"The 'H' on the Gear Shift is for Human"

Summary: A witch's spell takes an unusual turn, as Sam and Dean discover that the Impala now has two legs and a take-no-prisoners attitude that can make demons and even angels cower before her! But what they discover that's most shocking of all is how perfectly she fits the bill when it comes to being the mother they never really had.

A/N: So, I had hoped to get this out for Mother's Day, but my beta never got back to me in time, and I got tired of waiting to post this epic story! Now, there could be future fics in this 'verse (don't have any concrete ideas just some vague notions) so if you love this story and want more, please let me know!
I hope the Impala as a human is a good character. I took a long time and edited this to the best of my ability because I wanted her to be perfect (it's THE IMPALA after all).
So please, sit back and enjoy the show, and don't forget to leave comments so I know I'm loved. :)

Dean shut his eyes as hard as possible, waiting for the blow, that telltale tingle of static electricity dancing over his body of a spell hitting home. It took almost a minute before he realized it was never going to come. He blinked a few times, green eyes taking in the room and landing on his taller brother, Sam. The living room that they were standing in still looked the same from when they had entered just a few moments before. Matching furniture, white walls, photos of the family all over the place.

Except for the body of the woman on the floor before them, nothing was out of place. The bullet wound in her head left a puddle of blood under her like a macabre halo. She still wore a fairly surprised look on her face.

"Dean, what happened?" Sam asked, clearly confused. He quickly checked himself over while he tucked the pistol back into the waistband of his jeans. Dean kept as still as stone until his brother stood before him and gave him a thorough once over.

"Am I okay?" Dean asked, trying not to sound nervous, and failing miserably. Of all the evil beings and monsters they killed over the years, witches were some of the worst out there. Always spewing bodily fluids and killing small fluffy animals in order to work their black magics…he shuddered at the thought.

"Uh, I think you're fine," Sam said with relief, though he still looked just as nervous and confused as Dean. "Do you…feel…any different?"

Dean shook his head and looked down to check his arms and chest. "Uh, no. I, uh, I feel normal. You?"

Sam shrugged and nodded at the same time. They turned to look at the body in the meticulous living room of a middle-aged housewife, with said housewife still very dead at their feet. "Maybe she missed?" Sam suggested.

"Missed her spell? At point-blank range? Yeah, like we're ever that lucky," Dean scoffed, starting to relax when he realized he wasn't about to turn into a frog or had grown any extra appendages anywhere. "Look, she's dead, let's just roll outta here before the cops show up." Sam nodded and they fled outside, trying to move quickly yet not look suspicious as they exited the murder scene.

They hustled across the green lawn, and Sam glanced back to make sure there nothing obviously out of place with the house. No blood splatter on the windows or anything that would give them away. Luckily, the witch was working alone, and no one else had been home when Sam and Dean stopped her ritual. Not paying attention, he crashed into Dean, who had stopped at the edge of the lawn. The collision almost made them tumble to the ground in an undignified heap.

"Dean, what the hell?" Sam hissed, and Dean put a hand on his chest, holding him there, and pointed. Sam looked at the road, and noticed the Impala was nowhere to be seen. Someone was sitting on the curb where the car had been sitting, though. The boys looked at each other, then at the house, then at the figure.

"Who's the lady?" Sam whispered.

"Hell if I know," Dean whispered back. He looked at Sam, and motioned towards her back. "Another witch?"

"Uh, I don't know. Should we…kill her?" Sam asked in quiet confusion.

"I can hear you idiots," the figure, a woman, said loudly. She got to her feet and turned to face them, and both Dean and Sam tilted their heads at her in tandem, eyes narrowed as déjà vu washed over them.

First of all, she was tall. Only barely shorter than Dean, actually; she wasn't really curvy in the usually feminine way. Broad shoulder, long legs and arms, flat chest, and covered in lean muscles.

She was dressed in black jeans, a black tank top, biker boots, and a tanned, almost olive-colored leather jacket similar in style to Dean's first one. Her skin tone was dark, but she didn't seem to match any ethnicity Sam could think of. White scars criss-crossed her face, her hands, and the bit of chest her tank top revealed. Thick lines, thin scratches, jagged, gaping expanses of white, they were all over her skin. Her hair, black with a touch of gray to it, was short and in a pixie-cut. Her face had high cheek bones, and a thin mouth, but she had—

Holy hell, her eyes were silver and intensely staring at them.

She moved smoothly when she crossed her arms over her chest and looked them up and down. "Boys," she purred. "Sam and Dean."

"Uh, hi." Sam stated, though it sounded more like a question.

"Hey there," Dean said, his charming ladies-man smile already in place.

Sam couldn't shake the feeling that she looked…familiar? No that can't be it, I've never seen her before in my life.

"Do we know you?" he asked, and the lady scoffed.

"Yeah, you could say that. Known you two since you were itty-bitty."

Dean knew he recognized her, but he couldn't place it. He felt like he'd known her all his life, and yet…it's just on the tip of his tongue…he can't quiet grasp it.

Dean cleared his throat, and the silver eyes landed on his face. "Well, um, unfortunately, I don't remember your name."

The lady smiled. "You can call me…Baby."

Dean's eyes grew wide, and he and Sam stared at each other. "No way!" they said in tandem, then looked at her again. Now, they recognized it—her, as weird as it sounded. The silver eyes, from the headlights, the tall muscular build, the black clothing. Even the leather jacket she wore—it was the same color as the leather seats from the inside of the car.

"Holy hell, what the fuck sort of curse is this?" Dean asked, not even trying to hide the wide-eyed look of surprise.

The car—woman—laughed, and it sounded so much like the Impala revving it's engine it was terrifying. "Hell if I know. I'm just the ride, remember? By the way, come here," she said, curling her finger at them.

The guys looked at each other, and took a few hesitant steps forward to stand in front of Baby.

She closed her eyes and Dean did the same without thinking, automatically leaning forward for a kiss, of all things. Before he could question why the first thing he tried to when finding his car was humanized was try and kiss her, a hard smack to his cheek snapped him back to reality.

Sam only managed to get out a couple barks of laughter at Dean's wounded pride when he had a matching handprint on the opposite cheek.

"Baby, what the hell?!" Dean swore, rubbing his cheek, and managed to dodge another blow. He felt utterly betrayed, and his wide, hurt eyes revealed just how badly.

"You two are IDIOTS!" she snapped at them. "24 hours ain't enough time to beat some sense into you two! If I have to deal with one more road trip with nothing but angry silence, eye rolls, and excessive drama I will turn you into a pile of smashed bits under my tires!" she snarled, then looked down and blinked. "Feet," she corrected, the idea still just as weird to her as the idea that they were just beaten up by said car was to them.

"Wait, you were conscious for that?" Sam asked, still rubbing his cheek tenderly.

Baby huffed in annoyance. "I don't really…ugh, it's hard to explain. Just, trust me, it's annoying. You two are either yelling at each other or dying for each other. Why can't you pick a happy speed limit and just put the cruise control on for the ride?"

"We're sorry," Sam said as sincerely as possible. Baby narrowed her silver eyes at him, but sighed heavily.

"You said 24 hours," Dean stated. "That's how long you're gonna be running around on two legs?"

Baby nodded. "Think so."

"So, we don't have a ride for a whole day," Dean huffed grumpily.

Baby scoffed at him. "Well, excuse me for getting hit with a witch's spell and becoming human. Next time I'll, what, explode? Would that be preferable?" she shot back hotly.

"You two need to stow it," Sam said, interrupting them. "Look, let's just head back to the motel, we'll lie low 'til tomorrow, okay? Come on, the cops might show up at any second."

Sam and Dean turned and started to walk down the street, but realized Baby wasn't following them. "Come on, get the lead out," Dean said. Baby rolled her eyes, but her eyes softened.

She looked down at her feet, then glanced at them uncertainly. "I, uh, don't really know how to walk."

Dean and Sam shared a look of what the hell are we gonna do now? But they walked back to Baby, standing awkwardly on either side of her, not really sure what to do.

"Um, what if I carry you?" Dean offered.

Baby huffed. "I'm about 1.5 tons, Dean. Besides, I'd rather move under my own power."

Dean thought about it for a moment. "Okay, try this. Imagine you're shifting into drive, except you are just going to start moving your back tires forward." Sam arched an eyebrow at him, but he ignored the look.

Baby looked uncertain, but she closed her eyes to concentrate, and after a moment of wobbling she actually managed a step. She latched on Dean and Sam's arms, using them to keep her balanced as she started taking slow steps forward. She took a steadying breath. "Didn't think you'd ever be the one showing me how to drive," she joked to them.

"Yeah, funny how life works sometimes," Dean said in a fond tone.

Both boys had learned to drive with her. "Just don't let me back into any fences, Sam," she joked.

"It was one time!" the taller Winchester said, a slight blush creeping over his cheeks.

Now that Baby was getting the hang of it, she was starting to move faster, almost able to keep up with them walking at a normal stride. She finally let go out Sam's arm, but kept ahold of Dean's. The older hunter did not seem to mind that at all. They made their way in silence for a while, making steady pace to the motel about a mile away.

Suburbia changed into downtown, as houses with yards changed into apartments and condominiums. Traffic became more congested, and the clean smell of trees and grass was replaced with trash and exhaust. The familiar atmosphere of friendly neighbors changed to now or slight paranoia and anonymity.

Small towns were good for cases because everyone knew everyone and were more willing to spread gossip, especially if weird things were afoot in their town. Cities were good for staying under the radar, and considering how high up the Winchesters were on the "Wanted: Dead or Alive" posters for the supernatural realm, staying invisible kept them alive.

Some passerby gave Baby weird looks, whether for her keeping a hold on Dean or for her myriad of scars, Dean didn't know or care. He started walking a little faster; he wanted to get back to the safety of the motel room, and he was tempted to tell some of the strangers to keep their eyes to themselves. His Baby was beautiful, dammit.

"What's with all the scars?" Dean asked about halfway there. Baby was still a little unsteady, but she was essentially moving on her own power now. Her hand was still gripping his arm, though.

She glanced at him. "You should know, Dean. You're the own who put me together again. Who would have thought getting T-boned by an 18-wheeler would hurt that much."

Dean looked horrified. "Were you in pain?"

She shook her head. "No, no pain. Promise. Cars don't have nerves. I just felt…incomplete…when I was nothing but a restoration project. Mostly, I just missed you boys. I missed the road under my tires. You might be stubborn and ridiculous and loyal to a fault, but you put me back together, Dean. When Bobby said I was a lost cause, you never gave up."

She looked at Sam, who was walking silently next to them, hands shoved in his pockets. "You too, Sam. Thank you. Without you, Bobby would've have sold me for scrap. But you never gave up. You boys saved me. I will always be thankful for that."

"Yeah, well. You're family," Dean stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Baby's face broke into a smile that was beyond dazzling. It was sunlight reflecting off of a chrome bumper. Dean couldn't help the goofy grin that plastered itself to his face for the rest of the walk back.

They finally made it to their room, and once inside Baby looked around the room curiously. "Always wondered what these places looked like. Looks depressing. At least my seats recline."

"Yeah, but your seats can be hell on the lower lumbar," Dean pointed out as he helped her to one of the beds to sit down on. It took her a moment to bend her knees and actually sit, but she managed it. As she did so she jumped in pain, and reaching into the back pocket of her jeans, and pulled out a green plastic army man.

"Hey, that's the army guy. From the ashtray," Sam said, a grin on his face when he remembered playing with them as a kid.

Baby turned it over in her hands, eyeing it carefully, and smiled before putting it in her jacket pocket. "I'll keep it safe," she promised somberly.

"Okay," Dean said, and started pacing around the room. "Okay," he said again, then looked at Baby and Sam. "What the hell do we do now?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't really know." He looked at Baby, a curious look on his face. "Hey, you said the spell is for 24 hours, right? How did you know that?"

Baby pulled up the sleeve of her leather jacket to reveal a watch on her arm (which looked like one of the gauges on the dashboard). It was very large, and it was a digital watch with the numbers 23.24.45…23.24.44…23.24.43….

"Wow, that's very disturbing for some reason," Dean said, looking a little troubled.

She pulled her sleeve back down and shrugged. "It is what it is."

Sam also looked a little bothered, but unsure how to react, he cleared his throat. "Um, maybe we could lay low? Call Bobby?"

Dean nodded in a sarcastic manner. "That's assuming he'll believe us. If I didn't see it, I wouldn't believe it!"

Suddenly there was a loud roaring sound, and both turned to see Baby looking down at her stomach, which rumbled loudly again. She looked up at them. "Guys, wanna stow the itinerary for a moment? I'm think I'm on E."

"Oh, yeah. You're gonna need food, huh?" Dean asked. The idea of his car being hungry was playing havoc with his ability to distinguish reality from fantasy. "Um, well, what do you want?" Dean asked.

Baby gave him a confused look, like he just had a stupid moment. "Gasoline? A few gallons ought to last me 'til tomorrow."

Sam and Dean shared another incredulous look. "Um," Sam started. "I'm pretty sure that, since you're human at the moment, that will kill you."

"Oh," she said, and looked down at herself. "Right. I keep forgetting that."

"Is there anything you'd like to try? Since you're a human now, for the next day?" Dean asked, plainly curious.

She smiled knowingly. "A beer. And a burger. You speak so highly of them, it would be stupid to not try them while I'm a human."

"Anything else?" Dean asked.

"I think baby—er, I mean, little—steps are the best move right now," Sam said. He grinned at them, and made his way towards the door. "Let me grab the food. I'll be right back." He said, but when he pulled open the door, Castiel was standing on the other side.

"Hello Sam," the angel said.

"Oh, Cas, hey," Sam said, moving aside to let the angel in. "Why didn't you just poof inside?"

"I sensed there was another person here, and I did not want to startle them," he said, looking around.

"Good to see ya, Cas," Dean greeted. He motioned towards Baby, and silver eyes locked onto blue ones as they stared each other into submission.

Castiel narrowed his eyes, and tiled his head, curious. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Baby," she said. She crossed her arms. "You're the one that keeps scaring the hell outta Dean when he's driving? Suddenly popping in outta nowhere and scaring him senseless? Well, knock that off! You know how many times he's almost gone off road by you doing that? Idiot! It's hell on my tires and struts," she finished.

Castiel's eyebrows arched so high Sam was surprised they didn't just go flying off into the sky. "You're not human," he said, trying to figure out what she was, but not catching on.

"Yes, Cas," Dean said, rolling his eyes. "We were ganking a witch and she hit us with a spell. Not sure what it was supposed to do, but it, well…." He motioned towards Baby.

Sam picked up the narrative. "It made the Impala human."

"The…car? Is now in a human form?" Cas said slowly, then looked at her again, tilting his head to the side. "Yes, I see it now," he said simply.

"Stop staring, it's making me uncomfortable. Speaking of which, you two need to knock off that whole 'staring into each other's faces slowly and intensely' while riding in me. It's annoying. You're not allowed to ride with Dean until you work out your issues."

Sam covered his mouth with his hand, trying not the laugh at the blush creeping up Dean's face. Castiel's impassive face was just as hilarious though.

Baby pointed at Sam, and he immediately straightened up, humor gone. "And you! The iPod jack? If you're going to add something that garish, at least play good music as an apology!"

Now Dean was the one laughing, except this time it was out loud.

Sam pulled a bitch-face at the two of them. "Are you just going to complain the entire time?" he asked her.

Baby shrugged. "I've got years of complaints and 23 hours to air them. Seems like a good catharsis for me. If you can't deal, you can walk."

"Alright, alright," Dean said, trying to cool down the tempers in the room. "How about we go to the diner down the road? Get some food, and you'll be used to those legs in no time."

Baby enthusiastically nodded, her stomach aching with the strange sensation of hunger.

Dean didn't need to offer help for her to walk now, she was good on her own. Castiel ended up matching her steps as they walked, asking her about her impressions going from a car to a person.

"It's definitely strange. But…enjoyable, too. I mean, I miss my wheels, but being able to travel wherever I want and not being dictated by asphalt or gravel is a nice change."

"Enjoy being able to walk your own path without the bloodshed we normally find ourselves surrounded by," Castiel said, though it seemed he was speaking to himself more than her.

"You've been doing fine so far," she said, sounding almost friendly. Despite her gruff exterior, she really did seem to have an engine of gold.

They found a booth in the diner, and the Baby allowed Dean to order for her ("cheeseburger and fries, she's on Empty"), Sam ordered a salad, and Cas did not order.

Sam and Cas were on one side while Dean and Baby sat on the other side. Dean's leg touched Baby's leg, and they both seemed to relax at the touch. Dean didn't try to think that his car was a pretty awesome human, even if she complained almost as much as he did. He tried not to think that she was actually pretty cute for a human, either. Sure, he loved Baby, but, actually sleeping with his car seemed…desperate? And weird, definitely weird.

"So, Cas, I'm assuming there's a reason you dropped by?" Dean asked.

"Yes," Castiel said stoically. "There is word that a nest of vampires is attacking people the next state over. I know that, despite your current situation, you continue to hunt when possible, and so I came straight to you two."

"Well, there isn't much we can do about it," Dean said, swallowing hard because he hated the idea of leaving any civilians in harm's way.

Cas narrowed his eyes at Dean. "Why not?"

Sam motioned towards Baby. "Our car is now a human, Cas. How would we get there?"

"I could transport you," Castiel said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, well, you're forgetting something else," Baby said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of something and laid a multitude of items the table in front of her. There were several tiny guns, wooden stakes like toothpicks, and talismans almost too small to see.

Dean picked up a sawed off shotgun about an inch long and made of cheap plastic. "My shotgun…." He moaned.

Baby swept up all the trinkets and replaced them carefully in her jacket. "They'll back to normal tomorrow. At least, I'm assuming that whatever I had on or in me will return to normal when I do."

The food finally arrived, and Baby's eyes lit up at the side of her plate, covered with golden French fries and a burger with everything on it. She looked at it for a few moments, obviously not really sure what to do with the food. It smelled so delicious her mouth was watering like a broken water hose. Baby turned and watched Dean hold his burger in his hands and take a bite of it. Nodding to herself, she mirrored the movements, taking a large bite of meat, cheese, onions, lettuce, tomato, and bun, and immediately fell in love.

"This is totally worth being human for!" she announced, and the burger disappeared in only a few short bites. The fries were delicious too, and she decided that, though Dean sometimes drove too fast and pushed her too hard sometimes, he had great taste in food.

Dean was delighted, and Sam couldn't stop smiling at the Impala. Even with Castiel silently watching them, there was a comfortable air of camaraderie around the table. Sam realized that Dean really did love his car when he offered to buy her pie for desert.

Baby moved slightly, and Dean saw something on the back of her hands, which had usually been hidden by the coat. "What's that?" he asked, pointing at her hand. She pulled back the sleeves, and both Dean and Sam gasped in surprise. On the back of her left hand were the carved initials of D.W., while on the back of her right hand was S.W. The initials looked like they had been carved into wood, and were blocky.

"You made sure to keep all the little things," she said with fondness in her voice, silver eyes locked on to Dean's green ones. "When you rebuilt me."

"The army guy, the carved initials…the little things that made the car—you—ours," Sam said with an innocent smile. Dean matched it, and for once neither of the Winchesters looked bone-weary or depressed. They actually looked a little happy, seeing those little mementos literally alive and in the flesh.

No one spoke until the slices of pie arrived, one for everyone at the table. Even Sam decided to dig into a slice, and Castiel deigned for once to try Dean's beloved dessert. He gave it a single nod of approval, but Dean's eyes lit up with excitement.

"I got an angel to like pie!" the oldest Winchester hissed to the table in triumph. Castiel rolled his eyes, a move he'd learned from the Righteous Man.

"No wonder you throw a fit whenever Sam forgets the pie!" Baby said after her first bite. The flaky, buttery crust, the soft and warm apples slices with a hit of spice from the cinnamon, the smooth, cool, and sweet dollap of whip cream on top—it was heaven on a ceramic plate. She was almost tempted to lick the plate clean.

Happy and satisfied, the Winchesters, Baby, and Castiel made their way from the diner back to their motel to lay low until the curse wore off. As they traveled down a short back alley halfway to the motel, all hell decided to break loose.

It started with four guys suddenly standing ten feet in front of them in the alley. The boys immediately tensed up when they saw their path was blocked. One guy stepped forward, and his eyes were ebony, and his smile was bloodthirsty.

They whipped around to see more demons cutting off their escape. With almost a dozen demons surrounding them, they were outnumbered. Dean and Sam immediately moved around Baby to protect her, while Castiel's angel blade dropped from his sleeve into his waiting hand.

"Cas, what the hell? You didn't notice them!" Dean hissed.

"No. Even now I cannot sense their presence," Castiel admitted, staring at a black-eyed woman not six feet from him. She cackled at his confusion.

"Well, well. The Winchesters and their pet angel. As legendary as you are, nowadays, you're remarkably easy to trap," she said. "I'm actually fairly disappointed."

Castiel stepped forward, arm raised to drive the blade into her chest. Grinning, she pressed her bloody palm onto the wall next to her, right onto the angel banishing sigil freshly painted there. With a blinding light and a surprised yell, Castiel disappeared.

"You bitch!" Dean snapped, but Sam grabbed his arm to shut him up. Without Cas (and even with Ruby's demon knife) they were still horribly outnumbered. "Shut up, Dean!" he hissed.

"We're going to tear you apart in front of each other for the rest of eternity. Once in the Pit, the only way out is by clawing your way out…and by then, you'll be a nice bit of charcoal," she said, smiling in a demented way. "What a fitting end to the legend of the Winchesters, becoming the very things you spent your whole lives killing. Poetic, isn't it?"

The demons that had been encroaching stopped a few feet away, and the female demon stepped closer. Sam and Dean watched the demons carefully, trying to gauge which would attack first.

They tried to put on a brave face, but the boys weren't stupid. Without their car, they had no weapons, and the motel room was too far to run back to. The only option they had was to try and hold off the demons dragging their butts to Hell before Castiel could fly back to them. They had been so preoccupied with the demon's approach they hadn't been paying attention to Baby.

"You listen to me, you black-eyed bitch," the former car snarled, and both boys whipped around the see Baby standing next to them, right in front of the female demon. The look on her face was one of incredible pent-up fury. The demons behind the leader actually moved back ever so slightly from the strange human. "You lay one corroded finger on them, and I swear it'll be the last thing you ever do."

The female demon actually laughed. "Oh, hun. Don't you know that being around the Winchesters is a death sentence?" the demon taunted.

Baby snarled. "Been around the block a few times, and I'm still runnin'. You, on the other hand…"

The demon didn't even have time to react before Baby hauled up the iron pipe she had found on the ground behind them, and smashed the demon's face in with it. She dropped to the ground, lower jaw gushing blood and hanging at an odd angle. The demon cradled her face, and shot a furious glare at Baby. Dean and Sam barely had time to share a surprised look before another demon screeched "Kill them all!"

The demons swarmed them. Sam killed several demons quickly with the knife. Dean managed to take a few down with hand-to-hand combat, disabling them long enough for Sam to finish them off as they lay writhing on the ground. But several demons grabbed Dean and dragged him away, their strength too much for the hunter. Between the bodies he saw Sam get punched in the face by a gleeful male demon.

"Sammy!" he yelled, and struggled more. He needed to help his brother before Sam's face was nothing more than a lump of hamburger.

THUMP! WHACK! The demons attempting to carry off Dean had their heads caved in by Baby and her pipe, which was now dented up and covered in blood. "Stay down!" she commanded the demons, though Dean knew it was only a matter of seconds before they were back up again. He leapt forward to help Sam, who was almost unconscious by then.

The demons holding Sam suddenly screamed as a blinding light erupted from their eyes and open, screaming mouths. Castiel let the dead bodies drop to the ground, and Sam almost fell over. Castiel managed to help keep Sam upright until Dean could snake an arm around his younger brother's shoulders, keeping him up.

He got them away from the fighting in the alley. Between Castiel's sudden reappearance and Baby's ferocity with the pipe, the demons had enough troubles on their hands without worrying about the Winchesters at the moment. Within a few moments, every demon was dead.

Castiel looked around himself to the bodies on the ground, then looked at the boys. "We must go," he simply said, apparently without seeing the female demon sneaking up behind him, Castiel's dropped angel blade held high in her shaking hand—

"Cas, behind you!" Dean roared, and Cas turned around in time to see the demon fall to her knees before him. She was gasping, but it came out as a wet gurgle as blood poured from her mouth. The metal pipe shoved through her chest was making it difficult to breathe, it seemed.

Castiel pressed his hand against her forehead and smited the demon, before looking at Baby, who was breathing heavily. She nodded at him, and he nodded back. "We need to leave," he reiterated, grabbing the fallen angel sword from the demon's limp hand.

Once Sam was healed up, they managed to run back to the motel room with no further incident. Cas had exhausted himself rushing back to the Winchesters, and was unable to teleport them back to their room after the attack, hence the exercise. The first thing Cas and Sam did upon their return to their room was place salt against the doorway and window sills. After such a brazen attack against them, they would be foolish to assume those were the only demons in the area after their heads.

Dean paused to look at Baby, who looked a little cross-eyed and her breathe was shaky. "Hey, you okay?" he asked her, moving forward just in time to help her sit heavily onto the bed. Some blood splatter had gotten on her face and clothes, and Dean huffed. He went to the bathroom and returned with a wet washcloth. "Gonna have to take you through the wash after this," he said conversationally as he started to wipe off her face.

Baby waved him away impatiently. "You can dote on me later. Help them, dumbass. I'm fine," she said. She spoke with such finality and command that Dean immediately moved to help his brother demon-proof the room as fast as possible. She kept a hold of the cloth, though, and finished wiping off the blood from her face and leather jacket.

Despite feeling weary muscles and the jitteriness of adrenaline coursing through her body for the first time, Baby had to admit it was worth it to shove that pipe through the demon's chest. Demons had plagued her boys all their lives—it was nice to return the favor.

"Cas, what the hell was that?" Sam asked as the salt line against the doorway was finished. "What the hell sort of demons use angel-banishing sigils?" he asked.

Castiel looked just as concerned as the two hunters. "I don't know, Sam. I've never seen this before."

"Well, today seems to be a day of firsts for everyone, doesn't it?" Dean asked rhetorically, eyes glancing back to Baby sitting on the edge of the bed. She seemed content to park herself and let the guys work without getting in their way. "You think there's more demons?" he asked

"It would safe to assume as much, considering I cannot sense them for some reason," Castiel said in a perplexed tone.

"Maybe this was just a matter of time before demons learned to banish angels," Sam offered. "Could they have talismans or even sigils tattooed or carved onto their meat suits so they can hide from angels?"

"That's a scary thought. Demons on a learning curve," Dean muttered.

"It would make sense," Castiel said, although it was obvious he was less than pleased with the idea. "I'm sorry, you two. You almost died because of my failure."

"We're all alive and in one piece, that's all that matters," Dean said, trying to reassure the angel.

"Yeah, and who should you be thanking for that?" Baby asked. The three men turned to see her silver eyes fixated on them.

Sam nodded. "Thank you, uh…Baby," he said, the name sounding insane. That was Dean's name for the car, not his.

"Yeah, thanks," Dean said sincerely.

She waved off their appreciation. "You really think I'd let anyone lay a hand on you two? You're my boys, and no one, not even hell-exhaust, will hurt you under my watch."

"I also want to say thank you," Castiel said somberly. It was strange to think she had saved his life, this car-turned-person.

She grinned at him. "You keep them safe when I'm not around. But! Don't think I won't run you over if you distract Dean while he's driving again."

Castiel nodded in understanding, and Baby glanced around the room, leaving the guys to try and figure out the next move.

"All the demons were dead in that alley. I don't really know if there will be any coming back for us, Dean," Sam offered.

"No, maybe not. Seemed to me that she brought all her muscle with her," Dean agreed. "However, better be safe rather than sorry. Salt the windows and doors, keep the guns loaded, and we'll sleep in shifts so someone can keep watch."

"I'll keep watch," Baby offered from the bed. Both Winchesters turned to her once again.

"What, you aren't tired?" Dean asked. He was sure feeling exhausted, and wanted nothing more than a warm shower and a semi-comfortable bed to fall onto.

Baby shook her head. "Nope. Not at the moment, anyways. I get parked often enough; I want to stay awake. It'll give me a reason to kick the hell outta of those black-eyed bastards if they dare come back for another lap. That fight in the alley was just what I needed to get my engine running and now I'm in it for the long haul." She flashed a predatory smile, and Dean was suddenly very glad that the car-lady was on their side.

He turned back towards Cas, and smacked his arm. "Cas, I know this is the last thing on your mind, but is there any way you could take care of that vampire nest for us?"

Castiel shook his head. "No, I should stay here, in case more demons attack."

"Look, we've proofed the room, and we aren't going anywhere," Sam offered. "If there are people that need help, you should help. We can't, otherwise we'd do it ourselves. Unfortunately the end of the world doesn't seem to phase monsters when it comes to causing trouble."

"If anything happens, we'll pray," Dean promised.

Castiel looked at them, then at the Impala/human, and nodded once before disappearing.

Dean and Sam looked at each other, and then at Baby on the bed. An awkward silence descended over the room for several seconds.

"Well, now what?" Sam asked, hands in his pockets and shifting back and forth.

"I call dibs on the shower!" Dean said triumphantly.

"Oh, come on, you can't pull that 'eldest privileges' crap every time, Dean!" Sam said in exasperation. Dean had already tossed his jacket on his bed and slipped out of his boots, and was already heading towards the motel's tiny bathroom.

"Then next time move faster, Sammy!" Dean said, and slammed the door behind him.

Sam made a face at the bathroom door, and almost stuck his tongue out at it when he realized the Impala was watching him with an eyebrow raised.

"Uh, so…" Sam started, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "You wanna…watch some T.V.?"

Baby shrugged. "Sure."

Sam found the remote and put on a random channel from the motel's cheap television and started stripping of his jacket and boots. He carefully draped the jacket over the back of a chair, and tried to stifle a yawn that successfully escaped him. It was early, not even 8 PM, yet the witch hunt and the demon attack and worn him out.

He turned back to see the first installment of the rebooted Star Trek franchise playing on the T.V., and the Impala sat on the end of the other bed. With her back straight, feet firmly planted on the ground, and her hands laced together to prop up her head, she looked just like Castiel did when he was around. Sitting, but not relaxed. Her silver eyes watched the screen intently, as though trying to comprehend the movie's meaning and how it pertained to life.

Sam thought about sitting on Dean's bed, but he knew that after a shower Dean had a habit of flopping down on whatever bed he had called for the evening as forcefully as possible. Especially if Sam happened to be sitting on it. Despite being older, Dean was definitely the less mature of the two.

So, Sam sucked up his nerves and sat next to the Impala, but instead he backed up enough so that his back was propped against the headboard with a pillow. Baby still sat rigidly on the end of the bed, but she glanced over her shoulder at him, and a ghost of a smile seemed to pass over her lips.

"What're we watching?" she asked.

"The first Star Trek movie," Sam offered.

Baby tilted her head at the screen, then looked back at Sam in a confused manner. "No we aren't. Kirk looks weird, and the effects are way better."

"Well, it's a reboot. Someone decided that they wanted to remake the movies for a new generation," Sam explained.

"Huh. So, it's like making a newer model with more bells and whistles, but less heart," she said, although she seemed to making the comment to herself.

"Uh, yeah. Actually that's a good way to put it. But how do you know Star Trek?" he asked.

Baby chuckled. "Well, I sorta was there for the first one. Of course, as a car I didn't understand anything that was going on, but the impression from that night is still here," she said, tapping the side of her temple.

Sam narrowed his eyes and tilted his head in a questioning manner.

Baby motioned for him to move over, and she ended up sitting next to Sam, back propped up against the headboard. She didn't remove either her coat or shoes, but she seemed comfortable enough.

"See, your Dad wanted to take your Mom on a date. She was pregnant with Dean at the time, this was…1979, I believe. He found a drive in theatre showing the latest movies at the time. They ended up having a big fight because he wanted to see Alien, but she steadfastly refused, though she never said why."

"Probably because it would remind her too much of being a hunter," Sam offered.

Baby looked a little surprised. "Well, then. I suppose hunting runs in the family, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but apparently she gave up the life to have a family," Sam said sadly. "Not that it did her much good."

Instead of becoming melancholy, he looked at the Impala human. "So, what happened after that?" he asked. He'd met his mother and father in their youth once, thanks to angel magic, but the experience left a hole in his heart that nothing seemed to be able to fill. He never knew his mother in his lifetime, and this little peak into the past thanks to Impala—it was like someone offering a drink to a dehydrated man lost in the desert.

She smiled. "Like I said, they argued. A lot. But, there was a love there, too. In the end, they decided to watch the first Star Trek movie. It was sci-fi, but not so horrifying that Mary felt uncomfortable. And after the movie was over, we stayed parked in that lot for hours as they talked about their future. They were so excited to have a family. And I was, too."

The Impala took Sam's oversized hand into hers without warning. Her hand was cold and smooth, like metal, but she patted his hand gently. Sam didn't realize until that moment that a few tears had escaped from his eyes. He wiped them away hastily, not wanting her to see him get emotional at the idea of his parents being normal and happy. Because he knew they never stood a chance for happiness. The game had always been rigged against the Winchesters.

Dean had finished his shower a while ago, and had been silently listening to Baby and Sam on the other side of the bathroom door. He came out then, blustering a little louder than necessary about how good the shower felt, and Sam jumped up from the bed like a boy caught kissing his girlfriend by her wiped away the few tears stains on his cheeks, and Dean ignored him. Normally, he'd be all for teasing the hell outta Sammy for crying, but when it came to family, he'd let it slide for now.

"You better have left some hot water, jerk," Sam said, gathering up his sleeping clothes and heading for the bathroom. Dean tossed his clothes onto a pile at the end of his bed and body-flopped onto his head, the springs in the bed creaking in protest.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, bitch," Dean replied, and Sam flipped him off before disappearing behind the flimsy door.

With a groan Dean rolled off the bed and opened a cooler on the small table near the window. He grabbed two beers and wandered back over to the beds, and held one out the Baby. Her chrome eyes were slightly glazed over as she stared into space, remembering something or someone from her past.

"Here," he said, snapping her out of whatever deep contemplation she had been in. She nodded once and took the beer, and mirrored Dean twisting the metal cap off and chugging down a large gulp.

She sputtered once, and then looked at the bottle suspiciously. "Premuim this isn't," she said.

"Yeah, well, if it's good enough for us, you'll shut up and drink," Dean said, though he winked at her afterwards. She looked at the bottle again, then shrugged, and ended up draining the thing in one go. Dean looked impressed as he continued to nurse his. He sat on the edge of the other bed near her, green eyes staring in silver ones.

"Something on your mind?" she asked.

Dean took another swing of his drink. "You didn't have to lie to Sammy, about our folks," he said simply. "We've grown up thinking of them simply as our dead mom and our absent dad all our lives. Making up stories about them isn't going to help us deal with this shitty ass family history any better."

Baby's eyes grew wide as she was taken aback by Dean's frank and accusing tone. "Excuse me? I never lied!"

"Course you did! You're a car, Baby. You're the Impala. Cars don't have memories, they don't have brains or feelings or thoughts," he said matter-of-factly.

Baby swung her legs over the side of the bed and leaned forward towards Dean. Her silver eyes were cold with anger. She smacked him against the back of the head, and though she had held back her strength, it still stung terribly. "Ow! How many times are you going to hit me today?!" he snapped.

"As many times as necessary. Dean, you're smart for a human, but you shouldn't assume you know everything about everything. That smack was for calling me a liar. Now, yes, cars don't have thoughts, but we can have memories and feelings imprinted on us just like any place. I'm no different."

Dean rubbed his head carefully, eyeing her suspiciously. "So, what, like spirits can attach themselves to places and replay in a loop, memories can be linked to cars, too?"

Baby nodded. "Yes. When that witch's spell made me human, all those experiences that have imprinted on me became my 'memories'. So, I never lied. You owe me one hell of an apology detailing after this mess is over, got it?" she said, poking him in the chest for emphasis.

"Alright, alright, ow, I'm sorry!" he said, flinching backwards, rubbing his chest with his free hand.

A triumphant smile passed over Baby's face, and she chuckled. "Damn straight you are."

It wasn't even 10 PM when Dean decided he was going to go to bed. Sleep seemed to be the only logical thing to do considering:

1) he couldn't go to a bar for drinks,

2) there was no hunt to do research on,

3) there was nothing on the T.V. worth watching, and

4) He couldn't just take a drive considering his car was watching an infomercial of a super-blender.

"I'm going to sleep," he announced. Sam looked up from his paperback he was reading on his bed, and stifled a yawn.

"Yeah, I'm pretty wiped too," Sam admitted almost sheepishly. Going to bed so early in the night was a rarity for the Winchesters—it almost felt like they were shirking their duties or something.

"Hey, Baby, are you still okay to stay up for a few more hours?" Dean asked the woman sitting on the edge of the bed. "We just need, like, four hours tops."

She turned to the T.V. off and turned to look at him, eyes rolling. "Dean, I'm fine," she said.

"Well, if you get tired, just wake up me or Sam, or call Cas if you need to sleep," he said. He rolled onto his stomach and shoved a pillow over his head to block out the light of the lamps in the room.

There was a shuffling sound, and a loud click before the room became completely dark. Dean poked his head out to see Sam on his back, looking at Baby in the dark of the room. She had dragged a chair into the space between the two beds (a feat considering the beds were almost on top of one another) and she planted herself there.

"Hey, Baby, you don't have to sit in the dark," Sam admonished. "We can sleep with the lights on just fine."

"Just shut up and go to sleep, you two," Baby said sternly. She sat in the chair with one leg crossed over the other and Ruby's knife sitting in her lap. Her eyes watched both the door and the window across the room. Sam and Dean shared a look, and shrugged. They settled back down to sleep.

A few minutes of awkward silence passed, and both boys found themselves tossing and turning, unable to get comfortable. The early hour and the lack of bone-deep exhaustion was preventing them from dropping off immediately. Dean was lying on his side, facing Baby, when suddenly a cold, smooth hand laid itself on his brow. He opened one eye to see Baby had her opposite hand on Sam's forehead, and was stroking the skin there softly, tenderly.

"Do I need to put on some soft rock?" she asked quietly. "That would always knock you out when you were kids. Whenever John was driving he'd play some to get you two to sleep."

"Um, no, we're good," Dean said, and Sam grunted his agreement with the statement. He fought the urge to remind her they were two adults, not scared kids anymore.

The hand, so alien feeling initially, actually felt nice as it brushed the hair from his face, and Dean almost smiled at the loving touch. He was not used to such tender touches, and was before his 40 year stint in Hell. He drank in the touch, and felt himself start to relax a little.

Suddenly, Baby was humming a song-less tune to herself. It was a slow and quiet song, almost like a lullaby. The pitch was exactly the same as the Impala idling at a stop, and the vibrations ran through her arm and hand to his forehead. The sound soothed his worries as well as the nervous thoughts of Sam on the opposite bed, and the Impala's ministrations sent the two hunters quickly into deep, dreamless sleep.

A couple hours later, Castiel appeared in the middle of their room. He glanced around and spied the Winchesters sleeping soundly on their respective beds. The female Impala was sitting in a chair between the two beds, using the tip of Ruby's knife to clean the dirt from under her fingernails.

Castiel tilted his head at them, looking curiously at Dean's blanket-covered lump of a body. It was the first time he'd entered their room and neither brother was moaning or tossing in the midst of a night terror.

Baby looked up at him, fixing her silver eyes upon the angel, and put a finger over her lips. She silently got out of the chair and walked over to the angel. It was odd, him looking up to her face, but she was not much shorter than Dean, so she was still a little taller than Castiel.

Of course, that was his human vessel. His true form was taller than a skyscraper.

"You're back," she whispered.

He nodded once. "The vampires are all dead. I even managed to do a fly over of this town. I didn't sense any demons, but…"

"Can't know for sure," she finished, and he nodded.

"They're sleeping peacefully," Castiel whispered back. He looked at her. "That never happens."

"They deserve it. They're good boys."

The angel and the former car watched the sleeping hunters for a few moments. Dean turned over his sleep, clutching a pillow to his chest. Sam softly snored away.

Baby stifled a huge yawn and Castiel narrowed his eyes at her. "If you need to rest, I can keep watch over them for the next few hours," he offered. Angels never slept, and he was used to staying up all night keeping an eye on the Winchesters.

Surprisingly, she shook her head and rolled her shoulders to wake herself up. "No thanks. I've been parked on the sidelines long enough. Even if it's just making sure they get their beauty rest, I wanna watch over them."

Castiel dipped his head in understanding when Sam suddenly let out a loud, fearful grunt. Silver and blue eyes swung around to watch him, but suddenly Dean was also fidgeting in his sleep, almost painfully so.

"What's going on with them?" she asked, and started to move towards Sam's bed when Castiel's hand gripping her arm made her pause. "What are you-?"

"It's the angels," he said, looking over them. His eyes were slightly widened in surprise—and a hint of fear. "Lucifer and Zachariah. They must have dream-walked into their minds, and are trying to get them to say yes to the Apocalypse."

Baby's eyes grew wide, and she looked at the tossing brothers in their beds. Her eyes narrowed, though, and she fixed her anger eyes on the only angel in the room. "Why can't we wake them up?" she demanded.

"The angels won't let them wake up," Castiel said. "They've trapped them in their minds. They'll do whatever it takes for Sam and Dean to agree to be vessels, to let the archangels fight."

"Then why don't you go and help them!" she snapped.

"I can't," Castiel said coldly, eyes darting over their tossing forms. "They've put up barriers, preventing me from entering."

"Then break 'em down or something! The boys are in trouble!" Baby barked.

Castiel fixed a cold look on her, but she could tell he was also horribly frustrated. "I'm cut off from Heaven. I'm—I'm not sure I have enough power to break through the barriers, grab Sam and Dean, and get back out. Especially if Zachariah and Lucifer are determined to keep the boys locked inside. And if they capture me, we're all going to suffer for it."

Baby grabbed Castiel's coat lapels angrily, bringing her face only inches from his. "Listen here, wings, those are my boys. I am not going to stand here and watch them get tortured without helping them. I will break down those walls my own damn self and haul their asses back out. Now, you can either help me, or you can get the fucking hell out of my way."

The Impala let him go, and Castiel nodded after a hesitant moment. Between the most sadistic angel in existence and the fallen angel Lucifer, Castiel decided he was actually more scared of the Impala glowering at him. He straightened his coat, and cracked his neck.

"Alright. I can get you in, but I need you to cause a distraction. It has to be something strong enough for Zachariah to lower his guard. Only then can I break through the barriers and bring both you and Dean back," he explained.

Baby nodded. "Let's go already," she said.

He pressed two fingers to her forehead, and she was suddenly gone.

Baby found herself in a bright room, filled with paintings of ancient, bloody battles in gold frames. There were no windows or doors, and the room was small, but Baby ignored the rest of the décor when she saw Dean. He curled up in a ball in the furthest corner from her with another man, balding and in a black suit, standing over him.

Dean's face was bruised and blood dripped from the side of his mouth, but he threw a defiant glare at the other man. "You can torture me and beat on me as much as you like, but the answer's still no you flying dick," he said, but it was not very forceful, almost a tired whimper.

"See, the funny thing about dreams, Dean, is that they can last for, oh, I don't know, forever?" Zachariah said, grinning sadistically. "And since I've cleared my schedule, I can keep doing this for as long as it takes for you to say yes to Michael. You'll be happy to be his vessel by the time I'm done with you, you simpering piece of animal."

He raised his fist to punch Dean again, and Baby couldn't stop herself. "HEY!" she yelled, and the angel turned to her.

Dean looked at her, eyes wide in surprise, mouthing "Baby?" silently at her.

Zachariah looked at Baby, then at Dean, then turned fully towards the woman. "Well, this is an interesting turn of events, Dean. Figured if you were going to imagine anyone riding in on a white horse to save you, I figured it would have been your abomination of a brother, or Castiel. Which reminds me, I need to add a little extra ass-whopping to the program for making Heaven lose of our most dangerous soldiers."

The angel's threat was cut short when a bottle of beer slammed into Zachariah's back. It shattered upon impact and showered him and Dean with glass and the strong smell of cheap alcohol. "Lay another finger on him, I dare you," the Impala snarled.

"And this was my favorite suit," Zachariah said in annoyance as he brushed off the glass shards. A flick of his wrist and the liquid disappeared. He turned around to see Baby had armed herself with another bottle of beer from the cooler on the table in the room. Since this was Dean's memory of the Green Room, the platter of hamburgers and bucket of beer was present.

The angel laughed in almost pleasant surprise, like her rebellion was hilarious. Then he rolled his eyes while he sighed dramatically."Look, I'm in the middle of a meeting right now. You need to wait for your turn," he said, and with a casual flick of his wrist she went flying into the wall.

The wall cracked under her, and when she landed in a dazed pile on the ground bits of plaster rained down on her. Her back hurt like hell, and she coughed when she breathed in the dust swirling around her.

"No!" Dean said, moving to help her but the angel simply punched him in the face. Dean crumpled back to the ground, blood leaking from his now-broken nose, and he moaned in pain.

Zachariah was now grinning proudly, watching these two people writhing in pain at his own hands. "This is beyond rich, Dean! What sort of mental construct is this, hm?" He motioned back towards Baby, whose furious glare was fixated on him as she slowly got back to her feet.

"And what are you supposed to be? His good intentions, his ever-lasting hope, his perseverance? What are you supposed to be an embodiment of?" Zachariah asked with disgust as she straightened up, and her silver eyes looked into his with deadly purpose.

Baby cracked her neck, and smiled that predatory smile once again. "Me? I'm nothing special," she said, and she started walking around Zachariah and Dean.

The hunter watched her as she slowly positioned herself, almost casually, and she gave him a quick wink.

"Just an older model with a lot of attitude problems. But you? You're public enemy number one right now. And I've wanted to do this for a while," she said, and launched herself at him.

Zachariah wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he wasn't expecting this tall woman to body slam him. He surely wasn't expecting it to feel like a truck had slammed into him, and he definitely wasn't expecting to go flying through the air and into a wall, making it crack further under his impact.

As he fell to the ground, Baby ran over and helped Dean uncurl himself and stand up. "I thought you were supposed to be human?" Dean asked in an accusatory tone, though the voice was muffled and higher-pitched because of his swollen cheeks and busted nose.

She shrugged. "Well, seems like you can take a girl outta the V8, but you can't take the V8 out of the girl," she admitted.

There was a laugh from the angel, a mocking, evil laugh. "Really, Dean? This is low, even for you." Zachariah admonished, now back on his feet. He motioned towards Baby. "You are actually imagining that your stupid Impala is saving your ass from me? Wow, I knew you were delusional, but this is just sad, Dean." He said, dusting off the bits of wall and plaster that had fallen on his suit.

The angel started to stride towards them, fingers itching to tear her heart out of her chest and present it to Dean like a macabre Valentine's Day gift. The Impala gave Dean a little nudge towards the crack in the wall. She wasn't sure if Castiel meant he had to break through actual, physical barriers to get them out. She figured, however, if any place was a good place to reach through and touch someone, that bit of broken brick and mortar was it.

"I'm going to rip your intestines out and strangle you with them. Then I'll see how many times it takes Dean dying from different kinds of cancer say yes to accepting his destiny. It'll be fun!" Zachariah said.

Apparently trying to get the Winchesters to accept their destiny had been such a trial it had made the angel snap. He was going to make Dean pay for this personal affront, and if that took killing his anthropomorphic Impala, so be it. Saying "yes" was not the prime mover, now. Revenge was.

Baby felt her anger boil over right then. When she was a car there was nothing she could do to help her boys fight their angels and their demons and whatever else was gunning for them at any point in their lives. However, there was one of those angelic assholes right in front on her, and she was not going to let him get away unscathed.

Reaching behind her, her hands landed on at tall and heavy metal candle stand, and she gripped with so hard her hand started to hurt. "Take your best shot," she taunted.

Dean couldn't help but keep himself pressed against the wall, body with singing with pain and fear from the angel's earlier beating. He needed to help Baby, and guilt flooded through him when he realized he wasn't protecting her. When he saw her grip the metal stand and the fierce anger in her face he realized his best action was to stay out of her way, guilt replaced with admiration.

With a growl of anger, Zachariah lunged forward, aiming to pop her head off of her body like a flower from its stem.

Instead, Baby shoved the candle stand right through the angel's stomach until it burst through his back. The severity of the wound was impressive; his vessel's blood now poured onto the floor at an alarming rate. He was caught by surprise long enough for Castiel to break through the barrier around the dream room.

Castiel's arms suddenly appeared through the crack in the wall, and each hand landed on Dean and Baby's shoulders, hauling them back into reality.

Dean launched himself from the bed, almost toppling to the floor, gasping in long breathes and feeling his face to his if the injuries were still there. Luckily, he was unhurt.

"Holy shit," he breathed. He looked up at Baby and Castiel standing next to the bed. "You okay, Baby?" he asked in concern when he saw her worn face, hair matted with sweat and plaster still clinging to her clothes.

"I'm fine," she said, brushing off his concern.

Dean jumped up from the bed and hugged her, tightly, like he was afraid he was trapped in another nightmare, and she was the only thing keeping him grounded. Though she was stiff and cold, after a few moments of Dean's forceful hug (it would have crushed a normal human), she attempted to return it.

Her fingers combed through his hair as she wrapped strong arms around him. "I'm fine, Dean," she said again, although her tone was softer, and more comforting. "You're safe now. But I have to help Sam."

"Sam? What's wrong with Sam?" Dean demanded as he instantly let her go and looked her in the eyes. His eyes were filled with relief and terror, and he glanced at the other bed to see Sam sleeping peacefully. "What do you mean? He looks fine," he said slowly.

Castiel looked at him. "Lucifer and Zachariah attacked you both at the same time. I think he's paralyzed Sam's body so he can't accidentally wake himself up."

"What are you waiting on, then? We gotta help him!" Dean snapped, and started towards his brother's bed when Castiel stopped him.

"You stay here. The Impala will go after Sam. Lucifer won't be expecting her, and whilst he'd distracted I can bring Sam out of the dream. As I did for you."

Dean opened his mouth to protest, but closed it when he realized there was no time for arguments. Zachariah had been willing to use torture the second he got himself in Dean's dream, and he was actual angel of the Lord, for fuck's sake. There was no telling what the actual Devil was doing in his brother's brain to get him to cooperate.

He nodded, and Castiel turned back to the Impala. The worn expression on her face changed to one of determination and she nodded her readiness. Castiel put his fingers to her head, and she was gone.

When Baby arrived in Sam's dream she was expecting another knock-down, drag out fight. Instead, she found herself in a different motel room, and a blonde-haired man was sitting in a chair at the end of a double-bed. Sam sat on the bed pressed up against the wall, knees drawn up to his chest and arms crossed in front of him. "I said leave me alone, Lucifer," Sam said. He tried to sound forceful, but it sounded more like he was pleading with the intruder.

Lucifer sighed. "Sam," he said in a disappointed tone. "I hoped we could discuss this like adults."

"I have nothing to say to you. Not 'yes' not 'maybe', only 'no.' So, leave me alone!"

Baby noted the look of irritation that crossed the man's face, but she also caught a moment of—sadness? No, that can't be right. Must be seeing things because I'm still new to reading facial expressions, she thought to herself. She didn't move, and it seemed like neither man noticed her as she stood watching, waiting for the right moment to grab Sam and burn rubber hauling his ass out of the dream.

"I know it's hard to accept, Sam, but it's the truth." Lucifer tapped his temple. "I know what you truly believe, Sam. You never fit into your family, and they never really loved you. I mean, your Dad thought you were a terrible son because you wanted to be different. And Dean? Well, he was always the perfect little soldier, wasn't he? It's only a matter of time before he says yes to Michael. I'm sorry, Sam," Lucifer said, as sincerely as possible. "But, us? We are two halves of one whole. I am your perfect family, Sam. It just takes one little word, and you can have everything you ever wanted."

Sam glared at him, but before he could refute the Devil's words, there was a female voice clearing her throat behind them. Both Lucifer and Sam looked to see Baby standing there, arms crossed over her body, foot tapping in irritation and face clouded in anger.

"Who's this, Sam?" Lucifer asked, genuinely curious. He knew the faces of everyone closest to Sam, and this was one he didn't know, although she did seem a bit familiar.

"What are—how are-?" Sam asked, but Baby cut him off with a glare.

"Sam Winchester, I'm surprised at you," she said coldly. Her eyes flashed angrily, and Sam suddenly felt more scared of the car than the Devil.

"You really believe all that crap? Sam, your Dad was a broken man who did his best. He never hated you. In fact, he worried about you all the time. Do you know how many times he drove to your college to make sure you were okay? How many times he listened to you and Dean's voicemails while in between hunts? He loved you! And don't get me started on your brother."

Sam felt his cheeks burning with embarrassment, but he was also feeling joy, too. It was a refreshing take on the story Lucifer always spun about his family not caring, about him being the odd man out.

Baby continued. "You really think Dean would abandon you like that? Turn on you like that? I just had to drag your brother from his own personal nightmare with the physical embodiment of a broken exhaust pipe in a cheap suit, who was using him as his own private punching bag until he said yes!"

Sam gasped. "Zachariah? Is Dean okay?" he asked immediately. He now saw the dust on her clothes and the dirt and grime on her face.

"Your brother's fine, Sam," Impala said.

Lucifer looked at Baby. "Zachariah? Not Michael?" the angel asked, tapping his chin thoughtfully. He figured out of anyone, Michael would be the one trying to convince Dean to carry through with his destiny. Sending a stooge like Zachariah seemed almost lazy.

"Not Michael," the Impala confirmed, though she had no idea who that was. She looked at Sam and then back at Lucifer, chrome eyes locking onto icy blue ones. Since this angel seemed a little less trigger-happy than the last one, she decided to try another tactic. "Look, I don't know you, but please, let Sam go. I will kick your ass if necessary, but I'd rather not."

Lucifer looked at her, surprise written all over his face. "You think you could take me?" he said, then chuckled. He turned to Sam and shook his head a little sadly. "Sam, Sam, Sam. You get points for the creativity, but no construct you think up in your mind is going to keep me from you. Like I said, before, Sam. You're mine."

The Impala couldn't help herself, she strode up to the Devil and grabbed the front of his shirt and leaned down towards him, pent up fury coming from her in waves. Lucifer looked at her hand fisting the material of his shirt, and raised his eyes brows at her, not even bothering to hide his surprise. "Sam is my family, you broken son of a bitch," she hissed. "You mess with my boy, either boy, you mess with me. He's my Sammy, just like he's my Dean. And you're an idiot if you think they will ever turn on each other. They die for each other, like family is supposed to do."

Lucifer's face clouded over in anger and he suddenly flicked his wrist, sending her flying backwards and falling onto her back. Her head smacked the floor pretty hard, and she lay there for a few seconds as pain ricocheted through her head.

"That was stupid. Brave, but stupid," the fallen angel snapped, straightening his t-shirt. Lucifer focused his intense stare on Sam, who was standing up from the bed at this point, about to go help the woman. The icy blue eyes of the devil seemed to pin him down, though, and he stood frozen. Like a deer caught in the headlights of an 18-wheeler.

"She's not some construct of your mind," Lucifer said, looking her over before returning the look to Sam "Who is she?" he demanded in a cool and even tone.

She glared at him from the floor. "I'm his family. His real family," she said.

"I wasn't asking you," Lucifer said, and the Impala was suddenly struck completely mute. She opened her mouth a few times, but no sounds were emitted. She looked more pissed off than terrified though, and Lucifer had to admit she had an impressive pair to stare him down.

"Just, don't hurt her," Sam asked. "Please, don't hurt anyone."

"I said I would never hurt you, Sam. Remember?" Lucifer said patiently. This was a fairly easy idea that even a child could understand, but it seemed Sam was still having problems understanding that Lucifer would never hurt him. He was his vessel. Hurting Sam would defeat the entire purpose of gaining his trust.

Sam's eyes grew wide, and Lucifer turned in time for Baby's fist to smash across his face. Lucifer's head only turned slightly, though, while Baby's hand became completely numb. She didn't hiss in pain or say anything though (not that she could). She could handle the pain; she couldn't handle this stranger trying to poison her Sam's mind.

Lucifer titled his head at her, a curious look in his eyes that morphed into indignant fury. "That was a terrible idea," he admonished, before he grabbed her neck and marched her backwards before he slammed her into a wall. She clawed silently at the hand encasing her neck, though the Devil was not choking her, merely keeping her there.

"Your bravery in the face of danger is duly noted," Lucifer said. "And your protective nature over Sam is impressive, truly. I'm not the bad guy here. All I wanted was to be understood and loved by my family, and I got tossed into Hell for having my own opinions." He tightened his grip around her neck just a touch, and angry silver eyes stared into his. "Michael cast me out without a second thought. I'm just trying to protect Sam from the same fate."

"Dean will never say yes, and he'll never turn on me," Sam said, and Lucifer looked back to see his vessel standing there, tall and strong. Trying to put a brave face on for the woman but Lucifer would still see the fear in those hazel eyes.

Lucifer felt a slightly of uncomfortable at the sight. He didn't want his vessel to fear him. They were supposed to be a team. Two halves of a single whole.

"Even when Meg possessed me, when I was about to torture Jo and kill myself, he never planned on pulling the trigger. He couldn't do it, wouldn't do it." Sam explained quietly, defiantly.

Lucifer seemed to mull over this new bit of information for a moment. Whether it was because he was taking Sam's words to heart, or because he was thinking of god-awful things to the demon that almost hurt him Sam didn't know or care. Though he figured it was more the latter than the former.

The fallen angel looked at Baby, then at Sam. "You can't fight destiny, Sam, I'm sorry," he said, and God help him but Sam actually thought the Devil sounded sincere about it.

"B—ul-l—sh—it," the Impala gasped out, and Lucifer turned back towards Baby, surprised she could actually fight back against his Grace.

"You—will—never—hurt –my boys," she gasped out, using every bit of energy she had to croak out the words. Though he was less powerful since he was dream-walking, he had never met anyone able to fight off angelic magic before. Surprising everyone, Lucifer stepped back and let her drop to the floor.

Sam skirted around the Devil and ran to her side, helping her get to her feet. She gasped as air flooded her lungs and her voice was returned.

"I've been there for both Sam and Dean for their entire lives," she said as she caught her breath. "I was the one that lulled them to sleep down lonely stretches of road on quiet nights. I was the one protecting them and helping them outrun the monsters. I'm the one who keeps this family together. And yes, we are a family. No matter how badly you twist the words around, we are a family."

Lucifer crossed her arms over his chest and watched them carefully. Sam and Lucifer's eyes met for several seconds, and while Sam's grew more defiant, Lucifer's seemed to soften in sadness.

"Who the hell are you?" Lucifer demanded as she came to stand upright with Sam's hand on her elbow.

She grinned. "I'm the Impala. Come around my boys again, and I'll road-haul you until there's nothing left but bloody skid marks on an abandoned stretch of asphalt."

Lucifer's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he chuckled. "Makes a lot of sense, actually." He turned towards Sam and smiled. "I'll be seeing you around, Sam." The Devil said.

That's when Sam woke up.

"Holy shit, Sam," Dean said, after hearing about Baby's encounter with Lucifer. He had been getting increasingly worried for how long Baby had been in Sam's dream, but he was relieved to find she had mostly fought Lucifer verbally than physically. "She actually managed to fight of archangel mojo?"

It was almost 2 in the morning. Dean was sitting in one chair while Sam sat on the opposite side of the cheap table (unbroken in reality). Cas was standing behind Dean, stoic as always, and Baby was flopped onto Sam's bed, apparently exhausted from her dream fighting. She had almost dozed off twice now, and no matter how she fought it, her eyelids kept getting heavier and heavier…

They looked over to see the car-turned-human was fast asleep, snoring ever so slightly.

"How did she manage to kick Zach's ass and break Lucifer's mojoed silence back to back?" Sam asked quietly. Both brothers had Styrofoam cups of coffee in front of them.

Dean took a sip of his. "Well, she is the Impala," he said proudly.

Sam rolled his eyes. "No, I mean, the angels were actually there, weren't they? How did she overpower them?"

"An angel can dream walk, but they can't fit their entire self into a dream, the host would most likely explode. They use just enough Grace to enter and lock themselves inside the dream, and can almost do whatever they want once inside. But they are never at full strength," Castiel explained. "The Impala, on the other hand, was there completely, and she is already stronger than most humans."

"Well, remind me to never get on her bad side," Dean said, motioning towards the sleeping lump of bad-assery on the edge of the bed. He whistled quietly. "The look on Zach's face was priceless when she shoved a candle-stand through his stomach. Wish I had a camera so I could take that picture and mount it on a wall."

Sam's eyes widened. "Yeah, no kidding! Anyone who can kick angelic ass, powered-down or not, I'm definitely glad she's on our side."

"Amen to that, brother," Dean said, and they touched cups of coffee together.

"The only problem is, next time Zach and Luci are gonna ream our asses good, and the Impala won't be there to watch our backs," Sam said somberly.

Dean sighed sadly, a little pang of pain in his chest. Despite not having a vehicle, he had forgotten Baby's predicament was only temporary. He was going to miss her snarky BAMFness when she had four tires again.

"No, they won't. Or, at least, Zachariah won't be able to," Castiel said. Both hunters looked up at him. "While she was distracting them, I managed to place more warding symbols on your minds as well as your ribs. No angels will be able to enter your dreams, Dean."

"What about you?" Dean asked curiously. Castiel's eyes suddenly found the wallpaper on the other side of the room utterly fascinating. "I won't be able to enter without your explicit consent," he said stoically, not looking at Dean.

"So, if I pray for you in my dream, you mean?"

"…Yes."

"Well, what about Lucifer?" Sam asked, realizing Cas was in some sort of awkward territory and throwing him a proverbial life raft. "You said 'Zach'—does the same trick not work on archangels?"

"It won't really work on Lucifer because you are his true vessel. He will always be able to figure out where your dreams are, but he won't be able to enter easily. It'll make it more difficult for him to attack you again."

"Thanks, Cas," Sam said sincerely, but he still felt a worrying fear at the back of his mind. More difficult to enter wasn't the same as staying out permanently.

"Yeah, thanks, man," Dean said with a genuine smile.

Castiel nodded once. All three looked at Baby, who was still snoring away.

"Maybe I should give her a massage when she wakes up," Dean mused, and both his brother and angel gave him a look. "What? It's the least she deserves! She saved our asses, multiple times tonight."

"Are you two going to need a room alone?" Sam teased.

Dean made a disgusted face. "Dude, she's the car. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Sam was too busy trying to laugh quietly to answer with a snappy come back.

"What do we do now?" Sam finally mused. "Should we go back to sleep?"

Dean shrugged. "I don't know if I can sleep. Even with the new security, I'm still riled up," he admitted. Sam nodded in understanding.

"I could transport you to Bobby's," Castiel offered. "There you would be safe from any other brave demons that might try to finish what the first group this evening started."

"Do you have the mojo for it?" Sam asked. "I mean, you just upgraded our sigils and helped drag us from our own nightmares. We know you're running on a limited number of batteries."

"Yeah, Cas, don't drain yourself on our account," Dean said. Though he wanted nothing more than to be out of this claustrophobic and boring motel room, he wasn't going to push their only angelic ally past the breaking point for a little added comfort.

Castiel thought about it for a moment. "I have enough energy to transport everyone there. I would just need some time to rest once at Bobby's," he said.

"Alright," Sam said. "I'll pack our duffels, and you call Bobby, warn him we're coming?"

"Yeah, don't wanna give him a heart attack in the middle of the night," Dean said.

As Sam quietly gathered their belongings, Dean heard Bobby's cell phone ring three times before the gruff voice answered "Dean?"

"Hey, Bobby," he said almost conversationally. "Didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No, actually. Just working on how to stop the Apocalypse. Ya know, work. What's got you callin' me in the middle of the night?" Bobby asked, straight to the point.

"Well, I was wondering how you feel about some company," Dean said.

"Let me guess, you two idjits and feathers?"

"If you could add one more to the reservation, we'd appreciate it," Dean said, grinning.

"You're ya bringing?" Bobby asked suspiciously.

Dean sighed. "It's a long story, Bobby."

"Long enough to require a pot of coffee when you get here?" Bobby asked. Even though he was probably tired and cross-eyed from staring at lore all night, he was still a good host. Dean whistled for Sam's attention and silently mouthed 'Coffee?' Sam nodded tiredly.

"Yeah, sounds good," Dean said.

"When do you think you'll get here?"

"Um…a few minutes?"

"…What's got you flying Angel Air?" Bobby asked casually, though he couldn't keep the worry and surprise out of his tone. Dean never allowed Castiel to teleport him anywhere unless it was an emergency.

Dean decided that the Impala snoring on the end of a motel bed was a good enough exception to the rule. "Like I said, long story."

"Well, quit yappin' and get over here already," Bobby said, and he hung up the phone.

"God, he's a cranky old dude," Dean muttered, showing his phone in his jeans pocket.

The bags were packed, and both guys had their shoes and jackets on. Dean went over to the bed and shook Baby awake. "Hey, wakey-wakey Impala. Time to rev that engine of yours."

"You can walk. The diner ain't that far," she muttered sleepily. She cracked open one eye and narrowed it at Dean. "You're not on fire, or dying. What gives?"

"We're going to Bobby's, but I'm not holding you while we teleport. Once we get there you can crash—er, sleep, again," Dean said sternly.

With an irritated sigh Baby got to her feet, rubbing her eyes and yawning as she came to stand next to Castiel. Dean grabbed her hand, and nodded. With his eyes closed in concentration, Castiel touched both men's foreheads, and they vanished.

The teleportation usually left Dean feeling woozy and it played havoc with his insides. It seemed like this time was no different; when they landed on the gravel in front of Bobby's house, he doubled over as pain laced through his stomach. "This still sucks," he muttered.

Sam, apparently unaffected by Angel Air, helped Dean back up, a sympathetic hand patting his shoulder.

Baby was awake now, or at least she was for the moment. She had to be, she was the only one keeping Castiel from falling to the rocky ground as he was now unconscious. "Guys, a hand, please?" she asked.

Dean and Sam immediately grabbed the angel on either side and walked him up the steps to Bobby's front door. Dean pounded on the door. "Bobby! It's us!" he yelled.

The door opened after a few seconds, and Bobby pulled open the door, a look of concern on his face. "What did you idjits do now?" he demanded as the Winchesters dragged the angel to the couch in the study. They gently dropped Castiel onto its old cushions, and the angel started to snore.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Dean turned back towards Bobby and Baby, who were next to each other. She was looking at his wheelchair curiously, and he was looking her over as well, his eyes narrowed in confused recognition. It was probably the same look that Sam and Dean had when they first met her human form.

"Hey, Dean?" she asked. "How come when I manifested I didn't have wheels?"

Bobby's face turned red in indignation. "What the hell does that mean? Who are you?" he demanded.

Dean walked forward, and motioned for everyone to move into the kitchen so he could close the sliding doors to the study. He wanted to give Castiel as much down time as needed. Apparently the trip had taken everything he had. "Idiot," Dean muttered affectionately under his breath.

Sam pulled Bobby's chair back into the kitchen, and started working on damage control. "Bobby, she didn't mean it like that—" he said.

"Oh, really? Who is she, and why shouldn't I shoot her right now for insulting me?"

"I didn't insult you," Baby stated, and Bobby glared at her. "I didn't! Wheels are just more energy efficient when it comes to travel. These things—" she motioned towards her legs—"these legs are so inefficient for long distance travel. I'd gladly switch with you."

"What kind of crazy did you bring into my house?" Bobby growled at the boys.

"Bobby, meet, uh, Baby. Baby, you know Bobby," Dean said, trying to get them off on the right foot.

Baby looked down at Bobby, and nodded. "Yeah, I know who he is." Suddenly, she snatched his hat right off his head, hit him in the chest with it, and shoved it back down on his head. Bobby looked so surprised his lower jaw was almost sitting in his lap. "You tried to get Sam to sell me for scrap! You're lucky I'm the forgiving sort, Bobby Singer, or I'd be tempted to run over you for good measure!" she hissed.

"Oh, for the love of God," Dean moaned, rubbing his temples as a headache started to form between his eyes.

Sam got between them before Bobby tried to kill her. "Bobby, it's the Impala," he said quickly. "We were working a witch hunt, and she threw some sort of spell at us and made the Impala a human," he explained in a single breath.

Bobby looked at Sam, then at Baby once again. He tilted his head, and his eyes grew wide. "Well, I'll be damned," he said, now recognized her as well.

Baby crossed her arms over her body and huffed. "It's not polite to stare," she said.

"Well, excuse me for not toeing the party line, princess. I'm not used to being sassed by a former car in my own kitchen," Bobby grumped. He looked at Sam, and Dean, and Baby, and wheeled his chair around towards the coffee pot. "Who wants that coffee?" he demanded in a huff.

The eastern sky was already beginning to lighten on the horizon when Sam and Dean finished the narrative of their night's events. Castiel was still passed on out on the couch, and Baby was sleeping in one of the chairs in the study as well. She had gone in there to sleep early into the story, still weary from her dealings with the angels.

"So, that car-lady handed one of Heaven's top brass his respective ass on a silver platter? And talked Lucifer down from making Sam his meat-suit?" Bobby said, and whistled. "I knew that car had heart, but damn. I'm starting to think I owe her a major apology for suggesting she was nothing better than scrap after the accident with your old man." For his part, Bobby did look sincerely apologetic.

"She saved our asses Bobby, and now there's 12 hours until she turns back into a human," Sam said, a little sadly. It seemed he didn't really want human Impala to change back, either.

"Sorry boys. You're just lucky the curse ended as well as it has. It could have gone any number of ways," Bobby said.

"You ever hear of a curse doing this?" Dean asked. The old hunter lifted up his cap to scratch his forehead in thought.

"Not exactly. But it could be a guardian spell," he offered.

"A what?" Sam asked. Magic always interested him.

"A guardian spell. Basically takes an inanimate object and animates it with the purpose of protecting the spell caster. Think the golems of lore. Protectors of stone that stand guard over people or places. Your witch might have tried to animate something in her house to protect herself from you, but it hit you instead. Why it made the Impala human I've got no idea, but that's all I can think of."

Dean nodded. "Makes sense. And maybe that's why Baby could kick the angel's butts—she was given a hit of supernatural juice for the job."

"Like I said, just an idea," Bobby said, and he stifled a yawn.

"Bobby," Sam said quietly. "Do you have any idea on how to do a guardian spell?" he asked.

Both Dean and Bobby looked at him, but Bobby shook his head. "Don't think I've got anything like that in my library. Whatcha thinking, Sam?"

"Yeah, Sam?" Dean asked, although his tone suggested he knew exactly what Sam was thinking of, and he didn't like the idea one bit.

"…Nothing, nevermind. It's a dumb thought," Sam backtracked quickly.

"You want to keep the Impala as a human?" Bobby asked, and a blush crept over Sam's cheeks.

"Dude, no. Not my car. Not the Impala!" Dean said hotly. "You wanna bring a car to life? Pick one, there's dozens behind the house."

"Dean, she's powerful," Sam said, trying to explain before Dean's anger made him completely shut down any discussion of the idea. "You saw how quick she took down those demons! She managed to take down Zach and made Lucifer back down, Dean. Castiel's on his last legs when it comes to mojo, if this trip didn't empty his batteries completely. We need all the powerful allies we can get if we're going to stop this Apocalypse on our own."

"Sam, if Castiel is on his last legs, then we've got no ride if we manage to keep her human. And all of our weapons, talismans, we don't get those back, either!"

"You could always fix up a junker from the lot," Bobby offered, but the glare Dean shot him made him put his hands up in surrender. "Look, I know it—she's—your car, Dean, but Sam's got a point. If we wanna keep this marble spinnin', we've gotta look at all possibilities."

"Don't let your guilt about almost junking her cloud your judgment!" Dean admonished.

Bobby smacked him in the air. "This ain't about guilt, idjit, it's strategic. She's got power that no one else does. It's an option worth considering."

Before Dean could retaliate, another voice cut him off. "Did anyone bother to think that maybe you should ask the Impala in question?"

All three men looked to see Baby standing between the pulled open sliding doors. A blush crept up over all three faces. They ducked their heads sheepishly, except Dean who simply grinned at her.

"You only slept 2 hours, you okay?" he asked in concern.

Baby nodded, and she plopped herself down into the empty chair backwards, resting her arms on the chair back. "I woke up because I was thirsty, and then decided to see how long you'd keep arguing over me," she said pointedly.

Dean got up and got her a glass of water, which she nursed as Sam and Bobby gave her the cliff notes version of the discussion she had walked in on.

"So, you think I'm a better human than I am a ride?" she said.

"NO," Dean said instantly, glaring at the other two men. "Never. You're the Impala, you're perfect no matter if you're a car or a human," he said honestly.

"You're breaking my heart, Romeo," Bobby said, rolling his eyes.

"If it wasn't weird, I'd tell you to get a room," Sam muttered.

"Hey, I get points for not taking that innuendo to its obvious conclusion," Dean stated, digging an elbow playfully into Baby's ribs. She made a face at him.

"Well, look here, much as I enjoy your riveting company, I suggest we reconvene this discussion in about four hours' time," Bobby said, yawning loudly. "Everyone shut up and get some damn sleep, and we'll talk later."

"But, Bobby, shouldn't we be looking through lore for one of these spells?" Sam asked. However, a yawn overcame him before the hunter could answer.

"You're welcome to my library, but I suggest sleep. Nothing worse than trying to cast a spell and you're cross-eyed with exhaustion. Stupid-ass things happen." With that final statement, Bobby wheeled himself away towards the bedroom on the first floor. Sam, Dean, and the Impala all looked at each other.

"Well, guess it's bed time," Dean said, and he herded them up to the guest bedrooms upstairs. Before heading up he checked in on Cas, and found the angel still snoring away on the couch. He looks so…much less constipated when he's asleep, Dean decided with a smile.

Sam passed out in his room, and Dean lead Baby into his larger room. Since his bed was larger than Sam's he decided he could share the mattress with his car for the nap.

"Take off your jacket and boots," Dean commanded. Baby sleepily followed his example, and they lay down on opposite sides of the bed. Dean made sure not to face towards her, and put a few inches of space between them. Even though the mattress was old and creaky, and the bed linens were a little dusty smelling and threadbare, he passed out almost instantly. The Impala followed suit only a moment behind her boy.

"Dean, wake up!" Sam said loudly as he pounded heavily on the closed wooden door to Dean's room.

His older brother replied with a sleepy "Fuck off Sammy," before nuzzling the warm pillow under him. He tightened his arms around the pillow and dragged towards his body, so he could cuddle it for a few more minutes. That was, until he realized his pillow was actually the body of the Impala.

"Dean, what are you doing?" Baby asked, the edge in her voice softened with sleepy confusion, and Dean became instantly awake. He flung himself away from her warmth, almost falling off the other side of the bed. She turned over and looked at him sleepily, her hair mussed from sleep and eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Dean refused to look at her, and he could feel his cheeks and ears tingling with a hot blush. I was spooning the Impala, oh God, this is so insane and stupid. God, this is gonna be awkward, oh man I'll never be able to look at her again. I don't want to screw my car, I swear to God I'm not that broken….

He glanced up at her as she ignored his mental plight and stood to stretch. The late morning sunlight was coming in through the blinds on the windows, and he could see every scar on her arms and chest. She turned to look at him, silver eyes now awake and protective, and her hands were on her hips.

It seemed that, no matter if she was a car or a human, the Impala was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. But it wasn't so much a sexual beauty, he realized in relief. It was a…protective, nurturing beauty. She stood up to the Devil for Sammy last night, and stood up to Zach for him without a second thought of herself. She was sassy and smart and courageous to a fault, and Dean actually wondered if Sam didn't have a good point about keeping her a human.

"Hey, Dean," Baby said, snapping in front of his face to bring Dean from his thoughts. Her jacket and boots were already back on, and Dean hadn't even noticed her get dressed. "Come on, it's time for food," she said. She left him to get dressed alone, and Dean felt his eyes grow a little wet when he thought about her never speaking to him again. He wiped his eyes and took a deep breath and ignored the ache in his chest.

After a shower and a change in clothes, Dean came downstairs to see everyone, even Castiel, was in the kitchen. Bobby was eating the bacon and eggs Sam had wiped up, although Baby seemed more than content with just bacon and coffee.

"Morning Sleepin' Beauty," Bobby said as he entered the kitchen. Castiel nodded his greetings. "Good morning, Dean."

Sam handed his brother a cup of coffee and let Dean take his spot at the table, while he perched on the counter. "So," Sam said. "What's the plan today?"

"Depends on you," Bobby said, sipping his coffee.

"We've got," Dean looked at the watch on her arm. "Less than six hours until Baby's got a V8 again," he said. He looked at the Impala as she methodically munched on another strip of bacon. "What do you want to do?"

She looked at him, then glanced around to see everyone was staring at her. "I…I'm not sure. I miss my tires, my simple life. Things are so much simpler when you're just a car," she admitted. "But…I don't want to go back. Not while you boys need help. If possible, we should find a way to extend this spell, right? Isn't that what you want?" she asked.

The men all exchanged looks with each other, although most eyes fell on Dean. After all, he'd been the one fighting against the idea of keeping the Impala a human. He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure what to say and not wanting to lie, either. "I…want you to do what you want to do, Baby," he said slowly. "If that means going back, then we'll accept your decision. If you want to stay human, we'll work on that angle."

"If this spell was indeed an accident, how exactly do you think you're going to reverse it or extend its duration?" Castiel asked.

"We think it might be a guardian spell," Bobby explained. "We were thinking of seeing if we can find a more permanent version."

Castiel narrowed his eyes in deep concentration. "Though I'm not familiar with many types of magic, I do know that any sort of spell that animates inanimate objects would probably require exceptionally rare and potent ingredients. Such ingredients needed would be very difficult to come by, especially in our constricted time-frame."

"You won't be able to zap out and pick up some tail or newt and eye of toad?" Sam asked, and Castiel looked at him curiously.

"No, I won't be able to 'zap' anywhere for another few days. And those are not exceptionally powerful ingredients."

"Nevermind, Cas," the youngest Winchester said in a defeated tone.

"Wait, that's it? We're just gonna give up just like that?" Dean asked. "We're not even gonna try?"

"We're not giving up, Dean. It's just…what else can we do?" Bobby asked, a little sympathetically. "I already told you that I'm not even sure I can get my hands on a spell like that. I'm thinking when your angel says it's a no-go, it's probably safe to believe him."

Dean looked at everyone's shrouded faces, and suddenly couldn't stay in the kitchen any longer. He stood up suddenly and angrily stomped out of the kitchen out into the salvage yard behind Bobby's house.

"Dean, wait!" Sam called, but Bobby shook his head.

"Let him take some time to calm down."

Baby stood up and started to follow Dean outside, despite Bobby's reiteration to leave him alone. She looked back at them and scowled. "You three," she said, pointing at them, "Need to go read some lore or something. I don't care what it is, but you need to at least try to keep me around. A girl can't help but feel a little unloved when you don't even try!" she said.

As the screen door slammed behind her, Bobby found Sam and Castiel looking at him for guidance. "What? Ya'll heard the lady as well I did. She's right, we should at least try on this one."

"Why is Dean so upset?" Castiel mused aloud. "I understand he has affection for the car, but why is he so angry about her changing back into her original form?"

Bobby sighed. "I think it's because all his life he grew up with these few precious memories of Mary, his mother. After all, he was four when she died so he remembered her somewhat. And now, I think he just realized that he's had another mother watching over him."

Bobby turned around and looked Sam, who had a stunned look of realization on his face. Sam had been eaten up about Baby turning back into a car, too, but he just figured it was because he wanted to keep her around to protect him from Lucifer. Now he realized it was because she had been acting like a mother, and that was something Sam had never really experienced outside of Ellen. He craved that feeling, and now that he had a taste of it, he didn't want to let it go.

"She fought tooth and nail against Zachariah and Lucifer not because of any spell, but because she loves you two idjits," Bobby said to Sam. "She's gotten to talk to you and be with you for a whole day, seeing you as her grown up sons. And by tonight, she's going to be a car again. Wouldn't you be upset about losing your mother twice in your life?"

Castiel looked at Bobby, then at Sam, and stood suddenly. "There are many books in the study that pertain to witchcraft," the angel said with determination. "We must get started quickly."

Bobby wheeled in chair towards the study, following Castiel, when the front door slammed shut behind Sam's hurrying frame. Bobby sighed, but it was one of defeated resignation. He didn't really think they'd be able to stop the spell in time, but he'd at least try. The three of them deserved the attempt, at the very least.

Sam didn't have to wander far before he found Dean laying on the hood of a beat up car, looking tired and pissed. The Impala was sitting on the hood next to him, though she looked less worn out. As he got closer he saw that Dean's brow was covered in sweat, his hair was matted, and his knuckles were bruised and bloody. He must have taken out his frustration on another car, Sam realized.

"You're brother's a self-destructive moron," the Impala said loudly when Sam was almost next to them.

Dean glared at her. "No, I'm not," he said in a huff.

"I know how fast you drive and how much you drink, Dean Winchester," she chastised him. "No back-sass."

Sam chuckled at them, and saw Dean roll his eyes in annoyance but a little smile ghosted itself across his lips.

"Did you really have to take it out on a car, though?" She asked. "My trunk's still a little tender last time you got pissed."

Dean looked horrified at her. "Oh, shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that," he said.

Sam looked at them with eyebrows raised. "I really don't want to hear this," he said.

"Shut up Sam," both Baby and Dean growled at him.

"Not like that!" Baby said in a huff. "When you kept asking him after John died, he punched a hole through the trunk with a crowbar."

"Baby!" Dean said, looking shocked, embarrassed, and pissed. "I'm sorry, but did you have to say that?"

"What? The fact that you were sad and pissed off about your dad's death, like a regular human being would be, is really that bizarre?" she countered.

Sam opened his mouth, but Dean cut him off. "Enough already! That's not the problem right now, okay? The problem is nobody is trying to save you!"

"Actually, Castiel and Bobby are going through lore as we speak," Sam said. The hunter and his car looked at the tall Winchester in surprise. "They sorta realized that…well, it was just rude to not even try, you know?"

"Aw, they care," she said sarcastically, though there was a tone of genuine surprise under her comment.

"We do," Sam said genuinely. "You're family, Impala. And Bobby sorta had to remind us that you do everything you can to save your family."

"I'm not dying, guys," she said with a huff of exasperation. "I'm just going back to normal. Thought you two would be happy about that."

"Yeah, well, we're Winchesters," dean said, sliding off the hood of the car. "We're never happy with the status quo. Now, come on, the lore isn't gonna read itself," he said.

Sam followed Dean and Baby back towards the house, a twinge of hope in his heart. Maybe they could find something after all. Maybe they could finally have a real family again. Bobby was already like their father, and even having though the idea was pretty crazy, having the Impala as a mom was still an appealing idea to him.

Lunch was a simple affair of peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches that Dean whipped up for everyone. They continued to scour the books for guardian spells or anything else that could be useful to keeping the Impala a human.

Since the former car couldn't actually read, she made herself busy by working out in the garage, cleaning up and organizing tools and parts, making things easier to access and more efficient for the handicapped hunter to use.

Since the spell would wear off around 5, and it was now almost 4 P.M., Bobby closed the book he was reading with a sigh. "Nothing here," he announced.

Dean was sitting on the couch, and though he currently scanning a book as fast as possible, the stack of useless books on Dean's left was several times taller than the one that dwindled on his right. He closed to book and tossed it to the left, rubbing his face with his hands. "Nothing," he said with irritation.

Sam looked up from his laptop and shook his head too. "Same here. Whatever spell that witch used, it's a hell of a hard one to find."

"It could have been a home-cooked version," Bobby said. "Maybe something she whipped up on her own dime."

"She didn't seem all that powerful, though. I mean, we ganked her pretty fast, and she missed us at point blank range," Dean said. "Smells like an amateur at best."

"Maybe she got the juice, just not the know-how," Bobby added. "I don't know, boy. All I know is that we've still got nothing, and the clock's almost run up."

"I have gone through most of the library Bobby owns, as well as my personal knowledge," Castiel said. "I don't have anything to add. I'm sorry."

Dean looked so defeated, so worn-down and sad, that Bobby felt like he'd betrayed his adopted son himself. An idea popped into his head, and he wheeled the chair towards the supply closest near the front door. "Someone go get her," he instructed before leaving.

When Bobby returned to the den Baby was standing in the room, arms crossed and keeping a stoic expression on her face. She was trying to stay strong for Sam and Dean, but Bobby didn't miss her lower lip quiver just a bit when she realized they hadn't been able to find any spell to reverse her impending transformation.

"Bobby, why do you have a camera?" Dean asked as Bobby started to set up the tripod in the corner of the study near the fireplace.

"I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count, genius," he grumped. "What's it look like?" The tripod now up, he affixed the older camera onto the tripod swiftly. "Now, get in the frame, all of ya."

"We don't want our pictures taken, Bobby," Sam said. However, they all crowded around the hunter's wheelchair anyways. Even Castiel stood next to the hunter.

Just before the picture was snapped, Baby stepped up behind Bobby's chair between Sam and Dean. She wrapped an arm around Dean and Sam's shoulders, and pulled them in closer to herself, and sighed. "My boys," she said proudly, with a smile.

When the picture printed, everyone was smiling, and everyone looked happy (well, Castiel looked less constipated, so that was a seen as a victory).

Dinner was a swift affair of hot dogs, chips, and beer, and the before they knew it time was up.

Everyone filed out to the gravel driveway, a few minutes before the 24 hours was over.

Baby hugged everyone, included Castiel (he didn't return it but simply endured it) and she whispered something in his ear that made his eyes wide and mouth fall open in surprise, though he never repeated her words to anyone.

Bobby gave her the much owed apology, and promised to keep an eye on the boys for her.

Sam and Dean hugged her so hard they almost broke her, but she simply smiled at them.

24 hours ago the first thing she'd done was smack them across the face for being idiots.

24 hours later she tenderly stroked those same spots, and lovingly called them her idiots.

"You two watch out for each, but don't forget to enjoy the ride, okay? Yeah, road trips can be tough and you hit rough patches on the way, but never forget to enjoy the drive. You two make this Impala very proud. You'll save the world, and you'll do it together, like you always do. And don't be too sad. I'll always be around," she said.

Dean and Sam didn't even hide the tears that silently fell down their cheeks at her words. The ache in their chest was almost overpowering, the way it tore them up inside. To have a mom, even for just a few short hours, was the best feeling in the world, and they decided they weren't going to ruin it with teasing or making snide comments.

A few quiet sniffles escaped them when the watch hit 0.0.00 and the Impala, the beautiful and tough-as-nails Impala, had four tires and a V8 engine once again.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Just F.Y.I. readers, there IS a sequel in the works! It's going to be a multi-chapter re-imagining of the Apocalypse if Baby was there! I'm hoping to have it up soon, so keep an eye out dear readers!