Aaand I'm back with a new chapter! I'm sorry for the month-and-a-half hiatus, but real life got crazy and I wasn't able to update. I'm back with the regular posting schedule though.

I hope you like this chapter!

Inside the car, Andrea tries to distract herself by looking through the window, but as the trees blur into one another, the outside blurs into bloody images and flashes of pain. She tries to blink them away, but the more she closes her eyes, the more things she sees until a particular scene makes her sick and the next thing she knows she's screaming at Dean to stop the car.

Dean swerves to the side of the road at her scream, and just as he's stopping the car, she's opening the door, all but jumping out, running to throw up on the side of the road.

Suddenly, she feels a hand on her shoulder. Still heaving, she looks back, and upon seeing Sam she flinches, pulling away from him completely. "Don't touch me," She all but growls. "Don't touch me!"

"Andy, I'm– I'm trying to help you," He replies, putting his hands up in a surrender gesture, and taking a step closer to her.

Immediately, Andrea crawls back. "Don't. I-I can't be near you right now,"

A devastated expression comes to his face as if he was a puppy and she'd just kicked him, but Andrea doesn't fall for the cute and sad eyes. Not when she'd seen those same eyes totally cold and evil.

"Okay," He says, nodding, just as Dean finally appears. What took him so long? She asks herself, before realizing he had just been parking the car safely, a few feet away.

"Here," Sam tells Dean, handing him the water bottle he was holding. "I'm gonna try to find a motel nearby," He says, going back to the car, leaving them alone.

Dean studies Andy's form, sitting on the ground, looking disheveled and almost out of it. "Andy?" He calls gently. "I got you some water,"

She looks up at the sound of his voice and accepts the water. "T-thanks," Andrea whispers, opening the bottle to take a sip of the water.

"You okay to go on?" He asks her a moment later. "We're just gonna find a motel and stop there for the night,"

"Is it safe?" She asks worriedly. "Stopping at a motel, I mean,"

Truth be told, Dean thinks to himself, no. It's probably not safe to stop. They shouldn't stop. There are a million other things they have to do.

However, Dean isn't blind. He had been watching her in the car, and right now, he can see how pale she is, how tired she looks… He doesn't know everything about her injuries, and all things considered, Andy needs at least a few hours of rest. Actually, they could all use a few hours of rest.

"We could use a couple of hours of rest," He replies knowing better than to tell her his real reason to do so. "You good to go?"

Andrea finishes the bottle of water, and then, with some effort, she takes off the now dirty sweatshirt. "Yeah, we can go,"

Dean helps her stand, keeping a hand on her back as they walk to the car and she gets in the back seat. As he starts driving, Sam tells them he found a motel a couple of hours away, in Ohio, mentioning the need to put as much distance as possible between them and Maryland. No one argues.

During the drive, Dean keeps watching Andy like a hawk through the rearview mirror, not missing how wide and scared her eyes are.

When they arrive at the motel, Sam gets them two rooms, and after dropping his brother's bag outside one of the rooms while Dean helps Andy up the stairs, he makes himself scarce.

"I-I think I need a shower," Andy says as Dean closes the door.

"Alright, you think you can manage it?" She nods. "Good. I'll be here if you need me,"

Inside the bathroom, Andy slowly removes her clothes. Naked, she stops in front of the large mirror behind the door and studies her reflection. Except for the bandages on her arms and the bruises on her side, her shoulders, and on her back, her body didn't change. She's still herself… Even though she feels awkward like her body isn't really hers.

Pushing away the memories of being trapped inside herself with no control over her own body, Andy leaves the mirror and turns on the shower.

It takes a minute to realize she won't be able to shower without wetting the bandages, so wrapping herself in the towel, she calls Dean.

"You okay?" He asks, concerned.

"Uh, yeah, I just… I need something to cover these," She replies, showing him her arms.

"Of course, let me see what I can find,"

The only thing Dean comes up with are plastic bags, but he makes them work and Andrea is able to take her shower. She gets out of the bathroom feeling a little better, her head a bit clearer, and it's when she realizes she doesn't have any clothes here.

As if reading her mind, Dean offers her a T-shirt and a pair of boxers. "We'll get you more clothes tomorrow," He says and she manages to offer him a smile.

"Don't worry, this will do and tomorrow I can use the same sweatpants," She replies.

It's the most complete and coherent sentence she's said since the hospital, and Dean takes it as a good sign. As she goes back inside to change, he grabs the first aid kit from his bag.

"Is it okay if I change those bandages? We don't want you getting any infections,"

Andy nods and sitting by his side, she silently extends her arms to him. Gently, Dean unwraps the bandages.

In each arm is a single cut that goes from her wrists to the middle of her forearm. The cuts are deep, irregular, and ridged, and he winces at the sight of them. "This is going to hurt," He warns before using the gauze to clean and disinfect the stitches around them. "How did this happen?" He asks quietly, trying not to disturb her.

"I'm not sure," Andy answers, equally quiet, but with a more controlled voice. "Some things are really fuzzy and I don't remember everything,"

"It's alright, we don't have to talk about any of it right now," Dean replies, knowing that keeping her here, at this moment, was the best thing to do. There would be plenty of time tomorrow to talk about everything. "All done," He says, wrapping the last bandage. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"No, uh, I just have some bruised ribs and a badly bruised shoulder, nothing rest and some painkillers won't heal,"

"Are you sure?" Dean asks. When she nods, he takes a bottle of painkillers from the kit. "Here, these should help. The Ilchester doctor prescribed them to you," After she takes the pills, Dean gets up from the bed, to throw away the used bandages and to put the first-aid kit on the table. "You should get some sleep, Andy,"

"Can you stay?" She suddenly asks, sounding worried. "Please? I… I don't wanna be alone,"

The vulnerability in her face and in her voice is different than anything Dean has heard from her, increasing his worries. When she'd gotten hurt before, Andy had always been her own person, keeping herself together and never really showing what she was feeling. But now… there was fear in her eyes, and the way she was hugging her knees made her look younger and fragile.

"Of course," He replies, locking the door instead of walking out. Then, turning off the lights, he removes his shoes, jeans, and t-shirt. Getting in the bed, he puts his arms around her, gently pulling her to lie down with him. "Close your eyes, Andy. You're safe and I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart,"

—

When Andrea opens her eyes, it's still dark outside. Thinking, she guesses she only got a few hours of sleep thanks to the painkillers she took, but it helped. The haziness she'd felt since waking up at the hospital is gone, and while she still can't say what happened to her arms or how the fuck she was alive, she remembered most of what had happened and most of what Lilith had told her.

The memories make her shudder, and she trembles as if she's cold, and that simple move is enough to wake Dean up.

"Hey, you okay?" He asks, his voice rough and deep from sleep but filled with concern.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," Is the first thing she says and Dean notices that she didn't answer his question.

"It's okay. How are you feeling?" He asks, phrasing his question in a different way. "You can talk to me, Andy. About anything," Dean continues when she doesn't say anything.

Andrea sighs, before slowly moving to a sitting position. "I… I remembered some things," She finally replies after staring at the darkness of the room for a while. "About what happened when… when Lilith was… you know," She can't really say out loud the word possession, not wanting to relieve any of those horrific moments again.

Dean watches as she closes her eyes, trembling again. "Wanna talk about it?"

Andy opens her eyes. "Want? Not really, but I have to. You should know what she told me. Actually, it would be better if you called Sam and Bobby, so they can hear it too and this way I only have to talk about it once,"

"I'll go get Sam, but Bobby… Andy, Bobby's not doing great,"

"What? What happened?" She asks, some of the fire he was used to seeing returning to her eyes.

In a few words, Dean tells her what had happened since Ilchester, how they'd miraculously ended up in a plane, how the angels went after them at Chuck's, and how Bobby had been possessed and injured. "That's why we took so long to get to you. He was possessed when you called, and he only managed to talk to us yesterday,"

His words give her the confirmation she needed that the only reason they took so long to get to the hospital was because something had happened. They didn't leave her there. "Is Bobby going to be okay?"

"He's alive, but we haven't talked to the doctors yet, so…" Dean ends with a shrug. Before she can say something else, he's getting up from the bed, to put on his clothes. "I'm gonna wake Sam,"

As he leaves, Andy closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down. Right now, the last thing she wanted was to stay close to Sam, hell, she didn't even want to see him, but with no other option, she has to get herself together and focus.

—

When Sam opens the door he's wide awake, on full alert mode with his gun in hand. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" He asks, worriedly.

It takes Dean a second, but when he understands the hidden meaning behind Sam's words and behavior, he rolls his eyes, pushing past his brother to enter the room. "There's nothing wrong. Put that away," He pauses, waiting for Sam to follow him inside and set the gun on the table. "Andy wants to talk to us,"

"Okay," Sam says after thinking for a second. "How is she, by the way?"

"How do you think, Sam?" Dean asks back, having had enough of Sam's attitude. "Andy was possessed by Lilith for days, and then she died and came back to life. We both have been through the same shit before. I remember what it was like to wake up inside a coffin, having to dig my way out. Do you remember what it was like to be possessed by Megan? Or what dying and being brought back to life felt?"

Sam's face softens a little. "Of course I remember, Dean,"

"Good, so show some sympathy, ok? The last thing Andy needs right now is to be interrogated and treated as if she did something wrong,"

Albeit reluctantly, Sam nods in agreement. "I'm just worried, Dean. We need to find out how she is alive and why,"

"I know, Sam. I know," Dean pauses, sighing and running a hand over his face. It was too damn early for all this. "Look, Andy said she remembered some things from when Lilith had her, and she wants to talk to us both. Come on," Dean says, walking to the door.

—

Almost 10 minutes later, Dean re-enters the room, followed by Sam.

"Whenever you're ready," Dean says as Sam closes the door, offering her a small but reassuring smile. He then pulls a chair from the table and turns to face her. He wants to give her time and space to talk about this on her own terms, imagining how hard this is going to be.

Taking another deep breath, Andy speaks. "So, when Lilith was… possessing me, she… she told me a lot about my mark and the history of soul witches. In fact, she was the first witch to ever exist, the first soul witch. That's how the devil corrupted her after she was expelled from the Garden. He made her a witch. This means I'm the last pure descendant of Lilith's human bloodline," She pauses, drinking some water to swallow down the knot in her throat, and giving the Winchesters a minute to process her words.

With that, Dean understands what Castiel had said. This was always her fate. The angels probably knew it all along.

"Lilith said she and I were two parts of the same whole," Andy continues. "She had to possess me and, uh…," She pauses again, considering her words carefully before continuing. "Ensure I'd die with her… to set the devil free,"

"What else, Andy?" Sam asks, from where he's standing near the door, sensing she had more to say.

To his credit, Sam's tone is gentle, and Dean relaxes just a little.

Sam's question aches deep in Andy's heart as she thinks of the things Lilith had said. "She told me my entire life was planned around this and pretty much everything from my parents' death to my relationship with Ellis… everything was just… a ruse. A well-planned lie to keep me in line and guarantee that I would fulfill my destiny," She says the words bitterly, hating what they mean to her.

"Jesus, Andy," Dean says, reaching out to put his hand on top of hers. The gesture and the way Andy's eyes light up when she looks at his brother don't go unnoticed by Sam, and remembering Dean's tears when he thought Andy was dead, he only confirmed his suspicions. He had been too distracted by Ruby before, but now it's clear that not only Dean cared for Andy, but he also had feelings for her.

She accepts his comfort with a sad smile. "I also remembered some of the things she did… and I just…" She pauses, closing her eyes to stop her tears from falling.

"It wasn't you, Andy," Sam suddenly says. "Whatever you're remembering, Lilith did those things, not you,"

"I know, Sam. But I can't… I can't forget their faces, the despair in their eyes…" She trails off, eyes haunted by things the brothers can't see.

"Andy. It wasn't your fault," Dean says, coming to sit beside her in the bed, taking her hands between his.

"Dean is right, Andy. It's not your fault, I know from experience that some of those things will haunt you for a long time, but… we need to focus on the bigger problem,"

"Damnit, Sam," Dean replies. So much for their talk a few moments ago.

"It's okay, Dean," Andy says, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Sam does have a point. Compared to me coming back, Bobby being hurt and Lucifer being free, my traumas are not really that important," she pauses, getting up. "I gotta use the bathroom, if you'll excuse me," As she grunts in pain upon getting up, Dean gets up to help her. "I'm okay, don't worry,"

He watches her go, still worried. Once she closes the door, he turns to his brother. "Seriously, Sam? You just can't help yourself, can you?"

"Come on, Dean. I'm sympathetic, I understand what she's going through, but we don't have time for this. Bobby needs us, we don't know what's happening with Cas, we don't know how she's still alive… the list goes on. You said it yourself. We need to keep our heads down and fix this mess. If Andy can't handle this, she—" He stops mid-sentence as the bathroom door opens.

"You don't need to worry about me, Sam," Andy says, making clear that she had heard everything they said. "I can handle this. As for your concerns, I don't why or how the hell I'm alive,"

"Look, I don't mean to offend you, Andy. But you do understand why we need to know, right?" Sam replies, sounding apologetic, and she shakes her head.

"I might know someone who can help us with that," Andy says, looking at Dean and pointedly ignoring Sam's question. "But we'll need to go to New Orleans,"

After a brief argument weighing pros and cons, it's decided they'll head down to Louisiana in the early afternoon, after stopping to get her some clothes, get the Impala, and check on Bobby.

"You should get some sleep," Sam tells Dean on his way out. "It's a long drive," Once the younger Winchester is gone, Andy goes back to bed, even though she's not counting on getting too much sleep.

—

Andrea and the Winchesters arrive at the hospital to find Bobby sitting in a wheelchair. The sight fills Andrea's heart with pain. As the boys stay behind to talk to the medical team, she slowly walks inside.

"Hey, gramps," She says, echoing the first words she'd said to him one year ago.

Bobby turns around, and upon seeing her, his face is filled with surprise, joy, and other emotions that bring water to his eyes. "Do you mind if I give you a hug?"

"I'd mind if you didn't," He replies quietly, and she wraps her arms around him. "I'm really happy to see you up and running, girl. Really happy,"

Before she can reply, Dean and Sam walk inside the room. "What did the doctors say?" The moment she asks that question, Bobby turns the wheelchair around, once again facing the wall. At the same time, a shadow crosses the brothers' faces and she knows whatever it is, it's bad.

"We should talk outside," Sam replies, eyeing Bobby. However, as they move to leave the room, the older hunter's voice stops them.

"I already heard what those damn imbeciles said," He says, sounding angry. "They're wrong! I am not going to stay trapped in this shit for the rest of my life!" His words are like a punch in her stomach. As she's trying to find the right thing to say, Bobby speaks again. "Get out of here, you three. I wanna be alone,"

"But Bobby—"

"Just go!"

—

After what happened in the hospital, most of the drive is mostly silent. Wanting to get there as fast as possible, the trio only stops for gas and coffee, as the brothers split the time behind the wheel.

Upon crossing state lines into Louisiana, Andy asks Dean to make a quick stop, claiming she needs to stretch her legs after the long drive.

Stepping out of the car, she's greeted by the hot and humid air and the memories it brings. Taking a deep breath, she turns to the brothers. "You should know who we're going to see in the Quarter," Andy says, trying to sound more confident than she was actually feeling.

Feeling her hesitancy, Dean replies. "When you didn't say at first, I figured it was something, uh, witch related,"

"Yes and no. I mean, I guess for hunters it's witch business, but Mama Osa isn't a witch. She's a Mambo. A voodoo priestess,"

"A voodoo priestess?" Sam echoes, doubtfully. "Are you sure about this, Andy?"

Still struggling to face Sam, Andy starts to pace as she replies. "I met Mama Osa years ago," She pauses, considering her next words. "I think we can trust her,"

"How do you wanna play this, Andy?" Dean asks.

"First I need to buy her a gift. Then, we're going to go to her shop on Bourbon Street. If she agrees to help… Well, we'll see what happens," There's a lot that can happen, but she doesn't want to focus too much on that.

"Okay… but we're hunters. If anything goes south…" Dean trails off, but she knows exactly what he's not saying.

"I know,"

—

Andrea doesn't say much more as they resume their travel. There's plenty that can go wrong in a meeting between hunters and a voodoo priestess but she really hopes things work out for the best.

"Osa's Voodoo Shop," Dean reads as they stop by the shop window. "Herbs, charms, brews, oils, candles, hexes, and much more. Sounds like they have everything," He jokes, although his tone is dry and a little reluctant.

Andrea offers him a small smile, and putting on her big girl pants she walks ahead and pushes the door open. The smell of incense and tobacco immediately fills her nose and she has to push back the memories that invade her.

She smiles as an older woman appears behind the counter. From the colorful gypsy skirt to the ruffled blouse, the many beaded necklaces around her neck, and the bracelets in her arms, Mama Osa is a sight.

"I'll be damned," She says in her raspy voice. "Andrea Scordatto, back in the Quarter," Her southern accent vibrates with each word.

"Hi, Mama," Andy replies, bowing her head in respect. "I brought you a gift," She continues, setting a bouquet of black dahlias on the counter along with a bottle.

The older woman smiles. "Black dahlias for me, and let me guess, peppered rum for Maman Brigitte?" Andy nods, making Osa laugh. "I knew there was a reason I liked you, girl. Even if you broke my granddaughter's heart," Andy doesn't miss the way Dean's eyes widen at that, and neither does Mama Osa. "You haven't told your friend about Zahara, have you?"

"No, Mama, I haven't," She replies sheepishly.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You know how honesty is important, Andrea," Osa reprehends, firmly, but gently. "With that in mind, why don't you tell me why are you here? And why have you brought two hunters to my doorstep?"