Through the dark and cold of the night they walked back to the bar where Dean had parked the Impala. The streets were almost pitch black; only a few street lights were illuminating the concrete, painting pale spots onto the ground.

Dean tried his best to ignore Avery, but he could see her out of the corner of his eye and hear her footsteps as she slowly walked next to him. They echoed through the silence and it sounded like an explosion in his head. Her scent surrounded him, it was the only smell he was capable of sensing at the moment and seemed to be everyhwhere. The warmth of her body enveloped him, he felt the heat even through the layers of his clothes. Her bare presence was too much, suffocating him. She was so close, too damn close.

Dean gritted his teeth and stared ahead stubbornly, making sure not to look at Avery or, God forbid, make eye contact with her. He was determined to get her home, so she wouldn't get in any more trouble and then leave immediately. That was the plan. Then he would drive back home and stay away from her. He needed to stop making the same mistakes over and over again. So far this woman had done nothing but cause some major trouble since the moment he met her.

He wasn't going to spend another minute with her or visit her again or seek her out; he couldn't be with her. He hated himself for the thought, for even considering to stay with her another night. In his mind he kept reprimanding and warning himself to keep his hands off of her.

Avery looked hesitantly over at Dean, seeing how tense he was. Even though she was only able to make out his profile, she could still imagine the look on his face. It was obvious how pissed and annoyed he was. And she was the reason for his bad mood.

It fascinated and scared her all at once how she could feel that he was so upset because of her. He didn't have to say anything, the resentment was evident. Now that she was a vampire and because a crushing silence set between them and she was forced to focus on Dean, she was able to tell apart all the different nuances and changes in every single emotion he felt at the moment. Something indescribable, an undefined invisible substance was floating between them, thickening the air.

He seemed so tall and menacing. She bet all the other vamps out there would never dare to fuck with him. Suddenly Avery was intimidated by the whole situation. She wrapped her jacket tighter around her body and crossed her arms in front of her chest, shielding herself from the cold that was radiating off of him. She wanted to say something, just to break the awful silence between them, but kept her mouth shut instead. She was getting confused and frustrated.

He had come to help her and now even wanted to give her a ride home, yet he hated her company for some reason. Avery sighed, a tinge of hurt sweeping through her, because she really liked being with him. As hard as she tried to read him, she couldn't figure out what was on his mind. He was a complicated, confusing and most of all, infuriating man.

Avery didn't know why they were walking at human pace, but it didn't matter since she had trouble keeping up with his fast steps anyway. She didn't mind the cold, the breeze helped her think and process the recent event. The growing tension, however, was too much to handle.

When she finally spotted the bar, she breathed a sigh of relief. Dean guided her towards the Impala and opened the door on the passenger's side for her, waiting for her to get in.

Avery hesitated. Obviously, Dean was trying to do the right thing, but the last thing he wanted was to waste any more of his precious time. She was a freshly made vampire and therefore a burden and he wanted nothing to do with her.

"Avery?" Dean raised a questioning eyebrow when she stood frozen on the spot.

"You know what, I'd rather walk home." She replied nonchalantly without looking at him. She was hurt and angry and suddenly very tired.

Dean let out a frustrated groan; he was really not in the mood to deal with her unexpected squeamishness.

"Get in." He simply stated, wondering what the hell had gotten into her.

Avery remained stoic, shaking her head. "No, it's okay, really. Again, thank you for helping me out back there, but you don't have to drive me home."

"Just get in the car, Avery."

"No."

Dean let out a bitter laugh. This was the first woman who refused to get in his car and go with him.

"I appreciate everything you've done for me, but -"

"Jesus Christ, I forgot how bitchy and vengeful freshly turned vamps are." Dean interrupted her, looking baffled at her for a few seconds. "Would you just get in the car now and let me get you home?"

"Dean, I..." She started, slowly becoming impatient. Why was he so stubborn? Why wouldn't he just let her go? "You don't see what the problem is, do you?"

"No, I don't." He wanted her to get to the point already, otherwise they would be standing there until dawn. "Please enlighten me."

"I know you're pissed at me, because if it weren't for me, you'd be sitting in this bar right now, drinking and looking for the next perfect lay."

"Yeah, well..." Dean glanced at the bar, frowning. "I've told you it's okay, I can come back here some other time."

"I bet you didn't want to see me again." Avery whispered, quickly averting her eyes and looking down at the ground, feeling insecure. She couldn't believe she had said it aloud, but before she could have stopped herself the words had already left her mouth. She held her breath and waited for Dean's reaction, not daring to look up at him.

Her words caught him off guard. Immediately, Dean felt guilty as hell. So far, he had done everything wrong, starting from the moment they met to her transition and the way he had been treating her afterwards. That was not how a vampire was supposed to act towards someone they had turned. The transition alone was difficult and scary enough and Avery needed all the help she could get. He sighed heavily for the umpteenth time that night. Sam and Jamie had warned him multiple times over the past decades, he should have listened. He really had screwed up this time. What was he going to do with her?

When Dean stayed silent, Avery finally looked up at him and saw the pensive expression on his face. Whatever it was that he was so deep in thought about, she wasn't able to tell. She chewed on her bottom lip nervously. "I broke some kind of unwritten law, didn't I?"

Avery's voice seeped through his thoughts and he realized that she had said something; it took him a split-second to catch on. "Why would you think that?"

"I wasn't supposed to talk to you when I saw you at the bar again, I should've stayed away, right?" She asked, scared to death in anticipation of the answer.

"No. You've done nothing wrong, Avery." Dean said surprisingly calm, but then his expression changed. All the talking was making him even angrier and by now he was beyond exasperated. He wanted to leave; this wasn't exactly a safe area for a newbie to be around. A lot of vamps were creeping through the streets at that time of the night and he wanted to get Avery out of this place as soon as possible. He checked every dark corner and grew a little nervous when he spotted three vamps standing a few feet away from them, in the vicinity of the bar. They were looking their way, curiosity and interest written all over their faces. They could smell that Avery was new and innocent.

"Can we just go now or do you wanna stay here all night?" He barked and Avery took a step back, not sure what to do. She wanted to go with him so badly.

Her reaction made him lose it. "For God's sake, get in the car right fucking now!" He snapped and, he couldn't believe it, Avery had the nerve to shoot him an ice cold glare and refuse to follow his order for five full seconds before eventually giving in and climbing into the car.

The ride to Avery's apartment was, like the entire night had already been, tense and silent as they both stubbornly refused to make the first step to say something in order to end the awkwardness between them.

Dean gripped the steering wheel tight, looking out the windshield onto the road ahead as he fought his confusing and contradicting feelings. Avery was sitting next to him in the passenger seat with her arms crossed in front of her chest and staring out the window on her side. He could feel her breath sweeping through the car and over his skin every time she breathed in and out. He couldn't deny that he liked the pleasant shivers it caused to run down his spine.

Dean realized he was dangerously close to finally breaking and giving in to the temptation.

Avery was still upset, angry and beyond frustrated. Dean confused her like no man had ever before. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't figure him out. What the hell did he want? She had seen that he could be so nice, even caring and empathic, but at the same time he was such a jerk. Rude and insensitive. The way he yelled at her and expected her to follow his orders drove her mad. She wasn't sure whether this was a vamp thing or just Dean. And damn it, she was so attracted to him. But the worst thing was that she had indeed listened to him and got in the car.

Avery sighed at the thought, wishing he would drive a little faster, so she could finally get out of this car and far away from him.

A few minutes later Avery's apartement came in sight and they both let out a relieved sigh. Dean parked the Impala at the side of the road and turned to finally look at her. How was he supposed to turn and leave that woman? How could he ever forget her?

The look in his eyes took her breath away and Avery wasn't sure what came over her in that moment, but she found herself unable to stop, even though she knew she was definitely going to regret her decision. "Wanna come in?"

She was there again. The pouring rain was pounding with brutal force onto the ground, the cold wind was whistling unceasingly its menacing melody. She could feel the cold sinking through her skin and bones, eliminating what little warmth was left in her body. Her clothes were soaked through; the distinct scent of blood that covered her body filled her nose. Pain shot from the wound at the back of her head through her when she made a weak attempt to move. She laid still for a few minutes on the ground until the world stopped spinning and then opened her eyes to look up at the dark gray sky.

She wouldn't survive the night.

Strangely, she wasn't scared anymore. The thought that her time on earth had come to an end was somehow calming and she was at complete peace. She was safe now, she had managed to escape and once she closed her eyes she would forever be safe from him. He couldn't hurt her anymore.

Jamie shot up in bed, panting heavily. She didn't know where she was; fear sank its sharp claws into her, threatening to overpower her and she panicked. Frantically, she looked around in search of something familar, but she was still dazed after having been woken so violently and too confused to think straight. It was dark and cold.

After a few unbearable seconds, Jamie realized she had been dreaming. Her skin was sticky with sweat and her hands were shaking uncontrollably. She was in her bed, in her own bedroom. Indescribable sweet relief washed through her and she ran a weary hand through her dishevelled hair and leaned her head against her kness, letting out a choked noise. After taking a few deep breaths, she turned her head and looked to her right. Sam wasn't there.

She couldn't feel his presence anywhere in the house, so it wasn't that surprising to find his spot in the bed empty. But she had to make sure that he was indeed gone.

She was all alone now. The urge to cry arose and took a hold of her. Jamie fought it down, successfully blinking the tears away. She was glad that Sam wasn't there to witness her meltdown. He didn't know about the nightmares and she wanted to keep it that way, but at the same time she wished he was there to hold her. Her intense reaction to that nightmare scared her. She didn't know why she had started dreaming again about the day she almost died; she hadn't had those dreams in decades and thought she was finally over it.

After all, it was a long time ago and she hadn't died that day. Sam saved her life. By turning her into a vampire.

Jamie pushed the memories and the damp blanket aside and slowly climbed out of bed. She put on her black silk morning robe that Sam had given her for Christmas and that always comforted her when she felt lonely or sad. Leaving the bedroom, she walked downstairs and into the kitchen. Turning on the lights, she stopped to take everything in. This was real, this was her home; norrmalcy.

She found a bottle of water in the fridge and took a few sips as she checked her phone that she had left together with her purse on the counter before going to bed. It was two in the morning. No messages from Sam. He was probably at the office, finishing up some work. Once or twice a week he liked to stay longer at the firm to take care of piled up paperwork.

One of Jamie's colleagues had told her once to be careful and keep an eye on him, just in case he was cheating. But Jamie knew it wasn't true. She had no reason to mistrust him, he had never lied to her. Jamie smiled a little at the thought and put the bottle down; the water wasn't helping, she needed something stronger. She made her way into the living room and over to the liquor cabinet, pouring herself a glass of whiskey. After the first gulp she felt new energy surge through her body and when she remembered Dean's remedy for everything, she quickly added a generous amount of blood to the amber liquid.

With the whiskey-blood mix in one hand and her phone in the other, Jamie sat down on the couch and pondered whether to call Sam or not. She wanted to ask him to come home and hold her until she regained her composure. She knew he would drop everything and rush to her, but then she would have a lot of explaining to do. Therefore calling him was not an option.

Jamie put the phone down when her hands started to shake again and emptied the glass, before she accidentally spilled its contents. Leaning her head back against the couch, she closed her eyes and forced herself to keep the wall up, blocking out the memories from the past.

In his office at the law firm, Sam shut off the computer and stretched his sore muscles after having been sitting in one position for hours. He ran a hand down his face, got up from behind his desk and grabbed his jacket. He hadn't realized how late it was and now all he wanted was to go home to his wife. He hadn't planned on staying so long and he hoped Jamie wasn't too mad at him for not calling and letting her know.

When they had come home from the hospital the day before, he insisted that she went to bed right away. Thankfully, she didn't argue with him this time. She had been sleeping when he left and knowing how exhausted she was after her shift at the hospital she would probably be still asleep. A smile appeared on his face when he thought about crawling into bed and staying with her under the covers for the rest of the night and following day. They both needed to forget about work and everything that was happening outside and spend some time together, just the two of them.

Sam put on his jacket and then suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as a strange feeling shot through him. He spun around, his gaze focusing on the window as he tried to locate the source. His eyes narrowed, he stared into the darkness outside. It felt like an invisible thread was tugging at his chest and he was thrown off guard. Of all the weird emotions he had felt over the past decades since becoming a vampire, this was by far the most disturbing and intense feeling.

This was new, it had never happened to him before. What was going on?

With every passing second it only intensified until it dawned on him eventually. It was a call. He was being called. He let out a breath after the first shock, letting it all sink in. Before he could even ask himself who, the answer appeared instantly in his mind. Jamie. It was Jamie. He didn't know why or how, but he knew that it was his mate without a doubt.

Sam stepped closer to the window and now sensed that the call was coming from the district where they lived; the intensity even increased when he focused on the approximate area where their house was located.

It must be urgent, so without a second thought he grabbed his briefcase and stormed out of the building.

A/N: Thank you for reading and thanks to Kit-cat99 for reviewing the last chapter. I hope everyone is still liking this story.