Bonus Scene

"Who are you texting?" he demanded wearily as he flopped onto his bed. "Do you have a new girlfriend or something? It's like you haven't put down that cell since we got in."

"Uh, no one." Like he would betray Marissa. If he even so much as thought of it, considered it, she would know. He was happy with her, in love with her and he would never be unfaithful to her.

"Well you've got that stupid grin on your face."

"A wrong number texted me today, they're, uh, quite amusing."

Dean shot him a skeptical look. "Really?"

"Yeah," he lied, looking back at his phone as he received a message. He smiled slightly and quickly texted a reply back. If Dean knew who he was really texting, he wouldn't forgive him and he most likely wouldn't even understand why he was even doing it.

It was Kora. He had got the number from Dean's cell and texted her early this morning. Even though Dean wanted to keep her in the dark, and that was good and he should have respected his wishes… But he wanted to know that Kora was safe. That she was alright. That Liam was doing well. And he knew that she would have wanted to know how he and Dean were doing, so that was what he had first told her. He shouldn't have been surprised to learn that she had a sense of humor. He thought of her as a sister, as much as Dean thought of Marissa as one. Marissa wasn't fond of texting though, she preferred phone calls. He called her at least once a week and spent an hour or two talking to her.

Yesterday Dean said something about you running off into the sunset with a man and that he was happy for you –he told her.

I don't have anyone to make him jealous though… -her reply came back quickly.

I could be your pretend lover. If he didn't know Marissa he might think that I was cheating anyways. :3

Oh Sammy! He could practically hear her lighthearted teasing tone. Will you run away with me into the sunset? :#)

Anything for you ;)

"Who the hell are you talking to?" Dean demanded. "You better not be cheating on Marissa or I will so kick your ass!"

"I'm not!" he defended. He would have to try and be better at not laughing at her schemes. He knew that she wasn't being serious, just as much as he was. It was likely of some comfort to her, being alone and completely uncertain and afraid that Dean had moved on from her. Sam wanted to tell her, but he wasn't sure how to tell her especially since she hadn't asked and maybe she really didn't want to know. So he kept their banter light and aside from telling her that Dean was alive and healthy, they didn't talk about him.

January 2012

It was at an ungodly hour of the night that the phone rang. Kora was awoken from the first sound sleep she'd had in a few months and something in her gut didn't feel right. She knew that something was wrong and panic flared to life when she saw his name on her caller id. She answered with a trembling hand, terrified of what news she was sure to hear.

"Hey," he said gruffly, nearly casual.

She frowned, "What is it Dean?" She hated that she had to sound so disapproving but he'd left her. He'd left her with a child and a lot of unanswered questions. Answers that Liam wanted desperately. Answers that she would have loved to know too.

Somehow, it wasn't surprising when the line went dead. Kora nearly threw the phone in a fit of frustration. She went back to bed but she didn't go to sleep. It was the first time in over a year that she had heard from Dean Winchester… and he only bothered to say hi? He hadn't called to wish them a merry Christmas or anything. But somehow she was sure that the presents Bobby had sent for Liam, which included a race car track and numerous cars, a baseball set and a book set, were not solely from him. And the fair amount of cash she had received certainly wasn't from him alone either. But they had been sent together to her from Sioux Falls and Bobby was the only one she knew.

The troubled feeling in her gut didn't go away. She found herself lying awake, looking up at the ceiling. Hundreds of thousands of disturbing scenarios played through her mind and she remembered the last conversation she'd had with Dean that went like this. When he'd been a vampire and nearly made a horrible mistake.

She got out of bed and went downstairs, proceeding to begin baking to feed an army. She had nothing to do to distract her beyond that. Liam was currently in preschool and she'd found herself with enough time to clean the house. Twice. Now she could do some baking. But soon, she would be out of space and would have no idea what to do with them all but it was at least something to do that was distracting from the lingering feel of doom.

At seven o'clock Liam was downstairs, racing around and within an hour she had called him to breakfast, sat him down and made sure he ate decently. He was excited for preschool; he'd made a few friends already and he really enjoyed the painting exercises they got to do. Kora smiled tenderly and shut the oven off, pulling the cookies out. Despite his begging, she told him that he could have some when he got home and then she drove him to preschool. She smiled warmly and watched as he happily went to go and sit with his friends. She was happy for him.

She drove back home and went to go and start putting the cookies away. It wasn't until she was halfway there that she realized something wasn't quite right. It was… quiet and that sense of doom she'd had was screaming at her for being an idiot because something was most certainly wrong. For starters, some cookies were missing. Secondly, the chairs had been moved from where she had pushed them in. No one else had a key. She was the only one, she made sure of that and she kept the spare key buried halfway in her flower pot that was on the other side of the house. She'd never needed to use that spare key once yet.

There was dirt on her clean floor. Liam didn't track dirt in. He hadn't been outside once this morning and the boot prints were far too large to be his anyways. Panic began to bubble within her and pour forward. She raced upstairs, grabbing an iron poker on her way past the coat rack. She went to her room first seeing as it was the closest to her to check. She pushed open her bedroom door and saw a familiar man sitting there. The poker dropped from her hands and before she could stop herself she was moving towards him, reaching out to touch what surely had to be something that was going to kill her because this was a dream.

"Dean?" she whispered incredulously.

He shifted, turning further away from her and she realized that he was holding onto one of his shirts. A blush crept up her cheeks unbidden and she looked down at her feet, feeling ashamed. He had forgotten some of his things, one of them being a shirt that in her girlish little way had been… she hadn't been able to throw it out. As desperate and lonely and pathetic as that was, it was a reminder of Dean. Where she could pretend he was still with her, hadn't abandoned her, just gone to go save the world again. And now he knew just how pathetic she was.

"Hey, uh, Kora," he mumbled, dejectedly. He set his shirt down, by the pillows.

"W-why are you here?" she found herself demanding the explanation from him, looking up at him furiously.

His shoulders dropped and he looked over his shoulder at her. Kora felt herself completely falter, going to his side and wrapping her arms around him without ever thinking about it. She didn't know what was wrong, but just that broken expression on his face and she knew that it was something serious. It was like she was seeing him mourning Sam again. And that was… hard to take. Couldn't he just stay with her? She knew it was unreasonable and stupid but it hurt, to see him this torn up over it.

"Bobby…" That was all he was able to say, and it was all he had to say too. She held onto him tighter, tears coming to her eyes. She would have given anything to be able to cry for Dean right now. Because she knew he wasn't… And she knew he wasn't going to either. "S-Sam's gonna pick Liam up and uh, they're going back to a motel for a while to give us… some time." He paused and then hastily added, "If that's alright?"

"It's fine," she whispered thickly.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, as though waiting for her to cry. And so she did, but it wasn't for herself. It was for the old hunter that had been lost to a life-long war and for the man holding her who wouldn't cry no matter how much pain he was in. He had to be strong, for someone else all the time and this time she couldn't try and keep it together. It wasn't horrible crying, or sobbing or even hysterics. She hadn't been that close to Bobby. But she grieved for him and to an extent, for Dean because he wouldn't do it.

She wasn't sure if it would have been better to keep herself together and try to comfort him, but she was afraid that if she did that he would take off running. Sam had probably been pushing him incessantly, or close to, in his way. But she wasn't… She couldn't do that to him right now. Dean wanted to do this on his own, probably. Either Sam had forced him to come here or he had simply come to comfort her when she found out.

If that was the case she wasn't exactly going to forgive him for it. He had left her, when everything was over and done with and he couldn't just coming running to her and hold her like this when she needed it and he knew she needed it. There had been a few nights, when she was alone and was sure Liam was asleep that she had found herself nearly crying. But she had to be strong for her son, for Dean and keep her family strong. On her own. She was okay with that.

She was not okay with Dean choosing to decide when she needed him and when she didn't because she always needed him. She would always need him, want him, desire him and love him. She just wished he would understand that. Or at least acknowledge it.

She wondered how long he was going to stay this time. She wondered if he'd moved on from her. Pain welled up in her chest and she shifted, her hands clenching in his shirt as she risked looking up at him. They'd been lying together in silence, just holding one another. Kora didn't want it to end, or to ruin it but…

"When are you leaving?"

He blinked and shrugged, turning away from her. "I don't know yet."

"You… you could stay, you know?"

"I… I can't."

"You can," she whispered, moving away from him. The problem was that he wouldn't.

"Kora, I'm sorry. I didn't want to come, but…"

But Sam had made him. Yeah, big surprise there. No doubt he thought that Dean needed her. He knew that she needed Dean but this was just being cruel now. She put her head in her hands.

He set his hand on her back, "But I… needed you," he mumbled it quietly, but he still said it.

Kora turned to look at him, hope and love in her gaze. She had missed him so much that this felt like a dream. But if it was one, then she never wanted to wake up again. She threw her arms around him, kissing him pleadingly. She begged him to kiss her back, somewhere in the back of her mind panic welled and was ready to spring forth as she clung to him and then he was kissing her back. Rough and demanding as he pinned her to the bed, claiming her as his, she surrendered to him.

It was a long but pleasurable night. Dean gave her no time, no opportunity to really consider the implications and if she were being honest she didn't want that opportunity either.

She woke up in his embrace, sunlight streaming in through the bedroom window. She looked at him tiredly, smiling softly. He looked so tired. She snuggled up close to him. Kora wondered how long he'd been letting himself suffer and she feared that it was likely a very long time. Dean really needed a place to call home, to return to it and relax and be with his family. Bitterness flourished within her. Was she really even his family? Liam was. Liam was Dean's blood. But she wasn't even his girlfriend at this point and she wasn't certain if he would even want her back.

She felt him stir, shift a little as he stretched, mindful of her. Terror welled up in her. He could wake up and regret having ever come to her. Having slept with her. She wouldn't let him go without seeing Liam though. Even if he… was cruel, to her. She would extract a promise from him, in blood if necessary, that he would treat Liam as his son which was no more than he deserved. She tried to feign sleep, knowing that it likely wouldn't fool him. But she wanted her illusion, her hopes back, even if it was just for a minute.

He brushed a sweet kiss to her forehead, his hand tracing a circle along her back. He twirled a half-formed golden curl around his finger. "I've missed you," he murmured, sleep heavy in his voice. "I probably… I really shouldn't have come back but I… I love you," he mumbled softly, kissing her temple.

She couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face and was grateful that she was pressed close to him and that some of her hair had fallen across her face, hiding her expression from him. She wanted to tell him that she loved him too, but he already knew it and he had had no problem breaking her heart anyways. As well, she wanted him to continue to tell her his truth. He was surprisingly stubborn about being honest with himself and others too. It was wonderful to hear him say it though.

"Aren't you gonna say something?" he murmured quietly, his lips hovering over her ear.

Unbidden, a shiver went through her and she slowly looked up at him. "I wanted you to keep saying romantic things," she told him softly, smiling tenderly. "Of course I love you, even though you're a jerk and even though you broke my heart and left me." She added the last rather pettily, knowing it would make him feel guilty. Or perhaps she was hoping it would make him feel guilty.

"I'm not sorry, I did it for you."

She stiffened and pulled away from him. Truly, sometimes it would be better if someone stuck duck tape over his mouth because then she would have moments that she could enjoy. Like his prolonged silence before he said something so stupid that it made her want to retract her previous comment.

"You should go spend the day with Liam…" she murmured, moving so her back was to him. She put her sore muscles from her mind and didn't look at him. The tears in her eyes were a bit of a surprise though. She jerked the blankets off him, which was aided by the fact that he didn't fight for them and simply let her have them. There was absolutely no reason to not take advantage of this. Liam was away, with Sam, he would be fine and she could catch up on her sleep.

He reached over, like he was going to set his hand on her shoulder or something and he left something unsaid before he moved off the bed and proceeded to dress. He didn't look back as he left. She had hurt him just as much as he had hurt her now. It wasn't as though he was asking something simple of her. He broke her heart, abandoned her and only came back when he needed her. It wasn't as though she could go to him when she needed him; it wasn't as though she had contacted him when she needed him. Unless it was a dire emergency, she never would have phoned him. And since no occasions had arisen this last year, she'd had no reason to phone him.

She had talked with Sam, texted him. It wasn't the same thing though. Sam wasn't Dean. But at least she was able to know that they were okay. And she had convinced herself that was enough for her.

She heard a car pull up outside, heard the door close and the sound echoed through the house. She was alone once more. And this time it was her own fault. She wondered if he would return, but she couldn't tell if she wanted him to or not. The tears she'd been holding back, she let fall. She was such an idiot.

This is why I waited so long to update, for Friday's episode to air and then I got distracted reading so here is my sort of belated update!

Hope you enjoy. More to come when I have time. I only have weekends available to write now and I have a stack of homework crying out as I put it further aside. My essays are now demanding to be longer and they don't accept papers that are shorter than the length they demand even though I can cover the topic acceptably without meeting their length and I'm a pretty wordy writer on top of it so I have to add more and more... Unfortunately, with demanding homework it saps my will to write when I'm sorta being forced to. So... as a warning:

If I have not posted by the end of this month, hope that in mid Feburary things go well and I might update. If things go wrong, it won't be until April or May. But I'm almost right at the end and I really want to finish this by next week or at the latest the week after next. I hope you like the bonus scene, it was just something lighthearted before entering this part and that way if Sam ever calls Kora his sunset lover you'll know where it came from.