By His Side

{Flashback –two years before}

Cassie didn't go back to her old life after Dean left her. She couldn't the man had a hold on her soul. Sometimes she wondered if the hold was supernatural or if it was just the way things happened when you fell in love so deep you couldn' t breath without thinking of the other person. She reasoned for days that Dean had things to do. He had to do his work he had to save others. She went on dates after work and wrote more articles than she would ever have any use for. But she would find herself searching for things happening that were paranormal in here area. At first, she was curious then she thought at one point maybe Dean hadn't gone so far and that if she showed up at one of the locations he would be there, saving someone.

It was only a week after she last saw Dean that she found herself in her car going to check it out a haunting an hour from her city. It's been a week she told herself, Dean could be across the country in a few hours a week was forever. She drove up to the small house and knocked on the door to find an older white woman.
"Can I help you?" the woman asked.
"I…..I am sorry to bother you but I saw your ad in the paper you said you thought you were being haunted," Cassie said in almost a whisper. Maybe she was losing her mind she knew very little of the supernatural.

The lady nodded as though the ghost would know if she said it out loud or so Cassie thought.
Cassie looked the lady in the eyes, "Has anyone come to help you with that problem the ad I saw was a few days old."
The woman smiled then, "There was a man that came he was older with a scruffy beard, he was nice reminded me of my son," she said with a soft smile, "he took care of the ghost and I gave him a pound cake," she added with pride.
Cassie was a bit disappointed, but decided to ask her any way, "Um, do you recall his name, this man?"
"Young lady are you having ghosts problems?"
Cassie shook her head but really she was having ghost's issues except they were the ghost of Dean.
"I think I might need the man's help though," Cassie lied.
"Come in let me get his name for you," the older lady said, "My name is Marcie."
Cassie acknowledged the name and gave her hers as she followed Marcie inside the small neat home.
The lady went to a dresser that was set up in the living room. It was an airy small area with a love seat as well as several chairs, a television, a fire place and lots of mirrors.

"Here you go, its Bobby Singer, here is his number," Marcie said as she wrote it down then passed it to Cassie.
Cassie smiled as she took the paper, she had no idea how many hunters were out there in the world but she hoped the information would lead her to Dean or something that would connect them. She thanked Marcie and asked her to be careful before she went to her car and drove away.

At the diner not far from Marcie's home Cassie phoned Bobby.
She took a deep breath before he finally answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hi is this Bobby Singer?"
"Yes, who is this?"
"This is Cassie Robinson, I'm a friend of Dean Winchester."
Bobby hesitated to answer his first thought was somehow one of Dean's one night stand's had tracked him down. "Um when was the last time you saw um Dean?" he asked cautiously.
"So you do know him?"
"Yeah, I do but I can tell you he doesn't have the money to pay child support…….."
Cassie interrupted with her laugh. She bit her lip, the guy must really know Dean if that is the first thing that came to his mind.
"Well that isn't why I am looking for him," she sighed, "To be honest, I love the guy and I know he has things to do….." she had to stop this wasn't her. She really didn't know what she could do to make herself part of his life.

Bobby got the idea the woman was emotional, "Hey, its okay I can tell you I haven't seen Dean in a few years, I am a friend of his fathers. We are close but I am sure all he does is hunt. That is all Dean has ever done since he was young, Cassie. I can't give you any hope for that love you have, I'm sorry."
Bobby was quiet for several moments, " Are you a hunter? How did you find my information?"
Cassie pulled herself together, "I have done some research, I'm a journalist. I can't shake what I feel for him he was here a week ago and we well renewed or relationship a bit then he had to go. Maybe this was a bad idea."
"Cassie, if you love Dean then you must know why he does what he does, use your intelligence to go the rest of the way," he advised her.
Cassie cleared her throat, she knew he was right. To be with Dean she had to be like Dean. She had to decided if she wanted to go that extra mile or give up on him. "Thanks Bobby, if I need your help is okay if I call you?"
Bobby let her know if she ever needed him to just give him a shout.
She thanked him and hung up the phone. She sat for several hours in the booth drinking tea and deciding what she wanted to do with her life. She knew she wanted to be with Dean, nothing else mattered. She would do whatever it took to find him and be his one and only.
That was the day she decided she would join Dean in his quest to help people survive the things in the dark.
{End Flashback}

Cassie was taking a break from hunting by visiting a few old friends as well as professor in Athens, Ohio when she got a call from Dean. Her heart was in her throat when she saw his name on the caller id on the phone. He hadn't called her in over a year.
"Hello?"
"Cassie?"
"Yeah."
"Cassie it's Dean I know we haven't spoken in a while, he paused, "I wondered what you were up to these days," he asked though he felt it was lame.
So many times he wanted to talk to her but he knew with his time running out it would all be useless. He wanted to see her so much to have her in his arms.
"You there?"
Cassie nodded, "Yeah I'm here. Dean …….How are you doing?" she said as she sat down on a bench.
He couldn't lie to her but how could he tell her the truth. He didn't want her to know what he had done but he had done it for Sam or had he only wanted a way out of his life. His life was empty on so many levels but they did help people now he was going to hell. Why had he called her?
"Cassie I want to see you can we meet some where?"
"Where are you?" she asked as she fingered a bruise on her arm.

Dean said he was in Colorado but Cassie didn't care she was used to driving all over after hunting for two years. She generally had a partner, her name was Cashmere, Cash, but she was taking time off. Cashmere was a huntress that saved Cassie's ass on one of her first hunts. Cash who is Indian ancestry she loved to eat spicy food and hunted because her mother was a huntress. Her father died from a werewolf attack when she was ten years old. Her mother began to hunt and Cash lived with her grandparents till she was fifteen.

Cassie would go so she could tell Dean what she had been up to things would be better, she thought or so she thought at that time.
"Um, Colorado huh, well I am doing some free lancing these days," she said as she made plans in her head. She knew she could be there in a day if she drove straight through.
"Hey so you have time to meet me? I mean you have that kind of freedom?" Dean asked curiously.
Cassie told him she could he just needed to name the place. Cassie hung up with new determination. She went inside to see a few pals then she would get on the road she was going to meet up with him in a day and a half, her heart soared with joy.