Present

Dean couldn't bear to look at his brother. To see the judgment in those hazel eyes. Sam was good at that. The damn thing about it was... he deserved it. Everything that had happened with Kevin, with Allegra, with... it was all because of him. He had no excuses. Nothing to justify his actions. The old Dean might've argued he'd done it for the greater good and to protect the people he loved, but not this Dean. This Dean didn't care about the greater good anymore. All he wanted was to set things right with Allegra. But for that, he needed his little brother. He needed the other vessel.

"I... don't know what to say," said Sam after a long period of pregnant silence.

"You don't have to say anything," reacted Dean, head hung in shame. "I screwed up, I know that."

"Screwed up? Dean, you teamed up with the angels and put Kevin in danger! You lied to Allegra about everything! She suffered a miscarriage because of you! You killed your baby!"

Dean's head jerked up at those words. "I know, Sam! I've been carrying that with me every goddamn damn minute of every goddamn day. Every time I close my eyes, I still see Allegra's face when we told her about the baby. I see her tears, I hear her screams. But there's nothing I can do to bring our baby back. Believe me, I tried. But Death's not answering, and the only other beings I know who can return the dead are the very ones I'm fighting here, so you can see the friggin' Great Wall I'm crashing against!"

He got up from his seat, tired of just sitting around and talking, and gripped the sink, his knuckles immediately turning white. This was a mistake. Of course Sam was going to be a pain in the ass. The guy had practically invented guild tripping. No, if he was going to prevent Allegra from losing herself completely, he had to do it on his own.

"Alley?" Dean again reached out to her through their mind link. "Allegra, please, I know you can hear me. I'm in Rufus' cabin with... with Sam. We're worried about you. Just... come back. Please."

"I don't know what to do anymore," he then said aloud in a trembling voice. "I don't... It's too much. Every time I try to do good, I end up hurting everyone I love. You, Dad, Bobby... Cas wasted his time saving me from Hell. I'm just... not worth saving. I'm not worth anything. Not without... you. Please... I need you."

A chair scraped over the floor behind him. Footsteps thudded as Sam approached. His hand landed on Dean's shoulder, and the older Winchester nearly buckled under the emotional weight behind that simple, comforting gesture.

"You have me, Dean," said Sam. "You're my brother. I may not always agree with some of your stupid-ass decisions, but I'm right there with you if you need me. You're worth something to me. To Jody, to Kevin, to Allegra. She... She loves you. Don't give up on her. 'Cause she never gave up on you."

Dean hadn't meant what he'd said for Sam. Yet to hear his baby brother say he was in his corner, ready to fight the fight and be his wingman, the Robin to his Batman, once again, gave him more strength than he cared to admit. He spun around on his heels and took Sam in a tight embrace, which the latter readily reciprocated.

"Thank you," whispered Dean.

"Anytime," said Sam. He nudged Dean away and raked his hand through his unruly hair, moving on to the most urgent matter at hand. "Now, first things first; where is Allegra?"

"I don't know." Dean gave a weary sigh. "She left the hospital the morning after the surgery, only passing by Mrs. Tran to say she was gonna fix everything and make sure Kevin got better. I've tried everything to find her, even broadcasted an emergency message to other Hunters and our friends, but she hasn't even touched base with Jody. If I'd known she was gonna go AWOL on me, I never would've taught her how to go off the grid."

"You got absolutely nothing? Not even with your link-thingy?"

"No, she's blocking me. She shut the door, so I can't get through to her."

"What about that Cupid? Can't she help?"

"No, Amore completely frizzed up her powers, and for some reason, she ain't getting any better. I left her at the house. She's safe there from Naomi."

Sam hummed in thought and started to pace the kitchen. Dean watched him closely. Whenever Sam got like this, he could have a sudden epiphany, like Sherlock Holmes or some other great geeky detective, and find the clue he couldn't. Though Dean had his moments, he wouldn't deny Sam was by far the brainiac of the Winchester family. He often wondered if he got that from their mom. It sure didn't come from their father's side of the family.

"Hang on, what about Crowley?" asked Sam then. "You said he and Allegra still have their deal, right? You think she could be working with him now?"

Well, so much for the grand epiphany.

"No, Sammy, I did not think of that at all."

"Dean..."

"Okay, okay, sorry. Yes, I think she's with him. But I got bupkiss there too. I've tried every summoning, tortured demons, even a couple of vamps, but nobody's talkin'."

"What about his bones? Allegra had those, didn't she?"

"Yeah..." Dean cocked his head. "Where are you going with this?"

"Dean, come on, where's the one place Allegra felt most at home since we've known her? Before you two started living together, I mean."

"I-I don't..." But then he had it. His own epiphany. The one place Allegra had called home was... "Bobby's."

Sam smirked. "Bobby's."

***

Allegra barely looked up as another harrowing scream echoed through Crowley's 'palace'. She'd gotten used to it after two months. At first, she would go to check if his demons weren't torturing some innocent person, but she'd come to the point where she simply didn't care anymore. She had better things to do than waste her time on some random person she didn't know who probably only had themselves to blame for their misery.

"They're on the move," she said.

"You absolutely certain Moose and Squirrel won't get to my bones?" asked Crowley for the umpteenth time.

"You got wax in your ears? Your precious bones are safe. Now let's go."

The King of Hell raised a brow at Allegra's harsh snap, but she turned her back on him. Their partnership was becoming more of a nuisance with each passing day. The sooner she got what she was really after, the better.

"Well?" she glanced over her shoulder. "You coming?"

Crowley sighed. The moment he touched her, Allegra zapped them to the house in Texas. A gasp followed by something breaking resonated to her left. She whipped her head aside to the terrified curly-haired angel in pink leggings and an oversized purple sweater. A Minnie Mouse mug lay in pieces at her sock-covered feet. Oh, this bitch was going down.

"Amore," greeted Allegra. "Long time no see."

The Cupid darted off and sprinted, stupidly, up the stairs. Allegra rolled her eyes. She used her powers to cut Amore off on the landing before she could hide in a room. Crowley blocked the way back down, standing calmly at the top of the stairs with his hands in the pockets of his long black coat.
Loud barking drew Allegra's attention then. Trixie darted out of the bedroom she'd shared with Dean, fully intent on protecting the Cupid. Yet as soon as Allegra and her pet locked eyes, Trixie's barking turned to a whimper. She cowered, slowly backing into the room again. Allegra had never thought Trixie would ever fear her, but maybe it was for the best. She would've hated to hurt the dog if she'd chosen to fight for an undeserving angel instead of for her.

"Now," Allegra drew her golden Archangel-blade from her leg holster, "let's try this again."

"A-Allegra, please." Amore lifted her hands in surrender. "I-I didn't know. Naomi lied to me. She said the Scribe's device wasn't dangerous."

"You did nothing to stop her."

"I tried! I swear I tried! But she has too many supporters, and I... I-I'm not a warrior."

"I really don't care about your excuses, Amore." Allegra drew close, the tip of her blade shining dangerously.

"Please, don't."

"Love," said Crowley, "maybe you should reconsider."

"Did I ask for you opinion?" sneered Allegra at him. "You shut your mouth or you can join the others in the Cage."

Amore's eyes widened in horror. "The... The Cage? Wh-What are you planning?"

"Nothing you have to worry about, Amore. You'll be safe in... remind me, where do angels go when they die?"

A flash of gold. A cry abruptly cut off to a gurgle. Blood sprayed the walls, pictures, and Allegra. A heavy thud resounded as the dead body fell to the floor. Allegra drew her other knife, the one she got from John Winchester, and tossed it to Crowley. He caught it deftly with one hand.

"Let's get to work."

***

"Thank you for coming, Jody. We really couldn't do this without all this equipment."

The Sheriff of Sioux Falls flashed Sam a grin. "Anything for my favorite boys. Besides, I'm just as eager to find Allegra as you two are. I had a miscarriage early in my marriage as well. I doubt demons provide support for... anything, really. We gotta find her before she spirals and does something she'll regret."

"You really think she's capable of that?"

"You tell me, Sam. I seem to remember a certain Amazon tribe who got massacred, but hey, maybe Allegra won't go full Avenger this time."

Sam pinched his lips. He hadn't voiced that exact concern to Dean earlier, but it'd been running round his mind ever since they'd left the cabin. The Amazon, Hester, countless demons... Allegra was a good person who would never hurt an innocent. But she was also part angel, and they weren't always the most logical beings. If Allegra's human half clashed with an enraged Archangel inside her, there's no telling what she could do. Especially not if her powers had grown again.

"Hey, you guys ready?" Dean popped out from behind a stack of rusty cars.

"Yeah," said Sam. "The GPR is all set."

"The what?"

"Ground Penetrating Radar," explained Jody. "I got it on loan from the forensic lab. This doohickey uses radio waves to detect buried objects."

"What about all the junk in the salvage yard?" wondered Dean aloud. "Won't that interfere?"

"I set the parameters differently, so it shouldn't. In theory."

"Great..."

"Unless you wanna shovel your way through the yard, this is the only way to retrieve those bones. Now stop moping and get outta my way."

Jody gave Dean and Sam a hard shove and started walking the machine in a straight line to where Bobby's house used to stand. The brothers followed in silence, not wanting to disturb her. Sam watched in fascination while Dean got more antsy with every minute that passed.
After fifteen minutes of finding nothing but rubbish, and what they hoped were demonic remains, Jody focused her search on the garage. She had to recalibrate the machine first, since it was the one building still standing on Bobby's property and still had a cement floor. The painstaking silent search began again, but this time...

"Got something."

"What?" Sam and Dean jumped to her in unison.

"There's a hatch just below here. I'm not getting any clear read on bones, but there's definitely a skull inside."

"That's gotta be it," said Sam.

"I knew Bobby had a secret stash somewhere," said Dean. "Come on."

They kneeled and uncovered the hatch after fingering the floor for the thin grooves. Sam pressed the stone in, and it slid aside, much like something from an Indiana Jones movie. A rectangular metal box, no bigger than a shoebox, lay in the hole. Dean reached for it, but Sam hurriedly stopped him. "Whoa, whoa, wait! Jody, you got a flashlight?"

The Sheriff handed Sam the light, and he shined it on the box. His brother cursed loudly at the sight of the sigils drawn onto the box. "Dammit, we don't have time to go around these!"

"We don't have to," said Sam with a little smile on his lips. "Jody, you can take it out."

"Me?" Jody leaned in, her expression skeptical. "You sure?"

"Yeah, this rune here," Sam pointed to a swirly symbol, "means 'of virtue and law-abiding' in Aramaic. Allegra must've put it on in case she needed someone to get to Crowley's bones. Since you're the closest to the salvage yard, it makes sense it refers to you."

Jody and Dean exchanged a glance, but at the latter's shrug, she eventually got down on one knee and pulled the box from the hole. The brief triumph Sam had allowed himself to feel dissipated at the sight of the eight-digit number lock attached to the metal contraption. Just friggin' great.

"Any ideas?" asked Jody.

"Try 01240502," answered Dean.

"Our birthdays?" Sam threw his brother a confused look. "Why would Allegra use those? You two weren't dating yet when she made her deal with Crowley."

"Those are the same dates she and Gabriel celebrated their supposed birthdays. Allegra's on mine, and his was on yours."

"What? Oh, that's —"

"Messed up, I know." Dean's eyes traveled to Jody. "What's the hold-up?"

"I'm just... thinking of something," she said, pensively. "Allegra and I once had a discussion about codes, and she told me that if she were here in the States and had to use dates, she would throw off whoever was after her by using the European annotation. So that would be... 24010205."

The locked clicked, and the box opened with a soft hiss. Jody lifted the lid with trembling fingers, while Sam and Dean readied themselves to pull her away in case something dangerous still jumped out of the box. But instead, they found a painted Dia de Muertos skull and a note for Dean Winchester. Sam read along over his shoulder.

'Dean,
I knew you were going to come for Crowley's bones in a fool's attempt to get to me. I hid them on another continent, so you can spare yourself the trouble of looking for them again. Don't contact me again either. Go back home and stay there, where I know you'll be safe. When I'm done with what I have to do, I'll come to you.'

A little further down, the note continued, but a different pen was used. The handwriting seemed sharper as well, and the tone Allegra used was... downright hostile.

'Of course you called Sam, you damn idiot. We finally got rid of him and what do you do? You're rolling him right back into 'the family business', just like you did when your dad went missing. Did Sam ever forgive you for Jessica, by the way? It was your fault she died, after all. Maybe not directly, but you're good at placing the proverbial dagger in another's hand. Wouldn't want you to get hurt when stabbing someone in the back. Speaking of which, how's Kevin?'

Sam glimpsed at Dean. He looked like he was gonna hurl, but he continued reading, so Sam did too.

'You can't stop what's coming, Dean. I warned the angels months ago of what would happen if they crossed me again. This was the last straw. I'm dealing with them once and for all. For your own sake, stay away. Or Sam's blood will be on your hands as well. Amore's already is.'

"Amore? The Cupid?" Sam scrunched his nose in thought. "Didn't you say she was safe at the house?"

"Safe from angels and demons," said Dean in dismay, "not from Allegra. We gotta go. Come on!"

***

Baby came to a screeching stop, tires grinding over the gravel road to the house. Jody's police cruiser parked next to the black Impala, having giving an official escort all the way from Sioux Falls at maximum speed. It was little short of a miracle they had caused no accidents.Dean jumped out of the car, not bothering to shut the door behind him. He ran up the porch and jammed the house keys into the lock. He was shaking so hard, Sam had to take over and open the door for him. Once he was in, he yelled for the Cupid, hoping she'd been able to hide somewhere.

"Amore! Amore, it's me! Where are you?" Nobody answered. Dean cursed under his breath and turned back to Sam and Jody. "Check upstairs. I'll do the back."

"I don't think that's a good idea," said Sam in a hushed voice.

Only then did Dean realize his brother and the Sheriff of Sioux Falls were still lingering at the door, eyes fixed on something at the top of the stairs. Dean hurried to check, sighing with relief when he saw Trixie.

"Hey girl." He beckoned the dog. "It's okay. It's just Sam and Jody. They're good people."

He took one step up the stairs, only to get a warning growl from Trixie. When he looked closer, he noticed the blood on her paws. Oh, no...

"Trix, it's okay now. I'm going to come up, you hear me?" Dean glimpsed behind him. "You two stay here. I'll check it out."

"Be careful," said Jody.

Slowly, Dean climbed up, his gaze never leaving Trixie. The higher he got, the more his heart sank. The ivory walls were drenched in blood. Every picture frame he and Allegra had hung up, from those with Lorelai and the woman she called Auntie Roe during her childhood to the ones with Dean and Kevin of the last months, was ruined. And the carpet on the landing, once an earthly green, was now a dirty, deep red, with a trail leading away from it and into... Gabriel's room.
Trixie whimpered as Dean got to her. He patted her comfortingly and took her by the collar, not wanting her to run off or attack Sam or Jody. She nearly pressed herself against Dean as he walked to the now open door. His heart was like a loud echoing gong, beating irregularly in his chest. The already strong metallic scent hanging in the air grew pungent, almost causing Dean to retch. One look into the room, though, and he sank to the floor, dumping the entire content of his stomach on the floor.

In the middle of the bed, amidst shredded pieces of the black Audrey Hepburn dress and thousands of ripped book pages, lay the Cupid. Her lifeless eyes stared up at the ceiling, at the Heavens, and her arms lay spread out like Jesus on the cross. A huge gash in her throat explained the spraying that had occurred in the hallway. Yet it was nothing compared to the big gaping hole in her chest.
Amore's torso had been opened like during a postmortem, from sternum to pubis. Her entrails were hanging out, almost touching the ground, even. And where her heart was supposed to be lay a little vial, its glass tube still holding some of the dark, demonic liquid it used to contain.

"Allegra... what did you do?"