A/N: Thank you for the support. It's greatly appreciated. Hope you continue to enjoy!

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN: TRUTH

Dean looked up at Castiel. "How?"

"I told Uriel not to kill Sam," Castiel answered. "I didn't want to hurt you. And if Sam was dead, you would be hurt." Finally, he let his eyes look into Dean's, sky blue clashing with jade green. "I...think of you as an ally. And I do not want to jeopardize that relationship. I will protect Sam for as long as I can. I promise."

Dean smiled at Castiel. "Thank you, Cas." He chuckled. "You're much cooler than those other jerks you side with."

Flare sneezed. Great. She had been out in the cold too long, and now she was getting sick. "I-I was worried about you, Sammy," she answered through chattering teeth.

Sam took his jacket off of his body, wrapping it around Flare. "Come on, it's freezing out here. Let's get you home." He walked her to the motel, feeling disgusted with himself because this was all his fault. Again, she sneezed, nodding her head. Upon arrival, Sam pushed the motel door open, walking Flare inside and over to the bed. As he covered her up, he looked around the room, seeing Dean in the corner alone. "Who are you talking to?"

Dean looked at Sam, then back at the space Castiel had been. "Just thinking out loud," he lied.

"Oh," Sam answered, taking a cup of hot tea to Flare. He sat on the edge of the bed. "Here, drink this. It'll help."

"Thanks," she said, taking the tea and moving closer to Sam. He felt dirty, remembering what he had done with Ruby in order to get what he wanted, and now, being with Flare made his feel disgusted with himself. Flare sneezed again. "Ugh, I hate colds." Sam held Flare close, knowing there was nothing else he could do for her.

"No," Abbey groaned in her sleep. She was tossing and turning, her nightmare causing tears to fall from her eyes and cold sweat to form on her body. Dean walked over to her, taking her hand in his. She jerked her hand away, however. "Stop, no. Can fight it. Together."

"Abbey, wake up," Dean coaxed, shaking her gently.

"No, Ava, please," Abbey struggled. Suddenly, she jackknifed awake, her head ramming into Dean's as she did. She squeezed her eyes shut, throwing her hand to her forehead and applying pressure. "Ow. That hurt." She shook her head, hoping to clear some of the pain.

Flare jumped at the sound of Abbey and Dean's heads colliding. Wow, that was going to hurt later.

Dean rubbed his head. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

Abbey looked at Dean and said, "It's okay. My fault." She took her hand away from her head. "Wow, you have a hard head." Then, she touched his wrist, pulling his hand away. "Let me see." There was a large red bump on his forehead. "Ooh, sorry." Lightly, she touched his forehead. "Does that hurt?"

"Not really," he answered with a smile. "I've had a lot worse,"

"Aww," Flare whispered to Sam. "How cute?"

Sam chuckled, knowing that would get a reaction out of Dean. Suddenly, Abbey quickly pulled her hand away. "Oh, uh, I should get you and me some ice." She walked into the kitchen and grabbed the ice tray.

Dean glared at Sam and Flare before he whacked them in the back of their heads.

"Hey!" Flare growled.

Dean looked over at Sam. "Bitch."

Sam, still rubbing his head, chuckled. "Jerk."

Flare shook her head. "Losers," she mumbled.

Dean glared at her. "Whatever, Princess Zelda," he said with a smirk.

"I really hate you."

"Here you go," Abbey said, walking back into the room and handing Dean one of the ice packs. The other she pressed to her own forehead. She couldn't get the images of her death out of her head. Flare, Sam and Dean had all but faded into the background after she had given Dean the ice pack. Unconsciously, she touched her abdomen, half expecting her hand to become warm with her own blood, but it didn't. Why was she back? Was there something that she needed to do? Or was this just some way for the angels to get their kicks? Toy with the little human until she breaks? She needed answers, and the only way she could get them was if she had Castiel. She knew what she had to do. Put herself in danger. "I have to go," she informed everyone in the room before walking out into the night intent on one thing and one thing only: Find Carrie and make her mad.

Flare tried to get up and follow her, but Sam pushed her back down. "Dean, follow her," she begged.

Dean walked out of the motel, following Abbey at a safe distance so she didn't notice him.

Abbey ran through the streets, looking for her sister. She knew there was only one thing that she could do to make Castiel come to her, and this was one of them. It had worked for Sam, so she figured it would work for her, too.

Carrie crouched in the shadows, waiting for Dean to come back to the diner that he always ate at. She was determined to take him out, knowing that with him out of the way, there was nothing to get in her way when she went to eliminate Sam.

"Carrie," Abbey said, looking for her. "I need to talk to you." Abbey heard a noise and walked towards it. "Carrie?" Suddenly, she was tackled to the ground, her shoulder hitting the pavement, hard. She screamed in pain as a loud pop sounded through the air.

Carrie straddled Abbey, pinning her down. "You're dead. You're not supposed to be here!" She hit her hard in the face. "You ruined everything!"

Suddenly, Dean was behind Carrie, ready to protect Abbey. He held the gun to the back of Abbey's evil twin's head, cocking it. "Give me one reason not to shoot you, bitch."

Carrie smirked, turning her attention to Dean. "Well, Dean," she answered smartly. "The fact that you don't have a gun would be a good reason." She slapped the gun away from Dean's hands, kicking his legs out from under him. Then, she crawled on top of him, pinning his wrists to the ground. "Mmmm...this brings back memories, doesn't it, Dean?" Abbey rolled onto her side, trying to get up to help Dean, but the pain in her arm was too great, causing her to have to stay on the ground. "I'm sorry, Dean, but I have to kill you," Carrie said before planting a rough kiss to his lips, pushing her tongue inside his mouth and exploring every part of his mouth.

Suddenly, Castiel and Uriel were in the clearing. "Carrie, let him go!" Castiel ordered. He would not hesitate to take Carrie out if she tried to hurt Abbey. Also, if she tried to hurt Dean, Castiel would make her regret her decision.

Carrie smiled at them. "Make me."

Castiel looked to Uriel, letting him know he should handle this how he knew best. Take her out. He walked over to Abbey, observing the damages that were done to her. As he looked her over, he yelled to Uriel. "Help Dean!"

Uriel walked over to the evil twin and grabbed her by the throat, pulling her up off of Dean who quickly rose to his feet.

Carrie slapped Uriel's hand off of her and hit him in the mouth. "Keep your sick hands off of me you filthy angel!" Carrie yelled.

"Dean, she is in pain," Castiel informed him. "I believe Caroline has dislocated her shoulder." He stood, looking into Dean's eyes. "Take her home."

Dean looked at Castiel and nodded. "Come on," he said, helping Abbey from the ground. He kept an arm wrapped around her waist for support as they walked in the direction of the motel.

Abbey flinched when Dean touched her. She was in immense pain. "Ow, Dean, don't touch my arm. Ah, it hurts!" She closed her eyes against the pain. Finally, she couldn't walk anymore. "Dean, stop. Wait."

Sam lay in the bed, holding Flare. She had fallen asleep, and thankfully stopped sneezing. He couldn't believe he had gotten her sick. Why did she have to follow him? Did she have a death wish? If Ruby would have seen her, he had no idea what would have went down. Suddenly, he found himself craving Ruby's blood again at the thought of her. Desperately, he tried to fight the feeling. He jumped from the the bed, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. His finger lingered on the send button as he stared down at Ruby's phone number, sweat beginning to form above his brows.

Suddenly, Flare sat up, breathing heavily. Sam threw his phone aside, running to her side. "Flare?" Sam asked, putting his hand on her shoulder and looking into her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Just a dream," she said quietly, hoping fear was not in her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked, still concerned.

"I-I don't know," Flare said, shaking her head. "I-It was so real."

"Well, what was it about?" Sam asked.

"I don't remember," she lied, closing her eyes.

Sam shook his head. "Okay, um, Flare, I'll be right back. I need to go out for a while."

Flare gently grabbed Sam's arm, shaking her head. "Please, don't go."

Sam looked down at Flare, feeling sorry. "I have to. I need to get something. I'll be back." He shrugged her hand off of him and walked to the door. "Try to get some sleep." And with that, he was out the door and on his way to the warehouse. "Ruby, I need you. Get to the warehouse. I'll be there in ten minutes. Don't make me wait."

She waited a few minutes, before getting up and walking out the door to follow. She quickly caught up to him, hiding in the shadows.

Dean glanced at Abbey. "What? What's wrong?"

"Stop walking. I can't." She stepped closer to one of the trees in the area. "Dean, you have to pop this back into place. Come here."

Dean walked over to her, putting one hand on her shoulder. "Ready?"

Abbey put her free hand on Dean's shoulder. "Just don't move." She braced herself before pushing the left side of her body closer to Dean, his hand snapping the joint back into place with a snap! As her shoulder was relocated, she yelled in pain. Once she was gathered, she looked up at Dean and gave him a weak smile. "Thank you." He nodded with a smile. "Okay, Dean, I need you to do me one fore favor."

"What's that?" he asked with a smile, unconsciously pinning her to the tree with his body.

"Hit me."

He took a step back. "What? Why?"

"Because I need to talk to Castiel. And he'll only come if I'm in danger. So hit me."

"Fine." Hesitantly, he brought his arm back, slamming it forward, connecting with her jaw.

She shook her head in an attempt to relieve some of the pain she felt. Castiel didn't show. "Again." As Dean grabbed her to hit her again, Castiel showed up.

"Dean, what are you doing?!" Castiel demanded.

Dean threw his hands up in his signature peaceful gesture. "Whoa. It was her idea."

Castiel looked from Dean to Abbey. "Why?"

"I need to know. Why did you bring me back?"

"I told you, God commanded it."

"Why?! Who am I? I'm not anyone. Why did he want me back?"

Castiel sighed. "I am not supposed to tell."

"Tell me. I have a right to know."

"My orders are to keep it a secret." Castiel sighed again. "But I believe you should know. We brought you back because if you were dead, it would have been easy to break the seal. The demons could have just went and destroyed your corpse. With you alive, you can fight back."

Suddenly, Abbey punched Castiel in the mouth. "I was happy! You tore me out of paradise so I could come here and play seal in your little apocalypse?! That's not fair!"

Dean put a comforting hand on Abbey's shoulder as Castiel disappeared. She shrugged Dean's shoulder off of her hand. She was mad, now and didn't want to have to deal with anyone. "Look, can you just...not. I just want to go home." She turned, not waiting for Dean and walked back to the motel. However, when she got there, she couldn't get in because Sam and Flare weren't there and she didn't have a key. Therefore, she just sat on the step, waiting for someone to come home.

Sam walked into the warehouse, seeing Ruby standing beside the bed, holding the knife in her hands. "You know, Sam, we have to stop meeting like this."

He walked closer to her, taking the knife from her hand. He slipped his hands into her jacket and pulled it off, revealing her bare arms. Slowly, he dug the blade into her forearm, hearing her gasp. He licked his lips as her blood began to spill out of the wound. "Oh, Ruby," he said before covering the wound with his mouth and sucking her blood.

Flare listened through the door, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Ruby gasped. "Oh, that's it, Sammy. Take as much as you need. The more blood you drink, the stronger you become. And then you can kill Lilith."

Sam put his tongue on the wound, allowing the blood to cover it completely as he closed his eyes in satisfaction.

Flare let out a low growl before yanking the door open, her hands clenched into fists.

Ruby's head snapped up, her gaze going to the door. She smiled when she saw Flare. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the seal's sister." Sam looked at Flare, ashamed. Now, she knew his big secret. He hoped she wouldn't tell Dean; it would destroy them. Disappointed with himself, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, Ruby's blood now staining his hand.

"Oh, look, it's the demon bitch I ran into in New York," Flare hissed. "How about you back away from Sam before I beat the shit out of you."

"Ooh," Ruby crooned. "Tough talk for someone who got their ass kicked back in New York. And as for Sam," Ruby started, wrapping her bloody arm around him, making sure to stick the wound right under his nose, "he's with me, now. So back the hell off!"

Flare glared at Sam then back at Ruby. "I've learned a few things since then," she hissed, her hands lighting up with flames. "Get. Out. Of. Here. Now!"

Ruby chuckled. "Oh, please. You think fire's going to scare me? I have Sam blocking me from you. So, unless you want to burn your boyfriend, you can't touch me."

Flare looked at Sam and the fire in her hands died out "I. Want. You. Gone," Flare yelled before running at Ruby.

As Flare said these words, Ruby whispered in Sam's ear, causing him to close his eyes in what seemed like painful thought. Suddenly, Sam threw his hand out, his palm facing Flare, stopping her in her tracks. "I can't let you hurt her, Flare," he cried. "I'm sorry."

Flare looked at him,surprise on her face. "Sam what are you doing?" she asked as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I thought you loved me."

Sam closed his eyes again, tears forming. "I do," he sobbed. "But I need Ruby. She's the only one that can help me kill Lilith. I can't let you hurt her, Flare, I'm sorry."

Flare closed her eyes, looking away from Sam. "I could help you. There are other ways than this, Sammy."

"No, there aren't," Sam argued, still holding Flare in place with his mind. "I need Ruby's blood. It makes me stronger."

"Sammy, please," she begged, struggling to get free.

"Sam, don't listen to her. She wants you to hate me. She wants you to kill me." Ruby put her hand on Sam's bicep and leaned into him. "Don't let her win, Sam."

Sam blinked, trying to process everything. He flexed his fingers, causing his telekinetic grip on Flare to tighten slightly, but not enough to hurt her.

Tears ran down Flare's cheeks. "Sammy, please?" "I can't, Flare. I need her," Sam protested.

"Sam, you don't know what you doing. This...this thing," she said, glancing at Ruby, "she is trying to turn you against the ones you love."

"Don't listen to her, Sam, she's the one you need to worry about," Ruby countered. "Sam, kill her before she kills someone you love."

Sam bent his elbow, loosening his hold on Flare. "Stop," he ordered. "Just stop talking."

"Sam, please! After all we've worked for! She's going to destroy us!"

Sam threw his free hand out, locking Ruby to the wall as he did Flare. "Stop...talking! I need to think!"

Dean looked at Abbey who was sitting outside the hotel room. "Why aren't you inside?"

"I don't have the key," Abbey answered, staring at a piece of gravel on the road. She was completely out of it. After all that had happened to her in the past few days, she just wanted to curl up and fall asleep. Hopefully, she wouldn't wake up, and she would be back in her paradise. Back in Heaven. Dean sighed, taking a seat next to her, staring at the ground. Abbey allowed her gaze to tick over to Dean. "You don't have to protect me, you know? I can handle it."

Dean looked at Abbey and frowned. "Maybe I just feel like I should."

Abbey scoffed. "Why? I've done enough protecting in my lifetime to know how to protect myself, Dean, thank you."

"Maybe I protect you because I like you."

Abbey scoffed. "You don't even know me."

Dean looked away. "Still."

"Still what?"

"I feel like I do know you." He smiled. "Back in high school, I was going to ask you out. I'd never done that before."

Abbey laughed. "The Great Dean Winchester going to ask me out. Why?"

"Because I liked you."

Abbey's heart sank. "Liked?" she asked. "As in...past tense?"

"I still do." He smiled at her.

Abbey smiled. "Well, I like you, too."

Dean smirked "Well, we can have the chance to do what we wanted to do in high school," he said.

Abbey smiled. "Oh really?" she teased. "And what did we want to do in high school?"

Dean leaned in and kissed her. Abbey melted into the kiss, allowing Dean to take control. She put her hand on his cheek, allowing it to trail back and fist into his short-cropped hair. Dean ran his tongue across Abbey's bottom lip, and Abbey parted her lips, allowing Dean's tongue the access it was begging for, deepening the kiss. Abbey moaned, the sound being swallowed by their kiss. She wrapped her free arm around Dean's neck, allowing it to rest on his shoulder blade.

Abbey finally pulled away, needing to breathe. And when she did, her breaths came out hot and heavy. Again she looked into Dean's eyes before dipping in to steal another kiss. Again, Abbey pulled away. "Mmm...we should stop. Flare and Sam could come back any minute. And judging by that kiss, I know what you're thinking, Dean." She winked at him playfully. He frowned. "Maybe later, if you're a good boy," she teased, standing and waiting for him to open the door.

Dean smiled before he pulled the hotel key from his pocket and opened the door.

"Sam, stop it!Let me go!" Ruby ordered. Sam closed his eyes against her voice, knowing that these two women were going to be the death of him.

Finally, Sam released his grip on both of the women. "Go," he ordered Ruby. "Get out of here, I'll call you later if I need you."

Ruby glared at him, then at Flare before she disappeared out the back.

Sam looked at Flare, his eyes gleaming with unshed tears. "Flare, I'm so sorry," he cried.

"You should be," Flare said sadly. "How could you do this?"

"I needed it. I have to kill Lilith. For what she did to Dean. I just have to. She has to pay."

"Revenge? It slowly kills you inside. Believe me, I know." She looked into Sam's eyes "It makes you do things you don't want to do."

Sam let the tears fall as he continued to stare at the ground. "Flare," he whispered, lifting his gaze to look into her golden eyes, "help me. Please?"

She walked closer to him, hugging him. "Of course, Sammy. "Of course."

Sam wrapped his arms around Flare, crying into her shoulder. "Please don't tell Dean," he begged, fearing that she would.

"I won't, Sammy," she whispered, running her hand up and down his back. "Shhhhh."

"He-He wouldn't understand," Sam continued. "He wouldn't believe that I did it for him."

"Shhhhhh," she whispered. "It's going to be okay."

Sam looked at Flare. "We should go home. Dean and Abbey are probably back by now."