Note: Hellooooo to my favorite people ❤️ Thanks for being so incredible. I appreciate all of you reading, voting, commenting, and just existing.

I wanted to mention that I've been cross-posting this story on AO3 for a couple weeks now. My username over there is ughineedcoffee. I don't know if any of you use AO3 or anything. I'm revising some chapters before I post them over there, though, so if anyone is interested and knows how to use AO3, totally check it out. I am updating the chapters I revise here as well, but you won't have to hunt down which ones have been edited over there like you would here.

Anywho... back to the story. This chapter was requested by the ever-awesome SydneyHodder who wanted to see Anna, Lucifer, and Crowley working together. This is set in season 11 when Lucifer is possessing Cas and everyone's trying to take down the darkness. I based it somewhat around episode 11.22, so beware of spoilers, and know that any dialogue that looks familiar isn't my work but is from the show. I don't like completely recycling stuff from the show, so I tried to edit most of it at least a little bit and add some completely original scenes, and I kept the whole story at the bunker, but obviously there is still quite a bit of overlap with what happened/was said in the episode. There's not a ton of Crowley in it, but I hope this is still what you wanted!

Everyone got a cup of coffee (or tea, I don't judge) and a nice comfy sweater? Cool cool. Sounds like you're ready. Anna is seventeen.

and the stars said, "it'll all be over soon"

It started like most Saturdays, but it wasn't like most Saturdays.

Anna held her piping hot cup of coffee close to her face and blew gently on it as she walked down the hallway. She was wearing her oversized Fall Out Boy hoodie, black skinny jeans, and her purple OSIRIS sneakers, and she had her sleeves pulled up over her hands. It was almost like a signature for her when she wanted to feel safe, though most of the specific elements were subconscious. The hoodie was comfortable, the sleeves over her hands a way of hiding, the jeans were casual but not lounge-y, and the sneakers inside meant she didn't feel totally at-home. Not to mention, the whole look was a kind of a front. It seemed to say Warning: Teenager. Anna was aware of how it looked, especially to the two people here who knew her well enough to see it. She'd been aware as she pulled on her clothes this morning that it was a very specific look, even if she didn't fully realize what each item would say to those around her.

"You don't need to be here for this," Sam told her for the one millionth time as he walked down the hallway just behind her, both of them headed away from the kitchen and toward the hallway where their bedrooms were. "There's nothing wrong with spending a few days with Jody while we figure things out. And you know we're always gonna protect you, but with everyone here..."

"It doesn't feel safe?" Anna challenged, finally rounding on Sam. "I get it," she said more gently. "The Devil's throwing a tantrum in your bedroom. And it's freaky. And it's freakier for you after everything. I feel awful that you have to be anywhere near him after all the crap he's put you through. But I'm not leaving, Sam. You're the one who shouldn't be near this."

"And if getting you out of here is what would make this easier for me?"

"Sammy, the Devil may be throwing a tantrum in your room, but God is vibin' in the library. I know it probably doesn't help considering..."

"Don't," Sam requested, shaking his head. "This isn't about me. This is about the world. If there weren't higher stakes, we'd have never gone to Lucifer in the first place, and he certainly wouldn't be sitting in my- in my room right now."

Anna saw how the words seemed to shake him. She couldn't begin to understand everything that had to be going through his mind. He didn't look like he'd slept last night, and there was something in his eyes that said his mind was a bit scattered. More than that, though, he just looked like he felt sick. Anna wondered why Dean hadn't shoved Sam into his or Anna's room-- since Sam's was occupied-- and told him to stay there until the Devil was ready to talk business and nothing else. All the screwing around was making their brother look faint, and Anna couldn't imagine what was happening on the inside.

"That's not the point," Sam said. "The point is, I have to do this. I released the Darkness, and I've got to help fix that. You're just putting yourself in harm's way staying here-"

"How?" Anna demanded, her temper finally getting the better of her. A few drops of hot coffee sloshed over the side of her coffee cup, and she tensed and stilled, waiting for her coffee to settle before she glared at Sam again.

It was hard to stay angry when he looked like that, though. She just felt bad for him. He wasn't trying to be difficult or bossy or unreasonable. He was scared. She recognized it even though she'd rarely seen it on Sam's face. It was that look he'd gotten when Dean died and became a demon, and it was the same one he'd had every time Dean or Anna had been hurt or sick and nearly died.

"I'm sorry, Sam. But I'm not leaving. Maybe I didn't release the darkness, but who shoulders blame isn't really the point."

Sam looked disappointed, but Anna suspected that he'd seen her refusal coming. As unhappy as he seemed, he didn't look surprised. "Anna, think about it at least."

"I did, Sam!" Her hackles were rising again. This time, though, she didn't get any further. She felt a hand on her shoulder. With everyone in the bunker now, she would have flinched away if she didn't know immediately that it was Dean.

"Sammy, I don't like it either," he said from behind her, his other hand moving to rest on top of her head. "But maybe she's safer here. Who knows what's gonna go down once we do defeat Amara? If Chuck doesn't lock Lucifer back up..."

"He'll get away," Sam finished grimly. "Be free to kill and hurt people again."

Anna pursed her lips at the obvious guilt on his face. His eyes seemed to say, Because of me again.

"Point is, when she's here, she's with us. And we've got God in our pocket on this one."

Anna's grumbled, "That's what I said," went ignored.

"She'll be safe," Dean promised. "Anyway, we need to get movin' on this, and we can't do that if Lucifer stays locked up in that room like a baby. So..."

"So, we need to get him out," Sam finished dejectedly. "Anna, go sit with God."

Anna made a face at the weirdness of that sentence. Then her expression soured. He was getting rid of her in an effort to protect her. But she was seventeen. It was unnecessary. She opened her mouth, but Sam fixed her with a look, and Dean said, "You wanna argue about something, it can wait til later."

Again, Anna made a sour face. But she took the hint and walked back toward the library, hands still wrapped nice and warm around her coffee cup.

"Hi," Chuck said as she entered the room alone. He sounded surprised. Anna hadn't really even been given a chance to speak with him since he entered the bunker. The boys could be like that sometimes, and the guy was God.

"Hey," Anna replied, feeling mega awkward. She set her coffee cup down and sat in the chair directly across from... God. He was dressed in a bathrobe and eating dry cereal out of a box, all of which made it very hard to wrap her mind around the fact that Chuck was, in fact, God. "Uh, thanks for... making my family, I guess," she continued, then regretted it. She sounded like a dweeb. This was Chuck. She'd talked to him before.

Chuck nodded along. "Yeah, no problem. Some of my favorites," he said, sounding a little uppity.

Anna wrinkled her nose before remembering that this was God. "You know, I kinda hoped you'd be a woman," she admitted, looking down at her coffee in obvious disappointment.

"Well, I'm God, Anna," Chuck answered. "I'm not a man or a woman. I'm God."

"Your non-binary?"

"I'm God."

Anna shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You act like a man," she said. "You're all... condescending and narcissistic." She looked up at him with sudden fear in her eyes. "Wow, I should not have said that out loud-"

"No no," Chuck said, looking mildly offended even as he waved off her concern. "This is good. This is..." He cleared his throat. "But, you know, just for the record. I'm not narcissistic. I'm just... I mean, I'm the Creator. I think I should be able to gloat a little."

"Have you been gloating since you first did all this?" Anna asked. "Because that's a long time. I mean, that's literally forever. Have you been gloating forever?" Chuck sighed, looking more annoyed now. Anna thought it best to change the subject. "So, um, you're white. You're not a woman. What about sexuality? Do you, like, have one?"

Chuck smiled. "Humans make such a big deal about that. I don't want to classify my sex life. It's fluid. But I'm not about to get into it with the Winchester baby. You're young. Have you even figured out yourself yet?"

"Um... I'm getting there," Anna replied, then cleared her throat awkwardly, a blush creeping over her cheeks. "Operating under the assumption that I'm bi, but, um... I don't think that's really it. No chance you could just give me, like, a sneak peek, huh?"

"That's not how it works," Chuck answered with a devious smile. "You'll figure it out."

"Well, you're cooler than they make you out to be," Anna decided after a minute. She drank some more coffee, then saw the pleased but questioning look on God's face. "It's not even the sexuality thing. I mean, I guess I always figured you didn't care about that. Why would you make people gay if you had an issue with it? That's stupid. But you're just... you act like a person. And I kinda like that you're a little condescending. Like you said, you're God, you've got the right. And as annoying as it probably gets, everybody's gotta have a flaw in their character. As God... being a little uppity makes a lot of sense for you."

Chuck seemed even more pleased when she'd finished speaking. He dug his hand back into the box of cereal he was holding. "I should put that in my memoir," he said reflectively.

Anna frowned. "You have a memoir?"

"He's not movin'," Dean announced, entering the library with his hands out at his sides. "He's actin' like an obstinate little bit-" He wisely caught his own word choice as his eyes fell on his sister. "Uh... little shit," he revised.

"We're not getting anywhere with him, and we really don't have time for this," Sam added. The lines in his face were accentuated now, not just exhaustion but frustration and stress. Anna felt for him.

"Let's make some breakfast, figure out what to do," Dean suggested.

They all filed into the kitchen. Dean got to work on breakfast, Sam and Chuck sat at the table, and Anna hopped up to sit on the counter, ignoring the look she got from Dean for her trouble.

"Talk to him," Sam pleaded with Chuck a few minutes later.

Dean was standing at the stove, just behind Chuck who had insisted on cooking the pancakes. It was true that, as God, Chuck probably had some knowledge on how to cook the perfect pancake that Dean just didn't have. But Anna knew Dean, and he got controlling in the kitchen. He couldn't seem to put that away for Chuck, either, because he just kept standing over the guy's shoulder, keeping an eye on breakfast, because he usually had to supervise when someone else in the bunker was using the stove.

"Won't do any good," Chuck said in answer to Sam's suggestion.

"Why not?" Sam pushed.

"Because I can't give him what he wants."

Anna frowned at that, still sitting on the counter. She met eyes with Sam across the room. "What does he want?" she asked.

"What everyone wants," Chuck replied, sounding put-upon and tired. "My sister, my children, you humans. An apology. A big, wet 'I'm sorry.'"

Dean gave Chuck a bewildered look. "Well, so, give it to him," he advised, crossing his arms over his chest. It wasn't quite the same look he had when he used that pose on Anna and went full Dad-mode. It was more of an I know best pose but without the authority. "It's not like he's askin' for a weapon, or for heaven, or Hell. He's askin' for words."

"You're lucky that's all he wants," Anna added, picking up her coffee cup from the counter beside her.

Chuck looked over at her with an unreadable expression. Then He turned back to the stove and gently slid the spatula in his hand under the pancake He was cooking to check the underside of it. He flipped it expertly, and Anna breathed in the scent of breakfast as she waited for His answer. "I can't say I'm sorry if I'm not."

Anna snorted at his childishness without thinking. Then she quickly covered her mouth with her hand. "Sorry," she said, then looked snide as she remembered her casual conversation with Chuck earlier. "That's just super juvenile."

"Is it?" Chuck challenged. He looked genuinely angry, and Anna suddenly regretted the dig she'd made. Dean stepped around Chuck to stand between them. He was clearly trying not to look blatantly protective, simply placing himself between them in such a way that it looked more like he was trying to regain Chuck's attention so they could keep talking. But Chuck kept looking at Anna as He continued. "What he wants an apology for... I did it for humanity. For the world." His anger seemed to fade, but He still didn't look happy as He turned back to the pan on the stove. "Ugh," He grumbled, then snapped His fingers impatiently. Four plates of pancakes, perfectly browned, steaming, and already decked out with butter and maple syrup appeared on the counter.

"Sick," Anna breathed and reached for the closest one. She caught Dean's eye roll as she moved.

"Look, Lucifer wants what everyone wants," Chuck reminded them all, even glancing back at Sam at the table. He brought over his plate of pancakes and Sam's, and the four of them settled at the table to eat. "Amara gone. Okay? Let's just give him a little time to cool off."

"Okay," Dean argued, "I don't know if you've noticed, but 'a little time' isn't exactly something we have. The end is fuckin' nigh."

Anna glanced subtly up at Dean, head still turned down toward her food. He looked unapologetic and seriously annoyed. She understood. But there wasn't anything they could do. Chuck felt how He felt, and considering that He was God, they could hardly force Him to apologize to His son. What it meant? This was gonna be a long day, and possibly a long few days.

()()()

"You can't seriously be making Sam play therapist to his torturer of two hundred years," Anna accused her brother, hands on her hips and eyes blazing a dangerous, sharp shade of green. Her whole body felt warm with ire, and her face was almost definitely red with it.

"This was not my idea," Dean corrected her. "I didn't want him anywhere near Lucifer in the first place, but, unfortunately, this is kinda something we have to do in order to move forward and take down Amara. Lame as their shit may be, we've gotta deal with it. Now, you're either in, or you're out, but I'm not gonna listen to you shout at me."

Anna narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head. "Sam doesn't need to be there."

"It's not your job to protect me, Ladybug." Both Anna and Dean turned at the sound of Sam's voice to see him standing in the doorway, appearing somewhere between annoyed and touched. Then there was the exhaustion that was always there in his face these days. "I said I could do this, and I can."

"Maybe you can, but you don't have to."

"Anna-"

"No, Sam, she's right," Dean spoke over their brother. "You don't have to. I thought you knew that."

Sam went quiet, and Anna watched Dean's face fall into a pained, pinched expression. Clearly, he'd assumed Sam would say something if he wasn't up for this. Anna didn't see how he didn't know better. But she thought for a moment and realized just how much Dean had on his plate right now too. This thing with Amara... she didn't know how, but it somehow was hitting Dean harder than Sam, and it had been since they first found out who the Darkness was. Somehow, he was connected in a way that Sam and Anna weren't. But no amount of pressing for that information had won Anna an answer, so she hadn't really thought about it before now. This thing with Lucifer was hard for Sam, and the whole situation was hard on all of them, but Dean had his own preoccupations as well. She had to remember that. It wasn't his fault Sam was being put in this crappy place.

"You can't do this yourself, Dean," Sam insisted.

He looked so bone-tired it made Anna hurt for him. But she looked at Dean, and he looked the same. She was starting to feel tired just looking at them. God, she wanted this to be over. God, she'd just thought the word God in vain when God was under their roof. God, this was weird.

"I'll help," she said. "I mean I'm not good at therapy, but neither are you guys, so... No real loss, right?"

"Fine," Dean said, but Anna knew it was only because they were running low on options, and he refused to make Sam do this now that he had confirmation that it was the last thing their brother wanted. "You." He pointed at Sam. "Go get some sleep while we take care of this." Sam opened his mouth to protest, and Anna knew he was going to say that Lucifer had been in his room. So did Dean, because he said, "Take my room."

Sam seemed to give in, his already weary appearance increasing ten-fold as the fight went out of his body. "Let me know when we're ready," he requested. When Dean nodded noncommittally, he added a frustrated, "Dean."

"I will, Sam," Dean shot back, matching his volume but not his frustration.

They both watched Sam leave the room, his shoulders slumped as he rubbed at his eyes with the fingers of his left hand. His right hand twitched toward his left as he rounded the corner to go, and Anna's heart jumped to her throat. It probably didn't mean anything, just an old habit that he found comforting now that Lucifer was around again. But it made her want to throw up with all the old memories that were suddenly popping up. She really couldn't wait for this to be over.

"You," Dean said finally, turning to look at her and heaving a big sigh. "We gotta talk before we go in there. I mean, we're talking through family drama with two of the most powerful things in existence. Chuck seems to have a pretty good handle on himself, but Lucifer?"

"Chuck said he'd power him down," Anna replied, genuinely confused at the suggestion that they needed to worry about outbursts from Lucifer.

"I know," Dean answered calmly. "But let's not piss him off."

"Okay, good plan. That wasn't really my intent."

"I know, but you just-" He looked like there was something he was trying hard not to say. Anna wanted to hear him say it. "Just keep your head on straight," he instructed. "Remember who we're talking to."

There was a burst of indignation in her gut that Anna couldn't ignore. "You're the one who told God the end was fuckin' nigh this morning-"

"This is what I mean. Same team," Dean reminded her, gesturing between the two of them with one hand. "You gotta quit takin' this shit out on me. I know this sucks, okay? Everything about it sucks. We've got a douchebag archangel and the Creator of the frickin' universe in our home, and shit's gettin' real with Amara, and no one knows how this is gonna end. I get you're scared-"

"I'm not scared," Anna scoffed and crossed her arms. She was realizing, though, how right Dean was, some place in the back of her mind. Her hurt came out as smartassery a lot of the time. Her usual self would have felt timid enough speaking to shut that she would have kept her mouth shut. But something about pain and fear made her feel bold, made her feel like taking an extra risk was no biggie, even when she was dealing with God and the Devil.

"Sure," Dean said impatiently. "Be pissed if that's easier. But quit takin' it out on me and Sam. And don't poke the bear. Well, bears," he corrected after a second.

Anna nodded along. "I got it," she said and went to move past him. Dean caught her by the elbow and pulled her around to face him.

"I'll pull you outta there if I have to," was his warning.

"I'm not a powder keg, Dean," Anna snapped irritably. "I'm fine. I don't know why you're suddenly convinced I'm not." She stormed past him and into the war room where Lucifer and God were sitting across from each other, avoiding eye contact with one another.

"Maybe we're not the only ones with family problems, hmm?" Lucifer taunted, puckering out his lower lip in a way that put him somewhere between pouty and purely mocking.

"No, but you're the only one who can't shove your daddy issues to the back of your mind while we take care of more important things," Anna shot back. Lucifer closed his mouth, but he kept sharp eyes on her as Dean walked in looking tired. "Someone's gotta start talkin'," Anna pointed out as Dean sat down beside her and rested his elbows on his knees.

"Lucifer, you agreed to sit down if Chuck would show, so..."

"Him first," Lucifer insisted, arms crossed over his chest like a petulant child. "I'm the one who's owed an explanation."

Chuck sighed and stayed quiet, and Anna looked impatiently at him. Lucifer wasn't the only one acting like a child.

"Okay," Dean said, straightening and seeming to gain some energy. "Let's try 'I feel' statements." He looked to Anna as if seeking confirmation that this would help.

"Right. Yep."

Chuck looked from the two of them to Lucifer. Looking anything but apologetic, he began, "I am sorry... that you feel I betrayed you." Instantly, Anna dropped her face to the palm of her hand in disappointment. This was gonna be a long afternoon. "That I acted without cause." When Anna looked up, preparing to say something, Lucifer was shaking his head too. But Chuck tried again. "I'm sorry that you can't see you gave me no choice." Seemingly satisfied, Chuck looked to Dean and Anna. "I'm good."

Lucifer looked at them too, and Anna suddenly wondered if this was how Dean felt when she and Sam were arguing and both looked at him for defense of their side. "You heard that, right?"

Anna sighed and looked at Chuck, trying to mask her disdain. "You might have to try again," she said. "And be less of a dick about. You can't apologize for his feelings. It's... Remember the character flaws we talked about?" she asked. Chuck nodded, but he looked like he didn't care. "Try and be less... lordly, okay?"

"But I- I am the Lord."

"Wow," Lucifer said. "There he goes."

Chuck looked indignant, self-righteous. He looked like a father. "I did what I had to do! To create the world, I had to lock Amara away. And when the Mark corrupted you, and I saw you posed a threat to humankind, I did the same with you."

"No," Lucifer corrected. "You betrayed me. You gave me the Mark to lock her away, and when it changed me- When it did what the Mark inevitably does, you threw me away."

"No, son. The Mark-" Chuck stopped speaking and took a calming breath, but it didn't seem to calm him. "You always cast a jaundiced glance at humans. The Mark didn't change you. It just made you more of what you already were."

"What I was, was your son. Your child."

"Why should I put you first above all others?"

Anna cringed internally at those words. She didn't want to side with Lucifer in anything, but she couldn't imagine what it would feel like to be put second when it mattered most. Her family might spend a lot of time sacrificing for the greater good, and that might often mean Anna was left home by herself, forced to be independent, but when push came to shove, she always came first. When she needed them, the boys ran home. When it was her life or a stranger's, Dean gutted a newly turned werewolf or Sam stabbed the demon without a thought to its vessel. Chuck had had choices. And he'd chosen to throw Lucifer away. While there was nothing in the world that could excuse an ounce of the evil Lucifer had done to the world or even just to Sam, Anna did feel the smallest sliver of sympathy for him in that moment.

Then he opened his mouth, and she schooled her face again, remembering that he was the Devil, remembering everything he'd done to Sam. "You have any idea what it's like to argue with your father when your father is God?" He looked at Chuck. "Everything is a tautology with you. Everything is, Because I told you so. Everything is, It had to be done."

"I think that's all fathers," Dean mumbled.

Anna glanced sideways at him and resisted from pointing that he did the same thing to her all the freaking time.

"Okay, fine," Lucifer said. "Big picture, as God. You did what you had to do. But little picture? You sucked at being a dad."

"Okay, maybe I didn't handle everything perfectly. But tell me- Could I have kept humankind safe with you on the board? I know about your little bid to replace me with the angels. Okay, 'New God,' what would you have done about you?"

"That is not the point."

Tired of their non-breakthrough breakthrough, Anna sighed loud enough to get three heads turned in her direction. "Come on, Chuck. All he wants is an apology, and you're too concerned about being right to give him one. I mean, that's the whole point of apologizing. Getting over who's right. So just frickin' apologize, and let's move on."

Dean patted her knee, and Anna was surprised that he didn't seem annoyed with her. She would have guessed that her impatience was exactly what he'd warned her not to let take over before they'd started any of this. "Yeah," he said. "But, you know what? Another great thing about apologies is you don't even have to mean 'em. You know, I lie and say I'm sorry all the time."

Anna made a sour face at him, and Dean looked contrite for all of a second while he said, "Sorry." Then he looked back at Chuck with a bright smile. "See? That's it."

Anna could read the annoyance clear as day on Chuck's face before he said, "Enough from the peanut gallery."

As the world tilted strangely and she and Dean suddenly appeared in the hallway by the bedrooms, all Anna could think was that she hadn't been the one to get them kicked out, and that felt like something she should totally be rubbing in.

()()()

"I don't hold grudges," Crowley told Lucifer bitingly. Anna smirked listening to him make what, to her, sounded more like a ditch attempt at maintaining his pride than a genuine lack of concern over having been collared and caged by the Devil just a little while ago. "Besides, that dog collar was a nice touch. Really made my eyes pop. Almost wore it here today."

"Oh, I wish you would've," Anna mumbled. It would've been fun to watch Crowley be degraded to such a level.

Lucifer looked over at her with a devilish smile. Being the Devil and all, it suited him. "I'm glad you're such a good sport," he patronized Crowley.

Rowena strolled in with class, but Anna immediately caught the fearful tinge to her face. Who could blame her. They were working with the Devil, after all.

"Hey, Red," Lucifer drawled, speak of the Devil. "Looking gorgeous as ever." He put on a look of feigned contrition. "I think a little apology is in order."

Rowena tilted her chin up so she was looking down her nose at him. "You think you're the first man to try and kill me?" Crowley rolled his eyes and stuck his hands in his pants pockets, catching Rowena's attention. "Hello, Fergus."

Anna chortled, earning herself a scathing look from Crowley. "Sorry, Fergus," she snickered.

"Alright, stop," Sam said. Fighting back a bemused smile, he pulled her gently away from Crowley with a hand on her arm.

Crowley looked dangerously from Anna to Rowena. "Mother," he said through grit teeth.

Anna flinched when a flash of light accompanied Chuck's sudden appearance in front of all of them. "Hello, my children," he said pompously, making Anna roll her eyes.

"Him?" Crowley asked indignantly.

"Rowena. Crowley," Chuck addressed with two nods of acknowledgement. "It's good to finally meet you in person. Anna wondered since when he bothered with pleasantries.

"Sorry about... well... everything I've ever done in my life," Rowena stammered. "Really, you- you can't have been a fan."

Anna bobbed her eyebrows in acknowledgement of that truth. But then again, everybody in the room had done a handful of things-- some many more-- that the traditional God wouldn't have been fond of. Chuck was different. Chuck didn't seem that judgemental, so it hadn't really crossed her mind before now.

"Oh yeah," Chuck said. "I've been quietly rooting against you both for some time now. Though I can't deny you're one of my guilty pleasures."

"Oh, God," Rowena giggled at the same time Crowley said the words under his breath.

"Alright, no flirting," Dean said, fixing Rowena with a look. "And no fighting," he told Crowley.

"Yeah, and no deals," Sam added seriously. His hand hadn't moved from Anna's arm, and it occurred to her that he likely felt somewhat uneasy having her there when there were so many powerful beings in one room together. He and Dean were taking charge, but if one of their "allies" were to decide they didn't like that, things could go sideways in a second, and they were the only humans in the room. "No talk about who is owed what if we survive this."

"Nobody likes each other anyway," Dean said.

"We only have the fight ahead." And that was the only reason everyone was gathered together anyway. Anna hoped like hell that there would never be cause for a meeting like this again.

"Amara's looking for me," Chuck said. "But I'm warded against her, for now. The second I drop the warding, she'll show. She'll be expecting a fight, and we'll give it to her. Shock and awe. Shock, and awe. You have your troops in position?" Rowena raised her hand awkwardly, but it succeeded in getting her Chuck's attention. "Yes, Rowena?"

"Fabulous plan, God, but doesn't this strategy strike anyone as a wee bit un-strategic? Shouldn't we at least try to catch her off guard?"

"Is that sequence set in stone?" Crowley asked before Chuck could say anything. "Demon, angel, witch-power? Seems to me that the first response should come from the most disposable force."

"Right!" Lucifer quipped. "Good argument, doggie. Demons first it is."

"The weakest should go first," Crowley repeated. "Naturally, that means the witches."

"Enough," Sam interrupted.

"After that, it's Lucifer's turn," Chuck explained. "Physical attack. One on one."

"What about Cas?" Dean demanded.

"Oh, don't worry," Lucifer cooed. "Your pet's safety is my highest concern." He got three matching glares from the Winchesters and rolled his eyes. "Trust me, he's on board."

Anna saw no reason to trust Lucifer, but there was little choice in the matter.

"Once she's been weakened, I will take the Mark back from Amara and use it to seal her away." He looked at Sam. "You ready?"

"Yeah," Sam replied.

Anna and Dean both turned their heads to him so fast they nearly got whiplash. "What?" they demanded as one.

"God and I talked about this," Sam explained calmly. "Someone needs to bear the Mark."

Anna's head was spinning so fast she couldn't think of a concrete thing to say. But she knew they needed to talk Sam out of this.

"Well, that should be me," Dean argued, and Anna wanted to scream. That wasn't better. "I-I've had it before," he said. "I'm damaged goods."

"You're both luney," Anna snapped.

"That's exactly why it can't be you, Dean," Chuck spoke over her. "You've already been tainted. I can't transfer it to you. Sam volunteered."

"Sam," Anna grit out in disbelief. He was avoiding her eyes on purpose, trying to look like it was no big deal. Dean grabbed both of them by the arm and yanked them to the side where they could speak more privately as a family.

"First Cas is making kamikaze side plans and now you?" he demanded.

"You couldn't say something?" Anna added forcefully. There was no time for them to work out a better option now, not with everybody waiting on them to get this party started. But they couldn't just let Sam take the Mark either. Now they had to think fast.

"We talked," Sam defended, but he didn't have a leg to stand on as both his siblings glared at him.

"What happens when the Mark turns you psycho?" Dean insisted. "Then what?"

"You lock me up where I can't hurt anyone, and you throw away the key," Sam said like it was obvious.

"No way, Sam," Anna growled at the same time Dean snapped, "Sam, no."

"I'll take it," she announced as soon as there was a second for her to butt in.

Dean looked ready to punch something as he ran his hand over his face in frustration. "You've got to be kidding me-"

"I'm less of a threat if I lose it to the stupid thing," Anna pointed out. "I can't fight like you can."

"You're not doin' this," Dean said like that was the end of it.

"You'd rather let Sam take it?" Anna demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not watching it happen again."

"Stop it," Sam snapped. "We have time once this is over to talk. Maybe Chuck will know another way to handle the Mark. We can figure it out. But we talked about this. Dean, you told me that you couldn't beat Amara, that it would have to be me." Anna suddenly felt like chopped liver. "Well, this is me-"

"This is crazy," Anna groaned, dropping her face into her palm and rubbing her eyes. She couldn't do this. She just couldn't. Not after last year. Not after this year. She couldn't do any of it over again. She just couldn't.

"We talked about this," Sam said. He put his hand on Anna's shoulder, but when she looked up, it was Dean's eyes Sam was meeting. "It's time to do the smart thing."

"And we just sit and watch?"

"You're both here," Sam said. "We're all in this fight. Hell, Dean, you're leading the army."

But it was an impasse. There was no way around it. Anna would forever be haunted by moments like this, moments when it finally became clear that there was only one option, and that option was a horror-show. She forced herself to follow the boys back around the corner, but she felt like she was stepping into a shallow grave.

()()()

The world outside looked just like it always did. The road was vacant, and the sky was enormous, filled with dazzling little buds of light that winked down at Anna in secret, quiet glory. She could have used a shooting star right about then, an opportunity to make a big, bold wish and leave the rest to the stars. How she would have loved to sit back and dream and leave everything else to the stars.

Anna sat down heavily in the damp grass and let it soak into her jeans without care.

"I don't get it," she said aloud, knowing good and well that she would sound crazy to anyone who could see her. It would look like she was talking to herself. But she wasn't talking to anyone. Or anything. She was talking to everything. Or maybe nothing. Who could say? "Why does this have to keep happening?"

She shook her head, thinking of Sam agreeing to take the Mark of Cain and the rage in Dean's eyes last year just before the Darkness was released. She couldn't do another year of scrabbling for answers only to find one that left them with a colossal evil on their hands. The thought of repeating any of the pain of last year made her stomach swirl and her eyes prickle hotly with tears.

"I can't do it again," she whispered, pulling her knees into her chest. She looked pointedly at the ground just ahead of her toes. She didn't want to see the stars for the moment. "I mean, what if Sam falls apart like Dean did? What if it happens faster? Or- God- slower..." The thought made her choke.

It was a cold night, and Anna could feel it from the goosebumps grazing her skin into her bones and straight through to her core. She shook minutely with it.

"I'm so tired," she admitted softly. The stars could bear to hear it, she was sure, in a way that her brothers wouldn't have been able to, hard as Dean had tried earlier to get her to say the words. "I feel like I've been dragging this weight behind me. And it's not just this year or last year. It feels like this has been happening my whole life. I'm always holdin' on like I'm about to lose one of them."

She shuddered and blamed it on the cold wrapped around her even though it was more likely coming from the cold balled up inside her. "I am always about lose one of them," she whispered frightfully. There wasn't a more terrifying thought for her to hold onto, but Anna didn't bother trying to forget about it. She just looked up, craning her neck so she could fully face the brilliance of the night sky.

She thought it funny that in all the dark, in the total blackness of the night sky, the stars were still what stood out. With trust in their power, Anna closed her eyes to them and let them take over. Maybe she couldn't leave the work to them, but she could let them keep watch for a while. She could rest under them.

Anna laid down on her back in the grass, feeling the cool dampness of it stroke her back. Her pale curls lay splayed around her head like flower petals. She spread her arms out on either side like a child preparing to make a snow angel, and she stared up longingly at the sky. For once, she felt no need to unlock its secrets. She liked that it knew something she didn't. She felt secure in it, because whatever the stars knew that she didn't, it was one less thing Anna had to handle.

She missed the days when she didn't have to handle anything, when she could hide behind Dean's legs with her little stuffed frog dangling from one hand, wearing her hair in messy pigtails and giggling at the stupidest things. Dean used to know so much that she didn't know. These days, Anna couldn't seem to let him know a damn thing without demanding answers for herself, not that he ever really told her everything. He would protect with everything he had until he couldn't anymore. Thing about it was, Anna didn't want to be protected anymore, but she was learning how hard it was to go through the world knowing even a handful of its ugly truths, and she was stumbling under the weight.

She'd been believing for years that she was ready to shoulder everything that came with being a hunter. But she'd believed that because she'd had no clue just how much she was being sheltered from.

The stars whispered amongst themselves, and Anna watched them with bleary, tired eyes. She knew she should go inside, get some sleep. She'd told Dean she was coming outside, but he would probably still get restless if she didn't go back in soon. Everybody's guard was up at the moment, and for the boys, that manifested in protectiveness. But she didn't want to go inside.

Anna bent her knees but stayed flat on her back, intertwining her fingers and folding her hands behind her head. Today had been bad. Tomorrow would inevitably be worse. But, it's okay, the stars promised her, winking like Dean used to do all the time when he was younger, happier. It'll all be over soon, they soothed, smiling in the dark of the sky like Sam used to do when he still believed in happy endings.

Anna sighed and sat up. Seventeen, and she was already sacrificing comfort and happiness for the greater good. It made her feel like a true Winchester. It made her feel like one day, she would look back on tonight as the time when looking up at the stars could still make her feel better, the time when she still believed in the light at the end of the tunnel, or in this case, the pretty little lights in the expanse of dark sky.

La Fin