~*****~

When I come to, I gaze around at the crisp white walls around me. There are nurses bustling around outside my room, and I vaguely wonder just how long I've been in here. "Ms. Hemmingway?" A small nurse chirps as she enters the room. A bright smile covers her face when she notices that I'm awake. "How do you feel?"

"How long have I been out?" I ask softly.

The nurse hums and moves to check on the IV in my arm. "First responders picked you up near an interstate. You had minor burns over your body. You must've been outside for a long time."

I snatch at the IV and try to swing my legs off of the bed. "I have to get out of here--" I stammer. The nurse tries to stop me, and all I do is wave my hand at her and she steps out of the room, gazing blankly ahead. The other nurses follow suit. I snap the IV out and brace my hands on my knees. The high-pitched ringing in my head is going crazy.

With my clothes on, I step out of the hospital room, and trail down the hallways. I find the nearest payphone and dial Dean's number. It rings for a few moments before I hear him. "Hello?"

"Dean, it's me--" I gasp softly. "Where the hell are you guys?"

"We're at the Regent Inn, Pinemont Delaware. Chuck said you were heading to St. Mary's when I disappeared-- please don't tell me you got caught in that blast." Dean demands.

"I... didn't?" I trail off. "Nurses said that I was found on the interstate with minor burns." I explain.

Dean's silent for a moment. "I don't know how we got away either. One minute, we were watching the portal pop open, the next we were on a plane flying over it."

I lean against the payphone and sigh. "All right... I'm gonna head to your location. Be there soon."

I vaguely hear his reply before I end the call and hurry out of the hospital.

~*****~

It's late at night when I reunite with Sam and Dean. I crush myself into Dean's embrace and awkwardly gaze towards Sam. "You feelin' all right, Sam?" I ask skeptically. He nods awkwardly, his hands shoved into his pockets. I hum lightly before nodding back. "All right then." I pull away from Dean and trail over to the mini fridge and pull out a beer. "So... the baby is on a supernatural lockdown," I explain lightly.

Dean hums. "Bobby and the kid watchin' her?"

I nod as I pop the top of my beer. "Yeah. So, how are we gonna go about this?" I ask. "How do you hunt for an angel without a vessel?"

"I got no clue," Dean retorted. "It's like finding a needle in a damn haystack."

"More like a piece of hay in a needle stack." I hum.

Sam and I set to doing research through the next few hours. Unfortunately, there was little to no lore on angels, so we were flying blind. It isn't until we hear a knock on the door that we stop. I glance over at Dean before pulling out my pistol. Sam approaches the door, peers through the peep hole and opens it up hesitantly.

I stand up and move to stand behind Sam, and I catch sight of a young woman who looks postively awestruck. She sucks in a gasp as she gazes at Sam. "You okay, lady?" Sam asks.

"Sam... is it really you?" She asks in a quivering tone. She reaches forward and palms at Sam's chest as he turns to us. "And you're so firm."

"Do I... know you?" Sam asks hesitantly.

"No," She says quickly. "But I know you. You're Sam Winchester! And you're--" She stops when she sees Dean and I. "Not what I pictured..." Wow, did I feel insulted? Kinda. "I'm Becky. I read all about you guys." She exclaims as she moves into our room. "And I've even written a few--"

I snort. "Dean slash Sam?" I ask through a smirk.

She giggles nervously and gazes down. I hold back my laughter and ignore the irritated glances from Sam and Dean. "Anyway... Mr. Edlund told me where where you were." Becky explains.

"Chuck?" I echo.

Sam shuts the door behind him. "He's got a message, but he's being watched." Becky says.  "Angels! Nice change-up to the mythology, by the way. The demon stuff was getting kind of old."

"Right, just, um... what's the message?" Sam asks.

"He had a vision." Becky states. "The Michael Sword is on Earth, the Angels lost it."

"The Michael Sword?" Dean asks.

"Becky, does he know where it is?" I ask.

"In a castle, on a hill made of forty-two dogs." Becky recites.

"Forty-two dogs?" Dean echoes.

"Those poor dogs," I grunt.

"Are... you sure you got that right?" Sam asks.

"It doesn't make sense, but that's what he said." Becky says in a strange, breathless tone as she approaches Sam. Dean and I share confused looks before going back to staring. "I memorized every word... for you." She palms Sam's chest again.

"Um..." Sam starts nervously. "Becky, can you... quit touching me?"

"No." She says firmly, her eyes shut as she continues to feel him up and down.

Dean and I begin choking on our laughter before we finally get her to leave.

~*****~

"Hey, Bobby," I hear from the bathroom. I huff and shut off the faucet before exiting the small room.

"Good to see you three all in one piece," Bobby hums. He hugs Sam tightly.

"You weren't followed, were you?" Dean asks.

Bobby huffed. "You mean by angels, demons, or Sam's new superfan?"

Sam chuckles in disbelief. "You heard."

"I heard, Romeo." Bobby retorted. "So.... Sword of Michael, huh?"

"You think we're talking about the actual sword from the actual Archangel?" Dean asks.

"You better friggin' hope so," Bobby shrugs. He pulls out a book and flips to the entry about Michael. "That's Michael-- toughest sumbitch they got."

We peer at the pictures, and I scoff. "You kidding me? Tough? That guy looks like Cate Blanchett." I comment.

"Well, I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley, believe me." Bobby mentions. "He commands the Heavenly Host. During the last big dust-up upstairs, he's the one who booted Lucifer's ass to the basement. And he did it with that sword. So, if we can find it..."

"We can kick the devil's ass all over again." Sam hums. "All right, so, where do we start?"

"Divvy up and start reading--" Bobby hums. "Try and make sense of Chuck's nonsense." I huff and pluck a book from the pile. "Kid?" Bobby calls softly. I glance over to see Sam gazing hesitantly at him. "You all right?"

"No, actually." Sam starts. "Bobby, this is all my fault. I'm sorry."

"Sam," Dean warns.

"Lilith did not break the final seal. Lilith was the final seal." Sam explains.

"Sam, stop it." Dean snaps.

"I killed her, and I set Lucifer free." Sam continues anyway.

"You what?!" Bobby hisses. My brows furrow in confusion.

"You guys warned me about Ruby, the demon blood, but I didn't listen." Sam says softly. "I brought this on.

Bobby stands up to stare down at Sam. "You're damn right you didn't listen. You were reckless and selfish and arrogant--"

"I'm sorry," Sam tries.

"Oh, yeah? You're sorry you started Armageddon?" Bobby snaps. "This kind of thing don't get forgiven, boy. If, by some miracle, we pull this off... I want you to lose my number. You understand me?"

Sam nods hesitantly. "There's an old church nearby." Sam says softly. "Maybe I'll go read some of the lore books there."

"Yeah." Bobby nods. "You do that."

I gaze at Bobby a moment longer before humming. "I'll go with you." I say to Sam.

"You sure?" Sam asks lightly.

I nod and grasp my jacket. "Don't make me say it again. Move it, Sam."

Sam nods quickly at my tone before following after me. "Hey, I just wanna say that I'm--"

I stop him on the sidewalk by clocking him once across the face. Sam grunts and rubs at the bruise forming on his cheek. "Now we're even. Right? That's what you wanted. Quit bringing it up."

Sam presses his tongue against his cheek lightly and nods. "Yeah..."

"Good, now, let's hit up the church and see if we can't find anything on the Michael Sword." I say firmly. Sam nods rapidly again before following after me.