chapter one

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SHE DREAMS of green eyes and angel wings.

She gasps awake to the sound of an alarm, quickly jumping up and leaving her cabin. She sees Jack and Mary standing together. Jack, who basically attached himself to Mack's side once she let him stay, and Mary, who's done the same, though she's been getting a lot closer with Bobby lately. It took Mack a while to be okay with it, but now she'd die for the kid.

"What's going on?" Jack asks.

"Not sure. Stay here, all right?" Her gaze darts to Mary. "Stay with him." She nods and Mack takes off. She quickly reaches the edge of the outpost grounds, sneaking through the trees to stay hidden. She spots three men. She can see guards waiting for her signal, but she doesn't give it. She pulls her gun and sneaks closer, then lifts and aims as she reveals herself.

"Angel or human?" She aims at the man in the trench coat, who raises his hands defensively.

"Um, angel."

"You have no business here. Leave, or I start shooting."

"Woah, hey, hey, hey." One of the other men comes up in between them, a defensive arm raised. "No need to shoot anyone, all right? I'm human. I'm just looking for my mom, I heard I can find her here."

She takes a good look at him, and suddenly she feels an intense wave of deja vu. She holds eye contact with him, and it makes her lower her gun. She's never seen eyes quite a vibrant shade of green before, and she doesn't know why she feels like she's seen them before.

She clears her throat to try to ease the tension. "What's your name?"

"Dean."

"Dean Winchester?"

"Yes. Please, if you know her..."

She eyes the other two men before putting away her gun. "Follow me."

The walk back feels longer than normal. Dean trails close behind her, the other two men behind him. She quickly notices what seems to be the lack of a sibling dynamic among the group, so either his brother was left behind on the rescue mission, or...

She slows her pace enough until she's walking next to him. He doesn't seem to notice until she speaks. "How did you find us?"

He quickly glances at her, then stares back ahead. "Some other hunters were on their way here and let us tag along. We had to go through a nasty vamp nest. They didn't make it."

She nods. They finally reach the entrance of camp, and she speeds up to enter first. Jack and Mary are at her cabin, Jack sitting on the steps and Mary standing next to him. They both see her first, Jack standing and Mary straightening up. Then both their eyes fall over her shoulder, and smiles spread across both their faces. Jack runs to the trench-coated angel and Mary runs to Dean.

Hugs are exchanged, and everyone seems happy, until the energy changes when Mary asks, "Where's Sam?" Dean is silent, and Mack swears she sees a tear fall from his eye.

She turns her head when she hears Jack frantically saying "He can't be dead!" Over and over again. She quickly looks at Dean and Mary, then back to Jack.

"Shit," she mumbles, walking over to Jack. She grabs his shoulder gently. "What happened?"

The angel has a solemn look on his face. "Sam was overpowered by the vampires when we went through that nest. We did everything we could, but..."

"Couldn't you bring him back? Cas, why didn't you bring him back?"

"Hey, hey," She squeezes his shoulder gently, and he turns to her. "They did everything they could, alright?" He looks away, but nods. "I'm sorry, kid."

She notices Dean across the camp, his face rock hard. He's going through his bag. Her heart aches for him, having just lost his brother.

She gives Jack one last sympathetic look before walking over to Dean. He barely spares her a glance as she approaches.

"Hey. Uh, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about your brother. I just...I mean, I get it, so, y'know, if there's anything I can do..."

He continues to rummage through his bag, though she can't tell if he's actually looking for something. "Look, sweetheart. I don't think you get it. And, uh, I don't really want your sympathy. I just want my mom, and the kid, and I really just want to get out of this shithole. So, if you don't mind..."

She's actually shocked at the amount of insults he's thrown her way in the past five seconds. "If it wasn't for me, your mom and kid would be dead. You realize that, right?"

He slings his bag over his shoulder. "I don't really care."

She feels anger start to rise in her chest. He starts to leave, but she grabs his arm before he can shove past her. "Why don't you think about who your real enemies are before you start attacking everyone who tries to be nice to you?"

He doesn't look at her, but she can feel his sharp glare. "Let go." His voice is steady, with an anger she's all too familiar with. He tries to move forward and wrestle his arm out of her grip, but she only holds tighter and pulls him back.

"Don't call me sweetheart." She matches his calm tone with twice the venom. She lets go, and he hesitates for a second before leaving. She exhales slowly, trying to calm the beast in her chest.

What an asshole, she thinks. But she tries not to take it personally. She remembers how angry she was after Cristina, how she'd nearly kill anyone who'd even dare speak about her. He's just grieving, she tells herself.

She sighs and returns to the group, though they all have their eyes glued on the entrance. She stands next to Jack as she notices the tall man standing there.

"Who's that?" she asks.

"It's Sam." She can hear the smile in his voice.

He was soaked in blood, but very much alive. It was silent, as if nobody knew what to say. Then another man walks in behind him, and Mack can feel the energy surrounding the group shift. She protectively but subtly pulls Jack behind her. The angel next to her– Cas, or Castiel– steps forward as well. "Who's that?" she whispers.

"It's Lucifer."

Her breath catches at his answer. Anger floods through her and she clenches her fists. She thought she'd dealt with enough Lucifer for one lifetime, but apparently not.

"What happened?" Dean asks as Sam hugs Mary.

"He, uh...he brought me back." It was almost as if he was ashamed.

Lucifer shrugs nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal. "It's what I do."

Mack scoffs in disbelief.

"It is not what you...how did you get here?" Castiel says.

"I'm with the band, express pass!" he says with a small laugh. No one says anything. "Come on, shouldn't you be thanking me? I brought Sammy back. Plus, I figured you need me, since Gabriel over there is a piping hot mess." He points to the man in the leather jacket, who Mack hadn't really noticed until then. "So I'm here to join the team."

He turns and moves a few steps towards the three of them. Mack pushes Jack further behind her.

"Your name is Jack."

"Yours is Lucifer."

He moves forward again, but Mack stands her ground. "Back up," she growls. He laughs softly, almost in disbelief.

"Are you trying to keep my son from me?"

"He's not your son." Maybe biologically, Jack is Lucifer's son. But he's told her plenty of stories about his family, and he never breathed a word about Lucifer.

"He's nothing like you," Castiel says.

"Don't say that to me. I'm the only one who understands him. His power? I'm powerful. Dangerous. Ruthless. In– in the best way."

Suddenly Dean speaks up. "No. Kill him."

Lucifer laughs. "He can't. He's not strong enough."

She feels Jack stiffen behind her as Dean starts shouting at Gabriel. "You've got the blade. He's the devil, kill him!"

Suddenly Jack disappears.

"Shit," Mack mumbles.

"Great. He does that when he's scared. Great job 'Dad!'"

"I'll find him," Mack says, touching Castiel's shoulder as she passes. He nods and she starts towards the woods.

She finds him sitting at the trunk of a tree, curled up with his eyes closed. "Hey." She sits next to him. He opens his eyes, but doesn't look at her. "You all right?"

"What if Lucifer's right? I mean, what if I am like him? What if I'm...evil?"

"You're not evil, Jack. You've shown me that, so many times. After Charlie? You were always there, even when I didn't want you to be."

"You were in pain. Nobody should be alone when they're in pain."

"See? That, that right there. That makes you a good person. You think Michael or any of his bitches would say something like that? Evil people don't think like that."

"Really?"

She nods. "Come on, let's get back."

She leaves Jack with Castiel as they return to camp. She goes to her own cabin and sits at her desk. Despite her closeness with Jack and Mary, she feels out of place. Their real family is here now, to take them home. She tries not to feel hurt at the prospect of them leaving her, even if they're starting to feel like family to her. They fight and laugh and talk together, and she's suddenly mourning all over again. It's starting to feel like she's always losing someone. Soon, she'll have no one left.

She's pulled from her thoughts by a knock on the doorframe. It's Mary. "Hey, Mack, can we have a word?"

"Uh, yeah, 'course."

Mary nods for Mack to follow her, and she does. She leads her across the lot to where Sam and Dean are standing together. Dean stands with his arms crossed, eyes glued to the floor. Sam shares off into space, like he's seeing everything for the first time.

Mary clears her throat when they enter. Sam speaks first.

"Hi, uh, I'm— I'm Sam."

She gives him a small nod. "Good to meet you. Heard a lot about you. Mostly from Jack."

"Yeah, that sounds like him." He grins softly. Mack doesn't look at Dean. He's avoiding eye contact, and she'll be damned if she's the first one to get his attention.

"So, uh, what's up?" She turns to Mary.

She nods to Sam. "You wanna ask her?"

He sighs. "Uh, well...we wanted— we have a sort of proposition, I guess."

"What is it?"

Sam looks to his brother for reassurance, but Dean doesn't look back. He clears his throat and continues.

"Um...well, we were thinking, you guys aren't strong enough to take down Michael. And we have the biggest collection of weapons and lore you could ever imagine— in our world. We want to take you back with us and help you win."

"To your world?" She crosses her arms and leans against the doorframe, mimicking Dean. He barely notices.

"Yeah. I know it sounds a bit...out there, but—"

She cuts him off. "Why?"

"Why?" He repeats, stunned by her question.

"You came here to take your family home. You have your family now. Why don't you just go? Any normal person would leave this shithole as soon as they can."

Dean finally lifts his head to meet her eyes. "We aren't normal people."

She quickly glances away from the weight of his stare, clearing her throat. "You said it yourself— we're losing. Nobody wants to join the losing side. You should just go and get back to your lives, while you still can."

She straightens up and moves to leave.

"Mack, wait," Mary stops her. "They can help. We can help."

She meets Mary's hard stare, with one equally as sharp. "You can't just ask me to abandon my home. You've been here long enough, you should know me by now."

Mary doesn't back down. "Michael isn't gonna stop, we all know it. Not until this world is dust. We can help you beat him, but you have to be safe to be able to figure out how."

Mack says nothing, clenching her jaw.

"I'm not gonna leave you here to die. You're family, Mack. You should know that by now."

All the stiffness in her body softens at Mary's words. Her anxieties from mere minutes ago are suddenly gone. It all fades with three words. Suddenly she's staring into the eyes of Mary Campbell again, the first person she trusted after her parents died. The one she trusted enough to keep Cristina safe and to give them a home. And she did, and now she's done it again.

She glances at Sam, then Dean, both watching her closely. Then back to Mary.

"Okay."

A smile spreads across the older woman's face. "Okay?"

"How?"

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HOURS LATER, everyone walks in a group back to base camp. Mack stands in the front next to Mary, with Dean on the other side of her. The atmosphere was tense, nobody could agree on how to deal with Lucifer. Mack wants to just kill him, and Dean agrees, though he'd never admit it. Sam hasn't said anything, so if he does have an opinion, he's not voicing it. Castiel just wants to keep him away from Jack, and Mary thinks they should all just let the kid be.

"Take it easy on Jack," Mary tells Dean, after he demands Sam to interrupt his and Lucifer's conversation. "He's been fighting a war. He's been trying hard to prove himself, but...he's lost people. Friends. He'll take a minute to get through it."

Mack doesn't look across at him, but she can tell he doesn't want to listen to her. It sort of makes her angry, how harsh he is on Jack. Then she realizes how hypocritical it makes her, considering she was the same for a long time.

"Dean, like it or not, Lucifer is Jack's father. He's going to take an interest in him."

Mack rolls her eyes at that, even though Mary's not talking to her.

"So, what, we're supposed to just let Lucifer drag him over to the dark side?"

"Jack's not gonna go 'dark side.' Believe in the kid a little, why don't you?" Mack finally chimes in.

"And how would you know?" Dean leans forward slightly, to glare at Mack. She glares right back.

"Because I know him."

"Do you?"

"Yeah, actually, I do."

"I don't think you do. Not like we do."

"Dean..." Mary warns, but neither of them back down. Mack speeds her pace ever so slightly, so she can see him better.

"Screw you. He's been here for months. He's fought and lost and done just as much for this cause as the rest of us have. I know him as well as you do."

He chuckles dryly, but says nothing.

"Why don't you step back and let him figure out for himself who Lucifer really is?"

Dean raises his voice. "You have no idea the kind of things Lucifer has done."

Anger rushes through her, and she can't stop herself before she's lunging at Dean and shoving him roughly against a tree. "You have no idea the things I've seen. Look at this world and try to tell me that your pathetic excuse of a devil is worse."

He tries to shove her off, but she yanks him forward and shoves him back even harder.

"I am not your enemy. We're on the same side here, but I'll be damned if you think you can waltz into my home like some hero and start running your mouth."

Suddenly hands are grabbing her and pulling her off. She doesn't fight it. Mary pulls her back and steps between them.

"Both of you, stop."

"But I didn't even–" Dean tries to protest, but Mary cuts him off.

"Stop. Bigger problems, here, all right?"

Dean sighs in annoyance, brushing past her and rejoining the group.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Mary asks.

"Didn't you hear what he said?"

"We don't have time for this, you and I both know that."

Mack simply rolls her eyes and walks off.

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author's note !!

it's a bit short, but i hope you liked it :) so excited to finally get this rewrite going!!

please leave votes and comments if you're enjoying, they're very appreciated <3

-skye