Lexi clutched at the burning pain on her side, she could feel the warmth of the blood as it oozed through her fingers. She used her other hand and legs to push her body up against the wall behind her. Things weren't supposed to happen this way, she had planned this hunt accordingly, there was only the one rugaru to attend to. The dark-haired girl glanced over at the body of the monster she had slain moments before she'd been stabbed, then looked up at her attacker as the woman slowly made her way across the deserted storage building toward the hunter. The woman had long dark hair, pale skin, and she was tall and lanky with pointed features.
"Well, well," she said slowly as she waved the hand with the knife at the girl on the ground.
Lexi's body flew up from the floor, pinned against the wall she was just propped up on, and she winced in pain at the pressure from the force holding her.
"Who are you?" Lexi seethed.
The woman moved closer and flashed a pair of pitch black eyes at the hunter.
"Demon," the girl responded, the pain in her side was almost unbearable, "What are you doing chumming it up with a rugaru?"
"We had an arrangement," the woman stated, "But that's none of your business."
She stared at the dark-haired girl as if she was staring into her soul, then smiled slyly, "Winchesters."
"What?" Lexi said surprised at the statement, "What are you talking about?"
"You're a friend of the Winchesters, isn't this my lucky day after all?" she said menacingly as she moved closer with the knife, "I mean I could snap your neck with a flick of the wrist, but I'd rather watch you bleed."
Lexi's breath caught in her throat as the woman pressed the cold blade against her throat.
"Derricka," a British accent came from behind the demon, "What's going on here?"
The demon rolled her eyes at the hunter in front of her, then turned to the dark-haired man behind her.
"Crowley," she said as she pulled the blade away from the hunter's neck.
Lexi recognized the name, although she'd never met the King of Hell before. He was shorter than she had imagined.
"Torturing a hunter?" he questioned, "That's not really your style."
"Well," she began to explain, "this one in particular interfered with some business I was attending to."
"Oh," Crowley said with a nod of his head, "You mean the business you had with that rugaru."
She glanced at the monster on the floor which he had pointed at.
"The business," the man continued, "which included said rugaru killing people who had signed contracts with you. Contracts which weren't set to expire for at least another 5 or 6 years?"
"But sir, that's not what…" the demon started to explain herself, but the man quickly snapped his fingers and she vanished from in front of the hunter, which caused Lexi to crumpled to the floor with a thud.
"And who are you?" Crowley said as he took a few steps closer to the girl and noticed how much blood was covering her green t-shirt.
"Lexi," she said as she caught her breath from the pain, "Lexi Wilson."
What the girl wasn't aware of was that the demon was already reading her mind like a book.
"Well, well," he said, reaching into his coat pocket, "I'm not going to be responsible for the death of another Winchester groupie."
"What?" Lexi questioned as she cocked an eyebrow at the man in front of her.
He dialed a number into his phone and held it up to his ear, waited a beat, then, "Hello squirrel, where are you?"
The dark-haired girl repeated the name quietly to herself in confusion, "Squirrel?"
"Is feathers with you?" the demon questioned next, then nodded his head at the response he received on the other end of the phone.
He stuffed the phone back in his pocket and walked closer to the hunter. Lexi pulled away as he reached for her.
"Come on darling," he said with a smile, "I don't bite."
He helped her to her feet and kept a supportive arm around her back and she used her free arm to hold onto his shoulder.
"At least not hard," he smirked before snapping his fingers.
Lexi felt a rollercoaster type 'woosh' feeling throughout her whole body and suddenly she wasn't in the abandoned storage building anymore she was in the library in the bunker. Looking at shocked expressions on the faces of the men in front of her.
"I believe this belongs to you," Crowley stated to the three men in front of him.
"Lex," concern and surprise was evident in Dean's voice.
"What did you do?" Sam questioned angrily as he moved quickly to grab the hunter away from Crowley.
"Easy Moose," he responded, "She was already like that when I found her."
"Here let me," Cas stated as he moved closer to the chair Sam had placed Lexi into. The man held his hand over her wound and Lexi winced in pain as the bright light from his palm began to heal her wound.
"He's telling the truth," the girl said through the pain, "it was another demon. He actually saved me."
Sam glanced back at Crowley angrily and he smirked at the tall hunter.
"Thank you," Dean was the calm voice of reason for once.
"Let's just say you owe me one," Crowley responded as Cas moved away from the girl he'd just healed and Dean gave him a nod in understanding.
Lexi looked at her side where blood was pouring from moments ago, and saw her skin was smooth again, not so much as a scar. She looked up at the angel beside her, "Thanks Cas."
"You're welcome," he said quietly.
She looked over to the dark-haired man dressed in black, "Thanks."
"Well dear," he began, "any friend of the Winchesters is a frenemy of mine."
Then just as quickly as he'd arrived, he'd disappeared again and the two Winchesters looked over at Lexi inquisitively.
"So," she smiled innocently, "What's up guys?"
"Demon hunting?" the older brother questioned.
"Rugaru," she clarified, "who apparently was working with a demon. Killing people whose contracts weren't up yet, that's why Crowley showed up."
"And you're damn lucky he did," Dean interrupted angrily.
She just nodded her head silently.
"Where have you been?" the older hunter questioned, which caused the girl to get angry.
"Where have I been?!" she stood up and pointed her finger at the two hunters as she raised her voice, "Where the hell have you two been?"
"Lexi," the angel beside her said quietly.
"No Cas," she said looking at him, "at least you called to tell me they were gone and again when you found them."
She looked back at the brothers, "Did you forget how to text? I mean, I've already had this discussion with you."
Lexi pointed her finger back over at the older brother, then looked at the younger brother, "At least Sam called once, like a month ago."
Both brothers avoided eye contact with the girl, then a voice from behind her spoke.
"They have been busy," a woman's voice stated and Lexi turned to see a blonde woman standing there with a six pack of beer, "In their defense."
Lexi didn't know what to say, she was sure the woman who just walked in was Mary and this wasn't exactly how she'd wanted to meet her.
"But," Mary said as she moved closer and handed the girl one of the bottles, "a text message doesn't take long and can be very reassuring to someone who is concerned about you."
Lexi fought back the urge to stick her tongue out at the two men behind her.
"I'm Mary, by the way," she said warmly to the girl.
"Lexi," the girl responded with a smile, "It's nice to meet you."
Mary looked surprised a little and glanced at her boys as she placed the beer on the table, "Oh, you're Lexi. I've heard good things about you."
"I don't know what they've told you," Lexi began and was surprised as the blonde woman wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly.
The girl smiled softly and hugged the woman back.
Sam cocked an eyebrow at his brother as Dean grabbed the beer his mother had placed on the table.
Mary pulled away from the girl and smiled, "You're very pretty."
She then looked over to her sons, "You didn't tell me how pretty she is."
"Mom," Dean and Sam said simultaneously, looking embarrassed.
"Thank you," Lexi responded, the blush apparent on her cheeks.
"I was just finishing up something in the kitchen," Mary began and looked back over at the girl, "Would you like to help me?"
'Like I'm going to say no', Lexi thought to herself, "Sure, I'd like that."
The two women walked out of the library toward the kitchen.
Dean twisted the top of his bottle and looked over at Sam and Cas, "What just happened?"
The other two men shrugged their shoulders and Dean turned his beer bottle up.
Lexi followed the blonde woman into the kitchen where a fresh baked pie was cooling on the counter and there were a couple pizza boxes stacked beside it.
"It's Dean's birthday," Mary stated as she leaned back against the sink, "I made him a homemade pie, I don't feel like that's quite enough, but what else can I do? You know?"
Lexi walked over and stood beside the counter in front of the woman, "I think that's a great idea, and I'm sure he will love it."
Mary nodded her head and Lexi continued, "I just want to say, like, I can't imagine what you're going through, but I want you to know, personally, I know how much your boys love you and they are both so happy you're back."
The blonde woman smiled happily, "Thank you, and I know, it's just hard. So, so much has changed and I'm still adjusting."
"I think you're doing great," Lexi said reassuringly.
"You're sweet," the mother responded, then folded her arms across her chest," But I do have a question for you."
Lexi's heart dropped, why did this woman intimidate her so much? She swallowed hard and began blabbering, "Oh crap, is this where you lecture me on my intentions? Because I don't have any intentions, they're just my boys, I mean they're your boys, but up until a few months ago, they were just my boys, well actually, they were my friend Charlie's boys, I just kind of inherited them I guess. Not that I didn't want them, I mean they're great, they're awesome, and not bad to look at, shit, I mean..."
Mary's face showed amusement as she gently moved to place a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Hey, it's ok, that's not what I was going to ask."
The dark-haired girl took a deep breath as Mary continued, "My question is, I have another pie in the oven and it's an apple pie. Do you think Dean would rather have Cherry or Apple? I don't know if his tastes have changed over the years."
Lexi smiled at the blonde, "Oh, cherry definitely, he's corny like that."
The woman smiled and nodded her head before she turned to open a cabinet door, searching for something, "Now, where do they keep the plates."
The dark-haired girl moved quickly and pulled a stack of paper plates out of a cabinet a few feet from where Mary was searching, and pointed at the drawer in front of the mother, "There's some silverware in there."
She gathered the needed silverware out of the drawer and laid it on top of the plates Lexi had placed on the counter as a ringing noise started to come from the dark-haired girl's back pocket.
Lexi pulled her cellphone out and looked at the name on the screen and a smile crossed her face as she held one finger up to Mary, indicating to give her just a minute.
"Hey babe," Lexi said is a soft tone, "Yea, I'm fine, I'm sorry I meant to call you once I was done, something came up…no, no, everything's good…of course, you know that's my favorite place...I can be at your place around eight or nine tonight…good…get extra soy sauce, you know they never give you enough…okay…see you soon…bye."
Mary had looked down at the counter, fidgeting with the silverware as she tried not to overhear the girl's conversation. Lexi looked back over at Mary with a smile as she shoved her phone into the back pocket of her jeans.
"Sorry," she said with a smile on her face, "That was…my friend Oliver."
"Friend," Mary said with a curious smile.
"Yea," Lexi seemed a little embarrassed, "I guess boyfriend is the correct terminology, but whatever."
"He makes you happy," the mother noted as Lexi moved closer to the counter, "Your whole face lit up when you answered that phone."
"He really does," she responded, "and, as much as I hated him at first, he really grew on me, like a fungus I guess."
The dark-haired girl laughed at her own joke before she continued, "He's a hunter. I ran into him on a case several months ago, and he asked me to dinner about 10 times, he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer."
"Well, if I have any advice to give," Mary began, "It's find someone that makes you happy, through the good and the bad, and never let them go."
Lexi smiled at the woman and nodded her understanding.
Sam looked up from the table to see Lexi and Mary make their way into the room, Mary had a pie in her hand and Lexi had a couple boxes of pizza with plates and silverware stacked on top.
"Happy Birthday Dean," Mary said as she placed the pie in front of the man.
The green-eyed man smiled and looked from the pie up to the blonde, "Thanks Mom."
"I would start singing," Lexi began and looked over and gave Cas a wink, "But I'm sure no one wants to hear Cas sing."
"No, please don't," Dean replied as Sam and Cas moved to grab some of the pizza.
The younger brother wrapped an arm around Lexi's shoulder and pulled her tight, "I'm sorry Lexi."
She wrapped both her arms around his waist for a quick hug, "Just don't let it happen again. I expect daily text messages."
He nodded his understanding and pulled a chair out beside him for her to sit in.
Everyone took seats scattered around the library table, Dean was across from his brother and Mary was to the right of her oldest son and Castiel sat at the end between Lexi and the blonde. Lexi playfully shoved Sam's shoulder as he laughed after telling Mary a story which involved the brothers, a fake spider, and Lexi.
The dark-haired hunter walked into the empty kitchen and placed all the silverware into the sink and turned the faucet on to rinse the food remnants away; she didn't hear the person walk up beside her.
"I'm sorry," the voice startled her, but she sighed as she turned to face the man, "There's just so much going on right now and I don't know, I feel like if we keep you at a distance from all of this, then you're safe."
"I don't need you to keep me safe Dean," she responded as she folded her arms across her chest, "I need you to keep me in the loop, that's all I ask, I worry about you and Sam."
"You know just about everyone we've ever cared about," he began and leaned back against the counter, "I've ever cared about has died."
"I know that," she responded, "but I also know, this job gets lonely and you have to have people you can count on, friends you can relate to."
"You know we're always here if you need us," he replied.
"I know that," she said quietly, "and regardless of how pissed I may be at you, I'm a phone call away, but you also need to know that you can't keep pushing people away to keep them safe. I made a promise to our friend, and I'm going to keep that promise, so if you keep pushing me away, I'm going to start pushing back Dean. I'm not just going to let you go. You're my person, you know that. I really don't want to kick your ass, but I will if you make me."
Dean stared at her for a moment, her face was stern, and he smiled, "You pissed off face is pretty sexy, you should probably work on that."
Lexi punched his shoulder, "Shut up, I'm being serious."
He pulled her into a hug, "I know and I'll stop pushing."
She wrapped her arms around him tightly for a moment before she pulled away and leaned back against the sink.
"But since we are talking," Dean reached into his back pocket and pulled out the girl's cell phone, his tone wasn't playful anymore, "Who's Oliver?"
Shock washed over her face, "What are you doing with my phone?"
"You left it on the table and he tried to call you," the green-eyed hunter began as Lexi snatched her phone from his hand.
"He's a friend," she replied as she stuffed the phone in her pocket.
"A friend huh, with benefits?" Dean questioned as he folded his arms across his chest.
"Like that's any of your business," she responded as she shook her head at the man in front of her.
"Well, you're my business," he replied, "So it kind of is."
"Really? Since when?" her tone was snarky.
"Since you know when," he stated, "is it serious?"
Lexi looked at her feet and took a deep breath, "I think so, it definitely wasn't something I saw coming, but I really like him."
The older brother nodded his head in understanding and looked away from the girl, "Well, if you're happy, then I'm happy for you."
She nodded her head and looked up, sadness in her eyes, "Dean, I'm sorry, I just…"
The green-eyed man cut her off as he took a step to close the distance between them and put a hand on the side of her face, "No, it's fine, I want you to be happy."
He kissed her forehead for a beat, then turned and left the kitchen, leaving Lexi standing there alone, as a single tear slipped down her cheek.
"Hey," Mary leaned into the kitchen and Lexi wiped her face quickly, "If you're ready to head out, I can drop you off at your car."
The dark-haired girl nodded, "Yes please."
"Is everything okay?" the blonde noted the sadness in the girl's tone.
"Yea," she replied with a nod of her head, "It will be."