Dean's eyes fluttered open, yet immediately squinted against the overwhelming flood of bright light.

Bright lights. Bright, white lights.

He closed his eyes and the memory came flooding back to him again. Ruby's betrayal, Sam breaking the final seal, Lilith's blood being drained from her body, creating a circle from which an ominous glow erupted towards the sky. The last moment he recalled was a glance between him and Sam before total and utter darkness…

Sam.

The emerald-eyed hunter shot up from his prostrate position on what seemed to be a large bed and glanced around the sunlit room. After finding his brother lying on a separate bed, fifteen feet from his own, with his chest steadily rising and falling, Dean heaved a sigh of relief. His little brother was safe. For now. But he still had no clue where he was. All he knew for sure was that he was no longer in that convent.

As if on cue, Sam Winchester began to stir and groaned, reaching for his head. "Sammy?" Dean's gravelly voice called out to his brother. "Sammy, you alright?"

The younger brother rubbed at his eyes and cracked one open. "Dean, is that you?"

"Yeah, Sammy. It's me."

Sam grit his teeth together and tried to sit up. "Dean, listen. I…"

His older brother held a hand up. "It was way beyond your control, Sammy. It was out of both our hands before we were born."

The shaggy-haired man swung his legs over the side of the bed to face Dean. "So, what now?"

Dean leaned in closer to his brother and spoke softly, "We figure out where the hell we are."

"You're in New York, in my safe house."

The men whipped their heads around towards the woman standing in the doorway of the cream-colored room, shrouded by the light streaming in from the open windows.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean challenged her, holding a hand up to block the light from his eyes.

The young woman took a step forward and for the first time, came into view.

She looked to be about five feet, seven inches tall with long blonde hair that fell in loose waves to the middle of her back. As she moved closer towards them, surrounded by a halo of sunlight, they could see her in more detail. From the way her black Metallica tank hugged her hips and covered the very top of her low-rise, destroyed jeans to the toned, yet feminine definition of her bare arms and shoulders, every inch of her rock goddess-like physique was now visible.

And despite the fact that she could have possibly been holding them captive, Dean couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Relax," she assured him and took note to put Sam at ease with a glance, as well. "My goal is the same as yours, Winchesters."

Sam eyed her suspiciously. "How do you know who we are?"

"In our community, Sam," she replied with a smile, stopping right between the foot of each bed, "Everybody knows everybody else."

"But I don't know you," Dean answered with a slight edge to his voice.

The blonde laughed and moved forward, placing a hand on his shoulder, allowing him to catch a glimpse of her hazel eyes flecked with green and gold. "I work very hard to keep it that way. You can't be sure who to trust anymore, given the current situation"

Dean was reduced to silence, for the first time in a while. Sam spoke up on both of their behalves, "Who are you?"

"Full of questions today, aren't we Sam? I'm Scarlett," the woman, who appeared to be somewhere between the brothers' ages, replied. "Scarlett Lucas."

Dean managed to clear his throat before speaking again, "How did we get here, Scarlett?"

"I was driving up from the city when I found you two on the side of one of the country roads out here. You were both out cold," Scarlett informed him with a hint of sympathy. "But I recognized you immediately. I knew something was wrong… it's Lucifer, isn't it? He's rising."

Dean looked away from her, over to Sam, and back again. "Yeah, he's rising."

"Shit," she muttered in disappointment. "Well, for now… there's not much we can do. Hell has begun to rise in Maryland, but it will take time to fully come to the surface."

Sam glanced up at her, "How much time do we have?"

"Thirty days."

"That's it?" Dean asked incredulously, arching his eyebrows. "A month?"

Scarlett sighed heavily. "Look, we're lucky that all of the hunters out there postponed it as long as they did. And we're very fortunate that the two of you lasted as long as you both did. It's more than I could ever have asked of you," she added, sinking onto the bed next to Sam, who was looking as tormented as ever. "Sam, listen to me. I am from a family with a history of battling evil, much like your own. And trust me when I tell you that this was not your fault. This was put into action long before either of you were born, long before I was born, as well. Don't blame yourself for this."

He nodded, only half-convinced by her words.

"Listen, I need to make a trip to the supermarket and I'm sure you guys are starving. Why don't you guys get yourselves showered and cleaned up? There's a bunch of clean clothes in the drawers, all your size. We'll head out whenever you're ready," Scarlett offered, heading back towards the doorway.

"Dude," Dean cracked a slight smirk at his brother, trying to cheer him up. "I am pretty damn hungry."

Scarlett's heart broke for the younger of the brothers. "I promise I will make you the best burgers you've had in your entire life."

Sam slowly glanced up at her and childishly asked, "With bacon?"

"Yeah," she answered with a nod and a smile. "With bacon."

"You go ahead first, Sammy. I'll wait," Dean told his brother. "Besides, you smell a hell of a lot worse than me anyway."

Sam rolled his eyes and rose to his feet. "Thanks, Dean."


As soon as Sam was in the shower, Dean left the room in search of Scarlett, whose whereabouts were unknown in the relatively large country house.

Faintly, the hunter-slash-con artist could make out the opening tremolos of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck," muffled in the distance. Judging by the dullness of the song, he accurately guessed that his hostess was outside, in the yard. He quickly descended down the stairs and found himself facing the kitchen, which boasted a back door. Sure enough, he could make out the blonde in the yard, tending to what looked like a garden.

Surprised by her nonchalant nature in the face of impending doom, Dean pushed through the door. "Care to tell me why you're planting pretty flowers when we're faced with the literal version of Hell on Earth?"

Scarlett smirked back at him. "My mind is always in overdrive, Winchester. I do my best thinking in this garden. Plus, if you knew anything about plants, you'd know that these aren't for decoration," she added with an eye-roll.

"Ooh… are they magical?" he asked with fake amazement, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"They're used for healing, for strength, and most importantly, when certain ones are combined, they're helpful against demons in ways guns aren't. Manipulation," she added with a wry smile, rising to her feet and pulling off her gloves. "Don't get me wrong though, I'll take a 12-Gauge shot over a borage plant any day of the week."

Dean's fists, which had unconsciously balled at his sides, relaxed, as did his mind. "You like guns?"

"Who doesn't?" Scarlett chewed on her lip and dropped the gloves to the ground. "Guns, cars, and music. Every girl's best friends."

"No diamonds?"

"I don't need diamonds," she scoffed at the notion. "I'm not a princess. I'll take a muscle car over a diamond ring any day."

"Nice," Dean returned, impressed as he approached her. "You have good taste in music too. The Razor's Edge is a staple in my car."

Suddenly, his face fell.

My car. My Impala. My baby.

"Bobby has the Impala," she told him, snapping him out of his funk. "I had it towed back to his place for a few repairs to the body. Both he, and the car, are in good shape. For now, you'll just have to ride on my wheels."

Don't mind if I do…

"You know, you seem to know a lot about me and I know zilch about you," Dean remarked, taking a few steps forward with his trademark swagger.

"Ask away."

"How do you know so much about Sammy and me?"

"My father," Scarlett began, "Is pretty big in the world of the supernatural. He made it a point to make sure that in the case I ever needed help, I knew of every person who could help me. He taught me everything I know."

"Did he know my father?"

She nodded, "Yes. And he was very grateful to him for all of the work he did while he was alive. I met him once. He was a great man… spoke very highly of his three boys."

Dean's eyes darkened and it was then Scarlett knew she'd hit a sore spot. "Yes," she spoke softly. "I'm so sorry about Adam, Dean."

His eyes quickly reverted and his walls went back up. "What is that around your neck?"

"This?" she asked, grasping onto the intricately-carved rectangular pendant around her neck. "It's a silver Torah, a means of protection and a reminder of my roots. My father gave it to me."

"Where is your father now?"

"He's around."

"And your mother?"

"Died when I was ten."

"Mine died when I was four," Dean offered as a means of consoling her. "Listen, not to be an insensitive ass or anything, but why did you take us back here to take care of us? Sammy and I… we're demon magnets and the last thing you need in your life…"

"Don't tell me what I need and don't need in my life, Dean. I'm a hell of a lot stronger and more capable than you think I am," the blonde retorted icily. "I'm not one of those blonde bimbos you hook up with in a bar. Just because I have a body, doesn't mean I don't have the brain."

Dean's emerald gaze roamed her body. "I'll say…"

She took two steps forward and pushed his chin up until their eyes locked. "Just because I have Metallica emblazoned across my chest does NOT mean you have an excuse for more than a passing glance."

Dean Winchester's eyes smoldered. "Does that mean you don't want me to stare?"

Scarlett opened her mouth to reply, only to hear Sam call out, "Dean! You're up!"

His older brother turned around and bulged his eyes out at him, mouthing, You're killing me.

"I'll put all of my crap away in the garage. Go get your ass in the shower," Scarlett ordered. "We'll be waiting."

Dean nodded and watched as she walked away, tilting his head to get a better view of what was under her acid-washed jeans.

Suddenly, her light voice cut through his thoughts. "Stop staring at my ass, Dean!"

He pursed his lips and whipped around to face his brother at the back door to the house. "Way to be a cockblocker, Sammy."


A/N: Thanks for taking the time to read my first Supernatural story. I came up with this on the train ride home from work and cannot wait to get the chapters rolling.

As for Scarlett, you'll learn a lot more about her personality and her life in the next two chapters and expect Chapter 3 to be short, but to drop a major bombshell that's going to involve one of your favorite characters not yet discussed in this story, but also change the game COMPLETELY.

I think you'll like where this is going. Please let me know what you think of the story, especially my personification of the Winchester boys and the introduction thus far.

Please review!

Danielle