Title: As We Know It
Author: Maat
Characters: Dean, Sam, Bobby, Castiel, Eli (OC), Crowley, Aziraphale, and more.
Pairings: Cas/Eli, minor Crow/Az
Rating: T for the first few chapters, then M
Spoilers:Third book in a series. Takes place between seasons 5 and 6. Spoilers for all of Of The World, and the book Good Omens.

Summary: Heaven at war. Mistaken identities. Daddy issues. Sacrifices. Pie. God. The Anti-Christ. Pervy angels. A demon who sauntered vaguely downwards. Between seasons 5 and 6, the world nearly ended. Again.

Note #1: This is the third book in my It's The End 'verse. If you haven't already, please read It's The End and Of The World, which follow seasons 4 and 5, respectively, or a lot of stuff won't make sense. As We Know It does not follow a season; it happens after the events of Of The World and is in no way tied to season 6. Also, the beginning of this book is a bit trippy, and bounces around through time, so hold on! It'll all make sense eventually.

Note #2: For a really good read, check out Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett. There's a demon named Crowley, a gay angel, and the end of the world. I highly recommend it.

Note #3: Eli is pronounced Ee-lye. Feedback is welcomed.

Prologue: In Which We Are Introduced To Beth

Elizabeth Graham woke up to the sound of her alarm ringing shrilly.

"God damnit," she moaned, swinging her arm over and blindly hitting the desk, searching for the button. "Shut up!"

Finally her hand connected to the machine and the beeping stopped. Beth groaned, burying her face in her pillow, her yellow hair splayed like a halo. She had been having the best dream; it was hazy now, and fading fast, but she remembered it had fights and action and sexy men. All of the things her life was currently lacking.

Five minutes had passed. The alarm blared again and she sat up, pushing hair out of her eyes and rubbing them tiredly. When she stood her whole body ached like she had been in a fight, and she stumbled into the bathroom, stretching and yawning.

The face that stared back at her from the mirror was puffy from sleep, the freckles washed out from a long winter with no sun, green eyes exhausted, lips chapped and hair a knotted mane of blonde that stretched down to her shoulder blades. She brushed her teeth blearily, eyeing her body critically in the glass. She needed to get to the gym more often, her stomach was getting soft, her curves a little out-of-control.

From the kitchen, her coffee beeped. She rinsed her mouth and ran into the bedroom, shrugging on a pair of jeans and a cute top. She brushed her hair while drinking her first cup, wincing at the beginning as the coffee clashed with the toothpaste taste still in her mouth. Makeup was applied with the second cup, cover-up for the circles under her eyes, blush to make her pale skin less wan. Boots and a warm, brightly-patterned scarf were put on while gulping a third cup, and then she grabbed her bag and was out the door.

My life as a graduate student, she thought, rolling her eyes as she got on her bicycle in the freezing weather and began to pedal. Can't believe I actually missed this. I traveled the world and I actually missed books and papers and too little sleep. What a nerd.

She pulled to a stop in front of a Starbucks and locked her bike hurriedly, running inside with freezing fingers and a dripping nose. Lucy spotted her from her place by the large electric fireplace and waved.

"She arrives! I got us the good spot!" Lucy yelled, pointing to the couch she had commandeered. Beth beamed and dropped her bag by her friend's feet, holding her hands to the warmth of the fire.

"God bless you, Lucy Wong," she said, sighing in pleasure as feeling tingled back into her fingers. "All I need is some coffee…"

"Some more coffee," Lucy amended, tucking her short black hair behind her ears. She peered at her frazzled friend shrewdly; her eyes were slanted and a deep, delicate blue, the color inherited from her Dutch mother and made exotic by her darker skin and flat nose. "Don't pretend you haven't had at least two cups already."

"Okay, some more coffee," Beth agreed. "And we'll be ready to commence cramming. We've got what, two hours before the test?"

"Less if you don't move your ass," Lucy said, nudging her away from the fireplace with her foot. Beth laughed and kissed the top of her friend's head affectionately.

"We've been studying all week, Luc, we'll be fine. I'll be right back with my mochachino."

"Don't call me Luc, or I'll call you Eli," Lucy warned. Beth shuddered.

"Ew, deal. You know only my parents call me that."

"Parents and Tom," Lucy sing-songed, and Beth stuck a finger in her face pointedly.

"Tom has known me since I used to run naked in his kiddie pool. He is my best friend. He has a right."

"Bet he'd like to recreate that pool moment sometime soon," Lucy said, giggling. Beth whacked her upside the head.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response, bitch."

"Whore."

"I'm getting coffee," Beth said, laughing, and moved to the line.

Across the street stood two men, both staring through the coffee shop windows at the blonde who was currently plopping down on the couch with a giant coffee in one hand and pulling a laptop from her bag with the other. One of the men took out a phone and hit his speed dial.

The phone rang twice before it clicked. The man exhaled, his breath steaming the air. "Yeah, hey, it's me. We found her."