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Here's the next chapter. Thank you to all who've reviewed and even read this story. Of all my stories, this is the one I'm most passionate about so it thrills me beyond words that you're reading it. Please continue.


The morning sun shone through the window and filtered down onto Bela's face. She opened her eyes and rubbed at them drowsily in an attempt to wake up. Once her vision was restored, she shot a quick glance at the clock.

6:08 a.m.

She sat up and took an inventory of her surroundings. She couldn't recall how she'd gotten under the covers. Then she noticed Dean sprawled out on the floor, fast asleep. She noted that Sam had returned at some point during the night and was resting peacefully in the bed across from her judging from the even rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

Satisfied, she pushed the comforter aside and detangled herself from the sheets. As quietly as she could manage, she slipped out of bed and shivered when her bare feet dropped to the floor. She slinked around the sleeping Winchester on the floor to grab her shoes and left the room without a sound.

Dean awoke that morning to the distinctive and unpleasant sound of Sam pacing. The younger Winchester was slowly walking the length of the room and back again as he talked on the phone. He took a moment to glance around the room and quickly realized that he was on the floor and Bela was no longer in the bed. That seemed strange to him, but by no means surprised him. Like him, Bela was the cut and run type. He turned his attention back to his anxious brother.

"So you think you have a way to track Lilith?" He heard Sam ask.

A pause.

"We'll be there as soon as we can." Sam clicked the phone shut and spun to face Dean and truly looked at him for the first time all morning.

He looked like crap. His hair was sticking up on one side and he still had sleep piled in the inner corners of his gold-green eyes. They lacked their usual glimmer and despite his best attempts at raising them to a normal waking level, his eye lids still hung down as a reminder of his ever-present exhaustion. Sam tried as best he could to write his brother's run down appearance off as a night of sleeping on a dirty motel floor with a flat pillow and a thread bare blanket, but he knew the truth. Dean had meant it when he said he was tired of the job. Looking at him now, he looked like he was fully prepared to die just to let it all be over.

Then again, Dean had always exceeded one's expectations and even as these thoughts were passing through Sam's mind, Dean appeared to mentally shake himself to get himself back in the game. He forced his eyes open further and rubbed a weary hand over his face and stared back at Sam with the same protective intensity he always had even since they were children. That was the Dean Sam knew and loved. A small smile graced his lips and Sam knew that somehow, they would get through this. He would not let them take his brother away from him.

This time it was his turn to shake himself out of his inner monolog. He opened his mouth to speak and had to pause. His brows scrunched together as he tried to recover his previous train of thought.

Bobby, Lilith, tracking. Right.

"Um, Bobby thinks he's got something on how to track down Lilith."

Dean's eyebrows shot up. "Let's get a move on, then. We're wasting day light."

They shuffled about the room packing up their minimal possessions with practiced ease. Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door. Sam concealed his gun in the waist band of his jeans but made sure it would be easy to access and made his way to the door. The last thing he expected to see on the other side of the splintering wood was Bela with a suitcase and coffee but there she was. Without a moment's hesitation, Sam slammed the door and pivoted to glare at his brother.

"No." Sam said firmly and continued to toss things into his duffle refusing to give any mind to the woman standing on the other side of the door.

"What?"

"She's not coming."

"I never said she was! But if she-" The older Winchester started.

"No. Just…no!" Sam stated in his no-nonsense tone.

"Oh come on! Why not?"

Sam spun around and glared at his brother.

"She shot me! That's one little thing you seem to have forgotten about! And as if that's not enough, she stole you're car!"

"Trust me, I haven't forgotten. Still, she wants Lilith. We're hunting Lilith. Lilith is hunting us. If we pool our resources, we might have a better shot of ganking her before she ganks us."

He saw the logical side of Sam reluctantly wake up.

"Admit it. I'm right." He pressed.

"Fine. " Sam conceded with a scowl. "But one foot out of line, and she's gone."

"Deal."

"Oh, and she doesn't get a firearm!" He added as an after-thought.

Sam begrudgingly reopened the door and without saying a word, he turned his back on the woman and zipped up his bag with more force than was necessary. As far as he was concerned, she was solely his brother's problem.

She made her way over the threshold and stared at Dean with curiosity plainly on her face.

"Bobby has a theory. We're headed his way." He offered.

Her eyebrows raised in interest. "Well then, shall we go?" She turned to put her bags in the impala with her head raised and an air of condescending confidence around her.

"I guess it was too much to hope that her ego would disappear over night, eh Sammy?" He tossed over his shoulder to a sulking Sam. "Let's hit the road."


Bela leaned casually against her shiny silver Mercedes as the boys had what appeared to be yet another minor spat over her accompanying them.

Hunters, she thought, always making things harder than they need to be.

She adjusted her very expensive jacket and approached them.

"We're headed to Bobby Singer's place, correct?"

The brothers paused their argument at the sudden interruption and turned to look at her.

"Yeah." They affirmed together.

"Alright, then. I'll see you there." She grabbed her bags from the trunk and transferred them to the packing compartment of her own vehicle. The men stared after her in a surprised silence. Sam opened his mouth to speak but Dean raised a hand and walked off following Bela.

"What do you mean 'See you there?'"

"Why, Dean, it's a fairly simple statement. I'm sure you'll figure it out." She opened up the door and slid into the driver's seat but Dean prevented her from closing the door and getting this little road trip underway. Sensing that he wasn't going to let her leave without an explanation, she sighed and decided to give him what he wanted.

"I'll head to Bobby's and you and Sam meet me there. Is there a problem with that?"

Dean shot her a look. "Yeah there's a problem with that. You just admitted that your crazy undead father is out to get you and you think I'm letting you out of my sight? Uh uh. Get in the impala." Even she had to appreciate his concern (even if it was hidden beneath his rough "no nonsense" tone); however, that in no way meant that she was ready to let him start thinking that she needed to be taken care of.

"Point taken. However, you are out of your mind if you think I am letting my car rot in this filthy motel parking lot indefinitely. You of all people should understand that." She reasoned.

Dean started to speak but she cut him off. "and before you even suggest it, Sam is not driving my car."

Dean paused to consider. "Okay, fine. You can take your car, but Sammy and I will be right behind you the whole way. Clear?"

"Yes, sir." she answered mockingly.

She pulled out of the "parking lot," which in reality was little more than an empty patch of dirt, and set her course for Bobby Singer's residence. A short while later, she was on some back road high way with no other cars in sight, well, not including her shadow impala.

'He's going to find us.' her traitorous mind whispered in the silence.

She ignored it and focused on the road.

'You know he will.' It taunted. 'He always did before. No matter where we hid, he found us.'

She turned on the radio.

'No little hunter is going to stop him-not when he has Lilith on his side.'

She shook her head. "I'll survive."

After many many miles of nothing but her thoughts and the radio to keep herself entertained, she noticed that Dean had maneuvered the impala up beside her on the deserted highway. He caught her eye and shot her that crooked little smile with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He revved his engine a bit till the impala's nose was just past that of her Mercedes then fell back a bit before doing it again. After a moment of confusion, it clicked.

He wanted to race.

Well, she was more than happy to oblige.

She gave him a smile just as devious as his own and floored it. Dean didn't hesitate in following suit. Sam rolled his eyes and leaned back in the passenger's seat trying to ignore his surroundings. While Bela may have had an early lead, the impala had made up ground quickly and was pulling ahead. She recognized a few landmarks and knew they were getting close to Bobby's. She shifted gears and gave a short burst of speed, just enough to pass the '67 Chevy. Sam watched as Dean narrowed his eyes at the woman. Just then, the faded, dilapidated "Singer's Auto Yard" sign came into view. Dean somehow pushed the impala to go even faster than she already was (Sam could have sworn he saw Dean whispering to her just before he felt the acceleration), smirked, and pulled into the lot in front of Bela. Sam glared at him for his childish antics as he stepped out of the car and walked up to the porch.

"Hey Bobby." Sam greeted casually.

"Evening, Bobby. It's been a while." Bela commented haughtily as she entered his house. While her back was turned, Bobby glared fiercely at the Winchesters. They could have at least called to warn him about their unwanted sidekick. They shrugged sheepishly.

"So what's this theory you have for finding Lilith?" Dean asked, trying to change the subject, while rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

As much as the 'retired' hunter wanted to slap the boys upside the head and kick Bela out, he knew that right now, the priority was to kill Lilith.

"My 'theory,'" he said with only a slight sneer in his tone, "is to locate her using a ritual I found."

"And it'll show us where she's hiding?" Sam asked cautiously. He didn't want to get his hopes up if it wasn't going to work.

Bobby scoffed, "When I'm done, we'll know the street."

Without further discussion, Bobby began throwing out assignments and grabbing the supplies the ritual required and carried them to his study. He had several things already laid out including a large map and what Dean mentally described as the 'mother of all tripods.' The three men ignored Bela entirely as they went about their business.

The ritual truly was remarkably simple. It was a wonder they didn't figure it out earlier. Now, they finally had the advantage. They knew exactly where she was-why she was lounging in Colorado was still a mystery but they were making progress.

Bobby sighed knowing that his boys were going to hunt down the demon just as soon as it was humanly feasible. He was burdened with the knowledge that it would no doubt be one of the most dangerous things they had ever tried, but hell if he wasn't going to help them every step of the way. Unwilling to continue on his (hazardously chick-flickish) train of thought, he wiped the chalk dust off of his hands and that was enough to snap Sam and Dean out of their own thoughts and start cleaning up. Right as they finished putting the last of the candles away, Dean's stomach chose to voice its dissatisfaction with his choice to drive through dinner.

Sam smiled and broke the silence, "Well, I'm not sure what our next step is exactly, but I say dinner is a pretty good place to start."


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