A/N: Greetings!! Sorry it took me so long to update but here you go. This just another info chapter so there is no smut…sorry!! But there will be some next chapter if I can work it in. Let me know what you think!! Thanks.

"Alex…hey Alex! Wake up!"

Alex sat up with a start, pulling her gun from her belt and aiming it before her eyes had even focused. She hadn't remembered falling asleep, which made her a little bit more panicky than usual when she was woken up. She looked up to find Dean staring down at her, a frown on his face and his hands up in defense. She dropped the gun with a sigh and looked around the library, thankfully all the seats in her immediate area were empty and the few stragglers that were around were to busy to notice her pulling a gun on the love of her life. She placed it back in her belt underneath Dean's large button down she was wearing over her tank and smiled apologetically at Dean.

"You okay?" he asked dropping his hands and raising an eyebrow.

She sighed again and nodded. "Yeah…just a little jumpy…what time is it?'

"Almost ten," Dean said checking his watch. "The library is about to close. Me and Sam were worried about you. You've been gone for five hours."

She frowned and checked her watch. He was right. She had been there since five o' clock, when the boys finally let her leave the motel room. It had been a week since she and Sam had gotten the trickster to send them back to the Wednesday where Dean was alive and since then she had been on a desperate search for answers. She wanted to know what the trickster had meant about Alexander, there was a growing void within her, widening every day that she did not know what Alexander had done. She had, had her head in book after book after book, searching for some way to summon the trickster or speak to the dead without creating a zombie. She had even gone to a few psychics in the local town, but all of them had turned out to be a hoax, which didn't surprise her. She hadn't told Dean or Sam what she had been working on, knowing that Sam would disapprove because he thought the trickster was a liar and telling Dean would mean telling him about those six months where she and Sam were alone without him. And she wasn't ready to do that just yet. She was barely sleeping or eating which concerned Dean and Sam and had them constantly asking her what she was researching so desperately to which she always answered "I am searching for the a way to save Dean". She had lost hope after the first few days thinking she would never know, but she had finally made up her mind about what she was going to do. She would go to a crossroads herself and ask a demon if a deal by Alexander had been made.

Dean and Sam in the mean time had been busy searching for Bela. They both knew that she had the colt which was their only chance of saving Dean at the moment and they needed to get it back. They were hot on her trail and had finally pin pointed her location in the very town they were in. Sam suggested they wait until nightfall to go and ransack her motel room. Alex had decided to go to the library to pass the time and when it was nearing closing hours and she hadn't returned or called Dean went looking for her and founding her sleeping, her head in an open book.

"Alex…" he said softly sitting in the extra chair at the table and scooting closer. "I'm starting to get worried about you…You aren't sleeping, you aren't eating, you're at the library every chance you get or you got your face in the lap top…I don't want you to lose yourself in this search to save me…if there really isn't any way to save me then I don't want my last few months with you to be wasted because I barely see you."

Alex sighed again, rubbing her sore eyes. She felt bad lying to him about everything, especially when he was being so honest and caring with her. She wanted to come out and tell him everything, about the six months where he was dead, what the trickster said and what she intended to do to find her answers. But she wouldn't. She knew he would be angry, and she knew that he definitely wouldn't let her go to a crossroads alone.

"I'm sorry, Dean," she said softly reaching out to caress his cheek. "I just…don't want to lose you."

Dean sighed and took her hand, squeezing it with his own. "I don't want to lose you either, baby; especially not if I am going to be gone in these last few months," he said smiling weakly.

She tried to smile and hoped it showed on her face. She shut the book she had been reading and leaned over to kiss him, just as Sam came walking around a book case. "Hey," he said walking toward them as they turned to him. "You found her…"

Dean nodded and rose to his feet. "Yeah…now we can go and get my colt back from that bitch," he said through clenched teeth.

"We gotta hurry," Sam said with a nod. "She might skip town."

"Yeah, come on babe," Dean agreed turning to Alex.

She hesitated as she looked at both of them, seeing this as one of her only opportunities to go to the nearest crossroads alone. Dean didn't even like to have her out of his sight, if they were wrapped up with Bela at the time she could go and get her answers and be back before they even noticed she was gone.

"I think I am going to sit this one out," she said making them both frown.

"Why?" Sam asked before Dean could say anything.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "I want to catch up on some sleep," she said faking a yawn. "I know you both can handle a small British chick. There are two of you and one of her after all."

Dean and Sam's frowns deepened and they shared a glance. "You have wanted to kick Bela's ass since the first day you met her and now you have an opportunity and you aren't going to?"

She shrugged again. "It's not that big of a deal. I am a firm believer in karma," she said rising to her feet and shutting the various books that lay open. "I know you can handle it. I just want some sleep that's all…this whole no sleep thing is really kicking my ass."

Dean and Sam shared another glance again before Dean shrugged. "Fine," he said looking at her still frowning. "You sure you're okay?"

She nodded again trying to reassure him. "I am fine," she repeated. "Just tired is all. You guys can head to Bela's from here. I'm just going to catch a cab and head on back to the motel, take a shower and hit the hay."

Neither of them said anything for a long moment, both Dean and Sam just stared at her curiously before Dean spoke. "Okay…" he said raising an eyebrow.

"Call me if you find something alright?" she said walking to him and kissing his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too," Dean replied, his voice quieter than normal. He wasn't used to saying those three words in public just yet.

She waited for the few awkward moments as they stood there to pass and then the men were walking away glancing back at her before they both disappeared behind the rows of bookshelves. She turned back to the table, sitting down and flipping through the pages of one of the books she had been researching just to make sure the boys didn't come back to check up her story. Fifteen minutes passed and then she rose from her seat, walking to the librarian who was a small old woman who looked up at her expectantly.

"Hi, I need a map please."

With her luck there wasn't a crossroads for fifty miles. She called a cab and went back to the motel packing her extra duffel with protection equipment. When she was finished, she went out to the parking lot of the motel and took her pick of the cars. She had picked a black Honda, something that didn't start too loud and looked inconspicuous. She had every intention on putting it back where she found it, but she couldn't take a cab to go see a demon.

When she finally reached the crossroads, she found herself in the middle of nowhere on a dirt and gravel road. There was only a small empty run down shed near the crossroads and not even a cell phone tower in sight. She walked to the center unsure if there would already be a tin box with everything she needed to summon the demon below the earth, but used her hand to dig and see anyway. She was lucky enough in that regards. She pulled the box from the dirt and opened it, immediately reaching for the aged picture within. She pulled it out and gazed at it, and after a moment of taking in the features her eyes went wide.

"You must be Alexandra Sheppard."

She jumped at the sound of the deep voice, rising to her feet quickly and turning to find a man in a suit standing behind her. He was tall and young looking, his eyes blue and his hair a dark wave across his head. He was handsome which surprised her and the smile across his face could have been mistaken for "kind" if she didn't know what he really was. She tried to calm her racing heart and not let the panic show on her face. She couldn't act scared in the face of a demon, it would only surely mean death, and he had already startled her.

"Yes….and you are?"

His smile widened. "So polite…My name is of no importance," he said. "I assume you are here for answers. You are here a lot later than I anticipated…but you have still come nonetheless."

She hesitated. Was he reading her thoughts? How did he know what she had come for? And why was he expecting her? She put on a determined face and her eyes dropped back down to the picture that had shocked her. It was a picture of Alexander. It was ripped in half, but she could still see a slim arm draped around his shoulder which she knew belonged to her mother. She knew because the other half of the picture that showed her mother was in her duffel bag back at the motel in a journal that she had kept since her mother died. His young face smiled up at her, his green eyes bright, and joy on his handsome features. He looked exactly the way she remembered him before the cancer had set in. She tried to fight back the tears and held up the picture for the demon to see.

"You made a deal with my father?" she asked raising her eyebrows.

He turned blue eyes onto the picture gazing at it thoughtfully for a moment before he looked back at her. He blinked and when he opened his eyes they were a deep blood red that made her flinch. She swallowed hard as he took a step toward her and reached for the picture. She allowed him to take it from her hand and his eyes fell to it once again.

"He was a very demanding man," he said looking back up at her. "But yes I made a deal with him."

She clenched her teeth. Daddy….what the hell did you get yourself into?! What could have been so important that you wanted to sell your soul to the damn devil? "What was the deal for?" she questioned, trying to sound determined.

He laughed at her show of spine and tossed the picture at her feet. "I am afraid Ms. Sheppard that, that information is confidential," he said shaking his head. "I cannot just disclose that sort of information for free."

She felt her gut tighten and something inside of her told her to just leave. This isn't right. He was expecting you. You didn't even put your damn picture in the box and suddenly he was there. Get out of here. Go back to Sam and Dean where it's safe. DO NOT MAKE A DEAL, the voice shouted at the back of her head. Her fists clenched and she locked eyes with the demon that was waiting expectantly. The voice was right; something about the situation didn't feel right, more so than the fact that she was even talking to a demon. She should have run then, should have gone back to Dean and Sam and told them the truth of everything. But instead she looked the demon in the eye and spoke with a voice full of demand and determination.

"What do you want?"

He chuckled and began to walk in circles around her, looking her up and down. "You know…I really like you Alexandra," he said with a nod as he rounded her back and came up to her front. "You have a lot of…spunk."

She raised an eyebrow. "I don't have all night," she said through clenched teeth. "You want something so spit it out."

The demons grin widened and he rubbed his hands together as he regarded her. "I want a taste of your blood," he said slowly his eyes sweeping up her body.

She blinked taken aback by his request. "No!" she quickly before she could even consider it.

The demon frowned at her response, his eyes flashing red again and she could physically hear his teeth clench. He regained his composure quickly, the sly smile spreading across full lips again as if he knew some private joke in his head about her. She hesitated, trying to decipher why he could possibly want to taste her blood when he stepped closer to her.

"I don't want to kill you Alexandra," he said softly. "Believe me you are far more valuable to me alive. I just want a small taste."

"Why?" she questioned looking at him suspiciously. "I'm a normal girl like everyone else. There is nothing special about my blood."

He chuckled again and started to walk around her once more. "Now how do you know that, that is true?" he asked softly.

She felt a chill as he circled behind her and then came into her view, his eyes red again as he gazed at her. She didn't understand what he meant, didn't get what he was trying to hint at it and it was starting to piss her off. She frowned at him and spoke through clenched teeth.

"What the hell do you want to taste my blood for?" she asked. "I am not going to agree to anything until I know why."

He sighed heavily and shook his head. "I'll explain after the deal is made….how about that?"

She frowned deeper and pulled her gun from her belt aiming it right between his red eyes. She knew it wouldn't kill him, but it would hurt like hell and she had no problem causing him pain. It would distract him enough so that she could run back to the car and grab the holy water and say an exorcism, but she was thrown off by how he began laughing. Loudly.

"Alexandra," he said shaking his head. "You should not poke a bear with a stick. That cannot harm me.''

She shook her head in agreement. "Yeah, but these are salt rounds pal. Which means it will hurt you like hell."

"I'm not your average demon, Alexandra," he said. His gaze darkened intensely and she felt a chill run up her spine.

She hesitated. "What do you mean?"

"This may just be a crossroads, but this is a special crossroads," he explained slowly. "This is where the desperate ones come…to speak to me."

"And who the hell are you?"

His eyes turned darker if possible and his smile widened. "I am the holder of the contracts…the boss demon if you will…I say whether there is a deal or not and when my pets come to collect the souls they are brought to me. It is power given by me that my employees use to make the deals. I am the center of it all. I am the original and first crossroads demon and the most powerful."

She felt her stomach sink in and she dropped her arm, the gun hanging at her side as she gazed up at him in shock. He continued to smile at her as she stared at him.

"What did my father want?" she asked. "Was it my mom? Did he come to ask you to save my mom?"

He shook his head. "I can't tell you that without making a deal. I don't give out freebies sweetheart. I am a demon of many rules that I follow closely. So if you want information you are going to have to give me something that I want."

"And you want my blood?" she finished slowly, her eyes dropping.

He gave a single nod. "Just a taste…I won't harm you and you won't have to sell your soul."

She shook her head turning her back on him as her mind raced over the pros and cons of the situation. The most powerful crossroads demon wanted to drink her blood and she had no clue why or what it would do to him. She wanted to know what Alexander made the deal for and why and the only way of every truly knowing rested with the demon. She wasn't of a trusting kind, especially not when it came to demons, but if she wanted answers something told her that this was the only way. She turned back to him as he waited expectantly and sighed.

"I'll do it."

He was on her in seconds, one arm around her tightly as his other hand gripped her hair, yanking her head back. His lips found hers, hard and bruising and when she gasped in surprise his tongue snaked into her mouth. The minute his tongue touched hers a flood of images burst through her head making her eyes shut tight. They moved so rapidly at first she couldn't decipher any of it until it all slowed down.

When she opened her eyes again she was standing alone in the crossroads out of breath and confused. She spun around looking for the demon, cursing when she didn't lay eyes on him. She was about to call out for him when she heard the familiar rumble of a truck that made her heart skip a beat. Turning slowly she spotted large headlights coming her way and as she brought up her hand to shield her eyes from the light she realized that she recognized the truck. She hesitated putting her gun in the back of her jeans before rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. She wasn't. She watched in awe as her father's truck came to halt a few feet from her. It was a huge ford truck, rusty and blue and lifted high off the ground with big wheels. She remembered riding and living in that truck when she was younger, she loved to sit in the front seat, the wind whipping through her hair as the engine rumbled beneath her. The truck still sat in Bobby's salvage yard; she could never bring herself to get behind the wheel.

The engine halted and the driver side door opened and a man jumped down making her catch her breath. She could only see a pair of legs for a moment before the door shut and Alexander stood before her very eyes. He looked young, just the way she remembered him from her child hood, before the cancer. He was tall and ruggedly handsome, his hair dark and his eyes green like hers. He looked tired, and his eyes were bloodshot as if he had been crying. He came walking toward her and Alex opened her mouth to speak to him when he passed right through her as if she were a ghost. She gasped in surprise realizing that she must in some sort of memory inside the demons head. She turned to finding her father kneeling at the center, his hand digging through the dirt. Once he found the tin box within he pulled a folded picture from his pocket, he stared at it for a long moment before he ripped it in half quickly and placed a piece of it inside pocketing the other half.

By the time he had risen to his feet, the demon was there. He was in the same host that she had seen him in and there was that same sadistic smile across his face. She walked quickly toward them standing near the demon so she could see Alexander's face. He was crying again, silent tears streaming down his face as he looked at the demon with an angry frown.

"How can I help you Mr. Sheppard?" the demon asked politely as he crossed his arms.

"I know you know why I am here," Alexander said through clenched teeth. "I don't want to play any games. I know you are the strongest of them all and you can do what I want. You can have my soul; I don't care, just do it."

Oh no, she thought watching Alexander stare the demon down. He must have come here to save mom. Obviously the deal must have gone wrong or the demon refused because she never saw her mother again after the day she died. But just the fact alone that Alexander was that desperate to come to a demon for help surprised her. Alexander never seemed like that kind of man. A desperate man. And he didn't act as if the loss of her mother had affected him so much.

The demon remained quiet for a long moment as if considering the demand before he put his fingers together like a steeple and looked at Alexander. "I really don't think you are in any position to make demands, Mr. Sheppard," he replied finally his smile widening. "I know plenty of demons who think your suffering is as sweet as candy, now why would I want to change that?"

"Because you can have me," Alexander replied quickly stepping forward. "You guys want me and I am offering myself up. Just bring them back, let me kill the demon and in ten years I am yours for the taking."

Alex hesitated. Them? Who was them?

"I can't do that," the demon replied shaking his head. "I am a reasonable demon, but to allow you to purposefully kill one of my kind and give you ten years? That is far too generous of me."

Alexander's face fell slightly, but his stern look returned seconds later. "How long?"

"Two," the demon offered.

Alexander shook his head. "No deal, that isn't long enough. Eight."

"Three."

"No," Alexander shook his head again.

"You still think you have something worthy that I want," the demon said with a frown on his face. "I can kill you right here and now, and take your soul. I don't need to wait ten years to take it. You are trying to take advantage of my generosity."

Alex turned surprised eyes on Alexander and watched his eyes drop as he contemplated it. This is it, she thought. This is why mom never came back. He refused the deal.

"Six," Alexander offered looking back up at the demon. "Six or I walk here and now."

The demon sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine…six years. That's all."

Alex looked to Alexander in surprise seeing the small relief that swept over his face. She didn't understand why her mother wasn't alive if this is what he had made the deal for. Where had something gone wrong?

"I can only bring back one," the demon continued snapping her out of her thoughts. "You decide which."

Alexander's face fell and this time he didn't regain his composure back as quickly. He stared stoically at the demon and when he opened his mouth the demon shook his head, cutting him off.

"There is no negotiating this one," the demon said sternly with a frown. "You chose one. And that is it."

The realization of it all hit Alex like a ton of bricks. It brought tears to her eyes instantly and she shook her head talking to herself aloud. "No…this didn't happen. This did not happen," she whispered.

Alexander spoke confirming everything she had just realized, making her heart sink in her chest. "Bring my daughter back," he said softly. "I want my little girl to live."

The demons smile returned. "Excellent choice..."

"I have one more request," Alexander said softly holding up one finger. "I don't want her to remember this, and I don't want her to ever find out about it. So please don't send the hounds after me. Make me suffer if you will, but make her think I died of something natural so she never ends up here."

The pleading in Alexander's voice was too much to bear; she began to sob as she watched the demon hesitate, but nod after a moment. "Fine…I will get creative with your demise," he said with a nod.

Alexander took a deep breath and nodded. "Good…now how do we seal it??"

The demon stepped forward to take Alexander's face in his hands and kiss him for a long moment. Alexander didn't struggle, just stood absolutely still with a demons lips pressed to his own. When he withdrew, Alexander wiped his mouth and spit on the ground.

"Bring me the girl," the demon said nodding towards Alexander's truck.

Alexander hesitated, looking at his truck then back to the demon. "Why?"

"You want me to bring her back don't you?"

Alexander frowned but walked quickly to the truck and pulled open the back seat driver side door. Alex felt her stomach cringe as she watched Alexander pull a small limp body from the car. She recognized herself immediately lying pale and still in Alexander's arms at the age of ten. Her own small eyes were still open in a dead stare and as he carried her closer she could see that she was covered in blood with a gaping wound across her throat. Alex gasped and reached for her throat. She had died that very same day her mother had and Alexander had made a deal to bring her back. It all made sense now, what the trickster had said that day about her. Alexander had given up his life to save her, the same way that Dean was giving up his life to save Sam.

Alexander placed her ten year old body at the demons feet before straightening and backing up a few steps. The demon knelt beside her, touching her pale face that was still covered in blood before reaching behind his back and grabbing a knife. Alexander came rushing forward immediately, but the demon held out a hand making Alexander freeze, his muscles tight as he struggled against the invisible hold.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked through clenched teeth.

The demon raised an eyebrow as he smiled. "I have been waiting to find someone like your daughter for a long time and thankfully you brought her right to me."

Alexander's face fell in confusion and Alex's did too. "What the hell do you mean?" he asked, a scowl crossing his face.

The demon ignored his question, dragging his knife across the skin of his wrist right above her mouth. She could do nothing, but watch as the demon brought his bleeding wrist to her mouth and blood poured in as he began to chant quickly. It was in ancient language that he did not know and he spoke to fast for her to even try and guess what he was saying. She watched as the color returned to her ten year old face and the wound closed and healed over. Ten year old Alex sat up with a gasp reaching for her throat, her eyes wide before she was looking around.

"Alex!" Alexander yelled.

The demon released him and he dropped to the ground with a thud, only taking a second before he was on his feet again and running to his daughter. He swept her into his arms, hugging her tightly to his chest before backing away from the demon who straightened with a bright smile.

"What did you do to my little girl?" Alexander questioned.

"What you asked me to do," The demon answered. "And a little more…You have a very special little girl there, Alexander. Don't worry she wont remember any of this tomorrow. I'll see you in six years."

Alex came out of the vision with a gasp, shoving the demon away from her as she did. She had tears rolling down her face and she had to force back a sob as she gazed at the smiling demon that was licking his lips.

"What the hell did you do to me?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"What your father asked me too," he replied.

"No!" she shouted angrily stepping forward. "You gave me your blood you sick son of a bitch. Why?! What did you put in me?"

His smile only widened as he looked at her, unphased by her anger. "You will find out soon enough, Alexandra," he said softly. "Now it is time for you to hold up your end of the bargain."

He reached behind him withdrawing a knife much like in the vision and it made her take a step back. He hesitated, anger rolling over his face for a second before he tilted his head. "You aren't trying to back out of our deal now are you?" he asked slowly, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

She felt a chill run up her spine right before she heard a low growl behind her. She froze instantly as she felt warm breath on the back of her jeans and her eyes went wide. She didn't need to turn to know that it was a hell hound and she didn't really want to turn to find out.

"If you don't fulfill your end of the bargain then that voids your contract and your soul is mine for the taking," the demon continued.

She hesitated weighing the options of trying to run. The hounds would be after her for the rest of her life and probably end up killing her and dragging her to hell with Dean. She stepped forward and held her hand out to him. He took her hand in his carefully and gripped her wrist, pushing the sleeve of Dean's over shirt up to reveal her forearm. He brought the knife to her skin, slicing her right across the plump flesh of the underside of her forearm making her wince. He cut deep and it took every ounce of will she had not to cry out.

His eyes flashed red as he brought her arm to his mouth and his tongue snaked out. She winced as she felt his teeth scrape her skin as his mouth made contact and then he was sucking, hard. She felt her skin crackle with energy and a rush of it swept through her before he was pulling away from her with a sickened gasp.

"All that power inside of you and you have no clue that it's even there. Power that I gave you," he said slowly, almost sounding angry as he looked down at her. "You will be far more valuable than any of us anticipated."

"What did you turn me into?" she demanded putting pressure on the cut. "Why did you give me your blood? What do you want me for?"

The demon said nothing as he gazed at her for a long moment and then he disappeared into thin air right before her very eyes. She stood stunned, staring at where he had been bleeding and confused. She didn't know what to think or feel. She had died at the age of ten and was brought back to life by demon blood. And now they had a plan for her, and what that plan was she had no idea.

When she made it back to the motel room, she parked the Honda right where she had found it and hoped that the owner had not called the cops yet. She wiped her prints from the car and then trudged to the room that she shared with the Winchesters. When she put her key in the door and turned it, the door was yanked open and she found Dean Winchester standing in the door way looking angry. Her stomach caved in as he stared at her and she opened her mouth to speak when he grabbed her. The kiss that came next surprised her, it was filled with anger and relief and she barely had the chance to kiss back before he was pulling away from her.

"Where the hell have you been?" he questioned looking at her. "We got arrested and attacked by a shit load of demons and nearly got killed and I come here hoping to find the woman I love safe and sound and she's not here." She sighed, running a hand through her hair revealing the cut on her arm. Dean grabbed her arm quickly and inspected the wound looking at her. "Alex, what the hell happened to you?"

She pulled her arm away from him and brushed past him finding Sam sitting on the bed, looking up at her confused. She turned to Dean who was still standing in the doorway looking at her expectantly when she sighed. She couldn't take it anymore. She had to come clean, it was all too much to bear alone.

"Dean…Sam," she said softly. "There is something I have to tell you."