One week later we were down to 23. We had a deadline, after all, and we wanted to wrap up early. I hadn't spoken with Mick or Ketch yet, though, as to moving assignments. I was just a bit afraid to. I didn't want to hear them say no, and I was honestly a bit scared of what would happen next if they said yes. I'd be with Castiel again, around him constantly… would he even want me there? Would he want me around? Would he be OK with that too?

I'd spent about a week or so with him, but this would be different. There would be work and Hunting and I'd have to keep my superiors updated and… It would be different.

He'd have to see me, every day. See how I worked, now. See me use magic frequently. See me completely as, well… The new me. No being polite and hiding bits of it. No showing only the good parts. Just… He'd have to see all of it.

I wouldn't be able to hide any of it. The disappearing to get places and fight. The sitting and plotting out different possible spells. The fighting techniques.

Those weren't things that they knew, that any of them knew except for the Men of Letters, and that was because they taught me.

There were reasons we'd gone through so many vampires in such a short time period, after all. Ketch and Mary. Me and T.J. together. Pierce was good too, but he wasn't Men of Letters. He was brutal, but not effective.

Cas would have to see the new person I'd become, in full.

I sat at my desk, resting my head in my hands. "Maybe I should ask Mary," I muttered. She had just told her sons about being in the Men of Letters. She might know how to approach this. "She's got years of relationship experience. She'd be the better choice."

I walked over to her room, happy to get the advice. She and Ketch had just gotten back about six hours ago from taking out a nest, and hopefully that was enough time passed so that I could just talk with her. On the way there, I passed Mick and Ketch.

"Oh good, Kylie!" Ketch crowed. "I wanted to call you in. We have good news."

"Hunt went well?" I asked. He nodded, proud.

"Another nest terminated. Our numbers are down to eleven now." I smiled, impressed. "No complications, thanks to the new vampire bomb you sent Mary and I out with to test." It had just been something I'd been tinkering on in my free time. Throw it in, and light similar to that of the sun would go off and leave some incredibly nasty burns on them (as well as give any normal nearby humans a nice tan, as I could see on Ketch), causing an effective distraction for large groups so that they would be easy to kill. "Bit boring, really."

"Just don't get too close to them too frequently." I warned him. "Skin cancer is still a thing."

"And in any case," Mick added. "Boring's good." He thought for a moment before speaking. "Before I forget, how's Mary?"

"Excellent. As always." Ketch complimented.

"She say anything about her boys?" Mick asked.

"As I've said many, many, so many times, we don't need them. We already have the best Winchester." He took a glance over at me. "And their Little Winchester, as Pierce informed us, to boot."

"Yes. But that's not your call, is it? Or mine." I knew that that would bother Ketch a little bit. He hated not calling the shots. "The Old Men want them on board."

He didn't mind taking orders from them, though.

"As far as London's concerned," Mick added. "Where Sam and Dean Winchester go, the rest of the American Hunters will follow."

"Hmm," Ketch mused, looking over at me. "What do you think, Kylie? Would the rest of the American Hunters follow Sam and Dean's lead, or would you say that we have all we need with Mary?"

"I think that we should follow orders," I decided. "And that Ketch is right in saying that we already have an amazing Hunter like Mary with us, but she still may enjoy working with her sons."

"That's extremely neutral of you." Ketch commented, scrunching his eyes at me. "You want something. You always do when you become more neutral."

"I do not!" I argued.

"Permission for Karma to walk around freely in the city." Ketch said.

"Oh come on." I muttered.

"Keeping your key to Bunkers." He continued.

"Come on! Tell me that was a bad idea!"

"You have a key?" Mick asked. Ketch kept going.

"Getting out of repercussions for leaving your current assignment unannounced." He added.

"I ended up saving Mary's life, along with everyone else there!" I defended.

"And now this," he concluded. "You're being neutral again, which means you want something or are trying to weasel out of something."

"Can we get back to you having a key to every Bunker that you haven't yet returned?" Mick asked. Ketch and I ignored him.

"Spit it out." Ketch ordered. "What do you want?"

I took a deep breath. I couldn't quite hide it anymore. I had to say it, I guess. "I wanted to wait until we were almost finished, but since the number is down to eleven then I see no reason to beat around the bush any longer." I took a second breath. "I wanted to request a specific assignment after this one."

"And what might this assignment be?" Mick asked.

"I want to work with Castiel," I stated, keeping my voice calm and determined. "In search of something big."

"Which is?" Ketch asked.

"There was a large energy surge, not long before Sam called Mick and we dealt with Lucifer, wasn't there?" I asked.

"How did you know about that?" Mick asked. "What things do you know about that I doubt you're supposed to know?"

"In all honesty, a lot of things." I said. "But that's beside the point. The point is that the surge is indicative of a Nephilim being conceived, right?"

"What have you not been telling us?" Ketch asked.

"Castiel is looking for the mom and the kid." I finished. "And I want to help him. My magic abilities and relationship with Castiel would help with the search, as well as potentially bring in the Winchesters in the long run."

"I believe we still both have questions as to your knowledge of what should be classified," Ketch started off first.

"But," Mick interrupted. Ketch looked at him sharply. "We will consider your request. I believe you're right, it could prove beneficial on multiple counts in the long run."

"However, we will need to discuss this further before making any final decisions." Ketch added. This time Mick looked over at him sharply. I spoke quickly, interrupting before it became a small argument thinly veiled with politeness."

"Thank you, sirs." I said, nodding to both of them. "Mr. Ketch, is Mary back? I just wanted to go see how she's doing."

"She's in her room," Ketch said. "However, she may be resting."

"I'll leave her be if she is." I promised. "Have a great day, guys."

"Oh, before I forget," Ketch started. "If we were to try and approach the Winchesters diplomatically, what would you recommend to help with this attempt?"

"Scotch." I said. "Really good scotch, good burgers for Dean, healthy foods for Sam," I thought for a moment on anything else. "And yeah, that should do it if you want to start off on the right foot."

"Good to know." Ketch said. "Enjoy your conversation with Mary."

"Thank you." I walked from them to Mary's room, contemplating what I would say. I wasn't quite certain how to approach this, much less how she would respond. She had just recently told Sam and Dean about her working for the Men of Letters, and they hadn't liked it either.

Then again, she was their mom. They'd come back around for her. I was certain they would.

She was awake when I got to her room, already changed out of the standard black Hunting clothes and in normal wear. She was looking down at her phone, as though waiting for something.

I knocked lightly on the inside of her door, and she looked up sharply. "Kylie," she shut off her phone, and quickly put it in her pocket. "Hey, how're you?"

"I'm doing pretty alright." I said. "You?"

"I'm great!" She said, that same feigned enthusiasm in her voice that we'd all gotten used to.

"That bad?" I asked, offering a small smile. She sighed.

"I don't know what to do." She admitted. "Sam and Dean… I guess I should've taken a hint from how they reacted to you telling them you worked here."

"No, they're your family." I said. "I would've placed bets on you being the one to make it OK for them."

"Thanks." She muttered. "I guess it's just… Time, maybe? Discussions?" I shrugged.

"You're talking to the person that hid from all of them for over a year." I pointed out.

"And Castiel seemed happy to have you back, from what you told me." She replied. I smiled a little, and she moved over to pat a spot on her bed. "How's all that going?" I sat down beside her, thinking out my response.

"It's not easy," I admitted. "Cas wants to be here and help, and I kind of wish he was some days. But, at the same time," I shrugged. "I don't know. It's just all an adjustment thing, I guess."

"Well why don't you go with him?" She asked. "Why not work with him?"

"Actually," I laughed a little. "I just asked Ketch and Mick about reassignment for just that."

"What did they say?"

"They need to think about it." I leaned back a little, my head lightly resting on the wall. "Which I'm honestly expecting to equal a firm no, in all honesty."

"Why?"

"You really think they'll want me working outside of them?" I asked. "Much less that Cas will want Men of Letters in on it?"

"I think that all Cas wants is you back." She said. "And that Mick and Ketch aren't stupid. They'll see the tactical reasons for putting you with him and say yes, no problem."

"I'm glad one of us is confident about it." I said. "What about you?"

"What do you mean what about me?" She asked.

"You almost never use your phone unless it involves Sam and Dean." I said. "Did they send you a message?"

"No." She shook her head with the word, her mouth in a slight grimace. "I've been asking if they'll talk, but… Nothing, so far." This time, I shook my head.

"No," I muttered, standing up. "Nah, not acceptable. Not even a little bit."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that, and no offense to them being your sons at all," I said. "But they can also be the most hard-headed people I know." I kept shaking out my head, pulling out my own phone. "And you're family. You're their mom. They shouldn't be shutting you out in the cold, or pissy with you because you're doing what you believe is right," for a moment, all I could remember was when Amara was still at large. The anger. The hurt. It had felt like I was back in the Arctic all over again. "And by Chuck, I can and will ream them both a new one if they can't get their heads out of their asses and talk to their own damn mom."

"Um," she was about to say something, probably not quite happy with my words, but I didn't care. Mary was good. She deserved better. She deserved…

She deserved what I didn't get from them; what I would never get from my own mom or dad or brothers again. She deserved her family.

I scrolled through my contacts, holding up a hand to silence Mary until I found Sam and Dean's. I pondered the two for a moment before hitting the button to call Sam. Between them, he'd be the easiest.

Surprisingly, he answered. "Kylie," he said. "Hey. What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Yes, something is wrong." I said.

"Who did you call?" Mary asked. I held up a hand to her again.

"You idiots are being assholes to your own fucking mom." I continued. I could almost feel Sam's bitchface.

"Kylie, look," he started. I cut him off, making a closing motion in the air with my hand.

"No, you look." I interrupted. "You have a brother. You have two brothers, if you count Castiel. You have an awkward cousin or uncle or whatever you wanna consider Crowley, but he's not an enemy and we both know it." I firmed my voice up and kept going. "And you have a mom. A living, breathing mother that loves you both and cares for you."

"Kylie," I kept on going with my rant.

"Do you know what I would give for that?" I asked. "Do you know how much I would beg to have my own mom back? Or my dad? Or my brothers? Or Mrs. Tran and Kevin! Do you know how much I wish every single day that I still had my family, alive and supportive and doing their best to fit in and do what they think is right?" This time, Sam wised up and kept his mouth shut. "I'd give anything to have any of that back, to have a family again." I finished. "Every day I have to wake up and remember that they're all dead, that I'm the only one left. I have to remember that I ran while my brothers and dad were being tortured. I have to remember that I hated my mom for years, and never knew the truth until she was gone. I have to remember that no matter what happens, I lose anyone I could ever consider family." I gritted my teeth, biting back tears.

"Kylie," Mary tried, but I shook my head, keeping my attention on the phone. "I can never get any of that back, Sam. Never. I have no family, but you do." I glanced over at Mary. "You have a mom that was terrified to tell you two the truth because, even though she believes in what she's doing, she was also worried for you two. She knows what happened, and she's doing her best to work with it too." I took a deep breath. "I had to work with Crowley, the demon that took out my family, because I knew that I was going to be doing good things. Mary is working right now with the people that hurt the both of you because it's for a greater good. And if you can't get your head out of your DAMN ASS enough to see that she's doing her best in a brand new world for her, and see how fucking FORTUNATE the two of you are to have such a wonderful mom like Mary here, alive, and back in your lives, then you're not the people I thought you were." I took a breath. "You're not the family I thought you used to be. Not if you're turning your back on your own mom."

There was a silence, on both ends of the line. I held my breath, waiting for Sam's response. I was done speaking. The ball was in his court now.

Finally, he spoke up. "Can you give the phone to mom?" He asked. I looked over at Mary, and tossed her my cell.

"Take as long as you need." I said, and she looked at me in surprise. I nodded to the phone. "It's Sam."

"Thank you." She said, picking up the phone gingerly. "Sam?" She said his name hesitantly to the phone, and I could hear the faintest bit of speaking from the other end. I walked out, heading to my own room.

I hadn't meant to blow up like that. I just…

I couldn't help but envy them. I couldn't help but wish I was as lucky as Sam and Dean were. They didn't have to face being hated by the only thing left that they could've called family. They had their mom back, instead. They had Cas, and could see him every day. Hell, I'd heard about Jody. She seemed like a hell of a woman. They had her, too. They just… They managed to have so much, and it was like they didn't even see it somedays.

I sat down at my desk, taking a few minutes to compose myself before I got to work. There were eleven vampires left, scattered a little bit. However, I knew they'd band together once they had the time. And honestly, that was all we needed. We needed them around each other – easier to kill them off when their together, and all in one place. So far ten out of the eleven had shacked up at the same hotel in Wichita, and the last one looked to be headed that way as well. Once they were all there, it wouldn't be difficult to take them out of the picture.

And then Project V would be complete.

And I would either be staying with it, being reassigned somewhere else (possibly back to London), or put with Castiel.

I scrunched up the paper I was writing on and threw it in the trash. I wasn't certain what I wanted to do or how I wanted to re-focus, but I wanted to. I had to, somehow.

I opened up my notebook, and took a look at the spell I'd been doodling a while back. I still had no idea what it was supposed to be for. It was unfinished, that I knew, but I didn't know what to do to make it finished.

"My head is way too cluttered," I muttered to myself, flipping to an empty page. I looked at it, and shook my head before going to lay down on my bed. I laid on my back, looking up at the ceiling. T.J. was gone, out doing some recon for moving on with a new chapter in Project V. I had nobody to talk to, really.

Well, maybe one person.

"Hey Kev," I said, talking to the air. "I don't know if you'll get this, and I'm sorry if I'm bothering you or anything, but I kinda miss just doing this and talking with you, so I figured I'd give it a shot." I took a breath and just… talked. I talked about everything, out loud, doing my best to think of what Kevin would say or do or how he would respond. I didn't really know what else to do, at this point. I could've called Crowley, but with us being so close to having Project V done, and my just requesting a specific assignment, I couldn't quite leave just yet to talk with him.

Afterwards, I would. It would be easier then.

I don't know how long I talked to myself, pretending I was talking to Kevin, but it was long enough for there to be a soft knock on my doorframe. I stopped, looking up and seeing Mary. "Hey." I said, swinging my legs around to stand up. She tossed me my phone, and I caught it with ease. "How'd it go?"

"Sam is coming." She said, smiling. "He wants to see what we're doing. I've already told Mick, and he's ecstatic."

"Just Sam?"

"Yeah, just Sam." She confirmed. I offered her a huge smile.

"Good. I'm happy for you!"

"Kylie," she said. "What you did… I don't know how you did it, but… thank you."

"No problem." I shrugged. "It just wasn't right. You guys are a family."

"I'm sorry about what happened to your mom and dad and brothers, by the way." She added. "I… I didn't know."

"I don't really advertise it much, now." I said. "It was what put me in this life, eventually. It's a part of my past." I shrugged. "I'm just happy that you guys have your family."

"You realize that you're a part of this family too, right?" She asked. "Sam wouldn't have answered if you weren't. They wouldn't have said such good things about you if you weren't."

"They said nice things about me?"

"Yeah."

"When?"

"When they thought you were dead." I felt my face flatten out at that.

"Sounds about right." I agreed. "I doubt they would say those things now."

"Just wait." Mary promised. "Sam is coming here in part because of what you said to him. Castiel wishes he was here with you, like you said." She took a few steps towards me and gave me a slightly awkward hug. "You're family too."

"Thank you." I hugged her back for a moment, tightly, and let go just as quickly. She wasn't the biggest on physical contact and everything. "I need to get back to planning. I should probably consult with Ketch on the best way to knock out the next ones. Do you know where he is?"

"I think he actually just left." Mary said. "I went looking for him and Mick to let them know that Sam was coming."

"What did Mick say?"

"He's grateful to you." She answered. "And excited for his arrival."

"Great. I should probably talk with Mick about getting things set up for guests, then." I said. "You know he'll want to show off what we can do."

"Sounds good." Mary agreed. "And, again, thank you."

"No problem."