I woke up to cold water being splashed on my face. "I swear, Fergus!" Rowena shouted. "Why in the hell have you been hiding this from me?"

"Because she asked." I heard Crowley answer. I sat up slowly, rubbing my head.

"Can you take it down a notch?" I muttered. "My head is killing me." I put a hand to it, not even thinking as I healed myself. I moved it away just as quickly, taking a short inventory of myself. No more broken ankle. Same clothes on, but phone on the table. Headache now gone. No feeling like I had a witchbag attached to me.

I was fixed and fine.

I looked around the room, my eyes landing on Crowley and Rowena in turn, standing in my small room back at the cabin. It had been Crowley that I'd called, he was on my speed dial still.

"Kylie!" Rowena exclaimed, running up to hug me tightly. I stiffened like a board, surprised at the sudden… emotion, I guess? The sudden positivity from Rowena towards me. "I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that you're alive."

"The last time you remember seeing me, you tried to kill me." I pointed out as she pulled away. "Actually, you forced Castiel to try to kill myself and your son." I looked over at Crowley, and he tossed me my phone.

"It's been ringing like a man possessed all day." He said. "Someone named Ketch. A friend, I presume?"

"Thanks." I caught it easily.

"Sorry about the whole murder thing by the way, dearest." Rowena apologized. "But that was, what, almost two years ago? Bygones be bygones, I always say." Crowley huffed at that, rolling his eyes.

"I'm guessing you told her?" I asked Crowley.

"I had to." He said. "It was the easiest way to make sure you would be alright."

"Aww, you care." I said, offering him a sarcastic smirk. "I almost feel like… Like we're family, now."

"Shut up." He muttered, moving Rowena aside as he came up towards me. He stared me down hard, his teeth gritted as he stared at me. "Don't do that again, you bloody idiot." He muttered, looking away as he awkwardly pat me on the back.

"I promise, next time I put myself in a compromising position with insane witch triplets, I'll have a better exit plan." I thought for a minute. "How did you find me? I know I called, but there's no way you were able to get a cell phone trace that fast."

"Actually, I had other means of finding you." He admitted. "I believe you remember Karma?" As he spoke, I heard a happy bark coming from outside. "She came and found me around the same time that you called."

"I've got to go give her a whole cow to chase after or something." I muttered. "She's a good dog."

"Why do you think I gave you that one?" Crowley asked. Rowena looked from me to him.

"You give HER a bloody hellhound, but you can't say a kind word to your own mother?!" She sounded absolutely surprised and insulted by the notion. She turned back and took a second look at me. "AND She dyed her hair red! What are you trying to do, replace your own mother?!"

"I actually kinda always wanted to dye my hair." I said. "Remember, I originally went with punk-ish dark hair. I figured it was time to change it up again."

"Still…" She muttered.

"It's good to see you too Rowena." I finally said. "Now, if you guys will give me a few minutes, I'm going to go call back this guy." I waggled the phone as I started to get up. The second I was fully vertical, though, a wave of nausea hit me and I had to put a hand on the bed to steady myself.

"You took a lot out of yourself with what you did, dearest." Rowena said, helping me get fully upright. "That wasn't any small magic either. That was an extreme amount of power that you used, combined with what was already in effect on you." As she said that, I looked down at my own wrist. The burns were still there, but they were meaningless now. Just a reminder of what had happened. "You stopped any chance of not only Gideon from ever coming back to life."

"I had to do something. I couldn't just let them kill Sam."

"Yes, great job." Crowley commented dryly. "And then afterwards you jumped out a window, which set off the spell that they used to try and keep you captive in the house, as well as also broke your ankle. Afterwards you rolled in to the car, earned yourself a concussion, and managed to knock yourself out from an overreach of your powers without a viable backup plan."

"I had a backup plan!" I argued.

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"And that was what, calling me on what I assume was an accident?" He asked. "Who were you intending to call? The man that's been trying to get in contact with you?"

"Depends. Are you hurt by that?"

"No." He rolled his eyes at that, crossing his arms.

"Oh Fergus, quit acting like a petulant child." Rowena said, letting me go. "I'll make you some tea." She told me, smiling kindly. "And then afterwards I've got a few questions to ask you about how life has been, since apparently my own son won't tell me what's going on." She cast Crowley a small glare before walking towards the small kitchen. I stood across from Crowley, thinking for a few minutes.

"Thank you for helping me." I muttered. "And for, you know, being there for me and shit."

"Shut up." He said again. He seemed… Withdrawn, almost. Something in general was different about him.

"Are you OK?" I asked.

"Are you?"

Neither of us answered. Neither of us was quite OK. "What happened to you since I left?"

"Things have changed." He said. "Around here."

"What happened?"

"I can't quite tell you." He explained. "Not yet."

"Why?"

"Because it's still difficult." It wasn't an explanation, just him putting it off. I raised an eyebrow at that. "I've kept your secrets." He reminded me. "Let me keep my own now."

"Alright." I conceded. "But if you get yourself killed I'm totally giving you shit for it in the afterlife."

"I'm the King of Hell." He reminded me. "I can't be killed." At that one, I actually cracked a smile. Believe it or not, I'd missed hanging out with Crowley.

There's gotta be some seriously messed up shit going on in my head for me to say that.

"So what's the plan?" I asked.

"I believe mother has questions for you." He said. "And that you have a phone call to return." I nodded, taking a few slow steps out the door.

"Any chance you're up for a game of chess while I explain things?" I asked.

"You know you'll lose."

"Bring it on." I challenged, smiling at Rowena as I walked through the small kitchen. "I need to return this call first. Once I walk back in, I'll tell you everything."

"Sounds great, dearie!" She said. "Don't be too long! Wouldn't want your tea getting cold!"

I took a second to change clothes (I was SO thankful that I kept clothes here) and dry my hair before walking out. The second my body was outside the door, Karma bounded up to me energetically, nearly tackling me as she did. "Hey, hey, down girl! It's ok!" I said, laughing a little as I scratched behind your ear. "You're a good girl, aren't you?" I crooned, smiling at the hellhound. "What a good girl, getting help for me. You deserve extra treats later." I smiled, looking around for the nearest big stick. I hadn't actually ever finished my original plan for Karma, the notes and basic test startup was still inside. I found a sizeable limb that had fallen, and threw it as hard as I could, adding a small gust of wind to carry it far away. "Go fetch!" I shouted. Karma barked once before bounding after it.

I watched her for a moment, fully aware of how strange and abhorrent this would have all seemed to me not even two years ago and considering a re-evaluation of my life as I hit the number to dial Ketch. He answered before the first ring was up. "Where in the BLOODY HELL have you been?!" He asked. I took a second to look at the date on my phone. I was supposed to have checked in with him two days ago. I had still been at the house the day before that. "The Loughlin witches are dead! Their house was burned to the ground, and we thought you had died with them! Your motorcycle was found burned and destroyed there!"

"My bike got trashed?" I asked. I hadn't known about that part.

"YES!" He shouted. "WHAT HAPPENED?!"

"I overreached." I said. "Long story short, Hunters came through, Loughlin witches are in fact dead, and I got a digital copy of the book on my phone. I'll be sending you the pictures in just a minute."

"And you? How did you make it out?"

"I still have a few friends in the states." I answered. "If it makes you feeling any better, I was trying to call you for an extraction."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I've been taking the past few days to kinda patch myself up and make sure I was alright."

"Good. And the book?"

"Only a digital copy." I said. Karma ran back up with the stick, dropping it with a loud thud at my feet. "I wasn't able to get the physical one itself, and I don't know what happened to it." I threw the stick again, pushing a little to make it go even farther out, and Karma bounded right back after it.

"It'll have to do. I want a full debriefing as to what happened next week, in person." He ordered. "I'll send you the details tomorrow."

"I can meet up with you sooner than that." I offered.

"No. I have other business I'm currently attending to." He said. "Find new leads. Report back with any new information. And for Christ's sake, call Thomason. He's been borderline insubordinate, demanding a flight to the States to find you."

"He'll be my next call." I assured Ketch. "How did he learn what happened?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea." Ketch replied. "And Kylie?"

"Yeah?"

"Watch yourself. You're a valuable operative. I know I speak for not only myself, but for the Men of Letters as a whole, when I say that it'd be a shame to lose you."

"Thanks." I said, furrowing my brows as I ended the call. Why in the hell were people being nicer all of the sudden? Crowley, Ketch, Rowena… Nix Rowena, she had a decent explanation. She sucked up to the most powerful person in the room. But still, it was weird. I almost kind of wanted to tell people to stop.

"You know, if they want to be nice, I should just let them be nice." I decided. "If all else fails, I'm dreaming and everything is actually normal." I laughed a little at that as I dialed T.J.'s number.

"GODDAMMIT KYLIE!" Another screeching shout for a greeting. "WHAT IN THE HELL?!"

"Is this going to be how you greet me every time now?" I asked, raising an eyebrow with my smirk. "With shouting?"

"I'm on the corner of where your apartment was." He said. "Come here, right now, so I can… Bloody hell, I don't know! Hug you or beat the living shit out of you or something!"

"I can't do that right now." I said. "Kind of not a big fan on getting the shit beat out of me, you know?"

"BULLSHIT!"

"Look, I can't. I've got… Prior commitments as of right now." I said. "But I promise, the second I can drop by to see you I will."

"You bet your ass you're going to." He demanded.

"How are you doing?" I asked. Karma proudly ran back up with the stick, once again dropping it at my feet. I scratched behind her ear, relaxing a little. "I heard your assignment with the grimoire went well."

"Shut up about me."

"OK. What do you want to say, then?"

"Just… Just…" He sighed. "Look, just be careful, OK?"

"When am I ever?"

"I'm serious." He sounded… nervous, for a moment.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, concerned for him. Maybe I should drop by now. Rowena and Crowley would understand. At the change in my tone, Karma sat up, prepared and waiting.

"I'm fine." He said, his words clipped. I didn't say a word, just waited for him to keep going. "I promise, I'm fine. I was just… worried about you. You got me here, and I would hate to have you die on me in another country." I smiled, determined to put him at ease.

"How's this. If I'm not allowed to die in America, you're not allowed to die in Europe. We'll both meet up in Australia or something instead." I laughed a little, trying to get him to laugh with me. "How's that sound?" He didn't laugh, though. It was just tense silence on his end.

"Just… Promise me you'll be careful." He requested. "And that you'll call or come right here if something happens."

"I promise." I assured him. "T.J., relax. We're Men of Letters. We're Hunters. This is the life for us. It's nothing new."

"Just be careful." He repeated, hanging up before I could ask any more questions. I looked from my phone to Karma, and resumed scratching her behind her ear.

"Maybe he's got some stuff going on." I murmured, my brow still furrowed as I thought about it. "We'll drop by tomorrow, how's that? You wanna see T.J. again?" I asked, and the second Karma heard T.J.'s name she barked happily. "Yeah. We'll go see T.J. and he'll throw your stick again." I told her, fighting to keep concern out of my voice for my friend. T.J. usually wasn't like that. He talked through things, gave detailed explanations. Vagueness and angrily hanging up wasn't his style. "Yeah, we'll see him tomorrow." I repeated, trying to clear the worry from my mind. It was nothing. It had to be nothing.

I looked back at the cabin, taking a breath before I moved from Karma to head back inside. This was going to take some time to explain.