5

I rolled over to the sound of crumpling paper close by when I finally drifted from my sleep. Dean had his mouth full of something greasy and was just throwing away the wrapper when he'd finished the last bite.

"How can you eat that every day?" I mumbled.

"Hey, she lives." he chewed.

"Yeah, she does." I sat up and stretched then I realized that I was on the bed, not the floor. I wasn't going to bother asking Dean how I'd gotten up here, I figured someone came down here and found me on the floor then just moved me. It wasn't a big deal. "So what next?" I asked.

"Take you home."

"Then I'm all better?"

"Do you feel better?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Then, yes." I felt a sadness take over my heart, knowing that I had to go home now. I had to leave them so they could get on with their lives, and so I could try and get on with my own, but I didn't want to. Not after what I'd seen, what I now knew was out there. Home wasn't the place for me before, but now, it would be even worse. After everything that's happened, home was going to be very different and I was almost scared to face it, but Dean was right. It was time to go home.

"How far away are we from New York?"

"Doesn't matter. Cas will take you. You'll be there in just a few seconds."

"Right,"

"He'll be back soon."

We sat for a little while, chatting while we waited. I gave Dean my cell number before Sam called from outside, "Dean, it's time."

"Alright, let's go." he said getting up. I followed him outside and upstairs to the impala where Sam was standing. Castiel was on the other side of the car, waiting. I looked at the brothers, trying to read their faces. They both looked sad, but pleased too, like they'd done a good job, which they had.

I went up to Sam and hugged him, "Thank you." I said into his ear then kissed him on the cheek.

"No problem, Satine." he said gently.

I went up to Dean and did the same and he said, "Watch out for yourself, okay? Call if something happens." I nodded, feeling a lump growing in my throat. I hated goodbyes.

Castiel walked over to my side then asked, "Ready?" I nodded then waved goodbye to the brothers who were getting into the impala. "Where are we going?"

"Watertown, New York." I gave him my street address and Castiel put a hand on my shoulder and I closed my eyes. When I opened them everything was different. The impala was gone along with the boys. They were replaced with an old two story apartment with a bent roof and cracked upstairs windows. This was what I'd known as home and nothing looked like it had changed. I sighed as a chilly wind blew past my face, taking strands of hair and blowing them across my face. I tucked them behind my ear then turned to the angel.

"I owe you more than anyone. Thank you getting rid of her and fixing what she did." I tried to smile, but I couldn't help the frown that was taking over my cheeks.

"I told you that this was-"

"Thank you." I repeated.

"You're welcome." he said then I turned back to the house and sighed before turning back around to Castiel, but he was gone. I was all alone in the middle of the empty street. The other apartment buildings around me looked just as grim as ours did. The trees were bare and the ground was muddy from the recently melted snow. Broken down cars sat in front of more than just one of the houses. It was all so gloomy, but this is where I had to pick up the pieces. It was time to try again. I walked up to the front steps of the creaky gray porch and pulled out the key from under the faded welcome mat.

Inside the air had the same musty, staleness that I'd come to know. A bent coat rack greeted me in the front hall beside a table full of mail that no one had gone through and just let pile up. The white walls were dusty and stained in most places next to the floors that hadn't been swept in years. The nasty rug below my feet was covered in cat hair and muddy footprints. Wilted flowers on the table at the end of the hall dropped flowers all around it.

I opened up a door under the stairs that lead down to the basement and started to head down into the dark room that my brother had turned into his own bat cave, full of gaming sets, CDs, and dirty laundry, let alone the towers of unwashed dishes that sat on a coffee table next to a sofa that had become his "bed".

"Jim!" I called as I made my way down the stairs. No answer. "Jim, I'm home!" Still nothing. Where was that idiot? The bathroom door was open and his TV was on so he had to be upstairs in the kitchen, ridding the cabinets that had to be just about empty. I went back upstairs and looked around the foul smelling kitchen but still no Jim. "Jim?" I called again when I heard someone one in the living room that were just past the stairs. I followed the sound to the living room that had been the cleanest part of the house, other than my room that no one else was allowed in. The dark green walls held a few pictures of flowers and ducks in the water not far from a cabin my uncle owned on Lake Frense, about a seven hour car ride from here that we stayed at a lot in the summer.

I stood in the entryway as I looked at a man who was standing in front of my brother in the middle of the room with his back to me. "Jim?" Both men were silent until my brother stepped back then crashed to the floor. "Jim!" The man in front of him turned around to me and I readied myself to run.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I spit at him.

"Such harsh language from a pretty girl." he said in a British accent. He was an average sized man, short black beard covered his throat, slight balding on top of his head, and dark eyes made him look like a normal man. The only thing that threw me off was his suit. He was in a dark suit, tie and dress shirt. Well the suit, and the bloody knife that he was whipping off with a napkin.

I sent a quick text before I turned to run when he said, "Not a smart move. All I want to do is talk." I looked at my brother's body and figured that he wanted more than just to talk. "Sit." he suggested. I followed his order and sat on the couch.

"Why did you kill my brother?" I did my best to keep the anger out of my voice, but I just couldn't do it.

"Oh, him? Pity, I know, but he was just not working out the way we'd planed." He spoke calmly and proper.

"What?"

"Your brother here, was supposed to be a vessel, like you," he said like he'd just remembered, "But things went south fast a few years ago."

"A few years ago? Then why are you here now?"

"See I've got a demon missing and I kind of need her back to get to work now."

"So, what am I supposed to do?"

"Being her vessel, I figured she'd still be in you, but looks like the place has been abandoned for a while now."

"Yeah, after she tore my head apart."

"How'd she get out?" he asked, picking up a tea cup from the china cupboard, that he'd filled with tea, and took a sip.

"Angels."

"Ang-... which one this time?" he covered his face with annoyance.

"What does it matter?"

"I've been having issues with one in particular lately and he's becoming a heavenly pain in my ass." I could see that his mood was starting to sour at the talk of angels.

"Castiel." answered. "But I'm not telling you where he's hiding."

"Wouldn't be any help anyways. I'm sure you know by now that he had a tendency of fleeing when things get tough." He looked at his watch, then took one last sip from the teacup. "Well, this has been fun..."

"So are you going to just kill me now?"

"Kill you? Why would I do that?"

"You're a demon. That's kinda what you people do."

"Okay, see now you're just coming across as hateful. No, I've got bigger plans for you, princess. And, I'm the king of hell for your information." he gloated. "Let's go." He took a hold of my wrist and before I was able to get one last look of my brother we were in a whole 'nother room, just me and the king of hell. This week was just getting better and better.

"Cas?" Sam asked.

"It wasn't just a demon." Castiel said now that he was back from checking Satin's apartment over.

"Nora?"

"Crowley." he sighed, knowing this wasn't going to be good.

"Crowley?" Dean and Sam both asked.

"Yes."

"Not one hour and she's already..." Dean was mumbling to himself.

"Great, so now what do we do?" Sam asked, more to himself than anyone else.

"Well, first we have to figure out why Crowley would want her." Dean answered.

"Nora." Castiel said solemnly.

"Nora?" Sam asked.

"He is trying to get her vessel back. That is the only reasonable explanation for why he'd want Satine."

"Then we just have to find him. We've done it before, we can do it again." Dean said, sitting back in his chair.

"We don't have another choice, we have to get her out of there." Sam got up and loaded up his bag, getting ready to head out, again.

"I'll go back and see if I can find anything that could lead us to where he might have taken her." And with that, Castiel was gone off to find clues.

Back in Satine's home, Castiel looked around the body that had been leaking a puddle of blood on the dark green carpet in the living room. He'd looked around the house, thoroughly for a good five minutes before he found a napkin that Crowley had used to clean the blade he'd killed Jim with. The napkin held a light blue logo for a hotel. This had to have been where he'd taken Satine.

Castiel went back to the motel where the boys were and handed Dean the napkin.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Crowley used it to clean off her brother's blood." Castiel deduced.

"Is he alive?" Sam asked. Castiel didn't respond, giving Sam his answer. He opened up his laptop and searched for the hotel, Misty Creek. "Here it is."

"How far?" Dean leaned over his brother's shoulder.

"Not very, about a hundred miles or so."

"Good, let's go." Dean grabbed his bag then headed out the door to the Impala.

"Here we are, sweet cheeks. Home sweet home." the devil beside me grinned. I yanked my wrist from him before taking a look around the large, dark room.

"This is a warehouse. Home?"

"Until we get my demon back, it will be for you." he said walking towards a smaller room that looked to hold a desk with a lamp and papers on it. "Oh, and let's get this out of the way now." he spun around, "If you are thinking about escaping, just remember that when my henchmen haul your ass back here, it won't be this easy. And if you're planning on telling your friend, Castiel, where you are, know that I have this place surrounded. My boys don't take kindly to angels, so if you want to keep him and his boys in one piece, I suggest leaving him out of this. And if it's too late for that, send him away and tell him that his old friend, Crowley says hello." he waved hello on his way to the desk.

I looked at the few windows and could see shadows passing by. This man, Crowley was right, I couldn't get out of here, and I couldn't drag the boys into this. Sure they'd fought demons before, but there was too many. I knew what they were capable of, I'd seen it and I knew they wouldn't make it out alive.

I took out my cell phone and reluctantly sent a text to both Sam and Dean's phones, before finding a corner to sit in and hide for a while.

Buzz Buzz Sam pulled out his phone and opened up his new text. Dean did the same as they pulled up to a red light.

"You got that too?" Sam looked at his brother.

"Yeah," Dean nodded.

"Think it's true?"

"Doubt it." Dean blew out through his nose.

"What is it?" a voice came from the back seat, surprising the brothers. They'd forgotten he was riding with them. That was a new habit he'd just started to form. Normally he'd just pop in wherever they needed to go, but to keep himself up to date, he road with the boys.

"'Got away. Going to head back home. Sorry to worry.'" Dean read aloud.

"Crowley wouldn't let her escape that easily." Sam said as the light changed to green.

"No, he wouldn't. Cas-" Dean looked in the rear view mirror, but the angel was gone, back to Satine's home to find her, and make sure she was safe.

When Sam and Dean drove up to the hotel, they headed up to the front desk and asked a women if she'd seen anyone with Crowley's description. She told them no, when Sam had an idea. He opened up his laptop in the lobby and went on the police site where he punched in Satine's number. He was able to locate the GPS in the phone and got an exact location. He showed Dean then prayed for Castiel to come to them.

"I didn't see her back at her house. I think she may have been lying." Castiel said from behind them.

"Ya think?" Dean asked sarcastically.

"We got a hit on her cell." Sam turned the computer to show the angel.

"Where is that?"

"In another warehouse." Dean answered.

"It's about another thirty miles away." Sam sighed then closed the laptop and followed Dean back out to the Impala.