Winch wakes immediately and opens his eyes, lovingly staring at his WOMAN. He loves the WOMAN. He loves it when she gives him treats, or speaks to him in her nonsense language, or lets him stand up and hug her. The WOMAN is the best WOMAN in the world, and he loves her. He would lay down his life for her, if the occasion called for it, and he would be proud.

He looks over at the MAN she lies next to. He likes the MAN very much.

Winch doesn't know why he feels better than he used to, and he doesn't question it. It is what it is. But he's very glad that whatever brought them here brought them to the MAN. The MAN smells like violence, revenge, and anger, but his scent changes when he's with the WOMAN. Winch knows that the man will soon feel about the WOMAN the same way Winch does. Which is why he likes him.

Winch is a happy dog, so he waits for the WOMAN to wake up, even though he usually wakes her up for her. He does need to go OUTSIDE, but he will wait.

Because his WOMAN and his MAN will be awake soon, and they're the best when they're awake.

xxxxx

You wake up on your back, with Dean on his side, his arm thrown across your waist, and Winch laying across your legs. You look up and Winch is awake, staring at you, but he's not dancing to go outside. He seems content to just lay there, watching you sleep with Dean.

"You really do ship it, you dick," you say mildly. You slowly move to get up, and Winch seems to pick up the need for gentleness, as he gingerly stands and hops off of the bed to wait for you.

You get out of bed and stretch, sighing. Another day, another life to save, probably another fight about the damn Colt.

Neither of them want you to go with them to retrieve the Colt. But, first of all, you will do whatever you damn well please, you do not need their permission. And, two, are you gonna pass up the chance to meet Crowley? Absolutely not.

You go downstairs, let Winch out, and start coffee. After thinking for a few minutes, you decide on cinnamon rolls again for breakfast. You made Dean go to the grocery store again, with a detailed list. He'd grumbled and bitched and moaned, but in the end he'd gone.

You let the dog back in and bake in contentment. Your life is all upside-down, the sexiest man on the planet seems intent on sleeping with you, and you're facing an apocalypse that you're in no shape to stop, but at least baking is still the same.

You turn when Bobby enters the kitchen, and you smile at him. "Morning, Bobby."

He grunts in response, and you go to make him a cup of coffee. When you place it in front of him, he seems surprised, but grunts his thanks. You smile, because you have learned that Bobby is not a morning person, but Sam and Dean are pretty much awake as soon as their eyes open. The three of them are also not used to being served, or having someone take care of stuff like that without being asked.

You're finish icing the cinnamon rolls, enjoying the comfortable silence, when Winch gets up and stands behind you. You turn to see Sam walk in, and you take a moment to be grateful that while the guys are knowledgeable in a lot of arenas, dog body language doesn't seem to be one. Winch knows you and Sam were fighting, and he's standing between you to keep Sam from you, which you suspect would hurt the younger Winchester's feelings.

You smile. "Morning, Sam. Breakfast in ten, do you want coffee?"

He sits across from Bobby and nods. "I can get it myself, Y/N."

You shrug and pour him a cup. "I'm already up, just chill out for a bit. Move, dog," you say easily, nudging Winch with your foot. He looks up at you and groans deep in his chest, but moves out of the way.

"Thanks," Sam says, accepting the cup. "All right, so, the Colt."

You nod, unsurprised that Sam is already thinking about business. "Crowley wants you to have it. He wants you to kill Lucifer with it."

"Which we should do," Sam mutters into his coffee.

Your eyes narrow. "It won't work, Sam. We've been over this."

He sets his cup down. "I think it's worth a shot, is all."

You groan. "It's not. I know that it won't work. What is up with you? We'll find another way to kill him."

"What other way?" he asks loudly. You jump a little, because he's right on the edge of yelling. You're not scared of Sam, and if he yells, you'll yell right back. But God, who the fuck is mad before breakfast?

"I don't know, Sam," you say evenly. "But there's got to be something. He's not invincible."

"Which is why we should use the Colt!"

He's yelling now, and before you can say anything, Winch is in front of you again, a low growl rumbling in his chest.

"Listen, Sam," you say soothingly as you put a hand on the big dog's back, "Why don't we do this after we eat?"

"I'm not going to change my mind," he snaps.

"What's going on in here?" Dean asks sharply from the doorway. You notice out of the corner of your eye that Winch relaxes enough to sit in front of you.

You turn and give Dean a placating smile in the face of his frown. For someone who could start a fight with a paper bag, he sure doesn't like it when other people argue. "Nothing, Dean. Just breakfast."

"Y/N still thinks the Colt won't work," Sam says bluntly.

You roll your eyes. "Snitch." You turn back to the pan on the counter, ignoring Dean's pointed glare at you. "It's fine, we're just disagreeing."

"Before breakfast?" Dean asks incredulously, coming over to drop a kiss on your shoulder and squeeze you around the waist before he joins the other men at the table.

You smile to yourself while you pull plates out of the cupboard to serve breakfast on. When you do, you see Winch sitting next to Dean, ears up, looking at Sam. Well, that's something. With Dean in the room, apparently the shepherd isn't as worried about you. Traitorous fuck.

You serve breakfast and conversation falls silent, which you enjoy. As much as you like being here, with them, silence is in short supply. For someone who is as solitary as you, that's kind of a bummer.

Once the meal is over, the Winchesters go into the living room to argue some more. You're tired of it, so you take the dishes to the sink and start washing.

Bobby rolls up next to you with a dish towel in his lap. Without questioning, you hand the clean plate to him, starting to hum as you work. Your brain is working overtime, trying to figure out what the fuck you're going to do about Lucifer. As far as you know, the only thing that can kill an archangel is the angel blades, but the only person who tried that was Gabriel, and he died for it.

"You know, I believe you," Bobby says casually.

You look down and smile. "Thanks, Bobby. Just gotta convince fuckface." You're irritated with Sam right now. Idiot.

He blinks, then laughs out loud, and it makes you happier than you could have thought. "He'll come around," he says, still chuckling. "Just give him time. They both have thick skulls."

You smile. "Yeah, they do. I just hope I can save those thick skulls."

You're done with dishes, so you take your sponge to the table to start cleaning it. There's a few moments of silence before Bobby speaks again.

"Y/N. Dean's not being pushy, is he?" he asks gruffly.

You pause, completely blindsided. "Pushy is one of the main parts of Dean's personality, Bobby. I'm gonna need a little more to go on than that."

He sighs, and you're terribly amused to see his face redden a little. "I mean, with this soulmate stuff."

Your eyes widen in realization, and suddenly Bobby's not the only one blushing. "Sex, you mean sex, oh God. Uh, no, no, he's being very kind." You say quickly, softly, kind of wishing you were anywhere else right now.

He nods. "Good. If that changes… You let me know, yeah?"

You smile at protective Bobby Singer and nod back. "Yes, sir."

xxxxx

"It's nice to know there's something you're not good at," Sam says cheerfully.

You glare at him. "Shut up, Sam."

He's laughing. "Hey, everyone has their faults, Y/N. At least you could draw me a picture of the target."

You eye him for a moment. "You know, you're a much bigger target, and I'm feeling very motivated to shoot you."

The guys want you to practice shooting a gun, and Sam's right, you're terrible. Dean left an hour ago, and you assume it's because he sensed that if he laughed, he would be in trouble, which he would. So he left as soon as you'd proven that you are an unequivocally worthless shot.

You and Sam are headed back to the house, and you're seriously considering tripping him because he won't stop chuckling.

"Shut up, Sam."

xxxxx

Jo and Ellen arrive later that day. They're just as lovely as you thought they would be, and they accept your blunt explanation of who you are without question.

"I'm Dean's soulmate, put in the wrong reality via angel bullshit, and brought to this reality via other angel bullshit."

There's a beat of silence, then Ellen nods. "Well, all right then."

Jo nods, too. "That blows."

You give them a tight smile as everyone gathers in the kitchen and starts talking about the plan for the Colt. You sit at the table, hand on Winch's head, just listening, and watching Jo.

Your anxiety is back with enthusiasm, pointing out that she's gorgeous and blonde and thin and already a hunter. Pointing out that if she's in the room, no man in his right mind is looking at you.

Stop it, you tell yourself desperately. Jo's a nice person, and she's smart, and you should be valuing her opinion, not wishing you looked like her.

She slides into the chair across from you and smiles. "So, Dean's soulmate, huh?"

You nod. "That's what they tell me."

"That's gotta suck."

You smile. "At least he's fun to watch be out of my league."

Jo snorts derisively. "Please, he wishes. He's been looking at you this whole time."

Your eyebrows go up in surprise. "What?"

Jo nods and turns to look at Dean. When you follow her gaze, your eyes meet his, and you blush when he winks. "Oh," you say faintly.

Warmth spreads through you, and while that anxiety is still telling you she's prettier than you, he'll never look at you, it's much easier to tell that anxiety to suck it.

xxxxx

That night, Dean slowly crawls out of her bed, hoping that she'll stay asleep. She does, turning over with a frown on her face, and he sighs in relief.

Which is short-lived, because then he meets the dog's eyes. Winch is looking at him with what Dean would swear is disapproval. He glares at the big shepherd. "Shut up," he whispers fiercely, "This is for her own good."

Winch just continues to stare at him, and Dean realizes that he's talking to the dog like she does, like a crazy person. So he shuts up and dresses quickly, shutting the door behind him as gently as possible.

When he gets to the bottom of the stairs, Bobby is looking at him evenly, with the same disapproval in his eyes that the damn dog had. "What?" Dean snaps.

"She ain't gonna be happy about this."

Dean shifts uncomfortably, but says nothing. Bobby knows why he can't take her with them.

Bobby shakes his head. "Idjit," he mutters. Then he shrugs. "Whatever, but she's gonna be pissed when she finds out."

Dean nods and winces. "I know."

xxxxx

You wake up early the next morning to a cold bed. You sit up and push your hair out of your face, looking around for Dean. When he's not there, suspicion settles in your stomach. "Oh, he did not."

You stand and fling the door open, letting Winch run down the stairs before you descend them slowly. When you get there, Bobby is sitting at the kitchen table, just watching you process the fact that that bastard left you here.

"Did they…"

He nods. "Yup."

"Without me?"

"Yup."

You take a moment, then, "That bastard."

Bobby nods sagely again. "Yup."

You come and sit across from him at the table. "Did he tell you why?"

He sighs. "He doesn't think he could protect you."

That hits you hard, and you drop your head into your hands. Doesn't need to protect Jo, does he? your anxiety asks slyly, and you agree. He doesn't have to protect Jo. Jo isn't useless, and neither is Ellen. They're going to be just fine, and here you are, a burden.

That voice is rolling around in your head, assuring you that they all despise you, that they wish you would just leave, and that you would stop bossing them around.

You push it away forcefully, ignoring it. That voice might be right in some aspects, but you're not mad about that. You're mad because if he would just chill out and trust you a little, you could learn to not be useless. Plus, you've already got quite a bit of knowledge, what more do you need to do to prove that you can do this?

You look up at Bobby, who's just staring at you. "I need a favor, Bobby."

xxxxx

Late in the morning, Dean sighs when he thinks about the ass-reaming he's in for when he gets back into the house. He's only known Y/N for a few days, but she is going to be pissed.

"She's gonna be pissed," Sam says evenly in the seat next to him, echoing Dean's thoughts.

Dean nods. "Yes, yes, she is." He sighs heavily. "May as well get this over with."

Something is off the moment he steps out of the car. He can't figure out what it is, so he just goes to the front door, frowning. When he walks in, Bobby is sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee and not looking at them.

Dean holds his arms out. "All right, where is she? Let's have it."

There's a beat of silence, then Bobby looks at Dean again. "She's gone, idjit."

Dean's mind goes blank with panic, and his stomach rolls. "What?"

"Gone where?" Sam asks from next to him.

Bobby shakes his head. "None of your damn business."

"Why would she go? Where would she go?" Dean starts to get angry. "God dammit, Bobby, how could you let her-"

"I didn't let her anything, you moron," Bobby snaps, "She's a grown-ass woman, and she can go wherever the fuck she wants. And she decided that she doesn't want to stay here anymore."

There's an empty feeling in Dean's stomach. "Why?"

Bobby looks at Dean, then over to Sam. "Probably because you both treat her like a child."

Dean frowns. "Bobby, she's not a hunter. She's a waitress, for fuck's sake. She's-"

"She's an adult," Sam says, wincing. "And she wants to be treated like one." Dean watches his younger brother run a hand through his hair. "Oh, God, we did what Dad did. I did what Dad did. I think I'm gonna be sick."

Bobby rolls his eyes. "Calm down, princesses. She's fine. She said she'll call in a couple of days to let us know what the plan is."

The empty feeling in Dean's stomach grows when he realizes what was wrong when he entered the house.

No one barked when he pulled up. Winch is gone, too.

xxxxx

Hi everyone! Here's my notes:
I don't own Supernatural or the characters. (heartbroken)
Reviews and comment give me the warm fuzzies and keep me going.
If there are any mistakes in continuity, canon, or geography, blame me.