At Hell's Gates

by mrsemmettcullen12

What if Sam had a twin sister? This is the story of Dean and Sam with a sister, Alex.

37. Poker Face

This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think.

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 37

The siblings stared at Castiel and Uriel, shock evident on all of their faces.

"You want Anna? Why?" asked Sam.

Uriel scoffed.

"Get out of my way."

Uriel stepped forward slightly and Dean held up his palm to stop him moving forward any further.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay? Look, I know she's wiretapping your angel chats or whatever, but that's no reason to kill her," said Dean.

"Don't worry. I'll kill her gentle," said Uriel, a smirk playing on the corners of his lips.

Alex glared at him, her eyes full of pure disgust as she stood kind of behind Sam.

"You all are some smart ass sons of bitches, you know that?" snarled back Dean.

Castiel looked down at the floor as he spoke the first part of his sentence.

"As a matter of fact, we are."

He looked up at the siblings, Ruby, and Uriel.

"And Anna," finished Castiel.

"Anna? Anna's an innocent girl," cried Alex, turning her glare onto Castiel now.

Castiel shook his head sadly.

"Oh, Anna is far from innocent."

The siblings exchanged curious glances.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" asked Sam, turning back to face Castiel now.

"It means she's worse than this abomination you've been screwing," said Uriel, his eyes full of hate as he nodded towards Ruby, who was standing beside Dean.

Sam looked ashamed and Ruby glared at the angels.

"Now, give us the girl," finished Uriel, staring at the four of them.

Dean looked over at his siblings. Alex discreetly shook her head "no" while Sam cocked his head to the side, the muscle along his jaw line flexing as he bit his tongue gently while thinking. Dean turned back to face Uriel and Castiel, a determined and hateful glare all over his face.

"Sorry. Get yourself another one," said Dean.

"Who's going to stop us, hmm? You three?" asked Uriel, stepping forward towards the siblings.

"Or this demon whore?"

Uriel grabbed Ruby's arm and quickly threw her into the front window on the right side of the room. The glass in the windowpane shattered as her body roughly crashed into it from Uriel's throw. Ruby fell to the floor in a heap and Sam's jaw ticked angrily as he watched Uriel walk over to Ruby. Uriel grabbed her by the throat with one hand and held her against the wall while his other hand was dangling above her head. Castiel looked over at Sam and stalked towards him while Dean ran over to help Ruby. As he ran towards Uriel, a knife raised in his hand, Uriel whirled around quickly and grabbed Dean's fist, holding the knife away from his body. He used his other arm to slap Dean across the face, hard.

Castiel stalked towards Sam, Alex looking on helplessly as both angels ignored her for now. Sam held out his hands to Castiel in a pleading gesture.

"Cas, stop. Please," begged Sam, backing up into a corner wall of the room.

Castiel just walked onward towards Sam and held his middle finger up to Sam's forehead. Sam's eyes crossed and he fell to the floor.

"Sam!" cried out Alex rushing over to him quickly.

Alex glanced over to the other side of the room, where Uriel was pounding into Dean's face.

"I've been waiting for this," said Uriel, a sadistic smile all over his face as he punched Dean once again, Dean's face flinging back with every punch.

As Castiel reached the back door of the room that held Anna, a bright, white light overtook the room. Alex pulled Sam's head into her lap and covered both of their faces with her arms as the light flashed all over the room, white and blindingly bright. First Castiel disappeared abruptly and then Uriel let go of the lapels of Dean's leather jacket as he disappeared next. Dean took in large gasps of air as he sat on his hands and knees, catching his breath. Ruby slunk down the wall, sitting on the floor. Dean's lip was bleeding in two different places as he looked around the room for the two angels who were no longer there.

"What the…" whispered Dean, trailing off.

He stood up slowly and walked the few extra steps over to Ruby, holding out his arms to help her stand up.

"Come on," urged Dean, pulling Ruby back up onto her feet.

They walked over to Sam and Alex, who was looking down at Sam's head in her lap. Sam groaned in pain as he stretched out his arms and legs, moaning and groaning while he moved around, his eyes still clenched shut. Ruby knelt down beside Sam's other side.

"Anna?" asked Dean, as he pulled open the back door to Anna's hideout.

He saw that she was standing in front of the vanity, breathing very heavily as if she had just finished a tough and long workout. Her hands were placed palms down on the vanity's counter, blood smeared all around them and on them. She looked over at Dean as he entered the room.

"Anna!" yelled Dean, quickly running towards her then as he took in all of the blood underneath the palms of her hands.

He sat her down on the bed as he glanced at the mirror, which had all kinds of weird symbols and shapes drawn onto the glass.

"I'm fine. Are they gone?" urged Anna.

"Did you kill them?" asked Dean, pulling a patterned bandanna out of his pocket and wrapping it around Anna's bloodstained right arm.

"No. I just sent them away," said Anna, still breathing very heavily.

Sam, Alex, and Ruby stepped into the back room then and they took in the scene before them. Alex and Sam looked a little shell-shocked while Ruby just looked kind of indifferent.

"I just sent them far away," said Anna, looking over at the mirror.

Dean looked at the mirror as well while he began wrapping up Anna's other bloodied arm.

"Do you wanna tell me how?" asked Dean.

Anna shook her head.

"It just popped right into my head. I really don't know how I did it… I just did it."

Sam closed the door to Anna's room a few minutes later, shutting it tight before he looked over at his siblings.

"So, what do you think?" asked Dean.

"I think that Anna's getting more interesting by the damn second," said Sam.

Alex nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I agree. Now, what did they mean by saying she's not innocent, huh?" asked Dean, his eyebrows raised.

"It just really seems like they want her bad. And not just cause of the angel radio thing. I mean, that blood spell? That's some serious shit, my dear brothers," said Alex, shrugging her shoulders as they looked over at her.

"Something's going on with her. Sammy, see what you can find out. And Alex, you go with him," said Dean.

Alex scoffed and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And what are you gonna do?" asked Sam.

"Anna may have sent the angels to the outfield for now, but sooner or later, they're gonna be coming back here. And we've got to get ourselves safe, now," urged Dean.

Sam and Alex nodded and Dean turned around slightly, opening the door to Anna's room and stepping back inside.

Sam sighed as he led the way out of the wood cabin.

"You know, I actually really liked that movie when we first saw it. Angels in the Outfield," said Alex, following Sam from the cabin.

Sam chuckled and Alex smiled over at him as they walked on.

The next morning, Dean watched as Anna sat down in an armchair in Bobby's safe room. She looked over at him expectantly once she was situated and Dean banged on the wall beside him, the sound ringing out as he smacked the wall.

"Pure iron walls drenched in salt. Demons can't even touch the joint," encouraged Dean, stepping slightly into the room with Anna.

"Which I find very racist, by the way," called out Ruby, who was standing outside the door of the safe room, her arms crossed over her chest.

Dean turned to face her.

"Write to your congressman," he shot back.

Ruby rolled her eyes and tossed Dean a few items she was holding. Dean caught them effortlessly from inside the safe room.

"Hex bags?" asked Dean, looking from the little brown bags in his grasp and up to Ruby.

Ruby nodded.

"Extra crunchy too. These will hide us from angels, demons, all comers."

"Thanks, Ruby," said Dean, staring at her.

Ruby froze and met his gaze. Dean gave her a slight nod of appreciation before he walked farther into the safe room, handing one over to Anna.

"Don't lose this," said Dean, and Anna nodded.

Dean stuck the second hex bag into his packet and glanced around the walls of the room.

"So what's playing on angel radio, Anna? Anything useful?"

"It's quiet. Dead silence."

Dean nodded.

"Good. That's not troubling at all," said Dean, sarcasm lacing his tone.

"We're in trouble, huh? You guys are all scared?" asked Anna, looking over at Dean standing next to her.

Dean looked out at Ruby in the hallway before looking back over at Anna and shaking his head.

"No."

Dean smirked with confidence when Sam's voice called down from upstairs.

"Hey, Dean!" yelled Sam.

Ruby turned towards the sound of Sam's voice. Dean touched Anna's knee gently as he began walking out of the room.

"Stay here, okay?" he said.

Anna nodded obediently and Dean stepped out of the safe room. He stopped next to Ruby, who looked at him.

"Keep an eye on her," ordered Dean.

Ruby turned her attention back to Anna as Dean headed up the wooden stairs.

Dean walked into Bobby's kitchen where Alex sat on the counter eating an apple and Sam stood in the doorway.

"How's the car?" asked Dean, looking at his little brother.

"Oh, it's just fine. Where's Bobby?" asked Sam.

"Um, in the Dominican. He said if we break anything, we're buying it," answered Dean.

"Is he working a job?" asked Alex, jumping down from the counter and following her brothers into Bobby's study area.

She threw her unfinished apple out the open window in the kitchen.

"God, I hope so. But what did you two find on Anna?" asked Dean, looking between his younger siblings.

"Oh, um, not much," said Alex, watching as Sam held up the papers he was holding in his hands and began reading through them quickly.

"Um, her parents were Rich and Amy Milton, a church deacon and a housewife," answered Sam, spreading the few pages of information down onto Bobby's desk.

Alex jumped on the corner of the desk closest to Dean and sat there while her brothers looked over the information on Anna's family.

"Riveting," joked Dean.

Sam nodded sarcastically along with him.

"Yeah, we know. Um, but there is something here in their port. Turns out that this latest psych episode wasn't her first."

"No?" asked Dean.

"When she was two and a half, she'd get hysterical anytime her dad got close to her. She was convinced that he wasn't her real daddy," answered Sam, turning to look at Dean.

"Who was? The plumber? A little snake in the pipes?" asked Dean, glancing over at Sam and smirking.

Sam and Alex didn't laugh along with him.

"Dude, you're confusing reality with porn again," said Sam.

Dean's face sobered up and he cleared his throat while Alex giggled from her seat on the corner of Bobby's desk.

"Anyway, Anna never said, she just kept repeating that this real father of hers was mad," said Sam.

"Very mad, like wanted to kill her mad," finished Alex.

"Kind of heavy for a two year old," said Dean.

"Well, she saw a kid shrink, got better, and grew up normal," said Sam.

"Until now," sighed Dean, glancing down at the file on Anna once again.

"So what's she hiding?" asked Alex, looking down at the papers with Dean, her brow furrowed with confusion as well as his.

"Why don't you just ask me to my face?" asked Anna, her voice full of anger.

The siblings turned to face Anna, who was standing in the doorway of the study. Ruby stood beside her and Alex hopped off from her perch on the corner of Bobby's desk. Anna's arms were crossed over her chest.

"Nice job watching her," said Dean, looking over at Ruby.

Ruby rolled her eyes at him and threw her arms up in frustration.

"I'm watching her," argued Ruby.

"No, you're right, Anna," said Alex, looking at the red headed girl sadly and comfortingly.

"So is there anything at all that you want to tell us?" asked Sam.

"About what?" asked Anna.

"The angels said you were guilty of something. Why would they say that, Anna?" asked Sam.

"You tell me. Tell me why my life has been leveled. Why my parents are dead! I don't know, I swear. I would give anything to know," cried Anna, ending her spiel in a whisper.

Sam nodded.

"Okay. Then let's find out."

"How?" asked Anna, her bottom lip trembling.

A few hours later, Dean led the way down the set of creaky old wooden stairs, dust flying off from them with every step he took. As he was close to the bottom, he yelled.

"We're here!"

"Pamela," said Alex, walking towards Pamela and Dean.

Sunglasses covered Pamela's now blind eyes and Alex felt incredibly sorry for this poor woman, who had lost her sight when Dean, Bobby, Alex, and Sam had all tried to contact and find Castiel using her psychic abilities.

"Pamela, hey," said Sam, following right behind Alex to greet the woman.

"Sam, Alex," said Pamela, smiling beside Dean.

Alex touched Pamela's shoulders and Pamela touched Alex's face reverently. Alex laughed as Pamela touched Sam's cheek and then smacked his ass. Dean smirked and Sam looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"Of course I know it's you two, the twins. Just like I know that that's a demon and this poor girl is Anna," said Pamela, nodding towards the two other people in the room even though she couldn't see them at all.

Pamela stepped towards Anna, holding out her hands for Anna to take. Anna gently placed her palms into Pamela's open ones.

"Hey, Anna, how are you, I'm Pamela."

"Hi," said Anna, a small, gentle smile on her face.

"Dean told me all about what's been going on while we drove over here. I'm very excited to help."

"Oh, that's nice of you."

"Eh, well, not really. Any chance I can take over an angel, I'm taking it."

"Why?" asked Anna, honestly curious.

"They stole something from me," said Pamela, removing one of her hands from Anna's so that she could take off her sunglasses and show Anna her milky white eyes underneath them. Anna let out a small gasp of shock.

"Demony, I know. But they're just plastic. Good for business. Makes me look super extra psychic, don't you think?" asked Pamela.

Anna hesitantly smiled once again and Pamela laughed right along with her, her loud chuckle breaking the awkward silence in the room. She put her sunglasses back on as her laugh faded.

"Now, how 'bout you tell me what your deal is," encouraged Pamela.

The Winchester siblings stood a few feet behind Pamela, watching her exchange with Anna and hoping for some long awaited answers about Anna's past. Pamela slung an arm over Anna's shoulders and led her back into the safe room in Bobby's basement. Pamela patted Anna's shoulder.

"Don't you worry," she encouraged, walking them into the safe room.

Ruby stood outside of the safe room, as close as she could stand without actually being inside the room. Sam sat on set of sturdy wooden boxes close to the door and by Ruby. His right foot was resting on the small ledge that they had to step over to enter the safe room while his other foot was safely on the floor in the safe room. Dean sat on the corner of the metal desk in the room, his left foot resting on the small stool in front of him. Alex sat beside him and between her brothers, leaning as far over as she was comfortable so that she could see Pamela and Anna. Her left forearm was resting on Dean's muscular, jean clad thigh as she watched Pamela and Anna.

"Nice and relaxed. Now, I'm going to count down from five to zero. When we're at zero, you'll be in a deep state of hypnosis. As I count down, just go deeper and deeper, alright?" directed Pamela, who was sitting in front of Anna.

Anna was lying on the only small couch in the room, her eyes closed as she took steady and deep breaths, as directed by Pamela earlier. Pamela began her countdown.

"Five… four… three… two… one."

Pamela reached over and gently touched Anna's forehead.

"Deep sleep. Deep sleep," she repeated, sitting fully back down in her chair.

"Every muscle is calm and relaxed. Can you hear me?" asked Pamela.

"I can hear you," answered back Anna.

"Now, Anna, tell me. How can you hear the angels? How did you work that blood spell?" asked Pamela.

"I don't know. I just did," answered back Anna, her eyes still closed as she answered.

"Your father. What's his name?"

Alex and Dean looked at each other before looking back at Pamela.

"Rich Milton."

"Alright. But I want you to look further back. When you were very young. Just a couple of years old."

Sam looked back at Ruby, but she barely noticed him even looking back at her. She was too entranced on what answers Pamela was getting from Anna, so Sam turned his attention back to the two girls in the safe room.

"I don't want to."

"It will be okay. Anna, just one look, that's all we need," encouraged Pamela.

Anna's head began moving back and forth and her fingers twitched.

"No," she cried.

"What's your father's name? Your real dad," asked Pamela.

Anna began gasping for air and her head shook back and forth almost violently now. Alex gripped Dean's thigh in fear for Anna and Dean placed his hand on top of hers, squeezing it, but never taking his eyes away from Pamela and Anna.

"No," cried Anna.

"Why is he angry with you?" asked Pamela.

"No, no, no!" cried Anna, her body coming up from the couch as the lights flickered as well.

Anna's eyes were still closed as she cried out, her body shaking and flinching violently.

"Just calm down."

"No, he's gonna kill me!" yelled Anna.

"Anna, you're safe," encouraged Pamela.

"No!"

Anna shot straight up, her eyes still closed as she let out a bloodcurdling scream. The safe room door slammed shut and locked itself closed while the lights popped and electricity rained down upon all of them. Dean quickly pulled Alex into him, shielding her from the showers of electricity and Anna's loud screams.

"Anna, calm down. You're safe, Anna," said Pamela, still calm as Anna flopped back down onto the couch.

Dean let go of Alex once the showers stopped and walked over to Anna, gripping her elbow as she flung herself around violently on the couch.

"Dean, don't," warned Pamela, but it was already too late as Anna flung her arms out, catching Dean square in the face and knocking him onto the floor.

Sam and Alex ran over to him as Pamela stood up straight, crouching over Anna on the couch. Pamela held up her palm to Anna's face.

"Wake in one, two, three, four, and five."

Anna's eyes popped open as Pamela crouched over her, stroking her cheek and removing the wild hairs from Anna's face.

"Anna? Anna? Are you alright?" asked Pamela, removing her hand from Anna's face as Anna looked over and up at her.

Anna sat up slowly and Pamela sat back down in her chair beside the small couch. The siblings stood up, watching Anna warily.

"Thank you, Pamela. That helped a lot. I remember now," said Anna, in an eerily calm and emotionless voice.

"Remember what?" asked Sam, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

Anna looked over at Sam and his siblings.

"Who I am," she answered in the same creepy tone of voice.

The siblings exchanged curious and confused glances.

"I'll bite. Who are you?" asked Dean.

"I'm an angel," answered Anna.

Alex and Sam sat on each corner of the desk in Bobby's study upstairs, looking curiously over at Anna, who was now slowly walking towards Ruby, who stood in the large open archway between the study and the kitchen. Sam's sleeves were now rolled up to his elbows, the veins in his arms protruding. Pamela leaned against the desk between Alex and Sam. Dean was sitting on the arm of a dining room chair while one foot was firmly placed on the floor and the other was placed on the cushion of the chair he was sitting on. His hands were folded together in front of him on his lap. They all stared at Anna as she stepped towards Ruby slowly.

"Don't be afraid. I'm not like the others," said Anna, looking over at Ruby.

"I don't find that very reassuring," said Ruby, glaring at Anna.

"Neither do I," agreed Pamela, crossing her arms over her chest.

Anna looked at the two women, letting out a deep sigh and sticking her hands in the back pockets of her jeans as she walked over towards Dean.

"So. Castiel, Uriel. They're the ones who came for me?" she asked.

Dean nodded.

"You know them?" asked Sam.

Anna's eyes darted over to his face.

"We were kind of in the same foxhole."

Sam looked confused.

"So what, were they like your bosses or something?" asked Alex.

Anna looked over at her, a small smirk now present on her lips.

"Um, try the other way around."

"Well, look at you," quipped Dean.

"And now they want to kill you?" asked Pamela.

Anna just shrugged.

"Orders are orders. I'm sure I have a death sentence on my head," answered Anna, pacing in front of them with her arms crossed over her chest now.

"Why?" asked Alex.

Anna stopped her pacing and stared at Alex.

"I disobeyed. Which, for us, is about the worst thing you can ever do. So I fell."

"Meaning?" asked Dean.

"She fell to Earth. Became human," answered Pamela, tilting her head toward Dean to answer his question.

Sam shook his head.

"Wait a minute, I don't understand. So angels can just… become human?"

Anna began pacing once again.

"It kind of hurts. Try cutting your kidney out with a butter knife. That kind of hurt. I ripped out my grace."

"I'm sorry, come again?" asked Alex, her eyebrows pulled together in the middle of her forehead in confusion.

"My grace… it's energy. Hacked it out and fell. My mother, Amy, couldn't get pregnant. Always called me her little miracle. She had no clue how right she actually was."

"So you just forgot that you were God's little Power Ranger?" asked Dean.

"The older I got and the longer I was human, yes," answered Anna.

"I don't think you all appreciate how completely and royally fucked we are!" exclaimed Ruby, throwing her hands up in utter frustration.

Anna nodded.

"Ruby's right. Heaven wants me dead."

"And Hell just… wants her. Flesh and blood angel that you can question. Torture. That bleeds. Sister, you're the Stanley Cup. And sooner or later, Heaven or Hell, they're gonna find you," said Ruby.

"I know. And that's why, I'm gonna get it back," said Anna, pacing once again.

"What?" asked Sam.

"My grace."

"You can do that?" asked Dean, his eyebrows raised.

"If I can find it," nodded Anna, looking down at the floor.

"So what, you just gonna take some divine bong hit and shazam, you're Roma Downey?" asked Dean.

Alex chuckled at his reference to the television show, Touched by an Angel. Anna stared at him, gritting her teeth.

"Something like that."

"Well, alright. I like this plan. So where's this grace of yours?"

"Lost track. I was falling about 10,000 miles per hour at the time."

"Wait. You mean… falling. Like, literally," stated Sam.

"Yes," said Anna.

"Like the way a human eye can see? Like a comet, maybe, or a meteor?" asked Alex.

"Why do you ask?" asked Anna.

Sam sat on the loveseat in Bobby's study a few hours later, books scattered all around him as Ruby sat beside him.

"Here. In March of '85, a meteorite vanished in the night sky over northwestern Ohio," said Sam, chancing a glance at Ruby.

"Now, it was sighted nine months before Anna was born and she was born in that part of Ohio," finished Sam, looking up at Ruby once again.

Ruby glanced at the computer screen before looking over at Sam.

"Pretty buff for a nerd," she stated.

"Look, I think it was Anna."

Sam reached behind him for a stack of papers.

"And here, same time, another meteor over Kentucky."

"And that's her grace."

Sam just shrugged at Ruby's statement.

"It might be."

"Alright, that just narrows it down to an entire state," said Ruby, standing up from her seat on the loveseat and rolling her eyes.

"Look, it's a start," said Sam.

Ruby shook her head.

"Sam… I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For bringing you this mess. If I had known, I would've kept my trap shut."

Sam sighed and threw the papers beside him on the loveseat, shrugging.

"Yeah, well. We'll muddle through."

"Not this time. You do not want to get between these two armies. If one side doesn't get us, the other one will."

"So what do you want us to do? Dump Anna and run?"

Ruby cocked an eyebrow up and Sam scoffed.

"Forget it. Look."

Sam stood up, grabbing his computer as he stood.

"I know the angels freak you out-"

"Forget the fucking angels, its Alistair I'm scared of."

Sam set his laptop down on the desk in Bobby's study and turned to face Ruby, a very confused look written all over his face.

"Alistair?"

"You met him in the church, practically the grand inquisitor downstairs. Picasso with a razor," answered Ruby.

Sam shut his laptop and faced her fully.

"And?"

"And. You should pull him out and throw him back in the pit. If you weren't so out of shape..."

"Ruby," whispered Sam.

"No, your abilities are getting flabby."

"Yeah? So, how do I tone up?" asked Sam, sitting on the corner of the desk.

"You know how. You know what you gotta do."

Ruby walked closer to Sam until she was only a couple of feet away from him. Sam looked away from her.

"No, I'm not doing that anymore."

"Sam-"

"I said no."

"Well, then you better pray that Anna gets her groove back. Or we're all dead."

Sam watched Ruby storm out of Bobby's study.

Anna was leaning against one of the many cars in Bobby's large backyard, looking up at the stars in the inky black night sky and seeing shapes there. She glanced behind her when she heard Dean pull up in the Impala, but then she returned to just staring at the night sky as Dean got out of the Impala, walking over to her.

"Pamela get home alright?" asked Anna.

Dean nodded as he approached her and stood right beside her.

"Yeah, she said she was sorry, it's just after last time, she, uh… well, it's just too rich for her."

"I don't blame her. You guys should do the same."

"Well, we're not that smart."

Dean looked at Anna before shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket and walking around to her other side.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

Anna said nothing, but turned all of her attention to him.

"What do they want me for? Why did they save me?"

Anna shook her head.

"I'm sorry. The angels aren't talking about it. And it was… after I fell."

Dean nodded.

"That's another thing. Why would you fall, Anna? Why would you ever want to be one of us?"

"You don't mean that."

"I don't?" asked Dean.

"I don't know. There's loyalty, forgiveness. Love," said Anna, looking at Dean with a soft smile on her face.

"Pain," shot back Dean.

"Chocolate cake."

"Guilt."

"Sex," said Anna, crossing her arms over her chest and nodding.

Dean paused for a quick second and then nodded along with her.

"Yep, you got me there."

Anna smirked, but then her smirk faded and she looked sad once again.

"I mean it. Every emotion, Dean, even the bad ones. That's why I fell. That's why… why I'd give anything not to have to go back. Anything."

"Feelings are over-rated, if you ask me."

"That's being an angel."

"How is that possible? You guys are powerful, you're perfect. You don't doubt yourselves or God or anything."

"Perfect. Like a marble statue. Cold, no choice, only obedience. Dean, do you know how many angels have actually seen God? Seen His face?"

Dean shrugged.

"All of you?"

"Four angels. Four. And I'm not one of them."

"That's it? Well, then how do you even know that there is a God?"

"We have to take it on faith. Which, we're killed if we don't have."

Dean's eyebrows rose.

"Huh."

"I was stationed on Earth 2,000 years. Just… watching. Silent, invisible. Out in the road, sick for home, waiting on orders from an unknowable Father I can't begin to understand, so don't tell me that…"

Anna trailed off as Dean began chuckling.

"What is so funny? What?"

Dean shook his head and slowly stopped laughing.

"Nothing, sorry. It's just… I can relate."

Anna and Dean stared at one another, not hearing the footsteps as Alex came up behind them.

"Hey," called out Alex, causing both Anna and Dean to turn around.

"Did Sammy find something?" asked Dean.

"I think so," said Alex, motioning for them to follow her inside.

Sam pointed to a spot on the map of the state of Kentucky, which was spread out on Bobby's kitchen table.

"Union, Kentucky. Found some accounts of a local miracle," explained Sam.

"Yeah?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, um, in '85, there was an empty field outside of town. Six months later, there was a full-grown oak. They say that it looks a century old, at least," explained Sam, looking at all of the faces surrounding him around the kitchen table.

"Anna. What do you think?" asked Dean, looking over at the girl.

"The grace. Where it hit. It could've done something like that. Easy," answered Anna, nodding enthusiastically.

"So grace ground zero, it's not destruction, it's…" began Dean.

"Pure creation," finished Anna.

Dean glanced in his rearview mirror to check on Anna and Ruby, who were sitting in the backseat of the Impala. Alex was sitting up front with Sam and Dean, squished in the middle between her two brothers. Dean chuckled as he saw how far apart Ruby and Anna were sitting and Alex and Sam stared at him.

"What?" asked Ruby.

Dean shook his head, glancing in the mirror one more time.

"Nothing, it's just… An angel and a demon riding in the backseat. It's like the set-up to a bad joke."

Alex and Sam chuckled as well.

"Or a Penthouse Forum letter," finished Dean, still chuckling.

Ruby rolled her eyes as she glared over at Anna, who was staring straight ahead.

"Dude. Reality. Porn," said Sam.

Dean smirked.

"You call this reality?"

Alex nodded in agreement.

The next morning, they all climbed out of the car, heading towards the huge live oak tree in the middle of the Kentucky field.

"That's beautiful," remarked Dean.

"It's where the grace touched down. I can feel it," said Anna.

Sam, Alex, and Dean exchanged glances.

"You ready to do this?" asked Dean, looking back over at Anna, who stood in front of all of them.

Anna hesitated before answering.

"Not really."

She walked forward, Ruby walking right behind her. The three siblings followed the two girls. They approached the large tree trunk and Anna stepped up to it.

"Um, Anna? What are we even looking for?" asked Alex.

Anna said nothing, but placed her palm on the trunk of the tree.

"Doesn't matter. It's not here. Not anymore. Someone took it," answered Anna.

She looked back at all of them, her hand still placed on the tree's trunk. Dean looked back at his siblings, who just shrugged with confusion etched onto their faces.

That night, Anna stared out the window of the abandoned barn they were staying in for the night. Dean and Ruby entered the large barn, glancing at Anna as they walked inside.

"Alright, we've still got the hex bags so I say we head back to the panic room," offered Dean.

"What, forever?" asked Ruby.

"I'm just thinking out loud!" yelled Dean.

"Oh, you call that thinking?"

"Hey, hey, stop it," said Sam, stepping in from the corner of the room.

Alex walked over with him and she shot a nasty look over at Ruby as she stood next to Dean.

"Anna's grace is gone, do you understand? She can't angel up, she can't protect us. We can't fight Heaven and Hell. One side, maybe, but not both and definitely not at once," argued Ruby.

"Um, guys?" called out Anna, panic lining her voice.

They all turned to stare at her.

"The angels are talking again."

"What are they saying?" asked Alex.

"It's weird. Like a recording. A loop. It says, 'Dean Winchester gives us Anna by midnight or…'" Anna trailed off.

"Or what?" whispered Dean.

"Or we hurl him back to damnation," finished Anna, staring straight at Dean as she finished speaking.

Dean's eyes widened and Sam held up his pointer finger, telling Dean to hold on for just one minute. He walked closer to Anna.

"Anna, do you know of any weapon that works on an angel?" asked Sam.

Dean and Alex looked at the back of Sam's head, their eyes wide and filled with questions and confusion.

"To what? To kill them?" asked Anna.

Sam cocked his head to the side, shrugging.

"Nothing we could get to. Not right now," answered Anna, shaking her head no.

Dean and Alex stepped forward.

"Okay, wait. I say we call Bobby, we get back from hedonism-"

"Dean, what's he gonna tell us we don't already know?" asked Sam, yelling at his brother.

"I don't know, but we've got to think of something!" yelled back Dean.

He and Sam stared each other down as Alex glanced between the two of them, biting her lip.

Dean stood over the trunk of his Impala about an hour later, a light guiding his reading on the trunk of his car. He looked behind him as Anna walked toward him and Dean stood up from his crouch over the Impala's trunk.

"Hey. You holding up alright?" asked Dean.

"I'm trying," answered Anna, giving him a soft, tentative smile.

"Yeah," smiled back Dean, turning back to his reading.

"I'm a little scared, I guess."

Dean kept reading, but his eyebrows rose in acknowledgement of her statement. Anna saw his movement and sighed, uncrossing her arms from across her chest.

"So, um, Dean?"

Dean stood up from his crouch once again, looking over at her.

"I just wanted to thank you," said Anna.

"For what?" asked Dean, looking thoroughly confused.

"Everything. You guys, you didn't have to help me."

"Hey, let's can the 'thanks for trying' speech, alright? I mean, participation trophies suck ass," smirked Dean.

"I don't know. Maybe I don't deserve to be saved," said Anna, shaking her head.

"Don't talk like that."

"I disobeyed. Lucifer disobeyed. It's our number one and I knew it. Maybe I've gotta pay."

"Yeah, well. We've all done things we've got to pay for."

Anna looked at him and stepped forward, leaning against the trunk of Dean's car.

"I've got to tell you something. You're not gonna like it."

"Okay, what?" asked Dean, looking around anxiously.

"About a week ago, I heard the angels talking. About you. What you did in Hell. Dean, I know."

Dean looked over Anna's head, but quickly looked back down at her when she brought a hand up to his face. She placed her hand gently on his cheek and looked into his eyes.

"It wasn't your fault. And you should forgive yourself."

"Anna, I don't… I don't wanna…"

Anna's hand fell from Dean's face as he looked down at the dirt on the ground.

"I don't wanna… We can't talk about that," whispered Dean, shaking his head and finally looking back up at her.

"I know. But when you can, you have people that want to help. You're not alone. That's all I'm trying to say."

She slowly stood up and Dean looked into her eyes as she planted her lips onto his. Dean closed his own eyes as she gently kissed him, pulling away after a few brief seconds. When Dean opened his eyes again, she was staring up at him.

"What was that for?" asked Dean.

Anna smiled up at him.

"For you. My last night on Earth. All that."

Dean blinked a few times and Anna stared at him.

"You're stealing my best line," remarked Dean, smirking down at her.

Anna smiled back up at him and Dean shrugged, kissing her once again. He made his way to the front of the Impala, opening the door and maneuvering Anna down into the backseat. He pulled his plain black t-shirt off with one hand, grabbing it by the collar as Anna unbuttoned her white, flowy blouse. Dean moved back up her body, kissing her deeply. He pulled away again after a few seconds, reaching for the top button on Anna's jeans. Their gazes locked as Dean removed her jeans and threw them off to the side. Once her jeans were off, Anna began removing her bra and underwear while Dean shed the rest of his clothes. As he lay back on top of her, he kissed her passionately, lining himself up at her entrance and pushing into her slowly. Anna moaned at the sensation of Dean filling her and she raked her fingernails down his back. The windows of the Impala began fogging up as they continuously made love.

Back in the barn, Ruby stared down at Sam and Alex, who were both fast asleep, their heads down on the books they had been reading. She saw their chests rising and falling with their steady breaths and she smirked to herself, walking out of the barn as the twins slept.

Once she was outside, Ruby set one of her hex bags on fire, throwing it on the ground as it began burning. The flames were bright orange and she surveyed the surrounding areas.

"Hello, Ruby," said a man's voice directly behind her.

Ruby quickly spun around and saw Alistair standing directly behind her.

"Alistair," she said coolly.

"I have to say, I'm surprised to find you out in the open like this."

"Yeah? Desperate times."

"That they are," nodded Alistair.

"You looking for this?"

He pulled Ruby's demon killing knife out from behind his back.

"Your gawky human friend gave it to me."

"Keep it. I just came to talk," said Ruby.

Alistair placed the knife behind his back once again.

"About what? About how a demon is protecting an angel? We really must revoke your membership."

"Look, I know I'm not employee of the month, but this? I never wanted to get in the middle of this."

Ruby shook her head.

"Why are you here, Ruby?"

"I can give you the angel."

"Will you? And in return?"

"I walk away. Me and the Winchester siblings, all three of them. This angel business, it's none of our business."

"Hmm. You know, I'd always heard that you were a devious cowardly little slut. You don't disappoint," said Alistair, walking in a circle around Ruby.

"So what do you say?" she asked him, following his movements.

"It's interesting. Prudent."

Alistair turned back around to face Ruby and smirked as two demons came from out of nowhere, grabbing her by the arms and holding her down. He pulled the knife back out from behind his back, staring at it.

"But, uh, let me make you a… counter-offer."

Alistair ran the knife across Ruby's cheek, a sick, sadistic smile on his evil face.

Dean opened the barn door and slowed as he saw Uriel standing in the middle of the room, staring him down.

"Look at that. It's so cute that monkeys wear clothes," said Uriel.

Dean glared at him, looking around the barn for his siblings and Ruby.

"I'm dreaming, aren't I?" asked Dean.

"It's the only way we could chat. Since you're hiding like cowards."

"I don't normally see you off leash. Where's your… boss?"

"Castiel? Oh, he's, uh… he's not here. You see, he has this weakness. He likes you. But time's up, boy. We want the girl."

"Wouldn't try that if I were you."

Uriel scoffed.

"You see, she's got her grace back. Full blown angel now."

Uriel looked down at his necklace, chuckling.

"That would be a neat trick. Considering… I have her grace right here."

Uriel held up a vial on a chain around his neck, the white substance inside glowing. Dean's eyes widened.

"We can't let Hell get their hooks into it."

"Well, then why don't you just give her back her angel juice?"

Uriel tucked his necklace back into his shirt.

"She committed a serious crime."

"What, thinking for herself?"

"This isn't your business. Listen, she's not even human. Not technically."

"Well, I guess I just like being a pain in the ass."

Uriel chuckled, moving forward towards Dean with a smirk on his lips.

"Nah, there's more. You cut yourself a slice of angel food cake. Didn't you? Huh?"

Dean said nothing.

"You did!"

Uriel laughed.

"What do you care?"

Uriel stepped away from him, his hands up in surrender.

"Well, it's your last chance. Give us the girl or-"

"Or what? What, you gonna toss me back in the hole? You're bluffing."

"Try me. There's a whole lot bigger things we have for you, Dean. You can be replaced."

Dean nodded, licked his lips, and looked down at the floor for a few brief seconds. Once he looked back up at Uriel, he held his arms out wide.

"What the hell. Do it."

Uriel stalked forward, Dean never looking at him. Uriel shook his head.

"You're just crazy enough to go, aren't you?"

"What can I say, I don't break easy."

"Oh, yes… you do. You just gotta know where to apply the right pressure," whispered Uriel.

The next morning, Anna stood by the large barn door, watching outside. She glanced behind her to see Dean drinking from a flask, Alex sitting beside Dean, and Sam was pacing the length of the floor.

"I don't know, guys. Where's Ruby?" asked Sam, the worry and panic setting in while he spoke and paced the length of the floor once again.

"Hey, she's your hell, buddy," snapped Dean, drinking from his flask again.

Alex rolled her eyes and smacked Dean's arm, giving him a stern look, warning him to stop. Sam turned and glared at Dean while Anna walked over to stand in front of him.

"It's a little bit too early for that, isn't it?" she asked, pointing to Dean's silver flash full of whiskey.

Dean shook his head, a smirk playing on his lips.

"It's 2 A.M. somewhere."

Alex smirked at her older brother's smart-ass response, but Anna looked even more worried about him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, of course."

Anna stared at him for a little while longer until the wind began howling outside. The huge double doors of the barn flew open, Castiel and Uriel walking inside of the barn. The doors slammed closed behind them and the siblings stood in the middle of the barn, Anna in the middle with Alex. Sam held a protective arm out in front of Anna's body. Castiel stared straight at her.

"Hello, Anna. It's good to see you," stated Castiel, his gaze never wavering from hers.

"How? How'd you find us?" asked Sam, his tone very demanding.

Castiel's eyes briefly flickered over to Dean's face and Sam and Alex looked over at him in shock. Dean looked down at the floor, guilt all over his face. Anna looked up at him sadly. Castiel looked down at the floor.

"Dean?" asked Alex softly.

Dean ignored her, looking at Anna instead.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her.

"Why?" demanded Sam, pulling Alex closer to him instead of Dean.

Dean continued staring at Anna, ignoring Sam's question. Anna looked away from her and looked forward to Castiel and Uriel.

"Because they gave him a choice. They either kill me or kill Alex and you," answered Anna, looking at Sam.

Alex gasped and reached for Sam's hand. He grabbed it and squeezed her fingers.

"I know how their minds work," said Anna, staring back at the two men in front of her with hatred.

Castiel looked at her finally, no emotions showing on his face. Anna turned to face Dean once again, rubbing a hand down his arm gently. She leaned forward and kissed his lips, Castiel watching their exchange. Their foreheads remained touching as Anna pulled away from their kiss.

"You did the best you could. And I forgive you," whispered Anna, pulling away from Dean completely.

Dean nodded sadly and he watched with his siblings as Anna stepped forward slightly.

"Okay. No more tricks. No more running. I'm ready," said Anna, looking at the two angels in front of her.

"I'm sorry," apologized Castiel, no sort of emotion evident in his tone of voice.

"No. You're not. Not really. You don't even know that feeling, being sorry," said Anna, shaking her head.

"Still, we have a history, Anna. It's just-"

"Orders are orders. I know. Just make it quick," urged Anna.

Dean shook his head, his eyes full of pain and guilt as he shut them. Sam looked worried while Alex scooted closer to his side, turning her head into his chest.

"Don't you touch a hair on that poor girl's head," said Alistair.

Everyone except for Uriel and Castiel whirled around to face Alistair, Anna letting out a small, frightened gasp as she whirled around. Dean's eyes widened as he saw Ruby being held up by two other demons, Alistair standing in front of them, pointing his finger at Castiel. Ruby had blood across her stomach and she was struggling to stay conscious, let alone upright and on her feet. Uriel walked forward towards all of the demons while the Winchester siblings ushered Anna out of the way of Uriel's path. The two demons threw Ruby to the side and onto the dirt floor.

"How dare you come in this room, you bastard," said Uriel, his tone absolutely menacing.

"Name calling. That hurt my feelings, you sanctimonious, fanatical prick," shot back Alistair.

"Turn around and walk away. Now," said Castiel.

Alistair looked over Uriel's shoulder at him, nodding an acknowledgement.

"Sure. Just give us the girl. We'll make sure she gets punished good and proper," said Alistair, throwing in a wink.

"You know who we are and what we'll do," said Castiel, stepping forward to join Uriel.

"Now, I won't say it again. Leave. Now. Or be laid to waste," threatened Castiel.

"I think I'll take my chances," shot back Alistair.

The tension in the room rose to a boiling point until finally, Uriel grabbed the demon closest to him, shoving him into the nearest wood pole. The second demon came up behind Uriel and Uriel whirled around, punching him directly in the nose. The demon rolled away to the other side of the barn while Castiel punched Alistair in the face in quick succession. After he got in a good three punches, Castiel held one hand on Alistair's forehead and the other was placed on his shoulder. The siblings looked on curiously.

"Sorry, kiddo. Why don't you go run to Daddy?" asked Alistair.

Castiel's eyes widened as Alistair broke his hold on him, punching him in the face next and then knocking him onto his back a few feet away. He ran over and grabbed Castiel by his navy blue tie, holding him closer to his face. Uriel held his hand to the forehead of one demon and the demon screamed in pain as he was pulled from the body he was currently residing in. Castiel looked up at Alistair's face above him, his eyes widening in fear. Alistair began chanting in Latin, tightening his hold around Castiel's neck. But before he could finish his Latin chant, Dean hit him in the face with a shovel. Alistair stumbled back, letting go of Castiel. He snickered.

"Dean, Dean, Dean. I am so disappointed in you. You had such promise!" yelled Alistair.

Dean shrunk back, Alex and Sam looking at him curiously. Alistair threw up his hand, palm up and facing them and they all grabbed their throats, falling to their knees in pain as they tried to gasp for air. Uriel exorcised the final demon, holding his hand up to the man's forehead. As the man's eyes closed, Anna ran over to Uriel, grabbed her grace from around his necklace, and threw it on the floor, smashing it open before Uriel even had time to protest her actions. White light filled the room and a bright white cloud of smoke entered Anna's mouth. She fell to the ground on her knees once all of her grace was returned, gasping for air.

"Shut your eyes! Shut your eyes!" yelled Anna, as she began standing up once again.

Everyone covered their eyes using their forearms except for Castiel, Alistair, and Uriel. Anna's screaming echoed around the room, but no one knew what was happening around them. Another burst of bright white light filled the room and then Anna's screams disappeared, Alistair grabbing her and leaving with her. They all stood up slowly once it was over and Dean reached down on the floor, picking up Ruby's knife from the middle of the room. He looked at Castiel and Uriel.

"So what are you guys waiting for? Go get Anna. Unless, of course, you're scared," said Dean.

"This isn't over!" yelled Uriel, rushing towards Dean, but Castiel pulled him back.

Dean nodded.

"It sure looks like it's over to me, Chuckles."

Uriel glared at him for one moment longer until the flapping of wings filled the room and Castiel and Uriel disappeared abruptly. Dean sighed in relief, Sam scratched the back of his neck, Alex hugged Dean, and Ruby waddled over to them, still pale and weak from her blood loss.

"Are you okay?" asked Sam, watching her struggle towards them.

"Not so much," answered Ruby.

"What took you so long to get here?" asked Dean.

Ruby managed to roll her eyes through her pain.

"I'm sorry I'm so late with the demon delivery. I mean, I was only being tortured."

Dean nodded slowly, looking at the wound on her stomach, blood still seeping through her shirt, which was drenched in lots of blood. Sam and Alex looked at the wound too, frowning.

"Well, I've gotta hand it to you, Sammy. Bringing 'em all together, all at once. Angels and demons? That's a damn good plan," remarked Dean, smirking to himself.

Alex nodded in agreement, a small smile on her face as well and Sam nodded his thanks.

"Yeah, well, when you got Godzilla and Mathra on your ass, it's best to just get of their way and let them fight," said Sam.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Right. Now you're just bragging."

"So I guess she's some big-time angel now, huh?" asked Sam.

Dean nodded along with Alex while Sam glanced at Ruby.

"Well, she must be happy," finished Sam.

"Wherever she is," said Alex.

Dean looked up from the floor, catching Ruby's glare.

"I doubt it," said Dean.

A few hours later, Dean had the Impala parked on the side of the road. He was leaning against the passenger side near the hood of the car while Alex and Sam sat on the hood of the car.

"I honestly can't believe we made it out of there alive," remarked Dean.

Alex nodded while Sam scoffed.

"Again," said Sam.

Dean smirked and the three of them clinked their beer bottles together in a sort of cheers toast before taking drinks from them. After a few moments of silence, Dean sighed.

"I know you guys heard him," said Dean.

"Who?" asked Alex, looking at her oldest brother.

Dean's eyebrows rose.

"Alistair. What he said. About how I had promise."

"We heard him," said Sam.

"You curious at all?" asked Dean.

"Dean, we're damn curious. But, if you're not talking about Hell…" began Sam.

"Then we're not pushing," finished Alex.

Dean nodded and took another drink from his cold beer. Sam and Alex did the same.

"It wasn't four months, you know."

Sam and Alex looked at their older brother curiously.

"What?" they asked at the same exact time.

"It was four months up here, but down there… I don't know, time's different. It was more like 40 years."

Sam shook his head while Alex whispered.

"Oh my God."

"They, uh… they sliced… carved… and tore me in ways that you… Until there was absolutely nothing left."

Sam and Alex looked disgusted, Alex on the brink of tears as she peeled back the label on her beer bottle.

"And then suddenly… I would be whole again. Like magic. Just so they could start in all over. And Alistair, at the end of every day, every single one, he would come over and he would make me an offer. To take me off the rack… if I put other souls on. If I started the torture. And every single day, I told him to stick it where the sun shines," smirked Dean.

Alex choked back a sob and Sam placed a comforting hand on her knee closest to him.

"For 30 years, I told him that. But then I couldn't do it anymore," cried Dean, his voice full of tears.

Alex began crying and Sam pulled her into his side as Dean let a few tears escape his eyes and slide down his cheeks.

"I couldn't. And I got off that rack. God help me, I got right off that… And I started ripping them apart. God, I lost count of how many souls… Th… The things that I did to them…" Dean trailed off, his tears flowing pretty freely now.

"Dean," whispered Sam.

Sam cleared his throat to get a hold of his emotions as Dean lost it.

"Dean, look, you held out for 30 years, that's more than anyone would have," encouraged Sam.

Dean shook his head as he looked down at the gravel road, crying. Alex stood up from her place on the car and walked over to stand in front of Dean. She forced him to look at her face and Dean buried his head into her shoulder. Alex soothed him, her own tears falling as Dean buried his choking sobs into her neck and shoulder, his back heaving with every sob that escaped from him. Sam looked on at his siblings sadly, hurting for Dean. After a few minutes, Dean stood up straight, wiping away his tears.

"How I feel… Inside me… I wish I couldn't feel anything, I truly do. I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing."

Sam nodded from behind Dean. Alex stood by Dean's side and Dean put his arm around her, pulling her close.

A few nights later, Alex and Sam were both asleep, Alex in the back and Sam in the passenger seat. Dean was flipping through some sort of file, a flashlight in one hand as he read. An owl hooted loudly outside of the car, causing both Alex and Sam to awaken and look around. Alex groaned as she stretched out. Sam barely opened his eyes as he spoke to Dean.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" shot back Dean.

"Like you're looking for a job," said Sam.

Dean smirked.

"Yahtzee, little brother."

Sam and Alex both sighed as they sat up and took in the files in Dean's hands.

"We just finished a job like two hours ago," whined Alex, a huge yawn spreading across her face.

Dean raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

"Adrenaline's still pumping, I guess."

Sam sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.

"So what do you think?" asked Dean, handing the file over to Sam.

Alex read over Sam's shoulder.

"Cedar Rapids, Tulsa, or Chi town?" asked Dean.

"I am all for working, I really am, but you've got us chasing cases non-stop for like a month now," argued Sam.

"Yeah, we all need some sleep, Dean," agreed Alex.

"Eh, we can sleep when we're dead," said Dean, taking back the files and looking at each one of them again.

"You're exhausted, Dean," said Sam.

"I'm great!" yelled Dean.

"No, you're not. You're running on fumes and you can't run forever," argued Alex, crossing her arms over her chest.

Dean smirked, looking up from his reading.

"And what am I running from exactly?"

Sam and Alex exchanged a look before Sam finally spoke up for the both of them.

"From what you told us. Or are we pretending that never happened?"

Dean looked at both of his siblings for a beat longer, nodded his head, and turned back to the files scattered across his lap.

"Stratton, Nebraska. Farm town. A man gets hacked to death in a locked room inside a locked house, no signs of forced entry."

"Sounds like a ghost," said Alex, lying back down on her seat in the back of the Impala.

"Yes, it does," agreed Dean.

Sam sighed and leaned his head against the passenger side window in frustration.

About a day and a half later, Dean pulled the Impala up the long gravel driveway of the farmhouse that they suspected held a ghost. They saw the sign at the end of the driveway and noted that the house was for sale, but they didn't see the "SOLD" sign that had fallen into the grass in front of the larger sign. Dean parked the Impala directly in front of the house and Alex whistled as they all climbed out of the car.

"That's a pretty nice place," she remarked.

The house was painted white, a wrap-around porch the first thing anyone would notice. The house was obviously old, but was well kept. The second story of the house looked just as nice as the first, at least from the outside view. Sam and Dean led the way to the front of the house and up the twenty wood stairs that brought them to the front door. Dean pulled out his pocketknife and quickly picked the effortlessly, swinging the creaky wooden front door open within a matter of seconds. Sam and Alex stepped inside first while Dean shut the front door before following his siblings. All of the furniture was gone, so the house seemed extra spacious and open as they walked through it.

"Boy, three bedrooms, two baths, and one homicide. This place is gonna sell like hotcakes," remarked Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes and went off to explore more of the house, the floorboards creaking as she walked over them. The kitchen was painted a bright yellow color, the cabinets painted an off-white. The tile on the floor looked as if it was from the 1970s. Sam began opening some of the cabinets on one side while Dean took the other side of the room. Alex felt a chill run up her spine as she stood in the middle of the room, as if they were being watched. She shook off the strange feeling and watched as Dean found a weird shape in the wall. She walked closer to him.

"Hey, check this out," called out Dean.

Sam walked over as well, watching as Dean knocked on the part of the wall that looked almost like a small door.

"Huh," said Sam, running his hands over the door in the wall.

"It's probably a dumb-waiter," said Alex, looking at the wall.

Sam nodded in agreement with his twin sister.

"All these old places had them," he said.

Dean chuckled.

"Know it alls," he mumbled under his breath.

Alex scoffed and rolled her eyes. She punched Dean in the arm and he rubbed his arm where she had hit him, pouting. She smirked and flounced out of the room, Dean and Sam following her up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, Alex headed towards the first door she saw. It was one of the guest bedrooms and Sam and Dean followed her inside the room. The EMF meter began buzzing and vibrating in Sam's jacket pocket.

"Well, no bloodstains, a fresh coat of paint. This is a bunch of bullshit," sighed Dean, walking over to look out the grimy window.

"Needle's all over the place on this thing," remarked Sam, staring down at the EMF meter that was now in his hands.

"Yeah, because you've got power lines," answered Dean, pointing out the window at them.

Sam threw up his hands and turned off the EMF.

"Great," muttered Alex, picking at her nails in the middle of the room, bored.

She discretely watched as Sam opened the closet door.

"Ugh," said Dean, looking at the closet's floor.

Alex walked over and made a disgusted face. On the floor of the closet was the head of a baby doll. The hair was all chopped off and its eyes were especially eerie looking as well.

"Well that's super disturbing," remarked Dean, staring down at the doll's head.

"Think it got left behind?" asked Alex.

"By who? Unless Bill Gibson likes to play with doll heads," said Dean.

Sam chuckled, but abruptly stopped as they heard the sound of cars coming up the long gravel driveway. Sam shut the closet door as he and his siblings looked out the bedroom window. A white SUV was coming down the drive, a large white moving truck directly behind the SUV.

"Uh-oh," whispered Sam, his eyes wide.

"I thought you said this place was still for sale," said Dean, watching the two cars inch closer and closer to the haunted house.

"Yeah, but apparently it's not," said Sam.

Alex rolled her eyes and headed for the bedroom door, her brothers following close behind. Alex clambered down the stairs, quickly throwing open the front door once she had reached it. She headed down the porch steps quickly, Sam and Dean directly behind her.

"Who are they?" asked a teenage girl, stepping out of the white SUV.

Alex cringed, but forced a bright smile on her pretty face, heading for the family of five.

"Hi. Can I help you?" asked the father of the family, standing in front of his teenage daughter.

"Hi. Are you the new owners?" asked Alex.

"Yeah. And you guys are?"

"This is my brother, Mr. Stanley. And this is our friend, Mr. Babaar," said Alex, watching as her brothers pulled out some sort of fake badges, flashing them in the man's face quickly.

"We're County Code Enforcers," said Dean, stuffing his badge back into his jacket pocket.

"We had the building inspected last week," said the father, looking back at his family and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Is there a problem?" asked his wife from behind him.

Sam looked towards the house, trying to come up with a quick lie. Alex beat him to it, shaking her head gravely, her lips pursed.

"Asbestos in the walls. A gas leak, yeah, I'd say we've got a problem."

"Asbestos? Meaning what?" asked the man's wife.

"Meaning, that until this house is up to code, it's uninhabitable," answered Sam, his face looking grim, but firm as well.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're saying we can't stay here?" asked the man, pointing to his newly bought property.

"It's a health hazard. Trust me, you don't want to stay here," answered Dean, shaking his head firmly.

"Hold on," said the man's brother, standing with the rest of the family.

He stepped forward to stand beside his brother now.

"We just drove 400 miles," he argued.

"There's a motel just down the road. Until this gets cleaned up, I suggest you stay there," offered Dean.

There was a moment of silence until the father of the family spoke up once again.

"Alright and what if we don't want to stay there?"

"Well, you get a fine or you go to jail. So pick your poison," smirked Alex.

The man turned to look back at his family. He sighed, but turned back to the siblings, holding up one of his index fingers.

"One night. One night, and then I will take care of everything. ASAP, I promise," said the man.

Dean nodded his head.

"Yeah, you better do that."

The man's teenage daughter looked at him with disgust while the rest of his family trudged back to their cars.

"Another motel? Awesome, Dad. I hope this one had hooker sheets like the last one we chose."

Alex hid a chuckle and a smirk at the girl's obvious dislike of her current situation. They headed back for the house to figure out their game plan.

About an hour or so later, the three siblings were talking to the woman who had found the dead man's body, Mr. Gibson's maid. They talked to her through her screen door.

"What did the room look like after you found it, Mrs. Terry?" asked Sam.

"I already told the local boys. There was blood. Everywhere," she answered, her arms crossed over her chest.

"And Mr. Gibson, where was he?" asked Dean.

Her eyes flicked over to his through her screen door. She paused before answering, but her eyes never left Dean's.

"Everywhere."

"How long have you been cleaning Mr. Gibson's house?" asked Alex, holding back her disgust at the woman's previous response.

"Hmm, about five years."

"So you know him pretty well then?" asked Dean.

"Ah, not really well. He was really private, not the easiest man to get along with. Not that I can really blame him."

"What do you mean?" asked Sam.

"His wife dies in childbirth. Daughter hangs herself in the attic 20 years later, I'd be bitter too. I think I've got some pictures."

The woman walks away and the siblings exchange a series of uneasy glances at her revelations about Mr. Gibson's past life. She returns after a moment and they all look forward once again. She opens her screen door briefly, handing her pictures over into Dean's outstretched hand.

"Here."

"Thanks," says Dean, looking through the very few pictures she hands to him as she shuts the screen door once again.

"Can we please keep these?" asked Alex, looking over at the pictures briefly.

"Suit yourselves."

"Now, why'd the daughter kill herself?" asked Alex.

The woman shakes her head.

"Oh, I don't know. That was before my time."

"Did you ever notice anything odd in the house when you were cleaning it?" asked Dean, sticking the pictures she had given them into the pocket of his jacket.

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Like lights going on and off, things not being where you left them," answered Dean, looking at Mrs. Terry's face.

She pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Nope."

After a few seconds, a look of confusion spread across her face.

"Well, maybe there was one thing."

"And what's that?" asked Alex.

"Well, sometimes I thought I heard like a… rustling in the walls."

"Like rats?" asked Dean.

"Yeah."

"Well, there must have been some big sons of guns out there, huh?" joked Dean, a smirk playing on his lips.

Mrs. Terry just shrugged.

"I wouldn't know. I never saw any."

Dean looked taken aback.

"Do you happen to know where Mrs. Gibson and her daughter were buried?" asked Sam.

"Ah, they were both cremated," nodded Mrs. Terry.

"Alright so it probably wasn't the mom or the daughter," remarked Sam as they were walking towards the Impala and away from Mrs. Terry's trailer home.

"So whose ghost was it?" asked Alex, popping a piece of bubble gum into her mouth.

"I don't know, but I say we give that place a real thorough once over and see," answered Dean, opening his car door and climbing inside the Impala.

Later that night, Dean drove up the long gravel driveway to Mr. Gibson's old house. His headlights were off, but the lights in the house were burning brightly.

"Crap. So what now?" asked Dean, taking in the lights on in the house.

"We could tell them the truth," encouraged Sam.

Alex and Dean looked at him strangely.

"Really?" asked Alex.

Sam shook his head.

"No, not really."

Alex chuckled, but went back to watching the house closely with her brothers.

After about fifteen minutes, screams sounded from one of the many upstairs bedrooms.

"Fuck," muttered Alex.

They all three quickly climbed out of the car, rushing towards the large house in the distance. Dean banged on the door and when the man's brother from earlier in the day pulled it open, the three siblings rushed inside.

"We heard screams, what's going on?" asked Dean, looking around the room and taking them all in.

"Ah, you three! Did any of you touch my daughter?" yelled the father, pointing towards his teenage daughter, who had cuddled into her mother's side.

"What? No," answered Dean, looking thoroughly confused.

"Who are you three anyway?"

"Just relax, alright?" encouraged Sam.

He glanced at his siblings briefly and they both nodded. Sam licked his lips and took in a deep breath before speaking once again.

"You have a ghost living in your home."

"A ghost," said the father, rolling his eyes.

"See? I told you, Dad!" yelled the girl.

"It's the girl!" yelled the younger boy child.

"Calm down, the both of you. Just relax," said their father, pushing them behind him once again.

He whirled around and faced the three Winchester siblings.

"What game are you three playing at?" he asked them.

"Look, sir, your family is in danger and you need to leave this house right now," said Alex.

As soon as he sentence was finished, all of the lights in the house turned off, leaving all of them in complete and total darkness. The teenage girl screamed and whimpered.

"What the hell," asked the uncle of the family, standing behind the Winchester siblings.

"No one move!" yelled Dean.

They all stood, silent, and looked around, listening. They heard whimpers from an animal and they steadily grew louder.

"Buster!" yelled the boy, whose name was Danny.

The dad brushed past the three siblings and ran out the front door and onto the wrap-around porch.

"What the-" whispered Sam, watching the man walk past him and out the door.

"Buster!" yelled Brian, the father of the family.

His brother, Ted, joined him on the front porch as they looked for the lost dog.

"Buster!" yelled Brian again.

The two men ran off the porch, listening for Buster's whimpers of pain. Sam and Dean followed them outside as Alex stayed inside with the rest of the family members. As the four men rounded one corner of the house, they slowed down to a walk, taking in the horrible and gruesome scene in front of them now.

"What the hell?" whispered Ted, looking down towards his feet.

They inched closer towards the edge of the moving van in front of them. Written on the side in Buster's blood were the words, "Too Late." The kids ran outside with their mom and Alex hot on their heels. They ran around the porch until they spotted the rest of their family.

"Buster!" yelled Danny, the little boy.

His mother and his sister gasped as they took in the scene before them. Alex's stomach rolled with waves of nausea.

"Get back inside," said Brian, calmly.

"Go!" he yelled, his family not moving fast enough for him after a few seconds.

Their mother shielded them from the horrible scene and led them back inside of the house.

"We are not the bad guys here," said Dean, talking to Brian and Ted.

Brian's head whirled around to look at Sam and Dean a few feet behind him.

"You're in danger," continued Dean.

"But first things first. You've got to get your family the hell out of here," said Sam, breathing a little heavily from the adrenaline rush from the ghost scare.

Brian looked at his brother, Ted. He looked back at the words written on the side of the van and nodded slowly.

Brian ran back inside his newly bought home and retrieved the rest of his family members. Dean led them back down the front porch steps and onto the solid ground.

"Alright, head back to that motel I was telling you about earlier today, you'll be safe there," said Dean.

"What are you three going to do?" asked Brian.

Dean didn't answer, taking in his Impala.

"Oh, no. Oh, come on!" he yelled.

Alex winced when she saw Dean's slashed tires, knowing he would now be beyond livid with this ghost.

"Oh, come on!" yelled Dean, slamming his hands down on the hood of his precious Impala.

Brian checked his SUV and saw that his tires were also slashed. Sam ran to the back of the car and threw open the trunk of the car. He cursed under his breath.

"Dude, all of our guns are gone! So is the- Basically everything is gone!" yelled Sam, walking back around to the front of the car.

"The truck's no good either!" yelled Ted, running back towards all of them.

"All of our tires are slashed," said Brian, heading back towards his terrified family.

"What kind of ghost messes with a man's fucking wheels!" yelled Dean, looking at the house.

"What's going on? What's going on?" asked the teenage daughter, terrified out of her mind now.

She looked out in the farm fields and screamed.

"What's going on?" asked her mother, pulling her daughter in close.

"She's there, she's there, I just freaking saw her there in the woods!" yelled the girl.

Sam, Alex, and Dean shined their flashlights into the fields, but saw absolutely nothing or no one.

"What the hell's a freaking ghost doing outside of her house?" whispered Alex, her eyes wide as she looked for the girl.

"I guess we have to stay and find out now," whispered Sam.

Dean looked at the two of them and turned his flashlight off.

"Everybody, back inside," said Dean.

"Are you crazy, we need to get the hell out of here!" yelled Ted.

"With what? This ghost is hunting us!" yelled Dean.

He and Ted had a stare down before Dean yelled again.

"Everybody, back inside, now!" he yelled.

"Let's move here, people!" encouraged Alex, following the family up their front porch steps.

Sam poured a large circle of salt around the terrified family while Dean and Alex crouched down beside him, watching him.

"Whatever's out there can't get inside this circle. Now, as long as the salt line is unbroken, this is the safest place to be," said Dean.

He turned away to tend to the small fire they had gotten started in the fireplace.

"Safe from ghosts," stated Brian, sounding very skeptical and bitter.

"Yes, as a matter of fact," said Dean, looking back at him.

Brian nodded, his hands on his hips.

"Okay. I'm not going to listen to this craziness anymore. Come on. I've gotta get my family out of here, let's go," said Brian, grabbing his wife by the arm and pulling her up into a standing position.

Dean stood up from his crouching position and so did Alex.

"No one is going anywhere until we kill this damn thing!" yelled Dean.

Sam blocked Brian's path out of the circle of salt.

"Sir, please. This is what we do, just… trust us," pleaded Sam, looking at Brian sadly.

"You hunt ghosts?" asked Danny, looking at all three of them with shock and awe in his features.

Dean and Alex nodded.

"That's right, little man," said Dean.

"Like Scooby Doo?"

The three of them chuckled.

"Even better than them," said Alex, smiling.

Ted rolled his eyes and looked away from all three of them. Sam looked at the teenage girl.

"You saw her outside, right?" he asked her.

The girl nodded and Sam stepped a little bit closer to her.

"Okay. Did she look like either one of these girls?" asked Sam, holding out the pictures that Mrs. Terry had given them earlier.

The teenage girl looked over the photos carefully. After a few seconds, she pointed to the picture of Mr. Gibson's daughter.

"Her. She was paler and a lot dirtier, but that was her," she answered.

"That's the girl in the walls," chimed in Danny.

Sam looked at him, his eyebrows raised. Alex and Dean moved closer to all of them.

"So it's the daughter?" asked Sam, looking back at his siblings.

"That girl in the picture, she… she's dead?" asked the mother, looking over at Sam.

Sam hesitated before answering, taking a deep breath.

"She killed herself inside this house," he answered.

The woman looked pained as she looked behind her at her husband. She placed a hand on each of her children's shoulders while Sam pulled his siblings off to a corner of the large living room.

"So maybe we got her story wrong and Rebecca wasn't cremated," suggested Alex.

"Unless her spirit's attached to something inside this house," said Sam.

"She hung herself up in the attic, right?" asked Dean.

"You want to baby-sit and we'll check it out?" asked Alex, talking to Dean.

Dean nodded and Sam and Alex were about to step forward until Ted stopped them right in their tracks.

"Look, I don't care who hung themselves where, maybe something is going on here-"

"It's a spirit, man," said Dean, cutting Ted off mid-sentence.

"No, it's just some damn backwoods hillbilly bitch and I'm not about to sit around here, waiting for her to go all Deliverance on my ass," yelled Ted.

"Well, no one is leaving this house," argued Dean.

"Stop me," threatened Ted, walking straight past Dean.

Dean grabbed Ted by the collar of his shirt and pulled him back, Ted's sister-in-law gasping at the violence Dean used.

"Listen, man. I've got a gun. If you don't get your sorry ass back into that circle of salt, then you're going to have yourself a third hole," threatened Dean.

Ted escaped from Dean's hold, but walked back into the circle of salt, glaring the entire time he did so. Alex and Sam walked over to Dean.

"Dude, you definitely don't have a gun," whispered Sam.

"And? I'm not letting that dumbass bastard or anyone else die tonight, do you two hear me?" asked Dean, his eyebrows raised.

Sam and Alex nodded.

"You alright?" asked Alex, her tone almost motherly now as she looked over at her oldest brother.

Dean just shrugged, nodding his head towards the staircase beside him.

"You two, go. Now," he whispered.

Sam and Alex brushed past him and headed up the creaky wooden stairs to the attic, trying to solve this house's mystery.

After Sam and Alex had been gone for quite a while, a strange creaking noise began in the living room.

"What was that?" whispered the teenage daughter, her eyes full of unshed tears and fear.

They all shut up and listened as a door across the room slowly creaked open. Dean watched as a pale white arm appeared first from behind the door and then the whole body and face of the ghost girl appeared. The teenage daughter whimpered from somewhere behind Dean. The entire family stepped into the large circle of salt as the girl began slowly stepping out from the wall.

"Mom," whispered the teenage daughter, snuggling into her mom's comforting embrace.

"Alright, everyone, stay calm. She's a ghost, she can't come into this circle," said Dean, his voice calm and steady.

The girl was pale and dirty, her hair all ratty and knotted. Her clothes were torn beyond belief as she stepped closer to the circle of salt. She snarled at all of them, her lips curling up over her nasty yellow teeth as her dirty fists clenched at her sides. She pulled a knife from out of her sleeve and held it in her left hand as she slowly lifted one foot up and over, placing it inside the circle of salt. The entire family gasped and whimpered behind Dean as she placed her other foot into the circle as well so that she was standing in the circle of salt with all of them.

"I thought you said ghosts couldn't cross the circle of salt!" yelled the teenage daughter, looking over at Dean with panic and fear written all over her face.

"They can't, she's not a ghost," said Dean, very calmly.

"Shoot her then!" yelled Ted.

"Yeah, about that…" trailed off Dean, looking at the girl in front of him.

The girl let out an angry, high-pitched scream and lunged forward, trying to attack Dean with her knife.

"Everyone, move, move!" yelled Dean, dodging the blow.

The family moved from out of the circle of salt and ran for the front door. The girl lunged for Dean again, but he continuously dodged her blows. She kept screaming as she kept fighting Dean. Dean tripped and fell on his back while the girl looked down at him. He held up his arms to block her blow, but as she lunged forward to stab him with her knife, Sam and Alex appeared back downstairs.

"Hey!" yelled Alex.

The girl looked over at her and Alex shined her flashlight directly into the girl's eyes. The girl screamed once again and ran away from the light, her arms coming up to shield her eyes and cover her face from the bright white light from Alex's flashlight. She ran into a closet, whimpering and screaming. Sam ran over to the place where she had escaped and flung the doors open, shining his light inside the little closet. He looked back at his siblings, his eyes wide.

Alex, Sam, and Dean walked down the front porch steps, Brian running over to them.

"Hey, hey! Are you alright?" he asked Dean, looking him over quickly.

"Where is everyone else?" asked Dean, his voice gruff.

Brian grabbed him by the arm and began leading him towards everyone else.

"Hiding."

Dean pulled out of Brian's hold on his arm.

"Alright, well, go get them. Go, go get them!"

Dean patted Brian on the shoulder and he ran off towards the corner of his house to get the rest of his family. He watched Brian leave and then he turned back to his siblings.

"So it's not a ghost," he stated.

Sam and Alex shook their heads.

"No, it's just a girl?" asked Sam.

"It's not just any girl, it's psycho. I'm telling you, man, humans," said Dean, looking disgusted with his own species.

"So who is she then?" asked Alex.

"I don't know, maybe it's the daughter, Rebecca. Maybe she didn't actually hang herself a while ago," answered Dean.

"Dean, you know she would have to be like 50 years old by now, right?" asked Sam, looking concerned with Dean's logic.

Dean just shrugged in frustration, throwing his hands out to his sides.

"Man, I don't know. What'd you guys find in the attic?" he asked.

"Um, some old junk. We found Rebecca's diary and that's about it," answered Alex, chewing on her thumbnail as she thought about this mystery.

"I wish you would have found some more stuff, but listen, we've got to keep this family safe. I mean, it's just a human girl and so they can make a run for it, we've just gotta hold the crazy girl off," suggested Dean.

Sam and Alex nodded in agreement with his plan. The family rushed towards them then and the three Winchester siblings looked at all of them.

"We're alright," reassured the mother, holding her teenage daughter close.

"Danny, Ted, we've gotta leave, now!" yelled Brian, looking around for his brother and his son.

Ted came running around the corner of the house, a flashlight in one of his hands, but Danny wasn't with him.

"I'm good!" yelled Ted, running towards them.

"Danny!" yelled his mother, looking around Ted for her son.

"Come on!" she called, brushing past everyone else to call out for her son.

"Danny, buddy, we've gotta go!" yelled Brian, joining his wife in the yelling process now.

"I told you she was just some crazy bitch," said Ted, looking down at Dean.

"Yes, you did, jackass," scoffed Dean, glaring at him.

"Hey, um, head to town and we'll take it from here, alright?" asked Sam, looking at Brian now.

"Brian, where… where is my son?" asked Brian's wife, finally beginning to panic once she realized that Danny was nowhere to be found with them.

"Honey, you've got to take Kate and go now! I promise, we will find Danny, we will find him!" yelled Brian, grabbing his wife's shoulders.

She vehemently shook her head.

"No, not without Danny!"

"She's right, she's right. Until we find your son, the safest place for all of you right now is the shed," said Dean, pointing behind him to the metal garden shed in their front yard.

"I am not going in there either," said Kate, shaking her head.

"Yes, you are. It is the best defense," argued Dean, looking her straight in the face.

"The windows are all boarded up, it's only got one door. It's our best shot right now. Please, trust me," said Dean.

Brian nodded and looked at his wife.

"Susie, take Kate and go into that shed. Go. Go," urged Brian.

Susie threw her arm over Kate's shoulder and dragged her over to the shed.

"Alright, Alex and I will take the outside while you three take the house," said Sam, looking at the other three men.

They all nodded and he grabbed Alex's hand, heading for the side of the house.

"Let's go," urged Sam.

Dean, Ted, and Brian headed into the house, starting with the living room first. Dean yanked open the closet doors that the girl had escaped into earlier while Brian and Ted armed themselves with knives from the yet to be unpacked boxes. Dean began feeling along the walls for openings and Ted shined his light on him.

"What are you doing?" asked Brian, looking at Dean curiously.

Dean looked back at the both of them before turning back to his inspection of the walls.

"Well, she's human, so she had to come from somewhere inside this house," answered Dean.

He moved along the wall until he found a spot on the wall that he could press in. He looked back at the two other men, a subtle smirk on his face. He pried the wall open and both Brian and Ted flinched back from the disgusting smell.

"Do you smell that?" asked Ted, his eyes closed from the ridiculous stench.

"Every single day, I smell that," answered Dean.

He pried the wall open a little further until he could poke his head inside. He looked around and saw that it was big enough for him to fit inside the walls. He managed to crawl inside the walls, breathing through his mouth so he wouldn't have to focus on the disgusting smell. Dean stood up straight, wary of his surroundings as he walked forward through the walls of the old house. He spotted cobwebs were higher up above his head as he walked forward.

"Come on," said Dean, urging Ted and Brian to join him.

He moved forward slightly so that both men could fit inside the walls comfortably with him. Once they were all inside, Dean rounded a corner first. As he walked farther down this new hallway, he spotted a rather large hole in the floor ahead of him. He stepped over the hole, placing one leg on each side as he looked down into it. Ted and Brian looked on, wary of Dean's plan.

"Dude, you are so not going down there," said Ted.

Dean nodded.

"Well, do either one of you want to go down there instead?" asked Dean, looking back over at the boys who were with him.

Neither man responded, so Dean nodded again as he began stepping into the large hole in the floor.

"Please nobody grab my leg, please no one grab my leg," chanted Dean, barely managing to squeeze his large body down into the hole built for a small girl.

Dean had to crouch down once he reached this new place in the walls. It was now brick walls that surrounded him instead of wooden ones. Flies buzzed in his ear and all around him. He looked to his left and flinched back when he saw a dead rat hanging right beside his face. He quickly caught himself and got his breathing back down to normal. He made a disgusted face when he saw the remains of Buster down there with him.

"Dog. It's what's for dinner," whispered Dean, very sarcastically.

He looked around some more, ultimately searching for Danny.

"Danny?" whisper yelled Dean.

"Did you find anything?" asked Brian, looking down through the hole on one side while Ted looked down from the other side of the hole as well.

"Yeah, her kitchen," responded Dean, moving forward once again.

"Her what?" asked Brian, sounding concerned now.

Ted just looked disgusted with Dean's response back to them.

Dean stepped on some sort of bone as he walked forward, looking for Danny. It crunched underneath his boot as he walked and Dean just kicked it aside. Dean's flashlight shone on a finger painting of a little stick figure girl and a little stick figure boy holding hands. It looked like it had been drawn in blood and Dean cocked his head to the side as he stared at it briefly, a little bit confused now. As he looked at the stick figures drawn on the wall, he heard the girl's scream from upstairs. He quickly ran toward the hole he had come down in, but just as he reached it, Ted's head was shoved through the opening. Dean quickly hid against the wall, making sure the girl couldn't see or hear him. He closed his eyed as he heard the blood dripping from Ted's body and he hoped and prayed that Brian had gotten away from the crazy girl.

Alex and Sam stood guard in the shed, waiting for Dean, Ted, and Brian to return. As Alex let out another exasperated sigh, someone banged on the door.

"Sammy, Alex. It's us," called out Dean's gruff voice.

Sam and Alex moved the blockade from the door to let them in. Dean and Brian entered the little tiny shed, Brian grabbing his wife and daughter immediately and wrapping them into a very tight hug. Dean shut the shed door behind him.

"Well, did you get Danny?" asked Susie, looking at Dean and her husband expectantly.

Dean and Brian shook their heads.

"No," whispered Dean, leaning his head and body back against the shed's one and only door.

"No? Well, where's Ted?" asked Susie.

Dean and Brian looked down at the floor.

"He's outside," answered Dean, not looking over at Susie.

"Well, why doesn't he just come inside?" asked Susie, looking very confused now.

Dean looked at Alex and Sam, his face very grim. Alex and Sam nodded solemnly, their faces now also grim.

"Because we had to carry him out," answered Brian, looking at his wife very sadly.

"I'm sorry," apologized Dean, setting Ted's flashlight down on the wooden table they were using as the barricade for the door.

"What, what does that mean that you're sorry?" asked Susie.

"Are you saying that he's dead?" whispered Kate, looking very, very frightened.

Dean said nothing, but just continued looking at the ground.

"We were in the walls and she, um, attacked him, us. And neither one of us could get to him in time," answered Brian, looking sadly at Dean.

Dean nodded as Susie buried her face into her husband's chest, bawling her eyes out.

"Uncle Ted is dead?" asked Kate, looking over at Dean.

Dean nodded imperceptibly before re-opening the shed door and walking back outside. The door slammed closed behind him and Alex looked at Sam sadly. Sam watched as Susie continued crying into her husband's chest, Kate holding onto her mother from behind as she began crying as well for the loss of her uncle.

Alex listened as Brian consoled his wife as she cried about Ted and Danny.

"We're a good family, why is this happening to us?" cried Susie, tears rolling down her face as her husband held her.

"Susie, I promise, I will get Danny back. I know I can't change what happened to Andy, but I swear, I will bring Danny back to you safely," promised Brian.

Susie nodded into his chest and Brian kissed her temple while Sam and Alex exchanged curious glances with each other.

Brian stood out front of the house later on, just staring at the front porch.

"Was Andy your son?" asked Dean, coming up behind Brian with his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.

Brian looked over at him as Dean stood beside him now, staring up at the front porch of the nightmare house. Brian looked back up at the house before he spoke once again. Dean looked at Brian as he spoke, telling hid story of Andy.

"Oldest. He, um, he got himself killed in a car accident late last year," explained Brian.

"I'm sorry," apologized Dean, looking over at the house now too.

"It nearly tore Susie and I apart. It still could, I imagine. So that's why we moved way out here. Fresh air leads to a fresh start, right? Not even my line. That one's from our marriage counselor. As far as I know, she might actually be right through. After all, what could possibly go wrong in the freaking country, right?" yelled Brian, angry now.

Dean stared over at him.

"I'm getting your son back. If it's the last God forsaken thing I ever do," vowed Dean.

"Why do you care so damn much, anyway?" asked Brian.

As Dean looked at him, beginning to answer Brian's last question, Sam walked over to them.

"Dean," called out Sam.

Dean's gaze shifted over to him then and Sam held up Rebecca's old, red leather-bound diary.

"We've gotta talk," said Alex, stepping up beside Sam then.

Sam pushed the front door of the old house open, shining his flashlight into the living room to make sure the girl wasn't there. Alex and Dean followed behind him and they made their way into the middle of the empty living room. Sam held up the diary and Dean glanced at it.

"What the hell is that?" asked Dean.

Sam's eyebrows rose.

"Rebecca's diary. Alex and I just finished reading it," answered Sam.

Dean walked over to the closet door where an entrance into the walls was located. He quickly shut it and then looked back at his twin siblings.

"And?" he prompted them, his own eyebrows raised.

"That girl back there? I'm pretty sure she was Rebecca's daughter," answered Alex, standing in the middle of the circle of salt with Sam.

"Rebecca had a freaking kid?" asked Dean.

Sam and Alex nodded.

"Dude, that's all she talks about in here. Being pregnant, being ashamed of being pregnant," said Sam, looking at the little red diary in his large hands.

"Oh geez, she's not Juno, get the hell over it," said Dean, rolling his eyes and stepping into the salt circle as well.

Sam and Alex chuckled.

"Wait, why kill herself after the baby?" asked Dean, confused now.

"Maybe because her father called her a dirty little whore and said he was going to lock the baby up where no one could ever see it," answered Alex, chewing on her bottom lip now.

"Why would he even say that?"

Sam looked down at the floor, uncomfortable. Dean looked at Alex for an answer. She coughed and scratched the back of her neck uncomfortably before answering.

"Um, probably because it was his kid," whispered Alex.

"Whoa, gross," said Dan, gagging.

Sam and Alex nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," said Sam .

"So the daddy was the baby daddy too," joked Dean, smiling.

Sam and Alex stared at him and Dean's smile fell. He coughed uncomfortably.

"The dude was a monster, Dean," said Sam.

Dean nodded.

"Wow. A story ripped straight from an Austrian headline. Humans, man," sighed Dean.

Alex nodded with agreement.

"So she's been locked up in this house her whole entire life?" asked Dean.

"Well, I mean, you saw her eyes. Has she ever even seen any light? I mean, she's barely even human, Dean," said Sam.

"Okay, so what then? She's been caged up like an animal and then she suddenly busts out and ganks her dear old father?" asked Dean.

"Slash granddad," chimed in Alex.

Dean gave her a sarcastic grin.

"Thanks for that little reminder."

Alex held up her hands in surrender and apology.

"Sorry."

"Well, I can't say I really blame her," said Dean.

"I'm sure her life was hell, Dean, but that she doesn't mean that she just gets a free pass for a damn murder spree," argued Sam.

"Like you even know what Hell's like," said Dean, his face suddenly serious.

Sam and Alex both slightly rolled their eyes at Dean's comment.

"I didn't mean it like that," said Sam.

"Nah, forget it," whispered Dean, looking away from the both of them.

There was a brief silence until Alex finally broke it a couple of seconds later.

"So where exactly do we find her?"

Dean looked away, sighing. After a few seconds, he looked back at his siblings.

"Well, a kid's gotta eat sometime, right?"

"What?" asked Alex, looking very confused.

"Well, he kept her hidden, locked up, right? But he would've had to feed her. Didn't he?" asked Dean, looking at his siblings as he grabbed the fireplace poker to use as a weapon.

"I-I guess," agreed Sam cautiously, still not really sure where Dean was headed with this conversation.

Dean nodded, looking off into the distance.

"And I think I know where."

He brushed past his siblings, heading for the walls of the house once again. Sam and Alex watched him walk past them, turning to watch him.

About thirty minutes later, Dean began breaking through the walls in the kitchen, right by where the dumbwaiter was located. Danny's dad, Brian, watched as Dean broke through the walls, Sam and Alex watching Dean. Sam looked back at Brian.

"He kept her hidden down here for years. Kept her fed so no one would ever know," explained Sam.

Rather suddenly, Dean broke down a large chunk of the wall and Brian flinched back away from them and the flying wall pieces. Sam stuck his head inside the wall first, shining his flashlight down the hole Dean had just created and looking down below.

"Danny! Danny!" yelled Sam.

Dean pulled Sam away from the wall and shrugged his jacket off of his shoulders.

"Get back, Sammy. I'm going after him."

Brian grabbed Dean's shoulder, pulling him around to look at him.

"Whoa, no. That's my son down there, my flesh and blood."

Dean grabbed Brian's shoulders.

"I know he is. But I promised you that I would bring him back. And I will. But you've just gotta let me."

Brian looked at Alex and Sam, who just shrugged. Dean gave them all one last glance before starting his climb into the old dumbwaiter shaft. He handed his flashlight off to Alex as he began climbing inside the shaft. He started climbing down very slowly and carefully. He saw scratch marks and handprints on the side of the walls and he shuddered with disgust. Sam turned back to look at Brian as Alex stuck her head in the walls to watch Dean climb down the shaft for a couple of minutes.

"Hey. You got some curtains?" asked Sam, glancing back at Brian.

Brian looked at him, very confused.

"We need some rope," answered Sam.

Brian nodded and took off into the living room, looking for his curtains. Sam stood behind Alex, looking over her shoulder to see Dean's progress. Dean reached the bottom of the shaft and glanced back up at his siblings. He waved slightly as he crawled into a smaller space, entering a hallway that led into a room. He began walking into the room, noticing a cross, a rosary, and a gun. Dean sighed and grabbed the gun, checking it for bullets.

"This bitch is a klepto," muttered Dean.

The gun had no bullets, so Dean threw it aside. He saw another gun only a few steps ahead of him, so he walked forward gently, grabbing it from off of the floor.

"Come on, come on," he whisper chanted, checking the gun for bullets.

He smirked when he saw that the gun was fully loaded. He held the gun in one hand with his flashlight in the other as he slowly crawled onward.

"Danny? Danny!"

Suddenly, Dean heard a strangled moan from a few feet away. He listened again, still hearing it. He saw a medium sized hole in a brick wall, so he shined his flashlight into the hole. Dean saw Danny there, wriggling around on the floor.

"Danny!"

Dean sized up the hole in the brick wall, muttering out a curse as he saw the size. He grabbed a knife from his back pocket and motioned for Danny to come closer. Danny wriggled forward and Dean cut Danny's ties for him. Danny removed his binds and crawled out from the hole.

"Your dad's upstairs, come on," whispered Dean, pulling Danny in front of him to crawl forward.

"Hurry, he's coming back!" yelled Danny.

Dean stopped abruptly, looking at Danny.

"He?" asked Dean.

"Her brother!" said Danny, as if Dean should've already known that fact.

Suddenly, a groan sounded out and Dean was tackled from the side, his flashlight falling from his hands. Danny looked on in terror and horror as the girl's twin brother attacked Dean. Danny moved farther away as the two of them struggled and he turned around when he felt something fall down behind him. He saw a rope of curtains tied together and he looked up, seeing Alex's face in the wall. Alex sighed in relief when she saw Danny's face.

"Danny!" she yelled.

The gun fell from Dean's hands as he struggled with the feral boy. The kid ran towards him once again, so Dean threw him against the wall once he was close enough.

Alex watched as Danny tied the rope of curtains around himself and then he looked up at her. He gave her a thumbs-up.

"Okay!" he yelled.

She turned around, nodding to Sam and Brian. They both began pulling Danny up the dumbwaiter shaft.

"Okay, come on, buddy. Don't look back, just keep looking forward," encouraged Danny's dad, smiling down at his young son as they pulled him forward.

After a few more strong pulls, Danny was through the wall and into his dad's arms. Brian held his son close and closed his eyes, sighing as he held his son in his arms. After a few more seconds, he set his son down, grabbed his face between his hands, and looked at him.

"Are you alright?" asked Brian.

Danny nodded through his tears, burying his head in his father's chest.

"Shh, it's alright, it's okay," encouraged Brian, stroking his son's hair.

Sam touched Brian's shoulders.

"Alright, get him out of here, you've gotta leave," said Sam.

Brian nodded and ushered Danny from the kitchen. Sam patted Brian on the shoulder as they left and then he and Alex both looked down the dumbwaiter shaft.

"Dean?" they both called down.

Dean was knocked onto his back as the feral child hit him harder than Dean has expected from him. As the child reached for another weapon, Dean grabbed his flashlight. When the teenager looked back towards him, Dean shined the flashlight in his eyes. The boy flinched backwards as if he had been burned from the light, giving Dean time to grab his gun. As the boy rushed forward, standing over Dean to stab him, Dean shot him three times in the chest and stomach. The kid let out one last strangled breath and then fell to the floor beside Dean, dead. Dean looked at the kid, sitting up as Sam and Alex climbed down the dumbwaiter shaft. Dean groaned as Alex and Sam looked at the dead teenager, shock evident on their faces as they took in the dead body.

About fifteen minutes later, Alex, Sam, and Dean walked out onto the front porch, looking at the family they had just saved. The teenage daughter was crying her eyes out while her mom sat in front of her, holding Danny in her lap and stroking his hair. They briefly took the three of them in and then shuffled down the stairs, heading for Brian instead. Brian was staring off at something in front of him, so the three Winchester siblings walked forward to see what he was staring at. They saw the feral girl in the bushes, dead. They stared down at her sadly.

The next morning, Sam was reloading the trunk with all of their weapons as Dean finished replacing all four of the tires that had been slashed. Sam slammed the trunk closed and threw a large duffel bag into the backseat. He looked over as Brian and his wife approached the car. Dean and Alex joined all of them in the front of the car.

"Thanks for the head start," said Dean.

Brian nodded.

"Well, it doesn't really surprise me that you three don't like the police," said Brian.

Sam and Alex smirked at his comment.

"Sort of a, uh, mutual appreciation thing," said Sam.

Brian nodded.

"Well, um, thank you," said Brian, holding out his hand for all of them to shake.

"Thank you," agreed Susie, also shaking their hands.

Dean nodded.

"Are you alright?" asked Alex, looking at the woman gently.

She took in a deep breath and then looked over at her husband before answering.

"No. We're the opposite of okay, but… we're together."

She laced her fingers with her husband's and Alex smiled at the couple.

"Thanks," repeated Susie, looking at the three siblings.

They all nodded.

A few hours later, Dean had parked the car under an abandoned overpass. Sam handed him his cheeseburger and Dean opened it, looked down at it, and then closed it again. Sam and Alex looked at him, concerned.

"You alright, big brother?" asked Alex, setting down her own food.

"You know, I felt for those sons of bitches back there. Lifelong torture turns you into something like that."

Alex and Sam both sighed, exchanging a glance.

"You were in Hell, Dean," said Alex.

"Look, maybe you did what you did there, but… but you're not them. They were barely even human," chimed in Sam, shaking his head at his brother.

"Maybe you're right. I wasn't like them. I was worse. They were animals, they were defending their own territory. Me? I did it for the sheer pleasure."

"What?" whispered Alex, scared to even ask what Dean meant by his last statement.

"I enjoyed it, Alex. They took me off that damn rack and I tortured souls and I liked it. All those years, all that pain. Finally getting to deal some out yourself. I didn't even care who the hell they put in front of me because all that pain I felt… it just slipped away. And no matter how many people I save, I can't ever change that. I can't fill this hole. Not ever."

Sam and Alex stared at their brother, saddened by his confession.

Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter took so long to update! I've been crazy super busy with three summer jobs and I've been going through an awful lot of family stuff. But thanks for understanding and sticking with me! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, so leave me some feedback, please!