Castiel having his memories back created a complete mobilization of everyone within your group. It turned out that the procedure he overwent was harder on him than you would've liked. You're not sure if it's because it probably wasn't done the exact way it should have, but the angel was very weak after it. The Winchesters were worried that it could be a permanent thing, but Castiel reassured them that with time, he would be back as new. However, because of Castiel's lack of energy, he won't be able to help in the coming battle with the Devil. Now it is in your hands to do everything you can in order to defeat Lucifer. The weapon of choice is the Colt, but considering that the archangel is probably guarded by a lot of demons, you are going to need more weapons and manpower to infiltrate Lucifer's base of operations.

Cas' memories also brought a lead to where Lucifer could be hiding. He didn't remember his brother's hideout, he had no recollection of it, but he was aware of someone who might. The same person that gave him the Colt, a demon called Crowley. He made a sketchy deal with him and received the gun in exchange. The demon also requested to be summoned as soon as he gave the gun to the Winchesters, because then he would tell them Lucifer's whereabouts. It isn't clear if you can trust a demon after all that happened, but it's the best clue that you have, and you need it to find the archangel before he attacks again. So, now half of the group is away on a supply run. You stayed behind with the brothers in order to summon the demon.

After the attack, none of your family wanted anything to do with demons whatsoever, they were against seeking help from one. Maggie tried to persuade everyone to look for other means to find the Devil. Others, like Tyreese, had agreed with her. And since this was a choice that had to be made by the whole group, there was a voting. Some didn't want to risk bringing another demon into camp, even if it meant you had to waste more time looking for another solution. However, in the end most people, despite their hate towards demons, accepted Castiel's plan about calling for the demon. You think it's for the best. It's not like you don't hate demons like everyone else, but you think that if the brothers failed to find a way to track down Lucifer in all this time, it's very unlikely that you could do it. If you waited too long, either you could endanger your family, or more might die because of the virus.

"Like this?" You ask Dean.

He's drawing some extra sigils on the doors and windows to protect you from a possible escape from Crowley. You, on the other hand, are finishing the devil's trap painted on the floor for when he shows up.

"Yeah, that's fine." He looks at your work with a satisfied smile on his face.

Cas and Sam have gone to the impala to gather the ingredients you need for the summoning spell. Your father asked you if you wanted to go with them to the supply run and stay away from the whole thing. You briefly considered it. It would be nice to do something you know how to handle for once. You've done hundreds of runs throughout the apocalypse, so you know the drill, however, you never once before have summoned a demon. And yet here you are, because, even though your only encounters with demons have turned out bad, you want to be there for Sam. You told him and Dean that you could handle the supernatural and hunting, and if you want to prepare yourself for the fight with Lucifer, you need to do this.

"We're here!" Sam calls from the entrance of the room. You're in the same one where Castiel's procedure took place.

The angel looks pale when he walks behind him. He has been like that ever since the procedure. You told him to rest in one of the rooms for a bit, but he wanted to be there for Crowley's summoning.

"Great, ready?" Dean greets.

You prepare for the ritual with the right instructions according to Castiel's memories. You watch Sam mix some weird ingredients in a bowl, then he places it in the middle of the devil's trap. There is a collective silence that surrounds the room. Your lover looks back at you, maybe waiting for you to regret being there and leave the room, but that doesn't happen. You only nod his way with a determined look. He doesn't hesitate to throw the lighted match into the bowl. For a moment, nothing really happens. The silence stretches almost to the point of being nerve-wracking.

"Maybe... it was the wrong ingredients?" Dean murmurs.

Castiel opens his mouth to answer him, but whatever he's about to say gets interrupted by another voice.

"Worry not, it was the right ingredients." In the center of the room, a short man in a black suit awaits. His eyes pierce through your soul when he meets your gaze. You quickly look away. Despite his meek appearance, there's something about his aura that unsettles you. "The name's Crowley, Mouse, and you are?" It takes you a moment to realize he's talking to you. When you don't respond, he continues, "this lot I was expecting them, but you're a nice acquisition to the team."

"Don't talk to her." Sam states.

Crowley chuckles, "no need to be rude, Winchester, I was just greeting."

Dean doesn't take any of his bullshit, "do you know why you're here?"

The demon paces a bit through the devil's trap, eyeing from the corner of his eye the other sigils painted on the walls. "Of course I know, I'm the one that gave the angel the gun to kill the Devil." He looks now at Castiel, "what took you so long to find the brothers, um?"

Cas stands tall when he answers. "I do not answer to you, demon."

His face is still pale, and he wobbles a little when he takes a step forward. Crowley notices it. "I see... you had some, side effects, from our little date." The demon smiles, "my bad, I wasn't planning to leave any scarring." However, from his face, you can tell that he's not sorry at all.

Now it's your time to speak up. "Shut up, tell us what you know about Lucifer." There's no way you're going to let all of this be handled by the men.

"She speaks, and rudely too." Crowley has a disapproving grimace on his face. His next words are directed at Sam, "I see why you two like each other."

Now is Sam's turn to look discontent at the demon. "Have you been watching us?" The thought leaves a displeasing taste in your mouth.

"Of course, Moose, I have to keep track of my best bets." He talks as if you're horses in a race.

"Your best bet?" Dean inquires, "if you were watching us, why didn't you say anything? Try anything? Why didn't you give us the Colt yourself?"

"So many questions..." Crowley seems nearly annoyed. "Would you have trusted me if I told you I had the Colt?" The silence is enough response. "Right, so I had little Mr. Righteous Angel give it to you on a silver platter. I just didn't calculate that it would take him this much to find you." He takes a paper slip out of his pocket. "Here, this is the current location on Lucifer." No one moves to take it. "C'mon, my arm is getting tired here."

"Why would you give us Lucifer's location just like that?" Sam asks, "isn't he your boss?"

Rage fills Crowley's features for a second, but as soon as it arrives, it's gone. "He's not my boss. I don't work for him and I never will. I'm not a fan of any kind of angel, really."

"You want us to kill him." The fact confuses you. You thought demons were on Lucifer's side.

"Of course I want you to kill him, I thought I was being obvious." He lowers his arm and explains, "I gave you the gun, now I'm giving you directions. I'm doing all the work here!"

"Why?" Dean's question is full of mistrust.

"Think about it, Squirrel. The archangel hates humans, he's about to exterminate them with this damn apocalypse, when you're done, who do you think is next?" The question hangs in the air. "We're probably filtier scum to him, he hasn't gotten rid of us because we're useful, but after?"

Cowley has a point. "So, self-preservation?" Sam asks, "why not go after him yourself?"

The demon looks as if that's the dumbest question, "because I'm not stupid like you two."

Sam is annoyed. "You want us to do the dirty work. This way, if it works, you have no Lucifer, and if it doesn't, you might get to live for a little longer."

Crowley's smile widens, "well, I guess you're not as stupid as you look." To Sam's credit, he ignores the insult quite masterly.

"Just give us the directions," Castiel says.

Crowley extends his arm again, but before Cas can take the paper, the demon pulls back. "Ah, ah, first, break the sigils. I'm not going to let you just kill me after I give you this." He eyes the knife in Dean's grasp.

"How about no," the eldest Winchester says.

Crowley shrugs, "then your little family, the ones looking for supplies? Maybe they won't all make it back in one piece."

"What?"

"I have my lackeys too."

The confidence in his voice makes you think he isn't bluffing. He seems to be somewhat of a powerful demon if he's willing to go against Lucifer, and he has the means to acquire the Colt and Lucifer's location. The brothers seem to think so too, because Dean steps up and erases a line on the devil's trap. You do the same with the sigils on the walls.

Crowley smiles, "pleasure doing business with you." He looks back at you, winks, and then disappears. In his place, there's a small piece of paper with Lucifer's whereabouts.

Much to your relief, shortly after, your family arrived back at the campus. They were exhausted but otherwise safe. You would never know for sure if Crowley's threat was true, though it was better to be safe than sorry. When your father parked out front, you were ready to greet him with a big hug. Apparently, it was surprising for Rick to be received that way because he froze in the first instances of your embrace. Whatever is about to happen with Lucifer in the next few days, it's bound to be life-changing, and you don't want to spend any other moment with your family not knowing how much you love them. You aren't the only one that had that sort of feeling, because everyone silently agreed to throw a small party upon hearing that the contact with Crowley had been successful. There's a high possibility that the address the demon gave you isn't a fake, and even if it is, it's worth checking out despite probably being a trap. Either way, you will leave for battle the day after tomorrow. Tonight is supposed to be the calm before the storm, tomorrow you will prepare yourselves physically and mentally to fight the devil. That isn't something you wanted to think about right now. You need to remember what you are fighting for, to spend time with your family.

The gathering is quite small, and a somewhat sad aura surrounds the whole event. You're still mourning over the losses of the demons' attack, and now there's a new fight on the horizon. There's a probability that people will die again. You don't really want this party, but you need it. Isn't this better than sitting in your room thinking about what's to come? Part of you doesn't seem to think so, but you have to crush that small, pessimistic, sad voice in your head if you want to move forward and give a hell of a fight. Yes, this gathering is the pre-winning party... or the last supper.

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" Glenn approaches you with a small smile on his face.

He doesn't look as troubled as he probably should, and you realize the reason when you see that he's holding a glass of wine in one hand. His cheeks are slightly red from the alcohol, and you remember the time when he drank too much back at the CDC. It feels like such a long time ago. Song much has happened during the years of the apocalypse. You've met people and lost some more. You've grown up and acquired skills. And, obviously, there's Sam. You encountered him again after all those years. Would you have met him if the apocalypse hadn't started? Probably not, since he would've been busy hunting monsters with his brother, and you would've graduated from college. Maybe you would've even married Tara. Who knows. But you realize that despite all the deaths, you wouldn't change a thing. There's no point in trying to think of something that will never happen.

"Just people gazing," you respond.

Glenn shakes his head fervently. The movement makes his black hair fall onto his face, and you have to contain a smirk. He looks funny. "No, no, no, that won't do. This is probably our last party on Earth, you have to have fun!" Glenn takes a step closer to you, his breath stinks of alcohol. "We found a ton of wine and beer on the run," he is whispering as if it were a secret, "don't tell anyone, but I'm drunk." He smiles mischievously.

No, you can't contain the laugh that erupts from your throat. It's so scandalous that Daryl, who is nearby, throws a glance at you. "Don't worry, Glenn, I'll keep your secret. But I don't want to drink right now, thank you."

"Bullshit," he months mumbles, "here." He shoves his glass in your direction. You catch it before the liquid splashes into your shirt. "Drink that, I'll be back with more." He walks away with a decisive step, or as decisive as he can be, being drunk.

"You better hear the man and drink up." Rosita is now at your side with a beer bottle in her hand.

You don't want to argue any longer, so you decide to follow everyone's lead and get a little drunk. Maybe it would be for the best, and it would make you forget about the upcoming battle. You drink Glenn's wine as you talk with Rosita. Surprisingly, she turns out to be a very interesting person. Well, it's surprising considering that you never actually took the time to get to know her. You get along quite well, and it is not until that moment that you realize you miss talking about nonsense with your friends at college parties. Maggie joins soon after, and even though the atmosphere is a little gloomy, you manage to forget your problems for a little while.

You chat about anything and everything, and in the midst of that conversation, the Winchester brothers come into the equation. You've never been a fan of speaking about your relationships, but alcohol seems to be taking the desired effect because you blurt out some details about your love for Sam. The confession is reciprocated because Maggie also talks about Glenn (not that you didn't know almost everything about their relationship, thanks to your best friend). Rosita speaks of Abraham. There seem to be something off in the way he treats her, but you decide not to say anything. It is not your business to meddle with other people's relationships.

When you're just about to finish your glass of wine, Glenn comes with a beer bottle for you. And eventually, you start to approach other people and talk more to the point that you forget the situation you're currently in. Mingling with your family becomes natural once again, and it makes you miss easier times when you were at the prison just sharing meals and going on runs. There is no point thinking of times farther beyond that. Just being with these people, this family, is pure happiness for you. You can also see that your father has slightly let down his guard, and he's now speaking with Carol and Michonne. He's not drinking like most of you because someone has to keep watch. You know that Tyrese and Abraham are now guarding the recently finished gate. The wall has been officially completed as of this afternoon. Even though you are most likely not going to have an attack because of it, you cannot let your guard down.

You take Judith from Carl's arms when you approach your siblings at the food table. There's a small smudge of pudding in the corner of her mouth. You look back at your brother with a sharp gaze.

"You know she cannot eat sweets yet," you scold him.

"She just wanted to try it a little bit!" He defends.

You clean the chocolate with your thumb, but you don't dare to continue reprimanding Carl. This is not the night to fight with the people you love.

The party goes by at a fast pace, and as soon as you realize it, it's almost midnight. You had a couple of more beers, though you don't think you're drunk, just tipsy. Everyone starts to say their good nights and when Sam takes your hand, you leave with him. The walk to your room is quiet and peaceful. Moments like these are one of the reasons you live for. Moments like these are the reason you fight for.

When you enter your bedroom, he closes the door behind himself. Sam doesn't let go of your hand. There's a soft look in his eyes that you've seen before. Although, this time, it seems to be multiplied. The tenderness makes your heart skip a beat. The moment stretches a bit longer, and then Sam tells you something that you already knew but never heard from him before. Those three words fill your soul with happiness and calmness. That's when you realize, albeit not for the first time, that you feel it too.