My mom woke me up earlier to get ready because she wants to get us to the school 40 minutes before school starts so I can stand in line for 20+ minutes for a goddamn yearbook. I've been so weak from being sick and I need as much sleep as I can get and I haven't had much at all. Oh my god I'm gonna kill her.

Anyways, here you go!

"Hey." Sam breathed a sigh of relief, muttering something to Dean besides him. "Where are you guys?"

"What'd he want?"

"I'll explain when I know that there aren't wandering ears," Libby replied, glancing around the field. Demons could be anywhere considering it was the Gate of Hell.

"Shoshone, Idaho. Cassity Farm," Sam told her. Libby nodded and 'teleported' there, Sam gasping and jumping when she landed on the seat in between the two brothers. Dean had smacked the steering wheel and hit his elbow on the door handle.

"Jesus Christ, Libby," Dean cursed, shaking his head. "A little warning next time?" The redhead smiled sheepishly and snickered.

"Sorry." It was a tight fit in the front seat. Dean opened the door to the Impala and got out, knocking Libby back by accident in the process. She yelped and fell back, half of her laying across Sam's lap. She looked up at him, covering her mouth, and giggled, Sam grinned down at her. If someone had walked by and seen the scene in the Impala then it would be clear to them that Sam and Libby were dating. Except they weren't dating anymore no matter how much it looked like it. Old habits die hard, maybe?

"You okay?" Sam asked. Libby nodded and sat up, still smiling. Sam reached over and shut the driver's door, giving them some privacy to talk about her business trip to Hell. "What'd Crowley want?"

"To make a deal with me," Libby replied. "I give him the location of Kevin and the Demon Tablet and he'd give me the throne and call his demons off of you two. I didn't accept. I don't want anything that he offered. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that Crowley could offer me that I'd want." Sam nodded.

"Good. He doesn't have any leverage on you." Libby gave him a soft smile before getting out of the Impala.

"Secret relationship?" Dean questioned. Libby snorted and shook her head. "So you were talking about where you disappeared to yesterday." Sam had caught up with the hunters and they made their way to the tractor where they heard someone with a wrench. "Hey, pal, who runs this joint?"

A young hispanic woman slid out from under the tractor and stood up.

"You're looking at her." Libby and Dean exchanged glances.

"You... own the ranch?" Sam asked.

"Nope, just manage the property." Dean nodded in approval and Libby smirked. She seemed nice enough. "You guys here about the job?" Libby grinned.

"How'd you guess?" she questioned.

"We get our share of drifters." Dean nodded. "Ever worked a farm before?"

"Definitely," Dean lied. The woman eyed the three of them up and down. It was Libby who gave it away with the leather jacket and tight black jeans, the sword on her hip that she forgot to leave in the trunk of the Impala. Libby cleared her throat awkwardly.

"We're quick learners," Sam told her. A man approached the group before anyone could say anything else.

"Ellie... who we got here?" he asked. Dean held his hand out for him to shake.

"I'm Dean. This is Sam, and the pretty redhead is Libby," Dean introduced. A red tint took over Libby's cheeks and the woman, Ellie, snickered at her.

"Carl Granville. A pleasure," Carl said as he shook their hands. Sam nodded.

"Pleasure. So you're not a Cassity?" Sam questioned.

"No, my wife is. Her and her family own the place. I'm just one those, uh – what you call 'em?" Carl patted his pudgy belly. "Trophy husbands." He let out a laugh and Libby smiled at him, chuckling. She didn't really know the man and she already liked him. Carl directed his attention to Ellie. "So, we, uh, hiring the fellas?"

"Not sure yet."

"Oh, come on. They seem like swell guys," Carl told her, patting her back before walking away.

"Well, he's right. We're swell," Dean told Ellie. Sam and Dean smiled and Libby just looked up at them, raising an eyebrow.

"We are?" she questioned. Dean nudged her side with his elbow, getting her the message. Libby gasped, catching on, and nodded. "Dean's right. Swell!" Libby cleared her throat awkwardly and sent a toothy grin to Ellie.

~*~

"You bed down in here. Breakfast is at five, dinner is at eight, and in between, you're mine. Questions?" Ellie asked, standing in the doorway of a shed-like building. Dean peeked inside to see two beds. Libby frowned. She'd have to share a bed with Sam or Dean after finally getting used to her own room. It would be an awkward stay, that's for sure.

"I miss my room," Dean said.

"We're good," Sam said before glaring down at his older brother. Libby sighed and scratched the back of her head.

"Okay. Job is yours if you want it. But I better warn you – it's crap work." Ellie eyed the redhead standing in front of her. "You'll be helping me in the house, Libby." Libby's mouth opened, then closed, before she found her voice to speak.

"I can work in a barn just fine if that's okay," Libby told her, not wanting to leave the Winchesters' sides since a Hellhound would be sniffing around soon. Ellie shook her head.

"I need your help inside and I figured I'd leave the heavy lifting to the men." Libby sighed but nodded, following Ellie to the Cassity house. She sent Sam and Dean a worried look before jogging to catch up with the hispanic woman.

"So, uh, what would I be doing in the house?" Libby asked as she stepped inside. Her heeled boots clacked on the wooden floors, echoing with every step.

  ~*~ 

"Meet Noah Cassity," Ellie said as a man in cowboy boots, slacks and a jacket, a bolo shoestring tie, and a cowboy hat stepped out of an SUV. "He's seventy-one, worth a billion, and just married wife number five, a twenty-year-old lingerie model." Libby snorted.

"'Cause they have so much in common," she said sarcastically.

"Alice is his oldest, and that's Cindy, the middle girl." A blonde in a minidress and white jacket stepped out of the car, walking over to Alice Cassity and greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. "She had a single on the country chart a few years ago. Then she started hitting the bottle, and, well... Her last album was a bunch of holiday songs for dogs. My favorites were 'Jingle Bark Rock' and 'Don't Pee on this Tree: Happy Arbor Day'," Ellie explained with a smirk.

"So she's the devil," Dean summed up. Ellie nodded, but Libby glared up at Dean. He sent her an apologetic smile when he realized how close to home he had hit her.

"Pretty much," Ellie said." Another woman, this one younger, stepped out of the SUV. She looked nice enough to Libby, but so did Ellie and Ellie proved herself to be strict. "And there's the baby – Margot. She ran away just before Alice and Carl tied the knot, lives in Paris."

"How do you know all this?" Libby asked. Ellie looked over to her as if it were obvious.

"I've been working on this farm since I was thirteen, and I've got eyes. Okay, tonight is an all-hands-on-deck situation. I'm gonna need two of you inside, serving dinner and pouring drinks – a lot of drinks," Ellie told them.

"Okay. Well, have fun," Dean told his brother and Libby, patting Sam on the arm with a smile. "I won't wait up."

"And somebody's gonna man the grill," Ellie added. Dean glanced over at the woman.

"What kind of grill?" Libby chuckled and shook her head, heading into the barn where they would live for the next two days to grab her sword. She had taken it off in the house to keep it from accidentally knocking things over as she cleaned, but if another Hellhound was coming then she'd need it.

  ~*~ 

Libby walked in the dining room with a bottle of red wine in her hands, retrieving another after Sam finished off the first with Cindy. Sam turned around to grab the bottle from Libby when he stopped. He hadn't even known Libby owned any clothes like that. She had a tight black dress clinging to her body and fishnet stocking that she paired with her black knee high high heeled boots. She looked breathtaking in his eyes, but he wouldn't speak those exact words. "What?" Libby asked, noticing him staring as she handed him the wine. Sam shook his head.

"N-Nothing. You just look amazing." Libby raised an eyebrow.

"As if I don't everyday?" she teased. They walked back over to the counter with Ellie, grabbing the wine opener. "Ellie, thank you for lending me the dress. I didn't have anything formal besides a pantsuit." Ellie nodded, waving her hand.

"Of course, Libby. It looks great on you. You should keep it."

"Oh, no, I couldn't. I-"

"Seriously, Libby. I don't think I've ever even worn it before." Libby smiled and nodded.

"Well, thank you." Sam walked away with the wine, leaving just Libby and Ellie to mess with the food.

"So how do you know Sam and Dean? Are you related to them somehow?" Ellie questioned. Libby shook her head, tossing the wine cork in the trash.

"No, we work together. I'm also their...bodyguard." It wasn't a complete lie, but it's not like she could come out and say that she was their Guardian Angel from Hell. "They're brothers and I'm good friends with them." Ellie nodded, glancing over her shoulder at Sam.

"Sam seems to have a thing for you. They both do." Libby glanced up and opened her mouth, but Ellie cut her off. "Oh, don't deny it. Even a blind man could see it. You should go for it."

"Actually, Sam and I were once a thing." Libby watched Sam as he poured more wine for Cindy who had downed her glass already. "It kinda fell apart when I sided with Dean on something. But relationships are something I don't have time for," Libby explained. Ellie shook her head.

"Nonsense. If you really love someone you could always fit time in for them." Libby chuckled and nodded her head to the side.

"Not if you're me, you can't. I come from a long, complicated past. One that no one should be involved in. My job is to protect Sam and Dean and that's that." Libby wiped her hands on a towel before going out to help Sam with the dishes.

Cindy laughed as Sam grabbed her plate, Libby taking Margot's. "Oh, yes, but you are right – we should all take a minute and say a few words about Carl. You first," Cindy said obnoxiously. She leaned across the table towards Margot. "Was he a good lay?" It took every bit of restraint in Libby to not reach out and slap Cindy across the face.

"What?" Alice asked. Cindy grinned as she picked up her wine glass, looking over to Alice.

"Oh, you didn't know? Yeah, Daddy caught 'em going at it in the barn," Cindy said with a wave of her hand. Margot looked to Alice guiltily.

"Al, it was before you two got together. I mean, Carl – he loved you," Margot defended. Despite what Margot had done, Libby's heart went out to the girl. She seemed to be the only sane one in the family.

"Yeah, that was back when Margie was fat and Cin was sober, a long time ago," Noah Cassity said.

"Get cancer and die, old man," Cindy told her father. Noah smiled slightly.

"You first, Sweetie," he told her sarcastically with a wink. Libby walked away with three plates, pushing back the memories of the Cage. The Cassity's fought like the original family. Lucifer, Michael, and Libby all going at it in the Cage after Sam was gone. No one was there to play referee or create distractions, so they argued about anything and everything that they could think of. Libby had grown used to it, but hearing the Cassity's go at it after a death in the family is what shocked her.

"Are they always like this?" Sam asked softly in the kitchen as he pulled out yet another bottle of wine. Ellie nodded.

"More or less," she replied.

"How can you work here?" Libby questioned as Sam opened the wine, passing the wine opened to Libby.

"I love the property, I love the animals, and I tune out the people," Ellie replied with a slight smile. She eyed the sword on Libby's side, almost not seeing it since the black sheath blended in with the dress. "What is with you and that sword?" Libby glanced down at it.

"Uh, my grandfather made it and gave it to me. I don't go anywhere without it. I know that it's weird but I just have this attachment to it," Libby explained. Ellie shrugged and nodded, knowing not to question attachment to a family heirloom. She just assumed that Libby's grandfather was dead, but Libby was starting to believe it, too.

"Well, I can't remember the last time we all sat down and had a meal together," Libby heard Alice say, almost happy.

"It was back at the old, crappy house, when daddy invited that traveling salesman to dinner," Cindy chimed in.

"Oh, him," Margot responded with a slight smile tugging at her lips. Libby listened carefully.

"He was so charming," Alice said to no one in particular. Cindy nodded in agreement, sipping her wine.

"Yeah, English." Libby stopped, her attention focused solely on the conversation of the English salesman. It had to be a demon that she knew. Ten years ago she was in Hell plotting an escape, and to do that she had to know every demon down there.

"What was his name – Kenny?" Noah asked. They all shook their heads.

"Crow--Crow--Crowl--Crowley?" the women all chorused, trying to remember his name. Sam stopped in the doorway with the bottle of wine in his hands. There was a loud shatter coming from the kitchen, the bottle in Libby's hand slipping from her grasp. Ellie gasped and spun around the stare at her, all of the Cassity's focusing their attention on the shocked redhead.

"You just dropped an expensive bottle of wine!" Cindy yelled. "That's coming from your paycheck, Copper Top." Libby looked down at the shattered bottle, but she didn't care at the moment. "Freak," Cindy muttered, thinking that Libby couldn't hear her.

"Crowley?" Libby inquired. "Shorter, pudgy, sarcastic, charming?" The sisters all nodded slowly and Libby looked to Sam. "Fuck," she cursed. Cindy smirked, snickering.

"What? He an old one-night stand that you don't want your boyfriend knowing about?" she asked snarkily. Sam's shocked expression turned into a bitch face as he turned to look at Libby. She shook her head slightly as if reading the question in his eyes. Can I kill them? It seemed to ask. "Come on, Lily. Share some stories of Crowley with us." Cindy patted the seat next to her and Libby glanced over at Ellie and Sam. They both nodded, not wanting to hear any whining or fighting. Libby stepped over the broken bottle of wine and slowly took her seat, clearing her throat.

"It's Libby, actually," she muttered. Cindy nodded, focusing on Libby's hair.

"What dye do you use?" she asked. Margot rolled her eyes at her older sister.

"Excuse me?"

"For your hair. What dye?" Libby pulled a strand of hair between her fingers to look at it.

"Oh, um, it's my natural color." The women all shared impressed looks, obviously envying the archangel's hair. If only they knew why, she thought to herself.

"So how'd you meet Crowley?" Alice asked Libby, changing the topic back to the businessman. Libby nodded, suddenly remembering why she was invited to sit down.

"I've known him for a long time. It feels like hundreds of years. We met through my father," Libby told them. Alice furrowed her eyebrows.

"Your father was a businessman?" Libby chuckled and shook her head. "So what'd he do?"

"He pretty much ran the family business. I was stuck in it until a few years back. Didn't like it. But I had met Crowley through a deal. He tried winning me over with his charm, of course, and I obviously rejected him and sent him straight to my father who gave him a job," she explained. Cindy studied the redhead as if trying to figure out if she was lying or not.

"So no sex?" Libby shook her head. "What about those boys? They good?" Libby coughed and her eyes widened.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Did you ever screw either of them? It's obvious you're not related to them, but there is definitely something going on between you and Ken Doll," Cindy told her. Alice nodded in agreement.

"He seems to be a keeper."

"We had something, but it was no good. We're all just co-workers and good friends now." Ellie walked up behind Libby and rested her arms on the back of the chair Libby sat in, smirking.

"Libby here is their bodyguard." Cindy sent Libby a flirtatious wink and Libby let out a laugh.

"I'm their bodyguard, not an escort. I protect them and I work with them. That's all. Not to be disrespectful, but why are you all so interested in my love life?" Noah leaned on the table towards Libby.

"Well, Libby, it's not everyday that a girl like you travels around and works with two guys like them." Libby raised an eyebrow. "If you didn't seem so different from them then I'd say you definitely were screwing one of them," Noah told her. Libby frowned and shook her head. Margot tilted her head to the side, studying the sword on Libby's hip.

"That sword looks familiar," she commented. Libby glanced over at the brunette. "Where'd you get it?"

"Family heirloom," Libby replied simply. Margot nodded.

"May I see it?" Cindy rolled her eyes at her younger singer but watched as Libby walked over and pulled out the sword with interest. "It's beautiful," Margot breathed. Libby smiled to herself, watching Margot admire the weapon.

"Thank you." Ellie stepped out of the room to finish with the dishes as Libby socialized with the Cassity's. Normally she'd call her back in to help, but Ellie could tell that Libby never socialized much by the way she conversed with the Cassity family. She figured that if the redhead was going to work on the farm then they might as well get on each other's good sides. Margot pointed her finger to the crystal.

"That looks familiar. I remember reading about it in one of my classes." Libby furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. As far as she knew the Sword and her existence weren't written into any type of literature. They were meant to be kept secret, the ultimate weapon between Heaven and Hell. "Is this a replica?"

"No."

"If I remember correctly, it's called the Sword of Elizabeth and this crystal holds the power of Elizabeth's soul. She can make the sword do anything she wants to whoever's on the other end of it, and, trust me, you don't want to be on the wrong end." Libby laughed and nodded in agreement. "The lore spoke of the Sword, but never of an Elizabeth. It's like she never existed, except the Sword and Elizabeth are meant to be paired together. They power one another," Margot explained. Margot looked up at Libby, scrunching her nose in thought. "What's Libby short for?"

"I swear if you say Elizabeth I will really be weirded out," Cindy said. Libby just smiled sheepishly, causing Cindy to reach for her wine glass and chug the whole thing. She slammed it down on the table. "I'm officially weirded out. Coincidences, am I right?" Everyone around the table laughed except for Margot and Libby.

~*~

"Oh, look." Cindy gestured to the window. Noah and Margot walked down the pathway, shotguns in hand. "Daddy's drunk and armed. Must be Christmas." Libby and Sam exchanged glances before running out of the dining room, chasing after the duo.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Where are you going?" Sam yelled out. The father and daughter just kept walking, shotguns in hand.

"Wherever I damn well please. The wolf that killed my son-in-law – he's a man-eater, got to be put down," Noah replied.

"Doing this for Carl," Margot added.

"Okay, just – just hold on a second," Libby said. Noah shook his head and continued to walk.

"No, going now." Libby sighed and gave in.

"We'll come with you," she told them. Noah stopped and turned to face Sam and Libby, eyebrow raised.

"You two know anything about hunting?" They both nodded.

"A little bit, yeah," Sam replied. Noah stared at Sam and Libby for a minute before nodding his head towards Margot who handed Sam her rifle. Libby pulled out her sword, ignoring the odd look Noah sent her. Margot eyed her warily, trying to piece together the puzzle that was Libby Wilson.

"You really gonna kill a wolf with a sword?" Margot asked as they walked through the woods, keeping an eye out for it. Libby nodded her head to the side and spun the sword around in her hand.

"You underestimate me, Margot. There's a lot you people don't know about us, especially me." Margot nodded.

"What about those boys?" she questioned, nodding her head to Sam who was a few steps ahead of the girls. Libby shrugged.

"They know what they need to know. They don't know a lot about me and, frankly, I don't think I know myself either." The heels of Libby's boots threatened to sink into the dirt beneath her with every step. What she was wearing wasn't something you'd normally go hunting in, but it was good enough for Libby to fight in. If she was going up against a Hellhound she'd need her A-Game.

"Secrets aren't good, Libby," Margot said shakily, glancing around her. Libby could hear the heavy breathing before a twig snapped. Sam went off to the side and Noah kept on going, not hearing the breathing or the twig. Libby had spun around, ready to swing her sword, but nothing was there. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, only to see Margot gone.

"Margot?" Libby called out, her voice echoing. A scream rang throughout the trees and her eyes widened, chasing after the noise. "Margot!" Libby could hear the growling of the Hellhound as it tore into Margot. Libby lunged after it, slicing the sword across its stomach. It only injured the Hellhound, chasing it off.

"Oh my God! No!" Noah shouted out.

"Go back to the house," Sam demanded. Noah didn't move so he shoved him. "Go!"

"No!" The two of them raced back to the house while Libby glanced around in search for the Hellhound. After concluding that it was gone, she ran after Sam and Noah and met them back at the house.

  ~*~ 

"What was that thing?" Noah asked as he stood up from the arm of the couch. Cindy and Alice were breathing heavily, trying to keep themselves from crying.

"It was a Hellhound. See, when you sell your soul to a demon, they're the ones that come and rip it out of you," Libby said as the trio of Hunters walked into the room, closing the door behind them.

"Demon?" Alice questioned in disbelief. Dean looked over to her.

"Crowley. Poncey guy, about yea big, mountain of dicks. We know he was here 10 years ago, making dreams come true. Now, if you didn't sign, great. That freak out there won't touch you. But if you did, I need to know, and I need to know now. So, hands up." Libby didn't know how many hands she was expecting, but she definitely didn't expect everyone to keep silent and their arms at their sides.

"So, wait. T-the British guy was a demon, and now there's a Hellhound after us? A-are you insane?" Noah asked them, fear creeping into his voice.

"They're obviously insane," Cindy spat. Sam glared at the blonde.

"Don't play dumb."

"Yeah. I'm not playing. I didn't sell my damn soul."

"You sure act like it," Libby grumbled under breath. Cindy glared daggers at her and Libby just smirked.

"Well, somebody did, and the sooner that idiot owns up, the sooner the rest of you can go." The Cassity's looked around but no one fessed up. "All right, seal 'em in," Dean told Sam. He nodded.

"What?!" Alice shrieked.

"Look, I'm gonna spread goofer dust around the doors, the windows. That will keep the Hellhound out... for a while," Sam explained.

"What is that – how long?" Libby slipped out of the room unnoticed. If anyone could stop the Hellhound then it was her. She wasn't sure if she would be able to do the trials but it was worth a try. She jogged down the halls of the house in search for the hound from Hell. She knew that it could sense her, but apparently one going after her just wasn't enough.

All Hellhounds were attracted to Libby. If she was in search for one, six would come running. They felt a loyalty to her as Libby was the one who helped God create them before they were all killed except for one pregnant bitch. Once Libby stepped out the front door she could hear the growling. It surrounded her and she gulped, meeting the gaze of four Hellhounds staring at her. They didn't move, just stood there. "Sit," she commanded in a shaky voice, deciding it was worth a try. In a heartbeat they all sat. All except for one. The one that was there to collect. "I said sit," she hissed. It growled at her and advanced towards her. Libby swung her sword and the hound dodged it, taking off into the night. She averted her attention back to the three that were still there.

She didn't know what they were waiting for. A command to return to Hell perhaps? Libby knelt down on one knee, a fist on the ground and her sword in her other hand. She was facing the ground before she looked up. Her eyes glowed purple and a shadow of her wings was cast on the wall of the house behind her. The hounds let out a whimper at the sight, slowly backing away. "Return home," she demanded. Without hesitation, they all turned and retreated into the woods. Libby stood up and stared at the retreating Hellhounds with wide eyes, breathing heavily. She had just controlled the Devil's Dogs. If she could get the last hound to listen then one of the hunters could kill it.

Libby took off in search of Dean, stopping only when she heard music outside of Ellie's room in the barn. "No matter what happens, you stay in the circle. You understand me?" she heard Dean tell Ellie. The door opened and Dean stepped out, closing the door behind him. "You heard the hound?" Libby nodded and gulped.

"Dean, there was a whole pack. I-I sent them away."

"How?"

"I told them to. They listen to me," Libby explained as they stood in front of the door, guarding Ellie's room. Dean slipped on the holy-oil glasses and Libby's breath hitched in her throat.

"Let's go," Dean told her, nodding his head to the inside of the barn. Libby nodded and followed him, pushing the barn door open to reveal a growling Hellhound. "Oh, so you're Crowley's bitch. I guess pets really do look like their owners." The Hellhound ran behind a bunch of farm equipment. "What are you waiting for? Come and get it!" The horses neighed, catching Dean off guard as the Hellhound jumped out. It managed to claw Dean's side. He yelled out as he was thrown back, the knife slipping from his grasp and the glasses flying off his face. Libby turned in slow circles looking for the hound before she found it going for Dean.

"You're not killing him," she told it, running over to it. She went to drive the sword through the hound when it whimpered, a gunshot ringing out. Dean shielded his face as the bit of blood from the hound splattered out. Sam eyed the knife and ran over to it, rolling on the ground as he grabbed it. The hound dove for him, desperately trying to get to his neck. Sam held it back with his right hand, knife in the left. He plunged the knife into the hound's belly, blood gushing out from its body and bathing Sam in it. Libby dropped to her knees. Sam had completed the first trial and she knew it wouldn't end well.

  ~*~ 

"You need to go to a hospital," Ellie told Dean as he patted the bandage on his side. Sam's shirt was stained black with Hellhound blood and he held his button down shirt in his hand, glasses in the other.

"Ah, I've had worse," Dean grunted, standing up. Ellie looked over to Sam and Libby who nodded.

"Yeah, he's had worse," they chorused. Ellie glanced back at Dean.

"So, what now?" she asked.

"Now we make a hex bag, and you start running. If Crowley can't find you, then he won't be able to sic another mutt on you," Dean explained. Libby looked over at Sam with a sympathetic look in her eyes. She knew that Sam wouldn't let Dean find another hound and do the trials, which means Sam had to endure them.

"So I'm not going to hell?" Ellie questioned. Dean shook his head.

"Not on my watch. Will you give us a minute?"

"Sure." Ellie left the room, the door closing behind her. Dean held his hand out and snapped to Sam for the shirt.

"Dean, even if she can dodge Crowley, as soon as Ellie dies, her soul is earmarked for hell," Sam told him.

"Not if we shut it down first." Dean grabbed the bloody shirt from Sam's hand and set it on a table.

"The spell's not gonna work for you, Dean," Libby chimed in, shaking her head. Dean sighed and pulled out the paper with the spell on it, starting to chant it.

"Kah-nuh-ahm-dahr." Dean glanced around waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. Sam looked to him as if to say, 'I told you so.' "Doesn't matter. We'll track down another Hellhound, and I'll kill it." Libby shook her head and snatched the paper from Dean, handing it to his brother.

"No, you're not," she told him matter-of-factly. "I can control the hounds meaning I can send them away. I'm not letting any near you, Dean. As much as I hate having Sam do the trials, he's doing them."

"I'm closing the gates. It's a suicide mission for you," Sam said. Dean shook his head.

"Sam..."

"I want to slam Hell shut, too, okay? But I want to survive it. I want to live, and so should you. You have friends up here, family. I mean, hell, you even got your own room now. You were right, okay? I see light at the end of this tunnel. And I'm sorry you don't – I am. But it's there. And if you come with me, I can take you to it," Sam told his brother. Libby didn't know what Sam was talking about as she had missed out on that conversation when she was playing Simon Says with the Hellhounds.

"Sam, be smart," Dean said.

"I am smart, and so are you. You're not a grunt, Dean. You're a genius – when it comes to lore, too – you're the best damn hunter I have ever seen – better than me, better than Dad. I believe in you, Dean. So, please – please believe in me, too." Sam looked down at the paper and repeated the chant that Dean had tried. Dean gave in and so did Libby. They both knew that they'd come to regret it, but it meant slamming the Gates of Hell.

"Kah-nuh-ahm-dahr." Sam's eyes widened and he turned around, hunching over in pain. He dropped to his knees.

"Sammy?" Dean asked. Sam only let out a grunt.

"Sam!" Libby yelled, rushing over to his side on the ground. The paper fell from Sam's hands and his right arm glowed a bright white light, his veins red. He grimaced, clenching his teeth in pain. "Sam!" The white light retreated and Sam gasped for breath, trying to calm his heart rate. He clenched his fist before grabbing the paper, standing up.

"I'm good. I'm okay. I can do this," he assured them, exhaling sharply. Libby looped up at Dean from behind Sam with wide, worried, green eyes. Dean shared the same look with the redhead before glancing back over to his brother. Libby pushed herself off of the ground. "Give me a minute with Libby?" he asked Dean. Dean nodded and stepped out to go talk to Ellie. Once the door was shut Libby walked around Sam, placing a hand on his chest.

"You're an idiot," she growled. Sam chuckled.

"I've been called worse," he admitted. Libby just rolled her eyes, but she felt a smile tug at her lips. "I'm okay. I promise."

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Without saying anything, Sam wrapped his arms around Libby waist and bent down to plant his lips on hers. Libby's eyes widened and she tensed for a second before relaxing, pressing her body against Sam's. It felt like old times, Sam and Libby. Like nothing had changed at that very moment. Sam pulled away and looked down at her. "I-"

"I heard you talking with Ellie and Margot earlier. I heard everything, Libby, and I know that look in your eyes and that tone of voice you spoke in. That's how you look and sound when you want something but can't have it."

"Stalker." Sam didn't roll his eyes or laugh like he normally would've. He stared down at the redhead seriously, and Libby got the message. "I don't know, Sam. What happened back in Louisiana-"

"I'll try and make up for it. I promise. I was wrong to do that, I know that. Please, just give me one more chance. That's all I'm asking for." Libby bit her lower lip in thought, staring at the blood on Sam's shirt. This could be her last year with Sam if he goes through with all three trials. She didn't know what they were, but she did know that it could and would kill him in the end. Libby glanced back up, staring into Sam's hazel eyes, before sighing and nodding.

"You get one chance and one chance only. Got it?" Sam grinned and nodded, kissing her again. Libby forced a smile on her lips and followed Sam out of the room, but guilt ate away at her gut. She wasn't sure what it was from exactly, if from anything in particular. Maybe it was from letting Sam start the Trials, knowing he'd die and she'd fail her duty to God. Maybe it was the fact that she wasn't sure if she had feelings for just Sam and only Sam.

Her time with Dean had opened her eyes and she viewed him differently. She didn't know how he saw her, but when Sam went to tell Dean the great news--well, Sam's great news--his face said it all. The smile was forced and the congratulatory pat on the back was rougher than it should've been, not that Sam noticed. Libby poked her head out from around the corner of the barn to see Dean's face, and when their gazes met, his said it all.

His eyes showed longing for her, but his smile was for Sam. Libby had read a few books before that she had Amy smuggle into Hell for her. Some of them ended up being clichés, including love triangles. Libby hated those the most, and she knew that a love triangle is what her life had just turned into. "I'm sorry," she mouthed to Dean silently from behind Sam. He nodded curtly as if to say that he got the message, but didn't do anything more.

She knew that once he had the chance he would bring it up and she dreaded that conversation. But it had to happen, and it wouldn't be easy. But nothing was ever easy for Libby and the Winchesters and that's how it'd always be.