Valerie was pissed.
Not only had it all gone wrong, Sam ending up in the cage after Rowena had tricked them, he'd got beaten up pretty bad, but then they discovered that Castiel had said yes to Lucifer.
And she'd been on his hit list.
Luckily, she had spent years preparing against such a thing, escaping by the skin of her teeth mutliple times.
Now they were expecting her to work with him.
"No." She said harshly to Sam, who had just appeared in one of her safe houses.
Sam sighed. "I know you've been running Val, but this is different, we think-"
"Exactly. Think." Valerie snapped, folding her arms. "I can't deal with think anymore Sam."
"Val...I wasn't to know." He said quietly. "About Rowena wanting him out or what Cas did...or that he would come after you. I didn't know, I promise."
Valerie's anger faded a little, and she shifted on her feet. "Dammit Sam, why do you always have to be so keen on fixing things? Why not just let it go?"
Sam shrugs a little. "This was my fault to begin with, it's only right that I fix it."
She sighed, seeing the struggle going on behind his eyes, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him, one that he quickly returns, burying against her neck.
"You got to stop carrying the world on your shoulders Sam." She said softly. "You don't have to fix everything, no matter how it started."
Sam holds her tighter, his voice muffled. "I'm scared Valerie, but I can't run away from this. I couldn't live with myself if I did."
"I know." Valerie sighed. "I'll help, but...you're going to have to give me a bit, there's several things I will need to prepare."
He slowly moves away to look down at her, nodding. "Thank you Valerie."
"Don't thank me." She shakes her head and instead grabs the front of his shirt, pulling him to her, pressing her lips firmly into his, Sam reacting instantly to return the heated kiss, before she broke away, her eyes burning. "You're infuriating, did you know that?"
Sam gives a small smile. "Why?"
"Because I seem to do whatever you want." She huffs and then waves him off. "Go on, I'll meet you there."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Well, I can't say I didn't expect Iseult not to take up the offer." Valeria heard Rowena say as she entered the bunker. "Guess she couldn't handle being seconded."
"She's coming Rowena." Sam said sternly, making Valerie smirk.
"I'm pretty sure your little witch has something better to do." Her teeth grit at the voice that should've been Castiel's, but with an unmistakable sneer to it, she knew that this was Lucifer. "If she was so interested-"
"Then she would be making sure she was ready." Valerie said, stepping into sight, ignoring Lucifer as she strode past him and shooting a glare at her mother. "So this is it then? This is the lot that's going to try and take down Amara?"
"We're a hopeful bunch." Crowley said, causing her to snort in amusement.
"Clearly." Her gaze then moves to Chuck. "And I can see why, although, I have to say, I'm not impressed."
Chuck gives a small shrug. "I'm not here to impress you."
"He's not in this for anyone but himself." Lucifer said, his gaze having not left her. "But then, so are you."
"Trust me, this is the last place I wish to be." She snarls. "If it wasn't for the fact that I was asked nicely, I'd be as far from here as humanly possible."
"Oh pet, who's the biggest liar in this room?" Lucifer grins at her, making Valerie cross her arms. "You've never been able to keep yourself out of these messes."
"If I recall, I was doing quite well." No one missed the cold, harsh tone in Valerie's voice. "Or are you going to be all sore about that? I mean, you were outwitted by a simple witch after all."
His grin turns to a sneer. "Had Aunty Amara not gotten in the way, I would've caught up to you."
There was a shift in the air then and no one missed the spark in Valerie's eyes. "Keep thinking that. I could banish you without a second thought."
"Okay!" Chuck said loudly, stepping between the two of them. "So, I know there are a lot of upset people here, but for the sake of, well, everything, can we please work together?"
"Certainly. If Mister Entitled there stays away from me." Valerie clipped, having not moved and not allowed the spark of her power disappear, one that had both Rowena and Crowley observing her closely.
"I am-"
"A prat. I know."
Dean's suppressed laughter broke the silence that fell and he had to bite his finger hard to make it stop, Sam clearly biting the inside of his cheek as well.
"Among several other things." Valerie continued, her gaze locked on Lucifer, ignoring Chuck between them. "Now, I am not your pet and never will be anything such again. If I hear one more word from your mouth about anything even remotely close, then I promise I will seal it permanently." The air thickened with power again as Lucifer opened his mouth. "I mean it."
They were all stunned when Lucifer closed his mouth, simply glaring at her.
"Good." Valerie huffed and finally let the magic clear from the air. "Now maybe we can continue discussing this plan in peace."
"You know, if I wasn't mistaken sister-"
"Like I would sell anything to a demon Fergus." Valerie growled over him, shooting him a dark look. "I have my own methods. One's I don't intend on sharing."
"I was simply going to comment that that was almost demonesque." He said before she could say anything else, his gaze amused. "That's all."
Valerie scowled but goes silent, feeling the sudden discomfort from Sam as he looked at her and she doesn't his eye.
"Okay," Chuck said loudly. "So, the, er, pleasantries are out of the way. Can we get back to the task on hand?"
The discussion was had, the only one staying quiet was Valerie, who just stood back and listened intently, not even arguing when they told her that her and Rowena would be tackling Amara first, simply nodding in agreeance, which caused a few odd looks.
Sam approached her afterwards as everyone was readying to leave, feeling two sets of eyes on him but ignoring them. "Valerie?"
She was flicking through one of the books off the Men of Letter's shelves. "I'm fine Sam."
He frowns. "You've been awfully quiet throughout all this."
Valerie sighs and replaces the book on the shelf. "I know. This isn't a fight I wanted to get into, so it's not a fight I'm going to pass my opinion on. What we have is a solid plan, whether it works or not, we will have to wait and see."
"You don't think it will work?"
She holds his gaze for a moment and glances over at Rowena and Crowley, who both looked away as if they hadn't been watching. "I think that Amara is unlike anything any of us have fought before, besides Chuck and Lucifer, and that means that she is unpredictable, no matter what we throw at her, if she is determined enough, she could turn the tables, just like that."
"And the part about me taking on the Mark of Cain?"
Valerie hesitates. She knew when that had been brought up, her reaction had spoken louder than any words, her face paling as she looked at Sam, before hurriedly looking away as he glanced over at her, her hands clenching under her arms as she fought not to say anything.
"I..." She wasn't sure how she could put it into words, so she lets out a slow breath. "I don't like it. It's powerful and dangerous magic, one that I wouldn't dare touch. I know what you went through with Dean, Sam, and I...I..." She couldn't say it and she sighed. "You do what you have to do. I know my part, just as you know yours. I won't argue with it."
Valerie walked away before Sam could do anything else, heat rising in her cheeks as she hung her head a little, avoiding everyone's gaze.
She was pissed. At herself and everyone else.