5. The Victims They Couldn't Save (4.02)

Andy had just walked into Bobby's kitchen to grab a glass of orange juice when she hears Sam's voice ask, "Well, then tell me what else it could be."

"Look, all I know is I was not groped by a really handsome Angel," Dean replies.

"Oh, you so totally were," Andy says, padding into the room in nothing but a tank-top and pajama shorts.

"Ah, jeez, don't you have any clothes?" Dean asks, instantly averting his eyes.

"Yeah, but they're in my car at the moment."

"Then go get them!"

Her mouth pops open. "How dare you, I'm in my pajamas! Who knows what kind of sickos are out there! Shame on you, Dean Winchester, shame!" She stalks out of the room-only to return a few minutes later wearing one of Dean's plaid button-up shirts. She buttons it up and then turns on the spot for him. "Better?"

"Is that my shirt?"

"Felix totally didn't steal it," she mumbles, quickly moving over to the couch to sit down.

Dean rolls his eyes.

"Okay, look, Dean," Sam continues. "Why do you think this Castiel would lie to you about it?"

"He wouldn't," Andy replies. "That's the point. Angels don't tend to lie."

"Well then maybe he's some kind of Demon. Demon's lie."

Bobby glances up from his books to share a look with Sam.

"A Demon who's immune to salt rounds and devil's traps . . . and Ruby's knife? Dean, even Lilith is scared of that thing!"

"Don't you think that if Angels were real, that some Hunter somewhere would have seen one . . . at some point . . . ever?"

"Yeah," Sam says. "You just did, Dean."

"And me," Andy pipes up.

"I'm trying to come up with a theory here, guys. Okay? Work with me."

"Dean, we have a theory."

Dean rolls his eyes at his little brother. "Yeah, one with a little less fairy dust on it, please."

"Okay, look. I'm not saying we know for sure. I'm just saying that I think we-"

"That's what I've been trying to say!" Dean exclaims angrily. "We don't know for sure, so I'm not gonna believe that this thing is a freaking Angel of the Lord because it says so!"

Andy pops to her feet, face flushed with anger. "Well I believe Castiel!"

"Well, of course you do, you can hear Angels in your head!" Dean snaps.

"Which you still haven't told us why you can, by the way," Sam adds.

"Because I don't know, okay!" Andy shouts, and that shuts the brothers up. "I've been hearing them all my life and I've never known why! Do you even know how many times I've been locked up in the looney bin because of it? People think it's a lot less cute to say you can hear Angels when you get past a certain age. It's a curse and I hate it."

"Alright, alright, all of you calm down," Bobby finally says, breaking the silence. "And come take a look at this, would ya?" Sam, Dean, and Andy walks over to Bobby's desk. "I got stacks of lore-Biblical, pre-Biblical. Some of it's in damn cuneiform. It all says an Angel can snatch a soul from the Pit."

"What else?" Dean asks.

"What else, what?"

"What else could do it?"

"You mean airlift your ass out of the hotbox?" Bobby asks, and Dean nods. "As far as I can tell, nothing."

"Dean, this is good news," Sam tells him.

"How?"

"Because for once, this isn't just another round of Demon crap. I mean, maybe you were saved by one of the good guys, you know?"

"Okay. Say it's true. Say there are Angels. Then what? There's a God?"

At this point," Bobby says. "Vegas money's on yeah."

"And Castiel did say God commanded that you come back," Andy adds.

Dean runs a hand down his face. "I don't know, guys."

"Okay look. I know you're not all choirboy about this stuff, but this is becoming less and less about faith and more and more about proof."

"Proof?"

"Yes."

"Proof that there's a God out there that actually gives a crap about me personally?" Dean scoffs. "I'm sorry, but I'm not buying it."

"And why not?" Andy asks, hands on her hips.

"Because why me?" Dean exclaims, and the three of them went silent. "If there is a God out there, why would he give a crap about me?"

Sam winces. "Dean-"

"I mean, I've saved some people, okay? I figured that made up for the stealing and the ditching chicks. But why do I deserve to get saved? I'm just a regular guy. I'm not special, I'm-"

Andy launches herself at Dean, raising herself up on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck. "You are special. You're one of the best Hunters I know. Please don't think any different, okay?"

"And apparently you're a regular guy who's important to the man upstairs," Sam jokes, and both Dean and Andy scowl at him.

"Yeah, well, that creeps me out," Dean replies. "I mean, I don't like getting singled out at birthday parties, much less by . . . God."

"Too bad, Dean, because I think he wants you to strap on your party hat," Andy says with a grin.

"Fine," he sighs. "What do we know about Angels?"

Bobby picks up a pile of fat and weighty-looking books and drops them down in front of Dean. "Start reading."

Dean glances at the pile and then turns to Sam. "You're gonna go get me some pie," he tells his brother, picking up two books and handing one to Andy. "Time to start refreshing your Angel knowledge, Ms Moss."

Andy makes a face. "Ew, don't call me that. I'm not forty."

Dean laughs.

"Yes, Dean, I'll get the chips," Sam tells his brother brother with a laugh as he pulls the Impala to a stop in front of a convenience store.

"Just don't forget the pie."

"Dude. When have I ever forgotten the pie?"

"Never?"

"Exactly." As he got out of the car he noticed Ruby standing near the front and mumbled, "I gotta go."

"Yep. Hurry back."

"Yeah, all right. Bye." Heading over toward Ruby, he greets her with a smile. "Ruby."

"So, is it true?" she asks.

"Is what true?"

"Did an Angel rescue Dean?"

"You heard."

"Who hasn't?"

"We're not 100% sure, but I think so. Why?"

"Okay. Bye, Sam."

The she-Demon starts to walk away but Sam grabs her arm and turns her back around to face him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait. What's going on?"

"Sam, they're Angels. I'm a Demon. They're not gonna care if I'm being helpful. They smite first, and then they ask questions later."

"What do you know about them?"

"Not much," she sighs, running a hand through her hair. "I've never met one and I don't really want to. All I know is that they scare the holy hell out of me. Just like that Nephilim you've got shackin' up with you."

"That's the second time I've heard that word. What's a Nephilim?"

Ruby rolls her eyes. "Just watch out for yourself, Sam."

"I'm not scared of Angels," he tells her. She scoffs and walks away. Minutes later, still pondering over what Ruby had told him, Sam pulls up in front of the garage behind Bobby's house.

"Keep the engine running," the Hunter tells him as he approaches the window.

"Why? What's going on?"

"I got a friend one state over-Olivia Lowry. I've been trying to reach her for three days on this Angel thing. It's not like her to ignore this many calls."

"Olivia Lowry-a Hunter, right?"

"Yeah. We're gonna go check on her. You and the girls will follow me."

As Bobby heads over to his own car, Dean approaches the driver's side of the Impala, the girls climbing into the backseat.

"Scoot over," Dean tells him, grabbing the bag of food his little brother bought to look inside it. "Dude?"

"Yeah?"

"Where's the pie?"

"And where's my chips?" Felix whines.

Bobby enters Olivia's house armed with a gun, followed by Sam, Dean, and the girls who are armed as well.

"Olivia?" Bobby calls, but as they enter the kitchen they see Olivia dead and covered in blood in the middle of the living room floor.

"Bobby?" Felix says, following after him as he heads out the door.

As the boys and Andy move further into the room, Sam points toward the doorway. "Salt line."

Andy kneels down beside the body while Dean heads over toward the open closet, which is covered with an array of hunting weapons on a shelf attached to the wall. "Olivia was rockin' the EMF reader."

"Spirit activity," Sam says with a nod.

"Unless it was on some kind of drug, I've never seen a ghost do this to a person," Andy replies.

Bobby comes crashing back into the room, phone in hand, and Felix quickly following after him.

"Bobby, you alright?" Dean asks, noticing that the older man was looking a little pale.

"I called some Hunters nearby . . ."

"Good. We can use their help," Andy says.

"They aren't answering their phones either," Felix tells them.

"Something's up, huh?" Sam says.

"You think?" Bobby walks out of the room, the boys, Felix, and Andy sharing a concerned look.

Later that night, Dean, Sam, and Andy are walking down the front steps of a white house.

"Yeah, we're at Jed's," Dean says into the phone. "And it's not pretty. He looks even worse than Olivia. What about you and Felix?"

"We checked on Carl Bates and R.C. Adams-"

"Red seems to be a recurring decoration theme," Felix's voice says in the background.

"What's going on here, Bobby?" Andy asks. "Why did a bunch of ghosts suddenly decide to kill off-duty Hunters?"

"I don't know, but until we find out, you guys better get your asses to my place."

"We're on our way," Dean tells him as they head for the Impala.

Sam pulls the Impala to a stop at a Save & Gas about two hours later, with Dean asleep in the passenger seat and Andy yawning awake.

"Hey," he says softly, and she blinks at him. "I'm gonna go and grab something to snack on, want anything?"

"Nah. I just gotta go to the bathroom."

After putting the gas pump in the car, Sam heads toward the store while Andy heads in the direction of the restrooms. However, as she's washing her hands, her breath becomes visible and she looks up to see that the bathroom mirror has fogged over. Wiping the mist away, she's startled to see the reflection of a little blonde girl about the age of seven in a Hello Kitty nightgown.

"Hi, Andy."

"Eliza!" she gasps, spinning around. "But you're-No, you're dead. You died."

"That's right. I did," Eliza says, and her face twists in anger. "And it was your fault. You didn't save me from that werewolf, you lost control of it and let it kill me!"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Andy cries, tears in her eyes. "I never wanted you to die. I tried to save you, Eliza, I really did."

"You were young, and stupid, and didn't know what you were doing, and you let it kill me! This is all. Your. Fault!"

Eliza lunges toward Andy, grabbing her with surprising strength and slamming her into the wall. Andy notices a small brand on Eliza's hand right before she's thrown against the mirrors and Eliza knocks Andy's head on the sink. Just as she collapses to the ground, the boys crash into the restroom and Dean shoots at Eliza, whose ghost disappears.

Fifteen minutes later they are back on the road, Sam driving with Dean in the passenger and Andy in the backseat, bruises on her face.

"Dammit, Bobby! Pick up!" Dean growls at his phone before turning around to look at Andy. "How you feelin', Ann? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"None," she mumbles. "I'll be fine, Dean. I've had worse than this."

"You might have a concussion," he tells her. "We have to be careful."

Sam catches her eye in the rearview mirror. "So who was that? The little girl?"

"Her name was Eliza Mondie. I was fifteen when I caught wind that a werewolf was in a town I was passing through. So I stayed, read up on 'em, and finally found it one night trying to get into a family's house." Her voice trembles and a tear runs down her cheek. "I thought I'd shot it down."

"What happened?" Dean asks softly.

"I was stupid. Young and stupid and scared and I forgot the goddamn silver bullets. The werewolf got loose, killing Eliza and severely injuring her parents before I was finally able to put it down for good. Her family blamed me for everything and I spent two weeks in jail before they finally took pity on me and bailed me out."

"Jesus," Sam says with a shake of his head. "Do you know what Eliza's ghost wanted?"

"Revenge, 'cause I got her killed."

"Andy, it wasn't your fault," Dean protests.

"Yeah it was."

"Andy . . ."

"Dean, please don't argue with me, I have a headache."

"That's 'cause you got beat up by a ghost," Sam says.

"Shut up, Sam."

"Alright you two, stop. Whatever the hell is going on here, it's happening to us now, okay? I can't get ahold of Bobby, so if neither of you are thinking answers, don't think at all."

The next morning, Sam and Dean enter through the back door of Bobby's house, guns cocked and ready, with Andy following cautiously behind them.

"Bobby?" Dean loud-whispers as he and Sam move through the kitchen and into the living room.

As they turn the corner, Dean snaps his fingers and gestures towards the iron poker laying near the stairs. "I'll go," he told his brother. "You and Andy check outside."

They nod and head for the back door as Dean starts up the stairs. "Bobby?" he whisper, and a door opens ever so slowly, though no one is visible. "Come out, come out, whoever you are."

A young woman with shoulder-length brown hair appears behind him. "Dean Winchester. Still so bossy. You don't recognize me?"

The image of Meg, when she was blonde and possessed, flashes across his mind.

"This is what I looked like before that Demon cut off all my hair and dressed me like a slut," she tells him.

"Meg?" he breathes.

"Hi. It's okay, I'm not a Demon."

Castiel, Angel of the Lord, watches from the Heavens as Dean faces off against the ghost.

"You're the girl the Demon possessed," the eldest Winchester says in shock.

"Meg Masters. Nice to finally talk to you when I'm not, ya know, choking on my own blood." The ghost raises her hands in defense when he point his gun at her. "It's okay. Seriously. I'm just a college girl. Sorry-was. I was walking home one night and got jumped by all this smoke. Next thing you know, I'm a prisoner" -she puts a hand to her head- "in here. Now, I'm awake. I had to watch while she murdered people."

"I'm sorry," Dean mumbles, and Castiel hears the truth in his voice.

The ghost's eyes flash with anger. "Oh, yeah? So sorry you had me thrown off a building?"

"Well, we thought-"

"No, you didn't think! I kept waiting, praying! I was trapped in there screaming at you! Just help me, please! You're supposed to help people, Dean. Why didn't you help me?"

"I'm sorry," Dean says again.

"Stop saying you're sorry!" the ghost screams. She slaps him and Dean hits the floor with a thump!

"Meg. Meg . . ." She kicks Dean and he groans, a flicker of worry passing across Castiel's face for a split second before it goes blank again. "We didn't know."

"No . . . You just attacked. Did you ever think there was a girl in here?" she asks. "No. You just charged in, slashing and burning. You think you're some kind of hero?"

"No, I don't," Dean answers, and Castiel sighs.

She grabs Dean's jacket and he notices the brand on it. "You're damn right. Do you have any idea what it's like to be ridden for months by pure evil . . . while your family has no idea what happened to you?"

"We did the best we could."

Meg shoves him, kicking Dean in the stomach, and that little sliver of worry passes over Castiel's face again.

"It wasn't just me, Dean. I had a sister. A little sister. She worshipped me. You know how little siblings are, right?" she asks. "How they'll do anything for you? She was never the same after I disappeared. She just . . . she just got lost. And when my body was lying in the morgue, beat-up and broken . . ."

"Meg."

"Do you know what that did to her? She killed herself!" She kicks him in the stomach and he groans. "Because of you, Dean! Because all you were thinking about was your family, your revenge, and your Demons! Fifty words of Latin a little sooner, and I'd still be alive. My baby sister would still be alive. That blood is on your hands, Dean!"

"You're right," Dean's voice echoes around him, and Castiel decides right then and there that he'd enough just as the eldest Winchester pulls out his gun and aims it at the ghost.

"Come on, Dean," she laughs, "did your brain get french-fried in Hell? You can't shoot me with bullets."

A second before Dean pulls the trigger, Castiel's index and middle finger twitch and the iron chandelier above Meg's head falls on top of her.

Dean's eyes widen and he scrambles away. "Iron," he breathes, and Castiel's lips twitch slightly upwards. "It's iron."