Hello there me again and to those who have been reading this thankyou and I hope you get around to reading this part, even with the bad grammar I have inflicted on you.

Have tried to make it as clear as I can about who is Dean Forester and who is Dean Winchester and only used their first name when there is only one in the room, though if it isn't clear to you, let me know and I'll sort.

Also just a reminder this is set in Season 3 so Dean Winchester is on the count down to hell, Ruby is blonde and the deal with her and Lilith is unknown at this point.

The rain had been coming down hard for the last three hours, which in a way was a small mercy. The house was secure, so anyone coming to the yard would more than likely not be there to look for salvage which meant shooting first and asking questions later wouldn't bring the police down on her head.

Bobby wouldn't mind either considering he still seemed to have the same contempt to housekeeping as he always had - the dusty old living room hadn't changed; it never did really, books lining the walls, coffee cups and whiskey bottles cluttering the place. Jesus, Bobby really did have a death wish judging by the labels of the cheap gut rot that she could see lying on the floor.

But when did it come to this, when technically she was the last or only line. When did it get to the point where they were so desperate that they had to call her in while demons were circling on what for so many were a sanctuary, a major resource or was the closest thing that could be called home. Or didn't they know, because as much as she'd like to take it as a compliment that they actually trusted her to hold the fort there is no way in hell her mother would have called her to pull solo duty if she knew that Sam…no, Dean Forester was sitting in Bobby's kitchen getting a lap dance from a hell skank.

God she remembered the one sided conversation her mother had had - "Joanne Beth I know I can't stop you but you promise me that if you are going to do this you be careful, you are starting out so keep it small right now, please. If it feels like it's starting to go that way, you call me and I'll find someone. Please, do this for me, just for now, so even if you ain't sure if it really is an omen of something major - don't go up against it alone."

But now she was here - Christ, in Bobby's house with only – well he was about useless. A powerless Dean, that seemed to be at her beck and call. Though, it wasn't exactly the right Dean.

"Hey…Dean?" she called through the bedroom door. "You still with me?"

"Sure," came the slightly pathetic voice causing her to sigh as she decided to enter.

"Place is pretty tight right now, so do you want anything?" she asked.

He sat up on the bed, "No, no thanks."

She nodded in acknowledgement. "How is the hand?"

"Actually better than the rest of me at the moment," he said flexing bandaged area.

She sat down next to him, "Good."

"So what now?" he asked to which she shrugged. "Are there more…more like her out there?"

Jo took a breath, "I don't know. But I do know that they aren't getting in here right now."

"Okay," Dean said with a nod. "So let me get this straight; not only do guys with guns think I'm Sam, but so do things that are really from hell?"

"You could always let them get close enough to smell you?" Jo said with a smile. "That's what she said to you right – your smell was different?"

He seemed to crumble a little as he scrubbed his hands through his hair. "Great, I can be the crazy guy who jumps people in the street shouting 'Sniff me, Sniff me!"

"Well, I can't see Sam doing that," Jo replied quickly, before realizing that was probably the wrong thing to say.

"I really can't go to the cops about any of this, can I?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No, not really."

"I thought that maybe that I'd stay here for a while, that I'd figure out what is going on, maybe find out a name and then I'll work out some way to go to the police and make it all sound less crazy than it actually is."

"You get far on that?" she asked to which he shook his head.

"I thought about calling my Mom to ask about you but then it's probably better if I try talking to you first," she said. "So Dean, you look a little…well beat up. How exactly?"

"You supposed to play nursemaid to me as well as not being my babysitter?"

"No I'm not that," she replied. "It's just I think…."

"I'm not completely stupid I understand why you're really here, they don't trust me not to get into something where I'll end up even more hurt," he said, his shoulders falling as the embarrassment at his present situation seemed to finally set in.

"Not exactly, but I'm guessing they didn't think that anyone would dare try and hurt you here, let alone have a demon turn up," she explained. "They just didn't want you to be alone, that is all."

"Yeah sure," he snorted in response. "We both know why you are here, so please don't sugar coat it. They want someone else here because they don't think I can handle it."

"Okay, if I understand what is happening, right now, if that is why I'm here then they might be kinda right and you know it too," she stated, trying to sound sympathetic. "Especially seeing how you are letting yourself get up close and personal with 'girls' you don't know in Bobby's kitchen."

"Like my love life isn't screwed up as it was," he said jokingly.

"Hey a smile," she said. "See it isn't that bad."

"Yeah, right I just met a real demon woman and it isn't that bad?"

"If she really is a girl," Jo added. "You always really tell by the packaging they take."

"What?" Dean asked.

"It's complicated," Jo simply stated. "But I'm sure when my Mom and the guys get back they'll have some idea of a plan about what to do."

"Like what?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"That's helpful," he replied as he started to cradle his side.

"You in pain?" she asked to which he shook his head. "Please don't try and hide it macho guy – I saw you cry less than twenty minutes after I met you."

"Yeah, another one of my finest moments," he said before he moved back a little. "You aren't going to drug me again are you?"

"Rule one – never try and con a con man. Bobby will get you someway somehow. The only good thing about it is that generally he is on your side," Jo said with a smile.

"Been on the receiving end have you?"

"You could say that – old bastard decided to stick his nose into my family business."

"Oh," Dean replied. "I take it that turned out well."

"Well I'm here aren't I?"

"Ehm…are you?" he asked before tentatively prodding Jo in the arm. "Chris…o?"

"It's Christo and I'm not a demon," she said with a raise an eyebrow.

"How exactly do I know?" Dean argued causing her to swat him. He grimaced in pain.

"Oh boy," Jo said as she saw his response. "Right, where the hell does it hurt?"

"I'm okay," he replied meekly.

"Bullshit," she said. "Please god, don't tell me that you're on the verge of bleeding out and been stupid enough not to tell me."

"No," he said as she sat there waiting for him to, "I think I bruised my ribs again, when I hit the floor."

"Again?" Jo sighed before pinching her nose. "Right let me see."

"Hey!" he exclaimed as she started tugging at his shirt.

"Jesus," she said sitting back for a moment. "Please, I want to make sure that it's just bruised ribs. Your virtue is safe."

"That's reassuring," he said as she started to pull up the back of his shirt. "You know it would be easier to look if you just take it off."

"Great," he said as she sat back and waited for him to comply.

"What the hell did you lose a fight with?" she asked as he finally did what she asked.

"About ten feet of asphalt," he replied through gritted teeth as she prodded his side. "Not that it really matters."

"Ten feet of asphalt? She said prodding his side. "And now you're here."

"Yeah, I'm here?" he said as she got up and explained she was going to see if she could find some ice.

"What now?" he asked.

"We sit tight; you heal up and hopefully don't hurt yourself anymore."

"And everything else?"

She hesitated for a moment, before giving him a reassuring smile, "That is why I'm here."

"Great you get to be Kevin Costner." He mumbled.

"I've been called many things but that one's a first," She replied before she raised an eyebrow. "But you do realize that makes you the Diva with a crack habit?"

"I hadn't thought of that," he replied.

She patted him on the shoulder, "I guess you wouldn't have."

Sam sat in the car quietly as his brother took care of business in the small bar, Dean had been quite adamant about that, well actually he had been adamant about him and Ellen staying in the car, which last all of about a second.

Actually, part of him felt sorry for the guy – a pissed off Dean and a very irritated Ellen. Looks like some shotguns don't need to open their cakehole to get to pick the music. It was almost worth the six hour drive for that alone.

Though his five minutes of peace and calm was definitely about to be interrupted as he found the need to get out of the car.

"Dean!" he yelled as his brother strode out of the bar behind the figure that had now fallen to the ground, though Dean didn't seem to get take any notice of him.

"Dean, he's had enough," he said as he held his brother back.

"Like hell he has," Dean replied.

"Yes he has," Sam said as his brother pushed him out of the way of the blow from the guy who was trying to get up.

"Don't you try and get smart on me!" Dean spat out at Sam as the guy fell to the ground.

Sam looked in the direction of the bar and Ellen who was watching his and Dean's back with a revolver at the bar's entrance. "Dean we better go."

Dean nodded before taking a step to pick the guy up off the ground, "Yeah and he's coming with us!"

The sun was nice on his face, he'd lost count about how long he'd been in stuck in that house – it felt like at least a week. He hated that, always had since he was a kid, he needed to be outside, he needed to spend some of the day out of in an open space. Even if Bobby's yard could just be counted as a more open space than any of the rooms in that house and he was only sitting on the porch just after sun rise.

"Hello there, she finally let you outside to play with the big kids?" came a voice causing Dean to take a step back.

"What are you doing back here?" Dean looked around; great he was praying that Jo would come out.

She raised her hands, "Hey I come in peace."

"Do things like you come in peace?" he asked tentatively.

She smirked, "Oh you aren't going to go all racist on me are you."

"You're a demon aren't you, well a girl possessed by one like Linda Blair and the pea soup?"

"Somebody has been getting lessons hasn't he? But you forgot about her doing naughty things with crucifixes," she said sticking out a hand. "I'm Ruby and you, according to the grapevine, are Dean or did I get that wrong?"

He nodded, unsure how else to react apart from sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Okay, that's fine by me," she said, moving to sit on a chair by the porch. "You can just take your time getting to know me."

"Why would I want to get to know you?" Dean asked making sure to keep his distance this time.

"Because of my sparky personality, not to mention we can share hair tips," she mockingly replied waving a hand. "You and the waitress been sharing conditioner or what?"

"Excuse me?" he asked.

She stood up reaching for his head, "It's shinier than Sam's."

"Look…lady," Dean said taking a step back to get out of her reach. "I don't get this stuff and I'm not Sam so what ever you are, I'm not involved."

"Sure, you aren't," she replied. "What are you doing?"

He stopped looking around, a nervous smile plastered on his face, "Nothing."

"Are you looking for someone to come and save you?" Ruby asked before she burst out laughing. "With only the little girl here, to back you up?"

Dean clenched his jaw, "Christano! Christanity!"

"Why don't you stop doing that because all you are doing is embarrassing the both of us right now," Ruby said with a shake of her head causing Dean to fall silent. "Look, lets get this straight, I'm just curious big guy and if I was going to skin you alive and wear you as an overcoat I would have done so already. I get it. You feel like you're 15, but mommy keeps putting your favorite Star Wars sheets on your bed – you have a pair but no idea how to actually put them to use."

Dean swallowed. "Right so what exactly are you curious about? Because I'm not part of this I'm not the one who is supposed to lead any army right and as far as I've been told Sam doesn't want to either."

"An army? Oh the gate thing," Ruby replied. "That done and dusted and the guy who thought that one up is well dead as a doornail so that is out the window. As for you, all I know is that no-one wrote you into the script, so I'm came to have a peek that is all. But, if you don't want to talk, don't. Just tell Sammy when he gets back that I called, plus can you tell him that Lilith has heard all about the new arrival as well."

"Lilith?" Dean asked carefully. "Is she one of your 'friends'?"

"Oh yes, me and Lilith, slumber parties and everything," she sarcastically said. "Just tell Sam and his brother when they get back. Trust me they'll want to know."

"Right," Dean said quietly as she turned to walk away. "Hey how did you know my name?"

"Don't you get it?" Ruby asked not turning round. "You're famous now Mr. Forester."

Dean watched her walk out of the yard before heading back inside. He took his time before he found Jo in Bobby's back room looking at some dusty old books.

"Hey," she said looking up from her notes. "You need anything?"

He shook his head, before sitting down in front of Jo, "I just talked to the 'demon'."

"What?" Jo asked getting up from the table, "Where is she?"

"She's gone," Dean said. "She told me she was here because she was curious."

"Sure she was," Jo said, lifting up one of the upturned books to get her gun. "Demons get curious and people find their intestines end up in clear plastic bags."

"She did go but she said she'd be back," Dean explained. "And that I was to tell the guys when they get back something."

"What?" Jo asked.

"That Lilith has heard about me," Dean said calmly. "Who's Lilith? Is she one of these demons or another hunting nut job?"

Jo paled, "She said that Lilith knows about you? Oh holy fuck."

The peace of the South Dakota dawn was broken by the loud noise.

"What the hell is that?" Dean Forester asked as he yawned, coming to from the rude interruption of his sleep.

Jo was already awake, if anything he could see was that she had probably been awake all night. "It's okay. You stay here!" she snapped before she made a move. He watched as she stopped a few paces from the door to pick up a rifle before she took a deep breath and reached for the handle.

"Hey, what the hell have I told you about that thing!" Dean Winchester yelled as he found himself coming face to face with the barrel of the gun.

"I stuck it in your back last time," Jo admitted as she hesitated for a moment noting the man that Sam was holding.

"Can we get in?" Dean Winchester asked causing Jo to get out of the way.

"Who's this?" Jo asked as Sam Winchester dragged the semi conscious visitor into the living room.

"The douche that started this," Winchester said as Ellen finally joined them. Jo dropped the gun hugging her mother.

Ellen smiled brushing a stray hair out of her daughter's face. "He give you any trouble?"

Jo shook her head as Dean Forester watched the reunion. Ellen gave him a warm smile as both the Winchester brothers tended to their prisoner.

"What's that?" Sam asked as he noted the bucket of water next to the couch.

Forester shrugged, not sure how to respond.

"We had a visitor," Jo admitted.

"Who?" Ellen replied quickly. "Joanne? Is that why you called?"

"You said that Dean was flooring it anyway so there didn't seem to be any point to…"Jo started to confess.

"You called them? Is that Lilith thing really that bad?" Forester asked as Jo tried continued.

Winchester's head snapped up. "Lilith?"

"Yeah, well. I wasn't the first here," Jo said causing Forester to blush a little.

"Who?" Sam asked.

"Ellen said that a blonde girl was coming. I didn't know," Forester mumbled causing Jo to roll her eyes.

"I got rid of her, but she came back. Told Dean here to give you guys a message that Lilith had heard about the situation," Jo said crossing her arms glaring accusingly at both Sam and his brother. "When the hell did you guys let Demons walk in here?"

"Let?" Winchester asked before turning to his brother. "You have her phone number?"

Sam swallowed. "Yeah and yes I called her. I thought that she might have an idea where we'd find this guy. I didn't expect Bobby's contact to get the guy to talk, okay?"

"Great," Winchester said through gritted teeth. He turned to Ellen and her daughter. "Sam's got a repeating case of the clap that he won't seem to deal with."

The man in the chair groaned as Sam glared at his brother. "I'm sorry but I'd like to know why a demon is trying to help us before we get rid of her, plus no-one else is exactly being forthcoming about trying to find ways of keeping you from going to hell!"

Winchester grumbled under his breath as he continued to tie the guy to the chair, while Ellen talked to her daughter about what else had happened since Ruby's visits.

"Ehmm, is there anything?" Dean Forester started to say as he watched everyone else being busy. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No dude, we're good," Sam said.

"Actually, Forester, you can do something," Winchester said as he stood up. "Can you watch this guy for five minutes?"

"Right," Forester glumly said as the others seemed to begin to move to the kitchen. Sam stopped and turned.

"Look that guy isn't going anywhere, so come on," he said causing the others to stare.

"Fine, we are going just chew your ass out anyway for the she bitch. But if you want an audience," his brother replied.

"And there was me hoping that you were all just crazy," Forester said as he stood by the kitchen entrance while the others discussed 'Ruby' and her news about Lilith.

"Oh yeah, we're crazy," Winchester said mockingly.

"Dean…Bro," Sam interjected.

Ellen ran a tired hand over her face. "So what exactly did this demon do?"

Jo raised an eyebrow looking in the direction of an embarrassed Forester before turning to her mother. "She thought he was Sam, that was until she got close. Turns out you two smell different."

"Our smell is different?" Sam asked looking at Forester.

"Don't ask me," Forester replied. "Then Jo turned up, Ruby left and then the next time I saw her, she just told me to tell you that Lilith knows and that I'm famous now."

"What does she mean famous?" Ellen asked carefully to which Forester shrugged.

"Probably means that the ones that are taking the orders from Lilith are on the look out for him," Sam said as he scratched his head.

"Look out for me?" Forester said swallowing hard. "Why the hell would this Lilith want me?"

"You want the truth?" Winchester asked to which Forester nodded.

"Okay then," Winchester said, pulling a bottle of Bobby's whiskey out of one of the cupboards and passing the bottle down the table. "Well, last I heard she wants my brother's intestines on a stick so best guess she'd probably wouldn't mind doing something similar to you, just to be sure."

"Oh," Forester said.

"Dean, it isn't that bad," Jo said reassuringly.

"Jo, he wanted the truth," her mother said firmly.

"Yeah I did," Forester admitted. "So what do I do now?"

The silence seemed to be deafening and the only response Forester could seem to muster was to lift the bottle off the table, turning to leave the room.

Sam sighed, "Well, what now?"

"Forester? Dean, you okay?" Jo asked as she banged the door to Bobby's guest room half an hour later. "Come on Dean."

"Go away!" Forester yelled.

"No!" Jo said trying the door handle.

"Hey, I locked that!" Forester said as she burst in.

"Thought you would have worked out that you get privacy in this house when Bobby wants you to have privacy and he ain't here," she said firmly.

"Well, that is brilliant isn't it," Forester said.

"Good, get angry," Jo said. "Better than you sulking."

"I'm not sulking," he answered.

"You been hiding in this room for the past two hours with a bottle, so tell me that isn't sulking!"

"What do you care?" Forester asked before looking guilty. He pointed in the direction of the dresser. "It's over there."

"Okay?" Jo said as she curiously looked at the hardly touched bottle of whiskey.

"Didn't think me getting wasted would help," he mumbled causing her to smile.

"That is actually quite a healthy attitude," she admitted.

"Well unless you can tell me something different then it, isn't is it?"

She shook her head, "Don't think so. Not unless the pooch is totally screwed."

He picked up the bottle and handed it back to her. "Sorry for acting like a five year old."

She looked at him curiously. "Don't do it again then."

He smiled. "Can't promise that."

"They've got the guy to start talking if that is anything? I know it might not be much help with Lilith but we thought…do you want to talk to the guy?" Jo asked.

"What do I say to him?" Forester asked to which Jo shrugged.

"I think that is up to you isn't it?" she replied.

"Right lets go over this again," Winchester was saying. "Why do you think my brother is evil?"

"You know why?" the hunter said angrily. "We've all heard the stories. We all know he was the last man standing at that little survivor camp. Even if he wasn't the one to turn the key to the gate the fact he was there in the first place isn't good."

"So you admit it was Sam you wanted?" Forester asked as he shuffled in behind Jo.

The captive hunter fell silent for a moment as Forester waited for his answer.

"I don't know,"

"You don't know?" Ellen asked. "You try and kill a kid, because you don't know."

"Ellen, how many did you lose when they took out the roadhouse?" he asked. "How many good people have been lost how many more do we have to lose before someone deals with the fact that Sam Winchester is 'special'? Unless Mr. Forester here is going to admit that it wasn't Sam at Cold Oak."

Winchester took a step toward the guy, only to be held back by his brother. "Dean, please."

"This is getting us nowhere," Winchester admitted. "He isn't going to tell us how many of his friends are looking for Forester here."

"Of course I'm not," the man replied.

"He isn't part of this," Sam said firmly. "Can't you at least tell them that? He has nothing to do with this. It's me okay."

"Sam!" Winchester said.

"Look, he's gone, dead," Sam continued to explain to their guest. "The Yellow Eyed freak that started it he's dead, gone so his plans for me are over okay and Dean Forester was never involved. So you can tell everyone that."

"What you planning to let me go?" the man said surprised.

"Not exactly," Winchester said with a smile. "Not unless you stop being an ass and get your friends to stop shooting at us and the kid over there."

The man took a breath, before looking up at Dean Forester. "Look, I'm sorry. If you aren't part of this, I'm sorry."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Forester asked.

"He isn't going to call them off," Jo said.

"Why not?" Forester asked.

"Because he's a stupid ass," Winchester said causing the man to spit in his direction.

"You think that one devil's plan for you is over because you say it is?" the man asked Sam. "If one devil wants you then there will be others and you may say that you aren't interested in what they offer, but somehow they will get to you. If one got you to play its game then there will be some other one that will work out how to do the same."

"I never played its game."

"Sure you didn't Sam?" the tied up hunter said. "And how many of those other kids got out of that town alive?"

He turned to Forester. "This is war and it ain't much help to you but sometimes to be sure sacrifices have to be made."

"Right sacrifices," Forester replied solemnly.

"So what do we do now?" Ellen asked as she and Sam returned from convincing the local police that the hunter they had brought with them was not only a danger to himself but others. Thanks to no part the fact that he tried to make a grab for a deputy's gun to put a hole in the servant of Satan.

"I'm not sure but it might be an idea to actually find out how much Lilith knows?" Winchester answered.

"You realized that means that you actually have to talk to her, and be nice," Sam replied to which his brother actually winced in response.

"Dean, you can't actually be serious about talking to a demon?" Jo asked Winchester.

"Ruby is….well she's hard to explain," Sam replied to which the girl just shook her head and left the room to go check on their scared houseguest.

"She's right," Ellen said. "You two are playing a dangerous game even entertaining the idea about talking to one."

"We've got a guy with no idea what to look out for on the hit list of both hunters and demons, if we are lucky, because if Lilith wants to play I don't know what she'll do to him, so you got a better idea about what to do?" Winchester argued.

"No," Ellen inhaled deeply before looking at Sam, "But you be sure that the nut job wasn't right about demons playing you."

Sam swallowed. "No-one is playing me."

"Yeah sure Sam," Ellen said.

"Guys, he's gone!" Jo yelled.

"What?" Dean Winchester asked.

"Dean…Forester. He's gone."

"Why the hell would he do that?" Winchester asked causing everyone to look at him. "Fine, we'll find him."