For my reviewers: Elm Treigh, Egyptian Kiss, Alyssa43 and bonniebeast

Adiana was bored out of her mind. Stakeouts, she decided, were the worst part of any hunt. Granted, she was glad to be in her regular clothes again, but while they were more comfortable to wear, they did nothing to keep her entertained. Still, this was the first hunt she was taking a lead in, so she was determined to do the job and do it right. She focused all of her attention on Mark McDonnell's house. They had parked the Impala across the street between two houses so they had a clear view of the McDonnell residence and could remain inconspicuous too. Already it had been almost two hours, and the front door showed absolutely no movement.

"I'm sorry." Sam's voice pulled Adiana out of an almost trance-like state. Her eyes flickered between him and the house for a moment, but then rested on him with a touch of confusion.

"What?"

"I never apologized for that." He gestured to her face with a wave of his fingers. The dark bruises had begun to show again through the fading cover up. "I'm sorry." She put a hand to her cheek, lightly brushing the puffy skin and laughed.

"Sam, you were possessed. As far as I'm concerned, you didn't give me these. Meg did." He shrugged.

"I know, but… well it was my body. All the things that happened… it's come back to me, you know? And what I said, that wasn't what I really think. Dean wouldn't cheat on you. He cares a lot about you, more than I've seen for anyone else." Adiana knew that Sam meant it. He hadn't lied to her yet, and she didn't think that he would start now. It was a nice thing to hear, and although she had known that Dean wasn't cheating, it meant a lot hearing it from Sam all the same. She smiled.

"Thanks, Sam." He nodded and turned back to the window. Quiet settled back into the Impala, but Adiana couldn't quite return to her scan of the house. Something was bugging her. Sam had apologized for Meg's lie about Dean's infidelity, but he hadn't mentioned anything about her proclamation that Sam had feelings for her. If he remembered it now, why wouldn't he have brought that up? Sure it might be a little embarrassing to say, but in that case he could have just told her that everything Meg had said was a lie. "Anything else?"

"What?" He didn't sound nervous, but Adiana noted a sudden tension that ran through his shoulders, so she pressed forward.

"I was just wondering if there was anything else you wanted to clarify, you know… about anything Meg said that you remember?"

"Um, like what?" She hesitated, shuffling in her seat. She didn't want to come right out and ask him about it. Oh, well, I was just wondering if you liked me because Meg also mentioned that. No, I know you like me Sam, I mean like like. Because that wouldn't sound conceited at all. Still, there was that weird episode in the library. He'd been so adamant that she "looked good" and then suddenly hurried off.

"I don't know. Just… anything."

"Nope." All right, that sounded less than convincing. Unless it was all in her head? She just wanted to know for sure. If he had no feelings for her, then hey great. They could move on and push the whole incident out of their minds. But if he did… well... It was true that she still thought he was attractive. A lot of girls would, right? He was a great guy, and she'd always hold a bit of a torch for him. But this didn't change the fact that she was in love with Dean. She just wanted to talk to Sam, so that he could hear from her directly. If that was even the case, which she wasn't sure of yet.

"Nothing… at all?" Why wouldn't he look at her, even just for a moment? That above all was keeping her interested.

"No. Why?" She bit her bottom lip pensively. How to bring this up… God, this was so difficult.

"Just something Dean said. He um… he mentioned that sometimes demons will tell the truth if they know it'll get to you, so I thought if there was anything else you'd like to just… get out there…"

"Oh…" He trailed off into silence. His hands were clenched, she noticed. His knuckles were practically white, bones protruding as he gripped the sledgehammer in his lap. Had they been like that before? She couldn't dance around the point much longer.

"Sam?"

"Yeah?" She paused. A deep breath.

"Look at me." It wasn't a demand, just a request, but her chest tightened as she said it. Her stomach felt like she was on a roller coaster, poised at the top of a hill, ready to shoot down the other side. She crossed her arms over her chest. His lips sounded dry as they parted.

"I think – Hey!" As he nodded toward the house, Adiana reluctantly directed her attention out through his window. The front door of the house had opened, and Mark McDonnell stood on the front step of his porch. Judging from the rapid rising and falling of his shoulders, he was breathing heavily and hard anger was etched into his face. A fight with his wife, perhaps? Whatever the reason, it had driven him outside and should he choose to go for a walk, the baykok might show itself. Although she'd spent most of the stakeout in anticipation of this moment, Adiana found herself wishing that he'd turn around and go back inside. Oh well, maybe she could talk to Sam later. Or maybe it was a good thing that they didn't. She had a bad habit of overanalyzing things anyway.

Mark shuffled around on the porch, most likely debating if he wanted to go back inside. One glimpse inside a window and he seemed to think better of it. Instead, he started down the porch steps two at a time and strode across his lawn. Adiana reached for the plastic canister of gasoline by her feet. On the drive over, they'd decided it would be best just to bring the sledge hammer and gasoline along. If they tracked the baykok back to its lair, it was going to be very difficult to find again in the dark. She hadn't been thrilled with her lack of weaponry until Sam pointed out that the baykok could only be harmed by breaking bones and the canister was certainly heavy enough to do that. Time for her developing upper body strength to pay off some.

They waited after Mark had gone down the street until he was nearly out of sight. Then by unspoken agreement, they both got out of the Impala and followed him on the opposite sidewalk. Adiana had the gasoline in one hand and a flashlight ready in the other. If they were in the woods, it was going to be extremely dark and there wouldn't be any chance of them catching the baykok then. The flashlights might give away their location, but it was a better option than running blindly into a tree. Houses began to thin out as they walked, patches of trees growing into dense clumps. Mark was nothing more than a shadowy silhouette far in front of them, drifting in and out of patches of moonlight. A shadowy silhouette that was suddenly staggering. From the edge of the woods, a shrill cry of victory shot through the night. Adiana and Sam started to sprint as Mark hit the ground, succumbing to the poison of an unseen arrow. They had to be fast. The lore had specified the inhuman speed of the baykok.

Unless they had misjudged this situation, for Mark began to move on the ground with a smooth rolling motion over onto his side. He straightened up into a sitting position only… only he didn't seem to be using his arms at all. His body jerked up suddenly and flopped over in mid-air, curving as if he had just jumped from a springboard.

"What's happening?" asked Sam, never hesitating despite the unexpected turn of events. Adiana had a bit more misgivings and might have stopped had Sam not kept running.

"I don't know." Another shriek pierced the air so high in pitch that Adiana's ears throbbed. It came from just ahead, almost sounding like it had emanated from Mark.

"Can they turn invisible?"

"No." At least, Adiana really hoped they couldn't. None of the books or websites had mentioned anything. Mark's body hovered above the ground and then took off into the trees with, they could only assume, the baykok taking the lead. As they followed the floating figure, her mind raced with all the information she had gathered.

Skeleton-like creature. It was unsettling how quickly the light began to fade as they made their way deeper into the woods. Two flashlights clicked on. Faster but not stronger than it had been in life. Sam had his flashlight trained on Mark, so Adiana angled her towards the ground, illuminating any tree roots or rocks to avoid. Used a club or arrow to render victims unconscious. The canister of gasoline tugged at her arm as it hit a low-slung tree branch, and she pulled it in closer to her body. An angry shriek from the baykok, but still there was no sight of it. Attacked warriors, but only appeared to one at a time. Hang on. An idea flashed through Adiana's mind, and there was only one way to test her theory. She flipped the flashlight in her hand so the beam was pointed by her feet. It would be of no use, but this was more important. She put on an extra spurt of speed to catch up to Sam and grabbed onto the sleeve of his jacket. Her steps needed to be nearly two for his one, but she was going to have to stay right next to him even if he was the better runner.

"Don't me let crash into a tree!"

"Why would you-" Adiana shut her eyes quickly. "Wait, how—I can see it!" Oh good. Well at least it worked. On the other hand, her balance was shifting and running blind was making her incredibly nervous. One wrong step and it was a broken ankle, and she had no desire to leave Sam to take this on alone.

"Some of the books said that the baykok 'only appears to one warrior at a time'. I guess they meant that literally." She skidded on a rock, eyes flashing open instinctively before she could shut them again. Ugh, why couldn't the baykok nest in a nice field where she wouldn't be an inch away from stumbling or smacking into a tree?

"Yeah… wait what?"

"I have my eyes closed." Adiana gasped as she felt his muscles shifting beneath her hand. "You're the only thing keeping me… from face planting… into the ground." She took heavy breaths between her words and knew then that she needed to stop talking. Running was taking enough out of her as it was, and she didn't know how much longer they were going to be at it. Already she had the sinking feeling that she was slowing Sam down, and she just hoped that Mark was doing the same to the baykok. The occasional shriek passed from the baykok's mouth, and the creature did seem to be getting closer. And closer. And… moving upwards? Sam stopped short. Adiana was wrenched forward and would have fallen if she hadn't been holding onto his arm so tightly.

"You didn't… say it could fly," Sam breathed. Adiana felt a sinking feeling in her gut.

"Let me see." She opened her eyes, tilting her head back. All she could make out was a small patch of sky between thick branches. Maybe her eyes needed to adjust to the darkness more? But then Sam closed his eyes, and she saw it floating up through the trees. Its skin was a sickly ashen shade, pulled so tight that the bones jutted out along a skeleton that had once been human. Mark was slung over its shoulder, apparently rendered nearly weightless by the creature. Maybe it had decided that running was no longer its best option. The baykok suddenly glanced down, its eyes just pinpricks of red-illuminated sunken eye sockets, and screamed before disappearing through the trees. "It went this way." Adiana yanked on Sam's arm and they started running again. She didn't bother closing her eyes. The trees were so close together that they formed a ceiling above their heads. No more cries came, and it was impossible to tell if they were even heading in the right direction anymore. Eventually, they just had to stop. "Sam, wait. Wait." Sam stopped as Adiana leaned back against a tree.

"You okay?" He turned his flashlight so the beam was near enough to illuminate her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine but… we just have to think about this for a sec." Adiana set the gasoline jug on the ground and rubbed her free hand over the burning muscles in her thigh. "We don't even know if we're going the right way, and we could be lost all night. And I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." Guilt wracked her body, mixing with the adrenaline in an unsteady sensation. If Mark McDonnell died, it was going to be on her. "I just… the flying, it showed up in less than twenty percent of the research so I thought that someone just made it up or something. I screwed everything up." Sam shook his head.

"Hey, it's not your fault."

"But I-"

"No. If something doesn't show up that much in the lore, we usually don't pay that much attention to it. And even if we knew the baykok could fly, we wouldn't have been able to stop it."

"But if Mark dies-"

"He's not gonna die, and if he does, you couldn't have stopped it." Adiana nodded. "Now we're going this way," he pointed the way they had been running, "because that's the way the baykok first went, so it's the best chance we have. Okay?"

"Yeah." She picked up the gasoline and took a deep breath, training her own flashlight once again on the ground. "Yeah, let's go." And they started moving again, only jogging this time.

Adiana felt a bit better, but not much. One thing was for sure, she was never making this mistake again. She wasn't going to discount any lore unless there was good proof to counter it. At least Sam hadn't been upset with her. As if he'd actually tell her if he was. It made a little more sense now, why he'd been so upset that he couldn't save everyone. After all, wasn't that just her initial reaction? But she was going to have to get past it, and so would he.

"That was good advice, by the way. Maybe you should listen to yourself a bit more," she suggested as they moved further into the forest, flashlights swinging around in search of a place for a baykok to hide. "You know about not being able to stop someone from dying, that sort of thing," she continued when Sam didn't respond.

"I think it's a good thing you're taking time away from my brother," Sam replied, "because you're starting to sound like him." Adiana smiled for the first time in hours. She cleared her throat, trying to make her voice as gruff as possible.

"You call that running, Sammy? This isn't Baywatch. C'mon, let's move."

"Oh God, please stop."

"Only because you said please." And because they should really be listening for the baykok. There hadn't been any shrieking, but the cracking of bones was supposed to be audible as well. Her flashlight traced the ground, flickering up into the trees which began to thin out to her left. "I think the logging company's been in here." The beam of Sam's flashlight swept past hers.

"Looks like it. We should be close then." Their jog slowed to a quick walk. So, what could this lair possibly be? Something large enough for a baykok to hide in with a body, but nothing that a hiker would try to get into. Unremarkable-looking then. But there were no rock formations or anything, just plenty of trees and stones. Familiar stones.

"Sam." Adiana crouched in a space between trees. By her feet was a line of palm-sized sandstone rocks. The coroner had said they were common, but these were the first she had noticed. She picked up one, flipping it over in her hand. Still no writing or anything helpful that she could see. As Sam squatted next to her, she passed the sandstone to him. Her fingers brushed pine needles and dead leaves away from the other rocks, dirt gathering on her skin. But dirt wasn't the only thing her hands revealed. A corner of thatched sticks poked up through a bedding of needles. Adiana leaned forward and swept the debris away until she uncovered a woven door of branches. Carefully, she pulled the door aside and leaned it up against a tree. A hole had been dug into the ground, large enough for a man to get through and then some.

"I think we found our baykok hideout." Sam shone his flashlight into the hole. The light barely touched the floor. It was a long drop and no ladder. Of course not. The baykok could fly.

"What are we going to do?" Adiana and Sam considered the problem in front of them. Sam dropped his hammer down into the hole. It hit the bottom with a heavy thump.

"We're going in."

"Are you sure, because that's a really long-" Sam swung his legs over the edge and dropped down through the gap. "…fall." Adiana winced as Sam hit the ground and staggered. "And we have no way of getting back up," she mumbled. "But you know, just details." Sam swung his flashlight around and looked back up at her.

"There's a tunnel," he hissed quietly so as not to alert the baykok, assuming it hadn't heard them already.

"Great um… why don't you go check it out, and I'll stay up here so we're not stuck… No, wait." Adiana changed her mind as Sam ducked into the tunnel and out of sight. He poked his head back out. "If something happens, I'm not going to be able to get help fast enough anyway. Catch." She tossed the canister of gasoline down, and Sam grabbed it.

Sam set everything on the ground and held out his arms. Adiana shifted so that she was sitting on the edge. This was the second time she'd had to fall and trust him to catch her. Hopefully this wasn't going to become a regular thing. But she'd been higher last time, and he'd managed. She shuffled along the rim.

"Well, here goes nothing." Then, she pushed off. Free falling with her hands clamped around her flashlight in a vice-like grip, and then strong arms stopped her from hitting the ground. "Sam, we have to stop meeting like this," she teased, but with relief.

"Yeah, I guess." Sam smiled awkwardly and set Adiana down on the ground where she picked up the gasoline and let him take the lead down the tunnel. They picked their way through tree roots, probably used for keeping the dirt walls packed in. Ahead of them came the creaking sound of bones. They froze. So they'd found the right place. He clicked his flashlight off. She hesitantly did the same, leaving them in pitch-black darkness. Again they crept forward, guided by their hands along the walls and slow shuffling footsteps. At least the baykok wasn't coming after them. Yet. Creeping fear slithered under Adiana's skin. She hated going in blind, but at least they knew that the creature was in front of them. If there was only one of them. She shivered as a chill ran down her spine. Oh please, let there only be one of them.

Up ahead, light flickered. A fire, maybe? The baykok couldn't see perfectly in the dark, and removing a liver was delicate work. Sam's silhouette was discernible through the blackness, and she took some comfort from the sledgehammer swinging in his grip. She could do this. They could do this. She'd screwed up once already. Failure now, as far as she was concerned, wasn't an option. Sam halted just outside the patch of light on the floor, pressing himself up against the wall. Adiana followed suit but tilted her head out to get a glimpse of the room in front of them. It was about twice as wide as the tunnel and all of the roots had been cleared aside. Mark lay on the floor, his shirt pulled open to reveal his bare chest which rose and fell restfully. Next to him was a rusting insect repellent lamp which sputtered every few minutes. A heavy wooden club rested against the wall next to another tunnel, but apart from that, the room was empty. No baykok. Sam's breath abruptly brushed against her ear.

"Stay here." Adiana nodded and watched apprehensively as he set his flashlight down and stepped out into the glow of the lamp. He skirted Mark's body and made for the other tunnel. Bones crackled, echoing loudly in the near silence. Adiana tensed and shut her eyes. The baykok was coming back. Sam backed up against the wall, holding the hammer in both hands. His eyes were trained on the blackness, and out of it stepped the baykok.

Its bones were dark black shadows beneath the skin, shifting as it moved. A long sliver blade protruded from one hand. It went two steps into the room, beady red eyes focused on its prey when Sam swung. The hammer should have connected, but the baykok heard the whistle of the tool through the air and it danced aside. The creature shrieked shrilly. Adiana thought her eardrums might have popped. She dropped her gear and slammed her hands over her ears. Luckily for her, the baykok was too focused on Sam to notice the sound. It skirted, nearly floated, around Mark as Sam swung the hammer again but the spirit was too quick. With a flash of silver, the baykok threw a knife through the air, embedding in the hammer but not cutting all the way through as the baykok had intended. They continued to circle the body on the floor. The baykok was unwilling to ruin its meal, and Sam wasn't about to hurt the man either. The creature made a dive for its club, giving Sam another chance with the hammer. This time it connected. Bones splintered in its shoulder, jutting out of ripped skin. The baykok retaliated with a strike of the club, hitting Sam solidly on his upper back. Adiana winced at the sound. That was going to leave a serious bruise. The two went back to circling each other, around and around like caged lions.

Adiana shifted restlessly. She couldn't just sit here and listen to what was happening. Then she was just useless, and as much respect as she had for Sam, she didn't like the odds. They were on the baykok's turf, and it was an extremely fast warrior spirit. And they just kept circling and circling. Sam's footsteps would pass and the lighter steps of the baykok. Never taking their eyes off each other. That's it! Silently, she felt along the ground and picked the gasoline jug from where she had dropped it. This had better work because she only had one shot. Seizing the canister firmly in both hands, she lifted it up over her shoulder. Soft crunching sounds on the packed earth. Okay, one… two… She stepped up to the end of the tunnel just as the baykok moved in front of her. Sam understood in that second what she was going to do and he shut his eyes. Three. Adiana's eyes flashed open and she brought the gasoline over her head and down with as much force as she could muster. It hit the back of the baykok's head with a sickening crunch. Stunned, it stumbled forward. That was the chance Sam had needed. Adiana's eyes flicked shut again as Sam opened his. His hammer arched and slammed into the creature's head. The skin tore, and the skull went flying, ripped clean from the neck. The rest of the body staggered and fell on its side. Skeleton hands tried to push it back up, but Adiana heard the scrambling on the floor and leapt forward, jumping on it. Ribs broken beneath her feet. Just bones, not a human. Just bones, she repeated to herself to ward off the nauseous feeling as she jumped up and down again for good measure. But then Sam had come around to help her, and she backed off to let him destroy the skeleton.

"I got this," he assured her between hammer strokes. "Why don't you see what's down there?" He nodded toward the tunnel the baykok had come from before realizing that her eyes were still shut. "In the other tunnel. Might be a way out."

"Sure." Adiana opened her eyes once her back was turned went back for her flashlight and left the gasoline with Sam as he yanked the knife out of his hammer and continued the heavy rain of blows on what remained of the baykok. The second tunnel was much like the first, and she had to pick her way around roots again. There was a small area carved out where a pile of old bones rested. Perhaps warriors that had woken up, or just people that had stumbled in. There was a niche above one of the branches that just about matched the length of the knife. Must have been why the baykok had been down there in the first place. She continued on, the ground slanting upward beneath her feet carrying her up through a shrinking tunnel. It would have been a promising sign, except for the wall of earth covering the end of the tunnel. Adiana shone her flashlight over it. Dead end. But why continue the tunnel to this point at all?

She tilted the flashlight beam upwards. No, that was solid ground. She scanned the dirt in front of her again, and this time she saw it. A hole near the top of her head. She reached up and stuck her hand in, pulling dirt back with it. The soil was loose and came down easily in her hands. Again, she reached and brushed away more dirt. The hole widened until it was large enough that Adiana could have easily fit her head through. Then, the dirt began to rain down and she backed away as it spilled from the ceiling and the packed wall in front of her, tumbling like an avalanche. When it had cleared, there was an opening large enough that even Sam would be able to climb through it. Curious, Adiana clambered over the dirt, crawling out into the open air. The tunnel led out to a large dirt pile created, evidently, by a bulldozer resting only a few feet away. So the logging company had disturbed the baykok after all. It had come knocking right on its back door. No wonder it had been pissed. She sighed, kicked aside some of the dirt with her foot. They'd turned its home into a gopher hole.


"I don't know about you," Adiana groaned, leaning back against the seat of the Impala, "but I am definitely going to be in a world of pain tomorrow." After burning the baykok's bones, she and Sam had carried a thoroughly unconscious Mark McDonnell back through the path the loggers had made. They'd managed to drag him with one of his arms over each of their shoulders, but he wasn't exactly light and they'd already used up most of their energy. Once they got back to the main road, Adiana called his wife on Mark's cell and they hid across the street until she pulled up in her car. Took one look at her husband and instead of helping him, pulled out her phone and started calling everyone in the phone. In Dean's car, the excitement of the night was wasting down leaving Adiana feeling sore all over.

"That's for sure." Sam stopped at an intersection, taking the few seconds to stretch his back where the baykok had struck him. "But hey, we saved Mark McDonnell's life."

"Very true. So it was worth it."

"And great work on your first case by the way." Adiana laughed.

"Our first case. No way I could have done that without you, but thanks."

"Hey, how about we get a drink to celebrate?" Adiana looked over at Sam. He was paying attention to the road and didn't glance over. He seemed serious.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Uh, well I appreciate the offer but I'm covered with dirt. And it's-" she checked the clock, "-almost midnight, and I feel like I could sleep for a year."

"C'mon, just one? It'd probably make you feel less like you've been doing a hard core marathon." Sam's features melted easily into that sweet, pleading look he did so well.

"Well, I'm powerless against the puppy dog face, so yeah." Adiana grinned at him. "Let's live a little." He matched her smile. She pulled her legs up onto the seat and rested against the door. It couldn't hurt to stay out just a little longer. Besides, this was something to celebrate. She'd proved that she could do the job. Maybe not perfectly, but well enough for her first go-around. And she would kill for something that was going to numb the protests of her tired muscles. And what did it matter if she looked a mess? Wasn't like she had anyone to impress, and Sam had seen her look a lot worse. Covered in ectoplasm, for example. Now that had been disgusting.

They pulled in at Clear Lake Bar. Despite the late hour and relatively small town, the bar was still busy. Motorcycles were lined up against one of the walls and spilled over into the car slots. Most of those were taken up also by cars of all makes and models. The bar itself was made of clean cut wood, painted dark red. Must be making a good chunk of money, but then again it was probably the only bar in town. It was the only one Adiana had noticed at least. She ran her hands through her hair a few times before opening the car door. Sam, however, made no move to get out.

"Are you coming?"

"Yeah. I'm just gonna call Dean." Sam took out his cell and began punching in numbers. "He's probably wondering where we are."

"Oh, good idea. I'll see if I can find us a table in the meantime." Adiana hopped out of the Impala and shut the door behind her. The inside of the bar was just as busy as it looked on the outside. Staff and customers milled about with drinks, chatting over the music that came from a local band staked out on the stage. Well, this didn't look promising. "Excuse me." She shuffled around a waitress with a tray of empty glasses. She found herself repeating that phrase over and over as she waded between people, tables and semi-circular booths, until to her surprise she saw what looked to be an open booth. She slipped around another waitress and discovered that the booth wasn't empty after all. But she wasn't disappointed, only confused.

"Hey babe. I've been waiting for you all night."

"Dean?" Dean grinned at her.

"That's my name."

"Wha… what are you doing here?" Adiana glanced around to make sure she wasn't just having some sort of weird over-tired hallucination. "I thought you were sick."

"Yeah." He shrugged. "Not so much."

"Um, excuse me." A group of women were trying to get past Adiana, the leader looking at her expectantly. Adiana slid into the booth, sliding all the way over next to Dean to let the women pass. Her nose crinkled as she caught the strong scent of alcohol.

"How much have you been drinking?" Dean furrowed his brow, staring at the glass of beer in front of him.

"I don't know. I've been here since like… eight."

"Eight? You've been drinking by yourself for four hours?" Adiana opened and shut her mouth a few times before rubbing her forehead in disbelief. "You should check your phone. Sam's probably trying to call you right now."

"Not exactly." Adiana looked up as Sam sat across from her.

"You knew about this?" He nodded apologetically. "Okay, what's going on?"

"Told you she wouldn't remember." Dean smirked at his brother and lifted his glass to take another gulp of beer.

"I never said she would," Sam huffed.

"Remember what?" Adiana was getting more puzzled by the minute. "Guys, what's going on?"

"Check your phone," Dean prompted. Adiana checked with Sam to see if that was going to help any, but he was silent. She gave up and pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"No messages." She flipped it open. "Yeah, I don't…" She stared at the screen. "Oh, no way." Dean wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Happy twenty-first, Adiana."

"I can't believe you remembered. I haven't even been paying attention to this." Adiana shoved her phone back in her pocket, shaking her head and smiling.

"I did get you cake…" started Dean, reaching under the table.

"But he ate it all," Sam finished. Dean frowned.

"Did not." Sam raised a skeptical eyebrow. Dean rolled his eyes. "Okay, so maybe I ate it and bought another one. I got hungry, okay?" He set a small white box with a red supermarket tag on the table. Adiana flipped open the top of the box. Inside was a mini chocolate-frosted cake with red roses and 'Happy Birthday' written in green.

"It looks delicious." She hadn't even realized how hungry she was until now.

"It is, trust me."

"When a waitress comes by we'll get some forks and a knife. I cannot wait to eat this. Thank you." She leaned upwards and gave Dean a grateful kiss. "This was sweet of you."

"Well uh-" Sam cleared his throat. "While we're waiting…" He pulled a card and a package wrapped in newspaper out from the inside of his coat.

"Seriously?" Adiana took the gift from him. "You guys are the best." She tore open the envelope first and took out the card. On the front was a Labrador puppy clutching a beer bottle between its paws with "21?" typed next to it. She giggled. "You have no idea how much I love that there is a puppy on this."

She opened the card and inside was printed "Wow so now you're legal. So enjoy and celebrate, but beware of the hangover!" There was a picture of the same dog, only sitting next to a sign with "Beware of the Hangover" carved into the wood. Underneath all of this, Sam had neatly written "Happy 21st Birthday Adiana! –Sam". She set the card down on the table, planning on keeping it, and ripped the newspaper away from her present. Or rather presents.

"The new Nintendo DS Lite, two games and my absolutely favorite book Pride and Prejudice?" Adiana turned to Sam and threw her arms around him. "Please never stop being a geek." He laughed, giving her a light hug. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"That's hard to top." Dean tapped something twice against the table. Adiana let Sam go and turned her attention to the present in Dean's hand. "But I'll give it a try."

"Well there's no card, so it's a good thing you already got points with the cake," she teased, holding out a hand. He gave her the gift.

"Here's half your present."

"Half? When do I get the rest?" He winked.

"Later."

"I'm pretty sore already." She gave Dean a cat-like smile. "I might need a rain check."

"Okay," Sam interrupted. "I'm stopping this before it goes any further."

"Always gotta ruin the fun, Sammy," Dean reprimanded, but Adiana had moved on already and was tearing off red tissue paper until all that was resting in her hands was a long velvet-lined box. Her face lit up before she even opened it. There was only one thing that came in lovely boxes like this. The box clicked open. Inside was a necklace. On the silver chain was a pendant of two looping rings of white gold with one white and one black diamond sparkling in the center.

"Dean, this is…" She tilted the box and the brand name became visible. "Oh my God, these are real!"

"Course. Nothing but the best for mmpf…" Dean didn't get a chance to finish as Adiana kissed him, making sure he knew just how much she appreciated this. She entwined her arms around his neck, pressing her body up against him as his arm snaked around her waist. After several minutes of this, Sam made a disgusted sound and Adiana drew her lips away, her face flushed. Dean ran a hand over her hip, fingers brushing lower over her jeans. "Hell, baby if I knew diamonds made you this happy, I'd have gotten them for you earlier."

"Now you know, but this gives you more than enough brownie points to last you a while." She gave him one last peck. "Help me put it on?"

"Sure." Adiana gently lifted the necklace out of the box and undid the clasp. She handed it over to Dean and swept her hair up, holding it in a makeshift ponytail over her right shoulder. Dean looped the chain around her neck and hooked the clasp together. He placed a kiss on her exposed throat before she let her hair fall.

"Thank you." Adiana looked to Sam. "Both of you. How'd you even get all of this?" The Winchesters exchanged a meaningful glance.

"Well we'd tell you, but then we'd have to…" Dean bit down on his tongue as Adiana stared up at him. He coughed, running a hand past his mouth. "We're just good like that." Adiana shrugged, still feeling giddy. Good enough for her. She had an actual diamond necklace. Everything else was just details.

"Yes you are. I didn't need some crazy twenty first birthday rager. This is honestly so much better than anything I ever expected."

"Well we figured you could do without the blackouts," Sam said with a smile.

"Yeah and waking up in some alley with weird matching tattoos," added Dean.

"Hmmm…" Adiana drummed her fingers lightly against Dean's chest, right under the collarbone. "Matching tattoos, you say?"