46. "The Eleventh Hour."

"Well, it's nice to actually score a home run for once, ain't it?" Bobby said rather proudly.

I was a bit refreshed after my nap in the Impala on the ride back from Iowa. The boys had filled Bobby in on what happened during my nap. We showed him the ring as proof once we got back to the house.

I looked to Sam, who didn't seem to be in a celebrating mood. His brows were pulled together in concentration.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Last thing Pestilence said. 'It's too late,'" he told me.

"He get specific?" Bobby jumped back in.

"No."

"We're just a little freaked out that he might have left a bomb somewhere," Dean explained. I probably wasn't too worried because I was still half asleep. "So please tell us you have actual good news."

"Chicago's about to be wiped off the map," Bobby reported. "Storm of the millennium. Sets off a daisy chain of natural disasters. Three million people are gonna die."

"Huh."

"I don't understand your definition of good news," Cas interjected. He'd been so quiet since we got back that I almost forgot he was around.

"Well...Death, the horseman—he's gonna be there," Bobby explained. "And if we can stop him before he kick-starts this storm, get his ring back—"

"Yeah, you make it sound so easy," Dean grumbled.

"Hell, I'm just trying to put a spin on it."

"Wait, wait, wait," I interjected, my mind suddenly alert. "How'd you piece this all together, Bobby?"

"I had, you know..." Bobby didn't meet our eyes. "Help."

"Don't be so modest," an English accent broke into the room. I spun around, gripping the desk behind me. "I barely helped at all." Sam and Dean turned as well. Crowley smiled. "Hello, boys. Lady." He inclined his head a little. "Pleasure, etcetera. Go ahead. Tell them. There's no shame in it."

"Bobby?" Sam asked warningly. "Tell us what?"

"World's gonna end," Bobby said in a low voice. "Seems stupid to get all precious over one little...soul."

"You sold your soul?" Dean said angrily.

"Oh, more like pawned it," Crowley corrected him. "I fully intend to give it back."

"Well, then give it back!" Dean was out of the chair he sat in.

"I will." Crowley looked rather offended by our lack of trust.

"Did you kiss him?" Sam asked Bobby.

"Sam!" Dean barked.

"Just wondering."

"No!" Bobby said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said. "What?"

"Little Soul-Selling One-oh-One for you, darling: when you make a deal with a demon, it's sealed with a kiss." Crowley winked at me. My insides writhed, and I stepped closer to Sam's chair. To further prove his point, Crowley held out his phone.

My upper lip twitched. Sure enough, the picture was the proof.

"Why'd you take a picture?" Bobby snapped.

"Why do you have to use tongue?" Crowley retorted.

"All right," Dean thundered. "You know what? I'm sick of this. Give him his soul back now."

"I'm sorry. I can't."

"Can't or won't?" I spoke up.

"I won't, all right? It's insurance."

"What are you talking about?"

"You kill demons. Gigantor over there has a temper issue about it. But you won't kill me...as long as I have that soul in the deposit box."

"You son of a bitch," Bobby cursed.

"I'll return it, after all this is over, and I can walk safely away. Do we all understand each other?"

In begrudging silence, we all agreed.

* * *

"What's your problem?" Bobby asked Cas.

After our whole issue with Crowley holding Bobby's soul hostage, our attention was brought to a bigger issue: Niveus Pharmaceuticals was rushing delivery on its newest vaccine that was to cure the swine flu, which was brought to the world by Pestilence. After some thinking about it, this vaccine that would be going countrywide soon had a nasty Croatoan virus, which I still had no idea what it was about since I never had the time to ask, and when I did, it slipped my mind.

While Dean was set with Crowley to go track down Death (I wasn't too happy about that pairing for the second time), Bobby, Cas, Sam, and myself (it took a lot of persuasion on my end) were to take care of the impending Croatoan issue at the nearest warehouse.

"This is what they mean by 'the eleventh hour,' right?" Cas asked.

"Pretty much," Bobby admitted.

"Well, it's the eleventh hour, and I am useless. All I have is this." He waved the shotgun he held around. "What am I even supposed to do with it?"

"Point it and shoot."

"What I used to be—"

"Are you really gonna bitch—to me? Quit pining for the varsity years...And load the damn truck."

"I'll give you a hand," I offered to Cas. "No need to do it alone."

I helped Cas for a few minutes with loading the weapons into the truck. The Winchester boys caught my attention, as they were having a low chat amongst each other.

"I would say you shouldn't worry, but you should," Cas told me quietly. "I'd rather not give you false hope."

I snorted. "Good to know you angels aren't about sugarcoating things. So...being human..."

"I'm reluctantly getting used to it."

"Well, once this madness settles, I'll give you a proper course on Human One-oh-One." I smiled. "Consider it my gift to you for all you've done lately."

"I can handle the rest, Dakota."

"You sure?" I looked at him questioningly.

"Yes."

"Suit yourself." I wandered over to the boys, timidly making myself known. "Having a bromance moment, are we?"

"Eh, just trying to think back to simpler times," Sam told me.

"Which there weren't many," Dean said rather grimly. "Well, um..." Dean held out the knife I always saw Sam have on him. "You might need this."

"Keep it," Crowley encouraged once Sam retrieved it. I blinked at the weapon Crowley had in his possession before he handed it over to Dean. It was a small scythe. "Dean's covered. Death's own. Kills, golly, demons and angels and reapers and, rumor has it, the very thing itself."

"How did you get that?" I asked.

"Hello—King of the Crossroads. So, shall we?" The demon's eyes fell onto our wheel-chaired friend. "Bobby, you just gonna sit there?"

"No, I'm gonna riverdance," he snapped.

"I suppose if you want to impress the ladies. Bobby, Bobby, Bobby. Really wasted that crossroads deal. Fact—you get more if you phrase it properly. So, I took the liberty of adding a teeny little sub-a clause on your behalf. What can I say? I'm an altruist. Just gonna sit there?"

Is Crowley hinting at what I think he is? We all seemed to think the same thing, as all eyes went to Bobby. He looked back at us for a moment before attempting to get out of the wheelchair.

I blinked rapidly as I saw it. I wouldn't have believed something like this could happen, but that would have been if I wasn't in this world. I'd seen disgusting things, strange things too. But this—this wasn't either. This was, in my book, a miracle.

I wasn't sure who was happier: all of us minus Crowley, or Bobby himself. Something reignited in him, I could see it in his eyes. My lips twitched into a smile. There's the guy we thought we'd never get back. Now I can actually see the man in action. The last memory I had of Bobby walking was when he'd been possessed by a demon. The first day I'd met the gang.

"Son of a bitch," Bobby murmured in awe.

"Yes, I know," Crowley said a bit impatiently. "Completely worth your soul. I'm a hell of a guy."

"Thanks."

"This is getting maudlin. Can we go?"

* * *

"Say 'yes' to Lucifer," Cas repeated aloud. Since we all departed, Cas, Sam, Bobby, and myself were all squished in Bobby's van, with Cas and I in the back. On our way to the warehouse, Sam decided to fill Cas in on his plan to throw Lucifer back to where he belonged. "Then jump in the hole. It's an interesting plan."

"That's a word for it," I said mildly.

"So?" Sam said. "Go ahead and tell me it's the worst plan you ever heard."

"Of course," Cas said. "I am happy to say that if that's what you want to hear. But it's not what I think."

"Really?"

"You and Dean have a habit of exceeding my expectations. He resisted Michael. Maybe you could resist Lucifer, but there are things that you would need to know."

"Like?" I cut in.

"Michael has found another vessel."

"What?" Sam and I exclaimed.

"It's your brother Adam. You must have considered it."

Adam? As in, the Adam that Dean and Sam tried to save but couldn't? I guess it makes sense. Michael had been coming, he must've done it there and then. Poor Adam. He may have been a pain in the ass, but it's still an awful thing to happen.

"We were trying not to," Sam admitted lowly.

"Sam...If you say yes to Lucifer and then fail...This fight will happen. And the collateral...It'll be immense." I avoided Cas's eyes as he said that. "There's also the demon blood."

"What?" I picked my head up. "What are you talking about?"

"To take in Lucifer, it would be more than he's ever drunk."

"But...Why?" I felt the color fall from my cheeks.

"It strengthens the vessel. Keeps it from exploding."

"But the guy he's in now—"

"He's drinking gallons."

"And how is that not the worst plan you ever heard?" Bobby voiced his opinion.

I sat back against the seat, messing with my hair and my nails. If you say yes to Lucifer and then fail...This fight will happen. And the collateral...It'll be immense. There was no guarantee that Sam's plan would work.

I felt my heart grow heavy. This sounded more like a real option than a last resort, hail-Mary deal. This was the thing I didn't want to hear. I didn't want it to resort to this, only because I never wanted to see someone I cared about possessed again. Seeing Monica taken over had nearly done me in. If Lucifer took Sam...my nightmares, all those involving those two, they would come true.

I shuddered. I could feel the climax come closer. I'm not ready for this. None of us are. We say that we are, but we're only lying to ourselves, and to each other. This has to be the biggest thing they've ever faced. This is certainly the biggest thing I have faced.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Cas watch me, and I saw Sam turn his head slightly towards me, as though he was watching me too. I tried to act as natural as possible and kept quiet as Bobby drove us to our destination. 

**Folks, we're one episode away from the finale. Enjoy this time while it lasts, because once the anthem starts to play, you know things are gonna go down to Hell.

Literally.**