Chapter Sixteen, The Rapture

Dean and Harley had suddenly woken Sam up in the middle of the night after they had a visit from Castiel asking for their help and that he needed to speak with Dean and Harley urgently. So, at two in the morning, as Harley dozed in the back with a worried Dean glancing at her every so often, they flying down the motorway to the warehouse they were told to meet him at.
"Rosie, wake up, we're here." Dean called softly, gently shaking her leg when they eventually pulled up to a warehouse.
"'Mm up!" Harley said drowsily, rubbing her eyes as she climbed out of the impala, accepting a flashlight Sam roughly handed to her as they cautiously walked in.

"Well, what did he say, Dean? Harley? What was so important?" Sam asked.
"If we knew, would we be here?" Dean snapped, glancing at his baby sister.
"I'm fine Dee, the headache has gone now." Harley reassured, as they ascended a set of stairs, where they found the room completely ripped apart. "What the hell?"
"It looks like a bomb went off," Sam commented.
"There was a fight here." Dean agreed, pointing his flashlight in each direction to assess what has happened.
"Between who?" Sam asked.
Harley shined her flashlight over the wall until it landed on a symbol painted in blood. "Check it out. Look familiar?" She asked her brothers, a perfect eyebrow raised at them.

"Yeah, it does." Dean agreed. "Anna drew the same thing before."
"So, what? Cass was fighting angels?" Sam asked.
Dean shook his head. "I don't know." He continued walking and then spotted something. "Guys," he said and then started running toward it. Sam and Harley ran over and found him helping Castiel up from a pile of rubble.
"Cass?" Dean shook Castiel's shoulder.
"Hey, Cass?" Harley called soothingly, crouching down in front of the confused and distraught Angel, sending a quick text to Gabriel to see if he knew what had happened to Castiel, only to get a negative and a word of worried caution.

"Gabriel doesn't know what happened to him but he says we need to be careful because whoever did this may come back." Harley whispered so only Dean and Sam could hear, getting a nod from Dean but Sam didn't say or do anything.
Castiel looked around, terrified, pushing Dean off of him. "What's - What's- What's going on?"
"Just take it easy," Dean said, with his hands on Castiel's shoulders. "Take it easy."
Castiel shook his head. "Oh. No." He moaned distraught.
"Cass, you okay?" Sam asked.
Castiel groaned. "Castiel. I'm not Castiel. It's me." Harley furrowed her brow, staring at her boyfriend's brother and friend in concern and confusion. "And who would that be?"
"Jimmy. My name's Jimmy!" He said.
"Where the hell is Castiel?" Dean asked.
Jimmy shook his head. "He's gone."

***

The three siblings brought Jimmy back to the motel and picked up burgers along the way.
Jimmy sat at the table with them and devoured his burger. "Mmm."
Dean furrowed his brow at him. "You mind slowing down? You're gonna give me angina."
"I'm hungry," Jimmy said with a mouth full of food, causing Harley to wrinkle her nose.
"When's the last time you ate?" Sam asked.
Jimmy shrugged. "I don't know. Months." He took another bite of his burger and continued chewing it desperately. "Mmm. Mmm. Mmm!"
"What the hell happened back there?" Harley asked. "It looked like an angel battle royale."

Jimmy shook his head. "All I remember is a flash of light, and I, uh- I woke up, and I was just, ya know, like, me again." He took the last bite of his burger and then looked down at Harley's half-eaten one almost in desperation.
"Uh, here, it's a veggie burger though." Harley warned, as she pushed it toward him. But he didn't seem to care as he picked it up and ate like a crazy person eating the best thing they'd ever tasted.
"So, what? Cass just ditched out of your meat suit?" Dean asked incredulously.
Jimmy shook his head. "I really don't know."
"You remember anything about being possessed? Anything at all?" Sam asked, ignoring the look and nudge Harley gave him.
"That could be traumatic for him, Samuel!" Harley hissed at him.

"No, no it's okay." He assured Harley before turning to Sam. "Yeah, bits and pieces. I mean, angel inside of you, it's kinda like being chained to a comet."
Dean nodded. "Ah, that doesn't sound like much fun."
"Understatement." Jimmy scoffed.
"Cass said he wanted to tell us something.
Please tell me you remember that," Sam said, but Jimmy just shook his head apologetically. "Sorry." He apologised.
"Okay. What do you know?" Dean asked.
"My name is Jimmy Novak. I'm from Pontiac, Illinois. I have a family." He said.
Sam nodded at Dean and Harley to follow him outside while Jimmy stayed and continued eating his food.

"So, what do we do?" Sam asked once the door was shut behind them.
"What do you mean?" Dean asked. "The guy's got a family. We buy him a bus ticket, send him home."
Sam shook his head. "I don't know about that.
Dean, he's the only lead we got."
"Sam! He doesn't know anything and he deserves to be with his family after being separated from them for who knows how long!" Harley argued. "So, basically your saying we're the only ones allowed to fight tooth and nail to save our messed up family, but when it comes to anyone else they're not allowed to, right?" Harley scoffed.

"Are you 100% about that?" Sam asked, refusing to acknowledge her other statement even as Dean agreed with her causing Harley to smile at him, as she was feeling ignored by her so-called Irish twin.
Dean furrowed his brow. "You think he's lying? What? You wanna go Guantanamo on the guy?"
Sam sighed. "Dean, maybe he doesn't even know what he knows."
Harley scoffed, shaking her head at Sam incredulously. "What does that even mean?" She asked snappishly.
"I say, at least we get him to Bobby's. Maybe all he needs is hypnosis or a psychic." Sam shrugged. "Or maybe, Cass will drop back in him."
Dean shook his head. "I don't know, man. Harley's right."

Sam sighed, getting irritated. "Back there, that was angel-on-angel violence. Now, I don't know what's going on, but it's big. And we can't just let the only lead we got just skip out."
Dean and Harley shook their heads and rolled their eyes.
"What?" Sam snapped at them, getting angry at his siblings.
"You remember when our job was helping people? Like, getting them back to their families?" Dean asked.
"You think I don't want to help him?" Sam asked defensively. "I'm just being realistic. I mean, hell, we're doing him a favor."
"Oh! And how is that?" Harley asked sardonically.
"Dean, Harley, if we want to question the guy... you can damn well bet the demons do, too," Sam said. Dean thought for a second and then sighed in defeat.

* * *

The news did not go down well with jimmy when Sam broke it to him; not that Harley or Dean could blame the guy.
"The hell are you talking about? I can't go home?" Jimmy asked angrily.
"There's a good chance you have a bullseye on your back." Dean explained.
"What? From who?" Jimmy asked.
"Demons." Dean supplied, causing Jimmy to furrow his brow in disbelief and irritation. "Come on, that's crazy." He demanded.
"You were possessed by an angel. Demons aren't much of a reach." Harley added.
Jimmy shook his head. "What do they want with me?"
"I don't know, information, maybe?" Dean asked.

"I don't know anything!" Jimmy exclaimed.
Dean nodded. "I know, but-" Jimmy put his hand up to interrupt Dean.
"Look, I'm done, okay? With demons, angels, all of it. I just want to go home." Jimmy exclaimed frustrated.
"We understand." Dean and Harley said soothingly.
Jimmy shook his head. "I don't think that you do understand. I've been shot and stabbed and healed, and my body has been dragged all over the Earth. By some miracle, I'm out, and I am done. I've given enough, okay?"
Sam sighed. "Look, all we're saying is that until we figure this out, the safest place is with us."
"How long?" Jimmy asked.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Sam said.

Jimmy shook his head and tried to move past us to the door, but Sam stepped in front of him.
"Where are you going?" Dean asked.
"To see my wife and daughter, okay?" Jimmy snapped. Sam shook his head with his hand on Jimmy's shoulder stopping him from leaving.
"No, you're not. You're just going to put those people into danger."
"So, what? I'm your prisoner now!" Jimmy demanded.
"That's a harsh way to put it." Sam stated, but still he had an unapologetic look upon his face.

***

Finally, Jimmy reluctantly agreed to stay. So, Sam stayed up and made sure of it while Dean, Jimmy, and Harley got a couple hours of sleep.
"Dean! Harley! Wake up!" Sam shouted and shook Harley's bed to wake her up.
Harley sat up quickly, her hun pointing at Sam until she realised it was her brother. What?! What's going on?!" She asked annoyed.
"Jimmy's gone!" Sam shouted.
"How?" Dean asked, angrily. Sam shook his head, shamefully.
"I don't know. Just get up and pack, we need to go." Sighing, Harley stood up and started throwing her bag together.

She changed quickly and then grabbed her toothbrush and ran into the bathroom. A minute later, Dean joined her, still not changed, and started brushing his teeth slowly.
"Dean. Would you hurry up?" Sam asked irritated. Dean laughed with his toothbrush in his mouth.

Sam furrowed his brow. "Sorry, uh, this is funny to you?"
Dean shrugged. "Mr. Big-Bad-Prison-Guard, Jimmy McMook give you the slip? Yeah, it's pretty funny."
"What were you doing, anyway?" Harley asked suspiciously.
Sam shrugged. "I was getting a Coke."
"Was it a refreshing Coke?" Dean asked.
Sam sighed and rolled his eyes. "Can we just go, please?"

***

It was a little awkward in the car. Dean and Harley talked to each other periodically. Neither Harley nor Dean fully believed Sam, so they hadn't really been talking to him.
For the most part, the ride had been pretty silent until Harley jumped when Anna appeared next to her in the back seat.
"Hey, guys." Anna smiled. Dean looked in the rear-view mirror and gasped. He jerked the wheel, and the car swerved into the other lane until he got it back under control.
"Jeez." He exclaimed sharply.
"Smooth." Anna commented dryly.
"You ever try calling ahead?" Dean asked.

"I like the element of surprise," Anna said.
"Well, you look terrific." Dean smiled.
Anna nodded. "Um, yeah, not the most appropriate time, Dean. You let Jimmy get away?"
Dean nodded at Sam. "Talk to Ginormo here." Anna turned to look at Sam, her eyes assessing him. "You seem different." She stated, instantly Harley knew what she meant and turned to scowl at her brother who shifted awkwardly in his seat.
"Me?" Sam chuckled and then shrugged. "I don't know. A haircut?"

"That's not what I'm talking about." Anna gave Sam an intense look, which caused him to look away. Then she looked at Dean. "So, what'd Jimmy tell you? He remember anything?"
"Why? What's going on?" Dean asked.
"It's Cass. He got sent back home. Well, more like dragged back." Anna said.
"To Heaven? That's not a good thing?" Dean asked.
Anna shook her head. "No. That's a very bad thing. Painfully, awfully bad. He must have seriously pissed someone off."
"Cass said he had something to tell me and Dean. Something important." Harley said.
"What?" Anna asked.

Dean shook his head. "I don't know."
"Does Jimmy know?" Anna asked.
Dean shook his head. "I don't think so."
"You don't think so?" Anna asked. "Whatever it is, it's huge. You gotta find out for sure."
"That's why we're going after Jimmy," Sam said.
"That's why you shouldn't have let him go in the first place. He's probably dead already." Anna said ominously and then disappeared.

***

Halfway there the Winchesters stopped at a gas station to fill up the tank, Harley was waiting outside with Dean while Sam went into the store to make a call. Harley paced around nervously for a moment, she was trying to build the courage to tell Dean that Sam was still on the Demon blood.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Harley looked up at him quickly. "I have to tell you something, but please don't be mad at me for not telling you sooner. I just - I was just being stupid. Placing hope in something that was never going to happen." Harley shook her head. "I don't know what I was thinking."
*What is it?" Dean asked, now looking very concerned. "Rosie, you know you can tell me anything."
"It's, uh- it's about Sam." She shook her head once more. "There's not really a way to sugar coat it, so I'm just going to say it- He's still drinking, drinking Demon blood."

"What?" Dean asked incredulously.
Harley nodded. "I found a flask of blood in his bag, and the visions I've been getting are of him going off the deep end, and he finally admitted it to me a few days ago."
"What did he say?" Dean asked.
"He said it makes him stronger." Harley revealed. Dean nodded but be just stayed silent.
"I'm sorry." Harley apologised, starting to feel her throat tighten.
Dean shook his head. "You have nothing to apologise for." He said firmly, pulling Harley into a comforting hug. He looked over at Sam, who was now walking out to the Impala but didn't say anything to him. He didn't even hint at any anger toward him.

It was actually kind of scary because Harley had no idea what was going through Dean's head, except that she knew a protective desire raged through Dean for her like it always did. It had been that way ever since she was little and started getting the visions and headaches. Sam got into the Impala, the bags under his eyes looked darker than usual. Harley had noticed it a little before, but now he just looked exhausted and worn out.

***

When they finally arrived at Jimmy's house, they were immediately greeted to screaming.
Harley and Dean kicked in the door, spotting that Jimmy was on the floor being attacked by a demon woman while a man smiled and watched it play out. A young girl cowered in the corner of the room. Dean grabbed the man and slit his throat with Ruby's knife, immediately killing him, while Harley ran to the little girl shielding her from what was going on and offering her some comfort. The demon woman stood up and glared at the three Winchesters.
Sam reached his hand out and stopped her from moving with his abilities. "Go. Get them out of here."
Harley ushered the little girl, while Dean got Jimmy to the door. "Go, go."
Sam tried to exorcise the demon with his abilities, but he was struggling and looked like he was about to pass out.

The demon smiled as she approached him.
"Aw. Can't get it up, can you, Sam?"
"No, but I can," Dean said as he ran up and tried to stab her with Ruby's knife, but the demon smoked out just in time. He grabbed Sam's arm, and then the three siblings ran out to the Impala.
"'Thank god," Jimmy said, relieved.
"Where's your wife?" Dean asked.
"Right here." She said from behind Harley and Dean.
Dean nodded. "Let's go."

***

Dean parked in a parking garage. While the Winchesters talked to Jimmy, his wife, Amelia, and his daughter, Claire huddled together in the back of the Impala.
Jimmy sighed and looked back at his family. "You were right." He said sadly.
Dean nodded. "I'm sorry we were."
"I'm telling you, I don't know anything." Jimmy said desperately.
Harley shook her head. "I know and we believe you but, I don't think they're inclined to believe you."
Sam nodded. "And even if they did, you're a vessel. They're still gonna wanna know what makes you tick."
"Which means vivisection if they're feeling generous." Dean said.

"I'm gonna tell you once again, you're putting your family in danger. You have to come with us," Sam said.
"How long?" Jimmy asked. "And don't give me that 'cross that bridge when we get to it'
сгар."
"Don't you get it?" Sam snapped, "Forever.
'The demons will never stop. You can never be with your family. So, you either get as far away from them as possible, or you put a bullet in your head. And that's how you keep your family safe. But there's no getting out, and there's no going home."
Harley looked up at Dean incredulously. She couldn't believe Sam was saying this stuff to him. He wasn't himself anymore.
"Well, don't sugarcoat it, Sam," Dean said.
"I'm just telling him the truth, Dean.
Someone has to." Sam said.

***

While Sam hotwired a car, Dean and Harley watched as Amelia and Jimmy cried in each other's arms. Amelia, Claire, and Jimmy walked solemnly over to the car.
"Okay, so, uh, here's your car." Sam said as he walked by Amelia and got into the Impala.
Jimmy leaned down and put his forehead on Claire's.
"Hey. Take care of your mom, okay, bub?"
Claire nodded sadly. "Okay."
Jimmy kissed Claire on the forehead and then embraced Amelia for a long time before walking over to the Impala and joining the trio of siblings.

***

On the drive, Jimmy slept in the backseat next to Harley. Dean looked in the rear-view mirror to check on Harley and on Jimmy, then he looked at Sam.
"What the hell happened back there?"
"What?" Sam asked.
"You practically fainted trying to gank a demon." Dean said.
"Okay, I didn't faint. I got a little dizzy." Sam said.
"Well, you can call it whatever you want.
Point is, you used to be strong enough to kill Alastair. Now you can't even kill a stunt-demon number three?" Dean asked.

Sam shook his head. "What do you want me to say about it, Dean?"
Dean shrugged. "Well, for starters, what's going on with your mojo? I mean, it's yo-yoing all over the place. I'm not trying to pick a fight here, okay? I just... you're scaring me, and Rosie, man."
Sam was silent for a second. "I'm scaring
myself."
Ring! Ring!
Sam quickly answered his phone, "Hello?" (...) "Who is this?" He turned and nudged Jimmy with the phone. "Hey. It's your wife."
Jimmy groggily took the phone from Sam.
"Amelia?" (...) He sat up fully alert. "Oh, my god."

The siblings having had to drive back to the warehouse, where they originally found Jimmy, as Amelia had been possessed by a demon and demanded that Jimmy show up by himself, or she would kill Claire.
"All right, they're expecting you to come alone. That's exactly what you're gonna do." Dean said.
Sam nodded. "We'll work our way through the catwalks. We'll be right behind you."

"All you gotta do is stay calm and stall. Let us do our job," Dean said.
"You want me to stay calm?" Jimmy asked.
"This is my family we're talking about."
Dean nodded. "Listen to me, this will work.
You understand? Nobody's gonna get hurt."
"Yeah, whatever." Jimmy scoffed. "Give me a minute, okay?" He walked away and started pacing.
Sam turned to Dean and me. "There's no way they're expecting him to come alone. You know this is probably a trap."
Dean nodded. "Yeah, I know. That's why I have a plan."

***

After attempting to sneak around the warehouse, the three of siblings were eventually caught by three demons, who marched them into the center of the warehouse. Amelia and Jimmy were standing there waiting for them.
"Nice plan, Dean." Sam scoffed.
Dean shrugged. "Yeah, well, nobody bats 1,000."
"Got the knife?" Amelia asked the demons.
The demon who was holding Dean held up the knife for her.
"And you know what's funny?" Amelia smiled.

"You wearing a soccer mom?" Dean asked.
Amelia rolled her eyes. "I was actually bummed to get this detail, picking up an empty vessel. Sort of like a milk run. Now look who landed in my lap."
Sam nodded. "Yeah, well, you got us, okay? Let these people go."
Amelia shook her head. "Oh, Sam. It's easy to act chivalrous when your Wonder Girl powers aren't working, huh? Now for the punch line.
Everybody dies." She held up a gun and shot Jimmy in the stomach, causing him to drop to the ground. She turned to the demon who was holding Harley. "Waste the girl."
The demon shoved Harley into Dean and stormed away, then the demon holding him grabbed onto Harley too. The demon stomped past Jimmy toward Claire, who had been sitting up against the wall, and then Amelia left the room.

The demon picked up a large pipe and swung it at Claire, but she caught it with one hand, placed her other hand on his forehead, and exorcised him. Using Claire as a distraction, Sam, Dean and Harley started fighting with the demons that were holding them.
"Castiel," Jimmy said in horror as he stared at his daughter.
Sam grabbed hold of Ruby's knife and tackled his demon down. Dean was tackled by the demon that had been holding him and Harley and was getting the crap kicked out of him, even with Harley helping Dean, the Demon was too strong. Castiel approached the demon and exorcised him. As Castiel and Harley helped Dean up, we all turned in horror as we watched Sam slit his demons throat and drink her blood.

Sam turned to his sibling she, with blood still on his mouth, filling his siblings with horror, as he then turned back and stabbed the demon in the chest, killing her. Sam stood up panting and put his hand out to his siblings and Castiel, causing them all jumped back, only to realise that Amelia had run up behind them, and he was holding her still. Sam exorcised her with his freshly recharged powers, and then Dean caught her before she hit the ground.
Castiel walked up to Jimmy. "Of course, we keep our promises. Of course, you have our gratitude. You served us well. Your work is done. It's time to go home now. Your real home. You'll rest forever in the fields of the Lord. Rest now, Jimmy."

Jimmy shook his head. "No. Claire?"
"She's with me now. She's chosen. It's in her blood, as it was in yours." Castiel explained.
"Please, Castiel. Me, just take me. Take me, please," Jimmy begged. Sam, Dean, Amelia, and Harley walked up and watched the interaction.
"I wanna make sure vou understand. You won't die or age. If this last year was painful for you, picture a hundred, a thousand more like it," Castiel said.
Jimmy shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You take me. Just take me."
Castiel nodded. "As you wish."

He placed his hand on Jimmy's forehead, causing a bright light to emanate from his eyes and mouth. Claire dropped to her hands and knees, and Castiel, who was now back in Jimmy's body, stood up.
Castiel walked past Amelia and stood next to Sam, Dean, and Harley. Amelia ran up to Claire and embraced her. Castiel and Amelia's eyes met, and then he turned to walk away.
"Cass hold up. What were you gonna tell me and Rosie?" Dean asked.
"I learned my lesson while I was away, Dean, Harlene. I serve Heaven, I don't serve man, and I certainly don't serve either of you." Castiel said and then continued walking away.

***

While Sam talked to Amelia about what she and Claire should do next, Dean had gone off to make a call, and then he pulled Harley aside afterwards.
"I called Bobby," Dean said.
"Okay?" Harley said slowly.
"I told him what you told me and let him know what we saw in that warehouse." Dean said.
"What did he say?" Harley asked.
Dean sighed. "We agreed that we need to have an intervention."
"That's probably a good idea." Harley agreed, Dean nodded and put his hand on her shoulder.
"It's probably gonna get ugly. I have no idea how this is gonna play out, but we have to stay strong... for Sammy, all right? But you know I'll always keep you safe first and foremost."
"I know." Harley replied sadly.
"At some point during the ride, I need you to text Bobby." Dean said.
Harley shook my head. "Text him what?"
He shrugged. "Just say, 'call.' That's all you need to say. He'll take it from there."

***

'The three siblings drove through the rain in uncomfortable silence for a while.
Sam sighed. "All right, let's hear it."
"What?" Dean and Harley asked.
"Drop the bomb, both of you. You saw what I did. Come on, stop the car, take a swing." Sam said.
Dean shook his head. "I'm not gonna take a swing."
"Then scream, chew me out. Harley, it's never stopped you before." Sam said.
Harley shook her head. "I'm not mad, Sam."

"Come on. You're not mad?" Sam asked.
Harley sighed, looking down at her phone and hit Bobby's name. Then she typed "call," but her heart was pounding.
Dean and Harley shook their heads. "Nope."
Sam nodded. "Right. Look, at least let me explain myself."
"Don't. I don't care." Harley said coldly.
"You don't care?" Sam asked.
"What do you want us to say that we're disappointed?" Dean asked. "Yeah, we are. But, mostly, we're just tired, man. We're done. We are just done." Dean answered for himself and Harley, knowing from their talk she felt the same as him.

Ring! Ring! Ring!
Sam answered his phone, "Hey, Bobby." (...)
"What's going on?" He hung up.
"What'd he say?" Dean asked.
"He said there's a demon problem and needs us to get there as soon as we can," Sam said.

***

A couple of hours later, the three siblings walked into Bobby's house, and then he led them down to the panic room.
"Well, thanks for shaking a tail," Bobby said.
Dean nodded. "Yeah, you got it."
Sam opened the panic room door and looked around.
"Go on inside. I wanna show you something." Bobby said.
Sam walked in and looked around. "All right.
So, uh, what's the big demon problem?"

"You are. This is for your own good," Bobby said as he, Harley and Dean slammed the door shut and locked it.
Sam walked up to the barred window. "Guys?
Hey." He banged on the door. "Hey. What are you doing?"
Bobby shut the window door and locked it.
Sam hit the door again. "This isn't funny.
Guys! Hey! Guys?"
"Sorry Sammy, but you wouldn't listen to me the first time this happened and instead chose that Demon bitch over Bobby, over Dean and over me. It's for your own good." Harley apologised.