Nevermore Forevermore

After driving around for what seemed like hours, Dean finally spotted her on the beach, at the edge of town. The moon lit up the water like a sheet of foil, casting her figure in an otherworldly glow as she sat on the promenade's edge. He saw her recognise the sound of the Impala, and cursed under his breath as she jumped down onto the sand, striding away quickly.

"Laila!" he shouted, slamming the driver's door as he rushed to follow her. "Laila, wait!"

"Go away, Dean!" was her hostile reply. She still had her back to him.

"No, now will you stop so we can talk?" They were at the water's edge now, the ebbing tide nearly brushing their shoes.

"I don't want to talk!"

"Neither do I, but –"

"So why are you still here?" Without warning Laila stopped and spun round to face him. Though only half of her face was revealed in the poor light, Dean could instantly see the anger and betrayal threatening to burn him to a crisp if he overstepped himself – although at this point, Dean would be amazed if he could do any more damage.

"Because I was worried about you," he told her honestly. "You just took off in the middle of a fight – no warning, no clue, nothing. I thought the demons had got you!"

"Can you blame me?" she snarled. "Really?"

"Oh, c'mon Laila –"

"You tortured him, Dean!" Laila cried. "Even when that demon slipped back you kept going. And you didn't stop!"

"We needed that information," Dean argues, feeling the bottom of his stomach fall away even as he says it.

"So you torture an innocent man?"

"I had to, the demon was still in there!"

"Oh!" she laughed. "Yeah, because that makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it? Never mind that he's clueless, never mind that he can feel pain!"

"You know what I've done!" Those words, spoken without thought, make her pause, and he sees the anger flicker. "You knew I could do what I did, so why are you surprised? I had no other choice, Laila; and believe me, the last thing I wanted was for you to witness that, but it was out of my hands. And if it makes you feel any better I didn't enjoy a second of it." He lowered his voice, listened to the rush of a wave and letting it calm him down. "Now will you please come back?"

Now devoid of anger, Laila shook her head. "No," she murmured. "Dean, listen," she began when he started to protest; "I've just seen a whole other side to you I could never have imagined. The things you did, what you said…" She closed her eyes as she frowned, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. Looking out over the shining sea, Dean now saw the other side of her face, and the faint tear-streak running down her cheek. "I need some time. Just to straighten my feelings out."

It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but despite his protests and his indignation, Dean found himself forcing out what she wanted to hear. "Okay."