23rd September, 2009

(Passing through Colorado)

Beth sat in the back of the Impala with Castiel beside her as Dean drove the four of them in the direction of their next case. Sam was sitting in the front passenger seat on his phone, looking through his e-mails. The Winchester female was completely silent, staring out the window as the scenery went rushing by. Her brothers were currently paying little attention to her, Dean more so than Sam. She put it down to her confession the other night.

Castiel glanced at Beth out of the corner of his eye as he slowly reached out and slipped his hand under hers. Beth paused in surprise before gripping his hand back tightly, her fingers linked through his.

"Thank you," she whispered at him so her brothers wouldn't hear. Castiel nodded once, a small smile tugging at his lips. Beth hesitated, and then moved over so she was right beside him and carefully rested her head on his shoulder.

Sam glanced back at the two of them, smiling slightly at the peaceful look on Beth's face—it was the first time he'd seen that look on her face since she'd been back with them, and though he was surprised it was Cas that had put that look on his sister's face, he was also relieved—maybe Cas could be the one to help her break the hold Lucifer had on her mind.

"Hey, Beth," Sam said, gaining his sister's attention—she raised her head immediately, looking like a deer caught in the headlights of an on-coming car. "Here's some water, thought you could use it."

"Thank you, Sam," Beth replied quietly, gratefully. Sam dipped his head at her in acknowledgement and turned away to give the two of them some privacy. Beth's head went back to its previous position on Castiel's shoulder and the full angel didn't seem bothered by it one bit.

Alliance, Nebraska

(A day later)

Beth was only too relieved when they finally arrived in Alliance and she was out of the car before Sam and Dean could even open their mouths to speak. Castiel quickly got out as well and went to stand beside Beth.

"Will you be okay?" he asked her hesitantly.

Beth tilted her head up to look at him and nodded once. "I'll be fine," she murmured, her eyes dull and void of emotion. Castiel set a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently before he flew away from the deserted parking lot.

"Beth, c'mon!" Dean shouted from the entrance to the building. Beth sighed reluctantly before heading after her brothers. "Get a move on," Dean grumbled, pushing her ahead of them. She stumbled and collided with the wall.

Beth frowned at him, wondering what the hell had gotten into him—he'd never been that rude towards her before. He'd never shoved her before. Sam seemed to be thinking the same thing and he reached out, pulling Beth to his side for safety.

"Dean, take it easy," Sam said, eyeing his brother in concern.

"No. I will not take it easy," Dean growled in response. "I don't know what the hell she's thinking, wanting to go back to the devil—you know, the one who had her kidnapped in the first place and has some sort of weird mind control on her."

"Would you cut it out?" Sam ordered, sending a firm look at Beth when she opened her mouth to argue. "We are here to work a case not to fight between ourselves. Beth, don't even think about it. I'm not going to enter into a fight with you and I'm not going to take sides in this petty feud you two have going on."

"Whatever," Beth said. She shook her head once as she backed away from her brothers. "I'm so done with his crap. I'll see you at the motel room later."

"Beth… Beth!" Sam shouted as he watched her head for the exit. "Bethany!"

Beth ignored him and kept walking. The door slammed shut behind her and Sam and Dean followed her with their eyes as she walked past the window and disappeared from sight.

"Great, that's just great," Sam sighed, irritated at being caught, once again, between Beth and Dean's fight. "Good going, man."

"What?" Dean asked defensively. Sam rolled his eyes and brushed past his brother. "She's the one storming off like a little girl."

Beth sat at a picnic bench in the middle of the park, staring down at the photograph in her hands. It was the picture of her and Kat from the future that she'd made a copy of and had it printed out.

She'd taken to looking at the photograph a lot more lately, ever since she'd gotten back from Lucifer's mansion. It calmed her down to look at her child's smiling face. She still couldn't quite wrap her head around the fact that her and Cas had made such a perfect being.

She knew she couldn't tell Sam and Dean about any of it. She didn't want to give Dean another reason to hate her, which she knew would happen if she spilled her guts.

"Hello, Beth," an all-too-familiar voice greeted and Beth's head jerked up, her eyes widening in shock as she came face to face with Lucifer.

"Lucifer!" Beth lurched to her feet, the photo of Kat long forgotten as it drifted to the table. She darted around the bench and hugged him tightly. "I knew you would show up eventually."

"I promised I would," Lucifer replied, one arm around her shoulders and his free hand cradling the back of her head. "I always keep my promises."

"Have you come to take me back?" Beth asked hopefully, staring up at him with bright eyes.

"Not just yet, I need you to remain with your brothers until the time is right," he told her softly as he took her hand and led her back over to the picnic bench. They sat down and Beth immediately returned her gaze to his face, awaiting more information from him. "I need you to do something else for me as well."

"What is it?"

"There's a young boy, here in town, his name's Jesse Turner. I need you to take care of him," Lucifer explained. "He is special, like you. I need you to stick with him until I am able to collect him."

"He's a nephil too?" Beth asked curiously. Lucifer shook his head, shooting down her query.

"No, he's not a Nephil. He is the Anti-Christ."

Beth started, the curiosity in her eyes giving way to terror, and she leaned backwards away from him. "T-the Anti-Christ?" she demanded. "Your son, the Anti-Christ?"

"He's not my son. Your books got that wrong too. The Anti-Christ isn't just one child, it is many. Where Nephilim are the children of humans and angels, the Anti-Christs are the children of demons and humans."

"How powerful is he?"

"He is more powerful than most creatures that walk this earth," Lucifer said. "He can bring the Heavens crumbling down with a single word. You will be just as powerful the more you use your gifts. All you have to do is let it in. Be who you were destined to be."

"…How do I do that?" she asked quietly. Lucifer smiled fondly and reached out, cupping her cheek.

"You do what you were learning to do back at the mansion," he replied calmly. "You practice and you train yourself. You can do anything if you try." He looked around his surroundings for a moment before his gaze locked on the photo of Kat. "Make that photograph float."

Beth followed his stare and frowned, her brows drawing together. "How?"

"Close your eyes," Lucifer instructed and Beth quickly did as she was told. "Now, I want you to completely focus on the photograph. Think about every little detail—the size, the weight of it, the colours. Now imagine it slowly lifting off of the table, almost as if a small breeze was carrying it into the air." His blue eyes flickered to the side as movement caught his attention and a smirk settled on his lips as Beth's photo slowly, and shakily, rose up off the surface of the table. "Open your eyes."

Beth's eyelids flickered open. A gasp of shock and glee escaped when she realized she'd done it. She'd made it float, just by following Lucifer's instructions. The photo suddenly dropped at one side and Beth quickly righted it just by thinking about it.

"I-I did it!" she exclaimed happily, her eyes flickering between the floating object and Lucifer.

"I'm proud of you, Bethany."

Beth grinned widely at him before reaching out and plucking the photo out of mid-air. Lucifer returned it with a small one of his own.

"I must go now," he said and stood up, brushing his hands over his shirt to get rid of the creases. "Remember what I told you. Don't let Jesse out of your sight."

"I'll keep an eye on him," Beth swore, standing up as well. "Does anyone else know about him?"

"Castiel is close to figuring it out. He'll try and kill Jesse—you can't let that happen," he replied. He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and passed it over to Beth. She took it hesitantly, opening it to reveal an address written in neat, cursive handwriting. "I'll come back for Jesse soon."

"Okay," she replied and stuck the address in her bag. "I meant what I said before, I won't let Jesse out of my sight until you return."

"I know you won't." Lucifer pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before flying away from the park.

Beth let a smug smile cross her lips as she packed the photo and address into her journal before she shouldered the bag and made the short trek towards the park's exit.

"Hey Beth," Sam greeted warmly, smiling at his sister from where he sat at the kitchen table, researching stuff on his laptop. "How's it going?"

Beth faltered, eyes flickering between Sam and Dean warily. "I'm fine. How're you?" she returned politely.

"Good," Sam replied. "I'm good."

"Enough with the niceties," Dean interrupted. He lifted his head a fixed Beth with a tight smile. "Drop the bag and join me over here."

Beth slowly did as she was told, dropping her bag on the couch and shuffling over to where Dean was standing with an oven tray with a large ham in it in front of him. She peered at it curiously before turning and raising an eyebrow at Dean.

"It's a long story," Dean said, shrugging carelessly. He pulled on a pair of safety goggles and a set of long, black leather gloves. Beth's confusion only grew when her eldest brother put an electric buzzer on his finger and looked to Sam for confirmation. "You ready?"

"Hit it, Mr Wizard," Sam replied as he stepped backwards, reaching out and tugging Beth back with him. He handed a spare pair of safety goggles to her and they both tugged them on as Dean moved his hand down and pressed the buzzer to the ham.

Beth's eyes widened and her lips parted in amazement as the large hunk of meat smoked and sizzled until it was completely cooked. She moved the goggles away from her face and met Dean's shocked eyes. "What the hell was that?" she gasped.

"That crap isn't supposed to work," Sam pointed out, just as confused as his siblings.

"This thing doesn't even have batteries," Dean said, which only added to the pile of how strange the whole situation was.

"So what, are we looking at cursed objects?"

"Maybe there's a powerful witch in town," Dean suggested as he pulled out his pocket knife and flicked it open before cutting into the ham and sticking it in his mouth. "Is there any link between the joy buzzer and the itching powder?"

"They were made in two different places but both were bought from the same store," Sam explained, watching Dean stuff his face with more meat.

Beth rolled her eyes as Dean offered a bit to Sam only to eat it seconds later when Sam refused it. She reached out when her brothers weren't looking and picked up the buzzer, eyeing it curiously as she pushed down on the button with her thumb. Nothing happened.

"Beth!" Sam shouted suddenly and slapped her hand, causing the buzzer to clatter to the table. Beth clutched her stinging hand, rubbing the sore spot gingerly.

"What the hell was that for?" she demanded.

"That thing was enough to cook a raw ham. It could've killed you," Sam scolded and Dean nodded in agreement. Beth raised an eyebrow at them before she decided to annoy them by slowly reaching out and touching the buzzer, pressing the button again. Nothing happened for a second time and she picked it up instead.

"It's not affecting me in the slightest," she pointed out obviously. Her brothers frowned in unison before Dean told her to put the buzzer in her pocket and not let it touch anyone else until they figured it all out.

Five minutes after that, the three siblings were in the Impala, driving away from the motel in the direction of the joke shop that the buzzer and itching powder was from.

"This place looks weird," Beth pointed out dryly as they headed for the magic shop. Dean opened the door and gestured for her to go in ahead of him.

Beth's eyes were immediately drawn to the fake wands and magicians' hats on the left side of the store as Dean headed right and Sam stayed where he was, looking towards the counter.

"Psst, Sam. Beth," Dean whispered loudly. They two brown haired siblings turned to find Dean holding up a whoopee cushion for them to see. Sam merely rolled his eyes, giving Dean his signature bitch face before he turned away and walked over to the counter. Beth noticed Dean's face fall slightly and she reached out, slapping his arm to get his attention, when she had it, she smiled widely—surprisingly gaining one back from him—and handed some crumpled up bills to him.

"We can use it on him later," she told her eldest brother in a conspiratorial whisper. Dean smirked in amusement and took the money from Beth, following quickly after Sam.

"Welcome to the Conjurarium, sanctum of magic and mystery," an older man declared, appearing from behind a curtain in front of them.

"You the owner?" Sam queried politely.

"Yep."

"You sold any itching powder or joy buzzers lately?" Dean asked.

The store owner snorted. "Yeah. A grand total, one of each. They aren't exactly big-ticket items." He glanced between the siblings curiously. "You boys—and girl—here to buy something or what?"

"So, do you get many customers?" Sam asked as Dean handed Beth's money over to pay for the whoopee cushion.

"Kids come in," the man said with a shrug. "They don't buy stuff, but they're more than happy to break stuff. These days, all they care about are I-Phones, and those stupid kissing-vampire movies. The whole thing makes me just…"

"Angry?" Dean offered.

"Can't blame you there. Twilight sucks," Beth mumbled, letting out a loud 'ow' as Sam elbowed her roughly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am angry," the store owner admitted. "This shop has been my life for 20 years, and now it's wasting away to nothing."

"Which is why you hate them."

"I suppose," the older man concurred hesitantly.

"You wish there was something you could do?" Dean continued, conveying with his eyes that Beth should get the joy buzzer out, and she did, holding it tightly in her left hand.

"Yeah. I guess I do."

"So you're taking revenge," Dean said lowly as he plucked a rubber chicken from the hook next to him. "With this." He gestured at Beth and she immediately held it against the chicken, pressing the button and watching as small bolts of electricity shot from the device to her hand and the rubber toy. The toy was reduced to a puddle of melted rubber and a small cloud of smoke in seconds. The store owner had thrown himself backwards into his chair in shock after letting out a panicked cry.

"Yeah. Something tells me this guy is not a powerful witch," Sam stated obviously. Beth and Dean shared a glance and nodded in agreement.

"Uh, sorry," Dean apologized pathetically as they all took a step backwards. And then they turned tail and legged it out of the store.

"So… what the hell do we do now?" Beth asked, glancing up at them as they stopped next to the Impala.

"…I've got nothing," Dean replied after a few seconds.

Sam nodded his agreement. "Me neither."

The three of them quickly got in the car and drove as fast as they could away from the Conjurarium and back in the direction of their motel room.

September 25th, 2009

Alliance, Nebraska

Beth glanced up from her book as the door opened and Sam walked in, clutching something in his hand. Dean was at the kitchen table, still eating away at the ham.

"Dude, seriously? Still with the ham?"

"What's he supposed to do with it?" Beth called out. "We don't have a fridge."

"Yeah, what she said," Dean said around a mouthful of food. Sam rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Well, I found something. Here," Sam began as he set the map down on the table. Beth slipped her bookmark back into the book and got off the bed, walking over to see what her brother was talking about. "Tooth fairy attack was here, Pop rocks and coke was here… and then you've got itching power, face freeze and joy buzzer, all located within a two mile radius." Beth looked more closely and came to the quick realization that there was a single house bang, smack in the middle of all the other houses.

"So, we got a blast zone of weird, and inside, fantasy becomes reality," Dean surmised.

"Looks like," Sam shrugged.

"And what's the A-bomb in the centre?"

"Four acres of farmland and a house."

"Our motel isn't in that circle by any chance?" Dean asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, it is," Sam confirmed. "Why?"

"Oh please, do tell him, Dean," Beth encouraged from where she now sat on the opposite side of the table. She'd seen his hand earlier but she had been waiting until Sam got back before she said anything.

"Tell me what?" Sam asked, brows drawn together in confusion. Dean reluctantly held his hand up to reveal a hairy palm. A look of disgust crossed Sam's face. "Oh dude. That's not what I think it is, is it?"

Beth giggled in amusement, raising a hand to cover her mouth as Sam took a step away from Dean and Dean just looked mildly ashamed.

"I got bored," Dean explained, trying—and failing—to keep a straight face. "That nurse was hot."

"You know you can go blind from that too," Sam pointed out.

"Give me five minutes, then we'll go check out that house." Dean walked around Sam, heading in the direction of the bathroom.

"Hey. Do not use my razor," Sam ordered firmly. A wide smirk crossed Dean's face at Sam's words but he didn't say anything else as he reached the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

"You'll need to get a new razor," Beth told him in amusement as she grabbed her FBI uniform and ordered Sam to turn around so she could change.

An hour later, the Impala came to stop across from an old, two-storey house and Beth was once again the first person out of the car.

"Hurry up you two," she said, knocking on Dean's window. She barely managed to step back in time before Dean swung his door open, aiming to hit her with it. "You're an ass."

"Enough," Sam barked. Beth and Dean turned to him in surprise. "Any more fighting from either one of you and I'll lock you in the panic room the next time we're at Bobby's."

"Yessir," Beth grumbled under her breath but backed down nonetheless, as did Dean.

The trio headed across the road, up the path and onto the front porch. Beth made sure she still had the knife Dean had given her as Sam reached out, preparing to use his lock-pick kit to unlock the door.

They were all taken off guard as the door suddenly opened to reveal a small, dark haired kid of about 11. He stared up at them suspiciously. Beth knew immediately who the child was, and she almost took a step back in alarm as she could suddenly see what was lurking beneath the surface of his skin. His soul was a murky grey colour, surrounded by black smoke that seemed intent on consuming his human side.

When Beth looked down and met Jesse's gaze, her eyes flickered between glowing white-blue and her usual hazel colour. The kid looked mildly freaked out at that but forced himself to turn and look up at the man with the longer hair.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi, um. What's your name?" Sam asked politely.

"Who wants to know?" Jesse countered.

"The, uh, the FBI," Dean replied and the three of them quickly pulled their badges out.

"Lemme see that." Jesse reached out and plucked the badge from Dean's hand. "So, what, you guys don't knock?"

"Is your mom and dad home?" Beth asked, sending a gentle smile Jesse's way.

"They're at work."

"Well, do you mind if we ask you some questions?" Sam queried. "Maybe take a look around the house?"

"I don't know," Jesse replied, a tad nervous. Beth tucked her badge into her pocket before she crouched down so she was eye-level with the child.

"You can trust us. We're the good guys," Beth promised. "We're here to help."

Her two brothers nodded in agreement with Beth's words and Jesse hesitated before he stepped back, opening the door for them to come inside. The trio followed Jesse through the house to the kitchen where a pot of soup was slowly cooking on the stove.

"What's that?" Sam asked curiously.

"It's called soup," Jesse sassed, gaining an amused chuckle from Beth. "You heat it up and you eat it."

"Right. I know…" Sam said, quickly getting over his surprise. "It's just, uh… I used to make my own dinner too when I was a kid."

"Same here," Beth added, drawing their attention. "My twin couldn't cook to save his life so I had to do it."

"Well, I'm not a kid," Jesse told them.

"I know you're not," Sam assured him softly. He held a hand out. "I'm Robert, by the way."

"Jesse." The young boy reached out and shook Sam's hand.

"I'm Beth," Beth introduced herself as Jesse turned to look at her. He shook her hand too.

"It's nice to meet you, Jesse," Sam continued after sending Beth a sharp look.

Dean walked back over to the group with a drawing clutched in his hand. "Did you draw this?"

"It's the tooth fairy," Jesse explained.

"That's what you think the tooth fairy looks like?"

"…Yeah, my dad told me about him," Jesse replied hesitantly.

"Huh," Dean said, nodding his head thoughtfully as he glanced down at the picture.

"What, didn't your dad tell you about the tooth fairy?" Jesse asked curiously.

"My dad?" Dean repeated. "No. My dad told me different stories."

"The tooth fairy isn't a story," Jesse corrected seriously. Beth shared a look with Sam and Dean and could tell they were both thinking along the same lines as her—this kid was quickly becoming their prime suspect in the incidents that had been happening in town so far.

"What do you know about itching powder, Jesse?"

"That stuff will make you scratch your brains out."

"Pop rocks and coke?"

"You mix them and you'll end up in the hospital. Everyone knows that," Jesse replied.

Beth pulled the joy buzzer from her pocket at Dean's silent command and handed it over without a fuss. Jesse's face immediately clouded over in concern.

"You shouldn't have that."

"Why not?" Dean questioned.

"It can electrocute you," Jesse said urgently.

"Actually, it can't," Dean explained. "It's just a wind up toy. It's completely harmless. It doesn't even have batteries."

"So it can't shock you?" Jesse sounded like he didn't believe Dean at all.

"Nope. Not at all," Dean said reassuringly.

"Oh, okay…"

"All it does is just shake in your hand. It's kinda lame," Dean admitted. "See?" He pressed the buzzer against Sam's chest and pushed his thumb down on the button. Sam let out a panicked grunt, but the buzzer only buzzed slightly and didn't electrocute him like he and Beth thought it would. Jesse smile in amusement. Sam sent another bitch-face in Dean's direction. "What did you say your name was again?" Dean asked, ignoring his siblings.

"Dude. What the hell?" Sam demanded as they left the Turner residence and walked down the porch.

"I had a hunch and I went with it," Dean admitted with a shrug.

"Seriously? You risked Sammy's life on a hunch?" Beth asked, sharing Sam's irritation. Dean shrugged again.

"Sam's fine," Dean replied. "Besides, now we know who's turning this town into Willy Wonka's nightmare."

"The kid," Sam answered.

"Everything Jesse believes is coming true. He thinks the tooth fairy looks like Belushi, joy buzzers really shock people—boom, that's what happens."

Sam nodded, seeing where Dean was going. "But if you convince him that joy buzzers don't work, they go back to being crappy old toys."

"He probably doesn't even know he's doing it."

Dean and Sam glanced back towards the house and Beth followed their gazes to find Jesse standing in an upstairs window looking down on them. Dean raised his hand and waved.

"How is he doing it?" Dean asked himself as they walked over to the Impala. Beth remained silent, knowing that she couldn't tell them what Jesse was. They would just have to figure it out themselves.

Elk Creek, Nebraska

A few hours later, Sam, Dean and Beth found themselves on the other side of the state at Jesse's biological mom's house. Beth followed her brothers through a rusty old gate and around the back of the house to the door. Dean rang the doorbell, and almost immediately they got a response.

"Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested!" Jesse's mom Julia called out.

"We're not salesmen—or women—we're from the FBI," Dean replied. "Agents Page, Plant and Jackson." They three of them held their badges up to the peephole.

"Put your badges in the slot," Julia replied, still not unlocking the door.

The Winchesters did as they were told, slipping their badges through the door to Julia. There was a brief pause before the woman on the other side finally unlocked the door and opened it, passing their badges back.

"What do you want?"

"We just had a few questions about your son," Sam explained, sticking his badge away.

"I don't have a son," Julia denied, voice shaking.

"He was born March 29th, 1998 in Omaha. You put him up for adoption."

"What about him?" Julia asked finally.

"We were just wondering. Was it a—?" Sam cut off awkwardly.

"What he's trying to say is, was it a normal pregnancy?" Beth took over for him.

"Was there anything strange—?" Dean started to say, only to have Julia try to slam the door in their faces.

"Stay away from me!" the blonde woman cried hysterically. Beth moved in before the door could close fully and shoved it back open with her half-angel strength—it hit the wall with a thud, leaving a dent in the wall where the doorknob had made impact. Sam and Dean barely stopped to look at the damage before chasing after Julia.

"Julia, wait!" Dean called as they chased her through the house. "We just wanna talk!" Dean shoved the door to the pantry open and got a handful of salt thrown at him. Sam and Beth received the same treatment and they all looked up at an equally confused Julia.

"You're not demons," Julia exclaimed, mostly to herself.

"How do you know about demons?"

A little while later, the four of them sat in the kitchen with a cup of tea in front of them. Julia took a shaky sip from her cup before setting it down on the table.

"I was possessed," she started, getting lost in the memories she had tried so hard to keep buried inside. "A demon took control of my body and I hurt people. I killed people."

"That wasn't you," Sam told her quietly, speaking from experience.

"But I was there," Julia replied. "I heard a woman beg for mercy. I felt a young girl's blood drip down my hands."

"That's how you knew about the salt."

"Yeah. I picked up some tricks. It was in me for months," Julia explained as she looked down at the table. Beth frowned in pity, she couldn't even begin to imagine what that must've been like. She was lucky that Meg was only in her for about an hour or two at the most.

"How many months?" Dean asked.

"Nine."

"So your son…"

"Yeah. The whole time. The pregnancy, the birth. All of it," Julia said. "I was possessed. The night the baby was born, I was alone and the pain was overwhelming. I screamed and it came out as a laugh because the demon was happy. It used my body to give birth to a child. When it was over, something changed. Maybe the demon was tired, or if the pain helped me fight it but somehow, I took control. The demon wailed inside me, it pounded against my skull. I thought my head was going to explode but I knew. I knew what I had to do. I found bags of salt nearby and I just swallowed mouthfuls of the stuff and it got the demon out of me. When I was alone with the baby, part of me wanted to kill it. But God help me, I couldn't do that… not to a child. So, I put it up for adoption and I ran."

"Who was the father?" Dean asked curiously.

"I was a virgin," Julia murmured. "Have… have you seen my son? Is he human?"

"His name's Jesse," Beth explained gently. "He lives in Alliance. He's a good kid."

"Thank you."

Beth smiled in understanding and stood up just after her brothers. They trio bid Julia goodbye and left the house, heading down the porch and back around the house to where the Impala was parked.

Night had fallen by the time Beth and her brothers made it back to their motel room in Alliance. She walked ahead of Sam and unlocked their door, stopping briefly to turn the light on.

"Cas!" she exclaimed happily, dumping the key on the table and heading over to hug the angel. He hugged her back for a second before releasing her and turning to Sam and Dean.

"I take it you got our message?" Sam asked as he sat down at the table.

"It's lucky you found the boy," Castiel said, cutting to the chase.

"Yeah, real lucky. What do we do with him?" Dean questioned.

"Kill him."

Beth started at that, looking up at Castiel in disbelief. Her brothers had similar looks on their faces.

"Cas—" Dean started.

"This child is half-demon and half-human," Castiel interrupted. "But it's far more powerful than either. Other cultures call this hybrid Cambion or Katako. You know him as the Antichrist." Cas sat down in the chair across from Sam and farting noises filled the air, gaining a confused look from Sam and an amused one from both Beth and Dean. "That wasn't me," Castiel stated as he pulled Dean's whoopee cushion out from under him.

"Who put that there?" Dean asked rhetorically, trying to hide a smile.

"Back to more important stuff. I don't get it, Jesse is the devil's son?" Sam asked.

"No. Of course not," Castiel sighed. "Your bible gets more wrong than it does right. The Antichrist is not Lucifer's child. It's just demon spawn. But it is one of the devil's greatest weapons in the war against Heaven… so are the Nephilim." The three males looked over at Beth at Cas' statement and she shifted nervously, almost wishing that the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

"If Jesse's a demonic howitzer, what's he doing in Nebraska?"

"The demons lost him. They can't find him but they're looking," Cas explained.

"And they lost him because…?"

"Because of the child's power," the angel replied. "It hides him from both angels and demons for now."

"So he's got, like, a force field around him. Well, that's great. Problem solved."

"With Lucifer risen, this child grows stronger," Castiel started, turning in his chair to look up at Dean. "Soon, he will do more than just make a few toys come to life. Something that will draw the demons to him. The demons will find this child. Lucifer will twist this boy to his purpose, and then, with a word, this child will destroy the host of Heaven."

"Wait, you're saying that Jesse's gonna nuke the angels?"

"We cannot allow that to happen."

"Wait," Sam said, looking between Dean and Cas in disbelief. "We're the good guys. We don't just kill children."

"A year ago, you would've done whatever it took to win this war," Castiel began as he stood up, facing off against Sam.

"Things change," Sam snapped.

"Okay. Hey, look. We are not going to kill him. All right?" Dean stepped in. "But we can't leave Jesse here either. We know that. So, we take him to Bobby's, he'll know what to do."

"You'll kidnap him?" Castiel questioned. "What is going on in this town, it's what happens when this thing is happy. You cannot imagine what it will do if it's angry. Besides, how will you hold him? With a thought, he could be halfway around the world."

"So we…"

"So we tell him the truth," Sam interrupted. "You say Jesse's destined to go dark side, fine, but he hasn't yet. So if we lay it all out for him, what he is... the apocalypse, everything. He might make the right choice."

Castiel leaned towards Sam, anger flickering across his face. "You didn't. And I can't take that chance." With that, the angel disappeared in a flutter of wings.

"Uh, Sam… where's Beth?" Dean asked, only just realizing his sister was nowhere to be seen.

Beth snuck up the porch to the Turner residence and made quick work of picking the lock and hurrying inside, closing the door behind her quietly.

"Beth?" a quiet voice behind her said. Beth turned to find Jesse standing at the bottom of the stairs. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't have time to explain, I just need you to trust me, okay?" she replied, walking over and crouching in front of him. "You're in danger, I'm here to help you."

"Danger? What are you talking about?" Jesse asked. He walked past her to the kitchen to get some water from the cooler by the fridge. Beth followed him, glancing over her shoulder warily as if she expected Cas to be standing there.

"Someone wants to kill you and I can't let that happen," she said bluntly. Jesse looked up at her in surprise. A heavy weight settled in Beth's stomach and she knew immediately that Cas was there. "Jesse, stay behind me."

Jesse, sensing something was wrong, set his glass down on the counter and grabbed Beth's arm, following her to the living room.

"Beth, what are you doing here?" Castiel questioned lowly, walking slowly into the room. Jesse clutched her arm tighter as Beth backed them both up into a corner, keeping her body between the child and the angel.

"I'm not gonna let you hurt him," Beth said. "He's just a kid. You can't kill him."

"Lucifer set this task for you, to keep the child safe," Cas said after reading her thoughts. "To protect him until he could come and collect him."

Beth shrugged her shoulders. "Even if he hadn't, I still wouldn't let you hurt Jesse. If you want to harm him, you'll have to go through me."

"I don't want to hurt you, Beth."

"Why not? You're perfectly okay with hurting Jesse and he's just like me," Beth argued. "We've both got something inside us that we can't control. The only difference is that he's not part-angel like me."

"He's not like you, Beth," Castiel told her, trying to make the nephil see things from his point of view. "With a single thought, he could destroy all the angels and all of Heaven."

"Just like me," Beth countered, knowing it to be true. "Lucifer told me that I was powerful enough to do anything. I could do the same as Jesse, if I really wanted to."

"I won't let you stand between me and what needs to be done," Castiel said, right before he grabbed Beth and threw her from the room. She collided roughly with the kitchen table and knocked the chairs over as she hit the floor. A panicked cry from the living room had her scrambling to her feet in fear and racing back to the living room. Jesse was standing where she'd left him, his back pressed against the wall, staring down at a small figurine that resembled Castiel perfectly.

"Jesse, are you okay?" Beth asked, kneeling in front of the child. Jesse shook his head and launched himself at her, wrapping his arms around her neck tightly. Beth returned the hug, rubbing Jesse's back in comfort. The front door flew open a second later and her brothers darted into the house.

"Beth? Are you both okay?" Sam questioned, looking for any injuries on the two half-humans.

"We're fine," she replied, standing up after Jesse released her. The dark haired kid stood beside her, staring up at her brothers warily. "Castiel, not so much."

"What do you mean?" Dean said in confusion. Beth bent down to pick up the Cas doll before handing it over to Dean.

"What the…?"

"It's a long story," Beth sighed.

Jesse and Beth sat on the couch whilst Sam sat in the chair in the corner. Dean walked past them and set the Cas doll on the mantel about the fire place.

"Was he your friend?" Jesse asked, his brows drawn together.

"Him? No…" Dean said quickly.

"I did that," Jesse stated, glancing at Beth. She nodded once, a knowing look on her face. "How did I do that?"

"You're a superhero," Dean replied, shrugging his shoulders. "So is Beth, actually." Dean paid no attention to the annoyed glare Beth sent his way.

"Really?" Jesse asked, an eager glint in his eyes.

"Yeah. Who else could turn someone into a toy? You're Superman, minus the cape and the go-go boots." Dean smiled down at the kid. "See, my partners and I, we work for a secret government agency. It's our job to find kids with special powers. In fact, we're here to take you to a hidden base in South Dakota, where you and Beth will be trained to fight evil."

"Like the X-Men?" Jesse asked curiously.

"Exactly like the X-men," Dean assured him. "In fact, the guy we're taking you to, he's even in a wheelchair. You'll be a hero. You'll save lives, you'll get the girl. Sounds like fun, right?"

Beth and Sam were immediately on their feet as Dean was suddenly sent flying backwards into the wall.

"They're lying to you," Julia said as she strolled through the open doorway. Sam was next to go flying against the wall. Beth grabbed Jesse and pulled him back away from the demon. "Stay right there, dreamboat. Can't hurt you or Beth. Orders," the blonde said to Sam before she turned to look at Dean. "You on the other hand? Hurting you is encouraged." With a wave of her hand, the demon sent Dean flying face-first into the opposite wall and then back to the one he'd just been pinned to.

"Leave him alone!" Jesse shouted. Beth held Jesse against her, once again keeping her body between him and the one she perceived as a threat to Jesse.

"Jesse, you're beautiful," the demon said, stepping closer.

"Take one more step and you'll be in for a world of pain," Beth warned, her eyes glowing blue-white in response to Julia's eyes turning pitch black.

"You think you can stop me?"

"Oh, I know I can," Beth promised. "You're not getting your evil hands anywhere near him."

"I can't imagine Father will be pleased with your sudden lapse in loyalty," Julia said mockingly.

"Screw you." Beth could feel the familiar build-up of energy in her stomach, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it.

"Beth? Who is she?" Jesse asked from beside her. The Heavenly fire in Beth's eyes died down to reveal her natural eye colour as she glanced at him.

"I'm your mother," Julia input, bracing her hands on her knees as she lowered herself to Jesse's level.

"No you're not," Jesse denied.

"You're half-human, half one of us," Julia explained.

"She means demons, Jesse," Dean said. Julia's eyes turned black again and she clenched her fist, twisting her hand to the side and Sam and Dean's heads twisted too, their throats closing up as they gasped for breath.

"Those people you call your parents, they lied to you too," Julia said, turning back to Jesse. "You're not theirs. Not really."

"My mom and dad love me," Jesse said, sounding like he was desperately trying to convince himself.

"Do they?" Julia asked, a hint of pity in her voice. "Is that why they leave you alone all day? Because they love you so much? These people, these imposters, they told you the tooth fairy was real and your toys could hurt you and a hundred other things that aren't true. They love you so much, they made your whole life a lie. Look into your heart, Jesse. You've always known you weren't theirs. You've always known you were different. Everyone has lied to you. They're not FBI agents." Julia and Jesse turned to look at the Winchester brothers. Jesse looked away from Sam and Dean and up at Beth.

"I'm sorry," Beth murmured.

"And you're not a superhero," Julia continued.

"Then what am I?"

"You're powerful. You can have anything you want, you can do anything you want," Julia explained.

"Don't listen to her Jesse!" Dean exclaimed. Julia turned on Dean and twisted her fist again, cutting off his oxygen supply. Beth immediately went to attack, only to have Julia throw her right arm out and shove her hand into Beth's chest, locking her fingers around Beth's heart.

"Beth!" Sam cried out, his eyes wide in horror as Beth choked up a mouthful of blood, her face paling rapidly as she struggled to remain still so Julia wouldn't yank her heart out.

"They treated you like a child. Nobody trusted you, everybody's lied to you," Julia said to Jesse as she lowered her left arm but kept her right hand locked around Beth's heart. "Doesn't that make you angry?"

Jesse clenched his fist angrily and the lights began flickering. Flames roared up in the once empty fireplace and the house began to shake.

"See? It does make you angry," Julia said, amused. Jesse glared up at her. "But I'm telling you the truth, Jesse. Wouldn't it be better if there were no lies? Come with me, and you can wash it all clean. Start over. Imagine, a world without lies." The house began to shake even more and a massive crack appeared in the wall between Sam and Dean.

"J-Jesse, don't li-listen to her," Beth wheezed out, gaining Jesse's attention. "Your parents do love you. They take care of you. They love you for who you are not what you can do. That monster in front of you only wants you for your powers."

Julia tightened her fist and Beth cried out, her legs buckling and her knees hit the ground with a loud thud. She arched her back in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure.

"She's right," Sam spoke up. "We lied to you. But I'll tell you the truth." A groan of pain escaped as Sam's throat closed up once again. "I just—I just want to tell—" Sam gasped out, struggling to breathe.

"Stop it," Jesse said, turning on Julia. "I wanna hear what he has to say."

"You're stronger than I thought," Julia said thoughtfully, glancing down at her son.

"We lied to you, and I'm sorry," Sam started, glancing at Jesse. "So here's the truth. I'm Sam Winchester. That's my brother, Dean and my half-sister Beth. We hunt monsters."

"Except when you are the monster, right, Sammy?"

"Don't talk to him like that," Beth forced out through gritted teeth. Julia quickly silenced her with a glare before she could say any more.

"And that woman right there, her name is Julia," Sam continued, ignoring Julia. "She's your mother. But the thing inside of her, the thing that you're talking to… it's a demon."

"A demon?" Jesse repeated.

"He's done nothing but lie to you. Don't listen to him, punish him."

"Sit down and shut up," Jesse ordered, turning to Julia. The demon flew backwards, her hand releasing Beth's heart and she landed on the nearby chair, unable to move or talk. Beth remained on her knees, breathing heavily as the wound on her chest slowly closed up.

"There's kind of a war between angels and demons," Sam said, glancing at Jesse nervously. "And you're a part of it… Beth too."

"I'm just a kid," Jesse argued.

"You can go with her, if you want," Sam told him gently. "I can't stop you. No one can. But if you do, millions of people are gonna die."

"She said I was half-demon. Is that true?"

"It is, Jesse," Beth said as she slowly got to her feet. "But you're half-human too. You don't have to be like her. Just like I don't have to be like some of the angels we've met. You can choose who you want to be."

"You can do the right thing. You've got choices, Jesse," Sam took over from Beth. "If you make the wrong ones, they'll haunt you for the rest of your life."

"Why are you telling me this?" Jesse asked, distraught. Tears welled up in his eyes as he stared up at Sam.

"Because I have to believe someone can make the right choice, even if I couldn't," Sam replied.

Jesse turned to the demon and said, "Get out of her," in a firm voice. The chair she was in shot backwards and hit the wall as the black demon smoke flew out of Julia's mouth, disappearing into the fire place and up the chimney. The moment the demon was completely gone, the hold of Dean broke and he hit the ground with a thud, his feet and ankles aching at the impact.

"How did you do that?" Dean asked, shocked.

"I just did," Jesse shrugged.

"Kid, you're awesome," Dean said, slightly breathless. He reached out and clutched Beth's shoulder, making sure she was okay.

"Dean, I'm fine," Beth mumbled, shaking him off. "It's healed."

"Is she gonna be okay?" Jesse asked, turning away from an unconscious Julia.

"Eventually," Dean replied as he met Jesse's gaze. He leaned down and picked up the Cas doll that had fallen from the fire place. "Look, uh, truth is, he's kind of a buddy of ours. Any way you could turn him back?"

"He tried to kill me," Jesse pointed out in disbelief.

"…Right. Look, he's a good guy, really. He was just confused," Dean explained.

Beth sighed from where she stood beside the couch and waved her hand at the figurine. It shot out of Dean's hand and seconds later, a live version of Cas was standing next to Dean.

"How did you do that?" Dean asked, looking to Beth.

"I took a leaf from Jesse's book," she replied quietly and glanced down at the aforementioned kid. "I wanted to do it, so I did."

Castiel looked between Dean and the two hybrids through narrowed eyes. Before he could say anything, Beth held a hand up and fixed him with a firm glare.

"Don't even think about hurting Jesse," she told him sternly. "He's under my protection."

Castiel looked reluctant to listen to her but he eventually backed down as Dean slapped his arm with the back of his hand. "I won't harm the boy."

Castiel's words seemed to reassure Beth and she relaxed, offering him a smile in return. Jesse, however, didn't look too convinced and moved closer to Beth.

"What do we do now?" Jesse asked.

"Now we take you someplace safe," Dean replied, sharing a glance with Sam. "Get you trained up. You'd be handy in a fight… both of you would." He glanced pointedly at Beth, who raised an eyebrow in response.

"What if I don't want to fight?"

"Jesse," Sam started, walking closer. "You're powerful. More powerful than pretty much anything we've ever seen. That makes you…"

"A freak?" Jesse interrupted. Beth frowned down at him, setting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing in a comforting manner.

"Maybe to some people," Sam agreed softly. "But not to us. See, we're kinda freaks ourselves."

"I can't stay here, can I?"

"No, Jesse, you can't," Beth told him sadly.

"The demons know where you are, more will be coming," Dean explained.

"I won't go without my mom and dad," Jesse said.

"There's nothing more important than family, we get that, and if you really wanna take them with you, we'll back your play. But you gotta understand, it's gonna be dangerous for them too."

"What do you mean?"

"Our dad, he would take me and Sam with him wherever he went," Dean began, gaining Beth and Jesse's attention.

"Where is he now?"

"Dead," Sam replied. "A demon killed him."

Beth's arm tightened around Jesse's shoulder at that statement. "You never told me that."

"We didn't want you to know what had happened to him," Dean told her carefully. "It wasn't… it just never came up."

"Look, Jesse, once you're in this fight, you're in it to the end," Sam said, getting the conversation back on track. "Win or lose."

"What should I do?" Jesse asked, turning to Beth.

"I can't make that decision for you. It's up to you," Beth replied, crouching beside him. "But if you come with us, I can promise you that you'll not be alone in all of this. I'm still learning about what I am and I can also promise that I'll be by your side every step of the way. We'll learn together, Jesse."

"Can I go see my parents?" Jesse questioned. Beth smiled and nodded at him. "I wanna say goodbye."

"Go ahead," she told him. "I'll pack some of your stuff, if you'd like?"

"Yes, please," Jesse replied quietly. He headed for the stairs and Beth followed him, sending a glance back at her brothers and Cas before they disappeared from sight.

About an hour later, Jesse's things were packed and in the trunk of the Impala along with Beth, Sam and Dean's duffel bags. Jesse was fast asleep in the back of the car, his head resting on Beth's lap with her jacket covering him. Sam and Dean were in the front of the car, talking quietly amongst themselves. Castiel had disappeared earlier while Beth had been helping Jesse pack his stuff.

Eventually, the loud rumble of the engine and the music playing softly in the background had Beth drifting off to sleep. Before she was fully asleep though, she caught the end of Sam and Dean's conversation.

"Do you think she's gonna be okay?" Sam asked quietly. "Do you think both of them are gonna be okay?"

"…I think they will be… eventually," Dean replied. "We just gotta help them through it."

"I hope you're right, Dean."