"Thanks for the sickie-friendly grub," Lizzy says quietly as she sits at the kitchenette table across from Sam eating her lightly buttered toast and fruit salad. After a disappointing start to her day with her morning sickness interrupting her alone time with Dean she's happy to at least have some food she might be able to keep down. It's the little things, right?

He nods back as he eats his own meal, knowing she's had a tough run. Granted, he couldn't give a shit about her tough run really but if he's going to keep duping his family into thinking he's just fine he has to do these little things now and then. He may not care but he's not stupid.

The room goes silent aside from the shower on in the bathroom where Dean is getting ready for the drive back. Wanting to cut the awkward and weird silence, which is the norm these days and odd due to how comfortable they used to be with each other, Lizzy speaks up and opens up a dialogue she's been dreading. She's heading home today so it's now or never.

"I miss you."

Sam just looks at her with an odd expression. He didn't see that comment coming and it catches him completely unprepared.

"It'd only been like, two weeks since I last saw you. Not even."

"Not what I mean," Lizzy explains as she takes a bite of toast. "I miss the old you, the you before the Cage."

"And I bet you miss the old Dean too." Sam plays devil's advocate with her in an instant, making the point that he should be a little off. Or at least that's what he's banking on to explain the changes in him.

Lizzy nods small. "Sometimes I do. Dean used to be, I don't know, lighter. Happier. He was able to let go of serious shit for a short time and be able to smile, really smile. And I know that hell still lives in his head, as it'll live in yours forever too." She drops her piece of toast and folds her hands on top of the table, looking straight at him. "But he's still Dean. He came back different in a way but he never lost who he is."

"You're saying I've lost who I am," Sam summarizes.

"I'm saying you're not my Sam. He's still my Dean but you… you worry me more than he ever did."

Sam doesn't respond to this.

"You used to be my brother form another mother," Lizzy tells him in a calm, warm tone, saying a phase she's said to him several time in the past. "We would actually talk to each other and if we hadn't in a while you would call me to unload about Dean or just check up on how I was doing. And it was so easy too. I never struggled to find things to say to you and we never had these awkward, weird moments between us. I feel robbed of my Sam-I-Am. I feel like Lucifer stole you from me."

Sam drops his fork and does what he can to seem sincere. He sets his face in a concerned look to appeal to her. "I think Lucifer stole me from me. I know I'm not the same, I do. I feel different and… Dean rebounded quickly. He had you to help with that. But I'm not Dean. I'm just not as strong as him."

"Well that's just total bull shit," Lizzy immediately calls him out in a certain, set tone. "I love Dean to death but he's not the stronger of the two of you."

"You're just trying to make me feel better…"

"No I'm not," Lizzy says with absolute certainty. "I'm telling you the God's honest truth as I see it. You had the strength to stand up to your father and never stop fighting him when you thought he was wrong. You were brave enough to walk away from the life to go to college and try to live normal, even knowing it'd hurt your family to do it. You've gone against everything and everyone for what you believe in so many times I couldn't list them and even if you picked wrong and took the wrong path you had the fucking balls to recognize your mistakes and try to make up for them. Shit, Sam… you were able to beat Lucifer at his own game. Dean couldn't have done any of that." Lizzy pauses with a heavy sigh. "You could. You're stronger than anyone I've ever met so if you're gonna tell me that Hell is gonna win out over you I'll call bullshit until I turn blue."

Lizzy blows out a hard breath when Sam once more doesn't respond, his face showing some emotion but not much.

"Look, I love you. I do. You know you mean the world to me, Sam-I-Am, but right now I, I don't feel it from you. I don't feel like you care as much as you used to unless it's about hunting. I feel weird around you when really… I just want the best friend I have left back. You know how little I have left. It's Bobby and Dean and you. If you need help then tell me. You know I'll help you."

"You can't," Sam tells her simply. "It's just something I have to work through on my own."

"Ok," Lizzy accepts with obvious disappointment. She looks down at her food and tries to eat again.

Sam knows this one. It's where he's supposed to try again to make her feel better because if he doesn't she'll stay suspicious.

"Don't be offended."

"I'm not."

"You seem it." He gives her a narrow eyed look much like Dean does when he questions her.

"Offended isn't the word for it," Lizzy explains. "It's sad. I want to help you and it makes me sad that I can't. I just hope that if you ever find yourself needing help, help I can give you, you won't think twice to ask."

"Absolutely," Sam very easily agrees. That's an easy one. He'll never ask for her help because he doesn't think he needs it as of right now. But it does make him wonder. She cares so much and in the eyes of Dean and Bobby that's a really wonderful thing. It's something they've come to depend on fiercely. Maybe it's a good thing to care. Maybe it's better to have the ability to care. Seems to go a long way with the people around him. Hmm…

"Good," Lizzy shares a small smile and dives back into forcing food down so that she has something to throw up next time she does. "I just worry about you, Sam. And I hope you still care about Dean and me because everything we're dealing with right now, the separation from each other and the putting our lives on hold… it's for you."

"Why?" Sam asks, not at all understanding why Dean would ditch if he didn't want to.

"Because you're not right. We want you back."

"Dean's not here to fix me… he's here because he'd rather be here."

Lizzy inhales steadily and silently counts to ten to reign in her fire before asking him, "Can we not do this again? This tug-of-Dean thing?"

Sam shrugs and lets it go. No skin off his back.

Sam pitting himself against her like that makes this whole conversation null and void for her. He's not hearing her. He just want to hunt with his brother and is somehow convinced that Dean will pick him every time. Lizzy would never want to make Dean choose over the two most important people in his life. That's so unfair and so awful for Dean. Her old Sam would never do that to his brother.

A few moments of terrible and unsettling silence and it's broken when Castiel arrives in the room.

"Hello," he greets to them suddenly but focuses on Lizzy as he stands by their table.

"Cass," Sam says almost automatically when he sees the angel standing there.

"Hey," Lizzy lets out with sheer happiness to see him back. But then she gets a load of his worn and weary appearance. "Everything ok?"

"I've been entirely too busy since I left you," he cryptically explains. "I haven't had much time to rest."

"Let me go grab Dean and you can fill us in quick then, huh? Take my seat," she suggests while standing up and hustling to the bathroom door. She knocks loudly. "Dean!"

"Yeah!?" he shouts back through the crack in the doorway she opened.

"Cass is here. Rinse off."

"Yeah," he says with obvious relief and the shower turns off immediately.

"Is everything taken care of?" Sam asks the angel expectantly as Lizzy shuts the bathroom door and walks over to Cass with concern. Cass looks back at Sam with exhausted disappointment in the hunter. Why is he always expected to be the solver of all their problems? Just because he is the kind of being that he is, because he's an angel? That seems racist at best. He's feeling a bit used suddenly.

"It is," he says with a sigh as Lizzy grabs his arm gently and looks him over.

"You look terrible, Cassie," she tells him in the least insulting way possible as she guides him to her offered seat at the table that he didn't take. "Are you really alright?"

Considering her kind and caring nature as she doesn't take advantage of him unlike his other human friends, his expression softens for the first time all day.

"Because I feel like you're lying," Lizzy continues as she pushes him into the seat, forcing him to take a moment to rest. "And I know you well enough to know you'd lie like a rug to make me feel like you're fine when you aren't." She laughs a little. "Shit, maybe you need to stop hanging out with Dumb and Dumber so much. They're a bad influence on you."

"I was a bit sidetracked for a while," he admits to her, his hands folded in his lap. "I had some issues to attend to… Heaven related… while helping this town out. But I got back here as soon as I could to check up on you."

"We're fine," she tells him sweetly with a smile. "Don't worry about us. And we were ok with waiting. We know you're busy."

He smiles to her small, something he only really ever does when talking to her, as Dean opens the bathroom door, shaking out his wet hair as he joins them barefoot and in jeans and a t-shirt.

"I appreciate your patience, Elizabeth," Castiel kindly responds. He did well with her, making sure she stayed loving and truly, honestly caring through her life. He's had as much pride in her turn out as a parent would. Really, he's been almost that to her without her knowing so maybe he should feel that pride.

"You ok, Cass?" Dean asks as he takes his Styrofoam box of breakfast off the table while eyeing the angel. "You look like shit warmed over."

"Cass had a rough day," Lizzy says with wide eyes at him, telling him to cool it with his crude ways and be nice. "And he's gonna rest for a quick second while he lets us know what happened."

"Thank you," Castiel nods at Lizzy and she walks to the bed Dean settled on and sits with him, waiting Cass to explain. "After I left here I checked the town. It seems that when the incubus died its offspring disappeared with it into the dreaming realm. All the women in town are no longer pregnant. There will be no mass production of cambions. The current crisis has been averted once more."

"Well that's just awesome," Dean cheers with a mouthful of bacon. "And a little convenient."

"It's rare things work out so well. I suggest you be thankful," Castiel says in his worn voice.

"We are," Lizzy responds, being as thankful as she should be. "Trust me."

"So they all just poof and they're gone?" Sam questions.

"Yes."

"They disappeared like mine did?" Lizzy asks him, double checking.

Castiel tilts his head for a split second and answers, "Yes."

She smiles with relief knowing that the women they set out to help will be safe but then something dawns on her. "Shit. But they're gonna have so many questions. What can explain disappearing pregnancies like that? They'll be so heartbroken."

"I took care of that also," he says to them. "I erased the whole happening from the entire town's collective memory. No articles, no medical paperwork, they have no idea it ever happened. They never will."

"You can do that?" Sam asks with impression.

"I can do most anything… mostly," Castiel simply returns with.

"So… it's over," Lizzy finalizes. "Everyone's good. None of us are knocked up with monster kiddos."

"That is the truth. Everything is as it should be. Now I must go." Castiel starts to get up but Lizzy's on her feet in an instant, running towards him.

"Where do you think you're going?" she scolds like a mother.

"I have work to do."

"No way!" she pushes him back into his seat, the fact that she could do so showing how tired he is. Normally he's much stronger than that. "You're drained, Cass. Just relax and sit for a second. You can fill us in on what's been happening on your side of things while you catch your breath."

"I don't breathe," he answers and moves to get back up. She pushes him gently back down.

"Then fucking make me happy and sit for, like, an hour. I want to know what's going on with you and Heaven since I know it can't be good. After that you can go."

"I don't have time for such things," Castiel insists and gets up once more.

"Castiel, sit down!" she scolds him while pointing to the chair when he refuses to listen. "You need to take time to get better! Sit!" He doesn't move from his place standing on his feet. "I mean it!"

He stares at her without moving for a second, both brothers shifting their huge-eyed sights between the two of them with the argument. Neither have spoken to the angel quite like this in a very long time. And she uses her Big Scary Voice on them, sure, but never on Cass. And never has anyone tried to mother an angel of the Lord, they're both fairly sure.

At first Castiel looks highly agitated for the way she chooses to speak to him… but then, after a moment, a small and shockingly warm smile creeps across his face. Eyes softened as he peers at her with such warmth, he places a hand gently to her cheek.

"You care so much about the people you love. I feel honored to be included on that list," he tells her, making Lizzy's brow wrinkle with surprised confusion over the statement. "Your parents would be proud of you for the love you try to share with everyone you encounter. You will undoubtedly make a wonderful parent yourself one day. I look forward to seeing that."

And he vanishes.

"Son of a bitch!" Lizzy yells out with anger when he leaves. She turns to look at the other two in the room. "I swear he's gonna go and go and go until he's so exhausted that some Raphael-faithful is gonna get the drop on him. This isn't good."

"L, he'll be fine." Dean keeps eating his breakfast once Castiel is gone and the argument between he and Lizzy is over. "He's an angel. He can hold his own."

"In a civil war? In which he's going up against other angels and that douche-tard Raphael?" she challenges right back. "You two should be more worried about him." She points between the two of them before walking around the room and gathering up her things to pack for the ride home. "I swear that every time he's going to disappear like this I'm just gonna wanna puke with nerves over him."

"Castiel is a pretty powerful being," Sam nearly scoffs at her. "And he isn't your responsibility."

"But I'm his," she turns it all around. "I'm literally Cass' responsibility. He's my family and unlike you I care about my family."

"Whoa!" Dean calls out with her highly harsh statement that neither saw coming and stands up sharply, putting aside his meal onto the bed. "What's with the attitude, L?"

"That was a little uncalled for…." Sam remarks.

Lizzy pauses and stands tall with her hands on her hips and an incredulous look of utter bafflement on her face. "Uncalled for? You mean like how uncalled for it is that you keep trying to make it a Sam versus Lizzy situation for Dean? Or do you mean like you breaking that salt line and fucking me over?"

"What!?" Sam asks with a plain face. "That was an accident."

Narrow eye on him, Lizzy says back, "I'm sure it was." She drops her bag and looks over to Dean. "I'm gonna go wait outside. Pack my shit and we can get the fuck outta here."

Lizzy stomps out of the room and slams the door behind her, leaving two very surprised people behind in her wake.

"She seem a tad bit upset to you?" Sam lightly asks over to Dean to break the tension.

"Dude," Dean shoots him a looks of sheer disappointment.

"What? What do you want me to say here?" Sam says back. "Clearly she thinks I set her up…"

"Did you?"

With Dean looking at him, his face set in stone suspicious and arms crossed over his chest, Sam starts to think he's been a bit transparent. Damage control time.

"I would never do that."

"You sure?" Dean continues to pry. "Because you've been pretty do-whatever-it-takes since you got out. You make me wonder, man."

Sam pauses for dramatic effect while doing his best bitchface by memory. "Lizzy is practically my sister. She's family, Dean. You remember what family is, right?"

"Oh, I remember," Dean emphatically returns. "I remember very, very clearly. I'm just not so sure that you do."

"All that I wanted was for you to get back on the road with me the second I was out," Sam continues to fight back against Dean's questioning of him. "I wanted my brother." He repeats what Dean said to him when they reunited, hoping to get back in his good graces.

"That's why you hid from me for a year?"

"No, I hid for a year so that you could be happy. Because I care about what happens to you and Lizzy and I want you to have what you want out of life." Puppy dog eyes in place he stares at Dean and goes in for the kicker. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to stay away that whole time? To let you think I was dead because I thought it was the only way to let you live a normal, apple pie life? Dean, it was awful."

The sad expression on Sam's face makes Dean second guess himself yet again. He's been back and forth constantly. First Sam puts Lizzy in danger then he gives him this whole speech about family and sacrificing for his brother's happiness. Shit. Why can't he just pick one way to feel about Sam and go with it? Why can't his gut just decide?

"I know, Sammy," Dean gives in because more than anything he just wants Sammy to be fine. He'll always overlook big issues to convince himself his little brother is ok.

And Sam relaxes. As long as family is a hot button topic for Dean he'll get by. His brother will never figure it out.

"Shit, alright," Dean looks around the room. "I'm gonna pack everything up and we better hit the road."

"Yeah, ok," Sam answers.

"Just give her a minute or two," Dean suggests. "She's just really moody right now. Hormones still off and all. She didn't mean it."

"So… this is like her time of the month?" Sam asks. "Bitchy one second, angry the next, then crying right after that?"

"It's gonna be a beautiful family road trip home," Dean smiles small and agrees.

"Alright, well, we'd better stop at the sporting goods store before we hit the highway then," Sam suggests as he joins Dean in packing up their room.

"For what?" Dean asks with confusion.

"I'm not going near her without a cup, man," Sam says and pauses to look at Dean with an arched eyebrow.

After he realizes Sam actually made a joke Dean laughs at this. Actually laughs. Hell, it was funny and too damn true to not be downright hilarious at the moment.

Sam huffs and keeps packing. They move quickly so as not to keep Lizzy waiting too long with her emotions rolling all over the place. As he cleans up the room he realizes Dean's looking relaxed around him again. For that alone he considers this a win even if he couldn't bag that alpha.

"Is the mutt home?" Dean asks Lizzy as they get out of the Impala after the seven hour drive.

"Why, did 'ya miss him?" she taunts with wide smile, knowing the answer.

"Shut up," Dean says in a silly tone as they both walk to the trunk to grab their bags. He then thinks about how much he does in fact want to see his dog. "Is he?"

"Yeah, he's in there," Lizzy says with a quiet laugh. "I was texting Jenny on the way home. She dropped him off a couple hours ago. They ended up keeping him the entire time we were gone. She said Brennan cried when he left."

"Yeah, those two love each other, don't they?" Dean says as he's seen his dog around the little boy enough to know there's definitely a mutual affinity there.

"So much," Lizzy laughs a little as she recalls the last time they saw them together. "And it broke Jenny's heart to separate them today. She mentioned how Brennan cried for a half hour after he was gone. He kept saying he wanted puppy. I think they should just suck it up and get a dog already."

Dean nods, knowing how happy it would make the little man as he hands Sam his duffel.

"How long you think we'll be here?" Sam wonders to his brother, not ready to sit still in this apartment and not hunt all the while continuing to pull the proverbial wool over Lizzy's eyes.

"Fuck, I don't know," Dean says in a harsh tone. "I just got home. I'm not even in the door and you want to hightail it outta town?"

"I just want to get to work," Sam shrugs as he turns to head for the front of the house as Dean shuts and locks the trunk. Lizzy takes a second and brings her arms around her husband's middle.

"Welcome home," she says with a very happy smile to him. "Stay as long as you want."

"I'm sure you'd love that," Dean plays right back.

"You know it," she raises her eyebrows once and gives him a quick peck on the lips. "Let's go see Cass."

Dean smiles down at her with the sound of this whole home and dog thing.

They head to the front where Dean unlocks the front door while he can see Cass jumping about frantically with excitement. The second he opens it up the dog flips, even barking with how excited he is to see his best buddies.

"Caaass!" Dean calls out as he immediately drops his bag and crouches down to the floor, petting his hyped up dog with absolute happiness. "Dude. I missed you, too."

"Jesus," Sam comments as he steps into the foyer around Dean and his dog. "Never thought I'd see the fucking day."

"Me neither," Lizzy grins wide as she watches.

Suddenly Cass looks over to Sam and backs up a step, growling up threateningly to him.

"Cass!" Dean shouts loudly at the pet with his reaction to Sam. This is the second time they've met and it's the second time he's growled at him. "Knock it off. Sam's cool."

The dog, confused by his owner's anger at him, retreats to the opposite side of Lizzy and keeps his distance between himself and Sam.

"What's wrong with you, buddy?" Lizzy asks him while leaning down, pulling him close to her as she scratches behind his ear. "You ok?"

Cass continues to stay away from Sam and sniffs at Lizzy, showing her affection and staying near to her.

Dean looks back and forth between the animal and Sam a couple times, knowing this can't be a good thing.

"And here I was always thinking you were the dog person of the two of us," Dean comments while standing up.

Sam just huffs a laugh and heads upstairs, leaving Lizzy and Dean to exchange uncomfortable looks with one another. Silently they head up after Sam, dropping their bags into their bedroom before plopping onto the couch with a grateful sigh each as Sam sits with his laptop open and already fired up. Lizzy sits closest to Sam and Cass settles himself right up next to her leg to clearly block Sam out.

"Oh my God!" Lizzy perks up suddenly after a moment of silence and enjoyment of being home and she sharply turns to look at Dean with her excitement. "Remember when you were worried I was gonna spoil Cass while you were gone and I said I fuck you and I would have him doing new tricks by the time you saw him next?"

"Yeah…" Dean sits forward and listens with a hint of excitement.

"Well check this shit out," she says with a wide smile plastered on her face. "Cass."

The dog looks up at her.

"It's Miller time!"

The second she says it he's off, disappearing from the room and heading down the hall.

"What's he doing?" Dean wonders when Cass is gone.

"Just wait for it." Lizzy grins so big with anticipation her cheeks hurt.

In a flash Cass is rounding the corner and heading right for her. He sits down at her feet with a can of beer in his mouth.

"Dude!" Dean shouts with pure love while totally impressed. "That is awesome!"

Lizzy takes the beer from Cass' mouth and passes it to Dean. "Not bad, huh?"

"Not at all," Dean smiles. "Cass. It's Miller time." And the dog is off again. When he comes back he sits right in front of Dean with his tail wagging happily, excited to make his owner so happy with a second beer can. "Oh man, you are so awesome, Cass!"

He takes the beer and pets him in thanks.

"Sammy? Beer?"

"Yeah," he answers, his face glued to the computer screen with a concentrated face.

"It's Miller time," Dean says again and Cass leaves for one more beer run. "Well done, L." He passes her one of the beers in his hand. They crack them open, clink cans, and each take a hefty sip.

"I knew you'd like this one."

"How does he get in the fridge?"

"Tied an old dish rag to the handle," she explains while sitting back and kicking off her boots. "He pulls it open with it and I keep the beer on the bottom shelf so he can reach."

"Color me impressed," Dean says as Cass comes back and sits in front of him again.

"Good boy," Dean cheers him on, scratching his head as he looks over to Sam. "Sammy."

He tosses the can and Sam catches it, cracking it quickly, taking a sip, and dropping it onto the coffee table to once more stare at his computer.

"You find some really good porn over there or something?" Dean asks his brother with his intensity aimed at the screen in front of him.

"Hmm?" Sam looks up and sees both Lizzy and Dean staring at him. "Ah, no. No porn. Looking at a possible hunt."

"We just got here," Dean asks with complete disbelief as he sits back on the couch like an upset child.

"Duty calls," Sam answers back without care and turns his computer to show Dean. "People are getting their chests cracked open in Wisconsin. Sounds like our kind of thing."

"Sam, can you at least give it a day? Please?" Dean just short of begs his brother. "I need a fucking day, man."

"Yeah, sure," Sam says succinctly as he shuts his laptop. "We'll just stay here so you can rest up while innocent people are killed. Sounds good."

Dean washes a hand down his face with pure frustration. Sam's point is far too valid and he knows his brother will simply leave without him tomorrow if he doesn't agree to come along. Damn it, he just wants to be home and recharge and be with his little family. Glancing to Lizzy and seeing the disappointment on her face, he sighs when she simply nods at him, understanding that he has to go. She doesn't want Sam out there alone at all after spending the past few days with him. He scares the crap out of her.

"Fine," Dean grits through his teeth, following it up with a hefty swig of beer. "But we're not leaving until after dinner tomorrow. I want home cooked food. And some time here."

"Seems fair," Sam nods once and gets up. The second he does Cass is running around the coffee table and sitting in front of Lizzy again, looking up at the stranger closely. Sam makes a wrinkled expression. "I don't think your dog likes me very much."

"I think you're right," Lizzy returns with, having noticed the same thing. Sam leaves the room to go to the bathroom and Lizzy looks down at Cass while petting his head. "Cass, what's the deal with you today? What's wrong?"

He just whines once and before burying his nose in her lap while sniffing at her stomach.

"I don't like that," Dean nods at their pet.

"Cass loves everyone," Lizzy adds on. "What's with the Sam-hate?"

"I don't know," he responds as he really doesn't get it.

Lizzy makes a hum of sad wonder as she continues to pet her dog.

"You seriously ok with this?" Dean out right asks her, thinking she can't possibly be this cool.

"You leaving?" Lizzy wants to clarify.

"Yeah."

"It seriously sucks," she tells him with all honesty. "But I get it. You can't stick around. We knew this would be the case when you left."

"Well if it helps I think it sucks too. Big time," Dean admits. "The cushion under my ass isn't even warm yet and he's chomping at the bit to amscray."

"Don't get all worked up," Lizzy stops him right away when she sees the growing anger. "This is officially a happy place until you leave tomorrow. No anger, no being bummed out because you're leaving, no Sam worries. Just hanging out, enjoying some time together, and maybe logging in some time in the bedroom away from weirdie-mc-skeevy-ton." And she gives him that look.

Dean stares at her for a second before smirking her way.

"What?" she wonders when he stands up to walk to the TV. He reaches behind the stand and unplugs the wireless connection from the wall before retaking his seat next to her. She's lost. "What?"

Dean just winks as Sam comes back into the room.

"Sammy, you mind doing the research tonight while I enjoy the homestead while I've got it?"

"Ah, sure," Sam answers as he sits in his chair, placing the laptop back onto his lap. "No problem."

"Thanks, man," Dean smirks as he takes a sip from his can and makes a face of mischief at Lizzy. They stay silent until Sam groans with frustration.

"You guys having problems with your connection lately?"

Lizzy does all she can not to laugh right then and there. Her husband is so smart. Brilliant, really.

"Oh yeah," Dean exaggeratedly tells them. "It's been a pain in the ass. Sometimes we'd go whole nights where it'd be down. Just wouldn't fire up again."

"Not until morning, usually," Lizzy nods and plays right along.

"Shit," Sam complains, closing his laptop. "I can't get any work done then."

"I really gotta call the company to get this fixed," Lizzy keeps feeding into everything.

"You should," Sam agrees with her. "I'm gonna head out and go to a coffee shop or something. Get some Wi-Fi."

"Sounds like a good idea," Dean nods when Sam glances up to him while packing up his computer and standing. "We'll leave the light on for you."

"Ah, ok," Sam absently says and starts to head out the room. He pauses and turns back to look at Dean. Once he remembers, Dean reaches into his jean's pocket and tosses the keys to Sam. He catches them and nods his goodbye.

Lizzy, with a wide grin, makes excited eye contact with Dean as they both listen to Sam's boots make their way down the hall, down the stairs, and to the door. The second they hear the front door shut they bolt up from their seats.

Taking the lead, Lizzy sprints out the doorway with Dean reacting just as quickly, just inches behind her. They run into the bedroom, Dean kicking the door shut with such force that the sound echoes in the small room.

"You're the smartest man alive!" Lizzy shouts as she jumps up onto him, her legs around his waist and arms around his neck. She practically devours his mouth the moment she's on him, praising him for his quick thinking.

"Whatever it takes to get you alone, sweetheart," Dean smiles so wide Lizzy wonders when the last time it was that she's seen that particular smile from him. It was a while ago.

With his hands grasping hard to her ass to keep her elevated, Lizzy licks her lips as she yanks at his long sleeved Henley, pulling out from under her wrapped legs so that she can make it fly over his head. He only lets go of her for the quick couple seconds it takes to untangle himself from his clothing, his hands landing hard on the round curves of her ass once more to make sure she stays in his arms.

While observing just how good he looks without a shirt on, Lizzy sighs with a wanting moan and gets an idea of her own.

"Want me to get the kimono?" she playfully asks as she kisses him one more time with sheer hunger.

"Ah, you sure about doing this?" Dean asks her, one hand still holding her up as his other comes to her cheek as he thinks back to that very morning. "You're not gonna run off on me and puke, are you? I won't survive that again."

Lizzy laughs a little at the question. "No, Hot Shot. I won't. I feel like shit for most of the day but by night time I seem to catch a break. I'm good to go."

His look of worry melts away into an expression of dark lust as he hears the good news. Dean drops her onto her feet, squeezing her ass with both hands again as he pulls her into him hard.

"Then why the hell aren't you wearing it already?" he challengers her.

"Good fucking question." Her eyes light up with that beautiful spark of excitement when she walks away from him and towards the closet. He watches her move while unbuckling the belt on his pants, letting himself marvel at her for a second. She moves with grace, something he's always admired about her. Mundane tasks always looked fluid, almost poetic when she did them. Her shirt and jeans make a pile on the floor atop her already shed boots and socks. The room only half lit as the sun sets outside, he takes a silent chick-flicky moment to himself. As her arms thread into the silky sleeves of the kimono while her back is turned he grins to himself a bit.

That is his. That's the woman he married, the woman who made him a one woman kind of man… a feat he previous assumed to be impossible. She changed his life, his world, and made him a better man by just simply being by his side. She showed him what true and honest love is as before her he didn't know it. He thought he did. Cassie had him enthralled for some time there and Lisa, well Lisa made him think that mind blowing sex alone might actually be what love is.

He was wrong.

But he knows it now. Lizzy steps out of her panties that she lowered once she had the kimono tied closed around her waist and he grins uncontrollably at the smooth, black and red patterned fabric. She bought that just to please him. She went all out on Halloween last year, dressing up in his fantasy just to see him have a good time. She's so concerned about making him happy… and she's the only one who's ever done that since his mother. John needed him to be his little soldier, Sam needed him to protect him, the world needed him to save it… but his mom was different. She did everything to make her little boy smile; cutting the crust off his sandwiches, bringing him to the zoo just the two of them while his dad had to work, reading to him every night before she sang him to sleep; no one has cared that much about making him smile other than his mother… until he met Lizzy.

"What's going on over there?" Lizzy asks when she turns around and sees how wrapped up in his head Dean is.

He just looks at her for a moment, the words just not forming right away. He had too many thoughts to pick just one to share.

"You make me happy," he says simply, summing up all of his current thoughts in one blanket statement.

Lizzy smiles her big toothy grin that made him fall for her in a second as she walks to him.

"Yeah?" she playfully asks as her arms circle his neck.

"Yeah," Dean answers back, lowering his pants after he realized he never did once he let his brain dig too deeply. "People don't usually care too much about the drifter passing through with two bucks to his name. Hadn't come across many people that actually gave a shit about me until I met you."

"Whoa," Lizzy says with wide eyes as she peers up at him. "Deep thoughts at a time when your girl is trying to get you naked." She jokes and Dean huffs a small laugh at this but retains his honesty.

"I mean it. You make me happy. No one's really done that or even cared to try since… since mom…"

He stops short, still having a near impossible time ever speaking about his mother. As Lizzy can fully understand this kind of loss, she pulls him in tighter and kisses him differently than before. She does it with care instead of need.

"You've always deserved better than what you've been given," Lizzy explains to him, a hand to either side of his face as she keeps him close. "I just want to make up for all of that as much as I can."

Smiling small with her kind words, Dean looks away for second. He may be getting better at saying how he feels but he's still not great at it. Not by any means. What's worse is she always knows what to say. She grew up with a very open mother and second mother (as she refers to Lou's mom) so speaking her emotions never was a problem. Chalk it up to one more way she helps him become a better person every day of his life.

"You haven't had it easy either," Dean points out when he looks back to her.

"Easier than you!" she immediately rebuts. "I had twenty years of a really beautiful, really good life. You only had four."

"It's not a damn contest, you know?" he arches an eyebrow at her and smiles.

"I know… I'm just saying you've barely had more than a few moments to breathe easy since you were a kid. I hate that." She shakes her head. "I hate that your life has been what it's been. I want to make whatever it is now better than the past."

"And I want the same for you." He looks her hard in the eyes and tells her, "And because of that… I'm not sure I can leave tomorrow."

Her wrinkled expression looks back up at him.

"You don't want this kind of life anymore," Dean tells her what she already knows. "And you deserve better."

It kills her to say it but she does anyways. "So does Sam. He's a fucking mess and I'm not sure it's him in there, or just him. You need to help him. I know what I deserve but I can't have it until he's back to as normal as we can get him. You don't leave with him tomorrow I'm gonna kick your ass out that door myself." She sighs and smiles up to him. "Our deal still stands. You fix him, you bring him home, and then we can get back what we want in life."

She kisses him again, looking to basically shut him up so that they can get back to where they were before he got all wrapped up in guilt and whatever else there is rambling in that head of his.

"Mm, and you know what I think I deserve right now?"

When she grins up to him with sheer mischief in her eyes Dean smirks right back down at her.

"I think I have a pretty good idea of what you deserve," he slickly tells her, shifting gears right back into desire and leaving his worries for another, less naked-Lizzy-involved time as he slides his hands over the fabric of the kimono she's wearing, feeling her bare skin through the silky material.

"Tell me," she asks of him, eyes looking to him for what she wants to hear.

He knows she means tell her what he was about to do to her. Instead of answer it that way, Dean simply says with a shrug, "Everything."

Lizzy smiles something uncontrollable with the sweet comment. "You know I was looking for some patented Winchester dirty talk, right?"

Dean huffs a quick laugh and pushes her back a few steps while leaning down to kiss her. When Lizzy's legs hit the edge of the bed she sits down on it.

"Since when did you become so open and able to talk?" she messes around a bit while scooting up the mattress.

"Since your ass won't ever shut up I have to be more talkative just to keep up," he digs, her overly chatty nature something he's been very open about not necessarily enjoying.

"Such a dick head," she faux scolds him and he settles on top her.

"No, but you want my dick head," Dean quips right back without missing a beat. Lizzy giggles with the comeback, her laugh cut off when he leans down and kisses her.