sometimes it was enlightening.

"All right, let's hear it," Sam said finally, looking at Dean.

"What?"

"Drop the bomb, man. You saw what I did," Sam said. "Come on, stop the car, take a swing."

"I'm not gonna take a swing," Dean said, shaking his head, and I opened my eyes to look at him. I could just see his profile over the seat, and it was staring straight ahead at the road.

"Then scream, chew me out," Sam invited.

"I'm not mad, Sam," Dean said, and it was eerie how calm his voice was, almost as emotionless as Castiel.

"Come on. You're not mad?" Sam asked. I could feel his surprise, and perhaps it was equalled with my own. How often could he keep doing this? Lying to us? And expect to get away with it?

"Nope."

"Right. Look, at least let me explain myself," Sam attempted.

"Don't. I don't care," Dean said, cutting him off.

"You don't care?"

"What do you want me to say, that I'm disappointed?" Dean asked. "Yeah, I am. But, mostly, I'm just tired, man. I'm done. I am just done." There was a heaviness in my heart to hear him say that. His thoughts mirrored my own, and had been with me a lot longer. I had carried that burden, that sadness, that being done-ness from the moment Sam had cut me out of his life.

The conversation was cut short by the ringing of Sam's phone, and I knew the next phase was about to kick in.

"Hey, Bobby," Sam said, answering it and putting the phone on speaker. I sat up, blinking like the phone had just woke me.

"Hey, you and those other two better shag ass to my place ASAP," Bobby said gruffly.

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

"The Apocalypse, genius," Bobby said. "Now get your asses over here."

He hung up. Simple. To the point. Uncompromising.

Even though we'd been half way to Sioux Falls after we left Amelia, Dean had pointed the car South to avoid Sam's suspicion of anything being on the go. He'd made up some excuse about dropping in to see Ben and Lisa while we were looking for our next case, it was a legitimate thing - we'd been wanting to do that for a while. Now that Bobby had given the order, he swung the car around, pointing it toward South Dakota. I leaned forward, wrapping my arm around Dean from the back of him.

"Hey, you want me to drive for a bit?" I asked, rubbing his chest as I locked gazes with him in the mirror.

"Nah, I'm good cherrypie," he said with a smile. "You go ahead and get some sleep, it'll be hours before we get to Bobby's."

I nodded, feeling fatigue starting to eat away at me for real. I kissed the back of his neck under his ear and lay back in my seat. Grabbing a pillow, I fluffed it up and tucked it into the corner, closing my eyes.

6 hours later

Singer Salvage Yard
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Dean's POV

Beth had gotten some sleep, and the rest of the ride had been quiet and awkward after I told Sam I was done. He sat sullenly beside me, plugging away on his computer, and finally I'd thrown on some tunes and just settled in for the drive, switching my brain off. I didn't want to think about what I was about to do. What I was being forced to do, in order to keep my family safe. My brother, safe.

By the time we arrived at Bobby's, I could read the apprehension on Beth, but she hid it well as soon as Sam woke from the nap he'd been taking. When we climbed out of the car, she ran a hand down my back, and I smiled at her, sure that it didn't reach my eyes.

Bobby was a bundle of barely contained energy when we arrived, and he embraced Beth in a fatherly hug, kissing her on the cheek, before nodding at us.

"Well, thanks for shaking a tail," he said, leading the way through our second home. He pushed open the door in the kitchen that led down into the basement, and started to descend the stairs.

"Yeah, you got it," I answered, moving to follow him. Sam was closer, and took the lead behind Bobby. We all climbed down to the old cellar, walking the short length to the completely iron, salt-encased demon-free panic room he'd built a while back.

"What's going on Bobby?" Beth asked from the back of me, and Bobby turned to run a hand across his face.

"Demons," he said with a shrug. He waved Sam toward the open door of the panic room. "Go on inside. I wanna show you something." Sam shrugged and stepped into the panic room, taking a few steps before turning back to look at us all hanging in the doorway.

"All right. So, uh, what's the big demon problem?" He asked.

"You are," Bobby answered. "This is for your own good." Sam realised immediately what was happening, but it was too late. We slammed the door shut, locking it from the outside, and I looked up to see Sam's eyes looking out through the small window.

"Guys?" His confusion was clear. "Hey, hey. What?"

Bobby reached out and closed the little door on the window, latching it shut.

"This isn't funny," Sam said, his voice echoing from inside the room. "Guys! Hey! Guys?"

I turned to Beth, and she was chewing on her lower lip, jumping each time that Sam yelled louder.

"We're doing the right thing," I said to her and she nodded, tears starting to pool in her eyes.

"That's not Sam, in there, baby girl," Bobby said. "Sam is buried beneath a mountain of lies and demon blood, and we're gonna have to dig him out, piece by piece if need be."

"I know," Beth said quietly, nodding her head.

"Guys!" Sam's voice erupted again like a volcano and I she let out a shaky breath.

"Come on, upstairs," Bobby said, guiding us both forward by his hands to our shoulders. "There's whiskey, and we might as well knock back a few while we wait."

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Song for this chapter is: No Halos for the Heartless - Hatebreed

Question for readers:

1. If you had a choice, which would you prefer? See Beth take on the trials? Or champion for the right to bear the mark of Cain (and all that comes from that)? There's also been the suggestion made that perhaps instead of either of those, she becomes the vessel for the Darkness?I have some spectacular storyline cued up either way, but I'm curious to hear what people think.

2. Does "Dean the Demon" cheat on Beth? Hrmmm? :O (or vice versa if say, she became a demon?)

Phew! We're in the final run to Season 5 now! :D I've been writing bits and pieces of the next two chapters already, so it's coming fast. This chapter seemed to take a bit more effort this time around - not sure why - I think I got distracted by the upcoming storylines and ran off to write for that.

As always, thanks for reading, hope you liked it!