12

I woke up to gentle kisses on my bare shoulder. "We need to get up, babe." he whispered then kissed my shoulder again.

"I know."

A moment later a knock sounded on the door. "We're getting up!" Dean hollered.

Who ever knocked walked away and down the stairs.

We got up and got dressed. I grabbed a clean pair of jeans, a tank top and a flannel long sleeved shirt of mine. I brushed my hair and left it down, but put a hair tie on my wrist.

Dean and I were putting our boots on while sitting on the end of the bed.

A light knock sounded and Sam peaked his head in, "Alright, just checking. Coffee and breakfast downstairs, then we're hitting the road. Dee, I put your revolver in the car already." he said.

I stood up and grabbed my jacket from where I had left it before my shower the day before. Dean and I headed down behind Sam.

Ellen made me eat a few eggs scrambled and some toast with my coffee. She refused to let me not eat breakfast when I hadn't eaten dinner. I obliged her and ate what I could and had my coffee.

Jo walked up to me when we were loading up. She handed me a picture. "I took of you two last night. You two were so cute that I had to."

The picture was of when I was sitting on Dean's lap in the chair. He was leaning his head against the side of mine and I was smiling softly. The photo almost looked over exposed, like Dean and I were radiating light and the camera had caught it.

"It looks…"

"I know. I thought maybe the light was off or hitting the camera wrong." She smiled warmly. "Or maybe it's more than that." She walked away.

We looked stunning together, seeming to radiate. I showed Dean. "When…?"

"Last night, Jo, she couldn't help it."

He smiled and wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to him for a kiss as he slipped the photo in his jacket pocket on the inside, next to his heart.

We readied to go. Dean, Sam and I in the impala the others in the van. An 18 hour road trip ahead of us.

Dean drove and I sat beside him, leaning against him, our hands clasped and fingers laced. Sam was in the back seat, quiet. We were all quite.

We switched drivers periodically, only stopping for bathroom, food and drink, and gas. The van behind us at every stop. And Castiel ever present, actually riding in the van or switching to the impala.

I fell asleep for awhile in the back seat, only to be woken up by the guys trying to find a signal on their phones.

"We here?" I asked, sitting up.

"Yeah, creeping ghost town." Dean said as he waved the other car up.

I pulled out my phone to check as Dean spoke to Ellen and then we drove off slowly. I had no signal either.

We stopped outside the police station. I looked around. There were people everywhere, they looked strange. Their complexion more on the grey side and their face strangely wrinkled.

We got out. I kept looking around as I followed the guys inside. They looked around and we headed outside.

"Dee, what do you keep looking at?" Sam asked.

"What do you mean? You can see them?" I asked confused, my heart pounding erratically.

Every now and then one of the creatures would look at me and tilt it's head slightly, then look away.

Dean looked at me concerned, "Them who, Dee? We don't see anything, but us in this empty town."

I turned my head slowly, "But they're everywhere."

"What do 'they' look like?" Sam asked.

I shrugged, "Really skinny… men…. in suits… their faces are… grey…. strangely wrinkled."

Dean and Sam exchanged glances. "That sounds like reapers…" Dean said. "How many?"

I shook my head and shrugged, "Dean, they're everywhere." I said dodging one as we walked.

The van pulled up, "Station's empty." Dean said.

"So's everything else." Jo added.

"Have you seen Cas?" Ellen asked.

"What? He was with you." Dean replied.

"Nope. He went after reapers." Ellen said.

"Wait! So, you and Castiel can see the reapers, but we can't" Sam said looking around.

"Wait," Jo said, "You can see them?"

I nodded.

The van pulled over and we quickly armed ourselves. I slid practice throwing daggers in my boots and pockets. Then I loaded my revolver and put it in the back of my jeans. Dean handed me a shotgun with a strap so I could sling it over one arm to throw daggers or use my revolver. The he handed shells I loaded it. I added a handful of bullets for each gun into either pocket on my jacket.

Everyone else had one shot gun, Dean took the Colt with his shotgun. And I thought I saw Sam grab another handgun and put it in his jeans.

We walked slowly down the street, shotguns up and ready. Dean and Sam were talking, one on either side of me. I was too focused on the reapers prowling and search for Cas to notice what they said.

I felt a wave of darkness creep down my spine and I froze.

"Dee?" Dean asked.

I felt the presence like a chilling finger running down my back. I turned around just as the person, a woman, spoke. "There you are."

"Meg." Sam said.

"Shouldn't have come here, boys." She said.

I looked around her as large black dogs, too gruesome for words.

"Hell, I could say the same thing for you." Meg said.

"Dean, I'm going out on a limb, but I'm gonna say hellhounds." I said, thinking that was a fitting term.

"You can see those too?" Sam whispered.

"DIdn't come here alone. Deano." Meg said.

"Hellhounds." Dean said flatly, trying not to show fear.

"Yeah, Dean. Your favorite. Come on, boys. My father wants to see you."

"I think we'll pass, thanks." Sam said.

"Your call. You can make this easy or you can make it really, really hard."

I stared straight ahead, aiming at the hellhound slowly taking the lead. I swallowed hard.

"When have you known us to ever make anything easy?" Dean replied.

Dean thought he was aiming at Meg, but there was a hellhound in the way, so when he fired the colt he hit the hound instead.

"Run!" Sam yells.

I don't listen, I take aim and shoot the one closest and knock it back. Dean's a few steps behind me, urging me to run.

I shoot another hellhound, knocking it back and moving backward. Now the hellhounds see me as the threat. I keep shooting and running backwards. I run out of bullets on my shotgun and let it sling over my shoulder as I reach around with my left hand and grab my revolver, taking aim and firing… killing a hellhound in a fit of howls.

Now I've got more attention. I shoot and kill another one. Then one catches me off guard and bites my left arm. I scream as its teeth sink into my flesh. "Dee!" Dean yells running to me.

My hand releases the gun involuntarily, but I catch it in my right hand. A hound tackles Dean and I yell his name. I shoot the hound on my arm killing it, but another hound tackles me to the ground.

Jo is shooting at the hound over Dean, knocking it back.

I manage to shoot the one on top of me. Jo's bitten in the side and falls to the ground. I shoot the hound on Dean and the one on Jo. Dean and I scramble up and I tell him to grab Jo. As we run, I empty my revolver and load it.

We go into a building. I turn around and shoot the closest hellhounds, but there's too many. I don't have enough bullets.

My ears are ringing as I shoot the remaining bullets and run inside, Sam closes the door and we barricade, salting doorways and windows to ward them off.

Jo's in bad shape and we all know it. I can't quite make out their words as my ears feel like I stood too close to an explosion.

Finally the ringing stops. "Why were they howling like that. I've never heard that before." Dean said.

I paused, knowing those howls were because of me. "I was killing them." I said softly.

"Wait, what?" Sam said.

I held up my revolver. "It was killing them."

Sam took the gun. "I don't think it was the gun." he said.

"Sam's right, it was probably you." Dean said.

"It doesn't matter. There's too many out there I don't have enough bullets. I've got enough for half of them."

"Did it work with the shotgun?" Sam asked hopeful.

I shook my head.

We got Jo bandaged up as good as we could. Dean and Bobby had planned ahead and brought radios. Dean had one and boddy was on the other end at the house. They started talking, but I wasn't paying attention until Dean turned to me.

"Dee how many reapers?"

"Few dozen, maybe more."

My arm stung and I busied myself with removing my jacket carefully as they all talked. Bobby was talking about a seventh seal and a place where we would be able to find Lucifer.

After a while the boys started looking for something we could carry Jo out with so that we could get her to safety.

"Stop. Guys, stop." She said softly.

We all froze.

"can we, uh, be realistic about this, please?" She said. "Uh! I can't move my legs. I can't be moved. My guts are being held in my an ace bandage. We gotta- we gotta get our priorities straight here."

Sam and Dean glanced at eachother.

"Number one, I'm not going anywhere."

"Johanna Beth, you stop talking like that." Ellen said, trying not to cry.

"Mom, I can't fight. I can't walk. But I can do something. We got propane, wiring, rock salt, iron nails, everything we need."

I Knew what she was talking about. A small thing I had picked up in college. Why? I really don't remember, just the materials need and how to do it.

"Everything we need?" Sam asked.

"To build a bomb." I said softly.

"No. Jo, no." Dean said.

I got up and let them all have a moment as I grabbed some bandages and went to a corner. I still hadn't gotten the jacket off. I slipped my good arm out and slowly peeled it off my arm wincing as the torn flesh stuck to the leather. I squeezed my eyes shut as I finished getting the jacket off.

I sat down on the ground as I rolled up the sleeve on my flannel long sleeved shirt. The wound looked worse than I had first thought. Looking at it, I was surprised my hand was still attached, and that I could still move all my fingers, painfully and weakly, but they were moving.

I heard Sam and Dean gathering up the supplies they needed to build the bomb. Jo was helping them by giving instructions. I felt bad, Jo was a nice girl and clearly carried about and now she was going to be sacrificing herself to save us and give us a shot at killing Lucifer. Then again, it wasn't a sacrifice, she was going to die either way and she had faced that fact.

Dean came over to me, "Need some help with that?" he asked softly.

I nodded and handed him the bandage to wrap around my arm, dripping blood. I winced as he wrapped it tightly to stop the bleeding. My other hand gripped his jacket collar as the pain blared up my arm and down my spine. A small whine escaped my lips.

"Can you still move your fingers?" he asked and I nodded. "That's good. The wound looks bad, but we can worry about that later. If we make it through this."

After the bomb was set up Sam, Dean and I found a roof access hatch to climb out through. Ellen had decided to stay behind with her daughter, they needed someone to open the doors and let the hellhounds in.

We said our goodbyes quickly.

"Dean," Ellen said softly. "You give Dee the Colt. No offense to you, but she's a better shot."

Dean nodded.

"And Dee?" Ellen said as I turned toward her. "Don't you dare miss, young lady!"

I nodded, "I won't."

Dean helped me up and Sam pulled me through from up above. We made our way across the buildings and down to the street, stopping only when the explosion vibrated the ground beneath our feet.

We ran to the location that Bobby had given Dean. In the bushes we hid in, Dean handed me the Colt.

"Sam and I will take lead, you behind us." Dean said.

I handed him my revolver loaded. He wrapped a hand around my neck and kissed me. "I love you, Dean." I said softly.

He pulled me toward him and hugged me tightly, "I love you, too, Dee."

We pulled apart, I readied the Colt in my right hand.

"Let's do this." Dean said and he and Sam stood up and headed out.

"Hey!" Sam yelled at Lucifer.

I was behind them, hidden mostly.

"You wanted to see me?" Sam said.

"Oh, Sam, you don't need that gun here. You know I'd never hurt you. Not really." Lucifer said, indicating the shotgun that Sam held.

"Yeah? Well, she might." Dean said as they both sidestepped.

I stepped forward, aimed the Colt point blank at Lucifer and fired. He collapsed on the ground. We stood there and watched as Lucifer inhaled and shifted. "Owww." he said.

My heart hammered erratically as Lucifer stood up. He grabbed my arm and twisted it hard, I felt my shoulder pop and a burst of pain. The Colt slipping from my hand.

Dean aimed my revolver, but with his other hand Lucifer punched Dean, knocking him into a tree.

Lucifer looked at me.

"Sam! Go to Dean!" I yelled and he did.

Lucifer twisted my arm again and I moved my other hand to try and pry his off me, put he grabbed around the bandage, a new wave of pain so intense I felt and saw my vision pulsing.

"What are you doing here? Why would you even face me without your dagger?"

I felt panic rise inside me and a strange sense of peace. At least I wouldn't have to ruin a relationship between two brothers.

"You shouldn't be here." Lucifer said, but no worries. You're more an empty vessel than yourself."

"I take it we've met before?"

He tilted his head, "Of course, but you don't remember." he pulled me toward him. "There was a time when your beauty was renowned world over. A time when I thought to make you mine. Perhaps it will happen again. Maybe once I have my true vessel." He smirked toward Sam.

"It's never gonna happen!" Sam yelled.

Lucifer let one hand go and ran a finger down my cheek. I felt the seep of darkness burn through me, filling my body with its foreign substance. Then I felt my body begin to burn, adding to the pain in both my arms.

I blacked out.