They had been keeping an eye on this demon for a few days now, and their determination had finally paid off. He had led them right to the nest, an old abandoned warehouse about ten miles out of town.

"What is it about monsters that make them like warehouses so much?" Buffy said, climbing out of the Impala. "I mean, you can almost guarantee that if there's a warehouse, there's something shady going down inside."

"Makes you wonder if instead of looking for a case, we should simply look for empty warehouses," Dean grinned at her, opening the back of the car.

"Wouldn't be a half bad idea," Buffy said, crossing her arms and shivering.

"I told you you should have dressed warmer," Dean said, already shrugging off his jacket.

Buffy smile impishly. "I like your clothes better," she said. "They smell much nicer than mine." Dean offered Buffy a shotgun as she pulled on his jacket.

"No thanks," she wrinkled her nose slightly. As much as Dean tried to convince her, Buffy still didn't like using guns to do her fighting. Too easy to run out of ammo. Instead, she hefted the battle ax from the back of the trunk.

"Ready?" she said, watching Dean finish grabbing his weapons.

Dean shut the trunk. "I just love it when you are raring to go. What was it that Faith said about slaying? Oh yeah, that it makes you guys-"

"Shut it," Buffy said, punching him on the arm. Hard. "You take front, I'll take back?"

Dean shrugged. "Sounds like a good plan to me. Easy gank and go. Maybe we'll even have time for burgers on the way back!"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Promise to scream like a girl if you need help. I want to watch." She kissed his cheek and took off running toward the back of the building.

Dean loaded the shotgun and crept inside the warehouse. There weren't supposed to be too many demons here, but it was better to be on his guard.

The hallway was poorly lit, and Dean wondered if that was another qualification of monster hang-outs. They all had to have lots of shadowy corners where one could creep and lurk. Dean heard footsteps, and he ducked closer to the wall. A young girl with a tear stained face rounded the corner and screamed when she saw Dean.

"I'm guessing you would be the virgin sacrifice," Dean said, standing aside. "Exit's that way." The girl took off running in the direction Dean pointed. That's one of the things Dean liked most about Buffy; she always took care of the little people first. She must have already found the nest if she was freeing the virgin.

He picked up his pace, keeping his gun high. If Buffy was in the nest, there would be escapees coming down this way soon. Sure enough, Dean saw two demons heading right for him. He fired off two quick shots and they dropped like flies. He continued sweeping the area when he heard a sound he wasn't expecting.

Gunshots. Two of them. He knew Buffy hadn't taken a gun, which meant- His thought was cut off by another gunshot. He started running.

A final gunshot sounded just as he rounded the corner to the center of the warehouse. Buffy stood over a couple dead demons, pistol in her hand. Her ax was sticking out of the neck of one of the demons, and Dean could see a gunshot straight through its head.

"Stupid demon," Buffy tried to laugh, but it sounded more like she was choking. "Wasn't expecting the stupid thing to have a gun." It was only when she turned around that Dean saw the two bullet holes in her stomach. Her hands floated to her stomach, and Dean's mind stopped completely.

"It's okay," Dean said and his voiced cracked slightly. "You're going to be okay."

"Guess I'll have to trust you on that one," Buffy said with a small smile.