Here it is! Sorry about the cliffhanger! Enjoy...

Chapter 10

"There's something I have to tell you…" Serena started. "Can we go somewhere else?" Dean looked at her as if he could read what she wanted to tell him from her face. She didn't want Sam or Bobby to overhear her and make it harder than it inevitably would be.

"Sure," he replied seriously. She nodded and stood up, grabbing a clean shirt out of her bag and quickly changing into it. While she was doing that, Dean stood up and stretched. He pulled on his jacket and looked at her expectantly.

"I'll drive," she stated, grabbing her own jacket. They stepped outside without disturbing Bobby or Sam and crossed to where Serena's car was parked. Dean didn't ask Serena any questions as they pulled out onto the road. He knew she would start talking when she was ready. The roads were deserted as it was passed midnight now. They drove in silence until Serena pulled into a space outside of a 24 hour diner she had seen on her drive to Bobby's. She killed the engine and smiled weakly.

"Midnight feast?" She stepped out of the car. Dean followed suit and they entered the diner in the silence that had been with them since Bobby's. They sat in a booth as far away from the waitress and the few other customers as possible.

"What's this about?" Dean asked finally. It had been twenty five minutes since she had woken him. Serena shot him an apologetic look and held up a finger. The waitress approached their table to take their orders. Serena ordered coffee for them both. The waitress went away and Dean stared hard at Serena. "Serena. What's going on? You drag me out of bed and drive me to a diner…?"

"Sorry about that," she replied sincerely. "I'll make it quick." She stopped again as the waitress brought over their coffees. She sighed and stirred some sugar into the drink. "

"Whatever it is… we can help," Dean promised, by now he realised she was putting it off.

"That's what I was hoping you would say," Serena smiled sadly. "I figured from Bobby you kinda know already?"

"No…Bobby's searching for something…else," Dean said vaguely. Serena nodded and took a deep breath.

"It wasn't a coincidence that we met in Kentucky-"

"What do you mean?" Dean demanded, suddenly suspicious. Serena took a sighed slightly; she didn't want Dean to react badly.

"This would go a lot easier if you didn't interrupt Dean," Serena said. "I mean what did you think? That I was so dense I didn't know about Azazel opening the gate to hell?" She leaned forward on the table. "That you and Sam were there? I tracked you down when I heard about it." She paused to gage Dean's reaction. He stared into her eyes and waited, she could see confusion in his. She took a quick sip of her coffee. "I was doing a job in Gothenburg, Nebraska at the time. I saw… what I thought then was a freaky natural phenomenon. A massive black cloud spread across the city. I investigated and found…" She leant away from Dean and put her hand through her hair. "I don't know what I found, a nest of demons maybe? It took me a few days to find it so maybe whatever the demon cloud did concentrated them in one place? Anyway, they knew I was coming, they were ready for me. I managed to 86 a couple of them, but I only just got out of there, with them promising to track me down. I must have seriously pissed them off." Dean ran a hand across his jaw. He had to admit to himself he was relieved, he had expected something worse than demons. He couldn't believe she had kept this from him though. He was worried for her, she could have been killed, and by the sounds of it, it wasn't over. But, she had deliberately used Sam and Dean as a source of protection.

"Good to know," he said irritated. Serena wasn't surprised; she had expected Dean to get mad at her for keeping it a secret. She didn't want to carry on but she wasn't finished yet. He reached into his pocket and threw a few coins on the table. "I've heard enough." He got up and exited the diner before Serena had time to process that he had left. As soon as she had processed it, she was on her feet and out of the door after him. She stopped briefly to peer into the darkness. She spotted him near her car.

"Dean wait! Let me explain," Serena called. He turned to face her.

"What more is there to say? You were using us? Well that's just fine and dandy. It didn't mean anything to either," he replied.

"That's not it at all! When I heard that you and Sam had also found a cloud like this and managed to escape…what was it?"

"Seven deadly sins," Dean told her bluntly. He took a deep breath. He was angry at feeling used, but he wanted to hear the rest of the story. He leant against the red Celica and waited. Serena stood in front of him.

"Right, I thought it was worth a shot finding you. It was a long shot. I'd heard rumours about Sam being the leader of Hell's army," She noticed Dean tense up again and look away. She laid a hand on his cheek, reassuring him she didn't believe it. He flinched away from her touch. She sighed and went on. "But I thought 'what the hell, either way I could die.' I was scared." Dean looked up at her after that. She could see he was arguing with himself. After a few seconds when he didn't do anything she continued.

"So I found you, and after all that happened I was too proud to ask for help. Especially when you didn't make it easy for me…calling me a rookie and all that… well I didn't want to give you more reason to think so." Dean cringed slightly at the memory. "And to top it all off, the demon we exorcised was one of them. They actually followed me." She gave a wry laugh. "You were right to use me as bait, it was me they wanted." He looked at her startled, that he hadn't expected.

"And then I tried again, in Montana… you know the dragon statue?" He nodded. "But again, I didn't want to ask. I know that was months ago, but I convinced myself that I could handle it. The first time I met Ruby, again I tracked you down. Another hunter gave me a heads up."

"You haven't said what 'it' is yet," Dean pointed out. Serena nodded, moving to lean on the car next to him.

"I couldn't find a reference to them in any books; I think they're older than that. All I know is that there were 13 of them."

"It doesn't ring any bells," he admitted. He understood why she had kept it from them now. And knew that finally admitting to it wasn't easy for her. After all, he didn't want to share his own secret. "I'll have Sam look into. I can't believe you kept this from me!"

"I wanted to tell you. Please know that I haven't lied about who I am, and how I feel…" She stopped, it was now or never, she supposed. "…About you, Dean." Dean looked at her in surprise; she coughed and added "Forget I said that, I meant how grateful I feel to you and Sam". Dean stared at the floor for a little while. He wasn't good in these kinds of situations. "You two have been good to me and I don't want to ruin it, please forget I said-" She was stopped abruptly by Dean's lips on hers. Her eyes went wide for a second before they closed happily as she let herself get lost in the sensation. It was every bit as good as the last time. Slowly, the kiss ended and Serena was sad at the loss of contact. She opened her eyes to see him watching her with a look of concern mixed with pleasure.

"Wow," she said, grinning. He smiled back happily.

"That's the best known way of shutting a woman up," he commented. She hit his arm and he cringed slightly. "You just can't hit lightly can you?"

"Maybe I save that skill for other people," Serena replied.

"Oh really," he said, pulling her in for another kiss.

"I could get used to this," she told him between kisses. Dean pulled away at that and wouldn't meet her eyes. She was instantly self conscious. "What is it?" Dean shook his head slightly. If he didn't say it now, would he actually ever tell her? After all, Bobby had made me bring her here to do just that.

"Speaking of secrets… I have one myself," he admitted, not taking his eyes off the floor.

"Five months," Serena repeated in disbelief. The world took on a dream like quality. More of a nightmare. The atmosphere couldn't be more different than it had been half an hour ago. Dean had explained the whole situation to her. They were standing closer to the diner now; Serena had walked off a bit after Dean had started to explain. Now Serena understood why Bobby had asked her about demons, she saw where he was going with it.

"Well, four and a half now I suppose," Dean added, he smiled at her without any joy.

"This isn't the time to make with the funny," Serena replied bluntly. "You should-"

"Have told you? Yeah I probably should have," he said, annoyed. Serena pulled her gaze away from the floor and looked up at Dean's face. She couldn't believe it, even in their messed up world. "Let's not forget you kept something from me as well!"

"I…I've got…There's somewhere I need to go," she said abruptly. She moved quickly, jumping into the drivers seat without even glancing at Dean. She didn't even realise she was leaving him stranded.

"Serena!" Dean called after her. When she started driving, he pulled his cell out of his pocket and dialled Sam.

"Sam, I need you to come get me."

"Aren't you in the other room?" Sam asked, laughing slightly.

"No ass, I'm at a diner 20 minutes away." Dean heard a rustling and figured Sam had moved to check if he was joking.

"How did you get there?" He asked. "Isn't Serena with you?"

"She was, she's just driven off. Sam I need wheels now." He had to give his brother credit, he figured it out quickly.

"You told her? Then you need to give her time," Sam replied soothingly.

"Are you gonna help me or not Sammy?" Sam shook his head, then realised Dean couldn't see him.

"She's not gonna do anything stupid," he said firmly. "She just needs to process it." Dean grunted slightly and headed towards the three other cars in the parking lot. He picked the one that looked the fastest and knelt next to the driver's side door.

"Really? If you haven't noticed, this family attracts stupid."

Its a bit shorter than the others, but I feel you learn quite a bit! Let me know what you think!