AN: Okay this picks up right at "Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester." And for now, as far as I know, I'll be following pretty closely along with the episodes but I'm not going to reiterate every last detail from them because that just gets repetitive and it takes up a lot of time so I will be skipping over chunks or maybe even whole episodes.

Disclaimer: I just own Luce.

Playlist:

Stacy Barthe-Flawed Beautiful Creatures

Chapter 10-The Art of Avoidance

The next morning Luce and Sam were sitting across from each other at the kitchen table and Dean was pacing the kitchen. She avoided looking at him all morning. If Dean wasn't interested then she wasn't going to torture herself. He'd made his feelings towards any kind of romantic relationship clear last night, even if he didn't know she was listening. She didn't want to be like a girl in some chick flick, pining after a guy. She honestly thought her feelings had changed because of Garth but after calling out Dean's name during the hunt and seeing him again after the past few years, all the feelings for him had hit her full force once again, which was only going to make this that much harder.

"Well then tell me what else it could've been?" Sam said to Dean.

"Well all I know is I was not, groped by an angel," Dean replied.

"Okay look Dean, why do you think this Castiel would lie to you about it?"

"Maybe he's some kind of demon. Demons lie."

Luce finished her breakfast and, not wanting to get in between Dean and Sam, left her dishes on the table and went into the study with her cup of coffee.

Bobby, getting tired of the boys arguing, spoke up. "You two chuckleheads want to keep arguin' religion, or do you want to come take a look at this?"

Luce watched as Sam and Dean, annoyed with each other, gave up the argument for the time being and came into the study. She couldn't help but suppress a laugh at them rolling their eyes at one another.

"I got stacks of lore-biblical, pre-biblical. Some of it's in damn cuneiform. It all says an angel can snatch a soul from the Pit."

Luce, who was standing behind Bobby, looked over his shoulder at the illustration of a man being lifted from the Pit by an angel.

"What else?" Dean asked causing everyone else to look at him.

"What else, what?" Bobby asked.

"What else could do it?" Dean answered.

Luce noticed how he touched his arm where Castiel's handprint was, where she had traced it just the night before, when they had shared a look she couldn't recall them ever having shared before.

"Airlift your ass out of the hot box?"

Luce spoke up since after what she heard the night before she didn't sleep well, and waking up early she found her dad already in the study doing research when the sun was barely spreading light outside. "Nothing," she said and Dean looked at her for the first time all morning.

Sam spoke up. "Dean, this is good news."

"How?"

"Because for once, this isn't just another round of demon crap. I mean, maybe you were saved by one of the good guys, you know?"

Luce nodded in agreement and Dean looked at her again, what she'd said to him the day before, about him being worth saving coming to mind. But he quickly rejected what she'd said in favor of his usual self-deprecating feelings.

"Okay. Say it's true. Say there are angels. Then what? There's a God?"

"At this point, Vegas money's on yeah," Bobby said.

"I don't know guys."

"Okay, look. I know you're not all choir boy about this stuff, but this is becoming less and less about faith and more and more about proof."

"Proof?"

"Yes."

"Proof that there's a God out there that actually gives a crap about me personally?" Dean asked, pointing at himself.

Luce's face fell. She wasn't so sure after she told him he was worth saving that he believed her and now she knew he didn't. She knew Dean, or at least she thought she did. Did he really have such a lack of faith in himself? The answer was a clear and resounding yes and it damn near broke Luce's heart. He might put on a show sometimes for others, especially women, hell she'd seen him when he was cocky and looking to score, but she always wondered how much of what he told others or projected about himself he actually believed.

"I'm sorry but I'm not buyin' it."

"Why not?" Sam asked.

"Because why me?"

Both Bobby and Luce dropped their gazes when Dean looked at them.

"If there is a God out there, why would he give a crap about me?!"

"Dean-,"Sam tried to cut in.

"I mean, I've saved some people, okay? I figured that made up for the, for the stealing and the, the ditching chicks. But why do I deserve to get saved? I'm just a regular guy."

"Apparently, you're a regular guy that's important to the man upstairs."

"Well that creeps me out. I mean, I don't like getting singled out at birthday parties, much less by…God."

"Okay, well, too bad, Dean, because I think he wants you to strap on your party hat."

"Fine what do we know about angels?" Dean seemed to give in, but Luce knew that the issue wasn't nearly over with.

Bobby moved a stack of books on his desk. "Start readin'. Luce has already gone through two volumes."

Dean turned to Sam, pointing at him. "You're gonna' get me some pie," he said before snatching a book off the top of the pile and leaving the room.

After a few hours of everyone going their separate ways to read through what Bobby had Luce was putting away another book on angels she just finished reading and was about to start lunch.

"Hold on kiddo, we'll get lunch on the road. Sam went to get some snacks," Bobby said as he came in to the study.

"The road?"

"Yeah, come on. We need to check on a fellow hunter one state over. Olivia."

"Everything okay?"

"I hope so."

"Me too. She's great. She was seriously amazing teaching me all those fighting moves."

"I can't believe you actually managed to beat her once, no offense."

Luce laughed. "Hopefully she's okay and Sam got Dean's pie," she added as she followed him out.

"The mood Dean's in, I'm hoping for that too."

Outside Luce could see Sam pulling up in the Impala, back with snacks.

"Hey Luce, you gonna' ride with Sam and Dean?"

The last thing she wanted right now was to be in the same car as Dean. She shook her head.

"All right," he handed her the keys. "Start her up would ya? I'm gonna' let Sam know what the deal is."

After checking on Olivia and finding out the last thing they hoped to find, they split up to check on some more hunters. Once again Bobby and Luce came across their worst fears and decided to head back home.

Luce and her dad were in the library when the temperature dropped dramatically.

Luce wrapped her arms around herself as the hair stood up on her arms and the back of her neck. "Dad…"

He shushed her and motioned for her to stay where she was. She watched, on edge, as he grabbed the iron fire poker. They both turned as static started emanating from the radio and it began to tune itself, but they both knew better. She followed quietly behind him, picking up another iron fireplace tool, as he went into the kitchen.

As they approached the stairs they stopped when they heard a thudding noise and a red ball came bouncing down them.

Luce turned around quickly when she felt tingling at the back of her neck. She screeched as she saw two young twin girls in identical, dirty outfits. She backed up.

"Luce," Bobby started.

"Yeah?"

"Grab some salt and go to your room. Stay there if you can until I come get you."

"But…" She didn't want to leave him alone or be alone for that matter, not with whatever it was that was happening.

"Do as I say."

His tone left no room for argument and she nodded as Bobby swung the fire poker at the twins and they disappeared.

~O.o~

"Damn it, Bobby! Pick up!" Dean yelled. "How you feelin', huh? How many fingers am I holdin' up?"

"None. I'll be fine, Dean," Sam said as he tried to get a hold of Luce.

"Henriksen?"

"Yep."

"Why what did he want?"

"Revenge 'cause we got him killed."

"Sam."

"Well, we did, Dean."

"All right. Stop right there. Whatever the hell is goin' on, it's happening to us now, okay? I can't get a hold of Bobby so if you're not thinking answers, don't think at all. Is Luce pickin' up?"

"No. But she'll be okay Dean, I mean who could come back for Luce? She's pretty new to all of this. She hasn't lost anyone yet right?"

Neither of them realized how wrong Sam was as Dean gunned the engine.