'With the beast inside, there's nowhere we can hide.'

- Demons, Imagine Dragons.

Beth slumped against Dean, a harsh ringing filled the air and overwhelmed her senses. The light continued to blind her, even after she had covered her eyes. Worry settled in her stomach as something warm and wet trickled from both of her ears.

"Shit, Beth!" Dean cursed as he reached out, pulling her to him after spotting the blood running from her ears. "Sam! Come on!"

Sam seemed to snap out of his trance and nodded quickly, taking hold of Beth's left elbow and helping Dean guide—more like carry—Beth towards the double doors, only to have them slam before they could get out. The two brothers dropped Beth's arms in favour of covering their ears as the ringing grew to an unbearable volume and Beth buried her head in between her jacket's collar and the door as she weakly covered her ears.

"Dean!" Beth called, her voice quickly drowned out by the loud ringing. It was like nails on a chalkboard to her ears. The moment Dean went to reply, the three of them were suddenly out of the convent and on an airplane full of people. "Holy shit," Beth gasped, gaining multiple glares from various women as they covered their children's ears—she completely ignored them.

"What the hell?" Dean demanded. He looked around wildly. He couldn't understand how they'd ended up on the plane when they had been inches away from being smote by Lucifer's grace.

"I don't know," Sam answered, just as surprise.

"Why aren't we dead?" Beth asked. There was an awful ringing in her head and ears, causing her to raise her voice.

"I don't know," Sam repeated. Dean reached out, grabbing a couple of napkins from the stewardess cart as she passed by. He pushed Beth's hair back and began mopping up the blood that was beginning to dry on the sides of her face. Sam took a napkin from his brother and began doing the same to Beth's other ear.

The sound of the pilot filled the air. "Folks, quick word from the flight deck, we're just passing over Ilchester then Ellicott City on our descent into Baltimore—Washington."

"Ilchester?" Dean questioned, glancing out of the window. "Weren't we just there?"

"So, if you'd like to stretch your legs, now would be a good time," the pilot continued. Sam and Beth shared a confused look as the pilot suddenly exclaimed, "Holy crap!" over the speaker... that was when a wide beam of burning white light shot into the air, completely surrounding the plane.

The plane suddenly lurched to the side and a stewardess was thrown against the wall roughly. The passengers all began screaming as the plane soared through the air, completely out of control. Beth scrambled to her feet and stumbled away from her brothers—ignoring them as they yelled at her to come back—and latched onto the blonde stewardess' arm, tugging her to her feet and onto the seats closest to them. Beth helped her with doing her belt up before she did her own up and grabbed the extended oxygen mask in front of her, putting it against her face and slipping the elastic band over her hair, letting it snap into place at the back of her head.

Her eyes were drawn to the window and she stared out of it at the light. Fear coiled in the pit of her stomach the longer she stared at it, her fingers tightened unconsciously around the arm rest as she forced herself to look away.

To say she was happy they were off the plane was an understatement—in fact, she made a quick promise to herself to never get on a plane ever again.

Sam and Dean were in the front of the 'borrowed' car and Beth was in the back lying down, her feet against the window behind Sam's seat and her head was cushioned on her leather jacket.

Her brothers were completely silent as they listened to the radio and Beth just blocked it out, humming quietly under her breath as she began to wonder what had happened to Castiel in his face-off with the archangel. She really hoped that he was okay, she didn't want to deal with the guilt of having encouraged him to stand on his own two feet for a change and then winding up dead.

She glanced up just as Sam began speaking but Dean was quick to cut him off. She rolled her eyes, already knowing what her brother was going to say.

"Don't say anything." Dean looked at his brother. "It's okay."

Beth scoffed lightly under her breath, but they both heard it and turned to look at her, causing her to flush deeply and grow uncomfortable at the sudden attention.

"Something you wanna share princess?" Dean questioned lowly.

"Nope." She shook her head. They looked away after a few drawn out seconds.

"We just gotta keep our heads down and hash this out, alright?"

"Okay," Sam said at the same time as Beth chirped, "yes sir."

"First things first, how did we end up on the soul plane?" Dean asked.

"Angels, maybe?" Sam offered. "Maybe they were beaming us out of harm's way."

"Well, whatever. It's the least of our worries. We need to find Cas."

"I hope he's okay," Beth sighed and Dean glanced back at her.

"Why wouldn't he be?"

"Because he went up against an archangel; the strongest type of angel there is," Beth explained quietly, "it'll be a miracle if he's survived."

A few days later saw them back at Chuck Shurley's house—which looked as though a bomb had gone off. Furniture and glass and wood were strewn about the living room and the kitchen and there were drops of blood on a few pieces of broken wood.

Beth let out an amused—and surprised—snort as Chuck appeared from behind the door and hit Sam roughly in the head with a plunger, causing her overly-tall brother to stagger to the side in a daze.

"Ow! Jeez!" Sam exclaimed, holding his head in pain.

"Sam?" Chuck lowered the plunger in relief.

"Hey Chuck," Dean greeted. Beth waved, still amused at the Prophet's actions.

"You okay?" Chuck asked.

"Well, my head hurts," Sam replied.

"No. I mean my last vision," Chuck explained. "You went like full-on Vader. Your body temperature was 150, your heart rate was 200. Your eyes were black."

"Your eyes were black?" Dean repeated, dumbfounded.

"I didn't know," Sam excused quietly.

"Hey Chuck, where's Cas?" Beth queried, hoping beyond belief that the angel was alive, even though she knew there was a high chance he wasn't.

"He's dead... or gone. The archangel smote the crap out of him."

"Are you sure? Maybe he just vanished into the light." As Beth glanced at Dean, she realized that he didn't want to believe that the one angel who would've willingly helped them was gone.

"No," Chuck sighed, gesturing wildly with his hands as he spoke, "he exploded... like a water balloon of chunky soup."

A look of disgust made its way onto her face as Sam told Chuck that he had something in his hair and he pulled a bloody tooth out and held it up to the light.

"Is that a molar?" Chuck's voice rose an octave in his panic. "Do I have a molar in my hair?" Dean looked away, fighting his own disgust. "This has been a really stressful day," Chuck gasped out.

"Cas, you stupid bastard," Dean sighed bitterly.

"Stupid? He was trying to help us," Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, exactly," Dean replied lowly.

"He should never have listened to us," Beth whispered, blinking back tears.

"Oh crap," Chuck said, gaining their immediate attention.

"What is it?" Beth stepped closer to him.

"I can feel them," Chuck whispered and the words sent shivers down her spine.

"Thought we'd find you here." Beth pressed her lips together at the familiar voice and her eyes narrowed at the sight of Zachariah and two other men—who were obviously angels too. "Play time's over, Dean," Zachariah told the oldest Winchester. "Time to come with us."

"You keep your distance, asshat," Dean ordered as Zachariah made to step forward.

"You're upset," the angel said in confusion or surprise, Beth didn't know. But the look on his face suggested that Zachariah didn't understand why Dean felt the way he did.

"Yeah, a little," Dean retorted without pause, shifting Beth behind him to stand beside Chuck. "You sons of bitches jump-started judgement day."

"Well actually, they technically didn't start it." Beth almost lost her nerve as all eyes turned to her. "But they did let it happen."

"For once the bastard girl knows where it's at," Zachariah said smugly, taking pleasure in the girl's discomfort and hurt.

"On second thought, it's entirely their fault," Beth stated, sticking her tongue out at the angel. "We should continue to blame them."

"Silence." Zachariah waved his hand and Beth suddenly found herself unable to speak. She grasped her throat in confusion, glaring accusingly at the angel. He simply smirked and turned back to Dean. "You had the chance to stop Sammy, but you couldn't. So let's not argue, say we're all to blame and move on. Because, whether you like it or not, it's apocalypse now."

Beth—who was still unable to talk—made a rude gesture at Zachariah as he looked away. Sam roughly grabbed her arm and yanked her hand down abruptly, causing her to wince.

"...And we're back on the same team again," the angel continued.

"Oh really?" Dean queried, mock surprised.

"You wanna kill the devil, we want you to kill the devil—it's synergy."

"And I'm supposed to trust you?" Dean shot a wink at Beth, who stared back in confusion. "Cram it with walnuts ugly."

Beth bit back a noise of amusement and waved awkwardly as the two other angels glanced at her. The one on the left seemed to have a curious look—directed at her—in his dark green eyes before it disappeared.

"This isn't a game, son," Zachariah said sternly. "Lucifer is powerful in ways that defy description. We need to strike hard and fast before he finds his vessel."

Her lips parted in a silent gasp of surprise and she glanced towards her brothers—they were clearly as surprised as she was at Zachariah's statement.

"His vessel? Lucifer needs a meat suit?" Sam sounded stumped. Beth slapped her forehead her palm, mentally scolding him. Wasn't it obvious? Of course Lucifer needed a vessel he was an angel after all.

"That's right," Zachariah confirmed, "he is an angel. And when he touches down, we're talking four horsemen, red oceans, and fiery skies... the greatest hits. You can stop him, Dean, but you need our help."

Dean was silent for a split second and then he said. "You listen to me, you two-faced douche. After what you did, I don't want jack-squat from you."

"You listen to me, boy!" Zachariah bellowed, suddenly furious. "You think you can rebel, against us? As Lucifer did?" He just happened to glance down and realize Dean was bleeding. "...You're bleeding."

"Oh yeah," Dean smirked and Sam and Beth almost failed at hiding their own identical smug expressions. "A little insurance policy in case you dicks decided to show up." He pulled the sliding door open to reveal a banishing sigil on the dirty white wood. Zachariah let out a yell as Dean slammed his hand down on the wood, sending the angels straight back to heaven. "I learned that from Cas, you son of a bitch."

"This sucks ass," was all Chuck uttered as they looked at him.

On a bench, in the middle of a large park, sat two men. The older of the two had dark hair, blue eyes and pale skin, whilst the younger one had dark hair, dark skin and dark brown eyes.

"Those humans are more trouble than they're worth," the younger one said flatly. They watched—unconcerned—as Dean Winchester banished three of their younger brothers from the Prophet's house and back to Heaven.

"Unfortunately, they are key parts in Father's plan," the elder angel replied. The mouth of his self-created vessel spreading into a thin line.

"Indeed."

A bright light filled the air and soon, Zachariah stood in front of them, swaying slightly on his feet—an unfortunate side effect of being banished was the brief yet uncomfortable feeling of dizziness.

"Zachariah," the oldest angel greeted, his voice like rumbling thunder.

"Archangel Michael." Zachariah bowed his head quickly, nervously. "Archangel Raphael."

"You've failed... again," Michael stated bluntly. The seraph flinched—he already knew that he had failed his brother a second time.

"In my defence, Dean Winchester is more stubborn than I had initially given him credit for," Zachariah began carefully. "And that bastard girl is a menace; she's always interrupting, full of questions that do not concern her... and she's a bad influence on Dean. He won't agree to anything with her around to stop him."

Michael and Raphael shared a quick look, knowing full well that their brother's words were true—they'd all underestimated the Winchester siblings and their legendary stubbornness. And Beth Milligan was most definitely a problem. The 18 year old was always following Dean around like a little lost puppy, filling his head with reasons not to agree to helping heaven win and there was also her annoyingly persuasive nature—no one else would've been able to convince sons and daughters of God that indulging in gambling and drinking copious amounts of alcohol was a good thing. It most certainly wasn't—it was such a lowly, human thing to do. It was a disgrace for the likes of an angel to do such a thing.

"Unfortunately we cannot grant you permission to kill her," Raphael said lowly. "However, you may have fun with her as you wish. But leave no permanent damage."

"Of course," Zachariah nodded. "What of the other two?"

"The same applies to them," Michael input, a hint of finality in his voice.

"Yes boss." Zachariah bowed at them before vanishing from sight.

"He makes a good point, brother," Michael began, "what will you do if Bethany Milligan becomes too much of a liability?"

"If she does become a liability, I will move to plan B... and kill Bethany Milligan."

"Would you turn that down?" Beth grumbled, glancing at the blaring TV distastefully.

"No can do, princess," Dean grinned cheekily as he turned the volume up. Sam chuckled as Beth picked up her empty burger wrapper and lobbed it at Dean, it bounced off of his forehead and onto the floor.

A semi-loud knock sounded from the door, reverberating around the room and the smiles fell from their faces. Dean pulled his gun out, sitting up slowly.

"If that's how you greet people, it's no wonder you don't have friends," Beth snorted and Dean glared at her, flipping her off. "Hmph. Rude."

Sam opened the door slowly and Beth heard a sharp intake of breath. She moved over to Dean's side the second he beckoned her closer with a wave of his hand.

"You okay lady?" Sam questioned.

"Sam. Is it really you?" a feminine voice gasped. A woman with shoulder length blonde hair stepped into the room and set her hand on Sam's chest. "You're so firm."

"...Do I know you?"

"No, but I know you." She removed her hand slowly. "You're Sam Winchester and you're... not what I pictured," she said after looking at Dean. And then she caught sight of Beth. The brunette let out a yelp of surprise as she was pulled into a vice tight hug by the strange woman. "Bethany Winchester! What an honour!" the woman babbled excitedly. "I can't believe you're actually real... I can't believe I'm actually meeting you."

"Uh, it's Milligan, actually." Beth didn't know what else to say as she was finally released from the bear hug.

"Oh right, silly me," the blonde said in a high voice. "I'm sorry about your brother—it was a horrible way to die... and your mom too."

Beth immediately grew tense, fighting back the sting of tears in her eyes. Dean got to his feet and slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.

"I'm Becky, by the way," the blonde introduced herself in an attempt to diffuse the tension. "I've read all about you guys and I've even written a few..." Becky trailed off, laughing nervously. "Anyway, Mr Edlund told me where you were."

"Chuck?" Dean finally entered the conversation.

Sam closed the door as Becky nodded in confirmation. "He's got a message, but the angels are watching him." She grinned rather enthusiastically. "Nice change up to the mythology—the demon stuff was getting kinda old."

"Fair point," Beth agreed and Becky's smile widened. "What's Chuck's message?"

"He had a vision," Becky explained. "The Michael-Sword is on earth—the angels lost it."

"The Michael-Sword?" Dean asked in confusion. Beth's eyes widened, she knew immediately what The Michael-Sword was.

"Becky, does Chuck know where this sword is?"

"In a castle on a hill made of 42 dogs," Becky recited, as if she'd said it so many times, it was stuck in her head.

"42 dogs?" Dean repeated, raising his eyebrows.

"Are you sure you got that right?" Sam asked politely.

"It doesn't make sense, but that's what he said." Becky ran her hand up Sam's chest. "I memorized every word... for you."

"Uh... Becky, can you quit touching me?" Sam requested, glaring at Beth as she laughed, clearly finding his discomfort to be amusing.

"No." Becky refused flat-out.

"We should call Bobby," Beth said to Dean when she had stopped laughing.

"Good idea," Dean agreed. Beth turned her back on them, writing her cell phone number down quickly as Becky said her goodbyes to Sam and Dean.

"Hey, I'll walk you out," Beth smiled at the overly-hyper Becky.

"Be careful," Dean ordered. Beth nodded, smiling reassuringly.

"C'mon Becky."

Becky smiled dreamily up at Sam before snapping out of her trance and waving at Dean, who nodded in response. She closed the door behind her and followed Beth towards the stairs.

"It was nice meeting you," Beth said honestly as she walked Becky down the stairs and towards a light blue car.

"Right back at ya," Becky beamed.

"Oh, here." Beth handed her the piece of paper with her number on it. "In case Chuck has any more messages for us."

Becky took the paper and stuck it in her pocket before hugging Beth tightly around the neck.

"You be careful, okay?" Beth patted her back gently. "Don't go telling anyone about us, I don't want you getting hurt."

"I won't, don't worry." Becky pulled away with the same wide grin on her face.

Beth stayed where she was, watching with a smile as Becky got into her car, turning it on and driving away. She continued to wave until the car had disappeared from sight.

As soon as she turned, heading for the stairs, she was hit from behind by an unseen force that pushed her over, knocking her flat on her face at the bottom step.

"Hey Bobby." Beth waved from the bed as Dean ushered the older hunter into the room.

"Heya Beth," Bobby replied, tipping his baseball cap at her. "It's good to see you all in one piece." He hugged Dean and moved onto Sam.

"You weren't followed, were you?" Dean questioned.

"You mean by angels, demons or Sam's new super-fan?" Bobby replied.

"You heard?" Sam chuckled dryly.

"I heard, Romeo," Bobby said teasingly, a smirk on his face. He turned to Dean. "So, Sword of Michael, huh?"

"You think we're talking about the Sword from the Archangel?" Dean's eyes flickered between his siblings and surrogate father.

"You better friggin' hope so," Bobby retorted. He left to go get some book from the Impala and when he returned, he dropped a thick, brown book on the table with a thud, opening it to a page with a picture of a blonde angel carrying a sword, surrounded by cherubs. "That's Michael; toughest son of a bitch they've got," the more experienced hunter explained.

"You kidding me—tough? Guy looks like Cate Blanchett," Dean snorted, causing Beth to grin in amusement.

"I wouldn't want to meet him a dark alley, believe me." Beth couldn't help but shiver at Bobby's words—she wouldn't want to meet any angel in a dark alley. "He commands the heavenly host. During the last big dust-up upstairs, he—"

"He used that sword to cast Lucifer into hell," Beth interjected. Bobby nodded, confirming her words. "What?" she snapped defensively at Sam and Dean's surprised looks. "I know my bible lore. I was interested in it as a child."

"Beth's right, and it we can find the sword..."

"We can beat him all over again," Sam summed up. "Where so we start?"

Beth grabbed a book and handed it to Dean before grabbing one for herself and holding another out to Sam, who stopped beside her, an unsure look on his face.

"You alright, Sam?" Bobby asked in concern.

"No actually," Sam answered, turning to him. Dean knew immediately what Sam was planning and shook his head in exasperation, wondering—not for the first time—why his brother couldn't leave things well enough alone. "Bobby, this is all my fault. I'm sorry."

"Sam, button it," Beth hissed, eyes flickering nervously between them.

"Lilith didn't break the final seal. Lilith was the final seal," Sam continued as if he hadn't heard her.

"Sam, stop," Dean ordered.

"I killed her and I set Lucifer free," Sam admitted.

"You what?" Bobby demanded incredulously.

"You guys warned me about Ruby, the demon blood; I didn't listen."

"You're damn right you didn't listen," Bobby snapped, approaching him slowly, disappointment written across his face. "You were reckless, selfish and arrogant."

"I'm sorry," Sam said quietly.

"Oh yeah?" Bobby glared at him. "You're sorry you started Armageddon? This kind of thing don't get forgiven, boy." Sam looked down, welcoming the verbal bashing with open arms—it was more than he'd gotten from his brother or half-sister so far. "If—by some miracle—we pull this off... I want you to lose my number."

"Bobby!" Beth gasped, completely horrified by his harsh words. She looked to Dean, but he simply turned away, refusing to come to Sam's defence.

"There's an old church nearby," Sam started, a glassy sheen covering his eyes. "Maybe I'll go read some of the lore books there."

"Yeah, you do that."

Sam quickly pulled his jacket on, grabbing his phone, wallet and gun as he moved towards the door. Beth made to move towards him but was stopped abruptly as Dean grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her to him.

"It's fine, Beth."

Sam closed the door behind quietly. Beth yanked her arm free and proceeded to kick Dean roughly in the leg. He simply rubbed his aching limb and refused to look at her.

"I would never have guessed your daddy was right," Bobby stated as he looked away from the lore book he was reading.

"About what?" Dean asked, still half-absorbed in his own book.

"About your brother." Dean stiffened, his eyes flickering to Bobby. "What John said was 'save Sam or kill him'. Maybe..."

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe we shouldn't have tried so hard to save him," Bobby admitted reluctantly.

"Bobby..."

"He ended the world, Dean," Bobby pointed out gently. "And you and I weren't there to stop him proper—that's on us... I'm just saying that your dad was right."

"Dad?" Something seemed to hit Dean and got up, grabbing his duffel bag and opening it quickly. He pulled a piece of card from a plastic wallet and held it up in satisfaction. "I don't believe it," he chuckled. "It's a card from my dad's lock-up in upstate New York. Read it."

"Castle Storage, 42 Rover Hill."

"Castle on a hill of 42 dogs," Dean explained.

"You think your dad had the Michael-Sword all this time?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure what else Chuck could've meant."

"Good enough for me," Bobby said just before he punched him roughly, knocking him flat on his back.

As Bobby picked Dean up, the door opened to reveal a widely smirking Beth and a tall, bald man in a leather jacket.

"B-Beth?" Dean wheezed. Beth's eyes flickered from hazel green to black as she grinned.

"I always knew you were a big, dumb, pain in the ass, Dean," she chuckled. "But I never knew you were VIP." She walked further into the room and picked up the demon killing knife. "I mean you're gonna ice the devil? You?" she snorted in amusement. "If I had known, I would've ripped your face off ages ago." The black bled from her eyes, revealing the familiar hazel irises as she stared at him.

"Ruby?" Dean gasped.

"Guess again," Beth sing-songed. "Go back further... No?" she asked mockingly when he didn't answer. "Let me give you a hint—I fell from a great height and it hurt."

"Meg," Dean growled in realization. "Let Beth go."

"Nah, I don't think I will," Meg tapped her chin with her index finger. "You should hear her though—she's screaming, begging, for someone to help her. She's a right mess. She blames herself, you know? For what happened to her precious twin and her mommy. She still has nightmares about the ghouls... and of the people she's killed." At Dean's shocked look, a gleeful smile appeared on Beth's—Meg's face. "You didn't know? Little Beth-y's soul is tainted now. When she was with the cloud hopping pansy, she killed a bunch of demons and their meat suits... it's kinda ironic, don't you think? How she killed all those innocent humans who were begging to be released and now she's in their shoes."

Dean simply glared at her and she winked in response, taking pleasure in Dean's discomfort.

"But onto more important things, our father is here, Dean. And we're dreaming for the first time since we were human. It's heaven on earth... or hell," she shrugged carelessly—a very Beth-y action. "We owe your brother a fruit basket, 'cause without him father dearest would still be rotting in that damn cage."

Dean couldn't stand looking at her, knowing that he couldn't do anything to help Beth, not when he was on his own and there was three of them. It wouldn't be a very even fight.

"You really like the sound of your own voice, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. But I like Beth's better... in fact, I might just keep this body," Meg countered. "You're just a bump in the road, Dean. Every demon is eager to get a piece of you."

Dean chuckled dryly, wincing as Bobby tightened the hold he had on his neck. "Get in line."

"I'm right at the front of the line, hot stuff," Meg assured him. "You know, your surrogate daddy's still in there, screaming—mainly profanities—but screaming none-the-less. And I want him to know how it feels to slice the life out of you." She handed the knife to Bobby.

"Bobby!" Dean grunted as he was shoved up against the wall and the knife pressed against his neck. "Bobby, no. No!" Bobby glanced back at Meg and the other male and Meg narrowed her eyes. "Now!" she ordered. Dean raised his arms to protect his face only to be taken off guard as Bobby stabbed himself, killing the demon possessing him.

Dean strode forward and punched Meg roughly, knocking her to the floor. The door opened and Sam walked in just as Dean was thrown into the wall. When he went to assist his brother, he received a hit in the face with a telephone.

"Heya Sammy," Meg grinned. "Did ya miss me?"

"Beth?" Sam asked, confused and dazed.

"Sam, its Meg!" Dean called and Meg let out a girly laugh, nodding her head. Sam struck out at her, seeming to forget that he was actually hurting Beth's body. Meg immediately hit back, kicking Sam in the stomach and knocking all the air from his lungs, causing him to double over at the waist.

"It's not so easy without your super-special powers, is it, Sammy?" she taunted, grabbing his hair and tugging his head backwards. She turned her attention away from Sam as Dean got the upper hand on her demon companion and stabbed him, killing him instantly. Meg stood up and backed away, fully aware that she was now outnumbered but hoping that they cared enough about her meat suit to not harm her.

She quickly decided not to test that theory and threw her head back, fleeing Beth's body as the human girl screamed, feeling the agonizing pain of the demon evacuating the host.

Dean watched on impassively as the black smoke disappeared into the vent and Beth's body collapsed, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

"How ya doing princess?" Dean asked carefully, staring at the vacant expression on Beth's ghostly white face.

"Fine," she said airily. "How's Bobby?"

"They took him to surgery before we left. I don't know if he's gonna be okay," Dean admitted.

Beth was only half listening to what he had to say, she was still caught up in the fact that she had had an actual demon possessing her, just like the way angels possessed their vessels, but she imagined that the angels would be a more suitable companion because Meg had made sure that she could feel every hit she landed on Sam and the blood that spread across her knuckles and it wasn't something she wanted to experience again.

"Don't you have to go to New York?" she queried.

"You not coming?"

"I can't. I twisted my ankle when you hit me," she replied quietly. "And I don't want to go on a road trip. I wanna sit here quietly and be by myself."

"Beth," Dean hesitated. "What Meg said... was she telling the truth?"

Tears sprung to Beth's eyes as she nodded twice. She drew her knees to her chest, leaning forward against her thighs as she covered her face with her hands. Dean sighed softly and sat on the bed beside her, drawing her into his side.

"It's okay," he whispered.

"It's not okay," she argued tearfully. She lifted her head and peeked at him through her hair. "I killed people and I didn't even hesitate. Meg's right—my soul is tainted now. I'm going straight to hell, aren't I?"

"No, Beth. You're not going to hell," Dean said firmly. "I won't let you."

"I don't think you can stop it, Dean." She let out a small whimper. "Killing damages the soul; it damns it straight to hell."

"Beth, I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise."

And he meant it. For as long as he was around, no harm would come to her. He would protect his 18 year old half-sister to the best of his ability. And the first he would do when he and Sam got back from New York was take her out to get the anti-possession tattoo.