Shadow.

"You guys look funny."

Sam and Dean look down at their outfits. Dean lets out a scoff and smacks Sam's arm.

"Told you!"

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Sam rolls his eyes.

Athena walks over to her brothers and grabs the toolbox from Dean's hands. "Why'd you get a real toolbox?" she snorts.

"To deepen our cover." Dean shrugs.

Athena opens the toolbox, "Yeah--but...are you ever going to use it again?" she tilts her head.

Dean opens his mouth to answer, but no words come out. Simultaneously, Sam and Dean turn to each other; understanding Athena's point.

"Do you know, that you guys look like plumbers?" Athena stifles out a laugh.

"Okay, are you gonna keep bashing our outfits, or do you wanna hear about what we found?" Sam chuckles.

A crease forms between Athena's brows and she presses her lips together. She hums quietly, pretending to think hard.

"I guess I'll hear about what you guys found." Athena sighs. "I've got nothing better to do." she shrugs.

Athena then raises her brows and holds her hands out. "That was sarcasm, by the way."

Sam and Dean let out a laugh.

"Thanks for the clarification, Athy." Dean nods.

Athena smiles.

"Meredith had no heart," Dean adds.

Athena raises her brows, "No heart...do you think it's a Werewolf?"

"Werewolves are out of control," Sam says. "There was no sign of breaking or entering."

"Well, we also found this..." Sam holds his phone out to Athena, showing her the picture.

Athena tilts her head, "Whoa..." she looks at them.

"You don't recognize it?" Dean asks.

The youngest Winchester shakes her head. "Nope."

Her face brightens, "Guess it's research time!"

Dean claps his hands together, "Great! I'll be at the bar!"

Athena's mouth hangs open as Dean walks toward the door.

"What? Wait--" She holds her hand out.

"Sorry, I cannot hear you guys!" Dean points at his ears. "The music is already calling my name!" he leaves the room and closes the door.

Athena drops her arm to the side and sighs. "He's a butthead..."

Sam nods, "A major butthead."

After hours of researching, Athena and Sam walked into the bar. The youngest Winchester hides behind a trashcan and looks around. She then, jumps out from behind the trashcan.

"What are you doing?" Sam asks.

"I am a child in a bar...can't draw attention." Athena explains.

"You hiding and dramatically looking around is definitely drawing more attention."

Athena stops moving her arms and turns to Sam. "Really?"

Sam's eyes soften, noticing the way Athena's stance became small. "Who am I kidding?" He ruffles her hair. "With you silent ninja moves. No one can even detect you."

Athena's face brightens again and Sam smiles. She rolls across the floor and Sam's smile drops.

"Athy, the floor is gross!" Sam picks her up off the floor and sets her back on her feet.

Athena rolls her lips into her mouth. She goes to dive on the floor again, but Sam wraps his arms around her waist and picks her up. "Okay, lets go find a table." He sighs.

"You're no fun!" Athena huffs.

Sam sits Athena in a seat and he sits across from her. "Okay, lets continue..."

Athena nods her head, she pulls her goggles over her eyes. She takes her bag off her shoulders, unzips it, and pulls out all the article clippings they were looking over at the Motel.

Dean approaches his younger siblings and sits down. "Talked to the bartender."

"Did you get anything...besides her number?" Sam asks.

"Dude, I'm a professional. I'm offended that you would think that." Dean scrunches his face.

Simultaneously, Athena and Sam look at each other, then at their older brother.

Dean's offended expression turns into a proud smile. "All right." He holds the number up.

"So...you weren't focusing on the case?" Athena cranes her neck forward.

Dean looks at his sister. "Well—"

"So immature, Dean. I swear..." Athena pulls the goggles off her eyes.

"Says the person who was just rolling on the bar floor, a few minutes ago." Sam snorts.

"Yeah, but that was apart of the mission." Athena says softly.

"Well, do you mind doing a little bit of thinking with your upstairs brain, Dean?" Sam looks at his brother.

"Dude." Dean snaps and motions to the confused girl.

Sam looks at Athena, "Sorry, Athy."

"Nothing to apologize for." Athena shrugs. "I don't even know what you're talking about." She looks back at the newspapers.

Sam and Dean let out sighs of relief.

"There was nothing to find out anyway." Dean shrugs. "Meredith worked here. She waited tables. Everyone here is her friend. Everyone says she's normal. She didn't do or say anything weird before she died."

"What about that symbol?" Dean asks. "Did you two find anything?"

Athena pouts her lip, "Nope."

"Wait..." Dean closes his eyes trying to process the information. "...the Athena Winchester couldn't find information?"

"That's right." Athena whines. "I'm a failure." She goes to lay her forehead on the table, but Dean holds his hand out, so he could catch Athena before her head hit the table.

"Ah, it's not a big deal." Dean reassures his little sister. "We'll figure something else out."

Athena knew that Dean wanted to make her feel better and she appreciated it. But Athena's whole thing was finding information, and if she couldn't do that...then what was she?

"There was a first victim, right? Before Meredith?" Dean asks.

Athena sighs, "Yeah..." she closes her eyes. "...his name was, uh..." her eyes squeeze tighter, trying to remember.

Dean inhales a sharp breath through his teeth. "You're losing your touch, Athy."

"His name was Ben Swardstrom." Sam speaks.

"You're losing your touch, Athy." Athena says in a high-pitched voice. "I'm Dean Winchester and I think Athena's losing her touch."

Dean hums softly, "Hey, what if I dropped your head on this table?"

"Then I would never talk to you. Again." Athena lifts her head up and grabs the newspaper clippings. "Last month, Ben was found mutilated in his town house. Same thing happened to him. The door was locked and the alarm was on."

"Is there any connection between them?" Dean asks.

"Nothing we could tell." Sam sighs. "Ben was a banker. Meredith was a waitress. They never met. Never knew anyone in common. They were practically from different worlds."

"So, to recap, the only successful intel we've scored so far, is the bartender's phone number." Dean concludes.

Sam look behind Dean.

"What?"

Athena's ears perk, "What?"

Sam stands up and walks away from the table. Athena and Dean look at each other. Dean follows after Sam. The younger sister hops off her seat and follows after Dean. The eldest Winchester stops and turns toward Athena.

"Come on, bud." Dean holds his hand out toward Athena. She grabs Dean's hand and they follow after Sam.

"Do you think Sam saw a pretty girl?" Athena asks.

"Or pretty boy." Dean shrugs.

"Or pretty person." Athena adds.

"Guess we're about to find out."

Athena spots Sam talking to a girl with blonde hair. Athena and Dean listen in on the twos conversation, hoping Sam would introduce them to the woman.

He did not.

Dean clears his throat.

"Gosh, Sam, what are the odds we'd run into each other?"

Athena squints her eyes and tilts her head.

"I know. I thought I'd never see you again." Sam says.

"Well, I'm glad you were wrong." Meg replies.

Dean clears his throat louder this time.

"Dude, cover your mouth." Meg snaps.

Athena laughs softly.

"And why do you have a child with you, perv?"

Athena's mouth hangs open.

"I'm sorry, Meg. This is my brother, Dean and this is my sister, Athena." Sam introduces.

Meg's mouth slightly opens, "This is Athena and Dean?"

Athena waves her hand, "Hello!"

"So you've heard of me" Dean asks.

"Oh, yeah, I've heard of you." Meg nods. "Nice—the way you treat your brother like luggage."

Athena's eyes widen, "Oh, My—"

"Sorry?" Dean pulls his brows together. "Why don't you let him do what he wants to do? Stop dragging him over God's Green Earth. And don't even get me started with Athe—"

"Meg, it's all right." Sam cuts Meg off.

Dean lets out a whistle. "Okay. Awkward..."

"I'd hate to be you, right now..." Athena nudges Dean's leg.

"I'm gonna get a drink now." Dean lets out a nervous laugh.

Athena waves at Meg, "Nice to meet you!"

"Same to you too, kid." Meg nods at her.

Athena and Meg make quick eye contact, but the Winchester girl felt a pit form in her stomach. Dean lightly tugs Athena toward the bar.

"Can I have strawberry milk?" Athena asks.

Dean nods his head. "Yeah—as long as we get the hell away from them."

"Swear."

"Is that really a swear?" Dean sighs.

"I don't know..." Athena sighs.

Dean lifts Athena up and sits her on one of the chair. "What's up?" He sits on the seat next to her.

"I don't know how I feel about her." Athena says, looking back at Meg. "She's giving me twisty stomach."

Dean nods his head. He knew that Athena's 'Twisted Stomach' meant she didn't trust a person. And Athena was normally (always) right about it.

"Okay, then I don't trust her either." Dean nods.

Athena smiles softly. "Cool."

☆

"I'm always stuck researching..."

Dean looks at his sister, who was close to falling asleep.

"You said you like researching." Dean closes the book he was looking into.

"Yeah, but not every second of the day." Athena huffs. "I already did hours of research today."

"Besides, there's nothing new or interesting with her."

"Well, what about the symbol?" Dean asks.

Athena smiles, "You say I've lost my touch, I say I'm getting better every second of the day."

She turns her laptop and shows the information she found.

Dean squints his eyes, "Uh—Athy, why are you on the dark web?"

Athena shrugs, "There was no other way I was gonna find the information about the symbol."

"And by the way, the internet can be horrifying." She shakes her head. "And a lot of pop up ads about women being a couple miles from us. I mean, what is that even about? Stranger Danger, am I right?"

A small chuckle leaves Athena's lips.

Dean pulls the laptop away from his sister. "How about we take a break from the internet and tell Sam what we found, huh?"

"All righty."

Dean grabs his phone and dials Sam's number. As soon as Sam answers, Dean puts the phone on speaker.

"Hey."

"You're lurking outside that poor girl's apartment, aren't you?" Dean asks.

"No."

Dean looks at Athena.

"He's lying." Athena says.

"Athy!"

"What?" Athena shrugs. "There was no need to lie. If you like the untrusting woman, Sam. You should tell her how you feel."

Sam laughs over the phone.

"Athy, has a point, Sam." Dean agrees. "You've got to find some way to talk to her. Because you've got a funny way of showing your affection."

"Have you guys find anything on her or what?" Sam tries to change the subject.

"Sorry, man, she checks out." Dean speaks. "There's a Meg Masters in the Andover Phone Book. We even pulled up her high-school photo."

"Now, look why don't you go knock on her door and invite her to a poetry reading or whatever it is you do, huh?"

Athena laughs, "Poetry reading. Is it because Sam is always brooding?"

"Exactly that." Dean points.

"What about the symbol? Any luck?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, that we did have some luck with." Dean states.

"It's Zoroastrian." Athena informs. "Very old, around 2000 years before Christ. It's a digit for a Daeva."

"What's a Daeva?"

Athena sticks her pinky in her ear. "It translates to 'demon of darkness'."

"Zoroastrian Demons, and they're savage, animalistic, nasty attitudes—kind of like demonic pit bulls."

"How'd you guys figure that out?" Sam asks.

Athena and Dean roll their eyes. Judging by the silence, Sam knew the answer. He quietly chuckles and nods his head.

"Right, Athy."

Athena smiles.

"Okay, anyways—these Daevas, they have to be summoned. Conjured."

"So someone's controlling it?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying." Dean says. "And from what I gather, it's pretty risky business, too. These suckers tend to bite the hand that feeds them...and the arms and the torsos."

"So, what do they look like?"

"Nobody's seen them for a couple of millennia." Athena states. "Summoning a demon that ancient, someone really knows their stuff."

"I think we've got a major player in town." Dean adds.

"Hey, I have an idea..." Dean starts. "Why don't you give that girl a private..." he looks at Athena and clears his throat.

Athena rolls her eyes, "This is ridiculous..." she covers her ears.

"...Strip-O-Gram." Dean finishes.

"Bite me."

"Bite her." Dean corrects. "Don't leave teeth marks, though. It's—"

The phone clicks.

Dean pulls his face back and looks at the phone. "Sam? Are you..." he presses the phone against his ear once again, but sighs.

Dean looks at Athena and sees her hands still over her ears. He taps the table and Athena lowers her hands.

"I'm gonna learn how to read lips, y'know?" Athena raises her brows.

"Well, there might be things that you won't want to read." Dean says.

Athena rolls her eyes, she slumps in her seat. Dean grabs his phone.

"What are you doing?" Athena asks.

"Calling Amy."

Athena raises her brows, "Amy? Who's Amy?"

"My...friend."

"You have friends?" Athena cranes her neck forward.

"Yes, I have friends." Dean scoffs. "I'm actually offended by that."

Athena shrugs, "I just never see you hang out with people."

"Well, same goes for you." Dean retorts.

"Awesome comeback, Dean." Athena nods her head.

"Awesome comeback, Dean." The eldest Winchester mocks in a nasal tone.

"Very mature." Athena stands up and walks into the bathroom.

Dean frowns, "She can be harsh..."

☆

"We missed something the first time."

Sam pulls his brows together and looks between his siblings. "What?" he walks over to them.

"The first victim--the old man? He spent his whole life in Chicago, but he wasn't born here. But look where he was born." Dean points at the location.

"Lawrence, Kansas."

Athena nods her head. "And Meredith--the second victim? It turns out she was adopted. Guess where she was born?"

Sam looks at the location. His heart dropped into his stomach from seeing the same location on Meridith's file.

Sam sits down, exhaling a sharp breath. "Holy crap."

"Yeah."

"I mean, that is where the demon killed mom." Sam states. "That's where everything started."

"So, do you guys think Meg's tied up with the demon?" Sam asks.

"It's highly probable," Athena says.

"But, I don't understand what's the significance of Lawrence?" Sam questions. "And how do these Daeva things fit in?"

"Beats me," Dean speaks. "I say we trash that Black Altar, grab Meg, and have ourselves a friendly little interrogation."

"Mmm—I don't think that's a good idea." Athena scrunches her nose. "We shouldn't tip her off."

"Athy's right. We've got to stake out that warehouse." Sam says. "We've got to see who...or what is showing up to meet her."

Athena's face lights up. "Stakeout!" She hops onto her feet. "I'm gonna go grab the snacks from my room!" She sprints over to the door but trips over her foot.

"Fiddlesticks!" She falls to the ground.

Sam and Dean shoot up from their seats.

"You okay?" The brother's chorus.

Athena quickly stands up, "Great—yeah!" She then runs out of the room.

Dean chuckles softly, but his smile saddens. "You know she can't come with us, right?" He looks at Sam.

Sam lets out a soft breath and nods. "Yeah, I know. There's no way..."

"And I don't think we should do this alone," Dean adds.

Sam looks at Dean. He inhales a breath, knowing what his brother meant. If they were to call John, they most definitely couldn't bring Athena along with them. They don't know how Athena would react.

Dean calls their dad before Athena gets back to the room.

And as soon as he ended the call, Athena walked into the room with Sam. She was not happy.

"Why can't I go?" Athena closes the door behind her and Sam.

Sam sets the duffel on the bed. "It's not safe, Athy."

"Well, the other cases we were on were dangerous too." Athena states. "But, we were there together. It's better that way."

Athena shifts her eyes between her brothers and bunches her shoulders. "Right?"

"Of course, it's better that way, Athena," Sam says. "But this case is different--"

"How?"

"Athy, you read the information about the creature," Dean says. "This Daeva is on a whole other level, all right? It's like nothing we've faced before."

"And we want you here..." Sam crouches in front of her. "...safe."

A crease forms between Athena's brows and she looks at the ground.

"Besides you're like our lookout, y'know?" Dean adds. "Just in case the manager comes to the room or something."

Athena scrunched her nose, "Why would the manager come here?"

Dean slightly opens his mouth, trying to figure out something to say. "I don't know, use your imagination."

Athena slightly opens her mouth, "Guys--"

"Athena Winchester."

The girl closes her mouth.

"As your older brothers, we are saying that in order to keep you out of harm's way, you must stay in this room until we get back." Dean stands up, his hands on his hips.

Athena and Sam look at each other with the same expression.

"Pipe down, Superman." Sam quips.

Dean's smile drops, "There's nothing wrong with Superman."

"I mean...if you're into Superman, there's nothing wrong with him." Athena states.

"Wait..." Dean holds his hands up. "...do you not like Superman?"

"I don't hate him." Athena shrugs. "I'm just...more of a 'Supergirl' girl."

Sam chuckles. "You're not mad that you're staying, right?"

Athena inhales a breath, "No, just...come back alive, please..."

Sam smiles softly, "We'll come back."

Athena wraps her arms around Sam's neck and Sam touches the back of her head, hugging her back. She pulls away from the hug and walks over to Dean.

"Hey, I promise when we come back, we'll go to a buffet, all you can eat."

Athena presses her lips together, "That'll be cool."

Dean crouches down and pulls Athena into a warm embrace. Athena hugs him back.

"Okay, what'd you get from the trunk?" Dean asks Sam.

Athena pulls away from the hug.

Sam lets out a huff and he walks over to the duffel. "I ransacked that trunk--holy water, every weapon that I could think of..."

Dean walks over to the duffel bag too.

"...Exorcism rituals from about a half-dozen religions," Sam says. "I'm not sure what to expect, so I guess we should just expect everything, huh?"

"Expect the unexpected..." Athena says in an eery tone with her fingers wiggling.

Sam points at Athena, "Exactly."

Sam and Dean go through the bag and start loading the guns.

"It's a big night," Dean speaks.

"Yeah."

Athena sits down with a huff and grabs her crossword puzzle. "You guys nervous?"

At the same time, Sam and Dean sputter.

"No."

Athena frowns and slowly nods her head, "Very convincing." she looks down at her crossword puzzle.

Silence settles into the motel room. A small chuckle leaves Sam's lips.

"God, could you imagine if we actually found that damn thing, that demon?" Sam questions.

Athena cracks a small smile, noticing how hopeful Sam sounds.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, all right?" Dean softly chuckles.

"I know. I'm just saying...what if we did?" Sam questions. "What if this whole thing was over tonight? Man, I'd sleep for a month, go back to school, just be a person again."

"You want to go back to school?" Dean asks.

Sam shrugs, "I mean, yeah, once we're done hunting the thing."

"Huh..."

Sam and Athena pull their brows together.

"Why? Is there something wrong with that?" Sam asks.

Dean frowns, "No, no, it's great. Good for you."

Sam brushes Dean off and looks at Athena. "What about you, Athy?"

Athena looks up from her paper and raises her brows. "Hm, uh...I dunno." she shrugs. "Never really thought about it."

Athena turns to her eldest brother, "Dean? What are you gonna do when this is all over?"

"It's never gonna be over," Dean says. "There's gonna be others. There's always gonna be something to hunt."

"But there's got to be something that you want for yourself--"

"Yeah, and I don't want you to leave the second this is over," Dean snaps. He walks away from the duffel bag.

Athena slowly pulls her brows together, sensing Dean's sorrow. "Dean, are you okay?" she asks.

"Why do you think I drag you two everywhere, huh?" Dean asks, turning back to them. "And why do you think I came and got you at Stanford?"

"Cause dad was in trouble." Sam shrugs. "Cause you wanted to find the thing that killed mom."

Dean's eyes soften. Was he really that stubborn, he never shared his true thoughts with his siblings?

"Yes, that, but it's more than that..." Dean says. "You, me, Athy...and dad."

Athena pulls her brows together.

"I want us to be together again," Dean admits. "I want us to be a family again."

"Dean, we are a family." Sam agrees. "I'd do anything for the both of you." he looks at Dean, then looks at Athena. She gives him a soft smile.

"But things will never be the way they were before." Sam states.

Dean knew that none of their lives were easy when they hunted with John. But at least they were together, right?

"They could be." Dean shrugs.

Sam looks at the ground for a second, he then looks at his brother once again. "I don't want them to be."

"I'm not gonna live this life forever." Sam says. "Dean, when this is all over, you're gonna have to let me go my own way."

"Let us go our own way."

Athena's ears perk up and Dean pulls his brows together. He looks at his little sister, then looks at Sam.

"What?"

"Dean, Athena has a right to make her own choice on what she wants to do with her life." Sam states.

"Not at 10, she doesn't." Dean scoffs.

Sam rolls his eyes, "She is far intelligent to understand the gravity of her decisions."

"Athena?" The brothers turn toward their little sister.

Athena was still sitting in the chair, her hands were folded in her lap, her eyes were wide, and her jaw was clench.

"Uh...I want you guys to finish the case." Athena speaks. "And we can talk about this later, okay?"

Sam exhales a breath, "You're right." he grabs the duffel bag. Dean grabs his gun off the bed and slips it into the waistband of his pants.

"Okay, we'll be back." Dean says.

"Safe, all right?" Athena raises her brows.

"Most definitely, Athy."

☆

"Hey, Sam, don't take this the wrong way..."

Sam looks at his brother.

"...but your girlfriend...is a bitch." Dean shifts his eyes to Meg.

"This, the whole thing, was a trap." Sam shakes his head. "Running into you at the bar, following you here, hearing what you had to say--it was all a setup, wasn't it?"

Meg lets out a smug laugh.

"And that the victims were from Lawrence?" Sam inquires.

"It doesn't mean anything." Meg states. "It was just to draw you in, that's all."

"You killed those two people for nothing." Sam says.

"Baby, I've killed a lot more for a lot less." Meg tilts her head.

"You trapped Sam and I. Good for you." Dean praises Meg in a mocking manner."

Meg arches a brow, "Are you sure it's just 'you and Sam'?"

Dean pulls his brows together. Meg looks around and raises her brows.

"Oh, duh!--I totally forgot!" Meg lets out a sputter. She stands up and struts over to the crates. "While the two of you were knocked out, I had to make a quick stop."

Meg leans over the crate and grabs the person behind the crates.

Sam and Dean's hearts drop into their stomach. Meg looks down at the youngest Winchester, her hand gripping Athena's hair. A bandana was wrapped around Athena's mouth. Her wrists were bound by rope and so were her ankles. Once their shock settled down, the brothers were left angry.

"I'm going to kill you." The brothers chorus.

Meg snorts, "Right..." she tosses Athena with ease and the girl slides across the floor. A painfilled groan is heard from Athena and she quietly whimpers.

"Athy!" Sam calls outs.

"Just wait until I get out of these!" Dean tries to yank himself from his restraints.

Meg lets out an entertained laugh. "You guys are hilarious, I swear!" she shakes her head. The blonde walks over to Athena and grabs the back of her shirt.

Athena quietly grunts and thrashes around. Meg rolls her eyes, "Hold still, brat!"

"Get your hands off her!"

Meg scoffs, "You three are getting on my last nerve!" she drags Athena to another pillar between the brothers. She unties Athena's hands and ties them once again around the pillar this time.

Meg crouches in front of Athena and sighs, "Good girl." she takes the bandana out of Athena's mouth.

"I knew you were no good." Athena squints her eyes. She looks at Dean, "Didn't I say she was no good?"

"That you did." Dean nods. "And you have us all here now, so...why don't you kill us already?"

"Not very quick on the uptake, are we?" Meg sighs, walking away from Athena.

"This trap isn't for you."

Athena pulls her brows together.

"Dad."

Athena and Dean look at Sam.

"It's a trap for dad." Sam states.

Athena shakes her head, "I don't understand...how would dad even know where we are?"

No one answers and Meg's mouth hangs open.

"You mean...you two didn't tell her?" Meg raises her brows.

"What? Tell me what?" Athena asks.

Meg tilts her head, "Aw, Athy. My poor sweet little Athy..." she sighs. "...they called dear old daddy."

Athena raises her brows, "No...No. They would tell..." she trails off her sentence, when she sees the guilt-ridden expressions across their faces. "Oh My God--"

"Hey, don't throw his name around like that." Meg clicks her tongue.

"When did you call him?" Athena asks, a crease between her brows.

"Athy--"

"When?!"

Meg's mouth makes an 'O' shape. "She's maaaad..."

"When you went to your room." Sam says.

Athena lets out an astonished breath. "Are you...you guys had time to tell me and you didn't?"

"Guess no one's getting the 'World's Greatest Big Brother' Award--"

"Shut up, Meg." The siblings chorus.

Meg rolls her eyes.

"Athena, we're sorry." Dean says. "But we areliterally tied up, right now." he bunches his shoulders.

Athena's jaw clenches and she slowly nods her head.

Disregarding your feelings. Like always.

"Fine...whatever." she looks off to the side.

Dean looks back at Meg. "And you must be dumber than you look. Cause even if dad was in town, which he is not, he wouldn't walk into something like this. He's too good."

"He is pretty good, I'll give you that." Meg nods. She walks over to Dean and kicks his legs. The blonde crouches in front of him. "But, you see...he has one weakness." she fixes Dean's jacket.

"What's that?"

"You."

Sam's jaw goes slack. And Athena raises her brows.

So...he has a heart?

"He lets his guard down around his boys, lets his emotions cloud his judgement--"

"You said he has 'one weakness'." Athena speaks up. "Then you said, 'he lets his guard down around his boys'."

Meg inhales a breath and looks at the girl.

"So that means he has two weaknesses." Athena states.

"Athy." Sam whispers.

"Just the facts." Athena shrugs.

Meg looks back at Dean, "I happen to know he is in town, and he'll come and try to save you."

"Um...excuse me?"

Meg exhales a sharp breath and Dean chuckles softly, knowing Athena was annoying Meg. "What?"

Athena presses her lips together, "Rude." she shakes her head. "This doesn't make any sense to me."

"Do I need to dumb it down for you, child?" Meg rolls her head to the side and glares at the girl.

Sam and Dean laugh. They knew that Athena didn't need anything 'dumbed down' for her. She was honestly probably just overthinking everything.

"No, no. I understand what you're explaining." Athena snorts. "I just don't understand why you need me. Out of all three of us, my father cares the least about me."

Meg pouts her lip, "Aw..." she walks over to the girl. "...that's where you're wrong sweet pea. I mean, does he hate you? Yes. Yes he does. But, he thinks you have the potential to be strong."

Meg places a hand over her mouth and whispers, "And you have the potential to be the strongest."

"And Johnny boy knows you're intelligent." Meg shrugs. "You're the perfect little weapon, Athy."

Athena's jaw clenches.

"And John finds you valuable."

"How valuable?" Athena asks, curious.

Meg arches a brow, "Valuable enough to risk his life for."

The blonde slaps her hands onto her knees and Athena flinches. "Anyway!"

"The Daevas will kill everybody--nice and slow...and messy."

"Well, I've got news for you." Dean speaks. "It's gonna take a lot more than some...shadow to kill him."

"Oh, The Daevas are in the room here." Meg states. "They're invisible. Their shadows are just the only part you can see."

"Why are you doing this, Meg?" Sam asks. "What kind of deal you got worked out here, huh...and with who?--"

"I'm doing this for the same reasons you do what you do--loyalty, love." Meg says. "Like the love you had for mommy and Jess."

"You are mean." Athena murmurs.

"Thank you." Meg hums.

"Go to Hell." Sam growls.

"Oh, baby, I'm already there." Meg smirks at Sam. She crawls over to him and Dean pulls his brows together.

"Oh, come on, Sam...there's no need to be nasty." Meg whispers.

Dean's eyes blow wide when Meg starts to get too close to Sam.

"Hey, get off of him!" Athena shouts.

"What the fuck?!--Athena close your eyes!"

Athena squeezes her eyes shut. "She's being gross!"

"Yes, she is!" Dean shouts. "Get off of him, you fucking horndog."

"Yeah, you fu--"

"Hey, Athy language!" Dean snaps.

"But, I'm angry!" Athena shouts. "Is she still on him?!"

"Get a room, you two!" Dean shouts.

"Get off of him!" Athena screams again.

Her brows pull together. She pokes the tip of her tongue out of the corner pf her mouth. She forces her right hand toward her pocket and uses the tips of her fingers to grabs the knife from her pocket.

Dean looks over at Athena, and sees her grabbing her knife. She flips open the knife and Meg looks over at the girl. A small chuckle leaves Meg's lips. She walks over to Athena and grabs the knife from her hands.

"Who's there?!" Athena shouts.

"Guess." Meg whispers.

Athena slightly jumps and she lets out a groan of disgust. "You can't just sneak up on people like that."

"Oh, sorry, sweetpea." Meg flicks Athena's nose.

Athena groans. She tosses the knife to the side. Athena opens her eyes again. Meg sits on Sam's lap and Athena rolls her eyes.

"Oh, My Lord!--Are you kidding?!"

"Now, were you just trying to distract me while your sister cuts free?" Meg whispers.

"No." Sam whispers back. "No."

"It was because I have a knife of my own."

Sam breaks free from the restraints and slams his head against Meg's.

"YEAH!!!" Athena cheers. "GET THE ALTAR"

Sam groans and clutches at his head, but he forces himself onto his feet and stumbles over to the altar. He flips the table over and Athena's smile grows. Shadows travel through the walls and make their way over to Meg.

The blonde screams as she is dragged towards the window. Her body is throws out the window and Athena's smile drops.

"OH, MY GOD!" Athena shouts.

Sam runs over to cut his siblings free. As soon as Dean and Athena were free, the Winchesters run over to the window. Before Athena could look over the edge, Dean covers Athena's eyes.

"So, I guess the Daeva didn't like being bossed around." Sam says.

"I guess not." Dean sighs. "Hey, Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time you want to have a wrestling match with someone, find a girl that's not so buckets of crazy, huh?" Dean guides Athena away from the window. He takes his hand away from Athena's eyes and she huffs.

"Why would Sam want to wrestle with Meg?" Athena inquires. "I know she was mean, but wrestling? Seems a bit extreme."

Sam and Dean look at each other.

"Sam, just...really hasn't wrestled in a while, y'know?" Dean ruffles Athena's hair.

"Okay, let's not talking about my...wrestling life, please." Sam scoffs.

"Agreed. I'm hungry." Athena huffs.

☆

Athena skips to the room, with her bag of food. "Why didn't you keep the duffel bag in the car?" she looks at Sam.

"I still don't trust anything right now." Sam shakes his head. "I just want to be safe, y'know?"

"Nothing wrong with that." Athena shrugs.

Dean unlocks the door and opens the door. The siblings enter the room. Dean's eyes land on the figure facing the window.

"Hey!"

Athena jumps and turns to where Dean was looking. Her eyes widen, "Danger!"

Sam flicks the light on and the person turns around.

Oh. Fuck No.

"Dad?"

Athena drops the bag of food in her hands.

"Hey, boys."

Athena's chest tightens and she takes a step back. Dean quickly makes his way over to his father and hugs. Athena inhales, feeling like she couldn't catch her breath. She looks down at her red converse. And her eyes start to burn with tears.

This can't be happening.

Athena twirls her charm bracelet around her wrist.

Athena keeps her back against the walk as Sam and Dean talk to John. She wanted to pay attention to the conversation, but she could barely focus on her breathing right now.

Was she even breathing?

"Dad, it was a trap. I'm sorry." Dean apologizes.

"It's all right. I thought it might have been." John says.

And yet he didn't even walk into the building to save us.

"Were you there?" Dean asks.

"I got there just in time to see the girl take the swan dive." John answers. "She was the bad guy, right?"

"Yes, sir." The brothers chorus.

Athena flinches. Why did that physically make her flinch?

"Good. Well, it doesn't surprise me." John chuckles. "It's tried to stop me before."

"The demon has?" Sam asks.

"It knows I'm close." John states. "It knows I'm gonna kill it. And not just exorcise it or send it back to Hell, actually kill it."

"How?"

"I'm working on that." John states.

"Let us come with you. We'll help."

Athena snaps her head up and she looks at Sam with wide eyes.

Walk over there.

Athena shakes her head.

Walk.

Athena's hand starts to shake and she inhales a breath. She hesitantly walks over to the group.

"No, Sam." John speaks. "Not yet."

Athena stands between her brothers, she gently grabs Dean's hand. And something happens. Something Athena deep down inside, wasn't surprised about; but it still made her gut turn.

Dean pulled his hand away from Athena's.

Athena doesn't even bother to look at Dean, she didn't want to see what his expression was. She was hoping he was personally mad or annoyed by her. And she was just praying that Dean didn't do that because their father was there.

"This Demon is a scary son of a bitch." John says. "I don't want you boys caught in the crossfire. I don't want you to get hurt."

"You don't have to worry about us." Sam states.

"Of course I do." John chuckles. "I'm your father."

Athena pulls her brows together. As John continues to talk to his sons, she notices that John was talking only to his sons.

"Listen, Sammy, the last time we were together, we had one hell of a fight." John continues.

"Yes, sir."

"It's good to see you again." John smiles. "It's been a long time."

He didn't even apologize.

"Too long." Sam says.

Athena's right eye twitches out of annoyance. She looks at John and tilts her head.

He was ignoring her.

John hugs Sam and Athena lets out a breath.

"Are you kidding me?"

Sam and Dean look at their little sister, who was looking at their father. Athena's patience was running thin. Her lifelong patience.

John looks at Athena, but he looks away from her. Like she was nothing.

"I am right here." Athena's voice starts to shake.

Dean touches Athena's shoulder. "Athy, let's not do this--"

Athena slaps Dean's hand off of her.

"I AM RIGHT HERE--"

Her scream is cut off when John is yanked back by an invisible force. Athena flinches and jumps back as John is slams into the counters. Sam is slammed into  the wall and Athena's eyes widen.

"SAM--"

Athena feels a hard phantom force on her back and she slams into the wall. A cry leaves her lips and she falls to the ground.

"NO--"

Dean flies into a wall.

Athena hears screams fill the motel and she covers her ears. She looks at the walls and sees the Daevas travelling through the walls to attack the boys. Her eyes shift to the duffel bag in the middle of the room. Her brows scrunch together, thinking. She crawls over to the bag. Athena quickly searches through the bag and grabs one of the flares.

"COVER YOUR EYES!" Athena shouts.

They all follow Athena's orders and she lights the flare up. The bright light and smoke fills the room, causing the shadows to dissipate. Athena grabs the duffel and tries to drag it out of the room.

"Oh, come on--"

Sam quickly grabs the bag, scoops Athena into his arms, and sprints out of the room. "Did Dean get out?!" Athena asks.

"Yeah, he's helping dad out."

"Oh, goody..."

Sam and Athena make it to the Impala and he sets the girl down. Athena watches Dean and John make their way down the stairs.

"I didn't know the flares were that bright." Athena huffs.

As soon as Dean and John make it down the fire escape, Sam opens the Impala. "We have to hurry, as soon as the flare's out, they'll be back."

"Wait!"

Everyone stops and looks at the youngest Winchester.

"He can't come with us."

Sam pulls his brows together, "What?!--"

"It's the only reasonable option here!" Athena snaps.

Sam slams his mouth shut, not used to Athena's stern tone. She snaps her eyes over to her father.

"There's after you." Athena states.

This is all because of you.

"I'm right." Athena squints her eyes.

John clenches his jaw and Athena internally smiles.

Sam looks at his brother, waiting for hid thoughts.

Dean exhales a breath, "Athena's right--"

"Are you shitting me?!"

"Swear." Athena folds her arms. "And he's not kidd you...actually."

"But, Athy, you have to know it's not because of dad."

Athena pulls her brows together and looks at Dean.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Dad's vulnerable around us." Dean states. "We're in his way."

A scoff leaves Athena's mouth and she raises her brows.

"I think you're wrong, but whatever..." she grumbles, looking off to the side.

Dean pulls his brows together. Sam looks at John and grips his shoulder.

"Dad, no."

Dad, yes.

"After everything, after all the time we spent looking for you, please." Sam begs. "I've got to be a part of this fight."

"Sam, this fight is just starting." John states. "And all three of us are all gonna have a part to play."

"Four."

John looks at Athena and she looks at him. "If I hadn't have just saved your life. There would be no parts for any of you." she tilts her head. "Cause you'd be dead. So...four. All four of us."

A scoff leaves John's mouth, "You still don't know when to hold your tongue."

"I guess not, sir."

"Athena, we don't have time for this." Dean says.

Athena raises her brows.

There it is again.

She looks at the ground and shakes her head. "So stupid..."

"What'd you just say?" John fully turns toward the girl.

"Safe travels, sir." Athena salutes him.

Get in a car crash.

John looks at Sam and Dean, "You two keep her in check."

Sam doesn't say anything.

"Yes, sir."

Athena snaps her eyes over to Dean, an incredulous expression across her face.

John walks over to his truck. The siblings get into the Impala and watch John drive away. Dean inhales a breath, "The first time we see dad in months and you couldn't be civil with him." he looks at Athena in the rearview mirror.

Athena's eyes meet Dean's in the mirror. This time, Athena's eyes weren't as warm and bubbly as they usually were. They were filled with tears of anger. She was angry. And she was angry at Dean.

"The first time we see dad in months and you couldn't not kiss his--"

"Athena." Sam says, his voice stern.

"Whatever..." She sinks into her seat, grabs her gameboy, and starts playing it.

━━━━━━━━━━

A/N

There's only so much Athena can take until she snaps...

Words: 6964