36. Amelia Novak

"Hey. I, uh, got a lead on Peter Holloway," Sam says to the four of us once we come back to the motel room.

Claire, Cas, Dean, and myself went to Susie's bar to talk to the officers present. We had to make up a "take your daughter to work day" excuse so that Claire could hang around. She was pretty uncomfortable looking at Ronnie's body. Hey, she asked to come along.

The puncture wounds we found on Ronnie's back weren't like an angel blade, thanks to Cas's weigh-in on the wounds. We weren't sure what it was, either. We didn't get any luck in cell phone records either, the number the officers tried didn't work anymore.

"Oh, good, 'cause he's probably about to split town," says Dean, leaning on the back of a chair at the table. "Ronnie made a few phone calls before he got shish kebabed."

"You think to give Holloway a heads up?"

"If he did, that's probably what got him killed," I say. "So...We gotta track him down before he bails."

"Great. Well, according to county records, Holloway owns a farmhouse about thirty or forty miles from here, so I, uh, cross-referenced it with Amelia's credit card receipts." Sam rises from the chair, moving towards Claire's board of research. He points to a spot on the map. "The house is about right there, and she's been hitting up Biggersons and Gas-N-Sips all around the area."

"Probably staking the place out." I rub under my chin.

"Exactly."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" says Claire. "Let's go."

"Claire, you are not going out there," Cas insists.

"She's my mother."

"That house could be empty and it could be a trap. It's too dangerous. I can't let anything happen to you."

"Anything else you mean."

"Claire, you're not going. You're not either, Dean."

"What?" asks Dean.

"Back at the bar with Ronnie?"

"Oh, come on, Cas. He wasn't gonna talk. I just...helped him talk."

"Dean, Cas is right," Sam agrees. "We need to keep the Mark in check. And we don't know what's out there. You know, maybe you should...Maybe you should stay here."

"So you wanna bench me again?" He looks to all of us. "Come on, I can't be the only one!"

"Don't you start, Dean," I growl. I know where this conversation is going.

"Why shouldn't I? Yeah, I've got the Mark, but what about you, Jo, huh?"

"Unlike you, I've been keeping myself in check." I toss my hair. "Ergo, I can go with them and you get stuck to babysit."

"All right. Fine. I'll stay and babysit. But if anything happens, anything at all..."

"Yeah, we'll call you," Cas says wearily. "No fighting."

"Yeah, tell her that."

"Both of you."

"My truck, boys," I tell Sam and Cas once we leave the motel room, and Claire and Dean.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if Dean's right," Cas mutters.

"Not you too, Cas. Look, I'm good to go. He's not. He's losing himself because of the Mark. Me? I'm fine." I half turn, still walking, backwards now, towards my truck. "I got myself under control."

Not much is said for a while once we hop into my truck and I start tearing down the road to the farmhouse.

"Can you slow down a bit, Josette?" Cas asks me.

"I'm not gonna crash us, Cassie. Have a bit of faith."

"It's not us I'm worried about, it's Sam."

"Hey, I'm not disagreeing with you," my little brother pipes up from the back, "but I've just gotten used to it because of Dean."

"Sam's okay with it too, see?" I boast to Cas.

"When this is over, should I...Should I leave Claire alone?" Cas asks. The question settles heavily over our heads.

"What? No, man," Sam says. "She's family. Well, I mean, she's not exactly family, but she's close enough. I mean, you two have history. Simple as that."

"So do you think she's better off on her own?"

"Cas, she just turned eighteen."

"You were alone when you left for college at that age, weren't you?"

"Yeah, but that's different."

"Josette?"

"What Sam said," I say. "She's not us. Her situation isn't what ours was."

"How is that any different?"

"Here's all I know," says Sam. "Going it alone, that's no way to live. You being there for her, even if she thinks she doesn't want you to be there for her, that's good for both of you."

"Maybe, in the end."

"In the end."

Our drive is silent for the rest of the way. The three of us stop at the farmhouse.

"It looks abandoned," notes Cas as we look in the dark.

"Only one way to find out," I murmur, before climbing out of the truck. I wrinkle my nose as I open one of the back doors, fishing out some weapons. "Sam, take the house. Cas and I will get the barn."

The three of us leave my truck (I lock it for good measure, just in case), and we branch off after a time. I'm the one to lead Cas into the barn. It feels abandoned, but if movies can teach me anything, it's that things are never empty when they feel they are.

Cas and I split up, but not too much. We're still pretty close together, we just investigate different sides of the barn. I join Cas at his side, I can feel his anxiety.

"You sure you're okay?" I ask him.

"I-I'm fine."

"It's just not normal, for you to look scared. Just what are you expecting to find that's gonna scare the shit out of you?"

Cas doesn't say anything. All right, silence it is, then. I gently nudge him aside as we round a corner.

"Cas..." I whisper. From the corner of my eye, he's beside me. I'm the first to find the unconscious woman on the cot. I'll bet my demon powers that this woman is Claire's mother, Amelia.

Cas runs to her, and I stand back and keep guard. He gets the restraints off her wrists, helps her sit up. Her eyes get open, and the second they fall on Cas, she starts punching him. Cas is fighting for control of her wrists.

"I looked everywhere for you!" Amelia screams hoarsely.

"It's okay," says Cas.

"I tried to find you!"

"No. Hey, hey."

"You took my husband!"

"Josette, I've got this," Cas tells me as I find myself moving in, ready to pull the psycho woman off him. Cas restrains Amelia, holding her, until she collapses in a heap of weakness. "Shh. Shh. It's okay."

"Should I give you two a moment?" I ask bitterly. Amelia pulls her head up to look at me. I'm oh so tempted to flash my black demon eyes at her, but I realize her reaction won't be as amusing since she's so weak. "I'm with him, don't worry."

Cas starts to heal Amelia, first with two fingers on her forehead. He then tends to her forearms, his hand glowing as he tries to heal her.

"Sorry," he says. "I'm usually able to heal any wound. You..."

"I was dreaming," Amelia says tearfully. "This whole time, I was dreaming...of finding Jimmy, of putting my family back together. You're not him anymore. I can tell."

"No."

"Where's Jimmy?"

"Your husband is in Heaven. Amelia, I promised to protect your family, and I failed."

"Not if Claire's alive. She's all that matters."

"Claire is alive," I say thickly. "She's grown up to be a very strong-willed young woman."

"Oh, that's my girl. I just...I shouldn't have ever left her. I-I thought if I could find Jimmy, I would make everything right. But I should've never left her. I shouldn't...I shouldn't..." And cue the waterworks coming from Amelia. Cas embraces her, which, I know it's not right to be jealous of, but I can't help it that the little green bug is biting my ass right now.

"Cas..." I say warningly. Amelia's not the only body in the barn. He looks at the bodies too.

"Are they...?" Amelia begins to ask.

"I don't know," admits Cas. "We will get them help."

"How long have I been like this?"

"Two years."

I spin towards the exit of the room. "Someone's coming." I slink out of the room, nearly getting myself shot by Dean and Claire. "The hell are you two doing here?"

"Long story," Dean says. In the meantime, Claire runs right by me, probably because she's noticed her mother is up and alive.

"Claire?" I hear Amelia say. I half-turn and see the mother-daughter reunion. I lick my lips. I can't really remember embracing my mom like Claire is doing with hers. I'm sure I did, when she was still around.

"Where's Sam?" Dean asks me.

"He took the house...Let's go find him."

Dean leaves me alone to go tell Claire to make sure she stays with her mom. Claire is too happy to disagree with my older brother on it.

"Hey, how about you keep watch over them?" Dean suggests to me.

"What, so I can torture myself with the fact that our mom isn't alive anymore?" I snap.

"You said you wanted to use your power for good, right? Just in case someone comes for them."

I roll my tongue over my teeth. "Fine. Just be careful."

Dean leaves with Cas in search of Sam, leaving me with Claire and Amelia. I stay away, as I know it's far from my place to be intruding on the family moment. Would Mom be proud of this? My bet is on no, she wouldn't be. She'd probably think I would be lying since I'm not in my old body.

"Mom," Claire says. Amelia is collapsing back on the cot. "Come on. Mom, you have to stay with me, okay? Come on. Stand up. Jo, a little help?"

"Sure, yeah," I say absently as I help right Amelia. Claire has her mom's arm over her shoulders. "You got her?"

"Yeah, I got her." I keep at their side slowly as Claire hobbles with Amelia. "Mom, it's gonna be okay."

"Okay," Amelia breathes. "Thank you, sweetheart."

"You know there's no fixing her, right?" says a voice. I tense, as the man I assume to be Peter Holloway is before us. I feel a snarl building in my throat.

Claire pushes Amelia in my direction, and I find myself catching her as Claire shoots at Holloway. Four bullets to the chest doesn't hurt him. When Claire tries a fifth shot, the gun's empty.

"Get back," I tell Claire, pushing her towards Amelia. I've just now noticed the massive sword in Holloway's hand.

"You really think that's gonna hurt an angel of the Lord?"

"Oh, buddy, bullets might not, but I sure as hell will." And I lunge for him.

Right now, I'm worried about having my guts spill open because of Holloway's stupid sword. I manage to put it out of commission long enough for me to throttle him in the face. When he shoves me back, I snarl, exposing my true nature. I hear two terrified gasps as Holloway and I circle each other.

When I go for him again, the sword bests me. He gets a slice across my neck, but my head doesn't go rolling. With a hard elbow to my face, I'm sent onto the ground, stomach-first.

I hear Claire scream, and watch as Amelia shields her daughter from an oncoming sword. It cuts straight through her like butter, and I cringe as Holloway rips it right out of her. An imaginary wound burns on my abdomen, and my back. Metatron.

"Mom!" Claire panics. She's holding Amelia from behind. "Mom!" Tears are pouring from her face.

With a battle cry, I use some of my power to pull Holloway away from the pair.

"No!" I hear Cas shout. He gets to Holloway before I can try again. Angel blade in hand, he wrestles with Holloway. When he's thrown to the side, I launch myself up, running to join the fight with my brothers, who are now holding Holloway and punching him. That doesn't last for long; Dean and Cas get on the ground, and Sam gets tossed into a wall. Claire is definitely going to be of no use, as she's freaking out about her dying mom.

I leap over Cas's form on the ground, getting between him and Holloway. Holloway smirks, and once again I do all that I can to keep the sword from cutting my throat open. He gets a kick to my stomach, and I screech as I stop his arms from putting the sword in me. My eyes widen as the sword gets closer.

But suddenly, an angel blade pierces Holloway from behind, protruding from his chest. I turn away and shut my eyes as white light comes from him. I roll onto my side as Holloway falls forward. I'm panting, and I see Claire with the bloody angel blade in hand. She quickly discards it and runs for her mother.

"Mom?" she whimpers, holding Amelia in her arms. "Mommy, please stay with me, okay? Mom?" Claire keeps calling for her mother, but she must know she's already gone. Amelia doesn't respond. I walk over to Cas, pulling him up.

"Josette, your, uh, your eyes."

I make sure to revert them back to their green color. "Better?"

"I needed to make sure you were...you, I guess."

I nod. "I'm in control. You okay?" I ask.

"I'm fine. You're hurt."

I knock his hand away from my neck. "Just a scratch. I'm not the one you need to console." I clear my throat, nodding to a hysterical Claire. "She needs you right now, even if she doesn't think she does." I back away, towards Sam and Dean, as Cas looks on at Claire forlornly.

"What was he?" I ask Dean. "I gathered he was an angel. Didn't exactly stay modest about it either."

"Some type of angel called a Grigori," Sam explains. "Called himself a 'watcher angel'."

I look back at Claire, who's wrapped up in mourning and hysterics. "What's gonna be done about her?"

"We'll figure out something," murmurs Dean. "Hey, Jo. You, uh, you did good back there."

I clear my throat awkwardly. "Thanks. I'll just, uh, go outside. I think Claire saw me go demon." I pat both of my brothers on the shoulder before I leave the melancholy barn.

**You guys might be wondering 'why is Jo so detached?' 

One word: demoness. That's why she seems so...cold and different towards things.**