CHAPTER THIRTY:
AS IT WAS.

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IT WASN'T JUST Birdie who appeared to be having trouble sleeping lately. Dean would toss and turn during the late hours, muttering to himself with pained expressions on his features; those were only on the nights he actually did get some sleep, though. She didn't see or hear it every night, her own, frightening nightmares keeping her under in order to taunt her more and more like she wasn't already haunted enough when she was awake. Birdie didn't mention to Dean about his sleepless nights, figuring they were most likely about his nights in Hell——which he'd made quite clear he didn't want to talk about to Sam or Birdie.

Sam had tried a few more times, but to no avail.

Dean wasn't going to talk about Hell and there was no making him do it, either.

Much like Birdie, he was going to hold onto his secrets for as long as he could.

"Brian, come on, man, just one more," Sam said, his words slightly slurred. "Just-just give me a chance to win it back."

"It's your cash," Brian, a tall, bald man dressed in a leather vest and dark jeans, replied.

Dean came over, looking between Brian and Sam with a concerned expression. "Excuse me," he interrupted, "My brother's a little sauced to be makin' bets."

"Hey, he insisted."

Sam rolled his eyes in annoyance, readjusting his stance as he tightly gripped the pool cue in his hand. "Yeah, but you've already taken, what, two bills off him?" Dean said, tilting his head slightly as he spoke. "I'm just sayin'."

"Hey, shut up, Dean," Sam sharply said, his eyes a little droopy as he falsely smiled across the table at Dean. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine," Dean snapped. "You're fuckin' drunk!"

Sam pursed his lips together, reaching into his back pocket as he looked toward Brian. "Let's make it five hundred."

Dean raised his brows in disbelief, scoffing under his breath. "Five hundred?"

Brian glanced from Dean and over to Sam, a smirk appearing on his lips; this was going to be one of his easiest wins yet, or so he thought. "Sure."

Sam smacked the money down on the pool table beside a half-empty beer, raising his brows as he shot Dean a cocky smirk.

Brian finished setting up the balls and removed the rack, placing it on a hook on the side of the table. "Five hundred," he said, looking towards Sam. "Your break."

While Brian looked down, Sam subtly raised his eyebrows at Dean, a small smirk spreading across his lips. For a second, there was no trace of drunkenness in him. Dean raised his eyebrows at Sam in return, smirking as well. Sam then broke, sinking several balls into the pockets as he did.

Brian's face immediately fell, watching one ball after another fall down into the holes. Sam glanced aside, his features faltering when he spotted Birdie sitting next to Ruby at the bar across the room, talking back and forth.

"Keep the money," Sam said, suddenly putting his cue down on the pool table and heading off without another word.

Dean's eyes noticeably widened, gaping at his little brother. "'Keep the money?' What the f——"

Dean's eyes followed Sam, suddenly potting Ruby at the bar with Birdie. He clenched his jaw, quickly walking in the same direction.

"Hey." Birdie sucked in a surprised breath and glanced over her shoulder, spotting Sam coming up behind her and Ruby.

"Well, you got a lot of fuckin' nerve showing up anywhere near me," Dean harshly said, standing beside Sam with his eyes narrowed on Ruby. Birdie softly sighed, turning around in her chair so she was facing the boys but still able to see Ruby as well.

"I just have some info and then I'm gone," Ruby said, tilting her head as she spoke.

"What is it?" Sam asked. Dean looked aside at him, fury shimmering in his eyes.

Ruby stole a glance at Birdie and then looked at Sam. "I'm hearing a few whispers."

"Ooh, great, demon whisperers," Dean sarcastically replied. "That's reliable."

He took a few steps to the side, walking past Sam to be on the far side near Birdie with his beer still in hand. Sam folded his arms over his chest, focusing on Ruby. Birdie stole a glance over at Dean, but he just kept his gaze on Ruby as if to make sure she didn't make any sudden moves that would potentially threaten or harm them.

"Girl named Anna Milton escaped from a locked ward yesterday. The demons seem pretty keen on finding her," Ruby said, eyes flickering between Sam and Birdie. "Apparently, some real heavy hitters turned out for the Easter egg hunt."

"Why? Who is she?"

Ruby shook her head. "No idea. But I'm thinking that she's important, 'cause the order is to capture her alive. I just figured that whatever the deal is, you might wanna find this girl before the demons do."

Sam silently nodded. Then he twisted to the side, looking from Birdie and towards Dean. "Look, maybe we should check it out," he said.

Dean scoffed, swallowing a sip of his beer. "Actually, we're working a case, but thanks," he said with a smirk, shooting Ruby a wink.

Birdie rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She completely understood Dean's distrust, but hadn't Ruby proven herself already?

Ruby returned his smirk, leaning an arm against the counter. "What case?"

"Uh, we've got leads, big leads."

"Sounds dangerous."

"Yeah, well, it sure ain't goose-chasing after some chick who, for all we know, doesn't even exist, just because you say she's important."

"I'm just delivering the fucking news," Ruby sharply replied. "You can do whatever the fuck you want with it. Far as I'm concerned, I told you, I'm done."

She turned to leave, but Birdie reached out to grab her arm. "Ruby, wait," she said. Ruby faced her, letting out a heavy sigh. Dean tightened his grip on his beer, eyes shooting daggers into the back of Birdie's head, but she completely ignored it. "The hospital this girl escaped from——what's the name?"

"New Larz Hospital," Ruby answered. Birdie nodded with a small smile and dropped her hand back down into her lap. Ruby's eyes flickered between Sam and Dean, and then she was off.

"Are you guys fucking kidding me?" Dean harshly asked, narrowed eyes shifting from Sam and Birdie. "You really wanna go off of what Ruby said?"

"It's worth a shot," Birdie said, nonchalantly shrugging her shoulders.

Sam sighed, folding his arms over his chest. "Dean, come on. Do you really wanna spend any more time here than we already have?"

Dean finished off his beer, angrily setting it on the counter. He scoffed, shaking his head as he thought for a moment. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't 'cause you, asshole, just gave away all our cash."

Birdie's eyes widened, jaw dropping as she faced Sam. "You fucking did what?"

"It's━━━whatever. I'm gonna check this out with or without you," Sam said, turning his attention back to Dean. "So, what's it gonna be?"

Birdie huffed, pursing her lips together. "Might as well. It's not like we're actually working a case."

Dean scoffed, rolling his eyes at the two of them. He shot Sam a glare and fished his keys out of his pockets, not saying a word as he headed for the exit. Birdie slipped off the bar stool, pausing to look at Sam. "This is gonna be a fun car ride," she said.

Sam breathed out a forced laugh, raising his brows for a moment. "You're tellin' me."

Then Birdie started to make her way to the exit, slipping past drunk men and women that crowded the dingy bar. She stepped out of the bar with Sam, spotting Dean already climbing inside the Impala. She zipped up her jacket and jogged over, Sam's footsteps crunching behind her on the gravel parking lot.

They silently got inside the car, briefly looking toward Dean. He just started up Baby and backed out of the parking lot, driving off in the opposite direction they'd originally come from. "Do you know where the hospital is?" Birdie skeptically wondered, slouching in the backseat.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Good," Sam said, hand dipping into his pocket for his phone. "I'm gonna call around and find out if this Anna Milton is real."

"Good, And when they prove she doesn't exist, you owe me five hundred," Dean said, pointing a finger at the youngest Winchester.

Sam scoffed and pressed his phone against his ear. Birdie got her own phone out and scrolled through her text messages, spotting an unopened one from Hiro.

Hey, Bird. Call me when you get a chance.

She frowned, automatically wondering if something had happened to her boxes he was holding onto for her; something like Darius or Layla, perhaps. She sighed and quickly replied, promising to call him when she could. Then she dropped her phone in the seat beside her, catching part of what Sam was saying.

"Can I get a copy of the missing persons report? Great. Okay. Thanks." With that, Sam hung up his phone, letting out a sigh as he stuffed it in his pocket. "Well, Anna Milton's definitely real."

"Don't mean the case is real," Dean briskly replied. Birdie turned her eyes away from the window, flickering between the brothers. "And this hospital's a three-day drive."

"We've driven further for less, Dean." Dean shook his head, peering out of the windshield as rain splattered down on the Impala. It'd been raining ever since they left the bar, the storm apparently headed for the same town as the trio were with no signs of letting up anytime soon. "You got something to say, say it."

"Oh, I'm saying it——this fucking sucks."

Sam shook his head, gazing out of the passenger window. "You're not pissed we're going after the girl. You're pissed Ruby threw us the tip."

"Right. 'Cause as far as you and Bird are concerned, the fucking hell-bitch is practically family." Birdie scoffed at those words, rolling her eyes as she leaned forward in the backseat with her eyes narrowed on Dean. Sam rolled his eyes as well, shaking his head. "Yeah, boy, something major must've happened while I downstairs, 'cause I come back, and-and you're both fucking BFF's with a demon?"

"I told you, Dean, she helped us go after Lilith," Sam said.

"Well, thanks for the thumbnail——real fucking vivid. You want to fill in a little detail?" Dean asked, glancing at Birdie. "How 'bout you, Bird? You hate demons as much as I do, or at least you used to, but now I'm not so sure."

"Oh, fuck you, Dean," Birdie snapped. "I still fucking hate demons just as much as you do. Don't you ever think otherwise."

"Really?" Dean scoffed. "Is that why you're trusting Ruby?"

"Really. And, you know what? Yeah, I do trust her, Dean. You were gone, and me and Sam. . .things changed——they had to change."

"Clearly. Care to actually explain?"

"Sure, Dean, let's trade stories," Sam replied, narrowing his eyes as he turned towards his brother as he interjected. "You first. How was Hell? Don't spare the details."

Dean turned his head, shooting Sam a sharp glare.

"Oh, for fucks sake. This isn't getting us anywhere," Birdie huffed, throwing her hands out as she slouched in her seat. "Can we just, like, put a hold on this exhilarating conversation until we find out what's going on with this Anna girl?"

Neither of the brothers responded, but Birdie took that as a yes.

The three day drive felt like three months. The tension followed Birdie and the boys wherever they went, a dark cloud that threatened to ruin the shaky balance between them. It refused to let them forget about their unspoken issues, keeping them on their toes each time they started a conversation. The need to just talk it out was blatantly obvious, yet no one was doing anything to fix it; something Birdie nor the boys were very good at doing.

However, they made it work by avoiding the topic of Ruby, simply talking about Anna and what monsters they thought could've been involved. The conversations they did have were limited——ones that involved Dean, anyways——whereas Sam and Birdie's were just as frequent as they were before. They tried to keep it to a minimum whenever Dean was around, some things simply best left unsaid to make sure that they didn't accidentally reveal anything secret to Dean before he could know the truth (and handle it).

Then the third day came along and they arrived at the New Larz Hospital dressed in their suits. They were led to a separate floor where they were introduced to a psychiatrist——Anna's psychiatrist.

"Now, the orderly has no recollection of Anna's escape?" Sam asked the psychologist as he, Dean, Birdie, and the psychiatrist stood inside Anna's former room.

"Apparently, she knocked him unconscious," the psychologist answered, a binder tucked in her arm along with a notebook of some sort. "The blow caused some amnesia. He doesn't even remember coming into her room."

"That's a hell of a right hook to knock out a guy that's got 80 pounds on her," Dean said, standing beside Sam. Birdie shifted her feet, taking another look around the pristine white room. It was bland, a simple twin-sized bed in the middle of the room with the blankets made like no one had slept there recently. A white bedside table was on the right side with a small lamp on top of it, and a dark notebook was placed next to it with some doodles drawn on the cover.

"We think she may have planned this, waited behind the door," the woman said, motioning towards the door where they could see the broken window near the top. She walked out of the room, stopping in the hall as the trio closely followed her.

"Right," Sam said. "Uh, you mentioned Anna's illness was recent."

"Two months ago, she was happy, well-adjusted, journalism major, lots of friends——bright future," the psychologist said, sadly smiling.

"So, what happened, She just. . .flipped?" Dean questioned.

"Well, that's the tragedy of schizophrenia. Within weeks, Anna was overtaken by delusions."

"What kind of delusions?" Birdie asked next.

"She thought demons were everywhere." The woman handed what appeared to be a sketchbook to Birdie. She curiously peered down at the object in her hands, opening up to the first page for her and the boys to see.

Dean hummed. "Interesting."

Birdie stared down at one of the first pages, noticing a cross drawn above a square with a circle in the middle along with narrow ovals, reminding Birdie of a flower or something. A similar drawing was on the next page, but the lines were darker as if Anna had pushed harder onto the page with the pen.

"It's not uncommon for our patients to believe that monsters are real."

"Well, that-that's just batty," Dean said, falsely smiling before he looked down at the drawings.

Birdie turned the page again and saw 'Raising of the Witnesses' written in bold, jagged lettering. The one below had a figure that appeared to be jumping out of the page with blank eyes and their hands outstretched like they were trying to snatch the person looking at it. On the next page was 'Samhain the next seal is broken' along with a drawing of Samhain during Halloween night on the page directly below it.

"That's Revelations," Dean said.

"Since when does the Book of Revelations have jack-o'-lanterns?" the psychologist wondered.

"It's a, uh, it's a little-known translation."

"Ah. Well, Anna's father was a church deacon. When she became ill, her paranoia took on religious overtones," the woman explained. "She was convinced the devil was about to rise up and end the world." Birdie tensed at those words, wanting to speak, but what she wanted to say would startle the psychiatrist in front of them. She stole a glance at Sam and Dean, finding similar expressions on their features. "I hope you find her. It's dangerous for her to be out there alone right now."

"Thanks for all your help," Sam said, nodding at the psychiatrist.

She smiled and nodded back. Then she turned on her heel, leaving Birdie and the boys alone in the brightly lit hall.

"What's this girl's deal?" Dean wondered, glancing back and forth between Sam and Birdie.

"I don't know," Birdie answered with a sigh. "She obviously knows about the supernatural world and the seals."

"Yeah, but how?"

"Maybe that's something her parents can answer," Sam said.

"Ah, yes, the church deacon," Dean muttered, beginning to walk down the hall. Sam and Birdie followed, walking on both sides of him. "I'm lookin' forward to it already."

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Dean knocked on the front door, Sam and Birdie lingering behind him in the same suits they'd worn to the hospital. "Maybe they're not home," Dean suggested.

"Both cars in the driveway," Sam pointed out, nudging his head towards the cars to the right of them.

Birdie pursed her lips, heading down the front steps. She walked up to the garage, looking up at the windows. She furrowed her brows and then jumped, just barely catching a glimpse of the garage. From what she could tell, there weren't any cars stored inside. There were some bicycles lazily placed against one of the walls, a toolbox near a door that might've led into the house. She softly sighed and took a few steps backward, shaking her head when she looked at Sam and Dean.

Dean tried the front door, looking around for anyone bystanders when it opened. Birdie stole a look around the neighborhood herself and hurried up the front steps. Dean took a few steps into the house, glancing around inside. "Mr. And Mrs. Milton?" he called out.

"We're from the sheriff's department," Sam announced, coming in behind Dean. Birdie took one last glance behind them, making sure no one saw them as she entered the house, closing the door behind her. "We just wanted to ask you a couple of questions."

Sam stepped into the living room, Dean going towards the kitchen. Birdie curiously peered up the wooden stairs that led to the second floor, but she turned her head when she heard Sam sigh. She followed him into the living room, immediately frowning when she saw two bodies lying on the floor side by side. Blood pooled near their heads, and both of their throats were slit in a malicious manner.

"Shit," Birdie softly whispered.

Dean came in a few seconds later, shoulders sinking in defeat. "Fuck."

Sam kneeled beside the woman's body, presumably Mrs. Milton, touching some powder on the wood floor. He brought it up to his nose, scrunching up his face as the smell wafted into his nose. "Sulfur," he said, rubbing his fingers together to get it off. "The demons beat us here. Whatever the deal is with this Anna girl——"

"Yeah, they want her. They're not fuckin' around," Dean said. "All right, so, I'm Girl, Interrupted——" Dean grabbed a handful of mail addressed to the Milton's, beginning to comb through them, "and I know the score of the apocalypse, just busted out of the hospital. . .possibly using superpowers, by the way. Where the fuck do I go?"

Sam picked up a framed photo of Anna with her parents on a table in the dining room, brows knitted together in thought. Birdie quietly came up beside him, curiously peering up at him. "Hey, you still got those sketches from Anna's notebook?" Sam asked, turning to face Birdie.

Birdie nodded. "Yeah."

"Let me see 'em," Sam said. Birdie reached into her blazer jacket and handed him some of the drawings she took from the sketchbook. "Check this out." Sam picked through them, pulling out one that appeared to be a drawing of a stained glass window. Dean came over, head tilted in thought. Sam sat it down next to the photograph of the Milton family, pointing at the drawing——it was a window from the church she and her parents attended.

"She was drawing the window of her church," Dean said.

"Over and over," Sam said. "If you were religious, scared, and had demons on your ass, where would you go to feel safe?"

"Bobby's panic room," Birdie murmured. Dean pressed his lips together, momentarily catching Birdie's eye. She sheepishly shrugged, holding her hands up. "But that's just me, I guess."

Sam softly chuckled and stepped to the side, finding another photograph on the table by the couch. It was Anna and her parents, and in the background was the name of their church. "I know where it's at."

"Let's move," Dean said, gesturing towards the door with one of his hands.

The church was seemingly empty when Birdie and the boys arrived. The trio crept up the stairs towards the attic with Sam at the front, his gun raised. Dean was beside him with Birdie in the back. Their movements were slow as they listened for anything out of the ordinary. Sam entered the attic first, his gun still raised as his eyes scanned the nearly bare room. Dean shifted and motioned for Birdie to get in front of him. She did as instructed and adjusted her grip on her knife as she heard Dean's quiet footsteps right behind her.

Sam shifted as he moved towards the back of the room, tilting his head as Dean and Birdie came up next to him. "Dean, Birdie," Sam softly said, motioning towards a figure hiding behind a stained glass picture that was identical to the window directly in front of them.

They crept closer, Birdie and Dean following Sam's lead in lowering their weapons and tucking them away. "Anna?" Sam cautiously called out, each of their footsteps slow and cautious. "We're not gonna hurt you. We're here to help. My name is Sam. This is my brother, Dean, and our friend, Birdie."

"Sam?" A soft, female voice asked. "Not Sam Winchester?"

Sam shared a look with Dean and Birdie, facing the figure again. "Uh, yeah."

The figure stepped out from behind the picture, Anna's eyes falling on the trio. Birdie stood up straight taking in the girl's appearance. She had red hair that was parted on the right side, stopping just above her breasts. She had on an army green jacket, covering part of the white blouse she wore. "And you're Dean?" she asked. "The Dean?"

"Well, yeah," Dean nodded, a small smirk on his lips. Birdie and Sam both rolled their eyes, not missing Dean's smirk. "The Dean, I guess."

"It's really you. Oh, my god," Anna said, faintly smiling as she walked towards them. As she got closer, Birdie could see she was pale and had hazel eyes that closely examined them. "The angels talk about you. You were in Hell, but Castiel pulled you out, and some of them think you can help save us." Her smile fell as she got within reaching distance, letting out a shaky breath as her eyes flickered to Sam. "And some of them don't like you at all, or you," she said, looking at Birdie next. Birdie blinked in surprise, twisting her lips. Well, that's pretty shitty of them. "They talk about you all the time lately. I feel like I know you."

"So, you talk to angels?" Dean wondered.

"Oh, no. No, no way. Um, they probably don't even know I exist," Anna answered, shaking her head as she responded. "I just kind of. . .overhear them."

"You overhear them?" Sam repeated in surprise.

"Yeah, they talk, and sometimes I just. . .hear them in my head."

Dean raised his brows. "Like. . .right now?"

"Not right this second, but a lot. And I can't shut them out——there are so many of them."

"So, they lock you up with a case of the crazies when really you were just. . .tuning in to angel radio?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"Anna, when did the voices start?" Sam wondered. "Do you remember?"

"I can tell you exactly. September 18th."

Birdie straightened her posture, eyes automatically darting towards Dean. "The day I got out of Hell," Dean pointed out.

"First words I heard, clear as a bell——Dean Winchester is saved."

"What do you think?" Dean asked Sam and Birdie.

Sam scoffed under his breath. "It's above my pay grade, man."

"Hell if I know," Birdie said when she saw him raise a brow. "You're the one the Angels are interested in, not me. And, apparently, they don't even like me."

"Well, at least now we know why the demons want you so bad," Dean said, breathing out a forced laugh. "They get a hold of you, they can hear everything the other side's cooking. You're 1-900-angel."

Anna chuckled, sharing a smile with Dean. "Hey, um, do you know——are my parents okay?" she asked, taking a small step closer. "I-I didn't go home. I was too afraid."

"Uh——"

The sound of a door shutting caught their attention before anyone could answer. She would find out eventually, however now wasn't the right time.

Birdie sharply spun around, hand instinctively going to her gun until she saw Ruby hastily making her way towards them. "You got the girl," she panted. "Good, let's go."

Anna let out a shout of fear, backing away from the demon. "Her face!"

"No, it's okay," Sam quickly interjected, holding his hand out toward her in an attempt to ease the poor girl. "She's here to help."

"Yeah, don't be so sure," Dean muttered.

"We have to hurry," Ruby said, choosing to ignore Dean's comment.

"Why?"

"Because a demon's coming——big-timer," Ruby firmly said. "We can fight later, Dean."

"Well, that's pretty convenient, showing up right when we find the girl with some fuckin' bigwig on your tail?" Anna shifted, fear still etched on her pale features. Birdie tried to offer her a small smile, but wasn't so sure it reached her eyes.

"I didn't bring him here," Ruby said. "You did."

"What?"

"He followed you from the girl's house. We gotta go now."

"Dean, Bird." Sam lifted his hand, pointing to a Virgin Mary statue in the corner that was beginning to bleed from the eyes.

"It's too late," Ruby said. Birdie nervously gulped, eyes falling on Ruby who appeared almost as frightened as Anna. That certainly wasn't a good sign. "He's here."

Fuck, fuck, fuck——

Sam hurried forward, gently taking Anna's arm. He led her to the side of the attic, guiding her toward a closet that was partially blocked off by some boxes and concrete statues. Dean stood in front of the statue, pulling out his gun. Birdie pocketed her knife and grabbed her gun, letting out a shaky breath as she saw more blood trickle down the statue.

"Okay. Stay in there. Don't move," Sam instructed Anna.

Sam jogged back over once he was sure Anna was safely hidden, pulling out a silver flask of holy water. "No, Sam, you got to pull him right away," Ruby said when she saw Sam walk past her with the flask in his grasp.

"Whoa, hold on a sec," Dean interjected.

"Now's not the time to fucking bellyache about Sam going fucking dark side," Ruby harshly snapped. Birdie's frown deepened, noticing the way Sam's stance seemed to falter as he faced away from them. "He does his thing, he exorcises that demon, or we all die."

Dean remained silent, having an internal conflict with himself. If the demon was as dangerous and powerful as Ruby claimed, Ruby's knife might not be enough to stop them. Sam didn't exactly like it either, but he was their best shot. He tucked the flask back in his jacket and turned back towards the door. Birdie moved past Ruby and stood beside Sam, resting a gentle hand on his arm to make him look at her. "Sam, If you don't wanna do it——"

"It's okay, Bird," Sam softly said, nodding his head. Birdie gave him a sad smile, letting out a sigh as her attention shifted towards the door as loud footsteps approached. Sam stretched his arm out, nudging Birdie back a few steps just as the door burst open.

An older man with a snarl slowly entered the attic, his eyes already focused on Sam. Ruby let out a shaky breath, recognizing the demon. Birdie tightened her grip on her gun, clenching her jaw with her eyes still trained on the demon. He briskly walked around the banister with his hand running along the wood. He scrunched up his nose, glancing down at the dust that had stuck to his hand. He lifted his hand and brushed his hands together to rid the dust, keeping his eyes trained on Sam.

Sam raised his hand in the air, doing his best to exorcize the demon. The demon's eyes turned white, hand going to his throat. Then he cleared his throat, his dark eyes returning to the normal shade as he stood a few feet in front of Sam.

Sam's eyes widened, his hand slowly lowering when he realized that it wasn't working.

"That tickles," the demon said. "You don't have the fucking juice to take me on, Sam." The demon yanked Sam forward, tossing him down the attic stairs. Birdie's heart lurched in her chest, eyes growing wide in terror. Dean grunted and pulled out Ruby's knife from his jacket, lunging at the demon.

The demon grabbed Dean's arm to stop him from attacking, a wicked smile appearing on his lips. "Hello again, Dean."

Birdie stole a glance to the side, doing a double take when she realized Ruby was gone. The sound of Anna screaming caught her attention, watching Ruby reach inside. "Ruby!" Birdie shouted, hurrying over. "For fucks sake!"

"Stop screaming," Ruby huffed, yanking Anna out of the closet.

"Ruby, what the fuck——"

"Hurry. Help me get her out of here," Ruby said, keeping a firm hold on Anna's arm.

Birdie knitted her brows together, hearing Dean struggle against the demon on the other side of the room. "But Sam and Dean——"

"Can handle themselves. Besides, he wants her, not them," Ruby said, shooting Birdie a look that made her frown deepen. "Help me."

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"Are you almost done?"

"I'm going as fast as I can."

"Good, 'cause you know I got a dislocated shoulder over here," Dean said, motioning to his left shoulder which was awkwardly positioned.

"Yeah," Sam groaned, pushing the needle through his skin as he stitched up his cut. Dean picked up a bottle of whiskey from the dresser, taking a large drink from it. "I'll pop it back when I'm finished," Sam grunted, using his free hand and teeth to secure the stitches. Then he used some scissors, cutting the excess string off with a shaky exhale. He spotted the alcohol in Dean's hand, expectantly holding his hand out. "Gimme that," he breathlessly said, shaking his hand for emphasis.

Dean handed it to him, wincing as Sam poured some of it over the wound. Sam gritted his teeth, clenching his eyes shut as it burned. "So, you lost the magic knife, huh?" Dean asked a few moments later.

"Yeah, saving your ass," Sam sharply replied. "Who the fuck was that demon?"

Dean shook his head. "No one good. We gotta find Anna."

"Ruby and Birdie have her," Sam said, dabbing at his wound with a bloodied rag. "I'm sure she's okay." Sam stood after a few moments, moving to Dean's left side. "All right. Come on. On three. One. . ." Sam forced Dean's shoulder back into place right at one instead of three, causing Dean to loudly grunt in pain.

Dean quickly walked towards the sink, panting as he tried to breathe through the intense agony. Sam sat down on the edge of the bed again, facing Dean as he pressed a rag to his arm. Dean peered at him through the mirror, brows furrowed together. "You sure about Ruby?" Dean asked, partially turning as he leaned against the sink. "'Cause I think it's just as likely she used us to find radio girl and then brought that fucking demon in to kill us."

"No, she and Birdie took Anna to keep her safe."

"Yeah. Well, why hasn't she called to tell us where she is?" Dean asked, facing the mirror again while he pressed an ice pack to his shoulder. "Or Birdie even? You'd think she would loop us in."

"Because that demon is probably watching us right now, waiting to follow us right back to Anna again. That's why he let us go."

Dean forced out a chuckle. "You call this letting us go?"

"Yeah, I do," Sam said. "Look, killing us would've been no problem to that thing. That's why, for now, we just gotta lay low and wait for Ruby or Birdie to contact us."

"Yeah, how's Ruby gonna do that? Or Birdie? She left her phone in the car." Dean said. Sam heavily sighed, silently shaking his head. Dean panted, turning towards Sam in confusion. "Why do you and Birdie trust her so much?"

"We told you."

Dean dropped the ice pack into the sink, walking towards Sam as he firmly shook his head. "You gotta do better than that. Hey, and I'm not trying to pick a fight here. I mean, I-I really wanna understand. But I need to know more. I mean, I deserve to know more."

"Because. . .she saved my life, and Birdie's, too."

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WOW this took a lot longer than if should have, I'm so sorry y'all!! I've been pretty focused on pre writing since I'm almost done with this act, but also I've been spending a lot of time making edits for this fic lmaooo.

But also in tHE NEXT CHAPTER Y'ALL GET TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT FELICITY AND HOW SHE ENDED UP WITH SAM AND BIRDIE HEHEHE!!! IT'S GONNA BE WILD BUT HOPEFULLY Y'ALL WILL LIKE IT!! 👀 i'll also still explain more as the story continues bc ✨plot✨ but i will say i got something pretty exciting planned in a few chapters!!!

anyways, please don't forget to leave your feedback in the comments and i hope y'all enjoyed!