"Take me home." Constance demanded more forcefully.

Lynn's body went rigid as her voice echoed in her ears. The Woman in White leered at Sam when Lynn didn't respond. He took a deep breath, staring back at her in the mirror, and firmly answered, "No."

Constance tilted her head, angrily narrowing her eyes, and leaned back into her seat. Suddenly, all of the doors locked, and the Impala put itself into drive. Sam and Lynn bolted to unlock the doors, but it was no use. They were rumbling down the dark, empty road and no matter how hard Sam gripped the steering wheel, it moved on its own, steering them to the abandoned house. Lynn kept her eyes fixed on the worn, cracked planks of the structure. Its bones were weak and broken, waiting to fall and swallow them whole.

The car came to a stop and Constance joined Lynn in looking at the house through the safety of the window. "I can never go home," she whimpered. In a blink, she was sitting in the middle of the front seat, severely staring at Lynn, and shrilled, "You can never go home."

Lynn turned her head, feeling the cold break from her skin, and replied, "What home?"

Constance flickered, eyes wide in shock, and vanished from sight. Lynn's eyes calmed when she saw Sam looking back at her, but the moment was fleeting. Abruptly, the door swung open and Lynn was violently thrown from the car and across the dirt.

"Lynn!" Sam shouted but the door immediately slammed itself shut and locked him inside. The Woman in White stood over her with a glare that burned worse than the cold. "Don't do this! Leave her alone!"

Constance twisted her head, her visage flickering, and sneered. She waved her hand and Lynn's body hurled itself through the fence and onto the far side of the porch. Upon impact, Lynn wasn't sure if it was just the aged wood or also her bones that were snapping. She tried to lift herself up, but the pain pounded throughout her body. Sam angled himself down on the seat and kicked his legs against the passenger window as hard as he could, but the glass wouldn't break. But it would frost over.

The Woman in White was suddenly beside him, pinning him down on his back as she straddled him. "Hold me," she pleaded. "I'm so cold."

Sam groaned at the crushing contact of her touch. "You can't kill me. I'm not unfaithful. I've never been."

She tightened her hold to hear him cry out in pain and leaned down to murmur in his ear, "You will be." Constance gripped his jaw and took his mouth in hers. Sam fought her off as best he could, but she was using all her strength to keep him almost completely paralyzed. He reached with his hand, trying to grasp the keys in the ignition, but right as his fingers touched the metal, Constance lifted herself above him. For a moment, she seemed to have vanished… until Sam felt her hand clawing inside his chest. Screaming out in agony, Sam unzipped his hoodie to reveal her crushing his heart.

Lynn pulled herself up at hearing Sam scream and knew what she had to do. No more cold, no more fear, no more being useless. Limping into the house, she made her way over the debris and leaned against the railing. She glanced up the stairs and called, "Kids? Your mommy's here!" Lynn gasped when they instantly appeared in front of her. "You've been waiting for her, yeah?" Their little deathly pale faces nodded and vanished when gunshots rang out.

Lynn peered out the broken windows to see Dean run up to the car. Constance flashed from sight again, only to reappear for a couple more shots from the older brother. The moment she was gone, Sam dragged himself up to turn on the car, but stopped twisting the keys when he saw Lynn standing in the doorway.

"Constance!" She cried out. "Time to come home!"

She appeared behind Lynn. Before Constance had the chance to attack, she whipped the fire iron she saw lying near the fireplace right through the ghost. Constance was forced to vanish, so Lynn looked back out to the brothers and called, "Come on!"

They ran inside to meet her only Lynn had wandered to the center of the floor as Constance reappeared to pick up a photo of herself with her children. Lynn stared at the dirt and dust covering frame and brought her eyes to meet Constance when she felt the ghostly woman staring yet again. Constance threw the picture down and swiftly moved in front of Lynn. She glared up at the young girl outraged, but she had lost all power over Lynn.

"Welcome home."

The dead lights crackled to life all around them and water began to flood down the stairs. Constance turned, the pain taking over her spirit as she moved to the base of the stairs. But her children weren't waiting at the top. Constance turned in terror at seeing her boy and girl standing on either side of Lynn, covered in shadow and drenched with betrayal. They flashed in front of her, holding hands, and whispered, "She brought you home to us, Mommy."

They moved in to hug her and Constance shrieked. It was so piercing that it splintered the walls. The children enveloped her, dragging her down into the floor, as their forms transformed into grotesque reflections of themselves. In a bright flash, they all vanished, leaving nothing but a water stain on the floor at Lynn's feet. Sam and Dean slowly made their way over to her and glanced at the ground. A puddle. After all that, it was a mere puddle.

"So this is where she drowned her kids." Dean mused.

"That's why she could never go home," sighed Sam in realization. "She was too scared to face 'em."

"You found her weak spot. Nice work, Lynn. Right Sammy?" Dean said with a firm pat on Sam's still sensitive chest and Lynn's already throbbing shoulder. This earned him pained snickers from both of them. Sounds he ignored as he walked back to his car.

"Very right. I wish I could say the same for you," rebutted Sam. "What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freak?"

Dean pointed at him as they left the house and replied with a smirk, "Hey, saved your ass."

Sam laughed at the look Dean gave him and shook his head. Catching Lynn trying to slowly stretch her limbs down the porch steps, Sam asked, "You alright? She threw you pretty hard."

"Gonna need some Advil, but I'll live."

"Atta girl!" Dean chimed in with a thumbs up. "We'll make a hunter outta you yet."

"Dean!" groaned Sam.

"What?"

"We're supposed to help her get home not train her to hunt."

"She's also supposed to help us find Dad and to do that she's gotta learn to hunt a little, Sam."

"She doesn't need to hunt to do that, Dean!"

Lynn smiled at the brothers while they argued and when they all got back in the car, she softly said, "I think I'll make this home."

They drove into the night and Lynn folded her arms across the top of the front seat and rested her head on her wrist to glance at the journal in Sam's lap. He propped the flashlight in the crook of his neck and found the coordinates their father left them on the map. But Lynn wasn't thinking about their next hunt in the search to find John Winchester. Now that the first hunt was over, that she was settled in the Impala with Sam and Dean with a moment to relax – a safe moment to take it all in – only one thought reached the front of her mind and spread through every synapsis: Jess was going to die the same way their mother did.

And if Lynn was being honest, she pushed this thought from her mind the entire time and stayed quiet for one very selfish reason: if Jess doesn't die then Sam doesn't go hunting and the whole of Supernatural never happens. Or so she spent 15 years believing.

"Ok, here's where Dad went. It's called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado." Sam said, snapping Lynn back into focus.

"Sounds charming. How far?" Dean asked.

"About 600 miles."

"If we shag ass, we can make it by morning."

"No!" Lynn burst. Dean and Sam jumped and twisted themselves to glance at her with adrenaline fueled confusion. "Sam needs to get home. Now."

Taking a breath to slow his heart rate, Sam responded, "She's right, Dean. The interview's in 10 hours. I gotta be there."

Dean cast his eyes onto the asphalt stretching out in front of him and begrudgingly nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, whatever." He glanced over at Sam and did his best to smile, but Lynn could feel his sadness. "I'll take you home."

Lynn nervously tapped the leather and suggested, "Maybe we could go faster? How far out are we anyway?"

"A few hours –"

"Let's make it a couple. What the hell? Let's make it one!" Lynn interrupted with an anxious smile. "Punch it."

Dean shifted in his seat and frowned at her. "Punch it? What's the rush? You got an interview too or somethin?"

"What? No. I just, uh –" Her eyes darted between the brothers as she tried to find the right way to explain without freaking them out with the truth. "I have this – uh – feeling, ya know? I mean, your dad abandoned a hunt without a word; just a few numbers written for you to find and… what? That's not foreboding?" Lynn's dull nails gripped the seat when Sam and Dean's eyes broke away from her and found each other's. "Look, I-I know that you don't know me from a hole in the wall, but I'm someone who goes with their gut and – not to toot my own horn but – my gut is never wrong. And my gut is worried about what's waiting for Sam at home."

She inched forward and searched for Sam's gaze. "So if your guts have ever experienced something like that, I'm hoping you'll trust mine."

Sam gulped and slightly squirmed as his dreams of Jess burning on the ceiling flashed in his mind. Dean looked over at them and huffed, "Hey, this whole thing with Dad… I only got my gut to go on."

"So, you'll punch it?" asked Lynn. "Because I'd also love to feel how fast this baby can go."

Dean sent her a sexy smirk which soothed her smile and revved the engine. With a powerful surge, the Impala sped off. Lynn shouted in excitement and Dean laughed in enjoyment of her reaction. Sam grinned with them and turned off the flashlight as Dean turned up the music.

Lynn placed her chin back on her folded arms and looked to Sam to ask, "Tell me about Jessica. How long you been together?"

Sam blushingly chuckled and replied, "Uh we've been together almost three years. Moved in together a year ago. It's been great. She's great."

"You love her a lot, huh?"

"Oh yeah, completely. Jess means so much to me. She, uh, she's a political science major because she wants to make the world a better place. Be a public relations specialist for someone she believes in, ya know?"

Dean grinned at hearing his little brother talk so lovingly about someone and asked, "That how you two met? In the same class or something?"

"No, uh, a friend introduced us, but we did have a few classes together last couple of years." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Opening it, Sam lifted out a picture he had of the two of them and handed it to Lynn to see. "She's from Lakeport and I got to spend the last few holidays up there with her and her parents. We go running together, she bakes all the time, listens to 80s pop songs with me, always wants to cuddle on the couch when we watch TV…"

Lynn brought her eyes from the adorable picture of them hugging in front of a gushing fountain in the warm sunlight to find Sam in a daze of memory. "She actually has your birthday, Dean."

"Seriously? She's a January 24th baby too?"

Sam chuckled with his brother and responded, "Yeah. Last two years when we'd celebrate her birthday, I'd wish you a happy one too. Didn't know where you were or how you were but…"

Dean's lips curled into a flattered (almost smug) grin. "Aren't you sweet, Sammy."

"It's Sam." He teased back.

The rest of the drive remained full of pleasant conversation with Sam talking more about Jess, Lynn talking about her bookstore, and Dean fluffing his feathers over his last few hunts on his own. When they arrived outside Sam's apartment, Dean slowed to a stop and watched Sam grab his bag as he got out of the car. He opened the back door to help Lynn out and held the passenger door open for her to take the prime seat. He bent down to smile at them, but there was a melancholy underneath.

"You'll call me if you find him?" Sam requested. "Maybe I can meet up with you later, huh?"

"Yeah, alright." Dean nodded as Sam patted the door. He turned on the engine and then called out to his brother, "Sam! You know, we made a hell of a team back there."

"Yeah," Sam agreed with a small grin. "Three of us… we're good."

Lynn forced a tight-lipped smile to keep herself from bursting again, but her wild eyes were enough to push Sam from the car and walk into the complex. Dean drove off and told Lynn, "He's right. We are good, even if we're one down." He looked over at her and finished, "But you're with me, right?"

She sharply turned her head to promise, "Always. Until the very end of the road, with you driving and Sam riding shotgun."

"Ah, great, but –"

"No but. We gotta get him. Now. Drive around the back."

"What?" Dean stammered as he came to the stop sign and leaned over to demand, "What're you talking about? What's going on?"

Lynn forced air into her lungs and intensely met Dean's eyes. "I'm gonna ask you to keep trusting me because we don't have the time for me to try to explain, especially since I have no idea where to even start. We need to cover the back."

"O-Ok, yeah." Dean took a right to curve around the building. "Gonna need more on this instinctual mojo or whatever it is about you, but… for whatever reason I can't explain, I trust you."

She smiled at him in thanks as they drove up to see the stairs leading to Sam's level of the apartments. It wasn't very well lit, save for the corridors, but there was enough to illuminate someone rushing out and bounding down the metal steps. Lynn couldn't make out his face, only his short blonde hair. Brady.

Lynn didn't think. She just reacted. Shoving the door open while the Impala was still inching forward, she yelled to Dean, "Get to Sam! Now!"

"Woah! Lynn – what the hell?"

She didn't stop to answer. She gripped the fire iron and bolted forward as fast as her feet could take her. He had slowed on the sidewalk up ahead and kept to the shadows between the trees. She saw him peer to the corridor he escaped from as if he were waiting for something. But his eyes soon found her instead. Brady cocked his head, frowning in confusion as he clearly didn't see her as a threat, so Lynn used his moment of confusion to swing the fire iron as hard as she could across his face.

Brady bellowed in pain, the iron burning his flesh, and he reached up to touch his temple. The demon looked down at his blood-soaked palm and released a wicked laugh. "What the hell was that?"

Lynn struck the sharp poker forward, trying to stab him through the abdomen, but Brady caught her wrist and twisted it so harshly that Lynn was forced to drop her weapon. Brady pulled her into his chest, and she tried to jump back, only Brady was far too strong for her to physically overpower him.

"I'll say again," he growled with devilish smile. "What. The hell. Was that?"

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas –" Lynn began to recite from memory, causing Brady to roar and loosen his grip on her. "Omnis incursio infernalis adversarii!" She wriggled free and bent down to regain her fire iron.

Brady dropped and pinned her on the cold ground, his dominant hand attempting to squeeze her throat. "Omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica!" She yelled up at him as she pushed the fire iron up against his neck. Brady screamed, his flesh sizzling, but he endured the pain and violently shook his head, trying to fight off the exorcism. His eyes went black and he barred his teeth, panting in a rage. "Ergo, omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te…"

Lynn grunted at the pressure of the demon's hands trying to crush her throat but was finally able to strike him hard enough to get him off her. She crawled back to her feet and chanted, "Cessa decipere humanas creaturas, esique æternæ perditionìs venenum propinare –"

"Alright! Enough!" Brady shouted as he shoved himself onto his knees. "Enough, bitch! I get it!"

Lynn stopped and glared. "Do you, Brady? Do you get it?" She smacked him again as hard as she could, except it only made him laugh.

"Yeah, I do, you naïve little skank. Got yourself an old iron poker and a memorized exorcism and you think you can take me on?" Brady lifted himself back on his feet and snarled at her. "All it takes is one ride with the Winchester brothers and all the smart just drains outta you, huh?"

Lynn narrowed her eyes and chanted, "Vade satana inventor et magister omnis fallaciæ, hostis humanæ salutis –"

"You think it's gonna end with me?" Brady hollered out as the recited words clawed their way into his darkened soul. "You think it'll save Sam from what I've done here?"

"What?"

Brady's vile laugh cracked open the night air. "You interrupted me, sweetheart. You didn't stop me." He drew in a deep breath as the exorcism lessened its hold and continued, "Honestly, Lynn, did you really think that no one would sense your arrival? That you could cut open the dark and step into this world without him knowing?"

Her eyes widened, breath quickened, and instinctively gripped her weapon so tightly that her knuckles began to turn white. Brady sneered and subtly stalked his prey, slowly forcing her back into the cover of the trees. "We may not know who or what you are – yet – but you're in Azazel's sights now."

"I'm nobody," her voice quivered barely above a whisper as her back lightly bumped against the bark.

"We strongly disagree. That's why Azazel sent one of us to track you down. To watch you with his favorite and report back. Whole inner circle got the memo on you, baby."

Lynn lunged the fire iron forward and stabbed him between the ribs and said, "Then I should probably send you packing. Humiliare sub potenti manu Dei!"

"Or you could save Sam!" Brady savagely wailed.

"What're you talking about? Dean's –"

"Dean? Ha! D'you already forget?" the demon mocked. "Such a sweet but stupid little bitch. I told you, you interrupted me. I still did what I came here to do. Sammy should be holding that pretty blonde meat-sack in his arms right now, life bleeding from her body. Didn't have enough time to pin her to the ceiling, but it's the fire that matters. And I can set it from here."

"You're bluffing."

"I'm really not." They stared at each other, Brady's hatred and fury reflecting the horror and despair in her eyes. "So, I guess you have a choice to make. Finish your exorcism knowing I'll light the match before it's done, or the little lassie can run to save her masters before they burn. What's it gonna be?"

Lynn twisted the iron piercing his lung and said, "You need Sam alive. You need him out there hunting, honing his skills." She quoted the yellow eyed demon from memory as Brady grunted in pain. "You wouldn't risk killing him."

"Or maybe that's just Plan A and we have Plans B through Z ready to go for every possible outcome of tonight." Brady could see her falter and evilly chuckled, "We're willing to risk it. Are you?"

Dean fought every fiber telling him to follow Lynn and flew up the stairs. He found his way to the front door and kicked it down, yelling for Sam as he stormed in with his gun raised. It didn't take him more than two strides to see his little brother gathering Jess in his arms. She was cut open across the stomach, blood pouring out of her and soaking her white nightgown, with her entire body pinned to the wall.

"Dean! Help!"

He rushed over as Sam was able to lift her body off the wall and gently onto his chest. Dean secured her waist and legs as painlessly as possible, but whimpers still escaped her. The brothers very carefully brought her body to the ground where Sam delicately held her in his lap. Jess looked up at him with widened eyes. Absolute terror filled the hazel blue and desperation leaked from them, rolling down her cheeks. Sam wiped them away with his thumb and tried to smile down at her to give her comfort.

"It's ok, Jess. It's gonna be ok. I'm here. We're gonna get you help."

He gave every effort to keep his voice calm, keeping pressure on her wound, but he could feel her body becoming colder and colder beneath his hands as the life drained from her. Sam looked up at his brother dialing 911 and felt his own tears sting his eyes. "I saw someone in here. He ran around back to get out the door after I came in and found her."

Jess reached up to grab his collar and he instantly took her hand in his. "Jess," he softly said. "Jess, what did this to you?"

She opened her mouth, but only whimpers came out. No real words were able to form on her lips. He shushed her and cooed, "It's ok. Don't talk. We can figure it out later. You just hold on, ok? Help's coming."

"You saw someone run out of here?" Dean questioned as he finished the call to the police and Sam nodded in answer. "Was it a guy? Blonde hair, dark jacket, fast on his feet?"

"Y-Yeah, I think so."

Dean's eyes widened and he shook his head. "Damn it, Lynn."

"What?" Sam asked, realizing she wasn't there and feeling even more dread take control.

"She saw him run down the stairs and went after him."

"Why – how would she," Jess gripped Sam's hand as tightly as she could, interrupting his response. He returned his gaze to her as she gasped for breath and held her close. The color was fading from her face and light dimming in her eyes, but she was still there with him. Jess opened her mouth and tried to speak, to tell him what happened, but only one word was able to escape on a whisper.

"Re…turn…"

"What?" Sam asked, searching her closing eyes. "Jess, what does that mean? Hey!" He lightly shook her, gathering her up against him as he cradled her head. "Stay with me! Jess? JESS!"

Dean tore his attention away from his brother and stared at the fractured door. Sirens faintly came into earshot, but it was the pounding footsteps he was readying for. Dean raised his gun and waited for an attack, only it was Lynn sprinting into the apartment. He lowered the firearm and demanded, "What the hell were you thinking?"

She blew right passed him and knelt in front of Sam, tucking her arms under Jessica's body. "We gotta go. Now! Get her up! We need to move before –"

Flames swallowed her warning. Hellfire ignited all around them faster than they could inhale whatever oxygen was left. Dean was thrust back into the wall as the heat erupted toward them and Sam shielded Jess as it tried to trap them on the floor. The flames raged and burned like it was alive. It chased them, jaw unhinged to consume them whole, as the brothers barely escaped the apartment. Lynn had been cornered on the other side of the room, coughing on the wild smoke clawing its way into her lungs. But it wasn't the demon coming after her. Not directly. He was using the fire.

It violently scorched down on her and Lynn dodged around it. She used every piece of furniture untouched by the flames to shield herself, but it wasn't enough. Forcing her way around the apartment to reach the door, the fire bit at her skin and she felt it burn into her arm. Lynn screamed and dropped to the hardwood floor. The heat was too much to fight and the smoke replaced nearly all breathable air. All she felt was the burn melting through her flesh until it lit her soul ablaze.

Dean rushed back into the fire after Sam was a safe distance away with Jess to gather Lynn into his arms and just as quickly rushed them out. He carried her down the stairs and into the street where Sam rocked Jessica's lifeless body in his arms. Lynn coughed and frantically gasped for air as Dean sat them down on the curb out front. The fire exploded through the windows, daring the fire fighters to face it head on, but it was no match for the hoses. So many colorful lights from the police, ambulance, and fire trucks, flashed around them. And even more people collected in the street to watch the tragedy unfold.

Lynn held onto Dean's jacket as he wiped the tear-stained grime from her face. He carefully checked her over and saw the burn on her arm. It was a deep red and very raw, but what made Dean peer closer was that it seemed to form some kind of shape… as though someone took a blowtorch to her arm and drew a symbol, but it was too fresh and swollen to fully make it out.

"You're hurt." He said and flagged down the paramedics.

Lynn wasn't sure how much time passed. She remembered her burns being treated in the ambulance and watching Jess's body being bagged up onto a gurney and rolled away. She remembered watching Sam and Dean talk to the police and firemen before she was questioned by them as well. She also remembered signing her name on some official piece of paper after refusing to be taken to the hospital. She remembered Dean meeting her at the ambulance after the fire was nothing but white smoke dissipating in the wind and walking her back to the Impala, where Sam was staring down into the open trunk. Lynn remembered it all, but she wasn't really there. Her mind was back with Brady.

"Honestly, Lynn, did you really think that no one would sense your arrival? That you could cut open the dark and step into this world without him knowing? We may not know who or what you are – yet – but you're in Azazel's sights now."

If the yellow-eyed demon knew she was there and wanted to know everything… others might have sensed her too. Other high-ranking demons, powerful witches, intrigued deities, Heaven and its angels. What if they all had the same questions she had about what happened to her? And what if they didn't like what little to no answers she had? Lynn shook her head and lightly rubbed over the bandages on her arm. What does it matter if I can't save the people they love? If I can't save them? she thought and sorrowfully looked up at Sam as he tossed the shotgun in the trunk.

"We got work to do."

And he slammed it shut.