"Dean… it's me… Alina? I'm sorry to call. I didn't want to bother you but if you could call me back. It's about Chris. I need your help, Dean. Just call me back… or not. I guess it doesn't matter but, uh yeah, bye."

"Hello?"

"Alina, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Where the hell are you? This phone call is international. What's going on?"

"I'm fine don't-, don't worry about me. I made a mistake in calling you. Don't worry about it."

"How can you say that? You seemed so upset on the answering machine and now you're pushing me away? What's wrong with Chris? Did something happen?"

(Long pause)

"I'm in Venice."

"…As in Venice, Italy?"

"Yep, that Venice."

"To see Chris?"

"That's how it started."

"Alina, what's going on?"

"They were supposed to pick me up at the airport, he and Ali. But they didn't show. So I got a taxi and went to the house and they hadn't come back yet. I tried calling both of them numerous times but no one picked up. It was getting late and I didn't know what to do so I called the police to report missing persons. I wanted to wait up until I heard something but I ended up falling asleep. The police knocked on the door at 2 am that morning. They told me they had found some bodies in an alley that matched my description so I went to the morgue and… they're dead, Dean. It was… so sudden. I'm here in Venice… they left a lot behind so I'll be here for a while but I uh, I just thought you deserved to know. You called us about Sam and everything and you Chris were close. I-, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called…

"No! No, Alina, stay where you are."

(Click)

I poured my coffee into the mug and made my way over to the window and balcony at the back of the apartment that overlooked the canal. There were a couple of boats tied to a dock below. The rustic door opened with a little creak and the paint was starting to fade. No wonder Chris and Ali got this place cheap. They had been living in it for a year and had just started to fix it up. Honestly, I loved the old feel to the apartment. It was sexy. I sighed, seeing the reflection of the little houses on the water. Italy was beautiful; I just wished I wasn't seeing it under these circumstances.

It had been three days since I had called Dean and I felt absolutely stupid. Oh well, it wasn't like it'd matter. Dean would probably forget about it in a few years anyways. I called Mom and Dad earlier but they say that they wouldn't be able to take it, coming here. They needed to stay in the states. It was bad enough that they had lost their son. They didn't want another reminder of seeing the empty apartment and having to pack everything up, leaving me with the chore. As I stepped out onto the small balcony, I could hear the hustle and bustle of people just beginning their days. I contemplated going down to the Rialto Market but I wasn't in the mood for food. Lately, I hadn't been.

I heard a knock on my door. I swore under my breath. I was still in my pajamas and threw a bathrobe over it. I set my coffee down on the living room coffee table, taking one last glance at the messy living room. If this was the police, I might actually scream. I couldn't take it anymore. I had been dealing with the police and with paper work for the past three days it was killing me. On top of that, I had to fix this place up and sell and who knew how long that was going to take. I opened the old door and my jaw practically dropped as soon as I saw who it was.

"Dean?" I asked, gaping. I felt like I needed to pinch myself. He was probably just a mirage; a hallucination due to my lack of sleep and food intake.

"Hi," he said.

"What're you doing here?" I asked, confused.

"It sounded like you needed me. Chris was a good friend," Dean replied.

I nodded, "Why don't you come in?" I stepped out of the door way.

"I thought uh, you might need some help so I booked a flight after we got off the phone. I uh, called your parents. They gave me the address," Dean replied.

"You flew?" I asked, surprised. My heart did a couple of flips but I scolded myself for it. He was here for anything but that.

"It's not so scary anymore," Dean shrugged.

"How are you doing?" I asked him.

"I'm fine. More importantly, how are you doing? Are you okay?" Dean asked.

I nodded slowly, "I guess so. I'm getting by, you know?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah. Well uh, I'm starving. Do you want me to make us some breakfast?"

"Sure," I replied.

I smiled. That was the first time that I had smiled in the past few days, "Well, thank you. Um, I'm not quite sure what you could help with. I mean, there's tons of stuff to do. Chris and Ali became citizens before… it happened so I don't have to deal with any of that but uh, you know, I have to fix up the apartment and sell it. Clean everything out. Gather their stuff…"

"I'll help," Dean said.

"Dean, it'll take at least a few months, maybe even a little longer," I replied.

He shrugged, "Okay."

"But… but what about hunting?" I asked.

"I gave that up. Sammy wanted me to," Dean replied, nodding.

"Dean, I don't know…" I trailed off. Knowing our history, things probably would never go well with this.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"I mean, this is all moving too fast. This happens and then you, staying in Italy to help me I, I don't know it's too much change, really," I said, backing away a little.

"Look, Alina, we'll see how it goes for the first couple of days. If you want to throw me out by the time my flight is scheduled to leave, then I'll go. If not, then I'll cancel my flight," Dean replied. I looked up at him, surprised at his answer. Since when had he become such a mature, responsible, decision making man?

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Dean Winchester?" I teased.

"See, there's that smile I love," Dean pointed out. I chuckled a little and then looked down. "I've changed, Alina. Sometimes change is good."

I nodded slowly, "Okay, we'll try it out for the first couple of days."

"Great. Now what're you in the mood for because I'm in the mood for pancakes?" Dean asked, lightening up the mood a little. I still felt… solemn but Dean was helping. Usually, I'd be cursing his name, but for once, in many years, I was happy that Dean Winchester was here.

"That sounds great. The cabinets should be fully stocked," I answered. The kitchen was adjacent to the living room so Dean and I made our way towards the kitchen. He started getting all the ingredients down from the cabinets. "Do you mind if I shower and get changed and everything? I woke up shortly before you showed up so I haven't exactly had time…"

Dean looked over at me and stared at me for a good while in silence, "Um, no, go ahead." I nodded and then went into my bedroom. I brought a change of clothes into the bathroom and then turned the hot water one. I took my shower and then got changed into my denim jean shorts and my fitted Harvard shirt. Dean had given me a weird look before I had gone to take my shower and I couldn't exactly decode it. Obviously, we had left things unfinished so there was still something there, but I thought we had gotten over each other. I went back to the kitchen and was surprised by the aroma of a good breakfast, wafting through the apartment.

"So you cook now?" I asked, sitting at the kitchen table and rifling through the newspaper that was on the table.

"Yeah. I'm not hunting. I figured that I'd probably have to find some way to feed myself besides fast food and take out," Dean replied.

I chuckled, remembering the life that Dean apparently used to lead – the life that I used to lead. But he was so different now – in a good way and bad. He just wasn't the same Dean but I knew he was also trying to show me some respect because of Chris. No matter what, I could tell he was a different Dean. He had grown up. Dean came over to the table and sat down across from me with two plates of food. He placed one plate down in front of me and another in front of himself.

"Eat up. You must be hungry," Dean said.

"Yeah, thank you, by the way. I'm kind of surprised," I replied.

"What? That I'm living the normal life? It's not too bad," Dean shrugged. That was so strange to hear those words come out of Dean's mouth. Dean loved a good hunt. He got a high from it. He was like me. And that's when it hit me. Of course it wasn't so bad. He wasn't living alone.

"What aren't you telling me?" I asked, glancing at him suspiciously. "Wow, this is really good, by the way."

"Nothing. I, yeah, I mean, I'm living with someone. Her name is Lisa… she has a son, Ben," Dean replied. I was shocked at what he was saying. No wonder he had grown up. It kind of stung a little but not for the reasons I thought.

"Oh, wow, congrats. She's your…" I started.

"My girlfriend," Dean completed.

"And is Ben yours?" I asked.

"No, he's not… but sometimes it feels like he is," Dean replied.

"Wow," I said, looking down and taking another bite of my breakfast. The food was rich and it was a lot to take in. After eating very little for a few days, I wasn't quite sure how I would feel after eating rich foods. I was already starting to feel a little queasy.

"I'm sorry, is this weird for you, Alina?" Dean asked.

"No, no! We had our moment years ago, Dean. It's okay," I comforted.

"Oh, okay. They're great… it feels like I finally have the family I've always wanted," Dean replied. Ouch. Chris, Dean, Ali, and I were supposed to be family. But I guess they gave him something that we never really could. They were conventional. We were… bonded together by tragedy. We were practically on opposite ends of the spectrum. Of course that's what Dean wanted. I was surprised because the Dean I used to know would've never admitted that aloud.

"That's really great. I'm happy for you," I said, but it felt so forced.

"By the way, you're going to need to strip the wallpaper down and then reprime and repaint. I don't know who did these walls. I also saw a couple of repairs and uh, some of the pipes could use a tune up," Dean commented.

"What, you're a handy man now?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I got a job in construction back home," Dean replied.

"Home," I repeated, distantly.

"But enough about me. What about you?" Dean asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Oh, um, I'm good. I moved to New York City a couple of years ago. I uh, went to culinary school and then got a job at a restaurant. The hours are late but it's nice not to have to go into work till about three. That and New York is great. I love going to all the museums. It doesn't hurt that it's beautiful during the night," I replied, thinking about life back at home. "I live in a shoebox apartment but hey, I don't mind, you know?"

"And I bet your boyfriend is lucky to have you," Dean replied, taking another bite of his pancakes.

"I don't have one, Dean," I blushed.

"Well, if you insist on lying to me," Dean started.

"What?" I exclaimed, laughing a little.

"What? A beautiful girl like you is single in New York City? I don't think so," Dean replied.

I opened my mouth to say something but instead to shook my head, a little smile on my face. He had been here for less than an hour and already he had me smiling, "No. Alright? I don't. So let's not talk about it, okay?" That was the first time he'd ever called me beautiful.

"Whatever you say, Alina. Someday you're going to have to admit that you're lying. I bet this guy is really jealous that you'll be living with me in Italy for the next couple of days," Dean said.

"Ughh," I groaned. "Hey, thanks for coming. You don't know how much this means to me. I uh, I don't know how to thank you enough."

"It's no problem. If Sam hadn't asked me to go to Lisa and Ben after he died, I would've wanted you and Chris to do the same for me," Dean replied.

I nodded, "Thank you." I didn't know what else to say and I fully meant it.

~Flashback~

9 ¾ Years ago

"Hey, dude, I hope you don't mind but my sister just got out of school and she's coming on the hunt this time," Chris said.

"Seriously? What, you're bringing your kid sister along?" Dean scoffed.

"She's not really a kid. She's almost 18," Chris replied.

"Alright, yeah, I guess it's cool. Just make sure she doesn't fuck anything up for us. She knows what she's doing right?" Dean asked.

"Trust me, she does. She could probably even kick your ass if you pissed her off," Chris replied.

"Who can kick whose ass?" I asked, coming outside to the car, my duffel bag hung over my shoulder. Both 21 year olds looked up at me. Chris took my bag from me and threw it in the trunk and I thanked him. The other guy standing there looked surprised to see me. He had short spiky blonde hair and beautiful green eyes. I had to admit, he was hot and I was attracted to him.

"Nothing. I'm Dean, Dean Winchester," the guy said, siding up to me.

"Alina Watson," I replied, with a little smile.

"So how old are you again?" Dean smirked. I opened my mouth to say something.

"Dude that's my sister!" Chris exclaimed, shoving Dean playfully before getting into the passenger side to the 1967 Chevy Impala. God, it was beautiful.

"Hey, man!" Dean exclaimed. "You know, I take back what I say. You can get in my way all you want."

"Um… okay…" I stammered. I wasn't used to attention like this. I had kissed one guy in all my life and had had two boyfriends but I was definitely on the innocent side.

"It's nice to meet you Alina Watson," Dean replied, looking me up and down.

"You do know I'm 17 right?" I asked, calling him out on his bullshit, flirty act. Sure, I kind of liked the attention but I knew this guy was also just trying to get into my pants.

"Barely legal," Dean shrugged casually. "Besides, Chris said you're almost eighteen."

"In three months," I added.

"Well, I can wait that long. I've got a couple of things in mind that we can do in the time being," Dean winked at me.

I rolled my eyes, "And what makes you think that I'll let you?" I raised an eyebrow challengingly.

"I always get what I want, baby," Dean smirked.

"You know, you're a perv, hitting on an underage girl like this," I replied, playfully. It was all a part of the flirty banter that we had already started. Really? One minute into meeting this guy and we were already at that point.

"You know, no one's ever called me out like that," Dean replied, leaning in close to me.

"Well, I'm not 'no one'," I answered. I leaned in towards him as if I were going to kiss him but then moved passed him, walking towards the Impala. I was shocked at my answer and reaction. Where had I gotten all of that confidence from? I walked to the passenger door and opened it, sliding into the backseat. I could tell that Dean was watching me as I walked away from him. I closed the door behind me and saw Dean standing with his hands behind his head. The look on his face said 'shit, I think I just met my match'.

"Come on dude, let's go! At this rate, everyone's going to be dead by the time we get there!" Chris hollered from the car. Dean snapped out of it and jogged towards the car. "What the hell did you say to him?" Chris seemed shocked, but not mad.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," I replied, shrugging innocently.

"I have to worry. You're my baby sister and I know how Dean gets around pretty girls," Chris replied.

The car door swung open and Dean hopped into the car, behind the wheel. And we were off. This was going to be quite an interesting hunt.

~End Flashback~


Author's Note: Okay, so this is the first story that I'm writing and not just reposting from Quizilla. It's something a little different than the other stuff that I've done. Let me know what you think PLEASE! I really do love reading reviews. I like to know what you guys' thoughts are one my stories, what you want me to improve on, etc. This story takes place in that one year period between season 6 and season 5. Dean has spent 6 months with Lisa and Ben already, meaning it's about January when this story takes place!