AN: Italics = flashbacks, as always.

Enjoy x

The day had been hectic. Bobby, Dean and Ali had spent most of it on the road looking for wherever Sam might be. They all knew it had something to do with the yellow-eyed demon, and that made Ali's skin crawl. The last time they'd encountered it, John had ended up dead.

Through all the chaos, Ali had barely managed to process what was happening. The roadhouse was gone. Ash was dead. Ellen was probably dead. She hadn't had time to grieve. Everything was moving so fast. That was, until later that night.

As Ali stood in the darkness and watched the scene unfold before her, everything slowed to a snail's pace. The seconds and minutes stretched and warped into long, fine needles, augmenting before her eyes. It all seemed to happen in slow motion.

Sam limped out of the darkness, obviously in pain, but a smile graced his lips when he set is eyes on his brother. Dean stepped forward, but Ali remained behind him next to Bobby. They'd all been worried about Sam when he'd disappeared, but now that they'd found him, this was their moment. Sam and Dean. It was their moment to reunite. Ali couldn't've been jealous even if she wanted to be. All she felt was an overwhelming happiness that Sam was okay and that today, she hadn't lost anyone else she loved.

And then it all went to shit. The different feelings that coursed through Ali's veins made it almost impossible to breathe. The sudden shift from relief to tragedy was gut wrenching, and the seventeen-year old wasn't sure what to do with herself.

Ali didn't even notice the second man sprint out behind Sam. All she heard was Dean's screams as something was embedded in his brother's back, and Sam fell to his knees. Then she was alone. The two men beside her were sprinting forward, one towards his brother, and the other towards the attacker. The blonde girl wanted to help, but she couldn't move. Her feet were glued to the ground and she grabbed her chest, her panic turning into physical pain. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. All she could do was watch, and the scene before her was agonising.

"Sammy?" Ali could hear Dean's yells, but they sounded far away. Her vision blurred as she held her chest, trying to keep herself upright.

"Tyler?" The lights flickered in the motel room as Ali watched her brother line the door with salt. It felt like an earthquake was happening, but the eleven-year-old knew that it was no earthquake. "Tyler, what's happening? What do they want?"

"I don't know," he replied, his hands shaking as he held the bag of salt. He was scared. Ali couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him like this. Tyler was supposed to be fearless. Her big brother wasn't afraid of anything. Suddenly, there was a bang at the door, the noise loud enough to cause both of the siblings to jump. Tyler stepped away, pushing his little sister behind him. "Line the bathroom with salt and lock the door," he instructed her calmly.

"What about…?"

"Do it now!" His tone was deadly serious and Ali didn't hesitate as she grabbed the bag of salt and ran to the bathroom. She slammed the door and lined it with salt like her brother had told her, before she sank to the floor, her back against the bathtub as she listened to the sound of the motel door being broken down.

Ali watched as Dean held his brother up, Sam's muscles going flopping. They were both kneeling and Sam's head tipped forward, his eyes rolling back into his head.

Tyler's screams vibrated through the floor and Ali decided that enough was enough. Teary eyed as she tried to contain her sobs, she slid open the lock on the door and pushed, but it wouldn't open. It was like there was something blocking the other side. She banged on the wood, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Tyler!" she yelled. She could hear that he was in pain. As she gasped, she could smell the stench of rotten eggs. The demons were killing him. "Tyler!" There was no reply and she pounded on the door some more until her knuckles were numb and bleeding.

"No, no, no," Dean repeated as he tried to shake his brother awake. "Sammy?" Ali's eyes were filled with tears as she watched. There was nothing she could do. There was nothing any of them could do.

The silence came suddenly, halting Ali's sobs as she swallowed them down. She pushed on the door and it gave easily, swinging open to reveal the motel room.

Whoever had been there was long gone, but what they'd left behind made Ali sick to her stomach. The vulgar stench of sulphur was far more intense, but that wasn't what made Ali's heart almost stop. There was blood everywhere. It was spattered on the drapes and pooling on the cheap carpet tiles. But what alarmed her the most was that there was no sign of her brother. Not even what might've been left of him.

Tyler was gone.

Dean held his brother tightly to him as his body rocked forward, his eyes sliding shut.

"Oh God," the elder Winchester sobbed as Sam stopped moving, his breathing becoming shallow. Ali couldn't see Dean's face, but she could see Sam's. It was lifeless. Emotionless. Dead. "Sammy!" Dean yelled, shaking his brother to try and get him to wake up. It was no use.

"Sam?" Ali whispered under her breath, her mind not quite contemplating what was happening whilst her heart refused to accept it.

But this wasn't some terrible nightmare. This was real.

Sam was gone.

Ali sat on the floor of the derelict cabin. The air was thick. Heavy. It wasn't warm, but somehow still muggy. It wasn't quite cold enough for Ali to be able to see her breath, but she still felt cold. Numb. Her bones felt stiff and brittle. Her head ached from trying to hold back her tears. She'd given up roughly three hours ago, but now she had none left to cry.

The girl's head rested against the wall, her tangled blonde locks falling randomly over her shoulders. She knew Dean was in the room behind the wall. He'd been in there all night with Sam. Sam's body. Sam's dead body.

Bobby had gone in moments before and Ali could hear his voice through the splintering wood. She wanted to go in, but Bobby had advised her otherwise.

"Leave him be," the older hunter had said when she'd gone to take Dean some water. "I don't want you in there." Ali wasn't sure why. She assumed it was because Dean wanted to be alone. That's exactly how he'd been after John died. That's how she'd wanted to be after Tyler died.

There was a shout from inside the room and Ali leaned away from the wall. They were arguing. She stood up and walked to the door, her hand hovering over the handle. Bobby had told her not to go in, but she couldn't stand the sound of them yelling. She didn't know what to do.

All of a sudden, the door was yanked open and Bobby stood before her. He looked startled for a second before he sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder and pushing her gently towards the door.

"Come on," he said softly, leading her outside towards the car.

"What about Dean?" she asked, concerned for the elder Winchester. What about Sam?

"Dean's gonna stay here a while," Bobby replied simply, climbing into the car and gunning the engine. Ali knew from his tone of voice not to ask any more questions. In fact, she didn't say another word until they were back at the salvage yard in Sioux Falls.

Bobby was silent as they entered the house. Ali watched as he sunk down into the arm chair, his head in his hands, elbows on knees.

"Bobby?" Ali said tentatively. The older hunter sighed, his hands sliding down his cheeks as he looked up, meeting her sad eyes with an equally sombre gaze.

"You hungry?" he asked tiredly. "I think there's some chicken in the fridge." Ali shook her head as she stared back at him.

"Sam…" She started quietly, unable to finished her sentence. "Sam… Sam's…he's," Ali tried again, her jaw trembling along with the rest of her body. Bobby stood and walked over to the girl, pulling her close to his chest.

"I know, kiddo," he said as he rubbed her arm. "I know."

Ali didn't move as she sat in her Camaro around the back of the salvage yard. She didn't have the radio on, nor was she reading through a book or magazine. She just sat, staring out of the windshield.

For a while, things had seemed to be going from bad to worse. First was the hex, then was the truth about her parent's deaths coming out. Sam and Dean had left for months, and then some hunters had been after her. When things were looking bleak, that was when she'd stumbled across the Winchesters once again on a hunt- a hunt that had, for some reason, changed Dean's mind about being a part of Ali's life. Ever since the djinn, things seemed to be slowly getting better, and just when Ali thought things might be able to get back to normal, Sam had died, and Ali was devastated.

It was strange. Ali had experienced so much loss in her life that she expected it to get easier. It didn't. But Sam's death was still raw. An open wound. She couldn't accept it yet. What made her feel even worse was that she knew what Dean was going through, and she was worried about him. Worse than that was that the guy who'd killed Sam had got away. Losing Tyler was the worst pain she'd ever felt, and the thought of Dean now experiencing the same thing was heart-breaking.

She'd felt so angry. So utterly powerless. So alone.

It was getting later in the afternoon. Ali wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting in her car for. Somehow, it was comforting. She pulled down the sun visor above the driver's seat, sliding out the photograph of her and Tyler from when they were little. She'd been keeping it in the car since Bobby finished it, and although on some days, the picture was hard to look at, it mostly gave her the comfort and strength she needed to face the day.

With a sigh, Ali climbed out of the car. Bobby was probably wondering where she was and Ali didn't want to worry him. Pushing through the front door, she only realised how tired she was when an almighty yawn erupted from her mouth. She wiped her eyes, ready to collapse in her bed for the rest of the afternoon.

"Bobby?" Ali called as the door shut behind her. She could hear movement coming from the study and she made her way over. "Bobby, I'm heading…"

She stopped dead in her tracks. She'd been expecting the older hunter to be sitting at his desk, glass of whisky in hand. Who she saw almost made her heart stop.

"Sam?" Ali whispered under her breath, her eyes wide. The younger Winchester looked up from is reading and smiled. It was a tired smile, but a smile all the same.

"Hey Ali," Sam greeted as she stood there, completely frozen. She probably looked like she'd seen a ghost. Ali wasn't entirely certain that she hadn't. But this was Sam Winchester. This was definitely him, and he was most certainly not dead.

Ali walked forward and without a word, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. He was warm and real. Ali couldn't believe it. Sam was alive? The embrace reminded her of when she'd met him at the hospital after the crash roughly a year ago. She'd been so worried about him that she hadn't been able to help giving him a hug as soon as she saw him. That was a dark time in their lives. Dean was dying and John had ended up selling his soul to save him.

Ali pulled back abruptly and stared at the younger Winchester before her. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach.

"Where's Dean?" she asked, her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

"Outside helping Bobby," Sam replied, a slightly confused look on his face. Ali stepped out of the room and she could feel Sam hot on her heels. Dean didn't… did he? She couldn't comprehend it. As she made it to the hall, the front door swung open, revealing Bobby, Dean and Ellen. Ali stopped abruptly, her eyes locking with Dean's. He had a guilty look on his face as he stared back at her, but also a pleading look. She stared harder at him, as if to ask please tell me you didn't? Dean shook his head slightly. He couldn't tell her that. Ali choked, breaking eye contact with him as Sam brushed past her. The younger Winchester embraced Ellen tightly as Ali breathed. He did. Dean had made a deal to save Sam.

Ali didn't know how to feel. On one hand, she was happy that Sam was alive, but on the other hand, she couldn't bear the thought of Dean spending eternity being tortured in the fiery pit. All she wanted to know now was how long Dean would get before his soul was dragged to Hell.

"Ellen, what happened?" Ali asked the woman before her. "How'd you get out?" She remembered seeing the roadhouse a pile of ash and bodies. It made her stomach churn.

"I wasn't supposed to," Ellen replied. "I was supposed to be in there with everybody else. "But we ran out of pretzels, of all things. It was just dumb luck." She paused to take a shot of whisky before continuing with her story. They were all hoping she would have some more information on the yellow-eyed demon. "Anyway, that's when Ash called. Panic in his voice." Ellen sighed and Ali felt sad, thinking of their fallen friend. Ali had liked Ash. His death only made her hate the demons more. "He told me to look in the safe. Then the call cut out. By the time I got back, the flames were sky-high. And everybody was dead."

"Sorry, Ellen," Sam said, his eyes concerned.

"A lot of good people died in there," she replied sadly. "And I got to live." Ali thought of the man who'd saved her from the two hunters when she'd been at the roadhouse weeks ago. She hoped he hadn't been there when the fire started. "Lucky me."

"Ellen, you mentioned a safe," Bobby prompted.

"A hidden safe we keep in the basement," Ellen replied.

"Demons get what was in it?" he asked.

"No." Ellen pulled a map from her pocket and the group all gathered round to see as she set it down on the table.

"Wyoming," Dean mused. "What do all these lines and X's mean?" Ali stared at the map, her mind racing as she tried to think what it could be. She'd never see anything like it.

"I don't believe it," Bobby said suddenly and all eyes turned to him. "Each of these X's," he began, pointing to one of the marks on the map. "Is an abandoned frontier church. All mid nineteenth century. And all of them built by Samuel Colt."

"Samuel Colt?" Ali asked.

"The demon-killing, gun making Samuel Colt?" said Dean.

"Yep," Bobby replied. "And there's more." He pulled out a book from under the table and opened it up, finding the page he'd been looking through earlier and reading from it. "He built private railway lines. It just happens to lay out like this." Ali watched as Bobby grabbed a pen and began joining the X's together, the pattern resembling a pentagram.

"Is that what I think it is?" she asked, staring at the map.

"It's a Devil's Trap," Sam said. "A one hundred-square mile Devil's Trap."

"That's brilliant," Dean exclaimed. "Iron lines demons can't cross."

"I've never heard of anything that massive," Ellen mused. Ali hadn't either. Samuel Colt was a genius.

"After all these years none of the lines are broken?" Dean asked. "I mean, it still works?"

"Definitely," Sam replied. "All those omens Bobby found. I mean the demons, they must be circling and they can't get in."

"Why?" Ali asked quickly. "What's inside?"

"That's what I've been looking for," Dean replied. "And, uh, there's nothing except an old cowboy cemetery right in the middle."

"Well what's so important about a cemetery," Sam asked. "What's Colt trying to protect?" Dean sighed heavily. Ali could see the cogs turning behind his eyes.

"What if Colt wasn't trying to keep the demons out?" the elder Winchester suggested. "What if he was trying to keep something in?"

"Well that's a comforting thought," Ellen mused sarcastically.

"Could they do it, Bobby? Ali asked, turning to the older hunter. "Could they get inside?"

"I doubt it," he replied. "This thing's so powerful, no way a full-blood demon gets across."

"No," Sam said. "But I know who could." Ali looked up from the map at the younger Winchester. She could see the anger behind his features and she knew exactly who he was referring to. It was Jake, the guy who'd killed him.

Ali held her Colt 38 Super against her chest as she hid, crouched behind a headstone. She could hear voices not far from her where Sam was confronting Jake. Ali hung back, waiting for the right moment. She watched as Ellen stepped out of the shadows in front of her and she took that as her cue, pushing herself up and into view.

The five of them now had their guns aimed at the soldier whose eyes were wide as he stared at Sam.

"I killed you," he was saying in shock. "I cut clean through your spinal cord." Ali shared a weary look with Bobby as the words left Jake's mouth, both of them worried about what Sam would say. "You can't be alive. You can't be."

"Okay, just take it real easy there, son," Bobby said to Jake. That was when Ali noticed what Jake was holding. It was the Colt. The gun that could kill anything. Now, she was on high alert. She knew there was only one bullet left and it wasn't going to go to waste.

"And if I don't?" Jake challenged threateningly.

"Wait and see," Sam said darkly. Ali was a little taken aback at Sam's words, but she couldn't blame him. The guy had literally stabbed him in the back.

"What, you a tough guy all of a sudden?" Jake asked. "What are you gonna do? Kill me?"

"It's a thought," Sam said. Ali was inclined to agree with him.

"You had your chance," Jake said. "You couldn't."

"I won't make that mistake twice," Sam promised. Jake began to laugh, the sound hollow and sickening.

"What are you smiling at, you little bitch?" Dean spat. Jake's smile widened as he turned, making eye contact with Ellen.

"Hey Lady, do me a favour?" he said. "Put that gun to your head." Ali watched in horror as Ellen shakily moved her hand so that the barrel of her gun was pressed against her temple. Jake was controlling her and Ali feared what he might do next.

"Let her go," Sam commanded, raising his weapon threateningly.

"You'll be mopping up skull before you get a shot off," Joke replied. "Everybody, put your guns down or maybe I'll make your little friend blow her brains out too?" Ali gulped nervously as Jake's eyes passed over her. She dropped her Colt to the ground along with Sam, Dean and Bobby, though Jake made sure that Ellen kept hers pressed to her temple. "Thank you," he sang before turning around and inserting the Colt into the crypt.

Ali turned as Dean and Bobby ran to Ellen, the two men wrestling the gun out of her hand before Jake could have the chance to make her shoot herself. The gun went off and Ali ducked out of the way as a bullet whizzed past her head.

At the sound of more gun fire, Ali turned back to see that Sam was shooting at Jake. The soldier was now on the ground and Sam was standing over him, an animalistic snarl on his face. There was a moment of silence before Sam started shooting again, sending three more bullets into Jake's chest.

"Sam," Ali said softly as she placed a hand on his shaking arm. "He's dead." She looked up at his face to see him still staring at Jake's body on the ground. "Sam, he's dead," she repeated a little louder. After a moment, Sam seemed to snap out of it and he lowered his weapon, shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts.

"Oh, no," she heard Bobby say behind them. She looked to see that the engravings on the spinning as if unwinding something. Opening something.

"What the hell is that?" Ali asked as they stopped spinning. Dean ran forward and pulled the Colt from the crypt, but it was too late.

"It's Hell," Bobby said, taking a step back. "Take cover!" Ali stumbled backwards, pulling Sam with her by the sleeve of his jacket. He turned and pushed her down behind a tombstone, both of them crouch together as the doors of the crypt burst open. The only way Ali could describe what happened next was that it was like a dam had broken, and the water was gushing in, only the water was thick black smoke, and the dam was a Devil's Gate.

"What the hell just happened?" Sam asked as the demons rushed through the cemetery like they were in an electrical storm.

"It's a door to Hell," Ali told him breathlessly. "A barrier between Hell and Earth to keep the demons in," she explained. "And Jake just opened it."

"Come on!" they heard Ellen yell from across the graveyard. "We gotta shut that gate!" Ali and Sam ran to the crypt to help Bobby and Ellen. She pushed on the door that Bobby was holding and tried to get it to shut. It wouldn't budge.

"Dean!" Sam yelled, letting go of the other door and running to his brother's aid. Ali watched after him and caught sight of another figure. A man she'd never seen before. A man with yellow eyes. She observed in horror as Sam was thrown backwards.

"Hey!" Ali yelled, grabbing her Colt 38 from the grass and running towards the demon. She fired at him, the bullets piercing his chest but doing nothing to slow him down.

"You brought a Venator for backup," the demon said, his yellow eyes staring right through the blonde girl. "I'd say it was a smart move, but not when she'd the only one left." He brought up his hand, as if to throw something, and an invisible force sent Ali spinning through the air. She landed on the ground, her head smacking against a tombstone that made her vision go blurry. Something warm dribbled down the side of her face and it took her a moment to realise it was her own blood.

Ali groaned as she rolled over onto her back, her chest aching. She was pretty sure she'd cracked a rib too, but she hoped it was only bruised. She tried to sit up, but her body protested and she ended up only feeling dizzier.

She looked up, catching sight of the yellow-eyed demon who now had the Colt in his hand. It was cocked in Dean's direction and Ali held her breath, silently praying that the elder Winchester wasn't about to get his brains blown out.

Suddenly, a figure appeared behind the demon and grabbed him. The demon's meatsuit fell to the ground, leaving the new figure wrestling with a column of smoke. Ali squinted at the newcomer and she wasn't sure if what she was seeing was real.

John Winchester had his arms around the demon, trapping it. Ali gasped, her eyes widening when she saw who he was. The demon pushed him to the ground and the black smoke disappeared inside the body, possessing it once again. Yellow-eyes stood up, his eyes trained on Dean. Ali watched as Dean raised the Colt he now had in his hand, take a breath of air, and fire.

The bullet struck the demon in the heart and, similarly to the vampire Ali had seen John kill once before, there was a flash of light before the demon fell to the ground, his body still. Ellen and Bobby had managed to close the Devil's Gate, and now they all stared at John.

The hunter smiled at his eldest son, putting a proud hand on his shoulder. Next, his eyes made their way over to Sam who watched him with teary eyes. John stepped back, his eye locking with Ali's for a brief moment before his form flickered and he disappeared into the air.

The Winchesters stood over the demon's body, neither of them quite believing they'd actually done it.

"Well, check that off the to-do list," Dean muttered, his eyes still wide with shock at the nights events. A stream of blood had dried onto his forehead where the demon had thrown him across the graveyard.

"You did it," Sam said.

"I didn't do it alone," Dean replied.

"Do you think Dad really..." the younger Winchester trailed off, becoming a little choked up at the thought of his late father. "Do you think he really climbed outta hell?"

"The door was open," Dean said. "If anyone's stubborn enough to do it, it would be him."

"I kind of can't believe it, Dean," Sam said after a while, a small smile on his lips. "I mean, our whole lives. Everything has been prepping for this, and now I," he paused, releasing a little chuckle from his chest. "I kind of don't know what to say." Dean was thoughtful for a moment as he stared at his baby brother. The kid he'd looked out for since he was six months old.

"I do," he replied, bending down next to the demon's body. "That was for our mom, you son of a bitch."

Dean glanced around the cemetery, his eyes falling on the blonde girl who was slumped against a headstone. He walked over to her, relieved to discover that she wasn't unconscious.

"Ali?" he said, offering her a hand. She stared at it for a moment before taking it, clutching her side as he pulled her up, clearly in some pain. "You good?" She looked him in the eye and he raised a brow at her, hoping the answer was yes.

A second later, he felt the sharp pain of her palm across his face and he held a hand to his burning cheek.

"What was that for?" Dean asked harshly as he rubbed his face, though he still kept a hand on her arm in case she lost balance.

"You know what," Ali replied, sending him a glare before she threw her arms around his neck. Dean was a little taken aback by her sudden change of mood, but then he understood. She was mad at him for the deal he'd made, but at the same time, she understood. He hugged her back.

"How long?" she mumbled into his chest as he held her. "Tell me." Dean sighed.

"One year," he replied. Ali gripped him tighter, her eyes brimming with tears. When she pulled away, they were gone. She wouldn't let Dean see her cry. Not when he'd just defeated the demon he'd been hunting practically all his life.

Dean walked her to Bobby and Ellen who then proceeded to check her wounds. Ellen seemed less than pleased that Ali had ignored her warning, but the seventeen-year-old didn't let it faze her. She was exactly where she wanted to be. Her fears or worries weren't going to change that.

It was a struggle to get Bobby to let her walk to the car without his assistance, and once she'd started to make her way, Ali realised it was going to be even more of a struggle to actually get there by herself. Everything ached, and she was now pretty sure that she had cracked a rib or two. Great. No way Bobby was going to let her hunt for at least a couple of months.

"Hey Ali?" she heard the elder Winchester call when she'd nearly reached the car. She looked over to see that Sam and Dean were standing next to the Impala, both looking a little worse for wear. From the look on Sam's face, it was obvious Dean had told him the truth about the deal he'd made to save him. "I guess we've got another demon to start looking for now, huh?"

Ali frowned at what he'd said. She was pretty sure they now had hundreds of demons they needed to look for considering the number that'd escaped from the Devil's Gate.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"We had an arrangement, remember?" Dean said. "You help take down yellow eyes, we help take down the one that killed your brother." Ali's eyes widened for a moment in realisation before they narrowed at the man before her. Was he being serious? "I know my dad said he would help."

"My deal with John was about the Colt," Ali corrected him. Dean sighed, holding out the gun in question to her. Ali shook her head. "I don't want it. It's kinda useless without any bullets."

"We'll find another way," Sam said, a little unexpectedly. Ali caught his eye for a moment before shaking her head.

"Come on, Ali," Dean prompted. "A deal's a deal."

"The deal I made with your dad isn't what you should be concerned about," Ali said harshly, her eyes darting between the two brothers. "Look, I'm not gonna drag you two around looking for some demon when Dean's only got a year left," she explained, looking Dean in the eye. "We've gotta save you first."

"But Ali," Dean started, a little confused. "You've been waiting for this for so long."

"I know," Ali replied. "Can we just all agree to shut up about this Tyler thing? I'm not going off on some insane revenge plan whilst Dean's life is on the clock."

"Are you sure?" Ali nodded in response, though she wasn't sure she was being truthful. Now, more than any other time before, she wanted to find the demon that killed Tyler and make it pay. She'd been waiting for the opportunity for so long, but something always seemed to get in the way.

But now, Dean was in danger, and there was no way she could focus on anything else knowing Dean only had a year left. Besides, there were hundreds of demons loose after the Devil's Gate had been opened. They had work to do.

AN: Hope you liked that chapter!

So we've officially reached the end of season 2. Thanks so much for reading!

Should I make the next couple of seasons into another story or post all the chapters in this one? Up to you guys. Also, what do you guys wanna see more of/less of as the story goes into season 3? I've planned more original story lines though still encompassing the main plot of the season.

Let me know what you thought, much love x