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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄

𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴

╚⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷╝

"You want Anna? Why?"

"Out of the way," Uriel responded, not sounding like he was ready to get rid of an innocent girl. Did these guys really have no heart? The girl hadn't done anything wrong.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, I know she's wiretapping your angel chats or whatever,  but it's no reason to gank her," Dean argued.

"Don't worry. I'll kill her gentle."

Delaney went to step forward and show Uriel just what it felt like to be killed gentle, but Randy was quick to grab the back of her leather jacket. She glanced over her shoulder at him and he subtly shook his head for her not to make matters worse than they already were. Plus, Delaney wasn't exactly Heaven's favorite person at the moment so it wouldn't end well if she tried to attack Uriel. "You're some heartless sons of bitches, you know that?"

"As a matter of fact, we are," Castiel responded. "And?"

"And Anna's an innocent girl," Sam snapped.

"She is far from innocent."

Delaney furrowed her eyebrows and exchanged a look with her brothers and Randy. In the short time that the Winchesters had known Anna, she didn't give off a single reason for them to think of her as anything but innocent. She was a scared girl who had no idea what was happening to her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's means she's worse than this abomination you've been screwing," Uriel said, eyes flickering over to Randy in distaste. "Now give us the girl."

The three Winchesters exchanged another silent look with each other, all three of them not wanting to give up Anna. None of them believed she deserved death because she could hear the angels' conversations. She hadn't committed any sort of crime so Anna was just fine in the Winchesters' book. 

"Sorry. Find a different one. Try JDate," Dean quipped.

"Who's gonna stop us? You three?" Uriel challenged, a condescending smirk appearing on his face. God, did Delaney want to punch it right off his righteous face. "Or this demon dick?" He suddenly grabbed Randy by the front of his leather jacket and flung him into the side windows on the right side of the front door.

Randy grunted and fell to the ground along with the shattered fragments from the window. He barely had time to react when Uriel grabbed him by the throat and held up his hand near Randy's face. He thrashed against Uriel's hold and tried to keep his face as far from Uriel's hand as he could.

Delaney gasped and rushed up behind Uriel to try and save her boyfriend, grabbing a wooden rod that stat on top of the duffle bag next to her. Just before she could whack Uriel behind the head with the rod, the angel turned and snatched the rod out of her hand. He grabbed the fist that Delaney tried to send his way next and, before he could so much as retaliate, a blinding white light flashed across the room. She stumbled back and covered her eyes in the crook of her arm until the room settled back to its natural lighting.

"What the..." Dean mumbled, looking around the room to see both Castiel and Uriel now gone.

Delaney ran over to Randy and crouched next to him, brushing his dark hair that had fallen in his eyes in his scuffle with Uriel. "You okay?"

Randy groaned when Delaney touched a sensitive part on the side of his head. "Just peachy, princess."

Delaney helped Randy to his feet and they met Sam over by Anna's now open bedroom door. The couple stepped inside the room to see Dean tie a black bandana over Anna's bleeding arm, a bloody symbol drawn into the mirror of the vanity Anna sat at. Delaney's wide bounced between the symbol she'd never seen before and Anna who looked just as freaked out as everyone else in the room.

"You gonna tell me how you drew that symbol and why it sent Cas and Uriel away?" Dean rasped, tightening the bandana over Anna's arm to make sure it put enough pressure on her self-inflicted wound.

"It just popped in my head. I don't know how I did it. I just did it."

Dean glanced warily over to his siblings as he ushered for Anna to rest on the bed until they figured out what to do now that Uriel and Castiel were gone. None of them knew how long they had until the two angels returned so they had to think up a new plan quickly. He flashed Anna an assuring smile and stepped out of the room with his siblings and Randy, waiting until Delaney closed the door before he spoke. "So, what do you think?"

Delaney puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms, her head hurting as it tried to piece together things that just wouldn't match up. "I think Anna's getting more interesting by the second."

"Yeah, I agree. What did they mean by she's not innocent?" Dean thought aloud.

"It seems like they want her bad and not just because of the angel radio thing," Sam noted, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. "I mean, that blood spell - some serious crap."

"Something's going on with her," Delaney agreed quietly.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

The Winchesters had decided that the best place to keep Anna hidden was the panic room at Bobby's place. Bobby hadn't been there when they showed up with Anna and Randy in tow so while Delaney, Randy and Dean took Anna down to the panic room in Bobby's basement, Sam went to call Bobby to find out where he was. 

"Iron walls drenched in salt," Dean informed Anna, slapping the iron wall as Anna took a seat in the brown leather chair near the door. "Demons can't even touch the joint."

"Which I find racist, by the way," Randy remarked, crossing his arms as he stood just outside the panic room with a sour look on his face.

"Write your congressman."

"Dean!" Delaney huffed and shot him a look to be nice. She appreciated the fact that Dean accepted her and Randy's relationship, but he could at least be nice to Randy.

Randy merely rolled his eyes and dug in jacket pockets, tossing two hex bags to Dean and one to Delaney. "Made them extra crunchy. They'll hide us from angels, demons, all comers. I have another for Sam when we go back up."

Dean seemed shocked by Randy's tactic to help hide them from the angels and demons that were out looking for them. He tossed one of the hex bags up and down in his hand for a moment as he considered what Randy had just done for all of them. "Huh. Thanks, Randy." He handed one of the hex bags to Anna and ordered her not to lose it. "Anna, you hear anything on angel radio that could be useful?"

Anna shook her head silently and offered a sorrowful smile to the youngest and eldest Winchesters. "No, nothing. It's dead silence."

"Good. That's not troubling at all," Dean grumbled.

"We're in trouble, huh?" Anna asked softly. "You guys are scared?"

Delaney chewed on her lip and looked over to Randy who seemed just as unsettled as her and the boys did. "Um... no."

Thankfully, Delaney and Dean were saved from having to speak any longer when Sam called for them upstairs.

"Stay here, okay?" Dean told Anna, squeezing her knee gently when he passed her by.

Delaney rose an eyebrow at the act, noticing how close Dean seemed to be getting to Anna over the past few hours. She didn't know if he saw Anna like he saw Delaney or if he saw her in a totally different way. Either way, it was nice to see Dean like that with someone. "Ran, can you keep an eye on Anna for us?"

"Sure, anything for you, princess," Randy said, leaning down to kiss Delaney softly.

"Okay, that's enough out of you two," Dean shuddered, grabbing Delaney by the shoulders and pushing her up the basement steps to find Sam in Bobby's kitchen. "Well? Where's Bobby?"

Sam chuckled softly and slapped a hand to his side. "Uh, the Dominican. He said we break anything, we buy it. I think he's working a job."

"Did you find anything else on Anna while you were up here?" Delaney asked.

"Uh, not much. Her parents were Rich and Amy Milton - a church deacon and a housewife, but there is something here in the report. Turns out this latest episode wasn't her first. When she was two and a half, she'd get hysterical any time her dad got close. She was convinced that he wasn't her real daddy."

"Who was? The plumber, hmm?" Dean mused with an amused grin on his face. "A little snaking the pipes?"

Delaney snorted and placed her hands on the hips. "Dee, you're confusing reality with porn again."

"Look, Anna didn't say," Sam chimed in before Dean could off Delaney a snarky comment back. "She just kept repeating that this real father of hers was mad. Very mad - like wanted to kill her mad."

"Kind of heavy for a two year old," Delaney commented, frowning at the thought of what Anna had been through. She seemed like such a sweet girl and didn't deserve anything that was happening to her.

"Well, she saw a kid's shrink, got better and grew up normal."

"Until now. So, what's she hiding?"

"Why don't you just ask me to my face?"

The three Winchesters turned around to see Anna and Randy stood in the archway to the study. Anna didn't look the least bit happy with them. If anything, she look hurt that the three siblings spoke about her when she wasn't around.

"Nice job watching her," Dean huffed at Randy who seemed indifferent to the whole thing.

Randy gestured to the girl stood right next to him with a smirk. "I'm watching her, aren't I?"

Delaney pressed a hand to Dean's chest before he could do something stupid to Randy. "No, Anna you're right. Is there anything you want to tell us?"

"About what?" Anna cried, sounding frustrated with the question she probably didn't have an answer for.

"The angels said you were guilty of something. Why would they say that?" Sam inquired.

"You tell me. Tell me why my life has been leveled... why my parents are dead. I don't know. I swear. I would give anything to know."

"Okay. Then let's find out."

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

Sam had suggested they get Pamela to see if she can use her psychic abilities to get into Anna's head and see what happened to her when she was two years old. Delaney felt bad bothering Pamela with more supernatural issues since the last time they met with her, Pamela lost her eyes when she saw Castiel. However, Pamela had agreed and Dean had gone to go get her while Delaney and Sam stayed back with Randy and Anna to set up the panic room for whatever Pamela would need.

"We're here!" Dean called a bit later as he descended the steps, holding onto Pamela's hand to help her down.

"Hi, Pamela," Delaney greeted, smiling at the woman even though she couldn't see. She walked over and wrapped her arms tightly around the dark haired psychic who now wore dark sunglasses to hide her burned out eyes. "Thank you so much for coming."

"Anything for you, sweetie," Pamela replied, rubbing Delaney's back comfortingly before she pulled away. Her hand came into contact with Sam's chest and ran her hand along it. "Sam, is that you?"

Sam cleared his throat uncomfortably as Pamela felt his arms next. "Uh, yeah. I'm right here, Pamela."

Pamela's face brightened at Sam's voice and a big smile took over her features. "Know how I can tell?" She slipped her hand around Sam's back and slapped Sam on the ass, earning another uncomfortable look from the middle Winchester. "That perky little ass of yours. You could bounce a nickel off that thing. Of course I know it's you, Grumpy. Same way I know that's a demon and that poor girl next to him is Anna. Plus the fact that Sammy has been eyeing my rack."

Delaney slapped a hand over her mouth to try and stop the laugh that wanted to burst of her, face turning red from trying to hold it in. She merely flashed Sam an innocent grin when he glared at both her and Dean who also tried not to laugh at Sam's awkwardness. 

"I still got more senses than most so don't sweat it, kiddo," Pamela waved off Sam and walked around him to get towards Anna. "Hi, Anna. I'm Pamela. Dean told me what's been going on. I'm excited to help."

"Oh. That's nice of you," Anna breathed, smiling softly at Pamela and taking Pamela's hands into her own.

"Oh, not really. Any chance I can dick over an angel, I'm taking."

Anna tilted her head in confusion, not knowing that Castiel had taken her eyesight a few months back. "How come?"

A sad aura took over the room as Pamela slowly removed her dark sunglasses to reveal two white balls where her eyes used to be. "They took something from me. It's kind of demon-y, I know, but they're just plastic. Good for business. Makes me look extra psychic, don't you think?" She laughed to show that it was okay for everyone to find humor in her new eyes. "Now... how about you tell me what your deal is?"

The three Winchesters, Pamela and Anna stepped into the panic room while Randy stood in the doorway once again since he still couldn't enter. Delaney settled herself on the filing cabinet next to the door so she could be next to Randy while Dean took a seat on the desk next to the cot that Anna laid down on and Sam took a seat on the brown leather chair that Anna had sat on when they first arrived. 

Pamela had pulled up the wooden chair from the desk Dean sat on and placed it next to Anna's bed. "Okay, Anna, stay nice and relaxed. Now, I'm going to count down from five to zero. When we're at zero, you'll be in a deep state of hypnosis. As I count down, just go deeper and deeper, okay?" She began to count down slowly from five and lightly ran her fingers along the side of Anna's face. "Deep sleep. Every muscle calm and relaxed. Can you hear me?"

"I can hear you," Anna whispered.

"Now, Anna, tell me... how can you hear the angels?" Pamela asked quietly and gently to keep Anna in her hypnotic state. "How did you work that spell?"

"I don't know. I just did."

"Your father... what's his name?"

"Rich Milton."

Pamela nodded and sat forward in her chair next to Anna's cot. "Alright, but I want you to look further back... when you were very young... just a couple of years old."

Anna twitched and shook her head at having to go back in her memories. "I don't want to."

"It'll be okay. Anna, just one look - that's all we need."

"No," Anna denied, chest beginning to rise and fall rapidly in panic and fear.

"What's your dad's name?" Pamela demanded again. "Your real dad. Why is he angry with you?"

Anna's breathing became irregular as her head thrashed from side to side. "No. No! No."

Delaney jumped off the filing cabinet when the light above crackled and Anna's upper body lifted off the thin cot mattress as if she were the girl from The Exorcist as she continued to scream no over and over again. Pamela tried to get her to open up more, but Anna kept crying about how her real dad was going to kill her. The door to the panic room suddenly slammed shut behind Delaney, causing the curly haired brunette to let out a squeak and stumble over to Sam who had also stood up.

The lights above began to burst and rain down electricity as Anna continued to scream. Sam had grabbed Delaney and covered both of their heads to try and protect their heads. Dean scrambled off the desk to try and get to Anna so he can try and calm her down. However, when he touched Anna's shoulder, Anna had swung her arm up and punched him which sent him flying across the room and crashing into the other wooden chair with a groan.

Once Delaney was sure that everything had calmed down, she slowly pulled her head from Sam's chest to see Pamela slowly bring Anna back to consciousness. She helped Dean get back to his feet and dusted off the little wood chips that clung to his jacket. "You okay, Dee?"

"Fine, baby girl," Dean groaned, rubbing his back to try and ease the ache in it.

Anna sat up on the cot and brushed the hair out of her face that had gotten all tangled in her hypnotic state. "Thank you, Pamela. That helped a lot. I remember now."

"Remember what?" Delaney asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Who I am."

"I'll bite. Who are you?" Dean chimed in, seeming a bit freaked out after Anna had sucker punched him across the room.

"I'm an angel."

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"Don't worry, I'm not like the others," Anna reassured the group that had all congregated up in Bobby's study.

Randy leant against the doorframe between the kitchen and the library, eyeing Anna warily. "Yeah, I don't find that very reassuring."

"Neither do I," Pamela agreed, leaning back on her hands on the desk she sat upon in between Dean and Delaney while Sam sat in the chair next to the desk.

"So... Castiel, Uriel - they're the ones that came for me?" Anna asked, stuffing her hands into her back jeans pockets.

"You know them?"

Anna's eyes flickered over to Sam and lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. "We were kind of in the same foxhole."

Delaney pulled one of her knees up to her chest while the other leg dangled off the side of the desk, placing her chin on top of her knee. "So, what, they're like your bosses or something?"

"Try the other way around."

"But now they want to kill you?" Pamela inquired, not understanding how any of it made sense.

Anna shrugged her shoulders, seeming indifferent to the whole being hunted down to be killed thing. "Orders are orders. I'm sure I have a death sentence on my head. I disobeyed... which, for us, is about the worst thing you could do. I fell."

"Meaning?" Dean asked, leaning his elbows on his knees.

"She fell to earth and became human," Pamela explained.

Sam waved his hands in the air to try and slow everyone down so they could go at the situation piece by piece. "Wait, I don't understand. So, angels can just become human?"

Anna laughed softly and ducked her head. "It kind of hurts. Try cutting out your kidney with a butter knife. That kind of hurt. I ripped out my grace."

Dean rose an eyebrow and looked even more lost than he had just a second ago. "Come again."

"My grace. It's...energy," Anna informed, dropping her hands to her sides with a forlorn look on her face. "Hacked it out and fell. My mother, Amy, couldn't get pregnant. Always called me her little miracle. She had no idea how right she was."

"So, you just forgot that you were God's little Power Ranger?" Dean retorted.

"The older I got, the longer I was human, yeah."

Randy rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the doorframe, walking further into the room and pointing a finger in Anna's direction. "I don't think you all appreciate how completely screwed we are now because of her."

Before anyone could speak up and defend Randy, Anna nodded in agreement. "Randy's right. Heaven wants me dead."

"And Hell just wants her," Randy scoffed a laugh, not believing he had tried to protect an angel of all people. "A flesh and blood angel that you can question, torture, that bleeds. Sister, you're the Stanley Cup. Sooner or later, Heaven or Hell, they're gonna find you."

"I know and that's why I'm gonna get it back," Anna said, determination evident in her tone. "My grace. If I can find my grace, I can have it back."

"So, what, you're just gonna take some divine bong hit, and, shazam, you're Roma Downey?" Dean questioned in disbelief and seemed to perk up when Anna smiled in response. "Hey, I like this plan! So, where is it?"

"Lost track. I was falling about ten thousand miles per hour at the time."

Delaney blinked in surprise and her leg suddenly fell, nearly knocking her off the desk until Sam saved her. "Whoa, wait. You mean... like... literally falling? Like the way a human eye can see? As in a comet or a meteor?"

"Why do you ask?"

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"Here. In March '85, a meteorite vanished in the night sky over northwestern Ohio. It was sighted nine months before Anna was born and she was born in that part of Ohio."

"You're pretty for a nerd," Randy mused from his perched seat on the arm of the couch that Delaney sat on. 

While Delaney and Randy did some research to find out if there had been any comet or meteor sightings in the area Anna had been born, Dean and Sam went to take Pamela back home because she had had enough supernatural help for one day. Once it involved angels, Pamela wanted no part in helping the newfound angel even though Anna hadn't done anything. It was just too much for her and she couldn't help the supernatural species that took away something from her. Not that anyone could really blame her.

Delaney nudged Randy's knee as her cheeks heated up at the compliment, holding up another piece of research she found. "Shut up. Look, I think it was Anna. Here, same time - another meteor over Kentucky."

"And that's her grace?"

Delaney shrugged and took the research back from Randy when he handed it to her. "It could be."

"Alright, that just narrows it down to an entire state," Randy sighed, pushing off the arm of the couch and walking around Bobby's study.

"It's a start, Ran."

Randy shook his head and turned to face his girlfriend again. "Baby... I'm sorry. For bringing you this mess. If I had known, I would have kept my trap shut."

"Yeah, well, we'll muddle through. Dean, Sam and I have gone through worse," Delaney replied, closing up the books and laptop she had been using so she could place them back where they belong.

"Not this time. You do not want to get between these two armies, princess. It's Godzilla and Mothra. If one side doesn't get us, the other one will."

Delaney scoffed softly and gave Randy an odd look. Where did this sudden pessimism come from? Even when he had found out about Anna being an angel, Randy agreed to help regardless of his wariness towards Anna. "So, what do you expect us to do? Dump Anna and run?" One look at Randy gave Delaney her answer. He did. "No, forget it. Babe, I know the angels freak you out."

"Forget the angels. It's Alastair I'm scared of," Randy snapped, eyes narrowed as Delaney stood up to put away the books in the shelves. "He was the one in the church. Practically the grand inquisitor downstairs. Picasso with a razor."

Delaney slowly turned around to face Randy again and leaned back against the desk. "Uh, okay. And?"

"And you should pull him out and throw him back in the pit... if you weren't so out of shape."

"Randy..."

"No, your abilities - you're getting flabby, Delaney," Randy chastised.

"How do I tone up then?"

Randy's eyes widened as if Delaney had slapped him across the face. Something that Delaney didn't get because she really had no idea what he wanted her to do. "You know what you have to do, Delaney. Don't play dumb. You know what you gotta do."

Delaney felt her heart stop in her chest when she realized what Randy had wanted her to do to get stronger. He wanted her to start drinking the demon blood again. The exact thing she stopped doing because even after just one week she felt the blood affect her in ways she didn't like. It gave her dark thoughts and made her feel like a demon. Soulless and heartless. Delaney couldn't handle being like that. 

"I'm not having this argument with you again, Randy," Delaney whispered, avoiding Randy's dark gaze. "I'm not doing it anymore."

"Laney..."

"I said no, Randy."

Randy poked his tongue into his cheek and nodded, the annoyance and anger practically radiating off him in waves. "Well, then you better pray that Anna gets her groove back, or we're all dead."

Delaney frowned as she watched Randy walk away from her, more than likely to cool himself off after their little argument. He hadn't tried to get her to drink demon blood since the last time she refused to continue doing it because she was afraid of how it affected her. The fact he even brought it up again was weird and troubling.

Why was he so adamant to get her to use it again?

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

Sam and Dean eventually got back from taking Pamela back home and she ushered the two boys into the house so she could show them what she had found. Neither one of the boys questioned the tense air that surrounded Randy and Delaney. He had come back about an hour after his and Delaney's argument, but kept his mouth shut while Delaney looked over the map and other research she did on the area Anna was born in. His knee would brush against hers every now and then as they sat at the desk together or would bump his hand against hers. So Delaney knew they were okay, but Randy apparently needed some time before his anger would fully go away.

Maybe she was just overreacting and Randy was just worried about Delaney, especially now with what they had to deal with.

"Union, Kentucky. I found some accounts of a local miracle. In '85, there was an empty field outside of town. Six months later, there was a full grown oak tree. They say it looks a century old at least," Delaney explained to the boys, pointing to the part of the map they'd need to get to.

"Anna, what do you think?" Sam asked, glancing to the red head who stood across from him.

"The grace. Where it hit, it could have done something like that, easy."

"So grace Ground Zero - it's not destruction. It's..."

"Pure creation," Anna finished for Dean, eyes trailing over the map and research that Delaney had done for the past few hours.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

Delaney sat squished in the back of the Impala between Anna and Randy with Dean and Sam in the front as they made their way towards Kentucky. She was more squished against Randy since he had put his arm behind her head and allowed her to scoot more into his side so Anna could have room for herself. There was still a bit of tense air between the couple but Delaney wasn't going to complain at the moment. Not when Randy had given her that smile when he had asked her in the first place. It meant they were starting to be okay again so Delaney hopped on it.

Dean's chuckle from up front earned the attention of the trio in the back and he smirked at them in the rearview mirror. "An angel and a demon riding in the backseat. It's like the setup to a bad joke... or a Penthouse Forum letter."

Delaney rolled her eyes and leant her head against Randy's shoulder. "Dee... reality...porn. Remember the difference?"

"You call this reality?"

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

As the Winchester luck would have it, Anna's grace had been missing from the massive oak tree in the middle of the empty field. It was an absolutely beautiful sight, however, with the sun light shining through the branches of the oak tree. The whole view looked like it had been taken right out of Heaven and Delaney was almost sad when they had to pile back into the Impala to go find an abandoned barn a few miles away from the field to hide while they figured out what to do next.

Anna's grace had been stolen and none of them had any clue as to who or what would have taken it. Delaney was sure that none of the demons or angels had known about the grace because they themselves had only just learned about Anna even being an angel. There was no way the demons knew she was an angel. Plus, the angels probably wouldn't have known where to look for her grace if they knew it was missing. So it only created more dead ends for the group.

"We still have the hex bags. I say we head back to the panic room," Dean suggested.

"What, forever?" Randy quipped.

"I'm just thinking out loud!" Dean snapped back at him.

"Oh, you call that thinking?"

Delaney huffed and stepped between her brother and boyfriend, pushing the two away from each other before either of them could pull back a fist. "Alright, that's enough testosterone for one night. You both need to cool it."

Randy's eyes nearly bulged out of his head when Delaney told him to calm down. "You're joking, right? You understand that Anna's grace is gone, don't you? She can't angel up. She can't protect us. We can't fight Heaven and Hell. One side maybe, but not both. Not at once."

"Um... guys?" Anna called, a distant look on her face. "The angels are talking again. It's weird... like a recording... a loop. It says, Dean Winchester gives us Anna by midnight, or..."

"Or what?" Dean asked when Anna paused, her lips rolling into her mouth.

"Or we hurl him back to damnation."

Delaney felt the anxiety strike through her at the thought of Dean being sent back to Hell once again. She had finally gotten him back after all these months and now the angels threatened to just fling him back into it because they had Anna? No way she'd let that happen. She wasn't going to fail Dean... not again. "Anna, do you know of any weapons that works on angels?"

Anna furrowed her eyebrows, tilting her head. "To what? Kill them? Nothing we could get to...not right now."

"Okay. Wait, wait," Sam stepped in, waving his hands in the air to stop Delaney from doing anything drastic. "I say we call Bobby and get him back from Hedonism."

"Sammy, what's he gonna tell us that we don't already know?" Delaney countered, slapping her hands to her side.

"I don't know, Delly, but we got to think of something!"

Delaney exhaled heavily and had a stare down with both of her brothers before she eventually relented and agreed to do some research on supernatural weapons.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

The next morning, Delaney had woken up with her cheek suck to a page in one of the books she had been in the middle of reading that night before. Dean, Sam and Anna were all already up and about in the barn when she stepped out of the room she had been cooped up in doing research. However, one glance around the room showed no sign of Randy at all and he wasn't anywhere outside of the barn either.

Delaney had spent an hour pacing the barn and chewing her thumbnail out of nerves since all her calls to Randy had gone to voice mail instantly. Almost as if his phone had been turned off or died, which both options were an odd occurrence for him. It also wasn't like Randy to just leave and not leave her a note to let her know where he went. The whole thing gave Delaney a bad feeling in her stomach.

"I don't know, guys. Where is Randy?"

"Hey, he's your boyfriend," Dean grumbled, taking a swig from the small flask in his hand.

"Little early for that, isn't it?" Anna commented.

Dean screwed the cap back on the flask and wiped his jacket sleeve along his mouth to dry it. "It's two AM somewhere, right?"

Anna eyed Dean for a long moment, clearly noticing that something was wrong with him. If Delaney hadn't been so worried about Randy, she probably would have noticed how silent Dean had been the whole time. "You okay?"

"Yeah, of course."

Before anyone could comment on the fact that Dean had clearly just lied, a strong gust of wind blew through the double barn doors and Uriel and Castiel strolled into the barn. They stopped in the middle of the barn as the double barn doors shut behind them. How in the hell did they know where the Winchesters and Anna even were? The hex bags Randy gave them hid them from both demons and angels alike. So the fact that Uriel and Castiel stood before them was shocking.

"Hello, Anna. It's good to see you," Castiel greeted.

"How?" Sam asked, wide eyes bouncing between Uriel and Castiel as he and Delaney protectively stood in front of Anna. "How did you find us?"

Delaney followed Castiel and Uriel's line of sight to Dean who looked so guilty it seemed like he was going to suffocate from the weight of it. Or throw up. "Dean... how could you?"

"I'm sorry," Dean whispered, voice shaking in emotion and regret as he stared at Anna.

"Why?" Delaney demanded.

"Because they gave him a choice," Anna replied after one look over both Castiel and Uriel. "They either kill me... or kill you instead since you're not Heaven's favorite person. I know how their minds work." She slowly turned to Dean and placed a hand on his arm, lifting up on her toes to kiss Dean softly on the lips and press her forehead to his. "You did the best you could. I forgive you."

Delaney felt her heart ache as she watched the two with each other. She knew that the two had become fairly close over the very short amount of time they knew Anna. Something more must have happened between them when Anna had gone out to the Impala to speak with Dean and check on him while Sam and Delaney stayed inside with Randy to do more research. She felt horrible that not only Anna was going to be in the hands of the angels, but also that her brother and Anna couldn't ever be happy.

"Okay, no more tricks," Anna said, stepping forward and putting herself in full range of the two angels. "No more running. I'm ready."

"I'm sorry."

Anna shook her head at Castiel's words, but didn't cower back or show any sort of fear when facing him and Uriel. "No. You're not. Not really. You don't know the feeling."

"Still, we have a history. It's just - "

"Orders are orders. I know," Anna cut off Castiel before he could offer up more excuses to her. "Just make it quick."

Delaney took Dean's hand into hers when she noticed the pained expression on his face. The three siblings were just about ready to prepare themselves for whatever Castiel and Uriel were about to do with Anna when a voice sounded from behind them and they whirled around to see Alastair stood there. Just behind him was Randy held in the grip of two burly men, both of their eyes demon black.

"Don't you dare touch a hair on that poor girl's head!"

Delaney felt her blood run cold when she noticed the dried up blood smeared all over the front of his gray shirt. He looked weak as the two burly men were the only two things keeping him on his feet, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

Uriel walked over to where Alastair and the demons stood as the two burly demons tossed Randy to the side in the bails of hay. Delaney had to fight off her instincts to run over to her boyfriend and check to see if he was okay. "How dare you come in this room... you pussing sore?"

Alastair took a step forward so there was only a few feet between him and Uriel. "Name-calling. That hurt my feelings... you sanctimonious fanatical prick."

"Turn around and walk away now," Castiel ordered harshly, now stepping up beside Uriel.

"Sure. Just give us the girl. We'll make sure she gets punished good and proper."

"You know who  we are and what we will do," Castiel warned, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. "I will not ask again. Leave now... or we lay you to waste."

"Think I'll take my chances."

The two angels rushed at Alastair and his two goons with Uriel taking on one of the goons and Castiel going for Alastair. Uriel had gotten the demon up against the wooden pole, throwing two punches the demon's way. Castiel had grabbed Alastair by the front of his suit jacket and placed his hand on Alastair's forehead to send him back to Hell, but nothing happened.

Alastair laughed maniacally in Castiel's shocked face. "Sorry, kiddo! Why don't you go run to daddy?" He flung both of Castiel's arms off him and pushed Castiel onto his back on the hay filled barn floor. Once Castiel was down for the count, Alastair grabbed him by the front of his trench coat as he recited an exorcism that would send Castiel back to Heaven. Most likely for good, Delaney wasn't sure.

Dean grabbed one of the crowbars from the duffle bag placed in the corner of the room and rushed at Alastair with it, hitting him behind the head with it.

Alastair instantly dropped Castiel back to the floor and rubbed the back of his head, chuckling at Dean. "Dean, Dean, Dean... I am so disappointed. You had such promise." He threw his hand forward, choking Dean, Sam and Delaney with an invisible force. The three siblings had dropped to their knees and placed hand at their throats to try and get the force away from their throats even though it was no use. 

Anna rushed at Uriel, grabbing the vile of that hung around his neck, a bright white light floating inside. She threw it at the ground and the white light flew into Anna's mouth, causing her to drop to her knees from the force of it. The bright white light eventually faded once it went inside Anna and the red head hunched over, breathing heavily. "Shield your eyes!" 

Delaney's head was quickly grabbed by Sam and he hid both of their faces into his jacket just as a bright white light took over the barn. Once the light had faded, Sam slowly lowered his jacket and Anna was gone from sight along with Alastair and the other demon that had been with him.  

"Well, what are you guys waiting for?" Dean scoffed, stumbling to his feet along with Delaney, Sam and Randy and grabbing the silver jagged knife at his feet. "Go get Anna... unless, of course, you're scared."

"This isn't over," Uriel growled and tried to get in Dean's face, but Castiel put a hand on Uriel's chest to stop him from doing so.

Dean's face hardened as he glared at Uriel. "Seems over to me, junkless."

A long moment of tense silence lingered in the barn before the two angels disappeared from sight, probably back to Heaven. 

Delaney sighed in relief when Randy was back to his full height and she rushed over to him, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso. He groaned as Delaney's grip only tightened around him, but he didn't protest or push her off. Instead, Randy wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head that was pressed to his chest. "Are you okay?"

"Not so much," Randy breathed, stroking Delaney's hair when he felt her shake slightly in his arms. He knew it was something that helped calm down Delaney down anytime she was scared or freaked out. "But I'll be okay."

"What took you so long to get here?" Dean inquired, narrowing his eyes at Randy who continued to allow Delaney to cling onto him.

Randy sighed exasperatedly at Dean, sounding way too tired to even have an argument with him. "Sorry I'm late with the demon delivery, Dean. I was only being tortured all night."

"I got to hand it to you, Sammy. Bringing them all together at once - angels and demons. It was a damn good plan," Dean praised, patting Sam on the back.

"Yeah, well, when you're between two evils you get out of their way and let them fight."

Delaney furrowed her eyebrows and pulled away from Randy, glancing between her three boys. "Wait... you three planned for this to happen? For Randy to be taken by Alastair? And none of you thought to involve me?"

Dean shrugged and smiled innocently at Delaney. "You were sleeping."

"Whoa," Randy yelled, tugging Delaney back before she could leap at Dean. "We knew you wouldn't approve of the plan so we didn't tell you."

"I wonder why!" Delaney barked, motioning to Randy's state. The sight of the dried blood on his shirt made her feel uneasy and worried. She knew he could bleed like a human would, but that didn't mean she wanted to see it. She was more annoyed, though, than worried because all three of the boys had lied to her. Dean and Sam let her pace around for a solid hour in worry when they knew where he was the entire time. She didn't know if she wanted to cry or punch all three of the boys.

Maybe both.

"This is why we didn't tell you," Dean said and stepped over a step when Delaney went to punch his arm. "Della, stop!"

Sam was the only one who actually offered Delaney a smile that said he was sorry about hiding the plan from her the whole time. "So, I guess Anna is some big-time angel now, huh? She must be happy... wherever she is."

Dean frowned and placed his hands on his hips, clearly worried about where Anna could be. "I doubt it."

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

It wasn't long before the Winchesters and Randy split up with the siblings off to find their next case to try and stop Lucifer from busting out of Hell while Randy went off to find where Lilith had gone. It took a bit of convincing and a lot of sweet talk before Randy cracked one last smile out of Delaney before they kissed and Randy disappeared. The demon boy was lucky he was cute or Delaney would have laid down the cold treatment hard.

"Can't believe we made it out of there..." Dean trailed, bringing the beer bottle to his lips to take a sip. "Again."

Delaney smiled softly when Sam and Dean both held up their beer bottles to her to do cheers. She clinked her glass against both of theirs before she brought the bottle to her own lips, needing the alcohol to help her nerves finally relax. Her muscles ached from how tense she'd been the past twenty-four hours and Sam had tried a few times to get the knots out, but he hadn't fully massaged them out just yet. She was actually gratefully when Dean suggested they pull over to the side of the road and have a beer each before they continue on. They all needed the small break to just relax and sit together for a few minutes.

"I know you both heard him," Dean spoke up again after a few minutes of comfortable silence. 

"Who?" Sam asked, peering around Delaney to look at Dean who sat on the other side of the hood of the Impala.

"Alastair," Dean clarified, looking off into the distance instead of at his siblings. "What he said... about how I had promise."

Delaney nodded and played with the label on her beer bottle that slightly peeled off. "I heard him and I'm curious, but you're not talking about Hell and Sam and I don't want to push you to either."

Dean considered Delaney's words for a moment as he took a long sip from his beer, needing all the liquid courage he could get. "It wasn't four months, you know. It was four months up here, but down there... I don't know. Time's different, moves faster I guess. It was more like forty years."

"Oh my, God," Sam whispered.

"They, uh... they sliced and carved and tore at me in ways that you..." Dean paused, shaking his head and Delaney's heart sank in her chest when she heard him sniffle. She wanted to reach out to her big brother and hug him tightly, make all the pain go away. However, Delaney knew no amount of hugs or comforting words would help heal Dean. She wasn't even sure if those memories would ever get easier for him. "...until there was nothing left. Then, suddenly... I would be whole again... like magic... just so they could start in all over again. 

"Alastair... at the end of every day... every one... he would come over and he would make me an offer. He would take me off the rack if I put souls on... if I started the torturing. Every day, I told him to stick it where the sun shines. For thirty years, I told him, but then I couldn't do it anymore, guys."

Dean took a pause as his voice cracked and he let out a shaky breath, the memories hitting him hard. It was memories he never wanted to voice out loud, but here he was... relaying everything to his little siblings. To his baby sister who he never wanted to disappoint or ruin how she looked at him. He already lost her once and he couldn't lose her again because of what he'd done down in the pit. Yet, once he opened his mouth, Dean couldn't stop with the story as it all came tumbling out.

"I just couldn't and I got off that rack. God help me, I got right off it, and I started ripping them apart. I lost count of how many souls. The - the things I did to them."

"Dean..." Delaney trailed off, clearing her throat to rid it of the tears that she fought against throughout Dean's story. She blinked away the wetness that filled her eyes and scooted closer to her big brother, wrapping her arms around from behind. "Dee, look, you held out for thirty years. That's longer than anyone else would have."

Dean sniffled again and Delaney felt a few tears hit her hands as they dripped off Dean's face, only making her hug her big brother tighter than she already was. "How I feel... this... inside me... I wish I couldn't feel anything," he cried, voice cracking again as he tried to get his words out through the rapid tears that continued to wet Delaney's hands.  "I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing."

Delaney leaned her cheek on Dean's back and shared a pained look with Sam as they both let Dean let out his emotions. She hated hearing the pained cries that overtook Dean's body as he continued to try to dry his soaked face. 

Why couldn't the Winchesters ever just... win?

AUTHORS NOTE

Hi hey hello

IMPORTANT PSA: 

I HAVE CREATED A SHITPOST BOOK FOR THIS SERIES WHERE I WILL WRITE EXTRA SCENES FROM PREVIOUS CHAPTERS AND WRITE NEWER CHAPTERS ABOUT DELANEY'S LIFE IN STANFORD OR RANDOM BITS BETWEEN HER AND THE BOYS OR HER AND WILL OR HER AND RANDY. YOU CAN REQUEST ANYTHING YOU'D WANT TO SEE ME WRITE FOR THAT YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO SEE IN THE SERIES DUE TO THE EPISODES AND HOW THE PLOT'S BEEN MOVING. MIGHT EVEN DO THE DJINN EPISODE FROM BOOK THREE IN DELANEY'S POINT OF VIEW WHERE SHE GOES TO THE DREAM WORLD AND NOT DEAN! IT'S TITLED GOLDEN SO GO ADD IT TO YOUR LIBRARIES! I'LL BE STARTING IT SOON AND UPDATES WILL JUST BE WHENEVER I AM INSPIRED FOR THE CHAPTERS!

So... this chapter was supposed to be up Saturday because New York is in lockdown and I can only leave my house if I need to go the doctor/hospital or the food shops, but yesterday my dad sprung "family bonding day" on us. Which wound up being a fun day of us playing Monopoly on my Switch and watching the movie Miracle cause we're hockey obsessed (which if you've never seen it... GO DO IT IT'S AMAZING EVEN IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE SPORT OF HOCKEY). 

Then yesterday this was supposed to be up but then I was asked to run to the food shop with my parents and then we played another round of Monopoly and then I played Animal Crossing with my boyfriend, his cousin and our shared best guy friend (which btw, if my stories are delayed blame that game because its slowly taking over my life woops)

So now it's getting posted today (Monday at 12:20 AM) finally. I literally forced myself to stay up and finish the chapter because I am tired of writing for this episode because it's emotionally drained me, especially the last bit of the chapter where Dean speaks about his time in Hell. May or may not have cried while writing it even though I've seen this episode a dozen times. We are also half way through part one of this book and I just cannot wait to get to the final like five chapters of this part cause WOW THE ANGST AND DRAMA OOF! Also, had to add some drama between Delaney & Randy in there, but they're all good now so it's okay!