NO TIME TO DIE◦𝒔𝒂𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓

chapter forty nine.

CHAPTER FORTY NINE:
DEVIL DOESN'T BARGAIN.

NOTE: this chapter follow parts of the episode dean is sent into the future by zachariah and there will be future version of a couple of characters. so, to show a difference between who is talking/being mentioned, future versions such as dean will be in italics (ex: dean vs. dean).

☽ ༓ ☾

"SAMMY?"

Sam's eyes fluttered open at the soft voice that pierced the silence, turning his head in confusion. Birdie was laid on her side and facing Sam in their shared bed, a solemn look on her face like she was in deep thought. Sam's expression softened and he rolled over, sitting up on his elbow as he peered down at Birdie with concern. "Bird?" Sam quietly asked, his voice a little gruff after just waking up.

Birdie frowned, twisting her lips as she hesitated to answer for a few moments. "Is this really our life now, Sam?" Sam let out a sigh, glancing down. Birdie scooted closer, lifting her hand to Sam's chin to make him look at her. "Just living with our heads buried in the sand for the rest of our lives? Running away from who we are? Who we're both meant to be?"

Sam's eyes stared into Birdie's for a few seconds, a small frown on his lips. Then he turned, sitting up in bed. He swung his legs over the edge with his back turned to Birdie, brows knitted together as he thought to himself. Birdie sat up as well, scooting closer to Sam.

"People can change," Sam said after a few moments. "There is reason for hope."

"No, Sam. There isn't."

Birdie reached up, gently moving some hair behind Sam's ear with a sad smile. Sam closed his eyes, a comforting warmth spreading through him at Birdie's gentle touch. Then she put her hand on Sam's shoulder, her thumb softly stroking back and forth. Suddenly her appearance began to change, morphing into someone else.

A blond man who looked to be about in his mid 40's took her place, an eerie smile on his face as his hand remained on Sam's shoulder.

"How can you be so sure?" Sam softly asked.

He didn't realize it was no longer Birdie who he was talking to.

"Because you freed me."

Sam abruptly turned his head, spotting the man instead of Birdie sitting behind him. His eyes widened in horror and he shot up from the mattress, unable to look away as he distanced himself from the bed.

"That's right," the man said, slowly shifting on the bed so he sat on the edge facing Sam. "You know who I am."

"Lucifer," Sam breathed out.

"You are a hard one to find, Sam. Harder than most humans," Lucifer said, nodding his head as he spoke. Sam's eyes skeptically eyed Lucifer, feeling his heartbeat quicken. There was an ordinary man beneath that devilish mask, perhaps someone who was a loving father or a kind friend. And his eyes were ones that seemed like they would have been filled with a comforting warmth. Not anymore. Now they were as cold as ice. Those were the eyes of Lucifer━━━truly in the flesh. Well, Lucifer wasn't really there with Sam, but he did manage to find him in his dreams. "I don't suppose you'd tell me where you are?"

Sam shook his head, harshly staring at Lucifer. "What do you want with me?"

"Thanks to you, I walk the earth. I want to give you a gift. I want to give you everything."

"I don't want anything from you."

Lucifer stared at Sam for a few seconds, taking in his harsh expression. There was a mix of anger, sadness, and a sense of discomfort all looming inside of Sam. He could feel it festering just below the surface, stirring together exactly how he wanted. "I'm so sorry, Sam. I really am, but Nick here is just an improvisation," Lucifer said, gesturing to his vessel. "Plan 'B'. He can barely contain me without spontaneously combusting."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, a hint of confusion mixed in his voice.

"Why do you think you were in that chapel?" Lucifer asked, moving towards Sam who only backed away. "You're the one, Sam. You're my vessel. My true vessel."

Dread and fear washed over Sam like a tidal wave, threatening to knock him down as Lucifer only grinned at his reaction. "No," Sam whispered.

Lucifer nodded, his smile growing at Sam's expression. "Yes."

"No," Sam said again, firmly shaking his head. "That'll never happen."

"I'm sorry, but it will. I will find you." Lucifer stepped closer and Sam moved away from him again, trying to keep plenty of distance between them. "And when I do. . .you will let me in. I'm sure of it."

"You need my consent?" Sam asked.

Lucifer crossed his arms over his chest, appearing slightly offended by the question. "Of course," he answered, looking a little smug. "I'm an angel."

Sam faked out a light laugh. "I will kill myself before letting you in."

"And I'll just bring you back." Sam's face faltered slightly at that, nervously gulping. Lucifer heavily sighed, shaking his head. He'd really hoped he could manage to get through to Sam. But, he wasn't afraid of a challenge. He wouldn't give up until Sam finally said "yes" to him. "Sam, my heart breaks for you. The weight on your shoulders, what you've done, what you still have to do. It is more than anyone could bear. If there was some other way. . .but there isn't."

Sam shook his head in denial. There had to be another way.

There had to be.

"I will never lie to you," Lucifer said, taking just a few steps closer. "I will never trick you. But you will say yes to me."

"You're wrong," Sam said.

"I'm not," Lucifer said. He dared to take another step towards Sam, but just like earlier, Sam immediately moved back. "I think I know you better than you know yourself."

"Why me?" Sam quietly asked, a crack in his voice as he tried to hold it together. He didn't want Lucifer to see him cry, to think he'd gotten to him, to think he had a chance of hearing Sam tell him yes.

"Because it had to be you, Sam." Sam looked down, clenching his eyes shut. "It always had to be you."

Sam sucked in a deep breath and lowered his head as he felt tears trying to form in his eyes. Then lifted his head, realizing Lucifer was suddenly gone as he opened his eyes.

"Sammy?"

Sam let out a shaky breath and turned around, noticing Birdie standing near the bathroom with her brows furrowed together. Birdie walked closer and saw the tears looming in Sam's eyes. Her features immediately softened as she frowned, peering up at him with concern. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, reaching up to gently touch his chin.

Sam shook his head, reaching up to touch her hand. He moved it away from his face slightly, but he still kept his fingers wrapped around Birdie's hand. "It-it was nothing," Sam attempted to deny. "I'm fine."

Birdie shook her head, keeping her eyes focused on Sam. She saw right through his lie. "Sam, we can't do this anymore," she said. "The secrets have got to stop."

Sam let out a quiet breath, slowly nodding his head. He let go of Birdie's hand and she lowered it to her side, patiently waiting for Sam to speak. He cleared his throat, quickly blinking to rid the tears from his eyes. "I-I was dreaming. . .and you were there━━━you've, uh, been in my dreams the last few nights━━━but the whole time. . .it was Lucifer."

Birdie's eyes widened, but she did her best to try and hide the sudden fear she felt upon hearing Lucifer's name. "What, uh. . .what did he say?" she asked.

"He wanted me to tell him where I am, but that'll never happen," Sam said. He stepped to the side, sitting on the edge of the bed. Birdie's frown deepened as she kept her gaze on Sam. "He...he thinks he knows me since I'm-I'm his true vessel. . .and he seems pretty sure I'll eventually say yes."

Birdie stood still for a few seconds, just repeating his words in her head. Sam's eyes were looking at the ground, but he looked up when Birdie remained quiet. She watched him, but there was a distant look in her eyes━━━a sign she was in deep thought. A few seconds later, Birdie offered Sam a small smile and kneeled on the ground, resting her arms on his knees while she gazed up at him. "Then he clearly doesn't know you as well as he thinks he does," she softly said. "While he's unable to find us, we need to use that to our advantage while we can. Find a way to stop him once and for all."

"This is Lucifer we're talking about," Sam said, giving Birdie a weary look. He turned away, facing the wall instead. "Demons are probably everywhere searching for us and━━━"

"That's nothing new," Birdie interrupted, sighing when Sam scoffed out a fake laugh. She shifted on her knees, grabbing Sam's hands to make him look at her again. "Sammy, I know we both blame ourselves for everything that's happened, but we shouldn't just give up. There's still people we can help, monsters that need to be stopped because there's no other hunters out there who are as good as we are."

Sam managed to give Birdie a faint smile at that. Birdie returned the smile, keeping Sam's hands clutched in her own. She was oblivious to the fact he softly moved his thumbs along her hands, something that provided some comfort to both of them.

"Maybe we won't stop Lucifer, but at least we could say we tried," Birdie commented. "That we saw what we did and tried to mend it."

"And, that we're not what people say we are," Sam softly added.

Birdie beamed. "Exactly."

☽ ༓ ☾

"Is your boyfriend okay, Miss?"

Birdie quietly laughed, nodding her head as she looked up at the waiter. "Yes, he's fine," she said, glancing across at Sam. Sam's eyes were wide, lips parted as he just stared across at Birdie. "He's just. . .so surprised that you guys have fried pickles. We haven't eaten them in years, but they're one of his favorite things."

The waiter breathed out a laugh, looking at Birdie again. "Oh, I see. Do you two need a few more minutes to. . .process the rest of the menu then or━━━"

"No, no, that's alright," Birdie shook her head, closing her menu. She set it in front of her and grabbed Sam's placing it on top of hers. "I'll, uh, have your chicken taco special with a side of. . ."

"Fried pickles?" The waiter suggested, a small smile on his lips.

Birdie chuckled, quickly nodding her head. "Yes. And he'll have. . .a bacon cheeseburger and fries, and a wet rag I can use to try and knock that shock out of him."

"Sure thing," the waiter said, stealing another glance at Sam. He'd moved since the last time the waiter looked at him, though he still looked weary and had an unreadable expression on his face. The waiter made sure he had the right orders written down and then nodded to himself. He tucked the notepad in his apron and then grabbed their menu's off the table. "Those'll be out in a bit."

"Thank you," Birdie said.

She let out a sigh as the waiter walked away, tilting her head as she laid her arms on the table. Sam looked at her, shaking his head as he leaned back in his seat. "You're really serious about this?" he finally asked. "And you're-you're one hundred percent that it's━━━"

"Yes Sam," Birdie firmly said. "I am one hundred percent sure that I know my own father."

Sam leaned forward, resting his arms on the table as well. "I know you do, but are you sure it's really━━━"

"Yes. This is my dad we're talking about, Sam. I wouldn't say it was him unless I knew for sure."

"This is. . .this is great then, Birdie," Sam said.

Birdie softly smiled, nodding as she took a sip of her water. "Yeah."

"How the hell did he even find you?" Sam asked, furrowing his brows together.

Birdie leaned back in her seat, absentmindedly playing with her straw wrapper. "He had this feeling something was wrong so he tracked me down a few days ago just to make sure I was doin' okay. He found me with you and Dean, but he lost track of us when more shit got thrown at us," She paused, thinking. "But. . .he tracked me down at the barn and. . ."

"And he made a deal for you?" Sam finished for her. Birdie nodded in response. She reached forward, taking another large drink of her water. Sam breathed out a forced laugh, shaking his head. "Guess I can see why our dads tolerated each other. They'd really do anything for us."

Birdie scoffed under her breath, nodding her head in agreement. "Yeah, they sure will," she muttered. Sam tilted his head, a confused look appearing on his face. Birdie looked over at Sam, rolling her eyes. "Not that I don't. . .appreciate him saving my life because I do, but I just wish he would've stayed in the first place. I've been hunting and hunted my entire life. Him 'dying' didn't change anything. Monsters still know our names, or just our faces. They'd still keep coming for me, and that's exactly what those assholes did."

Sam nodded, shifting in his seat. "He thought he was protecting you."

"By leaving me?" Birdie scoffed. "He was alive this whole time and he let me go through all of this bullshit."

"Do you blame him for what happened?"

Birdie blinked, quickly shaking her head. She clenched her eyes shut, groaning to herself as she leaned her elbows on the table and pushed her face into her hands. "No, no, of course not," she denied, shaking her head as she lowered her hands. "I just. . .I don't know, Sam. This is all so damn confusing. I thought he was dead this entire time. I had to figure shit out on my own without him. . .but now I know he's alive, and... he could've been here. I don't know what to think or what to freakin' feel."

Sam slowly nodded, hearing the pain etched in Birdie's voice. Exasperation was written all over her face, a frown on her lips that made Sam form a matching one. "Maybe it was still safer for you somehow," Sam suggested, giving Birdie a small smile when she gave him a look. "Our parents, as skilled as they were, made some enemies along the way. If they knew your dad was still alive, they could've used you in order to get to him."

"If," Birdie pointed out. "There's no way of knowing that it could've happened."

"There's no way of knowing that it couldn't have either."

"Why are you defending him?"

Sam heavily sighed, a soft expression on his face. "I'm. . .I'm not defending him, Birdie. I'm beyond pissed at him and think it was wrong of him to leave you alone for all these years. . ."

"I sense there's a but coming," Birdie muttered. She didn't know how she felt, though there were some hints of anger and hurt when she spoke.

Sam chuckled under his breath, noticing a faint smile appearing on Birdie's face for a brief moment. "But. . .I know how much he means to you, how much you looked up to him, how much you love him. And, I know I shouldn't be the one to say this, but I think you should give him a chance. Spend some time with him and just see how it goes from there."

"I don't know, Sam."

"What are you afraid will happen? That something will go wrong, or that something will go right?"

Birdie opened her lips to respond, but they smacked close when the waiter returned with their food. Sam and Birdie quickly smiled, thanking the boy as he set the food down in front of them.

"Is there anything else I can get for you two?" he asked.

Sam shook his head, still smiling. "No, thanks."

The boy smiled back and nodded. "Alright. Enjoy." Then with that he walked away, going to check on another table.

After a few seconds of weary silence, Birdie looked up from her food. "I'm afraid he won't be the same as before," she confessed.

"Are you the same as before?" Sam asked, reaching for a fried pickle.

Birdie narrowed her eyes and then shrugged, grabbing a fried pickle as well. "No, well, maybe a little━━━I don't freakin' know, Samuel." She harshly bit into the fried pickle, quickly chomping down as Sam just raised his brow at her. Birdie slowed down, swallowing the food. She lowered her hand, pursing her lips together as she thought. "What if he doesn't like who I've become? What then? He just disappears again? And then I have to pretend like I don't know my own father is━━━"

"Woah, Bird, slow down, alright?" Sam said, causing Birdie to quiet down. Sam leaned his elbows on the table, a soft glint in his eyes as they bored into Birdie's. "He's your dad. He's always loved you no matter what, and I'm sure he still does. Nothing's gonna change that."

"If he truly loved me, he would've stayed in the first place."

"He left because he loves you. I still don't agree with it, but he did it out of love. And the fact he's back and trying. . .that's gotta mean something. So why not give him a chance?"

Birdie bit the inside of her cheek and fiddled with the remaining pickle in her hand, finally looking at Sam again. "Oh, I hate it when you're right," she said, shoving the rest of the food into her mouth.

Sam laughed and picked up his burger, a small smirk on his lips. "So all the time?"

Birdie falsely laughed, playfully rolling her eyes. "You're lucky our waiter didn't take me seriously about that wet rag because I'd be using it on you right about now."

"Kinky."

Samuel!"

Sam just snickered at Birdie's reaction, biting into his burger with a cheeky grin. A bacon cheeseburger wouldn't have been his first choice, though it did smell amazing. And, as he bit into it, it tasted even better than he would've thought. Birdie's amused smile remained on her lips as she started to eat her tacos, not even caring that bits of lettuce and drops of sour cream were plopping down onto her plate to make quite a mess. Sam chuckled to himself, continuing to eat his burger as well as the fried pickles. It continued on like that as they ate the rest of their lunch, talking back and forth as they did so. Their waiter checked on them a few more times, bringing extra napkins or refilling their drinks when he noticed they were running low. Once they were done, Sam paid for their food and left a tip for the waiter. Then they headed out and were back on the road again.

Three hours passed since then and they made a quick stop at a gas station to fill up the tank. They were halfway to Dean's last location, hoping to convince him that they were stronger when they were together, not apart. Dean was adamant that it was best for him and Sam that they stayed separated from each other, that they were actually worse when they were together, but Sam swore he had something important to show Dean; breaking the news that Birdie was alive over the phone didn't sound like such a good idea, so they wanted to show him in person. However, Dean hung up on Sam, leaving them to track his phone in order to find out where he was before he turned his phone off.

Birdie climbed out of the passenger seat, rounding the back of the van to meet Sam by the pump. He glanced over when he saw her, reaching into his pocket to pull out some cash. Birdie shook her head, pushing his hand away. "I got it," she said, chuckling when Sam rolled his eyes. "What do you want from inside?"

"Just a water," he answered.

"Just a water?" Birdie asked, raising a brow. "No candy? Chocolate? No green juice━━━"

"Just a water," Sam chuckled.

Birdie playfully rolled her eyes and nodded. "Alright. I'm gonna use the bathroom first and then get us some snacks. Shouldn't be no longer than. . .four━━━no, five minutes."

Sam glanced at his watch and then looked at Birdie. "Your timer starts now."

Birdie laughed again and turned around, jogging towards the gas station. She slipped through the glass doors and towards a hall, hands tucked in her pockets. Her eyes skimmed over the doors, pushing open the door that had a bathroom sign on it. Someone stepped out just as she did so, causing their shoulders to bump into each other. Birdie slightly winced, turning her head as the figure stumbled out of the door and turned. "I'm so sorry ma'am. . ." the woman said, giving Birdie an apologetic nod. The woman's eyes skimmed over Birdie's appearance for a few moments and then she nodded again, taking a few steps away. "Sorry again."

"It's okay," Birdie muttered, shaking her head as the woman walked away. Then she fully entered the bathroom, peeking under the stalls to see no one else was in there. She quickly went pee and then washed her hands, drying them off on her jeans since there weren't any paper towels left. She sighed to herself and peered at herself in the mirror, fixing some strands of her hair that were sticking up slightly. She paused and then shook her head, pulling her hair up to tie it into a bun. She hummed in approval and turned to leave, but then she froze in place when she saw the entire room suddenly changed.

Birdie loudly gasped, stumbling back in confusion. Her eyes frantically darted around the dingy bathroom, scrunching her nose in disgust. It was now a tiny bathroom, dirt coating almost the entire room. The mirror above the sink was much smaller than before and now cracked, pieces broken off and sitting in the blood stained sink. "What the f. . ." Birdie shook her head, frowning as she tried to understand what had just happened. She walked over to the door and partially opened it, hoping her mind was just playing cruel tricks on her at the moment.

The door creaked open and she started to poke her head out. Something hurried forward and her eyes widened, leaning back before she rushed forward and tackled the figure to the ground. She landed on top of them, an angry fire burning in her eyes as she pinned their arms at their sides with her knees.

"Wait, Birdie?"

Birdie blinked a few times, gaping at the sight of Dean beneath her. "Holy. . .oh! I'm so sorry!" Birdie clambered off of him, holding her hand out to him. He stared at her hands for a few seconds, but slowly took it and let her help him onto his feet. He took a step back once he was upright, taking in her appearance. Birdie offered him a timid smile, but it disappeared the minute she caught sight of the motel room they were standing inside.

She scrunched up her nose, examining the grimy room. The clock on the nightstand was smashed, some trash still littered on the table. The bed was completely missing everything except the questionable bed frame, rust creeping up the legs and headboard. Dead bugs and old pizza boxes were under the bed, causing a thin trail of ants to go to and from the boxes in hopes there were still just a few crumbs left. Stains of all colors were embedded into the carpet, not a single piece of the original fabric visible.

Birdie focused her gaze back on Dean with skepticism, hoping he knew what was going on. "Dean. . .what the fuck is going on?" Birdie wondered. "Why are we here?"

"What are you doing here, Birdie?" Dean asked, purposely ignoring Birdie's questions. "You're dead━━━no, you can't be a━━━"

Birdie immediately scoffed, lightly smacking his shoulder to make him stop talking. "I'm not a damn ghost, Dean. And I'm not anything else so you better get your damn hand away from your pocket right now," she said, having spotted him reaching for something in his jacket pocket; most likely his holy water. Birdie sighed, shaking her head as a small smile appeared on her lips. Dean just kept staring at her, undoubtedly expecting her to turn into something else or do something that would prove she wasn't the Birdie he knew. "Remember Sam telling you on the phone he had something he needed to show you?" Birdie asked.

"Yeah. . ." Dean slowly replied. How did Birdie know about that?

"It was me," Birdie said. "I was right beside him while he was talkin' to you. We didn't really think breaking the news that I was back from the dead to you over the phone was a very good idea."

"No, there's no way━━━"

Birdie firmly nodded. "It is, and I promise I will explain everything, but after we figure out where the fuck we are and what's goin' on."

Dean stared at her for a few seconds and then started to smile. "Come here."

Birdie's smile widened and she stepped into his arms, wrapping her arms around him. They held on tight to one another, eyes closed as they basked in each other's warmth. Birdie took a couple steps back once they let go, frowning while she took another look around the room and then faced Dean again. "You got any idea where we are?" Birdie asked.

"Kansas City," Dean answered, moving towards the window. Birdie followed, feeling a cool breeze as the wind swept into the room through the broken window. "This is the room I was stayin' in, but it sure as hell didn't look like this when I went to sleep."

Birdie walked over and poked her head out of the window alongside Dean, raising her brows at the view outside.

Like the inside of the motel, the outside perfectly matched.

The entire street was completely trashed, all kinds of things long forgotten in what appeared to be an abandoned wasteland. Distant skyscrapers appeared to be falling apart, clouds of black smoke drifting into the air from multiple different locations. Rusted cars were still in the street, some beaten and battered while others were missing parts that must have been stolen at some point. Most of the buildings across the street were crumbling to almost rubble, looking like a bomb had gone off and tossed the debris everywhere it could reach.

Birdie slowly turned her head, looking at Dean the same time he looked at her. "Well. . .that can't be a good sign," she breathed out.

"Oh, you think?" Dean said, stepping away from the window. Birdie huffed at his sarcasm, sharply turning on her heel. "Come on. Let's go see if we can find someone who knows what happened."

"You really think we'll find someone in this mess?" Birdie asked, sticking close to Dean as he opened the door to the hall. He looked both ways to see if it was safe and then stepped out. Birdie did the same, not bothering to close the door behind her. Trash lined the hall, stains of all shapes and colors decorating the walls. Dead bugs were everyone, some living ones gnawing on the flesh of the recently deceased bugs.

"I don't freakin' know," Dean said, shrugging his shoulders as he started to walk down the stairs. Birdie quietly sighed and did the same, being careful not to touch the railing that was coated in some red and brown muck. The stairs creaked with each step they took, threatening to break if too much weight stepped down. "It can't just be us here."

"This is so fucking weird," Birdie said once they reached the lobby. She didn't even bother looking around this time. She knew it matched the rest of what she'd seen so far. Dean went to the main door and carefully pushed it open, holding it open for Birdie. She quickly stepped outside, a frown gracing her lips as she took a closer at the street.

Being on the ground, Birdie could see even more rubble. Graffiti markings were painted on dozens of walls, the words unintelligible like time had caused some of the symbols and letters to fade or wash away. Windows of stores were broken and boarded up, the insides just as messy and ruined as the motel. Trash cans were dented and rusted, some trash somehow still inside. Rubble and broken car parts were scattered everywhere, meaning Dean and Birdie had to be careful wherever they walked.

Birdie shook her head, catching Dean's eye again. "What do you think happened here?" she asked, starting to walk to the left.

Dean quietly sighed, trailing off to the side of the younger woman. "It looks like a damn warzone. The city got bombed, people fled."

"And yet we're here somehow," Birdie said.

"Yeah, and I'm gonna kill whoever did it."

Birdie chuckled under her breath. "I'll help."

"Birdie, what happened?"

"I just said I don't know━━━"

"No, no," Dean said, stopping in the middle of the road. Birdie stopped as well, turning to fully face Dean. "I mean before━━━with Ruby, and Felicity."

"Oh, that," Birdie whispered. She twisted her lips, staring at Dean's face as he waited for some kind of answer. "It's too much to explain right now. I swear I'll tell you everything once we're back in the right place, okay?"

"I need somethin', Birdie. After months of you and Sam both constantly lying to me, I think I deserve some answers."

Birdie fought the urge to hide her hurt as she continued to look at Dean. He had a point. He did deserve answers. But, without knowing what was going on or where they were in some wasteland, it wasn't the right place to talk it out. "Soon, Dean, I promise."

"Yeah, I've heard that before."

Birdie placed her hands on her hips, shooting Dean a sharp look. "You really wanna do this? Right here, right now?"

Dean didn't respond. Instead he just started walking again. Birdie ran a hand along the side of her face and followed, deciding to keep her mouth shut until Dean spoke first.

Glass shattered a few minutes later, capturing their attention. They turned their heads, thinking it came from the alley up ahead. Dean turned his head and Birdie silently nodded, the two quickly heading in that direction.

They cautiously rounded the corner of the alley, abruptly stopping when they saw what made the noise. There was a little girl sitting in the middle of the path. She had dark hair that was a mess of tangles, globs of mud matted in it as well. Her dress was dirty and tattered, feet bare as she sat on the ground. Broken glass was in front of her and Birdie figured that was the sound they'd heard. She had a ratty, old teddy bear in one of her hands, though her focus was mainly on the glass for some reason.

"Little girl?" Dean called out. He took a few steps closer, tilting his head as he spoke. Birdie stayed close by, stealing a look behind her to see if the little girl was really all by herself or if it was some kind of trap. "Little girl? Are you hurt?"

Birdie frowned when the girl still didn't respond, sharing a look with Dean. Why wasn't she answering?

They took a few more cautious steps closer, careful to make sure that nothing was watching them in the distance or was hidden behind some rubble. Dean held his hand up, silently telling Birdie to stay back as he crouched down beside the girl. "You know the not-talking thing is kind of creepy, right?"

A thin trail of blood dripped down from the girl's mouth, landing on the glass below her. She quickly turned her head towards Dean, angrily shrieking as she picked up a shard of glass. She swung it at Dean, cutting his left arm. He let out a pained yell and quickly stood up, holding his arm where he'd been cut. Birdie hurried over to help, but she halted when Dean hit the girl, knocking her to the ground. The glass was still clutched in her hand, but at least she was knocked out and couldn't further hurt either of them.

"What the fuck was that?" Birdie breathed out in disbelief, sharing a concerned look with Dean.

Dean softly groaned, shaking his head as he moved. His wince disappeared from his face as something caught his eye behind Birdie. She followed Dean's gaze, jaw dropping at the graffiti she saw sprayed a door.

She could clearly tell what it said this time: CROATOAN.

"Oh, fuck," Dean and Birdie said simultaneously.

A group of people came around that same corner, blocking the Croatoan graffiti. They stopped when they spotted Dean and Birdie at the other end of the alley, snarls on their lips.

"Run?" Birdie whispered to Dean.

Dean quickly nodded. "Run."

Birdie sharply turned and booked it down the alley, Dean hot on her heels. The group of croatoan's shouted and ran, rushing after them. Dean and Birdie exited the alley and Dean bumped into some trash cans, but he managed to catch his foot and kept running. Birdie let out a shaky breath as he came up beside her again, pushing themselves to go even faster. They ran and ran, dodging knocked over canisters, broken car parts, and busted up crates.

Birdie glanced back over her shoulder after turning onto a different street, fastening her pace. The group of infected were gaining on them faster than she'd expected.

Together they sprinted around a forgotten two wheeler near a road curve, coming upon a tall, metal fence that blocked off the rest of the road. They slowed to a stop, turning around to face the infected. Birdie nervously gulped and glanced at Dean, noticing the same panic written on his face. Gunfire suddenly rang out from behind them, dozens of bullets pelting the croatoans. Birdie and Dean dropped to the ground, hastily ducking behind a roadblock to shield themselves. Glass shattered as bullets hit the nearby buildings, drawing more and more croatoans to the area.

Birdie watched with wide eyes, gaze darting to Dean when music started to play. It was The Contours' "Do You Love Me".

'What the fuck?' Dean mouthed to Birdie. She just shrugged exasperatedly. She had no idea what was going on.

Birdie dared to lift her head, peeking up over the road block. There was a military-like truck parked there with multiple soldiers surrounding it with their guns firing. Dean roughly grabbed Birdie's shoulder and yanked her back down, giving her an incredulous look.

Gunfire continued, killing more and more of the infected while the song blared from a radio. There was another alley up ahead and Dean motioned for them to move towards it while they had an opening. Birdie nodded and started to crawl across the road, Dean right behind her. When they got close enough to the alley, they stood up and hurried into the narrow walkway. Birdie flinched when some bullets hit the wall behind them, but thankfully they missed her and Dean. Dean ducked down and sat on the ground, pressing his back up against the wall to catch his breath for a second. Birdie sank down in front of him, grabbing his arm to check on the wound.

"We don't have t━━━"

"Just let me see if you need stitches or not," Birdie loudly said, wanting to make sure he heard her over the sound of gunfire. Dean huffed but let her take his arm.

She moved some of his torn jacket away from the wound, letting out a sigh of relief. It didn't need stitches at least. But, they did need to dress it to try and stop it from bleeding anymore. Birdie reached up into her hair, swiftly undoing the bandana. Dean held his arm out, hissing as Birdie tied the cloth tight around the cut. "Sorry," Birdie said, letting go once she knew it wasn't going to come undone.

"Alright, come on," Dean said, standing up. Birdie stood as well, following Dean once again.

The sun had set by the time Dean and Birdie managed to get away from the city and the trigger-happy soldiers. They stealthily moved along the fences, managing to create a hole with some pliers they found inside of a rundown car a couple miles back.

They slipped out of the hole and dusted off their clothes, finding themselves able to finally catch a breath after running for most of the day. Birdie walked forward and scanned the area, biting the inside of her cheek at the darkness that surrounded them. Trees circled the rest of the fence, most likely the direction Dean and Birdie wouldn't want to travel. Who knew what was lurking in those woods.

Birdie frowned at the thought and turned, noticing something posted on the fence. She stood in front of it to see what it said and scoffed under her breath.

CROATOAN VIRUS
HOT ZONE
NO ENTRY
BY ORDER OF ACTING REGIONAL COMMAND
AUGUST 1, 2014
KANSAS CITY

"'August first, 2014'," Dean read aloud.

Birdie did a double take, realizing it did in fact say 2014. "No way," Birdie breathed out, looking at Dean. "This can't be real."

Dean nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, holding his hands out at his sides. "You got another way to explain what the hell's goin' on here?" he retorted.

Birdie opened her mouth, but then quickly shut it.

Dean hummed in response and started walking, noticing a car a few feet away. Birdie jogged after him, raising a brow when Dean started to inspect the car. There were some dents on the bumper and a handful on the back doors, but it was in better shape than any other car they'd seen thus far.

"Do you really expect this thing to work?" Birdie asked, crossing her arms.

"It's worth a shot," Dean replied, opening the driver's side door. Birdie rolled her eyes and headed to the passenger side. She opened the door and sat in the seat, watching Dean attempt to hotwire the car. She knew it wasn't going to work. They were just wasting time. "Come on you piece of shit. Work!"

"Told you," Birdie said.

However, the car roared to life right after.

Birdie scoffed, shaking her head as Dean just proudly smirked. "How convenient is this," she mumbled.

☽ ༓ ☾

Dean held up his phone towards the roof of the car, rolling his eyes in frustration. No service on his phone and there was only static coming from the radio. "That's never a good sign," he said, switching off the radio and pocketing his phone.

"'Croatoan pandemic reaches Australia.'" Dean and Birdie both flinched in surprise, looking in the backseat where a middle aged man in a sharp suit now sat, holding a crinkly newspaper in his hands. "'President Palin defends bombing of Houston.' Certainly a buyer's market in real estate. Let's see what's happening in sports. Oh, that's right━━━no more sports. Congress revoked the right to group assembly. What's left of Congress, that is. Hardly a quorum, if you ask me."

"What the fuck? Who the hell are you?" Birdie demanded to know.

"Zachariah," the man smugly replied. Birdie immediately rolled her eyes and faced forward. She never met him, though Sam had filled her in on how much of a dick the angel was. He cornered Sam and Dean to try and force Dean into saying "yes" to Michael, but he said no. In retaliation, Zachariah broke one of Sam's legs and then took away his lungs, resulting in his death. He nearly killed Dean as Dean repeatedly said no again and again. Thankfully, Castiel showed up and forced Zachariah to undo it all so that the Winchesters were both alive and unharmed. "I see the Winchesters have filled you in on who I am."

"Yeah," Birdie snapped. "You're a piece of shit."

"I thought I smelled your stink on this Back to the Future bullshit," Dean chimed in, glancing at the angel in the rearview mirror. "How the hell'd you find us?"

"Afraid we had to tap some unorthodox resources of late━━━human informants," Zachariah answered. "We've been making inspirational visits to the fringier Christian groups. They've been given your images, told to keep an eye out."

"The Bible freak outside the motel━━━he, what, dropped a dime on me?"

"Onward, Christian soldiers."

"But I wasn't even with Dean," Birdie said, glancing at the backseat. Zachariah breathed out a short laugh, folding up the newspaper and setting it in the seat next to him. "It was that woman from the bathroom, wasn't it?"

"Actually, no. The cashier. He made you the instant you walked into that gas station."

Birdie shook her head, sharing a silent look with Dean.

"Okay, well, good, great. You've had your jollies," Dean said, adjusting his tight grip on the steering wheel. "Now send us back, you son of a bitch."

"Oh, you'll get back, all in good time," Zachariah said. "We want you two to marinate a bit."

"Marinate?"

"Three days. Three days to see where this course of action takes you." Zachariah then turned his head, looking at Birdie with a sneer. "And where your actions take you."

Birdie scrunched up her face, returning the angels sourful look. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that the choices you two make have consequences," Zachairah said. "This is what happens to the world if you continue to say "no" to Michael." Birdie angrily clenched her jaw, already glaring at the angel when he looked at her one last time. "And you're here to see what lies ahead for you if you don't convince him to do the right thing and you make a very fatal mistake. Have a little look-see."

And then just like that, Zachariah was gone.

Birdie loudly groaned, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Fucker!"

"What a dick!" Dean shouted in agreement, more than certain that the angel could still hear them.

"He really expects us to stay here for three fuckin' days?" Birdie asked Dean.

Dean scoffed, forcing out a laugh. "He's fuckin' nuts if he thinks that'll happen. We're goin' back to our own time."

"But how?" Birdie asked.

"I don't know, but if there's one person who might know something━━━"

"Bobby," Birdie said, starting to smile along with Dean. "You think he'll still be the same five years into the future?"

"You mean a bitter old man?" Dean chuckled. "Oh, yeah."

If Birdie thought she was a little panicked before about the world they were in, she was certainly panicked now.

They'd arrived at Bobby's the next day, but it was not in the same condition as she remembered.

It was completely torn apart, all of his furniture knocked over and broken in almost every room. Spiderwebs were nestled in corners and in hidden crevices, gently swaying in the wind that swept in from the shattered windows. Dust coated just about everything, a strong sign that no one had been there for quite some time. They'd walked further into the house, hearts sinking when they saw a wheelchair had fallen on its side in the kitchen. Dean sat it upright and both him and Birdie saw the multiple bullet holes and the dried blood.

Dean then opened the hidden compartment above the fireplace and pulled out Bobby's journal. Birdie stood next to the oldest Winchester as he flipped through it, reaching out to stop him when she saw a photo sticking out of a page. She pulled it out and held it in front of them. It was a picture of Bobby and Castiel with three other men that neither of them recognized. Behind them was a large sign that read 'Camp Chitaqua'.

"'Camp Chitaqua'," Birdie said, furrowing her brows together. "That ring a bell to you?"

"No, but it's where we need to go next," Dean said.

Birdie nodded in agreement and folded up the picture, stuffing it in one of her pockets.

They rummaged through some more of Bobby's house, taking some weapons and extra ammo with them. Then they were on the road again, taking back roads in hopes of avoiding any more soldiers or Croatoans. The drive took most of the day as it was night when they arrived, though Birdie didn't mind. That meant they were already one day down, only two more to go━━━if they didn't find a way back sooner.

They parked the car a couple miles away and walked the rest of the way, slowing down when the camp finally came into sight. The entire area was fenced off, men with guns inside while they patrolled the area.

"You think our future selves could be inside there?" Birdie quietly asked.

"God, I hope not," Dean said, shaking his head. "I think we'd all kill ourselves━━━literally."

Birdie huffed. "I'm serious, Dean. We might wanna think this through━━━"

"Oh, Baby, no," Dean whispered, his eyes growing wide in horror.

Birdie frowned and followed his gaze. Her expression fell and she slowly looked at Dean with a blank expression. It was the Impala━━━now rusted out and dented all to hell. "Seriously?" she harshly whispered. "That's what you're focusing on right now?"

Dean just shushed her and walked along the fence, glancing around the area. The patrolmen were no longer in sight. Dean pulled out the pliers and quickly snipped at the fence, creating a hole big enough for him and Birdie to sneak through. They slipped inside the camp and adjusted the fence, trying to not to make it obvious it was tampered with.

Dean and Birdie approached the Impala for a better look at the damage and Dean peered inside the driver's side door. "Oh, no, baby," Dean said, shaking his head as he took in his car's condition. "What did they do to you?"

"Something really bad must've happened if you let this happen to your one and only pride and joy," Birdie said, casting a look at Dean.

"No, I'd never let anything like this happen to my girl," Dean denied. "Not even if I was dead."

Birdie forced out a laugh, but it stopped when she heard something rustle behind them. She turned on her heel, backing into the Impala as someone suddenly struck Dean in the face. They knocked him out in one fell swoop, sharply looking at Birdie next. She loudly gasped, looking at the figure with wide eyes. "Holy fu━━━"

The figure punched Birdie, sending her falling to the ground next to Dean.

Dean━━━the 2014 version of Dean━━━stared down at the unconscious individuals, a dark look on his face.

Now what was he gonna do with the trespassers?

☽ ༓ ☾

Soon enough, Birdie woke up and discovered that she and Dean were handcuffed to a wooden ladder. She groggily sat up and frowned, sharing a look with Dean who had just woken up as well. They were now in a cabin of some sort, the smell of burnt wood and gunpowder hitting her nose. She turned her head, seeing Dean was sitting at a table in front of them, cleaning a rather large gun with a blank expression.

"What the fuck?" Dean said, staring at his future self in shock.

Dean turned his head, noticing that they were finally awake. "I should be asking that question, don't you think?" he asked, leaning forward and aiming the gun at them with his brows raised. "In fact, why don't you two give me one good reason why I shouldn't fuckin' gank both of you right here and now?"

"Because you'd only be hurting yourself," Dean suggested, lightly chuckling under his breath.

Birdie deadpanned at him.

"Very funny," Dean said.

"Look, man," Dean said, nervously chuckling as Dean adjusted his gun and then sat it on the table. "I'm no shapeshifter or demon or anything, okay? Neither is Birdie."

"Yeah, I know. I did the drill while you two were out. Silver, salt, holy water━━━nothing. But you know what was funny? Was that you had every hidden lockpick, box cutter, and switchblade that I carry," Dean said, focusing his gaze on Dean. "And you," he said, turning his attention to Birdie who narrowed her eyes, "You still have that necklace from Reese and a dagger that I gave to Birdie. Now, you guys wanna explain that? Oh, and the, uh, resemblance, while you're at it, Dean?"

Dean sighed, slouching against the ladder. "Zachariah."

Dean slowly stood up, recognizing the name. "Come again?"

"We're from the tail end of 2009, and clearly I'm you, pal," Dean said. "Zach plucked us up and threw us five years into the future."

"Where is he? I want to talk to him."

Dean and Birdie both made a face. "We don't know," Dean said.

"Oh, you don't know."

"We don't," Birdie sternly answered. "Why the hell do you wanna talk to him, anyways?"

"Look, we just want to get back to our own fuckin' year, okay?" Dean snapped.

Dean stared at them for a few seconds, a mix of emotions and thoughts clashing in his mind. Then he wiped his hand over his mouth, crouching down in front of Dean and Birdie. "Okay. If you're me. . .then tell me something only I would know," Dean said.

Dean thought for a moment, smirking a few seconds later when a particular memory popped into his mind. "Rhonda Hurley. We were, uh, nineteen. She made us try on her panties. They were pink. And satiny. And you know what? We kinda liked it."

Dean nodded in approval. Birdie hummed to herself, shaking her head with a small smile when Dean looked over at her. "Touché," Dean said. He shifted his feet, turning more towards Birdie whose smile wiped away the second their eyes locked. "Your turn."

Birdie scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Just do it," Dean muttered, nodding in encouragement.

Birdie pursed her lips together, thinking for a couple of seconds. Something only she and Dean would know. . .what could that possibly be? Oh, she knew. "When you were 17 and I was 12, we were at some motel while your Dad was hunting with my parents and Sam was at Bobby's because he was sick. My Dad left our car for you to use only incase of an emergency. I-I got my first period and cried because I didn't know what to do, and you went out and got me my favorite candy and some pads━━━which you made me swear not to tell anyone about."

Dean glanced at himself, both of them remembering that occurrence. "That'll do." Dean stood up, returning to the table to continue cleaning and loading his weapons. "So, what━━━Zach zapped you two here to see how bad it gets?"

"I guess," Dean grumbled, annoyance clear as day. Birdie gulped when Dean cocked the gun, face void of any emotion. He seemed so different, so cold and closed off like there was no warmth or kindness left in his heart. "Croatoan virus, right? That's their endgame?"

"It's efficient, it's incurable, and it's scary as fuck," Dean said. "Turns people into monsters. Started hittin' the major cities about two years ago. World really went to fuckin' shit after that."

Birdie frowned. "What about Sam?" she asked.

"And Bird?" Dean added.

Dean stilled for a moment, hesitating to answer. Birdie and Dean shared a silent look, not appreciating the silence they were met with. "Heavyweight showdown in Detroit," Dean finally answered, moving on to clean another gun. "From what I understand, Sam and Birdie didn't make it."

Birdie faltered at those words, the news hitting her like a direct punch to the gut.

She wasn't exactly surprised to hear that she didn't make it, but Sam. . .he was so much stronger than her, more powerful than her. Hearing that he died again and it sticking. . .she almost wished that Dean didn't answer. Dean was surely feeling the same, hearing that both his friend and baby brother would both die in just a few years.

Dean shook his head, looking at his future self with disbelief. "You weren't with them?"

"No. No, we. . .the three of us hadn't talked in. . .hell, five years."

"Five years?" Birdie repeated. Now that she didn't believe. That just wasn't like her, and it wasn't like Sam either.

"We never tried to find them?" Dean asked.

"We had other people to worry about," Dean said, grabbing his bag full of his weapons. He slung it over his shoulder, the movement making Dean and Birdie sit up straight.

"Where're you going?" Dean and Birdie asked at the same time.

"I gotta run an errand."

Birdie scoffed, shaking her wrist that was still cuffed to the ladder. "You can't just leave us here like this."

Dean looked at her, making no indication to free her or Dean. "Yes I can. I got a camp full of twitchy trauma survivors out there with an apocalypse hangin' over their damn heads. The last thing they need to see is a version of The Parent Trap or a ghost." Dean rolled his eyes, cursing under his breath. Birdie glared and leaned back, lifting her hand to give Dean the middle finger. He breathed out a laugh, shaking his head in amusement. "Yeah, you two are staying locked down."

"Okay. All right. Fine. But you don't have to cuff us, man." Dean just walked towards the door, ignoring Dean's comment. "Oh, come on. You don't trust yourself? Or Birdie, huh?"

"No," Dean said, glancing at Birdie. Birdie tilted her head, catching a hint of something on his hardened features. She couldn't tell what it was━━━a mix of anger, hatred, or. . .or was it sadness? He was too hard to read and Birdie hated it. "Absolutely not."

Birdie gaped as Dean walked out of the cabin, closing the door behind him. "Dick," Dean said, voicing Birdie's thoughts.

Birdie leaned her head against the ladder, closing her eyes as she heavily sighed. "Well, now what? We're fuckin' stuck here all thanks you."

"It's not my fault," Dean objected. Birdie turned her head, cocking a brow. Dean rolled his eyes, grumbling under his breath. "Okay, it's kinda my fault, but it's older me's fault, alright?"

"Well, if you were older you, you probably took the keys to these with you, right?" Birdie asked. Dean nodded, his eyes silently scanning the cabin for something nearby he could use to free them. Birdie hummed and adjusted her posture, also searching around the room. But, there was nothing. Birdie sighed, brows furrowing together as she looked down at her lap. "Do you really think we all didn't talk again before Sam and I died?"

Dean paused, quickly looking over at Birdie. "What? No, I don't believe that."

"You don't?" Birdie asked, lifting her head. "Your future self seemed pretty serious about it."

"Yeah, but I know myself. I know all my tells. He was lying."

Birdie slowly nodded, her frown lingering on her lips. "Dean, I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry━━━for everything. For not telling you what Sam and I were doing with Ruby, about Felicity, about the. . .about the demon blood━━━just constantly hiding things and lying. . .I'm sorry, Dean."

"Yeah, I am too," Dean softly said. "Things aren't gonna be the same anymore, you know that, right?"

Birdie sadly nodded, looking at her lap again. "Yeah, I know. . ."

"How are you alive, Birdie?"

Birdie pursed her lips and then faced Dean, a small smile spreading across her lips. "My dad's back." Dean's eyes noticeably tripled in size, confusion apparent on his face. "He's. . .well, he's actually been alive this whole time. After the wreck, he-he left and let everyone think he was dead. He thought it would give me a chance to get out of hunting and have a normal life━━━that clearly worked out so fuckin' well. But, uh, I-I did die. . .and my dad brought me back."

"How?"

Birdie forced out a bitter laugh. "The same way your dad got you back and you got Sam back."

"No━━━"

"I know. That's what I said, too."

"And I take it Sam already knows?"

Birdie nodded. "But I swear to god I was gonna tell you when we saw you in person again."

"I-I believe you, Birdie, I do," Dean said. "And we can talk⎯⎯⎯really talk⎯⎯⎯once we find a way out of this shit hole."

"Oh, wait. Could this work?" Birdie asked, holding up a nail she'd removed from the floorboard next to her. It was already coming loose, sticking up further than the rest. With just the right amount of yanking, Birdie had gotten it out while she and Dean spoke.

Dean blinked, shooting Birdie a blank look. "Have you had that this entire time?"

"Not the whole time," Birdie nonchalantly shrugged. "Just the last three minutes or so."

"Son of a━━━give it here."

Birdie swatted Dean's hand away and shifted to rest on her knees. "Me first," she said. Dean huffed but waited for Birdie to free herself, giving her a false smile when she finally handed him the nail.

Birdie snickered and stood up, walking to the side of the cabin where a small couch was. She could hear Dean muttering to himself, cursing when the cuffs refused to unlock. She chuckled and stood in front of the couch, spotting a framed photo on the table next to it. She curiously picked it up and wiped some dust from the glass to see the picture better. As soon as she did she gasped, capturing Dean's attention. "What?" Dean asked.

Birdie turned and handed him the photo when he came up behind her. "See for yourself."

Dean peered down at the photo, becoming just as surprised as Birdie when he saw his future self standing next to Isla with his arm wrapped around her shoulders and Isla's arms around his torso. Castiel and some unfamiliar faces were also in the photograph, yet Dean's eyes stayed fixated on him and Isla. "Wait, you don't-you don't think me and Isla. . .that we. . ."

"I don't know what to think," Birdie said. "But we might wanna get out of here before you come back and try to handcuff us again."

Dean nodded in agreement and put the picture back on the table. Birdie and Dean headed for the door and Dean cracked it open a bit. He and Birdie peeked out, noticing three small cabins nearby. They didn't see anyone out and about, nor did they hear anyone. So, they quietly slipped out of the cabin. Birdie shut the door behind her and scanned the area again to double check there wasn't anyone around and jogged down the steps with Dean.

Her gaze fell on the cabin next door, doing a double take when she saw an all too familiar motorcycle leaning up against the front porch. "Holy shit," she whispered. Dean raised his brows, jogging after her as she headed for the other cabin.

Birdie glanced at the door and stopped, noticing the sign hung on the door. She slowly walked up the first couple of steps, feeling Dean lingering behind her. She turned and looked at Dean, being met with the same confusion from Dean as she had.

BIRDIE'S CABIN
Off limits!!! Do NOT enter!!!

"This doesn't make any sense," she said.

"You're tellin' me," Dean said.

"Dean? Is that you?"

Birdie dropped down faster than she had in her entire life and crawled towards the door, hastily opening it. Dean was frozen in place, having already been spotted by the unknown person. His eyes quickly darted to Birdie and then back to the approaching figure. He subtly waved his hand at his side, signaling for Birdie to shut the door. She did so, and just in time as the figure came to stand in front of Dean.

She pressed her body against the door, listening close to try and hear what they were saying. But, it was too muffled behind the door. She huffed in annoyance and crawled towards the window, peeking out of the curtains. She saw an older man talking to Dean while he occasionally nodded, pretending to understand what he was talking about. Part of Birdie wanted to go out and help him, but she didn't want to freak anyone out.

The man reached out and gave Dean's shoulder a nudge, beginning to lead him away. Dean snuck a look over his shoulder, catching Birdie's eye. She held her hands up and Dean shook his head. She quietly sighed, anxiously biting the inside of her cheek as she stood up.

So much for sticking together.

The cabin, her cabin apparently, was pretty much the same as Dean's, but there was dust on almost every surface. Some shoe prints were on the floor like someone had been there recently, confusing Birdie. She wasn't sure who it could have been. She shook her head at the thought and wandered through the cabin, noting that there weren't any photographs. She didn't expect there to be a ton, though it was strange there wasn't a single one; unless someone took them for some reason. She walked further in the cabin, noticing a small book sticking out from behind a panel in the wall. She curiously headed over and peeled the panel back, gasping as a notebook fell into her lap. Her handwriting was scribbled on the front, but she couldn't make out what it said as it had been smeared. She shifted her legs and sat on her butt, flipping open to the first page.

It was dated January 2011. She skimmed over the page, noticing Sam's name was in just about every sentence. She skipped to the next few pages, a sinking feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. She read another that was in March of 2011, reading about how her future self was struggling with the loss of her father and still missing Sam more and more. Birdie sucked in a sharp breath and flipped towards the last few pages.

Her eyes grew wide, watching her handwriting become more frantic and harsh, creating small holes in parts of the pages from how hard she was pushing on the page. She grabbed the pages and turned them, landing on the last page. It was dated May 1st of 2011━━━one day before what would've been Sam's 28th birthday.

There were only five words on the page in the calmest writing Birdie saw in the entire notebook.

I'm going to do it.

"Going to do what?" she muttered to herself and closed the book. "And why did Dean lie? He'd seen and talked to me since 2009. . .why didn't he tell us?"

Birdie heavily sighed and leaned forward, putting the notebook back where she found it. She pushed back on the panel, trying to make it look the same as before in case someone decided to pay a visit again. She bit the inside of her cheek and rubbed her fingers together, standing in the middle of the cabin. She just didn't know what to think. She was more confused than ever. She rubbed her eyes and stepped forward, going to make her way to the door to see if it was clear outside, but she heard someone walking up the steps.

A rush of panic filled Birdie and her eyes frantically searched for another escape. Her gaze landed on a window that faced the back of the cabin and she didn't hesitate. She rushed over and hastily pushed it open, swiftly climbing out just as the door creaked open. She didn't wait to see who it was or if they would notice the window was open. She just ran as fast as she could in the direction Dean was led.

She could hear some chatter up ahead and she slowed down, sneaking up behind some large bushes. There were some men and women grouped together at the other end of the road, facing away from Birdie. She dared to slip past the bushes and stop next to a small cabin, the feeling of her heart racing inside her chest still going strong.

"What year are you from?"

Hang on a second.

That was Castiel's voice.

"2009."

That was Dean━━━the correct Dean.

Birdie realized the voices were coming from inside the cabin and she climbed up the deck, quickly slipping through the beads that replaced the front door. She stood still as Dean and Castiel's gazes fell on her, noticing the angel had changed his outfit. Instead of a suit and a trench coat, he had on a loose, light blue shirt that stopped at his elbows and a pair of tan pants. He also didn't have any shoes on and he had some facial hair that was on the brink of becoming an official beard.

"Wow," she said, nodding in approval. "I like this a lot more than the trench coat."

Castiel chuckled. "Thank you, Birdie."

"Alright, can we get back on topic? Please?" Dean asked.

"Who did this to the two of you?" Castiel asked, his gaze switching back and forth between Dean and Birdie. "Is it Zachariah?"

"Yes," Dean answered.

"Interesting."

"Oh, yeah, it's fuckin' fascinating. Now," Dean said, clapping his hands together, "Why don't you strap on your angel wings and fly us back to our page on the calendar?"

Birdie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm ready to get the fuck out of here."

Castiel chuckled, turning away from Dean and Birdie. Birdie shifted her feet, folding her arms over her chest. It was very strange to hear him laugh as he was always so serious before. "I wish I could just, uh, 'strap on my wings', but I'm sorry, no dice," Castiel dryly said.

Birdie tilted her head and shared a silent glance with Dean. "What, are you stoned?" Dean asked, suspiciously narrowing his eyes.

"Uh, generally, yeah."

Birdie forced out a dry laugh, pushing her face into her hands. She couldn't believe it. She never would've even thought it was possible for an angel to get stoned. But, even then, what would be the reason they would do it in the first place?

"What happened to you?"

"Life."

Birdie dropped her hands down, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "We finally find someone who can help us and apparently he can't even do that!"

The sound of cars approaching came in through the door, quieting the room. All three of them walked towards the doorway and Dean and Castiel slipped out onto the porch. Birdie poked her head out from the beads, catching sight of two black jeeps driving past. In the driver's seat of the first one sat Dean.

Dean didn't hesitate to jog down the porch and follow to see what was going on. Birdie quickly hurried after him, Castiel casually walking behind them with a dazed grin on his lips. Dean and some of the men climbed out of the cars, slamming the doors shut behind them. Dean grabbed two beers from a cooler in the backseat and tossed one to the man across the hood. Dean stepped forward and opened his beer, taking a large drink.

The other man walked around the hood, taking another drink of the beer with a small smile. Dean and Birdie appeared behind another cabin, catching sight of Dean removing his gun from behind his back.

"Hey. Hey!" Dean shouted, trying to warn the man as Dean aimed the gun at him. "Watch out!"

The man turned around, not having time to react as Dean shot him directly in the heart. Birdie gaped in horror, freezing in place. The other survivors looked at both Dean's and Birdie, apparent confusion and fear appearing on their faces.

"Holy shit━━━"

"What the fuck━━━"

An angry woman stormed over with a gun in her hand, eyes dead set on Birdie. "You bitch━━━!" Birdie nervously gulped, quickly raising her hands in surrender. Dean immediately stepped in front of Birdie, shielding her from the woman. Dean stepped over and snatched the gun out of the woman's hands, shooting her a dark look as he nudged her a few steps back. "Oh, don't tell me you're protecting that━━━"

"What the fuck is your deal?" Dean snapped.

Dean shot Dean and Birdie both glares, shaking his head as some men walked closer with their hands on their weapons. "I'm not gonna lie to you. The three of us━━━it's a pretty messed-up situation we got going. But that Birdie is not. . .Birdie. We don't need to worry about her," Dean said loud and clear. Birdie gulped, still staring at the woman who was shooting daggers at Birdie with her hateful stare. "And believe me, when you all need to know something else, you will know it. Until then, we all have work to do."

Finally the woman backed down, muttering to herself as she stormed off in the opposite direction. Dean looked at Birdie, catching the glimpse of fear on her face. "Do you know what that was about?" he asked in a whisper.

Birdie shook her head. "No. I just keep gettin' more confused the longer I'm here. . ." her voice dragged off when she spotted Dean storming over out of the corner of her eye. She winced, sucking in a sharp breath. "Oh, shit. We're in for it now."

Dean forcefully shoved Dean and Birdie into the cabin they'd previously been locked away inside, slamming the door behind them so no one could overhear them. "What the hell was that?" he demanded to know.

"What the hell was that?" Dean retorted. "You just shot a guy in cold blood!"

Dean set his bag on the table, standing on the other side of Dean and Birdie. Birdie placed her hands on her hips, gaze burning into Dean. She wanted answers and she was determined to get them. "We were in an open quarantine zone━━━got ambushed by some Croats on the way out," Dean said. Dean and Birdie's expressions asked for an explanation━━━what did Croats mean? "Croats━━━Croatoans! One of them infected Yeager."

"How could you tell?" Birdie wondered.

"'Cause after a few years of this, I fuckin' know. I started seeing symptoms about a half an hour ago. Wasn't gonna be long before he flipped. I didn't see the point in troubling a good man with shitty news."

"'Troubling a good man'? You just blew him away in front of your own people," Dean angrily said. "Don't you think that freaked them out a little bit?"

"It's 2014. Pluggin' some Croat, it's called commonplace. Trading words with my fuckin' clone and a dead woman━━━that might have freaked them out a little."

"All right, look━━━"

"No, you look. This isn't your time. It's mine." Dean turned, looking at his future self. "You don't make the decisions, neither of you do. I do. So, when I say stay in, both of you stay in."

Dean walked off to the side of the cabin, rubbing his hand along his jaw as he stood by the sink. He grabbed a bottle of something from the corner of the counter, placing it in front of him. Birdie moved her arms, wrapping them around herself.

"We just wanted answers," Birdie said.

"And look, we're not trying to mess you━━━me━━━us up here," Dean said.

"I know," Dean quietly said, pouring three glasses of alcohol. He grabbed two in one hand and then the other, walking towards the table.

"It's just been a really fucking wacky weekend," Dean breathed out, bracing his hands on the table.

Dean set the drinks on the table, nodding his head in agreement. "Tell me about it," he said.

Birdie quickly grabbed one of the glasses as soon as it was within reach and tipped her head back, gulping down the alcohol all in one swig. She scrunched up her nose at the burning sensation it left on her throat and quickly set the glass back on the table. She looked at both Deans, lips slightly parting at the way they were both staring at her.

"I"ve had a long week, too," she said, innocently shrugging. "I unintentionally aided demons in freeing Lucifer from his cage, got killed by one of said demons, and came back because my own father made a crossroads deal━━━it is a lot to take in."

"Sounds like it," Dean said, taking a small sip of his drink.

Dean shifted and set his cup on the table, facing his future self. "What was the mission, anyway?" he wondered.

Dean hesitated, setting his glass down on the other side. Then he grabbed his bag, reaching inside and pulling out a gun. It wasn't just any gun, though.

It was the Colt.

"The Colt?" Birdie gaped.

Dean held it up, nodding with a brief smile. "The Colt."

"Where was it?" Dean asked.

"Everywhere," Dean answered, examining the gun as he spoke. It'd been so long since he last saw it, last held it. He wasn't letting go of it now. "They've been movin' it around. Took me five damn years, but. . .I finally got it. And tonight. . .tonight, I'm gonna kill the fucking devil."

Birdie wasn't too happy to see the woman, Risa, who wanted to shoot her was inside Dean's cabin as well. However, Dean assured her the woman wouldn't try anything again. Castiel was also there, still just as stoned as before, maybe even more if that was possible. Birdie had made the mistake of mentioning Isla only for Castiel to shake his head and warn her in a whisper not to bring up her name again. She nodded in response and left it at that, moving to stand in the back with Dean so they were out of the others' way.

Risa leaned against the ladder, partially turned so as to subtly keep an eye on Birdie. Dean sat on the edge of a table against the wall, his arms crossed. Castiel was sitting in a chair with his legs propped on the table, directly across from Dean and the Colt.

"So, that's it?" Risa asked, nudging her head at the gun. "That's the Colt?"

"If anything can kill Lucifer, this is it," Dean said.

"Great. Have we got anything that can find Lucifer?"

Dean looked at the woman, noticing her sharp tone. "Are you okay?" he wondered.

Risa tilted her head like she was going to give him a snippy response, but someone else spoke up. "Oh, besides Birdie bein' here, we were in, uh, Jane's cabin last night," Dean chimed in. "And, apparently, we and. . .Risa have a 'connection'."

Castiel closed his eyes, quietly chuckling to himself. Birdie shook her head, giving Dean a silent look.

Dean just glared at his past self. "You wanna shut the fuck up?" Dean raised his hands in surrender, leaning back as he backed down. Dean stood up, moving on. "We don't have to find Lucifer. We know where he is. The demon that we caught last week━━━he was one of the big guy's entourage. He knew."

"So, a demon tells you where Satan's gonna be, and you just believe it?" Risa asked.

"Oh, trust me, he wasn't lying."

"And you know this how?"

"Our fearless leader, I'm afraid, is all too well schooled in the art of getting to the truth," Castiel said.

"Torture? Oh, so, we're-we're torturing again," Dean chimed in. He rose from the table, staring at himself with judgment. Dean looked up from the Colt, not responding. Birdie let out a sigh, holding back a frown. "No, that's-that's good. Classy."

Castiel laughed in amusement, his laughter echoing in the room as the others just stared at him. Dean looked at the angel, eyes squinted. Castiel nonchalantly shrugged, contently sighing. "What?" he innocently asked. "I like past you."

Dean just rolled his eyes. He pulled a map out of his bag, flattening it out on the table so they could all see it. "Lucifer is here. Now," he said, pointing to a specific location. "I know the block and I know the building."

"Oh, good," Castiel sarcastically said, still leaned forward so he'd be able to see the map from where he sat. "It's right in the middle of a hot zone."

"Crawlin' with Croats, yeah. You saying my plan is reckless?"

"Are you saying we, uh, walk in, straight up the driveway, past all the demons and the Croats, and we shoot the devil?" Castiel asked.

"Yes," Dean answered.

"Okay, if you don't like, uh, ''reckless', I could use 'insouciant', maybe."

"Are you coming?"

Castiel sighed, nodding. "Of course. But why are they? I mean, Dean is you five years ago. If something happens to him, you're gone, right?"

"I'm here, too," Birdie muttered under her breath.

Risa scoffed, shooting Birdie a nasty look. "Losing you won't be a loss. If anything it'll help us━━━"

"If there's something you wanna fucking say━━━"

"They're both coming," Dean loudly said, his voice making Birdie and Risa look at him. "End of story."

Birdie leaned back, huffing as she folded her arms over her chest. She didn't understand why the woman hated her so much, or even why she didn't seem to be the only one who had been angry yet slightly afraid by her presence earlier. Dean purposely avoided mentioning why, though he knew Birdie would find out eventually.

There was no way of preventing it.

"Okay," Castiel sighed. Risa appeared to want to object, but Dean didn't even acknowledge the woman. Castiel stood up from the chair, glancing at Risa for a moment and then back at Dean. "We'll, uh, we'll get the grunts moving."

"We're loaded and on the road by midnight."

"Alrighty."

Birdie glanced at the ground when Risa moved, choosing to ignore the woman as she followed Castiel to the door. Dean stood from the table, his eyes following them as they exited the cabin. Dean put another duffle bag on the table, starting to load it up with more ammunition before they left.

"Why are you taking us?" Dean asked once it was just the three of them.

"Relax. You guys'll be fine," Dean said. "Zach's looking after you, right?"

"No, that's not what I mean. I want to know what's going on."

Birdie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I wanna know why that woman wants to kill me so bad."

"Yeah, okay," Dean said. He walked around the table, stopping in front of Dean and Birdie. "You two are coming because I want you guys to see something━━━I want you to see Sam, and maybe even Birdie."

"I thought we were both dead━━━and I know that I was here at some point before that. I found my old, or future cabin," Birdie said, brows knitted together in confusion.

"You and Sam didn't die in Detroit," Dean said. "Sam said 'yes'."

"'Yes'?" Dean repeated. He and Birdie shared a look, their hearts sinking. "Wait. You mean━━━"

"That's right. The big 'yes'. To the devil. Lucifer's wearing him to the prom."

"Why the hell would he do that? And what happened with Birdie?"

"I wish I had answers, but I don't. All I know is they abducted Birdie a few years ago and we haven't seen her since. There's probably a reason," Dean interrupted, continuing to pack his bag. Birdie tilted her head. That still didn't explain why Risa tried to kill her. "But now we have a chance to stop Lucifer one and for all. It's in Sam, and it's not getting out━━━not now. And we've got to kill him." Birdie deeply frowned at Dean's words, staring at the Colt in his hand. He was serious about killing Lucifer even if it meant having to kill his little brother, too. "And you both need to see it━━━the whole damn thing, how bad it gets━━━so you can do it different, especially you."

Dean frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Zach said he was gonna bring you back, right? To '09?"

"Yeah."

Dean walked over to Dean, a serious expression on his face. Birdie closely watched him, hands tightly gripping her arms as she kept them wrapped around her body. "Well, when you get back home. . .you say 'yes'," Dean said. "You hear me? Say 'yes' to Michael."

"That's fuckin' crazy. If I let him in, then Michael fights the devil. The battle's gonna torch half the planet."

"Look around you, man. Half the planet's better than no planet, which is what we have now. If I could do it over again, I'd say 'yes' in a heartbeat."

"So why don't you?"

"I've tried! I've shouted 'yes' till I was blue in the face! The angels aren't fucking listening anymore! They just. . .left━━━gave up! It's too late for me, but for you━━━"

"Oh, no," Dean said, shaking his head. "There's got to be another way."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. I was cocky. Never actually thought I'd lose. But I was wrong. Dean. . .I was wrong. I'm beggin' you. Say yes." Birdie stole a look at Dean, watching his expression change as he stared at his future self. A heavy and uncomfortable silence filled the cabin, enveloping them in an all too clammy embrace. Dean scoffed after Dean didn't respond, backing up and reaching for his bag. "But you won't. 'Cause I didn't. Because that's just not us, is it?"

Rain had accompanied the group up until their last hour of the drive.

Dean, Castiel, and Risa all rode in a car while Dean and Birdie rode in the one in the front. He wasn't too fond of it nor was Dean, however Birdie was adamant on it. With the drive taking most of the night, Birdie saw that as her chance to corner Dean and get some actual answers out of him. They just weren't what she was expecting.

"You fuckin' went off to try and save Sam!" Dean had harshly snapped, causing Birdie to flinch at the loudness of his voice. He relaxed when he saw, forcing himself to calm down as he knew he was talking to a past version of Birdie. "We all knew you missed him━━━it was nearly killing you, Birdie. I did my best to-to just be your friend. . .but you were just━━━you had to be with him. You were so. . .lost without him. And when we went out for more supplies and ran into some demons, they just taunted you, saying that Sam was still in there and he would beg Lucifer to see you or let him go. That was the final straw for you."

"So I what? I just left and confronted the damn devil?"

Dean nodded. "Pretty much. We came back and you locked yourself in your cabin. You wouldn't let anyone in. . .I waited outside your cabin for a while because I knew you were gonna leave, but I fell asleep and you snuck out. It was almost a year before I saw you again, and you were with the demons. I thought maybe they forced you along, but then. . .let's just say you changed and not for the better."

Birdie frowned, struggling to accept Dean's words. "Why does Risa hate me, though?"

"Last year. . .last year her brother went missing. Me and her went with a group to try and find him, see if maybe he just got hurt and needed some help. Risa was the first to walk in and I heard her scream. We all ran in, and I. . .I couldn't believe what I saw. . ." Birdie frowned, hearing the pain in Dean's voice. "You were standing there with-with her brother's blood all over you━━━you'd killed him just minutes before we got there."

"No," Birdie whimpered. No, that wasn't possible. There was no way she would do such a thing. She wasn't a killer. "You're-you're lying. Tell me the truth."

"That is the truth. Risa tried to attack you and it. . .it turned into a bloodbath. But for some reason you still let me and Risa live. You killed seven other people, but not me and Risa. And we still don't know why, but that. . .that's why she hates you." Birdie sniffled, wiping at her eyes before her tears could fall. "After that. . .life just sucked, and I know you saw that picture of me and Isla back in my cabin. We broke up almost a year ago━━━it was all too much for her. She and a couple of other survivors went to another camp across the country━━━one her mother ran if you can believe it. So. . ."

"I. . .I don't know what to say. . ."

"I do. We're here."

That was almost an hour ago and they'd finally reached Lucifer's supposed location━━━an abandoned sanitarium. They parked a few miles out and walked down some trashed streets, carrying large guns that were loaded and ready to be used if needed; neither Dean nor Birdie were allowed to have any guns, though. The night before Castiel said it was in the middle of a hot zone━━━a place where many infected people would've been lurking━━━but there weren't any in sight. Signs were posted all over the fences, warning people to stay back. They just kept on walking, stopping behind some rusted cars near a gate as they prepared to enter.

Dean crouched by the front of the car with a pair of binoculars, scanning the building for any sign of Lucifer, demons, or Croatoans. Birdie stayed near Dean, a strong and unease sensation clawing at her like it had been when they were at the camp. Her gut was telling her to run and flee, yet she stayed.

"There," Dean said, lowering his binoculars. "Second-floor window. We go in there."

"You sure about this?" Risa asked.

"They'll never see us coming." Dean shifted his position and squinted at himself, something lurking in his green eyes. He shared a look with Birdie, a silent exchange that he used to tell Birdie that something was up. Risa sensed it as well, remaining still as she just stared at Dean. "Trust me. Now, weapons check. We're on the move in five."

"Hey, uh. . .me," Dean said, "Can me and Bird talk to you for a sec?"

The others cocked their guns and checked their ammo, using the spare moments to triple check they were as ready as possible.

Dean, Birdie, and Dean quietly walked off to the side, making sure the rest of the group was out of ear shot.

"Tell us what's going on," Dean said.

Dean furrowed his brows, not understanding what his past self meant. "What?"

"I know you. You're lying to these people and to us."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. See, I know your lying expressions. I've seen them in the mirror." Dean shifted, knowing Dean was onto him. His eyes briefly flickered to Birdie, huffing at the identical stare she was giving him. "Now, there's something you're not tellin' us."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, really? Well, we don't seem to be the only members of your posse with some questions, so, uh, maybe we'll just take our doubts over to them."

Dean and Birdie started to walk back to the group, but Dean's voice stopped them. "Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait," Dean said, walking over to them with his hand out as a signal to stop.

"Out with it," Birdie said.

"Take a look around us," Dean said. "This place should be white-hot with Croats. Where are they?"

Dean and Birdie both thought for a moment. "They cleared a path for us," Dean said. "Which means that this is━━━"

"A trap. Exactly."

"Well, then we can't go through the front."

"Oh, we're not. They are." Birdie's face fell. "They're the decoys. The three of us, we're going in through the back."

"You mean you're gonna feed your friends into a meat grinder? Cas, too? You want to use their deaths as a diversion?" Dean looked away. He wasn't proud of his decision, but he had no other choice. "Oh, man, something is broken in you. You're making decisions that I would never make. I wouldn't sacrifice my friends."

"You're right. You wouldn't. It's one of the main reasons we're in this mess, actually."

"These people count on you. They trust you."

"They trust me to kill the devil and to save the world and that's exactly what I'm gonna do."

"No. Not like this, you're not," Dean said. "We're not gonna let you."

"Oh, really?"

Birdie nodded. "Really."

Without warning, Dean punched Dean in the face. Birdie swung her arm to strike him before he could get her next, but Dean caught it and twisted her arm slightly. She hissed, clenching her eyes shut as she turned slightly. "I don't wanna have to hurt you either, Bird━━━"

"Too late, asshole," Birdie huffed, stomping her foot onto Dean's as hard as she could. He groaned and let go of her, grumbling under his breath. Birdie took that as her chance to punch Dean, knocking him on his ass. She quickly turned and tried to return to the others, but Dean recuperated faster than she expected. He scrambled back onto his feet and grabbed Birdie around the waist, harshly slamming her onto the ground with a grunt. Birdie whimpered in pain, squeezing her hands into fists.

"Don't say I didn't try to warn you."

☽ ༓ ☾

"Hey little train, oh, wait for me! I once was blind, but now I see. Have you left a seat for me? Is that such a stretch of the imagination? Hey little train, oh, wait for me! Was held in chains but now I'm free! I'm hanging in there, don't you see. . ."

Birdie tiredly smiled, her eyes fluttering open as someone softly sang in the background somewhere. She blinked a few times, peering up at a pristine white ceiling. There was a slight ache in her jaw, causing her to frown. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the ceiling again. She knitted her brows together and paused, realizing she was really looking up at the ceiling.

She was meant to be outside.

She quickly shot up on the bed she realized was laying on, pressing her back up against the wall when she saw someone sitting at a desk across from her. There was music playing from a small radio on the corner of the desk, the figure still softly singing to their self. Birdie nervously gulped, her feeling of dread growing stronger as she stared at the back of the figure. They had long blonde hair that was done in elegant curls, dangling past their shoulder blades. They wore a spaghetti strap, red silk dress that matched nicely with their tanned skin, allowing Birdie to see a few tiny tattoos sprinkled on both of their arms. Birdie shifted on the bed and it creaked, making her freeze.

The figure sat up straight, softly sighing. "I was wondering when you would finally wake up."

Birdie's eyes widened, her jaw dropping as she saw herself turn around and warmly smile.

Birdie had dark makeup on rather than the usual lighter shades she preferred, dark liner making her brown eyes pop. A beautiful and shiny diamond necklace was wrapped around her neck, sparkling at Birdie with delight. The neckline of the dress swooped down past her breasts in the shape of a wide v, exposing much of her chest. Birdie saw some rings on Birdie's fingers as well, matching nicely with her dress and necklace.

"What the fuck. . ." Birdie whispered, unable to take her eyes off her future self. "You-I-we━━━"

"I know this is quite a lot to take in," Birdie said, turning around fully. She sat up straight and crossed her legs, allowing Birdie to see the red high heels secured on her feet. She pushed on her thighs as she stood up and Birdie instinctively backed away, her back bumping into the cold wall behind her. Birdie dramatically sighed, tilting her head and feigning offense. "Really? Do you truly believe I would hurt you?"

"I don't know," Birdie said, narrowing her eyes. "I'm finding out that you've done a lot of things I wouldn't do."

Birdie breathed out a laugh, a small smirk spreading across her glossy lips. "You'd be surprised what we can do, and will do."

"Like murdering innocent people?"

"They weren't innocent. No one in this world is, not anymore, Birdie. Yet you think you have everything already figured out, don't you? That I've somehow turned us into another villain?" Birdie rolled her eyes, tearing her eyes away from her future self. "Did you ever wonder why I did those things? Or if someone made me do it?"

Birdie slowly looked at herself again, eyes still narrowed with skepticism. "Did they?"

Birdie hummed and walked towards the bed, frowning for just a second when Birdie moved away. Birdie sat on the edge of the bed, leaning back slightly with one of her arms propped up to keep her steady. "What did Dean tell you about us?" Birdie curiously wondered.

Birdie shifted on the bed, quietly sighing. Maybe if she played along she could get out of there somehow and find Dean. She had no idea what could have happened in the time she was unconscious, but it surely couldn't have been anything good. "At first he just said you and Sam didn't make it, and that you all hadn't talked in five years."

Birdie scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Of course he would say that. Lying is what he does best."

"But then I found your old cabin." Birdie frowned, thinking for a minute. "Wait. . .you know where their camp is."

"And?"

"Why haven't you told the demons, or Lucifer, where they're━━━"

"I didn't see the point in it. Lucifer and demons. . .they're passed chasing the Winchesters and survivors, for the most part. Besides, they didn't ask. Now, Birdie, tell me━━━how trashed was my cabin?"

"It wasn't trashed, but it was pretty dusty. Someone was in there recently, though."

"Really?" Birdie couldn't hide her surprise at that.

Birdie nodded. "I don't know whose, but I saw shoe prints. I tried to find photos, drawings━━━anything that could clue me in on what else happened to. . .us. There wasn't anything except a journal hidden in a wall." Birdie stared at her future self, seeing her shift at the mention of the journal. She knew exactly what Birdie was talking about. "I got some more out of Dean on the way here and he told me how you went off to find Sam and to try and save him from the devil. He didn't see you again until a year later and you'd-you'd changed. . ."

"I certainly did change," Birdie whispered. She gave Birdie a faint smile and blinked, revealing a pair of black eyes. Birdie gaped in horror and scrambled off the bed to put some distance between them. "Relax, it's still me━━━it's still you. I'm the only one inside our body, Bird."

"No, that-that's not━━━"

"You know, I gotta admit, I never would've expected our life to end up like this either," Birdie said, rising from the bed as her eyes returned to normal. Birdie backed up with fear swirling in her eyes, but Birdie just kept coming closer with her smile still plastered on her lips. "But. . .it is so much better this way, Birdie."

"How? How could this possibly be━━━"

"We don't have to fight to survive every day, we don't have to worry about monsters that want our head on a stick, and we don't have to care about everyone else because the only two people we care about are right. . .here." Birdie squeaked as she bumped into the wall, trapped between the wall and her future self. There was a wildness in her eyes, something sinister in her smile. Birdie nervously gulped, rubbing her fingers together to try and ease her nerves that were scorching her veins. "We're still with Sam."

"But he's not Sam anymore━━━"

"Oh, but he is," Birdie insisted. "He really is, Birdie. It-it's not all the time, I know, but we still get to see him, talk to him, and it is all so worth it. And, you know what? Lucifer. . .he really isn't like what we were told, what we were led to believe. He truly cares about us, Birdie."

Birdie shook her head in disbelief. There was no way those words were coming out of her mouth. Not now and certainly not in any future either. "You're fuckin' crazy, you're-you're delusional," Birdie said. Birdie's smile faltered, genuinely surprised her past self didn't understand. "Lucifer doesn't care about you, or anyone else. He's just using you, can't you see that?"

"No, but he's not. He takes care of us, protects us━━━he loves us, Birdie."

"No he doesn't!"

"Yes he does! He loves us and I love him!"

"Why would you━━━"

"I love him because Sam is our soulmate!" Birdie's entire face seemed to crack, absorbing Birdie's words. Birdie let out a heavy breath, momentarily closing her eyes. Then she looked up, staring at Birdie. "And with Sam being Lucifer's true vessel I. . .I love Lucifer, too. Now, come on. I need to show you something."

Birdie felt numb as she followed her future self through the dingy sanitarium.

There were only a handful of demons spread throughout the sanitarium, each one parting out of the way as Birdie led Birdie through the dozens of halls. Their confusion was prominent in their expressions and the way they glanced at one another, however they knew better than to speak up right then. Birdie saw how much power Birdie had, how the demons both feared yet adored her as if she was royalty.

Being with Lucifer. . .Birdie supposed her future self was often treated like royalty because of that.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," Birdie said, briefly glancing over her shoulder. "That really wasn't my intention."

"And what was your intention exactly?" Birdie scoffed.

"For you to hear my side of things so you didn't only have Dean's warped perception of it to decide how you would or wouldn't do things when you're sent back home, and to see that we're more special and powerful than what you believe."

Birdie just scoffed in response.

Birdie quietly sighed in defeat, turning the corner. Birdie followed suit, glancing in an open door as she walked past. She took a couple more steps forward and then backed up, standing in the doorway. It contained a tiny bed on a concrete floor with brick walls. Dried blood was left on the ground and the blankets were disheveled on the bed, more blood staining the white fabric. Birdie tilted her head, noticing something on the ground near the end of the bed.

"Oh, Birdie, you really don't want to━━━"

Birdie ignored herself and walked into the room, which must have been used as a cell, and crouched down to the floor. She picked up the circular object and held it up to inspect it. It was a beautiful bracelet, one she'd seen before.

Her lips parted and she turned her head, seeing Birdie standing in the doorway with her lips twisted like she knew Birdie recognized it. "What the hell is this?" Birdie demanded to know.

Birdie stood up straight, shrugging her shoulders. "I think you already know."

Birdie angrily shook her head, fighting her tears as they tried to form in her eyes. She rose up, holding up the bracelet for Birdie to easily see. "What did. . .why is. . .why the hell is Isla's bracelet here?" she asked, fearing that she wouldn't like the answer. "Huh?"

"Please trust me when I tell you that you don't want me to answer," Birdie softly said, stepping into the room.

"Tell me. Now."

"You just don't know when to give up, do you?"

"No, and I guess that's how we wind up here, isn't it?"

Birdie's brows furrowed together with anger and she clenched her eyes. Then she puffed out her cheeks and placed her hands on her hips. "Fine. You want the truth? Here it is. Isla and her group got grabbed by some demons before they reached her mother's precious "safe haven" in New York. They were all asked if they would reconsider siding with the big man and. . ."

"And if they said no?" Birdie snapped.

"They were fucking tortured," Birdie snapped back. "Some were just killed the minute they said no, some were tortured for a days, weeks, months even. Then they were killed. Some were tortured so slowly that they were just begging for death by the end of it."

Birdie lowered her hand, struggling to find her voice. "And Isla?" she asked, her voice just barely a whisper.

"She was tortured━━━again and again and again and again. It went on for months. After begging for it for quite some time, she was finally put out of her misery."

Birdie sniffled, angrily wiping at her eyes. "Who?"

"Who did it?" Birdie asked, figuring that was what Birdie meant. Birdie nodded, looking down at the bracelet. "We did it. We did a majority of the torturing and. . .killing. . .we did it."

"Your own friend━━━"

"She wasn't my friend anymore," Birdie said, firmly shaking her head. "Don't you understand that? None of them cared about us anymore. We're so much stronger without them. The power we have, and the way it━━━"

"Stop, stop. Just fucking stop," Birdie demanded, waving her hands. "You're full of shit. There's no way━━━"

"Come on." Birdie reached forward and roughly grabbed hold of Birdie's arm, yanking her out of the room. She shut the door behind them and Birdie yanked her arm out of her grasp. "I told you you didn't want to know the truth. Don't get pissy with me because you can't handle it like a big girl. Now, shut up and follow me."

Birdie just shook her head, wiping at her eyes again so her tears wouldn't be able to escape. Isla's bracelet was still clutched in her hand and she looked down, noticing there was dried blood on it. She frowned and tucked it in her pocket, trailing behind Birdie with a prominent frown that didn't seem to want to go away.

Birdie walked down some stairs and pushed open a door at the end, holding it open. Birdie cautiously stepped out, flinching when thunder and lightning came from the sky. Birdie snickered to herself and shut the door, starting to walk past Birdie. "The garden's this way," Birdie said.

"Why are you taking me to a garden?" Birdie asked.

"Because there's someone I want you to meet."

It took just another minute or so of walking for them to reach the garden. Thunder still rumbled in the sky on occasion, threatening to storm as if there wasn't already enough going on without it. Birdie saw dozens of white roses planted all throughout the garden, so beautiful and so dainty. It took her by surprise when she saw an all too familiar man standing near the flowers with his back turned to them as he spoke to someone.

". . .six billion of you have done to this thing, and how many of you blame me for it."

"But we all know they brought it upon themselves."

Birdie slowed to a stop as she saw it was Dean who Lucifer was talking to. She saw the body on the ground and gulped. It was future Dean. She quickly looked up, catching Dean's eye to see there were tears brewing in them. His gaze flickered to the side and saw Birdie's future self, easily noticing that something was very different about his friend.

Lucifer followed his gaze and immediately smiled, seeing both Birdie's standing behind them. His eyes focused on Birdie, offering her a smile that sent chills down her spine. "Hello, Birdie," he greeted her. "I wondered if you were here, too."

Birdie walked over to Lucifer and he leaned down, allowing the woman to whisper something in his ear. Birdie stole another look at Dean, faintly shaking her head at his silent question. Lucifer quietly sighed, focusing his attention on Birdie again. He opened his mouth as if he was going to speak, but Birdie beat him to it. "It will never happen," she stated.

Lucifer tilted his head slightly. "What will never happen?"

"This," she answered, gesturing to her future self and Lucifer as she started to walk over to Dean so she was standing beside him. Lucifer and Birdie closely watched her, their expressions unreadable. "I'll kill myself before I ever side with you."

"I understand your pain, Birdie, how it feels to see me like this. I can assure you that I am not the bad guy in this story." Birdie smiled when Lucifer reached his arm out, wrapping it around her waist to pull her into his side. Dean scrunched up his nose, shaking his head in disgust. Birdie wore a similar expression, her stomach twisting in knots at the sight. "We all end up where we're meant to be. You will realize that eventually."

"You're not foolin' either of us, you know that? With this sympathy-for-the-devil bullshit," Dean snapped, keeping his tears at bay. "We know what you are."

"What am I?" Lucifer wondered.

"You're the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach we've been squashing our whole lives. An ugly, evil, belly-to-the-ground, supernatural piece of shit. The only difference between them and you is the size of your fucking ego."

Lucifer falsely smiled alongside Birdie. "I like you, Dean. I get what the other angels see in you." Then he looked at Birdie, tightening his grip on Birdie's waist. "And I think you know just how much I like you. Goodbye. We'll meet again soon."

Lucifer turned to walk away, Birdie happily smiling next to him as she turned with him.

"You better kill me now!"

Lucifer turned back, peering at Dean with curiosity. Birdie raised a brow, lips pursed together. "Pardon?" Lucifer asked.

"You better kill me now," Dean repeated. "Or I swear, I will find a way to kill you. And I won't stop."

"We won't stop," Birdie corrected, taking a few steps closer. She would die before she let Sam say yes to Lucifer and allow herself to fall for Lucifer's lies that brainwashed her into being with him.

She refused to accept that as her future.

"I know you won't, Dean. I know you won't say yes to Michael, either. And I know neither of you will kill Sam. But whatever either of you do, you will always end up here." Lucifer walked closer and Birdie gulped, but she stood her ground. Birdie shifted and Lucifer walked past, ignoring Dean's stare as he came to a stop in front of Birdie. He kept a smile on his lips, looking between her and Dean. "Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up. . . here." Lucifer smiled down at Birdie, gently touching her chin. Birdie turned her head to the side, clenching her eyes shut at the feeling of his cold hands. "I win. So, I win."

Tears trailed down Dean's cheeks, dropping down from his chin. "You're wrong," he said.

Lucifer let out a sharp breath, peering down at Birdie.

"Is it true?" she whispered.

Lucifer shifted and lowered his hand. "That Sam is your soulmate?" he asked. Birdie had informed him that she told Birdie that earlier.

Birdie felt tears brewing in her eyes as she looked up at Lucifer. All she could see was Sam. She knew it wasn't really him, that even if he was in there somewhere, he was probably so far away so that she nor her future self could reach him despite what Birdie was led to believe.

"It is," Lucifer finally answered. Birdie closed her eyes, lowering her head. "Birdie is right, by the way. You are much more powerful than you realize."

"What the hell is that even supposed to mean?" she snapped.

Lucifer smirked, beginning to back up. "That is something you will have to figure out for yourself."

Birdie smiled again when Lucifer returned to her and then looked at Birdie and Dean. "You guys don't need to be so upset about this," Birdie said. "This is how it's meant to be."

"See you two in five years," Lucifer said.

A thunderous roar of thunder erupted from the sky and Dean and Birdie flinched at the closeness. Birdie looked at where Lucifer and Birdie were standing, but they were both gone.

Birdie nervously gulped and she turned around to look at Dean only to find herself standing in the bathroom all by herself.

She gasped and did a spin to see if it would change again, but she remained in the bathroom. She let out a shaky breath, unaware that a tear had slipped out of the corner of her eye. After a few seconds, she frantically wiped at her eyes and yanked open the door. She quickly walked down the hallway and started to make her way to the door until she remembered something Zachariah had told her.

She stopped in front of the door, slowly turning her head. The man at the cash register had a brow raised, skeptically staring at her with suspicion. Birdie clenched her jaw and walked up to the counter, pointing an accusing finger at the man. "You motherfucker," she snapped. His eyes widened and his lips parted, yet his words failed him. "Do you have any idea what kind of torturous bullshit your ass just━━━"

"Birdie, what-what's going on?" Sam hurried up beside her, looking between Birdie and the stunned cashier.

Birdie just ignored Sam, glaring deep into the cashier's soul. "He knows exactly what he did. Don't you, asshole?"

"I, uh, I-I don't know what you're━━━"

"Bullshit!" Birdie shouted, slamming her fist on the counter.

"Birdie, let's just━━━"

"Don't think you're special because you helped the angels." When those words left Birdie's mouth, Sam paused and looked at the cashier. "If you think they're the good guys. . .you are sorely mistaken. So, you better thinking fucking twice next time before you tell them where I am. And so help me god if you tell them where he is," Birdie said, gesturing towards Sam, "I'll come back here and crawl across this counter and fuc━━━"

"Alright, alright, come on," Sam said, grabbing Birdie's arm to lead her out of the gas station.

"Fucking asshole!"

Sam hastily led Birdie out of the gas station, tugging her over to the van. He opened the passenger door and she climbed in with a huff, slamming the door shut. Sam rounded the front of the van and started up the ignition, quickly driving off before the cashier decided to call the police on them.

Birdie leaned her head back and put her head into her hands, sucking in heavy breaths. Sam turned onto another road and then another, parking the car behind some nearby outlet stores so they could have a moment alone out of the public eye. Birdie lowered her hands and slowly looked over at Sam, sighing when she saw the expectant look he was giving her. "What the hell was that?" Sam demanded to know.

Birdie turned in her seat, a sad look in her eyes. "This is gonna sound like a damn lie, but I swear it's true."

"What's true?"

"While I was in the bathroom, Zachariah sent me and Dean to the year 2014." Sam raised his brows and parted his lips, though no words managed to come out. "I know, it sounds like a terrible remake of Back to the Future, but there's more. . .and it actually gets worse. . ."

☽ ༓ ☾

Y'all, I am SO SO sorry 😭 I really didn't think that much time had passed since I last updated but I was sorely mistaken. I've been struggling with pre writing (since I like having chapters ready in advance before I post more) and I haven't gotten very far :/ But, I've had this chapter ready for a bit and most of you have been so kind and patient that I didn't wanna keep you guys waiting!! I know this didn't have much of Birdie with the boys, but I'm really gonna try to get cranking on chapters so it doesn't take me as long again. Though, I do have things outside of Wattpad I have to focus on as well, but I am gonna get my ass in gear for you guys!!!

I'm sure this chapter was a lot to take in, but I just wanna say this now that like Birdie's future self ending up with Lucifer is NOT me like shipping them/hinting at a romance between them. Will Lucifer try to use her/manipulate her/etc? Of course he will. She's Sam's weakness and he's her. But, she will NOT ever end up with him, flirt with him, or anything like that. Lucifer will try, but never Birdie bc FUCK Lucifer. (I hate him so much and I'm sure that will show more throughout this fic.)

Also idk why but whenever I would try to center certain parts it would center this whole chapter, so I just gave up 😅 So, it might look a bit weird in some parts but Wattpad wasn't wanting to cooperate 😭

I'm sure there's more I wanna say in this note, but like usual, I can't remember what else there was.

But, please don't forget to leave your feedback in the comments and I hope y'all enjoyed! 🤍