Mary drove for a solid hour before pulling into a roadside bar. Even after traveling with the boys for just a short amount of time, she was already oddly familiar with the type. She would enter in with Sam and Dean, usually being pushed to a booth with Sam before any sleazy men could hit on her. It was the type of place she would never have entered before she met her brothers. Tonight, it didn't matter that she was alone or that she wasn't twenty-one. All that mattered was that she was away from her brothers. Mary had thought that after everything that had happened in the past week, which felt more like a month to her, she'd want to spend time with Sam and Dean. She didn't expect to return to find out that she was one of the Lord's "true vessels."

"Hey there," an alcohol-soaked voice brought Mary away from her thoughts.

"No thanks," she said without looking up at the man. She had taken a seat at the bar but had yet to order herself a drink.

The man persisted, "come on, little lady. Let me get you a drink. Just one."

Mary rolled her eyes, "I said no thank you."

The man wouldn't take no for an answer. Mary felt the eyes of the bartender as well as some of the patrons at the bar begin to watch the ordeal. The man snaked his arm over the back of Mary's chair and leaned in even closer.

Mary pushed the man off her and stood from her seat, "leave me alone." She walked to the other side of the bar and took another empty seat. The man grumbled in annoyance before taking his drink to a table on the opposite side of the room.

"You okay?" a female voice asked her. Mary looked up to see the bartender standing in front of her, giving her an easy going smile.

"Yeah," Mary nodded, "can I just get a, uh, whiskey sour?"

She gave a genuine smile this time, "sure thing."

While the bartender made her drink, Mary observed the rest of the bar. It was empty for the most part, aside from a few drunk men dotted throughout the place and a man and woman at the bar.

"What brings you in?" the bartender asked as she slid Mary's drink to her, "I've never seen you before."

Mary took a sip before answering, "I was out for a drive, figured I'd stop by for a drink."

The bartender didn't say much more before she left to take care of the other customers. Mary was alone only momentarily before another drunk man approached her at the bar. This one was even harder to reject, as it was clear very few women had turned him down.

"Now, I know you're not trying to pick up this little lady," a male voice with a thick Texan twang said from the other side of Mary's car stool. The drunk man on her right finally removed his gaze from Mary's chest to look up at the man the voice had come from.

"What's it to you?" the drunk man slurred out.

The tall Texan let a laugh ring out, "what's it to me when a man tries to pick up my girl?" his tone was more serious at the end of his sentence. Mary stayed silent, waiting to see how the man's lie would turn out.

"My mistake," the drunk muttered before excusing himself.

Mary couldn't help but scoff. It figured a man would only accept her 'no' when it came from another man.

"You alright?" the Texan's voice softened when he spoke to Mary. She noticed the way he stepped away from her now that he was no longer posing as her boyfriend.

It was the second time she'd been asked that question since she arrived, and her answer was as much of a lie this time as it was before, "I'm fine."

"I'm sorry to-"

"It's fine. I appreciate it," Mary interrupted him. She dug into her jeans' pocket to pull out cash to pay for her drink.

"Let me," the man insisted, "you deserve it after not being able to enjoy your drink in peace."

Mary downed the last of her whiskey before standing. She thanked the Texan and stomped out the door of the bar.

While Mary was at the bar, Sam and Dean discussed the fate of their younger sister.

"She can't do this, Sam," Dean insisted. He was pacing around the war room while Sam sat at the large table. In the time since Mary had left, they had switched spots several times. Even though it had been several hours, they had yet to see Mary return nor had they come to a conclusion on what to do.

"She's being chased by several demons, who knows if Crowley is still coming after her. Maybe if she lets Chuck take the reigns, she'll be safe," Sam suggested.

"But it won't be Chuck. It'll be some Holy Spirit dude."

Sam cleared his throat, "I mean, technically, it's the same god."

"What?"

"One God, three persons," he explained.

Dean paused momentarily, "whatever. She's not doing it."

"Come on, Dean," Sam pleaded, "it's the best way to keep her safe. Having God on our bad side really isn't a great idea."

"And have her sign away her free will? No way," Dean huffed.

Sam started to interrupt him again, but another voice jumped in first, "Seriously? You're deciding my future without even including me in the conversation?" Mary stood at the entrance of the war room with her arms folded across her chest.

"Where the hell have you been?" Dean asked angrily.

"Out."

"Not good enough," Sam surprised everyone by interjecting.

Mary paused a moment, taken back by her brother's anger, "I went for a drive."

"It's not safe," Sam insisted. Mary rolled her eyes, "you're being hunted. You can't just disappear on us."

"I can handle myself, Sam."

"No, you-"

"I'm not a baby," she snapped, interrupting him.

Dean was quiet as he watched the exchange. Mary's claim that she could handle herself was all too similar to the ones Sam had made when he was her age. Dean had heard the conversation between Sam and their father a million times. It destroyed Sam's relationship with their dad. Dean had even been a part of the conversation after their dad disappeared. Sam seemed blind to the similarities.

"We were just worried, MJ," Dean said softly. Mary and Sam both turned to look at him.

There was a moment of silence before Mary rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever. I'm going to bed."

"Mary, wait," Sam called after her.

"Sam," Dean stopped him, "let her cool off."

"What?"

"Give her a little space," he sighed, "she's right. She's gotta be part of this." Sam was surprised by the new stance his brother seemed to be taking, "I'm not saying she should do it, but we can't decide for her. We gotta give her a chance to hear us out and decide for herself."

Sam nodded but remained silent.

"Give her some space," he said again, "she's pissed off. You'll just make her angrier if you push tonight." Sam knew his brother was right, though he was still hesitant to leave Mary alone that night.

"We should all get some sleep," Dean suggested, "it's been a long week. Let's just be glad she's safe."

Sam cleared his throat, "yeah, yeah… g'night."

"Night."

Once Sam had gone to his bedroom, Dean went to the kitchen to retrieve a glass of water. With the water in hand, he walked to Mary's room where he knocked on the door softly, "MJ?"

"What?" he heard her quiet voice call back.

He nudged the door open ever so slightly before asking, "can I come in?"

He heard her sigh before she said, "sure."

His head hung low as he stepped in the room. When he made eye contact with her he raised the glass and said, "I thought you could use this."

"Wh-"

"You smell like cigarettes and booze," Dean clarified. She surrendered and took the water. Dean hesitantly sat on the edge of her bed, while she positioned herself upright against the headboard.

"Are you mad?" she asked quietly. Dean was surprised by the way she humbled herself with him.

"About the bar?" he offered a light chuckle, "I did worse than that when I was younger than you." Mary smiled at his casualness. "You take off like that again though, Sammy won't be so easy to calm down."

Her smiled lessened, "he's pretty pissed at me."

"We both were," Dean stated honestly, Mary pulled her legs up against her chest, fearing he'd start yelling again. "MJ, you gotta understand… this past week, not knowing where Crowley took you… it's been hell on us."

Mary scoffed, "hell is one way to put it."

"That's where you were," she looked at him, surprised, "you do know that, right?"

"I wasn't positive…"

"That was hell, sweetheart."

"It felt like I was there for weeks," she said, looking over her knees at her older brother, "I thought it would never end."

Mary's honesty surprised her brother. He was used to the Winchesters who bottle up all of their emotions and refuse to talk about anything. Dean was most familiar with the strong, unbreakable facade she wore around him, but the way she spoke allowed him to see her honestly.

"Samm and I," he began, carefully choosing his words, "we're not great at talking about what we've been through," he relaxed when he saw his sister crack a small smile, "but with a job like ours, we've both been to hell and back. Literally." This elicited a light chuckle from Mary, "Crowley is a dick. A royal dick. I don't know what exactly he did to you, but I know it wasn't good. When you're ready, you can talk to us." Dean surprised himself with his own words.

"When did you get so nice?" Mary asked with a laugh.

Dead chuckled, "when I was terrified my baby sister was dead."

They both paused at his affectionate words, each unsure of where their relationship stood.

Dean finally broke the silence, "I'm sorry, about the way I yelled at you."

"Dean-"

"No," he wouldn't let her interrupt, "you were right. Being a vessel, it's your decision. I can't really stop you."

"I never said I was going to say yes," Mary tried to interject, but Dean continued to speak over her.

"MJ, I just think it's a bad idea. You'd be signing your life away. Me and Sam, we'll keep you safe," Mary tried again but he continued to ramble, "they make it sound like you're so important because you're a possible vessel… but to them, you're just a disposable meat suit."

"Dean!" she finally got his attention, "I haven't made up my mind about anything. I didn't even know what a vessel was until today, much less that I am one."

Dean sighed in relief.

"Can you and Sam, please, just give me some time to process all this? I just got back from a week in hell and suddenly God is telling me I'm one of his vessels, it's a lot to take in."

Dean nodded, glad that at least for now she hadn't decided to consent to being a vessel, "yeah, okay," he stood from the bed, "get some sleep, you must be exhausted."

Almost as if on cue, Mary yawned, "G'night, Dean."

Dean walked to the door, "Goodnight, MJ," he stopped when he reached the door and turned back to face her, "oh and kid."

"Hm?"

"No more bars."

Mary rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

~~~~~~ sorry it's been ages. College is a lot of work man. Leave comments/reviews on what you think Mary will do. Think she'll become the Holy Spirit's vessel? ~~~~~~~~