(Note: This is the end of 13x17: "The Thing")

Life without their little sister was hard.

(Y/n) brought many things to the Winchester family. Excellent dad jokes, a semi-positive attitude in tough situations, drinking people under the table to earn a little bit of extra money, and more importantly: she also managed to keep Sam and Dean together.

In the end, however, the brothers looked at what they've done and deep down were glad she wasn't around to see what happened through the years. There would be tons of scolding, tears, and a few punches landed for all their big mistakes... sometimes, that's what wanted to pull Sam and Dean away from the fire, the memory of their sister.

Mary had taken the news harder than Sam and Dean had. She had been without her little girl for 26 years and wasn't even there for her death. All she could look at or be told were memories of when (Y/n) was alive, even if they weren't the best... It hurt 10 times more to learn that her little girl had only been taken away because of someone else's tie to her soul.

There was one time when Jack found a picture of their little sister and asked Dean who she was. The hunter nearly strangled Jack, but was told by Sam to back off-- the Nephilim did nothing wrong but asked a question. So, Sam explained who she was, and all Jack could do was let it go to not anger Dean further.

What did, however, anger Dean further was Ketch coming into the bunker.

The Winchesters held the man at gunpoint, which forced the British man to throw his hands up. "I come in peace..."

Sam scoffed, shaking his head. "Yeah, right."

"And I brought you some gifts." Ketch ducked behind the arch and pulled out to bloodied figures, shaking against the man's touch.

Both brothers' hearts dropped at the sight of the figures. Sam was the first to lower his gun, eyes widening. "I-Is that...?"

Dean dropped his gun, looking at the bloodied figure on the left. Her (e/c) eyes were half-way closed, but the panic was in them. "(Y/n)?" The walls he had put up cracked at the sight of his little sister. She flinched at her name, quiet whimpering coming from her lips.

Ketch pushed the two into chairs. (Y/n) immediately clung to Gabriel, who was equally shaken, but managed to put his arms protectively around her. His face was buried in her neck like he hadn't seen or touched her in so long.

The brothers approached their little sister, going to make sure she was actually there, but as soon as Sam touched her, (Y/n) flinched back and whimpered again, her mouth quivering.

"T-This... we saw her d-die," Sam managed out. Tears were freely streaming from his eyes. The image of his twin screaming in pain at the wound in her stomach, her 'I'm sorry'... this couldn't be real. And for her to flinch away from his touch... they're family.

Ketch raised an eyebrow. "Or did you?"

Dean stepped away from his sister and her soulmate, glaring at Ketch. "The hell did you do to them?"

"Not me. Asmodeus." Ketch quickly corrected. "The prince was holding them prisoner until I liberated these two." He ignored (Y/n)'s panicked expression at the mention of the prince. "And I understand you need an archangel for a spell, perhaps. Well... what luck."

Sam swallowed any other questions about his twin. "We need his grace."

As soon as the words left the moose's mouth, Gabriel started to scream through his sewed lips, shaking (Y/n) up more. Ketch grabbed the archangel's shoulders in an attempt to calm him. "No, no, no, no. Calm down." Once he stopped moving, Ketch let go. "Nervy." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a glowing blue vial and put it on the table. "Here. Take that. And... uh..." He then pulled out a gold blade, placing it next to the vial. "The archangel blade."

"Why would you... What's the catch? What do you want?" Sam asked, crossing his arms. As happy he was to see his sister, there was something fishy behind this whole ordeal.

Ketch straightened up. "Protection. From Asmodeus."

Dean narrowed his eyes, suspicion reaching his tone and expression. "The one you're working for?"

"Was working for," Ketch corrected again. "But when he finds out that I stole his prize milk cow and toy, well, I imagine he will hunt me to the ends of the earth. So...this is the only safe place I know." (Y/n) flinched once more.

Scoffing, Sam eyed the man across from them. "What? Do you think you're just gonna move in?"

Ketch's expression became hopeful. "Dibs on the top bunk?"

"No." "Deal."

Surprised at his brother's remark, Sam turned to Dean. "What?"

"I don't know what the hell's going on here. But if this helps us get mom back," Dean waited for a reaction from his sister, but there was none. Right... she doesn't know. "Helps us get Jack back... then sure." He turned to Ketch, nodding. "Whatever you want." Dean uncocked his gun, then left the room with the British man by his side.

Sam looked at his sister and Gabriel, whose eyes were glued to the floor. "I'll be right back, guys." He placed the gun down and left the room to grab a tool that could cut the wire from Gabriel's lips.

'Are you okay?' Gabriel's voice boomed through (Y/n)'s head. He hadn't spoken like this to her until Ketch brought them back together. Without contact for a certain amount of time, they couldn't talk to each other telepathically.

(Y/n) shook her head. There was also panic in her body language. She was still shaking from what took place before. 'No. No, I'm not. What if Asmodeus comes back? Y-You know what he'll do to me. What he'll do to you.'

Before Gabriel could reply, Sam came back in with a scalpel. He pulled a chair closer to his sister and Gabriel. "Okay... Gabriel, can you move away from her so I can...?" He pointed to the wire. The archangel eyed his soulmate, whose chapped lips parted, but nothing came out. 'It's okay, just for a second.' (Y/n) allowed Gabriel to move away from her to get closer to Sam, looking away while the Winchester sliced the wire. Once he finished, Gabriel inched back and put (Y/n) in his arms again. "Gabriel, (Y/n)... what happened to you two?"

Dean walked into the library with a ritual bowl and his duffel bag, stopping any further conversations. "All right, let's do this."

Sam's nose twitched and he frowned deeply. "Shouldn't we wait?"

The eldest raised an eyebrow, confused at the question. "Wait? Why? We got everything we need. Everything else is just burning daylight. Come on, let's open this door."

The younger male rolled his eyes. "Dean, we just got (Y/n) back. There are loads of things that need to be talked about."

Of course, Dean knew that. His mother and Jack are their top priorities... even with (Y/n) back, their mother and the Nephilim mattered. "Sorry, Sam. But mom and Jack need to come home." He eyed his sister. "We'll be back soon (Y/n)." She didn't react.

Sam didn't question that Ketch was going along with Dean. He had an idea that his brother didn't care whether the other man died or not, as long as they got their mother and Jack back. "If something happens, or the time runs out, then I need you to come save me, and mom, and whoever else, okay?"

He only nodded and put the ingredients together, then held the Seal of Solomon over the spell and began to chant: "Koth munto notox." He watched the rift open and Ketch and Dean begin to step through. "Remember, it's only 24 hours."

Checking his watch, Dean nodded. "Okay." Then he and Ketch were gone.

Sam eyed the rift once more, then turned to his sister and the archangel. (Y/n) was in Gabriel's lap now. Her face was buried in his chest while the archangel's head rested on top of hers. His mind wandered to what had happened that only Gabriel could touch (Y/n), and could only cling to him.

What happened after she supposedly died to end up a panicked and bloodied mess?