There was nothing to be found in the old barn. All traces of evidence were wiped away by the time they finally got to it. Not even a scrap of straw was left on the floor. There was no sign as to who wound up walking away: the demon or the hunter? As the week progressed, Gwen began to withdraw. She avoided any kind of alone time with Dean, and often went for walks or "grocery" shopping with Sam. It wasn't on purpose – more her subconscious way of putting an end to her growing attraction for Dean.

He didn't see it that way, of course. Now, more than ever, Dean believed the two were interested in each other. He didn't say a word about it, though, so neither Sam nor Gwen realized that every time they closed a hotel door leaving Dean behind, it was one more needle to the heart.

When all three of them were together, Gwen was quiet. Still as sarcastic as ever, but more reserved than she had been. And as unlikely as it had seemed, she began to seek out one night stands even more. Each night she would be in a bar, presenting herself as the fun-loving party girl without a care in the world.

That is, until the night Sam vanished.

They'd caught wind of a disappearance in Hibbing, Minnesota. Sam and Dean dressed as state sheriffs so Gwen had worn a deputy-in-training outfit to question the young witness. After some particularly "witty" banter between Dean and the boy, Evan, about godzilla movies, they finished up their questions and headed out to a local bar, Kuegel's Keg. Immediately upon entering, Gwen peeled off from the two of them and headed straight for the bar, where she was quickly joined by a pair of biker boys.

She giggled and joked and sipped on free drinks, basking in attention. At one point she saw Sam wave from across the room and she raised a hand in response – her code for finding her own way back to the motel. So when Dean rushed up to her minutes later saying he couldn't find Sam, Gwen had raced away from the guys and out into the parking lot. Sam was gone.

They went to file a missing person's report. Dean used his state sheriff badge to try and coax the deputy to work a little harder. Both claimed to be Sam's cousins.

"Samuel Winchester." Kathleen read aloud. "So you know that his brother, Dean Winchester, died in St. Louis. And, uh, was suspected of murder."

Dean tried to look nonchalant, "Yeah, Dean. Kind of the black sheep of the family. Handsome, though."

"Also incredibly full of himself." Gwen looked pointedly at him.

Dean made a poor attempt at a laugh and turned back to the deputy. It was his sweet talking that allowed them to travel with her. Even after she caught him in his lie about being a sheriff. Kathleen agreed to continue looking for Sam because she had once lost her own brother, as she later revealed to the pair. When they found a turn off from the main road, she wanted the two civilians to stay at the car. They refused, of course. Kathleen asked that they promise not to get involved and let her handle everything, which they did.

"Shake on it." She demanded, holding her hand out to Dean. He gripped her hand to shake, and she clicked a handcuff on his arm.

"Oh, come on." Dean grumbled.

Kathleen took Gwen's hand next and when she looked down, she found herself handcuffed to him. Of course. Because why the fuck not?

"Let's go, you two." Kathleen gestured toward the road and they walked back to the car. She unlocked Gwen's cuff and slipped it through the handle of the driver's door, then clicked it back onto her wrist and started walking away.

"This is ridiculous. Kathleen, I really think you're going to need our help!" Dean called after her.

"I'll manage. Thank you." She locked the door and walked away.

He patted at his pockets, "I gotta start carrying paper clips."

Gwen rolled her eyes, fingers ducking into her hair and withdrawing a bobby pin, holding it up for him to see. She tucked the end between her teeth, pulling the protective blob of plastic off the metal before bending it open and sticking it into the lock.

"You got another one of those?"

"Really? You can't wait two seconds?" she smirked as the cuff clicked open.

Dean pulled the loose cuff through the handle, taking the offered pin and setting to work. It took a few minutes to creep through the woods, past a house and into a barn on the back of the property. Inside they found Sam and Kathleen in cages with electronic locks. Dean went to find the key to unlock the electric panel while Gwen stayed in the barn to see if there was another way to open the cages.

"You're telling me that some guy got the drop on you?" Gwen raised a brow at Sam while looking around the barn.

"It happens. What, you think you would have done better?"

She chuckled. A few minutes later, a dirty hick came into the barn with a rifle. Gwen slowly circled behind him as he unlocked Sam's cage and walked over to open it. The door creaked open and he raised the gun. Gwen rushed forward and launched herself onto his back as Sam drove his shoulder into the man's stomach. The gun went off in the struggle, but they got him down quickly. When Sam went to shoot him, the gun jammed. They shoved the redneck into the cage and locked it, then let Kathleen out.

They didn't have long before two more men came into the barn. The three of them were able to take them out quickly. Gwen headed for the house once a second man was caged, the third lying on the ground under the watchful eye of Kathleen's gun.

She met Dean in front of the house, "What happened to you?"

"Ah, this girl caught me sneaking around. Told her dad, who nearly melted my eye with a red hot poker. Nothing I couldn't handle."

Sam and Kathleen joined them shortly. She called in to the station after telling them that the father of the group had been shot while trying to escape.

"So, state police and the FBI are gonna be here within the hour. They're gonna wanna talk to you. I suggest that you're both long gone by then."

Dean smiled, "Thanks. Hey, listen, I don't mean to press our luck, but we're kind of in the middle of nowhere. Think we could catch a ride?"

"Start walking." She answered, "Duck if you see a squad car."

"Sounds great to me," said Sam. "Thanks."

"You know, I can't even say that was the worst thing I've done around Valentine's Day." Gwen snorted, "I've had some pretty bad V-Day dates."

They laughed and the trio started down the private drive back towards the main road. They were quiet for a moment when Dean spoke, "Never do that again."

"Do what?" asked Sam.

"Go missin' like that."

Sam laughed, "You were worried about me."

"Panicked." Chimed in Gwen. "Completely terrified."

"All I'm saying is, you vanish like that again, I'm not looking for you."

Gwen rolled her eyes, "Right. I believe that for a second."

"I'm not." Dean insisted.

Sam chuckled. "So, you got sidelined by a thirteen year old girl, huh?"

"Oh, shut up."

"Just saying. Getting rusty there, kiddo."

Dean snickered, "Shut up."

Sam laughed. Gwen shook her head, "You just gotta take a page from my book, Dean. Let my history be a lesson to you. Never trust a little girl."