Well it's been a little busy around here, getting ready for school, but here ya go! :) I can't wait to hear what ya'll think, so go read and enjoy. Thanks!

Chapter 10

Bobby didn't really see Dean, once it was all over. The boy called, but he didn't come back—or he hadn't yet, and it had been several weeks now. He called every now and then, but really only enough to say he had.

Dean was hurting. That much was clear. Bobby knew that he'd left the Braeden's again, and didn't plan on going back. It wasn't what he wanted, but it was what he thought was right and it was no use trying to talk to him about it. He wouldn't listen. He was back on the road, hunting small game again and not seeming to really appreciate the fact that the war was over.

They'd never gotten a chance to celebrate.

Bobby wished he knew what to do about it, but if the boy wouldn't listen he wouldn't listen. It had dragged on like that for the last several weeks.

Then Bobby got the phone call.

"The bastard had a mate!"

"What?"

"The vampire! The one I killed outside Chicago a few months back."

Bobby sat up quickly from where he'd been slumped at his desk. "What?" he repeated. "Are you sure? How do you know; were you attacked?"

Dean snorted. "Not directly. The bitch broke my window and left a picture on the driver's seat of the two of them. These two were so old it's not even a photograph; it's a copy of a picture of a damn painting."

He scowled to himself, mulling over that. "Why the hell would a vampire do that when shecould have just attacked you?" There was silence on the other end of the line. "Dean?"

When the boy's voice came again, it wasn't calm. "Bobby...I think she's after Lisa and Ben. There's nothing written on this picture but for one word on the back: Cicero."

Bobby winced. "That's where they live."

"Damn right it's where they live, but how did it know that? Could it have tracked me there already?

"If she's as old as you're making it sound, she's had a lot of time to practice. She very well might have."

"Damnit!"

He hesitated before he asked the next question. "Are you on your way there?"

"Of course I'm on my way there." Dean told him where he was.

"That'll take you almost as long as it'll take me. Don't stop. You get there, and I'll raid a morgue and get going myself."

Dean let out an unsteady breath. "Thanks, Bobby."

"Don't mention it."

The young blond woman who knocked on the door seemed normal until—until she slammed Lisa into a wall and kicked the door closed behind her.

The first thought that went through Lisa's mind was Ben...where he was, what he was doing, if he was safe. Then she wondered what the hell was going on.

"Where's the boy?" the woman demanded.

"W-what are you talking about?" Lisa asked quietly. She would have loved to be louder—firmer, more confident—but the woman had an arm on her throat.

"Cliche lies bore me. I've seen the boy—your son, I assume. He lives here. Where is he?"

She'd seen Ben? Who was she? What did she want? And how was she strong enough that even with only the arm at her throat and the woman's other hand clamped around one of her arms, Lisa felt as if she couldn't move at all?

"I don't know." That much was the truth. She wished she did. He could only be in his room, or the back yard, because he hadn't asked to go out to the park, but she didn't know exactly where he was right this moment.

One look at the woman's eyes, and Lisa decided that was a good thing. Somehow she thought the woman would know if she were lying.

"Well I suppose we'll just see." The woman grinned, and for a moment a grotesque set of thin jagged teeth descended in front of her others. Then they were gone again, and she sighed. "I do wish I could kill you know, but it would be so much more satisfying to wait."

Now Lisa knew what the woman was. She wouldn't give the thing the satisfaction, but inside she screamed.

The lights were still on in the Braeden house, and somehow Dean hadn't been expecting that.

Of course, he didn't expect to run into Ben in the bushes out back, either.

"Dean!"

"Ben! What the—heck are you doing out here?" he stage whispered.

"Something's in there," the kid answered anxiously. "It's got Mom. It looks like a woman, but it had teeth, and I was in the back yard and it didn't see me. I was gonna go for help, but I didn't know where to go, and—"

Dean grabbed him by the arm and pulled him further away from the house and any possibility of being seen from a window. "It's okay. That's why I'm here."

Ben scowled. "But just because killing bad stuff is your job."

"Well yeah, but—"'

"But nothing. You left, just like they all do."

Dean grimaced. They didn't have time for this now. "Look, we can talk later, okay? How long has the thing been here? Where's it keeping your mom?"

Ben crossed his arms and sighed. "They're in the living room, just sitting there. It's been here for about an hour or so, I guess. What is it?"

"It doesn't matter; I'll get her out of there."

"But—"

Dean bent lower. "Ben, now is not the time to argue, okay?" He pointed back the way he'd come. "Go between those two houses right there, and my car is parked on the street on the other side. I want you to go get inside, and stay there until somebody comes to get you. Can you do that?"

"But it's my mom. I want to help."

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt!" Ben just stared at him, and he let out a breath. "Please just go to the car."

The kid swallowed and nodded. "Okay."

"Good; get going."

"You'll get her out?"

Dean nodded back. "I promise."

"Good." Ben hugged him quickly. "I'm...glad you're here."

Dean squeezed briefly and gave him a good push in the general direction of the hidden Impala. "Go on."

Ben went, and Dean crept closer to the house. It wasn't long before he could see into the living room, and saw what he expected. Lisa was perched tensely on the edge of an armchair, while a tall blonde paced the room nearby.

That would be the vampire.

God, would that ever not sound hokey?

His cell phone vibrated in his pocket. It was Bobby. "When the hell are you gonna be here?"

"I was calling to let you know I'm about ten minutes out."

"Thank god. The vamp's here all right, and it's got Lisa."

"What about Ben?"

"He wasn't inside when she showed up; he's safe. I sent him to the car. I'm still outside, but if you're almost here I'm goin' in."

"Be careful."

He quietly closed the phone and shoved it back in his pocket, and glanced at the machete he'd dropped when he turned around and ran into Ben. Well...if he was going in, he'd have to leave it there.

Dean made sure that they didn't see him until he wanted them to—the moment he slid open one of the glass patio doors. He was still across the kitchen from them then, but they both looked up, Lisa more slowly than the vampire.

"I take it you're looking for me?"

The blond smirked. "You could put it that way."

Lisa was giving him a clear What the hell are you doing? look as he crossed to the living room, but he focused on the vampire. It was easier not to give anything away that way.

"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't know the thing had a mate," he smirked.

The vampire snarled.

"Oh, excuse me: guy. But most guys don't live three hundred years, so you can see where I might have gotten confused. You vamps are usually pretty big on the revenge thing, though. Shouldn't he have been telling me how you were going to hunt me down and suck all the blood from my carcass while I was chopping his head off?"

"It's easier to take revenge on an unsuspecting enemy."

Dean crossed his arms. "Huh. Really. So you're a coward."

He'd been expecting some type of reaction—even a loud and/or violent one—so he wasn't quite surprised to find himself pinned to the wall a moment later. "Okay, I think you can get off me now," he coughed. "Look, I'm here, so let her go."

The blond shook her head,m gave him another good shove back into the drywall and backed away. "I don't think so."

Dean regained his footing and grimaced. "Why not?"

"You killed my husband," she growled. "We'd been together for two-hundred-and-fifty years. I hope you didn't think I was just going to let that go. No...you're going to pay through the nose before I let you die."

"Wow, really? You can make money come out people's noses? Sounds like a neat trick; I might actually want to see that. I could always use a few extra bucks anyway. Not sure I'm so hot on the whole using my nose thing, but..." There was the What the hell? look from Lisa again, and she still hadn't said anything. This time he realized that she didn't look so good. The smirk faded and he frowned instead.

The vampire realized where he was looking and turned to yank Lisa's hair back from her face.
Lisa yelped, and that was when he saw the blood on her neck.

"You bitch—" Dean surged forward, but the blond had pulled a gun from her belt and rested the barrel against Lisa's temple before he could get very far.

"I'd be much happier if you didn't make me do this; blood tastes better fresh."

Oh god. That was why she hadn't moved much, or said anything. She was pale, and looked ready to tip off the edge of the chair. That was why. The bitch had already taken blood.

He stopped, glaring intently. "What the hell do you want?"

"Before we can get this little party started, I want the boy."

"What boy?"

"Please not that excuse again," the vampire sighed. "I don't know what he is to you—or her, for that matter, but I know they both live here and your scent is all over the house. Whatever they are, they matter to you. That's the point."

"And apparently you plan to kill them no matter what I do, so why should I tell you a damn thing?"

She sneered. "If you'll tell me where the boy is, I might consider making all of your deaths a little more humane."

"Might. Really. What a great offer," he deadpanned.

The blond looked at him for a moment in exasperation. "Fine then. I promise. Tell me where the boy is. If you'd be so kind, I'd like to get this show on the road."

"You really like all these fun modern cliches, don't you old woman?"

"What?" she snapped, glaring.

Lisa was staring at him, begging, but she didn't have to. Over her shoulder he could see Bobby slipping in the side door in the kitchen carrying a loaded crossbow.

"Sorry. I meant no thanks."

Bobby fired, and the arrow plowed straight into the vampire's back. Lisa screamed, and after staggering once the blond spun to fire behind her. She only got off two shots that Bobby ducked away from before she slumped to the carpet, motionless.

Lisa stared, hanging on the arm of her chair.

Bobby hauled himself to his feet and brushed drywall flakes from his shirt. "Dead-man's blood."

"It's...like poison to them," she said slowly.

Dean stepped over the unconscious vampire to sit on the edge of the armchair beside her. "Yeah...you remembered." She shrugged weakly. "You okay?" Lisa let out a breath and leaned into him, shivering.

"I'll live...won't I?"

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "Yeah. You'll be fine, but we should probably get you to a hospital. You may need blood."

"Ben..."

"He's fine. I ran into him outside, and he's waiting in my—"

"Mom!"

Dean twisted, and Ben was running in through one of the sliding doors. "Ben, I thought I told you to wait in the car!"

"Hey, I still stayed out of the way, didn't I?" He swept in and hugged his mother. "Mom, are you okay?"

Lisa pulled away from Dean only enough to embrace her son, and Dean kept an arm around her to make certain she stayed upright. "I'll be fine," she sighed, holding Ben tightly. "Thank god you're all right."

"Yeah, mom. I'm fine..." He let go and glanced at the woman on the floor. "So...what is it?"

Dean and Bobby glanced at each other, and at Lisa.

"Come on, guys. I'm ten now. I saw the teeth earlier. Is it like, some kind of whacked-out vampire or something?"

Lisa hesitated for a long moment and then cleared her throat. "Uhm...apparently it is, sweetheart."

God bless the kid, he didn't just shrug it off. "Oh," he said, a brief flash of alarm crossing his face. "Wow."

"Don't worry about it, Ben," Dean added quickly. "There's not a whole lot of them anymore, and this one's down for the count. You're safe now."

"Good," Ben sighed, smiling. He nodded and started to help Lisa up. "What are you doing?"

"We need to get your mom to the hospital."

Lisa grimaced as Dean supported her. "Are you sure? How are we going to explain this?"

"It's been done."

"But—"

"Just take it easy, okay? I want to make sure you're all right. I'll stay with Ben until they let you go; I promise."

"And then you'll leave again?" she mumbled.

Dean let out a breath. "Can we take this one step at a time?"

"I'll just...take care of this..." Bobby trailed, motioning to the vampire. "Maybe I should go get your car for you first, though."

He pulled his keys from his pocket with his free hand and tossed them.

The hospital was just like any other he'd ever been in—cold, white, and annoying. There were too many people, sick people, and he'd never liked being there. It didn't help that he was usually the one in the bed. That wasn't fun, either.

But this time it was Lisa, and it was his fault.

She'd needed some blood, but not as much as he'd been afraid of. The doctor wanted to keep her overnight, but that was all. He might have kept her longer, but he probably found the whole thing just a little too strange. He hadn't seemed to quite buy the dog excuse.

Ben was conked out on the empty bed in Lisa's room, and Dean was about to fall asleep in the chair beside her bed. That alone was enough to make him wonder why he'd left. The only two people in his life he'd ever cared about enough to hold bedside vigil for before now had been Sam and his father. He had done it, more than once for both of them—never for anyone else.

But it was because he cared about them that he'd left, wasn't it?

"Dean?"

He started and straightened a little. "Lisa. Hey...you're still awake." He'd been pretty sure she was on the way to sleep.

She looked him in the eyes, through whatever was left of the mild drugs she'd been given. "Are you leaving again?"

Oh.

Dean huffed and looked away. "I don't know."

Or had he just been afraid that something like this would happen? Well, he'd left and it had happened anyway.

"You don't have to."

"Lisa, you just saw what could happen if I stayed. I went on all of three or four hunts while I was staying with you guys, and that was enough for one of them to end up coming back to bite all of us in the ass. This could have ended much worse."

"I know..."

"Then why do you even want me to stay?"

She looked at him for a long moment. "Because I love you."

Damnit...why did she have to do that?

Dean swallowed. "Is that more important than keeping Ben safe?" he asked quietly.

Lisa shifted onto her side a little more, to look at him better. "From what I've seen, he would never be safer with anyone else."

"Well...of course I'd never let anything happen to him, but there would be danger to protect him from that I'd bring myself, and...I'm not perfect." Sam. "Lisa..."

"I remember everything you've told me about your brother."

"Then why is there any argument? I should stay away from you guys. Now that this vampire bitch is out of the way, nothing should ever bother you again." He was talking in circles. He knew it, but he didn't know how to break the circle. He understood where she was coming from...but the problem was that it all made sense both ways.

It was just that...after Sam...no matter how much Dean tried to believe that it wasn't his fault, even if it was true the feeling would always be there.

He didn't want to take that chance again.

"I have to protect you," he said quietly.

Lisa held out a hand and he tentatively took it. "But I want you to protect us a different way. I want you to do it here. Doesn't that make more sense? Whether you stay or not, there will always be things out there, and Ben and I will always know they're there."

"And I'm sorry about that. I really am."

"I don't want you to be sorry. I want you to stay."

He wanted to. It was only his conscience he was warring with.

"Lisa, I...I can't promise anything."

"Then don't promise, if you can't. Just say you'll try." Dean let out a heavy breath. "If you don't think staying is the best thing for us, then...do it for yourself. For what you do, I think you deserve it."

He grimaced. "That's debatable."

"Dean..."

"All right. I'll try. No promises, but...I'll try—if you're sure you want me back," he smirked.

"I'm sure."

"Then...we'll try."