Happy Fourth, All!

Sorry for the late update...

- Kara's POV -

Driving there was hell. Dean had both feet firmly planted on the gas the whole way, and I still felt like we were moving too slowly. Sam's navigation was good, but I had the feeling we were going the wrong way, getting lost.

Sitting in the back of their black '67 Impala, I sharpened my knives to deadly points and cleaned out my guns, loading and re-loading them constantly, if nothing else, than to keep my hands busy. Horrible images of Diana raced through my mind and I couldn't escape that hair-raising smirk on Crowley's face as he took her away.

On the one hand, I wanted to pulverize those guys, especially Sam, for getting her mixed up in all this shit and for charming her into following them. Then again, she was already being hunted and I was glad that she'd run into the Winchesters so that they could at least help her learn to protect herself and feel like she wasn't alone.

Finally, Dean screeched to a halt just before a cemetery gate. We all jumped out of the car and I noticed a set of train tracks a few yards back that we must have flown over.

"What the hell do we bring?" Dean wondered aloud as he popped open the trunk, revealing a nice variety of guns, blades, holy water, rosaries, and hex bags. I helped him pick out a few choice weapons and tucked a couple more amongst my own. "What do you want, Sam? Sam?" When we looked up, he was no where to be seen.

"Where the hell did he go?" I demanded.

"Dammit, Sammy," Dean growled, slamming the trunk shut and starting off into the cemetery. I followed him quickly, keeping close, scanning the graves and the limp, dying trees. At one point, my eyes traveled up to meet his.

"I've got your back," I promised. He offered me a small smile, then nodded and we set off in search of our siblings together.

- Sam's POV -

As I gazed around the graveyard, I stepped carefully, following Diana's description of her parents' graves. When I finally found them, I hesitated, wondering if I should stop to pay my respects, then shook my head, deciding that it was more important to act quickly, for Diana's sake.

Gazing over the headstones before me, I saw no sign of a mausoleum. But when I turned around, one seemed to rise from the ground and jump out at me. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw Kara and Dean slowly wading through the sea of headstones. I waved to them, then loaded my shotgun and started into the large stone monument.

Leaving the door open behind me, I started down a flight of worn stairs, still ascending far beyond when I thought I would have reached the bottom. When the stairs finally did end, I took a few extra precious seconds to be sure I wasn't being watched or followed, aside from my brother. When I was satisfied, I stepped carefully through a low, stone corridor, keeping my footing quiet and avoiding the shallow puddles close to the walls. I traveled through a maze of stone for what seemed like hours before I heard it.

The scream rang through the air, seeming to make the very walls around me quiver in fright. My heart seemed to shatter beneath my ribs, my stomach tearing itself into pieces. My head swam and my ears pounded with the resonating shriek and I felt like I was going to throw up.

I resisted the urge to scream and run to her, instead sinking to my knees and praying for it all to stop. Before long, I found myself in dead silence once more. Forcing myself back to my feet, I started down the corridor again, clutching my gun so tightly, my knuckles were white.

Soon, the sound of labored breathing and soft whimpers reached my ears and I started to move more quickly toward it. When I could hear the soft crying as though it was in the next room, I pressed my back hard against the wall before peering around the corner.

In the next room, the ceiling was higher that the corridors, but the walls and floor were slick with slime and blood. A metal table was littered with empty scotch glasses and various horrifying instruments, coated in dried or sticky blood, the metallic smell flooding my nostrils. Crowley's black leather apron was draped over an empty chair with bloody shackles on the legs and arms. At the far end of the room, a bloody unrecognizable mass hung from a rusty meat hook.

When I was sure there was no one else there, I ran into the room, straight for the body, my gun clattering to the floor. A torn and bloodied Diana hung by her bound wrists, her feet dangling mere taunting inches from the floor. She cried quietly and I almost joined her.

"I'm here," I said softly. She gasped, her head snapping up, eyes flying open. "It's me," I whispered gently. "It's Sam. I'm going to take you home." She started to cry again. I reached gingerly behind her, untying her gag, then wrapped my arms around her waist, slipped my head through her arms, and lifted her from the hook. Though she only whimpered and moaned softly in pain at any contact I made with her body, she screamed bloody murder when her feet touched the floor. Quickly, I scooped her up to cradle her in my arms and she quieted herself down as quickly as possible.

"I've got you, baby," I whispered into her hair. "I've got you."

I heard a loud pounding as Kara and Dean barreled through the door way, guns at the ready, and I felt Diana tense when I held her tighter.

"Oh God," Kara gasped when she saw us.

"Crowley knows we're here," Dean barked, scooping up the gun I'd dropped to grab Diana. "We have to go. Now. Move it."

Kara charged down the hall first, with me and Diana following, Dean bringing up the rear. Diana tried not to protest to much as her broken toes brushed against the close walls and as she was jostled, being run up the endless flight of stairs.

Once we were outside, Kara shouted for me to get Diana back to the car when Crowley appeared before us.

"Ah, ah, ah," he smirked, motioning to Diana. "That's mine."

"Over my dead body," Kara snarled.

"Very well," he chuckled. "I'm flexible."

Kara shot several rounds through him, only making him chuckle and dramatically feign injury. As he was about to lunge for Kara, Dean quickly came up behind him and tackled him to the ground, wrestling a sack over his head.

"What the hell?" I shouted, convinced he'd lost his mind. Diana's bound hands trailed against the back of my neck, likely a weak attempt at asking me what the hell was going on.

"Run!" Kara ordered and, when I saw the Devil's Trap sewn into the sack, I almost laughed aloud before turning on my heel to race back to the car. But when I got there, Castiel was waiting for us.

"Give me the girl," he demanded, extending his hand toward us.

"I trusted you," I shouted, "you son of a bitch! You lied to us! We're supposed to be your friends, Cas!"

"You are my friends, Sam," Castiel agreed. "That's why I have to do this."

"No! Leave her alone!"

"Don't make me hurt you, Sam," Cas threatened.

Diana whimpered and then smacked one of her palms hard against the back of my neck. We both cried out, me in shock, her in pain, and a bright white light filled our vision. When I blinked and my vision slowly came back, Cas was gone and Dean and Kara were running up to us.

"What the...?" I looked down at Diana who was smirking weakly.

"She drew the friggen angel banishment symbol on your neck!" Dean laughed. "You sneaky little bitch!"

"That's my girl," Kara grinned, jumping up and planting a chaste kiss on her cheek. "You take her in the back," she told me. "Let's go before they start chasing us."

I carefully lowered myself into the backseat, Diana still in my arms. Kara and Dean jumped in the front, tearing out of the place, racing back home.

"Cas might catch up to us before we even get back," Dean grumbled, eyes locked on the open road in front of him.

"We can't worry about that right now," Kara said, turning to face me. "What's the damage?"

"Her toes and nose are broken, her shoulders are dislocated from hanging for so long. The bottom of her feet are covered in burns and cuts. And, from what I can see right now, she's lost a lot of blood from various flesh wounds."

"Can you do anything for her?" Kara asked, brow furrowed with worry. I nodded.

"I'm going to fix your shoulders, baby, all right?" I murmured to her softly. She nodded and I removed her arms from around my neck gently, then wrapped my hands firmly around her shoulders. "On the count of three, all right? One..." I yanked and snapped her shoulders back into place quickly. She screamed, then whimpered and a couple of tears slid down her cheeks.

"Jesus," Kara shuddered, then her face lit up. "Here!" She grabbed her bag from next to my feet and dug around in it, then pulled out a bottle of pills and tossed it at me. "For the pain. Give her four, at least."

I poured four little salmon colored pills into the palm of my hand and gently dropped them down Diana's throat. Before I could even look for water, she'd swallowed them.

"Do you have a rag in there?" I asked. "She's sweating bullets."

"You can use this," she said, handing me a bandana. I wrapped it around my fingers, then used it as a sponge to clean up some of her blood and dab at her forehead, beading with feverish sweat. She weakly reached up to grab my hand and I held it to my lips, covering her fingers with feathery kisses, then pressed her palm to my cheek.

"Don't worry," I whispered to her. "Everything's gonna be all right. I promise. I'm here. You're safe. I won't leave you. I promise."

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