Nadia slid off her jacket and hung it on the hook near the front door, the familiar scent of spaghetti and garlic bread immediately enveloping her. It was the comforting aroma of home, something she'd longed for but hadn't tasted in months. Her stomach growled in anticipation. She followed the scent down the hallway, her footsteps soft on the wood floor, and found her family gathered at the kitchen table, eating in quiet comfort.

Rufus was the first to notice her, his grizzled face breaking into a surprised smile. "Nadie? What are you doin' here?"

Nadia opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat. She didn't know where to begin. How could she explain what was happening, what had to happen?

"Nadie?" Irene's voice wavered with concern, her eyes darting to Nadia's face, sensing something was off.

"I'm starving," was all Nadia could manage. She grabbed a plate from the cabinet, her hands moving mechanically as she filled it with spaghetti, slopping some garlic bread onto the side. She sat down, setting the plate in front of her, and ignored the curious and wary glances from her family.

Ben, ever the one to break the silence, asked, "Where's Sam and Dean?"

"The boys are trying to stop the apocalypse," Nadia replied, her voice muffled by the food in her mouth, though she couldn't shake the weight of the words.

Rufus frowned deeply. "And why ain't you with them?"

Nadia spun a forkful of spaghetti, barely tasting it. "Because," she said, her voice quieter now, "they can't stop it. It has to happen." She chewed slowly, savoring the simple comfort of the meal, though it felt hollow against the enormity of the moment. "It has to happen to defeat the devil... and maybe even Michael."

She closed her eyes for a brief second, trying to push down the well of emotion that threatened to surface. "I've gone way too long without having a decent family meal."

Rufus, Ben, and Irene exchanged a glance, the unease thick in the air.

"Nadia, are you okay?" Irene's voice held an edge of worry.

"Did you hit your head?" Rufus reached out, placing a hand on her forehead, checking for a fever.

"No, Dad," Nadia said, shifting her head away, her eyes flickering toward the window for a moment before she forced herself to focus back on the meal. But the tension in the room was palpable, impossible to ignore.

She put her fork down with a soft clink, the sound sharp in the otherwise quiet room. Nadia leaned back in her chair, her eyes locking with each of her family members. "I'm gonna try to keep this short," she said, her voice low but steady. 

"Because if I'm being honest, I'd really like one last decent meal with my family before things go south. The apocalypse is coming, and it's set in stone. We are facing the end times, but..." She paused, the weight of it all settling deep in her chest, but her gaze never faltered. "But we will get through it. People will die. There will be close calls. But we will get through it. And we will take Lucifer down."

The room fell silent, each of them processing her words, the gravity of the situation hanging thick in the air. Ben was the first to break the quiet, his eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Take down Lucifer? Are you sure you didn't hit your head?"

Nadia chuckled dryly, shaking her head. "I know it sounds crazy, but yes. We're gonna take him down."

Irene glanced nervously at Rufus, clearly concerned about Nadia's confidence in such an impossible task, but she didn't argue. Instead, she asked softly, "What about the boys? What about you and Dean?"

Nadia's stomach twisted at the question, the thought of Dean pulling her in different directions. She swallowed hard, her throat tight. "I don't know where Dean and I stand after this. And that's okay. It has to be." She let out a long breath, trying to calm the storm of emotions raging inside her. "Right now, I'm just happy to be here with you guys."

She squeezed Ben's arm, a bittersweet smile tugging at the corner of her lips before she picked up another piece of garlic bread and took a bite, trying to ground herself in the moment.

There was a heaviness in the air now, a deep, unspoken understanding that things were changing. The room grew quiet, each person lost in their own thoughts, trying to make sense of what Nadia had just revealed.

"Nadia," Rufus began, his voice thick with concern.

"Do you trust me?" Nadia interrupted, her eyes shining with desperation. She locked gazes with her father, her words almost pleading. "I need you to trust me. I need all of you to trust me. I'm not crazy. I'm not giving up. I know what the real fight is, and I just... I just need you to trust me."

Ben was the first to nod, his face serious. "I trust you, Nadia."

"I do, too," Irene chimed in, her voice soft but firm, though a tremor still lingered there.

Nadia turned to her father. Rufus didn't speak immediately, his gaze focused on his daughter, but the weight of everything seemed to anchor him in place. The reality of the apocalypse loomed large over him, and it took him a moment to process it all.

"I trust you, baby girl," Rufus finally said, his voice rough but steady.

Nadia let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, relief washing over her like a wave. "Thank you." She wiped at the corner of her eye quickly, trying to push down the lump in her throat. "Now, after dinner, you should pack your bags."

"Where are we going?" Ben asked, his brow furrowed with curiosity.

"There's a hunter commune in Louisiana," Nadia explained. "DuBois Hollow. I think you guys should head there for a week or two, just until things... calm down a little. Probably a good idea to be around other hunters."

"And you?" Irene asked, a worried frown crossing her face.

"I'll be with you, popping in and out, you know—hunter duty, angel duty," Nadia shrugged lightly, though the tension in her shoulders couldn't be disguised.

Rufus exchanged a look with Irene before nodding. "Okay, we'll go to DuBois Hollow."

Nadia nodded, relieved that her family would be safe. "It's hot as hell there, but they're good people. I promise."

There was a pause as the family took in her words, the weight of the coming events still settling over them. But then, slowly, they resumed eating, the tension easing slightly.

Ben, always the one to lighten the mood, helped by revealing something personal. "I've been going to therapy since Pamela died," he said, his voice casual, though there was a quiet pride in it. "It's been helping. I've made some friends at school, too."

Nadia smiled faintly at him, her heart swelling with love for her family. Despite everything, despite the weight of what was to come, moments like this reminded her why she had to fight.

The table filled with the sounds of clinking silverware and soft conversation, the normalcy of the moment a bittersweet comfort. But as Nadia's fork hovered over her plate, her eyes drifted toward the window, where the sky had begun to darken unnaturally. A rumble of thunder echoed in the distance, too steady, too foreboding.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was quickly followed by the buzz of Irene and Rufus's phones. They all glanced down at their screens, receiving alerts of catastrophic events unfolding.

"Guys?" Ben's voice was quiet, his eyes locked on the window. The rest of the family turned to follow his gaze.

Without a word, Nadia rose from the table, her heart heavy with the knowledge of what was coming. Irene, Rufus, and Ben followed her outside, each of them stepping onto the porch where the air felt thick with the weight of the world. The unnatural stillness of the moment sent a chill down their spines. A distant howl of wind echoed, followed by a faint glow on the horizon, heralding the coming storm.

Nadia closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep, steadying breath, preparing herself for the unknown. Then, she opened her eyes, her resolve settling into her bones. She stood taller, her expression shifting from uncertainty to determination.

"The end isn't the end," she murmured under her breath, her words soft but certain. "It's where choices begin."