Twist of Fate

Takes place in season 3, after Red sky in Morning but before Dream a Little Dream of Me.

I do not own Supernatural or any characters or ideas relating to the brilliant show.

Dean and Bela's paths cross and they are forced to work together as old enemies pull out new tricks and new allies. (Continuation of One Last Score, the drabble. You do not have to read that first though.)


"Dean, this could have the answer we've been looking for!" Sam paced around the motel room trying to make his stubborn older brother listen.

"I. don't. care. Everything about this is wrong. The only reason you even want to see this guy is because Ruby told you to." Dean accused.

"I don't understand why that automatically means we can't check it out. I researched it myself. Everything checks out. He could be the way out of your deal."

Dean opened his mouth to retort, but before he could, moment caught his eye out the window. Instantly, the fight was forgotten and the brothers were tense and ready to spring into action should it be a threat.

"I bet little Ruby set this up as a trap." Dean sneered in hushed tones.

Sam glared at him. "Really? Not the time." He barked out just as silently as he took the safety off his weapon.

Dean ever so slightly brushed the thread bare curtains aside so he could get a better look at what was crouching outside the room.

It took all his self control to keep from doubling over from laughing at what he saw.

Much to Sam's confusion, he straightened up, grabbed his gun from the waistband of his jeans and cocked it. He took a deep breath and opened up the door.

"Hello, Bela."

XXXXX

"This is it." Bela closed her eyes and promised herself in the shadowed parking lot of the sleazy motel. "This is all I need to get out." That had been her mantra for the past several weeks as she tracked the Winchester's location.

"As soon as I get the Colt, I can be free." She had been on the run since Lilith had paid her a visit over a month ago and she knew she couldn't stop until she had something that could kill the demon and anything else that may stand in her way. She took a deep breath, shouldered her bag, and crept away from the shelter of her car and across the parking lot as the rain poured down around her and crouched down in front of Room 18.

She had trouble keeping her hands from shaking, not from the cold, though being soaked to the bone certainly wasn't helping matters, but from anxiety. She wasn't one to get nervous but lately the stress was wearing down her nerves. She slid her tools into the simple lock and began fiddling with them until she heard the tell tale click. She was so close to safety, so close to freedom.

She reached for the knob and a moment before she turned it, the door opened to reveal Dean Winchester standing in his favorite pose- pointing a gun at her head.

"Hello, Bela."

She paused briefly, stunned. All the signs pointed to the boys being gone. Well, all the signs aside from the light being on and voices coming from inside. She mentally cursed her stupidity. Normally she'd have never missed such obvious signs of occupation. Much to her despair, the Winchesters were still very much at the motel room and now, mad as well. She gathered her breath and gracefully stood up from her hunched position to look Dean in the eye. If she was going down, she was going down with her head held high.

"Hello, Dean. I was unaware you would be in for the evening."

He scoffed half heartedly. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside.

"Hey, Sam, look what the cat dragged in."

He taunted as he shoved her toward the bed and waited patiently for her to straighten up and take a seat before sitting down on the second bed across from her with the gun never wavering. Sam who had been standing in the far corner marched over. His 6'4" frame towered over her. She suppressed a tremor that threatened to reveal her nervousness to the two hunters.

"Talk." Sam ordered.

"Pardon me?" She feigned offense.

"Why are you here?" Dean questioned.

"Why, Dean, you so accurately predicted my arrival. Can you not see my motives too?"

He clicked off the safety of his favorite hand gun.

"Fine." She put her hands up in mock surrender, "I have a client. One who is willing to pay a great deal of money for a talisman that you two happen to be in possession of." Of course she was lying, but they didn't need to know that. She had a feeling that telling them she was here to steal the Colt would end very badly. She could just hear how that would go. 'Oh yes, Dean. I'm here to steal your most precious possession that will most certainly result in your death.'

Bang!

"And?" Dean said as he stood up.

"And nothing. That's all." She stared up at them.

Dean wasn't buying it. She could see it in his eyes.

"You sure, Bela? Because you don't seem like the type to be personally breaking into crappy hotel rooms in the middle of a rain storm for just any pay day. You especially don't seem like the type to get caught so talk."

For a moment, she debated internally between revealing the truth to them and hoping they would help her and lying through her teeth and getting away from the hellhole as fast as she could. She laughed at herself for even considering opening up to the two lunatics holding her hostage and decided to do what she did best.

She flashed a sly, sultry smile and stood up slowly. "Dean, truly, all I came for was the talisman. Sorry to disappoint you." She slipped past him and made her way almost to the door before Sam sidestepped in between her and her escape.

"We're not done yet." He growled. She could tell that he was still a long way off from getting over her shooting him.

She rolled her eyes. "You're still mad about that little incident with the rabbits foot?"

His glare intensified and she, for once in her life, decided to cut her losses and sit back down.

'Hunters and their petty little grudges.' She rolled her eyes and thought.

"What more do you want me to say? Yes, I came to steal a talisman, no, I don't have a hidden agenda, and I would very much like to go home and find a different occult object to procure for this fellow because something tells me he won't take my failure well without a substitute."

Neither Winchester had moved and Dean still had his gun trained at a spot between her eyes.

"Fine." She huffed in her usual cavalier manner. "You can either shoot me now or my client will later."

Dean looked conflicted, but Sam just stood up and left the room with a poignant "I'm going to go check out that lead before we loose it. Do whatever you want with her."

Dean glared at the door a moment after it was slammed shut before turning back to Bela. He should have known he would take the distraction to check out the bartender Ruby had convinced him was the key. He made a mental note to tear Sam a new one for it.

Bela let out a sigh of relief. She even allowed herself to give a small smile. Dean, she could handle. She highly doubted he'd shoot her then and there. Though when she'd shot Sam, he probably would have, given the chance. When she messed with his car, he might have. Even after the Gordon incident he probably could have, but not now. Yes, Dean, she could handle. In fact, she'd quite enjoyed their previous altercations.

He flicked the safety back on his gun.

"I'm not gonna shoot you, but you're not leaving here either."

"You can't hold me captive forever, Dean." She informed him without hesitation.

"Not forever, just until you tell me why you're really here. I must say, I'm impressed. You're an excellent liar, but I'm still not buying the whole 'angry client' story. What's really going on?"

Under his probing gaze, Bela suddenly found the wall paper to be fascinating.

Dean watched her turn away and fixate on everything but him. For the first time since he saw her creeping up to the door through the motel window, he noticed the tiredness written across her delicate features. It was obvious she hadn't been sleeping well. He was all too familiar with the signs of sleep deprivation and if he had to guess, he'd say it'd been at least three days since she got a full night of uninterrupted sleep. Not only did he see exhaustion, but as he looked closer, he saw something he never expected - fear. While he didn't know Bela extremely well, every time he'd been around her, there had been more than a small element of danger and she had stared it down each and every time without so much as a flicker of fear or self-doubt. Now, all of a sudden, that's all he can see.

He couldn't help feeling sorry for her. He knew exactly what it was like to go through life with that kind of exhaustion and fear hanging over his head and he wouldn't wish it upon anyone.

"What's wrong?"

His stare went from questioning to concerned when Bela finally turned back to him and he could see the tears pricking at her eyes.

"I'm fine. Now will you please just let me go home?" Her voice cracked with emotion. She had bottled up all the anxiety for so long and hid it away behind sarcasm and heists and she just couldn't do it anymore. Not when here was probably the one person on earth that might understand and be able to help.

"Something's wrong." It wasn't a question. Sam would probably mock him endlessly if he saw him right now but Dean didn't care.

"I told you, I'm fine." Most people wouldn't have noticed the aching weariness that draped off her shoulders or the cracks in her I'm-queen-of-the-world facade. Most would have taken her words at face value but not Dean.

He got up from his bed and moved over to sit beside her. "You might be able to pull that crap with everyone else but I can see right through it. You're not fine." His voice was gruff but gentle. If someone asked him later, even he wouldn't have been able to explain why he hadn't just shot her and be done with it, or why he hadn't at least kicked her out. Something in him had recognized a kindred spirit and was reluctant to let go so easily.

She glanced up at him. It was so tempting to spill everything that had been weighing on her, but even just thinking about it brought forth memories she had suppressed for the past ten years.

She had been 14 and sitting on a swing near her family's home when that little girl with the red eyes had offered her the only thing she'd ever wanted. Not knowing any better, she'd said yes. Two days later, her wealthy, abusive father and her 'ignorance is bliss' mother died in a fiery car accident. She was free from the oppression her father had maintained all her life and was finally allowed to breathe without looking over her shoulder and wondering when he'd decided he needed her again.

She hadn't spent a considerable amount of time with Dean but she knew enough that he was fiercely loyal to his family, something she was jealous of Sam for, and was one that no matter what, you could go to and he would help. She steeled herself to do the one thing that went against every fiber in her being.

She took a stuttering breath. "Dean, I'm in trouble."

Dean's instincts automatically kicked into high gear at hearing those words. He had been raised to protect and hearing her openly admit to being in trouble brought all those instincts roaring to the surface. Sam had always been his charge to protect and defend but somewhere between his father teaching him exorcisms, bow hunting, and how to take down a werewolf faster than most kids could tie their shoes, the man had instilled in him that it was his duty to keep a woman safe.

"What's wrong?" His voice was now almost a growl. Everything in him was pounding to identify, evaluate, and eliminate the danger threatening the woman beside him.

"My father was an awful man, absolutely horrid. He would…he would-" She squeezed her eyes shut and a shiver coursed through her at the memory. Dean seemed to grasp what she was getting at and wrapped one arm around her body and comfortingly stroked her back.

"I made a deal…10 years ago." Her breath was coming in spurts as she fought off the complete breakdown that she was so long overdue for, "10 years and my soul for them to disappear…for my freedom, my life. It was going to…Come due…in a few months, but Lilith decided-" She paused again to collect herself before continuing on. "She decided that 'my soul was going to be of more use on earth than it ever would be in Hell' and called off the deal. She brought back my father, Dean. She brought him back."

For the first time since starting her tale, she looked into his eyes. She could see concern there, concern for her well-being. She had never had someone look at her like that before. Her carefully constructed walls crumbled and she could no longer fight back the tears. She had never told anyone what had happened to her before and the entire experience was somewhat exhausting.

"And Dean," as tired as she was, she couldn't rest without passing on one last bit of information. Dean deserved that much, "She holds your deal too."

Dean's mind was reeling as she collapsed against him and for the first time in 10 years, she was content to just sit there and cry, with no regards to what anyone might think of her. Lilith held his deal. That meant if they killed Lilith, he might be able to skip out on the trip down stairs.

His tactical mind decided to file that somewhere to think about later when it wasn't nearing the 2 am mark and went back to what she said previously. He shuddered at the very thought of what happened to Bela. He'd thought he had a messed up childhood, but it couldn't compare to hers and now, thanks to her, they were one step closer to getting him out of his deal and killing the demon once and for all. He hugged her a little tighter and drew gentle circles on her back with his thumb until he felt her shaking body relax against him and her breathing even out as she drifted off to sleep. He followed her soon after.


Alright there you have it. Chapter one. I hope the characters weren't too OOC and I did tweak Demonic Contract Lore a little bit but hopefully nothing too egregious.

I've been working on this story off and on for the past year and a half. I finally decided that even though it isn't 100% finished yet, I would start posting and see what kind of response I get. With that being said, I would absolutely love to know what you think. Send me a review, favorite, follow, whatever. I love hearing from you guys.

God Bless