"𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪?"

It had been three days since Bobby had been in the hospital and he'd mostly stared out the window with a blank expression on his face. Theodore Mitchell had showed up two days ago and Delaney had all but forced a fake smile on her face when she saw him. She hated that he still looked just as good as he did when they were teenagers - if not better. His hair was still brown, short and curled on the ends, his blue eyes were bright with mischief and he still had the smile that could probably get any girl to do what he asked. She'd just gone through it with Randy and Delaney really didn't have the patience to deal with Theodore at the moment.

However, if she had been able to survive Randy and Lilith, then Delaney was sure she can survive a few days with her old sort of fling from her high school days. 

Delaney noticed Dean come back from wherever he had disappeared to a few minutes prior with a manilla envelope in his hand. She slid off the radiator she'd been perched on to walk over to her brothers who stood at the doorway to the room. Theodore had taken over her spot on the radiator and flashed her a teasing smile when she glanced over her shoulder at him. Merely rolling her eyes at him, Delaney stopped in front of her brothers and raised an eyebrow. "Where have you been, Dee?"

"I went to radiology and got some glamor shots," Dean replied, peeling open the manilla envelope and pulling out an x-ray of what looked like Dean's ribs. He held out the x-ray to his baby sister and she gingerly took it from him while Sam looked over her shoulder. "Let's just say the doctors are baffled."

Delaney scrunched her face up in confusion as she glanced over the multiple markings and designs that layered every inch of Dean's ribs. It almost looked like hieroglyphics to Delaney and she didn't even know what kind of ancient language it could have been. "Holy crap. Cas carved this into us?"

Before Dean could say anything more, Sam's cell phone rang and he pulled it, placing it to his ear and greeting Castiel. "Well, speak of the devil."

"Uh . . . St. Martin's Hospital. Why? What are you - Cas?" Sam pulled away the phone from his ear with furrowed eyebrows and glanced at something over Dean's shoulder. The three siblings turned to see Castiel walk around the corner and over to them at the door.

"A cellphone, Cas? Really? Since when do angels need to reach out and touch someone?" Dean questioned the angel when he stopped next to him and Sam.

"You're hidden from all angels now - all angels. I won't be able to simply - "

Bobby huffed from his wheelchair and looked over his shoulder to the four stood at the doorway. Theodore had stared over at them with peaked curiosity at the newcomer in the trench coat. Bobby mentioned that Theodore was a hunter like them and had been since he was sixteen, only going on hunts during the summer months since his parents wanted him to try and be as normal as possible until he hit college. He had informed the boy what had been going on as of late so he knew all about the demons and the angels and Delaney.

"Enough foreplay. Get over here and lay your damn hands on, Castiel," Bobby demanded over his shoulder to Castiel who just frowned at Bobby. "Get healing - now."

"I can't."

Theodore looked over at Castiel with confusion written all over his face at the thought of his surrogate uncle not being able to be healed. He didn't know much about angels because he didn't even think they existed until the apocalypse began and everything was starting to become real at this rate. He tilted his head like a lost puppy at the angel stood in between Dean and Sam. "Why not? I don't know much about angels, but can't you just press your fingers to his forehead and boom he's healed?"

Castiel exhaled quietly and brushed past Dean and Sam to enter the room and stand before Bobby and Theodore. "I'm cut off from Heaven and much of Heaven's power. Certain things, I can do. Certain things, I can't."

"You're telling me you lost your mojo just in time to get me stuck in this trap the rest of my life?!" Bobby barked at Castiel, his annoyance and frustration clear in the hard lines of his face.

"I'm sorry," Castiel said quietly.

"Shove it up your ass."

"Well, at least he's talking now," Dean mumbled to Sam and Delaney who both shot him a stern glare.

Castiel turned away from Theodore and Bobby to face the trio that he had actually come to see under important circumstances. "I don't have much time, but we need to talk. Your plan to kill Lucifer."

Theodore walked over when he heard Castiel who hadn't really spoken low or tried to move the Winchesters somewhere private to talk. He waved his hands around the air while he chuckled lowly to himself. "Whoa, you three want to try and kill Lucifer? As in the devil?"

Dean blinked over at Theodore as if momentarily forgetting the kid was even in the room. He had vaguely remembered Theodore from Delaney's childhood and remembered the duo getting into trouble together up until high school. No one ever really told Dean what happened between the two teens that had been attached to the hip anytime Delaney had been dropped off to Bobby's and he could feel some sort of tension between the two. He just couldn't make out what that tension was. "What else do you expect us to do? Let him roam free and destroy the whole world?"

"Look, I know you guys killed your fair share of demons, especially Delaney with the whole Alastair and Lilith thing. Two things that I am still trying to figure out from what Bobby told me, but Lucifer? Isn't that just asking for a death wish?" Theodore asked, not really seeing how the Winchesters could be lucky enough to kill Lucifer himself. He didn't even think the angels would have an easy time getting rid of the fallen angel.

"Theodore is right," Castiel chimed in, shocking Theodore that the angel even knew his name. "It's foolish. It can't be done."

"Oh, well, thanks for the support. The both of you," Dean quipped.

"But I believe I have the solution. There is someone besides Michael and Zadkiel strong enough to take on Lucifer - strong enough to stop the apocalypse. The one who resurrected me and put you on that airplane. The one who began everything. God. I'm gonna find God."

Sam balked at the response and quickly shut the door behind him so that no one in the hall passing by could hear them. They would all sound like crazy people if anyone walked by and heard them talking about finding God. "You - you're going to find God?"

"Yes. He isn't in Heaven. He has to be somewhere," Castiel rasped while Theodore merely laughed again as he had no other way to react. The whole thing sounded crazy even to a room full of hunters.

"Try New Mexico. I hear he's on a tortilla," Dean remarked.

"I don't think he's on any flatbread."

Theodore snorted to himself and crossed his arms across his chest. "Wow. Nothing gets by you winged freaks, huh? Even if there was a God, He's probably dead - and that's my generous theory -  or He's up and kicking and doesn't care that there's an apocalypse going on right now. He would have stopped it already if He even remotely cared."

"Theodore's got a point. I mean, look around you, Cas. The world is in the toilet. We are literally at the end of days here, and he's off somewhere drinking booze out of a coconut!" Dean added.

"This is not a theological issue," Castiel snapped, turning as Dean rounded Castiel to go stand on the other side by Bobby. "It's strategic. With God's help, we can win."

Delaney chewed on the inside of her lip as she didn't know what to think. She'd always been one to believe in the impossible because she came face to face with it every single day. However, just thinking about God coming down to help them? It didn't sit right with Delaney because she felt like they would all just be let down in the end. "Cas, don't you think He would have came down already and helped?"

"I killed two angels this week. My brothers. I'm hunted. I rebelled. I did it - all of it - for you. You failed. You and Dean both destroyed the world. I lost everything - for nothing. So keep your opinions to yourself."

Delaney felt like a kicked puppy and rolled her lips into her mouth at Castiel's chastising. She still felt the crushing weight of guilt on her chest at not only letting Randy completely deceive her, but also being the reason that Lucifer was out of his cage in the first place. Dean kickstarted the whole thing by torturing the souls in Hell and Delaney finished it all off by killing Lilith. Dean and Delaney really were a tag team after all and in a way that Delaney never expected.

"You didn't just drop in here to tear us a new hole. What is it you want?" Bobby spoke up, earning the angel's attention and taking it away from a guilty looking Dean and Delaney while Theodore and Sam stood off to the side quietly. Sam because he felt horrible for all the crap his siblings had gone through between Hell, Delaney dying and coming back and then being expected to lead some demon army while also having a massive target on her back. Theodore because he still tried to wrap his head around everything Bobby had told him over the phone. A very long conversation that still had Theodore's head spinning because Bobby had wanted Theodore to be prepared for when he came to visit him. Mostly because Bobby had a hunch the Winchesters would need help and Theodore was one of the best hunters he knew, even though Theodore had only been in the hunting game a few years compared to the other hunters Bobby knew. "What is it you want?"

"I did come for something," Castiel admitted and his eyes flickered over to Dean. "An amulet. It's very powerful and very rare. It burns hot in God's presence. It'll help me find him."

"Like a God EMF?" Sam questioned in confusion and only grew more confused when Castiel nodded in response.

"Well, I don't know what you're talking about. I got nothing like that," Bobby told the angel, shaking his head.

Castiel looked slightly frustrated with all the questions and everyone chiming in before he could speak. "Yes, I know you don't." His eyes rested on the amulet that Delaney had given to Dean when she was just eight years old that had never left Dean's neck, minus the four months he'd been in Hell. It had pretty much become a staple of Dean's every day wear and Delaney couldn't even imagine not seeing it around her brother's neck.

Dean followed Castiel's gaze to his amulet and absentmindedly pinched it between his fingers, holding it up for Castiel. "What - this?"

"May I borrow it?"

"No," Dean instantly replied, clutching onto the amulet like it was his own child. In a way, it had slowly become like one to him because it had meant the world to him and more. His frown only deepened when Castiel just stared at him, silently telling him there was no other way. He was quiet for another long beat before he slowly removed it from his neck and stared down at the amulet in his palm, almost like he was putting the amulet to memory. He went to extend the amulet to Castiel but quickly pulled it back before Castiel could grab it. "Delaney gave me this when she was little. It means a lot to me. If you lose this, I will seriously kill you, Castiel. I'm not joking."

"I will guard it with my life," Castiel promised Dean, knowing that it would help relax the hunter even if it was just a little bit. He wrapped his hand around the amulet and gently took it from Dean so he wouldn't ruin the amulet in anyway.

Dean twitched and moved his shoulders in an uncomfortable manner, his face scrunching up at the lack of minor weight around his neck. It felt so weird not having the amulet laying perfectly against his chest like it always had right near his heart. "Ugh, now I feel naked."

Castiel noticed that Delaney had grown visibly sad at the sight of Dean not having his amulet any longer and he made a show of tucking the amulet protectively into the pocket of his suit jacket beneath his trench coat, even patting the pocket down for extra measure. "Delaney, I will make sure Dean gets this back. I'll stay in touch."

Delaney forced a smile to Castiel, only feeling the tiniest bit better and then he was gone from sight.

Delaney found herself in what appeared to be a deserted town with Dean, Sam and Theodore. Bobby had gotten a call from Rufus not too long after Castiel disappeared and said he was in Colorado and needed some help. Theodore had offered to go with the Winchesters and help them out since he couldn't do anything for Bobby besides keep him company. Needing all the hands they could get, Dean had graciously taken Theodore up on his offer and the four had set out to Colorado together.

When the four made it to the town, they had been stopped mid-way on the bridge because it had broken down. Most likely by the demons that took it over and they had to trudge into the town on foot with the weapons duffle draped over Dean's shoulder and each member having a shot gun in hand. The town had no sign of life anywhere and the homes on either side seemed to be in tact for the most part. Turned over and abandoned cars were in the street along with glass shards from broken car windows. 

A large beige sign hung above a few feet away that read RIVER PASS COLORADO PIONEER DAY WELCOME FOLKS! Two pictures were on the left side: one of a woman in a sash and cow girl hat with RODEO QUEEN above her and LEE LEE LASCHUCK and beneath her. The other photo was of a man with a cow boy hat with the American flag set as the background and GRAND MARSHAL written above him and JERRY WANEK written below his photo. It was the seventy-fifth anniversary and Delaney wondered just how long it had been since then and how a town littered with demons could be so quiet.

Dean whistled as they approached another abandoned car at the end of the road that was a dead end, leading either to the left or right next. Blood splattered all along the road with a baby carriage parked right next to the back door of the car. The four slowly circled to the front of the car to see what they could find when a gun cocked behind them. Dean and Sam both whirled around with their guns raised and standing in front of Delaney only to see it had been Ellen Harvelle behind them.

"Ellen?" Delaney asked, poking her head around Dean's arm and lightly pressing it to Theodore's arm since he stood so close to her. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Winchesters," Ellen greeted, not lowering her handgun in the slightest bit. Her eyes flickered over to the tall, blue eyed boy next to Delaney and ticked an eyebrow up. "And boy I never met before." She walked up to the group and before Dean could open his  mouth, she threw a flask of water in Dean's face.

"We're us, Ellen," Dean huffed, wiping his hand down his face to dry it of the water that had been splashed onto him. 

Ellen had finally lowered her gun and brushed through the boys to make her way towards the church just to the left of the abandoned car. Not having much else to go on, the four followed after Ellen towards the church and stepped over the threshold that had been lined with salt and a devil's trap. The second the door closed behind Theodore and Delaney, Ellen had thrown herself at Dean and wrapped her arms tightly around him. "Real glad to see you guys."

Dean hugged the woman back just as tightly, but was surprised when Ellen pulled back and her hand came down on his cheek hard. "Ow!"

"The can of whoop ass I ought to open up on you three. You can't even pick up a phone? What are you - allergic to giving me peace of mind? I got find out that you're alive from Rufus?!"

Delaney flinched at Ellen's angry tone and felt even more guilty that not one of them had thought about calling Ellen to let her know they were okay. She'd become like a second mom to the Winchesters and were apart of the non-blood family that the Winchesters had gained over the past few years. "We're sorry, Ellen. We should have called you."

"Yeah, you better me. You three better put me on speed dial," Ellen ordered before her eyes drifted over to Theodore who stood behind Delaney. "Now, who's this?"

"Theodore Mitchell and fellow hunter. My parents and Bobby were really close my whole life," Theodore informed the woman, offering her a charming smile in greeting.

"Ah, I know about the Mitchells. Sorry to hear about your parents," Ellen said and Theodore nodded gratefully in Ellen's direction. She offered a small smile before she lead the four down the stairs to the basement area where she knocked on the door. "It's me."

The door opened up to reveal a room full of what Delaney assumed were towns people. There couldn't be more than thirteen people in the room and they all wore the same worried and frightened expression about what was going on around their town. They all eyed the four with cautious gazes since they had no idea who the four even were.

"This is Dean, Sam, Delaney and Theodore. They're hunters and here to help out," Ellen explained to the group of frightened townspeople. 

"You guys hip to this whole demon thing?" the man who opened the door for them asked, a large shotgun clutched tightly in his hands.

"Yeah, are you?" Theodore questioned right back, glancing over his shoulder to the man.

"My wife's eyes went black and she came at me with a brick. Kind of makes you embrace the paranormal," a salt and peppered haired man responded who sat at the table dressed in a suit and glasses.

Delaney's eyes scanned the room and her heart tugged when she noticed a pregnant woman sat with her husband at the table in the middle of the room. No child deserved to be brought into this world that was on its way to its end if the Winchesters didn't react quick enough. "Alright, can you catch us up, Ellen?"

"I doubt I know much more than you. Rufus called - said he was in town investigating omens. All of a sudden, the whole town was possessed. Me and Jo were nearby - "

"You're hunting with Jo?" Sam asked in shock since Ellen had been so against Jo hunting in the first place. She didn't want to lose her little girl to the world of hunting like she had with her husband. 

"Yeah, for a while now. We got here and the place - well, the place was like you see it. Couldn't find Rufus. Then me and Jo got separated. I was out looking when I found you guys."

"Don't worry. We'll find her," Dean promised Ellen.

Sam sighed and took a glance around the room at all the innocent lives that resided in it. "Either way, these people cannot just sit here. We got to get them out now."

Ellen shook her head and crossed her arms across her chest. "No, it's not that easy. I've been trying. We already made a run for it once. There used to be twenty of us."

"Well, there's four of us now," Dean shrugged like it was no big deal and they could tackle this thing no problem.

"You don't know what it's like out there. Demons are everywhere. We won't be able to cover everybody." 

"What if we get everyone guns?" Theodore suggested.

Dean scoffed softly and turned to Theodore with an odd look. "What - you gonna arm up baby bump over there?"

Theodore merely shrugged, not really knowing what else they could do against demons. Especially if there was a mass amount of them that took over the whole town. "More salt we can fire at once, more demons we can keep away."

"There is a sporting good store we passed on the way in. I'm sure there's gun there," Sam pointed out, jerking his thumb over his shoulder to the door they had entered through.

"Ellen, you stay here and we'll get the guns. If Jo and Rufus are out there, we'll bring them back," Delaney assured Ellen with a small smile, walking back out of the basement with the boys in tow. However, she was tugged back from going up the steps by Dean and she furrowed her eyebrows up at him in confusion. "What?"

"Why don't Sammy and I just go and you and Theo stay here to help Ellen. Somebody should stay here and start giving them Shotgun 101. It'll go a lot faster if you stay and help Ellen," Dean said to his baby sister, looking apprehensive about her going out there with him and Sam.

"While you and Sam just get guns and salt and look for Jo and Rufus?" Delaney retorted and scoffed quietly. "That's dumb, Dean."

"We can handle it."

Theodore noticed the air change around them as Delaney's face fell and he quietly mumbled about just going back in there to stay with Ellen so he could help her out. He knew through Bobby that the Winchesters had a bit of a small rift between them at the moment, mostly because of what happened with Delaney and Randy. So Theodore figured it would be smart if he just backed away and let the Winchesters work out this thing on their own and did something useful. 

"You don't want me going out there around demons," Delaney accused Dean, poking a stern finger into his chest. She had almost forgotten that the amulet was no longer around his neck until she didn't feel the coolness of the amulet brush her finger when she pressed her finger to his chest.

"I didn't say that, Della."

"Fine. Then, let's go," Delaney snapped, turning on her heel sharply and stomping up the stairs while Dean and Sam watched her go.

"You really have a way with words, Dean."

"Shut up, Sam."

Once outside, Delaney spilt off from Dean and Sam to go into the convenience store and get salt while the boys would get the guns from the sporting good store. Dean had tried to argue and say that they'd just get everything together, but Delaney knew it'd be faster to go separately. Plus, Delaney could handle herself for five minutes without Dean or Sam breathing down her neck about what she'd done. She knew it was wrong and she knew she fucked up, but Delaney also wished her brothers would at least try to be professional at the moment since they had other lives to watch out for. 

Delaney had been crouched by the shelf with a plastic bag in hand, piling salt into it when she heard the sound of the door open once again. She slowly peeked her head up above the shelving unit she stood by and saw two demons had stepped into the store, their black eyes on full display as they scanned the store. Thankfully, Delaney had been hidden behind a pile of pasta boxes on the top shelf and she quickly ducked down when she saw one of the demons move. She glanced up to the small mirror above her head and saw one of the demons begin to make his way over to the back where she was and he stopped near another shelf with his back turned to her.

Delaney had went to stand up and try to hide somewhere else, but her elbow banged the shelf and sent two of the salt bottles toppling to the ground and alerting the demon. He turned around with a vicious look and charged at Delaney. She mentally cursed to herself and ducked the fist thrown her way and tried to swing at him, but her fist was caught by the demon that was bigger than her. He gripped his hand around her throat and shoved her up against the shelving display behind her while she gripped onto the salt and gun in her hands. 

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus," Delaney gasped out around the man's hand that stopped the air from escaping her lungs. She reared her hand back and slammed it into the side of his head. She dropped her shotgun and grabbed the demon blade that had been tucked into the waistband of her jeans and shoved it into the demon's chest. His hand dropped her from her throat and he collapsed to the ground, allowing her to drop to her feet with a gasp of air.

Delaney backed away from the now dead demon and glanced up to the mirror once again to see where the other demon had been. She didn't see him anywhere in the mirror and ducked upon hearing a grunt behind her. A wooden plank hit the bag of chips just above her head and Delaney grabbed the plank and flipped the demon onto his back, shoving the demon blade into his chest next before swiping it back out. She panted as she stumbled back into the fridge behind her, gulping at the sight of the demon blood on her blade. Her body thrummed with electricity as she eyed the blood that had turned her into something she'd never wanted to become. 

Before Delaney could do anything, the door to the convenience store opened up once again with Dean and Sam calling for her. She pushed herself back up to stand properly just as Sam and Dean made it to the back of the store where she stood with the two dead demons at her feet. Their eyes drifted from the dead demons and over to the blood soaked demon blade in her hand which Delaney quickly wiped off on the back her jacket and gulped at the sight of her brothers' wary gazes.

As if things couldn't get any worse.

Later on, Ellen and the boys helped the townspeople get used to holding, loading and firing guns. Not that any of the guns had been loaded because they couldn't safely practice firing inside, but as long as they got the feel for it then they were okay. Delaney sat on the small step to the side of the room that lead to the fireplace and she stared down at her hands that rested in her lap. She hated that she had killed two innocent people - two innocent teens, at that. She wished she could have done anything to save the poor kids possessed by the demons, but there was nothing else she could do when protecting herself. It wasn't like it used to be when she could just expel the demons with her mind. She promised herself she wouldn't go back down that road of demon blood and she wouldn't go back on that promise either.

Delaney's train of thought had been cut off when Theodore took a seat on the small step next to her and she stared at him oddly. The two hadn't had a real conversation since their small fling had ended and she waited for Theodore to make a comment to her, but he just sat there. "Are you just going to sit there silent or are you going to say what you really came here for?"

"I missed your sweet talk, Lanes. It was always the highlight of my day," Theodore mused, smiling at Delaney when she glared at him. "I was actually coming to see if you were okay, believe it or not."

"I actually don't believe it," Delaney replied, deflating when Theodore shot her a serious expression to say he really did want to know if she were okay. "As shocking as it is to know that you're asking if I'm okay, I'm not. I had to kill two teenagers out there."

"You had to do it, Delaney. You were just protecting yourself, that's all. Sadly in this life, it's either you or them," Theodore reminded her and she was actually shocked to hear the sincerity behind his tone. "From what Bobby has told me, you've been through a lot as it is so don't add worrying about something you couldn't control that list."

Delaney stared at Theodore for a long moment, waiting for him to laugh in her face and say sike to her. That he actually didn't care about how she was feeling and he wanted to come over to bother her like he always had. However, no sign of teasing appeared in his beautiful features and Delaney was just stunned that Theodore Mitchell was actually showing signs of caring at the moment. "I - um . . . thanks? I think?"

Theodore playfully rolled his eyes at Delaney and dusted his hands off on his jeans. "You're welcome, Winchester."

"I'm leaving," Ellen said to Delaney as she approached her and Theodore. "My daughter is still out there somewhere. I'm not back in a half hour, go. Get all these people out of here."

"No, I'll go with you," Delaney offered to Ellen just as Dean and Sam approached them. 

"Whoa, hold on a second. Can I talk to you for a second?" Dean stepped in as he stopped next to the trio with Sam. He pulled Delaney towards the exit and shut the door behind him and her, leaving behind Sam and Theodore with Ellen. "You're gonna go out there again, Della? Really?"

Delaney slapped her hands to her sides with a deadpan expression. "This life doesn't really come with coffee breaks, Dean. I'll be fine. Just stay here with Sam and Theodore and get everyone ready. I'll cover Ellen."

Dean's jaw ticked slightly and he glanced back towards the door before turning his gaze back to Delaney. "Why does it got to be you?"

Delaney sucked her teeth and nodded her head condescendingly, feeling her annoyance flare in her once again with her eldest brother. "Right, I forgot. You think I'll take one look at a demon and suddenly fall off the wagon, as if, after everything, I haven't learned my freakin' lesson."

"Well, have you?"

Delaney growled at Dean and took a threatening step toward him, but Dean didn't so much as budge from her dark look. It wasn't the first time they had been toe to toe like this and it probably wouldn't be the last either. The two were too much alike to ever not fight like this any time it came down to disagreement. "Dean, if you really think - " She cut herself off when she couldn't even form the right words to spew at Dean and make him really feel the pain in her heart. "Forget it. Just shut up and let me do what I gotta do. I'm not having this damn argument with you, Dean. I'm an adult and I can make the decision to go with Ellen if I want to. You're not my dad so stop acting like you are because it's getting real tiring." 

Without waiting for Dean to respond, Delaney bumped her shoulder into his and stormed back into the room to get her stuff ready to head out with Ellen. She knew she'd probably regret her words later, but right now . . . Delaney couldn't find it in her to care because she no longer had the energy to do so.

Delaney walked alongside Ellen as they made their way through the quiet town, both of their shotguns clutched tightly in their hands. No demons had appeared in the few minutes they'd been walking and Delaney made sure to keep her eyes trained on any movement that she saw, even if it was just so much as a branch moving. "So, where did you see Jo last?"

"Up ahead," Ellen informed, ducking to check inside an abandoned car in case Jo had been hidden in it but kept on when she didn't find anything. "So, what's up with you and the boys? It was hard not to notice the tension between you guys, especially between you and Dean. Everything just seems different between you guys these days. Lot of bad road there, huh? Is Dean being overbearing again? You know he only does it 'cause he loves you."

Delaney didn't know if she was relieved or not that Ellen didn't know about her whole demon blood trip and getting tangled up with Randy. It was one less person that would look at her as if she wasn't like the things that Ellen and her currently tried to keep their eyes out for. "Just . . . stresses of the job, I guess. You know how it is, Ellen. Kind of surprised - you and Jo hunting. Weren't you always saying she couldn't hack the life?"

Ellen avoided Delaney's eye contact and looked across the street for any sign of life or sign of Jo. "She can't, but if she's gonna do it anyway . . . "

"You want to keep an eye on her," Delaney finished for Ellen with a nod of understanding. She stopped in the middle of the road when she noticed smoke coming from what looked like a chimney a few yards away. "Hey. Look."

"Is that a chimney going?" Ellen asked, trying to peer around the massive tree that hid the chimney in the distance.

"Looks like it. Come on, let's check it out," Delaney suggested, walking over to the house that had the chimney smoking. Her and Ellen quietly crept around the side of the neighboring house to peer up at the house that was occupied. In the window of the upstairs bedroom, a demon appeared in view and Delaney quickly pulled her head back to keep herself hidden from view. "Guess we found base camp, but demons don't cold. It make you wonder just what they're burning."

Once making sure that no one was in the back area of the house, Delaney slowly rounded the side and kept her shotgun up in case anyone came to attack. She suddenly turned when she heard Ellen get grabbed from behind and swung her rifle at the demon in a trucker hat. The demon effortlessly dodged the rifle and grabbed onto it, shoving Delaney up against the side of the house next to Ellen. Delaney growled and fought her way out of the demon's grip, slamming the butt end of her rifle into the side of the demon's head. Another male demon popped up with Jo and attacked Delaney while Jo pushed her mother up against the side of the house, keeping her there with the rifle. 

Ellen found her strength and fought off Jo who had been possessed as well and Delaney got the other demon knocked down. She went to tell Ellen to run and she'd catch up, but she was struck from behind in the head and she groaned as her world went black. The last thing she was was Jo and Rufus stood above her.

Delaney didn't know how long she'd been out but when she blinked her eyes open groggily, she found her wrists and ankles tied to a chair. She tried to wiggle her wrists free of the rope, but they barely budged an inch and she blinked her eyes a few times to try and clear her vision. When it cleared she saw was in a room lit by candles and a fireplace with Rufus stood in front of her with Jo who held a large jar of holy water. Both of them sporting demon black eyes.

"Unh-unh," Rufus tsked at Delaney when he saw her struggle against her binds. "No way you are getting out of those. Did you up myself. You're stuck right where I want you." He walked closer to Delaney and leant his hands on either of the arms of the chair and lowering his face so they were eye to eye. "You evil son of a bitch."

Delaney stared at Rufus in confusion as he pushed away from her chair and she had Jo throw a splash of holy water into her face. She shook her head to rid the water from her and Jo had gripped onto her hand, tilting her head back while Rufus grabbed something. "Just wait. Guys!" She gagged when Rufus poured the salt can over her mouth while he recited an exorcism and she gripped her lips tightly together so she wouldn't choke on anymore salt. "Come on! Look something isn't right. Do you see that?"

Jo and Rufus stepped away from Delaney and Jo picked up the jug once again, throwing even more holy water in her face. She spit out whatever got in her mouth because it quite literally tasted like the ocean had been all but shoved into it thanks to the salt that coated her lips.  "Come on! Stop. Listen to me." Her eyes drifted up to the ceiling to see that Rufus had drawn a devil's trap above her head and she furrowed her eyebrows at the sight since she wasn't possessed. She might have a tiny ounce of demon blood left in her, but she wasn't possessed. 

"Rufus and Jo, come on! You have to listen to me. Something's not right here. You can see that I'm not strong like a demon should be. Please. Please. Just listen to me."

Delaney's pleas went unheard when she was left to her own devices as they exited the room to talk strategy. She didn't know what was going on and why it looked like Jo and Rufus thought she was possessed when they themselves looked possessed. None of it added up at all and Delaney wished that Jo and Rufus would just listen for thirty seconds. She knew it was their hunter instincts to not listen to reasoning from a demon of all people, but it still slightly bothered her that she didn't get listened to.

The same man from the church had appeared in the doorway a few minutes later and Delaney narrowed her eyes at him, knowing something was up with him. How he even got out of the church without anyone seeing him was a wonder, especially with Dean there who had eyes like a damn hawk. "Who the hell are you? Or should I say what are you?"

The man removed his glasses that he obviously did not need and placed held them in his hand, shrugging lazily. "You caught me, Baby Winchester. Popped in to watch. I can hustle like that."

"So, the Roger everyone around here knows - the real Roger?" Delaney asked, knowing this creature or demon or whatever it is had to do something with the real body or something.

"Buried in a ditch somewhere," the creature replied breezily, grabbing the nearby chair and pulling it up in front of Delaney's and took a seat. "Here's a hint to what or who I am. I was in Germany. Then in Germany. Then in the Middle East. I was in Darfur when my beeper went off. I'm waiting to hook up with my siblings. I've got three. We are gonna have so much fun together."

Delaney scoffed quietly and shifted in her chair as best she could, not believing that she had one of the Four Horsemen sat before her. "I know who you are alright. There aren't any demons in town, are there?"

"Nope. Just frightened people ripping each other's throats out. I really haven't had to do too much. Take out a bridge here, lay in a little hallucination there - sit back, pop some corn, watch the show. Frankly, you're really vicious little animals, Baby Winchester."

"No. You're doing this," Delaney argued, narrowing her gaze when the Horseman rolled his eyes at her response.

"Please. Last week, this was Mayberry. Now these people are stabbing each other's children," the Horseman waved off like he had no part in any of it.

"Yeah, because you're making them see demons!"

The Horseman shook his head and slouched back in his seat, crossing one leg over the other lazily. "Honestly, people don't need a reason to kill each other. I mean, you seen the Irish? They are all Irish. You think I'm a monster. I'm jello shots at a party. I just remove inhibitions."

Delaney snarled at the Horseman and tried to fight off her ropes, but knew it was no use since Rufus had done the ropes himself. No way she'd be getting out of them anytime soon. "I'm gonna kill you myself."

The Horseman threw his head back and laughed at Delaney and she wished she could reach out and strangle him. He sighed happily as he turned his gaze back to a glaring Delaney. "Oh, Baby Winchester, that is so stinking adorable, considering you are my poster girl. I know you can't stop thinking about it - ever since you saw it dripping off the blade of that knife. Your precious demon boyfriend Randy really fucked you up, huh?"

"You're wrong," Delaney grit out through her teeth. Though, she wasn't sure if she was trying to convince him or herself.

"Save your protests for your big brothers, cupcake. I can see inside your head. Man, it is all types of fucked up in there. Blood is all you can think about, no matter how hard you try not to. Lust. For power. Same as always, of course. You want to be strong again, but not just strong. Stronger than everybody. Good intentions - quick slide to head, baby girl. You feel bad now? Wait till you are thigh-deep in warm corpses because, my friend, I'm just getting started."

The Horseman pushed himself back to his feet once his little speech was done and placed the glasses back over his eyes once again as he stood in front of Delaney. He pat Delaney once on the shoulder with a wicked grin. "Showtime for the meat suits. Watch this." He held up his left hand where what looked like a wedding band rested over his ring finger. The ring was spun two times before a trickle of blood appeared on his forehead and the Horseman kicked out the chair, dropping to the ground dramatically with a loud groan.

Jo and Rufus rushed back into the room with weapons drawn and saw the Horseman down on the ground at Delaney's feet while he told them Delaney had done it. Her eyes widened as he rambled off lies about Delaney saying that others were coming for everyone. 

"Jo, Rufus, he's lying!"

"You shut your mouth," Rufus snapped at Delaney, walking over to her and knocking her out once again with the butt end of his rifle.

When Delaney opened her eyes for the second time, she saw it was daylight outside and when her surroundings were finally settled once again, she could hear Jo fighting off someone downstairs. After a moment, she heard Ellen's voice yelling at her daughter to listen to her because she wasn't what Jo thought she was. That War had come around and turned all of them against each other so they could kill themselves off instead of him having to do all the dirty work. It had seemed to work because Delaney didn't hear anymore struggling. 

Silence settled over the house for a long minute before the room Delaney was placed burst open to reveal Dean and she straightened up at the sight of her brother, regardless of the annoyance she still slightly held for him. "Dee, it's not demons. It's War. He's doing all of it with the ring on his finger."

"The ring," Dean mumbled as he rapidly undid all of Delaney's ropes for her so she could finally be free. "The ring - that's right. He turned it right before he made everyone hallucinate and go Hellbitch. We got to move, baby girl, come on."

Delaney was hauled out of the chair and tugged after Dean down the steps to the first floor where Sam and Theodore were. Gunshots could now be heard from outside and Delaney could see the townspeople from the church stood outside with rifles in their hands. The four had been able to slip out of the house through the back and ran off to the red car that Dean had seen earlier that day that he knew for sure would lead them to War. As if on cue, once they made it to the shop around the corner from the car, War had walked over to his car with a triumphant grin on his face.

Dean had taken the initiative to run at War from behind and grab him, holding him back. Sam had ran over with Theodore and Delaney on either side of him with Delaney pulling out Randy's demon blade. She smirked deviously at War and waved the demon blade around for him to see what she had. Stabbing him wouldn't kill him, but cutting off his finger with the ring on it would stop whatever was going on.

"That's a pretty knife you got there, Baby Winchester, but you can't kill War."

"Oh, I know, cupcake," Delaney mocked him and leapt forward, slamming his hand down on the hood of the car. She raised the demon blade in the air before chopping off the finger that held the ring on it. In the blink of an eye, War was gone after that, but left behind the ring.

At least that was all over.

"So, pit stop on Mount Doom?" Dean mused, twirling the golden ring back and forth so it glinted in the bright sunlight.

The Winchesters and Theodore had all stopped at a nearby picnic area to sit and relax after the long day they had. The bright sun did nothing to help Delaney fell any better, no matter how warm and wonderful it felt on her tanned skin. War's words had continued on a loop in her head about how she couldn't stop thinking about the demon blood or the power it brought her. The power to get rid of any demon she set her eyes on and actually save people. Instead of killing innocent people just to kill the demons that took over them. It was a lot to process and the fact that War had fully voiced her thoughts out loud only made Delaney's stomach churn more.

Delaney chewed on the inside of her lip as she could feel her own anxiety clawing at her lungs, making it slightly hard to breathe. She felt like she was a compromise to her brothers and now Theodore if he was going to help out with Bobby still in the hospital. They were constantly in danger because of her and she didn't like it, even if she didn't necessarily like Theodore. "Dee - "

"Della, let's not," Dean cut Delaney off, already sounding tired. 

"No, I need you and Sam to listen to me. This is important," Delaney pleaded, waiting for both Dean and Sam to give silent nods that they were listening to her. "I know you both don't trust me and I get it. Just . . . now I realize something. I don't even trust me now. From the minute I saw the blood on the demon knife, only thought in my head . . . and I tell myself it's for the right reasons, my intentions are good, and it - it feels true, you know? I think underneath . . . I just miss the feeling. I know how messed up that sounds, which means I know how messed up I am. Thing is, the problems' not the demon blood - not really. I mean, what I did, I can't blame the blood or Randy or . . . anything. The problem is me. How far I'll go."

Dean and Sam didn't make a sound or even make a move to say anything. They both knew Delaney wasn't close to done with her little speech yet and they both wanted to consider every word she'd said. The boys hated that their relationship wasn't what it used to be with their baby sister and they wanted it to be that way again. However, this wasn't just something they could brush under the rug. They needed time and time wasn't really something the Winchesters had at the moment.

"There's something in me that . . . scares the Hell out of me. The last couple of days, I caught another glimpse."

Dean licked his dry lips and lifted his eyes to meet the matching green pair across from him that sat next to Theodore. The Mitchell boy had been respectful and kept his mouth shut during the very serious conversation between the siblings and merely just sat there fiddling with his phone in his hands. He hated that when he saw his baby sister that he got the flashbacks to everything that's happened. Not that he loved Delaney any less because, if Dean were honest, he didn't think Delaney could do anything to make him not love her the way he always had. However, that didn't mean that Dean wasn't incredibly disappointed in Delaney at the moment and he still needed the time to get over everything. If that ever happened.

"So what are you saying, Delly?" Sam finally asked after a long tense moment of silence.

"I'm in no shape to be hunting. I need to step back, 'cause I'm dangerous. Maybe it's best we just . . . go our separate ways," Delaney suggested timidly, not knowing how Dean or Sam would react to it. It had been a thought that haunted her the whole drive over to the picnic area and she couldn't help but think it was the best decision for the moment. She could always find her brothers later on when she felt she was better and could be there to properly protect them.

Dean bowed his head and stared down at the ring that he still absentmindedly played with between his fingers. "Well, I think you're right. Truth is, Delaney, I spend more time worrying about you then about doing the job right or even Sammy. I just - I can't afford that, you know? I need to be clear minded and on my feet to do the job properly and protect Sammy if he needs me."

Delaney nodded her head slowly and felt her heart hurt at the thought of walking away from two of the most important boys in her life. Though, she'd be doing it for their own protection and that was what she cared about most. Both of her brothers being alive and well. "I'm sorry, boys."

"We know you are, Della," Dean assured the girl, that soft side for her still shining through the tiniest bit. It was almost like a reflex for Dean to treat his baby sister different to anyone, even Sam. She meant the world to him and he'd do just about anything for her, even if that meant letting her go because it was the best choice for them right now. "Hey, you, uh . . . you wanna take the Impala?"

"That's okay. I don't want to take the car away from you because it was a gift from Dad," Delaney replied, pushing herself up to walk away from the picnic table the boys all sat at. "Theo, watch out for my brothers if you stay with them."

"Sure thing, Winchester," Theodore promised Delaney, knowing now was not the time to be messing with her. 

Delaney smiled sadly at the boys before she turned to continue her way over to the Impala. She reached through the open back window and pulled out her duffle bag and small backpack. A truck was parked a few feet away with a man sat in it and Delaney had kindly asked the man if he could take her along with him and she'd just get whatever motel in the town he was stopping in. The truck driver was nice enough to allow Delaney in since he was only going a few states over anyway and moved his stuff from the passenger seat to toss it into the back so Delaney could sit.

After climbing into the truck and placing her stuff down on the floor in front of her,, the truck driver pulled away and Delaney watched the boys grow smaller in the rearview mirror until the truck turned a corner and they disappeared from sight. 

Along with Delaney's heart.

AUTHORS NOTE

Hi hey hello

Well, this chapter was pretty intense!! At least we got to see some Theo and Delaney interaction. It won't always be this pleasant, but Theo is also not an ass who is gonna be all teasing and bother Delaney when it's like serious. So their relationship will be fun for a bit when she reunites with all of the boys later on. I am so freakin' excited for the next chapter like nO ONE UNDERSTANDS WOW!