One afternoon, she realized she was bored. Waiting on a foregone conclusion, though it piqued her in many ways, was so slow. She watched the news and smiled; she read the newspapers and savored every detail, every tidbit. It had become a routine - go to the local Starbucks, get a latte and a chocolate croissant, read the paper, enjoy, at a distance, the despair, the fear building.

But she really wanted more. Something immediate. Something more satisfying at a gut level.

So she ravaged her prisoner's memory again, collecting information, and found what would fill her needs.

She dressed carefully, in a silky dress that clung to the curves of this current vessel. She borrowed knowledge of makeup, of human lures. She looked through the tourist books to determine the best place. Then she walked into a dance club, and hunted. It took a few dances, some calculated glances away, a quick touch of tongue to her lips, a flicker of eye contact, a grazing hand sliding down her partner's arm. That was all it took, which surprised part of her - her captive seemed to have all the cues ready to hand, though she hadn't used them in years. Leading her prey out the door of the nightclub, she tossed her shoulder-length blond hair and laughed, the prey's hand captured in hers. The target laughed back, breathlessly, with an excited, amazed look on his face.

The prey led her to a car, drove her to his place, darting glances at her and stroking his thumb across the back of her hand, and she smiled slowly at him, loving that he had no idea what was coming.

When she pulled her scarf from around her neck to tie the hands of her target, he lunged upward from the bed to kiss her, aroused and ready. She gave him a lingering, lopsided smile, ran her delicate, painted fingernails down his chest, leaned in to kiss him...

Then, with one quick motion, she snapped his neck.

She left with a spring in her step, a sparkle in her eyes. That little dessert was just what she had needed.


"So, Samuel...when we figure this transport thing out, where should we be goin', eh?" Rowena was quickly packing a small bag; Sam assumed with more difficult-to-construct hexes - he couldn't imagine she had much need of personal items. He stared out the hotel window into the darkness, arms crossed. The lights of the city sparkled, rivers of brake lights and headlights outlining the main thoroughfares. The beehive of the Chrysler Building glowed with graduated curves of warm yellow, the top floors of the Empire State Building segued from deep blue to vivid green, the angularity of the new One World Trade Center was echoed by the white spire jutting up into the sky. It was all so beautiful. And melancholy - those lights would be dimming quickly as the disease took hold more and more.

He hoped this escape attempt would work. Escape from New York. Just like that old movie. He snorted. At the same time, he knew Rowena wouldn't like his plan. He sighed and turned to face her.

"Dean. The cabin. Of course."

She paused, one hand holding yet another hex bag poised over her small suitcase, and folded her lips. Her delicate nostrils flared, then she closed her eyes. "Aye. Well. And why should that surprise me?" She re-opened her eyes, nodded, tossed her head. "Very well. I can tolerate the 'hero' in small doses, I suppose." She tossed the bag in.

He stood with his arms still folded, and gave her a cynical smile. "All for survival."

"Aye. Well." She sighed. "Survival. It's worked for me thus far, boyo." She tossed a final small hex into the suitcase and closed it, snapping it shut. She carried it over to the table where they had done all their work and settled it on the floor beside her chair, then sat down. She beckoned him over with an elegant finger. "Come, giant. Time to work." The pillar candle, half melted from previous sessions, stood ready. Rowena lit it with a quick gesture.

He rolled his shoulders; he knew the tension he was feeling needed to be banished, or this wouldn't work. Then he strode over to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down opposite Rowena. She gave him a quick glance, and frowned slightly.

"Now, then, giant. You must be relaxin' for - "

"For this to work. I know."

She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, folded her lips, and nodded. "Very well. Into your trance now," she commanded.

It was easy after all their practice, even with the tension singing through him. He stared into the candle flame, drew a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and sank down into the trance. The room faded away from his perception; all that was left was the flame and Rowena's murmuring voice guiding him deeper.

"Now, then, Samuel...let us go back a few days. Come with me. Remember. You were sleepin'. You were dreamin'."

"Yes," he murmured. It was barely audible.

"And what are you dreamin' of?"

His lips bent into a faint smile. "You." He shifted uncomfortably as his dream rose in his memory, her scent, the feel of her skin, the way he reacted absorbing his attention.

"Yes. You are dreamin' of me. Now move forward, just a wee bit. You are about to come to me. Do you remember?"

"Yes," he sighed softly.

"You are slowin' down your memories. Now, we move forward, a wee bit at a time. When you feel the transport startin', I want you to move your hands here on th'table to let me know. And you will stop there. Do you understand?"

He murmured a soft agreement again. He felt his head nodding just the tiniest amount, vague and far away.

"Good lad. Now. Forward...forward...forward..." His hand jerked. "Ah! Stop there. Now slow down even further, and tell me what is happenin'."

"I want to be where you are. I need to be there." In his memory, he felt the power surging up in answer to his need, felt the way he twisted it, felt the change in the air around him. "I twist the power. Pull at it. I...fold the world..."

"Go back to the start of the transport," she murmured.

She led him through it six or seven times, wringing out more description each time, telling him to fix the feeling, the process, in his memory. Then, finally, she called him out of his trance. He rose up from the depths slowly, his surroundings starting to seep into his perception once more, firming up as the seconds passed. His focus shifted, broadened, the candle flame receding until it was just a flame on a candle in the center of the table, lighting Rowena's face with flickering highlights. He drew a deep breath, sighed it out, and leaned back in his chair.

She watched him with a sharp expression. "There y'are. And do you have it?"

He nodded slowly. "I think so." It always took him a few minutes to be fully there after one of their sessions.

"Well. Time to give it a try, eh?" She waved a hand. "Bedroom?" She arched an eyebrow at him with a tiny smile. He peered at her with a frown, his tension already seeping back in, then nodded again. He focused, pulled on his power, the way it had felt in his memory, and...twisted.

He abruptly fell on his ass on the bedroom floor, the fall jolting a surprised grunt from him.

"Ahah!" Rowena crowed from the other room. She walked in, stood in the doorway, and gazed at him sprawled on the floor. Her lips twitched. "Aye, well - perhaps you should be standin' up the next time you try?" He snorted, sorted out his legs, and stood up.

"Good idea." He looked down at her, a smile growing on his face. "It worked!" he exclaimed, surprised and elated.

"Aye, giant, that it did." She looked up at him with an equally wide grin. "That it did. Now. Can you carry me with you, I wonder?"

Without a word, he slid an arm around her, pulled her close, reached and twisted with his power, and they were back in the living area beside the table. He looked out the window at the city skyline with a small smile. "The answer would be 'yes'."

A scuffle and some screams from the hallway interrupted them. Sam looked that way and frowned, stifling his need to run to the rescue. Rowena plucked at his arm, shrewd eyes taking in his automatic reaction. "Now, now, giant. We can do nothing, 'twould be just a drop in a bucket for the city now." He pressed his lips together, eyes haunted, then gave her a quick, stiff nod. The screams were joined by the sound of wood being smashed and glass breaking, and he shivered as he held himself back.

"Perhaps 'tis best if we were going now...?" she suggested softly.


They had sorted themselves into teams.

Dean and Cas hunched over a map of the U.S. They would discuss the requirements yet again, select a target from the list of research centers Hunters had raided, then Cas would vanish, scouting the location. When he returned, he and Dean huddled some more, rating the site, ranking its pros and cons.

Crowley was working the phone, calling the numbers on the list of demons who were formerly doctors. It quickly became apparent that he needed recent doctors, young demons. A demon who had been a doctor in the 18th century would be of no use to them...bloodletting and leeches wouldn't work against this new disease. Davis stood behind him, crossing out names, listing the specialties of those who might be of some use. Dermatologists, pediatricians, allergists - there were a variety of names that got crossed out once he determined the demon's former specialty. He did, however, have Davis write down the specialty, muttering that when things got back to normal it was high time to get a full census of demons. And, yes, dammit, he knew they needed immunologists and epidemiologists!

Dani and Charlie were seated side by side, trawling the web, figuring out what equipment and supplies would be needed. Centrifuges, Charlie noted. Alcohol swabs, syringes, media for growing samples, Dani countered. Beakers, vials, an autoclave. "No wonder NIH grants don't make lab directors rich," Charlie said. She was looking at prices. "All this stuff we need - and even if it's cheap, we need a lot, and it adds up! - a lab is expensive to outfit!"

"Add in rush shipping charges," Dani muttered, eyes widening at the cost to deliver an autoclave on a rush basis. Charlie leaned over to peer at her screen, and her jaw dropped.

"Whoa."

Crowley had been listening with half his attention. He snorted. "Not to worry, children. I have all the money we might need."

Dani frowned at him. "I'm not worried. I'm appalled! These charges are outrageous - "

Without warning, they were interrupted by a poof of displaced air. Sam and Rowena stood together to the side of the living area, Sam's arm around her, her hand clutching a small suitcase.

A shocked silence fell as everyone stared at the two.

~~whoa. that's a surprise!~~

Hush. Those two - here - !

Dani's eyes flared cold, steady, furious black. She rose to her feet, teeth bared in a snarl, and was about to fling a hand toward Sam, when Crowley fastened his own hand around her wrist, hard. "Shhhh, shhhh, pet. Not now," he murmured. Shooting a glare at him, she struggled to free herself.

"Sam?" Dean croaked. Sam looked at him wide-eyed, swayed a moment, then fell to the floor as if someone had bludgeoned him in the head, arm slipping away from Rowena. The silence broke as Dean, Cas, and Charlie surged forward.

"Sam!" Dean fell to his knees beside his brother, patting his face. "Dammit, Sammy! Talk to me!"

"Sam?!" Cas crouched beside Dean, eyes worried.

"Sam! Omigod, Sam, are you okay?" Charlie hovered behind Dean and Cas, wringing her hands.

Rowena dropped her suitcase to the floor with a thump and knelt beside him in a puddle of skirt, frowning thoughtfully. Dean glared at her and snarled. "Dammit, might have known you'd be mixed up in this - " She flicked an abstracted glance at him and waved a dismissive hand.

"Pshhhh. Always so ready to think the worst. It so happens that I have nothin' to do - " She paused, frowned deeper, and bit her lip. "Och, well, perhaps I do. He did not react this way when he transported by himself; 'tis possible that taking me as well overtaxed him. Hmmm." She sat back on her heels and looked directly at Dean. "As usual. He merely needs rest, this is a new use of his power."

Crowley, who had been watching with a neutral expression, coughed gently. "Ahem. Loath though I am to say it, my mother is probably correct." He smiled grimly at Rowena. "Hello, Mother. As you can see, Moose's attempt to kill me did not...er...stick."

Rowena's head had jerked up at the first sound of his voice, and now she knelt there glaring at him as if him being alive was a personal offense. Her nostrils flared, and she drew in an angry breath, then let it trickle out again slowly, regaining her composure. Dani watched her with her eyes still beetle black; Crowley still had her hand captured in his, which was the only thing keeping her from doing her damnedest to kill the witch. And Sam Winchester. Crowley slid a look at her and smirked, fingers pressed into her skin. He started stroking her wrist with his thumb in an attempt to distract her. She growled in response.

Rowena dismissed them and looked back across at Dean. "If there's a bed or couch handy, I suggest you cart the giant to it and let him sleep it off," she snapped. "And I am hopin' that we are not all going to be packed together like sardines in this...hovel...for very long."

Dean narrowed his eyes at her. "Look, lady, if I had my way, half of the people in this room would disappear. But I'm not getting my way. We're stuck with each other until this whole disease scene is fixed, whether we like it or not." He held up a hand to stop the question he could see she was about to ask. "We're working on it!" She blinked at him and snapped her mouth shut. He ran his hand across the back of his head, then pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay. Cas. Can you hoodoo Sam off to one of the beds?"

Cas nodded, reached forward to touch Sam's forehead, and Sam disappeared. He looked at Rowena and said, with a small nod, "He is in the newly painted room at the back of the cabin." Rowena dipped her head in return.

"Always the gentleman," she murmured with a coy simper. She stood up, picked up her suitcase, and swept out of the room into the hallway, skirt swirling. Dean watched her go with a sour expression.

"All we needed for this menagerie," he muttered, turning back to look over the rest of the gathering. "Well? Let's get back to work. The sooner we can decide on one of these facilities and get it stocked with med supplies and a medico, the sooner we'll all be out of each others' hair."

Crowley stood up, Dani's hand still in his grip, and pulled her up beside him. "I do believe my head research honcho and I need to have a small talk before we proceed." Dean locked eyes with Dani, and nodded slowly.

"Yeah. You do that."

Dani growled again. Crowley tutted quietly and pulled her to the cabin door, pushing her gently out before him and closing the door.

As soon as they were out, Dani whirled on him, lifting her captured arm and shaking it. "This. What is this?!"

He pulled her close, sliding an arm around her waist. "Now, pet. We cannot afford to indulge all our petty little vendettas - "

"Petty?!" she seethed. "Sam Winchester. Rowena. They killed you. Dead. Cold and stiff in that fucking warehouse. And if not for that spell I found, after weeks of research, you would still be dead, and I - " She stopped. He looked down at her with a small smile, an eyebrow lifted, his arm tightening and pulling her closer.

"And you...?" he prompted.

She looked down, biting her lip, and didn't say a word. He tucked a finger beneath her chin and tilted her head back up.

"Ohhhhh, you fucking bastard," she snarled. His lips twitched. "I was doing just fine before I met you, you know that?!" He stiffened and let her wrist go.

~~yeah...before he hypnotized you...~~

Shut up, Innie-Me!

"You are always free to leave." His eyes were hooded, his expression neutral. It hit her like a punch in the gut, and she stepped backward. "Or not. If being...involved...with me has disrupted your life that much..." He let the words trail off.

~~oh, lord, you two are being idiots again. just tell him what you were thinking, why don't you?~~

Dani blinked, realizing, to her mortification, that she was about to start crying. She started to say something, but couldn't, her throat constricted. Finally, drawing a deep breath, she tried again, deliberately not looking at him. "When you...died..." It was so damned hard to say. "I was frozen. I...I...it hurt so much," she whispered harshly. "To be...alone again. Without you. The world seemed...empty."

There. I did it. Happy now?

~~well...at least you said it. didn't say it would make me happy.~~

"And those two...I'm so afraid...they will try again..." She stopped, staring determinedly at the knot in his tie.

He was silent for a moment, then he pulled her close again and murmured, "Well. Mother will try, definitely. Moose, however...I suspect he has gotten it out of his system. In any case, we all have more important things to worry about, so I believe you can rest easy for a while." Again, he tilted her head up with a finger beneath her chin. "So. Can you promise me to not be ready to kill them on sight when we go back in? It would be very disruptive."

She snorted softly, then her lips twisted. "It's a weakness. I should be able to control it." She was angry at herself.

"Yes. In fact, if one of my other demons were to be so willing to disobey me..."

An amused smile at the thought tugged at the corner of her lips. She looked him in the eyes, and was suddenly breathless. He smiled lazily back down at her and traced her lips with a gentle finger. "I'll just have to come up with a suitable punishment for you. Let me give it some thought."