I wake up, an unknown amount of hours later, to someone gently shaking my shoulder. There's a large bruise on my shoulder, so it hurts like Hell and I cry out in pain. "Ow! Hey!" My eyes flick open and I realize that at some point I must have drifted off. "Sam? What's wrong?" His face is covered with a panicked expression as he shakes me awake.

"We have to go." He says, and I sit up, noticing he has a few bags in his arms. Everything of the brothers', and mine, that was in the hotel room is now tucked neatly into three bags.

"Why? What's wrong?" I look around the room. "Where's Dean?" He's the only one that isn't there, and a bad feeling settles into my stomach. "Sam?"

Sam just shakes his head, and I watch as he pulls the keys to the Impala out of his pocket. My stomach really drops now. Dean would never let Sam drive his car unless -- "Something bad happened." Sam admits.

"What happened?" I am now fully awake, and I grab my bag from the man's arm with shaking hands. "Where's Dean?" I repeat.

"Well, after you were freed, we went into Ruby's little layer." Sam begins.

I nod. "I know. And Cas left me here, and he went back to help you." With the angel's help, nothing should have gone wrong. "What went wrong?"

"Oh, you know, everything." Sam scoffs nervously. "Come on, I'll explain the rest of it to you in the car." 

I follow Sam out to the car, and once we get on the road, I ask him to explain. "What is the rest of it?" I ask.

"Well, after Cas came back, Ruby brought out a shape shifter --"

"Wait, a what?" I say, turning to look at him.

"A shape shifter. They can look like anyone they want. Anyways, she brought out a shape shifter that looked just like you ... so we all thought that Ruby had taken you again. Dean freaked out at Cas, then, because it was his job to protect you --"

"He did protect me, though."

"Yes, but it appeared like he didn't. Anyways, Dean freaked, and this shapeshifter that was pretending to be you, well, it looked like you were beaten very badly. Worse than you actually were. And, then, just to show how serious she was, Ruby ... well, she cut off one of the shape shifter's fingers, and ...." Sam pauses and glances over at me. I stare at him in shock.

"You thought she cut off one of my fingers?" I ask.

Sam nods. "Dean didn't like that at all. He started yelling at Ruby, and he lunged at her, and then she threw him against the wall, then threw the shape shifter against the wall ... and it's skull cracked. Ruby killed the shape shifter, making all of us think that she killed you ... and Dean went ballistic." 

"He did?" I ask. I'm surprised Dean would care that much.

"Yes. And so then some of Ruby's thugs took him, held him down, and Ruby explained that she could bring you back ... if Dean sacrificed himself to her." Sam clears his throat awkwardly, and a lump forms in my throat as I think of what happened next.

"No, he didn't ..."

"He did." Sam nods. "He handed himself over to Ruby, and once she had him, Cas came back, after leaving to check on you again, and ... he said that you were okay, sleeping in the hotel room. But Dean, Ruby, and all the minions had vanished."

"Oh my God." My heart is racing and I feel like I am about to puke. "Is he dead? Oh my God, Sam, is Dean dead because of me?"

"He's not dead." Sam shakes his head. "No, Cas knows where he is. That's where we're going right now."

Suddenly, it feels like the backseat of the Impala becomes a lot bit heavier. "Speak of the devil." I mutter, seeing Cas in the back. 

"Angel, actually, not the devil." Cas says.

I run a hand through my blonde hair, my fingers catching a bump on my head that I didn't realize existed. "Ouch..." I mutter, noticing another one of Ruby's wounds.

I feel Cas place a hand over the spot, and suddenly, it feels better. "You are perfectly fine now." He says quietly.

"No, I'm not, Cas." I whisper under my breath. How can I ever be fine, knowing Dean might be dead because of me? "You never should have gotten involved in this case. You guys never should have come to McKinley High." I sigh, thinking how different my life has become since the two brothers walked into my office as faux FBI agents.

"You will be. Do not worry. We will find Dean. I already know where he is." Cas says.

"Speaking of, Cas, where am I going?" Sam asks, looking back at the angel through the rearview mirror.

"Lake Street."

"Lake Street?" I spin around to face Castiel. "Wait, seriously?"

The angel blinks at me. "Yes, Lake Street."

"I live on Lake Street." I say, spinning back around. "This can't just be a coincidence, can it?" I ask Sam.

Sam looks at me and shakes his head. "No, it can't. That's really strange."

As the Impala turns down my own street, I look around for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing seems to be wrong. It's the same, boring neighborhood it always has been. 

"Stop here." Castiel orders, and I watch as Sam pulls up right next to my house. My car is even still in the driveway. I wonder if my neighbors have wondered what happened to me.

"Oh my God." I say, my eyes going wide.

"Eddie, is this your house?" Sam asks, turning to look at me.

I nod and stay silent as the two men get out of the car. I slowly follow them. Sam leads me to the back of the car. "What exactly is our plan here, Sam?" I ask.

Sam hands me two guns. One is full of salt, the other, I'm not sure. "Get Dean back, and kill Ruby, if we can."

"Yes, Sam, but how?" I ask, nervously holding the two weapons.

"I don't know." Sam admitted, and I could see how defeated he already was.

"Okay." I clear my throat awkwardly. "We should focus on Dean, first." As I say the elder Winchester brother's name, a lump forms in my throat. My heart begins to race as I worry that he may die because he was trying to protect me. "Sam." I say, turning to look at him.

"Mhm?" He asks, looking up from the weapon he is assembling. 

"What if ... what if --"

"Eddie." Sam cuts me off, and he sets his hands on my shoulders, turning me to face him. "Please, don't worry. You have no idea how many times I've saved Dean's ass -- and vice versa." He flashes me a smile, and it does help me feel a bit calmer.

"You're not worried?" I ask.

"Not anymore than usual." He smiles and pats my shoulder. 

I look over at Castiel, noticing the angel is putting some sort of special blade inside his coat. "Castiel, what is that?"

"My angel blade. It can kill Ruby. She is weak now, it will definitely be able to kill her, if I can get close enough." The angel tells me.

I look over at Sam. Maybe we can do this.

Sam clears his throat and tightens his grip on his gun. "Okay, let's go get my brother back."

We walk into the house, and the layout is familiar to me, even if the literal demons inside aren't.

Ruby stands in front of us, a smirk on her face. My eyes lock on the body at her feet. Dean. He's bruised and battered, and very bloody. "Oh my God." 

Ruby cackles as she looks at me. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you not like what I did to your lover boy?"

"He's not ... we aren't ..." I begin to stutter, my eyes locked on Dean's unmoving body. 

"Sure." Ruby smirks. "Why else would Dean sacrifice himself for you?"

I look up at her, a cold glare on my face. That bitch. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Cas standing to the left of me. Inside his coat, I see the glow of his blade. All Castiel needs is a distraction so he can get close enough. Maybe I should play in to Ruby's little game.

I drop the weapons I was holding, and they clatter to the floor. "Eddie, what are you doing?" Sam hisses from behind me.

"Dean." I mutter, keeping my eyes trained on his body. I have to act concerned. Oh, what the Hell. I am concerned! I rush over to Dean's body and kneel down next to me, watching as Ruby turns to watch me, leaving her back to Castiel and Sam. "Dean? Can you hear me? Wake up!" I murmur, gently shaking the man. He doesn't even stir, but I can feel a pulse under his wrist. 

"I knew it." Ruby cackles. "Now, I'll have both of you." Suddenly, there's a hot pain through my side, and I reach down to feel a warm puddle forming on the left side of my ribs. I remove my shaking hand to see red plastered all over it. 

"What did you do?" I ask, collapsing onto the floor next to Dean. I watch as Ruby stands in front of me, holding a bloody dagger.

She simply laughs, and then there's a bright flash of light, and Ruby's body explodes before our eyes, revealing Cas behind her with his angel blade. 

It seems that's just the distraction he needed. But at what cost?

I start to feel lightheaded and I can see spots before my eyes. Something stirs next to me, and I look over to see Dean. He's awake, and I see Cas standing over him, his hand on his shoulder.

He saved him! A dopey smile forms on my face. They would be such good brothers, if Dean didn't already had Sam. The boys were like Castiel's family.

"Eddie? Eddie?" Someone is saying my name. It sounds like a whisper. I blink open my eyes slowly, and see Dean hovering over me. His face is a little battered, but he looks wide awake. I feel pressure on my ribs, over the wound from Ruby. His hand gently caresses my face. "Stay with me. Stay awake! Cas, what the Hell is going on?" I can tell by the look on Dean's face that he is yelling, but my heart is beating so loudly in my head that it sounds like he is whispering.

I'm tired. This demon fighting thing is exhausting. I close my eyes and let myself drift off into a well-needed sleep.