Chapter 26

Ketch looked up from an old book as I entered our bedroom. He sat up fully, placing the book gently on top of the sheets next to him as he took in my tattered image. His eyes were full of curiosity and worry as they passed over me.

"You were gone longer than expected," He commented as I leaned against the wall and pulled my boots off. I could feel his eyes trail over the bruises and spots of dried blood that still spattered my skin, "Did he not show?"

"Oh no, he showed." I scoffed, pulling the blood-stained shirt from my shoulders and over my head, wincing when my hand graced a wound.

"Did you kill all of them?" Ketch asked, sliding from the bed and coming over to me, "You're injured." He knelt in front of me and gently took my foot into his hand, studying the bruised surface.

"It was broken." I leaned further into the wall, "Tackled a vampire, and landed weirdly. Lucifer healed it most of the way. Pretty sure it'll still be sore tomorrow." I shrugged as he let it fall back to the floor, grey eyes studying my face, "I'll have Cas look at it in the morning."

He stood and took my face in his hand, gently turning it from side to side to look at the handprint the olive-skinned vampire had left there. I felt guilt shiver through me as I glanced at the bandages that covered his side. They were still white and it didn't seem as though the cut hindered him in any way, but there was still a very large part of me that regretted not probing for more answers before slashing.

I winced, being pulled back to his face as his other hand gingerly touched the new bruise on my rib cage. I couldn't fight the whimper that came from my lips as his fingers ran through my hair, finding the spot where the hook-nosed vampire had grabbed me. 

"You're still bleeding," Ketch said softly as he pulled his hand back, slick red blood coating his fingertips. "I thought this was supposed to be a more routine job. What happened?"

"It turned into an ambush. But everyone made it out alive, and we came back with Lucifer. So everything went to plan in my books." I gave a shrug and a half-hearted smile, "I'm going to go shower. I'm pretty sure I smell like the undead." I ducked past him and headed for the wooden door that led to the master bathroom.

"You should be more careful," He sighed, "I almost lost you to that pack of werewolves. I'm not sure I would know what to do if I lost you."

I tensed at the tone of the room. Something about it felt all too serious, and I didn't like it. Sure, I loved him and appreciated the concern. But I had been taking care of myself since I was twelve. I didn't need someone to suddenly try and protect me. 

"I'm a Winchester," I joked, "Not even Death herself can keep us down for long."

"Would that change if you become a Ketch?"

I stopped hard, my hand frozen on the brass knob. A million thoughts ran through my mind in a matter of seconds. Even when I had a handle on them, I still managed to babble like an idiot for several seconds before falling silent again. He couldn't just keep doing this to me. I had just admitted to being in love with him not two months ago. Maybe it had been two and a half. But still! Sure we had had our on and off again fling going for a few years now, but this still felt like something we should take time to figure out. What was I even supposed to say here?

"Ketch, I…" I cleared my throat, "I'm not the marrying type, Ketch." I had to force his first name to stay on the back of my tongue.

I opened the door slowly and closed it behind me, neither of us saying another word. I leaned back against it, letting my head softly knock against it. I took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts of what had just happened into the back of my mind. Instead, I focused on something I could easily handle, beginning to heal my overly sore body.

I pushed off the door and took to studying myself in the mirror. My skin looked so much paler against the black and purple bruises that dotted my skin. The one around my neck looked like it had been permanently etched into my skin. I sighed, turned the shower onto the hottest setting I could handle, and dropped the rest of my blood-soaked clothing to the floor. 

Standing under the warm water eased the ache in my muscles. I let the hot water run over my body, taking the dried blood from my skin and hair. I let the water run until it was well past cold, the icey water clasping onto me and chilling my bones. Had it been minutes? Hours? I wasn't sure, I had lost track of time, and my fingers had begun to look like super prunes, telling me I had been in there far longer than intended.

I turned the water off and stepped out, wrapping a warm white towel around myself before going to the door. I would have to remember to pick up my clothes before they were beyond saving with a good wash. I opened the door, prepared to ask Ketch what the plans for the day were when I stepped into an empty room and stopped. I took another step into the room and kicked a small box I hadn't seen earlier. I stooped to pick it up and froze when my fingers caressed the soft black velvet. A beautiful deep red jewel sat delicately fitted into a thin silver band wedged into a soft cushion within the box.

"Fuck…"

"What am I supposed to do, Elly?" I asked, watching as she towel-dried her hair as I hung upside down on her bed. "Sorry again about the…hot water."

She rolled her eyes, "You know it doesn't technically mean he wants to marry you. He didn't exactly purpose." Elly answered with a shrug. She walked over to the bed and lay next to me, flopping onto it to join me in my upside-down world. "You think Lucifer would ever marry me?" She laughed brightly, "That would be the day the world ended."

I gave a small snort, "I'm just not good with commitment," I sighed, "I never have been. This is the first time I've been with someone for longer than like a week."

"Maybe it's a sign." She suggested, brushing out her hair and letting it dangle in long blonde curtains to the floor. "I think I'm bored of being blonde. Think I should change it?"

"I think you'd look good as a ginger," I laughed, "What a turn in the conversation."

"Sorry," She smiled kindly, "Your problem is more important than my hair color. What'd ya do with the ring?"

"Put it in my dresser drawer," I crossed my arms over my chest, "I wasn't sure what else to do with it."

"What do you want to do?" I felt her blue eyes studying my face.

I sighed, the tip of my nose beginning to tingle from all the blood that ran to it. "I'm not sure. I think you're right about it probably not even being an engagement ring. It could just be a nice gift. A nice, overly expensive, gaudy gift." It was the best excuse I wanted to think of.

Elly snorted sarcastically, "Ok, Mrs. Alexandria Ketch."

I let my hands fall forward to my face and groaned, "I hate that it has a nice-ish ring to it." 

Elly laughed, then snorted again. She covered her mouth in embarrassment before another one could come out. But I had already heard it.

"You did not just…" I started laughing too, taking in the joy on her face.

Elly nodded and laughed more, small snorts following in between some as her face grew redder behind her hands.

"I had no idea you snorted." I laughed harder, rolling closer to her and pulling her into a hug, "You're adorable." She shook her head against me as she let out another snort and tried to hide her face from me.

I could feel some of the tension from the last several months lift off my shoulders as she continued to laugh. It was such an angelic sound. It helped to break up the serious world I knew waited beyond her bedroom door. Something that showed me there were still pieces of the original person I had brought here.

A few hours later, we had all gathered around the angel trap we'd drawn in an empty storage room, Gabe and Cael included. Gabe had cast a cautious look at Ketch when he had entered but nothing else had happened between the two. I hoped it was a good sign. Cael sat straight in one of the leather chairs, serious demeanor unchanged, and according to Cas, he had been fully healed. 

The conversation of rescuing Mary and Jack had come up again, and we had reached the final conversation, which Archangel would be the one to feed the bowl as we walked the wilds of the apocalypse world. Gabe had already opted out, saying he was still too low on grace to give us more than an hour tops. Which left Lucifer.

"Do I get a say in this?" Lucifer asked, his arms folded tight over his chest.

"No," Everyone answered in unison, save for Elly, who sat quietly at his side. But from looking at her, I knew she didn't like this idea at all.

"That settles it then," Dean said, taking a step back from the circle, "Sam and I will track down Rowena."

"Good luck," Lucifer mumbled in a sly tone. He looked to Elly for a laugh and was shot down quickly by her stern look, the smile fading from his lips instead. It was like she had silently told him to behave.

"Ketch will come with us." Sam continued for Dean, who looked like he had left that part out on purpose.

"Gabe, Cael, and Cas will stay here and look after Lucifer," I nodded, running through the rest of the plan in my head, "Elly and I will make sure everything else is ready to go, and maybe get in another hunt. Jody called me earlier and asked for some help with a werewolf pack."

"Sounds like fun." Elly gave me a smile side smile.

I smiled back at her, ignoring the disapproving look on Lucifer's face. I had to. While she had turned into such a different girl than the one that had come through the rift with me, there was still so much I felt she needed to learn. She had been so afraid when she'd first arrived, and yet now the thought of hunting down a bunch of claws and fangs seemed to excite her. It sounded like fun.

"That's settled then," Ketch said, clapping his hands together, "Let's go find the damn witch." 

Dean and Sam nodded, leaving the room. Cael, Cas, and Gabe followed soon after, Gabe making some joke about being the older brother now and asking who wanted the first watch of the troublemaker. I shook my head and laughed lightly, shocked when Ketch grasped my wrist and pulled me into him.

He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "I'm not looking for an immediate answer. Take your time." Then he kissed my forehead and walked away after Sam and Dean.

I bit my lip, taking a few long breaths through my nose as he walked away. I glanced at Elly as she came up to my side and gently touched my arm, looking at me expectantly.

I sighed, "Pretty sure it's an engagement ring."

"Did you believe it would be anything else?" She smiled at me.

"I had kinda hoped so." I tried to smile back.

"That's touching," Lucifer piped up from where he sat.

"Behave," Elly shot at him before returning to me, "If he really means it then he'll have no problem waiting for an answer. Let's go get ready for this hunt. I'm dying to meet Jody." With that, Elly skipped from the room.

I turned to Lucifer, watching as he watched her leave, a slight smile on his face. I rolled my eyes and turned to leave.

"Just keep her safe," Lucifer said, his voice stern.

"I plan to."

"Hiya, Jody." I coughed out as the other woman crushed me in a hug.

"It's been too long, Alex. When were you going to tell me about your mom?" Jody pushed back from me, but kept a firm grip on my arms, "I had to hear about it from Claire after the last time she talked to Dean."

"Sorry, we've been a little busy." I laughed, shifting the weight of my pack again.

"Uh-huh." She said, her eyes shifting off me and to my car, "Who'd ya bring with you?"

"Oh, right." I turned around and watched Elly grab more supplies from the trunk, she was trying to juggle two guns and a few boxes of ammo at the same time, "That'd be Elly."

"Hello!" She called over, finally getting ahold of everything and coming over to shake Jody's hand, "Alex has said so much about you. It's an honor to finally meet you."

I laughed a little at the blonde's enthusiasm. I couldn't wait until she witnessed how Jody hunted. It was still the most unique way of doing to job I had ever seen. But that was Jody, the most unique cop-turned-hunter I had met.

"Are Donna and Claire here?" I asked, watching Elly's eyes light up more at the mention of their names.

"You just missed them," Jody said, loosely crossing her arms over her chest. "They went out searching for the nest again. Damn, wolves keep moving on us. It's like they know what we're planning before we even know it."

"Is it possible one of your contacts is the leak?" I asked, nodding towards the house so we could walk and talk.

Jody's small house has always felt like another home to me. Its soft yellow siding and grey roof reminded me of the life I could never have. Even the soft, warm light that came through the windows felt out of place in our very dangerous lives.

"I've already tested everyone," Jody said, shaking her head. "No one's reacted to the silver. You hungry?" She turned back to Elly, "I make a mean brisket and gravy."

"She really does." I smiled, "When were you thinking about heading out after them?"

"After you get a chance to come inside and relax a little. Sam called earlier and filled me in on the rest of what's going on." Jody walked ahead of me to get the screen door, "And you have to explain to me why the psycho is still around."

I could hear Elly laugh from behind me. I rolled my eyes, smiling before following Jody inside the house.

"That's a long story, Jody." I chuckled.

"Let's just say there's a bit more of a reason for him to be on the good side now." Elly smiled.

"We've got some time girls," A knowing look crossed the older woman's face.

Elly was more than ecstatic to meet Donna and Claire as we met up with them just outside where they thought the new nest was. It was some old diner just outside town. It was hard to resist the urge to leave everything but a silver dagger in the car as we entered the small building and sat at the counter next to the other women.

"What's the news, Donna?" I asked as I took the seat next to her, Elly on my left.

"There's about twelve of 'em total." Donna took a drink of the coffee that sat in front of her, "They were holed up in an abandoned house just up the road 'bout an hour ago."

I took a glance around the inside of the diner, trying to make it off as if I was looking for the waitress. I swept across the faces of the several patrons who sat at the old booths, taking in anyone who seemed to be listening in. It wasn't until I spotted the waitress at the other end of the room that I found anyone though. She looked nervous, something about her posture told me she knew what we were.

"We've got eyes," I said, turning back to the group and making them aware of the potential spy. "We can finish catching up outside."

"Eyes?" Elly asked.

"And ears." Claire piped up from the other side of Donna.

Elly simply nodded, turning her attention back to the menu in her hand. She slowly slid it onto the encounter and busied herself with pulling her long blond hair into a ponytail. I smiled at her as she caught my eye. When she smiled back I realized how similar she was becoming to Claire. Which wasn't a good thing.

Elly had been normal, and then the normal had been ripped away from her and now she was becoming a hunter aware of the supernatural. Just like Claire. Claire was a good kid, don't get me wrong, but the loss of her parents had plunged her into this world and it had corrupted her. Made her into something no one else could have imagined she'd become. I was sure Jimmy would never have wanted this for her. Was pretty damn sure he'd said no to Cas if he'd known. I looked away from Elly and down at the glass of water in my hands.

"We need to be careful on this one," I said lowly to Elly, "We all might be trained hunters, but we could all lose our lives if the jobs not done right. No jumping straight in."

"I didn't plan on making the first move or anything," She whispered back with a smile, "This is kinda my first real hunt. I don't count the other ones."

"Why not?" I asked, taking a sip of water. I had thought they counted.

"Well, the first one, we didn't technically finish. Kinda got kidnapped. And then the second one, I didn't even know I was on until I got shot," She shot a sly grin at me, "And I don't count being used as bait as a real hunt. I kinda just sat there and got eaten."

"Hm…fair enough." I chuckled a little, "Well I promise this one will count." I gave her a side smile, "I'd wait until after the hunt to eat anything by the way. Eating before a big hunt never goes well. Unless you're Dean."

"Oh. I'm not going to get anything. I was just trying to look natural." She whispered the last few words with a giggle, "I can't believe I actually got to meet them."

I laughed at her excitement. I had known Jody, Donna, and the kids for several years now. They had always been cops turned hunters to me. Just another set of people who got sucked into the life in horrible ways. I couldn't imagine being excited over meeting them, but I wasn't going to spoil it for Elly. She needed this.

"They're even more badass on the job." I pushed into Donna playfully and she shot me a playful smile in return. "And I've never heard Donna say 'eh' or 'you betcha' in a serious tone. She may have been a softie as a cop but she was never that soft."

"Hey now," Donna chuckled, "This softie will still kick your ass."

Elly giggled, and I found myself smiling at the sound again. It was nice to see her somewhat happy again. Somewhat normal. It would be a miracle if the rest of the night went this well.

Unfortunately, that's never how things went.

It started to go downhill with the thought to park about a mile away from the potential nest spot and hike the rest of the way to the old house. When we'd found a good spot to stake it out, we made a small camp and set up for the night, and then the rain started. It had come in as a drizzle, with the comment of not expecting any rain coming from Jody, and had grown over the last hour into another full storm. And now I was finding myself once again soaked to the bone staking out a house full of supernatural things.

"What are the odds they moved again Jods?" I asked my breath white clouds in the air.

"They couldn't have without us spotting them," Claire responded for her adoptive mom.

"You're sure about that?" I smirked at the young fake blonde.

"Positive." She nodded.

I nodded back and shifted in the mud until I was next to Donna and Elly. Donna had taken to showing Elly a few new knots to pass the time. They were in the middle of untangling the last one when I approached.

"I don't think I'll be able to remember any of these." Elly sighed as she tried to untangle her mass as fast as Donna had hers.

I laughed. "Don't worry about it too much. Just as long as you know a square and a slip. Those are what we use most."

"Only if you don't want to hurt your captives." Donna shrugged.

"I'm more easily scared enough to run than angered enough to attack," Elly mumbled.

"You're still pretty brave," I said, patting her wet head.

"Hey!" Jody hissed from the top of the hill. "We've got movement."

I waited for Elly and Donna before walking with them to the other two women. I took a pair of binoculars from Jody as she handed them to me and whipped the lenses before putting them on my face. There was indeed movement coming from the house. The waitress I had clocked earlier was walking up to the front door. She looked nervous as she knocked on the door and waited for someone to open it.

"So she was a wolf," I commented.

"They've probably got them all over the place, which would explain the way they always knew when we were coming for them." Donna scowled.

"We should hit them before they move again," Elly suggested.

"I agree with her," Claire said, "Who knows how long it'll take us to find them again."

"Then it's settled," I handed the binoculars back to Jody, "Elly and I will take the front. You ok with going solo and scoping out the back of the house a bit, Donna?"

"Of course, hun." the larger blonde said, swiping wet hair out of her face.

"Jody you think you and Claire can give us some backup after we go in?" I turned to the other woman.

"I'm gonna be back up again?" Claire complained, "I thought I was going to lead this one."

"I can do backup with Jody." Elly offered.

"No way," I shook my head, "I'm not letting you spend your first real hunt on the sidelines."

"Whoa," Jody threw her hands up, "This is her first hunt?"

"Technically it's her third." I grumbled, "But she doesn't think the others count. But trust me when I say she's got this. She survived Hell and the Devil himself, she can handle a few wolves."

"If you say so," Jody sighed, "Next time, Claire."

With the grumble of complaints from the younger girl, I took Elly's hand and started towing her towards the tree line that wrapped around the front of the house. I knew she could handle this. She had survived being bait for a bunch of vampires, of course, she could handle some werewolves. I knew I believed in her more than she believed in herself, but what else were friends for? I mean, she had fucked Satan and lived. She could take this with no problem.

"We should think of a way to get inside," I said as we continued walking. "Got anything?"

"We can do the broken-down car routine again." She muttered in thought, "Or…punch me."

"Punch you?" I eyed her curiously, "Why?"

"Maybe if we look like we got mugged, they'd be more likely to let us in." She pursed her lips, "I don't know. That's all I got."

I laughed a little, "I'm not going to punch you. Odds are they've already seen us so just sending in one of us will be suspicious. Especially if I punch you first." I took a second to think, "I think I got something."

"Oh ya?" She eyes me, "What is it?"

"Start running and act like we're being chased," I announced.

"Are we straight rushing in or knocking first?" Elly questioned, focused now on the building as we picked up a little pace.

"We knock of course. Don't want to be rude," I joked, "Just be prepared to act scared. Hopefully, they'll think it was one of their own that scared us towards them and let us in."

"Oh good, so I don't need to pretend." 

I chuckled a little as we settled into a lit run as we approached the front porch. I adopted a serious face as we hastily climbed the stairs, taking a few faux panic looks around before hammering the door with my fist. Elly fell into the same rhythm of knocking beside me.

"Please!" She cried, true fear in her voice, "Please let us in!"

"Hurry! Something is chasing us!" I added, trying to act as scared as Elly was.

The door opened and Elly and I stumbled inside, the weight we had been putting on the door propelling us forward until we were almost on the floor. I turned on whoever had opened the door for us and slammed it closed, breathing hard. I took a glance at the room we'd found ourselves in. It looked like the whole pack had been gathered here, as a dozen sets of eyes settled on us. And they were all faces we'd seen at the diner earlier.

"You're the nice waitress from earlier," Elly addressed the woman who had opened the door, "Thank you so much for letting us in."

"What was chasing you?" The woman asked, popping her gum and crossing her dark-skinned arms over her chest. Her dark curly hair reminded me of something out of the 50's. Dark freckles framed her glassy blue eyes.

"A dog…I think" I turned and looked out the window, spotting Jody and Claire just outside the treeline and approaching slowly. "Maybe it was a wolf."

"A dog huh?" She asked, popping her gum again. She didn't sound like she believed us, which was fine. I hadn't expected her to, we just needed to buy time. "You're more than welcome to make yourselves at home. I'll have Jacob get you some water." A tall, fair-skinned man with hazel eyes stood from a sofa next to another werewolf and headed through an archway out of the room.

"Thank you, that's very nice." I bobbed my head, trying to appear nervous, "What was your name?"

"Sam." She said, walking away from us and the door.

"I'm Nora, and this is Lily." I threw out the fake names, willing to see if they'd accept them.

"Nice to meet you," Elly took her new name in stride. 

I felt her hand brush mine as she looked for reassurance. I took it and gave it a gentle squeeze. She could do this. Jody had told us these wolves had been killing people. They deserved to be in graves of their own.

"You two together?" A short, pine-skinned woman asked from a recliner that sat under a lamp. Short red hair stuck up on her head like it was statically charged.

"Almost two years," I said, pulling Elly closer to me as I took another step into the room.

I couldn't fit the unease of not being able to see the wolf that Sam had named Jacob. He could be the alarm waiting to alert every wolf in this room to the presence of hunters waiting right outside. This room was also way too calm for my liking like there were springs under each one of them, coiled and ready to pounce.

"That's real sweet," The woman continued, "Never knew hunters ot get together."

"Makes the job bearable," Elly threw out. There was no point in hiding what we were if they already knew. "How'd you know?"

"Your tattoo is a dead giveaway," Another wolf, a smaller, honey-skinned man answered. His dark brown eyes traced us as he took a hand through his long hair. 

I could feel Elly's arm tense as she gingerly pulled her shirt sleeve over her wrist. "Are you hunters too?" She asked, her voice shaking now.

I could hear the fake inflection underneath it thought. No question about it, she had become a natural. And she knew we were stuck as much as I did. 

"Oh sure, in a sense." Sam threw out as she studied her nails.

"Oh, we know." I said, prepared to pull my gun from its holster at my side, "That's why we brought friends."

In a flash I had the barrel trained on the young red-haired wolf, I didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. The silver bullet flew through the room and carved a clean hole straight through her forehead. She slumped forward dead in the same second the bullet buried itself into the wall behind her.

In the next instant, the room burst into action. The remaining wolves raced from their various seats, charging at us. I heard the door slam open again from behind us before the gun in my hands went off again as I flicked the trigger again, this shot was aimed at a lanky orange-skinned man who was mid-transformation as he fell to the floor. I threw Elly's hand down and pushed her away from me as I dodged out of the way of another red-haired wolf, their now amber-yellow eyes shining as he tumbled to the floor behind me. But the soon dulled as a silver bullet cleared through his heart from Jody's pistol.

I had barely glimpsed Claire as she darted up to the second story, following a couple of wolves as they ran for hiding. Through the gunsmoke and lunging bodies, I could just make out Donna as she came through the kitchen and shot out the legs of two other men before killing each with a silver bullet between their eyes.

I could just see Elly get tackled to the ground out of the corner of my eye as I down another wolf. A lamp, the only source of light in the living room, smashed beside her as they hit the floor, plunging the room into a grey darkness. I turned to help her but was met quickly with a pair of claws running down my back. I could feel the back of my shirt instantly soak with blood as I screamed. Then my feet were taken out from under me. I crashed to the floor hard enough to lose my grip on my gun, sending it tumbling into the darkness. I reached for it aimlessly before the claws dug into my legs and yanked me across the floor.

I flipped onto my back, wincing again as the ice-cold floor met the new wound. I kicked at the wolf who had grabbed me, their yellow-green eyes glowing in the dim shadows. He fell back as a solid kick met his nose, clutching his face as it started to bleed. I took the seconds I had to dig the silver knife out of my boot and get to my knees. I was quick to raise the knife and stab it into his chest.

A searing pain that matched my back slid down my face as the boy racked his claws across it in one final chance to take me down with him. I closed my eyes as the blood poured down into them, making them sting. I tried to wipe at the blood, trying to clear my eyes as I kept hold of the knife handle. The silver blade pulled from him as he tried to escape. As he turned from me to run I plunged the silver blade into his back, searing his skin as he continued to try and get away from my blind jabs. A gunshot finally ended his life, splashing more blood across my face. I blinked and glimpsed Donna turning from him, her rifle smoking before she trained it on another woman and pulled the trigger again.

I stood gingerly, panting as I stepped back into the dark room. Everything was a blur as I felt around the room for my gun. Fuck. If I didn't find it I could be as good as dead again. I was losing hope when my fingers finally graced the cold, smooth metal of the barrel. I wiped more blood from my eyes as I took it and got fully to my feet. 

With the blood blinking from my eyes, I watched as Sam shoved Claire into Jody, causing them both to fall onto the sofa and pushed it back into the wall. She turned to face me, the only one still standing in the room. Her eyes glowed an acid-green color, her teeth long and bared as she charged for me.

My finger trembled on the trigger of my gun, desperate to pull it and end her life before she could end mine, but the blood that coated my fingers made it slick and the task impossible. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as the seconds drew her closer and closer to me. This was going to be it, my last reboot spent here and now. 

Her claws were inches from my face when another gun went off, making me jump out of the way as her body continued past me and to the floor, bent unnaturally as blood began to soak her shirt. Another crack of gunfire and another patch sprouted from her shoulder. She spun, growling and ready to lunge again, anger filling her features. But one final gunshot rang out, and she crumbled to the floor, blood trickling from the final hole in her forehead. 

I turned, mouth wide open as I took in Elly, sitting up proud against a wall with the smoking gun in her hands. Her hair had been ripped free from her ponytail and she was covered head from toe in blood and various claw marks, a dead woman fallen across her lap.

Elly licked her lips, her eyes coming to settle on me. "You ok?" Her breathing was ragged and hard.

I nodded, taking a deep breath and shoving my gun back into my pocket as I counted the dead bodies that littered the house. I walked over to Elly and collapsed beside her, watching her push the body from her legs and get onto her knees. Several claw marks ran down her chest where they had brushed her, but they didn't seem deep and she didn't seem to care.

"Is your eye ok?" She asked, turning to hug me tightly.

"Nothing Cas can't fix," I assured, finally taking a second to assess the damage done to me once she let me go. "Thought I might have to wear a patch for a bit. Do you think I'd look stupid?" I tried to laugh, but the sound caught in my throat when she pulled back from me, face full of serious concern. "I'll be fine. I promise."

She nodded, taking to her feet and extending a hand to help me to mine.

"You're one hell of a shot," I groaned as I stood, "Might have to challenge Dean to a shoot-off when we get back."

"I told you, my dad was a marine." She slid her arm around my waist, helping me to the center of the room where the others were slowly gathering.

We took a count of each other's wounds as each one returned alive. Jody and Claire were each covered in their fair share of bruises, and Jody seemed to be limping. Donna's jacket sleeve had gotten ripped and there was some blood soaking the side of her shirt from a nasty-looking slice, but she would survive. And no one got bit.

"You look worse for wear." Jody mothered, looking over me, "Let's get you cleaned up. You too." She directed at Elly.

"Let's get out of here and burn it," Claire said, already heading for the door.

The older women followed her, Elly waiting beside me. I pushed away from her and ushered her towards the door. I followed slowly behind her as she tried to protest walking on my own. I rolled my eyes.

I sudden odd sensation washed over me. I stopped just before the door. Something was wrong here. I almost felt as if we had missed something. But I wasn't sure what it could have been. We had done the job. I really needed to go take a shower and get sewn up, there was nothing else to this night. I shook my head and took another step towards the door.

It wasn't until Elly had turned back towards me, and her shrill voice called out my name, that I realized what it was, all too late.

It was far too late for me as I turned and met the force that collided with me just before the door. I hit the floor hard, all the air rushing from my lungs. The thing slid across the floor with me until we smashed into the trim along the bottom of the wall. It was an odd feeling really, or maybe it was the shock from the whole situation. I wasn't sure what it was that hit me first when I looked up into Jacob's eyes before he dug his teeth into my throat. 

There was no pain. Just the warm slickness of blood as it flooded from my neck, leaving me cold. I could feel the way it ran from my veins as I tried to pull air into my failing lungs. It was like being held underwater.

The pressure above me disappeared as I heard the distant crack of a gun. But by then it was too late for me. Far, far too late as they called my name.

"You absolute moron!" I could hear Crowley yelling at me before the dark cloud of death had left my brain completely.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I mumbled as I struggled to open my eyes.

"You went and got yourself killed again after I specifically told you to be careful!" Crowley sounded rightfully pissed. 

I opened my eyes and took in the old stone ceiling of the throne room of Hell. I closed my eyes again and groaned.

"I don't have enough power to completely heal you this time." The demon huffed.

"That's fine. A few new scars aren't a problem." I said, reaching a hand for my face and rubbing my sore eyes. I was surprised when I didn't feel blood still covering it. He had been kind enough to clean that up too. "You know I won't mind a few more."

"This is exactly why I only gave you a limited amount of chances. Otherwise, you'd want to be damn immortal." Crowley grumbled more, "Death is already mad at me as is."

"Let Billy be mad. She's the one who told Dean and Sam they can come back again and again. Why can't I?" I asked, smiling a bit at the thought of the once-reaper being mad at all my second chances. "I'll be more careful next time."

"There is no next time. This is it. The last life, mouse." Crowley said. I heard him sigh as he placed a hand over mine on my face. A warm sensation followed it with a relief of the sting that the scratches there had brought.

I opened my eyes again when he had moved away and pushed myself up to my elbows, wincing as the new scars that marred my back stretched and pulled. I was grateful he had done this much. "Then I'll just have to make it a nice long life."

Crowley shot a glare at me. "Winchesters never live long."

"I don't think that's a fair assumption. It's not like I enjoy dying ya know." I tried to sound as upbeat as I could. I didn't like the thoughts of what was to come the next time I died. "Everyone else make it out?" I grimaced as he took to healing a long, thin cut on my leg.

"Yes, everyone else will be fine," Crowley spoke softer now, concentrating. "You were the only casualty."

"Of course I was." I rolled my eyes and huffed, "Why is it always me?"

"Because you're reckless. It's like you have this urge to see how far you can push your dumb luck." Crowly offered me a hand, pulling me into a better sitting position when I took it.

I scooted to sit on the edge of the cold stone table I'd been on. It looked too clean for how much blood I knew I had been covered in. I turned my neck, cracked it, and sighed at how stiff everything else felt. Dying never made it easy to regenerate over and over again. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was no better than some zombie. At least I wasn't bloodthirsty.

"What would you rather have me do? It's not like I have much to live…"

"Don't you dare finish that." Crowley interrupted, "You have a better reason to be alive than half of Hell."

"What are you talking about now?" I asked, getting to my feet. I stretched more, my skin feeling far tighter than it used to.

Crowley looked particularly angry as he folded his hands over his chest and tipped his head to the side. He looked at me as if I had just asked the dumbest question in the world.

"What did you just ask me about not two moments ago? The girl, this Elly, is a big enough reason for you to keep fighting. Not to mention you have a very loving fiance and family who would do anything for you. They have literally gone to Hell and back before for you." His voice was harsh and airy, normal for when he got upset, "So don't you dare think you have nothing to live for you selfish human." He took a step closer to me, "Don't make me fucking regret making that deal with you."

"He's not my fiance," I found myself saying the words before they had fully left my thoughts.

Crowley groaned and rubbed his temples. "Get the Hell out of my throne room. And you better think extremely hard about how to prove to me you still deserve the kingdom I promised you upon your last death. Because I will not hesitate to send you back to eternal torture if you don't."

I turned away from him slowly and headed for the stone archway I knew would take me back to the living world, taking in his words as I walked.

"And next time, I'll leave you blind, Mouse."

"I expect nothing less, Bat," I called over my shoulder as I stepped through the archway and into the blinding light of life.