"Let me tell you something Milly, when I find Sam, and I will find him, I will kill Dean, Castiel, you, and everyone who stands in my way and it will be all because of you."
Milly woke up with a start in the middle of the night, sitting up in the makeshift bed she had at Bobby's. She sighed in relief, realizing she was no longer in that ring of fire.
It had been three days since the showdown with Lucifer and the loss of Jo and Ellen. The moment they returned to Bobby's and Milly knew they were safe, she collapsed in a heap of exhaustion. She didn't find out about Ellen and Jo until the next day.
Everyone was coping in their own way. Sam was quieter, Dean was angrier and Bobby was busier. Milly was just more anxious. Almost every time she closed her eyes, he'd be there. Even in her own mind, he was taunting her.
She told them about her encounter with Lucifer and what he wanted from her, but she didn't mention a single detail involving her mother and she didn't know why. Perhaps she feared there was a more sinister situation going on than they thought. Why else would Lucifer know Athena? It hadn't crossed her mind before that her mother might not have been one of the good guys.
Milly made her way downstairs after it was clear she wouldn't be falling back asleep anytime soon and quietly approached the living room. It was the only room in the house with a light on, and she found Dean sitting alone on the couch with a drink in one hand and a newspaper on his thigh. He heard a floorboard squeak and looked over to see Milly peer into the room like a little baby deer.
"What are you doing awake, sweetheart?" He asked in a gentle voice and she walked closer, wrapping her arms around herself.
"Bad dream."
He hummed in response, setting the newspaper down beside him and his drink on the side table. The closer she got, the clearer he could see the fear on her face. It made him sick to his stomach.
"C'mere."
She padded over and he lifted her up to sit on his lap.
"Wanna tell me about it? It might make you feel better."
Milly wasn't so sure about that, but she didn't want to keep it to herself anymore.
"You know how Lucifer was trying to get me to tell him where Sam was?"
"Uh-huh."
"He also said he knew my mom."
"What?" Dean asked in surprise.
"He said she was alive and he knew where she was."
"Did he tell you?"
Milly shook her head, keeping her eyes glued to her hands.
"No. He said he would if I told him where you and Sam were, but I wouldn't."
"Why?"
"Because you wouldn't have."
Dean looked at her, slightly taken aback for a moment. He didn't know what he was expecting her to say. Perhaps some shockingly wise explanation a real nine-year-old would never have come up with, or just because it was the freaking devil. But he wasn't expecting what she'd really said because it meant Milly looked up to him. Dean didn't think he was someone to look up to, in fact, he believed the complete opposite. But there she was, making the right choice because she thought it was what he would've done. And he didn't even bother asking why she hadn't mentioned this before, because he was able to piece it together himself.
It probably wasn't nice to hear that Satan knew your mother.
"You did the right thing, Milly, I'm so proud of you. And if your mom is out there somewhere, we'll find her ourselves."
She simply laid her head on his shoulder and he softly pressed a kiss to her head.
If Lucifer was right about her human side making her weak, she didn't care. She'd rather be weak than anything like him. Sam and Dean may not have been invincible with supernatural abilities, but they were everything she wanted to be. Courageous, selfless, and good.