Dean squinted, fingers slowing to a stop on the laptop keys as his head turned to the left, looking at the other motel bed. "Lee?"

Sucking in another deep breath, Liam lowered his history book. "I'm okay." He exhaled shakily, and after sitting completely still for a few seconds, he grabbed his bookmark and shoved it between the pages. He set the book aside and drew his knees up to his chest, raking his fingers through his hair and screwing his eyes shut. "It's just—it's just—"

Dean set the computer on the mattress, turning toward the bed Liam shared with Sam as a previously sleeping Calypso put her eyes on Liam. "Hey, what's wrong? Just tell me what's going on."

"It's—" Liam opened his eyes and looked at Dean. "I think I'm having a panic attack."

"Oh." Dean moved closer, crossing the short distance between the beds and sitting down on the edge of Liam's. "I know Sammy told me that sometimes they don't have external causes. Is that what's happening?"

Jerking his head in a nod, Liam inhaled again, a shudder tearing through his frame as Calypso started to rub against his leg. "It's getting worse. I feel—I feel like I can't breathe."

Dean put a hand on Liam's shoulder. "You can breathe. I promise you can." He tugged a little, trying to get Liam to face him as he recited the lines Sam had taught him. "It's just a panic attack. It's just a panic attack. It's normal for you. An average, everyday thing that we aren't going to give any more power than it deserves. It comes, and then it goes, and you'll still be here when it's over. Everything is going to be fine."

"I—I know." Liam reached up and grabbed the hand Dean had on his shoulder, eyes closing again. "It just feels so… big." He gasped, shaking his head. "My chest is so tight, and I feel like I'm choking. I—"

Dean gripped his shoulder a little tighter, pulling one leg onto the mattress and inching closer. "Let's try breathing together." He waited for Liam to look at him and offered a smile before inhaling deeply.

Liam copied him, they held their breath in unison, and then they slowly let it out in a long, steady stream. They did it again, and then they did it again, but Liam was struggling to get the air into his lungs.

"I don't think it's working." Liam gasped again, and after another second of clutching Dean's hand, he all but launched himself off the bed and started to walk around the room. "I gotta—I gotta move. I can't just sit there. I don't—"

Dean slid to his feet, and even though Sam had shared with him some ways to help Liam through his anxiety, Dean still felt incredibly inept. "Try to keep control, even though you're pacing. Take five steps one way and then five steps the other way. Count them out."

Liam physically stuttered for a moment, like he couldn't figure out what Dean had said, and then his body started to follow the instructions. He paced in one direction, turned on his heel, and walked back the other way, panting the entire time.

"You got this. Just keep breathing." Moving closer, Dean held his hands out in a placating gesture. "Is the talking helping?"

Liam nodded his head, wringing his hands. "Yeah, I think—I think it is."

"Cool, then we'll keep talking." Dean glanced to the side as Calypso jumped off the bed and approached her companion, sitting on the floor and staring up at him like she didn't know what she was supposed to do. "Tell me about your research."

"But you already know—"

"I know, just… just talk about it."

Liam took a deep breath. "Well, we, um, we decided that it might be a good idea to look at demonic activity to track reapers. We—we know reapers can be overpowered by demons—maybe even killed by them—and if the demons know about the rings—"

Swallowing, Dean stepped a little closer, watching his nephew pace.

"If they know what the rings are capable of, and if they know we overpowered three Horsemen already, then—then they might want to get to Death before us." Liam stopped for a moment, a shudder running through his body, but then he picked up the walking again. "Of course, Satan supposedly has control of the Horsemen, so—so maybe he already has access to Death's ring. But if he does, why didn't he get all the rings and take them out of the picture before we had a chance to get them?" He slowed, fingers still twisting and turning. "So, if they are trying to stop Death, we might be able to track them."

"Right, which is why we need to look for demons." Dean reached out and, wondering if it was safe to make contact, caught Liam by the arm. "So, we took the list of places with higher-than-normal death tolls, and we started cross-referencing with demon activity."

Liam nodded, inhaling again, and he looked up at Dean. "But we haven't found anything yet, so we're still looking."

"You wanna talk about where we are with angels?" Dean briefly wondered if he should have been bringing up more casual topics, or at least ones that weren't related to hunting. "Or do you think you're coming back down?"

Running his tongue over his lips, Liam started to nod. "I think… I think I'm coming back down." He glanced at the floor, a thoughtful look crossing his face, but he didn't share whatever he was thinking. Instead, he rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Dean's torso.

Dean chuckled softly, returning the hug and giving him a tight squeeze. "You did a really good job of calming yourself. I know these things freaking suck, but you've got a good handle on them."

Liam didn't say anything, but he didn't let go. Seconds ticked by, and Dean almost felt like they were wandering into the realm of awkward hugs, but there was no way in Heaven or Hell he was going to pull away first.

"Thank you, Dean."

Dean gave the boy another squeeze. "Sure thing, kiddo."

Calypso meowed, looking up at them for a moment, and then she rubbed against their legs, walking around in a circle. And they just kept hugging.

Castiel looked down at the charred grass, the wing pattern spread out around the young man's body. He shifted his gaze to the angel blade in his hand, and with a heavy sigh, he turned away from his fallen brother.

"I take it things didn't go so well here."

Lifting his eyes, Castiel found Balthazar standing a couple yards away with a rather nervous Ezekiel at his side. "Izra was… unreceptive."

"Figures." Balthazar slapped Ezekiel on the back. "Well, Zeke is willing to listen to us, so today wasn't completely lost."

Castiel summoned a small smile, blue looking into blue. "I am happy to hear that, Ezekiel. We have much to discuss." He walked over to them, trying not to let the situation weigh on his mind. "I'm sure Balthazar already shared some details with you, but if you want to hear it from me, Heaven has been orchestrating the Apocalypse. They have—"

They all froze, looking skyward instinctively.

"Do you feel that?"

"They know we're here."

Castiel looked at Ezekiel. "How adept are you at hiding your essence from Heaven?"

"I—I don't know," the celestial being in the body of a twenty-three-year-old stuttered. "I've never had to do that before."

"Trying to build up your army, Castiel?"

Stiffening slightly, Castiel processed Zachariah's voice at the same moment he saw they were surrounded by at least twenty-five angels. "Yes." He turned—not too fast; he didn't want to appear intimidated—and faced Zachariah with something in his veins that somehow ran both hot and cold. "I've been expecting you. I knew it was only a matter of time before you realized that every time you found a sign of our Grace, the singles or doubles or triples you sent after us disappeared." He glanced toward the motionless Izra. "Though, I'm sure you found many bodies as well."

Zachariah spread his hands, completely ignoring everything Castiel had said. "You know, as much as I want to destroy you, you're a good soldier, Castiel. We might not have room for all of the traitors in your little outfit, but… well, with some stipulations, we'd be willing to take you back."

"You think you can convince me to come back?" Castiel wasn't quite shouting, but the righteous anger he felt was making him steadily louder. "You think I'm going to let you destroy the entire planet so Michael can settle an old grudge?"

Zachariah stepped forward, but he didn't get too close. "It's not about an old grudge. It's about reigning over everything that was supposed to be ours in the first place!"

Face screwing up, Castiel spread his arms. "This was never supposed to be ours! God made humanity to rule over Earth. He made this for them. It's theirs." He took a few steps forward, not nearly as afraid of a fight as Zachariah was. "On top of that, what exactly are you going to rule over when everything has been destroyed by brimstone and fire?"

"I can see you're not going to be persuaded. You've decided to be an enemy of Heaven, so now you'll face the consequences." Zachariah lifted his hand. "Have fun, boys and girls."

Castiel watched as Zachariah disappeared, and he took a few steps back so he was closer to the brothers that didn't want to kill him, but he never took his eyes off the ring of angels now moving closer. "Balthazar, have you been following the plan?"

"Oh, I've been making quite a few calls." Balthazar laughed. "Zeke, if you wanna back out, now's the time."

"I don't think it's up to me at this point." Ezekiel still sounded nervous, tremors in his voice. "They've identified me as a deserter, so there's no going back."

"Just surrender, Castiel!"

Unwavering, Castiel continued to stare down the opponents creeping closer, his blue eyes meeting a particular set of dark brown ones. "You've known me for a long time, Uzriel. Do you honestly think that's going to happen?"

Uzriel scoffed and shook his head. "Then you will die a sinner's death." He lifted his hand much like Zachariah had, and with a finger spinning in the air, he shouted out an Enochian command.

Castiel flew immediately, appearing next to one of the foot soldiers and stabbing at her side. She vanished, and he turned on the spot, preparing to kill her but also sensing two presences coming up behind him. I have to move fast. He bolted to the left and turned to face the trio, dropping another angel blade from his sleeve. He wasn't very familiar with the feel of two blades, but ever since they started collecting their dead brethren's weapons, he had been growing more skilled. They're going to—

"Hey!" Samandriel's voice sounded out from somewhere near the center of the circle. "I got the call! Did you call anyone else?"

"Yes, just start stabbing people!" It was a shout, but oddly, Balthazar didn't sound concerned. "Don't hurt Ezekiel! He's one of us!"

Castiel saw two of the angels he was facing disappear, and he immediately flew to the remaining soldier. He started swiping and stabbing, using one blade to keep her own weapon away and trying to get the other to pierce the stark white, button-down shirt. It won't be long before they come up behind me. I need to end this. He threw one blade into the air and rushed forward, taking a risk and grabbing the arm of the weapon-wielding hand before driving his blade into the ribcage underneath her arm. That's one. He held out his hand, catching the other blade as it fell back down. Let's see…

He could feel more essences behind him, and he quickly dashed away from the growing circle of fighting. It was impossible to tell who was part of their rebellion at such a distance, but he knew the plan had been to call on many if not all of the eighteen angels they had converted in the last month. One broke away from the fight, running toward him, and once he determined they were an enemy, he flew again. Landing, he threw a hand out and sent two of his opponents through the air, watching them hit the grass in the background as he approached the one in front.

We're outnumbered, and there's no telling when they'll send more. Castiel's back hit the dirt, pain reverberating through his ribcage, and he quickly realized he must have been thrown. I have to get up. He pushed against the ground, trying to make out who all was approaching him, and he found two men, a woman, and Uzriel. I need to—

Suddenly, he saw all four around them, and he immediately disappeared, landing a few feet away. He squinted, trying to figure out who to attack first, and then there was an abrupt presence behind him. Five now? He whirled on the spot, grabbing the wrist of the hand that was trying to thrust an angel blade into him. He stepped forward and drove his weapon into her chest, not bothering to watch the light pour from her orifices and instead turning to face the original four he had been fighting.

Taking a deep breath, Castiel used his Grace to throw Uzriel and one of the men back, and then he rushed the remaining two. He got close enough that they would try to stab him, and then he dodged to the side, grabbing the woman's arm and turning her before taking her by the shoulders and thrusting her onto the man's blade. He took a half step back and quickly evaluated the man's position, feeling two presences behind him. Moving forward, he kicked the dead woman aside and closed the distance, thrusting both of his angel blades into the man's gut. I'm down to two, but—

Castiel felt something push him, and he toppled onto the ground to his right, rolling over and trying to get up as quickly as possible. Uzriel landed on top of him, lifting his blade high and driving it down before Castiel could even think to fly.

I have to—

Light burst from Uzriel's mouth and eyes, his entire body locking up as his spirit was destroyed, his vessel crumpling to the ground a moment later.

"Whew! I made it." Smirking, the small, Japanese girl ran to the last man who had been fighting Castiel. She jumped up, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and wrapping one leg around his neck, swinging up onto his shoulders before driving her blade into his neck. "Sayonara!" She flipped over backward, leaving his body behind as it collapsed.

Castiel squinted, recognizing the essence coming from her, and he slowly pushed himself to his feet, taking in the black miniskirt and fishnet top. "Abigail?"

"I go by Amane now." She walked up to him, mischief in her dark brown eyes as she twirled her angel blade between her fingers. "I'd love to catch up, fill you in on what I've been doing since I deserted, but it looks like this fight isn't over."

Panting softly, Castiel put his eyes back on the large gathering of angels, watching as they continued to fight. "Yes, of course." He had no idea whether it was safe to trust her, but she had just saved his life, and a very long time ago, she had been an outstanding superior. "Follow me, and I'll tell you who is on our side and who is an enemy."

Amane grinned. "Lead the way, Castiel."

Liam pulled out an earbud when Calypso suddenly jumped up and crept toward the open doorway with her fur on edge. He quickly stood, shoving his phone into his pocket, and he followed her into the hallway of the old, abandoned apartment complex. Immediately, he saw a trio of people walking toward them, and he didn't bother asking if they were there with good intentions.

"Dad!" He turned on his heel and bolted, going down the hall and darting into the apartment next to the one he had been in. "Dean!" He skidded to a stop, quickly taking in Sam and Dean standing across from a demon tied to a chair. "There's people coming. Calypso was growling."

Sam and Dean moved away from their victim, and Sam grabbed Liam by the shoulder, pushing him toward the corner of the room that was opposite the door. "I want you to hide behind the couch, okay? Just stay down, and if it does turn out to be a threat, call Castiel. But be quiet."

Liam nodded, darting over to the sofa and pulling it away from the wall slightly. He pushed himself in between the edge of the couch and the window, sliding himself in so his back was against the wall. He wrestled his phone from his pocket, unlocking the screen and pulling up Castiel's name, finger hovering in anticipation as he listened.

"You've been causing us quite a bit of trouble."

It's gotta be demons. Liam held his breath, keeping his eyes on his phone.

"Yeah, well, considering how much trouble you guys are causing, I don't think you're really in a position to judge." That was Dean, his ever flippant and dismissive tone hiding any anxiety he might have felt about Liam and demons being in the same room. "I mean, you're planning on destroying the entire freaking planet, so by comparison, exorcising a couple dozen demons isn't really a big deal."

"Really, we should be thanking you." That sounded like a female, and it was different from the one that first spoke. "Every time you send someone back to us, we get a little more information about where you are and what you're doing."

Liam pressed Castiel's name and put the device to his ear, waiting for the phone to ring as he continued eavesdropping.

"It's a shame you can't do the logical thing and execute the demons you interrogate." She sighed dramatically. "If you did, you might actually avoid fights like this."

Liam startled, Sam and Dean flying into his field of vision as they were pinned to the wall with telekinesis. But he didn't have time to think about that, because the phone had stopped ringing, and an out-of-breath Castiel was answering.

"Liam, if this isn't an emergency, I really don't have a moment to spare. Could you—"

"Demons," Liam whispered, being as quiet as he possibly could. He rattled off the address and apartment number, watching as the monsters stalked up to the brothers. "Hurry."

Reaching out, a female demon who might have been the one who had been speaking grabbed Sam's jaw and gave him a wicked grin. "Now, we can't kill you. You're too important. But…" her gaze slid to Dean, "…killing Michael's vessel and hiding the body would certainly give us an advantage." She chuckled. "And that little meatsack who tags along with you. I'd love to tear him apart."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Don't you guys ever get tired of using the same, old, worn-out threats?"

She opened her mouth to respond, but something happened where Liam couldn't see, and she whirled around to face whatever was going on.

"No, they don't." Castiel paused long enough for a body to drop to the floor with a solid thud. "They're very unoriginal."

"Ha!" came another female voice Liam didn't recognize. "I know I've been gone a while, but coming from you, that's hysterical."

Sam and Dean dropped to the ground, the demon's power no longer holding them up, and Liam slowly uncurled himself. He poked his head up over the arm of the couch and tried to take in everything that was going on.

Castiel, Samandriel, and a teenage girl were standing in the center of the room with a body at their feet. There were two demons standing between the Winchesters and the angels, and there was still the demon that was tied to the chair near the center.

Liam sank back down into his hiding spot, knowing they all wanted him to stay out of the fight, but he kept himself very attuned to what was going on.

"Well, Dean, I'll defer to you." Castiel spoke with a deadly tone in his voice, as if he was speaking to the demons instead of Dean. "Do you want me to kill them, or do you want to capture and interrogate them?"

Snorting, the female demon took a step closer to Castiel, going where Liam couldn't see. "You're so confident you'll be able to beat us. You know what the Bible says about pride, don't you?"

"There are two of you. There are five of us."

"Who said we were alone?"

Liam jumped, hearing a sound that had to be the apartment wall blowing in. He shifted his position, moving until he was on his knees instead of his butt, and then he crawled forward, staying close to the floor as the activity in the room exploded.

It was hard to tell what was going on—Sam rushed forward and grabbed a bottle of holy water—but Liam tried to determine if there was anything he could do to help. Samandriel was thrown across the room, slamming into the wall—Liam crept forward a little—and the cute Asian girl jumped onto the bound demon's legs, pushing off and flying through the air before colliding with one of the newer demons and bringing him to the ground. Liam unwound himself from his headphones and put them on the floor with his phone, not wanting them to get in the way, and he reached into his denim jacket. Dean took the demon-killing knife and slashed at a woman's throat, and Castiel darted into the hall to pursue a man.

I have an angel blade. Pulling it out of his jacket, he turned it over in his hands. I know they don't want me to fight, but I can just keep an eye on things. I'll only go out there if it's an emergency.

It took another five minutes, but then Liam was face to face with the kind of situation he had been imagining. He saw Sam hit the wall and slide down, struggling to maintain consciousness, and then the demon that had thrown him started walking closer. Panicked, Liam looked around the room and found that everyone was busy—Castiel was still in the hall, Dean was on the ground having a fist fight, Samandriel was killing the demon bound in the center, and the unnamed girl was cornering two demons next to the massive hole in the wall.

So, Liam bolted.

He ran out of the corner and made a beeline for the wall opposite from him, shooting between Samandriel and another demon. He got there just as the demon was reaching out to grab Sam, and he thrust his angel blade into the soft tissues of their side.

"Stay away from my dad!"

Staggering backward, the body dropped to the floor, and Liam knelt down beside the still disoriented Sam. "Sam?" Liam shook him a few times, wincing when he saw the blood on the back of Sam's head. "Sam, wake up."

"Hnn…" Sam slowly turned his head, eyes fluttering as he searched for the person who was talking to him. "What…?"

"It's a fight, Sam. You gotta get up." Liam pulled on his arms. "Dad!"

Sam jerked, opening his eyes and looking around. "Liam?" His attention was immediately drawn by a body flying past them, and he pulled his son closer. "Thank you, buddy, now just stay low."

"Got it." Liam turned and pressed himself against the wall.

Sam flashed a quick smile and jumped to his feet, running across the room to help Dean.

I hope he's okay. Liam watched carefully, and as he looked around, it quickly became apparent that they were winning. If he hit his head, we really need to go to a hospital. He jumped slightly when something ran toward him, but it was only Calypso, who jumped onto his lap with a loud meow.

"Just stay here, Cali." Liam stroked her fur, blue eyes darting from person to person as the number of demons in the room steadily decreased.

"Castiel!" Samandriel threw a demon on the floor and plunged his blade into her heart. "Is this the last one?"

Castiel stepped through the doorway, covered with a significant amount of blood, and Liam was trying to remember if he had looked that bad when he showed up. "Yes, I believe it was. I eliminated the ones in the hall, and I haven't seen any reinforcements coming."

Slowly sinking to the floor in front of the couch, Sam pressed a hand to the back of his head and let out a pained groan. "Thanks for the quick rescue, guys."

"Of course." Castiel closed his eyes for a moment, almost as if he was collecting himself, and then he opened them. "Samandriel, please return to the battlefield and ensure we were victorious."

Samandriel gave a single nod and then disappeared.

"Battlefield?" Dean asked, grabbing the shirt of a fallen demon and using it to wipe off the demon-killing knife in his hand. "What were you guys doing?"

"Zachariah confronted us. We—Balthazar and I—have been going around to various places and dropping the shields that keep us hidden. Then, when two or three angels arrive to capture us, we try and get them to come to our side. If they don't, we kill them." Castiel took a deep breath. "I told you earlier this week that we have converted eighteen angels. Heaven realized what we were doing and came after us with a substantial number of angels. So, per our plan, we called on the angels who have joined us, and we fought. When I left, there weren't very many enemies remaining, but I would like Samandriel to make sure nothing unexpected happened."

Dean's eyes widened slightly. "You guys have been busy."

"Busy enough to get Gabriel's attention," said the girl who had yet to be named, walking away from the corpse in the corner. "He's the one who told me where you were, Castiel."

Shifting focus, Dean pointed to the girl, looking to Castiel for an explanation. "Yeah, and who is she, exactly?"

"This is Abig… ah, Amane." Castiel extended a hand toward her. "Long ago, she was a respected leader in Heaven. She was one of my superiors, but… she disappeared."

Dean and Sam both directed their attention to Amane, suspicion written clearly on their faces. Liam himself gave her a curious kind of look, wondering if it was normal for an angel to occupy the body of a young teenager.

"I got tired of watching Earth destroy itself." She shrugged, reaching back and adjusting her black ponytail. "It's hard being up there… observing… only allowed to intervene when someone higher up lets you." Scoffing, she shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "But it doesn't matter anymore. I only showed up for this fight because Gabriel told me about it. He and I have crossed paths many times since we left Heaven, so he knew where I was, and…"

Sam shifted on the floor, turning a bit so he could see Amane better. "If he was so concerned, why didn't he come help himself?"

"Based on what he told me, he doesn't want to reveal his involvement. It's best for us if Lucifer and Michael aren't expecting him to show up at the big fight. It gives us the element of surprise, and it keeps them from preparing to fight an archangel." Amane shrugged. "I don't want to toot my own horn, but I was one of the best fighters in Heaven before I left. Something I tried to pass on to my subordinates."

Castiel cleared his throat. "Yes, well… I never thought… I would need to know how to fight… more… physically. Still, I haven't forgotten everything you taught me." He cleared his throat again, shifting his attention to Sam and Dean. "She also saved my life today. If she hadn't shown up when she did, I would be dead."

Liam swallowed, heart clenching at the thought of Castiel dying, but all he did was stroke Calypso's fur again as he continued to listen.

"You can't trust me any more or less than the other angels you're convincing to join your cause. I get that you can't verify my claims, and I'm not asking you to believe them, but I am here to help."

Dean opened his mouth, probably to question her further, but he was interrupted by the return of Samandriel.

"Everyone but Balthazar was gone." Samandriel made his report to Castiel, but Liam noticed the way he kept Amane in his peripherals, like he wasn't sure he wanted to give her his back. "He said they won, collected the angel blades, and everyone went back into hiding. He was waiting for me, because he expected someone to come back and check the state of things, and he said as soon as I left, he was going to leave, too."

Castiel nodded. "Excellent. Did we suffer any losses?"

"Two, which isn't bad considering we were up against twenty-five or so." Samandriel glanced at Amane, a faint smile pulling on his lips. "We lost two, but we gained one."

Liam did the simple math and realized there were seventeen angels who were willing to fight the Apocalypse.

"We are all still concealed," Castiel started, looking at Sam and Dean, "but it isn't wise to linger where there is so much supernatural activity. We need to avoid both the place where the angels fought and this building."

Sam nodded. "Got it. We were headed to our home base anyway." He glanced at the supplies they had been using to interrogate their demon. "It should only take us a few minutes to gather everything up."

Liam jumped to his feet—Calypso landed on the floor—wanting to be helpful. "I'll go get my backpack." He started for the door, tossing a wave over his shoulder. "Bye, Samnadriel! It was nice to meet you, Amane!"

Amane gave a two-fingered salute, and Samandriel offered a big smile.

Liam wrapped his arms around Castiel's middle. "Text me, okay?"

Castiel nodded seriously, placing a hand on Liam's head.

Liam squeezed him tight, and then he let go, walking around the angel and going into the hallway. He saw several bodies on either side of the doorway, and he carefully stepped around them as he headed back to the room he had been in before the fight started.

I hope we can all make it to the end of this. Liam walked into the empty room and approached the far wall, leaning down to grab his backpack. If we won the fight, but I lost someone, I…

He didn't know what he would do.

"Okay, okay, okay! I'll talk!"

Sam looked from up where he stood, holding the demon's eyes open, and he met Dean's gaze with a somewhat surprised but optimistic expression on his face.

"If you're gonna talk, start talking." Dean, who had been pouring holy water into the black eyes, took a step back but didn't put away the water jug.

Panting, the demon pulled against his bonds and swallowed hard, righting his head when Sam released it. "I heard… I heard Death is in Chicago. I don't—I don't know how accurate that information is." He took a rasping breath. "Death is bound to Lucifer, but Death is—Death is powerful."

Which is why it's going to be nearly impossible to get his ring. Sam didn't let himself sigh, but he felt his earlier optimism decreasing, and after two solid months of going after demons with no success… Sam needed that optimism.

"We can't be sure of where he is, but a lot of us were sent to Chicago." The demon shuddered, pulling against the ropes again. "I just… I just know he's supposed to be in Chicago."

Dean tapped the side of the water jug, his other hand gesturing vaguely in a way that said he wasn't satisfied with the information he was getting. "Do you have any idea how hard it's going to be to find one man, creature, higher being, whatever in the entirety of Chicago?"

"I—I swear, I don't know anything else." Shaking his head, the demon coughed, probably still recovering from the holy water they had forced down his throat. "I was sent to you guys, not Death, so I only know what I heard from other demons who were heading that way."

"Of course." Dean put the bottle down with more force than necessary, folding his arms over his chest. "You got any other useful bits of information, or should I blind you again?"

The demon dropped his head, defeated. "I've… I've got nothing. I swear, that's all I know."

Sam and Dean made eye contact, dozens of words and hundreds of thoughts traveling between them as they considered the situation as a group. Finally, Sam lifted his shoulders in a faint shrug, and Dean's response was to let out an exasperated sigh as he reached for the book of Latin.

"No." It was impossible to tell where the obsidian eyes were focused. "No, you have to kill me."

Dean opened the book, unconcerned. "Sorry, buddy, but I'm not killing the host just to keep Lucifer from tearing into you."

"Do you really think this body can survive without me in it?" Despite the clear terror, he scoffed out an incredulous laugh. "Do you have any idea what I've put this man through?"

Once again, the brothers made eye contact, and another conversation ensued. Sam tossed the idea around in his head, and with the bitter taste of Ruby never quite leaving his mouth, he was tempted to say the demon was lying. It seemed that was all they knew how to do.

Head turning, looking between the two interrogators, the demon scrambled for an explanation. "Just—just lift his shirt up. You'll see all the bruising and stuff. His innards are completely destroyed."

Sam looked at Dean like, 'Go ahead.'

Dean put the book down and stepped closer, crouching down and lifting the hem of the demon's shirt. His eyebrows shot up, and he quickly offered a sideways nod. "Yeah. I think we can be pretty sure he's in rough shape."

"So, you'll—"

"But how do we know he's dead?" Dean glared from his position on the floor.

"He's not, but he will be." Gritting his teeth, the demon leaned forward as much as the restraints would allow. "Just kill me already!"

Dean straightened up, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, I could, but… why should I take a chance and kill a man to spare a demon from torture?" He looked at Sam. "What do you think?"

Humming, Sam feigned thought. "Well, if you do a cost-benefit analysis, the logical decision is clearly to exorcise him."

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

"Do you have any idea what he'll do to me?" the demon shouted.

Dean arched a brow. "Um, yeah? I was kinda in Hell for forty years, so…"

"And you think Alistair was capable of the same things Lucifer is?"

Sam pursed his lips and crossed his arms over his chest, not only considering the demon's situation, but considering the fact that, if they let the demon live, Lucifer would find out that they were headed to Chicago.

"It's a shame you can't do the logical thing and execute the demons you interrogate. If you did, you might actually avoid fights like this."

Most of the time, they were leaving the area where the interrogation took place, so it didn't seem like there was much danger in letting the demons report back. But if the demon told Lucifer not where they had been, but where they were going… that changed things.

"Kill him."

Dean blinked, surprised. "What?"

Sam looked at Dean pointedly. "I don't want Lucifer to know where we're going. Even if he doesn't get our exact location, I don't want him that close to Liam."

"But…" Dean struggled for a moment, but then he held up his hands. "Okay. Okay." He turned toward the table of interrogation implements, grabbing the demon-killing knife from the collection and facing their captive. "Later, Blackeyes." He grabbed the demon's shoulder and thrust the blade into his gut.

Sam let out a soft sigh, watching the body slouch in the chair and waiting for Dean to confirm whether the host was dead or alive. It took a few seconds, but when Dean couldn't find a pulse, they concluded that the demon had been telling the truth.

"So… Chicago." Dean grabbed a shop rag from the table and started cleaning the knife. "It's a big city. How are we gonna narrow this down?"

Running a hand through his hair, Sam shook his head with a helpless expression on his face. "I have no idea. But our first order of business should be updating Castiel and checking with Bobby to see if we've made any progress on finding a place to hide the angels."

"We should hit the road first. Don't want to be here with the body." Dean reached down and grabbed a black duffel bag from the floor. "I'll clean this up. You go check on Lee."

Sam had literally been in the process of opening his mouth to make the same suggestion, and with a quiet laugh, he started toward the doorway. "Thanks, Dean."

"Yeah."

Sam walked out, finding himself in the hallway of the old farmhouse they had dragged their demon informant to, and he turned to the right. Floorboards creaking, he walked around the banister that surrounded the staircase and headed down to the ground floor.

"Liam?" he called softly, looking around as he walked through the foyer to the living room. He stopped as soon as his feet hit the carpet, a smile lighting his face when he saw Liam curled up on the couch with his blue blanket tangled around his body. Feeling a warmth in his chest, he walked up to the sofa and crouched down by the sleeping boy, pushing Liam's bangs out of his eyes and planting a gentle kiss on his forehead.

I'll have to carry him out to the car. Sam looked at Liam's body—at the way it took up much more space on the couch than it had when their journey began—and his lips pulled into a bittersweet smile. He's getting bigger… and taller… and older.

Sam was startled by movement under the blanket, and after a few seconds, a little, black head popped out from under the fabric. "Hello, Calypso. You keeping a good eye on my boy?"

Calypso mewed quietly, shifting around a bit before settling back down right under Liam's chin. Sam reached out and scratched her head, and then he put his attention back on Liam. He watched the sleeping face, reaching out and almost brushing his fingertips against the cigarette burns on Liam's browbone. He looked at the scars, hand hovering, and just stayed like that for a few moments.

"It's December 2nd," Sam whispered, still watching Liam's face. "I'm really hoping we can actually be together on Christmas this year, but… everything just seems so impossible. I mean, we have to find Death, we have to beat Death, and if these rings actually work, we have to find Lucifer and Michael and somehow get them in Lucifer's Cage, and…" He reached up, massaging his temples. "How am I supposed to keep Liam, and Dean, and Bobby, and Castiel—everyone. How am I supposed to keep everyone safe?"

"Is the cat telling you anything helpful?"

Startling with a gasp, Sam twisted where he knelt on the floor, exasperation coloring his features when he saw Dean standing there with a smirk on his face. "Shut up."

"We're gonna do this, Sammy." Dean walked over, dropping the bag of supplies to the floor and kneeling down a second later. "I don't know how… and I don't know what it's going to look like." He took a deep breath. "But we're gonna do this. And I know… I know I should be worried about saving the world, and of course, to an extent, I am, but… when I think about what we gotta do…" Shaking his head, he exhaled and averted his eyes, looking through the nearby window at the dark. "I picture you, you know? I picture you, and Liam, and Cas, and Bobby, and… our family. I picture our family." He looked back at Sam, his expression earnest. "We gotta do this for the world, Sam. But we gotta do it for us, too."

Sam stared for a moment, and then he let out a soft, almost nervous laugh. "Yeah. You're right. I just… I just hope that when we do it for us, we can do it right."

"We will." Dean spoke with all of the confidence Sam was struggling to feel.

"Yeah." Sam turned back toward Liam and Calypso. "Let's just get out of here."

Grunting, Dean got back to his feet. "To Chicago."

Sam nodded. "To Chicago."

Author's Note: Hey! I hope you enjoyed the update, and I would love to know what you thought!

Also, I wanted to let you know that I created a tumblr (username: inkandpaperqwerty)! It will have the same updates that I post on my website, but it might be a medium that you like a little better.

Thanks for reading!