Disclaimer: I don't own, Mr. Kripke and friends don't sue... Deal?

Amaya479: Thank you so much sweetie! I'm trying here, lol. Here's the next few chapters.

Mrs. Tom Riddle: First things first, LOVE THE NAME! Ok. Sorry. Had to get that out. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. Hope you enjoy the next few chapters and I'm glad you like it so far!

Author's Note: I am SO sorry it took me so long to update. I had a Criminal Minds fanfic pop into my head that wouldn't leave me alone until I got it out, and then I was hit with inspiration for another original and for my fanfic Grey. It's no excuse, but I am sorry. I hope this makes up for it!

Joie woke up curled against something hard and warm. She'd never felt safer, or more loved. Smiling, she stretched, jolting slightly when her fingers grazed through soft feathers. Not just any feathers, but black and grey feathers threaded through with silver. Slowly, the previous night filtered into her cobweb filled brain. The motel room, wanting to sleep, talking with Cas, the… her heart stuttered, the kiss. He had kissed her. He had kissed her. He had kissed her. Oh my God!

"Please lower the volume of your thoughts Joie." Castiel mumbled sleepily from beside her, tightening his arms around her. "I am finding this resting pleasant and your shock is disrupting it."

She chuckled slightly and wriggled away. "Sorry Cas, but you've got to sleep without me. I need to go to the bathroom and get breakfast."

Sighing, the angel reluctantly released her and she slipped from the bed, stifling a hysterical giggle when she saw him grab a pillow and use it to replace her in his arms. I really should take a picture of this. There's no way any one will believe me otherwise.

"Aww… How sweet." Meg drawled quietly from across the room. Joie jerked her head around to see the demon sitting comfortably in the chair by the window. "Sleep well Josephine?"

"I could ask you the same question Megara." Joie snapped, smiling to soften the words.

"Oh. I slept very well." The demoness gave a satisfied grin. "I think I'm going to go get breakfast with you. We need to talk."

The huntress grinned, going for her duffel. "Gladly."

"Uh-uh. Hold on hunter. You're wearing this today." Meg stated with a smile, tossing a Wal-Mart sack full of clothes to Joie. "You've been avoiding wearing the clothes I got you. It's starting to hurt my feelings."

Joie groaned but only grabbed her toiletries out of her duffel and went into the bathroom. "I'm assuming you thought of everything when you picked this outfit?" She called through the bathroom door.

"From underwear to accessories Josephine." Meg called back.

Shaking her head, Joie shucked her pajamas and pulled out the clothes Meg bought her. They didn't look bad. Blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt. She laughed when she saw the matching bra and panty set. They wear black with neon purple skull-and-crossbones stamped all over them. The demon had also gone through her rosary bag, because her amethyst rosary was in there alone with a plain black ribbon fashioned as a choker and black and purple rubber bangles to go around her wrist. Even her socks were black and purple, the same style as her undergarments.

She showered and dressed quickly, brushing her teeth and pulling her still-wet hair back into its customary braid and hesitantly using the make-up Meg got her. She knew how to do make-up. She did, as long as no one was expecting more than some powder and mascara. Unfortunately, Meg had gotten her eyeliner, blush, eye shadow, and lipstick as well. Still, for only having a basic idea of how to use any of that stuff, she didn't think she did such a bad job.

Standing back, she studied herself in the mirror. The clothes were tighter than she was used to, but looking at it objectively, she had to give the demon this, she didn't look bad. A little darker than she was used to, a bit more punk than tomboy, but not bad. Joie repacked her toiletry case and gathered up her pajamas before stepping out of the bathroom. She was met with a long whistle.

"You clean up good Josephine." Meg said, coming to circle the huntress. Joie stiffened instinctually. Friend or not, Meg was still a demon. "See. I told you I wouldn't put you in anything too uncomfortable. Just something that actually fits you. Good job with the make-up by the way. There, but natural. You don't look like you were gang-banged by Crayola at least."

Joie laughed. "Thanks Megara… I think. Come on. Just let me get my boots and wallet and we'll be on our way."

"You have new boots by the way?" Joie turned to stare at the demon, who shrugged. "You're old ones were ragged. Practically splitting at the seams. We passed a Harley shop when I took Kevin shopping, so I stopped and got you some new ones. Top of the line. Slip proof, water proof, fire proof. Perfect for riding and kicking ass, so you should be good. Here." A box was tossed at the huntress. "They're in there. I trashed you old one's last night when Dean and I left to get food. We forgot to get your cookies by the way. Sorry."

Gingerly, Joie sat on the edge of the bed Cas was sleeping on and pulled out the new boots. They were carbon copied of her old ones, and Joie sighed in relief. Her boots were sacred to her. She didn't have a lot of other shoes like most women, just a pair of trainers in the bottom of her duffel, so her boots bordered on sacred with her. With a laugh, she realized that Meg had replaced the traditional black laces with a set of purple ones. "Trying to tell me something Meg?"

The demoness shrugged. "Goes good with your eyes. And with your hair, the punk look is good on you. Come on. Get your boots on. I'm hungry, you haven't had your coffee yet, and Dean's a bear until he gets some food in his stomach. I'd rather not deal with too much of that."

Joie chuckled and quickly put on her boots, lacing them up how she liked them and grabbing her jacket from off the table. Pausing, she looked over at Meg with a teasing glint in her eyes. "You're not planning on replacing this too, are you?"

"Hell no." Meg replied, rapidly shaking her head. "You'd kill me. John gave that to you for your eighteenth birthday. Besides, where else would I find a jacket that had an anti-possession tattoo stitched onto the lining?"

Joie laughed. "He didn't want me to get a tattoo. I did later on any way. Same time Sam and Dean did. It was like a big family bonding moment. But this was his original way of making sure I stayed safe when I went out on my own." She rubbed a small spot on the chalk line of the Devil's Trap. "Come on. I need coffee. Stat."

Meg did a quick hopping maneuver over the Devil's Trap and waited outside while Joie reclosed the circle. The huntress carefully closed the door, and sighed, happy neither her brother nor the angel had woken. Surprising with as much as she and Meg had been talking. Feeling slightly in comfortable in her new clothes, she decided to fall back on an old habit to steady her nerves. She pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her jacket and lit one, ignoring Meg's raised eyebrow. Silently, she offered one to the demon as they walked, and, with a shrug, Meg took one and lit it.

"I thought John was against pretty much everything but alcohol." Meg said, staring at the burning tobacco in her own hand.

Joie shrugged. "He did." She replied. "I picked this up when I lit out on my own. Helped calm me down."

"That's the second time you've mentioned being on your own." The demon said, taking a deep drag. "I thought you didn't head off on your own until after John died."

"Nope. When I was eighteen. Was on my own for about a year then hooked back up with Dean and Sammy. Stayed with them for a couple years then we got into it over Ruby and I left again."

"Not that you ever really left."

Joie gave Meg a steady look. "They're my brothers. The only family I've ever really had. And they're stupid and reckless. I couldn't just leave them to it. They'd be dead by now. So I did what I had to do. "

"Including sending a demon after your brother." Meg said with a grin. "Tsk tsk Josephine."

"Bite me Megara." Joie replied without rancor. "Like I said, I did what I had to do. Look, there's a McDonald's about three blocks ahead. Please dear god let them still have the chocolate chip frappes."

Meg smiled. "That actually doesn't sound half bad. So why were John and Dean so cool about you being on your own when they freaked out about Sammy?"

"It was always kind of understood that I'd be on my own hunting shifters one day. It was like I was family, but not really. Not to John anyway. His whole go was to get me to a point where I could wipe out the things that killed my family. And with Dean, I was like another charge. I'm his little sister, but not really because he's not as protective as he is with Sammy. To Sammy, well, I was just the kid who came in and took his place as the baby of the family."

"So you've always been a little tense with him?"

"Not really." Joie stopped to stomp out her cigarette. "He loves me. I know that. I can't count the number of times that he stepped in between me and John and did something to take the old man's temper off me. And in return Dean would step in and calm everyone down. But I could tell there was always just this bit of resentment lingering under the surface when John would praise me or Dean would let me share a bed with him because I was scared. It was just a part of life though."

Meg nodded. She felt that from Sam too, especially when the tall hunter had found out that Joie had managed to step-up and be there for Castiel and Dean after Dean hadn't been able to get ahold of Sam. Then again when it turned out Joie was the safest one for Kevin to travel with since Crowley didn't have an easy way to track her. And yet again when everyone chose to stand by Joie instead of leaving with Sam. Eventually, all that anger and resentment was going to blow, and if Joie was around when it did, Meg feared for the huntress. Something had changed in Sam over the past year. He may not have hunted, but he was more dangerous than ever. It was almost as if Soulless Sammy was back, just with more emotion.

Joie held the door open for Meg and the two walked up to the counter, ordering a load of bacon, egg and cheese McGriddles, two chocolate chip frappes, a large black coffee, and four orange juices. Breakfast in hand, they headed back to the motel, Meg carrying the drink tray, and Joie carrying the bag. "Thank god the orange juice comes in bottles now."

Meg nodded. "You're telling me."

"Hey Meg," Joie waited until the demon looked at her. "Tell me about your brother."

Subtly, the demon tensed. But she spoke anyway. "He was only fifteen when he got sick. Our parents had died the year before and I became a prostitute in order to keep the bills paid. He was the reason I did it. There was no one else to take care of us, and he was already sickly and had been from the time I was born. Like you, I did what I had to do for my family. But he was…" She sighed. "He was always so happy, and curious. I wish I could have made enough money to send him to a university or even to apprentice somewhere. He was so smart.

"In today's terms, he'd be considered a genius, I'm sure of it. He taught himself to read and actually made friends with the owner of a local book shop. Anything extra we had after we were fed and the rent was paid, I always spent on books for him, but when there wasn't enough, the shopkeeper would let him borrow books and return them when he was finished.

"He was innocent, even with what I did as a living. Castiel reminds me so much of him, it physically hurts at times. They have the same childlike wonderment for everything, but at the same time, this spine of steel when it comes to something important to them. And the same gentle way of caring for others. A client beat me badly one time and Richard was so careful about making sure I healed properly." Meg sent Joie a sad smile. "When I see Castiel heal you, or the way he finds a way to comfort you when you're upset, it reminds me of that. Richard was the same way. He could never stand to see anyone in any sort of pain."

Joie impulsively gave the demoness a one-armed hug. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"No. It's fine. It's just been so long since I've gotten to think of him like I did when I was human." Meg said, her lower lip slightly trembling. "It's an odd feeling. I didn't think I was capable of it anymore."

Joie smiled encouragingly. "Maybe you're regaining some of your humanity."

Meg laughed, shaking her head. "That's not possible. You don't become a demon until they've stripped you of ever last thing even resembling a soul."

"I don't believe that." When Meg looked at Joie with wide eyes, the huntress shrugged. "What? I don't believe that. I don't think you can strip a soul. You can break it, bleed it, warped and twist it into something else, but you can't dispose of it. And I think that's what they do to you in hell. They distort the soul into a something it was never meant to be, a demon, but they can never do away with it." Joie tucked a flyaway strand of hair back from Meg's face before cupping the demon's cheek in her palm, forcing her to look at her. "And with every distortion, there's a way to fix it. Maybe what you're doing now, helping us, standing up for the right side, fighting for the good of humans rather than for their destruction, is the way to fix your soul. Maybe if you keep it up, you'll become human again and will get your own heaven with your brother."

"Do you really think that's possible?" Meg asked, arching her brow, slipping back behind her mask. "I mean, think about."

Joie laughed, letting the demoness get away with changing the tome of the conversation. "I think, considering what we see on a regular basis, you should know that anything is possible. Just as you should know that if God let Dean freakin' Winchester into heaven, I'm sure you're a shoo in."

Meg laughed. "Speaking of Dean freakin' Winchester, I think you're right. It might not be completely hopeless."

"Um.. Duh!" The huntress replied with a laugh. "In case you didn't notice, he didn't exactly push you away in the cabin. And I'm going to guess that you two slept in the same bed last night."

Meg nodded, blushing slightly. "I woke up in a cocoon of blankets and Dean. Had to twist and wiggle for fifteen minutes before I could get out of bed." She sent Joie a sly smile. "What about you? You and Clarence looked pretty cozy."

"He kissed me." The human replied with a blush. "He was trying to get me to talk about Sammy and I was trying to get him to drop it and he just kind of… kissed me. Then he told me he'd let it go for now, but that we needed to talk in the morning."

"And…"

"And we spooned and fell asleep. You were already awake when I got up this morning, so you know what happened next." Joie laughed. "Honestly, I've never slept better."

Meg arched an eyebrow. "Really? Same here."

"We're sunk aren't we."

"Probably. But I don't care if you don't."

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