Sam was speaking softly, but Devon heard every word.

"Sam? What... what kind of bad?" Her voice shook as she thought of the people there that she had grown very fond of over the past few years, and a wave of sick fear washed over her.

Sam looked at her, worry furrowing his brow, and shook his head. "Messy bad."

Devon climbed out of bed, clutching the sheet to her, searching for her clothes, panic on her face. Dean grabbed his brother's arm, ushering him out of the room. "Go, Sam, load up, we'll meet you at the cars." He closed the door and began throwing things into his duffle as Devon quickly dressed and followed suit. Then he tossed his bag to the floor, going to her and taking her duffle from her hand, pulling her into his arms as her face crumpled and she burst into tears. He held her close until she forced herself to stop, knowing there was no time to indulge her fear.

She pulled back gently, wiping her eyes. "We'll never make it in time, Dean," she whispered hoarsely.

Dean nodded, his lips pressed tightly together. "You're right. I'll call Bobby."

"He's not home," she protested. Dean had told her that Bobby had been out of town for weeks, helping out his only remaining family, a sister in Missouri who had lost her husband.

"He can call Sheriff Mills. He knows her better than we do." He dialed the phone and talked to Bobby, explaining the situation quickly, then hanging up and grabbing both their bags. "Let's go. He's calling her right now." Devon nodded, following him out the door.

They hurried out to the Impala, meeting Sam and Nicole outside their door. Nicole and Devon hugged each other tight as the men threw their belongings into the vehicles, and they wordlessly climbed in and headed down the road, the Impala in the lead.

Devon sat, gnawing on her lip, staring out the window at the slowly lightening sky as they sped down the highway. She felt Dean's hand on hers, and turned to look his way. "Come here, Dev," he said, and she slid over next to him, letting his arm surround her and pull her close. She laid her head against his chest, her hand on his thigh, and he hugged her tight as he kissed the top of her head. "Bobby said the Sheriff's going to head right over there. If anything can be done, she'll do it."

"Is it Walker?" Devon asked softly, feeling Dean's muscles tense up at the mention of the lunatic's name.

"That's my guess." Devon nodded, then slipped her arms around Dean's waist and left him to his thoughts.


"Why can't I tell, Sam? I never know if it's already happened, or if it's going to happen, if we can prevent it, or if there's nothing we can do. What's the point? It's not a gift, it's a damn curse! I understand now why my mama drank herself to death!" Nicole's voice wavered on the edge of tears again, and Sam spoke to her gently.

"Nicole, don't. Don't talk like that. I don't know why your visions work the way they do, but you have no control over it. Please, baby, calm down and come here." Sam held his arm up and Nicole sheltered herself beneath it.

"What if they're..."

"Nic." Sam's voice was soft, but firm. "You can't do this to yourself. When Dean called, he said the Sheriff was heading right over there. If there was anything she could do to prevent what you saw - she's done it."

"I know, but I should have been able to stop it. To save them..."

"If it's too late, if he already did what you saw in your vision... It's on me, not on you. He's trying to get to me through you, through Devon, through Dean. It's me he wants. So this is my fault, if it's anybody's. Okay?"

Nicole sat up straight, fire in her eyes. "This is not your fault. It's his fault. He's freaking crazy."

"Yeah. He is. And he doesn't care who he hurts to get to me. So he's gonna get me. But I'm gonna make damn sure he doesn't enjoy it." Sam's jaw was set, his voice grim as he spoke, and Nicole silently tucked herself back under his arm.


Dean maneuvered the Impala into a parking spot a short distance from the diner. The block surrounding the building was filled to capacity with ambulances and police units, including Jody Mills' Tahoe. Dean took Devon by the shoulders and looked into her fear-filled eyes, speaking softly but firmly. "Stay here. I'm gonna go talk to Jody." She climbed out of the car, but stayed put, closing the door and leaning back on it, her shaking hands pressed to her mouth.

Sam and Nicole pulled up next to them a couple of minutes later, and Nicole launched herself from the vehicle, heading towards the diner. Dean intercepted her on his way back to the Impala, holding her tight as she fought for a moment, then broke down entirely. Sam put a hand on Devon's shoulder, and she looked up at him, her face wet with tears, and turned to him, letting his arms envelop her. Sam raised his eyes to meet his brother's troubled gaze, then sighed as Dean shook his head once.

"We're gonna get him, Devon. Walker's gonna pay for this, I promise you," he said quietly, steel in his voice. Devon's shoulders shook with the force of her sorrow, and he tightened his hold on her as Dean slowly walked Nicole back towards them.

Later that day, they all sat together in Nicole's living room, the girls huddled together on the sofa, silently sharing their grief as Sam and Dean talked themselves in circles trying to plan some kind of strategy for dealing with Walker. When Dean's phone rang, he looked at Sam for a long moment before answering, then breathed a little easier as he heard Bobby's voice on the other end. "Yeah, Bobby, it wasn't good. I know." He looked up at Sam again, his eyes widening a little. "Bobby, we've kinda got our hands full here. I know, but... Right. Well, if we're going, the girls are coming with us. I'm not leaving them alone here with that nut job on the loose. No, if we're going, they're coming with. Or you can find someone else to deal with it. No, sir, I'm not, but that's the way it is. Yeah, we will. Yeah, Bobby... Take care of your sister, we got this. Yeah, I hope he does. Maybe we can take care of him at the same time." He hung up and gave Sam a rueful little smile. "Damn, that old man gets crotchety sometimes! There's a vamp problem in Albany. He wants us to take care of it, and he wasn't happy about the girls coming along. But I'm not leaving them again. No way in hell."

"I agree." Sam looked to the girls, who were watching them silently from the couch. "I think Walker will follow us, but I'm not taking the chance."

"That's what I told Bobby. Maybe we'll kill two monsters for the price of one." Dean turned and walked towards Devon and Nicole, taking a knee in front of Devon as he took her hand in his. "Are you two up for this? I really don't want to leave you here alone, not until we know Walker's out of the picture. For good."

Devon nodded. "Just let us throw a couple things together." She glanced at Nicole, who nodded slowly. She squeezed Nicole's hand, then let Dean draw her up into his arms as he stood back up.

"I know you can handle yourself, Dev - but..."

Devon tightened her arms around Dean. "No, it's okay. There are a lot of scary things out there, but that deranged psycho scares me more than any of them." She hesitated for a moment before continuing quietly, "I just hope you're able to handle him when he makes his move, Dean. If something would happen to you or Sam..."

She looked up as he backed away slightly, putting his hand to her face. "Sam and I are gonna be okay, I promise." She closed her eyes as he kissed her, losing herself in him, the softness of his lips, the taste of him, the brush of stubble against her skin, the gentleness of his calloused hands as they touched her. The thought of losing that again terrified her; the single-minded, cold-blooded way Gordon Walker was stalking Sam was scaring the hell out of her, and she wanted to burn this moment into her memory.


They got a room for the night in a small town in Ohio after almost eleven hours on the road. Sam and Nicole curled up together and almost immediately Devon heard him relax into soft, gentle snores. She smiled, snuggling under the blankets in one of Dean's worn-until-you-can-almost-see-through-it shirts, with a now-unreadable metal band logo on the front. She was just drifting off when the bed dipped behind her and Dean's warm, fresh-from-the-shower body curled up behind her. He nuzzled his nose into her neck and kissed her there, his hand gliding around to cup her breast as he took a nibble, sending goose bumps over her skin and tightening the nipple under his hand. "Mmmmm..." he moaned next to her ear, and she giggled softly.

"Dean. You're exhausted, I'm exhausted, and we have company, remember?" she whispered as he pressed himself closer to her, his arousal becoming very evident against her backside.

"The Impala is free," he whispered, sending another shiver through her as a loud clap of thunder reverberated through the room.

"It's raining."

"I like you wet," he said softly, taking another nibble at the soft skin below her ear as his fingers teased at her nipple, and she suppressed a moan.

"Not fair..." she whispered as he gave her another tweak, laughing softly as a small noise escaped her lips. "Okay! I surrender."

"That's my girl," he whispered, and threw the covers back. He climbed off the bed, clad only in his boxers, taking her hand to help her up, and stopping her as she took a step. "Wait." He bent closer, lifting the t-shirt up to hook his thumbs in her panties and pull them down, waiting for her to step out of them. "You won't need these."

Devon's legs felt weak as she followed him to the door. He reached for the card key he had left on the table, then opened the door quietly, leading her out and closing it behind them. He turned to pull her against him, bending to kiss her hard, one hand on her bottom, holding her tight against his erection. The awning provided some protection from the downpour, and she melted against him for a moment, giving in to him and pushing her inhibitions at standing outside with barely anything on to the back of her mind. The way he was kissing her and pressing himself into her, she was going to lose her mind soon, anyway.

He raised his head, the gleam in his eyes sending a shudder through her, and he took her hand again, pulling her out into the pouring rain. He stood there, watching the downpour soak through her shirt, plastering it to her body, water streaming from her hair, and she reached to smooth her hand over his chest, slick with rain. "I want to take you right out here, up against the car. Out here in the open, in the storm. I want you so bad, Dev," he said, his voice a soft growl.

Devon found herself trembling, from the chill of the rain, the sound of his voice, and she met his hungry gaze, unable to speak. Taking his hand, she backed away, pulling him with her, until she came up against the side of the Impala, gasping quietly at the feel of the cold metal through her wet shirt.

Without hesitation Dean reached behind her, his hands beneath her as he lifted her to the back fender. He lowered the front of his boxers to let himself spring free, then pulled her close and drove himself home, and she cried out softly at the impact. His kisses were fierce, low moans and grunts escaping from him as he devoured her lips, their tongues battling with each other. He gripped her hips as he thrust into her hard, and within seconds she was quaking as she came completely undone, managing to keep her voice to a loud moan, stifling the scream that lurked beneath the surface. A few seconds later, Dean shook with the power of his orgasm, and she gripped him tight with her legs, her arms, her fingers digging into his back as he buried his face in her neck. His legs were weak, and he leaned into her grasp as she kissed his neck, his face, the rain still pouring over them. He clamped his arms around her and hugged her so tightly that she let out a weak protest, pushing gently against his chest to give herself room to breathe. He lifted his head slowly, looking down at her for a long moment, then bent to kiss her, his lips gently caressing hers. When he finally looked up again, raising one hand to her cheek, the emotion on his face brought tears to her eyes. "I love you, Dev. And we're not losing each other again, you hear me?"

"No, we're not," she answered, leaning in to kiss him softly again. "I love you, Dean." They held each other for a few seconds more, jumping when a bright flash of lightning and a loud clap of thunder happened almost simultaneously, sending a fresh deluge down upon them.

"Let's get inside, get you dried off. You look really edible this way, but I don't want you catching pneumonia," he said as he lifted her from the car, pulling out and adjusting his boxers as she pulled her shirt back down to cover herself. They moved quickly to the door, opening it quietly and slipping inside, going straight to the bathroom where they toweled each other off and dug through their bags for dry clothing. They crawled back into bed, Devon curling up in Dean's arms as they warmed themselves under the blankets, and they both jumped as Nicole's voice came quietly from the other bed.

"Y'all have a nice quickie out there?" she teased, and after a moment of stunned silence, Devon let out a quiet giggle.

"Yeah, it was awesome," Dean answered, grinning, and they laughed softly as Sam spoke quietly, his voice groggy.

"What'd I miss?"

"Never mind, Sammy," Nicole said soothingly, "I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, baby." And with that, Sam turned to his side, pulling Nicole into his arms, and they all crashed for the rest of the night.