A/N: Hello! I just wanted to give y'all a huge thanks for all the reviews & follows & favorites! It's kind of strange for me, but I'm still grateful! Here's an extra long one since I'm not sure if I'll have time to update during the weekend. Enjoy! :)

Arielle opened her eyes first, colored visions dancing before her eyes as they adjusted to a dimmer light. She lowered her arms, green eyes wide as she examined her surroundings. "Guys," she called out when she noticed she sat between them. "Don't think we're in Kansas anymore." Their eyes opened slowly, blinking to accustom their sight to the new lighting.

The nunnery's sanctuary they had been crouching in was replaced with a airplane's cabin. Undisturbed passengers continued with the monotony of flying. An old cartoon starring Yosemite Sam and a red devil played out before them, ignored by all. The trio uncurled from their protective fetal position, sitting up straight. "What the hell?" Dean muttered as his eyes scanned every face he could catch in hopes of seeing any type of reaction at their sudden appearance.

"I don't know," Sam replied, shaking his head slowly as he buckled his seatbelt, Dean imitating him. The last thing any of them recalled was trying to leave the sanctuary as the light coming from the blood pattern grew brighter and brighter until –

An overhead voice interrupted them. "Folks, quick word from the flight deck," the pilot stated as the sound of chewing subtly seeped through. "We're just passing over Ilchester, then Ellicott City, on our initial descent into Baltimore – "

"Ilchester?" Dean echoed, his eyes going to Arielle and Sam. "Weren't we just there?"

"So we're still in Kansas, Dorothy, but how the hell did we get up here?" Arielle sighed, frustration etched onto her features.

"If you'd like to stretch your legs," they heard the pilot continue, "now would be a good time to – " An intense column of light shot out from the land below. "Holy crap!" Shock waves sent the plane off course and those who had unbuckled their seatbelts were thrown out of their seats.

Arielle felt Sam and Dean clamp down on her to keep her from flying off. Shrieks filled the air as oxygen masks dropped before every seat. The blonde quickly tied herself down before imitating her brothers and placing the mask on. The light outside grew even brighter and the high-pitched noise they heard in the sanctuary returned full force. Another wave hit them and Arielle's hands shot out, grabbing hold of Sam and Dean's hands. The trio's eyes were glued to the tiny airplane window, full of terror, as the plane shook like a rattle in a baby's hands.

They rode quietly, the radio spewing out news on natural disasters. Arielle notified the brothers about the Impala being at the convent and they had hitched a ride back to Ilchester when they touched down in Baltimore. A hotel room was the next step, deciding it'd be better to stay in Baltimore. After giving Bobby their location, they headed back to the main city.

Only the radio filled the dead air. "Governor O'Malley urged calm," a woman stated in a serious tone, "saying it's very unlikely an abandoned convent would be a target for terrorists, either foreign or homegrown."

"Change the station," Dean muttered and Sam readily obeyed, pressing the seek button and flipping through the radio, reports of natural disasters and sudden plagues playing back on each station. Sam shut it off completely, sinking into his seat.

"Dean, look – " Sam began.

The oldest Winchester raised a hand, shaking his head. "Don't say anything," he sighed, his hand going back to the steering wheel. His knuckles were white as he drove. "It's okay. We just got to keep our heads down and hash this out, alright?"

"Yeah, okay," Same said, dejected.

"Now that we've dealt with that so eloquently," Arielle said with an eye-roll, knowing this bomb would explode sooner or later, "first thing's first – who beamed us up, Scotty?"

"Angels, maybe?" Sam offered, running a hand through his hair, glad the silence wouldn't continue uninterrupted. "I mean, you know, beaming us out of harm's way?"

"You two I'd understand," Arielle said with a slight nod, though her forehead creased. "But me? I'm not a vessel or an ally or anything. Why me?"

"Whatever. It's the least of our worries," Dean interrupted as his hand reached out to the radio. "We need to find Cas." He flipped the radio on, popping in a tape to avoid the newscast. He drove on and Arielle simply sat back, arms crossed. Unaware she was doing it, she dozed off.

When she came to, the Impala was cruising up to a destroyed house. The trio exited the car and entered the home, carefully feeling their way about. As they walked further into the home, a sudden noise caused all three to turn, defenses up. Nothing appeared and they continued to explore the wreckage. A shadow jumped out suddenly and Sam cried out. "Geez! Ow!" He held a hand to his head. Reacting, Arielle pulled her gun out and centered it firmly on the man holding a toilet plunger.

"Sam," the figure said as Dean placed a hand on Arielle's gun, motioning for her to put it away.

"Yeah!" Sam replied with a scoff, rubbing at the back of his head. Dean joined Sam, his eyes on the man.

"Hey Chuck."

"So… you're okay?" Chuck asked, scratching at his neck. Arielle stepped up now, arms crossed over her chest. The man spared her a glance before doing a double take, eyes wide. "You. You should be dead," he said, taking a faltering step back.

Sam and Dean turned to Arielle. Her mouth hung open at the man's words. "Excuse me?" she finally said, reaching for her gun again. Dean stopped her giving her a look. "That sounded like a threat. Didn't it sound like a threat to you?"

"Chill," he commanded, before turning to Chuck. "Vision?" The man nodded, his eyes still on the blonde woman before him. "What about Sam?"

"I'm okay," Sam replied. "My head just hurts now."

Chuck placed the plunger down, scratching at his neck again. "My last vision. You went, like, full-on Vader." Sam shifted uncomfortably, his gaze on the floor. "Your body temperature was one-fifty. Your heart rate was two hundred. Your eyes were black."

Dean started, turning to Sam. "Your eyes went black?"

Sam kept his eyes on the floor. Arielle felt a pang of sadness, not even capable of imaging what Sam felt at the moment. "I didn't know."

Dean made no comment and simply returned his sight to Chuck. "Where's Cas?"

"He's dead," he blatantly stated. "Or gone. The archangel smote the crap out of him. I'm sorry."

"You sure?" Dean insisted now, his eyes reflecting the need to disbelieve him. "I mean, maybe he just vanished into the light or something."

"Oh, no. He, like, exploded," Chuck continued, making a motion with his hands. "Like a water balloon of chunky soup." Sam leaned forward suddenly.

Waving a hand around his own left ear, Sam cleared his throat. "You got a – "

Chuck lifted his own hand, pawing at the right side of his head. "Uh… right here?" Sam coughed, motioning to the other side. "Oh." His eyes widened as he pulled at something. "Oh, god." He brought it to his face, his features losing color. "Is that a molar?" The Winchester siblings looked away, Arielle placing the back of her hand to her mouth. "Do I have a molar in my hair? This has been a really stressful day."

"Cas, you stupid bastard," Dean sighed, closing his eyes and giving a heavy sigh.

"Stupid?" Sam questioned, his eyes landing on Dean. "He was trying to help us."

"Yeah, exactly," Dean replied as they all wandered towards what used to be the living room.

"What now?" Arielle asked, hands on her hips.

Dean shook his head. "I don't know."

Chuck stood up straight suddenly, his body tensing. "Oh, crap."

The trio looked at him. "What?" Sam asked.

"I can feel them," Chuck stuttered, grabbing at the plunger again.

"Thought we'd find you here," a voice called out. The group turned to find three men in suits waiting for them. "Playtime's over, Dean. Time to come with us."

Arielle's hand went to the small of her back, keeping her movements slow. She remembered then it was a blessed gun and figuring it would do no good, she let her hand drop to her side. "Lemme guess. Heaven's yuppies?"

"You just keep your distance, asshat," Dean warned.

The leader placed his hands behind his back, pacing lightly. "I will get to you later, young lady. You shouldn't be alive," he said, eyeing Arielle before going back to Dean. Sam instinctively placed Arielle behind him, even though the girl wanted nothing more than to go up and punch the lights out of the bastard. "You're upset."

"Yeah, Zachariah. A little. You sons of bitches jump-started judgment day!" Dean growled, his eyes narrowing.

Zachariah shrugged his shoulders and made a motion with his hand. "Maybe we let it happen," he said, raising a single finger. "We didn't start anything." The man smiled, turning to the other Winchester brother. "Right, Sammy?" The man dropped him a wink. Arielle made to lunge at him, but Sam held her back, his gaze dropping away from Zachariah. "You had a chance to stop your brother, and you couldn't. So let's not quibble over who started what. "Let's just say it was all our faults and move on. 'Cause like it or not," he said, halting the pacing and raising both hands. "It's Apocalypse Now." Arielle couldn't help the scowl on her features, which Zachariah easily ignored. "And we're back on the same team again!" he finished with a clap and a wide smile.

"Is that so?" Dean asked in sarcasm.

"You want to kill the devil," Zachariah explained, pointing at the group then at himself and his own men. "We want to kill the devil. It's… synergy."

"And I'm supposed to trust you?" Dean scoffed, a fierce grin on his face. "Cram it with walnuts, ugly."

Zachariah sighed, rubbing his eyes. "This isn't a game, son," he started again. "Lucifer is powerful in ways that defy description. We need to strike now, hard and fast – before he finds his vessel."

"His vessel? Lucifer needs a meat suit?" Sam asked. Arielle looked at the back of his head, surprised he wasn't aware of this. She looked at Dean with a raised eyebrow and, having caught her look, he gave a slight shake of the head.

"He is an angel. Them's the rules," Zachariah said with a plastic smile. "And when he touches down, we're talking Four Horseman, red oceans, fiery skies, the greatest hits!" His eyes shifted to his main objective. "You can stop him, Dean, but you need our help."

Dean snarled, taking a step forward. "You listen to me, you two-faced douche," he growled, his hands turning into fists. "After what you did, I don't want jack squat from you!"

Zachariah's composed visage contorted in rage. "You listen to me, boy! You think you can rebel against us? As Lucifer did?" A bright color caught the angel's eyes, his sight now focused on Dean's hand. "You're bleeding."

Dean grinned now, raising his hand. "Oh, yeah – a little insurance policy in case you dicks showed up." With that, he pushed a door, revealing a sigil Arielle never noticed he drew. He slapped his hand against it.

"No!" Zachariah screamed, aiming to grab at Dean and missing, vanishing instead in a white flash. Dean looked back and noticed the angel bodyguards were missing too.

"Learned that from my friend Cas, you son of a bitch," Dean stated, his voice low and deep. Arielle took a breath, stepping back from Sam who let her move.

Chuck slumped to the floor. "This sucks ass."

Arielle and Dean sat on the beds, cleaning out their weapons. Dean loaded a gun just as Sam entered the room. "Hey," the oldest Winchester greeted.

"Hey," Sam echoed, reaching into his shirt. He tossed his siblings bags and they reflexively caught them, examining the bundles. Arielle lifted it to her nose, inhaling the smell of dirt, herbs, and something else she couldn't quite place. "Hex bags," he explained, getting a beer from the mini fridge in the hotel room. "No way the angels will find us with those. Demons, either, for that matter."

"Where'd you get them?" Arielle asked, her eyes going back to her brother.

The pride in his eyes was hard to miss. "I made it."

"How?" Dean asked.

Sam's demeanor quickly fell, and a flush covered his face. "I… well, I learned it from Ruby." Arielle gave him a sympathetic luck as Dean put the gun down and stood, approaching Sam.

His tone of voice didn't change a bit, though Arielle knew it was still a raw subject to touch. "Speaking of," Dean said, his eyes searching Sam. "How you doing? Are you jonesing for another hit of bitch blood or what?"

Arielle couldn't help but roll her eyes as Sam shook his head. "I – it's weird. Uh, tell you the truth, I'm fine. No shakes, no fever. It's like whoever put me on that plane cleaned me right up."

"Supernatural methadone," Arielle piped up, giving him a goofy smile in an attempt to cheer him up.

"Yeah," he said with a slight chuckle. "Yeah, I guess." Sam paused, his eyes on the wall before turning and placing his beer on a table. "Dean – "

"Sam," the other replied, turning away. Arielle gave him a warning look and Dean stayed in his place. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything."

Sam gave a harsh chuckle, a bitter smile on his face. "Well, that's good. Because what can I even say? 'I'm sorry'? 'I screwed up'? Doesn't really do it justice, you know?" He ran both hands through his hair before continuing. "Look, there's nothing I can do or say that will ever make this right – "

Dean pivoted towards him. "So why do you keep bringing it up?!" he asked, his voice rising in volume. At this Arielle stood and clamped a hand on Dean. When his eyes met hers, he exhaled slowly before facing Sam again. "Look, all I'm saying is, why do we have to put this under a microscope? We made a mess. We clean it up. That's it." Arielle let go of Dean's shoulder as Sam nodded. She went back to the bed and continued cleaning and reassembling the blessed gun, her sharp green eyes still keeping a fixed sight on Dean. "Alright, so, say this is just any other hunt. You know? What do we do first?"

"We, uh, figure out where the thing is," Sam replied quietly.

"Alright," Dean said, clapping his hands. "So we just got to find… the devil." His hands dropped to his side as he returned to his bed, picking up where he left off. Sam stood for a few seconds before taking a seat at the table and opening his laptop.

Arielle finished with her gun and set it on the nightstand. Catching Dean's eye, she motioned for him towards the door. The man cleared his throat and quickly reassembled his gun before letting it join Arielle's on the stand. "I'm starved. I'll get us some food," he said, grabbing the keys and heading towards the door. "Want anything in particular?"

"Something with double everything – meat, cheese, bacon," Arielle ticked off on her hand, her eyes on the ceiling. "Oh, and supersize everything for me. Oh, and a chocolate shake. And a slice of pie." The brothers looked at her, foreheads creased. "What?"

They both shook their heads simultaneously. "I just… where the hell does it all go?" Dean asked in awe as his eyes looked her up and down. She stood up, letting out a laugh.

"Well I know yours goes to your stomach, flabby," she said, poking his belly. Dean turned red and sucked it in. "I'm kidding, idiot. Food. Now. Mentioning all that made me realize I'm starved. What kind of brothers leave their poor sister without food?" She placed a hand on her forehead in a fake faint, leaning up against Sammy's back who still sat before his laptop.

Dean rolled his eyes. "I'll be back." He exited and soon the rumble of the Impala's engine was heard fading away. Arielle turned, placing her crossed arms over Sammy's back and looking over his head at the screen. Research on the different lore of Lucifer peppered the screen.

Pulling herself up, she grabbed a chair and sat, gently closing the laptop. Sam looked at her and she could see his eyes were red. "Wanna talk about it?" she asked in a soft voice. "I know Dean isn't exactly Mr. Open Book, and I can't say I'm a perfect listener – I kinda talk a lot, I realized – but I want to help." Sam gave a sigh, rubbing at his eyes with the palms of his hands.

"I fucked up big this time," he finally spoke, placing his hands on the table and keeping his eyes on them. "I don't think things will ever go back to how they were." Arielle placed a hand on Sam's, giving his fingers a gentle but firm squeeze. "And, obviously, we can't talk about it. He doesn't want to talk about it. He'll bottle it up until he lets it out in a fit."

"Well, it wasn't hard to see he was like that," Arielle noted, as she scratched at her arm absentmindedly. He looked up at her, gaze searching her features. "From the little you guys share, it's always been you two. Even when dad was alive, it doesn't seem you were very close to him. It doesn't mean you didn't love each other," she corrected when Sam's eyes went to his hands again. She assumed he was remembering leaving them to go to Stanford. "But, all Dean ever knew was life with you. And he doesn't seem to realize that you're no longer Sammy the kid, but Sam the Sasquatch. You're going to make your own way in life, make your own decisions. He needs to accept them, even if they do turn out to be mistakes. Hell, he ain't free of sin."

The familiar engine sound filled the air. "That didn't take him long," Sam said, his watery eyes going to her. "You made him leave, didn't you?" Arielle gave him a shy grin before reaching out and tousling his hair. Sam's eyes widened before he leaned back, chuckling and pulling her hand away from his hair. "This look takes time, sis."

She rolled her eyes as Dean walked through the door, carrying multiple bags. "Oh, please. I see how you just crawl out of bed, run your fingers through it, and call it a job well done," she commented, reaching out again with her free hand. Sam grabbed that too, and the pair was soon wrestling each other as Dean set the food down.

"Children, children!" he called over them, a genuine smile on his face now. "Dinner time."

Sam and Arielle settled down and expectantly looked at the bags. The young woman sneaked a peek at both of the boys as they ate, and she smiled when they started teasing each other. Taking another giant bite from her burger followed by a slurp from her milkshake, the blonde felt a small satisfaction, thinking maybe things didn't have to end like Sammy imagined. Slowly, a love for the men was growing inside her and even through all the downs they faced, she wanted nothing more than to bring them happiness, the way they had done for her after her mother's death.

She only hoped they lived long enough for her to accomplish this.