Sam said" You want Anna? Why?"
Uriel said" Out of the way."
Dean said" Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, I know she's wiretapping your angel chats or whatever, but it's no reason to gank her."
" Don't worry. I'll kill her gentle."
" You're some heartless sons of bitches, you know that?"
Cas said" As a matter of fact, we are. And?"
Sam said" And Anna's an innocent girl."
" She is far from innocent."
" What's that supposed to mean?"
Uriel said" It means she's worse than this abomination you've been screwing. Now give us the girl."
Dean said" Sorry. Get yourself another one. Try JDate."
" Who's gonna stop us? You two? Or this demon whore?" He grabbed Ruby and flung her into the wall, then pulled her up, Dean hit him. Then Uriel started punching Dean, the ground shook as I glared at Uriel," I've been waiting for this." Uriel's fist froze, he looked at me, I was breathing heavily, am I the one making his fist stop?
Sam said" Cas, stop... please." Then there was thunder and they were flung away, far away.
Dean said" What the..." I looked at him, he got up, and pulled Ruby up," Come on." Sam woke up, I fell," Anna. Anna!" Sam lifted me up, wiping under my nose, he looked at my blood then wiped it on his jeans. I laid my head on his shoulder, I don't feel good,
Annie said" I sent them away. Far away."
" You want to tell me how?"
" That just popped in my head. I don't know how I did it. I just did it."
Dean said" What do you think?" Sam closed the door,
Sam said" I think Anna's getting more interesting by the second."
" Yeah, I agree. And what did they mean by she's not innocent?"
" It seems like they want her bad, and not just 'cause of the angel radio thing. I mean, that blood spell- some serious crap, man."
" Something's going on with her. See what you can find out."
" What are you gonna do?"
" Anna may have sent the angels to the outfield, but, sooner or later, they're gonna be back. We got to get ourselves safe now."
——
We were at Bobby's, he was gone, I heard Sam pull up, I ran to the door and opened it. He walked in,
He said" Hey, Dean!" Dean walked up from the basement,
Dean said" How's the car?"
" I got her. She's fine. Where's Bobby?"
" Uh, the Dominican. He said we break anything, we buy it."
" Is he working a job?"
" God, I hope so. Otherwise, he's at hedonism in a banana hammock and a trucker cap." I giggled,
" Now that's seared in my brain."
" What did you find on Anna?"
" Uh, not much. Her parents were Rich and Amy Milton- A church deacon and a housewife."
" Riveting."
" Yeah. Uh, but there is something here in the report. Turns out this latest psych episode wasn't her first."
" No?"
" When she was 2 1/2, 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? A little snake in the pipes?" I tilted my head,
" Dude, you're confusing reality with porn again. Look, Anna didn't say. 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 2 year old."
" Well, she saw a kid's shrink, got better, and grew up normal."
" Until now. So, what's she hiding?"
Anna said" Why don't you just ask me to my face?" We turned and saw her and Ruby,
" Nice job watching her."
Ruby said" I'm watching her."
Sam said" No, you're right, Anna. Is there anything you want to tell us?"
Anna said" About what?"
" The angels said you were guilty of something. Why would they say that?"
" 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."
" How?"
Dean went to get Pamela, I was sitting on the stairs to the basement,
Ruby said" You know, he stopped the angel from punching Dean."
Sam said" River?"
" Guess your baby brother isn't so sweet." I tilted my head, then yawned,
" He'll hear you." Then I couldn't hear them anymore,
" What?!"
" Shh!" My head dropped onto my arm, then I heard walking, I was lifted up, I whined," Just me, bud." He walked up the stairs, I was laid on the couch," Try and get some sleep, okay? You're exhausted, I can see it."
I mumbled" I'm okay." I sat up, sitting criss-cross,
" Just try, okay? For me." I huffed but laid down, closing my eyes," Thanks. Get some sleep." He kissed my head then walked away, I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling, till I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.
——
I slept through a lot, I was really, really sleepy, I don't know why but I just... couldn't wake up. Anna's an angel! But why would angels want to kill her if she's one of them?
Anna said" Don't be afraid. I'm not like the others."
Ruby said" I don't find that very reassuring."
Pamela said" Neither do I."
Anna said" So... Castiel, Uriel- they're the ones that came for me?" Dean nodded,
Sam said" You know them?"
" We were kind of in the same foxhole."
Dean said" So, what, they're like your bosses or something?"
" Try the other way around."
" Look at you."
Pamela said" But now they want to kill you?"
Anna said" Orders are orders. I'm sure I have a death sentence on my head."
" Why?"
" I disobeyed... which, for us, is about the worst thing you can do. I fell."
Dean said" Meaning?"
Pamela said" She fell to earth, became human."
Sam said" Wait a minute. I don't understand. So, angels can just become human?"
Anna said" It kind of hurts. Try cutting your kidney out with a butter knife. That kind of hurt. I ripped out my grace."
Dean said" Come again?"
" My grace. It's... energy. 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?"
" The older I got, the longer I was human, yeah."
Ruby said" I don't think you all appreciate how completely screwed we are."
" Ruby's right. Heaven wants me dead."
" And hell just wants her. A flesh and blood angel that you can question, torture, that bleeds. Sister, you're the Stanley cup. And sooner or later, heaven or hell, they're gonna find ya."
" I know. And that's why I'm gonna get it back."
Sam said" What?"
" My grace."
Dean said" You can do that?"
" If I can find it."
" So, what, you're just gonna take some divine bong hit, and, shazam, you're Roma Downey?"
" Something like that."
" All right. I like this plan. So, where's this grace of yours?"
" Lost track. I was falling about 10,000 miles per hour at the time."
Sam said" Wait. You mean falling, like, literally?"
" Yes."
" Like the way a human eye can see? Like a comet maybe or a meteor?"
" Why do you ask?"
I was forced to move from the comfy spot on the couch, I'd rather be there with books on top of me than upstairs, in a book-filled, dusty room. I poked a stack of books, it wobbled, I smiled and poked it again, it wobbled more, ooh, fun! I poked it again, and again, again... then it wobbled a lot and fell. I yelped, but didn't get hit, I peeked out from my covered eyes, the books were mid-air. Huh? Then I got hit with books, I scrambled and covered my face, curling up into my a ball, quickly. The books stopped falling, I could hear every loud thud, I was shaking a little bit.
Sam yelled" River?!"
I screamed" Good idea went bad!"
" You okay?"
" Can a book break my back?"
" No." He made a face, he definitely made a face!
" Did you make a face?" I squirmed till the books fell off, I got up, rubbing my back, and the back of my head.
" No." He's definitely making a face! His oh is squeaker! I huffed, liar, I shook my head then started picking up the books, stacking them.
We were going to where Anna's grace landed, Dean was driving, I was sitting between Sam and Dean. I was getting really sleepy, Dean chuckled.
Ruby said" What?"
Dean said" Nothing. It's just an angel and a demon riding in the backseat." Sam scoffed, smiling," It's like the setup to a bad joke... or a penthouse forum letter."
Sam said" Dude. Reality... porn."
" You call this reality?"
——
We got out of the car, I was holding Dean's sleeve, we stared at a really big tree.
Dean said" It's beautiful."
Anna said" It's where the grace touched down. I can feel it."
" You ready to do this?"
" Not really." We started walking to the big tree.
Anna walked up to the trunk,
Sam said" Anna, what are we even looking for?" She touched the trunk,
She said" It doesn't matter. It's not here. Not anymore. Someone took it."
We were in some old barn,
Dean said" Well, we still got the hex bags. I say we head back to the panic room."
Ruby said" What, forever?"
" I'm just thinking out loud!"
" Oh, you call that thinking?" I ran to Sam, I don't like fighting,
Sam said" Hey! Hey, hey, hey. Stop it." We walked to them,
" Anna's grace is gone. You understand? 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."
Anna said" Um... guys? The angels are talking again."
Sam said" What are they saying?"
" It's weird... like a recording... a loop. It says, Dean Winchester gives us Anna by midnight, or..."
Dean said" Or what?"
" Or we hurl him back to damnation." I looked at Dean,
Sam said" Anna. Do you know of any weapon that works on an angel?"
" To what? Kill them? Nothing we could get to... not right now."
Dean said" Okay, wait, wait. I say we call Bobby. We get him back from hedonism."
Sam said" Dean, what's he gonna tell us that we don't already know?"
" I don't know, but we got to think of something!"
I was watching Sam read, my eyes closed, then opened again, my eyes closed again, but I couldn't open them. I fell asleep.
I woke up on the ground, I sat up, then saw Uriel, I glared at him, standing up.
He said" If Anna isn't handed over, I'm going to throw your brother back to hell." I got angry, the ground started shaking, I breathed heavily," And I'll even toss your worthless spine back in." My lip started shaking," Tell me where you are."
I said" No way!" He tried to come closer to me but he couldn't move,
" How are you?"
" Go away!" I screamed" Go away!" I yelled," Go away!" He was dragged out, I screamed as pain hit me, then everything went black.
I woke up a little, I squirmed around, then fell off the makeshift seat, I whined but laid my head on my arms, closing my eyes again.
———
Dean put me in the front seat of the car, I tilted my head,
I said" I wanna be inside!"
Dean said" No, no, it's way cooler out here. You're just gonna stay here until me or Sam comes and gets you, okay?"
" Why?!"
" Because... Because I said so." His eyes were watery,
" What'd you do?!"
" I didn't do anything. Just stay here, okay? Nothing to worry about. This is adult stuff and last time I checked, you're a child."
" What's going on?!"
" Nothing, it's fine. Take a nap, or.. uh, color or something."
" Stop leaving me out!"
" I'm not leaving you out, River. I'm keeping you out of harm's way, because I'm the older brother, it's my job."
" You didn't keep me out of harm's way with dad!" Dean's face changed, he felt angry, but his face was calm.
" Stay in the car." He closed the door, I pressed my hands to the window, watching him walk away. He stopped for a second, then shook his head, he continued walking. I tried to open the door but it was locked,
I screamed" Dean! Dean, let me out! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Dean! Deee!" I breathed heavily, falling back onto my butt, I pulled my knees up to my chest and started rocking myself. I stared at the car as it looked like it kept getting smaller, I gasped for air, I whimpered" It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay..." I whimpered, pressing my face into my arms, trying to not be scared. Being scared is weak, I can't be weak. I felt the ground shaking, then I was really sleepy, I closed my eyes, falling asleep.
——
I woke up a little,
I heard Sam say" Should we-"
Dean said" No, he has enough on his little mind right now."
" With what? The not-enough sleep, the constant nightmares, and all the other stuff?"
" I saw him."
" Huh?"
" Down there... I saw him, peek around a corner... it-it wasn't big or anything, but I swore it was him."
" You think he already knows, don't you?"
" He's not dumb, and he's definitely not naive."
" Why wouldn't he say anything?"
" Because I wasn't saying anything. He's mad at me."
" He'll get over it, he always has."
" I told you what he said."
" Yeah, and he also was screaming I'm sorry as you walked away from him. Dean, there's still a part of him that thinks if we leave him, we're not coming back, that he'll wake up and he'll be locked away somewhere. You know, he's pretty good at not telling us things, we really gotta start paying attention more."
" He's slipping through our fingers."
" We've still got him, we just gotta remind him that he has us." I whined, stretching my arms out, my arms were grabbed, I was pulled into the front seat.
" Heard us, huh?" I nodded, keeping my eyes closed," Still sleepy?" I nodded again, yawning," All right, get some real sleep, we know you don't sleep worth a shit if we're both not here." I curled up, then dug my head under Dean's arm," Love you, kiddo." I fell back to sleep, maybe with no nightmares.